gave it Which He grant c. Amen LAVS DEO THE WEAKNESSE OF A Wounded Spirit Part II. The Ninth SERMON PROV xviij 14. But a wounded Spirit who can bear THE Life of man on Earth consists of Action and Passion of Doing his Work and Bearing his Condition And in both these there are innumerable Difficulties so that it becomes a hard Task either to doe what we ought or to suffer as it becometh us In Doing our Work we are commonly unskilfull and slothfull In Bearing our Burthens we are querulous and unquiet Man is born like a wild Asse's Coli saith Zophar Job 11.12 If you drive him he will not goe rightly if you put Burthens on him he will throw them off if he can if he cannot remove them he will wince and kick especially when his Back is sore his Mind galled in which case this of Solomon is by much experience found true A wounded Spirit who can bear So we reade but the Vulgar Latin hath it Who shall be able to sustain the Spirit that is easy to be angry But the word is more general and signifies not so much the Passions of one to be born by another in which case it is a truth That the Wrath Envy Insolency of some mens Spirits is intolerable as it is Prov. 27.4 Wrath is cruel and Anger is outrageous but who is able to stand before Envy But it is rather to be understood of the person's Spirit who is to bear Who of all men can bear his own Spirit when it is wounded or broken so as in that case his own Ability and all other mens is insufficient to bear up such a wounded Spirit Such a man is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Greek expresseth it one that hath but a little life in him It is onely God that revives the Spirit of the humble and revives the Heart of the contrite ones Isa 57.15 Now the Spirit is wounded or broken either by worldly Sorrows By Sorrow of the heart the Spirit is broken saith Solomon Prov. 15.13 and S. Paul 2 Cor. 7.10 Worldly Sorrow causeth death or else it is broken by the sense of Guilt and the fear of Wrath. In respect of which David complains that his Bones were broken Psal 51.8 and more fully Psal 38.2 c. Thine Arrows stick fast in me and thy Hand presseth me sore There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine Anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my Sin For mine Iniquities are gone over my head as an heavy burthen they are too heavy for me to bear My Wounds stink and are corrupt through my foolishness I am troubled I am bowed down greatly I goe mourning all the day long For my Loyns are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh I am feeble and sore broken I have roared by reason of the Disquietness of my heart In both these sorts of Wounds Experience hath proved the Imbecillity of mens Spirits to bear them or of any other man to keep them from falling untill there appear Deus è machina Divine help from Heaven So that I am to demonstrate to you That in the great Pressures of Spirit either through worldly Afflictions or by reason of the Conscience of Sin no man is able to hold up himself from sinking nor can any other support him besides God with the Reason hereof That God onely makes up the breach and closes the Wounds in the Spirit and how he doeth it That worldly Crosses break mens Spirits so as that they are weary of their Lives is evident in the instance of Ahitophel who was counted so wise a man that his Counsel was reputed as if a man had inquired of the Oracle of God yet barely because he saw his Counsell was not followed by Absalom God so over-ruling the heart of Absalom that he hearkened to Hushai rather then to himself his Spirit could not bear this Disappointment of his Design to be the grand Minister of State under Absalom but in stead of dissembling his Grievance he saddled his Ass got him home to his City put his house in order hanged himself died and was buried in the Sepulchre of his Fathers 2 Sam. 17.23 Many more such Examples of men eminent in respect of Wisedome Dignity Power Wealth who upon some unexpected Loss Fear perhaps but the angry Looks of a Prince the Expulsion from Court or Deprivation of an Office have been impatient of their Lives and turned Executioners of themselves may be found in Histories or known by our own Experience And the Reason hereof is from the extreme Folly that is in men who lay so great a stress of their Happiness upon worldly things that when they fail them their case seems deplorable they have no Buttress to keep up their Spirits How great a number are there that trust in uncertain Riches and not in the living God And therefore when the Prop of their Wealth is gone then all is gone with them their Hearts are faint and they cast away their Life as if it were an unsupportable Burthen to them How many are there that depend on the Prince's Favour and make such account of Preferment by it that all their study is to get and keep it though with the loss of God's Favour But that being changeable and their Hopes thereupon frustrated there is no Acquiescence in God's Will but violent Impatience till they have dispatcht themselves How many have so set their Affections on some particular person as Amnon on Tamar that they wax lean from day to day because they cannot obtain their desire Yea the Inconstancy of their Mistress the miss of the hoped Match shortens their Lives brings down their heads with Sorrow to the Grave And it is just with God it should be so that those things should be cursed to us be as blasted Trees from which we seek that Fruit that Content and those Enjoyments which alone are to be had in God's Favour When our Hearts wander after some Creature and make it as our God love it trust in it in stead of God himself he will not brook it but remove it or make it our Vexation make it become our Perdition which was the means of our Corruption This is much more true when the Spirit is wounded by the Conscience of Sin against God In the former there is defect of Love to God in this express Enmity against him and therefore it is more intolerable Cain's Complaint Gen. 4.13 verifies this whether we reade My Punishment is greater then I can bear or Mine Iniquity is greater then that it may be forgiven How dolefull was his complaint when he said Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth and from thy Face shall I be hid and I shall be a Fugitive and a Vagabond in the earth and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me vers 14. How terribly did the Sting of
to our selves 3. In time of God's exercising his punitive Justice we should Confess our Sins to God and complain of our selves to him He that hideth his Sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy saith Solomon Prov. 28.13 Auricular Confession to a Priest as the Papists teach it is but an Invention of men for their advantage but Confession to God is a Duty necessary for our Salvation wherein especially the Sin which God seems to point out by his Judgment is most freely to be acknowledged As Joshua said to Achan Josh 7.19 My son give I pray thee Glory to the Lord God of Israel and make Confession unto him and tell what thou hast done Thus doe all truly Penitent persons in their Afflictions and this is the way to recover out of their Affliction if they deal plainly with God and Men. 4. To which fourthly it is necessary should be added Sorrow of heart a contrite broken and rended heart Compunction of spirit Remorse of Conscience for what we have done and in some speciall cases when the hand of God is sore upon us and our Sin hath been eminently great there must be Fasting Weeping and Mourning for our Sins yea the abundance and continuance of his Tears David saith hyperbolically watered his Couch made his Bed to swim every or all the Night with Groans unutterable even unto weariness As Manasseh sinned greatly so he humbled himself greatly Great Sins require great Flouds of Tears to wash them away I know forced Tears out of the fear of Hell can but little avail with God they may consist with love of Sin There may be counterfeit Tears which may be so far from pacifying God that they will incense him the more as knowing himself mocked by them There may be so deep a sense of Sin as to stupefy but where there is a kindly melting of the Heart for Sin Tears will likely follow and if they be in secret they are likely sincere And if we weep bitterly for Sin with S. Peter we may expect a gracious Forgiveness as S. Peter had but if we grieve not for our Sins we may expect God will make our Sins grievous against our will 5. Tears and Sorrow for Sin must be as David's weeping here Vocal with humble Supplication and earnest Prayer for Pardon When there is a spirit of Grace and Supplication joyned with Mourning then is God sought aright and found by the Repenting person Confession and Sorrow for Sin is but to make way for Prayer which is the chief thing whereby God is glorified and the Sinner benefited For then it is that his Heart turns to God when it acknowledgeth its own Demerit and God's Justice and then God's Heart is turned to him as it was to Rehoboam when he and his people humbled themselves and said The Lord is Righteous 2 Chron. 12.6 Which Prescriptions are effectuall if 6. There be a Forsaking of Sin and Obedience to God as saith the Prophet Isa 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Which David here observes and therefore adds vers 8. Depart from me all ye workers of Iniquity for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping and Psal 119.115 Depart from me ye Evil-doers for I will keep the Commandments of my God Surely saith Elihu excellently Job 34.31 32. it is meet to be said unto God I have born Chastisement I will not offend any more That which I see not teach thou me if I have done Iniquity I will doe no more Relapses into Sin make mens cases the worse so as that their latter end is worse then their beginning 2 Pet. 2.20 The Devil enters into such with more force hardens his Heart the more who hath seemed to repent but betakes himself again like the Dog to his vomit or the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire procures more Vengeance from God who walks contrary to them that walk contrary to him and when men are not reformed by Afflictions punisheth them seven times more for their Sins Levit. 26.23 24. And therefore Christ's Warning to the cured person is necessary for all that are holpen in their Affliction Sin no more lest a worse thing happen to thee and John Baptist's Advice is to be followed by all Penitents Matth. 3.8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for Repentance APPLICATION Give me leave now to speak to you that have heard me this day as the Prophet Haggai did to Judah Chap. 1.5 7. Consider your ways how is it with you He is a rare bird that is without Sickness or Sorrows Every day saith our Saviour hath enough of Evil Matth. 6.34 And methinks none of you should be so foolish as to say with Babylon Revel 18.7 I sit as a Queen and shall see no Sorrow If any be so secure as to be insensible of other Afflictions yet there should not be such a Stupidity in them as to be mindless of Death and Judgment I presume none of you are so miss-led by any spirit of Errour that you conceive your selves perfect and without Sin I fear too many of you are guilty of great Transgressions I wish you were none of you such as sin presumptuously against the Light of your Consciences oppose the Truth oppress the Poor delight your Bodies misspend your Time misimploy your Estates and Abilities and perhaps glory in your Profaneness Swearing Drinking Cheating Lying Backsliding False accusing raising Jars and Contentions If any of you be guilty of any of these Sins or have had experience of God's Hand in his Afflicting of him or is sensible of his Mortality let him bethink himself how his Afflictions work on him whether they bring his Sin to Remembrance whether the Remembrance of his Sin be more grievous then his Sufferings whether he complain of it rather then his Affliction let him search his waies confess his Sins at least to God weep and groan as David with real Sorrow according to God which may cause Repentance not to be repented of seek the Face of God with Supplication and amend his waies Hath not God rather cause to say of you as he did of the Jews Jer. 8.6 7. I hearkened and heard but they spake not aright no man repented him of his Wickedness saying What have I done every one turned to his course as the horse rusheth into the battel Yea the Stork in the heaven knoweth his appointed time and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but my people know not the Judgment of their God Will he not when he observes your doings find you rather Ranting in a Tavern then Praying in the Church rather Sporting in your Beds then Watering them with Tears Cheating one another in Gaming rather then Relieving the Poor Devising rather Mischief on your Beds then Weeping for
or Despair of a good issue out of his Temptations though he swam in rough waters against the stream yet he kept up his head The knowledge of his Purity the assurance of his Witness in heaven supported him with strength to undergoe all his Sores to refute all his Adversaries to conquer Satan and to recover out of his Fluctuations so as with greater advantage to get safe to Land and to improve his Losses to a greater encrease of Favour and Acceptance with God and temporal Prosperity Saint Paul even when the malignant Jews came about him like Bees and were prepared to sting him to death before their malevolent Council bore himself up with this Protestation that he had lived in all good Conscience before God to that day Act. 23.1 And this made him bold before Felix when he could say in truth Herein do I exercise my self to have always a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards men Act. 24.16 When he reasoned of Righteousness Temperance and Judgment to come before Felix the Governour and Drusilla his Wife which was a Jewess he was without Fear whereas Felix whose Prisoner he was trembled vers 25. In a word though he had Afflictions as much as any yet in them all he rejoyced in this that he had the Testimony of his Conscience that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity not with fleshly Wisedom but by the Grace of God he had his Conversation in the world even at that time of his Trouble in which he was pressed out of measure above strength insomuch that he despaired even of life 2 Cor. 1.8 12. 3. But there is yet a third Prop of the Spirit of a man besides right Reason Prudence and conscience of Innocency which doth enable it to sustain its Infirmities more steadily then the rest and that is Faith in God through Jesus Christ the chief part of the Divine Panoply or whole Armour of God And indeed Faith is the best Cordial to sustain the Spirit of a man in his Infirmities be they never so great by reason of which the same Apostle could say of himself out of experience 2 Cor. 4.8 9 11. We are troubled on every side yet not distressed we are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed always delivered to death for Jesus sake yet the spirit of Faith vers 13. so upheld him that though the Holy Ghost witnessed in every city saying that Bonds and Afflictions did abide him yet none of those things did move him Act. 20.23 24. He was so rooted and grounded in Faith that what-ever inward Decays he found what-ever outward Storms beat upon him yet his Spirit stood firm with unmovable Resolution So it was with David at Ziklag when his Fellow-souldiers with himself had their City burnt their Wives Children and Goods carried away captive by the Amalckites he was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his Sons and for his Daughters yet he encouraged himself in the Lord his God 1 Sam. 30.6 Faith then shewed its virtue it strengthened his Heart when the rest of the people in a womanish Sorrow fell a-weeping and he betook himself to God to inquire what was to be done which was followed with such Success that he recovered all that was lost But what speak I of these Infirmities these Afflictions which are nothing in comparison of what the Holy Martyrs bare through Faith of whom we reade Heb. 11.35 36 37. that though they were tortured yet they accepted not deliverance that they might obtain a better Resurrection that when they had triall of cruel Mockings and Scourgings of Bonds and Imprisonments were stoned were sawed asunder were tempted were slain with the sword were destitute afflicted tormented they could take joyfully the spoiling of their goods Heb. 10.34 and so contentedly undergoe their Sufferings as to take their Persecutours for their best Benefactours and make the sweetest Melody in the most scorching Flames Innumerable Arguments Faith presents to the Spirit from God's Presence Appointment Love Power Promises which do invincibly arm a Believer in all Perils in all Assaults in all Oppressions and make him invulnerable Reason enables the Spirit of a man to sustain his Infirmities stoutly a good Conscience comfortably Faith triumphantly APPLICATION And now give me leave to apply this to your use You are often told and if you were not your Eyes and Ears and other Senses might inform you that Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble Which of you unless besotted with vain Dreams or drunken with sinfull Pleasures but hath some foresight of imminent Dangers some foretaste of future Sicknesses and consequent Dissolution Is there any of you of so unshaken a Spirit as that none of the things ye feel or fear do in the least move you Why do you distill Hot waters but to revive you in Faintings why do you get Friends but to help you in Troubles why do you take Physick but to help you in your Infirmities why do you lay up some Money others Counsell but to provide for times of Affliction But doe you any thing to enable your Spirit to sustain you in your Infirmities I deny not but the Providence you use may be commendable but if there be no more then that it will be insufficient Some Infirmities may be remedied by natural Means some may be prevented by moral Prudence but the Decumane waves of Sickness and Death the thoughts of Sin 's Guilt and of Judgment to come require a better Anchour then these to keep you up from being drowned when the Conscience of the one and the Fear of the other beat upon the Vessel of your Spirit These Storms your Soul will not ride out without the Conscience of a Reformed life without the strong Cable of a fast-holding Faith the sure Anchour of a lively Hope in Christ All the Trimming and Tackling besides be it Wealth Friends Beauty Bravery yea though it be a Form of Godliness a strict Profession with some measure of Sufferings for the Truth will not keep you from Sinking without an upright Heart an unfeigned Faith a stable Hope in Jesus Christ What-ever you doe then let these never be wanting in the Closet of your Breasts make not Shipwreck of Faith and a good Conscience what-ever you lose lose not them yea have them always in a readiness when any thing happens which may oppress you with Fear or sink you with Sorrow Yea forget not to exercise your Faith in God your Hope in Christ continually that when you shall need them you may not onely have them in habit but also in use not onely in the Root but also in the Fruit. Let your Life be a Life of Faith your Breath be a Breathing of Hope in God and then you may be assured though your Body fall to the ground your Spirit will mount upward to God that