world and lose his soul Or what shall a man give in Exchange for his soul When such Texts as this is brought home to the conscience it doth so awaken where not willingly withstood that sins hold must needs fall Fifthly The Spirit furnisheth the Christian with spiritual Arguments bearing such force upon his heart as makes him able to break out with such replies as these First All the Devil hath to make an argument of is but present things and they suit not with my person for my person is made up of soul and body and all he offereth doth but respect and serve that body that shortly must be worms-meat and therefore it will not profit me to lose my soul for present things Secondly As all he hath to make an Argument of suits not with my person in like manner it suits not with my condition for if I have all that heart can wish it carries me but to the grave and there leaves me and wo be to me if such works follow me for alas I must be raised again and he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption Sixthly The holy Spirit helps in lending the immediate supplies of new strength proportionable to our straits and will not suffer those that wait on him to be tempted above what they are able to bear but will with the temptation make way to escape that they may be able 1 Cor. 10. 13. Seventhly The holy Spirit helps by striving with the heart to draw it after holy performances following the soul up and down with sweet visits and secret whispers prompting and inclining it God-ward preparing a season for the heart to draw nigh God and then preparing the heart for that season The Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what to pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered Rom. 8. 26. May not all this teach us to put a high value upon the holy Spirits Help to the great work of Mortification by all means striving to please and not grieve this holy Spirit by which we are sealed to the day of Redemption Having now spoken of the holy Spirits help may not some from hence inquire what may be done to the obtaining not only its visits now and then as a wafaring man that tarrieth for a night but its constant company to abide with the soul Answ There may be three Directions laid down briefly for its obtaining with three Directions for its keeping First for its obtaining Get a deep sense of its want and worth Secondly Get longings of heart after its supply Thirdly Make humble supplications to the Father for it First Get a deep sense of its want and worth it s Jesus Christs own argument that the world cannot receive this Spirit because it seeth him not neither knoweth him John 14. 17. Now by personal examination of that souls barrenness where the holy Spirit either comes but seldome or stayes not long may some considerable sense of its want be discerned and consequently of its worth all those black sinful works acted by the sons of men are the effects of the holy Spirits absence and indeed to what degree a good man is a stranger here to that degree he is weak an unable either to make right judgment of the best things or to withstand the temptations and vexatious assaults of the evil one and although a man be thus destitute where the holy Spirit is wanting yet can there be no expectation of his company till a deep sense both of its want and worth affect the heart to the rendring the soul capable of setting a valuable estimation of its company Secondly for its obtaining Get longings of heart after its supply breathings and pantings from a sense of its want bastens its coming a foul that goeth sadly up and down all the day long sick as it were of love for its frequent visits to revive comfort and strength and to discover its own wants and the tempters wiles making the soul taller by head and shoulders than those temptations that frequently attend it saying with David As the Hart panteth after the water brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for the living God when shall I come and appear before thee Or be filled with supplies from thee Psal 42. 1 2. Thirdly for its obtaining Make humble supplications to the Father for it not only sick of love with the Spouse but also panting and thirsting with David yet rests not here but is again and again upon its knees with humble hearty supplications to God even the Father like the thirsty traveller that going from Fountain to Fountain from means to means till he get what his soul travelleth after when Jesus Christ were about to leave the Disciples this was one of the last Legasies he gave them And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever John 14. 16. If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him Luke 11. 13. In the second place we may offer three Directions in order to the sure keeping the holy Spirits company or holding constant fellowship and dear inward intimate familiarity with so happy a companion First A constant withstanding the beginnings of all evil Secondly A ready complyance with new motions to all good Thirdly A retaining in the heart a high value of its company First A constant withstanding the beginnings of all evil is that which will wonderfully engage the Spirits company when you crush sin in its least and first motion Now the dearest of Gods Children are lyable to temptation and it is not their sin to be tempted to sin Jesus Christ was tempted to sin their sin lyeth in closing with the temptation but if instead of closing with it you do in the Spirits strength constantly oppose it mistake me not here I pray you a constant opposing sin doth not intend less than these three things First A firm withstanding the very first least motion even a glance as it were at the eye ear or thought to sin Abstain from all appearance of evil 1 Thes 5. 22. Secondly As the first least motion so in all cases and conditions whether the temptation set upon you when ye are full or hungry sick or well strong or weak rich or poor in affliction or out of affliction it will be coming with new assaults in all conditions waiting to kill you by a Goliah or Bathshebah temptations more piercing or more pleasing Constant intends a withstanding here Thirdly Constant intends continual Blessed is the man that endureth temptation Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of life James 1. 12. Revel 2. 10. Secondly A second Help to retain the holy Spirit may be this A ready complyance with new motions to all good it
our selves with some that commend themselves but they measuring themselves with themselves by comparing themselves among themselves are not wise Prov. 30. 12. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes yet not washed from their filthiness By these texts you may see what miserable judgment men will make of things when they walk by the light of their own eyes contrary to Gods express charge Deut. 12. 8. You shall not do after all things ye hear this day every man what is right in his own eyes Secondly Another Cause may be this when you measure what you know by what once you did know not considering that further knowledge forceth further light and cals for proportionable practise When I was a child I spake as a child I understood as a child but when I became a man I put away childish things Thirdly When you measure what you know by seeing others that profess they know do as they do Tit. 1. 16. They profess they know God but in works they deny him Other mens actions must no further be a rule for us notwithstanding their knowledge then as their actions accord with Gods Word the rule of knowledge Fourthly When you measure what you know by what you are disposed to practise or do men pick and choose what Commands they will observe and how to observe them in our dayes Some Commands suit more with the nature and disposition of persons than other Commands do they that cannot endure Drunkenness can give way to passion they that cannot endure uncleanness can give way to Covetousness but as the victory is glorious when gotten over what was most difficult so measuring what we know not by what we are disposed to do but what God commands us to do is the truest way or rule to measure by for the carnal man will make the Law of Nations his guide the moral man the ten Commandments his guide the Antichristian man the false Spirit his guide and all measure themselves by their guide but the undeceived Christian man makes Gods Word his guide and measures what he knows by his walking like that To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this Word 't is because there is no light in them Isa 8. 20. Fifthly When you measure not what you know by what God in his Word calls you personally to do when those especial Commands that lyeth upon you as Husband to Wife Wife to Husband Father to Child Child to Father Master to Servant Servant to Master are left undone or so lamely done that they are full of cracks and flaws the Religion of such is vain and contrary comparisons to this as vain and deceitful This was the evil of the Scribes and Pharisees they minded Annise and Cummin but neglected judgment mercy and faith the weightier matters of the Law all doings are shows without substance while the weightier matters are left undone James 1. 26. If any man seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue he deceives his own heart this mans Religion is in vain Consider this in the fear of God Object But how may we know we are deceived with this deceit Answ First When you have a low value of that means that under God first brought you to know Is not Sermons a low thing with you this and that Preacher that once was high in your account now weak and mean in your esteem Now you are full now you are rich and have raigned as Kings without us I would to God you did raign that we also might raign with you 1 Cor. 4. 8. Secondly When you are mighty prodigal of what you know thinking no matter well mannaged that you have not most voyce in Prov. 15. 2. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright but the mouth of fools poureth forth foolishness So prov 29. 11. The fool uttereth all his mind but a wise man keepeth it in while afterwards Thirdly When you please your self with the thoughts that few or none in knowledge outstrip you having a secret scorn to compare your selves with any that is when you think none is able to say more to a text of Scripture than you have done or knows the holy Spirits mind more than your selves Jer. 8. 8. We are wise We by way of singularity and the Law of the Lord is with us At the same time God saith What wisdome is in them Fouthly When in all matters material you are not careful to take counsel of God before you bring them to action Prov. 15. 28. The heart of the wise studieth to answer but the mouth of fools poureth forth foolishness And Chap. 3. 6. In all thy wayes acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths CHAP. VI. Containing in it Christians aptness through weakness to neglect coming to Christs Table with a short discription of offences that seemingly may hinder and three Causes of this Decay SIGN VI. VVHen a small offence will keep you from Christs Table By Christs Table here I would be understood Christ Jesus his own institution the night he was betrayed which he set on foot to his Penitent Believing Baptized Disciples 1 Cor. 11. 23 24. For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take eat this is my body broken for you this do in remembrance of me And after the same manner he took the Cup when he had supped saying This Câ—â— is the New Testament in my blood This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me These Scriptures prove it to be Christ Jesus his own institution and therefore a duty for his people to be found in often But it being somewhat besides the business in hand to treat in particular of all the uses and ends of this blessed institution my work here is to be instrumental if the Lord will to deter believers upon some offences that they have taken from the neglect of this duty that is weighty and not to be omitted or abused as they will answer Christ Jesus who is ready to take an account it being that Ordinance that doth in a most lively manner express the certainty of his suffering in his body being broken and his blood poured out that he might finish the work of mans redemption and remain at the Fathers right Hand Mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus against all the opposition of that corrupt Spirit that seeks in our dayes to disparage and extinguish this blessed Ordinance thereby to root out of mens understandings the certainty of Christ Jesus being a personal fleshly substance and so converting into a Spirit contrary to this saying of his after his resurrection Behold my â—ands and my feet that it is my self handle me and see for a Spirit hath not flesh and bone as you see me have Luke 24. 39. Acts 1. 9 10 11.
lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed So Rom. 1. 21 28. Because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God neither were thankful but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkned And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient For this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness Now such fore judgments as these are come upon and procured by many who turn the grace of God into wantonness professing to be most spiritual live as the almost most carnal little minding because greatly ignorant of those spiritual causes they may run into to the bringing upon themselves such spiritual judgments or sicknesses and afflictions as these And indeed how comes it to pass that such afflictions are not feared before they come to the provoking such to walk so as may prevent their coming but ignorance of the Scripture they not conversing often with them to the well informing themselves what judgments may come on their minds and what are the Causes God assigns of their coming so as to be in trembling and dread continually to the keeping themselves out of that channel where such bitter waters runs Again there are outward sicknesses and afflictions and they are such as these Deut. 28. 58 59 60. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this Law that are written in this Book that thou maist fear this glorious and fearful Name the Lord thy God Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful and the plagues of thy seed even great plagues and of long continuance sore sicknesses and of long continuance Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt which thou was afraid of and they shall cleave unto thee Levit. 26. 15 16. If ye shall despise my Statutes or if your soul shall abhor my judgments that you will not do them but that you break my Covenant I also will do this to you I will even appoint over you Terror Consumption and the burning Ague that shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart and ye shall sow your seed in vain for your Enemies shall eat it But I shall speak fully to the Causes of Affliction in the Twenty second Sign and therefore proceed no further here but come to the second Calamity that Scripture Ignorance brings Secondly That your uneven walking with God may bring upon your selves death before its time This Particular is proved thus Long life promised to the obedient Exod. 20. 12. Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy dayes may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee Also Deut. 32. 46 47. Set your hearts to all the words which I testifie among you this day command them your Children for it is not in vain because that through this thing mark that ye shall prolong your dayes in the Land whither ye go over into Jordan to possess it This is also proved by the contrary which comes upon the disobedient Deut. 11. 16 17. Take heed to your selves that your heart be not deceived and ye turn aside and serve other Gods and then the Lords wrath be kindled against you and ye perish quickly from off the good Land which the Lord giveth you Eccles 8. 13. But it shall not be well with the wicked neither shall he prolong his dayes which are as a shadow because he feareth not before God So Chap. 7. 17. Be not over much wicked neither be thou foolish why shouldst thou die before thy time Thirdly By means of Scripture Ignorance you cannot know to ask in faith the things you want for soul or body that is you will not know where to be absolute or positive in your asking and whereto be submissive and conditional in your asking Now the Scripture gives directions as to the putting up Petitions to God and men may easily err by not observing them Gen. 32. 26. And he said to wit the Angel Let me go for the day breaeth and he answered to wit Jacob I will not Let thee go except thou bless me So Exod. 32. 12. Wherefore should the Egyptians say for mischief did he bring them out to slay them in the Mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people So Acts 12. 5. Peter therefore was kept in prison but prayer was made without ceasing unto God for him By these Scriptures we may observe that to be conditional or indifferent in our asking when God may be dishonoured by denying is not good therefore in this case may a man coming in Gods way be bold to ask pardon of his sins peace to his conscience power over his corruptions without condition in such case Gracious and humble resolutions to have no denial greatly liketh God and suits with his will Isa 62. 6 7. I have set Watchmen upon thy walls O Jerusalem which shall never hold their peace day nor night you that make mention of the Lord keep not silence till he establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth But observe in all cases Petitions putting up must not thus be framed Acts 21. 14. And when he would not be perswaded we ceased saying the will of the Lord be done So Rom. 1. 9 10 For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of his Son that without ceasing I make mention alwayes of you in my prayers making request if by any means I might now at length have a prosperous journey by the will of God mark that to come to you So Jam. 4 15. For that ye ought to say if the Lord will we shall live and do this or that I shall leave this to consideration and proceed to the fourth Calamity Fourthly Negligence to Reading and Meditation will make you ignorant wherein you may prevent the presence and comforts of Gods holy Spirit that is that God may either take away his spirit from striving with you or you away from his spirit My spirit shall not alwayes strive Gen. 6. 3. 1 Sam. 16. 14. But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him Psal 51. 7. Take not thy holy spirit from me Neh. 9. 30. Yet many years didst thou for bear them and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy Prophets yet would they not give ear Therefore gavest thou them into the hands of the people of the Land But they rebelled and vexed his holy spirit therefore was he turned to be their enemy and fought against them By these Scriptures we may see that the holy Spirits company may be put away from us through ungracious
walking Fifthly Negligence in Scripture will make you ignorant that there is a Legion of evil Angels waiting hourely to take advantage against you no sooner in the Text but now mentioned had the good Spirit left Saul but a◠evil Spirit comes upon him 2 Chron. 18. 19 20 21. And the Lord said who shall in 〈◊〉 Ahab presently there came out a Spirit and said I will intice him and be a lying Spirit in the month of all his Prophets Job 1. 6. There was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them and so soon as Joshua is standing before the Angel of God Satan is got at his right hand to resist him now ignorance that there is a Legion or very many evil Spirits waiting all advantages and opportunities to do us hurt occasions many to be secure when and where they have no cause and so their feet come to be insnared in by-paths to their shame and sorrow let us therefore be so studious in Scripture as to say in truth with the holy Apostle 2 Cor. 2. 10. 11. To whom ye forgive any thing I forgive also lest Satan should get an advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices Clearly noting how careful this good man was to keep the tempter at greatest distance while persons are not sensible that they are continually attended with wicked Spirits that seeks to insnare them by drawing them aside from God they shall be the oftner captivated and so in their spiritual estate in great danger to be spoiled When the unclean Spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest and findeth none then he returns to his house or heart from whence he came out and finding it empty swept that is destiture of the good Spirits company then goeth he and takes with him seven more wicked Spirits than himself and enters in and dwels there Mat. 12. 43 44. Hence it is clear that evil Spirits both wait advantages and take them where they find suitable subjects to be gaining upon But I pass this and come to the last Calamity which negligence brings Sixthly It makes you ignorant that you may hinder Gods holy Spirit from working any effectual good upon you This may possibly seem strange to some that the good purposes of Gods good Spirit upon any may be by them hindered but if it be considered well it need not be strange for if the workings of the holy Spirit were unresistable then few if any could be ungodly it strove much with the old World and yet they was not worthy to be saved from the Deluge and striving need not be where there can be no resisting Again the holy Spirit was much grieved with Israels stubbornness testifying against them many years Neh. 9. yet would they not give ear how could it be said the Spirit grieved at their withstanding if they could not withstand Turn ye at my reproof and I will pour out my Spirit upon you and make known my words unto you but ye have set at naught all my counsel and would none of my reproof In all their affliction he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them but they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit therefore mark that he was turned to be their enemy Now if the workings and strivings of the holy Spirit were unresistable certainly Israel with whom it so strove being so bemoaned of God for their rebellion neither could nor should have so withstood him How shall I give thee up O Ephraim how shall I deliver thee O Israel how shall I make thee as Adma or Zeboim my heart is hot within me my repentings are kindled together Would it not be blasphemy to say that Gods thus bemoaning was not real It is altogether certain that the very heart of God is set out in these expressions CHAP. IX Shewing that an itching ear in Christians after Novelties bespeak◠them decaying to godliness with four Remedies against it SIGN IX VVHen you are mighty inquisitive after Novelties or new things rather than wholsome Doctrine This Sign is too too common amongst Professors and commonly ariseth from some dislike that they take because things go not just as they would have them after the light of their own eyes such may know themselves or at least be known by their instability or running from one thing to another as Solomon saith given to change no longer contented than while they are prosecuting some notion or other that hath in it the face of new and if with their notion they prove to be accepted then perhaps quieted for a while till some other new conceit take them but if not accepted then they swell so big that the bounds of the Church is too strait to hold them And sure from hence hath risen the multitude of dividings in opinion that now are on foot in our Land men growing confidently conceited that they are in the right and no reason shall sway them but if their offer be rejected then presently they make a schisme and so striving to get a party crying out of great injustice as though truth were only in them and withstood because their Notion is withstood All this while the great end of Church-being and Ordinances appointing to wit edification not so much as thought of but forgetting that blessed rule of Christ Jesus best followers who became all things to all men that they might gain the more drive on furiously and come what will come in the issue all must presently be as they see or else they will be gone whereas God knows if they were narrowly looked into they would be found of the simple that are apt to believe every word while the prudent looks well to his goings not hasty to receive nor hasty to forgo what he hath already received By this I would not be understood to palliate men who count others giddy headed for leaving an old Romish form when by God they are otherwise perswaded light breaking in and truth being made manifest but I rather indeed would by this give such to understand that the drift of what is here pointed at hath respect to such as in a right constituted Church cannot be contented Not in the least incouraging any others to be contented with false settlement ignorantly concluding that if they change it will be to something new and not true Men may change but it must be for the better yet how apt are persons to be affected with changes that they will change though it be for the worst At such a sort of people my drift is it being an evil that the Scripture is not wanting to tell us of Exod. 32. in the beginning While Moses is but absent for a while from Israel they cry to Aaron to make them new Gods saying these be thy Gods O Israel in like manner as you may read in Numb 11. 6. compared with 21. 5. Gods own appointment that once was welcome