end and Faiths end But a Religious Christian lives upon Promises and not upon Creatures and therefore when Creatures fail hee hath the Promises to live on Hee labours to taste the sweetness that is in them Hee lives upon Promises when Providence seems to run cross to Promises They are his fiery Chariot to carry him up to Heaven If then these insuing Sermons inflame thy affections with a greater love to the Promises and a greater care to meditate on them and to get an interest in them thou hast cause to bless God and to pray for Thy unworthy Servant in Christ E. C MEDITATE ON THE Promises SERMON IV. PSAL. 119. 92. Unless thy Law had been my delights I should then have perished in mine Affliction HEe that would improve the Promises so as to make them spiritual bladders to keep him from being drowned in the deep waters of affliction must not only make a Catalogue of the Promises but hee must also 2 Fixedly and seriously meditate on them first hee must treasure up these We must not only make a Catalogue of the Promises but meditate on them Jewels in his heart and then unlock them by meditation first hee must make his Nose-gay and then smell of it The Word of God as I have said is as a Garden full of excellent Promises as so many choice flowers And it is our duty to walk often in this Garden to gather up all the flowers that lye scattered in it into several Nose-gayes to binde them together if I may so speak with the threed of Faith and then every day to smell of them The Promises are the Saints Legacies left them by Christ in his last will and Testament The Saints are called the heirs of the Promises Heb. 6. 17. And if they would bee filled full of joy in the day of their distress they must bee frequent in reading these Legacies The Promises are as it were the breasts of God full of the Milk of grace and comfort And it is our duty to bee sucking out by meditation the milk of grace and comfort contained in them That which the Prophet saith of the Church of Christ may as truly bee said of the Promises of Christ Rejoyce O yee people of God and bee glad all yee that have an interest in the Promises Rejoyce for Isa 66.10 11. joy all yee that are mourners in Sion that yee may suck and bee satisfied with the breasts of their consolations that yee may milk out and bee delighted with the abundance of joy and comfort contained in them The Promises are the Saints aqua vitae as one calls them the Saints cordials the Saints plank to swim to Heaven upon the Saints fiery Chariot to carry them up to Heaven And the great reason why they walk so uncomfortably so disconsolately and so unbeleevingly in the time of their tribulation is because they do not smell of these Nose-gayes they do not chew these cordials they do not read over these spiritual Legacies they do not by serious meditation and consideration suck out the comfort comprehended in them For as fire will not warm us unless wee tarry at it and a Bee cannot suck out the hony that is in a flower unless shee abide upon it no more can any child of God receive supportation and consolation from the Promises in the hour of temptation unless hee seriously and solemnly ponder and meditate on them There is a double difference between a presumptuous sinner and a poor humble distressed child of God 1 A Presumptuous sinner studieth The difference between a presumptuous sinner and a true child of God in relation to the Promises nothing but the promising Word Hee sleights the commanding and the threatning Word The Word commands him to keep holy the Sabbath day not to love the world not to lust but hee turns a deaf ear to it The Word threatneth to wound the hairy scalp of every one that goeth on in his wickednesse but because God is patient and long suffering therefore he regards it not But as for the Promising VVord hee snatcheth at it he doth not truly lay hold on it but snatcheth at it before it belongs to him and spider-like sucks the poison of sin out of it and makes of it a cradle to rock himself asleep in sinful courses Because God hath promised that whensoever a Sinner turns from his sins which hee hath committed hee shall surely live and not dye therefore hee delaies and prorogues his turning from sin But now a poor distressed humble Christian fails on the contrary part hee pores upon the commanding and threatning Word but never ponders the promising VVord God saith hee commands mee to love him with all my heart and soul to wash my heart from iniquity to love my enemies to cut off my right hand and pluck out my right eye c. But I cannot perform these commands therefore surely I shall never bee saved God saith hee hath threatned to curse every one that continueth not in every thing that is written in his Law to do it and therefore surely I am accursed But hee never studies nor ponders the promising Word for if hee did hee Three observeable things about the Promises would quickly know three things for his everlasting comfort 1 That there is nothing required by God in his VVord as our duty but God hath either promised to bestow it upon us as his gift or the Saints have prayed to God for it as his gift God commands us to love him but hee hath promised to circumcise our hearts to love him c. Deut. 30. 6. God commands us to fear him to turn our Ezek. 18. 31. selves from our transgressions and to make our selves a new heart and a new spirit But hee hath promised to give Ezek. 36. 26. Jer. 32.40 us a new heart and a new spirit to put his fear in our hearts that wee shall never depart from him and to turn us Mic. 7. 19 Rom. 6. 14. from our evil waies The Saints of God also have prayed unto God for this as the fruit of his free mercy Jer. 31. 18. Lam. 5. 21. There is nothing commanded in the Covenant of works but God hath promised in the Covenant of grace in some measure to work it in us for hee hath promised to work all our works in us and to write his Law Isa 26.12 not one Commandement of it only but the whole Law in our hearts and to put it in our inward parts and to cause Jer. 31. 33 Ezek. 36. 27. us to walk in his waies 2 That God under the Covenant of grace will for Christs sake accept of less than hee requires in the Covenant of works Hee requires perfection of degrees but hee will accept of perfection of parts hee requires us to live without sin but hee will accept of our sincere indeavours to do it If there bee a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and
of David abide upon your hearts God forbid I should serve the Lord with 2 Sam 24.24 that which cost mee nothing God hates your obedience to the first Table Isa 1. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 if it bee not joyned with obedience to the second Works of mercy and charity are made in Scripture the touchstones of the truth of our piety and holiness This is pure Religion saith the Apostle and James 1. 27 undefiled before God and the Father to visit the Fatherlesse and Widdows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world If any man say saith Saint John I love God and hateth his Brother hee is 1 John 4. 20 a lyar for hee that loveth not his Brother whom hee hath seen how can hee love God whom hee hath not seen An unmerciful and an uncharitable man is a wicked and an ungodly man Let it bee the care of all those amongst you who are rich in estate to bee rich in good works Let every man lay up for the poor according as God hath prospered him remembring 1 Cor. â—â— 2 that saying of Christ Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was an hungred and yee gave mee meat I was thirsty and yee gave mee drink I was a stranger and yee took mee in naked and yee cloathed mee I was sick and yee visited mee I was in prison and yee came unto mee 14 Take heed of separating from the publick Assemblies of the Saints I have found by experience that all our Church-calamities have sprung from this root Hee that separates from the publick worship is like a man tumbling down a hill and never leaving till hee comes to the bottome of it I could relate many sad stories of persons professing godliness who out of dislike to our Church-meetings began at first to separate from them and after many changes and alterations are turned some of them Anabaptists some Quakers some Ranters some direct Atheists But I forbear you must hold communion with all those Churches with which Christ holds communion you must separate from the sins of Christians but not from the Ordinances of Christ Take heed of Unchurching the Churches of Christ lest you prove Schismaticks instead of being true Christians 15 Though you never live to see the times setled yet labour to get your consciences setled Pray for the Spirit of Truth to guide you into all Truth in these erring dayes Remember that saying of Christ If thine eye bee evil thy Mat. 6. 23 whole body shall bee full of darknesse if therefore the light that is in you bee darkness how great is that darkness God hath given you your understandings to bee the guide of the whole man As the Eye is the guide of the body and the Sun of the world so is the understanding of the man therefore you must in praying pray that God would give you a right understanding in all things Pray not only for the grace of Sanctification but of Illumination Avoid as soul-poison all Doctrines 1 Which tend to liberty open a door to prophaneness and are contrary to godliness 2 Which hold forth a superstitious strictness above what is required in the Word 3 Which are Antimagistratical and Antiministerial 4 Which lift up corrupt nature and exalt unsanctified reason 5 Which preach free-grace to the utter ruine of good works 6 Which lessen the priviledges of Infants and makes their condition worse under the New Testament than under the Old 7 Which are contrary to the Analogy of Faith the ten Commandements and the Lords Prayer 16 Take heed lest being led away with the errour of the wicked you 2 Pet. 3. 17 fall from your own stedfastness Take heed of a threefold Apostacy of which this Nation is deeply guilty Of Apostacy 1 In your Judgements from the Truths of Christ and from the Faith once delivered to the Saints 2 In your Affections from that ancient love desire and delight which the Saints of God have had heretofore and you your selves once had in and towards the Ordinances of Christ and the godly and learned Ministers of Christ 3 In your conversations from that humble and exact walking with God in all good duties both towards God and man which was the credit and honour of the good old Puritan in former daies Let mee speak to you in the words of the Apostles Paul and Peter Wherefore my beloved Brethren bee yee stedfast 1 Cor. 15. â—â— and unmoveable c. The God of grace who hath called you into his eternal glory by Jesus Christ make you perfect stablish strengthen and settle you 17 Remember that it is the will of Jesus Christ that you who partake of the same word of life and of the same Sacramental Bread and Wine should admonish one another exhort one another watch over one another bear the burdens of one another provoke one another to love and good works seek the good of one another and not your own good only That you should warn the unruly comfort the feeble-minded and support the weak That this is your duty appears from Col. 3 16. Phil. 2.4 Heb. 1. 24. Gal. 6. 1 Rom. 15. 2. Rom. 14. 7. 2 Cor. 5.15 1 Thes 5. 11 13 14. The 12th vers speaks of Ministerial and authoritative admonition but the 13 and 14. verses of fraternal and charitative These Texts will rise up in Judgement against thousands of Christians at the last day I do not say that you are to admonish none but those of your own Society Admonition is an act of mercy It is spiritualis Eleemosyna spiritual Almes and you are bound by the royal law of charity by the communion of Saints the communion of Churches and communion of natures to distribute these spiritual almes to all that need them as God shall give occasion But this I say you ought especially to admonish them and watch over them This is novum though not solum vinculum Some Divines think that one chief reason why the Israelites were punished for Achans sin was because they did not admonish him and watch over him For the Israelites were commanded in the plural number Josh 6.18 Keep your selves from the accursed thing c. Hee was one of the body and because they did not watch over him they communicated in his sin and in his punishment There is an excellent Law in this Nation That every Parish shall provide for its own poor And by parity of reason it is as just and equal That every Congregation should chiefly and especially look to the souls of their own members to warn them admonish them exhort them and watch over them That you may the better discharge this duty you must labour to bee acquainted one with another as far as your callings and relations will give you leave It is a great and common sin and much to bee lamented That there is so little knowledge
together in 1 Cor. 1. 10 the same minde and in the same Judgement 19 Study often and often the quatuor novissima The four last things Death Judgement Hell and Heaven The meditation of Death will prepare you for Death The meditation of Heaven will make you heavenly-minded The meditation of Hell will keep you from Hell Therefore Bernard Descendamus viventes ut non descendamus morientes perswades us to go often down to Hell by meditation while wee live and wee shall not go down to it when wee dye The meditation of the day of Judgement will bee both fraenum calcar a bridle to curb you from sin and a spurre to incite you to all godliness that so you may give up your account with joy at that terrible day 20 Study the exceeding great and precious promises of the Gospel make a Catalogue of them meditate on them and labour to apply them to your own souls for your everlasting comfort And for this purpose read over these Sermons and study them in time of health that you may injoy the benefit of them in the time of sickness Lastly Let mee intreat you to praise God in my behalf that hee hath been pleased out of his free love to uphold mee amongst you in my Ministerial imployment for these eighteen years And to continue your earnest prayers unto him that hee would make my labours more useful and successful that hee would guide mee that I may guide you that hee would not only make but keep mee faithful in these backsliding times and teach mee so to preach and so to live that I may save my self and those that hear mee Your Servant in the work of the Ministry E. C. The Reader is intreated to correct these following Errata's or else hee will scarce understand some passages in the Book PAge 12 for 2. r. 20. pig 25. dele 1. pag. 29. for chasteneth r. chastenest pag. 32. for buld r. build p. 48 for imittantur r. immittantur p. 65 for policarp r. Politian p. 73 for Cranmor r. Cranmer p. 79 dele 1. p. 85 for John r. Jehu p. 150 for those r. these p. 161 for third Sermon r. fourth Sermon p. 167 for tells r. tell p. 167. for contest r. fear p. 199 for appliable r. applicable p. 222 for sixt r. fift Here followeth the Sermon preached at the Funeral of Mris. Elizabeth Moore the 27th of February last at Aldermanbury The Godly mans Ark OR City of Refuge in the day of his Distresses SERMON I. PSAL. 119. 92. Unless thy Law had been my delights I should then have perished in mine affliction THis Psalm out of which my Text is taken exceeds all the other Psalms not onely in length but in excellency so far in the judgement of Ambrose as the light of the Sun excels the light of the Moon As the Book of Psalms is stiled by Luther An Epitome of the Bible or a little Bible So may this Psalm fitly bee called An Epitome of the Book of Psalms It was written as is thought by David in the dayes of his banishment under Saul but so penned that the words thereof suit the condition of all Saints It is penu doctrinae publicum unicuique apta convenientia distribuens A publick store-house of heavenly doctrines distributing fit and convenient instructions to all the people of God and therefore should bee in no less account with those who are spiritually alive than is the use of the Sun Air and Fire with those who are naturally alive It is divided into two and twenty Sections according to the Hebrew Alphabet and therefore fitly called A holy Alphabet for Sions Schollars The A B C. of godliness Sixtus Senensis calls it An Alphabetical Poem The Jews are said to teach it their little children the first thing they learn and therein they take a very right course both in regard of the heavenly matter and plain stile fitted for all capacities The chief scope of it is to set out the glorious excellencies and perfections of the Law of God There is not a verse except one onely say some learned men in Print but are therein deceived but I may truly say Ames Couper Except the 122. and the 90. verses in this long Psalm wherein there is not mention made of the Law of God under the name of Law or Statutes or Precepts or Testimonies or Commandements or Ordinances or Word or Promises or Wayes or Judgements or Name or Righteousness or Truth c. This Text that I have chosen sets out the great benefit and comfort which David found in the Law of God in the time of his affliction It kept him from perishing Had not thy Law been my delights I had perished in my affliction The word Law is taken diversly in Scripture sometimes for the Moral Law James 2.10 Sometimes for the whole Oeconomy Polity and Regiment of Moses for the whole Mosaical dispensation by Laws partly moral partly Judicial partly Ceremonial Gal. 3.23 Sometimes for the five Books of Moses Luke 24. 44. Sometimes for the whole Doctrine of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old Testament John 7. 49. By Law in this place is meant all those Books of the Scripture which were written when this Psalm was penned But I shall handle it in a larger sense as it comprehends all the Books both of the Old and New Testament For the word Law is sometimes also taken for the Gospel as it is Micah 4.2 Isa 2.3 The meaning then is Unless thy Law that is Thy Word had been my delights I should have perished in mine affliction David speaks this saith Musculus of the distressed condition hee was in when persecuted by Saul forced to flye to the Philistins and sometimes to hide himself in the rocks and caves of the earth Hic vero simile est fuisse illi ad manum codicem divinae legis c. It is very likely saith hee that hee had the Book of Gods Law with him by the reading of which hee mitigated and allayed his sorrows and kept himself pure from communicating with the Heathen in their superstitions The Greek Scholiasts say That David uttered these words A Saule pulsus apud Philistaeos impios homines agere coactus when driven from Saul and compelled to live amonst the wicked Philistins c. for hee would have been allured to have communicated with them in their impieties had hee not carried about him the meditation of the word of God Unless thy Law had been my delights c. In the words themselves wee have two Truths supposed and one Truth clearly proposed 1 Two Truths supposed 1 That the dearest of Gods Saints are subject to many great and tedious afflictions 2 That the word of God is the Saints darling and delights One Truth clearly proposed That the Law of God delighted in is the afflicted Saints Antidote against ruine and destruction 1 Two Truths supposed The first is this Doct. 1. That the best of
Gods Saints are in this life subject to many great and tedious afflictions David was a man after Gods own heart and yet hee was a man made up of troubles of all sorts and sizes insomuch as hee professeth of himself Psal 69. 1 2 3. Save mee O God for the waters are come in unto my soul I sinke in deep mire where there is no standing I am come into deep waters where the flouds over-flow mee I am weary of my crying my throat is dryed mine eyes fail while I wait for my God And in this Text hee professeth that his afflictions were so great that hee must necessarily have perished under them had hee not been sustained by the powerful comforts hee fetched out of the word There is an emphasis in the word Then I should then have perished That is long before this time then when I was afflicted then I should have perished Junius and Tremelius translate it Jam diu periissem c. I should long ago have perished Job was a man eminent for godliness and yet as eminent for afflictions Nay Jesus Christ himself was a man of sorrows Isa 53.3 Insomuch as that it is truly said God had one Son without sin but no Son without sorrow This our dear Sister at whose Funeral wee are met was a woman full of many and great afflictions which no doubt would have quite drowned and swallowed her up had not the word of God supported her therefore it was that shee desired that this Text might bee the subject of her Funeral Sermon Quest But why doth God afflict his own children with such variety of long and great afflictions Ans 1. God doth not do this because hee hates them but because hee loves them For whom the Lord loveth hee chastiseth c. Heb. 12.6 Did the Lord hate them hee would suffer them to go merrily to hel There is no surer sign of Gods reprobating anger than to suffer a man to prosper in wicked courses God threatneth this as the greatest punishment not to punish them Hos 4.14 And therefore because God loveth his children hee chastiseth them in this world that they may not bee condemned in the world to come 1 Cor. 11.33 2 God doth not do this because hee would hurt them but for their good Jer. 24 5. The good figs were sent into captivity for their good Heb. 12.10 Hee for our profit c. God hath very gracious and merciful ends and aims in afflicting his people Give mee leave here to inlarge my discourse and to give you an account of some of these divine aimes 1 Gods design is to teach us to know him and to trust in him and to know our selves It is a true saying of Luther Schola crucis est Schola lucis the School of Affliction is a School of Instruction Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His rods when sanctified are powerful Sermons to teach us 1 To know God And this is life eternal to know him Joh. 17. 3. It is said of Manasseh 2 Chron. 33. 13. Then Manesseh knew that the Lord hee was God Then when hee was caught among the thorns bound with fetters and carried to Babylon before that time hee knew not the Lord Afflictions teach us to know God not only in his power and greatnesse in his anger and hatred against sin but also in his goodnesse and mercy For God doth so sweeten the bitter cup of affliction that a child of God doth many times taste more of Gods love in one months affliction than in many years of prosperity 2 Cor. 1. 4 5. 2 Cor. 7. 4. Adde to this Afflictions teach us to know God Experimentally and affectionatively not cerebraliter as Calvin saith but cordialiter so to know him as to love and fear him and to flye unto him as our rock and hiding-place in the day of our distress It is said Cant. 3. 1. By night I sought him whom my soul loveth c. Some by the word Night understand the night of divine desertion and from the words Gilbertus hath this saying Qui quaerit in nocte non quaerit ut videat sed ut amplectatur Hee that seeks after God in the night of adversity doth not seek to see him and know him formally and superficially but to imbrace him and to love him really and cordially And therefore the Church never left till shee had found Christ and when shee had found him she held him and would not let him go Cant. 3. 2 3 4. 2 Not only to know God but also to trust in him 2 Cor. 1. 9. Wee had the sentence of death in our selves that wee should not trust in our selves but in God which raiseth the dead Note here 1 That an Apostle is apt in time of prosperity to trust in himself 2 That God brings his children to the gates of death that they might learn not to trust in themselves but in God which raiseth the dead that is from a dead and desperate condition 3 Not only to know God but to know our selves which two are the chiefe parts of Christian religion It is said of the Prodigal that when hee was in adversity then hee came to himself Luk. 15. 17. And when hee came to himself He was spiritually distracted when hee was in prosperity Afflictions teach us to know that wee are but men according to that of David Psa 9. 2. Put them in fear O Lord that they may know themselves to bee but men Caligula and Domitian Emperors of Rome who in prosperity would bee called Gods when it thundred from Heaven were so terrified that then they knew they were but men In prosperity wee forget our mortality Adversity causeth us to know not only that wee are men but frail men that God hath us between his hands as it is Ezek. 21. 17. and can as easily crush us as wee do moths That wee are in Gods hands as the Clay in the hands of the Potter That hee hath an absolute soveraignty over us and that wee depend upon him for our being wel-being and eternal being These things wee know feelingly and practically in the day of affliction And it much concerns us to know these things and to know them powerfully For this will make us stand in awe of God and study to serve and please him Hee that depends upon a man for his livelihood knowing that hee hath him at an advantage and can easily undo him will certainly indeavour to comply with him and to obtain his favour The ground of all service and obedience is dependence And did wee really and experimentally know our dependence upon God and the advantages hee hath us at wee could not wee would not but comply with him and labour above all things to gain his love and favour 2 Gods aim in afflicting his children The second design of God in afflicting his children is either to keep them from sin or when they have sinned to bring them to repentance for it and
will avail no more than a painted helmet or a painted ship and not only a True but also a strong Faith A little faith will faint under great afflictions when the winds began to blow fiercely Peters little Faith began to fail Matth. 14. 30. 2 A great measure of patience to inable us to wait quietly and contentedly till God come in with help for many times hee tarrieth till the fourth watch of the night as hee did Matth. 14. 25. And therefore wee have need of patience to keep us from murmuring or repining 3 A great stock of Self-denial humility repentance contempt of the world and heavenly-mindednesse Hee that is furnished with grace in an evil hour will bee as safe and secure as Noah was in the Ark in the time of the deluge or as those-were who had sufficiency of corn in the time of the seven years dearth in Aegypt 2 A stock of Assurance of salvation For though a man hath never so much 2 A stock of Assurance grace yet if hee wants the assurance of it hee cannot receive any comfort by it in the day of his distresse Jacob was not at all quieted in his spirit for Josephs being alive till hee came to know of it And therefore wee must not only provide grace but the assurance of grace that wee may bee able to say with confidence as Job did upon the dung-hill Job 19. 25. I know that my Redeemer liveth and with the holy Apostle Rom. 8. 38 I am perswaswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall bee able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That man who hath got a Scripture assurance of his salvation will bee more than a conqueror in the day of his distresse 3 A stock of divine experiences Happy 3 A stock of divine experiences is that man that lodgeth up in his heart all the former experiences hee hath had of Gods love and mercy towards him and knoweth how to argue from them in the day of calamity Thus did Moses in his prayer to God Numb 14. 19. Pardon I beseech thee the iniquity of this people according unto the greatnesse of thy mercy and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now Because God had forgiven them therefore Moses intreats him to forgive them this argument is drawn from former experience And thus David incourageth himself 1 Sam. 17. 37. The Lord hath delivered mee out of the paw of the Lion and out of the paw of the Bear and hee will deliver mee out of the hand of this Philistine Thus also Paul reasoneth 2 Cor. 1. 10. Who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver and in whom wee trust that hee will yet deliver us Divine experiences are the Saints great incouragements in the day of Affliction Blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of these arrows 4 A stock of Sermons Wee must do 4 A stock of sermons with Sermons as the Trades-men do with the mony they get some of it they lay out for their present use and some of it they lay up against the time of sicknesse That man is an ill husband and an unthrifty trades-man that makes no provision for old age or for an evil day and that man is an unprofitable hearer of the word who doth not stock and store himself with Sermons whereby hee may bee comforted in the hour of affliction And therefore the Prophet Isaiah adviseth us Isa 42. 23. to hear for the time to come or as it is in the Hebrew for the after-time Sermons are not only to bee heard for our present use but to bee laid up for after-times that when wee lye upon our sick-beds and cannot hear Sermons we may then live upon the Sermons wee have heard 5 And lastly Wee must prepare 5 A stock of Scripture promises and provide a stock of Scripture-promises which will bee as so many reviving Cordials to chear us and as so many spiritual Anchors to uphold us from perishing in the day of our tribulation What these promises are you shall hear afterwards These upheld David in the hour of his distresse and therefore hee saith in the Text Unlesse thy Law had been my delight I had perished in mine affliction If this our dear Sister had not had this stock shee had been quite overwhelmed under the grievousnesse of her tormenting pains Bee wise therefore O yee Saints of God and prepare these five provisions in the time of health that so you may live joyfully in the time of sicknesse 3 As wee must expect and provide for afflictions so also wee must labour 3 Gods people are to improve afflictions when afflicted to improve them for our spiritual benefit and advantage Wee must pray more for the sanctification of them than for their removal It was not the staffe of Elisha that revived the dead child but Elisha himself It was not the troubling of the waters of the Pool of Bethesda that made them healing but the comming down of the Angel It was not the Clay and spittle that cured the blinde eyes but Christs anointing them with it It was not the cloak of Elijah that divided the waters but the God of Elijah Troubles stroaks blows afflictions and distresses will do us no good unless the Lord bee pleased to make them effectual And therefore let us pray unto God that hee would give us grace together with our affliction That hee would adde instruction to his correction that hee would make us good schollars in the school of afflictions and inable us to take out all those excellent lessons which hee would have us to learn in it that thereby wee may come to know God more powerfully and experimentally and to know our selves and our own frailty and our absolute dependence upon God more effectually that thereby we may bee more purified and refined that the wind of temptation may cleanse us from the chaffe of our corruption that wee may learn righteousness by Gods judgements and bee made partakers of his holinesse Such a good Scholar was Manasses hee got more good by his Iron chain than by his Golden chain Such another was the Prodigal child who was happier amongst the Swine than when in his Fathers house Such was Paul his being strucken down to the ground raised him up to Heaven by the blindnesse of his body his soul received sight and hee was turned from a persecuting Saul to a persecuted Paul Such another was David who professeth of himself that it was good for him that hee was afflicted and such Scholars ought wee to bee There are some that are arrant dunces in this School that are like unto the bush which Moses saw which burned with fire but was not consumed the fire did not consume the thorny bush Many such thorny sinners are burnt up with
come to speak of the second truth supposed in the Text. That the Word of God is the Saints darling and delights not only their delight but in the plural number their delights that is as our Annotations say a Saint doth greatly delight in Gods Law or as Junius All the delight of a Saint is in Gods Law Gods word is the center of his delights Nisi lex tua erat omnis oblectatio mea Many were the troubles and sorrows of Davids life but against them all hee found as many comforts and delectations in Gods Word therefore he saith vers 29. Thy Testimonies are my delights c. and 143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on mee yet thy Commandements are my delights And in the Text unless thy Law had been my delights c. Whilst others delight in vanity and iniquity whilst others take pleasure in hunting hawking carding dicing eating and drinking the Saints of God can Reasons why the Saints take so much delight in Gods Law say with Austin Sacrae Scripturae tuae sunt sanctae deliciae meae Thy holy Scriptures are my holy delights Quest Why do the Saints of God tale such delight in the Law of God Answ 1 Because they are spiritually illightened their eyes are opened to behold the glory and beauty and to understand the deep mysteries of the Law therefore David prayeth vers 18. Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy Law As the Apostle saith of the Jews 2 Cor. 3. 14 15 16. That to this day there is a vail over their hearts when Moses is read and when they shall turn to the Lord this vail shall bee removed So it is with Christians when a wicked man reads the word there is a vail over his eyes and over his heart and over the Scriptures The God of this world hath so blinded his eyes that hee cannot behold the beauty and glory of them but the True Saint hath this vail removed Christ hath anointed his eyes with his spiritual eye-salve hee seeth a surpassing excellency in the Word of God and therefore cannot but delight in it 2 Because they are not only illightened but regenerated And as children new born by the instinct of nature have a natural appetite to milk for conservation of their life so the new born Saint by the instinct of grace hath a spiritual appetite to the Word of God according to that of Saint Peter 1 Pet. 2. 2. As new born babes desire the sincere Milk of the Word that you may grow thereby The Word of God is the Saints food and as it is impossible for a child unborn to desire food so for a man unregenerated to hunger after and take true pleasure in the Word and as it is impossible for a new born child not to delight in Milk so it is as impossible for a regenerate Christian not to delight in the Law of God 3 Because a true Saint hath the Law of God written in his heart according to that precious promise of the Covenant of grace Jer. 31. 33. I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts A Saints heart is the counterpane to Gods Law The Law is within his heart Psal 40.8 and as it is in the Hebrew in the midst of his bowels in medio vtscerum God hath infused a principle of grace into his inward parts whereby hee is not onely inclined but inabled to walk in all the Commandements of the Law blameless A true Saint hides the Law in his heart as a choice Jewel in a most precious Cabinet as David saith verse 9. I have hid thy Law in my heart Hid it as a rare treasure So doth every Saint and therefore cannot but delight in it 4 Because the same holy Spirit that wrote the word dwelleth in every true Saint It is certain that all Scripture is of Divine Inspiration and that the holy men of God spake as they were guided by the Holy Ghost And it is as certain That the same Holy Ghost dwelleth in every Saint Rom. 8. 11. And by vertue of the in-dwelling of the Spirit they are sweetly and powerfully drawn to make the Law of God their chiefest delight 5 Because it is Gods inditement and invention This reason is brought in the Text Unless thy Law c. It is the Law of that God in whom they delight It transcribes the minde and heart of God A true Saint seeth the Name Authority Power Wisdome and Goodness of God in every letter of it and therefore cannot but take pleasure in it It is an Epistle sent down to him from the God of heaven It is one of the greatest Love-tokens that ever God gave to his Church There are two great gifts that God hath given to his people The Word Christ and the Word of Christ Both are unspeakably great But the first will do us no good without the second 6 A true Saint cannot but delight in the word of God because it is his Inheritance vers 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart Therefore they were the rejoycing of his heart because they were his everlasting Inheritance 7 Because hee findes a sweetness in it Delight is nothing else but a passion of the soul arising from the sweetness of the object that we enjoy Things that are good present suitable and sweet are the object of our delights such is the word of God to every true Saint It is sweeter than the hony and the hony-comb Psal 19. 10. So also Psal 119.103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea sweeter than hony to my mouth A Saint must needs delight in it it is so suitable and so sweet 8 Because hee loves the Law Now that which wee love wee cannot but delight in when wee come to enjoy it A true Saint doth not onely love the Law but hee loves it exceedingly Psal 119.167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies and I love them exceedingly A true Saint can say with David Psal 119.97 Oh how do I love thy Law and vers 127. I love they Commandements above gold yea above fine gold and vers 72. The Law of thy mouth is better to mee than thousands of gold and silver Now because the Saints of God are so inamoured with the Law of God therefore it is that they cannot but delight in it as David saith Psal 119.47 I will delight my self in thy Commandements which I have loved Hee that loves the Commandements as all Saints do cannot but delight in them Use This shews that there are but few true Saints amongst us There are many bastard Saints and nominal Saints but few true and real Saints Wee live in an age wherein there were never more Saints and never fewer never more by outward Profession and never fewer by a holy Conversation It is the property of a true Saint to make the word of God his darling and delights But where
shall wee finde such Saints It is easie to finde out men that can say Eating and drinking is my delight carding and dicing is my delight reading of vain and trifling books is my delight to satisfie the lusts of the flesh is my delight But where is the man that can truly say as David doth The Law of God is my delights and the joy and rejoycing of my heart for ever Austin professeth of himself that before his conversion hee took no pleasure in the word of God His proud heart as hee saith would not stoop to the humble expressions of it After his conversion hee was ravished with the beauty and excellency of the Scriptures but before his conversion hee saw no excellency in them Policarp though a great Schollar yet a notorious Atheist professeth most blasphemously that hee never lost more time than in reading the Scripture And it is reported of Plato that when hee had read the first Chapter of Genesis hee said Hic vir multa dicit sed nihil probat This man saith many things but proveth nothing Where shall wee finde the man that puts a due estimation upon the word of God That prizeth it above gold yea above much fine gold That rejoyeeth in thy word as much as in all riches vers 14. That can appeal to God and say as David vers 159. Consider Oh Lord how I love thy Precepts and verse 97. Oh how do I love thy Law There are some men that can delight in any thing but in God and his Word and his Ordinances They can delight in the creatures of God but cannot delight in the Ordinances of God They can delight in the gifts of God in riches and health and honours But they cannot delight in the God of these gifts They can delight in books of Philosophy and humanity but they cannot delight in the word of God Mark the sad condition that these are in It is a certain sign that there is a vail over their eyes and hearts that they are not yet anointed with Christs eye-salve that the God of the world hath blinded their eyes that they cannot see the glorious excellencies of the Law of God It is certain that they are not born anew for if they were new born babes they would desire the sincere milk of the word It is certain that the Law of God is not yet written in their hearts and that the Spirit of God doth not dwell in them It is certain that they have no part nor portion in the word of God that they never tasted the sweetness that is in it and that they have no true love to God nor to his word It is a true saying Qui regem amat legem amat hee that loves a King will love his Law And I may say Qui Deum amat legem Dei amat Hee that loves God will love the Law of God which is nothing else but his Image and his Picture his last Will and Testament his blessed love-token And therefore if you delight not in the Law of God it is evident you do not delight in the God of this Law And if you delight not in God hee will not delight in you unless it bee to laugh at your destruction as it is Prov. 1.26 Q. But how shall I know whether I do delight in the word of God or no Answ You shall know it by these notes 1 Hee that delights in Gods Law will bee very frequent in meditating and reading of it and very often in speaking of it Thus saith David Psal 1.2 His delight is in the Law of the Lord and therein hee will meditate day and night And Psalm 119.97 Oh how do I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day So also vers 15 16. 23. Hee that takes pleasure in the Law hee will bee often thinking of it as Christ saith Matth. 6.21 Where the treasure is there the heart will bee also If the word of God bee thy treasure thou wilt meditate on it Cogitatione crebrâ longâ profundâ Thou wilt frequently think of it and when thou beginnest to think of it thou wilt dwell upon the thought of it as a Bee dwels as it were upon the flower to suck out the sweetness that is in it and thou wilt think of it with deep and serious meditations and contemplations thou wilt dive into the unsearchable riches and treasures that are in the Word And as thou wilt meditate on it so thou wilt bee often and unwearisome in reading and perusing of it and discoursing about it A man that delights in hunting is never weary of talking of hunting and he that delights in the world of speaking about the world and if you did delight in Gods word you would be very frequent and indefatigable in discoursing of it 2 If you did delight in the Word of God you would delight in the Ministers and Ambassadors of the Word lawfully commissionated by Christ For the great work of the Ministry is to expound and apply the Word and therefore if you dis-respect the godly learned lawful Ministry of the Word you take no delight in the Word 3 They that delight in the Word will bee at any cost to bring the Word to their congregations they will part with thousands of gold and silver rather than with the Word Hee that esteems the VVord above thousands will bee willing to part with hundreds for the Words sake Hee will account a famine of the Word more bitter than a famine of bread by how much the soul is better than the body by so much will hee bee more troubled for a soul-famine than a bodily 4 Hee that delights truely in the Law will sincerely labour to obey it and bee much grieved when it is disobeyed 1 Hee will sincerely labour to obey it hee will make the Word of God the man of his counsel vers 24. Thy Testimonies are my delight but how doth hee prove that in the following words and my counsellers Hee will make the Word a Lamp to his feet and a light to his paths verse 105. In all his undertakings hee will inquire what God would have him to do and hee will make Gods Word his compasse to sail by and pray with David verse 35. Make mee to go in the path of thy Commandements for therein do I delight 2 Hee will bee much grieved when others transgresse the Law of God Thus David vers 53. Horror hath taken hold upon mee because of the wicked that forsake thy Law and vers 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy Law And therefore you that delight in sin you cannot bee said to delight in the Word and you that are not pained and grieved when others sin you are not amongst the number of those that take pleasure in Gods Law or in whom God takes pleasure Use 2 Let us make it appear that wee are Saints indeed and in truth not only Saints in Mans but in Gods Calender by following the
for the comforts of the Scriptures in his heart There are eight things may be said amongst many other in commendation of the Word of God 1 It is the Magazin and storehouse of all comfort and consolation There is no condition but one that a man can bee in but hee may finde soul supporting comfort for it our of the Word Indeed if thou resolvest to go on in sin the Word cannot comfort thee it threatneth hell and damnation to all such If the God of Heaven can make such miserable they shall bee miserable But excepting this one there is no condition so miserable but a man may fetch a cordial out of the Word to support him under it Art thou as empty of riches and as full of diseases as Job under the Old Testament and Lazarus under the New Testament are the sins with which thou art willing to part many and great Is thy conscience exceedingly wounded and disquieted doth the Devil roar upon thee with hideous temptations let thy condition bee never so sad the Word of God is able to afford thee comfort under it For it is the Word of that God who is the God of all consolation There is no kinde of true comfort but here it is to bee had here are cordials of all sorts Comforts under bodily troubles and comforts under soul-troubles There is no Monarch can furnish his table with such variety of delicates as God hath furnished his Word with variety of comforts 2 The Word of God is not only the Magazin of all true comfort but the Fountain from whence it is derived All the comfort that you receive by reading of good books is fetcht out of this book All the refreshings that the Ambassadors of Christ administer to you are borrowed from this Fountain As the King of Israel answered the woman that cryed out saying Help my Lord O King If the 2 King 6. 26 27. Lord do not help thee whence shall I help thee So will all the true Ministers of Christ say to any distressed soul that cries out for comfort How can wee comfort you if the Word of God doth not comfort you All our comforts must bee fetcht from thence 3 It will comfort us at such a time when no outward thing can comfort us And that is when wee are under soul-agonies and when our soul sits upon our lips ready to depart when wee are sailing into the Ocean of eternity then even then the promises of the Word will comfort us When gold and silver Father and Mother friends and Physitians are miserable comforters then will one promise out of the Word fill us full of joy unspeakable and glorious 4 The Comforts of the Word exceed all other comforts for they are pure and purifying sure and satisfying they are soul-supporting soul-comforting and soul-ravishing they are durable and everlasting The comforts of the world are not worthy to bee named that day in which wee speak of the comforts of the Word They are not consolationes but consolatiunculae At best they are but bodily unsatisfying and transitory Many times they are sinful and soul-damning 5 The Word of God is not only a Magazin and a Fountain of comfort but also a touch-stone by which wee must trie all our comforts whether they bee true and real or no. All joyes hopes and assurances must be tried by the Word and if not rightly grounded thereupon are false and soul-delusions 6 It is as an Apothecaries shop or a Physitians dispensatory out of which wee may fetch all manner of Medicines to cure all the diseases of our souls Art thou spiritually lame blinde or dumb c. The Word will open blinde eyes make the dumb to speak and the lame to walk If dead in sins and trespasses the Word when it is the sword of the spirit will quicken thee It is as a corrasive to eat sin out of thy heart therefore David saith I have hid thy Word in mine heart that I might not sin against thee 7 It is a spiritual Armory out of which wee may fetch all manner of weapons to conquer the Devil and his temptations 2 Cor. 10. 4. It is that little brook out of which every David may fetch five smooth stones to destroy the Devil These five smooth stones are five texts of Scripture three of these Christ took out of the brook of the Word by which hee subdued the Devil Matth. 4. 4. 7 10. 8 It is the Sun of the Christian world As the Sun is the light of the natural world and without it the world is but a Chaos and a dungeon full of darkness So is the Word of God the light of the spiritual world without which a Christian is under an eternal night Therefore David saith Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path Psal 119. 105. What would all the world avail if no Sun to illighten it and what comfort would all the wealth of it afford us if no word to instruct and counsel us For this is the Christians compass to sail to Heaven by his staffe to walk withal to Heaven his spiritual bladders to keep his soul from drowning The Cork to keep up the net of his soul from sinking Afflictions are like the lead of the net which weigheth it down but the Word is as the Cork which keeps it up that it sinks not So saith David in the Text Unless thy Law had been my delights c. Use If the Word of God bee of such invaluable excellency absolute necessity and of such admirable use 1 Let us bless God exceedingly for revealing his will unto us in the Word Use 1 It was a great honour and priviledge to the Jews that to them were committed the Oracles of God Rom. 3. 2. And it is our great happiness that wee have not only the same Oracles of God which they have but an addition of the New Testament for the clearer discovery of the mysteries of salvation unto us If God bee to bee praised for every crumme of bread wee eat much more for giving us his VVord which is the bread of life and the only food of our souls Blessed bee God who hath not only given us the book of the Creatures and the book of Nature to know himself and his will by but also and especially the Book of the Scriptures whereby wee come to know those things of God and of Christ which neither the Book of Nature nor of the creatures can reveal unto us Let us blesse God not only for revealing his will in his word but for revealing it by writing Before the time of Moses God discovered his will by immediate revelations from Heaven But wee have a surer word of Prophecy 2 Pet. 1. 19. surer to us than a voice from Heaven For the Devil saith the Apostle transforms himself into an Angel of light Hee hath his apparitions 2 Cor. 11. 14. and revelations hee is Gods ape and in imitation of God hee appears to his
Disciples and makes them beleeve it is God that appears and not the Devil Thus hee appeared to Saul in the likenesse of Samuel And if God should now at this day discover his way of worship and his divine will by Revelations how easily would men bee deceived and mistake diabolical delusions for divine Revelations and therefore let us bless ' God for the written word which is surer and safer as to us than an immediate Revelation There are some that are apt to think that if an Angel should come from Heaven and reveal Gods will to them it would work more upon them than the written word but I would have these men study the conference between Abraham and Dives Luk. 16. 27 28 29 30 31. Habent Mosen Prophetas c. They have Moses and the Prophets if they will not profit by them neither would they profit by any that should come out of Hell or down from Heaven to them For it is the same God that speaks by his written Word and by a voice from Heaven The difference is only in the outward cloathing and therefore if Gods speaking by writing will not amend us No more will Gods speaking by a voice O bless God exceedingly for the written Word let us cleave close to it and not expect any Revelations from Heaven of new truths but say with the Apostle Gal. 1. 8 9. Use 2 Let us prize the Word of God Use 2 above gold yea above fine gold Let us read it diligently reverently praying to God to give us the same spirit that wrote it to inable us to understand it and conscienciously to practice it Let us make it the joy and rejoycing of our heart and as it is in the Text Let us make it our delights but of this I spake in the former point The only motive I shall now use to perswade you to make the Word your delights shall bee this in the Text. Because it will keep you from perishing in the time of your greatest affliction It will comfort you when you have most need of it that is under heart-sinking afflictions and at the hour of death and it will comfort you when all outward comforts and creatures fail It will bee food to strengthen your weak Faith physick to cure the remainders of corruptions it will bee a cordial to revive your drooping spirits and fainting souls It will make you more than conquerors over all temptations and distresses Quest But now the great question is How a child of God ought to manage and make use of the word of God so as to make it a conduit of support and comfort in the day of his greatest afflictions Answ To bee able to do this there is a great deal of spiritual wisdome and understanding required For the word to many people is like Sauls armour to David which was so cumbersome to him that hee could not wear it There are many know not how to use the Word so as to bee comforted by it As the woman of Samaria told Christ Joh. 4. 11. The well is deep and thou hast nothing to draw with So may I say The word of God is a deep well Isa 4. it is a well of salvation but it is deep and the deeper the sweeter but most people want buckets to draw with they want a spiritual Art to fetch out of these wells of salvation divine supportation and consolation and therefore to help you in this great work you must know That the word of God may bee divided into three parts Into Commanmandements The word of God divided into the commanding threatning and promising Word Threatnings and Promises And though a Christian must not neglect the commanding and threatning word yet if ever hee would make the word a channel of divine comfort hee must study the promising word for the promises are a Christians magna charta for Heaven All comfort must bee built upon a Scripture promise else it is presumption not true comfort The promises are pabulum fidei anima fidei the food of faith and the soul of faith As faith is the life of a Christian so the promises are the life of Faith Faith is a dead Faith if it hath no promise to quicken it As the Promises are of no use without Faith to apply them so Faith is of no use without a promise to lay hold on And the great reason why the people of God walk uncomfortably in their afflictions is because they do not chew the promises they are rare cordials but as a man cannot taste the sweetness of a cordial unless hee chew it no more can wee receive any spiritual refreshment from the promises unless wee meditate on them The promises are as a Mine full of rich treasure but as Mines unlesse wee digge deep into them wee can never get the gold and silver hid in them no more can wee injoy the soul-ravishing comfort of the promises unlesse wee digge into them by a serious consideration of them They are as a garden full of rare flowers able to sweeten any condition But because wee do not walk in this garden and pick out these flowers hence it is that wee live so disconsolately and dejectedly under our afflictions There are many rare stories declaring the comfort that some of Gods Saints have received from the promises in the day of their distress Mr. Bilney that blessed Martyr was much wounded in conscience by reason of the great sin hee committed in subscribing to the Popish errors but hee was much comforted by reading those words 1 Tim 1. 15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of which I am the chief Beza was supported under his troubles by the words of Christ John 10.27 28 29. Mr. Bolton tells us of one that was upheld under great affliction and comforted from Isa 26. 3. Of another from Isa 57.15 I knew a young maid that went triumphantly to Heaven by the refreshing shee found in that well known Text Matth. 11. 28. and many that have been wonderfully cheared by reading the eight chapter of the Romans and by that Text 1 Joh. 3. 14. VVee know that wee have passed from death unto life because wee love the Brethren The truth is there is no promise but if God bee pleased to illighten it and shew us our interest in it will afford a harvest of joy It is with promises as it is with Sermons That Sermon which once heard did not at all work upon us the same Sermon heard at another time may exceedingly affect us And the same Text of Scripture which sometimes doth not at all comfort us may at another time convey much comfort to us Two men troubled in conscience may both of them read the same chapter and hear the same Sermon and one of them may have his troubled minde pacified and the other continue troubled and the reason is because the Spirit of God makes the Word
not according to that hee hath not 2 Cor. 8. 12. 3 That though hee cannot in his own person perform all that God commands yet Jesus Christ as his surety and in his stead hath fulfilled the Law for him and that God will accept of Christs perfect as a cover for his imperfect righteousnesse That Christ hath redeemed him from the curse of the Law being made a curse for him That the threatnings of the Law are Serpents without a sting and that Christ hath taken away the power and force of them Did a broken-hearted and wounded sinner ponder and meditate on these things they would fill him full of joy and comfort Hee would flye from the Covenant of works to the Covenant of grace from his own unrighteousness unto the righteousness of Christ and from the commanding and threatning word unto the promising word hee would say Lord Thou commandest mee to walk in thy statutes and to keep thy Laws This I cannot do of my self but thou hast promised to cause mee to walk in thy wayes and to write thy Law in my Domine da quod jubes jube quod vis Aust heart Lord give mee power to do what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt 2 A presumptuous sinner is alwaies The second difference studying the promising Word to bolster up himself in sin but hee never studies his sins and iniquities to repent for them and from them Hee meditates on the Promises to harden his heart in sin but not at all on his sins to humble himself for them and to turn from them But now on the contrary A poor distressed Christian pores upon his iniquities and corruptions but never mindes himself of the Promises and this makes him live so dejectedly and disconsolately A wicked man studieth his corruptions too little A distressed Christian too much If hee did study the Promises as much as hee doth his corruptions hee would not walk so uncomfortably Wherefore if ever you would make the Word of God a conduit of comfort in the day of your distress you must not only meditate on the commanding and threatning Word but on the promising Word The Commandements and threatnings must drive you to the Promises you must not only study your corruptions to humble you but also the Promises to comfort you I do not say you must not study your corruptions but you must joyn the study of the Promises together with them If Abraham had minded only the deadnesse of Sarahs womb and of his own body he had never beleeved c. but hee was strong in Faith and staggered not because hee considered not his own body now dead when hee was about an hundred years old nor the deadness of Sarahs wombe but was fully Rom. 4. 19 20 21 perswaded that what God had promised hee was able to perform If Sarah had considered only that shee was past age shee would never have beleeved that shee should have a childe but shee eyed the Promise and judged him faithful who had promised and that Heb. 11. 11 made her beleeve If a Saint of God looks only downwards upon the deadnesse of his heart and meditates only upon his sins and infirmities hee will never bee comforted in the day of his distresse But hee must also look upwards unto the Promises seriously ponder and fixedly study them which will bee as strong Pillars to support him and keep him from falling into despair in the hour of tribulation Q. What are the Meditations which wee must have in reference and relation to the Promises in the day of our distress Ans I will rank them into nine particulars 1 You must meditate upon the three great truths already mentioned The first meditation about the Promises 1 That God commands nothing as our duty which hee hath not promised as his gift 2 That God in the Covenant of grace will accept of lesse than hee requires in the Covenant of works 3 That if wee truly beleeve in Christ God will accept of his righteousness as a satisfaction for our unrighteousness 2 You must meditate upon the excellency and preciousness of the Promises The second Meditation meditate on the preciousness of the Promises 2 Pet. 1.4 The Promises are precious in five respects 2 Cor. 1. 20. they are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 exceeding great and precious Promises They are precious in five respects 1 Because they cost a great price even the blood of Christ to purchase them They are all made to us in Christ and for Christ they are in him yea and in him Amen The Covenant which is the Pandecta and Cabinet of all the Promises was sealed with his blood 2 Because they assure us of great and precious things they assure us of our interest in God of our justification reconciliation adoption sanctification and glorification Heaven it self is nothing else but the injoyment of the Promises Heb. 6. 12. The Promises are Heaven folded up Heaven is the Promise unfolded For the Promises are nothing else but the eternal purposes of God towards his children made manifest The purposes of God are his concealed Promises and the Promises are his revealed purposes The Promises are the kisses of Jesus Christ they discover his dear love and when hee discovers to us our interest in them then hee kisses us with the kisses of his mouth and fills us with joy unspeakable and glorious They are made by God and they make over God to us as our portion and Christ as our Saviour and the Spirit as our Sanctifier and all good things both here and hereafter as our inheritance and therefore may well bee called exceeding great and precious Promises 3 Because they put a price upon the New Testament for wherein doth the New Testament exceed the Old unless it bee in this because it is founded upon better Promises Heb. 8. 6. and bringeth in a better hope Heb. 7. 19. 4 Because they put a price upon all the blessings of God A little mercy reached out to us as a fruit of a Promise is more worth than a world of blessings comming to us meerly by way of providence A man may receive blessings from God upon a double account either ex largitate or ex promisso either by way of providence or by way of Promise 1 By way of Providence Thus God gives the earth to the sons of men Psal 115. 16. Thus hee gave one hundred twenty and seven Provinces to Ahashuerosh Thus hee sets up the basest of men to rule over Nations Dan. 4. 17. 2 By way of Promise Thus hee gives health wealth and all outward comforts unto his children For godlinesse hath the Promise of this life and that which is to come 1 Tim. 4. 8. Now you must know that a little blessing comming to us as a fruit of the Promise is more worth than a thousand blessings comming to us only by way of Providence And therefore David saith A little that the righteous man hath is
the Promises if hee hath no share in it There are three sorts of professors of Religion 1 Some lay claim to the Promises when they have no right to them such are your presumptuous sinners who take it for granted that the Promises belong to them who presume themselves into Hell by a false hope in the Promises who make a Feather-bed of the Promises upon which they sleep securely in sin As Thrasilaus a mad Athenian laid claim to every Ship that came to Athens though hee had right to none So a presumptuous sinner laies claim to every Promise though hee hath right to none he inlargeth them beyond their bounds and maketh the conditional Promises to bee absolute and such as belong only to those that are in Christ to belong to him though hee bee not in Christ Hee sucks the poison of sin and security out of the sweet flower of the Promises 2 Some have an interest in the Promises and know their interest These live in Heaven while they are upon earth these rejoyce in tribulation and are more than conquerors over the greatest afflictions These are secure from perishing in the day of distresse That man who taking the Bible into his hand can say upon right grounds All the Promises in this Book are my portion and I have a right and title to them this man is happy above expression 3 Some have an interest in the Promises but do not know their interest and therefore dare not in the hour of trouble apply them for their supportation and consolation Such are your broken-hearted wounded distressed and deserted Christians Such can receive no comfort from the Promises in the day of affliction When they begin to apply them for their support the Devil suggesteth to them and their own doubting hearts tells them that they mis-apply them and that they belong not to them When a godly Minister whose office is to speak a word in season to those that are weary Isa 50. 4. indeavours by the Application of the Promises to comfort them their souls refuse to bee comforted they exclude themselves from having a right to Christ and his Promises though Christ would not have them excluded They groundlesly contest that their names are written in the black book of reprobation and that all the curses of the Law are their portion hence it is that they live so uncomfortably and disconsolately in the time of affliction Now then for the help of such persons who have a true title to the promises but know it not who walk in darkness and see no light who beleeve they are Hypocrites when they are not and that they are not in Christ when they are that I may bee Gods instrument to inable such to make Application of the precious promises unto their own souls in particular in the hour of trouble for their everlasting supportation and consolation I shall lay down these ensuing Rules and Directions Rule 1. 1 Whosoever in a Gospel-sense doth obey the commanding word of God hath The first Rule for the right Application of the Promises a real interest in the Promising word of God Though thou canst not perfectly obey the will of God yet if thou dost truly desire and industriously indeavour to obey it in all things If God hath written his Law in thy heart and given thee a Gospel-frame inclining thee to the obedience of all his commandements sincerely though not perfectly this is an infallible evidence that thou hast a right and portion in all the Promises This is that which God saith Exod. 19. 5. If you will obey my voice indeed then yee shall bee a peculiar treasure c. If yee will obey my voice indeed not only in word and in shew but in deed and in truth Thus Jer. 7. 5 7. If yee thoroughly amend your waies if yee thoroughly execute judgement c. then will I cause you to dwell in this place c. If yee thoroughly amend c. not only in some things but in all things not only outwardly but inwardly also This Rule is expresly delivered by the Apostle 1 Tim. 4. 8. Godlinesse hath the Promise of the life that now is and that which is to come If thou beest a godly man in a Gospel-sense that is one who truly and sincerely indeavoureth to bee godly If thou makest Gods will thy Rule to live by and not thine own Gods glory thy end and not thy own carnal interest Gods love thy Principle If thy Rules Aims and Principles bee godly all the Promises of this life and of the life to come belong to thee It is worth observing that all the Promises of life and salvation are conditional Happiness is entailed upon Holiness Glory upon Grace You shall read in Scripture of the blessings of the Covenant and of the bond of the Covenant of the blessings of the Promises and of the condition Ezek. 20. 37. of the Promises If ever you would assure your selves of your interest in the blessings of the Covenant you must try your selves by your sincere performance of the condition Thus Christ is promised to none but such as beleeve pardon of sin to none but such as repent and Heaven to none but such as persevere in well doing Tell mee then Canst thou say as in Gods presence that thou hast respect to all Gods Commandements though thou failest in all yet thou hast respect to all that thou obeyest God in deed and in truth and that thou sincerely labourest to bee godly This is a certain sign that all the Promises are thy portion but you that are ungodly and do not thoroughly amend your waies you that sleight undervalue and despise the commanding Word you have no part no portion in the promising word But it may bee a distressed Christian though without just cause will say that hee is afraid that hee doth not sincerely obey the commanding word and therefore dares not apply to himself the promising word wherefore I adde Rule 2. 2 The more thou art afraid lest thou The second Rule for the right Application of the Promises shouldest have no right to the Promises the more right thou hast in all probability to them This I speak only to the distressed Christian not that I commend his fear But this I say This fear which thou art possessed withall is a probable sign that thou hast an interest in the Promises For a presumptuous sinner never doubts of his right to them but takes it as a Maxime not to bee denied that they belong to him It is a comfortable saying of Mr. Greenhams When thou hearest the Promises and art in a cold sweat and hast a fear and trembling seizing upon thee lest they should not belong to thee doubt not but that they do belong to thee For Christ hath said Come unto mee Mat. 11.28 all yee that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest And the Prophet Isaiah calls upon those who are of a fearful heart to bee
them that ask him The office of the holy Spirit is first to seal grace and then to seal to grace First the Spirit sanctifieth us then it witnesseth to our Ephes 1. 13 Spirits that wee are sanctified Pray therefore unto God that hee would not only work grace in you but witness unto the grace which hee hath wrought Pray for the sanctifying and sealing work of the Spirit That hee would not onely fit you to have an interest in the promises but assure you of your interest in them Rule 13. Study thy interest in the promises in the time of health and outward The 13. Rule for the right Application of the Promises prosperity For I find by experience that a childe of God under outward affliction or divine desertion or extream melancholy is many times like a man in the dark A man in the dark cannot though never so learned read in a book of the clearest print or fairest character hee cannot though never so active undertake any thing of weight No more can a childe of God in the hour of distress read his evidences for heaven much less study to finde out evidences hee looks upon all the promises with a black pair of spectacles and wants light to see his interest in them When Sion was in distress shee said God had forsaken Isa 49. 14. Psal 116. 11. her and her Lord had forgotten her When David was persecuted by Saul hee said in his haste All men were liars and when Samuel himself who had told him that God would bestow the Kingdome on him hee Psal 31. 22. Psal 88. 3. 14 15 16 17 18. said in his haste hee was cut off from before Gods eyes Thus did Heman Christ himself cried out when hee was upon the Cross with a loud voyce My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee As men in Agues and Feavers are not fit judges of meats and drinks whether they bee good or bad because their pallats are out of taste So a distressed Christian when under extream melancholy divine desertion or some great affliction is no fit judge at such a time of his interest in the promises And therefore my advice is Make out thy interest in time of prosperity and live upon it in time of adversity Make and read over thy evidences for heaven in time of health and learn then by heart that when thou comest into a dark condition thou mayest neither have them to make or to read Do as Tamar did Gen. 38. 18. 25. When Judah her Father in law lay with her shee took as a pledge his signet bracekets and staffe And afterward when shee was in great distress and ready to bee burn't as a Harlot shee then brought her staffe and signet and bracelets and said By the man whose these are am I with childe and thereby shee saved her life So must you do In time of health study thy interest in the promises and in time of sickness live upon what thou hast studied then bring forth thy staffe and bracelets c. then produce thy evidences and make use of them as spiritual butteresses to keep thee from falling into despair Mrs. Diggons dwelling with Mr. Moor in Aldermanbury I knew a very godly woman not unknown to many here who in her life time had taken a great deal or pain to compose and write down her evidences for heaven and who also kept a Diary of her life and wrote down how shee spent every day when shee lay upon her death-bed it pleased God to with-draw himself from her for a while and to let the Devil loose who tempted her to despair told her shee was an Hypocrite a Formalist and that shee had no true grace in her Shee sent for mee made her bitter complaint to mee and sadly bewayled her condition Then shee told mee which before I knew not how shee had spent her life how careful shee had been in searching her wayes in observing how shee spent every day and how exact in collecting evidences for heaven the book was sent for I read a great part of it to her and took much delight and content in what I read And it pleased God to come in to her with comfort in the reading of it Shee shewed her staffe and her bracelets and thereby quenched the fiery darts of the Devil Thus I have in three Sermons taught you how to make use of Scripture-promises as conduits of soul-supportation and soul-consolation in the day of distress When you hereafter read the Bible remember the promising-promising-word as well as the commanding and threatning word make a Catalogue of the promises meditate upon the pretiousness freeness usefulness latitude richness and immutability of them They are as certain as God himself they have the strength of God the comforts of God and assistance of God in them Above all labour to make application of them to your own soul For this purpose study these thirteen Rules and Directions Pray unto God to give thee spiritual eyes to see thy interest in them and spiritual hands to reach out after them Pray to God to give thee spiritual ability to act faith upon the promises to draw vertue from them as the woman who had the bloody issue did from Christ to suck out all the sweetness that is in them to hang upon them as the woman did upon the Prophet and as a Bee doth upon a flower and by application of them to thy soul to live in God and on God here till thou comest to enjoy the blessings promised with God for ever in heaven There is one Objection behinde which when I have answered I have done For a distressed Christian will object and say Object Though the promises are rare cordials and shall all of them bee certainly fulfilled yet God is oftentimes long before hee fulfills them and while God is fulfilling of his promises I may in the mean time perish in my affliction Ans It cannot be denied but that God is oftentimes very long in fulfilling his promises He promised that the seed Gen. 3.15 Luk. 18.7 8. of the woman should bruise the Serpents head but it was Four thousand years before that promise was actually accomplished Hee promiseth to avenge his elect of all their enemies to do it speedily And the souls under the Altar cry How long Lord when wilt Rev. 6.10 thou avenge our blood c. But this is not yet fulfilled Nay I must adde That God is not onely a long time performing his promises but sometimes instead of performing them hee seems to the eye of flesh and blood to walk contrary to them Sometimes the Providences of God run cross to his Promises God promised to make David King instead of this hee is persecuted by Saul as a Partridge upon the mountains hee is driven to that extremity that hee begins to doubt of Gods promise and to say That one day hee should dye by the hand of Saul God promised to Joseph That the