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<DATE>2012-08-22</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><HI>Correction, In&s;truction:</HI> OR, A TREATISE OF Afflictions: Fir&s;t conceived by way of <HI>Private Meditations:</HI> Afterward Dige&s;ted into certain <HI>Sermons,</HI> preach'd at <HI>Aldermanbury.</HI></P>
<P>And now <HI>publi&s;hed</HI> for the Help and Comfort of humble &s;uffering <HI>CHRISTIANS.</HI></P>
<P>By THO. CASE, M.A. &s;ometimes Student of <HI>Ch. Ch. Oxon.</HI> now Preacher of the Go&s;pel in <HI>London.</HI></P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>JOB 13.15.</HI></BIBL> Though he &s;lay me, yet will I tru&s;t in him.</Q>
<Q>Nihil eo in&s;oelicius, cui nihil infoelix con|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">git. <BIBL><HI>Demet.</HI> apud <HI>Sen.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P>LONDON, Printed by <HI>J. M.</HI> for LUKE FAVVN, and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop at the &s;ign o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the <HI>P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">at</HI> in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard. 1652.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To my Reverend Friend, M^r <HI>Thomas Ca&s;e, Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel,</HI> &amp;c.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Sir,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Thank you for the favor you did me in affording me a &s;ight of your Pa|pers; I had heard much of your notions con|cerning <HI>afflictions,</HI> and there|fore was very thir&s;ty till you were plea&s;ed to give me to drink of the fountain: I can now &s;ay as that Queen,
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Kin. 10.7</NOTE> <HI>The one half was not told me; fame</HI> came much &s;hort of <HI>ta&s;te:</HI> We
<PB REF="3">are perfect in no Le&s;&s;ons &s;o much as tho&s;e into which God whippeth us; and can|not &s;peak of any argument &s;o warmly and feelingly, as when we &s;peak out of pre&s;ent expe|rience: To treat of <HI>afflictions</HI> when we our &s;elves flouri&s;h and abound in ea&s;e and plen|ty, &s;avoreth more of the <HI>Ora|tor</HI> then the <HI>Preacher,</HI> the <HI>brain</HI> then the <HI>heart:</HI> Certainly <HI>gue&s;s</HI> and <HI>imagination</HI> cannot be &s;o good a midwife to &s;uch con|ceptions as <HI>&s;en&s;e</HI> and <HI>feeling.</HI></P>
<P>It &s;eemeth when you went into <HI>pri&s;on,</HI> the Spirit of God went into pri&s;on with you; and when you were <HI>&s;hut up</HI> to others, you &s;till <HI>lay open</HI> to the vi&s;its and free breathings of his grace; the <HI>re&s;traints</HI> and <HI>enclo&s;ures</HI> of a pri&s;on cannot prejudice the <HI>freedom</HI> of his
<PB REF="3">operations: He is a <HI>clo&s;e pri|&s;oner</HI> indeed that is &s;hut up not only from the <HI>&s;ociety of men,</HI> but <HI>conver&s;e</HI> with <HI>the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> I begin to &s;ee there is &s;omewhat more then a &s;train and reach of wit in <HI>Tertullians</HI> con&s;olatory di&s;cour&s;e to the <HI>Martyrs:
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Caetera a|nimi impe|dimenta u&s;|que ad li|men carce|ris deduxe|rint vos, quou&s;que &amp; parentes ve&s;tri, ex|inde &s;egre|gati e&s;tis a mundo nec hoc vos con|&s;ternet quod &s;egregati e&s;t is a mun|do, &s;i enim recogitemus ip&s;um ma|gis mundum carcerem e&s;&s;e; exi&s;&s;e vos e car|cere quam in carcerem introi&s;&s;e in|telligemus majores te|nebras ha|bet mundus graviores catenas in|duit mun|dus, &amp;c.</HI> Tertul. ac Martyr.</NOTE> You went out of pri&s;on</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>when you went into it, and were but &s;eque&s;tred from the world, that you might conver&s;e with God; the greate&s;t pri&s;oners and the mo&s;t guilty are tho&s;e that are at large, darkened with ignorance, chained with lusts, committed not by the Pro|con&s;ul, but God, &amp;c.</HI> The Lord often manife&s;ted him&s;elf to his Prophets in a <HI>Wilderne&s;s,</HI> and to you in your <HI>&s;ece&s;sion</HI> and <HI>retirement.</HI></P>
<P>Sir, I could even envy your <HI>Pri&s;on-comforts,</HI> and the &s;weet
<PB REF="4">opportunities of a <HI>religious privacy:</HI> We that are abroad are harra&s;&s;ed and worn out with con&s;tant publike labors, and can &s;eldom retire from the di&s;traction of bu&s;ine&s;s for &s;uch free conver&s;e with God and our own Souls: But we are not to choo&s;e our own portion; cro&s;&s;es will come &s;oon enough without wi&s;hing for them; and if we were wi&s;e we might make an advantage of every condition.</P>
<P>Good Sir, be per&s;waded to publi&s;h tho&s;e Di&s;cour&s;es; the Subject is u&s;eful, and your manner of handling it warm and affectionate; do not de|prive the world of the com|fort of your Experiences: Certainly my heart is none of the tendere&s;t; yet <HI>if heart an|&s;wereth heart,</HI> I can ea&s;ily fore|&s;ee
<PB REF="4">much &s;ucce&s;s, and that you will not repent of the publica|tion: The Lord ble&s;s your endeavors in the Go&s;pel of his dear Son: I am, Sir,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Yours in all Chri&s;tian Ob&s;ervance, Tho: Manton.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<PB REF="5">
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</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="6">
<PB REF="6">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P><HI>_THou ha&s;t here in the&s;e following Leaves &s;ome PRISON|THOUGHTS, I wi&s;h I could &s;ay, EXPERI|ENCES. If I have not written herein what I have</HI> FOUND, <HI>I ble&s;s God, I have written what I have</HI> SOUGHT. <HI>I mu&s;t humbly confe&s;s with holy</HI> Paul, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.13.14</NOTE> I count not my &s;elf to have ap|prehended; <HI>yet through Grace I can add with that ble&s;&s;ed Saint, But</HI> this one thing <HI>I do,</HI>
<PB REF="7">Forgetting tho&s;e things which are behinde, and reaching forth unto tho&s;e things which are before, I PRESS TO|VVARDS THE MARK. <HI>God hath taught me &s;omewhat of the</HI> Doctrine, <HI>if he would plea&s;e to teach me</HI> the U&s;e; <HI>God hath in &s;ome mea&s;ure &s;hewed me</HI> WHAT is to be gained <HI>by Af|fliction, if</HI> He <HI>would al&s;o teach me</HI> HOVV to gain it, <HI>I &s;hould with</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>account my &s;uffer|ings</HI> greater riches then the trea&s;ures of Egypt.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.26</NOTE> <HI>The</HI> di&s;|covery <HI>is</HI> &s;weet; <HI>if my heart deceive me not, I would not ex|change it for the wealth of both the</HI> Indies; <HI>the</HI> po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion <HI>in|finitely</HI> precious. <HI>For thy ad|vantage I have been</HI> per&s;waded <HI>to print; my</HI> prayer <HI>&s;hall ac|company my</HI> papers, <HI>That that</HI> GOD, who quickeneth the
<PB REF="7">dead, and calleth things that are not as though they were, <HI>would plea&s;e to make the&s;e broken Expre&s;sions an&s;wer the</HI> aym:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hoc tan|tum o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o, ut cum petitis etiam</HI> Ter|tulliani <HI>peceatoris memineri|tis.</HI> Tert: Apol.</NOTE> <HI>and for the</HI> ayms-&s;ake <HI>de&s;pi&s;e them not, but</HI> pray <HI>thou al&s;o; and when thou praye&s;t, remem|ber</HI> the chiefe&s;t of &s;inners, <HI>the poor and unworthy Author, who, while&s;t yet in the Land of the Living, will be</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Thine, to &s;erve thee, in the Go&s;pel of CHRIST, <HI>Tho. Ca&s;e.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<PB REF="8">
<HEAD>Courteous Reader, before thou read, be plea&s;ed with thy pen to correct the&s;e few <HI>material</HI> mi&s;takes of the Pre&s;s.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>PAge 17. in the margin write <HI>affectus</HI> for <HI>a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ffect<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 41 lin. 12. write <HI>tho&s;e</HI> for the&s;e, &amp; &s;o l. 18</ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 46 marg. <HI>requie&s;cat</HI> for <HI>requie&s;cet.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 50. l. 6. write <HI>&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ce</HI> for <HI>hence,</HI> and l. 7. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">abling</HI> for <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 67. l. 25. <HI>beatifical</HI> for <HI>beatifi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ate.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 75. marg. <GAP DESC="foreign"> for <GAP DESC="foreign">.</ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 83. l. 14. <HI>prayerful</HI> for <HI>powerful.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 109 l. 18. <HI>va<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y</HI> for <HI>veriety.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 119. l. 10, &amp; 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>we</HI> for <HI>they.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 126 in the lowe&s;t marginal note, write <HI>propter</HI> for <HI>pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ter,</HI> and in the la&s;t line &s;ave one, <HI>lawful</HI> for <HI>unlawful.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 134. l. 18. <GAP DESC="foreign"> for <GAP DESC="foreign">.</ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 153. marg. <HI>doth <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"></HI> for <HI>doth.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 157. at the bottom, make it thus, <HI>Crowds of oppo&s;ition intercepted and di&s;tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bed his &s;weet and con&s;tant communion w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">th God &s;ometimes; But he brake, &amp;c.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 195. l. 2. write <HI>&s;en&s;ible</HI> for <HI>un&s;en&s;ible.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>P. 197. marg. write, <HI>men will give God, &amp;c.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>p. 262. margin, <HI>ditati<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> for <HI>dictatio.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Some other mi&s;takes there are, <HI>literal</HI> and <HI>punctual,</HI> which becau&s;e they do not pervert the &s;ence of the Author, I thought not worth troubling the <HI>Errata</HI> with them.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="8">
<HEAD><GAP DESC="foreign">. Correction, In&s;truction. THE Rod, and the Word.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>PSAL. 94.12.</HI></BIBL>
<Q>Ble&s;&s;ed is the Man whom thou chastenest, O Lord; and teache&s;t him out of thy Law.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THis <HI>P&s;alm</HI> being <GAP DESC="foreign">, without a Title, it is not &s;o ea&s;ily deter|mined, when, or by whom it was pen'd. Probably by <HI>David,</HI> when him&s;elf, and the re&s;t of the <HI>Godly Party,</HI> were under a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ore and bitter per&s;ecution by
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Non e&s;t dubium quin de op|pre&s;&s;oribus dome&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cis <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">quatur quorum ini|qua domi|natio, non minus San|ctis, infe&s;to &amp; moli&s;ta erat quam omnes Gen|tium inju|riae.</HI> Calv. in loc. <HI>Pre&s;ertim ad regnum Saulis &s;an|guinolen|tum ac vi|olentum re|ferri pote&s;t.</HI> Mu&s;c. in loc.</NOTE> <HI>Saul</HI> and others of that <HI>bloody</HI> and <HI>hypo|critical</HI> faction that bare &s;way un|der him.</P>
<P>Briefly, In the P&s;alm the Prophet doth the&s;e three things.</P>
<LIST>
<PB N="2" REF="9">
<ITEM>1. <HI>He doth appeal to God for ven|geance</HI> on the per&s;ecutors; de|&s;cribing them by their <HI>pride, v.</HI> 2. <HI>Prophanene&s;s, v.</HI> 3, 4. their intem|perate virulency of &s;peech, <HI>v.</HI> 4. <HI>Cruelty,</HI> and <HI>bloody practi|&s;es, v.</HI> 5, 6. and la&s;tly by their <HI>Athei&s;ticall &s;ecurity, v.</HI> 7.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. He <HI>diverteth to the Enemies, endeavouring to convince them</HI> of the <HI>bruiti&s;hne&s;s</HI> and <HI>folly</HI> of their <HI>Athei&s;m,</HI> the <HI>Mother</HI> and <HI>Nur&s;e</HI> of the other impieties charged on them, <HI>v.</HI> 8. and that by a threefold Argument. <HI>&s;c.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The power and skill of God in creating the <HI>hearing</HI> and <HI>&s;ee|ing</HI> Organ in Man, <HI>v.</HI> 9.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The <HI>Soveraignty</HI> of God, and the <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s</HI> of his <HI>Judg|ments,</HI> which he executes in the world, <HI>v.</HI> 10. the former part.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. His <HI>Wi&s;dome</HI> and <HI>knowledge,</HI> in enduing man with &s;uch an excellent <HI>intellectual faculty,</HI> whereby even the creature it &s;elf is able to attain to admira|ble
<PB N="3" REF="9">degrees of knowledge, <HI>v.</HI> 10. latter part, and 11.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>He labours to comfort the godly</HI> again&s;t all the pre&s;&s;ures and per&s;e|cutions under which they did groan and langui&s;h.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>The fir&s;t Argument which the <HI>P&s;almist</HI> u&s;eth to this purpo&s;e is in the Text. <HI>&s;c.</HI> The <HI>&s;weet fruit which is to be gathered from the bitter root of affliction,</HI> which being ac|companyed with <HI>divine in&s;truction,</HI> is no longer to be e&s;teemed a <HI>puni&s;h|ment,</HI> but a <HI>ble&s;&s;ing.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou cha&s;tenest, O Lord, and teache&s;t him out of thy Law.</HI></P>
<P>This being the &s;ubject I intend to in&s;i&s;t upon, I &s;hall without any more ado contract it into this Doctrinal point of Ob&s;ervation. <HI>&s;c.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>That man is a ble&s;&s;ed man, <MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> who&s;e Cha&s;ti&s;ements are joyn'd with Divine Teachings.</HI> or,</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>It is a ble&s;&s;ed thing when Corre|ction and in&s;truction go toge|ther. The Rod and the Word make up a compleat ble&s;&s;ing.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<PB N="4" REF="10">
<P> I &s;hall take cha&s;ti&s;ements here in the utmo&s;t latitude, for all <HI>kindes</HI> and <HI>de|grees</HI> of <HI>&s;ufferings,</HI> whether from <HI>God,</HI> or <HI>Man,</HI> or <HI>Satan;</HI> whether &s;ufferings for <HI>Sin,</HI> or &s;ufferings for <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake.</HI> And for the Doctrinal part of the Point, I &s;hall endeavor the&s;e four things.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. To &s;hew you <HI>what tho&s;e Le&s;&s;ons are</HI> which God doth teach his people by his cha&s;ti&s;e|ments.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. What <HI>the Nature and Pro|perties of Divine Teachings are.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>In what tendency Correction lyeth in Order unto the&s;e teachings:</HI> or, what U&s;e God doth make of Affliction for the carrying on of the Work of in|&s;truction in the hearts of his People.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. I &s;hall lay down the <HI>Grounds</HI> and <HI>Demon&s;trations</HI> of the Point: or <HI>Con&s;iderations</HI> to evince the happine&s;s of that man whom God is plea&s;ed to teach by his Corrections.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<PB N="5" REF="10">
<P> I begin with the <HI>Le&s;&s;ons</HI> which God doth u&s;ually teach his people in a &s;uffering condition. Among&s;t ma|ny which may fall within the expe|rience of the &s;uffering Saints of God, I &s;hall ob&s;erve unto you twenty <HI>&s;e|verall Le&s;&s;ons,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 6.6.</NOTE> mo&s;t whereof like the teeth of the Spou&s;e, you &s;hall &s;ee will bear twins: or if any of them &s;hould fail, the re&s;t will more then make up the account; which when I have pre&s;ented <HI>at large,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">20 Le&s;&s;ons which God teacheth by afflicti|on.</NOTE> I &s;hall then <HI>con|tract</HI> into three <HI>&s;ummary</HI> and <HI>com|prehen&s;ive</HI> In&s;tructions, which will contain the <HI>&s;ub&s;tance</HI> of all.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Le&s;&s;on which God teach|eth by Affliction, is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Le&s;&s;on-Compa&s;&s;i|on towards &s;ufferers.</NOTE> <HI>Compa&s;&s;ion to|wards them which are in a &s;uffering condition.</HI> Truly we are very prone to be in&s;en&s;ible of our Brethrens &s;uf|ferings, when we our &s;elves <HI>are at ea&s;e in Zion:</HI> Partly by rea&s;on of that <HI>&s;en&s;uality</HI> which is in our na|tures, <HI>reigning</HI> in carnal men, and <HI>dwelling</HI> even in the regenerate them&s;elves, whereby we let out our hearts &s;o inordinately to our own comforts, as to quench the tender|ne&s;s
<PB N="6" REF="11">and &s;en&s;e which we ought to have of the mi&s;eries and hard&s;hips of other men. Partly out of the <HI>deli|cacy of &s;elf-love,</HI> which makes us unwilling to &s;owre the relli&s;h of our own &s;weet fruitions with the bitter ta&s;te of &s;trangers afflictions. Partly through <HI>&s;luggi&s;hne&s;s and torpor of &s;pirit,</HI> which makes us unwilling to ri&s;e up from the bed of ea&s;e and plea|&s;ure to travel in the enquiry of the &s;tate of our Brethren either abroad or at home; &s;o that (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith in another ca&s;e) <HI>we are willing|ly ignorant,</HI> and are not only <HI>&s;tran|gers,</HI> but are <HI>content to be</HI> &s;trangers to their mi&s;eries and calamities.</P>
<P>One way or other, even Chri|&s;tians them&s;elves, and &s;uch as are <HI>truly</HI> &s;o called, are more or le&s;s guilty of the &s;in of the Gentiles;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.31 <GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>without natural affection, unmerci|ful,</HI> without bowels, without com|pa&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>Hence you may find, that it was one of the <HI>errands</HI> upon which God &s;ent <HI>I&s;rael</HI> into <HI>Egypt,</HI> that in the <HI>brick|kills</HI> there their hard hearts might
<PB N="7" REF="11">be <HI>&s;oftened</HI> and <HI>melted</HI> into compa&s;|&s;ion towards &s;trangers and captives. Therefore when God had turn'd their Captivity, that was one of the fir&s;t <HI>le&s;&s;ons</HI> of which he puts them in mind, <HI>Thou &s;halt not oppre&s;s a &s;tran|ger,</HI> there's the duty; which, though <HI>negatively</HI> expre&s;t, yet (according to the Rule of interpreting the Com|mandments) doth include all the <HI>affirmative duties</HI> of mercy and compa&s;&s;ion: and the <HI>motive</HI> fol|lows, <HI>for you know the heart of a &s;tranger:</HI> How came they to know it? <HI>&s;eeing ye were &s;trangers in the Land of Egypt.</HI> As if God had &s;aid, I &s;ent you on purpo&s;e into <HI>Egypt,</HI> that by the experience of your own &s;ufferings and mi&s;eries you might learn as long as you live to lay to heart the angui&s;h and agonies of &s;trangers and captives, that when&s;o|ever you &s;ee a &s;tranger in your habi|tations, you may &s;ay, <Q><HI>O here is a poor Sojourner, an Exile, I will &s;urely have mercy upon him, and &s;hew him kindne&s;s, for I my &s;elf have been a &s;tranger and a bond&s;lave in Egypt;
<PB N="8" REF="12">I know by experience what a fear|ful, trembling, bleeding heart he carrieth in his bo&s;om,</HI> &amp;c.</Q></P>
<P>And upon this very account God &s;till brings variety of afflictions and &s;orrows upon his own children; he &s;uffereth them to be plundered, ban|i&s;hed, impri&s;oned, reduced to great extremities, that by their own expe|rience they may learn <HI>to draw out their bowels</HI> towards &s;uch objects of pity; that they might &s;ay within them&s;elves, <HI>I know the heart</HI> of this afflicted Soul, I know what it is to be plundered, to be rich one day, and the very next day to be &s;tript naked of all ones comforts and accommo|dations; I know what it is to hear poor hunger-&s;tarved children cry for bread, and there is none to give them; I know what it is to be bani&s;ht from deare&s;t relations, to be like arms and legs, torn out of the body, and to lie bleeding in their &s;eparation: I know what it is to be ca&s;t into pri&s;on, to be lockt up alone in the dark, with no other company but fears and &s;or|rows; I know what it is to <HI>receive
<PB N="9" REF="12">the &s;entence of death in our &s;elves,</HI> &amp;c. Shall not I pity, and pray, and pour out my Soul over &s;uch as are bleeding and langui&s;hing under the like mi&s;eries! And this Argument yet makes deeper impre&s;&s;ion, when a Chri&s;tian compares and mea&s;ures his lighter burden of affliction with anothers more grievous yoke, and rea&s;ons thus within him&s;elf; <Q>Im|pri&s;onment was grievous to me, and yet I enjoyed many comforts and accommodations, which others have not; I had a &s;weet chamber, and a &s;oft bed, when &s;ome poor Members of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in the <HI>Spani&s;h Inqui&s;ition,</HI> and the <HI>Turk|i&s;h Slavery,</HI> are <HI>ca&s;t into the Dun|geon,</HI> and &s;ink, with <HI>Jeremiah, into the mire; their feet are hurt in the &s;tocks, and the irons do enter into their Soul;</HI> others lie bleeding and ga&s;ping upon the cold ground with their undre&s;t wounds, expo&s;ed to all the injuries of hunger and na|kedne&s;s in the open ayr. I &s;aw the face of my Chri&s;tian friends, <HI>&s;ome|times,</HI> enjoyed refre&s;hment in con|ver&s;e
<PB N="10" REF="13">with deare&s;t relations, while &s;ome of Gods precious people are ca&s;t into dark and &s;tinking pri&s;ons, and do not &s;ee the face of a <HI>Chri|&s;tian,</HI> not of a <HI>man</HI> po&s;&s;ibly in five, ten or twenty years together, unle&s;s it be of their <HI>tormenters.</HI> I had fre&s;h dyet every day, not only for <HI>nece&s;&s;ity,</HI> but for <HI>delight,</HI> while o|ther precious &s;ervants of God want their <HI>nece&s;&s;ary bread,</HI> lie &s;tarving in the doleful places of their &s;orrow|ful re&s;traint, and would be glad to eat bread that falls into the very loath&s;om excrements of Nature, and perhaps (for extremity of hun|ger) never &s;tand to wipe it; po&s;&s;i|bly, forced to rake dead and &s;tink|ing carka&s;&s;es out of their graves for their &s;orrowful food, to eat the <HI>fruit of their own loyns,</HI> yea to feed on their <HI>own dung,</HI> and drink their <HI>own pi&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. Oh &s;hall not my bowels yern, and my compa&s;&s;ions be rouled within me, towards &s;uch Objects of mi&s;ery and compa&s;|&s;ion?</Q></P>
<P>Truly Brethren, we &s;ee it dayly in
<PB N="11" REF="13">ca&s;e of the <HI>Stone, Toothache, Gout, Strangury,</HI> and the like evils, how experience doth melt the heart into tears of &s;ympathy and fellow-feel|ing, while &s;trangers to &s;uch &s;uffer|ings &s;tand wondering at, and almo&s;t deriding the heart-breaking laments of poor wretches. Brethren, that you may not wonder at this, con&s;i|der I be&s;eech you what the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of Chri&s;t him&s;elf:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb 2.17.</NOTE> <HI>It behoved him in all things to be made like un|to his Brothren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high Prie&s;t in things pertaining to God.</HI> And again,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cha. 4.15.</NOTE> <HI>We have not an high Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are.</HI> And Chap. 5.2. <HI>Who can have com|pa&s;&s;ion,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>for that he him&s;elf al&s;o is compa&s;&s;ed with infirmities.</HI></P>
<P>A man would &s;ay within him&s;elf, Why what need had the Lord Je&s;us to inve&s;t him&s;elf with a body of fle&s;h to know the infirmities of our na|ture, &s;ince he was God, and knew all things? Nay, but, my Brethren, it
<PB N="12" REF="14">&s;eems the knowledg which Chri&s;t had <HI>as God,</HI> was different fro~ that know|ledgwhich he had <HI>as man;</HI> that which he had as God, was <HI>intuitive;</HI> that which he had as man, was <HI>experimen|tal; experimental</HI> knowledg of mi&s;e|ry is the <HI>heart-affecting</HI> knowledg; and therefore Chri&s;t him&s;elf would intender his own heart, <HI>as Mediator,</HI> by his <HI>own &s;en&s;e</HI> and <HI>feeling:</HI> And if the Lord Je&s;us, who was <HI>Mercy it &s;elf,</HI> would put him&s;elf into a &s;uf|fering condition, that he might the more &s;weetly and affectionately <HI>act tho&s;e Mercies</HI> towards his &s;uffering Members; how much more do we, that by nature are <HI>cruel</HI> and <HI>incom|pa&s;&s;ionate,</HI> need &s;uch practical teach|ings to work upon our own hearts? Certainly we cannot gain &s;o much fen&s;e of the Saints &s;ufferings by the mo&s;t artificial &amp; skilful relation that the tongue of men or Angels is able to expre&s;s, no nor by all our <HI>Scripture|knowledg, though &s;anctified,</HI> as we do by one days experience in the School of Affliction, when God is plea&s;ed to be the <HI>School-ma&s;ter.</HI></P>
<PB N="13" REF="14">
<P>This is one end why God &s;ends us thither, and the fir&s;t Le&s;&s;on we learn by Affliction, <HI>&s;c. Sympathy</HI> with, and <HI>compa&s;&s;ion</HI> to, our &s;uffering Brethren.</P>
<P>I come to the Second Le&s;&s;on.</P>
<P>And that is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Le&s;&s;on. 1. To prize earthly comforts more.</NOTE> <HI>By Chasti&s;ements God doth teach us how to prize our outward mercies and comforts more, and yet to dote upon them le&s;s; to be more thankful for them, and yet le&s;s en&s;nared by them.</HI> This is a My|&s;tery indeed to Nature, a Paradox to the World; for naturally we are ve|ry prone either to <HI>&s;light,</HI> or to <HI>&s;ur|feit;</HI> and yet (it is &s;ad to con&s;ider) we can make a &s;hift to do both at once; we can <HI>undervalue</HI> our mer|cies even while we <HI>glut</HI> our &s;elves with them, and <HI>despi&s;e</HI> them even when we are <HI>&s;urfeiting</HI> upon them. Witne&s;s that inculcated caution by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;hua, When thou ha&s;t eaten and art full,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut 8 10 11, 12. and 6 11, 12.</NOTE> take heed thou forget not the Lord thy God.</HI> Behold, while men <HI>fill them&s;elves</HI> with the mercies of God, they <HI>can neglect the God</HI> of their mercies: When God is mo&s;t liberal <HI>in remembring</HI> us, we
<PB N="14" REF="15">are mo&s;t prone <HI>to forget</HI> God. Now therefore that we may know how to put a due e&s;timate upon mercies, God often <HI>outs us &s;hort,</HI> that we may learn to prize that by <HI>want,</HI> which our fooli&s;h unthankful hearts <HI>&s;lighted</HI> in the <HI>enjoyment.</HI> Thus the Prodigal, who while yet at home, could de&s;pi&s;e the rich and well-fur|ni&s;ht table of his father; when God &s;ent him to School to the <HI>Swine|trough,</HI> could value the bread that the Hinds did eat; <HI>How many of my fathers hired &s;ervants have</HI> BREAD <HI>enough,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 15 17</NOTE> and to &s;pare!</HI> He would have been glad of the rever&s;ion of broken meat that was ca&s;t into the <HI>common-basket.</HI></P>
<P>I do not believe <HI>David</HI> ever &s;light|ed the <HI>Ordinances,</HI> yet certainly he never knew &s;o well how to <HI>e&s;timate</HI> them, as when he was bani&s;ht from them;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm 84.</NOTE> then a <HI>Porters place,</HI> the <HI>Sparrows nest,</HI> and the <HI>Swallows neighborhood</HI> to the Altar of God, were matters of envy to him: The remembrance of the <HI>company of Saints,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 42 5 &amp; 110.3</NOTE> the <HI>beauty of the Ordinances,</HI>
<PB N="15" REF="15">and the <HI>pre&s;ence of God,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 63.2</NOTE> fetcheth tears from his eyes, and groans from his heart, in his &s;orrowful Exile: <HI>When I remember the&s;e things,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 42.4</NOTE> I pour out my Soul in me,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>My tears are my meat day and night.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 3.</NOTE> Oh how amiable are the A&s;&s;emblies of the Saints, and the Ordinances of the Sabbath, when we are deprived of them! <HI>In tho&s;e days the Word of the Lord was precious:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 3.1</NOTE> What days were tho&s;e? It followeth, <HI>There was no open Vi&s;ion. Word</HI> and <HI>Pro|phets</HI> were precious when <HI>they were not.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Carendo po|tius quam fruendo.</HI> Sen. Ep.</NOTE> Want</HI> will teach us the <HI>worth</HI> of mercies. Our liberties and deare&s;t relations how cheapand trivial things are they while we po&s;&s;e&s;s them with|out any check or re&s;traint? While we have the keeping of our mercies in our own hands, we make but &s;mall reckoning of them. Oh, but let God threaten a <HI>divorce</HI> by death or bani&s;hment, let <HI>Task-ma&s;ters</HI> be &s;et over us and our comforts, who &s;hall mea&s;ure out unto us at their own plea&s;ure; let us be lockt up a while under clo&s;e impri&s;onment, and
<PB N="16" REF="16">there be kept fa&s;ting from our dear|e&s;t enjoyments, then the &s;ight of a friend through an <HI>iron grate,</HI> the ex|change of a few common civilities with a yoke-fellow under the cor|rection and controul of a &s;tranger, how &s;weet and precious? when as moneths and years of arbitrary en|joyments are pa&s;t through, and we &s;carce &s;it down to reflect one &s;erious view upon our mercies: &s;eldom &s;pread them before the Lord in pray|er, or &s;end up one thankful Ejacula|tion to God by night upon our beds, in this or the like manner; <Q>Lord, what mercy is this which I enjoy in my <HI>yoke-fellow, children, friends, liberty, e&s;tate, comforts and accommodations of all &s;orts,</HI> not for <HI>nece&s;&s;ity</HI> only, but for <HI>delight,</HI> while others, better then I, langui&s;h under an unequal yoke, have great rebukes in their children, are &s;epa|rated from friends, de&s;poil'd of their e&s;tates, impri&s;on'd, bani&s;ht, afflict|ed, de&s;erted, tormented! How comes it to pa&s;s that &s;o much mer|cy falls to my &s;hare? that I <HI>want
<PB N="17" REF="16">nothing,</HI> while others <HI>have no|thing?</HI> &amp;c.</Q> Oh how rarely do we entertain &s;uch di&s;cour&s;es with our own hearts, but pa&s;s by mercies as common things, &s;carce worth the owning? whereas in the hou&s;e of bondage, in a Land of Captivity, the <HI>lees</HI> and <HI>dregs</HI> of tho&s;e mercies will be precious, which while the <HI>Ve&s;&s;el</HI> ran <HI>full</HI> and <HI>fre&s;h</HI> we could hardly reli&s;h: In famine the very <HI>gleanings</HI> of our comforts are better then the whole <HI>Vintage</HI> in the years of plenty.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Not to &s;urfeit on them.</NOTE></P>
<P>And then &s;econdly, As God teach|eth us to prize our mercies, &s;o by af|fliction al&s;o <HI>he doth teach us mode|ration in the u&s;e of them,</HI> while we <HI>value</HI> not to <HI>&s;urfeit.</HI> And indeed it is the inordinate u&s;e of outward comforts which renders us unfit to prize them; we lo&s;e our <HI>e&s;teem</HI> of mercies in <HI>exce&s;s:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ex con&s;ue|tudine he|be&s;cunt af|fecte &amp; fit prava vo|luptas do|lor.</NOTE> Surfeits do u&s;u|ally render tho&s;e things <HI>nau&s;eous,</HI> which formerly have been our <HI>deli|cacies:</HI> By our exce&s;&s;es in Creature enjoyments, <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> is drown'd in <HI>&s;en&s;e, Judgment</HI> extingui&s;ht in <HI>ap|petite,</HI>
<PB N="18" REF="17">and the affections being blunt|ed by commonne&s;s of exerci&s;e, even plea&s;ures them&s;elves become a bur|den. Surely the exce&s;&s;ive letting out of our &s;elves to &s;en&s;ual fruitions, is both a <HI>&s;in</HI> and a <HI>puni&s;hment,</HI> while thereby we lo&s;e both the <HI>creature,</HI> and <HI>God,</HI> and <HI>our &s;elves</HI> at once.</P>
<P>Now this di&s;temper God doth many times cure by the &s;harp corra|&s;ive of affliction, and by <HI>hard&s;hip</HI> teacheth us <HI>moderation.</HI> Partly <HI>by inuring us to abatemeuts and wants,</HI> whereby that which at fir&s;t was <HI>ne|ce&s;&s;ity,</HI> afterwards grows to be our <HI>choyce:</HI> Hence &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I have learned to want;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 4.12</NOTE> how? why <HI>God had taught him</HI> to live of a lit|tle: By feeding of us <HI>&s;paringly,</HI> God abates and &s;lackens the <HI>inordinacy</HI> of the appetite. Partly and e&s;pecially, God takes off our hearts from inor|dinate indulgencies in a &s;uffering condition, <HI>by di&s;covering richer and purer &s;atisfactions in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> It is Gods de&s;ign by withdrawing the Creature, to <HI>invite,</HI> and <HI>fix</HI> the Soul upon <HI>him&s;elf:</HI> The voyce of
<PB N="19" REF="17">the Rod is, <HI>O ta&s;te and &s;ee how good the Lord is;</HI> which when the Soul hath once perceived, thru&s;ting the creature away with contempt and indignation, it opens it &s;elf to God, &s;aying, <HI>Whom have I in Heaven but thee?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 73.25</NOTE> and there is none upon Earth that I de&s;ire in compari&s;on of thee.</HI> Surely it was in the School of Af|fliction that <HI>David</HI> learn'd that Le&s;|&s;on, even when the <HI>wicked prosper|ed,</HI> and him&s;elf, with the re&s;t of the godly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 14.</NOTE> <HI>were plagued all the day long, and cha&s;tned every morning.</HI></P>
<P>This is the &s;econd,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 Le&s;&s;on, Self-deny|al.</NOTE> and an happy <HI>Le&s;&s;on, &s;c.</HI> to <HI>prize</HI> comforts more, and yet <HI>prey</HI> upon our comforts le&s;s.</P>
<P>A third Le&s;&s;on, which God teach|eth by his Cha&s;ti&s;ements, is, <HI>Self-de|nyal</HI> and <HI>obediential &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the will of God.</HI></P>
<P>In our pro&s;perity we are full of our own wills, and u&s;ually we give God <HI>coun&s;el</HI> when God looks for <HI>obedience,</HI> as if we could tell God how it might have been better; and &s;o we <HI>di&s;pute</HI> our cro&s;&s;e when we &s;hould take it up; but now <HI>ferendo
<PB N="20" REF="18">di&s;cimus perferre,</HI> by bearing a lit|tle we learn to bear more;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iames 1, 3</NOTE> <HI>the tryal of our faith worketh patience: the more we &s;uffer, the more God fits us to &s;uffer:</HI> partly <HI>by working us off from our own wills: folly is bound up in the heart</HI> of Gods <HI>children,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 22:15</NOTE> as well as our own; <HI>but the rod of cor|rection driveth it far from them.</HI> God fetcheth out the &s;tubbornne&s;s and perver&s;ne&s;s of our &s;pirits by the <HI>Di&s;cipline of the Rod:</HI> So that be|fore he hath done with us, we have not a will to lift up again&s;t his will. And &s;urely as we &s;ay to our chil|dren, <HI>Oh, it is a good rod, which breaks us of our &s;tomacks.</HI> Partly <HI>by inuring us to the Cro&s;s:</HI> The Bullock <HI>unaccu&s;tomed to the yoke,</HI> is very <HI>impatient</HI> under the hand of the husbandman; but after &s;he is in|ured to labor, &s;he willingly puts her neck under the yoke: and &s;o it is with Chri&s;tians, after a while the yoke of affliction begins to be well &s;etled, and by much bearing we learn to bear with quietne&s;s: A new Cart maketh a great noi&s;e and
<PB N="21" REF="18">&s;queaking, but when once u&s;ed, it goeth &s;ilently under the greate&s;t load. <HI>None murmur &s;o much at &s;uffer|ings as they who have &s;uffered lea&s;t:</HI> whereas on the contrary, we &s;ee ma|ny times that they are mo&s;t patient who have the heavie&s;t burden upon their backs. <HI>He &s;itteth alone,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3, 28</NOTE> and keepeth &s;ilence, becau&s;e he hath born it upon him: q. d.</HI> He is <HI>patient</HI> be|cau&s;e he is <HI>acquainted</HI> with for|rows: When people cry out, Oh, <HI>never &s;uch &s;ufferings as mine,</HI> it is an argument they are <HI>&s;trangers</HI> to afflictions. Partly al&s;o becau&s;e by cha&s;ti&s;ements <HI>God works out by de|grees the delicacy of &s;pirit</HI> which we contract in our pro&s;perity; mercy makes us tender: They who are al|ways kept in the warm hou&s;e, dare not put their head out of doors in a &s;torm: none &s;o unfit for &s;ufferings as they that have been always dan|dled upon the knee of Providence: the mo&s;t delicate con&s;titutions are mo&s;t unfit for hard&s;hip. But la&s;tly and chiefly, this comes to pa&s;s be|cau&s;e <HI>by &s;uffering we come to ta&s;te
<PB N="22" REF="19">the fruit of &s;ufferings. No cha&s;ten|ing for the pre&s;ent &s;eems joyous,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12, 11</NOTE> but grievous:</HI> At fir&s;t, cha&s;ti&s;ements &s;eem very bitter, <HI>but afterwards it yeeldeth the peaceable fruits of righ|teou&s;ne&s;s unto them which are ex|erci&s;ed thereby.</HI> The fruit of pati|ence is not found at the fir&s;t brunt, but after we are well exerci&s;ed and acquainted with a &s;uffering conditi|on: affliction is the true <HI>moly,</HI> though <HI>the root be bitter,</HI> yet <HI>the fruit is &s;weet;</HI> there is <HI>meat</HI> in the <HI>eater,</HI> out of the <HI>&s;trong</HI> comes <HI>&s;weet|ne&s;s:</HI> and then when the Soul be|gins to ta&s;te the &s;weet fruit which grows upon that bitter root, it &s;ays with the Church in the <HI>Lamentati|ons,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3, 26 27</NOTE> It is good that a man &s;hould both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord; it is good that a man &s;hould bear the yoke in his youth: i. e.</HI> I &s;hall not be a lo&s;er by my &s;ufferings, I &s;ee the <HI>fruit</HI> will abundantly compen&s;ate the <HI>&s;mart</HI> of a &s;uffering condition.</P>
<P>Thus, I &s;ay, one way or other, God works his children into a &s;weet
<PB N="23" REF="19">obediential frame by their &s;ufferings. Even of Chri&s;t him&s;elf, the Son of God by nature, it is &s;aid,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 5, 8 <GAP DESC="foreign">, i. e. <HI>reip&s;a expertue e&s;t.</HI></NOTE> <HI>He learn|ed obedience by the things which he &s;uffered:</HI> He <HI>experimentally</HI> came to know what it was to be &s;ubject to the Will of his Father. It is mo&s;t properly true of the adopted chil|dren, they learn obedience by the things which they &s;uffer, and that not only in a <HI>pa&s;&s;ive</HI> but in an <HI>active</HI> &s;ence. By <HI>&s;uffering</HI> Gods Will we learn to <HI>do</HI> Gods Will: God hath no &s;uch obedient children as tho&s;e whom he nurtures in the School of affliction. At length God brings all his Scholars to &s;ub&s;cribe, <HI>What God will, When God will, How God will: Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven.</HI> A ble&s;&s;ed Le&s;&s;on.</P>
<P>A Fourth is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 Le&s;&s;on, Humility.</NOTE> <HI>Humility and Meek|ne&s;s of Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>It is one of Gods de&s;igns in af|fliction, <HI>to hide pride from man;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 33.17</NOTE> to &s;pread &s;ackcloth upon all his glo|ry, that &s;o man may &s;ee no excel|lency in all the creature wherein to pride him&s;elf. <HI>God led I&s;rael forty
<PB N="24" REF="20">years in the wilderne&s;s to humble them:</HI> By the thorns of the wilder|ne&s;s God prickt the bladder of pride, and let out the windyne&s;s of &s;elf-opinion that was in their hearts. Pro&s;perity u&s;ually makes men &s;urly and &s;upercilious towards their poor brethren;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 18, 23</NOTE> <HI>The rich an&s;wers rough|ly:</HI> Even while <HI>the poor u&s;eth en|treaties,</HI> maketh his addre&s;&s;es to him with all humility and ob&s;ervance, he holds up his head, or turns his back upon him with &s;corn and contempt, and thinks him&s;elf too good to give his poor neighbor a &s;oft and peace|able an&s;wer: <HI>Ioquuntur lapides,</HI> they &s;peak hard things; the&s;e rough-ca&s;t <HI>Nabals,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Riches make men proud, but poverty humbleth the heart.</NOTE> a man cannot tell how to &s;peak to them. Pride is an humor which naturally runs in our veins, and it is nouri&s;h'd by ea&s;e and pro|&s;perity. And therefore to tame this pride of &s;pirit that is in man, God takes him into the hou&s;e of Correcti|on, puts his feet in the &s;tocks, and there teacheth him to know him&s;elf: <HI>He humbled thee,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 8.3</NOTE> and &s;uffered thee to hunger;</HI> Hunger brought down
<PB N="25" REF="20"><HI>I&s;raels</HI> &s;tomack, &amp; did eat out that proud fle&s;h which began to ran|kle. Hence it is that if you take the children of God either yet in, or newly come out of the furnace of affliction, you &s;hall ob&s;erve them to be the tame&s;t, meeke&s;t creatures upon the earth; as it is &s;aid of the <HI>new Convert, I&s;a.</HI> 11.6. <HI>A little child may lead them:</HI> whereas be|fore it may be they were &s;o &s;tiff and high in the in&s;tep, that an angel of God could not tell how to deal with them; now the meane&s;t of Gods mini&s;ters or &s;ervants may re|prove and coun&s;el, &amp;c. <HI>a little child may lead them:</HI> That <HI>David</HI> whom <HI>Sin</HI> made &s;o fierce that he put his poor <HI>Ammoniti&s;h</HI> pri&s;oners and cap|tives to death in cold bloud,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 12 31</NOTE> yea tormented them to death with &s;awes and harrows, and axes of i|ron; and burnt them alive in fiery brick-kils: Him did bani&s;hment and per&s;ecution make &s;o tame, that not only <HI>the righteous might re|prove him,</HI> but even the <HI>wicked</HI> might <HI>reproach him;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 141 5</NOTE> and he holds
<PB N="26" REF="21">his peace, or if he &s;peak, they be words of patience and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 16.10.</NOTE> <HI>So let him cur&s;e, becau&s;e the Lord hath &s;aid cur&s;e David.</HI> A man by trouble comes to know his own heart, which in pro&s;perity he was a &s;tranger to; &s;eeth the weakne&s;s of his grace, and the &s;trength of his corruption; how nothing is weak but grace, nothing &s;trong but &s;in; and this lays him in the du&s;t. <HI>Oh wretch that I am!</HI> And truly when a man hath learned this le&s;&s;on he is not far from deliverance. <HI>Seek the Lord all ye meek of the earth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zeph. 2.3</NOTE> &s;eek righteou&s;ne&s;s, &s;eek meekne&s;s, it may be ye &s;hall be hid in the day of the Lords anger.</HI> This is Gods de&s;ign, fir&s;t, to <HI>meeken</HI> his people <HI>by afflic|tion,</HI> and then to <HI>&s;ave</HI> them <HI>from affliction.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 149.4</NOTE> For the Lord taketh plea|&s;ure in his people, he will beautifis the meek with &s;alvation.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">5 Le&s;&s;on, D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;covery of corrup|tion. Dent 8.2</NOTE> God by affliction <HI>di&s;co|vers unknown corruption in the hearts of his people.</HI> He led thee through the Wilderne&s;s the&s;e forty yeers to humble thee, and to prove
<PB N="27" REF="21">thee, <HI>to know what was in thy heart; i. e.</HI> to make thee know what was in thy heart; what pride, what impatience, what unbelief, what idolatry, what di&s;tru&s;t of God, what murmur, what unthankful|ne&s;s was in thy heart: &amp; thou never tooke&s;t notice of it. I tell you Chri|&s;tians, &s;in lieth very clo&s;e and deep, and is not ea&s;ily di&s;cerned till the fire of affliction comes and makes a &s;eparation of the <HI>precious from the vile.</HI> The furnace di&s;covers the dro&s;s which lay hid before.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 9 7</NOTE> <HI>What &s;hall I do</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>for the daugh|ter of my people?</HI> they are exceeding bad, and they know it not: <HI>what &s;hall</HI> I <HI>do with them? I will melt them and try them:</HI> into the furnace they &s;hall, and there I will di&s;cover them&s;elves to them&s;elves, and &s;hew them what is in their hearts. In the furnace we &s;ee more corruption and more of corruption, then ever ap|peared or was &s;u&s;pected. On &s;aith the poor &s;oul whom God hath taught in the School of affliction; <Q>I never thought my heart &s;o bad
<PB N="28" REF="22">as now I &s;ee it is, I could not have believed the world had had &s;o much intere&s;t in my heart and Chri&s;t &s;o little; I did not think my faith had been &s;o weak and my fears &s;o &s;trong; I finde that faith weak in danger, which I had thought had been &s;trong out of danger; little did I think the &s;ight of death would have been &s;o ter|rible, parting with neare&s;t friends and deare&s;t relations &s;o piercing; Oh how unskilful and unwi&s;e am I to manage a &s;uffering conditi|on, to di&s;cern Gods ends, to finde out what God would have me to do; to moderate the violences of mine own pa&s;&s;ions, to apply the coun&s;els and comforts of the Word for their proper ends and u&s;es! Oh where is my patience, my love, my zeal, my rejoycing in tribulation? Ah did <HI>I</HI> ever think to finde my heart &s;o di&s;compo&s;ed, my affections &s;o out of command, my graces &s;o to &s;eek when <HI>I</HI> &s;hould fall into divers temptati|ons? what a deal of &s;elf-love,
<PB N="29" REF="22">pride, di&s;tru&s;t in God, Creature-confidence, di&s;content, murmur, ri&s;ing of heart again&s;t the holy and righ teous di&s;pen&s;ations of God, is there boyling and fretting within me! <HI>Wo is me what an heart have I?</HI></Q></P>
<P>And be&s;ides all this, in the hour of temptation, God brings old &s;ins to remembrance. <HI>We are verily guilty concerning our brother</HI> could <HI>Io&s;ephs</HI> brethren &s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 42.21.</NOTE> twenty yeers after they had &s;old him for a &s;lave, when they were in danger to be que&s;tioned for their lives (as they feared:) and thus when the <HI>I&s;rael|ites</HI> cry to God in their &s;ore di|&s;tre&s;s for re&s;cue and deliverance, God puts them in minde of their old <HI>Apo&s;tacies: Ye have for&s;aken me and &s;erved other gods,</HI> &amp;c.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 10.13, 14</NOTE> <HI>go and cry to the gods whom ye have cho&s;en.</HI> Suffering times are times of bring|ing &s;in to minde:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">i Kin. 8.47</NOTE> <HI>If they bethink them&s;elves in the land whither they were carried captives:</HI> Heb. <HI>If they bring back to heart.</HI> Captivity is a time of turning in upon our &s;elves,
<PB N="30" REF="23">and bringing back to heart <HI>our do|ings which have not been good in Gods &s;ight:</HI> Thus <HI>David</HI> under the rod could call him&s;elf to account, <HI>I thought on my ways,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 119.19</NOTE> and turned my feet,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>This now is another le&s;&s;on which God teacheth by affliction; and it is of great u&s;e to humble us, and to empty and out us of our &s;elves, to make us fly to Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>for righteou&s;ne&s;s and &s;trength.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 45.24</NOTE> In a word, God lets us &s;ee what is <HI>crooked</HI> that we may <HI>&s;treighten it,</HI> what is <HI>weak</HI> that we may <HI>&s;trength|en</HI> it, what is <HI>wanting</HI> that we may <HI>&s;upply it;</HI> what is <HI>lame that it may not be turned out of the way, but that it may rather be healed.</HI></P>
<P>Sixthly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6 Le&s;&s;on, Prayer.</NOTE> <HI>In the School of affliction God doth teach us to pray.</HI> They that never prayed before will pray in affliction.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 26.16</NOTE> <HI>Lord in trouble they have vi&s;ited Thee, they poured out a pray|er when thy cha&s;tening is upon them.</HI> They that kept their di&s;tance with God before, yea that <HI>&s;aid to the Al|mighty depart from us,</HI> in their af|fliction
<PB N="31" REF="23">can be&s;tow a <HI>vi&s;it</HI> upon God, <HI>in trouble they have vi&s;ited thee:</HI> and they that never prayed before, or at lea&s;t did but now and then <HI>drop</HI> out a &s;leepy &s;luggi&s;h wi&s;h, can now <HI>pour iout a prayer</HI> when <HI>cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> is upon their loins.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">a P&s;a. 107.11,</NOTE> <HI>R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bells,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">b 17</NOTE> Fools,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">c 23</NOTE> Mari|ners,</HI> even the <HI>wor&s;t of men,</HI> can cry to God <HI>in their trouble.</HI> The very <HI>Heathen-mariners</HI> fall to their prayers in a <HI>&s;torm,</HI> and can <HI>awaken</HI> the <HI>&s;leepy Prophet</HI> to this duty;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ionah 1.5, 6</NOTE> <HI>What meane&s;t thou O &s;leeper! ari&s;e and call upon thy God.</HI> Hence we u&s;e to &s;ay, <HI>He that cannot pray,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Qui ne&s;cit orare di&s;cat navigar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> let him go to &s;ea.</HI> Thus I &s;ay affliction opens dumb lips, and untyeth the &s;trings of the tongue to call upon God.</P>
<P>But whom God teacheth in af|fliction, they learn to pray in ano|ther manner, <HI>more frequently, more fervently.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>More frequently;</HI> Gods people are ve&s;&s;els full of the &s;pirit of prayer, and affliction is a piercer, whereby God draws it out. <HI>For
<PB N="32" REF="24">my love they are my adver&s;aries, but I give my &s;elf unto prayer.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 109.4</NOTE> David</HI> was always a praying man, but now under per&s;ecution he did <HI>no|thing el&s;e; I give my &s;elf unto pray|er:</HI> as wicked men <HI>give them&s;elves up</HI> to their wickedne&s;s, &s;o <HI>David gave him&s;elf up</HI> to prayer, he made it his <HI>work.</HI> Hence you may ob&s;erve that mo&s;t of all the P&s;alms are no|thing el&s;e almo&s;t but the runnings out of <HI>Davids</HI> &s;pirit in prayer un|der variety of afflictions and per&s;e|cutions; as his troubles were mul|tiplied, &s;o his prayers did multiply. The holy man was never in that condition wherein he could not pray, &amp;c. Alas, it is &s;ad to con&s;ider that in our peace and tranquility, we pray arbitrarily by fits and &s;tarts many times, we &s;uffer every trifle to come and ju&s;tle out prayer; but in affliction God keeps us upon our knees, and (as it were) <HI>tyeth the &s;a|crifice to the horns of the altar.</HI></P>
<P>And as he teacheth us to pray more <HI>frequently,</HI> &s;o al&s;o to pray more <HI>fervently.</HI> Even of Chri&s;t
<PB N="33" REF="24">him&s;elf it is &s;aid,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 22.44. <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>intentius.</HI></NOTE> that <HI>being in an agony he prayed more earne&s;tly;</HI> more <HI>inten&s;ively;</HI> he prayed till he <HI>&s;weat again;</HI> yea till he &s;weat <HI>great drops of bloud:</HI> he &s;weltred out his &s;oul through his body in prayer, the rea|&s;on whereof was, becau&s;e he had not only the <HI>pangs of death,</HI> but the &s;en&s;e of his <HI>fathers wrath</HI> to con|flict withall; and &s;o it is with be|lievers many times; <HI>outward afflic|tions</HI> are accompanied with <HI>inward di&s;ertions.</HI> So it was with <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 22. and <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 116.3, 4 &amp;c. And then he gathers up all his &s;trength to prayer, and like a true &s;on of <HI>Iacob wre&s;tleth with God, and will not let him go till he gets the ble&s;&s;ing, P&s;alm</HI> 143. ver&s;. 6, 7. &amp;c.</P>
<P>Truly Chri&s;tians, tho&s;e prayers wherewith you contented your &s;elves in the day of your peace and pro&s;perity, will not &s;erve your turn in the hour of temptation; then you will call to mind your &s;hort, &s;light, cold, dead, &s;leepy, formal devoti|ons in your families and clo&s;ets,
<PB N="34" REF="25">and be a&s;hamed of them: Then you will &s;ee need of praying over all your prayers again, and <HI>&s;tir up your &s;elves to take hold upon God.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 64.7</NOTE> Indeed for this very end God &s;ends his people into captivity that he may draw out the &s;pirit of prayer, which they have &s;uffered to ly dead within them. <HI>Oh my dove that are in the clefts of the rock, in the &s;ecret places of the &s;tairs,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 2.</NOTE> let me &s;ee thy countenance, let me hear thy voice: for &s;weet is thy voice, and thy coun|tenance is comly.</HI> Chri&s;ts dove ne|ver looks more beautiful in his eies, then when her cheeks are bedewed with tears; nor ever makes &s;weet|er mu&s;ick in his ears, then when &s;he mourns to him, out of the rock, and from under the &s;tairs, in a dark and de&s;olate condition: then &s;aith Chri&s;t <HI>thy countenance is comly, and &s;weet is thy voice.</HI></P>
<P>Seventhly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">7 Le&s;&s;on, Acquaint|ance with <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he word.</NOTE> <HI>By correction God brings the Children of promi&s;e into more acquaintance with the Word. He teacheth them out of his Law.</HI> As here: <HI>It is good for me that I
<PB N="35" REF="25">have been afflicted, that I might learn thy Statutes.</HI> God &s;ent David into the School of affliction, there to learn the <HI>Statutes of God.</HI> By Correction the people of God learn,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>To conver&s;e with the Word of God more abundantly.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>To under&s;tand it more clear|ly.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>To reli&s;h it more &s;weetly.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, By affliction they come <HI>to conver&s;e with it more abundant|ly.</HI> It is their <HI>duty</HI> a all time to &s;tu|dy the Word:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;. 3.16</NOTE> <HI>To let it dwell richly in them in all wi&s;dom: Iob e&s;teemed the words of Gods mouth more then his nece&s;&s;ary food.</HI> And it is their <HI>happine&s;s</HI> as well as their <HI>duty. Ble&s;|&s;ed</HI> is the man that walketh not in the coun&s;el of the ungodly, <HI>but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> 1 2</NOTE> But what through di&s;tracti|on without, and di&s;temper within, the children of God many times grow &s;trangers to their Bibles, they &s;uffer diver&s;ions to interpo&s;e
<PB N="36" REF="26">between the word and their hearts, and as they pray arbitrarily, &s;o they read arbitrarily, and &s;uffer their Bi|bles to ly by the walls while they are taken up with other entertain|ments in the world; and therefore God is forced to deal with them as we do with our children, to whip them to their books by the rod of correction: <HI>It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy &s;tatutes.</HI> When they are ca&s;t out by the <HI>world,</HI> then they can run to the <HI>World.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.23</NOTE> Princes did &s;it and &s;peak again&s;t me;</HI> i. e. <HI>they &s;at in Councel</HI> to take away his life, that they might condemn him as a traitor again&s;t <HI>Saul:</HI> and what did he in the mean time? it follows, <HI>but thy &s;ervant did meditate in thy Statutes.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 161.</NOTE> And again, <HI>Princes have per&s;ecuted me without a cau&s;e, but my heart &s;tandeth in aw of thy word.</HI> While the per&s;ecutors are con&s;ult|ing with the oracles of hell to &s;in again&s;t <HI>David, David</HI> is con&s;ult|ing with the oracles of heaven, that he might not &s;in again&s;t God. My
<PB N="37" REF="26"><HI>heart &s;tandeth in awe of thy Word:</HI> while they <HI>&s;inned and feared not, David fears and &s;ins not.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. They learn by affliction <HI>to un|der&s;tand the Word more clearly.</HI> As it was with the Di&s;ciples in refer|ence to Chri&s;t his Re&s;urrection; the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t was a lively Comment upon the Prophecies of Chri&s;t:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 12.16</NOTE> <HI>The&s;e things under&s;tood not his Di&s;ciples at the fir&s;t, but when Je&s;us was glorified, then remembred they the&s;e things: i. e.</HI> they remem|bred them <HI>under&s;tandingly,</HI> they re|membred them <HI>beleevingly,</HI> they knew what they meant: So it is with the people of God many times in reference to affliction; <HI>the Rod expounds the Word, Provi|dence &s;ometimes interprets the Pro|mi&s;e.</HI> The children of God had ne|ver under&s;tood &s;ome Scriptures, had not God &s;ent them into the School of affliction: then they can remem|ber <HI>how it is written, &amp;c.</HI> they can bring Gods <HI>Word</HI> and Gods <HI>Works</HI> together.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Affliction makes them reli&s;h
<PB N="38" REF="27">the Word more &s;weetly.</HI> In pro&s;pe|rity many times we &s;uffer the lu&s;ci|ous contentments of the world &s;o to di&s;temper our palates that we cannot reli&s;h the Word, ta&s;te no more &s;weetne&s;s in it <HI>then in the white of an egg,</HI> as <HI>Job</HI> &s;peaks in an|other ca&s;e: but when God hath kept them for weeks, &amp; months, and years it may be, fa&s;ting from the worlds dainties, when they are throughly hunger-bitten in the creature; then, <HI>How &s;weet are thy words to my ta&s;te!
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm 119 103</NOTE> &s;weeter then honey to my mouth:</HI> They are the words which <HI>David</HI> &s;pake in his affliction, wit|ne&s;s Ver&s;. 23. <HI>cum</HI> 24. <HI>Princes did &s;it and &s;peak again&s;t me, but thy &s;ervant did meditate in thy Sta|tutes:</HI> and what follows? <HI>thy Te|&s;timonies are my delight.</HI> And ver&s;. 161. with 162. <HI>Princes have per|&s;ecuted me without a cau&s;e, &amp;c. I rejoyce at thy Word as one that find|eth great &s;poyl.</HI> The <HI>Rod</HI> did &s;weeten the <HI>Word:</HI> It is <HI>my delight, my joy,</HI> a ne&s;t of &s;weetne&s;&s;es.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 27.7</NOTE> <HI>The full Soul loatheth the Honey-comb:</HI>
<PB N="39" REF="27">When we are fill'd with Creature|comforts, we nau&s;eate many times the very Word it &s;elf, which is <HI>&s;weeter then the honey or honey|comb: but to the hungry Soul every bitter thing is &s;weet.</HI> Let God fami&s;h the world round about us, then how cordial is Scripture|con&s;olation? How precious are the Promi&s;es! Oh, &s;aid a gracious wo|man reduced to great &s;traits, <HI>I have made many a meals meat upon the Promi&s;es when I have wanted bread.</HI></P>
<P>The Word is never &s;o &s;weet as when the world is mo&s;t bitter; and therefore doth God lay mu&s;tard up|on the <HI>teats</HI> of the world, that we might go to the <HI>bre&s;ts</HI> of <HI>the Word,</HI> and there <HI>&s;uck and be &s;atisfied with the milk of con&s;olation.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 66 11</NOTE> This is my comfort in my affliction,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 119.50</NOTE> for thy Word hath quickened me.</HI> Ble&s;&s;ed be God for that Correction which &s;weetens the Word unto us.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">8 Le&s;&s;on, The need of &s;ound Evidence for Hea|ven.</NOTE></P>
<P>Eightly, God by bringing his people into troubles, e&s;pecially if life|threatening
<PB N="40" REF="28">dangers, <HI>doth &s;hew them the nece&s;&s;ity of &s;ound evidence for Heaven and Happine&s;s.</HI> Ala&s;s, with what ea&s;ie and &s;light evidences do we often content our &s;elves in the time of our pro&s;perity, when the Candle of the Almighty doth &s;hine in our Tabernacles; when all is peace and quiet round about us! The heart being taken up with other fruitions, we want either <HI>time</HI> or <HI>will</HI> to pur&s;ue the tryal of our own e&s;tates. People minde onely what will &s;erve their turn for the pre&s;ent, and quiet their hearts, that they may follow their plea&s;ures and profits with the le&s;s regret: and therefore, to &s;ave them&s;elves a labor, they take that for evidence, which the &s;luggi&s;h carnal heart wi&s;heth were &s;o. But now in the hour of temptation, fig-leaves will cover nakedne&s;s no longer; nothing will &s;erve the turn, but what will be able to &s;tand before God, and endure the tryal of fire in the day of Chri&s;t: Oh then one clear and unque&s;tion|able evidence of intere&s;t in Chri&s;t,
<PB N="41" REF="28">and the of love of God, wil be worth ten thou&s;and worlds: Shadows and appearances of grace will vani&s;h be|fore the Searcher of hearts. It mu&s;t be <HI>perfect love</HI> that will <HI>ca&s;t out fear:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Iohn 4, 17</NOTE> Truth and &s;oundne&s;s of grace onely can give <HI>boldne&s;s in the day of Judgment.</HI> Ah, what idle and deceit|ful hearts have we in the mid&s;t of us, that can take up with loo&s;e con|jectures, go to the Word and Sacra|ment with the&s;e evidences, upon which we dare not venture to dye? And yet <HI>good and upright is the Lord that will teach &s;inners his way;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 25, 8</NOTE> that by the thunder-claps of his righteous judgments will awaken the vain creature out of the&s;e fool|i&s;h dreams, in which if they &s;hould dye, they were undone for ever. Well, let us be &s;till urging and pre&s;&s;|ing this que&s;tion upon our own Souls; <Q><HI>Will this faith &s;ave me when I come to &s;tand before the Throne of the Lamb? Will this Love give me boldne&s;s in the Day of Judgment? Will this Evidence &s;erve my turn when I come to dye?</HI></Q>
<PB N="42" REF="29">Oh Chri&s;tians, let us be afraid to lie down with that Evidence in <HI>our beds,</HI> wherewith we dare not lie down in <HI>our graves.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">9 Le&s;&s;on, What an evil thing it is to grieve the Spirit.</NOTE></P>
<P>A ninth is this; In the time of our trouble God cau&s;eth us to &s;ee <HI>what an evil and a bitter thing it is to grieve the good Spirit of God.</HI> When we are in the bitterne&s;s of our &s;pirits, and want the Comforter, then we begin to call to minde how oft we have grieved the Spirit, which would have been a Comforter to us, and have <HI>&s;ealed us up to the day of Redemption;</HI> and &s;ay within our &s;elves, in reference to the Spirit of God, as &s;ometime the &s;ons of <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;aid one to another in reference to <HI>Jo&s;eph;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 42, 21</NOTE> We are verily guilty con|cerning our brother, in that we &s;aw the angui&s;h of his Soul, when he be&s;ought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this di&s;tre&s;s come upon us.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Res delica|ta e&s;t Spi|ritus &s;anc|tus.</NOTE> In &s;ome &s;uch language I &s;ay will the Soul in the hour of temptation be&s;peak it &s;elf. Ah, I am verily guilty concerning that <HI>tender Spirit
<PB N="43" REF="29">of Grace and Comfort,</HI> which hath often be&s;ought me as it were in the angui&s;h of his Soul, &s;aying,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 44, 4</NOTE> <HI>Oh do not this abominable thing which I hate;</HI> but I would not hear. Is not this <HI>He</HI> who&s;e <HI>rebukes</HI> I have <HI>&s;light|ed,</HI> who&s;e <HI>coun&s;els</HI> I have <HI>despi&s;ed,</HI> who&s;e <HI>motions</HI> I have <HI>re&s;i&s;ted,</HI> who&s;e <HI>warnings</HI> I have <HI>neglected,</HI> who&s;e <HI>warmings</HI> I have <HI>quenched,</HI> yea who&s;e <HI>comforts</HI> I have undervalued, and counted them as a <HI>&s;mall thing?</HI> Ah wretch, how ju&s;t is it now that the Spirit of God &s;hould with|draw? that he &s;hould de&s;pi&s;e my &s;orrows, and laugh at my tears; &s;hut out my prayers, <HI>quench my &s;moking flax, and break my brui&s;ed reed?</HI> How ju&s;t were it that He, whom I would not &s;uffer to be a <HI>Reprover</HI> in the day of my peace, &s;hould now refu&s;e to be a <HI>Repairer</HI> of my Soul in the hour of my temptati|on! How righteous a thing were it, that I, who &s;o often have carryed my &s;elf &s;trangely to his <HI>Coun&s;els,</HI> &s;hould now in my &s;orrows be a &s;tranger to his <HI>Comforts!</HI> that I,
<PB N="44" REF="30">who have walk'd <HI>in the &s;parks of mine own kindling, &s;hould now at length lie down in &s;orrow.</HI> Well, if the Lord &s;hall plea&s;e indeed to bring my Soul out of trouble, and to re|vive my fainting &s;pirit with his &s;weet Con&s;olations, I hope I &s;hall carry my &s;elf (for the future) more obedientially to the coun&s;els and re|bukes of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in my Soul, and harken to the lea&s;t whi&s;perings of the Spirit of Grace.</P>
<P>A tenth Le&s;&s;on,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">10 Le&s;&s;on, Commu|nion with God.</NOTE> by Cha&s;ti&s;ements <HI>God draws the Soul into &s;weet and near communion with him&s;elf.</HI> Out|ward pro&s;perity is a great &s;nare to our communion with God: Partly becau&s;e by letting out our affections inordinately to the creature, we &s;uf|fer the world to come in between God and our hearts, and &s;o intercept that &s;weet and con&s;tant traffique and intercour&s;e which &s;hould be be|tween God and our Souls. Gods people offend mo&s;t in their lawful comforts, becau&s;e there the &s;nare be|ing not &s;o vi&s;ible as in gro&s;&s;er &s;ins, they are the ea&s;ilier taken; we are
<PB N="45" REF="30">&s;oone&s;t &s;urprized where we are lea&s;t jealous. Partly al&s;o for want of keep|ing up our watch again&s;t le&s;&s;er &s;ins: While our hearts are warmed with pro&s;perity, we think many times &s;mall &s;ins can do no great harm; but herein we do wofully deceive our &s;elves: for be&s;ides that, the lea&s;t &s;in hath the <HI>nature of &s;in</HI> in it, as the lea&s;t drop of poy&s;on is poy&s;on; and that in <HI>&s;maller &s;ins</HI> there is the <HI>greater contempt of God,</HI> in as much as we &s;tand out with God for a trifle (as we count it,) and venture his di&s;|plea&s;ure for a little &s;en&s;ual &s;atisfacti|on: I &s;ay, be&s;ides the&s;e and many other con&s;iderations, which may ren|der our <HI>&s;mall &s;ins, great provocati|ons,</HI> this is one un&s;peakable mi&s;chief, that &s;mall &s;ins intercept our commu|nion with God, as much as great &s;ins, and &s;ometimes more: For whereas great &s;ins by making deep wounds upon Con&s;cience, make the Soul go bleeding to the Throne of Grace, and there to mourn and lament, and never to give God re&s;t, till he gives re&s;t to the Soul, and by a fre&s;h &s;prinkling of
<PB N="46" REF="31">the Blood of Chri&s;t, to recover peace and communion with God: <HI>Smaller</HI> &s;ins not impre&s;&s;ing &s;uch horror upon the Con&s;cience, are &s;wallowed in &s;ilence with le&s;s regret, and &s;o do in|in&s;en&s;ibly alienate and e&s;trange the heart from Je&s;us Chri&s;t. The lea&s;t hair ca&s;ts its &s;hadow; a Barly corn layd upon the &s;ight of the eye will keep out the light of the Sun, as well as a Mountain. The eye of the Soul mu&s;t be kept very clear that will &s;ee God:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5 8</NOTE> <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the pure in heart, for they &s;hall &s;ee God.</HI> Little &s;ins, though they do not <HI>di&s;turb Rea&s;on</HI> &s;o much as great &s;ins, yet they <HI>defile Con&s;cience,</HI> and the Con&s;cience un|der defilement (unlamented) is &s;hy of God, and God of it.</P>
<P>But now affliction fanctified, as it doth deaden the heart to the world, &s;o it doth awaken and intender Con|&s;cience towards &s;in;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Feci&s;ti nos Domine ad te &amp; in. quietum e&s;t cor no&s;trum donec requi|e&s;cet in te.</HI> Aug. Med.</NOTE> the Soul is made &s;en&s;ible of her departures from God, and of the bitter fruits of that depar|ture, and now begins to lament after God in <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI>'s language; Lord, thou ha&s;t made my heart for thy &s;elf,
<PB N="47" REF="31">and it is re&s;tle&s;s and unquiet till it can re&s;t in thee; <HI>Return unto thy re&s;t O my Soul.</HI> The Soul hath many turnings and windings, but with <HI>Noah</HI>'s Dove, it can find no place for the &s;ole of its foot to re&s;t on, till it re|turn into the <HI>Ark,</HI> from whence it came. And now when the Soul hath been weather-beaten abroad, if God will plea&s;e to put forth his hand, and take it into him&s;elf,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 88.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, 18</NOTE> when deare&s;t re|lations are become &s;trangers, as <HI>Da|vid</HI> complains; if God come and give the Soul <HI>a vi&s;it;</HI> when the poor creature is <HI>in darkne&s;s, and can &s;ee no light,</HI> then for God to lift up the light of his countenance, and &s;hine in a gracious &s;mile upon the Soul, and &s;ay unto it, <HI>I am thy Salva|tion,</HI> of what &s;weet and un&s;peakable refre&s;hment and con&s;olation is this to the afflicted &s;pirit? And what a gracious conde&s;cention is this in God, that when the Soul by pro&s;pe|rity hath <HI>waxed wanton against Chri&s;t,</HI> and &s;ported it &s;elf in un|&s;pou&s;e-like familiarities with &s;tran|gers, Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;end it into
<PB N="48" REF="32">the hou&s;e of Correction, and there by the di&s;cipline of the Rod correct and work out the wantonne&s;s of the fle&s;h, and when he hath made it meet for his pre&s;ence, take it into &s;weet and &s;ocial communion with him|&s;elf! This is &s;tupendious Mercy, Goodne&s;s that cannot be parallel'd in the whole Creation.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 3.1</NOTE></P>
<P>In the eleventh place,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">11 Le&s;&s;on, The Ex|erci&s;e of Grace.</NOTE> <HI>God maketh affliction the exerci&s;e and improve|ment of grace.</HI> In pro&s;perity grace many times lieth dead and u&s;ele&s;s in the Soul, which affliction awakens and draweth forth into exerci&s;e: the <HI>winter</HI> of our <HI>outward comforts</HI> proves not &s;eldom the <HI>&s;pring</HI> of our <HI>graces:</HI> Fro&s;ts and Snow do &s;tarve the weeds, and nouri&s;h the good corn. Though faith and patience be of an univer&s;al influence into the holy life,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.20</NOTE> <HI>The life I live in the fle&s;h I live by the faith of the Son of God:</HI> yet affliction giveth them <HI>their perfect work.</HI> Of the times of per&s;ecution it is &s;aid,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13, 10</NOTE> <HI>Here is the patience and faith of the Saints,</HI> that is, now is the time for the Saints of God to exert their
<PB N="49" REF="32">faith and patience, and to let them have their perfect work:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">James 1.4</NOTE> there is a work of patience, and there is a perfect work;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 3</NOTE> <HI>The tryal of Faith worketh patience, (i. e.</HI> the &s;uffer|ings whereby our Faith is tryed, as gold is tried in the furnace,) it work|eth, or as the word &s;ignifieth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> it <HI>per|fecteth:</HI> The Cro&s;s exerci&s;eth, and exerci&s;e perfecteth, the grace of pa|tience: as &s;ufferings ari&s;e, &s;o pati|ence ari&s;eth al&s;o; <HI>Be patient,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iames 5.7</NOTE> bre|thren, till the coming of the Lord: i. e.</HI> do you bear the affliction till Chri&s;t come and take it off: let your patience be of the &s;ame extent with your &s;ufferings. As Patience, &s;o <HI>Faith</HI> is not acted only but perfect|ed by <HI>temptations.</HI> Sometimes the Soul findes that Faith <HI>lively</HI> in a &s;uf|fering condition, which before it que&s;tioned whether it were <HI>alive:</HI> or if affliction do not <HI>finde</HI> it lively, it <HI>makes</HI> it lively: the &s;ame furnace of affliction wherein God <HI>tryeth</HI> our <HI>Faith</HI> he doth <HI>refine</HI> it, and pu|rifieth it more and more from the dro&s;s of infidelity. They are the
<PB N="50" REF="33">pure&s;t acts of faith, which the Soul puts forth in the dark: Faith never beleeves more then when it cannot &s;ee,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 50.10</NOTE> becau&s;e then the Soul hath no|thing to &s;tay it &s;elf upon but God. Hence while it &s;eems to help, diffi|cultates the work of faith by doubt|ing of it: a man mu&s;t fir&s;t beleeve the <HI>in&s;ufficiency</HI> of what he <HI>&s;eeth,</HI> be|fore he can beleeve the <HI>Al&s;ufficiency</HI> of him that is invi&s;ible; <HI>We look not at the things which are &s;een,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4.18</NOTE> but at the things which are not &s;een:</HI> It is harder to live by Faith in abund|ance, then in want. The Soul is a &s;tep neerer living upon God, when it hath nothing to live upon but God: yea and when God is <HI>not &s;een</HI> he is <HI>mo&s;t beleeved.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 22.1</NOTE> My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> Ob|&s;erve, and thou &s;halt find a great deal more of precious faith in that de&s;er|tion, then of complaint: For fir&s;t, Faith (like <HI>Pharez</HI>) breaks forth fir&s;t, <HI>My God,</HI> before <HI>for&s;aken:</HI> And again, you have <HI>two words</HI> of <HI>Faith</HI> for <HI>one</HI> of <HI>despair; My God, my God,</HI> why ha&s;t thou <HI>for&s;aken</HI> me?
<PB N="51" REF="33"><HI>Faith</HI> &s;peaks <HI>twice</HI> before <HI>Sen&s;e</HI> can &s;peak <HI>once.</HI> And thirdly, Faith &s;peaks confidently and po&s;itively, Thou art <HI>my God; Sen&s;e</HI> &s;peaks dubiou&s;ly, <HI>why ha&s;t thou?</HI> as if Sen&s;e dur&s;t not call it a <HI>for&s;aking</HI> while Faith dares &s;ay, <HI>my God:</HI> Surely <HI>Faith is never &s;o much Faith as in de&s;ertion.</HI> Faiths triumphs lie in the mid&s;t of de&s;pair, and even in this &s;ence al&s;o; <HI>Having not &s;een, yet beleeving,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.8</NOTE> we rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory.</HI></P>
<P>Godly &s;orrow, how is it enlarged by &s;anctified affliction! while that &s;tream, which was wont to run in the channel of worldly cro&s;&s;es, now is diverted into the channel of &s;in: <HI>I will bear the indignation of the Lord, becau&s;e</HI> I HAVE SINNED,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mic<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h 7.9</NOTE> &amp;c. Any burden is <HI>light</HI> in compari|&s;on of <HI>&s;in,</HI> the very <HI>indignation of God.</HI> The Soul that God teacheth by his cha&s;ti&s;ements can &s;tand under the burden of Gods indignation for &s;in, when it cannot &s;tand under &s;in, which hath kindled that indignation. Ah, cryeth <HI>Job</HI> upon the dunghill, <HI>I
<PB N="52" REF="34">have &s;inned, what &s;hall I do unto thee, O thou pre&s;erver of men?</HI> He forgetteth his <HI>&s;uffering</HI> in his <HI>&s;in;</HI> he &s;aith not, I have lo&s;t all my &s;ub|&s;tance; I am now upon the dunghill as naked as ever I was born (&s;ave that I am clothed with &s;cabs,) my friends reproach me, my wife cur&s;|eth me, or (that which is wor&s;e) &s;he bids me <HI>cur&s;e God.</HI> Satan per&s;ecutes me, and God him&s;elf is become mine Enemy, &amp;c. all this is befallen me; <HI>what wilt thou do unto me, O thou pre&s;erver of men?</HI> but <HI>I have &s;in|ed, what &s;hall I do unto thee? &amp;c.</HI> Sufferings lead to &s;in, and &s;en&s;e of &s;in &s;walloweth up &s;en&s;e of &s;ufferings. And what &s;hall I &s;ay more? the time would fail to in&s;tance in other Gra|ces, Love, Fear, Holine&s;s, &amp;c. <HI>By this &s;hall the iniquity of Jacob be purged,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 27.9</NOTE> and this is all the fruit to take away his &s;in:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">b. 12, 10</NOTE> He for our pro|fit, that we might be partakers of his holine&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Grace is never more Grace then when be&s;ieged with temptations. The battel draws forth that fortitude
<PB N="53" REF="34">and prowe&s;s, which in time of peace lay chill'd in the veins for want of oppo&s;ition and exerci&s;e.</P>
<P>A twelfth Le&s;&s;on,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">12 Le&s;&s;on, A life of Faith.</NOTE> which they learn in the School of Affliction, is, <HI>The nece&s;&s;ity and excellency of the life of Faith.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The nece&s;&s;ity</HI> of living by faith:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The Ne|ce&s;&s;ity of it. Hab. 2.3, 4</NOTE> where Sen&s;e endeth, Faith beginneth. <HI>The vi&s;ion is for an appointed time:</HI> I, but what &s;hall we do in the mean time? <HI>why the ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith;</HI> live by Faith, or dye in de|&s;pair: when God pulls away the bulru&s;hes of Creature-&s;upports, the Soul mu&s;t either &s;wim or &s;ink. God teacheth this Le&s;&s;on, <HI>Partly</HI> by the <HI>uncertainty</HI> of &s;econd cau&s;es, the vice&s;&s;itudes that are in creature-expectations; a little hope to day, to morrow reduc'd to de&s;pair: good news to day, <HI>Pharaoh</HI> &s;ays <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;hall go; bad news to morrow, he rageth, and &s;wears that <HI>if Mo&s;es &s;ee his face any more, he &s;hall dye, &amp;c.</HI> O the <HI>ebbs</HI> &amp; <HI>flows</HI> of &s;ublunary hopes! one &s;peaks a word of comfort, an|other &s;peaks words of &s;oul-wound|ing
<PB N="54" REF="35">terror; now a promi&s;e, anon a threatening: The &s;ick man is in hopes of reviving to day, to morrow at the gates of death. What a woful heart-dividing life is a life of Sen&s;e, a life which is wor&s;e then death it &s;elf, to be thus bandied up and down between hopes and fears, to be baf|fled to and fro between the <HI>may-be's</HI> of <HI>&s;econd Cau&s;es!</HI> to be like Mari|ners upon the billows and &s;urges of the tempe&s;tuous &s;ea!
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm 107 26, 27</NOTE> <HI>They mount up to Heaven, they go down again to the depths; their Soul is melted be|cau&s;e of trouble: they reel to and fro, and &s;tagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits end;</HI> Heb. <HI>all their wi&s;dom is &s;wallowed up.</HI> And <HI>partly</HI> God teacheth the nece&s;&s;ity of a life of Faith by the <HI>di&s;appointment</HI> of the Creature: How often doth the Creature totally fail, and abu&s;e our expectation!
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 6.15, 16</NOTE> like the deceitful brook, to which <HI>Job</HI> mo&s;t elegantly compares his brethren, which mocks the traveller, and when he comes for a draught of water to quench his thir&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 20</NOTE> &s;ends him away with <HI>confu&s;i|on</HI>
<PB N="55" REF="35">and <HI>&s;hame. Surely men of low degree are vanity,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 62.9</NOTE> and men of high degree are a lye:</HI> Men of low de|gree <HI>would</HI> help, but <HI>cannot,</HI> there is <HI>vanity;</HI> and men of high degree <HI>can help</HI> many times, but <HI>will not;</HI> no, not when they have <HI>promis'd and &s;worn;</HI> there is <HI>a lye:</HI> both <HI>di&s;ap|point,</HI> the one by the <HI>nece&s;&s;ity,</HI> the o|ther by <HI>deceit;</HI> and di&s;appointment is one of the great torments that a rational creature is capable of: Tru&s;t defeated cau&s;eth &s;orrow of heart,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 20.5</NOTE> and confu&s;ion of face; and the &s;tronger the <HI>confidence,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 14.3</NOTE> the more &s;hameful is the <HI>di&s;appointment. Agag</HI> comes forth &s;inging,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 15, 32 33</NOTE> <HI>Surely the bitterne&s;s of death is pa&s;t;</HI> when behold he is going to his <HI>execution:</HI> both he and his hopes are <HI>hewen in pieces before the Lord. David</HI> him&s;elf <HI>looked on his right hand, and beheld, and there was no man that would know him. Peter</HI>-like, <HI>they knew not the man;</HI> they made as if they had never &s;een him before. So that <HI>Churl,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 25 10</NOTE> Who is David?</HI> and <HI>who is the &s;on of Je&s;s?</HI> &s;ome <HI>Run-agate,</HI> &s;ome idle fellow
<PB N="56" REF="36">that hath <HI>broken away from his ma|&s;ter, &amp;c.</HI> And it was not <HI>Nabal</HI> on|ly that &s;tood at this di&s;tance from him; his neere&s;t and deare&s;t ac|quaintance ca&s;t him off: <HI>Lover and friend ha&s;t thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into dark|ne&s;s,</HI> P&s;al. 88.18. <HI>Refuge failed me, no man cared for my Soul;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 142.3 4</NOTE> or as the <HI>Hebr.</HI> hath it, <HI>no man &s;ought af|ter my Soul.</HI> Saint <HI>Paul</HI> was in no better condition in the per&s;ecution which befell him at <HI>Rome; At my fir&s;t an&s;wer no man &s;tood with me, but all men for&s;ook me:</HI> not a man of all them that &s;at under that fa|mous Apo&s;tle's Mini&s;try that would or dur&s;t appear to &s;peak a word for him, or to him: Oh bitter di&s;ap|pointment, had not he had faith to &s;upport him under it! And truly <HI>&s;uch is our expectation,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 20.6</NOTE> whither we flee for help to be delivered, &amp;c.</HI> Sorrow and &s;hame is the fruit of creature-expectation. But now on the contrary, <HI>They looked unto the Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 34.5</NOTE> and were enlightened, and their faces were not a&s;hamed.</HI> Faith
<PB N="57" REF="36">meets with no di&s;appointment, God is always better then our expectati|on;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4, 17</NOTE> <HI>Neverthele&s;s the Lord &s;tood with me, and &s;trengthened me, &amp;c. and I was delivered from the mouth of the Lion.</HI> By &s;uch experiences do we learn the nece&s;&s;ity of living by Faith. <HI>I had peri&s;hed in my afflicti|on, unle&s;s thy Law had been my de|light: i. e.</HI> unle&s;s <HI>David</HI> had learn|ed to live <HI>by a promi&s;e,</HI> he had been but a dead man. Surely <HI>he dyeth oft who&s;e life is bound up in the dying Creature:</HI> as oft as the Creature fails, his hope fails, and his heart fail|eth; when the creature dyeth, his hope giveth up the gho&s;t: He onely lives an <HI>unchangeable life,</HI> that by Faith can live in an <HI>unchangeable God.</HI></P>
<P>We hear &s;uch things indeed in the Word, but we beleeve them not till our own experience convinceth us of our infidelity. A long time do we &s;tick totally in the creature, knowing no other life then of Sen&s;e and Rea|&s;on; <HI>Sacrificing to our own nets, and burning incen&s;e to our own
<PB N="58" REF="37">drags:</HI> and becau&s;e the Word tells us much of living by Faith, we would fain patch up a life between Faith and Sen&s;e, which indeed is not a life of Faith: we do not live <HI>at all by faith,</HI> if we live not <HI>all by faith;</HI> though we may <HI>u&s;e means,</HI> we mu&s;t <HI>tru&s;t God,</HI> and tru&s;t him <HI>&s;olely:</HI> and therefore, to bring us to this, God &s;uffers us to be tired and vext with the mockery of &s;econd cau&s;es; and when we have &s;pent all upon the&s;e <HI>phy&s;icians of no value,</HI> then, and never till then, we re&s;olve for Chri&s;t. When <HI>David</HI> had experienc'd &s;ufficiently the fal&s;ene&s;s and hypocri&s;ie of <HI>Saul</HI> and his Para&s;ites, <HI>They delight in lyes, they ble&s;s with their mouth, but they cur&s;e inwardly, P&s;a.</HI> 62.4. then he re&s;olves never to tru&s;t crea|ture more: <HI>My Soul wait thou on|ly upon God, He onely is my Rock and my Salvation,</HI> Ver&s;. 5, 6. Un|mixt tru&s;t in God is the fruit of our experience of the creatures vanity: we never re&s;olve <HI>exclu&s;ively</HI> for God, till with the Prodigal we be whipt home &s;tark naked to our Fa|thers
<PB N="59" REF="37">hou&s;e. When the Church had run her &s;elf
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 2.25</NOTE> barefoot in following her Lovers, who an&s;wered her <HI>ex|pectation</HI> with nothing but <HI>fear,</HI> and &s;ent her away with <HI>&s;hame</HI> in &s;tead of <HI>glory, I&s;ai.</HI> 20.6. then &s;he can go home, and confe&s;&s;ing her Athei&s;m and folly, gives up her &s;elf purely to divine protection: <HI>A&s;hur &s;hall not &s;ave us, we will not ride upon hor&s;es, neither will we &s;ay any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 14.3</NOTE> for in thee the fatherle&s;s findeth mercy.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The ex|cellency of a life of Faith.</NOTE> By the mutability and di&s;ap|pointment of the creature God teacheth his people <HI>the excellency of the life of Faith. David,</HI> when he learn'd it in the School of Affliction, prints it and publi&s;heth it to all the world, <HI>Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, who&s;e hope is in the Lord his God:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 146 5,</NOTE> He had be|fore, Ver&s;. 3. entred a Caveat a|gain&s;t creature-confidence, <HI>Put not your tru&s;t in Princes, nor in the &s;on of man;</HI> and gives the rea&s;on of it, there is no help or &s;alvation in the
<PB N="60" REF="38">be&s;t of men; <HI>nor in the &s;on of man, in whom there is no help:</HI> ala&s;s, he is but a little <HI>breathing clay; and when that breath goeth forth, he returns to his earth:</HI> when the breath is gone, there is nothing but a little clay remaining; <HI>In that very day his thoughts peri&s;h:</HI> when the man dy|eth, all his coun&s;els and plots and pro|jects dye with him: And having thus put in his Caution again&s;t <HI>crea|ture-dependance,</HI> and given in the account of the vanity thereof, he &s;hews the difference between tru&s;t in <HI>a dying man,</HI> and <HI>a living God;</HI> Tru&s;t in God is onely able to make a man <HI>happy:</HI> they may <HI>&s;eem</HI> happy, who have the <HI>great men</HI> of the world to tru&s;t to; but he onely <HI>is</HI> happy, who hath the <HI>God</HI> of Heaven to tru&s;t to; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his help:</HI> why &s;o? becau&s;e while they that tru&s;t in Princes &s;hall be di&s;appointed, he that tru&s;ts in God &s;hall never be di&s;|appointed: For, 1. He is <HI>Jehovah, who&s;e hope is in the Lord,</HI> or in <HI>Je|hovah</HI> his God:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 26.4</NOTE> <HI>Jehovah,</HI> a <HI>F<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">un|tain
<PB N="61" REF="38">of Beings,</HI> He gave a Being to Heaven and Earth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 146.6</NOTE> <HI>He made Hea|ven and Earth, the Sea, and all that therein is:</HI> and he that gave Being to every creature, can give Being to his <HI>promi&s;e</HI> al&s;o: Can any thing be too hard for <HI>a creating God?</HI> and as he <HI>can,</HI> &s;o he <HI>will,</HI> for <HI>He keepeth Truth for ever: Heaven and Earth may pa&s;s away, but not one jot or one tittle of his promi&s;e &s;hall pa&s;s away till all be fulfilled.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5, 18.</NOTE> Men may prove unfaithful, but God will ne|ver prove unfaithful; He keepeth Truth for ever: <HI>Faithful is he that hath promi&s;ed, Heb.</HI> 10.23. And thus the &s;oul comes to &s;ee the &s;weet|ne&s;s and excellency of a life of Faith, while others are mock'd, and abus'd, and &s;lain, by di&s;appointment from the &s;econd cau&s;es: <HI>He is kept in per|fect peace,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 26, 3</NOTE> who&s;e minde is &s;tayd on God, becau&s;e he tru&s;teth in him:</HI> He liveth indeed, that liveth in him to whom <HI>Always is e&s;&s;ential.</HI></P>
<P>The excellency of a life of Faith di&s;covers it &s;elf in the&s;e four parti|culars:
<PB N="62" REF="39">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. It is a <HI>&s;ecure</HI> life.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. It is a <HI>&s;weet</HI> life.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. It is an <HI>ea&s;ie</HI> life.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. It is an <HI>honorable</HI> life.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The life of Faith is a <HI>&s;ecure life,</HI> the <HI>onely &s;afe life: He &s;hall dwell on high, his place of defence &s;hall be the ammunition of rocks:</HI> How &s;ecurely doth he dwell, who&s;e fortifications are impregnable, inac|ce&s;&s;ible rocks? rocks &s;o <HI>high</HI> that none can <HI>&s;cale</HI> them: In the <HI>Hebr.</HI> it is, <HI>He &s;hall dwell in heights,</HI> or <HI>in high places:</HI> rocks &s;o <HI>thick</HI> that no <HI>breach</HI> can be made in them, rocks within rocks; <HI>ammunition of rocks:</HI> and rocks &s;o <HI>deep</HI> that none can <HI>undermine</HI> them: &s;urely a peo|ple or per&s;on thus <HI>rockt</HI> on every &s;ide, need not fear <HI>&s;torming. Object.</HI> I, but though rocks may be a good <HI>fence,</HI> they are but ill <HI>food,</HI> a man cannot feed on rocks; rocky places are barten, though impregnable; he may be <HI>&s;tarved,</HI> though he cannot be <HI>&s;tormed!</HI> No, the words follow|ing relieves that fear al&s;o, <HI>Bread &s;hall be given him;</HI> he &s;hall have
<PB N="63" REF="39">bread enough, and it &s;hall co&s;t him nothing; it &s;hall be <HI>given</HI> him: and whereas a rock is but a dry &s;citu|ation, without either <HI>&s;prings</HI> or <HI>&s;treams,</HI> and thereupon a man might be expo&s;ed to peri&s;hing for want of water, <HI>Thir&s;t will &s;lay as well as hunger;</HI> therefore it is likewi&s;e add|ed, <HI>His waters &s;hall be &s;ure:</HI> He &s;hall have waters which neither Summers heat nor Winters fro&s;t &s;hall be able to dry up; never-fail|ing waters &s;hall fill his Ci&s;terns from day to day; <HI>His waters &s;hall be &s;ure.</HI> Under &s;uch an excellent me|taphor is the &s;ecurity of a life of Faith de&s;cribed; and this metaphor is expounded <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 26.1. <HI>Salvation will God appoint for walls and bul|warks:</HI> walls and bulwarks &s;hall not be their Salvation, but Salvation their walls and bulwarks: how &s;afe|ly do they dwell who are wall'd a|bout with <HI>Salvation</HI> it &s;elf? The bulwarks are Salvation, and that Salvation is <HI>Jehovah;</HI> for &s;o it fol|lows, <HI>Tru&s;t ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everla&s;t|ing
<PB N="64" REF="40">&s;trength;</HI> or the <HI>Lord Jehovah</HI> is <HI>the Rock of Ages:</HI> His place of defence is <HI>the ammunition of Rocks;</HI> and the <HI>Lord Jehovah</HI> is tho&s;e Rocks, <HI>a Rock of Ages;</HI> Ages pa&s;s away one after another, but the Rock abides, and abides for ever: <HI>In the Lord Je|hovah is everla&s;ting &s;trength.</HI> He that rain'd Manna in the <HI>Wilderne&s;s, will give bread;</HI> and he that fetcht water out of the Rock, will be <HI>a ne|ver-failing fountain, his waters &s;hal be &s;ure.</HI> Oh the <HI>&s;ecurity</HI> of a life of faith!</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, It is as <HI>&s;weet</HI> as it is <HI>&s;afe.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dulcius ex ip&s;o fonte bibuntur a|quae.</NOTE> Is it not a &s;weet thing to fetch all our waters from the <HI>fountain,</HI> from the <HI>&s;pring-head,</HI> before they be degenerated or mudded by the miry channel? Why <HI>all my fre&s;h &s;prings are in thee,</HI> &s;aith faith to God, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 87.7. Is it not &s;weet to be <HI>fixt</HI> and <HI>compo&s;ed</HI> in the mid&s;t of all the <HI>mu|tations</HI> and <HI>confu&s;ions</HI> that are under the Sun? Why this is the priviledg of <HI>him that liveth by faith: No evil tydings &s;hall make him afraid,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 112 7</NOTE> his heart is fixed, tru&s;ting in the Lord.</HI>
<PB N="65" REF="40">And again;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 26.6.</NOTE> <HI>Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, who&s;e mind is &s;tayed on thee, becau&s;e he tru&s;teth in thee:</HI> Heb: <HI>Peace, peace;</HI> that is, <HI>multi|plied</HI> Peace; <HI>pure, unmixt</HI> Peace, <HI>constant and everla&s;ting</HI> Peace is the portion of him that liveth by faith, <HI>&s;o far as he liveth by faith;</HI> unle&s;s <HI>&s;en&s;e</HI> and <HI>rea&s;on</HI> break in to di&s;quiet, he liveth in a mo&s;t &s;weet and immutable &s;erenity.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>It is an ea&s;ie life:</HI> It is an ea&s;ie life to have all provi&s;ions brought in to a man without any <HI>care</HI> or <HI>trouble;</HI> why &s;uch is the priviledg of a Beleever; he hath a <HI>quietus e&s;t,</HI> that &s;uper&s;edes all his cares. <HI>In nothing be careful,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 4.6.</NOTE> but in every thing by prayer and &s;upplica|tion with thanksgiving let your re|que&s;ts be made known to God.</HI> Faith leaveth a Beleever nothing to do but to <HI>pray and give thanks;</HI> to <HI>pray</HI> for what he <HI>wants,</HI> and to <HI>give thanks</HI> for what he <HI>hath;</HI> that is all he hath to do. It is true, Beleevers mu&s;t labour and travel in the u&s;e of means, as well as the re&s;t of the &s;ons
<PB N="66" REF="41">of <HI>Adam:</HI> but, fir&s;t, <HI>it is without care;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> in nothing be careful;</HI> with|out <HI>anxious, heart-dividing, Soul|di&s;tracting</HI> care: O that is the <HI>thorn,</HI> the <HI>&s;ting,</HI> which the <HI>&s;in of man</HI> and the <HI>cur&s;e of God</HI> hath thru&s;t into all our labours, <HI>care and di&s;traction;</HI> and this <HI>faith pulls out:</HI> &s;o that now all the labour of faith is an <HI>ea&s;ie la|bour,</HI> like the labour of <HI>Adam in Pa|radi&s;e:</HI> Faith u&s;eth means, but tru&s;t|eth God; obediently clo&s;eth with the <HI>Providence of means,</HI> but &s;weet|ly leaveth the Providence of &s;ucce&s;s to God. Yea, Faith <HI>can trust God, when there are no means to u&s;e,</HI> and &s;ay, <HI>Although the fig-tree &s;hall not blo&s;&s;om, neither &s;hall fruit be in the Vines, the labour of the Olive &s;hall fail, and the fields &s;hall yield no meat, the flock &s;hall be cut off from the fold, and there &s;hall be no herd in the &s;talls;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 3.18.</NOTE> yet I will rejoyce in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my Salva|tion.</HI> Faith can live upon God, when there is a famine upon the whole Creation: The Peace of God is as a <HI>Court of Guard,</HI> to fence the heart
<PB N="67" REF="41">from all &s;urprizes of fear and trouble: <HI>In nothing be careful, but in every thing pray and give thanks,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 4.7.</NOTE> and the peace of God which pa&s;&s;eth all un|der&s;tanding &s;hall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Je&s;us.</HI> As faith enjoyeth <HI>God in all things</HI> in the greate&s;t abundance, &s;o &s;he can enjoy <HI>all things in God</HI> in the deepe&s;t want.</P>
<P>Fourthly, and la&s;tly, The life of faith is <HI>an honorable life.</HI> It is the honour of the <HI>Favorite</HI> that he can go <HI>immediately</HI> to his <HI>Prince</HI> when &s;trangers mu&s;t trace the <HI>Climax</HI> of <HI>Court-acce&s;&s;es.</HI> Yea, without all peradventure, it is an honorable life <HI>to live as God him&s;elf liveth;</HI> and this is the glory of God, that he liveth <HI>in him&s;elf</HI> and <HI>of him&s;elf:</HI> and truly in their proportion <HI>&s;uch honour have all the Saints.</HI> They live <HI>in God</HI> and <HI>upon God</HI> here by <HI>faith;</HI> and they &s;hall live <HI>in God</HI> and <HI>upon God</HI> here|after by <HI>&s;ight,</HI> in the beatificate Vi|&s;ion.</P>
<P>This is the <HI>excellency</HI> of the life of Faith, and this the people of God ex|perience
<PB N="68" REF="42">by their &s;ufferings, where|by God calls them out of the world, and taking them into him&s;elf, he doth reveal to them by degrees the my&s;te|ry and priviledg of living upon God, and upon God alone.</P>
<P>In the next place,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">13 Le&s;&s;on, God ta|keth us off from &s;elf|confi|dence.</NOTE> By afflictions and di&s;tre&s;&s;es <HI>God takes us off from &s;elf|confidence,</HI> and teacheth us to <HI>tru&s;t</HI> HIM <HI>more, and our &s;elves le&s;s.</HI> This is the &s;ame with the former, &s;ave on|ly that we &s;peak now of tru&s;t in God, in oppo&s;ition to <HI>confidence in our &s;elves,</HI> and not in others; a di|&s;temper that prevails much in our natures: Ever &s;ince we rendred our &s;elves able to do nothing, nothing but &s;in, we think our &s;elves able to do any thing: We fancy to our &s;elves a kind of <HI>omnipotence,</HI> when all <HI>our &s;trength is to &s;it &s;till:</HI> Natu|rally we are prone to entertain and nouri&s;h high pre&s;umptions, of our own <HI>&s;trength,</HI> and of our own <HI>wi&s;|dom.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Of our own &s;trength:</HI> In our pro&s;perity we think our &s;elves able to carry any <HI>cro&s;s;</HI> we fancy our
<PB N="69" REF="42">&s;elves &s;trong enough to carry away even <HI>Samp&s;ons gates</HI> upon our &s;houl|ders, and mettled to encounter any affliction in the world; but when the hour of temptation comes, we find we are but <HI>like other men,</HI> and are ready to &s;ink, with <HI>Peter,</HI> if but one wave ri&s;e higher then another. U&s;ually &s;ufferings before they come are like a Mountain at a great di|&s;tance, which &s;eems &s;o &s;mall, that we think we could almo&s;t &s;tride over it; but upon nearer approaches, when we come to the foot of it, it appears in&s;uparable, and looks &s;o huge, as if it would fall upon us, and cru&s;h us in pieces. <HI>Peter</HI> is &s;o big with love to Chri&s;t, that he will <HI>dye with Him, rather then for&s;ake</HI> Him; yea though all the re&s;t &s;hould betake them&s;elves to their heels, he will &s;tand by him to the la&s;t drop of blood: and yet be|hold, when it comes to the tryal, a weak &s;illy Damo&s;el is able with a &s;ingle que&s;tion to fright him out of his confidence, and he doth not only <HI>for&s;ake,</HI> but <HI>for&s;wear</HI> his Lord. <HI>Pen|dleton,</HI> in the Book of Martyrs, will
<PB N="70" REF="43">fry out a fat body in flames of Mar|tyrdom, rather then betray his Reli|gion; but when the hour comes that Chri&s;t and Religion had mo&s;t need of him, he had not one drop of all that fat to &s;pare for either.</P>
<P>And, 2. As we are prone to pre|&s;ume of our own &s;trength, &s;o <HI>we are very apt to idolize our own wi&s;dom;</HI> to lean to our own under&s;tanding, and think by our policy to wind our &s;elves out of any labyrinth of trouble and perplexity. But we find it other|wi&s;e; when we come into the &s;nare, we then are forced to cry out with the Church, <HI>He hath hedged me a|bout that I cannot get out,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.7.</NOTE> he hath made my chain heavy:</HI> Like a male|factor that hath broke pri&s;on; he thinks to <HI>run</HI> away, but he hath an heavy chain upon his heel, that &s;poils his ha&s;te; and being fenced in round about, he goeth to this corner, hoping to find &s;ome gap, but there he finds the hedg made up with thorns; and to another corner, and there al&s;o the <HI>bryars</HI> &s;top him, &amp;c. I, but mark ye, that is not all; read on in the
<PB N="71" REF="43">Churches complaint, and you &s;hall find greater ob&s;tructions: Ver&s;e 9.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 9.</NOTE> <HI>He hath enclo&s;ed my ways with hewn &s;tones.</HI> Suppo&s;e a man would venture the &s;cratching of his fle&s;h, to break through an hedg to &s;ave his life, <HI>(skin for skin, and all that a man hath will he give for his life,)</HI> yet that would not do, God had taken away <HI>the hedg,</HI> and built <HI>a wall</HI> in &s;tead of it; a wall &s;o <HI>high,</HI> that they could not <HI>clamber over;</HI> a wall &s;o <HI>thick,</HI> that they could not <HI>dig through:</HI> The meaning is, Man in affliction thinks to make his way through by his own art and cunning, but upon the attempt he finds diffi|culties ari&s;ing &s;till higher and higher, &s;o that when all is done, <HI>e&s;cape is im|po&s;&s;ible,</HI> without an immediate re&s;cue by the arm of omnipotence. This was <HI>Pauls</HI> ca&s;e:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim 1.8, 9</NOTE> <HI>When we come to A&s;ia, we were pre&s;&s;ed out of mea&s;ure beyond &s;trength, in &s;o much that we de&s;paired even of life:</HI> A great &s;trait, (what it was in particular you may read <HI>Acts</HI> 19. from 22. &s;o forward; in all probability it was that uproar
<PB N="72" REF="44">at <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> wherein <HI>Paul</HI> was like to have been pull'd in pieces, for it was a trouble that befell him in <HI>A|&s;ia,</HI> ver&s;. 8.) I &s;ay, it was a great &s;trait, a &s;trait wherein the Apo&s;tle was at his wits end:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Dicitur</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>qui non no|vit quomo|do &s;e&s;e ex aliqua difficultate expediat.</HI> Beza.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>i. e.</HI> we were bereft of all <HI>coun&s;el</HI> how to expedite our &s;elves out of the danger: As <HI>David</HI> complains, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 13.2. <HI>How long &s;hall I take coun&s;el in my Soul! i. e.</HI> When he was per&s;ecuted by <HI>Saul,</HI> and be&s;et with innumerable dangers, he took <HI>coun&s;el,</HI> he thought of this means, and t'other means, ca&s;t about this way, and that way, how to e&s;cape, but in vain, all his coun&s;els left him as full of <HI>&s;orrow</HI> and <HI>despair</HI> as they found him: How long &s;hall I take coun&s;el in my Soul, <HI>having &s;orrow in my heart?</HI> He had his &s;orrow for his pains. Thus it was with the Apo|&s;tle; all his <HI>coun&s;el</HI> left him in the hand of <HI>despair: We despaired even of life:</HI> His ca&s;e was no other then the pri&s;oner at the bar, at what time the &s;entence of death is pa&s;t upon him; he looks upon him&s;elf (and &s;o
<PB N="73" REF="44">do &s;tanders by) <HI>as a dead man;</HI> he is <HI>legally</HI> dead, dead to <HI>all intents and purpo&s;es of the Law;</HI> there wants nothing but <HI>execution:</HI> Why &s;o it was with <HI>Paul; We had the &s;entence of death in our &s;elves:</HI> The &s;entence was pa&s;t in his own bre&s;t; and now &s;aith <HI>Paul, I am but a dead man:</HI> This was his &s;trait, and it &s;eemeth God had a plot in it, a de&s;ign upon <HI>Paul;</HI> and what was that? Him&s;elf will tell you; We had the &s;entence of death in our &s;elves,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 9.</NOTE> <HI>that we &s;hould not trust in our &s;elves, but in God which rai&s;eth the dead,</HI> &amp;c. See here, the de&s;ign is expre&s;t <HI>nega|tively</HI> and <HI>affirmatively. Negative|ly, that we might not tru&s;t in our &s;elves:</HI> God &s;aw, even in that great Apo&s;tle him&s;elf, a di&s;po&s;ition to &s;elf|confidence, a pronene&s;s to be <HI>exalted above mea&s;ure,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 12.7</NOTE> through the abun|dance of Revelations:</HI> And therefore, as to prick the bladder of pride, God gave him <HI>a thorn in the fle&s;h,</HI> &amp;c. &s;o, to work out this <HI>&s;elf-tru&s;t,</HI> God re|duceth him to a &s;tate of <HI>despair,</HI> as to <HI>outward</HI> and <HI>vi&s;ible probabilities:
<PB N="74" REF="45">We had the &s;entence of death in our &s;elves, that we &s;hould not tru&s;t in our &s;elves;</HI> there is the <HI>negative</HI> branch of the de&s;ign. And then the <HI>Affirmative</HI> followeth, <HI>But in God which rai&s;eth the dead:</HI> By this de|&s;perate exigence God would teach <HI>Paul</HI> ever after where <HI>&s;trength</HI> and <HI>coun&s;el</HI> was to be had in the like ex|tremities; no where but <HI>in God,</HI> and in him abundantly: The <HI>God of Re|&s;urrections</HI> can never be non-plu&s;t;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Re&s;urrectio mortuorum, fiducia Chri&s;tiano|rum.</HI> Tert. de Re&s;ur. carnis.</NOTE> He that can <HI>rai&s;e the dead,</HI> can <HI>con|quer the greate&s;t difficulty;</HI> He that can put life into dead men, can put life into dead hopes, and rai&s;e up our expectations out of the very grave of de&s;pair: <HI>That God can put life into dead bones,</HI> is a con&s;ideration able to put <HI>life into a dead faith.</HI></P>
<P>To this purpo&s;e it is very ob&s;erva|ble, that even tho&s;e to whom God hath indulg'd the large&s;t proportions of faith and courage, not only above other men, but above other Saints; yet even them God hath &s;uffered not only to langui&s;h under fears, but even to de&s;pair under in&s;uperable difficul|ties,
<PB N="75" REF="45">before they could recover holy confidence in God. We find <HI>David,</HI> that great Champion of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> more then once or twice &s;urpriz'd with dreadful fear: <HI>I &s;aid in my Ha&s;te,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> from the root <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tinare, praecipitare ob&s;tupe&s;ce|re.</HI> Hicron. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Sept.</NOTE> P&s;a.</HI> 31.22. <HI>&amp;</HI> 116.11. The Hebrew &s;ignifieth, <HI>in trepidatione mea,</HI> or <HI>in fe&s;tinatione mea,</HI> in my trembling, in my precipitancy; or as the Septua|gint tran&s;late it, in my exta&s;ie, when I was almo&s;t be&s;ides my &s;elf for fear: Well, what did he &s;ay then? Why he &s;aid, <HI>I am cut off from before thine eyes;</HI> that is, God hath ca&s;t me out of his care, he looks no more after me, I am a lo&s;t man. And again, <HI>I &s;aid in my ha&s;te,</HI> in my pa&s;&s;ion, <HI>all men are Lyars;</HI> even <HI>Samuel</HI> him|&s;elf, that told me I &s;hould be <HI>King;</HI> he hath &s;een but a fal&s;e Vi&s;ion, and a lying divination; God never &s;aid &s;o to him; no, <HI>I &s;hall one day fall by the hand of Saul.</HI></P>
<P>And thus the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> Chap. 3.57. <HI>Thou drewe&s;t near in the day that I called upon thee; thou &s;aid&s;t, Fear not:</HI> I, but before God &s;pake a <HI>Fear not</HI> to his Soul, he was
<PB N="76" REF="46">afraid to purpo&s;e: hear what he &s;aith, ver&s;. 53, 54. <HI>They have cut off my life in the Dungeon, and ca&s;t a &s;tone upon me; waters flowed over mine head, then I &s;aid, I am cut off.</HI> Mark ye, with <HI>Paul,</HI> he had received the &s;entence of death in him&s;elf, he looks upon him&s;elf as a dead man, yea as already in his grave, and his grave-&s;tone layd upon it; <HI>they have cut off my life in the Dungeon, and cast a &s;tone upon me,</HI> dead and buri|ed, and a &s;tone rouled to the mouth of the &s;epulchre. And thus you may hear <HI>Jonah</HI> crying in the <HI>Whales bel|ly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ionah 2.4.</NOTE> I am ca&s;t out of thy &s;ight.</HI> And <HI>Sion,</HI> in the du&s;t, tuning her Lamenta|tions,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 49.14</NOTE> <HI>The Lord hath for&s;aken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Hezekiah</HI> reporting the &s;ad di&s;cour|&s;es he had in his own bo&s;om upon the &s;ight of death, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 38.9, 10, &amp;c. It were ea&s;ie to multiply in&s;tances.</P>
<P>Why now this is continually our ca&s;e, and this is &s;till Gods de&s;ign: We are proud creatures, full of &s;elf-confidence; and therefore God by &s;trange and unexpected Providences,
<PB N="77" REF="46">doth hedg up our way with thorns, and wall up our path with hewn &s;tones, brings to de&s;pair even of life, bereaveth us of coun&s;el, outs us of all our own &s;hifts and policies, brings us under the very &s;entence of death; <HI>that we might not tru&s;t in our &s;elves, but in God which rai&s;eth the dead,</HI> he unbottoms us by de&s;pair, convinceth us of our impotence and folly, &s;hews us what babes and fools we are in our &s;elves, that in all our future hazards and fears we might know nothing but a God; <HI>go in the &s;trength of the Lord, and make mention of his righteou&s;ne&s;s, and of his only.</HI> And thus you &s;ee <HI>Peter,</HI> who before was &s;o confident, that he thought all the world might for&s;ake Chri&s;t &s;ooner then him&s;elf, after he was convinc'd of his own infirmity and in&s;tability, when Chri&s;t, to put him in mind of his three-fold denyal, put him upon that three-fold Inter|rogatory, <HI>Simon Peter, love&s;t thou me more then the&s;e? i.e.</HI> then the re&s;t of thy fellow-di&s;ciples, dur&s;t make no other an&s;wer but this, <HI>Lord,
<PB N="78" REF="47">thou knowe&s;t:</HI> he pleads nothing but his <HI>&s;incerity;</HI> and for that al&s;o, he ca&s;ts him&s;elf rather upon Chri&s;ts tryal, then his own; <HI>Lord, thou knowe&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>In the next place,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">14 Le&s;&s;on, God makes him&s;elf known.</NOTE> By affliction <HI>God maketh him&s;elf known unto his people.</HI> How long do we hear of God before we know him? We get more by one practical di&s;covery of God, then by many Sermons: <HI>I have heard of thee often by the hear|ing of the ear,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 42.5, 6</NOTE> but now mine eye &s;eeth thee, therefore I abhor my &s;elf in du&s;t and a&s;hes,</HI> cryeth <HI>Job</HI> upon the dunghill. In the Word we do but <HI>hear of God,</HI> in affliction we <HI>&s;ee him.</HI> Pro&s;perity is the nur&s;e of A|thei&s;m; the under&s;tanding being clouded with the &s;teams and vapors of tho&s;e lu&s;ts which are incident to a pro&s;perous e&s;tate, men grow bruti&s;h, and the reverence and &s;en&s;e of God is by little and little defaced: But now by affliction the Soul being taken off from &s;en&s;e-plea&s;ing objects, hath a greater di&s;po&s;ition and liberty to retire into it &s;elf: and being freed
<PB N="79" REF="47">from the attractive force of worldly allurements,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Maturant a&s;pera men tem.</NOTE> the apprehen&s;ions are wont to be more &s;erious and preg|nant, and &s;o more capable of divine illumination. The clearer the gla&s;s is, the more fully doth it receive in the beams of the Sun. When the warm breath of the the world hath blown upon us, we are not &s;o capable of the Vi&s;ions of God.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 21.14</NOTE> <HI>The wicked through the pride of his heart will not know God; they &s;ay to the Almighty, De|part from us, for we de&s;ire not the knowledg of thy ways. Who is the Lord?</HI> &s;aith <HI>Pharaoh.</HI> And truly the very <HI>godly</HI> them&s;elves are exceed|ing <HI>dark</HI> and <HI>low in their apprehen|&s;ions of God;</HI> our ignorance of God being never perfectly cured till we come to Heaven, where we &s;hall <HI>&s;ee him face to face, and know him as we are known.</HI> In the mean time, as by the &s;trokes of divine vengeance God makes the wicked know him to their <HI>co&s;t;</HI> &s;o by the rod of cor|rection he makes his people to know him to their <HI>comfort.</HI> As God brought all his <HI>plagues</HI> upon <HI>Pharaohs</HI> heart,
<PB N="80" REF="48">that he might <HI>know who the Lord was</HI> in a way of wrath; &s;o he lays affliction upon the loyns of his peo|ple, that they may know him in a way of love; <HI>I&s;rael &s;hall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. Mo&s;es</HI> never &s;aw God &s;o <HI>clearly,</HI> as when <HI>he de&s;cended in a Cloud.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 34.5</NOTE> And truly that di&s;pen&s;ation was but a type of the method which God u&s;eth in ma|king him&s;elf known unto his Saints: <HI>He puts them into the clefts of the Rock,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 33.21, 22, 23. &amp; 34.5, 6, 7.</NOTE> covereth them with his hand while he pa&s;&s;eth by, and then pro|claimeth his Name before them, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">By afflicti|on God makes known his Attributes.</NOTE> &amp;c. The people of God have the mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible experience of his <HI>Attributes</HI> in their &s;ufferings; his <HI>Holine&s;s, Ju&s;tice, Faithfulne&s;s, Mercy, Al&s;ufficiency,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>His <HI>Holine&s;s:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Holine&s;s.</NOTE> Affliction &s;heweth what a <HI>&s;in-hating God,</HI> God is: For though his cha&s;ti&s;ements on his Church be in <HI>love</HI> to their <HI>per&s;ons,</HI> they are in <HI>hatred</HI> to their <HI>corrupti|ons;</HI> while he &s;aveth the &s;inner, he de&s;troyeth the &s;in. <HI>By this &s;hall the
<PB N="81" REF="48">iniquity of Jacob be purged,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 27.9.</NOTE> and this is all the fruit to take away his &s;in:</HI> If the Soul live, &s;in mu&s;t dye.</P>
<P>His <HI>Ju&s;tice:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iu&s;tice.</NOTE> Afflictions are <HI>cor|rection</HI> to the <HI>godly, puni&s;hment</HI> to the <HI>wicked;</HI> in both <HI>God is righte|ous:</HI> Thus <HI>I&s;rael</HI> knew God, <HI>Neh.</HI> 9.33. <HI>Howbeit thou art ju&s;t in all that is come upon us, for thou hast done right, but we have done wick|edly:</HI> In the &s;evere&s;t di&s;pen&s;ations they judg them&s;elves, and ju&s;tifie God; <HI>Thou art ju&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. Yea when they cannot di&s;cern his meaning, they adore his Righteou&s;ne&s;s; <HI>Righteous art thou, O Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 12.1.</NOTE> when I plead with thee; yet let me talk with thee of thy Judgments; wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?</HI> &amp;c. When the Soul is <HI>un&s;atisfied,</HI> God is not <HI>unju&s;tified; Righteous art thou, O Lord,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>His <HI>Faithfulne&s;s.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Faithful|ne&s;s in the affliction it &s;elf. P&s;a. 119.7<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> Faithfulne&s;s <HI>in the very affliction it &s;elf. I know, Lord, that thy Judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulne&s;s ha&s;t af|flicted me:</HI> Faithfulne&s;s to his <HI>Cove|nant;</HI> for affliction is &s;o much <HI>threa|tened</HI>
<PB N="82" REF="49">as <HI>promi&s;ed</HI> to Beleevers; as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 89.30, 31, 32. of which more hereafter. The more <HI>David</HI> was af|flicted, the more Gods faithfulne&s;s appeared. Oh &s;ays the holy man, I could not have wanted a blow of all that di&s;cipline wherewith my Father hath cha&s;ti&s;ed me.</P>
<P>Faithfulne&s;s <HI>in hearing Prayer:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">In hearing Prayer.</NOTE> This poor man cryed, and the Lord heard him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 34.6.</NOTE> and &s;aved him out of all his troubles;</HI> I never lo&s;t a prayer by God: Even when <HI>David</HI> want|ed faith, <HI>God wanted not faithfulne&s;s. I &s;aid in my ha&s;te, I am cut off from before thine eyes; neverthele&s;s thou hearde&s;t the voyce of my &s;upplicati|ons when I cryed unto thee.</HI> God was faithful with a <HI>non-ob&s;tante</HI> to <HI>Davids unbelief:</HI> I &s;aid in my <HI>Ha&s;te,</HI> and <HI>he that beleeveth will not make ha&s;te; neverthele&s;s</HI> thou hearde&s;t. Unbelief it &s;elf cannot make the faithfulne&s;s of God of none effect. I conceive that of the Apo&s;tle 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.13. to bear this &s;ence, <HI>If we be|leeve not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny him&s;elf:</HI> It is not to be
<PB N="83" REF="49">under&s;tood of a <HI>&s;tate</HI> of unbelief, but of an <HI>act</HI> of unbelief; not of a <HI>want of</HI> faith, but a <HI>want in</HI> faith; neither of which can render God unfaithful; who is engaged not &s;o much to our <HI>faith,</HI> as to his own <HI>faithfulne&s;s,</HI> to <HI>him&s;elf,</HI> to hear the prayer of his troubled &s;ervants; <HI>Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou &s;halt glorifie me.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 50.15</NOTE></P>
<P>This faithfulne&s;s of God, Beleevers do be&s;t experience in their &s;ufferings: Partly becau&s;e then they are <HI>most powerful.</HI> When our elder brother <HI>E&s;au</HI> is upon us, we can <HI>wre&s;tle</HI> with our elder brother <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and not let him go till he <HI>ble&s;s</HI> us. And partly becau&s;e then they are <HI>mo&s;t vigilant to ob&s;erve the returns</HI> of prayers: <HI>My voyce &s;halt thou hear in the morning, in the morning will I di|rect my prayer unto thee,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 5.3</NOTE> and will look up.</HI> In adver&s;ity we are <HI>early</HI> with God in prayer; <HI>In the morn|ing</HI> &s;halt thou hear my voyce, <HI>in the morning</HI> will I direct my prayer; it implyeth <HI>double earline&s;s,</HI> and <HI>dou|ble earnestne&s;s</HI> in prayer; <HI>In their
<PB N="84" REF="50">affliction they will &s;eek me early:</HI> And when we have done <HI>praying,</HI> we will begin <HI>harkening; I will look up:</HI> In pro&s;perity we put up many a prayer that we never <HI>look after;</HI> God may <HI>deny</HI> or <HI>grant,</HI> and we hardly take notice of it: But in af|fliction we can pre&s;s God for the re|turns of prayer; <HI>Hear me &s;peedily, O Lord, my &s;pirit faileth, hide not thy face from me, le&s;t I be like to them that go down into the pit;</HI> not only <HI>denyals,</HI> but <HI>delays</HI> kill us: Then we can harken for the <HI>eccho</HI> of our <HI>voyce</HI> from Heaven;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 85.8</NOTE> <HI>I will harken what God the Lord will &s;ay, for he will &s;peak peace to his people.</HI> As God cannot ea&s;ily deny the prayer of an afflicted Soul, &s;o if he grant, we can take notice of it, and know our pray|ers when we &s;ee them again; <HI>This wretch cryed, and the Lord heard him;</HI> and this endears the heart to <HI>God</HI> and to prayer: <HI>I love the Lord, becau&s;e he heard my voyce and my &s;upplications;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 116.1, 2</NOTE> becau&s;e he hath en|clined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.</HI></P>
<PB N="85" REF="50">
<P>As faithfulne&s;s in hearing prayer,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">In accom|pli&s;hing the pro|mi&s;e.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o <HI>in making good the promi&s;e;</HI> The afflicted Soul can witne&s;s unto God, <HI>as we have heard, &s;o have we &s;een, P&s;al.</HI> 48.8. What we have <HI>heard</HI> in the <HI>promi&s;e,</HI> we have <HI>&s;een</HI> in the <HI>accompli&s;hment: God</HI> was never wor&s;e then his Word. Afflic|tion is a furnace, as to try the <HI>Faith</HI> of <HI>Gods</HI> people, &s;o to try the <HI>faith|fulne&s;s of God in his promi&s;es:</HI> and upon the tryal the Church brings in her experience;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 12.6</NOTE> <HI>The Words of the Lord are pure words, as &s;ilver try|ed in a furnace of earth, purified &s;e|ven times:</HI> Let a man ca&s;t in the Promi&s;e a thou&s;and times into the furnace, it will &s;till come out <HI>full weight: As for God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 18.30</NOTE> his way is per|fect, the Word of the Lord is tryed:</HI> It is to be under&s;tood in both places of the <HI>Word of the Promi&s;e:</HI> A man may &s;ee Heaven and Earth upon a promi&s;e, and it will bear them up.</P>
<P>As affliction gives out the experi|ence of <HI>Gods</HI> faithfulne&s;s,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mercies in modera|ting the affliction.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o <HI>of his mercy:</HI> mercy in the <HI>moderating of the cha&s;ti&s;ements: In mea&s;ure
<PB N="86" REF="51">thou wilt debate with it, &amp;c. I&s;ai.</HI> 27.8. <HI>In the mid&s;t of judgment he remembreth mercy, Habak.</HI> 3.2. Even when <HI>God</HI> in his compa&s;&s;ions &s;aith of his afflicted Church,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 40.2</NOTE> <HI>She hath received double of the Lord for all her &s;ins;</HI> in the &s;en&s;e of her own <HI>merits</HI> and his <HI>mercy</HI> &s;he can reply,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 3.13</NOTE> <HI>Thou ha&s;t puni&s;h'd us le&s;s then our iniquities de&s;erve: too much</HI> &s;ays God, <HI>too little</HI> &s;aith the Church. Oh ble&s;&s;ed &s;ight, thus to &s;ee <HI>God</HI> and the Soul contending together! <HI>It is of the Lords mercies that we are not con&s;umed, becau&s;e his compa&s;&s;ions fail not,</HI> cryeth the Church in <HI>Baby|lon; q. d.</HI> it is <HI>bani&s;hment,</HI> it might have been <HI>de&s;truction;</HI> we are in <HI>Babylon,</HI> we might have been in <HI>Hell;</HI> and it is the Lords mercies, and his mercies alone, that we are not there. So faith the afflicted Soul; If <HI>my burning feaver</HI> had been the <HI>burning lake,</HI> if my <HI>pri&s;on</HI> had been the <HI>bottomle&s;s pit;</HI> if my bani&s;hment from &s;ociety with friends had been expul&s;ion (with <HI>Cain</HI>) from the pre&s;ence of <HI>God,</HI> and
<PB N="87" REF="51">that for ever; God had been righte|ous. It is never &s;o bad with the peo|ple of <HI>God,</HI> but it might have been wor&s;e: <HI>any thing on this &s;ide Hell is pure mercy.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">In &s;uppor|ting under affliction. P&s;a. 94.18</NOTE></P>
<P>And as Mercy in <HI>moderating,</HI> &s;o Mercy in <HI>&s;upporting: when I &s;aid, my foot &s;lippeth:</HI> now I &s;ink, I &s;hall never be able to &s;tand under this af|fliction, I cannot bear it: <HI>Thy mer|cy, O Lord, held me up:</HI> when <HI>Da|vid</HI> was &s;inking, God put under|neath him his <HI>everla&s;ting arms,</HI> and held him up. Even when Gods &s;uf|fering people are not &s;en&s;ible of any <HI>great ravi&s;hments,</HI> yet then they finde <HI>&s;weet &s;upports; His left hand was under me, his right hand em|braced me.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">In giving in comfort in afflicti|on.</NOTE> And yet it is not <HI>&s;up|porting mercy</HI> onely which they ex|perience in their &s;ufferings, but not &s;eldom his <HI>refre&s;hing</HI> his <HI>rejoycing mercy;</HI> &s;o it follows, <MILESTONE N="19" UNIT="Ver&s;e"> <HI>In the multi|tude of my thoughts within me, thy Comforts delight my Soul:</HI> My thoughts were dark and doleful, and full of de&s;pair, and not <HI>a few</HI> of them; <HI>multitudes</HI> brake in upon
<PB N="88" REF="52">me, and even &s;wallowed me up; but thy comforts were light and life, and delight to my Soul: my thoughts did not &s;ink me &s;o deep, but thy comforts rai&s;ed me up as high: my thoughts were <HI>an hell,</HI> but thy com|forts were <HI>an heaven</HI> within me: The Soul hears of Gods mercy in pro&s;perity, but it ta&s;tes of Gods mercy in affliction, and, as it were <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ppre&s;t with delights, can call to o|thers, <HI>O ta&s;te and &s;ee how good the Lord is.</HI> Hence it is, that of all the days of the year the Apo&s;tle would chu&s;e as it were a <HI>Good-Friday,</HI> a <HI>pa&s;&s;ion day,</HI> to rejoyce in; <HI>God for|bid I &s;hould rejoyce in any thing but in the Cro&s;s of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings for him, and his &s;ufferings for Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>The <HI>Al &s;ufficiency</HI> of God is the la&s;t Attribute I mentioned,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Al&s;uffici|ency in delivering out of af|fliction.</NOTE> which God proclaims before his &s;uffering people: <HI>Now thou &s;halt &s;ee,</HI> &s;aith God to <HI>Mo&s;es, what I will do to Pharaoh, Exod.</HI> 6.1. Hitherto thou ha&s;t &s;een what <HI>Pharaoh</HI> hath done to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> now thou &s;halt &s;ee what
<PB N="89" REF="52">I do to <HI>Pharaoh;</HI> and &s;o they did: The doubling of their burdens was the di&s;&s;olving of their bondage; the extingui&s;hing of their line was the multiplying of their &s;eed: The &s;ame waters which were <HI>I&s;raels rocks</HI> were the <HI>Egyptians</HI> grave;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 15 9</NOTE> <HI>I will pur&s;ue, I will overtake, I will divide the &s;poil; my lu&s;t &s;hall be &s;atisfied upon them: I will draw my &s;word, my hand &s;hall de&s;troy:</HI> &s;o boa&s;ts the proud Tyrant; I will, I will, I will &amp;c. nay, not &s;o fa&s;t <HI>Pharaoh;</HI> let God &s;peak the next word:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 10</NOTE> <HI>Thou didst blow with thy wind, the &s;ea covered them, they &s;ank as lead in the mighty waters:</HI> Oh &s;udden turn! there lieth <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and his &s;ix <HI>[I will's]</HI> and <HI>[I &s;hall's]</HI> drown|ed in the Sea: Thus did God <HI>appear</HI> to his oppre&s;&s;ed <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in the very nick of their extremities; <HI>In the thing wherein they delt proudly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exo. 18, 11</NOTE> God was above them: And I&s;rael</HI> SAVV <HI>that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord, and his &s;ervant Mo&s;es, Exod.</HI> 14.31. <HI>I&s;rael</HI> SAVV;
<PB N="90" REF="53">in pro&s;perity God works, but we <HI>&s;ee him not:</HI> affliction openeth our eyes; when we &s;ee our dangers, then we can &s;ee God in our deliverances. God could have brought <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to the Land of Promi&s;e a &s;horter cut, in fourty days; but he leads them a|bout in an <HI>howling wilderne&s;s</HI> fourty years; not a like place in all the world to have &s;tarved them and their flocks:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 8.3</NOTE> and why? but to pro|claim to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and all &s;ucceeding generations, <HI>that man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord, &amp;c. I&s;rael</HI> learn'd more of Gods <HI>Al&s;ufficiency</HI> in a <HI>Land of drought,</HI> then &s;he could have learn'd in the <HI>Land flowing with milk and hony;</HI> namely, that <HI>God</HI> can <HI>feed with|out bread,</HI> and <HI>&s;atisfi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> thir&s;t with|out &s;treams of waters:</HI> that he can <HI>make the clouds rain bread,</HI> and <HI>the rock give out rivers:</HI> that the crea|ture can do nothing without God, but <HI>God</HI> can do what he plea&s;e with|out the creature.</P>
<P>In&s;tances are endle&s;s: In a word,
<PB N="91" REF="53">the &s;uffering time is <HI>the time</HI> where|in <HI>God</HI> makes his <HI>Attributes vi&s;ible: The Lord will be a refuge to his people, a refuge in time of trouble, P&s;al.</HI> 9.9. and what follows? <HI>And they that know thy Name, will put their tru&s;t in thee,</HI> Ver&s;. 10. In the School of Affliction <HI>God</HI> reads Lec|tures upon his Attributes, <HI>vi&s;ible</HI> Lectures; and expounds him&s;elf un|to his people: &s;o that many times they come to know more of God, or more experimentally by half a years &s;ufferings, then by many years Sermons.</P>
<P>A fifteenth Le&s;&s;on:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">15 Le&s;&s;on.</NOTE> God teacheth them in a &s;uffering condition <HI>to mind the duties of a &s;uffering condition;</HI> to &s;tudy <HI>duty</HI> more then <HI>deliver|ance;</HI> &s;eriou&s;ly to enquire what it is which God calls for under the pre|&s;ent Di&s;pen&s;ation. The Soul cryeth out with <HI>Paul,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 9.6</NOTE> when layd for dead at Chri&s;ts feet, <HI>Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?</HI> There is no conditi|on or tryal in the world, but it gives a man opportunity for the <HI>exerci&s;e of &s;ome &s;pecial grace,</HI> and the doing
<PB N="92" REF="54">of &s;ome <HI>&s;pecial duty:</HI> and that is the work of a Chri&s;tian, in every new &s;tate, and in every new tryal, <HI>to mind what new duty God expects, what new grace he is to exert and exerci&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To minde deliverance onely, is &s;elf-love;</HI> which is natural to man: <HI>The captive exile ha&s;teneth that he may be loo&s;ed, and that he &s;hould not dye in the pit, &amp;c.</HI> Man in affliction would fain be delivered, have the burden taken off, the yoke broken; men make more ha&s;te to get their af|flictions <HI>removed</HI> then <HI>&s;anctified:</HI> but this is not the work God looks for; No, <HI>nor to think onely what a man would do if he were delivered.</HI> Oh, thinks a man, if God would de|liver me out of this &s;ickne&s;s, out of this di&s;tre&s;s, I would walk more clo&s;e with God, I would be more abundant in family-duties, I would be more fruitful in my conver&s;e; I would do thus and thus, &amp;c. Why now I &s;ay, though men &s;hould &s;it down in their afflictions, con&s;ider their ways, and make new re&s;oluti|ons
<PB N="93" REF="54">for <HI>better things,</HI> if <HI>God</HI> &s;hall give <HI>better times;</HI> yet if this be all, it may be nothing el&s;e but <HI>a wile of the deceitful heart, a temptation and &s;nare of the Devil,</HI> to gain the time as it were of <HI>God;</HI> a meer <HI>diver&s;ion</HI> to turn a&s;ide the heart from the pre|&s;ent duty which <HI>God</HI> expects. And therefore when <HI>God,</HI> intends good and happine&s;s to the Soul by the pre|&s;ent cha&s;ti&s;ement, he pitcheth the Soul upon the <HI>pre&s;ent duty,</HI> which is, to
<NOTE PLACE="marg">a Mica. 6.9</NOTE> <HI>hear the rod, and who hath appointed it;</HI> to di&s;cern <HI>Gods</HI> aym, and to finde out the meaning of the pre&s;ent Di&s;pen&s;ation: to <HI>&s;ay to God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 34, 31 32</NOTE> I have born cha&s;ti&s;ement, I will not offend any more: that which I &s;ee not teach thou me, and if I have done iniquity, I will do no more:</HI> To re|flect upon our ways and &s;pirits, to complain of &s;in, and not of puni&s;h|ment;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.39</NOTE> <HI>Wherefore doth a living man complain? a man for the puni&s;hment of his &s;in? Let us &s;earch and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.</HI> To think the pre&s;ent condition the be&s;t:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 4 11</NOTE> <HI>I have learned in what ever
<PB N="94" REF="55">&s;tate I am, therewith to be content:</HI> In our patience to po&s;&s;e&s;s our Souls;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 21.19 Ro. 5.2, 3</NOTE> to <HI>rejoyce in God;</HI> yea to <HI>rejoyce in tribulation.</HI> To minde the publique calamities of the Church more, and our private &s;ufferings le&s;s: to pray for the welfare of <HI>Sion; In thy good plea&s;ure do good unto Sion.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 51.18</NOTE> To lift up Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and to make him glorious by our afflictions; <HI>That Chri&s;t may be magnified in our bo|dies,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.20</NOTE> whether it be by life, or by death. Paul</HI> &s;tudied more how to adorn the Cro&s;s, then to avoyd it; how to render per&s;ecution amiable; and if he mu&s;t &s;uffer for Chri&s;t, yet that Chri&s;t might not &s;uffer by him; that <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> might be <HI>exalted,</HI> and the <HI>Church edified.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.24 2 Tim. 1, 10 1 Pet. 4 19</NOTE> This <HI>God</HI> taught him; <HI>I have learned, &amp;c.</HI> And la&s;t|ly, to <HI>commit the keeping of our Souls to God in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;ixteenth Le&s;&s;on is like unto it; and that is, <HI>The priviledg of a &s;uffering condition:</HI> In the School of Affliction, one Lecture which the Holy Gho&s;t readeth is the <HI>fruits
<PB N="95" REF="55">and advantages of a &s;uffering con|dition.</HI> There is in every &s;tate of life a <HI>&s;nare</HI> and a <HI>priviledg;</HI> and it is the folly and mi&s;ery of man left to him|&s;elf, that he willingly runs into the &s;nare, and mi&s;&s;eth of the priviledg: he is onely able to add to his own mi&s;ery, and to make his condition wor&s;e then he findes it. Tho&s;e whom <HI>God</HI> loveth, he teacheth; he teach|eth them to &s;tudy, as the duty of their pre&s;ent &s;tate, &s;o the <HI>advantage.</HI> When <HI>God</HI> takes away creature|comforts, he doth not onely nece&s;&s;i|tate, but by the &s;ecret impre&s;&s;ions of love upon the heart, he emboldens the Soul to look out for <HI>reparations,</HI> and to urge <HI>God</HI> for a recruit in &s;ome richer accommodations: <HI>Lord,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Abraham, What wilt thou give me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 15.2</NOTE> &s;eeing I go childle&s;s? God</HI> had de|nyed <HI>Abraham</HI> a childe, and He mu&s;t make <HI>Abraham</HI> amends for it. In like manner, Lord, what wilt thou give me, &s;aith a &s;uffering Saint, &s;ince I go <HI>wifele&s;s,</HI> and <HI>friendle&s;s,</HI> and <HI>landle&s;s,</HI> and <HI>hou&s;ele&s;s? &amp;c.</HI> yea Lord, what wilt thou give me, &s;ince
<PB N="96" REF="56">I go <HI>Ordinance-le&s;s, Sermon-le&s;s, Sacrament-le&s;s? &amp;c.</HI> So the Di&s;ci|ples,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.28</NOTE> <HI>Lord, we have for&s;aken all and followed thee, what &s;hall we have therefore?</HI> Faith may be a lo&s;er <HI>for Chri&s;t,</HI> but it will not be a lo&s;er <HI>by Chri&s;t;</HI> and accordingly Chri&s;t maketh an an&s;wer of <HI>faithfulne&s;s</HI> to this demand of <HI>Faith: Verily I &s;ay unto you,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 29, 30</NOTE> there is no man that hath left hou&s;e, or brethren, or &s;i&s;tors, or father, or mother, or chil|dren, or lands, for my &s;ake, and the Gospels, but he &s;hall receive an hundred fold now in this time, &amp;c.</HI> Advantage enough; an hundred for one was the be&s;t year that ever <HI>I&s;aac</HI> had, <HI>Gen.</HI> 26.12. I, but how &s;hall this be made good? why with per&s;ecution; <HI>Hou&s;es, and brethren, and &s;i&s;ters, and mothers, and chil|dren, and lands,</HI> WITH PERSE|CUTION: Per&s;ecution mu&s;t make up the account. It is very ob&s;erva|ble, That year wherein <HI>I&s;aac</HI> recei|ved his hundred fold was <HI>I&s;aac's &s;uf|fering year;</HI> the year wherein <HI>fa|mine</HI> had <HI>bani&s;h'd</HI> him from his own
<PB N="97" REF="56">Country to &s;ojourn with <HI>Abime|lech</HI> in <HI>Gerer.</HI> Gen. 26.1. <HI>I&s;aacks be&s;t harve&s;t, was in a year of famine:</HI> and this was <HI>Typical</HI> to all the Chil|dren of promi&s;e; they mu&s;t receive <HI>I&s;aacks</HI> increa&s;e upon <HI>I&s;aacks</HI> ac|count, <HI>an hundredfold with per&s;ecuti|on.</HI> And I conceive our Saviour may allude to this Type, in this promi&s;e: In <HI>per&s;ecution</HI> the people of God find their <HI>hundredfold;</HI> when they make a Scripture inquiry, they find, <HI>&s;uffer|ings e&s;pecially tho&s;e for Chri&s;ts &s;ake to be their letters te&s;timonial for Heaven,</HI> Luk. 21.13.</P>
<P><HI>The pledge of Adoption,</HI> Heb. 12.6.7.</P>
<P><HI>A purge for corruption,</HI> I&s;a. 27.9.</P>
<P><HI>The improvement of Holine&s;s,</HI> Heb. 12.10.</P>
<P><HI>A fining pot to faith,</HI> 2 Pet. 1.7.</P>
<P><HI>Communion with Christ.</HI> 1 Pet. 4.13.14.</P>
<P><HI>The pre&s;ence of the &s;pirit of God and of Glory.</HI> 1 Pet. 4.13.14.</P>
<P><HI>The Churches Trea&s;ury,</HI> Colo&s;. 1.24.</P>
<PB N="98" REF="57">
<P><HI>Weak Chri&s;tians &s;trength.</HI> Phil. 1.13, 14. In both, the <HI>Go&s;pels ad|vantage.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Strong Chri&s;ti|ans confidence.</HI> Phil. 1.13, 14. In both, the <HI>Go&s;pels ad|vantage.</HI></P>
<P>And la&s;tly, <HI>The inhancement of glory,</HI> 2 Cor. 4.17, 18. here's the <HI>hundred fold</HI> with advantage.</P>
<P>In a word, what ever the afflicti|on be, that it &s;hall be <HI>the &s;ouls gain,</HI> Rom. 8.28. <HI>all things work toge|ther for good to them that love God,</HI> This God teacheth his people, it is the very de&s;ign of the eight to the <HI>Romans,</HI> and of the twelve fir&s;t ver&s;es of the twelfth to the <HI>He|brews,</HI> to &s;hew that Gods <HI>Rod</HI> and Gods <HI>Love</HI> go both together. And this is a &s;weet and ble&s;&s;ed Le&s;&s;en in|deed; for this <HI>quiets the heart,</HI> and <HI>&s;upports the &s;oul</HI> under its burden <HI>for this cau&s;e we faint not;</HI> why? becau&s;e <HI>though our outward man pe|ri&s;heth, yet the inward man is re|newed day by day,</HI> 2 Cor. 4.16. <HI>q. d.</HI> what we lo&s;e in our <HI>bodies</HI> we gain in our <HI>&s;oules:</HI> what we lo&s;e in our e&s;tates we get in <HI>grace;</HI> thus they
<PB N="99" REF="57">bear up and comfort them&s;elves in their deepe&s;t &s;orrows, while they that lie poring upon their afflictions, and are witty only to aggravate every circum&s;tance of a &s;uffering conditi|on, &s;ink their own &s;pirits, vex their &s;oules, di&s;honour God by &s;landering his di&s;pen&s;ations; and bring up an evil report upon the Cro&s;&s;e of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. The &s;piritual priviledges of Gods &s;uffering people, are therefore call'd <HI>the</HI> peaceable <HI>fruits of righte|ou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> Heb. 12.11. becau&s;e the ta&s;t of this fruit brings in &s;uch <HI>peace</HI> and comfort, into the &s;oul, as it makes it rejoyce not <HI>in God</HI> only, but <HI>in tribulation,</HI> and in all the&s;e things to account it &s;elf <HI>more then Conqueror through him that hath loved us,</HI> Rom. 8.37. This is the &s;ixteenth Le&s;&s;on.</P>
<P>A &s;eventeenth Le&s;&s;on which God teacheth by his cha&s;ti&s;ements,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">17 Le&s;&s;on The one thing ne|ce&s;&s;ary, Luk. 10, 42.</NOTE> is that which <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> taught <HI>Martha:</HI> &s;c. what is the <HI>one thing nece&s;&s;ary;</HI> af|fliction di&s;covereth how much we are mi&s;taken about our <HI>mu&s;t bee's,</HI> our <HI>nece&s;&s;aries.</HI> In our health
<PB N="100" REF="58">and &s;trength and liberty; we think this thing <HI>mu&s;t be</HI> done, &amp; that thing <HI>mu&s;t be</HI> done: we think <HI>Riches</HI> ne|ce&s;&s;ary, <HI>Honours</HI> nece&s;&s;ary, and a <HI>Name in the World</HI> nece&s;&s;ary; we <HI>mu&s;t</HI> get E&s;tates,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 49.11.</NOTE> and we <HI>mu&s;t</HI> lay up large portions for our Children, and we <HI>mu&s;t</HI> rai&s;e our Families, <HI>and call our Lands after our own names,</HI> and the like; But in the day of adver&s;i|ty, when death looks us in the face, when God cau&s;eth the horror of the Grave, the dread of the la&s;t judg|ment, and the terrors of eternity to pa&s;&s;e before us, then we can <HI>put our mouths in the du&s;t, &s;mite upon our thigh,</HI> and <HI>&s;igh with the breaking of our loynes,</HI> oh how have I been mi&s;|taken? <HI>how have I fed upon a&s;hes, and a deceived heart turned me a|&s;ide,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 44.20.</NOTE> &s;o that I could not deliver my &s;oul, nor &s;ay is there not a lie in my right hand?</HI> Fool, how have I been deceived, and made the <HI>By</HI> the <HI>main,</HI> and the <HI>main</HI> the <HI>By.</HI> Then we can &s;ee that <HI>pardon of &s;in, intere&s;t in Chri&s;t: evidence of that intere&s;t, &s;ence of Gods love, a life of Grace,</HI>
<PB N="101" REF="58">and <HI>a&s;&s;urance of glory,</HI> &amp;c. are the <HI>only indi&s;pen&s;ibles.</HI> In a word, that <HI>Christ alone,</HI> is the <HI>&V;num nece&s;&s;a|rium</HI> the <HI>one thing nece&s;&s;ary,</HI> and that all other things, at the be&s;t, are but <HI>may-bees:</HI> yea, but <HI>lo&s;&s;e and dung</HI> in compari&s;on <HI>of the excellen|cy of the knowledg of Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.8.9.</NOTE> and of intere&s;t in him, and in his righteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> without which the &s;oul is undon to all eternity. And therefore oh that Chri&s;tians would be wi&s;e, that they would <HI>not &s;pend their mony for that which is not bread,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 55.2.</NOTE> nor their labour for that which &s;atisfieth not;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.1. Faith is <GAP DESC="foreign"> and <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> but labor for <HI>Faith</HI> which might <HI>realize</HI> and <HI>&s;ub|&s;tantiate un&s;een</HI> and &s;piritual <HI>things,</HI> and give them <HI>a being</HI> unto the &s;oul. They that will not learn this le&s;|&s;on in the &s;chool of the <HI>Word,</HI> &s;hall learn it in the <HI>School</HI> of <HI>affliction,</HI> if they belong to God, and therefore &s;et your heart to it.</P>
<P>In the eighteenth place,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">18 Le&s;&s;on. Time-re|demption.</NOTE> <HI>Time-re|demption</HI> is another le&s;&s;on which God teacheth whom he correcteth. In our tranquility, how many golden
<PB N="102" REF="59">do we throw down the &s;tream, which we are like never to &s;ee again; for one whereof the time may come, when we would give Rivers of Oyl, the wealth of both the In|dies, Mountains of precious &s;tones, if they were our own, and yet nei|ther would they be found a &s;ufficient price for the redemption of any one lo&s;t moment. It was the com|plaint of the <HI>very Heathen,</HI> and may be much more our com|plaint,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quis e&s;t qui diem e|&s;timat. qui &s;e Cum cogi|tat &s;e quo|tidie mori. Sen. Ep.</NOTE> <HI>who is there</HI> among&s;t us, <HI>that knowes how to value time, and prize a day at a due rate?</HI> mo&s;t men do rather pa&s;&s;e away their time, then redeem it, prodigal of their pre|cious hours, as if they had more then they could tell what to do withall: our &s;ea&s;on is &s;hort, and we make it &s;horter. How &s;ad a thing is it to hear men complain, <HI>O what &s;hall we do to drive away the time?</HI></P>
<P>Alas even <HI>Sabbath-time,</HI> the pure&s;t the mo&s;t refined part of time, a Creation out of a Creation, time con&s;ecrated by divine &s;anction, how cheap &amp; common is it in mo&s;t mens
<PB N="103" REF="59">eyes, while many do <HI>&s;in</HI> away, and the mo&s;t, do <HI>idle</HI> away, tho&s;e hal|lowed houres? <HI>Seneca</HI> was wont to jeer the Jews for their ill husbandry, in that they lo&s;t one day in &s;even, meaning their <HI>Sabbath:</HI> truly it is too true of the mo&s;t of Chri&s;tians, they lo&s;e one day in &s;even, what ever el&s;e; the <HI>Sabbath</HI> for the mo&s;t part is but a <HI>lo&s;t day;</HI> while &s;ome &s;pend it totally upon their lu&s;t, and the <HI>mo&s;t,</HI> I had almo&s;t &s;aid, the <HI>be&s;t,</HI> do fill up the voyd &s;paces and inter|vales of the Sabbath from <HI>publick wor&s;hip,</HI> with idlene&s;s and vanity! But oh when trouble comes, and danger comes, and death comes; when the <HI>Sword</HI> is at the <HI>Bowels</HI> the <HI>Pi&s;tol</HI> at the <HI>bre&s;t,</HI> the <HI>knife</HI> at the throat, <HI>Death</HI> at the door, how pre|cious would one of tho&s;e de&s;pi&s;ed houres be? <HI>evil days</HI> cry with a loud voice in our eares. <HI>Redeem the time:</HI> That caution was written from the <HI>Tower</HI> in <HI>Rome.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.16</NOTE> Redeem the time becau&s;e the dayes are evil.</HI> In life threatning dangers,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 10.6</NOTE> when God threatens as it were, <HI>that time &s;hall be
<PB N="104" REF="60">no more,</HI> then we can think of re|deeming time for prayer, for read|ing, for meditation, for &s;tudying and clearing out our evidences for Hea|ven, for doing &amp; receiving good, ac|cording to opportunities pre&s;ented; yea then we can <HI>gather up the very broken fragments</HI> of time, <HI>that no|thing may be lo&s;t.</HI> Then God teach|eth the &s;oul what a choice peece of wi&s;dom it is, for Chri&s;tians, (if it were po&s;&s;ible) to be <HI>before hand</HI> with time; for u&s;ually it comes to pa&s;&s;e through our unskilfulne&s;s and improvidence,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In hoc n. fallimur quod mor|tem pro&s;pi|timus.</HI> Sen. in ep.</NOTE> that we are &s;urprized by Death; and we that reckoned upon yeers, many yeers yet to come, have not, po&s;sibly, &s;o many hours, to make ready our <HI>accompts:</HI> It may be, <HI>this night</HI> is the Summons, and then <HI>if our time be done, and our work to be begun, in what a ca&s;e are we!</HI> The &s;oul mu&s;t needs be in perplexity at the hour of death, that &s;eeth the day &s;pent, and its work yet to do. A Traveller that &s;eeth the Sun &s;etting, when he is but entring on his journey, cannot but be aga&s;t: the e|vening
<PB N="105" REF="60">of our day, and the morning of our task, do not well agree toge|ther, that time which remaineth is too &s;hort for lamenting the lo&s;&s;e of by-pa&s;t time. By &s;uch hazards God doth <HI>come upon the &s;oul</HI> as the Angel upon <HI>Peter</HI> in pri&s;on,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 12 7</NOTE> <HI>and &s;mites up|on our &s;ides, bids us ri&s;e up quickly and gird up our &s;elves,</HI> and <HI>binds on our Sandalls, &amp;c.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 7.29.</NOTE> that we may reedeem lo&s;t opportunities, and do much work in a little time; It is pity to lo&s;e any thing of that which is &s;o <HI>precious</HI> and &s;o &s;hort.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">10 Le&s;|&s;on. To va|lue Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings. Lam. 1.12.</NOTE></P>
<P>A ninteenth Le&s;&s;on is <HI>how to e&s;ti|mate,</HI> at lea&s;t to make &s;ome remote and imperfect <HI>gue&s;s</HI> at, <HI>the &s;uffer|ings of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> In our pro&s;pe|rity <HI>we pa&s;&s;e by the Cro&s;&s;e, i. e.</HI> car|le&s;ly and regardle&s;ly: at the be&s;t we do but <HI>&s;hake our Heads</HI> a little; the reading of the &s;tory of <HI>Chri&s;ts pa&s;&s;i|on</HI> &s;tirrs up &s;ome <HI>compa&s;&s;ion</HI> to|wards <HI>Him,</HI> and <HI>pa&s;&s;ion</HI> again&s;t his <HI>per&s;ecutors;</HI> but it is quickly gone: we <HI>forget</HI> as &s;oon as we <HI>get</HI> into the world again: but now let God pinch our fle&s;h with &s;ome &s;ore affliction;
<PB N="106" REF="61">let him fill our bones with pain, and &s;et us on fire with a burning Fever let <HI>our feet be hurt in the &s;tocks,</HI> and <HI>the Irons enter into our &s;oules; let our &s;oules be exceedingly filled with the &s;corning of tho&s;e that are at ea&s;e, and with the contempt of the proud;</HI> let us be <HI>de&s;titute, afflicted, torment|ed, &amp;c.</HI> then happily we will &s;it down and <HI>look upon him whom we have peirced,</HI> and begin to &s;ay with|in our &s;elves, And are the <HI>Chips of the Cro&s;&s;e &s;o heavy,</HI> what then was <HI>the Cro&s;&s;e</HI> it &s;elf, which fir&s;t my Re|deemer did bear, and then it did bear him? Are a few <HI>bodily pains</HI> &s;o bit|ter, what then were tho&s;e <HI>agonies</HI> which the Lord of glory &s;uffered in his <HI>&s;oul?</HI> Is the <HI>wrath of man</HI> &s;o piercing, what was the <HI>wrath of God,</HI> which &s;corcht his righteous &s;oul, and &s;weltred his very heart blood through his fle&s;h in a cold winters day, &s;o that <HI>his &s;weat was as great drops of blood,</HI> trickling down to the ground? are the <HI>buffetings of men</HI> &s;o grievous, what were the <HI>buf|fetings of Satan,</HI> which our Lord &s;u|&s;tained,
<PB N="107" REF="61">when all the brood of the Serpent lay nibling at the heel of his pa&s;&s;ion? Is a <HI>burning Fever</HI> &s;o hot,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t felt <HI>paenas in|fernales</HI> though not <HI>inferni.</HI></NOTE> how then did the <HI>flames, even of Hell</HI> &s;cald my Saviours &s;pirit? Is it &s;uch an heart-pier&s;ing affliction to be <HI>de&s;erted of friends,</HI> what was it then for him, that was the Son of Gods love, the darling of his bo&s;om, to be <HI>de&s;erted of his Father,</HI> which made him cry out to the a&s;toni&s;hment of Heaven and Earth, <HI>my God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> Is a chain &s;o heavy, a pri&s;on &s;o loath&s;om, the &s;entence and execution of death &s;o dreadful? oh what was it for him that made Heaven and Earth to be bound with a chain, hurried up and down from one unrighteous judg to another, mockt, abu&s;ed, &s;pit upon, buffeted, reviled, ca&s;t into pri&s;on, ar|raigned, condemned, executed in a mo&s;t <HI>&s;hameful</HI> and an <HI>accur&s;ed</HI> man|ner? oh what was it for <HI>him</HI> to en|dure all this contradiction of &s;inners, rage of the Devil, and wrath of God, in compari&s;on of whom the mo&s;t righteous per&s;on that ever was may
<PB N="108" REF="62">&s;ay with the good Theif on the cro&s;s. <HI>And we indeed</HI> ju&s;tly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 53.9.</NOTE> <HI>but He, what evil hath he done, He made his Grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>he had done no violence, neither was any de|ceit in his mouth.</HI> Ble&s;&s;ed be God, my pri&s;on is not <HI>Tophet,</HI> my burn|ings are not unquenchable flames, my cup is not fild with wrath: in a word, <HI>this is not Hell.</HI> Ble&s;&s;ed be God <HI>for Je&s;us Christ,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 1.10.</NOTE> by whom I am <HI>deli|vered from wrath to come.</HI> And thus, as the Lord Je&s;us by the &s;en&s;ible ex|perience of his own pa&s;&s;ion came perfectly, to under&s;tand what his poor members &s;uffer while they are in the body, &s;o we by the <GAP DESC="foreign"> the remainders of his cro&s;s, which he hath bequeathed us as a Le|gacy come in &s;ome mea&s;ure to under&s;tand the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, or at lea&s;t by comparing things of &s;uch va&s;t di&s;proportion, to <HI>gue&s;s</HI> at what we cannot <HI>under|stand.</HI></P>
<P>The twentieth and the la&s;t Le&s;&s;on which God teacheth by affliction,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">20 Le&s;&s;on.</NOTE> is
<PB N="109" REF="62"><HI>How to prize and long for Heaven.</HI> In our pro&s;perity, when <HI>the Candle of God &s;hines in our Tabernacles, when we wa&s;h our &s;teps in butter, and the Rock powreth us out Rivers of Oyl,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 29.6.</NOTE> we could &s;et down with the pre&s;ent World, and even &s;ay, with the Di&s;ciples,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 41.1.</NOTE> though not upon &s;o good an account, <HI>It is good for us to be here; let us here build us Taber|nacles,</HI> while life is &s;weet, death is bitter; and Heaven it &s;elf is no temp|tation, while the World gives us her friendly entertainments: But when poverty, &amp; impri&s;onment, re|proach, and per&s;ecution, &s;ickne&s;s, and &s;ore Di&s;ea&s;es, do not only pinch but vex our hearts with verietie of aggravations; we are not &s;o fond of the Creature, but we can be con|tent to entertain a partly with death, and take Heaven into our con&s;idera|tions. Not that meerly to defire to be in Heaven, becau&s;e we are weary of the World, is an Argument of grace, or a Le&s;&s;on that needs <HI>divine teaching, &s;elf-love</HI> will prompt as much as that comes to. But becau&s;e
<PB N="110" REF="63">like fooli&s;h Travellers, we love our way though it be trouble&s;om, rather then our Countrey, God by this Di&s;|cipline taketh off our hearts by de|grees from this pre&s;ent World, and maketh us look homeward: <HI>being burdened we groan,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.4. and with the <HI>Dove,</HI> we return to the Ark when the World floats round about us; when <HI>David</HI> was driven from his Palace, then <HI>wo is me that my Pilgrimage is prolonged:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> &s;o the <HI>Septuagint</HI> renders it. We &s;hould be contented like the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> with the <HI>Garlick</HI> and <HI>fle&s;h-pots</HI> of <HI>Egypt,</HI> if God did not &s;et cruel Taskma&s;ters over us to double our Burdens: and when God hath thus le&s;&s;ened our e|&s;teem of the World, he di&s;covers to us the excellency of heavenly com|forts, and draws out the de&s;ires of the &s;oul to a full fruition: <HI>when &s;hall I come and appear in thy pre&s;ence?</HI> EVEN SO <HI>come Lord Je&s;us.</HI> Afflic|tion puts Heaven into all tho&s;e noti|ons which make it Heaven indeed.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>To the <HI>weary</HI> it is re&s;t, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 57.2. <HI>Revel.</HI> 14.13.</ITEM>
<PB N="111" REF="63">
<ITEM>To the <HI>bani&s;hed</HI> it is <HI>Home,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.6.</ITEM>
<ITEM>To the <HI>&s;corned</HI> and <HI>reproached</HI> it is glory, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.2.</ITEM>
<ITEM>To the <HI>Captive</HI> it is <HI>liberty, Rom.</HI> 8.21.</ITEM>
<ITEM>To the <HI>conflicting &s;oul</HI> it is <HI>Con|que&s;t, Rom.</HI> 8.37.</ITEM>
<ITEM>And to the <HI>Con|queror</HI> it is a <HI>Crown</HI> of
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Life, Rev.</HI> 2.10.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Righteou&s;nes,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.8.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Glory,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.4.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>To the <HI>Hungry,</HI> it is hidden Manna, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.17.</ITEM>
<ITEM>To the thirty it is <HI>the fountain and waters of life, and Rivers of plea|&s;ure. Rev.</HI> 22.17. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36.8, 9.</ITEM>
<ITEM>To the <HI>grieved &s;oul,</HI> whither with <HI>&s;in</HI> or <HI>&s;orrow,</HI> it is <HI>fulnes of joy,</HI> and to the <HI>mourner</HI> it is <HI>plea&s;ures for evermore. P&s;al.</HI> 16.12.</ITEM>
<ITEM>In a word, to them that have lain up|on the <HI>Dunghill,</HI> and kept their in|tegrity, it is a <HI>Throne, on which they &s;hall &s;it and reign with Chri&s;t for ever and ever.</HI> Rev. 3.31. and 22.5.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<PB N="112" REF="64">
<P>Surely beloved, Heaven thus pro|portioned to every &s;tate of the af|flicted &s;oul cannot chu&s;e but be very precious; and will make the &s;oul with a &s;tronger or weaker impul&s;e, de&s;ire <HI>to be di&s;&s;olved and to be with Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.23</NOTE> which is be&s;t of all.</HI> A Chri&s;tian indeed is <HI>comforted</HI> by Faith, but not <HI>&s;atisfied;</HI> or if <HI>&s;atisfied,</HI> it is in point of <HI>&s;ecurity,</HI> not of <HI>de&s;ire:</HI> becau&s;e <HI>here we are ab&s;ent from the Lord, and walk by Faith not by &s;ight.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 5, 6, 7.</NOTE> Hope,</HI> though it <HI>keep life</HI> in the &s;oul, yet it is not able to <HI>fill</HI> it: he longs and thinks every day a year till he be at home in his Fathers Arms, and &s;it down on his Fathers Throne, crown|ed with his Fathers Honour and glo|ry. They that walk by <HI>Faith</HI> can|not be quiet till they be in the <HI>&s;ight</HI> of tho&s;e things which they beleive. <HI>Jacob</HI> when he heard that <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> was alive, though he did beleive it, yet could not be &s;atisfied with hear|ing of it; but &s;aith he, I will go and &s;ee him <HI>before I die:</HI> &s;o the be|leiving &s;oul, He, whom my &s;oul lov|eth, <HI>was dead, but is alive,</HI> and <HI>be|hold
<PB N="113" REF="64">he liveth for evermore, Rev.</HI> 1.18. I will <HI>die</HI> that I may go and <HI>&s;ee</HI> him: as <HI>Augu&s;tine,</HI> upon that an|&s;wer of God to <HI>Mo&s;es, thou ca&s;t not &s;ee any face and live,</HI> Exod. 33.20. makes this quick, and &s;weet reply, <HI>then Lord let me die that I may &s;ee thy face.</HI></P>
<P>Thus I have pre&s;ented you with tho&s;e 20 &s;everal Le&s;&s;ons which <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> the <HI>great Prophet</HI> of his Church teacheth his afflicted ones to <HI>take out</HI> in the <HI>&s;chool of affliction.</HI> And now as I told you in my en|trance upon this &s;ubject, all the&s;e 20. Le&s;&s;ons, may be reduc'd to three great <HI>&s;ummary, comprehen&s;ive, In|&s;tructions.</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>The &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>The emptine&s;s of the Crea|ture.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>The fulne&s;s of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Summa|ry Le&s;&s;on. The &s;in|fulne&s;s of &s;in.</NOTE></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>The fir&s;t &s;ummary comprehen&s;ive Le&s;&s;on, is the <HI>&s;infulne&s;s of &s;in:</HI> &s;in is alwayes very &s;inful; but in our pro&s;|perity we are not &s;o &s;en&s;ible of it: the du&s;t of the World doth &s;o fill our eyes, that we cannot make a clear
<PB N="114" REF="65">and di&s;tinct di&s;covery of the evil that is in &s;in: but now by the &s;harp and bitter waters of affliction, God doth wa&s;h out that du&s;t, and clears the Organ to make a perfect di&s;covery, and to di&s;cern &s;in, as <HI>it is,</HI> and not as u&s;ually it doth <HI>appear:</HI> &s;in becomes <HI>exceeding &s;inful.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7 13.</NOTE> God hath four Cla&s;&s;es, wherein he di&s;covers to the &s;oul the evil that is in &s;in;
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>The Gla&s;s of the Law,</HI> Jam. 1.23.24.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>The blood of Chri&s;t,</HI> Rev. 1.6.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Afflictions and cha&s;ti&s;ements in this pre&s;ent World.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>The torments of Hell,</HI> Mat. 25.41.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Indeed of all the&s;e Gla&s;&s;es, <HI>the blood of Chri&s;t</HI> is the <HI>cleare&s;t,</HI> and doth mo&s;t fully &amp; perfectly repre&s;ent the <HI>exceeding &s;infulne&s;s that is in &s;in,</HI> the <HI>&s;tain</HI> and <HI>&s;pot</HI> whereof could be <HI>wa&s;ht</HI> out with no other element but the blood of <HI>the Son of God;</HI> for as it was <HI>purcha&s;ing blood,</HI> &s;o it was <HI>expiating blood. He hath loved us and wa&s;hed us with his own blood.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 1 6.</NOTE> But though this be the pure&s;t
<PB N="115" REF="65">gla&s;s, yet God doth make frequent and great u&s;e of the third gla&s;s al&s;o: &s;c. <HI>afflictions and cha&s;ti&s;ements for &s;in</HI> to di&s;cover to the Chil|dren of promi&s;e, the greatne&s;s of that evil <HI>which is in</HI> &s;in. It is very nota|ble how God brings the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> this gla&s;s in their affliction, and bids them as it were &s;ee their face in it. <HI>Jer.</HI> 2. <HI>Know therefore and &s;ee that it is an evil and bitter thing that thou ha&s;t for&s;aken the Lord thy God, and that my feare is not in thee, &s;aith the Lord God of Hosts.</HI> ver&s;e 19. In this gla&s;s he di&s;covers to them a <HI>fourfold evil in &s;in.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. As it is <HI>cau&s;e of all other evils of puni&s;hment,</HI> ver&s;e 17. <HI>Ha&s;t thou not procured this unto thy &s;elf in that thou ha&s;t for&s;aken me, &amp;c.</HI> he bids them read all their &s;ins in their <HI>puni&s;hments,</HI> he bids them look up|on &s;in as a <HI>Mother-evil,</HI> that hath all other evils in the womb of it; <HI>q. d.</HI> Thank thy &s;elf for all the affliction that is upon thee: <HI>thou ha&s;t procu|red this unto thy &s;elf;</HI> art thou in captivity, in pri&s;on, in di&s;tre&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="116" REF="66">Thank thy <HI>Idolatry,</HI> and thy <HI>Adulte|ries</HI> whereby thou ha&s;t for&s;aken the Lord thy God. Thank thy &s;elf for all the mi&s;ery that is upon thee, every mans heart may &s;ay to him as <HI>Apol|lodorus</HI> his heart cryed to him out of the boyling Chaldron: <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Plut:</HI> I have bin the cau&s;e of all this. <HI>As Lu&s;t when it hath conceived, brings forth &s;in, &s;o &s;in when it is fini&s;hed, when it is perfect|ed,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iames 1.15.</NOTE> will bring forth death:</HI> &s;in is the <HI>Child of Lu&s;t,</HI> and the <HI>Mother of Death.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. In this gla&s;s God repre&s;ents &s;in to their view, <HI>as an evil in it &s;elf:</HI> know therefore and &s;ee that <HI>it</HI> is <HI>an evil thing and a bitter;</HI> that &s;in doth not only <HI>bring</HI> evil, but <HI>is</HI> evil; <HI>it</HI> is <HI>an evil thing:</HI> not only that it <HI>works bitterne&s;s,</HI> but is <HI>bitterne&s;s, it</HI> is <HI>a bitter thing:</HI> it hath a <HI>bitter root,</HI> as well as it brings forth <HI>bitter fruits:</HI> God leads the &s;inner by af|fliction to take notice not only what &s;in doth; but what &s;in <HI>is. It</HI> is <HI>evil.</HI> Yea,</P>
<P N="3">3. That it is a <HI>pure unmixt evil:</HI>
<PB N="117" REF="66">It is an evil <HI>thing,</HI> the whole <HI>being</HI> of &s;in is <HI>evil:</HI> In the evil of affliction there is &s;ome <HI>good,</HI> for it hath <HI>God</HI> for the <HI>Author. Is there an evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 3 6 Rom. 8 28. P&s;al. 119.71.</NOTE> And it hath <HI>good</HI> for its <HI>end: all things &s;hall work together for good, to them that love God. It is good for me &s;aith</HI> David, <HI>that I have been af|flicted:</HI> But now &s;in is a <HI>&s;imple un|compounded</HI> evil,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Iohn 3.8 Rom. 6.23:</NOTE> for it hath the <HI>De|vil</HI> for the <HI>Author, he that commit|teth &s;in is of the Devil:</HI> and <HI>death</HI> for its <HI>end, the wages of &s;in is death:</HI> death in its <HI>va&s;te&s;t comprehen&s;ion, &s;in is evil all over.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. The gla&s;s repre&s;ents it yet wor&s;e, &amp; that is, as <HI>it is an evil again&s;t God.</HI> It is a <HI>departure from God, thou ha&s;t for&s;aken the Lord thy God,</HI> ver&s;e 17. and &s;o again v. 19.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sin is, <HI>a|ver&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a deo &amp; conver|&s;io ad crea|turam.</HI> Ier. 2.13</NOTE> <HI>thou ha&s;t for&s;a|ken the Lord thy God, my fear is not in thee.</HI> Sin as the Schools define it is an <HI>aver&s;ion from God,</HI> and a <HI>con|ver&s;ion</HI> or turning to the <HI>Creature. My people have committed two e|vils, they have for&s;aken me the fountain of living waters, and &s;hew|ed
<PB N="118" REF="67">them out Cisterns, broken Ci|&s;terns that can hold no water.</HI> Sin is not only an <HI>unmixt</HI> evil, but a <HI>twi&s;ted multiplyed</HI> evil: It is a depar|ture from the <HI>fountain</HI> of <HI>life</HI> and <HI>glory,</HI> and a turning to a <HI>&s;canty,</HI> and a <HI>broken Ve&s;&s;el,</HI> which <HI>leaks out</HI> as fa&s;t as it is <HI>poured in.</HI> Now here is the <HI>exceeding &s;infulne&s;s of &s;in,</HI> that it is an evil <HI>again&s;t God; puni&s;hment</HI> is but an evil <HI>again&s;t the Creature:</HI> thou ha&s;t procured this <HI>unto thy &s;elf,</HI> affliction is but a <HI>contradiction to the will of the Creature;</HI> but &s;in is a <HI>contradiction</HI> to the <HI>will of God;</HI> whence we may &s;afely conclude, that there is more evil in the lea&s;t &s;in, then there is in the greate&s;t puni&s;hment, even <HI>Hell</HI> it &s;elf, the Hell that is <HI>in &s;in,</HI> is wor&s;e then the Hell that is pre|pared <HI>for</HI> &s;in. Yea and behold one evil more in this gla&s;s the aggravati|on of all the re&s;t, and that is, 5ly. that &s;in is a <HI>cau&s;le&s;s evil,</HI> a <HI>cau&s;le&s;s depar|ture,</HI> thou ha&s;t for&s;aken the Lord thy God, <HI>when he led thee by the way,</HI> v. 17. when he led thee as <HI>a Guide,</HI> to <HI>direct</HI> thee, lead thee as a <HI>&s;tay</HI> to
<PB N="119" REF="67"><HI>&s;upport</HI> thee; he put underneath thee <HI>his everla&s;ting arms:</HI> he led thee as a <HI>Convoy</HI> to <HI>guard</HI> thee, &amp; led thee as a <HI>Father</HI> to <HI>provide</HI> for thee. Thou <HI>wanted&s;t nothing,</HI> and yet thou ha&s;t <HI>for&s;aken the Lord thy God.</HI> This is the aggravation, ver&s;e 31. <HI>O generation,</HI> [Generation of what? why of what you will, God leaves a &s;pace, as it were, that they may write down what they plea&s;e; <HI>Generation of Vi|pers, Generation of Mon&s;ters, any thing,</HI> rather then the <HI>Generation of his children:] O Generation, &s;ee the word of the Lord,</HI> &s;till he holds the <HI>Gla&s;s</HI> before their <HI>eyes,</HI> and what are they to behold there? why their <HI>cau&s;ele&s;s Apo&s;tacy</HI> and <HI>rebellions;</HI> for &s;o it follows, <HI>have I been a bar|ren Wilderne&s;s, a Land of darkne&s;s?</HI> have ye wanted any thing? where|fore then &s;ay my people, <HI>we will come no more unto thee?</HI> oh this depar|ture is <HI>cau&s;ele&s;s and wilful:</HI> God &s;aith to the &s;inner, as <HI>Pharaoh</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> when he would be gone from him, 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 11.22. <HI>But what hast thou lacked with me, that be|hold
<PB N="120" REF="68">thou &s;eeke&s;t to be gone from me?</HI> and the &s;inner: &s;eemeth to an&s;wer God as <HI>Jeroboam</HI> there an&s;wered <HI>Pharaoh: nothing, howbeit let me go in any wi&s;e. Jeroboam</HI> could come to <HI>Pharaoh</HI> when he was in di&s;tre&s;s; but when the &s;torm was over, <HI>at home,</HI> he will be gone again, though he cannot tell why: and &s;o deals the treacherous heart with God; and this cau&s;ele&s;s departure from God is an high aggravation of &s;in: God is often upon it, as <HI>I&s;a</HI> 1.2. and <HI>A|mos</HI> 6.3, 4, 5, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> The &s;oul &s;inneth only <HI>becau&s;e</HI> it <HI>will</HI> &s;in. In a word: Affliction is one of Gods tribunals where the &s;inner is arraigned, evict|ed, and condemned; As many as I love, I rebuke and cha&s;ten; the <HI>Greek</HI> words &s;ignifie to <HI>convince</HI> and <HI>cor|rect,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 3 19 <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> i. e. by correction to convince of &s;in:</HI> truly in affliction, &s;in is laid open before a mans eyes in &s;uch &s;ort as he is inforced to <HI>plead guilty: God</HI> &s;its as <HI>Judg, Con&s;cience</HI> is witne&s;s, a <HI>thou&s;and witne&s;&s;es; &s;in</HI> the <HI>indite|ment; affliction</HI> both evidence and execution. Hence it is, that &s;ooner,
<PB N="121" REF="68">or later the convinced &s;oul &s;ees &s;in a greater evil, then affliction, what|ever it be; and now as it were for|getting the affliction, begins to mourn only for &s;in,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 7.20</NOTE> crying out with holy <HI>Job</HI> in the du&s;t, <HI>I have &s;inned, what &s;hall I do unto thee, O thou pre&s;erver of men?</HI> he &s;aith, not my &s;ub&s;tance is &s;poiled, my Children de|&s;troyed, my body is become a <HI>Spittle</HI> of loath&s;om Di&s;ea&s;es, and my &s;elf a terror to my &s;elf and &s;tanders by, <HI>what wilt thou do unto me, O thou pre&s;erver of men?</HI> but <HI>I have &s;inned, what &s;hall I do unto thee &amp;c.</HI> Affliction led him to &s;in; <HI>Correcti|on</HI> was made <HI>conviction,</HI> and &s;in now lyeth heavier upon him then all his &s;ufferings. This is the fir&s;t compre|hen&s;ive Le&s;&s;on.</P>
<Q><L>The &s;econd followeth, <HI>&s;c.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Com|prehen&s;ive Le&s;&s;on.</NOTE></L>
<L><HI>The emptine&s;s of the Creature.</HI></L></Q>
<P>In our pro&s;perity we &s;tick in the Creature,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The emp|tine&s;s of the world.</NOTE> and dote upon the Crea|ture, the things and per&s;ons in this pre&s;ent world, as if there our hap|pine&s;s
<PB N="122" REF="69">and comfort were bound up: but in the day of adver&s;ity, God con|vinceth us of our mi&s;takes, by cau|&s;ing us to &s;ee the emptine&s;s and vani|ty of all &s;ublunary contentments: we begin to find the world to be but <HI>guilded</HI> emptine&s;s, a meer <HI>no|thing.</HI> Then ask the &s;oul what it thinks of the World and all the <HI>ele|ments</HI> thereof, <HI>the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, the lu&s;ts of the eyes, and the pride of life,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;orts them, which formerly did &s;o glitter in its eyes,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 40.6.</NOTE> and the an&s;wer will be with the Prophet, <HI>all fle&s;h is gra&s;s, and all the goodline&s;s thereof as the flower of the field: vanity of vanities, all is vanity.</HI> The afflicteth &s;oul &s;aith of all <HI>Creature-excellency, It is not;</HI> it looks upon them as &s;o many <HI>non-entities:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 23 5</NOTE> &s;o many <HI>Nots: Not</HI> that which it <HI>&s;eems: Not</HI> that which is <HI>promi&s;eth: Not</HI> that which we <HI>ex|pect,</HI> and flatter our &s;elves with. <HI>Riches profit not in the day of wrath.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 11 4</NOTE> What&s;oever it is that a man makes his <HI>riches,</HI> whether <HI>friend,</HI> or <HI>wealth,</HI> or <HI>parts,</HI> or <HI>Creature-inte|re&s;t
<PB N="123" REF="69">what&s;oever,</HI> they profit not, <HI>i. e.</HI> they cannot deliver out of the hands, either of <HI>death</HI> or <HI>judgment.</HI> And be&s;ides, the &s;oul finds by experience the <HI>un&s;utablene&s;s</HI> and <HI>di&s;&s;atisfaction</HI> that is in all the&s;e <HI>&s;een things;</HI> that there is no proportion between an <HI>invi&s;ible &s;oul</HI> and <HI>vi&s;ible comforts,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fulgentins triumphos Romanos cum &s;pecta|rit, appella|vit vani|tem. Au|thor vitae apud</HI> Sur. procop. l. 2. de bello Vand.</NOTE> between an <HI>immortal &s;oul</HI> and <HI>pe|ri&s;hing contentments,</HI> between a <HI>&s;piritual being,</HI> and an <HI>earthly porti|on;</HI> that the <HI>winde</HI> which a man takes in by <HI>gaping,</HI> will as &s;oon fill an hungry belly, as <HI>Creature-com|forts</HI> will &s;atisfie the Spirit: In the hour of temptation the &s;oul &s;ays, <HI>mi|&s;erable comforters are ye all, Phy&s;i|cians of no value,</HI> upon which a man may be&s;tow all that he hath in ex|pectation of a cure, and find him&s;elf no whit <HI>better,</HI> but rather <HI>wor&s;e;</HI> &s;urely the world in all its bravery is to the afflicted &s;oul no better then the Cities which <HI>Solomon</HI> gave to <HI>Hiram,</HI> which he called <HI>Cabul,</HI> that is to &s;ay, <HI>di&s;plea&s;ing</HI> or <HI>dirty:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 King 9.13.</NOTE> the day of affliction is one of tho&s;e days, <HI>wherein men ca&s;t away their Idols
<PB N="124" REF="70">of &s;ilver and their Idols of Gold,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 2.20</NOTE> which they made each one for him|&s;elf to wor&s;hip,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Abite hinc, Abite Ion ge.</HI> Phil, Morn.</NOTE> to the Moles and to the Bats, and &s;aith unto them</HI> with indignation, <HI>Get ye hence.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 Summa|ry Le&s;&s;on. Fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t.</NOTE> And la&s;tly, in the day of af|fliction, God di&s;covers to the &s;oul, <HI>the fulne&s;s of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> There is an infinite fulne&s;s in Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>It plea&s;ed the Father that in him &s;hould all fulne&s;s dwell:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;. 1.19.</NOTE> The Cove|nant of grace is &s;uted to all the exi|gencies and indigencies of a poor un|done convinced &s;inner;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 23.5.</NOTE> <HI>it is ordered in all things:</HI> In oppo&s;ition to the <HI>power of corruption in the heart, I will put</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>my Law in their inward parts,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 31 33, 34.</NOTE> &amp;c.</HI> In oppo&s;ition to <HI>error and ignorance</HI> in the under|&s;tanding, <HI>they &s;hall all know me, &amp;c.</HI> In oppo&s;ition to <HI>Guilt, I will forgive their iniquity, and I will re|member their &s;in no more.</HI> And the <HI>Offices</HI> of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> are &s;uted to all the <HI>branches</HI> of the Covenant. In order to the fir&s;t branch, <HI>I will write my Law in their hearts, &amp;c.</HI> Behold
<PB N="125" REF="70">Je&s;us Chri&s;t is a <HI>King:</HI> In order to the &s;econd, <HI>they &s;hall all know me, &amp;c.</HI> behold Je&s;us Chri&s;t is a <HI>Prophet:</HI> and in order to the third, <HI>I will for|give their iniquities;</HI> behold Je&s;us Chri&s;t is a <HI>Prie&s;t:</HI> The Offices of Chri&s;t, fill and execute the Covenant of grace; and the <HI>fulnes of God</HI> fills &amp; acts the Offices of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; the <HI>Power</HI> of God, and the <HI>fulne&s;s of Power,</HI> his <HI>Kingly</HI> Office. The <HI>wi&s;|dom of God,</HI> and the <HI>fulne&s;s</HI> of wi&s;|dom, his <HI>prophetical</HI> Office. The <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s</HI> of God, and the <HI>ful|ne&s;s</HI> of Righteou&s;ne&s;s,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 45.7</NOTE> his <HI>prie&s;tly</HI> Office: this is that which the P&s;al|mi&s;t celebrateth in that Song of Loves <HI>God hath anointed thee with the Oyl of gladnes</HI> ABOVE TH<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> FELLOWS: never <HI>King</HI> was anointed with &s;uch power; never <HI>Prophet</HI> with &s;uch <HI>wi&s;dom,</HI> never <HI>Prie&s;t</HI> with &s;uch <HI>Grace</HI> and <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> they had their <HI>&s;tinted proportions; but God gave not the &s;pirit by mea&s;ure unto</HI> HIM.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3 34. Colo&s;. 2 9</NOTE> <HI>In him dwelt all the fulne&s;s of the Godhead bodily.</HI> It is not le&s;s then an <HI>infinite</HI> fulne&s;s which fills Je|&s;us
<PB N="126" REF="71">Chri&s;t as <HI>Mediator, that we of his fulne&s;s might receive grace for grace:</HI> But we are not always in a capacity either to receive or to &s;ee that fulne&s;s: And the rea&s;on is, be|cau&s;e in our pro&s;perity we <HI>fill</HI> our &s;elves &s;o with the <HI>World,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Intus eai|&s;tens prohi|bet <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lie|num.</HI></P>
<P><HI>covenda &s;unt i&s;la<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">b lectamenta tanquam laquei et plagae,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Lactan. divin. In&s;t.</HI> l. 6. c. 21. I&s;a 53 2.</P></NOTE> with the plea&s;ures and profits of the World, that it fares with <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> now as it did when he was <HI>born, there is no room for him in the</HI> Inn: while the World glitters in our eyes with her painted gaudery, he hath <HI>no form nor</HI> COMLINES, <HI>and when we &s;ee him, there is no beauty that we &s;hould de&s;ire him:</HI> we are very prone to love the World for the World, terminate our affections in the Crea|ture, and do not u&s;e terrene com|forts in that way,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Minus te amat Do|mine qui at liquid a|mat quod non preter te amat. In licitis perimus engies.</NOTE> and to that end, that we might thereby be the more fitted to walk with God; and when our de&s;ires are &s;uch, the more they are, the lefs are our delights in <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> this is our &s;in and folly, that we do not fear the unlaw|ful u&s;e of unlawful things; nor &s;ee where the &s;nare lieth to inveagle
<PB N="127" REF="71">tho&s;e affections to the Creature which are only due to God him&s;elf: and a great reproach it is to <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> But now when God &s;preads &s;ackclothe upon all the beauty and bravery of the Creature, and &s;o <HI>hideth pride from man,</HI> when God by &s;ome fla&s;hes of Lightning &s;trikes us blind to the World, then we can di&s;cover <HI>beauty</HI> and <HI>excellency</HI> in Chri&s;t, infi|nitely tran&s;cending all the beauty and excellency in the World, <HI>Thou art fairer then the Children of men, grace is poured into thy lips:</HI> when <HI>under the &s;tairs,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 45.2. Cant. 5.10.</NOTE> and in <HI>the Clifts of the Rocks,</HI> then the &s;oul can &s;ing, <HI>my beloved is white and ruddy, the chic|fe&s;t among ten thou&s;and.</HI> When the <HI>God</HI> of <HI>Heaven</HI> hath fami&s;ht all our <HI>Gods on earth,</HI> when he hath hunger|&s;tarved us, as to Creature comforts, in any way what&s;oever, then we can hunger after and ta&s;te the <HI>&s;weetne&s;s,</HI> the <HI>fulne&s;s,</HI> which is in <HI>Je|&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> O then, <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> a <HI>King</HI> to <HI>govern,</HI> a <HI>Prophet</HI> to <HI>teach,</HI> a <HI>Prie&s;t</HI> to <HI>&s;ave!</HI> how precious! then <HI>none but Chri&s;t, none but Chri&s;t; give me a
<PB N="128" REF="72">Chri&s;t or el&s;e I die.</HI> In a word my Beloved, when once it is come, (by what exigencies and &s;urpri&s;es &s;oever) to <HI>an, Oh wretch that I am, who &s;hal deliver me?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.24</NOTE> then, <HI>I thank God through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> Tru|ly God is forc't to exerci&s;e us with a &s;evere Di&s;cipline, that he may en|dear <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> to our hearts; and &s;ecludes us from the World, that we may &s;tudy and improve his <HI>fulne&s;s:</HI> As <HI>the Law</HI> is our <HI>School-ma&s;ter,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.24</NOTE> &s;o affliction is an <HI>&V;&s;her</HI> to the Law: <HI>affliction brings us to the Law, and the Law brings us to Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And thus I have di&s;patcht the fir&s;t thing I undertook, for the opening of the Doctrine, <HI>&s;c. The Le&s;&s;ons</HI> which God teacheth tho&s;e whom he cha|&s;teneth: both in their <HI>twenty parti|culars,</HI> and in their three &s;ummary <HI>comprehen&s;ive heads,</HI> to which all the re&s;t may be reduced.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="129" REF="72">
<HEAD>I come to the <HI>&s;econd</HI> thing; namely, The <HI>Nature or properties of divine teaching.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The na|ture and propetries of divine teaching,</NOTE></HEAD>
<P>For my Breth<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">en, it is not every teaching that will <HI>make</HI> or <HI>evidence</HI> a man to be a ble&s;&s;ed man under af|fliction. There is hardly any man that is under affliction, but he learns &s;omewhat by it; &amp; yet few are <HI>ble&s;|&s;ed:</HI> the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e it matters not &s;o much <HI>what a man is taught,</HI> as who is the <HI>Teacher, whither he be taught of God or no:</HI> yea that is not all neither; for we are not to enquire only, <HI>whether</HI> we be taught of God, but <HI>how?</HI> There is a twofold teaching of God. There is a <HI>common teaching,</HI> which even <HI>Heathen,</HI> men <HI>out</HI> of the <HI>Church, Hypocrites</HI> &amp; <HI>Re|probates within</HI> the <HI>Church,</HI> may have; the very <HI>Philo&s;ophers</HI> have read excellent Lectures upon affliction, <HI>Se|neca</HI> &amp; others; and there is a <HI>&s;pecial teaching</HI> proper and peculiar only to the Children of promi&s;e. <HI>A Covenant-teaching;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 54.13.</NOTE> All thy Children &s;hall be
<PB N="130" REF="73">taught of God;</HI> it is the Covenant of <HI>God</HI> with th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Redeemer, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 54 13. A teaching without which no man can come to Chri&s;t, <HI>John</HI> 6.45. <HI>Every man that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Now this teaching hath a &s;ix|fold property.</HEAD>
<P>The fir&s;t property is,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6. proper|ties of Co|venant|reaching.</NOTE> <HI>It is an in|ward teaching.</HI> Inward in re&s;pect of the <HI>Object,</HI> and inward in re&s;pect of the <HI>Subject.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Inward</HI> in re&s;pect of the <HI>Object;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Proper|ty, it is <HI>in|ward.</HI></NOTE> &s;o our Saviour concerning the &s;a|ving teaching of the Holy Gho&s;t: <HI>when the &s;pirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16 13</NOTE> Man may lead you UNTO <HI>truth;</HI> but it is the &s;pirit of God that only can lead you INTO <HI>truth;</HI> he only that hath the <HI>Key of David, that openeth and no man &s;hutteth, and &s;hutteth and no man openeth,</HI> can open to you the door of <HI>truth,</HI> and &s;hew you the in&s;ide of <HI>truth.</HI> And great is the dif|ference between the&s;e two teach|ings. He that comes to a &s;tately
<PB N="131" REF="73">hou&s;e or place &s;ees only the outward fabrick and &s;tructure; and even that may take much: but he that comes <HI>into it,</HI> &s;ees all the inward contri|vances and conveyances; he &s;ees all the rich furniture and adornings of the &s;everal rooms and Offices of the hou&s;e, which are not only for <HI>u&s;e,</HI> but for <HI>delight</HI> and ornament: Sure|ly, the very out-&s;ide of <HI>truth</HI> is <HI>good|ly;</HI> but, like the Kings Daughter, <HI>it is all glorious within;</HI> not <HI>plea&s;ing</HI> only, but <HI>ravi&s;hing;</HI> this they &s;ee who are led <HI>into truth:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.18.</NOTE> by ver<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ue whereof <HI>David</HI> &s;aw <HI>wonder|ful things in the Law;</HI> Objects which filld his &s;oul with wonder and delight. And as the teachings of the Covenant are inward in re&s;pect of the <HI>Object,</HI> &s;o <HI>inward</HI> al&s;o in re&s;pect of the <HI>Subject: In the</HI> HIDDEN PART <HI>thou ha&s;t made me know wi&s;|dom,</HI> P&s;al. 51.6. and again <HI>I thank the Lord that gave me coun&s;el,</HI> MY REINS <HI>al&s;o in&s;truct me in the night &s;ea&s;ons:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.7</NOTE> the <HI>Reins</HI> are the mo&s;t <HI>inward part</HI> of the Body; and the <HI>night-&s;ea&s;on</HI> the mo&s;t <HI>retired</HI> and <HI>private</HI> time; both expre&s;s the
<PB N="132" REF="74"><HI>intimacy</HI> of divine teaching; man may teach the <HI>Brains,</HI> but God only teacheth the <HI>Reins;</HI> the knowledg which man teacheth is a <HI>&s;wimming knowledg,</HI> but the knowledg which Chri&s;t teacheth is a <HI>&s;oaking know|ledg; God who commanded light to &s;hine out of d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rkne&s;s,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4 6</NOTE> hath &s;hined into our</HI> HEARTS, <HI>to give the light of the knowledg of the glo|ry of God in the face of Je&s;us Christ:</HI> it is a loaden expre&s;&s;ion, and holds forth the inward teachings of God on both &s;ides; both in reference to the <HI>Subject,</HI> and in reference to the <HI>Object.</HI> In reference to the <HI>Subject,</HI> He that commanded the light to &s;hine out of darkne&s;s, <HI>hath &s;hined in|to our hearts; Mans light</HI> may &s;hine into the <HI>Head,</HI> but <HI>Gods light</HI> doth &s;hine into the <HI>Heart.</HI> God hath his <HI>Throne</HI> in <HI>Heaven;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cathedram habet in|Caelis, qui|corda do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et</HI> A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g.</NOTE> but his <HI>Chair,</HI> his <HI>Pulpit,</HI> is in the <HI>heart: he hath &s;hined into our hearts.</HI> And then you have the inwardne&s;s of divine teach|ing in re&s;pect of the <HI>Object: he hath given us the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Je|&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Man may give knowledg,
<PB N="133" REF="74"><HI>confu&s;ed general knowledg,</HI> but God giveth the <HI>light of knowledg</HI> in the <HI>lu&s;tre</HI> and <HI>brightne&s;s</HI> of it. In <HI>thy light we &s;hall &s;ee light:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 36.9.</NOTE> the &s;oul &s;eeth by the <HI>&s;ame light</HI> whereby God him&s;elf &s;eeth, <HI>thy light:</HI> and not only &s;o; here is not only <HI>know|ledg</HI> and <HI>light of knowledg,</HI> but the <HI>glory</HI> of that light; the light which God brings in to the &s;anctified un|der&s;tanding, is a <HI>glorious light,</HI> a <HI>marvelous light,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.9. the &s;oul that the &s;pirit taketh by the hand, &amp; leadeth <HI>into truth,</HI> &s;tandeth won|dering at the glory and excellency of that light which &s;hines round about it: And then la&s;tly, all this, <HI>in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> The <HI>face</HI> is the <HI>full di&s;covery</HI> of a per&s;on. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> could not &s;ee <HI>Gods face,</HI> but only his <HI>back-parts</HI> he might &s;ee; <HI>Exod.</HI> 33. la&s;t. But now by the fle&s;h of <HI>Jo|&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> God hath put a vail up|on his face: <HI>the vail of his fle&s;h, Heb.</HI> 10.20. through which we may &s;ee the <HI>face of God;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3.6</NOTE> for now in <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> it is <HI>God manife&s;t in the fle&s;h;</HI> the <HI>humane nature</HI> of <HI>Je&s;us Christ</HI> hath made <HI>God vi&s;ible.</HI> In this <HI>face</HI>
<PB N="134" REF="75">now of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> do they whom God teacheth by <HI>a &s;aving Go&s;pel-teaching</HI> &s;ee divine truth, <HI>i. e.</HI> they &s;ee it now not only by borrowed re|pre&s;entations and natural re&s;emblan|ces,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4.21.</NOTE> but in its own native beauty and lu&s;tre, <HI>as the truth is in Je&s;us: He hath &s;hined into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>2 property clear con|vincing. <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Ari&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>A Syllo|gi&s;me whereby the re|&s;pondent is forced to contradict him&s;elf, either <HI>conce&s;&s;a negando,</HI> or <HI>per negata concedendo.</HI></P></NOTE> This is the fir&s;t property of Divine Teaching. It is <HI>inward,</HI> and that both in re&s;pect of
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Subject,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Object.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="2">2. Divine Covenant-teaching is a <HI>clear convincing teaching;</HI> &s;o our Sa|viour of the &s;pirit; <HI>when He is come, he &s;hall</HI> CONVINCE <HI>the world,</HI> &amp;c. <GAP DESC="foreign">, the word &s;ignifieth <HI>a clear demon&s;trative conviction:</HI> &s;o the Apo&s;tle defines faith to be <GAP DESC="foreign">: the <HI>evidence,</HI> or <HI>demon&s;tration, the evident demon&s;tration of things not &s;een.</HI> The Holy Gho&s;t in his teachings, brings in divine Truths with &s;uch a <HI>clear</HI> and convincing light that the &s;oul &s;its down under it fully &s;atisfied: it is not only convinc'd
<PB N="135" REF="75">to <HI>&s;ilence,</HI> but to <HI>a&s;&s;urance;</HI> it doth &s;weetly and freely <HI>acquie&s;ce</HI> in the pre&s;ent truths: <HI>Now I know,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Father-law, <HI>that the Lord is greater then all Gods:</HI> He had heard of God before,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 13.11.</NOTE> but that bred but <HI>opinion</HI> only; but now, he is through|ly convinced: <HI>I</HI> know <HI>that the Lord is greater then all Gods.</HI> So <HI>David</HI> concerning his afflictions,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.75.</NOTE> <HI>I know Lord that thy judgments are right, and that of faithfulne&s;s thou ha&s;t afflicted me.</HI> He was fully &s;atisfied both of the <HI>equity</HI> and <HI>fidelity</HI> of Gods cha&s;ti&s;ements: <HI>right</HI> in re&s;pect of the <HI>merit,</HI> and <HI>faithful</HI> in re&s;pect of the <HI>end.</HI> And thus in all the Le&s;|&s;ons before pre&s;ented to your view, and in all other, what God teacheth, he teacheth with &s;uch a clear evi|dence of truth, that the &s;oul is &s;et be|yond all <HI>peradventure:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 1.5</NOTE> Our Go&s;pel came unto you, not in word only, but in power and in the Holy Gho&s;t, and in much full a&s;&s;urance:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> the word hath a double and a treble empha&s;is; <HI>a&s;&s;urance, full a&s;&s;urance, and much full a&s;&s;urance:</HI> &s;uch are the teach|ings of the Holy Gho&s;t. <HI>Common
<PB N="136" REF="76">teaching</HI> may convince to <HI>&s;ilence,</HI> but the under&s;tanding may remain doubtful &s;till:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Formido oppo&s;iti.</NOTE> there is that which the Schools call <HI>&s;u&s;pence</HI> or <HI>he&s;itancy</HI> in the under&s;tanding; there is not a full and clear a&s;&s;ent in the under|&s;tanding to the truths propounded: but a man remains, in the <HI>Apo&s;tles Language, a double minded man:</HI> or as the word &s;ignifieth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> a <HI>double-&s;ould man; duplex amino,</HI> a man of a <HI>double,</HI> or <HI>doubtful,</HI> or divided &s;pi|rit, floating between different opini|ons; one &s;oul (as it were) beleeveth this way, and another &s;oul beleeveth that way; one while he beleeveth there is a God, and anon <HI>the fool &s;aith in his heart, there is no God:</HI> &s;ometimes he calls &s;in <HI>evil;</HI> and anon again he thinks it <HI>good.</HI> He <HI>beleeveth,</HI> and he beleeveth <HI>not;</HI> &s;ometimes what he heareth from the word is <HI>truth;</HI> &s;ometimes he thinks again it is but an invention of man, there may be &s;ome mi&s;take in it: But now the teachings of God &s;et a man be|yond all tho&s;e fluctuations and un|&s;etledne&s;s in judgment: there is that which the Apo&s;tle calls <HI>the riches of
<PB N="137" REF="76">the full a&s;&s;urance of understanding to the acknowledgment of the My|&s;tery of God:</HI> A&s;&s;urance of <HI>principles,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2.2</NOTE> even when the &s;oul may po&s;&s;ibly want the a&s;&s;urance of <HI>applicati|on.</HI></P>
<P>A third property of divine teach|ing, <HI>It is an experimental teaching.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3d pro|perty ex|perimen|tal.</NOTE> The &s;oul can &s;peak <HI>experimentally</HI> of the truths it knows, <HI>it is good for me,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.71</NOTE> that I have been af|flicted;</HI> why, but may not any man &s;ay as much as that? yes, few men there are but have the <HI>Notion</HI> in their heads, &amp; in their lips: I but mark I pray, the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> &s;peaks <HI>experi|mentally</HI> to the point, and doth in|&s;tance the good which he had gained by affliction; <HI>I have learned thy &s;tatutes.</HI> He had learned more <HI>ac|quaintance</HI> with the word, more <HI>de|light</HI> in the word, more <HI>conformity</HI> to the word. He knew it more, and loved it better, and was more <HI>tran&s;|formed</HI> into the nature of it, then e|ver, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> So <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 116.6. <HI>The Lord pro&s;erveth the &s;imple, i. e.</HI> God &s;tands by his upright hearted ones to
<PB N="138" REF="77">&s;ecure them from violence: a good notion; but any man may have it in the propo&s;ition; I but <HI>David</HI> hath it in the <HI>experience, I was brought low and he helped me;</HI> my <HI>faith</HI> was brought low, and my <HI>comfort</HI> was brought low, and my <HI>re&s;olutions</HI> were brought low, <HI>my feet had wel|nigh &s;lipt.</HI> P&s;al. 73.2. but God helpt my faith, revived my comfort, &s;trengthened my re&s;olutions, and &s;ta|bli&s;ht my feet: <HI>thou ha&s;t holden me by my right hand,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 1.22.</NOTE> ver&s; 23. Thus St. <HI>Paul, I know whom I have beleev|ed,</HI> &amp;c. I have experienc't his <HI>faith|fulne&s;s</HI> and his <HI>All-&s;ufficiency:</HI> I dare tru&s;t my <HI>All</HI> with him. <HI>I am &s;ure, he will keep it &s;afe to that day.</HI> And thus they that are taught of God in affliction can &s;peak experi|mentally, in one degree or other, of the gains and priviledges of a &s;uffer|ing condition: they can &s;peak experi|mentally of Communion with God, <HI>though I walk through the valley of the &s;hadow of death,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 23 4</NOTE> I will fear no evil;</HI> why? <HI>for thou art with me:</HI> I have had comfortable experience of
<PB N="139" REF="77">thy <HI>upholding, councelling, comfor|ting pre&s;ence</HI> with me in my <HI>deepe&s;t de&s;ertions:</HI> &s;o of other fruits of af|fliction, <HI>this I had,</HI> P&s;al. 119.56. this I have got by my &s;ufferings, I ble&s;s God I have learned more <HI>patience, humility,</HI> &s;elf-denial, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> to be more &s;en&s;ible of my Brethrens &s;ufferings, to &s;it loo&s;er to the World, to minde duty, and to tru&s;t &s;afely with God, to prepare for death, and to provide for eternity, one way or other <HI>it is good for me;</HI> I could not have been without this affliction, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Common knowledg re&s;ts in gene|rals, &amp; lieth more in <HI>propo&s;itions</HI> then in <HI>application;</HI> but they that are taught of God can &s;ay, <HI>as we have heard, &s;o have we</HI> SEEN; they can go along with every truth, and &s;ay, <HI>It is &s;o,</HI> I have experienc'd this Word upon mine own heart,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 3.33</NOTE> they can <HI>&s;et to their &s;eal, that God is true.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 Proper|ty. Pow|erful.</NOTE> Divine Covenant teaching <HI>is a powerful teaching:</HI> After a man hath got many truths into the under|&s;tanding, the main work is yet to do, and that is <HI>to bring down holy
<PB N="140" REF="78">truths to action,</HI> to draw forth divine <HI>principles</HI> into <HI>practice:</HI> a natural man may know much, he may have <HI>an heap</HI> of truths in his un|der&s;tanding; but they all lie <HI>&s;trength|le&s;s</HI> in the brain, he hath no power to <HI>live</HI> the truths he knows. Co|venant-teachings convey <HI>&s;trength</HI> as well as <HI>light,</HI> and <HI>do</HI> what they <HI>teach.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 8.11.12</NOTE> The Lord &s;pake to me with a &s;trong hand, and in&s;tructed me that I &s;hould not walk in the way of this people, &s;aying, &s;ay ye not a confede|racy to them who &s;ay a confede|racy, neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid; &s;anctifie the Lord of Ho&s;ts him&s;elf,</HI> &amp;c. It is a mo&s;t &s;weet and comfortable Scripture, and that in two re&s;pects. 1. In re&s;pect of what it <HI>implieth.</HI> 2. In re&s;pect of what it <HI>expre&s;&s;eth.</HI> Fir&s;t, it <HI>implieth</HI> thus much, <HI>&s;c.</HI> that even the Holy Pro|phet him&s;elf had no &s;mall combate and conflict within him&s;elf what to do in &s;uch a juncture of time as that was, when <HI>it was told the hou&s;e of David,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap 7.8</NOTE> &s;aying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim:</HI> that is, that both
<PB N="141" REF="78">tho&s;e Kingdoms had made a League together, and were now upon their march with their combined forces, to make War again&s;t the Hou&s;e of <HI>David:</HI> it was &s;ad news, and the Text &s;aith, <HI>The heart of Ahaz, and the heart of the people was moved, as the Trees of the Wood are moved with the Wind, i. e.</HI> They were ter|ribly afraid, even ready to die for fear, and in that fear abundance of the people <HI>fell off</HI> to the <HI>enemy,</HI> and engaged with them; as it is intima|ted,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 86.</NOTE> <HI>They refu&s;e the waters of Shiloh that go &s;oftly, i. e.</HI> they lookt upon the forces of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> as poor and incon&s;iderable,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m &s;u|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ci|tatem &amp; tenuitatem i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bantar trepidaba<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t</HI> &amp;c. <HI>&amp; pu|tabant &s;e tuti&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">im<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s &s;ore &s;i tam poten<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ip|&s;is R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">x contigi&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t, quam I&s;ra|litis. e Calv.</HI> in loc.</NOTE> no ways able to oppo&s;e and engage &s;o potent an adver&s;ary as came again&s;t them; and &s;o de&s;erted their own party, and rejoyced in <HI>Rezin</HI> and <HI>Remaliah's Son:</HI> they <HI>rejoyced</HI> in them, <HI>i.e.</HI> to co|ver their defection from their true So|veraign, they cryed up the <HI>invaders</HI> as their <HI>be&s;t friends,</HI> who cam to <HI>re&s;cue</HI> them from the <HI>tyranny</HI> &amp; <HI>oppre&s;&s;ion</HI> of <HI>Ahaz.</HI> And it &s;eems the Prophet <HI>I|&s;aiah</HI> him&s;elf was &s;urprized with <HI>fear</HI> too, for a time, and began to
<PB N="142" REF="79">di&s;pute the matter within him&s;elf, whither it were not be&s;t for him, to &s;trike in with the <HI>&s;tronger &s;ide,</HI> and to engage in the <HI>confederacy</HI> with tho&s;e two <HI>Princes</HI> as the multitude did; there wanting not, probably, fair and &s;pecious pretences to ju&s;tifie that defection: It &s;eems I &s;ay that the Prophet had a &s;ore temptation upon his &s;pirit about this matter, and was even ready to determine the que&s;tion on the <HI>affirmative,</HI> till God came in and <HI>in&s;tructed him, &amp;c.</HI> And that is the &s;econd thing; the <HI>comfort expre&s;t</HI> in the&s;e words: while the Prophet was thus conflicting and fluctuating in his own thoughts, God came in, and by &s;trength of hand rebuked his Fears, &s;ilenc'd his Objections, quieted his &s;pirit, deter|mined the di&s;pute, and in&s;tructed him what cour&s;e to take, which was not to <HI>comply,</HI> but to <HI>beleeve,</HI> to &s;tu|dy <HI>duty,</HI> and leave <HI>&s;afety</HI> with God; <HI>fear not their fear, nor be afraid, &s;anctifie the Lord of Ho&s;ts him&s;elf, &amp;c. Power</HI> went forth with <HI>in|&s;truction, taught</HI> him what to do,
<PB N="143" REF="79">and <HI>enabled</HI> him to do what it taught. Ble&s;&s;ed be God, who hath an <HI>Hand</HI> to teach his people with, as well as a <HI>mouth;</HI> an <HI>Hand</HI> of <HI>power,</HI> as well as a mouth of in&s;truction: had it not been for this, the Prophet him&s;elf had been certainly carried down the torrent of that apo&s;tacy, as well as others.</P>
<P>And there is <HI>caution</HI> in this in|&s;tance as well as <HI>comfort</HI> in reference to <HI>our &s;elves</HI> and our <HI>Brethren;</HI> and that is, in ca&s;e of &s;urpri&s;e by &s;ome &s;uddain gu&s;ts of fear and temptati|on, not ra&s;hly to judg our &s;elves, or our Brethren; but wi&s;ely and calm|ly to con&s;ider,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10.13.</NOTE> <HI>it is no other tempta|tion then what is common to man,</HI> yea to the <HI>be&s;t</HI> of men: <HI>Iob</HI> and <HI>Da|vid,</HI> and <HI>Ieremiah,</HI> and <HI>Habbakkuk</HI> and <HI>Peter,</HI> and here <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> were all nonplu&s;t, and &s;taggerd for a time, and recovered only by a <HI>powerful word from Heaven;</HI> and therefore in &s;uch ca&s;es, it becoms Chri&s;tians to <HI>pity,</HI> rather then to <HI>in&s;ult,</HI> and to &s;tudy to <HI>heal</HI> rather then to <HI>reject:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6.1.</NOTE> con&s;i|dering them&s;elves le&s;t they al&s;o be
<PB N="144" REF="80">tempted.</HI> This is the priviledg of the <HI>Children of promi&s;e, &s;trength</HI> goeth out from the Covenant with <HI>in|&s;truction, the Lord who command|eth light to &s;hine out of darkne&s;s, hath &s;hined into our hearts: q. d.</HI> God hath taught us by &s;uch a <HI>word,</HI> as that whereby he <HI>made</HI> the <HI>World,</HI> a <HI>creating word,</HI> a <HI>word</HI> that giveth <HI>&s;trength</HI> as well as <HI>Councel.</HI> And this teaching it is which the Prophet <HI>Da|vid</HI> &s;o frequently importuneth in his prayers, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.33. cum 35. <HI>Teach me O Lord the way of thy Statutes, make me to</HI> Go <HI>in the paths of thy Commandments;</HI> P&s;al. 143.10. <HI>Teach me to do thy will:</HI> mark that, not only teach me <HI>the way,</HI> but teach me <HI>to go;</HI> not only teach me <HI>thy will,</HI> but teach me <HI>to do thy will.</HI> Common teaching may teach an Hypocrite <HI>the way,</HI> but &s;aving teaching only teach|eth the &s;oul <HI>to go</HI> in that way: an un|regenerate man may know <HI>the Will</HI> of God;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nehem. 8 10.</NOTE> but he knoweth not, how to <HI>do that Will. The joy of the Lord is our &s;trength.</HI> This is the fifth pro|perty.</P>
<PB N="145" REF="80">
<P>A fifth property;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">5 Proper|ty, <HI>Sweet.</HI></NOTE> <HI>The Teachings of God are &s;weet and plea&s;ant teach|ings. P&s;al.</HI> 119.102.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119 102</NOTE> <HI>Thou ha&s;t taught me;</HI> what followeth? <HI>How &s;weet are thy words unto my ta&s;te? &s;weeter then hony unto my mouth:</HI> He rolled the Word and Promi&s;es as Sugar under his tongue, and &s;ucked from thence more &s;weetne&s;s then <HI>Sam&s;on</HI> did from his <HI>hony-comb. Luther</HI> &s;aid,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cum verbo etiam in inferno fa|cile e&s;t vi|vere,</HI> Luth. <HI>Tom.</HI> 4. <HI>oper. lat.</HI></NOTE> he would not live in Paradi&s;e, if he mu&s;t live without the Word; but with the Word, &s;aith he, I could live in Hell it &s;elf. When Chri&s;t puts in his <HI>teaching-hand</HI> by the hole of the door to teach the heart,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 5.5</NOTE> <HI>his fingers drop &s;weet &s;melling myrrhe upon the handles of the Lock:</HI> The Teachings of Chri&s;t leave a &s;weet remembrance of him|&s;elf behinde them;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 1.4</NOTE> <HI>We will remem|ber thy Love more then wine:</HI> As people, when they are drunk with wine, wherein is exce&s;s, are apt to &s;ing and hollow; &s;o tho&s;e that are filled with the <HI>Spirit,</HI> cannot but in|&s;ult and triumph in the <HI>wonderful things</HI> which they ta&s;te and &s;ee in
<PB N="146" REF="81">the Word. There cannot be but much &s;piritual joy in divine Teach|ing, becau&s;e the <HI>Spirit</HI> doth accom|pany the <HI>Truths,</HI> and &s;o irradiate them with his own beauty and glo|ry, <HI>the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Chri&s;t,</HI> that they do not onely <HI>affect,</HI> but <HI>ravi&s;h</HI> the heart:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119 140 <HI>Sunt Scrip+turae tuae Deliciae meae.</HI> Aug.</NOTE> <HI>Thy Word is pure, therefore thy &s;ervant loveth it.</HI> The Prophet &s;aw a beam of divine excel|lency &s;itting upon the Word, and that did <HI>en&s;nare</HI> his Soul. Truth is <HI>burden&s;om</HI> to un&s;ound &s;pirits, be|cau&s;e <HI>convincing;</HI> and they labor to extingui&s;h that light which di&s;trub|eth their quiet:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1 18 <GAP DESC="foreign">, it &s;ignifies forcibly &amp; unju&s;tly to with|hold.</NOTE> <HI>They hold the truth in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s; Gr:</HI> they <HI>im|pri&s;on</HI> the Truth, and will not &s;uf|fer it to do its office: But &s;aving Teaching is &s;weet and delightful, be|cau&s;e it is &s;uitable to the <HI>renewed part;</HI> to which it comes in with fre&s;h &s;uccors, to relieve and fortifie it a|gain&s;t the a&s;&s;aults of oppo&s;ite cor|ruption: I &s;ay, it is always &s;weet in that re&s;pect, but never more &s;weet then in affliction; the bitterne&s;s of
<PB N="147" REF="81">adver&s;ity giving a more delicate rel|li&s;h unto the Word, by healing the di&s;tempers of the &s;piritual palate: and then the Soul cryeth out with <HI>Jeremy</HI> in the pri&s;on, <HI>Thy Words were &s;ound, and I did eat them, and thy Word was unto me the joy and the rejoycing of my heart, Jerem.</HI> 15.16.</P>
<P N="6">6. And la&s;tly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6 Proper|ty, Abi|ding.</NOTE> <HI>Divine Teaching is an abiding Teaching: The anoint|ing which ye have received of him abideth in you:</HI> 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 2.27. <HI>No|tional knowledg,</HI> where it is no more, is <HI>flitting</HI> and <HI>incon&s;i&s;tent,</HI> and leaveth the Soul dubious and uncer|tain. Ob&s;erve how the Apo&s;tle S. <HI>James</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it, &s;peaking of the meer notional hearer,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 1.24</NOTE> <HI>He beholdeth him&s;elf, and goeth his way, and &s;traightway forgetteth what man he was:</HI> Ob&s;erve, he doth not onely forget <HI>what he heard,</HI> but he forgets <HI>what he was:</HI> The gla&s;s, whether <HI>Word</HI> or Affliction, di&s;covered to him his &s;pots, &s;hewed him his pride, his covetou&s;ne&s;s, the impurity of heart and life &amp;c. but he goeth away
<PB N="148" REF="82">and forgetteth what manner he was; he forgets the <HI>Word,</HI> he forgets the <HI>Rod,</HI> and what both Word and Rod <HI>di&s;covered</HI> to him, together with the re&s;olutions and promi&s;es made to God in both. A godly man may forget the <HI>Word</HI> (a gracious heart may have a bad memory) but he will not &s;o ea&s;ily forget <HI>him&s;elf,</HI> he doth not forget his <HI>&s;pots,</HI> and that keeps him in continual work, to wa&s;h and PURGE <HI>him&s;elf from all filthine&s;s of fle&s;h and &s;pirit: Remembering mine affliction and my mi&s;ery,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.20</NOTE> the wormwood and the gall: My Soul hath them</HI> STILL IN REMEM|BRANCE, <HI>and is humbled in me. The double-minded man is un&s;table in all his ways.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.8</NOTE> Humane Teaching beget at be&s;t, but <HI>opinion,</HI> not <HI>faith;</HI> the Word implieth one that is <HI>di|&s;tracted</HI> and <HI>divided</HI> in his thoughts, floating betwixt two contrary Opi|nions: There be notions contradict|ing notions, and principles fighting again&s;t principles; and &s;uch know|ledg is not abiding knowledg: this unfixedne&s;s in principles produceth
<PB N="149" REF="82">in&s;tability in practice; if <HI>a man be double-minded</HI> in his principles, <HI>he will be un&s;table in all his ways:</HI> none are &s;o con&s;tant in the profe&s;&s;i|on of any truth, as they that are ful|ly convinced and a&s;&s;ured of it: none &s;o &s;table in their conver&s;ation, as they that are rooted and &s;tabli&s;hed in the pre&s;ent Truth: This is the effect of Gods Teaching, it keeps the judgment &s;teady, and the heart &s;table.</P>
<P><HI>Teach me, O Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 119.33</NOTE> the way of thy Statutes, and I will keep it unto the end:</HI> He dares promi&s;e <HI>Per&s;eve|rance,</HI> if God will undertake <HI>In|&s;truction:</HI> and accordingly he made good his promi&s;e, upon this very account; <HI>I have not departed from thy Judgments, for thou ha&s;t taught me:</HI> Ob&s;erve it; He doth not &s;ay, <HI>I will keep thy Statutes;</HI> but he can &s;ay, and that many years after, <HI>I have kept thy Statutes.</HI> Many will &s;ay in their affliction, <HI>I will keep thy Statutes;</HI> promi&s;e fair, if God will but deliver them: but how few can &s;ay with <HI>David, I have
<PB N="150" REF="83">kept, I have not departed from thy Judgments! Of old time,</HI> &s;aith God, <HI>I have broken thy yoke, and bur&s;t thy bonds, and thou &s;aid&s;t,</HI> I WILL NOT <HI>tran&s;gre&s;s;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 2.20</NOTE> when upon every high hill, and under every green tree thou wandere&s;t, playing the harlot. Good words</HI> in trouble, but <HI>poor performance</HI> out of trouble: no &s;ooner out of affliction, but they fall again to their old trade of <HI>&s;piri|tual Adultery</HI> again&s;t God: no &s;ooner their old hearts and their old temptations meet, but they clo&s;e, and embrace one another; <HI>they &s;tar|ted a&s;ide like a broken bow:</HI> I, but <HI>David</HI> was taught of God, and therfore he is as careful to <HI>make good his vows,</HI> as to make <HI>good vows; I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 66</NOTE> and my mouth hath &s;poken, when I was in trouble.</HI> The <HI>after part</HI> of <HI>Davids</HI> life was much more <HI>&s;evere</HI> and <HI>exact</HI> then the former: <HI>I have not departed from thy Judgments, for thou ha&s;t taught me.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e are the properties of Di|vine
<PB N="151" REF="83">Teachings: but le&s;t I &s;hould lay a &s;nare before the blinde, and make the heart &s;ad which God would not have made &s;ad; I mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity lay in a few brief <HI>Can|tions.</HI></P>
<P>When we &s;ay God teacheth
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Inwardly.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Clearly.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Experimentally.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Powerfully.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. Sweetly.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. Abidingly.</ITEM>
</LIST> It is not &s;o to be under|&s;tood:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cantions.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fir&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. God teacheth not all at fir&s;t.</NOTE> As if God taught <HI>All at fir&s;t, viz.</HI> either <HI>All Truths,</HI> or <HI>All of any truth:</HI> God doth not teach all his <HI>Le&s;&s;ons</HI> at the fir&s;t entrance into the School of Affliction; at lea&s;t not u&s;ually, (for we dare not limit God:) The fruit of Affliction is not gathered pre&s;ently: <HI>No cha|&s;tening for the pre&s;ent &s;eemeth to be joyous, but grievous,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.11</NOTE> neverthele&s;s afterward it yeeldeth the peaceable fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;s unto them which are exerci&s;ed thereby. Teach|ing</HI> is the <HI>fruit</HI> of affliction, and fruit is not gathered pre&s;ently; it mu&s;t have <HI>a ripening time:</HI> And there|fore
<PB N="152" REF="84">O thou di&s;couraged Soul, &s;ay not God doth not teach thee <HI>at all,</HI> if he do not teach thee <HI>all at once: The entrance of thy Word giveth light:</HI> God lets in light by <HI>degrees:</HI> U&s;ually God teacheth his children, as we teach ours, <HI>now a little and then a little;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 28.10</NOTE> &s;omewhat this week, and more next week; &s;omewhat by this affliction, and more by the next af|fliction, and more by a third, &amp;c. It is not to be de&s;pi&s;ed if God di&s;cover to the Soul the need of divine Teach|ing, and engage the heart in holy de|&s;ires, and longings after it; &s;o that the afflicted Soul can &s;ay in &s;incerity, <HI>My Soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 119.20</NOTE></P>
<P>Secondly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Caution, nor all A|like.</NOTE> When we &s;ay, that God teacheth whom he cha&s;teneth, and teacheth them thus and thus; it is not to be under&s;tood as if he taught <HI>All alike:</HI> God hath <HI>&s;everal Forms</HI> in the School of <HI>Affliction,</HI> as well as in the School of the <HI>Word:</HI> There be <HI>fathers</HI> for <HI>experience,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Ioh. 2.12</NOTE> young men</HI> for <HI>&s;trength,</HI> and <HI>babes</HI>
<PB N="153" REF="84">for the <HI>truth</HI> and <HI>being</HI> of Grace. And therefore if God have not taught <HI>thee</HI> &s;o much as <HI>another,</HI> &s;ay not (here again) he hath not taught me <HI>at all: As one Star differeth from another in glory,</HI> &s;o al&s;o is the <HI>School of Christ;</HI> it is free grace thou art a <HI>&s;tar,</HI> though thou art not <HI>a &s;tar</HI> of the <HI>fir&s;t</HI> or &s;econd <HI>magni|tude;</HI> that God hath let in <HI>&s;ome di|vine light,</HI> though not <HI>&s;o much light</HI> as another may po&s;&s;ibly have. In point of holy <HI>emulation</HI> we &s;hould look at <HI>degrees</HI> of Grace; but in point of thankfulne&s;s and comfort we &s;hould look at the <HI>truth</HI> and <HI>be|ing</HI> of Grace.</P>
<P>Thirdly, When we &s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 Caution, Divine Teaching doth put the Soul into an unchange|able e&s;tate.</NOTE> that God teacheth <HI>powerfully</HI> and <HI>abidingly,</HI> it is not to be under&s;tood <HI>as if the&s;e teachings did put the Soul into an immutable evenne&s;s of &s;pirit,</HI> or freed it from all <HI>in&s;urrections</HI> and <HI>di&s;turbances</HI> from oppo&s;ite corrup|tion; &s;uch a frame of Soul is onely the priviledg of the <HI>glorified e&s;tate,</HI> wherein we &s;hall &s;ee God <HI>face to face,</HI> and dwell in <HI>immutability</HI> it
<PB N="154" REF="85">&s;elf to all eternity: Here the Church hath its <HI>fulls</HI> and its <HI>wains. David</HI> had his <HI>&s;inkings,</HI> and <HI>Job</HI> his impati|ent fits; <HI>We have heard of the pati|ence of Job,</HI> yea and of his <HI>impati|ence</HI> too: <HI>moved</HI> the <HI>taught of God</HI> may be, but not <HI>removed; fall</HI> they may, but not <HI>fall away; fearfully,</HI> but not <HI>finally; terribly,</HI> but not <HI>totally.</HI></P>
<P>But <HI>the&s;e things are un&s;eparable</HI> to Covenant-Teaching.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">What is un&s;epara|ble to di|vine tea|ching. 1. Sen&s;e of corrupti|on. Rom. 7.23</NOTE></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The Soul is thereby <HI>made &s;en&s;ible of the lea&s;t &s;tirrings and whisperings of corruption: I finde a law in my members warring a|gain&s;t the law of my minde:</HI> Others <HI>have</HI> it, but they do not <HI>finde</HI> it, they are not <HI>&s;en&s;ible</HI> of the <HI>law in their members, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. They are di&s;|plea&s;ed with them|&s;elves.</NOTE> <HI>They are exceedingly displea&s;ed with the oppo&s;ition they finde in their natures</HI> again&s;t the Teachings of God; and do ri&s;e up in indignation again&s;t all that contra|diction which is in the unregenerate part, in what kinde &s;oever: <HI>Why art thou ca&s;t down, O my Soul? and
<PB N="155" REF="85">why art thou &s;o di&s;quiet within me?</HI> Is there cau&s;e for this de&s;pondency? is this done like a <HI>David,</HI> like <HI>a man after Gods own heart?</HI> Is this the <HI>fruit</HI> of all the <HI>experiences</HI> of Gods Faithfulne&s;s and All-&s;ufficiency? And &s;o in other ca&s;es doth the Soul chide down di&s;tempers, and uncome|ly workings of &s;pirit: the Soul is full of di&s;plicency again&s;t it &s;elf; <HI>&s;o fooli&s;h was I, and ignorant,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 73.22.</NOTE> as a bea&s;t before thee:</HI> it cannot finde words bad enough to give it &s;elf.</P>
<P>Thirdly, And if that will not do,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3. They pray down temptati|on. P&s;al. 46 6</NOTE> then <HI>they go to God in prayer,</HI> and &s;pread their temptations before the Lord; <HI>O my God, my Soul is cast down within me:</HI> When they can|not lay the &s;torm, and &s;till the tem|pe&s;ts by their own word, then (with the <HI>Di&s;ciples</HI> in the &s;hip) they go and <HI>awaken Chri&s;t,</HI> and de&s;ire him by his <HI>powerful Word</HI> to rebuke them, that there may be a calm: They go and pray out their di&s;tem|pers,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vir i&s;te po|tuit quid voluit.</NOTE> and pray their hearts into a better frame: as once it was &s;aid of <HI>Luther,</HI> that when he found di&s;tem|pers
<PB N="156" REF="86">upon his &s;pirit, he would never give over praying, till he had pray'd his heart into that frame he pray'd for.</P>
<P>Fourthly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4. Main|tain oppo|&s;ition a|gain&s;t op|po&s;ition. Gal. 5.17.</NOTE> By vertue of the Teach|ings of God <HI>they are enabled to maintain oppo&s;ition again&s;t all that oppo&s;ition</HI> which they finde in their own &s;pirits: As <HI>the fle&s;h lu&s;teth a|gain&s;t the &s;pirit,</HI> &s;o <HI>the &s;pirit lu&s;teth again&s;t the fle&s;h;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o concu. pi&s;cit ad|ver&s;us &s;pi|ritum &s;i non &amp; &s;pi|ritus ad|ver&s;us car|nem faci|unt adulte|rium.</HI> Aug.</NOTE> i. e.</HI> the &s;piritual re|generate part doth as <HI>naturally</HI> ri&s;e up and make war again&s;t the <HI>fle&s;h,</HI> and <HI>fle&s;hly motions,</HI> as the fle&s;h doth a|gain&s;t the Teachings of God in the &s;piritual part: Oppo&s;ition is not maintain'd onely by <HI>precept</HI> and <HI>rules,</HI> and an extrin&s;ecal policy, but <HI>natually,</HI> and by vertue of an in|ward <HI>antipathy; the &s;pirit lu&s;teth:</HI> The &s;pritual oppo&s;ition is as <HI>&s;uitable</HI> and <HI>agreeable</HI> to the <HI>new Nature,</HI> as the &s;inful oppo&s;ition is to the <HI>old na|ture.</HI> Hence is the life of a Believer call'd a <HI>wre&s;tling,</HI> a <HI>warfare, Eph.</HI> 6.12.</P>
<P>And fifthly, Not onely &s;o, but by the help of Divine Teaching <HI>the &s;oul
<PB N="157" REF="86">gets ground of that fle&s;hly oppo&s;ition,</HI> wherewith it is mole&s;ted by degrees. <HI>In the day when I cryed,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 138.2</NOTE> thou an|&s;wered&s;t me; and &s;trengthened&s;t me with &s;trength in my Soul: Prayer</HI> brought in <HI>God,</HI> and <HI>God</HI> brought in <HI>&s;trength,</HI> whereby he got ground of his di&s;tempers; and though all was not done at fir&s;t, yet his comfort was, all &s;hould be done in Gods time, Ver&s;. 8. <HI>The Lord will per|fect that which concerneth me:</HI> I am not <HI>perfect,</HI> but I &s;hall be <HI>per|fected: He that hath begun a good work, will perform it till the day of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE></P>
<P>Sixthly, Though the Soul be not always the &s;ame for <HI>temper</HI> and <HI>act|ing,</HI> yet <HI>it is always the &s;ame for purpo&s;e and de&s;ign: Then &s;hall I not be a&s;hamed, when I have respect to all thy Commandments:</HI> Though he could not <HI>keep</HI> all, he could <HI>re|&s;pect</HI> all the Commandments of God: <HI>My Soul pre&s;&s;eth hard after God:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 63.8</NOTE> Crouds of oppo&s;ition intercepted and di&s;turbed his &s;weet and con&s;tant communion with God: &s;ometimes
<PB N="158" REF="87">he brake through that croud by main &s;trength to recover Gods pre&s;ence again; <HI>My Soul pre&s;&s;eth bard after thee:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil 3.12 13</NOTE> and <HI>Paul</HI> is <HI>pre&s;&s;ing after per|fection</HI> when he could not <HI>over|take</HI> it.</P>
<P>Seventhly and la&s;tly, The Soul hath not always (po&s;&s;ibly) the &s;ame <HI>reli&s;h</HI> and ta&s;te of divine Truths and Ordi|nances, but it hath the &s;ame <HI>e&s;ti|mat:</HI> it keeps up high <HI>appreciating thoughts</HI> of &s;piritual things; and when it cannot <HI>reli&s;h</HI> them, yet even then it doth <HI>hunger</HI> after them.</P>
<P><HI>My Soul breaketh for the long|ings it hath unto thy Judgments</HI> AT ALL TIMES.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119 20</NOTE></P>
<P>And yet even in reference to the&s;e di&s;po&s;itions, which I call in&s;eparable concomitants to Saving Teaching, I mu&s;t add this one <HI>Caution</HI> in clo&s;e of all; namely,</P>
<P><HI>That allowance be made in ca&s;e of De&s;ertion:</HI> A childe of God, for cau&s;es which here we cannot &s;tand to mention, may be ca&s;t into &s;o deep a &s;tate of de&s;ertion (for a time) that he may (as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks) <HI>for|get
<PB N="159" REF="87">that he was purged from his old &s;ins:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1.9 I&s;a. 50.10</NOTE> A childe of Light may walk in Darkne&s;s.</HI> And though there be no &s;uch <HI>deliquium gratiae,</HI> no &s;uch &s;woon in the new-man, wherein both habits and acts do cea&s;e, yet they may be &s;o &s;tupified by the im|pre&s;&s;ions of the pre&s;ent Temptation, as the poor Soul &s;hall be &s;en&s;ible of neither, but reduc'd as it were into &s;uch a &s;tate, as when grace was but an <HI>embrie</HI> in the womb; that &s;piri|tual life &s;hall be <HI>tantum non extin|guit; there may be life,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vivit &amp; e&s;t vitae, ne&s;cius ip&s;e &s;uae.</NOTE> but no &s;en&s;e of that life.</HI></P>
<P>More might be added, but I am &s;en&s;ible how this Di&s;cour&s;e &s;wells beyond the proportion I intended, and therefore I mu&s;t ha&s;ten. Thus much therefore for the &s;econd thing propounded in the Doctrinal part; <HI>the nature and properties of Divine Teaching.</HI> I come now to</P>
<P>The third thing propounded, <HI>viz.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 Thing, How affli|ction lieth in order to divine teaching.</NOTE> to enquire <HI>How Affliction lieth in order to In&s;truction?</HI> what <HI>tenden|cy</HI> Cha&s;ti&s;ement hath to promote the Teachings of God in the Soul? <HI>what
<PB N="160" REF="88">u&s;e God makes of Correction to this end?</HI></P>
<P>For it may po&s;&s;ibly be demanded, <MILESTONE UNIT="Que&s;t."> Might not God as well teach his people <HI>by &s;in,</HI> as <HI>by affliction?</HI></P>
<P>He <HI>might,</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="An&s;w."> and <HI>doth:</HI> whence that glo&s;s of <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI> upon <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.28. <HI>[All things work together for good to them that love God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. <HI>etiam peccatum ip&s;um.</HI></NOTE>] even &s;in it &s;elf;</HI> and in as much as he &s;aith, <HI>All things,</HI> it is evident he excepteth <HI>no|thing,</HI> that doth not co-operate for good to <HI>the Called according to Gods purpo&s;e:</HI> All things <HI>do work,</HI> but all things do not work <HI>alike: Sin</HI> works for good, but it is by <HI>ab&s;o|lute Omnipotence,</HI> by <HI>pure Prero|gative;</HI> for <HI>&s;in</HI> is properly the <HI>De|vils creature,</HI> and in its own <HI>natu|ral tendency</HI> works meerly to <HI>de|&s;truction:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Melius ju|dicavit Deus, de malis bene facerequam nulla mala permittere.</HI> Aug.</NOTE> no thank to &s;in that any good comes of it; God beats Satan with his own weapons. But <HI>Af|fliction</HI> is an Evil of <HI>Gods making,</HI> as <HI>Amos</HI> 3.6. and he hath &s;o temper'd the nature of it, and doth &s;o ingre|dient it by his divine skill, that there is &s;ome <HI>fitne&s;s</HI> and <HI>dispo&s;ition</HI> in it
<PB N="161" REF="88">to &s;erve and promote his own graci|ous de&s;igns in the children of pro|mi&s;e. It is true, there is need of an <HI>arm of Omnipotence</HI> to make Cha|&s;ti&s;ement to have a &s;aving influence upon the heart; and &s;o there doth al&s;o even in the <HI>Word</HI> it &s;elf, and <HI>di|vine Ordinances:</HI> they do not &s;ave <HI>ex opere operato,</HI> by any intrin&s;ecal vertue, or power of their own; but yet there is a <HI>pa&s;&s;ive</HI> fitne&s;s in them to &s;erve Omnipotence for divine and &s;aving ends;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.12 The Word of God is quick and powerful, &s;harper then a two-edged &s;word.</NOTE> a <HI>fitne&s;s of in&s;trumen|tality:</HI> as there is in a Saw to cut, and in a wedg to cleave, &amp;c. The in&s;trument can do nothing alone, but there is a fitne&s;s in it to &s;erve the hand of the work-man. And thus it is, in a proportion, with <HI>Afflicti|on;</HI> It is true, there is not &s;o <HI>imme|diate</HI> and <HI>direct</HI> a tendency in the <HI>Rod,</HI> as there is in the <HI>Word,</HI> to teach and in&s;truct the children of God; yet there is in <HI>Cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> a &s;ub|&s;erviency to prepare the <HI>heart of man,</HI> and to put it into a better di&s;|po&s;ition to clo&s;e with divine Teach|ing, then <HI>naturally</HI> it is capable of.
<PB N="162" REF="89">The hot furnace is Chri&s;ts work|hou&s;e, the mo&s;t excellent ve&s;&s;els of honor are formed therein: <HI>Mana&s;|&s;eh, Paul,</HI> the Jaylor, were all cho|&s;en in this fire; as God &s;aith, <HI>I have cho&s;en thee in the furnace of afflicti|on, I&s;ai.</HI> 48.10. Grace works in a <HI>powerful,</HI> yet in a <HI>moral</HI> way. God &s;peaks when we are mo&s;t apt to hear; <HI>congruou&s;ly,</HI> yet <HI>forcibly,</HI> by a fit accommodation of circum&s;tan|ces:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fruit of Correc|tion in or|der to di|vine tea|ching. 1. It ta|keth down pride of heart.</NOTE> which you may di&s;cover in the&s;e <HI>four particulars.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>By Correction God taketh down the pride of mans heart:</HI> there is not a greater ob&s;truction to &s;aving knowledg then pride and &s;elf-opini|on, whereby man either thinks he knoweth <HI>enough,</HI> or, <HI>that</HI> not worth the learning which <HI>God teacheth:</HI> therefore it is proclaimed before the Word, <HI>Hear and give ear,</HI> BE <HI>not proud; for the Lord hath &s;poken, Jer.</HI> 13.15. In divine matters, as well as humane,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 13.10</NOTE> <HI>onely by pride com|eth contention:</HI> It is <HI>pride</HI> which rai&s;eth Objections again&s;t the Word, and di&s;puteth the Commands when
<PB N="163" REF="89">it &s;hould obey them.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 43.2</NOTE> The <HI>proud men</HI> in <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> when they could <HI>clude</HI> the me&s;&s;age of God by his Prophet no longer, do at length &s;tiffen into down-right Rebellion: fir&s;t they <HI>&s;hift, Thou &s;peake&s;t fal&s;ly, &amp;c.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 2</NOTE> and then they <HI>re&s;olve, As for the Word that thou ha&s;t &s;poken to us in the Name of the Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. 44.16</NOTE> we will not harken unto thee, &amp;c. q. d.</HI> be it <HI>Baruch,</HI> or be it <HI>God,</HI> we will have none of it; <HI>but we will certainly do what&s;oever goeth forth out of our own mouth, &amp;c.</HI> Such a ma&s;ter-piece of obduration is the heart of man, that it &s;tands like a mountain before the Word, and cannot be moved, till God come with his in&s;truments of affliction, and digging down tho&s;e mountains (as it is proclaimed before the Go&s;pel, <HI>Luk.</HI> 3.5.) ca&s;teth them into a level; and then God may &s;tand, as it were, upon even ground, and talk with man. This pride of heart <HI>&s;peak|eth loud</HI> in the wicked, and <HI>whisper|eth</HI> even in the godly; it is a <HI>folly bound up</HI> even <HI>in the hearts of Gods children,</HI> till the <HI>Rod of Correction
<PB N="164" REF="90">driveth it out;</HI> and the &s;tomack bro|ken, the poor bleeding wretch cry out <HI>Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?</HI></P>
<P>Secondly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. It &s;oft|eneth the heart.</NOTE> <HI>Affliction is Gods forge wherein he &s;oftens the iron heart:</HI> There is no dealing with the Iron while it remaineth in its own native coldne&s;s and hardne&s;s; put it into the fire, make it red-hot there, and you may &s;tamp upon it any figure or impre&s;&s;ion you plea&s;e:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 65.10</NOTE> <HI>God maketh my heart &s;oft,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Job:</HI> melted ve&s;&s;els are impre&s;&s;ive to any form. So it is with the heart of man; na|turally it is colder and harder then the <HI>northern</HI> iron; and that native induration is much increas'd by pro|&s;perity, and the patience of God to|wards &s;inners: the iron &s;inew will rather break then bend: It is the hot furnace onely which can make it operable and impre&s;&s;ive to Gods Coun&s;els: which cour&s;e therefore God re&s;olveth on; <HI>I will melt them and try them, Jer.</HI> 9.7. and &s;ome|times God is forced to make the furnace &s;even times hotter, to work out that dro&s;s which renders men &s;o
<PB N="165" REF="90">unformable to the Mini&s;try of the Word, while <HI>God &s;ends his prophets, ri&s;ing up early, and &s;ending them; and yet they will not encline their ear, but harder their necks</HI> again&s;t divine In&s;truction.</P>
<P>When the <HI>earthly heart</HI> of man is &s;o <HI>dryed</HI> and <HI>hardened</HI> by a long <HI>&s;un|&s;hine</HI> of pro&s;perity, that the <HI>plough</HI> of the &s;piritual Husbandman can|not enter,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 65.10</NOTE> <HI>God doth &s;often it with &s;howres</HI> of adver&s;ity, maketh it ca|pable of the <HI>immortal &s;eed,</HI> and <HI>ble&s;&s;eth the &s;pringing thereof:</HI> The &s;eed falleth upon &s;tony ground, till God turn the &s;tone into an heart of fle&s;h.</P>
<P>Thirdly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 It ma|keth man attentive to God.</NOTE> By Cha&s;ti&s;ement <HI>man is made more attentive unto God:</HI> In pro&s;perity the world makes &s;uch a noi&s;e in a mans ears, that God cannot be heard;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 33.14</NOTE> <HI>He &s;peaks indeed once and twice,</HI> again and again, very often; <HI>yet man perceiveth it not:</HI> he is &s;o bu&s;ie in the croud of worldly affairs, that God is not heeded. In the god|ly them&s;elves there is much un&s;etled|ne&s;s and giddine&s;s of minde; natu|rally
<PB N="166" REF="91">our thoughts are vain and &s;cat|tered, the &s;pirit &s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ppery and incon|&s;i&s;tent, which is a great impediment to our clear and full comprehen&s;ions of &s;piritual things: And therefore God is forc'd to deal with man as a father with his childe playing in the market-place, and will not hear or minde his fathers call, he comes and takes him out of the noi&s;e of the tu|mult, carries him into his Counting-hou&s;e, lays him upon his knee with the rod in his hand, and then the fa|ther can be heard: So doth God, I &s;ay, <MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="Ver&s;e"> with his children; <HI>He openeth their ears,</HI> Hebr. <HI>He uncovereth their ears,</HI> which the Worlds vani|ty had &s;topped, and then in&s;truction will enter. When <HI>Joab</HI> would not come to <HI>Ab&s;alom,</HI> he &s;ets his field on fire, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 14.30. And thus after neglects God brings us to treat with him by affliction: God &s;aith as it were, <HI>Come, let us rea&s;on together;</HI> and the Soul eccho's back again, <HI>Speak Lord, for thy &s;ervant hear|eth:</HI> and when the Soul is thus <HI>&s;i|lent unto God,</HI> He cometh and <HI>&s;eal|eth
<PB N="167" REF="91">Instruction</HI> by his Spirit.</P>
<P>Fourthly and la&s;tly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4. Afflicti|on is an Eye-&s;alve.</NOTE> <HI>Affliction is an Eye-&s;alve,</HI> whereby God open|eth the eye of the Soul to &s;ee the need of divine Teaching, by the di&s;|covery of its own bruti&s;h ignorance of God, and of his ways, under all divine Admini&s;trations; as <HI>Ephraim</HI> once <HI>bemoaned him&s;elf</HI> to the Lord, <HI>I have been as a bullock unaccu|&s;tomed to the yoke:</HI> the Prophet <HI>Da|vid</HI> will Engli&s;h it, <HI>So fooli&s;h was I, and ignorant,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 73.22</NOTE> and like a bea&s;t be|fore thee:</HI> And by means of this di&s;covery God draws out the heart into humble and holy &s;upplication for Divine Teaching;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 34.32</NOTE> <HI>That which I &s;ee not, teach thou me; and if I have done iniquity, I will do no more:</HI> When or how cometh the Sinner thus to put in for In&s;truction? why, Ver&s;. 31. <HI>I have born chasti&s;ement: Correction</HI> di&s;covered the need of <HI>In&s;truction; That which I &s;ee not, teach thou me:</HI> And thus <HI>Ephraim, Thou ha&s;t chasti&s;ed me, and I was cha&s;ti&s;ed;</HI> but blows alone will not do it: therefore it follows, <HI>Turn
<PB N="168" REF="92">thou me, and I &s;hall be turned:</HI> though Cha&s;ti&s;ement could not turn <HI>Ephraim,</HI> yet it made him &s;ee an ab|&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of divine power to his conver&s;ion; le&s;s then Omnipo|tence would not &s;erve the turn.</P>
<P>And when God hath brought the heart once into this frame, <HI>&s;c.</HI> to &s;ee, and be affected with the &s;en&s;e of its own ignorance and impotency, and to lie in the du&s;t at Gods feet, hum|bly importuning an effectual Teach|ing from Heaven; if God &s;hould withhold it, he &s;hould fail not his <HI>promi&s;e</HI> onely, but his own <HI>coun&s;el</HI> and <HI>project:</HI> in reference to which <HI>God cannot lye;</HI> but <HI>when he hath prepared the heart to pray,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 10 17</NOTE> He will cau&s;e his ear to hear:</HI> When God hath engaged the heart in holy de&s;ires of &s;aving In&s;truction, it is not <HI>mercy</HI> onely in God, but <HI>faithfulne&s;s,</HI> to &s;atisfie the de&s;ire of his own Creati|on:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 25 8</NOTE> <HI>Good and</HI> UPRIGHT <HI>is the Lord, and therefore he will teach &s;inners in the way.</HI></P>
<P>Thus much for the third particular thing propounded for the opening
<PB N="169" REF="92">of the Doctrine: I come now to</P>
<P>The fourth and la&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Grounds or Demon|&s;trations of the point.</NOTE> The <HI>Grounds and Demon&s;trations of the Point.</HI> Of which in a few words, and then I &s;hall come to the U&s;e and Application.</P>
<P>It mu&s;t needs be a ble&s;&s;ed thing when Correction and In&s;truction meet, if we con&s;ider:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;ons which <HI>God</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> cheth are &s;o ma|ny Ble&s;&s;|edne&s;&s;es.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>The Le&s;&s;ons them&s;elves which God teacheth his Ephraim's in the School of Affliction: ex<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gra.</HI> Is it not a ble&s;&s;ed thing to be taught how to compa&s;&s;ionate them that are in a &s;uffering condition? yea, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">aith the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is he that con|&s;idereth the poor, the Lord will deli|ver him in time of trouble, the Lord will pre&s;erve him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 41.1, 2</NOTE> and keep him alive, and he &s;hal be ble&s;&s;ed up|on earth, &amp;c.</HI> he <HI>is</HI> ble&s;&s;ed, and he <HI>&s;hal be</HI> ble&s;&s;ed, not in <HI>heaven</HI> onely, <HI>but</HI> upon <HI>earth</HI> al&s;o; and that with a <HI>multiplyed ble&s;&s;ing:</HI> &s;ee a troop follows: <HI>Thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies; the Lord will &s;trengthen him upon the bed of his langui&s;hing; <MILESTONE N="2, 3" UNIT="Ver&s;."> thou wilt
<PB N="170" REF="93">make all his bed in his &s;ickne&s;s:</HI> oh the ble&s;&s;edne&s;s of a compa&s;&s;ionate heart towards afflicted ones! <HI>how ea&s;ie mu&s;t that bed be which God ma|keth?</HI> And, 2ly, is it not a ble&s;|&s;ed thing to know <HI>how to value our earthly comforts without doating upon them?</HI> to be thankful and yet not to &s;urfeit? <HI>ble&s;&s;ed is he that fea|reth alwayes,</HI> i. e. that feareth a &s;nare in all his earthly contentments: And, 3ly, if it be a ble&s;&s;edne&s;s to be conformed to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, then &s;urely <HI>&s;elf-denyal</HI> is a le&s;&s;on which will make one ble&s;&s;ed; <HI>If any man will be my di&s;ciple, let him deny him|&s;elf and follow me,</HI> &s;aith our Saviour Matth. 16.24. And, 4ly, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdome of heaven,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5 3, 5</NOTE> and ble&s;&s;ed are the meek for they &s;hal inherit the earth:</HI> if heaven and earth, can make one ble&s;&s;ed, then <HI>Humility</HI> is a ble&s;&s;ed Le&s;&s;on. And &s;o it is, 5ly, <HI>To have our hearts di&s;covered to our &s;elves;</HI> corruption is matter of <HI>humiliation,</HI> but <HI>&s;ight</HI> and <HI>&s;en&s;e</HI> of corruption is matter of <HI>comfort</HI> and
<PB N="171" REF="93">rejoycing: it is a mi&s;erable thing in|deed to be poor and not to &s;ee ones poverty, <HI>Thou &s;ayst thou art rich,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 3.17</NOTE> but knowest not that thou art poor and mi&s;erable;</HI> but happy is that man to whom the Lord fir&s;t di&s;covers the hidden corruption of his heart, and then teacheth him to mourn over it;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.4</NOTE> <HI>ble&s;&s;ed are they that mourn for they &s;hal be comforted.</HI> 6ly, A man is never in a happier condition, then when his heart is in a <HI>praying frame:</HI> It is a mercy with a note of ob&s;ervation;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 9.11</NOTE> <HI>Behold he prayes:</HI> a man is never mi&s;erable but when he cannot pray. And, 7ly, what think ye of the Word? &s;urely he is a ble&s;&s;ed man that by affliction is brought acquainted with his Bible which is nothing el&s;e but a trea&s;ury and Magazeen of ble&s;&s;ings: <HI>ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou cha&s;ti&s;est, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy Law:</HI> it is your text, and the fir&s;t P&s;alm is your comment, <HI>His delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in his Law doth he meditate day and night,</HI> v. 2. And 8ly, ble&s;&s;ed are they
<PB N="172" REF="94"><HI>whom the Lord teacheth to clear out their evidences for heaven, to give all diligence to make their calling and election &s;ure,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1.10 11</NOTE> for &s;o an abundant entrance &s;hal be admini&s;tred unto them into the everla&s;ting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Christ;</HI> when others &s;hall but <HI>creep</HI> to heaven as it were upon all four, they &s;hal <HI>ride</HI> as in a <HI>triumphant charet</HI> into the gates of the New Je|ru&s;alem. 9ly, Ble&s;&s;ed are they, <HI>who weep over their grievings of Gods Spirit,</HI> for God &s;hal wipe off tho&s;e tears from their eyes; and He will <HI>comfort</HI> them whom they have <HI>grieved.</HI> And, 10ly, what is the <HI>ble&s;&s;edne&s;s of heaven</HI> it &s;elf, but Communion with God! 11ly, <HI>The exerci&s;e of Grace.</HI> 12ly. The <HI>Life of Faith.</HI> 13ly. <HI>Trust in God that rai&s;es the dead, and cals things which are not as though they were:</HI> 14. <HI>a clearer di&s;covery of Gods Excellencies;</HI> what are the&s;e but heaven begun on this &s;ide heaven, glory antidated!
<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 17.3</NOTE> <HI>This is life eternal to know thee:</HI> our Saviour &s;aith not,
<PB N="173" REF="94"><HI>it &s;hal be</HI> life eternall, but <HI>it is;</HI> eter|nall life is begun already where the&s;e things be. In the fiftteenth, and &s;ix|teenth place, to be taught the <HI>Duties</HI> and <HI>Priviledges</HI> of a &s;uffering con|dition, <HI>is a ble&s;&s;ed Teaching,</HI> for hereby the &s;oul is enabled to ta&s;te and &s;ee what is good and &s;weet in every affliction, and is &s;et above all that which is grievous and intoler|able to Nature; <HI>for this cau&s;e we faint not, &amp;c.</HI> 17ly, The <HI>unum nece&s;&s;arium,</HI> the <HI>one onely thing nece&s;&s;ary,</HI> mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be a ble&s;&s;ed thing: It is, &s;aith our Sa|viour,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 10 42</NOTE> <HI>the better part which &s;hall not be taken away.</HI> 18ly, The Art of <HI>Time-Redemption,</HI> is a ble&s;&s;|ing, not le&s;s then an evidence of <HI>Soul-Redemption;</HI> if ye compare the fir&s;t Epi&s;tle of <HI>Peter,</HI> Chap. 1. ver&s;. 17, and 18. together. 19ly, Ask S. <HI>Paul,</HI> and he will tell you, that the knowledg of the &s;ufferings of Je&s;us Chri&s;t is an <HI>excellent knowledg,</HI> in compari&s;on of which all other things are lo&s;s and dung, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.8, 9, 10. And la&s;tly, To <HI>long for Heaven,</HI> is
<PB N="174" REF="95">the very <HI>fir&s;t fruits of Heaven;</HI> the evidence and &s;eal of our <HI>conjugal</HI> CONTRACT with Je&s;us Chri&s;t; <HI>The Spirit and the</HI> BRIDE <HI>&s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 22.17</NOTE> Come Lord Je&s;us.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Erudi|tur ad b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">atitudi|nem.</HI> Greg. Moral.</NOTE> Behold Chri&s;ti|ans, to be <HI>taught of God when cha|&s;ti&s;ed by him,</HI> is a Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s com|pounded of twenty &s;everal precious ingredients: At lea&s;t if ye will take in</P>
<P>The <HI>Nature and Properties of di|vine Teaching;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Demon&s;t.</HI> The Pro|perties of Divine Teaching make up real ble&s;&s;|edne&s;s.</NOTE> which may make a &s;econd Demon|&s;tration; that is to &s;ay, to be taught all the&s;e;
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Inwardly.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Clearly.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Experimentally.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Powerfully.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. Sweetly.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. Abidingly.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>This mu&s;t needs be a ble&s;&s;ed tea|ching; It being a Teaching which doth po&s;&s;e&s;s the Soul of the excellen|cies which it di&s;covereth. Doctrinal and notional knowledg is a <HI>ble&s;&s;ing: Ble&s;&s;ed</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t to his Hearers) <HI>are your eyes,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 13.16</NOTE> for they &s;ee, and your ears, for they hear:</HI> I, but it is but an <HI>occa&s;ional, preparatory</HI> ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, ble&s;&s;edne&s;s in the <HI>offer</HI> and <HI>opportu|nity;</HI> Oh but to be taught <HI>the&s;e
<PB N="175" REF="95">Le&s;&s;ons</HI> with <HI>the&s;e qualifications;</HI> to be taught <HI>as the truth is in Je&s;us;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor, 3. la&s;t</NOTE> to be taught <HI>into the nature and im|age of the truth;</HI> to be taught <HI>into the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of divine excellencies;</HI> this <HI>is ble&s;&s;edne&s;s indeed;</HI> ble&s;&s;ed|ne&s;s <HI>in Being; full, perfect, fruiti|onal ble&s;&s;edne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>A third Demon&s;tration,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 <HI>Demon&s;t.</HI> They are fruits of Gods di|&s;tingui&s;h|ing love.</NOTE></P>
<P>A Teaching Cha&s;ti&s;ement <HI>is the fruit of Gods di&s;tingui&s;hing Love.</HI> Cha&s;ti&s;ements (&s;imply con&s;idered in them&s;elves) lie in common to all the &s;ons and daughters of <HI>Adam</HI> &s;ince the Fall; the fruit of that <HI>fir&s;t apo|&s;tacy,</HI> as well as of <HI>actual and per|&s;onal</HI> departures from God: yea and <HI>deliverance</HI> al&s;o, lieth in common: Providence di&s;pen&s;eth Deliverance to the wor&s;t of men: The 106 <HI>P&s;alm</HI> is a <HI>P&s;alm</HI> of Promi&s;es, made to the Church; but the next <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> the 107, is a <HI>P&s;alm</HI> of Providential Di&s;pen&s;ations to the World; and there, as you finde affliction, &s;o you may finde <HI>deliverance</HI> al&s;o out of tho&s;e afflictions, to be the portion of wicked men; <HI>Rebels,</HI> Ver&s;. 11.
<PB N="176" REF="96">and <HI>Fools,</HI> Ver&s;. 19, 20. (<HI>i. e. wick|ed fools, Solomons</HI> fools all along the <HI>Proverbs,</HI>) <HI>Seamen,</HI> Ver&s;. 23. (for the mo&s;t part, not the mo&s;t religious order in the world;) all the&s;e are <HI>delivered</HI> out of their troubles: The wor&s;t of men, I &s;ay, &s;hare in this fruit of Gods Providential Goodne&s;s, <HI>De|liverance;</HI> but a teaching &s;anctified affliction is the <HI>privy &s;eal</HI> of &s;pecial love,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 89.33</NOTE> My LOVING KINDNES <HI>wil I not take from him: whom the Lord</HI> LOVETH <HI>he cha&s;teneth;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.6</NOTE> that is to &s;ay, with a <HI>teaching cha&s;ti&s;ement:</HI> when <HI>Word</HI> and <HI>Rod</HI> meet together, when <HI>Correction</HI> and <HI>In&s;truction</HI> ki&s;s each other, they are the fruit of paternal affection, and therefore mu&s;t needs have a ble&s;&s;ing bound up in them.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 8.5</NOTE> <HI>As a man cha&s;teneth his &s;on, &s;o the Lord cha&s;teneth thee.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 <HI>Demon&s;t.</HI> It is a branch of the Cove|nant of Grace. I&s;ai 54.13 Ier. 31.33</NOTE> A Teaching-Correcti|on <HI>is a branch of the Covenant of Grace,</HI> which God hath made in Chri&s;t for the Children of Promi&s;e; <HI>All thy children &s;hall be taught of God: They &s;hall all know me from the lea&s;t of them to the greate&s;t.</HI> by
<PB N="177" REF="96">vertue of Divine Teaching Afflicti|on is <HI>adopted</HI> to be a clau&s;e in the Covenant of Grace. That 89 <HI>P&s;alm</HI> is a Song of the New Covenant; <HI>I will &s;ing of the mercies of the Lord,</HI> Ver&s;. 1. what mercies? not <HI>provi|dence mercies</HI> onely, but <HI>promi&s;e mercies, Covenant mercies;</HI> ver&s;. 3. <HI>I have made a Covenant with my my cho&s;en:</HI> And among&s;t the re&s;t of the branches of the Covenant you &s;hall find the <HI>rod</HI> and the <HI>whip</HI> have their place, Ver. 30, 31, 32. If his chil|dren for&s;ake my Law, and walk not in my judgments, &amp;c. <HI>Then will I vi&s;it their Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion with the rod, and their iniquity with &s;tripes:</HI> Behold <HI>rod</HI> and <HI>&s;tripes</HI> &s;tanding here, not upon Mount <HI>Ebal,</HI> the Mount of <HI>cur&s;es,</HI> as branches of <HI>a Cove|nant of Works,</HI> but upon <HI>Mount Geriz<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m,</HI> the Mount of <HI>Ble&s;&s;ings,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 11</NOTE> as branches of the <HI>Covenant of Grace.</HI> Affliction is not &s;o much <HI>threatned</HI> as <HI>promi&s;d</HI> to <HI>Chri&s;ts &s;eed: My Cov<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nant will I not break,</HI> ver. 34. When God &s;eems even to <HI>break the bones and hearts</HI> of his people by
<PB N="178" REF="97">&s;ore and heavy &s;trokes of correction, yet he doth not <HI>break his Covenant, My Covenant will I not break:</HI> it is in order to the <HI>Covenant</HI> when God cha&s;ti&s;eth his children, and <HI>in|&s;tructs</HI> them by his cha&s;ti&s;ements. Affliction &s;eparated from in&s;truction is <HI>pure wrath,</HI> a bla&s;t from <HI>Mount Ebal, Deut.</HI> 28. but by a <HI>matri|monial Covenant</HI> tho&s;e two Scrip|tures [<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 89.32. <HI>I will vi&s;it, &amp;c.</HI> and <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 54.13. <HI>I will teach,</HI>] are marryed together, and made one &s;pirit (as in my Text,) and then they are <HI>pure grace.</HI> The Covenant is the <HI>Magna Charta</HI> of Heaven, and con|tains a li&s;t of what ever <HI>God the Fa|ther</HI> hath <HI>purpo&s;ed, God the Son</HI> hath <HI>purcha&s;ed,</HI> and <HI>God the Holy Gho&s;t</HI> doth <HI>apply</HI> to the Heirs of promi&s;e. The bre&s;ts of the Covenant run no|thing but the milk of &s;piritual ble&s;&s;|ing to the children of God.</P>
<P>Fifthly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">5 <HI>Demon&s;t.</HI> The pur|cha&s;e of Chri&s;ts Death.</NOTE> A Teaching-affliction <HI>is the purcha&s;e of Chri&s;ts death and blood&s;hed:</HI> Chri&s;t dyed not to ex|empt his redeemed from &s;uffering, but to <HI>&s;anctifie</HI> their <HI>&s;ufferings</HI> with
<PB N="179" REF="97">his own blood: <HI>I pray not that thou &s;hould&s;t take them out of the world,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 17.15</NOTE> but that thou &s;hould&s;t keep them from the evil:</HI> what&s;oever Chri&s;t purchas'd, he pray'd for; and this was one main priviledg, not freedom from the evil of <HI>affliction,</HI> but from the evil of <HI>&s;in; Sanctifie them with thy Truth,</HI> Ver&s;. 17. Gods Teach|ings are <HI>&s;anctifying</HI> Teachings, <HI>San|ctifie them with thy Truth, thy Word is Truth:</HI> Chri&s;ts blood purchas'd nothing but ble&s;&s;ings.</P>
<P>Sixthly, and la&s;tly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6 <HI>Demon&s;t.</HI> It is the re&s;ult of all Chri&s;ts Offices.</NOTE> A Teaching-affliction <HI>is the re&s;ult of all the Of|fices of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> As a <HI>King</HI> he cha&s;tens; as a <HI>Prophet</HI> he teacheth; and as a <HI>Prie&s;t</HI> he hath purchas'd this grace of his Father, that the <HI>Rod</HI> might blo&s;&s;om; that <HI>Correction</HI> might be con&s;ecrated for <HI>In&s;tructi|on</HI> unto the redeemed: Behold, a &s;anctified affliction is a cup wherein|to Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath wrung and pre&s;t the juice and vertue of all his Medi|atory Offices; &s;urely that mu&s;t be a cup of generous and royal wine, like <HI>that</HI> in the <HI>Supper, a Cup of ble&s;&s;ing</HI>
<PB N="180" REF="98">to the people of God.</P>
<P>And thus I have fini&s;hed the fourth particular propounded for the clear|ing and confirming of the Doctrine, <HI>&s;c.</HI> the Grounds and Demon&s;trations of the point; and with it the whole Doctrinal part of this great and ble&s;|&s;ed Truth, namely, <HI>That it is a ble&s;|&s;ed thing when</HI> CORRECTION <HI>and</HI> INSTRUCTION, WORD <HI>and</HI> ROD <HI>go together.</HI></P>
<P>I come now to the U&s;e, for the improvement of the point. And it may &s;erve for
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Information,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Exhortation.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, For <HI>Information,</HI> and that in the&s;e particulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Affliction alone can|not evi|dence a man to be ble&s;&s;ed.</NOTE> If they only be ble&s;&s;ed whom God cha&s;teneth and teacheth; <HI>then Affliction alone is not enough to evi|dence a man to be an happy man:</HI> no man is therefore ble&s;&s;ed becau&s;e he is cha&s;tened: blows alone are not enough,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier 31.18</NOTE> either to <HI>evince</HI> or to <HI>effect</HI> a &s;tate of ble&s;&s;edne&s;s: <HI>Thou ha&s;t cha|&s;ti&s;ed me, and I was cha&s;ti&s;ed,</HI> cryeth repenting <HI>Ephraim; q. d.</HI> I have had blows enough, if blows would
<PB N="181" REF="98">have done me good: nay, but under all the &s;trokes and &s;mitings of thy di&s;plea&s;ure, I have been <HI>as a bullock unaccu&s;tomed to the yoke;</HI> unteach|able and untractable; thou ha&s;t drawn one way, and I have drawn another; thou ha&s;t pull'd forward, and I have pull'd backward; all thy cha&s;ti&s;ements have left me as they found me, <HI>bruti&s;h</HI> and <HI>rebellious:</HI> Surely blows onely may break the <HI>neck</HI> &s;ooner then the <HI>heart:</HI> They are in them&s;elves the <HI>fruit of divine wrath,</HI> a <HI>branch of the cur&s;e,</HI> and therefore cannot po&s;&s;ibly of them|&s;elves make the lea&s;t argument of Gods love to the Soul. <HI>Ba&s;tards</HI> have blows as well as <HI>Children,</HI> and <HI>Fools becau&s;e of their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion are afflicted.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 107.17</NOTE> And yet it is very &s;ad to con&s;ider that this is the be&s;t evi|dence that the mo&s;t of men have for Heaven; becau&s;e they &s;uffer in this world, they think they &s;hall be freed from &s;ufferings in the World to come; and becau&s;e they have an hell here, they hope they &s;hall e&s;cape Hell hereafter, they hope they &s;hal not have
<PB N="182" REF="99"><HI>two hells:</HI> yes poor deluded Soul, thou may&s;t have two Hells, and mu&s;t have two Hells without better evidence for Heaven: <HI>Cain</HI> had two Hells, and <HI>Judas</HI> had two Hells, and milli|ons of reprobate men and women have two Hells; one of <HI>this life,</HI> in torments of body, and horror of con&s;cience; and another of the <HI>life to come,</HI> in unquenchable fire: and &s;o I &s;ay &s;halt thou, unle&s;s thou get better evidence for Heaven, then the pre&s;ent mi&s;ery which is upon thee: the plagues and evils which are upon thee may be but the <HI>beginnings of &s;orrows:</HI> pain now in the <HI>body</HI> may be but a <HI>forerunner</HI> of torments hereafter in thy <HI>Soul:</HI> thou may&s;t have a <HI>pri&s;on</HI> on <HI>Earth,</HI> and a <HI>dun|geon</HI> in <HI>Hell;</HI> thou may&s;t now want a <HI>crum</HI> of <HI>bread,</HI> and hereafter a <HI>drop</HI> of <HI>water;</HI> thou may&s;t now be the <HI>reproach</HI> of <HI>men,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 66.24 Prov. 1.24</NOTE> and hereafter the <HI>&s;corn</HI> of <HI>men</HI> and <HI>Angels,</HI> and of <HI>God</HI> him&s;elf; And therefore <HI>be wi&s;e to Salvation,</HI> by <HI>working it out with fear and trembling,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.12 2 Pet. 1.10</NOTE> and giving all <HI>diligence, make your Calling and
<PB N="183" REF="99">Election &s;ure.</HI> God forbid that a man &s;hould take that for his &s;ecurity from Hell, which may be but the <HI>preli|bations</HI> of Hell, the <HI>pledg</HI> and <HI>aggra|vation</HI> of endle&s;s mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>Why, but doth not the Scripture &s;ay, <MILESTONE UNIT="Object."> <HI>Whom the Lord loveth he cha|&s;teneth, and &s;courgeth every &s;on whom he receiveth?</HI> And again,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.6</NOTE> <HI>As many as I love, I rebuke &amp; cha&s;ten?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 3.19</NOTE></P>
<P>Yes: but mark I be&s;eech you; though the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>Whom the Lord loveth he cha&s;teneth,</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="An&s;w."> it doth not &s;ay, Whom&s;oever the Lord <HI>cha&s;teneth</HI> he <HI>loveth:</HI> Though it &s;aith, <HI>He &s;courgeth every &s;on whom he receiveth,</HI> it doth not &s;ay, whom|&s;oever he <HI>&s;courgeth</HI> he <HI>receiveth him as a &s;on:</HI> Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>As many as I love, I rebuke and cha&s;ten;</HI> but he &s;aith not, <HI>As many as I rebuke and cha&s;ten, I love.</HI> The&s;e Scriptures <HI>include children,</HI> but they do not ex|clude <HI>ba&s;tards:</HI> they tye <HI>cha&s;tening</HI> to <HI>&s;on&s;hip,</HI> but not <HI>&s;on&s;hip</HI> to <HI>cha|&s;tening:</HI> the &s;ons are cha&s;tened; but all the cha&s;tened are not, <HI>therefore,</HI> &s;ons: the beloved are rebuked, but
<PB N="184" REF="100">all that are rebuked are not, <HI>con&s;e|quently,</HI> beloved.</P>
<P>But that place in <HI>Job</HI> 5.17. &s;eems to &s;ay as much, <HI>Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth.</HI></P>
<P>It is true; but <HI>one Scripture mu&s;t interpret another; David</HI> mu&s;t ex|pound <HI>Eliphaz: Happy is the man whom God correcteth, i. e.</HI> when <HI>in|&s;truction</HI> goeth along with <HI>correcti|on,</HI> when <HI>cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> and <HI>teaching</HI> accompany one another: <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou cha&s;tene&s;t, O Lord, and teache&s;t him out of thy Law.</HI> The Scripture doth not u&s;ual|ly give things their <HI>names,</HI> but when they are made up of all their inte|grals: <HI>Who &s;o fendeth a wife, findeth a good thing,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 18.22</NOTE> and obtaineth favor of the Lord; i. e.</HI> a <HI>wife</HI> made up of <HI>Scripture qualifications:</HI> otherwi&s;e a man may, and many men do, finde a <HI>plague</HI> in a wife, and hath her from the Lord in <HI>wrath,</HI> and not in <HI>love:</HI> Every married woman is not a wife; a <HI>bad woman</HI> is but the <HI>&s;hadow</HI> of a wife: And &s;o here in this ca&s;e, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Indeed cha&s;tening and affliction is
<PB N="185" REF="100">an <HI>opportunity</HI> of mercy, a <HI>may-be</HI> to happine&s;s, but not <HI>(&s;ingly)</HI> an <HI>e|vidence</HI> of happine&s;s: lay no more upon it then it will bear; it is an opportunity, <HI>improve it;</HI> it is no more, do not <HI>tru&s;t</HI> it.</P>
<P>Secondly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Branch of Informat.</HI> Afflictions conclude not a man mi&s;erable.</NOTE> This Doctrine informs us thus much, <HI>&s;c.</HI> that as affliction &s;imply con&s;idered, is not enough to make or evidence a man to be happy, &s;o neither <HI>is it &s;ufficient to conclude a man to be mi&s;erable:</HI> No man is <HI>therefore</HI> mi&s;erable <HI>becau&s;e afflicted.</HI> It may prove a <HI>teaching affliction,</HI> and then he is <HI>happy:</HI> And yet this is another mi&s;take among men: And that
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. In reference to others.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. In reference to our &s;elves.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">1. In reference to others: People are very prone to judg them <HI>wretch|ed</HI> whom they &s;ee <HI>afflicted:</HI> it was the <HI>mi&s;erable</HI> mi&s;take of <HI>Jobs friends</HI> to conclude HIM <HI>mi&s;erable</HI> becau&s;e <HI>&s;mitten, cur&s;ed</HI> becau&s;e <HI>cha&s;tened.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. In reference to our &s;elves; it is a <HI>mercile&s;s mistake,</HI> &s;ometimes
<PB N="186" REF="101">even of Gods own children, to &s;it down under affliction, e&s;pecially if <HI>&s;ore</HI> and of <HI>long continuance,</HI> and conclude, <HI>God doth not love them,</HI> becau&s;e he doth <HI>correct them.</HI> It &s;eems to be the very ca&s;e of the be|leeving <HI>Hebrews;</HI> they judged them|&s;elves <HI>out of Gods favor,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12</NOTE> becau&s;e <HI>un|der Gods frowns: not at all beloved,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>&s;o greatly afflicted;</HI> under many and &s;ore <HI>per&s;ecutions,</HI> as you may &s;ee, Chap. 10.32, 33, 34. And therefore it is that upon which the Apo&s;tle (after he pre&s;ented them with a large catalogue and li&s;t of the primitive Martyrs before Chri&s;t, in the eleventh Chapter) be&s;tows the twelve fir&s;t ver&s;es of the twelfth Chapter, <HI>&s;c.</HI> to prove by <HI>rea&s;ons</HI> drawn from <HI>nature,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>in&s;tances</HI> ta|ken out of Scripture; the fir&s;t where|of is that unparalleld and a&s;toni&s;hing in&s;tance of Je<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">us Chri&s;t, the <HI>fir&s;tborn,</HI> the
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Unum ha|buit Deus filium &s;ine flagitio, nullum &s;ine flagello.</NOTE> <HI>Son of Gods loves and delights:</HI> I &s;ay, to e&s;tabli&s;h this as a Conclu&s;i|on of unque&s;tionable verity, namely, That <HI>Gods</HI> LOVE <HI>and Gods</HI> ROD <HI>may &s;tand together.</HI> The truth is,
<PB N="187" REF="101">my Brethren, there is nothing can make a man mi&s;erable but <HI>&s;in:</HI> It is &s;in that poy&s;ons our afflictions: <HI>The &s;ting of death is &s;in:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15 56</NOTE> and &s;o we may &s;ay of all other evils, which militate under <HI>Death</HI> as <HI>Soldiers</HI> under their <HI>General;</HI> The &s;ting of <HI>&s;ickne&s;s</HI> is &s;in; and the &s;ting of <HI>poverty</HI> is &s;in; and the &s;ting of <HI>impri&s;onment</HI> and <HI>bani&s;hment</HI> is &s;in: <HI>&amp; &s;ic in caet.</HI> Take the &s;ting out, which is <HI>purchas'd</HI> by the <HI>blood of Christ,</HI> and <HI>evidenced</HI> by Divine Teaching, and <HI>they can|not hurt nor de&s;troy in all Gods holy mountain, I&s;ai.</HI> 11.4. And there|fore let no children of God be ra&s;h to conclude hard things again&s;t them&s;elves, and take heed of <HI>making evidences of Wrath where God hath made none.</HI> Let Chri&s;tians on both &s;ides look further then the affliction it &s;elf; the Holy Gho&s;t having long &s;ince determined this controver&s;ie by a peremptory deci&s;ion:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 9.1</NOTE> <HI>No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them; i.e.</HI> no man can make a judgment, either of Gods <HI>love</HI> or <HI>hatred</HI> towards him, by any
<PB N="188" REF="102">of the&s;e outward Di&s;pen&s;ations. <HI>He cau&s;eth his Sun to &s;hine upon the evil,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.45 <HI>Bonis bre|vibus mala aeterna, &amp; malis bre|vibus bona aeterna &s;uc|cedunt.</HI> Lactant. Div. In&s;t.</NOTE> and upon the good; and &s;endeth rain on the just, and on the unjust:</HI> The &s;un of pro&s;perity &s;hineth upon the <HI>dunghil</HI> as well as upon the <HI>bed of &s;pices;</HI> and the rain of adver&s;ity falleth upon the <HI>fruitful garden</HI> as well as upon the <HI>barren wilderne&s;s:</HI> he judgeth truly of his e&s;tate, that judgeth by the <HI>Word,</HI> and not by <HI>Providence:</HI> Evidences of Grace con&s;i&s;t in <HI>inward impre&s;&s;ions,</HI> not in <HI>outward dispen&s;ations.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 <HI>Branch Informat.</HI> Deliver|ance not enough to argue a man hap|py.</NOTE> <HI>That Deliverance out of trouble is not enough to evidence or make a man happy:</HI> It is not &s;aid, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou cha|&s;tenest, O Lord,</HI> AND DELI|VEREST HIM <HI>out of trouble;</HI> but, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou chastenest and teachest:</HI> A man may get rid of the affliction, and yet mi&s;s of the ble&s;&s;ing. All the bread which men may eat without the <HI>&s;weat of their brows</HI> is not there|fore <HI>hallowed;</HI> abundance may flow in <HI>without labor,</HI> and yet not <HI>with|out
<PB N="189" REF="102">a cur&s;e.</HI> A woman may be de|livered from the <HI>pain</HI> of child bear|ing, and yet lie under the <HI>cur&s;e</HI> of child-bearing: an ea&s;ie travel is not an infallible &s;ymptome of a &s;tate of reconciliation:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2.15</NOTE> If there be not faith in Chri&s;t, who hath born, and born away, the Cur&s;e; a &s;peedy and ea&s;ie deliverance is no more then God in|dulgeth the bruit creatures; for <HI>by him the Hindes do calve, and the wild A&s;&s;es bring forth their young:
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 9.14 <HI>Calvin</HI> un|der&s;tands it as a prayer for them, not an impre|cation a|gain&s;t them; <HI>hic coram Deo, &s;e off<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rt <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> qua&s;i de|precatorem.</HI> In Loc.</NOTE> A mi&s;carrying womb</HI> may be a <HI>mercy,</HI> when a mature and facile birth may be in judgment. A man may leave his <HI>chains</HI> and his <HI>ble&s;&s;ing</HI> behinde him in pri&s;on; and the <HI>fire of a Feaver</HI> may be extingui&s;h'd, when the fire of Hell is preparing for the &s;inner. It is good to be <HI>thankful for,</HI> but extreamly danger|ous to be <HI>contented with,</HI> a bare de|liverance. I &s;hall conclude this branch with this note, which alone might have &s;tood for a di&s;tinct <HI>ob&s;ervaetion</HI> or <HI>corollary,</HI> That tho&s;e prayers in troubles are not <HI>best heard</HI> which are <HI>an&s;wered with deliverance;</HI> but
<PB N="190" REF="103">tho&s;e prayers are be&s;t heard which are an&s;wered with <HI>in&s;truction.</HI> Even of our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour it is &s;aid, <HI>In the days of his fle&s;h he offered up prayers and &s;upplications with &s;trong crying. and tears, unto him that was able ta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ave him from death, and</HI> WAS HEARD,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Sancti ad &s;alutem per omnia ex audiuntur, &s;ed non ad volunta|tem.</HI> Aug. in Epi&s;t. Johan. tract. 6.</NOTE> <HI>in that he feared, Hebr.</HI> 5.7. How was he heard? not in that, <HI>&s;ave me from this hour, Joh.</HI> 12.27. but in that, <HI>Father glorifie thy name,</HI> Ver&s;. 28. not in <HI>deliver|ance,</HI> but in <HI>in&s;truction;</HI> for, for that he giveth thanks, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 16.7. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> will ble&s;s the Lord who hath</HI> GI|VEN ME COUNSEL; <HI>My</HI> REINS ALSO INSTRUCT ME <HI>in the night &s;ea&s;on.</HI> His Father <HI>taught him</HI> and <HI>&s;trengthened</HI> him (ver&s;. 8.9, 10, 11.) in his <HI>pa&s;&s;ion,</HI> and this was the <HI>hearing of his &s;upplica|tions.</HI> That is the be&s;t return of prayers which works our <HI>good,</HI> when not our <HI>wills;</HI> and when God doth not an&s;wer in the <HI>Letter,</HI> if he an|&s;wer in the <HI>Better,</HI> we are no lo&s;ers by our prayers: even
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Etiam dae|mones ex|audi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;unt, &amp; ad por|cos quos petiveranti remi&s;&s;i &s;unt</HI> Idem.</NOTE> <HI>Devils</HI> them|&s;elves are heard to the <HI>letter,</HI> when
<PB N="191" REF="103">his <HI>own &s;on</HI> is <HI>not:</HI> yet <HI>heard, in that be feared;</HI> and therefore when we have pray'd, let us refer it unto God to determine the an&s;wer.</P>
<P>Fourthly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 <HI>Branch Informat.</HI> How to judg of our afflic|tions and deliveran|ces.</NOTE> Hence we may learn <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ow to judg of our afflictions, and of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ur deliverances from them:</HI> and it may &s;erve in &s;tead of an <HI>&V;&s;e of Ex|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mination:</HI> by this, I &s;ay, we may know, when our &s;ufferings come <HI>in wrath,</HI> and when <HI>in love.</HI> You need not (as the Scripture &s;peaks in ano|ther ca&s;e) &s;ay, <HI>Who &s;hall a&s;cend up into Heaven,</HI> to look into Gods book of Life and Death? or <HI>who &s;hall de&s;cend into the deep,</HI> the deep of Gods &s;ecret Coun&s;els, to make report hereof unto us? <HI>But what &s;aith the Scripture? the Word is nigh thee:</HI> the word of re&s;olution, to this enquiry, it is nigh thee, <HI>even in thy mouth, and in thy heart;</HI> that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s to &s;ay, if thou can&s;t evidence this to thine own &s;oul. That <HI>In&s;truction <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ath accompanyed Correction,</HI> That God hath <HI>taught thee</HI> as well as <HI>cha|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tened thee,</HI> thou art <HI>a ble&s;&s;ed man,</HI> thou &s;halt be <HI>&s;aved:</HI> thou ha&s;t the
<PB N="192" REF="104">Word of him who is the <HI>Author</HI> of <HI>ble&s;&s;edne&s;s,</HI> and BLESSEDNES IT SELF; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom the Lord cha&s;teneth, and teacheth him out of his Law.</HI></P>
<P>And therefore peru&s;e, I be&s;eech you, that <HI>model of divine In&s;tructi|ons or Le&s;&s;ons,</HI> pre&s;ented to you in the Doctrinal part of this Di&s;cour&s;e, either <HI>at large,</HI> in tho&s;e <HI>twenty par|ticulars;</HI> or <HI>in the abridgment,</HI> the <HI>three great heads,</HI> to which they were reduc'd. And then, withall, &s;et before your eyes tho&s;e <HI>&s;ix Pre|perties of Divine Covenant-Teach|ing,</HI> and compare your hearts and tho&s;e Le&s;&s;ons together: Ask your own Souls, Hath God taught you tho&s;e Le&s;&s;ons, or any of them? 1. In|wardly, 2. Convincingly, 3. Expe|rimentally, 4. Powerfully, 5. Sweet|ly, 6. Abidingly, (for even an hypo|critical <HI>Ahab</HI> can humble him&s;elf for a time, <HI>walk in &s;ackloth,</HI> and <HI>go &s;oft|ly;</HI> a <HI>bulru&s;h</HI> can <HI>hold down its head for a day.</HI>) And if the Spirit of God can bear witne&s;s to thy &s;pirit, that thou art thus taught, <HI>happy art thou;</HI>
<PB N="193" REF="104">ble&s;s the Lord, for the Lord hath ble&s;&s;ed thee; thou may&s;t &s;ing <HI>Da|vids</HI> &s;ong, <HI>I will ble&s;s the Lord who hath given me Coun&s;el; my Reins al&s;o in&s;truct me in the night &s;ea&s;on:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.7</NOTE> And again, <HI>I know Lord thy Judg|ments are right, and that of faith|fulne&s;s thou ha&s;t afflicted me.</HI> If <HI>I</HI> had been <HI>le&s;s afflicted, I</HI> had been <HI>le&s;s ble&s;&s;ed.</HI></P>
<P>But now on the other &s;ide, when there is <HI>no Interpreter</HI> to accompa|ny affliction, to &s;hew unto man the meaning of the Almighty in his cha|&s;ti&s;ements; when there is not a <HI>di|vine &s;entence</HI> in the lips of <HI>Correcti|on;</HI> when the <HI>rod</HI> is <HI>dumb,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">A dumb rod is a great judgment.</NOTE> or the <HI>creature</HI> deaf, and cannot <HI>hear the Rod, and who hath appointed it;</HI> it is much to be feared, the &s;troke is not the &s;troke of Gods children. O my Brethren, it is &s;ad <HI>when men come out of affliction the &s;ame they went in;</HI> when affliction <HI>leaves</HI> them as it <HI>found</HI> them; as <HI>ignorant</HI> as <HI>unhumbled,</HI> as <HI>un&s;en&s;ible of &s;in</HI> as <HI>bowelle&s;s</HI> towards their &s;uffering Brethren, as <HI>worldly</HI> as <HI>proud,</HI> as
<PB N="194" REF="105"><HI>impatient</HI> as <HI>un&s;avory,</HI> as much <HI>&s;trangers to Chri&s;t</HI> and their <HI>own hearts,</HI> as <HI>regardle&s;s of Eternity:</HI> In a word, as <HI>fit for &s;in</HI> as they were <HI>before:</HI> This, I &s;ay, is exceeding &s;ad. And yet it is much &s;adder, when it may be &s;aid of a man, as once it was &s;aid of <HI>Ahaz, In the time of his di&s;tre&s;s he did tre&s;pa&s;s yet more a|gain&s;t the Lord:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chro. 28 22</NOTE> It was an aggra|vation of wickedne&s;s, concerning which we may &s;ay, as our Saviour of the Alaba&s;ter box poured on his head; Where ever the Scripture &s;hall be preached in the whole world, there &s;hall al&s;o this which <HI>this man</HI> did be publi&s;hed; THIS IS THAT KING <HI>AHAZ.</HI> Sure|ly it is a &s;tanding monument of re|proach and infamy unto him to all generations. Chri&s;tians, it is &s;ad and dangerous beyond all expre&s;&s;ion when affliction &s;erveth but as a <HI>gage</HI> to give <HI>vent</HI> to the <HI>pride</HI> and <HI>murmur,</HI> the <HI>athei&s;m</HI> and <HI>enmity,</HI> which is in mens &s;pirits, again&s;t the Lord; when afflictions are but as oyl to irritate corruption, and make
<PB N="195" REF="105">it blaze more fiercely; to continue in wonted &s;ins, again&s;t &s;uch in&s;en&s;ible and real proclamations to de&s;i&s;t, is profe&s;&s;ed rebellion again&s;t God: an heavy inditement which the Prophet bringeth again&s;t <HI>Jeru&s;alem;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 5.3.</NOTE> Thou ha&s;t &s;tricken them, but they have not grieved; thou ha&s;t con&s;umed them, but they have refu&s;ed to re|ceive correction: they have made their faces harder then a rock, they have not refu&s;ed to return.</HI> In &s;uch ca&s;es it is to be feared, the <HI>cup of af|fliction</HI> is a <HI>vial of wrath,</HI> and the <HI>plagues</HI> of this life nothing el&s;e but &s;ome previous drops of that &s;torm of fire and brim&s;tone wherein im|pertinent &s;inners &s;hal be &s;corch'd and tormented for ever.</P>
<P>That Scripture &s;peaks dreadfully to this purpo&s;e, <HI>Jer.</HI> 6.28.</P>
<P><HI>They are all grievous revolters, walking with &s;landers; they are all corrupters: The bellows are burnt, the lead is con&s;umed of the fire; the Founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away: Re|probate &s;ilver &s;hall men call them,
<PB N="196" REF="106">becau&s;e the Lord hath rejected them. They are all grievous revol|ters,] i. e.</HI> as the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> expounds it,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 1 5 <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>additis de|fectionem.</HI></NOTE> <HI>ye revolt more and more;</HI> Heb. <HI>They encrea&s;e revolt, walking with &s;landers;</HI> they do not onely revolt, but <HI>&s;lander</HI> tho&s;e that reprove their revolting; <HI>They hate him that reproveth in the gate:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 5 10</NOTE> they &s;lander the <HI>Prophets,</HI> and their <HI>words;</HI> nay, <HI>God</HI> him&s;elf doth not e&s;cape the la&s;h of their tongues: they &s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 18</NOTE> <HI>The way of the Lord is not equal;</HI> when they &s;hould con|demn their own ways, they cen&s;ure Gods, <HI>The way of the Lord is not equal. They are bra&s;s and iron,]</HI> They would pa&s;s for &s;ilver and gold, a &s;incere and holy people, while they are a <HI>degenerate</HI> and <HI>hypocritical</HI> generation. <HI>They are all corrup|ters,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Micah 9.9</NOTE>] They have deeply corrupted them&s;elves;</HI> they have <HI>corrupted all their doings;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Z<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ph 3.7 Mal. 2.8.</NOTE> they have corrupted the Covenant of Levi,</HI> &s;c. the <HI>wor|&s;hip,</HI> the <HI>ordinances,</HI> the <HI>truths</HI> of God. <HI>The bellows are burnt in the fire, i. e.</HI> The <HI>Lungs of the Pro|phets,</HI>
<PB N="197" REF="106">which have preach'd unto them in the name of the Lord, ri&s;ing up early, and lifting up their voyces like trumpets, <HI>to tell I&s;rael their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and the hou&s;e of Ja|cob their &s;ins,</HI> and &s;tretching forth their hands unto them all the day long, they are &s;pent. <HI>The Lead is con&s;umed,] i. e.</HI> All the melting judgments and cha&s;ti&s;ements, which (as Lead is ca&s;t into the furnace to make it the hotter) God added to the Mini&s;try of the Prophets, to make the Word more operative, <HI>they</HI> will do no good. All this while, <HI>The Founder melteth in vain]</HI> whe|ther <HI>God</HI> the <HI>Ma&s;ter-Founder,</HI> or the Prophets, Gods <HI>Co-founders,</HI> or <HI>fellow-workmen,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle calls them; <HI>they all melt in vain:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 6.1</NOTE> all their labor is lo&s;t; neither word, nor rod, neither judgments nor ordinan|ces, can &s;tir them; <HI>they refu&s;e to receive correction,</HI> they will not be <HI>taught
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Men wil god the hearing, but are re|&s;olved on their own cour&s;es.</NOTE>. The wicked are not pluck|ed away:</HI> They are <HI>the &s;ame</HI> that <HI>ever</HI> they were; the <HI>&s;wearer</HI> is a &s;wearer <HI>&s;till,</HI> and the <HI>drunkard</HI> is a
<PB N="198" REF="107">drunkard <HI>&s;till,</HI> and the <HI>unclean</HI> per|&s;on is unclean <HI>&s;till;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 32.6</NOTE> The vile per&s;on will &s;peak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practi&s;e hypocri&s;ie, and to utter error again&s;t the Lord:</HI> the <HI>unju&s;t</HI> are unju&s;t <HI>&s;till,</HI> and the <HI>ignorant</HI> are ignorant <HI>&s;till;</HI> nothing will better them, <HI>wicked</HI> they <HI>are,</HI> and wicked they <HI>will be.</HI> What follows? a formidable &s;entence; <HI>Reprobate &s;ilver &s;hall men call them]</HI> They would be counted <HI>&s;il|ver,</HI> but it is <HI>reprobate &s;ilver, refu&s;e</HI> &s;ilver, <HI>dro&s;s</HI> rather then <HI>pure met|tal:</HI> and their hypocri&s;ie &s;hall be <HI>made known</HI> to all <HI>men; Reprobate &s;ilver &s;hall</HI> MEN <HI>call them;</HI> and happy they, if it were but the cen|&s;ure of <HI>mi&s;taking</HI> men onely; nay, but the <HI>Searcher of hearts</HI> hath no better thoughts of them: men do but call them &s;o, becau&s;e God call'd them &s;o fir&s;t; <HI>Reprobate &s;ilver &s;hal men call them, becau&s;e the</HI> LORD <HI>hath</HI> Rejected <HI>them:</HI> God hath <HI>ca&s;t</HI> them <HI>out</HI> as the Founder ca&s;ts out his <HI>dro&s;s</HI> to the <HI>dunghill,</HI> and they &s;hall never &s;tand among the <HI>ve&s;&s;els
<PB N="199" REF="107">of honor,</HI> in whom the Lord will be glorified. A fearful &s;entence! the &s;um whereof is this, That when Teaching goeth not along with Cor|rection, when men come out of the furnace, and lo&s;e nothing of their dro&s;s, it is a &s;ad <HI>indicium</HI> of a <HI>re|probate &s;pirit,</HI> without timely and &s;erious reflection, <HI>nigh unto cur&s;ing. O con&s;ider this, you that forget God and his cha&s;ti&s;ements, le&s;t he tear you in pieces,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 50.22</NOTE> and there be none to deliver.</HI></P>
<P>A fifth branch of Information may be to teach us thus much, <HI>&s;c.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">5 <HI>Branch Informat.</HI> They may be ble&s;&s;ed whom the world jud|geth mi&s;e|rable.</NOTE> That they may be ble&s;&s;ed whom the world accounts mi&s;erabl:</HI> The World judgeth meerly by outward appear|ances, and therefore may ea&s;ily be mi&s;taken: They &s;ee the <HI>cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> which is upon the <HI>fle&s;h,</HI> and thence conclude a man <HI>mi&s;erable;</HI> but they cannot di&s;cover that <HI>divine teaching</HI> which is upon the <HI>&s;pirit,</HI> which truly rendereth him incomparably <HI>ble&s;|&s;ed.</HI> The men of the world are in|competent judges of the e&s;tate and condition of Gods Children: The
<PB N="200" REF="108">godly mans happine&s;s or mi&s;ery is not to be judged by the worlds &s;en&s;e and feeling,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Nemo alio|rum &s;en&s;u mi&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r e&s;t &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a &s;uo.</HI> Salv. de gub. Dei, lib. 1.</NOTE> but by his own; it lieth <HI>inward</HI> (&s;ave onely &s;o far as by the fruits it is di&s;cernable) and the worlds <HI>faculty</HI> of judging is onely <HI>outward,</HI> made up of <HI>&s;en&s;e</HI> and <HI>rea|&s;on:</HI> therefore, &s;aid the Apo&s;tle, <HI>The &s;piritual man judgeth all things, yet he him&s;elf is judged of no man:</HI> that is, he is able to judg of the con|dition of the men of the world, but the men of the world are not able to judg of his condition, becau&s;e it is above their faculty: the natural man <HI>thinks</HI> the &s;piritual man, <HI>under affliction,</HI> to be <HI>mi&s;erable;</HI> but the &s;piritual man <HI>knows</HI> the natural man, <HI>in the midst of his greatest abun|dance and bravery,</HI> to be <HI>mi&s;erable indeed.</HI> Therefore may the Saints in their troubles <HI>think it,</HI> with Saint <HI>Paul,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 4 3</NOTE> a very &s;mall thing to be judged of mans judgment:</HI> This is but
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, of mans day.</NOTE> <HI>mans day</HI> of judging; &s;o the word &s;ignifieth: Gods day is com|ing when things and per&s;ons &s;hall be valued by another <HI>cen&s;us,</HI> or <HI>rate.</HI>
<PB N="201" REF="108">Chri&s;t <HI>in his day</HI> &s;hall judg not <HI>after the &s;ight of the eyes,</HI> i.e. not as things <HI>appear</HI> to &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on; nor <HI>after the hearing of the ears; i. e.</HI> according to the <HI>report</HI> of the world: <HI>but with righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall he judg; i. e.</HI> He &s;hall judg of things and per&s;ons as they <HI>are,</HI> and not as they <HI>appear. Interim,</HI> this is al&s;o another comfort: <HI>We have the mind of Christ,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2. la&s;t.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>the judgment of Chri&s;t,</HI> by vertue whereof we are enabled <HI>(in our mea&s;ure)</HI> to judg of things and per|&s;ons, as Chri&s;t him&s;elf judgeth.</P>
<P>A &s;ixth branch of Information:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6 <HI>Branch In&s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m.</HI> To &s;hew the wi&s;|dom, pow|er, and goodne&s;s of God.</NOTE> Is Cha&s;ti&s;ement a ble&s;&s;ing when ac|companyed with In&s;truction? <HI>See then, and admire, the Wi&s;dom, Power and Goodne&s;s of God, who can make his people better by their &s;ufferings!</HI> Who knows how to ferch <HI>oyl</HI> out of the <HI>&s;corpion,</HI> to ex|tract <HI>gold</HI> out of <HI>clay?</HI> to draw the <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">iche&s;t wine</HI> out of <HI>gall and worm|wood?</HI> that can turn the greate&s;t <HI>evil</HI> of the <HI>body</HI> to the greate&s;t <HI>good</HI> of the <HI>Soul?</HI> the <HI>Cur&s;e</HI> it &s;elf into
<PB N="202" REF="109">a <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing?</HI> that can make the <HI>wi|thered rod of affliction</HI> to <HI>bad,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 27.9</NOTE> yea to <HI>bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;s to them that are exerci&s;ed thereby?</HI> Behold I &s;hew you a <HI>my&s;tery: Sin brought Afflicti|on</HI> INTO <HI>the world, and God makes
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">By this &s;hal the in|iquity of Iacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his &s;in.</NOTE> Affliction to carry &s;in</HI> OUT <HI>of the world.</HI> Per&s;ecution is but the pruning Chri&s;ts Vine, &amp;c. The Almond tree is made fruitful by driving nails into it,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Iu&s;t. Mar|tyr.</HI> in Apol.</NOTE> letting out a noxious gum that hindereth the fruitfulne&s;s thereof. God never intendeth more good to his children then when he &s;eems to deal mo&s;t &s;everely with them.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Patrium habet Deus adver&s;us bonos viros animum &amp; illos forti|ter amat.</HI> Sen. <HI>Our tonis viris mala acci|dant.</HI></NOTE> The very Heathen hath ob&s;erved it to us: <HI>God doth not love his children with a weak womani&s;h affection,</HI> but with <HI>a &s;trong ma&s;culine love,</HI> and had rather they &s;uffer hard&s;hip then per|i&s;h: <HI>Whom the Lord loveth, he cha|&s;teneth, and &s;courgeth every &s;on whom he receiveth.</HI> God will ra|ther <HI>fetch</HI> blood, then <HI>lo&s;e a Soul;</HI> break <HI>Ephraims</HI> bones, then &s;uffer him <HI>to go on in the frowardne&s;s of his heart. De&s;troy the fle&s;h, that the
<PB N="203" REF="109">&s;pirit may be &s;aved in the day of the Lord Je&s;us.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11 32 <HI>V<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ribus res di&s;po&s;ita e&s;t; lugea. mus ita&abque; dum Eth|nici gau|dent; ut cumlagere caeperint. gaudeamus &amp;c.</HI> Terr. l. de &s;pec|tic. c. 28 <HI>7 Branch Inform.</HI> Sufferings not dread|ful, as Na|ture ap|prehends.</NOTE> We are cha&s;tened of the Lord, that we &s;hould not be con|demned with the world:</HI> His Di&s;ci|pline is made up of <HI>&s;everity</HI> and <HI>love;</HI> he doth <HI>cha&s;ti&s;e,</HI> but he will <HI>teach</HI> al&s;o, that &s;o his children may inherit <HI>the ble&s;&s;ing:</HI> the di&s;cipline is <HI>&s;harp,</HI> but the end is <HI>&s;weet. Ble&s;s the Lord O my Soul, and all that is within me ble&s;s his holy Name: Ble&s;s the Lord O my Soul, and for|get not all his benefits.</HI></P>
<P>Seventhly, It &s;hews us, <HI>That a &s;uffering condition is not &s;o formi|dable a thing as fle&s;h and blood doth repre&s;ent it:</HI> It is ignorance and un|belief which &s;landereth the Di&s;pen|&s;ations of God, and ca&s;teth reproach upon the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t. <HI>He that heard the words of God, which &s;aw the vi&s;ion of the Almighty, having his eyes opened,</HI> could by way of holy triumph ask this qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tion, <HI>Why &s;hould I fear in the days of evil?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 49.5.</NOTE> q. d.</HI> what is there in an afflicted e|&s;tate &s;o much to be dreaded? let any man &s;hew me a rea&s;on, and I will
<PB N="204" REF="110">give way to fear and de&s;pondency. And that is more ob&s;ervable which follows; <HI>When the iniquity of my heels &s;hall compa&s;s me about?</HI> This is an addition of the greate&s;t weight and wonder imaginable: the mean|ing is, when my <HI>tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions</HI> pur|&s;ue me &s;o clo&s;e, that they even tread upon my heels as it were; when <HI>&s;in it &s;elf</HI> hath brought me into the <HI>&s;nare,</HI> when God is <HI>correcting</HI> me for my <HI>iniquities:</HI> why truly (Chri|&s;tians) that's the thing which a child of God doth mo&s;t of all tremble at, to con&s;ider that he hath <HI>&s;in'd</HI> him|&s;elf into a &s;uffering condition. In &s;ufferings purely <HI>Evangelical, viz. per&s;ecution for righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake,</HI> a gracious heart can &s;ee (many times) more cau&s;e of rejoycing then of perplexity,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 4.13 16 Phil. 1.29</NOTE> and look upon them as a <HI>gift</HI> rather then an <HI>impo&s;i|tion:</HI> but afflictions and mi&s;eries, which <HI>&s;in brings</HI> upon a man, &s;eem to be <HI>judicial</HI> and <HI>penal,</HI> and carry a face of <HI>wrath</HI> rather then of <HI>love:</HI> I, but ob&s;erve it, even in <HI>the&s;e</HI> the <HI>P&s;alm<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t</HI> can &s;ee no ju&s;t cau&s;e of
<PB N="205" REF="110">fear; <HI>Wherefore &s;hould I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels &s;hall compa&s;s me about?</HI> See, when &s;in and &s;orrows be&s;iege him on every &s;ide he is <HI>fearle&s;s,</HI> and knows no rea&s;on to the contrary, unle&s;s any one can tell him what it is: How &s;o? &s;urely upon the &s;ame account in my Text, becau&s;e <HI>David</HI> had a God that could <HI>teach</HI> as well as <HI>cha&s;ti&s;e;</HI> and therefore, though <HI>&s;in</HI> were as <HI>poy&s;on</HI> in his <HI>cup of afflic|tion,</HI> yet <HI>divine teaching</HI> could <HI>an|tidote</HI> that poy&s;on, and turn it into a <HI>cup of ble&s;&s;ing</HI> unto him: <HI>Thy rod and thy &s;taff comfort me.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 23 4.</NOTE></P>
<P>O that the children of God <HI>in</HI> affliction, or <HI>entering upon</HI> &s;uffer|ings, would &s;it down and dwell up|on this Con&s;ideration, The <HI>fruit</HI> and <HI>advantage</HI> which God knoweth how to bring out of all their <HI>&s;or|rows,</HI> even <HI>the peaceable fruits of righteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> This would keep them from uncomely de&s;pondencies, and dejections of &s;pirit: <HI>For this cau&s;e we faint not</HI> (&s;aith the Apo|&s;tle;) for what cau&s;e?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4.16.18</NOTE> <HI>while we
<PB N="206" REF="111">look not at the things which are &s;een, but at the things which are not &s;een;</HI> that is to &s;ay, not at the <HI>vi&s;ible &s;ufferings,</HI> but at the <HI>invi|&s;ible fruit</HI> and <HI>advantage</HI> of our &s;ufferings: This <HI>holds up head,</HI> and <HI>keeps up heart;</HI> and maketh the Soul not onely to be <HI>patient,</HI> but to <HI>glory in tribulation; Knowing that tribulation worketh patience,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5 3, 4, 5 <HI>Pericula non re&s;picit Mar. yr, co|ronas re|&s;picit.</HI> Ba&s;il <HI>ad</HI> 40 Mar|tyr.</NOTE> and patience experience, and experience hope; and hope maketh not a&s;ha|med, becau&s;e the love of God is &s;hed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Gho&s;t which dwelleth in us.</HI> This is the way to counterpoi&s;e the tempta|tion; and in the conflict between the <HI>fle&s;h</HI> and the <HI>&s;pirit,</HI> to come in to the &s;uccor of the better part.</P>
<P>Eightly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">8 <HI>Branch Inform.</HI> Why we &s;tay &s;o long un|der afflic|tion.</NOTE> <HI>It &s;hews us the rea&s;on why God doth keep &s;ome of his peo|ple &s;o long under the Di&s;cipline of the Rod.</HI> Truly God doth not onely <HI>bring</HI> his children into the School of affliction, but many times <HI>keeps</HI> them <HI>long</HI> there:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 125.3</NOTE> <HI>The rod of the wicked</HI> indeed <HI>&s;hall not</HI> (ALWAYS) <HI>re&s;t on the back of the righteous:</HI>
<PB N="207" REF="111">I, but it may <HI>lie long,</HI> for <HI>months,</HI> for <HI>years,</HI> for <HI>many years</HI> together; &s;eventy years were the Jews in the <HI>hou&s;e of Correction</HI> at <HI>Babylon; four hundred years</HI> in the <HI>brick-kils of Egypt:</HI> Story and experience will &s;erve in in&s;tances without num|ber. Hence you have the people of God &s;o often at their <HI>How-longs</HI> in Scripture: <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 6.3. <HI>But thou O Lord,</HI> HOVV LONG? <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 13.1, 2. HOVV LONG <HI>wilt thou for|get me O Lord for ever?</HI> HOVV LONG <HI>wilt thou hide thy face from me?</HI> HOVV LONG <HI>&s;hall I take coun&s;el in my Soul?</HI> HOVV LONG <HI>&s;hall mine Enemy be exal|ted over me?</HI> In this <HI>P&s;alm</HI> where my Text is, HOVV LONG <HI>&s;hall the wicked,</HI> HOVV LONG <HI>&s;hall the wicked triumph?</HI> twice <HI>How long,</HI> before he can vent his com|plaint; and yet again the third time, HOVV LONG <HI>&s;hall they utter and &s;peak hard things?</HI> HOVV LONG, cries <HI>Jeremiah,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 4.21</NOTE> &s;hall I &s;ee the &s;tan|dard, and hear the &s;ound of the trumpet?</HI> and <HI>Zechariah,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 1.12</NOTE> O Lord
<PB N="208" REF="112">of Hoa&s;ts,</HI> HOVV LONG <HI>wilt thou not have mercy on Jeru&s;alem, and on the Cities of Judah?</HI> The Souls under the Altar, <HI>Revel.</HI> 6.10. <HI>cry with a loud voyce, i. e.</HI> in much an|gui&s;h and agony, HOVV LONG <HI>O Lord, holy and true, do&s;t thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth?</HI> Verily God doth keep his people (&s;ometimes) <HI>&s;o long</HI> under their pre&s;&s;ures, that they begin at length even to give them&s;elves up to <HI>despair,</HI> and to conclude they &s;hal <HI>never &s;ee</HI> deliverance. Thus you finde not onely the common multi|tude of the <HI>Jews</HI> in the <HI>Babylonian</HI> captivity, concluding de&s;perately, <HI>Our bones are dryed,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.53</NOTE> our hope is lo&s;t, we are cut off for our parts; dry bones</HI> may as well <HI>live,</HI> as our capti|tivity have an <HI>end:</HI> but even the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah</HI> him&s;elf (whether in his own per&s;on, or in the name of the whole Church I know not) po&s;&s;ibly both,) <HI>They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and ca&s;t a &s;tone upon me:</HI> He &s;eems to him&s;elf to be in the condition of a man that
<PB N="209" REF="112">is <HI>dead</HI> and <HI>buried,</HI> and the <HI>grave|&s;tone rould</HI> to the mouth of the Se|pulchre: a Metaphor expre&s;&s;ing an <HI>hopele&s;s</HI> and <HI>desperate</HI> condition: yea hence it is, that when deliverance is <HI>nigh,</HI> they cannot believe it, though a <HI>Prophet of God,</HI> or an <HI>Angel from Heaven,</HI> &s;hould report it: <HI>Thou &s;halt ari&s;e, and have mercy upon Zi|on; for the time to favor her, yea the &s;et-time is come,</HI> &s;ings the Pro|phet <HI>Daniel,</HI> or &s;ome other that lived neer the expiration of the &s;eventy years captivity; and yet in the mean time the <HI>Jews</HI> reply as before, <HI>Our bones are dryed, our hope is lo&s;t, we are cut off for our parts; q. d.</HI> tell not us of Gods ari&s;ing, &amp;c. we &s;hall never &s;ee <HI>Sion</HI> again, we are but dead men: Ob&s;erve it by the way, They that would not believe <HI>the captivity</HI> while it was in the <HI>threatening, Hab.</HI> 1.5. would not believe <HI>deli|verance</HI> when it was in the <HI>promi&s;e;</HI> A ju&s;t judgment upon them, that that they that <HI>would</HI> not beleeve God <HI>threatening, &s;hould</HI> not be|leeve God promi&s;ing. But that's
<PB N="210" REF="113">not all; Deliverance was &s;o incre|dible after &s;o long a captivity, that they could not bleeve it <HI>when they &s;aw</HI> it: <HI>When the Lord turned a|gain the captivity of Zion,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 126.1</NOTE> we were like them that dream:</HI> They knew not (as it fared with <HI>Peter,</HI> half a|wake, and half a&s;leep, <HI>Acts</HI> 12.9.) whether <HI>it was true,</HI> or whether <HI>they &s;aw a vi&s;ion onely:</HI> Is this a <HI>real deliverance?</HI> or are we in <HI>a dream</HI> onely? Our Saviour tells us, that <HI>when the Son of man &s;hall come,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 18.8</NOTE> (<HI>i. e.</HI> with particular deliverances to his Church) <HI>he &s;hall not find faith on the earth:</HI> there will not be faith enough in the people of God to be|leeve it, by rea&s;on of the long pre&s;|&s;ures and per&s;ecutions that have been upon them.</P>
<P>Now I &s;ay, what is the rea&s;on that God &s;uffers affliction to lie &s;o long upon the backs of his children? Truly one Rea&s;on is, becau&s;e they have <HI>lived long in &s;in; they</HI> have been <HI>long a &s;inning,</HI> and therefore <HI>God</HI> is <HI>long a correcting:</HI> God puts them to THEIR <HI>How-longs,</HI> be|cau&s;e
<PB N="211" REF="113">they have put God to HIS <HI>How-longs. Exod.</HI> 6.28. HOVV LONG <HI>refu&s;e ye to keep my Com|mandments, and my Laws?</HI> HOVV LONG <HI>will this people provoke me? and</HI> HOVV LONG <HI>will it be ere they believe? Jerem.</HI> 4.14. HOVV LONG <HI>&s;hall thy vain thoughts lodg within thee? Ho&s;ea</HI> 8.5. HOVV LONG <HI>will it be ere they attain to innocency? &amp;c.</HI> And truly if they have made God complain of THEIR <HI>How-longs,</HI> no wonder if God make them complain of HIS <HI>How-longs.</HI> But then again, ano|ther and the main rea&s;on is, becau&s;e <HI>the work is not yet done; they do not receive In&s;truction by their Cor|rection,</HI> el&s;e affliction would quick|ly cea&s;e. God giveth not a <HI>blow,</HI> he draws not a <HI>drop</HI> of <HI>blood,</HI> more then needs, <HI>For a &s;ea&s;on,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.6</NOTE> if</HI> NEED <HI>be, ye are in heavine&s;s:</HI> if there be <HI>heavine&s;s,</HI> there is <HI>need</HI> of it; and if heavine&s;s <HI>continue long,</HI> there is <HI>need</HI> of it. It is not to gratifie their Enemies that God keeps them &s;o long under their la&s;h, but to <HI>teach
<PB N="212" REF="114">them;</HI> not that <HI>God afflicts willing|ly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.33</NOTE> &amp;c.</HI> but that he may <HI>do them good in their latter end;</HI> that by the <HI>rod of Correction</HI> he may drive out <HI>that folly</HI> which is in their hearts: And when that is done, then they &s;hall &s;tay no longer for their deliver|ance; then God opens the pri&s;on doors, and throws the rod into the fire; and infinite mercy it is, that they are <HI>not delivered</HI> till they are <HI>bettered;</HI> that God will not cea&s;e <HI>cha&s;tening</HI> till they are willing to cea&s;e <HI>&s;inning;</HI> &s;aying, <HI>I have born affliction, I will offend no more: that which I &s;ee not, teach thou me; and if I have done wickedly, I will do &s;o no more.</HI></P>
<P>Ninthly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">9 <HI>Branch Inform.</HI> How un|teachable we are by nature.</NOTE> Take notice from hence, what <HI>unteachable creatures</HI> we are by <HI>nature,</HI> who will not &s;et our hearts to receive <HI>Instruction</HI> till we be <HI>whipt</HI> to it by the <HI>rod</HI> of <HI>correcti|on,</HI> and hardly then neither: unle&s;s God multiply &s;tripes, it is not mul|tiplying of <HI>precepts</HI> that will do us good; there mu&s;t be <HI>&s;tripe</HI> upon <HI>&s;tripe,</HI> and <HI>affliction</HI> upon <HI>affliction,</HI>
<PB N="213" REF="114">as well as <HI>line upon line,</HI> and <HI>precept upon precept,</HI> or el&s;e it is in vain: we are &s;o bruti&s;h, with <HI>Ephraim,</HI> that we make God &s;pends his rods upon us; and when all is done, <HI>God mu&s;t turn us</HI> by main &s;trength, or el&s;e <HI>our folly will not depart from us.</HI> This is a <HI>lamentation,</HI> and &s;hould be for a <HI>lamentation:</HI> We would &s;ay, that were a very bad child that will be taught no longer then the rod is upon his back! &s;uch are we; we are &s;o indocible that we put God to it, as it were to &s;tudy what methods and cour&s;es to take with us. <HI>How &s;hall I do for the Daugh|ter of my people?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 9 7</NOTE> I will melt them and try them, &amp;c.</HI> Well, let us <HI>judg our &s;elves,</HI> and <HI>ju&s;tifie God.</HI></P>
<P>Tenthly, and la&s;tly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">10 <HI>Branch Inform.</HI> How much <HI>good hearts</HI> love In|&s;truction.</NOTE> It &s;heweth us on the contrary, <HI>How much gra|cious hearts are in love with the Word,</HI> for the improvement of their &s;piritual knowledg wherein, they can put &s;uch an e&s;timate upon their &s;ufferings; and account <HI>that</HI> their <HI>ble&s;&s;ing</HI> which other men call their <HI>mi&s;ery:</HI> BLESSED <HI>is the man
<PB N="214" REF="115">whom thou cha&s;tene&s;t and teache&s;t.</HI> The <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> in another place &s;peak|eth very warmly to this purpo&s;e; <HI>It is good for me that I have been af|flicted:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 119 71</NOTE> why? <HI>that I might learn thy Statutes:</HI> He loveth the <HI>Word</HI> &s;o dearly, that for the Words &s;ake, he is in love with <HI>affliction:</HI> The whip, the rod, the pri&s;on, the wilderne&s;s, any thing, is preci|ous that brings In&s;truction with it. Carnal people can be content to <HI>dye</HI> in their <HI>ignorance,</HI> &s;o they might <HI>dye</HI> in their <HI>ne&s;t;</HI> whereas gracious hearts think not much to go to School to a <HI>Bridewell;</HI> and even while the blood is running down the back, can &s;ay, <HI>it is good,</HI> becau&s;e they are <HI>taught</HI> by it. O the different ac|count that Grace and Nature make of the &s;ame Di&s;pen&s;ation! It is proud di&s;dain to &s;corn to be taught by the lowe&s;t of Gods U&s;hers: The trea&s;ure is precious,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vilis &s;aepe cadus nobi|le nectar habet.</NOTE> though in an earthen ve&s;&s;el: There is none too old, none too wi&s;e, none too high, to be put into the meane&s;t School on this &s;ide Heaven.</P>
<PB N="215" REF="115">
<P>I have done with the u&s;e of Infor|mation: I come now in the &s;econd place to the U&s;e of <HI>Exhortation.</HI></P>
<P>And it is to four &s;orts of People.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Such as are yet free from &s;ufferings.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">U&s;e Exhor.</NOTE></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Such as are under &s;ufferings.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Such as are come out of a &s;uffering condi|tion.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Parents, in reference to their children.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>The fir&s;t branch of <HI>Exhortation</HI> is to &s;uch as through the patience and forbearance of God are yet <HI>free from cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> and affliction;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Branch Exhort.</HI> To them that are free from &s;ufferings.</NOTE> <HI>The Candle of the Almighty doth &s;hine in their Tabernacle,</HI> and they <HI>wa&s;h their &s;teps in butter, &amp;c.</HI> Why now, would ye prevent cha&s;ti&s;ement and keep off the &s;trokes of divine di&s;plea&s;ure from your &s;elves or fami|lies? Let me commend unto you</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>A twofold <HI>Caution</HI> from this Doctrine:</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Study the&s;e Le&s;&s;ons well while ye are in the School of the Word.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Labor to be in&s;tructed by the
<PB N="216" REF="116">cha&s;ti&s;ements and afflictions which you &s;ee upon other men.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Caution,</HI> To pre|vent affli|ction, la|bor to pro|fit by the Word.</NOTE> If you would prevent cha|&s;ti&s;ement, <HI>&s;tudy the&s;e and the like Le&s;&s;ons well, while ye are under the Teachings of the Word:</HI> There|fore doth God &s;end us into the School of affliction, becau&s;e we have been <HI>non-proficients</HI> in the School of the Go&s;pel: becau&s;e we will <HI>not hear the Word,</HI> we force God to turn us over to a &s;everer Di&s;cipline, and to have our <HI>ears bored</HI> with af|fliction, and then &s;aith God, now <HI>hear the rod, and who hath appoint|ed it.</HI> O my beloved, labor, I be|&s;eech you, to profit much <HI>by the Teachings of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in the Gospel:</HI> &s;et your hearts to all the truths and coun&s;els of God revealed to you therein.
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. 2 I am. 1.13</NOTE> The Go&s;pel is the <HI>model</HI> or <HI>platform of &s;ound words,</HI> able to make you <HI>&s;ound Chri&s;tians, wi&s;e to Salvation: O let your pro|fiting be made known to all men.</HI> In &s;pecial, &s;et your hearts to tho&s;e <HI>In|&s;tructions</HI> or <HI>Le&s;&s;ons</HI> propounded in the Doctrinal part of this &s;ubject;
<PB N="217" REF="116">for the neglect whereof God is fain to &s;end his people into captivity, that there he may teach them with the <HI>bryars and thorns of the wilder|ne&s;s.</HI> In particular,</P>
<P N="1">1. Learn, in the time of your peace and tranquillity, <HI>to lay to heart</HI> the &s;ufferings of the re&s;t of your brethren that are in the world. <HI>Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 3.13</NOTE> Think of them that are in pri&s;on, <HI>who&s;e feet are hurt in the &s;tocks, and the irons do enter into their &s;oul,</HI> with the very &s;ame affection and affliction of &s;pi|rit, as if you your &s;elves lay bound in chains by them in the &s;ame dunge|on; put your Souls in their Souls &s;teads: and content not your &s;elves with tho&s;e <HI>loo&s;e,</HI> and <HI>fruitle&s;s,</HI> and <HI>tran&s;ient glances,</HI> which tho&s;e that are <HI>at ea&s;e in Sion</HI> do u&s;ually ca&s;t upon men in mi&s;ery;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Be thou warmed and filled.</HI> Iam. 2.16</NOTE> a cold <HI>Lord have mercy on them,</HI> and there's an end: Remember them that are in bonds, <HI>as bound with them;</HI> and that you may know you are not to confine your compa&s;&s;ion to <HI>pri&s;oners</HI>
<PB N="218" REF="117">onely, it follows, <HI>And them that &s;uffer adver&s;ity, &amp;c.</HI> Learn to &s;ym|pathize with all the people of God under <HI>any adver&s;ity what&s;oever;</HI> hide not your eyes, and &s;hut not up your bowels of compa&s;&s;ion, from any that are in a &s;uffering condition; and that upon this account, <HI>As be|ing your &s;elves in the body:</HI> If the <HI>duty</HI> re&s;pect thy <HI>brother,</HI> the <HI>motive</HI> re&s;pects <HI>thy &s;elf; thou art yet in the body:</HI> and while you remain in the fle&s;h, you cannot promi&s;e your &s;elves one hours exemption from troubles; but are expo&s;ed to the &s;ame common calamities which at|tend a &s;tate of mortality; as it is an <HI>argument of comfort</HI> to them that are in affliction,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10 13</NOTE> that their temptati|ons and tryals are <HI>common to men.</HI> God doth not <HI>&s;ingle</HI> them out to en|counter with <HI>unparalleld</HI> affliction: &s;o on the other &s;ide it is an <HI>incentive to compa&s;&s;ion</HI> to them that are free, to con&s;ider that they are liable to the <HI>&s;ame</HI> temptations, &amp; therfore &s;hould mea&s;ure out the <HI>&s;ame compa&s;&s;ions</HI> to their &s;uffering brethren, that they
<PB N="219" REF="117">would expect in the <HI>&s;ame tryals:</HI> not knowing how &s;oon the <HI>cup</HI> of <HI>trembling</HI> may be put into their own hand: to be &s;ure, <HI>in&s;en&s;iblene&s;s</HI> of other mens mi&s;eries will ha&s;ten it: <HI>They put far away the evil day;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 6.3, 4, 5, 6</NOTE> they lie upon beds of Ivory, &amp;c. eat Lambs out of he flock, and Calves out of the &s;tall, &amp;c. drink wine in bowls, &amp;c. i. e.</HI> they give them&s;elves up to all maoner of &s;en&s;uality, and thereby drown the &s;en&s;e of their brethrens mi&s;eries; <HI>they are not grie|ved for the afflictions of Jo&s;eph:</HI> they lay not the affliction of the Church to heart, it never co&s;t them an hours &s;leep, they abated nothing of all their &s;en&s;ual exce&s;&s;es; they never turn a&s;ide to &s;hed one tear over <HI>bleeding Sion</HI> in &s;ecret: what fol|lows? why, &s;aith God, <HI>therefore now &s;hall they go captive with the fir&s;t that go captive,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 7.</NOTE> and the banquet of them that &s;tretched them&s;elves &s;hall be removed:</HI> as if God &s;hould have &s;aid; As I live, becau&s;e you have not pityed your brethren in captivity, you your &s;elves &s;hall be
<PB N="220" REF="118">led away captive, and the <HI>next turn</HI> &s;hall be <HI>yours;</HI> and there you &s;hall learn by <HI>experience,</HI> what it is to be plundred, and what it is to lie in chains; what it is to have cruel Taskma&s;ters &s;et over you, what it is to want bread; you &s;hall <HI>banquet it no more:</HI> you &s;hall feel by <HI>&s;en&s;e</HI> what you would not feel by <HI>&s;ym|pathy.</HI> And therefore, Chri&s;tians, &s;et your hearts to the afflictions of the Church and people of God; it is the great duty which the times call for; and I am afraid God is now vi&s;iting <HI>England</HI> and <HI>London</HI> for the neglect of this duty: <HI>We are verily guilty concerning our brethren,</HI> in <HI>Germa|ny,</HI> in <HI>Ireland,</HI> in <HI>England,</HI> and <HI>Scotland,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>in that we &s;aw the angui&s;h of their &s;ouls, when they be|&s;ought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this di&s;tre&s;s come upon us:</HI> We have not grieved their &s;or|rows, nor wept their tears, nor &s;igh'd their groans, nor bled their blood; and therefore may fear, le&s;t God &s;hould &s;ay unto us al&s;o, even unto us, <HI>With the next that go into cap|tivity,
<PB N="221" REF="118">they &s;hall go into captivity:</HI> with the next that are plundered and &s;poyled, <HI>London</HI> &s;hall be plunder'd and &s;poyl'd; with the next that &s;hall be impri&s;on'd, you &s;hall be taken pri&s;oners; with the next that &s;hall be &s;lain with the &s;word, you &s;hall be &s;lain with the &s;word; you wives &s;hall be made widows, and your children &s;hall be made father|le&s;s, and your dwellings &s;hall ca&s;t you out, and be left de&s;olate: And therefore let us look to it, and <HI>know in this our day the things of our peace, before they be hid from our eyes:</HI> Shew compa&s;&s;ion, that you may not <HI>need</HI> compa&s;&s;ion, or, if you <HI>need</HI> it, you may <HI>finde</HI> it.</P>
<P>In like manner &s;et your hearts to the other Le&s;&s;ons which God teach|eth by his cha&s;ti&s;ements.</P>
<P><HI>Prize Creature-comforts more, and &s;urfeit upon them le&s;s:</HI> be more <HI>thankful,</HI> and le&s;s <HI>&s;en&s;ual:</HI> e&s;peci|ally prize a <HI>Gospel</HI> while ye have a Go&s;pel; prize it by its <HI>worth,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 8.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> that you may not prize it by the <HI>want;</HI> prize it that you may <HI>keep</HI> it, le&s;t you
<PB N="222" REF="119">prize it one day when you cannot <HI>recover</HI> it: that's a dreadful word, <HI>They &s;hall go with their flocks and with their herds to &s;eek the Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 5.6</NOTE> but they</HI> &s;hall not FIND Him:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 8.11</NOTE> <HI>And I wil &s;end a famine, not of bread, nor a thir&s;t of water, but of hearing the Word of the Lord,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>and they &s;hall run to and fro,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 12</NOTE> to &s;eek the Word of the Lord, and</HI> Shall not FIND IT.</P>
<P>Study <HI>&s;elf-denyal, meekne&s;s of &s;pirit; labor to di&s;cover the hidden corruptions of your own hearts;</HI> be &s;till digging in that <HI>dunghill,</HI> you will finde it a bottomle&s;s pit: <HI>The heart is deceitful above all things,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 17.9</NOTE> and de|&s;perately wicked, who can know it? I the Lord &s;earch the heart.</HI> Oh, entreat the Lord to di&s;cover your hearts to you.</P>
<P><HI>Study Scripture-evidence for your interest in Chri&s;t:</HI> re&s;t not in any evidence, which you will not ven|ture your &s;ouls upon, if you were to dye this moment.</P>
<P><HI>Labor to maintain &s;weet com|munion with God;</HI> to be able to &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle, and to &s;ay <HI>truly,
<PB N="223" REF="119">Our communion is with the Father,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 1.3</NOTE> and with his Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Make God your <HI>choyce,</HI> and not your <HI>ne|ce&s;&s;ity;</HI> and labor to maintain &s;uch <HI>con&s;tant conver&s;e</HI> with him, that when you dye, you may change your <HI>place</HI> onely, but not your <HI>company.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Live up in the exerci&s;e of your grace: add to your faith vertue, to vertue knowledg, and to knowledg temperance,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1.5, 6</NOTE> and to temperance god|line&s;s, and to godline&s;s brotherly kindne&s;s, and to brotherly kindne&s;s charity:</HI> Be adding one grace to an|other, and one degree of grace to another, and one exerci&s;e of grace to another exerci&s;e of grace, that you may not put God to add affliction to affliction, and &s;orrow to &s;orrow: while others are adding &s;in to &s;in, <HI>drunkenne&s;s</HI> to <HI>thir&s;t,</HI> do you add grace to grace: <HI>Be &s;tedfast and un|movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>Acquaint your &s;elves with God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 22.21</NOTE> and good &s;hall come thereby.</HI> Study to know God more, and love him better: <HI>This is Life eternal, &amp;c.
<PB N="224" REF="120">Joh.</HI> 17.3. <HI>Then &s;hall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 6.3</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>Minde, I be&s;eech you,</HI> while you are in your &s;trength and peace, that <HI>one thing nece&s;&s;ary:</HI> there is but <HI>one thing nece&s;&s;ary;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hoc age.</NOTE> there be many <HI>may-be's,</HI> but one <HI>mu&s;t-be:</HI> O take heed of indu&s;trious folly, and di&s;|&s;pirit not your &s;elves in the pur&s;uit of trifles; <HI>minde your work.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Redeem the time, the days are evil:</HI> O that Chri&s;tians would &s;tu|dy the <HI>worth of time;</HI> value a day; &s;ay of every HOUR, yea of every <HI>moment, This is</HI> TIME: Redeem time while you <HI>have</HI> it: redeem time while time may <HI>do you good: Evil days are coming, wherein you will &s;ay, I have no plea&s;ure in them.</HI> Yea, <HI>the days are evil;</HI> evil with <HI>&s;in,</HI> evil with <HI>&s;orrow:</HI> redeem the time <HI>to do good,</HI> to <HI>receive good,</HI> that neither you may be the wor&s;e for the times, nor the times for you: Happy &s;hall that man be call'd, who contributeth not <HI>to</HI> the heap of the God-provoking abominations, nor receiveth impre&s;&s;ions <HI>from</HI>
<PB N="225" REF="120">the hypocri&s;ie and prevarication of the pre&s;ent generation.</P>
<P><HI>Study the &s;ufferings of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Re&s;olve, with <HI>Paul, to know nothing but Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and him crucified:</HI> A due contemplati|on of the Cro&s;s wil <HI>heighten Chri&s;ts</HI> Love, and <HI>le&s;&s;en</HI> your own <HI>&s;uffrings.</HI></P>
<P>And <HI>labor to get your conver&s;ati|on in Heaven: Looking for, and ha&s;tening to,</HI> or as the word &s;ignifies,
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3 12 <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> ha&s;ting, <HI>the coming of Christ:</HI> Say, <HI>Come Lord Je&s;us, come quickly.</HI></P>
<P>In a word, bre|thren, &s;tudy, and &s;tudy through|ly, the
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Sinfulne&s;s of Sin.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Emptine&s;s of the Creature.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>And in all the&s;e, and the like <HI>Le&s;&s;ons,</HI> la|bor for an
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Inward</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Convincing</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Experimental</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Powerful</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sweet</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Abiding</HI></ITEM>
</LIST> Teach|ing.</P>
<P>Content not your &s;elves, Chri&s;ti|ans, with a <HI>general, &s;light, &s;uperfi|cial, un&s;avory, powerle&s;s, flitting</HI> Knowledg: re&s;t not in <HI>notions;</HI> be not &s;atisfied with <HI>expre&s;&s;ions</HI> with|out
<PB N="226" REF="121"><HI>impre&s;&s;ions;</HI> nor with impre&s;&s;i|ons, that are not <HI>abiding</HI> impre&s;&s;i|ons; that are like figures written in the &s;and: this is the ruine of profe&s;&s;ors. Tho&s;e profe&s;&s;ors, their names &s;hall be written in the du&s;t, who write divine in&s;tructions in the du&s;t: at lea&s;t, if God have a minde to do you good, expect that he &s;hould &s;end you into the <HI>hou&s;e of Correction,</HI> and there <HI>teach</HI> you with <HI>&s;courges,</HI> and <HI>write</HI> his <HI>In&s;tructions</HI> in your <HI>blood.</HI></P>
<P>And therefore if you would pre|vent &s;o &s;evere a Di&s;cipline, oh im|prove your time well in the School of the Word; <HI>while you have the light,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 3.35</NOTE> walk in the light, le&s;t dark|ne&s;s come upon you:</HI> while you &s;it under the Teachings of the Go&s;pel, labor to get <HI>knowledg an&s;werable to the means,</HI> and <HI>grace an&s;werable to your knowledg.</HI> Thus much for the fir&s;t Caution.</P>
<P>I come now to the <HI>&s;econd Cau|tion.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Caution,</HI> Labor to profit by <HI>other mens</HI> &s;ufferings.</NOTE></P>
<P>If you would prevent affliction, <HI>labour to be in&s;tructed by the cha|&s;ti&s;ements
<PB N="227" REF="121">which you &s;ee upon other men.</HI> God deals with his children as Tutors do with the children of Princes, <HI>whip them upon &s;trangers backs.</HI> Thus God &s;courged <HI>I&s;rael</HI> upon the back of the Nations round about: <HI>Zeph.</HI> 3.6.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zeph. 3.6</NOTE> <HI>I have cut off the Nations, their towers are de&s;olate, I made their &s;treets wa&s;te that none pa&s;&s;eth by, their Cities are de&s;troyed, &s;o that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant:</HI> SHORT WORK! But their <HI>puni&s;hment,</HI> was I&s;|raels <HI>Caution; I &s;aid, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive in|&s;truction:</HI> The Worlds <HI>judgments</HI> are the Churches <HI>instructions,</HI> and God lookt that his people &s;hould have made that <HI>u&s;e</HI> of this <HI>practical doctrine; I &s;aid, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive in&s;tructi|ons:</HI> God had gracious ends in this di&s;pen&s;ation; his <HI>&s;everity</HI> to &s;tran|gers, was his <HI>tender mercies</HI> to|wards <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> he &s;pared not the <HI>Nations,</HI> that he might have &s;pared <HI>them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 7.</NOTE> &s;o their dwellings &s;hould not be cut off:</HI> God <HI>cut off the Nations,</HI>
<PB N="228" REF="122">ver&s;. 6. that he might <HI>not cut off I&s;|rael; Behold</HI> (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith in another ca&s;e, <HI>Rom.</HI> 11.22.) <HI>the goodne&s;s and &s;everity of God;</HI> &s;eve|rity to the Nations, but goodne&s;s towards <HI>I&s;rael; had they continued in his goodne&s;s,</HI> had they received <HI>in&s;truction</HI> by their neighbors <HI>de|&s;truction.</HI> And as God puni&s;ht <HI>I&s;|rael</HI> upon the <HI>Nations backs,</HI> &s;o God puni&s;ht <HI>Judah</HI> upon <HI>I&s;raels back:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 7.12.</NOTE> Go ye now to my place in Shi|loh, and &s;ee what I did to it, for the wickedne&s;s of my people I&s;rael: I&s;raels cha&s;ti&s;ements</HI> &s;hould have b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n <HI>Jeru|&s;alems teachings,</HI> and by <HI>their &s;tripes &s;he &s;hould have been healed;</HI> for the neglect whereof God is highly di&s;|plea&s;ed, and &s;peaks concerning <HI>this</HI> in a very angry dialect; <HI>And I &s;aw when for all the cau&s;es whereby back-&s;liding I&s;rael had committed a|dultery, I had put her away, &amp; given her a bill of divorce; yet her trea|cherous &s;i&s;ter Judah feared not,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 3.8.</NOTE> but went and played the Harlot al&s;o.</HI> God took it ill, that <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> &s;hould <HI>&s;light</HI> the kindne&s;s of &s;uch a
<PB N="229" REF="122"><HI>Caution,</HI> and <HI>despi&s;e</HI> the coun&s;el which was written to her in her <HI>&s;i&s;ters blood,</HI> q. d. I would have made <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> wi&s;e by <HI>Samaria's</HI> harms, and taught her by a rod which &s;he only <HI>&s;aw:</HI> but &s;he <HI>fear|ed not;</HI> &s;he hardened her heart through <HI>unbelief,</HI> and either <HI>would not</HI> under&s;tand the <HI>Caution,</HI> or <HI>da|red me</HI> to my face to do my wor&s;t, while by her &s;hamele&s;s whore|doms &s;he went on to provoke me to jealou&s;ie. This ha&s;teneth that judgment upon her &s;elf which &s;he de&s;pi&s;ed on others: <HI>Iudah</HI> mu&s;t <HI>feel</HI> I&s;raels <HI>rod,</HI> becau&s;e &s;he would not <HI>hear</HI> it: As <HI>I&s;rael</HI> mu&s;t <HI>&s;uffer</HI> tho&s;e judgments on the Nations which &s;he would not <HI>improve;</HI> by tho&s;e very Nations by whom &s;he would not be <HI>in&s;tructed,</HI> &s;he mu&s;t be <HI>de&s;troyed,</HI> Zeph. 3.8. So <HI>Iudah</HI> mu&s;t <HI>feel</HI> what &s;he <HI>feared not</HI> at a di&s;tance; &s;he that would not trem|ble at her &s;i&s;ters divorce, mu&s;t &s;uffer divorce her &s;elf, and <HI>be judged as women that break wedlock, &amp;c.</HI> Ezek. 16.38. <HI>And bear her own
<PB N="230" REF="123">&s;hame for her &s;ins that &s;he had com|mitted more abominable then they,</HI> ver&s;. 52.</P>
<P>Beloved Chri&s;tians, if we would prevent the like <HI>&s;everity,</HI> let us take heed of the like <HI>&s;ecurity:</HI> God hath been a long time &s;courging <HI>Eng|land</HI> upon <HI>Germanies</HI> back, and up|on <HI>Irelands</HI> back, and upon <HI>Scot|lands</HI> back; God hath for the&s;e many years &s;courged <HI>London</HI> on the back of all the <HI>Cities</HI> and <HI>Counties</HI> round about; and God doth dayly &s;courge every one of us in particu|lar upon the back of our &s;uffering brethren, in divers kinds; his de|&s;ign is, that <HI>we &s;hould fear him, that we &s;hould receive in&s;truction:</HI> If we altogether fail his expectation, we may fear that the &s;ame rods are preparing for our backs where|with they have bled, yea that their <HI>rods</HI> &s;hall be turned into <HI>&s;corpions</HI> to us; we &s;in <HI>wor&s;e</HI> then others, when we &s;in tho&s;e very &s;ins <HI>for which</HI> others have been puni&s;ht <HI>be|fore our faces,</HI> and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">d <HI>contempt</HI> to their <HI>tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions;</HI> and how ju&s;t
<PB N="231" REF="123">will it be with God, if as we ag|gravate their &s;ins, &s;o He aggravate upon us their plagues; we that would not be bettered by Gods <HI>warning pieces,</HI> &s;hould be de&s;troyed by Gods <HI>murdering pieces;</HI> that we that would not <HI>&s;ee</HI> and <HI>learn,</HI> &s;hould <HI>feel</HI> and <HI>peri&s;h;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nocumentae documenta.</NOTE> even parti|cular <HI>judgments</HI> &s;hould be our <HI>do|cuments: Remember Lots wife;</HI> her <HI>pillar of &s;alt</HI> &s;hould <HI>&s;ea&s;on</HI> our <HI>hearts,</HI> that <HI>when the judgments of God are abroad in the Earth, we that are the inhabitants,</HI> not <HI>of the Earth</HI> only, but of <HI>Sion</HI> al&s;o, may learn <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> Even tho&s;e judgments which the <HI>Magi&s;trate</HI> doth execute by Gods appoint|ment, are chiefly for <HI>caution</HI> to &s;tanders by,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deu. 13.11</NOTE> <HI>that others may hear and fear, and do no more any &s;uch wickedne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. How much more tho&s;e judgments which the <HI>Lord him&s;elf</HI> doth execute? <HI>vid. P&s;al.</HI> 64.7, 8, 9. 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.6. When the fa|ther is correcting one child, the whole family &s;hould fear and tremble.
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ier. 7.12.</NOTE> <HI>Go to my place in Shiloh,</HI>
<PB N="232" REF="124">&s;aith God to the Jews, <HI>and &s;ee what I did to it for the wickedne&s;s of my people I&s;rael.</HI> If we would <HI>learn</HI> by other mens &s;ufferings, we &s;hould <HI>prevent</HI> our own: This is the way to prevent &s;ufferings.</P>
<P>The Lord make us wi&s;e to Sal|vation.</P>
<P>I come to the &s;econd branch of Exhortation.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Branch of Exhort. to &s;uch as are under affliction.</NOTE> <HI>&s;c.</HI></P>
<P>To &s;uch as yet lie under affliction, and the cha&s;ti&s;e|ments of the Almighty.</P>
<P><HI>Take notice,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Take no|tice of Gods de|&s;ign.</NOTE> O thou afflicted Soul, <HI>what Gods de&s;ign is</HI> in afflict|ing of thee, and <HI>make it thy de&s;ign,</HI> namely, that thou may&s;t be <HI>taught,</HI> that correction may be turn'd into in&s;truction; <HI>hear the rod, and who hath appointed it.</HI> It is the great mi&s;take and folly of men, that they make more ha&s;te to get their afflic|tions removed then &s;anctified: <HI>The captive exile ha&s;teneth that he may be loo&s;ed, and that he &s;hould not dye in the pit,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>q. d.</HI> men would fain break pri&s;on, or leap <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> the <HI>window,</HI> before God open <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">
<PB N="233" REF="124">But this their way is their folly: &s;o the following words imply; <HI>But I am the Lord thy God that di|vided the Sea, who&s;e waves roared,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 15.</NOTE> the Lord of Ho&s;ts is his Name;</HI> q. d. <Q>Men would fain be delivered, but they take not the right cour&s;e: Deliverance belongs unto me, <HI>I am the Lord thy God that divided the Sea,</HI> and made it a way for my ran&s;omed to pa&s;s over, and that when it was mo&s;t tempe&s;tuous, <HI>when the waves thereof roared:</HI> When I will deliver, no <HI>ob&s;tructi|on</HI> can &s;tand in the way; and yet <HI>I&s;rael</HI> now in captivity will not look to me: I am the <HI>Lord of Ho&s;ts,</HI> that have all the Armies in Heaven and Earth at command; and yet when they are be&s;ieged with troubles and dangers, I can|not hear from them, they run to the creature, and neglect God; or if they cry to me in their di&s;tre&s;|&s;es, it is for <HI>deliverance</HI> only, but not for <HI>teaching,</HI> though <HI>I have put my words in thy mouth,</HI> ver&s;. 16. that is I have given them my <HI>Laws</HI>
<PB N="234" REF="125">and <HI>Statutes,</HI> wherein I have made known my de&s;ign in affliction, why I &s;end them into captivity, namely, that there I might TEACH THEM; that <HI>I might humble them, and prove them, and make them know what is in their heart.</HI> This is the &s;horte&s;t way to deliverance, and in this path if they had trod, <HI>I would have plant|ed the Heavens, and layd the foun|dations of the Earth,</HI> ver&s;. 16. even the NEVV HEAVENS and the NEVV EARTH of <HI>Ieru&s;alems</HI> Re&s;toration, <HI>and &s;ay to Sion, Thou art my people,</HI> in the &s;ame ver&s;e.</Q> This is Cods method wherein he will own his people, and wherein if they meet him, they &s;hall not &s;tay long for their deliverance.</P>
<P>And therefore be wi&s;e, <HI>O thou afflicted, to&s;&s;ed with tempe&s;t, and not comforted;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 54.11</NOTE> be <HI>in&s;tructed,</HI> le&s;t Gods Soul depart from thee; make more ha&s;te to be <HI>taught,</HI> then to be <HI>deli|vered;</HI> and chu&s;e rather to have thy affliction <HI>&s;anctified,</HI> then <HI>re|moved.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="235" REF="125">
<HEAD>Con&s;ider,</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. That this is Gods de&s;ign,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. If we cro&s;s Gods project, God will cro&s;s ours.</NOTE> that he might teach thee by his cha&s;ti&s;e|ments; and if thou cro&s;&s;e&s;t Gods de&s;ign, God will cro&s;s thy de&s;ign; if thou wilt not let God have his end in <HI>in&s;truction,</HI> he will not let thee have thy end in <HI>enlargement:</HI> The only way to <HI>retard</HI> deliver|ance, is to make <HI>too much ha&s;te</HI> to be delivered; and <HI>he that beleeveth will not make ha&s;te.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Deliver|ance is not the Ble&s;&s;ing.</NOTE> That bare deliver|ance is not <HI>the Ble&s;&s;ing:</HI> I told you before, that deliverance alone is but the fruit of <HI>common bounty;</HI> Ile tell you more now: Deliver|ance alone may be the fruit of the <HI>Cur&s;e;</HI> a man may be delivered in <HI>wrath,</HI> and not in <HI>love;</HI> Deliver|ance from one affliction may but make way for another, for a <HI>great|er;</HI> Affliction may return, like the unclean &s;pirit, with &s;even more wor&s;e then it &s;elf: So God threatens an unteachable people; <HI>If by the&s;e things ye will not be reformed, but will walk contrary to me,</HI> cro&s;s my
<PB N="236" REF="126">de&s;ign in my cha&s;ti&s;ements, <HI>then will I walk contrary to you,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. 26.23, 24.</NOTE> I will cro&s;s your de&s;ign, and in &s;tead of de|liverance, <HI>I will puni&s;h you yet &s;even times more for your &s;ins.</HI> The <HI>ble&s;|&s;ing</HI> of correction is <HI>in&s;truction: O let not God go till he ble&s;s thee.</HI> It is a &s;ad thing to have <HI>affliction,</HI> but not the <HI>ble&s;&s;ing</HI> of affliction; to feel the <HI>wood</HI> of the Cro&s;s, but not the <HI>good</HI> of the Cro&s;s; to ta&s;te the <HI>bitter root,</HI> but not the <HI>&s;weet fruit</HI> of a &s;uffering condition; the <HI>Cur&s;e,</HI> but not the <HI>Cordial.</HI> Truly in &s;uch a ca&s;e one affliction may not only make way for <HI>another,</HI> for <HI>more,</HI> for <HI>greater;</HI> but affliction here may make way for <HI>damnation</HI> hereafter; and as one &s;aith wittily, &mdash; by all the fire of affliction in this world, a man may be but <HI>per|boild for Hell.</HI> And therefore mind in&s;truction, &s;tudy the <HI>Le&s;&s;ons</HI> of a &s;uffering condition, <HI>ut &s;up:</HI> and be importunate for nothing &s;o much as <HI>to be taught of God;</HI> and to be taught not with a <HI>common</HI> teach|ing, but that <HI>&s;pecial, Covenant,
<PB N="237" REF="126">&s;aving</HI> teaching, which <HI>changeth</HI> the Soul into the <HI>nature</HI> of the Truth, and makes it <HI>holy</HI> as it is holy, and <HI>pure</HI> as it is pure, and <HI>heavenly</HI> as it is heaven|ly: <HI>He for our profit,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.10</NOTE> that we might be partakers of his holine&s;s.</HI></P>
<Q>Third Branch of Exhortation,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 Branch of Exhort. to &s;uch as are come forth of af|fliction.</NOTE></Q>
<P><HI>To them that are come out of af|fliction and fiery tryals: Sit down,</HI> Chri&s;tian, and <HI>reflect upon thy &s;elf,</HI> turn in upon thine own heart, exa|mine thy &s;elf; <HI>Have teachings ac|companied cha&s;ti&s;ements? hath the rod budded?</HI> ca&s;t up thy accounts: What ha&s;t thou learn'd in the School of Affliction? Not to go over the <HI>larger Catechi&s;m</HI> of tho&s;e twenty <HI>Le&s;&s;ons</HI> again, view the <HI>abbreviate;</HI> Hath God di&s;covered to thee the <HI>&s;infulne&s;s of &s;in,</HI> the <HI>empti|ne&s;s of the creature,</HI> the <HI>fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t?</HI> Is no evil like to the evil of &s;in?
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Fornica|tur anima quae averti|tur abs te &amp; quaerit extra te ea quae pu|ra &amp; liqui|da non in|venit ni&s;i cum redit ad te.</HI> Aug. Confe&s;&s; l. 2. c. 5.</NOTE> no <HI>good</HI> like to <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t?</HI> Is the world become an empty <HI>vanity,</HI> a <HI>mockery,</HI> a <HI>nothing</HI> in thine eyes? Can&s;t thou &s;ay, <HI>it is good I have been afflicted?</HI> and can&s;t
<PB N="238" REF="127">thou point out that good, and &s;ay, <HI>This I had,</HI> this I have got by my &s;ufferings; <HI>I</HI> know <HI>divine Truth</HI> more <HI>inwardly,</HI> more <HI>clearly,</HI> more <HI>experimentally,</HI> more <HI>powerfully,</HI> more <HI>&s;weetly,</HI> then ever; it hath a more <HI>abiding impre&s;&s;ion</HI> upon my heart? I would &s;peak a word,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. To them that can evidence the&s;e teachings to their own Souls.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. To them that cannot.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, To tho&s;e who through grace do find the fruit of affliction in the &s;avory and &s;aving teachings of God upon their hearts; let me by way of Exhortation commend a threefold duty to you.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Three du|ties.</NOTE> Study to be thankful.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Labor to pre&s;erve the teach|ings of God upon thy &s;pirit.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Duty, Thankful|ne&s;s. The privi|ledges of being <HI>taught</HI> as well as <HI>corrected.</HI></NOTE> Learn to pray for them that are afflicted, and what to pray.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Study to be thankful:</HI> Hath God <HI>taught</HI> thee as well as <HI>cha&s;ti&s;ed</HI> thee? O &s;ay with <HI>David, What &s;hall I render to the Lord?</HI> For
<PB N="239" REF="127">con&s;ider how great things God hath done for thy Soul.</P>
<P N="1">1.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. It is more bet|ter then deliver|ance.</NOTE> God hath done more for thee, then <HI>if he had never brought thee into affliction and trouble,</HI> or then if he had <HI>brought thee out</HI> the <HI>&s;ame day</HI> on which he &s;ent thee <HI>in:</HI> if he had delivered thee upon the <HI>fir&s;t prayer</HI> that ever thou made&s;t in thine affliction, it had not been a comparable mercy to his <HI>teachings</HI> of thee by affliction: <HI>Prevention</HI> and <HI>deliverance</HI> may be in <HI>wrath, ut &s;up:</HI> but God never <HI>teacheth</HI> the Soul but i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> is in <HI>love.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. It is a double, a multiplied mercy.</NOTE> God hath doubled his mercy and loving kindne&s;s to thee, he hath commanded <HI>deliverance</HI> and <HI>in&s;tru|ction</HI> too: a <HI>twisted</HI> mercy; yea, as <HI>Deliverance</HI> and <HI>Instruction</HI> were the return of <HI>Prayer,</HI> a <HI>treble,</HI> a <HI>multiplyed</HI> mercy: which &s;hould greatly endear the heart to God, and make it &s;ing with <HI>David, I wil love the Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 116.1</NOTE> becau&s;e he hath heard the voyce of my Supplication,</HI> upon the return of prayer in a &s;ingle delive|rance, God expects the return of
<PB N="240" REF="128">pray&s;e, <HI>Cal upon me in the day of trouble,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 50.15</NOTE> I wil deliver thee, and thou &s;halt glorifie me;</HI> how much more when he <HI>wreaths</HI> and <HI>twi&s;ts</HI> his mer|cies one in another? double and tre|ble and multiplyed mercy, cals for double and treble and multiplyed thankfulne&s;s; when God <HI>loads us with mercy</HI> we &s;hould <HI>load him with our prai&s;es.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 A &s;eal of Adoption.</NOTE> <HI>In&s;truction</HI> is the Seal of God, which &s;et upon <HI>Correction</HI> doth Seal up <HI>Adoption</HI> and <HI>Son-&s;hip,</HI> to them that are exerci&s;ed thereby: the <HI>children of affliction</HI> are, by Divine Teaching, &s;ealed up <HI>the children of promi&s;e: If his children for&s;ake my Law,</HI> &s;peaking of Chri&s;ts &s;pirituall Seed,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 89.31 32, 33.</NOTE> <HI>I wil vi&s;it their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion with a rod, &amp;c.</HI> but <HI>my loving kind|ne&s;s wil I not take away: I wil vi|&s;it them with the rod,</HI> that is, I will <HI>teach</HI> them with the rod, it &s;hall be <HI>a rod of In&s;truction</HI> to them, that is the <HI>childrens portion;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb 12.7.</NOTE> If his chil|dren for&s;ake me, &amp;c.</HI> God deals with you as with Sons. Behold oh thou Chri&s;tian &s;oul, God hath done
<PB N="241" REF="128">that for thee in thy &s;ufferings, which po&s;&s;ibly he denyed thee in thy pro|&s;perity, given thee an <HI>Evidence of thy Son-&s;hip;</HI> he hath made thy &s;uf|fering time thy &s;ealing time; and <HI>hath allured thee and brought thee into the wilderne&s;s,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 2.14.</NOTE> and there hath &s;poken comfortably to thy heart.</HI> Thy <HI>Patmos</HI> hath been thy <HI>Paradice</HI> wherein hee hath given thee his loves.</P>
<P N="4">4.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4. Suffer|ings are con&s;ecra|ted.</NOTE> God hath con&s;ecrated thy <HI>&s;uf|ferings</HI> by his <HI>Teachings: Afflicti|ons</HI> have taken <HI>Orders,</HI> as it were, and &s;tand no longer in the rank of Ordinary Providences, but &s;erve now in the Order of Go&s;pel-Ordi|nances, officiating in the holy gar|ment of Divine Promi&s;es, and to the &s;ame U&s;es. What is the great end and de&s;ign of the Promi&s;es? the Apo&s;tle tels us, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.4. <HI>There are given to us exceeding great and precious Promi&s;es, that by them we &s;hould be pertakers of the divine na|ture,</HI> i.e. of gracious di&s;po&s;itions and qualities, which make the &s;oul re&s;em|ble God, holy as he is holy, &amp;c. this is
<PB N="242" REF="129">the end of Divine Promi&s;es and Or|dinances; and mark, what the Apo|&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> affirms of the Promi&s;es, the very &s;ame doth the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> affirm of Gods cha&s;ti&s;ments,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.10</NOTE> <HI>He for our profit, that we might be</HI> PARTA|KERS <HI>Of His</HI> HOLINES: See, by vertue of divine teaching afflictions advancd to the &s;ame degree &amp; office with Go&s;pel <HI>Ordinances and Pro|mi&s;es;</HI> &s;o that what hinders, why we may not give tho&s;e titles of ho|nour to Afflictions, which the Apo|&s;tle here gives to the Promi&s;es, and &s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">To you it is GIVEN <HI>not only to beleeve, but to &s;uffer.</HI> Phil. 1.29.</NOTE> <HI>There are given unto us exceed|ing great and precious Afflictions, that by them we might be partakers of the divine nature,</HI> that is, <HI>made partakers of his holine&s;s.</HI> See, O thou afflicted Soul, by <HI>teaching</HI> God hath changed the very nature of af|fliction; He hath <HI>turned thy water into wine;</HI> a pri&s;on, a bed of &s;ick|ne&s;s, into a <HI>&s;chool,</HI> into a <HI>temple,</HI> wherein he hath <HI>taught thee</HI> into his own <HI>likene&s;s.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">5. The &s;uf|ferer is con&s;ecra|ted.</NOTE> As God hath con&s;ecrated thy &s;ufferings, &s;o he hath <HI>con&s;ecrated
<PB N="243" REF="129">thee al&s;o by thy &s;ufferings.</HI> As it is &s;aid of Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 2.10.</NOTE> <HI>He made the Captain of our Salvation perfect through &s;ufferings:</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> he <HI>con&s;um|mated,</HI> or <HI>perfected;</HI> Chri&s;t became a perfect Mediator by his <HI>pa&s;&s;ion;</HI> the Cro&s;s was the <HI>complement</HI> and <HI>ab&s;olution</HI> of his <HI>Mediatory-office;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 19.30 <HI>Tran&s;acta &s;unt omnia.</HI></NOTE> hence you hear him cry upon the Cro&s;s, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>It is fini&s;hed.</HI> And thus al&s;o may it be &s;aid of the mem|bers of Chri&s;t, <HI>they are perfected by &s;ufferings: Cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> being cou|pled with <HI>teaching,</HI> is the Con&s;ecra|tion and Con&s;ummation of the Saints: <HI>I fill up,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Paul,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.24. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> that which is</HI> Behind <HI>of the afflictions of Christ in my fle&s;h;</HI> the <HI>after-&s;uffer|ings</HI> of Chri&s;t. As Chri&s;t as a <HI>Me|diator,</HI> &s;o Chri&s;t as one <HI>Body,</HI> with his members, is <HI>compleated by &s;uffer|ings:</HI> I <HI>fill up</HI> that which is behind: <HI>Christ</HI> is not <HI>full</HI> till all his members have had their mea&s;ure of &s;ufferings; <HI>You have need of patience,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.36</NOTE> that when you have done the will of God, you may inherit the Promi&s;es.</HI> When we have <HI>done</HI> Gods will, <HI>all
<PB N="244" REF="130">is not done;</HI> there is &s;omewhat to be <HI>&s;uffered,</HI> without which the Chri|&s;tian is not in a capacity to receive his inheritance; you have need of <HI>patience,</HI> &s;c. to carry you through the <HI>&s;uffering part</HI> of your work, as well as the <HI>doing,</HI> that &s;o being <HI>per|fect,</HI> you may inherit the <HI>Pro|mi&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6. Crown'd with the Ble&s;&s;ing. He is ble&s;|&s;ed, <HI>quia e|ruditur ad beatudinem.</HI> Greg. Mo|ral. in <HI>Iob</HI> 5.17.</NOTE> By adding in&s;truction to correction, <HI>God hath crown'd thee with the ble&s;&s;ing: * Ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou cha&s;tene&s;t and teachest:</HI> God hath turn'd the <HI>Crown of thorns</HI> into a <HI>Crown of gold,</HI> and &s;et it on thy head, and now brings thee forth <HI>wearing this Crown,</HI> and &s;hews thee, as it were, to the world as a monument of <HI>free-grace,</HI> proclaiming before thee, <HI>Thus &s;hall it be done to the man whom God will honour.</HI></P>
<P>Well then, Chri&s;tian, take up thy <HI>quid retribuam?</HI> &s;it down and con|&s;ult with thine own Soul, <HI>what to render for &s;o rich amercy?</HI> and be|hold, it is re&s;olved to thy hand: <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 50.15. <HI>I will deliver thee, and</HI>
<PB N="245" REF="130">THOU SHALT GLORIFIE ME: Behold God hath not only <HI>deliver|ed,</HI> but <HI>taught</HI> thee, now therefore he expecteth <HI>glory</HI> from thee.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Glorifie God, 1. Wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h your lips.</NOTE></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Glorifie God,</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. <HI>With thy lips; I cryed to him with my lips, and he was</HI> GLORI|FIED <HI>with my</HI> TONGUE: Let the <HI>lip of prayer</HI> be turn'd into the <HI>tongue of prai&s;e;</HI> make your tongues your <HI>glory,</HI> by proclaiming <HI>Gods glo|ry;</HI> be telling what great things God hath done for you; &s;ay with <HI>David,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 66.15</NOTE> Come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my Soul: abundantly utter the memory of his great good|ne&s;s, make his prai&s;e glorious.</HI> Extol him in <HI>P&s;alms</HI> of Thank&s;giving: <HI>Sing unto the Lord,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 30.4</NOTE> O ye Saints of his, give thanks at the remembrance of his holine&s;s:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 50.23</NOTE> He that offereth me prai&s;e,</HI> GLORIFIETH ME.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Glorifie God with thy life,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. With your lives.</NOTE> live his prai&s;e; hath God <HI>taught thee?</HI> If thou would&s;t glorifie God, go and put all the Le&s;&s;ons which thou ha&s;t learned <HI>into print; &s;hew
<PB N="246" REF="131">forth the graces of him that hath called thee out of darkne&s;s into his marvelous light;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.9 <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>the excel|encies.</HI></NOTE> print them in &s;uch a legible character, that who &s;o <HI>runs</HI> may <HI>read: Lip-prai&s;e</HI> is good, but <HI>life-prai&s;e</HI> is better; <HI>He that offers me prai&s;e glorifieth me, and to him that</HI> ORDERETH HIS CON|VERSATION ARIGHT <HI>will I &s;hew the Salvation of God:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 50.23</NOTE> It is good to <HI>&s;peak &s;o,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Loquere ut te videam.</NOTE> that men may &s;ee;</HI> that &s;tanders by may be <HI>Gods</HI> wit|ne&s;&s;es and <HI>yours,</HI> that you are taught of God; and &s;ay, <HI>Lo what hath God wrought?</HI> how <HI>holily,</HI> and <HI>humbly,</HI> and <HI>fruitfully,</HI> and <HI>&s;elf-denyingly</HI> do the&s;e &s;ervants of God walk &s;ince they came out of <HI>tribulation?</HI> Live &s;o, that you may take off the &s;candal of the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, and bring men into love with a &s;uffering condition:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.16</NOTE> <HI>Let your light &s;hine be|fore men, that they may &s;ee your good works, and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven;</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Caelum quoddam luci di&s;&s;i|mis virtu|tum &s;tellis exornatum.</NOTE> that you may be a <HI>little Heaven-&s;parkling with bright &s;tars of divine graces,</HI> as it was &s;aid of <HI>Jo&s;eph.</HI></P>
<P N="3"><PB N="247" REF="131">3. Now God hath taught thee,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3. Be rea|dy to teach others.</NOTE> <HI>be thou ready to teach others:</HI> It is a <HI>debt</HI> which thou owe&s;t to all thou conver&s;e&s;t with; <HI>When thou art converted, &s;trengthen thy Brethren.</HI> Communicate what God hath taught thee to thy yoke-fellow, chil|dren, &s;ervants, friends, upon all &s;ea|&s;onable opportunities. Sanctified knowledg is <HI>communicative; Free|ly thou ha&s;t received, freely give.</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mark 4.21</NOTE> God never <HI>lighttd this candle, that it &s;hould be put under the bed, or under the bu&s;hel;</HI> the bed of <HI>plea|&s;ure,</HI> or the bu&s;hel of <HI>profit;</HI> but that it may be put into the <HI>candle&s;tick</HI> of thy <HI>conver&s;ation,</HI> and &s;o <HI>&s;hine before men, that they may &s;ee, and glorifie thy Father which is in Heaven.</HI> This is <HI>indeed</HI> to glorifie God. And thus much for the fir&s;t Duty. I come to the &s;econd Duty; and that is,</P>
<P><HI>Labor to pre&s;erve the teachings of God upon thy Spirit.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Duty, To pre|&s;erve a good frame of &s;pirit.</NOTE> Study how to maintain that &s;weet gracious frame of heart into which God hath <HI>taught</HI> thee by affliction. It is the
<PB N="248" REF="132">duty which Chri&s;tians &s;hould prac|ti&s;e, as oft as they come from the <HI>Word,</HI> or any other <HI>divine Ordi|nance:</HI> When we come out of a <HI>Sabbath,</HI> we &s;hould &s;it down, and <HI>ob&s;erve with what frame of &s;pirit God &s;ends us away from the Ordi|nance;</HI> If the Ordinance hath left no &s;avory gracious impre&s;&s;ion upon the heart, to lie in the du&s;t, and <HI>mourn,</HI> and commune with our own hearts, and <HI>lament after God:</HI> If there be an <HI>Ordinance-frame,</HI> we &s;hould rejoyce in it, <HI>ble&s;s God</HI> for it, and labor to <HI>keep up</HI> &s;uch a frame upon the heart till the next &s;olemn approach to God. Chri&s;tians, how much more &s;hould this be our care and &s;tudy when we come out of Gods <HI>furnace,</HI> that &s;olemn Ordi|nance of <HI>affliction,</HI> to labor to main|tain that <HI>melting</HI> frame of heart, that <HI>warmth</HI> and <HI>heat,</HI> that <HI>life</HI> and <HI>vigor</HI> which we have brought with us out of affliction.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 John 3</NOTE> <HI>Look to your &s;elves, that ye lo&s;e not tho&s;e things which God hath wrought in you.</HI> To that end take a few <HI>Means or Helps.</HI></P>
<PB N="249" REF="132">
<P>Fir&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Means to pre&s;erve a <HI>good frame</HI> of heart. 1. Be of|ten peru|&s;ing your Le&s;&s;ons.</NOTE> <HI>Be often reading over the</HI> LESSONS <HI>which God hath taught you;</HI> frequently <HI>revive</HI> the <HI>remem|brance</HI> of them in your heads, and work the <HI>impre&s;&s;ions</HI> of them upon your <HI>hearts:</HI> labor not onely to <HI>&s;ay them without book,</HI> but indeed <HI>to get them by heart.</HI> I tell you Chri|&s;tians, you had need to take much pains with your &s;elves, to keep the Teachings of God alive upon your &s;pirits: For be &s;ure of this, that you will finde a great difference be|tween your hearts yet under afflicti|on, and when the affliction is taken off; and without infinite watchful|ne&s;s your hearts will be too hard for you: <HI>The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 17.9</NOTE> There is much of a <HI>Pharaoh</HI>-like <HI>dispo&s;ition</HI> in every man, very prone to <HI>harden when the &s;torm is over.</HI> It is &s;ad and wonderful to con&s;ider, how a corruption will lie as if it were <HI>quite dead,</HI> while <HI>danger</HI> and <HI>death</HI> are <HI>before us,</HI> and how <HI>&s;ud|denly</HI> and <HI>powerfully</HI> it will <HI>revive;</HI> and without &s;pecial <HI>take-heed, be|tray</HI>
<PB N="250" REF="133">the Soul, when the danger <HI>is over.</HI> That Caution which God by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> gave the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> in the wilderne&s;s, may make every wi&s;e Chri&s;tian to tremble:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 31 21</NOTE> <HI>I know their imaginations, which they go about</HI> EVEN NOVV, BEFORE <HI>I have brought them into the Land, which I &s;ware.</HI> Their hearts were &s;ecret|ly projecting for their <HI>lu&s;ts,</HI> even while they were yet &s;marting under the <HI>rod:</HI> and in the <HI>howling wilder|ne&s;s</HI> they are foreca&s;ting hwo to &s;a|tisfie <HI>&s;en&s;e,</HI> and &s;erve their carnal <HI>interests,</HI> when they &s;hould come into the <HI>Land that flowed with milk and honey.</HI> Po&s;&s;ibly, the&s;e were not <HI>down-right re&s;olves;</HI> but &s;aith the Lord, <HI>I know their imaginations:</HI> O my Brethren, we &s;hould harken to the whi&s;perings of Lu&s;t in our own bo&s;oms, and labor to &s;uppre&s;s them; to cru&s;h the <HI>Serpent</HI> while it is in the <HI>&s;hell;</HI> for if there be &s;uch floatings of &s;in in the imagination, while yet in <HI>durance,</HI> what project|ing and contrivements will there be in the heart when liberty and
<PB N="251" REF="133">enlargement &s;hall pre&s;ent <HI>temptati|ons</HI> and <HI>opportunities?</HI> And there|fore <HI>keep we our hearts with all dili|gence;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 4 23</NOTE> or as the Hebrew phra&s;eth it, <HI>of all keepings keep our hearts,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Hic &s;ons bo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">, &amp; pec|candi <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">igo.</HI> Hieron.</NOTE> for out of them come the i&s;&s;ues of life:</HI> and when the days of afflicti|on and trouble are gone, work Truths, and Coun&s;els received, <HI>fre|quently</HI> and <HI>fixedly</HI> upon your Con|&s;ciences; that you may, like <HI>good Scribes, instructed to the Kingdom of God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 13 52</NOTE> bring out of your trea&s;ures things new and old;</HI> and have always in a readine&s;s wherewith to oppo&s;e and check temptation, and may practi&s;e every <HI>Le&s;&s;on</HI> which God hath taught you, in the <HI>&s;ea&s;on</HI> thereof.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Renew,</HI> al&s;o,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Help,</HI> Renew the remem|brance of the afflic|tion.</NOTE> often up|on your Souls, <HI>the remembrance of the &s;harpne&s;s and bitterne&s;s of the affliction:</HI> it will be a notable cor|rective to <HI>&s;en&s;uality,</HI> and give check to <HI>&s;inful exce&s;&s;es.</HI> The <HI>fle&s;h</HI> will quickly grow <HI>wanton</HI> when it find|eth <HI>ea&s;e; Je&s;urun,</HI> when the neck was got from under the yoke, quick|ly,
<PB N="252" REF="134"><HI>waxed fat,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 32 15 P&s;al. 106, 13</NOTE> and kicked: They &s;oon forgat his works, they waited not for his coun&s;el, but lu&s;ted ex|ceedingly:</HI> WORKS and COUN|SEL, CHASTISEMENTS and TEACHINGS were quickly for|gotten, when once the affliction was over: They quickly forgot a <HI>barren wilderne&s;s,</HI> in a Land that <HI>flowed with milk and hony: They waited not for his Coun&s;el;</HI> they grew weary of <HI>Coun&s;el,</HI> when once free from <HI>Correction;</HI> and cho&s;e rather to walk by the dictate of their <HI>own lu&s;ts,</HI> then of <HI>Gods Laws,</HI> till at length God grew as weary (if I may &s;o &s;ay) of <HI>coun&s;elling,</HI> as they were of being <HI>coun&s;elled:</HI> and <HI>gave them up to their own hearts lu&s;ts,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 81.12</NOTE> to walk in their own coun&s;els:</HI> That they that would not <HI>live</HI> by <HI>Gods coun|&s;els,</HI> &s;hould <HI>peri&s;h</HI> by <HI>their own.</HI> And therefore, <HI>you</HI> that are come out of the <HI>hou&s;e of bondage,</HI> remem|ber the &s;orrows of a &s;uffering con|dition; &s;et not your heart &s;o much upon the <HI>plea&s;ure</HI> of your pre&s;ent <HI>enlargement,</HI> as upon the <HI>bitterne&s;s</HI>
<PB N="253" REF="134">of your former <HI>captivity.</HI> The Church found great advantage in it, when returned from <HI>Babylon: Re|membering mine affliction and my mi&s;ery, the wormwood and the gall:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.19</NOTE> my Soul hath them.</HI> CONTINU|ALLY <HI>in remembrance:</HI> and what was the fruit of it? it follows, <HI>And is humbled in me:</HI> The meaning is this; The people of God among the Jews (that de&s;ired to keep clo&s;e to God after their great deliverance) experienc'd a <HI>&s;erious</HI> and <HI>con&s;tant remembrance</HI> of tho&s;e <HI>&s;eventy years &s;ufferings,</HI> to be an excellent <HI>pre|&s;ervative</HI> to that <HI>humble</HI> and <HI>gra|cious</HI> frame of heart, which God wrought them into, in their captivi|ty: And yet that is not all; As re|membrance of affliction pre&s;erved <HI>Humility,</HI> &s;o Humility &s;trengthen|ed <HI>Faith: This I recall to minde, therefore have I</HI> HOPE: <HI>Tribu|lation wrought patience, and pati|ence experience,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.3</NOTE> and experience</HI> HOPE, &amp;c. By the kindly operati|on of the remembrance of former Di&s;pen&s;ations, &s;he began to conceive
<PB N="254" REF="135"><HI>good</HI> HOPE <HI>through grace,</HI> that God had not cha&s;tened Her in <HI>wrath,</HI> but in <HI>love;</HI> and that all her <HI>Tribulations</HI> were the <HI>fruit</HI> of the <HI>Promi&s;e,</HI> not of the <HI>Threaten|ing;</HI> a <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing,</HI> not a <HI>Cur&s;e.</HI> Go you and do likewi&s;e.</P>
<P>Thirdly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 <HI>Help,</HI> Remem|ber all your un|comely carriage in afflicti|on.</NOTE> <HI>Call often to minde the &s;ad di&s;cour&s;es and rea&s;onings, the fears and tremblings, which you have had in your bo&s;oms in the times of trouble and distre&s;s:</HI> Thus the Church, <HI>Lam.</HI> 3.17. <HI>I forgat prosperity:</HI> She had been &s;o long in a &s;uffering condition, that now &s;he can &s;carce remember that ever &s;he &s;aw <HI>a good day</HI> in all her life: and at length &s;he &s;its down, and giv|eth her &s;elf up to de&s;pair; <HI>And</HI> I SAID, <HI>my &s;trength and my hope is peri&s;hed from the Lord:</HI> She re|membreth what unbelieving <HI>con|clu&s;ions</HI> &s;he made in her affliction; I SAID, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And &s;o the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> Ver&s;. 54. <HI>Waters flowed over mine head; then</HI> I SAID, <HI>I am cut off:</HI> when he began to <HI>&s;ink</HI> in the <HI>mire,</HI> he remembreth how
<PB N="255" REF="135">his <HI>heart</HI> began to <HI>&s;ink</HI> with fear; he calleth to minde, what faithle&s;s language his heart &s;pake; I SAID, <HI>I am cut off.</HI></P>
<P>Thus <HI>David,</HI> I SAID <HI>in my pa&s;|&s;ion, &amp;c. P&s;al.</HI> 31.22. and 116.11. and <HI>Jonah</HI> 2.4. THEN I SAID, <HI>I am ca&s;t out of thy &s;ight. Heze|kiah</HI> makes a large <HI>narrative</HI> of what <HI>di&s;cour&s;es</HI> he had in his own Soul, what time he had received the <HI>&s;entence of death;</HI> and leaveth it in writing to all po&s;terity: <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 38.9. THE WRITING <HI>of Hezekiah King of Judah,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 38.9, 10</NOTE> when he had been &s;ick;</HI> I SAID <HI>in the cutting off of my days:</HI> what did he &s;ay? truly he uttered very &s;trange complaints for &s;uch an eminent Saint as he was: <HI>I &s;hall go to the gates of the grave; I am deprived of the re&s;idue of my years: I &s;hall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world; mine age is departed:</HI> and a great deal to that purpo&s;e: The &s;um whereof is this, <HI>I &s;hall dye, I &s;hall dye; I mu&s;t take my leave of this world, and worms mu&s;t eat my fle&s;h
<PB N="256" REF="136">in the grave, &amp;c.</HI> Such uncomely words he uttered; but <HI>he remem|bereth</HI> them afterward, and is con|tented to <HI>&s;hame</HI> him&s;elf for them to all the world: he puts his <HI>fle&s;hly</HI> complaints <HI>in print,</HI> that he may <HI>humble</HI> him&s;elf, and <HI>caution,</HI> yea and <HI>comfort,</HI> others.</P>
<P>And thus, Chri&s;tians, &s;hould we do; we &s;hould call to minde our SAIDS: <HI>i. e.</HI> we &s;hould &s;it down and recount the <HI>impatiencies</HI> and <HI>&s;hort-&s;piritedne&s;&s;es,</HI> the <HI>murmur</HI> and <HI>unbelief,</HI> the <HI>love of a pre&s;ent world,</HI> the <HI>fear of death,</HI> the <HI>hard thoughts of God;</HI> all the <HI>irregulari|ties</HI> and <HI>di&s;tempers</HI> of our own &s;pi|rits, in the time of Tribulation; <HI>I &s;aid, I &s;aid, &amp;c.</HI> Doubtle&s;s it would be of &s;ingular u&s;e, as, to <HI>humble our Souls,</HI> and to <HI>check corruption;</HI> &s;o, to <HI>endear</HI> and <HI>pro&s;erve the Teach|ings of God</HI> upon your Souls; while you might tune <HI>Davids</HI> Thank&s;giv|ing (conceived upon &s;ome &s;uch like occa&s;ion,)
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 25.8</NOTE> <HI>Good and upright is the Lord, therefore will he</HI> TEACH SINNERS <HI>in the way: q. d.</HI> I
<PB N="257" REF="136">&s;inned again&s;t the <HI>Lord</HI> in my afflic|tion, by my <HI>impatience, unbelief, unhumbledne&s;s, &amp;c.</HI> yet <HI>He</HI> was plea&s;ed, not altogether to leave me without the <HI>Teachings</HI> of his <HI>Spi|rit;</HI> not becau&s;e <HI>I was good</HI> but becau&s;e <HI>He was good;</HI> not becau&s;e <HI>I plea&s;ed</HI> HIM, but becau&s;e <HI>Mer|cy plea&s;ed</HI> HIM: not becau&s;e I was <HI>upright</HI> before Him, but becau&s;e He was UPRIGHT, true and faithful to his own <HI>Promi&s;e,</HI> hath he done it: <HI>Good and upright is the Lord, and therefore HE hath</HI> TAUGHT me, though I was <HI>a &s;in|ner, in the way.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>Remember your Vows.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 <HI>Means,</HI> Remem|ber your Vows.</NOTE> When God, by the fire of affliction, &s;hew'd you your folly, di&s;covered to you the hidden corruption of your hearts, and brought your ways and doings to remembrance, <HI>which were not good;</HI> you <HI>were a&s;hamed,</HI> yea, even <HI>confounded;</HI> and &s;aid, as it is in <HI>Job,</HI> Lord, <HI>wherein I have done wickedly, I will do &s;o no more.</HI> But take heed it be not &s;o with you, as it was with back&s;liding <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> of
<PB N="258" REF="137">whom God thus complaineth; <HI>Of old time I have broken thy yoke,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 2.20</NOTE> and bur&s;t thy bands, and thou &s;aid&s;t,</HI> I WILL NOT TRANSGRESS: <HI>q. d.</HI> I brought thee, hundreds of years &s;ince, out of the <HI>Land of E|gypt,</HI> out of the <HI>hou&s;e of bondage,</HI> and then thou made&s;t me fair promi&s;es, <HI>I remember the kindne&s;s of thy youth, the love of thine espou&s;als,</HI> ver&s;. 2. Thou &s;aid&s;t, <HI>I will do &s;o no more:</HI> Lord, I'l be <HI>covetous</HI> no more, and <HI>idolatrous</HI> no more, <HI>adul|terous</HI> no more; I will <HI>murmur</HI> no more, I will no more <HI>depart</HI> from thee, <HI>Thou art the Guide of my youth. Good words,</HI> had &s;he been as <HI>good as her word:</HI> but Oh read what followeth, and tremble; <HI>when upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou wandre&s;t, playing the harlot: i. e.</HI> no &s;ooner her <HI>old heart</HI> and her <HI>old temptations</HI> met, but pre&s;ently they fell into mutual embraces: And this is the temper of out hearts, for all the world;
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Nuper me cuju&s;|dam amici lanquor a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">monuit <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">imos e&s;&s;e nos dum infirmi &s;u|mus</HI> Plin. ep 26. l. 7 ad <HI>Max.</HI></NOTE> we are very <HI>good</HI> while we are <HI>in afflic|tion,</HI> and promi&s;e fair; but no &s;ooner
<PB N="259" REF="137">the <HI>tryal over,</HI> but we forget <HI>Gods Teachings</HI> and our <HI>own Vows,</HI> and return into the &s;ame cour&s;e and fa&s;hion of conver&s;ation as before. Now therefore, if you would pre|&s;erve the Teachings of God upon your &s;pirits, &s;it down, <HI>remember your vows;</HI> and &s;preading them be|fore the Lord, &s;ay with <HI>David,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 66 13, 14</NOTE> I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath &s;poken, when I was in trouble.</HI> Lord, through <HI>grace</HI> a&s;&s;i&s;ting, I will be as ready to <HI>pay</HI> my vows, now I am <HI>well,</HI> as I was to <HI>make</HI> vows when I was <HI>&s;ick, &amp;c.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 56.12</NOTE> THY VOVVS <HI>are upon me, I will render prai&s;es unto thee.</HI> When you have <HI>made good Vows,</HI> be as careful to <HI>make good your Vows</HI> unto the Lord: <HI>Vow,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 76.11</NOTE> and</HI> PAY <HI>unto the Lord your God.</HI></P>
<P>In the fifth place,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">5 <HI>Means,</HI> Attend upon the Word.</NOTE> If you would pre&s;erve the teachings of God upon thy heart, <HI>attend con&s;tantly and con|&s;cionably upon the Mini&s;try of the Word.</HI> The truth is, the <HI>Word</HI> and the <HI>Rod</HI> teach the <HI>&s;ame Le&s;&s;ons.</HI> The <HI>Rod</HI> many times is but the <HI>Words</HI>
<PB N="260" REF="138">REMEMBRANCER: And there|fore as the Rod <HI>quickens</HI> the Word, &s;o the Word back again will <HI>revive</HI> and <HI>&s;anctifie</HI> the teachings of the Rod: They mutually help to &s;et one another with deeper impre&s;&s;ions. And therefore <HI>hear</HI> WISDOM, <HI>watching dayly at her gates,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 8.34.</NOTE> waiting at the po&s;ts of her doors,</HI> if thou would&s;t be <HI>ble&s;&s;ed.</HI> It will be of a twofold advantage.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>It will help your memories:</HI> As the Rod <HI>repeateth</HI> the Word, &s;o the Word will <HI>repeat</HI> the in&s;tructi|ons of the Rod; the Go&s;pel will bring to remembrance what you have learned in the School of Afflic|tion.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>It will quicken affection:</HI> To hear that repeated by the <HI>&s;till &s;weet voyce of the Gospel,</HI> which before God taught you in the voyce of <HI>thunder,</HI> this cannot but <HI>affect,</HI> and make you be&s;peak the Go&s;pel, as once the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> did <HI>Mo&s;es,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 5 25 26</NOTE> Speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God &s;hall &s;peak unto thee, and we will hear it and do it, but let us not hear
<PB N="261" REF="138">the voyce of God any more,</HI> that ter|rible voyce of Judgment, <HI>lest we dye.</HI> And certainly God will take it was well at your hands as he did at <HI>I&s;|raels,</HI> and will an&s;wer in &s;ome &s;uch language, <HI>I have heard the voyce of this people, they have well &s;aid all that they have &s;poken: O that there were &s;uch an heart in them, that they would fear me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 29.</NOTE> and keep my Commandments, that it might be well with them,</HI> and that I might not bring upon them &s;uch <HI>evils</HI> as I have done, any more.</P>
<P N="6">6.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">6 Means, Feed a good frame of heart.</NOTE> <HI>Be often feeding that frame of heart which God hath taught thee into:</HI> do by it, as thou dayly begge&s;t God would do by thee; <HI>Give it day by day its dayly bread; Meditations &s;uitable</HI> to the nature of that <HI>grace</HI> which thou would&s;t maintain; <HI>threatenings, promi&s;es, truths, Scripture-con&s;iderations,</HI> agreeable to the <HI>Le&s;&s;on:</HI> Take heed of <HI>feeding corruption</HI> with thoughts of the <HI>&s;weetne&s;s</HI> that is in <HI>&s;in;</HI> Take heed of &s;tarving grace by withdrawing from it &s;uitable <HI>aliment.</HI> You will
<PB N="262" REF="139">require the blood of your Infants that are &s;tarved at the Nur&s;es hands: Will not God be much more jealous over the <HI>births</HI> and <HI>i&s;&s;ues</HI> of his own <HI>Spirit?</HI> Meditate much upon the <HI>Sinfulne&s;s</HI> of <HI>Sin,</HI> the <HI>Emptine&s;s</HI> of the <HI>Creature,</HI> the <HI>Fulne&s;s</HI> of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> the <HI>exqui&s;itene&s;s</HI> of his <HI>Sufferings,</HI> the <HI>&s;everity</HI> of the la&s;t <HI>Judgment,</HI> the <HI>torments</HI> of <HI>Hell,</HI> the <HI>Joys</HI> of <HI>Heaven,</HI> the <HI>infinite Perfections</HI> of the <HI>Divine Nature,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Me litatio q. mentas dictatio.</NOTE> and the <HI>horror</HI> of <HI>Eternity.</HI> Rich in <HI>Meditation,</HI> and rich in <HI>grace.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">7 Help.</NOTE> And la&s;tly, <HI>Be much in prayer.</HI> As it was not enough for God to make the <HI>fir&s;t Creation,</HI> but he mu&s;t <HI>uphold it by the word of his power,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1.3</NOTE> or el&s;e it would quickly have return|ed into its fir&s;t <HI>Nothing:</HI> So it is with the <HI>&s;econd Creation,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hebr. 12.3</NOTE> Chri&s;t is the <HI>Fini&s;her</HI> as well as the <HI>Author</HI> of grace;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.</NOTE> He that hath <HI>begun</HI> a good work in you, mu&s;t <HI>perfect</HI> it: <HI>Sta|bility</HI> onely comes from the <HI>un|changeable God;</HI> and therefore pray, that God would put of his <HI>un|changeablene&s;s</HI> upon you. Pray as
<PB N="263" REF="139"><HI>Luther</HI> was wont to pray,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Act. &amp; Mon</HI> fol. 777.</NOTE> <HI>Confirm O Lord in us what thou ha&s;t wrought, and perfect the work thou ha&s;t begun in us to thy Glory, &s;o be it;</HI> which he &s;eems to have taken out of <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 68.28. <HI>Strengthen, O God, that which thou ha&s;t wrought in us.</HI> Pray that prayer which <HI>David</HI> prayed over that liberal frame of heart which God had formed in his people for the &s;ervice of the Temple. <HI>O LORD God of Abraham,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Chron. 29 18.</NOTE> and I|&s;aac, and Jacob our Fathers,</HI> KEEP THIS FOR EVER <HI>in the imagina|tion of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and</HI> PREPARE <HI>their heart unto thee;</HI> or
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> STABLISH their heart. Oh be earne&s;t with God for <HI>&s;tability of heart,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 6.4</NOTE> that thy <HI>good|ne&s;s may not be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew,</HI> but that it may in &s;ome proportion re&s;emble the <HI>Author</HI> of it, and be <HI>Ye&s;terday,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13.8</NOTE> and to day, and the &s;ame for ever.</HI></P>
<P>In a word, By all the&s;e means and helps, and what other God hath <HI>&s;anctified</HI> for this gracious end, la|bor, Chri&s;tians, to be &s;uch <HI>out</HI> of
<PB N="264" REF="140">your <HI>afflictions,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Po&s;&s;um er|go quod pluribus verbis plu|ribus eliam volumini|bus philo&s;o|phi docere conantur ip&s;e brevi|ter tibi mi|hique preci|pere, ut ta|les e&s;&s;e &s;ani per&s;evere|mus quales nos futuros profitemur infirmi.</HI> Plin. ep. 26 l. 7. <HI>ad max</HI></NOTE> as you promi&s;ed <HI>God</HI> and your <HI>&s;elves</HI> to be when you were <HI>in;</HI> that neither God nor your own Souls may have cau&s;e to repent of your &s;ufferings; that the fruit of cha&s;tening may be
<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Cor 7</NOTE> <HI>Repentance ne|ver to be unrepented of,</HI> i.e.
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Marbury</HI> of <HI>Repent.</HI> 3 Duty, Pray for the afflict|ed.</NOTE> never to fall back again: Having in your <HI>troubles</HI> repented of your <HI>&s;ins,</HI> take heed when you are <HI>delivered,</HI> that you repent not of your <HI>repentance;</HI> and he that doth not repent <HI>of</HI> his repentance now, &s;hall never have cau&s;e to repent <HI>for</HI> his repentance hereafter.</P>
<P>And thus I have done with the &s;e|cond Duty of tho&s;e who through grace do find they have been taught by affliction.</P>
<P>I come now to the Third Duty.</P>
<P><HI>Pray for the afflicted;</HI> and when you pray, &s;ay, <HI>Lord, teach them, as well as correct them, that they may be ble&s;&s;ed.</HI> O pray thus for <HI>ENG|LAND,</HI> &s;he hath been a long time &s;orely cha&s;ti&s;ed of the Lord, and yet hath been all this while <HI>like a Bul|lock unaccu&s;tomed to the yoke.</HI> O
<PB N="265" REF="140">pray, <HI>Turn us Lord, and we &s;hall be turned, thou art the Lord our God.</HI> Pray, that God would teach <HI>ENG|LAND in this day day of her vi&s;i|tation the things of</HI> her <HI>peace before they be hid from</HI> her <HI>eyes.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 19.42</NOTE>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 6.8</NOTE> O pray that we may be INSTRUCTED, le&s;t Gods Soul depart from us: If <HI>Correction</HI> go not forth into <HI>In|&s;truction;</HI> if <HI>England</HI> be not at length <HI>reformed</HI> by all the judgments of God upon her, <HI>&s;he hath &s;een her be&s;t days,</HI> and may expect to be <HI>made de&s;olate, a Land not inhabited;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 6.8</NOTE> there is no <HI>balm</HI> for our <HI>pain,</HI> nei|ther any <HI>Phy&s;ician</HI> that can <HI>heal</HI> our <HI>malady.</HI></P>
<P>Pray thus for all your friends, who are or have been in the furnace of affliction; pray that they may come forth <HI>as gold purified &s;even times in the fire,</HI> that they may lo&s;e nothing there but their <HI>ru&s;t:</HI> Pray, <HI>Lord, what they &s;ee not, teach them, and if they have done wickedly, let them do &s;o no more.</HI> One great u&s;e which Chri&s;tians &s;hould make of <HI>reading</HI> the <HI>Scripture,</HI> is to learn from thence
<PB N="266" REF="141">the <HI>language of prayer.</HI> And oh that the profe&s;&s;ors of this age would in this particular learn <HI>what</HI> to pray, and <HI>how</HI> to pray for their brethren in <HI>tribulation:</HI> O that they would cen&s;ure le&s;s, and pray more, and in &s;tead of &s;peaking one <HI>of</HI> another, &s;peak more one <HI>to</HI> another, and one <HI>for</HI> another; that was the good old way;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.16</NOTE> THEN <HI>they that feared the Lord &s;pake often one</HI> To <HI>another:</HI> But oh the <HI>tender, praying, healing, re&s;toring</HI> SPIRIT, is departed; and if Chri&s;tians &s;tir not up them|&s;elves to call it back again, it is a &s;ad pre&s;age that God is <HI>departing</HI> too;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 9.12</NOTE> and <HI>wo unto us when God de|parteth from us:</HI> We are like wa|ter &s;pilt upon the ground, that can|not be gathered up again: We <HI>judg</HI> before we <HI>enquire,</HI> and <HI>reject</HI> before we <HI>admoni&s;h:</HI> Our Bre|thren, upon vain <HI>&s;urmi&s;es,</HI> are <HI>to us</HI> as <HI>Heathens</HI> and <HI>Publicans,</HI> before we have been <HI>to them</HI> as <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> and <HI>fellow-members:</HI> And this we think becometh us, and we take a kind of pride and contentment in
<PB N="267" REF="141">it. But oh, to <HI>inform,</HI> to <HI>convince,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6.1 Mat. 18.15 16, 17.</NOTE> to <HI>exhort,</HI> to <HI>pray,</HI> to put the bone <HI>(if out) in joynt</HI> again, this were done like the Di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Violentia Sancta, ob|tabilis ra|pina.</NOTE> to &s;hew our &s;elves Chri&s;tians in|deed, Profe&s;&s;ors not of the <HI>letter,</HI> but of the <HI>Spirit,</HI> and would <HI>gain</HI> our Brethren in &s;tead of <HI>bla&s;ting</HI> them. <HI>Con&s;ider what I &s;ay, and the Lord give you a right under&s;tanding in all things.</HI></P>
<Q>And thus much for &s;uch as are come out of affliction, and find that it hath been <HI>through free grace</HI> a teaching afflic|tion.</Q>
<P>But now &s;econdly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exhort. to them that have been corrected, but not in|&s;tructed.</NOTE> To <HI>&s;uch as cannot evidence to their own Souls that cha&s;tening hath been accompa|nied with divine teaching</HI> in any Go&s;pel-proportion, or at lea&s;t are not <HI>deeply &s;en&s;ible of the want of it;</HI> here is a word of Exhortation for them, <HI>&s;uffer</HI> it I be&s;eech you; <HI>Roul your &s;elves in the du&s;t before the Lord; &s;mite upon your thigh; &s;igh with the breaking of your loyns,</HI> and cry out with <HI>Ephraim, Thou ha&s;t
<PB N="268" REF="142">cha&s;ti&s;ed me,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reader, excu&s;e the frequent u&s;e of this Scripture, Ier. 31.18. <HI>Nunquam &s;atis dici|tur, quod nunquam &s;atis di&s;ci|tur;</HI> that cannot be too often &s;poken, which can|not be &s;uf|ficiently learned. <HI>Sen. Epi&s;t.</HI> Ho&s;ea 9.11 P&s;al. 58.8</NOTE> and I was cha&s;ti&s;ed, as a Bullock unaccu&s;tomed to the yoke:</HI> I have felt the <HI>blows</HI> of God, but that is <HI>all;</HI> I have received no more <HI>instruction</HI> by all my <HI>correc|tion,</HI> then a <HI>brute bea&s;t;</HI> or if I had, I have quickly <HI>lo&s;t it;</HI> it is <HI>fled</HI> like a <HI>bird,</HI> from the <HI>birth,</HI> and from the <HI>womb,</HI> and from the <HI>conception:</HI> It is <HI>like the untimely fruit of a wo|man that never &s;aw the Sun.</HI> Truly thou ha&s;t cau&s;e to &s;it down, and e|ven <HI>wi&s;h</HI> for thy <HI>affliction again:</HI> God had put him&s;elf into thy hands (as it were,) and <HI>thou ha&s;t let him go</HI> without THE <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing,</HI> the ble&s;&s;ing of <HI>&s;aving In&s;truction:</HI> how may&s;t thou even wi&s;h, I &s;ay, O that I were in <HI>pri&s;on</HI> again, in my <HI>&s;ick bed</HI> again, in <HI>bani&s;hment</HI> again, <HI>et &s;ic in caet.</HI> However humble thy &s;elf greatly before the Lord, and wre&s;tle mightily for the AFTER TEACHINGS of God upon thy heart; pray, <HI>Turn me Lord, and I &s;hall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God;</HI> what affliction hath not done, Lord <HI>do thou;</HI> &s;et <HI>Omni|potency
<PB N="269" REF="142">on work,</HI> and it &s;hall be done; <HI>turn me, and</HI> I SHALL BE <HI>turned;</HI> that &s;o thy Soul may yet &s;peak to the prai&s;e of free grace: AFTER <HI>that I returned I repented,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 31.19</NOTE> and</HI> AFTER <HI>that I was in&s;tructed, I &s;mote upon the thigh, I was a&s;ha|med, yea even confounded, becau&s;e I did bear the reproach of my youth.</HI> Urge the Lord, as <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> did after his victory, <HI>Judg.</HI> 15.18. <HI>Thou ha&s;t given this great deliverance into the hand of thy &s;ervant, and &s;hall I now dye for thir&s;t, and fall into the hand of the uncircumci&s;ed?</HI> Say thou, Lord, thou ha&s;t given thy &s;er|vant this <HI>great deliverance</HI> from <HI>danger</HI> and <HI>death,</HI> and &s;hall I now <HI>peri&s;h</HI> for <HI>want of teaching,</HI> and go down to Hell among the uncir|cumci&s;ed? TEACH <HI>me thy way,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 86.11</NOTE> O Lord, I will walk in thy truth: &V;nite my heart to fear thy Name.</HI> TEACH <HI>me to do thy will,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 143 10</NOTE> for thou art my God, thy Spirit is good; lead me into the Land of uprightne&s;s.</HI> In a word, de&s;ire the Lord that <HI>He</HI> would <HI>do</HI> all the <HI>work,</HI> and then
<PB N="270" REF="143"><HI>take</HI> all the <HI>glory:</HI> Say, Lord, teach me as well as deliver me, and I &s;hall be ble&s;&s;ed.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>The four<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h and la&s;t Branch of Exhortation is to <HI>Parents</HI> and <HI>Governors:</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>To exhort them <HI>in the Educati|on of their Children to imitate God;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exhortat. to Parents.</NOTE> and that in two things.</ITEM>
<ITEM>1. <HI>In affording their children due correction.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>To Correction to add In&s;truc|tion.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Fir&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Exhort. Withhold not due correction. Prov. 19.18</NOTE> <HI>Afford your Children due correction.</HI> It is the coun&s;el of the Holy Gho&s;t, CHASTEN <HI>thy &s;on while there is hope, and let not thy Soul &s;pare for his crying.</HI> Behold, God coun&s;elleth you that are Pa|rents, or <HI>in &s;tead</HI> of Parents, to do with your children as <HI>He</HI> doth with his; wi&s;ely to u&s;e the di&s;ci|pline of the rod, before <HI>vicious di&s;|po&s;itions</HI> grow into <HI>habits,</HI> and folly be &s;o deeply rooted,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 22 15 <HI>Mr Trapp</HI> in his Comment on Prov. <HI>in locum.</HI></NOTE> that the <HI>Rod of Correction</HI> will not <HI>drive it out. Error and folly,</HI> &s;aith one very well, <HI>be the knots of Satan, wherewith he
<PB N="271" REF="143">ties children to the &s;take to be burnt in Hell;</HI> and the&s;e knots are ea&s;i|lie&s;t cut betimes; or if you &s;hould make the child <HI>bleed</HI> in cutting of them, let it not cau&s;e you to with|draw your hand; for &s;o it follow|eth, Cha&s;ten thy &s;on, &amp;c. <HI>and let not thy Soul &s;pare for his crying:</HI> It is not only <HI>fooli&s;h,</HI> but <HI>cruel pity</HI> to forbear correction for a few <HI>child|i&s;h tears;</HI> to &s;uffer the child to <HI>howl</HI> in <HI>Hell</HI> for &s;in, father then to &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d a few tears for the <HI>preventing</HI> of it. Fooli&s;h fathers and mothers call this <HI>love,</HI> but the Father of &s;pirits calls it <HI>hatred: He that &s;pareth the rod,</HI> Hateth <HI>his &s;on,</HI> Prov. 13.24 Surely there is nothing &s;o ill <HI>&s;pared,</HI> as that whereby the child is <HI>&s;poiled;</HI> &s;uch &s;paring is hatred; and becau&s;e you <HI>hate</HI> your children <HI>in</HI> not cor|recting of them, they come after|ward to hate you <HI>by</HI> not correcting of them: But that is not all;
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Valde in|utili<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">er valdc per|nicio&s;e &s;en|tiet filius patris leni|tatem, ut po&s;tea ju&s;te &s;entiat Dei &s;everita|tem.</HI> Aug. in P&s;a. 50. <HI>Ad interfi|ciendum. Pagn.</HI> de|riving the original word from the root <GAP DESC="foreign"> which in <HI>Hiph.</HI> &s;ig. to kill.</NOTE> the parents <HI>lenity</HI> in this ca&s;e makes way for Gods <HI>&s;everity: Pity</HI> to the <HI>fle&s;h</HI> is <HI>cruelty</HI> to the <HI>&s;oul;</HI> &s;o the Hebrew may be rendred, <HI>Spare
<PB N="272" REF="144">not to his de&s;truction, or to cau&s;e him to dye,</HI> that is, to occa&s;ion his de|&s;truction: The fooli&s;h indulgence of the parent may be, and often is, the <HI>death</HI> of the child, <HI>eternal death:</HI> Parents &s;pare their children in their folly to the de&s;truction both of bo|dy and &s;oul. And this may help us to expound that other parallel text, <HI>Withhold not correction from the child,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro 23.13</NOTE> for if thou beat him with the rod he &s;hall not dye:</HI> The meaning may be either, that <HI>correction will not kill him;</HI> the rod will break no bones; &s;o preventing and reprov|ing at once the &s;illy tenderne&s;s of fond parents, who think if they &s;hould correct their children, they would pre&s;ently <HI>dye of it;</HI> they are as afraid to u&s;e the <HI>rod,</HI> as if it were a <HI>&s;word:
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Antiqui patres ut Deo place|rent admor|tem filiis e|tiam non parcebant; nos autem cos quos &s;e|cundum carnem di|ligimus eti|am tenui verborum a&s;piritate in&s;equi non audemu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI> Greg. in 1 Sam. 14.</NOTE> Abraham</HI> feared not &s;o much to <HI>&s;acrifice</HI> his <HI>&s;on,</HI> as &s;uch pa|rents fear to <HI>cha&s;ten him.</HI> Nay, but faith the Holy Gho&s;t, fear not cor|rection, for behold, <HI>the &s;trokes</HI> of the <HI>rod</HI> are not the <HI>&s;trokes</HI> of <HI>death:</HI> it is but a <HI>rod</HI> it is not a <HI>&s;erpent,</HI> take it into thy hand; it may <HI>&s;mart,</HI> it
<PB N="273" REF="144">will not <HI>&s;ting:</HI> To take away the fear of parents in this ca&s;e, God him&s;elf giveth them his word for it, <HI>He &s;hall not dye:</HI> This I &s;ay may be the meaning; by <HI>correcting</HI> thy child thou &s;halt not <HI>murder</HI> him. Or el&s;e (which I rather conceive) the words may be a <HI>motive</HI> drawn from the <HI>fruit</HI> of correction; <HI>With|hold not correction from the child;</HI> why? <HI>He &s;hall not dye,</HI> i. e. it <HI>may be,</HI> and (through divine ble&s;|&s;ing accompanying it) <HI>is</HI> often a <HI>means</HI> to prevent death: it may prevent the <HI>fir&s;t</HI> and <HI>&s;econd death</HI> to which the child is expo&s;ed by the finful indulgence of the parent. The
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Greg. Ny&s;.</HI> in <HI>Cant. Hom.</HI> 12.</NOTE> word u&s;ed in this place, &s;aith one, &s;eems to note an <HI>immortality;</HI> &s;o that <HI>He &s;hall not dye,</HI> is all one as if the Holy Gho&s;t had &s;aid,
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">There is a <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the words, wherein more is under&s;tood then ex|pre&s;t. 1 Cor. 11.32</NOTE> <HI>He &s;hal live for ever;</HI> the rod on the fle&s;h &s;hall be a means to <HI>&s;ave</HI> the <HI>&s;oul</HI> in the day of the Lord Je&s;us: <HI>We are cha&s;tened, that we &s;hould not be con|demned with the world.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 141.5</NOTE> Such &s;mi|tings,</HI> as <HI>David</HI> &s;aith in another ca&s;e, <HI>&s;hall be a kindne&s;s;</HI> and &s;uch
<PB N="274" REF="145"><HI>rebukes</HI> are &s;o far from <HI>breaking the head,</HI> that they &s;hall be an <HI>excellent oyl</HI> which &s;hall <HI>cure,</HI> and <HI>give life.</HI> The very Philo&s;opher could &s;ay,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>A|rist. Eth. l.</HI> 2.</NOTE> <HI>Correction is a kind of Phy&s;ick or Medicine.</HI> Alas, our children are <HI>&s;ick,</HI> and cruel is that mercy which will &s;uffer them to <HI>dy<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> yea <HI>eternal|ly,</HI> rather then di&s;gu&s;t their palates with a little bitter phy&s;ick? Api&s;h parents they be, who <HI>hug</HI> their <HI>lit|tle</HI> ones to <HI>death;
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Peremptores potius quam parentes.</NOTE> Paricides</HI> rather then <HI>Parents;</HI> of whom we may &s;ay, as &s;ometime the
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cum du|di&s;&s;et Au|gu&s;tus inter pueros quos in Syria Herodes Rex Iudae|orum, infea bimatum ju&s;&s;it inter|fici, filium quoque ejus acci&s;um, ait, melius e&s;t Herodis porcum e&s;&s;e quam fili|um.</HI> Ma|crob. Sat. lib. 2. c. 4.</NOTE> Roman Em|peror &s;aid of <HI>Herod</HI> (when he heard that he had murdered <HI>his own &s;on</HI> among the re&s;t of the infants when Chri&s;t was born, that &s;o he might be &s;ure (as he &s;uppo&s;ed) to de&s;troy <HI>the King of the Jews,) It were bet|ter to be</HI> &s;uch peoples <HI>&s;wine,</HI> then their <HI>&s;ons.</HI> O <HI>hateful</HI> indulgence! <HI>mercile&s;s</HI> pity! to <HI>lo&s;e a child</HI> for want of correction! &s;uch parents throw both the <HI>rod</HI> and the <HI>child</HI> into the <HI>fire</HI> at once; the <HI>rod</HI> into the fire of the <HI>chimney,</HI> and the <HI>child</HI> into the fire of <HI>Hell.</HI> This is not
<PB N="275" REF="145">done like God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb 12.6</NOTE> for <HI>whom the Lord loveth he cha&s;teneth, and &s;courgeth every &s;on whom he receiveth:</HI> And &s;o doth every <HI>wi&s;ely loving</HI> parent; <HI>He that &s;pareth the rod hateth his &s;on, but he that</HI> Loveth Him <HI>cha&s;ten|eth him betimes.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 13 24</NOTE> As mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hs are beaten out of a garment with a <HI>rod,</HI> &s;o mu&s;t vices out of childrens hearts. And for want of this di&s;ci|plinary love, how have &s;ome chil|dren <HI>accu&s;ed</HI> their parents at the <HI>Gallows?</HI> and how many do, and will <HI>cur&s;e</HI> them in Hell, in &s;ome &s;uch language as <HI>Cyprian</HI> &s;uppo&s;eth infants to complain of their parents who denyed them Bapti&s;m;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Perdit nos aliena per|fidia, paren|les &s;en&s;imus paricidas.</HI> Cyp. Scr. <HI>de lap.</HI></NOTE> <HI>The treacherous fondne&s;s of our parents hath brought us into the&s;e torments, our fathers and mothers have been our murderers; they that gave us our natural life, have deprived us of a better;</HI> and they that would not <HI>correct</HI> us with the <HI>rod,</HI> have occa&s;ioned us now to be <HI>tormented</HI> with <HI>&s;corpions.</HI> O it would grieve the heart of the mo&s;t unnatural pa|rept in the world to hear the dole|ful
<PB N="276" REF="146">complain<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, and tho&s;e hideous <HI>yellings</HI> of poor children in <HI>Hell fire,</HI> whom their fondne&s;s hath &s;ent thither: and oh that they would li&s;ten to them, before they them&s;elves come into that place of torment, and <HI>there</HI> find <HI>no mercy,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>here</HI> they have &s;hewed their children <HI>&s;o much.</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Filius pa|tris &s;entit lentiatem, ut po&s;tea &s;entiat Dei &s;everita|tem, &amp;</HI> Hoc Non Solus Sed Cum Di&s;|&s;oluto Pa|tre. <HI>Aug.</HI> in P&s;a. 50.</NOTE> The childe goeth to Hell for his <HI>wickedne&s;s,</HI> and the parent many times for his <HI>mercy.</HI> Yea even in this life how do many godly Parents &s;mart for their <HI>fondne&s;s,</HI> becau&s;e they will not make their Chil|dren &s;mart for their <HI>folly.
<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vid. Chry&s;o&s;t. l.</HI> 3. <HI>ad veri|tus vitup. vitae Mona|&s;ticae.</HI> 1 Sam. 3.13 Becau&s;e <HI>Eli</HI> re&s;trai|ned not his &s;ons, their &s;ins de|&s;troyed him and his whole family. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;t. ut &s;up.</HI></NOTE> Eli</HI> and <HI>David</HI> would not &s;o much as <HI>rebuke</HI> their <HI>&s;ons,</HI> and God gave them both <HI>great rebukes in</HI> their <HI>&s;ons:</HI> It is &s;aid of <HI>Eli, His &s;ons made them&s;elves vile, and he RESTRAINED them not:</HI> the <HI>Hebr.</HI> &s;ignifieth, He <HI>FROW|NED</HI> not upon them. Oh &s;ad! for want of a <HI>frown</HI> to de&s;troy a Soul! the Soul of a Childe! to <HI>&s;mile</HI> a Childe to <HI>Hell!</HI>
<PB N="277" REF="146">Con&s;ider of it; I am much afraid, this <HI>unchri&s;tian,</HI> yea <HI>unnatural</HI> in|dulgence of Parents, is the fountain of all that confu&s;ion, under which <HI>Eng|land</HI> at this time reels and &s;taggers like a drunken man: and for this very &s;in, at lea&s;t for this <HI>among</HI> o|thers, yea, and for this <HI>above</HI> others, God is
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Unde nos mala innu|mera perpe|timur quo|tidie? non|ne quod fi|lios no&s;tros malos a&s;pi|cimus &amp; nos emen|dare negli|gimus?</NOTE> vi&s;iting all the families of the Land, from the <HI>Throne</HI> to the poore&s;t <HI>Cottage.</HI> Parents have layd the foundation of their own for|rows, their childrens ruine, and the de&s;olation of the Nation, in the loo&s;ene&s;s and delicacy of their edu|cation; and yet are not &s;en&s;ible of it to this day: We have not correct|ed <HI>our children,</HI> and therefore God is correcting <HI>us</HI> in our children: We
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">God makes our children <HI>our rods,</HI> becau&s;e we have withheld the <HI>rod</HI> from <HI>them.</HI> We gave them too much re&s;t, and there|fore they give us none. Pro. 29 17 Levit. 26</NOTE> have not <HI>cro&s;s'd</HI> them in their <HI>wills,</HI> and therefore God doth <HI>cro&s;s</HI> us in <HI>our wills:</HI> We have <HI>walked</HI> (even in this point, exceedingly) <HI>contrary to God,</HI> and to his Di&s;cipline; and therefore God is <HI>walking contrary to us,</HI> and is puni&s;hing us <HI>&s;even times more</HI> for this iniquity. And there|fore, Oh that Parents would at
<PB N="278" REF="147">length awaken them&s;elves, to fol|low both the pattern and precept of their heavenly Father; who, as he <HI>correcteth whom he loveth,</HI> &s;o he commands them to <HI>correct,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Melius e&s;t perire in virga pa|tris, quam in blandi|mentis pe|rire praedo|nis.</NOTE> if they <HI>love,</HI> their children. <HI>Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou correct him with the Rod, he &s;hall not dye:</HI> If the Rod <HI>draw blood</HI> (&s;hould need be) it is <HI>ad &s;alutem;</HI> it is as the Phy&s;ician deals with them to prevent a <HI>feaver;</HI> a feaver of <HI>boyling pa&s;&s;ions</HI> here, and of <HI>boyling fire and brim&s;tone</HI> hereafter: it is to <HI>cure,</HI> not to <HI>kill;</HI> yea, thou <HI>kill|e&s;t,</HI> if thou do&s;t not <HI>wound:</HI> and therfore again I &s;ay, <HI>withhold it not: Give</HI> the <HI>rod</HI> unto thy childe, and he will one day <HI>give</HI> thee <HI>thanks</HI> for it. Yea, it is worth ob&s;ervation, that the &s;ame word in the original,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> which is tran&s;lated <HI>withhold,</HI> &s;ignifieth al&s;o to <HI>forbid;</HI> meeting with another di&s;temper in Parents, who as they will not correct their children them|&s;elves, &s;o al&s;o they <HI>forbid others</HI> to correct them, under who&s;e tuition they put them: As if they were a|fraid
<PB N="279" REF="147">their children would not have <HI>&s;in</HI> enough here, nor <HI>hell</HI> enough hereafter, they lay in <HI>Caveats</HI> again&s;t the means which God hath &s;ancti|fied for their <HI>reclaiming.</HI> What <HI>tears of blood</HI> are &s;ufficient to be|wail this folly! You that are <HI>godly-wi&s;e,</HI> and <HI>wi&s;ely-loving,</HI> take heed of it; and when you <HI>commit</HI> your children to <HI>others hands,</HI> do not in the mean while <HI>hold</HI> their <HI>hands:</HI> if thou judge&s;t them not <HI>wi&s;e,</HI> why do&s;t thou <HI>chu&s;e</HI> them? if thou <HI>chu&s;e</HI> them, why do&s;t thou not <HI>tru&s;t</HI> them? Well then, if the rod be in <HI>thine own hand, withhold it not;</HI> if in thy friends hand, <HI>forbid it not.</HI> Cer|tainly there is great need of this du|ty, which the Spirit of God doth fre|quently inculcate all along the <HI>Pro|verbs.</HI> I will conclude this branch of the Exhortation with inverting the Coun&s;el of our Saviour; In this &s;ence be ye <HI>not merciful, that you may be the children of your heaven|ly Father:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.44 45</NOTE> for <HI>whom he loveth he correcteth, and &s;courgeth every &s;on whom he receiveth.</HI> Go thou and
<PB N="280" REF="148">do likewi&s;e; and this &s;hall be your mercy and love to your children: <HI>He that &s;pareth the rod, hateth his &s;on;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 13.24</NOTE> but he that loveth him, cha|&s;teneth him betimes.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Exhort,</HI> Add In|&s;truction to Correc|tion.</NOTE> You that are Parents, or in &s;tead of Parents, If you would have your children happy, <HI>Add In|&s;truction to correction:</HI> imitate God in this part of patternal Di&s;cipline al&s;o; let <HI>Cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> and <HI>In&s;truc|tion</HI> go together: It is that which the Holy Gho&s;t urgeth upon you; <HI>Bring them up in the</HI> NURTURE <HI>and</HI> ADMONITION <HI>of the Lord:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.4</NOTE> There be two words relating to both the&s;e Parental duties; <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>in
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Qua Pater eru|dit filium.</HI> Bez.</NOTE> ca&s;tigatione,</HI> in the <HI>Cha|&s;ti&s;ement</HI> or <HI>Correction;</HI> and it is added, <HI>of the Lord:</HI> that is, either in the <HI>Cha&s;ti&s;ement,</HI> wherewith the <HI>Lord exerci&s;eth</HI> his children; or in the <HI>Cha&s;ti&s;ement</HI> which the <HI>Lord commandeth</HI> earthly Parents to exer|ci&s;e towards their children: this is the fir&s;t duty, of which already. And then there is another word, which holdeth forth the <HI>end</HI> and <HI>de|&s;ign</HI>
<PB N="281" REF="148">of Parental Correction, and that is, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Monitis ex verbo Dei petitis, &s;ive &s;anctis &amp; Deo accep|tis.</HI> Bez.</NOTE> in the <HI>Admonition</HI> and <HI>Instruction of the Lord: i. e.</HI> in Coun&s;els and In&s;tructions taken out of the <HI>Word of God,</HI> or &s;uch as are <HI>approved of by God:</HI> The &s;um is this, That while we <HI>cha&s;ten</HI> the <HI>fle&s;h,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Proprie fig|nificat ad|monitionem non &s;impli|citer &s;ed talem, qua|lem in men|tem pueri ponas &amp; ingerasquae &s;unt illi ad &s;alutem ne|ce&s;saria.</HI> Zanch. in loc.</NOTE> we &s;hould labor to <HI>inform</HI> and <HI>form</HI> the <HI>minde</HI> and <HI>&s;pirit,</HI> by infu|&s;ing right principles, pre&s;&s;ing and urging upon their tender hearts coun&s;el, reproof, and in&s;truction, as the matter requireth. This is the duty of Parents, to imitate God, to let In&s;truction <HI>expound</HI> Correction; and with a <HI>rod</HI> in the <HI>hand,</HI> and a <HI>word</HI> in the <HI>mouth,</HI> to train up their children to life eternal. A dumb rod is but a <HI>bruti&s;h Di&s;cipline,</HI> and will leave the child as <HI>bruti&s;h</HI> as it found him. Cha&s;ti&s;ement without teach|ing may &s;ooner break the <HI>bones</HI> then the <HI>heart;</HI> it may mortifie the <HI>fle&s;h,</HI> but not <HI>corruption;</HI> extingui&s;h <HI>na|ture,</HI> but never beget <HI>grace: But the Rod and</HI> REPROOF <HI>give wi&s;|dom.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 29.15.</NOTE> Instruction</HI> added to <HI>Correc|tion,</HI> as it makes <HI>excellent Chri&s;ti|ans,</HI>
<PB N="282" REF="149">&s;o it makes <HI>good Children.</HI> There be Parents that are <HI>&s;evere</HI> and <HI>cur&s;t</HI> enough to their children; they &s;pare for no <HI>blows:</HI> in &s;tead of break|ing them of their <HI>wills,</HI> by a wi&s;e and moderate correction, they are ready to break their <HI>bones,</HI> and their <HI>necks</HI> too &s;ometimes, in their <HI>moods</HI> and <HI>pa&s;&s;ions:</HI> But they never minde the other branch of Paternal Di&s;ci|pline, <HI>&s;c. Instruction</HI> and <HI>Admo|nition:</HI> of &s;uch Parents I &s;uppo&s;e the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.9, 10. <HI>We have had Fathers of our fle&s;h, who corrected and cha&s;tened us after</HI> THEIR OVVN PLEASURE: He &s;peaketh not of <HI>all</HI> Parents; but his meaning is, there be &s;uch men and women in the world, who are mo&s;t unlike to God; and in &s;miting their children, rather <HI>plea&s;e them&s;elves,</HI> then <HI>profit their children: He for our profit,</HI> but they <HI>after their own plea&s;ure,</HI> to give vent to their <HI>pa&s;|&s;ion,</HI> and &s;atisfie their vindictive <HI>rage</HI> and <HI>fury:</HI> and when is that? truly when the Rod and Reproof do not go together; it is an argument there
<PB N="283" REF="149">is more <HI>pa&s;&s;ion</HI> then <HI>judgment,</HI> more <HI>lu&s;t</HI> then <HI>love,</HI> in &s;uch cha&s;ti&s;ements. Such Parents do rather betray their own <HI>folly,</HI> then take a cour&s;e to make their children <HI>wi&s;e:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Schola Crucis, Schola Lucis.</NOTE> The Rod and Reproof give wi&s;dom:</HI> neither alone will do it: the <HI>Rod</HI> without <HI>Reproof</HI> will harden the heart, and teach the children &s;ooner to hate the <HI>Parent,</HI> then to hate <HI>&s;in;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ab&s;que af|flictione nulli utilia di&s;cunt.</NOTE> and Re|proof without the Rod will leave no impre&s;&s;ion: <HI>Reproofs of in&s;truc|tion are the way of life,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro: 6.23</NOTE> or <HI>Correc|tions</HI> of in&s;truction: a le&s;&s;on &s;et on with a whiping is be&s;t remembred. It is <HI>divine truth</HI> that mu&s;t be the in&s;trument of working &s;aving grace in the heart:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 17.17</NOTE> <HI>Sanctifie them with thy truth, thy Word is truth.</HI> It is the commendation of <HI>Timothy</HI> his Mother, that from his very <HI>infancy</HI> &s;he in&s;tructeed him in the <HI>Scriptures,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.15. <HI>cum</HI> cap. 2.5 Hierom. Chry&s;o&s;t. Theoph. <HI>docent ex hoc loco, Parentes etiam de Scripturis dehere in|&s;tituere li|beros &s;uos;</HI> That Pa|rents <HI>ought</HI> to in&s;truct their chil|dren in the holy Scri|ptures. 2. Tim. 4.3</NOTE> which were able to make him wi&s;e to Salvation.</HI> When there is a <HI>di|vine &s;entence</HI> in the mouth of the Rod, it brings <HI>wi&s;dom</HI> and <HI>life</HI> with it.</P>
<P>And therefore, O that Parents
<PB N="284" REF="150">would imitate the Father of &s;pirits in this ble&s;&s;ed art of Paternal Di&s;ci|pline: joyn the <HI>Word</HI> of <HI>Instructi|on</HI> to the <HI>Rod</HI> of <HI>Correction; teach</HI> as well as <HI>cha&s;ti&s;e: Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-&s;uffering and doctrine:</HI> It is true, it is enjoyned <HI>Timothy</HI> as a Pa&s;toral duty; but it is as true, that every Parent is a <HI>King,</HI> a <HI>Prophet,</HI> and a <HI>Prie&s;t:</HI> A King, to <HI>govern</HI> and <HI>cha&s;ti&s;e;</HI> a Prophet, to <HI>teach</HI> and <HI>instruct;</HI> and a Prie&s;t, to <HI>offer up &s;piritual &s;acrifice</HI> to God, <HI>Prayer</HI> and <HI>Prai&s;e</HI> with and for <HI>the Family.</HI> O that every childe might have cau&s;e to give their Parents that commendation,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Illa ma|gis &s;ata|gebat ut tu mihi pater e&s;&s;es,&mdash;quo|niam &s;em|piternam &s;alutem charius parturiebat</HI> Confe&s;&s;. l. 1. c. 11</NOTE> which once <HI>Au|gu&s;tin</HI> gave his Mother, in reference to his <HI>Bapti&s;m: My mother,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>made it her bu&s;ine&s;s to make God my Father,&mdash;becau&s;e &s;he travelled with my everla&s;ting &s;alvation, with more tenderne&s;s and &s;orrow, then e|ver &s;he did with my fir&s;t birth.</HI> O that natural Parents could be&s;peak the fruit of their loyns, as S. <HI>Paul</HI> be&s;peaks his <HI>Galatians, My little children,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 4.19</NOTE> of whom I travel in birth
<PB N="285" REF="150">again, until Chri&s;t be formed in you:</HI> that &s;o they might rejoyce in the <HI>&s;econd,</HI> more then ever they did in the <HI>fir&s;t birth:</HI> Why, this is done by the <HI>Word</HI> and the <HI>Rod.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 29.17</NOTE> Correct thy &s;on, and he &s;hall give thee re&s;t, yea he &s;hall give delight unto thy Soul: Correct!</HI> how? the 15 ver&s;e an&s;wers; The <HI>Rod</HI> and <HI>Reproof</HI> give wi&s;dom: Thus give your Children <HI>correction,</HI> and they &s;hall give you <HI>re&s;t</HI> and <HI>delight.</HI> Though correcti|on for the pre&s;ent do not give <HI>them</HI> re&s;t, <HI>for no cha&s;tening for the pre|&s;ent &s;eemeth to be joyous, but grie|vous;</HI> yet it will make them <HI>give you re&s;t:</HI> and though correction doth not delight them, yet it &s;hall make them <HI>give delight to you:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 John 4</NOTE> What greater delight then to &s;ee your children walking in the Truth! and to think thus with your &s;elves,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quot dedit familia<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ju|venes, tot|red<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">idit curiae con|&s;ulares.</NOTE> (not as <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodor</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it, that, <HI>&s;o many &s;ons, &s;o many Coun&s;ellors to to the State,</HI> but) that, &s;o many <HI>children</HI> God hath <HI>given you,</HI> &s;o many children you have <HI>brought up for God,</HI> and &s;o many <HI>heirs</HI> for the
<PB N="286" REF="151"><HI>Kingdom of Heaven.</HI> Well; <HI>Cha|&s;ti&s;e</HI> and <HI>teach them out of the Law of God,</HI> and thy Children <HI>&s;hall be Ble&s;&s;ed.</HI></P>
<Q>Which that they may, indeed, take one &s;hort CAUTION more; and that is,</Q>
<P><HI>Add Prayer to Instruction.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">La&s;t <HI>Cau|tios,</HI> Add Prayer to In&s;tructi|on.</NOTE> As <HI>Teaching</HI> &s;hould accompany <HI>Cha|&s;ti&s;ement,</HI> &s;o <HI>Prayer</HI> &s;hould accom|pany <HI>Teaching:</HI> God need u&s;e one|ly the <HI>Rod</HI> and the <HI>Word;</HI> becau&s;e the ble&s;&s;ing is in his <HI>own hand,</HI> he can <HI>command a ble&s;&s;ing:</HI> It is not &s;o with us; As <HI>Paul may plant,</HI> and <HI>Apollo may water, but God mu&s;t give the increa&s;e;</HI> &s;o the Father may <HI>correct,</HI> the Mother may <HI>in|&s;truct,</HI> both may do both, but God mu&s;t give the <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing:</HI> and there|fore Chri&s;tian Parents, while they add <HI>In&s;truction</HI> to <HI>correction,</HI> &s;hould add <HI>Prayer</HI> to <HI>Instruction:
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ora &amp; la|bora.</HI> Pray and labor.</NOTE> Means</HI> are ours, <HI>Succe&s;s</HI> is Gods; and therefore let us put the <HI>Rod</HI> into the hand of <HI>Instruction, Instruction</HI> in|to the hand of <HI>Prayer,</HI> and <HI>all</HI> into the <HI>hand</HI> of <HI>God.</HI> Pray, and teach
<PB N="287" REF="151">your Children to pray, that God would &s;o ble&s;s <HI>Correction</HI> and <HI>In|&s;truction,</HI> that both may make you and your Children BLESSED. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
