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A66075
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Counsels and comforts for troubled consciences contained in a letter, lately written to a friend / by Henry Wilkinson ...
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Wilkinson, Henry, 1616-1690.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing W2234; ESTC R34095
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48,680
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121
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accompanies the Word and makes it effectual And the Word quickned by the Spirit 2 Cor. 10. 5. works wonderful things For it 's mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds * Eis comparat ratiocinationibus Philo sophorumquae Evangelio opponebantur Grot. casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knâ—wledg of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ The Word of God is one piece of our Spiritual armour And Eph. 6. 17. take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God A sword is both an offensive and a defensive weapon And the Word is a two-edged sword Heb. 4. 12. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword * Leviticus culter pervenit ad minimâ— quales sunt nerve in junctur is ad intima quales sunt medullae sic sermo Dei intima minima animi penetrat inque ea agit Grot. Isa 51. 21. De calamitatibus loquutus est nempe dubitent ut fideles non quin parata sit eis a Domino consolatio tametsi extrema quaeque patiantur Calv. in loc piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart The Word of God powerfully preacht may through the blessing of God meet with your particular condition and speak comfort to you For there is a particular and suitable word which frequently God directs his Ministers to preach and so to reach the hearts and conditions of the hearers One only Scripture I shall mention of the Prophet Isaiah Therefore hear now this thou afflicted and drunken but not with wine The meaning is that notwithstanding fore pressures and afflictions which they endured yet they should not doubt nor despair of Gods comforts there is a This i. e. a word of God to comfort the afflicted Keep close to the Word and be frequent in meditating of what you hear and in applving of it particularly to your own soul Sect. 19. 2. Receive the Lords Supper 2. To the diligent hearing of the Word of God you must join the receiving of the Sacrament of the Lords-Supper this is a great strengthning supporting and comforting Ordinâ—nce and you ought not to deny your self so great a priviledg which belongs to you As it 's a fault and a great one in many presumptuously and unpreparedly to come to the Lords Supper so it may be a fault in you who have knowledg to discern the Lords Body and your life is holy to debar your self of that choice Ordinance As you may not come unpreparedly without serious self examination so you may not stay away after due preparation For after a thorough exâ—mination follows 1 Cor. 11. 28. participation But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Neither should such who have right to this sealing Ordinance content themselves with seldom receiving but they should embrace frâ—quent opportunities for Communicating at the Lords-Table they will find many things wanting in their faith and love and repentance and therefore they should come frequently to strengthen their faith and love and to renew their repentance and to renew their covenants with God and to walk more humbly and holily in all manner of conversation The Text saith For as Vers 26. often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the Lords death till he come The Adverb there used is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that implys 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mr. Pemble on the Sacrament often that shews that we ought to do it often At other times we ought to have an habitual preparation but for receiving of the Lords-Supper we ought to have an actual preparation we ought to act faith love repentance and other graces Now because you find sin to be burdensome and loathsome and you account your self unworthy therefore you should not deny your self the Lords-Supper you ought the rather to come and to make haste unto Christ beseeching him to prepare you for the receiving of the Ordinance and to make it effectual unto you I shall give a distinction which I hope may give you satisfaction There is a Legal and an Evangelical Righteousness As for Legal righteousness to be exact and to perform the whole Law to a tittle none could do it but Christ alone and in a legal sense none of us can come worthily to the Lords-Supper for we all come short of our duty and when we have done all we can we must confess that we are unprofitable Luk. 17. 10. Isa 64. 6. servants and that we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags But there is an Evangelical righteousness and through Christs righteousness imputed to us we are accounted righteous and accepted of God and notwithstanding infirmities which we are sensible of and mourn for them if our hearts be sincere towards God we may expect a blessing of God upon the Ordinance For though we are not as of our selves any ways worthy of receiving so great an Ordinance yet the God of the Ordinance will be pleased to accept of the uprightness of our hearts Let us then make our addresses to God as Hezekiah did for the people concerning their failings about receiving of the Passover The good Lord pardon 2 Chron. 30. 18 19 20. every one that prepareth his heart to seek the God of his Fathers though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the Sanctuary And the Lord hearkned to Hezekiah and healed the people 3. Labour to the utmost to be 3. Labour to be strict in the observation of the Sabbath Exod. 20. 8 9 10 11. conscientious and strict in the observation of the Sabbath day The fourth Commandment preâ—ixeth a peculiar Memento for the observation of the Sabbath day Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work but the sevenâ—h day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God In it thou shalt not do any work thou nor thy son nor thy daughter thy man-servant nor thy maid-servant nor thy stranger that is within thy gates The Sabbath was to be observed the seventh day of the week from the Creation to the Resurrection of Christ since we are to observe the first day of the week in memory of Christs Resurrection and this is the Christian Sabbath commonly called the Lords-day On this day Christ rose from the dead on this day collection was to be made 1 Cor. 16. 1. Act. 20. 7. Rev. 1. 10. for the Saints on this day the Disciples came together to break bread and St. John was in an especial manner ravisht in the Spirit * Diem Dominicam vocat primam â—ebdomadis feriam qua Dominus a mortuis
resurrexerit c. Pareus in loc I was in the spirit on the Lords day This day is the souls market-market-day the souls harvest-harvest-day the souls rejoiâ—ing-rejoiâ—ing-day Prepare for this day before it comes meditate of the duties of the day and sanctifie your souls for the sanctification of the Lords own day The word Remember necessarily implys prepartion and a previous consideration of performing the works of the day in its own day This day ought seriously to be remembred before it comes and the heart ought to be prepar'd and sequestred from all worldly intanglements On this day we should rise earlier in a morning than other days Mary rose early that day and had a joyful sight of the Lord Jesus Shake off sloth and drowsiness and beware of idleness for spiritual idleness on this day is as bad as bodily labour give unto God his own day a whole day and imploy your soul in the works of the day and the works are works of piety mercy and necessity and beg of God a Sabbath-frame and temper of spirit As for such works as concern our secular calling though they are lawful and necessary on other days of the week yet on this day they are neither necessary nor lawful much less are corporal-recreations as games or sports c. to be allowed on this day On this day double diligence ought to be used for the performing of double duties to hearing of the Word in publick add reading in private and to reading add secret prayer and to prayer add meditation and to meditation add conference as next is to be mentioned Sect. 20. Duty 5. Communicate your Doubts to experienced Christians Mal. 2. 7. Isa 50. 4. A fifth Duty is to communicate your Doubts and perplexities to such experienced Ministers or people who are able and willing to administer spiritual comfort unto you The Prophet tells us For the Priests lips should keep knowledg and they should seek the Law at his mouth for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts Impart your case to faithful Ministers to whom God hath given the tongue of the Learned and to other experienced Christians who through the Grace of God may speak both by way of counsel and comfort something for the settlement and establishment of your spirit Frequent the society of such who fear God and be a companion to such here on earth whose company you hope to enjoy to all eternity It was the saying of an eminent servant of Jesus Christ upon his Death-bed Mr. Robert Bolton I shall change my place but not my company Be therefore ready and willing to lay hold upon those opportunities which are offered for spiritual conference and be glad of the prayers and counsels of such as are Mnasons and old Disciples and experienced Christians and Practitioners of Religion Spiritual conference is no new practice for it is of great antiquity and I heartily wish that it were more revived and put in practice than it is now-a-days The Prophet Malachy makes mention of such Religious meetings Then they that feared the Lord spake Mal. 3. 16. often to one another and the Lord hearkned and heard it and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name Upon perusal of those words it 's evident that the people of God met together and confer'd about each others spiritual estate And there ought to be a great deal of care and conscience in the managing of such meetings for God takes notice of all that 's done or spoken and puts them upon record O! how much and abundant soul-satisfaction may be gain'd by the society of such as are godly to such you ought to unbosom and unburthen your soul they may be instrumental for the good of your soul And as I advise unto conference and correspondence with godly Christians so I advise you to the making choice of godly Writers and to peruse them with diligence and seriousness of spirit Let the holy Scriptures always have the preheminence both in your judgment and affections Next to them I commend unto your frequent reading sound and orthodox Writers such as are Calvins Institutions Greenham Perkins Dod Dyke on the Deceitfulness of the heart Scudder Burroughs gracious spirit and in an especial manner because it 's very suitable to your condition I commend to your reading Dr. Sibs of the souls conflict The precious Author is dead but his memory is blessed and both the Author and his Works are like precious ointment poured forth The sixth and last particular Duty Duty 6. Wait upon God which I advise you unto is to wait silently patiently and submissively upon God Labour therefore to bring your will to Gods will God is infinite in Wisdom and knows what 's better for you than you know for your self and better than you can either ask or think And believe that Gods time is always the best time and therefore wait on God till he be pleased to speak a word of peace to you Let faith and patience hold out and joyn them both together and imitate those who Heb. 6. 12. through faith and patience have inherited the promises The Church of God though under hatches and in a very low condition yet did exercise faith and patience And I Isa 8. 17. will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob and I will look for him The Church of God was much afflicted and vexed with briers and thorns and was neither quiet at home nor abroad yet notwithstanding we read of an Heroical resolution of the Church Therefore I will look unto the Lord Mic. 7. 7. I will wait for the God of my salvation my God will hear me In this verse Faith Patience and Assurance are all joyn'd together for looking implys that there was an eye of faith and waiting implys the exercise of patience and that God would hear was a strong ground of assurance that the faith and patience there mention'd were successful In Habbakkuks time the Vision was very dark For said Hab. 2. 3. the Prophet the vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speak and not lye though it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry Waiting-Christians are exceeding much gainers by all their waiting so saith the Prophet The Lord is good to them that wait Lam. 3. 25 26. for him to the soul that seeketh him It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Wherefore if God speak not comfort so soon as you desire and expect yet know that it is your duty to hold out and continue waiting and not in the least to presume to limit the holy one of Israel to any time or means Let God as an ancient Eligat opportunitatem qui libere dat misericordiam Aug. Father saith chuse the opportunity who freely gives thee mercy