to be more usefull for the present and therefore chuses a performance in his owne kinde which shall bee an hundred fold more gaine to the soule then the other 2 Cor. 12.3 4. Paul being sorely buffeted not for sinne but to prevent it prayes instantly to God to remove it The Lord seeing that performance not to be proper for the end of his buffeting continues it yet hee breakes not promise for he ministers grace sufficient to uphold him under it Verse 9. By this meanes he attaines his end to humble Paul and moreover teaches him to desire to live under desertion and infirmity sometimes that so he might get that experience of Gods strange upholding of him in the want of feeling which before hee had found under feeling By this meane though irksome to the flesh to want the use of graces and gifts the Lord traines him to a sober use of his revelations and to renounce himselfe so farre under buffetings as to chuse rather to bee as the Lord would have him then as himselfe chose to be The use of this qualification is this The use of this limitation Both to coole our spirit of selfe-love which is ready to appoint God his way of performance as also to teach us wisedome to apply our selves to the best good of a performance rather then to the performance it selfe Gods people looke more at the good of a performance then the bâ—re performance of a promise to ascribe this honour to God that he better knows how to make good a promise to us then wee can chuse And therefore not by and by to cry out against God for not performing it because our turnes are not served But rather by our defeat to search into the cause and to see whether God and we looke the same way or no If we doe not we may bee long enough ere we be satisfied or honour God in his faithfulnesse If we will tie God to performe one promise and the Lord meanes to performe another we shall be farre to seeke Say we therefore thus Lord teach me to looke out what the promise is which thou aimest to make good Faithfull I am resolved thou art but that stands not in serving my turne but in serving thy selfe upon me Since thou doest all things well I doe but wait to see thy way for it is best and shall curb my spirit and give me best content because it tends to make mee more experienced more humble and at last thankfull to thee for that good which thy selfe meantst me which is infinitely better then that which I fancied So much for the first Limitation the second In generall promises to the Church the time of performance must be left to God and why The second limitation may be this In promises concerning the welfare of the Church in generall except the Lord tye himselfe punctually to a time of redresse or deliverance we must conceive of Gods performances indefinitely without prefixing a time or period of our own For in such it is enough for the quitting of Gods faithfulnesse that he performes really although he leave the time when to his owne wisedome We look that Gods love in hearing us for such performances should trench upon his wise providence but that ought not to be In such cases it behoves us to distinguish upon promises In such as touch the soule and life of a beleever usually except some speciall thing hinder the soules beleeving and the promises performance goe together as for the strength against a lust for quickning up of any grace or gift for sanctifying of any ordinance But not so in the publicke promises The reason is because the Lord may have a predominant way of his owne to barre present performance He doth neglect the speciall good of them who pray for a more universall good of his owne either because the sinnes of his enemies by whom hee uses to scourge his Church See Gen. 15.16 are not come to the highest pitch and so it will not bee most for his glory to punish or suppresse them yet or because the provocations of his Church and the sins thereof are not yet purged throughly nor brought to the lowest point These respects may hinder speciall reliefe of some present miseries restraints and persecutions of his people There is wee say in the motion of every planet a straight motion comming from the Planet herself and a backward motion of the first mover So is it here the motion of a promise is retrograded and retarded by the wisedome of the first mover The grand promise of the Lord Jesus his incarnation was indefinite and in the bosome of God when to fulfill it one thousand two or three thousand might have brought it forth as well as foure yet providence reserved it to the end of the fourth thousand Gal. 4.4 And when that fulnesse was come nothing could stop the fulfilling of that which yet before that time no prayers no expectation of the Church could hasten Then and not till then Instances of the point he that would come came and tarried not So also wee that live in this age conceive our selves to be pitcht under the fourth viall under which wee are warranted to wait for the revealing of Gods wrath and the ruine of the Beast But for us hereupon to limit God to owne time and period seaven or ten or fifteene yeares whatsoever we may suppose by probabilities and to determine God to our own season is most bold and presumptuous For God hath as well a way of his revenge and scourging of particular Churches for their infidelity and unfruitfulnesse as he hath of fulfilling his maine promise Sure we are his Word will prove true within the Terme of this Viall But to bound the space and duration of it we may not That the Jew shall be called and the Gospel generally preached ere the end come and that the Lord Jesus shall even in this world expresse himselfe to be the Lord and King of his Church and set up his Throne visibly upon their reall ruines who not waning braines can or dare deny it And yet who if he have braines dare punctually determine it within so or so many yeares The use of this qualification is most pretious and weighty viz. The use of this second limit Wee must not taxe Gods administrations That in our prayers and services of the time be they ordinary or extraordinary wee lash not out through our ungrounded zeale and passions to presse the Lord to our time in redressing the miseries of his Church in punishing his enemies reforming abuses or restoring comforts to her mourners Slacken no whit of thy zeale but let it still be carried within bounds and goe eaven pace with Gods time and be limited by that condition And moreover let it curb our querulous and discontented spirits which being full of griefe for the upbraiding and insulting Peninna's 1 Sam. 1. over the perplexed Hanna's and
it He that cooles and checkes his own spirit from zeale and grace It commonly growes to open prophanenesse will in a short time be a secret discourager and checker of others How many are there of yeeres and discretion enough in other matters who will baite their children and servants from their diligence in hearing and zeale in profession How many will say I my selfe was as hot as you but now time and experience they should say time the Mother of truth which hath discovered their hollow hearts have made me wiser And I warrant you say they as hot as you seeme we shall have a cooling card for you and in time when children grow on and debts encrease and an hard world besets you you also will change your zeale into wisdome and become as temperate ones as we and abate your great resolutions How many are there whose great flames are now quailed and become as cold as ashes But woe be to such Satan hath entred into them againe though he seemed to be cast out at the first let none that have any dramme of this grace of the Gospel be damped for such as these For he that hath bred in them this spirit either can keepe them from such temptations or else can make their spirit rise above them and encrease Matth. 12.45 whereas the end of such revolters as these shall bee worse then the beginning So much also of this second sort Thirdly this is terrour to all Pelagian Popish and Carnall Branch 3 spirits Pelagian spirits farre from the true spirit of a cure which are as opposite to the Spirit of Grace and conversion as light and darknesse The spirit of a true cure of Jordan differs in all points from this spirit of selfe and free-will The one is for God and his glorious grace sets him up in the soule with admiration and thankes But the other is to set up and glorifie it selfe and the will of the flesh to make God stoop to man to fetch him from Heaven to the barre of humane censure there to answer for himselfe why he should not vouchsafe grace to this man as well as that both being equally disposed and if the Lord answer Because it is of my free love to shew mercy to whom I will Rom. 9.13 14 15. they strive with him and tell him This his pretended mercy is meere injustice and cruelty above the most mercilesse Tyrants to make a man and damne him when he hath done to prescribe him a rule which he never gave him power to performe and to require that of him which himselfe hath by an eternall fore-decree disabled him from O wofull pride Shall potsherds contend with their Maker Esay 45.9 If they will needs clash let them clash with potsherds and try which pot is stronger but to quarrell with the Potter how impudent and bootlesse is it And yet thus it is Note it who will The ancient spirit of conversion tender love and zeale to God and his truth never prospered since this bastard spirit of selfe and free-will came upon our stage It blasted all sincerity and gracious affections as sensibly as the East-wind blasts the tender buddes of the Spring What was Naamans spirit I pray so long as his Abana and Pharfar lasted Surely opposite to the Prophet to Jordan and the promise So is it with this Nothing will downe with the spirit of selfe save to pick quarrels with free grace it is no wonder that they are opposite to men 1 Thes 2.15 who are so contrary to God himselfe Tell me where will yee picke out a Pelagian spirit which ever was zealous for God tender to his glory jealous of offending him or carefull to please him The like I may say of the spirit of Popish devotion Popish spirits likewise standing in the bare letter of the Law of duties of outward ceremonies and performances putting a Religion into the worke wrought and deed done What doth all the dunghill and drosse of Popery seeke to establish save a carnall Religion What doth it so much abhorre as selfe-deniall except it be in some externals for the meriting of Heaven what is so odious to it as faith to justifie Alas That pleads for salvation by justice and not by grace It uses Christ onely for a meere formall person to beare her name Esay 4.1 2. but shee will beare all her charges her owne selfe And under a colour of some glorious ceremonies and outward worship what doth she but muzzle the mouth of conscience and nuzzle the soule in a rotten peace which either will carry her to hell laughing or else breake out into utter horrour and desperation I aske but this question When as once the Lord hath truly turned the soule to God what is more odious irksom to it then that which overthrows the Word and Promise and sets up in stead of it a Religion of mans braine and inventions garnisht and disht out with the shreds and dregges of flesh without a droppe of true bloud of Christ or one sparke of the spirit of grace Who wonders that wheresoever this trash becomes there the true preaching of the Lord Jesus the power of the Gospel the honour and esteeme of the Ministery of Reconciliation is trodden in the dirt and cast out as unsavoury But I cease and leave this Use of terrour and come to an Use of reproofe And that shall be of all such as in times past have seemed to be the first head of the Professors in this kind for their spirit of zeale and love to the Gospel but have now catcht a fall and Use 3 cannot get up on their legges againe Reproofe but remaine and welter in a lukewarme and degenerate estate boâ—h in the sight of God and his Church Brethren the time hath beene Revolters from their zeale and grace of the Gospel are in a sadde case in some of our memories that men have thought no Ministery zealous enough for them but wish'd with David Let the righteous smite me and it shall be as balme But now these men are growne weary of such loath reproofe and will teach Ministers what and how farre they shall order their discourse Each thing spoken in particular is spoken against them They who would have given their very eyes to Gods Minister and with Naaman here Psal 141.5 Gal. 4.15 thought neither gold nor silver nor changes of rayment good enough for him wil scarce give two brasse farthings to keepe them in their places At first who but they to get them in and now who but the same men to hunr them out What Are we become your enemies for telling you the truth is this your great spirit of the Gospel shall I say or of selfe-love The time hath beene when you came new minted as you thought out of Jordan that such tendernesse of conscience was upon you for God that you would scarce take up a pinne or a sticke of another mans lest
such respect in my place do so and so in my family and the like Here 's eagernesse and zeale but most unsavory stuffe mixt with it too ranke for an humble heart to smell of Let thy hints and overtures be for God abhorre thine owne mixtures nothing so opposes the true spirit of grace as the spirit of a Pharisee Lord I thanke thee I am not thus and thus I do so and so Luk 18.10 11 12. nothing more consonant to it as the spirit of that Publican I abhorre my selfe as the spirit of those that know not what they did Mat. 25. Lord when saw we thee in prison or naked and visited or clothed thee This loadstone of selfe will become a loadstone for God if thine heart be sound And to conclude even so will the carriage of a true spirit be wise considerate and well ballanced such an one will establish his thoughts with counsell Better is hee that is patient in spirit Prov. 24.3 then the hasty A coole spiâ—it is an excellent spirit Eccles 7.8 if it be but coole in the carriage it may be fervent in the substance Whereas the unsound spiriâ— is fiery quick rash and utters more with a breath then it can undoe with ten and so brings it selfe upon its owne knees to cry Peccavi when perhaps it is with reproach to himselfe and religion I will not condemne all for unsound who are rash But I wish all sound spirits to beware how they trench upon such suspitious markes Bring not sorrow upon your selves by this rashnesse you shall meet with trouble enough in your best discretion but that which rashnesse procures seldome brings peace either in suffering or in the issue Thus much for a taste of those markes of tryall which may help us to descry our owne spirit from Gods grace Many more might have beene added but I hasten to an end To conclude then let this be an use of Exhortation and that Use 6 sundry wayes Exhort First to all that have this spirit in them to mourn bitterly for the losse and decay of this spirit throughout the Branch 1 Christian world Alas how farre are we sunke from that zeale of God against Popery and heresie which was wont to abound Looke into Germany where this spirit began by Luthers meanes where is so much as a sparke of it to be seene Declining of the temper of zeale and power ought to be bewailed sadly Even in the daies of Luther what horrible opposition was made to this spirit of the Gospell By how many meanes did the devill then stop the proceedings of Reformation What wayes were not used by Politicians to quash that zeale by their interims and sundry bookes of Reconciliation with Popery in their most Tenets Since which times even to the age we live in both in Germany and the Low-countries the Reformed Churches in France and among our selves how hath Satan laboured to quaile the spirits of men from zeale of the Gospell By what meanes hath Popery so much encroached upon us how hardly is the name of it odious even at this day in most places And if perhaps it be here and there so yet as for the zeale of peoples to the Gospell from the experience of that grace of conversion and the worke of faith how rare is it to find Oh! that our heads were welsprings brethren and our hearts fountaines of teares to mourn for the desolation of this Spirit of Grace among us As he said Scarce theâ—e is mention of Rome in Rome the change is so great in the places where the Gospell hath beene most famous It is recorded of those Jewes of the returned captivity that many who had seene the first Temple mourn'd to see the latter Some Jewish writers render the reason because not onely the frame of it was so poore in comparison of the former but because of the radicall defects it had in it It seem'd Ichabod the glory was gone Ezâ—a 3.12 The Holy of Holies was empty of the Arke of Gods presence and the Merey Seat upon it no more going into it with blood to fetch atonement no more fire from heaven to kindle sacrifices they were faine to kindle it from the Sun-beames with a glasse and as for the Priesthood the Jewes used to call it a Priesthood of clouts or garments 1 Sam. 4.21 because only those were left the Priest to weare the Urim and Thummim those holy shoulder pieces those precious stones of the Ephod and Brest-plate were gone Truly brethren beleeve me as Elijah in his Cave once mourned for the misery of his time 1 King 19.10 so might we for the losse of this spirit of the Gospell among us What do I deny but through mercy and the government of our Princes both living and of famous memory we have enjoyed the truth of God Or that God hath had and still hath abundance of worthy learned famous instruments of service both in Ministery Magistracy Commonalty No God forbid and I doubt not but in many places Truth and light are much improved although it were to be desired it were scattered more generally but the misery is that there lackes a sutable spirit of love tendernes closenes affection and soundnesse to the Gospell The body of knowledge in many is so vast and unweildy for lacke of equall power integrity and life to quicken it that it is like to totter by her owne weight That former effectualnesse in Preaching convincing converting waxes straitned scant and collapsed That spirit of siding with the Truth of God defending it against errours and lukewarmenesse that ingenuity and cordiall simplicity in us that professe seemes to be quite gone Trash and drosse of mens profits pleasures ease forme of religion and such other scurfe as is not to be named hath eaten up all as one said The usury of the New hath eaten up the gaine of our Old University So may we say The spirit of our new hath eaten up the power of our old dayes in point of edge affection earnestnesse and zeale All is growne to discourse contemplation and empty shadowes of sincerity Not to speake of many who formerly have stood for diligent preaching and for the power of it and are now gone aside and slinke their neckes out of the Collar Alas brethren it is not your going into new England which will deliver you from the spirit of your old death and sloth except the Spirit of Grace conduct you thither All cannot goe what shall become of such as must stay except God revive us at home Secondly it should provoke us to pray to God the great Branch 2 Physitian of this Epidemicall disease of exhortation to heale this decaying temper and this consumption of our vitall spirits that heat and moysture life and vigour of grace which threatens utter consumption in us How much better were it for us to fall into a burning ague then into such a dead palsey as this
five or six things pag. 579 Enlargers of promises beyond their due bounds to be reproved pag. 581 Exhortation to get the â—pirit of true grace and conversion to God 886 And such as have attained the same to stand fast therein ibid. Vrging of it upon all sorts and conditions and especially his owne congregation ibid. F. Favour of Nature in a civill person how many wayes it may be enlâ—rged As by the Lawes of men education examples of abstinent and morall persons pag. 104. 105 We must be Fools ere wee can become wise to salvation pag. 232 Faith the onely eye to behold the mysteries of salvation pag. 234 Faithfulnesse is the center whence all the graces of a servant are derived pag. 296 Faithfull servants may hee comforted 314. foure or five particulars of encouragement ibid. Faithfull ones in greater things will much more be so in smaller 427 Reasons of it ibid. Explications of the point two or three pag. 429 Faith what it is not what it is how wrought see the particulars pag. 480. It may be where assurance is not ibid. Why it is called obedience and consent pag. 486 Faith a most pretious thing in the nature of it 495. Shee hath the prerogative of all other graces of the Spirit ibid. and that in sundry respects ibid. Faith consists of two parts Selfe-renouncing and Selfe-resigning Read at â—â—rge of both ibid. Feare of God a singular meane to keep the heart close to God pag. 559 Faith in applying of promises how to be practised in our severall needs distempers 1 in the return of old guilt and accusation after mercy obtained 2. In some eclipsing of Gods gracious presence and walking darkly and deadly 3. Feare of falling into some scandall and never persevere 4. In sicknesse poverty losses and crosses enemies unfaithfull friends the prosperity of the bad 5. Not hearing of thy prayers 6. Troubles above other mens persecutions c. Feare of death pag. 584 Faith in promises and performances is a most pretious jewel and why 612 True faith is performing faith and how ibid. yea when shee is at the lowest ibid. Faith in performances must bee set on worke threewayes 1. To take measure of the promises 2. To let upon God for performance 3. To strengthen it selfe by experience 615. Contrary misery of unbeliefe Vide Vnbeliefe pag. 616 False cures have a false spirit the remedy whereof is worse then the disease pag. 864 G. Grace is free proved and discoursed and cleared 9. 10. Objections answered As first this were to translate a crâ—me upon God 2. Man hath liberty left him to receive grace or refuse 3. God will not be wanting to such as are not wanting to themselves 4. Grace is universall as the fall is 5. Else God should require obedience of man to that which hee never gave him power to doe 6. Christ the second Adam was fully and in all points contrary to the first Adam and as the offence was so is grace 7. How else shall a Minister dispence the Gospel aright 8. Else God doth unjustly in making the remedy worse then the disease or in offering it deceitfully to such as hee hath fore-barred 9. From the instance of a Prince offering pardon c. 10. The dâ—versitie in men ariseth from themselves from page 11. to page 14. God is not tied to as in outward blessings or protection 23. Nor yet in like measures of grace except we beleeve and pray 24. Nor yet in a like administration of his Church in prosperity ibid. because of her sinnes ibid. Gods courses and seasons in drawing home men are divers and manifold pag. 26 Gods will double and the difference ibid. Gods way in converting any is chiefly to subdue carnall savour to the obedience of Christ pag. 59 God useth silly instruments to doe great things or if great then either he makes them great of meane or else mean in their owne eyes pag. 67 God delights to confound great ones by small and poore things pag. 68 God is jealous of his own glory ibid. God useth mean instruments to doe his worke and why ibid. 71 Gifts and graces of themselves do no more cause pride in such as have them then ignorance causeth humility pag. 73 Godly Ministers must not onely use but also lay downe and renounce their service for God if hee shall call them to it pag. 78 Grace is best accepted by such as are most empty of it pag. 154 Gods people who have shot the gulfe of Self in conversion must also deny themselves in conversation 183. Causes why so few deny themselves for Christ ibid. Gods people must not bee ashamed or weary of sincerity because of carnall worldlings pag. 185 Godly Christians must so hate carnal reason that they also shun just aspersion of foolishnesse pag. 213 God befooles carnall reason pag. 226 God himselfe and the Word justifie policie Vide policy Grounding upon stable principles of truth necessary for each Christian 254. Good grounds must bee laid at first pag. 256 Gods people must beware of the boasting of ungrounded hypocrites pag. 260 Godly themselves so farre as led by Selfe when they are defeated rage 268. yet with difference from hypocrites ib d. Gods hearers will bee at Gods dispose for blessing pag. 273 Great men must submit their great spirits meekly to God pag. 274 God hath speciall reason to delay his work in the conversion of his pag. 282 God will never lin with his owne tiâ— he have throughly tamed their rebellion pag. 291 God stands countable to good servants pag. 295 Grace adds all qualifications to a servant 295. As first wisedome â—o behold God the authour of all relations 2. Subjection of spirit which consists of two branches 1. Selfe-deniall 2. Serviceablenesse ibid. It sets faith on worke three wayes 1. Purging out such distempers as possesse them 2. Furnisheth it with speciall gifts 3. Puts it into actual exercise pag. 301 Grace is easie to them who are bred for it pag. 363 How it is called a burden and how ease ibid. God looks that his servants should do some singular thing for him pag. 395 Gods counsels most sincere of all pag. 424 Gods faithfulnesse to us in the main things must teach us to trust him in the smaller pag. 433 God hath a season wherein at last he accomplisheth the worke of grace in his elect pag. 439 When as God is that to the soule which formerly sinne and vanity have been it 's a signe that the soule is resigned up to God pag. 500 Gods commands exceed mans in point of unlimitednesse and soveraignty pag. 524 Gods remedies are perfect but mans are crazie pag. 587 God over-rules the silly creature to worke gâ—eat effects above it selfe pag. 590 Gods performances are alway as good if not better then his promises Reasons of it 1. Because he is Iehova the being of all the promises 2. In respect of his honor 3. Whatsoever is in God is eminently so 4. For strengthning his servants
unperswaded or halfe perswaded of the truth Hebâ— 2.2.3.4 Saint Paul to the Hebrewes Cap. 2. tells us if they who despised Moses Law upon two or three witnesses were condemned what shall become of them who despise so great salvation who still distrust that truth of God which was first spoken by the Lord of heaven and earth comming in the flesh Miracles serve to convince the soule of the truth sealed thereby afterward confirmed by such as heard him by miracles and the power of the word in those who were converted So may I say here this very text of Naaman shall stand up and convince all that maintaine selfe and selfe-love carnall and corrupt reason against the truth and power of the promise yea this miracle whereby the word was strengthned with all those miracles by which any truth of Christ hath since been justified shall rise up and convince all unbeleevers I meane such as live under meanes in that day For why Though they saw none of these miracles yet hearing the word beholding the seales receiving them into all our sences I say such a word as hath beene ratified by all the wonders of the Old and New Testament serving to beare down a base heart of unbeliefe about the truth power love al-sufficiency of God if they beleeve not by all these they shall be condemned justly by that authority which they have despised yea the very frame of the Scriptures and the expressions of so many strange and admirable passages serving to raise up a base and crawling spirit to heaven if we shall be found unbeleevers in that great day of Christ shall be brought forth as a witnesse against us for our horrible insensiblenesse and stupor of minde and heart Unbeleefe of Scripture and Truth of God after so many miracles very damnable For by these the Lord hath as it were striven to engraven in our spirits as with the pen of a Diamond the truthes of God and mystery of Christ If then our soules shall be found so hard and flinty that this point hath not pierced them if wee be still unconvinced and this instrument of gold hath no more left impression upon us then if a straw or rotten sticke had beene used to write in our tables of stone oh how fearefull shall our condemnation be If any man shall step in here and demand Quest Miracles how far ceased hard to say hath God so sufficiently confirmed his truth by miracles that there shall neede no more I answer I know its the opinion of many that they are wholly ceased and that because the use of them is ceased Answ For that spirit which attends the Ministry of the word carries a conviction of the truth into the mind according to all that is in the truth Now if it be so then that spirit perswades the soule of all the truth aswell in respect of the confirmation of it by miracles as otherwise but as I stagger much about this opinion so yet I am loth to affirme that the Church hath any warrant under faith to looke for the gift of miracles to be assuredly vouchsafed her although the ends thereof may seeme very weighty Who can or dare deny but that the calling of those Americans to the knowledge of the truth may seeme a weighty occasion to expect from God the gift of miracles partly by reason of their language almost impossible to be attained except by either a miraculous or at least a marveilous gift partly because there be poore inducements to draw such imperswasible and brutish spirits to cast so much as their eyes upon any meanes to induce them to beleeve In both which respects I dare not deny but that as Satan by lying wonders prevailes much with such as perish so the Lord may vouchsafe this spirit of miracles to his Church when his time is come to effect the conversion of such Only I adde that when his time is come he will grant his Church an instinct of spirit to aske it and joyne seriously in the meanes to attaine it which else he will not incline them unto his time not being come For wee must weigh the ends of our travell into remote parts whither for our owne ends or for publique If our owne respects be chiefe we have no cause to looke for miracles But I chuse rather to leave the thing in Gods dispose Vse 4 Lastly let it exhort us both generally and specially first to sue earnestly to the Lord Jesus our Prophet Exhortation the Word of the Father and the first inditer of all Scripture Spirit of acknowledgement of God in his word is to be sought by prayer the contriver of all the passages thereof the worker of all wonders and the Author of all grace and wisedome that he would vouchsafe us the spirit of revelation and acknowledgement of him as Saint Paul speakes Ephes 1.18 That we being enlightned in our mindes may conceive aright of the true scope and intent of the Spirit in the Scriptures Branch 1. generall and that he would intimate our hearts with the purpose thereof which is that our soules might be captivated under the power and authority of the speaker That we rest not in the outside of miracles wonders parables similitudes which we heare or read but considering their aime be carried downe the streame of the thing spoken yea the power To rest in the barke of the word or of miracles Parables Similitudes is dangerous soveraignty and faithfulnesse of the speaker Not only thereby conceiving more cleerely in our mindes of the Lord his Attributes and the truths revealed but much more ravished in our affections towards him for the good things whereof we have tasted Many chuse patheticall texts histories and accidents actions and speeches of speciall note to read and please themselves in some delight to read of the building of the Temple others of the passion of Christ others other parcells of Scripture to provoke admiration and discourse even as they might read any other booke of tales and wonders some also read texts of devotion and holinesse as the Psalmes or wise sentences as the Proverbs with a morrall spirit and scope only but never muse of the severall ends of such places nor the spirit of grace therein save onely to amuse their mindes and stirre up pangs of affection But by these to come neerer to know their owne base hearts or to close with the examples of such grace to feare the judgements of God the more deepely to beleeve the promises better to subject themselves more to the commands of God and in all to see his foote-steps and to adore the speaker few attaine it Therefore let us read these texts with prayer to God for sence and savor of their meaning and scope that we may attaine the spiritualnesse of them Else we shall answer heavily to God for making the solemne and reverend truths of God an occasion to nourish and maintaine that corrupt disposition
the grace of redemption and the grace of creation be sutable things holding alike in nature But that they are not For in the creation the Lord could not but impart himselfe to the creature according to that bounty and goodnesse of his excellent nature without any difference But in the grace of redemption Branch 1 it was farre otherwise of reason For first he had all mankinde at an infinite advantage by their fall and might communicate himselfe so farre and no further then himselfe pleased Justice was now offended and therefore it was free for him to destroy all and it was infinite mercy to save any Prisoners and guilty ones use not to give law to their Judges but take Branch 2 law from them And secondly although if the Lord had thought good he might have extended this grace full as farre as the offence reached yet all things considered viz. That the Lord meant by occasion of this fall to manifest himselfe to the creature in a further degree then he had done and to glorifie himselfe far more in his Attributes therefore to limit God to our conceit and proportion in this kinde were to crosse and contradict his wisdome and ends as lesse wise then our owne But it will be objected Object If Christ the second Adam were as truly in stead of the whole nature of mankinde to save as Adam was to destroy we should infinitely wrong the extent of his satisfaction if we made it more unable to save then Adams sinne was to condemne forasmuch as the Apostle saith The gift is above the offence Rom 5.15 Now then if the sinne of mankinde were so imputed to Christ as the sinne of all mankinde to Adam what should hinder the universality of this grace I answer Answ Christ was no such large subject of imputation of all grace as Adam was of sin And the Apostle even in the same place where he affirmes the gift to be above the offence yet compareth All condemned in Adam to Many saved by Christ All and Many differ much Verse 19. So that we must know that the imputation of sinne to Christ was onely such an imputation of sinne as concerned the elect only for if the sinnes of more had bin imputed surely more had bin saved then the elect And so Christ should have added to the number of the elect and bin a Lord not a servant to election as a mediator nor a foundation of executing it but a cause of morall swasion to apprehend the truth and embrace the good which is offered them I demand why doe not all pertake it one as well as another For if there be such free will in them to receive it what lets them from it who would willingly balke heaven who might goe thither or who would not shun hell if his shunning desire would serve the turne Deut. 4. Is there not a naturall selfelove in all to wish well unto themselves and to avoide the contrary if that were sufficient If any shall say the strong lusts of some dazle their light and oppresse the freedome of their will from accepting the offer then I answer how can that be called sufficient grace which is faine to give place unto prevailing corruption That is onely sufficient which is effectuall to overcome and oversway the will not which is compelled to yeeld and give place to the prevailing corruption of the will which it meets withall What a dishonour is that to grace not to be able to effect her owne ends but to be overcome by corruption Grace doubtles if it be sufficiently offered to all that are enlightned would sufficiently cast downe and subdue the strongest holds and highest thoughts of resistance set up in the soule against it and so would save all without contradiction as being an invincible principle as much above the power of sinne as God is above the creature Either therefore this universall grace doth convert all who receive it which none is so absurd as to affirme being contrary to sense and common experience or else it must needs be denied to be sufficient and powerfull to doe that which it intendeth And therefore of necessity there must needs be another grace confessed as necessary for the effecting of that which this universall grace cannot attaine unto and that is that soveraigne and free grace of the spirit which peculiarly workes in the elect not an aid and concurring succour to their free will but that grace of willing freely which they want wholly and that strength to subdue rebellion and unbeleefe which no enlightning grace alone can reach I say it must be a peculiar grace of conversion which worketh both the will and the deed and is so effectuall that no strength either of sinne or the gates of hell can prevaile against it Thus much I thought not unfit to say for the explication of the point enough a popular audidience for the ground of a sermon leaving deeper discourse to Treaties for the nonce Vse 1 Now for use let it be serious exhortation to all sorts to concurre with most humble Exhort To confesse the Soveraignty of Gods Grace lowly and equall hearts with this absolute soveraignty of Gods will and pleasure in the dispensing of his owne grace where when and how farre himselfe listeth Princes alway love to maintaine their owne unlimitednesse and Prerogatives above their subjects and doe not like it that any subject should make scrutiny into the secret of their soveraignty How much more should sinfull dust and ashes beware of prying into and descanting upon the Prerogative of heaven And because this Branch 1 argument is a large field I must distinguish it into severall heads First then Cavill not beware that wee nourish not a cavilling heart against God in this behalfe Gamaliel advised his fellowes wisely to beware lest they went against the edge with God in the persecuting of the Apostles Act. 5. least perhaps saith he ye be found fighters against God As if he should say if ye should pull God against ye by opposing his Ministers ye should make a good bargaine of it and repent ye at leasure How much more then should we beware of snagging and snarling at Gods secrets which doe more immediately touch his Crowne and dignity then any thing and trench upon his glory and Attributes which are pretious and which hee will not give to another Esay 42. Learne we this that secrets are for the Lord our God let him alone with them revealed things are for us Such is the base pride of our forlorne spirits that when wee have most deepely implunged our selves into the premunire of God then we can least of all beteame him the acknowledgement of our misery and least stoop under his mighty hand nay then doe we feele a rebelling and recoyling spirit against God in fighting against his Soveraignty John 8.33 Much like those Jewes who when they were under the most deepe bondage of the Romans their enemies yet
himselfe and his If the Lord Jesus did justly accurse the servant I mean the figtree for not bearing figs at all seasons which if sin had not letted it might have done shall not the master much more be accursed for making himselfe barren being created fruitfull 5 Nor for leading into tentation So also let us not accuse God for suffering them to fall It s said Hophni and Phinees could not hearken to their father because God would slay them And the Jewes could not heare the voice of the Lord because Esay had foretold the contrary viz. that God had hardned them For why Act. ult God put no evill into any of them But because he saw what basenesse and rebellion was in them already he left them thereto and would not overpower their hearts for it was just for him thereby to be avenged upon them for their wilfull contempt and so make them as snares to others to fall by Those ten tribes were justly snared by Ieroboams calves because they had plaid the Idolaters before in Salomons daies under the freedome of the Temple worship and so God would plague them for all at once and both give them a King in wrath and sweep them away in displeasure A master having a slie servant oft drunken and carelesse of his businesse to the end he may pay him for all doth justly send him to some place which accidentally occasions him to fall he sends him upon an errand justly but because he means to prevent all his shifts and punish him soundly he will suffer him to fall into a snare that he may take him in the manner and punish him for all his prankes together So when God punishes the sinnes of parents upon the children Ahabs upon Iehoram Eli's upon those hundred and eighty Priests slaine by Saul Salomons upon Rehoboam For why The Lord beholding them in the sinnes of their parents imitated and unrepented of destroies both serpent and egs together Let us I say strive to be convinced in our judgements Exod. 20. Nor for punishing the sins of parents in their posterity touching Gods most just Prerogative in all these and all other kindes and being settled in judgement we shall not easily stagger in our affection and practise Thirdly let us submit so farre under this Soveraignty of God as to do Branch 3 to the uttermost of our power to obey all his charges and commands Do what lies in us to obey Gods will and to stoope to all his ordinances which he propounds unto us for our conversion Shall God have us at so great a bay as he hath and shall we wax carelesse Or because we are not able to do that which he requires for the matter shall we therefore in a sullen and desperate humour sit still and doe nothing Shall we not shun any sinne for conscience which we can shun if hired with mony Because all is not either in our willing or running shall we neither will or run Nay more put case we have brought upon us by our sin such an avoidable languor disability that we cannot put forth our selves to the uttermost that common enlightning might worke us to what Shall we therefore doe nothing which lies in our power to do yes surely in holy awe of this freedome of God to do with us and our endeavours what him lists let us tremble and in all humility doe the best we can yet trusting to none of it loathing to be Pharisees and Pelagians but abhorring much more to be Epicures and malecontents walke we in Gods way in which he only is found and may be found of us But those that disdain to heare to pray to take paines because God hath the bridle in his owne hand shew themselves Giants rather and such as would be revenged upon God then desirous to get heaven by submitting to his power and Soveraignty As those lamps were fitly planted under the olive branches to receive the oile which dropped from them by the providence of God so let us accommodate our selves under the dropping of the ordinances ascribing nothing to our selves but all to the meer grace of the ordainer as Zachary there speakes Zacha. 4 5. not by strength or mans wisdome but by my spirit saith the Lord. Fourthly let it teach us tendernesse and charity towards meane ones Branch 4 ignorant yea loose and dissolute ones Be charitable to others let us not affect the disdaining of the basest simplest vilest although we ought to loath their manners but consider thy selfe if thou onely exceed them in morality wit and parts tremble to think that such silly ones and ungodly may perhaps arise pull heaven by violence to themselves and thou with all thine abilities be thrust to hell where were then thy boasting Ipta was thrust out for a base excrement from the family of Gilead Judg. 10.4 But they were all glad to seeke him for their Captaine in their distresse Poore Ioseph the slave was yet so preferred that the Sun Moone and starres were faine to do homage to him despise not the least free grace may make him thy better and make thee glad to seek to him for helpe and succour ere thou die and envy not the greatest neither for the Lord can ingraft thee also into the same stocke as meane as thou art if thou canst adore his soveraigne mercy which magnifies it self as much in the setting up of the low as the mighty that they who boast might not boast of their person or quality but of the Lord. Fifthly let thy stony heart break in peeces between the hammer of his Soveraignty and the pillow of his long suffering and patience toward Branch 5 thee Surely in that he hath so long had thee at so infinite advantage its strange that ever he should forbear thee so long Breake thy hard heart hereby offer thee such meanes ordinances or should passe by the daies of thine ignorance or suffer any seed or remainder of a tender heart to abide in thee I say it is strange he should restore thee out of so many perills diseases and hazards stil present thee with hope and possibility of forgetting such a multitude of transgressions and forgiving thy offences What should all this argue save a most bountifull abatement of extremity rigor and that notwithstanding his power yet his love is more prevailing with him to spare thee Shall this kindnesse of his leading thee to repentance be an occasion to forget both his soveraignty and thine owne guiltinesse and according to thine hard heart which cannot repent wax stout and wilfull against him and so heap up wrath against the day of just vengeance Rom. 2.4 No rather this mixture of both should keep thee within bounds and put holy thoughts of his purpose and pleasure into thee then breed a desperate enmity on the one side or security on the other to both which thy heart is far more propense then to come in give up thy
weapons and tremble at thy wretchednesse Branch 6 Sixtly let this doctrine not onely convince thy judgement of a truth that the case thus standeth Lay downe thy pride and rebellion between God and thy soule but let it proceed to bring thine heart and whole selfe under the authority of this advantage at which God hath thee That is let it worke exceeding humiliation and feare of spirit in thee and cause thee to pull downe thy peacocks fethers and lay downe thy pride rebellion and gainsaying heart and be as one out of himselfe As that jailor when the earthquake had broken the prison doores Act. 16.27 and loosed the prisoners thought himselfe but a dead man Act. 9. and Paul being under the arrest of Gods might and power lay for dead So the thought of this thy wofull disadvantage under the hand of God should cause the jollity of thy spirit to quaile and thy bog and bold heart to be abashed saying if this be thus whence comes my impudent resolute purpose to go on in my course I see I have not mercy at my command nor grace pind to my sleeve when I can but use three or foure good wordes at my death Alas I perceive I my selfe am infinitely under the advantage of Justice and wrath both in Adam and by my owne wicked courses Is this then Oh my soule a season of revelling of casting care away of adding drunkennesse to thirst Is this a time to contest to provoke to increase sinne by wilfulnesse What do I think to scare God by my murmurings and cavills against him Oh no! this is the way to make judgement inexcusable and hell seven times hotter then at first See Esay 28.22 Therefore lay it to heart as those in Act. 2. did when they heard Peter shew them what pickle they were in for murdering the Lord of life Oh! their hearts were gored as with a swords point So let rottennesse enter into thy bones tremble and say What if the Lord should take this advantage of his to destroy me What if his long suffering all this while hath onely spared me as a vessel of wrath that he might with the fuller swinge come upon me and all at once sweep me to hell what a taking are those men in who are at their enemies curtesie as having lost all they have or condemned in as much as they are worth and at the mercy of their adversary who hath got an execution against all their estate surely hee were an odde man for stoutnesse of stomacke who should stand it out and dare his enemy to ceaze upon him Alas Esay 27.4.5 what a poore wretch should he be made So here what rescue hath the dry stubble against the advantage of fire if once kindled in it Oh! if thou canst bring downe thy base and sturdy heart by this meditation how thou standest at the meere curtesie of him who cannot only destroy thy body Luke 12.4.5 but cast body and soule to hell if this will master thy proud heart and make thee crouch and put thy face within thy knees for confusion and sorrow thou hast attained some part of that end which this convincement serves for Seventhly yet rest not in this dejection onely Consider that the soveraignty Branch 7 of God doth not reach only to destroy the creature Soveraignty is free to save aswell as to destroy but sometimes to abase it and save it There is a soveraignty of mercy a free and bountifull grace aswell in that God who hath thee at this advantage as a power to condemne And therefore apply thy selfe to the beholding of those cords which the Gospell puts in and offers thee in this dungeon and of that ladder which is thrust in for thee to come up by as to the meer implodding and sadding thy thoughts with the likelyhood of thy confusion Consider its one step to pardon to lay to heart Gods advantage For who are they who perish who carry a blacke marke of wrath about them Surely those who either acknowledge no such thing live at hearts case and elbow-roome and come leaping forth in their chaines with Agag or else if they heare of it murmur fret and kicke against it 1 Sam. 15. If then thou hast escaped both one thing remaineth escape also an unbeleeving heart Rest not in these suburbes of hell but behold the freedome of mercy in the promise And do not reach first at Election and so fal backe and breake thy necke Election not to be first lookt at but the offer of grace But take this first worke of humiliation in thee as an hansell of hope that more shall follow and as for Gods secrets they must attend faith not goe before it Therefore nakedly and without further dispute convince thy judgement of a possibility of escaping this advantage which God hath thee at Not by thy struggling and fighting against it as Pharaoh against the waters returning but by thy meeke and humble stooping under it And know that this doctrine of Gods soveraignty serves to try the spirit of men of what mettle they are made of and to condemne none save the finally rebellious Those who cease whetting at Gods secrets as not belonging to them and only betake themselves to the softly streames of Siloam beholding with stedfast eye Deut. 29.29 the freedome bottomednesse and unchangeablenesse of the promise have a marke upon them of such as shall be saved the soveraignty of Gods advantage against the poore creature notwithstanding Come then to the Lord and say thou mayst indeed justly damne me yet thou mayst also save mee O Lord doe not destroy thy creature let it please thee to have mercy and desire not the death of a poore wretch with thee the fatherlesse shall find mercy of which I am What boot shall it be for thee to have my bloud Oh spare a little let me recover my selfe if thou must needs be just powre thy wrath upon despisers but spare the penitent and such as lye at thy feet as lost Eightly let this conviction of judgement turne thy soule to make an adventure and where thou seest a breach made there to lay the battery Branch 8 of faith to assay an entrance into the City of grace The Lord having cut off his plea by as strong a remedy Assay to beleeve and redemption yea stronger then ever the former advantage lay calls thee to lay hold of it strongly in the blood and satisfaction of thy Redeemer How dost thou find thy selfe affected in this case Whether chusest thou to curse God and dye or to breake and pull downe thy stomacke and live judge thy selfe herein acording to the rule if ever the advantage of God dranke up thy spirit how wentest thou to worke didst thou recke thy teene upon God and quarrell with him for his forsaking thee or soughtst thou after a way of hope by Gods cutting off his owne advantage in his Sonne Dost thou behold the Lord
and prophane way stopt her and changed her heart Paul to be sure did so 1 Tim. 1.17 having shewed how God found him a persecutor blasphemer and wronger of innocents yet abounded in mercy and called him home Oh! he cannot wonder enough at it tells it out to others and himselfe concludes Now to the immortall invisible olny wise God to sway all to his ends be all honour for ever yea and we should never cease to call upon ours aswell as our selves to doe it when I sent thee forth my child as Iacob to Laban the Lord did order thy journey for the best defeated thee of that thou wouldest and diverted thee to that which was farre safer and better for thee Dost thou not see how hee leaves others to themselves doth not prevent them with any softnesse and tendernesse provides not well suffers them to run wild and to tire themselves in their owne vanities Thus good Naomi perceiving that God had heard her prayers for poore Ruth a stranger Ruth 3. to rivet her into the Church and make her the mother of Davids grandfather provokes her to wonder saying who art thou my daughter And hearing her to entitle God to the worke she confirmes her to trust God for afterward Branch 2 And secondly it should stir up in us prayer for our selves and others that the good hand of our God may alway attend and overrule our intentions and waies for good Our prayers should succeed our prayses Gen. 24.12 Eliezer beleeving the Lord to be such a wise and powerfull disposer fell to prayer that when Rebecca should come out to draw water for the cattell and for himselfe the Lord would prevent her with such thoughts as might promote and succeed his enterprise So should we in our journeyes travailes attempts of weight changes of our estate going to the congregation meeting good company beseech him that his good haâ—d might appeare in all these and through all the occasions of the day for the furthering and not dismaying us in our holy course See Job 1. end Yea even for others we should earnestly beg and say Oh Lord this day my husband goeth to such a Sermon Thou knowest he lookes at nothing save his owne ends rests upon his smooth civill bottome that he is no grosse person his wordly wit ease and pleasure are the wheels to carry him on Oh Lord oft have I begd mercy for him to open his heart and change him Now prevent him Lord let thy Minister be in his bosome convince him lay some block of thine to stop him Ezek. 14.3 remoove the stumbling block of his owne iniquity send him home more humble then he went though thy spirit blow never so weakly yet let it blow and by little and little bring him home Let me be no let to him and thy worke My unquiet heart is ready to discontent my selfe and so the husbands to the wife when I see matters goe amisse and so give way to passions unkinde and unsavoury words But alas The worke is thy prevention So for others Lord when I send forth my children to the University or to service I hope all shall be well They shall meet thy good hand to prosper them they shall be brought nearer to thee in knowledge and thou wilt blesse studies tutor company to bring them to better passe But all is in thee I have hitherto been too confident they have miscarried and stumbled at base examples Lord now at last prevent them for good Gen. 43.13.14 and lay such hold upon them that they may not slip Iacob sending his sonne Benjamin to Egypt little thinking what God intended yet intreated God to blesse them and to send his Angel before them and to give them favour in the sight of the man The Lord heard him in that and added a further blessing for he so hampered them by Iosephs wise austerity and policy that their conscience began to check them for their selling him and so by degrees their sinne comming to light they could crie out God had found them all out in their basenesse Some of them incestuous as Reuben and Iuda others murtherers as Simon and Levi and the rest like them Cap. 45. but in likelihood this became the first step to their reclaiming Oh! so should we beg Lord we send them out into the wide world or wee are to goe to our long home and leave them behinde among Lions Beares and Wolves and Foxes Lord let them find favour with thy Majesty let thy good hand goe but with them All pray for wealth and prosperity for their children Psal 4.6.7 But Lord shew them thy countenance and that they are of thine Elect and therefore within thy Covenant wheresoever they become prevent them with grace let thy Ministers and people love them let all turne to their good their services their dwellings tradings marriages Ministery and let them see that none can finde out any thing after thee that thou art in all because things could not have any way framed better for them then they shall finde Stop all lets and crossings either from within their proud vain hearts or from without Satan his subtilty and the baites or snares of this world Adde so both these It should breed humiliation in our hearts It should hold us in an holy awe and reverence of God and teach us to set his Crowne upon his head when we see t is not all our counsells Ministery be it never so powerfull education thought and care which can prevent our owne hearts or the hearts of ours or others who belong to us with any goodnesse we may pray and commend them to God as Isaac and Rebecca did Iacob in that sad pilgrimage of his to Padan The Lord it must be who must succeed him Gen. 28.1.2.3 who must encourage him at Luz and set forward his journey with prospering So that this should abase us in all best attempts Salomon could not with all his wisedome foretell whether a foole or a wise man should inherit all his travailes I confesse it ought to stay us from discontent Eccle. 2.19 if God have not heard us for our children but suffered them to run riot if we have as Iob jealously offered sacrifice for them and commended them to the good hand of God but all this will not exempt us from greefe when we see them scapethrifts and unhappy ones when we doe not commend them to the word of his grace we may thanke our selves if they thrive not yet in our best and most solicitous desires wee must not rest satisfied in our endeavours but still humbly tremble under the power of that God whose prerogative it is to prevent them with mercy to accommodate all occasions to stop all obstacles and to succeed all helpes for their good Oh! the woefull ruine of thousands who have bin children of the choysest prayers teares cost and care should teach us to lie low before the Lord in this case
integritie of course To whom I answer Doe yee thus require the Lord O yee unthankfull people scarce worth the name of people Did the Lord give yee brasse out of the stones and silver out of his hidden treasures mercie when yee looked for none that yee should still distrust his promise If when yee were strangers yet he so prevented yee to make yee children shall hee forsake yee being now in covenant Did he kill the old Serpent and Leviathan and shall hee suffer her spawne to destroy yee Did he remove the guilt of sin from destroying you and shall he leave the venome of it to bee a goad in your side and a pricke in your eyes to make your life desolate No not except yee forsake the promise looking that God shoulâ— drop mercie still out of clouds and prevent you as at first without any beleeving of yours No hee now puts ye to it to work out your own salvation with fear having his pretious promises 2 Cor. 7.1.2 labour to perfect your sanctification To take his Sword Helmet and Breast-plate and fight the holy warre of God against your selves Judg. 3.2 and all enemies and not to looke that the Egyptians should still be drowned while you looke on While yee were children yee did as such but being men the Lord looks his stocke should grow and bee put to occupying and that yee should be setled and rooted therein As for outward blessings Esay 25. hath God made you a feast in the mountaines and will he deny yee it in the valleyes Luk. 12.23.24 Will he so cloath the Lillies that labour not nor spin and shall hee leave you to shift for your selves who next to the kingdome serve his providence for a meet portion here Matth. 6.32 shall hee not cast in these things without sin or sorrow Did hee prevent your soules from perdition and shall hee not prevent want from your bodies Doth he so cloath the hearb and flowers of the field which to morrow are cast into the Oven and shall he not doath feed and provide for you in this world 2 Pet. 1. for whom hee hath provided a crowne hereafter as Peter saith immortall and not fading To conclude if hee have over-ruled your intentions for his owne glory and your owne salvation should yee feare lest any Divell or instrument of his should come between you and home Say thou livest in dark times in places where the wicked beare sway Esay 63. what then As the Church Esay 63. cries Thou wert mercifull to us of old Lord what are all thy bowels and rollings restrained Oh! deliver us still Thou canst over-sway their intentions by the same prevention and turne them to the contrarie aime Their policies and devices against thee and thine shall not preuaile thou canst scatter them thou canst avert convert or pervert them at thy pleasure 1 Sam. 23.27 2 Sam. 17.7 Gem. 31.29 Acts 9.9 Avert them as Saul from David pervert as Achitophels against David convert as Paul from a persecutor They shall say as Laban to Iacob It was in my power to do you hurt but the God of your Fathers appeared unto me yester night and prevented me Acts 12.3 Herod Acts 12. intended to bring out Peter to be slaine after Iames but the Lord had another purpose which overthrew his as cob-webs swept downe with a besome In a word if God once declared his prevention of mercie toward us Oh! let us not presume yet let us honour him thus far by our experience that still the same God will be at worke for us in our particular course to turn all to better then wee could look for Ruth 2. 3. as to poore Ruth when she went out to gleane barley the Lord found her out rest all her dayes Oh! if once he have delighted in us he still will rejoyce to make us objects of like mercie so that all shall see us to be his favourites and long for our portion And for this point Sermon an Verse thus much Let us pray c. THE THIRD LECTVRE Vpon the tenth verse VERSE X. And Elisha sent a Messenger unto him saying Go wash seven times in Iordan and thy flesh shall come againe to thee and thou shalt be cleane VERS 10. But Naaman was wroth c. THIS poore Pilgrime and patient Naaman as yee have heard beloved hath stood some time at the Prophets doore denying himselfe and his esteeme Entry upon the substance of the miracle honour and favour with his Prince he and his train submitting themselves and standing at the courtesie of God and his Prophet for his cure And although we heare of no words or suit comming from him yet his very habit and standing in the deep silence of it speaketh and calleth aloud for the Prophets helpe And indeed it had been hard-hearted and unmercifull for Elisha having himself sent for him to his house when he was wildred seeing how humble his suppliant is to have let him to stand as a dumb pageant without salutation Courtesie and morals could not have denied him that favour and much more that Spirit wherewith the Prophet was filled a spirit of mildnesse mercie exorablenesse and easinesse to be intreated of a petitioner so miserable and comming so farre for helpe must needs hearken to his request This verse therefore shewes us what message Elisha sends him to the doore And now at this third Sermon weare passed the Antecedent occasions leading us to the Contents of the Cure and are come to the chiefe substance of the story Whereof to make a full Analyse all at once because it would clog the hearers memory therefore we thinke it here superfluous onely wee will severall the story into her branches opening the first of them here in our entrance upon it but for the rest we will referre them to the threshold of their particular handlings that every thing may be more lively and better remembred The whole story then hath these five distinct parts The first Elisha his message sent to Naaman standing at his gate and full of expectation and that in this tenth verse The second is Naamans entertainment and construction of it The generall heads of the story five and how it tooke with him and that in the eleventh and twelfth verses The third generall is the Rejoynder of his poore servants upon their masters misconstruction of the message and that containes their loyall and serious treatie and counsell of wiser interpretation and for better carriage that in the 13. verse The fourth is the issue and happinesse of all the sweet conclusion of a sad entrance and that is that upon the overture and intimation of his servants or rather of grace he changes his former resolution to be gone into an obedient submission to wash in Jordan The fifth and last the issue of his obedience partly immediate that hee found the Prophet true hee was instantly cleansed his flesh returning as a young childes
colour is to confute the Prophets message The summe is the Prophet hath sent for me to make a gull of me pretending to heal me when he intends nothing lesse For if he did to what end should he prescribe me to wash in Jorden If washing there would serve how comes it to passe that there bee so many Lepers in Israel unhealed And if so be Jorden be such soveraigne water what are our rivers at home Abana and Pharfar which yet never were knowne to be medicinable for the leprosie What a message then is this to send me Wash in Jorden and be clean Lo I beseech you to what a man may come who is blind-folded with selfe He will stiffen himself in his error by any argument comming next hand Carnal reason then here offers it selfe to confute the message as a mockery And how I pray doth it argue Thus It s a senslesse unlikely thing nay impossible to reason What then hast thou forgot thy selfe Naaman Camest thou to be healed by reason or by a Prophet What a consequence is this Carnall reason judgeth otherwise therefore it is ridiculous that Jorden should heale Nay rather if a Prophet from God will heale by Jorden why may he not For he heales not by Jorden as Jorden but as by an instrument of Gods divine power Therefore rather to argue against God by carnall reason is more ridiculous Thus much for the opening of these two verses The first generall handled viz. Why God delayed the cure still That he might know himself I will first give a briefe touch of the triall which God put here upon Naaman in delaying his cure Why was it To try all which was in his heart and to make him see what metall he was made of God was loath to send him away with his cure and a proud wrathfull heart withall Therefore now he discovers him to himselfe and rather by this delay of the miracle chuses to make all his crouching and humblenesse breake out into rage and distemper bewray him openly then he should nuzzle up himselfe in a faire opinion of that which is not in him Question But it wil bee demanded Did Naaman feele the Lord present in this worke Did hee not as a carnal man in all this or is it any wonder he should be a wrathful raging man being a Heathen and crossed in his maine aime I answer Answer We must not so much conceive him as he is in his owne sense as in Gods shaping him to his own end by grace and conversion Naaman to be conceived of as one under Gods workmanship When once Naaman truly came to himselfe both the former rubs and this affront of delaying his healing wrought a marvellous abasement in his soule and set forward the worke exceedingly I have already handled the reason why the Lord stopt Elisha from comming out Now I would briefly adde this how God tries him in disappointing his haste and thereby occasions him to rebell and break out that he might know himselfe yet more thorowly And let it teach us this That the custome of God is Doctrine Whom God will save he will teach them to to know all in their heart when hee is working any great change in any hee will try them deeply and make them know what is in their spirits They shall finde many a stop in their course things shall not succeed as they desire God wil hide himself from them and seeme not to regard their labours prayers teares endevours but suspend their hopes and desires from such successe as they look for And why To try them of what frame they are whether their forwardnesse Reason 1 and zeale bee well planted in them or no whether they will wait or make haste attend meekly or run headlong If they fall to distemper and wearinesse God will shew it unto them that they may afterward watch and have themselves in a deep jealousie and not bee deceived with the appearance of grace in stead of substance If they stick to the triall and carry themselves meekly and quietly under Gods delayes and prolongings of his time that then they may acknowledge by what strength they stand However it is very fit they should be tried Thus the Text saith Deut. 8.2 Deut. 8.2 that the Lord dealt with the Israelites in the Wildernesse First hee would not lead them the right way by the land of the Philistims but by the Wildernesse and there hee would so hold them occupied that whereas they might have been there in fourty dayes he led them a traverse of fourty yeares Hee held them to hard-meat and when he gave them a supply yet hee gave them but from hand to mouth and why was all this Moses tells them even to try all that was in their heart to turne it up-side-downe that by all the weary journey of the Desert their hunger their wants Gods provision their unthankfulnesse Gods judgements wasting them delaying and crossing their lingring after Canaan a land flowing with milk and hony by the ruine of all the carcasses of them that came out of Egypt the Lord might cause them to know themselves the Lord thorowly deny themselves wait upon his promise and enjoy Canaan with a more humble and thankfull heart then else they had done Otherwise what boot had it been to have brought thē into Canaan with their fathers spirits The land certainly had surfeted them and vomited them out else as soone as they had come in but now Reason 2 experience of the Wildernesse taught them how to walke before God God begins with his people as he means to proceed The Lord begins with his owne as hee means to proceed Hee meanes to make them patient meek enemies to selfe privie to more corruption then the world knowes of jealous and watchfull and willing to be as God will have them and to thinke it best to be base when God sees it meet this I say the Lord is faine to deale with his betimes even in the first beginnings of his grace as a man would bow a twig as he would have it grow after And therefore in the very threshold he stops their hasty course and whereas they would thinke they might be converted and beleeve quickly asoone as they feele their need and heare of a promise lo the Lord makes it a longer worke then so and delayes them till he have laid a foundation for after times till he have made them know all that is in their heart and not think much of Gods corrections afterward as having been traind up to the yoke from their youth Ephraim was as an heifer unaccustomed to the yoke Jer. 31.31 but when she was yoked and humbled she converted to God and smote upon her thigh and so was fitter for mercy then when she was wild and unbroken Reason 3 And to say the truth if the Lord did not thus delay us in our haste and put a stop upon us in our proceedings
the fittest way as he thought for that purpose and being mistaken in that is glad to heare of his errour and to mend it speedily 4. He abaseth himselfe below his condition so farre as to stand at the Prophets doore to crouch and creepe in the sense of his disease for the cure thereof with exceeding reverence to the Prophet All which although they might seem onely naturall effects of a man under trouble yet being orderly steps to a greater worke in Gods purpose and some of them in a sort religious acts of one that acknowledged a divine power to heale him doe argue that somewhat was in him toward the effect And yet loe here steps in a techie toy that is Yet crossed by self conceit a toy and prich his prejudicate and forestalled heart conceited against the meane appointed by God and this was that he looked to be healed another way more easie present and familiar to his humour How viz. that Elisha himselfe would come forth and by applying his hand to the place worke the miracle And this marred all the former attempts and besides hindred him first from marking the message which contained a plaine easie mercifull and familiar way of healing with a charge from God to wash and a direct promise of cure thereby without any colour or exception all which so solemnly delivered might very well have pierced an heart not exceedingly prejudiced and deluded both for the reverence of God and for his owne ends If Eglon an heathen King Judg 6. hearing of a charge from God no way assuring him of good was so obeysant as to come off his throne and worship God how much more might Naaman but lo his preconceit letted him from it As also from seeing his false heart full fraught with rage against the Prophet when yet he seemed to stoope so low and doe so much reverence and to conclude from yeelding nakedly to the way of God rather then to lose his labour and carry home his disease and from obeying the Command And just so may the case stand with such as have made as many spirituall steps toward conversion as Naaman did toward his cure They may first be brought to a deepe plunge under sense of sinne and the curse Application of the ground to the doct in hand for the clearing of it What faire hopes men have and that by the word of terror convincing their conscience under this they may be most wearisome and restlesse They may be kept from shaking off their terrour by other objects of pleasure profit or worldly contents they may heare of a remedy by one of wisdomes handmaids like well of the glad tidings long after it make speed towards it neglect no cost means or attendance upon it joy in the turning themselves out of their errours and mistakes and the appearance of more hope of ease they may honor the instrument with exceeding reverence wait at the posts of wisdome not houres or dayes but moneths and quarters thinking long till some seasonable answer come unto them thinking themselves happy that they may speed at last And yet how dashed when all their labour is ended And yet when the point should come to an issue and the fruit to be borne then shall one selfe or other either selfe-ease or selfe-will or selfe-wit and conceit assisted with carnall reason yea selfe-endeavours selfe-devotion selfe-mixtures of her owne with God bereave the soule of all strength to bring forth one or other selfe I say shall step in or be cast in by the divell as the gourd into the pottage to marre all to set the chiefe worke as far behinde as it seemed before to be set forward in so much that the voice of God both commanding to beleeve and promising speedy ease and forgivenesse shall be as a thing farre off And whereas the obedience of faith is or ought to be the upshot of the cure lo this selfe shall so blindefolde the minde and disable the heart from marking pondering and applying the promise thereby as if there were nothing in it whereas in truth all steps toward grace without this are frivolous yeâ— the base heart shall thinke this more frivolous then all the rest stumble at it cavill be discontent and flye off as if it had wrong that her endeavours and paines be not accepted without it which in truth is no other then to quarrell with God that her owne way may not be preferred to his and seeing that may not be rather to choose not to be healed at all but abide still in her old condition then not to prosper by her owne way and device I have desired to open the point at large because I make it the ground of a large doctrine whereof I would have none make question So much for the ground of the text Naamans selfe conceit and ours may differ in the speciall though the same in kind But I foresee that my hearers will by and by run to enquire whether this tech of Naaman be in their brests or no and whether it hath hindred their endeavours and also that all well affected Christians would be loth to lose their labour and sweat if they knew how to prevent it till they have enjoyed the promise And therefore I must tell them that I gather a generall point from a particular Naamans selfe was one branch of many but there be many more all as dangerous to them as this to him Seeing then I thinke it will be desired that they might know the severall sorts of this monster and the markes of this secret else selfe I meane therefore ere I reason or apply the point I will stay a while upon the discovery of the severall sorts of this disease so returne to the point againe if God please in the matter of Application I thinke none will deny that of all other lets of grace and salvation this of selfe is the most dangerous and the reason is because it is most inward and immediate I may say of it as Paul speakes of uncleannesse all other sinnes are without the body but this within a disease of the intrailes and bowels Selfe the most dangerous enemy because most inward and immediate Even so all other lets and enemies of Christ are outward Satan hath many injections temptations by Atheisme by the needlesnesse difficulty yea impossiblenesse of prevailing he hath many base colours to delude the heart withall by the contrariety of Christ to the corrupt spirit of man the world also hath many base and false principles to beat off the heart by as the disdaine of them that are so zealous 1 Cor. 6.18 the erroneous opinions which it hath of Christ and the profession of his truth Others hurt by this most mortally but all these are without and more easily avoided the power of the Word sooner scatters these mists The greatest mischiefe comes from within and were it not for selfe they could not prevaile by all their baits
must needs vanish and leave the soule as low as ever they found it and so the longer and closer they are clave to the greater confusion they cause till the soule being weary of her owne pride and mixtures freely resigne it selfe as empty and nothing to the meere good pleasure perswasion and leasure of the spirit to act and effect all both preventings assistings and perfectings by his owne strength which is alway strongest when the soule lies lowest as the red earth of which Adam was formed till the Lord breathed the spirit of life into it And surely to conclude there is nothing more easie then to be deluded in the triall hereof for such is the inchantment of self in this kind that no experience of disappointing the soule by her false feelings will teach her to deny her selfe and humble her self before God except only she apply her selfe closely to the rule of the word in every steppe she takes examining from what bottome her affections and preparations proceed and finding self to be chiefe in the work instantly to suspect it and constantly to resist it beleeving that the most abiding and lasting worke of humâ—liation and preparation proceeds from the sweetnesse and freedome of a promise from a reconciled God when the heart is most desolate and helplesse in her selfe By these few the reader may perceive what I meane by this privy-selfe and by these heads hee may learne to judge of other like which are infinite Now then I proceed to prove the point that this mixt selfe when all is done will deprive the soule of mercy if it be not prevented Let the first text be that Heb. 4. ult We see they were disappointed of the entring into his rest why were not they faire for it Proofes of the point yes surely they had forsaken Egypt and come a great journey in the wildernesse But what letted them Unbeleefe And what caused that Selfe Not only their wishing to be in Egypt at their fleshpots nor yet their fornication and Idolatry But as Esay tells us they rebelled against his holy spirit Esay 63.10 Their spirituall rebellings cavillings distrust were the causes They erred in heart as the Psalmist calls it that is Psal 9.2 they entertained false conceits against him sometime they asked Can God spread a table in the wildernesse Sometime they pitied their children saying Alas We shall never see Canaan Sometime they said Numb 9. the Giants were able to eat them up there were chariots of iron Sometimes they said this was not the way God might as well have brought them the right way to Canaan as the wrong if he had meant them well They made the promise of entring easily and plaine in it self to be difficulter then it was some saying it is as high as heaven how shall we get thither can we climbe up others thus it is as deep as the nethermost earth how shall we descend thither is it possible for us to construe so hard a promise whereof we see neither sense or colour to make a worke of forty daies to be forty yeares and yet meane us well Therefore Moses tells them Deut. and Rom. 10. say not the word is far off for it is neare thee in thy mouth yea thine heart that thou mightest beleeve it The deceit of the erring hearts warped these crotchets to hold them out of Canaan and to scatter their carcasses in the wildernesse Another text is Heb. 12.15 Heb. 12.15 Let no man faile of the grace of God Let there be no bitter roote springing up in you to defile you and turne you off He had spoken before of Esau who was the first borne and sought the blessing with teares yet failed of it he came too late after it was conveied away from him too sure to Iacob why he had a bitter roote springing up in him a selfe-willed peevish heart against his brother he disdained that he should be preferred The Apostle applies it to the Hebrewes who were faire for the promise read Rom. 10.1 2 3 4 Rom. 10.1 2 3 4. 5 6. c. but yet failed and lost it the Gentiles were preferred And why there was this bitter roote of selfe in them they stood upon their conceit none were the Church save they none so righteous as they They scorned that dogs should goe to heaven before those whose righteousnesse was so precise as theirs and this conceit defiled hardned them and overthrew the righteousnesse of Christ They could never submit selfe to the word preached nor comply with it but bitterly rejected it and them who preacht it as being a new way to heaven and not that which they had learned and should they stoop to this new learning of Christ This bitternesse overthrew them So Ahaz Esay 8. Esay 8. was faire for the promise of victory insomuch as the Prophet bid him demand a signe he would not why Selfe-presumption letted him he thought he was sure enough of God if once he spake the word But the Lord looked at his owne honour and therefore gave his people a signe by a Virgin that should conceive and bring forth a sonne So that the confidence of his foolish heart which thought hee beleeved God whereas in truth he sought himselfe onely and not the glory of God Luke 4. deceived him So it is said Luke 4. the Pharisees and Elders comming to Iohns baptisme despised the counsell of God touching their salvation why because they were carried with strong self-prejudice against the way of Iohns Ministery and chose rather not to bee faved at all then that way The Galathians were faire for heaven also and ran well Gal. 3. what letted them a misprision thrust into their heads by false teachers that Pauls way and Gods way agreed not and that the old way by Ceremonies was best easiest and likeliest because agreeing with flesh and this makes Paul to feare lest he had bestowed his paines upon them in vaine Our Saviour Christs Disciples were faire for faith what letted them selfe-sloth dulnesse of heart Oh you dull and slow of heart to beleeve all which is written in the Law and Prophets concerning Christ Luke 24. in what a depth of darkenesse did it hold them Their eies were held so downe that they could not discerne the Lord Jesus when hee stood and talked with them I will but adde one or two more That yong man in the Gospell was not farre from the Kingdome what stopped him Surely he came full of himselfe and had kept the Law from his youth this he had a strong conceit of but when hee was turned out of that confidence and put into a new way of selfedeniall and selling all he went away sorrowfull not onely because he was covetous but because forestalled in opinion that his way was best and is now crossed To conclude that is a solemne text which our Saviour urges Ioh. 5. Joh. 5. How can ye beleeve when ye seeke or receive
Secondly in respect of the Gospel selfe is but flesh The Gospel presents Christ to the beleeving soule dearly and favorly but selfe failes in both her eye-sight and heart-sight of him I mean both in understanding and will For the first selfe cannot see so much of Christ as God offers in his Gospel shee beholds onely such an excellencie of Christ offered therein as is severed from the gift to receive him with which upon poynt is as good as nothing for it is but a shread of Christ which an hypocrite may have Rom. 2. Ephes 4.21 Rom. 2.5.6 But a poore soule sees Christ even as the truth is in Jesus and as hee is offered to the soule that is not as a bare price of pardon and peace but as a thing enabling the soule to buy and receive him into her own bosome 1 Cor. 1.30 Of him saith Paul are we who is made unto us of God c. Marke not as onely as cloath which will make a garment but as a garment fitted for us and ready made for that he serves for both covering and defence As the twy-light differs from the brightnesse of the morning Sunne upon the top of an hill whence a man may see all the wide sky so doth a beleeving soule and selfe differ in beholding Christ That which is said in another sense Matth. 24. Matth. 24. That the Sonne of mans day shall bee as the light which shineth from East to West that may bee said of Christ offered to the eye or minde of a beleever that the whole light for kinde of the Sonne of righteousnesse Matth. 13.11 is discovered to him As our Saviour tells his Disciples To you I speake clearly to others in Parables that seeing they might not understand because they will not selfe putting in a condition of her owne which God puts not For the Lord so offers Christ that the vertue of the offer becomes to a broken soule both price and Chapman yea breeds that in the soule which it offers even faith to embrace it But selfe puts in a condition If I can accept it Shee would in a sort bee cloathed and fed upon her own purse Now this condition God puts into the offer I will create the fruit of the lippes Esay 57. Jer. 31.31 I will take out the heart of stone I will write my Lawes in their heart and cause them to beleeve c. Selfe heares these things as the noise of many waters I see saith shee an excellent thing offered to such a one as can receive it and then shee goes about to perform the condition her self hoping thereby to compasse Christ But this labour might be spared if she beheld the offer aright as able both to prepare the soule with brokennesse and emptinesse and also to beget faith in it The honest soule puts faith into Christ crucified and the offer saying thus If the Lord will save mee I will let him alone also to worke faith in me by the Merit and worth of the thing offered for why God doth not offer me a dead Christ but a quickning Spirit 1 Cor. 15. not as a bare object of excellencie serving to enable me to concurre with him of my selfe and to be a partner with him in the poynt of application but as a purchase of satisfaction to justice 1 Cor. 1.30 and also of faith for mee to embrace it with that he who boasteth might boast in the Lord. Oh! if selfe could know the gift of God and who it is who offereth one that can doe that for us which he did for that woman Joh. 4. and that blinde man Joh. 9. while he talked with them what a light would it afford to the soule The ignorance of this causes the soule to bee in as deep a stagger after Christ is revealed as it was before for why Selfe is ready to cavill Lo God offers Christ as one should offer an hundred pound to one for the running of a mile whose legges are cut off But a needing soule set out of and beyond her selfe spins out all her hope and helpe from the promise trusts not to her own steppes which she makes to Christ but to the steps which Christ makes toward her both as her price and Advocate to apply it 1 Joh. 7.8 Joh. 8.22 the Way the Truth and the Life Secondly Selfe failes also in the Heart-sight of Christ And the heart sight of Christ For although she hath some glimpse of affections toward the things of the Gospel yet she savours them onely as things good to her selfe so long at least as that savour lasteth and promise to her some welfare A carnall heart must be pleased and the Lord Jesus must serve to that purpose But a poore needing soule so sees Christ offered as by that sight all other objects of sense are eclipsed yea dispossessed receiving thereby such a bottome of spirituall rest and content into the soule as needs no other false bottome to eike it out withall Selfe so apprehends Christ as an object of good making up some formerly enjoyed good not able to satisfie of it selfe and so both holds her owne still as essentiall and addes another to it as onely a bettering of another not a casting out of another that Christ might be all in all that he I say might be in stead of Selfe A pearle to one that findes it is both house and ground sheep cattell pullen and all makes all base to come under the worth thereof So doth Christ bear downe Selfe and becomes to the soul that which all wealth ease sports company pleasure and content could bee Selfe soders matters of all sorts together and makes an Image of all mettals mixed with clay joines a horses crest and shoulders to the head of a man Why is this because Christ is not revealed to the heart as her Adaequate and full object shee heares of him as the Jewes dream'd of release an halfe object of happinesse not as an excelling good in comparison of which all former are dung and drosse Satan so blindes the eyes of Selfe 2 Cor. 4.4 that this glorious sight never comes at the heart to possesse and fulfill it I say Selfe shuffles and huddles all together and reacheth at the Lord Jesus with that carnall savour wherewith shee reacheth at profits and pleasures as a fulsome fellow who complements with all sorts alike so he be satisfied with any thing he is glad As for discerning of things that differ and ascribing the maine esteeme of heart to that which best deserves it out of judgement and savour what is best hee is farre from it onely the honest heart sees a peculiarity of savour gaine and sweetnesse in Christ and as once the Oracle bid them that asked who should have the Kingdome Give it the best so shee gives up her selfe with all her content and delight even her Kingdome and prerogative to the best the true and undoubted Lord even Christ shee separates the
of Simoniacall contraâ—ts for Benefices that such Simony creates a lapse Will any Minister having a living freely offered him by his Patron chuse to contract for money Is he not well worthy to lose his living by lapse The Lord Jesus is offered thee freely by thy Patron of Heaven the Lord Almighty wil nothing then serve thee but Simony to come to it by thy selfe Thou deservest to forfeit him and to be cast out by lapse Thy money O Selfe perish with thee Act. 8. because that thou thinkest by thy price to obtaine such a gift Lo thou hast no fellowship with this businesse I conclude therefore lay not out thy silver for no bread Esay 55.2 nor thy labour for that which profits not eate good things Esay 52. end and let thy soul delight in fatnesse enjoy the fruit of thy travell and refuse no pains to cast nest nest-egge on the dung-hill Trust God upon his bare word for a principle of strength from Gods fountaine which will hold out both Winter and Summer when the Brookes of Tema shall be dried up Cease joyning Selfe with Grace Doe not thinke it so desolate a worke to hang upon a promise except thy selfe have a finger in the worke and feel some warmth from thine owne feathers Bad digestion in the stomacke is not bettered by concoction such as thy root is such the branches will bee and an errour in the foundation will meet thee perpetually in the building so that either all must be puld downe againe which is tedious or else thou must rush forward with an uncomfortable spirit and upbraiding conscience False mixtures are odious to God and hee who forbad the field to bee sowne with two graines or a garment to be made of linnen and wollen meant another thing for what are these to him but abhorred the soile of the soule should be sowne with selfe and Christ and the backe apparelled with Christs robe upon an inward garment of thine owne 2 Cor. 5.5 Thou chusest to be cloathed upon but God will have thee naked for what use is there of covering one that is covered already The mixing of divers heapes of corne together mars both pease or tares are good in their kind if severall but if mixed tares are soile in wheate nay the wheat is marred by them Duties and affections if considered as fruits of Christ and his promise are good things but if they mixe and incorporate then they prove soile and marre all Filch not from God to bestow upon Selfe feed her not with Gods dainties rob not God to satisfie her to nourish up thy base heart against the simplicity of grace begge of the Lord that he would teach thee to discerne copper from gold and to shew thee the face of this Selfe in his glasse to take out of thine heart this slavish base unbeteaming and underbidding nature be affraid lest thou shouldest undergo thy selfe in purchasing the pearle looking more at the one bird in the hand then two in the bush and beeing so pennywise to detaine Gods due price and to keepe selfe with her brats selfe-pettishnesse worldlinesse ease sloth selfe-credit self-will wit and instinct that thou are pound foolish and deprivest thy selfe of a pearle worth both all that thou forgoest with an hundred fold gaine and heaven it selfe at last Hate Selfe for her selfe in point of her enmity and contrariety of Spirit to the Lord Jesus and then her branches will soone wither and lose their sap and life And this may serve for the former branch of this use of Admonition Branch 2 to the godly The second branch of this watchword may reach to the godly themselves who must know that although they have escaped this gulfe in the maine point of beleeving a mercy deserving the thanksgiving of their whole life yet she is not quite expelled from being an inmate and daily pricke and goad in their side while they live a perpetuall Peninnah Selfe a perpetuall enemy to the regenerate Let such then wonder that the Lord should ever bring them out of the endlesse maze of this selfe and give them broken humble and plaine hearts to avoid the thousand turnings and doublings of a base spirit 1 Sam. 1. and to tread the true path of wisdome leading to life Oh! should they say how loath would I be now to hazard my soule upon the successe of former labours how loath would I bee in this barren world and base heart to have the matter put to a venture Oh! I would not for a world be to beginne againe a thousand prayses to him that hath not put my soule to such a perill and not so onely but be warned also to beware lest when this divell cannot deprive us of heaven yet it should defeate us of our other hopes to grow in grace to joy in our possession to live by faith to be sound in our worshipping of God and duties to be fruitfull in graces to serve our time to bear our crosses to persevere in our course to be ready for Gods comming What is it but this wofull inmate that hinders in all these what but this selfe and presuming of our selves causes grace to be so unthrifty and to hang downe the head what but ascribing to our selves in our meanes using makes them so unfruitfull what but our utmost taking of our liberties pleasures ease and denying our selves nothing which hath but the least colour of lawfulnesse causes Christians to be so full of sorrow and repentance what is that which glues us so fast to the creature that we are loath to part with it for peace of conscience or the attaining of heaven loth to die and goe hence what caused Iob so much sorrow save the cure of this disease Job 42.2 to teach him to abhorre himselfe what save Selfe in the creature wedding our selves to our next hand props of children wealth meanes welfare causes the Lord to cut off these members altogether that as in the body which hath a leg or arme cut off the spirits might not goe to that which is dead but that which liveth even from the streame to the fountaine That we may learne by experience if the base creature be so sweet in which so small a dramme of the Lord is what is then the God of the creature worth Why should the Lord afflict the godly with so much sorrow save this that they will not be brought to improve the Lord for his strength to subdue their lusts and corruptions in speciall to make good his promises to be alsufficient in outward blessings to uphold us in our straits But we content our selves in this that we have found him good to us in pardon and reconciliation thinking the danger to be past and our selves free from taking care for the subduing of this wofull Selfe in the course of sanctification I might instance in twenty particulars take it in these two what should so much sting a poore soule
all these thou complainest of no man need bid thee be revenged of them or watch them a shrewd turne but I tell thee an enemy within thy bosome counted thy darling and close friend one called Selfe is a more deadly enemy and can doe thee more hurt then all of them together hereafter raile not upon the evill world thy cruell Landlord thy false friend bankerupts who have runne away with thy goods or thy bad wife that stings thee with her tongue thy bad children ill neighbours thy persecutors not one of these but may set thee a steppe forward to heaven none can deprive thee of it but Selfe can and will world divell and his instruments could not hurt thee were it not for this traitor which sets open the doore unto them to tempt to defile thee See Naaman here in what a wildred case he is except the Lord had made him see his enemy and undoe all his crosse selfe-willednesse and waywardnesse and to stop to Gods way yea and glad to scape so too unto what a perplexity had he brought himselfe after besides his pudder for the present even so know thou that when thou hast runne into thy long error thou must come backe againe this way of selfe-deniall or else the further thou goest the worse will thy case bee Oh! it is a tugging crying sinne it wearies ten Preachers to denounce against it Oh! to what a sweete peace had the Lord brought many an hearer of the word had it not beene for this Beloved we have had some faithfull servants of Christ both living and happily dead among us who have confessed that by this Selfe and her meanes they have spent forty years ere they could come to beleeve and do we look to make it a short cut of forty daies therefore mutter not at thine enemies much lesse at the Lord but at thy selfe and say thy perdition is from thy selfe God is enlarged Hosea 13.9 but Selfe hath hidebound thee and straited thee in thine owne bowells count that Sermon which hath taught thee this lesson one of the best that ever thou heardest Luke 5. There were many lepers in the daies of Elisha but he was sent to none save to Naaman the Syrian and hee had beene sent to him also in vaine if Selfe might have borne sway A second Branch of Instruction is of Instruction Be not offended with crosses to stay that impatience of our spirits Branch 2 which usually falls from us under the visitations of God either upon our whole man or body soul and conscience state posterity or whatsoever For why should we murmur against him that by wounding our side should let out an impostume which would else kill us such an one as no other meane would have cured save this doubtlesse as Hezekia saith By this man liveth And Iob cap. 33. Elihu tells us Hereby even by the corrections which he hath sealed such as he there mentioneth consumptions Esay 3.8 fevers and diseases which take away stomack and the like the Lord hideth the pride of man which is selfe he brings to the pits brinke of the grave that he may keep the soule from hell even the nethermost pit Oh! when the bladder of Selfe and Pride and Presumption is prickt and the bubbling froath and windy puffing thereof is let out a man comes to see himselfe as hee is a forlorne creature then his duties affections hopes sorrowes desires and performances vanish no man can so basely thinke of him as he conceives of himselfe then hee is vile dust and ashes in his own eyes Who is more free from all arrogating to himselfe and his owne righteousnesse then one that lies all pale and consumed with paine and sicknesse When we doe meet with one except some desperate blinde Pharisee who in his extremity dare trust to himselfe where is then his vain-glory his boasting of devotions fasts prayers and alms Alas the image of them is despised the pride of life is crack't and the great stomacke is broken and then his high thoughts which exalted themselves against Christ and an humble heart quaile and come downe Crosses are great meanes to let out Selfe out of the Soule Then if an interpreter come one of a thousand to declare his righteousnesse how welcome is hee When the heart is empty of Selfe then doth the Lord commonly fill it with good things and when it despaireth of selfe-hope then the Lord saith Deliver him I have received a ransome Hence it is that Iob cap. 10.12 saith Thy visitations O Lord have preserved my spirit And the truth is it is well in these dead times if any thing will doe it As Paul Phil. 3. saith If by any meanes I may attain it The word without some afflictions upon mens spirits or name bodies or posterity and that in some stinging kinde pierces not the spirit is straitned Sometims after long struglings and wrastlings of men with this Selfe hoping to picke somewhat out of their owne strength they are tired and wearied in their way and their former feares come upon them a-fresh so that they can finde no rest in their bones Then they begin to consider seriously of it and conclude There is a pad in the straw still they crosse the worke of God in one kinde as fast as they further it another Surely they resolve an heart of hollownesse sloath unsoundnesse and loathnesse to renounce the creature or their stoutnesse and sullen heart or the warmth of their owne feathers their zealous affections These or the like oppose the nakednesse and simplicity of the promise and keep the conscience in snares and defilements and they cry out Miserable men who shall deliver us And sometimes by other affronts the Lord is faine to sharpen the point of his convincing ordinance that the Soule may think the Lord is in sad earnest when she findes him to hunt her out in every corner and give her no rest till she can be content to be saved any way so she may be saved A very Papist in his straits will disclaime himselfe and say It is safest for the avoyding of vain-glory to cleave onely to mercie and shall we that professe none but Christ come short of them To conclude then as we read Heb. 12. My son refuse not the chastening of the Lord Job 7.18 nor grudge at his visitations as Iob once murmured Why dost thou visit him every morning and try him every moment Why dost thou set mee as a marke against thee But in the issue of that great trouble he was of another mind saying cap. 9.31 My very cloathes defile me And cap. 42.4 Now have I seene thee therefore I abhorre my selfe Let us doe likewise and abhorre our owne murmurings at our crosses for although they are irksome to the flesh yet they are wholesome for the spirit as we say of the body that when the spleen is smallest that is best So the body of grace is at best when that Spirit in
portion never to be taken from her To apply the answer the cause of such staggering is self-love That which you feele to agree with your selves and to come easily pleaseth you too well and causeth you to dwell upon it too long and to withhold you from better things The remedy of your disease must bee to ascribe no more to your selves but to the glory of grace to abase selfe and to exalt mercy to renounce all selfe-reflex from duties and endeavors of your owne because they cannot shed any meritorious bloud to save you and to claspe to that promise which is established upon a satisfaction to justice which though it be out of your selves yet is after a sort made your owne by him that promiseth because faith is his gift and he hath covenanted to give it you for that end and purpose What skils it how little grace you feele within when as he who offereth you mercy onely seeke such as want it that he may have the glory Or what shall it boote you to thinke you have lesse sinne then others when as he who calls you to forgivenesse cares not how great it be so it hinder not your beleeving in him Read this wisely who seekes the superabounding of grace where sinne hath abounded Accept then such grace offered as those in whom nothing dwelleth toward any grace Grace best accepted by such as of themselves are emptiest of it and as if yee had stept no one step toward it more then the vilest publican and sinner have done Be content to gird your selves and serve grace and let not grace attend you as if you had wrong if it be not laid in your laps but come under the banner and authority of it the ends and honour of it It is something that grace runnes in your streame but your staggerings shall never cease till your streame be dried up and turned to runne meerly in Gods streame to be carried both whither how soone how and how farre it shall please him Use all meanes walke so in the way as making use of all incouragements but still looke forward to the price of the high calling of God boast not your selves as if you had put off your harnesse But rather thinke thus if it be so joyfull a message to heare of a pardon how much better were it to sue it out and apply it to my selfe and how wofully should it sting me if any things should come betweene cup and lip to defeat me of it Remember that all preparations of grace serve onely to testifie to the soule that the Lord hath beene at worke not that it should rest in a taste of absent but presse on with unweariednesse to obtaine the fulnesse of a present and enjoyed happinesse and betrust it selfe wholly to his workemanship who would never have begunne if it had not beene in his power and will to finish Stand therefore at his curtesie wholly as disabled in thy selfe to cooperate with him much lesse to have him at the bent of thy bow binde Selfe to the altar with cordes and turne thy active medling spirit into a meere passive and waiting spirit upon the worke of God not as a slave nor as a loyterer but as a self-denyer and one whose strength is to sit still and behold the salvation of God Oh beloved that I could so follow this councell of mine with effectuall prayer to the Lord that through mercy it might become a mean to put to an happy end those endlesse innumerable complaints of staggering consciences to settle them in some tolerable measure with comfort and quietnesse And so much may also serve for this third and last Branch of instruction Vse 4 The fourth use of this point may be examination of your selves concerning this secret sinne of Selfe Examination I say not the being of it for hee that would be rid of it must goe out of the world but the raigning and defiling and deceiving power of it to keepe the soule from Christ I need not be large in this I have prevented my selfe already in all which I have said before to describe this theefe by his markes But what shall it profit you brethren to say they are laid down in the opening of the doctrine if ye let them lie there apply none of them to your selves to find out your owne let What shall it availe that I have told you what grosse Selfe is and what this secret and wyredrawne Selfe is To have shewed you many instances of it The steppes and degrees of it The carriage of it both in the ground the proceeding and the scope of it The reasons of it both from the cursed nature of Selfe the curse of God and Satans advantage What good will it doe you to heare the danger of it described by the naturalnesse subtilty closenesse violence of it If none of all these will stirre ye up to cry out and aske Am I the man O Lord or with Rebecca feeling her twins to stirre within her to goe to God for counsell Alas brethren To this end all serves else all is as water running over in a full vessell some of yee perhaps will say there is so much said of this that it fills your head so that ye know not where to beginne I answer If it be so much it may make some amends for the little or nothing which most men will speake of it and oh that it might occasion others to speake more But to answer you I say take any one of these and trie your selves by it especially cull out such instances and markes as you thinke sort best with your condition let not plenty make you barren Who knoweth what is in the spirit of man save the Lord and it selfe Or rather the Lord searching the heart by his owne Spirit Jerem. 17. and teaching it to dive into the depth and secrets of sinne Selfe requireth good and deepe searchâ—ng Who can judge whether it be grosse Selfe or privy and subtill Selfe which pesters the soule and disables the promise Who knowes whether ease or pride feare or presumption conceit or error and ignorance hinder most Try therefore thy selfe knowest thou not that Selfe must stoope if Christ enter doe not thinke that because here thou maiest finde some markes of this else therefore by and by thou hast snatcht him no no thousands who know their diseases carry them under their privy garments as running sores till they destroy them especially remember if Selfe bee so deepe an evill so naturall a twinne eating laughing and living in thy bosome with such familiarity and bewitching what save the infinite wisedome and power of God can worke the discovery or resolvednesse of heart to cast it out Therefore not to urge any thing already urged in speciall I doe onely in generall urge thee to make use of what hath beene said already of this mischiefe Goe aside hide thy selfe in thy chamber Esay 26. powre out thine heart to
the necessity of it and the true sense of utter perishing without it lo then the case is altered John 10.10 then as Peter on the suddaine would have Christ wash him throughout so she growes resolute to beare downe all selfe le ts disswasives feares losses discredit then so she may have Grace shee will have it any way let all goe shee cares not so she may enjoy that pretious thing she loveth she tramples upon her pride ease and all that hangeth on as a clog without or as a let within glad if with the forfeit of all she can purchase it Heb. 12.1 Marke this good brethren let the Spirit of Grace prevaile a little and it is strange how it subdues that loathnesse of Selfe to yeeld the rebellion and fiercenesse of the Spirit Oh! it causes the Lion and Lambe to feed together it tames the soule and carries it captive bound hands and feete content to abase it selfe to the lowest and poorest tearmes to be taught and directed in the way of God by the most despised instruments which before she disdained to learne of Curiosity now and choice of Preachers and accepting of the Grace of our Lord Jesus in respect of persons is base and unsavoury Now shee sees Grace is onely in the hand of God to give or restraine now it is a dainty commodity indeed and beares prick and prise in the soule any thing will be given for it if God will now sell it her let him but aske and have and whatsoever before was in high esteeme shall now be vile and as dung unto it Oh! beloved trie your selves also by this marke and if ye finde the least dramme of this geason worke of the Spirit in you dampe it not nor quench it lest Selfe returne and set such a deepe price upon it that perhaps yee will never recover it againe If a spirit of frequent and unwearied hearing travell conference meditation questioning consulting with such as can resolve us a spirit of wisdome to devoure sinfull bashfulnesse and modesty and coynes in revealing our doubts be given unto us if wee feele an heart in us loathing that lither listlesse dead spirit which was wont to withdraw us beware we lose it not nourish it and although all the world should mock us and our own base spirit should tell us we shall be noted for our labour let us make never the lesse of it nor be discouraged Fourthly 4. Marke Spirit of Grace resists those speciall pangs of selfe in every soule the Spirit of Grace resists those particular and personall pangs of Selfe self-love which the soul especially is distempered with Selfe is a stock of many branches even originall antipathy to Christ and Grace at every rate but some appeare in one some in another as in the body some humors settle within the intralls others breake out into sores and swellings So here In some there appeares a base lither heart in some a spirit of the world lusting to rake and scrape in others subtilty and hollownesse to colour over their owne corruption in some a barren deadnesse of heart in others secret pride and resting in their gifts in some selfe-conceit of their owne way in others revenge pettishnesse 2 Cor. 10.4 frowardnesse Some encline to the right hand of selfe-confidence and content in their owne hopes others to the left hand of feare and slavery Now the Spirit of Grace In some stronger in in some weaker is as fire devouring that corruption which is next hand and searching out the peculiar distemper of the Spirit which beares most sway against Grace and Christ It descants not about other mens lets and maladies but lookes at her owne in speciall saying I doubt not but others finde their owne home and bosome hindrances let me see to mine owne for other mens shall not hurt me I feele a very stout heart loath to take a reproofe blustering at any that should taxe me what Do they know what I am my parts or thus I feele a very froward spirit God himselfe must not crosse and unsettle me lest I fly in his face or thus I feele a stiffe heart of Selfe loath to doe good to sympathize the necessities of others so I may fare well my selfe by visiting by advising admonishing instructing them I say each one hath his peculiar ayles and humors which take off the edge of grace in him and all because there is not that meekenesse tendernesse and brokennesse of spirit there wants the power of Christ to beare downe such distempers But the Spirit of Grace encounters every speciall disease discovers to every man his owne abandons that spirit which reignes in an hypocrite who can make a pretty shift till his owne basenesse be found out but then he buskells and takes on like a mad man Not so here For the Spirit of the Lord Jesus is a Spirit of sagacity and search never linning till it can follow her selfe by the sent and footings to her very den and there strives to drive her out of her hold by violence For why It presents to the soule the safety and happinesse of selfe-discovery This marke cleared and the infinite danger of the contrary causeth it to delight in the convincing of her conscience and to be loath to foster in herselfe any such michiefe as might destroy her own hopes She sees how hypocrites doe exchange Selfe with Selfe but purge it not out wholly desires to resigne up her chiefe fort and freehold to the Spirit of Grace without tergiversation or shifting And so shee cries out heartily to the Spirit of Grace Lord how long shall this close enemy of mine maintaine her selfe against thine authority and trie masteries with thy Spirit Hast thou not yet a further strength to cast downe this bulwarke Oh! if thou shalt cast out this defilement to the bottome so as I may feele a sweetnesse in thee to supply and equall it how sweet a mercy shall I count it Beloved search your selves by this Can you say of all these dregs of Selfe Oh that I might bee rid of them at once Oh when shall that happy day come When shall I feele the Spirit of Grace thus working to put all out of question that which is the bane of the false heart is the chiefe joy of a sound one when shall I feele my soule as sensibly sustained by the Word as ever I have beene by Selfe Oh! if now the houre were come that all the unclean pleasures I have taken in my own bottome and selfe-ends were quasht how should I rejoyce And yet I know well what I must forgoe even that which hath been my meat and drinke and pastime but I speake advisedly and in coole bloud I should be glad of it and hazard all and I know they should be as drosse to me if thou canst truly professe this thine estate is comfortable And hereto I may adde this as a fifth marke that the Spirit of Grace settles and compounds
all those objections and cavills whereby Selfe labours to rivet her selfe in the soule shee passes sentence against Selfe 5. Marke It answers all objections of Selfe and when Selfe hath spent her selfe in all she can say to hold the soule in her chaines yet the Spirit of Grace is stronger for Grace then Selfe for corruption Notwithstanding all her ease loathnesse to part advantage to the flesh difficulty of beleeving pretences and colours yet so it is Grace will beare the sway and perswades the soule to cast her out She is as those men of Juda whose words were stronger for David 2 Sam. 19 43. then the words of the men of Israel So that let Selfe dispute what she can against mercy yet mercy is that which at last the poore soule must betake her selfe to sooner or later and better at first while the heart is tender and willing to take paines then at last when she is sapped and soked in Selfe Grace is the thing she aimes at and although she have had many turnagaines and discouragements yet till she rests there and sets downe her stafe upon the promise shee shall have no rest or peace in her spirit and therefore bearing downe all difficulties cavills and pulbacks she resolves upon Grace and the freedome of mercy This cannot an hypocrite reach unto for either he is resolved to be as he is or else proceeds on in a continuall staggering If the former then he is hardened and will be as he is if he be in an error he will live and dye in it he will not change his estate for any mans hee desires to be in no better case then he is If the latter then he is alway devising of one shift or other to delude his owne conscience when it checks him for unsoundnesse making it his trade to daube it with untempered morter Contrary to both the Spirit of Grace causes the soule to bee informed of her owne danger to be content to heare of the hardest to amend any errors which have misled her though with much paine searing or lancing medicines or plasters she is willing to undergoe any hardship for a cure and will refuse nothing so she may be rid of an unsafe condition and although shee knows this divell will not out without foming and raging and much opposition yet she doth as the husbandman doth Eccles 11 4. who knowes if hee should observe winde and raine he should neither sow nor reape So the Spirit of Grace waites not while the coast bee cleare and all objections of Self be answered for she holds her own and will not be answered but breakes through the hoast of all cavills to come to the bare promise and when she cannot untie each knot by picking it shee takes her sword and cuts them in two at once that the soule may be at liberty Zachar. 5.11 And as the Prophet speakes of carrying the Ephah into the land of Shinar so doth the Spirit of Grace carry this resistance of Selfe farre away from the soule whence it may never returne any more to pester her in the maine point of resolving to cast her selfe nakedly upon Grace and Christ Sixtly Grace opposes Selfe by setting Selfe against Selfe 6. Marke It sets Selfe against Selfe and thereby wearing her in her owne way that shee may forsake it and take a better Hence it comes to passe that when the soule hath long traded with her owne affections devotions and duties satisfying her selfe with the warmth of her owne feathers the Lord sets another Selfe against them that is suffers some morall distempers to rise up in them as peevishnesse wandring after fond frothy vanities an inconstancy of spirit to unsettle them contenting themselves with the creature any shred of it eating and drinking padling in the world or about carnall objects which formerly they despised and why these Surely that they might be gastered by the worse from the better and being beaten from Self in both kindes might resolve to fasten upon that which might bottome them upon Christ I have observed it in sundry even of tender and good affections that through feare and weaknesse could not bee perswaded to cast themselves upon the onely free and unchangeable truth of the promise there to settle and to rest in Christs bosome without strugglings or distempers of their owne base distrust therefore the Lord hath suffered them to be exceedingly disguised and burdensome to themselves by the contrary qualities of sloth ease wearisomenesse deadnesse formality wrath and other baser evills Their former love of the word hath turned to indifferency whether they heare or no their painfull hearings meditatings with some life and savor praying with devout hearts and fervency with like care and jealousie in their other course hath wanzed and waxed wearisome and those evills which I named have come in their roome and when they have felt these pricks in their flesh to buffet them Oh! how sad and unsettled have they beene As a bone out of joint fit for nothing Yea how sullen with God quarrelling as if they never had any good wrought in them and sometimes ready to give over all in a tech and mood Why I pray you doth the Lord leave such painfull soules to such disguisements Hath hee delight to crosse them to breake the brused reed or to quench the smoking flax No doubtlesse Try your selves good brethren whether or no this hath beene your condition And if it have know that the Lord is just to deale thus with you although ye have not perhaps provoked him by an ill conscience by running to evill or wilfull rejecting of the meanes even because you still rest upon your owne bottomes and ascribe to your duties and affections he would pull ye off from these and draw you to set your soules upon better objects I know what objection you will make by and by That you have also as much as in you hath lyen strove against all resting in any affections of your owne Object laboured to deny your selves and to settle upon the promise Answ But I demand why then have you not obtained a bottome to rest upon You will secretly mutter and say the Lord hath not beene pleased to let out any saving and effectuall goodnesse out of his promise to prevent you in your endeavours and to sweeten you with the comfort of his Grace that so your labours might not be in vaine Doth hee not let out such sweetnesse as yee would Where then is the fault Could you lay the fault upon God Or thinke you that the error lies within your owne bosome What way hath God I pray you save the way of his promise inseperably attended by his Spirit to let in and convey himselfe into the soules of his poore servants Surely if you have closed with his promise for the assistance of the Spirit to convey his good things upon your soules then may and ought you to waite his leasure for the answering of your
her in all straits and troubles As Selfe was a body of death in her before easily besetting her so is Christ now a very reall being of Truth and Grace a very life of being and welfare unto her Now the soule is willing to shake off Selfe because she hath a better thing in possession which frees her from the old yrkesomenesse vanity bondage and unsubsistence which before she was disquieted with Oh! it is a wonderfull priviledge to a poore soule that whereas before it was tedious to her to muse of the promise to deny her owne hopes flashes and pangs to cleave to the bottome of another out of herselfe now all these are become sweet unto her because Christ is now instead of Selfe unto her even all in all Before it was a violent worke to apply the soule to meditation for she was out of the element of Grace but now she counts it familiar worke because the presence of Christ hath made it so a mercy more worth then all the world beside when shee considers duly of it Before shee was haled as a Beare to the stake to the word to the sacraments to other ordinances duties now she hath fellowship with them as her owne even as she is Christs before she knew not what to make of herselfe her affections her desires but now shee is able to discerne what God hath done for her and her affections mournings and duties stand not up in the roome of Christ but flow from him safely and returne to him as the waters to the sea whence they came Oh! what oddes is there betweene the dead life of Selfe moving the soule heavily as Pharaohs charet wanting their wheeles and the living life of Christ alway affording some warmth vigor breath and motion to the soule and assuring her that is not from herselfe but from a principle without which will not faile her Oh! this second Adams quickning spirit is as far above that dead principle of Selfe as a living creature is above an Image Thirdly the Spirit of Grace drawes the soule to the end of Grace The third is the end to behold the purpose of God in declaring the riches of that mercy by which he saved a sinner that he might purchase more glory to himselfe then good to the soule Of this I spake before by another occasion only note this that the Spirit carries Selfe out of the soule hereby For when the soule is ravished with the view of those excellencies of God manifested by redemption she loseth herselfe as in a streame as being ashamed to thinke that she should so basely struggle for that by her own strength which onely the Spirit of the promise can conduct her unto for the ends of the promise serving to make the Lord admirable in his Saints Oh! how is the soul ashamed yea confounded for her own folly that she should goe about the fadoming of so bottomelesse depth with her owne bucket I conclude these three branches with renewing my exhortation Try your selves by these whether the Spirit of Grace bee in you or no for if it be it hath the promise of a full bottome to stablish the soule upon it hath brought realnesse of comfort and peace into it and it hath carried it into the sea of the riches of grace so that it can make songs of the Lords deliverance with more admiration then if the inheritance of a Prince had befalne it I cannot insist now any longer So much for the second marke that the Spirit of Grace is for Grace To make an end a third and last marke of the Spirit of Grace is The third marke is The calme proceeding of this Spirit of Grace that it goeth forward calmely and softly in her pursuit of the promise without any carnall striving and violence of Selfe much lesse fretting and distemper of spirit upon Gods delaies She teaches the soule to waite upon the Lord and harken what he would say to his Saints for he will speake peace to them that they may not returne to folly their old selfe-staggering unsettlednesse or bondage The Spirit of Grace is much like the Temple of Salomon it loves not to hear the din of Selfe to disquiet it Psal 85.8 as hammers and tooles might not bee used in the building of the other 1 King 6.7 While he is at worke he cannot endure Selfe to disturbe him he will raise up the frame himselfe we must onely say Grace grace unto it but he will both lay the foundation and corner stone Zach. 4.7 and set the building upon it and it shall prosper in his hands Suffer we our selves orderly and by degrees to be led from step to step without turning off on the right hand or the left meekely and patiently attending his leasure in our innocency and use of meanes and foist not any secret weights of our owne into the ballance as if the Lord were not alone able to perfect his owne worke onely let there be no stops in our owne spirits to set backe or quench this Spirit of Grace under the pretence of our quiet and patient wayting 1 Thes 5. A point which no hypocrite can discerne If he be bidden to rest he leaves his diligence and waxes idle whereas true striâ—â— and true rest goe together and a poore soule so rests from his selfe striving that yet he continues his selfe-denying diligence in the use oâ— meanes Esay 30. Try your selves also in this but I remember I have touched â—oâ— part before when I spake of the violence of Selfe This shall thereâ—ore suffice to have spoken touching the markes of this Spirit of Grace and the several branches thereof Now in a word for the other peece of the question how this Spirit of Grace may be attained Quest 2. Hâ—w this Spirit of grace may be attained I answer briefly First be earnest in prayer to God for it for the Spirit of Grace and supplication are joyned together Zach. 12.10 That both the Lord would cast down this strong castle of Selfe and raise up the strong fort of his own salvation upon the ruines Answ 1 thereof joyne with prayer meditation be much in the use of all other powerfull ordinances of God fasting especially the true Sampson to Answ 2 cast down the house over the head of self and unbeleefe And observe seriously Answ 3 the graces of others such as have shot this gulfe and have had the Answ 4 experience of Christ in them Again seek not to please our flesh as it is said David would never crosse Adonija from his youth and that made him such a good one but abridge our selves of our wills even in some lawfull liberties 1 King 1.6 and abstaine from many things which others permit to themselves dyet our selves daily as those which runne for a prize and that may somewhat inure us to deny our selves in this great worke of Answ 5 Grace 1 Cor. 9.25 Tye our selves closely to the duties of
our places and callings and be not too indulgent to our backs bellies companies travells and the like sensuall recreations and contentments many men affect such a breâ—th in the uttermost of their liberties and jollitie that their very garbe bewraies them to bee men who savor not much of denying themselves goe to the Lord often with this thorne in thy heele and bemoane thy paine unto him 2 Cor. 12.6 till he ease thee as Paul did and ceased not till the Answ 6 spirit was sufficient for him Beseech the Lord not to leave thee to thine owne findings but to take thee into his own patronage maintaining thee at his cost and charge It is said that Ieconia long after his obedience to the Prophet Ieremy Jerem. 52.31 to yeeld up himselfe to the King of Babel was so honoured by God as to become of a vassall and captive a favorite and to be nourished from the Kings owne dish to have a portion of meate from him daily meditation of the Pearle Matth. 13.44 caused the Merchant to sell all and buy it How doth Paul Phil. 3. heate his heart with the Lord Jesus till hee cast out himselfe as dung Dâ—vid Psal 73. recovers himselfe out of his temptation of distrust and impatience by meditation and then breakes out Whom have I in heaven but thee Luke 2.51 Mary bred Christ in her soule by pondering the message of the Angell against her feare and doubting Nothing a greater nourisher of Selfe then unacqaintance and slothfull neglect of the promise Againe behold the practice of the Saints both in Scripture and experience both living and dying Heb. 13.7 how they have moulded their souls into the truth of God and have been content to hazard their own salvation thereupon saying if I perish I perish Let also as I toucht before the afflictions Answ 8 of God whether in our bodies or soules breake us off from our wilde olive stock and implant us into the naturall and sweet olive Say Lord it is a sweet mercy not to live to my self though it cost me deare to learne this discipline but to be at thine allowance As an idle wench chuseth to live basely and idely at her owne hand rather then under a Mistresse so would Self do if God did not over-rule the soul But when she is corrected and instructed then she smites upon her thigh and repenteth Lastly Answ 9 be not too eager in pursuit of our worldly affairs but quietly let us set our boate upon our streame of providence to crosse our selves in our carnall appetites and though God crosse us not yet deny we our selves inuring our hearts to mercy compassion to such as are in necessity bodily or spirituall Let not Papists the chiefe favorites of Selfe condemne us Protestants in this kinde farre it be it from us to foster a spirit of envy which lusteth in us after uncharitablenesse indignation morosity austerity censoriousnesse anger revenge suspitions contentions Jam. 4.4 discontents either with men or with providence and Gods administrations that please us not for these morall distempers will defile us spiritually if we be not aware of it Seeke not honour repute respect and acknowledgement from men let God alone with these Joh. 5.44 and let us not for such base scurfe yet highly set by in the world destroy the worke of God Oh! beloved consider what I have said of this weighty argument and the Lord give us understanding in all things for mine owne part I have cause to mourn that notwithstanding all I have spoken I have so small hope to prevaile with men because I goe against their edge and speake riddles to men of another metall What are we but signes and spectacles to men and divells in preaching these doctrines What serve we for save to harden their hearts For they will fulfill the doctrine and Selfe is like to quash their hopes when all is done The Lord prevent it in you for his mercies sake And so much also shall suffice for this whole use of exhortation to them that seeke conversion Now concerning the latter branch of Exhortation 2. Branch of Exhortation Gods people must practise selfe-deniall in their conversation to them who through mercy are converted already Let me urge this upon them so much the rather to deny all for Christ and his name by how much they have already obtained favour to count all as drosse in respect of pardon and reconciliation If in the former respect that of our Saviour be true how much more in the latter He that will bee my Disciple must deny all if the case so require take up his crosse and follow me And the truth is such are the times we now live in that I am in a manner forced to adde this point of use to the former For you must know the former is secret from the view of men though one day it shall be knowne to men and Angells so that we should doe men a world of wrong if we should judge them to bee other then selfe-denyers and beleevers Matth. 16. end But indeed there is another selfe-deniall a consequent upon faith and that is an outward renouncing of our selves and selling our selves out of all our profits pleasures ease and liberties for the name the truth of doctrine the profession of Christ in power That rather then we would betray these to the enemies thereof neither liberties nor lives should be deare to us Now herein what doe men Alas they shew that either they never knew what it meant to cast out Selfe to receive Christ or else they have found a narrow distinction between barke and tree to save themselves harmelesse viz. That although they deny themselves inwardly for him never so yet they have a dispensation so that outwardly they will not lose a dramme of wealth credit maintenance ease love of wife child will or appetite for his sake And at this plat the world of our professors now fall off Causes They love Christ with their hearts but they will not lose one straw for him Alas what wonder that it is so with them For why Why most men so little deny themselves for Christ To deny a mans selfe for Christ requires a better bottome then they have any The Lord Jesus never denyed himselfe to the death for the redemption of their soules never gave himselfe as a price to wrath for their pardon and peace The Apostle Rom. tells us Doubtlesse for a good man one would be content to dye Christ hath not been a good Christ to them for if he had they would deny themselves to the death for him They are upon their owne bottome still their owne ease will health pleasures life and liberties are too deare to them they love them as pretiously as a zealous Christian loves Christ therefore they will part with nothing for him If Christ were their Selfe their inner man their joy and content they would cleave to him as their
into the dungeon and then it falls downe as Saul with that light which shone about him Act. 9. and saith what wilt thou have me to doe I am as thou wilt have me 1 Sam. 3. my wisdome my wit shall be thine speake Lord and thy servant heareth he that formerly should have perswaded me of this might as easily have forced me to say it is light at midnight But Lord now I am a foole in my selfe meerly empty of mine owne sense and wholly thine addicted to sweare to thine edicts and if thou sâ—â—ak the word I lay hand upon mouth and have done This is to be as a little child whom ye may winne to say what ye list Oh! this is the next way to make thee wise to salvation This is to be unto Gods wisdome as the Queene of Sheba was to Salomons even to have no spirit left in her Oh! thou must say with David My fingers shall forget to play and lose all cunning Thirdly thou must so be stript of all thine owne Word of truth must cast the seed of God into the soule when once emptied of her selfe as yet thou must Branch 3 not be a meere void and empty one of all other wisdome But the word of truth must be shed as seed into thy soule and the principles thereof must be infused into it to informe it and to create of nothing a new nature of divine light into it I say as they spake in Act. 23.7 If an Angell from heaven have revealed any thing from heaven to him we will not gainesay it These words the Pharisees used of set purpose to oppose the Sadduces who denyed Angels and souls of men So must thou That which hath beene most contrary to thy wisdome must now bee all in all Now thou must oppose thy selfe thus If God have revealed any truth of his from heaven I will sooner cast thee out then resist it Be thou as parties who put their matters to compromise They are first bound in bonds to stand to award So doe thou binde thy carnall reason as a dogge to the stake that it stirre not a foote nor once mute while God is speaking yea doe thus with gladnesse as poore men are glad to be bound to arbitrement because they desire an end So thou because thou desirest to be savingly wise be glad there is such a word of truth shining in a darke place and open all windows to let it in do not stop any crevis of light which might enter but greedily attend study meditate in this word till the Lord thereby have let it into those darke corners of the heart that was before in the shadow of death and till the truth doe incorporate with thine understanding and cause the scales of darkenesse to fall off as Pauls did that thou maiest see cleerely those things that concerne thy peace All the fogs mists and cavills of carnall reason being scattered Oh! let her interrupt the Lord as she will yet the soule knowes whither to goe for deciding the question she will not forfeit her bond by which shee is bound to stand to the last decision of the word Fourthly get the spirit of the Lord Jesus into thy soule The fourth The Spirit of the Lord Jesus must create holy wisdome in the soule Joh. 1.18 who is the active worker of true and sanctified wisdome in the renued soule According as the Apostle tells us He is made unto us of the Father wisedome c. He enlightens every one that comes into the world with true light being that light which the soule must come by to the Father whose light cannot else be approached By the flesh of the Lord Jesus the soule is made capable of this light of the word else there is no capablenesse And the Spirit of the Lord Jesus workes the soule into this light because it reveales him unto it in the mystery of reconciliation and forgivenesse For why Till the soule be made wise to salvation all her wisdome is only in the brain will not hold The Spirit of Christ therefore lets into the heart as well as the head of the beleever this light and conveies the goodnesse warmth and sweet of it into the soule and that it is which causes it to dwell in the soule and to be an immortall and unâ—â— caying light which shall abide to eternall life till the soule see light in Gods light else the light of the Hypocrite is but a violent and dim twilight caused rather by a necessity of conviction then a powerfull perswasion Therefore apply thy selfe especially to such helpes as may bring Christ into thy soule The sight of his salvation to thy soule is the quintessence of spirituall wisdome this will cause thee to grow in all light when once thou art enlightned in the mystery of acknowledging Christ to be thy Saviour Ephe. 1.18 For why This will teach thee that Christ is all godlinesse in a mystery all the whole truth of God is lapped up in him as his infants body was lapped up in cloaths and swath-bands Else all knowledge is but a guessing and conjecturall thing count it then thy chiefe wisdome to be wise in escaping the snares of death and in beleeving unto salvation Oh! who shall bring me where I shall heare a Sermon of Christ to pardon me to reconcile me to God! If faith in the Lord Jesus once turne thy stream and carry thee with a fuller sway to heaven then all thy worldly wit carried thee before to thy cavills and objections there is hope thou hast well quitted thy selfe of carnall reason Faith the true eye to behold the mysteries of salvation Fifthly looke with the eye of faith into all the mysteries of godlinesse to beare downe carnall reason No mystery can be understood without faith The Spirit of God workes faith first as that instrument whereby the soule is led into all the secrets of God Faith by a promise will make carnall reason stand by as a very foole Hence it is that the spirituall man is said to judge all things even the hidden things of God And yet to be judged of no man 1 Cor. 3. Why Because the light of faith is the highest light All other lights are of a lower kinde And hence it is that a carnally wise man comming to heare a poore soule to speake by the light of faith touching the matters of God stands as a man astonished and as a foole in the presence of a wise man For why The Spirit which revealed the promise of salvation reveales therewith all other promises and all parts of the will of God So then I say in the fifth place let faith subdue thy reason and shew thee a reall sensiblenesse savour and wisdome in all the matters of God By her eye judge of the Sacraments discerne the reall presence of Christ there though not really carnall behold a sacramentall union betweene him and the Elements for the carrying of the soule into
an union with him and all his graces Faith in the promise of the ordinance will as well give thee a spirituall savour in Christ sacramentall as ever it did in thy reconciliation Both being planted upon a word of God whereto the Sacrament is an inseperable and sure seale Let carnall reason judge of a Sacrament and what will it make of it A peece of bread a cup of wine She beleeves no more then she sees What wonder A man may draw water out of a deepe well without a bucket as easily as a carnall man can gather sap or savour out of the Sacrament except Christ be his wisdome and righteousnesse Spiritualnesse in the first promise tasted by faith gives a relish to the soule in all other parts of the word And so I might speake of each part of sanctification Faith onely can get a spiritualnesse out of each promise of God to purge the soule of her corruptions To guide her in her way To answer her doubts her feares her objections To support her in her crosses and straits To season her blessings and to preserve her unblameable untill the day of her salvation A carnall man savours no more of these then a dog savours a chip for he wants that whereby such priviledges are spiritually revealed Shee harkens not to the word as the Pilot neglected Paul Act. 27. But Paul had the revealing of the safety of the ship which the Pilot wanted and therefore slighted the Pilots judgement farre more then he could doe Pauls Sixthly I exhort thee to savour spirituall things Savour spirituall things and to be able to prove thou dost so and that thou art made truly wise for spiritualnesse Quest How may I prove it Answ By these few markes First such Sermons Ordinances Ministeries as savour most of spirit and life affect and ensue such as savour of flesh and basenesse forme and carnall reason reject and detest Read and heare the word with seeking out the true scope and true savour thereof prying into it as the Cherubins into the mercy seat not resting in the barke and surface Blesse God for any wisdome to weigh and judge aright of holy things and their difference cleave to a spirituall worship of God and abhorre a carnall serving of God Heare the word with humility faith attention obedience for to the humble and trembling at his word God reveales wisdome Psal 25. Esay 28. Prepare thy selfe reverently to the sacraments with faith repentance love and hunger whatsoever savours of flesh as pride pompe ease self-ends world pampering of the body suspect it not to be from God Learne with Paul 2 Cor. 5. to accept Christ according to spirituall not carnall respects It is death to the spirit to be carnall or the flesh to be spirituall but to the spirit it is life Rom. 8. Secondly love simplicity It is a companion of spiritualnesse 2. Love simplicity get the one and the other will follow Affect not a subtill overreaching close and worldly-wise conversation It will justly cause Gods people to suspect thee Let not a double winding shifting heart and practice be found in thee either to God or man-ward Wisdome I dislike not seasoned with grace and meekenesse but carnall and politique wisdome of the world abhorre we are called Protestants Professors bee not ashamed to be according to our name let us be without welt or gard not bordering upon defence of evill or cavilling against the reproofes of the word Be not simple onely in point of Religion but also among the Religious Be not ashamed of God or of Gods faithfull ones for their meannesse Better is he that walketh in his simplicity then he that perverts his way and is a foole Condescend to meane things Rom. 12. Gods pretious ones come out of cottages yea sometime caves and dens of the earth Thirdly labour for heavenly mindednesse Phil. 3. Col. 3.2 3. Labour for heavenly mindednesse Our conversation is in heaven Let your affections be above where Christ sitteth Resurrection of the soule with Christ and an holy activenesse of spirit with fruitfulnesse is a steppe to the soules ascension with Christ and converse with God This world full of carnall occurrences of profits pleasures companies earthly courses and delights will make the most savoury Christian forget himselfe without great grace Be armed therefore against this temptation Know these things well and behold them aright they are nothing happinesse is not in them they promise but keep not touch use them therefore as if thou usedst them not as wings upward not as clogs let them be as water and grace as oyle which will swimme aloft passe through them as that fresh river is said to goe through the salt sea without taste or brackishnesse If grace bee chiefe shee will be a true moderator betweene these things and the world but if the world be chiefe shee will so bribe and bewitch thee that the best things will lose all savour and welcome in a short time 4. Preferre the words verdit Fourthly heare the word before the judgement of reason in all the promises and governments of God personall or publique Censure not God as unrighteous It came from God that Absolon should preferre the judgement of Hushi that he might overthrow both him and Achitophell Say of carnall reason as he did the judgement of it is not good in case And when Achitophell hath counselled then call for Hushi and say I dare not trust carnall reason Is there never a Prophet of the Lord Baals Priest are too pleasing to be faithfull in this case So much for spiritualnesse 5. Be wise in all thy course Lastly bee wise in thy whole course Quest How shall I try it Answ If first thou have the properties of a man truly wise As first to chuse the one thing necessary To discerne betweene things that differ To be ready for the hardest To make safe thy retreat Secondly true wisdome is planted in Gods feare Eccles last Deut. 4.6 Thirdly shunne the waies of error to discerne betweene the way of the foole and the wise Col. 1.9 Fourthly practise wisdome both in deliberation for God and in determination Psal 119.57 More fully be wise for thy soule and selfe Matth. 6.23 Redeeming the time Ephes 5.18 Project and plot savourly seasonably and wisely for God and his glory and ends Rom. 8. Savour the things of God and be wise for God are all one in the Greeke word Use all watchfulnesse against all enemies especially spirituall Marke 13.34 Meddle with our owne businesse finding still enough to doe at home 1 Thess 4.12 2 Thess 3.10 else we be inordinate and busiebodies as Peter Joh. 21.21 Be sure in all cases of doubt to cleave to things holy pure of good report Phil. 4.8 A comprehensive rule Of two morall evills chuse not the lesse but abhorre both Of two evills the one of sinne the other of sorrow chuse the latter though great rather then the former though lesse Rom.
way and strike into the way of selfe-deniall and faith strip herselfe naked and become as an orphan that hath none to betake himselfe unto none to shrowd under Now as shee is too proud as yet to take any shame so to take any new course she is too resty and lazy To dig she cannot and to beg she is ashamed Therefore as that Steward Luke 16.3 she will fall to an easier course she will resolve to shift and be still unjust as before returning to her trade with more boldnesse Vse 1 I must be briefe in this as being but an entrance into the next branch First Col. 2. end Gods people must beware of the fâ—lse boasting of ungrounded hypocrites let it be instruction to teach us wisdome that wee be not gulled with the glory of Hypocrites and Pharisees whose Religion stands in shew of humblenesse of minde and not sparing the flesh causing all men to gaze at them and wonder at their humility and devotion Oh! If such and such be not in the right way that be so lowly and so full of prayers and Religion God helpe us But Oh poore wretches They domineer in their kingdome and have none to controll them outwardly they are painted tombs and seeme to crouch and buckle But discover them never so little and put them out of their way they are as proud and disdainfull on the other side and no man can stand before their envy What wonder There is nothing more humble low base double diligent then Selfe in her owne way But put her out and nothing so proud bloud they say out of her vessell presently putrifieth Hold with a Papist in his owne course as alas ignorance must doe so and what shall ye not draw them unto What may you not have at their hands They will pull out their very eies to doe you good they will licke the dust of your feet But why Alas that by your consent and allowance they may stiffen themselves in their error and draw you into the fellowship thereof all is their selfe-way selfe-religion of the flesh which is proud of Gods colours Selfe in her owne way jâ—lly but if put out of it mad and raging and that she can pricke up herselfe with her own feathers But let truth once convince a Papist give him no hope either of countenancing him any more or of comming to his Religion and behold he will persecute you to the death Then will his spirit break out Thus those in Mica 6. would give God thousands of Rams tenne thousand rivers of oile in their owne way so that God would let them alone in their way they would fine for their Religion and undoe themselves yea offer up their children in sacrifice All this was to make God beholding to them to make all wonder at their bounty still Selfe lay quiet and gat warmth in her nest But when the Lord comes in with his way Oh then when he requires the soule to be lowly when he cries heare O man what he hath said and what his way is Then begins the sorrow will she then be so zealous to embrace Gods way No Mica 6. then she is sad and out of all sorts she will doe nothing See whence all that excesse of cost and bounty of impopery hath proceeded even from mens pleasing themselves in their owne way But crosse them never so little their almes and good workes perish in sullennesse of spirit and then all amort Oh trust not outsides There be many professors of the Gospel like to these Hold with them in their way of hearing of duties of compassion c. Oh! you shall have them as tame as lambes they will doe any thing for you But let the Minister deale sadly with them and say These moralities of yours you ought to retaine but the other and greater things of the Law you ought not to have neglected and then suddenly they become your enemies for telling them the truth Take an example or two In the 14. of the Acts those men of Lystra were so low and base as to set up Paul For Jupiter and Barnabas for Mercury to make Gods of men Thus they could be humble in their owne way to rob God of worship But when the Apostles perswaded them to turne from Idolls to the true God Oh then they were soone turned from adoring them to stoning of them So these falshearted Jewes who could outwardly magnifie Christ for his miracles hoping that he would become some great man could set him on the Asse and proclaime him a King who yet when they perceived his Kingdome not to be of this world gave him over and cryed crucifie him Beware I say lest we be deceived by such See Matth. 21.9 27.22 and let us know no pride is like to the pride of a crouching Pharisee A Monkish and Fryer-like votary hath more pride in his bare necke without a band and in his shirt collar beggars habit and seeming self-deniall then all the gallants and swaggerers in the world Oh! try mens spirits ere ye trust them If their humility lye in Gods way then esteem them but if it lye in their own way abhorre it For Selfe as the Prophet speakes of those Idolaters will abase herselfe to hell and cares not what she doe Esay 57.9 to make her seeme that she is not and to play her parts under a canopy and the more that she multiplies humilities and abasements one upon another the more she seeks to establish herselfe and to eke out her own short garments A dram of humblenesse in a truly broken heart and in Gods way will goe beyond all such patchery Secondly this should be Terror to all such Hypocrites as turn away Vse 2 their eies from reflecting upon their owne horrible pride The truly proud alway most ready to tax pride in the innocent and inveigh against others for their pride and singularity Note it there is not an hypocrite or wil-worshipper if he be convinced by the Ministery to bee upon a bad bottome but he will condemne that convincer to be proud censorious uncharitable factious none are good enough for them But Oh! thou wofull man whether of the two is the more proud he that reproves an ungrounded worshipper of God and convinces him of his ignorance and selfe-love or he that scornes a reproofe He who never thinkes himselfe sufficiently settled upon the bare truth and love of the promiser being himselfe destitute of all good or he who boasts himselfe of his owne goodnesse Matth. 7.5 Therefore with our Saviour I say Hypocrite first cast out the beame that is in thine owne eye and then thou shalt cleerly see to cast out the mote that is in thy brothers He may have a mote but thou hast a beame and that doth so stoppe and put out thine eye that the more selfe-love thou hast the lesse thou seest in thy selfe If ever the Lord truly cast downe thy soule thou shalt tremble with
Naaman to see what a world of pride was hidden in thy counterfeit crouching and hypocrisie Levit. 13.45 Thou shalt cry out with that leper and say Oh uncleane Oh proud wretch I was humble in a way of mine owne while I had my will while all was well taken But when the Law came and convinced me that all was from and for my selfe then as Cain so did my countenance fall then I was mad and rebelled like a Tiger If I had beene truly humble I should have counted him my friend that would reprove me and his wounds to be as balme my kicking against the pricks argued what spirit I was of Oh! let this gaster all such in Gods feare And brethren if there be any such here let them beseech him who can turne all to the good of such at belong to himselfe that he would turne all their rebellion and pride and coinesse to the glory of his name and the making of their soules doubly meeker and humbler then before for so it is sinne is out of measure sinfull both in guilt and rebellion but grace is out of measure gracious to humble the soule for both else the word will prove the savour of death Vse 3 Let this be use of speciall Admonition to all Gods people to search and try their owne spirits Admonition to all sorts not to claw this itch of Selfe It is good to search the spirits of others But farre better to try our owne in this weighty case It is good for a Minister of God to beware of flatâ—ering men of this humor for Selfe is proud and coy because she would be soothed But it is farre better to abhorre flâ—ttering of our selves in this false humblenesse of our owne If Elishá should have come forth and soothed Naaman in this humor of his whiles God had him in taming what a confusion must have followed No he left him to chew upon Gods bit and so his heart came downe through mercy But flattery had puft him up to destruction Oh thou Minister of Christ Ministers beware of it or poore Christian wheresoever thou seest this itch claw it not sow not pillowes But above all beware of humoring â—hy selfe in it and consider this If thou canst be so willing in a way of thy owne to take such paines and to seeme so low and vile in thine owne eyes when as yet the Lord and thy soule know all is but to serve thine own turn and to keep a secret bredth in thine own loose heart Oh! I say if thou canst take such paines for nought how wise wert thou in season to convert thy paines to a right object I meane the way of God! If thou shouldest say unto me so I would if I could discerne my selfe I answer thee First pray God to scatter the mist from thine eies which Selfe hath long blinded thee with through a sweetnesse in affording God that pittance which thou couldest well spare him and yet hold thine own too Secondly search narrowly and thou shalt perceive that selfe-humility hath some markes of discovery to know her by These markes be warned against First she is very coy and queazy 1. Coy and queazy cannot indure to bee reproved Markes of Selfe defeated whereas true humblenesse in Gods way lyes open brested to receive every point of Gods weapon to let out her corruption and all because shee would be rid of it Learne therefore and bee warned to handle thine heart roughly in this corruption let none be more jealous and suspicious of thine humblings then thy selfe Be willing that the word teach thee that way of God wherein true humblenesse appeares shrug not at it but give way to it that it may worke kindly Refuse not reproofe inure not thy selfe to utter or heare thine owne praises thou shalt at last blesse God more for one Abigail and her counsell then for tenne flatterers Too tender skins cannot endure the pricke of a pinne How should they endure a corrasive then to eate out their dead flesh Secondly this selfe-humblenesse is lazy 2. Lazy and loath to take paines it conceives that if it should be convinced indeed it must be faine to put it selfe upon a sadder way then she is willing to heare of Abhor this ease be content to be informed of the worst the worst of it is to abhorre that which would destroy thee and God can give thee a safer ease in his owne way if thou canst trust him then thy way can afford if thou wilt suffer thine owne spirit to stoope to his Refuse no paines to amend a rooted error let it not seeme wearisome to thee to change thy course if the word will have it so Thou wilt censure a Papist that he will live and dye in the Religion of his forefathers when a better is revealed dye not thou in the antiquity of selfe-delusion To be willing to submit to any way of God for thy good is a sure marke of a humbled soule Thirdly false humblenesse discovers it selfe by this 3. Partiall she will love them that should teach her while they please her and no further if shee may not teach them how to teach her and put their lesson in their mouth she will none of them Abhorre therefore this marke Submit thy selfe to Gods discipline Naaman seemed humble when he stood at Elisha his doore but it was for a vantage when he had not that he looked for he became another man But learne thou to accept of the labours and counsells of any who are for thy good though never so harsh meane and despised instruments in the eyes of Selfe love them best who come most against her in the name of the Lord and crouch as humbly to the poorest adviser in this case as ever thou stoopedst hypocritically in thine owne way Lastly selfe-humility bewraies her selfe by this she is seldome in a frame but alway in her extremities observe thy selfe and thou shalt finde the symptomes to follow the disease of Naaman Thou shalt be but off and on out and in in thy mood very humble but by and by stout and coy againe It is not easily for a rolling stone to lye still But a falsly humbled heart will be alway breaking out Prov. 7.11.12 As Salomon speakes of a distempered woman shee may bite in her froward humors for a while as an hot gleame in a winters day but she is overcast presently and fills her house with clamors and chidings quarrells and passions because she is inwardly turbulent No painted white face doth so differ from the looke of a bedred man as the counterfeit humility of Selfe differs from the ingenuous hiew of a lowly spirit Beware therefore of extremities and till the Lord hath truly brought downe thy winter out of the sky know it will never rot there it must be the mercifull calme of grace which must bring a setled state upon thy soule It is no condition of safety to be trusted to which alway
costes and be as nothing an unprofitable one when thou hast done all cast not God in teeth with them call not for them backe againe nor bring him his owne in a napking For these qualities poyson all thy labours Gods hearers will be at Gods dispose for blessing and drive the Lord further off rather then draw him nearer And when thou hast turned all thy selfe-defeated discontent into selfe-deniall and art willing that the Lord should doe with thee as he list then see how he will dispose of thee A little barley or an handfull of meale with a little oile shall make a more accepted meat offering to him with an heart willing to be at his dispose then all thy plenty of costly sacrifices without it Joel 2.13 Lastly it reproves all such as yet goe beyond these also and are content Branch 3 to submit humbly to all such waies as the Lord prescribes for the attaining of mercy but yet it mightily troubles them that God doth so delay his season and lets them goe so long without giving them their desire To whom I answer All yee have done hitherto is well Adde one thing more give all your humblenesse your labours your endeavours to God Waiting upon God necessary for such as looke to speed of grace and when you have waited upon him therein give him your waiting too for it is not too good for him perhaps there may be a Selfe in that also and sure it is the finer Selfe is spunne the more she will take pritch if she be defeated But be thou as Paul was 2 Cor. 12.9 who feeling no bottome in himselfe yet was content to be under that weaknesse and all to try what mercy could doe doubtlesse in such a case thou shalt finde that grace shall at least bee sufficient for thee if the Lord doe not also magnifie his power beyond expectation in thy infirmity And poore soule what gainest thou in the mean while by thy carking plodding and casting about with thy selfe If thou doe thy duty shall it not be well with thee And hast thou not a great recompence in this that thou art accepted and thy successe is with God Is it not much that a sinfull wretch who cannot lay claime to the aire earth water to breath in to tread upon and the like maist yet come and looke up to heaven with hope and come to the Lord as bound by his promise Alas his pay may be leasurely but it is sure the gaines may seeme small but still they are comming and will make a heavy purse at last And what Is there not some scurffe which the Lord must purge out thinke you Hath not a long course in evill hardned thee And may not a speedy course of thine owne hurt the more another way What if the Lord should leave thee to such corruption of thine owne as should cause thee to wax wanton were it not better prevented by longer delay And speake the truth to shame the Divell and thy slavish heart is it not better with thee at sometimes then at other If it be noâ— suspect thy selfe if it be suspend thy cavils cease thine enmity thine hard thoughts thine unbeteaming heart the Lord loves to be as freely thought of for his love as he deserves And for thy selfe if it be thy lot to lye longer under hope then others and to want the cheerings which some have yet sure it is if thou abide waiting in thine innocency not being tainted with shrewd dregs of thine owne stale and base heart the Lord will at length breake out so much the more in pitty to thy fainting soule by how much his delay hath made thee waite so long and it shall not then trouble thee that thou hast thus indured Mercy at last shall be sweetest to thee Esay 57.16 that thou faile not wholly Singularity of delay sometimes argueth an heart tainted with Selfe in more then a common manner And so much for the use of reproofe Vse 3 Lastly to finish this point and so draw to an end Let this be Admonition both speciall and generall Great men must submit their great spirits to God First speciall to such as are Naamans great ones in place renowne authority birth or any other worth above others viz. That their great stomacks rise not up in arms against God to quarrell with him when they are crossed in their owne hopes and expectations The truth is the streame of Selfe is ranke enough of it selfe though there be no oile added to the flame The poorest wretch could say though I am not so rich as thou yet I have as proud an heart as thou But yet when one streame meets another the flood is the greater Great men who thinke it a peece of their Noblenesse to take no affronts at any mans hand what ever it cost them had need deny themselves farre to get a subject heart even to God himselfe Their great bloud the repute of their owne eminency and parts exempts them in their owne opinion from the common lot as we read of him 2 King 6. who having first raged at Elisha as the supposed cause of the famine saying God doe so and so if his head stand on him this day after being greeted by him more discurteously then he looked for flew in Gods face too and said shall I attend on the Lord any longer Ver. ult As once a great Prince being crossed of his pastime by the weather told God swearingly he was a King too and he offered him ill measure so to defeat him Abner the pillar of Sauls house being but reproved by weake King Ishbosheth set up by himselfe for medling with his fathers concubines 2 Sam. 3.6 tooke it so hainously that he forth with revenges himselfe and betraies the Crowne to David Great men therefore swell easily if defeated and indeed these two were as bad as great but the best in this kinde take defeats heavily Let such consider that which Naaman if he had had the knowledge which they have would soone have noted viz. How desperate a thing it is to fight against God and to crosse him when he serves not our turne If God resist all proud ones especially great ones how much more proud resisters Pride being of it self a resistance Although your spirits rise up soon against men which yet I allow not beware ye be not found fighters against God Act. 5. Know that though men accept your persons yet God puts no difference especially in matter of salvation It is counted a great humility in a great one to be never so little humble But oh worme for what is the greatest flesh else if thou thinke it equall that a poore beggar should stoop to thee what shouldest thou do to God to whose eminency thine is as the drop of a bucket Take not upon thee though thou be the chiefe of the Parish the Lord of the Towne and Patron of the Minister to yoke him to any other
exempt a man from pride and disdaine None is so low but he loves to be Master of something Yee shall not see three or foure cattell together but one will be Master There is a wofull pride of spirit in man disdaining to bee under any As those base Jewes Joh. 8.33 in their greatest slavery yet vaunted they were free men and never served any And hence it is that we call the meere underling the dogge as of a Schoole of a family c. So loathsome a thing is subjection But marke let conscience of love and sense of divinenesse in an ordinance possesse the spirit of a man and this sinkes his spirit by and by As it is said 1 King 10.5 the Queen of Sheba came to Salomon with an equall and high spirit to dispute but seeing more then a man in him lo her spirit fayled her What is that She felt an infinite inequality in her selfe to Salomon thought it no disparagement to her selfe to be inferiour to so wise a man as he and therefore set her heart at rest from any more bubbling thoughts and calmed herselfe to a most meeke selfe-deniall If meere gifts will doe so what will grace doe Surely much more For as it will cause the inferiour to sinke and beat downe his spirit under the authority of a well ably qualified governour as I grant God requires all to be so yet it will discover a divine power even in the weake and unqualified by vertue whereof it will deny it selfe and say I quash my proud and base heart which would easily disdaine to submit better parts of wit skill Religion to one that wants all to God in man although I see nothing in him that should deserve it And this true selfe-deniall is the roote of all faithfulnesse in a servant For pride and stoutnesse in an inferiour will alway be slipping necke out of the collar Shall such an one as I of such breed worth abilities stoop to obey and serve especially such an unworthy one No I scorne it Oh! but this scorne marres the servant because it destroyes the ordinance God must levell thy heart and fill thy valley and cast downe thine hill that thou maiest say downe stout heart God lookes not at what thou seemest otherwise but at thy inferiority and in that respect commands thee not to looke at what thy proud heart would but at what his ordinance hath thought wisest Better thou lose thy proud heart which shall be thy gaine then God lose his honour the ordinance her due regard and so both Kingdome Church and family the good which thy subjection procures By this meane the stoutnesse of the heart stoops and is convinced that is but an equall thing it should be subject And secondly the barre being so removed the heart is let out to the fruits of humblenesse that is to serviceablenesse For what should I refuse to doe for or under such a governour as I see by the wisdome of God set over me for both mine owne and for a generall good and the ends of providence If once I see how wofull a confusion it were to pervert an ordinance how can I chuse but also deeme it a strange unrighteousnesse for one under the ordinance to withdraw service What is selfe-deniall but a letting out and taking downe of a base heart thinking it self too good to serve to a willingnesse in undertaking what service soever the rules of honest government can impose without grudging or contradiction So that as a proud heart is bound up soule and body so an humble spirit is enlarged unto every such service as reason guided by Religion can impose Nothing can come amisse to an humble heart selfe-deniall of her owne accord falls to serviceablenesse And what wonder When once the spirit of an inferiour hath no drift will way of his owne besides his Masters but is wholly his and for him how can it chuse but utter it in doing as it is bidden Goe come doe this and he doth it This for the Third Fourthly hence comes faith to fall to her worke For as a Christian in his generall worke of Religion 4. Grace in inferiors sets faith on work 1. Purgeth the soule of speciall distempers so a servant in his speciall relation of service lives by faith And how In these three respects First faith clenses out of the soule all those distempers which usually possesse the spirit of servants It is not enough for faith to purifie the conscience in generall from all dead works But in speciall it descends deeply and searcheth the corruption which creepes into duties into the graces of the soule into the use of meanes into the particular relations wherein the soule stands to God whether directly or indirectly Else what were a generall purging of evill which comes not into act But it purgeth each privy corner of the heart and brings the heart thus purged before God in the severall occasions which are offered Nothing comes between the cup the lip in this case All particular falshood will be hunted out of a servant whose heart is clensed by faith from all dead workes all basenesse and distempers will give place There is not one base quality of the heart but if nourished will corrupt faithfulnesse if any one string bee out of tune this harmony will vanish any case or sloth of heart will make a man unsaithfull in point of diligence an angry froward heart will make a man unfaithfull in point of answering againe and cavilling any falshood and hollownesse will cause unfaithfulnesse in point of doing the service which it promises as he who said hee would goe into his Masters vineyard Matth. 21.30 yet went not In a word a corrupt heart will be unfaithfull to the marriage bed of his Master defile his children with cursed examples filch away his commodities report wickedly of him as an hard Master who reapes where he sowed not corrupt the rest of the fellow servants and what not Onely faith clenses the heart of these evills and justles them out of place for how can Christ agree with Belial or these with faithfulnesse 2. Furnishes the heart with good qualities Secondly faith frames the image of God in the soule as in generall so in the particular relations of life that furnisheth the heart with sweet qualities with promote faithfulnesse What trouble is to an heart which is diligent to take any paines To an heart that loves the Masters good and is upright to seeke the credit welfare of the Master To an heart that is well grounded what base commands of an ungodly governour will prevaile against faithfulnesse to God To an heart well seasoned with grace for the right manner due measure and the right ends of obeying what service will be difficult Now faith it is which onely can make faithfull And thirdly faith having thus qualified the heart 3. It puts it it into actuall exercise doth also put it into service causeth this habit
shopkeepers let not your servants behold in you a spirit of covetousnesse to obtrude bad wares for good to belye their goodnesse to sell for too great prises false weights scant measures Such scurffe will soke into them as water into the bowells and fret like a canker The Divells market is so full as it is by this tradition and exchange from Master to servant This is not to be a father but a traitor for a three penny commodity to betray a soule to hell and the whiles to the like practise Such straked roddes laid before sheepe will cause them to bring forth spotted lambes How many on the gallowes and more in hell roare and cry out upon such Masters Thy life shall goe for his and he in hell groanes for thee to follow without speciall mercy and repentance so much for this Impose lawfull commands in measure Fourthly in the obeying of such commands as are lawfull and currant yet impose not tyranny in the measure thereof both in the former and in this latter servants may bee overloaden When Masters care not what excesse of toile and moile servants undergoe and that out of season beyond strength without due rest sleepe or intermission they shew themselves no fathers for fathers pitty their children but oppressors Thy servant is for thee to use not tire or teare out Thou must not take both fleece and flesh too So when that is laid upon the yong and ungrowne in either sexe which belongs to stronger armes and shoulders to lift or when a taske is imposed which exceeds the skill or experience of a servant it is an exaction an overdriving of them more fit for Egyptian taske Masters then Christian governours Take the servant in his way and element it is best both for thee and him So also let thy spirit be sweet and easie toward him in his moderate labours else thou wert better lay on more work For the spirit of a Master if insulting taunting chiding upbraiding is more heavy and contrary to the spirit of an underling then worke is to the body A servant would not care what hee did for his Master so he might have peace and quietnesse But a tyrannous spirit and wrathfull tongue with implacablenesse is a continuall wearinesse and dropping to a poore creature A loving interpretation a tender compassionate heart acknowledging with content the diligence of an inferiour is as marrow to the bones Thou couldest not abide a froward currish spirit a dogged servant answering againe crosse and disquieting of thee Take heed then thou measure out to him by the same rule whereby thou wouldest have him measure out unto thee Awe him and rule him spare not and correct errors yet with a fatherly heart and hand 1 King 13. but play not the Rehoboam to his subjects who cared not what measure he laid on nor feared what they could requite him withall His little fingers should be heavier then his fathers loynes but his fathers twelve tribes turned to become his two tribes and so the mends was in his owne hands Encourage him sometime Fifthly if thou see thy servant extend and inlarge himselfe for thy content beyond ordinary conceale not his labour of love for it is love and bounty of affection which causes him so to expresse himself Else he would shrinke in and restraine himselfe Doe not therefore Nabal like look another way and reject it but see it encourage and accept it as thou wouldest have Christ doe thine Sometime a little liberty of honest exemption refreshing his wearinesse or a little overplus a teston or a shillings requitall will do more then all violence Somewhat hath some savour and what a servant wouldest thou bee to God if thou hadst all commands and no encouragements Sixtly Yeeld him all due protection and shelter the Lord requires thy fatherly protection to shield and safeguard thy servant while he is in thy businesse that none molest wrong or discourage him The Lord promises to uphold us while we walke in his way So must we under God protect such as commit themselves to our shelter Much more then oughtest thou to shew thy self a father and friend in troubles and vexations by enemies who pursue him in his estate or otherwise Most of all if the Lord lay his hand upon him either in minde or body Most Masters if they finde that their servants grow sad and sorrowfull in spirit and loaden in conscience abandon them presently and are loath to endure the trouble or to beare the losse of some little time of hearing the word consulting with the Minister whereas rather they should be meanes to provide counsell for them So for body if a servant be hurt brused or lamed in our businesse or if otherwise the hand of God be upon them not to leave them to themselves but to fellow-feele their affliction to be afflicted with them and helpe to beare some of the burthen which they undergoe God tries thee in such a case whether thou wilt take all his service but shake off all burden Seventhly Carry an equall impartiall hand carry an equall hand betweene thy servants who deserve well It is a maine duty of the Master to regard those most that deserve best for that will provoke the honest to emulation and shake off the bad altogether But among the equally well deserving let not an unequall streame of affection be carryed and all kindnesses goe to one as a favorite and nothing to others for that will breed heart burning and ill will both against the Master and amongst themselves and much impeach thy wisdome and government Eightly as thou must doe for them while they are under thee Respect them at departure breeding in them the knowledge and skill in thy trade and the experience which thou canst afford them so at their departure after long and weary service with thee doe for them as their occasions require of thee The Jew though he were sold as a slave for his time yet at his dismission was to have a gratuity paid him to beginne the hard world withall either by lending him somewhat for a time to occupy or to helpe him in his marriage or by commending him to some better service or yeelding him any such countenance or testimony as may advantage him The worlds cry is no penny no Pater noster if once worke be done let him looke us no more in the face But the weldeserving require another carriage Thy servant hath spent his best time with thee therefore it were harsh altogether to neglect him in his decaying time Let thy counsell and aide be ready for him if he desire it in token thou lookest at his deserts as much as thine owne ends And so much for directions Which if they were duly practised how would they winne and draw the hearts of servants to their Masters What burthen would they refuse for such As the old men told Rehoboam If thou shalt speake kindely to these people they will be
gatherings of Ephraim Oh this pleased them well and so their fiercenesse abated So David when he had the advantage of Saul twice 1 Sam. 24.4 both when hee was asleepe and tooke away the pot of water from him and his speare another time when he cut off the lap of his garment and came after him saying I could have slaine thee this day and instead of cutting thy lap cut thy throate but thy life was pretious to me This for the time shaked his fury and wildefire and although it could not wholly quench it yet his end was most desperate as commonly theirs is whose rage a calme answer and milde usage will not qualifie So Iaacob in his returne from Laban foreseeing Esau his old grudge Gen. 33.13 sets himselfe in an exquisite manner to appease him first by gifts then by great titles and humble carriage whereby he turned off that rage which else might have brake out if hee had opposed him by violence Oh! such Abigails Davids Gideons and Iaacobs are much wanting and almost out of the world 1 Sam. 25.18 Now men have justled out Divinity and made a mocke of it by their brave stomacks maintaining that a man shall bee so much reputed amongst others as he reputes himselfe and stands upon his tearmes and he that puts up one wrong or reproach provokes two And it is true if we be such indeed as stand to our owne and the worlds judgement and barre appealing from Christs we may take our course goe on without let till shame and repentance and perhaps meeting with our matches doe compell us But if Christs voice will prevaile and wee will stand to his tribunall hee hath told us plainly such cowards and white-livers we must bee and yet Christianity makes us rather as bold as Lions in a just defence if we will be his read Matth. 44.5 You heard them say of old marke revenge is the old Religion though in a new cut Thou shalt love thy friend and hate thine enemy eye for eye tooth for tooth wrath for rage But I say unto you marke the voice of the new Gospel of peace love your enemies doe for them that spite you and speake evill of you and hate you Turne the other cheeke to him that smites you on the one cheeke That thus you may be children of your father in heaven who lets his raine and sunne fall upon the ground of the bad as well as the good And this is the same with that of Paul Rom. 12. If thine enemy hunger thirst or be naked give him meate drinke and cloathing Rom. 12. thus heaping hot coales upon his head recompencing evill with good And lest ye should think there is one Divinity for plaine folke and another for Courtiers Gentlemen and brave sparkes of hot and noble bloud looke I pray upon Elisha's Divinity which hee brought to Ieroboams Court 2 King 6.21 when he had brought the Aramites blindefold to Samaria hee askes them My father shall I smite them But the Prophet answers No smite them whom thou takest in the warre kill not in coole bloud set bread and meate rather before them and feast them and so send them home to their Master and so he did and the bands of Aram came no more that yeare It was good policy and Religion too And no doubt but many of our braving and lofty stomacks when they have met with the affronts of them whom they have provoked as commonly boasters alway goe by the worse then they wish they had beene wiser and held in their stomack ill afterward But I doubt many of our challengers and duellers if they were put upon the enemy in a pitcht battell and in Gods way would prove like those sparkes spoken of in Judg. 9. I meane Gaall and his brethren who asked who is Abimelec But when they saw him their hearts fainted and they were beaten downe To conclude let this generall Instruction brethren reach to all states persons occasions Let the word dwell in us plentifully in all wisdome to guide us in our course The word is answer not a foole in his folly lest thou be like him The patient man is better then he who is hasty in his spirit and in his matters He that overcomes himselfe is better then he that overcomes a City Ecles 7.8 Rom. 12.19 Be slow to speake and slow to wrath Here be the rules If the former examples of Saints perswade not thereto let the practise of these heathen servants shame and upbraid us You husbands and wives remember Satan is alway at your elbow if he can dstemper you quickly will the whole house be distempered and out of frame and your examples will fret like a canker Doe therefore as wise Abigail did to drunken Nabal for drunkennesse and rage are both madnesse she gave way to him while hee was in his cups and in his jollity of feasting but next day when wine was out and wit in she told him of his base distemper and then he was tame So do not take your husbands or wives weapon out of their hand suddenly to wound him or her If one rage let the other pray and be innocent perhaps the Lord will do thee good for their wrath Consider each other the party in coole bloud consider of the other party as of a man in drink prevented by his passion that masters him Doe not now adde oile to the flame and drunkennesse to thirst But remember now God tries me These words are as stinging as fiery darts this tongue is set on fire by hell but now doth the Lord vex every veine in my heart to see what mettall I am made of If now I listen to my lust and outshoot the Divell I may set a marke upon my selfe and be ashamed but if I can possesse my soule with patience now and keepe my fort strong I shall shew my selfe a man or woman stronger then a conquerour Luke 21.11 I will deny my selfe therefore and take away anger from mine eyes Ecles 11.10 and distemper from my heart I will seasonably give over strife lest it become as a fire broken out or as the barres of a Palace Better so then let your shames breake out to others and so be faine to put your quarrells to arbitration and then your selves shall be the first that repent it The like I say to you all brethren in your worldly dealings and controversies or in those tetches which you take each at other Breake not out to open words of defiance upon meer conceits but weigh the reports perhaps they come from tale-bearers examine your grounds and although you finde truth in them yet see what construction they will beare Jam. 4 4. consider that the spirit that is in us lusts after envy If these reports will not beare a good censure yet coole your hearts first then debate the quarrells in coole bloud before witnesses if the fault be proved let it be sufficient that he is convinced
but let not words blowes and sutes follow as if you were heathens Oh saith one Shall I endure such a base fellow to overcrow me No hee shall well know I am a better man then himselfe ere I have done with him Oh earth earth earth heare the word of the Lord Abate thy heart abase thine heart and doe as he did Humfrey Mummouth who meeting his enemy who had sought his life when he could have crushed him entreated him to bee friends and brake his heart doe thou so and prosper Touching the second point of inferiours attempting superiours 2. Branch Instruction Inferiours dealing with superiours must wisely observe whâ—t their persons will beare let this caution be observed from Naamans servants that we wisely observe what our persons will well beare and admit Inferiour mens sway and stroke will goe but a little way with superiours The meannesse of the one and the prejudice of the other will be barres Yet so it may fall out that necessity may put some calling upon an inferiour as when there be no superiours or equalls present when silence would embolden the offender much when the glory of God lies at the stake unavoidably and especially when the grace of the reprovers wisdome may be like to over-match both his owne meannesse and the others stoutnesse Otherwise there had need be great caution lest inferiours rather run themselves into the suspition of sawcinesse receive great affronts and discouragements if not wrongs from the reproved lest also the offender be more hardned in his sin A caution and the ordinance with the fruit of it be dishonoured and unprofitable But to returne if God doe intimate to the spirit of any wise inferiours that they ought to reprove then let them suspect their owne persons and beware that they make no open contestation but bee content with privacy where no affront may be given before witnesses especially let it be carried with great aloofenesse and rather with insinuation of an error then taxing openly exhorting rather to a contrary duty then reproving the fault downeright 1 Tim. 5.1 Rebuke not an Elder not onely a Minister but a superiour in any eminency but exhort him as a father Otherwise if God afford not discretion and opportunity better is a warranted silence and commending the cause to God with some item of a grieved heart then a rash venturing and rushing beyond our bounds But to bee sure let all lenity bee used all possible acknowledging of their places yeares worth and worship give them all their due both titles and praises to the uttermost that it may appeare the reprover is so far from presumption that were it for the meere regard of the offenders soule the glory of God and the discharge of conscience with peace the reprover would much rather have chosen silence then to attempt reproofe and so leave the issue to God So much for this second Uses of the speciall fact of 〈◊〉 servants I come now to the Uses arising in speciall from this example of the servants wise and loving carriage towards their Masters spirituall distemper And first if it be so difficult a worke to ease a distressed spirit Let Vse 1 all such as have obtained this mercy from the Lord know that they have met with no common mercy Instruction It is a peculiar favour to enable the Minister to speake a word in season to a wearied soule But how much more for the soule to find the word and to feele it to be so Instruction to the heavy hearted Proverb is not as the gift in the hand which Salomon tells us prospers whithersoever it goes and carries a commanding power with it Esay 57. The setling of a distressed heart by counsell is a mercy highly to be prised No To speake to the heart is Gods worke whosoever be the instrument and none can create the fruit of the lippes save onely hee that first created and formed the body of the earth and breathed into it the breath of life We Ministers may speake to the eare discerne and advise urge answer doubts and convince but the spirit of grace which annointed the Lord Jesus to bee the Prophet of his Church can carry those words into the soule and cast them there as seed and give them a body and being altering ignorance doubting feares deadnesse bondage insensiblenesse infidelity heavinesse into light resolution hope life liberty feeling faith and comfort He that said lift up thy voice as a trumpet and convince my people of their sinnes and againe Comfort ye my people comfort them at the heart meanes not that we should pierce into and reach the heart for we cannot get to it but that we bee the messengers of peace and glad tidings God onely must by his Spirit convince Joh. 16.9 and he onely can carry consolation through those manifold turnings and crooked windings of the soule even home and close to the heart rootes He onely can say My doctrine shall droppe as dew Deut. 32 1. and as the small raine wetting at the roote Therefore whosoever thou art here in this audience whom ever the Lord hath caused to breake through the hoast of discouragements and to consult with the Minister sincerely aiming at the true ends of counsell and hath also met with thy speciall disease spoken to thy heart so that it hath gotten a reall bottome out of the word and promise for the sole of her foote to rest upon against feare and doubting Oh! learne to prise such a favour above all treasures Elisha was sent but to one leper as many as there were in Israel and did not he esteeme that priviledge Let the 15.16 and 17. verses witnesse for him So the Minister of God goes to hundreds of sicke and afflicted ones But perhaps he is sent in the spirit of counsell and sealing up of peace through pardon to a very few It is their portion to whom it pertaines those must partake it who can receive it and only such can be thankefull What is the cause why we comfort so many through the seven yeare of whom perhaps wee heare no more againe ever after Our feete are not beautifull to the most of them they never imbraced the power of truth they despised the counsell of God for their salvation and the consolations of God seemed small things unto them They have got that they came for a kinde of stopping of their outcries of conscience their wounds are kept sweete and doe not rankle as they thinke they can now follow their businesse and goe about the world at their pleasure pleasing themselves with that the Minister hath said unto them And that no man shall pull from them for it pleases them well to heare themselves to be under the condition of grace that faith belongs to them that the least desire of faith is faith But alas They are comforted all at once their comfort growes not as their doubts grow they are not unsatisfied in
will thrust themselves upon the worke when they want all manner of meetnesse and so will goe through stitch and say somewhat though to the banning and perverting of the parties rather then the setling and comforting How hard is it often to judge of sorrow whether it bee worldly or godly Have not both as deepe pangs one as other And although it be spirituall yet how hard to discerne sorrow comming from the terrors of the conscience or arising from the hope of the Gospel How easie is it out of a present mercifulnesse of heart to one in trouble to goe rashly to worke and to apply plaisters to a freshly bleeding wound How many loaden wretches with the guilt of their daily revolts and lewdnesse come roaring to a Minister for ease meerly from an horror of heart no way desirous to bee broken off from their course in evill but onely from the hell of their conscience which if they were rid of they would returne to their vomit worse then ever Who would thinke bleeding at the arme would stanch bleeding at the nose That is that it were a medicine for such a one to bee drawne into more true horror by the word for sinne as it is sinne And yet no other remedy will ease such a one Who is able to discerne diabolicall injections which may be perceived by the unnaturalnesse hideousnesse dogging and pertinacy of them and the like from evills of our owne wilfully committed and polluting the soule For why Both may seem to cleave to the soule the one as fast as the other And so I might bee endlesse I spake of a great many of these difficulties in the third Reason Is it then an easie thing to speake a word in due season to one that is weary No doubtlesse I conclude therefore let it be a caveat to all Gods Ministers whom this worke concernes as not to put it off being one of the maine peeces of our calling so neither to rush upon it suddenly and without due preparation use those directions before named and joyne this last to seek of God a wise discerning spirit for that gift is not wholly absent from the Church to put a difference betweene things that differ Which meanes being used and love setting all on worke as the chiefe mover it shall not be difficult to doe that in time and years which perhaps at first seemed hard God will blesse experience and make this yoke for so it is to the flesh easie and this burthen light I would have come to the other branch of the caveat to the people But time cuts mee off muse the while of these and we shall proceed to the rest the next time if God will Let us pray c. The end of the Eleventh Lecture THE TWELFTH LECTVRE Still continued upon this thirteenth VERSE c. VERSE XIII And his servants came neere and said unto him Father if the Prophet had bid thee doe some great thing wouldest thou not have done it How much more then when he saith unto thee Wash and be clean VERSE 14. Then Naaman went downe and dipped himselfe seven times in Iorden according to the word of the man of God c. I Could not brethren the last Lecture finish the point of the Religious service done by these servants to their Master wherein I observed the qualification of their persons with love and lenity to advise him for his good I have opened the doctrine already at large and made some generall Uses and some in speciall The last was Admonition to the Ministers with the which I have done The next followeth now as God shall guide us Concerning both Ministers and people and that is exhortation Therefore brethren if the worke of speaking to the weary soule bee so difficult First let me speake to you that are to be comforted and to receive instruction by the Minister of God The people must beware lest they turne away from counsell of their Ministers And the thing to which I exhort you in generall is that both you beware lest feare or sinfull shame hold you off from counsell and then that ye fitly apply your selves to the advice of the Minister of God not to hinder but to further the worke of your owne soules If a man that hath a bone out of joynt could helpe the arme of the Surgeon who wants strength to thrust it in againe how gladly would he assist him in so hard a worke rather then by his wilfulnesse abide long in his paine The misery of a soule out of joint and of a conscience wounded farre exceeds all bodily paine and all the skill of a bodily cure How then should wee frame and accomodate our selves as by praier so by all other meanes to the skill of such as God hath given us to be spirituall fathers and to be restorers of us being out of joint First therefore brethren let me advise you ere you goe to any counsellor Gal. 6.1 goe to God to plant and set your hearts aright to receive counsell It is said in Zachar. 5.4 that the lampes which were to bee replenished with the oile dropping from the olive branches by Gods providence were situated so aptly under the dropping bowes that none of the oile dropped beside but all fell upon the lamps underneath fed their lights So would the Lord have all who goe for advice to his Interpreters hee would have them carry hearts well planted wise and tractable to receive what is put into them Perhaps some may wonder at that I say considering how hard it is for a sad and distempered spirit to come with moulds ready to receive the molten mettall of Gods promises to bee fashioned and formed thereby But my meaning is that whatsoever their distemper bee they would strive by all means for such a calm equall and teachable spirit as may be subject to counsell when it is afforded them out of the word otherwise they resist the ends of the ordinance For why hath the Lord appointed the gift of counsell save to settle and stablish the weak The Minister I doubt not being wise may both supply the office of liquor and vessell also counsell I meane and an heart to receive it if God fit him for it But the worke will be the sooner at an end if all such corruption as wilfully cleaves to the distressed spirit be first removed 1. Counsell Therefore first let all such goe to God by praier and acquaint themselves with him and him with their wants beseeching him who is the eternall counsellor to order their unquiet and unsetled spirits to separate all carnall and worldly distempers passions ends and respects from them to shew them how to picke out an end out of the ravelled skeine and cleerly to discover the malady unto them To take away all such mistakes and errors from them as might cause them to misconceive their estate and to thinke it other better or worse then it is and to separate the precious from
the vile that is the worke of his owne convincing spirit from the worke of their owne rebellious nature their discontent their fullennesse melancholy feares and other extremities that cleave unto them Also that he would shew them what hee hath done for them already that they may not provoke him by unthankefulnesse and what is yet to be done and at what especiall knots and objections they sticke what their chiefe barres and lets are which most hold them downe and if they cannot feele themselves rid of these confusions of spirit yet that the Lord would take away that wilfulnesse of stomacke that crossenesse that waywardnesse which makes their disease so ranckle in them and send them to seeke advice with a minde desirous to subject it selfe to God and to his ordinance and to mourne when it cannot being held in the chaines of it owne horrors or rebellion And secondly let them commend the enterprise in hand to God for successe that the Lord would bee pleased to dispose of the understanding of him that is to advise them that he may bee as from God unto them like Elihu that he may discerne of their complaints rectifie their errors meet with their corruption shew them their state and wants and comfort them at the heart as God allowes them That if they cannot at the first finde stay and support yet if they see but a little light at a crevis they may be glad of a little and not be dismaid that they may seeke still after counsell till the worke by degrees be perfected that they may not lay stumbling blocks in their owne way to fall by but hold the measure of light so farre as they are come waiting till God reveale the rest and not defiling their consciences the whiles Phil. 3.15 and so make the worke new to beginne Thirdly that the Minister of God may be wise as an Angell of God as well to find out apt and meete Scriptures to encounter the soule as the need thereof requireth either threats or promises or other sentences and when they see that these are urged not by the authority of a man but of God whom they only must look at in this case and not man that then their base hearts may no further kick cavill and gainesay and so put the Minister of God to a double toile not only to conflict with their reall distresse but also with their wilfull and accidentall sullennesse pride and rebellion Fourthly let them crave of God a wise utterance of their estate to the Minister of God or at least an inckling thereof that it may not be mistaken for a crooked rule being put into a mans hand will force him to make a wrong line though his skill be good enough to draw a right one Fifthly chuse thee out a faithfull interpreter one of a thousand for love lenity skill patience long suffering bowells of compassion and experience For such a mercury is not made of every blocke thou maist else light on miserable comforters Sixtly above all other things let such persons beware of any base motive or principle leading them to aske advice let them not affect any sinister respects nor aime at any base ends to bee noted for zeale to thinke themselves safe because they have taken counsell to choake and smother the accusations of conscience to make them bolder in sin to pretend and alledge the counsell and comfort of such a Minister to harden themselves against any just reproofes which after may bee urged upon them and the like base ends whereof the bouget of mans vile heart is fraught and full especially in this formall crafty age wherein every one will be Religious and Satan transformeth himselfe into an Angell of light For by this meanes that uncleane spirit will returne with seven worse then himselfe and defile more dangerously But let thy aimes in this worke be honest simple and sincere to goe forward with God according to thy light cheerfully and humbly and so looke to prosper Secondly for the Minister of God let him be exhorted also first 2. Branch to Ministers 3. Things Abhorre error and prejudice 1. Error to cast out all bad principles perverting the spirit of counsell and crossing the gift of restoring the weake And these are first a prejudicate sowre heart enclined to sinister thoughts of the afflicted conceiving them according to carnall reason and not discerning the worke of Gods spirit in such This is no common grace to have a cleere spirit this way For the spirit that is in us lusts after envy We are all a kinne to old Eli who seeing poore Hanna sitting sad with her lippes moving and no voice thought her drunke But when he perceived her to bee a woman of a troubled spirit 1 Sam. 1.13.14 powring out her soule from a full heart to the Lord and understanding the cause he became a Prophet of God unto her for her satisfaction and comfort 2. Error 3. Error Beware therefore of a base heart of prejudice error misprision rashnesse And yet take heed also that love and pitty make us not too hasty in comfort Also ease unmercifulnesse unbeteamingnesse sullennesse uncharitablenesse wearinesse and loathnesse to be enlarged in our bowells as the Lord allowes us of which disease Ionah was sicke 4. Error Also waspishnesse suddennesse and hastinesse whereby as Physitians cutting off their patients in their complaints they are impatient to heare and so discourage them I confesse that the talkatives and vanity of many weake ones in their complaints who in stead of inclining their eare and hearing that their soules might live are swifter to jangle to neglect that which which is spoken then to marke and have never done with idle repetitions may sometimes cause a wise counsellor to chide and reprove them justly yet with tendernesse and meekenesse And the like I may say of those endlesse answers which many make when they are demanded how counsell hath prevailed and they rather bewray themselves worse and worse then better and better for though it be not in our power to settle the spirit sooner then the Lord please yet it behoves not any distressed soule so to nourish themselves in their lowring and distempers as to dismay the Minister but rather by wise concealement or desire of new satisfaction to draw his heart to pray for them more earnestly and waite more patiently till the spirit shall blow peace upon them The second duty Practise This preparation being made the next exhortation is that the Minister of God do first meekly then wisely speak to the heart of the afflicted For the first of these it is a duty much pressed and exemplified in Scripture I say a mercifull and loving heart of fellow feeling and tendernesse to the heavy Fot hereby the Minister of God conveieth the heart of the Lord Jesus into the soul of the afflicted of whom it is said He had learned compassion towards them by his owne sufferings Heb. 2.18 that so
the old and new Testament For tell me why hath God so furnished his word with such stories of his power and greatnesse transcending our reason and our thoughts as much as the heavens doe the earth Esay 55.8 but that our soules might be filled with his excellency And thinke nothing too hard for such a God to doe If he have dried up the sea Jorden stopped mouthes of Lions raised up the dead and fed six hundred thousand men and women without corne or flesh of beasts made water gush twice out of a rocke give a woman of ninety years old power to conceive c. doth he not deserve to be set up above carnall reason Doth he not deserve at our hands more then a faint fulsome grant with Martha thou canst doe all things Doth he not deserve a peculiar faith for this and for that for raising this dead man now at this time For quickning this dead heart at this instant by this Sermon For softning this hard heart For converting this soule to God Oh! how justly reproveable must such a villany needs bee And surely this let me adde if it be so base an evill in respect of the dishonour to God must it needs bee so in respect of the mischiefe which it causes unto our selves Did ever any man hate his owne selfe doth he not love and cherish his owne flesh What an unnaturall evill then is this which chuseth rather here with Naaman to perish with the holding of a carnall will and conceit then by denying it and clasping to the word to be happy for ever Sure that which is so derogatory to God and so unnaturall to our selves must needs deserve sharpe reproofe Fourthly it must needs be a reproveable evill which doth so desperately Reason 4 trench upon all the Attributes of God Power Truth Mercy Justice Providence and Alsufficiency Which questions all cavills against all so that the doctrine before handled viz. That carnall reason is a maine enemy to all the matters of revealed truths is a full reason of this doctrine that it is justly reproveable Other sinnes seeme to undoe the acts of God as his morall commands But this undoes the Lord himselfe in a sort in those things wherein God is himselfe so that either God must not be God a promise must not be a promise Christ must be no Christ no satisfaction no redemption or else carnall sense must perish Both in strict tearmes cannot stand together God hath testified himselfe in his word admirable in this one attribute viz. Providence for his Churches good in the greatest straits Who reading the strange passages of that one deliverance in Esters time Esters story how God concurred just with each circumstance of time of occasion as then to cause the Kings sleepe to depart when Mordecai was in greatest perill and reproach Then when the banquet was prepared that all other opportunities should bee fore laid to oppresse Haman and to exalt Mordecai If a man would compile a story according to his owne wish for the demonstration of Providence could hee frame a more punctuall one Read Ezra's story Daniels Iosephs doth not a naked hand of God appear in them And yet carnall reason would say That if there were windowes in heaven God could not now save his Church as hee hath done in their times in Elija's Elisha's and others What is this but to limit the holy one of Israel to our owne measure of working And so I may say of all other his Attributes Nay carnall reason is such a deepe gulfe as is able to swallow downe the greatest evidence that ever God gave to the world of himselfe both his Godhead and Attributes which is the sending of the Lord Jesus in the flesh into the world to walke live suffer and dye for the salvation of the Elect What can so secure the soule of the truth of Gods nature persons and realnesse in all his promises as this to cause the eternall God to be personally one with our mortall flesh Might not the holy Ghost Heb. 1.1.2 say That this way of God hath greater demonstration in it to stablish a beleeving soule then all that ever were besides And yet what use makes carnall reason hereof Doth it not turne all to a meere story without any ground-worke of faith or perswasion We thinke that the exhibiting of Christ concerned the Jewes who saw him and if wee had lived with him as they we should have abhorred to distrust him as they Why Did not God give them full assurance of himselfe by his Sonne Read Act. 17.38 Had not they as cleere proofes out of the Prophets that he was and none save he could bee the Messia and yet their carnall reason did so abhorre him to be their Messia that they hated him to the death Justly then may I conclude that this sinne is a reproveable one So much also for reasons I proceed now to the Use If this evill be so reproveable it is pitty it Vse 1 should want her due and escape terror or reproofe Terror to sundry The first Neuters Atheists and Epicures and ignorant ones reproved Pitty that any should justifie the wicked against God! Let them therefore come in the dint of this reproofe who are grossest in this kinde Neuters and Atheists who if they do not obstinate their spirits to thinke of all Gods matters and the frame of Religion according to their carnall sence yet are as deeply careles of rejecting and bearing it down by the stream of the word as Gallio was carelesse of the Apostles and their opposites How many are there who like them in Peter mocke at the Scriptures threats and terrors of it 2 Pet. 3. saying Where is the promise of his comming Lo all things are still as they were wont to be the times seasons affaires of men and course of the world therefore wee thinke the world will endure alway Oh ye Atheists One yeare with God is as a thousand and a thousand are as one day Do ye judge the comming of Christ by that which befalls in the space of forty or fifty yeares of one mortall life Doe not all things decay and cannot the Lord shake the powers of heaven and restraine the influence of the upper bodies from the lower at his pleasure But of this saith Peter they make themselves wilfully ignorant that all things were made of nothing and shall returne to nothing they perswade themselves that they ever were and so shall continue Such a seminary there is and such a tale of scurfe here among us even of practicke Atheists who are led by sense as brute beasts that me thinkes I feele my spirit sinke and faile within me when I should scare them out of their dens These are those prophane Swine who although they rise not up openly to desie God and his word and threats yet like sensuall Epicures void of all understanding they live in a profession of infidelity onely differing from Pagans in that they carry
Christ and a lightnesse in his burthen Others a marveilous difficulty and such a thing as must be striven for and yet may be mist The answer is Heaven and Grace are both the most easie and the most difficult that can be Answ Grace is the hardest and the easiest thing of all Math. 19.26 both may well stand They are most easie to the soule which will bee taught of God and will not resist his method by attending their owne wisdome But to others they are matters of greatest difficulty To God all things are possible to flesh and bloud to the wit and will of man to the freedome of our owne choice nothing is so impossible I remember the answer of a Philosopher to a great Prince who had beene his scholar and was discontented at him for publishing his bookes be content saith hee and know my bookes of Philosophy are publisht and not published for none are ere the wiser for them save those to whom they were read and made evident So here The mystery of Christ is the most easie and the most hard easie only to such as in whom the Lord hath opened an eare Job 33.15 and revealed it to others hard So much for Instruction Vse 2 Secondly this is Terror to all such libertines and carnall Gospellers who make Religion Faith great works light and slight matters Terror to many running away with them as horses with empty waggons not through any Branch 1 ease they have by the Spirit but from the excesse and superfluity of their own blindenesse and presumption Slighters of the worke of grace abuse the doctrine of ease Others are blinde idiots tell them of Regeneration and Conversion and they run to their own strength they doe hope well that if they put their good will to Gods God will so far enable them as to get somewhat They hope men make more ado about matters then God himselfe God hath told them that faith in the promise is easie and none of these sowre Preachers shall pull this liberty from them what needs all this adoe If God be on our side we feare nothing as long as men walke even and faire harmelesse and devout bearing a good minde toward God keepe their Church and pay all men their dues and give to the poore for ought they see God is mercifull will not the death of a sinner is found of them that sought him not Esay 65.1 Matth. 11. â—9 Esay 57.17 His yoke is easie he saith he will not bee alway heavy upon men he knowes we be no Angels yea he saith that he hath seene the iniquity of mens covetousnesse and hee will heale them and make no more adoe It is for his glory to bee mercifull As for these Ministers who sticke so much at the truth of heart and faith unfaigned they say onely God knowes the heart and they trouble mens heads more then they doe them good making men unquiet and finding out new crotchets What is mans life say they if hee may not bee merry and cheerfull God loves it and Christ hath dearly bought it and its best to be merry eat and drinke and cast away care God say these hath made us of bodies as well as soules we be not all spirit nor shall be in this world we must tend Sermons so as we may tend our worke too our bodies must be made of for God and what skils it though we play and be good fellowes and drinke a cup or two so it be in the feare of God although we be none of these Puritans yet wee be not against them we hope by this meanes to spend out our short time having God afore our eies and to be in heaven ere we be aware Oh yee wofull creatures Doe you thus construe Gods ease I aske you Hath the Lord ever brought you under the bondage of spirit for all your cursed nature and impious prophanenesse Did it ever cut you off from your old stocke Did it ever bring yee under hope No doubtlesse Thinke not then to make faith an easie purchase upon your owne purse it will be one day in that your last night of death and darkenesse such a toilesome journey through tempest and foule weather dirt and wearinesse that you shall be quite tired and then shall true toile succeed false ease Hearken not to that lying spirit which beares you in hand all ease ease for it shall turne to extremity of anguish and to a desperate impossibility The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it The Lord indeed moderates the labour of his poore weary travellers to Zion Psal 84. So that they shall grow from strength and feele no faintnesse But no man shall goe up in a feather bed to heaven if it were ever an easie way it was never easie foolehardy stout travellers which boast of their limbes shall faint suddenly Matth. 15. Dogs must not come with poore children for Gods dole it belongs not unto them So much for the first Branch Others also there are whom this terror reacheth unto And they are Branch 2 base hypocrites who come with their toile and cost to God Hypocrites who come with their toile and cost to God are rejected devising painfull and tedious waies of their owne but shunning Gods easie way They will obtrude their whole rivers of oile and wine and whole barns of corne for the sinne of their soules whereas he askes onely a third part of an Hin and an handfull of flower for a meat offering A poore thing in Gods way is better excepted then all excesse of our owne Ye load mee saith God and pester me with your offerings I groane under the burthen of your sacrifices Honour me in mine owne way and I will make it easie and sweet to you But else the sand is not more heavy to mens shoulders then you to Gods you are out of Gods element therefore every thing is weighty you may complaine that you are not regarded but the Lord pitties no toile of hypocrites against his word Elija shall sooner consume the sacrifice with fire from heaven by standing still and praying in Gods way then all Baals Priests with their lancings and leapings upon the Altar Cost without wit is waste It s said of Ionathan that he had wrought with God that day on which he overcame those Philistins So I say Gods people work with God 1 King 18.28 with 37. 1 Sam. rather he with them but hypocrites work with themselves therefore they lay out their labour for that which profits not and mony for no bread They goe against the streame a Esau in his hunting for the blessing went another way with lesse adoe Esay 55.2 1 Sam. 14.45 2 Tim 3.7 As it s said in Timothy Alway hearing never comming to knowledge Oh the endlesse bootlesse toile of hypocrites You poore asses running the Divells round and grinding in his mill with your eyes blindfold at last be scared out of your trade You doe but as Sampson
it hath beene since I came among you And yet some of you through lazinesse worldlinesse love of your shops formality neglect of meditation Others through a curst sullen heart snuffing at the Ministry stumbling at the stone of offence but the most from a cloy'd and surfeited stomacke with much food have never come to taste the ease of mercy If some few have truly either they have little else to take too or else God hath pickt them out as odde ones here and there and what may become of some of these when meanes shall faile God knoweth But now even at this last cast and farewell for Gods sake come in and dally no longer and breake through all your lusts for this promise It shall vex ye as fire one day to thinke of this how foolishly did I misse of heaven When I might have had it with ease then to lose it for a base lust a vanity which shall leave me empty Oh foole in kinde The Lord move your hearts So much for this first branch of Reproofe Branch 2 Secondly here is reproofe for all such as have forestalled this blessed ease of God Deny selfe-ease for Gods ease by leaning to their owne strength zeale and affections I have beat much upon this Now I say no more but this Wonder not if your lives bee full of complaints Oh ye saith Esay who kindle a fire of your rotten sticks Esay 50. ult and compasse your selves with your owne sparkles much good doe it you with your owne light and heate but you shall have this at mine hand you shall lye downe in sorrow Is it a small sinne that turnes Gods ease into misery Vers 10. No surely A viper shall come forth of your owne heat and sting you to death without repentance Who is he among you that feares the Lord and obeyes the voice of his servants that walkes in the darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay himselfe upon his God And so doing he will doe his worke for him Get once the slight of it as we say and then halfe the worke is at an end Lay downe rather your owne spirits and sparkles good deeds and affections rather then take them up to demerit God and resist his ease And so by denying your selves here on the left hand in your vices there on the right in your vertues and praises sucking out an humble heart out of the promise for alas what needed the cost of Christ if your cost could serve the turne you shall finde your selves to profit more by one Sermon then you have done by tenne So much for this second Branch Thirdly this reproves all such Ministers as turne this true and spirituall Branch 3 ease of God into a carnall liberty and smoothing their ignorant and prophane people Preachers of carnall ease who sow pillowes yea sowing pillowes of fleshly ease under their elbowes telling them they are in good ease and these Preachers scare them with false fires for Gods yoake is easie Christ came to destroy the hard Law c. And the ground of this practice is either idlenesse to spare themselves a labour or through prophanenesse or through Gods just judgement to give them teachers such as themselves are to cause them to stumble and fall and rise no more and all because they have rejected better meanes And others Pelagian wise teach that there is an universall sufficient grace offered in the Gospel which also is effectuall except men resist it and that they have free will to accept and embrace it As for the doctrine of Gods peculiar ease of perswading some more then others they cannot endure it They teach the people to say to God as those in Esay are brought in saying to one man doe but beare our name and owne us and we will be at our owne findings thou shalt not be troubled with our maintenance we will bee fed apparrelled and supported by our owne meanes and moneies Pelagian ease of selfe-conversion and of fre-will confuted So say these to Christ beare our name for fashion and obtaine a generall pardon by the merit of thy bloud and as for the application of it let us alone we will finde strength by our owne free concurrence with the grace offered to fasten upon and apply it to our selves And so if there fall out to be any defect herein it is no want of the accommodation of grace to us for that is equall to all but our accommodation to it in such a due season matter or other circumstances as if they had beene concurring might have produced a perswasion to receive the grace offered To all which I answer such ease as this in obeying the command of beleeving the orthodox Church of God know none The ease that is is on Gods part preventing assisting and perfecting and from none of ours To us the work is absolutely impossible So much for this third Branch and so for this third Use of Reproofe The fourth Use should be Exhortation and that many fold First Vse 4 to all Gods poore servants Exhortation In sundry Branches Such as have found ease in Gods way are thankfull who have found Gods way sweetned thus and eased by the Lord that they be very thankefull for this speciall favour Say thus who am I whom thou shouldest make that sweet and easie unto which to others thou sufferest to bee toilesome Thou mightest have brought mee as hardly to heaven as others there is not a prouder tougher moulded wretch of an hundred then I have beene Jer. 2.3.4 yet thy milde and gentle cords of allurement have been strange to me Thou hast pull'd me with the cords of a man made love to me even in the wildernesse forelaid my way sweetly brought me into the net ere I was aware concealed difficulties while afterward mittigated my horrors gone leasurely on with me drop upon drop line upon line not gugged me too deeply with my lusts not suffered me to revolt to my old courses thou hast laid no heavy burthens upon my shoulders required no toile of service thou hast given me an hope of successe from the beginning so that I have gone to worke with hope beene freed from excessive feares temptations crosses discouragements which many others are basked withall For my part I know no reason and I can but wonder that thou shouldest doe as thou hast which I cannot deny without lying to one so hollow inconstant and perverse as I know my selfe to be It pleases thee to hold me fast to those steps to which thou hast brought me and to try mee no deeplier then thou givest light and strength to resolve and revive mee againe Methinkes thou hast made the whole mystery of Christ sensible and lively to me in the ground of it the merit thy scope which is to magnifie thy selfe in the hearts of thine and my heart hath found some sweetnesse in it found it day by day more lightsome and sweet
who receiveth me receiveth him that sent me He that receiveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet Verse ult receives a Prophets reward In the old Testament when the Priests and Levites neglected their service the Lord was fain to stir up extraordinary Prophets but who maintained them Was it not a custome that all who went unto them for advice offered them a gratification Were they left think we for the Ravens to feed ordinarily 1 Sam. 9.8 In a famine it was necessary I grant No witnesse that of Saul to his servant when he meant to go to Samuel heard him say what shall we bring to the man of God for the mony is spent I saith he have the fourth part of a shekel of silver that I will give him The like is that of the man of Baalshalisha 2 King 4.42 who is said to bring to the man of God bread of the first fruits even twenty loaves of barley and eares in the huske Heb. 13. Shall the Gospel be inferiour to the Law in this point So for assistance and encouragement Obey them that are set over you and submit to them grieve them not nor let them doe your worke with care and dismayment for that were smally for your benefit Let those Elders saith Paul who rule well be counted worthy of double honour 1 Tim. 5.17 both of maintenance and countenance especially those that labour in the Word and Doctrine These are sufficient others perhaps may offer themselves in the processe of the point Quest But wherein may some say stands this love of the people to the Minister I answer in many offices I will mention two or three of the chiefe First in the justifying honouring and esteeming of the Minister For if that be once prejudiced in their hearts farewell all hope of successe upon his labours Ob. But the Minister himselfe must looke to that Answ Answ 3. Things 1. Honour I grant it in part viz. That no man is bound to magnifie him who dishonours himselfe by his sloth scandalous life tongue and manners and yet even of such I must say that to delight to deprave such or scorne them whom rather we should mourne to behold is sinfull And as for the infirmities of the wel-deserving we should cover them and carry a mantle backward that we may not see their nakednesse But I say there is oftentimes great desert of honour in the Minister which yet he cannot come by Therefore it s the duty of the people perpetually to seeke the credit and promote the esteeme of such For under Christ the Minister is that wisdome 1 Thes ult which all the children thereof must justifie Matth. 11.19 If he count them his honour and crowne what should they count him save their mutuall honour and best garland How should they beare up his name as the Lions of Salomon upheld his throne vindicating his person against all scorners cavillers upbraiders Not to be ashamed of him before any whether equalls betters or inferiours yea the whole congregation should backe him and strengthen his hands against all opposites that hee may without suspition or feare goe on in his course as wee read of the people to Joshua Cap. 1. Secondly 2. Sealing to their Ministry 2. Cor. it stands in the peoples sealing of his Ministry and labours in their owne soules and conversation That they may be an Epistle written in their hearts for the commendation of him without any other letters testimoniall and that the impression of his paines may bee seen upon them which is the reallest honour of a Minister in the world unto which is consequent the honour of their adherence Adherence and communion with him as the chiefe member thereof that he may be made privy to their profitings or decayings in understanding and grace that hee may mourne with them in their sorrowes and rejoice in their comforts as a tender father guardian and nurse that he may resolve their doubts ease their griefes and be all in all to them that no man may better know them then himselfe and they him and his voice as their Shepherd without estrangement or shinesse The third is their serviceablenes 3. Serviceablenesse Joh. 19.25 to him That they count themselves to stand charged with him as our Saviour charged Iohn with his mother To be provident for his supply and support by all meet preventing of affronts and offences at home abroad by procuring assistance favour and protection by their best endeavours travell friends counsell and mediation as acknowledging him to be theirs As once a Physitian bad his Minister looke to his soule and he should not want one that would looke to his body The like should each man Lawyer Justice Gentleman or meaner do within the compasse of their places Each one should have one shred of him or other Lastly allowance of a faire and comfortable competency of meanes 4. Maintenance to prevent carking or shifting courses or whatsoever might disable or dismay him in his Ministery or divert him from attendance to reading that so he may the more freely devote himselfe to his worke And this must not onely last while he is in the yoke and occupied but also if hee shall by any infirmity disease age decay become lesse fit for his service then formerly especially if wrong and opposition of enemies cause it that yet they take it in good part not adding sorrow to sorrow but sticking to him in his distresse So much for the Answer of this Question Vses Ministers must not be distrustfull of providencâ— I proceed to the Uses of it And here first let this point be solemne Admonition Information and Instruction to the Minister of God Admonition first to beware lest through distrust and infidelity he suffer his spirit to consult with flesh and bloud for the matter of his encouragement and support in his Ministry Hath the Lord had such respect unto him as to charge his people solemnly with the sustenance and maintenance of such his faithfull Ministers as serve at his Altar Hath he engaged himselfe by promise to them to be their exceeding great reward and not to suffer them to want Hath hee betrusted his Church with their welfare that as they would looke for mercy and blessing from him so they honour and uphold the person state life and liberties of his servants the Ministers Oh! take this kindly at Gods hand trust him to make good his promise he who hath the hearts and affections the estates and purses of all at his controll and command he is able to encourage us and sustaine us in our painfull conscionable discharge of the taske imposed upon us to feed his lambs and his sheep to waâ—ch over them to goe before them in an holy example Let us not shrinke from this worke nor shrug at the difficulty of it through feare opposition of men malice of enemies bad examples of those who favour their owne ease belly
with all the poison and disdaine they can professing themsâ—lves to hate the very tribe of them with a deadly irreconciliable feud That Centurian in Luke 5.7 is praised for loving the Nation of the Jewes But these abhorre both the persons and the whole Nation of the Ministers taking occasion by all possible meanes to expresse it in whatsoever companies they come yea in the most reproachfull manner what opinions and affections they beare toward them 2 King 9.11 Such were those fellow Captaines of Iehu who when the Prophets messenger came to doe his message asked him what mad fellow was this who came in unto thee Even such base triviall names doth the world give to the Ministers of God And as the villany of old Popish Idolls deserved the base tearmes of pild Priest hedge Priest knave Priest and the like So now ungodly wretches dare abuse Gods Ministers as fast for their goodnesse calling them singular fellowes proud pestilent Preachers fantasticall fellowes factious enemies to the estate Oh! of all other men they thinke such may be spared they were well ere such came and till they be rid of them they shall never be quiet As Ieremy saith Woe is me that my mother bred me a man of contention And againe Jerem. 15.10 Esay 8.18 I and my children are as signes of contradiction publick spectacles to men and Angels yea the very off-scouring of men It cannot be imagined how Alehouse hunters libertines epicures sweaâ—ers worldlings dare speake and thinke of Gods Ministers Oh! the bitternesse of their spirits Proverb the venome of their tongues who can stand before envy Well let not all this daunt us Let us do as our Lord Jesus himself and his Apostles who escaped not the like handling even carry our selves as wisely as we can and heap hot coales upon their heads by our long suffering and meeknesse But as for them look for no other while they continue as they are they doe but their kinde They who despise Christ himselfe are high traitors and they cannot be guilty of lesse then of petty treason who dispise his Ministers and if the maligners or revilers of the fathers of their bodies were to be stoned without any more adoe What shall the scorners and revilers of the fathers of souls be done too Psal 105.15 Surely although they may escape the judgement of man they shall never avoid his who hath threatned them that doe but touch how much more lay so violent and execrable hands upon his Ministers From what other spirit can it come let the pretences be what they will but a spirit of desperate prophanenesse and debauchednes yea a Giant-like defiance with God which because it cannot reach God himself therefore le ts fly all their reproaches and scorns upon such as doe most neerly resemble and beare witnesse of him upon earth Psal 69.9 The reproaches of them that reproached thee saith the Prophet have lighted upon me If the Minister can approve it against thee that he beares no other blowes or markes then such as should have lighted upon God himselfe Woe to them that are guilty of such blasphemy for the Lord shall plague them with the same eternall plagues wherewith he plagues those who immediately have blasphemed Majesty it selfe But I dwell not upon these I hasten to Reproofe And first this sharpely censures all such as disesteem discourage and Vse 3 desert such Ministers as they are bound doubly to honour and respect Of Reprofe Deserters and discouragers of such Ministers as they are bound too to be blamed This very fact of Naaman shall rise up in judgement against them in the day of Christ Did Naaman so deerly love the Prophet one whom he never saw before Before whose gate only he had stood and heard a message from but as yet had not seene At the bare report of him For a bodily cure Nay the hope of it a far off Shall an heathen do all this Shall he even doe some yea any great thing for him What colour shall they pretend then that are farre from doing the least thing for such a Minister of God as not onely they have seene but also heard lived and conversed with not the first day but ten twenty thirty forty yeares Not as Prophets but Preachers the least whereof is not onely greater then Elisha but Iohn Baptist himselfe Matth. 11.12 not promising the cure of leprosie but of the soule not offering the effect of Jordens waters but the waters of regeneration in baptisme Not by a messenger but by their owne hand and by the power of the word farre more excellent then the urim of a Priest or the vision of a Prophet Surely one might well thinke that such people should refuse no paines cost or hazard for such Ministers But be willing if need were to thrust themselves between the swords point and their bosomes to ride and runne to doe them good to stake their purse counsell travell selves soules and all for their encouragement If for the Brethren much more for the Fathers should we lay downe our lives But is it so 2 Joh. 3.16 Surely let that prejudice which men generally have of the very handling yea naming of such a point as this is say for them what their affections are in this case yea and the thoughts even of Ministers themselves who study how to passe over this point as the Dog of Nilus passeth by the streame rather catching here and there a lap then daring to stay and drinke for feare of some Crocodile or other to snap him up I hope brethren you will pardon me if I deale plainly as having no claime either to your tithes or purses who I am sure have spent five times more charge in furnishing my selfe for the worke of the Ministery then ever my Ministery was worth unto me therefore the rather I beseech you give me favour I come not to accuse you of this congregation for your present love or countenance Onely I must tell you many who now in our welfare use of gifts liberty and elbowroome shew themselves forwardest to encourage us Note this fulfilled Prophesie if God turne the wheele and change our publicknesse into privacy and our liberty to restraint and our peace into enmity and our health into sicknesse and leave us to their curtesies will be the first that will lowre upon us and challenge us rather for our curiosity and precisenesse then regard us either for the former services we have done or for the sorrowes we suffer Experience hath proved it so throughly already in many worthy lights who have spent all their oile for the use of the Sanctuary that even those hearers of theirs who most of all seemed to rejoice in their light have no sooner saw their light to be a little darkened to the worldward but they have slipt away in a mist and beheld them as strangers afar off deserted them their wives and children so that except God had
serve for a taste by the paw you may judge of the Lion Oh! that this Reproofe might so pierce them that they might fall upon themselves and reprove themselves bitterly for their more then heathenish unnaturall unthankefulnesse Papists may condâ—mne us for our disregard of our Ministers This blinde generation of Papists shall rise up in judgement and condemne us Protestants yea many of us noted for our zeale For what cost doe they refuse to be at to maintaine their Priests and Jesuits in their bravery nay what fines would they not be willing to pay for the liberty of their Religion But alas We who professe a better and seeme zealous for it have no such principle of love in us Our Religion must stand alone and defend her selfe or else she may sinke or swim for us It s the mercy of God to our Kingdome to keepe the hearts of our Qâ—een and Kings of blessed memory and noblenesse of heart in the defence of the truth of God without toleration and imbezeling and long may the Lord so rule and dispose of their spirits For it s to be feared if they we were but brought to the triall who would give most for their Religion they for their Priests or we for our Ministers they would out-bid and outdrop us many of us even wealthy Gentlemen and others I will not tax all as much as Crownes or Royalls outbid brasse farthings The Lord shew us our disease and to what issue it would come if God prevented it not Vse 3 Thirdly this point is Exhortation to all who are convinced of this Truth People exhorted to honour and support the Minister That they practise this duty of love to the Minister of God If you would truly be free from all these aspersions as what good heart would not shake her lap of such dung Do not only abhor the treachery inconstancy basenesse and unthankfulnesse of hollow lovers Doe not onely abhorre the love of your selves lusts and appetites more then God or his Minister But especially learne this mystery of loving a Prophet for himselfe and in the name of a Prophet for his message sake Get an heart knit to him in a close band of amity which no sword can cut in two no time occasion or danger interrupt Let it not bee a love of teeth outward or outward signification but a child-like loyall reverend and sacred love without dissimulation Let the very joy of his message goe as dâ—epe into thy soule How that may be effected as these bad properties goe into the spirit of the contrary Lin not till the Minister of God have as well kindled a fire in thy heart of sound love and affection as set up a flashing light in thy mind of knowledge and understanding which may vanish though for a time thou seeme to rejoice in it Brethren if we desire your love pardon us this wrong for you shall fare the better If once this Epistle be written or engraven in thy heart with the pen of a Diamond the characters thereof will be indeleble It s no letter of inke and paper but written by an Adamant claw of the Spirit which knits you faster then Ionathan was knit to David This will make you close and faithfull and you will goe under a woods side into a wildernesse to renue your covenant No message can so pierce into your spirit as this If your Lawyer should by his skill and pleading win the day at Law for you if the Physitian should recover you of a deadly disease if your spokesman should prevaile in a great marriage of many thousands None would sticke so deepe nor deserve such love as the message of reconciliation and the cure of spirituall leprosie causing the flesh of thy soule to returne againe as the flesh of a little child This will make thee doe great things for the Prophet this will ingratiate and make him as one of a thousand unto thee Shall any thing now part him and me Act. 8. Thinke we that the Eunuch as speedily as Philip was snatcht from him carried him not away with him in his heart Should mony travell feare or danger ever have separated them Oh brthren let this example here of Naaman soke as oile into our spirits And before you depart hence beg it of God that he would teach you the obligation of a soule to his Minister And then we will give up our selves as Paul speakes first to the Lord and then to him in a league of faithfull amity Make but this sure that we have received his message Rom. 18. and then there needs no more That will be a principle within to dictate and direct the rest be the fruits greater or smaller so that love be the guide all shall be well The odds which Paul to Philemon speakes of Thou owest me thine owne soule And that which our Saviour speakes of To give a cup of cold water we know is very large and different yet where love is the roote both are accepted with God and all the steps which passe betweene Love may be trusted for the measure for shee hath an instinct which teacheth her what to doe shee can purge the heart of scantnesse and straitnesse and enlarge it with opennesse and freedome If Popish and ungrounded love be so full and free shall love truly rooted be barren Shall error bee more powerfull then truth No no The favour of love that comes from a soule redeemed with the pretious bloud of Christ excells all other respects whatsoever and carryes more demonstration with it And if love beare the sway a true Minister of Chrst will be as free to impart himselfe to the poorest and meanest of his congregation who can make him little requitall as to the richest and best yea although he be at some cost with them also as in some cases of distresse and visiting of the sicke it may be expected from him The loadstone which drawes his heart in pitty and compassion being the grace and necessity of the parties rather then his own advantage But to returne to the people in a word The duty urged give your hearts openly and freely next to God to his Minister for his worke sake Lately I read a story of the afflicted state of Belgia thralled under Philip of Spaine and Don Iohn of Austria his brother of whose tyranny the poore Province being weary they chose by common consent the Prince of Orange for their defendor and protector and meeting him in a solemne assembly at the Towne of Gaunt presented him with a golden heart opened with this Motto engâ—aven about it SINCERITY And truly brethren to apply this I say the true present of a soul won to God by the peace of reconciliation is an heart though not of gold yet more pretious even made of love and opennesse with sincerity of affection without this we cannot receive the Minister of Christ aright we may blear his eyes with false colours but God is not
and his labour is with God if then for conscience he seekes their welfare and counts it his crowne if they obey Esay 49.4 its equall and righteous that they requite love for love duty for duty That they set his crowne upon his head by their faithfull obedience The businesse concernes themselves very sadly for the Minister preaches not comforts not exhorts not for his owne ends but for theirs If then he be for them and not himselfe shall they be able to answer it if they be not for their owne soules Alas what shall the discouragement they afford to the Minister hurt him Shall it not redound to them See Heb. 13.17 That were smally to their comfort He is from God and as in the stead of Christ doing his Embassage As Ieremy speakes to those rebells Chap. 44. Lo I am before you you may answer me as you will But know that he who sent me will not be so easily answered 2 Pet. 1.16 he will pay ye home for your rebellion If the Minister be bound to follow God and not cunning devises and fables of his own head and must give a strict account thereof to his Master Woe be to them that perceive not nor lay to heart What a solemne account will lye upon them if they dispise that message which he delivers upon such tearmes He hath saved his soule but thy bloud shall be upon thine owne head True love then is judicious see 2 Cor. 5.14 and as in all other things so in this she is loath to offer any measure to the Minister which she is loath God should offer herselfe Reason 3 Thirdly love is marveilous tender He then that loves his Minister is very sensible of that griefe and discontent which must needs smites his heart when he sees his labours slighted 1 Cor. 13. especially if he be a man wholly set to seek Gods ends in preaching A good heart will say I warrant you it stings the heart of him who teaches us soundly to behold in us slight acceptance Oh this will breed bad bloud This will load him with sorrow and he hath no whither to goe for ease but to him who set him on worke And the Lord will take his wrongs to heart and count them his owne and that will prove sad for us Oh! let us not provide so ill let us not cut downe the onely prop we stand on let us condole him in his heavinesse and remove the cause of it that so his heart being joyed may procure a good errand to heaven in our behalfe and bring downe a blessed answer from God unto us Reason 4 Fourthly love is given to esteem highly of that which it loves unites it and strengthens it selfe in the object delighted in she sets it up in her heart exceedingly and good cause why for love proceeds from some convinced amiablenesse and worth in the thing loved and that reflects backe honour and esteeme Now if it be so then love of a Minister will breed honour to him under God neither under his worth nor above it but sutable to it contrariwise if there be small or no love what will the answer be Tush what is he He is but a man as others yea and perhaps a weake one a man of passions and frailties So then marke A lovelesse heart despiseth a Minister shames him is as rottennesse to his bones thwarts the doctrine makes all that behold him in the mirror of such people to thinke they have a Minister of like disposition to themselves else for shame they would not be so base I conclude then true love will devise with her selfe what will grace and magnifie the Minister and his labours and finding that nothing will do it so much as the obeying of his voice they will force and compell themselves out of the meer nature of their love to obey him to the uttermost cost it them never so much the setting on as face answers face in water Proverb so doth the life of an hearer who loves his Minister answer his labours Love must needs destroy it selfe if it should disesteem her object therefore she honoureth that as she would support herselfe So much for Reasons This point first affords Terror to all basely minded men who live Vse 1 in the utter hatred and scorne of their Ministers thwarting Terror Two or three Branches vexing and crossing them to the uttermost in stead of obeying Such as Jer. 44.16 openly tell him The word of God which thou spakest unto us we will not heare it Such as live at open defiance with the Minister asking Shall this fellow reigne over us No Shall we be tyed to his girdle We scorne it Let us cast his cords from us Psal 2.12 What Lord shall controll us Our tongues our spirits and wayes are our owne Shall he teach us to marry to buy sell keep company use our liberties Shall he come among us to forestall our pleasures our wills and lusts They that live at open defiance with their Ministers are odious Cannot wee tell as well as he what is good for us He serves us and lives upon us and shall we maintaine our servant to be in our tops Oh base wretch He is thy servant for thy good but made so by God not a slave but a free honourable Minister of reconciliation not to serve thy humours but to controll them And as I said before then they will runne and ride and lay their purses together nay set on all the mastives of the Country against them to worry them out But oh wofull creatures Reproach of Ministers shame and spots of assemblies you need not to hunt them out Read but that in Mica 2.6.7 and there you shall finde God himself will doe it for you You say prophesie not But I say Ezek. 3.26 they shall not prophesie unto such lest they take shame I will not suffer their faces to be covered with such confusion as to be plagued with such I will rid them from among such and carry them to a people that love them As for these haters of them when as once their shepheards are gone I will come in among them and worry them that worried these And I will let in a flood upon them of woe when my Noa's are taken into mine Arke That which they sought for revenge of my Minister I will inflict as a revenge upon them and when they see themselves left to be consumed by those lusts of theirs which they scorned to be rooted out by him then they shall roare for very anguish some here under penury rags shame diseases and impenitency some in hell but then one houre of a faithfull Minister shall not be given them if they had the world to give for it Beware lest seeing the fearefull examples of vengeance in Scripture for contempt of the Minister besides daily experience of the sudden end of scorners and persecutors will not draw you from your trade God make you examples for
forsake himselfe because he made a promise to his posterity So let us doe But if we want any gift as of memory prayer asking questions conference we distrust God although we have received greater gifts of the Spirit which are onely peculiar to sanctification We love Christ say some and his members without dissimulation Esay 26. and our desires are to his name but we have no gift in private prayer fasting or uttering of our mindes and wants what then doth not the greater circle include the lesse If it bee meet for you he that gave you the cheefe can give you the smaller if hee doe not you shall not need them If you have got those that concerne the Kingdome and righteousnesse of God Matth. 6.32 the other shall be cast in Only I adde seeke God in the smaller as well as in the cheefe and beleeve the particular as well as the generall else although you have scaped a gulfe yet a shallow may endanger you Iona was abased in the whales belly yet impatient for the losse of a gourd Jona Cap. 3. and 4. Our fooles bable is more to us then a Kings Crowne If our bafe heart be set upon a trifle it s with us as a penny cuttle or a fine feather is with an Indian more pretious then much gold If God have kept thee in thy midle age he can keep thee in thine old age If in thy long sea-voyagâ— he can keepe thee from shipwracke in the haven much more provided that thou doe not entertaine any base lust which should eclipse thy former honour As Hezechia dyed with his blurre through loosenesse Phil. 3 But if thou wilt looke still forward to the price of the high call of God and not backward with pride for that which is past not be high minded but feare God will not deceive thee having escaped a Lion a Beare shall not devoure thee Vse 4 Fourthly let us be exhorted to that which is the scope of the Doctrine Admonition and Exhortation even Faithfulnesse and Sincerity for that will preserve in us that boldnesse and confidence whereby we shall beleeve that he who hath made us faithfull in the greater things will not leave us in the smaller otherwise nothing is more easie for us to fall into then this He whose head gazes up to the clouds soonest falls into the ditch but hee who walkes with his eye upon his way circumspectly and narrowly shall not need to feare it Ephes 5.16 The truth is our cursed spirit is so beset with corruption of all sorts that no law no rule of proportion can levell and make our lives equall and sutable We thinke that because we have wonne the spurres in one great battell therefore no lesser enemy dare looke us in the face But let not any that puts on his harneis boast as he that puts them off When the house is swept and garnisht then comes in the uncleane spirit and marres all our logicke and confidence 1 King 20.11 and makes many who beganne in the spirit to end in the flesh Behold and observe the course of such men as want the bridle of God to curbe them there is no certainty where to finde them Matth. 12. Inconstancy in mens affections and disproportion argues fashood though at a time you may perceive them above the clouds in their zeale often hearing vows of great reformation yet you shall marke them in a short time quite other persons for why Not a principle of grace acts them for then you should see a proportion in them but a pang an humour soone up soone downe Some time in the clouds in admiring such a Preacher or Christian none are like them by and by as the ship in the sea tossed from the tops of hils to the lowest depth none are so bad or meane as they they thrust them downe to the lowest pit Who abhors not so base and inconstant a course Their proud prodigall vainglorious foolish selfe-loving heart puffes them sometimes to very deepe protestations and purposes what they will doe but not wisely weighing with themselves that they want stocke to hold out they who at sometime will buy a good Minister into the Parish with great cost at another time will runne and ride to hunt him out as fast on their supposed death bed they bequeath great things to the poore but being recovered they doe nothing nay perhaps grinde their faces As those Barbarians Acts ult now made Paul a God but presently a murtherer Oh saith one I love thee from my heart I would ride an hundred mile to doe thee a good turne an hundred pounds should not part thee and me who would not beleeve him But there is no soundnesse within for at another time he will deny you his horse to ride five mile or to lend you five pound if you should goe to prison for want of it what Christian that feares God would not looke close to himselfe when he sees the world so mad and so unsettled through a false heart When a tender body goes abroad into the aire or foule weather he puts on his cap and hood close about his eares and girds up his loines close lest any the least dint or impression of weather should annoy him So will a tender conscience feele the smallest distemper and take heed of the least occasions of evill whereas a base heart is for all weathers companies occasions Let us then seeke to get into us a principle of constancy which may undertake for us else an inconstant man is as a wave of the sea and is unlike himselfe in all his wayes Jam. 1.4 Beware lest by this malady men cast our Religion in our teeth What is so common as this We have a good Churchman as any in the Country if he were as good out of the Pulpit as in it and could play at small game as well as at great in his worldly businesse family government liberties company studies or the like as in his preaching none were better where he does well as he spake of Origen none does better but where ill none worser What a sad reproach is that to his stedfastnesse So for Professors Oh saith one for his Sabbaths zeale to God and piety few may compare with such an one But come to the second Table to the duties of righteousnesse mercy keeping promises ruling his children scarce one civill man in the Town but is more reasonable compassionate and keeps his day better What faithfull in the cheefe treasure and yet untrusty in the smaller What principle doth this come from Who dare dispute for the credit of such a man as confutes all arguments by his unfaithfulnesse Iob hath a pretty allusion in one place and bids us try the Unicorne whether he will be bound to our yoke Job 39.9 or draw our cart or plough meaning that his wildnesse will not frame to it Surely a man might as soone doe that or tye the wilde Asse to
except thou bee out of the way when the houre of performance is come Vse 4 But lastly and above all hearken to this all you to whom of right the Doctrine belongs Consolation to all who have found God in their conversion you who have long waited for this day behold it here even the day starre of consolation arising in you hearts 2 Pet. 1.19 I dare say for you you doe not gape after comfort to spend it upon your lusts but to heare what God will say That you returne no more to folly to your old distempers To you I apply this blessed truth to you I say whose big hearts are come downe and lye at the foot-stoole of mercy and marke what I say Come out of your ashes take unto you this white garment of joy and put it on your warfare is accomplished Oh that this day might be the time of your lifting up perhaps it may for ought I know take this handkercheife and wipe away all your teares with it let this Sun beame of comfort chase away all former mists and fogs of darkenesse and distrust and let it be as old Eli a voice from God to your sad spirits that with Hanna having received your answer you may be heavy no more 1 Sam. 1.17 1 Sam. 7.12 Set up your altar with Samuel and say Hitherto the Lord hath holpen us and adde moreover he will give me the hand and helpe me over the hill of difficulties that remaine Be so farre from distrusting this that you proceed and say He that hath thus fulfilled his word in one kinde he will doe it in all other set me beyond gun-shot of all corruptions temptations Divell opposition and malice of his instruments and keep mee till his comming and till I obtain full redemption Rather then the Lord would not accomplish that promise which was 4000. yeares old of sending the Lord Jesus hee would even strip himselfe and bee made sinne and shame of holinesse and honour Did hee so deny himselfe Galat. 4.4 and all to keep that maine promise and dare I distrust him in the rest and the smaller No surely Therefore poore soule that thou mayst be established come in and believe this maine one The night is past and the houre of darknesse is gone Now the Almond tree blossomes Cant. 2.11.12 and all the sad disasters of the Winter are passed Now in this Garden of God come meet thy beloved and let him give thee his love Henceforth say O my soule thou hast marched valiantly Thou art above all thy former feares and sorrowes Thou wert afraid lest death should prevent thee ere this day but that was impossible for then Gods word had been of no effect Say thus Now me thinkes in the comfort of this truth I could leap over a wall Oh that I should see it no sooner Now the time of God is come it is so cleare that I wonder I should ever stagger or distrust it I see it must bee wholly spun out of the Promise and not out of mine owne Bowels Gen. 28.16 Surely God was in this truth heretofore and yet till now I was never aware of it Now I am now I blesse God that ever I lived to this day that God should in such a comfortlesse world reveale such glad tidings unto me and make me to see his salvation Oft have I heard of him with mine eare but now I see him with mine eyes Now I can say Job 42.3.4 That which I have long sought I have found I have found him whom my soule loveth Why shouldst thou not say thus Psal 43.5 Why doth thy spirit fret within thee why art thou so sad when the Lord hath given thee the oyle of gladnes Doest thou not know that it hath been the portion of sundry Saints of God before thee Oh then climbe not up to heaven nor go downe into the deep to fetch Christ Thou shalt not need This day is come thy accepted time The promise is neere thee Rom. 10. even in thy heart to beleeve it As the Angell said to Peter Arise and follow me so doe thou and say Now of a truth I see the Lord hath indeed delivered me from Herod and the Jewes Acts 12.6 How went that Eunuch away from Philip rejoycing Acts 8. end What made Glover to speake when hee saw that Chariot of fire to carry him to heaven Oh! hee is come hee is come And another at the stake to take her leave not onely of her Husband Children and Countrey but of Faith and Hope saying Farewell you and welcome Love What a triumphant speech was it Speciall examples of soules deeply long loden yet at length comforted Another whose tendernesse over her children had not been ordinary and her feares great being very sicke to cry out I take no thought for them I leave them to my God and as for my distempers and temptations I have none I know I shall bee saved Another fearing hee should live in a great sicknesse asked Doe you thinke I should ever keep this assurance till another sicknesse and death come He was answered Yes and so foure yeares after at death he lay as before rapt and ravisht above world and all and being asked how he did said I am new out of a Trance I have had a doore opened and seene the glory of God and now the doore is clapt to but I peep at the crevis to keep the sight of it how loath am I to forgoe it To conclude another poore creature very weake to hold any thing all her life yet most constant in meanes till death when all thought her neere gone bade them weep no more for her nor take no thought for shee knew shee should doe well Oh the faith of these and hundreds more wee have seene and all to evidence this truth Oh! let us tread in their steps and follow their conversation and when thine end shall come Christ shall but stoop down and write upon thy heart 2 or 3 words Bee of good comfort Joh. 8.6 thy sinnes are forgiven but all thine accusers shall goe away and thy self be acquitted for ever Oh be thankfull to think of it and let no stranger world or lusts enter into this thy joy to defile it Thus much for this fourth and last use and for this doctrine Now I hasten to the next Doctrine And having ended the time when he obeyed we come now to the obedience it selfe True humilitie scornes not to learne of the meanest Hee went downe and washed himselfe in Jorden Wherein although the main thing which I intend is the Act of his faith yet one thing I must tell you of first viz. an amplifying of it by his humility that he was thus subdued by his servants and glad to yeeld at their instance counsell though their Master a great Prince An unusuall and unlikely thing that such a favourite to his Prince as hee was and so great
encounters me let him thinke himselfe honoured that I will vouchsafe to foyle him Some are of so arrogant spirits that they scorne to receive a good turne from their inferiour But O proud foole who art thou Mayst not thou dye in thy nest for want of a meane helper As once a great woman â—id who scorning the poor at the last being in her country house smitten with the plague was forsaken of all and then cried out that God was just I observe that it is the honour of brave Souldiers that when they are beaten almost out of their Castle yet they will capitulate for their honour to goe out of their harbour with their pikes traild their match light and in array or else they will dye ere they stirre That bravery is in most men they will lose their lives ere they lose their great stomacke I confesse in civill cases there is some reason in such things Alexander is commended that being chalenged by a meane fellow to run at Tilt with him hee scorn'd it and sayd Kings must runne with none but Kings for they can get no credit by victory but lose much by being foyled But in matters of God it is otherwise Be willing to be taught reproved by any be they never so meane if there be grace be there never such infirmities and contemptiblenesse It is a good Motto which he gave Not alwayes there is good in the great but alway there is great in the good Let the honour of the grace and the pretiousnesse of a Christian cover his outwards and discerne that which is within at a narrow crevis Be not of this minde I will heare none save the greatest Doctor and learnedest man in the Countrey such or such a man of fame and note As for these ordinary Preachers I slight them Those whom thou admirest are unwilling to take the paines and those who take the paines thou art unwilling to heare and so between both a proud heart bringeth to destruction That Heathen King Eglon when as Ehud a lame man came to him and told him he had a message from God arose off his Throne Judg. 3.20 and came downe to speake with him In base and common things wee disdaine not the basest Gentlemen will be haile fellow well met with base Jesters swearing Falconers or hang-byes if for their ends and Ladies will send their children to dance or sing or to learn fashions of base peasants and not disdaine it But to learne of a good man or woman the trade of God to heare any thing from them which might rectifie either their hearts or manners they despise it exceedingly Shall not their own practice confute them wofully If Religion were any of their ends would they not do as much abase themselves as low for that as for the learning of prick-song or the like And whereas thou wilt say I will not doe so meane a fellow such honour as to subdue my spirit or put my neck under his girdle I answer thee Looke thou at God not at him but if this defeat thee of cure thank thy selfe hee is but very little hungry or thirsty who will not doe a stone or leather pot or vessell the honour to quench his thirst nor eate any meate except out of plate with a silver forke Note They that will not honour others so much as to learne of them must be content to shame themselves so much as to perish Oh young man see thy face in a glasse how is sage Salomon faine to flatter him and to say My sonne Prov. 4.1.2 heare instruction let thine eare hearken to my counsell And all because a proud heart is wonderously averse from the counsell even of our betters yea of a King speaking for God How much more hard then to harken to meane persons when we are great Alas this is growne out of the world yet Nâ—aman had been a Leper but for meane ones It were better that the Lord did abase thee very low with some great crosse to pull downe thine haughty heart then suffer thy pride to usher thy destruction When Darius was pursued hard by enemies and very dry and thirsty he saw a puddle with a little water in it and having drank it said he never tasted sweeter in all his life So should the counsell of the meanest be to thee if stung in conscience or lying upon thy death bed But if thou despise them before who knowes whether God will so farre honour thee then Thirdly let this be examination Examination and triall of thee whether in truth Vse 3 God have humbled thee or no whether ever thou couldest discern aright between the pretious and the vile and both loath the greatest if base and honour the persons of the meanest and their counsell if really good David could abase himselfe thus even to hearken after the meanest and to make them of his house Psal 101. 1 Sam. 25. And poore Abigail was pretious to him and her counsell blessed though hee were heire apparant of a Crowne Let us note this for even in Religious persons this secret tang of basenesse may lurke as wee see in St. Iames James 2.3 who brings in rich Christians despising the poorer You say to them who have rings upon their fingers Come up hither but to the other Sit at my foot-stoole A signe that this base corruption is very closely lodged in us to underprize goodnesse and counsell because it dwells meanly A poore man was forgotten though wise saith Salomon and one that delivered the Citie by his wisedome Eccles 9.15 If thou doest so highly esteeme grace as to take it out of the poorest creature with a thankfull heart for as he said of Ministers that they were goldenest when the Chalices were of Wood so I say the man may have a Pearle in his bosome when he weares but a bare coat it is a signe of some humility Lastly let it be exhortation to us to beare humble mindes and lowly spirits not to disdaine to learne of the meanest Nay let us bee thus vile Esay 1. Psa 32.8.9 and if the world thinke us so let us bee more vile let us learne of the Pismire and the Lamb and the Storke and the Swallow and the Lillies yea the grasse for we are very ignorant even as the Horse the Mule and had need to be set to School to all Masters and yet learne but little The very bird that lives in a Cage foure inches square being naturally bred to flye abroad in the open Coast should teach us self-deniall contentment she can sing and make her prison a Paradise our base hearts disdain to be content or thankfull when as we abound in all mercies have the world at will An whole Councell once condescended to the judgement of one Paphnutius a meane person speaking from God chusing rather to hearken to a mean person then to persist in their errour If so many learned Bishops sage and ancient
persons disdained not to learne of so poore a counsellour what should such as wee doe who are yet as much more stout then they as they were wiser then wee are And so much for this poynt Doct. Another poynt offers it selfe from hence also and that from the order of his obeying The Text telles us Then hee went and dipped himselfe When I pray you Surely when his stomack was brought down and sunk in him then hee went dipped himselfe in Jorden when that which all this while letted was removed then did he obey believe and doe as he was bidden and that in a moment The poynt is very speciall to prepare us to the poynt following for it acquaints us with a main barre and stop which lies in the Preachers way and the Spirits way to wit a rebellious and selfe-conceited heart and with that which makes easie and sweet that is an heart convinced and yeelding to the Word No man I suppose will expect me to be large in much opening of this disease for I have spent many Sermons in the handling of Self Self-love carnall Reason Rebellion and coy Pride in Naaman when I went over the 11. verse Now I take all that for granted and from the issue of the Lords working thus long upon Naaman his humbling of him to the command Humility alway goes before grace compared with the effect of his obeying I would present unto your eye this poynt That alway when the Lord means to create faith in the soule he doth immediatly put an end to all that stoutnesse of spirit that hindred the same The poynt is cleare No sooner had the Lord emptied Naaman here of his opposing heart but immediatly followes his obeying the charge So true is that golden speech of Ieremy Jer. 31.18.19 I heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as an Heyfer unaccustomed to the yoke Surely after that I was turned I repented and after I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed and confounded because I did beare the shame of my youth The summe of the words is That all the while that Ephraim was proud and wilfull no grace would enter into him But as soone as the Lord thawed his spirit and made him humble lo hee presently submitted and bare Gods yoke with meeknesse and obedience Prophets there were before who did beat upon him and tozed him with rebukes and terrors but alas they were but as the blowes of the Smith upon his Anvill which is the more hardned But at last God cast into his heart a secret thought of his long rebellion and how little good it had done him then by and by hee listned and smote upon his thigh and repented Even so all the day long sayth the Lord by Esay Chap. 52. ult have I stretched out mine arme to a people in vaine None hath beleeved my report the word of God is revealed to none Why Hee addes because it is a stiff-necked and a gain-saying people q. d. But for this they had beleeved long agoe This is that which elsewhere the Prophet foretels under the Gospell that such as should bee converted unto God Esay 2.4 Esay 2.12.17 should turne their Swords into Mattockes and their Speares into Sythes that is of warlicke and turbulent ones become peaceable Husband-men and Inhabitants The Aspe shall suffer the young childe to play at the hole of the Aspe and the Lyon shall feed with the Lamb and the Beare with the Bullocke meaning the savage and wilde dispositions of men should turn meek and tractable Iob in one place brings in the Lord asking this question Job 39.5 Wilt thou tye the Unicorne to the furrow or wilt thou make the wilde Asse feed at thy Crib q. d. No their nature is unbroken thy Oxe and thy Horse are fittest for that whom thou hast tamed to the worke Even so assure thy selfe the Divell and Christ Light and Darknesse may as soon comply as a stout rebellious heart and grace Rebellion and Unbeliefe yoke together so doe Selfe-deniall and meeknesse of Spirit with faith and obedience As while the sinewes of mans heart is of Iron the Lords heaven is Brasse so when the soul begins to melt the Lord begins to turne and convert it It is with the soule in this kinde contrary to that it was with them in Acts 27. If these goe out of the ship it must needs miscarry But if pride and rebellion abide in the heart no grace will grow the man must perish Ottomans horse they sayd wheresoever he became made the grasse that it could not grow so doth a stout heart keep grace from the heart There is a secret intelligence between hell and a proud spirit And contrarily there is an entercourse between an humble heart and heaven Hosee in one place tells us Hos 2.21 That the Lord would speake to the heavens and they should heare the earth with rains and then the earth should heare man with fruits So first heaven must grant the heart tendernesse and relenting and then that will heare the Lord commanding and promising The windes being very loud the aire is dry but if they be downe then presently we have store of raine See that 1. King 19.12 So is it here when the tempests and stormes of the heart bee up whether in morall sinnes against the Law or spirituall rebellion against the Gospell there is no obedience but if they be downe never so little the clouds will follow after raine that is faith and obedience will ensue Prov. 15. ult The feare of the Lord is instruction and wisedome And before honour goeth humility Whom shall I teach Doctrine Esay 28.7.8 Even him that is weaned from the Milke and drawne from the Breasts The sweet milke of the breasts of Selfe and carnall Wisedome are alway opposite to the wisedome of God Sacrifices thou wouldest not but an eare thou hast boared Why That I might doe thy will O God who before did mine owne Vse 1 For briefe use First it is instruction to put us out of question why an heart of unbeliefe hath so long pestered the most of our hearers Instruction Why the most hearers are pestered with unbeliefe Because the heart was never brought down and why the Lords perswasions have so little prevailed to make us believe Surely if you doubt as I feare few need to doe the enemy is this wicked Haman of a rebellious heart Perhaps some of you are of another minde because you can so colour and crust over this sore with courtesie and good words but the truth of it is There is an heart within big and high and stout This is the Camell which suffers not the soule to goe through the needles eye Somewhat is the cause why the felon upon the hand swells it is an humor which is not yet let out if that were out the felnesse would cease Enquire and consult either a cursed heart will keep some base lust
which God will have out and there the Lord and it are upon debate or there is a cursed naturall antipathy between the Lord and the way of salvation or the soule is full of teches and pritches against reproofe or it hatcheth some false conceit that it hath obeyd when it hath not which it will not see or puffes and snuffes against some other thing the Minister the Ordinance the difficulty of Religion the uncertainty of the promise Whatsoever it be it is a distastfulnesse of heart and a resistance against God which if it were not the soule would nakedly come in and obediently submit to the Gospel But this disease hath this misery that the more dangerous it is the lesse it will bee convinced of such a thing and this nourishes the heart in her wretchednesse it is not time alone which will heale it rather it causes it to rankle and wax worse and worse Men ascribe it to other matters being willing to gull themselves because they have no will to be rid of it They say they have weake memories little capacity and the Minister is too high for them But in very deeds their hearts are too high for him till the Word come neerer 2 Cor. 10.4 and worke inward to cast downe all imaginations and high things no submission will follow to the obedience of Christ The effect every one dare confesse but the cause they will not see it is not unprofitablenesse or an ill memory that hath caused your hearts to be so surly and perverse but it is a proud and gainsaying heart Acts 28.27 which hath so long made you unprofitable Doe not lin till you are convinced hereof for till the cause be seene it cannot bee removed Doe not lay the fault where it is not doe not blanch over the cause with fine words mitigate not the extremity of the sin with gentlenesse Perhaps you doe not live in wrath and rage with your wives family neighbours you make a shift to comply with men courteously so long as no body hurts you but truly if you beleeve not in all this while there is a pad in the straw your spirits are not inwardly brought to that tender softnesse and selfe-deniall to thinke equall thoughts of God and his way something stickes in your base stomackes which will not suffer the word of God to goe downe and pierce into you to perswade you If you would but bethinke you what a great let this is which hitherto you have not seene or if you could thinke how the case would bee changed with you if once a tractable comming and inclining heart were in you how the Ministers of God the Angels â—ea the Spirit of grace it selfe which you have so long grieved and resisted would rejoyce in the change Oh! you would never lin with your owne soules till you had cast it out and having shaken it off you would thinke it a greater ease then ever that Martyr of Christ did B. Hooper when he had cast off all his Popish trash and furniture from his shoulders Secondly it is reproofe Reproofe to many Professors who in hope are of Vse 2 the better sort who although by this sinne have not perhaps wholly stopped and choked the passages of the grace of conversion Christians of crabbed peevish stubborne hearts lose the grace of faith yet by the dregges thereof remaining in them and nourished dampe that obedience of heart that life of faith and selfe-deniall yea that peace joy and open heart to God and goodnesse which else they might attaine It is strange how some Christians dare give place to their corruption in this kinde yea grow to thinke it their praise Some are sowre and crabbed as it were steeped in vinegar so censorious and uncharitable that none can escape their censure some so suspitious jealous that none can live by them some so sullen that no estate can content them some so selfe-loving that none can please them save they who humour them in all their passions and pangs some so implacable that if once offended they can scarce looke a man in the face to rights some so eager in revenge that nothing else will content them some alwayes stirring up debate betweene neighbours so busie in Law and in matters of contention as if they were Salamanders alway living in the fire others so eager in spirit so lowring and sad that though they breake not out with others yet they never agree with themselves nor walke with a cheerfull countenance Why Save that the sweet oyle of gladnesse hath not suppled them nor the peace of God which passeth understanding hath possessed and stablished them Oh friends How dare you dally and venture to abide thus How sad a reflex will this bee upon your death-beds You will say It doth oft trouble you and you are grieved for your waspishnesse and anger But what then Is that an amends to God to vomit up that at an odde time which afterward you doe returne to and licke up ugaine without sense or feeling Oh! it were meet for you to be so heart-sick of it that you might for ever abhor it Christians should mark the secret creepings of such poyson how it dogges them chokes humblenesse and cheerfulnesse in them and makes them walke unfruitfully and unsetledly from time to time And say that sometimes you fast and pray and vow and covenant against them yet if the corruption and your soules are so incorporated together that when it steales in upon you with the old sweetnesse it inchants you and disables you from resistance what cause of boasting have you None surely nor shall till the Lord come between you and home with the spirit of true remorce and sorrow for it unto repentance never to be repented of and till your beloved lust become your bane See and apply that in James 4.1.2.3 till the Lord in secret chasten your spirits that you can sit and bemoane your selves with Ephraim and say O Lord what is the cause that I am so enthralled to this stout and unbroken heart Alas No word of thine no patience of thine can enter while this sin harden me I am not fit to bee wrought upon by any crosse blessing meditation or ordinance All washes away as it comes Oh! shall I never be rid of this misery this chaine When Lord will it once be Who shall breake off the slavish custome of my heart this way and set me at liberty Oh! if once it may bee I shall even account it as a second resurrection from the dead Oh! set such a guard over mee that I may never be surprized any more with it Let mee thinke the Divell not farre off when I see this messenger of his at my heeles so to dogge and buffet me Let thy Spirit from above which is pure peaceable Jam. 3 i5 long-suffering mercifull and patient humble and loving deliver me from this spirit of envie sullennesse Selfe and her fruits most earthly sensuall
off as it were a glimpse of light through a cloud that her estate is not quite forlorne whereupon the extremity of her former feares is much alayd and shee put out of despaire into some expectation of better things although as in the twilight much mixture of old terrors remain not quite banished as the Canaanites among Israel to teach them warre and to occupy them in combats Thus was it with those Ninevites who by the instinct of mercy darted into them by the Lord secretly lifted up their heads a little towards hope of not perishing and to the musing upon the benefit of deliverance The third is an holy compassion of heart towards him whom the soul hath pierced by sinne even the Lord of life who yet was well content to be murthered lest his murtherers should perish The due meditation whereof melts the soul into marvellous heavinesse that she should seeke his ruine who sought her making Not as mourning for his death for else she must have for ever been damned but for her treachery against the mercy of a Father who cut off his Plea and the love of a Saviour who gave his life for her This makes her impotent in her mourning and steeps her in gall and wormwood Zachar. 12.10 as not able to utter indignation enough against her selfe for it Fourthly yet as one borne downe with the singularity of such mercy and the fulnesse of that price which is paid to justice for her sinne shee is loth to let it passe without a desire to partake it yea and an ardent affection after it as one that is famished for lack of bread or drinke can be satisfied with nothing save that which it longs for though shee were offered treasures in stead of it yet shee still cries with Rachel Gen. 30.1 Give me this or else I dye And fifthly here she stoppes not but warily lookes about her that she binde not the hands of mercy from bestowing her desire upon her by her boldnesse and loosnesse of heart life and therfore she is watchful to her self lest in this her pursuit after mercy she should offend it any way by her pride frowardnesse base words passions or behaviours worldlinesse commonnesse of heart about her earthly lawfull businesse loose hearing forgetfulnesse or the like Sixthly she is marvellous restlesse in the applying of her selfe to all such meanes and ordinances as might further her desires and reveale unto her more light and evidence of Christ fearing lest by any defect of hers and letting slip the opportunities and seasons of grace and stirring motions of the Spirit shee might provoke the Spirit of grace to give her over to her owne unprofitablenesse she tries all as ascribing that honour to God to chuse what he will worke by to these hornes of the Altar she will cleave and if shee must dye shee will dye there Seventhly the more she growes in understanding of the way and mystery of salvation by Christ the more shee compares it with the best contents which this world in any kinde did ever present unto her and finding them light in the ballance and farre from being what they seeme or performing what they promise nay although they could doe both yet in comparison with mercy shee stamps them under her feet esteeming them all as drosse and dung Phil. 3. Lastly by this meanes she resolves fully in her last thoughts to sell off all whatsoever might seeme pretious unto her lusts liberties vertues Religious duties yea that onely stop of grace the mixture of Selfe with Christ that so shee might in the losse of all make up a price of grace that is that she may come with nothing and make a price of no price and so buy the Pearl till which purchase be made her own she can have no peace And this purchase stands in her faith which as an hand takes and accepts the seasin and delivery of the Lord Jesus given to her by the hand of him that surrenders him unto her by the promise Touching the which act of faith it remaines that we speake a little having said of this preparation so much as for the present wee think meet Touching faith what it is and how it is bred in the soule Concerning which and first of the nature of it so farre as it is the act of the soule obeying and yeelding to a word of promise I will say a little as may best sute the Text here under our hand Naaman then we see overswayed by his servants doth submit himselfe to the word of the Prophet and hee goes to Jorden and washeth Faith then to tell you first in what it stands not is not properly an habit of assurance or certainty of pardon through a personall and particular appropriation of Christ to her selfe Although asrance be never without faith yet assurance is not the proper act of Faith The originall of this error proceeded as many others have done from heat of confuting Papists in their opposing of possibility of Assurance That wee might the moâ—e fully confute them our first defenders would maintaine that the nature of justifying and saving faith stood in assurance which Tenet was indeed more then a confutation for although it is the portion of none save beleevers to enjoy this assurance yet neither is it the portion of all that beleeve to attaine it but only some special ones to whom it is granted neither is that assurance which such have the formal act of their faith but rather an effect or coÌ„sequent of the act of beleeving of an higher measure then that is For sure it is the greater our feeling of assurance is the lesse our faith is To shew then what it is It is such an act of the soule as upon good ground and warrant casts her selfe upon the promise for pardon and life By casting her selfe can be meant no assurance within her selfe but a submission and resigning up of her selfe to the promise in respect of that power and truth of the Promiser who bids her come and hee will ease her This is a sure word and hath neither trick nor device in it neither hooke nor crooke but is that which it imports and cannot deceive And this sure word is the object which faith lookes at Shee lookes not so much at the assurance which shee feeles within her selfe but at the certaine and infallible truth of the Word without As for her selfe shee knowes shee is full of doubts feares and unsetlednesse but so is not the Word of God nor himselfe that speakes in it She even in the very act of believing is full of strife and struggling For the making of this plaine consider faith in all her passages and you shall see it Quest 1 The soule hath three questions The first question is whither the Soule shall turne her selfe in her legall straits Flesh saith thus Goe on no further towards the promise for it is a difficult worke to believe and unlikely to take effect
hope they doe and had alway a good faith to God and a good meaning to men They confesse they breake out sometimes as others doe but so long as they cry God mercy they shall doe well for they understand that Christ was a loving Preacher kept company rather with the worser sort then the better many Publicans and sinners yea harlots and was the sinners friend And it was not they who put him to death but such as went for the devoutest and most precise in those times But oh yee deluded fooles Doe you thinke that when sinne hath incorporated herselfe so long and like a fretting leprosie seated it selfe in their bowells by long custome that all on the suddaine you should be changed by the conceit of their beleeving What Matth. 3.1.2 Are there no steps of calling to be observed Why then did Iohn Baptist goe before Christ in the Spirit of Elija Why did hee batter downe the rebellious spirits of men And why did hee cast downe every high hill and fill every valley Why did he prepare a way for Christ in the souls of people crying Repent for the Kingdome of Heaven is at hand Why did he plow up mens fallow grounds And turne the spears of men into mattocks and their swords into plowshares Oh take heed I will not say all your abstinence from sinne can save you but your jollity and boldnesse in it may so harden you and encrease your chaines through rebellion Esay 28. that you shall finde it an hard thing for mercy to pierce you Therefore take counsell thinke not that mercy can save you in the midst of your lewdnesse when you come steaming out of the stewes or from your alebenches or in the midst of your sports and pleasures What God can doe I aske not it s not safe for you to trust to that looke what he will doe Therefore let the point of the speare of the Law pierce your sides let it taw and breake your fierce spirits goe not on to sinne against light Defile not your consciences by wilfull rebellions covetous drunken contentious treacherous and voluptuous courses looke not that God should meet you in your cursed way when as he hath appointed you to meet him in his owne way Rather apply your selves to his word to prepare your spirits for mercy Repent that is breake off the custome and jollity of your sins the Kingdome of Heaven is at hand This counsell to suffer affliction and the spirit of bondage by the sense of guilt and wrath would bee an wholesome School-master to bring you to Christ Oh! A caveat Ministers should gaster prophane people out of their prophanenesse errors if you my brethren the Ministers would remit a little of your pleasures and liberties and apply your selves to a right order of preaching the Law and Christ and give them a view of the way of God to heaven you might the more hopefully leave them to God else how should blinde people laden with sinne stumble upon Gods preparations Will they not rather abuse the grace of God and wax insolent in turning it into wantonnesse making the remedy worse then the disease Oh! scare them out of their prophanenesse corrasive their festred sores sow not pillowes ferret them out of their dennes their starting-holes errors excuses and covers of shame Alas they have a thousand of such trickes to seduce them Base conceits of the Ministery the difficulty of faith of repenting and forsaking their lusts false opinion of the way of God of them who professe it they are poysoned so deeply by Satan and base customes in sinne so leavened with a conceit that either there is somewhat in themselves to demerit God their good meanings setting of their good deeds against their bad and such like or else thinking that Christ serves for no other end save to be their stalking-horse Rom. 4. under whom they may sin securely that grace may abound the more They dreame that because the World is hard therefore men are set here to heare the Word to keep them from theft to hold them in awe from out-rages and so if they can worke and pay their debts bring up their charge and get money they are well Oh! labour to season them with this salt of preparation that their faces may bee sharpned to looke heaven-ward and to breake off their lewd wayes that they may so come within the bounds of the Kingdome and not live like Salvages and Epicures or worldlings whose hope reaches no further then this life So much for this former sort 2 Branch Schismatickes who reject all steps marks of conversion cleaving to the spirit of free grace confuted Againe secondly this is for reproofe of such Sectaries as are lately risen up among us in sundry places who are so spirituall forsooth that the Doctrine of the condition of faith and casting of the Soule upon the promise are beggarly elements with them they esteeme them carnall matters and devices of mens braine They hold indeed there is use of a Law and Gospell to tame men first and then to comfort them But in this Gospell they have found out a new and more compendious course then others For they say there is a grace offered in the promise by such a Spirit of freedome that it will not endure any bondage of the letter nor suffer men to bee puzled and enthralled with these conditions of a Promise nor to tye themselves to a promise and the markes or signes of believing This they count base and unbeseeming such a Spirit of free grace as they have found out and therefore they scorn all those who busie their thoughts about such workes of preparations and tell them they will get more comfort in an houre by the Spirit of this their free grace then these lazy and leasurely beleevers can doe in seven yeares But oh you fantasticke and deluded ones where learne you in the Word that there is a Spirit which workes without a Word Or by what meanes come you to lay hold of this Spirit save by the Word If by the Word then of necessity by such markes and prints as the Word workes And although there is a Spirit spoken of in the Gospell which witnesseth to our Spirits that we are the Lords yet how doth it witnesse it save by the Word Is every hearer at the first dash so ripe and perfect that presently as a fledge bird flying out of her nest and leaving her Damme he can soare aloft in the sky and mount up to heaven by the Spirit of assurance So that he shall no more need any promise any conditions or markes to testifie the grace of God wrought in him Put case that God hath some speciall ones to whom after they have beleeved he hath given the Spirit to seale them to the assurance of salvation Is this the case of every novice as soon as hee heares that Christ freely forgives sinners to bee hoysed up with such a spirit of
freedome that needs no word nor promise to support them That presently they are past all doubtings and need no prayer for pardon being past all gun-shot of corruption or unbeliefe Divell or temptation But I have confuted these elsewhere in a Treatise for the nonce here I will passe them over Vse 2 Secondly this is for reproofe of all such as run into another extremity of errour about this point of preparation Of Reproofe Repentance goes not before Faith And because they heare that God usually workes the condition of faith ere hee worke faith it selfe therefore they say that the grace of repenting goes before the grace of beleeving Thus confounding the preparations of the Gospell with sanctification the fruit of faith Or making sanctification the generall and repentance and faith two specialls and presupposing a needlesse faith for what needs faith to such as have repented and are converted to God without it And yet aâ—â—â—surd as this error is it is strange to thinke what abundance both oâ—â—â—nisters and people are rooted in this error Nay and dispute strongly for it too Oh! say they Doth not the Scripture say Christ will not dwell with corruption Light with darkenesse Doth not Iohn Baptist bid them repent the first thing he doth And Peter Act. 2. Repent and beleeve Oh ye blinde guides See you not how under the pretext of your devotion you overthrow Christ Saint Paul saith 1 Tim. 4. ult That Christ is the mystery of godlinesse as if he should say there is no sea but water nor grace save Christ but you will make grace to stand in a repentance before faith No no repenting cannot be conceived of without purging of the conscience first Now faith is the first and onely purifier of the heart We cannot of our selves dispose our owne hearts to grace to purenesse Therefore amend your errors arising from the mistaking of the text Iohn Baptist calls legall humiliation repenting as is evident by the words following for the Kingdome of Heaven is at hand by which he meanes the Gospell was approaching therefore it was not come already Saint Peter so places repenting before beleeving not as setling any order of the graces but as making both essentiall to conversion for in other Scripture we read otherwise Beleeve and be baptised and then repent Acts 16.31 2 Cor. 6.15 Touching the place of Paul it touches not the order of graces in conversion but speakes of them who were converted already saying That they sinned fouly in mixing Christ with Idolls that is offending weake consciences in their eating things sacrificed to Idolls and so partaking with heathens So much for these only I adde let no man thinke that I maintaine any succession of graces in conversion for all Christ is given at once to a beleever yet in an orderly understanding that which hath the nature of a forme first Note this and then that which is a formall consequent thereupon Thirdly this is also reproof and that sharpe 3. Branch Dall ers with the Gospell or attenders upon it for a season reproved to all such as although they affirm the same truth in doctrine with us yet deny it in effect and apply not themselves wisely and humbly to this way of the Gospell If this point be true that none save those who are under the condition of the promise may cast themselves upon it Then those are very faulty that dally with the Gospell in the offer of salvation feele no gracious preparations wrought in them thereby no sorrowes no desires no paines no love joy care to use the meanes no restlesse heart after faith But wanze away their pretious time as if one should set up a candle in a darke house to do no work by but to prate and jangle play and be merry and tell tales Others also who at the first newes of the Gospell were a little joyed and counted the feet of the Minister beautifull but neglecting that season of grace in which the Lord offered to worke in them and contenting themselves with knowledge or the good opinion of Preachers or some sparkles of their owne never proceeded further to try whence they came or whither they tended much lesse can prove that these were wrought in them by the promise or that they were truly loaden so that nothing else could ease them but Christ And therefore such are not willing 〈◊〉 â—ring their sorrow or desire to the touchstone but after a long pâ—â—â—sion when trouble comes or their Ministers are taken from them and so the sive is taken out of the water on the suddaine all which they seemed to have Luke 11.23 Matth. 25.29 wanzeth away They gathered not with Christ and therefore scatter as fast And in these that sad speech is verified To him that hath not shall bee taken away even that they seemed to have Dally not with the pretious things of God abuse not the Gospell and your hearings to please and pride your selves Consider well the scope and end of your trafficke It shall not be asked of you in the day of accounts how many Sermons you have heard or what affections you have had but what your selves are Be wise therefore amend both these errors First behold such pretious patterns of wisdome as God hath set before you of such I mean as began but ignorantly yet by their diligence have attained to much light and hope much godly sorrow unfained desire after Christ Tread in their steps and get you under the same condition of grace also and let your vanities pleasures base hearts be renounced with ease and love of your lusts which have hitherto kept you in slightnesse and saplessenesse and dalliance with grace learne to esteem matters of weight weightily 1. Thes 5.15 But as for the second To quench that Spirit of grace which formerly hath striven with you and stirred up motions in you to take hold of God beware of it if you be guilty labour to recover that Spirit againe ere it be damped lest your hearts be given over to such a frame as will not be softned nor wrought upon And try the soundnesse of such affections as the word hath wrought in you that you may not decay and lose your labour 2 Joh. 8. but get a full reward And so much for this Vse 3 Thirdly and lastly let this exhort all such poore soules as the Lord hath brought under the condition of the promise Blesse God for bringing us under the condition of his grace both to blesse God for it and to improve it wisely for their owne encouragement to proceed on to the grace of beleeving Be heartened to trust God who hath brought you thus far that he will not forsake his work till it be finished Many stops I told you of before in the first Doctrine upon this verse which assault poore Christians under the condition I will name them no more looke there and read them let none of them come
how great shall the honour of beleevers be then when it shall be some addition to Gods own glory that he hath made them such Can God be admired in the choyce gifts of Bezaleel and Aholiab Exod. 36.1 but they must needs be glorious who enjoy them Oh! then it will be the chiefest honour to be a beleever then shall it not repent them of any pains they have taken that they have set to their seale that God is true Then shall they shine as the starres who have converted others Dan. 12.3 and have beene converted themselves Then shall it appeare who are Gods off-spring borne of God 1 Pet. 1. having his seed in them Kings and Priests to God His Jewels his peculiar ones and Favourites Doe yee not see how a Prince is admired who weares a Jewell of peerlesse price upon his hat or in his ring Shall a Jewell grace a man and shall not they bee glorious from whom God receives a kinde of grace Tell me whether it were better for us to be these persons or with the multitude of wicked ones to be dazled with their beauty in that day and to gnaw and bite their tongues for very anguish that they had not the grace to beleeve the word in season 4. Motive God shall come in vengeance against unbeleevers Fourthly then shall the Lord come in treble vengeance against all that know not God nor obeyed his Gospel who put away the Promise from them in a scorne and made a mocke at his threats who said to God Depart from us Where is now that tongue of yours which said 2 Pet. 3. Where is the promise of his comming Come let us see this day of the Lord. It shall be a blacke day to you and you shall wish it as farre off then as neere before For then shall the Lord set the true colours upon every sinne and the most terrible upon this No Thiefe no Harlot shall looke so grisely so gastly as an unbeliever Hell shall be heat thrice hotter then Nebuchadnezzars furnace for all such There the Sonne of God walked but here they suffer Amos 5.18 who have trod under foot the blood of the Covenant and counted it an unholy thing and unworthy of them The Gospell is hid to none Heb. 10.29 but such as perish This is that condemnation Joh. 3.19 They are condemned already and the wrath of God abides upon them in right but there it shall cease and take full possession They have despised the remedy and cast the potion of their recovery against the walles They shall not resist the quashing force of this rocke falling upon them Luke 20.17 and grinding them to powder This sinne opposes God in all that in which he sought honour to himselfe and therefore how terrible will hee bee in revenging himselfe How fearfull will it bee to see men condemned even by him who yet is the Judge of Gods Chancery God hath no quarrell with men like to the quarrell of his Covenant Levit. 26.25 When they goe contrary to God in this kinde hee will goe contrary to them and avenge them when hee avoucheth them to bee his redeemed ones in the blood of the Covenant Deut 26.17 and himselfe to bee their God all-sufficient and that freely being enemies and traytors and they shall disavow him and tell him to his face that he is a lyar 1 John 5 10. meaning nothing lesse and his Ministers to beare false witnesse of him when he bids them lay down their weapons and come in 1 Cor. 15.15 and hee will pardon their rebellions yet they wilfully persist in bearing Armes against him what possible way can there be of reconciliation When tender mercies are rejected what is to looked for but jealousie burning to hell Shall a second blood of God bee shed for such as have despised the former If they who despise Moses Law Heb. 2.2.3 are put to death under two or three witnesses how shall they escape who despise so great salvation Fifthly that is to bee highly esteemed and ensued 5. Motive Faith is a rare Jewell 2 Thess 3.2 which is so rare a commodity and to be found in so few hands a flower that growes in so few Gardens But Faith is such an one 2 Thess 3.2 Faith is not of all nay the portion of very few Every one seekes to ingrosse rich wares that they may raise the market at their pleasures for their owne gaine But the Royall Merchant of this Pearle beyond price may well goe alone for there bee few who will goe to the price of his Pearle Oh! if the paucity of Beleevers or rarity of Faith or scantnesse either of such as preach it or hearken after it might perswade this reason might strongly as a Load-stone draw us to beleeve Such as remaine not prophane yet rest themselves in a forme of godlinesse keep under the line and subsist in a dangerous degree to faith-ward but dare not resigne up themselves to the promise When it should come to this point they make sure of some faire retreat or other for themselves And when this fruit should come to the birth there is no strength to bring forth and so they faile of the grace of God and dye in that state All that is in request with men is how they may get to heaven with most ease Esay 37.3 and rid their hands of this trouble of selfe-deniall and selfe-resigning to God They will not put themselves out of their owne power nor clearly discharge themselves of all weights which hang on and presse downe in this kinde and therefore justly may that be mens ruine which they preferre before mercy that is vanity pleasure sloth and ease Let us then be of those few that beleeve and not of the world of unbeleevers 6. Motive No riddance of our distempers till we beleeve Lastly let this prevaile that untill thou beleevest and drownest thy distempers in the promise thou shalt never be rid of them Thy staggerings feares and disquietnesse of thoughts thine hard heart thine impatience thy old corruptions yea Satan with seven worse spirits will returne and enthrall thee more desperately then ever before Thou canst have no security from them otherwise but a truce onely which will end in worse warre All thy hearings prayers hopes duties will be forfeit and perish Matth. 12. And were not this lamentable Especially for such as have been so faire for faith swet for it as 2 Joh. 8. to lose their reward for adding a little more soundnesse of heart to their former knowledge and affections Is it not a sad sight to see one to make shipwrack in the haven Who would not pitty himselfe for such folly Who would lay egges in the sand to bee troden by beasts Job 39.14 except a foole bereft of understanding Satan will not give thee over but sift thee throughly If there be no faith in thee there is no difference betweene thee and
faithfull will withdraw himselfe for feare as loth to be noted afraid of his betters willing to sleep in a whole skin Try our selves by this If wee obey closely wee will not strive to quench but to quicken up our selves to pick out the best services we can for God in our places As a good Justice will straine his authority and improve the Statute to the uttermost against Sabbath-breakers drunkards and glad that hee can thus expresse his heart Another will bite it in and conceale himselfe So Parents so Officers so rich ones doe that which others cannot not else alas what singular thing doe you Triall 15 To conclude an honest heart will not weare the Divels Irons nor bee dispensed with It is well principled shee hath a sound principle and is not like to hypocrites I may compare these to Children set to Schoole some onely to read write and cast account so farre onely as will serve them to keep their Shop-booke or make their reckonings straight Others to be Grammarians and so University Scholers to learne the Arts and Tongues that afterward their learning may principle and furnish them for all studies So is it with these The formall Professor if he can pray and tip his tongue with generall religion is at a point and lookes no further hee hath enough for the attaining of his owne ends and is never troubled about his course But the sound hearted Christian who strives to bring his whole heart and life under the Rule hath never done with himselfe but workes his generall principles into an infinite bredth of particulars How shall I delight in the Sabbath How shall I hold in my heart from giddinesse and loosnesse How shall I watch to God in my thoughts affections and conscience How shall I get strength against this secret lust and that defect in duty praying hearing How shall I use the world as if not or deny my selfe God sees these errours although man doth not Oh! the principle of grace exceeds the shifting skill of an hypocrite as much as heaven doth earth These are some among many others which may serve to try our hearts brethren about this waighty businesse Set we upon this work therefore and cease not till by all or by some of these trials thou canst although but weakly yet soundly judge thy selfe to be one that endeavours closely to obey And as thou shalt by these markes discover thy selfe to be so either bee comforted or admonished To the which ends the two uses following shall pertaine Thus much for the use of Examination Vse 4 Fourthly then let all such as can prove that they receive the word of Commands according thereto with all closenesse and faithfulnesse comfort Comfort themselves in their condition I have pressed the use in part before to wit in one of the Reasons To apply my selfe more particularly this I adde That thou who closest with Gods Commands maist be doubly encouraged In 2 respects The first First in respect of thy speciall serving of thy time Thou bearest witnesse to God and to his truths when thou seest the power of godlinesse borne downe in this base world know it that as the Lord will be slight with the slight so he will bee close with the close 1 Sam. 3. It is his promise That who honour him he will honour those that esteeme preciously of Commands and walke narrowly with him in their obedience he will esteem preciously of them they shall be of his Cabinet counsell they shall be privy to his secrets he will make knowne to them his waies Joh. 7.17 So that when he is aloofe to others they shall have familiar accesse yea if he give an account to any of his administrations they shall be sure to understand it Abraham was for no other cause called the friend of God If ye doe my will you shall be my friends more then my servants for friends know secrets Gen. 18.17.18 Read that Ezek 9. Where the Lord causes them that obeyed him but in one of his charges to mourne for the iniquity of the age to be marked with a penne and inke that he might know them for his jewells for his beloved ones And againe he tells that Church in Rev. 3.19 because she had kept the word of his patience that is clave to his truths in the times of danger Therefore he would save her from the temptation which should come upon the whole earth Close obeyers of God in loose times shall have close comfort in trouble They that stand out for God and will not oppose his glory to publicke sale and reproach hee will shrowd them in the day of trouble when others shall goe from chamber to chamber with terror to cover their heads from wrath A strange promise which we can hardly see how God should performe but yet God will doe it for such as preserve themselves unspotted in conscience and cleane from the infection of others In the meane time he will be found of them in their prayers close walkers with God shall have close audience close peace close comfort inward refreshings as Esay cap. 50. speakes read the 10. vers Who is he that feareth the Lord and obeyeth his voice Let him stay himself upon his God And therefore fearing God feare nothing else Although thou be scorned and pursued for this thy closenesse as a vile person yet let not this dismay thee for thou sufferest for God and as Saint Peter saith if for a good cause and cleaving to a word 1 Pet. 3.14 thou art faine to suffer take no thought in that behalfe let them who suffer for their misdeeds looke about them but as for thy part the Spirit of glory rests upon thee and although thy face shine not as an Angells like Stephens yet thou shalt as much convince thine enemies Act. 6. ult as hee did the same Spirit of courage and patience which upheld him shall sustaine thee till thou be redeemed fully from all adversity Heb. 10.37 Beare a while and he that commeth will come not tarry in the meane time side not with them who breake Commands and would have thee follow their examples But rather if this be to be vile be thou yet more vile and the more thou avilest thy selfe for God the more honourable he shall esteeme thee The like I may say of thy obeying commands in the generall practice of Christianity take comfort in this also Canst thou say The second Branch Rom. 7.22 that thou delightest in the law of God in thy spirit and inner man I tell thee thy estate is better then to be a Prince without it The Lord hath done great things for thee if it be thus and as Paul speakes even made thee for the very nonce 2 Cor. 5. Consider the dayes past Hath it alway beene thus with thee Couldest thou alway desire to be unclothed and clothed upon Couldest thou alway desire to dye daily through the rejoycing
in our Lord Jesus Was thy soule alway under the authority of the commands both of Law and Gospell with sweetnesse and delight Was it not rather bitternesse and gall Who then hath made his yoake easie Surely hee who deserves unspeakable thankes at thy hands for it And therefore bee also truly joyfull in thy portion The time was when such a liberty of going in and out with the Lord would have made thee leape and shalt thou now carry it about thee Delight in obeying the sad commands of God affords solid comfort without savour or sensiblenesse Perhaps thou wilt say I have my load another way a deale of base corruption hanging upon me to coole my courage Oh! but the Lord hath onely tryed thee thereby whether thou wilt forsake his yoke or no for thine owne ease he doth but put a back-bias upon thee that he might weigh thy motion to himselfe thou art not hereby hurt one whit but much bettered kept in awe and humblenesse before God whereas else thou wouldst be puffed up But is this or ought this to be any cause of thy discontent ought it not rather to encrease thy comfort when thou seest the Lord hath provided against the vanishing of it to make it durable Oh! bestow but a few houres in a weeke to thinke what a priviledge it is for dust and ashes nay a dunghill of rebellion a depth of treachery to be so changed as to come under the line of God and to be under his authority with a willing heart to make the love of Christ thy banner and to bee subject to God thine heaven Oh! to have thy will captived to his and to desire to know feare love close with nothing save his will what is it but the suburbs of heaven to feele a veine of sweetnesse to overrule thy soule and to cure that light giddy and frothy emptinesse of it to sadden and settle it under this power and kingdome of the Command To cast out the law of the members the law of a proud a stout self-loving and self-seeking heart to bee above these above corruption so that as they stincke in thy nostrills so shouldest thou in theirs Oh doe not count this a common priviledge rather nourish it hugge it in thy bosome beware lest any steale away thy Crowne And rather then thou shouldest live to see that day wherein the commands of Faith and Love should wax stale and unsavoury chuse to be taken out of this world that thine eyes may never see the evill of a revolting heart Heb. 3.12 to depart away from the living God Vse 5 Fifthly if we feele by due examining that our hearts warpe from Gods Commands Admonition Le ts of close walking with God must be abhorred then let us be admonished to amend it betimes and to search and cast out all such lets as do hinder and forestall in us this closing with God As it fares with hypocrites of whom I have spake that they have an habituall contrariety so it often falls out with the people of God that they meet with many actuall rubbes which oppose this subjection of spirit Not onely that old Adam which is ever present and when they would doe good still suggests evill and when they would shake off evill still hinders good as Rom. 7.14 But also they meet with one or other actuall affront in whatsoever command the Lord tenders unto them which dogges and disquiets them from the entry upon the worke What they are to the upshot thereof There bee as many Let. 1 subtilties of heart or stops of incumbrance as there are commands one tricke or other still is put upon us If the command be to bee unspotted of the world then the Divell comes in with the necessity of following my calling of close attending our worke and trades he tells us the world is hard and he that labours not must not looke for meat we must have no more then we toile for we must therefore do as others doe and sell as the market wee must make the most of our commodities and spare for a hard time and yet perhaps we be rich have not a childe or kinsman to bestow it on and so under this cloake breakes in abundance of worldlinesse not only to keep us from unspottednesse but even to drowne us in the world So let the Lord but Let. 2 presse us to suffer for a truth rather then betray it perhaps we answer we would faine doe it but then throng in such a number of feares how shall we endure persecution How shall we beare reproach Insulting of enemies imprisoment threats fines hard handlings How shall I beare the losse of my gifts credit favour of the world company contents How shall wife children be maintained family and charges supported defraied in this unthankfull world Thus while the meer outside of things is looked at the crosse is terrible all suffering is tedious and thus is it in all other commands carnall reason ease remissenesse and slacknes of spirit vanity infidelity and such other scurfe breaks in and then comes in a marveilous wearinesse of resistance of our lets and so a willingnesse to be foiled to give up our weapons and to resist no more as if we despaired secretly in our base spirits of ever recovering and therefore must give our selves some intermission and ease Sutable hereto is a third let when we think our strength not yet Let. 3 growne to such maturity as to digest so strong and beare so weighty commands as Gods puts upon us and so assume the whiles a kinde of exemption and liberty to our selves for the present So also when we Let. 4 nourish not the Promise with the Command without the which who doubts but it is burthensome But are carried by the present sense of our spirit how that welcomes or distastes it and goe no further and so marre the worke by ill handling Otherwhiles defiling and abusing Let. 5 our selves by some truths which serve us not to hatch us up to lasinesse and ease but to encourage us in weakenesse As that God passes by the transgressions of his people our perfection here is the sight of our infirmities No perfection is here to bee looked for Againe Let. 6 looking at the common guise of the world their formall loose religion and yet how they carry it out God suffering them and men admiring them or at least looking at the looser sort of Christians what largenesse and breadth they allow themselves Sometimes also by ill custome in lesser evils not espying how the Let. 7 heart waxes degenerate and unsavoury losing ground of close obedience daily And this is not the least let of all that men will not give Let. 8 themselves leasure of thoughts to meditate and so to equal their hearts to the sadnesse and closenesse of Gods Commands but goe on in their course and run their round as blinde Sampson in his mill not considering what wash way they make of Gods Commands
much lesse doe they make toward it Iohn 12.20 21. and use all meanes to scrue themselves into it as those Greekes John 12.21 who to get into Christs company sought first to Philip and he to Andrew and then both brought them to Jesus Such Mediation would help us to this Counsellor So much for this third To hasten another let is unconvincednesse of heart by the promise A fearfull sinne when men will not admit the Word to prevaile so farre with them as to debate the matter seriously with themselves till it have left a convincing evidence behind it that their estate is warrantable But suffer themselves to dance in a net and to lie in an ambiguous and doubtfull suspence and uncertainty when by taking paines and laying themselves in the ballance of the Sanctuary they might find themselves either not to have to doe with the promise and so amend their defects or else to be those to whom the promise pertaines and so rest satisfied and set their hearts at rest as convinced that it is theirs Oh! it 's a disease so naturall unto us that it is hardly rooted out viz. to please our selves with the conceit that all is well and our distempers shall cease but not to try our selves till wee bee convinced Give me leave to tell you brethren this dallying with a promise and not going through-stitch will breed you sorrow in the end Not long since the report of a strange accident came to mine eares of a certaine Gentleman who was in love with a Virgin of good ranke to whom he had long made love and thinking all cock-sure because she made very faire correspondence toward him he beganne to please himselfe in his fond humour and gave himselfe such content in his hopes without any sadde enquiry of her finall consent to marry him which might easily have beene had if he had followed it that he furceased as one that might have her at his command The Gentlewoman perceiving that he did not carry himselfe throughly in the businesse nor as one that resolved to come to an issue set her heart upon another lover of more ardent affection and resolution This mâ—ssage being brought to the Gentleman as he was playing upon his Lute so smote him that he dashing his Lute and breaking it into fitters forthwith went out of his right wits The promise is like to this Virgin she serves to be married really and not alway to be dallied with She loves that the soule should make towards her with affection but when the season is come that the bargaine should be made up and that the soule be convinced of her good will to marry it she cannot endure any dalliance or paltring If then the season be neglected and the soule grow to take things for granted without any serious triall and conclusion she turnes another way and enclines to marry one who will bestow more hearty love upon her Beware good brethren of this dalliance they who desire to be eased of the distempers of the single estate and to live in a setled course must wisely take the opportunity and season which God offers and embrace it lest after their sorrowes returne double and treble and when they would faine proceed it be denied them We see single persons withstanding good offers lie by unregarded till they repent them Men love a staggering course whereas when they feele their necessities to pinch them and to send them to God for ease and not so onely but the Lord reveales the promise with a great deale of sweetnesse and delight to them so that their hearts grow very farre in love with it prize it and thinke no paines or cost too great for it then ought they to discerne the season of the Sonne of man and to apply themselves seriously and sadly to take the opportunity Then should they come to a point with the Lord and with all humblenesse and wisdome say thus O Lord thou hast said that a loaden wretch shall find ease in thee a fatherlesse creature left and forsaken of all proppes shall find mâ—rcy with thee If I deny that thou hast made me such an one I should lie for I lie under a burden intolerable and the hearsay of thine ease hath drawne me after it with an unfeigned restlesse and hungry heart therefore what more can be said but it is of thee that I am the party What have I to say to the contrary Thy truth is without hooke or crooke none more needing none such a sinner as I none so faithfull as thou none such a God as thou to pardon and subdue sinne Thou hast therefore done this O Lord as I conceive because thy meaning is to save me and bind mine heart for ever to thee I can neither say more nor lesse but it is from the Lord and if he will doe it what is freer then his gift or stronger then his will I am content that my will be borne downe by it and bee as one bound both hands and feete unable to resist Thus the soule which desires to come to an issue with God discourses from point to point with it selfe till it grow convinced Even as Judah seeing the cloak signet and staffe brought forth acknowledged how the case stood and yeelded And Haman hearing that such and such an intent the King had to honour a favorite by and by laying things together grew to thinke Whom would the King sooner honour then my selfe That which he weakly and from the mutable favour of a man whose breath is in his nostrils concluded erroneously that doe thou gather infallibly from the mouth of a God whose love is unchangeable and so let thy soule be at quiet as Rebecca's was when it was agreed upon that she should marry Isaac there was no dallying admitted but instantly and undelayingly she goes to him and becomes his wife Oh brethren we are making the match off and on all our life long still asking shall I and shall I Oh I could beteame it and never come to an end and thereby come infinitely short of that comfort of our union and fellowship with God which else might be enjoyed To end therefore let us no more consult with our owne base dallying lasie spirits but begge that spirit which onely can convince the soule of righteousnesse and never lin till our gadding and vaine hearts be ballanced and perswaded to settle once for adoe upon the promise Iohn 16.9 a truly convinced that it is ours So much for this fourth The fifth is a cowardly heart that dares not venture nor cast it selfe upon God but chuses rather to lie frozen in her owne dregges then to venture her life and hazard her salvation upon the promise How can such a soule chuse but keepe her distempers still Whereas Gods poore servants have an heart of coâ—rage given them to cast the hardest Brethren I feare many of us were never in Naamans case Doe but a little consider of it The case with him stood just
as ours doth Naaman here hath an incurable disease which none can heale in all the world save one man He comes to him craves a cure receives answer Go wash The message pleases him not he frets and stampes that it is no easier no more liking to his humour hereupon more looking at his humour then this disease he is ready to fling away in a rage His servants come about him and tell him Master if thy disease might be otherwise cured it skill'd not greatly to turne homeward but the matter is considerable here we are on the one side pinched with a leprosie incurable on the other offered a remedy that likes us not in this case either we must reject it and so we are sure to keepe our disease or we must accept the remedy What shall we here doe Thou sayest the remedy is unlike uncertaine be it so but the leaving it is assured and desperate misery Whether of the two shall we take Shall we preferre certaine sorrow to uncertaine good What folly were that Perhaps we may goe to Jordan and come back as we came grant it it is but a peradventure for perhaps we may speed If we speed by going we are made if we speed not we are not undone we shall come backe no worse then we went Therefore there is three to one for our going let us deny our tech our conceit and distemper let us but venture it and cast the worst but home in any case let us not goe without trying the remedy Hereupon he adventures and finds it as the Prophet foretels Just so is it with a poore soule Feare on the one side lest God his word should deceive it doth dismay it from attempting the promise on the other side hope to speed doth encourage us What shall we doe Surely let the possibility of speeding the desperate impossibility of speeding any other way and that our venturing cannot make us in worse case then we were it may make us in much better prevaile with us If we must be miserable let us fall into the hands of God if we must perish better that his hand cast us away then our owne distrust if he can be unfaithfull well may we be miserable for our owne guilt and not his unfaithfulnesse hath made us so Therefore how ever it be let us venture our selves rather upon a possible hope then lie still in assured misery This is the very state of it and by this we may see what the wofull condition of an unbeleever is He doth as Naaman would have done if God had given him his will he chuseth to lie under his load as the Asse in her slow without striving to get out nay preferreth a sullen humour of discontent before the adventuring upon Gods way that is to say assured misery before possible remedy In other cases 2 Kings 7. no man will be so foolish Take an instance In the great famine of Samaria there sate two Lepers at the gate of all others most sure to starve It comes into their minds that their case was desperate and that any termes were to bee chosen before dying in coole bloud Let us say they go offer our selves to the Campe of our enemies if they save our lives we shall live if not we are but dead men we were better be slaine out-right then die here Hereupon they ventured and lighted well Consider we well of this Shall flesh and bloud in a case of life and death venture upon a possibility rather then lie still in assured misery venture without any promise nay venture upon an enemy And shall we be so base and cowardly in the case of our immortall soules as to chuse rather to perish where we lie then to venture our selves upon a mercifull promise upon no enemy but a Father who assures us that we shall not onely not be worse then we were but happy and forgiven Who should be so foole-hardy but one that was never put to throughly in the sense of his unavoidable misery If the party pursued by the avenger of bloud should having advantage of ground of the pursuer wilfully have lien downe in the mid-way saying I shall never get thither I were as good lie still for naught as goe for naught would not any man have thought him a senselesse blocke not affected with his danger Therefore to end this seeing there is that in the promise which can remedy us let us make toward it and if our base spirits misgive us in the entrance as not knowing the successe yet let our inward disease thrust us forward and tell us This is no time of quarrelling with God and keeping of our misery still but rather of seeking out worse we cannot be better we may be let us therefore preferre hope before ruine and say If I must needs perish I will perish by venturing not by cowardize So much for the fifth And to conclude by these meanes let us resigne up our selves to the authority and power of the promise which hath as infinite a supply of helpe from a fountaine of grace to answer our doubts and cavils as we have of objections to discourage our selves And the rather because it is eternall to survive all our tedious and endlesse cavils Let us claspe and cleave to this promise as having grounds enough from the manifold excellencies therein contained to match our feares let us consent to the offer of it and obey the command of it let us set to our seale that it is true not onely in it selfe but also to us for our remedy let us be carried into the streame of it as being able to turne our streame a quite contrary way let us lot upon it set up our rest in it buy and sell upon it as the thing we make full reckoning and account to be happy by yea let us plead it when our necessities carnall hearts doubts and feares doe put us to it as those who will not easily forgoe their right in it and so hold it as that which the Lord our God hath bestowed upon us Iudg. and therefore as Iphta once said we will possesse it and not be beaten off from it whatsoever any enemy can say to weaken it Thus much for this Use of Admonotion may serve The next is Use of Exhortation Exhortation to all such as either doe desire Use 6 to feele In 2 Branches or such as have felt this benefit by the promise already to free them from their distempers The former to refuse no pains to get faith the latter both to blesse God for that liberty yea to trust him for the true peace of Conscience issuing from faith and also to rely upon the promise for a riddance from all future distempers which may arise from revolts temptations or crosses throughout their course Let me speake a word of both For the first let every poore soule be encouraged to breake through all difficulties hindring the soule from beleeving because the fruit recompenceth
I finished the last Lecture yet this one day of our Lecture being the last that you and I are like to teach and heare each other and the last of our yeare requiring that I should say somewhat unto you Also my studies having reached fully to another Sermon and besides this fourth part of the Chapter craving some connexion with the three other handled already I have set apart this day to this end One point may give light to al the particulars following being 7. if God permit To wit to handle some one such point out of the whole Harmony of these five Verses following as may give you some generall light into the whole context for time will not permit us to go through all These five verses then as I told you in their Title containe the remoter consequences of Naamans obedience To give you a briefe view and taste of them these they are First there is the true spirit of the cure to be evidently discerned in this new Convert feeling the truth of the Word in himselfe and virtue let out from heaven into Jordan to heale him he takes it not as a common thing and like a blocke without sense but is presently and instantly and erresistibly ravished as with a new spirit begotten by the worke of God upon his soule as well as his body The Lord darting grace of mercy and compassion into his heart as well as health into his flesh to intimate unto him by whose providence from first to last he was guided to so strange an effect Lo he comes to the Prophet with a spirit of impotencie admiration and zeale to acknowledge the Lord with all fervor of spirit and to knit his heart for ever in love unto him for this cure of body and soule Secondly feeling himselfe unable to reach the Lord himselfe he goes to his Prophet the next instrument of his good forgets his former discontent and entirely embraces him as the Prophet of God sent unto him for this purpose and to him he directs his thankfulnesse which fell short of God himselfe Thirdly hee enters solemne league with the Lord to be a close client of his for ever ejuring all former false and idolatrous service and vowing himselfe wholly to the Lord and his worship for time to come Fourthly he takes hold and possession of the Church of God acknowledging it to be the onely true Church and therefore scruing himselfe into it that although his face was Aram ward yet his heart was to Jerusalem ward and to the true and onely place where the Lord had visible residence and presence at this time And this although he testified by a weake and poore expression of taking with him the earth of the holy Land Yet the inward soundnesse of heart exceeded his weake signification Fifthly he discovers his unfained conversion by a most tender sense of that sin whereby he had formerly most offended God viz. his presence at the worship of Rimmon this darts into his converted soule even as a dash of the tooth-ach or the sting of an hornet Sixthly he is exceedingly pierced with feare and care how he might nourish that sparkle which God had begun in him and how he might shun and prevent that rocke of offence at which he had mortally stumbled before Seventhly he is very glad to aske direction while it was now to be had how he might order his whole course for time to come which being darke and doubtfull for the present hee therefore craves the Prophets advice and prayers unto which the Prophet gives him a mercifull answer These are the parcels of this fourth generall I can but goe over the first The point then is this Where God workes a true cure upon any soule Doctr. Every true cure hath the spirit of the cure attending it there he also workes the spirit of the cure By a cure I meane conversion of a soule from Idols not Rimmon but lusts and vanities to the living God By the spirit of a cure I meane that instinct and disposition that due temper and quality which such a cure deserveth at the hands of the cured And I say not the spirit of him who is cured but the spâ—rit of the cure that is such a spirit as the mercy of him that heales the soule instils into it viz to be for God who hath beene for it Onely this As Gods cure hath beene gracious so is the spirit of the cure zealous and as his worke hath beene entire whole and unfained to the good of the soule that it might no more returne to folly so is the spirit of the cure sincere intire constant God hates patchery and halfe cures and the spirit of the cure hates halfe thankes halfe love halfe affections In a word the spirit of a sound cure of a soule is a tender spirit the very first fruits of the heart enlightned with faith forgiven renued and warmed in the wombe of mercy the most naturall peculiar acceptable and well pleasing fruit of the soule to God What the spirit of a cure is It stands in a tender love truly called the first love a tender joy in God tender compassions towards him tender jealousie of that which might provoke â—im tender care to please him tendernesse of spirit both to him in affections of desire and delight and also for him in zeale and revenge defence and taking up armes for him And it rests not in him but descends to a tender love to his Truth Worship Services Sacraments Sabbaths Servants and all which hath any relation to God even for his sake This in short is that I meane by this spirit of a cure I pitch upon this point the more willingly because it hath an easie comprehension of all those seven consequences of the cure above named And although each of them be distinct yet because this is my last Lecture I am glad that one doctrine hath so good a lot as to give you though but in generall and farre off a view of the whole For in this spirit of the cure all those fruits of Naamans returne from Jordan may be coucht together as a garment into one knot Explication of the Doctrine Marke then for explication sake thus much It is with the soule in point of spirituall cure as with the body in case of a bodily Who being heal'd by some odde rare Physitian of a mortall disease and such an one as all the Physitians in the country could not turne their hands unto yea such as all others gave over as desperate and past their skill by some odde Physitian I say one of a thousand who himselfe could not have heald it neither except he had by divine hand beene peculiarly made and train'd up for the very nonce to be skilfull in such a disease and such a one as will by no meanes take money or fees but scornes it only stands upon doing good preventing sad wreck of the diseased that he might get himself a name of
embrace their gods Bacchus Venus and the rest more strongly then ever Enough wee have who are of the spirit of Caiphas his Hall and those that spited scorned and spit at Christ crying Crucifie him not many whose spirits are towards him tender to his glory to his mercy and grace to his poore Church and people Oh the spirit of ambition selfe-love is now all in all What should I say to such except they be accursed by Gods owne mouth that never any good should seaze upon them let this point in Gods feare scare them Me thinkes thou shouldst not heare of such a spirit of Grace and tendernesse as I speake of but thy soule shoâ—ld tremble and thy heart throb in thy bosome to consider what a contrary spirit of corruption and hell thou walkest with Oh! if God should leave thee to this spirit of thine owne to be conceited of thy selfe to feare no danger to be carelesse what may betide thee and to adde drunkennesse unto thirst what shall become of thee what is wanting save hell it selfe to make up the woe of such a soule And yet I tell thee this is not farre off from thee Read Deut. 29. Deut 29.15 If any man hearing the words of this booke and the curses thereof shall yet say in his heart I shall have peace I shall fare well I feare nothing Especially if conceited of its owne welfare the wrath of God shall smoke out against such a man and God will not be entreated of him for why he is over head and eares in the spirit of gal bitternesse a thousand to one if ever he recover Therefore looke about thee in season As the Lord said to Elijah in the cave so say I to thee Up arise and goe forth for thou hast a great journey to goe ere thou come at the Horeb of God I wish thee to goe by mount Sinai and hath thy base spirit throughly with those terrours of God 1 Kings 19.7 which may gaster thee with some feeling of thy condition Sinne is got into thy spirit and hath seated it selfe deeply in the entrals of thy soule A great gulfe is set betweene thee and the spirit of grace therefore pull downe thy rebellious heart and as Peter said to Simon Magus try by all meanes whether this thy sinne may be forgiven thee The spirit of grace is joyned with the spirit of mourning Acts 8.22 Try whether God cannot bring thee out of one spirit of bitternesse into a contrary for he promiseth that all humbled ones shall be in bitternesse as a thing steept in vineger as he that is in bitternesse for the losse of his onely sonne Zach. 12.10 Bitternesse of a prophane and presumptuous heart must be turned into the bitternesse of a broken and subdued spirit Oh! that ever I should exalt folly so highly and disdaine mercy yea kill the Lord of life as I have done Read Acts 2. Acts 2. where this prophecy was fulfilled in such as crucified Christ himselfe and yet being pierced in heart for it the Lord powred the spirit of grace into them and annointed them with oyle of gladnesse and joy so that they who murthered him had the first hansell of life and pardon from him Oh blessed art thou if the like portion might befall thee who hast ventured as farre as they did So much for this Branch 2 Secondly it is terrour to all Neuters and Sceptiques whose spirit seemes not so ranke and cursed Indifferency Neutrality of spirit worse then prophanenesse Numb 23. 25. but yet is as deepe and dangerous because they maintaine a vile spirit of indifferency and mediocrity in stead of this spirit of grace They say as Balac did to Balaam Neither blesse nor curse In this respect they are worse then the former because they utterly abandon all sense of the Gospel and become fulsome Atheists upon point neither hot nor cold fish nor flesh They would seeme to hate open villanies But then they much more abhorre the spirit of the Gospel Their spirits are flat and flash whereas the spirit of the Gospel is tender Luke 14. ult zealous and powerfull Wofull ones hanging betweene Heaven and Earth cast downe from Heaven vomited up from the earth Salt which hath lost his savour good for nothing no not for the dunghill All their skill stands in selfe-concealments forsooth their religion and conscience may not be known What can you worke wonders can you carry coales in your bosomes and not be burnt Such have their Religion to chuse Doubtlesse the not burning of your bosomes by this fire argues that there is not one coale of the Altar fallen upon them you are Quench-coale no sparkle of grace can kindle upon your cold hearth you must needs be ashamed of the Gospel because the spirit of magnifying it and of justifying wisdome is not in you but rather an aloofe dead and Gallio-like spirit is in you Whether you serve Christ or Beliall whether you be Popish or Protestant who but God can judge And surely you lie fulsome upon his stomach Acts 18.15 as luke-warme water and that which makes you happy in your own conceit will prove you accursed in Gods It were better you were hot or cold then thus wambling and next to be vomited for ever out of the mouth of him Revel 3.19 who never returnes to his vomit Under pretext that thou darest not trust men thou betrayest God and the spirit of the Gospel a remedy worse then the disease To be as wise as a Serpent I disswade thee not But shall this destroy that naked simplicity and spirit of love to God and his truth which where it cannot goe will creepe and play at small game rather then sit out What Matth. 10. 2 Cor. 10.4 because we cannot expresse our selves in such acts and services as we would or have done shall we serve God with neither might spirit or courage at all Is that command dispensable and confined to this season or to that hath God no need of thee in dangerous times or because thou darest trust no man wilt thou therefore trust no God Shall the Gospel carry thee no further then ease and the serving of thine owne fleshly turne will concurre Wilt thou dare to doe any thing against the spirit of the Gospel because thou hast not elbow-roome sufficient to act that part as thou wouldest It is just with God to take it quite from thee because thou walkest contrary to it And to give thee over to a close spirit of thine owne that thou shouldest jeere and scorne the zealous as Micoll did David dancing with his Ephod before the Arke 2 Sam. 6.20 Was not the King a goodly foole to day How many of these Neutrall spirits have growne to it Let it gaster us from it and teach us to nourish such a spirit in our bosomes as the Gospel hath wrought if ever any such were wrought and to be farre from disdaining
a new body of people not defiled with this scurffe and live among them Ezek. 9. rather then to take these Coleworts of ours to feede upon aad this refuse remnant and scraps of that royall feast which we were wont to make him whiles the savour of his grace continued among us Large I might be in urging particulars but by the Paw judge of the Lion and let this shaâ—p reproofe in Gods feare warne so many of us as in whom every sparke of old spirit is not extinct to looke about us 1 Thes 5.25 that we nourish this marke of Grace in us and quench it not And so I goe on to speake of that Use of Admonition And Use 4 first to warn all in whose hearts any spark of this Spirit of Grace Branch 1 and Zeale to Gods truth hath beene bred Admonit Admonition to the people of God to nourish the spirit of first conversion in themselves that they nourish and nurse it in themselves continually That they waxe not confident in their first beginnings because their edge was quick at the first as if they were past danger or as if this grace would grow up in them without their owne industry and watchfulnesse Alas poore soules you have but saluted Religion with the upper lip Tender spirits and keene edges may be soone damped and dulled you have a great journey to goe a world of worke to doe a wofull heart of secret poyson still to subdue which will not easily yeeld it is not your affections which will beare you out against a sad body of death and a nature of old Adam many crosses feares bad examples and errours of the wicked abide you and early or late will shake your frame and try what metall you are made of Doe not prophecy to your selves a shot-free ease and to walke without feare of bullets and darts in this world The Devill seemes to be sad that he hath lost you but of all other people he watcheth you a mischiefe and would bee gladdest if he could pay you home you are his objects of fury and set in the forefront of his battery if the dint light upon any it is likest to seise first upon you And thousands who have given as great hope of as sound and close a spirit to God and have opposed sinne base formall courses as much as you have yet revolted to Satan and he hath laid seven times as many irons upon them as at first to secure himselfe from a second escape Tremble to thinke of it Matth. 12.45 Seeke to improve this first Grace of yours this zeale and affection to the Gospel and against all enemies of sincerity with a wise steddy and full resolutenesse of heart to undergoe any brunts pursuits discouragements offences by false Hypocrites or other affronts which may come in the way It is not possible but this Age affecting nothing more then a contrariety to power of good and upright walking with God must needs put you to it daily and try you throughly with the infinite many trials which it hath devised to ferret out the good from themselves that they and their hypocrisie might predominate and all soundnesse be abandoned Lie not therefore as two irons on both sides the loadstone let not your soules play booty with God in this weighty businesse stagger not be not now haled by the false flatteries of this painted harlot or scared by the terrours and threats of a frowning tyrant for the world is both but seeke to be insensible of her If she finde that love of Gods truth wanzeth in thee and thou coudst beteame to be at more ease and elbow-roome in the world or that thou fearest trouble or beginst to strew and garnish thy false heart with any other lust she hath enough she is sure of thee Rather set before thine eyes the wofull end of all decliners All that come rolling down the hill faster then they ever got up Caveats against a declining course in sundry particulars They shatter themselves and breake their bones without hope of setting againe their end is commonly worse then their beginning Loath each step of a base heart going this way and allaying this spirit with her owne mixtures If first heate chill it will die a thousand to one if that which should inflame all the whole course be it selfe cold how great is that coldnesse Discerne it in the first approach whether it be by casting on cold water or not laying on more fuell If the love of the world pleasures merry company a loose heart tickle thee of if thou grow scanter in meanes as in prayer hearing meditation or fasting lesse watchfull and timorous suspect thy selfe betimes Stumble Stumble not at the infirmities of the religious but cover and interpret them mercifully take no occasions of offence nourish every thing which might breed in thee a better opinion of holinesse and entertaine no suspitions against it let not her fare the worse for the errours of them that professe no nor for the revolts of time-servers Harbor not in thy spirit any secret distemper of pride selfe-love selfe-conceit fullennesse frowardnesse carnall wisdome earthly mindednesse These will creepe in and tickle as a Viper under colour of some lawfulnesse or other but they will eate out the very bowels and heart-heate of the spirit of grace Nibble at none of the Devils baits Behold not too wisely the errour of the wicked and the streame of evill without feare or checke lest this cause the love of many to waxe cold Matth. 24.13 Matth. 24.13 Daily ply the meanes and lay on fewell arme thy selfe by prayer against the course of decliners as David did Ps 101.3 Pal. 101.3 Nourish humility and simplicity of spirit next to faith above all Inure thy selfe to deny much for God that so he may grow dearer to thee and thou to him Spend not nor waste thy zeale needlessely and rashly upon objects of lesser weight but reserve thy selfe till a better warrant and call a stronger and more weighty object to pull thee forth lest thou faile in the hottest of the attempt as those mostly doe whose zeale is unballanced Be not wedded to thy selfe for the spirit of grace doth not so well befit him who abounds in his owne sense Compare Num. 23. with Exod. 32.19 Moses was a man who in his own matters was very meek and calm and therfore his zeale in breaking the Tables and indignation against that Idolatry became him the better Esteeme and value each sinne by the nature of it not the cry or outside of it The losse of thy spirit perhaps seemes not so hideous to thee as some open sinne which thou seest in others as to oppresse or be drunke but it is worse not onely because it is the seed of thee but because although thou shouldest never breake out so farre yet it is the decay of thy frame and temper of goodnesse A burning Ague is not so dangerous as a
one thing within the whole compasse of Religion more usually counterfeited then this neither is there any one point in which either the deceit of the heart is more dangerous or the soundnesse of it more comfortable to the soule then this is We read in stories that all brave Princes have beene counterfeited by sycophants Charles the fifth Edward the sixth of England and others But although their outsides favoured them yet their spirit discarded them at last a base-bred fellow cannot equall the spirit of noble bloud All Judasses and Theudasses Acts 5. came to naught Acts 5. end because they had bastard spirits There was once as a French rare History hath it a Souldier in the Campe wherein one Martin Guerra a rich Citizen of Tholouse served who being in all points like to that Guerra A rare history of a French counterfeit and getting so farre in with him as to know the secrets that had passed betweene him and his wife at last brake from the Army to Tholouse and boldly went home to Guerra his wife as his owne and after some little suspition yet so cleared all doubts that he accompanied her as his wife and lived in peace till at last the true Guerra comming home and claiming his wife a sute in Law was commenced at Tholouse betweene them and had not some privie markes at last betweene her and the true husband cleared the controversie to the Court the counterfeit had brought them to such a demurre that they knew not what to determine And so may it fare here such are the apish imitations of impudent and unsuspected Hypocrites in point of zeale devotion affections and abstinencies from sinne that the very annointed of God seemes to stand before him 2 Sam. 16.6 Nothing in this case is surer to determine the controversie then the spirit it selfe of true breed and Nativity Hardly can the spirit of birth and regeneration be long dissembled but one way or other earlier or later it will be discovered Triall of the true spirit of Grace is from it selfe Therefore let every one try himselfe by this marke even the spirit of Grace will bewray it selfe Not at first perhaps for Alexander was almost crowded to death in the tumult at Ephesus and in Pauls quarrell almost puld in pieces a terrible patterne as a worthy Writer speakes But yet at length time tried him and he grew an open revolter after and was delivered to Satan Act. 19.33 compared with 2 Tim. 4.14 Acts 6.5 1 Tim. 1.20 2 Tim. 4.10 Matth. 13.27 Nicolas the Deacon cheated the twelve Apostles but his spirit betrayed him to be a wicked uncleane wretch Demas Hymenaeus and Philetus went farre but their spirit failed them The spirit of the Grape will not be counterfeited by the fruit of a Bramble the one is generous the other base Eagles breed no Crowes nor Doves any Kites nor Lions Foxes No more doth the spirit of Grace breed false Hypocrites Well said those servants The envious man hath sowne Tares for the Husbandman sowed nothing but good Wheate It will be an infallible marke of thy true birth if thine owne principle be throwne out and if the spirit of mercy become that in thee and unto thee which thine owne spirit once was even a second nature Grace will casheire and throw out thy usurping spirit As they cast out Ipta Iudg. 11.2 Note that it shall not reigne A false spirit workes from within to an outward but Gods Spirit workes from without to an inward operation That is Grace going out of her selfe and suspecting her selfe both for the metall and for the stampe for the kind and for the degree for the quality and for the continuance abhorring her own sparkes and false blaze still seekes out for a new spirit of Heaven a new frame of heart But our owne spirit seekes within her selfe what light what affections what imitations shewes and duties she can finde out never suspecting her impotency to reach truth and soundnesse Now although such may goe farre with their Lamps a long time yet at last want of Oyle will make their lamps flagge when their feelings cease when the praises of men faile when some of their actions cause them to be questioned and when some right wind blowes full upon them then they totter when the winds and floods came Mat. 7. ult the house ungrounded fell By one way or other it must at last appeare who are men of their owne stockes and who are bankrupts not to say this moreover that a wise man well marking the Spirit of Grace and comparing it with the other will by one signe or other easily discerne a Noble and true bred spirit from violent pangs even at the best But although he should not yet the spirit of Grace will bewray it selfe in time and discard the spirit of the flesh A true sonne of faithfull Jonathan is a most precious peece to David though a poore lame creeple Gen. 25.6 Particular trials of the spirit of Grace then all the posterity of Saul besides One Isaac is more worth then all Ketura's brood The breed of a thing is all in all with men even in these outward creatures horses kine and the like So one soule of the right stamp is more precious with God then a thousand Be sure that the Word of the promise that immortall seed of God in the blood of a covenant bred thee to the hope of life The Word of God is the immortall seed which bred it and the assurance of pardon and this will turne all false principles of flesh and blood out of doores Prove thy genealogie that thou art an Hebrew of the Hebrewes a true borne Jew not of the letter but of the spirit of Grace and then thou hast that marke upon thee which will not be worne out God lookes first at what thou art for thy spirit and breed and then what thou dost Phil. 3.8 Rom. 2. ult Never vie upon him with thy heapes upon heapes of worships of means of duties but first approve thy selfe See Prov. 23.26 and these will follow alone as the wombe that conceives truly is free of all other conceptions so the true breed of the Spirit abandons all false conceptions If all other seed of thine owne all principles of flesh be cast out and the wombe of the soule cleane and cleare this spirit of grace may live and come to the birth in thee And all false preconceptions cast out The wombe that beares a true bred soule must be as the wombe that bare Immanuel a Virgin wombe wherein never any other fruit lay before The meere onely and pure love of the Father purchased by the blood of Christ must onely beget thee to God if ever thou be begotten and no lesse spirit Like Iosephs Tombe never any had lyen in it before Luk. 23.53 then that which united the Godhead of Jesus to his flesh will serve to beget thee to him
roofes have tasted the like and what hindreth but you may Oh chuse rather to follow my counsell then to cause the wrath of God to smoak out against you for adding drunkennesse to thirst and speaking peace to your selves Deut. 29.15 and saying Though I stil walk on in the stubbornnesse of my heart yet I shall doe well enough God keepe this plague farre from you And so much for this Branch 4 Lastly and so I shut up all you that have long feared the Lord Exhorta ions and shewed forth the fruit of this spirit of Conversion go forward and persevere I must not deny God the honour of his truth And such as have to nourish it in themselves he hath not left us without witnesse in this particular Few are they whom this doctrine is verified in yet some there are and the very sight of their faces this day doth not a little encourage me to speake unto them If ever then you saw cause at your first comming out of Jordan to joyne with God his Religion his glory now especially joyne partners and cleâ—ve to him now side with him and the power of Christianity Surely he that hath hitherto kept you alive and brought you safely through so many waters deserves it much more at your hands now being much neerer to your salvation Rom. 13.11 1 King 9.33 then when you first beleeved Doe as those two Eunuches of Jezabel when Jehu cried out Who is on my side Who They looked out at the window and became agents for him Could they thrust her downe headlong who were of her bed-chamber how much more you who have long since beene sworne confederates to the Lord Jesus Never was there better season for you if there be but a sparke of this spirit in you to declare your selves on whose side you are The power of godlinesse is on every side deserted and she throwne to the ground if God mercifully did not by the power of the sword and civill Magistrate preserve us what should we be save a booty to Papists and enemies who have long watcht our overthrow Now therefore if you halt with God halt for ever If God bee not God 1 King 18.21 give him over If he be that God who hath forgiven you and will save you let Baal be Baal and let him be as he deserveth Say thus Have I but one poore life to give for him who gave ten thousand times a more precious one for me and shall I thinke it too deare for him Shall Rimmon be more deare to me Shall I goe and bow to that Idoll having received a better cure from the God of Israel then he could have given me No Lord There thou wannest my heart to thy selfe for ever That sweete welcome those embraces which then I felt those Flagons and Apples can never be forgotten Cantic 2.5 Psal 73.19 I behold the workes of such as decline but I blesse thee I repent not of my choyce their Image is despised by me My soule come not into their counsels Oh! if you can say thus blesse God who hath kept you And for time to come I exhort you that the more you shall see the power of truth scorned and forsaken in the world the closer you cleave to it and if this be to be vile be yet more vile 2 Sam. 6.22 Pick out some speciall services in which you may be usefull to God and his glory If the Devill take any Apprentises he will set his marke upon them both in their hands and foreheads either they must shew some singular zeale for him or else hee will suspect them And are you ashamed of your Master Matth. 7. end Now this world destroyes the Law write it you upon your frontlets and the fringes of your garments shew the world what Master you serve Deut. 6.8 and be not ashamed Let the same spirit rest in your bosomes for Grace which you see now a dayes rests upon them who are going from us into New-England They will not endure you to speak one word amisse of it but their hearts are at their mouthes presently they magnifie and extoll it in all places wheresoever they become their very spirits are possessed and taken up with the hope and longing for it they stand upon thornes till they be there where their treasure is they are soone knockt off from hence though their native soyle where they have had all their conversation yet as if they had not knowne it so doe they renounce it and all the contents of it They use it as if they used it not for the affection sake they beare the other Parents neighbours kindred yea wives and children are deserted for it and who may controll them Tell them of the sad attempt of going what danger by Sea what change of fare there and want of all commodities Oh! you doe but encourage them by your disswasives they are content to learne to deny themselves and to change their dainty diet for bare their soft beds for hard and what not so they may come thither Paines cost selling all and packing up their fardels is nothing to them for their desire sake Oftentimes I have wish'd the place good enough for such affections But in this argument touching the spirit of Conversion and Grace for the embracing of which no affections can be sufficient how doe we flagge Where is the man who can doe thus much for God and his glory from the experience of mercy Aske thine owne heart Doe I loath the least appearance of evill doe I carry about me the zeale of Gods owne house am I tender of the least offence can I not endure the least affront to his person Lawes Gospel Ordinances doe I honour his Ministers doe I thinke nothing too deare for him is my life liberty name wife children vile unto me in respect of a good conscience Oh! that it were so How happy should we be in approving our selves Let me leave generals Particular urging of this exhortation to al sorts Ministers people Magistrates c. and come to particular estates and conditions yee Ministers of God pick out speciall service for God a few of you are left to wrestle for God ply your worke let not the glory of the Gospell fall labour to inspire the soules of your hearers with Christ alas they cannot chuse but be dead hearted when there is no glad tydings brought them no love shed into their soules Yee people looke up your old evidences for Heaven scoure off your rust you see upon what costly terms the Gospel is maintained this is no season to palter out your time shew forth your courage for God let not the spirit of Popery nor prophanenesse quash that spirit of Grace which is within your bosomes Walke humbly wisely and yet boldly hold out the truth of God without feare against all scorners and Edomites God shall prop you up feare not the vilest wretch shall never bee able to
he was intimated from God to reject it and that with a solemne oath by the life of God Not that rash oaths are to be admitted in every solemne or serious case of truth But partly for the settling of Naamans spirit that he might spare needlesse obtrusions and partly that he might know it came fâ—om no distast in the Prophet but it was God who barred it And why Doubtlesse the Lord would not that rewards comming from a Novice whose strength was small though his wealth great nor any bruite therof among Heathens who must have heard of the fees as well as the cure should disparage and prejudice the grace and freedome of so miraculous a worke as the conversion of a soule and the healing of a Leper And therefore he would have all such sinister constructions to be dasht Gods Prophets never stand in such deep needs that God must be dishonoured by their supply God scorned to be thought to send for Naaman to possesse his Treasure or enrich his Prophet Teaching us not to rake together boons and gifts from men or advantages to our selves counting all fish that comes to net But wisely to lay things together considering what our persons the cause of God the persons that give either unable or ungrounded or any other circumstances may admit for the warranting or disabling of the receit For some cases are too hot and too heavy to meddle with such matters tending to a snare and therefore let them perish rather then Religion should suffer thereby This latitude of giving and receiving is not easily restrained where Wisdome and Discretion holds not the reine And Naaman said Shall there not then be given two Mules load of earth to thy servant For thy servant will worship no other God c. A reply of Naaman to this refusall with his reason Jn the former he seemes to speake thus If thou onely aimest at my soules good and not thine owne hearken to my motion of two Mules load of earth that is so much as will serve me to worship upon for J heare that God will onely be worshipped in his holy Land or the bounds of his Church This argued his weaknesse for God might bee worshipped by true Proselytes any where though not in Sacrifices And it was not so farre from Aram to Ierusalem Wonder not therefore if the Prophet yeelded not For herein be shewed himselfe a Novice and no wonder Young beginners must be hatcht up and encouraged But for the thing which is to be noted it is this That in ignorant beginners there are many tolerable follies and infirmities inseparably mixed till better light and information ripen and rectifie them There must be a time alotted for every thing and the Disciples of Christ while he lived with them were extremely weake Christ being in his humility they were bare but after when he came to his Crowne he gave them gifts abundantly And we need not wonder if Popery after so long a soking in their dregges are so stale and settled in their superstitions when as even at and with the first onset upon Religion and creeping out of Paganisme this poore pilgrim here growes superstitious When are we free from evill Whiles drowned in prophanenesse we are on the left hand when brought to Religion then a right-handed enemy invades us Superstition as a Canker breeding in the fairest Apple of Devotion to defile it Religion cannot quit us from danger There is a white Devill as well as a blacke Ignorance and weaknesse being unable to avoyd many right-hand evils Yet better of the two that our milke seeth a little over then be eaten raw although both would be shunned What a world of scurffe brake into the Church of God after the first three hundred years since Christ Persecution ceasing and Christianity under Constantine beginning to prosper how did Satan hedged out one way creepe in worse another We say Out of the ashes of sinne sinne may spring up Out of those ashes of persecution arose undue honour to Martyrs Orations Sepulcres Prayers to God at their Tombes Censings and the like till Superstition without a word bred Idolatry against it and laid a nest egge for a world of Popish trash to ensue upon it The sad issue of it this day argues of what stamp it is Let us labour therefore to keepe devotion within due bounds lest else she which was at first legitimate after breed bastards for lack of knowledge And so much for this The other thing is his Reason Verse 17. fetcht from the integrity of his heart in point of the worship of his onely God who had converted him and no other It is the same which is said in vers 15. which gave occasion to the last Lecture proceeding from the spirit of his cure It is as I have said an instinct and inbred affection of all true converts to clasp and cling wholly to the God of mercy and to the truth of his worship who hath accepted them to favour And therefore the first reall consequent and formall adjunct of his conversion is wholly for ever to ejure Jdols So that all defiled Schismatickes and Heretickes Jdolaters justly question their true conversion Jnto their counsell let not our soules come Vers 18. In this the Lord be mercifull to thy servant c. As he is resolved touching the last terme and object of his worship so yet he sadly staggers about the circumstances Jt hath long possessed the spirits of most men that Naaman resolved upon the bowing before the Jdoll and craved pardon for it as a gainfull sinne and that which he was loath to forgoe But they are much deceived For the opening of his speech consider there is somewhat in it good somewhat doubtfull That which was good was this that out of a tender respect to preserve his purpose of sound worship he smites first upon his chiefest feare layes his hand upon the pained plat and is most solicitous for that sinne which had beene was like to be most difficult and offensive in his way This he takes most thought how to be rid of Fire alway consumes that matter which most opposes it so doth grace carry the soule with most jealâ—usie caâ—e and resolution against that sinne which hath beene beloved'st and thâ—eatens greatest resistance to a repentant course That which was doubtfull in his words is this That he desires to be pardoned in his bowing afterward for so J take the words to import not for time past but the opinion of most men concerning his resolution is very uncharitable He is now in his chiefe heat and zeale for God therefore to come in with a dispensation for a thing contrary to his vow in some kind were very absurd and unseasonable to imagine But wee must conceive this verse to containe the pith of all that had passed betwixt him and Elisha touching his complaint J take it thus therefore that here is a fight in Naaman viz. betwixt zeale on the one side and ignorance
doubtfulnesse and infirmity on the other Having therefore no doubt debated with the Prophet touching this great stumbling-block which was like to lye in his way by his Masters leaning upon him before the Jdoll and the Lord for the present hiding from him the particular counsell which he then needed as a man not knowing what he should do at the instant whether to abhorre such concurrence enduring what ever should ensue or correspond with hâ—s Master he breaks out into this passionate speech that if it must be so that for avoiding of some inconveniences till God did further reveale himselfe in that point he must goe in and bow which God knew how irksome it would be to his tender heart and derogatory to God that then the Lord would dispense with his weaknesse and doubtfulnesse in that case When I shall saith he goe in he doth not affirme he will much lesse hath he delight and resolution in it but if God do not betweene this and that occasion more fully resolve him that then he would not strictly looke upon his act but his intent Neither is this new in Scripture in some cases that God tolerates for a time that which is not warrantable in case of a strait as in the midwives lie to Pharaoh If any shall object that he should have renounced such a concurrence directly and made no pause J answer Who doubts of the Rule That in Gods matters no deliberation must be admitted as that holy Martyr said But is this Rule so soone learned by heart by a Novice which hath scarce time to conne his lesson No doubtlesse feare and ignorance what should be done in a case so difficult and so sudden beset his sad heart and forced this humble sute to the Prophet that looke what hitherto was doubtfull he would be his mouth to God to resolve and satisfie his perplexed spirit in it when it should seeme best This conclusion J suppose the Text may well beare When I shall goe that is bâ— urged to goe When I shall bow that is be expected to bow then in this or about this the Lord be mercifull to mee that is resolve mee beforehand what J am to doe Whether to trust God for my place and office more then feare the displeasure of the King or to bow with him in the Temple till further light and strength shall be revealed All this though it savour of such weaknesse and ignorance as in a Novice in a triall of such consequence is not strange yet I deny that it ought to be construed to come from a spirit of meere base collusion and purpose to sinne against conscience Now since the Text may admit such a construction I demand why ought it not for it is a rule of interpretation In doubtfull senses charity must oversway And who knowes what light God might afford him when he was gone from the Prophet Sure it is by the Prophets farewell Goe in peace that Elisha little doubted of it For to still his anxious mind he bids him so do Touching the point of Aequivocation J have handled it upon vers 13. Goe in peace q. d. Let not this overmuch disquiet thy spirit to hinder and dash thy joy and comfort in God Possesse thy soule in peace go not wilfully against thy light nourish this thy tendernesse still and that God who hath done the farre greater will much more do the lesser for thee either over-powring thy Master to release thee of this snare or else strengthening thy timorous and weake spirit to take leav eand to reject the shew of any Aequivocation let whatsoever danger come thereof that possibly may So much for the Readers satisfaction leaving my judgement to them that are wise Enjoy this with the rest and profit by all repaying mee thy Prayers FINIS