I would make supplication to my Judge And what is the supplication that I would make unto him Even that which his own holy Spirit hath taught me to make and will cause him to hear That he will not be extream to mark what is done amiss Psal. 130. 2. Lord hear the voice of my supplications for what even for this that thou shouldst not mark iniquities as it follows If thou Lord shouldst mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand But there is forgiveness with thee that thou maist be feared This is the favourable proceeding by which I hope to be acquitted for why hast thou taught me to believe the forgiveness of sins unless I may attain what I do believe And if I may attain forgiveness of my sins here how shall I be condemned or punished for them hereafter since that is no forgiveness which either holds guilty to condemn or holds as guilty to punish and torment I do then believè that God will proceed in Judging me not according to the Law which requires an absolute obedience without sin but according to the Gospel which admits of Repentance for the forgiveness of sins Thus hath the Doctor of the Gentiles long since determined Rom. 2. 16. In the day when God shall Judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel Not according to the Law which will condemn all that have been guilty of any sin but according to the Gospel which will condemn none but the unbelieving and impenitent sinners For the Gospel pronounceth sentence of Absolution to all that Believe So Mark 16. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned Where damnation is denounced not for breaking the Law but for rejecting the Gospel And again John 3. 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life The words speak four such truths as the Angels desire to look into and men can never enough look upon yet four Miracles rather then Truths 1. That God who was provoked to inflict Death should offer Life and that Everlasting Life 2. That he should offer it to the world which had so provoked him 3. That he should offer it by sending his only begotten Son away from himself into the world 4. That he should so send this Son as to give him giving his only Son the Son of his love to give life to those that hated him and more deserved his hatred That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Since then I know that I believe why should I fear that I shall perish Why should I think that I shall not have this everlasting life which the Father hath promised the Son hath purchased and the Holy-Spirit hath sealed for I can say with a thankful heart and a chearful voice In Te Domine speravi ne confundar in aeternum Psal. 71. 1. In thee O Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to confusion deliver me in thy righteousness I pray not to be delivered in mine own righteousness but in thine Deliver me in thy Righteousness O God the Father of heaven for thou hast promised deliverance Deliver me in thy Righteousness O God the Son Redeemer of the world for thou hast purchased deliverance Deliver me in thy Righteousness O God the Holy-Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son for thou hast sealed both the Promise and the purchase of deliverance Deliver me in thy Righteousness O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God for I trust on thy Promise on thy Purchase on thy Seal for deliverance For with thee is the Fountain of life in thy light shall we see light Psal. 36. 9. My soul desires nothing but Life and Light for as a Spirit she was made for Life as an Intellectual or Rational spirit she was made for Light And she must go to God for both She must go to him for Life for with thee is the Fountain of Life and she must go to him for Light for in thy Light shall we see Light And the Life is before the Light even as Living is before Seeing The soul cannot work before she sees and she cannot see before she lives so that Life is in truth given before the work and cannot possibly be given for it And will you know who gives both Life and Light Saint John will tell you John 1. 4. In him was Life and the Life was the Light of men Life and Light both proceed from the Eternal Son of God and Life before Light I had Life in him before I had Light from him He purchased the Life before he gave the Light and therefore sure he hath not given the Light to take away the Life I know it is said That we must all appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ that every one may bear the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5. 10. And I confess I have done very bad things in my body but since my Saviour hath already born them for me must I still fear to bear them for my self Christ is called The Mediator of the New-Testament Heb. 9. 15. It is not said The Mediator of the New-Covenant as in other places but of the New-Testament for a Covenant doth wholly depend upon mutual conditions which if either partie fail the Covenant is broken and made of none effect But a Testament is a thing meerly of Grace and Liberality without any condition and so may be fulfilled meerly out of the goodness of the Testator And this goodness is the support and comfort of my soul I am afraid of the Covenant and I flie to the Testament even to that Testament by which I am made a child an heir even an heir of God and joint heir with Christ Rom. 8. 17. Wherefore I cannot but hope that he will Judge to me the Inheritance which he hath already given me by his own Will and Testament For I look for him to appear the second time without sin unto salvation Heb. 9. 28. not only without sin in himself for he never had any but also without sin in me and all his members from whom he hath taken away all For the death of Christ is doubly beneficial to all true Believers First in respect of his Priest-hood that he hath expiated their sin Secondly in respect of his Testament That he hath given them an Inheritance I dare not deny the first the benefit of his Priest-hood for he is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world And why should I doubt the second the benefit of his Testament since he did therefore take away the sin that he might give the Inheritance I confess that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 9. whether Fornicators or Idolaters or Adulterers or Thieves or
Covetous or Drunkards or Revilers or Extortioners or guilty of any other kind of unrighteousness like to these but my belief is That I having repented of my unrighteousness and forsaken it shall no longer be accounted as unrighteous For so it follows such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God In that it is said ye were such before ye were washed and justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God it is evident that after your Justification and Sanctification you are not such Be it then taken for granted which cannot be denyed for truth himself hath said it That every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof at the day of Judgement Mat. 12. 36. yet sure not if they have given an account of it already or rather Christ hath given an account for them in that they have by a lively faith embraced his All-sufficient satisfaction and by an earnest Repentance are admitted to it and instated in it Their sins shall be laid open before the face of men and Angels as Davids or as Saint Peters to the glory of Gods Justice in acquitting them not as Sauls or Judas's to the glory of Gods Justice in condemning them If it shall be Recorded for it is a Problem of Divinity that the Text hath not so positively determined but that learned men think they may abound in their own sense concerning it I say if it shall be Recorded how David and Saint Peter sinned it shall also be Recorded how they repented If it shall be declared thâ—…t Demas did forsake Saint Paul having loved this present world 2 Tim. 4. 10. it shall also be declared that the same Demas did afterwards repent and turn back again to Saint Paul whiles he was still a Prisoner of Jesus Christ and then became his fellow-labourer Epist. to Philemon v. 24. For without doubt as much as they shall be terrified at the sight of their sins so much they shall be comforted at the sight of their faith and repentance In Christo simul summum Gaudium summa Tristitia saith Gabr. in 3. sent dist 15. In Christ there was the greatest Joy and the greatest Sadness at the same time though not in the same respect his Joy was from his union with God his Sadness was from his union with man and the imputation of our sins And possibly think some it may be so with the best Christians in that great and dreadful day when their bodies shall be re-united with their souls and all their sins represented whether of Body or of Soul They may have the greatest sorrow say they in regard of themselves and of their own sins and yet have the greatest Joy in regard of their Saviour and of his free-grace Saint Paul prayeth for Onesiphorus That he may find mercy of the Lord in that day 2 Tim. 1. 18. Therefore it is probable he shall need mercy in that day though he shall not need so much as he shall find And Saint Peter speaks of blotting out sins in the times of Refreshing and Restitution of all things Acts 3. 19 21. that is at Christs second coming for till then there will not be a restitution of all things And this consideration though it is not cause enough why the living should pray for the dead and yet without doubt it is one of the best causes that can be alledged yet sure it is cause more then enough why the living should pray for themselves even after their Justification and still say Forgive us our trespasses For it seems there is some kind of forgiveness at least a general Absolution reserved until the day of Judgement What is it then will there be the same terrour to the just and to the unjust No doubtless And this may appear from the very Titles which are given by Saint Paul to the day of Judgement Rom. 2. 5. And they are three A day of Wrath A day of Revelation and A day of Righteous Judgement The day of Righteous Judgement doth equally concern all sinners whether they have been Penitent or Impenitent but the day of Wrath concerns only the Impenitent sinners and the day of Revelation doth likewise chiefly if not only concern them I say the day of wrath concerns only the Impenitent sinners such as after their hardness and impenitent hearts have treasured up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath But to those that have faithfully and penitently served God for true Faith never yet went without Repentance it will be a day of Exultation and Redemption he hath called it so that hath made it so Luke 21. 27 28. Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory sc. to Judge the world But what then must ye therefore that have been his Disciples and Followers be terrified as if he were coming to take Vengeance of you No you must then look up and lift up your heads for your Redemption draweth nigh This same day that is to them a day of Vengeance and a day of Wrath is to you a day of Redemption to lift up your heads and much more a day of Exulcation to lift up your hearts And so also the day of Revelation doth chiefly if not only concern those who are concerned in the day of wrath for as for the Believers and the Penitent if there shall be any Revelation of their sins for some do doubt it it shall be so in order to Gods Justice as not to their punishment For the Text plainly saith of them I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more Jer. 31. 34. And so again All his transgressions that he hath committed shall not be mentioned unto him whatever shall be done concerning the Revelation of his sins shall be done only that Gods Justice may be cleared in his Absolution not that his soul may be terrified by the Representation What then though I shall see with Ezekiel a hand sent unto me with a Roul a dismal Roul written within and without full of all the sins that ever I committed in Thought Word and Deed as long as I shall not see written therein Lamentations and Mourning and Wo unto the sinner For Christ Jesus that came into this world to save sinners will assuredly in the next world compleat that salvation I will then willingly say with Saint Paul Quorum primus Ego Of whom I am chief 1 Tim. 1. 15. Or with the antient Missal Dominica secunda post Epiph. feria quarta Quorum primus Ego Ego sum Of whom I I am chief The earnestness of my Repentance shall bring me to an often Repetition of my sins I will rather add to their number in my confession of them then diminish from it I will rather say That I am a double sinner then that I am no sinner
of His mercy Psal. 130. 4. But there is forgiveness with thee that thou maist be feared The Unregenerate fears God for his Vengeance but the Regenerate fears him for his Forgiveness He looks not on God as he is in himself A consuming Fire but as He is in His Son a still small voice God is a still small voice only in his Enternal Word In him he wil speak Peace unto his People and to his Saints Psal. 85. 8. But if he speak not in His Son Then he is a God speaking out of the midst of the Fire Deut. 4. 33. And his Voice is accordingly with Thunderings and Lightnings a voice great in Power and full of Majesty such as breaketh the Cedars of Lebanon Psal. 29. and is able to rend our stony Hearts but by no means to comfort and raise up our dejected Souls Wherefore the true Believer looks upon God in Christ where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God The right hand of God is terrible in it self but not now Christ is sitting at it The Psalmist cals upon God to pluck His right hand out of his Bosom to consume his Adversaries and his blaspheming Enemies Ps. 74. And which of us is not so much Gods enemy as to be speedily consumed Did not the son of God our blessed Saviour sit on his Fathers right hand to keep him from plucking it out of his Bosome to consume us Or when he plucks it out to interpose betwixt us and it That God cannot strike us but through the loins of his only begotten and only beloved son So secure is that Soul which is in Christ That it may draw neer with a true Heart in full assurance of Faith Heb. 10. 22. Even to the right Hand of God T is an orderly motion of the Soul Going to God in Christ That is the fourth If your Affections carry your soul to God thus Voluntarily thus Universally thus Judiciously thus Orderly T is an invincible argument an undeniable Proof that your soul lives in God and therefore may comfortably from him expect Everlasting Life For you may then say with Saint Paul Gal. 2 20. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me And the life which I now â—…ive in thâ—… Flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me Many men have measured their Faith by the strength of its perswasion and have mistaken Themselves for they have taken Phancy for Faith but never was any man mistaken in his Faith who measured it by the strength of its Affection This is the surest way to know whether you have a true Faith in Christ and whether your soul doth truly live in him by that Faith And if you shall yet further ask what degree of Faith is required to make the soul ascend up unto its Saviour I must answer it is not the measure or the Degree but the Sincerity of Faith that maketh it a saving Faith and placeth the man that hath it in the state of Salvation wherein we may see the infinite Goodness of God towards the souls of men For were such or such a degree of Faith required to justifie a Sinner no man could ever have any comfortable Assurance of his Justification for no man can exactly know the Degree of his own Faith And he that believes the most stedfastly had need to say Lord I believe Help thou my Unbelief Mar. 9. 24. He may undertake for the Sincerity He cannot for the strength or measure of his Faith But now since it is the True and Lively Faith that justifies it is enough that a man only know he doth truly believe and so rest and rely upon the merits of his Saviour for his justification For this is the Apostolical Benediction Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity Eph. 6. 24. Sincerity not sufficiency of love is the Touchstone to try the Soul whether it be in the state of Grace The Apostle saith not in Abundance for fear of disturbing the Peace of souls for who can tell when he loveth the Lord Jesus Christ abundantly considering how often He sins against Him But He saith In sincerity to establish and confirm the Peace of Souls For every one that Loveth knoweth the sincerity of his own love the Soul being an Infallible judge of its own Act in the Quality when it may easily be mistaken in the Quantity Saint Peters threefold denyal of his Master had stopped his mouth from Professing the Abundance but not from Professing the sincerity of his Love Yea Lord saith he Thou knowest that I love Thee Iohn 21. 15. He knew well the sincerity of his own Love or He durst not have appealed to the Searcher of Hearts to be Judge of that Sincerity As if he had said Though I do not know That I love thee sufficiently yet I do know That I love thee truly and sincerely And thou knowest it too nor could 〈◊〉 truly say Thou knowest that I love thee if I did not know it my self O happy man whose conscience bears him witness That he Truly Repents Truly Believes and Truly Loves For He can promise to himself not only Admittance to God but also Acceptance with Him For if he can say from the bottome of his Heartâ—… Lord I repent He must be comforted iâ—… This That He who came to call sinners to Repentance Mat. 9. 13. will not reject a Sinner that is Repenting He thaâ—… promised to spare a whole Nation for one Converts sake Jer. 5. 1. if but one of them did Seek Truth who had formerly despised it will much more spare that soul in which himself hath wrought a true Conversion For he cannot despise the works of his own hands though he cannot but despise and abandon the works of Ours Those words then of the man that was born blind God heareth not sinners had little reason to Trouble Saint Augustine for fear no mans Prayers should be heard for that all are sinners which made him find out this exception rather then exposition Verbum coeci adhuc inuncti i. e. nondum illuminati ideò non est Ratum This was the saying of a blind man before his eyes were fully opened to see or his heart was illuminated to know the truth and therefore it holds not But we need no such exception for this is one of those common Notions which the Devil and Sin could not blot out of the hearts of men and therefore we find it in effect avowed by a Heathen Poet Hom. Il. a. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God heareth those that obey him and consequently heareth not the disobedient and unrighteous which is all one with this God heareth not sinners and this may be verified saith Aquinas de Peccatore in quantum est peccator 22 ae qu. 83. art 16. Of sinners as far forth as they are sinners for so God heareth them not yet he may and doth hear them
when â—…we meet with such Preachers we have reaâ—…on to be afraid of such Doctrine Souldiers can easily teach others to serve them but they can hardly teach themselves much less others to serve God And now you may also if you please see a third Quake more terrible then the other two not a quaking of Earth nor a quaking of bodies but a quaking of souls in the first Sect of Quakers They who before quaked for fear of an Angel now much more quaking for fear of Devils But be not you O Christian Souls afraid of that sight The Angel himself saying Fear not ye for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified Mat. 28. 5. not seek much less help to crucifie him This reason doth no less concern all other seekers that seek Jesus which was crucified then it did the women They may well seek without fear for they are sure to find with joy They shall find that their Lord is risen and calleth them to rise with him Immediately in their souls Immortally in their bodies Incorruptably both in souls and bodies This will be thâ—… best exercise of thy hope that Christ thâ—… Head being risen will make thee his member partaker of his joyfull Resurrection which consideration made our Church compose a choice Hymn of purpose for Easter day to express the joy and exultation oâ—… true Christian souls for the Resurrection of Christ And I suppose none will condemn her of singularity or novelty concerning that Hymn although it is not to be found entirely either in Greek or Latine Liturgies for there is no doubt of her communicating with the Church of Christ whiles she communicates with the Spirit of Christ And in this Hymn she immediately communicates with the Spirit of Christ because it is all taken out of his Word Rom. 6. 8. and 1 Cor. 15. 20 c. And though the Hymn it self may possibly be taken out of good Christians mouths yet surely the Joy of it can never be taken out of their hearts That Christ Rising again from the dead now dieth not Death from henceforth hath no power upon him and in that it hath no power upon him I am sure it shall not long have a power upon me And that other Christ is risen again the first fruits of them that sleep 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Theophil He that goes first sure hath some to follow him There cannot be first-fruits but there must be after-fruits This is my Hope the head being risen will not leave his members for ever in the dust My soul and my body cannot be now so unwillingly parted in the Death As they shall hereafter be joyfully United in the Resurrection from the dead Lastly Thy love and charity will best exercise it self about his glorious Ascention Thou wilt there see hin attended on Earth by his Disciples ready to receive his Instructions Thou wilt there see him attended in the Air by a Cloud ready to receive his Person Thou wilt there see him attended in heaven by millions of Angels and glorified Souls ready to congratulate his reception If these considerations will not make thee love the Christan Faith that teacheth such heavenly mysteries it is because thou hast dull affections If they will not make thee love thy Saviour Christ who hath prepared such heavenly mercies it is because thou hast no affections This will be the best exercise of thy love to inflame thy soul with the contemplation of those Unspeakable joyes which cannot more Inflame then they will content it Christ ascended into heaven What hast thou to do but in heart and mind thither to ascend after him that thou maist continually dwell with him He is gone to prepare a place for thee what hast thou left to do but to prepare thy self for that place and beseech him to assist and bless thee in that preparation SECT II. The soul Divided from the body when it dies by a violent separation THE Soul of man had no subsistence before his body and is therefore unwilling to have a subsistence without it Creatio infusio sunt simul respectu animae is the Tenent of the School The soul is not created till the body be fitted to receive it so that in the same instant wherein it is Created it is also received into the Body And that 's the reason That coming cloathed into the world she is so much troubled to think that she must at last go as it were naked out of it Hence it is that though we groan in this tabernacle being burdenâ—…d with the miseries and much more with the sins of our Flesh yet we do not desire to be Uncloathed but cloathâ—…d upon that mortality might be swallowed up of Life 2 Cor. 5. 4. That is we would so lay aside our burden as not to lay aside our Flesh and would have our mortal bodies not by Death put off their mortality but by a change put on Immortality Wherefore the Union of the soul with the body being altogether natural the separation of the soul from the body must needs be against nature Consequently it is not possible that a meer natural man should deliberately desire to die for nature cannot desire its own destruction and therefore a deliberate desire of Death cannot possibly proceed from nature but from grace which alone can make a man both live contentedly and die comfortably where there 's a great measure of grace there is also a great measure of contentment in life and of comfort in death In so much that if we do not wilfully shut our eyes we cannot but see if we do not wilfully shut our hearts we cannot but believe if we do not wilfully shut our mouths against the truth we cannot but confess that Godly and Religâ—…ous men do continually dye with more Pâ—…tience and comfort then we dare live bâ—… the original of this Patience of this Comfort is not from the man but from thâ—… Godliness For thereby alone he is able tâ—… say with Saint Paul For me to live is Christ and to dye is gain Phil. 1. 21. To me tâ—… live is Christ for I die unto sin to me tâ—… die is gain for I have lived unto righteousness Or else as Beza expounds that place mihi enim est Christus in vita in morte lucrum Christ is a gain to me both iâ—… life and death To talk of gain in death to a natural man were to make him mad or to think you so for he loseth his soul he loseth himself but to talk of gain iâ—… death to the spiritual man is to make him the more sensible of his spiritual comfort and Condition for the less he hath of the Flesh the more he hath of the Spirit So that though death takes from him his Body yet it gives him his Soul though it take from him his Soul yet it gives him his Saviour Be it then that death takes from him all things but his God yet
is deformed so it is also depraved by â—…t Nor may we here alledge as before the necessity of nature for though the deformity of mans flesh may in some sort be ascribed to the condition of his nature yet the depravation of it may not for God may be the Author of a comparative deformity for that is but a lesser good but by no means of a positive depravation for that is in it self an Evill or a Sin and he cannot be the Author of Sin Wherefore it is a dangerous Position which some late Divines have greedily embraced and as violently maintained That there was the same inordinate propensity in the nature of man to the works of the flesh before the Fall as is in it since the Fall Onely then it was restrained and fettered by original justice or righteousness but is now let loose by original sin This opinion is in it self dangerous because it casts a blasphemous aspersion upon God For he is the Author of Nature and therefore the Author oâ—… the necessary conditions thereof as wâ—… those that flow from the matter as froâ—… the Form but in its consequences it iâ—… no less then damnable For if it be granted that the rebellion of the sensitive Appetite against the dictates of Reason dotâ—… flow from the very principles and being 〈◊〉 the flesh then it must follow that it cannot be a sin for what is natural is no sinfull sin being no less a Monster oâ—… nature then a Monster is a sin of nature and consequently that a man maâ—… in and of himself attain to such a perfection of righteousness as to say meerly ouâ—… of humility not according to the truth forgive us our trespasses A tenent anathematized by the second Milevitane Council in which Alypius and St. Augustinâ—… were present as appears by the Synodicaâ—… Epistle in the Canon in these words Sâ—… quis asserat haec verba dominicae orationis demitte nobis debita nostra à sanctis diâ—… humiliter non veraciter Anathema sit the very same with the 117. Canon in thâ—… Council of Carthage as it is set forth bâ—… Balsamon who thus puts it into Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And when yoâ—… see Binius and Balsamon so well agree yoâ—… may look on the Tenent not as Anathemaâ—…ized by one Council but by the Catholick Church Therefore we must conclude that â—…his inordinate desire of the flesh against â—…he spirit in man is not a condition but a â—…orruption of his nature and entered â—…ot into the flesh till sin entered into the spirit Then and not till then did the body refuse to be subject to the soul when the soul refused to be subject unto God then that which before was a body of life was presently made a body of death Rom. 7. 24. Not of Gods but of mans own making God made the body but man made the death The soul in that it is united to the body hath by nature an inclination to the things of the body but it hath onely by sin not by nature an inordinate an unruly inclination to them The desires of the flesh are from nature but it is only from sin there is a depravation and irregularity in any of those desires Thirdly mans flesh is depressed by sin for it cannot be depraved by the guilt of sin and not be depressed by the burden of that guilt Wherefore we may justly complain of a weight that is upon us whiles we cannot but complain of the sin that doth so easily beset us Heb. 12. 1. Man now groaning under a two-fold burden the one of his flesh and the otheâ—… of his sins which is the heavier of thâ—… two and makes the burden of the flesâ—… the more burdensome and unsupportable And as in sin there is macula reatuâ—… poena The pollution the guilt the punishment So in the flesh because of sin therâ—… is Deformity Depravation and Depression Deformity from the pollution Depravation from the guilt and Depression from the punishment of sin I will therefore be glad and rejoyce in the wasting of my flesh as I would rejoyce in the deliverance from my blemish that most deforms me from my corruption that most depraveâ—… me and from my burden that most depresses me It is a sweet contemplation of Aquinas 12 ae q. 42. art 5. That spirituall things the more we consider them the greater they appear so that we may lose our selves in the consideration of them if at least we can be said to lose our selves whiles we seek and finde our God But Corporal things the more we consider them the less they appear and vanish by degrees till at length they are quite losâ—… in their consideration So is it with my flesh the longer I consider it the more iâ—… wasts and becomes less in my opinion And therefore it is but reason that the â—…onger I wear it the more it should wast â—…nd become less in its own substance till â—…t length it come to nothing CHAP. II. The Comforts of the Soul against Death THere is nothing more profitable for us then to think of death yet of all our thoughts that is the least welcome and the most terrible for death is the King of Terrors when nothing else will draw us unto God that will frighteâ—… us to him when nothing else will frighteâ—… us from our beloved sins that will makâ—… us affraid of sinning whence it is the wisâ—… mans advice Remember thy last end anâ—… sin no more Excellent is the Casuisâ—… distinction of Articulus mortis verus 〈◊〉 Praesumptus That there is one point oâ—… death in Truth another in Presumption Articulus mortis non intelligitur solus ilâ—… in quo quis moritur sed etiam ille in quo â—…ori probabiliter timetur saith Navar. The point of Death is not only that whereâ—… a man doth actually die but also that wherein he may probably dye so that any â—…mminent danger any dangerous sickness â—…s to be looked on as the point of Death Nay yet further according to the Christianity though not the Criticism of Caâ—…uisticall Divinity there being not one moment of our life exempted from the â—…anger of Death the point of Death doth 〈◊〉 effect pierce through our whole life â—…uch more should it pierce through our â—…earts As many mischiefs as are in the â—…orld so many dangers as many dangers 〈◊〉 many Deaths Let this wicked world â—…en have this priviledge That though it is â—…e worst that ever was to teach a man to â—…e because its doctrines are so dubious â—…et it is the best that ever was to teach a â—…an to die because its practices are so â—…ngerous Welcome then all ye mischiefs â—…d outrages of ungodly men for their â—…es that suffer them though not for â—…eir sakes that do them We can easily â—…sh the one less sin in their doings â—…t we may not wish the other less beneâ—… in their sufferings See the admirable Providence of God towards his Prophet he
give thy self to thy God and it shall be with thee as it was with Cornelius thy Memorial shall be with God thy Comfort with thy self thy Conversation with an Angel No maâ—… can be exempted from the terrours of 〈◊〉 dreadful Judgement but he that dares trust God with his soul and no man dares trust God with his soul that is not either Innoâ—…ent or Penitent And if you will ask me â—…hich of these two dares trust him most 〈◊〉 who my self am laden with sin must say â—…he Penitent For the Innocent offers unâ—… God his own Righteousness but the â—…enitent offers unto him his Sons Righteâ—…sness and certainly he dares most trust â—…od who offers him that Righteousness â—…hich he is sure God can least refuse in â—…dgement SECT III. The best way to expell the terrours of the Day of Judgement THE greatest happiness of a Christian is not to be troubled in Consciâ—…ce but the next to this is speedily to be â—…livered from all his troubles He is hapâ—…st that prevents the terrours of a guilty â—…nscience but he is next happy that exâ—…ls them And we have all most need to â—…k after this for there is guiltiness enough â—…thin the most innocent soul to betray it â—…d open the doors to let in these terrours and therefore we must labour to see thâ—… be faith enough in the guilty soul to expâ—… and thrust them out again And surely the Doctrine of Justification by Work though it pretend to be a great friend Righteousness yet is it in this respect great enemy to the Righteous wâ—… can never attain to that perfection Righteousness as to be able to stand up his own legs in the last Judgement Theâ—…fore Saint Paul imputeth our peace 〈◊〉 God to Justification by faith Rom. 5. Being justified by Faith we have peace 〈◊〉 God through our Lord Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 is a League that cannot be broken a Peâ—… that cannot be disturbed which is throâ—… our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the 〈◊〉 from heaven said This is my beloved Sâ—… whom I am well pleased Mat. 3. 17. 〈◊〉 that voice cannot but speak comfort to according to the Learned Zanchies gâ—… lib. 4. de Tribus Elohim cap. 1. 〈◊〉 beneficia iis paucis verbis docet Paâ—… Christum nobis Communicari Dilectiâ—… Reconciliationis Adoptionis seu Regâ—…tionis Three great blessings inâ—… few words doth the Father himself 〈◊〉 us are communicated by Christ to good Christian the blessing of Love â—…e is beloved in himself we beloved in â—…m the blessing of Filiation or Adoptiâ—…n for he was his Son by nature we his â—…ns by adoption and grace And the â—…lessing of Reconciliation for God is wellâ—…leased with Christ for his own sake and with us for Christs sake For wherefore â—…d there come forth blood and water out of thy side O sweet Jesus was it not that â—…he water should wash my soul and the â—…lood should heal it I confess that I have â—…ierced thee by my sins more deeply then ever the souldiers spears pierced thee yet â—…et me still look on thee by a lively faith that the Scripture may be daily more and more fulfilled which saith They shall look on him whom they pierced John 19. 37. Thus did holy men heretofore look upon thee nor had Saint Bernard any other answer to return to the Devil when he accused him as he supposed at Gods Judgement-seat but only this Fateor non sum Dignus Ego nec propriis possum meritis Regnum obtinere Coelorum Caeterum duplici jure illud obtinâ—…ns Dominus meus Haereditate sc. Patris merito Passionis Altero ipse contentus Alterum mihi donat ex cujus Dono jure illud mihi Vindicans non confundor in vita S. Bernardi lib. 1. cap. 12. I confess that I am not worthy nor can I plead mine own merits why I should obtain the Kingdom of heaven But my Lord having a double right thereto one from his Father by inheritance the other from himself by the merit of his Passions he being contented with one of them hath given the other unto me and I claiming heaven by his gift cannot be confuted and much less confounded in my claim Thus hath Saint Bernard taught me to answer the Devil and sure he is too old too cunning a Sophister to be answered by any Fallacy There is no silencing him but by a down-right Truth whose evidence is undenyable and whose power is unresistable Nay yet more Thus hath Saint Anselm taught me to answer God himself in the form of Visitation of the sick antiently used in this Kingdom for Saint Anselm that used it was Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who after some questions to the dying man concerning his Faith and Repentance thus concludes his exhortation for the quieting and setling of his conscience I will put the words into English as thinking it most reasonable that what equally concerns All should be in a Tongue equally understood by All. Therefore still give him that is your blessed Saviour thanks whiles your breath is in your body that he was pleased to die for you place all your confidence in his death commit your self wholly to it involve your self wholly in it cover your self wholly with it And if God go about to Judge thee say unto him Lord I object the death of my Saviour Jesus Christ between me and thee and thy Judgement If he say That thou hast deserved damnation then say unto him Lord I object the death of my Jesus between me and my evil deservings And I bring with me the merit of his most worthy Passion instead of the merits which I should have had but alas I have not Then let the sick man say thrice Into thy hands Lord I commend my spirit and let those that stand by say so with him and let him die securely for he shall never see the Eternal Death Thus did the antient Church think it not only comfortable but also conformable Divinity That Christ alone should answer all Objections that were made against the soul And yet a Church much antienter then this did believe and teach the same truth even the Church in the Apostles times Heb. 3. 6. Whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing oâ—… the hope firm unto the end Whose house arâ—… we that is all we that are Christians the whole Catholike Church for particular men and Churches are but several stones in this living building it is the whole Christian Church that is the House of Christ And that is his House upon this condition If it hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end as if he had said By the same means that we are built up in Christ we are still preserved in his building By the same means that we are contained we are also continued in his House that is by Faith and Hope in him By holding fast the confidence and the rejoycing of the hope unto the end By laying hold on my
sins of the whole world but thou wast pleased to shed many drops of it to shew that there was satisfaction still left for the sins of many worlds Lord hath thy blood satisfied for more sins then we can commit and shall it not satisfie for those sins that we have forsaken and do detest Hast thou purchased mercy for more then do repent and wilt thou not shew mercy on those to whom thou hast given Repentance Hast thou been so long calling us that thou shouldst at last reject us Hast thou so long promised salvation that thou shouldst at last deny it Thou hast purchased Redemption for us by thy blood thou hast promised it in thy Word Thou hast purchased more then thou hast promised and hast thou promised less then thou wilt perform I am thy Debtor for the Purchase and I owe thee more then I am able if not more then I am willing to pay But thou art my Debtor for the promise I could not oblige thee by my desert but thou hast obliged thy self by thy Word and the Obligation is much the stronger for being of thy making then if it had been of mine This is the Obligation that I trust to the Obligation whereby thou art obliged to thy self to thine own blood to thine own truth Help thy servant whom thou hast Redeemed with thy precious blood and to whom thou hast promised the benefit of this Redemption in thy Word Thou wilt Judge me for those sins for which thou thy self hast satisfied and is it possible that the sentence of thy Judgement should disannual the merit of thy satisfaction How comfortable are those words of thine to my guilty soul The Father Judgeth no man but hath committed all Judgement to the Son John 5. 22. For when I look upon the Father I must needs say of him Our God is a consuming fire Heb. 12. 29. He is as fire and I am as stubble easily consumed my sins have made my soul combustible which his goodness had made impassible Have so much fewel about me and within me that I cannot but dread the fire therefore I do most exceedingly rejoyce that the Father will not Judge me but hath committed all Judgement to the Son For in the Son I cannot but see Flesh of my Flesh and Bone of my Bone And since no man yet ever hated his own Flesh Ephes. 5. 29. I will not think that the Saviour of man will be the first to hate that Flesh in me which he hath in himself I will then no longer stagger at those words of the Apostle That the Lord the righteous Judge hath laid up a Crown of righteousness for them and will give it to them and to them only that love his appearing 2 Tim. 4. 8. For now I my self cannot but love it I cannot but love his appearing as my Judge when my soul doth magnifie him as my Lord and my spirit doth rejoyce in him as God my Saviour For to me being thus prepared and disposed as I ought it is all one to look for that blessed hope and to look for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity Tit. 2. 13. He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and therefore it is nothing else but looking for that blessed hope to look for his appearing to the compleating of our Redemption Divines tell us of a three-fold Advent or Coming of Christ to Holy and Religious men Adventus ad Redemptionem Consolationem Remunerationem his coming to their Redemption to their Comfort and to their Reward His first coming was in the Flesh when he took on him their Nature His second coming was in the Spirit when he imparted unto them of his grace His third coming will be in Power when he will impart unto them his Glory His first coming was to Redeem them his second coming to Comfort them and therefore his third coming cannot be so much to Judge as to Reward them Himself hath said no less John 6. 40. This is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life Lord thou hast opened mine eyes to see thee here by Faith and wilt thou not hereafter open thy self that I may see thee by clear Vision And what priviledge is it that I may have everlasting life here where it is not if I may not have it hereafter where it is And yet for strengthening my faith thou hast said much more to shew that I cannot believe enough of thy goodness John 3. 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life And again John 5. 24. He that heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life it is as sure as if he had it already and shall not come into condemnation though he shall be Judged yet he shall not be condemned in Judgement but is passed from death to life He is already passed from the Death of sin to the Life of Grace and shall assuredly pass from the life of Grace to the life of Glory And indeed what is the summe of the whole Gospel but the Promise of Eternal life upon condition of Faith in Christ This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal life and this life is in his Son he that hath the Son hath life 1 John 5. 11 12. Have I life in having thee my Saviour and can I lose it in having thee my Judge O the immortal comfort that my soul enjoyes to think that though I have been to my Master in heaven a far worse servant then Onesimus was to Philemon not only to run away from him but also to rob him yet upon my true Repentance my Saviour will say to his Father on my behalf as Saint Paul did to his friend If thou count me a Partner and truly he is his Partner in the same God-head receive him as my self now he is invested with my righteousness if he hath wronged thee or oweth thee ought put that on mine account Saint Paul to Philemon v. 17 18. O Lord I owe thee so much that I can never say sufficiently and much less may leave off saying Forgive us our debts yet since thou hast already put my debts upon thy Sons account how wilt thou let them lie still on mine Didst thou not punish thy Son that thou mightest spare thy servant Or canst thou in Justice punish the same sin twice once in my Surety another time in me It was the great necessity of thy offended Justice to punish the sin and is it not as great a necessity of thy satisfied Justice to spare the sinner I will not then say He is to be my Judge whose Majesty I have honoured whose mercy I have embraced whose glory I have promoted whose goodness I have proclaimed whose presence I have desired for if I have done any of these
For being a Penitent sinner that is one of those sinners that Christ came to save as I have been chief in the sin so I shall be chief in the salvation The more I have seen mine own sins the more I shall see the salvation of my God It is a most comfortable observation of Divines That our Saviour Christ is now here in all the Bible called invisible And therefore that Doxologie in 1 Tim. 1. 17. Now unto the King Eternal Immortal Invisible the only wise God be honour and glory for ever and ever Amen is to be expounded of God the Father because the Word invisible is in it and our Saviour Christ is now here in all the Bible called invisible And truly blessed be his mercy I have hitherto found it so for when I have most seen my sins to trouble me I have most seen his salvation to relieve me And sure I am that though my sins should be never so visible at the last day yet they shall not be half so visible as my Saviour For I shall then certainly with Saint Stephen see Jesus standing on the right hand of God Acts 7. 55. I shall see him standing up as ready to give sentence but surely that sentence will be for me not against me For he is not willing to give sentence against me but sure he cannot give sentence against himself that is against his Word For a sentence against his Word is against himself His Word therefore being the truth because it is his Word who is the truth Therefore the sentence that shall be given at the last day can be no other then what is given already in Gods Word and in mine own conscience His Word hath pronounced a merciful sentence and I must never leave Rectifying my conscience till that pronounce sentence according to his Word SECT VI. Comforts against the last Judgement from the sentence that shall be pronounced A Sentence that is resolved on before the hearing of the cause though not pronounced till after it must needs be the sentence of an unrighteous Judge and is most like to be the sentence of an unrighteons Judgement But shall not the Judge of all the earth do right Gen. 18. 25. And how then can we now have comfort from the sentence he will pronounce at the last day since he cannot resolve upon a sentence before the hearing of the cause nor can we know before hand what is his resolution I answer The cause is heard here and the sentence is pronounced here though many men will not take notice of it And that which shall be pronounced hereafter shall not be a new sentence but a Publication of the old which may not unfitly be called an old sentence since it hath been twice pronounced here already once in Gods Word another time in our own consciences For the Spirit of God doth here Judge us in Gods Word And the Son of God will not thwart or contradict the Judgement of Gods Spirit but only ratifie and confirm it The word that I have spoken the same shall Judge him at the last day John 12. 48. that is the sentence at the last day shall be but a declaration and confirmation of the sentence that is already spoken in the Word And haply in this respect it is said That the Apostles shall Judge the world not only in regard of their persons as all other Saints shall Judge it by approving the sentence of the righteous Judge but also in regard of their Doctrine which shall be the rule of Judgement Wherefore if we can have comfort from the sentence that is already passed upon us by the Apostles we may have also comfort from the sentence that will be passed upon us by their Master And truly if we be not Hypocrites or Apostates but true and constant Christians we may have very great comfort from the sentence that is already passed upon us by the Apostles A comfort which no partial Judge here can give us though he resolve to come with omnia bene and to admit of none but of white suffrages for in vain doth the spirit of man set it self to absolve â—…hose whom the Spirit of God doth conâ—…emn And a comfort which no unrighteâ—…s Judge here can take from us though he â—…esolve to write his sentence as Draco did â—…is Laws in Characters of blood For in â—…ain doth the spirit of man set it self to â—…ondemn those whom the spirit of God â—…oth absolve For this is the sentence â—…assed upon us by the Apostles He that â—…elieveth on the Son hath everlasting life â—…ohn 3. 36. The whole Doctrine of the New-Testament driving at this That true â—…aith in Christ as it is not to be supposed without a true Christian life and conversation agreeable to the faith for it is in â—…ain to profess Christian and to live Atheâ—…st or to act Infidel so it cannot but deâ—…iver the true Believer from the guilt and â—…urden of all his sins For all the whole Gospel is nothing else but a Sermon upon â—…his Text of our Saviours own choosing John 11. 25 26. I am the resurrection and â—…he life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live And whosoever â—…iveth and believeth in me shall not die for â—…ver Words properly used by the Church as they were spoken by Christ himself at the burial of the dead For they are the chiefest comfort against Death because they are the chiefest comfort against Judgement And so hath the beloved Disciple explained them that leaned in his Masters bosom and thence got this soul-healing and soul-saving Divinity But if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin And again If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 7. and 9. Here is the true comfort against Judgement for if my soul be cleansed from all sin and unrighteousness I shall have reason not to dread but to desire the coming of my Judge And this Christian consolation cannot be separated from the true Christian Faith that is to say Faith in the blood of Christ which cleanseth us And this Christian Faith cannot be separated from a Christian conversation walking in the light nor from a Christian Communion we have fellowship one with another nor from Christian Repentance and Contrition if we confess our sins And wheresoever we find this Christian Faith and Christian Conversation and Communion and Contrition we may not deny the Christian Consolation For God himself hath said Comfort ye comfort ye my people Isa. 40. 1. They that are Gods people may not be deprived of Gods comforts And what are his comforts but as it follows that our warfare is accomplished and our iniquity is pardoned The beginning of the pardon is the end of the war her warfare is accomplished and her iniquity
is pardoned do both speak one and the same comfort unto the soul do both signifie one and the same peace Completa est malitia ejus saith the Vulgar translation for militia by a small mistake of the letter as we may suppose but none of the sense For our malitia is our militia our iniquity is our warfare The Hebrew word here used signifies not only the work but also the time of war And Rabbi David saith the Prophet here means The time that Jerusalem was to pass in Banishment or Captivity So that if we joyn the Text and the gloss together we shall find that sin is a time of war of banishment and of captivity Of war with God of banishment from God And of captivity not under God for he can be no Tyrant but under the Devil A sad time certainly as full of fears and jealousies as empty of joyes and comforts anâ—… therefore that must needs be a joyful time wherein this warfare this captivity thiâ—… banishment is at an end because our sin iâ—… pardoned To say this is to speak truly to the heart which is the Hebrew expression for speaking comfortably All other comforts go no farther then the ear then the outward man that his stock is increased his request granted his cause advanced it is only this comfort that enters into the heart and revives the inner man that the time of his warfare banishment and captivity are at an end because his sin is pardoned And this is the comfortable sentence that is already pronounced in Gods Word That he pardoneth and absolveth all them which truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel All our labour must be to get this same sentence derived from Gods Word into our own consciences And then surely in the mouth of two such witnesses the least whereof is no less then a thousand it is no doubt but the testimony will be fully and firmly established For as the word doth witness the thing infallibly true in it self so will the conscience witness it insallibly true to us The use of a witness is either for information in defect of evidence or for confirmation in defect of assurance and an infallible witness is both these together For he gives evidence from his testimony and assurance from his infallibility Such an infallible witness is a good conscience that is grounded and established on the Word of God and thence collecteth this comfortable sentence Whosoever truly believeth and heartily repenteth shall not come into condemnation But I do truly believe and heartily repent therefore I shall not come into condemnation The major proposition is clear by the testimony of Gods Word the minor is clear by the testimony of our own consciences which can certainly tell us whether we be hypocrites or true Believers whether we be Sheep to hear the voice of Christ and to follow him that he may give us eternal life John 10. 27 28. or whether we be Goats to follow our own hearts lusts so to persist and perish in our sins and the conclusion cannot but follow the premises Read over the sentence that is set down Matthew 25. and thou wilt easily by comparing thine own actions with that sentence see whether at the last Judgement thou art to be set on Christs right hand or on his left Thou wilt easily see which part of that sentence concerns thee And that part which thine own conscience pronounceth of thee here thy Judge will both pronounce and confirm hereafter I hope that with Mary thou hast chosen that good part and if so cannot but assure thee it shall never be taken from thee Luke 10. 42. For Christ will never reject any man that hath sate at his feet to exercise his humility and patience and heard his Word to exercise his Piety and Obedience He will never say Depart from me to those who here did love his company and enjoy his communion And what is their work who are of his communion but to know and love and praise him And they that are thus of his communion on earth can you think he will excommunicate in heaven Saint John sets forth this Judgement of the conscience very fully in few words 1 John 3. 19 20 21. saying v. 19. And hereby that is by loving in deed and in truth not in word or in tongue as appears from the former verse we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him That is we know that we truly love him and therefore may be well assured of his love For he that loves is assured of love for which cause Beza thus renders Saint James his words Mercy rejoyceth against damnation James 2. 13. For he that is truly merciful hath a special promise to assure him of mercy that he shall not be condemned in the last Judgement and this hard-hearted Age of ours would doubtless much more incline to mercy if we did seriously consider that the sentence of condemnation Mat. 25. is denounced against the unmerciful not against the unjust for taking away but against the unmerciful for not giving but yet if against the unmerciful much more against the unjust for as justice is before mercy in order of nature so is also injustice before unmercifulness wherefore though we discourse of assuring our hearts before God more then any others yet we must needs have a much less assurance of his love because we our selves know that we do love only in word and in tongue not in deed and in truth as it follows v. 20. For if our heart condemn us God is greater then our heart and knoweth all things and therefore can and will condemn us much more then our heart for this is the true meaning of the words not as they are commonly explained That we ought to oppose the greatness of Gods mercy being ready to acquit us against the sentence of our own heart that is ready to condemn us For indeed the words are not spoken to comfort a distressed but to terrifie a guilty conscience It being the Apostles intent to perswade us above all things both to get and to keep a good conscience that we may not condemn our selves and then we may be assured that our God will not condemn us as it follows v. 21. For if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence towards God sc. that he will not condemn us For the whole argument in brief is this If our conscience now condemn us God will also condemn us at the last day But if our conscience acquit us God will also then acquit us the conscience acting Gods part before hand in condemning the guilty and acquiting the innocent whether they have the first Innocency that of Righteousness or the second Innocency that of Faith and Repentance and the same Doctrine is again re-inforced 1 Iohn 4. 17 18. Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of Judgement because as he is so are we in this world
or infidelity or any other grievous sin but may be able to stand stedfastly through thy supporting and to walk on constantly in the way of Piety and of Patience till by thy good guiding and conducting I may at last come to the life everlasting As thou still holdest open the eyes of my weak body to behold the light of nature so be pleased daily more and more to open the eyes of my sinful soul to behold the light of grace till thou bring me to enjoy the light of glory there to glorifie and praise thee for ever Amen The sick mans Collect for Peace O God which art the Author of our peace for thine own Mercies sake but the Author of our troubles only for our sins Give unto me thy unworthy servant that peace which this wicked world cannot give and which this tumultuous and troublesom world cannot take away and defend me in all the assaults of my afflictions both corporal and spiritual that I surely trusting in thy defence and wholly submitting to thy providence may not fear the power of any adversity whatsoever through the might and for the mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord Amen The sick mans Collect for Grace O Lord our heavenly Father Almighty and everlasting God which hast safely brought me through many dangers and troubles and diseases to the beginning of this dangerous and desperate sickness defend me in the whole continuance of the same with thy mighty power and grant that herein I may fall into no sin neither run into any kind of danger whereby I may become either impenitently sinful or uncomfortably miserable But that all my doings and all my sufferings being ordered by thy Governance I may alwaies do that which is righteous in thy sight and suffer that which may be profitable for mine own salvtion through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen The sick mans Letany O God the Father of heaven and of all Mercies have Mercy upon me a miserable sinner And grant that in the greatest extremities and anguishes of my body I may find the greatest comforts and refreshments of my soul Grant that when I am most tormented in my flesh I may be most relieved in my spirit That though my loins are filled with a sore disease and there is no whole part in my body yet my soul may magnifie the Lord and my spirit may rejoyce in God my Saviour for he hath regarded my low and miserable estate and he will relieve it O God the Son Redeemer of the world and of my sin-sick and sinful soul have Mercy upon me a miserable sinner and take away all my sins that thou mayest take away all my miseries As thou hast made me a happy Believer so also make me a joyful partaker of thy Redemption and then most especially when I shall most feel my self as it were swallowed up of grief and destruction through the pains and torments of my increasing sickness or the pangs and horrours of my approaching death Be thou my comfort in distress my strength in weakness my health in sickness my joy in sadness Be thou my life whiles I am living and my Resurrection from the dead that though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I may fear no evil for thou art with me to conduct me through the dangerous downfalls of that valley to direct me through the dismal darknesses of that shadow and to sustain me in the dreadful dissolution of that death O thou who now sittest on the right hand of God making intercession for me reject me not when I am making intercession for my self for through thy death I hope for life through thy life I hope for glory through thy glory I hope for eternal glory And in that hope do I now commend my spirit into thy hands for thou hast redeemed me O God thou God of truth And thou wilt save me O God thou God of Mercy because I have believed thy truth and do rely upon thy Mercy Therefore do I wholly resign my self body and soul unto thee submitting them both to thy good will and pleasure either for life or death beseeching thee to Receive my soul and to Restore my body and to grant that I may be able to stand upright in the dreadful Judgement being supported by the arm of thy All-sufficient Merits and All-saving Mercies to bless and praise thee O my blessed Redeemer world without end O God the Holy-Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have Mercy upon me a miserable sinner and give unto mean assurance of thy Mercy that thou mayest give unto me an abatement of my misery O thou which art the Comforter of thine Elect give unto me daily more and more the heavenly comforts of mine Election and in the greatest agonies and distresses of my body transfix my soul with the most joyful apprehensions and the most firm perswasions of thine everlasting Love and undeserved Mercies towards me in Jesus Christ That neither the apprehensions of a sad and miserable life nor the fears and terrours of an uncomfortable death may ever be able to affright my soul nor to disturb that sweet peace resâ—… and repose which my spirit now hath and desireth to have in thee the God of spirits who givest unto those souls that are oâ—… thy Communion the antepast of eternity the blessed anticipation of immortal joy 〈◊〉 O my God my Stay my Comforter unto thee do I flie for the comforts of immortality Like as the Hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for God even for the living God when shall 〈◊〉 come to appear before God when shall I drink my fill of the waters of life to quench my thirst O let my tears no longer be my meat day and night whiles mine own troubled thoughts say unto my soul Where is now thy God for surely my God is in heaven whatsoever pleaseth him that doth he in heaven and in earth 〈◊〉 and though for a while in the evening of this life I have sadness upon earth yet in the morning of eternity I shall for eveâ—… have joy in heaven Amen O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three persons and one God have Mercy upon me a most miserable and wretched sinner and therefore most miserable and wretched because a sinner because I have sinned against heaven and against thee the God of heaven But since thou hast given me grace through the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity I beseech thee that through the stedfastness of this faith I may be absolved from all my sins and also be defended from all adversity which livest and reignest one God world without end Amen Remember not Lord mine offences nor the offences of my fore-fathers neither take thou vengeance of my sins spare me good Lord spare me thy most afflicted but most unworthy servant whom thou hast
Secondly the faithfulness of the Redeemer O Lord thou God of truth First the fulness of the Redemption for it had a threefold fulness a fulness of Excellency a fulness of Appearance a fulness of Redundancy which is Bonaventures distinction concerning our blessed Saviour lib. 3. sent dist 13. Quod est loqui de Plenitudine secundum Excellentiam secundum Apparentiam secundum Redundantiam We may speak of the fulness of Christ according to its Excellency according to its Appearance and according to its Redundancy for Christ had a fulness of Excellency from his first conception And he had a fulness of Appearance from the discent of the Holy-Ghost upon him for then his excellent holiness was made apparent to all the world by the testimony of the Father and of the Holy Spirit And he had a fulness of Redundancy from the time that he sanctified his disciples and servants by the communication and participation of his holiness And this same threefold fulness is in this Redemption A fulness of Excellency or Perfection in the nature of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hast Redeemed A fulness of appearance or manifestation from the Author of it Thou thou hast Redeemed And a fulness of Redundancy from the subject of it me Thou hast Redeemed me First there is a fulness of Excellency or Perfection in this Redemption from the nature of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou hast Redeemed So saith the Master of Greek Criticisms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This word is properly used concerning the Redemption of Captives that are Redeemed with a price For they that are otherwise delivered then by a price 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are said rather to be Rescued then to be Redeemed Eustath in Iliad a. Here is then a Redemption as excellent as the price that was paid for the Captives and that was the blood of the Eternal Son of God A price that was infinitely more worth then all the whole Creation both in heaven and in earth which hath in truth no other preciousness but what it hath from this price is no farther precious then as it is sprinkled with this blood Secondly A fulness of appearance or manifestation in this Redemption from the Author of it Thou thou hast Redeemed Thou whom God hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds and who art the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person Heb. 1. 2 3. This heir of all things came to make us partakers of his inheritance The same God that made the world by his Power and governed it by his Wisdom Redeemed it by his Mercy He that was the brightness of the glory of God and the express image of his person was pleased to make himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and being found in fashion as a man to humble himself and become obedient unto death Phil. 2. 7. That by his death he might destroy death and by his rising to life again might restore to us everlasting life But that 's the third fulness in this Redemption A fulness of Redundancy from the subject of it Me Thou hast Redeemed Me Thou Me Heaven and Earth are meet together in the Mysterie But Heaven and Hell are met together in the Mercy of this Redemption God and Man in the Mysterie but God and sinful Man in the Mercy of it Me in my Nature was a great mysterie but Me in my Sins was a far greater mercy Thy love did seek me when I did not deserve it Thy care did keep me when I did not observe it O let neither Love nor Care forsake me now I do desire it And indeed thou hast promised not to forsake us And that is the second Reason we are so willing to Resign our selves to thee the faithfulness of our Redeemer O God thou God of Truth Thou art powerful in thy performances as God and faithful in thy Promises as the God of Truth As none can resist thy power in performing so none may distrust thy truth in promising It was thy Mercy that made thee promise but it is thy Truth that maketh thee keep thy promises Mercy and Truth are together in God as Cruelty and Falseness go together in man Though I have no right to thy Mercy from it self yet I have a right to thy Mercy from thy Truth And thine own Holy Spirit hath taught me to claim this Right Heb. 13. 5. For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee He said it to Joshua yet will have me believe he said it to me for though that promise in its occasion was particular and concerned only Joshua and those with him Josh. 1. 5. yet in its document it was universal and concerned all the faithful servants of God that should be to the end of the world for that promise was made to Joshua as Leader of the people and therefore belonged in common to him and to them even to the whole Church of the Jews And by the same reason belongs to us now as it did to them even to the whole Church of the Gentiles For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek or Gentile For the same Lord over All is rich unto all that call upon him Rom. 10. 12. If we call upon him as Joshua and the Israelites did we have the same interest in his promises as Joshua and the Israelites had He will be as rich in Mercy to us as he was to him and to them or else in vain hath his Apostle said For whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Rom. 15. 4. Where is the comfort of the Scriptures if it be not in the Promises or what promise can be the ground of our hope like this I will never leave thee nor forsake thee A promise which he made in Mercy as Lord over All and therefore rich in mercy to All that call upon him But a promise that he keepeth in truth as being the same Lord over All That is one and the same constantly in himself and therefore not diverse in his Word nor in his Promises O God thou God of truth As God thou art a Creditor to All by thy Mercy All borrow of it All depend on it All are obliged to it But as a God of Truth thou art a Debtor to All that is to All that call upon thee for the Promise though it be universal yet it is conditional Thou art a Debtor to All by thy Truth they have an Interest in thy Promise claim it as their Right look to it as their Treasure look on it as their Comfort Debitor fidelitatis non Justitiae God is to man a Debtor of faithfulness though not a Debtor of Justice A Debtor of faithfulness because of his own Word though he cannot be a Debtor of Justice because of mans Merit As he is God he hath