fails and thou art ready to sink into this troubled Sea which doth with its proud waves threaten to overwhelm thee walk upon this Sea and fear not sinking thou fearest thou shalt not overcome the Tryal and Temptations that are before thee be not discouraged with any Danger but stand still and thou shalt see the Salvation of God and he will deliver thee out of all thy Troubles and Afflictions and lead thee safely through this raging troubled Sea as on dry Land Therefore mind thy Divine Guide look to the Divine Light and the Arm of God's Power the Spirit of God will conduct thee by his Divine Influences and though the way be difficult and dangerous he wilâ— carry thee through trust in the Mighty Arm of the Lord and in his Divine power and aid and he will lead thee through all troubles that attend thee in thy way to the Heavenly Canaan If so be thou dost return to Egypt's Land in thy Mind in thy desires and affections then thou wilt be overcome by the Adversary and be made to serve the King of Egypt again Therefore let me intreat thee to resign thy Heart and Soul to the Lord and go forward And the Lord said unto Moses wherefore cryest thou unto me Speak unto the Children of Israel that they go forward therefore my Advice Friends is that you go forward let us go Hand in Hand let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord for he is good and gracious who will teach us of his ways and enable us to walk in his Paths It is said that Moses stretched out his Hand over the Sea and the Lord caused the Sea to go back by a strong East Wind all that night and made the Sea dry Land and the Waters were divided and the Children of Israel went into the midst of the Sea upon the dry Ground and the Waters were a Wall unto them on their right Hand and on their left and the Egyptians pursued and went in after them And it came to pass that in the Morning-watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the Pillar of Fire and of the Cloud and troubled the Host of the Egyptians and took off their Charriot Wheels that they drove them heavily and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the Sea and the Waters returned and covered the Charriots and the Horsemen and all the Host of Pharaoh that came into the Sea and there remained not so much as one of them Now consider with thy self although thou hadst powerful Sins and Lusts that did beset thy Soul they have been destroyed in the Sea of Gods Judgments and the Lord hath given thee a Feast of Joy and Consolation to thy Soul and thou canst tell unto thy Neighbours what great things the Lord hath done for thee and hath made thee Witness of and thou canst now sing both of Mercy and Judgment And say Come all you that fear the Lord and I will tell you what he hath done for my Soul Here is a living experience O thou canst speak experimentally thou needst not boast in another Mans Line and of things made ready to thy Hand thou speakest and declarest things thou hast found true and experimentally known When thou feelest it thus with thee be not secure after thy many deliverances the Lord hath wrought for thee of one kind and another do not think that thou art come to the end of thy Journey or that thou shalt never meet with trouble again but always feel these sweet Consolations For after God had brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea and by his Almighty Arm had saved them and destroyed their Enemies he then brings them into the Wilderness to prove them and try them and after all to do them good in the latter end he brings them into straiâ—â— and necessities they want Bread to eat and Water to drink Thus God deals with his Spiritual Israel in the same manner as he did with outward Israel which was a figure of the Spiritual Israel travelling to the Heavenly Canaan as Israel was led to the Earthly Canaan a Land that flowed with Milk and Hony and abounded with all good things necessary for the nourishment and sustenance of Man as Corn Wine and Oil this was for the outward Israel so the Spiritual Israel is led into the Spiritual Canaan a Land flowing with Milk and Hony there is the sincere Milk of the Word and Hony out of the Rock to satisfy us this Blessed Land is worth all our pains Labour and Travel therefore persevere and go on with patience and courage and think not thou art come to the end of thy Journy notwithstanding all thy inlargements in Duites and sweet Enjoyments and strong Consolations of the Spirit thou hast been made partaker of God may bring thee into the Wilderness into mnay straits afflictions and distresses to prove thee and try thee and do thee good in thy latter end thou maist be brought into the Wilderness as thy Master Christ was and tryed to the utmost of thy strength Seeing it must be thus be contented with the will of the Lord though he should hide his Face and thou shouldst feel desertions and great distresses of Soul insomuch as thy Soul should be as the dry and parched Ground where no water is that is barren and brings forth no Fruit and thou thinkest with thy self that the Lord is angry with thee and delays his coming to thee and thou art affraid thou hast done something that hath displeased the Lord that he should so long hide his Face and not lift up the Light of his Countenance upon thee And this causeth great searchings of Heart and makes thee cry out what have I done why is it thus and why hath the Lord withdrawn himself and why do I want those Comforts that sometimes I have enjoyed I am now in a starving VVilderness and barren Desart O how shall I recieve again those sweet incomes of the love of God that sometimes I have enjoyed I will put my self now upon strict performances and exact walking Thou thinkest by this means to obtain Divine comfort and have the joy of thy Salvation which thou hast in some measure lost restored to thee but alas all this will not do What must I dâ— under these sad Circumstances If Obedience will not do If thou shalt receive no comfort or refreshment because of the Lords withdrawing and hiding his Face trust not to thy own Duties and Obedience but rely upon Christ's Obedience his compleat and perfect Obedience Look unto Jesus who is thy Advocate with the Father and Propitiation for thy Sins and not for thine only but for the sins of the whole World 1 John 2.1 My little Children saith the Apostle John these things I write unto you that ye sin not and if any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins
the Lord I have found such strength and power given in that the Enemy hath given back When I awake in the morning and come to a Meeting I am in distress till I receive Bread from Heaven and Hony out of the Rock and Consolation from those precious Promises I will cause them to lie down and none shalt make them afraid and they shall have Bread in their own Houses and Water in their own Cisterns The more you wait upon the Lord the more you will find of supply from his heavenly helping-hand certainly God is carrying on the Work of your Redemption till you appear before him in Zion tho' at present it causeth trouble and exercise as it was with the Spouse when she was seeking after her Beloved with desires and breathings Cant. 6.8 I charge you Daughters of Jerusalem if you find my Beloved that ye tell him That I am sick of love To be sick of Love is a groaning mournful Exercise but when thy Saviour â—â—mes and opens his Mouth in blessing thou â—ilt be abundantly satisfied as with Marrow â—nd Fatness and sit under his shadow with â—â—â—t Delight and his Fruit will be sweet unâ—â— thy taste Thus it was with David When thou hidest thy face O God I am troubled and I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living One that is earnestly seeking after Christ will speak of his Excellencies as the Spouse did and thereby excite and stir up others to seek him also my Beloved is white and rudy the chiefest of ten thousand his Mouth is most sweet yea he is altogether Lovely This is my Beloved and this is my Friend O Daughters of Jerusalem whither is thy beloved gone they said whither is thy beloved turned aside that we may seek him with thee When thou art seeking after Christ he is not far from thee Rev. 3.20 Behold I stand at the Door and knock if any man hear my Voice and open the Door I will come unto him and will sup with him and he with me Some honest Country men will say one to another where is the Door Christ comes to It is the Door of the Heart What is this knocking of the beloved at the Door How shall I know when he knocks at the Door when the Spouse comes to have acquaintance with her beloved I sleep but my Heart waketh it is the Voice of my beloved that knocketh saying Open to me my Sister my love my dove my undefiled for my Head is filled with dew and mâ— locks with the drops of the Night My belovâ—â— saith she put in his hand by the hole of 〈◊〉 Door and my Bowels were moved for him I 〈◊〉 up to open to my Beloved and my hands droppeâ— with myrrh and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock I opened to my Beloved but my Beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone my Soul failed when he spake When the Lord is pleased to give a tast of his love then after a dark Night of sorrow and affliction the Day will break and the shadows flee away then at the dawning of this blessed Morning Christ will come to the disconsolate enquiring Soul and his reward is with him and his work before him then there shall be joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall fly away Then saith the humble Soul I am sensible of the goodness of the Lord sensible of mercy and supporting and preserving power but I am still under trouble and disquietness of mind and I am as David when he cryed out Lord make hast to help me for the Waters are come unto my Soul great distress and trouble are come into my Soul now though I have believed in Christ and obtained mercy and assistance from divine power against my Spiritual Enimies yet I have not kept my watch and my adversary the Devil by his subtilty and wiles hath ensnared me and given me a snap at the Heel and I have relapsed â—nto sin sinned presumptuously nay I am afraid I have sinned the unpardonable sin the 〈◊〉 against the Holy Ghost for I have been enlightened and tasted of the Heavenly gift 〈◊〉 have been made a partaker of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the World to come The Apostle saith It is impossible for such if they fall away to be renewed again by Repentance I am affraid to die for I cannot triumph over Death as the Apostle did and say 1 Cor. 15.55 O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory the sting of Death is sin the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ I Answer Notwithstanding all thy doubts and fears thou art still to hope in God who is merciful and gracious forgiving transgression and sin and who hath promised that if we confess and forsake sin we shall find mercy and if we forsake sin and turn from our evil ways he will abundantly pardon Remember for thy encouragment the words of the Apostle 1 John 2.12 My little Children these things write I unto you that ye sin not And if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole World If thou dost believe in Christ thou wilt be in a capacity to resist the Devil thy grand Enemy and to repel his temptations when he comes as an accuser to make shipwrack of thy Faith consider the tenderness and compassion of Christ toward broken and contrite sinners in 11 Mat. 28. in that sweet invitation Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest And also in that charge he giveth to Peter John 21 15. Simon Son of Jonaâ— lovest thou me He answered Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee then saith he feed my Lambs feed my Sheep c. Stephen when they were stoning him to Death did look unto Christ and had strong consolation triumphing over Death and the rage and fury of his Murderers Acts 17.55 He being full of the Holy Ghost looked up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the Right hand of God and they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my Spirit And he kneeled down and cryed with a loud Voice Lord lay not this sin unto their Charge Thus look up unto Jesus when thy Adversary the Devil doth accuse thee and by believing thou wilt overcome him and go on conquering and to conquer till all thy enemies be utterly subdued Believe in the Lord Jesus who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth committed to him who is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him and those that come unto him he will in no wise cast out
of the Apostle Peter Pet. 1.1 8. Whom having not seen ye Love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with Joy unspeakaâ—le and full of Glory These words Import â—hat though now ye see not the Man Christ â—esus yet the time will come when you shall see him that is when he shall appear in his Glory at the great Day of Judgment when â—he Nations shall stand before him then they shall certainly see him though now they see him not and then Believers shall rejoyce with â—oy unspeakable and full of Glory I say Faith is a very great mystery in that it joyns the Souls of them that truly believe in him to Christ now in heaven Believers do not rejoyce Imaginarily but really True Faith is incomparably a more excellent thing than Imagination is Faith joyneth us to Christ it knitteth us to him and giveth us access unto God by him Remember what our Lord said to Thomas after he arose from the Dead when he appeared to his Disciples the Doors being shut the eleven had seen Christ before when Thomas was not present he would not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ had appeared to them John 20. When the other Disciples told him we have seen the Lord. He said unto them except I shall see in his Hands the Print of the Nails and put my Finger into the Print of the Nails and thrust my Hand into his Side I will not believe And after eight Days again his Disciples were within and Thomas with them then came Jesus the Doors being shut and stood in the midst and said peace be unto you then saith he to Thomas reach hither thy Finger and behold my Hands and reach hither thy Hand and thrust it into my Side and be Faithless but believing And Thomas answeâ—ed and said unto him my Lord and my Gâ—â— Jesus saith unto him Thomas because thou hâ— seen me thou hast believed Blessed are they thâ— have not seen and yet have believed O my Friends these VVords are preciouâ— my Heart is touched and tendered with theâ— Blessed are they that have not seen yet haâ— believed we have not seen him risen from thâ— Dead he appeared not to us as to them and 〈◊〉 he appeared to Paul outwardly this is oâ— case you are blessed if ye believe in him whoâ— ye have not seen in the Lord Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 the Man Christ Jesus and if they are Blesseâ— that have not seen yet have believed then follows by the Rule of contraries that theâ— were not blessed who did not believe in hiâ— though they saw him and heard him Preach I cannot say it is a Sin in them not to bâ—lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ who have nâ— heard him Preached to them outwardly nor Inwardly who have not heard of his Death Burial Resurrection and Ascension and sittinâ— at the Right-Hand of God I cannot say 〈◊〉 is a Sin in them not to believe who nevâ—â— heard of those things but those that have haâ— this Doctrine preached and also read in thâ— Holy Scriptures and yet do not believe Chrisâ— risen from the Dead that do not believe Chrisâ— died for their Sins nor believe that he is gonâ— to Heaven and liveth for ever to make intercession for us It is so great a Sin not to believe Christs Incarnation Death and Resurrection when it is preached that they bring a Curse upon themselves that believe not this Doctrin after it is plainly preached to them I do say it and am ready to prove what I say They that have an opportunity to hear this Doctrin preached and read it they have an obligation lying upon them to believe it not because of the outward Testimony barely for where-ever the Scriptures come and are read and preached there is an inward Witness and Testimony goes along with the outward Testimony and it cannot be supposed that the inward Testimony of God's holy Spirit will be wanting to them that enjoy the preaching of the Gospel of Christ to enable them to believe It is Unbelief that brings Men under the Curse and makes them guilty before God Our Saviour told the Jews Except you believe that I am he ye shall die in your Sins O this is most dreadful and whither I go ye cannot come It is not a bare literal traditional or historical Faith or Belief in Christ that I preach to the People which is a Faith of no Value or Worth for Hypocrites have this Faith but that Faith which I preach it is a living Faith wrought by the mighty Power of the Spirit of Christ accompanying the outward Teaching It is a living Faith a fruitful Faith and where-ever this Faith is Love is it is never without Love for Faith Hope and Love always go together and all the Fruits of the Spirit all evangelical Vertues Humility Meekness Temperance and Patience so that they that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ they have a Faith that worketh by Love Love to God and Man That Faith that they have in them is a pious devout religious consciencious Faith and this Faith is accompanied with a Desire that every one might partake of the like precious Faith Every one thaâ— hath it they feel an earnest Travel and concern upon their Spirits that all might be partakers of it they are zealous for the Faith of Christ's Doctrine for by the Faith of Christ's Doctrine we have the Faith of Christ himself So that I do not understand for my part how people can have the Faith of Christ that have not the Faith of his Doctrine A Man or Woman may have a measure of the true Faith of Christ and be short in some matter of Doctrine that is not fundamental they may be wanting in some measure but it were better that there was nothing wanting if possible I long to see you saith the Apostle Rom. 1.11 compared with 1 Thess 3.10 that I may perfect what is lacking in your Faith He did suppose those that were partakers of the Faith of Christ might have something lacking in their Faith that might be supplied to them Christ's Doctrine as it is powerfully preached hath this Service in it to help a Man to lay hold on Christ by Faith as you know we can more easily lay hold upon a Man that is cloathed than upon one that is naked we can more easily lay hold upon Christ by laying hold upon his Doctrine and upon his precious Promises the Promise of Remission of Sin and of his Holy Spirit John 7.38 He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of living Water These are exceeding great and precious Promises by which we may be made partakers of the Divine Nature I can tell you something of mine own Experience I was enabled to lay hold on Christ by laying hold on the Promise of Christ Christ comes cloathed with the precious Promises to believe the Promise of Salvation through Christ Jesus the Promise of Remission of