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truth_n	believe_v	faith_n	reason_n	7,423	5	5.8303	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B20532	Five lessons for a Christian to learne, or, The summe of severall sermons setting out 1. the state of the elect by nature, 2. the way of their restauration and redemption by Jesus Christ, 3. the great duty of the saints, to leane upon Christ by faith in every condition, 4. the saints duty of self-denyall, or the way to desirable beauty, 5. the right way to true peace, discovering where the troubled Christian may find peace, and the nature of true peace / by John Collings ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1650 (1650)	Wing C5317; ESTC R23459	197,792	578

painted hand reacheth nothing the hand must be a reall hand that plucketh the Apple-tree There is a great deale of drossy counterfeit faith in the world The Devils have some graines of faith amongst them the Apostle sayes They beloeve and tremble Wicked and prophane wretches have their degrees of faith too they will at least tell you they beleeve that Christ came into the world and dyed they give credence to the story c. But this faith is no true hand it will plucke never an apple of Life 2. As the hand must be true so it must be perfect it must have fingers enough to doe it It must be perfect justifying faith though it reach not the perfection of faith that a justified person may have There are severall acts of faith some will have knowledge to be an act of it others and the most say that knowledge is supposed to faith but Assent is the first and lowest act Many goe hither and no further they goe away not justified but the perfection of that faith which justifies lyeth in a trusting too and a relyance upon the Lord Jesus Christ To this faith are all the promises pronounced Blessed is that man that puts his trust in the Lord And who is he that sits in darknesse and seeth no light Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God I say this is the perfection of that faith which must be de necessitate necessarily required to justification It is not the reflection of faith that is in a justified person Try thy selfe O Christian dost thou truly beleeve then not barely assenting and giving credence to the word of God as a word of truth but being sensible of thy owne vilenesse and the insufficiency that is in thy selfe for any salvation dost thou truly relye upon Jesus Christ and this will be tryed by the third particular necessary to the hand that reacheth 3 The hand that reacheth must be lively It must have a principle of life in it selfe and must act in lively operations The dead hand let it be never so true flesh and bloud it reacheth nothing it hath no internall principle of life in it selfe to carry it out in externall operations of Life so must it be with the souls hands that reach and plucke the Apples of free grace of the Tree of Life mentioned Rev. 22. 1. It must have an internall principle of Life The hypocrites faith hath no internall principle of life in it the soule is not quickned neither hath it any power to act externall operations Viva fides est operosa is a knowne maxime Faith in the Saints is powerfull 2 Thes 1. 11. The worke of faith with power Jam. 2. 17. Faith without works is dead Now it 's lively 1. Internally purging the heart It purifieth the heart 2. Externally it worketh by love it worketh as a loving heart towards God so in acts of love Faith if it be true hath not only a perswading and comforting quality to perswade the soule of God and the faithfulnesse of him that hath promised and to refresh the soule by staying upon God but it hath a quickning quality to enliven the soule and quicken it to an holy close walking with God The same faith that saith to the soule this promise is the truth of God stay thy selfe upon it saith also to the soule this precept is the rule of God walke according to it Now Christian try thy selfe whether thou hast tasted of the fruit of the Apple-tree whether thou hast a portion in Jesus Christ yea or no If thou hast reached to thy soule an Apple of free grace thou hast an hand by which thou didst it it must be a true hand Faith is the hand Hast thou not the painted faith of the hypocrite but the true faith of the Saints called by a distinguishing character The faith of Gods Elect Titus 1. v. 1. Hast thou not a finger only but the perfect hand that faith which truly justifieth thy soule which doth not consist in a bare notion and knowledge nor yet in a bare assent but in a fiduciall cleaving to the Lord Jesus Christ Is it lively as living in respect of the inward principle so lively in respect of the outward operations If so then it may be a true faith and thy hand with which thou hast reacht the fruit of the Apple-tree for the comfort of thy soule may be such a one as will doe it and thy hope may be upon good and justifiable grounds but if not deceive not thy owne soule Christ and you are strangers yet and thou art out of Christ I shall adde but one Note more which shall be yet further for the clearing of this Lastly therefore know Thou canst have no such hand unlesse it be given thee from above The hand of Faith is none of Natures products Alas how many cheat themselves with Faith when the Devill hath indeed as much true faith as they have There is a naturall perswasion and there is a morall perswasion and there is a traditionall perswasion and a diabolicall perswasion all these differ from the worke of Faith which is true and that hand which must reach Jesus Christ to my soule 1. There is a naturall perswasion Nature hath principles to perswade the soule by to some Assent Nature perswades us there is a God and he must be worshipped Looke upon me saith Nature Praesentemque refert quaelibet herba Deum I have not a spire of grasse but tels thee there is a God See the variety greatnesse beauty of my work Read a great God in a great Whale or Elephant a beauteous God in a glorious flower A wise God in my choice of works Behold a God in the order thou hast seen in me See him in my Law written in thy heart Rom. 2. 15. From these and such like things Nature bequeathes a faith to the soule and learnes it credere Deum to beleeve a God But this is far from faith not only from justifying faith but also from faith as to that point It wants that steadinesse of assent which must be in assent when an act of faith A Roman writ to Tully to write him something concerning the immortality of the soule Tully writ back againe to him Evolve libr●m Platonis nihil amplius est quod desideres Read saith he Plato's Book over concerning it and you will desire no more The Roman returnes him answer Evolvi iterum atque iterum evolvi c. I have read it over saith he againe and againe but I know not whence it is when I reade it I assent to it but I have no sooner laid the book out of my hand but I begin to doubt againe whether the soule be immortall yea or no. So it is with all perswasion from natural principles as to that extent of Doctrine it would perswade us of the perswasion that ariseth from them is faint and weake one while we thinke it is true another while we question

or deny the same principle Naturall perswasion is no faith if Nature gave thee all thou hast thou hast none at all Secondly If it bee Moralities gift to thee it is no faith I call that a Moral perswasion which is wrought from the consideration and improvement of Morall Principles if thou beest perswaded to rest and rely upon God and his promises for salvation meerely upon this skore I live justly I tythe Mint and Annis I have taken no mans Oxe or Asse from him whom have I defrauded Alas thus Aristides and Cato might beleeve Thirdly If thy Faith be thy grandfathers Legacy to thee it is no hand that will reach the Lord Iesus Christ A traditionall perswasion is no faith If thou beest perswaded that Christ dyed for thee c. upon this skore My Mother told me so our fore-fathers held so and they were wiser than wee c. Alas friend there is as much difference betwixt faith and thy soule as there is betwixt heaven and hell This was the Samaritanes Religion which the good woman was as tenacious of as ours are now of the Common Prayer Book Joh. 4. 20. Our Fathers worshipped in this mountaine and you say in Jerusalem is the place to worship It is the great objection wee have against the Church of Rome That they would have men beleeve as the Church beleeves But for the most part wee are condemned in what we condemne Doe not most men beleeve as their Fathers beleeved What a sinne it is thought to thinke of stripping Queen Elizabeths Reformation Are not most men limitted to this faith and is not here all the perswasion that men have of the saving Truths of God that Christ was God and man that he dyed rose and is ascended Why this was our Fathers Faith this wee were taught when wee were little ones and upon this skore being perswaded they must goe under the Notion of Beleevers and when heaven and hell meet this Faith shall save them Fourthly If thy faith be the Devills gift to thee it is no hand that will reach Christ The Devill hath his Apes-faced-Graces Morall walking instead of Gospell-obedience Feare of Hell in stead of feare of God and so presumption instead of Faith He carries too great designes 1. To flatter the soule to hell by presumption Thinke nothing ill of thy selfe sayes the Devill venture upon God let it never trouble thee venture all yes doe and cry confidently Lord Lord open to me I have prayed in thy name c. Hee knowes well enough that the answer will be Depart from me I know you not you workers of iniquity Feare not saith the Devill to apply hot boiling Lusts to the bleeding wounds of Christ you may rest upon him that dyed for you though you doe not take any such care to live strictly and holily with him other folk shall goe to heaven besides Puritanes God is mercifull Is thy faith such a one as this Christian O tremble at that Mat. 7. 24. And would not one thinke that this were the miserable faith of most of men It is impossible but when you heare so many peales in your eares of repentance as you heare in these dayes but you should have some thoughts what shall become of your poor soules And who so lookes upon your lives againe and seeth no repentance no sitting downe and saying What have I done no care of future obedience but a loose irreligious walking would he not bee confident that the Devill hath perswaded you to venture it is but a soule lost but poor wretch it is lost for ever and Christ is mercifull but to no such hell-hounds as thou art wretch O Lord it would make an heart tremble to come to some poore Creatures upon their Death-bed and examine the condition of their soules Why they are well they rest upon Jesus Christ they are confident he will save them who is bolder than blinde Bayard is our Countrey Proverb though all know the wretch never was sensible of his lost condition nor ever carefull to conforme himself in the least to Jesus Christ Faith is not the devils gift Diabolicall perswasion widely differs from faith But lastly Fiftly Faith is the gift of God It is grounded upon divine perswasion The Spirit of God and the Word of God and the Merits of Jesus Christ these are the grounds that perswade the soule to rely upon Jesus Christ Rom. 14. 14. I know my selfe and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus Christ The worldling is perswaded after another fashion from naturall or morall Principles or Tradition or at best as concerning Ahab 1 Kings 22. 21. There is an evill Spirit gone forth and said I will perswade him and the Lord hath permitted and assented to it ver 22. Thou shalt perswade him and prevaile also But now the child of God is perswaded another way come to him and aske him Christian what perswades thee to rest upon Jesus Christ he answereth with Paul I know and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus Christ Sir Ah Sir I was despairing almost the spirit of God by its inward motions inclined me to roll my selfe on Christ Or the word of God perswaded me I heard a Voice saying come I knew he that had promised was faithfull and able to performe it Rom. 4. 21. Faith is the gift of God saith the Apostle Ephes 2. 8. It is the Fathers work and gift the Sonnes gift and work the 1 Phil. 3. 9. Spirits worke and the Words worke 1. It is the Fathers worke and gift John 6. 37. All that the Father gives me shall come to me Faith is of his willing John 6. 40. It is the Sons gift and work I know and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus Christ It is a piece of Grace and Christ is the well-head of all divine Grace 1 Cor. 1. 4. He is therefore called The author and finisher of our faith Hebr. 12. 2. It is the gift and work of the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 12. 9. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisedome to another faith by the same Spirit It is therefore reckoned as one of the Spirits workes Gal. 5. 22. It is a fruit of the Spirit It is wrought by the Word which therefore is called the Word of faith Rom. 10. 8. Now try thy selfe Christian whether thy hand be a true hand Is thy faith a gift of God wrought by his Spirit and grounded upon his Word such must that hand be that plucketh the fruit of this Apple-tree of free grace Not mans much lesse the devills gift but Gods gift it will quicken thee in Gods wayes but I spake of that before I have now done with my rules of examination the Lord perfect this Application in every one of your soules Use 3 I proceed now to a third Use and and that is of Exhortation To all those that are through the mercy of God recovered out of that sad condition in which we were all by Nature that are now cleansed

they shall be saved I know not which way too Christian thou wert lost and undone thou wert in Adams loines as well as any thou hadst an adventure in his ship as well as any the ship was wrackt Did the Lord ever call thee Didst thou ever yet find a powerfull worke of Gods spirit joyned with the word upon thy heart Did the Lord ever make thee in any measure to see thy lost condition Did the Lord ever yet bid thee when thou sawest thy selfe lost and wert confounded in thy owne insufficiency looke upon Jesus Christ and live Was sinne ever yet a sting to thy soule if not I doubt yea I am out of doubt Christ was never a true comfort to thee Christ was lift up as the brazen serpent now for whom was that lift up but for those that felt the smart of the fiery serpent and no way else be cured Againe Christ sanctifies before he glorifies he hath ordained us to good works and then to obtaine everlasting life though not for them this is Christs method of raising Dost thou looke to be saved Art thou sanctified Christian Is thy heart changed and thy tongue changed Beleeve it no uncleane thing shall ever enter into the new Jerusalem Christ useth to raise to holinesse before he raiseth to happinesse But I have in the former Doctrine spake so fully to this worke of Examination in relation to this thing of so great a concernment to every soule as nothing can be more that I shall now adde no more but passe on Use 4 This Doctrine may in the fourth place be applyed by way of Exhortation 1. To those that yet have no part at all in the Lord Jesus Christ 2. To those that through free grace have an interest in this Saviour and have been raised by him 1. Is there any poore soule here that is to this day so miserable as that it hath no portion in the Lord Jesus Christ Now I beseech you as an Ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ as in Christs stead I beseech you get an interest in him You have heard he is he whom the Lord hath ordain'd to be the Saviour of the world he is the mighty one upon whom help was laid yea the only mighty one upon whom help could be laid O then above all things looke for a portion in him in whom alone you can be rich Wouldst thou be saved This all desire Glory and happinesse are fine things Omnibus in voto every man would dye the death of the Righteous and have his later end like his Wouldst thou goe to Heaven Christian he is the way Wouldst thou live he is the life yea he and none but he Be assured thou art now a child of wrath and there is but an haires breadth betwixt thee and hell thou art wounded past the cure of the whole Creation loe here is balme in Gilead If thou wilt enquire enquire returne come Were there a poore wretch sicke of an incurable disease to ordinary Physitians and Chirurgians and some rare one should come to the Towne that alone had found out the mystery in the Art of curing that very trouble he should be throng'd with Patients How is it that Christ hath no more practise he that is the great Physitian that all the creatures are Physitians of no value to him Alas the reason is too perspicuous men are sensible of their bodily troubles but their soul-troubles are not felt by them To direct thee a little to him wert thou sicke of such a disease and hadst heard of so rare a Physitian what wouldst thou aske 1. How shall I speake with him 2. What must I give him 3. How must I apply his physicke 4. What Rules of diet or walking c. must I observe 1. Dost thou aske how thou shalt speake with the Lord Jesus Christ to lay open thy soules wounds unto him And where doth he exhibite his balme I answer to thee The word is near thee even in thy mouth it is the word of faith which we preach Behold Christ keeps open shop Wisedome cries and Understanding puts forth her voice she standeth in the top of the high Places by the way in the places of the paths She cries at the gates at the entring in of the doores Unto you O men she cals and her voice is to the sonnes of men O ye simple understand wisedome and ye fooles be of an understanding heart Prov. 8. ver 1 2 3 4 5. The Lord Christ keeps open shop in every place We as the Embassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ intreat you to be reconciled to God Did ever such naturall balme goe on begging The word is neare thee there Christ offers himselfe Dost thou aske what is his price 2. He offers it freely Heare the Market proclamed and the price set Isa 55. 1 2. Hoe every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat wine and milke without money and without price This is the condition bring nothing the way to have thy sacke filled as full as thou canst carry it is to bring it empty Only come and live look up and be healed was there ever so cheap a Market of so rich commodities Christian poore Christian wert thou but sensible of thy soules wants thou wouldst give as many thousand worlds if thou hadst them and they could be given as there are graines of dust upon the face of the earth to have a portion in the Lord Jesus Christ Imagine but what a poore damned wretch would give to have but so much liberty as to cast up a long looke to Heaven what a comfort it would be to them if the light of the Gospell might but shine into hell a few dayes And is mercy offered freely mayest thou be saved if thy owne cursed will were not in the way Ah Christian turne turne why should thy soule dye when there is balme in Gilead and so glorious a Physitian there Dost thou aske how must I apply his bloud 3. I answer only by Faith God so loved the world saith the Apostle that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Nay to speake lower yet on thy part is only required a seeking of Christs face Thus saith the Lord seeke my face and live The truth of it is as the merit was Christs so the Application is his too Faith is required but it is a gift infused it is the gift of God Indeed it is an act too but as so it is Gods gift I meane the strength by which thou must act He is the Author and finisher of our faith saith the Apostle to the Hebrewes O therefore cry cry mightily unto God he will help thee doe this too Goe alone and wrastle with God and take no answer without Christ cry and take no deniall like the blind man that when the Disciples discouraged him and Christ seemed to slight him cryed yet the more earnestly till the Lord said

Faith doe they not cry downe sorrow for sinne and all other duties Nay they doe cry downe the preaching of the Law to bring men to see they are in the wildernesse that they might leane Doe they make you beleeve that preaching the Law is a price of Anti-christianisme and no one ought to preach it And for their part they will take heed of it for feare of preaching away their hearers O beware of this leaven For my part I cannot close with this novell Doctrine when I consider First that this other way of preaching hath bin that which God hath most blest by his servants labours Witnesse our Rogers our Hooker our Pious Shepard those three to which many threes may be added though they will scarse come up to the first three Those three Constellations of Heaven that have more light to darke Travellers that wandred in the night of sinne while they shined in our Firmament then all these Ignes fatui mis-leading poore Travellers Was ever any of these Leaders so honoured though they have beat up the Drums almost in every street of the Kingdome for followers as to gather such Troopes of Saints to the Christian warfare as these before mentioned Did ever God honour their labours so much as these who poor soules shone in their daies like lights under Bushels too had only the corner of a Pulpit or a Pulpit in some blind corner tolerated them Nay looke upon these that have lately fallen into this Veine and were Preachers of Gods whole truth before was not their first fruits better and more accepted of God then their harvest is now Hath not God distinguished which way of preaching he will must honour by making the first ripe grapes sweeter then the whole Vintage were it onely for this And Secondly For the constant experience of the Saints of God let them speake their minds freely hath not this beene the way of their conversion Have not the best Saints in Heaven cryed out of the belly of Hell before God heard their voice Was not Paul strucken downe to the earth before he went in the Triumph of Glory Did not the Gaolor come in trembling and fall at the Apostles feet and cry what shall I doe to be saved before they bid him beleeve and thou shalt be saved Neither can they evade it with saying That trembling was not an humiliation for sinne but occasioned for feare his prisoners were gone Least people should wrest in that manner The Holy Ghost hath cleared it to their hand for before we read of his trembling Paul had cryed with a loud voice vers 28. Doe thy selfe no harme for we are all here Neither doe wee read that he trembled for that at all but like one struck senselesse and his spirits dead as it were in a fit of desperate madnesse was about with his Sword to let out his owne blood Now I say were it no more then to heare such Doctrine contrary to the Doctrine which God hath chiefly honoured in his Servants lips by making it efficacious for the salvation of their soules and contrary to the experience of the generalitie of Gods Servants if not contrary to the Preachers owne former and better thoughts and practice it would be sufficient to make me suspend my faith from being too hastie to beleeve this new way to heaven But it is enough to confirme me to heare my Christ calling Come unto me all yee that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you Before you are sensible of an heavy load you will need no ease and to heare my Text speaking of leaning but in a wildernesse Nay it may be noted too The Text saith Who is this that commeth Not who is this that jumpeth up from the wildernes I cannot fancy this going to Heaven at a running jump nor can I like this pressing faith without preaching repentance also Faith is an act of an humble soule Nor can the soule apprehend the beautie of Christ and love Christ before it apprehends it 's owne miserable conditions The onely harme this Doctrine doth is to make poore soules presume instead of beleeving for alas Tell an impenitent soule of beleeving it apprehends it easie because it doth not understand it and runnes upon a supposition that it hath faith when alas it beleeveth no more then the Devill beleeveth sorrow for sinne is better understood by a carnall heart then faith is for the truth of it is the humble soule onely can tell what faith is The other sees neither the want they have of faith nor yet the nature of that precious grace Shall I tell you what pious M. Rutherford sayes concerning this Faith saith he is bottomed upon the sense and paine of a lost condition Povertie is the nearest capacitie of beleeving This is Faiths method be condemned and be saved be hang'd and be pardoned be sick and be healed Faith is a flower of Christs onely planting yet it growes out of no soile but out of the margin and banke of the lake which burnes with fire and brimstone Antinomians saith he againe make faith an act of a lofty Pharisee applying immediato contactu presently his hot boyling and smoking lusts to Christs wounds blood and merit without any conscience of a precedent command that the person thus beleeving should be humbled wearied loaden grived for his sinnes I confesse saith he This is hastie hot work but it is a wanton fleshly presumptuous opinion that it is an immediate work to lay hold on the promises and be saved In his Book of the Tryal and Triumph of Faith you hear the opinion of Gods Servants and the Text mentions a comming too pedetentim gradatim little by little step by step Those that come cannot goe so fast as these because they are weary and heavy loadcn Those that learne people to jump must take away Math. 11. 29. the heavy load of sinnes which the Spouse hath upon her shoulders keepes her from that hastie motion that Antinomians make I doe not speake to limit the Almighties power but to shew you his ordinarie dispensations not what he can doe but what he will doe what he hath used to doe and God ordinarily walkes in his owne paths not in the paths our fancies make for him we may looke for God in his ordinary wayes of Providence and dispensations of the soule if he comes in a new way it must be beyond our expectations though not beyond our faith that he can doe it yet beyond our faith that he will doe it When wee have no word to assure us what shall faith be builded upon God can turne midnight into mid-day ipso facto But we know in Gods ordinary course of Providence first comes the dawning of the day then the morning then the noone-day God can take a soule and marry it and never humble it but where hath he promised it where hath he done it or if he hath done it wee say one Swallow makes not a Summer one example makes not

is predicated of the subject is common to every particular soule as well as to the beleeving Church For every beleever leanes by faith upon the Lord Jesus and comes out of his particular wildernesses leaning upon him And therefore I rather agree with * Non solum vicinae gentes sed etiā ipsi qui sunt in populo hanc mirantur sic ascendentē ex deserto Luther Luther upon the place not only saith he the Neighbour Nations but those of the same Nation shall admire her comming out of the wildernesse In short I conceive the words have a Prosopopeia in them The Church or soule speaks them as if she should have said Methinks I fancie the world standing wondring at me how I can leane upon Christ in my wildernesseconditions and out of the saddest wildernesse how I can come up by the strength of Christ leaning upon him They will wonder at my glory and honour that Christ will priviledge such a worme as I am so as to lean upon him and that he will help me They will not understand how I can come leaning in the wildernesse they will say Who is this Christs power of Grace in me will be hidden to them and yet they will admire Who is this That comes up out of the wildernes Out of a sad low condition out of a lost rugged condition out of crosses trials afflictions inward or outward But I shall open this terme more hereafter Leaning Tremellius reads it associans associatura joyning or marrying or about to joyne or marry her selfe Vatablus Hierome and Lyra read it Deliciis ●ffluens flowing abounding with delights Beda and Brightman read it Innixa leaning upon her Beloved And so our Translation The quarrell betwixt these Expositors is not so great but I conceive it may easily be thus taken up 1. Leaning is a posture of familiarity And she that is so bold as to leane upon her Beloveds arme is surely lodged in her Beloveds heart and is associans marrying or associatura about to marry to her Beloved and 2. Leaning is a posture of love too She that leanes loves and surely she takes pleasure in her posture she takes delight in her Beloveds company Upon her Beloved Christ Jesus who loves her and having first loved her is now beloved of her He is called Her to denote her propriety in him Thus you have the sence of the former part of the Text. The Church or the beleeving soule fancies that the world seeing her keep her hold on Christ in saddest conditions and keep a close communion with Christ in the midst of briars and thorns in a barren heath and dry ground in the midst of trials would be ready either out of ignorance not knowing the power of grace that upheld and helpt and sustained her or else admiring her happy and glorious condition that in the wildernesse she had such a Beloved to leane upon or admiring the strangnesse of her constancy and patience that she would adhere to Christ at such a low ebbe would either by way of scoffing or admiring cry out Who is this that nothing will part from Christ Or Who is this that Jesus Christ will thus owne and uphold in saddest conditions Or Who is this What power is this that upholds this man or woman in such estates as every one else would bee lost in Who is this that commeth by the feet of faith and patience up out of these deep sad wildernes-straights and yet comes up with such a fixed temper of spirit with such a stayed mind and with such a stedfastnesse of reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ Who is this that commeth up Thus you have the former part opened It followes now in the Text. I raised thee up under the Apple-tree there thy mother brought thee forth there she brought thee forth that bare thee For the opening of these words and making my way cleare these two things must be resolved 1. Whose part of the Dialogue whose speech these words be 2. What the meaning of them is The first great question is whose part in this dialogue of love these are This is certaine they are either Christ's or the beleevers the opinions of men are divided about it Some think that the words are the continued speech of the Spouse their great reason is because the words both before it and after it are the Spouses Of this opinion are Gregory Aquinas Lyra Hierom yea and learned Mercer and M. Ainsworth There are some others that think they are the words of Jesus Christ minding the Spouse how he raised up his Church say some which I doe not deny so they doe not limit it to the body of beleevers collectively for my owne part I strongly incline to the latter viz. That the words are the words of Christ my reasons are 1. Partly because the 4 verse containes a phrase of speech with which she had twice closed a speech before viz. chap. 3. 5 6. chap. 5. 8. and partly because of the congruity which appeares to me in the sence thus The Spouse before had seemed to cast out words as if she had bin almost ashamed of Christs company and by her walking with him had made her selfe a laughing stock or a wondering stock to the world for so the phrase Who is this may also be taken to which Christ replies I raised thee c. as if he should have said and do I not deserve this and a great deale more too Remember but what I have done for thee I have raised thee up under the Apple-tree c. To which as overcome with love the soule replies v. 6. Set me as a seale c. As if she should say Truth indeed Lord thou hast done it O set me now as a seale upon thine arme as a seale upon thy heart c. A third reason is the incongruity of the sence if the word be taken as the words of the Spouse which will further appeare in the opening of the words The first question being resolved I come to the second To shew you what is the meaning of these words In doing of which 1. I shall shew you the opinion of others 2. I shall reject most of them shewing you reason why I doe so 3. I shall give you my owne opinion concerning the words and reasons for it Sort. 1 1. I will begin with such expositors as would have these words to be the Spouses words and these are either Papists or Protestants The popish expositions run together I say they that is the Spouse the beleeving soule raised thee awakened and applied thee under the apple-tree hanging upon the crosse Gregory saith that the apple-tree is procul dubio arbor sanctae crucis the tree of the holy Crosse Sort. 2 M. Ainsworth and Mercer carry it another way I saith M. Ainsworth that is the Spouse raised thee up by earnest prayer Psa 44. 24. Raised up Christ under the apple-tree the tree of free grace and life mentioned Chap. 2. 3. To this sence