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<DATE>2013-04-26</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>THE SINFULNESSE OF SINNE, AND THE FULNESSE OF CHRIST. Delivered in Two Sermons, By Mr. WILLIAM BRIDGE. Sometime Fellow of <HI>Emanuel</HI> Col|ledge in <HI>Cambridge,</HI> and 'late Preacher of the Word of God at <HI>Yarmouth.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed in the Year, 1667.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
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<OPENER><SALUTE>CHRISTIAN READER,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THou art de&s;ired to take notice, That the&s;e two Sermons are not expo&s;ed to publique view by the Author's own hand, but were taken as they fell from his lips in his ordinary Preaching: Neverthele&s;s, the &s;tyle, method, &s;piritua|lity, conci&s;ene&s;s, and depth of them, give in ample te&s;ti|mony to all that have ac|quaintance
<PB REF="3"> with him, that they are his genuine off|&s;pring; And being &s;uitable and u&s;efull to all per&s;ons, in all conditions, thou maye&s;t (through the ble&s;&s;ing of God) reap much advantage by them.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
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<HEAD>THE SINFULNESSE OF SINNE.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Rom. 7. and part of the 13 Ver&s;e.</BIBL> But &s;in, that it might appear &s;in, working death in me by that which is good: that &s;in by the Commandment might become ex|ceeding &s;inful.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>MY purpo&s;e is now to &s;peak &s;ome|thing concerning the evil and &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in, and therefore have made choice of the&s;e words. In this Chapter the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> doth give us &s;ome account of the way and manner of his Conver|&s;ion: Before I was converted (&s;ayes he) <HI>I was alive without the Law,</HI> (ver. 9.) <HI>but when</HI>
<PB N="2" REF="4"> <HI>the Commandment came, &s;in revived and I died;</HI> for without the Law &s;in was dead, and <HI>I was alive without the Law once.</HI> I thought my &s;elf a jolly man, I was very brisk and jolly; had good thoughts of my condition; <HI>I was alive without the Law once, but when the Commandment came,</HI> when the word of the Lord came in power unto my &s;oul; for I had the Law, and the Commandment always with me: <HI>Concerning the Law,</HI> I was <HI>blame|le&s;s,</HI> Phil. 3. 6. the letter of the Law was not ab|&s;ent from me: but when it plea&s;ed God to &s;et on the Word of the Lord in power upon my &s;oul; then, whereas I was alive before, now &s;in revived: &s;in that lay dead before, and was hid, now revived, and did appear to be &s;in; for that in the 9 Ver&s;e, and this in the 13, are the &s;ame: Ver&s;. 9. <HI>Sin revi|ved, and I died: but &s;in, that it might ap|pear &s;in, working death in me;</HI> in this 13 Ver&s;e. But how did &s;in revive, and appear? By the coming of the Law, by the coming of the Commandment, thereby it broke out the more, and &s;o was di&s;covered; as by the coming and &s;hining of the Sun-beams upon the Dung-hill, the filth &s;tinks the more; not that the Sun-beams are the cau&s;e, but the oc|ca&s;ion thereof. And &s;in revived by the com|ing
<PB N="3" REF="4"> of the Commandment, and appeared to be &s;in, appeared more to me in its own &s;hape, and &s;truck me dead with the appari|tion thereof; whereas before, &s;in was dead, and I alive, now &s;in alive, and I dead.</P>
<P>From whence then I take up this Ob&s;er|vation;</P>
<P><HI>Ob&s;erv.</HI> That there is a great deal of evil and &s;infulne&s;s in &s;in, which doth not appear to a man, until he doth Convert, and turn unto God. Look when a man doth Con|vert, and turn unto God, then &s;in appears to be &s;in indeed, and not before.</P>
<P>For the clearing and pro&s;ecution whereof I &s;hall labour to &s;hew,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That there is a great deal of evil, and &s;infulne&s;s in &s;in.</P>
<P>Secondly, That this evil, and &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in, doth not appear to a man, until Con|ver&s;ion-work pa&s;s upon his &s;oul.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Look when a man doth Con|vert, and turn to the Lord in truth, then &s;in appears in the &s;infulne&s;s thereof unto him.</P>
<P N="1">1. There is a great deal of evil and &s;inful|ne&s;s in &s;in.</P>
<P>To make it out in the general, and then more particularly;</P>
<P N="1">1. In the general, this may appear by the
<PB N="4" REF="5"> names of &s;in, for &s;in hath taken up all the names of evil of all evils. The Scripture doth not Nickname &s;in, and yet what evil is there incident unto man, but &s;in is inve&s;ted with the name thereof in Scripture?</P>
<P N="1">1. Is it an evil thing for a man to be un|clean and filthy? Sin is called filthine&s;s: <HI>I will wa&s;h you from all your filthine&s;s,</HI> Ezek. 36. 25.</P>
<P N="2">2. Is it an evil thing for a man to be na|ked? Sin is called nakedne&s;s: <HI>That your nakedne&s;s may not appear,</HI> Rev. 3. 18.</P>
<P N="3">3. Is it an evil thing for a man to be blind? Sin is called blindne&s;s: <HI>The blind &s;hall lead the blind,</HI> Mat. 15. 14.</P>
<P N="4">4. Is it an evil thing for a man to be fooli&s;h? Sin is called folly. <HI>That you may no more return unto folly,</HI> P&s;al. 85. 8.</P>
<P N="5">5. Is it an evil thing for a man to be mad? The Prodigal returned unto him&s;elf, <HI>Luke</HI> 15. 17, and <HI>I was mad,</HI> &s;ayes <HI>Paul,</HI> Acts 26. 11.</P>
<P N="6">6. Is it an evil thing for a man to be dead? Sin is called death: <HI>Dead in tre&s;pa&s;ses and &s;ins.</HI> Ephe&s;. 2. 1.</P>
<P N="7">7. It is called an Abomination, <HI>Prov.</HI> 8. 7. and becau&s;e there is no word that can expre&s;s the evil and &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in, the Apo|&s;tle
<PB N="5" REF="5"> in this place &s;ayes, <HI>That &s;in might become exceeding &s;inful.</HI> Why? Becau&s;e there is no word of evil that can reach the evil of &s;in. Now look what that is that doth in|gro&s;s and take up all the names of all evils that mu&s;t needs be exceeding evil; So it is with &s;in.</P>
<P N="2">2. Look what that is that doth &s;eparate betwixt us and God, who is the chiefe&s;t and univer&s;al good; That mu&s;t needs be the greate&s;t evil. Now &s;ayes the Prophet, <HI>Your iniquities have &s;eparated between you and your God,</HI> I&s;a. 59. 2.</P>
<P N="3">3. Look what that is that doth unite us to Satan, and make us the Children of the De|vil; That mu&s;t needs be very evil: Says our Saviour, <HI>You are of your father the devil.</HI> Why? <HI>For his works you do,</HI> Joh. 8. 44. Sin makes us the children of the devil.</P>
<P N="4">4. Look what that is that did put Chri&s;t to death, that was the cau&s;e of his death; That mu&s;t needs be exceeding evil. So &s;in did: <HI>He was made &s;in for us,</HI> 2 Cor. 5. 21. <HI>He bare our &s;ins upon the Cro&s;s,</HI> 1 Pet. 2. 24. <HI>and the Lord made the iniquity of us all to meet on him,</HI> I&s;a. 53. 6.</P>
<P N="5">5. Look what that is that doth bring a ge|neral cur&s;e upon the whole Creation; That mu&s;t
<PB N="6" REF="6"> needs be evil: So &s;in hath done; <HI>cur&s;ed be the ground, and the earth for thy &s;ake,</HI> Gen. 3. 17.</P>
<P N="6">6. Look what that is that doth &s;oil and &s;tain all our glory, and the Image of God in us; That mu&s;t needs be great evil. Sin hath &s;tayned the beauty of the Image of God that was &s;tampt upon us, and by &s;in, &s;aith the A|po&s;tle, <HI>Row.</HI> 3. 23. we come &s;hort of the glo|ry of God, <HI>For all have &s;inned, and come &s;hort of the glory of God.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7. Look what that is, that doth bring &s;uch horror of Con&s;cience that a &s;oul is not able to bear, and cannot be allayed but by the blood of Je&s;us; That mu&s;t needs be a very great evil: Sin, and the eating of the forbid|den fruit hath bred this worm that never dies.</P>
<P N="8">8. Look what that evil is, that is the few|el of Hell, that feeds Hell-fire to all Eternity; That mu&s;t needs be great evil: Take &s;in away and Hell-fire dies: Sin is that brim&s;tone that Hell-fire feeds upon to all Eternity.</P>
<P N="9">9. Look what that Evil is, that is wor&s;e than the wor&s;t of afflictions; That mu&s;t needs be very evil: The lea&s;t &s;in is wor&s;e than the greate&s;t affliction: For,</P>
<P N="1">1. Take an affliction, and though it be
<PB N="7" REF="6"> never &s;o great, it doth not defile the man; for that which is from without, <HI>doth not de|file the man, but that which is from within, Mar.</HI> 7. 15. Sin is from within; affliction is not from within, but from without, but &s;in is from within: therefore if I give a reproach|full word to another, it more defiles me than a hundred reproachful words from another, becau&s;e my word comes from within me, his words from without me; Now affliction is from without, and doth not defile, but &s;in is from within and doth defile; therefore the lea&s;t &s;in is wor&s;e than the greate&s;t af|fliction.</P>
<P N="2">2. Take an affliction, and though it be never &s;o great, yet notwith&s;tanding, God is the Author of it; <HI>Is there evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it?</HI> Amos 3. 6. God bad <HI>Shimei</HI> cur&s;e <HI>David: Let him alone, God hath bidden him,</HI> 2 Sam. 16. 11. I &s;end Fa|mine, and I &s;end Pe&s;tilence, and I &s;end Mil|dew, &s;ayes God; God is the Author of Af|fliction, but God is not the Author of any &s;in. Indeed it is &s;aid God hardened the heart of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and others, but that is <HI>non infundendo malitiam &s;ed &s;ubtrahendo gratiam;</HI> not by infu&s;ing malice into their hearts, but by withdrawing his grace; God
<PB N="8" REF="7"> is not the Author of &s;in, but God is the Au|thor of all affliction.</P>
<P N="3">3. Take an affliction, and though it be never &s;o great, yet it is not contrary to God; but &s;in, though never &s;o &s;mall, is contrary to God.</P>
<P N="4">4. Take an affliction, and though it be never &s;o great, yet notwith&s;tanding it is but the fruit, and the Claws of &s;in: What are the Claws to the Lion? if the Lion be dead, the Claws can do us no hurt, but if the Lion be alive, his life puts &s;trength into his Claws: afflictions are but the Claws of &s;in, <HI>The &s;ting of death is &s;in,</HI> 1 Cor. 15. 56. and the &s;ting of affliction is &s;in; but as for afflictions, they are but the bare Claws, and it is &s;in that puts life and &s;trength into the&s;e Claws.</P>
<P N="5">5. Take an affliction, and though it be ne|ver &s;o great, yet God doth not hate affliction, neither doth affliction make a man hate God; but God hates &s;in, and &s;in makes a man hate God.</P>
<P N="6">6. Take an affliction, and though it be never &s;o great, a man may be a ble&s;&s;ed man in the wor&s;t affliction; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man who&s;e tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion is forgiven, and who&s;e &s;in is covered,</HI> P&s;al. 32. 1. but he cannot be a ble&s;&s;ed man that lies in sin. <HI>Cur&s;ed is every</HI>
<PB N="9" REF="7"> <HI>man that continueth not in all things written in the Law to do them,</HI> Gal. 3. 10. Thus you &s;ee, the lea&s;t sin is wor&s;e than the greate&s;t af|fliction, therefore certainly the evil of sin is very great. That's the <HI>9th.</HI></P>
<P N="10">10. Look what that evil is that God doth puni&s;h with the greate&s;t &s;everity, both in His own and others, (though it be but &s;mall in our eyes) that mu&s;t needs be ex|ceeding evil; Now he doth &s;everely puni&s;h that which we look upon as a &s;mall sin, both in his own, and others. In his own, you think it was no great matter for <HI>Adam</HI> to eat the forbidden fruit; You think <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was but a little in pa&s;&s;ion with the Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> for which he was kept out of <HI>Ca|naan;</HI> And you think it was no great mat|ter for <HI>&V;zza</HI> to &s;tay the Ark when it was fal|ling: yet God puni&s;hed the&s;e &s;mall sins, &s;mall in our eyes, he puni&s;hed them &s;everely in his own people. And as for others, Becau&s;e there is an infinite evil in sin, and God doth ju&s;tly puni&s;h, he puni&s;heth them to all eter|nity for the lea&s;t sin: for among&s;t men, it is ju&s;t to puni&s;h till a man repenteth; but in Hell men never repent, therefore God pu|ni&s;heth them to all eternity. So that God doth puni&s;h sin with the greate&s;t &s;everity both in
<PB N="10" REF="8"> his own, and others; therefore &s;urely it is very evil.</P>
<P N="11">11. Look what that is, that is a wor&s;e evil than Hell, or the Devil; that mu&s;t needs be a very great and exceeding evil. Sin is wor&s;e than the Devil; for the Devil is a Creature that God made, but Sin is none of Gods Creature: And it is wor&s;e than Hell; for Hell is of Gods making too, but Sin is not; It is wor&s;e to be given up to &s;in, than to the Devil; if a man be given up to the Devil, it is that his &s;oul may be &s;aved; but if a man be given up to &s;in, it is that his &s;oul may be de&s;troyed and not &s;aved. So that Sin is wor&s;e than Hell or the Devil.</P>
<P N="12">12. Look what that evil is that is a puni&s;h|ment in it &s;elf, that mu&s;t needs be exceeding evil; Sin in it &s;elf is a puni&s;hment, though there were no other puni&s;hment to follow; <HI>in keeping thy Commandments there is great reward,</HI> P&s;al. 19. 11. So in breaking Gods Commandments there is great puni&s;hment. Therefore &s;ometimes when God would pu|ni&s;h men for their &s;ins, he puni&s;heth them by giving them up to great &s;ins: <HI>Rom.</HI> 1. 26. <HI>God gave them up to vile affections, to un|cleanne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. Now I &s;ay, look what that is which is in it &s;elf a puni&s;hment, that mu&s;t
<PB N="11" REF="8"> needs be exceeding evil; and thus it is with &s;in: this therefore mu&s;t needs be a very great evil. Thus in the general you &s;ee there is a great deal of evil and sinfulne&s;s in sin.</P>
<P>But now more particularly, I shall shew it you in three &s;orts of &s;ins: The &s;in of our Na|ture, The &s;in of our Hearts and Thoughts, And the &s;in of our Lives and Practi&s;es; e&s;peci|ally living under the Go&s;pel, the evil of the&s;e &s;ins.</P>
<P N="1">1. Fir&s;t, As for the &s;in of our Nature, the more univer&s;al and over&s;preading any lepro|&s;ie or contagion is, the wor&s;e and the greater it is; now the &s;in of our Nature &s;preads over all our faculties; our Under&s;tanding, Rea&s;on, Will, Affections; it &s;preads over all our Fa|culties.</P>
<P N="2">2. Look what that contagion or lepro&s;ie is, that is &s;o great that nothing will help again&s;t it, but the pulling down the hou&s;e: that mu&s;t needs be very great: Truly the &s;in of our Na|ture is &s;uch, nothing will cure it but the pul|ling down the hou&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3. Look what that &s;in is that is mo&s;t un|wearied, and whereby a man is unwearied in &s;in; that mu&s;t needs be very great: The &s;in of our nature is unwearied, as the Foun|tain is unwearied in &s;ending up water, bub|bling
<PB N="12" REF="9"> up water; a man may be wearied in drawing up water our of the Fountain, and &s;o a man may be wearied in &s;inful actions; but &s;inful nature is never weary, and that &s;in that is unwearied is exceeding great.</P>
<P N="4">4. Look what that &s;in is that is the ground of all our relap&s;es, and returns to &s;in; That mu&s;t needs be very great. Now what is the ground of all our returns to evil, after all our repentance and reformation, but our nature? Suppo&s;e water be heated; after it is warmed and heated, it cools again: heat it again, and it cools again: Why? Becau&s;e coldne&s;s is its nature. And &s;o what's the rea&s;on that men return again, and again to their &s;in, af|ter all their repentance and reformation, but the &s;in of their nature?</P>
<P N="5">5. Look what that evil is which is the lea&s;t lamented, and that whereby our &s;in is mo&s;t ex|cu&s;ed; That is a great, and dreadful evil: Now of all &s;ins, the &s;in of our Nature is lea&s;t lamented, and thereby mens &s;ins are mo&s;t excu&s;ed. Bear with me, it is my nature; I am pa&s;&s;ionate, but it is my nature; I am froward, but it is my nature; Men excu&s;e them&s;elves thereby. Now I &s;ay look what that evil is which is lea&s;t lamented, and that whereby our &s;in is mo&s;t excu&s;ed; that is a
<PB N="13" REF="9"> dreadful evil. Thus it is with the &s;in of our nature.</P>
<P N="2">2. But &s;econdly, As for the &s;in of our hearts and thoughts, the evil thereof,</P>
<P N="1">1. Look what that &s;in is that is the mo&s;t incureable; That's wor&s;t: A &s;ecret hidden wound within the body, or a di&s;ea&s;e within the body, is the mo&s;t incurable. Such are the &s;ins of our hearts and thoughts, &s;ecret &s;ins, and &s;othe mo&s;t incurable.</P>
<P N="2">2. Look what that &s;in is that is a friend, a Parent to other &s;ins; That mu&s;t needs be ve|ry evil. Now what are the Parents of all our &s;inful actions but &s;inful thoughts? What puts life into evil actions but &s;inful thoughts? So with the godly, and &s;o with the ungodly; With the Godly, for &s;aith <HI>Abraham, I thought the fear of God was not in this place,</HI> Gen. 20. 11. and therefore I &s;aid &s;he is my Si&s;ter; &s;he was indeed his Si&s;ter, and he lied not in &s;aying &s;o: but he di&s;&s;embled, and hid the truth, u&s;ing an unworthy &s;hift for his own pre&s;ervation; and where began this e|vil but in a &s;inful thought? <HI>I thought, the fear of God is not in this place.</HI> So with the Ungodly, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50. 21. <HI>Thou thoughte&s;t that I was alltogether &s;uch an one as thy &s;elf:</HI> The wicked &s;teal, and commit Adultery, and de|ceive,
<PB N="14" REF="10"> and &s;lander others, and how are they led into all this, but by thoughts? <HI>Thou thought|est I was &s;uch a one as thy &s;elf:</HI> and you know what the P&s;almi&s;t &s;aith, <HI>Clean&s;e thou me from &s;ecret faults, then &s;hall I be upright, and I &s;hall be innocent from the great tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ion,</HI> P&s;al. 19. 12, 13. Sins of our hearts and thoughts do principiate, and give a being unto &s;inful actions, and therefore are very evil.</P>
<P N="3">3. Thereby al&s;o, by the &s;ins of our hearts and thoughts, our former &s;in committed, that was dead, is revived again, and hath a re&s;ur|rection by our mu&s;ing on it, contemplating on it with delight. As the witch at <HI>Endor</HI> called up <HI>Samuel</HI> that was dead; &s;o a delight|ful thought calls up a &s;inful action that was dead before. Thereby our &s;ins that were dead before are revived, and have a re&s;ur|rection.</P>
<P N="4">4. Thereby al&s;o a man may po&s;&s;ibly &s;in that &s;in in effect, which he never did com|mit in act, and &s;o the Lord may puni&s;h him for it: As the Lord &s;aid to <HI>David,</HI> becau&s;e it was in thine heart to build me an hou&s;e, I will build thy Hou&s;e: So &s;ayes God to a man in a way of puni&s;hment, becau&s;e it was in thy heart to do this evil, though thou did&s;t it not, I will punish thee for it. Po&s;&s;ibly, I &s;ay, by
<PB N="15" REF="10"> the &s;in of our hearts and thoughts, a man may &s;in that &s;in, in effect, which he never did com|mit in act, And that is evil.</P>
<P N="5">5. Thereby a man may or doth repent of his very repentance: A man &s;ins and af|terwards is &s;orrowful, and repents thereof, and then after his repentance he thinks on his &s;in with delight; What is this but to to repent of his very repentance? As by my repentance I am &s;orrowful for my sin, &s;o by musing on my sin with delight, I repent of my repentance: Now is it not a very great evil for a man to repent of his repentance? Lo this may a man do, and this men ordi|narily do; they repent of their repentance by musing on their sin, and delighting in it in a way of sinful thoughts.</P>
<P N="3">3. But thirdly, As for the sin of our lives and practi&s;e, e&s;pecially living under the Go&s;pel, the evil thereof, that is very great, for,</P>
<P N="1">1. Sin under the Go&s;pel is &s;inning again&s;t the remedy; and of all &s;ins, sinning again&s;t the remedy are the greate&s;t; and therefore it is wor&s;e for a man to commit adultery that is married, than for an unmarried man to commit fornication; for he sins again&s;t the remedy. Now the great remedy again&s;t sin
<PB N="16" REF="11"> is the Go&s;pel; therefore for a man to &s;in un|der the Go&s;pel, he &s;ins again&s;t the remedy.</P>
<P N="2">2. The greater obligations a man &s;inneth again&s;t, the wor&s;e and the greater is his &s;in. By the Go&s;pel we are brought under great obligations, and by our &s;inning under the Go&s;pel, what do we? Weingage the very mercy of God to become our adver&s;ary: by our &s;inning under the Go&s;pel, we &s;in again&s;t Mercy and Grace, and thereby ingage the ve|ry mercy of God, our greate&s;t friend, to be|come our greate&s;t adver&s;ary.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Peccatum majus, ubi &s;pecialis repug|nantia inter peccantem &amp; peccatum;</HI> The more repugnancy there is betwixt the &s;in and the &s;inner, the greater is the &s;in; and therefore it is wor&s;e for a Judg to be unju&s;t, than for another, becau&s;e there is a &s;pecial repugnancy betwixt the sin and the sinner. Now there is a &s;pecial repugnancy betwixt the Go&s;pel, and a man that sins under the Go&s;pel; for he pro|fe&s;&s;es the contrary, and therefore sin there is the greater.</P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>Peccatum majus, ubi majus nocumen|tum;</HI> The more hurtful or mi&s;chievous any sin is, the greater is that sin: Sinning under the Go&s;pel is very hurtful, to our &s;elves, and to others. To our &s;elve; as poy&s;on taken
<PB N="17" REF="11"> in Sack, or &s;omething that is warm, is the mo&s;t venemous, &s;o &s;in under the Go&s;pel is the deadlie&s;t poy&s;on: Why? Becau&s;e it is warmed with Go&s;pel heat; And it is hurtful to others, becau&s;e they are hardened; for when men &s;in under the Go&s;pel, others are hardened thereby.</P>
<P N="5">5. The more able that any &s;in is to defend it &s;elf by knowledg, &s;hifts and di&s;tinctions, the wor&s;e and greater it is: Now a man that lives under the Go&s;pel hath knowledg, and by his knowledg is able to defend his &s;in by many di&s;tinctions; and &s;ins bred under the Go&s;pel are able to defend them&s;elves by knowledg fetched from the Go&s;pel, therefore the wor&s;e.</P>
<P N="6">6. The more deceitful that any &s;in is, and the better ends and pretences it hath, the wor&s;e it is, and holds the longer: Now &s;ins bred under the Go&s;pel are mo&s;t deceitful, and have the be&s;t ends and pretences, and there|fore the wor&s;e.</P>
<P N="7">7. The more that a man doth ca&s;t contempt upon the great things of God by his &s;in, the greater, and the wor&s;e is his &s;in: Sins under the Go&s;pel ca&s;t contempt upon the great things of God, the glory of God, the glo|rious offer of the grace of God: to &s;in under
<PB N="18" REF="12"> the Go&s;pel, is to ca&s;t contempt upon the glory of God, and the great things of God, and therefore &s;in there is the greater.</P>
<P N="8">8. The more co&s;tly and chargeable that any &s;in is, the greater and the wor&s;e it is: Now a man that &s;ins under the Go&s;pel can|not, &s;in at &s;o cheap a rate as another, though he sins the very &s;ame sin that another com|mits: Why? <HI>He that knows his Ma&s;ters will and doth it not, &s;hall be beaten with many &s;tripes,</HI> Luke 12. 47. What an evil and dread|full thing is it for men to &s;in under the Go&s;pel, &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle, <HI>He &s;hall come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Go&s;pel,</HI> 2 The&s;. 1. 8. Flaming fire; not painted fire, but real fire; but there may be real fire in a &s;park, therefore he doth not &s;ay real fire neither; but <HI>He &s;hall come in flaming fire, taking venge|ance on them that know not God, and that o|bey not the Go&s;pel.</HI> O what an evil, and dreadful thing is it for a man to &s;in living un|der the Go&s;pel. Now if there be &s;o much evil in the &s;ins of our lives and practi&s;es, living under the Go&s;pel; if there be &s;o much evil in the &s;in of our hearts and thoughts; if there be &s;o much evil in the &s;in of our nature; if &s;in hath taken up all the names of all evils; if &s;in
<PB N="19" REF="12"> doth &s;eparate between God and us; if &s;in doth unite us to Satan, and make us the Chil|dren of the Devil; if &s;in did put Chri&s;t to death; if &s;in doth bring a general cur&s;e up|on the whole Creation; if &s;in doth &s;tain all our glory; if &s;in doth awaken Con&s;cience to that horror that nothing but the blood of Chri&s;t can quiet it; if &s;in doth feed the fire of Hell; if the lea&s;t &s;in be wor&s;e than the greate&s;t affliction; if God doth puni&s;h the lea&s;t &s;in both in his own and others with the greate&s;t &s;everity; if &s;in be wor&s;e than Hell or the Devil; and if &s;in it &s;elf be a puni&s;hment; cer|tainly there is abundance of evil and &s;inful|ne&s;s in &s;in. So I have done with the fir&s;t thing, namely, that there is a great deal of evil and &s;infulne&s;s in &s;in.</P>
<P N="2">2. Secondly, Though there be thus much evil and &s;infulne&s;s in &s;in; this doth not ap|pear to a man until he doth convert and turn unto God: till then his &s;in is dead, but then it is revived: till then the &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in doth not appear; for,</P>
<P N="1">1. Till then a man is in the dark, and who can &s;ee the greatne&s;s of an evil in the dark.</P>
<P N="2">2. Till then grace (the contrary) is not placed in the &s;oul; one contrary doth &s;hew
<PB N="20" REF="13"> the other: white is be&s;t &s;een by black; Grace is be&s;t &s;een by Sin, and Sin is be&s;t &s;een by Grace: till then a man hath no grace, no con|trary to illu&s;trate it, to make it appear.</P>
<P N="3">3. And till then &s;in is in its own place; <HI>elementum non gravidat &s;uo loco,</HI> water is not heavy in its own place, it is not heavy in the River; a man may lay at the bottom of the River with all the water upon his back, and yet not feel the weight of it, becau&s;e it is in its place; but take but a pailful of water out of the River, and you feel the weight of it, becau&s;e then it is out of its place. Now till a man convert and turn unto God, &s;in is in its own place, and therefore the &s;infulne&s;s of it doth not appear.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But you will &s;ay, How comes this to pa&s;s that sin &s;hould not appear in the sinful|ne&s;s of it, until a man convert, and turn unto God?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. Sin is a &s;piritual thing; I mean a moral, not a natural thing; Sin is a &s;piri|tual thing, and a man that liveth by &s;en&s;e cannot &s;ee what is &s;piritual.</P>
<P N="2">2. A man is blind unto what he loves; till a man convert and turn unto God, he loves his Sin; he loves it above all the World; and therefore the evil and sinful|ne&s;s
<PB N="21" REF="13"> of sin doth not yet appear to him.</P>
<P N="3">3. The more Blinds a man hath that cover his sin, the le&s;s he &s;ees it; and the le&s;s sin appears to be sinful: Now before a man con|vert and turn unto God, all his duties are but Blinds to cover his sin, all his morality is but a Blind, all his natural uprightne&s;s is but a Blind: True (&s;ays he) I am a sinner; but I pray, and perform duty, therefore am not &s;o great a sinner; I have &s;uch and &s;uch mora|lities, and my heart is as good as any ones, therefore I am not &s;o great a sinner. What are all his duties before he convert and turn unto God, but &s;o many Blinds to cover and hide his sin? No wonder therefore that sin doth not appear as it is, until a man doth con|vert and turn unto God.</P>
<P N="4">4. The more a man looks upon sin as going into it, the le&s;s it appears to be; and the more a man looks upon sin as coming out of it, com|ing from it, the greater it appears to be; there is a going into sin by commi&s;&s;ion, and there is a coming from it by repentance: Now when a man is going into his sin, there he &s;ees Pro|fit, Plea&s;ure, and his own concernments, and this makes his sin appear little; but when he comes out of it, there he &s;ees &s;orrow, and re|pentance, and that makes his sin appear great.</P>
<PB N="22" REF="14">
<P N="5">5. Sometimes by the providence of God, sin meets with good events; and holine&s;s meets with bad events in the world: and &s;o the evil and sinfulne&s;s of sin is hidden from men.</P>
<P N="6">6. and la&s;tly, The le&s;s a man is at the work of private examination, the le&s;s sin appears to be sin, and the le&s;s he &s;ees sin as it is: be|fore a man convert, and turn unto God, he is little in the work of examining his own &s;oul in private: No wonder therefore sin doth not appear to him to be sinful, becau&s;e he is little in the work of private examination. Thus ye &s;ee &s;in doth not appear in the sinfulne&s;s of of it untill a man doth convert, and turn unto God: That's the &s;econd.</P>
<P N="3">III. Thirdly, Look when a man doth con|vert and turn unto the Lord, then sin appears in the sinfulne&s;s thereof unto his &s;oul. For then,</P>
<P N="1">1. He is weary and heavy laden under the burden of his sin; the more a man is weary and heavy laden under the burden of his sin, the more sin appears evil and sinfull to him: Now look when a man doth convert and turn unto God, then he is weary, and heavy laden under the burden of his sin: <HI>Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden,</HI> Matth. 11. 28.</P>
<PB N="23" REF="14">
<P N="2">2. Then he &s;ees God, and not till then; the more a man &s;ees God, the glory of God, the goodne&s;s of God, the wi&s;dom of God, the holine&s;s of God, the &s;overaignty of God; the more sin appears in its sinfulne&s;s to him: <HI>Wo is me, I am undone, for I have &s;een the King, the Lord of Ho&s;ts,</HI> I&s;a. 6. 5. and &s;ayes Job, <HI>I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye &s;eeth thee.</HI> What then? <HI>I abhor my &s;elf, and repent in du&s;t and a&s;hes,</HI> Job 42. 5, 6. Look when I &s;ee God, the glory of God, the goodne&s;s of God, the holi|ne&s;s of God, the wi&s;dom, and the &s;overaignty of God, then sin appears in its &s;infulne&s;s to me.</P>
<P N="3">3. Then al&s;o a man comes to &s;ee Chri&s;t crucified, and not till then; there is nothing can give us &s;uch a sight of the sinfulne&s;s of sin as Chri&s;t crucified: <HI>By the Law is the know|ledg of &s;in,</HI> Rom. 3. 20. but by the sight of Chri&s;t crucified, I &s;ee the hatred that God hath again&s;t sin: I do not &s;ee by the Law &s;o much the hatred that God hath again&s;t sin as in Chri&s;t crucified; the more I &s;ee Gods hatred again&s;t sin, the more I &s;ee the sinful|ne&s;s of it. Now look when a man doth convert and turn unto God, then he &s;ees Chri&s;t cruci|fied.</P>
<PB N="24" REF="15">
<P N="4">4. Look when a man hath gotten the true pro&s;pect of Hell, and of the wrath of God, then &s;in appears &s;inful to him: Now look when a man convert and turn unto God in truth, then he &s;ees the wrath of God, and hath the true pro&s;pect of Hell, from which he is de|livered.</P>
<P N="5">5. The more a man is tired out, and wea|ried with the dogging and haunting of his &s;in, that he can re&s;t no where for it, the more the &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in appears to him: Now when a man doth convert, and turn unto God, what &s;ayes he? Ah; I am never at re&s;t, I am dogged and haunted, and tired out continu|ally with my &s;in; O now it appears very &s;in|ful to me.</P>
<P N="6">6. Look when a mans heart is filled with the love of God, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with the Holy Gho&s;t, then &s;in appears to him to be very &s;inful; for what comes the Holy Gho&s;t for? <HI>To convince the world of &s;in,</HI> Joh. 16. 8. Now look when a man doth convert and turn to God, then comes this convincing work of the Holy Gho&s;t; then his heart is filled with the love of God, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with the Holy Gho&s;t; therefore then sin appears in the sin|fulne&s;s thereof unto his &s;oul. And thus I have done with the Doctrine, namely, That
<PB N="25" REF="15"> there is a great deal of evil and sinfulne&s;s in sin, which doth not appear to a man until he doth convert and turn unto God.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>By way of Application.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. Fir&s;t, For the fir&s;t part, If there be &s;o much evil and sinfulne&s;s in sin; behold the power of the grace of God, the grace of God with out you, the grace of God within you: If a &s;park of fire &s;hould be pre&s;erved alive in an Ocean of water, you would think it is &s;ome &s;trong hand that did it; If a Candle &s;hould be kept light in a great wind and &s;torm, you will &s;ay, it was a &s;trong hand that kept it light: There is an Ocean of sin in our hearts, and that a little &s;park, or Candle of grace &s;hould be pre&s;erved in us, in the mid&s;t of this Ocean of sin; Oh the power of the grace of God!</P>
<P N="2">2. If this be true, Behold the riches and the freene&s;s of the grace of God, that you &s;hould be delivered from all this evil; sin sinful, and &s;o sinful, and evil, and you deli|vered from all this evil; oh the riches, and the freene&s;s of the grace of God!</P>
<P N="2">2. But &s;econdly, For the &s;econd part, If the sinfulne&s;s of sin doth not appear until a
<PB N="26" REF="16"> man convert and turn unto God, Then,</P>
<P N="1">1. Here we may &s;ee &s;ome rea&s;on, why &s;ome men are not &s;ensible of their sins though very great, it is bccau&s;e they are not converted; the Commandment never came, the Command|ment is not yet come: &s;uch a poor &s;oul goes on in his sin, and is not yet convinced of the evil of it, for the Commandment never yet came.</P>
<P N="2">2. If this be true, what a &s;ad condition are all tho&s;e in that are not converted and brought home to God; they are in their sins, and their sin is in them; <HI>The whole world lies in wickedne&s;s,</HI> 1 Joh. 5. 19. 1 They lie in their sin, and are full thereof; they are full of this evil; this evil is full of evil, and they are full of this evil: they are full of it. For</P>
<P N="1">1. They are always filling, and never emp|tying: A ve&s;&s;el that is always filling, and ne|ver emptying, mu&s;t needs be full. Thus it is with a man not converted, not turned to God, he is always filling with sin, and never emptying; yea, when he thinks he is empty|ing, when he thinks he is repenting and re|forming, then he is filling with sin; always filling, and never emptying, therefore mu&s;t needs be full.</P>
<P N="2">2. They are full of it, becau&s;e they sin be|yond their temptation: If a Beggar begs of
<PB N="27" REF="16"> me, and I give him more than he begs for; if he begs for 6 <HI>d.</HI> and I give him 12 <HI>d.</HI> he will &s;ay I am full, for I give him more than he begged for: &s;o when temptation begs, and a man sins beyond his temptation, what doth this argue but that he is full of sin? Thus it is with men unconverted, they sin beyond their temptation, and what doth this argue, but that they are full of sin.</P>
<P N="3">3. And full they are, becau&s;e they are dropping their sin where&s;oever they go: You will &s;ay a Beggar is full of vermine, that drops his vermine where&s;oever he goes; So men, not converted, not turned unto God, they are dropping their vermine where&s;oever they go: if they come in good company, they are drop|ping their vermine there; if they come in bad company they are dropping their ver|mine there; why? becau&s;e they are full of vermine, full of sin.</P>
<P N="2">2. But &s;econdly, As men not converted, not turned to God are full of sin, &s;o they are under the power of it: Why? How doth that appear? Becau&s;e their sin commands them off from their duty. Suppo&s;e a com|pany of men sitting at table at meat together, and another comes into the room, and &s;ayes to one of them, Take your Cloak and follow
<PB N="28" REF="17"> me, and he pre&s;ently ri&s;es from his meat and follows him; you will &s;ay certainly this man is his Ma&s;ter, becau&s;e he ari&s;es from his meat at his command and follows him. So when sin &s;hall command a man off from his duty, from reading the Word, from private Pray|er; What doth this argue, but that he is un|der the power of sin? As when a man is sin|ning, and grace comes and calls him off from his sin, it argues he is under the power of grace; &s;o when a man is at his duty, and his sin comes and calls him off from his duty, it argues he is under the power of &s;in; &s;o it is with men unconverted, they are under the power of their &s;in.</P>
<P N="3">3. As a man unconverted is full of &s;in, and under the power of it, &s;o he knows it not; for &s;in doth not appear to a man to be &s;in un|till he convert and turn unto God; it doth not yet appear, as the Apo&s;tle &s;ayes in another ca&s;e, 1 <HI>Job.</HI> 3. 2. <HI>It doth not yet appear what we &s;hall be, but it &s;hall appear:</HI> So &s;ay I in regard of &s;in, It doth not yet appear, but it &s;hall appear to a mans &s;elf, and others; be|fore a man convert and turn to God, it doth not appear, but to &s;uch a one it &s;hall appear: when a man comes to die, and all his hoops be knocked off, then it will appear how full
<PB N="29" REF="17"> of &s;in he is: As a ve&s;&s;el that is full of liquor, and the liquor i&s;&s;ue through the hoops, you &s;ee there is liquor in it, but you do not know how full it is till the hoops are knocked off: But then you will &s;ay, O how full was this Ve&s;&s;el? Ah now our hoops are on, and it doth not yet appear how full of &s;in men are; onely it comes i&s;&s;uing through the hoops, through their duties, but a day is coming when all our hoops &s;hall be knocked off, and then it will appear how full of &s;in men are.</P>
<P>But to the third part.</P>
<P N="3">3. If this be true, that when a man doth convert and turn unto God, then his &s;in doth appear in the &s;infulne&s;s thereof unto him; then why &s;hould we not all labour to get the true sight of sin, to be &s;en&s;ible of &s;in? it is the property of a man converted to be &s;en&s;ible of sin; <HI>then &s;in revived:</HI> As therefore you de|sire to have upon you the character of a man converted, labour to be &s;ensible of your sin, that it may appear in the sinfulne&s;s thereof.</P>
<P>It is the mind of God, that all his converted ones &s;hould think much on, and be very &s;en|sible of the sins they committed before their conversion: <HI>Such and &s;uch were &s;ome of you, but ye are clean&s;ed, but ye are wa&s;hed.</HI> 1 Cor. 6. 11. I &s;ay it is the mind and will of God,
<PB N="30" REF="18"> that tho&s;e that are converted &s;hould be very &s;ensible of their sins which they committed before conversion. For,</P>
<P N="1">1. Thereby they pity others that are in their sins.</P>
<P N="2">2. Thereby they are kept from future sins, What is the rea&s;on that men are not kept from future sins, but becau&s;e they are not &s;en|sible of their former sins.</P>
<P N="3">3. Thereby al&s;o they are kept in the &s;en&s;e of free grace towards them, and &s;o they mag|nifie the free grace of God: I was a Bla&s;|phemer, a Per&s;ecutor; &s;uch and &s;uch a one I was; but I am wa&s;hed, but I am clean&s;ed, and through grace ju&s;tified; O the freene&s;s of the grace of God! Thus they magnifie free grace. Therefore I &s;ay it is the mind of God, that tho&s;e that are converted &s;hould be &s;till very &s;ensible of their sins committed before their Conversion: and this is a Character of a man converted, sin appears to him to be sinfull. Now therefore as you desire to have the character of a man converted, labour more and more to &s;ee sin in the sinfulne&s;s of it.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Well, but then the Que&s;tion is What shall we do, whether converted or not what &s;hall we do that we may be able to &s;ee sin in the sinfulne&s;s thereof?</P>
<PB N="31" REF="18">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. Be &s;ure of this, that you look much upon Chri&s;t crucified: Chri&s;t on the Cro&s;s is a gla&s;s wherein you may &s;ee the sin|fulnes of sin. Study Chri&s;t crucified much.</P>
<P N="2">2. Labour more and more to walk in the pre&s;ence of God, the &s;hines of Gods coun|tenance; For as when the Sun &s;hines into the room, you &s;ee little motes, &s;o when God &s;hines into your heart, you &s;ee little sins: the beams of Gods countenance do di&s;cover sin in the sinfulne&s;s of it; Therefore labour to walk more in the pre&s;ence of God, and in the &s;hines of his Countenance.</P>
<P N="3">3. Labour more and more to examine your own &s;ouls; be much in private exami|nation: hardly an ungrowing Chri&s;tian that is much in private examination; hardly a proud man that is much in private examina|tion. Do you desire to &s;ee sin in the sinful|ne&s;s of it? Go alone, call your &s;elf often to account, be much in private examina|tion.</P>
<P N="4">4. Take as much pains to keep the &s;en&s;e of sin upon your heart as ever you did to get it: Some take pains to get them&s;elves into a good frame, but take no pains to keep them|&s;elves in it when they have gotten it: As the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, They view them&s;elves in the
<PB N="32" REF="19"> gla&s;s of royal liberty, and go away and for|get what manner of men they were.</P>
<P N="5">5. In ca&s;e you find any particular &s;in, go round about it; con&s;ider the circum&s;tances thereof, aggravate it upon your own &s;oul.</P>
<P N="6">6. Improve your afflictions this way. God &s;ends afflictions &s;ometimes to give you the sight of &s;ome sin that lay hid before; and &s;ometimes your afflictions have your &s;in writ|ten on their forehead. Improve then your affliction for the di&s;covery of the sinfulne&s;s of sin.</P>
<P N="7">7. Be &s;ure you judge of sin as the Scripture judgeth of it, and not as men judge of it: the Scripture judgeth of sin by the con&s;equence thereof, as our Saviour Chri&s;t &s;ayes, <HI>I was an hungred, and ye fed me not; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; naked, and ye clothed me not.</HI> How &s;o? <HI>In as much as ye did it not to one of the&s;e, ye did it not to me,</HI> Mat. 25. 42, 43, 44, 45. Chri&s;t judgeth of sin by the con&s;equence of it; therefore if you would &s;ee sin in the sinfulne&s;s of it, judge of it as Chri&s;t judgeth of it, and as the Scrip|ture judgeth of it, and not as men judge of it.</P>
<P N="8">8. If you desire to &s;ee sin in its own colours, in the &s;infulne&s;s of it; then look upon the Commandments of God as great things; the
<PB N="33" REF="19"> more the Commandment of God is great|ned to you, the greater will &s;in be in your eye; if the Commandment of God be great in your eye, the &s;in, contrary to the Com|mandment will be great in your eye too.</P>
<P N="9">9. Never think any thing &s;mall betwixt God and you; there is nothing &s;mall betwixt God and us, for God is an infinite God.</P>
<P N="10">10. Never look upon &s;in in the time of temptation; for then you are in the dark, and not fit to &s;ee the greatne&s;s of &s;in: La|bour to know the difference betwixt temp|tation and corruption, and betwixt the &s;ins of Gods people, and others; but never look upon &s;in in the time of temptation; for then you are in the dark, and cannot &s;ee the &s;in|fulne&s;s of it.</P>
<P N="11">11. And la&s;tly, If you would &s;ee &s;in in the &s;infulne&s;s of it; then go unto God for the coming of the Commandment, that God would &s;et on the Commandment upon you, as <HI>Paul</HI> here; &s;ays he, <HI>When the Com|mandment came &s;in revived, and I died.</HI> Some, it may be here, never yet had the Command|ment &s;et on upon their hearts; O then go to God, and pray for the &s;etting on of the Commandment upon you; then &s;hall you &s;ee &s;in in the &s;infulne&s;s thereof.</P>
<PB N="34" REF="20">
<P>Now let me add two or three cautions to this, and &s;o conclude.</P>
<P N="1">1. Take heed that you do not &s;o think on &s;in as to forget Chri&s;t: If you think on &s;in without Chri&s;t you will de&s;pair, if you think on Chri&s;t without &s;in you will pre|&s;ume; Never think on &s;in without Chri&s;t; Labour to get the &s;ight of your &s;in, but never think on &s;in without Chri&s;t; but look on your &s;in in the wounds of Chri&s;t, and read your &s;ins written out in Chri&s;ts blood.</P>
<P N="2">2. Humble your &s;elves for &s;in, though it be never &s;o &s;mall; but do not que&s;tion your condition for &s;in though it be never &s;o great; I do not &s;peak this to tho&s;e that are uncon|verted, for they have cau&s;e to que&s;tion their condition for every &s;in, though never &s;o &s;mall; but being converted and turned un|to God, I &s;ay, humble thy &s;elf for every &s;in though never &s;o &s;mall; but never que&s;tion thy condition for any &s;in, though never &s;o great.</P>
<P N="3">3. The more &s;en&s;e you have of &s;in, and the &s;infulne&s;s thereof, the more labour to maintain your a&s;&s;urance of the pardon of it: and the more a&s;&s;urance you have of the par|don of your &s;in, the more labour for a &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of it: Let not your &s;en&s;e of &s;in quench your joy of pardon; let not your joy
<PB N="35" REF="20"> of pardon hinder your &s;ight of &s;in: if both the&s;e be true and genuine, the one is an help unto the other.</P>
<P N="4">4. (And to conclude) the more &s;en&s;e you have of &s;in, the more do you come to Chri&s;t: for, in Scripture you &s;hall find, that every good work is not for it &s;elf, but &s;ome good works are in order to others; as for example, to in&s;tance in the keeping of the Sabbath, you are to re&s;t on the Sabbath, and it is a good work, but not for it &s;elf, but in order to Prayer, Hearing, Sanctifica|tion, other duties. So here, &s;en&s;e of &s;in is a good work; but it is not for it &s;elf, but in order to going to Chri&s;t: Therefore now go to Chri&s;t, and &s;ay, Lord, now I &s;ee the &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in, let me al&s;o &s;ee the graciou&s;|ne&s;s of grace, and the fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t; yea, now I do come to thee for righteou&s;|ne&s;s, becau&s;e I &s;ee my &s;in is out of mea&s;ure &s;inful.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="21">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="21">
<HEAD>THE FULNESSE OF CHRIST.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>I&s;aiah, 9. 1, 2.</BIBL>
<P><HI>Neverthele&s;s, the dimne&s;s &s;hall not be &s;uch as was in her vexation, when at the fir&s;t he lightly afflicted the land of</HI> Zebulun, <HI>and the land of</HI> Naphtali, <HI>and afterward did more grievou&s;ly afflict her, by the way of the Sea beyond</HI> Jordan <HI>in</HI> Galilee <HI>of the Nations.</HI></P>
<P>The people that walked in darkne&s;s have &s;een a great light; they that dwell in the land of the &s;hadow of death, upon them hath the light &s;hined.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THe&s;e words do relate to the for|mer Chapter, us you may &s;ee by the word neverthele&s;s; in the end of the former Chapter the Prophet &s;hews, that great trouble and mi|&s;ery &s;hould befal the people of God, <HI>It</HI>
<PB N="2" REF="22"> <HI>&s;hall come to pa&s;s, that when they &s;hall be hungry, they &s;hall fret them&s;el&V;es, and cur&s;e their king, and their God, and look upward,</HI> ver&s;. 21. <HI>and they &s;hall look unto the earth, and behold trouble, and darkne&s;s, dimne&s;s of anguish; and they shall be dri|ven to darkne&s;s: neverthele&s;s the dimne&s;s shall not be &s;uch as was in her vexati|on, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>So that in the&s;e words you have a great affliction mentioned, and the mitigation of that affliction: the affliction, or trouble, is more ea&s;ie, and more heavy; it hath two parts, a more ea&s;ie part, and a more heavy part; <HI>at the first he lightly afflicted the land of</HI> zebulun, <HI>and the land of</HI> Nephtali, <HI>and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the Sea.</HI> The &s;tory where|of you have in 2 <HI>King.</HI> 15. 19. Pul <HI>the king of</HI> A&s;&s;yria <HI>came against the land; and</HI> Menahem <HI>gave</HI> Pul <HI>a thou&s;and talents of &s;ilver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand, and</HI> Ma|nahem <HI>exacted the money of</HI> I&s;rael: <HI>&s;o the king of</HI> A&s;&s;yria <HI>turned back, and &s;tayed not there in the land.</HI> There was the more light affliction: but in <HI>ver.</HI> 29. there you have the more heavy affliction; <HI>In the days of</HI>
<PB N="3" REF="22"> Pekah <HI>king of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>came</HI> Tiglath-Pile&s;er <HI>king of</HI> A&s;&s;yria, <HI>and took</HI> Ijon, <HI>and</HI> Abel|beth-Maachah, <HI>and</HI> Janoah, <HI>and</HI> Kede&s;h, <HI>and</HI> Hazor, <HI>and</HI> Gilead, <HI>and</HI> Galilee, <HI>all the land of</HI> Naphtali, <HI>and carried them captive to</HI> A&s;&s;yria. Here was the affliction where|with they were vexed, both more light, and more heavy.</P>
<P>The mitigation follows at the &s;econd ver&s;e; <HI>The people that walked in darkne&s;s have &s;een a great light, they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.</HI> Here is an allevia|tion of this affliction by the promi&s;e of Chri&s;t, which is interpreted of Chri&s;t, in Matth. 4. <HI>Now</HI> (at Ver. 12.) <HI>when Je&s;us had heard that John was ca&s;t into pri&s;on, he departed into Galilee, and leaving Na|zareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the Sea-coa&s;t in the borders of Zebulon and Naphtali: that it might be ful|filled which was &s;poken by E&s;aias the Pro|phet, &s;aying, The land of Zebulon, and the land of Nephtali, by the way of the Sea be|yond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people which &s;ate in darkne&s;s &s;aw great light; and to them which &s;ate in the Region, and shadow of death, light is &s;prung up.</HI></P>
<PB N="4" REF="23">
<P>So that Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t alone is an alleviation to our greate&s;t afflictions.</P>
<P>And &s;o the Doctrine that I &s;hall fall in with at this time is this.</P>
<P><HI>Doct.</HI> There is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t alone-which may and can and doth afford &s;uffici|ent comfort and relief in the wor&s;t of times and conditions.</P>
<P>For the opening and pro&s;ecution whereof</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, We will inquire into the truth of it, that it is &s;o.</P>
<P>Secondly, What that is in Chri&s;t, that may, or can &s;uccour, comfort and relieve in the wor&s;t of times and conditions?</P>
<P>Thirdly, How far this concerns us?</P>
<P>And &s;o to the Application.</P>
<P N="1">1. Fir&s;t, As to the truth of it; it is &s;aid of Chri&s;t, <HI>That in him the fulne&s;s of the God head dwelleth bodily,</HI> Col. 2. 9. and there is enough in God to &s;upply all our wants; As there is enough in Heaven to pay for all at the la&s;t; &s;o there is enough in God to &s;up|ply all at the pre&s;ent. He is too covetous whom the great God of Heaven cannot &s;uf|fice. When <HI>David</HI> was in the greate&s;t &s;trait that ever he met with in his life; his
<PB N="5" REF="23"> Wives, and goods taken and carried away by the enemy, and his own men and &s;oldi|ers mutined, and ready to &s;tone him; how did he comfort him&s;elf, but in God? <HI>David incouraged him&s;elf in the Lord his God,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 30. 6. There is enough in God to comfort in all conditions, and the fulne&s;s of the Godhead dwelleth bodily in Chri&s;t; Therefore there is that in Chri&s;t which may afford &s;ufficient comfort and relief in the wor&s;t of times and conditions.</P>
<P N="2">2. If you look into Scripture you &s;hall find, that the promi&s;es and prophecies of Chri&s;t are calculated and given out for the wor&s;t of times: it was u&s;ual with the Pro|phets to prophe&s;ie of Chri&s;t; but mark how their prophecies were calculated for the wor&s;t of times: In <HI>Jer.</HI> 23. you have a prophe|cy of Chri&s;t, Ver&s;. 6. <HI>In his days Judah shall be &s;aved, and I&s;rael shall dwell &s;afely, and this is his name whereby he shall be cal|led, the Lord our righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> Well, what time doth this prophecy relate to? A very evil time: <HI>Woe be unto the Pastors that de|&s;troy and &s;catter the sheep of my pa&s;ture,</HI> v. 1. <HI>Therefore thus &s;aith the Lord God of I&s;rael,</HI> ver. 2. <HI>Again&s;t the Pa&s;tors that feed my people, ye have &s;cattered my flock, and</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="24"> <HI>driven them away, and have not vi&s;ited them:</HI> and then comes in the prophecy of Chri&s;t. So in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28. you have a great prophecy of Chri&s;t, ver. 16. <HI>Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a tried &s;tone, a pre|cious corner-&s;tone, a &s;ure foundation:</HI> A plain prophecy of Chri&s;t: Well, but how comes this in? Why it was calculated for an evil time, at the <HI>14th</HI> Ver&s;e; <HI>Hear the word of the Lord ye &s;cornful men that rule this people which is in Jeru&s;alem, becau&s;e ye have &s;aid, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement, when the overflowing &s;courge shall pa&s;s through: Therefore thus &s;aith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a founda|tion a &s;tone, a tried &s;tone, a precious corner &s;tone; judgment al&s;o will I lay to the line, and righteou&s;ne&s;s to the plummet, and the hail thall &s;weep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place, and your covenant with death shall be di&s;|anulled, and your agreement with Hell shall not &s;tand:</HI> a prophecy concerning Chri&s;t, calculated for the wor&s;t of times. So in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 34. you have another prophecy of Chri&s;t, <HI>v.</HI> 23. <HI>And I will &s;et up one she|pherd over them, and he shall feed them, even</HI>
<PB N="7" REF="24"> <HI>my &s;ervant David, he &s;hall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd;</HI> plainly &s;peaking of Chri&s;t: VVell, but when doth he &s;peak this prophecy of Chri&s;t? Look into the be|ginning of the Chapter, <HI>v.</HI> 2. <HI>Son of man, prophe&s;ie again&s;t the shepherds of I&s;rael, pro|phe&s;ie, and &s;ay unto them, Thus &s;aith the Lord God unto the Shepherds; Wo be to the Shepherds of I&s;rael that do feed them&s;elves, should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ye eat the fat, and ye clothe ye with the wool, ye kill them that are fed, but ye feed not the flock.</HI> Now in this time comes out the pro|phecy of Chri&s;t; you make mention of Aqua-vitae at other times, but when there is &s;pecial mention made of Aquavitae, and the Aqua|vitae-bottle in a fainting and dying time; what doth this argue but there is a cordiality in it? the fir&s;t time that ever Chri&s;t was pro|phe&s;ied of, what time was it? <HI>Adam</HI> fell, and all the Children of men were in a mo&s;t &s;ad condition, what cordial was then brought forth but this? <HI>The &s;eed of the woman shall break the &s;erpents head,</HI> Gen. 3. 15. and this is ordinary; the promi&s;es and prophe|cyes of Chri&s;t are calculated for the wor&s;t of times: why? but to teach us, that there is enough in Chri&s;t to comfort, &s;uccour,
<PB N="8" REF="25"> and relieve in the wor&s;t of times.</P>
<P N="3">3. If there was enough in the types of Chri&s;t, to comfort and releive the Saints and people of God under the Old Te&s;tament in the wor&s;t of their times; then there mu&s;t needs be enough in Chri&s;t him&s;elf to relieve and comfort the Saints, and people of God now in New Te&s;tament times, in the wor&s;t of our times. Now &s;o it was, in the times of the Old Te&s;tament, in ca&s;e they had &s;in|ned, what relief had they? a Sacrifice to make an attonement, <HI>Levit.</HI> 4. 20. and &s;o a type of Chri&s;t the great <HI>Sacrifice,</HI> Heb. 9. 26. in ca&s;e they were in the wilderne&s;s and want|ed bread, what relief had they? they had there, Manna, a type of Chri&s;t, <HI>The true bread that came down from heaven,</HI> Joh. 6. 50, 51. In ca&s;e they wanted water what re|lief had they? The rock opened, and <HI>that rock was Christ,</HI> 1 Cor. 10. 4. <HI>The Rock followed them, and the Rock was Chri&s;t.</HI> In ca&s;e they were &s;tung with the fiery Serpents, what relief had they? They had the Brazen Serpent, and that was a type of Chri&s;t, <HI>Joh.</HI> 3. 15. Now I &s;ay, if the people of God in Old Te&s;tament-times had relief in the types of Chri&s;t, &s;urely there is relief enough for us now in New Te&s;tament times, in Chri&s;t him&s;elf.</P>
<PB N="9" REF="25">
<P N="4">4. If all the promi&s;es of good things made to us were origined in Chri&s;t, and if all the promi&s;es that are made unto Chri&s;t of good things to come do de&s;cend and run down upon us, more or le&s;s; then &s;urely there is enough in Chri&s;t to relieve and &s;uccour in the wor&s;t of times: For what are the pro|mi&s;es but divine conveyances? Now all the promi&s;es of good things that are made to us, they flow from Chri&s;t, <HI>for all the promi&s;es are yea and Amen in Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Cor. 1. 20. Yea, that is affirmed,; Amen, that is con|firmed; all the promi&s;es made to us are af|firmed and confirmed by Chri&s;t. And on the other &s;ide, all the promi&s;es that are made to Chri&s;t do de&s;cend upon us; Look into <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2. there is a great promi&s;e made to Chri&s;t, at <HI>ver.</HI> 8. <HI>Ask of me, and I &s;hall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermo&s;t parts of the earth for thy po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion: thou &s;halt break them with a rod of iron, thou &s;halt dash them in pieces like a potters ve&s;sel.</HI> A promi&s;e plainly given to Chri&s;t, and &s;ee how it de&s;cends and falls up|on us. Revel. 2. 26. <HI>He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the Nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the
<PB N="10" REF="26"> ve&s;sels of a potter shall they be broken to shi|vers, even as I received of my father:</HI> Even as I received of my Father, look what pro|mi&s;e I have received of my Father, the &s;ame doth de&s;cend and fall down upon you: Now then, if all the promi&s;es of good things made to us were origined in Chri&s;t; and if all the promi&s;es that are made unto Chri&s;t of good things to come do de&s;cend and run down upon us, &s;urely there is enough in Chri&s;t to &s;uccour and relieve in the wor&s;t of times.</P>
<P N="5">5. One thing more; If that all our want of comfort and &s;atisfaction doth ari&s;e from the want of a &s;ight of Chri&s;ts fulne&s;s and ex|cellency, and all our &s;atisfaction and com|fort doth ari&s;e from the &s;ight of Chri&s;ts ful|ne&s;s and excellency, then this Doctrine mu&s;t needs be true: Now look into <HI>Revel.</HI> 5. and &s;ee how <HI>John</HI> weeps, and upon what account; <HI>I &s;aw</HI> (&s;ayes <HI>John) in the right hand of him that &s;ate on the Throne, a book written within, and on the backside &s;ealed with &s;even &s;eals;</HI> and at ver&s;. 2. <HI>I &s;aw a &s;trong Angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loo&s;e the &s;eals there|of, and no man in heaven, nor in earth, nei|ther under the earth, was able to open the</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="26"> <HI>book.</HI> Then at <HI>ver.</HI> 4. (&s;ays he) <HI>I wept much, becau&s;e no man was found worthy to open, and to read the book, neither to look thereon.</HI> What &s;tilled him, what quieted him? The &s;ight of Chri&s;t, at <HI>ver.</HI> 5. <HI>And one of the Elders &s;aith unto me, weep not: behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book:</HI> &s;o he goes on opening the excellency and the fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t, and <HI>John</HI> weeps no more: So that I &s;ay, all our want of comfort doth ari&s;e from our want of a &s;ight of the fulne&s;s and excellency that is in Chri&s;t: there|fore certainly there is enough in Chri&s;t to comfort, &s;uccour and relieve in the wor&s;t of times: and &s;o you have the fir&s;t thing.</P>
<P N="2">2. Well, but then &s;econdly, What is that in Chri&s;t that may or can comfort, &s;uccour and relieve in the wor&s;t of times and conditions?</P>
<P N="1">1. I an&s;wer, Fir&s;t, Look what that good thing is which the world can either give or take away, that is in Chri&s;t in great abun|dance; and if that be in Chri&s;t in great a|bundance which the world can either give or take away, then there is that in Chri&s;t that may or can &s;uccour, comfort and relieve in the wor&s;t of times. Now what can the world give or take away?</P>
<PB N="12" REF="27">
<P N="1">1. Can the world take away your E&s;tate, Gold or Silver? then read what is &s;aid in the third of the <HI>Proverbs</HI> concerning VVi&s;|dom, (where Chri&s;t is called wi&s;dom) <HI>Happy is the man that findeth wi&s;dom,</HI> v. 13. <HI>For the merchandi&s;e of it is better than the mer|chandi&s;e of &s;ilver, and the gain thereof than fine gold; she is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou can&s;t de&s;ire are not to be compared unto her.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Can the world take away your liber|ty, your Go&s;pel liberty? Then you know what Chri&s;t &s;ayes, <HI>Revel.</HI> 3. 8. <HI>Behold I have &s;et before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Can the world take away your life? You know what Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>I am the way, the truth and the life,</HI> Joh. 14. 6. <HI>ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life,</HI> Joh. 5. 40. On the other &s;ide, what can the world give to you?</P>
<P N="1">1. Can the world give you peace, re&s;t, quierne&s;s? Then you know what Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you re&s;t,</HI> Matth. 11. 28. <HI>I create the fruit of the lips, peace,</HI> I&s;a. 57. 19. <HI>Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world</HI>
<PB N="13" REF="27"> <HI>giveth, give I unto you,</HI> Joh. 14. 27.</P>
<P N="2">2. Can the world give you happine&s;s or ble&s;&s;edne&s;s? I am &s;ure Chri&s;t can. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>are the poor in &s;pirit; ble&s;sed are they that hunger and thir&s;t after righteou&s;|ne&s;s; ble&s;&s;ed are the pure in heart: yea, ble&s;&s;ed are ye when men shall revile you, and per&s;ecute you for my &s;ake,</HI> Matth. 5. It was the work of the High Prie&s;t to ble&s;s the people, and Chri&s;t being our great High Prie&s;t, it is his work to ble&s;s us: He, and he alone can make us ble&s;&s;ed. Would you therefore know what there is in Chri&s;t that can &s;ucconr, comfort and relieve in the wor&s;t of times? Look I &s;ay what&s;oever good thing the world can either give or take away, that is in Chri&s;t in great abundance.</P>
<P N="2">2. There is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t the greate&s;t excellency, under the be&s;t propriety. The greate&s;t excellency; for,</P>
<P N="1">1. If the knowledg of Chri&s;t be the mo&s;t excellent knowledg, then &s;urely Chri&s;t him|&s;elf mu&s;t needs be mo&s;t excellent; the know|ledg of Je&s;us Chri&s;t is the mo&s;t excellent knowledg.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is the mo&s;t certain knowledg; you know other things by their &s;hapes and &s;pe|cies, you know Chri&s;t by the &s;pirit; you
<PB N="14" REF="28"> know other things by the te&s;timony of men, you know Chri&s;t by the te&s;timony of the &s;pirit; and as the te&s;timony of the &s;pirit is more certain than the te&s;timony of any man, &s;o the knowledg of Chri&s;t is the mo&s;t certain knowledg in the world.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is that knowledg that gives you po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of the thing you know; By my know|ledg of Chri&s;t, I am po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of Chri&s;t; &s;urely therefore it is the mo&s;t excellent know|ledg in the world, and therefore Chri&s;t him|&s;elf mu&s;t needs be mo&s;t excellent.</P>
<P N="2">2. He is called <HI>The de&s;ire of all Nations,</HI> in <HI>Hag.</HI> 2. 7. Some Nations de&s;ire one thing and &s;ome another, but Chri&s;t is the de&s;ire of all Nations: VVhat is mo&s;t de&s;ireable that is not in Chri&s;t? 1. Is Gold and Silver mo&s;t de&s;ireable? Sayes he, <HI>I coun&s;el thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire,</HI> Rev. 3. 18, 2. Is wi&s;dom mo&s;t de&s;ireable? <HI>He is the wi&s;dom of the father,</HI> 1 Cor. 1. 24. <HI>In him are hid all the trea&s;ures of wi&s;dom,</HI> Col. 2. 3. He is wi&s;dom in the ab&s;tract; <HI>Wi&s;dom hath builded her hou&s;e,</HI> Prov. 9. 1. and it is in the plural number, wi&s;doms hath build|ed her hou&s;e; he is not onely wi&s;e, but wi&s;|dom, and wi&s;doms: And 3. He is called that good thing, <HI>Jer.</HI> 33. 14. <HI>Behold the day to</HI>
<PB N="15" REF="28"> <HI>come &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts, that I will perform that good thing which I have pro|mi&s;ed unto the hou&s;e of I&s;rael, and unto the hou&s;e of Judah.</HI> That good thing, with an empha&s;is, what is that? <HI>At that time will I cau&s;e the branch of righteou&s;ne&s;s to grow up unto David, and he &s;hall execute judg|ment and righteou&s;ne&s;s in the land.</HI> Chri&s;t is that good thing; He is <HI>the excellency of Jacob,</HI> the greate&s;t excellency.</P>
<P>And this excellency is under the be&s;t pro|priety, in&s;omuch as you may challenge it with a double my: <HI>My God, my God,</HI> &s;ayes <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 22. 1. <HI>My Lord, &amp; my God,</HI> &s;ayes <HI>Thomas,</HI> Joh. 20. 28. There is &s;uch pro|priety in this excellency as you may chal|lenge it with a double my. And it is &s;uch a propriety as can never be lo&s;t; <HI>None &s;hall take them out of my fathers hand,</HI> Joh. 10. 28, 29. Would you then know what there is in Chri&s;t that can comfort, &s;uccour, and re|lieve in the wor&s;t of times? I &s;ay there is the greate&s;t excellency, under the be&s;t pro|priety.</P>
<P N="3">3. There is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t the greate&s;t fulne&s;s joyned with the mo&s;t communica|tivene&s;s: Some things are empty, and not full; &s;ome things are full, but they are full
<PB N="16" REF="29"> of wind, as the bladders of the Creatures are, that the lea&s;t prick melts them down into nothing; full, but not communicative; and &s;ome things are communicative, but not full; as Springs, little water Springs: but Chri&s;t is both full and communicative; He is the <HI>Ro&s;e of Sharon, and the lilly of the vallies, Cant.</HI> 2. 1. The ro&s;e of <HI>Sharon,</HI> not the ro&s;e of a Garden, that onely &s;ome can come and take the &s;weetne&s;s of, but the Ro&s;e of the field, that every one may come and &s;mell on; his blood is a fountain opened, not a foun|tain inclo&s;ed, but opened; He is the Tree of Life, who&s;e leaves are for the healing of the Nations. So that there is not onely <HI>Pleni|tudo abundantia, &s;ed reduntantiae;</HI> a ful|ne&s;s of abundance, but a fulne&s;s of redun|dancy; flowing over in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; Would you therefore know what there is in Chri&s;t that can comfort and relieve in the wor&s;t of times? I &s;ay there is the greate&s;t fulne&s;s joyn|ed with the mo&s;t communicativene&s;s.</P>
<P N="4">4. There is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t the &s;weete&s;t love, under the greate&s;t ingagement: The &s;weete&s;t love; <HI>Thy love is better than wine; thy name is as oyntment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee,</HI> Cant. 1. 3. <HI>Greater love than this hath no man,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t
<PB N="17" REF="29"> concerning his death, <HI>Joh.</HI> 15. 13. There is love in Chri&s;t beyond all dimen&s;ions; there is height and bredth, and length, and depth, of love in him, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 3. 18, 19. 1. There is giving love in Chri&s;t, <HI>who loved us, and gave him&s;elf for us,</HI> Gal. 2. 20. Ephe&s;. 5. 25. 2. There is forgiving and pardoning love in Chri&s;t; witne&s;s <HI>Peter,</HI> whom Chri&s;t forgave when he had denied him. 3. There is in Chri&s;t conde&s;cending love, witne&s;s <HI>Thomas; Come Thomas</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>reach hither thine hand, and thrust it into my &s;ide,</HI> Joh. 20. 27. I conde&s;cend to thee. 4. There is in Chri&s;t accepting love. <HI>I tell thee</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>where&s;oever this Go&s;pel is preached, that which this woman hath done, &s;hall be told for a memorial of her,</HI> Matth. 26. 13. accepting of what &s;he did. And 5. There is in Chri&s;t a &s;ympathizing love; <HI>For he is not &s;uch an High Prie&s;t as cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,</HI> Heb. 4. 15. There is the &s;weete&s;t love in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And it is under the greate&s;t ingagement; for, is not a brother ingaged to help his brother? <HI>He is not a&s;hamed to call them brethren,</HI> Heb. 2. 11. Is not a Father en|gaged to help his Children? <HI>He is the ever|la&s;ting Father,</HI> I&s;a. 9. 6. Is not a Husband engaged
<PB N="18" REF="30"> to help his Wife? The Church of Chri&s;t is his <HI>Spou&s;e,</HI> Cant. 4. 9. And now &s;uppo&s;e there were one per&s;on that could &s;tand under all the&s;e relations; a Brother, a Father, a Husband; how much would that per&s;on be engaged to help, that &s;hould &s;tand under all the&s;e relations? Thus Chri&s;t doth, he &s;tands under all the&s;e relations; There|fore, there is in Chri&s;t the &s;weete&s;t love un|der the greate&s;t ingagement.</P>
<P N="5">5. There is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t that &s;uit|eth to all conditions; what condition can you come into but there is a promi&s;e &s;uited to it? and what are the promi&s;es but the veins wherein the blood of Chri&s;t doth run? There is no condition but hath a promi&s;e &s;uited to it, and &s;o there is that in Chri&s;t that &s;uits to all conditions. To in&s;tance a little:</P>
<P N="1">1. Are you poor and needy? <HI>I coun&s;el thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou maye&s;t be rich,</HI> Rev. 3. 18. 2. Are you naked? (&s;ayes he) <HI>I coun&s;el thee to buy of me white raiment, that thou maye&s;t be clothed, and that the &s;hame of thy naked|ne&s;s do not appear.</HI> 3. Are you out of the way, wandering? <HI>I am the way,</HI> Joh. 14. 6. 4. Are you in the dark in reference to any bu&s;ine&s;s or your condition? <HI>I am the</HI>
<PB N="19" REF="30"> <HI>light,</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>and the light of life, Joh.</HI> 8. 12. 5. Are you hungry? <HI>I am the bread of life,</HI> Joh. 6. 48. 6. Are you thir&s;ty? <HI>I am the water of life? He that drinketh of the water that I &s;hall give him &s;hall never thir&s;t more,</HI> Joh. 4. 14. 7. Do you need Ju&s;tification? <HI>He is the Lord our righte|ou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> Jer. 23. 6. 8. Do you need Sancti|fication? <HI>For this cau&s;e do I &s;anctifie my &s;elf that they al&s;o may be &s;anctified,</HI> Joh. 17. 19. 9. Do you need Con&s;olation? <HI>I will &s;end the comforter,</HI> Joh. 16. 7. 10. Do you need Protection? <HI>He is the rock of ages; the Lord Jehovah,</HI> I&s;a. 26. 4. 11. Are you in a Paradi&s;e of Pro&s;perity? He is the <HI>Tree of Life,</HI> Rev. 22. 14. 12. Are you in a wilderne&s;s of adver&s;ity? He is <HI>the Manna</HI> that came <HI>down from Heaven,</HI> Joh. 6. 50. So that then, there is that in him that is &s;uited to all conditions.</P>
<P N="6">6. There is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t that doth an&s;wer to all our fears, doubts and objecti|ons. Hearken if there be ever a poor doubt|ing &s;oul here; There is that in Chri&s;t that doth an&s;wer to all thy fears, doubts and ob|jections.</P>
<P>VVill you &s;ay, I am a poor lo&s;t Creature? Then &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>I came to &s;eek and to &s;ave</HI>
<PB N="20" REF="31"> <HI>that which was lost,</HI> Luke 19. 10. Will you &s;ay, oh but I am a &s;inner, a great &s;in|ner? Saith Chri&s;t, <HI>I came not to call the righteous but &s;inners to repentance,</HI> Mat. 9. 13. Will you &s;ay, oh but I cannot repent? Then &s;ee what the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Act.</HI> 5. 31. concerning Chri&s;t, <HI>Him hath God ex|alted with his right hand to be a Prince, and a Saviour, to give repentance unto I&s;rael, and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in:</HI> not onely remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, but repentance: It is Chri&s;ts work to give repentance as well as forgivene&s;s of &s;in. Will you &s;ay, oh but I cannot leave my &s;ins, I cannot turn away from my &s;ins? Then read what the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, Act. 3. 26. <HI>Unto you fir&s;t God having rai&s;ed up his Son Je&s;us, &s;ent him to ble&s;s you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.</HI> Will you &s;ay, Oh but I cannot come to Chri&s;t? Then he tells you that he is come to you; <HI>I came to &s;eek, and to &s;ave that which was lo&s;t:</HI> He brings the lo&s;t &s;heep home upon his &s;houlder, as in the Parable. VVill you &s;ay, Oh but his &s;heep follow him, and I cannot follow him? Then he tells you, <HI>He will carry the Lambs in his armes, and gently lead tho&s;e that are with young,</HI> I&s;a. 40. 11. He will drive you at your own pace. Will
<PB N="21" REF="31"> you &s;ay, Oh but I have provoked Chri&s;t, and he is angry and will ca&s;t me off? You know what he &s;ayes then; <HI>Tho&s;e that come unto me I will in no wi&s;e ca&s;t out,</HI> Joh. 6. 37. He is meek and lowly; He is meek, and there|fore will not be angry with you; he is lowly, and therefore will not di&s;dain you: <HI>Learn of me,</HI> &s;ayes he, <HI>for I am meek and lowly, Matth.</HI> 11. 29. VVill you &s;ay, Oh but I have &s;inned to the very utmo&s;t, Then the Apo&s;tle tells you, that <HI>He is able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t,</HI> Heb. 7. 25. So that there is plainly that in Chri&s;t that an&s;wereth to all our fears, doubts and objections.</P>
<P N="7">7. Yet one thing more. There is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t which doth and will &s;upply all our wants: VVhat is there that you want? Do you labour under de&s;ertion? Then &s;aith he, <HI>I will lead you in a way that you have not known,</HI> I&s;a. 42. 16. <HI>And I will never leave you nor for&s;ake you.</HI> Heb. 13. 5. Do you labour under corruption and bondage to &s;in? There is freedom in Chri&s;t; <HI>Tho&s;e the Son makes free are free indeed,</HI> Joh 8. 36. indeed really, indeed eminently; <HI>Tho&s;e the Son makes free are free indeed;</HI> indeed and indeed. Do you labour under great Temptations? It is he that <HI>treads down Sa|tan</HI>
<PB N="22" REF="32"> <HI>under our feet,</HI> Rom. 16. 20. and, &s;aye he, <HI>My grace is &s;ufficient for thee,</HI> 2 Cor. 12. 9. Do you labour under the want of the means of grace, or the mini&s;tery of the VVord? <HI>He hath received gifts for men;</HI> and what tho&s;e gifts are, the Apo&s;tle tells you, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. 11. Apo&s;tles, Prophets, Evan|geli&s;ts, Pa&s;tors and Teachers. Do you la|bour under weakne&s;s, &s;piritual infirmity? Then he hath &s;even Horns, and &s;even Eyes, as you find him de&s;cribed, <HI>Revel.</HI> 5. 6. an|&s;wering to your infirmity or weakne&s;s; or do you labour under any affliction, outward or inward, under per&s;ecution from ene|mies? Then &s;ee what is &s;aid concerning Chri&s;t, Micah 5. 5. <HI>And this man &s;hall be the peace when the A&s;&s;yrian &s;hall come into our land.</HI> Are you afraid of an enemy coming into the land? <HI>This man &s;hall be the peace when the A&s;&s;yrian &s;hall come into our land.</HI> This man, VVhat man? See at ver&s;. 2. it is plainly &s;poken of Chri&s;t. <HI>But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thou&s;ands of Judah, yet out of thee &s;hall come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in I&s;rael, who&s;e goings forth have been from of old, from everla&s;ting, &amp; he &s;hal &s;tand and feed in the &s;trength of the Lord, in the</HI>
<PB N="23" REF="32"> <HI>Maje&s;ty of the name of the Lord his God, and this man &s;hall be the peace:</HI> This man, that is Chri&s;t; he &s;hall be our peace when the wor&s;t of enemies come into our land.</P>
<P>Aye, but you will &s;ay, we &s;ee no likeli|hood of this; mark then what is &s;aid at <HI>ver.</HI> 7. <HI>And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the mid&s;t of many people as a dew from the Lord, and as the showers upon the gra&s;s that tar|rieth not for man, nor waiteth for the Sons of men.</HI> If a Garden be to be watered with a watering pot, it &s;tayes for man; but if it be watered with the dew, it &s;tayes not for man: So &s;aith the Lord, Shall the remnant of my people be, as the ground that waits up|on the dew, that tarrieth not for man; Though you &s;ee no likelihood of deliverance, no means whereby ye &s;hould be delivered, when the A&s;&s;yrian comes into our land, when the wor&s;t of enemies come into our land; yet ye &s;hall be delivered, For <HI>this man shall be the peace:</HI> So that look what&s;oever that is which you want, it is all to be had in Chri&s;t. And thus now you &s;ee in the&s;e &s;even Particu|lars, what there is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t that may and can and doth afford &s;ufficient comfort and relief, in the wor&s;t of times and condi|tions, That's the &s;econd.</P>
<PB N="24" REF="33">
<P N="3">III. Well but then you will &s;ay in the third place, This is good in the general, but what is this to us? We know there is enough in Chri&s;t to &s;uccour, comfort and relieve in the wor&s;t of times and conditions, but what is this to us?</P>
<P>Yes, it is to you, and to you very much; for,</P>
<P N="1">1. If you be overcommers and do over|come the evil of the times and places where you live, then all this fulne&s;s and excellency that is in Chri&s;t doth belong to you; for if you look into the &s;econd and third Chapters of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> you &s;hall find, that unto every Church there mentioned, there is a pro|mi&s;e made of giving out &s;ome of the fulne&s;s and excellency of Chri&s;t; and &s;till the pro|mi&s;e runs to him that overcometh, at the end of every Epi&s;tle: <HI>To him that overcometh;</HI> that is, to him that overcometh the evil men|tioned in that Epi&s;tle; not in the general, but the evil mentioned in that Epi&s;tle. As now to in&s;tance in the Church of <HI>Laodicea,</HI> &s;aith he, chap. 3. 21. <HI>To him that over|cometh, will I grant to &s;it with me in my Throne; even as I al&s;o overcame, and am &s;et down with my Father in his Throne</HI> What is the thing promi&s;ed here? Commu|nion with Chri&s;t in his Kingdom on Earth.
<PB N="25" REF="33"> Well, but who are tho&s;e that &s;hall partake thereof? Such as overcome; <HI>to him that overcometh.</HI> That overcometh, what? That <HI>Laodicean</HI> Lukewarmnes; The &s;in forbid|den in this Epi&s;tle is luke-warmne&s;s, a mix|ture in the wor&s;hip of God: He that over|cometh this mixture, he &s;hall have commu|nion with Chri&s;t in his Kingdom on Earth. Now I &s;ay, this fulne&s;s and excellency of Chri&s;t is promi&s;ed to him that overcometh. Then (friends) you know what the evils of the times are; if you overcome the evils of the times wherein you live and are, then &s;hall you be made partakers of this excel|lency, and fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t, and &s;o this concerns you.</P>
<P N="2">2. If our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath therefore received all this excellency and fulne&s;s from the Father, that he may give it out to you; then it concerns you, and much concerns you. Now why hath Chri&s;t received all this excellency from the Father? why hath he received the &s;pirit? why was he annointed with the &s;pirit? He tells you in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 61. 1. <HI>The &s;pirit of the Lord God is upon me, becau&s;e the Lord hath an|nointed me.</HI> Why? <HI>To preach good tidings unto the meek, he hath &s;ent me to bind up</HI>
<PB N="26" REF="34"> <HI>the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the pri&s;on to them that are bound:</HI> for this cau&s;e was I an|nointed. And why hath our Lord and Saviour Chri&s;t received gifts? The Apo&s;tle tells us, and the P&s;almi&s;t tells us, <HI>for men, for the rebellious al&s;o, Eph.</HI> 4. 8. <HI>P&s;al</HI> 68. 18. Will you &s;ay, oh but I am a poor Rebel? he hath received gifts for men, for wicked men, even for rebels; <HI>Paul</HI> was a Rebel, and Chri&s;t received gifts for <HI>Paul,</HI> even that rebel. And why hath he received all power in Heaven and Earth from God the Father, but in reference to your concernments <HI>Matth.</HI> 28. 18. <HI>Je&s;us came and &s;pake unto them &s;aying, All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth.</HI> What then? <HI>Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to ob&s;erve all things what&s;oever I have commanded you, and loe I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.</HI> Go ye therefore; mark what a there|fore is here: <HI>All power is given unto me in Heaven, and in Earth; Go ye therefore;</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath received all power in Hea|ven and in Earth in reference to your con|cernments; therefore it is much to you, that
<PB N="27" REF="34"> there is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t whereby he is able to &s;uccour, comfort and relieve in the wor&s;t of times.</P>
<P N="3">3. Yet thirdly, If that our Lord &amp; Saviour Chri&s;t doth therefore &s;toop to your infirmi|ties, becau&s;e he is clothed with Maje&s;ty and Excellency, and inve&s;ted with all this power; then this that I have &s;aid is to you, and much to you: Now look into <HI>Joh.</HI> 13. you have there an a&s;&s;urance of what you &s;hall find in Chri&s;t now, by what he did then when he was to die, at ver&s;. 3. <HI>Je&s;us knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, he ri&s;eth from &s;upper, and laid a&s;ide his garments, and took a towel and girded him&s;elf: after that he poureth water into a ba&s;on, and began to wa&s;h the Di&s;ciples feet.</HI> Whence doth this ari&s;e? See at ver&s;. 3. <HI>Je|&s;us knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands;</HI> He was not therefore proud, he did not therefore di&s;dain his poor Di&s;ciples; No: but he did conde&s;cend to them upon this account, and &s;toops to their infir|mity: his humility prompts on his excellen|cy to be good to us. Now if he therefore &s;toops to your infirmity, becau&s;e he is clothed with excellency, then this that I have &s;aid is to you, and much to you.
<PB N="28" REF="35"> And &s;o you have the Doctrine cleared.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Now by way of Application.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. If this Doctrine be true, that there is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t alone, which may and can and doth afford &s;ufficient comfort and relief in the wor&s;t of times and conditions; what a mighty encouragement is here for e|very one to get into Chri&s;t, to get an in|tere&s;t in Chri&s;t? Get but an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and you have a &s;tanding relief in the wor&s;t of times and conditions: No in|tere&s;t in Chri&s;t, no relief in the wor&s;t of times. Who would not get an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t? If there be any &s;uch here that are yet without an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, man or woman, con&s;ider what there is in Chri&s;t; there is (as you have heard) that in Chri&s;t that will afford &s;ufficient comfort and re|lief in the wor&s;t of times: Times are evil, O be encouraged to get an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. If this Doctrine be true, Why &s;hould we then complain? why &s;hould we be di&s;|couraged in &s;uch times as the&s;e, or any time or condition we can come into? <HI>Shall the living man complain,</HI> Lam. 3. 39. Shall a
<PB N="29" REF="35"> living Chri&s;tian complain, that hath a li|ving relief by him? The book of Job &s;ayes of the wicked, <HI>That in the fulne&s;s of his &s;ufficiency he shall be in &s;traits,</HI> Job 20. 22. and shall we be in &s;traits in the mid&s;t of Chri&s;ts &s;ufficiency? Shall we complain, or be di&s;couraged, when we have Chri&s;ts &s;ufficiency for our relief at all times? You have heard of that woman, who when &s;he met with any lo&s;s, would &s;till comfort her &s;elf thus; True, I have lo&s;t &s;uch a Child, or I have lo&s;t &s;uch a friend; &s;uch a friend, or &s;uch a relation is dead, but &s;till God is alive: and when &s;he had lo&s;t her Husband, and cried and lamented very much, her Child came to her and asked her; But Mo|ther is your God dead? So may men &s;ay to us, while we complain and are di&s;couraged in the&s;e times, Is your God dead? Is your Saviour dead? But either there is a reality in this Doctrine or not; if not, why doth the Scripture &s;peak at this rate as you have heard? and if there be a truth in this Do|ctrine, why &s;hould we be di&s;couraged, or complain whatever our condition be?</P>
<P N="3">3. If this Doctrine be true, why &s;hould we not own Chri&s;t in the wor&s;t of times? why &s;hould we not confe&s;s Chri&s;t in the
<PB N="30" REF="36"> wor&s;t of times? Shall Chri&s;t be our relief in the wor&s;t of times, and &s;hall we not own and confe&s;s him in the wor&s;t of times? Shall we not own his truth, and wayes, and Ordi|nances, and confe&s;s them before the Sons of men in the wor&s;t of times? When the Sun &s;hines &s;corching hot, men run to the &s;hadow of the tree; and when it rains much, men run under the tree for &s;helter; but when the heat is over, and the rain over, the tree &s;tands alone, and no man looks af|ter it. So long as the Sun &s;hines upon the Dial, you will run to the Dial; but when the Sun is off the Dial, you come not at it. So when the times &s;hine upon the Ordi|nances, the truths and ways of God, many will run to them, but when the &s;hine is gone, and truth be in the dark, the Sun off: How few will own Chri&s;t and his truth? But if this Doctrine be true, why &s;hould we not own and confe&s;s Chri&s;t in the wor&s;t of times?</P>
<P N="4">4. If this Doctrine be true, here you may &s;ee, what an evil thing it is to &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t. It is to &s;in again&s;t our remedy, our relief; it is to &s;in again&s;t our &s;uccour; of all &s;ins tho&s;e &s;ins are wor&s;t that are again&s;t the remedy: Therefore (as I u&s;e to &s;ay) A|dultery
<PB N="31" REF="36"> in married per&s;ons, is wor&s;e than Fornication in tho&s;e that are unmarried, becau&s;e it is again&s;t the remedy. Chri&s;t is our remedy, our relief, in the wor&s;t of times; therefore to &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t, Oh what a great &s;in is it? It is to &s;in again&s;t the re|medy.</P>
<P>Now 1. Look when men offend the weak brethren in things indifferent, the A|po&s;tle &s;ayes expre&s;ly, they &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8. 12.</P>
<P N="2">2. And look when men and women will not believe, notwith&s;tanding all the offers of grace and love that Chri&s;t makes to their &s;ouls; then they &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="3">3. And look when a Profe&s;&s;or, a member of a Church &s;hall walk &s;candalou&s;ly, haunt Taverns or Alehou&s;es, or deal unju&s;tly, and is a di&s;honour to the name of Chri&s;t, he &s;ins again&s;t Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="4">4. And look when men per&s;ecute the wayes and people of Chri&s;t, they &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t. <HI>Saul, Saul, why per&s;ecutest thou me? Act.</HI> 9. 4. The&s;e, and many other wayes do men &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t; and O what an evil thing it is to &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t, it is to &s;in again&s;t the remedy, the greate&s;t remedy in the world: Take heed how ye &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t.</P>
<PB N="32" REF="37">
<P N="5">5. If this Doctrine be true, that there is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which may and can and doth afford &s;ufficient comfort and re|lief in the wor&s;t of times and conditions; then here we may &s;ee, what we &s;hould do, and whither we &s;hould go for relief; why &s;hould we not go to Chri&s;t for relief in all conditions, and relieve our &s;elves in him upon all occa&s;ions? If there were a &s;ove|raign water that would cure all di&s;ea&s;es, what flocking of people would there be unto that water: Here is that water, that &s;overaign water; Chri&s;t alone, that can cure all di&s;|ea&s;es, that can &s;uccour and relieve in the wor&s;t of times: Why &s;hould we not now come to him, and draw water out of this well of &s;alvation?</P>
<P><HI>Quest.</HI> But you will &s;ay, I confe&s;s indeed Chri&s;t is the well of &s;alvation, and there is enough in him to &s;uccour and relieve; but the well is deep, and my line is &s;hort, and my arm is weak, and I know not how to get this water: I know not how to improve Chri&s;t; What &s;hall I do that I may be able to draw water out of this well of &s;alvation? what &s;hall I do that I may improve Chri&s;t, for my &s;uccour and relief in the wor&s;t of times and conditions?</P>
<PB N="33" REF="37">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. If you would draw water out of this well of &s;alvation, and improve Chri&s;t for your relief and &s;uccour; be &s;ure of this, that you look upon Chri&s;t as the great in&s;titution and appointment of the Father for all tho&s;e &s;uccours and reliefs that are in your eye. In the &s;ixth of <HI>John,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Ye &s;eek me, not becau&s;e ye &s;aw the miracles, but becau&s;e ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled:</HI> But at ver&s;. 20. &s;ayes he, <HI>Labour not for the meat which peri&s;heth, but for the meat which endureth unto everla&s;t|ing life.</HI> Where &s;hall I have it? <HI>Which the Son of man &s;hall give unto you.</HI> How &s;hall I get it from him? Look upon him as the appointment of the Father, <HI>for him hath God the Father &s;ealed,</HI> him hath God the Father appointed; look upon him therefore, and go to him, as the great appointment of the Father for the very thing you want.</P>
<P N="2">2. Be &s;ure of this, that you make good your intere&s;t in Chri&s;t; get a&s;&s;urance of your intere&s;t in him; el&s;e you will be afraid to come at him; For <HI>all things are yours</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>whether Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death:</HI> Why? <HI>For ye are Chri&s;ts,</HI> 1 Cor. 3. 21, 22, 23. But if you be not a&s;&s;ured of this, that
<PB N="34" REF="38"> ye are Chri&s;ts and Chri&s;t yours; how can ye relieve your &s;elves in Chri&s;t in an evil day? Get therefore an a&s;&s;urance of your intere&s;t in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="3">3. Ob&s;erve what tho&s;e attributes and ti|tles of Chri&s;t are which are mo&s;t &s;uited un|to your condition, and lay them much be|fore you, and pre&s;s your hearts therewithal; it is not enough for us to come to Chri&s;t in the general, but we mu&s;t come to him, and deal with him according to tho&s;e attributes, or titles, that are &s;uited to our condition: Chri&s;t is willing we &s;hould do &s;o, and hath on purpo&s;e clothed him&s;elf with &s;uch titles as &s;uit our condition; the &s;econd and third Chapters of the <HI>Revelations</HI> are a proof of this very thing; all the Epi&s;tles to the &s;even Churches begin with titles of Chri&s;t; in the Epi&s;tle to the Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> there is one title; in the Epi&s;tle to the Chuch of <HI>Smyrna</HI> there's another title, and &s;o to all the &s;even Churches: Every Epi&s;tle begins with a &s;everal title of Chri&s;t, and according to the condition of the Church he writes to, &s;o is the title he begins with. As to in&s;tance in the Church of <HI>Smyrna,</HI> at the <HI>8th.</HI> ver&s;e, there his title is, <HI>The fir&s;t and the la&s;t, which was dead, and is alive,</HI> Rev. 2. 8 Why this
<PB N="35" REF="38"> title? He writes to the Church in Smyrna that was to &s;uffer hard things, <HI>ver.</HI> 10. <HI>Fear none of tho&s;e things which thou &s;halt &s;uffer, behold the Devil &s;hall ca&s;t &s;ome of you into Pri&s;on:</HI> Is that all? Is the Pri&s;on all? No, &s;ayes he, <HI>Be thou faithful unto death, ye shall have tribulation ten dayes:</HI> relating to the ten per&s;ecutions in the Primitive times, dying times: VVhat then? Now remember my titles, my attributes; this is my name and title; the fir&s;t and the la&s;t, which was dead, and is alive: &s;ee how this title &s;uited to their condition. And (friends) a&s;&s;ure your &s;elves of this, that Chri&s;t will certainly make good his titles that he is clothed with: <HI>David</HI> a&s;&s;ured him&s;elf of it, <HI>The Lord is my she|pherd.</HI> VVhat then? <HI>I shall not want,</HI> P&s;al. 23. 1. He will make good his title, I know I &s;hall not want; he relieved him&s;elf in that title of Chri&s;t that &s;uited his condition. So do you do this day: As for example. Is there di&s;tre&s;s among the Saints and people of God? remember his title, he is the <HI>King of Saints,</HI> Rev. 15. 3. Is there great di&s;tre&s;s of Nations? remember his title, he is <HI>King of Nations,</HI> Jer. 10. 7. Are you under any dimne&s;s or vexation? (as it is in this Chap|ter) remember his title, <HI>A light is ri&s;en up,</HI>
<PB N="36" REF="39"> <HI>a marvellous light.</HI> Thus be &s;ure you deal with Chri&s;t according to that title of his that is mo&s;t &s;uited to your condition.</P>
<P N="4">4. Be &s;ure of this, that you &s;tudy Chri&s;t and your condition together; &s;ome &s;tudy their condition, &s;tand poreing upon their condition, but they do not &s;tudy Chri&s;ts; and they are full of unbelief: Some think much on Chri&s;t, but not on their own condi|tion, and they are given to Pre&s;umption: But would you find true relief in Chri&s;t what|ever your condition be? Then &s;tudy Chri&s;t and your condition together; as thus; Chri&s;t is a King, a Prie&s;t, and a Prophet: if you be ignorant, now think on Chri&s;t as a Pro|phet; if you be guilty, now think on Chri&s;t as a Prie&s;t; if you be di&s;orderly, now think on Chri&s;t as a King. Thus &s;tudy Chri&s;t and your condition together.</P>
<P N="5">5. Be &s;ure of this, that you put Chri&s;t upon it, to &s;uccour and relieve you in the wor&s;t of times; to do that for you that he hath entitled him&s;elf unto: So <HI>David</HI> did <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 31. See how he argues, and his argu|ment is exceeding good; <HI>Lord,</HI> (&s;ayes he <HI>ver.</HI> 2) <HI>Be thou my &s;trong rock:</HI> why? <HI>for thou art my rock,</HI> ver&s;. 3. Lord, this is thy name, this is thy title: <HI>Thou art my rock;</HI>
<PB N="37" REF="39"> then <HI>be my rock:</HI> and &s;ayes he, <HI>ver.</HI> 4. <HI>Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for</HI> me, <HI>for thou art my &s;trength.</HI> I have to deal with enemies, and they have laid their net privily for me; <HI>Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me, for thou art my &s;trength.</HI> So now, popi&s;h men have laid their net privily for us, and we may go to Chri&s;t and &s;ay, Lord pull us out of the net that they have laid privily for us, for thou art our &s;trength. Thus put Chri&s;t upon it to an&s;wer his titles.</P>
<P N="6">6. If you would find &s;uccour, comfort and relief in Chri&s;t in the wor&s;t of times and conditions; then re&s;t upon him in oppo&s;iti|on to all other helps and &s;hifts, or unlawful means of deliverance, in ca&s;e you come into any &s;trait: Chri&s;t is &s;o much yours, as you re&s;t upon him; as our re&s;ting on the promi&s;e makes it ours, &s;o our re&s;ting on Chri&s;t makes him ours. And you know how graciou&s;ly the Lord appear'd to the three Children; Chri&s;t came and walked with them in the fiery furnace, and delivered them, <HI>Dan.</HI> 3. 25. How &s;o? They re&s;ted or him: <HI>We know that our God is able to deliver us, we will not bow down to the Idol,</HI> whatever comes on us: <HI>We know our God is able to deliver</HI>
<PB N="38" REF="40"> <HI>us,</HI> ver. 17, 18. here they re&s;ted upon him alone in oppo&s;ition to all unworthy &s;hifts, and unlawful means for deliverance, and then Chri&s;t appeared and gave out his &s;uccour and relief to them.</P>
<P N="7">7. If you would find &s;uccour, comfort and relief in Chri&s;t upon all occa&s;ions, and in all conditions, then go to God by Pray|er; go and beg of God to open your eyes, that you may &s;ee this fountain that is by you; it is po&s;&s;ible that your eyes may be held, as <HI>Hagars</HI> were; <HI>Hagar</HI> had the Fountain by her, but &s;he did not &s;ee it, for her eyes were held: And thus it is with many of us; Chri&s;t our Fountain is by, and we even &s;it down in de&s;pair: why? for our eyes are held. Go then to God and beg of him to open your eyes that you may &s;ee this Foun|tain.</P>
<P N="8">8. And la&s;tly; If you de&s;ire to draw wa|ter out of this well of &s;alvation, and to im|prove Chri&s;t for your relief and comfort in the wor&s;t of times; then ob&s;erve what tho&s;e promi&s;es are, that the Lord hath made to his people for the latter times, and be &s;ure that you deal much with them: Chri&s;t com|forts and relieves by promi&s;es: As the Devil tempts by promi&s;es, &s;o Chri&s;t comforts by
<PB N="39" REF="40"> promi&s;es; and when a man is relieved by a promi&s;e that Chri&s;t hath made, he is relieved by Chri&s;t. Now there are nine or ten pro|mi&s;es that the Lord Chri&s;t hath made to the latter times for the comfort of his people, to be as a relief for his people in the&s;e latter times, I will but barely name them, and &s;o conclude.</P>
<P N="1">1. He hath promi&s;ed them, that they &s;hall have under&s;tanding in the times, <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. 10. <HI>The wicked &s;hall do wickedly, and none of the wicked &s;hall under&s;tand, but the wi&s;e &s;hall under&s;tand.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. He hath promi&s;ed, that they &s;hall be &s;ealed, &s;et apart, hidden in the wor&s;t of times, in Antichri&s;tian times, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. com|pared with the <HI>9th.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. He hath promi&s;ed, that though they meet with Antichri&s;tian tribulation, they &s;hall come out with their garments wa&s;hed in the blood of the Lamb, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. 14. <HI>The&s;e are they which came out of great tribulation, and have wa&s;hed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. The Lord hath promi&s;ed to his peo|ple in the&s;e latter times, that they &s;hall con|tinue in his temple day and night; that is, they &s;hall enjoy the Ordinances of God
<PB N="40" REF="41"> without interruption; though now they are &s;cattered and driven from the Hou&s;e of God, the Lord hath promi&s;ed &s;uch a time wherein they &s;hall be in the Temple day and night without interruption, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. 15.</P>
<P N="5">5. He hath promi&s;ed to de&s;troy all their Antichri&s;tian enemies: <HI>Babylon is fallen,</HI> it is fallen, <HI>and as a mil&s;tone is thrown into the Sea; &s;o &s;hall Babylon be thrown down, and &s;hall be found no more at all,</HI> Rev. 18. 21.</P>
<P N="6">6. The Lord hath promi&s;ed, that his peo|ple &s;hall prophe&s;ie, though they be in &s;ack|cloth, they &s;hall bear witne&s;s to the truths and wayes of God, and &s;hall prophe&s;ie, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 3. <HI>I will give power unto my two wit|ne&s;&s;es, and they &s;hall prophe&s;ie</HI> 1260 dayes. I will give them power, they &s;hall prophe&s;ie and not be &s;ilent.</P>
<P N="7">7. He hath promi&s;ed al&s;o, that the light and glory of his people &s;hall be more than ever it was, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30. 26. <HI>Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun, and the light of the Sun shall be &s;even fold, as the light of &s;even dayes.</HI> When is this? <HI>In the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the &s;troak of their wound.</HI></P>
<PB N="41" REF="41">
<P N="8">8. He hath promi&s;ed to his people, that they &s;hall cea&s;e from their labour, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14. 13. <HI>Ble&s;sed are the dead which die in the Lord,</HI> (that die for the Lord) <HI>henceforth they rest from their labours, and their works do fol|low them.</HI> There &s;hall be a time here on Earth wherein the Saints &s;hall re&s;t from their labours.</P>
<P N="9">9. The Lord hath promi&s;ed, that the number of his people &s;hall be much increa|&s;ed. When the enemy went about to cut off all the males of the Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> then the I&s;raelites were much increa&s;ed: And this the Lord hath promi&s;ed, that in the latter dayes, his people &s;hall be greatly in|crea&s;ed: When the witne&s;&s;es &s;hall ri&s;e (I do not mean an in&s;urrection, but a re&s;urrecti|on) it is &s;aid, <HI>they a&s;cend in a cloud,</HI> a company of people as a cloud &s;hall come a|bout them, to gratifie them in their ri&s;ing; <HI>And there shall be a great earthquake, and in the earthquake &s;lain of men</HI> 7000, <HI>and the remnant shall be affrighted, and give glory to God,</HI> Rev. 11, 12. 13. There &s;hall be a great increa&s;e.</P>
<P N="10">10. And la&s;tly, The Lord hath promi&s;ed, that the Saints &s;hall rule the world, and the government &s;hall be given unto them; not,
<PB N="42" REF="42"> that any should go about to wre&s;t the Go|vernment out of the hands of the pre&s;ent powers; but in <HI>Dan.</HI> 7. 27. the Lord hath promi&s;ed, <HI>That the kingdom and dominion, and the greatne&s;s of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the Saints of the mo&s;t high, who&s;e kingdom is an everla&s;ting kingdom.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e ten things the Lord hath promi&s;ed to his people in the latter dayes: tho&s;e that lived in the Apo&s;tles dayes, they comforted them&s;elves in the&s;e promi&s;es then; they com|forted them&s;elves in the book of the <HI>Reve|lations</HI> then; the book of the <HI>Revelations</HI> is a book on purpo&s;e for the comfort and relief of the people of God in Antichri&s;tian times: and if it was a comfort and relief to them in the Apo&s;tles dayes, what may it be unto us upon whom the la&s;t dayes are come? Chri&s;t comforts by promi&s;es, and when a man is comforted and relieved, by a promi&s;e made by Chri&s;t, he is comforted by Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t hath given out the&s;e great promi|&s;es for the latter times. Now you &s;ee into what times we are fallen: Are the times e|vil? do they grow wor&s;e, and will they yet grow wor&s;e, before they grow better? then remember this Doctrine, and comfort your
<PB N="43" REF="42"> &s;elves therein; There is that in Je&s;us Chri&s;t alone, that may and can and doth afford &s;ufficient comfort and relief in the wor&s;t of times and conditions. Go then to Chri&s;t upon all occa&s;ions; do not let relief &s;tand by, and not u&s;e it; Chri&s;t takes it kindly that you make u&s;e of him, and the more you u&s;e him, the more kindly he takes it.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
