the spirit and breaking your peace in not maintaining and nourishing the same time the other and hence being drawn to go two waies at the same time which you cannot wel do your heart is disquieted and your peace much interrupted This of yours puts me in mind of the complaint of an honest yet plain man to an able Minister once who in bewailing his condition to him among other miseries that was not the least viz. that he was exceedingly troubled with good thoughts so that he could not follow his place â—nlesâ—e very oft he did stand still and pray for fear of grieving the Spirit as he thought and lâ—â—ing his season of being heard in Heaven for said Conscience oâ—t unto him how dost thou know but this may be thy accepted time and if thou dost not take it it may be thou shalt never have it again I have forgot the Ministers answer but I am sure in these complaints you go not alone I have lately known one very able wise and godly put upon the Rack in these kind of thoughts by him that envying Gods peoples peace knowes how to change himselfe into an Angell of light For it being his usuall course in the time of his health to make a diary of his hourely life and finding much benefit by it hee was in Conscience prest by the power and delusion of Satan to make and take the same daily survay of his life in the time of his sicknesse by meanes of which he spent his enfeeblâ—d spirits cast on fuell to fire his sicknesse and had not a friend of his convinced him of his erronious coâ—science misâ—eading him at that time he had murdered his body out of conscience to save his soule and to preserve his grace and do you think these were the motions of Gods spirit which like those Locusts Rev. 9. 9 10. had faces like men but had tailes like Scorpions and stings in their tailes Your thoughts I know are not likely to produce the same effects although you have the same efficient and because you say your peace is hereby disturbed by ignorance as not knowing what to doe in the midst of these Civill actions and these religious thoughts I conceive that two thinâ—â— are to be sadly considered of for the cure of them First how to know when such religious pious thoughts come from Gods spirit and when from the devill transforming himself into an Angell of light or from a well-melted stirring conscience yet blind For when you know they come from Gods spirit you are bound to nourish them but when not you are bound not to embrace nor comply with them Secondly learn how your soul is to behave and carry it selfe in Civill employments For when you see how you doe and may honour God in following them your spirit will not be so unquiet if at any time you imbrace not the suggestions of the other 1. For the â—irst briefely all good motions and thoughts are not the spirits motioâ—s as may thus appear There be three things chiefly by which were may discerne the motions suggestions and thoughts which come from Gods spirit all which concurring together in a good action or thought or word not one alone will make discovery whether they are from Gods spirit or not 1. If it be suggested for Gods ends it s from Gods spirit to act so high as for a supernaturall end must arise from a supernaturall principle which only is Gods spirit Pharasaicall actions were for a double selfish end and hence not from Gods spirit but nature and their own spirit 1. To be seen of men 2. If they did any of them abhor this yet it was to purchase and gender in their own minds an opinion of holinesâ—e before God and hence Christ gives them this Item in giving Almes that they should not let the right hand know what their left hand doth for many men will doe good acts lest they should by the neglect of them thinke them hypocrites and so be troubled for them Christ would have us not to take notice of what we do for such an end If they be animated and quickned from Gods command for the higher measure of holinesse for glorious ends without a warrant from the Word is the more â—ordid superstition Christ healed the Lâ—per when he charged him with anger to tell no man he no question for a good end published the miracle the more this was a good motion but it was sinnefull in him being crosse to Christs command when Christ would have washed Peters feet he had many thoughts that came into his head concerning his owne vilenesse and Christs glory and had a good end and meaning in his answers yet his humility crossing Christs command the Lord professeth against it and him for it that he had no part in him if hee should goe on in it Gods Spirit sets a man on worke in due season for let the duty be commanded and rightly directed yet if it be not done in season it is not from Gods Spirit hence Psal. 1. The râ—ghteous bring forth fruit in its season and hence Solomon speakes of words spoken in season arâ—as apples of Gold and hence we read in Ecclesiaâ—tes of a time and season for â—very thing under the Suâ—ne and therefore when there is a season of Gods appointing for civill things or businesse it is not season now to be molested or perplexed in it by the injection and evocation of those thoughts which we thinke to proceed from the Spirit of God I know indeed that the Spirit of God doth enable a man to do whatever good he doth but as Grace makes Nature sometimes to serve so sinnefull Nature brings Grace into captivity which Paul complaines of Rom. 7. and makes Grace to serve it To exhort and reprove another for sinne is from Gods Spirit that it is done but to reprove at an unseasonable time it s from sinnefull corruption abusing Gods grace and makeing Sâ—â—â—son to grinde It s from the excellency of a 〈◊〉 to cut well but to cut my singer with it 〈◊〉 â— should be cutting of my meat with it 〈◊〉 not from the end of the knife nor from the intention of him that made it so to thinke of good things it is from the spirit I grant but to think of them in such a season that God sets you a worke to minde and follow other occasions it s from the enemy of Gods spirit and your owne peace for as it is a sinne to nourish worldly thoughts when God sets you a worke in spirituall heavenly imployments so it is in some respects as great a sin to suffer your self to be distracted by spirituall thoughts when God sets you on worke in Civill yet lawfull imployments such thoughts I conceive are but the leven of Monkish holinesse if they divert you from your lawfulfull affaires when the Lord calls you to follow them For the Lord never calls you to two divers imployments at the same time unlesse
you make the one to be a meanes to further the good of the other which such pious thoughts in some civill imployments doe it being no peece of Christian wisdome or honesty to turne round in worldly imployments so long till by giddinesse wee fall down but by secret steps ever and anon to look up to heaven and to behold the face of God to whom onely therein wee are to approve our selves But yet it seemes your thoughts are so far from being subservient the one to the other that you are distracted and molested and your peace interrupted and your Christian course made troublesom and an heavy burthen which surely can not be by the yoke of Jesus Christ therefore you must first bring your troubles in this particular to this issue either you may follow your Civill affaires and nourish these thoughts as helps to maintaine your peace and make you heavenly minded in them and if they serve sufficiently to such an end why are you troubled with them or els you cannot â—ollow God comfortably in civill actions unlesse you banish from you thoughts which doe so miserably distract you and then why doe you fear you shall grieve Gods Spirit if at the same time you do not give entertainment to them the unseasonablenesse of which speaks plainely they came not from the spirits suggestions besides their hinderance of comfortably walking with God which the imployments themselves can never hinder But you will say when is the season of nourishing such thoughts I answer Entertaine those thoughts as it may be you have done some friends who came to you at that time you have businesse with strangers whom you love not so well as your friends you have desired them to stay a while untill you have done with the other and then you have returned to your friend and when the other hath been shutâ—out of the doores the other hath had the welcom and hath lodged with you all night and thus you have grieved neither but pleased both It is so in this case Worldly employments are our strangers yet they must be spoke with Religious thoughts and practises are our friends these come unto us while God calls us to parley with the other you cannot speake with both at one time in one place without much perplexity take therefore this course make much of the good thoughts but parley not with them till your businesse is done with strangers and towards evening which is your season set some time apart every day for meditation and then make them welcome then consider and ponder well what was suggested to you in the day time and â—iâ—t every good thought to the bran for then is your season and after that let them sup and lodge with you all night and keep the house with you every day And surely when the Lord Jesus shall see what a friend you shall make of his Spirit and how wisely you walke therein you shall not need to feare any grieving of it or unseasonable times nay I say you will most fearefully grieve his Spirit if you parley with the conceived suggestions of it at unseasonable times What thou dost doe it with all thine heart saith Solomon Eccle. 9. Therefore when you are to pray confer or meditate do it with all your minde and all your thoughts and all your strength So when God calls you to worldly employments do them with all your mind and might and when the season of meditation comes take it which glorious ordinace of God although many Christiane use it occasionally and against some good time or when they have leisure meeting with them yet to set some time apart for it in a solemn manner every day and that in conscience as wee doe for prayer generally where is the man to be found that does thus Those men that thus neglect their season of musing and entring into parley with Gods Spirit dayly may be well said to grieve the Spirit through the neglect of which ordinance Gods Sâ—irit is as much grieved by Professors in England as by any course I know The Lord awaken us but I have run too farre already in this first part of my answer For the second meanes viz. how the soule is to carry it selfe in Civill employments that so you may not thinke you do for better when you listen to good thoughts as you mention I say but two things 1. Learne to follow them out of an awfull respect to the eye presence and command of Jesus Christ and to doe what you do in Civill businesses as the worke of Christ When you are riding or making up breaches between man and man then thinke I am now about the worke of Jesus Christ Secondly seeing your selfe thus working in worldly employments for him you may easily apprehend that for that time God calls you to them and you attend upon the worke of Jesus Christ in them that you honour God as much nay more by the meanest servile worldly act then if you should have spent all that time in meditation prayeâ— or any other spirituall employment to which you had no call at that time It is noted therefore by some of Pâ—ters wifes mother that when Christ had healed her of her Fevor she â—ate not downe at table with Christ in communion with him which no question was sweet but ministred at the Table and ran too and fro and so served him and acted for him wherein she shewed more love and gave him more honour viz. in that meane service and in acting for him then in having communion with him now if the Lord would out of his abundant goodnesse set the soule in such an acting frame for him and if if could do its worldly employments as the worke of Christ and see how greatly it honours Christ in attending on him Oh what peace should a Christian enjoy notwithstanding all his distractions every day And how easily would such devout thoughts you speak of be repell'd like darknesse before the light for the noblenesse of those good thoughts you speake of presenting themselves against the mean and base outsides of Civil affaires makes you ready to honour the one when you are call'd to serve the other but now by seeing you do the work of Christ Jesus in them you shall hereby see a glory in the meanest service you performe in Civill affaires and this will make you cleave unto them But I have said too much about repelling of good thoughts in these times wherin men have so few though it may be little enough to satisfie you Your second trouble is this viz that your heart is kept from being humbled for sinnefull distractions that hinder and interrupt the spirituall performance of holy duties and that for two reasons First Because they be involuntary and accidentall Secondly Because they cannot breake the Covenant between God and your soule being but inâ—irmities For the latter clause concerning breach of Covenant together with the other 1. I say not onely inâ—â—rmities
have your heart elevated and lifted up to Jesus Christ and say I receive this and taste this from Jesus Christ Oh but this is but a taste of the hony-comb with the end of my rod and if this presence of Christs Spirit I feel now be so sweet what is himselfe then 3. Thirdly Labour for increase of love and familiarity with Jesus Christ by taking notice of him by comming often to him by musing daily on his love as on a fresh thing by banishing slavish false feares of his forgetfulnesse of you and want of everlasting love towards you and then you know love will carry you speedito him amor meus pondus meum nay grant that you have been a stranger to Christ yet restore the love of Christ to life againe in your Soul and when you come to his ordinances where he dwells your Soul will make its first enquiry for him neither will it be satisfied till it hath seen him as we do them wee love towards whom wee have been greatest strangers Your fifth trouble is you know not how to apply absolute promises to your selfe as in Heb. 8. because they are made indefinitely without condition Conditional promises you say you can if you can find the qualification that gives you right to the good of the promise within you This usefull fruitfull question how to apply absolute promises to ones particular deserves a larger time and answer then now in the midst of perplexities I am able yet willing to give For when the Lord saith absolutely without condition that hee will take away the stony heart and he will put his feare into his peoples hearts c. and these kind of promises are made to some not to all to those only whom the Lord will and in generall to his people Hereupon the Soulâ—s of many Christians especially such as question Gods love towards them are most in suspence and therefore when they complaine of the vilenesse of their hearts and strength of their lusts let any man tell them that the Lord hath undertaken in the Second Covenant to heal their backslidings and to subdue their iniquities they will hereupon reply it is true hee hath promised indeed to do thus for some absolutely though they have no good in them but I that feele so vile a heart so rebellious a nature will he do this for me or no and thus the Soule floats above water yet feares it shall sink at last notwithstanding all that God hath said I will answer therefore briefly these two things in generall 1. I shall shew you to what end and for what use and purpose God hath made absolute promises not onely to them that be for the present his people but to them that in respect of their estates and condition are not 2. I shall shew you how every Christian is to make use of them and how and when hee ought to apply them For the first of these 1. First I conceive that as in respect of God himselfe there are many ends which I shall not mention as being needlesse so in respect of man there are principally these two ends for which the Lord hath made absolute promises 1. To raise up the Soul of a helplesse sinnefull cursed lost sinner in his owne eyes to some hope at least of mercy and help from the Lord For thus usually every mans Soul is wrought to whom the Lord doth intend grace and merâ—y he first turnes his eyes inward and makes him to see he is stark naught and that he hath not one dram of grace in him who thought himself rich and wanting nothing before and consequently that hee is under the curse and wrath of God for the present and that if the Lord should but stop his breath and cover his face and take him away which he may easily do and is to be feared he will that he is undon for ever Hereupon the Soul is awakened and falls to his kitchin physick as I spake before prayes and hears and amends and strives to grow better and to stop up every hole and to amend it selfe of every sinne but finding it selfe to grow worse and worse and perceiving thereby that he doth but stirre and not clense the puddle and that it is not amending of nature that he must attain to but he must believe and make a long arme to Heaven and apprehend the Lord Jesus which so few know or ever shall enjoy and hereby quench the wrath of God I say finding he cannot do thus no nor no meanes of themselves can help him to this hereupon he is forâ—aken of all his self wisdome and of all his vaine hopes and now sits down like a desolate widdow comfortlesse and sorrowfull and thinks there is â—o way but death and hell and the wrath of a displeased God to be expected And if any come and tell this Soul of Gods mercy and pitty to sinners I saith he its true he is even infinitely mercifull unto them who are rent from their sinnes and that can believe but that I cannot do and am sure shall never be able for to do and therfore what cause have I but to lie downe in my sorrow and to expect my fatall stroke every moment Reply againe upon this Soul and tell him that though hee cannot believe or loosen his heart from sinne yet that the Lord hath promised to do it that he will subdue all his iniquity and he will pardon all his sinne and that he will cause men to walk in his waies c. True saith the Soul againe hee will doe thus for his owne people and for them he hath chosen but I never had dram of grace in my heart and there is no evidence that the Lord is mine owne or that I am his Here againe the Soul lies downe untill the Lord discovers to the Soul that he will doe these things for some that have no grace or never had grace for these promises were made to such Here upon the Soul thinkes thus These promises are made for some that are filthy for why should God poure cleane water upon them for some that be hard-hearted for why should hee promise to take away the stony heart from them c. and if unto some such and I being such a one why may not the Lord possibly intend and include me seeing hee hath not by his promise excluded nor shut me out Indeed I dare not say he will but yet how do I or men or Angells know but yet I may be one Hereupon Hope is raised to life againe seeing God hath undertaken the worke for the vilest it is possible he may doe it for me now when I am vile and can doe nothing for my selfe And thus you may see the first end and use of absolute promises to be as it were twigges to uphold the sinking Spirits of hopelesse helplesse distressed Souls 2. The Second End and Use of them is this To create and draw out faith in Jesus Christ in the promises