they be accomplished 2. Our Faith will be joyned with Godly sorrow and repentance Act. 20. 21. Testifying both to Jews and Greeks Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ The Hypocrites Faith is usually without Repentance he is stranger to godly sorrow and yet he is full of confidence or his repentance is without Faith he lies down like Cain or Judas under the burthen of his guilt and utterly despairs of mercy I grant that weak believers have strong temptations to despair But the God of hope bears up their hearts by an unseen hand so that they neither desperately destroy themselves nor come to this resolution since there is no hope but they must be damn'd they will be damn'd for something and so run out to all excess of riot If our Faith be true Sin will be our grief and detestation and there will be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a change in our minds and rendring our hearts unto God 3. If we are in the Faith Christ is no longer a stone of stumbling but exceeding precious in our esteem 1 Pet. 2. 6 7. He is lookt upon as the power of God and the wisdom of God The wisdom of God in contriving such a way of salvation is admired and the power of Christ to save to the uttermost is believed The Apostle counted all things but loss dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord Phil. 3. 8. 'T is impossible a man should be a true Believer and not have an high value for the Lord Jesus His Person is precious He is the Fathers equal his Darling and the Brightness of his Glory He is the Angels wonder and they all are commanded to worship him Heb. 1. 3. 6. He is the Churches Head and supplies the whole Body with his fulness Eph. 1. ult And gave him to be Head over all things to the Church which is his Body the fulness of him that filleth all in all And as the Person of Christ so the Blood of Christ is said to be precious 1 Pet. 1. 19. Ye were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot His benefits are precious True Faith counts Him altogether lovely and hinders any offence from being taken at him Matth. 11. 6. 4. Our Faith will purifie our hearts Act. 15. 9. And put no difference between us and them purifying their hearts by faith Faith is persuaded of the holiness of God and that he searches the heart and trieth and weigheth the spirits of the children of men 't is also persuaded that only the pare in heart shall see God or are fit to see him Mat. 5. 8. No wonder therefore if the consequent of Faith be a following after holiness without which no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12. 14. Faith moreover takes notice of the End of Christs dying which was that he might sanctifie and cleanse his Church and present it unto himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it might be holy and without blemish Eph. 5. 26 27. and hence we have a plae for holiness which is very effectual to obtain it Finally Faith applies the promises of sanctification the promises of a new heart and of a new spirit Ezek. 36. 25 26. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh And by such promises as these Believers who account them exceeding great and precious are made partakers of the Divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the World through lust 2 Pet. 1. 4. 5. If we are in the Faith our faith will work and work by love Ephes 5. 6. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith which worketh by love The Apostle tells us that faith without works is dead as the body is dead without the spirit Jam. 2. ult Faith derives strength from Christ whereby we yield obedience to the will of God as well as relies upon his justifying righteousness But all works will not prove the truth of faith but such works as proceed from love We must pray because we love God we must hear because we love him we must live to him because we love him There is a threefold love to God of Desire of Benevolence and Complacency now though all that have true faith may not arrive so high as to delight in God yet all true believers do desire after God above all and they bear such good will to him as to wish him glorified more by themselves and others and this shews the sincerity of their love 6. Our Faith will be weary of its contrary and we shall cry with earnestness that the Lord would help our unbelief The man in the Gospel was very much troubled at his infidelity and therefore cried out with tears to Christ Lord I believe i. e. I believe in part and desire to believe more strongly help thou my unbelief Mat. 9. 24. Unbelieving injections against God against Christ against the Spirit of grace against the Word of truth are felt as so many buffets and blows upon an heart that truly believes The believer desires to have his Assent to the Word of God more strong that it may have the stronger influence and that his affections and actions may be such as may suit his believing every syllable of the Bible to be true He desires his reliance upon God upon Christ and upon the promises may be more firm and steady And oh what a value does he put a well-grounded assurance of the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Rom. 8. ult 7. If we are in the Faith our faith will give us victory over this present world 1 Joh. 5. 4. 5. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world and this is the victory that overcometh the world even your faith The believer is so wise as nihil admirari to admire nothing in this world Our Lord Jesus himself had but little of this world and cared not for it when Satan offered him all the Kingdoms of the world and the glory of them he despised the offer The Apostles were poor in the world and yet the special favourites of heaven certainly the world is not a matter of extraordinary value Most Saints have had but little of it and those who have had much of it have lived above it Moses by Faith despised the pleasures of sin and the treasures of Aegypt and prefer'd even reproaches for Christ and afflictions with the people of God before them Though David was a King and wore a Crown of pure gold on his head yet his faith made him look upon himself as a
stranger upon the earth Psal 39. 12. I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were 8. If we are indeed in the Faith our faith will make the next world evident and desirable 'T wil prove the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the good and true Spy which searches the heavenly Country which is promised and brings back word That that Celestial Canaan is very glorious that an innumerable company of Angels are there and the Spirits of just men and all made perfect that God the Judge of all is there seen face to face and there is Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant crown'd with and in his Fathers throne that there is no need of the Sun or of the Moon to shine for the glory of God doth enlighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof Rev. 21. 23. finally that sin and sorrow are eternal strangers but there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore And Faith giving such a report of the world to come no wonder that 't is judged worth seeking and that with an holy violence Mat. 11. 12. The Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force 2. We are to prove our selves whether Christ be in us yea or no Christ and Satan divide the world all that have not Christ in them Satan has possession of he is the Spirit that works in the children of disobedience Now whether Christ be really in us may be thus proved and discerned 1. If Christ be in us he has entred by the door of the understanding we cannot be totally ignorant of him True Faith cannot be without knowledge Rom. 10. 14. How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard We must know who and what he was that undertook the work of our redemption how else can we rely upon him He is near a kin to us as Man and is a merciful and faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people Heb. 2. 17. and surely he was able to finish that work which he undertook for he is over all God blessed for ever Amen Rom. 9. 5. We must also know the benefits of Christ that we may know what to rely upon him for now these benefits are most necessary suitable and excellent as pardon of Sin adoption to be the Sons of God sanctifying grace and endless glory Nay Christ is all in all and Christ being given nothing will be denied Rom. 8. 32. He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things 2. If Christ be in us our very hearts have been opened to receive him When Christ has knockt at the door we have given him admission it has been our souls language Come in thou blessed Lord wherefore standest thou without And this receiving of Christ is indeed believing in him Joh. 1. 12. To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name The heart has been convinced that 't is most highly rational to give entertainment to this Lord of life and glory He uses the strongest arguments for admission makes the greatest offers delivers all out of the depths of misery and advances them to be Saints Sons Priests Kings who shall Reign most gloriously and happily to Eternity that do indeed embrace him 3. â—f Christ be in us the dominion of Sin and our Idols have been thrown down When Darius the Persian Emperour offered half his Empire to the Conquering Alexander Alexander gave this Answer That in the Firmament there was but one Sun and there must be but one Emperor in Persia and therefore continued his Wars till Darius had lost both Life and Kingdom In like manner there cannot be two Rulers in one heart If Christ be there no iniquity has the dominion any longer Where Christ is he works a change so that persons are no longer foolish disobedient and deceived they no longer serve divers lusts and pleasures Tit. 3. 3. And whatsoever has been idolized be it profit pleasure applause now 't is disesteemed that Christ alone may be exalted 4. If Christ be in us we approve and value his Kingdom as well as his Priesthood We shall like and love the Lord. Jesus as a Prince upon the Throne consenting that that Throne should be our hearts as well as a Priest upon the Cross and shall be very desirous to be more fully subdued to him His Yoak is judged easie and his burthen light Mat. 11. ult Christ is really no hard Master though the World think him to be so They that are in Christ and experience what kind of Ruler he is and that he rules by a Law of Faith and Love and Liberty are very glad of his Kingly Office It was matter of praise and thanksgiving to the Apostle that he and other Believers had been made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light and also that God had delivered them from the power of darkness and had translated them into the Kingdom of his dear Son Col. 1. 12 13. 5. If Christ be in us his Word is entertain'd and abides in us also We cannot slight that Word which discovers Christ and was the great means to bring us to Him Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly says the Apostle Col. 3. 16. And hearken what Christ himself speaks Joh. 15. 7. If ye abide in me and my Words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done to you Oh with what gladness do Believers give entertainment to the Word since they may have what they will if the Word abide in them and this Word will rectifie their judgments and regulate their wills so that they shall will nothing but what is truely for their good and what is really for their good shall most readily be granted Now Christ and his Word abide together But Christ is rejected if his Word be not received Joh. 12. 48. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my Word hath one that judgeth him the Word that I have spoken the same shall judge him at the last day 6. If Christ be in us we have the Spirit of Christ Rom. 8. 9. The Apostle does so plainly intimate this truth that he asserts the want of Christs Spirit undoubtedly shews there is no interest in him If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his As all the Members of the Natural Body are animated and acted by the same Soul which in a special manner shews it self in the Head so the same Spirit which is without measure in Christ the Head does animate and act all the true Members of his Body mystical Now where the Spirit of Christ is he enlightens the mind opens the eyes of the understanding he makes a
so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himself not discerning the Lords body We ought to prove our Spiritual state and examine our proficiency and eye the present frame of our hearts And though upon trial we cannot absolutely say we have grace yet if there be no black and apparent marks of unregeneracy and only probable signs of our being sanctified yet we ought to come to the Table that our Faith may be strengthned the work of sanctification carried on and our selves in that sealing Ordinance sealed unto the day of redemption Are we willing that every sin should die Are we willing that the world should be thrown out of the highest room in our hearts Are we willing to receive Christ and all the benefits he gives forth in this Ordinance Are we willing to resign and render our souls and all that is within us even our whole man to him If we can answer in the affirmative to all upon our coming to the Table we shall be made welcome whatever an unbelieving heart may fear and suggest to the contrary 2. We ought to prove our selves before solemn prayer and humiliation In solemn supplication Solomon speaks of it as necessary that every one should understand the plague of his own heart when he spreads forth his hands towards the house of God 1 King 8. 38. Now the heart must be examined what it ayls that the plague of it may be found out The Priest under the law was to look again and again upon the person suspected of leprosie The plagues of the heart lie deep many times and are not easily discerned there must be the more heedful examination And as we are to find out the plagues of our hearts so all our wants and weaknesses and all are to be spread before the God of all grace who can because most high perform all things for us and cure every malady and supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus 3. We ought to prove our selves after falls though believers shall never fall from a state of grace yet they may fall into several acts of sin And when their falls are more foul and scandalous their peace is broken The holy Spirit their Comforter being grieved their comfort and joy takes wings and flies away The guilt they contract fills them with fear and brings them under great bondage their evidences are blotted and their state seemsto be very questionable Now therefore it concerns them to prove themselves that they may find out the lurking corruption that betrayed them and that they may be sensible of the heinous nature and high aggravations of the sins they have committed that being truly humbled they may cry with fervency for pardon and cleansing and that the joy of Gods salvation may be restored David after he had defiled Bathsheba the Wife and murdered Vriah the Husband he renews the Search into himself he traces these filthy streams till he came to the fountain the original corruption of his nature he is sensible what an impure and deceitful heart he had and therefore cries out Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Psal 51. 10. he found that his fall had fill'd him with anguish and very much enfeebled him therefore he prays Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free Spirit v. 12. His sin stared him in the face and he begs that God would hide his face from it and withal he offers the acceptable sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart to him 4. We ought to prove our selves in the time of Spiritual desertion When God had withdrawn from the Psalmist and so far withdrawn as that he almost questioned whether ever he would return again and therefore cries out Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more then he communed with his own heart and his Spirit made diligent search Psal 77. 6 7. David enquires why his God had forsaken him and why he was so far from helping him and from the words of his roaring Psal 22. 1. and Job under desertion cries out why hast thou set me as a mark against thee so that I am a burthen to my self Job 7. 20. Spiritual desertions are very uncomfortable these are the hours wherein the powers of darkness buffet believers and unbelief and deadness and corruptions prevail Saints therefore should question themselves severely what they have been and done which has grieved and quenched the Blessed Spirit that they may lament their sin and loss and lament after God they are also to reflect upon former experiences of special kindness and call to remembrance their Songs in the night and the years of the right hand of the Most High and the consideration of Gods unchangeable love and his sure and everlasting Covenant should keep them from sinking into despondency Finally they are to observe the design of God in withdrawing and be the more humble distrustful of themselves depending on their beloved Lord and the more thankful and fruitful prizing the presence of God the more highly ever after 5. We ought to prove our selves in the time of affliction So says the Prophet Lam. 3. 39 40. Wherefore doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins Let us search and try our ways and turn unto the Lord our God Conscience is many times awakened by affliction we should not hinder it from being busie and prying but hearken to it whatever it speaks to us Josephs Brethren made light of their cruelty towards their Brother for many years together But when they were in distress in Egypt then they lookt into themselves and they had a smart and stinging sence of their own unmercifulness and they cry out We are verily guilty concerning our Brother Affliction should cause us to consider our ways and though sins were palliated and excused before yet then we should acknowledge we are verily guilty When our sin hath found us out we should find that out and our Souls should be humbled within us and turn to him that smites us 6. We ought to prove our selves after our engaging in Ordinances 'T is good to examine before what we want and after what we have gained Ordinances are Talents and a vast improvement may be made of them if we are not wanting to our own interest Merchants that drive a Trade beyond the Seas when the Ships return they are careful to examine what is the produce of the ventures they send So should we in this Spiritual Trade we should ask our selves what we have gained And what is the produce of all our praying hearing fasting praising Whether we are such wise Merchants as to gain the Pearl of price Whether we thrive in grace and grow rich in faith rich in good works for this is to grow rich towards God And truely all the Silver
troubled at sensible evils because they are light for a moment and work for good if we are less taken with sensible good things and enjoy them as if we enjoyed and possess'd them not but things Spiritual and Eternal awaken our care and diligence indeed because we believe that these are infinitely of the nearest and greatest concernment 't is a sign that our grace and faith has some strength and that we resemble those Worthies who saw the invisible God and declared plainly that they sought a better Country than was to be found in this present World Heb. 11. 2. Then we grow in Grace when our senses are exercised to discern both good and evil This will prove us to be of a fuller age and that we are distinguished from such as are but Babes Heb. 5. 14. This discerning both good and evil does not only imply soundness of judgment to perceive what is truth and what is error that truth may be held fast and error under what form or disguise soever it comes may be rejected but seems to have some relation to the will and affections and the good that is to be chosen the evil that is to be refused When good things have a greater relish with us than formerly and Sin grows more and more distasteful this shews our Spiritual senses are improved Davids grace was much increased when he said How sweet are thy words to my taste yea sweeter than hony to my mouth Psal 119. 103. And v. 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way 3. Then we grow in Grace when heart Sins are quickly observed at the very first rising of them and in a greater measure mortified When we are able to keep our hearts under our eye and to check them in their very first out-leaps from God and reduce them presently When pride and hatred and passion and envy cannot stir but they are instantly espied and beat down when lust and evil concupiscence are taken notice of at the first kindling and while in the spark without delay quenched this plainly shews the Spirit to be strong because it does prevail against the Flesh so quickly Grace is certainly grown when Sin is nipt in the bud the Cockatrice in the Egg is crushed 4. Then we grow in Grace when we are more weaned from the World The Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob were grown Believers and they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims upon Earth Heb. 11. 13. David also was thus got above the World when he said Surely every man walketh in a vain shew surely they are disquieted in vain he heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them Psal 39. 6. And v. 12. I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were The World was so little and low in Moses's esteem that he prefers even affliction with the people of God before those pleasures which was but for a season Heb. 11. 25. And v. 26. he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt When the World is thus gotten under foot that the worst of Christ is prefer'd before the best of the World it argues strength of faith whereby our victory over it is so far advanced When we are undisturbed at changes we meet with here below because our treasure is in Heaven and out of reach when with the Apostle we know how to want and how to abound when we are not so much concerned about earthly things because they are not our portion this plainly speaks an increase of grace 5. Then we grow in Grace when we can readily deny our selves When we are not wedded to our own wills but are yielding and subject unto others being clothed with humility 1 Pet. 5. 5. and especially we submit unto God though his commands never so much cross our natural and carnal inclination when we can lay our Honour our Ease our Wealth our Liberty our Lives at the foot of Christ to be disposed of in such a way as He may be most magnified now certainly there is much of the Spirit of glory and of Gods resting upon us How self-denying how bold and venturous was the Apostle desiring that Christ might be magnified whether it were by life or by death Phil. 1. 20. It argues much Grace when the glory of God the Father and of Christ are dearer to us than our dearest earthly comforts and we count it gain to lose any thing for Christs sake Oh brave Hebrews who took joyfully the spoiling of their Goods knowing that they had in Heaven a better and an enduring substance Heb. 10. 34. 6. Then we grow in Grace when we trust in God though outward and visible helps do fail The Lord who made all the creatures though he uses means is not tied to them but can work without and against them therefore though outward props fail faith should not fail and if it be strong it does not Hab. 3. 17. 18. Although the Fig-trees shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the Vines though fields do yield no food and flocks are cut off from the fold yet will I joy in the Lord and rejoyce in the God of my Salvation The Creatures are insufficient altogether God alsufficient though alone and a strong faith dares trust him by himself Nay a strong faith will rely upon him and follow him notwithstanding repulses denials and discouragements Thus the Woman of Canaan holds on in petitioning our Lord though at first he was silent and answered not a word though he seemed not to regard the Disciples intercession though when he speaks to her he compares her to a Dog and not fit to eat the Childrens Bread yet she gives not over but retorts this discouragement and turns it into an argument The Dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table hereupon her petition is granted and her faith highly commended O Woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt Mat. 15. 28. 7. Then we grow in Grace when the thoughts of God are more abiding and delightful and our affections towards him are stronger the more our hearts are the Lords the more they must needs be enriched with grace and in a greater measure sanctified When David was able to say that the meditation of God was sweet to him Psal 104. 34. That his Soul followed hard after God Psal 63. 8. and that he thirsted for God for the living God as the chased Hart pants after the Brooks of Water Psal 42. 1 2. This certainly did argue not only the truth of grace but strength also 8. Then we grow in Grace when we are not prone to be offended Stumbling argues weakness but stumbling blocks will be got over by those whose grace is strengthned When we hold fast the truth though many being led away with the error of the wicked fall from their own stedfastness as Athanasius contra mundum stood up for the Deity and Godhead of Jesus
remedy Thus the rich man in the Gospel thought of nothing but taking his ease eating drinking and making merry till his Soul was required and lost and he was made to feel the torment and vengeance of eternal Fire 6. These careless Sinners who will not prove themselves their destruction will be sudden unexpected nay contrary to expectation and so will be the more terrible At present they mind not what they do but God remembers all their wickedness Hos 7. 2. And when he shall call them to an account for all what horrour and confusion will seize upon them They thought the Lord as little regarded their Sins as they did themselves and never expected after reckonings What all their good things shall be taken away which can last but for a short time and eternal evils shall come in their room when they shall find and feel themselves most miserable in the hottest lowest Hell and that'tis utterly impossible that ever their wretched condition should be alter'd Oh then they will curse their folly and madness who before did bless themselves and their foregoing presumption and security will make their pain and anguish and despair to be the more intolerable Vse 3. Of Direction And there are three great things which I shall give you directions concerning First How to prove your selves so as to attain unto an assurance of the love of God Secondly How to prove your selves before you engage in that Ordinance of the Lords Supper Thirdly How to prove and call your selves to an account every day that you may walk with the greater circumspection In the first place I am to direct you how to prove your selves so as to attain unto an assurance of the love of God Before I come to the directions themselves I shall lay down some Arguments to persuade all Saints to labour after this Assurance 't is pitty and Saint should be without it 't is pitty any of Gods Children should be ignorant of that most near and blessed and everlasting Relation in which they stand to him Now to make you prize assurance at an high rate and to give all diligence to get it Consider 1. Assurance of the love of God will inflame your hearts with greater love to him What the Apostle says in remarkable 1 Joh. 4. 19. We love him because he first loved us When you know that all your Debts are remitted freely and that very much is forgiven you you cannot chuse but have much love unto him that forgave you Cos amoris amor Love is the whetstone of love Pray therefore for the manifestation of Gods love to you that the light of his countenance may warm your hearts and your Souls may love him with the greater strength and ardency Unbelieving doubts and fears have a natural tendency to chill and damp affection whereas when you know that you are the Children of God you cannot but love him as incomparably the best of all Fathers 2. Assurance of the love of God will fill you with joy and wonder The Apostle tells us that having received the atonement there followed joy in God Rom. 5. 11. And not only so but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement Well may the assured Believer rejoyce for his name is written in Heaven And there are no Errata in the Book of Life no blots there made no name ever razed out which is down there And how may such an one wonder that the free grace of God should make such a difference between him and others between him and his former self When he was first loved he was worthy to be loathed he was loved freely for he was found lying polluted in his blood 3. Assurance of the love of God will take away the difficulty of Religion When once you know that God is yours Christ yours the Promises yours things present and to come yours you will not think much of any thing you are required to do or part with Apprehension that you are dear Children will make you follow God indeed Eph. 5. 1. and follow hard after him Apprehension that you are pleasant to him will cause you to take the more pleasure in him and in his service An assurance that God is ready to assist you in every piece of work he enjoyns you ready to meet you in his Ordinances and to be found of you when you seek him and that he will not forget your labour of love Heb. 6. 10. This will make you to love your labour for your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15. 58. 4. Assurance of the love of God will make earthly things contemptible in your eyes When you know your interest in the Fountain of living Waters how little will you value the broken Cisterns When the Psalmist had been assured that God was his portion for ever things on Earth became undesirable Psal 73. 25 26. The Apostle being persuaded of his title to things invisible and eternal he counts the things that are seen which are temporal not worth a look from him 2 Cor. 4. 18. And David is so far from fancying them that he prays he may never cast an eye or hanker after them any more Psal 119. 37. Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity and quicken thou me in thy way They that know and believe the love which God hath to them are satisfied that his love hath provided far better things than the World can boast of or the men of the World know of Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man what God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2. 9. Those believing Souls that were in assured expectation of a better Country than any in this World to wit an Heavenly Country they confessed they were Strangers and Pilgrims upon Earth Heb. 11. 13. Earth and the things of the Earth were very mean and inconsiderable in their eyes 5. Assurance of the love of God will be a mighty antidote and preservative against temptation with what confidence will it make you to look unto your Lord and Father for help against the Tempter and his grace will be sufficient for you 2 Cor. 12. 9. so that you shall be strong enough to resist the Devil and make him flee from you The Assured Believer can more easily silence Satan than others can because he has tasted and seen how good and gracious the Lord is he has experienced that peace in the God of love and peace which the World can neither give nor take away therefore he does the more contemn all the offers which Satan can make to him in the hour of temptation The assured Believer may cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now I have found real contentment now I have tasted true joy Earth cannot yield it Sin is the sure hindrance of it in God alone 't is to be found Temptation upon such an one is likely to have but
to Catechize himself about There must be Light in the Head that is of absolute necessity though it be not sufficient for there must be also Grace in the Heart to qualifie a man for the Lords Supper 2. The Communicant should further examine and ask himself this question Do I apprehend the danger of unworthy Receiving Is not the guilt of Blood heavy And what is it then to be guilty of the Blood of God But if I Eat and Drink unworthily I am guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord 1 Cor. 11. 27. What a fearful thing is it to Crucifie the Son of God afresh To trample him under Foot and to esteem his Blood a common and an unholy thing My Heart rises against the Jews because they Mocked Scourged Buffeted Crucified the Lord of Life and Glory but this they did in his Humiliation here upon Earth And shall I dare to put an affront upon him now he is at the right Hand of the Almighty Majesty on High If I Eat and Drink unworthily I pull the Blood of Christ upon my Head instead of having my sin pardoned and my Heart cleansed and sanctified by it and I Eat and Drink my own damnation 3. Another question the Communicant should propound to himself is this Have I a right conception of Gospel Worthiness The Worthiness spoken of in the Gospel does not imply any Merit or Desert for Christ the Son is given out of the Transcendent Love of God and with him freely all things Rom. 8. 32. The Patriarch Jacob Acknowledged he could not lay claim to the least of all Mercies as a due debt Our daily Bread is a Gift and how much more the Bread of Life Worthiness therefore is as much as being disposed and made meet to Receive what the Lord in the Supper is willing to bestow When we are sensible of our own unworthiness and guilt and vileness then we are made meet to be accepted looking unto the Beloved and to be Justified by his Meritorious Righteousness When we are sensible how weak and empty and distempered our Hearts are then we are Worthy that is to say made meet to be strengthened and filled and healed by the great Physitian of Souls in whom it hath pleased the Father all fulness should dwell 4. The Communicant should ask himself Do I look upon admission to the Table of the Lord as a mighty priviledge He was no less then a King of Israel who thought it a great favour to be a doorkeeper in the House of God and what is it then to be a welcom guest at his Table What is it to be brought into his Banquetting House where the Banner over his People is love Cant. 2. 4. Our Lord in this Ordinance deals forth Light and Grace and Comfort bountifully Here Tears have been dried up fainting Souls have been revived and Faith ready to fail hath been strengthned and languishing Hope hath been made lively The Blood of Jesus Christ being applied has proved a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 medicine for every malady and hath sent away the sin distressed Soul both clean and calm both pure and also peaceable Is it not a mighty advantage and an Heart effecting and endearing sight to see the Blood and the Love of Christ streaming forth together Here is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Love that passeth knowledge Eph. 3. 19. Oh with what confidence may humble and hungry souls go to this Jesus who is so full of Love and so full of all besides which they Hunger after he would have none to content themselves with a little but his language is Eat O Friends Drink yea Drink abundantly O Beloved Cant. 5. 1. 5. The Communicant should ask himself Do I know what it is to discern the Lords Body 1 Cor. 11. 29. My bodily Eye beholds the Sacramental Bread and Wine but have I an Eye to behold something further and better If the Israelites in the Wilderness did behold an Healer and a Saviour when Moses lifted up the Brazen Serpent if the Beleivers under the Old Testament did see a Messiah in the legal sacrifices though as yet he was not manifested in the Flesh surely since the Son of God is come and has been actually offered up to bear the sins of many shall I not behold this Jesus in the Bread and Wine broken and poured out where he is so evidently set forth as Crucified What is it to discern the Lords Body Verily 't is to look beyond the outward Elements to the Body and Blood of Christ which thereby are represented and to relye upon that very Jesus who was Crucified without the Gates at Jerusalem for the Pardon and Mortification of our iniquities in particular and that our wants of Grace and Strength and Comfort may be supplyed out of his superabundant fulness Moreover the Beleiver should grow confident and be perswaded that as really as the Bread and Wine are given him so really Christ bestowes himself and his benefits upon him in this Blessed Ordinance Hark to the Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 16 The cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ The Bread which we brake is it not the communion of the Body of Christ The Communicant should ask himself Do I see my self lost in my self and do I perceive 't is in vain to hope for Redemption any other way but by the Lord Jesus The Apostle has a notable expression when he speaks of being shut up unto Faith Gal. 3. 23. Intimating that all other doors are shut against the Sinner only the door of Faith in Jesus Christ is open We cannot reasonably hope for the Forgiveness of sin or Justification before God any other way but by him who is sufficient to be a propitiation for the sins of the whole World There were multitudes of sacrifices under the old Law which were appointed by the Lord him self and yet the sins of the Sacrificers could be done away by none of them The Apostle tells us plainly that 't is impossible the Blood of Bulls and Goats should take away sin Heb. 10. 4. And if the sacrifices that were of Divine institution could not do it surely those of humane invention could do it lesse though never so costly though we should give our first Born for our Transgression the Fruit of our Body for the sin of our Soul Mic. 6. 7. No active Obedience that we can yeild can justifie us before God for the Apostle peremptorily asserts that there is no Law given which can give Life unto him that obeys it Gal. 3. 21. Nay further our greatest sufferings for Righteousness sake are insufficient to be our justifying Righteousness Therefore those who come out of great Tribulation are said to have washed their Robes not in their own Blood though that was spilt for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ but in the Blood of the Lamb Rev. 7. 14. 7. The Communicant should examine and ask himself Am I perswaded
was once a Child of Wrath and Disobedience I am become an Heir of God and a Joint-Heir with Christ unto that inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and which fadeth not away Nay my Lord who has loved me and washed me from my sins in his own blood hath made me a King and a Priest unto God and his Father and I must reign for ever for of this Kingdom which I have now a Title to and a sure promise of there shall be no end Oh rich Oh free Oh glorious Grace I am at a loss for an expression high enough to set forth the thousandth part 〈◊〉 my Lords incomparable kindness my shallow Conceptions cannot reach what is incomprehensible Therefore I must be silent in a joyful admiration MEDITATION LIII What shall I render unto the Lord My All is due my All is too little and by rendring my All I secure my All and so am still more benefited and I become more my Lords debter I find my self most happily puzzled with my Lords goodness He gives himself to me and requires that I should give my self to him but in so doing not He but I receive the benefit All the retributions thou requirest O my God and Father are but to do my self more kindnesses Duties are my priviledges All thy precepts are for my profit and my peace and pleasure to obey them Thou art beyond all compare the very best Master Oh let my ear be boared for I will serve thee for ever let my Heart be circumcised that I may love thee Eternally There is a sweetness in the acting of every Grace There is great peace in keeping of thy law there is an amiableness in thy Tabernacles thy power and thy glory are seen in thy sanctuary and though that word Suffering may sound harsh yet upon experience suffering will be found the most delightful paâ—â— of Christian obedience MEDITATION LIV. My Lord did not stick at suffering and why should I Why should the Cross daunt me If I will be indeed Godly Persecution is to be expected The old Serpent is full of hatred and so are his seed and their hatred is implacable But when I consider my Lords love and power and presence Hells Malice and the Worlds Rage become contemptible times of suffering are times of the sweetest solace Those are not unreasonable injunctions Count it all joy when ye fall into divers Temptations and Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven The Spirit of glory and of God does rest upon his suffering Saints so that they glory in tribulation they rejoyce in it as a dignity when they suffer shame for the name of Jesus they are gainers by their losses they gain an hundred fold in this World besides the Kingdom in the other World MEDITATION LV. O my soul follow thy Lord though he lead thee in rough ways and paths of great affliction If sufferings abound consolation shall abound and grace shall be sufficient The Cross of Christ though the outside of it be affrighting yet it is lined with love and easily born And if it should come to pass that Life must be taken away What better use can Life be put to then to lay it down for the Testimony of Jesus The painfullest deaths have proved many times most pleasant What raptures of joy have the Martyrs had at the stake and in the flames Prudentius of old observed Mors Christianis ludus est That Death was but a sport unto the Christians Remarkable is that passage of Bainham the Martyr when his arms and legs were half consumed by the fire he spake these words O ye Papists you look for miracles and here now you may see a miracle for in this fire I feel no more pain then if I were in a bed of Down it is to me a bed of Roses Resolve therefore O my soul undauntedly to undergo whatever tribulaon thou meetest for the sake of Righteousness Rely upon thy faithful God who will not suffer thee to be tempted above what his Grace shall enable thee to bear with joy as well as patience MEDITATION LVI Thy death O Lord is to be shewn forth till thou comest 't is proper for me to think of thy coming and to rejoyce at the thoughts of it My Lord and Redeemer will certainly appear the second time without sin to Salvation And when he shall appear I shall be like him and appear with him in glory Time and days do fly away apace and the comming of my Lord draweth nigh That will be the day of my open absolution of my full and compleat Redemption of my joyful and triumphant Coronation How full of glory and of love will be the face of Jesus then Ah! where shall the ungodly and sinners then appear How will the greatest and the stoutest of them even the Kings and Cheif Captains and mighty men tremble and call to the Rocks and Mountains to fall on them and cover them from the face of him that sits upon the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb But though most of mankind be full of horror I if I am a true Believer shall be full of joy and after I have been openly acquitted own'd and crown'd before Men and Angels Whither Oh whither will my Lord carry me Into those Mansions he is gone to prepare into the presence Chamber of the King of Glory Where God himself will be All in All. MEDITATION LVII I find some sweetness in the way and means of grace what shall I find in the end if in vale of Tears such joy be found what will be enjoyed in a paradise of delight if in the midst of labours and fightings and temptations I find so much satisfaction what contentment will an Everlasting rest afford me Augustine speaks excellently Soliloq cap. 35. Intra in gaudium sine tristitia ubi erit omne bonum et non erit aliquod malum ubi erit quicquid voles et non erit quicquid noles O gaudium vincens omne gaudium laetitia sine dolore lux sine tenebris vita sine morte ubi juventus nunquam senescit ubi decor nunquam pallescit ubi amor nunquam tepescit gaudium nunquam decrescit ubi dolor nunquam sentitur gemitus nunquam auditur ubi triste nihil videtur ubi malum nullum timetur quia summum bonum possidetur Enter O my soul into joy without sadness Where there shall be a presence of all good an absence of all evil where there shall be every thing which thou desirest nothing at all that thou dislikest O joy surpassing all other joys Gladness without Grief Light without Darkness Life without Death There Youth shall never grow old Beauty shall never fade Love shall never wax cold and Joy shall never be diminished there sorrow shall never be felt one sigh shall never be heard
nothing sad shall be seen nothing evil shall be feared because the cheifest good shall be possessed MEDITATION LVIII Lord I am thine save me save me or I shall surely perish bring me safe to the Haven preserve me to thy heavenly Kingdom that neither Faith nor Conscience nor my soul may suffer shipwrack Thou hast made an Everlasting Covenant with me and at thy Table this Covenant has been sealed Oh never turn away from me to do me good and let thy power and love and the fear of thy name secure me from Apostacy I am not sufficient to be my own keeper but who shall be able to pluck me out of the hand of Christ and of the Father who is greater then all Thou art of power to establish me and canst easily keep me from falling and present me faultless before the presence of thy glory with exceeding great joy Oh let not my faith fail nor my love cool nor my watchfulness abate let Satans wiles and devices be unsuccessful help me to slight the worlds frowns and to be deaf and dead to the flatteries and smiles of it Let me obtain mercy to be faithful in thy Covenant let my spirit be cured of its natural fickleness and treachery let resolutions to be the Lords and to serve the Lord be peremptory being made and kept with a strength beyond my own And let me at last be able to say O God my Heart is fixed my Heart is fixed I will sing and give praise Herbert pag. 140. KIng of Glory King of Peace I will love thee And that love may never cease I will move thee Thou hast granted my request Thou hast heard me Thou didst note my working breast Thou hast spar'd me Wherefore with my utmost art I will sing thee And the cream of all my heart I will bring thee Though my sins against me cry'd Thou didst clear me And alone when they reply'd Thou didst hear me Seven whole days not one in seven I will praise thee In my Heart though not in Heaven I can raise thee Thou grew'st soft and moist with Tears Thou relentedst And when Justice call'd for fears Thou dissentedst Small it is in this poor sort To enroll thee Even Eternity is too short To extoll thee FINIS Books to be Sold by Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and three Crowns in Cheapside A Hundred select Sermons on several Texts by Tho Horton D. D. Sermons on 4 select Psalms viz. 4th 42 51 63. by Tho. Horton D. D. Mr. Baxters Christian Directory Sermons on the whole Epistle of Saint Paul to the Collossians by Mr. J. Daille translated into English by F. S. with Dr. Tho. Goodwins and Dr. John Owens Epistles Recommendatory An Exposition of Christs Temptation on Matth. 4. and Peters Sermon to Cornelius and circumspect walking By Dr. Tho Taylor A Practical Exposition on the 3d. Chapter of the first Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians with the Godly mans choice on Psalm 4. v. 6 7 8. by Anthony Burgess Dr. Donns 40 Sermons being his 3 Volumes Pareus Exposition on the Revelations General Martyrlogia with the Lives of 32 English Divines by Sam. Clark A Narrative of the Horrid Popish Plot. A Narrative of Knox and Lane The Witch of Endor Popes Ware-house All four Published by Dr. Titus Oates Robert Jenneson Esq His narrative Dugdales Narrative Mr. Tho. Dangerfields of the Sham Presbyterian Plot. Smiths Account of the 14 Popish Malefactors in Newgate Animadversions on the 5 Jesuits Speeches The Excommunicated Price a Tragedy as it was acted by his Holinesses Servants By Captain William Bedlow Protestant Conformist plea for moderation A Conference between a Bensalian Bishop and an English Doctor concerning Church Government A Caution to all English Protestants A Lenetive for the Clergie Broughtons Works published by Dr. Light-foot Books 4to The Door of Salvation opened by the Key of Regeneration By George Swinnock M. A. An Antidote against Quakerism by Stephen Scandret An Exposition of the five first Chapters of Ezekiel with usefull observations thereupon by William Greenhil The Gospel Covenant opened by Pet. Bulkley Gods holy Mind touching matters Moral which he uttered in ten Commandments Also an Exposition on the Lords Prayer by Edward Eston B. D. The fiery Jesuit or an Historical Collection of the rise encrease doctrines and deeds of the Jesuits exposed to view for the sake of London Horologiographia optica Dyaling universal and particular speculative and practical together with a Description of the Court of Arts by a new Method by Sylvanus Morgan Regimen sanitatis-salemi or the Regiment of Health containing Directions and instructions for the guide and government of mans life A seasonable Apology for Religion by Matthew Pool Seperation no Schism in answer to a Sermon preached before the Lord Mayor by J. S. The Practical Divinity of the Papist discovered to be destructive to true Religion and mens Souls by J. Clark son A Case of Conscience viz. whether it be lawful for any person to act contrary to the opinion of his own Conscience formed from arguments that to him appear very probable though not necessary or demonstrative by Dr. Collings The Creatures goodness as they came out of Gods hand and the good-mans mercy to the bruit-Creatures in two Sermons by Tho. Hodges B. D. Certain Considerations tending to promote Peace and Unity among Protestants Mediocria or the most plain and natural apprehensions which the Scripture offers concerning the great Doctrines of the Christian Religiion of Election Redemption the Covenant the Law and Gospel and Perfection Sermons at the Funeral of Mr. James Janeway by Nath. Vincent The Vanity of man in his best estate in a discourse on Psal 39. 5. at the Funeral of the Lady Susanna Keate by Richard Kidder M. A. Mr. Cautons by Mr. Henry Hurst and Mr. Nath. Vincent Mr. Sorrels by Mr. Benj. Smith Mr. Wadsworth by Mr. R. Bragg Mr. Newcomens by Mr. Fairson Mr. Thomas Vincents by Mr. Slater Mr. Corbets by Mr. Richard Baxter Mr. Bakers by Mr. Nath. Vincent Mr. Marshalls by Mr. Tomlins Mr. Johnsons by Mr. Loid Mrs. Fishers by Mr. Scot. Dr. Whittakers by Dr. Annesly Mr. Wells by Mr. Thomas Watson Mr. Stubs by Mr. Watson Mr. Stubs by Mr. Richard Baxter Hodges Vanity of man as mortal Mrs. Lyes by Mr. Lamb. Vertuous Daughter by Brion Sir Thomas Viners by Dr. Spurslow Mr. Perns by Ainsworth Work and Reward of a Christian by R. Raworth Mr. Wests Funeral Sermon by Mr. Cole Mr. Webbs by Mr. David Burges Baeuters which is the true Church Hodges Creatures goodness Naked Truth Doolitles Protestants Answer Mr. Kidders Charity directed Scholars address Dr. Crossmans Sermon Humphrys peaceable disquisitions Hodges considerations to promote peace An Endeavour for Peace A conference between a Papist and a Jew and a Protestant and a Jew An Essay for the Education of Gentlewomen A warning for Servants or the Case of Margaret Clark An Answer to Dr. Stilling fleets Sermon by the peaceable design A Discourse of Pluralities A