you than he that is in the world 1 Joh. 4.4 And therefore Christian act faith upon the merit and upon the power of Christs Cross and believe down thy pride and believe out thy passion believe thy corruptions to death Faithfull is he that hath promised who alse will do it Let it not be the reproach of the Crosse of Christ that any corruption or lust should be too hard for it no there is enough and a redundancie in Christ only the Well is deep and therefore thou must bring the bucket of faith to it and then with joy thou mayst draw water out of this Well of salvation Caut. 5 Fifthly Be thankful O ye Saints servants of God if upon those scriptural discoveries already laid down you can evidence it to your own soules that the remainders of corruption in your natures are but infirmities that sin of a Lord is become a slave and of an obeyed Soveraigne is become a resisted Tyrant Oh! it is matter of great thankfulness that the dominion of sin is broken Although the Saints have cause to be humbled that they have infirmities cause to go mourning to the very death yet they have infinite cause to be thankful that they are but infirmities no longer domineering lusts but base underlings and vassals And therefore while the sence of Corruption maketh them complain with the holy Apostle Oh wretch that I am c. the consideration that sin is dethroned and remains now but as a blasted infirmity in the soul may cause them to triumph I thank God for Jesus Christ It was the merit of his Crosse that purchased this grace Rom. 8.3 Christ died that sin might not live He conlemned sin in the flesh He adjudged sin to death on his Crosse in his redeemed And by the power of his Crosse he puts the sentence into execution Gal. 5.24 they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Hence that security given Rom. 6.14 sin shall not reign in your mortal bodies it is an Exhortation verse â—2 let not sin reign to shew it is our duty to bring sin to the Crosse to do execution upon every lust but it is a promise in the fourteenth verse sin shall not reign to assure the believer that what Christ hath purchased with his blood he will accomplish by his Spirit sc the final and total destruction of the body of sin whereof this is the pledge and first fruits the dethroning of sin in the soul so that though it be yet it shall not be as a Lord sin shall not reign in your mortal bodies for ye are not under the Law but under Grace When the Lord turned again the Captivity of Zion Psal 126.1 2. our mouth was fill'd with laughter and our tongue with singing The redeemed soul hath not less cause to rejoyce whose spiritual captivity the Lord hath turned made them to lead Captivity captive 2 Tim. 2.26 to lead captive those lusts which led them captive before take captive by the devil at his pleasure So much for the Cautions I come now in the last place to close with the Comforts Comforts to the Saints ever their infirmities 1. Comfort Amongst many take these 1. Thy infirmities shall not prejudice thy acceptance with God This is a Christians comfort Though the world either through blindnesse cannot or through malice will not distinguish between infirmities and allowed wickednesse in the godly yet God both can and will He will distinguish between the Gold and the drosse between the chaffe and the wheat He will not cast away the gold because there is some drosse mixt with it nor throw the heap into the fire because there is much chaffe in it if there be but some grains of good seed God doth not cast off his people for their infirmities when he finds any precions grains of sincerity and grace in them It is highly observable concerning Sarah David Asa Jehosaphat c. when the spirit of God comes in Scripture to give us their characters he puts a veile upon their infirmities and takes notice only of their graces Gen. 17.12 Sarah laughed through unbelief yet when the Holy Ghost makes mention of her in the New Testament he takes notice only of her obedience and reverence to her husband Sarah obeyed Abraham 1 Pet. 3.6 and called him Lord. David had two terrible falls able to make every one that readeth to tremble but in his character God only takes notice of his integrity 1 King 9.4.11.4 6 14.8 his perfection the Vniversality of his obedience He did ONLY that which was right in mine eyes Asa had his failings He was wroth with the Seer 2 Chron. 16.10 and again In his sickness he sought not to the Lord but to the Physitians ver 12. yet in the accompt of his reign you find nothing 2 Chron. 14.17 2 Chron. 20.35 36. but this high eulogie The heart of Asa was perfect all his days And his son Jehosaphat contracted a wicked affinity he left reformation imperfect verse 33. yet in the summa totalis he inherits the testimony of his Fathers sincerity He walked in the way of Asa his Father 2 Chron. 20.32 and departed not from it doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Oh what a Cordial is this for the fainting hearts of Gods dear children sinking under the sense of their corruptions When God comes to weigh them in the ballance of the Sanctuary he leaves out their infirmities and puts nothing into the scales but their graces He overlooks what is theirs and takes notice onely of what is his own and so holdeth them forth to the world as models of perfection God will not onely pardon Com. 2 but pitty the infirmities of his people When their infirmities are their afflictions they be the objects of Gods Compassion Of all the children in the Family the Father pitieth the weak child the lame child and the sick child when the poor child crieth Father take me Father help me Father hold me Father carry me the Fathers bowels melt within him and his compassions are rolled together Like as a Father pitieth his children Ps 103.13 so the Lord pitieth them that fear him Isa 63 9. In all their affliction he is afflicted and the Angel of his presence saveth them When God seeth a poor believer striving and wrestling and conflicting with his corruptions weeping and mourning over them like a dove of the valley sighing with the breaking of his loins and crying Lord help Lord rebuke my temptations Lord subdue my corruptions pleading and pressing the promise Lord thou hast said sin shall not have dominion over me Rom. 6.14 thou hast said I will heal their back-sliding Hos 14.4 I will love them freely c. Why now Lord Psal 119.49 Remember the word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope and pressing it again and again Behold
in other places to whom he might say 1 Cor. 9.2 The seal of my Apostleship are ye in the Lord and that may say again of him 2 Cor. 9.15 My Father my Father who drew their first spiritual breath under his Ministry Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift Fifthly Elias was faithful in standing up for the Lord even when he thought himself alone against the tide and torrent of the Apostacy of that generation which might justly wonder to see it self turned Baalist But the holy Prophet wanted neither zeal nor courage to appear 1 King 19.14 Ingemuit terrarum orbis se Arrianum invenisse As it was in Athanasius his time 1 Kings 8.22 and protest against them and their Idolatry to their very faces I say alone The prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men but I even I ALONE am a Prophet of the Lord let them therefore give us two bullocks c. His zealous spirit could not bear their halting between two opinions and therefore provokes them to the dispute before all the people the God that answeareth by fire let him be God And his courage was rival with his fidelity and zeal vers 21. He feared not the face of Ahab vers 24. though a potent and a cruel King He spares not to tell him vers 18. I have not troubled Israel but thou and thy fathers house He feared not all the false prophets of Jezabel though they had the people to back them Take the prophets of Baal vers 40. let not one of them escape What a mighty spirit of God was that upon him that he a single unarmed man should not be afraid to command and see execution to be done upon four hundred and fifty Idolatrous prophets under the wing of an Idolatrous Queen and before the very face of a wicked King Thousands of their subjects standing by who but now were so cow'd with fear that they had not a word to say for the true and living God! here was courage to a Miracle Our reverend brother had his proportion of this fidelity zeal and courage He was faithful to Jesus Christ his truths and ordinances In all the Changes that went over his head in all the Controversies of the times wherein he exercised his Ministery he he was a most strenuous Assertor of the truth and amost couragious opposer of Error and Innovation and that even while some higher then other by head shoulders in their own eyes did basely and unworthily betray their Cause Hee feared not the face of man in the Cause of Jesus Christ He durst tell the greatest person he had to do with of their faults Malleus haereticerum Anabaptists and Antinomians Arrians Quakers Antiscripturists c. upon just occasion in the worst of times He was an hammer to beat down error and blasphemy where ever it met him he could not bear with them that preach down Poedo-baptisme the Christian Sabbath Vniversities Schooles of Learning ordination and other ordinances and institutions of Jesus Christ The Apostle prophesieth to us of some and in the latter times that will not endure sound doctrine it was the zeal and fidelity of our brother that he could not endure unsound doctrine 2 Tim. 4.3 no not the lispings or likenesse of it knowing the dangerous tendency thereof False opinions do insinuate themselves by the use of dark dubious expressions and it is the policy of seducers and men of corrupt principles when they dare not speak out to shun the form of plain and wholesome words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim 1.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plaistred coyned words 2 Pet. 2.3 Rev. 2.2 and hide themselves under the masks of suspitious and doubtfull phrases or feigned words as Saint Peter calls them and so by new lights and new language they do insensibly undermine the truth and introduce their loose and rotten opinions This he could not bear with seducers nor they with him so that by this means he became a man of contention 2 Pet. 2.8 his righteous soul was vexed from day to day in seeing and hearing Sixthly Paral. 6 Elias was a man of a very tender spirit tender of the glory of God I have been very jealous for the Lord of Hosts Tender of his Saints and servants and ordinances so he continueth his complaint The children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant 1 King 19.10.14 destroyed thine altars and slain thy Prophets with the sword his soul bled within him over the precious things and servants of God though he had his own life for a prey I onely am left this could not satisfie his zealous spirit Our honoured Friend now with God was a man in his degree of such another spirit He was jealous for God and for the interests of Jesus Christ they lay upon his heart with a great weight and made deep bleeding impressions His word was oft with Joshua And what wilt thou for thy great name Josh 7.9 Very tender towards the people of God his bowels wrought and melted within him towards poor perishing souls Chattam in Kent The Inhabitants of this place are his witnesses before God and man For your sakes that fear God here What offers hath he refused What affronts hath he sususteined What temptations hath he endured What opposition and reproach hath he born With what difficulties and straits hath he conflicted for many yeares together Phil. 2.30 not regarding his own life or the concernments of a numerous and necessitous family to supply your spiritual necessities He did spend and was spent he even offer'd up himself upon the sacrifice and service of your faith Verse 17. truly he was not only your Minister but even a Martyr among you What love and honour and mercy and liberality you owe unto his Name and poor Orphanfamilie left with you judge ye Surely if he sowed unto you spiritual things it is no great matter if his poor family reap your carnal things through his poverty you were made rich in the midst of your riches let not his Relicts remaine poor But to proceed Elias Paral. 7 was a mortified man He was so far from living to the world that he hardly lived in the world like his successor and anty-type John the Baptist he lived separated from the world while he was in it Matth. 3.4 choosing rather to live among bruit beasts then among bruitish men 2 King 1.8 his fare hard and his raiment course both suitable to a wildernesse not to Court or City This man of God now with God was a man dead to the world while he lived in it He was not a man of the mode his habit and diet spake a mortified frame of heart He was not given to juncating and feasting and ranting with vain and wanton persons as the manner of some is to the infinite scandal of the Gospel He sought not great things for himself nor laid about him to fether
the servant of the Lord oh be it unto me according to thy word When God I say hears his poor Ephraims thus bemaoning themselves Jer. 31.19 20. and smiting upon their thigh with holy shame and confusion reproach themselves thus Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised Lord if blowes would have made me good I had been good long ago I have had affliction upon affliction stroke upon stroke but all this while I have been as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke unteachable and untractable thou hast drawn forward and I have drawn backward thou hast stricken me I have kicked I have lifted up the heel against thee and hereupon in an holy agony turning Confession into Prayer Turn thou me and I shall be turned heal me and I shall be bealed for thou art the Lord my God While thus I say the soul weeps God weeps also Ephraim weeps before God tears of contrition and God weeps over Ephraim tears of compassion In all this affliction of the soul Gods Soul is afflicted his bowels are troubled his compassions are kindled and as not able longer to refrain himself as Joseph once towards his brethren he breaks out into this passionate condolency Is Ephraim my dear Son Is he a pleasant child Is this the voice of my repenting child pouring out his Soul his sorrowes over his sinful in firmities I do earnestly remember him I will surely have mercy upon him saith the Lord. Thirdly Com. 3 In Case your corruptions be but your infirmities they shall be no obstruction to your prayers David his unbelief did not prejudice the speeding of his prayers I said I am cast out of thy sight nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication Psal 31.32 Who would have thought that a prayer mixt with so much infidelity should have the way to Heaven But the instance in the text is full to this purpose it is the very design of the H. Ghost he proveth the general Proposition vers 16. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much by a particular instance it being in materia necessaria prayer being a duty of universal necessity the special example of Elijah And it was not for his sake that it is written onely but for our sakes also the drift being a general encouragement to strengthen the hands of Gods Saints in prayer against the sence of their infirmities That if Elijahs prayers were of such prevalencie with God his passions notwithstanding our prayers shall not return altogether fruitlesse into our bosom though we likewise be incumbred with manifold corruptions it was not so much the dignity of Elijah his person as the integrity and uprightness of his heart which rendred his prayers acceptable with God He was an eminent Prophet indeed but he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of like passions with us The infirmities of our nature shall not prejudice the fervency of prayers Prayer is still of as much potency with God as ever There may be less of miracle in our answers then there was in Elijah's but there will be as much of love surely returns of prayer are not the fruit of our merit but of Gods free-grace they do not depend upon the worth of the supplicant but upon the merit and intercession of our surety Numb 14.12 And if Moses a servant prevailed by his intercession for an whole Nation notwithstanding their rebellions how shall Christ the Son prevail with his Father for his dear Children notwithstanding their infirmities Eph. 1.6 He hath made us accepted in the Beloved Lastly Fourth and last Com. The time is coming and it hastens apace when infirmities in the Saints whether natural or sinful shall be perfectly cured death will be an absolute cure death will be the death of all your corruptions Now they do not reign blessed be God then they shall not live now they be but slaves Hewers of wood and drawers of water the infirmities of the Saints find them hewing work and weeping work the time is coming when they shall not be the time is coming when the Saints shall rest from their labours and all tears shall be wiped from their eyes Here is good news for the conflicting servants of God They shall not alwayes pray in vain nor strive in vain nor wrestle in vain God will not alwayes be wanting to their faithful endeavours And truly now he is not wanting but they are not alwayes so sensible of his presence and assisting grace with them in their conflicts but the time is hastning when they shall weep no more sign no more when they shall have no more cause to complain Oh! my pride Oh! my passion and Oh! my love of the world and Oh! my hypocrisy and Oh! my unbelief c. But when they shall stand upon the shore and see all these Egyptians lye drowned and choked in the red Sea of Christs blood singing the song of Moses and of the Lumb Vnto him that loved us Rev. 15.6 and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us KINGS and Priests unto our God and his Father to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen In the mean time let the sense of corruption set the Saints alonging for that day Corruption will never be totally destroyed till this mortal put on immortality This cursed leprosy of sin is so soaked penetrated into our natures that it will never be got out till the walls of the house be pulled down Washing and rubbing and scraping will not serve the turn but the whole structure of nature must be demolished the body of sin and the body of flest must be buried in one grave And therefore Let the Redeemed of the Lord rejoice in expectation of this day Rev. 22.20 let them lift up their heads with joy Phil. 3.20 because their redemption draweth nigh and having their conversation in Heaven let them look for the Saviour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change THESE BODIES OF VILENESS these vessels of rottneness and impurity to be like to his glorious body Surely I come quickly saith the Bridegroom let the Spirit and the Bride say Come even so Come Lord Jesus To God onely Wise be Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen FINIS
Haec sunt quae homines faciunt invitos mori 2 Cor. 5.2 3 4. Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech and have my habitation in the tents of Keder the Septuagint render it Woe is me that my pilgrimage is prolonged Wicked men their lusts are so far from making weary of the world that there is nothing makes them so unwilling to die They would fain live for ever here that they might sin for ever But under the burden of Corruption it is that the Saints groan die they would that they might sin no more Other advantages there are which God makes of the remainders of Corruption in the godly but these may serve for a taste You may enlarge in your own meditations by all which God expounds and fulfills Sampsons riddle to them Out of the Eater comes meat and out of the strong comes sweetnesse God maketh oyle of these scorpions and antidotes of poyson The Lord keep us from turning these antidotes into poyson Jude 4. this grace of God into lasciviousnesse this Doctrine of free grace into occasions and snares for the flesh this were to imitate the Devil not to imitate God God bringeth good out of evill the Devill brings evill out of good So it is with wicked men that which they call infirmity exposeth them to temptation 2 Tim. 3.13 and is an encouragement to them to sin evil men and seducers grow worse and worse deceiving Evidence 5 and being deceived A fifth evidential difference is this the Prophets and servants of God notwithstanding their sinful distempers are very serviceable in their generations Moses notwithstanding his Anger of what a choyce influence amongst the people How oft did he stand in the gap to turn away the wrath of God Job notwithstanding his fits of jmpatience of what use He was eyes to the blinde feet to the lame The poor mans Advocate in the gate to plead his cause David for all his slips surprises what a Reformer what an admirable Ruler in his Kingdome In his Family Psal 101. per totum sic in â—aeteris Thus Elias a man subject to passion and yet what service did he do for God for his generation wicked men while full of lusts are an uselesse generation good for nothing Mat 5.13 as our Lord saith of unsavoury salt but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men They are serviceable neither to God nor man like the withered vine of which you cannot make a pin to hang a vessel on they are of no support or service meer Cumber-grounds they are and the place where they live longs for a vomit to spew them out Their sins are reigning sins and they are meer slaves to their corruptions Tit. 3.2 3. serving divers lusts and pleasures Gods children though they have their decayes and feeble times yet are like the living vine which brings forth fruit to make glad the heart of God and man This speaks nothing in them but humane frailty A sixth and last differentiall note 6. Signall Difference Gods dear and precious servants though full of infirmities yet they are a praying people full of weaknesses but full of prayer too Of Saul it is said As soon as ever converting grace took hold of his heart Acts 9.11 Behold he prayeth This is the eminent instance in the Text. Elias had his passions but Elias was a mighty man in prayer he could shut and open heaven at his pleasure He could do what he would with God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in praying Rom. 12. he prayed the righteous pray and are fervent in prayer their very infirmities set them a praying to pray down their passions and to pray out their sinful distempers Carnal persons are full of passions but empty of prayers they can swear but they cannot pray they can curse but they cannot pray say prayers possibly they may as they call it but they cannot make prayers they may say Our Father c. but they have not the spirit of adoption to cry Abba Father to pour out their souls to God in child-like supplications and importunities Yea some there be that instead of making prayers are more ready to Curse prayer tantum non to blaspheme the spirit of prayer in the children of adoption This evidences them to be under the power and command of sin And now to apply our selves and the Text The Application to the particular occasion to the sad occasion before us the death of our dear and Reverend brother Mr. Walter Roswel I told you in the entrance that besides the two former acceptations of the word passions sc natural affections and sinful perturbations there was a third acception of the word namely as it denoteth more specially the affection of wrath sudden and irregular Anger And this the best of Gods Saints and servants have not been without Numb 20.11 Moses whom before you saw defective in faith at another time you may behold excessive in his passion He smiteth the rock when he was but to speak to it and his anger maketh him double his stroke He smote the rock twice He revileth the people when he should have convinced them hear ye Rebells And offended as it seems at his Commission he hardly forbeareth to murmur must we bring water out of this rock MVST WE And thus while he smiteth water out of the rock he striketh fire out of his own heart Behold and tremble Numb 12.3 The meekest man upon the face of the earth is transported into passion and his passion hurrieth him into such indecencies Numb 20.12 that hereupon God denieth him entrance into the land of Promise The Israelites whom he brought out of Egypt could not enter in because of their unbelief and Moses himself must not enter because of his Anger Rom. 11 3â— How swift and severe was God in this Censure how unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes past finding out David was under a very sinful passion 2 Sam. g 4. when he would have the people numbred all the rational and religious dissuasives which Joab the then Generall of his army did use could not allay the storm nor divert him from his sinful purpose Nothing can stand before the flame of his passion Psal 4. The Kings word prevailed against Joab though that flame consumed seventy thousand of his Subjects vers 16. Nor was that the onely instance of Davids distempered anger there was a time when the same fire had devoured and burnt down an whole innocent family to the ground 1 Sam. 25.22 cum 18. for the unnaturalnesse of a Churlish Master had not the wisdom of a prudent Governesse timely intervened The Disciples of our Lord because the Samaritans did not entertain Christ according to their expectations Luke 9.53 Ver. 54. although the Holy Ghost seems to make some apology for the refusal his face was as if he would go to Jerusalem they break out into Passion and fire presently must
God and of Religion the concernments of Jesus Christ and of mens immortal soules Indignities and affronts offered to himself did not tempt out the fervour and acrimony of his spirit as those which were put upon Christ and his precious Truths If so your consciences cannot gainsay it call him no more an angry passionate cholsrick man but call him a faithful plain-dealing zealous Minister of Jesus Christ lest otherwise God hear and be angry and judge you for your passion and partialty And lastly Rule 5 When the warmth and keennesse of a mans spirit is acted not so much against the persons as against the wickedness of men who hold the truth of God in unrighteousnesse Call it not anger and passion bat zeal for God and compassion on mens souls Passion le ts flye its arrows against the persons of men zeal only against their sins Indeed sins and persons are so near that a man can hardly distinguish sometimes between the person and the sin to avoyd the danger therefore let men stand furtther off from their sins that he that strikes at their sins may not with the same blow be judged to strike at their persons also But this is that which I say the heat of anger must be against the crime rather then against the person and when it is mixt with grief which sets pity and prayer on work for the offending party as it is said of Christ Mark 3.5 then it is pure zeal and not distemper'd anger I have done both with the Sermon and with the occasion Onely in as much as the Passions of the Regenerate as I hinted before are not all over regenerate nor have I made this Apology for the Saints in general or this our brother for whose loss we mourn this day in particular as if I conceived there were no sin in their Anger no strange fire in their passion yea because the Saints of God discover much distemper in their affections and passions sometimes even when they act for God for which they judge themselves bitterly in the presence of God for the preventing of mistakes on the right hand or on the left give leave to adde a word or two of Direction now in the close for your better improvement of the doctrine It is twfold sc 1. A word of Caution 2. A word of Comfort Caution 1. To all in general 2. To the Saints in particular To all in generall First 1. Caution general take heed of mistaking your infirmities take heed of putting a softer name upon your Corruptions then God doth and the Scripture doth this is the general deceit amongst Christians Sin takes sanctuary under infirmity Every wicked man calls his Iusts his gross sins his infirmities The Drunkard sayes it is my infirmity the Swearer sayes it is my infirmity the Adulterer alas what would you have him do it is his infirmity sic in caeteris Every prophane wretched miscreant hath taken hold of the horns of the Altar and there he cries alas this is my infirmity Brethren take heed say not infirmity when it is more then infirmity Quest When is that When sin is more then infirmity Answ 1. When men are more sollicitous for pardon then for Cure they are more then infirmities if pardon alone would quiet thy spirit without healing thou art under a mortall disease The Saints cry heal me O Lord and I shall be healed and this is an argument of their sincerity desire of pardon only argueth Self-Love desire of Cure argueth love to Jesus Christ desire of pardon argueth men fear hell only but desire of healing argueth men fear God defire of pardon only sheweth men would be content to live in sin if they durst desire of Cure shewes men would not live in sin if they might Secondly much more when men study the satisfaction of their lusts In exordio adolescentrae petieram à te castitatem continentiam c. more then the mortification of them they are more then infirmities Augustine confesseth of himself before Coversion he prayed sometimes for the gift of chastity but there was something within that secretly whispered Timebam si neâ—citò exaudires sanares me à morbo boncupisâ—entiae quam expleri malebam quam extingui not yet Lord for sayes he I was afraid lest God should hear me too soon and cure in me that distemper which I had rather should have been saisfied then mortified This is the temper of every unregenerate person Conviction may make them pray against their lusts sometime but love of sin makes them indulge them they cannot find in their hearts to lay violent hands upon them they be yet as their own flesh and no man ever yet hated his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it when men are so tenderly affected to their Corruptions they are more then infirmities sin reigns when men dare not displease it nor rise up in opposition against it Thirdly Third note of reigning sin sin is more then infirmity when men are impatient of Conviction when men are so tender of their corruptions that a man must not touch them He that toucheth them toucheth the apple of their eyes Gracious hearts are glad of conviction let the righteous smite me Psal 141. it shall be a precious oyle c. When reproof is a wound which men cannot bear it is a sign sin is alive and whole within them Sin is then King â—worâ— the soul Eccles 8.4 when a man must not say unto it what dost thou Prov. 3.31 and against which there is no rising up The more any corruption is indulged the lesse infirmitie is in it Fourthly Fourth note when a man or a woman is never troubled with their corruptions but when wrath is upon them then they are more then infirmities The godly go mourning under their secret corruptions when the Sun shines upon their Tabernacles with the warmest influences yea when God is pleased to shine into their hearts with the clearest beams of love the more sensible the Saints are of Gods love the more they hate their own corruptions because they make them unlike to God They that are never troubled with corruption but when wrath is upon them it is wrath that troubles them and not corruption this is not infirmity Carnal people are never good but when they are under the rod and then not because their sins displease God but because Gods judgements displease them Fiftly when Infirmities serve men only for apologies they are more then infirmities when a man can say of any corruption it is my infirmity and acquiesce there it is very dangerous This is certain men in nature do not sit down patient under infirmities because infirmities Corruption is all wed where infirmity is the apology and allowed corruption is more then infirmity The Saints infirmites are their afflictions their burdens not their apologies Oh wretch that I am Rom 7.24 who shall deliver me c. Sixthly Sixth note when
transport them out into indecent excesses commotions of spirit to the dishonour of the Gospel and the grief of the godly Ninthly Cons 9 The more infirmity the lesse grace Tenthly Cons 10 But the more sence of infirmity the more grace To be sensible of the least corruption and to mourn over it argues a tender conscience and strength of grace A sound eye cannot endure the least mote in it nor a tender conscience the least defilement Psal 19.12 Oh purge me from my secret sins Eleventhly Cons 11 and yet this is a consideration of greater weight that Infirmities neglected may grow to dangerous diseases as we see in nature a cold neglected may grow to a burning fever a distillation from the head upon the lungs if slighted may turn to a consumption c. and so in the spirituall constitution a lesser corruption not timely resisted and mortified may grow to be an head-strong lust which in the very godly shall keep grace at an under and make the Christian go halting to his grave It is good to deal with our infirmities betimes Obsta principiis Twelfthly And lastly Cons 12 to be sure spiritual infirmities may bring temporal judgements upon the Saints Moses his passion Num. 20.12 made him fall short of the promised land Davids surprize into murder and adultery entails the sword upon him and his family to all generations 1 Sam. 12.10 Luk. 1.20 Zechariah his unbelief strikes him dumb for a season Eli his indulgence to his Sons 1 Sam. 3.13 Cum ch 4.18 betrayes the Ark into the enemies hand and then breaks his own neck Davids pride in a numerous people 2 Sam. 24.15 costs him the lives of 70 thousand subjects And Hezekiah his unthankfulness brought wrath upon himself and all Israel 2 Chr. 32.25 This is a startling consideration 1 Thes 1.10 Strong infirmities may bring strong afflictions that though the Lord Jesus hath delivered his Redeemed from wrath to come yet their very infirmities may lay them and their families under the bitter fruits of Gods righteous displeasure in this life God THEREBY vindicating his own impartiality his hatred against sin his unchangeable love to his people in chastening them here that they may not be condemned with the world And thus much for the first Caution I shall adde a few more very briefly Secondly Caut. 2 Be tender to your brethrens infirmities to the Saints but severe to your own this argues an excellent spirit when a Christian aggravateth his own failings but extenuates other mens when he maketh complaints against himself but apologies for his brethren Rom 7.24 I am a wretch sold under sin saith the Apostle of himself But as to other believers Gal. 5.17 The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would It is the very same apology which our Lord Jesus made for his sleepy disciples in the garden the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak True Saints have apologies for others when they have none for themselves they can justify others while they judge themselves the greatest fault they find is with their own hearts A true child of God is made up of Passion and Compassion passion against himself and Compassion towards his brethren they condemn that in themselves which they can excuse in another yet not so as to suffer sin upon their brethren Consciousnesse to our own Corruptions Gal. 6.1 should make us tender of our brethren but our love to the souls of our brethren should make us faithfull to them A carelesse passing by an offending brother Levit. 19.17 is our sin not our love and hatred not compassion we should bear with one anothers infirmities yet so as to be healers physitians to their soul distempers not accessories It is a sin to speak of our brethren but it is our duty to speak unto them Heb. 3.13 It is a blessed thing to be of an healing and a restoring spirit Exhort one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin The Lord restore this spirit to his people in England or else we are like water spilt on the ground that can never be gathered up again Thirdly Caut. 3 When you begin to be proud mind your infirmities when your parts or graces lift up your spirits think of your Corruptions and say thus to your selves What have I within me an hard heart and shall I be proud an earthly heart and shall I be elated a lustfull heart and shall I be puffed up what shall I be covetous and proud passionate and proud poor in respect of grace and proud unable to mortify any corruption to stand before any temptation to perform any holy duty shall I be proud especially this consideration added nothing is mine own but my corruptions my parts graces are Gods concerning which I may say as the young Prophet of his Axes head alas for they are but borrowed What have I that I have not received and if received why do I glory To be proud of that which is none of our own is folly but to be proud of that which is Gods is sacriledge If therefore the sence of Grace at any time lift you up let the sence of corruption pull you down There is infinitely more in corruption to humble then there is in grace to elate and lift up the spirit Fourthly Caut. 4 Strive against your infirmities to the very death Object It may be a poor dejected soul may reply I have striven but I cannot prevaile corruption rather gets ground of me then I of corruption Answ To this complaint besides what I said before I reply two things 1. Strive still for consider if corruption lose no ground notwithstanding all thy wrestlings and conflicts what will it do if thou givest over striving if a man that rowes against the tide get no ground with plying his Oars how will he be carried down the stream if he strike not a stroke This thou must resolve on either to overcome thy infirmities or to be overcome by them Oh do not throw away thy weapons die not like a fool with thy hands bound It is a kind of victory on this fide the grave not to be driven out of the field De gemi pugnare to die fighting 2. If thy infirmities be too strong for thee Carry them to the cross of Christ remember Victory must be fetcht out of Christs blood This Crown is reserved for the head of Christ the King of Saints Victory is purchased and Christ hath overcome already in his own person there is * Phil. 3.10 Gal. 6.14 Eph. 1.2 power in the death of Christ as well as merit And he that hath overcome for thee on the Cross will overcome in thee by his spirit because greater is he that is in