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
in a vision as you may read Then spake the Lord to Paul by night in a vision Be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace for I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee for I have much people in this City Acts 18.9 Thus at another time Christ came to Paul that he might not be left comfortlesse when he was pleading his cause before Anomias and like to be pull'd in pieces And the night following saith the Text the Lord stood by him and said bee of good cheere Paul for as thou hast testified of me in Ierusalem so must thou also beare witnesse at Rome Acts 23.11 At another time Paul and Silas together had experience of this truth that Christ comes to his Church Militant As they were powring out their soules together in prayer Christ wonderfully came to them he came in an Earthquake and made the foundations of the prison shake and so opened all the prison doores and loosed every prisoners bonds Comfortable was Christs comming to Paul and Silas but terrible to the Goaler for he seeing in what manner Christ broke in and rescued his servant would have killed himselfe but Christ came graciously to his soule also and rescu'd it out of the hands of the Devill Happy was it for this man that Christ did finish two workes in one journey to wit come to Paul and Silas and deliver their bodies out of Prison and withall come to their Goaler and deliver his soule out of Prison too In an Earthquake Christ came both to Prisoners Goaler for the Goaler came trembling to the Prisoners of hope as a man in despaire and fell downe saith the Text before Paul and Silas 'T is no matter how Christ come to us so he comfort us before hee leave us Thus I have shewed to you that Christ doth come to his Church Militant The second thing that I am to shew you for the opening of the point is how Christ doth come to his Church Militant To this I will answer First more generally and briefly Secondly more particularly and fully More generally and briefly I answer thus Christ visits his Church Militant as David visited comforted Hanun to wit mediately by his spirit as David did mediately by his servants And I wil pray the Father he shal give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of truth c. Iohn 14.16,17 Peter found the truth of this that Christ by his Spirit comes now to his Church Militant While Peter thought on the vision the Spirit said unto him behold three men seek thee But in the second place that I may more particularly and fully answer to this question to wit how Christ doth come to his Church Militant to comfort her in all conditions I will lay before you the generall conditions of mankinde and shew you how Christ by his Spirit as a Comforter comes to us in them The general conditions of mankinde are two prosperity and adversity Prosperity would soon bring the soules of Gods people to a comfortlesse condition did not Christ by his Spirit come to them Satan that evill Spirit is so busie comming to the children of God when in prosperity that did not Christ also come to them by his Almighty Spirit to quench all his fiery darts their soules would soone be comfortlesse the Lord knowes When Peter was warme in the High Priests Hall then the Devill by a Damosell came to him and so far he prevail'd on him that had not Christ lookt back upon him and by his Spirit come to him he had beene in a comfortlesse condition indeed And thus would the condition of good men now be which are warme in their nests with outward things did not Christ come to them when the sons of God be honourable and great amongst the sons of men as David and Solomon Iob Iacob and Abraham were then the Devill in point of polity though not out of love visits them often and by often comming to them then drawes their precious soules into many sins as pride ambition malice sensuality and the like which like Cankers quickly fret and eat out all divine consolation in the soule and leave it like the Prodigall feeding upon husks solacing it selfe with no other joy content then what the bare creature dipt in sin will afford the sense which you must needs say is of all comfortlesse conditions the most and worst comfortlesse Now that these may not be left in this comfortlesse state to perish eternally Christ by his Spirit thus comes to them First in a sweet still voice behinde them as the Prophet speaks saying sometimes in the midst of their sensuality this is not the way to eternall joy no this is the way O sensuall soule walk in it This still voice strikes a damp in the merry sensuall foule of a Christian makes his heart in the midst of vaine laughter sad If this be not prevalent enough to turne him but on againe he will in his sinfull way then Christ comes with a witnesse in thundering and lightning to convince and sting the conscience as he did to the Israelites to bring them to see their wickednesse in chusing a King Untill God thunder'd and lighten'd from Heaven fearfully they layd not to heart their rejecting God as their King but went on strongly and unaffectedly in their way And just thus oft times it is with many of the Sonnes of God in prosperity the still voice of Christ sweetly suggesting and mildely checking for fin is not strong enough to stop and turne them untill the Angell of the Covenant come downe into the conscience and stand with a flaming Sword threatning nothing but Hell and Death if they make on a steppe further they stop nor turne not which though not Christs naturall carriage to his children yet he will in tender love deny himselfe thus farre as to put on an affrighting Vizard upon his smiling countenance and come terribly and save violently by plucking his children out of the fire rather then hee will leave any of his so comfortlesse as to perish remedilesse Christ will speak out and speak plaine as he did to David by Nathan when a still voice and secret silent hints and becks will not do He will come and lay his mouth to a mans eare and cry aloud when he perceives that the pleasure or profit of sin hath made him very deafe he will never leave crying and calling striking and knocking till he hath made the deafe soule heare and humble himselfe with Peter and David and then he puls off the terrible Vizard from his countenance and lookes upon the mourning penitent with a countenance like Lebanon and his lips drop sweet smelling myrrh into his broken spirit and so is not left cōfortlesse according to Christs promise I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you But suppose Satan should not be busie comming to the sons of
God in prosperity yet would worldly prosperity be a comfortlesse condition should not Christ by his Spirit come to them Riches and honours together with all other delights of the Sonnes of Men they are as the white of an Egge things without savour unlesse Christ come along with them to us they tyre and weary prick distract and vex a man they rob him of his sleepe and many times of his wits nay of his precious life they drowne mens soules in pride voluptuousnesse security and so set them in the next way to Hell This snare waits at every ungodly mans table which makes prosperity to him comfortlesse This Snare that it may not catch the godly Christ comes to them by his Spirit and sanctifies prosperity to them he teaches them how to a bound that is how so to use the creature as to enjoy service and comfort from it and to bring honour and glory to God by it The creature is empty of what it promiseth and entising with what it hath and this makes prosperity to every carnall man a comfortlesse condition Now to take off both these Christ comes to his children which enjoy the creature plenteously he comes in the creature and so cures the emptinesse of it that is by his blessing he makes it satisfiable and contentfull to the enjoyer which it is not of it selfe this is the peculiar gaine that attends the godly Christ comes in the creature to them and so cures the emptinesse of it and puts such a supernaturall vertue and sweetnesse in it that they are therewith contented And as Christ comes in the creature to cure the emptinesse of it so hee comes with the creature to cure the entising of it He doth by the creature leade the soules of his children to the Creator by the sweet of the one he lifts up their soules to Heaven to admire the sweetness of the other so that that which others are entised and besotted with and rest in that they take wing from to flee to Heaven from whence comes every good and perfect gift which is that indeed that makes prosperity a comfortable condition which otherwise is comfortlesse enough the Lord knowes Secondly adversity would be a comfortlesse condition to the godly if Christ by his Spirit did not come to them This I suppose none will deny for no affliction in it selfe is comfortable or joyfull but comfort lesse if Christ by his Spirit do not come to us Corporall affliction is a comfortlesse condition unlesse Christ come to us and be our Physitian Spirituall affliction is a more comfortlesse condition if Christ do not come to us Here these two questions are necessary to be answered First how doth Christ come to us in corporall affliction Secondly how doth Christ come to us in spirituall affliction To these questions both together I thus answer Christ the Physitian of soule and body comes to both with comfort in one way and that is by helping the soule to apply the promises of God which are suitable to his distresse If a childe of God be sad and sorrowfull because of corporall affliction Christ comes to him by his Spirit with this comfortable language I am all-sufficient Christ by his Spirit spreads abroad this Cardinall promise before the sad soule and shewes him what a depth of mercy is foulded up in it There is a sufficiency of wisdome in me to find out wayes and means to deliver thee though never so low brought There is likewise a sufficiency of power to prosecute right meanes to accomplish their right end Nay there is a sufficiency of power in me to work about good for thee O sad soule without meanes There 's a sufficiency of affection and will to declare power and wisdome with every Attribute else for thy good If for all this application and amplification of a generall promise the soule still droope under some corporall calamity Christ doth then in such a soule as Iacobs sons and daughters did for him They all rose up saith the Text and comforted him Gen. 37.35 so Christ by his Spirit after a lively manner indeed rises up in such a soule to comfort him and now hee leads this mourning Christian to some particular promise that is such a promise as speaks not of deliverance in generall but of deliverance in particular out of this or that kinde of distresse which he groanes under As to give you an instance suppose a Christian be sad take thought as Christ saith what he shall eat what he shall drinke and wherewithall he shall be cloathed then the Comforter comes with this particular promise which speakes of deliverance out of this particular distresse First seeke the Kingdome of God and his righteousnesse and all these things shall be added unto you take therefore no thought for to morrow for to morrow shall take thought for the things of it selfe Mat. 6.33,34 If yet for all this the spirit of a Christian still complaine as one fearing he shall want daily bread for him and his then the Comforter comes and perswades the soule to rest quietly upon the promise of God Hee speakes now to the complaining Christian as the Levits father in law did to him Comfort thy selfe I pray thee with a morsell of bread Iudges 19. Comfort thy selfe O mourning soule I pray thee with this particular promise which is but a morsell of that bread which came downe from Heaven one of the least favours that Christ hath procured for thee to wit a right and interest in the creature with this perswasive language doth Christ follow the complaining soule untill he hath perswaded him to own his own mercy and so he keeps his children in poverty from being comfortlesse As Christ in corporall afflictions comes to his children and keeps them from being comfortlesse so likewise he comes to them in spirituall afflictions that they may not be left comfortlesse If a childe of God be sad and sorrowfull because of this or that strong temptation the Comforter then comes to him with this sweet language My grace is sufficient for thee Thou prayest and Satan tempts thee thou doest fast and pray and yet Satan and thy lusts are more violent upon thee thou doest all this with bitter teares and Satan is the more bitterly bent against thee and thou art foil'd every moment By this O winnowed soule Christ would shew thee that thou wilt bee comfortlesse in the midst of all thy sore soule-labour unlesse he come to thee This same shall comfort us concerning the work and toile of our hands said Lamech of Noah so may we say of Christ this same must comfort us concerning the labour and toile of our soules with any temptation or else we shall be comfortlesse though we labour never so much and this Christ doth and will do I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you If a Christian lye languishing because of Satans prevailing upon him by temptation that hee may not be comfortlesse in this
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
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
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
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
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
CHRISTS COMMVNION WITH HIS Church Militant First preached and now published for the good of Gods Church in generall By. Nicholas Lockyer Mr. of Arts. Cant. 1.13 A bundle of Myrrhe is my well-beloved unto me he shall lye all night betwixt my breasts LONDON Printed by E. G. for Iohn Rotâ—wâ—ll at the Sunne in S. Pauls Church-yard 1640. TO The vertuous Lady Aunt SUSAN CECILL Grace and peace be multiplyed by Iesus Christ MAdam The sweet taste I have had of your Ladyships love to the best things hath encouraged me humbly to present this little tract unto you What Solomon speakes from experience that you upon triall have found true That the most promising contents of this life are vanity and vexation of Spirit Our wise and mercifull Father doth usually thus imbitter the sweetest things of this world to us that we may the more cordially rellish and fervently seek after that full satisfying and everlasting sweetnesse and comfort which is in communion with Christ our heavenly Husband in whom all fulnesse of consolation dwels A drop of this transcendant fulnesse your Ladyship I hope shall finde distilled into your soule by reading this little worke now come to your hands which like Aqua Vitae shall cheere and revive your sad spirit when ready to faint Fainting persons carry little bottles of reviving liquids alwayes about them if your Ladyship shal think fit to make this little Tract your pocket-companion and peruse a little of it still when you feele soule-qualmes to seaze upon you you shall finde I trust through the blessing of Christ much ease and comfort and so spend and end your aged dayes in more true solace of heart then you have done your primest dayes of flourishing youth The accomplishing of this is the sincere and holy aime of your much obliged Nephew in this his first offering to publick view Which simple aime that the Lord may graciously answer to your Ladyships comfort here and eternall happinesse hereafter I shall still continue my prayer though here I end my Epistle that the Lord will still attend this my poore endeavour with his rich blessing to all the partakers thereof and in speciall to you Your much obliged Nephew Nicholas Lockyer Christian Reader COmmunion with Christ is our happines in this world and in the world to come that which makes every bitter thing sweet and every sweet thing sweeter With this sweet subject is this little tract now come to thy hand taken up Poore fallen man is still complaining of one want or other and when the thing is given which he longed for yet his soule is as far from content as before like to a childe that cries for this and that and yet when he hath what he cryed for continues crying still and cannot tell well what he would have All our want is this the want of Communion with Christ this is the cause of all complaints the infelicity of the soule the summe of mans misery here and hereafter but poore blind-man sees it not and therefore complaines of twenty things twenty miles a this side his disease and so spends his dayes in labour and sorrow and yet loses happinesse both here and hereafter too A full fruition of Christ is full felicity a full fruition of any thing below Christ without Christ is but vanity and vexation of spirit The more then O fallen man thou canst get into communion with thy God the more will thy great losse bee repaired thy complaining soule satisfied thy tranquillity setled upon thee againe Hunt not then after riches honours pleasures and suchlike low delights of the sonnes of men with this deluded mistaken world which lyes in wickednesse for felicity is not in these but study and strive after a nearer communion with Christ the next way to get most in with him is the speedy way unto all happinesse so much as thou canst get of his company so much art thou in Heaven How precious are thy thoughts unto mee O God saith David how great is the summe of them If I should count them they are more in number then the sand when I awake I am still with thee Psal 139.17,18 This is Heaven upon Earth and that true nobility and honour which wee should all bee ambitious after to lose our spirits in God What an unspeakable felicity is it to bee still with God in our thoughts This ennobles the spirit of man and makes it a companion to the King of Kings this gives evennesse and steadinesse to a mans course and makes him walke in all the wayes of God blamelesse this gives transcendant peace tranquility to a mans spirit and makes him unmoveable in the midst of feares this gives bread in famine drink in drought peace in warre health in sicknesse life in death Devote thy selfe therefore to Christ that he may devote himselfe to thee and as a poore medium of communion make use if you please of this ensuing Treatise If thou get any good give glory to God and make the poore Pen-man a constant sharer in thy prayers Thine in Christ Theophilus Philanthropus The Principall Heads handled in this Tract THat the Church of Christ Militant shall not bee left comfortlesse because Christ will come to her Pag. 9 That Christ doth come to his Church Milit. pag 10 11. How Christ doth come to his Church Militant to comfort her in all conditions p. 18 19 When Christ comes to his disconsolate Church as a Comforter pag. 41 42 c. Why Christ will come to his Church upon earth as Comforter pag. 51 52 c. Wicked men shall live and dye comfortless because Christ as a Comforter will never come to them p. 57 58 c. Laughter is one thing and spirituall consolation another p. 59 How Christ doth come to the wicked in this life p. 61 Christ will come to the wicked neither in prosperity nor in adversity as a Comforter p. 62 63 c. How wicked men may get Christ as a Comforter to come to them p. 66 67 c. Vsefull instructions to strong men and to babes in Christ p. 68 Strong men in Christ that say Christ as a Comforter is come to them should make it sure to themselves that they are not deluded p. 65. The great need of this p 69 How a man may know that it is Christ indeed and no spirit of delusion which is come to him with consolatioÌ„ p. 73 74 Strong men in Christ after they have made it sure to themselves that the true Comforter is come to them should so walk that they may ever injoy his sweet company p. 80 How Christians may so walk as to enjoy Christ as a Comforter continually p. 81 82 c. Babes in Christ which never found Christ as a Comforter to come to them should beleeve that Christ will come to them p. 93 Their objections against Christ comming to them as a Comforter answered p. 93 94 Babes in Christ that never found Christ as a Comforter
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
condition Christ by his Spirit comes to him and shews him the fountaine of his blood how deep it is how free it is 1 Ioh. 1.7 How deepe it is that it will drowne all sin 1 Iohn 1.7 Sins after conversion as well as before sinnes often repeated as well as sins once only committed And then he shewes the wounded soule how free this fountaine is for any that hunger and thirst for it for any that are weary and heavie laden and desire to be eased by it and so by degrees drawes the wounded soule to wash his wounds in it by faith and so Christ heales and comforts him As the brethren of Ephraim comforted him when he mourned because the men of Gath had slaine his sons I Chro. 7.22 So Christ comes to us and comforts us when the Devill by his temptations hath almost slaine our soules hee like the good Samaritan powres in oyle and wine into our wounds and cures us Though Satan passe by and his limmes passe by and leave us comfortlesse in the day of our wounds and bleeding yet Christ cannot so full of bowels is he nor will not I will not leave you comfortlesse c. If a Christian lye languishing because of often and frequent relapses after promises and purposes to do better If this Christian in the anguish of his spirit speak to every godly friend as the Prophet did to his Therefore said I look away from me I will weepe bitterly labour not to comfort me because of the spoiling of the Daughter of my people Isay 12.4 Looke away from me O ye my Christian friends yea and you my faithfull Minister for I will weepe bitterly labour not to comfort mee because of the spoiling of my soule by so often sinning against vowes and promises favours and blessings Christ comes to this soule and will not leave him comfortlesse in this condition though it be indeed a very desperate condition The Comforter usually takes this course with this comfortlesse soule to powre in some oyle into his deepe wounds he reasoneth with him from the mercy of man to the mercy of God from a drop to the Ocean and it may be fastens upon his own language once delivered to Peter Peter came to our Saviour and said Lord how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times Iesus saith unto him I say not unto thee untill seven times but untill seventy times seven Matth. 18.21,22 From this speech the Comforter thus reasoneth with this said and sore wounded soule viz If Christ would have Peter a sinfull man shew so much mercy to one so often offending him surely Christ a holy God and infinite in love is ready to shew much more compassion himselfe to those that are penitent though they have sinned times without number against him Thus the Comforter leades this desperate Christian as a weak wounded man by the hand from the mercy of man to the mercy of God and enables him this way after some space of time to take in comfort for Christ is resolved he will not leave this Christian comfortlesse Christ will never leave comming to this comfort lesse soule with this speech of his to Peter and others of like nature as Christ is well furnisht for a Comforter untill he hath brought him to drink willingly for Christ forceth no Physick upon any Patient of the cup of consolation more or lesse and the longer sick soules turn away their heads from this cup the more many times he perswades them to drink at last If Christ tentandi gratiâ for trials sake hide himselfe from a Christian so set him a mourning I shall shew you by and by how he comes to him This is a condition though of all deserted conditions the best which will make a Christian heart comfortlesse indeed Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled Psal 30.7 Gods hiding his face though but for trials sake will so trouble a Christian that hee will quickly be a burthen to himself and feare round about as 't is said of Pashur 'T will make him weary of the night and weary of the day weary of his owne house weary of Gods house weary of mirth and account it madnesse weary of riches honours yea life it selfe and wish for death O that I might have my request and that God would grant me the thing that I long for even that it would please God to destroy me that he would let his hand loose and cut mee off then should I â—et have comfort then should I see the face of God which I long like Moses to see then would he lift up the light of his loving countenance and cause his face to shine gloriously upon me whereas now I walke in the vally and shadow of death dark dayes are all that goe over my head the glorious Sunne of righteousnesse shines not upon my soul from morning to night To this sad soule thus bemoaning himselfe for want of his beloved Christ his well beloved thus comfortably comes There hath no temptation taken hold on thee yet O mourning soule but that which is common to man and be assured of this that God is faithfull by whom thou art tempted and will not try thee above that which thou art able but with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to beare it 1 Cor. 10.19 For a moment O fairest of Women I say just cause to hide my face from thee to try the truth of thy love to me but know that with everlasting kindnesse will I have mercy on thee Thy dulnesse also in my serice and thy low-prising my company did something trouble me but know that the mountaines shall depart and the hils bee removed but my kindnesse shall never depart from thee for this is as the waters of Noah unto me as I have sworne that the waters of Noah should no more go over the Earth so have I sworne that I will not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee O thou afflicted and tossed with tempest and not comforted behold I will lay thy stones with faire colours and lay thy foundations with Saphirs and I will make thy windowes of Agats and thy gates of Carbuncles and all thy borders of pleasant Saphirs Isay 45.8,9 Out of this sweet language of the Prophet to the naturall branch the Comforter will fetch such precious water of life to revive this deserted soule with these kisses of his lips will he so comfort him that he shall be constrained to say with David Thou which hast shewed me great troubles hast quickned me againe and hast brought me up againe from the depths of the Earth thou hast increased my joy and comforted me on every side Psal 71.6 I could hitherto O my God see thy back-parts some sad attributes of power and justice which did terrifie my soul to look on but loe now I see thy glory thou hast caused it gloriously
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
his breasts all night my meaning is to have a full enjoyment of Christ Thus have I done speaking to such who can tell me that Christ as a Comforter is come to them In the next place I addresse my selfe to speak to such of the godly who can tell me that they never yet found Christ as a Comforter come to them Two or three things I have to say to you from this sweet doctrine 1. First I would have you to labour to beleeve this doctrine that Christ will not leave you comfortlesse but will certainly at last come to you Christ hath repeated his promise which is as a bond with many seales and therefore thou hast just ground to beleeve ô comfortlesse soule that Christ will not leave thee comfortlesse but will come to thee Object What just ground have I to beleeve that Christ will come to me seeing he is holy and I am unholy hee is glorious in holinesse and I am abominable in sin and wickednesse saith the weake comfortlesse soule Sol. Art thou more vile then Manasseh Christ came to him and comforted him Art thou more muddie and earthy then Zacheus Christ came to him and comforted him Art thou more divelish then Mary Magdalen out of whom were cast seven Devils Christ came to her and filled her soule with strong consolation Why should'st not thou beleeve that Christ will come to thee too and quiet and comfort thy mourning spirit Sol. But secondly I answer thus viz. Christ doth not so much lock how thou art qualified as at what hee hath promised Christ hath promised hee will come to thee and he is faithfull and will doe it If thy soule were never so poore never so blinde never so wretched never so naked yet Christ having promised to come to thee hee will make good his word though he come backward with a mantle to cover thy nakednesie as Shem and Iaphet did to Noah If thy soule were full of wounds if thy soule were full of running putrifying sores if thou wert as black with sin as an Ethiopian if thou wert as spotted with sin as a Leopard nay if thy soule did stink within thee as Lazarus body after taken out of the Earth againe yet Christ having promised to come to thee and comfort thee he will doe it though he hold his nose while hee bee comforting thy stinking nasty soule Heaven and Earth shall passe away but not a jot or tittle of Christs promise shall faile The voice of my Beloved behold he commeth leaping upon the Mountaines and skipping upon the Hils Cant. 2.8 Though there bee mountaines and hils of sin in thy soule yet Christ will come skipping over all these with comfort to thy soule rather then thou shalt be left comfortlesse Wherefore O weake comfortlesse soule say not of thy Saviour and Comforter as Balaam did I shall see him but not now I shall behold him but not nigh Num. 24.17 I shall see Christ come with a witnesse nay with many thousand witnesses at the great day when every eye shall see him but I shall not see him come to me now in this soule dolour as a Comforter I shall behold him peradventure as Moses beheld the Holy Land afar off he will never come nigh my poore soule to stay it with those comforts which it needs Cease O weak soule this incredulous language and strive to beleeve and this sweet promise I treat of shall be made good unto thee No sinne so mighty to keepe thy Comforter from thee as unbeliefe Say then O mourning Christian to thy comfortlesse soule Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Heb. 10.37 He that hath said he will come as a Comforter to thee will come and will satisfie thy soule with consolation as with marrow and fatnesse Say to thy sad soule with the Psalmist My God will come and will not keepe silence he will speak consolation so plainly that my ignorant soule shall understand so powerfully that my incredulous soule shall beleeve and owne her own mercies Thou art now tossed and almost drowned O my soule with restlesse waves of misery but the Spirit will move upon these waters thou shalt see Christ comming towards thee upon these troublesome waves anon and say be not afraid it is I I that have loved thee and given my selfe for thee and none shall pluck thee out of my hand Secondly as I would have thee to strive firmely to beleeve this truth so I would have thee endeavour patiently to waite the accomplishment of it Beleeve that Christ will come to thee and waite patiently untill hee doe come There is good ground why every soule should patiently waite for Christ comming to him whither we consider our selves which are to bee visited or Christ our visitour If thou O comfortlesse soule consider thy selfe which art to bee visited there is great reason thou should'st waite patiently till Christ come to thee how long soever he stay First thou art a creature and Christ is thy Creator and should not a creature wait on his Creator Thou art a servant and Christ is thy Lord and should not a servant waite on his Lord Consider thee in thy highest relations and they all call for waiting Thou art a Sonne and Christ is thy Father and should not a Sonne wait on his Father Thou art a Wife and Christ is thy Husband and should not a Wife wait on her Husband Secondly consider that thou hast deserved that Christ should never come to thee and yet for â—ll this seeing hee will come to â—hee hast not thou just cause â—o wait patiently till hee doe come how long so ever it bee first Before thy calling thou didst reject Christ and since â—hy calling thou hast often grieved Christ and hast not thou â—hen deserved that Christ should never come to thee Thou hast quenched many a sweet motion of the Spirit of Christ thou hast â—urned the deafe eare to the sweet still voice that hath spoken behinde thee times without out number and so slighted the Spirit of Christ and hast not thou then justly deserved that Christ as a Comforter should never come to thee yet seeing he will come for all this unkindnesse hast not thou just cause to wait patiently for him how long soever he stay Thou hast many weekes many moneths nay many yeeres gone along in a course of grieving Christ and doest thou think much of waiting a few weeks a few moneths a few yeeres for Christ to come to comfort thee Take this in another forme thou didst make Christ wait a long time upon thee ere thou wouldst let him abide with thee as a spirit of reformation and is there not just cause then that thou shouldst wait patiently a long time upon him if he will have it so ere hee abide with thee as a Spirit of consolation how many knocks did Christ give at thy stubborne heart ere thou wouldst open to him how much dew
of the night distilled upon his locks ere thou wouldst give him house roome in thy heart how many mercies how many corrections were all spilt upon thee ere Christ could win thee to respect him canst thou tell if thou canst not think not much if Christ make thee shed a few teares and breathe out a few groanes ere he bring glad tydings of peace unto thee Secondly if thou consider Christ thy visitour there is all the reason that can be that thou shouldst wait patiently till hee come to thee Christ will certainly come to thee Christ will come to thee at the fittest time Christ will come richly when he doth come which are all speciall grounds of patience Christ will certainly come to thee O comfortlesse soule though it may seeme to thee something long first Thou doest not wait for one that will not come at all as the Turk waiteth for Mahomet nay thou doest not wait for one that will frivolously delay the time of his comming Thou doest not wait for one that will deceive thee Christ hath promised to come to thee and he is faithfull and cannot deny himselfe There is two things in faithfulnesse first that a man should own what he hath said then secondly that he should make it good Now both these will Christ do Christ will not eat his words as we say what he hath promised he will confesse and will make good whatsoever labour or losse he be at to do it Christ is not mutable as we are to promise one thing to day and recall it againe to morrow he is immutable and changeth not therfore we are not consumed Thou doest not wait for one that will frivolously delay the time of his comming Christ will not deale with thy comfortlesse soule as those sorry ghests dealt with Christ make excuses one had bought a yoke of Oxen and therefore could not come an other a Farm c. Christ will not tell thee as Abrahā Dives in hell between thy soul him is a great gulfe so that there can be no intercourse between them Nor that from Heaven to Earth is too long a journey for him to make He will not tell thee that the place where thy sick comfortlesse soule lyes is filthy and altogether unfit for him to come to Hee will not tell thee that thy soule is so far gone in griefe and desperate sorrow that 't is in vain for him to come to thee Christ puts none of these delayes upon any of his patients No the ground why Christ stayes is that hee may come at the fittest time and then he will come with healing in his wings if all the Devils in Hell should oppose him which me thinks should be a satisfactory ground of patience to any disconsolate soule If a Physitian yet apply this and that for further evacuation rather then cordials as knowing the body not yet fit for cordials will not any wise man submit patiently to his way so if Christ for bear giving thy sick soule cordials as hee that well knowes thy soule not fit yet for such luscious things wilt not thou with much thankfulnesse acknowledge his great care over thy soule and with all patience waite his leasure I patiently undergoe the paine of drawing plaisters when I know my sore is not fit for healing thus should it be in spirituall distresses wee should patiently undergoe griefe and sorrow untill our soules bee fit for consolation and then we shall bee sure to have it Finally bee sure of this O mourning soule that Christ will come richly when hee doth come and therefore methinkes thou should'st waite patiently for him what Merchant but would waite patiently the returne of his Ship in the longest voiage if hee were sure that it would richly returne at last Christ will come very richly furnished with the comforts of the Holy Ghost which are unspeakable and glorious to your soules that mourne after him and waite for him What the Apostle once spake of himselfe in relation to the Romans that may I truely say of Christ in relation to all that mourne after him And I am sure that when I come unto you I shall come saith he in the fulnesse of the blessing of the Gospell of Christ Rom 15.29 Christ I am sure O mourning soule when he doth come unto thee hee wilt come in the fulnesse of the blessing of the Holy Ghost thou shalt have joy in the Holy Ghost unspeakable and glorious Thou by long waiting art made a more vast Vessell to hold the precious waters of consolation and Christ by long staying doth as I may say the more furnish himselfe with these waters of life to refresh fill and satisfy thy thirsty soule when he comes to thee Christ will heale throughly thy broken heart and binde up all thy woundes he will answer all thy doubts and cleare all thy scruples hee will quiet thy quarrelling conscience and still thy complaining Spirit he will fill thy sadde soule with joy and gladnesse and thy dejected spirit with Songs of thankes giving If these things O mourning soule will not make thee waite patiently till thy Comforter come to thee but thou wilt murmure and repine and fall upon indirect wayes to get consolation know that by this practice thou wilt make thy condition more miserable then at present it is Thou wilt grieve him that should come as a comforter to thee and if thou by sinne make Christ grieve how can Christ by his Spirit make thee rejoyce and if thou set him a mourning that can onely comfort thee by whom wilt thou bee comforted Dost thou thinke to winne Christ to thee by a dogged disposition Christ may pitty and cure thy humours but t' will never bee by consolation He will bring thee to bee lowly and meeke ere thou shalt find rest to thy soule hee will make thee willing to lye under his Feete glad of crummes of comfort and willing to waite for them till Christ hath dined and every Child served If thy corrupt soule hanker after the pleasure of sinne againe because Christ as a comforter doth not come to thee and thou bee resolved to picke and chuse amongst all the sins thy soule knowes to finde out one that thy soule most loves to make a comforter to thee as the Israelites in their dogged humour made them a Captaine to returne to Aegypt againe know this that what sinne thou pitchest upon to make a comforter that sinne will Christ make a Divell to torture thee Christ will make thee know by woefull experience that the sweetest sinne is a bitter and miserable comforter that the least sinne is too great an evill truly to comfort the soule that to goe to the Divell for consolation is to make faster hast for comfort then good speed that neither sinne nor any thing in the world beside sin shall comfort thy soule when he himselfe will not The last Instruction that I have to commend to thee O comfortlesse soule that did'st never yet
throughly thou must to finde out what evill deprived thee of so great a good and in serious soule searching God will speak to thy conscience and conscience will speak plainly to thee and tell thee wherein thou didst give distaste to thy Comforter and what was the cause he forsook thy soule And when thou hast found out that evill which conscience tels thee deprived thee of so great a good thou must fall very foule with it how sweet soever it hath been unto thee Thy great worke must be to bring thy heart to a holy revenge upon this sin to abhorre it and thy selfe because of it and to become very vile as Iob saith and very low in thine owne eyes Bring thy heart to admire the infinite patience and mercy of God that things are no worse with thy soule That God had not cut thee off in the acting of that sinne for which he deserted thee that he hath left any place for repentance and given the least desire to set about this work And when thou art come thus farre possibly the light of Gods countenance may begin now and then to glance into thy soul as at some little cranny or at least some more then ordinary lightsomnesse may appear in thy dark dull soul as there doth in the dark morning some space of time before the Sun appears that had left this Horizon Now this beame of light or this little lightsomenesse of soule thou must much admire and acknowledge an unfathomed depth of love in it that God should so much as once stoope to cast an eye after thee more to give thy soule the least refreshing that did abuse flagons of love By this glimpse of light or glimmering light you are to strengthen your faith in the beliefe of this that light will more and more appeare as the light of the morning unto the perfect day and so consequently to follow God with so much the more fervency of prayer for the returne of his wonted kindnesse Toseph you know carried himselfe very roughly to his brethren which had abused him for some space of time and put them in great feare of the losse of their lives told them they were Spies and many harsh words he gave them and harsh looks but at last when his Brethren had brought to him Benjamin and discoursed a while Iosephs bowels began to work and he could no longer with-hold his brotherly love Come neare to me I pray you I am Ioseph your brother c. Gen. 45.4 Thus Christ our elder Brother deales with us who do unkindly unbrotherly use him he will handle us very roughly and put us in fear of the losse of our best lives he will make our consciences speake bitter things against us and let loose the Devill to tell us that we are Spies hypocrites and false friends to Christ in this distracted affrighted perplexed state hee may hold us many dayes many weeks many moneths but hee cannot hold in his brotherly love alwayes if wee patiently beare his frownes and kindly intreat him and bring Benjamin to him his own blood and merits this will make his bowels worke and make him unmask himselfe and say come neare to me O mourning soules tossed and not comforted I am Christ your elder brother whom yee unkindly used in a little wrath I hid my face from you but now with everlasting kindnesse will I embrace you Trinuni Deo gloria FINIS CHRISTS COMMUNION with his Church Militant 2. Tim. 4. verse 22. The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy spirit THis Text is Pauls sweet affectionate farwell to Timothy Many grave and gracious instructions Paul had given Timothy but 't is not so much what man saith to the eare as as what Christ saith to the heart that workes effectually to set man about his duty and therefore doth Paul in the conclusion of all his Christian counsell to Timothy pathetically pray That the Lord Iesus Christ would be with his Spirit The best teaching of man is but as water spilt on the ground unlesse Christ inwardly teach the spirit If I am taught my duty by a Paul one in gifts not inferiour to the chiefest Apostles yet unlesse Christ bee with my spirit to make things take roote there all will die and wither like good seed cast into bad ground And therefore Paul saw it but needfull as to teach the eare so to intreate the Lord to teach and strengthen the spirit The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy Spirit There is a great distance you know betweene the eare and the heart it is an easie thing for man to bring home things unto the one but no lesse then the Al-mighty power of Christ will bring home things unto the other There is an incomparable hardnesse upon the heart of man naturally it is harder then an Adamant now though a child with his little finger may make a dint upon dow yet a Gyant with all his strength cannot make dints upon an Adamant much lesse can all created strength make divine impressions upon the spirit of man and therefore it is that Paul doth implore an Almighty strength to doe this The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy Spirit Why doth not Paul here wish riches and honours pleasures unto Timothy Is the bare presence of Christ with a mans spirit such a blessing To this I answer riches and honours c. they are bona but not optima good things but not the best things Earthly things though good in themselves yet are no further forth good to mee then as the Lord Jesus Christ is with my spirit to guide it to use them and therefore Paul as one truly wise prayed for the prime good for Timothy for that good which makes all other things worke together for good to wit That the Lord Iesus Christ would bee with his Spirit The point I intend to stand on is this That to have the Lord Iesus Christ with our spirits is a prime and principall blessing Paul here wisheth it to Timothy as a cardinall blessing The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy spirit Enucleatio propositionis To have Christ with our spirits c. How can Christ bee present with man upon Earth who is now ascended and sitteth at the right Hand of his Father in Heaven The Apostle doth hint an answer to this question in the forme of his Prayer if you observe it The Lord Iesus Christ saith hee be with thy spirit Hee speakes of such a presence as will fitly yeeld Communion and fellowship to the spirit of man There is a double presence of Christ with man corporall and spirituall joyntly or meerly spirituall With just men made perfect in glory Christ is corporally present they behold his wounded Body made a glorious Body as a continuall assurance of the Resurrection of their owne vile bodies unto the same similitude And with them Christ is present spiritually filling them with those joyes the tast of which upon Earth is called unspeakable and full of
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
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
a Comforter comes not to thee All outward comforts without the inward consolations of Christ they are as good broath unseasoned which rather cloys then contents the appetite they weary distract and vex and not revive the owner Be it that thou art as wise as Achitophel as eloquent as Herod as learned as Gamaliel as rich as Nabal as honourable as Haman as great in the Church as Iudas why yet shalt thou live comfortlesse that is utterly destitute of Celestiall consolation one droppe whereof hath more soule-reviving sweetnesse in it then all the things of this life can afford Alas what is learning what is wit wealth honour or any other worldly thing to comfort me if Christ do not come to me A man may have all that this world can afford and yet hang himselfe for want of comfort if Christ come not to him as Achitophel Iudas and others have done Ob. No men laugh lowder nor laugh oftner then wicked men in prosperity no man merrier in an Alehouse Playhouse Taverne Faire or Market then they and are not these then the only comfortable men in this world Sol. To this I answer first thus laughter is one thing and spirituall consolation another thing Every one that laughs hath not a cheerefull spirit within for in the midst of laughter a mans heart may be sad saith Solomon And so on the other hand every one who hath a comfortable spirit hath not a laughing face we do not reade that Christ ever and yet had more comfort in his Spirit then all the merry men of this world Secondly I answer thus some mens spirits are so left of God to levity and vanity that they will laugh at the wagging of a straw as wee say This is a great judgement of God upon the spirit and not to be accounted a comfortable and happy condition 'T is a pastime to fooles to do wickedly saith Solomon This is not properly called mirth saith he but madnesse You shall see mad men laugh sometimes exceedingly and hoope and hallow as if their spirits were as full of joy as they could hold what shall wee conclude now that these forlorne creatures are in a comfortable condition Alas say we if they were but sensible of their condition they would soon cease laughing and begin lamenting And so may I say to you of all that laugh and rejoyce and yet live in their sins and so consequently have no Comforter from Heaven come to them they are mad men were their eyes open to see their forlorne condition they would quickly change their note and turne their mirth into mourning as Iames saith Quest Why but doth not Christ come to the wicked in prosperity Answ Yes no doubt to be made of of it Christ came to Belshazzar whilst hee was quaffing in the golden vessels of the Temple and wrote downe his wickednesse in the wall And thus hee comes to all ungodly persons in prosperity to write downe all their ungodly deeds that so he may exactly judge them at the great day of account Quest Why but doth not Christ come as a Comforter to wicked men that are great and wealthy Answ Christ regards no man for his wealth or for any externall greatnesse If a man be never so rich or never so honourable yet if hee have not denyed his lusts and given up himselfe to Christ to be ruled by him Christ will never come to comfort him if hee would give him all hee hath for his paines he will not steppe a foot out a doores to a Prince if he be wicked Ob. Why but though hee will not come to ungodly men as a Comforter in prosperity when they can make some shift without him yet hee will come to them as a Comforter in adversity when all other comforters faile Sol. No hee will not Christ will not know thy soule in adversity which art a disobeyer of him As he would not let Dives have a droppe of water to coole his tongue though in unutterable torments where many oceans would not in the least measure have quenched the flames so neither will hee afford thee the least drop of consolation in thy greatest extremity though thou cry Lord Lord and cut thy flesh in the fervency of thy spirit like Baals Priests to prevaile yet shalt thou be sent empty away Nay Christ will be so far from being a Comforter to ungodly men when in misery that hee will adde to their outward misery inward misery When thy body is in distresse Christ will awaken thy soule that now lyes asleepe and set thy conscience a gnawing within thee which will bee greater torture then if thou wert rackt in every limbe Thou maist send for godly Ministers godly friends to comfort thee then and they possibly may deliver very comfortable things but they shall be of no more savour to thy soule then the white of an Egge because Christ as a Comforter will not speak those sweet things to thy soule which thy friends do to thy eares As the Lord bewailes the miserable condition of Ierusalem so may I bewaile the miserable condition of all ungodly men These two things are come unto thee who shall be sorry for thee desolation and destruction and the famine and the sword by whom shall I comfort thee Isay 51.19 So say I to all ungodly persons misery upon misery will first or last seize upon you and who then will be sorry for you Famine and sword and pestilence sicknesse and death and judgement and by whom will you bee comforted your honours cannot comfort you your riches friends cannot comfort you your father the Devill hee will not then comfort you your conscience which you have often sinned against shall not comfort you but torture you because Christ will not come to you to sprinkle it with his blood and pacifie it So that I conclude all thus you will live comfortlesse dye comfortlesse and abide in Hell after death everlastingly comfortlesse 'T is true all that you say Sir man is a comfortlesse Creature indeed unlesse Christ come to him I finde it by wofull experience I have much wealth in my purse and yet but little peace in my spirit I see the Devill mee thinkes now then sit a stride upon top of my money-bags waiting for me when I come to comfort my selfe in the beholding of them and to what this will come at the last I cannot tell Sinne I am sure I do and comfortlesse because of sinne I am and more comfortlesse every day I look to be unlesse Christ come to mee and yet how to get him to come to me I know not Would'st thou O comfortlesse creature have Christ to come to thee Do then to Christ as Lydia did to Paul lovingly invite him to come to thee Make knowne thy comfortlesse condition to Christ and then earnestly entreat him to visit thy poore soule The ground why I exhort thee O sinner thus to doe is because God hath