yeares end to yeares end they tell you that you are so leane and feeble that you need the benefit of all the spirits that every dish at wisdoms table can yeeld to strengthen you and recover you and yet every dish almost goes against your stomacks and that you doe eat is without savour or any other vertue and so you languish with al dainties before you and thus you will goe on languishing untill you quite consume perish eternally unlesse Christ be with your spirits You see I suppose plainly by this time that as it is a prime and principall happinesse to have Christ with our spirits so it is a prime and principall evill and unhappines not to have Christ with our spirits Wherefore having laid open both before you let mee entreat you all to looke in upon your spirits and see who keeps company with them Christ or the divell one of these two is with all our spirits If Christ bee not with our spirits the divellis and wil be If Christ be with your spirits according to the sense and meaning of the Apostle in my text you shall find it by these two things the body is dead because of sin and the spirit is life because of righteousnes 'T is Pauls Character of Christs speciall presence in the soule of man upon earth and therefore of strong authority And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sinne but the spirit is life because of Righteousnesse Rom. 8.10 The body is dead because of sinne that is the body of corruption is destroyed as in respect of the guilt of it so in respect of the dominion of it And the spirit is life because of righteousnesse that is the regenerate part is vigerous in reference to all righteous wayes And if therefore you would know whether Christ bee with your spirits see whether your bodies bee dead because of sin whether you labour to bring every thought into subjection to Christ or whether you doe not allow your selves liberty to some evill out of love to some pleasure or profit which is that principally wherein the dominion of sinne consisteth as Paul hints unto us where he saith the evill which I doe I allow not That is I doe not approve of it in my heart nor plead for it with my tongue but strive against it with all my strength and it would be more joy to me to be rid of it then if I had a Kingdome conferred on me This is the language right of one that hath Christ with his spirit Secondly see whether your spirits be alive because of righteousnesse if you would know whether Christ be with your spirits or not See whether holy wayes doe heartily affect you I rejoyced when they said come let us goe to the house of the Lord saith the Psalmist He spake like a man having Christ indeed with his spirit his spirit leapt within him like the Babe in Elizabeths Wombe when they spake of drawing neere to God in the duties of his worship A Christian that hath Christ with his spirit sees a taking transcendant beauty in all wisedomes wayes they are all wayes of pleasure and pathes of peace which is spoken in reference to such as have Christ with their spirits for others finde no such thing in them And his spirit opens in them like flowers in the Sunne and smelles fragrantly he bends and cleaves to them in love to that soule sweetnesse which he findes in them And if you finde these things in you I thinke I may safely tell you to your comfort that Christ is with your spirits I may turne this Character into another forme as Paul doth and tell you in his words that hee which is joyned to the Lord is one spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 They that have Christ with their spirits are one spirit with Christ This expression I conceive is something explained by these following words And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soule 4 Acts v. 32. or as the originall hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 heart and soule one They that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ They doe idem velle idem nolle What Christ loves they love and what Christ hates they hate Christ loves righteousnesse and hates iniquity Thou hast loved righteousnesse and hated iniquity c. Psal 45.7 They that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ in this They love righteousnesse that is all righteous wayes and hate iniquity that is all that Gods Word condemnes 'T was Christs meate and drinke to doe his Fathers Will they that have Christ with their spirits are one spirit with Christ in this 'T is joy to the just to doe judgement saith Salomon Christ was tender about keeping the least Commandement as well as about keeping the greatest Whosoever shall break one of these least Commandements and teach men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdome of Heaven Mat. 5.19 They that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ in this they are tender to keepe all Gods Commandements least as well as greatest So shall I not be confounded whil'st I have refpect unto all thy Commandements saith David I doe conceive the place forecited so as if Christ did account of one part of his Fathers wil above another I rather thinke that hee there speakes Pharisaeorum more in the Pharises dialect who would make the world believe that they mightily laboured to keepe some precepts but others they thought as many of us now doe that they need not to bee so strict about Now Christs tender Spirit for his Fathers honour could not brooke this halting in religion and they that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ in this That Commandement which the most say is one of the least and may be dispensed with all or at least need not bee so strictly look't unto that as well as any other whil'st a precious part of Christs will a man that hath Christ with his spirit will bee tender to observe Davids spirit smote him for cutting off the lap of Sauls garment as wel as for cutting off the life of Vrijah which plainly shewes that men which have Christ with their spirits are tender about the avoiding of small sins as well as great Now possibly some of you by what hath beene said may see that as yet you have not Christ with your spirits I shall addresse my selfe in the first place particularly to speake to you and then in the second place I shall addresse my selfe particularly to speake to such of you as have by what hath beene said discerned that Christ is indeed with your spirits To you which by what hath been said see that as yet Christ is not with your spirits I have only these two things to say labour to bewaile your great want as persons deeply sensible of it and
a mans spirit bee never so cold yet if Christ be with it hee is in the ready way to burne with love to Christ as strong as death which many waters cannot quench They that have Christ with their spirits are in the ready way to the very heigth of joy consolation they are in the ready way to joy unspeakable and full of glory These things have I spoken unto you that your joy may be full said Christ to his Disciples Christ speaks such things to the spirits of those with whom hee is present as fils their spirits with joy to the very brim and this oft times in the very depth of all outward extremity The Church doth darkly hint this The Comforter which should relieve my soule is far from me Lam. 1.16 As if the Church had said though my outward misery bee exceeding great yet if the Comforter did but keepe close to my spirit I should have as much consolation as my heart could hold in the midst of all my misery but this is my misery of miseries that the Comforter which should relieve my soule is far from me out of the hearing of sighes and groanes nay out of the hearing of strong cryes he is angry against my prayers In a word a Christian which hath Christ with his spirit is in the ready way to excell in vertue as David sayes to excell in all vertue to be wiser then his teachers more excellent in all grace then his neighbours And therefore to have Christ present with our spirits must needs be counted and called A prime and principall blessing Lastly to have Christ with our spirits is the ready way unto eternall good and therefore a prime and principall blessing As a stone carries with it whatsoever light thing be fastned to it unto its own center so Christ whose proper place of residence is Heaven carries with him thither all such spirits as to whom he is united on earth If we have a speciall friend at Court wee count that wee are in a ready way to see all the pompe of the Prince Christ hath the Keyes of Heaven and Hell hee opens and no man shuts shuts and no man can open all with whose spirits he hath dwelt and beene kindly used upon earth hee knowes and when they shall knock at those everlasting gates hee will open and let them in to every roome in his royall dwelling and shew them all the glory which he had with his Father before the world was 'T is betweene Christ and that spirit with whom he lives as between Naomi and Ruth where the one lives the other will Whilest such spirits live in the body Christ will live with them there when they remove out of the body Christ will not leave them death cannot separate but commands his Angels to bring them to eternall mansions with himself Christ which is lifted up to glory himselfe will draw all such unto him as in whose spirits he dwels and no strength shall bee able to withstand him none shall pluck such out of his hand Vnio cum Christo est unio inunibilis If to have Christ with our spirits bee a grand favour not to have him with our spirits must needs be a grand evill A spirit without Christ is naked as a body without cloathes Many things may make cloathing and defence for the body but only Christ that best garment as the Father of the Prodigall cals him can make cloathing and munition for the soule A mans spirit without Christ is as a naked body amongst thorns every thorne pierceth and every bryer scratcheth and fetcheth blood from such a body so worldly cares and worldly fears when strong will pierce such a naked spirit thorow and thorow and make him runne mad if God unsought do not seasonably step in and bridle the Bedlam A mans spirit without Christ is as a naked body amongst Serpents every Serpent stings and venomes such a naked body to death so every seed of the Serpent stings and poysons to death such naked soules by their threatnings flatteries examples and the like A mans spirit without Christ is as a naked body in great blasts of lightning such bodies are suddenly scorcht and consumed so such naked soules are suddenly blasted by the fiery darts of the Devill and so suddenly oft times goe from burning to burning from burning in sin to burning in hell A mans spirit without Christ is not only naked but blind too A naked man having his sight may make some shift but a man naked and blind too is in a miserable helpelesse state indeed and just such is the state and condition of every mans spirit that hath not Christ with it for as the Sunne in the Heavens is the eye and light of the greater World so the Sunne of righteousnesse Christ is the eye light of the lesser world man Now doe but imagine what a darke dolorous condition wee should all bee in if the Sunne were darkned or had utterly forsaken our Horizon or doe but thinke of that darknesse which was upon the Aegyptians for a little time when no man could stirre out of his place and such and much worse is the darke dolorous condition of a spirit without Christ not able to see the least beame of saving light not able to stir a steppe out of his place in the way that leads to life A mans spirit without Christ is not onely blind but dumme too A man that is blind yet if he can speake can begge for that which hee cannot see to worke But when a man is blind and dumme too that hee can neither helpe himselfe nor beg others hee is in a dolefull condition indeed and just such is the condition of every mans spirit that hath not Christ with it For as Christ is Eyes to the soule so hee is a Mouth and Tongue enabling it to cry Abba Father Unlesse the spirit of Christ be with our spirits helping our infirmities who are godly we are dumme and not able to speake to our owne Father as adopted children for daily Bread much more unable to begge for life to the dreadfull Judge of all the World must all ungodly persons needes bee whose spirits are altogether without Christ as an helper I would have all men that live in their sinnes thinke seriously of this when Christ as the dreadfull Judge of all the World at the great day shall aske you what you have to say for your selves that you should not eternally die for your sinnes in which you have lived you will bee like that man which was without his wedding garment dumme and not able to say a word for your selves because Christ is not with your spirits 'T is impossible that a mans own guilty spirit should bee able to looke the terrible judge of men and divells in the face much lesse speake a word for mercy unlesse the Al-mighty spirit of Christ be with it to aid it Many ignorant wretches sooth themselves with this that they will
then labour to get this grant speedily supplyed First labour to bewaile your great want as persons deeply affected with it 'T is the greatest want in the World to want Christ to bee with a mans spirit Other wants may bee afflicting wants but this is a damning want Other wants may make thee despised of men but this want will make thee for ever to be abhorr'd of God Thou were better want riches thou were better want honours nay thou were better want bread to put in thy head then want Christ to bee in thy heart Thou were better want thy deere Husband thy sweete Wife to lye in thy besome then want Christ to lye there Nay thy soule were better to bee without thy body them without Christ If there bee any want under Heaven that makes a hell to a man upon Earth it is this to want Christ to bee with his spirit For what is it that makes hell 〈…〉 place full of sin and full of misery but this that Christ is not with those spirits they are spirits everlastingly excluded from all communion with Christ Now whereas great wanes make you complaine heavily and mourne bitterly begge the Lord to make these things sinke into your spirits that you may bee sensible of this great want of wants that your spirits are without Christ and so without God in this world that so all sorrow for other wants may meete and run in one channell to bewaâ—…e this great want Sauls speech to his servant I may here â—…ly allude to Come let us returne said he least my Father leaâ—… caring for the Asses and take thought for us 1 Sam. 1 5 If you that mourne for this want and that want did but feele the want of Christ with your spirits you would with Kish quickely leave mourning for trifles and begin to mourne for things of waight Come O my soule cease mourning for Father and Mother cease mourning for Husband and Wife for Children and substance and begin to mourne for this that thou yet livest Christlesse and art in the ready way to die and perish remedilesse When you have got your hearts to bleed inwardly under your great want theÌ„ cry mightily to the Lord to supply it And to make your prayers prevalent urge the promise of God wherin hee hath engaged himselfe to do good in Christ to them that are afar off Thy soule thou findest far off from Christ why the promise saith the Apostle of Christ and salvation by him is to such For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off Acts 2.39 This Peter spake by way of comfort as now I do to such as felt their spirits without Christ without grace and hope of glory Christ you see is under promise under a generall promise and therefore no soule should despaire of obtaining him Hee is promised to the Jewes and not only to them but to us Gentiles who sometimes were afar off not to this Gentile or that but to all that are prickt in heart for the want of him For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off Let every one therefore upon this ground that feels his spirit prickt and wounded for want of Christ take words to himselfe and go unto God and say O God my soule is a poore Christlesse soule I sinde by wofull experience that the Lord Jesus is not with my spirit by reason of which I live wickedly to thy dishonour and shall I know not how soone die miserably to mine own eternall undoing if thou do not shew mercy upon me according to thy promise Thou hast said that thou wilt bestow Christ grace and salvation upon them that are afar off make good thy gracious promise to mee whose spirit is far from Christ grace and all good so shalt thou oblige me for ever unto thee and I shall tell of thy goodnesse as long as I live Having thus spoken what I thought fit to such as finde by what was formerly delivered that Christ is not with their spirits I shall in the next place speak unto you that by what was formerly delivered finde that Christ is indeed with your spirits Something by way of counsell and some thing by way of consolation I have to deliver unto you Three things by way of counsell I would commend unto you thankefully acknowledge this great favour carefully preserve it and industriously labour to augment it First thankfully acknowledge this great favour 'T is a pearle of great price that God hath cast into thy bosome to give Christ to bee with thy spirit and for great favours every one will acknowledge it very fit and just that they should bee thankfull 'T is a Jewell that Christ scarce gives to one of ten-thousand and for rare gifts every one will readily confesse it to bee great ingratitude not thankefully to acknowledge them Doest thou not heare some sweare some curse some lye like their father the Devill Why thou wouldst have beene such an one had not God given Christ to be with thy spirit Doest thou not see some drunkards some whoremasters some murderers some persecutors of the Saints Why thou would'st have beene such in one if God had not given Christ to be with thy spirit Doest thou not see some make a God of their belly some make a God of their wealth some proud some mad some putting far from them the evill day living as if they should never dye Why thou wouldest have been such an one had not God given Christ to be with thy spirit Doest thou not see some Nabals some Iezabels some Caines some Demases some Iudases Why amongst the number of these wouldest thou have beene had not God given Christ to be with thy spirit Wherefore magnifie the Lord with all thy might and let all that is within thee praise his holy Name Think but how it was with thee when thy spirit was without Christ How foolish thou wast serving divers lusts how the God of this world which rules mightily in the children of disobedience did rule mightily in thee How weak thy spirit was and easily overcome and carried captive of every lust How drunken thy spirit was and reeld from one opinion to another one day thou thoughtst thus and thus and another day thou thoughtst quite contrary I say do but think of these things and how the Lord might justly have left thee still to have gone on thus untill thou hadst perished as he hath done many thousands and then be unthankfull for the communion of Christ with thy spirit if thou canst It was this consideration that set Paul a wondring at the goodness of the Lord. I was a blasphemer a persecutor c. yet I obtained mercy He circumflexes this term I yet I obtained mercy c. It was wonderfull in his eye that God should give Christ to dwell with such a bloody blaspheming spirit as he had In this way let us go to work to raise our
dull spirits to magnifie the free goodnesse of the Lord for 't is a worke of all workes that God loves I was a man of a very proud passionate malicious uncleane spirit and yet I obtained mercy God hath given Christ to be with this depraved spirit and in a little time he hath done very much and made a manifest change in my spirit of very proud he hath made it in some measure humble of very passionate in some measure patient of very malicious in some measure loving of very uncleane in some measure continent O! the riches of his love how unsearchable is his mercy and his love past finding out Secondly as I would have you thankfully acknowledge this great favour so I would have you carefully labour to preserve it You find that you have Christ with your spirits take heed you do not lose him Thou wert better lose thy life then lose the speciall presence of Christ with thy spirit 'T is a prime and prinpall blessing as thou hast heard a blessing of more worth then this world nay of more worth then thy soule which Christ values above the world Now choice things we are usually very carefull of and keepe them choicely Christ totally I know can no man lose which hath him after a speciall manner present with his spirit but according to some prime principall operations he may according to others very far though not totally A man may lose the presence of Christ with his spirit totally as a Comforter The Comforter which should relieve my soule is far frō me saith Ieremiah in the person of the afflicted Church Lam. 1.16 'T is probable enough that Davids spirit was thus stript of Christ by his dolorous complaints which frequently wee reade of Is his mercy cleane gone for ever doth his promise faile for evermore Hath God forgotten to be gracious hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more Psal 77.7,8,9 Some carriages in Christians towards Christ make Christ totally alter his carriage towards thē though for his promise sake he will never totally remove himselfe from them As when Christians doe not keep their watch strictly against sinne in all the occasions of it then Christ instead of being a Comforter becomes a convincer and instead of speaking sweet things hee speakes very bitter unto the soule This was the case of David and Peter Or when Christians are carelesse and sluggish to maintaine and encrease their sweet Communion with Christ unyeelding to the sweet motions of the spirit of Christ and turning oft times the deafe eare against the still voice behind them which saith this is the way walke in it Then Christ drawes a curtaine betweene the spirit of man and himselfe and leaves the spirit of man in the darke and full of feares This is notably illustrated by that language of the Spouse It is the voyce of my beloved that knocketh saying open to me my Sister my Love my Dove my underfiled for my head is filled with dew and my locks with the drops of the night The Church was convinced of this that it was her beloved seeking neerer communion with her and yet observe how she replyes I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them I opened to my beloved but my beloved had withdrawne himselfe and was gone my soule failed when he spake I sought him but I could not finde him I called him but he gave me no answer Cant. 5. You that finde the presence of Christ with your spirits as a Comforter make Christian use of what I have said that you may still enjoy so great a mercy And if you lose the Lord Jesus Christ as a Comforter to your spirits miserable comforters will all other things prove unto you You will mourne and none will bee able to comfort you if Christ as a Comforter forsake your spirits Secondly as a leader a man may very far lose the communion of Christ with his spirit As if a Christian take liberty to sinne against that light which Christ hath set up in his spirit this will make Christ first or last if not timely lookt unto leave a man to his owne understanding to steare his course and then will such a man declare himselfe quickly to be a foole and a beast in many points as David saith Have you not seene Christians of great light erre injudgement and erre in practise Whence comes this weaknesse but from hence that Christ as a leader stands aloofe from their spirits which is a plaine demonstration that a man may lose the presence of Christ with his spirit as a leader David I beleeve found the truth of this as well as of the former by wofull experience A man may collect so much cleerely from his owne words Cast mee not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me Psal 51.11 The Spirit of God is therefore called by David a holy Spirit because holy in himselfe the Spirit of the holy God as hee said to Daniel but principally here as I conceive Abofficio because the worker of holinesse in us David doubtlesse by his fall found an exceeding weaknesse in his Spirit unto all good over what formerly hee did and a strong propensity againe to erre as every act of sin leaves seed and spawn upon the spirit to bring forth more to cover the first or to commit the like againe But more then all this he found Christ to stand aloofe from his spirit not exercising that speciall dominion in his spirit as before for the subduing of lust and suggesting of holy motions and desires but leaving him as it were to himselfe as one with whom hee would have no more to do And therefore doth David so dolefully complaine Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me you therefore which finde Christ with your spirits as a tender leader take heed of sinning against any part of that light which he sets up in your understandings or against any motions of his spirit which he suggests unto you lest he leave you to your own light and to your own strength and then will you run from lesse sins to greater from one sin to another like David and Peter to the scandalizing of the Gospell and the desperate wounding of your own soules The third and last thing that I would commend unto you by way of counsell is this labour to augment this great favour You finde Christ with your spirits labour industriously to have Christ more and more with your spirits 'T is a prime and principall blessing as you have heard to have Christ with your spirits therefore labour to get as much of this favour happinesse as possibly you can Thou hast Christ with thy spirit as a teacher why thou maist have him yet more intimate with thee and open unto thee in
imparting divine mysteries if thou follow on to know as the Prophet speaks if thou humbly forget look over all thou hast presse hard after more the things thou knowest not Christ will teach thy spirit morning by morning as by the learned Christ hath taught thy spirit many truths why he will leade thy spirit into all truth if thou urge his promise and beleeve He will fill thee with the knowledge of his will in all wisdome and spirituall understanding If thou pray for it as Paul did for the Colossians Thou findest Christ with thy spirit as a Comforter why thou maist have yet much more consolation from him if thou study to be more pliable to him Thou hast Christ distilling drops of consolation into thy spirit now and then why thou maist have Christ powring in flagons of love into thy soule filling thee with joy unspeakable and full of glory if thou bring thy spirit to bee more lowly and meek for such find most rest to their soules if thou carefully keep comming to Christ still in every pressure of spirit for such finde most ease that is renewing faith still as thou renewest thy sins Thou findest Christ with thy spirit as a quickner strengthner to duty why thou maist find him yet more mighty with thy spirit this way if thou powre out thy spirit often with David for quickning grace and if thou more deny thine own strength and cast thy self more upon his Could we but attain Pauls height in selfe-denyall to bee nothing in our selvs though I am nothing saith he 2 Cor. 12.11 we should finde Christ gloriously present still with our spirits and be more constant in zeale strength to every good work then we are I conclude this thus bee so tractable to Christ that thou maist with Mary winne upon Christ still and think that thou canst never bee neere enough to him nor intimate enough with him and this is the ready way to have a heaven upon earth for the more we get Christ to be with our spirits the more truly may wee bee said to be in Heaven The last thing that I have to say to you that find Christ with your spirits is matter of consolation Here is comfort for you against famine When thy body wants food Christ that is with thy spirit will give that meat to eat which the world knowes not off so that when others repine and curse God and their King in their extremity as the Prophet speaks thou shalt bee patient in this tribulation and instant in prayer to him who can command Ravens to bring thee bread and flesh to feed on and will rather then thou shalt starve if thy life may bee more to his glory then thy death Here 's comfort for you against the sword In the midst of all troubles and fears Christ that is with thy spirit will beare thee up admirably What is the face of an enemy to terrifie if Christ be with thy spirit What is the spoiling of thy goods nay what is the spoiling of thy body if Christ bee with thy soule A Mountaine of misery is but as a Mole-hill if Christ support the spirit To think of the Sword is a naked reference to flesh and blood and so nothing is more terrible but let us that feare the Loro think of it in reference to Christ that is with our spirits then wee shall not be troubled though we heare of warres and rumours of warres no more then at the rumours of any other calamity Here is coÌ„fort for you against the Plague which is here and there scatterd in the Kingdome What is any disease to the body if Christ bee with thy soule As the outward man decayeth the inward man shall be renewed daily because Christ is with thy spirit When thy body is full of paine thy soule shall be full of comfort because Christ is with thy spirit When thy body is sealed with spots for death thy soule shall be sealed with the Holy Ghost unto eternall life because Christ is with thy spirit The plague of the body is nothing if this plague of plagues bee not upon the spirit to wit destitute of Christ Here is comfort for you against persecution When men frowne upon thee without Christ will smile upon thy spirit within when men lade thy outward man w th reproaches Christ will fill thy inward man with comforts when men shut up thy body from the communion of Saints Christ will give thy spirit a large freedome of communion with himself When men strike thy body Christ will stroke thy soule when men kill thy body Christ will save thy soule In a word as the afflictions of Christ abound in thy body so the consolations of Christ shall abound in thy soule because Christ is with thy spirit Name any misery that is incident to man and here 's comfort to be suckt out of this point to oppose unto it Finally in life in death eternally after death Christ that is with thy spirit will be gaine unto thee Thy life he will make comfortable thy death hopefull and thy being after death eternally joyfull Wherefore I will conclude my Sermon for the good of you as S. Paul doth his Epistle for the good of Timothy The Lord Iesus Christ bee with your spirits Trinuni Deo gloria Errata Pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leg 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pag. 7. For say read saw p. 39. l. 6. pro pereunte solep eâ—…nt omnia lege pereunte sole pereunt omnia p. 114. Marg. For I do conceive r. I do not conceive p. 169. l. 7. FINIS
come to them should patiently wait till Christ thus come to them p. 98 Severall considerations very powerfull to make the soule to wait patiently till Christ as a Comforter come to him p. 98 99 c. Babes in Christ which never yet found Christ as a Comforter come to them should observe how Christ comes with comfort to the soule and not put him off p. 109 110 Babes in Christ which have found Christ as a Comforter to come to them but now have lost him should labour to bee sensible of their losse p. 112 113 c. Such should not blame Christ for departing as a Comforter from them p. 116 117 c. Meanes how such babes in Christ may get their Comforter to returne againe to them p. 118 119 c. 2 Tim. 4. Vers 22. The Lord Jesus Christ bee with thy spirit To have the Lord Iesus Christ with our spirits is a prime and principall blessing p. 126 There is a double presence of Christ with man corporall and spirituall joyntly or meerely spirituall p. 127 128 c. The spirituall presence of Christ with man upon earth is commune or speciall p. 129 130 c. To have Christ specially present with our spirits is the ready way to all temporall good p. 134 Objections to the contrary answered p. 135 136 c. To have Christ specially present with our spirits is the ready way to all spirituall good p. 143 144 c. To have Christ after a speciall manner with our spirits is the ready way to eternall good p. 147 Not to have Christ specially present with our spirits is a great evill p. 149 Wherein this grand evill doth principally consist p. 149 150 c. How to know whether Christ be specially present with our spirits p. 164 165 c. How to get Christ to be specially present with our spirits p. 171 172 c. Men that finde Christ specially present with their spirits should thankfully acknowledge this great favour p. 176 177 c. Such should labour to keepe Christ with their spirits p. 180 According to what operations a man may lose the presence of Christ p. 181 182 c. Christians should labour to get Christ as much present with their spirits as may bee and how this may be done see page 188 189 c. Comfort against the sword plague famine persecution and the like ariseth to them which have Christ specially present with their spirits p. 191 192 c. CHRIST'S COMMUNION with his Church Militant John 14. vers 18. I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you CHRIST and his Church are deare each to other the truth of this is at large manifest in this Chapter Christ as a heavenly Husband being to leave his earthly Spouse to wit his Church Militant and to live with his Father at his right hand in glory with his Church Triumphant endeavoureth in various Verses of this Chapter to comfort the sad Spirit of his beloved Spouse which he perceived was much dejected The Verse which I have chosen to insist on is one of them I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you In more words let me repeate this Verse againe Thou O my Love my Dove my faire one art sad I see and disconsolate at my departure As a Lily in the valley nay as a Lily indeed among thornes I shall leave thee the Prince of darknesse dwelling in the children of darknesse will endeavour to devoure thee Sons of Belial will beset thee persecute and torment thee as they have done me before thee but be not at this O fairest of women dejected as one without all consolation for I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee What difference is there betweene a Prison-house and mine own house if sweet friends continually come to me there T is a Prison and no better we abide in whilest we dwell in the body fetter'd we are with many lusts and groane we doe under the tyranny oppression of a body of death and O! wretched men that wee are dwelling in these dungeons of Clay if no friend from Heaven come to us 'T is true O my Spouse what thou sayest and therefore that thy dweling in the body may not be comfortlesse I will come to thee I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee The body is a Prison to the soule and the World is a Hell to both The God of this world is a Devill and the children of this world Devils to the Spouse of Christ The Father torments her spirit and the Children torment her flesh neither in body nor soule whilest in this world can the Spouse of Christ be quiet We that are thus in Hell upon Earth shall quickly be comfortlesse if no friend from Heaven come to us True O my Spouse but to prevent this I will come to thee From Heaven to Earth indeed is a long journey but yet this I 'le not stand on rather then thou shalt be left comfortlesse in any condition upon Earth I will from Heaven come to thee Let it bee what weather 't will at what time 't will and be at midnight thou need'st me I will come to thee I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you Affliction hath made many friends upon Earth forsake me O my Saviour wilt not thou my heavenly friend so serve mee What if the Devill cast me into Prison wilt thou come to mee there wilt thou visit me when I lye in a nasty roome amongst nasty wretches that curse and swear which thou canst not endure to heare Yea O fairest of Women rather then thou shalt be comfortlesse in such a condition I will come to thee Thou wilt come to me O my Saviour one day but what if the Devill keepe mee in such a Prison ten dayes a long time till the iron enter into my soule wilt thou not wax weary at last and leave comming to me No my love I am resolved to the contrary I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee Why but what if Satan winnow me as wheat and cast me into sinne which is more odious to thee then any prison then any place or any thing wilt thou not then shake me off for ever never come to me more This O fairest of Women may make me cease comming to thee for a moment but no longer for I am resolved not to leave thee comfortlesse in any condition either of sin or punishment I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee My Text you see is Christs conjugall promise to his Spouse of all kindnesse during the time of his personall absence The matter of this promise is consolatory the forme according to which our Saviour expresseth this consolatory language is first negative I will not leave you comfortlesse Secondly affirmative I will come to you These latter words containe the reason of what is delivered in the former Wee cannot bee comfortlesse because Christ still
comes to us And thus taking the words you may reade them thus viz. I will not leave you comfortlesse for I will come to you No condition can bee comfortlesse if Christ come to us I will not leave you comfortlesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will not leave you fatherlesse and motherlesse I wil not leave you Orphants saith the Originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word comes from that is here translated comfortlesse which signifies to be made fatherlesse and motherless which because it is usually a condition very comfortlesse therefore is the word thus rendered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comfortlesse Thus the children of Christ shall not be left They are no Orphans which have Christ for their Father They are never totally bereft of all comfort to whom Christ comes and thus he will still do to his Church Millitant Christ will never leave comming from Heaven to Earth although it bee a very long journey as long as he hath any one childe upon Earth I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I returne to you saith the Originall spoken in the Present tense and not in the Future I will returne to you as we have it translated Ac si diceret Christus saith one se licèt nondum profectum jam esse inreditu As if Christ had said although I am not yet gone from you yet am I returning to you Christ though not actually in person departed yet was ready in Spirit to be present with his Spouse to the end of the world Thus having Paraphrastically gone over these words I will put the plaine meaning of them into this Thesis in divinity That the Church of Christ Militant shall not bee left comfortlesse because Christ will come to her Or thus No Childe of Christ upon Earth shall be left comfortlesse for Christ will come to him What Christ spake at his departure to his Disciples was not for them only but for the comfort of all his people to the end of the world In his Disciples hee spake thus to all his children that are or ever shall be upon the face of the Earth I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you This comfortable doctrine that I may fully and methodically handle I will lay open unto you these foure things First that Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Secondly how Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Thirdly when Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Lastly why Christ will take so much paines as to come to his children on Earth I begin with the first of these to wit that Christ doth come to his Church and children upon Earth The truth of this is evident by our Saviours own language and by each godly mans evidence Our Saviour not only in my Text but in many other places promised to come to his Church Militant and therefore surely he doth come to his people on Earth for Christ is God and God cannot lye nor repent What Christ hath said he will do that he will faithfully performe to a tittle for faithfull is he that hath promised saith the Apostle Go therefore teach all Nations c. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and loe I am with you alwayes even to the end of the world Amen Matth. 28.19,10 This place shewes plainly that Christ doth come to his children upon Earth and that he will do this to the end of the world For Ministers of all men to walke faithfully in their places teaching their flock to observe all things that Christ hath given them in charge will cost them hot water especially living in corrupt places This our Saviour tenderly consider'd and therefore that his Disciples might not be disheartn'd he assures them of his company unto the last to support and comfort them Loe I am with you to the end of the world Christ by this phrase of speech doth hint us that what he then spake should reach further then unto those to whom he then appeared namely to all Ministers and people to the end of the world that shall faithfully discharge their places and callings to his honour I might here tell you that not only Christs word but also Christs name sets forth the truth of this that Christ is with his Church Militant and so consequently that he doth come to her He was called Emmanuel which being interpreted Is God with us Mat. 1.23 Which name was not only to note Christ as then corporally present with his Church but to note Christ as one having actually assumed our nature and so to be more gloriously present with his Church to the end of the world then ever before from the beginning after Adams fall Now as she said of her Husband as his name is so is he Nabal is his name and folly is with him so may the Spouse speak of her Husband Christ as his name is so is he Emmanuel is his name which signifies God with us and so indeed is Christ He is continually with us What David said of himselfe in respect of Christ that may we truly say of Christ in respect of us Neverthelesse saith he I am continually with thee thou hast holden me by my right hand Though Christ dwell in Heaven and wee on Earth yet neverthelesse hee is continually comming to us and abiding with us The godly have and do finde the truth of this by blessed experience which is the second thing and that which I rather insist on for the confirmation of the truth in hand because against experience there is no disputation Peter found the truth of this that Christ comes to his children upon Earth that their condition may not be comfortlesse Herod cast Peter into Prison and thought to have made him comfortlesse but Christ came to him as you may see And behold saith the Text the Angell of the Lord came upon him and a light shined in the Prison and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up saying Arise up quickly and his chaines fell off from his hands Acts 12.7 The Jewes by a storme of Stones thought to have made Steven comfortlesse but Christs comming to him prevented Christ so gloriously came to him in that deadly storme that he found more comfort then I beleeve then ever hee did before in his life for he looked up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Iesus standing at the right hand of God he saw the Heavens opened ready to receive him which transcendantly revived him which glorious vision he could never have seen had not Christ come to him Paul likewise found the truth of this point when he had left Athens and came to preach to the Gentiles at Corinth He was very fearfull what successe he should finde in his Ministery amongst the barbarous Gentiles Now our tender Saviour that Paul might not bee overborne with feare and made heartlesse and comfortlesse graciously comes to him
to passe by me nay to shine upon me I see thy face like Lebanon comely as the Cedars and herewith is my longing soule satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse This is my comfort in mine affliction for thy Spirit O Christ by thy word hath revived mee So that this soule though very sorrowfull yet is not left comfortlesse neither Thus I have answered the second Quaere to wit how Christ comes to us The third thing that I am to shew you is when Christ comes to us I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you But when O my Saviour wilt thou come to us To this I answer first more generally then more particularly and determinately More generally and briefly I answer thus Christ is already come and is present with his Church Militant and will be to the end of the world as hath beene already proved I am come into my garden my Sister my Spouse I have gathered my Mirrh with my Spice I have eaten my honey combe with my honey I have drunke my wine with my milke Cant. 5.1 Christ we see by this sweet language is come and is with us already I am come c. But when will he come to me in particular as a Comforter this is the question To this I answer first negatively then positively Negatively I answer thus viz. Christ doth not come to us in this valley of teares as Aaron was commanded to come into the holy place Let him not come at all times saith the Lord lest he die Levit. 16.2 If Christ should not come to us at all times of our distresse we should die under our burthen so comfortlesse would be our condition When my body is afflicted I shall be comfortlesse if Christ doe not come to me When my soule is afflicted I shall be more comfortlesse if Christ doe not graciously come to mee When my head akes teeth akes back akes or belly akes yea when my least finger or joynt in my body akes I shall be comfortlesse unlesse Christ come to me so dolorous and comfortlesse a creature is man Wherefore as a positive answer to the question ere-while proposed know that Christ comes to his Church militant at all times as long as his people live in this valley of teares and are in any distresse of soule or body He comes to them in prosperity to sweeten that or else there would be but a little comfort and sweetness in it but he comes to them in all adversity after a more speciall manner to sweeten that being of it selfe very bitter bitternesse in the abstract my meaning is altogether bitter without the least sweetnesse or pleasure in it to soule or body for no affliction is in the least manner or measure joyous but as Christ by his kind comming to us then makes it so But here I shall be thus questioned viz if Christ as a Comforter comes to his Church Militant in every distresse of soule and body how is it that many of Gods children in corporall and spirituall afflictions utter comfortlesse and hopelesse language as those that finde no Comforter come to them Is thy mercy cleane gone and hast thou forgotten to be gracious saith David hast thou shut up thy loving kindnesse in displeasure and wilt thou be no more intreated c. Many such like sad and dolorous complaints are still uttered by some of Gods deare children now if Christ as a Comforter come to his in every distresse why is it thus with these To this I will give answer first more indirectly thus Possibly that soule which thus complaines cannot but confesse that Christ hath come and tender'd comfort to him though hee through anguish and unbeliefe refus'd it Now if our soule-Physitian come from Heaven to us and brings Cordials for us and we will not take them but cast them behinde ourbacks shall our Physitian bee blamed for unfaithfulnesse and negligence towards his Patients as one that did not visit them Againe possibly too this soul which thus complaines must confesse that Christ came to him at the very beginning of his untractablenes towards God and told him that this would quickly bring him into a comfortlesse condition if not timely lookt unto and bid him againe and againe by a sweet still voice behinde him to be more pliable to God as hee tendered his favour and his owne comfort Christ came to his Spouse saying Open to me my Sister my Love my Dove my faire one for my head is filled with dew and my lockes with the drops of the night But though Christ thus kindly came to his Spouse yet she unkindly put him off and upon the matter no better then slighted him I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them c. Because of this untractable carriage Christ departed from his Spouse and then she made many complaints I opened to my Beloved but he had withdrawne himselfe and was gone The Spouse could not now truly say that Christ had not come to her but she might truly say that he did come to her but shee slighted him and therefore he was forc'd to leave her Thus 't is with many now They mourne like Rachel in their misery and are not comforted because none from Heaven comes to them such as these cannot challenge Christ for not making good his promise to come to them if formerly hee have come to them and they have slighted him If my Physitian observing my intemperancy in this or that come to me and tell me unlesse you refraine such and such things you will certainly fall into such and such diseases which are very dangerous if I slight him in this and afterward fall into those diseases and lye groaning under them I cannot blame my Physitian for not comming to me but blame my selfe that did so slight him So 't is betweene Christ and many a mourning soule Christ hath come to them and told them that if they go on in this sinfull course and that that it will rob them quite of their heavenly comforts but he in this friendly way hath beene slighted the soule hath beene so far taken with the sweetnesse of something below Christ and so at last hath found the evill of his owne way according to Christs prediction and yet complaines of Christ not comming to him but how justly judge you Againe as this soule possibly cannot justly complaine that Christ hath not come to him so possibly hee cannot justly complaine that Christ is not come to him That soule which complaines after Christ cannot truly say that Christ is not come to him for we can never truly desire to come to Christ or that Christ should come to us unless he were already with us and we with him Christ I conclude then is come to this complaining soule though not in that manner and measure as hee desires him The thought of that I long for if I have the least hope of attaining it
is a degree of consolation Finally and more directly I answer to this complaining soul thus Christ as a sensible and satisfactory Comforter comes to us at his time and not at ours Now Christs time to come to comfort mourners is then when mourners will make him most welcome and that is usually when the soule is brought to the greatest extremity that it is capable of and not utterly miscarry When Peter was ready to sink on the Sea and cryed out Master save mee or I perish then Christ came to him and catcht him by the hand thus doth Christ usually come with sensible and satisfactory consolations when poore soules are almost quite spent with temptations and soule anguish and look every houre when they shall die and drop into Hell He shall come to us as the latter and former raine unto the Earth saith the Prophet Hos 6.3 That is at the seasonablest time when the soule will make him most welcome and that is when burnt and scorcht with Satans fiery darts as the Earth with the fervent heat of the Sunne when parcht and chapt gaping for some heavenly showers then Christs visits will be kindnesse indeed and Christs consolations sweet indeed This still remember O mourning soul that Christ keeps his word if he doe not leave us comfortlesse and this be assured he will not do I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you But why wilt thou come to me O my Saviour To this I answer first thus viz. Christ will come to his Church Militant to be a Comforter to fulfill his Fathers will The Spirit of the Lord is upon me saith Christ because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tydings to the meeke he hath sent mee to binde up the broken-hearted to proclaime liberty to the Captive and the opening of Prison to them that are bound to proclaime the acceptable yeare of the Lord to comfort all that mourne c. Esay 61.1,2,3 By this Text we see that Christ is anointed for this end to come to us and be our Comforter whilest we live here below mourning in Zion What is said of the three friends of Iob that may I say of the blessed Trinity They made an appointment together to come to comfort him So the blessed Trinity have made an appointment together to come to us by Christ and in all distresses sweetly to comfort us Secondly Christ will come as a Comforter to his Church Militant because he hath promised it As Christ promised this in my Text so in many other Texts Iohn 2.11 And if I goe away I will prepare a place for you and will come againe and I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that may abide with you for ever By these promises Christ hath obliged himselfe to come as a Comforter to us let therefore our deservings of comfort bee what they will Christ will come to us because he hath promised he will Christ stands much upon his word Christ is God and God cannot lye Tit. 1.2 Though we beleeve not yet he abideth faithfull and cannot deny himselfe 2 Tim 2 A Christian is ready to say to Christ as Iephtha to the Elders of Gilead did not ye hate me and expell mee out of my Fathers house and why are ye come to me now when yee are in distresse said Iephtha So saith a Christian did not I hate thee O my Saviour and did not I doe what in mee lay to expell thee from my soule by my sinning againe and againe against thy Spirit And why art thou come to mee now to comfort mee in my distresse Why this that was foresad said may suffice O sinfull soul as an answer Christ looks not at what thou hast done but at what he hath promised and his word he will keepe though we change as the Heavens Heaven and Earth shall passe away but not one jot of his word shall fall to the ground I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you These I conceive are the principall grounds why Christ comes as a Comforter to his Church Militant two grounds more may be alledged as Causae minus principales lesse principall causes the first whereof is this Christ comes to us in our distresses as a Comforter that we may not stretch out our hands unto iniquity Man in distresse is so desirous of ease that if Christ do not come to him and comfort him he 'll go to Sin and Satan for ease Cain was disconsolate and because Christ did not come to him as a Comforter he ran like a vagabond up and downe the world to finde ease in any thing Iudas was disconsolate and because Christ as a Comforter did not come to him he made a halter his Comforter Saul being in distresse by the Philistines because Christ did not come to him by Urim nor by Vision nor by Prophets he went to the Devill for comfort Now that Christs children may not thus do Christ will not leave them comfortlesse but will come to them The second ground why Christ will come to his Church Militant as a Comforter is this That he may stop the mouthes of all ungodly wretches who say of the godly when in great distresses Persecute and â—akâ— them for there is none to deliver them A wicked man looking upon a wounded soul with a carnal eie breaks cut into some such language as Achish did concerning David Loe you see the man is mad 1 Sam. 21.14 This man is a distracted person fitter for Bedlam then for Gods house an idle crackt-braine fellow unfit to come into solemne assemblies Now that Christ may silence such black mouth'd men as these he graciously comes to such wounded soules and heales their broken hearts binds up their wounds he powres the Spirit of consolation upon such as went mourning all the day long and makes them walke with joy and strong consolation so that such as censured them for this and that are forc'd to lay their hand upon their mouth and to condemne themselves as blinde Bats and not able to discerne the wayes of God towards his children Having thus opened the point in hand I will in the next place shew you how usefull it is to the wicked and to the godly Will not Christ leave any of his children upon Earth comfortlesse but still as a Comforter come to them Then you which live in your sins and so consequently none of Christs children may collect the unhappinesse of your condition from this point You shall live and dye comfortlesse for Christ will not come to you as a Comforter thus he comes only to his children Christ will not come to you in prosperity as a Comforter and therfore in the midst of sensuall laughter your hearts will be sad in the midst of all thy worldly contents thy spirit will at times gnaw and beat within thee and never will all thou enjoyest give any complacency of comfort to thee because Christ as
promised to give his holy Spirit to them that ask it Luk. 11.13 If therefore thou wouldst have Christ by his Spirit to come to thee invite him aske him beg and intreat him to come and dwell in thy soule and tell him that he shall have every roome in thy heart at command As Rebeckahs brother said to Abrahams servant So do thou say to Christ Come in thou blessed of the Lord wherefore standest thou without for I have prepared the house and roome for the Camels c. Gen. 24.31 Come in thou blessed of the Lord wherefore standest thou without here is roome for thee and all thy glorious traine Here 's an understanding will memory affections they shall be all at thy use and service O Christ wherefore come in thou blessed of the Lord make thy aboade with me Thus continue crying to Christ and longing for him and by this thou wilt declare thy great love unto him and so make thy selfe capable of that sweet promise which saith If a man love mee the Father loveth him and wee will come unto him and make our aboade with him Iohn 14.12 Then will thy condition bee comfortable indeed when thou hast got such glorious in-mates as these to dwell with thee Having thus spoken what I thought fit to the wicked by way of application from this point I will now addresse my selfe to speake unto the godly and shew them how usefull this point may be unto them I shall first speake to strong men and then unto Babes in Christ to such as can tell me that Christ as a Comforter is come to them Secondly to such as can tell mee they never yet found Christ as a Comforter come to them and lastly to such who can tell mee that they have found Christ as a Comforter come to them but now they have lost him To you that tell mee you finde the truth of this doctrine by blessed experience that Christ is come to you I have only two things to say first this Make it sure to thy selfe that Christ indeed as a Comforter is come to thee and that thy soule is not deluded in thy joy consolation Secondly strive so to walke that thy Comforter which is come to thee may never depart from thee First strive to make it sure that Christ is indeed come to thee that the comfort which thou hast is from the Comforter to wit the Spirit of Christ and not from the spirit of delusion There is great need that I should presse this instruction upon you because the spirit of delusion is plentifully powred out in these latter dayes The hypocrite hath his joy and he judges that this his joy is the joy of the Holy Ghost and as good as need to bee whereas it is a joy that shall perish saith the Scripture a joy that will end in desperate sorrow He thinks that Christ as a Comforter is come to him whereas 't is onely the Devill transformed into an Angell of light And thus indeed are many thousands gulled and cheated in their comfort Sadnesse would overshadow the smiling face of many a man if he did but discerne how groundlesse his joy and comfort is and what a vaine shadow instead of a true substance his poore soule is deluded withall Wherefore my brethren it concernes you that tell me you are sensible that the Comforter is come to you to take paines to make it sure to your selves that your soules are not deluded When the Spirit of God came upon Saul that hee prophesied the people that knew him before said What is come to the Son of Kish is Saul amongst the Prophets 1 Sam. 10.11 Thus doe thou say to thy soul who art so merry and comfortable viz. What is come to thee O my soule that thou art now so joyfull and cheerefull Once I am sure thou went'st mourning all the day long is Christ as a Comforter come to thee If Christ by his Spirit have brought glad tydings to thee why then O my glory continue in thy mirth but if not why art thou so merry O my soule thy mirth is but madnesse As David questioned his soule for sadnesse saying Why art thou so sad O my soule and why art thou so cast downe within me So maist thou doe well to question thy mirth saying why art thou so merry O my soule and why art thou so much lifted up within me Is thy Comforter our Lord Jesus Christ indeed come to thee O then my glory cease not to declare thy comfort by any comely posture and gesture but if not a house of mourning O my soule is fitter for thee then a house of mirth garments of Sackcloth and sadnesse would better become thee then garments of joy and gladnesse You know how Isaac once spake to his sonne Art thou said he my very Sonne Esau Gen. 27.24 So doe thou humbly question thy Comforter Art thou my very Comforter indeed Art thou the very Christ the Sonne of God which speakest consolation to my soul You know how Iohn questioned Christ much after this manner that hee might not be deceived concerning him Mat. 11.3 Art thou he that should come or do wee not looke for another So do thou say Art thou hee that should come and comfort my soule or should not I look for another There be many false Christs and false comforters now in the world and they deceive many wherefore I beseech thee speak out and speak plainly to my soule whether thou bee hee that should come and comfort mee yea or not that if I have obtained the true Comforter I may give God the glory of his great kindnesse if not I may seeke out for another How should I know may the strong man in Christ say to me whether hee that is come to my soule with consolation bee hee that should come or not How should I be able to make it sure to my soule that the consolation which I have is from the Spirit of Christ and not from a spirit of delusion To this I thus answer viz. If he that is come to thy soule bee hee that should come to wit Christ thou shalt finde that hee doth more workes then one in thy soule he doth not only comfort thee but hee doth many great works besides this Christ doth many great workes in a mans soule before he comforts him and hee doth many great workes in his soul after he hath comforted him Christ doth many great workes in the soule of man before he comforts him he doth break the heart before he bindes it up he first wounds the heart before he will heale it he casts downe the soule for sinne before he will raise it up Now to break the heart of man which the Scripture compares to an Adamant for hardnesse Zech. 7.12 is a great work and yet this doth Christ throughly before hee comforts throughly The breaking of the hard heart of man hath many great works about it ere it be
effected The convincing the soule of sinne which selfe-conceited man is not easily brought unto The making of sin out of measure sinfull in the soules apprehension which blinde man is not easily brought to see The making of man to loathe himselfe for the evils which hee hath committed against God which man full of selfe-love is not easily wrought unto The making of man to long for peace and reconciliation with God as the greatest happinesse in the world and to beg this blessing with teares as a soule that sees hee shall dye and perish eternally without it which man that naturally hates God is not easily wonne unto Yet all these difficult workes doth Christ doe in the soule of man before he comes as a Comforter to him Which Christ confirmes where he saith Blessed are they that mourne for they shall be comforted Now would'st thou know whether he that is come to thy soule bee hee that should come or not why then tell me What did precede thy comfort which now thou hast Did Christ leade thee to the Wels of Consolation by the waters of Marah Did hee bring thee to sowe in teares ere he gave thee to reape thy great harvest of joy Wast thou ever in the house of mourning Did the spirit of heavinesse for sin ever take hold on thee Was thy hard heart first broken and after this bound up First wounded and after this healed Didst thou goe mourning for dishonouring God all the day long and after many dolorous dayes thus spent did thy Comforter come to thee Surely then he that is come is he that should come and do not looke for another but if otherwise thou hast just cause to bee jealous of thy joy Againe Christ as hee doth great workes in the soule before he comforts it so he doth great workes in the soule after hee hath comforted it That soule which Christ comforts he makes a very fruitfull soule in all grace to his glory No waters make the soule of a Christian grow in grace like the waters of consolation The comforting Spirit of Christ is to a Christian in the wayes of obedience as winde and tide to a Ship that which makes him runne the wayes of Gods Commandements That Christian which is comforted by Christ prayes fervently and prayes frequently Consolation gives winges to supplication That Christian which is comforted by Christ prayseth God with strong affection A soule comforted by Christ is as an instrument well tuned by a skilfull Musitian hee will upon every occasion make sweet me lody in the eares of the Almighty True consolation is from Heaven and it carries that soule strongly to Heaven in which it is True consolation is from Christ and it will make a Christian live wholly to Christ To whom much is forgiven they love much and this love constraines them to deny themselves and to follow Christ unto death Would'st thou know then for certaine O strong man in Christ that hee which is come to thy soule is he which should come Why then look what activity is in thy soule to duty Is thy soule as a Gyant refreshed after wine strong and vigorous to the practise of all good duties Art thou abundant in the worke of the Lord Art thou a sweet Singer in Israel of the prayses of the Lord Is thy heart at thy mouth leaping within thee like the Babe in Elizabeths wombe when thou art telling what God hath done for thy soule Art thou in a word a holy heavenly man as one comforted by a holy and heavenly God Doth thy joy transcend the joyes that this world affords in sweetnesse Doth it raise thy spirit to admire the love of God and doth it make thee dead to secular delights and to account naked carnall mirth madnesse empty huskes for brutes to feed on Then mayest thou comfortably conclude that he which is come to thy soule is he which should come and do not look for another but if thou art merry and cheerfull but not holy and heavenly hee that is come to thy soul is not he that should come wherefore I beseech thee to look for another A second instruction which I would commend to strong men in Christ is this after thou hast made it sure to thy soule that Christ as a Comforter is indeed come to thee then strive so to walke that he may never depart from thee So a man may walk that Christ as a Comforter may forsake his soule David had wofull experience of this truth and so doubtlesse have many else of the godly So a man may walke that Christ as a Comforter never depart frō him But how should I thus walk saith the comforted soule that I might enjoy this heaven below till I come to that above and so go from joy to joy from joy unspeakable and full of glory to joy that cannot enter into any mortall heart to conceive of To this I thus answer Do not grieve Christ that is come to thee Secondly do all that thou canst to delight him if thou would'st have him continually abide with thee Doe not sit downe and rest as one that hath a licence to be lazie and as if all thy work were done now thy Comforter is come to thee this will grieve him and quickly make him leave thee Thou hast obtained Christ to come a Comforter to thee well yet let mee tell thee as Moses did the Israelites You are not said he as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you So say I to thee O comforted soule thou art not yet come to those degrees of consolation which thou mayest attaine unto in this life if thou continue to be thrifty The joy of the Holy Ghost is a bottomelesse Well which thou canst never draw dry and the more thou drawest the fresher and sweeter still shalt thou finde it The joy of the Holy Ghost is no surfeting thing as some earthly sweets are and therefore thou mayest safely say Lord ever more give me of this bread fill my soule with Flagons of this precious liquour let thy love bee shead abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost let my soule delight her selfe in this fatnesse Secondly now Christ as a Comforter is come to thee doe not wax wanton against him this also will grieve him and make him quickly forsake thy soule as a Comforter Let all the manifestations of thy comfort be suitable to thy Comforter holy as he is holy spirituall and heavenly as he is When yee are come into the good land take heed that ye doe not forget the Lord said Moses to Israel So say I to you that finde Christ with you as a Comforter which are come to the fellowship of the Spirit and to the participation of that transcendant comfort which is by him take heed that you grow not giddy headed and forget God and your selves The waters of consolation are strong waters and mans weake head and heart cannot beare much of them steadily but
are ready to reele to one side or other When the clouds of heaven have well watered the Earth then doe weeds as well as good hearbes spring apace so when Christ by his Spirit sweetly waters the soul w th consolation then levity and vanity as well as Christian mirth and cheerfulnesse spring amaine If a Christian bee not very watchfull over his soule to pluck up such weedes by the rootes as soone as they begin to shew themselves I conclude this thus thou that art comforted by the Spirit let not the manifestations of thy comfort grieve the Spirit This remember that Satan hath an art to bring evill out of the greatest good as God hath an art to bring good out of the greatest evill and therefore beg that thou mayest not be ignorant of any of his devices nor unable to resist them if thou would'st not loose thy Comforter Secondly if thou would'st have thy Comforter to abide still with thee as thou must not grieve him so thou must doe all that thou canst to delight him Let it be thy meat and drink to follow all the motions of the Spirit of Christ whithersoever Christ would have thee go or whatsoever Christ would have thee do cheerefully obey him this will delight thy Comforter exceedingly and make him to rejoyce to continue with thee If Christ say unto thee as to the Fishermen Follow me Mat. 4 19. do thou readily reply as the Scribe Master I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest Mat. 8 19. This is to declare the genuine disposition of Christs people which Christ is exceedingly taken withall Christs people are a willing people in their obedience Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power c. Psal 110 3 2 Humbly and compassionately tell disconsolate soules what Christ hath done for thy soule this will delight thy Comforter much and make him rejoyce to continue with thee Christ delights to see his children communicative of the sweet meates which hee gives them And therefore as Iael said to Barak so do thou O comforted soule to such as yet go mourning all the day long Come said she and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest Iudg. 4.22 Come O sad soule that canst not finde him whom thy soule loveth I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest the manner of his comming to my poore soule and how long hee made me waite upon him ere he would come to me and how well hee hath now made mee amends for all his staying And therfore Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him yet judgement is before him therefore trust thou in him Iob 35.14 For the vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speak and not lye though it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry Hab. 2.3 The more imparting of experiments of love wee are to the glory of Christ the more still will Christ graciously give us to our further comfort And this indeed is Gods end in comforting some of his children that they may bee able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith they themselves are comforted of God 2 Cor. 1.4 as the Apostle sweetly affirmes 3 Thank Christ humbly and heartily for his comming to thee if thou wouldâ—st have him abide still with thee The Israelites when they came into the promised Land which flowed with milk and honey they were to take the first of all the fruits of the Earth and put them in a basket and so present them to the Priest saying viz. And now behold I have brought the first fruits of the Land which thou the Lord hast given me thus were they to set their first fruits before the Lord and to worship before him as you may see at large Deut. 26. Why you that enjoy Christ as a Comforter you have received the first fruits of that good land which Canaan typified which flowes with Milke and Honey Bring therefore these first fruits and set them before God and worship bring the sweet comforts of the Holy Ghost in your hearts before the Lord and say Behold ô Christ these and these are the sweet consolations of thy spirit and loe for them all I humbly render praise to thy name Such mighty enemies of my peace hast thou conquered such doubts which so long troubled me hast thou answered such wants which so long time kept mee exceeding low hast thou supplyed to thee O God be the glory of thine own goodnesse You have great cause thus to magnifie the Lord for his mercy which finde Christ as a Comforter come to you You enjoy that blessing which exceedeth all outward blessings The light of Gods countenance lifted up upon a poore mourning soule 't is of farre greater value then Corne Wine Oyle then Corrall Rubies or any choice thing that this world can afford The naked revelation of Christ in the soule of man is of more worth then all these saith Solomon the most glorious revelation of Christ then to the soule which the soule of man is capable of in this life must needs be of much more transcendant worth You enjoy that blessing which exceedeth many inward blessings It exceedeth knowledge for what is knowledge in the head to the joy of the Holy Ghost in the heart One beame of light in the understanding is of more worth then all the Silver and Gold Gemmes and Jewels in the world and yet one beame of the light of Gods countenance shining upon the heart though but by reflexion from the face of Jesus Christ is of more worth then all knowledge which humane study can attaine unto I cannot say that this blessing exceedeth the least saving grace in the soule but this I can safely say that consolation 't is the glosse and glory of every grace every grace shines in its full lustre where the Comforter dwels This I can further say that you enjoy that blessing which makes Heaven a Heaven and which makes Earth a Heaven to you and therefore you have great reason to magnifie the Lord for his mercy The more of Heaven we enjoy upon Earth the more should we set our selves to doe the worke of them which are in Heaven whilest on Earth 4 Finally let Christs mediate comming to thee by his Spirit make thee long earnestly for his immediate comming to thee in his owne person this delights Christ that his Spouse should say Come as the Spirit doth Rev. 22.17 That shee should long for the wedding day as he doth When good old Simeon had imbraced the consolation of Israel for which hee so long waited hee then desired presently to be dissolved so thou that hast imbraced the consolation of Israel should'st in a holy manner with Simeon Iob and Paul desire to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ which is best of all You whom Christ hath kissed with the kisses of his lips should long earnestly to lye betweene
glory Of this communion speakes Christ himselfe I in them and thou in mee that they may bee made perfect in one Iohn 17.23 As the soule is tota in toto tota in qualibet parte according to the whole in that whole which is lesse noble then it selfe according to the whole that is according to that full force and energy which the soule hath it actuates and organizeth every member of the body the least as well as the greatest So Christ in the mysticall body of Saints glorified is as I may say Totus in toto totus in qualibet parte Whole Christ doth wholy exercise dominion in every glorified soule hence it is that all such souls are wholly holy and wholy happy that is perfectly holy and perfectly happy for as much as Christ who is the fulnesse of his Fathers glory is fully present with them Secondly there is a presence of Christ with man meerly spirituall that is such a presence as whereby not the person but the providence of Christ may bee seene Such a presence as superiora have with inferiora not a contiguall but a vertuall presence a presence of influence and governance as the Sunne hath with us by his rayes and beames And this presence is either commune or speciall The Commune presence of Christ with man is that wherby man is upheld and guided according to the being of a rationall creature Of this presence of Christ with man speakes the Apostle that they should seeke the Lord if happily they might feele after him and sinde him though hee bee not farre from every one of us for in him we live move and have our being Acts 17.27.28 Christ as an upholder of each creature is not far from every one of us that is hee is still present with us thus and with all Nations of men which hee hath made of one bloud to dwell upon the face of the Earth This presence of Christ with man therefore cannot properly bee called a prime and principall blessing a choise and speciall favour because it is Commune to man-kinde in generall yea Commune to all Creatures below man for God is with all the workes of his Handes to uphold every Creature according to its proper species Secondly there is a speciall presence of Christ with man which is that efficacious working of the Spirit of Christ in the spirit of man whereby it is made one spirit with the Spirit of Christ in willing and nilling according to that of the Apostle Hee that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit There is a speciall presence of Christ with the bodies of men for the good of them which the Psalmist intimates where hee saith that hee knowes our frame and remembers that wee are but dust and that the Angells of the Lord pitch their Tents about the righteous And Iacob found the truth of this by experience when hee fled before Esan and slept so sweetly upon a stone But this tender and speciall presence and providence of Christ respecting the outward man is comprehended under the other which respects the inward man as quid minus sub majori a lesse blessing under a greater For if God bee in a speciall manner present with my spirit to guide and order that unto all Holy wayes my spirit will command my body to walke in them too and so consequently Christ cannot chuse but be tenderly present with my body also for the good of that whilst every member thereof is actuated by a spirit of his owne ordering to his owne honour as weapons of Righteousnesse And therefore doth Paul pithily to speake much in few silently passe over that which is necessarily presupposed praying that Christ would bee with Timothies spirit and then he was sure Christ would bee after a speciall manner present with his body too for the good of that The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy spirit That is the Lord Iesus Christ exercise a speciall dominion in thy spirit for the guiding and ordering of it unto the avoyding of all evill and to the performing of all good whereby Christ may have all the glory due to his Name Now that thus to have Christ present with a mans spirit is a prime and principall blessing I will plainely demonstrate to you by a triple argument ab effectu Thus to have Christ present with our spirits is the ready way to all temporall spirituall and eternall good and therefore must needes bee a prime and principall blessing Thus to have Christ present with a mans spirit is the ready way unto all temporall good Men whose spirits Christ doth after a speciall manner order to avoid sinne and to keepe themselves pure as Paul here useth the expression to Timothy all temporall good things so farre forth as may be good for them belong unto them by promise For godlinesse hath the promise of this life It shall come to passe saith the Lord if you walke in my wayes that I will blesse you in the fruite of the Wombe in the fruit of the Field in the basket and store c. If you walke in my wayes I will doe this c. Why they with whose spirits Christ is after a speciall manner present this is their high way as Salomon saith to depart from evill that is this is their daily endevour to walke in all the wayes of the Lord and so consequently all temporall good of right belongs unto them But you will say how is it then that those with whose spirits Christ is most present to make most tender for his honour have usually least of all temporall good things To this the answer is easie and manifold Men with whose spirits Christ is most present to make them most tender to avoide sinne and to keepe themselves pureâ— these the Divell doth most of all maligne and sets his limmes to spoile them of their goods as the Author to the Hebrewes saith to keepe them from that which Christ would have them advanced to or else to strip them of that which Christ hath conferred on them by imprisonment banishment and the like and so make such live in Dens and Holes and Caves of the Earth to wander in Deserts and Wildernesses wearing Sheeps-skins and Goates-skins of whom the World is not worthy Where a spirit of malice and confusion rules t is no marvell to see servants set on horse-back and Princes goe on foote Secondly men with whose spirit Christ is after a speciall manner present he takes special notice to what evill the spirit is most enclined so answerably gives of these outward things unto them A wise Father hath his eye upon the disposition of his child and to what exorbitancy he finds him enclined he labours to prevent all occasions to it and so keeps his child short of what hee could otherwise liberally allow him And thus 't is with our heavenly Father respecting his children he eyes strictly their spirits and if he see them inclined to pride covetousnesse or any
other scandalous vice hee shortens them in that which may foment these At this I thinke Iames may point where he saith Let the rich rejoyce in that he is made low Iames 1.10 God out of tender love to his children oft times makes them poore in purse that they may become poore in spirit and so capable of the Kingdome of Heaven Which rightly weighed is not matter of sorrow but matter of joy as Iames saith Thirdly those with whose spirits Christ is after a speciall manner present to guide them to walke in his wayes and to keepe themselves pure Christ doth prove them by poverty as by other things and hence it may come to passe that Christians very holy may yet notwithstanding be very destitute of the things of this life Thus you know the Lord dealt with Iob. Christ was after a speciall manner present with his Spirit to guide him to walke uprightly above many in his time now to make knowne this to the world to his own glory and Iobs eternall honour he stript Iob of all and set him upon a dunghill who before sat with the chiefest in seats of honour God will have the world know that those with whose spirits hee is after a special manner present to guide and order them are not as those with whose spirits the devill is in a speciall manner present to guide and order to wit such as will winde and turne every way when put to it Lastly those with whose spirits Christ is after a speciall manner present they desire but little of the things of this life and therefore 't is no marvell to see Christians very holy yet not very wealthy Christians with whose spirit Christ is after a speciall manner present they only desire daily bread Agurs portion food convenient and this the Lord gives them and with this they are contented which is the only wealthy estate Christians with whose spirit Christ is after a speciall manner present they hunger and thirst after righteousnesse not after riches in the world they covet the best gifts the unsearchable riches of Christ and not the fading riches of this life Now Christ applyes himselfe to be most liberall in the distribution of that which the spirits of men most bend after in mercy or in justice Christians whose spirits most strongly bend after grace to these Christ in mercy doth most bountifully apply himselfe to give grace according to that of Christ Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall bee filled Christians whose spirits most strongly bend after worldly riches to these oft times Christ in justice most liberally applies himselfe to give those according to that of the Psalmist Whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure Psal 17.14 According likewise to that of Solomon There is a sore evill which I have seene under the Sun namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt Eccl. 5.13 The objection being thus answered the argument is still of force That to have Christ with our spirits is the way to all temporall good and so consequently a prime and principall blessing But that I may yet more fully speak in this argument note that temporall good is either positive or privative if I may for illustrations sake so distinguish Temporall good in a positive sense is that secular thing which is in it selfe good as bread and cloathing and the like of which we have already spoken Temporall good privatively so called is affliction ordered to a mans good which in it selfe is not so Now all those with whose spirits Christ is present are partakers of this temporall good All outward losses and crosses tend to their inward gaine because Christ is with their spirits For all outward troubles are heavier or lighter more hurtfull or more profitable still to a man as Christ is pleased to order his Spirit under them A little outward trouble if Christ let it seize upon a mans spirit he quickly sinks and dyes under his burthen according to that of the Apostle worldly sorrow causeth death The losse of a wife or husband nay the losse of a child or friend nay the losse of the least outward content if Christ stand aloofe from a mans spirit and let it fasten upon him hee will soone languish and bleed inwardly to death whereas all outward afflictions meeting together upon the outward man if Christ be with the spirit to support and beare up that a Christian sweetly submits and keeps on his way according to that of the Apostle Rejoycing in hope patient in tribulation continuing instant in prayer Rom. 12.12 Now Christ tenderly watches when outward troubles begin to take hold of that Spirit with whom he is specially present and then he quickly releeves and eases it and not only so but sanctifies it to the drawing of such a spirit nearer to God in love according to that of David I love the Lord because hee hath heard my voice and my supplications because he hath inclined his eare unto me therefore will I call upon him as long as I live Psal 116.1,2 Adde this to the former that to have Christ with our spirits is the ready way to all temporall good whether positive or privative and you must needs grant it to be a prime and principall blessing Secondly those with whose spirits Christ is specially present are in the ready way to all spirituall good and therefore thus to have Christ present with our spirits must needs be counted a prime and principall blessing Christ is the Author and worker of all grace and therefore such spirits must needs be very gracious with whom Christ is The places are holy whereunto the Ark of the Lord hath come saith Solomon 2 Chron. 8.11 I may truly say it of Christ which the Ark typified The Spirits are holy with whom Christ is and where holy Christ comes They are at the Well-head for holinesse which have holy Christ with their spirits They that have Christ with their spirits are in the ready way to the very heigth of heavenly wisdome for there is no such teacher of wisdome as Christ is With him are all the treasures of wisdome He that lyes in thy bosome teaching thee wisdome secretly came out of the very bosome of the Almighty knowes all things and he gives such an unction to that Spirit which he teaches that he makes it know and discerne all things too They that have Christ with their spirits are in the ready way to the very height of love which is the glory of all graces in the sight of God and man for there is no such worker and winner of love as Christ is If he doe but put in his finger by the hole of the dore hee will make a mans bowels melt after him If hee doe but reveale his love to our spirits a little our spirits grow sick of love unto him He will wound us with one of his eyes so full of beauty is he Let
at last cry Lord Lord and so prevaile quickly for pardon with him who is infinite in mercy Why but thinke on this O ignorant soule No man can call Iesus Lord but by the Holy-Ghost Thou wilt not in thy greatest need bee able to cry Lord Lord unlesse the Lord bee with thy spirit Death will sting thee conscience will gnaw thee Christ will condemne thee Divels will teare thee and yet wilt not thou bee able to cry Lord Lord have mercy on me unlesse the Lord bee with thy spirit but instead of crying Lord Lord for mercy thou wilt burne in malice against the Lord and curse and blaspheme as Divels and damned wretches doe Hast thou never seene condemned wretches not onely dumme but withall desperate too and leape off the ladder themselves without either asking God or man forgivenesse thus in a spirituall sense and much worse wilt thou doe in the great day of judgement for as much as Christ is not with thy spirit Fourthly a mans spirit without Christ is not onely blind and dumme but deafe too And if a man bee blind and dumme yet if hee can heare hee may make some shift to help himselfe wee follow a thing you know sometimes by the sound when wee cannot see it nor speake what it is but when a man is naked blind dumme and deafe too hee is in a helplesse condition indeed and just such is the state of a mans spirit without Christ For Christ as hee is Eyes and Tongue so hee is eares also to the soule of man Hence it is that Iohn speakes so frequently of spirituall hearing after a Hypotheticall manner Hee that hath an eare c. That is if any man have spirituall discerning let him heare what the spirit saith to the Churches Intimating that a spirituall eare is a very rare thing to bee found that which no man hath but hee which hath Christ with his Spirit that hath had his eares boared by the Spirit of Christ as the Scripture speakes all others are as deafe as Adders and cannot heare the voyce of the charmer charme hee never so wisely I would have all that live in their sinnes seriously consider this too as a further degree of unhappinesse You tell us that you will turne from your sinnes hereafter and obey the call of God in the Ministry of his Word but let mee aske you this have you not hither unto turned the deafe eare upon God yes I and so you will doe for the time to come and the reason of both the same because Christ is not with your spirits Let mercies call corrections call let friends call father call mother call husband call wife call let Ministers call conscience call nay let Christ himselfe call in what voyce hee will still voyce or lowd voyce in words never so pleasing or never so piercing yet wilt not thou heare because Christ is not with thy spirit but with Salomons foole wilt on in thy sins and bee eternally punished Fifthly a mans spirit without Christ is without feeling in a dead Palsie all over which how dolorous such a state is in a corporall sense you know much more dolorous in a spirituall sense I am sure As the spirit of man can neither see speake nor heare so neither can it feele without the spirit of Christ The spirit of man without the spirit of God is dead Christ is to our spirits as our spirits are unto our bodies their life and life is the principle of feeling for the dead feele nothing When Christ which is our life shall appeare c. Where there is no Christ there is no life and where there is no life there is no feeling You know the Apostle speakes of some that were past feeling having given themselves over to lasciviousnesse to worke all uncleannesse with greedinesse Ephes 4.9 There the Apostle speakes of such a senselessenesse as lyes upon the soule by a second act of divine justice All humane spirits by the first act of divine justice upon Adam are naturally past feeling and would give up themselves unto all wickednesse with greedinesse did not God restraine To bee past feeling in this latter sense notes principally a want of divine affection when sinne doth not kindly affect the soule with sorrow as in the former sense when sinne doth not at all affect the soule with sorrow when holy wayes and works do not kindly affect the soule with joy as in the other sense when they do not affect the soul with joy at all but rather disturbe and provoke to passion and malice I would have all that live in their sins seriously think on this also as a further degree of unhappinesse You have heard many powerfull Sermons which you have seene work admirably upon others yet they have made no impressions upō your spirits many hundred more may you heare and no divine impression at last be made and the reason of both one and the same because Christ is not with your spirits and by reason of this your hearts are as Adamants which every stroke hardens but not breaks it Let the master smite and the man smite let God smite and his Ministers smite and conscience smite nay let every member of the body bee smitten with punishment to affect the soule with sin yet will it not stir and complaine unlesse Christ be with it Finally a mans spirit without Christ is without tasting or smelling to these senses also you know the Scripture doth allude and therefore fitly here may I to set forth fully the unhappy condition of every spirit without Christ You know the Apostle speaks of some that savoured not the things of God which is a terme applyed in Scripture to the sense of smelling as well as to the sense of tasting and therefore for brevity sake do I here joyne both senses together in a spiritull way of allusion Why all that have not Christ with their spirits are such as cannot rightly savour spirituall things such put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter I would have all you that live in your sins seriously thinke on this too as a further degree of unhappinesse You come oft times to Wisdomes house and though shee prepare you all spirituall dainties yet you can relish nothing but some by things that lye about the dish rather for ornament thē for food And would you know the reason of this 't is because Christ is not with your spirits If Christ were with you you wold feed on every dish at wisdomes table on promises yea on threatnings too To the hungry soule every bitter thing is sweet saith Solomon All that is good and wholesome goes downe well where Christ is with the Spirit You come frequently to Wisdomes house who keeps a Table here and 't were for a King and yet you have leane shrivel'd soules like men in a Consumption every one tels you that you look as if you were starved speak and live as if you never heard a good Sermon from