our minds to make known our requests to him whereby we can call God Father Gal. c. 4 v. 6. because ye are Sons he hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your heart whereby ye call him Father therefore as oft as we find our Souls thus let us wrastle it out with God till we get the blessing and desir'd grace Men that want the Spirit of God have these three dispositions Slavishness Mercenariness and Sensuality They pray out of fear and in doubt of acceptance and when they have their desires their Prayers cease unless they be customary and formal Prayers and they crave but sensual things The Spirit also supplyeth a Christian with holy ends and represseth carnal ends so that in all our requests we seek the glory of God as it is sought in all the petitions in the Lords Prayer in such the largeness of our desires doth not hinder the obtaining of them but furthereth rather for he hath commanded open thy mouth wide and hath promise to fill it The larger the desires the more pleasing to God and the more like to speed for the more of the Spirit is in them There is no colour then why any should neglect this duty upon pretence of having the Spirit for the Apostles and Disciples of our Lord continued in Prayer and breaking of Bread after they had received the spirit for God is to be found met with in those ordinances as he saith he walketh in the midsts of the Golden Candlesticks And the Spirit is to be sought in these for the best of Saints have need of seeking it in a greater measure and for continual supplies and watering every moment which they obtain in and by their communion with God in this duty But the more we have of the Spirit the more we ought to be conversant in this Duty because we are furnished with ability and for not using our Talents they may be taken away and by using they are improved And the more effectual and fervent they will be by this that they are more spiritual Much less may we neglect prayer if we think we have not the Spirit for we pray for it And this circumstance of fasting and watching is sometimes joined with this duty to the end our prayers may be more spiritual I mean a Fast from a meal that none may perceive not a Fast of 40 days nor exchange of Flesh for Fish Fasting doth as much promote it as the contrary doth let and hinder it though possibly we may use the same expression full as fasting yet they who have tryed know the advantage which this gives above that to the fervency and earnestness and the holiness of our desires and prayers and to repentance and sorrow for our sins And our Saviour tells his Disciples of a sort of Devils which could not be cast out but by fasting and prayer And Mark 9. Cornelius thus prayed and thus Daniel Dan. c. 9. both with good success David also humbled himself with fasting for they knew well that words of course as a Sacrifice that costs nothing is nothing worth And unless we thus pray in the Spirit it appears we cannot please God for the prayer cannot otherwise be holy and for such things as are pleasing to God for who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Although we ought to pray in this manner yet nevertheless ought we not to neglect the duty though we cannot perceive the assistance of the Spirit for God feedeth the young Ravens that call upon him If they can call upon him no man can pretend a disability And David in the 107 Psalm sheweth how people that are plagued for their wickedness because they rebell'd against the Lord and contemned the counsel of the most high v. 11 and 17. Yet crying unto the Lord in their trouble he deliveretd them out of their distress Though these prayers were extorted from them in their extremities when their soul abhorr'd all manner of Meat and they were even at Deaths door And when they were at their wits end and ready to perish through their hunger and thirst and bondage which for their sins they suffered yet in their extremities they cry to God whom they had sinned against and he delivereth them These were not such prayers as are put up by the Spirit for such relief even nature though degenerated can easily pray but the dictates of the Spirit are spiritual yet in regard the heart and lip go together those are prevalent much more if prayed in faith If God heareth such prayers and thou thy self hast obtained thy Requests for these or the like benefits and temporal deliverances thou mayest then be emboldened and encouraged to ask and continue praying for all thou lackest as David expresseth Psal 116. I am well pleased that the Lord hath heard the voice of my prayer therefore will I call upon him as long as I live And if thou hast been heard for things temporal thou needest not to despair or doubt when thou prayest for those things which are pleasing to God which he hath commanded thee to ask and Jesus Christ also hath commended to thee to seek and promised to procure Not but that a Child of God may and must by Faith and by the Spirit ask the things of this life for our blessed Saviour teacheth us to pray for our daily bread he pray'd Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me yet not my will but thy will be done This submission made that prayer which was natural to be spiritual although he prayed for that which he knew was impossible And since God in his mercy hath given his peculiar people many promises of temporal blessings they may and must ask them in faith in such order as Jesus Christ hath appointed viz. seeking the Kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof first and with modesty and such other circumstances as hereafter is express'd and God will grant our requests as far as is for our good But that which is sure to prevail is the holy appetite that planteth Hungers and Thirsts after righteousness for to that is the promise annexed and blessing too Matth. 5.6 Isa 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come ye Isa 44.3 I will pour water upon him that is thirsty The desires of such shall be satisfied though not utter'd with full expressions nor strength of Lungs as Prayers learn'd may be Importunity which our Saviour Christ so much presseth is comprehended under this of praying in the Spirit for he taught nothing but what was spiritual And his practice too proves it to be the operation of the Spirit that makes us importunate in Prayer for when he prayed he was frequently in agonies and prayed most earnestly It reproves those that mind other things when they pray how shall God mind their prayers what he teacheth and urgeth for this is in Luke 18. where he sheweth that for our importunities sake we are hear'd of God and argueth that we ought always
unto the ends of the world For thus only could Nebuchadnezzar be brought to this knowledge Dan. 4.33 And thus by feeling that hand of God which they refuse to see let all thine enemies be forced to acknowledge thee And thou O blessed Jesus bruise them with a Rod of Iron and break them to pieces like a Potters vessel because they have said That thou shalt not rule over them General Rules It appeareth from this that it is not the worship which God requireth which is forced from them by compulsion with an unwilling mind as that of the Israelites in the wilderness Ps 78.34 When he slew them they sought him The Rules which will shew us how to worship God acceptably are 1. That we pray read meditate and perform the like services to God from this belief That we cannot spend our time in any worldly affair so well or so much for our Profit Joy Comfort Delight and Satisfaction as in this or that duty 2. That we give our Alms with this belief that it is the best way of improvement of our wealth and therefore do it freely to such as you can never expect any return from them but from God only 3. That upon these accounts we perform our services to God with all our might These three prove our cheerfulness and willingness 4. That we perform them constantly and early 5. That we perform them invisibly to man not expecting any reward from men nor a good word 6. That we pride not our selves in our services and dispise others with a stand off I am holier than thou but count our selves unprofitable servants and desire that our very best services be cleansed purified perfumed and accepted only through the merits and mediation of Christ Jesus and confess that we can offer him nothing but that which is his own for he gives both the will and the deed that is good and puts his Spirit into us and causeth us to walk in his statutes and confess also that we have need of Christ Jesus as our High Priest to bear the iniquities of our holy things 7. That in all our services which we perform we seek principally the glory of God Thus we see that most of the petitions of the Lord's Prayer are and by thus doing we give proof that we are God's children for they seek God's glory though it be with the spoliation of their own glory as David dancing before the Ark. And the glorious Angels worship and fall down before God casting their Crowns at his feet Apoc. 4.10 8. That we faint not in our mind nor be weary but work out our salvation with fear and trembling 9. That we prepare our selves for holy duties Of Prayer THIS being the first Duty which we learn in our tender age and the first in our daily practice whether it be because that the sense of our own needs and wants driveth us to seek our supplies and succours from the omnipotent being that we thus begin the day or from the nature of man which being yet undefiled with the corruptions of ill examples followes its own Instinct and inclination and is therefore easily taught this practice or else takes it in its minority or whether it be that all do teach their infants this part of divine worship first as most necessary or that they are best capable of So it is that this is the first in order of practice and eminent for its Vertue if it be rightly performed and of most frequent use It will be therefore proper enough to begin with a Regulation of my self in this particular Which that I may do I will consider 1. The manner and circumstances And 2. The matter of prayer And 3. motives to excite my self to it The various manners of prayer are to be found in the Psalms of David And in those prayers which we read in scripture made by our blessed Saviour the Saints however it will not a little avail thee O my soul so set down those particulars which shall come to thy thoughts as well concerning the inward manner as the outward The inward is particularly expressed in Eph. 6.18 praying alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit Watching c. In the Spirit must be the manner for though Watching fasting and all other outward manners be had if this be wanting only it is but a lame or blind Sacrifice Because as it is said Rom. 8.26 We know not what to pray for as we ought Though we have the first fruits of the Spirit ib. v. 34. But we have help for our infirmities from the assistance of the Spirit And it maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered v. 27. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God When thou art such in thy prayers to God and puttest up such petitions with intention sighing and groaning of Spirit and not extention of voice thou knowest by whose assistance it is and that thou art accepted therefore crave it of God And though thou findest disability in thy self or an indisposition because the flesh cannot keep pace with the Spirit thou wilt find the intercession of the Spirit in thy heatr unutterable be not therefore discouraged or dejected because thou canst not pray vocally for those prayers that are not expressed are as powerful with God as theirs that are well expressed when thou findest in thy self a desire to draw nigh to God do it though thou wantest words As the fire from Heaven consumed Elias Sacrifice so look up to Heaven and crave Gods assistance and thou mayest find such inlargement in the duty to put up effectual fervent prayers in the Spirit whereby thou mayst take Heaven by force our lifting up of our hearts to God moveth him to bow his ear to us And having such an Almighty Helper what need we to fear infirmities let us trust to our Succours The Spirits Asistance consists in these particulars It excites holy desires which are pleasing to God and sometimes dictates them verbally sometimes without words and expressions The Spirit of Grace causeth a Christian to beg for Spiritual blessings comforts and injoyments and to desire to long breath and pant after them uncessantly It causeth fervency of Spirit firing our affections with holy Zeal for Spiritual gifts and Graces injoyments and satisfactions helpes and improvements and keeps up those holy flames which it kindles So that it preserves us from looking back with Lots wife from drowsiness slightness in performing duties and from faintings tipified by Jacob wrestling with God it unites our hearts to God and helps us against discurrency of thoughts which naturally we are subject unto Unless we are carried on in the duty by an apprehension of Spiritual enjoyments It drives away fears and doubts which are subject to arise from guilt and supplieth us with a holy confidence and child-like desposition ingenuity and assurance and freely opens
anger malice revenge covetousness lust concupiscence or the like and mourning over it humbly intreat him to succour relieve help heal cleanse wash purge and purify them by the renewing of the Spirit Or else as he answer'd St. Paul praying against the Thorn in his flesh he will supply them with grace sufficient for them From these promises we may see the reason why our blessed Saviour in that form of Prayer teacheth us to pray in the plural number our and us for this includes our selves and our fellow-members of the mystical body of Christ some whereof are but Babes or Children in religion and cannot pray for themselves as not having received so great measure of the Spirit so that they have need of our Prayers and our charity including them doth not hinder our requests for our selves but rather promotes them We see also why sometimes they pray more particularly but for themselves as the Apostle Paul did against his particular malady and burthen which he groaned under And so David did pray against his own particular sins and sufferings Deliver me from bloody-guiltiness Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity and quicken me in thy Law Incline my heart to thy Testimonies and not to covetousness c. For which particular graces we may upon occasion pray in the behalf of others according to that precept of the Apostle If any man see his Brother sin a sin which is not unto Death he shall pray for him and it shall be forgiven him Likewise may we pray for the deliverance of them from their afflictions and perils which they lie under as the Apostle Paul desires the Saints to whom he wrote to pray for his deliverance for nature dictates these prayers for our selves but grace for others that are our Brethren in Christ The Hope of speeding is that which incourageth and excites with strength and courage in every undertaking we go about If we seek of God in prayer the things which are according to his will those gifts and graces and Improvements which he hath promised to give those things which he hath invited us to ask or commanded us to ask those that our Saviour and his Apostles have taught us to ask those which the experience of other Saints and servants of God proves to be acceptable and proper requests those graces which we are commanded to have those degrees of grace and those means which we are commanded to use and those spiritual joys and injoyments which we long for and cannot be happy without why should we doubt of our success or why should we not expect a quick Return Let us then apply our selves to seek out those things As the original of all graces we first are taught by our Saviour to pray to God to give us the Holy Spirit And he that obtains this obtains also the fruits of it Love joy peace meekness gentleness patience c. And all graces whatsoever for as the Lord taught us our whole duty in one word viz. Love so here he teacheth us in one word the sum of all we need to pray for for although we pray for many things yet the sum of all spiritual things is contained in this And if we seek the spiritual gifts and graces which is signified in that expression Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness the other things shall be added unto us without seeking In this also is summed up all that we ought to pray against viz. all our spiritual enemies the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and every thing that Satan overcomes the sons of men withal This general is branched into six petitions in the Lords prayer for by the Spirit of God in us we are made holy the Temples of the Lord and are made capable to sanctify Gods holy name the love of God is spread abroad in our hearts Gods law is written in our hearts and put in our inward parts By the Mission of the holy Spirit into us we all know him and know his Judgments and do them the Kingdoms of the World become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ Righteousness will run down as a River and holiness to the Lord shall be writ upon us and all our comon things every pot in Jerusalem shall be like the bouls before the Altar And Jesus Christ shall have the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession when these and the like promises are fulfill'd And the earth shall be full of the knowledg of the Lord so that we pray implicity for these promises when we pray these petitions in the Lords prayer likewise when we pray Thy will be done we pray for the Spirit to enable us to do it and we pray to God for the fulfilling of those promises of the New Covenant which relate to it viz. That God will be our God and we shall be his people that we shall run and not be weary walk and not faint mount up with wings like an Eagle and renew our strength like an Eagle that we shall be a willing people So in the other petitions Namely that for remission of sins we cannot be assured of it nor have peace of conscience but by the operation of the Holy Ghost in our hearts by faith exciting in us unfeigned sorrow for those sins wherewith we have grieved it and working in us a stedfast resolution and purpose never to commit the like again Also when we pray against Temptations it is intended that we crave this aid by the assistance of Gods Holy Spirit to escape them for thereby we are made sufficient and able to fly them or to overcome them and to be more than conquerors so that no Spiritual weapon formed against us shall proper And if God gives us his holy Spirit we obtain also the other petitions namely to be delivered from evil and to enjoy food and raiment and all the necessaries of life for these are inseparably contained in the priviledges of the Saints For God is a Wall of fire round about them bread shall be given them and their water shall be sure so that petition also is by reason of the promise contained in that of asking the holy Spirit The rather for this that all other promises of the New Covenant are implyed in this This notwithstanding we find the Saints and Servants of God praying in other words and formes and by the Spirit too Whose Assistance I humbly crave for my further progress in these meditations Certainly when the Holy Spirit assists us in prayer it doth not only inable us to say or pray in a perscribed form but dictates the words and things prayed for according to the necessities of the person praying and prayed for Although we are not under the law but under grace that being dead wherein we were held that we should henceforth serve God in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the latter Yet must we pray against all
power to the faint and to them which have no might he increaseth strength They that wait upon the Lord shall renew thâ—ir strength Isa 40.29 30. The God of Peace shall sanctifie you throughout in spirit soul and body Faithful is he who hath called you who also will do it 1 Thes 5.23 â—4 Sin shall not have dominion over you Rom. 6.14 A new heart will I give you Ezek. 36.26 But it would seem tedious to run through all the sins which humane nature is prone to and to adapt the promises in holy Scripture to particular sins and lusts under which we labour and desire to be eased I therefore pursue it no further the rather because the precedent instances are easily imitated by those who read and meditate in the Scripture which all they do who desire to break off their sins by repentance This Direction I conceive to be necessary viz. That those who come to crave a promise of God do also consider the qualification and in the first place seek that else the promise belongeth not to thee For example if in thy trouble thou prayest that all things may work together for thy good pray also that he would circumcise thy heart and cause thee to love him with all thy heart And pray for this in the first place for the other will follow upon it This is according to God's own direction Seek first the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof all other things shall be thrown in to you And in this manner we are to put in suit all the promises We must look upon the promised blessing as the invitation and incouragement to seek the grace that is the qualification and he who prayes for the grace implicitely and most strongly prayes for the promise annexed And there is no grace but hath a promised reward annexed a cup of cold water given in charity shall not lose its reward or but two mites where little is Then we must believe that no good works shall lose its reward And there is no blessedness promised to any but those who are qualified with this or that grace as may be seen in the 5th of St. Matthews Gospel and in other like places And he that seeks godliness seeks all the promises of this life and that which is to come as incident thereto therefore seek this first For many that have the qualifications of these promises and blessedness are yet in doubt whether they are sufficiently qualified and think that they ought to be better qualified for them and desire to be better qualified as well for their own joy and comfort as also that they may be more excellent and lovely in the eye of their Lord and beloved Saviour And grace wherever it is begets a holy thirst for a greater measure and will still thirst till it enjoy the highest perfection of degrees in glory Therefore they pray chiefly for grace and the improvement of every grace in themselves and others according to that Col. 1.8 9. Since the day we heard of it viz. Their love in the spirit mentioned in the 8th verse we cease not to pray for you and to desire that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding And chap. 4.12 That ye may stand perfect and compleat in all the will of God Phil. 1.11 And be filled with the fruits of righteousness c. And for the Blessings Rewards and Promises which God hath made and limited to those who have these graces and qualifications No man that prayeth for them in the behalf of those that are qualified can doubt of prevailing as when we pray Psal 7.4 Let all those that seek thee rejoyce Psal 40.16 Psal 33.22 Let thy mercy O Lord be upon us according as we hope in thee Psal 25.21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me for I wait on thee and the like Because we oftener find these blessings and rewards positively asserted to be the portion and peculiar priviledges of those that seek God call upon him love him delight in him trust in him rely upon him have their mind stayed on him hope in him fear him and wait upon him Then we have found them particularly prayed for in the behalf of them who are so qualified Yet we do well to pray for them as well for our selves as for the whole Church of God Now in regard there be many promises free and without any condition on our part it behoves us when we fear that we are not qualified for a promise that we press God with those promises which are free as that I will love them freely Hos 14.4 I will pardon their iniquities I will heal them Hos 14.5 I will pour out my Spirit upon them Joel 2.28 I will put my Laws in their hearts and write them in their inward parts Jer. 31.33 I will be merciful to them and their sins and their iniqnities will I remember no more Jer. 31.34 He will subdue our iniquities and cast our sins into the bottom of the Sea Mich. 7.19 I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and I will not remember thy sins Isa 43.25 I will put my fear in their hearts Jer. 32.40 A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you Ezek. 36.26 Psal He will teach sinners in the way Isa 32.4 The heart of the rash shall understand Isa 42.7 He shall open the eyes of the blind Isa 44.3 I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground These and many others are promised upon very little or no consideration to be performed on our part As some are for asking seeking coming to God looking up to him If we had the sagacity of the Canaanitish woman we should perceive a door of hope through a little cranny For God will be sometimes prevailed with for a very petty consideration performed from a sincere heart because he knoweth our frailty This David well knew when he prayed Let the liseing up of my hand be as an evening Sacrifice So did the woman that brought two mites to inrich the Treasury And the Thief upon the Cross Also there are promises which are meerly free and grounded upon the privation and want of all consideration on our parts as that Therefore will the Lord wait to be gracious And at other times the Lord will not be prevailed withal but with great intreaty and importunity of prayer and fasting and alms-giving As we read our blessed Saviour told the Disciples in the case of dispossessing unclean spirits And Cornelius also with his prayers used fasting and alms much But sometimes the Lord will not be prevailed with at all as he said to the Prophet Though Noah Daniel and Job should entreat c. Therefore he commands him not to pray for that people and though Moses and Samuel should intercede Jer. 15.1 As it is said in the first chapter of Proverbs Because when I called
not that these Afflictions work for them a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory It knows not that they are sent to make them partakers of his Holiness nor seeth the munition of rocks about them they know not the supports that they have in their sufferings from Jesus Christ and the holy Ghost nor the joy proceeding from the exercising and improving their Faith Patience and other Graces nor the carresses and embraces between Christ and his Spouse and although they may read his Love-letters to her yet they do not understand the hope which she hath by the comfort of the Scriptures And though they see them meet at the Ordinances they know not how that God makes them joyful in the house of prayer Isa 56.7 Psal 69. How they are satified with the pleasure of Gods house How their souls are satisfied as with marrow and fatness when they praise God with joyful lips Psal 63. Or how they rejoyce in the Lord. And sing for joy nor that it is their priviledge that God hath given them his statutes and his laws Nor how it is a priviledge to suffer for Christ and not to be dismayed while they have God for their shield Prov. 30. And because they know not of their joys and comforts they like not their waies nor chuse their portion because they are led by their senses and this life is lived by faith and not by sight And the God of this world hath blinded their eyes that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ might not shine unto them Our Saviour tells his Apostles that they are the light of the world their successours who preach to us should shew us fully the sweets pleasantness comfort safety and profitableness of Religion and draw us with the cords of love as Christ leads his Spouse into the banqueting-house into the garden of Nuts and allures her with all manner of sollaces and courtships Cant. 7.13 At our gates are all manner of pleasent fruits new and old which I have laid up for thee O my Love so ought Pastors to inculcate these priviledges of Gods Children as Gods word doth 54. of Isaiah at large And our blessed Saviour in the 6. of St. Matth. where he sheweth Gods paternal care over men to ease them of care that they may intend the matters of their eternal salvation And largly inculcates Gods love to them and his own love Fides Exultans Meditations of that Incomparable Priviledg which Gods Children only can have The joy in the Holy Ghost Motto The voice of joy and thanksgiveing is in the dwellings of the righteous The holy Scripture is very full of proofs to make it out that they have this priviledg Rom. 14.17 The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Gal. 5.22 The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace c. 1 Thes 1.6 Having received the word in much affliction and with joy of the Holy Ghost 2 Cor. 7.4 I am exceeding joyfull in all our afflictions I am filled with comfort Psal 5.11 Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoyce Let them ever shout for joy because thou defendest them Let them also that love thy Name be joyful in thee Psal 97. v. 12. Rejoyce in the Lord O ye Righteous Acts. Repent and be baptised every one of you for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost And Psal 59. My joy shall be in the Lord. Our blessed Saviour testifieth the truth of this Assertion John 14.16 17. I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but ye know him because he dwelleth with you and shall be in you Comfort gives joy The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit Besides the Authorities cited and many more which might be cited It is evidenced by reason that the Saints have such a priviledge The first Reason to prove it may be this That the chief object of their desire is grace Psal 42. As the Hart panteth c. Psal 63. From whence I argue That the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul Prov. 13.19 And their desire shall be accomplished Prov. 20.24 The desire of the Righteous shall be granted Psal 145.19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him Now that the object which is chief in their desires is grace is proved by Psal 26.8 The desire of our souls is to thy Name And Psal 119.97 Oh how I love thy Law all the day long is my meditation therein Desire is the act Love the passion from which it proceeds Psal 1.2 His delight is in the Law of the Lord. Delight is the enjoyment of that which is loved and desired Fruition or enjoyment is joy So the holy Spouse accompts it Cant. 1.2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for his love is better then wine The Holy Gost doth and will work these desired graces in their souls and Christ will returne reciprocal love and carresses to his Spouse and the fulness of joy and will come in and sup with him that opens to him Revel 3.20 Then the soul injoyes her self when she sits under his shadow with delight Can. It is satisfied as with marrow and fatness Psal 63. Another Argument to prove it may be a Congruo It well became the goodness of so good and gracious a Soveraign when according to his Kingly office he put the yoak upon the necks of his Subjects to facilitate the yoak and sweeten the lives of his faithful Subjects in the greatest measure when his goodness was such that he laid down his life for them John 10.11 I am the good shepherd the goodshepherd layeth down his life for the Sheep He draws them to obedience by love the gratest that can be imagined he promiseth them rewards greater than could be conceived Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man what the Lord hath prepared for them that serve him And to facilitate their obedience gives them the holy Spirit to help their infirmities And sends him for a comforter to relieve and comfort them when they are afflicted oppressed or destitute of comfort in the world which he foresaw they would be therefore promised to send it and his Truth will not suffer him to fail so that when their afflictions do abound their consolations do much more abound And when their outward man doth decay their inward man is renewed day by day that makes amends for what their outward man suffers with the certainty of their hope begotten and strengthened in them by the Holy Ghost That our vile bodies shall one day be made like to his glorious body That when this earthly Tabernacle is dissolved we have a building not made with hands but eternal in the Heavens which hopes the Holy Ghost doth assure to us and thus gives us
by beneficence and bounty and wonderful deliverances wherein his hand and almighty power onely could help us appears by Psal 10â— Which recites the wonders which God wrought for the Israelites in Egypt Whereby he delivered them from that thraldom and afterwards brought them to the promised land that flowed with Milk and Hony The end of all which is expressed in the last ver That they might keep his statutes and observe his laws When God bestowes such great mercies upon us as astonish our understanding as he did to them they were like men that dream when they were deliverd from Captivity when he delivereth us miraculously just then when we are at the very brink of destruction when the knife is at our throats or like brands pulled out of the fire so are we rescued and sometimes we are so rescued from the precipice of Hell before we are consumed it is no cause that may induce us to think that we are better than others or that it is for our own righteousness sake God forwarneth the Israelites from such misconceptions and that caution seemeth to imply that we are prone of our selves to such delusions God commands them when they bring their offering to say A Syrian ready to perish was my Father c. But the cause that moved God was from himself because of his love and favour which he had to them his goodness only was the efficient cause and the final cause his own glory and so it is of all our deliverances that we being delivered should serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all the daies of our lives Sutable thereto is the practice of Gods Servants for they ascribe them not to their own merit but reflect upon their own unworthiness that they may ascribe the more to Gods free goodness and mercy saying with David What am I and what is my Fathers house that thou shouldst do such great things for me Psal 116.9 And Psal 8. Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of man that thou visitest him And St. Paul admiers Gods mercy to him who he saith Was the least of the Apostles and not worthy to be called an Apostle Which humility of mind and sense of our own unworthiness kindles the flame of our holy love to God for all his goodness and excites our Zeal to do all we can for God And not only the mercies received are improved to inflame our affections to love God our great benefactor but the mercies also which we hope for and expect hereafter as in 2 of Sam. 7.19 David speaks to God Who am I O Lord and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto And this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord God but thou hast spoken also of thy Servants house for a great while to come and is this the manner of men O Lord God! Though men the more they have done the less we can expect from them yet with God every mercy is an earnest of a greater therefore he argued well that said The Lord delivered me from the Lyon and Bear and will deliver me from this uncircumcised Philistine So did St. Paul saying The Lord hath delivered me and will deliver me And this assurance and hope alone in the want of all outward comforts by the strength of faith was able to support holy Job for therefore he was a conquerer over all these fiery darts of Satan and was able to do and suffer the good will and pleasure of God because he believed that his redeemer lived and that he should see him at the last day A further improvement the heavenly soul makes of mercies to engage its love and affections to God in the consideration of the overplus which God in his great goodness and liberality bestowes upon us above our desires and requests as when Solomon asked wisdom God bestowed upon him riches and honour and when David asked life God gave him a long life even for ever and ever So Abraham asked a child and God gave him seed as the sand of the Sea And we know of our own experience how God hath exceeded our requests for many temporal blessings which for the present when we had received them seemed great to us and to a thankful heart they will alwaies seem so and have the same operation to affect the heart with burning love to so great a benefactor But much more that overplus of eternal happiness which the Saints believe they shall receive For eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man what the Lord hath prepared for them that love him And as a Virgin beloved puts not an estimate upon the gifts of her Lover according to their meer value but according to the respect which she hath to his love whereof they are pledges so the heavenly soul also looks more upon the love and favour of God shewed in his mercies than upon the benefit it receives by them as David expresseth in the Psalmes Psal 63. saying Thy loving kindness is better than life it self Therefore saith the Spouse in the Cant. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for his love is better then Wine Which holy love the soul delights in and by it all duties in religion and works of piety charity and mortification are made easy delightful and desirable and not burthensome And so love may be said to be the fulfilling of the law because God accepts the will of them that are carried by this principle And they likewise accept of all that comes from God as from his love whether it be affliction or prosperity because they believe that God will bring good out of evils and cause all things to work together for their good and will shew his love and faithfulness in delivering them and will give them their hearts desire if they delight themselves in the Lord. Psal 37.4 And injoy themselves in serving him call the Sabbath a delight and as the Spouse in the Cant. ch 1. Sit under his shadow with delight If they trust in him hope in him rely upon him stay themselves upon him All which duties and all others they can do in some degree through Christ that strengthens them from whom they have all their sufficiency whose Grace is sufficient for them though of themselves they can do nothing not think a good thought for his strength is perfected in their weakness and his Spirit helpeth their infirmity for instance in the duty of Prayer they will approach the Throne of Grace to pray and praise God though they feel in themselves dulness and indisposition because they have found assistance in former duties from Gods Spirit enabling them when they were as much indisposed as at present therefore they do hope for and expect the like again and therefore they go on assured as Abraham was that God will provide himself a Sacrifice A parallel instance is that which St. Paul experienced when the
God 2 Thes 2.12 which is his word we must believe the truth of his threatnings as well as the truth of his promises Jer. 32.19 This belief saved Noah and his family from the destruction of the deluge and this was commanded in him for a worthy act of faith and by this Lot escaped when Sodom was destroyed and his doubting wife made a perpetual monument or spectacle for her infidelity the chief and special object is Christ Act. 16.37 If we must leve Christ then is Christ the principle the cause efficient and final the matter and the forme of that life His example our pattern and his will ours to me to live is Christ is meant in some or in all these senses for faith verifies it in them all He is the end of our conversation because we can desire no more nor can we need any more if we have him he is the matter and forme of it because the natural life is drowned in this and is made spiritual as it is said If we have known Christ in the flesh yet henceforth know we him no more The holy soul doth not injoy its life if it doth not feel Christ living in it by his Spirit quickning its graces it crys O miserable man that I am c. As faith tells the instrument and meanes whereby we attain the greatest good so it is the Armour that defends us from the greatest evils therefore said the Apostle Ephe. 6.16 Above all take the shield of faith whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked Whereby he commends faith above all the spiritual Armour shewing the cause of his commendation from the exceeding virtue of it that it inables them to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked the virtue of it is universal against the worst of evils if it be taken that is if it be used It must be used in the relying act and in the aplying act staying our selves upon the Lord Psal 37.5 Commit our way unto the Lord. The Applying act is when the soul can say his righteousnes is mine to justify me his blood which he shed upon the Cross an attonement for my sins his Spirit mine to quicken me The fiery darts which Satan shoots are first the guilt of sin then afflictions inward and out ward those who were stung by the fiery Serpents could not be cursed unless they looked up to the brazen Serpent Faith sees that the blood which Christ shed for sinners was shed for my sin that he had an eye unto me in his sufferings A 2 Way faith quenches the fiery darts of Satan by seeing that sin is condemned if so then it can have no power to condem the soul A 3 Way is to see afflictions to be a means of grace that they sanctify us and work for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory And to see God in the afflictions working for our good and keeping us from the hurt which men intended to us I will be with thee in the fire and in the water that the fire shall not burne thee nor the water hurt thee Isa 43.2 I will keep him secretly from the strife of tongues This made the suffering Martyrs more than conquerors through Christ that loved us and gave his life for us therefore they were wiling to suffer for him and lay down their lives for the testimony of the Gospel to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods and to think all too little for God for whom they suffered it therefore let us set before us our blessed Saviours suffering who endured for us such bitter paines mocking and contradiction of sinners lest we faint in our minds and are weary of the Cross of Christ Let us also set before us the examples of the Prophets Apostles and Martyrs and the examples of our own memory Our late King whose head was anointed with holy oyle yet his Majesty trampled upon with the greatest indignities and when the meanest of his subjects a common Souldier spit in his face used no reproof and he that was Gods vicegerent of the Crown was humbled to be Christs vicegerent of his Cross a rare and wonderful example of suffering patiently the good will and pleasure of God Our imitation of his virtues shall be a lasting monument of his Glory Aere ceu vacuo pendentia Mausolaea Mart. Holy David went far in this as when one abject fellow cursed him and threw durt at him he let him alone saying Who can tell whether God will requite good for his railing And God did not fail him because his faith did not faile though it was tried to the uttermost this faith carried him through all When the people talked of stoning him by this he encouraged himself in the Lord and was not dismaied and if it became the Captain of our salvation to be made perfect by sufferings why should it be thought strange if all that fight under the same banner be made perfect Soulders by the same discipline Oh that we could all follow him not only in drinking of the Cup which he drunk off viz. The bitter Cup of the Cross but also do it with the same charity to our enemies as he had when he prayed Father forgive them for they know not what they do whose steps the Proto Martyr St. Stephen also followed and for his reward he saw the Heavens opened and his Saviour standing at the right hand of God by this we are sure that the same Spirit is in us as was in Christ T was impossible for Job to have undergone so many of Satans fiery darts upon his estate his relations and bodily sufferings but that he believed that his redeemer lived and that he should see him with his eyes at the last day though wormes consumed his flesh And St. Paul having fought the good fight of faith had the like assurance as he testifieth henceforth is layed up for me a Crown of glory this inabled him to undergo the fight with victory and this took away the sting of death so that death it self was not formidable to him nor to the holy Prophets Apostles and Martyrs who willingly underwent it for a good conscience not accepting deliverance Those great temptations which Satan most relieth upon are those of sins guilt accusing the conscience and bloody persecutions though all manner of temptations as the vanities of the world the cares of the world the lusts of the flesh the pride of life are all of them by the arts of our Spiritual adversary so suited and managed according to several complexions that without this grace they are unresistable therefore the Scripture testifieth that this is the victory whereby we overcome the world and if morality could be sufficient to mortify our lusts and good education as some pretend how came it to pass that those moral Philosophers who writ so many things against lust covetousness and other vices were yet themselves overcome of them but through faith in Christ the world is
raiment and God increased him to two bands Abraham desired but a Son and God increaseth his seed as the sand of the Sea The prodigal desires to be but as a Servant and the Father entertaineth him with embracings and feastings But as for his people that trust in him mercy imbraseth them on every side God satisfieth their mouth with good things they shall want no manner of thing that is good He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him if he doth not give the thing desired he will take away the desire of it Psal 32.4 Delight thy self in the Lord and he will give the thy hearts desire We starve our souls for want of asking Joash struck three times on the ground and the Prophet was angry and said to him Thou shouldest have strucken six or seven times Paul to the Corinthians saith you are not straitned in us but in your own bowels And t is said of Christ that he could not do many works because of their infidelety to be often upon our knees shews our faith in him believing his goodness and Fatherly care of us Infidelity doth as it were bind the hands of God who is not wanting in his bowels of mercy Be sensible then O my soul of thy wants know where to go for thy supply namely to him that inviteth thee give way to thy most inlarged desires when thou goest to an infinite supply be not straitned in thine own bowels open thy mouth wide come boldly as he biddeth thee And ask the things that are pleasing in his sight since thou knowest thou shalt receive them if they be such things as the word of God teaches thee to ask fear not because thou art sensible of thine own unworthiness since such are invited and the best are unprofitable Servants And when they have done all they may and must acknowledge themselves such and stand in need of the merits of their Saviour and are justified freely by grace if so much more must such sinners as I and such as Mary Magdalen see our own unprofitableness But Oh that I could love as much as she did because much is forgiven me and I believe that he will forgive me because he hath given me many things and it is easier and lesser in the esteem of men to forgive a debt than to give I shall undoubtedly believe his love to me If I can feel in my heart such love to him 5. Meditation When I find the Lord reckoning up the greivous sins of his auncient people the Jews that they were a rebellious people lying Children that would not hearken to the law of the Lord which say to the seers see not and to the Prophets prophesy not unto us right things but deceits cause the holy one of Israel to cease from before us for which iniquity he threatens them v. 13. And v. 15. Promiseth them salvation if they return but finding them obstinate they would not whereby they procure their own ruin Therefore he saith Isa 15.18 He will wait to be gracious unto them He will be exalted that he may shew mercy unto them as if he had said though their sins were never so great yet his mercy should not be overcome his mercy is infinite as he is their sins are the sins of men his mercies the mercies of God that where iniquity doth abound grace doth superabound his mercy is free without any merit in us or any motive unless it be our misery the motive of his patience and mercy is only from himself but that he waited to be gracious implies that though his mercy were never so free yet he could not find a season to shew it then when they were so averse from him Since then the motive of mercy is only in God himself we may infer that there is nothing in him to discourage faith and recumbency upon him so that although we have been guilty of such sins as these are or the same though we have been rebellious lying averse and would not hearken unto his voice nor to his Prophets and have hindred them from speaking right things yet let us remember our selves and returne unto him as the Ninevites did when they were warned who knowes but he may wait to be gracious to us also but let us not presume upon his mercy and make that which should be our Physick our Poison We know that he hath given us a High Priest who doth not only know our insirmities and impotencies but therefore knew them that he might have compassion upon us Blessed Jesus thou knowest that no man can come after thee unless the Father draw him help thou our weak nature by thy Holy Spirits assistance draw us we will run after thee Quicken us who by nature are dead in trespasses and sins take away our heart of stone and give us hearts of flesh for thy promise sake A Prayer LORD when I am tempted to revenge pride Emulation Abition wrath or any other sinful action to satisfy my sensual carnal appetite to maintaine my honour to repress my adversary to Correct his insolency inlighten me with thy Heavenly grace thy word and thy Spirit that I may pull off the Mask of these sensual carnal waies of the men of the world which shall perish and see their vanity and deformity and anoint thou my eyes that I may cleerly see the beauty of every vertue grace meekness charity humility patience longanimity that I may view them in themselves and in those who excelled therein and esteeme them more honourable than to be accompted brave gallant bold valiant and heroick as sometimes I have esteemed when I have seen heard and read of any exemplar and rare act of the graces as to instance the patience of Job when he had lost his estate children and bodily health murmured not but blessed God and Eli 'T is the Lord let him do what seemeth good in his eyes Hanna when she was reproved for drunkenness answered without anger nay but in the bitterness of my soul I prayed Forgive us our trepasses as we forgive them that trespass against us 1. Meditation If our forgiving the trespasses of others be the pattern of Gods forgiveness to us how few can be saved for none ever forgave every injury that hath been done to him some they have revenged But if God doth not pardon every sin to us we are damned Lord give us thy grace to be as free in the pardoning of all trespasses without exception though never so many as we would have thee forgive us for we cannot have so many committed against us as we have committed against thee therefore we have need of a larger pardon from God to us than we can have occasion to give others If God would take accompt of us we shall have need of forgiveness for a thousand talents Mat. 18.24 More than we are able to satisfy yet when we fall down before him beseeching his pardon he freely forgives us all But if we for a hundred pence or
us cleanse us heal us pardon us to turn his face from our sins and blot out our misdeeds according to the multitude of his mercy Then though for the present they are ever in our sight terrifying and troubling us we shall in due time know that they are pardoned and that the blood of Christ hath cleansed us from them all and that we are reconciled in him and he will heal us and we shall again be restored to the joy of our salvation and praise his Name in his Courts and renew our vowes and be stablished with his free Spirit Most of the Psalms contain prayers for some graces and may stand us in stead for our use and serve for our direction If we are rash or chollerick by nature and subject to wrath and revenge and have fallen thereby or fear we shall fall We cannot be enough sensible of our danger in this particular because we must expect hourly temptations and how far our wrath and choller may carry us we know not especially if we should chance to meet with others as chollerik and rash as our selves if we do not alwaies pray to God to help us in and deliver us from this temptation as it is for the most part in all the sins of our complexion or inclination very difficult to stand against them at all if God do not stand by us and strengthen us and support us and if we forget our selves and do not hang upon him for help call upon him trust in him and fear and distrust our selves These will alwaies be buffetting us He that is sensible of his weakness in this particular and his danger and mourns by reason thereof desiring to be delivered from it seeks help by reading meditation conference and this means of prayer which must also be joyned to the other besides the use of natural means too For so we find the Apostle Paul using them for he saith of himself I keep under my body We strive and run as in a Race So fight I not as one that beateth the Air. In labours often in sastings often c. For hereby we both shew to God and man our burthen that we groan under and desires to be delivered from it if we use all these means to get our deliverance But on the contrary how little desire to be delivered from wrath or lust doth he express who seeds himself to the full drinks wine in bouls pampers his body with high feeding and drinking which are the fewel of these fires or how doth he seek humility of God who delights himself in actions of vain-glory and the applause of men and seeks honour of men by bravery revenge vain ostentation high looks a lofty gate pomp prodigality and the like Certainly those sins which by nature we are most inclined to these by natural helps and adjuments we must oppose not cherish and foster by incitements and allurements The wise Agur accordingly prayed against the means of sin and the occasions against the means and occasions of fulness and want If we so well knew our own proneness to these mother sins as he did and were so wise as he was we would pray as he did to be delivered from the means and occasions of sins This is contained in that Petition Lead us not into temptation In like sort praying for any grace or improvement of a grace we must use the means both spiritual and natural and pray for them and the occasions of them as mortification sobriety watchfulness c. Hence we are taught to pray to God to send us Pastors who shall feed his people with knowledge And because this is a necessary means of grace God hath promised it and by the promise we are invited to ask it Suitably we find David praying Psal 119.12 Teach me thy Statutes v. 18. Open thou mine eyes that I may see the wondrous things of thy Law v. 26. I have acknowledged my waies and thou heardest me O teach me thy Statutes Make me to understand the way of thy Commandments Make me to delight in the thing that pleaseth thee More especially in this specified sin of wrath and revenge if thou labourest under it desiring to be delivered from it and the evils and dangers attending it thou ponderest and meditatest of those Texts of Scripture which reprove and repress it as is that Vengeance is mine and I will repay it saith the Lord. Let not the Sun go down in your wrath Leave thy gift upon the Altar and go and be reconciled and then offer thy gift Prov. It is the wisdom of a man to pass by an offence Anger resteth in the bosom of fools If when ye suffer wrongfully ye take it patiently happy are ye for the Spirit of grace and glory resteth upon you Thou shalt reap improvement of thy patience in a good measure by these meditations And by subduing thy body and withdrawing from it superfluities especially such as more naturally excite this humour in thy body and by careful watching against the first beginning of wrath And then if thou add to these this last remedy viz. Prayer beseeching God through Jesus Christ who is made unto us wisdom righteousness sanctisication and redemption to make us so wise as to pass by offences for his sake and to take from us that folly of anger that as fury is not him so it be not in us neither who are his children who doth good to all that we may be like him in this and that by our slowness to anger and by our patient bearing of wrongs and our meekness and submission to God if it be his will that we shall suffer wrongfully we may perceive and know that the Spirit of grace and glory rests upon us and in that rejoyce Then we may be assured that we shall obtain the victory over these lusts and messengers of Satan and be able to do good for evil to love our enemies to bless them that curse us to pray for those that despightfully use us and so run the waies of Jesus Christ's Commandments and take up his yoak I say we may be assured of obtaining these excellent graces by these meanes because God hath promised it in the prohesie of Isa c. 32. The heart of the rash shall understand knowledg The Lion shall lye down with the Lamb c. 29.4 Certainly the change of the heart and renovation in knowledg and understanding is the chief thing in our Quickning and vivification in the Spirit and in every grace this God having often undertaken and promised As in that promise That he will take away the heart of stone and give his people a heart of flesh And that he will give them a New heart that he will put his Lawes in their hearts and write them in their inward parts We may assure our selves that he will do it If we supplicate him in faith in Jesus Christ And use our own endeavours with the meanes And if we do obtain this so that we can savour the
day watch over them Be a Sun and a shield to them a wall of fire about them and so for the rest of their priviledges Besides the precedent Motives and many more which might be alledged we may consider the examples of those who have practised this duty with success some few we will here insert As Moses first when his hands were lifted up Israel prevailed against their enemies in battle when they were down the Amalakites prevailed against them One pair of hands lifted up to Heaven in prayer prevailed more than many Thousands that were lifted up in battle Moses recounts several such gracious dispensations of God towards him Deut. 9.19 and 10.10 He fell down before the Lord forty daies and forty nights and the Lord hearkned unto him ver 25. He fell down again before the Lord forty daies and forty nights when the Lord would have destroyed them and 10. c. 10. v. And the Lord harkned unto him at that time also And the Lord would not destroy them Exod. 32.10 The like Many times would the Lord have destroyed them had not Moses put up his petitions for them Numb 11. The fire consumed the people and Moses prayed and it wa quenched Phineas when Gods wrath was hot against this people to destroy them with the plague prayed and so the plague ceased How often did he yeild to Abrahams prayer for sparying Sodom so often that Abraham was ashamed to urge him any further And Samuel is among such as called upon his name and he heard them and while Daniel was speaking in prayer he obtained his suit David saith Psal 36.4 I sought the Lord and he heard me and deliverd me out of all my fear And in divers other Psalms he testifieth the same and Jehosophat when he knew not what to do against the great host of his enemies prevailed by prayer 2 Chron. 20. Which examples and many more the scripture sets forth to shew how prevalent acceptable and delightful this service is to God and to excite us to it with boldness and confidence as the Apostle makes use of the example of Elias who by prayer opened and shut the Heavens for this purpose to excite us to the duty for though there be passions and infirmities in us and our services be but weak yet God looks upon us as a tender parent looks upon his child and pittieth and pardoneth the defects in regard of the willingness of the obedience and receives our services with delight because he seeth something of himself in us and so he is loth to deny any thing God was not offended with Isaiah when to satisfy one man he required that the Sun should go back And so loath is God that any prayer should be put up to him in vain without success that he wills us not to pray for such things as he intends not to grant When Samuel prayed for Saul How long saith he wilt thou pray for Saul since I have rejected him 1 Sam. 16.4 So Jer. 7.15.16 I will cast them out of my sight therefore pray not for this people neither make intercession for them for I will not hear thee What shall we then think of the strength of prayer It seemes to hold Gods hands that he can not do what he would for Deut. 9.13 Before cited God saith to Moses I have seen this people that they are a stiff-necked people Let me alone that I may destroy them Exod. 32.10 Moses would not let him alone and God hearkned unto him and did not destroy them So that it was as Moses would O omnipotent prayer that thus prevailest with the almighty O invincible and all conquering believer that canst wrastle with the almighty and prevail as Jacob did that canst hold him so fast that he cannot go unless thou please to let him else why doth he say let me go and Jacob answered I will not unless thou bless me and he did bless him Jacob got what he would of him before he would let him go so God suffered himself to be overcome In like sort when the sentence of Death was gone out against Hezekiah his prayer caused God to change it Furthermore he is not only overcome but commanded by prayer understand it with reverence Isa 45.11 Concerning the works of my hands command you me accordingly we find Joshua speaking Sun stand thou still in Gebeon and thou Moon in Ajalon Josh 10.12 And they stood still We read how prayer changed nature altering the property of fire that it neither burned nor scorched the 3 children stopped the mouths of the Lions whereby we see how that by means of this we may be safe in any place and God will be with us and nothing shall be able to hurt us Psal 91.15 He shall call upon me and I will answer him It hath no limitation of matter or restriction of time or place so that we need not dispair of any thing we ask It is necessary also that we pray for the fulfilling of the Prophesies thereof Mala. 1.11 In every place incense shall be offered unto my Name and a pure offering the epis of Ye are a Royal Priest-hood Exod. 19.6 Ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests Therefore we must have something to offer Heb. 8.3 The Spirit of prayer and supplication is in stead of the legal Sacrifices If the people of God have such holy appetites as they express Psal 42 1â— As the Hart panteth after the water brooks so longeth my soul after thee O God My soul is a thirst for God and Psal 63. My soul thirsteth for thee My flesh also longeth after thee And in chap. of Isaiah With my soul have I desired thee in the night and in the Canticles throughout begining v. 1. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for his love is better than wine The soul is kissed by Christ when it is assured of his love to it and of its own love to Christ and the Heavenly spouse her desire is to her beloved as is the wives to her husband And is as unsatiable in her desires as the greedy Userer is for riches Then must they needs seek him whom their soul loveth and desireth and longeth for in this and in all other ordinances as the spouse expresseth her solicitousness and vigilancy in the seeking and persuit of him That they may relieve their needs and satisfy their spiritual thirsts and hungers and that they may mitigate and asswage their grief and pain caused by the holy love-sickness for if they are forced by occasion of business extraordinary to omit some duty they cannot injoy themselves and then they long for those spiritual refreshments which duties afford There be two principal motives which make us frequent and earnest suitors at the Throne of grace viz. Desire of communion with God and enjoyment of him in his ordinances And desire of more grace And God doth most commonly satisfy these two desires in this in all other duties for being wel performed from
these two principles they are our sollaces and delight and also Gods delight Therefore will he hear them and reward them Albeit Gods holy people ask temporal blessings of him and the comforts of their life and temporal deliverances so that it may be objected that they have other principles and motives natural of performing duties than these two spiritual I Answer that it is the disposition of the New nature of the child of God to desire the obtaining of temporal mercies and blessings by and through this way and meanes of seeking them of the gift of God by prayer only that so they may enjoy them as pledges of his fatherly love mercy and faithfulness and as returnes of their prayers And so they will be the more careful to use them to the honour and glory of God And in them they enjoy God and his loving kindness which they value and comfort themselves with more than with his gifts as it is expressed in the Psalmes in this saying thy loveing kindness is better than the life it self and the heavenly Spouse desireth not to be inriched but by her husband and for further answer I say If God hath at any time heard us for outward blessings I conceive he hath obliged us to ask them of him still as if I salute or visit my neighbour and acquaintance and he returnes the like civilities I am to continue my complisance but if he answer them not then he casts me out Another Motive may be fetched from the Priestly office of Christ who ever liveth to make intercession for us And offereth up our prayers in his golden censer perfumed with incence and sweet odours If so then must we be careful and make sure that he have our prayers alwaies to offer up for us else we shall neglect him and his office and the access with confidence which he hath purchased for us Also we shall neglect the mercy of almighty God who is said to be rich in mercy to all them that call upon him in Faith Ephes 3. Also we shall neglect the gracious assistance of the holy Spirit which helpeth our infirmities in this duty Consider also what Vows and promises we have made to God upon extraordinary occasions for the due performance of this duty Psal 61.8 I will alwaies sing praise unto thy name that I may daily perform my vows Psal 116.16 Consider whether the facility of the duty be not a sufficient Motive to it for I conceive that there could not be made a more easie command than this of our blessed Saviour Ask and ye shall have Man could not have desired an easier It is expressed by David in his Psalms thus Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it To ask is the easiest thing that we can do unless it be to open our mouthes In this respect Christs burthen is light The prayers which he enjoins are short he forbids long ones Besides the great rewards of so small a service make it yet lighter because of the disproportion between this and that And they are yet more light by reason of the assistance we have from Gods holy Spirit I intend not that all prayers are performed with ease alike The fervent prayers of the Saints which are put up for such graces as they need and against such lusts temptations corruptions trials as they labour under are mixed with sighs and groanes which cannot be uttered but all their prayers are not such for those which are but for common mercies ought not to be such for even the wickedest will pray and howl for Corn and Wine as it is in Hose few words are injoined in these prayers And thus they are most consistent with faith in Gods promises that he will not suffer us to want these Necessaries of life Compare these services with the chargable Sacrifices of the Jewish law and the burthen of ceremonies which they were not able to bear and these will appeare but easie and light But that which facilitates this duty most is faith whereby believing we shall obtain we ask of God such things as we need for our soul and body as confidently and boldly as children use to ask of their parents the things they need their food and rayment and the like these esteem it no difficulty to ask whatsoever they have a mind to but a pleasure and delight and doubt not of speeding especially when they are invited and incouraged by promises The freeness and easiness of access which we have to God in Christs name makes the duty facil for Jesus Christ the Son of God hath made way for the poor and needy and empty handed begger they need not bring a present to make their way But then when thou seest no good in thy self if thou grieved thereat desirest grace and seekest to him for it these are Motives with which thy Saviour will be perswaded to give thee of his fulness grace for grace and will be moved thereby to intercede for thee to his Father what begger will not go thither for relief where he is assured to speed The paternal relation between God and us instructs us of the easie access what ever we need we know he is ready as a Father to give he takes care of us and will provide for us he expects but to be asked he hath prevented our asking with invitations and will hardly stay till we have done asking but he will grant it because he delighteth in granting the requests of his children else he would not grant them with such overplus nor invite us to ask And it evidenceth to us that we are his children when we do make use of our free access upon all occasions And believe his readiness to grant And if a prodigal Son might find such free and kind reception as our Saviour saith then he that is the dear Son and pleasent child and hath title to all cannot be denied 1. Preparatory Ejaculations Lord draw nigh to me Now that I draw nigh to thee and if for my unworthiness thou canst not be so propitious to me as thou wouldest be to thy child that is obedient then draw nigh to me as the Father was pleased to do to his unworthy prodigal son But if thou wilt neither of these yet be thou pleased to help me as thy Servant and Son of thine handmaid but if this thou wilt not then Lord relieve me as thou didst the Cananitish woman as a Dog of thy family with the crums of the bread of life thy holy Commandment hath taught us importunity therefore if thou canst not hear me for any relation hear me for my Importunity 2 Preparatory Ejaculation Lord thou hast made thy Servant to know his own insufficiency I find daily that fain I would do good and be such as thou commandest us to be but when I would do good evil is commonly present with me and how to do the good I would I know not This sense of my own insufficiency in every grace makes me a daily
and hourly Begger at the Throne of grace for the Spirit of grace And I will never cease begging because thou hast shewed thy selfe more free to give than we to ask or receive and hast made such free invitations and offers to all that will come to thee or ask of thee And I am resolved to take no denial because I come upon thy importunate invitations If I should take a denial or go away without my errand I should seem to doubt of the verity and truth of thy promises and free and gracious invitations therefore I will never leave knocking till thou openest unto me But at evening and at morning and at noon day and also at midnight will I knock till thou pleasest to open unto me and relieve my needs 3 Preparatory Ejaculation 2 Chron. 16.3 Lord when ever Jsrael in their troubles did turn to thee thou wert found of them And thou promisest that thou wilt be found of them that seek thee we seek thee now and resolve to seek thy face evermore be thou found of us and be with us Lord since thou art open hearted handed why should we be close mouthed 4 Preparatory Ejaculution Lord since thou givest both the will and the deed that is good And we can have nothing to offer thee but what is thine own provide now O Lord a Sacrifice for thy self and put heavenly desires and affections into our hearts by thy holy Spirits assistance that we may seek those things which thou hast freely invited us to ask and art willing and desirous to give And then our prayers shall ascend up to thee as incence and the lifting up of our hands and hearts shall be as a Sacrifice do thou prepare our hearts and thine eare will harken thereto And thou O blessed Jesus perfume these our prayers and intercede for us 5 Preparatory Ejaculation Lord we have experienced how forward our natural parents are to succour and help their craving little ones they will often over-do their abilities in their kindness and they do only wait for opportunities to do them good as far as they are able But thy goodness infinitely surpasseth that of Humane Nature How then can we doubt but thou wilt hear and help us in all our needs when we fly unto thee for succour and take the opportunity to do for us above all we can ask and think for so thou hast heard some of thy Servants We are resolved to ask as largely as we can for all Spiritual gifts and graces because thou hast bid us to open our mouthes wide and thou wilt fill them it is they will that we should ask and receive that our joy may be full it is our interest and our inclination too so to do for our natural relief Incline thou our hearts to be as hungry and thirsty covetous and greedy for grace and the relief of our souls as ever we were for the relief of our bodies in our greatest distresses when pined for hunger or thirst for such thou delightest to releive 6 Preparatory Ejaculation Lord let us not think to offer thee such services as cost us nothing or the worst of our flock as Cain did or as those that draw nigh to thee with their lips when their hart goeth after their covetousness Lest thou shouldest bid us to go and offer them to our governour and see whether he will accept them but let us serve the with the first the best and perfectest as Abel did Lord why didst thou proclaim thy name merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness Why hast thou made so many gracious promises and invitations to us but to envite us to come unto the for releif A Prayer LOrd remember thy new Covenant and give us all those graces which thou hast freely promised to us thereby First love us freely Then give us the man Christ Jesus whom thou hast given for a Covenant to the people with him give us thy Spirit put it into our hearts let it dwell in us and cause us to walk in thy Statutes and to know thy Judgments and do them for it is this unction that teacheth us all things and inables us to do every good work when of our selves we can neither think nor do good And give us all the graces of thy Spirit Love Joy Peace Meekness Gentleness Brotherly kindness and Charity and then we shall know and be sure that thou hast put thy Spirit into us if we feel no Envy Lust Pride Wrath Malice Covetousness or Prophaneness stirring in our hearts And according to thy Covenant of Grace give us a new heart and put thy Laws in our hearts and write them in our inward parts and be thou our God and make us thy people and take away our unmalleable heart of stone Also make us all to know thee from the greatest to the least Let us also know Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent Let us know thee as our God alsufficient that we may trust in thee As our gracious Father that we may cast our care upon thee and delight in thee and love thee though thou chastise us As our Shepherd that we may not fear the Wolves that would devour us As our Husbandman that we may submit to thy pruning And give us also to know our selves to be thy people thy children thy sheep thy vine and all other relations wherein thou hast put us Let us know thee to be our portion and that by our seeking thee and chusing thee to be our portion and our selves to be thy portion too and thy Jewels And that by our pureness holiness preciousness and humility and littleness in our own eyes and by thy watching over us and keeping us Make us to know Christ Jesus as our King to give us Laws and govern us as our Priest to atone thy wrath for us and reconcile us to thee and persume our services and intercede for us as our Prophet to teach and instruct us in the knowledge of thee and thy will Let us know him as our Lord our Saviour our Brother our Husband our Beloved our Ransom our Bread of Life and Water of Life and as our Head our Corner-stone on which we are built as our Vine whereof we are branches as our Shepherd as our All. That we may be able to say Whom have we in Heaven but thee or whom in Earth that we can desire in comparison of thee That we may rejoyce in him alwaies And fulfil thou in us that promise that we shall be all taught of thee and shall need no more one anothers teaching Make us to hear that voice behind us saying This is the way walk ye in it Let us not stop our ears nor turn from it Give thy Son the Heathen for his Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for his Possession and those who will not submit to him let him bruise them with a Rod of Iron Make Jerusalem a praise Let Righteousness run down like a mighty River and let
priviledges which Jesus Christ hath purchased for us Give us more assurance of the pardon of our sins and our reconciliation to God and the joy thereof Give us the peace of conscience and the Peace of God which passeth all understanding Give us the Joy which is in the Holy Ghost which we enjoy in holy duties Let us taste and rellish these sweet enjoyments with more satisfaction and joy that the excesses of our souls may be in these enjoyments and we may keep them in our mouths and hide them under our tongues as we do sweet morsels And let the enjoyment of these carry us through all difficulties Give us more confidence in our accesses to the Throne of Grace and a belief that thou art more ready to give than we to ask for thy fulness is more full than our emptiness is wanting Thy fatherly care to provide for us is more faithful and careful to do it than we to seek it though we are resolved to be alwaies begging and craving because we know we shall alwaies be wanting in this life and we will not lose our desires and thy bountiful gifts for want of asking The cause which moved thee to make such gracious invitations to us and such great and precious promises of grace and mercy was only in thy self for thou invitest the thirsty to buy Wine and Wilk without mony or price What then is there that we can buy it with that is neither mony nor price it can be nothing but to exchange our thirst for the thing which we thirst for to relieve it to open our mouths Therefore as the cause which moved thee to make these invitations and promises was in thy self Lord seek in thy self the cause which may move thee to perform them The qualifications of thirst want and need we have and shall have as long as we have any life But if we be dead in trespasses and sins quicken thou us because thou only canst do it by thy holy Spirit In the assurance of thy free mercy then whereof thou by thy free promises hast convinced us and by the performance of the chiefest of them hast fully satisfied us inable us to assure our souls of thy readiness and willingness to hear and help us through the merits of Christ Jesus and in assurance thereof to come boldly and with confidence to the Throne of Grace And give us sure evidence of our interest in all other priviledges That our joy may be full assure us that our place of defence is the munition of Rocks That bread be given us and our water shall be sure Bless us and make us a blessing Let showers of blessings come down upon thy people Give us to lay hold of Christ for only Wisdom our only sufficient Righteousness our Sanctification and Redemption Tread Satan under our feet that we may bruise his head as often as he goeth about to sting our heel Destroy his works Let the Spirit of the Lord set up his standard against him And let not Antichrist any more deceive the Nations but destroy thou him and the Whore which is drunk with the blood of Saints Succour those that are tempted Be with thy people in the fiery Tryal that is to come upon all the world to try them as thou wast with Joseph in the prison Lord let not our sins stand as a cloud to hinder these our prayers from ascending to thee or cause thee to turn away thine ear For though they are so many that we scarce know how to confess them yet thou hast pardoned as great sinners as we when they turned unto thee and it is usual with thee to seek thy lost sheep and to receive thy returning Prodigals Lord thy free promises and importunate invitations by thy self and thy Son give us this boldness of access to thee for thereby we are assured that thou art more desirous to give than we to receive Hear us therefore through the merits of thy Beloved Son our Eternal High Priest in whom only we hope to prevail with thee in whom thy Promises are Yea and Amen And accept us in him who hath purchased this Access for us in whom we trust that he now intercedeth for us whilst we are praying to thee And that he persumes and presents these our supplications at the Throne of Grace To whom with Thee and thy blessed Spirit of Grace be all honour praise and glory Eternally Amen Enter not into Judgment with us O Lord for our best services for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified A shorter Prayer for daily use LOrd draw nigh unto me now that I draw nigh unto thee for thy promise sake for thy mercy sake and for Christ Jesus sake And assist me with thy Spirit that I may pray unto thee in the Spirit and in Faith believing that thou art more ready to give than we to ask or receive thy graces and thy mercies Lord relieve me according to all my needs and according to thy infinite goodness and according to thy gracious promises and invitations Relieve my spiritual blindness with that eye-salve which thou hast invited the blind to come unto thee for Relieve my spiritual nakedness with that fine white linnen which thou hast invited the naked to seek of thee and cloath me with humility patience temperance chastity and charity and every grace Relieve my spiritual poverty with that fine gold which will enrich our souls to eternity and make me rich in good works Relieve my spiritual hunger and thirst with the bread of life and the water of life so that I may never hunger or thirst after any thing else And make me more hungry and thirsty for thee and thy grace and more sensible of my needs Lord I pray not for my self alone but for me and mine and all the Israel of the Lord. Let my seed be a seed unto thee and all that shall come of them to the end of the world Remember the entail of thy blessings to us and to our seed for a thousand generations Let the Kingdoms of the world become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ Let holiness to the Lord be writ upon all our common things Make us all to know thee from the greatest to the least Let us need no more to teach one another saying Know the Lord. Let us all be taught of God and let us hear the sweet voice behind us saying This is the way walk ye in it when we turn to the right hand or to the left and make Jerusalem a praise Love us freely pardon us and heal us Subdue our iniquities and cast our sins into the bottom of the Sea that they may never rise up against us Give us new hearts Put thy Laws into our hearts and write them in our inward parts Be thou our God and make us thy people Put thy Spirit into us and cause us to walk in thy Statutes and to know thy Judgments and do them Cause us to love thee with
the lame and the blind if we have no better in our flock thou wilt accept it therefore I will not cease to pray unto thee though I cannot approve my own prayers for thus I come unto thee without money or price that thy gifts may be free O that I could account the corruption of my nature to be my misery as Saint Paul complaining of the law of his members warring against the law of his mind so that he could not do the good he would cries out Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin And make me as sensible of the strength of it as this holy man was LORD if I fall into sin let me not be insensible of it as the adulterous woman who eateth and wipeth her mouth and saith I have done 〈◊〉 wickedness But like as David after he had sinned and the Prophet Nathan had told him God had done away his sin yet his grief and sorrow for having offended God gave him no rest so that he wept day and night So let my sins grieve me as oft as I remember them Meditation SINCE the Apostle Peter wherein he was confident of his strength above all others immediately fell I will ascribe my standing to God only and praise him who holds me up And pray with David Lord hold thou me up and I shall be safe And watch and take heed to my self and alwaies fear lest I fall since I know that I stand not by my own strength for corruption of nature is as strong in me as in others and the tempter the same to me as to them but the Spirit of God only makes the difference therefore I will praise God who upholds me and keeps my feet from falling for it is not I that live the life of faith but Christ that lives in me therefore with the Elders in the Revelations I will cast my Glory and Crown at his feet from whom I have received it And the consideration of this my weakness shall teach me charity towards those that are overcome with temptation that I may restore them in the spirit of meekness but not judge them lest I condemn my self as David did himself in the Parable of the yew Lamb And as Judah condemned himself in condemning Tamar And let me not flatter my self like the Scribes and Pharisees who said If we had been in our Fathers daies we would not have been partakers with them in killing the Prophets LORD establish thou me with thy free Spirit whereby I may stand in the hour of Temptation and run the ways of thy Commandments freely without rub or let without dulness and without danger of stumbling or falling that the Spirit may be willing though the flesh be weak And with Paul when he was full of the Spirit he was content not only to be bound but to die for Christ so may I also since thou lovest only the chearful giver And as it said 5 of Judges 9. Thy heart is towards the governours of the people that offered themselves willingly So make me alwaies to cast off readily and freely every tempter that goes about to seduce my affections from thee disdaining to harken to them LORD give me to avoid not only gross sins but also the smallest and first degrees of sins viz. To turn away my eyes from beholding vanity Not to look upon the wine when it moves it self right in the cup to make a covenant with my eyes not to look upon a maid gives me understanding in the way of God that I may know these small degrees of sin to be sins and the danger of them to avoid them and all other of the like nature Then I shall know that I have a New heart and that thou hast put thy Spirit into me which I desire to know above all things LORD let not my heart deceive me either making me think that I have more grace than in truth I have as Peters did him so as that he thought though all men denied thee yet he should not or by making me think I have not those corruptions that I have as Hasael 2 King 1.13 When the Prophet told him what cruelties he would commit upon the Israelites he answerd is thy Servant a Dog Yet did he commit the same but let me know my own weakness and vileness that I may not trust to my own strength in any temptation but let me rejoice in God my strength and know that thou art my strength and that thou only holdest me from falling and keepest my feet from slipping and orderest my goings and makest me to run the waies of thy Commandments And inclinest my heart to thy testimonies O hold thou me up and I shall be safe Keep thy Servant also from presumptuous sins and from the sins of infirmities and let me always know my own insufficiency weakness and corruptions and watch and pray against them not only against gross sins which the heathen and unbelievers detest as drunkeness swearing murther and adultery theft and the like but against every degree of sinfulness and every vain and lustful thought and idle word unseemly gesture which I can easily espy as motes in anothers eye while I hardly discern the beam in my own but do thou O Lord take away from me this blindness of heart with the effects and consequences thereof by causing the day star to arise in my heart LORD let my former experiences which I have had of thy goodness beget a confidence in me in all dangers as it did in David when he went to encounter Goliah He remembered the slaughter of the Lion and the Bear and concluded the Philistin should be like one of them And breakes out saying though 10000 men should set themselves against me round about yet will I not be afraid and though as many Devils also are against me let me not be afraid let me remember thy promise saying call upon me in the time of trouble I will deliver thee and thou shaltpraise me And let me not rely upon nor trust in the outward meanes the arm of flesh though I do make use of it as Nehemiah whenhe builded the walls of Jerusalem he set watches and they took their arms with their spades so wisdom teacheth but yet not to trust to the Sword or think that our bow shall help us for so did that Philistine Wherefore said David thou comest to me with thy sword thy spear but I come to thee in the name of my God Lord teach me the power of prayer especially mingl'd with faith And to consider that thou hast heard the wicked when they have sought thee as Ahab because he walked heavily and mourned thou wouldst not bring the evil in his daies And thou heardest Manasses and thy poor people that cry unto thee in their trouble thou deliverest out of their distress as exiles prisoners Marriners and sick persons when their soul fainteth in them and they cry unto thee being at their wits end And
joy unspeakable This priviledge and many other Christ Jesus hath purchased for and given to his people to oblige and endear them that they should be a willing people 2 Tim. 5.2 By whom we have access through faith unto this grace wherein we stand and rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God Ephes 3.12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence to the Throne of grace Gal. 2. v. 20. The life which I now live I live by the faith in the Son of God He is the Author of our salvation and of all the priviledges we enjoy because to as many as receive him he gives the priviledge to become the Sons of God and that entiltes them to all priviledges Another Argument may be fetched a causis for as there are pleasures and comforts desires and enjoyments natural causing the joy natural so are there found pleasures comforts desires and enjoyments supernatural undependent separate and removed from the natural and had and injoyed meerly and only in the privation of those according to that of the Apostle when we have no comfort in the world then we have most in duty As having nothing yet possessing all things which joy is fully described by the Prophet Habakkuk c. 3. Though the Fig-tree should not blossom neither should fruits be in the Vines though the labour of the Olive should fail c. yet he would rejoyce in the Lord And it is promised by our blessed Lord and Saviour Joh. 10. My joy shall no man take from you Which the blessed Martyrs in the Epistle to the Hebrews found true when they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods and would not accept deliverance Christ calls it his joy partly because he is the Author of it and doth give it according as he promised and partly in opposition to the joys of the world which proceeds from worldly causes and because the world cannot take it away no more than it can give it for afflictions and persecutions cannot take it away therefore it is said Heb. 10. To you it is given to suffer that is with joy and patience and content for otherwise it were no gift Another argument to prove this priviledg is from the Identity of the principles of the new nature of the Regenerate man which is the Spirit These that are such are lead by the Spirit which is in them they live after the Spirit they are in the Spirit The Spirit of grace and of glory resteth upon them and being Spiritual they are delighted with and savour the things of the Spirit only Spiritus sanctus exhilerat sui participes he quickens and stirs up those graces that are in them and replenishes them with the dew of Heaven without which continual supply our graces would fail Zach. 4. The two Olive Trees emptied themselves by golden Pipes into the Lamps Mortification and Vivification and all graces are wrought in us by the Spirit John 4. The water that I shall give him shall be a well of water springing up to eternal life Rom. 8.22 If ye by the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live 1 Pet. 1.22 Since ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit being born again c. Both the Will and the Deed are from him helping our infirmities That which is their meat and drink which they hunger and thirst for and live upon their Pabulum Animarum must be so qualified as to refresh strengthen delight and comfort and so it doth This priviledge will be further made out by the effects thereof which the Heavenly soul doth injoy therefore it is proper to search out in what particulars the Holy Ghost doth rejoyce and make joyful the believing soul the particulars are contained under three heads First in their duties performed the Holy Spipit doth exhilerate the souls of the faithful people of God this head containeth both active and passive duties whereby they do exert and put forth their graces in doing and suffering the good will of God For duties well performed are their injoyments because they do find the assistance of the Holy Spirit inabling them in the performance of them when they find themselves insufficient and indisposed and this is matter of joy and comfort to them because they have performed by the Spirits assistance the work of prayer and praising God according to his will and they are confident that they shall enjoy that blessed priviledg which Christ hath purchased for them by his blood viz. confidence in their access to the Throne of Grace and assurance that they shall receive their petitions through the merit of his bloody passion and intercession And as every degree of sin if but a sinful or vain thought makes a child of God loath himself so every degree of holiness and every good thought yields him pleasure content and enjoyment Hereby they are encouraged and delighted to walk with God in holy Meditation and converversation So suffering with Christ also called by David loving correction is matter of joy If we suffer with him we know we shall also reign with him therefore they are willing to bear his reproach which they are enabled to do by the assistance of the Spirit in the time of their tryals he revives the spirit of the contrite ones Isa 57.15 A second head to which these particular acts may be referred is the sealing and ensuring the exceeding precious promises of the Gospel to them whereby they are enabled to live upon a promise by faith in him who made it and is able and willing to perform it to them that trust in him through the merits of Jesus Christ And they find themselves contented and willing to live upon the promise and to wait God's leisure for the time till it is accomplished and for the manner of the accomplishing thereof And these workings of the Spirit are all matter of joy and enjoyment to the soul to find them stirring in their hearts because they know it to be the Spirit By this they lay hold of the promises in the greatest latitude I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty No good thing will he withhold from them that live a godly life They shall want no manner of thing that is good Call upon me in the time of trouble and I shall deliver thee and thou shalt praise me Psal 50.15 He will not be afraid of evil tydings Psal 107. No plague shall come nigh his dwelling Isa 54.17 No weapon formed against thee shall prosper c. And that all things shall work for their good but chiefly they lay hold on the promises of grace These consolations are alwaies bestowed upon God's suffering Servants and are most proper and suitable to that condition In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart thy comforts refresht me The holy Ghost working in our hearts shew us our
Adoption and the Pardon of our Sins and that God is at peace with us and assures us of Gods favour and of Life and Blessedness to come and so sweetens the bitterness of the Cross by a better hope Thus God is to us a Sun and a Shield And in this sense it is the earnest of Heaven as it is said 2 Cor. 1.22 Who hath Sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts The nature of an earnest is to be but a little part of a greater benefit to come 'T is also called the First Fruits which shews That the Saints enjoy Heavenly Happiness here in some degree for the first Fruits and the full Crop are of the same nature and so is the Earnest and the whole reward God kisseth the Child whom he chastised to assure him of his love and his Bowels yearn till he doth it But yet it is not peculiar to Gods afflicted People only to live upon their Earnest their Hopes and the promises of Heaven and prelibations of Glory But those also who are not in a suffering condition do so as Abraham did in the Land of Promise and Moses in Pharoah's Court and all the Servants of God do mortifie the Deeds of the Body and are Crucified with Christ that they may live to him and Christ may live in them Rom. 8.22 The Third place or Head to which these Spiritual Joys and Comforts may be referred is In appropriating those many High and Glorious Priviledges of Blessedness and Happiness which Christ hath purchased for his People Isa 45.24 Isa 62. v. 1 2 3 4. and Revel 1.5 These Priviledges can only be rightly understood I conceive by those who are heirs of them for if the Carnal Man could understand the value of them he would seek the World less and them more and would like the wise Merchant-man in the Gospel sell all to Purchase them for therein is all Blessedness and safety Yet I conceive That all that have right to them do not at all times know their Interest in them because the suffering priviledge seems to cross the injoying For Isa 49.14 Sion said The Lord hath forsaken me and my God hath forgotten me when the Lord said He hath graven her upon the palmes of his hands And David Psalm When I made haste I said I am cast out of the sight of thine Eyes nevertheless thou heardst me He did not then injoy these Priviledges because God sometimes works by contrary means to accomplish his Promise And not by those means on which we had our expectation God hath not tied himself to means Hence the Soul rashly concludes against it self as David did Psal I shall one day perish by the hands of Saul So in Lam. 3.18 The Church concludes against her self My strength and my hope are perished from the Lord. But the Holy Spirit doth make out to the Soul its Right and Title to these Priviledges First summarily and comprehensively when the Spirit certifieth us of our Adoption into Filiation with Christ Jesus throughout his Passion and merit making us his Brethren and so Children of the same heavenly Father as it is Rom. 8 16. The Spirit it self bears Witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of God the soul knoweth its title to all other priviledges and blessings as it is said all are yours ye are Christs and Christ is Gods but it doth not alwaies thus satisfy the soul because sometimes we grieve the Spirit they have the effect of their Adoption but they have not alwaies the comfort of their Adoption nor the sense of it therefore Tim. 3.5 We are commanded to give deligence To make our calling and election sure Because he doth not give us the sense and comfort of it without diligence and it is not preserved without diligence all that are lead by the Spirit of God are the Children of God though God might sometimes hide his face from them As the unregenerate are all their life time under the Spirit of bondage and intitled to all curses and put out of Gods protection and though they are not all their life-time in terror as Cain was when he said Whosoever meets me will slay me Sometimes they are free from the impressions thereof And Gods children are sometimes without the impressions of joy and the certain apprehension of their title to it or their joy is less sometimes and is not full for want of diligence in exercising their graces or else it may be through weakness in grace or it may be for want of seeking it of God by prayer and Meditation thereupon or for some unkindness done to the Spirit of grace or may be only because God pleaseth to give it but at special seasons But who is there so strong but may sometimes feel corruption stirring in his heart either an inclination to hearken to the tempter or some sinful thought injected or else perceiveth his corruptions not so much conquered as he would have them and his heart so much renewed as he would have it These cause much grief and sadness in the soul which desires to be delivered from them For the regenerate soul is more sensible of one grace that it wants or is weak and defective in than it is of many graces which it possesseth But when it overcomes that temptation which it hath most cause to fear then hath it double joy Also who is there so watchful careful and tender of offending the Holy Spirit but sometimes is unkind to it and causeth a breach of love But as it happeneth in friendship he that falls out with his friend presently falls out with himself for it and seeks all opportunities of reconciliation So the Child of God when he hath grieved the Spirit doth afflict himself for it and will not rest till the knot of friendship is stronger tied and the love made greater Now when this Irradiation of the Spirit of God upon our Spirits is thus interrupted by the hiding of Gods face or the light of his countenance from us we are then troubled as David was or as the Spouse in the Cant. When her Beloved had withdrawn himself And she sought him and could not find him but never left seeking him till she did find him Being wholly inamoured of him as she expresses by her delight in the persume which his fingers touch left up the locks If he leaves so much sweetness behind him where he but toucheth and goes away what glorious ravishments doth he bring into that soul wherein he is entertained here the Spouse suffered as it were an ecclipse but not total when the light of Gods countenance returnes againe then her light returnes also this is the Spirits bearing witness with our Spirit and these bear witness to one another of Gods love to us and our reciprocal love to God and consequently of our Adoption and title to all priviledges and blessings this testimony also inflames our love more and more to God and makes these high and holy
Impressions upon the soul 1. A child-like ingenuity in the service of God when a man obeys God not out of the impulses of a natural conscience but from love 2. The heart is borne out by the incouragements of another world 3. Every occurrence makes us go to God 4. Impress It makes us ready and willing to suffer and undergo joyfully any loss or pain or reproach for God not accounting our lives or any thing else dear if we may serve God with it as the blessed Martyr suffered were assured that Christ had suffered for them for them purchased a Kingdom it makes us willing to forsake the world knowing that we have a dwelling place in Heaven It makes the soul humble heavenly contented patient Holy peaceable charitable pure and unspotted of the world For their great and chief desire is to know thier duty and the good will and pleasure of the Lord that they may yield their ready and cheerful obedience to it and may be able to do it when the soul is thus disposed every condition of life is sweetened to it by the Spirit of Adoption because it looks upon all things that befal it as coming from its heavenly Father in love And desires and endeavours that all things may be to him and to his glory And when the soul is thus disposed and finds it self inabled by the Spirit to do and suffer freely willingly and readily all the good will and pleasure of God and to submit all things to God and feels such filial affection to God such love such patience humility and other workings and impresses of the Spirit in it It hath the Testimony of the Spirit upon it that it is the child of God because these dispositions and impressions are wrought in it by the Spirit and now it can lay title to every priviledge of blessedness And the sense and apprehension of God's great love to us in the redemption of mankind and of our own redemption in particular and the sense of the love of Christ Jesus to us in our redemption and the knowledge of our particular interest in it That all his sufferings had respect to me in particular and my title thereby to all priviledges is wrought by the holy Spirit and is testified to us by the holy Spirit and from thence ariseth our love to God and to Christ by the operation of the Spirit as David expresseth in the 18th Psalm I will love thee c. This is the highest degree of the soul's enjoyment and the highest of its desires and the fulness of its happiness and hath all that is desirable and there is no ultra no further thing desirable It followeth that being in Christ we take him for our portion then will we walk as he walked 1 John 2.6 conform our selves to him take him for our pattern our example and guide learn of him go after him which is to be done chiefly by denying our selves and taking up our Cross not doing our own will but the will of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he humbled himself to become man made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant Phil. 2.7 Humbled himself to death even the death of the Cross he denied preferment when they would have made him a King and when Satan offered him all the Kingdoms of the Earth and the glory thereof He denied honour when he would not suffer his miracles to be divulged And this is performed with joy too because though it crosseth our nature yet it is the very life of our new nature as it was his meat and drink to do the will of his Father The soul that feels this Joy hath Heaven let into it therefore it is willing to go to God This is both oyl and wheels to the soul in its heavenly race When thou shalt inlarge my heart I will run the waies of thy Commandments said holy David This proves the truth of that saying of our Saviour I have overcome the world and sheweth us the impotency of our spiritual adversaries which God delights to see his servants to overcome as appears in the tryal of Job and the blessed Martyrs who rejoyced in their sufferings By this others are incouraged to come in to the Church of God Cant. Whither is thy Beloved gone said they to the Spouse that we may seek him with thee The durableness of this joy is expressed by our Saviour's saying My joy no man taketh from you All that oppression and persecution can do cannot take it from us It is proved 1. Because Christ is both able and willing to give and continue it maugre the opposition of evil men 2. Reason because the supports of this joy are the promises which men cannot impeach nor impair Their portion is not within the knowledge of the world nor within the reach of the world 3 Reason the preserver of this joy is the Holy Ghost 4. Because the seat of this joy is within 1 Pet. 3.4 in the hidden man 5 Reason because the seed of this joy is a principle remaining in them John His seed remaineth in them that is the new nature the principle of Holiness which is renewed day by day though their outward man doth decay and it groweth into a nearer communion with God 6 Reason because the enemies that oppose this joy are conquered Christ hath overcome them for us and we by faith overcome them Sensible troubles may take away sensible joys and external comforts but not internal no more than external joyes can take away a sinners sorrow our enjoyments may be taken away and not our joyes If then they rejoyce in the midst of their trouble how will they rejoyce in Heaven when they have meer joy When we enjoy the world most we have least of this joy the external joy takes away the internal as the external heat causeth internal cold Beware therefore O my soul that thou suffer not thy self to go out to external joy And beware my soul that thou dost not esteem troubles greater evils than they are or ought to be esteemed but as fatherly chastisements sent to mortifie or corruptions to take us off the love of the world and to remove our affections from things below to things above then thou wilt not be much terrified or dismayed by them but make a sanctified use of them to improve thy graces and walk by faith and not after the waies of thine own heart and the sight of thine eyes This spiritual joy doth arm thee O my soul against the frowns and allurements of adverse and prosperous fortune As Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin And our Saviour for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the shame For this joy ennobleth the soul that it scorns to be beholden to visible objects as Abraham shewed the nobleness of his mind that he would not be beholding to the King of Sodom
Stimulus in carne the provocation or irritation in the Flesh buffeted him First he is sensible of his own weakness and useth violence upon himself and keeps under his body yet he did not trust in these means because he knew their insufficiency Therefore he seeks help and assistance from him that is All-sufficient and besought God against it that it might depart from him which God was not pleased to grant as appeareth because the Holy Man was subject to be transported with Pride because of the extraordinary priviledges and abundance of Revelations given unto him Yet he obtained that which was better for him Grace sufficient for when he was weak in himself he was then strong in Grace And that Stimulus suffered to remain to prick the bladder of his Pride and probably for the same reasons God may suffer many of us to undergo the like buffetings from our corruptions and yet support and sustain us in the encounter that we fall not If we be careful as the Apostle was to make use of the same means viz. subduing our body and prayer For we have all the same promises as these men had and the same means to obtain Grace and Life Eternal To know God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent and he that hath but the hope of Eternal Life purifyeth himself even as he is pure and this purifying is by denying our selves taking up our Cross and following Christ which is the Act of Faith and the Life of Faith And by Faith too it is scarcely attainable with great difficulty as our Saviour himself tells us Luke 3. Strive to enter in at the strait Gate for narrow is the way And the righteous shall scarcely be saved c. And those who have both Faith whereby they are able to overcome the World by Gods assistance and the Spirit too to assist them yet these find that though the Spirit is willing the flesh is weak That is though thou subdue it never so much yet though it be subdued that it dare not much oppose yet it will still be unable to keep Pace with the motions of the Spirit Yet I fear too that it will never be so subdued but I shall be forced to bewail my self often with the words of the Apostle Romans 8. The Law is Spiritual but I am carnal but as he disowned himself in this person saying 't is no more I but sin that dwelleth in me So may every child of God whose will is as his was and useth the means that he did And so will God own them for that which is his Image in them By this the Apostle sheweth the enemy with whom he had fought the good fight and having fought it he assures himself that God will give him the Crown And having sowed the seed he expects to reap the same he sowed for he sowed to the Spirit and of the Spirit hoped to reap life everlasting which the Righteous Judge will give to all that love his appearance Rev. 22. Let him that is holy be holy still Meditation 5. The meanes which the soul useth to attaine its renovation and to preserve and persevere in it Are fervent prayer to God for it diligent reading meditation mortification and continual self denial Zeal of God an earnest thirst after a greater degree of grace from the sense of its own weakness and failing a forsaking the world its hopes and feares and worldly interests profits joys and greifes Faith hope and watchfulness against temptation to watch the mouth and the heart Patience in suffering wrongfully humility or to be little in his own eyes for God gives his greace to the humble To set God alwaies before us in his omniscience omnipotence infinitness of his holiness glory and goodness A timely and carely seeking it and entertaining it when it is offered to us without delaies else when we seek we may be rejected as in Prov. 1. Because when I called you answerd not c. Unweariedness in their race To have an eye to the recompence of reward and not to fear them that can only hurt the body but be in the fear of God all the day To abstain from all appearance of evil 1 Thes 5.22 Not only from known sins but from things that have but some complexion of evil for such is the purity of Gods nature that he hates every species or shew of evil And such perfection doth he require in his Servants as it is expressed by our Saviour Math. 5. Strait is the gate c. Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect A holy appetite to the word of God and communion with God in every ordinance as prayer praise the communion of the body and blood of Christ Jesus in the Lords supper Mat. 5. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied Psal 42.2 My soul is thirst for God yea even for the living God When shall I come to appear before the presence of God This sheweth how he practised Another meanes like unto this is that of St. Paul not to account that we have attained but to press forward Also it is appointed as a necessary means to attain this end by our Saviour himself that we learn of him and we are taught so to do by the holy Apostles That we should walke even as he walked 1 Joh. 2.6 Hereby we know that we have his nature his image his Spirit and union with him we ought then to imitate his humility whereby he became man and took upon him the form of a Servant in his meekness Isa 53.7 He was oppressed and afflicted but opened not his mouth He gave his back to the smiter and his cheeke to them that plucked off the hair and hid not his face from spitting So ought we to bear injuries with patience and not render evil for evil 3. In his willing and perfect obedience Psal 40. I delight to do thy will thy law is in my heart 4. In love Ephe. 5.7 Walk in love as Christ loved us Let husbands love their wives as Christ loved the Church 5. In perfect charity we must pray fer our enimies as he did 6. In diligence in religious duties he prayed all night he went constantly to the Synagogue on the Sabbath day 7. In our Reverence in holy Worship he fell on his face or kneeled yet he had the Spirit without measure 8. In his contempt of the world My Kingdom saith he is not of this world 9. In heavenly-mindedness his custom was to instruct of Heaven out of ordinary conferences as when the woman spake to him of water he spake of the water of life So must we have our conversation in Heaven 10. In his faithfulness in his function Heb. 3.2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him as Moses was faithful He was daily in the Temple and went about doing good and therefore in his last prayer said It is finished 11. In self-denial he said I seek not my own will but the
crucified to us and we unto the world that is as well the lusts of the flesh the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life which containes all that is in the world all which the faithful soul counts but dross and dung for the excellency of the knowledg of Christ Jesus whom as the Spouse in the Canticles she esteemes fairer than ten thousand And esteemes sin the most ugly vile eformed and abominable thing in the world pulling off its mask and vizard whereby it deceives the men of the world as it is said Rom. 7.10 Sin deceived me and thereby slew me The understanding thus inlightened ingageth all it can against sin as its enemy and sometimes by vigilancy it prevailes against all assaults of temptations whereby sin is quite excluded from entring and sometimes by flying the occasions of sin as Joseph fled from his Mistress and by the Spirit assistance we mortify the flesh God and Christ susporting Sometimes by prayer faith prevailes against the tempter the soul fearing its own weakness seeks for help of him who is able to succour and hath succoured it The last refuge which faith hath is repentance early and hearty sorrow for the sin committed as Peter when he had denied his Lord and Master immediately he went forth and wept bitterly By these means faith quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked The light of nature teacheth that the soul is borne to more noble things than to wait upon the pleasure of the senses But the supernatural life which the Apostle lived when he said I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Shews another inabling principle of life in the regenerate proceeding from that union which is betwixt Christ and his members because Christ and they are one Spirit 1 Cor. 6.10 Therefore he saith Not I because he is not the same man he was before that man is Crucified with Christ and buried with him he hath derived a new life from Christ as he expresseth I laboured more abundantly than all yet not I but Christ Christ is the spring of it the matter of it and end of it Consider the end of your conversation Jesus Christ and if Christ live in us we shall do think and speak as he did As all other graces of Gods children are sometimes weaker than they are at other times so is faith But thâ— decay of this grace is the cause of decay of many others and sometime the decay of others may cause a decay of this the Psal 51. Entituled a Psalme of David when Nathan the Prophet came unto him after he had gone in to Bathsheba the Title and the Psalme it self shew what sins and what punishments he lay under and because his sins were the cause of the loss of Gods Spirit or of the danger of it and of the loss of the joy of his salvation viz. His assurance he confesseth his sins first and prays for pardon through the multitude of Gods tender mercys then prays for washing healing cleansing and renovation Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me It followes Restore unto me the joy of thy Salvation and support me with thy free Spirit This implieth that before he had it but now he had lost it and was deprived of it which was the cause of so great grief to him that he expresseth it to be the breaking of his bones Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce And the like doth every penitent broken soul feel in himself when he fears the loss of Gods holy Spirit and feels himself deprived of the joy of his salvation and this joy when it is restored is so great that it will make the broken bones rejoyce he apprehended the greatness of the joy now in the loss of it Psal I have roared for the very disquietness of my heart God deprives us of it for our sins that we may be the more careful to preserve it and fearful by sin to loose it or hazard it and to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling for though Gods lays not upon his children all that they deserve yet they shall not go unpunished Judgment shall begin at the house of God Jer. 22.24 Though Coniah the Son of Jehojakim King of Juda were the signet upon my right hand yet would I pluck thee thence Now for as much as the motions workings of the holy Spirit in the faithful people of God by inlightning them in the understanding of heavenly truths bringing to mind and applying the word of God to their comfort inabling them to converse and walk with God in holy Meditation contemplation prayer and thanksgiving making melody in their hearts to the Lord delighting them and rejoycing them in the want of all things as the Prophet Habakkuk expresseth chap. 3. Though the Fig Tree should not blossom nor fruits be in the vines c. And making them to abound with inward joy when their afflictions do most abound slighting and contemning alike both worldly joy and sorrow for the joy which they have in the Lord these are the study imployment and business of a regenerate person wherein he desires to be alwaies exercised because he cannot find satisfaction nor delight in any thing else hence he may be more truly and properly said to live by faith and by the Spirit than to live the life natural as St. Paul argues he did when he saith I am crucified with Christ yet I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who hath loved me and given himself for me Therefore they are as it were out of their lives and void of all injoyment and comfort when they want the comforts and assistance of the Holy Spirit as Holy David did greatly resent the absence of it and fear lest it should be taken from him and that he should be cast away so do most of Gods people Isa 49.14 Sion said The Lord hath forsaken me and my God hath forgotten me Though God had graven her in the palms of his hands When God hides his face and withdraws himself they are cast down as Psal I said in my prosperity I should never be cast down but thou hidest thy face and I was troubled This withdrawing of God was the very bitterest of our Saviours sufferings If this should be our condition let us not be weary of well doing but wait on the Lord for God hath said Isa 49. That he that waits on the Lord shall be like an Eagle And consider that Christ Jesus suffered the like and therefore hath a fellow feeling of our suffering that he might succour us who are tempted But if Christ doth not succour us our heart cannot indure our hands cannot be strong in the days that God shall thus deal with us as it is Ezek. 22. v. 14. But he hath bid us to call upon him
thou O my soul apprehend that these are only the peculiar priviledges and injoyments of the Saints and fearest thy self to be none of those but fain thou wouldst be such thou maiest sue to the Lord to perform those and the like promises of free grace Jer. 32.40 I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me I will give them a new heart And that Micha 7.19 He will subdue our iniquities And that Isa 3.4 The heart of the rash shall understand And that Isa 11.6 The Wolf shall lye down with the Lamb and the Leopard shall lye down with the Kid. And that Hosa 14.15 I will heal their backslidings And that Rom. 16.20 The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly And that Ezek. 36.27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep my judgements and do them Luke 11.13 How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him And Isa 35.5 The ear of the deaf shall be unstopped And that Deut. 30.9 I will circumcise thine heart That thou maiest love the Lord thy God with all thine heart c. And that in Isa 40. v. 31. They shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint Since then God hath promised to give thee his Spirit if thou askest it of him and prooved it with an argument a fortiori that he will and hath promised to do all this for thee and work all these works in thee and thou findest in thy self desires pantings and longing for them and thereupon dost ask him in his Sons name and for his mercies sake his truths sake and his names sake to perform these promises and givest him no rest till he doth it doubt not but he will Meditation of the Love of God Psal 103.8 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy long suffering and of great goodness c. Those sweet compellations which almighty God useth to his poor creature man if they do but sink into our hearts they must needs make such impressions as will cause reciprocal love to him Is Ephraim a dear Son is he a pleasent Child what can endear thee more than this Oh my soul what love canst thou desire more he counts thee and calls thee in this Relation Son looks upon thee with compassion as his child and pittieth thee as a Father pittieth his Child delighteth in thee as a Father delighteth in a Child whom he loveth and helpeth thee as his Child Behold what manner of love God hath shewed thee that thou shouldest be called the Son of God Joh. 1.4 If a Son then an heir and joynt heir with Christ his only begotten Son for Christ is not ashamed to call us Bretheren in this relation to God and Christ what canst thou want or fear or what more canst thou desire in the 3d. Chap. of Mal. He calls them his Jewels and Rev. 1. Kings and Priests and Isa 62. a Crown of glory His portion he called Abraham his friend What canst thou fear a Master may be severe if his work be done he will pay wages if not stripes but a Father is indulgent and will spare his Child and require no more of him than he can perform with comfort and delight if then thou canst find in thy self the disposition of a Child be sure thou maiest find in him the disposition of a Father Mat. 3. Our Blessed Saviour hath owned them in these relations viz. His Bretheren his members his Spouse his betroathed his Sister and Mother his Garden his Church his beloved his branches his Servants his flock his lambs his friends and Revel 1.6 He hath loved us and washed us from our sins and made us Kings and Priests to God Could the Canaanitish Woman find incouragement for faith to lay hold from that of Dog who needs to dispair sure not a prodigal Son And every thing that is excellent beautiful and desirable beloved and endeared he compares his people to it and sees all those perfections in them as he expresseth in the Cant. O then my soul admire and be inamoured of him and find all excellencies perfections and desirable good things in him from whom thine excellency cometh and is derived thine head thy Husband thine elder Brother thy Father thy Maker thy Governour thy Redeemer for so doth the heavenly Spouse see and admire in Christ Jesus her Beloved If so thou dost then thou knowest that he is they Beloved thy Saviour thy Head thy Brother thy Portion thy Delight thou lovest him in all that he did or said his teaching his sufferings his miracles thy love to him is but the reflexion of the beam of his Meditations of Mercy Med. 1. Psal 103.11 As high as the Heaven is above the earth so great is his Mercy c. WOrthy of our meditation are all the workes of God and every word of his to be studied by us that we may thereby improve our graces but his workes of mercy and that part of his word which holdeth forth mercy and offers it and sets forth God in the Glory and excellency of his mercy is most necessary for sinful man and most comfortable to be considered All that are saved are saved by meditating of this all that are lost are lost and perish for lack of the knowledg of this this is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ The freeness then and largeness of it is to be our chief study free it is What motive found he in us to move him when enemies to give his Son up for us all and to beseech us but only from his own goodness because he delights in mercy The man that seeks his lost sheep may get the profit of it and so may the woman that seeks her lost groat but what profit can the Lord get by us for which he may seek us for when we have done all we are unprofitable Servants The largeness of his mercy is without limits for if he hath commanded us to forgive seventy times seven times will not he frankly forgive us what we are not able to satisfy since he makes his forgiving of us many talents the argument why we should forgive petty debts can we imaging that he will take the first forfeiture since he hath commanded us not only to forgive our enemies but to love them bless them pray for them to do good for evil will not he forgive us love us and bless us as freely for Christs sake though there be no motive in us for it would he make love to be the fulfilling of the law charity the covering of transgression prefer charity before piety by commanding us to leave our gift at the Altar to be reconciled to our Brother prefer it before faith and all gifts and graces making it as it were the ligament and sinews of all and that if we want that all other graces are but empty sounds make
a noise in the ear without any profit would God require such love from us but that he is Love Gracious Merciful and full of compassion slow to anger hateth nothing that he hath made what can he say more free to thee though thou art as an adulterous Spouse to him yet thou maiest returne and he will receive thee again though thou bringest no merit but demerit to provoke He hath excluded none from his mercy unless they be such as will shew no mercy or else those that sin of malicious wickedness and sin in despight of the Spirit wilfully against light The entail of his mercy is to thousands of them that love him 2 Meditation on Gods Mercy Lord if thou shouldest be extreme to mark what is done amiss who may abide it but there is Mercy with thee c. LORD be merciful to me a sinner we have all sinned and hope in thy Mercy only through the merits of our Saviour If we were not sinners thy mercy would be of no use towards us And our Blessed Lord and Saviour would be of no use to us nor faith nor hope would be of any use nor prayer nor praises But because I am a sinner I pray for thy mercies I praise thee for thy mercies I hope for thy mercies I trust in thy mercy revealed to sinners I believe in the merits of my Saviour and renounce all merit in my self therefore Lord cast me not off because I am a sinner shut not out my prayers for this I will not sin that grace may abound but though I have sinned I am an object of Mercy and thy grace that abounded to Mary Magdalen to Paul to Publicans and sinners may also extend to me Thou hast sent thy Son to call not the Righteous but Sinners To the lost sheep of the house of Israel to seek and also to save that which was lost to quicken them who were dead in trespasses and sins To preach the glad tidings of the Gospel of our Salvation though thy Mercy in giving up thy Son to dye for us that by his death we might escape death and live because he bore the iniquities of us all and by his stripes we are healed That precious blood that he shed upon the ground when the speare was thrust into his body was a sufficient ransom for the lives of all man-kind And as my sins had a concurrent demer it procuring his death so I hope they are joyned in the effect the attonement and expiation That his righteousness may be imputed to me also as my sins were to him 2 Cor. 5. That I may be made the righteousness of God in him Therefore we have need that he should be made unto us wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption because we were foolish disobedient and deceived serving divers lusts and therefore hast thou proclaimed thy self abundantly pardoning because our sins abound Isa 55. As our Blessed Saviour is the chiefest and greatest of all mercies because he is of more value than all so is he also to be esteemed because in him as in the Fountain are all others contained for by him and faith in his merits only we pray for all others which we need therefore above all we praise thee for him and in him and by him we praise thee for all 3. Meditation All our spirituall mercies as well grace here as glory and eternal happiness hereafter are free without any merit of ours of meer gift and mercy Tit. 3.3 5. We our selves were sometimes disobedent c. But after the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by workes of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ c. He is the medium by whom they are derived to us and not our own merit of his fulness we have received grace for grace as the members derive their vital Spirits from the head The converting grace and the confirming graces are both free Ephe. 1.13 In whom after ye believed ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance He worketh in us both the will and deed that is good when of our selves we cannot think a good thought Therefore above all we pray that thou wouldst give us thy Son whom thou hast given for us all freely and then with him thou givest us all things and as a Father pittieth his own Children so doth the Lord pitty them that fear him Thy bowels cannot see them want any thing Let him live in us by his word by his Spirit by his image in us by his graces which we receive from his fulness let him be formed in us and by him dwelling in our hearts let us be crucified to the world and dye daily and be buried with him and yet live but so that we may be said not to live our selves but Christ in us Thus let the word and the Sacraments convey him to us Since thou hatest nothing that thou hast made and thy delight is among the Sons of men Pro. 1. Certainly thou dost not afflict nor grieve willingly the Sons of men Therefore when we cry unto the Lord in our trouble he delivers us out of distress Psal 104. He cannot forbear to kiss and embrace his prodigal Son O let thy revelation of thy love to man recall mans straying affections to God If we believe this our faith will work love to him again and we shall be as willing to be reconciled to him as he to be reconciled to us 2 Cor. 5.20 If while we were enemies Christ died for us whom hath he not died for who is excluded from his mercy much more being justified by his blood will he save us seeing he hath done so much for us when we were worse now that we are put in a better relation by the blood of Christ and are reconciled to him and made just persons much more now will he do the rest which is but the consequence of the justification to save us All this is free mercy Not of workes which we have done but of his own good will he begot us and accordingly we are justified freely by his grace 4. Meditation I find no condition annexed to be precedent to make a subject capable of mercy but only want and desire of mercy want I have without my own act or endeavour desire of relief too ariseth spontaneously without my endeavour and largeness of desire proceeds from a covetous mind an eye unsatisfied yet such is the ocean of mercy that it requires but only that we open our mouth wide and he will fill it as he promiseth As long as the widow brought empty vessels the Oyl ran he giveth liberally and upbraideth not he giveth more then we are able to ask or think the debtor doth but desire forbearance but the Lord forgives him the debt Jacob only desired food and