be a castaway Intimating that a man may preach to others and may be a means to save others and yet not be saved himself So 1 Cor. 13.1 Ministers in this case may be as Cooks are A Cook may dresse many a dish and let them go through his hands to furnish a large and stately Table yet of all these dishes himself hardly taste one So Ministers they may dresse many a dish for their hearers yet they not lick their fingers or taste of this spiritual food themselves As in the building of the Ark there were many men built Noahs Ark to save others that were drowned themselves so many men may build an Ark by preaching the Word and the waies of God to save other mens souls when they may be drowned themselves Hence it is the Scripture tells us of Stars that fell from heaven many Ministers that seemed godly Ministers like Stars in their Generation yet they fell and became wicked and loose And I remember Doctor Pembleton a famous Minister in the daies of Queen Mary and a man whose Ministry had converted many Christians yet at length he himself turned to be a Papist Now these Christians did never misdoubt or suspect their conversion because the man that converted them was a bad man They might be good people though he was a bad Minister so that this is no ground in the world though I confesse it is not ordinary that God makes wicked men means of conversion but God ordinarily crowns the Word most in the mouth of a godly Minister yet sometimes I say God may use a means to convert souls And I would give you these reasons to prove that a wicked man may convert souls and that God ties not conversion to a godly Minister Because first the efficacy of the word doth not depend upon men but upon Jesus Christ and Christ may make use of whom he pleaseth Secondly If only a good man could convert then this would follow that we could be as well sure of another mans conversion as we are of our own which is a thing most untrue For if only a godly man could convert then if I were sure of my own conversion I were as well sure of his conversion that wrought upon me also which cannot be so that clearly this should lay no block in your way because you discern the Minister that wrought upon you to be no good man seeing conversion is not tied onely to a godly Minister Thirdly a third ground from whence doubts arise in called ones is from some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the concomitants that acompany or in the effects that should follow effectual calling and this makes them fear that sure they are not effectually called I will name to you three or four First saith a doubting Christian I do hear in Scripture what effects will follow and what will accompany a man effectually called and I finde them not wrought in my soul As now first I apprehend that when a man is effectually called he shall be inabled by God to call upon him in prayer I finde in Scripture 1 Cor. 1.2 That all that are called to be Saints they shall call upon the Lord in every place but alas woe is me I do not finde this in my soul I finde I have a dull dead listlesse unpraying heart all the daies of my life and therefore I doubt whether I am effectually called or no. Now to this I shall lay down three things for answer First peradventure you judge that you are not enabled to pray because you want expressions in prayer though you have affections Now if you judge your inability to pray because you want expressions only you judge amisse because prayer is to be judged by the affections not by the expressions Expressions they are but the breath of nature a natural voluble tongue may tumble out expressions whereas affections in prayer they are the breath and fruit of the holy Spirit Therefore do not judge you cannot pray because you have not such fluent expressions as others use for the very essence of a prayer lies in the heart and therefore it is said when the Spirit of God teacheth men to pray it teacheth them not onely in expressions but with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 When the Spirit moves the heart and makes you sigh out your requests and sorrow out your supplications you pray best of all Secondly you that judge your inablity to pray and therefore think you are not called because you cannot call upon God I would say this unto you That the best of Gods children have found a great difference in their spirits in reference to paying duties the best of Gods children do not alwaies pray alike Sometimes the affections of godly men are as swift in prayer as the Chariots of Aminadab otherwhiles they drive as heavily as Pharaohs Chariots when the wheels were off Sometime the people of God are burning in their affections hot as fire otherwhiles they are frozen in their affections cold as ice None of Gods people are in their carriage alwaies alike towards God in prayer Psal 77.4 It is the speech of Asaph O Lord my spirit is overwhelmed within me I am sore troubled I cannot speak The man was so troubled he could not speak yet Asaph spake these words with his mouth but the meaning is though Asaph was a godly man yet he was so overwhelmed with trouble he could not speak to God he could not call upon God with that inward vigor of spirit Though thou mayest sometime call upon God with affection yet when trouble rests upon thee thy heart may be out of frame Thirdly many times Gods people are subject to a state of desertion and abatements in their sâ—iritual affections and then they are out of a praying vein when you loose affections the wheels of prayer are knocked off Many times it falls out with Gods people that they are even brought into a languishing and low condition they are in such a swoune as if they had neither a principle nor the actings of spiritual life Rev. 3.2 Strengthen that which remaines saith the holy Ghost that is ready to die Godly people may be a dying people and then the tongue failes when it is a dying the people of God may be in a dying condition though they never die wholly in grace yet they may be so weakned in their spirits that they cannot pour out their requests to God as in wonted time 2 Chron. 17.3 Jehosophat he walked in the first waies of David his father implying that Davids first waies were better then his last So many men may have their first waies good yet sometime in the end before they die they may have much failing and deadness of spirit upon them Fourthly If a man doth but mourn that he cannot call upon God God looks upon that as calling upon him If you can but sigh out your requests and mourn that you cannot mourn and pray that you
nothing should be irksom to you that God would have you perform in case he would give you your wonted comforts If you finde this temper of spirit in you this is a very ready way to bring on your comforts and restore the joyes of your salvation to you Secondly Set upon humbling work the onely way to gain what you have lost is to mourn over your losses Jer. 31.18 19 20. See how Ephraim comes to have his comforts restored when he wept over his own discomforts I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe saith God and I said Is Ephraim my dear sonne I saw him smitting upon his thigh humbling his soul for his sins and since I saw him I do earnestly remember him and I will shew mercy to him Here you see lamenting Ephraim God in the very time of his bemoaning himselfe restored his comforts to him we hear many lament for their outward losses but who laments for the losse of inward comforts And David after he had lost his comforts by that great sin of adultery makes seven penitential Psalmes Psalmes of lamentation or repentance and he calls one of them A Psalm to call to remembrance And as an Author well notes when David came to renew his comforts he makes a Psalm to call to remembrance those sins that might provoke God to take away his comforts from him So Beloved let it be your work to make such Psalmes in your Closets and make it your practice to call to remembrance those evils that provoke God to eclipse your comforts to you and let that humble you If you cannot finde out the Particular sin labour to humble your soules for every sin and then to be sure you cannot misse that Thirdly Would you restore your wonted comforts then set upon praying work This course you sinde David took Psal 51.8 Make me O Lord to hear the voice of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken might rejoyce Create in me a new heart and establish me with thy free Spirit verse 12. Here you read of Davids praying work how he poured forth his soul in prayer that God would restore to him the joyes of his salvation And here in your praying work I would onely cast in three directions First pray for a distinct sight of those evils that provoked God to take your comforts from you Secondly After you have got a sight bend the strength of your prayers most against those evils that did so provoke God to cloud your comforts Pray against them as against the deadliest enemy you have in the world Thirdly Pray for attaining those graces that may be inlets to spiritual comfort as the graces before named the grace of godly sorrow the grace of humiliation the grace of faith and of love to Jesus Christ Thus if you set upon searching upon humbling and upon praying work you are in a likely way to have your comforts restored Fourthly Set upon the work of Meditation and in this work I shall commend four meditations you are to take into your thoughts which may be very helpful and useful to you in restoring your comforts As First Let your meditations run upon this that sometimes you are not so competent Judges of your own spiritual estate as others may be As First In a time of desertion when God hath left you and frownes upon you Secondly In times of temptation when the devils temptations are violent against you Thirdly In times of Relapse when you are fallen into some great sin at this time you are not so competent Judges of your own estate but standers by may see more of your own good and your own sincerity then your selves may do as the Proverb is Many timâ—s Lookers on see more then he that playes the game it is true in this A Looker on may see sincerity sparkle in thy practice and thy graces shine in thy conversatioâ— when thou canst not do it thy selfe A childe when it blubbers and cries can see nothing of his book So when Christians are sad and sullen and lumpish they can hardly read any thing of their evidence Mr. Throgmorten got his assurance this way by the Testimony of a company of godly Mâ—nisters that they could lay their soules in his souls stead Let this therefore run in your Meditations that many times standers by and Christians that behold your walkings and see your Actions they may see more ground of comfort in you then your selves can do Secondly Meditate and think upon the comforts God gave you in wonted time and call them to minde Do as David did Psal 77. I called to minde the dayes of old and the years of many generations Call to minde ancient dayes did not God shew thee his face did not God bear thee in the palmes of his hands did not God give thee many a smile of his countenance and many a pledge of his love even by affliction it selfe did not God set many a seal upon thy heart that thy comforts were true thy evidence clear and thy ends sincere towards God Beloved call to minde the former frame of thy spirit how thou waft in wonted times and this Meditation being backed by Gods Spirit may be a great meanes to restore thy comforts to thee past goodnesse should be present encouragement Thirdly Meditate what way it was that you got your former comforts and assurance and the same way God will sanctifie to restore you your comforts again What Physicians say of the body We are nourished of those things of which we are begotten and generated So I say of comforts The very same thing that begot comforts the same will restore your comforts again Now think upon this in your practice and consider What way did I gain my comforts in yeares past did I gain my comforts by godly sorrow and by lamenting after God and by mourning over those abominable failings in my practice now take the same course to restore thy evidences Goe and mourn in thy closet over thy uneven walking before God Goe lament for thy sins mourn after thy Father and tell him thou art grieved at the heart that he is so great a stranger to thy soul Didst thou gain thy assurance in dayes past by humbling thy soul often before God Set upon humbling work again Didst thou gain thy comforts in dayes past by walking closely with thy God Amend thy paths and direct thy waies unto thy Maker for daies to come there is the very same way to restore your comforts that was at first to gain your comforts Fourthly Let your Meditations work upon those comforting Promises in the Gospel that hold forth most comfort to a dejected soule And truly I am perswaded Christians Meditations running more upon their own failings and their own jealousies and upon their own mistakes then upon Gospel-promises hath been the great occasion they have layn so long under a spirit of bondage and under a dark eclipse in the want of the comforts of Gods Spirit Therefore now let
So that though God gives us not heaven for our growth in grace yet ordinarily God intails a greater measure and increase of gifts upon the well using of them while we are in this world Open your mouthes wide and God will fill them The more wide we are in our desires and expectations the more we shall be filled 2. For Reprehension Is it so that in all matters of soul concernment we should put forth a great deal of diligence then this should be a great scourge to that sluggishnesse of spirit that most men in the world are guilty of What benummednesse and what sluggishnesse of spirit do most men lie under Many men are as David was 1 King 1.1 who when he grew old he was so cold no clothes could warm him There are many men that haply have been hot and zealous in profession yet in processe of time they grow so cold that all Ordinances cannot warm them And though ordinarily the words of the wise saith Solomon are as nails and goads they are as nails to fasten us in a course of profession they are as goads to put us on every Ordinance is as a goad in our side still putting us on in a course of holinesse yet O that sluggishnesse and O that deadnesse of spirit that lies upon mens hearts they go but a snails pace in the way to heaven whereas they can run as fast as a Dromedarie in the waies of sin It is the Observation of a Rabbi That the Snail above all other creatures was by God pronounced unclean because of its slow and easie pace God looks upon thee as an unclean man and an unclean woman that hast a sluggish and a slow spirit in matters of Christianity There are many men that like no life like an idle life they are never weary so much as they are weary of doing good and weary of duties an hour at a Sermon a day at a Fast a little time at a prayer quite tires them whereas waies of vanitie and waies of pleasure they are never weary of It was the speech of that Epicure Marcus Lepidus who lying under a shady tree upon a Sunshine day stretching himself cries out O would to God this were to take pains to live at ease There are many men as sottish as he they could wish I would to God to sit in a Tavern were the way to go to heaven I would to God to walk in the fields to sit at the door on the Sabbath day that this were the way to heaven many men would be saved more easily Why how should this condemn that great sluggishnesse and idlenesse of mens spirits that they do so little in the matters of soul concernments Beloved you have cause to labour because you finde many that have taken pains for heaven that never came to heaven Many shall strive to enter but shal not be able Luke 13 Had not you therefore need to take heed Nay Beloved suppose it is a supposition Aegydius hath though not true yet I say suppose it that all the world should be saved but one man yet saith he you have cause to take pains to be happy lest you should be that one man should perish If all the world should be saved but one man only if one man should be damned I have cause to labour with all my might that I be not that one man Here then great cause you have not to lye under sluggishnesse in all matters pertaining to the soul You have a great deal of do and haply but a little time if you knew the greatnesse of your work and sâ—ortnesse of your time haply you would now set about the businesse of your salvation It was the speech of young King Charles of Sicily lying upon his death bed I have scarce yet begun to live and now woe is me I am compelled to dye Beloved Many of you may have cause to say thus you have scarce yet done one good action that may give you any evidence to be happy with Christ another day Happily you have not yet begun to be Christians and you may be soon called to dye and what an affliction would this be to you that you have hardly begun to live a life of grace and yet you must dye the life of nature This Diligence is conversant about many things 1. In getting grace Here you have a great work to do to get grace Above all gettings get understanding And the difficulty of getting grace doth shew the goodnesse of grace As we say in nature the most vile things are most obvious to the eye and most common to be found you have stones and dirt every where but things of a more excellent nature are more hard to come by if you would have Gold you must dig into the earth if you would have Pearle you must dive into the â—ea things that are excellent nature hath made them hard to come by This shewes the goodnesse of those matters which concern the soul that they are very hard to be got Prov. 2.2 4. Seek fâ—r wisdome as for silver and dig for it as for hidden Treasure And then 2. Diligence is required not onely to get grace but to keep it and it is no lesse skill to keep grace then to get it there are so many temptations lie in your way And then 3. To watch the heart that doth conspire against your grace and against your soul Prov. 4.23 Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life 4. In examining the heart Psal 64.6 The heart is deep and Psal 77.6 All these considered you have cause to take pains in all the matters of the soul Thus having finish'd this Doctrine I now pass to the Particulars to which this diligence is applied Give diligence to what Why To make your Calling and Election sure From whence the second Observation I shal draw is this That Christians that profess the Gospel ought to put forth a great deal of industry and diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually called and eternally elected Give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure Now I cannot handle this Doctrine in the bulk of it but must of necessity take it into parts and handle it piece by piece that so I may give you the strength of the whole Observation in the Application of it And seeing Calling lies in the front I shal in a few Sermons treat of that And the Point from thence wil be this That That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually Called Beloved This is a very material Point I am now upon especially in this deceitful age wherein men plunge themselves into a gulfe of presumption wherein many times men take faith upon trust and Christ upon trust It is meet that you that live under the Gospel should trie your Calling by the Gospel whether
foolish and Christ weak men uncall'd they have low thoughts of Christ but to you that are called Christ is the power and wisdome of God You will have high thoughts of Jesus Christ if you are effectually called 4. That man that is effectually called he shall be inabled by the spirit of Christ to call upon God 1 Cor. 1.2 To all in Corinth called to be Saints with all that call upon the name of the Lord. There the Apostle joynes called to be Saints with this phrase to call upon God to shew that whoever is effectually called to be a Saint that man shall be inabled by the Spirit of Jesus to call upon God Psal 27.8 When thou saidest Seek my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek Hence ye read Acts 9.11 when Ananias doubted whether Paul was truly call'd or no and Jesus Christ would convince Ananias that he was truly call'd what means doth he use verse 11. do not suspect him but arise saith Christ and go to him into the street called straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus for behold he prayeth If he were not called he would never go to God in such a cordial way and humble his soul before God for his by past failings and beg strength for time to come and labour to have his peace made with me Go to him for behold he prayeth and therefore all you that have not a spirit in any measure to call upon God and to pour forth your requests in a solemn prayer you have just cause of jealousie to suspect your Call 5. If you are effectually called God hath wrought in your souls an utter detestation and loathing of all the evils that in the former part of your lives before your calling you have committed and were guilty of Hos 14.8 Ephraim shall say what have I any more to do with Idols The interogation imports a vehement detestation of them and indignation against them 2 Cor. 7.11 the Apostle speaks there of repentance the same with calling when men come to have the work of grace in their hearts and this is a branch of it that godly sorrow causeth care and causeth feare and causeth indignation that is if any man be a repenting man and a converted man this conversion will cause indignation that is he will be even mad with himselfe and angry with himselfe that he should be so vile a wretch before conversion as he hath been Thus was Paul he speakes with indignation against the sins he was guilty of before his calling I have been a persecutor I have hal'd the Saints into prison Nay saith he I was even mad against the Church Beloved you will count your sins to be madnesse and count them to be greatly aggravated that were committed before God call'd you Anselm said to his body I 'le tame thee O unruly beasâ— with fasting and prayâ—r We read of one that bit off his tongue in indignation that therewith he had denied Jesus Christ Another Martyr put that hand first into the fire with which he had subscribed a recantation saying Burn thou O hand that didst subscribe to that which might have made me burn both body and soul in hell And therefore you that have no loathing thoughts against past deceit and past drunkennesse and past swearing and past evils suspect your calling You that do not abhor the thoughts of your formeâ— evils your wonted pride and wonted covetousnesse if you cannot look with indignation against these you have great cause to suspect your call For if God have called you he will make you even angry with your selves that ever you have been so vile as you have been Hence it is when God speaks of Israels conversion Isa 2.20 't is said they shall cast away their Idols from them they shall cast away their sins as with indignation against themselves because they have sinned And hence in the Prophesie of Ezek. 20.43 the Prophet tels them that for the evils they had done they should loath themselves in their own eyes their indignation should be so great against themselves that ever they should be so vile against God before their call So David with indignation saith after he had recovered himselfe and brought his heart into a repentant frame so foolish was I and Ignorant Psal 73.22 Now Beloved I would hear appeale unto you I will judge no man let your own consciences passe sentence upon you But let me appeale to your selves Have not many of you before these times been opposers of Religion men walking in ungodly lewd and profane courses of living haply now you are moulded into a form of Profession now you hear the Word speak wel of Ministers now you cry up Government many your plausible wayâ—s and actions you can carry on but what is in your hearts Have you indignation against your past persecution and evils If not belieâ—e it though you go far I fear you may comâ— short of heaven your calling is not real if you have not indignation â—nâ— wrath against your former sins commitâ—ed And therefore O what a sad word is this to all â—nsensible sinners that are men that never had their hearts touch'd with remorse for any evil What a sad word is this to you that have been drunk week aâ—â—er week and sworn day after day and dâ—câ—ived hour after hour and been unclean time after time and yet all these evils never touch'd the heart Truly you have grâ—at cause to fear that God hath not yet â—ffâ—ctually called you by Jesus Christ 6. The man that is effâ—ctually callâ—d his spirit is brought into an obediâ—ntial frame to yield obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ if God call you by his Spirit he will not leave you to the exorbitancies of your own wayes and will but he will bring you to a yeeldingnesse of heart to all his commands Rom. 15.6 We have received grace and Apostleship for obedience to the faith among all Nations among whom you are also the called of Jesus Christ The Apostle did not alone receive grace for obedience but the same was among them also You receive grace for the obedience of faith So that now if you are the called of Jesus Christ the Lord hath this work upon you he doth bring you to the obedience of faith that is he doth work in your souls a yeelding frame to obey all the commands of Jesus Christ and therefore any of you that stand out with stoutnesse of heart against Jesus Christ let Christ say what he will you will do what you list let him command what he will you will do what you please you that stand out thus with gainsaying of spirit against Jesus Christ you have great cause to suspect your Call Again 7. A man effectually called by Jesus Christ he will be mis-called and reproach'd by the men of the world John 15.19 If you were of the world the world would love his own but because you are not of
might pray the Lord hears your prayer This is the most melodious musick you can make in the ears of God Therefore David saith Psal 6.8 The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping There is a voice in Teares as well as in Words If the Lord see thee to weep over thine own streightnesse and mourn over thine own deadnesse the Lord looks upon this with a more pleasing eye then if thou couldst pour out the enlargements of thy tongue with most fluent and voluble expressions SERMON VIII 2. Pet. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give all diligence to make your Callinâ— and Election sure THE Doctrine I am yet upon is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their soules that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the prosecution of which I have gone over many particulars and answered some doubts in reference to godly men who are effectually called As first in regard of some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the manner of their calling Secondly in the means of their calling And thirdly which I am yet upon of some defects they apprehend about the concomitants that accompany those that are effectually called of which I have spoken onely of one in particular to wit that they cannot call upon God in prayer I now passe to the second Secondly They apprehend that those that are effectually called they have this to accompany their calling that they are brought out of a state of ignorance into a state of knowledge out of a state of darknesse into a state of light hence they will urge this against themselves 1 Pet. 2.9 Ye are to shew forth the praises of him who hath calâ—'d you out of darknâ—sse into his marvellous light And Acts 26.18 He sent forth his Word to call them from darkness to light and from the Power of Satan unto God Now saith the poor soul Alas I do not finde this concomitant to be in my heart I do not finde this marvellous light the Scripture here speaks of 2 Cor. 4.6 Alas my heart is like a dungeon of darknesse and like a house that hath no inlets no windows to let in the Sun-shine of the Gospel upon it and many times this gravelleth many a godly minde Now to those that make this doubt I shall onely speak two or three things to take it off Firâ—t to you that make this complaint I would say this that those that know most they know but little in the mysteries of Jesus Christ as you are not perfect in other graces so you are not here perfect in knowledge You know but in part 1 Cor. 13.9 therefore you have no need to be discouraged at this Secondly and more particularly you that complain of ignorance though you are ignorant and cannot finde that marvellous light shine in your souls which you exspect yet if your ignorance have not these three ill qualities you may rest confident your ignorance will never prove a damning sin unto you but it may be consistent with your effectual calling As First If your ignorance be not a stubborn and wilful ignorance Secondly If it be not a sottish and brutish ignorance And thirdly If it be not a fundamental ignorance First If it be not a stubborn and wilful ignorance Though you are ignorant yet if you are willing to learn and know the waies of God revealed in his Word such an ignorance will never damn you But when ignorance comes to be wilful that a man doth not know and he will not learn a man is an ignorant man yet he thinks he knows more then all the Preachers can tell him this is a sad sign you are not effectually called Hence you read Prov. 1.22 How long ye simple ones will you lovâ— simplicity c Godly people may be in a state of ignorancee but they love it not therefore 2 Pet. 3.5 the Scripture tells us of wicked men that they are wilfully ignorant So that if your ignorance have not this bad quality in it to be a stubborn and wilful ignorance it may stand with your effectual calling Secondly Provided that your ignorance be not a sottish and brutish ignorance that is that you do not so lie clouded in a state of darknesse that you are uncapable to discerne the goodnesse of the Word and uncapable to apprehend any thing that is taught you that you are not like those Jer. 4.22 My people have no understanding they are a sottish people wise to do evil but to do good they have no understanding Many men are ignorant men yet not so sottishly ignorant as not to be capable of learning if you will teach him he is willing to be instructed but some men are so ignorant they are not capabâ—e of learning you may as well â—â—ach a block as them Hence it is the Prophet complains Esa 1.4 The Oxe knows his owne and the Asse his Masters Crib but Isâ—ael knows not the Lord his God Thirdly In case your ignorance be not a fundamental ignorance I mean such an ignorance as not to know those necessary and fundamental points in the Word that must be known if ever you be saved as about Jesus Christ and salvation and justification by his blood and faith in his Naâ—e c. though you may be ignorant about circumstantials yet if it be not in fundamentals your ignorance may be consistent with effectual calling But now Thirdly If a godly man be satisfied in these two points and thinks happily I may have the first concomitant to call upon God and so evidence my effectual call and then happily the second may not be wanting in me that I do not lie under the state of a wilful sottish fundamental ignorance But alas saith he I want a third concomitant that accompanies effectually calling and that is I finde in the Word that they that are effectually called they are brought into an Obediential frame of heart to all the wayes of God that what ever God commands them to do their hearts can readily obey and this I finde Rom. 1.5.6 God hath called them by his grace unto the obedience of faith Now alas saith a poore soul I finde a defect in this concomitant likewise I cannot discern that I am called to an obedience flowing from faith as its principle I cannot finde this frame of heart to be in me and therefore I doubt of my effectual calling This I shall labour to take off likewise First When I say that obedience is a concomitant that will accompany one effectually called I do not say nor intend it of obedience in the actings of it but of obediential frame of spirit in the purposes of it Many men may be effectually called when they may not alwayes live in the acting of obedience to Christ but every man effectually called hath an obedient frame of heart that is he hath purposes intentions and resolutions to obey God though he cannot act what he would do he hath
grace to be the multiplying of peace The more you multiply and grow in grace the more you will increase peace inward peace of conscience they are both joyned together You have a passage 2 Pet. 1.5 11. compared together Adde to your faith vertue c. The Apostle there urgeth our diligence to adde grace to grace that is to live in the improvement of grace And what wil follow ver 11. If you doe these things you shall never fall for so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdome of our Lord Iesus Christ You shall not onely goe to heaven but you shall have an abundant entrance ministred before you come there you shall have abundance of assurance and inward peace before you come there And here to give you a more particular direction there are these foure graces chiefly you are to improve First Improve the grace of humility Isa 57.15 The Lord doth promise there to revive the spirit of the humble It is a particular promise to that grace that God will revive you and give you a new life if you have it And reviving there is not meant of the first life of grace but of a life of comfort They had grace before but God would give them a life of comfort he will restore your consolation to you in case you are an humble people Hence it is Iam. 4.6 The Lord gives grace to the humble Yea he gives more grace The Lord gives more grace to the humble person then to any man in the world Now the more grace you have the more comfort you must needs have Humility is a foundation of more grace therefore needs must be a foundation of more comfort That building whose foundation is laid lowest is of all the most beautiful and comely Fabrick above ground So those Christians that lay a foundation low in humility they are likely to reare up a most beautiful Building in way of comfort Secondly Improve the grace of faith in beleeving and that is the way to increase comfort 1 Peter 1.8 Whom though you have not seen yet believing you rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Though they did never see Christ yet believing in Christ and improving their faith they had not onely an ordinary measure of comfort but they had more comfort in their hearts then they could utter with their Tongue They rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory So Rom. 15.13 The God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in Believing that you may abound in hope through the Holy Ghost Believing makes you full of all joy and makes you abound in it The more you are in Believing the more you will be in assurance Thirdly Improve the grace of love to Jesus Christ John 14.23 If any man love me my Father shall love him and we will come in unto him and make our abode with him If you improve in your love to Jesus Christ God the Father and God the Son will make their dwelling in your hearts Now he must needs be a comfortable Christian that hath so good a guest as God the Father and Jesus Christ to come in and make their abode with him As you know to your bosome-friend whom you love and you know loves you you will communicate all your secrets Thus will God the Father if he knowes you are his bosome-friends and seeth you love him he will communicate all his comforts to you you shall never want comforts if you increase in love to Jesus Christ Fourthly Improve the grace of godly sorrow you will never finde sweeter musick in comfort then when you are laid down in teares As the sound of the Trumpet is never more pleasant then when they are upon the water so when God seeth you flow with the water of repentance and godly sorrow then you are likely to hear the most melodious harmony in the apprehension of Gods love Psal 126. They that sow in teares shall reap in joy You shall not onely have a dram but a handful of joy as Reapers they cut down handfuls of corn at once And as you know in seed though you sowe but one grain of corn there may a dozen eares come from that one seed so if you sowe but a little godly sorrow a grain of godly sorrow may be a root to a great deal of spiritual joy Secondly If you would improve your assurance preserve a clear conscience both towards God and man A good conscience is a continual Feast Prov. 15.15 Assurance I may say of it as the Father speaks of the Holy Ghost and the comforts thereof The Spirit of God is a very nice thing every thing will give the comforts of Gods Spirit a check and distaste now if you harbour sin upon conscience you will never thrive in comfort every thing will give comfortable motions a check And as Philosophers say when the Aire is foggy it ariseth from vapours that are exhaled from the earth which makes the Aire so cloudy as it is So it is filth drawn from our earthly hearts that makes such foggy mists to arise between our comforts and us and between God and us You must keep conscience clear else you will never keep heaven clear Heaven will be clouded if the heart be filthy Job 11.14 15. If iniquity be in thy hand put it far away If sin be upon the conscience harbour it not for then thou shalt lift up thy face before God thou shalt be stedfast and not fear You shall not onely not fear but you shall have a degree of assurance You shall be stedfast if you put sin far away from you A sullied and a polluted conscience shall never be in a Christian strong in assurance You will not grow in assurance if your conscience harbour guilt Thirdly If you would improve your assurance keep close in communion with God Nothing that feeds comforts so much as a Christians holy walking Esa 32.17 The work of righteousnesse shall be peace and the effect thereof quietnesse and assurance for ever If you walk in works of righteousnesse and in a way of keeping lose communion with God this shall be peace and this shall be quietnesse and great assurance Mark how the Holy Ghost makes a gâ—adation not onely peace and quietnesse but assurance also you shall have the highest degree of peace and the highest step of comfort if you walk diligently in a way of holinesse with your God And thus much be spoken to the first sort of men those that live in the enjoyment of the assurance of their effectual calling I have now a word to those men that live in the want of this assurance who happily have in times past had some glimmering and some dimme sight of comfort touching their everlasting estate and yet are now much clouded and eclipsed in their comforts or have lost the comforts they once hâ—d what they should do to recover it And to these I â—hall by way of direction speak