yet the Blessings of Israel stand open for thee and the Door of Grace is wide open be confident if thou dost enter in close with and accept of Grace it will be as well with thee as with any of the Israel of God Consider thy hearty closing with Christ will not onely let thee into Mercy and Blessing of the present Day but it will let thee into Blessings of all kinds it will bring a Blessing upon thee in every Work and Way it will let thee into a part and share in the highest Priviledges that the Children of Men are capable of it will let thee into Sonship and Friendship with the great and holy God it will make thee blessed for Time and for Eternity Therefore fight not against thy own Mercies mind really and heartily what freeness and heartiness there is in the great God in setting before sinners all the Grace of the Covenant and what gladness it doth produce when poor Souls are willing to kiss the Son it will not onely produce Joy in thy own Soul it will not onely make glad the hearts of many of thy Relations and of thy Friends for possibly thou hast Relations and Friends that long to see Christ formed in thee that in every petition at the Throne of Grace their hearts are working for thy Soul and begging that thou mayst be a plant of Righteousness of the Lords own planting and nothing would glad them more then to see thee a Son and Heir of the Kingdom of God but also there will be Joy in Heaven Father Son and Spirit are gladded to see the designs of the death of Christ graciously accomplished upon the hearts of poor sinners Remember therefore I do this day in the Name of Christ invite thee to partake of all the Mercies which be the Mercies of Gods Israel And truly the Mercies of Israel are many there is Pardon there is Purging there is Adoption Sonship there is the Spirit to comfort you to lead you in every work and way there be the Promises made over to them there is mercy now and for ever A Kingdom the Lord has prepared for them that love him I invite thee to take a part in these things this day and forget it not that thou hast had a Call from the Lord at this time Soul I tell thee if thou dost stand it out against this Call of God truly though thou art escaped and thy life is given thee for a prey yet thou maist possibly be sealed up unto destruction thou maist be left to dye in thy sins and to fall for ever under the weight of divine displeasure for thy neglect and contempt of Gospel-Grace Be confident as Jesus Christ is now waiting upon poor Souls and offering Mercy to poor Sinners so when he comes to the glory that is reserved for him he will be found of power sufficient to recompence all that have trodden under foot the Blood of the Son of God and made light of those overtures of Mercy that have been tendred to them The Light is now with thee and the Lord is calling of thee therefore make peace while thou art in the way lest the Lord come forth against thee in his hot displeasure VSE IV. SOme methinks there are that are of trembling hearts and they cry It is true I am escaped but I fear I am none of the Israel of God My Use therefore would be to such as are of trembling spirits When they consider how good God has been to them they may possibly tremble lest at last they should lose the Mercy of this Mercy because they are not found among the Israel of God Many a Soul there is possibly cries out Israels Priviledges are too great for me to hope to have a part in them and Israels Spirit is a Spirit more excellent then ever I have been found in and therefore though I am escaped this day yet I want that which is the best piece of the Mercy of an Escape I would answer Know this O Soul that among the Israel of God there are many that are of fearful Spirits although they are really among the number of the Lords precious Ones they have not an Eye to see it nor Faith to believe it and so may possibly go mourning many days But what are thy Objections What makes thee fear Do not fear thou know'st not what nor why As we are to give a reason of our Hope so I would not have you fear without a reason Objection 1. Methinks the Soul says Gods Israel are a chosen People and the Election of God lies deep it is a secret lock'd up in his Bosom and I fear I have no part in the Election of God I fear the eternal thoughts of God did not concern themselves about such a weak and worthless Worm as I am Answer It is true the Election of God is a secret in the heart of God and secret things belong unto God things written and revealed belong to us It is not for me or thee to climb Heaven to search Records and at first dash to turn over the leaves of the Book of Life and to see whether we may find our Names therein written It is a great mistake upon which many run that would think to prove the truth of their being called by finding out whether they are elected or no it is an endless it is an impossible work This therefore know is thy work and mine to consult what effects of Electing Love we can finde upon our Souls if any thing of that be in thy heart thence thou mayst safely conclude thou wast in the heart of God from Eternity There is a Scripture that answers fully I think whatever the Soul can say in this matter 1 Thes 1.4 5. Knowing Brethren beloved your Election of God for our Gospel came not unto you in word but also in power and in the holy Ghost and in much assurance as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake Consider whether the Gospel hath had its work upon thy heart whether it hath come with power upon thy Soul and if so others may know and thou mayst know from thence thine Election Election is an act of God that he passeth from Eternity but Calling is a work and Fruit of Election upon the Soul of a poor Sinner by which it may come to discover that it was in the thoughts of God before the foundation of the World was laid If therefore thou canst trace the footsteps of Gods going upon thy Soul and of his working in a Gospel-way upon thy heart thy Soul is safe and the thoughts of God thou mayst conclude were towards thee before thou hadst a being But Objection 2. The Soul objects I fear God hath not been at work upon me I could conclude Gods election of me if I could find a work of the Gospel passed upon my Soul I know the work of the Gospel is to cleanse and purifie the heart but sin and filthiness
dwells in me that I cannot think the Lord has been effectually at work upon my Soul That the work of the Gospel is to purifie the heart is plain from Joh. 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy Truth thy Word is truth so 1 Pet. 1.22 Seeing ye have purified your hearts in obeying the Truth thorow the Spirit unto unfained love to the Brethren The Gospel if it works it works to the purifying of the heart Answer As it is a work of the Gospel to cleanse and purifie the heart so it is not all the work it does nor is it the first work it doth nor the work that is first manifest upon the Soul The Law it humbles the sinner and makes him see his need of Christ the first work of the Gospel is to give the sinner hope that he may be delivered out of his undone condition and the next is to make him willing to subject to and accept of the Grace of God in the Gospel Psal 110.3 Thy People shall be willing in the day of thy Power Therefore Soul if thou dost make this Objection this I would say to thee Consider whether thou canst find that the Gospel hath done its first work upon thy heart hath made thee willing to accept of Grace in the Gospel-way and to bow and fall at the foot of Jesus Christ As to thy Holiness the holiness of thy heart will at first discover it self hardly by any other ways then by thy love to Holiness then by thy hatred of Sin and thy fighting against the Corruptions that be in thy Soul thy Conquest and Victory over Sin must be the work of time the fruit of much pains and long waiting many excellent Souls have not attained unto this Paul himself found impurity remaining and Corruption like to bear him down and therefore cries out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this Body of Death But then Objection 3. The Soul objects and says But I have been but a little time under any Soul-Work and therefore I may soon be mistaken I may reckon I am an Israelite and may be but an Edomite still for it is but a little while that I have had any workings upon my heart I have gone indeed from Duty to Duty for a long time together but I have sat in and under them like a Stock or a Stone and moved not and therefore whether the Workings that are upon me are genuine or whether they be spurious and not of the right kind I know not Answer I answer therefore The work of Grace upon the heart is wrought in a little time a little time doth it there are indeed many preparations to it the Soul may fall under many convictions and many struglings may be in the heart of a poor creature before the new Creature is formed but Grace is infused into the heart in a moment at once It is the Devils design to oppose young Converts and puzzle them with endless questions about their state I would therefore that thou shouldst consult for thy satisfaction which way is the bent of thy Soul Canst thou say thy desire is for Communion with God for fellowship with Father Son and Spirit Thou wouldst fain see him who is invisible and fain wouldst know him whom to know is Eternal Life If the bent of thy heart be really for God it is bent and bowed though it hath not been long with God thou mayest conclude I think with some comfort the Lord hath been at work upon thy Soul and thou art one of the Israel of God though thou art but a little one of that Tribe But then Objection 4. Says the Soul Many of much longer standing and of much more raised confidence have afterwards miscarried and it has appeared that their Souls have not been right with God and therefore my heart trembles lest I should not be an Israelite indeed Answer To this I would answer That indeed it is so and it may be thought of with sorrow of heart that many Souls after long profession have been but empty Vines bringing forth fruit onely to themselves And happy is he that by other mens harms learns to beware A holy fear and jealousie over thy heart is very good and there is great cause for it considering the many and great miscarriages that are among Professors They say of Trees that are well rooted being shaken with the Wind they are made to root the better It may be thus may thy Temptations touching thy state be if thou art rooted in Christ thy Temptations may be for thy further setling in thy state But yet to be always perplexing thy self with questions about thy state may not onely marre thy comfort but may spoil thee in thy growth also and may prove a great hindrance to thee My poor thoughts are therefore these Be sure to make use enough of Christ see thy All in him that he is thy Righteousness for Justification and that from him is the work of thy Sanctification he must begin it and it is he also that must carry it on lie at his foot live upon him and let all thy expectations be from him and whoever may fall I think thou wilt stand and wilt be found one of the Israel of God that shall be made glorious in the day of Christs Glory I am perswaded if thou canst do as is hinted in Isa 45. ult see thy Righteousness in him and thy Strength in him and canst glory in Christ it is a good ground to thee to hope that thou art of the Israel of God with whom it is like for ever to go well Objection 5. The Soul may object and say further But alas I have had few Visions of God and that makes me fear Israel of old had many and he had sometimes very glorious Visions that did greatly comfort and strengthen and bear up his Soul Answer I answer That visions of God indeed are exceeding sweet very sweet but the dispensing and giving them forth is in the hand of God and he must do it how and when he pleaseth and it is good in his sight sometimes to let his own People sit in darkness and see no light Hast thou seen the face of God at any time If thou hast had but some Visions of him though not so many as thou wouldst yet it is ground of rejoycing to thee and thou oughtest from thence to conclude much to thy own comfort A little hint of Good Will is given in to be lived upon in after times However which way is it thy Soul does press Art thou waiting for the manifestation of the love of God in Christ Are these the things which thou art seeking of together with a Conformity to the mind and will of God If so thou hast cause of Thankfulness and Joy Briefly Watch against those devices of Satan whereby he labours to do thee hurt and put thee besides thy present proper work Thou art one of them that are escaped this day and God
place the high place at Gibeon where the Plague was he knew that he had deserved death and therefore he could not go to Gibeon for he was afraid because of the Sword of the Angel of the Lord as you may see 1 Chron. 21.28 I may allude to that Ezek. 18.24 I know the words have another sense than that that is before me but I allude to them only and as he saith When the Righteous turneth away from his Righteousness and committeth Iniquity and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall he live all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned shall he die So I may say when the Saints of God turn into wayes of sinners and act in like provocations with them in the sins they sin and the trespasses that they commit they may die and the hand of the Lord may break out against them to the slaughtering of them and cutting them down Obj. 1. If any shall object here and say If the Saints may be slaughtered by and fall in common Calamity what profit hath the Jew then and what advantage is there by Circumcision what advantage hath the Saint above and beyond the Sinner Answ To that I answer He hath advantage many wayes to name a few particulars 1. Though one of God's Israel may fall by a slaughtering Judgment yet he is in the least danger of any one he may fall as sinners do but he is in the least danger there is greater hope of his security than of those that know not God The Saints have the Spirit of God to lead them into his way and work and therefore are not so easily left to run into those sins that may provoke God to cut them off by such Judgments all the Sons of God are led by the Spirit of God Rom. 8.14 As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God è contra a blessed Promise the Lord doth make in that 25th Psalm unto his own People touching the guidance they shall have ver 12. What man is he that feareth the Lord him shall he teach in the way that he shall chuse God here engageth himself not to leave his People to themselves to the ways and workings of their own hearts but to direct them into his way and when he hath them in his way what then ver 13. his soul shall dwell at ease or as Junius translates his soul shall dwell in good as if he should say when I guide my People into my ways than evil shall not easily overtake them but they shall dwel and rest in good and mercy shall compass them about if they step out of Gods way the Lord knows how to call them back again Isa 30.21 Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying This is the way walk ye in it If the Saints have provoked God there is a possibility for them to make their peace that the difference may not grow to any great height they may compound the difference and make up the breach by a spirit of mourning and humiliation they may lye at the foot of the Lord and abhor themselves in dust and ashes and so make up the breach and to this work they are fitted in some measure through Grace nay they have a Friend in Heaven that intercedeth for them and though they have provoked God the difference may be by him so mediated that God may be stopped from coming forth in his hot Displeasure I make no doubt but the Lord may say concerning many of his People as he doth of Israel of old in Psal 106.23 Therefore he said he would destroy them had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach Doubtless our Lord Jesus Christ that Moses he of whom Moses was a type and in this a great type doth oftentimes step in between the Lord and his People and make up the Breach and divert that Wrath that otherwise would come down in dreadful Judgments to the cutting them off the Earth 2. Though a Saint may fall into a calamity yet it is advantagious to be a Saint in such a day for such a one though he fall he shall be supported in his fall and the curse of the Judgment shall be taken off God may chasten his People with a Rod let loose the severest Judgments upon them He may cut them down but yet he must hold them by the hand by Covenant he stands bound to give them strength for every tryal and blessed Experiences there have been of this kind this day of those Servants of God that have gone to their eternity by thousands There are them that have left this Testimony That God was with them in that hour and though the Judgement in it self considered had much of bitterness in it yet God was pleased to sweeten it to them by an abundant sence of Divine Love it is said Psal 149.5 Let the Saints be joyful in glory let them sing aloud upon their bed Some Saints are not only joyfull in Glory now they are with God but have sung aloud upon their sick and death-beds on which they have been cast by this present Judgment of God and declared to the praise of his Grace that he did support and chear their inward man by the enjoyment of his blessed refreshing Presence in that needful hour and truly the curse and sting of such a Dispensation is taken away from the Saints Thus some interprâ—â— that word Psal 91.10 there shall no 〈◊〉 come nigh their dwelling that is say 〈◊〉 the Plague of the Plague shall not come nigh their dwelling the curse of it shall not come though the thing it self come God will take off the curse and that is the bitterness and sting of any affliction Death comes upon every man Saint and Sinner on the Wicked it comes with a sting in its tayl a curse with it it is an inlet for them into eternal misery falling under the everlasting Displeasure of the glorious God the Saint dyeth too but the curse is taken off from him in his Death his grave is his bed where he rests in peace and that stroke only opens a door unto him into his Father's presence Isa 57.2 They shall enter into peace they shall rest in their beds each one walking in his uprightness So 1 Cor. 15.55 saith the Apostle O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy Victory The curse of Death is taken away from the Saint So though the Saint fall in and under such a calamity the sting of it is so taken out that it is but a blessed passage unto him into Abraham's bosom 3. It is yet worth while to be of Gods Israel in a time of Slaughter though one should not escape the Slaughter for this reason That if a Soul go unto its Eternity by such a Slaughter God will yet thereby glorifie himself â—ore and
a supposition and hope to preserve their worldly interest they set themselves against Christ himself Joh. 11.48 If we let him thus alone all men will believe on him and the Romans will come and take away our Place and Nation This their design proved abortive that which they intended for the promoting of their carnal ends let in the Enemy upon them like a flood to the utterruine of them and their City Never yet did any sell a Gospel to gain a Trade but ran an eminent hazard of selling themselves into ruine and misery 7. Incorrigibleness Jerusalems scum went not out of her as the Prophet complains A fire was kindled under her she was in distress but yet sin was not purged out She received not correction as it is expressed Zeph. 3.1 Judgments are Gods last Remedy if they do no good the Patient must die without a miracle of mercy Thirdly Sins have been the ruine of Cities by their turning God to be against them So long as a People or Place can say The LORD is with us they stand firm God is the Rock of Persons Cities and Nations if they sell or forfeit their Rock he will also sell them or give them into the hands of spoilers A People and Places that God has wrought for must not suppose the presence and care of God so entaild upon them that he will stand by them be it right or wrong If they turn their backs upon God cast off the thing that is good serve their lusts seek themselves scoff at Holiness tread his People in the dirt pervert all Equity and Right call evil good and good evil put darkness for light and light for darkness God will also turn himself against such and fight against them as an Enemy Wo to them that have God against them Wo unto them when I depart from them saith God Hos 9.12 Jerusalem's doom was Saith the Lord God behold I even I am against thee and will execute Judgements in the midst of thee It is a great vanity in some who when they have provoked God to his face and done evil even to the uttermost they can do imagine the breach may be repair'd with a little feigned Humiliation upon whom that Text looks very sadly Jer. 14.12 When they fast I will not hear their cry and when they offer Burnt Offering and an Oblation I will not accept them but I will consume them c. Sometimes God is so turned against Cities that he will not accept of the mediation of his People for them and this was the case in the Text but now cited v. 11. God saith to Jeremiah Pray not thou for this People God when turned against Jerusalem saith to Ezekiel Son of man wilt thou judge wilt thou judge the bloody City some render it An causam ageres an causam ageres Civitatis istius Wilt thou plead for that City No saith God thou shalt not set upon such lost labour Noah Daniel and Job can sometimes onely deliver their own Souls God Almighty keep his Noahs Daniels Jobs whatever may be the lot of others Fourthly There is no fence against Divine Displeasure nothing can be a security to that place against which God is turned Jerusalem was once supposed to be impregnable hence when David went to take it they set the blind and lame to keep it as a Guard conceived sufficient to defend it from all Assaults yet was it trodden down when God armed an Enemy against it Tyrus was wasted in the day of Gods displeasure although rich and strong in Shiping and what else might be accounted the strength of a place Fifthly God wants not ways to lay Cities low if his Mind be engaged against them He may possibly not do it all at once but he can do it gradatim by degrees He saith of Tyrus Bring it out piece by piece Ezek. 24.6 The remains after one Judgement he can take off by another What survives the Pestilence may fall by the Sword and Famine And great is the Equity of God in dealing thus with Cities and places of eminency They are the Heads from whence other places receive influence If sin abound in Cities it is from them proppagated thorow all places that have commerce with them or depend upon them It is said of Babylon Rev. 17.1 The Kings of the Earth and Inhabitants of the Earth have been made to drink of the wine of her fornication Should you now put the question to me that the People once did to Ezekiel Wilt thou tell us what these things are to us My Answer is Be you faithful to your selves and compare your selves with what I have laid before you and so may you come to inform your selves how far these things concern you What your sins are you know or may know You have been and yet are under the Rod. Under your Glory a burning is kindled I wish it may be extinct ere it consume both Root and Branch Three things there are that speak for you I wish they may out-cry your Provocations 1. There are many among you in whom the Lord takes pleasure however they are by some lightly esteemed 2. You have been a Refuge to the Needy in their distress What day you cease so to be you will augment my fears and perhaps your dangers also 3. Some among you have lately with chearfulness received the Gospel Certain it is your Rowers have brought you into Great Waters as the Prophet speaks Ezek. 27.26 God Almighty work you to a repenting broken frame that the Lord may repent him of the Evil. Nineveh had perished had they not put on their Sackcloth The Lord humble you for Crying Sins and give you New Spirits that you may not go on in ways of Provocation A part of what is your present Duty the following Treatise may possibly give you a little light into I have used freedom and plainness with you let it not be to me according to that Old Saying Obsequium Amicos veritas odium parit I am satisfied in what I have written having a witness in my self I desire not the woful day but am among the number of Your hearty Well-wishers Thomas Blake To the READER READER APologies for appearing in publick are so common and sometimes so full of vanity that they create suspitions of Pride and Vain-glory in the spirits of men rather then remove such stones of stumbling I shall therefore leave my integrity in this Vndertaking to Him whose prerogative it is to try the spirits Onely know Having upon some ground published something at the beginning of this Calamity I thought it not amiss to follow it with some suitable Word now we are as is hoped drawing towards a period of this sore slaughter Be assured I shall not any more for ever trouble the World with any thing in this way unless upon some special occasion and more then ordinary Call My design in the whole is to speak something that Saints may know their Duty being escaped and to bear up
own evil ways and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves in your own sight for your Iniquities and for your abominations The time intended here is the time when they should escape Calamities that were upon that People and God should have wrought graciously for them Then shall you remember your Own evil ways not others onely though you may remember others also you may warrantably look abroad consider the National sins and evils but be sure thou forget not thy own and having remembred to loath thy self for them to be offended with thy self that thou shouldst have any hand in the procuring of any Judgement from the Lord. There is a great mistake very common whether in Practice or Judgement I will not stand to determine we are not careful to mourn over our miscarriages but when the Rod is on our Backs like Children while the Rod is on their Backs they will cry and mourn but when the Father is pacified then forget wherefore he was contending The time of your escape is to be a time for enquiry into your ways and mourning over them look a text or two one you have Ezek. 6.9 And they that Escape of you shall remember me among the Nations whither they shall be carried captives because I am broken with their whorish heart which hath departed from me and with their eyes which go a whoring after their Idols and they shall loath themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations observe what Fruit it is the Lord expects from them that are escaped they shall remember me and remember themselves too their ways and doings and then shall loath themselves to which adde Ezek. 7.16 Escape they shall but being escaped there is a Duty lies upon them They should be upon the Mountains as the Doves of the Valleys every one mourning for his iniquity The Babylonish Captives after they escaped out of Captivity out-lived the distress that had buried many you find that at that time there was found a spirit of mourning upon them Ezra 9.3 is an evident testimony of it And when I heard this thing I rent my garment and my mantle and pluckt off the hair of my head and of my beard and sat down astonied thus did Ezra and thus should every one that escapeth the Day of Gods Controversie Now what is the frame of your hearts truly all our hearing and knowing of what frame we should be in will stand for little unless you compare your Spirits and the Word together and see whether it be with you accordingly This you may be confident of we have all had a hand in the provocation of this day and if so we should have also an eye to look into our hearts and mourn over our evil ways which must be done if we would have a proof unto our selves that this Branch of the Lord is become glorious to us after our escape 2. The Lord expects of them that escape That they should perform their Vows make good the Covenant and Promises which they made in the day when they were in trouble and fear it is very common with men in a day when distress is threatned to make large Promises and when the distress is over to be as backward in performing as before they were forward in promising this was the case of that people Jer. 2.20 For of old time I have broken thy Yoke and burst thy Bonds and thou saidest I will not transgress when upon every high Hill and under every green Tree thou wanderest playing the Harlot the meaning is when distress was upon them they cried if God would but take off that distress and remove the stroke they would be a people not transgressing a holy people but how did they keep the Promise whenas upon every high Hill and under every green Tree thou wanderest playing the Harlot falsified their word abominably that is a great evil that the Lord cannot well pass by that is a known Scripture Eccles 5.4 5. When thou vowest a Vow unto God defer not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in fools pay that which thou hast vowed better it is that thou shouldest not vow then that thou shouldest vow and not pay in this kind delays are dangerous defer not to pay thy Vows for he hath no pleasure in folly it is folly for a man to promise unto God what he means not to perform Better it is not to vow then having vowed not to pay the Devil hath a double design upon creatures in days of distress and our own hearts much deceive us in it First I am perswaded the Devil puts poor Creatures many times upon a great forwardness to make Promises and many times our hearts do exceedingly deceive us by feeding us with some secret hopes by our Promises to buy out an indulgence from the Lord that we may escape the evil we fear and the second design of the Devil is when he hath brought the Soul to bind it self unto the Lord in abundance of bonds then to cool the heart as fast as he can and make it forget its engagements and so wraps the Soul in abundance of guilt I have found that there is no guilt defiles the Soul at a greater rate then the breach of Covenant for God will not endure to be mocked and have the Promises made unto him falsified God will put your Bonds in suit against you and require of you what you have been free to engage for Deut. 23.21 When thou shalt vow a Vow unto the Lord thy God thou shalt not slack to pay it for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee and it would be sin in thee it would be sin not to live up unto Engagements Examine your hearts what Engagements have you passed in the days of your distress it may be Visitations were near you you were in eminent hazard and your hearts troubled for fear did you not say Lord If thou wilt keep me this day if I may but out-live this distress never will I be so vain so earthly so carnal so slight in the Work of God as I have been Have you not past some such or the like promise to the great God Now Jesus Christ he is privy unto all that you have said and done though it were in secret he hath taken an account of all that you have engaged to be and do how do you perform you cannot comfortably conclude that Christ hath gotten ground in your hearts unless you have paid your Vows to the Lord. The Servants of God have been conscientious in the Case Psal 66.13 I will go into thy House with burnt-offerings I will pay thee my Vows which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble David had his troubles as well as other of his Neighbours and in his troubles he did sometimes make Promises unto God herein he was honest and faithful did conscientiously regard the performing the Promises he had past
and thus to do will be a proof of your love to and esteem of this Branch of the Lord as more excellent to you then he was wont to be Saith David Psal 116. I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications that is I will love him better then ever I did if he had but a little he shall now have more and what proof doth he give of it vers 14. I will pay my Vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his People here was a proof it The Lord help us that have the Vows of God upon us to evidence that Christ is become glorious unto us by performing our Covenant God is known to be a Covenant-keeping-God and his People should be like their heavenly Father But again 3. A third thing required from them that escape a day of Calamity is this That Christ be owned in the Escape that he have the glory of it put it not upon your natural Fortitude and Courage your natural hardiness and boldness as some vaunting spirits are apt to do and to conclude thence was their preservation God doth not fear to strike the most fearless and sometimes the most fearless are in the greatest danger Put not thy escape upon the score of thy own Wisdom that thou hast acted thus and thus prudently for thy preservation if the Lord would he could easily have out-witted thee and if he had not been with thee in the acting the best of thy Wisdom would not have been useful take heed of boasting in Means if Means have been successful look up to that God that hath been pleased to bless them unto that end Psal 116.8 David puts the matter upon its proper Basis Thou hast delivered my Soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling Gracious hearts desire to cry as Moses and the Children of Israel did when they saw Pharoah and his Host sunk as Lead in the Sea and themselves preserved to their great amazement Exod. 15.2 The Lord is my Strength and my Song and He is become my Salvation He is my God and I will prepare him a Habitation my Fathers God and I will exalt him According to this time it shall be said said Balaam in his Prophecy What hath the Lord wrought This must you and I say What hath the Lord wrought The truth is Christ suffers much in the World and suffers much from his own People they rob him of his glory we are apt to give that honour that is due to him unto some one else but it should be our care to be found in the frame with them Jer. 50.28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of Babylon to declare in Sion the vengeance of the Lord our God the vengeance of his temple it is the work of escaping Ones to praise the Lord and declare his works Would you all have some token for good that the interest of Christ is promoted in you see whether it be your care to give Christ the glory of this Salvation of which you have been partakers 4. This is the requirement of Christ from them that are escaped That the sence of this Mercy should long rest upon our Spirits our goodness in every respect is apt to be like the morning-cloud and the early dew that soon passeth away and in this respect more then in many other things the sence of our deliverance is very apt to wear off the Soul but it is a frame that Christ much mislikes where he findes it an instance or two may serve to convince us of it Psal 78.10 11. They kept not the Covenant of God possibly by this may be intended the Covenants they made with God in distress they did not keep them why not it was because they forgot his Works and Wonders that he had shewed them and one sin draws many more after it oft times they forgot the Works of God and so their Covenant with God both are taken ill and the latter as ill as any that God should shew abundance of kindness to a People whilst they slight and dis-esteem and let the sence of that kindness slip out of their minds and therefore he complains of the same thing Psal 106.13 They soon forgat his Works they waited not for his Counsel They were the delivering-Works of God and all the wonders he had shewed them they soon forgot the sence thereof was crept out of their hearts in a little time All of us alive may say we have seen much of the goodness of God to us but if we should be of the number of them that soon forget his goodness we do very evilly requite the Lord. 5. This is the requirement of Christ from them that are escaped in the day of Calamity That we should be dedicated consecrated and given up to his Use and Service in our whole Course This is the obligation that Christ hath laid on our Souls by carrying us through the distresses of this day That the rest of the time we spend in the flesh should not be spent according to the will of the flesh but according to the will of God that the rest of the time of our sojourning here might be spent in fear It is a kind of a new life that every one of us have received and this new Life should have Newness of Life going along with it saith the Apostle I beseech you by the mercies of God that you give up your selves Body and Soul as a Sacrifice to God which is but your reasonable service and such a mercy as this doth call for it that your Souls should be for God and your Bodies for God the Body hath received a great deal of mercy at this time that is preserved and kept the Clay-Cottage kept from tumbling to dust and ashes now all the members of the Body as well as the powers of the Soul ought to be for the Lord this the Lord expects and it is but your reasonable service which in common Justice should be given unto Christ Psal 116.8 9. For thou hast delivered my Soul from death mine Eyes from tears and my Feet from falling I will walk before the Lord in the land of the Living that is I will walk as in his sight and presence I will look to maintain a good frame of Life and Conversation in the rest of the time I have to spend in the World And thus may you testifie unto your selves and others that Christ gains on you by your Escape this day if you be found in the discharge of those Duties which are expected from you And thus I have dispatched the Doctrinal part VSE I. If this be a proper effect of your Escaping in a day of slaughter to have the Branch of the Lord become lovely know this kindness hath been shewed us therefore it concerns us narrowly to see how this effect is wrought out Every Soul should turn his Eyes inward I would hope your Souls have been a little thus
are the glorious Perfections of this Branch of the Lord should we measure and guess at him according to the excellency found in any created being alas it would be infinitely short there is in Christ that Excellency that doth exceed and much out-do whatever glory is found upon any thing our eyes behold Shall I say As Solomon in his glory did out-shine the glory of all the Princes that were on earth in his time so and infinitely more doth the glory of Christ out-do whatever our eyes behold or whatever our hearts can conceive of and in our searching into his perfections we may come to do as the Queen of Sheba did when she beheld the glory of Solomon she gave this testimony What she had heard was true So may we give this testimony of Christ That what we have heard of his Perfections there is all in him nay the one half was not told us and if the Queen of Sheba was amazed at standing before Solomons glory how much more may we at Christs although we cannot see him in all his Perfections Thou canst not know him at present in this life according to all that Glory with which he is cloathed 2. If thou that art escaped art jealous that Christ is not become beautiful enough unto thee Remember that the highest pitch unto which the Soul can come in this life is to desire to see more of that beauty that is in him The highest pitch in any thing that is good in this life is to desire to be better The Desires of the Soul do out-go in this life any Acts that it is able to put forth David in the case of Holiness the highest pitch of his Holiness is expressed in his desire Psalm 119.5 O that my Ways were directed to keep thy Statutes he did keep them in some measure but the highest pitch unto which he got was to desire to keep them better so also Psal 68.11 Teach me thy ways O Lord I will walk in thy truth unite my heart to fear thy Name he was sensible that his heart did in some things wander from God he did not fear him as he should but the highest of his attainment lay in his desires Paul was a man very excellent in his day and doubtless did know and enjoy much of Christ yet the highest pitch he attained was largeness of heart and workings of desire exprest in Phil. 3.13 This one thing I do forgetting the things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things that are before I press towards the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus the desires of his heart were large And so the Spouse hath an high esteem of Christ she expresses the value she hath of him at a great rate Cant. 2.3 4. As the Apple-Tree among the Trees of the Wood so is my Beloved among the Sons I sat down under his shaddow with great delight and his fruit was sweet unto my taste stay me with Flaggons comfort me with Apples for I am sick of love her heart was much taken with Christ seeing a great deal of Beauty in him but you shall see her desires did out-do any act she could put forth and therefore Cant. 4.16 she says Awake O North Wind and come thou South blow upon my Garden that the Spices thereof may flow out she would have her heart enlarged her Graces acted more strongly Now Soul take in this for thy comfort it is a good frame that thou desirest to prize Christ more and have this Branch of the Lord more glorious in thy account though thou canst not put forth such acts as thou wouldest Remember thou art in that frame that the best of Saints have been in 3. Consider this thou that art escaped and fearest that the Branch of the Lord is not become so glorious as it should be Remember that jealousie over thy heart is a good sign and gives some hope that Christ hath gotten some ground upon thee The wise man Prov. 14.15 saith The simple believeth every word but the prudent man looks well to his going Some are so simple to believe every good word their hearts speak if they find any thing that looks like good they are apt to conclude that all is right therefore the wise man Prov. 28.14 saith Happy is the man that feareth always I apply it unto this It is a good thing sometimes to bear a jealousie a constant jealousie over the heart lest it should not be wrought up to that pitch it ought The Author to the Hebrews gives us a warrant for holy jealousies and fears lest we should fall short They that have been most confident of the goodness of the frame of their spirits have sometimes been in none of the best Jehu cries Come see my Zeal for the Lord of Hosts when he had not one grain of true Zeal for the Lord of Hosts in him 4. Thou that wouldest have this Branch of the Lord glorious if thy heart work really this way Know this thou art accepted in this thy desire It will pass for a good improvement of this mercy of thy Escape I confess some things there are which I find the Lord is angry at He loves not to see souls sit down satisfied and pleased in ways of sin therefore he doth reflect upon them Psal 1.1 that sit in the seat of the scornful he is much angry with them that can contentedly take up in ways of sin and therefore you find him falling foul upon them that harden their hearts in ways of sin and also with those that content themselves with little measures of Grace when they have means to rise up unto greater He rebukes the Disciples Mat. 8.26 for the littleness of their Faith O ye of little Faith he upbraids them with the littleness of their Faith because he had long been with them himself as he doth hint unto them afterwards Have I been so long with thee and yet thou hast not known me But this observe also That where there is but a lesser measure of Grace if the heart be really working after more it is accepted and Christ receives it with good will The best instance I know in the whole Bible is that in Mark 9.23 24. where the Father of a Child possessed with a dumb Spirit comes unto Christ for cure Christ tells him All things are possible unto him that believeth and straightway he cried out and said with tears Lord I believe help my unbelief he had a little Faith and desired more therefore you find Christ doth not reject his little but hears him and calls unto the dumb Devil to come forth of his Child So if thou complainest that Christ is not exalted in thy heart to any great degree but thou longest he should be more believe it it shall be accepted as it is said in another case 2 Cor. 8.12 If there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he
thee a Soul in its natural condition seeth no Glory and Beauty in Christ it is the work of Faith that opens the Eyes to see Christs Glory and Excellency 1 Pet. 2.7 To you that believe he is precious Though it be thy Duty thou canst not live up to it thy Eyes are blind fast closed and the Glory of Christ is not discerned by thee this therefore is thy misery thou hast not answered the Lords expectation in this eminent preservation Sinners cry as they Isa 53.2 We see no form nor comliness in him nor Beauty for which we should desire him the Sinners Eyes are fast closed that though this be thy Duty thou canst not see it Nor 2ly Canst thou interpret thy Preservation to be out of good will to thee Rom. 8.28 All things shall work together for good unto them that love God but thou dost not love the Lord nor art thou the Called of the Lord thou art still in thy sin and for the present canst not interpret this dispensation to be in kindness what may be in the heart of God what secret purpose he may have how he may design hereafter to bring thee near unto himself thou canst not tell it is hidden for the present and yet thou canst not see there is any good intended thee in thy preservation and this is sad it exceedingly robs the Soul of the sweetness of such a dispensation when it cannot be took to be in kindness And 3ly If thou art a Sinner thou wilt use thy preservation to a wrong end Sinners if they ask mercy it is usually to wrong ends and if they receive mercies they improve them sinfully Psal 78.18 They tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust they asked a mercy but it was for their lust and they did as sadly improve it vers 28 29 30. And he let it fall in the midst of their Camp so they did eat and were well filled for he gave them their own desire they were not estranged from their lust but while their meat was yet in their mouths the wrath of God came upon them c. Thus it will be with thee Soul if thou art yet in thy Sin it is true thou art preserved but it will be to a farther misery thou hast asked it to sinful ends and wilt use it sinfully and so bring a curse upon thy self This is the misery of a poor Soul in sin he spoils his Mercies and brings down the wrath of God upon himself To which add 4ly If thou remainest in sin the time is coming when thou wilt certainly give a sad accompt of this mercy thou hast received and wilt really fall under a dispensarion much more sad then that from which thou art now delivered Christ will come in flaming fire and render vengeance unto them that know not God nor obey the Gospel of Christ the great intent of which is the exalting of Christ Now when by all means thou hast not been provoked to answer this end what will the result and issue of all be but the rendring vengeance unto thee and the wrapping thee up in eternal misery I would therefore say unto a Soul in sin What wilt thou do thou art a dying creature though thou hast escaped this storm and art in safety to day Eternity will soon come upon thee Ah what wilt thou do Soul thy great work lyeth in two things I will but even name them First Go unto the Lord that he would open thy eyes to see thy own misery and Christ in his glory that he would anoint thine Eyes with his Eye-salve that may cause the scales of ignorance to fall from them so as that thou mayst see thy self and Christ aright Secondly Beg that thou mayst have a heart to give up thy self to Christ that the glory thou seest in him may make thee restless until thou hast taken hold of him without which thou canst not walk comfortably though thou art preserved nor canst thou cheerfully look another time of trouble in the face and much less that time when thou shalt be going to thy long home USE XI One Use more Should the Branch of the Lord be glorious unto Escaping Ones It then adviseth all earnestly to press after such a Spirit I have two or three things to say by way of motive and so proceed to the second Note or Doctrine 1. Consider what a Preservation it is thou hast it is not thy Estate thy Liberty thy Name but thy Life and Skin for Skin and all that a man hath will he give for his Life If thou sayest as Job What is my life that I should hope If I live I may live in trouble Distress is like to attend the Servants of God therefore why should I make such reckoning of my life To that I say It is true distress may be the portion of the Lords People yet thy Life is a mercy thou mayst out-live or live above the distresses of the People of God or at least while thou hast life thou hast hope and time and an opportunity to get into more intimate acquaintance with Jesus Christ to be at work about thy everlasting concernments for which reason mainly life is to be valued It is thy Life that is given thee for a prey and this should make thee greatly to value and prize the Lord Jesus that gives thee such preservation 2. Consider how many of Spirits more excellent of Hearts more enlarged of greater use in their places that have been more serviceable unto Christ and his Interest then thou hast been have yet fallen and thou preserved Should not this mercy wonderfully affect thine heart Yea 3. Take this that the more thou seest of the Glory of Christ and the more he gains in esteem upon the Soul the more the Soul doth gain it is gain yea great gain great riches for the Soul to improve in its esteem of Christ Is not Christ the great thing the Gospel presents that every Soul should be seeking after Now the more thou hast of him in thy heart the more thou hast of true Treasure of Riches that are truly so called To which add 4. That if Christ do not become glorious unto us the time is hastening when he will be glorious in the esteem of others He will have glory no thanks unto us Certainly it is not long but Christ will make himself glorious and get himself a Name and Praise and all these slaughtering Providences they do but tend to that end Christ is at work though in the dark as to us and we cannot see his out-goings yet he is really working out his own advancement and will make all these end in his own glory Which leads me unto the second Doctrine from the Words The Second Doctrine That the Issue of all Slaughtering-Judgements shall be the making Christ glorious and that glory that shall be put upon the Head of Christ shall tend to the Good and Benefit of those of Israel that shall escape the
is our Law-giver the Lord is our King he will save us It relates unto a time when Christ shall be glorious The glorious Lord shall be as a place of Broad Rivers and Streams so you have it in the foregoing verse and then there shall be a cry The Lord is our King and he shall be our Law-giver For the present there is great debate between Christ and the Men of the World who should give Laws whose Prerogative it is to rule the Conscience and men say unto Saints Bow down that we may go over they say unto the SOULS of Saints Bow down But when Christ shall be made glorious these controversies shall soon end then a Nation shall come and acknowledge it is Christ is to rule them in every thing Isa 2. decides the Controversie where more then once it is said The Lord ALONE shall be exalted and what then vers 3. Many People shall go and say Come ye and let us go up unto the Mountain of the Lord to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Sion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem and he shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many People This is the Spirit that shall be put upon many People and they shall say It is not this and that and the other that pretends Dominion over the Conscience must teach us how to walk but HE will teach us and we will walk in his ways and it is out of Sion the Law shall go forth and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem therefore Numb 24.7 it is said Israel's King shall be higher then Agag and shall carry the day and all the men of the Earth shall be constrained to submit to him 4. Christ shall be glorious in this respect That all the Great Ones of the World shall come and fall at his Foot and acknowledge they are in his hands that Christ can and may dispose of them as he pleaseth It is a business there is much tugging about in the World the Great Ones of the World are loth Christ should take his place they would fain stand upon their own legs and it is from hence all their contrariety and hatred against his People and Ways doth arise intimated in Psal 2.3 The Kings of the Earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed saying Let us break their Bands asunder and cast away their Cords from us They cannot think of stooping unto Christ but it is in vain for to this the greatest on Earth shall be brought therefore Christ hath his Name Rev. 19.16 He hath on his Vesture and on his Thigh a Name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS It is written upon his Vesture and Garments which is in the sight and full view of all Men He shall be in the sight of the World owned as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS and the greatest upon Earth shall be constrained to stoop unto him as is excellently set forth in that typical Psalm Psal 72. where Christs Dominion is much held out The Kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring Presents the Kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts yea all Kings shall fall down before him all Nations shall serve him 5. Again The Glory of Christ shall lie in the maintaining and excellent managing of his Power and Government he shall maintain his Government and Glory It is that that eclipses the glory of the Princes of this Earth that they are not able to keep their stations oft times but Christ shall keep and maintain and make good his ground Psal 132.18 His Enemies will I cloath with shame but upon himself shall the Crown flourish Those that would oppose him shall fall before him but he shall maintain his own station at a glorious rate And likewise his Glory shall be in the management of his Government he will put an end to Oppression and judge with Equity he will manage his Government so as that none shall find fault with him It is the misery of the Potentates of this World that their ill management of their Power loseth them their Glory but Christ and all that shall have any power under him shall not do so Isa 32.1 A King shall reign in Righteousness and Princes shall rule in Judgement all matters shall then be managed with much equity and uprightness Isa 11.1 c. is a notable Scripture for this There shall come forth a Rod out of the Stem of Jesse that is Christ the Spirit of the Lord and of Wisdom shall be upon him there is his Glory when he comes to govern he shall do things with wisdom that is Wisdom really for the Wisdom of this World comes to nothing and the ends of the Men of the World are not accomplished but Christ shall rule with Wisdom and also with Equity vers 4. With Righteousness shall he judge the Poor and reprove with Equity for the Meek of the Earth Now Christs thus managing of his Government will render him very glorious Which leads me to the fourth thing propounded Fourthly That Christ in his being glorious shall be glorious for the good of his People those of Israel that shall be carried thorow the distresses and straights they shall meet withal in the World they shall share in and partake of all the Glory of Christ with much comfort Psal 72.7 it is there said In his days shall the righteous flourish when it is well with him it shall not be ill with them So Isa 24. where it is said ver 23. Christ shall reign in Mount Zion and before his Antients gloriously and you shall see vers 16. how it will be with his People From the uttermost parts of the Earth have I heard Songs even Glory to the Righteous When Christ shall be glorified his People shall be glorified with him If the Saints say unto Christ as Joseph did unto Pharaoh's Butler Remeber me when it is well with thee their Desires shall be answered at a better rate then Joseph's were When Christ shall be made glorious in the World as he shall be one day he will not be one day without his Peoples reaping the good and benefit thereof and it must needs be thus for consider First the Union between Christ and his People Christ is the Head and Husband of his Saints And Civilians say Uxor lucet Mariti radiis the Wife partakes of the honour of her Husband so it shall be here the Saints shall partake of and reap the good of that honour that shall be upon the Head of Christ Christ is so full of love to his People that the very love he bears them were there no other tie would engage him to interest them in the good of his Glory Christ is the Head and his People are the Members and if the Head be dignified all the Members must
God to pour out a Spirit of Union which he hath promised to do The Lord shall be one and his Name one in all the Earth Zach. 4. and Jer. 32.39 I will give them one Heart and one Way to serve me When Christ shall be advanced our Divisions shall be broken and whatever the Devil and wicked Men have cast in as a snare and means to rend and divide shall be taken out of the way It is then that we shall be enlightened in the things wherein we vary one from another What is the ground of all our differences they are partly ignorance and partly pride our ignorance we cannot see into Truth one thinks one thing and another another and because we cannot see into every thing we disagree which is furthered by our Pride cleaving unto our own imaginations but this will be removed God will lay low the pride of men and we shall have more light we shall see that we never saw and be enlightened as we never were Isa 60.20 Thy Sun shall no more go down neither shall thy Moon withdraw it self for the Lord shall be thine everlasting Light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended The Lord shall at that day let us into the knowledge of much of his mind which yet we grope in the dark without light in and then there shall be a great Union among Saints Now to all these ends to the Glory of Christ and good of his People Christ is working by his slaughtering-Providences Those things that we wonder at and know not what they tend to it is to that end they subserve and shall be crowned with that issue And thus I have dispatched what I intend for the Doctrinal part I shall now proceed to the Application VSE I. IF this then be a Truth That the end of Slaughters shall be to make Christ glorious and his Glory shall be greatly for the advantage of the Israel of God that escape in times of slaughter It will then certainly be found a Truth very useful many ways and that which first is upon my heart to give forth to you is that which I hope will be also upon your hearts to put the question to your Souls Whether you are really the Israel of God or no. Escaped we are hitherto through Grace we stand alive in the presence of God but what state is it in which we stand Can you say Through Grace you have good hopes the Lord hath not onely spared you but also implanted you into the number of his own People and made you of the number of his own Israel The Mercy and the Good of an Escape is limited in the Text unto the Israel of God others may escape as well as they but in the conclusion it will be little to their comforts Israel had his name given to him from his wrestling with God in Prayer and prevailing and the Name is applied 1. To the natural Seed of Jacob the People of the Jews are often times in Scripture called Israel promiscuously one with another 2. It is applied unto the spiritual Ones among the natural Seed of Jacob those of the Jewish People that were really brought into a subjection unto and an acquaintance with the Lord they are by way of distinction from the rest of the Seed of Jacob called Israel 3. It is applied unto all both Jews and Gentiles that are really brought within the Bond of the Covenant Scripture dignifies them often with the title of Israel This is therefore the question that you and I are to put seriously to our Souls What testimony and witness have we that we are brought within the Bond of the Covenant and that our preservation is this day a Covenant-mercy to our Souls That is the question that must be asked Unbelief hath certainly proved the destruction of very many I mean the eternal destruction and Presumption hath been the slaughter of not a few and if I judge not amiss Presumption is oftentimes the root upon which Unbelief grows Many sitting under the Gospel of Christ and having some Form and Profession for God upon them do run away hastily concluding they are really of Gods Israel God Almighty give to you and me a greater Spirit of Wisdom that we may not upon slight grounds draw conclusisions that we are within the Covenant but may build our hope upon some good Foundation My Friends it stands you greatly in hand to be faithful and serious in this enquiry into your Spirits in this matter for if you should not be of the Israel of God it would not onely rob you of much mercy you might enjoy in this life it would not onely strip you of a part in the good that shall come to the Israel of God when the Branch of the Lord shall be glorious but what is more and what is worse it will cut you short of the glory that shall be put upon the head of the Saints in Eternity when Christ shall have given up the Kingdom to his Father and God shall be all in all Brethren upon many serious thoughts I may tell you that there is great ground why every Soul should be jealous over his own heart and should not hastily determine concerning its state Great are the mistakes false grounds and bottoms of hope upon which many poor creatures build and it concerns you to act curiously and warily lest you should be also mistaken To quicken you a little and to possess your Souls that there is need and great need for poor hearts to have a jealousie over themselves in this matter I would take leave to commend and open to you two Scriptures that I find in the Book of Truth one is in Rom. 9.6 7. Not as though the Word of God hath taken no effect for they are not all Israel which are of Israel neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all Children Look to the fourth vers and you will finde that there are great Priviledges reckoned up that did appertain to Israel Who are Israel to whom pertaineth the Adoption and the Glory and the Covenant and the giving of the Law and the Service of God and the Promises How might some of the Jews say do these things belong unto Israel why surely Israel are cut short of them for there is not one of many of them that have received Christ and so are cut short of these Priviledges of the Gospel To that the Apostle answereth vers 6 7. Not as though the Word of God hath taken no effect for they are not all Israel which are of Israel c. as if he should say You must not judge that these great things are entailed upon the Jewish People because they are Jews or the seed of Abraham but it is through Faith they come to an Interest in these great things And in these words the Apostle doth remove a double bad Foundation upon which many poor Creatures are apt to build a hope 1. They are not Israel
a little against them And unhappy you if in your Youth and Strength you have few thoughts or few serious thoughts of God if he be little in your thoughts and hearts I tell you it is to be feared you are not of the Israel of God unto this day Though you escape and are preserved yet it is to be feared your preservation will not be attended with mercy to you nor shall you bear a part in that Glory that shall be upon the heads of Israel when the Branch of the Lord shall be glorious 4. If you are the Israel of God then are you Holiness to the Lord you not onely live upon him but to him in some measure Jer. 2.9 the Prophet saith Israel was Holiness to the Lord that is when Israel was in his right spirit then he was Holiness to the Lord. For the expression you have it in Scripture elsewhere Zech. 14.20 21. In that day there shall be upon the Bells of the Horses HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD and the Pots in the Lords House shall be like the Bowls before the Altar yea every Pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be Holiness unto the Lord of Hosts that is every Person and every Thing shall be for God for his Work and Service to be to his Praise and Glory Certain it is Saints are not their own as the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 6.19 Ye are not your own ye are bought with a price and so Tit. 2.13 14. where speaking concerning the purchase of Christ Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and might purifie to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works The Vessels of the Temple before they were made use of in the Temple they had a legal consecrating and being cleansed they were given up to the work of the Temple to be for that use for ever And so the Saints of the Lord who were typified by the Vessels of the Temple they are first purified cleansed and sanctified by Christ by the work of the Spirit on their Souls and then given up to the Lord and his service It may be said of them as Hannah said of her Son Samuel 1 Sam. 1.28 Therefore I have lent him unto the Lord to be his so long as he lives Every Israelite indeed is one lent to the Lord given up to be for the work and service of the Lord in his whole course and in every thing to exalt his praise to mind his glory Certainly thus it ought to be and this was one end of the Death of Christ that he might have his People be for him 2 Cor. 5.15 He died and rose that they which live should not henceforth live to themselves but to him that died for them and rose again and unto this Spirit Saints are wrought up in some good measure as is expressed Rom. 14.7 And none of us saith the Apostle live to our selves Souls what say your Hearts to this matter You profess for the Lord but are you for him as consecrated things in the House of God Which way do your Hearts work day by day This know where there hath not been a solemn resignation and giving up a mans self unto the Lord where there is not a diligent observing of a mans whole course to see to what ends they are directed and whether the glory of Christ be therein sought it is doubtful that Soul is not of the Israel of God to this day The truth is the sins of many witness to their Faces and I make no doubt but that inscription may be written over the doors of many Professors upon too great ground All men seek their own and not the things of Jesus Christ If this be the spirit of any to whom these things may come you may fear though you are spared and are not cut down this day you stand but to cumber the ground such as God takes little delight in and such as from whom he hath little fruit such as he doth not reckon among the number of his Israel and such as shall not be blessed with Israels mercies when the Branch of the Lord shall be exalted 5. Are you Israel then are you a praying People Israel had thence his Name from his wrestling and prevailing with God God asked him what was his Name Gen. 32.27 28. he said Jacob and God said Thy Name shall no more be called Jacob but Israel for as a Prince hast thou power with God and with men and hast prevailed In his praying there is observable his importunity and that is expressed partly when it is said he wrestled and also in that expression wherein much freedom and familiarity with God is set forth God said Let me go says Jacob I will not let thee go except thou bless me v. 26. which importunity of his is again noted by the Spirit of God Hos 12.4 He had power over the Angel he wept and he made supplication There is also observable that this Prayer it was in secret Gen. 32.24 And Jacob was left ALONE it was between the Lord and himself in secret which I would beseech you to consider heartily That as soon yea at the very first moment when a Soul is enrolled among the number of Israel at that instant he becomes a praying Person as in the case of Saul who was afterward called Paul And let me ask you that attend on the Lord in publick Duties what are you in secret Does God usually there hear from you Cannot you live without seeing the face of God in secret Let me tell you publick Duties have many temptations a man may desire to be engaged in them from many base and bad ends yea it is possible natural Conscience and your Education may carry you into corners sometimes but therefore in secret how do you carry it Doth it satisfie you that you have been in your Closets and have spent it may be a quarter of an hour there and it may be with a slight and formal Spirit This is not the Spirit of Israel But if thou art an Israelite indeed when thou art in secret thou wilt be fervent and earnest with God In publick Duties a man may seem to be zealous that he may get a Name or keep up a Name that he hath gotten or to some such-like end but when in secret the Soul cries mightily to the Lord it is a good sign that there is a sense of want and that it does arise from a Spirit of Grace in the Soul when thou canst in secret sign and mourn before the Lord. Now these things I have gone over with this design to see if I could let you into a little Hope and good Ground that as you have escaped so you are escaping Israelites who shall partake of Glory when Christ the Branch of the Lord shall be made glorious And the Lord help you to be faithful to your Souls