done which are quite contrary David failed so far in Charity toward Uriah that he contrived the murder of him Peter failed so far in Charity toward Christ that he denied and forswore him and that under a Curse So of the Drunkenness of Noah the Incest of Lot the rage of Asa against the Prophet and other mad moods of good men wherein it was strange to discover so much weakness and it is an horrible stumbling-block to the world that the Cedars of Lebanon were so shaken which is seen now and then even at this day For comforts they may seem sometimes to be utterly banished from an holy heart and despair set in the room witness the time of some spiritual desertion Oh the Lord hath forgotten to be gracious and shut up his loving kindness in everlasting displeasure Psal 77.7 8 9. David laments mournfully before he recovers the joy of his salvation Peter weeps bitterly before he gets a good look from Christ again and then he is shrewdly puzzled with those vexing questions Peter lovest thou me Peter lovest thou me Peter lovest thou me more then these Good Documents for all the Lords Darlings to be chary of their joys and take heed of lashing out at any time take heed of security take heed of wantonness take heed of quenching or grieving the Spirit It may cost thee the setting on Time may be that neither thy self nor others can afford thee comfort Neither Reading nor Praying nor Fasting nor all good exercises together can speak a word of peace to thy heart that is the work of God and he will take his own time both to chasten thy disloyalty and to turn thy captivity as he did for Job Here some may be inquisitive to know what it is that thus takes away the strength of a true Christian Whereto I say 1. It may be he wants his ordinary meals and then we know a strong man will grow weak quickly It may be he is removed from a powerful Ministery which sometimes he lived under or hears not good Preaching so often as he was wont to do while he heard duly and daily he was kept in flesh and good heart Or it may be he hath cast off his private exercises of reading the Scriptures and other good Books which should both fasten and renew the things delivered in the publick Ministery Or it may be he prays not by himself so often as he used to do but is a stranger in the Court of heaven the Father that sees in secret doth seldom see him in his Closet in respect of former days Or it may be the exercise of fasting is now wholly neglected he cannot intend it or it is an harsh exercise whereas indeed the only cause is his heart is not so holy and sincere as it was Or it may be he adventures too much to stand alone in the profession forsakes the Assemblies of Saints and so meets with that wo Wo to him that is alone 2. Too much eagerness upon the world slacks the love of heaven and heavenly things as hath been said Amor amore impeditur Carnal love either extinguisheth or lesseneth spiritual Where earthliness is predominant there is no love at all in sincerity these Thorns choak the seed of the word Or where it creeps too much upon a good heart the love is but weak low Thorns do some mischief to the Corn as in Demas who for a while forsook the Apostle and embraced the present world 2 Tim. 4.10 Many a good Christian hath found by woful experience that having too many Irons in the fire or taking too many cares into his head he hath much withered of his former greenness and liveliness in grace the world hath proved a Step-Mother to better things as in Martha who was encumbred with many things So of Ambition itching for repute and credit in the world till a reproof comes Seekest thou great things for thy self seek them not So complying with evil and carnal men till the Lord say Shouldest thou help the ungodly or be friends with them that hate the Lord This is one general cause why they are not so zealous in age as when they were young Converts 3. Scandalous or presumptuous sins do waste the Christians strength apace as in those holy men before rehearsed All sin is of a deadning and hardning nature and sets the Christian back a little that he is not so zealous as he should and would be as a Dog at his heels keeping him from running But while it is only of infirmity it little hinders him in his course God is easily intreated to assist him and continue the guidance of his Spirit and even by such rubs he gets ground daily But when the conscience is deeply wounded when the light is notoriously resisted when the heart smites and yet he will rush on this shall cost him dear now grace goes away exceedingly and comfort with the grace now he is become weak as another man and God hath some sharp correction in store for him to set him in his right wits again You know what evils followed David upon those scandals God will redeem his own glory and the honor of holy profession with the sorrows of his evil servants 4. Sometimes it is not for scandalous or presumptuous sins that the Lord forsakes his servants but their unthankfulness for former graces and comforts and mercies received They used them securely and gave not him the glory as he expected and deserved and therefore he leaves them for a while and it may be whips their own consciences They shall learn by the want what it was to have so much grace and comfort and may say as Psal 102.23 He weakned my strength in the way he shortned my days He takes a kind of revenge for the great unkindness This is the ordinary case of many who keep their ways and lives somewhat fair yet heavy and heartless Having been unthankful they are now left to this indifferency 5. Temptation may do much Never were the Philistine so watchful to bind Samson and know where his great strength lay that they might deprive him of it as the Devil is busie to rob and spoil us of our spiritual strength For this he watcheth continually and if he can come unobserved while we are secure and mindless of him he preys upon us exceedingly So he weakned our first Parents when they were much stronger then we are and David that he numbred the people and Peter that he was almost blown away like chaff These are the ordinary suckers that draw out much of the Life-bloud of true Christians It shall be our wisdom every one to examine his own heart and estate so to see how far he is decayed in the Trade of godliness and find out the true and proper cause of such languishing that so he may do afterward what is fit to be done by repentance prayer and more care in the use of holy means appointed for the regaining of his strength Consider it is
run to the Indies and round about the world Therefore labour on as thou hast begun and digest all the pains that are to be taken in fortifying for heaven as for example Follow on still to enjoy the Preaching of the Word though Painful Hateful Chargeable It is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth It is the savour of life unto life and useful divers ways 2 Tim. 3.16 Then go to the Prophets though an Husband say there is no cause or a Wife or a Father or Mother or Friend or Master Fast still in a Religious manner be not wearied with the uncouthness of the exercise it is powerful to do marvels sturdy Devils have been cast out by Fasting and Prayer and so may stout corruptions which seem untameable So for the Sacrament it is an effectal Ordinance of God to Seal up his love to the soul more throughly to strengthen faith to quicken an holy heart to enable us unto holy duties and holy conversation as it were with a new addition of strength It is another Seal of the Righteousness of faith We may be well assured and cheared by it Therefore take pains more then ordinary be not so formal and slight in preparation examine thy estate more fully and particularly lament thy imperfections more deeply discern the Lords body more carefully and reverently provide better then ever heretofore to be a welcome Guest at the Lords Table It is true to do this as it ought to be done will require some time and some retiredness and some thought-taking with sorrows and fears and it may be some anguish of mind But be contented for all that the Harvest will pay for all the labour of the Seed-time thou shalt see in little time how good it was for thee to be so reverent and devoutly affected when Gods face shall shine upon thee more then before and thy Conscience more cheared and cleared and thy weaknesses helped and thy life in all points rectified thou shalt bless the time that ever thou settest to do the work of the Lord so exactly and substantially 3. There be three duties that lie couched in the Similitude here used whereby the perpetuity of the Saints in grace is described They shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary aad they shall walk and not faint It is reported of the Eagle that she is very long-lived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if the Eagle had always a year to live being old she becomes young again and not once but often and when she dyes it is rather that she cannot eat for the length and crookedness of her Beak then for want of vigor and liveliness This her Beak a long time she casteth say Pliny and Aristotle as other creatures do their horns and then she can feed afresh and be as lively as ever So it is a fit Similitude to express the vivacity of Believers whose life Christ is they shall renew their strength by waiting on the Lord as before Ps 103.8 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed as the Eagles But to follow that Similitude which is more express in the Text Of mounting up with wings as Eagles It is but a fable of Zaadias the Jew that every tenth year the Eagle flies to the sphear of the Sun and there burns off her feathers with the heat of the Sun-beams and so grows young again for an hundred years This is confest on all hands that the Eagle flies higher then any other Bird and thence the Proverb is risen Aquila in nubibus spoken of one that soars aloft in remote and abstruse matters which the common sort of men can never reach into And here applyed to Believers may note their heavenly-mindedness they set their affections on things above and not on things which are upon earth It notes also their agility and chearfulness in fulfilling their course though sin as a weight press them down yet they force up their hearts again and still affect the way to heaven as the only way they can take for happiness Then for the other words They shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint As in the word of running saith Musculus is noted fervor and alacrity of spirit so in the word of walking the Prophet sets forth the continuance of proceeding So that in this Similitude we have three things which agree to the godly partly as duties partly as priviledges Heavenly-mindedness Chearfulness and Constancy in their holy course We will speak of them severally that the Uses may be more plain and distinct Doctr. 1. It is the nature of true Believers to lift up their hearts toward spiritual and heavenly things and so they must remember to do as of duty Col 3.1 2. If ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth And the Psalmist calls them a brood of Travellers in seeking the face of God Psal 24.6 For why they are born of an heavenly Principle which is the Spirit of God and their treasure as they profess is in heaven therefore there also must their hearts be And in the world they find a great deal of sin opposition to good distraction and hindrance from better things vanity and vexation of spirit no contentment in any thing no certainty therefore why should they stay below why should they not mount upward where they are sure to be safe and satisfied and that for ever and ever the Bird is safest when she keeps highest on earth there are snares and enemies everywhere and that continually Use To reprove earthly-minded people who are altogether set upon things below Profits Lands Houses Honors Easie living Voluptuousness so that they would care for no other heaven if they might always live where they do They plainly shew themselves to be but Crows and Buzzards who never get higher then the lowest Region therefore one day they are likely to come to a fearful end Phil. 3.19 They mind earthly things and their end is destruction It must also check and condemn the earthly-mindedness of the godly themselves who mount not up as they ought to do but too much rest in these vanities below as if of Eagles they would turn some vile and base Birds whom any Carrion will content well enough It is too lamentable to see how some good men are rivetted into the earth and inordinately seek after profit till grace wither and they begin to fall into a Consumption in respect of their souls The time and thoughts and cares and affections which should be bent and spent upon heaven and the things thereof are now turned for earth and earthly advantages The heart is straightned and almost shut up for any charges toward good uses All is for the Wife and Children and their own contentment
NOW and EVER SHEWING Where the Work of Conversion is throughly done it is done for ever ESA. 46.3 4. Hearken unto me O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel which are born by me from the belly which are carryed from the womb And even to your old age I am he and even to hoar haires will I carry you I have made and I will bear even I will carry and will deliver you PSAL. 48.14 This God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto death By William Jemmat Preacher of the Gospel in Reading LONDON Printed by L. Miller for John Chandler Bookseller in Reading 1666. To the Serious Reader THere be two weighty truths about the grace of Conversion in a soul that shall be saved One that of necessity it must be done in this present life according to that of Salomon Eccl. 9.10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with thy might for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest Now or Never The other that when this work is once done well in some good manner as it ought to be done it is done for ever and shall never fail the Christian here or hereafter The former is a matter of serious diligence and carefulness The latter of strong and full consolation Happy is the soul that suffers it self to be perswaded and over-ruled in present to do this great business of coming home to his God and joyning it self to him in a perpetual Covenant that shall never be forgotten Hereby it hath done a work which shall last to Eternity and â—â—ver be undone any more Now and Ever And it is such a work as shall stand it in stead whatever sad occasions shall meet it in this evil and troublesome world Believers amidst all bodily infirmities and temptations and afflictions of this life yet in their God to whom through rich mercy they are come at conversion have a sure and strong stay to rest upon and may say as David Psal 73.26 My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever O precious portion for a soul to find setling and contentment A portion is that wich falls to a man upon division of Land or Goods Now the Lord in his most wise dâ—spensation allots to some a portion in temporals They have their portion in this life Psal 17.14 To others he reserves himself for a portion who is infinitely better then the multitude of Riches Pleasures Honours and all the finest accommodations And because God is the portion of Believers therefore it is the good part or portion Luke 10.42 It is a blisfull portion and makes those for ever happy who share in it Psal 144.15 It is an all-sufficient portion and in every respect able to serve our turns and give complete contentment Gen. 17.1 And it is an everlasting portion my portion for ever saith David And thâ— us the Lord becomes the portion of a believing soul partly by his own free and voluntary giving himself to it both in his eternal Decree and purpose as also by actual application partly by the souls voluntary accepting owning and chusing the Lord for a portion with which it will rest satisfied Lam. 3.24 The Lord is my portion saith my soul The Lord himself perswade strengthen and establish our hearts by believing that we may rest contented with this our portion and be in some measure thankful for it that seeing he hath vouchsafed to be our portion we may ever think it fitting and necessary to be a peculiar people and portion unto him Deut. 32 9. The Lords portion is his people Jacob is the lot of his Inheritance W. J. Now and Ever ISAIAH 40.30 31. Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint IN the beginning of this Chapter the Lord by his Prophet had promised great and glorious things to his poor Church as return out of the Babylonish Captivity with wonderful mercies procuring and accompanying the same and such as reach to the times of the Gospel ver 3. Christ comes to do it and the Baptist makes way for him therefore Believers may expect performance Which that they may do the Prophet doth lively set forth the Power and Wisdom of God which are the main helps to accomplish his Decrees he knows how to do it and he is able to do it and a Believer may easily collect that if the Lord be so powerful and careful in the Government of the world how much more will he so be for the good of his Church and Chosen Then it might be objected Yea but the Church seems to be of all other most neglected and is most troubled in the world and this makes us even faint and cast hope away ver 27. For this they are blamed in the Verses following and told that God is sufficient for his Church against all her enemies and in all her faintness and they shall see Great Ones of the world fail and come to nothing when his people shall survive and be triumphant This last is the mind of the Holy Ghost in these two last Verses which have an amplification of the Churches strength by opposition to the strength of nature and of the world Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint As if he had said None have the strength that Gods people have no not the stoutest and choycest men that are whom Generals and Commanders of War do pick out from the rest and most trust in and brag of their puissance yet faintness comes upon such by Hunger Cold Watching Travelling Fighting rumors that they hear of the enemies might fear which the Lord sends upon their spirits a thousand wayes to cool their courage But my people go upon better and higher Principles namely of my favour and of my special grace in them whereby through believing they shall become strong out of weakness and hold out to a full and glorious victory over all enemies both from hell and in the world Now this opposition of strength and strength leads us to these two Propositions One That all created strength is of a fainting and failing nature The other That the strength whereby true Christians stand in the favour of God and the expectation of heaven is greater and better then all the strength of nature even taken at the best and strongest Briefly of the former All created strength is of a fainting and failing nature Though there be not only a firm and healthy body but much
courage of mind with assistance of Arts and Parts and alliance of Friends and all encouragements that are to be had yet in the Event all prevailes not to attain the desired end Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall The race is not to the swift nor the battel to the strong neither yet bread to the wise nor yet riches to men of understanding nor yet favour to men of skill Eccl. 9.11 It is true by those accomplishments nature may attain to live long in the world to rise high in the world to get a great Estate to have great Victories over enemies with other great matters which Weaklings may not once think to attain But beside the sad disappointments which these sometimes meet withall even amidst all their bravery they commit foul errours they shorten their dayes by Intemperance they fall into Consumptions or at best the longer they live the nearer they draw to their end and it is seen ordinarily that the Bell rings out and the Grave opens for young ones as well as for the old few now-a-days come to the Age set in Moses time of threescore and ten or fourscore The reason is by the fall sin hath disabled our nature both in powers of the body and mind and so ministers occasion to the great God of heaven to cut us short of our hope and possibilities Our sins withhold good things from us Jer. 5.25 And the Lord will have the finest Naturalists see that not by might or power but by his spirit great things are to be accomplished He takes the wise in their craftiness he turns their counsel into foolishness he shews strength with his arm he scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts he puts down the mighty from their seats and exalteth men of low degree he filleth the hungry with good things and the rich he sends empty away Application make thus 1. See what a poor happiness the happiness of worldlings is When they are at their height and in the best estate they can be in here below or desire to be in with a real and regular desire so that their Neighbours take them to be happy creatures and they think no less of themselves yet indeed they fall much short of the true happiness and godly men shall not change Estates with them though poor and miserable as to the world Why because the best and most complete attainments they have are but fading Commodities the one stroke of Death cuts the thred of their whole happyness there comes a Fever or other mischievous Disease and so an end of the man and all his braveries So that neither himself hath cause to vaunt or please himself in his fine condition nor others to envy his prosperity while it holds most together It is but as the green Bay-tree flourishing in present but soon blasted or cut down and the place of it shall know it no more 2. Let godly Christians bless the Lord who hath laid their happiness in things of another nature and endurance namely spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that though they be poor or weak or otherwise low in the world yet in the best matters through rich mercy they are highly exalted none so happy as they indeed none but they Therefore not only be contented with your short pittance but thankful that your lines are fallen unto you in pleasant places and ye have a goodly heritage Psal 16.6 Had your lot fallen otherwise to you you had been of all men most miserable Think of Dives tormented in those flames and of the rich Churl whose soul in a night was taken from him and so an end of all his plenty and jollity Think how David blessed himself from faring as worldly-minded men shall fare Let me not eat of their dainties Psal 141.4 and again Deliver my soul from the wicked from men which are thy hand O Lord from men of the world who have their portion in this life and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure they are full of Children and leave the rest of their substance to their Babes Then refer all to the happiness that shall be revealed at the last day as the Prophet there concludes As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness Psal 17.14 15 16 17. 3. If all present comforts be so weak and fickle Let not the strong man glory in his strength nor the rich man in his riches nor the wise man in his wisdom Jer. 9.23 Fine accommodations these are and conduce much to make ones life comfortable and he that is a wise Master of them may do much good in his place and Generation and greatly further his accounts in the day of accounting with God But alass they are but moth-eaten and poor comforts in themselves very like to Jonahs Gourd which came up in a night and perished in a night When we think we have them safest and take most pleasure in them they dye in our hands as flowers which we gathered â—rewhile and we our selves pass away with them we know not how soon And the wise Salomon hath said Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not for riches certainly make themselves wings they fly away as an Eagle toward heaven Prov. 23.5 and Paul said by the wisdom given unto him Rejoyce as not rejoycing and in all your enjoyments be as if ye had them not 1 Cor. 7.30 Remember Christians and not over-joy in a lusty Child a setled estate of health tallness comeliness or properness of the body the increase of a wealthy estate a great inheritance either by descent or purchase There is death in the pot a secret worm lies at the root and bites shrewdly and all the joy may quickly be mar'd and then the more joy was the greater will be the grief at parting and shame for the former boasting to see things turned to the quite conâ—rary 4. If natural comforts be turned upon such a wheel then trust not in an arm flesh Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help His breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that day all his thoughts perish Psal 146.3 4. Nor may Princes trust in mighty and puissant armies horses warlike provisions multitude of an hoste or the best counsel they can take all these have failed some that relied on them and may fail others who rest on them as able to save Nor may we rest upon potent friends who are able to do much themselves and use their interest in others for raising a party Nor upon health and strength of body nimbleness or other natural perfections Nor upon a strong wit a deep reach a firm and retentive memory eloquence in discoursing fitness of expressions with other gifts of the mind All compared to a staff of reed whereon if a man lean he may get a fall
not by their own strength nor such a strength as men of the world stand by but a surpassing and excellent strength which shall carry them bravely through the briars to a place of rest and glory True ye bear about you a weak and mortal body and beside a sinful flesh which grieves you more then the other and ye fear sometimes that ye shall never hold out in the work of God to the end and blessed reward prepared for the Saints But pluck up your hearts and follow on carefully and conscionably in the use of means to attain the Resurrection of the just Herein ye labour and sweat and fear and only faint not and ye find many discouragements on earth and from hell Well your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord and know It is not your own strength that must do it but his as the quarrel and battel is not yours but his thousands shall fall on your right hand and ten thousands on the left but you shall escape as here it is said Even the youths shall faint and be weary but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength He that believes hath the witness in himself and he hath the fountain of life in himself even the Spirit of grace as living waters which shall refresh his soul in every year of drought Only believe and thou shalt surely be established Remember flesh indeed is an enemy but mortified and God hath given us the Victory through Christ our Lord. More as grace will make it our corruption of nature shall further the work of God in us by making us low in our own eyes and driving us to the means whereby we may be strengthned It makes us earnest in prayer to get a supply from heaven which we cannot find upon earth It preserves an Appetite to the word which is the main Cordial to revive a Christian heart now fainting It sends him often to the Lords Table where he may have a good Meals meat for the strengthning of his faith and comforting of his soul As likewise to the Society of the godly to reading and other props which God in love hath provided to uphold him Object There is a power from hell which opposeth this power of grace and may not this one time or other throw the Christian quite upon his back can Principalities and Powers do nothing think you Answ Nothing so as to foil or vanquish this strong grace of God in the Saints It is a mighty power indeed but created and infinitely inferiour to that Divine Power whereby a true Christian subsisteth The Devil is a chained enemy infatuated vanquished and while Gods people are wâ—lling to resist he will surely uphold them in the fight unto Victory the God of peace will tread Satan under their feet shortly and they may be perswaded as Paul that neither Principalities nor Powers nor any other creatures shall be ever able to separate them from the love of God in Jesus Christ Rom. 8 38 39. More comfort yet in â—hrist that loved them they shall be more then Conquerors the strength which was at any time abated shall be renewed again and God will perfect the work which he once began Psal 138.7 8. See some particulars 1. The Christian is sometimes strong in faith and gives much glory to God and gains much chearfulness to himself even the full assurance of faith By which he rests in the love of God with an holy security much joy many triumphs over hell and Satan these enemies are despised as feeble Philistines not able to hurt him He got so much ground by the last Sacrament and by his course of prayer reading and godly exercises that he cared not if he dyed presently in respect of himself and the safety of his own soul But after awhile comes a cloud over his spirit and he is fain to let go much of his confidence Yet he gets up again in little time his strength is renewed and he grows as confident as before witness those Vicissitudes of joy and sorrow in David Psal 30. the whole 2. Patience is a strong grace such as whereby a Christian can possesse his soul in hard times and distractul occasions Luke 21.19 Sometimes he is not troubled though he be mightily provoked great occasion disquiets him not nor removes him from his principles whereof Job is a notable example Yet afterward as in him great breaches are made and the soul even lost by impatience Yet as in him the end is with submission and quietness Ye have heard of the patience of Job and what end the Lord gave 3. The prayer of faith is omnipotent as Luther called it a godly man sometimes wrestles hard and prevailes much with God and gets much comfort at the Throne of grace a large and almost sensible answer to his prayers a firm assurance of the love of God and a part in Christ Take him at such a time he is the most resolute man living ready to do or suffer any thing prepared for any condition Yet sometimes his hands hang down as much as Moses and with many intercourses of valour and weakness he gets the victory over all the Amalekites in hell 4. In respect of the spiritual warfare a Christian is strong in the Lord and the power of his might having put on the whole Armor of God sometimes he weilds it stoutly and wisely and acquits himself bravely for the honour of his Captain and his own discharge safety glory prosperity inveigles him not adversity affrights him not neither friends allure him from God and duty nor enemies terrifie him his watchfulness and jealousie over his heart makes him invincible you would think ye saw some Alexander conquering the world or some Joshua driving down Kingdoms and Cities before him Yet sometimes Satan gets an advantage against him as over the Incestuous person and the other Corinthians 2 Cor. 2.11 The man either lay snorting in his great sin or was ready to be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow and they either neglected holy Discipline altogether or else held him too long under that terrible censure of Excommunication Yet both he and they came into right order again chap. 7.7 8 9 10 11. And so other of the Lords Warriors they forsake the field sometimes but soon get courage and soon return to the field afresh 5. In respect of active obedience sometimes the life is very press and strict and unblameable and profitable the ways very fair a very good mixture of zeal and discretion good Husbandry and heavenly-mindedness are well matcht together that the man is even a Mirror in his place many may take example by him many bless God for him and few can do better then he doth And if he could keep at this stay he should live like an Angel upon earth But after a while the doating fit comes and all is off the hooks he is either scandalous with David or secure with the Spouse in the Canticles A great flaw and
gap is made till all be ashamed of him and he weary of himself A woful pickle and damnable but that he recovers all as Peter for a while a Turn-Coat but by and by a Penitent and at last a Martyr 6. The joy of the Lord is our strength Neh. 8.10 Sometimes we take much comfort in God go about his work very chearfully and pass not for small rubs that lie in our way no nor great ones it sufficeth that God is gracious and we shall have joy and glory enough in heaven But this bright-shining day suffers obscurity by a cloud when the Lord withdraweth a little Yet toward Evening it waxeth as bright as ever it was as the Martyrs at the stake after Recantations In every thing with a true Christian there is a recovery of losses to be made it is like the dead root of Jesse yet budding or as a Wheat-Corn dead in Winter but putting forth much strength in the Summer against the Harvest And this power of renewing his strength comes chiefly from God who saith such shall renew their strength and secondarily from themselves who being acted by grace will be willing all along to help themselves and so the Lord gets the honor of renewing their strength and themselves get much comfort by it Do ye yet want any more comfort Then see a little how this waiting on God and renewing of strength may stand you in stead against all those fears and cares and troubles which at times ye are subject unto No Prince when a Battel hath gone against him is so sure to recruit his forces and joyn issue again with the enemy as the Believer is sure by waiting on his God to renew his strength and recover all he hath lost and if he fear it is more then his good estate alloweth as for instance 1. Some good souls are afraid they shall never hold on to the end they have gone a good way in Religion but are so wearyish in themselves and find the world run so strong against them that they doubt they shall not overcome and then they must lose their Crown To whom I reply This and other places assure us of sufficient grounds for perseverance in the state of grace We stand by the everlasting love and compassion and covenant of our God We stand by the grace of a Mediator and so are better able to hold on then was Adam in innocency We stand by the strength and conduct of the Almighty Spirit of God who will never forsake us but abide with us for ever We stand by the invincible power of faith which through the mercy of God is able to keep us unto salvation We stand by vertue of the word that Immortal and Incorruptible seed which endureth for ever And the seed of God so abideth in us that we shall not fall away neither totally nor finally If so what ground for these fears or faintings 2. Some old Disciples are much troubled with the infirmities of old age in mind or body or both and are even weary of themselves and perform Religious duties but wearishly they are willing still to wait upon their God but cannot tell whether they shall be accepted or no or enabled to go on to Victory Answ Yet shall such be holpen with a little help Dan. 11 34. Little in their sense and apprehension but not in it self it is the power of God whereby they are kept to salvation and we know that the weakness of God is stronger then men We know also that God hath enlarged his power and all his excellencies for the good of his Chosen Esa 46.3 4. Hearken unto me O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel which are born by me from the belly which are carryed from the womb And even to your old age I am he and even to hoar haires I will carry you I have made and I will bear and I will carry and will deliver you Good comfort to them whose understanding and memory fails them with legs and senses and all that is of nature and weather offends them whether hot or cold and much ado they have to hold out with cheariness a little longer Yet in their God they shall find a supply both of strength and comfort to carry them to their journies end Only let them pray and it shall be done for them Plead as David Psal 71 9 12 17 18. Cast me not off in the time of old age forsake me not when my strength faileth O God 〈◊〉 not far from me I will go in the strength of the Lord God O God thou hast taught me from my youth and hitherto I have declared thy wondrous works Now also when I am old and gray-headed O Lord forsake me not untill I have shewed thy strength unto this generation and thy power to every one that is to come Where note by the way what is the proper and chief end of desiring long life or the assistance of God in our way It is that we may the better advance the glory of God and serve our generation according to his counsel 3. Another is even tyred out with Satanical temptations and accusations and doubts that one time or other he shall fall by the hand of this hellish enemy Oh how black and cunning and incessant his fiery darts are and himself in the mean time very weak and simple and easie to be over-reached Can there be any hope of carrying the Victory Answ Yes because thy Captain hath said Resist the Devil and he shall fly from you and ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and the God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly and the head of the old Serpent is so bruised by the seed of the Woman and his Victory that he can never recover full strength against the remnant of her seed We know too that greater is he that is in us then he that is in the world We read of the weapons which we are to weild and overcome that they are of Gods framing and appointment the Armour of God and The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to cast down strong holds which are raised against God and against our comfort and Not only the weapons are mighty but we by them Strong in the Lord and the power of his might so that a song of triumph may be sung by fainty Believers Who shall accuse or condemn or separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ Certainly all the gates of hell shall never prevail against the Church of God nor any faithful Member of it 4. Other Believers fear because of many troubles of the family or of the world there are fightings without and terrors within they even faint and are weary and shall be tyred out one time or other what shall they do Answ Let them remember that Christ hath overcome the world and therefore though in the world they have
tribulation yet in him they shall have peace and ought to be of good chear and Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth them out of all And if deliverance be delayed yet by the assistance of Christ and his Spirit the afflictions are sweetned and the heart supported and all the suffering sanctified that in time the Christian shall say It was good for me to be afflicted that I might learn thy statutes And remember that when the troubles last longest yet all the while the Christian Traveller is getting nearer and nearer to his Fathers house so that Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and his reward is with him In the Mount it will be seen 5. Other Believers who complain not of troubles in things of nature or the world yet trouble themselves much about the welfare of the Church which they see endangered by enemies some undermining others infected with errors and heresies and scattering their poison far and near Oh what will become of poor Sion which is so hated or defaced many enemies and but few real friends Answ Bear up chearfully it is a good sign in thee that thou art so tender of the Churches well-doing thou hast a promise They shall prosper that love Sion and all they that mourn for her shall be glad and rejoyce with her Esa 66.10 And as for the Church it self remember though lovest it well yet God loves it better and knows better how to provide for its safety and chiefest welfare Psal 87.2 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion more then all the dwellings of Jacob. As for the enemies secret or open let the King of Sion alone to deal with them for their conversion or confusion or to raise up friends as need shall require and he sees expedient that the Captivity may be turned and great gifts bestowed for the beautifying of Sion 6. Others know not what they shall do if persecution should arise for the Gospels sake they are fainty enough under the persecution of the tongue or in smaller tryals and they doubt they shall fall utterly if fire and faggot should come in use again But remember here who brought the Martyrs through the flames to give testimony to the truths of the Gospel They were flesh and bloud as we are and yet were strengthned to pass through the fire after Jesus Christ and they had relations and advantages to leave for the truth as near and dear as we have and yet by grace were enabled to part with all yea rejoyced that they were accounted worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ And ye may observe in reading the Histories of the Martyrs how they that were very timorous for a while yet coming in sight of the stake they have waxed joyful and confident as Mr. Glover to his friend who knew his fears O Austine He is come he is come meaning the Spirit of strength and comfort Remember too that the Lord hath continued his Church and brought it through persecuting times as well as times of prosperity yea the Primitive Church was planted and watered and thrived best in the persecution of the first three hundred years The bloud of the Martyrs proved the seed of the Church to propagate and make glorious the Kingdom of Christ Therefore faint not nor be weary for any persecution felt or feared 7. A Believer may say Death is the King of terrors and I fear I shall not dye with any patience or comfort I know not what kind of death I shall dye or where or with what Company it may be by the Pestilence or by the Sword or by some tormenting Disease or a lingring Disease I know not what but I doubt I shall faint at the last and then where is all my hope and reward Answ Remember what hath been said This God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto death Psal 48.14 And not only unto death but in dying Jesus Christ will be gain unto us Phil. 1.21 And not only Angels are ours with other good creatures but even death is a Friend though he come in a Mourning Gown 1 Cor. 3 22. And ye know how death is out-braved from doing us a mischief chap. 15.55 O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law But thanks be to God who hath given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. As for the sad Harbingers and Messengers of death the Lord is able and hath promised to give a proportion of strength and comfort that when we faint and the outward man decays yet the inward man shall be renewed day by day and by rich mercy ye may come to fear nothing even when ye walk in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death And for the kind of Death Company Place Time and all circumstances it is best for the Child of God to submit to the will of his heavenly Father who hath said and would have us to rest in what he hath said My grace is sufficient for thee Only continue in a waiting condition as Job all the days of thy appointed time till that great change shall come thou shalt find it worth while to have so waited But because this waiting may be long and there go many things to waiting as the good servant who made all ready against the coming of his Lord I shall produce certain Motives as so many encouragements to the faithful servants of God who do so chearfully and constantly attend their God in those duties and those his Ordinances Many are the benefits of a due waiting 1. This at the Text they shall be enabled and blessed by this their waiting To renew their strength and hold out in the good ways of God unto glory Though there be divers weaknesses in themselves and discouragements in the world yet through rich mercy they shall run and not be weary walk and not faint A singular priviledge above all Apostates who have fallen away and come to nothing 2. They have hereby a note of true grace upon them that they are the Children and Servants of God in sincerity and not only in a general and common profession Our Text useth this Periphrasis or Description of the godly They that wait upon the Lord shall do thus and thus And it is a Description of the Gentiles conversion Esa 42.4 The Isles shall wait for his law with chap. 51.5 They shall wait upon me and on thy Name shall they trust and 60.9 Surely the Isles shall wait for me It is an ordinary Inquiry among tender spirits Whether am I indeed converted and brought home unto God or no The solution may hence be taken If ye wait on the Lord in the way and manner before described ye are indeed converted and need not trouble your selves any more 3. Another benefit is that these Waiters shall not in any thing be utterly disappointed so
according to the perverse humor which is grown in the soul Others are for their Honors and Preferments as if they would have a Jeremy come and reprove them in those words to Baruch Seekest thou great things to thy self Others too much hang upon evil and ungodly men or too much seek to keep in with the wicked multitude as if they meant no longer to be the Servants of Christ Gal. 1.10 If I go about to please men I am not the Servant of Christ Others are held from good duties through fear of men and kept in a luke-warm indifferency as if with Laodicea they thought good to be spewed out of the mouth of Christ For disguised fashions there is no talk now but they must be tolerated and may be used the Preachers were as good hold their peace as seek to take off these superfluities from their heads and shoulders they shall but get ill-will for speaking against these fashions And so of Marriages Sons of God now-a-days marry the Daughters of men and contrarywise and there is no remorse for it no sin in it all is well if there be State and Portion enough with other the like vanities In many things we see great embasement come upon the professed servants of God and such as we hope do serve him in truth To whom I may say as Christ said to his Disciples admiring the fine stones and buildings of the Temple Are these the things that ye look upon are these the contentful Objects of renewed souls what is your understanding enlightned and your judgment rectified and yet so dote upon such trifles as these are Why what need wings to mount up after these things these are the common prey of every unclean and base-conditioned Bird that never flies aloft these are for Owls and not for Eagles you shall leave these for men of this world who have their portion in this life Psal 17.14 Where the Carkase is thither will the Eagles be gathered together saith our Saviour He spake it of himself and of his coming to judgment Wherever he would appear to judge the world thither the godly would resort and come unto him Consider and gather up thy affections for heaven and make them as many as frequent as earnest as ever they were Christ is that sacred Carkase whereon thy soul must feed unto eternal life and if thou be an Eagle indeed thou wilt scent him strongly afar off and long for him and hasten after him as fast as thou canst Well do so here is now a Sacrament at hand and thereby an occasion to renew thy love of Christ and of the things that pertain to his Kingdom Now stir up thy self to thy ancient affections and actions renew thy Covenant with God soar aloft as thou wast wont to do let us see thee after this Sacrament more heavenly-minded then thou hast been of late days let thy speeches and courses speak louder that thou art for heaven in good sadness as we say say more do more give more spend more which may help thee in that journey The Jews upon their eating the Passover must presently walk out of Egypt and thereunto in eating must have a staff in their hand Let the Moral be thus this heavenly Banquet requires an heavenly Appetite affection conversation afterward Get out of the Egypt of this world as fast as thou canst He is an holy and happy Christian who takes every occasion to unfasten his heart from the world earthly in it self even after grace received and must be skrewed up by little and little upon every advantage that it may take So as he hath less earthly joy he shall have more of the heavenly The sweet peace with God and his own Conscience will infinitely countervail the want of all other peace and comfort whatsoever And thrice happy are those souls who by a right estemation of the worth of heavenly things and by a godly jealousie over their own hearts do keep their thoughts and affections above still looking downward with an holy disdain and weariness It is an high pitch of great grace for the heart to say and the life make it good Vanity of vanities vanity of vanities all is vanity and vexation of spirit Doctr. 2. It is the nature and duty of Christians truly fearing God to be chearful and lively in their holy course as the Eagles are nimble and full of spirits to mount upward so are and must Believers be the Lord loves a chearful giver and that is reason enough 2 Cor. 9.7 They must run and walk run and not be weary walk and not faint Use If they be not thus chearful it is a fault and must be amended It is because they wait not on the Lord so duly and carefully as they ought to do The promise is not performed because the condition is not observed Many Christians may wonder at themselves what is come to them that they are so heavy so unweildy so timerous so backward in the way of godliness Their spirits are even gone they have not the heavenly Meditations that sometime they had they delight not in the presence of God to come before him in prayer as sometime they did Accordingly they have but cold comfort and poor answer returned after their prayer They make not good motions nor put in a good word as heretofore Carnal fear and modesty have seised upon them Some one way and some another are mightily come behind themselves and that measure of liveliness which sometime was in them Hereupon they are troubled about their Estate or have just cause to be troubled Well let this be a watch-word to them to become as chearful as ever Say O Christian in every such case as the Psalmist Why art thou so cast down O my soul and why art thou so disquieted within me what is the matter that I am so untoward Stir up the gift that is in thee arise and shake thy self as Samson when he was bound with chains or cords repent and do the first works repent and entertain the first Love again Return O Shulam te return return Thou hast the Spirit of God in thee quench him not set him on work as lively as ever Pray and it shall be done Or if that will not serve the turn fast away this dull and melancholy Devil which possesseth thee as is said This kind goeth not out but by fasting and prayer Renew thy Covenant and Vows do something more then ordinary that is the way to be as lively as ever thou wast Consider the occasion which the Lord now offers unto thee Upon a good Banquet we use to be more lively then we were and to gather up our spirits which were almost spent and wasted No such Banquet as the Lord makes for his servants the flesh of his Son which is meat indeed and the blood of his Son which is drink indeed These are the fat things the Wine and Milk of the Gospel Esa 55.1 2. How can a Christian go rightly to