his greatest treasure Here was his heart fixed and this was his great delight And yet in the Psalmists time there was but little of the holy Scripture committed to writing in proportion to what we enjoy The Canon of the Old Testament was far from being finished much less was there any thing extant of the New We have the advantage by much who have not only all the parts of the Old Testament but also an account of our Saviours Doctrine and the Writings of the holy Apostles Now the words of the Psalmist will well become every one of us Psal 119.103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste Yea sweeter than honey to my mouth If a part of it were so sweet what is the whole And if the Law which came by Moses were so great a treasure and a comfort to the afflicted what are then the words of grace and truth which we have by Jesus Christ The Book of Psalms hath always been allowed to be a divine Composure of very sovereign use to the afflicted and the sorrowful pious and dejected men have been unspeakably comforted from thence As when the evil Spirit was upon Saul 1 Sam. 16.23 when David took his Harp and played that evil Spirit departed from him So hath it often been that when men have been dejected and bowed down by an evil Spirit likewise yet they have often been refreshed by this divine and sweet Singer of Israel The Book of Psalms is stored with sovereign Cordials for the dejected and drooping spirit of the pious man But I had rather you should hear one of the Ancients speak of the great usefulness of this Book of Psalms Basil in Psal 1. If says he a man be greatly transported with fury by the melody of a Psalm he is rendred tame A Psalm says he is the calm of Souls the Arbiter of peace who lays the tumultuous and swelling thoughts It softens the fierce and curbs the lascivious It conciliates friendship unites those that were in difference and reconciles those that were at enmity A Psalm puts the Devils to flight and brings to us the assistance of Angels It is a Weapon against our fears of the night and a rest from the labours of the day To Children it is a safeguard to the Adult an ornament and a comfort to old men The most agreeable Ornament of Women It renders the Wilderness inhabited and the Concourse of people sober It is an institution to those who begin an encrease of the Proficients and the stay of them that are perfect and the voice of the Church This gives a gaiety to Festivals and produces a godly sorrow A Psalm brings a tear from an heart of stone it is the work of Angels the Conversation of heaven the spiritual Incense He goes on and tells us what an excellent Store-house this Book of Psalms is from whence we may learn the Majesty of fortitude the exactness of righteousness the venerableness of Temperance the perfection of Prudence the manner of Repentance the measures of Patience Thus does he speak of the Book of Psalms And if one Book be thus useful what are all of them And if this Book be so much to our Comfort how many and great then are the Comforts of the Scripture I shall now shew you how the holy Scriptures make for our comfort and support under the afflictions and sorrows of this present life And this they do 1. As they lay before us the several supports which have been named before namely the Promise of eternal life the Doctrine of Gods particular care and Providence the assurance of the aid of the Holy Spirit the examples of the sufferings of Christ and holy men and the Intercession of the Son of God These things the holy Scriptures plainly teach and by doing so they tend very much to our comfort in the midst of all our tribulations And as these Doctrines are not to be found among the Writings of any of the Heathen Philosophers so it is certain they do contain the greatest ground of comfort under our worldly losses and sorrows And therefore the holy Scripture tends more to our comfort than any Writing or Institution whatsoever It cannot be denied but that many of the Heathens have written excellent things and particularly have employed their pains in writing consolatory discourses for the sake of the afflicted But there are none of them that do suggest those powerful Arguments which the Gospel does contain Here are comforts to be found which they knew nothing of and such comforts also as are very effectual for the gaining the end for which they are brought We are blessed be God better provided for under all the evils which happen to us than the Heathens were And though we be liable to the same evils which they were obnoxious unto yet in this our condition is much better than theirs that we can bear them better than they could We shall in vain search into the Writings of Plato or Epictetus or any other of the Writings of the Heathen for supports under our sorrows The holy Scripture is the Divine Store-house where they are to be found 2. The holy Scriptures make for our support under our sorrows as they do direct us to apply to our selves the helps and assistances which I have named before They do not only contain great helps but they teach us how to use them and use very powerful Arguments with us to this purpose They do not only prescribe the most powerful Cordials but they direct us also in the use of them and not only so but they do also by very moving Arguments awaken our care and our diligence And indeed without this application all the helps and assistances avail us no more than the richest Cordials do the sick man which he keeps locked up in his Closet but does not taste The hope of Eternal life is very powerful to enable us to endure with patience the evils of this short life This is the great comfort under our present sorrows that the blessed time is drawing on upon us when all tears shall for ever be wiped from our eyes But then it is to be considered that the holy Scripture does not barely lay before us the promise of eternal life It is not a bare Map of of that blessed Country which we expect hereafter it is a great deal more than that For besides that the holy Scripture describes that blessed Land it also shews us the way which leads to it calls upon us to set our hearts upon it and very powerfully calls off our affections and desires from the things of this lower world which would entangle us and keep us from minding the things which are above And to that purpose we are warned that the love of this world is inconsistent with the love of God and our pursuit of heavenly things And therefore we are vehemently exhorted to cleanse and purifie our hearts to follow after holiness that we may see God and be
miseries with which holy men have been persecuted Apostles and Prophets wise and holy men men of whom this World was not worthy have been sawn asunder stretched upon the Rack tormented on the Wheel exposed upon Gibbets torn apieces by violence rosted upon the fire and taken off by death that hath been not only violent but merciless Now these trials require a mighty aid and no less than an heavenly and a divine assistance It is an easie thing for us to despise the danger that is at a distance To speak big words when we know the Enemy is afar off To profess that we will rather die for Jesus than we will deny him Our Lord hath many such forward Disciples as these who give him their word that they will not forsake him and yet for all their good words they deny him in a time of danger And indeed so it is that we shall then need a great assistance Nor can we tell how soon we may be put to the trial It is much for our Interest to discern whence our strength is to be expected The Holy Spirit is able to strengthen us to undergo undantedly all these evils And no aid less than that of the Holy Spirit would be sufficient It must be a power from above an help from God that can enable us to stand up against all the Wit and Malice the Craft and the Cruelty of men and Devils Indeed we are very apt to despond and our hearts fail within us We fear we shall never hold out under great pains and torments and we do much disquiet our selves about it But here is an help at hand and we shall find that he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world And this will appear if we consider the following particulars 1. That this Spirit is a Spirit of power and that power is Divine also The Holy Scriptures give us a large and very particular account of this matter and therein we have a full assurance that by the help of this heavenly aid we may be able to do more than we can think He that hath this Spirit of God is endued with a mighty power from above a power that is sufficient against all the powers of darkness When the Virgin asked the Angel who had told her she should conceive and bring forth a Son How this be seeing I know not a man Luk. 1.35 We find what answer he made viz. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee and then it follows Ver. 37. For with God nothing shall be unpossible The Holy Spirit is called the finger of God Luk. 11.20 And the great and mighty works which Jesus and his followers did were wrought by this Holy Spirit of God And these works are an irrefragable proof of the mighty power of the Spirit of God To this purpose we read of the demonstration of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2.4 and of power And where in one place St. Act. 6.5 8. Stephen is said to be full of the Holy Ghost in the other place he is said to be full of Power He that receives the Spirit receives Power 2 Tim. 1.7 God hath not given us the Spirit of fear but of Power St. Peter says 1 Pet. 3.18 That Christ was put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit St. Paul expresseth the same truth in other words and that Variety confirms the truth of what I am now asserting St. Paul says That he was crucified through weakness 2 Cor. 13.4 yet he liveth by the power of God Here can be no defect of Power then where the Holy Spirit is The mighty works wrought by this divine Spirit sufficiently declare that no Power is wanting where he does assist And therefore why should we distrust and despond when we have the promise of this Power from on high We shall not need to fear even death it self if we be possessed of this heavenly help Rom. 8.11 If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you We have just cause to distrust our selves indeed and we may well suppose that we cannot be able to stand upright but what shall be too hard for us when we have received that Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead Well may God lay on us what he thinks fit when he thus assisteth us with his Divine Spirit 2. This Holy Spirit is promised to this end to help us in these straits and necessities Luk. 12.11 12. And when they bring you into the Synagogues and unto Magistrates and Powers take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer or what ye shall say For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say It is enough and we ought to think it so that we have this assistance when we need it and are to use it And the Apostle tells us that we are happy even then when we are judged most miserable by the World 1 Pet. 4.14 when we are reproached for Christs sake because the Spirit of God and of glory resteth on us God hath provided well for us under the Gospel which is the ministration of the Spirit that he has promised a more than ordinary assistance in cases that are extraordinary 3. Besides we have sufficient proof that this heavenly assistance hath not been wanting to others in these difficulties We have to this purpose very great examples of those that were assisted by this holy Spirit in all their sufferings and persecutions They were by the Holy Ghost enabled under all that pain and suffering which they endured to glorifie God in the day of Visitation And whereas before they were weak and feeble as other men had the same fears and despondencies which other men are importuned with yet when they were assisted by this good Spirit of God they were full of Courage and undaunted amidst the severest trials which they underwent We know that St. Peter before the descent of the Holy Ghost was so fearful that he denied his Master when he was questioned by a silly maid But after the Holy Ghost descended he was bold as a Lion and durst confess him before all the House of Israel Acts 2.36 Now those men that were ready to forsake their Lord before they do not only own him publickly but they departed from the presence of the Council Act. 5.41 rejoycing that they were counted worthâ— to suffer shame for his name Nor was this Divine and supernatural assistance a Peculiar belonging to the Apostles and first Preachers of Christianity nor was it limited to those early days of Christianity It was continued in the Church of Christ and does still continue according to the Promise of our Lord and Saviour Joh. 14.16 And hence it came to pass
constantly and immutably good and will not deceive or deny those that ask him That love and kindness and all the degrees of goodness in any Earthly Parents was derived from God who is infinitely and unalterably good and will not fail to fulfil the word which he hath spoken nor can he be deceived or defeated He hath said it that cannot lie nor repent He hath promised who is able to do it And we may as justly disbelieve his Being as distrust his veracity and doubt of his Propensity and his power I proceed to 3. The condition required on our part for the obtaining this assistance And that is a very gentle and easie one Luk. 11.9 10. God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him Ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened I do readily grant that we are not heard in all the Petitions which we put up to God And it is very well for us that so it is For we should soon destroy our selves if we should obtain that which we sometimes pray for But then this is to be understood with reference to the things of this life where the well instructed and modest man is to refer himself to God who knows what is best for him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 M. Antonin l. 10. In this case the good man prayes that God would give him and remove from him what he thinks fit And the very Heathen could teach men this Lesson But then for the case before us God hath declared his Will and put us upon Praying and that fervently also for the Holy Spirit And we have great need of his heavenly aid and assistance and now we can have no doubt but that we shall be heard because we are sure that we pray according to the Will of God 1 Joh. 5.14 15. And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us And if we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him And especially may we be assured of success when we are provided of so effectual an Intercessour as the Son of God He hath said Joh. 14.13 Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son And we are certain moreover that when we pray for the Holy Spirit in the name of Christ we pray for that divine assistance which our Lord went into heaven to send among us This he told us saying Joh. 16.7 I tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I go away For if I go not away the Conforter will not come unto you but if I depart I will send him unto you Nay our Lord assures us that he will hear our Prayers that he will intercede in this very case so that we have here abundant security that we shall receive an answer to our Petition Joh. 14.14 16. If ye shall ask any thing in my name I will do it And presently he adds And I will pray the Father and he will give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever For our other requests which we put up for health or riches and the good things of this life our Lord has given us no particular promise of his effectual Intercession but he hath done it in this matter and hath thereby removed our fears and doubts of being heard And sure if God many times prevent our very Petitions and give us some measure of the Holy Spirit even before we ask him we shall then have no cause to fear but he will give greater measures of this Holy Spirit to them that do ask him All our care must be that we ask as we should That we pray for this heavenly assistance with great fervor and constancy that we cry mightily unto God and that we greatly humble our soules before him That we address to him with hunger and thirst and restless importunity that we seek as for Silver and search as for fine Gold That we vehemently desire what we pray for and thirst as the parched earth does for showers from heaven That we strive mightily in our Prayers to God and send up many strong cries That we pierce the Heavens with our cries and that we put forth all our strength That we employ all the powers that we have received and summon up all that is within us to call down this heavenly aid That we cherish and improve the measures of the Spirit which we have received and be greatly cautious that we do not by a careless and a trifling a profane and worldly temper grieve this Holy Spirit and send away this divine and heavenly Comforter That we do not seek our comfort elsewhere and oppose the divine assistance by our self-will and our inordinate affections 4. I proceed now to make some Application of what hath been said And 1. This speaks very much to the comfort of the weak and the fearful at least to all among them that are sincerely good and do desire greatly to become better Here is an help at hand that is sufficient and we need not now be cast down I shall speak to such in the words of the Prophet Isa 44.2 3 4. Fear not O Jacob my servant and thou Jesurun whom I have chosen For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and flouds upon the dry ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed and my blessing upon thine Off-spring And they shall spring up as among the grass as Willows by the water-courses This blessed time is now come and it is well for us that so it is We are not now unprovided of an heavenly aid God is ready to pour out upon us his Holy Spirit Our Lord came Isa 61.2 3. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord To comfort all that mourn To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them beauty for ashes the oyl of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they might be called trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified Let us not now fear nor be dismayed under all our afflictions and persecutions Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world This heavenly Comforter will abide when earthly comforts leave us And may we but receive the Joy of the Holy Ghost we shall not need be over-whelmed with our earthly sorrows 2. This speaks our duty as well as our Privilege And we may learn what we are to do as well as what God hath done for us The Holy Spirit is promised by God but must be implored by us God will give him but not to the careless and cold the formal
fit for that blessed immortality which is brought to light through the Gospel The particular care and Providence of God is another very powerful Argument to quiet and ease our minds under all events oâ— things This Doctrine the holy Scripture does not only teach buâ— directs us to the right use and application of it to our selves and very frequently calls upon us to make the right use of it Hencâ— it is that we are so frequently exhorted to be careful for nothing tâ— trust in God to cast our care and our burden upon him To acknowledge him in all our ways And wâ—â— are also frequently called off from all self-confidence or trust in any Creature whatsoever We are warned not to trust to our own Wisdomâ— our Riches our Allies and Worldly assistances And the holy Scripture does upon all occasions expose the Vanity of those men whâ— trust in any thing but God and it represents upon all occasions how inconsiderable the best of the Creatures are Again The Promise of the Holy Spirit is another great support to us and a strong consolation under the sorrows and difficulties of this mortal life Now the holy Scripture does not only contain such a Promise but also puts us upon that course in which we shall not fail to receive the comforts and assistances of this divine Spirit We are assured that God will give his holy Spirit to them that ask him and the holy Scripture which gives us this assurance does also with great vehemency put us upon begging of God this heavenly assistance It puts us upon asking upon seeking and knocking upon all Prayer and Supplication It also puts us upon purity of heart that we may be disposed to receive this Holy Spirit and warns us that we do not by our lusts and foolish practices grieve or quench this holy Spirit of God And now if we be perswaded to follow this advice we shall not fail of help and of comfort and of peace and joy that passeth understanding We shall be able to bear up under the greatest sorrows and pressures of this lower world Psal 23.4 Yea though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we shall fear no evil But then it becomes us at all times to implore this Spirit of God and to pray with the Psalmist Psal 50.10 11 12. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free Spirit The example of Christ and holy men who have suffered for the truth are not barely laid before us in the Scripture but we are also directed in our afflictions to keep our eye upon these great examples and if we do that we shall be greatly encouraged to persevere in our Christian course and tread in the steps of those glorious examples The Disciple is not above his Master and we shall find it no hard thing to suffer if we consider whose Servants we are If they did such things to the green tree why should we think much that men should do so also to the dry Hence it is that the Holy Scripture puts us upon looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of the Faith which we profess and upon considering the Examples of the Prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord and have been very exemplary for suffering and affliction and for patience Again The intercession of the Son of God is a most comfortable Doctrine of the Scripture But it does not only teach us this but directs us also to the use of it For the holy Scripture does now send us to God by Jesus Christ and puts us upon going to the throne of grace with a becoming boldness and assurance that we shall now be accepted through him who died for us and ever lives to make Intercession for those who come unto God by him III. The holy Scriptures tend very much to our comfort under all our sorrows as they are the instrument of conveyance of the greatest blessings to us They are Gods act and deed and on Gods part a great assurance to us of those blessings which are only able to make us happy and are able to make us so in spight of all the miseries that can befall us in this present life The Scriptures are not only to be considered as a Map and draught of our Inheritance which we hope for but as a Testament and declared Will which give us a right and title to and consequently a full assurance that we shall indeed enjoy those things which we find presented to us there They do not only lay them before us but they are by these divine Writings made over to us We are by our blessed Saviour no more Servants but Sons Gal. 4.7 and if we be Sons we are also Heirs of God through Christ But then the holy Scriptures are the Deeds and Conveyances of this Estate And as they are so they tend greatly to our comfort and support under the afflictions of this life and in the Midst of them we may now justly esteem our selves happy as having so full an assurance of a future inheritance Our Deeds and Writings for our worldly Estate we value greatly because they shew our Title and our Right and therefore we preserve them with great care and please our selves that they are good and well attested It is no little blessing and ought to be no small comfort to us that we have the holy Scriptures which are a declaration of Gods favour and good will towards us It was the great Priviledge of the Jews that God had given them his Law He shewed his word unto Jacob Psal 147.19 20. his Statutes and his Judgments unto Israel He had not dealt so with any Nation and for his Judgments they have not known them The Apostle reckons it a Priviledge which the Jew enjoyed above the rest of the world that they had Gods Law among them Rom. 3.1 2. What advantage then hath the Jew Or what profit is there of Circumcision Much every way chiefly because that unto them were committed the Oracles of God This one thing did very much exalt the Jewish People above their Neighbours And their Law gave them their Title to their Country and was the Instrument of Conveyance of their Inheritance to them And hence we find their Law is sometime called their Inheritance Dent. 33.4 Moses commanded us a Law even the Inheritance of the Congregation of Jacob. Indeed their Law was their Charter and Instrument that contained their Title which they had to their Possessions And the Land which they possessed was a Type of Heaven Heb. 10.1 and their Law and their Service was a shadow of good things to come But thanks be to God the case is well mended with us now We have the substance clearly revealed of which they had the shadow
governs the World And it is well for us that so it is We are safer much in his hands than in our own and dearer we are to him than to our selves We rejoyce under the Government of a wise and good King We have greater cause to rejoyce in this that God reigns And that if we consider his infinite Wisdom his Goodness and Almighty Power His Wisdom assures that he will do what is best And we are not fit Judges of that We are not able to see into the secrets of Government It is enough to us that God is infinitely wise and so not only knows what is best but what is best for us and what is the fittest time of helping us But then his Goodness and Holiness give us a full assurance that he will not let them that are truly good and suffer upon that account lose their reward That he will not govern Arbitrarily but will do good to them that are good And since his Power is infinite also we are secure that he will not be defeated in bringing his own Counsels to pass And therefore the holy and pious soul give◠it self up intirely unto Gods disposal being well assured of Gods good will to him and knowing well that his infinite Wisdom cannot be deceived nor his Almighty Power defeated 3. I shall make some Application of this And that I shall do in the following Particulars First This may serve to reprove our murmuring and impatience under the evils which we meet with here below We complain bitterly under our several troubles and afflictions not considering the hand that lays them on us We do not as we ought when we are distressed look up with great reverence to our Creator but we curse our Stars or we are angry with our Brother who is the immediate Instrument of our trouble or we impute our misery to our inadvertence and do disquiet our selves in vain If our Child or Friend die we accuse the Physician or our selves If we suffer in our Goods we quarrel with our Servants or are angry at the Times In a word we are uneasie and restless not considering that God governs the World and that the very hairs of our head are numbred Our Friend did not die without Gods knowledge Our Goods were not lost without his regard And who are we that we should murmur and complain and say unto God What dost thou If God govern the World we may well be shamed to repine and murmur If he disposeth things below we shall be very blameable if we murmur at our own Lot and Portion Secondly Hence we may be seasonably exhorted to acknowledge this great truth by a suitable life and conversation It is a great influence which this belief ought to have upon us It ought to render us contented with our Lot and Portion of things To endue us with courage to encounter difficulties It ought to quicken us in our devotions Let us not faint under the sorrows that overtake us If God govern the World we ought quietly to commit our cause to him and not go about to wrest the Government out of his hand It becomes greatly to trust in him at all times and not to let go our Faith and our Hope whatever troubles befall us in this mortal life 1 Pet. 5.10 11. The God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen CHAP. V. OUr Religion does assure us of the power and presence of the holy Spirit of God under our sufferings for righteousness sake and this is another great support which the sincere disciples of Christ are furnished with 1 Pet. 4.14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you It is worth our observing by the way that this Spirit is in this place represented to us under the Character of the Spirit of glory and that very fitly also when the Apostle assures those men of this divine assistance who are reproached for the name of Christ The Spirit of glory will sufficiently support good men under the reproach and scorn they meet withal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vid. N. T. Edit Curcellaei There is a certain Greek Copy that hath it the Spirit of glory and of power I shall not need to contend for that reading being well assured that he who receives the Divine Spirit receives the Spirit of power also as I shall have occasion to shew you afterwards It is to be observed that the Apostle assures them to whom he writes that this Holy Spirit whom he calls the Spirit of glory and of God shall rest upon them He shall not only give them a visit in their sorrows and so leave them but he shall stay and abide with them And this agrees with what our blessed Saviour promised Joh. 14.16 17. I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever Even the Spirit of truth c. But for my more orderly speaking to this matter I shall First Shew you the sufficiency of this divine assistance Secondly I shall lay before you the great assurance which we have that we shall receive this heavenly aid Thirdly The condition on our part required for the obtaining this assistance Fourthly The Application of it 1. I shall shew you the sufficiency of this Divine assistance which God hath made us the Promise of We shall have great cause to believe that our help will bear proportion to our work and that whatever is laid upon us does not exceed the proportion of the strength which we receive to bear it And then we shall have no cause to find fault of our Master or of our work when our help bears proportion to our work and duty Now we need more than an ordinary help in these two Cases First To enable us against persecutions for the sake of our Religion Secondly To support and comfort us under our losses and other afflictions which we shall meet with in this present life I shall therefore shew you that the Spirit of God will afford sufficient help in both these cases 1. We need more than ordinary assistance to enable us against persecutions for the sake of our Religion The Christian hath as quick a sense of pain as other men his Religion does not destroy his flesh and bloud and change it into Brass Heb. 12.11 He is as apprehensive and as sensible of the evils of life as any other man is And besides that he is is by his Profession exposed to all the miseries of humane life To cold and nakedness To hunger and thirst To scorn and reproach To stripes and to buffetings To Wheels and Racks to restraint and to death death it self It were not an easie thing to recount the very many
that holy Martyrs and those that have been persecuted for righteousness sake have been able to persevere in bearing witness to the truth notwithstanding all the torments which they did endure from their enemies hands They that were tortured endured with singular patience their Tormentors Cruelties and wearied out those men who were their Executioners Nor were they only the Ministers of Religion who might be supposed to be endued with a greater measure of the Spirit that endured with undaunted resolution but the Lay-people also even Women were able to endure the greatest severities I should be endless if I should go about to tell what great examples we have in former and later Ages upon record to this purpose 2. We need a more than ordinary assistance to support and comfort us under the losses and other afflictions which we meet with in this present life The Comforts of this life what price soever we may set upon them are at best very uncertain to us And we very often out-live those blessings which rendered this present life comfortable to us We are deprived of the delight of our eyes and the labour of our hands and of that which was the joy of our hearts Our dearest Friends are snatcht away from our Embraces our Children and our Relatives are taken from us by a sudden and an unlooked-for death and we are bereft of the plenty and the store which once we did enjoy and are left solitary and there is none to comfort us In this case the devout and pious Christian is of all men in the world the best provided for He hath peace and comfort which the world knows nothing of And that he hath from the Holy Spirit of God which he is endued with In this dry and barren Wilderness he hath his fresh Springs And after all his losses and his toyl he haâ— a Comforter that visits him and abides with him for ever Thus the Promise runs which ouâ— Lord made a little before he lesâ— the World Joh. 14.16 And a most gracious Promise this to us who live in these houses of clay and that are faâ—â— removed from our Country and our Fathers house We shall be sure to meet with tribulations here to hear store of evil tidings and very sad stories of the miseries that befall others and that threaten us Thanks be to God for the comforts of the Holy Ghost It is to be hoped that we shall thereby be soâ— far refreshed and relieved as to support us under all our other sorrows in our way to Heaven This Holy Spirit is like the Rock that followed the men of Israel in the Desert and furnished them with water in a dry and thirsty Land This is that Oyl of gladness that makes us rejoyce in the midst of the sorrows of this mortal life The Seal of God that tells us to whom we do belong and the Earnest of our future inheritance which does ascertain us of a great reward in Reversion And by this means we are upheld by this heavenly Comforter under sickness and poverty pain and reproach confinement and the fears of death till we are set at liberty and placed among the Spirits of just men made perfect 2. I shall lay before you the great assurance that we shall receive this heavenly aid For we cannot but be throughly convinced that this Promise of the Holy Spirit is an exceeding great and precious one We are next to consider what great ground we have to expect that this heavenly gift shall be bestowed upon us So it is that if we look down into our own breasts we shall find our selves in so ill a case that we cannot think them fit Temples for so pure and holy a Being as the Spirit of God Our Souls are like the Earth when it was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the Deep We may soon discover the need we have of this Divine assistance to digest and put in order to cherish and enlighten this dark and confused Chaos But all this while we have no assurance that we shall be thus favoured But blessed be the name of God we have great assurance that he will send his Holy Spirit into our hearts and not forsake us And what that assurance is you may take in the following particulars 1. We have the Promise of God and that to us ought to be enough God had of old foretold Isa 44.3 Joel 1.18 Act. 2.17 that in the times of the Messias he would pour his holy Spirit plentifully even upon all flesh A Promise that was in great measure fulfilled at the day of Pentecost next after the Ascension of the Son of God He did before that command his Apostles Acts 1.4 5. that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the Promise of the Father which saith he ye have heard of me For John truly baptized with water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence Our Lord had given them before this a great assurance that this Comforter should come and abide with them for ever And we need not doubt but that he that promised would make good his word to us 2. Especially if it be considered how necessary this Holy Spirit is for the compleating and finishing the work of mans Redemption It It is true we were redeemed by the bloud of Christ but then we are renewed by the Holy Spirit and by him enabled to give obedience to his Laws Heb. 5 9â— who is the Author of Eternal Salvation but it is to them that do obey him Since God hath given us his Son we need no longer doubt but that he will with him give us all things especially all things needful for life and godliness We need not doubt of receiving the supports of the Holy Spirit to enable us to profess that truth constantly which the same Spirit dictated to holy men Heb. 2.4 and which was confirmed by Signs and Wonders and divers Miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost There is no room left for doubting but that we shall receive this Holy Spirit if we constantly and fervently implore him 3. Again our Saviour hath given us the utmost assurance in those words where he says Luk. 11.13 If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him Parents do not use to deny their Children what is needful for them Nor do they need a positive Law to oblige them to it There is a Law in their nature does direct and determine them in this case And those Parents that are otherwise evil men are yet very prone to bestow good things on their Children Now then who can doubt of Gods readiness to bestow his Holy Spirit upon them that ask him Earthly Parents are evil they are so by nature and more so by custom and a course of sinning But our heavenly Father is
and indifferent the loose and the profane Let us then be exhorted to ask and seek and knock Let us now fervently implore this Holy Comforter this Spirit of truth and power I need not tell you what great need we have of power from above We are weak Creatures full of our fears exposed to many evils and sufferings and need an help from above to confirm and strengthen us We know not how soon we may be called forth to suffer the extremest evils or may be stript and deprived of all our worldly Goods and Possessions We cannot tell how soon we may lie upon our dying beds when our Soul shall sit ready to take its flight from our trembling lips when our Flesh shall fail us and we shall be abandoned by our earthly comforts and supports Whither shall we go for comfort then What will support us under these trials but the sense of Gods love and the Joy of the Holy Ghost This Comfort will reconcile us to Prisons and to Poverty and to Death it self We shall then have hope even in Death it self Rom. 5.5 And such an hope as maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us CHAP. VI. I Shall in the next place consider the Example of Christ and of holy men who have suffered the greatest evils which this world could inflict upon them And for the better speaking to this I shall First Take notice that the Holy Scripture calls upon us to reflect upon these Examples under our afflictions Secondly I shall give you a very short account of their sufferings Thirdly I shall shew you the great usefulness of these great examples unto us 1. I shall take notice that the holy Scripture calls upon us to reflect upon these examples under our afflictions The Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives us a large account of the sufferings of holy men And then subjoyns Chap. 11. Heb. 12.1 2. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of Witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith Who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame c. He animates them by these great examples which they were therefore obliged to keep in their eye And they are at once put in mind to reflect upon the exemplary sufferings of holy men and of our blessed Saviour To the same purpose St. James exhorts those to whom he writes Jam. 5.10 11. Take my Brethren the Prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience Ye have heard of the Patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord. i. e. as ye have read or heard of the Patience of Job who lived many Ages before and probably suffered before the Law of Moses was given so ye have many of you seen how patiently our Lord Jesus suffered It was one end of our Lords sufferings that we might learn patience from his example 1 Pet. 2.21 For even hereunto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps And indeed the holy Scripture is very large and very particular in giving us an account of the sufferings and of the patience of Christ and of holy men that we might learn to write after so fair a Copy and imitate them in patience and resignation to the Will of God which in them was so exemplary For whatsoever things were written afore time Rom. 15.4 were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope 2. I shall give you a very short account of their sufferings And First Of the sufferings of Jesus the Author and the finisher of our faith His whole life was little else than a continual suffering And he was a most unparallel'd example of Innocence and of suffering and not only of sufferings but of the greatest meekness and exemplary patience under them He was born in a Stable and died upon a Cross Born among Beasts and died among Malefactors He was persecuted as soon as he was born and when he was capable of doing no evil he was hunted after as a Malefactor His Persecution began from Herod an Idumaean it was carried on by the Jews his Countrymen and compleated by Pilate the Roman And though he hurt no man yet he was pursued by all His great Poverty did not protect him from Envy His profound Meekness did not preserve him from the Contradictions of Sinners And his known Innocence did not save him from the Sentence of Death His body was like one of ours He was as sensible of pain as we are And certain it is that his Enemies loaded it greatly What part of him was exempt His Head was Crowned with Thorns his Hands and Feet were pierced with Nailes his Side was goared with a Spear his Shoulders loaded with a Cross He was spit upon buffeted and scourged And at last hanged on a Tree without regard and pity His Soul was afflicted greatly Mat. 26.37 38. Mar. 14.33 He was sorrowful and heavy and that even to death He was sore amazed Luk. 22.44 and very heavy He was in an Agony and sweat as it were drops of bloud Psal 22.14 His heart was like Wax melted in the midst of of his Bowels At length he is forced to bear his Cross on that he is hanged there he bleeds and there he cries out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me But as he endured the Cross so he despised the shame For his death was ignominious as well as painful He died among Criminals and the death of the worst and vilest of men Thus did our Saviour suffer Thus entred he into his glory And all this he bore with invincible patience He did not want power to rescue himself and to punish his Enemies nor did he want the greatest provocation He was innocent and had lived an useful life But for all this he is not provoked against his Enemies nor does he complain against God For as he prays for his enemies so he resigns himself unto God Secondly For the sufferings of Holy men both before and since our Saviours death I must not undertake to give you an account It would fill some Volumes to be particular in this Argument We read of those before our Saviours sufferings of whom this world was not worthy that had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings Heb. 11.36 of bonds and imprisonments That were stoned and sawn asunder tempted and slain with the Sword that wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins being destitute afflictted tormented They wandred in Deserts and Mountains and were in Dens and Caves of the Earth And for the
great assurance of success having such a Mediator and Intercessor But our Saviour goes on Ver. 24. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name i. e. ye have not as yet made a trial how powerful a name mine is But for for the future he directs and encourages them Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full And presently afterwards he gives them great assurance that their Prayers shall now be heard upon his account Joh. 16.26 27. At that day ye shall ask in my name and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you For the Father himself loveth you because ye have loved me and have believed that I came out from God III. I proceed now to shew you how what hath been said tends towards our support and comfort under the troubles of this life And that it does several ways 1. The exaltation of Christ to the right hand of God is much for our comfort as it gives us great hope that we shall also be received into heaven Our nature is advanced and this gives us hope that we shall also in due time be received into the same happy place For as Christs Resurrection is made an Argument which infers ours so our Lords being exalted into heaven speaks the great hopes that we have of coming thither And this Consideration does mightily tend to comfort us under the sorrows of this life Joh. 14.4 Let not your heart be troubled says our Lord. But then what follows tends greatly to support them I go to prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also Thanks be to God a door of hope is now opened by the Exaltation of our Saviour Heb. 6.19 20. Which hope we have as an anchor of the Soul both sure and stedfast and which entreth into that within the Vail Whither the forerunner is for us entred even Jesus made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec None under the Law of Moses Heb. 9.7 8. might enter into the Holy of Holies but the High Priest only and that but once a year and not without bloud The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first Tabernacle was yet standing There was a vail or partition between the Holy of Holies and the other part of the Temple And when our Saviour suffered death this Vail of the Temple was rent in twain after a most miraculous manner For though indeed there be mention made of an Earthquake at the same time yet that the Vail was not rent by the Earthquake appears from hence that the Text says it was rent from the top to the bottom Mat. 27.51 not from the bottom to the top as it would have been if it been the effect of an Earthquake Now it is no hard matter to explain the meaning of this The Holy of Holies was a Type of Heaven The rest of the Temple and Tabernacle of the rest of the world There was a Vail that shut up the way to Heaven but when our Lord suffered he opened the way that was shut up before and a while after he went himself within the Vail and took our nature with him and by doing so and sending us the Holy Spirit thence he hath given us assurance that where he is we shall likewise be He hath taken a pledge I mean our flesh which he hath carried into heaven as a Pledge that we shall enter thither Pignus totius Summae Tert. de res Carn 2 Thes 4.17 18. and given us the earnest of his Holy Spirit in token that we belong to him and that we shall ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words 2. What hath been said tends to our comfort as it gives us assurance of a Divine Assistance at hand for our succour and support and for the enabling us to do as well as suffer the whole will of God We have not the least cause to doubt either of the Power or readiness and Proneness of our Lord to help us and support us under all our conflicts and especially then when we are persecuted for righteousnes sake Our Saviour is not a mere Spectator he does not only see us fight but he helps us to overcome Whatever it is that troubles us we are not left without a Prince and a Saviour and one that is able to save to the uttermost And this must needs tend very greatly to the quieting of our minds under all the troubles and sorrows that we meet withal 3. This tends very much to our support and comfort as it encourages our Prayers and assures us that we shall succeed when we make our addresses to God and implore his Divine aid and assistance We have a merciful High Priest that was made like unto us and hath about him a sense of our infirmities Heb. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need Heb. 10.19 20 21 22. Having therefore Brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest by the bloud of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the Vail that is to say his Flesh and having an High Priest over the House of God Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our bodies washed with pure water CHAP. VIII ANother great comfort and support which the Christian is provided with under the sorrows of this life is that of the Holy Scripture The Psalmist expresses the great comfort he received from the Law of God in his affliction Psal 119.92 Vnless thy Law had been my delights I should then have perished in my affliction He doth elsewhere express his great esteem for and the great delight he had in the Law of God The Law of thy mouth is better unto me Ver. 72. than thousands of Gold and Silver He elsewhere tells us that the Statutes of the Lord are right Psal 19.8 rejoycing the heart the Commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes and speaking presently afterwards of the Judgments of the Lord he says of them Ver. 10. More to be desired are they than Gold yea than much fine Gold sweeter also than honey and the honey Comb. And now it is no wonder that we find him professing in these words Psal 119.127 128. I love thy Commandments above Gold yea above fine Gold I esteem all thy Precepts concerning all things to be right After this he adds Rivers of waters run down mine eyes Ver. 136. because they keep not thy Law Thus was the devout Psalmist affected towards the Law of God This was his comfort and his joy his riches and
Saviour He prayed that if it were possible the Cup might pass but then he adds Not my will but thy will be done There is great danger in neglecting our duty in this matter and he will be very ready to deny his Lord who hath not throughly learned this Lesson Whatever happens to us now let us resign our selves to Gods Will. Is my dearest Friend or Child dead Is our health impaired Is our Estate wasted Let us say always Let the will of the Lord be done By these steps we shall perfectly learn this Lesson and practise it then when God shall send for us by death into another World V. Do all the good which you can This tends to the making our death more easie unto us For our account is lessened hereby and consequently death it self is the less to be feared Besides that acts of mercy have a promise of mercy belonging to them They that shew mercy shall receive it It is enough that they are sure of their reward This takes away much of the terrour of death it self And the merciful man is well dealt with if he be supported under the Agonies of death This is better for him than to be delivered from it Psal 41.3 And we know there is a particular promise of support to the merciful man even then when he is threatned with death On the other hand he that shews no mercy must not expect to find it He that hides his Talent in a Napkin is unprepared to meet his Lord He will have a very sad account not only that squanders away but he that hides his Lords Money VI. Frequently and diligently examine your selves Call your selves to a strict and severe account often This will be a great preparation for any evils which may happen to us and against death it self We shall never be safe if we do not take this course For this examination is in order to the knowing our state to God-ward and to our repentance and consequently our pardon We must confess our sins and in order to that we must know them For our Confession the more general it is the more dangerous the more particular the more safe For though we hope for pardon upon a general repentance where we cannot find out all our secret sins yet this does not give us hope of pardon upon a general repentance where upon search we may be more particular From whence it may easily appear how much a strict and diligent examination of our selves tends to our comfort and our peace and how much it does dispose and prepare us for sufferings and for death it self We are at ease and at liberty when our accounts are cleared and setled Whereas it is a burden to every honest mind to think that his affairs are entangled and perplexed and that he is not able to adjust his accounts Let any man but seriously consider how much he offends every day either in doing what he should not or not doing what he should In omitting his duty or in doing it slightly and he will soon find he hath work to do at the close of every day before he betake himself to rest And then sure he will be very unfit for death if he have the follies and errors of a whole life or a great part of it to unravel and to account for Such a man must needs be full of fears and jealousies that all is not right who hath not been very careful to try whether it be so or not It were well that this self-examination were the work of every day For as we might find enough to employ our selves in without troubling our selves with the faults of our Neighbours so I am sure we could not take a better course to secure our own souls And it was required that a man should examine himself before he received the Communion 1 Cor. 11.28 at that time when Christians communicated very frequently if not every day And though we excuse our selves too easily from frequent communicating yet they that do that cannot deny but that it is their duty to be prepared for it and consequently to examine themselves also VII Set your house in order My meaning is that we would do that duty which we owe to one another in order to our more comfortable passage hence And there are many things that fall under this head which every wise and good man would do before he goes hence Such are the making our Wills and setling our worldly Estate making restitution where we have done wrong being reconciled where there hath been a grudge or difference disburdening our Consciences where they are oppressed seeking satisfaction where we are in doubt and clearing our accounts with others where they are entangled These things and such like have a tendency toward the comfort and ease of our minds and when they are done we are left at greater liberty and freedom chearfully to bear whatever evil God thinks fit to exercise us with VIII Be very much in Religious Exercises and in the Service of God Such as reading and hearing meditating of heavenly things and receiving the Sacrament and frequent Abstractions from the hurries and the amusements of this lower world But especially let us give our selves much to Prayer Let us with all humility and fervour with all attention and watchfulness with prostrate souls and broken hearts implore the aid and assistance of God and of his Holy Spirit that we may continue faithful unto death that we may receive the Crown of righteousness Prayer is very seasonable at such a time as this Jam. 5.13 and it is recommended to us from the Example as well as from the Precept of our blessed Saviour Luk. 21.36 22.44 of whom it is said that being in an Agony he prayed more earnestly I shall now shew you how we are to demean and behave our selves under our sufferings And before I do that I shall premise the following particulars First That we ought not to run after sufferings and to bring them upon our selves We are not obliged to throw away our lives but to stay till God calls for them at our hand Our Religion allows us the wisdom of Serpents though it strictly require the innocence of Doves It is lawful in some cases to flee and decline our sufferings and in many Cases it is fit and expedient that we should do so Mat. 10.23 By this means we may reserve our selves for farther service and avoid the temptation But if our flight betray our Religion and endanger our Brethren that are under our charge we ought to stand to it and rather part with our lives Our lives are then to be given up when we gain a greater end but they are so long to be preserved as we may keep them without prejudice to our Conscience and the Salvation of our Brother Secondly That we are to take great heed that we do not suffer as evil doers 1 Pet 4.15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer or as
a thief or as an evil doer or as a busie-body in other mens matters It is the cause not the suffering which makes the Martyr We are happy if we suffer for righteousness sake Rebellion and Treason against our Prince cannot make men Saints and Martyrs These men are evil doers whatever ever tokens of fortitude they seem to shew I now proceed to shew how we ought to demean our selves under our sufferings And that you may take in the following particulars which concern us as we stand related to God to our Neighbour and to our selves And I. As to God whose hand we must look at we must suffer without murmuring and repining We must entirely resign up our selves unto God and imitate our blessed Saviour when he said Not my will but thy will be done Our Lord went like a Sheep to the slaughter he opened not his mouth It becomes us to refer all to Gods wisdom and disposal not to choose the kind and form of our sufferings but to leave all that to him and depend intirely upon him It is the Lord we ought to say let him do what is good in his own eyes II. As to our Neighbour and especially those who are the instruments of our sufferings we are to shew the greatest meekness and charity In this our Saviour was a great pattern 1 Pet. 2.22 23. Who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth Who when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously It becomes us to imitate this glorious example us it becomes who are vile sinners and have deserved our sufferings from Gods hand though we suffer in a righteous Cause Father forgive them says our dying Lord for they know not what they do Our Lord did not threaten his enemies No he pitied them and he prayed for them And so must we do also if we would suffer as Christians We must forgive our Enemies pity them as we do people that are blind or delirant Their folly and their rage and madness call for our compassions and our hearty Prayers for their precious and immortal souls De dupl Martyr Thus St. Cyprian describes the manner of Christians sufferings We see not says he that placid and meek and sublime temper of mind joyned with humility unless it be in the Martyrs of Christ They do not look upon the Executioner with fierce eyes they do not threaten the Tyrant They are more grieved for their blindness than for their own afflictions Even Christ cries in them Father forgive them c. They look at nothing but heaven where their hope is laid up c. III. As to our selves that we undergo our sufferings undauntedly and with constancy that we do not any thing unbecoming our Christian Profession It is not to be imagined but that the Christian hath as quick a sense of pain as any other man he is not stupid and unconcerned all that is required is this that he hold out with courage and Christian Fortitude and be not betrayed by his fear It is not necessary that he should be rid of all fear It is enough that it do not prevail upon him so far as to cause him to distrust God or deny the Truth It is not every one that can triumph in Flames and shew tokens of joy upon Racks and Wheels It is not every Martyr that can express great exultation of mind 2 Cor. 7.5 Some fear is very consistent with the greatest Sanctity He is not to be deprived of the glory of Martyrdom that continues constant under his sufferings though he went to them with fear and suspicion of himself THE General CONTENTS CHAP. I. THe Introduction and design of the following Discourse The necessity of believing the particular Care and Providence of God The Evils which befal good men are reconcileable with the Providence of God A more particular consideration of the Persons to whom these Evils befal of the Evils themselves of their usefulness and the supports which good men are furnished with Page 1. CHAP. II. That it is very reasonable that in obedience to Christ's Law we should suffer even death it self A more particular consideration of the Law-giver the Equitableness of the Law it self as also of the ground and reason of it p. 31. CHAP. III. The first great support under our sufferings is the hope of eternal life A more particular consideration of the greatness of the reward the clearness of its revelation and its fitness to work upon us p. 63. CHAP. IV. The consideration of Gods particular care and Providence another great support under our afflictions A more particular consideration of the assurance which the Gospel gives us of Gods special Providence How much this tends to our support The Application p. 79. CHAP. V. The Assistance of the Holy Spirit another support A more particular consideration of the sufficiency of this Divine assistance The great assurance we have of receiving this heavenly aid The condition on our part for the obtaining this Assistance p. 97. CHAP. VI. Of the Example of Christ and holy men who have suffered the greatest evils That we are obliged to place their example before our eyes A short account of their sufferings The usefulness of these examples to us p. 124. CHAP. VII The support we receive from the Intercession of the Son of God That Christ is now in heaven That he is there concerned on our behalf How this tends toward our support under the afflictions and sufferings of this life p. 140. CHAP. VIII Of the Comfort of the Scriptures A more particular consideration how the Scriptures tend to our comfort under our sufferings p. 165. CHAP. IX An Exhortation to use these helps and not to be dismayed at death it self for righteousness sake The reasonableness of this Exhortation farther considered Advice to those who are afraid to suffer death because they have not lived as they ought p. 195. CHAP. X. Of preparing for sufferings and for death A more particular consideration of what we are to do toward the fitting our selves for what ever evils may happen especially for death and the severest persecution for righteousness sake How we are to demean our selves under our sufferings p. 212. THE END