their Duty perform'd never seriously question in themselves whither any other thing than there petition of words in such serious a manner as the strength of Education and others discourse concerning God's greatness had brought them to was either necessary or actually in their Prayers or ever examin'd after Prayer was over whether it had return or not How this way of living should train a Soul to the experience and knowledge of access to and enjoyments with God in Prayer I know not speaking as to God's common way of bestowing such comfortable priviledges purchased by Christ for us To instruct you therefore from the Experience of God with my self O prophane and meer professing Christians I would with much sincerity and love 〈◊〉 â—ur selves beg your steps in the following 〈◊〉 When you are designing any matter or endeavouring the interest of this or the other mean to bring forth your purposed end resolve to address the Lord by Prayer for his guidance of you to the use of right means and his blessing the means to bring about your design unless inconsistent with his Honour and your Interest And if you are hinder'd from solemn Address make use of your Thoughts and dart them up to him with the same Petitions Mind not only the words in your solemn Prayer and your thoughts in Ejaculation but consider the frame of your Mind in both whether serious or not if as serious as when speaking to this or the other help to carry on your design at your first enterance I suppose not your acquaintance with spirituality of frame and if your frame be thus serious mind the issue of your affair if it be according to your Desire and Prayer impute not your success altogether to your outward help of this mean and the other but let Heaven's Blessing accompanying your diligent use of means have room in your Thoughts if not as chief yet as necessary and therefore you will improve this passage thus observ'd with a resolution to address God more seriously than ever in your next undertaking and accordingly perform your serious Prayer to him for his Divine Assistance which meeting with a sensible return you will improve with a more fixedness in your resolution to Petition him in all your after-concerns and with giving of him now the place of principal Agent with your means which will lay a foundation not only for a resolution and performance of Prayer and that seriously to God in all Occurrences but make a fair step towards the founding a Faith of Reliance upon God yea an endeavour of pleasing God to interest your selves in his favour and a perusal of the Scriptures to know the Will of God and the way of doing it and going on in this way of Prayer and Observation with such suitable improvement you know not neither is it in the power of the greatest exercise of a rational Soul to foresee or imagin aforehand what great and mysterious things may be laid before you to observe to wit of a Christian's advancement from the first step of Seriousness to a Reliance upon God as the alone power to be trusted to with such means he allows of and has witnessed his pleasure in by working with them for the bringing about such Events as are sought from natural strength by others but by them in Petitioning the Agency of his Power I don't mean by repeating of Words by way of Form and Rule given you in your Education but thorough a sense of the great advantage of his favour and a sincere desire to obtain it a carrying out of your desire with thoughts and words suitable to the present height of your longings which lays you in the way of meeting with the breathings of Christ's Spirit to help your infirmities and to raise your frame to such a posture of heavenliness as you never knew before unless by the hearing of the ear and will soon unfold what a dark state you have been in that all the seriousness you had in Prayer was no other than the strength of education and that there is something else in the Christian Religion you have never yet been senble of more suitable to the feeling of the Soul than to the utterance of the greatest Orator on earth The Spirit of God has express'd in the Scriptures these Mysteries in a stile suited to our understanding but when the same Spirit bears them home to the sensible feeling of a Christian what addition is given to the Christian's understanding of them and true Faith in them I go not therefore about to express these experienced Mysteries in a better stile for your understanding but to put you in a way of obtaining their experience upon your Souls by the working of a Divine Spirit in the use of common means You lose your labour in endeavouring to understand them in their saving efficacy by your natural reason without the help of a Divine Spirit and his internal Revelation What can better unfold or express the breathings of Christ's Spirit upon a Soul in its holy frame and performance of any Religious Duty than its resemblance to the blowing of the wind upon our Bodies which though sensibly felt yet is mysterious as to the parts of the Heavens from whence it blows or the way of its blowing upon us In like manner though the Spirit of God breathing upon a Soul in praying to God comes often suddenly like a gale of wind refreshing the Soul's dead frame with a ravishing heavenly life and power thoughts desires and all the affections being then carri'd heavenward like a Ship towards its Harbour with sweet delight therein and an actual undervaluing of the richest treasures and pleasures on earth in the balance with this comfortable sweetness for the time enjoy'd the continuance whereof would afford the Soul a Heaven on earth yet the Spirit of God in the excellency of his Divine Nature and in his method of thus changing the frame of the Soul is incomprehensible by the reach of human reason and to the experienc'd Soul there is but a discovery of him in his blessed effects and operations and a sight of him through a Glass darkly till that blessed change pass upon them and they obtain a perfect meetness to see and to understand him as he is No wonder therefore the prophane or meer professing Christian attempting to comprehend God's Word as to the work of the Spirit of God in planting Grace or watering it with constant influences to keep it in exercise find themselves at a loss how to understand it and therefore never feeling its effects upon their Souls either look upon it as Chimaera and the Being of the Spirit of God or his blessed operations of converting and spiritualizing a Soul to be only Notions of a melancholy Brain How many are there at this day who mock at the Spirit of God and the Divinity of our Blessed Redeemer and ridicule expressions of fellowship with him as canting discourse for they never receiv'd the precious
will with Heat contend for their Opinions in things that are not clear nor of great moment as if they were Fundamental Doctrines There are some Christians that have not only the life of Grace planted in them but the liveliness of Grace they are working and watchful to prevent any impression and taint of Evil from the Contagion of the World wherewith they are encompast And they are watchful unto Good they are ready to exercise every Grace in its season and by a continual Derivation of strength from Christ they are preserved from sinful Errors and irregular Passions Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price of our Redemption and that we may have an interest therein and enjoy the Priviledges thereof as evidence and earnest of Heaven God has appointed means whereby we may obtain this Blessed end means that are suitable in their use to rational and lapsed Creatures in their human capacity such as exclude boasting in ourselves and of Presumption Licentiousness and security in a carnal Conversation these means are prescrib'd in the Gospel as Prayer Meditation Hearing and the Participation of the Lord's Supper These are the Sphere of the Holy Spirit 's Activity in these we draw near to God and he draws near us By these means Christ with all his saving Benefits is applied to Souls By these they are revived from the Death of Sin and restored to the favour and Image of God They live in Communion with him and are confirmed thereby against the Temptations of the Evil Spirit who rules the World Those who neglect the holy and constant use of these means whether from the delusion of their Minds or the corruption of their Hearts will find that Darkness is their guide and the issue of their way will be fatal and destructive Let me therefore apply the foregoing Narrative thus There are some Professors that have knowledge in an eminent degree and are of a fair unblemisht Conversation by the advantage and impression of Education but are strangers to the inward power of Godliness as ignorant Heathens Let such duly consider the Case and neither despair for the Divine Spirit can quicken them nor delay the serious and diligent use of means which God has made effectual for the Conversion and Salvation of others Let them observe both the outward Providences of God and the inward Workings of his Spirit and apply themselves to God in the Ordinances both private and publick that they may receive renewing Grace of God and be preserved from destructive Evils If a Notional Knowledge of God's Word and an unblemish'd outward Conversation be no real Christianity no certain Testimony of Real and Saving Grace How utterly void of it are the Prophane To them I would give this Counsel Not to be averse from Serious and Real Religion upon the account of some Professors who have only a name to live but are dead or from a conceit that the Christian Religion is so extremely rigorous as to deprive us of all Natural Comforts or upon the account of different Opinions in the Christian World but to remove all Prejudices and to endeavour to understand the Gospel to believe the Doctrines to obey the Precepts of it and then they will find Christianity to be more than an outward Profession a serious Divine Principle regulating the Heart and Life and that it is to be obtained of God by every sincere Seeker of it and that it allows the temperate Use of Natural Comforts and only forbids the licentious Abuse of them whereby men become most unlike God and are like the beasts that perish And the lawful sober Enjoyments of Nature are consistent with the Joy of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of the Saints which is infinitely more satisfying and lasting than all the Pleasures of Sense for which so many lose Heaven and are condemned to Eternal Torments If Christianity and its Power may be really felt in the Soul and yet damp'd by the too long intermission of the Means of Grace and clouded by the admixture of too much of self producing a kind of Christians lazy in the obtaining the continued Power of Christ's Spirit in their Souls and so are in danger both of long intermissions of fellowship with God and breaking of fellowship one to another more dishonouring God than either the mere Professor or Prophane who never experienc'd the Reality and Comfort of True Christianity To such I would apply this Exhortation Not only to be in the Right Use of Means but in the more Continued Right Use than ever formerly for undoubtedly if the Means of Grace be the ways by which he walks and by which he communicates to Believers to the truth whereof all experiencing Christians will put their Seal then the oftner Christians walk in those ways the oftner and the more they receive both of Knowledge and Comfort from God which undoubtedly is the reason why some real Christians go beyond others in the knowledge of his ways and are in the more close walking according to the Rule of his Word with more inward Fellowship with God both in the Means of Grace and common Conversation That therefore the Word of God the doubting whereof being one great occasion of Error and Vice may be experienc'd as Truth and the means leading thereto given forth I shall previously lay down Two Propositions the first Instructive the other Cautionary The first is That all the Children of God in their Pilgrimage-state are under Three sorts of Conducts The first is that of God's Word the Foundation of our Faith and the Infallible Rule by which we are to judge of all Doctrines of all our Experiences and all the Passages of Providence The second is that of the Divine Spirit who according to the Promise of Christ instructs us in all Saving Truth by the Word and brings it to our remembrance to guide us safely to Heaven The third is that of Divine Providence sometimes enlightning what seemed dark in the Word of God and in the Actings of Christ's Spirit but founded upon his Word of Truth and agreeable to both though the dispensations of Providence are no Certificate of God's special love to men yet we are assured by the Scriptures that there is a peculiar tender Providence of God that regards his Children which is declarative of his special Love and by a serious observation of it their Duty and Comfort will be encouraged and improved Secondly Cautionary Not to limit the Spirit of God to any particular way or time of working in the Soul either in planting of Grace or its further growth Though by observation of outward Providences God was pleased to bring me to the first serious sense of my self and to a dependance upon God for Life and for Salvation and by marvellous steps of his outward dispensations joined with the inward Workings of his Spirit he has begun and increased a gracious Change in my Soul yet he has used various methods in the Conversion and Sanctification of
slenderer a foundation than God's own Word in Psal 10.17 according to the expression of the Psalmist Thou wilt prepare their heart to wit the hearts of the humble and of God's own Children and thou wilt cause thine ear to hear Is there any thing more plain or more fully experienc'd by observing Christians than that when God enclines his Ear to hear a Petition from a Child of his own that he prepares his heart aforehand to ask it He prepares the heart to ask by the influence of his Divine Spirit one part of whose work is said to be to help our infirmities and that infirmity of our not knowing what or how to ask by making intercession with us in Prayer for what God is to return as well as exciting us to ask what we should not have otherways done though really standing in need thereof As the spirit of a man knows the things of a man so the Spirit of God knows the mind of God and is it to be imagin'd that this Spirit knowing the mind of God concerning what he will return will raise a Christian's Soul to a heavenliness of frame and thereby prepare his heart to ask of God for an Event when he knows God will not return it A spiritual heavenly frame is not the fruit of Self-power otherwise a Christian would be capable of getting and retaining it when and as long as he pleas'd which from its sweetness in enjoyment would be desir'd for ever but it is the certain operation of the Divine Spirit influencing a Christian's Soul commonly in the use of means and extraordinarily without means for the end of letting the Soul experience the sweetness of nearness of fellowship with and access to God in Prayer as a foretaste and earnest of more intimate and lasting communion with him in Heaven and for the end of helping him to pray in such a manner as may be acceptable to God and return'd by him It is as yea more insupposable that the Spirit of God would help the Soul to plead with God for a thing contrary to his secret Will not a Secret to him as to help him to ask any thing contrary to his revealed Word and Will where his assistance is given to ask it is assuredly for the obtaining of what he knows God will bestow however the return be deferred and and Christians lose its sight by the intermission of observing of passages between the addressing God and God's giving in a return thereto Preparation to ask of God in Prayer obtain'd through the sensible comforting Influences of his Divine Spirit and preparations to petition the Lord obtain'd without any other sensible help than outward endeavour in the use of means are easily distinguished in their present sense and after-effects the one is sensibly the intercession of a Divine Spirit with the blessed effect of inward delight resignation of mind and return to the Prayer the other has nothing else apparent besides the Creature 's own strength without that inward comfort or return following it but the latter is often the means of obtaining the first I have often found and to be sure other observing Christians the same that when I have design'd and desir'd to lay a Petition before God in as serious a manner as possibly I could my preparatory means has been to bring my Mind in composure and my Body in gravity of gesture to read a Scripture again and again to fix my Thoughts with seriousness and to meditate upon the All-seeing Eye of God to whom I was to address on purpose to over-awe me from levity of mind in my Prayer But when I have been actually ingag'd in the Prayer thus prepared for the desir'd and design'd petition has never been mention'd either my Thoughts have been carry'd upon somewhat else undesign'd which I have with earnest affections and submission prayed for and has sensibly had it afterward return'd or if the desir'd and design'd petition has been exprest it has been in such a manner tho' sincere and unfeign'd yet sensibly a Prayer perform'd with Self preparation and greatly wanting heavenly supplies to enliven and spiritualize it and as spiritual and heavenly strength preparing to ask was with-held so was the return Yea besides the experience of correspondency of heavenliness of frame in Prayer the true comforting preparation of Christ's Spirit to that Prayer's return I hope I may sincerely witness that in the enjoyment of such a heavenly frame in Prayer words of Praise concerning the thing I design'd to petition for without the least fore-knowledge of the mercy obtain'd has been given in Who observes not these things at the time and lays them not up in their Diary till the Explicatory passage appear such lose the comfort of such enjoyments the Knowledge of God's deep ways and their Capacity of witnessing for him as others Some real sincere Christians may here perhaps advise and wisely too to have a care lest by God's changing this method observ'd as certain the ill consequence of darkness and Faith's staggering occur not leading to misdoubt both former experiences and the new methods of experience God gives in To which I say that any mistake concerning the Spirit of Christ interceding for any one thing in Prayer and the return thereof as certain is not because that ever it otherways has been or shall fall out God's word being true and the certain Foundation of this experience but by reason of some failure on the Christian's part thorough laziness in observation Again This Objection is evidence to me that thou O Christian art not in the way of Observation otherwise thou wouldest have known from experience God's infinite condescention to be such as to suit his Dispensations according to the State of the Soul in its Conversion and in its progress in Christianity To a new Convert the experiences of God are so marvellous and plain either in their Nature or by God's continuing to repeat them till the Christian understands them plainly If he apprehend not one he may others if he cannot see somewhat of a Divine Power in a common serious frame brought forth by the Soul 's own strength and sincere endeavour yet he may in a rais'd ravishing heavenly delightful frame coming suddenly and that again and again with returns to the latter and not to the first that the one may be the more distinguisht from the other and the ardently sought after The Leper weak in Faith had his Prayer immediately return'd but the Woman in Canaan great in Faith had the return of her petition deferred with the intermixture of many trying passages Thus by Observation of God's ways with my self I have found that my Prayers sincerely perform'd when first sensible of an inward change were immediately return'd that I had not time to lose sight of God and his condescending love in them But so soon as the Faith of the certainty of access to God in Prayer was established in me and Faith of reliance upon him was stronger then
that Duty The Spirit knows the Mind of God and is the Intelligencer of Heaven he directs us to the most favourable Seasons and by soft Whispers and warm Impulses brings us in God's Presence to pray for Mercies when God is ready to bestow them He does with sensible Enlargements open our Hearts in the Duty And as under the Law when Fire fell from Heaven upon the Sacrifice 't was a sign of God's Acceptance so when a sacred Fire kindles our Affections 't is a sign our Requests are accepted He mixes in our Prayers Reverence with filial Confidence Resignation to the Will and Wisdom of God with Reliance upon his Love and Power And when a Mercy is bestowed the Spirit converts our Prayers into Praises and by the Mercy confirms our Faith inflames our Love and endears Obedience to us Concerning the Person of whom the following Papers give an account I shall only say He is a Christian inwardly who has had a stated Intercourse with Heaven and has recorded the gracious Passages of Providence the rich Returns of Prayer to him 'T is true there is a continual succession of Mercies through all the minutes of our lives which we cannot observe and remember but as there is a different Glory in the lights of Heaven One Glory of the Sun another of the Moon and another of the Stars so some are eminent and illustrious above others and ought to be remembred and acknowledg'd with Solemnity Of these Mercies he has been deeply sensible and could not be silent but opens the Treasures of his Experiences and with David the great Pattern of Thankfulness calls upon those that Fear the Lord to Read what he has done for his Soul His end is to Glorifie his Blessed Benefactors and to invite others to partake of the same Mercy May his Example excite us with diligence and delight to maintain Communion with God on Earth the sweet and sure anticipation and earnest of our Communion with him in his Temple above where Light and Love and Joy shine in their perfection for ever To the Reader WHO amongst the adopted Sons of God can behold the abounding Vice of the Prophane the profession of Christianity made a Cloak for Sin and Error and the laziness of Christians lives in our day and not awaken our selves to hear God speaking in the same language to us as to the children of Israel Isa 43.10 You are my witnesses Is God's Divine Providence practically deni'd or retrench'd when so much thereof is in the constant view of the sons of men Is the Word of Truth deni'd by a Sectary of Deists when so much thereof is felt as real in the Souls of Christians Is the Godhead of Christ with the Being of a Divine Spirit so audaciously and prophanely deni'd when those who have experienced the priviledges of the satisfaction of the first by the powerful application of the latter witness the reality of both I am resolved therefore to make no other Apology for my Printing the following Discourse than that it is in obedience to the Apostle's charge to all Believers in the 10th verse of the 4th Chapter of the first Epistle of Peter As every man hath received the gift even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God What I have imparted I have receiv'd and in these gradual steps and in the use of these means treated of in the first and latter part of the Discourse and therefore in the imparting of what God has done for my Soul and by what means I hope I stand his witness this day on the earth and approve my self a faithful Steward in ministring the same things to others and that in the way wherein they were received There seems to be a Confederacy between Satan and the men of this Age to discredit the Oracles of God but his Word is a firm foundation of Faith and sincere Christians clearly see the Characters of its Divinity and feel the sanctifying comforting efficacy of it and many have seal'd its truth with their blood Others in their dying hours when men speak with most feeling and least affectation have declared their unshaken belief of it and others in converse with those they most dearly love and therefore would not deceive Each Christian therefore is under obligation to glorify God according to their measure of experience concerning God and his Divine Truths All are not in the office of the Ministry and there seems in our day but small opportunity in conversation to witness for Christianity Converse with the Prophane is of so dangerous consequence that discourse of such things occasion God and his Truth to be mock'd yea to my certain knowledge blasphemed Converse with some under the character of greater Sobriety draws forth such open confidence in Error as to tell us God's Word the Rule of our Faith is to be laid aside and Debates in Christianity are to be left off at the first Chapter of Genesis they giving no credit to its Truths than so far as their natural Reason can comprehend whereas the Soul was corrupted in all its faculties by the Fall Although in the structure of the world and its preservation with the various turns of Providence there are clear discoveries of the Divine Maker yet how little advance did the wise Philosopher make to that perfection of Soul which was in man before the Fall or to that that is obtain'd under the influencing light of the Scripture and the Divine Spirit or shall be in man plac'd in a state of glory And though God has added to us his blessed Scripture in conjunction with the works of Creation and Providence to exercise our thoughts upon for the perfecting of our knowledge yet to what little advancement do many attain in the understanding of God and Divine Mysteries Therefore our compassionate Father in Christ sensible of our weakness in the real and firm understanding of Divine Things has given forth another help to our dark Soule in conjunction with the former even his Divine Spirit teaching us all truth and helping us to a rest and reliance upon his Word working in us a sense and feeling of those great and marvellous mysteries for preparing our Souls towards the more full and glorious perception of them The Revelation in the Old Testament was like the morning-light mixt with the shades of the night the Revelation in the New Testament is clear day but the Revelation of God and Christ in Heaven is like the Sun at noon in its full lustre If this therefore has been God's gradual method to restore men and we enjoy so bright a discovery of mercy to save us those who refuse to accept it cannot escape the condemnation due as the recompence of it the dwelling in darkness with the children of darkness and disobedience for ever Rom. 2. If those who have had no other help in the understanding of the invisible things of God besides the beholding of created things are
knowledge of Divine Things but purely as the effect of natural Curiosity inducing me both to observe and to record them with great pleasure in reviewing them and finding the more I observ'd the greater and more numerous things were presented to me I became stricter in observing things of great and smaller moment While I continued in this practice a Dispensation of Providence occurr'd that induced me not to trust in my self or second Causes but by a siducial assent to the Being of a God in his full governing Power as to Persons and Things with a full desire of being interested in the favour of this Great and Omnipotent God to live in an entire dependance upon Him The Providence was as follows Being call'd to attempt a matter of great concern that many far excelling me in Age rational Judgment and natural Activity had endeavour'd though unsuccessfully to bring about I brought the Business and that in a very few days to all seeming probability of success but being obliged by a Providential Occasion to be absent and to appear where those that had try'd their endeavour to no effect did usually reside I found the progress I had already made with the prospect of perfecting the matter had so increased the esteem of my self that disparaging of those was the Game I then exercised my self withal but returning to the place where the Business was to be performed matters were altogether chang'd for the worst and upon enquiry of the time this change happen'd my custom of Observation having brought me to some more than ordinary curiosity in it I found it exactly answering the time my Lust of Pride put forth its Tyranny in my Conversation and stepping from the Floor to my Bed that very night this Suggestion suddenly and strongly darted into my Mind That by my ill return to God's Kindness affording such hopes of success in detracting from Him the Praise that was entirely due for such an eminent Providence and in not retaining an humble Sense of my own Unworthiness and Insufficiency I had provoked the Lord thus to turn the course of the Affair immediately convincing me who it was that had made me to differ from others of more promising Abilities than I and impressing my Mind with great seriousness of Thought and force to Prayer begging Pardon from Him and His further assistance in the matter with a full resolution of looking to God extolling Him and debasing my self in the success My Prayer was immediately return'd evident by the great alteration that immediately happened as a sweet Condescention of God to train a poor Creature to the Knowledge of Himself and to delight in Him but in a weeks time more being call'd to the same place as before I found the same Self-applause return This was a full conviction to me of the great need of continued supplies of Heaven after the greatest confirmations of God's Love to preserve us from forgetting his Mercies or repeating failures and correspondent to this the same unsuccessful turn happened in the affair which was so powerfully bore home upon my Soul that I could not but see God with favour in one hand and punishment in another marvellous Mercy in bringing me to the sense of my failure and the repetition of my Address to Heaven Punishment in withholding his assistance the just merit of my forgetfulness and of my repeated failure Upon Address to God by serious and sincere Prayer with unfeign'd Confession the Business turn'd again with a favourable aspect of success suitable to the Psalmist I confessed my Sin and thou forgavest the Iniquity or Punishment of my Sin And at last by his Divine Assistance attain'd a final and perfect success though between my first undertaking and this final Issue there was four turns of Providence exactly answering my Soul's posture From hence I date my first sence of inward serious thoughtfulness of passages of Divine Providence of minding God in all undertakings with an entire dependance upon him for conduct to the right use of means and for a Divine Blessing to make them successful of the certainty of access to him for this very end with a distrust of self-sufficiency all which met as it were in a moment in my Soul by the Spirit of God's bearing home this passage upon me But from the Observation of God's further method of outward Providence and inward Workings of his Spirit I have found that these were but little glimmerings of light an Eye beginning to be open'd after a sound and secure sleep God having marvellously enlightn'd my Eyes since and made me to see what before I knew only in the notion enabling me to discourse thereof but what now I hope I may say I have felt and am well assured of even the truth of an inward change upon the Soul putting it self forth with such power as to hinder Thought Words and Actions to run in the same course from the same principle or towards the same end as before but to tread according to a Rule not of self but of God's Will I could subjoin many circumstances of this Providence here related that might marvellously affect the Reader yea other Providences concerning the Lord's first exciting designs as well as his method in bringing them successfully about were it not that I am unwilling to be known to the World and that for these Reasons First That Mockers at and Unbelievers of these great things experimental Religion has made known to my Soul may not prejudice themselves by imagining show self-commendation and applause at the bottom of this design the faithful aim thereof being to bring men off their reliance upon notional Religion and their trusting to their rational conclusions as fittest means to inform them of Christianity or to their own strength as sufficient help to the right performance of Gospel Duties and to lead them to the vital part of Christianity experiences therein not to be maintain'd by notional knowledge or quarrelling Debates but by a serious and strict use of means God commonly imparts the experience of himself and his Word by The Lord has given forth great Truths to be tryed and experienced in the Christian Soul but we are not at the pains either to observe them or by mutual converse to confirm one another in the truth of them A Second Reason is Lest it prove Temptation to my self exciting a corrupt Principle within to puffing up whereas great Humility is the companion of such Experiences when first felt in the Soul and ought to be preserv'd in imparting them to others lest we our selves be exalted above measure or ingage others to think of us above what we are Again this change wrought in my Soul is the Lord 's own doing let it therefore in its declaration glorifie him by Confirming some and Instructing others without any knowledge of my self therein but with full discovery of the actings of a Divine Spirit This Seriousness brought forth by the means of so remarkable an outward Providence in the Hand
in the Lord 's affording me heavenliness of frame and the intercession of his Divine Spirit for an event in Prayer when all hopes from any thing else had been remov'd and no ground of hope left but what was drawn from this frame of Soul in Prayer and the full quiet of mind concerning the event brought forth by the same Divine Hand I could set down numerous instances of the imminency of Death to Friends and Acquaintances where nothing of probable hope was left but what was drawâ— from this experience of the Spirit of God interceding with me by carrying me out to ask in a manner far above my self for their Recovery and then against all probable expectation the recovery has followed Yea at this very time I can instance a Child who for some time was laid out as Dead but in my humble hope Alive and that purely from the sensible power given me to ask its life of the Lord Who knows the things of God but the Spirit of God as the Spirit of Man alone knows the secret Thoughts and Will of Man and if the Spirit of God know the Mind of God and his design of bestowing an event unknown to our selves it is not so strange that unexpectedly and suddenly in the use of that blessed Duty of Prayer Christ's Spirit should breathe upon us strength to ask what we designed not but what he knew would be through that method discovering the reality of a Divine Spirit who is to help our Infirmities who neither know what to ask nor how to ask of our selves only by keeping in the Obedience of God's Will to Prayer and thereby lay our selves in God's road to receive Divine Direction both to ask what we did not premeditate and in a manner above our own natural corrupted capacity If the Spirit of God know the Will of God against an event no wonder he draws his Divine influence from the Soul in Petitioning to obtain it and no other warmth in Prayer appears than what is the product of self and the great desire of obtaining it far differing from that seriousness that is the effect of a Divine Spirit the right observation whereof greatly helps the Christian to distinguish the one and the other I know that great care is here to be taken not to entertain hopes of obtaining every Petition that God has not absolutely promised or by Petitioning without Resignation to his Will but from experience of God's condescending-way of training up Babes in Christianity I hope I may say that the Spirit of God never intercedes with us in Prayer to God for any thing that is not to be obtain'd or without Resignation to his Blessed Will and any mistake herein must slow from either of these two Reasons First From an ignorance when Christ's Spirit does intercede with us in Prayer A natural tender affectionate Constitution and an ardent desire after the thing pray'd for imposes a likeness thereof in some and continual thoughtfulness of Mind or a sweet Tone and way of Expression brings sometimes others to a likeness of this frame Whereas the observing Christian from care therein finds this Prayer come suddenly upon him and with full gale of Strength far above his own drawing himself forth with that filial Boldness and near Familiarity and approach to God and with that quiet of Mind concerning the matter as if its answer was already return'd The observ'd experience whereof helps the Soul to answer all such cautionary Objections and discovers to its experience That Resignation to God's Will goes along with the Heavenliness of Frame to make up the evidence of Christ's Spirit helping us to ask without either of which the evidence seems cloudy dull and uncertain Or Secondly Mistakes may come by misapplying the return of Prayer through too soon judging of the Prayers return'd or by applying Prayer to somewhat else than is the real return of the Prayer the effect whereof has been oft so evil that even many gracious Children of God have been led into Darkness kept from that sense of intimacy that really they had judging their Prayers unreturn'd or at least bringing them under great Thoughtfulness though their Faith was fix'd upon God's Word yet how to reconcile former experiences to this of a Divine Spirit 's intercedings for them and yet unreturn'd My great help against such mistakes has been an exact observation of my different Utterance as well as my different Frames in Prayer and to set down the very Word express'd therein If the Spirit of God give and help the Utterance of Ministers as well as Spiritualize their Mind in Preaching that being recommended by Paul as a fit Petition upon his account and experienced as Truth by the worthiest of his Ministers Why not to give and to help Utterance in Prayer as well as a Heavenly Frame therein Whatever others imagine or ridicule concerning familiarity of Stile in Spiritual Prayer I can truly say That when my Frame of Soul has been thus suddenly chang'd from Lifelesness to great Spirituality I have then been in a maze to experience an unusual freeness of expression wondring at the Words themselves express'd and the nearness to God that I have thought my Soul approached to And upon some patient waiting before judging the return of the Prayer and comparing the parts and circumstances of the event to the words I was enabled to utter and had afterwards set down I found so much correspondency as is between a Seal and its impression I know those far excelling my self in Grace and Experience with God losing the sight of the return from God by misapplying the return not to the Words utter'd in Prayer but to what they so mightily desired I remember an instance in my self concerning a Servant's parting from me and Petitioning Heaven for his conduct to the use of means for another I found comfortable Divine Strength in Prayer and in some hours after happening in the company of one who formerly had recommended a Servant in most things acceptable he inform'd me of another with a Character far exceeding the first to which Providence I immediately implying Prayer express'd it at its return but afterward found disappointment as to them and difficulty in finding any other seemingly evidence of Prayer without Divine Strength put up and unaccepted by God but soon after by some special passages of Providence this Servant begg'd leave to stay tho' they had confidently despis'd my place and given warning to provide another in their room which prov'd better than changing at that time tho' a good one had fallen in my way which was a return exactly suiting the Utterance in Prayer confirm'd by the comparison of the latter Event to the Utterance set down As this was a plain instance of too hasty a judging the return of Prayer taking one Providential passage for return begun only by it and carried on by other passages adjoyn'd thereto so I shall lay before you another instance of misapplying the return to the
his Children's food Mercies in answer to Prayer The Lord knew her strength and adapted his way of tryal thereto which issued in Honour to him and evidence to her self of the greatness of her Faith When Christ saw Peter's Faith as a Rock to build his Church upon he then tells him of the Sufferings to attend him and all that would follow after Christ his Faith being gradually brought up to such a strength enabled him to bear this report which perhaps in the beginning might have discouraged him to follow Christ or his Rules when therefore we are as Moses we may be kept six days on the Mount before the answer of Prayer comes Gen. c. 24. Let us therefore admire God's Wisdom and Love in first planting or further carrying on Grace in the Soul Let us be instructed not to limit God to any one way in converting or further perfecting a gracious Soul but let us keep in the use of all God's means with the observation of his various ways of Providence and Spirit established upon his Divine Word and experience in our Souls that so we may be confirm'd in the depth the length and height of the Love of God not only by a Faith wrought and kept in the Soul but by an evident sense thereof experimentally felt not yielding to that lazy excuse of the danger of fathoming him tho' we cannot find God out to Perfection yet we may comprehend much more of his ways than we do to keep us in continual admiration and praise of his Love making our life the nearer to resemble the work of Saints above not suffering his Ways to lie still in the depth without Record thereof or Reflection thereupon a method which might greatly prevent the many Fears that many gracious Souls meet with in their way and by which they dishonour God before the Wicked that by knowing their own Wants and God's Method of supplying them might be remedi'd A Sixth Experience of the Spirit of God's breathing upon the Soul in Prayer and of its correspondency to the certain return thereof was That according to my Morning's frame in giving up my self so has my frame continued thorough the day but most remarkably thus on a Sabbath-Day wherein I have found that my frame in hearing a Sermon has greatly answer'd to the frame of my Morning 's private Address to Heaven with that exactness that I could never observe or set it upon record without great amazement Herein mistake me not as if I passed my day without any other Address resting upon the comfortable experience of good frame in my Morning's Prayer but upon all occurrences throughout the day my supplication has been repeated my method being never to attempt any Service Civil or Spiritual without Address to God for conduct therein and when opportunity of set Prayer is deny'd the same Spirituality in Ejaculation and that correspondent to return is experienc'd confirming the truth of God's acceptance of the Spirit 's helping the Soul to groans not to be utter'd when the Soul in Meditation is under such a Heavenly Thoughtfulness to God as is impossible for it to utter I could set down numerous instances of God's acceptance of Prayer put up before entring into Company with freedom from Quarrel or Disquiet and when Disquiet of any kind has accompanied me I have found it at such a time when my Soul has been out of frame or my Addresses to God before my entring the Society has been neglected Who would not therefore advise me to rest upon God and to Petition him for all things and to have all things conveyed to me with a sight of his special Providence in it and as a return to Prayer for it that when my passage through this Wilderness is at end I may not enter unto an unknown God who has been a Father by his special conduct of Providence a Husbandman by the workings of his Divine Spirit my alone Friend to whom I have put up all my Requests and from whom I have receiv'd all the supplies of wants and that in a way of Communion with him neither to an unknown work but that of which I have had some foretaste in the use of Observation Prayer solemn and ejaculatory and Meditation admiring of God manifested and praising his Name for the experienc'd discovery of himself A Seventh Experience of Christ's Spirit exciting to Prayer and interceding with us in Prayer with the certain correspondency thereof by a return of that Prayer thus perform'd to God has been by putting words in my Mouth as well as Spirituality in the frame of my Mind and that suddenly unpremeditated yea sometimes contrary to matter and words design'd To clear this Experience I will give you amongst many instances the following one concerning a Friend's Distraction in a Fever for whom my design was to Petition God for his recovery but was carried out in Prayer and that powerfully too altogether for the return of their Reason without ever being able to ask one Petition for the abatement and removal of their Fever upon inquiry I found their Distraction gone off but the Fever remaining the same the return of their Reason exactly answering the time of the Supplication for it Another instance of this Experience was Concerning another Friend for whose Hâ—alth I had design'd to Petition God but found my Words in my Address to God strongly diverted from Petition to Praise blessing his Name for what he had done and that without any foreknowledge of amendment or probable reason to expect it but what I had from this powerful sudden and undesign'd utterance in Prayer Another instance of the same kind I very lately had concerning a Friend's beloved and only Child for whom I found in my self great and amazing freedom of Utterance and that by way of Praise tho' my design was to Petition God concerning it having all humane probability to expect its Death After the Experience of this Utterance in Prayer I was kept in the dark till at least ten days and then had the account of its recovery yea of its great amendment answerable to the time of the Utterance of Praising being strictly curious in the observation of the circumstance of time that none of these marvellous Experiences might afford the least doubting in their enjoyment but obtain a clear reception thereof and produce the greater establishment therein in the Soul Another instance of the Seventh Experience was Concerning some with whom I have had to do in matters of concern but at a distance from me and without any other opportunity of hearing the proceedings or success of endeavours than by Letter I have found that tho' I have design'd before the coming in of the Post to supplicate for a good account yet have not been able to say any thing at all concerning the matter answerable to which no Letter has come or other Petitions and Words concerning the matter has been Spiritually darted up to Heaven than was design'd correspondent to which the
to a Divine Agency the true reason Chance is so much in our ears and general Reliance upon God is so little powerful in many professing Christians in our day To establish this Experience God made use of the following three Means gradually each after other The first was concerning one dangerously ill whose Sickness in its Nature seem'd mortal in the thoughts of Physicians and other Assistants and was accompanied with such passages of Dreams and other things that in the old time and too much now in our time were reputed certain Presages of Death In the interim I thought with my self that if a Recovery should happen nothing could be in those things fit to be depended upon and therefore should no more regard them And one day going thence in a Coach alone I found my self marvellously serious in my thoughts concerning it and astonishing strength to ask this Person 's Recovery and that God would make it a means to help forward for getting off such things and the placing a trust on God in their room Answerable to my Prayers an unexpected Recovery appear'd changing my thoughts from relying upon such things to a dependance upon God But alas it is so inherent in our corrupted Natures to look to and to exalt Self and natural things more than God or spiritual things that there was a further need of God's powerful influence A second Means in God's hand to destroy observation of and dependance upon such Omens was the breaking some Measures observ'd in my common Undertakings and rested upon as presaging of such Events to it answerableness of the numerousness of Undertakings in the latter part of a week to those that fell out in the fore-part thereof which was in observation unsuitable to example and though the observation of other Omens be suitable to the too-much example of others yet altogether unwarranted by Divine Scripture yea threaten'd to be accompanied with evil Jonah 2. v. 8. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy Psal 31.6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities but I trust in the Lord. How agreeable is it to the Infinite Wisdom and Mercy of God to bring me from trusting any thing as a blessed means of reliance upon God alone and therefore I have observ'd that according as the first has been gradually cutting off so the gradual growth of dependance upon God in all things has sensibly sprung up and though the effect of this Divine Passage was a greater distrust of those vain things yet God was not pleased to rest here but to take A third Means of advancing this blessed Grace of Reliance and laying low this sinful esteem of Natural Causes was a severe Fit of Sâ—ckness accompanied from the first apprehension of it to its perfect removal with such providential Steps as bespoke plainly a Divine Power without Means drawing my Soul irresistibly to the observation of and dependance upon him at least with the use of Means One Step whereof was A fixt apprehension of a Fit of Sickness imminent and that as a just punishment for my trust to Omens of natural Events which God by his merciful Condescention turn'd about as a spiritual Remedy to that reigning Illness then too much in my Soul A Second Step was An unexpressible nearness to God in fellowship with him ravishing my Soul at the time with that comfortable view as it were of Heaven and despising things below that I could not have bore up if it had continued long and that immediately before the first assault of my Illness A Third was The sensible withdrawing of this Frame for some days till near the danger of being delirious and the use of such Means as formerly had never been us'd towards me on purpose for its prevention A Fourth was That my Soul was in a spiritual and heavenly Frame and carri'd forth with that amazing strength to pray for ease to my head and preservation from deliriousness with such an immediate return that I think I may say my head was easy and my judgment clear in a moment after this Address and though without any rest for some days yet I was as free in my head as ever to my own apprehension this amaz'd me at the time and gave occasion to lay aside the Clyster and Blisters which my worthy Physicians had prescrib'd telling my Nurse a godly woman That the Lord had done it A Fifth Step of Divine Agency was The powerful carrying forth of my Soul in Prayer after recovery upon these two Petitions which have continued to be expressed in all my Addresses to Heaven ever since that time and have marvellously continued to be return'd since then The Petitions were That the Lord would advance a work of Faith and that perfectly in my Soul and that I might discover Immediateness of him in Providences and the inward working of his Spirit which were Petitions unpremeditated and undesign'd And as it was Divine strength exciting and enabling me to petition so by influences of the same strength he has enabled me to hold on petitioning and by sensible Providences and Operations of his Spirit he has eminently discover'd his Divine Hand and my being under his special Conduct A sixth Step was A more seâ—sible Advancement from trusting things commonly receiv'd ominous of future Events to an intire reliance upon himself The searching into Natural Causes with excluding a Divine Hand is the occasion of our imagining our selves more knowing than we are and of exalting Nature with its effects in the room of the Creator and his Divine Providence A second Experience of God's Method of establishing and making to grow in this Grace of Reliance was By removing Reliance upon spiritual Means made use of by others on my account especially when it lessen'd my own diligence with God for the same thing It is natural for us to overvalue Nature and natural things and undervalue God and spiritual things the confirmation whereof I had in my self by an over-valuing of one who I may say was a great helper of my Faith and in the making up of whose Crown I shall I hope be a Member in that day of Glory to whom I would always run with any of my difficulties to acquaint him therewith sometimes before my acquainting God therewith in Prayer and would endeavour to obtain his Interest by his Addresses to Heaven concerning it which when undertaken by him would faithfully be perform'd and sympathizingly too from personal Affections and God's inclining me from my youth to observe him which was a Duty greatly assistant and comfortable By reason of all which I have had less Anxiety concerning the matter and probable hopes from his interest with God to obtain it and have used less diligence my self with God upon my own account which derogated from God upon whom my entire Reliance should have been plac'd and not to have given him some degrees of trust that were the alone Prerogative of God The Method of God to overcome this in my Soul was
God in all Events and the attributing this to Chance or some external Accident if I had not discover'd God's own hand in the matter For besides God's adapting it so suitably to my present Case by the true meaning of the words there immediately issued relief to my anxiety and full quiet of mind and comfortable satisfaction without the least repining And I still find upon the occurrences of the like temptation a power not reduceable to my self as the Fountain but proceeding from Christ and conveyed by his Spirit working mightily in my Soul Let therefore these prosper and others excel me my satisfaction is founded on God's special conduct of Providence round me God's over-ruling all Events for such an end as the dethroning of Corruption and the raising of Grace to such perfection of Faith and meetness for Heaven as will be rewarded with an abundant entrance into that blessed Kingdom This divine calm of Mind was the product of the Holy Spirit the great Comforter for meer Reason and natural Constitution cannot quiet us upon such Motives and are but weak Bulwarks to defend against disquieting impressions when difficulties occur Fourthly Having set apart some time for private Prayer concerning a more than ordinary Affair and reading some Scripture before it one Verse thereof affected my thoughts by way of Instruction more than the other parts of that portion of Scripture it was the last Verse of the 10th Chapter of Ecclesiastes Curse not the King in thy thoughts nor the rich in thy bed-chamber for the birds of the air shall declare the voice and the fowl with wings shall tell the matter In the reading whereof such a divine Power accompanied me that set me a resolving from that moment to eschew speaking evil privately and that by way of whisper against my Superiors and others and to leave whatever might be express'd against my self in such a manner to the permission of a Divine Hand under whose especial Conduct I had some comfortable evidence of being stated having at this very time often and often experienc'd that upon reporting any thing injurious to others either from a foundation of Self-applause or of spreading a reproach with that privacy that I have imagin'd it impossible the reproach could ever reach their ear yet it has been heard of and providentially return'd me with the just punishment of Reproach either from the same person or from another by a reproach of the same kind And that this resolution of Conformity to this Scriptural Lesson might be the more effectually perform'd I set it upon Record with a design of viewing it every morning before my entrance upon publick Conversation to help forward that resolved watch of taking heed to my ways not to sin with my tongue To the intermission of which watch so many daily Temptations occur not only from natural inclination to applaud one's self and to disparage others but from the ill example of others who upon pretension of concern and friendship for a person and trusting to their privacy they are conversing with whisper an ill report with the name of the person reproach'd and thereby draw forth a mutual discourse upon the thing that aggravates and fixes its belief upon their minds and thoughts that it is ready to break forth on all occasions while the person reproached is perfectly ignorant and perhaps as truly innocent This is the abounding Sin of the Christians of this day either to believe a Reproach too soon or to aggravate it in its after-report and neglect the speaking to the persons concern'd for their amendment This is privately contrary to the Rule of the Gospel and hinders the obtaining of spiritual Blessings yea brings Men under the danger of that denunciation Psal 101.5 Whoso privily slanders his neighbour him will I cut off Fifthly When I have been under great concern for the omission of Duty and losing that delight therein that I had formerly enjoyed then the Lord has made that verse of the 7th Chapter of the Romans a powerful relief to my fear of its being evidence of no grace The law of the mind warring against the law of the members And when I have found before the performance of Prayer a struggle between doing and neglecting it and the most trifling occasion looking out at a Window a great noise and the like delaying of my Duty then my Soul labour'd under the weight of concern lest it betoken'd my being altogether empty of Grace and that till God was pleas'd to bear home this express Scripture-truth to be experienc'd in my self and to quiet my Mind by a Sermon Preach'd upon the 1st v. of the 4th chap. of the Hebrews Let us fear lest we come short of that rest wherein in the Explication of Fear so far as Duty he discover'd the mixture of Corruption and Grace in a Christian Soul here on Earth and that strugglings often rising thence would cause fear in the Soul but what was no ground of fear unless when overcome by them after which time I begun to observe the victory over these disturbing fears within and the exercise of a greater watch unto Prayer to endeavour their repulse Sixthly Another Scripture powerfully bore home has been that of the 16th of Matthew where Christ desires his Disciples to Remember the five Loaves which Scripture then and ever since in the steps of God's advancing Reliance in my Soul has been of great use and when God has seem'd to withdraw any sorts of Mercies it has made me have immediate recourse to former Experiences with the good effect of accusing my self for my little faith and forgetfulness so soon of his former preventing Mercies hastening me to Prayer for strength of Faith and Reliance upon him Let this be upon the Thoughts of poor Creatures under God's sensible withdrawings to prevent sinking fears lest they are without Grace when there is Grace in Sincerity but not in that sensible strength which by Prayer and the remembrance of God's former Mercies they should diligently endeavour to obtain Seventhly That Scripture of seeking the Lord while he may be found and calling upon him while he is near bore home in sweet Exercise at such a time when God's Breathing has been sensibly upon my Soul raising my frame to a Heavenliness of Mind when the Holy Spirit by warm influences excites the Soul 't is a season of Grace to the unrenewed and a precious opportunity and advantage to the real Christian This has made me to prize the smallest motions of the Divine Spirit not to quench them and watchful of entertaining them in the exercise of Meditation and Prayer eschewing what Conversation might at that time bring levity of Mind to dethrone them Eighthly Another Scripture imprest seriously upon my Heart was the 21st and 22d verses of the 18th chapter of Matthew Then said Peter Lord how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times And Jesus said unto him Vntil seventy times seven This has been a
things more marvellous in their nature more dignifying our Souls and more comfortably establishing our Faith in God's Word than a Series of outward Events The freeing of the Soul from the power of Original Corruption by the sweet dominion of Grace the degrees of spiritual growth in the use of means appointed by God for that blessed end will be of excellent advantage to encrease in the Soul light and joy and establishment An Observer of such things is enabled to see good where others discover nothing but evil and evil where others think all is good He is arrived to the eminent degrees of those Christians who in the 5th Chapter of the Hebrews and the 14th are said to be such who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil who by habitual observation of God's ways by his Spirit and Providence concerning them are enabled to see the design and end of Providence not mistaking the merciful Methods of God's dealings with them as the effects of Anger nor the trial of their Grace for a punishment for want of it and thereby dishonour God and sink under despondency they can rejoice in tribulation the blessed priviledge of those who are in a state of favour with God Rom. 5. and feel a power above themselves supporting them in all Troubles It is therefore to be lamented That such instructing and comforting things are laid in our way to observe and yet that so many with their Circumstances should pass without Record and Improvement Though Christians are assured that God's Gifts are without Repentance that they have the evidences of Grace in their Souls and are kept stedfast in that Grace God has freely bestow'd yet by their not observing God's Means working and the proportion'd advancement of Grace to such Means they are not so duly affected with the infinite Mercy of God nor so comfortably sensible of his gracious dealings with them nor so firmly establish'd in the hope that he will not cease his working in them till they are made mete for the inheritance of the Saints in light The observing-Christians have the priviledge of the Angels though in a lower degree to see the Face of God they have the enjoyment of Heaven by the assurance of it they live in the exercise of Divine Love Joy and Praise which is the Life of Heaven I would from hence reprove those Professors who by their neglect coldness and long intermissions from Holy Duties are justly deprived of the sweetness of communion with God and are apt to censure others who are more spiritual and heavenly in their Conversation as phantastick and enthusiastical an Instance whereof I had by an Aspersion of some Ministers upon the Writings of a Saint now triumphant in Heaven whose Life was employ'd in Study to understand God's Word and the actings of Christ's Spirit in the Soul by which Holy Care and the Divine Favour he obtain'd the precious Jewel of Assurance and for many Years was possest of it The Aspersion run against him as a thoughtful melancholy person of the latter he had very little but of the former much more I do believe than his Aspersers and what was becoming the weight of the matter his thoughts run mostly upon often bemoaning the trifling superficial thoughts of the Christians of our Times concerning Gospel-Mysteries Christianity experienc'd our passage hence and concerning another state in its certainty and eternity The Aspersion also run against him for laying stress upon enlargement in Prayer and that concerning inward Religion his Discourses were unintelligible In answer to the first part of the Censure I can from my own blessed Experience declare That I have had the Promise verified to me of the Holy Spirit 's helping our Infirmities directing me in the things to be pray'd for and inflaming my desires in the Duty and strengthning my Faith in the power and love of God and the Returns of my Prayers have been most convincing and comforting evidence that God's Spirit was the Indicter of that Prayer of which God was the Fulfiller To the other part of the Censure I shall only say That the Communications of God to the Soul are more convincingly felt than exprest The peace of God passes all understanding and the comfortable sense of it cannot be fully set forth by human Language but the real enjoyment is far distant from Enthusiasm The sincere Christian knows that communion with God is a Heaven on earth though some who have only Notional Divinity think it 's meerly imagination without reality our communion with God and Christ in the use of Divine Ordinances is the best preservative from the Illusions of Satan and the distempered Mind Having given Reproof Let me advise all such who expose the high Attainments of Christianity experienc'd to reflect upon their by-past life if exactness of Observation of all past between God and their Souls either as means or the end lie by them upon Record in their Diaries and whether they have not rested upon the use of means as Duty without observing and recording the Enjoyments therein and their advancing-effects upon their Soul and have not rested upon Evidences without ever observing by what means and method of God they were first made sensible of them or had them further established Has there never a step of outward Providence round you past your Observation and search for God therein or as a return to Prayer for that blessed end of crushing a Corruption and exciting a Grace In short Has all the steps of God in training you to the Sense of Conversion and Graces after growth been remarkt by you If you can witness this I am confident you have attain'd to the Experience of such things as will keep you off from Censuring others and engage you to bear Seal to the Truth of what Christ bears sensibly on the Christian's Soul but if upon Reflection you have been out of this road my Compassion is greatly towards you even though you are Christians indeed and that because of the great Comfort withheld from you it being punishment enough to want the Comfort that strict Observers enjoy in this life And generally there lodges at the bottom of such Censurers either Ignorance of the same enjoyments from Heaven an unwillingness to have any in greater esteem than your selves or prejudices from their being of another Party Opinion or the like All which I would greatly advise to serious observation of themselves before their Censures be put forth against others for my own part I have often found from some instructing and establishing passages such amazing discovery of God and my self that I have thought nothing more could be added thereto but soon after I have had a further knowledge and establishment in the same thing and that by another passage caution enough to suppress disparagement of others but from their example to bestir thy self more than ever in the use of Means if a Soul therefore were to live Thousands of years on
finds to please and to obey him in all his preceptive Commands and that his Experience of Free-Grace no ways tend to a Licentious Life Whatever the Notional Knowledge of Free-Grace may do amongst those who know nothing of a real Faith and experience of God's Grace in their Soul and where unstrictness and unholiness of life appears in the greatest Zealot for Free Grace it savours of nothing more than its Notion in their Brain Again the Experiencing Christian finds that when he sets himself to be most diligent to perform Good Works and Religious Duties yet in the first he is often overtaken with faults and in the latter constant failures â—â—â—ur wandering Thoughts therein discomposure of Mind from some disquiet falling in before or some suggestion from Satan or corruption within rising up at the time which forces the Soul to lay by trust to Self-sufficiency and to have recourse to the Free-Grace of God in Christ that through his Divine Spirit supplies may be conveyed enabling of us to do Works though our own yet perform'd by Christ's supplies enabling of us and accepted from us thorough his Merits perfuming them that being our alone argument to obtain both for the sake of the multitude of his tender Mercies the opening and pouring forth of which we owe to our Blessed Redeemer who has remov'd the flaming Sword and given us access to the Throne of Free-Grace but still in the use of the blessed mean of Prayer And I think it more a Soul 's concern to try the Truth of access to the Throne of Grace by Prayer in our own endeavour and observation if return'd that being a mean of obtaining of Prayer in Christ's Strength than before the trial of Prayer to pursue first the Knowledge whether Justification be previously necessary before access to this Grace as is set down in the first verse of the fifth chapter of the Romans Alas While we are a striving which things go first we are in danger of missing all while we are debating about the Notions of Religion we suffer the Truths of God in their Experience to drop Oh that our Debates were more at home with our inward Corruption sighting it with the continued use of means capable by Christ's Strength meeting us in them to overcome it and to fructifie Grace in its room and less with our fellow Christians unless in point of strict and Holy Lives Christianity needs no other bulwark from us than the true plain meaning of Scripture-truth and putting Souls in the use of such Means as God conveys the experience in and where the power of Christianity is felt let him be Church of England or Dissenter under all its Subdivisions he becomes the Object of my love because of the Impression the Divine Spirit seems to have stamp'd upon him Of their being such we may easily have discovery in discourse one with another and that without any extraordinary gift of discerning However others think of this Gospel-priviledge there is such a difference between the Nature of Notional and Experienc'd Christianity between the way and words of a meer Notional Professor though never so outwardly strict and of an experiencing Christian that to my self I find not the least difficulty And it is greatly suitable to the forecited Text in the Hebrews where it is said That it is the priviledge of grown Christians to discern good and evil and these Christians are such who have grown thereto by use and experience And where I can discover nothing of this whatever Party he is of let his Notions and Zeal in spreading them fly never so high I am always afraid that the Motive of Self bears too much room in his witnessing for God and his Truth Let all therefore be reprov'd who set up Variance with those that bear Christ's Image upon their Hearts and Lives and only differ in their Notions and Conceptions about the Truths of God Let Holy Lives and Acquaintance in Conversation with their experiencing Christianity in their Souls be the Touchstone of trying and esteeming them By the denying familiarity with such upon such differences you pinch the great evidence of loving the Brethren and shew to the world that such an one is laid aside or introduc'd to your Favour from having a name of being one of such a Party and so give occasion of producing Proselites in profession to such a Party to obtain interest and encourage thereby others to ridicule Christianity because of such Professors blemishes through the want of Christianity's power in their Souls though these inward enjoyments into which observation of outward Providences lead as a mean are incomprehensible by the prophane and meer Professor while in that state yet they are outward passages greatly discovering God bringing forth good where all evil is ominous if observ'd by meer Professors It is experimentally known that a passage of Providence dark and afflicting in its first approach has many times had in its bosom a rich mercy There is a known passage of one who broke his Leg in his Journey to go a Ship-board a dark and afflicting Providence both by reason of his breaking his Leg and the disappointment of his Voyage but in its bosom was that great mercy of saving his life the Ship being lost in which he was to have gone It is not long ago since a Wind hindring our Fleet to go forth was afflicting but in it was that great mercy of the preventing of a French Invasion such passages the prophane and meer Professor cannot dive into and if each were but observant of such like they would be reckon'd by Millions round Nations and People and all with a discovery of God the Governor of all things and would help us against repining for disappointments and advance a reliance upon him in all things by committing them to a Divine Conduct by Prayer and diligently using means providentially laid in our ways Again Is it not known with experimental Christians that the Lord many times introduces a rich spiritual mercy by a dark Providence a spiritual instruction for their establishment by an afflicting Providence It has oft been their experience to be brought under an outward disquiet on purpose to free them from a cold lazy frame of mind and to introduce a sweet heavenly posture of Soul who therefore from continued observation of this experience will not forbear repining and exercise patience till the discovery of God's design therein appears yea work together with him for the same end by addressing the Lord for strength to stand firm in the exercise of reliance and love to him which greatly establishes the Soul in the exercise of these Graces and therein honours God and is even met many times with a visible reward suited to that particular Action tho' performed by his own Divine strength the observation whereof has oft brought that Scripture to my thoughts Psal 31. Great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee which thou hast wrought for them
that trust in thee before the sons of men either by hiding them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man or keeping them secretly from the strife of Tongues and what establishment hereto the personal experience of an observing Christian would give is more fit for filling up of sheets than a few lines Mark the 10th Chapter ver 29. None has left house c. for my sake but he shall even in this life receive an hundred fold and eternal life in the world to come Is it not the personal experience of Christians to be disappointed of the designed and desired issue of an endeavour to introduce the success of another and better the constant observation whereof must needs bring the Soul to a greater measure of patience under a disappointment to a sooner and better sight of the Providence than the other who though under his disappointment is strengthned to rely by Divine influence perhaps in return to Prayer petitioning strength to honour God therein yet he must needs be under more sinking Fears through the course of the passages of such disappointments the other Christian having these supporting helps the reflecting upon God's former ways of the same kind observ'd and upon record with the instructing and establishing effects such ways had then upon the Soul and the better event brought forth in a way of Providence than what was expected together with Prayer put up and strengthning supplies of grace received however dark this may seem to the Notional Christian yet this I hope will receive many Seals in its perusal by observing Christians Is it not the experience of Christians to be led into a pinch of extremity on purpose to see the more of God and the less of means in an event and to stir up the greater reliance upon God with means and the less upon means without his Divine Hand accompanying How often are lawful diligent using of means disappointed to Christians till they be brought to serious and often Prayer for Heaven's conduct and blessing thereto The observation whereof keeps the Soul safe between means and a Divine Hand affording each his due place without presumption towards God or Idolatry towards the other if therefore the Christian Observer is enabled to discover good and evil where others not so used thereto are uncapable even in these more common Experiences how far less capable are some Christians to discover more secret and adorable methods of God observ'd by others Either they were never experienced by them through the long intermissions of fellowship with God or at least never observ'd reflected upon or improven by them to the end of further knowledge of God in the depth There is therefore not only in the sight and enjoyment of spiritual things a difference between Christians and meer Professors but even between Christian and Christian and that without either a Gift of Prophecy or an extraordinary Gift of Discerning but with such Gifts as are communicated to the Soul in the use of common means only with this difference that these means are more continually and in greater heavenliness perform'd and the enjoyments of God therein either for comfort or instruction more carefully remarkt in all its Circumstances and laid up in record for this very end of improvement the greater knowledge of Christianity and of God's more extraordinary steps therein Thou therefore O Christian that has necessary occasion of business and of lawful diversion greatly admixt with thy Religious Duties as a mean of hindering such fellowship with God as those do enjoy whose life does run in a stream of actual heavenly mindedness reproach not I say these other Christians with melancholy Fancy or Enthusiasm either of which bear their distinct marks from that knowledge of God obtain'd in the constant use of means and by Divine fellowship therein in continual and serious recesses of Soul with God but bemoan your Circumstances thus involv'd in the necessary occasions of the world when compar'd with some others and do more with the opportunities you have than ever yet you have done and that according to the means treated of and blessed by God to others In the hope therefore of passing from common Providences in your observation to special ones round your self yea to the steps and workings of Christ's Spirit in your Soul exactly correspondent to his Word affording you such knowledge thereof as expose the Contentions and Errors of the Earth to your Pity and keep you safe from the discouraging Blemishes and infectious Failures of Christians In hope I say of this let me press you to this great and experienced Duty of Observation and I am hopeful your expectations will not fail but a mysterious discovery of the reality of his Divine Word shall be unfolded such as could never have been forethought or foreseen by you It is not to be supposed that ever the most refin'd Wit on earth could have made up such a System of Mystery as is contained in the Scriptures and is experimentally felt in the Soul Is it supposable that the Wits of our Age who pretend their Reason as their Guide could foresee contrive or rightly comprehend the Work of Christ's Spirit in renewing the Soul Or is it supposable that the most rational man on earth unacquainted with experimental Christianity can imagine the work of Christ's Spirit in raising the Soul to a heavenly Frame and the state of the Soul at that time Is it imaginable that by the will and power of man such a Frame by which we are admitted to fellowship with the Godhead can be retained without a Divine Influence when though that this Divine Work is declar'd in the Scripture yet with their reason and light of God's Word without Divine Spiritual influences obtain'd by God's common means they are not able to comprehend it and therefore is left unknown to some of them and mockt at by others of them yea the Word of God made the occasion of Errors on earth the prevention of all which comes in by the right and continued use of these means God commonly affords the sensible experience of himself according to his Divine Records Some Christians excel one another in Faith of Reliance hereby that if there be no assurance going along yet their Hope is without shock and that in the use of Reflection upon former Experiences which in the 5th chap. of the Romans and the 5th and 6th ver is said to bring forth hope that maketh not ashamed and certainly found to do so in the Experiences of such Christians if their Seals were given forth to the World Let us imagine the judgment of any meer Professor under never so rational a Conviction of any one Scripture-truth yet without the power of Christ's Spirit bearing it home as Truth upon the Soul you will hardly see as the certain effect of this saving Faith therein either commenced or so sixt but that it may give way to a succeeding Error if it have a fairer appearance to his
benefits which the Son of God purchas'd and the Spirit applies to the Souls of unfeigned Believers Is it possible that one in a violent hot Countrey unacquainted with the blowing of Wind Is it possible that one that never tasted Honey Is it possible I say that the first and latter from the description either of the blowing of the Wind or of the nature of Honey in the most perspicuous words can so well understand or so firmly believe the blowing and refreshing effects of the Wind or the nature and the sweetness of the Honey as those who have enjoy'd of the first and tasted of the latter This is a true resemblance of their condition who are void of the real inward knowledge of Religion and their slighting and disbelief of the spiritual efficacy of the Ordinances cannot weaken the Faith of Believers who have experienced the reality thereof upon their Souls but give them greater establishment and afford them matter of repeated exercise of love to him who past by some and calls others and advances them to a further reliance upon him in the due use of means for the obtaining a richer abundance of the communications of the Holy Spirit When the Errors of the prophane and meerly professing Christians endanger the staggering of any real and true Christian it is often my fear least that Christian has been too careless of his Duties and has not improved the pure motions and assistance of the Spirit within and the advantage of the external means of Grace for else he would be above the impression of the objections of carnal persons against his own feeling Is it possible that force of the most powerful Argument of the greatest Rationalist covered with the finest dress of words against the sweetness of Honey can shake the Faith of any one that has tasted thereof perhaps he cannot discover the Sophistry of the Allegation but he knows it's false like the poor Woman when oppos'd by the enemies of Truth her Faith was firm in her Saviour and she answered all Arguments with these words I cannot dispute for Christ but I can die for him A sincere Christian can say I cannot perhaps demonstrate with rational arguing the Being of the Spirit of God and his effects of renewing the Soul conforming it to Christ's Image and spiritualizing its frame in Duties but I am well assured of it against all the Infidels on earth Let what I have said move thee O prophane and meer professing Christian to the use of observation and right performance of Prayer as helps by which you may experience the reality of inward Christian Religion yea let it move you O lazy Christian who know not so much of God in the Soul and of inward Religion as is attainable by you be more serious and constant in converse with God in the use of his means that you may enjoy what others have been acquainted with The wise and serious observer of Gods dealings with his Soul who frequently reflects upon them will better understand the harmonious agreement between the revelation of God in the Scripture the workings of the Holy Spirit and the divine disposals of things in this low life than another sincere Christian who does not acquaint himself so intimately with God by a constant application of himself to him in all the ways wherein he draws near to us It is the hand of the diligent in the use of means that makes rich so is it the mind of the diligent Christian in the use of means that is fill'd with knowledge God's private Councils are not to be div'd into but what is suitable to his Word is to be sought after and may be found out It 's the trial of his Word that brings Experience and Experience brings hope and it is the not trying the Truths of God that makes so many doubtings and shakings in a Christian's Faith and so much of unsetled hope of their inheritance above I return from the lazy Christian again to the meer Professor and Prophane and beg you 'd be entreated to join the easy and advantageous Duty of Prayer to all your endeavours not contenting your selves with the cold forms of words but mixing holy affections which are the life of Prayer and observing the gracious return of Prayer when perform'd by the assistance of the Spirit of Grace This is a Priviledge provided for you and to be obtain'd by you in the use and continued use of right means the reason you miss the Divine Bounty is because you don't present your self in God's way If a Beggar expects the Alms of a Prince he will endeavour to be in the same street he passes thorough and as near him as ever is possible he will neither go to a contrary street nor to the opposite side of the same street neither will he plead his Poverty alone but express all his Wants one after another as so many Motives to move charitable Compassion All Beggars keep not to the same form of words but open their Cries differently according to the different Sore Lameness Blindness or the like wherewithal they are afflicted sensibly with Prayer is God's way wherein a poor Creature may draw near to him without hindrance of this or the other diversion between his Soul and his King and when a Christian is once sensible of his Wants and of the All-sufficiency and Condescention that is in God it is not Form or fine words but fervent serious pouring out the desires that moves the compassionate Father in Christ A Closet-Prayer is oftentimes the opportunity of receiving great mercies from God and is many times the setling of a disquieted mind and the change of a carnal earthly frame to a spiritual heavenly one It allays our Sorrows and gives peace under sharp Afflictions This Duty spiritually and constantly perform'd will make you happy by Experience and to resolve with the Psalmist It 's good for me to draw near to God But to discourse more particularly concerning Prayer spiritually perform'd be pleas'd to remember the many Experiences in the forepart of this Discourse concerning spirituality in Prayer as evidential of its right performance yea God's acceptance thereof and of God's returning what was askt therein I hope with an humble rejoicing I may say that since ever I begun to experience a real heavenly frame in Prayer when my Soul therein has been carri'd forth to God with high spirituality concerning any one particular Event with full quiet of mind and sensible exercise of resignation at the time concerning it a return to that Address has never as yet failed me and that when my desire has been in exercise towards any one thing that God would not bestow I found my self by the strictest observation under a constraint from this spiritual frame yea sometimes from words to utter any Petition or when words have been utter'd it has been in the same manner as when I was altogether unacquainted with inward Religion These and other Experiences are built upon no
his returns of such Prayers were greatly defer'd And as a condescending help to prevent desponding anxiety quiet of mind concerning the return to be defer'd always accompanied my supplication and the Lord left me not to the Dominion of corrupt nature or of Satan's suggestion Or if either had assaulted me the Divine strength raising me to an actual resignation to his Will at the time fortified me against them Again An Observing Christian sees so much of the depth of Wisdom in God's ways concerning them that it must be strange if he presum'd to confine God to one method when the variousness yea the contrariness of methods to bring about the same end is one great evidence of the Excellency of his Wisdom An observing Believer knows that God tries the strength of Christians various ways in order to their Establishment Not because he is ignorant of the exact measure of their growth in Christianity but from love to them that by their faithful continuance in Prayer deferr'd as to its return the Graces of the Spirit may be excited and exercised both to the honour of God and their inward Comfort For what can be more reviving than to find corruptions weaken'd and grace strengthened which is the sweet issue of many grievous afflictions that are not removed upon our renewed Petitions till we are purified by them Hereafter may some say Since spirituality in Prayer is the Spirit of God's gift and it unexpectedly comes we may lay by Prayer with our own Endeavours and wait as the Quakers say till the Spirit move and then to Pray To this I say Spirituality in Prayer is the alone Gift of Christ's Spirit and it comes when he pleases but by sincere Prayer we obtain this blessed Gift It is not the usual way of God to bestow it in more excellent degrees without our sincere asking it in the humble sense of our need of it The Quakers acknowledge as from converse with some of them I have heard they have an innate Spirit by which they are acted and according to its inward striving so they move in Duties I know in us all there is that innate Principle of Corruption which reigning makes our faculties of Soul and members of Body move as it listeth to evil but a principle of Grace that inspires us with new life in our Duties comes from Heaven and is obtain'd in the use of his Ordinances This does not in the least obscure the Glory of God's Free-Grace for his Spirit excites us to Duties and supplies us with strength to perform them but it directs us to seek God in the ways appointed that we may find him That therefore Christians may rightly judge of this heavenly frame and intercession of the Divine Spirit preparing them to ask from God what he is to return Errors herein proceeding either from mistaking the work of Christ's Spirit helping them to ask or from applying the return to what they ought not I shall give the following marks accompanying such a Prayer and that observ'd from my own personal Experience First A heighth of spiritual Thoughts and Affections throughout in Prayer or in one particular Petition thereof far beyond common seriousness which tho' by words it be almost inexplicable so as to make the unexperiencing Christian comprehend it yet it is easily perceiv'd by the experiencing Christian In this rais'd frame of the Soul either in solemn or ejaculatory Prayer there is such heavenliness of Thought as if the Soul were already in Heaven's Enjoyment And for the comfort of young Observers I must acknowledge that my spirituality of frame in Prayer the real preparation of Christ's Spirit to ask and certainly evidential of God's return was at first observ'd to be much less in degree tho' the same in nature than now it is one degree of experimental Knowledge preparing for farther degrees This brings to my Thoughts the gradual rise of Christians meetness for Heaven by Christ's Spirit in his common way of working by the use of means of which observing Christians are sweetly sensible Secondly Another mark of Christ's Spirit 's intercession in Prayer as token of God's acceptance thereof and his return thereto is when with an Address so spiritually perform'd goes along a comfortable quiet of mind concerning the Event tho' the praying-Believer be encompast with Afflictions A calm composure of mind in our trust upon the gracious Will and Wisdom of God to dispose of all things concerning us is our Duty but 't is the Gift and Work of the Holy Spirit who is stiled the Comforter We must observe in the Word of God what he Commands us to do he promises to enable us to do He Commands us That Sin should not reign in our mortal bodies and he has Promised That Sin shall not have dominion over us In like manner God Commands us To be careful for nothing but by supplication to lay our requests before God And certainly freedom from anxiety and disquiet and a full possession of the Soul in Patience concerning any thing in commending our Affairs to God by Prayer is the product of the Divine Spirit and not from the natural temper and stayedness of the Mind And where the Christian actually experiences it in Prayer he may safely conclude himself influenc'd by a Divine Spirit not only in raising his frame to ask but leaving it at God's footstool as to the Event and that as presaging of God's returning favour and introductive of his blessing The Promise of God is the foundation of this Trust Psal 37.5 Commit thy way unto the Lord and he shall bring it to pass The habit of Resignation may be in the Soul but 't is drawn forth into exercise by the renewed influences of the Spirit Thirdly You may judge of the intercession of Christ's Spirit in your Souls in addressing God by Prayer by the passages of Providence that bring about the return of this Prayer In the Observation whereof the speciality of a Divine Hand in the Providences bringing the return about is as discoverable as immediateness of a Divine Spirit influencing the Soul to ask with calm and resign'd submission as to the Event The observing Christians do often see these two joyned together and each illustrating one another where others do not or hardly are at the pains to observe the one or the other And what the Psalmist in the first ver of the 116th Psal in the fifth ver of the 118th Psalm and in the 121st Psalm finds that Prayers return observ'd and the passages of Providence discovering or bringing it about is powerful in bringing his Soul to the actual exercise of love to Reliance upon Admiration and Praise of God I love the Lord because he has heard my supplication I called to the Lord and he heard me therefore shall I see my desire and he is now my strength and my song I will praise thee for thou hast heard me and art become my salvation The unobserving Christian therefore of Prayer's return and of
the method bringing it about loses thereby the actual excitement of the excellent Graces and so miss of much comfort and light that others enjoy Fourthly You may judge of the intercession of Christ's Spirit in your Prayer by the never-failing correspondency between a Prayer perform'd as is exprest and a return thereto This is according to God's own Word and the Experience of diligent true observing Christians And if it were not so I doubt not but amongst thousands of Experiences training me to the knowledge thereof and establishment therein I should have met with one contradicting it I know I have met with many passages upon my advancement in the knowledge of God's ways that at first view seem'd greatly opposing of this and if a strict observation had been intermitted the shaking of my Faith or mistake therein had been the consequence but keeping strict to observation of Providences present and reflection upon past ones with patient waiting the full sight of the return to Prayer appear'd with that improvement of being more serious and considerate in the observation and comparing God's ways of Providence and inward workings of his Spirit according to his revealed Will. I would subjoin to these few marks of Prayer with the intercession of Christ's Spirit some things you are to beware of as occasions of mistaking this Prayer and deluding you with a false resemblance of it and something I would advise your observation of that may be a means to lead you into the performance of Prayer aright and thereby an opportunity of obtaining Christ's Spiritual influences therein I begin with the latter First Be advised to enter upon private Prayer without any discomposure of Spirit from the things Temporal that pleasantly affect us The thoughts of them will be ready to rush themselves upon your remembrance I could easily set down the many Prayers I have had spoil'd by such things rushing upon my thoughts at the time but circumstances will not permit Secondly Without any vexation upon your Spirit unless you use Prayer in such a circumstance as a help to quiet your mind and to suppress the further rise of corrupt motions for which end I dare recommend private Prayer as a healing means Thirdly Have your thoughts as free of worldly Persons and Things as possibly you can otherways passing immediately from Conversation with the world you will be apt to cast a lingring look back upon the world and to have thoughts stealing into you which will hinder the Spirit 's assistance to pray in the manner before charecteriz'd Fourthly Do not cursorily perform the Duty of Prayer to satisfie your mind that you have discharg'd the Duty and till night you are not to return to it but consider that Prayer is not only a Duty but a heavenly Priviledge wherein we may with a filial freedom address our selves to the Lord Almighty as our Father who from the infinite treasures of his love will supply all our wants and satisfie all our regular desires Therefore let us be liberal in the time for that Duty By continuance in Prayer our Hearts are more fully possest with God and by wrestling with him we get a holy heat of Affection tho' in our entrance into the Duty we were but coldly affected These are some of the hindrances which a Christian is to watch against and there are many other which the observing Christian will discover and endeavour to prevent Concerning the other to wit the occasions of mistaking the natural workings of the Affections for the Spirit 's work in Prayer I shall first in general say That the not considering the state of the Soul first designing to Pray in Praying and after Prayer leads into many mistakes According to the inward and habitual frame of the Soul such is the exercise of the Affections in that Duty and usually such are the influences of the Holy Spirit Secondly The judging that common seriousness in Christian Duties is all the spirituality that is necessary or attainable may be an occasion of mistake For this will make them content without seeking for supernatural influences and without the perception of them Close walking with God in the often use of Prayer is the best help to train this Soul in the further knowledge of the Breathings of Christ's Spirit Thirdly A more than ordinary seriousness from the ardent desire of obtaining the thing petition'd for may impose upon some with its resemblance to spirituality as also a Christian's indifferency in obtaining a thing pray'd for may impose a resemblance to the Souls of straitning in Prayer thorough Christ's withdrawings Fourthly The rational hope of obtaining our Petitions or the rational improbability of obtaining may sometimes impose a resemblance of spirituality and constraint in Prayer An Experience whereof I have had concerning Friends dangerously Ill who in my thoughts and in the judgment of their Physitians have been Dying from which seeming certainty of their Dying I have had an unwillingness as being altogether needless to pray for them I remember of a Child who was dangerously Ill without sensible pulse cold as clay and in the opinion of all Dying or Dead which rational conjecture so imprest me as to restrain me from Prayer concerning it But next morning in my Closet Prayers not designing a Petition for the Child supposing it then assuredly Dead a sudden seriousness and spirituality seized me carrying me forth in Prayer for this Child which at first astonish'd my Thoughts till sending to know if alive I heard of its life and great amendment To the praise of the infinite condescention of God I shall mention two directions as preventive of Error and Mistakes in the observation of Prayer and the enjoyments accompanying it and that as an encouragement to weak Christians to use these means without fear or doubting of God's wise and loving conduct of them to preserve them from Error unless God's permission thereof be for the Christian's good taking that way to establish Grace stronger in the Soul First His impressing me at the time with the true state of the matter that never to my remembrance was I under false resemblances of spirituality or constraint in Prayer but at the time I had some discovery of it Secondly Such dangers never occur'd to my Experience till God had establish'd my right knowledge both of spirituality and constraint in Prayer and that by Experiences in abundance a part of which is laid down in the Historical part of this Discourse I say this as a witness for God's Condescension and Wisdom in training the sincere diligent Christian groaning after the true knowledge of God's ways in the right use of means yet I say it not to encourage laziness either in the beginning or more grown Christian but excite them to more serious and strict observation of their Souls that they may not be deceived I find it more common with private Christians than formerly to observe enlargement in Prayer and constraint therein as forerunners of their injoying or not
spiritual Supplies to ask is many times the reward of serious self-denying Christians and truly depending upon God in Prayer and that the other is the allowance of real Christians but less watchful and not searching into and desirous of the knowledge of God's ways and therefore have not that assurance of present acceptance and after-return as the serious observing Christians have Fourthly That comforting Influences are more experienc'd as the portion of beginning Christians and training up to the knowledge of God of tender hearted Christians and of those who walk continually with God in their thoughts by ejaculation Fifthly The evidence of supporting Influences without the other is continuance in serious use of means notwithstanding God with-holds its comfort which must evidence a power above the carnal nature My Advice therefore is To begin the use of serious Prayer as well as of observation of outward Providences that you may have fellowship with the Godhead even on earth and come to the knowledge of God's ways without the fear of mistake because of the infinite wisdom and tender love that is in your Guide and Conductor leading you in the right way unless you stand still and walk not further on in the use of means or walk in them inadvertently Pray the Lord to prepare you to ask the things which he has declar'd in his Word he is ready to give and in his time you shall obtain them This humble constant and affectionate continuance in Prayer will be an excellent means to make you understand the method of God's bestowing mercies as the certain sign of his Favour By this Duty of Prayer and observation therein you 'll be able to expose all the Errors of the Age you 'll see Arminianism at the root of our new-sprung Errors for if they cannot defend Self-sufficiency to will and chuse spiritual things and to comply with saving means they must look to Christ and acknowledge that conversion from its beginning to its perfection is to be ascribed to Divine Grace Others deny the Deity of Christ and think him as meer Man like themselves inferior to the Devils who acknowledged him the Son of God his power over them by begging he would not torment them but finding the Doctrine of Jesus Christ's being God so clearly asserted in the Scriptures they turn Deists and deny all revealed Religion that so we may have nothing above our own Reason and Self-sufficiency to recur to for the obtaining the Favour of God here and of Heaven hereafter God believ'd as Creator and men living in the practice of publick moral Vertue though private Vices are allowed is sufficient in the opinion of some for their present peace and esteem and their future happiness But the Scripture and Experience does strongly refute those Arminian Errors in that first Chapter of John and the 13th verse We are not born of the will of man but of God And in the second Chapter of the Philippians ver 13. It is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure These Texts are confirmed by the experience of all sincere Christians who feel the grace of God in turning them from the love of Sin to the love of Holiness and carrying them thro' a tempting World to the eternal Kingdom exposing both with the embracers of their Errors in their true Colours Their growth is no marvel to me their not being more is a greater wonder Prophaneness in Practice Christianity in meer Profession Experimental Religion discouraged by some and neglected too much in the Conversation of God's own Children with their divisions and unnecessary â—eats being the great Nourishers of such wild Grapes I do believe I may without the breach of Charity say That if Arminians in this Age are understanding in God's Word their knowledge thereof is meerly Notional with Self-Paraphrases thereupon but ignorant of its reality from the experience thereof in their own Soul That what I say may not seem Censure but what has true ground for suggesting I 'll call forth all the experienced Christians on earth to witness If any one of them was ever able to bring themselves by their own strength and when they would to a heavenly frame of Soul in Prayer yea though God has given forth means to obtain this frame I appeal to their experience whether their reliance upon these means has not often obstructed this Gift of Christ's Spirit influencing the Soul depending thereupon in the use of means We have Millions of Instances and I believe I could produce thousands from my own personal experience of being out of a heavenly frame of mind and that suddenly and unexpectedly a ravishing heavenly frame has seized me without any previous working my self therein only suddenly this frame has seized my Soul like a sudden Gale of Wind filling the Sails of the Faculties of the Soul and driving the Ship towards the heavenly Harbour of God's Throne We have also multitudes of Experiences of the same power of Christ's Spirit suddenly undesignedly and powerfully working with a verse of a Chapter read and with a sentence of a Sermon preached both the conversion of Christians and also the spiritualizing of their frames without the least design or fore-thought in the Creature 's self and without any other strength of man than laying himself in God's Road and Highway of Duties in which he commonly walks and by which he acts when and how he pleases My Argument is from lesser to greater If a Christian cannot bring forth nor retain a spiritual frame in the Soul when or as long as he will how much less is an Unbeliever capable of chusing and working Grace in his Soul when he will Where is that Instance of a Christian that dare pretend when he is in a heavenly frame to be able so to keep himself I dare say any that ever had it in reality and power would desire no other lot on earth but to be kept in this Heaven on earth If thou therefore O Arminian art uncapable of believing without a Divine Power or to exercise a heavenly frame in Prayer when thou wouldest or to retain a spiritual frame when thou art in its enjoyment lay by Self and forge no more lying delusions for thy Bulwark all experiencing Christians find out thy falshood and bemoan thy misery I should rejoice if God should honour me as an Instrument to prevail with thee to walk in those means in the method mentioned that with a Divine Spirit accompanying them you might be led to a discovery of your Errors through blindness and the evil of broaching and fructifying them on earth Apprehend with your selves how unmeet you 'll be to admire the Infiniteness of Mercy in providing these blessed helps of Divine Revelation Divine Providence and Divine Spirit and how unfit to praise his Name for either when now you derogate from all to affix it upon Self Let not matters unexperienced and capable of being experienced in the use of few and easy means
God and Man in one Person when such a view of him will force their remembrance of denying him in their Minds and Hearts the Adoration due to him as God equal with the Father tho' he humbled himself that we might be exalted and might in Heaven see his Glory and be transform'd into his Glorious Likeness It will be righteous that those who vilified the Redeemer should not reign with him and since they deny that he washt away the guilt of their Sins with his Blood it 's righteous that their guilt should remain on them for ever He that feels the power of Christ strengthening him will notwithstanding the subtil Cavils of others glorifie him as the incarnate Son of God who purchas'd Grace and Glory for him by his Humiliation and confers it in his Exaltation As for Deists who deny all Reveal'd Religion their Error is brought for the support of Socinianism for in the Scripture there is so full a proof of the Eternal Deity of the Son of God and of the Holy Spirit which is a Doctrine supernatural and incomprehensible by our narrow minds that they will rather return to Heathenism than receive the Gospel Besides the purity and perfection of the Gospel in its Commands they will not obey and therefore will only follow the dim light of Nature that discovers not many Sins which they love nor some Duties from which they are averse You therefore under this Character Let me invite you to the trial of God's Word and if you find in your Experience any one thing that was incomprehensible to natural Reason but sensibly felt in your Souls it will lead you to the desire and endeavour of Experiencing more If in Prayer you come to understand a strength above your own even that of a Divine Spirit according to Scripture Revelation thereof you 'll desire to comprehend many other Christian Priviledges and Changes of the Soul by Grace of which you never formerly had any true Idea If once you come in the use of means to believe and trust things unseen which to a faithless Creature is a Mysterious Doctrine but of Scripture Revelation and certainly experienc'd as Truth by Holy Souls To what purpose O Deist should I trouble my self to argue the case of there being a spiritual heavenly frame in Prayer of there being a trust to a thing unseen more strong and durable than a trust to an object before the Eyes the one being supported by the Divine Truth and Power the other by a weak mutable Creature All the Argumentation and Oratory on Earth cannot make a sincere Christian doubt of the Truth of the Gospel which he has felt to be the power of God to save him from Sin and Hell A superficial assent to the Doctrine of the Gospel may be easily chang'd but when the Truth of it is fixt in the Soul by deep Experience a Christian is as stable as the Center against the strongest storms of opposition You may as well suppose a rational Soul to be without thinking as when it 's convinc'd by over-powering light and an inward real sense of the Truth of Religion Reveal'd from Heaven he should be apt to change his Faith and like a Drunken Man reel from one Opinion to another I therefore earnestly recommend the endeavour after an Experimental Sense of the Truth of the Gospel in the use of all Ordinances as the best preservative from Unbelief But now I come to the third and last mean of bringing Creatures into the certainty of God's Word and inward Religion and that is a right reading of the Scriptures not a superficial reading of them in Obedience to Parents or out of Custom a Chapter morning and evening without ever one thought reflective upon what is read but such a reading as may lay you in the way of the influence of a Divine Spirit who communicates light unto us in this Duty as well as in that of spiritual Observation and Prayer we must fix it in our thoughts as the Rule of our Life and particularly observe what may be directive in those Duties that belong to us and may serve for Comfort in disquieting Afflictions to which we may be expos'd Mr. Pool's Annotations are useful in our Reading This method was marvellously blessed to me in the practice of it with Observation and Prayer I soon saw the worth of God's Word the benefit of using it in this manner and my Soul was ardently and constantly desirous of Divine Grace to conform me entirely to the Precepts and Examples of Holiness set down in it The method I us'd at first was To Read a Chapter of the Old Testament a Psalm and a Chapter of the New with Pool's Annotations upon each and this sincere endeavour after the Knowledge of God in his Precepts was soon accompanied with the inward workings of a Divine Spirit influencing me with a desire after and in some measure Conformity thereto Psal 119. How shall a young man cleanse his ways It is by taking heed thereto according to God's Word Those that read not his Word or read it in a customary way obtain no knowledge thereof or at least what is only notional to discourse of How can a Christian cleanse his Heart and Ways or be in the means of obtaining Christ's Spirit helping forward this work but by comparing considerately his Ways and Thoughts to God's Divine Truths as he goes on in the reading of them and nothing more fixes the Thoughts to this than a reading with Annotations and many times in comparing Scripture to Annotation a comparison of ones self to Scripture either for instruction or comfort occurs reading with Thoughtfulness is a mean God many times blesses with sweet success that way Reading with reflecting the light of the Word upon the Soul warms it meets the Affections and makes them receptive of heavenly impressions The meer Professor Religious only from Education I greatly compassionate for this neglect it being for the serious a probable mean of affording establishment in their right notional Knowledge wherewith they have been imprest thorough the instruction of Education and applicative Reading the Scriptures is the means with the Spirit 's blessing of establishing us on that Divine Foundation of Faith and Obedience This Advice of Reading the Scriptures with Pool's Annotations is not to be limited to those only in younger years but necessarily to be extended to Persons of more mature Age. First I advise the younger That they would not rest satisfied to answer their Parents Instruction or in the customary method of reading so many Chapters a day and that at their usual times but to consider what degrees of knowledge of the Word and Conformity to it they are advanc'd to by it that by right Conceptions of God and his Holy Will they be preserv'd from youthful Lusts from the Erroneous Opinions and vicious and contagious Examples of others Let the first Principles of Religion in this way be deeply set in them before they read Controversies in
Religion I do really acknowledge that from reading a Chapter with Mr. Pool's Annotations concerning a point I have had more clear knowledge and confirmation than by reading Controversial Books And I do believe it one of the most common failures of Youth under Religious Education not reading the Scriptures with Annotations which greatly fixes the Thoughts upon ones self and God's Divine Rule if conform unto it either in Heart or Life Be advised therefore to begin your knowledge of Spiritual Things right and not to end where you should have begun and to read but one Chapter with Annotations and Observation rather than many slightly remarking that part of Scripture your Thoughts at the time of reading mostly fix to and observe the method of Providence afterward appearing and perhaps you may discover its correspondency to the matter remarkt either as Instruction or Comfort Secondly I advise grown Professors who busie themselves with Controversies and with Books Eloquently written or of high Notions but still are without an affectionate vital knowledge of Divine Truths and in danger of being infected with this or the other new-sprung Error I say to such That I am afraid the advice given to younger Persons has not been follow'd by them I therefore earnestly exhort them to read the Scriptures with a design to be enlightned and sanctified by them and with the assistance of a sound Expositor that their imperfect and unsetled Conceptions of Divine Things may be rectified and strongly imprest within them and the power of them may be visible in their lives If you cannot enjoy full measure of time once a day do it by parts Many sit in their Shops waiting for their Customers and Reading of Books of no value or thinking upon what they can give no account of afterward that have great opportunity of using this method Many might detract from their great time spent in Dressings and Visitings and thereby might have more leisure for this profitable and â—ounding work I am hopeful if this method was once in use there might be an excellent foundation laid for your Knowledge of God the Lawgiver and of your own Loyalty and Duty to him in Heart and Life The delight the Soul would taste in Reading the Word would cause us to disrelish all other Books tho' never so pleasing to the carnal Fancy and Desires that govern the unrenewed part of Mankind I have often thought upon the fancy so delighted with variety and have pitied some such who would be taken with every new thing but did not Experimentally know the varieties of things in the Scriptures greatly alluring worth the reading and the contemplating and the varieties of impressions affecting the mind in reading the same Scripture at various times But I have observ'd the better the Duty is the more instruction and comfort abound therein inward corruption and Satan keeps the Soul the more backward from it And let any experiencing Christian reflect upon the days of their Ignorance and the Beginnings of their spiritual Knowledge they 'll find When Hearing and Prayer has been practised by them yet serious Reading was greatly neglected especially with an Expositor A Duty establishing and comforting a Christian is the Duty Satan loses most by to Read matter indifferent overcomes neither Satan nor Corruption but Scripture-Revelation discovers both in their natural Colours and a way to escape the Tyranny of either I remember the neglect of Reading the Scripture while only under the power of Religious Education kept me in darkness and security for not bringing the false hopes of the goodness of my spiritual State to the Touch I presum'd that I was in a safe condition but by serious Reading the Scripture I had a true discovery of God and my self and I delighted in the discovery and the blessed means of it That which before was so unpleasant to the corrupt Nature was sweeter than the Honey-Comb This is the usual Reward that is joyn'd with our Obedience to the Divine Command Of searching the Scriptures I am afraid the neglect of this Duty keeps not only prophane and meer professing Christians from a change to a state of real Christianity but even real Christians in a careless neglect of their Conversations The serious Reading a Chapter in the morning would so fix the matter upon the Christian's Thoughts that now and then he would be reflecting whether he has stept aside from Conformity to what he had Read in the morning and would make him watchful against Temptations that surrounded him lest he be surprised by them How sad is the carelesness even of real Christians with respect to the inward frame of their Souls and their outward Conversation which I do believe may in some measure proceed from the neglect or at least the unserious performance of this Duty and the not considering that God sees them in their Companies in their Families in their Closets and in their Hearts and their neglect of serious yielding themselves to the conduct of the Holy Spirit thorough the day I remember a passage I heard of a Minister who had neglected his serious morning-Prayer before his going forth upon that Sacred Work of Preaching and after Reading his Text was stopt that he could go on no further and another was forc'd to supply in his room and upon review found that his neglect of Praying for Divine Assistance and dependance upon it was the cause why he was so deserted If Christians were more concerned to have their morning Duties strictly perform'd their Conversations would be strict and spiritual thorough the day they would not disparage their Profession and dishonour God by so many blemishes in their Actions they would not so harden the prophane and meer titular Christians in their sinful state whereas Prayer joyn'd with the Reading the Word in the morning is a blessed means to maintain our Communion with God in all the business and lawful refreshments of the day If innocent Recreations by fixing our thoughts upon them or by reason of the length of time we are in them lessen our seriousness we should be less frequent and shorter in them let the Conversation be never so innocent and the Company never so dear they must not deprive us of communion with Heaven we must so use the world as we may enjoy God I think visiting of Friends a Duty as well as diversion but prolonged to a day or an afternoon meddling in others affairs censuring some and commending others perhaps without reason is grieving to a spiritual-minded Christian unless where he may either do or receive some spiritual good The serious exercise of our minds upon spiritual things and discourse of them preserves the sacred fire burning in our breasts Spiritual Conversation is as rare amongst Christians as it 's profitable it 's the beginning of Heaven and reduces friendship to the state of Paradise But we are so sadly declin'd that unless he is a person of eminent holiness and gravity that interposes divine discourse in Conversation
it 's entertained very coldly or with contempt and derision As to Recreations doubtful amongst Christians playing at Cards and the like whether lawful or unlawful I think it is best to keep the judgment free from entangling Scruples but to restrain our practice and accordingly I desire to order my Conversation and that for these three Reasons 1. Because since nothing in Christ's Commands or Example or of the Apostles is express herein I judge it best to regulate my practice by the example of the most holy and heavenly Christians who I know have abstained from Recreations of a suspected nature A second Reason to me is That Recreations though seeming innocent have often been and are dangerous snares to men How many have resolved to spend an hour in a Recreation and have spent many to the irreparable loss of precious time How many have begun with Pence and ended with Pounds to the wasting their Estates and impoverishing of Families The perfect forbearance from such allurements is our security and happiness and that others who allow themselves in such things are not overcome is from restraining Grace and not from corrupt Nature Thirdly Because to my own experience such things wither a heavenly spiritual frame of Soul by drawing off the thoughts from seriousness to a little levity and from less to more till a heavenly frame be gone The heavenly-minded Christian is the only Judge of this matter the prophane and meer Professor never having had a heavenly frame can hardly be said to judge of or be concern'd for its decay or removal neither the lazy though real Christian who if serious in his morning or evening duties matter not the want of a heavenly serious frame of Soul throughout the day in his business and pleasures of the number whereof too many abound in our Age by reason whereof while under afflictions or in their dying hours when their evidences should shine not only with light to themselves but as witnesses for God to others they appear more dark and clouded than in those whose life has been a continued enjoyment of God How many real Christians have bitterly lamented their time mis-spent in Vanities and when near Eternity have had gloomy thoughts and distracting doubts of the Eternal State when those who have used the world with indifferent affections and have been serious in working out their salvation have rejoiced in the Lord. In short a heavenly frame of Spirit is the best Antidote against the infection of sensual pleasures The main Reasons to press Christians strictness of Conversation in doubtful things are from pity to the prophane and meer Professor and to prevent the drying up of spiritual seriousness of frame in real Christians the latter sort I hope thorough the exercise of Grace may limit their pleasures and diversions from being inductive of Sin but the carnal are hardned in their profuse wasting time and their indulging their sensual desires even by Saints innocent Recreation of themselves in them pleading for themselves by such a Question Does not such an one do so and so Ministers of all other Christians should be very diligent to prevent a taking occasion and encouragement from their example to Licentiousness in things of this kind they have the best opportunity to spiritualize Conversation with their People and improving time to the most excellent advantage that is to increase their knowledge holiness and comfort This was the practice of Paul who was so great a Lover of Christ and Souls this practice would refel the double Accusation of Ministers in our days First That they are so much seen in the Affairs of the world and are so little at home conversing with God and themselves and seldom with their People unless in outward enjoyments and without spiritual profit to them Secondly The other Accusation is their ignorance of their Peoples spiritual state and their more applying themselves to maintain such Doctrines as are the Characters of their Party than to preach Truths suitable to the Case of the Congregations Some Preachers are called Legal others Evangelical and according to the different opinions and affections of the Hearers are censured or commended but a Minister of the Gospel defames and pollutes his Profession who does not make it his sole end to glorify Christ and save Souls and for that end the Law is to be preached discovering the undone condition of Sinners that they may come weary and heavy-laden to our compassionate Saviour making him appear the more lovely to their view that they may with unfeign'd willingness walk in those means wherein his Spirit may be found to apply Christ with all his Benefits to the needy Soul I cannot but mention what I have observ'd in my self that upon any stirring of corrupt nature tending to puff me up after enjoy'd communion with God or leaving a kind of security in the following Duties what need I have had of reflecting upon the Law shewing thereby to my self how insufficient I was to give full obedience thereto or to perform any one part thereof aright unless by the continued assistance of a Divine Spirit to be obtain'd in the use of means and therefore it is Duty to be in the close work of using means and to ascribe benefit obtained therein to the free and powerful Grace of God and not to any dispositions or strength of our own Therefore the meditation of Law and Grace must be join'd the first leads to the other and greatly discovers the efficacy thereof yea more than that contemplated alone shall I see the precious excellency of Christ and not see my lost corrupted deprav'd state Shall I see the need of a Divine Power in working and planting Grace not seeing my own insufficiency to act without it Again before the close of the same evening I have been brought under such concern for one failure or other that the necessity and excellency of the free-grace of God in Christ has convincingly and comfortably by serious reflection wanted to have been appli'd to my Soul shall therefore one Christian need the bearing home of both the Law of God and the Free-grace of God in Christ in one day how much more shall a Congregation made up of Christians whereof some are secure and others tender and self-condemning stand in need of Sermons of both sorts or of a Sermon made up of both It is therefore the great Duty of Ministers to be frequent and fervent in their Prayers to God that by Divine influence they may be directed in the choice of fit Subjects and assisted in their preparatory Studies and in their preaching the Word in demonstration of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2.4 Not with enticing words only of man's wisdom that it may be beneficial and saving to their Hearers the neglect of this method may occasion the choice of an unsuitable Subject and its delivery to be unsavoury unless to the meer Notional Christian A Minister of eminent Holiness told me That Converse with God in Prayer was his
all his ways more strictly and pray more frequently and fervently and read and hear the Word with more application they will feel the power of Godliness reviving in their Souls and will shew forth the beauty of Holiness in their Conversation which will be convincing of others that Religion is a Divine disposition productive of fruits suitable to it A holy habit of Soul may be preserv'd in the business and diversions of the world by our constant converse with Heaven every day You have two excellent motives to this Exhortation First Because it may be done without any hindrance to your business and lawful diversions How easie is it in the morning before you enter into worldly Affairs to read a Chapter with Pool's Annotations and to give your selves and all your concerns by Prayer to the conduct of a Divine Hand to direct and succeed your lawful Endeavours How easie is it thorough the day while in the midst and course of your lawful business to direct an ejaculatory desire Lord Let my endeavour be according to Duty on my part and accompanied with a discovery of Mercy in the Event and according to the many endeavours you are active in throughout a day so many Ejaculatory Petitions in a serious frame to be repeated which you 'll observe to issue in great inward Knowledge and perhaps great success to business as an occasion of turning your many and various Ejaculatory Petitions to one solemn Duty of Praise in the evening How easy is it in an evening in your Shops or Closets to record that in such an endeavour you were kept serious with God in your thoughts and you were blest accordingly The remembrance whereof will make you ready in all your Affairs to pray for the Divine Blessing and depend upon God in doing your Duty and thankful for his succeeding your endeavours The second is That this constant looking to God in Prayer ejaculatory or solemn with the use of means will enable us to perform the works of our ordinary Callings with less trouble to our Mind and toil to our Bodies This will cure the anxiety of our Minds concerning the Event and consequently make us more moderate and orderly in the use of means It is the anxious desire of obtaining an Event the great fear of losing it that sets peoples minds on the rack to contrive means and their Bodies on the hurry to use these means and how often does unsuccessfulness accompany both Whereas by Observation of God the Governor of all things access to him for his favour in any thing is discovered to the Soul and that the dutiful use of means is successful by his favour when the eager pursuit of a desir'd thing has been ineffectual This has been verified to all by many Experiences and therefore shall add this Advice as the sum of all To use means with the same diligence as if by them alone without a Divine Hand Events were to be obtain'd To eye God with a reliance upon him for Events as much as if they were to be brought forth by him without the use of means By which Rule I would reprove the Censures against God's Children who from their dutiful diligence in business without the intermixture of pleasure in fear of losing providential opportunities in it are reputed Covetous And advise others to judge themselves by their inward aims if conform to God's Will and whatever be the Censure of Men they thereby prevent the condemning sentence of Christ the Redeemer and Judge It is neither the Character or Censure of any that ought to bound our Endeavours but the being in Duty or out of Duty and the regarding of the Lord in all our ways Reflections that must naturally follow the perusal of what is written First THAT the Author having felt such Experience of an inward change upon his Soul without any other hand of his own therein than the use of the means above recited Ought I not to believe there is a Knowledge above human Judgment and a power above natural Strength for otherwise he had continued in the same ignorance of God then appearing sufficient knowledge wherein he was involv'd for many years tho' enjoying the outward dispensation of the Gospel Secondly That it was but suitable to Christian Affection in him to endeavour that others may tread in the same steps with the same success especially finding some Ministers in their Sermons to run from plainness and experience to Rhetorick and Notion and finding the care of Christians more to run out upon arguing the Notions of Religion than the confirming Divine Truths and the establishing the Minds of others by the Seals of their own Experience If experimental Religion was more Taught in Sermons and Discourst of amongst Christians the performance of Holy Duties wherein it 's obtain'd would not be thought a meer fancy and the light and beauty of Grace would more shine in the Church of Christ A Third Meditation ensuing upon the second may be Whether you have not some longings after the same establishing Experiences If you have these longings may be kindled by the consideration of their being attainable I was once so carnal as only to look to things seen and thought the Reliance upon an unseen Superiour power to be a vain imagination but God in his excellent Mercy has convinc'd me beyond all doubt of his governing Providence that disposes of Events for the good of those who wait upon him and the same goodness will be extended to all that sincerely seek his face for ever We must regard the Word as our Rule the Spirit as our Guide to direct us by that Rule and the Dispensations of Providence correspondent to that Rule and we shall be preserv'd from the Atheistical neglect of God and from the fancies and phrensies of those who pretend to Inspiration from above and from doing those things which are directly and scandalously contrary to the reveal'd Will of God O that Christians would earnestly pray for the Holy Spirit that by his directing-light they may understand the Scriptures and by his warm impressing them on their Hearts they may feel their cleansing and comforting power but truly Christians in our day are not much concerned to mind and try the work of God in their own Souls nor seek after knowledge of him by his Operations in others The Observations of our selves and the Communion of Saints are rare Duties We live at a distance from our selves and in converse with others the subject of our discourse is the present World or Notional Religion which occasions Dissention and Faction whereas the mutual communicating of Christians to one another what God has done for their Souls and how variously according to their wants their desires their sorrows and fears he has attempered his Dispensations would be an excellent means to raise their admiration of his condescending and compassionate Goodness and of his Wisdom and establish their joyful trust in him Fourthly If you have any longing and find it
attainable can you have easier means Inward Religion affords no Lesson for emaciating your Bodies with outward Fastings but commands a rational and moderate support of our Bodies sitting them the more for serving God We are not enjoyn'd to be Pilgrims and to take wearisom Journies as a Penance for Sin Christian Society and Communion will make us more watchful against Sin The Gospel does not enjoyn severity and niceties in outward Conversation which rather discourages than invites those who are without but allows a civil sweetness to all but there are Seasons of Retirement and Recollection from the business and pleasures of the World which a Christian ought to improve for more immediate Fellowship with God There are chosen hours wherein the Soul ascends to God by solemn Thoughts and ardent Desires and God descends into the soul by the Excitations of his Graces and the Influences of Joy and it is most unreasonable to think Religion to be sowre and unpleasant because wise and holy Christians prefer God before the Creature and Heaven before the Earth Begin therefore and go on in the right way with steady Resolutions not to stand still or draw back and you will have renewed Strength and Comfort afforded you will be advancing every day in your Journey till you arrive at the Celestial Canaan Fifthly Reflect not only upon the easiness of your means but also upon the certainty and comfort of obtaining your end of Holiness here and Happiness hereafter by them How are you able to spend your spirits upon Notions that have no other foundation than depraved Reason and little other design than Self-Applause and the Character of Learned or Leader of such a Party Let it be the great Work of Ministers to preach those Truths whereby we may have Communion with the Lord crucified here and with him glorified hereafter and thereby the Souls of the people will be confirmed in the blessed hope God has given an account of his Truths to be believed and obeyed yea to be try'd and the more strict and particular the Enquiry is the more certain of our Profession here and of our Priviledge hereafter It is superficial knowledge of Religion that occasions uncertainty in our selves but an inward serious sense of its Power will fortify us against all the fiery Darts of Satan Be at certainty therefore of your Persuasion here and as to your Inheritance hereafter I shall add this Who that sincerely and with perseverance pray'd for the Spirit of Truth that read and heard the Word with attention and application yet has remained in darkness and distracting doubts about eternal things God will make good his Promise Those that seek him shall praise him for the Revelation of his Goodness to them Sixthly Let this be the Reflection of the Reader of these Papers What Excuse at Christ's Tribunal can I make either for the ignorance of my mind as to the Truth of Christianity or the looseness of Conversation from God's Divine Rule after reading the great things in the Change of this Author's Soul the few and easy means that led him to it Can you think any thing else but as it witnesses for God on earth so it will witness against you above and aggravate your Sin and Punishment Light came into the world others comprehended it walk'd in it the Light that truly might obtain the Inheritance of the Saints in light but you chose rather to walk in darkness If you now think it not worth your while to endeavour the means of obtaining such a Pearl of Price as the true knowledge of Christianity and its Practice on earth and perfect Holiness and Happiness above the reward of it you may walk on under a Cloud of Delusion but you will find that inward Darkness will bring you to outer Darkness in an everlasting Hell Seventhly Let therefore your Meditations issue here I will in the strength of God begin the use of these Three Means according to the Prescription of this Witness for God and I will try whether I find the same Experiences or others as marvellous or more suited to my Case it being possible for me to use these three means when hearing the Word taking the Sacrament and communion with Saints are deni'd me yea easy and pleasant to admix them in all my business and pleasures To encourage which Resolution I shall subjoin the following Directory as a means of keeping up constant fellowship with God and your selves and as a Bulwark against the Prophanity and Error of the Age. LET me previously bring to your thoughts what has been already treated of to wit three Methods of God's conducting his Children thorough this lower life The conduct of his revealed Will in the Scriptures Of his divine Providence without And of his divine Spirit by his workings in the Soul answerable to which three Methods of condescending power and love three Duties have been proposed as means to be interested in this threefold divine blessing Observation of outward Providences as a help to know and to believe in his general and special Providence round the created and adopted sons of God serious Prayer as a help to know to experience the certainty of the spiritual operations of a divine spirit in the soul Reading the Scripture with Pool's Annotations a help to know notionally God's Will and experimentally to know it as Truth made out in his way of Providence and inward workings in the soul As necessary therefore to guide you to the right and continued use of these three easy Duties interesting the soul in these three marvellous blessings for which the Godhead will be admir'd lov'd and prais'd in our eternal state I give you my own course thorough a day as what has kept my self in constant heavenliness of frame and afforded me the astonishing enjoyments of Grace and that with so great ease to lawful business and diversions Your knowing my hurrying affairs and the enjoyments of Grace I have experiene'd and given forth now to the world would be sufficiently convincing how easy and how comfortable no ways detracting from diligence in business or lawful recreations this blessed life of Religion is and since I am not to be known I desire to impart the way I walk in for your imitation and soon you 'll be convinc'd of the reality and sweetness of inward Christianity however the meer profession thereof expose it to the Censure of others as burden melancholy and the like The Day is to be divided in three parts the Morning the Course of the Day and the Evening The Evening I appropriate principally to the exercise of that Noble Faculty of the Soul Even-Reflection the two former parts principally to Apprehension and Observation First therefore After awaking or in the time of dressing observe the frame of your Souls whether serious or not whether it seems to be the bent of your mind to think upon God and your Duties to him or whether there wants a force upon your soul thereto Secondly After dressing
begin your Morning Duties with reading a Psalm or a Chapter by Pool's Annotations observe the Words and Sentences thereof that impress your minds most with serious advertency to them observe the thoughts that thence arise at the time if tending to explain what formerly you were ignorant of if tending to establish you in what formerly you had the knowledge of if tending to make you resolve you 'll conform to it or if tending to comfort you as having walk'd conform to it and thereby discovering your self in the reading such a Portion of Scripture Thirdly Enter upon private Prayer with a serious Acknowledgment of God's Favour in conducting you through the Night and with a sincere Supplication to him for his conduct thro' the Day by his special Providence and Spirit that from the evidence of both thorough the Day you may discover his special Favour to your souls as a comfortable evening Cordial and that by his supplies of Grace throughout the day you may be enabled to bring forth the blessed Improvement of both by the exercise of Trust in and Love to the Godhead for life and salvation Observe your frame of soul throughout this Prayer observe if it continue in the same degree of seriousness throughout the whole or vary according to the various Petitions put up Observe and record the different Frames and different Petitions Fourthly Go forth thus prepared to your lawful Business and Conversation In your Business through the day observe First The Passages of Providence that seem to bring Undertakings to your hand Secondly Observe your own Endeavour in the use of Means And Thirdly The Event of each Undertaking In your Conversation through the day observe 1. The Occasions of your Entrance into it whether Idleness Lust within Necessity or Recreation 2. The Frame of your Mind while in it whether on your watch against the evils thereof And 3. The Issue of it whether freedom from or commission of Sins But now in the evening of the day Reflection according to the Observation and Record of the day is the Duty preceding your last Closet Prayer and to be recommended to your practice Perform it in the following Parts First Reflect upon the frame of your Souls that you observ'd in the morning whether by the Duties of Reading and Prayer it was not brought to a seriousness if observ'd to be unserious or to a greater seriousness than the degree of seriousness at first observ'd yea perhaps to great Heavenliness The improvement whereof must needs be that it is good to draw near to God in the Duties he has prescrib'd and a fix'd resolution to walk therein and perhaps daily continuance may bring in daily additions of the Enjoyments of Grace and preserve the Christian in daily heavenliness of Soul as Bulwark against all the Temptations of the day with Honour to God and great inward Peace Secondly Reflect upon the passages of Providence round you through the day and First of all compare them to the parts of the Scripture you read in the morning and to the Thoughts that then most imprest your Minds to see whether or not these passages of Divine Providence afford you some discovery of the reality of that part of the Scripture thus observ'd establishing your Faith in it The improvement whereof must needs be a resolution to go on in the same Duty of reading the Scripture in the morning before the entring upon the business of the day and perhaps there will arise to your sensible Experience greater knowledge of God's Word than ever yet has been observ'd by you in the enjoyment of outward Instruction yea such establishment to its truth and reality as could not be brought forth by the strongest arguings of the most Learn'd and into which the strongest Dart of Erroneous Sophistry can never pierce enabling your Soul not only to see the Reality but even Harmony of God's Word to his Providence and Spirit Secondly Compare the Providences of the Day to your Morning-Duty of Closet-Prayer to the Petitions therein put up and to the frame of Soul you were then under that you may discover what Passages of Providence seem to be afforded you in return to Prayer and what Frame your Soul was in and what was your Utterance in that Prayer or part thereof that was return'd The improvement whereof must needs be a discovery of the Certainty of Access to God by Prayer and a Desire to be always in that Frame wherein you was when you pray'd that Prayer that is so visibly return'd It will help you to see a difference between one kind of Prayer and another between a Prayer with our own Spirit and with the Spirit of Christ between a Prayer with the Spirit of Christ enabling to ask sincerely and a Prayer with the Spirit of Christ giving the Soul the comfortable sense of it as such and discovering the Reality of a Divine Strength above our selves both bringing the Providences of the day to us and bringing forth the improvement thereof in us by a gradual advancement of relyance upon and love to the free Grace of God in Christ by whose satisfaction this once-seal'd Fountain is open'd and by whose Spirit its Waters of Spiritual Life continually flow upon us and in the use of Duties apply'd to us Thirdly Reflect upon your own way of managing Business and Conversation with others that so you may not only discover a special Providence round you but the actings of a Divine Spirit within you and that by comparing First Your Frame of Soul to the Passages of Providence laying Undertakings in your way through the day reflecting whether God was observed in bringing them about as a discovery of Divine Strength in you carrying your observation beyond the enjoyment even to God himself Secondly By comparing your Frame of Soul to your method of using Means and managing Endeavours thus providentially laid in your way not only whether God was regarded therein laying Providences in your way or helping you to observe him but whether your concern run out chiefly upon doing Duty neither designing ill ends nor endeavouring to bring about any purpose in the use of ill means but regarding Duty to him in all Thirdly Compare your Frame of Soul to the Events of such Undertakings thus providentially laid in your way and thus faithfully managed by you if they are according to expectation or better than expectation Reflect whether exercise of the Grace of Love and Faith were not and ought not to be brought forth by such a Discovery and a fix'd resolution to keep on in the same lawful use of means with a trust to Divine Supply for Events as full evidence of the working of Christ's Spirit in your Soul and of your being under his Spiritual Conduct In Conversation with others 1. Reflect upon your Entrance to it whether its occasions were Necessity and innocent Recreation with a previous Address for Divine Conduct in it 2. Reflect upon your Carriage in it thus prepared the Temptations