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<DATE>2009-08-18</DATE>
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<NAME>Judith Siefring</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A Clu&s;ter of Grapes Taken out of the <HI>Basket of the Woman of</HI> Canaan. OR, COUNSEL and COMFORT FOR BELEEVING SOULES, Comming to CHRIST and meeting with Di&s;couragements. BEING The &s;umme of certain SERMONS Preached upon <HI>Matthew</HI> 15. from <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 22. to <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 29. Wherein among other things, is de|clared more particularly,
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. <HI>What &s;eeming har&s;h entertainment the &s;oul may find from Chri&s;t.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. <HI>What holy, and humble behaviour the &s;oul ought to have under that entertainment.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>III. <HI>How ble&s;&s;ed and comfortable a conclu&s;ion Chri&s;t will make with the &s;oul at la&s;t.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>By JOHN DURANT <HI>Preacher of the Go&s;pel in</HI> CANTERBURY.</P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>L. C.</HI> and are to bee &s;old by <HI>H. Mortlocke</HI> at the Phoenix in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard neer the little North-door. 1660.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="illustration">
<PB REF="2">
<P><FIGURE>
</FIGURE></P>
<LG>
<L><HI>This</HI> shade<HI>'s the Authors</HI> out&s;ide: <HI>but this</HI> booke</L>
<L><HI>his</HI> inside <HI>opens. prethee doe not looke</HI></L>
<L><HI>Admiringly one either; Pa&s;se them o're</HI></L>
<L><HI>as emptye</HI> shaddowes, <HI>for they are noe more.</HI></L>
<L><HI>Both</HI> bookes, <HI>and</HI> writers <HI>(y'ea, and all things el&s;e)</HI></L>
<L><HI>at best are</HI> shaddowes: <HI>but</HI> the bodye's Christ.</L>
<L>Soul art dejected! <HI>Chri&s;t a lone can ea&s;e thee</HI></L>
<L><HI>and giue both</HI> comfort, <HI>and</HI> councell <HI>to rai&s;e thee.</HI></L>
</LG>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>A. P</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="docket title">
<PB REF="3" MS="y">
<P>Durants Coun&s;el and Comfort for Beleeving Soules.</P>
<PB REF="3">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="4">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>To the <HI>Right Wor&s;hipful</HI> Thomas Bonner <ABBR>E&s;q</ABBR> <HI>Mayor,</HI> the <HI>Recorder, Aldermen,</HI> &amp; <HI>Sheriff,</HI> &amp;c. With the <HI>Reverend</HI> the <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> and the <HI>Saints,</HI> and Faithful ones in <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> in the Town of <HI>New-ca&s;tle</HI> upon <HI>Tine: Grace and Peace bee multiplyed.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THat <HI>Dedication of Books hath been wretchedly abu&s;ed,</HI> is a thing pa&s;t doubt. Holy and wi&s;e men, in all ages have complain'd of it, and &s;ome of late years have &s;crupled it. But yet that Books may bee dedicated, is to mee beyond controver&s;ie. Such Books as carry in them any thing be&s;ides what is truth, and of concernment, gain no patronage by a Dedi|cation <HI>(no per&s;ons being great enough to patro|nize errour or vanity)</HI> And &s;uch Dedications as are onely &s;tuffed with applau&s;e and flat|teries, as they have not been owned by any wi&s;e <HI>Patron,</HI> &s;o they have been rejected by every under&s;tanding <HI>Reader.</HI></P>
<P>When Writings, as <HI>Ve&s;&s;els, are fraught with rich and nece&s;&s;ary things</HI> (and &s;uch are all &s;pi|ritual Truths,) with which kind of <HI>Trea&s;ure</HI> I have indeavoured to <HI>fill</HI> this Tract; And when Dedications are de&s;igned rather for <HI>&s;er|vice</HI> than for <HI>ceremony</HI> (which is my de&s;ign in this) then without doubt they may pa&s;s without &s;top or Scruple, <HI>as Ships con&s;igned to particular Ports and per&s;ons:</HI> Nor can &s;uch
<PB REF="5">Dedications be &s;u&s;pected as a <HI>precarious po|licy</HI> to &s;eek patronage of what is written. (<HI>Cer|tainly</HI> Luke <HI>never intended that, when hee dedi|cated his Go&s;pel to</HI> Theophilus) Neither may they be accu&s;ed of <HI>Patent Monopoly,</HI> (as if they onely intended, the per&s;ons to whom they are directed.) <HI>Without doubt the &s;ame E|vangeli&s;t</HI> Luke <HI>intended the General good in his Go&s;pel, though hee &s;ent it fir&s;t to the particular hand of his mo&s;t excellent Friend,</HI> as hee did al&s;o his Hi&s;tory of the <HI>Acts.</HI></P>
<P>The following Sermons are intended by mee for the general good of many. But I thought it <HI>more than meet to con&s;ign them particularly to your Port and per&s;ons,</HI> which when you have received, may pa&s;s further, as <HI>Commodities of price</HI> and profit to many &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Now if I bee demanded a rea&s;on of this particular A&s;&s;ignation unto you, &s;pare mee to &s;ay the truth, which is this, I do heartily de&s;ire, 1 <HI>to witne&s;s how much I honour you whom God hath honoured:</HI> And 2 al&s;o <HI>to acknowledge a debt,</HI> wherein (with and for my Brother joint|ly, and my &s;elf &s;ingly) I am <HI>ingaged unto you,</HI> which albeit I cannot <HI>repay,</HI> yet I mu&s;t <HI>remem|ber.</HI> I know your Virtue and Prudence will not bear tho&s;e <HI>worthy words of your own wor|thine&s;s,</HI> which yet may bee &s;poke concerning you with <HI>truth and &s;oberne&s;s.</HI> And I can tru|ly
<PB REF="5">&s;ay, I never loved to <HI>rub their itching ears,</HI> who count no &s;ound &s;weet, but what trum|pets their own prai&s;es: Upon this account I &s;hall forbear to &s;peak that of you, to your &s;elves, which yet I think, I am bound (for the benefit of the example) to tell others. Yet this I mu&s;t needs crave <HI>your Licen&s;e to print,</HI> that having <HI>heard of you much by the hearing of the ear, I &s;aw more by the &s;eeing of my eye,</HI> when I was among&s;t you. And though my &s;tay was not long, yet my ob&s;ervation was &s;uch, as that I mu&s;t &s;ay, that <HI>tho&s;e good re|ports of your Town, do not</HI> (like the bad ru|mours of the times) <HI>exceed the truth.</HI> If <HI>fame</HI> bee found &s;o <HI>faithful</HI> in its reports of all per&s;ons and places, as of yours, hence|forth <HI>It will bee a Slander to call her Liar.</HI> You are indeed as you have been famed, <HI>per&s;ons fearing God, doing ju&s;tice, holding forth the truth, and practi&s;ing godline&s;s.</HI> I mu&s;t &s;ay of many <HI>Towns</HI> which I have &s;een, <HI>The fear of God is not in tho&s;e places;</HI> but of <HI>New-ca|&s;tle,</HI> I may &s;ay in a &s;ober &s;en&s;e, <HI>JEHOVAH SHAMMAH,</HI> the <HI>Lord is there.</HI></P>
<P>For you, <HI>Right Wor&s;hipful Magi&s;trates,</HI> &s;uffer mee, though not to <HI>applaud,</HI> yet to <HI>ap|prove,</HI> (how much &s;oever you are above my approbation) your worthy doings in the ma|nagement of your power and places, wherein if you have <HI>any equals,</HI> I am &s;ure you have
<PB REF="6"><HI>no Superiors.</HI> I could wi&s;h others did <HI>imi|tate</HI> that, wherein you <HI>excell.</HI> You are found to bee <HI>Mini&s;ters of God to &s;uch as do good; for good;</HI> and tho&s;e that <HI>do evill,</HI> Know you <HI>bear not the Sword in vain.</HI> Sabbath-breakers, Swearers, (but why &s;hould I in|&s;tance in particulars?) all &s;orts of vicious per|&s;ons feel your <HI>Sword &s;harp,</HI> and you a <HI>Terror</HI> to them; whereas <HI>your eies are upon tho&s;e that are faithful:</HI> Mini&s;ters and people, fearing God, and <HI>doing that which is good,</HI> have of you <HI>the prai&s;e of the &s;ame.</HI> I be&s;eech you give mee leave, <HI>(not to prai&s;e your &s;elves, but to provoke others to a godly jealou&s;ie)</HI> to tell the&s;e South|ern parts, that <HI>there is fair weather in the North;</HI> And if in any place in <HI>England,</HI> certainly in your Town, and under your Government men may and do <HI>lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godline&s;s and hone&s;ty.</HI> And this one thing I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, <HI>Were all the Mini&s;ters in</HI> England <HI>&s;o carefully and tenderly provided for, and encouraged, as they are in</HI> New-ca&s;tle, <HI>there would not be that complaining in our &s;treets, as there now are upon that account.</HI> Indeed the Mini&s;ters of your place have their <HI>double honour;</HI> Your incouragement of them, and provi&s;ion for them is &s;uch, that I know not whether I &s;hould intreat other parts to imi|tate your <HI>Bounty</HI> or <HI>Wi&s;dome</HI> mo&s;t: Certain|ly both are laudable; You know not any
<PB REF="6">Mini&s;ter among you by any Character, but of Chri&s;t. To preach and practi&s;e the power of godline&s;s, is the work you equally coun|tenance and encourage them in: and though there bee (as where is not?) <HI>&s;ome difference a|mong&s;t them, yet that makes no difference of them to you,</HI> who have the like care of all. What can I &s;ay of this? Spare mee to take up the <HI>P&s;almi&s;ts</HI> words, <HI>For my brethren and companions &s;akes, I will now &s;ay, Peace be within thee, yea, the peace of God</HI> (which the Learn|ed know to comprehend in it all ble&s;&s;ings) <HI>be for ever upon you, and yours,</HI> for your un|parallel'd care and kindne&s;s to Chri&s;ts Mini|&s;ters among&s;t you.</P>
<P>And for you <HI>(my Reverend Brethren)</HI> Let mee be&s;eech you to improve &s;o choice a mer|cy, as you have under your Magi&s;trates. I know you <HI>de&s;ire</HI> not (how much &s;oever you <HI>de&s;erve</HI>) <HI>prai&s;e:</HI> yet let mee &s;ay, you are to bee prai&s;ed, for that you are of one <HI>heart,</HI> (though in all things not of one <HI>head</HI>) you minde and &s;peak the &s;ame things of <HI>faith</HI> and <HI>life;</HI> Though yee di&s;agree in &s;ome things of Church-rule and Order, your publick wor|&s;hip is in the &s;ame place, and with the &s;ame Spirit. There is not heard in your Pulpits (where you preach by turns) the noi&s;e of <HI>Axes and Hammars;</HI> Heats, Debates, Di&s;|putes, are exiles at your A&s;&s;emblies: you fa&s;t
<PB REF="7">and pray together, your de&s;ign is the &s;ame, and your endeavours are joint, to convert &s;inners, and to e&s;tabli&s;h Saints. Tho&s;e <HI>loo&s;e and vain opinions</HI> which have pe&s;tered and plagued many places, by your zeal and uni|ty for truth, are (through Chri&s;ts ble&s;&s;ing) marvelou&s;ly prevented in your Congregati|ons: and as for tho&s;e <HI>unchristian Divi&s;ions and Animo&s;ities</HI> (which are el&s;ewhere the &s;inne and &s;hame of di&s;&s;enting Profe&s;&s;ours) by the Spirit of Love and Peace, (which rules in your hearts, and appears in your la|bours) they are either not at all, or not pre|vailing in your place. But that I may not trouble you with more, I will onely adde this further, that I perceive yee have well &s;tu|died that Text, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 77. which &s;peaks of this, as <HI>I&s;raels</HI> happine&s;s, that God <HI>led them by the hand of</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>and</HI> Aaron. Surely the people of your Town &s;eem to bee led but by <HI>one hand:</HI> Indeed <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> goes before, (as it is but fit) and <HI>Aaron</HI> comes after: Your Magi&s;trates in Civils, and your &s;elves in Spirituals, are &s;o one in hand (and I hope in heart) that though you have <HI>offices di&s;tinct,</HI> yet your <HI>indeavours are joint,</HI> and both make up one great mercy to the people under you. As they <HI>incourage</HI> you, &s;o yee <HI>reve|rence them:</HI> They are not &s;uch <HI>who a&s;&s;ume power in Spitituals,</HI> but leave your work to
<PB REF="7">your &s;elves, and yee, (I hope none of yee) are as tho&s;e <HI>who de&s;pi&s;e Dominion,</HI> nor <HI>inter|meddle with the politick affairs.</HI> Let that <HI>heart be filled with &s;orrow, and that hand and head be cur&s;ed of the Lord, that indeavours (in the lea&s;t) the breach of that holy and righteous har|mony that is betwixt you:</HI> I pre&s;ume, yee will &s;ay, <HI>Amen,</HI> to my prayer for you in this par|ticular.</P>
<P>To you then <HI>(holy and beloved Brethren)</HI> Who fear God, and have faith in Je&s;us, and are ble&s;&s;ed by, and a ble&s;&s;ing to &s;uch a Ma|gi&s;tracy and Mini&s;try. Let mee &s;peak al&s;o a few words, I bear you witne&s;s to others, that there is among&s;t you, <HI>the Spirit and con|ver&s;ation of the good old Puritans,</HI> (whom I mention with honour) it is your <HI>credit</HI> that you are not in this day of <HI>reproach and bla&s;|phemy,</HI> (which is upon profe&s;&s;ion for Profe&s;|&s;ors faults) a &s;hame to that worthy name wherewith yee are called. The <HI>itch of no|vel opinions,</HI> the <HI>botch of vain fa&s;hions, the plague of neglect of duties, and &s;lighting Or|dinances and Mini&s;try,</HI> the&s;e are not &s;een a|mong&s;t you, or on you. I verily &s;aw much of Chri&s;t in you, your carriage was &s;eem|ing exact, and I <HI>hope your &s;tudy is to bee what you &s;eem</HI> for. Wo be to Hypocrites and Sin|ners <HI>(hollow-hearted Profe&s;&s;ours, or ignorant and profane per&s;ons)</HI> in <HI>New ca&s;tle.</HI> They that are
<PB REF="8"><HI>bad</HI> under Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters &s;o <HI>good,</HI> will bee damned without mercy under two of the greate&s;t witne&s;&s;es that can bee again&s;t a people. But I hope better things of you, though I thus &s;peak. I be&s;eech you &s;o live, that by your good examples, <HI>(concurring with the power of your Magi&s;trates, and preaching of your Mini&s;ters)</HI> yee may help to convince and convert evill doors, at lea&s;t, <HI>to put to &s;i|lence the ignorance of fooli&s;h men.</HI></P>
<P>To you all, <HI>Magi&s;trates,</HI> and <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> and <HI>Saints,</HI> jointly and &s;everally, let me return my <HI>hearty &amp; humble thanks for that &s;ingular re&s;pect,</HI> which for many years yee have expre&s;&s;ed to my <HI>ever dear and beloved Brother,</HI> who&s;e lot is ca&s;t among you. It is to mee matter of joy and prai&s;e before the Lord, that &s;ince it plea|&s;ed God (who di&s;po&s;es of all our per&s;ons and places) to carry him &s;o far from all relations, that he did vouch&s;afe to fix him among&s;t your &s;elves, who abundantly make up all relati|ons, in your care and kindne&s;s to and for him. Now the ble&s;&s;ed God for ever reward your love to him and his. <HI>Let your goodne&s;s accept of mee</HI> (who am obliged in and for him) this <HI>&s;hort, but &s;incere acknowledgement for the &s;ame.</HI> I &s;hall not trouble you with the re|membrance of that kindne&s;s, which (when by the good hand of God I vi&s;ited my brother, and &s;aw yee,) you were plea&s;ed to expre&s;s. It
<PB REF="8">is your goodne&s;s you had rather &s;hew kind|ne&s;s than hear prai&s;e. Therefore I judge it would trouble you, if I &s;hould blaze that, which yet was &s;uch and &s;o great, as I have and mu&s;t &s;peak of to others, and before the Lord with thank&s;giving: your receiving mee, and love to mee, was in the Spirit of the Go&s;pel; yee did receive mee in <HI>the name of a Prophet, and in the name of a Di&s;ciple,</HI> (howbeit I am unworthy that honour.) Oh that hee <HI>who rewards a cup of cold water, gi|ven upon &s;uch an account, would abundantly reward your large and loving re&s;pects to me (even poor me) in that way, and upon that &s;core.</HI> My gratitude would overflow, did not the con&s;ideration of your Mode&s;ty (which loves not to hear its own applau&s;e) &s;et mee bounds. I will therefore conclude thus, <HI>May your Per|&s;ons, your Government, your Labours, your whole Town, and your Univer&s;al All, be alwaies under the &s;pecial favour of the ble&s;&s;ed God, and Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> in whom I remain,</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE><HI>Right worthy, Reverend,</HI> and <HI>Beloved Sirs,</HI></SALUTE> 
<SIGNED>Your mo&s;t obliged, and mo&s;t affectionately humble &s;ervant, <HI>JOHN DURANT.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="9">
<HEAD>To the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_TO &s;erve <HI>the coun&s;ell of God in a mans particular Generation,</HI> is a du|ty incumbent on all that profe&s;s them&s;elves the &s;ervants of Chri&s;t: and to bee &s;incere and diligent therein, is to bee in the <HI>exerci&s;e, and partake of the &s;ure mercies of</HI> David. But to bee willing to do any thing which may bee &s;ervice to Chri&s;t in a|nother Generation, and to bee indeed &s;ucce&s;&s;efull therein, is a ble&s;&s;ing which few attain unto. And yet though &s;uch a ble&s;&s;ing be obtained but by a few, I per&s;wade my &s;elf, it may at lea&s;t bee de&s;ired and pur&s;ued by all. For as wee are to <HI>covet earne&s;tly the be&s;t gifts:</HI> &s;o are we <HI>to aim at, and endeavour the be&s;t &s;ervice;</HI> and &s;uch is that which la&s;ts and lives, when wee are gone, and fallen a&s;leep in our Graves.</P>
<P>I hope I &s;hall be freed from the <HI>crime and cen&s;ure of pride,</HI> if I &s;ay, that my aim in the&s;e &s;mall pieces, which I have been pre&s;&s;ed formerly to print, was to &s;erve, not onely my pre&s;ent, but the next Generation. And I mu&s;t acknowledge to the prai&s;e of the glory of Chri&s;ts grace, that my experience of the good liking and acceptance of my Labours this way, gives mee grounds to hope, that my &s;ervice may extend it &s;elf beyond my own age. Certainly <HI>books la&s;t longer than men; and they &s;peak when wee are dead and gone.</HI> Hereupon I am encouraged once again to
<PB REF="9">appear in the <HI>Pre&s;s</HI> for the &s;ame &s;ervice, which is on|ly to <HI>&s;ub&s;erve the coun&s;ell of God</HI> for the good of thy &s;oul, (Chri&s;tian Reader) by the following Ser|mons; concerning which, I will onely preface a few words, about their <HI>Occa&s;ion, Scope, and Mode.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><HI>1</HI> For the <HI>Occa&s;ion,</HI> take that thus; there is ex|tant among tho&s;e choice labours of that <HI>Man of God,</HI> Mr. <HI>William Bridge</HI> (now of <HI>Yarmouth</HI>) one Sermon <HI>(pitty it is there, were no more)</HI> upon the &s;tory of the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> This Sermon, I had a Childe (who is now with him who gave it) that was much taken with it. I perceived &s;hee read it of|ten with &s;avour and delight; whereupon it was in my heart, to inlarge a little more upon that &s;ubject, which certainly is &s;weet to all tho&s;e who have &s;piritual &s;en|&s;es exerci&s;ed to di&s;cern the glory and relli&s;h of Go&s;|pel di&s;cour&s;es. This was indeed (Reader) the occa|&s;ion of the&s;e Sermons.</P>
<P N="2"><HI>2</HI> The <HI>Scope</HI> of them is, <HI>to do good to many,</HI> who are the &s;ons and daughters of <HI>My&s;tical Canaan.</HI> In the Hi&s;tory of the example here opened, wee may ob&s;erve, <HI>what ought to bee the carriage,</HI> and <HI>what may bee the comfort</HI> of any &s;oul, that hath or &s;hall come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Indeed the way of coming to Chri&s;t, I have not inlarged in, (having formerly done that in my Mini&s;terial cour&s;e) the &s;pecial thing at|tended and aimed at, <HI>is, to direct and help poor &s;ouls, who know and are in the way to Chri&s;t, but lie under temptations and troubles, by rea&s;on of &s;ome &s;eeming har&s;h, delatory, and denying entertainment,</HI> which they meet withall. And therein I hope this work will be unto thee (Read|er) of advantage.</P>
<PB REF="10">
<P N="3"><HI>3</HI> Concerning its <HI>Mode,</HI> or the manner of handling the&s;e Sermons; truly <HI>it is without affectation or curio&s;ity, either as to phra&s;es or fancies;</HI> and in the &s;ame plainne&s;s wherein they were preached (and ta|ken) are they now without any further poli&s;h printed. And truly the bread of life is be&s;t, when it is plain. Experience hath put it beyond controver&s;ie, that the truths of God take and work mo&s;t &s;weetly and &s;o|veraignly, where they are delivered mo&s;t plainly and &s;imply; <HI>Not in the wi&s;dome of man, but in the &s;implicity of the Spirit,</HI> and in that <HI>ordinary lan|guage wherein the Lord gives to each man utte|rance.</HI> The way of &s;uch mens preaching is exceeding bad, (albeit the matter may bee truth and good) who rather <HI>tickle the ear,</HI> than <HI>touch the hearts</HI> of their hearers. This la&s;t I &s;tudied, and therefore that o|ther I neglected. And (Reader) if thou affect <HI>words,</HI> thou maie&s;t &s;pare thy <HI>pains,</HI> for upon that &s;core the en&s;uing Sermons will yeeld thee no plea&s;ure. But in ca&s;e thy heart bee &s;et on <HI>things,</HI> which may concern thy &s;oul, read humbly and &s;eriou&s;ly, and I dare (un|der Chri&s;t) promi&s;e thee profit for thy pains. My de&s;ire was, and is, to &s;erve <HI>poor, humble, hungry &s;ouls, that will be glad of any of the crumbs which Chri&s;t gives:</HI> and if thou bee &s;uch, <HI>fall to, and the Lord be with thee in thy peru&s;al of the&s;e Sermons,</HI> which (with thy &s;oul) I commend to the ble&s;&s;ing of Chri&s;t, de&s;iring thee (Reader) in thy prayers to re|member him, who is</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Thine in &s;oul-&s;ervice for Chri&s;ts &s;ake,</HI> John Durant.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="10">
<HEAD>THE <HI>Woman of</HI> Canaan <HI>coming unto Chri&s;t.</HI> The Fir&s;t SERMON.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Matthew 15. from</HI> ver&s;. <HI>22, to</HI> ver&s;. <HI>29.</HI></BIBL>
<Q><P N="22"><MILESTONE N="22"> And behold a Woman of Canaan came out of the &s;ame coa&s;ts, and cried unto him, &s;aying, Have mer|cy on mee, O Lord, thou Son of David, my Daugh|ter is grievou&s;ly vexed with a Devil.</P>
<P N="23"><MILESTONE N="23"> But hee an&s;wered her not a word, and his Di&s;|ciples came and be&s;ought him, &s;aying, Send her away, for &s;hee crieth after us.</P>
<P N="24"><MILESTONE N="24"> But hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, I am not &s;ent, but un|to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael.</P>
<P N="25"><MILESTONE N="25"> Then came &s;hee, and wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</P>
<P N="26"><MILESTONE N="26"> But hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to ca&s;t it to doggs.</P>
<P N="27"><MILESTONE N="27"> And &s;hee &s;aid, Truth Lond: yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Ma&s;ters table.</P>
<P N="28"><MILESTONE N="28"> Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Wo|man, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee, even as thou wilt. And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IN all our addre&s;&s;es unto Chri&s;t (which is the great bu&s;ine&s;s of our Life and Happi|ne&s;s) it concerns us, not onely to know the <HI>great Precepts</HI> that &s;hould <HI>guide</HI> us:
<PB N="2" REF="11">and the gracious <HI>Promi&s;es</HI> that may <HI>incourage</HI> us; But al&s;o to bee well acquainted with all tho&s;e <HI>Pat|terns</HI> and <HI>Examples</HI> of any that have gone to Chri&s;t before us; and likewi&s;e with tho&s;e <HI>occurrences</HI> which they did (and wee are like to) meet withall in this work: Now (my Brethren) unto this purpo&s;e I know no one &s;tory in all the New Te&s;tament, which &s;peaks of any coming to Chri&s;t, like that which I have read, to acquaint us a little by way of <HI>Pattern,</HI> what wee &s;hould expect when wee come to Chri&s;t. In the coming of this Woman to Chri&s;t, wee have &s;omething very patternable for us to minde. And in the carriage of Chri&s;t to her, wee may &s;ee what wee may expect at the hands of Chri&s;t, even then when wee come to him. There are fix heads unto which the whole &s;tory, as it is here recorded, may bee reduced.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You have <HI>the coming of the Woman</HI> unto Chri&s;t, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 22.</P>
<P>Secondly, You have <HI>the &s;eemingly har&s;h entertain|ment</HI> that Chri&s;t gives her at fir&s;t, for <HI>hee an&s;wered her not a word,</HI> and though his Di&s;ciples &s;pake on her behalf, hee puts them off.</P>
<P>Thirdly, You have <HI>the Womans good behaviour,</HI> notwith&s;tanding all this, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 25. <HI>Shee wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, You have <HI>the Repul&s;e that Chri&s;t</HI> doth give to that, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 26. <HI>But hee an&s;wered, and &s;aid, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to ca&s;t it to doggs.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, You have <HI>her yet renewed recour&s;e</HI> to Chri&s;t after that repul&s;e, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 27. <HI>Truth Lord: yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Ma&s;ters table.</HI></P>
<P>Sixthly and la&s;tly&punc; You have <HI>the ble&s;&s;ed i&s;&s;ue</HI> of
<PB N="3" REF="11">all, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 28. <HI>Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Woman, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee e|ven as thou wilt, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>My intention is not to confine my &s;elf to the <HI>Method,</HI> but to the <HI>Matter:</HI> In which you have,</P>
<P><HI>The Coming of the Woman.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The Entertainment of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The Carriage of the Woman under all.</HI></P>
<P>And the <HI>ble&s;&s;ed Conclu&s;ion</HI> wherewith all is ended.</P>
<P>At pre&s;ent wee &s;hall con&s;ider the fir&s;t of the&s;e, <HI>The Coming of the Woman of Canaan.</HI></P>
<P><HI>And behold a Woman of Canaan came out of the &s;ame Coa&s;ts, and cried unto him, &s;aying, Have mercy on mee, O Lord, thou Son of David, my Daughter is grievou&s;ly vexed with a Devil.</HI> This Note <HI>Behold,</HI> is ob&s;erved to bee a Note of Attention, and it is put in, to u&s;her in &s;ome matter that is more than or|dinary remarkable, and to bee minded by us. Here is a <HI>Woman,</HI> and a Woman of &s;uch a <HI>Country,</HI> and &s;o <HI>coming,</HI> and that <HI>upon &s;uch an account,</HI> that both the one, and the other, and altogether, may very well bee brought in with a <HI>Behold.</HI> I have former|ly &s;poken at large of &s;ouls coming to Chri&s;t, how God leads them, and how by Faith they are brought to him; and therefore &s;hall not handle that now. Onely, there are here three heads of Ob&s;ervation, to which I &s;hall reduce all at this time; And as &s;ometimes I make three Sermons upon one head or point, &s;o at this time I &s;hall make one Sermon up|on three heads. And the order in which I &s;hall proceed to &s;peak of them, &s;hall bee this:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Wee will a little con&s;ider the party coming.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>The manner how &s;hee comes.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>The occa&s;ion, or the account upon which &s;hee comes at this time.</HI></P>
<PB N="4" REF="12">
<P>To begin with the fir&s;t: <HI>Behold</HI> (&s;aith the Ho|ly Gho&s;t) <HI>A Woman.</HI> You will bee ready to &s;ay to mee, What &s;hall wee &s;ee in her? why truly in this Woman coming to Chri&s;t, you &s;hall &s;ee this Truth.</P>
<P><HI>That the way to Chri&s;t is very free for poor &s;ouls of any place, in any condition.</HI></P>
<P>Here is a <HI>Woman</HI> (I li&s;t not to <HI>quibble</HI> upon that) but here is a <HI>Woman of Canaan. Canaan</HI> of all the places at tho&s;e times had a mark upon it, to bee mo&s;t oppo&s;ite to goodne&s;s, and it may bee &s;aid of it, as once it was &s;aid of another place, <HI>Can any good come out of it?</HI> But of what place of the Coun|try? &s;hee was a borderer to <HI>Tyre</HI> and <HI>Sidon;</HI> Now <HI>Tyre</HI> and <HI>Sidon</HI> were the wor&s;t places of that Coun|try. They were in a &s;en&s;e the <HI>Sodome &s;inks of Ca|naan.</HI> The Salvage places (as wee &s;ay of &s;ome Sea-Towns) the mo&s;t notorious Cities of all that Country; and yet now a Woman of this bad Country; the door is open, and &s;hee comes to Je|&s;us Chri&s;t. You read of &s;ome (in <HI>John</HI> 12.20, 21.) that came to <HI>Philip,</HI> and &s;aid, <HI>Sirs, wee would &s;ee the Lord, &amp;c.</HI> Why my Brethren, It is a certain truth, whatever Country you are of, whatever place, &s;ex or condition, the way is open, and you may freely come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. This truth is &s;o general in all the Go&s;pel, and &s;o frequently preached, that I &s;hall not need to &s;tay upon it. You read that Chri&s;t freely invited, and lovingly entertained all that came, even <HI>Publicans</HI> and <HI>Harlots, Sinners</HI> and <HI>Re|bels, Enemies</HI> and <HI>ungodly</HI> ones; I &s;ay not, <HI>qua tales,</HI> but <HI>qui quondam tales,</HI> i. e. &s;uch as once were &s;o vile, and therefore unworthy and unlikely to come; yet come they did, and the way was not hedged up, nor the door &s;hut again&s;t them.</P>
<P>There are three ends why I touch upon it, and for
<PB N="5" REF="12">which I de&s;ire you to <HI>Behold</HI> this truth in this woman.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Behold this Woman, and truth for this end. To let you &s;ee <HI>The certainty of that great truth, That &s;ome of all &s;orts &s;hall bee &s;aved.</HI> Is the way to Chri&s;t open and free for any &s;ex, of any condition and Country? then &s;ome of all &s;orts and Countries &s;hall come in, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7.9. you read be&s;ides the &s;ealed&punc; ones (of the Jews) the Holy Gho&s;t takes notice of an innumerable company of the Gentiles, and they are thus &s;et out, to bee <HI>of all Nations, and Kindreds, and People, and Tongues.</HI> My Brethren, I do not intend &s;o much as in the lea&s;t to prop the opinion of general Redemption; but this I &s;ay, that &s;ith the way to Je&s;us Chri&s;t is &s;o free, and &s;o open unto all, that therefore <HI>&s;ome</HI> of all, though <HI>not all,</HI> may come to him, and &s;hall bee &s;aved at la&s;t. I &s;ay not that all &s;hall bee &s;aved, (I could wi&s;h that errour had died with <HI>Origen</HI>) but I &s;ay, <HI>&s;ome of all,</HI> i. e. &s;ome of all conditions, Countries, Kindreds, &amp;c. &s;hall bee &s;aved by Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And why O &s;oul, may not wee bee of that &s;ome?</P>
<P>But &s;econdly, <HI>See</HI> (my Brethren) <HI>what an incou|ragement here is unto Faith.</HI> The poor &s;oul would come, and when hee comes hee mu&s;t beleeve (your Faith are your feet by which you mu&s;t come to Chri&s;t.) But now the great que&s;tion is, When the &s;oul is upon his way going to Chri&s;t, or upon his feet <HI>(It is &s;uch a &s;inner)</HI> that the que&s;tion is, <HI>May hee come?</HI> yes, hee may, the way is open and free to any. In <HI>Luk.</HI> 7.37. You read of a Woman that came to Chri&s;t, that is called <HI>a &s;inner, &amp;c.</HI> What ever Country you are of, I pray minde mee, bee it never &s;o barbarous and ba&s;e: Bee thou, O &s;oul, a &s;inner of any City, &s;uppo&s;e <HI>Sodome,</HI> there is this ground for your Faith to build upon, and if you
<PB N="6" REF="13">could (as it were) peep and look within the <HI>Veil,</HI> you &s;hould &s;ee that there are &s;ome of your Country|men and women in Heaven. Father <HI>Abraham</HI> was in an Idolatrous Nation, yet in the 51. of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> &s;aith the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>Look to Abraham;</HI> con&s;ider what hee was, &amp;c. and <HI>Behold</HI> (&s;aith my Text) <HI>A Woman of Canaan came to Chri&s;t;</HI> take notice of her well, for this end al&s;o, to &s;trengthen my Faith, you may come what ere bee your Country.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Behold withall, <HI>How inexcu&s;able poor creatures will bee, that do not put forth indeavours to come to Chri&s;t.</HI> What will you have to &s;ay? will you &s;ay you might not? this truth will tell you there is a way open for any of you. This &s;tory, as it is in <HI>Mark</HI> 7.24. &s;aies, <HI>Chri&s;t would have hid him&s;elf, but hee could not.</HI> Therefore, as it is an incourage|ment to Faith, &s;o it will leave unbeleef without ex|cu&s;e. This poor woman will condemn thee, poor <HI>Chri&s;tle&s;s, carele&s;s Creature;</HI> Behold her coming, and tremble to think of thy tarrying away. To ter|rifie all poor negligent &s;ouls, that minde not, &s;eek not, come not to a Chri&s;t, is another end why I would have you all behold the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> coming: When &s;hee is gone before, what will be|come of you, if that you follow not after? certainly her coming will bee your condemnation. So much for the fir&s;t head, the party coming.</P>
<P>Secondly, How doth this Woman come?</P>
<P>Why truly, my Brethren, you mu&s;t keep <HI>Behold</HI> in your hand all along. Behold how &s;hee comes, &s;hee comes <HI>crying,</HI> and <HI>&s;aying, Lord, thou Son of David, have mercy on mee.</HI> Verily (my Brethren) this manner of her coming de&s;erves a <HI>Behold,</HI> as the very coming it &s;elf. There are three circum&s;tan|ces in the manner of her coming.</P>
<P><PB N="7" REF="13">
Fir&s;t, It is &s;aid, <HI>&s;hee cried.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Shee cried, <HI>Have mercy on mee.</HI></P>
<P>And thirdly, <HI>O Lord, thou Son of David.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Shee cried unto him.</P>
<P>The word doth denote a very <HI>pa&s;&s;ionate cry;</HI> the <HI>Syriack</HI> doth u&s;e a word which doth &s;ignifie &s;uch a cry, which is as a bea&s;t that doth low after its Calf. Shee cried unto him, that is, <HI>Shee came with abun|dance of affection and of intention of &s;pirit.</HI> The Evan|geli&s;h <HI>Mark</HI> tells us, &s;hee <HI>fell at his feet.</HI> I cannot better open this, than by turning you to that which is (as it were) a parallel, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 4.87. where you have a poor woman, who&s;e &s;oul was bitter, coming to the Prophet, and &s;o &s;oon as &s;hee came to him, <HI>&s;hee fell down and caught him by the feet.</HI> I pray be|hold and learn, in all your addre&s;&s;es unto <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t, put forth the highe&s;t affection,</HI> put forth the mo&s;t inten&s;ene&s;s of your &s;pirits that may bee, cry, and get hold of him, Chri&s;t will not charge thee with unmannerline&s;s. Shee <HI>cried,</HI> it notes the Ago|ny of her &s;pirit that &s;hee was in. Oh that our <HI>drou|&s;ie carele&s;s &s;ouls</HI> would but learn of this Woman! Many are &s;o far from <HI>crying,</HI> that they &s;carce <HI>li&s;p.</HI> But remember it (Sirs) when you come to the Lord Je&s;us, &s;tir up all your &s;ouls, let all your af|fection then go out: Oh! when &s;hould wee ever let out all our &s;ouls to the utmo&s;t, if not then when wee come to clo&s;e with Je&s;us Chri&s;t? There is a lawful and laudable pa&s;&s;ion to bee manife&s;ted in this matter. Chri&s;t loves and likes to hear our cries: O let not this poor womans crying, cry any of us &s;hame, who are &s;o far from a crying after Chri&s;t, that wee do almo&s;t cry away Chri&s;t: Well, behold her prai&s;e-worthy pa&s;&s;ion, and go thy way (&s;oul) and imitate her therein. Never approach
<PB N="8" REF="14">Chri&s;t, but with much pa&s;&s;ion, with mo&s;t earne&s;t and ardent affection.</P>
<P>Secondly, Shee cried, <HI>Have mercy on mee.</HI></P>
<P>Poor Woman, &s;hee &s;peaks as one <HI>poor in &s;pirit,</HI> (that is) rich in Faith, (as Chri&s;t calls her after|wards) &s;hee had no <HI>Merit,</HI> but &s;hee knew the Lord had <HI>Mercy,</HI> Behold it, and know this as a le&s;&s;on to bee learnt hence, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P><HI>That when you approach Chri&s;t, let it bee by Mercy, by meer Mercy.</HI> That &s;ame poor Publican in the Go&s;pel of <HI>Luke</HI> cries, <HI>Lord bee merciful to mee a &s;inner.</HI> My Brethren, right clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t, right &s;aving ju&s;tifying Faith which carries the &s;oul to Chri&s;t, eyes nothing but Mercy. This is the main incouragement that keeps up Faith, yea, and this is the great Motive that doth &s;till prevail with the Lord, therefore wee &s;hould take hold of it; in <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2.4. It is &s;aid, <HI>But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith hee loved us, &amp;c.</HI> Thou ha&s;t mi&s;ery that pincheth thee, but the Lord hath mercy that will pitty thee, and thou that &s;aye&s;t thou ha&s;t no works, know this, the Lord hath much grace. Behold the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and &s;ee how &s;hee doth, and wee ought to eye and plead meer mercy, and that onely, and alwaies when wee come to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Ob&s;erve a little further what &s;hee &s;aith,</P>
<P><HI>Lord, thou Son of David.</HI> Shee &s;peaks in lan|guage beyond the learning of the Scribes and Pha|ri&s;ees; though they were great Doctors of the Law, yet they had not learned this my&s;tery, to look up|on Chri&s;t, as <HI>the Lord,</HI> and as the <HI>Son of David.</HI> It was indeed a miracle, that a Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> &s;hould have this knowledge, and wee might &s;ay (as it was &s;aid in another ca&s;e of Chri&s;t) whence hath
<PB N="9" REF="14">this Woman knowledge? why my Brethren, what could any of us have &s;aid more to Chri&s;t, to &s;peak out our Faith, what is it? but that wee do beleeve in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t: This phra&s;e &s;peaks Faith. Learn hence, <HI>In all your addre&s;&s;es to Chri&s;t, to come in the language of Faith, and &s;peak to Chri&s;t as be|comes Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Still know, hee is the Lord, <HI>Da|vids</HI> Son, the promi&s;ed one indeed. When you come to deal with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, bee not ha&s;ty, con|&s;ider <HI>who hee is</HI> (hee is the <HI>Lord</HI>) and hee is the Son of <HI>David,</HI> the true and the <HI>onely Me&s;&s;iah.</HI> Remember this le&s;&s;on in all your addre&s;&s;es to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, re|member this good example; it is a Saints pattern.</P>
<P>There are two &s;orts of people I would de&s;ire to look upon this pattern.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t are tho&s;e, <HI>who it may bee are but now be|ginning</HI> to clo&s;e with Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, Tho&s;e who it may bee have <HI>revolt|ed and back &s;lidden</HI> from Chri&s;t, and are <HI>now returning</HI> again. I pray (Sirs) <HI>make as much ha&s;te as you can, but ob&s;erve how you go.</HI> Go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t with much <HI>affection,</HI> with much <HI>humility,</HI> renounce <HI>Me|rit,</HI> and cry <HI>Mercy,</HI> and &s;till give the Lord his due: So you &s;ee this Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> doth, and go thou O &s;oul, in any ca&s;e, and do likewi&s;e. That is all I will &s;peak to the &s;econd head.</P>
<P>To proceed to the third and la&s;t thing, <HI>Behold</HI> once again the <HI>occa&s;ion</HI> of this Womans coming, It was, <HI>That her daughter was grievou&s;ly vexed with a Devil.</HI></P>
<P>The Evangeli&s;t <HI>Mark</HI> &s;aies, &s;hee was <HI>vexed with an unclean &s;pirit.</HI> The one is a general, the other is a particular expre&s;&s;ion of it. I do not think it worth the while to di&s;pute about this infirmity, or this po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion under which her Daughter lay, what it was; All that I &s;hall note, &s;hall bee not of a Phy&s;ical,
<PB N="10" REF="15">but rather of a Spiritual and Theological Nature,&mdash; from this Mothers coming to Chri&s;t upon this oc|ca&s;ion. In the general, &s;hee takes her childe to bee po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with a Devil, &s;hee goes not to a figure|flinger, not to any cunning man (as &s;imple ones u&s;e to &s;ay) &s;hee goes not to the Devil in a Doctor, to ca&s;t out the Devil of her Daughter, No, but &s;hee comes to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>I pray, in the general, <HI>Learn in all ca&s;es, di&s;tem|pers, di&s;ea&s;es, &amp;c. to go fir&s;t to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. You may go to men,</HI> to Phy&s;icians (though not to <HI>Wizards</HI>) but you <HI>mu&s;t go to Chri&s;t,</HI> and behold the Woman of <HI>Ca|naan</HI> to e&s;tabli&s;h you in that good Chri&s;tian cu&s;tome, of having recour&s;e to Chri&s;t on all occa&s;ions, in all nece&s;&s;ities, whether for yours, and your &s;elves. But this is general. There are two things in particular.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t particular thing I would have you learn out of this Mothers coming upon this account, Is, <HI>Parentive pitty in compa&s;&s;ion on children.</HI> This Wo|man of <HI>Canaan</HI> pitties her childe, and cries, as if &s;hee her &s;elf felt her Daughters pain, and though &s;hee was not &s;ick &s;imply, yet &s;hee was <HI>Sympatheti|cally;</HI> thou that can&s;t let the little one cry, and it may bee peri&s;h while thou art fooling abroad, Oh remember the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> have pitty on your poor children, and for their &s;akes go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And do I mean onely you &s;hould go to Chri&s;t for them when they are <HI>&s;ick?</HI> no, but Oh pray for thy childes <HI>&s;ick</HI> &s;oul. It was a notable &s;peech of one of the Antients, &s;aid hee, Wilt thou mourn over a body from whom the &s;oul is gone, and not over a &s;oul from whom God is gone? Oh &s;hew that you have <HI>&s;piritual &s;ympathy;</HI> many of you have a <HI>natural &s;ympathy,</HI> if you &s;ee the childe burn and &s;nake, &amp;c. of a Feavour, thou can&s;t pitty him;
<PB N="11" REF="15">but it may bee thou &s;ee&s;t him &s;hake and reel with drunkenne&s;s, and not pitty them at all. <HI>It is Mother|ly pitty to &s;ympathize with &s;ick bodies, but Chri&s;tian pitty to &s;ympathize with &s;ick &s;ouls.</HI> Friends, put on bowels (as the Elect of God) as the Woman of <HI>Ca|naan,</HI> and have compa&s;&s;ion on your children; In all their afflictions bee yee afflicted, with all their &s;orrows bee yee affected, and go to Chri&s;t, on their behalf, but not onely for <HI>bodies,</HI> but al&s;o and e&s;pe|cially for their <HI>&s;ouls.</HI> This is the fir&s;t particular.</P>
<P>But the &s;econd is that which I would &s;tand upon. Con&s;idering <HI>that this di&s;temper upon the Daughter, did bring the Mother here unto Chri&s;t,</HI> I would e&s;pe|cially &s;peak to this, and intreat you to <HI>Behold</HI> this occa&s;ion of her coming, and it will afford us a very profitable Note. The Note is this.</P>
<P>Behold what occa&s;ions the Lord &s;anctifies &s;ome|times to bring &s;ouls to him&s;elf: What is the occa|&s;ion? My Daughter is &s;ick.</P>
<P>The particular Doctrine is this, <HI>That &s;ometimes the Lord doth &s;anctifie corporal, or external occa&s;ions, and afflictions, to bring &s;ouls home to him&s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>The great means, the <HI>&s;tanding</HI> Ordinance by which the Lord brings &s;ouls to him&s;elf, is the <HI>Word,</HI> and the Word <HI>Preached.</HI> But yet I &s;ay be&s;ides that, the Lord is plea&s;ed &s;ometimes to make u&s;e of other means, and among the re&s;t, &s;ometimes the Lord doth &s;anctifie external afflictions to bring home poor &s;ouls to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>There are two things in all external afflictions that I would have all to minde.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, God <HI>&s;ending.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, God <HI>&s;anctifying</HI> of the&s;e afflictions.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You &s;hould ob&s;erve, <HI>That God &s;ends them.</HI> Afflictions do not ari&s;e out of the du&s;t; if any evil be
<PB N="12" REF="16">in the City or Family, it is the finger of the Lord, it doth not come by chance or fortune, it comes from God, and wee ought to behold him in it.</P>
<P>But then &s;econdly, Ob&s;erve the Lord <HI>&s;anctifying</HI> afflictions. The Lord doth not alwaies &s;anctifie af|fliction where hee &s;ends it: But &s;ometimes God doth &s;anctifie it unto many good and gracious ends and purpo&s;es; and in particular, I &s;ay, God doth <HI>&s;ome|times</HI> to <HI>&s;ome &s;ouls</HI> &s;anctifie afflictions to this end, to bring home the poor &s;oul to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>There are three Comings unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in all which the Lord doth &s;ometimes, to &s;ome per&s;ons, make u&s;e of corporal afflictions.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, There is that which wee call our <HI>fir&s;t fun|damental Coming</HI> to Je&s;us Chri&s;t; when the &s;oul doth fir&s;t come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t from his wandering rebellious e&s;tate and condition, when it is fir&s;t brought out of the wilderne&s;s.</P>
<P>Secondly, There is our <HI>gradual Coming to Chri&s;t;</HI> When the &s;oul that is come to Chri&s;t in a good mea|&s;ure, comes a little nearer, hee comes from &s;trength to &s;trength, and &s;o by degrees appears before God in <HI>Sion. Jacobs</HI> Ladder had many &s;taves, and com|ing to Chri&s;t hath many &s;teps and &s;tairs: Therefore be&s;ides our prime, or fir&s;t coming unto Chri&s;t, there is a perfecting progre&s;s, or a&s;cendent going to, or growing up in Chri&s;t higher and higher, which is, (as it were) our coming nearer and nearer.</P>
<P>Thirdly, There is our Coming to Chri&s;t, which is our <HI>Return after &s;ome eminent Revolt,</HI> when a &s;oul hath left its fir&s;t love. Now in all the&s;e, and unto all the&s;e, the Lord doth &s;ometimes &s;anctifie externall afflictions; the Lord doth &s;ometimes &s;anctifie external afflicti|ons, to bring the &s;oul home to him&s;elf; As <HI>Poverty,</HI> The Lord makes many an one poor, that they may look
<PB N="13" REF="16">after a rich Chri&s;t. And <HI>Di&s;grace</HI> from creatures the Lord permits, and &s;anctifies that to make the &s;oul long and labour, that they may bee precious in his &s;ight. And <HI>Sickne&s;s</HI> upon us and ours; the Lord doth &s;ometimes kill the childes body, to &s;ave the Mothers &s;oul; take away the husband, the hee may bring the wife home to him&s;elf; wee might give ma|ny notable in&s;tances. As in <HI>Matth.</HI> 8.2. There you finde a Leper came to Chri&s;t, and what occa&s;ion brought him; truly this mans Lepro&s;ie brought him to Chri&s;t, and for ought wee know, had not this man been a Leper, hee had never come to Chri&s;t. In <HI>Matth.</HI> 9.27. There wee hear blind men cal|ling after Je&s;us Chri&s;t; but why? you &s;hall &s;ee in that place, their blindne&s;s upon their eyes, make them look after Chri&s;t. And <HI>Matth.</HI> 21.14. The blind and lame came to him to the Temple to bee healed, &amp;c. Thus it plea&s;eth Chri&s;t &s;ometimes to &s;anctifie corporal afflictions to bring us home to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>There are two Rea&s;ons why the Lord doth this.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t relates <HI>to us.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd, <HI>unto him&s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, I &s;ay, The Lord doth &s;ometimes take this cour&s;e, <HI>upon our account;</HI> con&s;idering us, the Lord works thus on us; In <HI>Jer.</HI> 9. &s;aith the Lord there, <HI>I will melt my people, for how el&s;e &s;hall I do for the daughter of my people? i.e.</HI> As if hee &s;hould &s;ay, I cannot tell el&s;e what to do for them. Oh my Brethren, the Lord &s;ees &s;ometimes nothing el&s;e will do it but affliction. Mee thinks I hear the Lord &s;ometimes &s;peaking of a poor creature after this manner, There is &s;uch a one, who &s;o long as hee can bee well, and do well, as to externals, I &s;hall not hear of him, I mu&s;t therefore take &s;ome other
<PB N="14" REF="17">cour&s;e with him; well, I will go and melt him, &amp;c. Oh Sirs! this is our folly, that (whatever <HI>Armi|nians</HI> dream) wee are &s;o backward to come to Chri&s;t, that except hee <HI>draw,</HI> wee will not go; nay, except hee <HI>drive,</HI> wee will not &s;tir, nor &s;tep forward; all the per&s;wa&s;ions of the Lord, they will not work us up to free will, except hee make, hee add power to per&s;wa&s;ion: Indeed in the day of his power, wee are (potentially, not per&s;wa&s;ively onely) made a willing people, as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110. Upon this account it is, that Chri&s;t is, as wee &s;ay, fain to u&s;e the Rod &s;ometimes to bring us home to him&s;elf. How oft doth Chri&s;t &s;ay, &s;ith my <HI>Pipe</HI> will not, my <HI>Rod</HI> &s;hall fetch &s;uch a &s;heep, and &s;uch a &s;heep? (<HI>i. e.</HI> It may bee thy &s;oul, and thy childes &s;oul.) I will make it a day of power, and by grace I will follow them with one means after another. You know what is &s;aid by the Lord, of a backward people, in <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 5. <HI>ver&s;e</HI> the la&s;t. <HI>In their affliction they will &s;eek mee.</HI> In 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 14.30. You read, <HI>Ab&s;olon</HI> &s;ent for <HI>Joah</HI> to come to him, and hee would not, but <HI>Ab&s;olon</HI> &s;ent and fired his fields, and then hee comes. My Bre|thren, wee may very well parallel it; God &s;aith &s;ometimes, go Mini&s;ter, preach to him judgement, and threatning, and that will not do; and go mercy, that will not do; then go &s;ickne&s;s, &amp; Oh! &s;ick|ne&s;s mu&s;t preach a Sermon, before many will hear a word. Well, here is the fir&s;t Rea&s;on (which as I &s;aid, relates to us) Afflictions are &s;ent and &s;anctified to bring us to Chri&s;t, becau&s;e often nothing el&s;e will. Truly, I &s;ay, this is our <HI>naughty Nature,</HI> that fair means will not work upon us, and this is our <HI>Fathers</HI> grace, that hee will take other means, but hee will effect his work.</P>
<P>Secondly, The Lord doth it upon another account,
<PB N="15" REF="17">which relates to him&s;elf; To &s;hew us, <HI>That hee is not tied to means,</HI> but can work by any providence if hee plea&s;e. The Lord hath more means than one, and hee is a free Agent, hee can u&s;e which hee plea|&s;es. If <HI>One&s;imus,</HI> a naughty and bad &s;ervant, will not bee wrought upon at home under a good Ma|&s;ter, hee &s;hall bee brought to the Gaol to hear a Sermon there; you have that intimated in the Epi&s;tle to <HI>Philemon.</HI> The account of it take in brief thus, <HI>Philemon</HI> was a godly man, and a good Ma&s;ter, and hee had 2 Church in his hou&s;e; but <HI>One&s;imus</HI> was nought for all that, his Ma&s;ter could not by any means work upon him, but hee breaks out and away, (it is likely) hee runs: And by the hand of Ju|&s;tice, (God ordering of it) is brought to a Gaol, where a Pri&s;on prepares him to hear, and a pri&s;oner is provided to preach, and now hee is wrought upon. God hath many waies, if wee run from one, hee hath another to meet with us in. If a Pulpit do not, a Pri&s;on &s;hall; if a &s;oft word win not, a hard &s;hall; hee will have us &s;ee that hee is not tied to any means, and therefore &s;ometimes will by a &s;ickne&s;s, a lo&s;s, &amp;c. bring us home, as well as by other waies.</P>
<P>There is onely one Objection that mu&s;t bee an|&s;wered.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>But doth not his &s;eem to give &s;ome advan|tage to tho&s;e who cry down the preaching of the Word?</HI> It hath been a &s;eemingly fair, but a really poor Argu|ment of tho&s;e to tell us, that God can make any thing an Ordinance, and therefore they ca&s;t off preaching, and &s;ay, what need that? cannot, and doth not God work &s;ometimes without that?</P>
<P><HI>Repl.</HI> I an&s;wer generally; My Brethren, <HI>One good means may very well go hand in hand with another:</HI>
<PB N="16" REF="18">And my Brethren, none of the Lords means are <HI>Yea</HI> and <HI>Nay;</HI> de&s;tructive one of another, or incon|&s;i&s;tent one with another: All may, and all &s;hall &s;tand; and in vain do wee think to make one an Ar|gument again&s;t the other. It is certain God can alwaies, and hee doth often work by afflictions; But yet <HI>the Word is the chief, known, tried, and &s;tanding means:</HI> And after all that hath been &s;aid to the contrary, I &s;till think, that though the Lord may make u&s;e of, and &s;anctifie afflictions (as &s;ickne&s;s up|on us and ours) to bring us home to him&s;elf, yet it is very rarely without the Word.</P>
<P>There are two Con&s;iderations in particular, that I would have you minde.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Many times <HI>Afflictions</HI> (as poverty and &s;ickne&s;s) <HI>do make a word to work a word that wee have heard.</HI> The words of the wi&s;e (&s;aith <HI>Solomon</HI>) they are <HI>as Nails fa&s;tened.</HI> Now it may bee the Lord fa&s;tens, or rather <HI>puts in a Nail in the A&s;&s;embly by his Word,</HI> and the poor &s;oul runs away; now the Lord &s;ends an affliction after him, to <HI>fa&s;ten the Nail,</HI> and the man is ca&s;t upon a &s;ick-bed, and now &s;aies hee, I remember &s;uch an in&s;truction. Af|fliction brings home, and drives home a word for|merly preached unto us, which wee heard, and did not regard or remember, but now by an Affliction are made to do both. I have thought Affliction doth that which Po&s;&s;et-drink doth in Phy&s;ick (it is a plain &s;imilitude, yet mark it) A man takes Phy&s;ick, and it works not, then give him a draught of Po&s;&s;et-drink, and that makes it work, that helps it on; &s;o it is here. A Word is given out, and it works not, then the Lord &s;ends Affliction, and that makes it work: But &s;till it is the Word that works, the Word formerly heard, &amp;c. You know what is &s;aid,
<PB N="17" REF="18">in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 141.6. It is &s;aid there, when <HI>they are over|thrown in &s;tony places, they &s;hall hear my words, for they are &s;weet.</HI> Why the words were <HI>&s;weet</HI> before, and <HI>heard before;</HI> but then they &s;hall bee made to <HI>reli&s;h,</HI> and then they will minde them. Well, minde this, though Affliction work, it is rather as a help to the Word, than of it &s;elf without the Word. This is one Con&s;ideration.</P>
<P>Secondly, Another Con&s;ideration is this, <HI>That mo&s;tly the Lord makes u&s;e of Afflictions</HI> (if not to) back what wee have heard, <HI>yet</HI>) <HI>to bring them to hear.</HI> Minde it; Many a time the poor Creature hath li|ved without Sermon-hearing all his daies, and Af|fliction comes, and that drives him to the Word: Now the &s;oul will go to Lectures, now the &s;oul will wait on the Mini&s;tery; &s;o that Affliction doth rather bring him to the Word as the means, that work, and bee an effectual means without it. I pray then mark the&s;e Con&s;iderations, to keep up your highe&s;t thoughts of the Word, and that preached as the prime means; verily experience &s;eals to the&s;e two things, that the work of Affliction, rather &s;econds a Word heard, or brings the &s;oul to hear the Word, than &s;imply works without it.</P>
<P>Now then for the Application of this.</P>
<P>There are five U&s;es that I &s;hall lay before you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Doth the Lord this way u&s;e and &s;anctifie &s;ick|ne&s;s and affliction &s;ometimes upon us or ours? Then look about you, and &s;ee whether God hath &s;anctified any affliction upon you. Wee live in a &s;ickly time, it may bee &s;ickne&s;s hath been in all your families; hath this (like the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI>) brought you to Chri&s;t? did the &s;ickne&s;s of thy body, advance thy foot to Chri&s;t?</P>
<P>You will &s;ay, Wee are like the Woman of <HI>Ca|naan,</HI>
<PB N="18" REF="19">and God forbid but wee &s;hould go to Chri&s;t when wee were &s;ick.</P>
<P>But did it bring you to Chri&s;t in a &s;oul-way, in a &s;oul &s;aving-way?</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>How &s;hall I know that?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Let mee propo&s;e two things to you, to let you try.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>When any affliction brings a &s;oul to Christ (be&s;ides the material &s;ickne&s;s or affliction that is upon the outward man) the &s;oul is &s;en&s;ible of &s;omething like it, lighted upon the inward Man.</HI> There is a &s;en&s;e of the &s;ame &s;piritually, as well as corporally. As now, when &s;ickne&s;s brings a man to Chri&s;t, hee &s;peaks thus, I am &s;ick, my head akes, I, and &s;aith the man, my heart akes too. Oh wife! I am a poor &s;inner, I cried fir&s;t out, I am &s;ick in body, but now I am &s;ick in &s;oul; &s;till the &s;oul &s;ees &s;omething like it in &s;pirituals, if his &s;ickne&s;s brings him to Chri&s;t. If thou onely art &s;en&s;ible of a corporal di&s;ea&s;e, and goe&s;t to Chri&s;t for that, then it is but a corporal coming, not a &s;oul, nor a &s;aving coming unto Chri&s;t: but when thy &s;ick body leads thee to the &s;en&s;e of a &s;ick &s;oul; when thy Feavour, thy Ague, brought thee to feel the like di&s;temper in thy &s;oul, and thou there|upon wente&s;t unto Chri&s;t for that, then was &s;ick|ne&s;s indeed &s;anctified in a &s;oul-&s;aving-way.</P>
<P>Secondly, Ob&s;erve this, <HI>Hee that by any affliction or &s;ickne&s;s is brought home to Chri&s;t, whatever the i&s;&s;ue of the affliction may bee, his heart is for certain moving &s;till towards Chri&s;t;</HI> even after the &s;ickne&s;s is gone. You may have a man while the &s;ickne&s;s is upon him, then hee may bee up in prayer with his <HI>Lord have mercy, &amp;c.</HI> but when it is gone, his &s;ick|ne&s;s is gone, and devotion is gone too: But if this bring him to Chri&s;t, though the &s;ickne&s;s bee gone,
<PB N="19" REF="19">yet the man follows after Chri&s;t &s;till, and mindes him. The &s;oul after &s;ickne&s;s is as hee, <HI>Luk.</HI> 8.38. who be&s;ought the Lord that hee might bee with him. O &s;oul! if thou came&s;t to Chri&s;t &s;ick, thou de&s;ire&s;t to bee with Chri&s;t well; I pray then look to it, &s;ee if your afflictions have been &s;anctified, and if they have brought you unto Chri&s;t. That is our fir&s;t U&s;e.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. Then &s;econdly, Let this teach us all to <HI>prize tho&s;e afflictions by which wee can &s;ay, the Lord brought us home to him&s;elf;</HI> I &s;ay, learn to prize &s;uch an affliction: Never &s;peak ill of that &s;ickne&s;s, by which the Lord Je&s;us brought thee nigh to him&s;elf. You &s;ay it hath been an hard time with you, &s;ickne&s;s hath been &s;ore in your families, but did Chri&s;t bring thee nigh to him? never &s;peakevil of that affliction more. Minde <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 94.2. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou cha&s;tene&s;t, and teache&s;t him out of thy Law.</HI> Ha&s;t thou been afflicted? hath that taught thee &s;omething of the bitterne&s;s of &s;in, of the nece&s;&s;ity of Chri&s;t? and hath it taught thee to look after thy &s;oul, to look after a Chri&s;t? happy man art thou. Oh my Brethren, many a man hath &s;aid to the prai&s;e of God, ble&s;&s;ed bee God for &s;uch a &s;ickne&s;s, &amp;c. I have heard of &s;ome that have ble&s;&s;ed God for plun|dering, for poverty, for &s;uch and &s;uch a &s;ickne&s;s on them&s;elves and theirs, &amp;c. And truly well they might &s;o do, becau&s;e it brought them home to Chri&s;t. Chri&s;t hath &s;aved a parents &s;oul by taking a|way a childes life; Oh therefore, if God hath done &s;o by you, you may &s;ing, happy time, ble&s;&s;ed afflicti|on. I pray &s;peak well of all things which help you home to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>U&s;e 3. Thirdly, This point will give us <HI>a Le&s;&s;on of Hope in the behalf of any of our Relations, who&s;e
<PB N="20" REF="20">&s;ouls wee love,</HI> and labour with, till Chri&s;t bee form|ed in them, but at pre&s;ent is not. Sickne&s;s, Lo&s;s, Affliction are a way &s;ometimes. Now hope in the Lord; if thou that ha&s;t done thy indeavour upon thy poor Relation to bring him to Chri&s;t, and yet hee is not come, thou little knowe&s;t what affliction may do. It may be that which thou coulde&s;t not work upon thy childe with all thy in&s;tructions, that God may do with an affliction. I cannot advi&s;e you to pray; as I have heard of one (who it may bee, &s;pake it ho|ne&s;tly, though not hand&s;omely, Lord break a legg or an arm, &amp;c.) Lord &s;end him a Feavour, an Ague, &amp;c. I cannot advi&s;e you to that. But this I can &s;ay for your incouragement: God can &s;end, and &s;ancti|fie an affliction to bring home thy childe at la&s;t. Chri&s;ts Rod can do that which yours cannot; Oh therefore pray and hope, indeavour and hope, yet God can work and win upon thy yoke-fellow, thy childe, thy brother &amp;c. For God &s;ometimes you &s;ee &s;ends and &s;anctifies afflictions, to bring in to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>U&s;e 4. Fourthly, <HI>Let this teach us patiently to bear any affliction that may bee upon us for pre&s;ent;</HI> why &s;o? becau&s;e for ought wee know, God may &s;anctifie it to bring us nigh to him&s;elf; &s;hould not wee then bee patient? Po&s;&s;ibly thou art a poor creature, that ha&s;t been but a <HI>Talker of Chri&s;t,</HI> onely a meer pretender, but yet to this day did&s;t never re|ally come to, nor rightly clo&s;e with Chri&s;t, and now thou art &s;ick, and weak. Free Grace may de&s;ign, and intend thy real, experimental and truly &s;aving knowledge of, and laying hold upon the Lord Je&s;us, and to that purpo&s;e it may bee (I &s;ay) that God brings affliction, O therefore learn patience; who can tell but the Lord will bee gracious, and by this
<PB N="21" REF="20">affliction bring thee home to him&s;elf, hee is cha|&s;tening thee here, that hee may not condemn thee hereafter. True it is, that no affliction (as the Apo&s;tle &s;aies) for the pre&s;ent is joyous, but after|wards it may bring forth the peaceable fruit of righ|teou&s;ne&s;s. Oh therefore, I &s;ay, beware of repining and murmuring, for po&s;&s;ibly the Lord afflicts thee, that hee may bring thee, as this woman, to him|&s;elf.</P>
<P>The la&s;t U&s;e, <HI>Let all your hearts run out after this in all your afflictions, that</HI> (if it bee the Lords plea|&s;ure) <HI>it may work upon you,</HI> (<HI>as it did upon</HI> the Wo|man of <HI>Canaan</HI>) <HI>to bring you neer to Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Minde and de&s;ire is then in all afflictions. This is that you &s;hould look after in your afflictions, not onely to con&s;ider that God <HI>&s;ends</HI> it, but to ob&s;erve how God <HI>&s;anctifies</HI> it. Say, Oh Lord, thou ha&s;t af|flicted my body, do good to my &s;oul; &s;ay, thou ha&s;t afflicted mee, and mine, thus or thus in body or e|&s;tate; oh that indeed thou woulde&s;t work upon mine heart thereby. Con&s;ider, to move you,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>It is your &s;oul-concernments that do mo&s;t of all ly upon you to con&s;ider in all your afflictions.</HI> It may bee God hath taken away all thy e&s;tate, and thou art con&s;idering how to make it up again, why know, it doth more concern thee to con&s;ider how thou maye&s;t bee rich in Faith, and come to a good e&s;tate in Chri&s;t, rather than to vex thy &s;elf about thy e&s;tate and how to recover thy lo&s;s: Or el&s;e it may bee you are ill, and now your great care is to bee well again; Oh thou oughte&s;t rather to con&s;ider thy &s;oul-&s;ickne&s;s, thy &s;piritual illne&s;s, and indeavour to get that cured in Chri&s;t, than thy poor carka&s;s. I be&s;eech you be|loved <HI>minde,</HI> (as you u&s;e to &s;ay) <HI>the main,</HI> and know, that it <HI>is the &s;oul that is that main,</HI> and do no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="22" REF="21">altogether minde your bodies, but &s;ometimes minde your &s;ouls. Oh that God would make people, but to minde their &s;ouls <HI>more</HI> (I could wi&s;h) but as much as their bodies!</P>
<P>Secondly, To move you, Con&s;ider, whatever the i&s;&s;ue of any affliction may be, ble&s;&s;ed are you if your &s;ouls are brought to Chri&s;t, It is well indeed if clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t bee the conclu&s;ion. Let childe live or die, e&s;tate go or come, &s;o thou and Chri&s;t meet toge|ther, all is well. Ble&s;&s;ed is the man that can &s;ay, I lo&s;t my e&s;tate &s;uch a day, and I found my Lord Je|&s;us &s;uch a day, &amp;c. Therefore &s;uffer the word of Ex|hortation; <HI>Above all things &s;ee how your &s;ouls are brought to Chri&s;t in every Affliction;</HI> and make it your grand work to <HI>ob&s;erve</HI> and <HI>obtain</HI> that, by all the hand of God at any time upon you or yours. But before I conclude, I mu&s;t an&s;wer this ca&s;e of Con&s;cience.</P>
<P><HI>Ca&s;e.</HI> But will &s;ome poor &s;ouls &s;ay, Ala&s;s, <HI>If I &s;hould go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t upon &s;uch a carnal account, &s;hall I bee accepted?</HI> Becau&s;e my husband, wife, or childe is &s;ick, will hee hear mee? Is this a fair foundation, or a good fir&s;t Motive to bring mee to Je&s;us Chri&s;t?</P>
<P><HI>Re&s;ol.</HI> I an&s;wer, Truly my Brethren, <HI>If thou goe&s;t onely to Je&s;us Chri&s;t upon a carnal account,</HI> or occa&s;i|on, <HI>I cannot &s;ay Chri&s;t will bid thee welcome;</HI> But if thy carnal occa&s;ion bee but a <HI>Motive,</HI> to bring thee upon a higher account, thou maye&s;t go and finde entertainment. Although a <HI>dirty &s;hooe bring you into your Fathers hou&s;e, yet your Father will make you welcome.</HI> Therefore I &s;ay in the Name of the Lord, do not &s;tick at this ca&s;e, but rather ble&s;s God that hath &s;ent an affliction to awaken thee, to bring thee home, than que&s;tion whether you &s;hall bee
<PB N="23" REF="21">accepted upon this account. Let mee therefore end as I began. <HI>Behold the Woman of Canaan,</HI> for it may bee her condition is yours (in a &s;en&s;e) you have a &s;ick childe, as &s;hee had, &amp;c. I pray thereupon go to Chri&s;t, as &s;hee did; verily Chri&s;t will in no wi&s;e ca&s;t you off, in ca&s;e you come. Suppo&s;e the fir&s;t <HI>Motive</HI> bee low, and corporal, yet the <HI>Matter</HI> may prove high and &s;piritual. Who knows but the Lord hath &s;ent divers &s;ickne&s;&s;es up and down for this end, to bring divers &s;ouls to Chri&s;t? I pray therefore minde it, and in all af|fliction look and long that it may have the &s;ame operation on you, which it had on this Woman, who was by this means brought to Chri&s;t. And this &s;hall &s;uffice for this ver&s;e.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="24" REF="22">
<HEAD>Chri&s;t may &s;eemingly entertain (at fir&s;t) very har&s;hly. <HI>The Second SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>Matthew 15. from <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 23, to <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 29.</BIBL>
<Q><P N="23"><MILESTONE N="23"> But hee an&s;wered her not a word, and his Di&s;|ciples came, and be&s;ought him, &s;aying, Send her away, for &s;hee crieth after us.</P>
<P N="24"><MILESTONE N="24"> But hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, I am not &s;ent, but un|to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael.</P>
<P N="25"><MILESTONE N="25"> Then came &s;hee, and wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</P>
<P N="26"><MILESTONE N="26"> But hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to ca&s;t it to doggs.</P>
<P N="27"><MILESTONE N="27"> And &s;hee &s;aid, Truth Lord: yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Ma&s;ters table.</P>
<P N="28"><MILESTONE N="28"> Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Wo|man, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee, even as thou wilt. And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_BE&s;ides tho&s;e <HI>Many Men,</HI> which upon an eminent account are recorded in the Go&s;|pel; there are al&s;o <HI>&s;undry Women,</HI> who are in an eminent manner recorded likewi&s;e; and concerning whom the Holy Gho&s;t hath noted &s;omething for our &s;pecial ob&s;ervation, and imitation. Among others, there are <HI>Two Women</HI> in the Go&s;pel, which are very remarkable: The one is <HI>the Woman</HI>
<PB N="25" REF="22">(that you read of, in <HI>Luke</HI> 8.) <HI>who is called, a &s;inner;</HI> And the other is the woman commonly known by the name of <HI>The Woman of Canaan;</HI> and both the&s;e women are recorded for eminent coming unto Je|&s;us Chri&s;t. Wee have here in this place the &s;tory of <HI>The Woman of Canaan;</HI> and indeed it is a very holy Hi&s;tory, and many things are in it which are to bee heeded by us. The la&s;t day I gave you an account of the <HI>Method</HI> in which the Holy Gho&s;t doth here re|cord it. But letting pa&s;s the <HI>Method,</HI> I told you I would &s;tand upon the <HI>Matter</HI> of the &s;tory, wherein you have four heads.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>The coming of the Woman to Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>The entertainment that Chri&s;t.</HI> doth give her.</P>
<P>Thirdly, You have <HI>her carriage under that enter|tainment.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly and la&s;tly, <HI>The ble&s;&s;ed i&s;&s;ue of all.</HI></P>
<P>Wee began the la&s;t day with the fir&s;t; The com|ing of the woman to Chri&s;t, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 22. <HI>And behold a Woman of Canaan came out of the &s;ame coa&s;ts, and cried unto him, &s;aying, Have mercy on mee, O Lord, thou Son of David, my Daughter is grievou&s;ly vexed with a Devil.</HI></P>
<P>There are three Circum&s;tances in her coming that wee &s;tood upon.</P>
<P>The <HI>Party coming.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Manner of her coming.</HI></P>
<P>And <HI>the Occa&s;ion of her coming.</HI></P>
<P>The Party coming, It was a woman of <HI>Canaan, A Woman of Canaan,</HI> neer <HI>Tyre</HI> and <HI>Sidon,</HI> of a bad place in a bad Country. (But wee told you <HI>the way to Chri&s;t is open to all.</HI>) But then how did &s;hee come? <HI>Shee</HI> came with much <HI>affection,</HI> &s;hee cried, Lord, and &s;hee came for meer mercy. (<HI>Ju&s;tifying Faith &s;till
<PB N="26" REF="23">goes to Free Grace,</HI> and <HI>Meer Mercy.</HI>) And &s;hee came to him as hee was <HI>the Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> the Son of <HI>David; &s;hee did, and wee mu&s;t eye Chri&s;t as hee is, in all our ad|dre&s;&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, But what brought the good woman here? Why truly it was a &s;ick childe at home, that was &s;ore &s;ick, that brought her to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Whence wee ob&s;erved, <HI>That &s;ometimes the Lord doth &s;anctifie &s;ickne&s;&s;es, and other afflctions upon us and ours, to bring us home unto him&s;elf.</HI> I pray minde it, For, (My Brethren) wee have lived for &s;ome months under one &s;ickne&s;s or other: But now let mee ask you the que&s;tion, <HI>Have you done like the Wo|man of Cannan?</HI> have you gone to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, not onely for them, but have you gone for your &s;ouls to Je&s;us Chri&s;t? Mother, hath thy &s;ick childe brought thee &s;avingly to Je&s;us Chri&s;t? or husband, let mee ask thee, hath the &s;ickne&s;s of thy wife done a cure upon thy own &s;oul? can any of you &s;ay, ble&s;|&s;ed bee God, the Lord took away a childe, or hus|band, but that was a &s;trange cord that drew, and brought mee to him&s;elf; Oh! ble&s;&s;ed is that &s;ick|ne&s;s upon you, or any of yours, which (as the Wo|man of <HI>Canaans</HI>) brings you home to Je&s;us Chri&s;t; Therefore I &s;hall pre&s;s it home a little further in four things, by way of con&s;ideration, for you to take the more &s;pecial heed unto the things which I then &s;pake, and you heard, <HI>viz. The improvement of all afflictions to bring your &s;ouls to Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider fir&s;t, Po&s;&s;ibly, yea <HI>probably, the Lord did therefore &s;end &s;uch a &s;ickne&s;s to thy &s;oul, that hee might bring thee home to him&s;elf;</HI> The Lord &s;aw nothing el&s;e would do thee good, and therefore &s;ent that: Thou wert, it may bee, <HI>a poor vain creature, that coulde&s;t &s;coff at a Sermon,</HI> and no preaching would
<PB N="27" REF="23">do thee good; now it may bee the Lord &s;ends &s;ick|ne&s;s to bring thee in: Hee doth by <HI>&s;ickne&s;s, as by a &s;pecial &s;ervant,</HI> &s;end for you, and it &s;tands you upon to go to him; therefore now Brethren look about you, if ever God &s;end a Me&s;&s;enger of a particular Errant, if the Me&s;&s;enger have not his an&s;wer, woe bee to you. It is a great evil to neglect any of the Lords Me&s;&s;engers.</P>
<P>Secondly, It is certain, wee have all more rea&s;on to go to Chri&s;t for our &s;ouls, than upon the account of any &s;ickne&s;s for our bodies. Our &s;ouls are our highe&s;t concernment; and there is more &s;ickne&s;s, and more danger, in and upon your &s;ouls, which &s;hould carry them to Chri&s;t, than can bee upon your &s;elves and families: There are but a few who&s;e &s;ouls are better than their bodies. Indeed wee read of one, hee had a holy &s;oul, but a weak body; holy <HI>Gaius,</HI> in the third Epi&s;tle of <HI>John;</HI> but generally our &s;ouls are wor&s;e than our bodies, and therefore wee have more rea&s;on to go for our &s;ouls. The Feavour it may bee is upon thy body, and is it not in thy &s;oul? the De|vil po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es thy childes body, doth hee not po&s;&s;e&s;s thy own &s;oul? Oh therefore con&s;idering you have more rea&s;on to go for your &s;ouls, than your bodies, &s;et every thing bee &s;anctified in you, and have that work upon you.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>The Lord Je&s;us hath more bowels, and hee is ea&s;ier prevailed withall to do for the &s;oul, than in any ca&s;e for our bodies,</HI> or for the bodies of our Re|lations. You never read of any that came to Chri&s;t for their &s;ouls, that Chri&s;t did ca&s;t them off. The Lord Chri&s;t may in wi&s;dome and grace deny you, when you come for your body; hee may &s;ay, it is not good you &s;hould bee well, but hee will never &s;ay, It is not good your &s;ouls &s;hould bee well.</P>
<PB N="28" REF="24">
<P>Fourthly and la&s;tly, <HI>The per&s;on that goes to Chri&s;t in, and for his &s;oul by any affliction, gets more by the affliction, than hee could get by all things el&s;e.</HI> Minde it, I be&s;eech you. Oh my Brethren, what do you get when you come to Chri&s;t? why &s;aith Chri&s;t, Hee that comes to mee &s;hall never hunger nor thir&s;t more; that is, in his &s;oul; And hee that comes unto mee, I will in no wi&s;e ca&s;t out: you get &s;oul-&s;ati&s;|faction, and &s;oul-enjoyment, and is not that above all bodily gettings? And therefore I be&s;eech you upon the&s;e accounts, look about you, how the hand of God is &s;anctified to you by the afflictions which are, have been, or may bee on you. But wee &s;hall now proceed.</P>
<P>How doth our Lord entertain this woman? which is the &s;econd thing wee are to come to, <HI>Christs man|ner of entertainment:</HI> Why truly my Brethren, <HI>very &s;trangely, very har&s;hly,</HI> wee may &s;peak it with reve|rence, very har&s;hly. In <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 23. <HI>Hee an&s;wered her not a word;</HI> and though the Di&s;ciples &s;pake on her behalf, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 24. Hee &s;aies, <HI>Hee was not &s;ent, but to the la&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael;</HI> though &s;hee wor&s;hips him, and renews the reque&s;t again, hee tells her, <HI>It was not meet to take the childrens bread, and ca&s;t it to doggs, ver&s;.</HI> 26 From the whole carriage of Chri&s;t to her, ob&s;erve this,</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That &s;ometimes the Lord Je&s;us is &s;eemingly har&s;h to &s;ome poor &s;ouls when they come to him.</HI></P>
<P>Or if you will thus, <HI>Chri&s;t &s;ometimes very roughly entertain<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> poor &s;ouls.</HI> Mark the point well.</P>
<P>Indeed it is a &s;trange point, <HI>A point that &s;eems to c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">o&s;s all the Go&s;pel:</HI> What, that Chri&s;t, <HI>who&s;e Name is Love,</HI> and who&s;e Nature is Love, that Chri&s;t, <HI>who is rich in Mercy,</HI> who is <HI>full of pitty,</HI> who <HI>hath made
<PB N="29" REF="24">&s;weet Promi&s;es,</HI> to invite, and left great pre&s;idents to incourage us to come; that ever hee &s;hould enter|tain us with <HI>frowns,</HI> with <HI>har&s;hne&s;s,</HI> with <HI>&s;everene&s;s,</HI> this is &s;trange: Yet &s;ometimes this is true. Wee have a great in&s;tance of it here in this poor woman, and wee &s;hall indeavour to open it to you; onely be|fore I proceed to the proof, I pray con&s;ider, and remember how I expre&s;s the point, to prevent mi|&s;takes. It is ea&s;ie to mi&s;under&s;tand this unto the di&s;honour of Chri&s;t, and our own di&s;turbance, if wee minde it not well: Therefore con&s;ider how I word or phra&s;e the point. Now there are three words which I put into the doctrine, which are as &s;o ma|ny limitations or cautions, that neither you, nor I may mi&s;take Chri&s;t, nor the text, nor the pre&s;ident; when ever wee &s;peak of it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I &s;ay <HI>&s;eemingly.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Some times.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, I put in, <HI>to &s;ome &s;ouls.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, I &s;ay, Chri&s;t is <HI>&s;eemingly</HI> har&s;h in his entertainment. My Brethren, Je&s;us Chri&s;t is not <HI>really &s;o,</HI> but a man may &s;eem to bee that hee is not. It was &s;aid of <HI>Paul</HI> (<HI>Act.</HI> 8.17, 18.) <HI>this man &s;eems to &s;et forth &s;trange doctrines,</HI> which yet hee did not, hee preached true doctrine, <HI>viz. The right way of the Living God.</HI> It was a &s;lander of him that &s;aid in the Parable, of Chri&s;t, that hee was a <HI>hard</HI> Ma&s;ter: But yet it is a real truth, <HI>Though Je&s;us Chri&s;t bee not &s;o, yet hee may SEEM to bee &s;o;</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t may &s;eem to bee, and to do, that which neither hee is, nor will do. It is &s;aid in <HI>Luk.</HI> 24.38. that Chri&s;t <HI>made as though hee would have gone further.</HI> Chri&s;t really did not intend it, but made, as wee &s;ay, a &s;hew of it; and &s;o here; Chri&s;t doth not intend to deal har&s;h|ly with any that come (no, certainly Chri&s;t intends
<PB N="30" REF="25">all Love, and all &s;weetne&s;s, &amp;c.) but yet hee may &s;eem &s;o to do. Minde that word, it is <HI>&s;eeming,</HI> or in &s;hew, Chri&s;t carries it har&s;hly.</P>
<P>But then &s;econdly, It is &s;o <HI>but &s;ometimes,</HI> it is not alwaies; The Lord <HI>will not chide for ever,</HI> as <HI>David</HI> &s;aid. And &s;o in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57.16. hee will not contend <HI>alwaies,</HI> nor bee wroth <HI>for ever.</HI> My Brethren, Je|&s;us Chri&s;t may &s;eemingly carry it &s;o <HI>&s;ometimes,</HI> but not <HI>alwaies.</HI> As fir&s;t meeting, in <HI>John</HI> 20.15. when Chri&s;t and <HI>Mary</HI> met in the Garden, Chri&s;t ar fir&s;t carries him&s;elf &s;trangely, but afterwards hee opened him&s;elf &s;weetly, and clearly to her; and &s;o Chri&s;t may for a while carry him&s;elf &s;eemingly, har&s;h, or rough, it may bee for a <HI>moment,</HI> a <HI>day,</HI> a <HI>year,</HI> a <HI>few years,</HI> but <HI>not alwaies:</HI> Chri&s;t cannot alwaies re|&s;train his bowels, nor ca&s;t off for ever.</P>
<P>Take the&s;e two truths as everla&s;tingly and un|doubtedly true.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is, That Satan will not alwaies &s;pare thee.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, Chri&s;t will not alwaies chide thee.</P>
<P>Satan for a while will give a &s;oul good words, to tempt him to &s;in, and folly, and to that end may &s;peak fair and &s;mooth; but at la&s;t Saran will bee like him&s;elf, a Devil, a dread and terrour: And Chri&s;t may for a &s;ea&s;on carry it har&s;hly, but hee will not, indeed cannot do &s;o for ever. <HI>To the end hee mu&s;t bee (as hee is) very kinde.</HI></P>
<P>And then thirdly, It is but to <HI>&s;ome per&s;ons,</HI> not to all. My Brethren, all that come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t are not entertained alike; the mo&s;t are entertained with pre&s;ent love; but a <HI>few, &s;ome</HI> there are that hee doth <HI>&s;eemingly for a while</HI> entertain with frowns. I do not read of any &s;uch &s;tory in the Go&s;pel as this.
<PB N="31" REF="25">Wee read of many who came to Chri&s;t, and all en|tertained by Chri&s;t &s;weetly, none but this poor wo|man is left as a pre&s;ident of this point; but yet one clear Pre&s;ident is enough for proof. And there are onely two things wee &s;hall do in the amplification of the Point.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, Wee &s;hall &s;hew you, <HI>How Chri&s;t may &s;eemingly carry it har&s;hly,</HI> and &s;trangely to poor &s;ouls, when they come to him.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Whence it comes to pa&s;s</HI> that Je&s;us Chri&s;t, thus &s;trangely carries him&s;elf &s;eemingly har&s;h?</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t, <HI>How doth Je&s;us Chri&s;t di&s;cover any &s;eeming har&s;hne&s;s in his carriage to tho&s;e that come to him?</HI> I will go no further than to the in&s;tance of the Text. I will gather &s;ix things out of this &s;tory, wherein you and I may learn and &s;ee, that &s;ome|times Chri&s;t may di&s;cover, as if hee were unkinde, har&s;h and &s;evere.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It appears upon the fir&s;t view of the whole, <HI>Hee did not entertain her pre&s;ently.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Po&s;&s;itively, <HI>Hee did not &s;o much as give her a word.</HI> So it is, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 23.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>When others &s;pake to him on her behalf, hee refu&s;es to hear.</HI> Ver&s;. 23, 24.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>The Lord doth reject her, though &s;hee doth renew and reiterate her</HI> motion again to him. <HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 25.</P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>Hee hints that, which might as one would think da&s;h the poor creatures hope.</HI> Ver&s;. 26.</P>
<P>Sixthly and la&s;tly, <HI>Hee may keep us long ere hee &s;end us away, with that wee come for;</HI> As hee did her.</P>
<P>Now &s;oul minde it, and if Chri&s;t &s;eem to frown, and to carry it &s;trangely, let it not &s;eem &s;trange, for it is no new thing.</P>
<PB N="32" REF="26">
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>The Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth not entertain her pre&s;ently.</HI> One would think, I &s;ay, one would think, (e&s;pecially con&s;idering the many former Pre&s;idents of per&s;ons coming to Chri&s;t) that this woman &s;hould have been embraced pre&s;ently: How lowly doth &s;hee come? how loudly doth &s;hee cry? in the lan|guage of what Eaith doth &s;hee &s;peak? yet Chri&s;t doth not an&s;wer her. Remember yee, the Lord Je|&s;us may let a &s;oul &s;ometimes long lye before him, and never take him up. You indeed read of the <HI>Prodigal,</HI> who when hee <HI>fell upon his face,</HI> the Fa|ther <HI>fell upon his neck;</HI> but beware thou promi&s;e not thy &s;elf this pre&s;ently. Chri&s;t may let thee fall upon thy face, and not fall upon thy neck. In <HI>Matthew</HI> 11. <HI>ver&s;e</HI> la&s;t, You have there a &s;weet call, <HI>Come unto mee yee that are weary, &amp;c.</HI> Now I pray minde it, a poor &s;oul may go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>very weary, and heavy laden,</HI> and the Lord may let it lye a great while under the <HI>burthen</HI> of filth, under the burthen of guilt and of fears, and may &s;eem, for a while, not at all to minde it. Certainly, it could not bee a little while, that <HI>David</HI> lay under the burthen of Gods ab&s;ence, after hee had &s;inned again&s;t him: See <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 38. and the beginning; where hee complains, That <HI>his wounds did fe&s;ter, and were corrupt. David</HI> was like a man going to a Chirurgion with many wounds, and the Chirurgion lets the wounds &s;tink, before hee gives a plai&s;ter to him. Sinners, look a|bout you, The Lord Chri&s;t may let you lye without a plai&s;ter many a day, without wa&s;hing your wounds many a day. <HI>Paul</HI> prayed three times for one thing, and that thing denied him. If ever you come and knock, and cry, and call, and the Lord doth not pre|&s;ently open, do not &s;ay, never one was &s;o dealt withall as I am; the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> was &s;o
<PB N="33" REF="26">before thee, that is clear, &s;hee was not pre&s;ent|ly made welcome.</P>
<P>Secondly, The Lord did not onely <HI>not entertain</HI> her, <HI>but did not &s;peak a word to her.</HI> So it is expre&s;ly, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 23. <HI>The Lord an&s;wered her not a word.</HI> Oh my Brethren, how har&s;h was this? what, <HI>not a word?</HI> O! not a word? Why, if the Lord Je&s;us will not pre|&s;ently give the balm that the wounded &s;oul doth beg, will hee not &s;peak? No, not a word? And yet it is noted, Shee cried after him; yet not a word, not a word. It is upon record as the ca&s;e of <HI>Saul,</HI> &s;etting forth the greatne&s;s of his di&s;tre&s;s (when God did mo&s;t &s;everely deal with him) <HI>That he Lord did not an&s;wer him by dreams or vi&s;ions, nor by Urim nor Thum|mim;</HI> that is, God did not &s;peak a word.</P>
<P>And my Brethren, let mee tell you, It is a har&s;h dealing, when the Lord &s;hall let us lye crying, and hee bee dumb, as if hee did not hear. It is har&s;h not to bee heard.</P>
<P>There are two waies by which the Lord &s;peaks, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>1 By his Spirit.</P>
<P>2 By &s;ome actual dealing with the &s;oul.</P>
<P N="1">1 Sometimes Chri&s;t &s;aith by the Spirit, <HI>Soul, bee of good comfort, thy &s;ins are forgiven.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 At other times hee gives good &s;igns, by &s;up|porting and refre&s;hing the &s;oul; but it may &s;o fall out, as that hee may carry it &s;o &s;eemingly har&s;h, as not to an&s;wer a word to the &s;oul either way. And this is no new thing, wee read in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22.1, 2. <HI>Da|vid</HI> there (who was then a type of poor &s;ouls) cries out there, <HI>Why art thou &s;o far from helping mee, and from the words of my roaring? O God I cry, but thou heare&s;t not.</HI> So in <HI>Job</HI> 30.20. &s;aith <HI>Job, I cry unto thee, and thou do&s;t not hear mee: I &s;tand up, and
<PB N="35" REF="27">thou regarde&s;t it not.</HI> Hee &s;aith, God did not &s;o much as regard what hee &s;aid. If the Lord Je&s;us would not pre&s;ently entertain us, to do as wee wi&s;h, yet certainly one would think, a word were but little; but &s;ometimes Chri&s;t will not &s;peak a word.</P>
<P>Thirdly, The Lord carries it &s;o &s;eemingly har&s;h, that when others &s;peak on her behalf, hee refu&s;es to hear. Mark it; here were (as wee &s;ay) <HI>good &s;pokes|men</HI> for this woman. <HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 23. <HI>His Di&s;ciples be&s;ought him, &s;aying, &s;end h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">r away, for &s;hee crieth after us, i. e.</HI> As if they &s;hould &s;ay, Lord, the poor woman cries very loudly, &s;hee cries after us, as the bea&s;t after the Foal, &amp;c. What &s;aith Chri&s;t? why, <HI>I am not &s;ent but to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael.</HI> Hee puts them by, hee gives them a denial, and &s;omething more, as wee &s;hall &s;hew by and by. In <HI>Numb.</HI> 12. you read a &s;ad &s;tory of <HI>Miriam, Mo&s;es</HI> his Si&s;ter, &s;hee had provoked God, and God had &s;mote her with a Lepro&s;ie, and <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> cried to the Lord for her, &s;aith the Lord, <HI>If her Father had &s;pit upon her face, &s;hould &s;hee not bee &s;hut out of the Camp &s;even da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">es?</HI> Oh my Brethren, &s;ometimes the Mi|ni&s;ter may, the Father may pray, and the Mother may pray for the childe, and yet the Lord will not &s;peak, but put them off. <HI>If Mo&s;es and Samuel &s;hould &s;peak to mee for this people, yet my minde could not bee towards them</HI> Jer. 15.1. Oh my Brethren, It is no new thing, for the Lord to carry it &s;o &s;eem|ingly har&s;h, as not to hear others when they &s;peak on our behalf. Po&s;&s;ibly the &s;oul may &s;ay, I am un|worthy to &s;peak, but had I &s;ome friend to &s;peak on my behalf, certainly then hee would hear; why, they may all &s;peak for thee, and yet Chri&s;t may put them all by.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>The Lord doth reject her, though &s;hee
<PB N="34" REF="27">doth renew, and reiterate her motion again to him.</HI> This is har&s;h; And pray minde how &s;hee doth it, <HI>Shee came, and &s;hee WORSHIPPED him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</HI> It is not &s;aid in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 22. that &s;hee <HI>wor|&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">pped him</HI> (or that &s;hee fell down) But here it is &s;aid, <HI>Shee wor&s;hipped him.</HI> Shee renews her reque&s;t with <HI>vehemency, and with reverence;</HI> and here was her humiliation put forth. Weigh it but a while. <HI>Lord help mee, &amp;c.</HI> My Brethren, &s;hee &s;peaks at this rate, as if &s;hee &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>Lord help, if thou do not help mee, I peri&s;h; Lord help mee, if thou do&s;t not help mee, vain is the help of Man.</HI> Shee adores him as the Lord, But doth this prevail? nothing le&s;s; though &s;hee re|news her cry, yet the Lord turns her off. It is har&s;h not to bee bid welcome, not to have a word not to have others heard when they &s;peak for us; but when the &s;oul &s;hall repeat, and re-inforce, and as it were heighten her humiliation and prayer, then to bee rejected, this is an addition to all the former; yet &s;ometimes the Lord doth thus. And wee finde a like in&s;tance to this in o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">hers; &s;aith <HI>Job,</HI> in <HI>chap.</HI> 16.6, 7. <HI>Though I &s;peak, my grief is not a&s;&s;waged: and though I forbear, what am I ea&s;ed? but now hee hath made mee weary: thou hast made de&s;olate all my company.</HI> The Lord may as it were tyre out the &s;oul, and make it weary. And &s;o in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 69. and the beginning, <HI>I &s;ink into the deep, I am weary of cry|ing, my throat is dried, mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.</HI> The Lord may let the &s;oul cry again and again, till the very moi&s;ture is dried up, and yet to put it off; &s;o that the &s;oul may cry out with <HI>Job, Job</HI> 23.13. hee is of <HI>one minde, who can cha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ge him, &amp;c?</HI> Therefore the Church hath a remarkable ex|pre&s;&s;ion (<HI>Lamentations</HI> 3.8.) Al&s;o <HI>when I cry and &s;hout, hee &s;hutteth out my prayer. Shouting,</HI> it is an
<PB N="36" REF="28">addition unto <HI>crying.</HI> Why here is the poor wo|man crying, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 22. I and &s;hee cries and <HI>&s;houts,</HI> in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 25. and yet the Lord puts her off.</P>
<P>Fifthly, The Lord Chri&s;t may carry it &s;o &s;eem|ingly har&s;h, that <HI>hee may hint that, that may &s;eem to da&s;h the poor creatures hope.</HI> Oh this is &s;ad, and &s;ore indeed (Beloved) That the poor creature, who it may bee came with a little Faith, and a little Hope, &s;hould bee entertained &s;o har&s;hly, as the &s;oul may bee ready to &s;ay, <HI>Now farewel Faith, and farewel Hope, &amp;c.</HI> Thus the Lord hath carried it to &s;ome before; as if hee had cut off all their hope. It was a very &s;ad expre&s;&s;ion that they u&s;ed, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37.11. <HI>Then hee &s;aid unto mee, Son of Man, the&s;e bones are the whole hou&s;e of I&s;rael: Behold they &s;ay, our bones are dried, and our hope is lo&s;t, wee are cut off for our parts.</HI> Why truly (poor &s;oul) Je&s;us Chri&s;t may &s;o &s;peak to you, that you may &s;ay, <HI>Now our hope is gone;</HI> and wee, <HI>for our parts</HI> (whatever may bee the portion of others) for our own particulars, wee are <HI>cut off, and ca&s;t off;</HI> And Chri&s;t may carry it &s;o, as if hee gave, (I &s;ay <HI>as if (not that hee doth really)</HI> but I &s;ay) <HI>as if</HI> hee gave us ground &s;o to &s;ay; that hee hath cut off all our hope, and de&s;troyed all that upon which our expectations were bottomed. You have <HI>Job</HI> complaining of this him&s;elf, <HI>Job</HI> 19.10. <HI>Mine hope hath hee removed like a Tree.</HI> But of all expre&s;&s;ions, that is the mo&s;t remarkable, which you have in <HI>Lam.</HI> 3.54. <HI>The waters flowed over mine head, then I &s;aid, I am cut off.</HI> Oh Sirs, Je&s;us Chri&s;t may for a while &s;o &s;peak, that the &s;oul may &s;ay, now my hope is peri&s;hed, and now I will &s;it down and de&s;pair. And mark it but a little in this great in&s;tance of this wo|man of <HI>Canaan:</HI> For here are two words that Chri&s;t
<PB N="37" REF="28">u&s;eth to this woman, which indeed did &s;eem (for it was <HI>no more than a &s;eeming</HI>) to da&s;h all her hope in peeces.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The~ one is, <HI>I am not &s;ent, but to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael, i. e.</HI> As if Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;ay, My good friends, my dear Di&s;ciples, you pitty the woman, &s;o it may bee do I, but what &s;hall I do? <HI>I cannot go beyond my commi&s;&s;ion, I am not &s;ent but to the lost &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael;</HI> this woman is none, &s;hee is a <HI>Canaanite.</HI> Now how might the poor woman complain &s;adly, Oh Lord, are none of the <HI>Canaanites in thy commi&s;&s;ion?</HI> am not I in thy commi&s;&s;ion? then farewel Lord; Hee &s;peaks a word that might even da&s;h all her hope. So &s;ay &s;ome &s;ouls, Chri&s;t is <HI>onely for the Elect,</HI> I am no e|lect one; and thus the &s;oul goes away hopele&s;s.</P>
<P>Secondly, And the other word that Chri&s;t &s;peaks, which might da&s;h all her hope, is in the 26. <HI>ver&s;. It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to ca&s;t it to doggs.</HI> Oh what a killing word was that? poor heart! &s;hee might rather have expected that the Lord would have looked upon her, as upon a <HI>&s;illy Lamb,</HI> as upon a <HI>trembling Dove,</HI> that hee would &s;peak &s;oftly to her; but how roughly doth hee &s;peak? And how might this poor woman have mourningly muttered, and in &s;ecret &s;ighs have hereupon &s;poke thus in her &s;elf? What, <HI>mu&s;t not doggs have childrens bread?</HI> what &s;aid hee? &amp;c. <HI>Ah my &s;oul, did&s;t th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">u mark it? Doggs,</HI> and <HI>childrens bread,</HI> and <HI>I none of them,</HI> and <HI>it is not meet, &amp;c.</HI> Brethren, Chri&s;t may call <HI>a Lamb a Dogg;</HI> this &s;eems to bee very har&s;h. It was a har&s;h &s;peech that the Lord did u&s;e to his people, when hee cried, <HI>Go to your Gods that yee have &s;erved.</HI> Chri&s;t may &s;ay, you are a dogg, get you gone.</P>
<PB N="39" REF="29">
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But how could Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;peak thus?</HI> wee know hee did account her <HI>I&s;rael in the Spirit,</HI> though not in the <HI>Letter,</HI> as a Lamb, not a dogg; how did Chri&s;t then &s;ay, I am not &s;ent, but to the lo&s;t &s;heep, and thou dogg mu&s;t not have childrens bread?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> There are the&s;e kinde of An&s;wers.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Some there are that &s;ay thus, <HI>Chri&s;t &s;peaks after the manner of Men,</HI> as a Mini&s;ter in the way of his Mini&s;tery, guided by his <HI>Commi&s;&s;ion.</HI> So Mr. <HI>Cartwright,</HI> tho&s;e that were not of the Jewi&s;h Church, either by birth, or pro&s;eliti&s;m, they were out of the commi&s;&s;ion, that &s;eems to &s;atisfie &s;ome. But I will tell you what &s;atisfies mee: The Lord &s;peaks two waies.</P>
<P>1 Either <HI>plainly,</HI> and po&s;itive, as hee intends, and as things are.</P>
<P>2 Or by way of <HI>Trial,</HI> probationally, to try us. Mark it, The Lord may &s;peak <HI>that to try us, that hee doth not intend;</HI> neither doth hee mean as hee &s;peaks. The Lord may bid <HI>Abraham go offer I&s;aac,</HI> yet hee meant no &s;uch thing. <HI>John</HI> 6.6. When Chri&s;t &s;pake of buying bread for the multitude, it is &s;aid, this hee <HI>&s;pake that hee might try them:</HI> Thus the Lord &s;peaks, that hee might try us. The Lord may &s;peak doubtingly, and hint heavy words, not that hee hath hard thoughts, but onely that hee might try us. Hee may &s;peak doubtingly of our Election, that wee may make it &s;ure.</P>
<P>Sixthly and la&s;tly, Herein Chri&s;t may &s;hew him|&s;elf &s;eemingly har&s;h, <HI>in that hee may at la&s;t keep us long,</HI> ere hee doth &s;end us away with that wee come for. This woman had at la&s;t her reque&s;t, but it was long fir&s;t (as wee &s;ay.) Chri&s;t may entertain us, and not &s;peak any way, &s;o as to trouble us, yet
<PB N="48" REF="29">for all that hee intends not to give us pre&s;ently the thing wee come for. My Brethren, the Lord Je&s;us may make us wait <HI>daies, weeks, months,</HI> and <HI>years,</HI> (though hee let us within his hou&s;e, and &s;peaks to us now and then) and yet hee may not pre&s;ently give us the particular thing that wee come for; this is u&s;ual for Chri&s;t, to make &s;ome <HI>tarry, which yet hee turns not away.</HI> And truly wee that are <HI>ha&s;ty,</HI> count this <HI>har&s;h:</HI> Chri&s;t may make us wait a great while, and that wee e&s;teem, and it &s;eems to be very har&s;h: But this is a known thing, and I &s;hall not enlarge upon it at all; Therefore thus much of the fir&s;t thing, wherein Chri&s;t may &s;eem to carry it har&s;hly towards tho&s;e that come to him.</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing is, <HI>Whence comes this to pa&s;s that Chri&s;t doth &s;o carry him&s;elf?</HI></P>
<P>Truly my Brethren, It is &s;trange, after &s;o many clear Prophecies, after &s;o many comfortable Pro|mi&s;es, after &s;o many experiences of Chri&s;ts kinde dealing, that hee &s;hould with any &s;oul, at any time, upon any account, carry it thus har&s;hly to them. I &s;hall give you an account of this in <HI>general</HI> fir&s;t, and in <HI>particular</HI> afterwards.</P>
<P>My Brethren, In the <HI>general</HI> you mu&s;t know this, <HI>That Je&s;us Chri&s;t is not &s;o tied by Prophecie, nor ob|liged by Promi&s;e, but that in all his dealings hee may act as in his Prerogative.</HI> Hee is the free&s;t Agent that is. It is prophe&s;ied of Chri&s;t, That <HI>hee will gently lead tho&s;e that are with young;</HI> and promi&s;ed, that <HI>tho&s;e that come to him, hee will in no wi&s;e ca&s;t off.</HI> Now Chri&s;t is not &s;o bound up by this Prophecie, or Pro|mi&s;e, but that hee may act his own Preregative.</P>
<P>And there is a double Prerogative Chri&s;t will maintain.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Of his <HI>Ab&s;olute Will.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="40" REF="30">Secondly, Of his <HI>Infinite Wi&s;dome.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The Prerogative of <HI>his Ab&s;olute Will</HI> (I &s;ay) <HI>Ab&s;olute Will.</HI></P>
<P>My Brethren, Je&s;us Chri&s;t may give <HI>Mercy to whom hee will,</HI> and hee may give <HI>Mercy how hee will.</HI> I finde our Lord and Saviour, two times in parti|cular &s;tanding upon the Prerogative of his Will; And let us in a word con&s;ider them. One is in <HI>Matth.</HI> 20.15. where hee &s;peaks of him&s;elf in a Parable, <HI>May not I do with mine own what I will?</HI> The other is in the la&s;t of <HI>John</HI> 21, 22. where <HI>Pe|ter</HI> asks Chri&s;t, Lord, what &s;hall this man do? &s;aith Chri&s;t, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 22. If I will that hee tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Chri&s;t will have all to know his will is free; Hee wills as hee wills: What if God will &s;hew mercy this way to one, and another way to another, hee hath his Prerogative Royal? what if hee will when <HI>Jairus</HI> comes for his Daugh|ter, go pre&s;ently? and what if hee will di&s;pute it with the Woman of <HI>Canaan?</HI> Chri&s;t will &s;till &s;o act, as to maintain the Prerogative of his Will.</P>
<P>Secondly, Hee will maintain the Prerogative of his Wi&s;dome; Though hee come with a commi&s;|&s;ion, yet hee is to act as his Wi&s;dome is. And thus, though hee bee a <HI>&s;ervant</HI> (as hee is the Fathers &s;er|vant) &s;ent with ab&s;olute command, to receive poor &s;ouls when they come; Yet <HI>how,</HI> and <HI>when,</HI> and <HI>what way,</HI> is left to <HI>his own Wi&s;dome.</HI> Rejoyce, and bee of good comfort; Chri&s;t is <HI>bound to receive</HI> all that come to him, I but <HI>how</HI> hee &s;hould receive them, that is left to his Wi&s;dome; And it may bee much wi&s;dome in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t to receive &s;ome har&s;hly, and &s;ome &s;weetly. Two boyes go to School, the one is of a rugged nature, and the o|ther of a &s;ofr nature; The Ma&s;ters wi&s;dome knows
<PB N="41" REF="30">how to deal with either of them: So that now, this is the general account. Je&s;us Chri&s;t being left to the Prerogative of his own Will and Wi&s;dome, hee doth therefore &s;ometimes entertain &s;ome &s;ouls har&s;hly.</P>
<P>There are &s;ix particular accounts of it that I can|not now name, but mu&s;t leave to bee inlarged the next time.</P>
<P>U&s;e, Onely for the U&s;e of this; My Brethren, you have heard a <HI>&s;trange,</HI> yet a certain <HI>Truth,</HI> That the <HI>Lord Je&s;us doth &s;ometimes &s;eemingly entertain &s;ome &s;ouls har&s;hly.</HI></P>
<P>Now all that I would &s;ay is this.</P>
<P>1 Do not <HI>Mi&s;take mee.</HI></P>
<P>2 Do not <HI>Mi&s;take your &s;elves.</HI></P>
<P>3 Do not <HI>Mi&s;take this Truth.</HI></P>
<P>There are the&s;e three Mi&s;takes that all our hearts are liable to, either the one or other of them; one while they mi&s;take the Preacher, and &s;ay, hee &s;pake that which never entred into his heart to &s;peak; Another while they mi&s;take them&s;elves, and a third time the Truth it &s;elf. Now I pray thee take heed of all the&s;e.</P>
<P>Therefore fir&s;t, Do not <HI>Mi&s;take mee.</HI></P>
<P>Though I tell you the <HI>Lord Je&s;us may entertain &s;ome har&s;hly, I do not this to keep you off from Chri&s;t.</HI> Oh, the Lord knows here is my heart, and this mu&s;t bee my labour while I live, to draw you to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. But what &s;aid Chri&s;t, in <HI>John</HI> 16.3. ha|ving before been telling them of great per&s;ecutions they mu&s;t go thorow, &s;aith Chri&s;t? <HI>The&s;e things I tell you, that when they come, yee might not bee offended.</HI> Oh &s;oul, that is my aim, intent, that if thou art a poor &s;oul coming to Chri&s;t, thou maye&s;t not bee &s;tartled; <HI>I tell you before-hand, Chri&s;t may frown,</HI> hee may turn the deaf ear, <HI>not that you &s;hould keep off,
<PB N="43" REF="31">but that when the&s;e things come to pa&s;s, that you &s;hould not &s;tumble nor bee offended, but that you &s;hould go on.</HI> And therefore is there ever a poor &s;oul that &s;aith, God hath wrought upon mee lately, but I have been going to Chri&s;t, and I have knocked, and hee &s;peaks not a word? Oh bee not di&s;couraged, the Lord &s;ometimes will do thus.</P>
<P>Secondly, Do not Mi&s;take your &s;elves.</P>
<P>Poor &s;inners are apt to mi&s;take them&s;elves, as now, when they hear of Chri&s;t, that Chri&s;t is ready, and willing to receive, us what u&s;e do they make of it? Why <HI>&s;ay they, then wee may go when wee will, and &s;o live as they li&s;t,</HI> and think to go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. No, mi&s;take not, Chri&s;t may receive thee <HI>har&s;hly;</HI> do not deceive your &s;elves, Chri&s;t is a <HI>Lion,</HI> and hee can <HI>roar;</HI> though hee will not <HI>tear you to peeces,</HI> yet hee knows how to carry it <HI>&s;everely &s;ometimes.</HI> There is Hay and Stubble laid upon the foundation, and yet they are &s;aved, but how? but as by <HI>fire.</HI> Sinners, &s;inners, you may bee &s;aved coming to the Lord Je|&s;us, as the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> but beleeve it, you may bee &s;aved <HI>by fire,</HI> hee may call you <HI>Dogg,</HI> be|fore hee gives you the childrens <HI>bread,</HI> and make you wait long before hee an&s;wer. Do not mi&s;take your &s;elves, and provoke Chri&s;t to make you know this truth to your co&s;t and &s;orrow.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Do not Mi&s;take the point.</P>
<P>A mi&s;taken truth is the ground of &s;ome great er|rours; as well as any thing el&s;e; indeed <HI>many er|rours are truths</HI> mi&s;took. And there are two Errours, that people may run into, if they mi&s;take this point.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Doth the Lord Chri&s;t deal thus with &s;ome? Therefore (what therefore?) <HI>Why I was mi&s;taken, the Lord never dealt &s;o with mee;</HI> therefore <HI>I am
<PB N="42" REF="31">not right.</HI> Nay &s;tay there, I did not &s;ay the Lord dealt &s;o with <HI>all,</HI> nor <HI>alwaies,</HI> but with <HI>&s;ome</HI> at <HI>&s;ome|times,</HI> there are &s;ome the Lord ki&s;&s;es pre&s;ently. Two humours coming to the Phy&s;ician, have not the &s;ame kinde of Phy&s;ick: <HI>Fine or thin humours, and rough and &s;trong humours are not alike purged;</HI> the one is, and may bee purged more <HI>gently,</HI> the other more <HI>roughly.</HI> You have an in&s;tance of two in one place, <HI>viz. Lydia</HI> and the <HI>Jaylor,</HI> Act. 16. <HI>Fine Lydia</HI> (as I may &s;o call her) <HI>of a tender &s;pirit,</HI> the Lord takes up the latch, and enters &s;oftly, &s;ilently, without any great noi&s;e, without any rough hand, but the <HI>rough Jaylor,</HI> hee hath an <HI>Earthquake, &amp;c.</HI> Do not &s;ay, I am not right, becau&s;e the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> was &s;o dealt with, and I am not.</P>
<P>Secondly, Do not mi&s;take the point, and &s;ay, <HI>Well, it is true, and the Lord deals thus with mee, and I think it will never bee better.</HI> Oh &s;ay not it will never bee <HI>better;</HI> No, my Brethren, though the Lord deal <HI>har&s;hly with thee, yet hee will u&s;e thee bet|ter:</HI> Cry not, Oh the Lord hath entertained mee har&s;h, and hath been &s;ilent, and not &s;poke, and that which hee hath &s;poken hath been in wrath, hee hath called mee dogg, and <HI>therefore I can expect nothing, &amp;c.</HI> Why know, the Lord doth do it but <HI>&s;ometimes,</HI> and know, that that <HI>God that &s;peaks har&s;hly to thee now, will &s;peak &s;weetly afterwards.</HI> Note that place, <HI>Judges</HI> 10. The people of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> there cry to God, <HI>deliver us this once,</HI> what &s;aith the Lord, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 13. <HI>You have for&s;aken mee, go to your Gods, I will deliver you no more;</HI> get you gone, &s;aith God, and yet mark, they follow on their cry, &s;ave us but this once, and it is &s;aid, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 16. <HI>his &s;oul was grieved for them.</HI> Oh my Brethren, though the Lord do &s;eemingly enter|tain you har&s;hly at fir&s;t, yet bee of good comfort, hee
<PB N="44" REF="32">may yet &s;peak well to you, yea hee will at la&s;t.</P>
<P>Onely let mee conclude with a little peece of the &s;tory of <HI>Jo&s;eph.</HI> It may bee there are &s;ome of the women of <HI>Canaan,</HI> that have cried long; pray remem|ber <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;ephs Brethren came down to him, My Lord</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>wee are the children of one Man, and wee come to buy corn, and Jo&s;eph an&s;wered them roughly, by and by hee laies one by the heels;</HI> hee lets them go, and keeps but one; Oh the poor Brethren of <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> might think, what &s;hall wee do? wee are come into a &s;trange Country, and wee meet with &s;trange language; wee came to buy bread, and wee are made pri&s;oners; you all know the &s;tory, how <HI>Jo|&s;eph</HI> entertained his Brethren at la&s;t.</P>
<P>Three things are in <HI>Jo&s;ephs</HI> &s;tory, in the book of <HI>Gene&s;is.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Though hee &s;peaks roughly, yet his <HI>bowels were towards his dear Brethren.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Though hee &s;pake roughly, <HI>it was that hee might have Renjamin.</HI></P>
<P>And thirdly, Though hee &s;pake roughly, yet <HI>at la&s;t hee entertained them royally.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Je&s;us is our Jo&s;eph,</HI> and wee go to him for corn, the Lord may &s;peak roughly to us, as <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> did to them.</P>
<P>But fir&s;t, Hee <HI>hath bowels when hee &s;peaks roughly.</HI> Oh Je&s;us his bowels did roll to this poor woman, when hee &s;pake roughly. <HI>When I &s;pake again&s;t him, my bowels were turned within mee,</HI> &s;aith God of <HI>E|phraim.</HI> Oh thou childe of <HI>Canaan,</HI> thou &s;aye&s;t hee hath called thee <HI>Dogg,</HI> beleeve it, hee is grieved for it at his heart. Oh the &s;ounding of the bowels of Chri&s;t are often towards us when hee &s;eems to carry it har&s;h.</P>
<P>And then &s;econdly, Why did hee &s;peak &s;o har&s;hly
<PB N="45" REF="32">at fir&s;t? it was all to get <HI>Benjamin;</HI> let us allude to it, and apply it to you: You have a <HI>Benjamin,</HI> the Lord loves, your <HI>hearts,</HI> your <HI>&s;oul,</HI> your <HI>&s;pirit, that is your Bejamin;</HI> the Lord &s;peaks roughly, that hee may have <HI>Benjamin,</HI> and when once that <HI>Benjamin</HI> comes, a living heart is brought to him, hee will quickly make friends.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> made a large recompence for all; and truly &s;o will the Lord Je&s;us make a large amends for all. Oh children of <HI>Canaan</HI> in the Promi&s;e! and thou woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> in the letter! though the Lord &s;eem har&s;h at fir&s;t, yet at la&s;t hee will bee &s;weet; they &s;hall have corn and mony too, they &s;hall have enough to bring them where they &s;hall have all the Land. Thou &s;halt have &s;oul and body-mercies, mercy for the way, and mercy for the Country. The Lord Je&s;us will deal bountifully. The Lord may deal roughly, but hee will yet deal royally. How did hee deal with this woman? <HI>Oh Woman! bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> Je&s;us did never &s;peak &s;o to any body. Chri&s;t may &s;ay at la&s;t, Oh &s;oul, go to the <HI>pot of Manna,</HI> and take and eat what thou wante&s;t, what thou wi&s;he&s;t. And, poor &s;oul, <HI>bee it to thee even as thou wilt,</HI> for &s;oul, body, daughter and all. Though the Lord Chri&s;t may &s;peak roughly at fir&s;t, and entertain &s;eemingly &s;evere, yet hee doth end really &s;weet. Thus much at pre&s;ent.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="46" REF="33">
<HEAD>Rea&s;ons why Chri&s;t at fir&s;t &s;eems to bee har&s;h. <HI>The Third SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Matthew 15. from</HI> ver&s;. <HI>23, and &s;o on.</HI></BIBL>
<Q><P N="23"><MILESTONE N="23"> But hee an&s;wered her not a word. And his Di&s;|ciples came and be&s;ought him, &s;aying, Send her away, for &s;hee crieth after us.</P>
<P N="24"><MILESTONE N="24"> But hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, I am not &s;ent, but un|to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael.</P>
<P N="25"><MILESTONE N="25"> Then came &s;hee, and wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</P>
<P N="26"><MILESTONE N="26"> But hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to ca&s;t it to doggs, &amp;c.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_BE&s;ides tho&s;e things which are <HI>commonly ex|perienced,</HI> and which mu&s;t bee <HI>certainly expected</HI> in the coming of every &s;oul to Chri&s;t, be&s;ides tho&s;e, there are &s;ome <HI>RARE extraordinary things, that now and then fall out upon &s;ome &s;ouls in their coming to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">hri&s;t:</HI> And my Brethren, it concerns us to bee acquainted with them, that in ca&s;e they &s;hould befall us (as others) wee may know what to think, and how to carry our &s;elves. Now in this &s;tory of the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> wee have &s;ome of tho&s;e rare and extraordinary things, which may befall &s;ome &s;ouls when they come to Chri&s;t. Indeed wee have not the like Hi&s;tory in all the New Te&s;tament unto this; you read of ma|ny
<PB N="47" REF="33">that came to Chri&s;t, and you read how Chri&s;t did entertain them, but you never read that Chri&s;t did carry it &s;o to any, as hee did to the Woman of <HI>Ca|naan.</HI></P>
<P>There were four heads of matter unto which I &s;aid we might reduce this &s;tory.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The coming of the Woman to Chri&s;t, that wee have di&s;patched.</P>
<P>The Woman came upon a low account at fir&s;t, &s;hee had a childe-&s;ick, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with Satan, and her &s;ick childe did revive a dead &s;oul, and brings her to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But now the &s;econd head wee are come to, It is Chri&s;ts entertainment of this Woman.</P>
<P>How doth Chri&s;t entertain her? &s;hee comes with much affection, &s;hee &s;peaks with great humility, how doth Chri&s;t welcome her? truly very &s;trangely, hee <HI>an&s;wers her not a word;</HI> And when the Di&s;ciples &s;pake on her behalf, hee &s;eems to reprove them; when &s;hee renews her reque&s;t, hee puts her off with a dreadful an&s;wer; &s;o &s;trangely doth Chri&s;t &s;ome|times carry it to poor &s;ouls.</P>
<P>The Doctrine wee are upon from the carriage of Chri&s;t to the Woman, is,</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is &s;eemingly har&s;h &s;ometimes to &s;ome &s;ouls when they come to him.</HI></P>
<P>Wee expre&s;&s;ed the Doctrine with more caution, becau&s;e it is rare, and it mu&s;t not bee mi&s;taken; Therefore wee told you the l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t day, tho&s;e three ex|pre&s;&s;ions are boundaries of the point.</P>
<P>1 It is but <HI>&s;eemingly;</HI> There is har&s;hne&s;s in the carriage, when none in the heart,</P>
<P>2 And that <HI>&s;ometimes.</HI></P>
<P>3 And but to <HI>&s;ome</HI> per&s;ons; wee do not read of any more but this one, to whom Chri&s;t did carry it &s;o.</P>
<PB N="48" REF="34">
<P>There were two things I &s;aid I would open, in the doctrinal part.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Wherein Chri&s;t might &s;hew &s;ome kinde of har&s;hne&s;s &s;ometimes to poor &s;ouls.</P>
<P>This wee opened by this in&s;tance of Chri&s;ts car|riage to this Woman.</P>
<P>1 Hee doth not entertain her.</P>
<P>2 Hee doth not &s;peak to her.</P>
<P>3 Puts off them that &s;pake for her.</P>
<P>4 When &s;hee renews her reque&s;t, &s;hee is not the better.</P>
<P>5 Nay, hee &s;peaks that as might da&s;h her hope.</P>
<P>6 And at la&s;t hee doth for her, but upon a great di&s;pute, and after denials and delaies.</P>
<P>Secondly, But <HI>whence is it that the Lord</HI> &s;hould thus <HI>&s;ometimes, unlike him&s;elf</HI> (as wee may &s;o &s;peak) <HI>carry him&s;elf thus to poor &s;ouls?</HI> The Prophe|cies &s;peak contrary, the Promi&s;es &s;peak fairer, whence is it the Lord who&s;e Name, and who&s;e Na|ture is love, &s;hould deal &s;o har&s;hly with any when they come to him?</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, Though God will fulfil the Prophecies, and make good the Promi&s;es, yet <HI>hee will keep up the Prerogative both of his WILL and of his WIS|DOME,</HI> that in the general I &s;pake unto the la&s;t time.</P>
<P>But there are &s;ix particular Rea&s;ons that I &s;hall give of the point; Chri&s;t may have &s;ix ends, or &s;ix Rea&s;ons why hee will deal, it may bee with you, as with the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Chri&s;t hath a de&s;ign to further humiliation.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Chri&s;t hath a de&s;ign to make a little trial upon the poor &s;oul.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Chri&s;t hath a de&s;ign to caution many, by dealing har&s;hly with &s;ome.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="49" REF="34">Fourthly, <HI>Chri&s;t hath a de&s;ign fully to bring the &s;oul to Go&s;pel &s;elf-denial.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>Chri&s;t hath a de&s;ign to heighten him&s;elf in the heart.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;ixthly and la&s;tly, <HI>That the &s;oul may catch more hastily, and keep more clo&s;ely hold of Chri&s;t.</HI> Now pray minde it, po&s;&s;ibly this afternoon I may give an account of Chri&s;ts dealing with &s;ome of your &s;ouls; it may bee &s;ome of you are like the Wo|man of <HI>Canaan</HI> that have gone to Chri&s;t, and found hard entertainment, and you are ready to &s;ay, Lord, why do&s;t thou do &s;o? &s;uch a one went and found thee friendly and favourably, while I come and cry, and have no kindne&s;s, Nay, &s;eemingly, and to my &s;en&s;e, much har&s;hne&s;s. Con&s;ider now what I &s;hall &s;ay to &s;atisfie you in the Rea&s;on of this &s;trange carriage of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t, <HI>It may bee Chri&s;t intends to humble thee.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth indeed <HI>humble all,</HI> but <HI>not all alike,</HI> nor all <HI>in the &s;ame manner,</HI> Now by thus dealing with the &s;oul in this manner, hee doth humble the &s;oul in the be&s;t and &s;weere&s;t manner, <HI>viz.</HI> in an Evange|lical way. Legal humiliation, it is ju&s;t as a Father deals with a very untoward childe, hee will not bee ruled, and the Father &s;ends him to the Magi&s;trate, that hee may go to Bridewel; But Go&s;pel-humilia|tion is ju&s;t like a Father dealing with his childe by him&s;elf. The Father looks &s;trange, and &s;peaks hard, and thereby humbles the childe; &s;o, Chri&s;t will not turn us over to Satan, to buffer us, and fear us, and as it were break us; but him&s;elf by a little unu&s;ual, &s;trange, and rough carriage will that way humble us. And truly what will humble us, if that will not? There are but three heads unto which humiliation doth relate, and you &s;hall &s;ee, this &s;ame har&s;h deal|ing
<PB N="50" REF="35">of Chri&s;t with us at fir&s;t, will tend very much to the accompli&s;hment of them all.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Humiliation relates to <HI>&s;in,</HI> that &s;in may bee exceeding bitter.</P>
<P>Secondly, It relates to <HI>&s;elf,</HI> that the &s;oul may bee exceeding low.</P>
<P>Thirdly, It relates to <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> that a &s;oul under the &s;en&s;e of the bitterne&s;s of &s;in, and the lowne&s;s of &s;elf-thoughts, may think of Chri&s;t very highly.</P>
<P>Now ob&s;erve, when Chri&s;t &s;hall deal roughly with a &s;inner coming to him, all the&s;e three are ef|fected.</P>
<P>Oh now! Fir&s;t, Sin is made bitter by this dealing of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: The Law made &s;in bitter, but the Go&s;pel makes it more bitter. Oh! &s;aith the &s;oul, mine iniquities make Chri&s;t look frowning, they &s;eparate between God and mee. A tormenting Devil with a fiery face, doth not make &s;in &s;o bitter as a frowning Je&s;us Chri&s;t with a har&s;h countenance, when Chri&s;t looks angry; thus &s;aith the &s;oul, Oh that ever my &s;ins &s;hould make my Father frown, that is all love. I had once thoughts that &s;in was that which would make the Devil roar, and &s;peak ter|ribly, but now I &s;ee it makes Chri&s;t him&s;elf har&s;h, and &s;peak roughly. Oh vile &s;in! Oh great evil! now thy &s;in appears (Oh my &s;oul) to bee indeed exceeding &s;inful, the &s;ole and principal evil that is; for it makes my Saviour carry it &s;adly towards mee.</P>
<P>Secondly, By this har&s;h dealing of Chri&s;t, the &s;oul is humbled in it &s;elf: If Chri&s;t frown, &s;elf mu&s;t down and kneel. It may bee the &s;oul comes con|ceited, hee is not &s;o bad as the Preacher would make him; but when the &s;oul &s;hall come to Chri&s;t for mercy, and Chri&s;t &s;hall frown, and call him
<PB N="51" REF="35">Dogg, Now, &s;aith the &s;oul, though I thought Preacher, and Father, and Mother made mee wor&s;e than I was, yet now I &s;ee I am very bad, Chri&s;t hee calls mee Dogg, and hee &s;aith, it is not fit I &s;hould come in hou&s;e with the children; and makes mee to &s;ee, that for all my daintine&s;s, and high thoughts, I am no <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> than a Dogg. Oh &s;elf! how poor, and mean, and exceeding vile art thou?</P>
<P>Thirdly, Chri&s;t is mightily exalted; this carriage makes thee more to prize Chri&s;t. Poor creatures one|ly thought Chri&s;t a common per&s;on, one that might bee ea&s;ily come and &s;poke unto, yea and prevailed with. But now, when Chri&s;t carries it a little high, and &s;peaks &s;omething har&s;h, bidding us as it were keep off: Now hee comes to bee heightned in our heart, and by ca&s;ting us down, hee doth lift up him|&s;elf, that now wee come with more <HI>reverence</HI> and <HI>fear,</HI> with more <HI>&s;elf-abhorring,</HI> and <HI>Chri&s;t-admiring</HI> thoughts, than po&s;&s;ibly wee did at fir&s;t. So that Chri&s;t by this carriage, rendring <HI>&s;in</HI> more <HI>vile,</HI> and <HI>&s;elf</HI> more <HI>ba&s;e,</HI> and <HI>him&s;elf</HI> more <HI>precious,</HI> doth here|by &s;weetly and &s;urely humble us; and this may bee one rea&s;on of this &s;trange carriage to us.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>The Lord intends to make a trial upon the &s;oul by this har&s;h dealing.</HI> I pray minde it (Beloved) That Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that will never burn the &s;oul to a&s;hes, doth yet intend to make a trial of the &s;oul in fire; And my Brethren, the har&s;h dealing of Je&s;us Chri&s;t it is a &s;hrewd trial to us.</P>
<P>Two things I &s;hall intimate in this, the Lord by har&s;h dealing makes a trial of two things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Chri&s;t will make a <HI>trial of the reality of our humiliation,</HI> and hunger, by which wee pretend to hunger after Chri&s;t, and to pant for him, as tho&s;e who do heartily prize him.</P>
<P><PB N="52" REF="36">And Secondly, Of <HI>the reality of our Faith</HI> too.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Chri&s;t by this makes a trial of the reality of our &s;piritual hunger, by which wee pretend to long after Chri&s;t. All is not hunger and thir&s;t for Chri&s;t which &s;eems &s;o to bee. The &s;oul comes to Chri&s;t, as a man that is a hungry, comes to bread, and Oh, &s;aith the &s;oul, I am hungry; and now <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters">i&s;t will try him; Hee comes and &s;aies hee thir&s;ts for Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, and Bread of Life; now, &s;aith Chri&s;t, I will try him a little, will hee lye by the cupboard-door? and if I &s;ay bread, will hee &s;ay a crumb? If I call him Dogg, and bid him bee gone; will hee yet lye at my feet? A hungry man indeed will do &s;o, and I will try if this &s;oul bee (as hee &s;aies) really hun|gry: So Chri&s;t hereby tries our &s;piritual longing. Many pretend to <HI>long,</HI> who do not &s;o much as <HI>love,</HI> (for longing is the &s;trength and height of love) Ma|ny, &s;ay they <HI>hunger,</HI> who yet have not a &s;piritual <HI>&s;tomach</HI> at all to Chri&s;t, the Bread of Life: They ask bread, but it is onely an asking. Now Chri&s;t will try us, and by this &s;trange carriage hee trieth us indeed. And for us to continue begging, <HI>crying bread,</HI> after Chri&s;t hath &s;poke to us, as to this wo|man; After hee hath &s;aid, I am not &s;ent for you, it is not meet to give unto you; bee gone, what, &s;hould a Dogg have childrens bread? after this, I &s;ay, to wait, and wor&s;hip, to beg, and reiterate cries for bread, this will make Chri&s;t &s;ay, this longing is &s;in|cere, and &s;trong, beleeve it, here is a hungry &s;oul indeed. Many wi&s;h for Chri&s;t, who do not heartily hunger for him.</P>
<P>Secondly, Chri&s;t will try Faith too, and it is good for us to bee tried in our Faith. Saith Chri&s;t, Here comes a &s;oul to mee, hee looks as if hee would take hold of mee, I will try whether hee bee one
<PB N="53" REF="36">of <HI>Jacobs children that will wre&s;tle a fall,</HI> and keep his hold when I &s;eek, and &s;eem to ca&s;t him off. I will &s;ee if I call him <HI>Dogg,</HI> Whether hee will tru&s;t and beleeve hee may bee a <HI>Childe.</HI> It was a trial and demon&s;tration that <HI>Jobs</HI> Faith was right, when hee would tru&s;t in a killing God, and it will try our Faith indeed, to wait upon, and cling to a &s;eeming|ly rejecting Redeemer. And this was the great mat|ter in the ca&s;e of this poor woman; <HI>Oh Woman! great is thy Faith:</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t did all this to try the wo|mans Faith. God will &s;ee whether the &s;oul will take hold of an angry Chri&s;t, and run after a going-away Chri&s;t. In 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.7. &s;aith the Apo&s;tle there, <HI>That the trial of your Faith,</HI> being much <HI>more precious</HI> than of gold that peri&s;heth, &amp;c. It is not &s;poken of <HI>Faith in it &s;elf,</HI> that that is more precious than gold that peri&s;heth, (though that is precious) but of the <HI>trial</HI> of it; <HI>The very trial of Faith is a precious thing.</HI> Now that Chri&s;t may try our <HI>Faith,</HI> as well as our <HI>Hunger,</HI> therefore hee deals a little har&s;hly with us.</P>
<P>Thirdly, The Lord hath this de&s;ign too, <HI>By his har&s;h dealing with one, hee will make many wi&s;e.</HI> When two or three of the younger boles &s;hall &s;ee the Fa|ther deal &s;omething har&s;h with the elde&s;t, it teaches them all &s;omething. The Lord help us, wee are a company of mad untoward children, wee neglect many a precious opportunity; Chri&s;t calls, and wee will not an&s;wer, &amp;c. Now when Chri&s;t &s;hall deal har&s;hly with &s;ome, then wee &s;hall bee made wi&s;e to hearken when Chri&s;t calls. How many have preach|ed this truth from that experience? <HI>Children</HI> (have &s;ome <HI>Parents</HI> &s;aid) take a Chri&s;t while hee &s;miles, take a Promi&s;e when it is tendered, you do not know what it may co&s;t you; I neglected my &s;ea|&s;ons,
<PB N="54" REF="37">and I found it a hard matter for mee to clo&s;e with Je&s;us Chri&s;t. You have a great word, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 3.7, 8. <HI>Wherefore to day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderne&s;s, &amp;c.</HI> What doth hee allude to? hee alludes to the &s;tory of the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in the wilderne&s;s; and of Gods har&s;h deal|ing with them, and all becau&s;e of their unbeleef. The Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, hee doth deal har&s;hly with many, leads them thorow wilderne&s;&s;es, &s;tings them with Scorpions, to make others wi&s;e to accept of mercy, when and while it may bee had. Ah! how many think it an ea&s;ie matter to come to Chri&s;t, and have bread pre&s;ently; and therefore defer and de|lay, put by (at be&s;t) lay by many a choice tender till another time, as they think wherein they may at plea&s;ure take it: But now, when they &s;hall &s;ee &s;uch examples as this, that a man or woman may come, and call, and crouch, and wor&s;hip, and begg, and yet bee put off, yet have no mercy, No, nor no kinde word (as was this womans ca&s;e) this will make them wi&s;e to take heed how they refu&s;e that which afterwards they may reque&s;t with tears, and yet bee rejected.</P>
<P>But be&s;ides, fourthly, The Lord Chri&s;t doth deal thus, <HI>that indeed hee may bring the &s;oul to Go&s;pel-&s;elf-denial.</HI> I &s;ay unto <HI>Go&s;pel-&s;elf-denial.</HI></P>
<P>The Lord is re&s;olved, that <HI>who&s;oever will bee his Di&s;ciple, mu&s;t deny him&s;elf;</HI> Now &s;ome have ob&s;erved, that nothing doth &s;o much tame any, as hunger. The Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t will take the &s;oul upon the hip, and make the &s;oul fully deny it &s;elf; and now, &s;aith God, If thou wilt come to mee in my way, well, otherwi&s;e no bread: Bread, bread, &s;aith the hungry man, if I may have it this way, or that way, any way, I will
<PB N="55" REF="37">take it; well, &s;aith Chri&s;t, I &s;ee the &s;oul is come pretty well too (as wee &s;ay) I will keep off a little longer, make him fa&s;t a few daies more. Deny him till hee is ready to dye for hunger, and then I &s;hall make him deny him&s;elf in his honour, in his inheri|tance, in his very birth-right: I &s;hall make him &s;ay, what profit will that or any thing do mee, if I dye for hunger? and I am at the point of death. There|fore whatever the terms are, I will deny all, part with all for this Bread of Life. So that real, univer|&s;al &s;elf-denial, is by the Lords grace effected through this delaying, and &s;eemingly-denying carriage. And to this end, or for this rea&s;on, doth Chri&s;t &s;ometimes deal with us, as with the woman of <HI>Canaan. Hee will &s;eemingly deny us, that wee may really deny our &s;elves.</HI> Hee will tame us, and then put his own terms upon us, and for that end carries it &s;o &s;trangely to us.</P>
<P>Fifthly, Chri&s;t doth intend to heighten him&s;elf in our hearts: Before Chri&s;t give us him&s;elf, hee will greaten him&s;elf. And my Brethren, it is our &s;ore mi|&s;ery, that <HI>wee are too apt to have &s;leight thoughts of Je&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> Now Chri&s;t will make us prize him very highly, and therefore wee &s;hall come by him very hardly. It is a Rule, and a general Ob&s;erva|tion, <HI>That wee prize that highly, which wee come by very hardly.</HI> Oh Sirs! the Lord Chri&s;t knows how to heighten him&s;elf in your hearts, by deferring to grant your reque&s;t. Po&s;&s;ibly thou art a poor igno|rant creature in thy fir&s;t coming unto Chri&s;t; one who thinke&s;t well, but not well enough of Chri&s;t; Thou value&s;t him a <HI>little,</HI> but not as the <HI>chiefe&s;t:</HI> Now Chri&s;t is re&s;olved to heighten him&s;elf in thy heart, and will therefore keep off &s;o long that thou &s;halt come thereby to prize him at a higher rate than
<PB N="56" REF="38">all the world, and &s;halt have cau&s;e to &s;ay, I value him much, and love him dear, for I came by him ve|ry hardly, and was fain to wait long before I did enjoy him.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, The Lord Chri&s;t may have this end, Namely, <HI>That the &s;oul might catch at him more ha|&s;tily, and keep him more fa&s;tly;</HI> therefore hee doth hold off thus, and deal thus har&s;hly; wee are not eager enough in clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t. My Brethren, the &s;oul is apt to linger in the matter of taking Chri&s;t, but when Chri&s;t &s;hall &s;tand off, that will make the &s;oul come on more ha&s;tily. Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth catch us by craft, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.16. Truly Chri&s;t doth catch &s;ome poor &s;ouls by craft, as the fi&s;her-man doth the fi&s;h, you know, or may have heard how that is; The fi&s;her-man laies the bait, and draws it as it were away, hee draw it before the fi&s;h, and when the fi&s;h is ready to take it, hee doth make as if hee &s;natched it away, and why &s;o? truly that the fi&s;h may catch at it more eagerly, and bee held by it more &s;urely. So doth Chri&s;t with us, when hee &s;hall offer, and &s;eem to draw back, when hee &s;hall come neer, and &s;uffer us as it were to touch him, and then &s;natch away again, this will make us come on more earne&s;tly, and clo&s;e with him more eagerly. The &s;oulby this means takes the bait, I and the &s;oul will hold it too when it hath it; beleeve it Sins, the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t is kinde to catch by craft. Well, this is the account of the Rea&s;on, wherefore it is that &s;ometimes Chri&s;t is &s;eemingly har&s;h to &s;ome &s;ouls.</P>
<P>There are but three U&s;es I aim at in this Do|ctrine.</P>
<P>U&s;e 1. The fir&s;t U&s;e is, To let us all &s;ee that <HI>Chri&s;t is not &s;o ea&s;ily come by,</HI> as the generality of people do
<PB N="57" REF="38">think: All have Chri&s;t freely, but not ea&s;ily. Minde it. My Brethren, I think, and I will tell you my thoughts, becau&s;e it may awaken you, and do you good. I think many will go to Hell as upon other mi&s;takes, &s;o upon this, that they do think it ea&s;ie to go to Heaven, and ea&s;ie to come by Je&s;us Chri&s;t. But if it bee true, that Chri&s;t &s;tands a loof off from a poor &s;oul, then it will appear to bee a hard work to come by him. Remember this, you will finde three things will make it hard work ere Je&s;us Chri&s;t and you bee brought together.</P>
<P>1 The <HI>backwardne&s;s of your own</HI> hearts.</P>
<P>2 The <HI>many hinder ances and puts in of</HI> Satan.</P>
<P>3 And the <HI>&s;eeming backwardne&s;s</HI> of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Your own hearts will bee backward. Ah &s;oul! unle&s;s the Lord make it a day of his power, they are not a willing people, <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 110. hee that talks of free-will, I am afraid, was never &s;en&s;ible of free|grace, nor of the backwardne&s;s of his own heart.</P>
<P>Secondly, The Devil makes it hard work too: Verily, when the &s;oul would go to Chri&s;t, the Devil will hinder, and &s;et one to hinder another, to keep the &s;oul off from going to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But thirdly, and e&s;pecially, The &s;eeming har&s;h dealing of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, makes it very hard work. Oh, &s;ay &s;ome poor &s;ouls, My thinks the Lord makes mee willing, and hungring after a Chri&s;t, but when I come to Chri&s;t, Chri&s;t hangs off; My thinks God the Father is willing I &s;hould have Chri&s;t; hee hath &s;ent him, the Spirit is willing, hee hath revealed Chri&s;t to mee, and my heart is willing; but I come to Chri&s;t, and hee doth not hear mee; verily here you will finde difficulty, and it will much pazzle and try Faith, to beleeve upon, and clo&s;e with a Chri&s;t, who &s;eems to &s;tand at a di&s;tance: His &s;eem|ing
<PB N="58" REF="39">har&s;h dealing will make it real hard belee|ving.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. The &s;econd U&s;e is of <HI>Caution.</HI> I pray learn by this, to take <HI>heed how you provoke the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t to deal thus har&s;hly with any of you.</HI> My Bre|thren, the Lord Chri&s;t can frown, and look bitter|ly, and deal &s;everely, &amp;c. and beware how you pro|voke him &s;o to do. The truth is, there bee &s;ome &s;ouls that rationally (I mean religiou&s;ly rationally) cannot expect otherwi&s;e, that if Chri&s;t do receive them, hee &s;hould receive them very har&s;hly. Let mee in a word touch upon this, and do you remem|ber it.</P>
<P>Two words I would &s;peak my minde in, that I may not bee mi&s;taken.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t this, <HI>I do not &s;ay that there are any &s;ouls that have rea&s;on to think Je&s;us Chri&s;t will reject them. Whatever</HI> you are, <HI>Canaanite, Peri&s;ite,</HI> or <HI>Jebu&s;ite, &amp;c. Whoever</HI> you are before the Lord, I do not &s;ay, there is rea&s;on for you to conclude that there is no coming to the Lord. But</P>
<P>This I &s;ay &s;econdly, That though you have no rea&s;on to think hee will ca&s;t you off, yet you have rea&s;on to think hee will deal har&s;hly with you; you may have rea&s;on to fear hee will not pre&s;ently en|tertain you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I think there bee &s;ome &s;ouls that may ve|rily expect God may make them &s;tand at the door, and wait till they cool their heels, and though Chri&s;t will let them in at la&s;t, yet hee may &s;et them &s;tand all night: Some &s;ouls Chri&s;t may let them bee hoar&s;e with crying, and yet Je&s;us Chri&s;t may &s;tand off.</P>
<P>Secondly, There are &s;ome &s;ouls that may expect, that though hee &s;hould let them in, yet it may bee
<PB N="59" REF="39">with them, as with &s;ome childe, the childe is let in, and hee &s;its at the table, but the Father looks &s;o &s;trangely and har&s;hly on him, that his meat doth him no good; thou maye&s;t never relli&s;h mercy &s;weetly, till thou come&s;t to Heaven, it may bee.</P>
<P>Thirdly, There are &s;ome &s;ouls that may expect, that though Chri&s;t will give them mercy, yet hee will di&s;pure it out with them; that they &s;hall wre&s;tle a whole night, as <HI>Jacob,</HI> and go limping all their life time, and bee called Dogg many a time, and as it were threatned with a cudgel, before ever hee give them childrens bread. Therefore I be&s;eech you for the Lords &s;ake, &s;ouls, look about you.</P>
<P>Now there are three &s;orts of people that have thus rea&s;on to think, that though Chri&s;t may receive them at la&s;t, yet it may bee very har&s;h at fir&s;t.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Tho&s;e that have dealt very har&s;hly with Je|&s;us Chri&s;t: With the froward, I will bee froward,</HI> &s;aith God. Grace will receive froward ones at la&s;t, yet hee will bee har&s;h. Why, what was the matter <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> looks &s;o roughly upon his Brethren? their con&s;ciences could tell them. <HI>Wee had not pitty upon our Brother,</HI> Gen. 42.21. Sirs, there are many poor &s;ouls deal har&s;hly with Je&s;us Chri&s;t; I &s;ay, deal har&s;hly with Chri&s;t; is there any deals har&s;hly with him (you will &s;ay) how can that bee? why bee not mi&s;taken, as you deal with Chri&s;ts members, &s;o you deal with him. You &s;coff at poor Saints, and Chri&s;t takes it as again&s;t him&s;elf. O minde it! you that have been, or are, the per&s;ecutors of the Lords people; you can expect no other, but that Chri&s;t &s;hould deal har&s;hly with you, &s;ince you have done &s;o by him; It may bee there is a poor man or wo|man by thee that hath precious Faith, I &s;ay, that hath precious Faith, thou deale&s;t hardly with them, and
<PB N="60" REF="40">&s;o thou deale&s;t hardly with Je&s;us Chri&s;t in them, and hee may do &s;o with thee.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Tho&s;e &s;ouls that have lived in any more notable prophanene&s;s than others,</HI> may expect if Chri&s;t receive them, it &s;hould bee, as the woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> harshly. Take a plain &s;imilitude; Let two men go to a Phy&s;ician, the one hath a little knock on the crown, a little dre&s;&s;ing, a little washing doth cure it; another hath a wound in the thigh, or the arm, that mu&s;t have a great deal of lancing, and washing ere it bee whole. Oh! &s;ins are wounds; the lea&s;t vanities are knocks on the crowns; but there are bla&s;phemies, and uncleanne&s;&s;es, and unrighteou&s;|ne&s;&s;es (with a witne&s;s) and the Lord mu&s;t deal a little har&s;hly with thee, how el&s;e &s;hould hee deal with thee? Tremble at every little &s;in, but tremble e&s;pecially at great &s;ins. I &s;ay not that great &s;ins &s;hall hinder us from Chri&s;t, but upon the account of them at our fir&s;t beleeving, wee may meet with har&s;hne&s;s in Chri&s;t; The deeper our wounds, the &s;harper our cure alwaies.</P>
<P>Thirdly, There are a third &s;ort of people that cannot but expect Chri&s;t will deal har&s;hly with them. <HI>Tho&s;e that do neglect many a &s;weet and gra|cious tender of mercy, and &s;alvation by Je&s;us Chri&s;t many a day.</HI> Suppo&s;e two people in the &s;ame Con|gregation, one is crouded here, that never heard the Go&s;pel all his daies; another is here that hath heard the Go&s;pel many years; you that have neglected &s;weet calls, and precious opportunities, if Chri&s;t receive you at la&s;t, it will bee rich mercy, but it will bee har&s;hly. I have often thought of it; young people do not know how much bitterne&s;s of &s;pirit they avoid by clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t betimes. My thinks I &s;ee &s;ome &s;ouls under &s;uch a condition, you
<PB N="61" REF="40">have &s;tayed out all day, and come home at mid|night, I do not &s;ay you &s;hall not bee received when you come, but you may bee received with a whip, and go to bed without a Supper, as wee u&s;e to &s;ay to &s;ome children. Now I am afraid of one &s;nare of the Devil. My thinks I hear the Devil whi&s;pering to &s;ome &s;ouls, well, bee it &s;o as you &s;ay, &s;o long as Chri&s;t will receive you at la&s;t, &s;o long as I &s;hall not go to Hell, &s;o long as I &s;hall have mercy at la&s;t, then I will go on, &amp;c. I will &s;peak three words to this.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, It is <HI>more than you know;</HI> I &s;ay, it is more than you know, that you &s;hall bee &s;aved at la&s;t. I &s;ay, it is po&s;&s;ible Chri&s;t may receive the &s;oul, but how do you know it? who did tell thee, that it thou did&s;t &s;in &s;o many years, after all thou &s;houlde&s;t have Chri&s;t with a whip and a knock?</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>It is a thou&s;and to one that it &s;hall bee &s;o.</HI> The &s;oul that puts off clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t upon this <HI>pre&s;umption,</HI> that hee &s;hall have it at la&s;t, and will <HI>pre&s;ume</HI> to tarry, becau&s;e hee per&s;wades him&s;elf of a &s;ure reception, though it may bee &s;ore; I &s;ay, the&s;e of all per&s;ons, in my judgement, have ground to fear le&s;t the Lord give them to a deluded heart, to damning dreams, and &s;oul-cheating hopes. I fear if any bee thus Chri&s;t will not receive them, no not at fir&s;t, nor la&s;t, neither &s;weetly, nor &s;everely; therefore take heed of this delu&s;ion. But let mee add,</P>
<P>Thirdly, I will &s;uppo&s;e this, that thou &s;halt bee &s;aved at la&s;t very har&s;hly: <HI>Con&s;ider the terms, do&s;t thou know how har&s;h they will bee?</HI> Do&s;t thou know what terrours of the Lord may bee upon thee? what terrours of Hell may bee in thee, &amp;c? Oh Sirs, who knows the power of Gods wrath? who knows
<PB N="62" REF="41">the terrour of a wounded con&s;cience? can you live &s;even years under the apprehen&s;ion of Gods wrath? fourteen years under terrour? and every day to walk up and down under everla&s;ting burnings? Be|ware how you go on upon tho&s;e tearms, but let e|very &s;oul bee wi&s;e now, beware now, bee watchful now, that &s;ith the Lord, though hee bee &s;weet, can bee bitter, beware how you provoke him to bee &s;o to you.</P>
<P>La&s;t U&s;e, The third and la&s;t U&s;e, It is for <HI>Exhor|tation,</HI> to exhort you all <HI>to receive this truth, &s;o as not to bee offended with it.</HI> I &s;ay, &s;o to receive this truth, &amp;c.</P>
<P>I remember our Lord and Saviour, in <HI>John</HI> 16. preaches the truth of per&s;ecution upon this account; The&s;e things (&s;aith hee) I &s;peak, that you may not bee offended &amp;c. My Brethren, this Truth, this great Truth, this &s;trange Truth (that Chri&s;t may deal thus hardly with &s;ome &s;ouls that come to him) I preach it, and tell you of it, that you may not bee offended; not offended when it comes to pa&s;s as to your particulars.</P>
<P>There are two offences, one is, <HI>therefore to &s;ay I will never go to Chri&s;t;</HI> The other offence is, <HI>I finde it &s;o, that Chri&s;t is har&s;h, and therefore I will go no fur|ther.</HI> I pray bee not thus offended.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Do not &s;tumble upon this as a rock of of|fence, and &s;ay, I will not go to Chri&s;t; this is but to <HI>&s;ome,</HI> I do not &s;ay the Lord will deal thus with <HI>all;</HI> &s;ay not, were I in the Woman of <HI>Canaans</HI> con|dition, I could never hold up, and therefore I will &s;tand off. Do not &s;ay &s;o, who are you that walk up|rightly, and avoid &s;in, and &s;natch at a tender of mercy, and are willing to come at a call? go to Chri&s;t, and you will finde that hee will entertain
<PB N="63" REF="41">you friendly, or &s;uppo&s;e it bee &s;eemingly har&s;h, yet remember, better bee entertained by Chri&s;t &s;eemingly har&s;h, than not to go at all, and bee &s;hut out for ever; bee not offended therefore, do not &s;tumble at going to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, Let no &s;oul bee &s;o offended at this dealing, as to &s;ay, I will bee gone, I will bee gone, I will wait no longer. By Brethren, it may bee there may bee &s;ome poor &s;oul here before the Lord, that may &s;ay, I am a &s;econd Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> a woman of a bitter &s;pirit, of a grieved &s;oul, becau&s;e I have gone to Chri&s;t, and am not entertained. I have got Father, Mother, Mini&s;ter, childe to pray for mee, I am not yet an&s;wered. My beloved, for all <HI>this, thou art but a Woman of Canaan,</HI> and the Lord may deal with you as &s;uch; what though hee &s;peak not at all, or but har&s;hly, this is not <HI>new,</HI> neither do thou &s;o <HI>wonder at it, or bee offended</HI> by it, as to think of drawing back, or going away from Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Therefore let mee &s;peak two words to thee.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 One is, <HI>Bee advi&s;ed.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2 The other is, <HI>Bee encouraged.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>The fir&s;t word is of <HI>Advice;</HI> I pray take advice O poor heart. Thou &s;aye&s;t thou ha&s;t gone to Chri&s;t, and hee frowns; thou &s;aye&s;t thou ha&s;t looked up to the brazen Serpent, and yet the &s;ting of the fiery Serpent abides; thou &s;aye&s;t thou ha&s;t called for a crum of bread, and no an&s;wer comes; bee advi&s;ed to look about you, to &s;ee why God deals thus with you; you may bee bold with the Lord Je&s;us (hee never checked the Woman with boldne&s;s) ask Chri&s;t, Lord, is thy de&s;ign to humble mee? then do &s;o; or, Lord what is thy de&s;ign? is it to try mee? then do &s;o, but &s;upport mee. Is it to heighten thy &s;elf in my
<PB N="64" REF="42">heart? Lord, what is thy de&s;ign? look about you and con&s;ider for which of all the Rea&s;ons it is, that the Lord deals thus with you.</P>
<P>Secondly, Bee <HI>encouraged</HI> to wait upon the Lord yet a little longer. Tarry thou the Lords lei|&s;ure yet a while. In <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 40. &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t there, <HI>I waited for the Lord, and at la&s;t the Lord heard mee, hee brought mee up al&s;o out of an horrible pit, and hee hath put a new &s;ong into my mouth:</HI> Oh it is a ble&s;&s;ed Scripture, wait thou yet for the Lord, thou art yet in a horrible pit of &s;in, and filth, fear, and doubt; thou crye&s;t, yet the Lord doth not hear; I but yet hee may hear, this is no &s;trange thing; indeed the &s;oul is ready to &s;ay as the Church, <HI>Oh all you that pa&s;s by, is there any &s;orrow like to mine?</HI> Lam. 1.12. So it may bee your &s;oul is ready to &s;ay, was there ever a|ny &s;orrow like mine? my con&s;cience di&s;turbs mee, Sa|tan di&s;turbs mee, I go to Chri&s;t, and hee doth not hear mee, hee will not an&s;wer; Oh bee of good com|fort, and wait &s;till, hee that calls thee (as the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI>) <HI>Dogg</HI> now, will &s;ay to thee, <HI>Go thy way, great is thy Faith,</HI> Indeed my Bre|thren, when I was drawing up the conclu&s;ion of this, by my &s;elf, I thought I &s;hould meet with a Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and I was bid to incourage her thus.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>All this har&s;hne&s;s it is but in &s;hew.</HI> As wee told you the la&s;t day; <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> had bowels though for a time hee dealt roughly.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>All this will not la&s;t, Jo&s;eph</HI> will &s;peak peace, and the Lord Je&s;us that &s;eems rough now, hee will &s;peak to thee in &s;oft language at la&s;t: Therefore you that are as the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> waiting upon Chri&s;t, and yet hearing nothing from him, bee com|forted, and coun&s;elled.</P>
<PB N="65" REF="42">
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Bee comforted,</HI> your condition is ble&s;&s;ed; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that wait at the po&s;ts of Wi&s;domes gates,</HI> Prov. 8.34, &amp;c. This may bee the condition of a beleever, and it is ble&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>I &s;aies the &s;oul, If I did but know that, or think that.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Repl.</HI> Did <HI>Jo&s;ephs</HI> Brethren know hee knew them? did they think hee wept, and his bowels yearned? It was <HI>their happine&s;s Jo&s;eph knew them, though they knew it not:</HI> And it is comfort Chri&s;t knows us, when wee are, and may bee as igno|rant of him, as they of <HI>Jo&s;eph.</HI> That is the foun|dation of our life and comfort, that the Lord may, and doth know us fir&s;t, before wee know him; and hee &s;till knows us, even while wee know not him. Minde that, in the &s;econd Epi&s;tle of <HI>Timothy chap.</HI> 2. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 19. <HI>Neverthele&s;s the foun|dation of God &s;tandeth &s;ure, having this &s;eal, the Lord knoweth them that are his.</HI> Let that word bee for thy comfort. But then</P>
<P>Secondly, Bee coun&s;elled to carry your &s;elves very wi&s;ely. Carry it well, and it &s;hall bee your wi&s;dome. I know indeed, my Beloved, wee need much wi&s;dome to carry it wi&s;ely when Chri&s;t doth frown.</P>
<P>Oh! wee are apt to have impatient &s;pirits, mur|muring &s;pirits, ri&s;ing &s;pirits; nothing is &s;o pro|voking as unkindne&s;s from Je&s;us Chr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t. I look for no better from the Law, or from the Devil; but that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;peak death, or Chri&s;t call Dogg, or that hee that was &s;ent to give the chil|dren bread, &s;hould &s;ay hee was not &s;ent to mee, Oh this doth wound mee, this doth kill mee, (&s;aith the poor &s;oul) Well yet bee coun&s;elled to wait: <HI>Do not think evil of, nor speak hardly con|cerning
<PB N="66" REF="43">Je&s;us Christ.</HI> Hee knows (as wee &s;ay) what hee doth; there may bee many rea&s;ons of this carriage of his; and therefore whatever bee his carriage to thee, let thy carriage to him bee good; if Chri&s;t deal with thee as with the Wo|man of <HI>Canaan,</HI> do thou deal with him as &s;hee did. Now what that is, wee &s;hall come unto next.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="67" REF="43">
<HEAD>Souls mu&s;t &s;till carry it well to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>The Fourth SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Matthew 15.25. and 27.</HI> ver&s;es.</BIBL>
<Q><P N="25"><MILESTONE N="25"> Then came &s;hee, and wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</P>
<P N="27"><MILESTONE N="27"> And &s;hee &s;aid, Truth Lord: yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Ma&s;ters table.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_AS a <HI>fine Copy fairly written</HI> (which doth attract the eyes of all to look upon it, and &s;tir up the &s;pirits of ingenious Scribes to imitate it) Such (my Beloved) <HI>is the Example of the Woman of Canaan;</HI> (the hi&s;tory where|of is here recorded, and which we are now handling) It is a fine Copy, and fairly written. Here are great things, glorious My&s;teries held forth, and you and I &s;hould look upon them, and indeavour to read and imitate them.</P>
<P>There are four heads unto which wee did reduce the whole matter of this di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The Coming of the Woman to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, The Carriage of Chri&s;t to the Wo|man. Wee were ending of that the la&s;t day. The Woman &s;hee came with much devotion, in much affection; The Lord, contrary to what hee was wont, turns away, makes as if hee did not hear, hee would not vouch&s;afe to &s;peak a word, and when hee was
<PB N="68" REF="44">intreated by the Di&s;ciples, hee puts them off, and when &s;hee renews her reque&s;t again, hee &s;peaks har&s;hly, &amp;c.</P>
<P>The Le&s;&s;on wee then did go upon from the whole, you know was this, <HI>That &s;ometimes Chri&s;t is &s;eeming|ly har&s;h to &s;ome &s;ouls that come to him.</HI></P>
<P>Wee opened it, and gave the Rea&s;ons of it, and applied it. And that which wee did aim at, truly it was principally two words.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t was to exhort you all, that &s;ith Chri&s;t doth &s;ometimes &s;eemingly entertain &s;ome &s;ouls har&s;hly, <HI>That you would not provoke him &s;o to do.</HI> As the Lord lives, and as your &s;ouls live, if you &s;tand out too long, if you put off Chri&s;t too often, though at the la&s;t hee may &s;ave you, it will bee by fire: Therefore I be&s;eech you (e&s;pecially you that bee young) take a Chri&s;t while you may have a Chri&s;t; while Chri&s;t knocks &s;oftly, and &s;peaks &s;weetly, and wooes lovingly, entertain him, le&s;t hee go away, and make you come after him crying, and it may bee a great while ere hee come back a|gain.</P>
<P>The &s;econd word was, <HI>To you poor &s;ouls that may bee the children of this Woman of Canaan,</HI> (that have gone to Chri&s;t, and have found him &s;tand at a di|&s;tance) <HI>Do not de&s;pair, no new thing is fallen upon you.</HI> The Lord Chri&s;t doth &s;ometimes u&s;e &s;o to deal with &s;ouls. And (my Brethren) as you &s;hall &s;ee after|wards (though hee &s;tand at a di&s;tance now) hee will in time embrace you &s;weetly. The Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> that was entertained har&s;hly, went away joy|fully.</P>
<P>But how did &s;hee carry it under this har&s;h deal|ing? That is the third head wee are now to &s;peak to. Here the carriage of the Woman is &s;et out in
<PB N="69" REF="44">the&s;e two <HI>Ver&s;es,</HI> the 25. and 27. <HI>ver&s;es.</HI> And mark it, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 25. It is &s;aid, <HI>Shee came and wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</HI></P>
<P>My Brethren, As the Lord &s;aid to <HI>Peter</HI> in ano|ther ca&s;e, wee mu&s;t &s;ay of the Woman in this; <HI>Fle&s;h and blood hath not revealed this to you.</HI> Fle&s;h and blood could not teach, nor help the poor Woman to &s;uch a carriage. What, for the Lord to turn away, for the Lord to put off? and for her to re-inforce her devotion, renew her &s;uit afre&s;h, and to come and wor&s;hip him, &amp;c.</P>
<P>The 27. <HI>ver&s;e, Truth Lord: yet the Doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Ma&s;ters Table.</HI> The Lord had in a manner called her Dogg, and &s;aid, it was not for doggs to have childrens bread; &s;hee doth not deny it, but &s;hee grapples with grace, and &s;aith, Truth Lord, yet doggs may have a <HI>crumb, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall put all that is &s;poken here of her carriage into one Le&s;&s;on; but before I do that, I &s;hall name two other ob&s;ervable points.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is this, <HI>A right Faith coming, and car|rying of the &s;oul to Chri&s;t, is a re&s;olute Faith.</HI> That is one point I would name, pray mark it, The Lord Je&s;us &s;eems to put her off, hee gives her nothing that was a vi&s;ible incouragement, yet &s;hee will go on, and yet &s;hee will not bee put off. When the &s;oul comes to Chri&s;t, hee comes as one that needs a Chri&s;t, and wants a Chri&s;t, will have, and as one that mu&s;t have a Chri&s;t; and what then? hee will have a Chri&s;t before hee goes away. Though hee have not evidence, hee will have adherence; though the &s;oul can &s;ee nothing, and though no hope, yet hee will bee re&s;olute; although Chri&s;t will not &s;mile, though con&s;cience is not quiet, though the
<PB N="70" REF="45">wound bee not healed, though the Lord put off angrily, yet the &s;oul keeps re&s;olute to him, and will not bee &s;ent away empty; Faith, if right, is &s;till re&s;olute.</P>
<P>The &s;econd Point that I &s;hall name, is this, That a right Faith knows how to confe&s;s, and beleeve at once. A true Beleever will not conceal his &s;in, yet will clo&s;e with Je&s;us Chri&s;t. A right Faith will deny nothing, and yet it will beleeve all things. My Brethren, mark it a little, there are a company of vile people that are (as they &s;ay) all for Faith, and nothing for confe&s;&s;ion, and what &s;ay they? be|leevers, it is not for them to come and confe&s;s &s;in. Why, a beleever will confe&s;s &s;in; doth the Lord &s;ay dogg? yes, truth Lord, I am a dogg, will the &s;oul &s;ay, as this Woman did. There are others that will confe&s;s, and not beleeve. Oh, they cry out, they mu&s;t confe&s;s, and bewail, and lye low, and humble them&s;elves, &amp;c. but they cannot beleeve, they dare not beleeve; confe&s;&s;ion is their work, &amp;c. Why poor hearts you may do both; you may &s;ay, Lord, I am a &s;inner, yet I beleeve, for mercy is for &s;inners; I am ungodly, yet I beleeve, for <HI>Abra|ham</HI> beleeved in him, who ju&s;tifieth the ungodly: I am a dogg (as thou &s;aye&s;t Lord) yet I beleeve a dogg may gather up a crumb. Well, remember it, True Faith doth not hinder confe&s;&s;ion, nor confe&s;|&s;ion &s;hould not hinder Faith.</P>
<P>But the particular Le&s;&s;on of the place is this, Namely, <HI>That it is the duty, the wi&s;dome, the glory of poor &s;ouls, to carry it holily and humbly unto Chri&s;t, when Chri&s;t &s;eems to carry it har&s;hly unto them.</HI></P>
<P>So doth this poor Woman; or if you will take it &s;hortly thus. <HI>It becomes Chri&s;tians to carry it
<PB N="71" REF="45">really well, when Chri&s;t carries it &s;eemingly ill.</HI></P>
<P>I know, my Brethren, this is a hard work, but as hard as it is wee mu&s;t learn it, and I will a&s;&s;ure you, if ever God intend to do you good, though fle&s;h and blood murmure, yet the Lord will whip you into this Le&s;&s;on, but hee will make you learn it, Namely, to carry it holily to him, when hee carries it &s;eemingly har&s;h to you. I remember that pa&s;&s;age, in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.18. <HI>Servants bee obedient to your Ma&s;ters; not one|ly to the good and gentle, but al&s;o to the froward.</HI> It is the duty of a &s;ervant profe&s;&s;ing the Name of God, though hee have a froward Ma&s;ter, yet hee mu&s;t carry it well. Now mark it, Is it the duty of a &s;er|vant to carry it well to a bad Ma&s;ter, and is it not the duty of Saints to carry it well to Chri&s;t? wee are the &s;ervants, hee is the Ma&s;ter. So in <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.9. Mark the Apo&s;tles argumentation, &s;aith hee, <HI>Wee have had Fathers of our fle&s;h which corrected us, and wee gave them reverence; &s;hall wee not much rather bee in &s;ubjection unto the Father of spirits, and l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ve?</HI> Mark, there is life in this, our life depends on our reverent carriage in this ca&s;e. Ala&s;s! if Chri&s;t bee gone, our life goes with him; carry it well there|fore, if thou love thy life; you mu&s;t bee &s;ubject and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive even when hee &s;eems to bee &s;harp, other|wi&s;e death is at the door. Minde it then, would you have a pardon? and doth Chri&s;t &s;eem to deny you? where can you go for it but to him? and when you come, if you &s;ubmit; there it is; &s;oul, in the point is your life; Therefore mark the le&s;&s;on well; <HI>It is the duty, wi&s;dome, and glory of Saints, to carry it well to Chri&s;t, when hee carries it &s;eemingly ill to them.</HI> There are four per&s;ons in the book of God recorded, that God did &s;eem to deal very hardly withall; and of all of them, this Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> was mo&s;t rare. Good
<PB N="72" REF="46">old <HI>Aaron,</HI> holy <HI>Job,</HI> the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> (the Mo|ther of our Lord) and this Woman in the Text. But truly, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aid, now remains Faith, Hope, and Charity, the greate&s;t thereof is Charity; &s;o of the&s;e that are upon record, the greate&s;t of the&s;e is this Woman; &s;hee &s;eems to excel in good carriage under hard u&s;age.</P>
<P>For <HI>Aarons</HI> carriage you have it recorded in <HI>Lev.</HI> 10.3. The Lord had dealt very &s;everely with him; <HI>Nadab</HI> and <HI>Abihu</HI> (his two &s;ons) were con&s;umed with fire from Heaven before the Lord. Ah Lord! how har&s;h was this to fle&s;h and blood? what meer man, having nothing more than man, could bear it! a good Prie&s;t hath two &s;ons taken away &s;uddenly. But how doth <HI>Aaron</HI> carry it? The Lord &s;pake to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to <HI>Aaron,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>This is that the Lord &s;pake, I will bee &s;anctified in them that come nigh mee, and before all the people I will bee glorified; and Aaron held his peace.</HI> The Lord &s;eemed very &s;e|vere again&s;t the old man, hee took away two of his children at once, when they were about his work the Lord &s;atisfies him by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and hee held his peace. A ble&s;&s;ed behaviour it was, well-becoming him, and very patternable unto us.</P>
<P>The &s;econd is that of <HI>Job.</HI> In the fir&s;t and &s;e|cond <HI>chapters,</HI> you may read and &s;ee that God car|ries it &s;trangely to him, yet it is &s;aid, in all this <HI>Job</HI> carries it very well, &s;o well, that the Holy Gho&s;t bears him witne&s;s, <HI>Hee &s;inned not, nor charged God fooli&s;hly.</HI> And when his Wife put him on to cur&s;e God, Oh &s;aith hee, <HI>Thou &s;peake&s;t like one of the fooli&s;h women; what? &s;hall wee receive good at the hand of God, and not evil?</HI> There was a carriage in|deed very good and right, according to our Do|ctrine.</P>
<PB N="73" REF="46">
<P>Thirdly, Our Lords Mother carries it well to the Lord, when hee &s;eemed to carry it har&s;h to her. In <HI>John</HI> 2.3. There you have our Lord and his Mo|ther at a Wedding, and there was wanting &s;ome Wine, and the <HI>Mother &s;aid to Je&s;us, they have no Wine;</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Woman, what have I do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.</HI> What do&s;t thou call upon mee for Wine in the middle of the fea&s;t? &s;hee was taken up, as wee &s;ay, &s;harply; I but how &s;weetly doth &s;hee carry it? In <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 5. &s;aith &s;hee to the &s;ervants, <HI>What&s;oever hee &s;aith unto you, do it.</HI> Truly a very &s;acred &s;peech it was, and argued that her &s;oul was really good, and would appear &s;o to Chri&s;t, even when his carriage was to appearance very cro&s;s to her.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, You have this &s;tory in the Text, which in a &s;en&s;e (as I &s;aid) is the greate&s;t of all four; for, beleeve it, God never dealt &s;o with <HI>Aaron, Job,</HI> and <HI>Mary,</HI> as hee did with this Woman, nor in &s;ome re&s;pects (<HI>con&s;ideratis con&s;iderandis,</HI> as they &s;ay) did they carry it &s;o well as &s;hee: There was &s;ome|thing in tho&s;e children of <HI>Abraham</HI> (for &s;o they were) which did oblige, and inable them, to carry it better than could bee expected from this &s;tranger, this <HI>Canaanite,</HI> yet &s;hee tran&s;cends in her holy, humble, &s;weet behaviour to our Lord, as I &s;hall open by and by.</P>
<P>Well, There are two things to bee opened for the explication of the point.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is, <HI>How the &s;oul &s;hould carry it well to Chri&s;t, when Chri&s;t carries it ill to him.</HI> Wherein doth this good behaviour lye? Let the Lord carry it how hee will, what is our good behaviour? I &s;ay, what is our good behaviour which wee &s;hould &s;hew to him?</P>
<PB N="74" REF="47">
<P>And then &s;econdly, <HI>Why wee ought &s;o to carry it?</HI> what are, or may bee the rea&s;ons and grounds of &s;uch a carriage?</P>
<P>I begin with the fir&s;t, And &s;hall not in&s;tance nor inlarge in any particulars, but what wee may finde in this pattern, and pray mark it well. For my thinks in this Text there are &s;ix things (in this Wo|mans good behaviour) &s;hewing, and evidently teaching all of us, what &s;hould bee out carriage when wee come to Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, Though the Lord dealt roughly with her, <HI>&s;hee kept up honourable thoughts of him.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Shee doth not &s;uddenly, nor &s;ullenly go away,</HI> but tarries and waits upon Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Shee &s;peaks to Chri&s;t, as profe&s;&s;ing her onely hope in his help.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>Shee denies nothing of what the Lord &s;eems to charge her with.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>Shee doth gather upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> (as it were) <HI>and catches bold of that by which Chri&s;t would ca&s;t her off.</HI></P>
<P>Sixthly and la&s;tly, <HI>Shee was content to have a little in the lowe&s;t manner, when &s;hee might not have her fir&s;t and great reque&s;t in the highe&s;t manner.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, This good carriage the Woman had, <HI>Shee thinks honourably of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> The Lord puts her off hardly, what doth &s;hee do? doth &s;hee in a carping cen&s;orious manner, revile and &s;peak evil of Chri&s;t? Crieth &s;hee out, oh pride, O &s;tateline&s;s, O &s;owre man! Doth &s;hee &s;ay, yee followers of his, is this your good Lord and Ma&s;ter? whatever hee may &s;ay, or you think, certainly hee is an au&s;tere man, and beleeve it, hee is a &s;urly Ma&s;ter, &amp;c. not a word of this, but the Text &s;aith, <HI>Shee came to him, and wor&s;hipped him, and &s;aid, Lord, help mee.</HI> If
<PB N="75" REF="47">Je&s;us Chri&s;t had dealt never &s;o well with her, &s;hee could not have dealt better with him. <HI>It is the Royal Carriage of the Spou&s;e of Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> (The <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ueen, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 45.) when &s;hee was brought into the Kings pre&s;ence, and dealt withall be&s;t; All that is advi&s;ed and required of her, is this; <HI>Hee is thy Lord, wor&s;hip thou him.</HI> But this poor Woman when &s;hee is turned off, &s;hee comes to him, and <HI>wor&s;hips him,</HI> and &s;aies, <HI>Lord, help mee.</HI> When the Lord &s;eems to deal har&s;hly with a &s;oul, the Devil is at hand to put on a poor &s;oul to think hardly of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Oh Sirs, Experimentally <HI>&s;ouls know this to bee true, that they can hardly keep down murmuring thoughts, when Christ doth not entertain them pre&s;ently.</HI> I re|member it was the &s;peech of Mr. <HI>Calvin,</HI> intima|ting the moderation of his &s;pirit about <HI>Luther,</HI> &s;aith hee, <HI>Though</HI> Luther <HI>&s;hould call mee a Devil, I would honour him as a Saint.</HI> So truly do thou, though Chri&s;t call thee a Devil, do thou honour him as the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah.</HI> In <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22. you have a very remarkable pa&s;&s;age, <HI>Why art thou &s;o far</HI> (&s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t) <HI>from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou heare&s;t not,</HI> ver&s;. 1, 2. It was har&s;h dealing for God to let <HI>David</HI> cry all the day long, and not to hear him, what then? Read the 3. <HI>ver&s;. But thou art holy, &amp;c.</HI> Oh Sirs, Sirs, look about you, and learn your Le&s;&s;on well, you mu&s;t carry it well to Chri&s;t; though hee deal har&s;hly with you, you mu&s;t &s;peak to him, and think of him ho|nourably; you mu&s;t beware of bla&s;phemy. The Devil thought <HI>Job</HI> would cur&s;e God, if God carried it cro&s;s, but hee was deceived; and &s;et Satan bee deceived &s;o in you; hee will tempt and put you on to enter|tain di&s;honourable thoughts of Chri&s;t; and if it may bee, hee will make you charge God fooli&s;hly, and
<PB N="76" REF="48">&s;peak of Chri&s;t fouly; but take heed, &s;ee your pat|tern of piety in this womans practice, and carry it as &s;hee did. Whatever Chri&s;t do or &s;ay, though hee put thee off, and call thee dogg, yet come neer, <HI>and bow, wor&s;hip him, and call him Lord,</HI> Say, hee is <HI>holy and ho|nourable,</HI> and thou wilt &s;till count him &s;o; this is thy good behaviour which will bee thy wi&s;dome and glo|ry to &s;trive for, and to come up unto. This is the fir&s;t thing in this Womans carriage. I proceed.</P>
<P>A &s;econd thing in her good behaviour, is this, <HI>Shee doth not &s;uddenly, nor &s;ullenly go away from him;</HI> Shee goes not away in a fume, or a pet, as wee u&s;e to &s;ay, No, but as the Di&s;ciples &s;aid, Ma&s;ter, <HI>Shee crieth after us.</HI> Poor &s;ouls may come to Chri&s;t, and cry, and hee may go away; knock, and hee not open; call, and no body an&s;wer; what &s;hall you do? Oh, <HI>take heed of going away grumbling, and &s;ullen.</HI> The Woman &s;hee renews her cry, &s;hee comes and &s;aies, <HI>Lord, help mee.</HI> Truly, my Brethren, it was a proud &s;peech of tho&s;e, in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 58.3. that &s;aid, <HI>Wherefore have wee fa&s;ted, and thou &s;ee&s;t not? Where|fore have wee afflicted our &s;ouls, and thou take&s;t no knowledge, &amp;c?</HI> And my Brethren, it is &s;piritual pride for us to &s;ay, Lord, why do I cry, and thou not hear? keep on crying, (Soul) that is thy duty. Wee are apt to bee very &s;ullen, though the Lord bee very wi&s;e in not hearing what wee &s;ay. It was a &s;trange peece of &s;ullenne&s;s in <HI>Jonah,</HI> in <HI>Jonah</HI> 4.8. when hee wi&s;hed in him&s;elf to dye, and &s;aid, <HI>It is better for mee to dye, than live.</HI> It will <HI>argue much hypocri&s;ie</HI> in your coming to Chri&s;t, if (although Chri&s;t do deny) you do not tarry and wait upon him begging. In <HI>Job</HI> 27.10. It is &s;aid of the hypo|crite, <HI>Will hee cry alwaies?</HI> Thou &s;aye&s;t thou do&s;t hunger for Chri&s;t, thou do&s;t thir&s;t for Chri&s;t, thou
<PB N="77" REF="48">ha&s;t a hungring and thir&s;ting for righteou&s;ne&s;s; well then, becau&s;e you have it not, will you go away? it is but an hypocritical hunger; were it cordial, it would continue. It is an <HI>Argument of &s;piritual pride,</HI> for us not to wait and tarry begging, though the Lord &s;eem to keep off, denying. It was a proud &s;peech of the King of <HI>A&s;&s;yria,</HI> in 2 <HI>King.</HI> 6.33. Be|hold, <HI>this evil is of the Lord, what &s;hould I wait for the Lord any longer?</HI> Nay, hee &s;hould have &s;aid, it is of the Lord, and therefore it is meet, I mu&s;t, I will wait; &s;o this Woman did, and &s;o mu&s;t wee, wait, and not go away. Many a &s;oul is apt to give all over, to cry, I will pray no more, &s;eek no more, this is evil, and mu&s;t be watched again&s;t. <HI>An humbly wi&s;e &s;oul will wait,</HI> and wee ought &s;o to do, for that is another peece of this example, and another part of our good behaviour. But then</P>
<P>Thirdly, A third thing I do ob&s;erve as the good carriage of this Woman (that &s;hould bee ours) to Chri&s;t, is, <HI>That &s;hee doth really tell the Lord, that her onely hope was in his help, LORD, HELP MEE, &amp;c.</HI> The Lord &s;eems to put her off, &s;hee comes and wor&s;hips him, &amp;c. and cries out, <HI>Lord, help mee;</HI> a comprehen&s;ive &s;peech it is. My thinks there are three things in that expre&s;&s;ion, which I &s;hall briefly open unto you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It is as if &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ee &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>Lord, thou a|lone can&s;t help mee.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, As if &s;hee &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>If thou wilt not help mee, no body will.</HI> And</P>
<P>Thirdly, It is as if &s;hee &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>Lord, If thou wilt not help mee, I am re&s;olved is go no where el&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> and therefore O Lord help mee.</P>
<P>Well, mark it, It is your <HI>Copy you mu&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">,</HI> if thou wilt carry it as thou oughte&s;t, and therefore lay it up in thy heart.</P>
<PB N="78" REF="49">
<P>Fir&s;t, Though the Lord reject thee, tell the Lord, <HI>yet hee is thy help;</HI> there is no other Name whereby I can bee &s;aved, but thine, no other Phy&s;ician, but thee, no other balm, but thee, no other help, but in thee; this is good carriage.</P>
<P>Secondly, Wee mu&s;t not only look to Chri&s;t as the helper, but as hee <HI>alone that will do it.</HI> Tell Chri&s;t, that if <HI>hee do not help thee, none will;</HI> therefore Lord help. That &s;peech is &s;poken out, to that purpo&s;e, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 69.20. <HI>Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of bitterne&s;s: and I looked for &s;ome to take pit|ty, but there was none, &amp;c.</HI> This poor woman might have &s;aid, as the Woman with the bloody I&s;&s;ue, I have been with all the Doctors, and <HI>none can cure,</HI> none ca&s;t the Devil out of my childe. O &s;oul, it is a &s;avoury &s;peech to &s;ay, <HI>Lord, all help but thine is in vain.</HI> I have gone here and there, to this and that creature, but all are empty, all are hopele&s;s, all are helple&s;s. It is thee alone (O Lord) that I &s;ee can help; therefore O Lord hear, and O Lord help. And then con&s;ider it further.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Shee holds it out as one re&s;olved to go to no body el&s;e, Lord help, &s;hee will not leave him. It is &s;aid, <HI>They that for&s;ake thee, and go a whoring, they &s;hall all peri&s;h; But it is good for mee to draw nigh to God,</HI> as hee &s;aid, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 73. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> la&s;t. I have thought this to bee a part of the intendment of that expre&s;&s;ion, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 16.1&punc; 4. <HI>Pre&s;erve mee, O Lord, for in thee do I tru&s;t. Their &s;orrows &s;hall bee multi|plied, that ha&s;ten after another God: their drink-of|ferings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.</HI> I have, I &s;ay, thought it to bee, as if hee &s;hould &s;ay, Lord, help mee, I will go no where el&s;e, I will not go to an Idol, thou can&s;t do it, and thou wilt do it, and no body el&s;e can do it,
<PB N="79" REF="49">and I am re&s;olved to go no where el&s;e; here <HI>I</HI> lye, here <HI>I</HI> will dye, if <HI>I</HI> mu&s;t; none can, none &s;hall bee to mee a helper, but thy &s;elf alone, and therefore Lord help. Well, that is the third thing in this Womans carriage, which is our Copy. But to proceed.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Mark it a little, This good Woman carries it well to Chri&s;t, <HI>in that &s;hee doth not d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ny what the Lord did hint about her unworthine&s;s.</HI> Chri&s;t calls her dogg, and &s;hee doth not at all deny it. Oh Sirs, a beleeving &s;oul acts highly, but it goes humbly. Mark but a little the phra&s;e; My thinks our Lord and Saviour doth &s;peak two &s;ad things to her in one word; <HI>It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to ca&s;t it to doggs.</HI> In this &s;peech it is evident that Chri&s;t,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Hee calls <HI>her Dogg.</HI> And</P>
<P>Secondly, Hee tells her, It is <HI>not meet for Doggs to have childrens bread;</HI> yet how humbly doth &s;hee carry it! Shee &s;aith, <HI>TRUTH LORD;</HI> As if &s;hee had &s;aid, <HI>I</HI> may bee a Dogg, and am &s;o, and it is not meet for mee to have childrens bread, &amp;c. Oh Sirs, if the Lord Chri&s;t in the day of your di&s;tre&s;s, (when you &s;hall go to him under the &s;en&s;e of your &s;ins) if then, <HI>I</HI> &s;ay, hee rip up, and charge upon us our &s;ins, and &s;hall &s;ay to thee, but thou wert a drun|kard, but thou wert a &s;wearer, &amp;c. then know how to he have your &s;elves, and &s;ay, Truth Lord, it is &s;o, <HI>I</HI> dare not, <HI>I</HI> do not in the lea&s;t deny it. It is good carriage to confe&s;s the truth of what Chri&s;t laies to our charge. <HI>I</HI> meet with two &s;ad examples of the Lords own people, that were got upon &s;o proud a pin, that they did deny what God charged them with. In <HI>Jeremiah</HI> 2. God charges them with fooleries, and going away from him, &s;aith God in
<PB N="80" REF="50"><HI>ver&s;.</HI> 23. <HI>How can&s;t thou &s;ay I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? &s;ee thy way in the valley, know what thou ha&s;t done: thou art a &s;wift Dromedary, tra|ver&s;ing her waies.</HI> Now mark in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 35. <HI>Yet thou &s;aye&s;t, becau&s;e I am innocent, &amp;c.</HI> That God &s;hould charge them with Idols, and they &s;ay that they are innocent, it argues a very proud heart, and it was very ill carriage, a behaviour which did not become them; yet &s;o it was. And ju&s;t &s;o bad a behaviour is theirs, in <HI>Malachy</HI> 3.13. &s;aith God there, <HI>Your words have been &s;tout again&s;t mee; yet yee &s;ay, What have wee &s;poken &s;o much again&s;t thee?</HI> Oh Sirs! &s;ouls that are in a &s;aving condition, do know this that <HI>I</HI> am going to &s;ay, when the con&s;cience accu&s;es, fle&s;h and blood will go to put all off; what <HI>I</HI> a drun|kard, <HI>I</HI> a &s;wearer? &amp;c. <HI>I,</HI> thou art, and if God charge it upon thee, it is, and mu&s;t bee thy good carriage, in all humility to lye down, and &s;ay no|thing. You have a notable word, in <HI>Lam.</HI> 3. <HI>It is good for a man that hee bear the yoak in his youth,</HI> ver&s;. 29. <HI>Hee putteth his mouth in the dust, if &s;o bee there may bee hope.</HI> Oh, do not deny any &s;in the Lord charges thee withall; if there bee any <HI>hope,</HI> it is in this, <HI>putting thy mouth in the du&s;t.</HI> But of all ex|amples, <HI>I</HI> will commend you to that, in <HI>Jeremiah</HI> 3. &s;aith God, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 20. <HI>Surely as a wife treacherou&s;ly departeth from her husband: &s;o have you dealt treache|rou&s;ly with mee, O hou&s;e of I&s;rael, &s;aith the Lord.</HI> What then, do they deny it? No. <HI>A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and &s;uppl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">cation of the children of I&s;rael: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God.</HI> Oh, here is good carriage, when the Lord &s;hall deal har&s;hly, bring all thy &s;ins to remembrance, rip up &s;in here, and fin there, Oh with a voice of weeping
<PB N="81" REF="50">&s;ay, truly it is &s;o. Let God charge any thing; Let Chri&s;t &s;ay what hee will, hee cannot lye, whatever his language bee: If Chri&s;t &s;ay Swine, Dogg, reply nothing, onely &s;ay as this Woman did, Truth Lord. That is the fourth thing. But then again</P>
<P>Fifthly, This Womans good carriage lies in this, <HI>Shee doth gather upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> (as it were) <HI>and catches hold of that, by which Chri&s;t would &s;eem to ca&s;t her off,</HI> and doth take an argument, from his har&s;h &s;peech, to plead for her &s;elf. <HI>It is not meet to give the childrens bread to Doggs.</HI> See how &s;hee takes hold of it, Truth Lord, <HI>But the Doggs may eat of the crumbs that fall from their Ma&s;ters Table.</HI> Doth Chri&s;t &s;ay, go Woman, dogg Woman, &s;ay thou, I will take hold of this word, <HI>a crumb Lord.</HI> It is good when a &s;oul can catch hold upon a Chri&s;t&punc; even by that with which hee would put it off. For in&s;tance; &s;uppo&s;e Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;ay to thee, thou art an ungodly wretch, come not to mee, catch hold of that, and &s;ay, thou art a God that ju&s;tifies the ungodly. Saith God, thou art a Rebel, get thee gone? catch at it, and &s;ay, truth Lord, it is &s;o; but the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t a&s;cended to give gifts to Rebels. Doth the Lord yet &s;ay, thou art an enemy? an&s;wer, true Lord, but there is reconciliation for enemies in the blood of Chri&s;t, &amp;c. Learn to catch at that hand by which Chri&s;t &s;eems to thru&s;t thee away; hold that. It is indeed a My&s;tery, but &s;o is all godline&s;s, and wee mu&s;t learn it; and out of this Womans example wee may bee helped therein. That is the fifth. But not to inlarge, I will come to the next.</P>
<P>The &s;ixth and la&s;t thing in her good carriage, is this, That &s;hee is <HI>content with a little in the lowe&s;t manner, if &s;hee may not have a great deal in the highe&s;t
<PB N="82" REF="51">manner.</HI> For mark her expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>A crumb Lord,</HI> there is little; and <HI>under the Table,</HI> I will bee glad to &s;toop &s;o low, and lick that which lies there upon the ground. Oh that this frame of &s;pirit were in us! &s;urely it is a ble&s;&s;ed thing to bee thus bowed in our hearts, to &s;toop thus to Chri&s;t. Wee cannot e|nough admire, nor (I fear) imitate this Woman, pray look upon her, li&s;ten to her. Truly my thinks the poor Woman &s;aies thus, <HI>Indeed I am a poor Canaanite, I am not one of the children of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael, I may not &s;it down at the childrens table, nor take of the bread &s;o &s;oon as cut from the Loaf, but I will bee content to take it under the table, there I will lye, &amp;c.</HI> And truly (my Brethren) this was the good carriage of the Prodigal, mark how the Pro|digal comes home. <HI>Father, make mee one of thy hired &s;ervants.</HI> Hee doth not &s;ay, Father, remem|ber, <HI>I was a childe,</HI> and let mee come in for a por|tion, &amp;c. No, but make mee but a <HI>&s;ervant,</HI> and what &s;ervant would hee bee? a <HI>hired &s;ervant;</HI> the hou&s;hould &s;ervants had a priviledge that the hired &s;ervants had not. I &s;hall turn you to a Scripture for it, <HI>Exod.</HI> 12.44, &amp; 45. <HI>ver&s;es. The hired &s;ervant might not eat of the Pa&s;&s;eover, when the hou&s;hold &s;er|vant might.</HI> Hee would bee a <HI>hired &s;ervant,</HI> that if his Father would not take him into full grace, and give him a childes place and portion again, hee would bee contented with any thing. Now the Lord help you and I to think of the&s;e things; here is good carriage. Here are &s;ix things you &s;ee wherein &s;hee carries it well. But now</P>
<P>In the &s;econd place, I &s;hould give you the Rea&s;ons why this &s;ame good carriage &s;hould bee, notwith|&s;tanding Chri&s;t carry it har&s;hly.</P>
<PB N="83" REF="51">
<P>There are three heads of Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, <HI>If you con&s;ider who Chri&s;t is, to whom you come</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>If you con&s;ider what your &s;elves are who come to this Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> And</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>If you con&s;ider the Errant for which you come to him at any time;</HI> you will finde in all the&s;e three, <HI>Matter;</HI> and <HI>Motive</HI> enough to make you carry it thus well to Chri&s;t, though hee carries it ill to you. The Woman con&s;idered who <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> was, the Son of <HI>David, the Me&s;&s;ias;</HI> and &s;hee con&s;idered who <HI>&s;hee was, a Canaanite;</HI> and &s;hee remembers that <HI>&s;hee had a childe under the power of the Devil;</HI> and let us touch a little upon them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t <HI>Con&s;ider who Chri&s;t is to whom you come.</HI> I &s;hall hint out my meditations as to this in four par|ticulars, who Chri&s;t is.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, <HI>Hee is the Lord; God ble&s;&s;ed for ever|more;</HI> Therefore <HI>wor&s;hip thou him</HI> (&s;aith the P&s;al|mi&s;t) <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 45.11. <HI>FOR hee is thy Lord;</HI> and be|cau&s;e hee is thy Lord, therefore wor&s;hip thou him. The Lord Je&s;us, to whom you and I come, hee is the Lord <HI>Jehovah,</HI> God ble&s;&s;ed for evermore, and &s;hould wee not carry it well to him? wert thou to come to a man, but a meer man, upon a weighty affair. though hee were a little cro&s;s, thou woulde&s;t carry it well; and &s;houlde&s;t thou go to the Lord God, ble&s;&s;ed for evermore, and carry it ill? Surely <HI>the con&s;ideration of a God ought to fill the &s;oul with all reverence in every approach unto him,</HI> and with all humblene&s;s of carriage in our dealings with him. If thou art an <HI>Arrian,</HI> doubting and denying Chri&s;ts deity, there might bee the &s;hadow of a Plea for an irreverent deportment; but being thou art one who
<PB N="84" REF="52">calle&s;t Chri&s;t Lord, and profe&s;&s;e&s;t (at lea&s;t) to ac|knowledge him God; this very thing obligeth thee to demean thy &s;elf well, however hee deals with thee.</P>
<P>Secondly, As hee is thy Lord, <HI>&s;o hee is thy Life;</HI> My meaning is, thou goe&s;t to him, without whom thou can&s;t not live; and therefore thou had&s;t need to carry it well. <HI>Whither &s;hould wee go?</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Peter</HI>) <HI>thou hast the words of eternal life.</HI> Chri&s;t is your Phy&s;ician, for that you mu&s;t carry it well to him; you do carry it well, and wait upon a Doctor fairly, be|cau&s;e your life lies upon it, and will you not deal &s;o with Chri&s;t, when the life of your &s;ouls lies upon it? I knew a Phy&s;ician that was of great Name and Pra|ctice, a man of a very cynical &s;pirit, as rugged, crab|bed a carriaged per&s;on as any of that Profe&s;&s;ion; hee could &s;carce give a plea&s;ing look, and would often give cour&s;e, cro&s;s, indeed very bad language; and yet I have heard him &s;o reverently &s;poke unto, and &s;o patiently waited on, that I have admired it; but what was the rea&s;on? Oh hee was a Doctor, and they came to him knowing his skill; and therefore it made them carry them&s;elves &s;o re&s;pectfully to him. Oh &s;oul! Chri&s;t is thy &s;overaign Phy&s;ician, thy one|ly Doctor; upon that account let him do or &s;ay what hee will, as hee will, bee it never &s;o &s;eemingly cro&s;s (for really ill hee cannot carry it) it becomes thee to have a good behaviour.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Hee is Wi&s;dome, infinite Wi&s;dome,</HI> one that knows what hee does. Ala&s;s my Beloved! if the Lord Chri&s;t were capable of folly, wee might charge God fooli&s;hly; but <HI>Job</HI> knew Gods wi&s;dome was infinite, and therefore hee would not charge God fooli&s;hly. When hee rips up thy &s;ins, bee &s;till, hee knows what hee doth. When the Lord Je&s;us
<PB N="85" REF="52">&s;hall launce the wound, and cut con&s;cience, and tell thee of &s;in, and rip up unworthine&s;s, lye &s;till, carry it well, hee is very wi&s;e. How oft doth the Chirurgion binde the Patient, and cut, and launce it? How oft doth hee &s;earch the wound, and ga&s;h the fle&s;h, yet &s;till is the Patient quiet, hee &s;ilently &s;ubmits? why, hee knows the Chirurgion is wi&s;e, and one that under&s;tands both what, and wherefore hee doth &s;o. Truly (Beloved) Chri&s;t is infinite in wi&s;dome, doth nothing but what wee need, and hee can (yea and in time will) give a good rea&s;on why hee carries it thus or thus unto us (as I former|ly told you in the &s;econd Doctrine) therefore wee ought to bee &s;ilent, and carry our &s;elves reverently, and well unto him.</P>
<P>Fourthly and la&s;tly, <HI>Con&s;ider further</HI> who the Lord is; why truly the Lord <HI>Je&s;us is &s;o generous, &s;o gracious, that hee cannot bee angry if wee &s;toop;</HI> Hee cannot carry it ill, if wee carry it well. The Lord Je|&s;us is of &s;o &s;weet a di&s;po&s;ition, of &s;o tender bowels, that when hee &s;ees us weep, his bowels turn within him. Chri&s;t, though hee <HI>roar,</HI> and make thee <HI>tremble,</HI> yet if thou bow, and fall, and art &s;i|lent, hee will (as they &s;ay of the <HI>Lion</HI> in &s;uch a ca&s;e) Lick and love thee. It was the glory of the King of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that when <HI>Benhadads</HI> &s;ervants came to him with ropes about their necks, hee was overcome with it, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 20.32, 33. Oh you know I have once, yea twice told you of <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> I mu&s;t tell you once more of him. <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> &s;peaks rugged, very rough|ly, yet at la&s;t hee bowed, what was the cau&s;e of it? Look upon the &s;tory. In <HI>Gen.</HI> 45. you have that which doth u&s;her in his &s;peaking kindly. In the fir&s;t <HI>ver&s;. Then Jo&s;eph</HI> could not refrain him&s;elf, &amp;c. when<PB N="86" REF="53">was that? Look into <HI>chap.</HI> 44. from <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 18. down|ward. <HI>Then, when Reverend Judah, his Elder Bro|ther, and the re&s;t, with bended knees, and doubtle&s;s with weeping eyes, lay at his feet humbly under all, and yet earne&s;tly &s;upplicating,</HI> Oh how doth his bowels yearn towards them! So then, when thou &s;halt lye at his feet humbly &s;upplicating, laying out thy mi|&s;ery, and what thou do&s;t expect, hee cannot hold out; witne&s;s this Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> unto whom at la&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;weetly conde&s;cended (though at fir&s;t hee carried it towards her &s;trangely, as you have heard) Truly as &s;hee found, wee may expect even the &s;ame conde&s;cen&s;ion, if wee have the &s;ame car|riage. <HI>Chri&s;t hath that innate &s;weetne&s;s, that infinite grace, tho&s;e &s;oft affections, that however hee begins roughly, hee will conclude comfortably</HI> (as I &s;hall &s;hew when I come to it) Remember Chri&s;ts Name is Love, and Lovingne&s;s is with him. The con&s;ide|ration of his Nature calls upon thee, O &s;oul, for &s;uch a carriage as I have opened; therefore &s;tudy it. If thou well knowe&s;t Chri&s;t, who hee is, thou can&s;t not well forget what carriage is &s;uitable to &s;uch a per&s;on; &s;o that if you con&s;ider who Chri&s;t is, to whom you come, and withall if you do not forget your &s;elves, and the Arrand you come to him about, you cannot but carry it well to him, though hee &s;hould carry it &s;eemingly har&s;h to you. I &s;hould proceed to open the&s;e two other things, <HI>viz.</HI> The con&s;ide|ration of our &s;elves, and our bu&s;ine&s;s to, and with Chri&s;t, are grounds for this good behaviour, but I &s;ee at pre&s;ent I mu&s;t end here: Therefore now I &s;hall onely name two words of U&s;e.

</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I will <HI>ask you a Que&s;tion.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;econdly, I will <HI>give you a word of Advice.</HI></P>
<PB N="87" REF="53">
<P>Fir&s;t, I will ask you this one Que&s;tion, If it bee our duty to deal well with Chri&s;t, when hee deals ill with us; <HI>What &s;hall become of tho&s;e that deal ill with Chri&s;t, when hee deals well with them?</HI> If when Chri&s;t frowns, wee &s;hould wor&s;hip him, if when Chri&s;t puts us off, wee &s;hould then draw near to him, if when Chri&s;t calls us Dogg, wee &s;hould wor&s;hip him as our Lord, <HI>What &s;hall wee think of tho&s;e, who when Chri&s;t &s;miles, invites, doth them good, they do ill to Je&s;us Chri&s;t?</HI> Oh my Brethren, Mon|&s;ters they are, and not Men, and yet I mu&s;t tell you, wee need not go to <HI>Africa</HI> to finde the&s;e Mon&s;ters; people profe&s;&s;ing the Lord are apt to deal ill with Chri&s;t, when hee deals well with them. In <HI>Jeremiah</HI> 2. &s;aith the Lord there, <HI>Te&s;ti|fie again&s;t mee what iniquity have your Fathers found in mee? &amp;c.</HI> Is there any &s;uch before the Lord? Oh let mee te&s;tifie for the Lord again&s;t you; what evil did Chri&s;t do to you? why then do&s;t <HI>thou bla&s;|pheme the Name of God?</HI> thou ha&s;t often hea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">d by his &s;ervants, I lay down my life for &s;inners, and yet thou wilt <HI>&s;wear by the Life of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> If the Lord had &s;poke angerly, thou &s;ho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">lde&s;t have ble&s;|&s;ed him, and wilt thou now cur&s;e him, when hee &s;peaks kindly? In <HI>Malachy</HI> 3.13, 14. &s;aith the Lord there, <HI>Your words have been &s;tout again&s;t mee;</HI> wherein have they been &s;tout? <HI>In that you have &s;aid, it is in vain to &s;erve God: and what profit is it that wee have kept his Ordinances? &amp;c.</HI> Mark it a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">tle, I ga|ther out of this Scripture this truth, that whoever &s;peaks &s;leightly of the Ordinances of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, his words are &s;tout again&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Have you not &s;poke &s;leightly of prayer, praying, breaking bread, of Church-fellow&s;hip, as if the&s;e were vain? your words
<PB N="88" REF="54">are &s;tout again&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Sirs, If the Lord Je|&s;us &s;hould make every hearing of a Sermon twenty pound, yet you were bound to honour him by hear|ing a Sermon: And if hee &s;hould make breaking of bread, fire and fagot, you were obliged notwith|&s;tanding to ingage in that duty. But now you have all &s;weetly, why are your words &s;tout again&s;t the Lord? you may have Ordinances free, and wor&s;hip with peace, and yet your words are &s;tout again&s;t Je|&s;us Chri&s;t. Chri&s;t will &s;ay one day to &s;uch, There was a Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> that carried it well when I dealt cro&s;ly with her, but you carried it cro&s;s to mee, even when and while I was all kindne&s;s to you. Oh Sirs, think not that Chri&s;t can take it well; nay, hee mu&s;t needs take it ill. If this Que&s;tion I hint fa&s;ten on thy heart (O &s;oul!) and finde thee in this fault, O humble thy &s;oul for this thy &s;in. Thy carri|age is quite contrary to this point and example which I have opened to you.</P>
<P>The &s;econd word I would &s;peak, is <HI>a word of Ad|vice;</HI> and that is but this one word. <HI>Who are you before the Lord,</HI> that are of this hou&s;e, that this good Wo|man was? <HI>That are under the frowns of Chri&s;t at pre|&s;ent,</HI> that have heard Je&s;us Chri&s;t call you <HI>Dogg,</HI> that have prayed often, and been put off alwaies? I pray take a word of Advice, <HI>carry it well even now un|to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> You know what the wi&s;e man tells us, in <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 7.14. <HI>In the day of pro&s;perity bee joyful, but in the day of adver&s;ity con&s;ider.</HI> I would but a lit|tle allude to it. It may bee there &s;its a &s;oul, but it is a day of pro&s;perity with him, hee praies, and the Lord hears, hee looks, and the Lord &s;miles; But there is a Man or Woman, with whom it is the day of adver&s;ity, thou calle&s;t, and Chri&s;t doth not an|&s;wer,
<PB N="89" REF="54">it is thy day of adver&s;ity. <HI>Now con&s;ider,</HI> con|&s;ider what, <HI>con&s;ider how thou carrie&s;t thy &s;elf,</HI> Look to thy lips, do not &s;in, do not murmure, though thy wounds &s;tink, though thy con&s;cience burn, though thy &s;oul tremble, it is thy day of adver&s;ity, and therefore con&s;ider. Oh, <HI>con&s;ider how the Lord eyes thee to &s;ee how thou wilt carry it.</HI> Take heed the Lord do not &s;ee a cur&s;ed Canaaniti&s;h carriage in thee; here is a good Canaaniti&s;h carriage in the Text. I remember what a godly man &s;aid, within the&s;e &s;e|ven years, lying under a great pain of a great grief, of which hee died; as hee groaned exceedingly, &s;aith one, you groan much, I, replied hee, But <HI>though I groan, I dare not grumble.</HI> Though Chri&s;t keep thee a little at &s;taves end, and carry it har&s;hly, yet bee of good courage, and confidence; wilt thou but wait a little? wait the Lords lei&s;ure, carry it well, hee will deal well with thee. Bee therefore advi&s;ed how thou behave thy &s;elf, &s;urely a wa&s;pi&s;h &s;pirit, and a murmuring tongue, argue one is not well advi|&s;ed (as wee &s;ay) in his carriage; Therefore go home as <HI>an advi&s;ed Chri&s;tian,</HI> let the Lord Je&s;us do, or &s;ay what hee plea&s;eth, hold thou thy peace, &s;up|pre&s;s thou thy pa&s;&s;ion, and in all things &s;hew a humble, reverend, ble&s;&s;ed behaviour to him. But of this more in the next.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="90" REF="55">
<HEAD>Rea&s;ons why wee ought &s;till to carry it well to Chri&s;t. <HI>The Fifth SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Matthew 15.25. and 27.</HI> ver&s;es.</BIBL>
<Q><P N="25"><MILESTONE N="25"> Then came &s;hee, and wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, Lord help mee.</P>
<P N="27"><MILESTONE N="27"> And &s;hee &s;aid, Truth Lord: yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their-Ma&s;ters table.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_AS to bee entertained by Chri&s;t really and readily, is a great mercy; &s;o <HI>to bee reject|ed by Chri&s;t</HI> (though it bee <HI>but &s;eemingly</HI>) <HI>mu&s;t needs bee a great mi&s;ery.</HI> Indeed there cannot befall a poor &s;oul a &s;adder evil, than to come to Chri&s;t needing, and expecting relief, and to re|ceive either an ab&s;olute denial, or unu&s;ual delaies at the hands of Chri&s;t. And yet my Brethren, this is a ca&s;e that &s;ometimes hath befallen many, and may befall us; Wee have a notable in&s;tance of it before us, in this &s;tory of the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> There were four things I told you that wee would principally &s;peak unto in the handling of this &s;tory.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t was <HI>the Coming of this Woman.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd, is, <HI>the Manner of the Entertainment that &s;hee had by Chri&s;t,</HI> which was very &s;ad, not an ab&s;olute denial, but a &s;trange and unu&s;ual delay.</P>
<P><PB N="61" REF="55">Thirdly, Now wee <HI>are con&s;idering the Carriage of this Woman</HI> under this &s;trange and rough entertain|ment that &s;hee received from Chri&s;t. The point is of concernment for us to con&s;ider, that when&s;oever it will befall any of us, upon any account, wee may know how to carry our &s;elves as &s;hee hath done. In the&s;e two <HI>ver&s;es</HI> wee have her Carriage, and after wee had opened that, wee gathered up all into this one Ob&s;ervation, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That it is the duty, the wi&s;dome, the glory of a Chri&s;tian, to carry it unto Chri&s;t very holily; when hee &s;eems to carry it to the &s;oul very har&s;h|ly.</HI> Or &s;hortly thus, <HI>Wee mu&s;t carry it really well, when Chri&s;t carries it &s;eemingly ill.</HI></P>
<P>There were but two Principal things, which I &s;aid were nece&s;&s;ary to bee handled in the explica|tion of the Point.</P>
<P>The Fir&s;t is, <HI>What this good Carriage is,</HI> where|in this holy, and ble&s;&s;ed behaviour to Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth lye.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, <HI>Upon what account it is our duty,</HI> and glory, to have this Carriage. Now for the o|pening of both of the&s;e, I did onely confine my &s;elf to the example in hand, to &s;ee how the Woman car|ried it; and to &s;ee from her what were the Rea&s;ons that did prevail with her to carry it thus to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Here are &s;ix things wherein this good thing, <HI>viz.</HI> this good Carriage of this good Woman, appears.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Though the Lord dealt roughly with her, &s;hee kept up honourable thoughts of him.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Wee &s;hewed &s;hee did not &s;uddenly, nor &s;ullenly go away,</HI> but &s;till &s;hee cries after him, And,</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Shee &s;peaks to Chri&s;t as profe&s;&s;ing her one|ly hope in his help.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="92" REF="56">Fourthly, <HI>Shee denied nothing that Chri&s;t &s;peaks again&s;t her.</HI> Chri&s;t &s;eems to &s;ay to her,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That &s;hee was a Dogg. And then,</P>
<P>Secondly, That &s;hee &s;hould have nothing. Truth Lord, &s;aith &s;hee.</P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>Shee doth gather upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> and by that very hand which hee thru&s;t her off, &s;hee gathers hope.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, <HI>Shee was content to have a little in the low|e&s;t manner, when &s;hee might not have her fir&s;t and great reque&s;t in the highe&s;t manner.</HI> Wee did the la&s;t day open the&s;e more largely. But now, whence is it that wee mu&s;t have, and labour for this good Car|riage? or what is the rea&s;on wee &s;hould carry it thus holily to Chri&s;t, though hee &s;eem to carry it roughly to us? I referred the rea&s;on of it to three heads. I told you, if wee do con&s;ider either <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> or <HI>our &s;elves,</HI> or the <HI>Errand</HI> upon which wee come to him at any time, wee &s;hall &s;ee great rea&s;on to carry it well to Chri&s;t, how&s;oever hee may &s;eem to carry it ill to us. And all the&s;e three con&s;idera|tions wee have here in the Woman.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Con&s;ider <HI>who Je&s;us Chri&s;t is,</HI> when you go to him. Why truly my Brethren, hee is the Son of <HI>David,</HI> and our Lord; Becau&s;e hee is our Lord, therefore wee mu&s;t wor&s;hip him. It is becau&s;e Ma|&s;ters are Ma&s;ters, therefore &s;ervants mu&s;t carry it well; wee did open that, and therefore &s;hall not repeat it now. But,</P>
<P>Secondly, Con&s;ider <HI>wee our &s;elves,</HI> who wee are that go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and (my Brethren) you will &s;ee that <HI>&s;uch as wee are,</HI> coming to Chri&s;t, &s;hould car|ry it very well to him, though hee &s;hould &s;eem to carry it ill to us. Ala&s;s, what was this Woman?
<PB N="93" REF="56">Certainly the Holy Gho&s;t did help her to look within, to &s;ee her &s;elf as &s;hee was, <HI>viz.</HI> a <HI>poor Wo|man;</HI> A Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> of <HI>Tyre</HI> and <HI>Sidon,</HI> a Woman that was a <HI>Dogg</HI> by Nature; &s;uch a Wo|man had need to carry it holily when &s;hee comes to Chri&s;t. And my Brethren, if you look upon your hearts (as &s;hee was, &s;o are wee) you will &s;ee all the rea&s;on in the world, to carry it holily and humbly to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, though hee &s;hould carry it &s;eem|ingly har&s;h to you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, My Brethren, wee <HI>are poor Creatures,</HI> and certainly our poverty doth &s;peak for our humility. Indeed, wee are <HI>beggars,</HI> and you know the &s;peech of <HI>Solomon,</HI> in <HI>Prov.</HI> 28.23. <HI>The poor u&s;eth intrea|ties.</HI> It is but meet that tho&s;e that come a begging, and are poor, that they &s;hould u&s;e intreaties. And my Brethren, let mee tell you, it is an argument that wee have not the ble&s;&s;ing of &s;piritual poverty, if wee do not carry it well to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, however hee carries it to us. Indeed it is ob&s;erved, as the very natural di&s;po&s;ition of the <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> Nation, that though they bee beggars, yet they bee proud. I wi&s;h in a &s;piritual &s;en&s;e, that were not true of the mo&s;t of us; wee carry it too proudly, and that be|cau&s;e wee forget what wee are. I remember <HI>Solo|mon,</HI> when hee would &s;trike fire out of the flint (as it were) (that is reverence, out of the hearts of ir|reverend ones) falls upon this con&s;ideration; <HI>Hee is in Heaven, and thou art on Earth,</HI> Eccle&s;. 5.2. Ah! it is folly (as <HI>Solomon</HI> there intimates) for us who are upon <HI>Earth</HI> (wee du&s;t and a&s;hes) to carry our &s;elves ha&s;tily, irreverently before the God of Hea|ven. <HI>Our poor condition prompts us on</HI> (were wee wi&s;e to minde it) <HI>to a good Carriage.</HI> This I finde
<PB N="94" REF="57">to bee the proper rea&s;on of that good Carriage which wee opened, from <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22. You finde there the P&s;almi&s;t crying out, <HI>Oh my God, why ha&s;t thou for|&s;aken mee, and I cry, and thou heare&s;t not, &amp;c? but thou art holy, O thou that inhabite&s;t the prai&s;es of I&s;|rael.</HI> Here is excellent good Carriage, but what is the ground of it? See in the &s;ixth <HI>ver&s;e, But I am a Worm, and no Man.</HI> As if hee &s;hould &s;ay, I am a worm, a poor &s;illy creature, and therefore if I cry, and thou hear not, yet thou art a holy and honourable God. But</P>
<P>Secondly, Wee are not onely <HI>poor,</HI> but wee are <HI>polluted creatures.</HI> And now, my Brethren, our pol|lution (when wee come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t) &s;hould have a power upon us to make us carry it, &s;o holily and humbly as wee opened. The Leper under the Law had a liberty to cry out, yet hee was to cover his face, and to cover his lips. My Brethren, you and I are but Lepers when wee come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and upon this account it is that wee &s;hould carry it holily, and humbly. This had an influence in <HI>Jobs</HI> good Carriage, in the 40. and 42. <HI>chapters, Behold</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Job</HI>) <HI>I am vile, what &s;hall I an&s;wer thee? I have &s;poken once, but I will &s;peak no more.</HI> Surely it argues wee are not &s;en&s;ible of our own &s;tench and pollution, if wee dare &s;tand upon terms, and mi&s;-behave our &s;elves towards our holy Phy&s;i|cian. If thy <HI>poverty</HI> will not binde thee to the good behaviour, let thy <HI>pollution</HI> do it.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Yet add a third &s;tring to this cord, that it may keep thee in; <HI>Wee are not</HI> onely <HI>poor</HI> and <HI>pollu|ted,</HI> but wee are very <HI>enemies.</HI> And (my Brethren) an <HI>enemy,</HI> e&s;pecially a <HI>conquered enemy,</HI> coming to plead for his life, for mercy, had need come humbly.
<PB N="95" REF="57">When the &s;ervants of <HI>Benhadad</HI> came to the King of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> as <HI>enemies,</HI> and as conquered enemies, they come with ropes about their necks, and lye at his feet, and &s;natch at a word, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 20.33. Oh &s;inner! that is thy condition, thou art an enemy, thou ha&s;t been in rebellion, and thou art &s;uing for reconciliation, and &s;houlde&s;t not thou carry it well? Is thy heart &s;o un&s;en&s;ible of thy former Carriage, as to mi&s;carry it &s;elf again? Surely thou ha&s;t need, and all the rea&s;on in the world, to crouch and bend, to yeeld and bow, well to carry thy &s;elf (who ha&s;t been an enemy) with all reverence to the Lord Je|&s;us; otherwi&s;e you do much forget your &s;elves. But I &s;hall not inlarge. That is the &s;econd Rea&s;on why &s;ouls &s;hould carry it holily and humbly to Chri&s;t, Namely, if wee con&s;ider who wee are that come to Chri&s;t. But then,</P>
<P>Thirdly and la&s;tly, <HI>Con&s;ider you the Errand for which you come to Chri&s;t</HI> at any time, and you will &s;ee in that an Argument to make you carry it well. This Wo|man came to Chri&s;t upon a great Errand, Ah Lord, <HI>My Daughter is grievou&s;ly vexed with a Devil;</HI> And, Oh Lord, I am troubled with him too (might &s;hee &s;ay) A great bu&s;ine&s;s then, &s;hee came about, and &s;o do wee when wee come to Chri&s;t. If wee were to &s;peak with Chri&s;t for a trifle, then if Chri&s;t &s;pake roughly, wee might go away, but it is about what mo&s;t concerns us. For, &s;uppo&s;e it bee thy fir&s;t com|ing to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, thou art a poor creature under &s;in, and now thou art made &s;en&s;ible of it, what do&s;t thou go to Chri&s;t for? for ea&s;e of thy burden, &amp;c. Suppo&s;e thou art coming to Chri&s;t after &s;ome back|&s;liding, under the guilt of &s;ome &s;piritual Adultery, and now thou art coming to him that hee &s;hould re|ceive
<PB N="96" REF="58">thee again, and is not this a &s;erious thing? Nay, &s;uppo&s;e thou goe&s;t to Chri&s;t but for the life of one of your children, or your own life; the&s;e are &s;e|rious things, and in &s;erious things wee &s;hould carry it humbly, when wee come to &s;uch a one as Je&s;us Chri&s;t is, being &s;uch as wee are, upon &s;uch a weigh|ty Errand as all our occa&s;ions are; I fear thou (that mi&s;-behave&s;t thy &s;elf to Chri&s;t) forgette&s;t thy bu&s;i|ne&s;s with him. <HI>Is the &s;entence pa&s;t, and art thou con|demned already? and art thou come to Chri&s;t with the chains about thy feet, and the halter about thy neck, and now carrie&s;t thou thy &s;elf ill to him?</HI> Art thou &s;uing for thy pardon, and now proud? art thou before the Lord for bread, childrens bread at any time, and is thy ca&s;e &s;uch, as death follows upon a denial of it? and now minde&s;t thou not thy Carriage? Pray &s;ouls look about you (as my phra&s;e is) what come you to Chri&s;t for? is it for temporals, or eternals? come you for your &s;elves, or for yours? are you &s;eeking for things on Earth, or in Heaven? do you de&s;ire your childrens, or your own, or both deliverance from the Devil? I pray minde your Errand, what thing it is you come to Chri&s;t for; and let it bee al|mo&s;t what it will that you are with Chri&s;t about, the con&s;ideration of the one, or other, &s;hould and may prevail with us, to carry it exceeding well, though hee &s;eem to carry it ill. So much for the explication of the Point.</P>
<P>Why now then for the <HI>Application;</HI> Indeed there is but one thing that I do aim at as the proper and principal intendment of this Point, which is, <HI>to di|rect, and inable both my own heart, and yours</HI> (under God) <HI>to carry it thus well to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, though hee may carry it ill to us,</HI> But before I &s;peak to that, I
<PB N="97" REF="58">be&s;eech you, if it bee your duty to carry it well to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, though hee &s;hould carry it ill to us; then do you <HI>take heed</HI> (as I was concluding the la&s;t time, and would a little hint it again) <HI>that you do not car|ry it ill to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, when Chri&s;t carries it well to you.</HI> Therefore all you that are before the Lord, you hear this, though Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;purn at you, you &s;hould wor&s;hip him; though Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould ca&s;t you off with a denial, yet you &s;hould lye at his feet, and honour him. I be&s;eech you take heed, when Chri&s;t &s;miles upon you, do not &s;purn at him; when hee doth good to you, bee not you bad to him. This is a nece&s;&s;ary caution, even to tho&s;e that pretend to God. In <HI>Deut.</HI> 32. What a large Catalogue of good Carriage is there of God towards a people? <HI>When they were in a de&s;ert Land, hee lead them, and as an Eagle hee bare them on his wings, &amp;c.</HI> 10, &amp; 11. <HI>ver&s;es. Hee found him in a de&s;ert Land, and in the wa&s;te howling wilderne&s;s: hee lead him about, hee in&s;tructed him, hee kept him as the Apple of his Eye. As an Eagle &s;tirreth up her Ne&s;t, fluttereth over her young, &s;preadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no &s;trange God with him, &amp;c.</HI> Here was good Carriage from the Lord, but how did they carry it? See in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 15. <HI>But Je|&s;urun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatne&s;s: then hee for&s;ook God, which made him, and lightly e|&s;teemed the Rock of his &s;alvation, &amp;c.</HI> Oh! as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid, in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 6. <HI>Do yee thus require the Lord, O fool|i&s;h people and unwi&s;e? Je&s;urun,</HI> the Lords people, the Lords heritage, a people that profe&s;s God, are very apt to carry it ill, when the Lord carries it well.
<PB N="98" REF="59">And I wi&s;h to God this were not the Carriage of <HI>England</HI> this day, now wee have peace and advan|tages, and opportunities. But now the Lord doth well, wee carry it ill. I be&s;eech you, beware of it; I &s;hall pre&s;s it in a few words; Who is there of you all before the Lord, but I may &s;ay to you, as the Lord &s;aid to his people by <HI>Jeremiah; Have I been as a barren wilderne&s;s, or a dry heath? &amp;c.</HI> There is not the mo&s;t notorious Rebel that lives out of Hell, but is beholding to Chri&s;t for being pre&s;erved. Who of you all that have not had choice dealings by Je&s;us Chri&s;t? I be&s;eech you do not deal ill with Chri&s;t. I know you are ready to &s;ay, what, do wee deal ill with Chri&s;t? I pray mark it, I will &s;peak but two words.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>When thou &s;inne&s;t wilfully after Chri&s;t hath called thee from &s;in, and tendered thee a pardon, thou dealest ill with him.</HI> Minde well that place, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.26. <HI>If wee &s;in wilfully, after wee have received the knowledge of the truth</HI> (<HI>i. e.</HI> The great truth of the Go&s;pel-grace, in, and by Chri&s;t, di&s;tingui&s;hed, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 28. from <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his Law) then what follows? why <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 29. <HI>It is accounted ba&s;e, and di&s;piteful deal|ing with Christ,</HI> who &s;hed his blood for &s;inners. Ah thou wretch! do&s;t thou hear, Chri&s;t pitties wretches, and is come to procure and give in pardon to &s;in|ners, and calls, Come &s;inner, leave thy &s;in, take my pardon; ca&s;t off thy wickedne&s;s, accept my grace; and yet thou turne&s;t thy deaf ear; thou now de|clare&s;t a hard heart, and deale&s;t ill with Chri&s;t, who is dealing well with thee. Well then, I &s;ay, who|ever thou art, that when thou heare&s;t that Chri&s;t died for enemies, that hee hath gifts for Rebels, and that hee is ready to ju&s;tifie the ungodly; and now wilt
<PB N="99" REF="59">bee a Rebel &s;till, this is dealing ill with Je&s;us Chri&s;t. This is that which the Apo&s;tle calls <HI>trampling under foot the blood of Chri&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> And &s;o,</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>When you deal ill with any of the emi|nent things of Chri&s;t,</HI> you deal ill with Chri&s;t. You know what the Lord will &s;ay at the la&s;t day, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. <HI>For as much as you have done it to any of the&s;e lit|tle ones, you have done it unto mee.</HI> When you &s;coff at any member of Chri&s;t, Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;aith, There is one &s;coffs at mee. And when you deal unworthi|ly with any of the things of Chri&s;t (as the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t) <HI>Luk.</HI> 10.16. <HI>Hee that heareth you, hear|eth mee: and hee that de&s;pi&s;eth you, de&s;pi&s;eth mee: and hee that de&s;pi&s;eth mee, de&s;pi&s;eth him that &s;ent mee, &amp;c.</HI> It is not &s;poke of the <HI>Twelve,</HI> but of the <HI>Seven|ty:</HI> Tho&s;e that hee had &s;ent out to preach in his Name, though they were not the Twelve extraordi|nary ones, I &s;ay, but the ordinary Di&s;ciples. I pray minde it, ordinary Mini&s;ters are &s;o near Chri&s;t, that hee accounts de&s;pi&s;ing of them, as a de&s;pite of him|&s;elf. And &s;o for Chri&s;tians, the meane&s;t of them all, &amp;c. Con&s;ider them that thou do&s;t de&s;pi&s;e, what are they? they are the Lords <HI>Me&s;&s;engers</HI> for thy good, and they are the Lords <HI>Members</HI> whom hee tenders. And &s;o I &s;ay, for any thing of Chri&s;t, they that deal ill with them, deal ill with Chri&s;t. I know what is the great Objection again&s;t this, and I remember Dr. <HI>Stoughton</HI> did well an&s;wer it. Wee do not take the&s;e to bee the &s;ervants of Chri&s;t, the Lords people; his an&s;wer is, <HI>Beware you do not &s;mite a&s; chi&s;matick, a ho|ly one, and a Saint bee found a bleeding.</HI> Well, I be|&s;eech you take heed of this; many that pretend to have much from Chri&s;t, they deal exceeding ill with Chri&s;t, it is a &s;in without excu&s;e. Therefore the<PB N="100" REF="60">Lord doth make the 2. of <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> to bee a con|viction to leave them without excu&s;e. Chri&s;t may &s;ay unto you all, whom in mi&s;ery hee hath &s;upport|ed, in want &s;upplied, in all things &s;u&s;tained; I &s;ay, Je&s;us Chri&s;t may &s;peak thus to you, If &s;o bee in the day of your di&s;tre&s;s, I had let you lye under the bur|then of &s;in; If when you came to begg mercy, I had put you off with a denial, or long delay, you ought to have carried it well: but how inexcu&s;able will you bee, that while Chri&s;t carries it well to you, you carry it ill to him?</P>
<P>But the mo&s;t proper. U&s;e is to &s;peak &s;omething to <HI>direct us all to this good Carriage.</HI> You hear, howe|ver Chri&s;t carries it to you, yet you ought to carry it holily, and humbly to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And it may bee there is &s;ome poor &s;oul or other that is now going to Chri&s;t; It may bee thou art a <HI>Months-Convert,</HI> and thou art wre&s;tling long with Chri&s;t, and ha&s;t no an|&s;wer; or it may bee thou art a <HI>back&s;lider,</HI> and art re|turning to Chri&s;t, or ha&s;t been with Chri&s;t upon &s;ome family, corporal occa&s;ion, hear how you are to carry it.</P>
<P>I will hold out my thoughts di&s;tinctly, that I may the better direct: And I &s;hall pre&s;s the U&s;e under two heads.</P>
<P><HI>Cave, Viz.</HI> 1 Beware, beware of ill carriage Unto Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Cura, Viz.</HI> 2 Take care, labour for a good carriage Unto Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Under the&s;e two Particulars I would pre&s;s this good Womans practice upon my &s;elf, and you; That however Chri&s;t &s;eems at any time, in any thing to carry it to us, although it &s;eem ill, yet let
<PB N="101" REF="60">not us carry our &s;elves ill to him, but rather over|come our evil with good, and &s;tudy to behave our &s;elves to Je&s;us Chri&s;t as wee ought. I be&s;eech you attend it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Beware of ill Carriage.</HI> Satan is at your elbow, hee is tempting, hee is bu&s;ie to make you cur&s;e God, and dye: This was Satans main work to provoke <HI>Job</HI> to ill Carriage, and that is his work up|on thee now. Satan &s;eeth thee groaning under a &s;in, that thou ha&s;t no ea&s;e, now Satan is tempting thee to carry it ill, but beware, do not carry it ill. Take heed of two things as the principal peeces of good Carriage.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Beware <HI>of evil words, and wi&s;hes.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Of <HI>unlawful works and indeavours.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Beware of <HI>evil words, and wi&s;hes.</HI> My Bre|thren, wee <HI>are apt in affliction to &s;in with our mouths.</HI> But oh Sirs, let mee tell you, <HI>Mouth-&s;in is great &s;in; Tongue-&s;in on Earth, is tormenting-&s;in in Hell;</HI> Do not &s;peak ill, nor wi&s;h ill. <HI>Do not &s;peak ill.</HI> It was an ill &s;peech, yet that good man drops it in his trouble, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 73.13. <HI>Verily I have clean&s;ed my heart in vain,</HI> and wa&s;hed my hands in innocency. And it was a very ill &s;peech of the Church, in <HI>Lam.</HI> 3.18. <HI>I &s;aid my hope is peri&s;hed from the Lord.</HI> And a bad wi&s;h of <HI>Job, Job</HI> 6.8, 9. <HI>Oh that I might have my reque&s;t! and that God would grant mee the thing that I long for! even that it would plea&s;e God to de&s;troy mee, that hee would let loo&s;e his hand, and cut mee off.</HI> Beware of &s;peaking unadvi&s;edly with your lip<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">. Saith the &s;oul, I cannot &s;tand up under the frowns of Chri&s;t, and I would to God I might dye now; God notes what you &s;ay, <HI>Jer.</HI> 45.3. <HI>Thou &s;aid&s;t, woe is mee now!</HI> Mark, God noted what <HI>Baru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">h</HI> &s;aith. But
<PB N="102" REF="61">you will &s;ay, may not the &s;oul &s;peak? may not the bitter heart vent it &s;elf? may not I &s;peak of my condition as it is? I pray mark but the&s;e two or three things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, You may &s;peak, but <HI>it is our mi&s;ery wee are apt to speak more than it is;</HI> Many a time wee cry out of our mi&s;ery more than it is. But,</P>
<P>Secondly, Mark this, though wee may &s;peak, <HI>It it be&s;t to hold our peace.</HI> Better is it for the &s;oul to put his <HI>mouth in the du&s;t,</HI> then there will bee hope, as wee opened, <HI>Lam.</HI> 3.29. But then,</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>In all your &s;peaking, you mu&s;t di&s;tingui&s;h between humble prayer, and ha&s;ty &s;peaking.</HI> You may go before the Lord again, and again, and &s;peak to him, as the Woman of <HI>Canaan;</HI> you may tell the Lord your wounds &s;tink and fe&s;ter, your bones are broken, &amp;c. but you mu&s;t not do this unadvi&s;edly, or pa&s;&s;ionately.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>How &s;hall the &s;oul know, even in prayer, that hee doth not &s;peak of his &s;ad condition badly?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer fir&s;t, <HI>When in all your prayers, and</HI> expre&s;&s;ions unto God, <HI>you leave your complaint upon your &s;elves.</HI> This was <HI>Jobs</HI> practice, <HI>Jeb</HI> 10.1. &s;aith Hee, My &s;oul is weary of my life, <HI>I will leave my complaint upon my &s;elf,</HI> I will &s;peak in the bitterne&s;s of my &s;oul, <HI>i. e.</HI> I will &s;ay, Lord, my wound is great, but I made it, &amp;c. you may expo&s;tulate with God, but &s;till leave your complaint upon your &s;elves, <HI>i. e.</HI> lay the fault of all upon your &s;elves; do not blame Chri&s;t. Confe&s;s whatever thou feele&s;t &s;mart or &s;ore, that thou mu&s;t onely thank thy &s;elf for it. Lay not thy &s;orrow to thy Saviours charge; whatever you &s;ay, &s;peak not as charging Chri&s;t, but condemning &s;elf. That is one thing.</P>
<PB N="103" REF="61">
<P>And &s;econdly, As you mu&s;t leave the complaint upon your &s;elves, &s;o <HI>you mu&s;t not ab&s;olutely, and pe|remptorily condemn your &s;elves.</HI> The &s;oul is apt to cry out, my ca&s;e is bad, and it will never bee better, I conclude I mu&s;t peri&s;h, there is no hope, &amp;c. Ah! the&s;e condemning, concluding, ab&s;olute concluding &s;peeches thus again&s;t our &s;elves, proceed from pa&s;|&s;ion, and are of that kinde of words which wee mu&s;t avoid. But it is not enough to watch words, take heed e&s;pecially to your works. Therefore</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>As you mu&s;t beware of &s;inful words and wi&s;hes, &s;o, beware of &s;inful works,</HI> and indeavours. When the <HI>Rod of God</HI> is upon thy back, take heed of <HI>putting forth thy hand to evil. Sauls</HI> way, was a wicked way; Indeed the Lord dealt &s;adly, &s;everely with him; neither to an&s;wer him by <HI>vi&s;ion,</HI> nor <HI>dream;</HI> by <HI>Urim,</HI> nor <HI>Thummim,</HI> was very &s;ore and grievous. And my Brethren, to bee able to forbear at &s;uch a time any thing that may &s;eem a way to help, I con|fe&s;s it is very hard. But although it bee <HI>difficult,</HI> yet it is <HI>duty.</HI> Wee mu&s;t <HI>beware of going to Witches, and Wizards for coun&s;el in any ca&s;e.</HI> It was <HI>Sauls</HI> &s;in, and I wi&s;h it had died with him; but it remains too great a practice in the&s;e times, Oh take heed of it. Take heed, I &s;ay, you do not by any evil practice &s;eek to ea&s;e your &s;elves. Though Chri&s;t &s;hould not an&s;wer thee, no more at pre&s;ent, than God did <HI>Saul;</HI> though hee do neither &s;peak to thee him&s;elf, nor &s;uffer his &s;ervants to &s;peak on thy behalf (as here in this Womans ca&s;e) yet beware of doing any unwarrantable thing to ea&s;e thy minde. Bee not <HI>as Saul</HI> at <HI>Endor.</HI> No, neither bee <HI>as Saul in Mount Gilboa,</HI> (as the &s;tory is, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 30.) At <HI>Endor</HI> hee con&s;ults with a Witch; At <HI>Gilboa</HI> hee took a &s;word
<PB N="104" REF="62">and &s;lew him&s;elf. O take heed of that temptation! <HI>viz. Self-Murther.</HI> I have heard it often as ob&s;erved heretofore, and I know, that to this day, it is an e|vil practiue many take, they will lay violent hands upon them&s;elves; this is <HI>to go back to hell for a plai|&s;ter.</HI> And &s;urely &s;uch a <HI>plaister</HI> hath &s;o much <HI>ve|nome</HI> in it, that it is <HI>madne&s;s</HI> to expect <HI>Virtue</HI> from it. I be&s;eech you therefore beware. This is the fir&s;t part of my advice. Learn your duty at lea&s;t thus far, <HI>Not to carry it ill in word or work,</HI> however in any thing the Lord deal with you. But my Point &s;aith more, therefore I mu&s;t pre&s;s it. Wee mu&s;t <HI>carry it well</HI> to Chri&s;t, however hee may &s;eem to car|ry it to us. And therefore to come to that in the next place.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Recompence not evil with evil, but rather recompence evil with good.</HI> It is true (as I have often &s;aid) Chri&s;t cannot carry it really ill; but however do thou recompence evil with good. Now to that end I pray minde this Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and imi|tate her, write after her Copy, do as &s;hee did, let your Carriage to Chri&s;t an&s;wer her Pattern in all the particulars which I opened and in&s;tanced in. And to this end give mee leave to commend to you, the ex|erci&s;e of three Graces, in the exerci&s;e of which &s;hee was, and in them you &s;hould bee, (and &s;o &s;hall car|ry it well to God) Namely, <HI>Humility, Prayer, Re|&s;olute Faith.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Ob&s;erve her <HI>Humility,</HI> and go thy way, and do likewi&s;e. However the Lord carries him|&s;elf to thee, <HI>humble thy &s;elf under his hand.</HI> Chri&s;t could not &s;peak a word never &s;o bad, but &s;hee would hee viler. If the Lord would &s;ay <HI>Dogg,</HI> &s;hee would <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ay &s;o too; E&s;pecially labour to carry it <HI>humbly</HI> in
<PB N="105" REF="62">this one thing, to accept of <HI>any mea&s;ure, in any man|ner,</HI> of comfort that Chri&s;t gives you. Thou art per|plexed, comfort thou woulde&s;t have; Now ob&s;erve, Chri&s;t it may bee offers thee a <HI>crumb,</HI> and thy proud heart will not accept of comfort, unle&s;s thou maye&s;t have much. This is ju&s;t like a little childe, the Mo|ther gives it a &s;mall peece of bread, and it cries, and throws it away, if hee may not have his Brothers peece of bread. Ah! Beloved, look to your hearts; <HI>Take heed of this proud peece of childi&s;hne&s;s.</HI> If your hearts were humble, you would accept of, and thank Chri&s;t for a little. As it is with the hungry &s;oul, &s;o it is with every humble &s;oul; Hee admires mercy in a mor&s;el, and is willing to &s;toop under the Table, to take up a crumb. <HI>Put on</HI> therefore, and <HI>bee cloathed with humility,</HI> and <HI>put</HI> it <HI>forth,</HI> &s;hew it in your Car|riage to Chri&s;t, as this Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> did. It was the humility of her &s;oul, by which &s;hee carried it &s;o well; and this is the fir&s;t Grace in her Carriage un|to Chri&s;t, wee &s;hould indeavour to conform our &s;elves. I come to the next.</P>
<P>Secondly, Ob&s;erve in her the <HI>Grace of Prayer</HI> (I do not &s;ay, the <HI>Gift of Prayer</HI>) But I ob&s;erve it as the <HI>Grace of Prayer</HI> (for here was no great gift) Oh Sirs! however the Lord doth keep up Prayer, your ca&s;e cannot bee &s;o bad, but pray you may, and pray you mu&s;t, Do but ob&s;erve an in&s;tance or two in the Book of the <HI>P&s;alms,</HI> of very &s;ad ca&s;es, and yet they did not give over Prayer, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 61. there you have the P&s;almi&s;t crying after God, in the fir&s;t <HI>ver&s;e,</HI> But when would hee cry? <HI>Why when my heart is over|whelmed,</HI> ver&s;. 2. Thou &s;aye&s;t thy heart is over|whelmed, and thou can&s;t not, it is in vain to pray; Mark the P&s;almi&s;t prayed then. Again, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 88.
<PB N="106" REF="63">ob&s;erve how &s;ad the ca&s;e of <HI>Heman</HI> is &s;et forth there; <HI>My &s;oul is full of trouble, my life draweth nigh unto the grave, ver&s;.</HI> 3. And &s;o on. But what &s;aith hee in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 13. <HI>But unto thee have I cried, O Lord, and in the morning &s;hall my Prayer prevent thee.</HI> Though the ca&s;e was very &s;ad, yet it was not pa&s;t praying. Here is the Devils temptation, <HI>What, wilt thou pray, it is in vain? thou ha&s;t prayed, and Chri&s;t doth not an&s;wer, Nay, hee hath returned thee a rough an&s;wer;</HI> (So in|deed the Serpent &s;ubtilly &s;ugge&s;ts, to take us off from Prayer.) But <HI>re&s;i&s;t the Devil</HI> in that temptation; do thou yet pray, and give not over; yet &s;ay, I will pray unto him; &s;ay with <HI>Jonah, Yet I will look again to|wards his holy Temple,</HI> Jonah 2.4.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But if the &s;oul &s;ay, <HI>But I cannot tell how to pray;</HI> I have not a <HI>Gift</HI> of Prayer.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If thou bee a Saint, <HI>Thou ha&s;t a Grace of Prayer.</HI> And ob&s;erve this, thou can&s;t pray as much as the Woman of <HI>Canaan, Lord, help mee,</HI> and, Truth Lord, &amp;c. Here are but three words, <HI>Lord help mee.</HI> And let mee in allu&s;ion tell you but three words that you &s;hould pray to the Lord, let your ca&s;e bee what it will.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Lord, thou onely can&s;t help mee;</HI> all the men in the world cannot help mee.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Lord, thou did&s;t help many as bad as I.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, And Lord, <HI>If thou did&s;t never help any as bad, then now thou wilt have the more glory by help|ing mee.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> Po&s;&s;ibly the &s;oul will be ready to &s;ay, <HI>But ala&s;s, Je&s;us Chri&s;t puts mee off,</HI> I would pray, but hee turns away, and will not hear; and I would catch hold of him, but hee runs away.</P>
<P><HI>Repl.</HI> You know what <HI>Jacob</HI> did, (<HI>Gen.</HI> 32.26,
<PB N="107" REF="63">27.) <HI>Hee would catch hold of God, though hee would bee gone;</HI> and you mu&s;t wre&s;tle with him, and cry af|ter him, <HI>You mu&s;t not let him go.</HI> You &s;ee the Di&s;|ciples tell Chri&s;t, that this Woman cried after them, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 23. Shee was as one that ran after another, who went away. <HI>Shee crieth after us</HI> (&s;ay they) do thou &s;o; if Chri&s;t &s;eem to go, run after, <HI>cry after.</HI> Bee not put off, renew, and re-inforce thy Prayer again and again. Indeed, <HI>in this the Grace of Prayer differs from the Gift;</HI> the <HI>Grace lives,</HI> and la&s;ts, the <HI>Gift dies,</HI> and goes out. Well then, &s;tir up thy &s;elf to take hold of God; and keep thy hold, having taken it. Pray, if thou can&s;t but a little, <HI>and go again, and pray the &s;ame words again and again;</HI> Chri&s;t him&s;elf did &s;o; Three times hee prayed in the &s;ame words, <HI>Mat.</HI> 26.44. <HI>Bee not a&s;hamed if thou want variety of expre&s;&s;ion.</HI> A few words prevail with God and Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Therefore I &s;ay, Pray alwaies; however Chri&s;t carry it, ca&s;t not away thy Prayers, but continue in it; &s;o this Woman did, and wee mu&s;t do likewi&s;e. But</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Bee re&s;olute in your Faith.</HI> And pray let mee mark this by the way, Though &s;hee doth not &s;ay, Lord, I beleeve, yet &s;hee did beleeve. The Woman was acting the Grace of Faith all this while, and &s;hee acts it very re&s;olutely, &s;hee &s;peaks as one beleeving him to bee the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> as one who&s;e onely hope and help was in him, and as one that did cleave and adhere to him. Our Lord Je&s;us witne&s;&s;eth to the Womans Faith. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 28. It was &s;trong and re&s;olute; &s;hee did beleeve, and was acted and upheld (as I &s;hall &s;hew hereafter) by Faith in all this addre&s;s. A Faith &s;hee had, and a Faith &s;hee expre&s;&s;ed <HI>really,</HI> though it is not expre&s;|&s;ed
<PB N="108" REF="64"><HI>literally,</HI> as to the <HI>terms;</HI> yet it is evident as to the <HI>Truth</HI> of it, that &s;hee did beleeve; &s;o do you. Beleevers are ready to think that in <HI>time of trouble, it is a time to pray, and to hear, but not to beleeve, &amp;c.</HI> Thou thinke&s;t thou maye&s;t cry after Chri&s;t, and wait upon Chri&s;t, I but thou &s;houlde&s;t <HI>beleeve</HI> in him, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 50.10. <HI>Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that walketh in darkne&s;s, and hath no light? let him tru&s;t in the Name of the Lord, and &s;tay upon his God.</HI> So <HI>Job, I wil tru&s;t in him though hee kill mee.</HI> That act of Faith I am now pre&s;&s;ing, is <HI>Tru&s;ting;</HI> and I pray minde it what kinde of Faith I pre&s;s in this par|ticular; <HI>It is a Tru&s;ting Faith. Job</HI> did <HI>tru&s;t,</HI> and hee that feareth God, mu&s;t <HI>tru&s;t</HI> in him at all times; yea in the <HI>dark.</HI> And truly this word or term <HI>Tru&s;t,</HI> doth very fitly &s;et forth the thing I intend to pre&s;s you in this particular unto. Now that you may a little under&s;tand it, con&s;ider that there are four words in the Scripture, that &s;et forth the great My|&s;tery of Beleeving.</P>
<P>There is fir&s;t, The general word <HI>Faith. I beleeve, Lord, help my unbeleef.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, There is the particular word of <HI>Hope. Hee hopeth.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, There is a particular word of <HI>Knowledge,</HI> which is as much as <HI>A&s;&s;urance. I know whom I have beleeved.</HI> And</P>
<P>Fourthly, There is this word <HI>Tru&s;ting.</HI> And now what is the nature of Tru&s;t. A man that <HI>beleeves,</HI> hath a pretty deal of light of God, but hee that <HI>hopes,</HI> hath a little more; hee hath more that <HI>knows;</HI> but what hath hee that <HI>tru&s;ts? I</HI> &s;hall give it you in this &s;imilitude: One comes to another, Sir, I know you can help mee, pray help mee, pray help
mee; &s;aith hee, I cannot do it, or I will not do it. The other replies, but I be&s;eech you Sir do it; under|take it for mee, I pray promi&s;e mee. The other re|turns No, I will undertake nothing, I will promi&s;e you nothing. The man returns again, but yet I will commit it to you, I pray con&s;ider it, I will leave it with your goodne&s;s, and though you will not &s;ay you will do it, yet Sir I will tru&s;t in you. So, thou goe&s;t to Chri&s;t, and hee will not hear thee, hee turns a|way, and &s;aith nothing; after all thy cries, hee &s;eems &s;ilent; thou art left without a&s;&s;urance, and with|out vi&s;ible hope. Now &s;ay, <HI>Lord, I leave my ca&s;e, my &s;oul with thee.</HI> I will yet relye upon thy grace, and although thou wilt not give mee in a particular promi&s;e, why yet Lord I will tru&s;t in thee. Oh tru&s;t to his <HI>Omnipotent Arm,</HI> that hee <HI>can</HI> do it, and becau&s;e of his <HI>Tender Compa&s;&s;ion,</HI> and <HI>Rich Free Grace,</HI> tru&s;t in him, that hee <HI>will</HI> do it; and this is that which Chri&s;t takes very well at our hands, <HI>Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, who&s;e minde is &s;tayed on thee, be|cau&s;e hee TRUSTETH in thee,</HI> I&s;a. 26.3. When all fails, <HI>Hope</HI> and <HI>Heart</HI> fails, and Chri&s;t &s;eems to &s;peak contrary, Cry out, <HI>Yet Lord, I will tru&s;t in thee.</HI> To draw up my &s;elf to a clo&s;e of this U&s;e. I be&s;eech you all often remember the Woman of <HI>Ca|naan,</HI> con&s;ider her Carriage, and this point which I have been pre&s;&s;ing from her practice; and in your condition &s;trive to have her Carriage, e&s;pecially in the exerci&s;e of tho&s;e three things, <HI>viz. Humility, Prayer,</HI> and <HI>Faith.</HI> Be&s;ides what in the former Ser|mon I opened, which I &s;hall not now repeat. For onely this is that I would pre&s;s, <HI>viz.</HI> have &s;uch a good carriage in all things. You know what is the particular occa&s;ion wherein Chri&s;t and you trade, or
<PB N="110" REF="65">have to do upon any account. Bee thy ca&s;e what it will, or Chri&s;ts carriage bee as hee plea&s;eth (cro&s;s, or kinde, as wee &s;peak) &s;till know, you ought to &s;tudy and &s;trive to demean your &s;elf holily. How|ever the Lord carries it to you, your duty and wi&s;|dome is to carry it well to him.</P>
<P><PB N="109" REF="64">Que&s;t. I but you will &s;ay, <HI>This is very hard, how &s;hall I do it?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I told you indeed it is a <HI>hard Copy,</HI> but wee mu&s;t <HI>indeavour to write it.</HI> And ble&s;&s;ed bee God, the Copy is written in great letters, &s;o that wee may with the more ea&s;e &s;ee it, and imitate it.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But how &s;hall wee do it?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Take but the&s;e <HI>Three</HI> things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, If ever you would imitate this Copy, <HI>Bee &s;ure that you take heed of tho&s;e per&s;ons, that will &s;hake your hands while you are a writing.</HI> Oh Sirs, when you are to copy out the great Copy of the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI></P>
<P>1 <HI>Away from the Devil.</HI></P>
<P>2 <HI>Away from Carnal Rea&s;on.</HI> And</P>
<P>3 <HI>Away from fle&s;h and blood.</HI> The&s;e will &s;hake your hand. The Devil will put on <HI>Job</HI> to <HI>cur&s;e God,</HI> Satan will &s;ugge&s;t a thou&s;and things to a &s;oul in the Woman of <HI>Canaans</HI> condition. Mark, &s;aith hee, hee doth not hear thee, thou do&s;t not belong to him. Mark, hee gives thee a terrible an&s;wer, hee is rather a Judge than a Father: So, for carnal rea&s;on, and fle&s;h and blood (I will put them both together) they will ri&s;e; what, mu&s;t I bee called Dogg? mu&s;t I bee put off, as I mu&s;t not have a crumb? But if ever you would carry it well, take heed of tho&s;e that will hinder you; if you hearken to tho&s;e, they will but &s;hake thy hand, and make thee rather blot<PB N="111" REF="65">thy Copy-book (as wee &s;ay) and onely make a few &s;crawls (as boies, when &s;ome jogg their hand) in&s;tead of writing by thy Copy. Bid the Devil &s;tand further off. If <HI>you re&s;i&s;t</HI> (<HI>James</HI> tells you) <HI>Hee will flee.</HI> Shake off carnal rea&s;on, minde not what that judgeth, or &s;ayeth, of Chri&s;ts carriage to thee. Eye thou thy le&s;&s;on, and regard not a|ny that would hinder thy learning of it; that is one thing. But then,</P>
<P>Secondly, If ever you would write well by this Copy, I pray <HI>often look upon your Copy.</HI> Wee &s;ee that children do mi&s;take, becau&s;e they do not often look upon their Copy. It is no &s;hame to learn of a good Woman; it may bee you begin at fir&s;t to think of the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> but you do not read thorow; you &s;hould again and again look over, look thorow and thorow this Example; content not thy &s;elf with once reading or hearing; repeat the &s;tory again. Remember the Doctrine a &s;econd and a third time. Hee takes a Copy be&s;t, who eyes it mo&s;t; and that &s;oul will be&s;t imitate this Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> who reflects upon, and con&s;iders her Example often.</P>
<P>Thirdly and La&s;tly, <HI>Strengthen your hands as much as may bee.</HI> My Beloved, a <HI>cold hand</HI> &s;hall I &s;ay, or a <HI>cold heart,</HI> will write but very poorly: if you do not warm your hearts with &s;ome other good con&s;iderations, you will not write well. I will give you one general warming heating word to con&s;ider, that you may write after this Copy, that you may carry your &s;elves thus well. <HI>As long as you have a heart to carry;</HI> Nay, but to <HI>indeavour to carry it well to Chri&s;t; Chri&s;t cannot carry it ill to you.</HI> In this &s;en&s;e I tell thee, if thy indeavours bee<PB N="112" REF="66">humbly and heartily to carry it well to Chri&s;t; Chri&s;t cannot carry it ill to you. I read once it is &s;aid of Chri&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> John 4.4. That hee <HI>mu&s;t needs</HI> do &s;uch a thing, hee <HI>mu&s;t needs go thorow Samaria.</HI> There was a poor Woman of <HI>Samaria</HI> hee mu&s;t bring home. And it is &s;aid, in 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.13. <HI>If wee beleeve not, yet hee abideth faithful, and cannot deny him|&s;elf.</HI> Truly, there is a <HI>mu&s;t</HI> in &s;ome things upon Chri&s;t; and there is a <HI>cannot,</HI> which may &s;afely bee &s;poke of the Lord Je&s;us. Hee <HI>mu&s;t</HI> bee kinde, and hee <HI>cannot deny</HI> him&s;elf in that. After our humble holy waiting hee mu&s;t &s;peak; and hee <HI>cannot</HI> conceal his grace from tho&s;e that (as this Woman) addre&s;s them&s;elves to him; And therefore it is certain (and warm thy fingers, hand and heart (that thou may|e&s;t write the better) with this con&s;ideration) that while you carry it thus (as I opened) unto him; Hee cannot continue &s;trange to you, but mu&s;t, and will appear as you expect and de&s;ire. Remember it, and rejoyce in it; I &s;ay unto you from my Ma&s;ter, that albeit the Lord Chri&s;t may delay, and demur, yet at la&s;t hee will &s;peak to us, and do for us. I need not &s;end you to any man, but onely to wo|men, to a&s;&s;ure you of this, who are upon record in Scripture, as pre&s;idents for this purpo&s;e. I intreat you to remember, that there are <HI>three Women</HI> in the New Te&s;tament to whom Chri&s;t &s;hewed much mer|cy, though at fir&s;t hee &s;eemed not to minde them.</P>
<P>The one is in <HI>Luk.</HI> 7.37. One that is called a <HI>&s;inner,</HI> &s;hee came and &s;ate down at his feet, and wept, but hee did not &s;eem to minde her.</P>
<P>The other is the Woman that had the <HI>bloody</HI> I&s;&s;ue, in <HI>Luk.</HI> 18. And the</P>
<PB N="113" REF="66">
<P>Third is this <HI>Woman of Canaan.</HI> Here are three Women, whom Chri&s;t at fir&s;t did not &s;eem to minde, yet hee dealt with them very well at la&s;t; And, <HI>Bee yee comforted in this confidence,</HI> Hee will deal as well with you, as ever hee did with them. Chri&s;t is &s;till the &s;ame in love and kindne&s;s; Oh that wee could bee the &s;ame with this Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> in her car|riage! And thus I have done with that particular, <HI>viz.</HI> how the Woman did behave her &s;elf; hereafter wee &s;hall &s;ee how &s;hee &s;ped, and what was the hap|py Conclu&s;ion of all.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="114" REF="67">
<HEAD>Faith alone carries the Soul thorow all Di&s;couragements unto Chri&s;t. <HI>The Sixth SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Matthew 15.</HI> ver&s;. <HI>28.</HI></BIBL>
<Q><P>Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Wo|man, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee, even as thou wilt. And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_AS the <HI>dawning day</HI> after &s;ome long and <HI>dark night;</HI> And as the <HI>cooling winds</HI> in the mid&s;t of &s;ome great and <HI>&s;corching heat;</HI> &s;o are the&s;e words of our Lord to the Wo|man of <HI>Canaan,</HI> very comfortable, and very refre&s;h|ing. The man that hath lain to&s;&s;ing all night, with what joy doth hee entertain the dawning of the day? and the Traveller that is &s;pent with heat, with what eagerne&s;s doth hee &s;uck in the cool breathings of the wind? Now, &s;uch was this &s;peech of Chri&s;t to the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> in this place. They were as a <HI>day dawning,</HI> and as a <HI>cool refre&s;hing</HI> to her &s;oul. By this &s;peech (my Beloved) no doubt, no doubt, but this poor Woman was now marvelou&s;ly refre&s;hed, and as much as her &s;oul could want or wi&s;h, &s;hee had from the Lord in the&s;e words, as wee &s;hall &s;ee afterwards. <HI>Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Woman, great is thy Faith; bee it unto thee even as
<PB N="115" REF="67">thou wilt.</HI> The&s;e words have the la&s;t particular which I noted in this &s;tory; Namely, the <HI>I&s;&s;ue or the Conclu&s;ion that Chri&s;t made with this Woman.</HI> The beginning was very &s;ad, A poor Woman, at the feet of Chri&s;t, begging much, but &s;eeming not to bee heard; but behold the i&s;&s;ue is very good. That Je|&s;us Chri&s;t that an&s;wered her not a word, an&s;wers her now many words, and many comfortable words; <HI>Oh Woman, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee, even as thou wilt, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>There are two things you may ob&s;erve in this An&s;wer of Chri&s;t here.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You have here, <HI>Chri&s;ts Commendation of her Faith.</HI> And,</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>You have Chri&s;ts Conde&s;cention to her de|&s;ire.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You have <HI>Chri&s;ts Commendation of her Faith. O Woman, great is thy Faith.</HI> Thou art not onely a Beleever, but a great Beleever; thou art no more a Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> but a Woman of <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> no more a <HI>Dogg,</HI> but a <HI>Childe; Great is thy Faith.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, You have the <HI>Conde&s;cention of Christ to her de&s;ires,</HI> Now that is held forth in two things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, More <HI>Generally.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, More <HI>Particularly.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, More Generally, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> Oh great word! a word exceeding the Womans wi&s;h; Our Lord (as his manner is) ex|ceeds her reque&s;t. The poor Woman would have been glad of a crumb, and by this word my-thinks Chri&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ids her go to the Table, and cut what &s;hee would, take not onely crumbs, but what peeces &s;hee plea&s;ed.</P>
<P>Secondly. Hee doth particularly grant her parti|cular
<PB N="116" REF="68">reque&s;t about her Daughter. <HI>For her Daughter was made whole from that very hour.</HI></P>
<P>There were three Que&s;tions which truly my thoughts did &s;ugge&s;t when I con&s;idered the&s;e words, and they were (if I may &s;o &s;ay) they were in my own heart to make in the reading of the&s;e words. And I &s;hall propo&s;e them with the An&s;wers thereof, being they are Que&s;tions not of &s;trife, but of much edification. The</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Que&s;tion is this, The Lord commends this Woman for her Faith, <HI>Wherein doth her Faith appear?</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Why doth the Lord &s;ay to her, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt?</HI> And</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Why was the reque&s;t &s;hee made fir&s;t, grant|ed la&s;t?</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> 1. The Lord &s;aies to her, <HI>Woman, great is thy Faith;</HI> why, wherein did the Womans Faith appear? Shee <HI>prayed</HI> (that wee read) &s;hee <HI>cryed</HI> (that wee read) &s;hee <HI>wor&s;hipped</HI> (that wee read) but it is not &s;aid <HI>&s;hee beleeved.</HI> Shee doth not &s;ay as hee, <HI>I be|leeve, Lord help my unbeleef.</HI> How then doth Chri&s;t &s;ay, <HI>Oh Woman, great is thy Faith?</HI></P>
<P>Two An&s;wers I &s;hall give.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. The Lord <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth know that which wee cannot &s;ee.</HI> That may, and doth appear to Chri&s;t, which oftentimes doth not appear to us. <HI>Hee needs not that men &s;hould tell him, for hee knows all things, &amp;c.</HI> John 16.30. The Woman needed not to tell Chri&s;t that &s;hee did beleeve, for Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;aw it. The Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth ob&s;erve that in us, which wee do not many times ob&s;erve in our &s;elves. In the la&s;t day, when the Lord &s;hall judge both the righteous and the wicked, hee will rell the righteous, they did this and that thing, which
<PB N="117" REF="68">they did not know, as that &s;peech intimates, <HI>When &s;aw wee thee naked, and cloathed thee?</HI> Matth. 25. The Lord can &s;ee a <HI>few Names in Sardis,</HI> and a <HI>little &s;trength</HI> even there, where the heart can &s;carce finde any thing; Therefore minde it by the way, and do you (O poor of the flock!) (that fear your own Faith) I &s;ay, do you hear, and rejoyce, Je&s;us Chri&s;t can &s;ee Faith in us, when many times wee cannot &s;ee it in our &s;elves; that is light to him which is in the dark to us.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. Mark this An&s;wer, <HI>You mu&s;t di&s;tingui&s;h between the real beeing, and the extrin&s;ical, or expli|cite appearance of Faith.</HI> Things may bee really and e&s;&s;entially, which are not vi&s;ibly, and explicitely: And the Scripture takes notice of &s;ome things that are really, though not explicitely. As now in <HI>Job, Job</HI> 1.5. <HI>Peradventure my Sons have &s;inned, and cur&s;|ed God in their hearts;</HI> That is, implicitely they may do it. So the Lord takes notice of tho&s;e things that are in us (<HI>i. e.</HI> real and true, though it do not appear in the formalities thereof.) That poor Wo|man, in <HI>Luk.</HI> 7.50. had Faith, though there was no formal profe&s;&s;ion of it. Chri&s;t hath a di&s;cerning eye, hee can &s;ee what is in us, even as in the <HI>root,</HI> before the <HI>bud,</HI> or <HI>fruit</HI> appear. Hee can, and doth know what is in us <HI>radically,</HI> though wee do not &s;o <HI>vi&s;ibly,</HI> and expre&s;ly make it out. Now &s;uch was this Wo|mans ca&s;e. Though here is no <HI>explicite Confe&s;&s;ion,</HI> or <HI>Profe&s;&s;ion</HI> of Faith, yet &s;hee did that which is Faith implicite. And in this Woman there was real Faith, which did act her in this addre&s;s to Chri&s;t; as you will &s;ee if you con&s;ider it; for what is Faith? <HI>Faith is the coming of the &s;oul to Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Shee comes. <HI>Faith is the ca&s;ting of the &s;oul upon Chri&s;t&punc;</HI>
<PB N="118" REF="69">Shee ca&s;t her &s;elf upon Chri&s;t. <HI>Faith is a re&s;ting on Chri&s;t, without a word of evidence or a&s;&s;urance:</HI> The Woman doth &s;o. You may by this &s;atisfie your &s;elves then in the fir&s;t que&s;tion. This Woman did beleeve, though &s;he did not in &s;o many words expre&s;s it; &s;hee &s;hewed it, though &s;hee did not &s;peak it. But then in the &s;econd place,</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> 2. Why doth our Lord &s;ay unto her, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt?</HI></P>
<P>Take a double An&s;wer to this likewi&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. <HI>The Lord Je&s;us &s;aw that this Woman did want more things than one.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;aw all her wants, and all her wi&s;hes too, though &s;hee did not expre&s;s them. That place in <HI>Romans</HI> 8. is known to all of you, but the 27. <HI>ver&s;e</HI> is not &s;o often taken notice of. <HI>And hee that &s;earcheth the hearts, know|eth what is the mind of the &s;pirit, becau&s;e hee maketh interce&s;&s;ion for the Saints, according to the will of God.</HI> The &s;oul &s;ighs, and groans by the Spirit, and many a time the &s;oul doth not know his own &s;ighing; who &s;hall know it? why, <HI>Hee &s;hall know it that makes in|terce&s;&s;ion;</HI> this is particularly &s;poken of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. The Spirit helps thee to &s;igh, and thou can&s;t not tell thy own &s;ighs; Je&s;us Chri&s;t can tell what it means, I &s;ay, Je&s;us Chri&s;t knows; for that place is to bee un|der&s;tood particularly of Chri&s;t, for it is hee <HI>that maketh interce&s;&s;ion,</HI> as it is there expre&s;&s;ed. It is a Scripture which may much &s;tay our hearts; Chri&s;t knows what wee want, even then when wee cannot tell our &s;elves; onely in the general, &s;igh. Minde it, Oh my Beloved you go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t with <HI>one word,</HI> and <HI>a many &s;ighs,</HI> the Lord will an&s;wer <HI>all your &s;ighs,</HI> and will &s;ay, Bee it to you, not onely <HI>as you &s;peak,</HI> but <HI>as you groan,</HI> and as you &s;igh too.</P>
<PB N="119" REF="69">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. <HI>The Lord Chri&s;t loves to &s;hew his bounty in rewarding any &s;ouls, for any delay.</HI> I&s;a. 61.7. for your &s;hame you &s;hall have double; And <HI>Zechariah</HI> 9.12. <HI>Turn yee to the &s;trong hold, yee pri&s;oners of hope, even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee.</HI> Upon the&s;e accounts it was that our Lord doth not an&s;wer this Woman with a particular word, take what you come for; but in a general way, bids her take all things, any thing which &s;hee could de&s;ire; take what thou wilt, as thou wilt. But to proceed to the la&s;t Que&s;tion. The</P>
<P>Third and la&s;t Que&s;tion is, Why doth the Lord give this in the la&s;t place? <HI>Her Daughter was made whole.</HI> One would have thought this &s;hould have been the fir&s;t word; Woman go thy way, thy daugh|ter is whole; but fir&s;t hee &s;peaks of her Faith, and then to her &s;ouls de&s;ire. Why doth Chri&s;t &s;o? that is the Que&s;tion.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Now the An&s;wer hereunto is ea&s;ie, and it may bee this. <HI>Our Lord Je&s;us is wi&s;e and gracious, and therefore (knowing what wee need mo&s;t, and what is be&s;t to be&s;tow upon us) Hee doth &s;till give that fir&s;t which is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary, and which is the chiefest.</HI> My Beloved, I pray remember it. The Lord loves to give the be&s;t mercies fir&s;t; her Daughter was po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ed with a Devil, but that was but a corporal infirmi|tie; her own &s;oul was more under the power of the Devil, and the deliverance of that mo&s;t needful; therefore hee gives the more nece&s;&s;ary thing fir&s;t. O my Beloved, you have a wi&s;e Chri&s;t, a good Chri&s;t, hee will &s;atisfie particular de&s;ires, but hee will fir&s;t do the be&s;t things. Indeed Chri&s;t reacheth us to begg the be&s;t things fir&s;t. <HI>Seek yee fir&s;t the King|dome of Heaven,</HI> and therefore fir&s;t pray, <HI>Thy King|dome
<PB N="120" REF="70">come.</HI> But wee are ignorant, and apt to mi&s;take; wee often ask the be&s;t things la&s;t. Now Chri&s;t will give the be&s;t fir&s;t, Therefore hee begins to &s;peak to the Mothers &s;oul here, before hee mentions her Daughters di&s;temper. But let this &s;uffice for the&s;e Que&s;tions. To come to the words, there are many Points ob&s;ervable from this place; Particular Notes I &s;hall take in by the by, and therefore &s;hall not touch upon them. Neither &s;hall I pre&s;s the words too hard, there is no need of it. This Text, like a brave hony-comb, drops out in three things, like hony without any pre&s;&s;ing.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Ob&s;erve here, <HI>What it was that carried the Woman on, and thorow all this while,</HI> (what bladder kept his Woman from &s;inking.) It was Faith. <HI>O Woman, great is thy Faith.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Ob&s;erve, <HI>What rich bounty is here;</HI> here is glorious Grace, rich Grace; <HI>Have what thou wilt.</HI> And then,</P>
<P>Thirdly, Ob&s;erve, <HI>That &s;hee hath a particular grant of her &s;pecial reque&s;t, her Daughter was made whole.</HI> It is the &s;econd thing I do principally aim at, but &s;hall &s;peak of the two other.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t, Ob&s;erve from the fir&s;t, <HI>That it is true Faith alone that carries the &s;oul thorow all difficulties, and di&s;couragements, in the way to Chri&s;t.</HI> I &s;hall not bee large in the handling of this Point. I have often &s;poken of Faith, and the work of Faith, as it doth receive Chri&s;t; how that is performed, &amp;c. therefore I &s;hall confine my &s;elf to the Text, and the boundaries of it, to &s;hew that in all the difficul|ties the &s;oul meets withall in coming to Chri&s;t, Faith bears the &s;oul up under all. And pray mark what I &s;ay, I &s;ay, <HI>true Faith</HI> nor &s;trong Faith, neither do I &s;ay
<PB N="121" REF="70">a degree of Faith, but a <HI>true Faith.</HI> It is true, this Wo|man had <HI>great Faith</HI> (and &s;hee needed it, for &s;he had great difficulties) but the Point lies po&s;itively thus, <HI>Faith, if it bee true,</HI> it is that, and that alone, that carries up the &s;oul above all difficulties, and di&s;|couragements in its coming to Chri&s;t. I &s;uppo&s;e I need not tell you that there are difficulties, in the way of coming to Chri&s;t. This Woman knew there were difficulties, and di&s;couragements, but what car|ried her thorow, did her <HI>Patience</HI> carry her thorow? (&s;hee had that) did her <HI>reverend e&s;teem of Chri&s;t</HI> car|ry her thorow? (&s;hee had that) did the <HI>pinch of her wants carry her thorow?</HI> No, Chri&s;t doth not &s;ay, Oh Woman! great is thy patience, or great is thy e|&s;teem of mee, or great is thy want; <HI>But, O Woman, great is thy Faith:</HI> It was the Womans Faith that carried her thorow the&s;e difficulties. I will demon|&s;trate this Doctrine by &s;ome in&s;tances; and therefore I &s;hall mention &s;ome of the difficulties which are in our way to Chri&s;t, and &s;hew how that it is Faith, and Faith alone, by which the Lord doth u&s;e to help us a|gain&s;t all the&s;e difficulties. Now therefore I pray minde it, and you may mo&s;tly ob&s;erve in <HI>our-coming to Christ, There are four waies from whence our dif|ficulties, and di&s;couragements do ari&s;e;</HI> and you will &s;ee, that true Faith alone will carry the &s;oul thorow all the&s;e.</P>
<P>The difficulties ari&s;e thus, from</P>
<P>1 <HI>Self.</HI></P>
<P>2 <HI>Satan.</HI></P>
<P>3 The <HI>World.</HI></P>
<P>4 <HI>Christ him&s;elf</HI> may do that &s;eemingly, which may, and doth make it difficult to come unto him. But now yet &s;ee as to each, how Faith carries the &s;oul thorow all the&s;e.</P>
<P><PB N="122" REF="71">To begin with the fir&s;t, which is <HI>Self,</HI> that comes in to oppo&s;e us. And pray good people look about you, your &s;elves are the greate&s;t hinderances to keep you from Chri&s;t; now what &s;hall carry us up above our &s;elves but Faith? by Faith <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> denies him|&s;elf. And &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Whoever will come after mee, mu&s;t deny him&s;elf;</HI> how &s;hall hee do it? nothing but Faith will do it. I will give you but an in&s;tance of it; Self doth hinder coming to Chri&s;t two waies.</P>
<P>1 Either by too <HI>much diffidence.</HI></P>
<P>2 Or too <HI>much confidence.</HI> One while it is <HI>too high,</HI> and will nor &s;toop to come to Chri&s;t; Another while <HI>too low,</HI> it cannot bee rai&s;ed up to &s;uch a work; Sometime <HI>Self is arrogant,</HI> and proud, what, I go to Chri&s;t? not I, I can &s;hift well enough, &amp;c. O|ther while it is <HI>diffident,</HI> and fearful, and crieth out that it is not fit, or able, not is it meet for his &s;oul to go, &amp;c. Well, yet for all this I pray mark, it is Faith makes Self go, notwith&s;tanding all this. For, as to <HI>the Pride of &s;elf,</HI> Faith brings in &s;o <HI>clear a light of the excellency, and nece&s;&s;ity of Chri&s;t, that &s;elf-con|fidence is put to &s;ilence.</HI> And the high thoughts are brought down by the obedience of Faith, and &s;o carried to the obedience of Chri&s;t. Hee that be|leeves the te&s;timony which God gives of Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pel, mu&s;t &s;toop and bow; and Faith help|ing the &s;oul in that bu&s;ine&s;s, carries the &s;oul out of proud Self, &s;o as that arrogancy &s;hall not hinder the &s;ouls coming and clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t. And <HI>for diffi|dence,</HI> and the working of Self that way, why <HI>Faith doth evidently carry the &s;oul over that hinderance.</HI> For Faith &s;eeth the <HI>arm of Chri&s;t &s;tretched forth to receive the feeble &s;oul.</HI> Faith tells the weak heart that <HI>Chri&s;t will come to it, if it cannot go to him.</HI> Faith a&s;&s;ures
<PB N="123" REF="71">the &s;oul that Chri&s;t will inable it to imbrace him|&s;elf. Faith &s;hews Chri&s;t as able and willing to create a hand and heart in us to receive, and to take hold of him&s;elf. When Self cries but childe-like. I am weak, and &s;ame, and cannot go to Chri&s;t, then (mark it) Faith &s;aies, true, thou ha&s;t no leggs, but hee that bids the man ari&s;e, gives him feet; Faith &s;aith, thou ha&s;t no &s;trength, but hee that bids thee be|leeve, will make thee beleeve. What did carry <HI>Abraham</HI> above and again&s;t him&s;elf? It is &s;aid, <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.19. <HI>Being not weak in Faith, hee con&s;idered not his own body now dead, when hee was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadne&s;s of Sarah's womb, &amp;c.</HI> Faith rai&s;eth up the &s;oul, and carries it on to Chri&s;t, even notwith&s;tanding the &s;ouls nothingne&s;s. Faith incourageth the &s;oul to go, although it bee empty; Faith &s;aith, though Chri&s;t bee a great King, yet a poor &s;oul may come to him without a pre&s;ent. In a word, Faith levels the mountains, and fills the Vul|lies; it carries the &s;oul on its way to Chri&s;t, not|with&s;tanding any hinderance from Self. Self &s;hall not keep off where Faith is, the &s;oul denies Self, and goes to Chri&s;t. But then to proceed,</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Satan hee binders.</HI> And remember it, <HI>Satan doth more oppo&s;e your going to Christ, than hee doth oppo&s;e your leaving of &s;in.</HI> If thou wilt leave thy fin, Satan will bee content &s;o thou wilt but tru&s;t to Self, and not go to Chri&s;ts Grace. But when once the &s;oul oppo&s;es &s;in, and goes to Chri&s;t, then Satan oppo&s;es; now what &s;hall help and carry on the &s;oul, and &s;trengthen the oppo&s;ed &s;oul to oppo&s;e Satan? In <HI>Ephe&s;tans</HI> 5. &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Above all take the &s;hield of Faith, whereby you &s;hall bee able to quench the fiery darts of the Devil.</HI> Let Satan do his wor&s;t,
<PB N="124" REF="72">Faith will carry on the &s;oul, it will quench his <HI>darts,</HI> and tread upon his <HI>devices,</HI> and &s;weetly &s;trengthen the heart to cloze with the Lord Je&s;us, in de&s;pite, and in defiance of Satan, and all his hinderances. But then,</P>
<P>Thirdly, the <HI>world, that oppo&s;es too.</HI> The world hinders the &s;oul, by &s;aying, what, will you go to Chri&s;t, and leave my plea&s;ures, and leave my riches, and my honour, &amp;c? Now, what carries up the &s;oul above the world? why the Apo&s;tle tells, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.4. <HI>And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our Faith,</HI> And then,</P>
<P>La&s;tly, <HI>Christ him&s;elf &s;eems to oppo&s;e.</HI> The Lord doth not &s;peak, and that is &s;ad; and &s;ometimes hee doth &s;peak, and that is as &s;ad. For (as wee for|merly noted) hee &s;eems to &s;peak har&s;hly, and Chri&s;t may &s;eem to deny, and reject the &s;oul in its approach to him. Now what &s;hall carry up the &s;oul, when Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;eems to put back? nothing but Faith. It is ob&s;erved, that it was Faith carried up <HI>Job</HI> to go to God; it is therefore very ob&s;ervable that <HI>Job</HI> doth oftentimes profe&s;s his Faith in God. As in <HI>Job</HI> 13.15. <HI>Though hee kill mee, yet I will tru&s;t in him;</HI> it is a known &s;peech. But that expre&s;&s;ion in <HI>Job</HI> 19. makes it more evident what carried him up to God; you have very &s;ad expre&s;&s;ions in that <HI>chapter,</HI> inti|mating how God him&s;elf &s;eemed to oppo&s;e <HI>Job. Hee hath overthrown mee,</HI> ver&s;e 6. And <HI>hee hath &s;tript mee of my glory,</HI> ver&s;. 9. Yea, <HI>Hee hath de&s;troyed mee, on every &s;ide, and hath kindled his wrath again&s;t mee,</HI> ver&s;e 10, 11. Now what &s;hall carry <HI>Job</HI> up? See <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 24, 25. <HI>I know my Redeemer liveth, and oh that this profe&s;&s;ion of my Faith were written on a Rock for perpetual remembrance.</HI> It is as if hee &s;hould &s;ay,
<PB N="125" REF="72">My friends, my di&s;puring-friends, do not break my heart with arguments, you oppo&s;e, and God op|po&s;es too; but this carries mee up, <HI>I have a Re|deemer, and I know that my Redeemer lives, &amp;c.</HI> Had <HI>Job</HI> no other grace but Faith? Yes, <HI>You have heard of the Patience of</HI> Job, but yet <HI>Jobs</HI> Patience failed. Had hee not <HI>Humility?</HI> Yes, Hee that could lay his mouth in the du&s;t at fir&s;t, and &s;ay, <HI>Naked came I into the world, and naked mu&s;t I return;</HI> Certainly <HI>Job</HI> had Humility al&s;o, but it was not that which &s;up|ported him. Had hee not <HI>Prayer?</HI> without doubt <HI>Job</HI> had a praying &s;pirit, and did call on God again and again, as hee often intimates; But yet it &s;eem|eth <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ayer failed, and therefore hee is charged by <HI>Eliphaz</HI> with neglect of it, in <HI>Job</HI> 15.4. <HI>Thou re|&s;traine&s;t Prayer,</HI> thou do&s;t le&s;&s;en Prayer, thou do&s;t dimini&s;h Prayer; &s;o the word &s;ignifieth.</P>
<P>I but mark, though <HI>Patience failed, and Hu|mility and Prayer failed; yet Faith carries Job thorow all;</HI> Yet I will beleeve and tru&s;t. I pray ob&s;erve, what|ever Grace, or Gift, you have nothing will carry you thorow difficulties and di&s;couragements in your way to Chri&s;t, but onely Faith; It was the Womans Faith that kept her up all the while. And it is that, and that alone, which carries every &s;oul thorow all hinderances (as well as tho&s;e which I have hinted) unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t. So you &s;ee the demon&s;tration of the Point; to come to the next thing then.</P>
<P>You will ask mee the Rea&s;on, <HI>Whence is it that Faith &s;hould thus bee the onely Grace to carry up, and carry out the &s;oul, in the mid&s;t of all difficulties, in go|ing to Chri&s;t.</HI> I will name very briefly the&s;e two heads of Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is, <HI>From the appointment of Faith by God.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="126" REF="73">Secondly, The <HI>operation of Faith in us.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e are the two great pillars of this Truth.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>From the appointment of Faith by God.</HI> My Beloved, Faith doth therefore carry us out thorow all, becau&s;e <HI>it is that Grace that God alone hath ap|pointed.</HI> Read the Go&s;pel, or the Prophets, and you will finde them &s;peaking of the&s;e two great Truths.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>That Chri&s;t is the onely one that is appointed to bring us to &s;alvation.</HI> (There is no name but his, <HI>Act.</HI> 4.12.)</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>That Faith is the onely Grace appointed to bring us to Chri&s;t.</HI> You have our Lord &s;hortly in one place &s;peaking of both, in <HI>John</HI> 6.40. <HI>And this is the will of him that &s;ent mee, that every one which &s;eeth the Son, and beleeveth on him, may have ever|la&s;ting life: and I will rai&s;e him up at the la&s;t day.</HI> There is a great Que&s;tion among Divines, <HI>Why Faith, rather than Charity, Patience, or Go&s;pel-Obe|d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ence, &s;hould bee the great in&s;trument of Ju&s;tification?</HI> And (my Beloved) this is the ab&s;olute An&s;wer to the Que&s;tion, <HI>Becau&s;e God hath onely appointed it.</HI> There may bee &s;ome conjectural Rea&s;ons, why God hath appointed Faith, but the chief Rea&s;on is, be|cau&s;e God hath appointed it. Now Divine In&s;titu|tion being upon Faith, thence it is that Faith doth the work; it is not from any inherent worth in the Grace. (Ala&s;s! <HI>What is the worth of a &s;inners hand, to take a glorious Chri&s;t!</HI>) But it is onely from Gods plea&s;ure, and appointment, that Faith alone &s;hall bee the Grace to carry the &s;oul to, and help the &s;oul in its receiving of Chri&s;t. God hath appointed no other leggs to carry us, and becau&s;e hee hath ap|pointed the&s;e, hee will ble&s;s his own apointment to effect the work. The Lords appointment makes all things operative: Therefore</P>
<P><PB N="127" REF="73">Secondly, The Rea&s;on is from the operation of Faith in us, by virtue of that appointment. My Beloved, Faith it is a working Grace, and Faith is our great &s;trength in every working Grace; it con|veyeth &s;trength unto all Graces.</P>
<P>There is a threefold Operation of Faith to carry the &s;oul thorow all difficulties and di&s;couragements, in its going to Chri&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> an <HI>Inlightening,</HI> an <HI>En|livening,</HI> and an <HI>Embracing work,</HI> in the ble&s;&s;ed bu&s;ine&s;s of clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t. I will a little open them all three.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Faith hath an Inlightening work.</HI> An inlight|ning work, is that which carries a man thorow ma|ny difficulties and di&s;couragements. In <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 34. you have a fine expre&s;&s;ion, where <HI>David</HI> is &s;peaking of his and others &s;eeking God, and of their incouragement in that work, &s;aith hee, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 5. <HI>They looked unto him, and were lightened;</HI> and their faces were not a|&s;hamed; by Faith the &s;oul &s;ees the nece&s;&s;ity of Chri&s;t, the inclinablene&s;s of the heart of Chri&s;t, &amp;c. and this carries the &s;oul thorow all difficulties. Saith Faith, look yonder, there, and there alone, is the rock of &s;afety; And if you bee not there, you mu&s;t &s;ink; this makes the &s;oul &s;wim amain. And look, &s;aith Faith, there is a &s;afe Landing. Chri&s;t (&s;aith Faith) &s;tands with out-&s;tretched arms of power and love to imbrace thee; and Faith realizeth &s;uch a fight, e|videnceth it to the &s;oul, and &s;o inabling the &s;oul to &s;ee it, helps the &s;oul to go to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, Faith hath not onely an inlightening work, but an <HI>inlivening work.</HI> My Beloved, other graces <HI>&s;tir</HI> us up, and put us on to go to Chri&s;t, but Faith doth onely <HI>enliven us.</HI> Love and humility doth marvelou&s;ly &s;tir up the &s;oul to go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and
<PB N="128" REF="74">&s;o do other Graces; I but the&s;e do <HI>not feed the &s;oul, nor &s;trengthen;</HI> there is a great deal of difference be|tween the <HI>Whip</HI> and the <HI>Meat</HI> you give the hor&s;e. A whip, a blow, that &s;tirs it, but doth not &s;trengthen it. <HI>A conviction of need, a fear of hell &s;tirs us to go to Chri&s;t, but it doth not inable us, or inliven us.</HI> My Beloved, Faith is the &s;trengthening Grace. <HI>The Ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith,</HI> Heb. 10. (there &s;aith hee) <HI>you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, yee might receive the Promi&s;e, &amp;c.</HI> Now, <HI>The Ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith,</HI> 36, 37, &amp; 38. <HI>ver&s;es; Do not ca&s;t away your confidence,</HI> what then? <HI>You have need of patience, &amp;c.</HI> doth hee &s;tay there? No, but adds, <HI>The Ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith.</HI> True, <HI>you will need patience, if you go to Chri&s;t; but you will live alone by Faith.</HI> Wee need patience to tarry the Lords lei|&s;ure; to bear the Lords frowns, to tarry till hee come; but how &s;hall wee live in the mean time? Oh, <HI>The Ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith.</HI> Faith being an enlightening Grace, therefore it is an enlivening Grace; Faith it findes honey (as <HI>Jonathan</HI>) and Faith it findes a Promi&s;e, and dips in the finger, and takes a little, and that enlivens and &s;trengthens the &s;oul. Nay, Faith, <HI>though it bee full of fears, it is a &s;oul-enliven|ing-Grace.</HI> Take that in&s;tance of the Woman with a bloody I&s;&s;ue, in <HI>Luke</HI> 8.44. compared with <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 46. It is clear, &s;hee had a Faith, and &s;hee had <HI>fears,</HI> and &s;hee had virtue. For this Faith full of fears did gather virtue from Je&s;us Chri&s;t: So thy Faith that is full of fears may gather virtue from Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and therefore is it that it carries us thorow all diffi|culties in our going to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Faith it hath an imbracing work. <HI>The&s;e all died in Faith, not having received the Promi&s;es;</HI>
<PB N="129" REF="74">What then, how could they live? but <HI>having &s;een them afar off, embraced them, Heb.</HI> 11.13. My Be|loved, Faith it hath an imbracing work of the Pro|mi&s;e, and becau&s;e Faith can imbrace the Promi&s;e, therefore can it carry the &s;oul thorow all the diffi|culties that it meets with in the way to Chri&s;t. What is the Anchor at the end of a Cable (one Ship will carry a thou&s;and Anchors) but one Anchor will hold the Ship, becau&s;e it hath a fa&s;tening power. Faith is but a <HI>little Anchor</HI> of it &s;elf, I but it hath a fa&s;tening power, and &s;o Faith &s;taies the &s;oul. In <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 26.3. <HI>Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, who&s;e minde is &s;tayed on thee, becau&s;e hee tru&s;teth in thee;</HI> becau&s;e you tru&s;t in God, therefore are your minds &s;tayed. Oh Sirs, what &s;hall I &s;ay more, <HI>Faith, it is a catching hold of that Chri&s;t that puts thee off?</HI> And becau&s;e Faith imbraces, and holds him that is &s;ure and &s;trong, it doth therefore <HI>ip&s;o facto</HI> (as wee &s;ay) in that very thing carry the &s;oul to Chri&s;t thorow all dif|ficulties. Well, I pray minde and meditate a little upon the&s;e things, for they are of the life and My|&s;tery of real Chri&s;tianity. But I will now &s;peak to &s;ome U&s;es of this Point; Therefore to make &s;ome Application, there are onely three U&s;es.</P>
<P>U&s;e I Let mee &s;ay, <HI>This Doctrine is profitable for reproof.</HI> Is Faith &s;uch a Grace? is it Faith that car|ries the &s;oul thorow all? Oh then, bee reproved all who profe&s;s to beleeve, and yet are ignorant of what Faith is. Why poor &s;oul, what &s;hall carry thee tho|row all, but Faith? and art thou ignorant of that? Is there but one boat to carry us over the Sea? and are wee ignorant of that? Ask, what is your Faith? why, &s;aith one, I &s;ay my <HI>I beleeve,</HI> I &s;ay my prayers, &amp;c. Ask another what is your Faith? hee replies, I
<PB N="132" REF="75">leave my &s;ins, &s;aith hee, &amp;c. this is thy Repentance, but not thy Faith. There are three great parts of peoples ignorance about Faith.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Many are ignorant about the <HI>ground of Faith.</HI> What is the ground of Faith? why, <HI>the ground of my Faith is this (&s;aith one)</HI> I am &s;o and &s;o mended of what I was formerly, and God hath a little frighten|ed mee, and troubled mee for my &s;ins, and there|fore I beleeve. As if trouble for &s;in, and moral a|mendment, were a ground to build Faith upon; whereas the great, and the precious Promi&s;es are the onely and alone ground of Faith.</P>
<P>Secondly, Others are ignorant about the <HI>Object of Faith.</HI> The Object of my Faith is the Promi&s;e, &s;aith one, &amp;c. Now the Promi&s;e is not the object of Faith; it is true, the object of Faith is in the Promi&s;e, but the <HI>Promi&s;e it &s;elf is not the object of Faith; It is Chri&s;t in the Promi&s;e</HI> that is the object of Faith; the Promi|&s;es are your <HI>spectacles</HI> thorow which you &s;ee Chri&s;t, it is hee alone that is the object of your Faith, which you are to eye, to look, and to live upon.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Others are very ignorant about the <HI>work|ing of Faith, &amp;c.</HI> Many know not how Faith works, therefore minde it; The work of Faith is onely to bee our <HI>hands,</HI> and our <HI>feet,</HI> to go to Chri&s;t, and to take Chri&s;t. It is ob&s;ervable, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 11. That Faith was the life of tho&s;e worthies there mentioned; &s;ome did this, &s;ome did that; &s;ome went this way, &s;ome went that way, but &s;till it was all through Faith, and they obtained a good report, but all by Faith; for it was Faith that carried them thorow all. But a|la&s;s, how ignorant are &s;ome about the working of Faith? Ask, what do you when you beleeve, one &s;aith, I &s;ay my prayers, another, I read the
<PB N="131" REF="75">Bible, &amp;c. Ah &s;ouls, you are much to bee reproved, that know not yet what that is, which onely carries <HI>the &s;oul to Chri&s;t.</HI> Let that bee for reproof.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. It &s;erves <HI>very much for Con&s;olation</HI> to all tho&s;e who have true Faith. Bear up thy heart (O Beleever!) with that which is in the heart. The &s;oul is ready to &s;ay &s;ometimes in the way to Chri&s;t, what have I to carry my heart up? ha&s;t thou Faith in our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t? beleeve&s;t thou the Scriptures? beleeve&s;t thou in God? upon the Son of God? &amp;c. then bee of good comfort, thou ha&s;t that which will carry thee thorow. You know the &s;tory of Father <HI>Jacob,</HI> hee mu&s;t go over <HI>Jordan,</HI> but hee hath no company nor help, nothing but his &s;ingle &s;taff in his hand, and hee walked all his pilgrimage, forward, and backward, with that &s;taff. O! the <HI>&s;taff of Faith,</HI> thou who ha&s;t it, thou maye&s;t walk thorow a wilder|ne&s;s, into the good Land with it. Faith, it is your <HI>Jacobs</HI> &s;taff, your <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Rod, &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But saith the &s;oul, <HI>I fear I have but a little Faith,</HI> yea, I fear I have none at all, &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. Thou &s;aye&s;t thou ha&s;t but a little Faith; mark, what &s;aith our Lord? <HI>If you have Faith but as a grane of Mu&s;tard &s;eed, you &s;hall &s;ay unto this Moun|tain, remove hence, &amp;c.</HI> Matth. 17.20. Though thou ha&s;t but a little Faith, it &s;hall not fail, it &s;hall car|ry you thorow. It is <HI>true Faith</HI> doth all this, not thy great Faith.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> I but &s;aith the &s;oul, I do not &s;ee that I have any Faith at all.</P>
<P><HI>Repl. Why Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee can &s;ee it, when thou can&s;t not.</HI> The Woman that had the bloody I&s;&s;ue had great Faith, though po&s;&s;ible &s;hee &s;aw it not. Ha&s;t thou that which that Woman had? ha&s;t thou &s;aid
<PB N="132" REF="76">of all the world, they bee Phy&s;icians of no value, and do&s;t thou, though in much fear, come, bee it but <HI>behinde</HI> Chri&s;t, per&s;waded as &s;hee was that <HI>Chri&s;t can,</HI> though thou que&s;tion whether hee <HI>will,</HI> heal thee? why comfort thy &s;oul notwith&s;tanding thy fear, Chri&s;t will ob&s;erve, and own thy Faith, as hee did hers.</P>
<P>U&s;e 3. If it bee thus, That it is Faith alone that carries the &s;oul thus to Chri&s;t thorow all Di&s;cou|ragements, this will then bee <HI>profitable for In&s;tru|ction.</HI> My Beloved in the Lord, look within you, &s;trengthen Faith. Oh my Beloved, as the <HI>love of ma|ny waxes cold,</HI> &s;o the <HI>Faith of many waxes weak;</HI> but remember, <HI>a Chri&s;t above you, and a Faith within you, is all that which you ought to minde.</HI> Chri&s;t a|bove you will carry you thorow all things to glory; and Faith in you will carry you thorow all to Chri&s;t. But I pray look to this, look to <HI>True Faith.</HI> A poor fearful beleever that hath a trembling &s;oul at a dy|ing hour, what &s;hall relieve it then but Chri&s;t? and what &s;hall carry, and keep the &s;oul to and with Chri&s;t, but Faith? when your &s;ouls mu&s;t immediare|ly go to God for Judgement, nothing but Faith will, or can carry you with comfort, or with confidence: again&s;t a dying hour prepare a living Chri&s;t, and in order to a clozing with Chri&s;t, &s;trengthen, Oh &s;trengthen your Faith.</P>
<P>I &s;hall give you two Directions. If you would have Faith carry you thorow all, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Leave Faith to it &s;elf,</HI> Let Faith alone. Faith alone mu&s;t do it, and Faith alone can do it. I will tell you how God clears up the thing to mee. You have &s;een a brave work-man, that was to remove &s;uch a peece of Timber, and hee by his own skill
<PB N="133" REF="76">could remove it, but there bee &s;ome that &s;tand by, and will bee helping; when as wee know that they do but hinder him; and &s;aith the Arti&s;t, let mee alone, and I can do it my &s;elf; and wee u&s;e to &s;ay, let the man alone, you do but hinder him, hee will do it him&s;elf: So here, let Faith alone in its work, you think to help it, but you oft hinder it. You have &s;een, or heard it may bee, of a man, that being to go over a River, and having two friends with him, one &s;aith, it is deep and dangerous, I will go and &s;ee if there bee any &s;hallow place; The other faith, it is good to make a bridge, or boat to go over; Oh but &s;aith the man, I can &s;wim, and I mu&s;t go, and I will venture, let mee alone, I will &s;wim, and never look for bridge or boat. Truly &s;o it is here, Faith would go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but Rea&s;on and Sen&s;e will not let Faith alone. Rea&s;on comes and &s;aith, Bee wi&s;e, beware what you do; If you will needs go to Chri&s;t (&s;aith Rea&s;on) I will go make a bridge, or invent a boat; then cometh Sen&s;e, and &s;aith, I will go look a &s;hallow place where you may go over, &amp;c. where|as Faith will &s;wim thorow. And &s;aith the beleeving &s;oul, I mu&s;t venture and &s;wim, I cannot bee drown|ed in a way of &s;wiming. Oh Sirs, let Faith alone, and it will &s;wim to Chri&s;t; Sen&s;e and Rea&s;on do but hinder, not help Faith; Single &s;imple Faith doth its work alone; Therefore I &s;ay, Let Faith alone, do not trouble it with &s;ugge&s;tions of Sen&s;e or Rea|&s;on. But then,</P>
<P>A &s;econd Direction is, <HI>Let Faith have its perfect work.</HI> Therefore (as the Apo&s;tle faith about <HI>Pa|tience,</HI> &s;o) let Faith have its perfect work. Faith goes at fir&s;t to half a Promi&s;e, but let it alone, it knows where to fetch a whole Promi&s;e. Let Faith
<PB N="134" REF="77">alone, it will go to a Promi&s;e; for what? for re|fuge, for help, for all. Faith will go to, and look upon <HI>Abraham</HI> (as <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 51.2.) and finde incou|ragement from him: Nay, it can run back to <HI>A|dam,</HI> and help it &s;elf with the thoughts of his expe|rience; let Faith have its cour&s;e, and it will carry you to every Promi&s;e and Example to incourage you. If it have its perfect work, it will gather &s;trength from all the Word of God, to help you in your work of clo&s;ing with Chri&s;t. I be&s;eech you in the&s;e Directions &s;trengthen and labour to incourage Faith. O &s;oul, minde it, &s;torms and trials may come, and then you will need afre&s;h to run to Chri&s;t: Look to your leggs, your Faith, it is that mu&s;t carry you. If death come, death and doubting will come toge|ther; now remember what mu&s;t carry you thorow, nothing but Faith. Tru&s;t to no parts, duties, &amp;c. one|ly tru&s;t to the Lord in the way of Faith. I &s;hall con|clude with two things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Woe to thee poor &s;oul (whoever thou art) that wante&s;t Faith.</HI> I do not &s;ay, woe to thee that art a poor man, nor woe to thee if thou bee&s;t mean in the world, nor &s;ay I, thou art a &s;ick or weak man, and therefore woe, No, No, But art thou an unbe|leever, a &s;oul without Faith? then woe indeed to thee. Ah, woe bee to that man that wants Faith; for without Faith it is not po&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God, or to go to Chri&s;t; and how &s;ad is the &s;tate of that &s;oul that can do neither? Woe to all unbeleevers.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are you that have Faith;</HI> I &s;ay not that have &s;o <HI>great a Faith,</HI> but <HI>Faith, true Faith.</HI> I &s;ay, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are you that beleeve,</HI> you that do be|leeve, though but a <HI>little,</HI> yet your <HI>little Faith</HI> will do this <HI>great work,</HI> it will keep you from drowning,
<PB N="135" REF="77">it will carry you to Chri&s;t. That little Faith <HI>Peter</HI> had (for all his fears) kept him up from &s;inking. I remember what our Lord &s;aid to <HI>Nathaniel;</HI> who be|leeved, as I may &s;ay a little; <HI>Beleeve&s;t thou? thou &s;halt &s;ee greater things than the&s;e,</HI> John 1.50. Do but go on beleeving, and thou &s;halt &s;ee greater things than yet thou ha&s;t &s;een. Two things your Faith will do.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It will bee your <HI>Leggs to carry you to Chri&s;t, and that thorow all difficulties;</HI> &s;o you &s;ee it did this Woman. And,</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>It will</HI> (if I may &s;ay &s;o) <HI>Compel</HI> (as it were) <HI>Chri&s;t to entertain you after all denials.</HI> Ah &s;ouls, what a glorious entertainment did Chri&s;t give this poor Woman at la&s;t. Well, therefore &s;trengthen Faith, and that will help you to do as this Woman did; and then you &s;hall in the I&s;&s;ue &s;peed, even as &s;hee did. But of that in the next.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="136" REF="78">
<HEAD>Chri&s;t will bee certainly kinde at la&s;t. <HI>The Seventh SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Matthew 15.</HI> ver&s;. <HI>28.</HI></BIBL>
<Q><P>Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Wo|man, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee, even as thou wilt, &amp;c.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_YOu have &s;ometimes &s;een, or at lea&s;t heard, of a poor beggar, who hath long lain, and loudly cried at the gate of &s;ome great per&s;on, and yet never liftened to, never let in; but anon it may bee the Ma&s;ter of the hou&s;e him&s;elf hath opened the door, and &s;pake to the man kindly, and dealt with him very comfortably; how was the face of this beggar lightened, how was his heart refre&s;hed! ju&s;t &s;o, Nay, greater than &s;o was the heart of the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> cheared, when our Lord an&s;wered and &s;pake unto her the words that I have read. Shee had as it were lain long, and cried loud, and begged hard, and no an&s;wer, but now at la&s;t the Lord an&s;wers, and the Lord an&s;wers &s;weetly, <HI>Oh Woman, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee even us thou wilt.</HI> The la&s;t day wee came to this <HI>ver&s;e;</HI> in it I told you wee had the la&s;t particu|lar of the &s;tory of the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> which holds forth the ble&s;&s;ed conclu&s;ion, which our Lord
<PB N="137" REF="78">doth make with this poor Woman. After I had hinted and re&s;olved three que&s;tions, I told you there were three particulars, which in an eminent manner are remarkable in this place.</P>
<P>The Fir&s;t, wee did di&s;patch then, and that was this, <HI>The Grace which did carry on, and carry out this poor Woman in all this addre&s;s,</HI> it was <HI>her Faith.</HI> And thence wee noted this Doctrine.</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That it is onely Faith which can carry the &s;oul thorow all difficulties and di&s;couragements in the way to Chri&s;t.</HI> Onely Faith.</P>
<P>Remember it Sirs, &s;ome of you have a <HI>little know|ledge,</HI> and others of you have a <HI>great deal of Profe&s;|&s;ion;</HI> &s;ome of you <HI>talk much,</HI> and the poore&s;t thinks (it may bee) as well of him&s;elf, as hee that &s;aith mo&s;t; but remember, whatever you <HI>know, talk,</HI> or <HI>think, nothing will carry you to Je&s;us Chri&s;t but Faith;</HI> you may have fine words, and good wi&s;hes, but ala&s;s, wording, and wi&s;hing is not coming to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Why this Woman had other gifts, and other graces; &s;hee had much humility, and &s;hee had much pa|tience, and &s;hee had a fine gift of prayer, &amp;c. yet it is not &s;aid, Woman, much is thy patience, or great is thy love, &s;trong are thy prayers, but oh Woman, great is thy Faith, &amp;c. Wee did open the point at large, and pre&s;&s;ed it upon you in the Application in divers particulars, which I &s;hall not add unto, or repeat. Onely I be&s;eech you, my Beloved, let this abide upon your hearts; <HI>&s;treng then Faith.</HI> When you come to dye, you will then &s;ee a need of Chri&s;t (if you do not now) and if you have not a living Faith, you cannot have a living Chri&s;t, and then is your &s;oul dead before death. Faith is ano|ther kinde of thing than the world is aware of;
<PB N="138" REF="79">wee hardly know the notion now, but wee &s;hall ne|ver bee able to know the preciou&s;ne&s;s of it, as in|deed it is precious, but by the experience of it: <HI>Now the greate&s;t experience of Faith is &s;een in that ble&s;&s;ed bu&s;ine&s;s of going to Chri&s;t.</HI> In that wee have this experience of the u&s;e, power, and price of Faith, that whatever wee have, and pretend unto, nothing but &s;incere, &s;ingle Faith, will carry us unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t. But I proceed.</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing (which indeed is the principal thing) is this. <HI>The kindne&s;s of Chri&s;t now to this Woman.</HI> You &s;ee his commendation of her Faith; well now, mark his conde&s;cen&s;ion to her; how much doth Chri&s;t conde&s;cend to this poor Woman? hee conde&s;cends to talk with her; commends her Faith, and com|plies with her wi&s;hes to heal her Daughter, &amp;c. Oh ble&s;&s;ed conde&s;cen&s;ion! The Ob&s;ervation from the whole will bee this,</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That however the Lord Je&s;us may deal at fir&s;t, with poor &s;ouls that come to him, in the i&s;&s;ue hee will deal very kindly.</HI></P>
<P>Or if you will, wee &s;hall expre&s;s the Ob&s;ervation to prevent mi&s;takes thus,</P>
<P><HI>That all tho&s;e who truly come to Chri&s;t, &s;hall in the i&s;&s;ue finde his carriage to bee very kinde, how&s;oever at fir&s;t it may &s;eem very &s;trange.</HI></P>
<P>You &s;ee the Doctrine lies full in the words; wee have opened in the &s;tory already, how &s;trangely Chri&s;t did carry it at fir&s;t to this poor Woman; but how &s;weetly doth hee carry it at la&s;t? <HI>Sorrow and weeping may bee for a night</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 30.5.) <HI>but joy comes in the morning.</HI> Oh my Beloved,
<PB N="139" REF="79">it may thunder and lighten, and bee tempe&s;tuous in the beginning of the day, and yet it may prove a fair &s;un-&s;hiny day after. <HI>Fir&s;t coming to Chri&s;t may have clouds, and darkne&s;s, but the latter part &s;hall have light and life.</HI> This point is very <HI>comfortable, certain,</HI> and <HI>clear</HI> in this in&s;tance. It is <HI>comfortable in all its branches;</HI> and it is <HI>certain in its bottoming</HI> (this ex|ample being a &s;ure bottom to build the Doctrine up|on.) And you will &s;ee it <HI>clear al&s;o,</HI> if you will but minde the <HI>terms</HI> in which I expre&s;s it. Now there are two terms I keep in the Point, that I would de|&s;ire you to minde.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t relates to the <HI>per&s;ons</HI> that are con&s;idered in this Point. And the</P>
<P>Second relates to the <HI>thing</HI> it &s;elf.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t relates to the <HI>per&s;ons</HI> that are con&s;idered in this point. And they are <HI>all tho&s;e that truly come to the Lord Je&s;us.</HI> My Beloved, there are two &s;orts of per&s;ons who live under the &s;ound of the Go&s;pel, that I cannot think upon but with a &s;ad heart. The <HI>one are tho&s;e who never &s;o much as pretend to go to Je|&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Notwith&s;tanding all Chri&s;ts tenders of him&s;elf, notwith&s;tanding all their own need of him; upon no account, one or other, do they &s;o much as pretend to go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Some are enemies, and oppo&s;ire to very profe&s;&s;ing of coming to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>There is another &s;ort that pretend to go, but go neither rightly nor truly;</HI> They do not truly come to the Lord Je&s;us; you have a type of both the&s;e, and their mi&s;erie, <HI>Matth.</HI> 22. in the parable of the Wedding. There were <HI>&s;ome that would not go</HI> to the Wedding-&s;upper, and there was another hee went, but <HI>hee went without his Wedding-garment;</HI> why now, how did the Lord deal with them? for
<PB N="140" REF="80">the one it is &s;aid, in <HI>ver&s;f.</HI> 7. <HI>Hee &s;ent, and mi&s;erably de&s;troyed them with his armies.</HI> And for the other, <HI>It is &s;aid, hee found him out, and ca&s;t him out into utter darkne&s;s.</HI> Therefore minde it, all you that have heard of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, all you that talk of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, if you do not go at all, or if you do not go aright, this point doth not concern you: I do not &s;ay Chri&s;t will deal well with you; ala&s;s! you deal ill with him, and hee will deal &s;adly with you. It is <HI>onely tho&s;e that truly go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> that this point deals with|all. The Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> came to him truly, and &s;hee came to him rightly al&s;o; &s;hee came to him (as appears here in this &s;tory) <HI>as to the Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> the Son of <HI>David;</HI> and &s;hee <HI>comes with great</HI> humility (&s;hee wor&s;hips him) <HI>with great re&s;olution</HI> (&s;hee would not bee put off) but above all <HI>&s;hee came with a good Faith;</HI> and this Woman &s;o coming, though the Lord dealt &s;trangely with her at fir&s;t, yet hee concludes kindely with her at la&s;t.</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing I put in the point is, <HI>That in the i&s;&s;ue, and at la&s;t,</HI> Chri&s;t will deal kindly with them that rightly come to him. I do not &s;ay, <HI>at fir&s;t</HI> hee will do it; (No, at fir&s;t hee may &s;eem to bee &s;trange) but <HI>at la&s;t, in the i&s;&s;ue,</HI> hee will bee kinde. Chri&s;t will not pre&s;ently, it may bee, grant our re|que&s;t, but in the i&s;&s;ue hee will. I will open it thus.</P>
<P>There is a <HI>Threefold I&s;&s;ue, or end, in which all that come to Chri&s;t &s;hall experience his kindne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>The fir&s;t is, the <HI>I&s;&s;ue of the Act of comming</HI> it &s;elf.</P>
<P>Secondly, The <HI>I&s;&s;ue of our whole life.</HI> And,</P>
<P>The third is, The <HI>I&s;&s;ue and End of all things.</HI></P>
<P>Now in one of the&s;e three I&s;&s;ues, all that come to Chri&s;t &s;hall finde him deal kindely with them.</P>
<PB N="141" REF="80">
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>In the I&s;&s;ue of the Act of coming it &s;elf.</HI> I pray mark this, Coming to Chri&s;t is an action made up of many &s;teps; wee do not at once come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. There is the <HI>Agre&s;s, Ingre&s;s,</HI> and <HI>Pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">re&s;s</HI> in every going.</P>
<P>The Agre&s;s, or Addre&s;s to it.</P>
<P>The Ingre&s;s, The fir&s;t &s;etting upon it.</P>
<P>And then the Progre&s;s, The going on in it.</P>
<P>Po&s;&s;ibly when thou do&s;t fir&s;t &s;et up a re&s;olu|tion of going to Chri&s;t, hee will not come in and give thee an an&s;wer; po&s;&s;ibly when thou ha&s;t &s;et thy foot in the way, and gone a good way, hee will not come and &s;peak kindly to you; but by that time you are come up to Chri&s;t fully, then you &s;hall finde Chri&s;t will deal kindly with you. The &s;oul doth not at fir&s;t fully come up to Chri&s;t; it is a great while ere the &s;oul doth fully come off from fin, ere the &s;oul doth fully come out of Satans power, ere hee doth fully come up to the propo&s;als of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Now, do not wonder if Je&s;us Chri&s;t do not deal kindly with you, till the I&s;&s;ue of the whole Act; <HI>but in the I&s;&s;ue of the Act,</HI> when it is compleated, then you &s;hall finde him deal kindly with you. You are now, it may bee (poor &s;oul) treating with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and as it is in a treaty of peace between differing &s;tates, there are &s;ome pre|liminary treatments, all is not pre&s;ently concluded as &s;oon as it is pre&s;ented. There are demurs, and debates, and there are &s;eeming breakings off, and departures; no compleatings, but as it were for a while complementings: It is &s;eldome &s;een, that at fir&s;t all things are fully concluded upon; But when the Treaty is perfected, then you have the &s;ound of Trumpets, and the noi&s;e of Drums, and all the ex|pre&s;&s;ions
<PB N="142" REF="81">pre&s;&s;ions of joy that may bee. It hath been &s;aid of old, that <HI>comming to Chri&s;t it is a Marriage Act,</HI> and &s;o indeed it is. Now there are not compleat Acts of kin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ne&s;s, till the whole Marriage bee con&s;ummate; Therefore, though Chri&s;t may carry it &s;trangely at fir&s;t, yet in the I&s;&s;ue, when the Marriage is con&s;um|mate, then you &s;hall finde Chri&s;t complying, and &s;hewing him&s;elf kinde.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>There is</HI> (that which wee call) the <HI>I&s;&s;ue of our life.</HI> And my Beloved, at <HI>Death, the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t will &s;mile upon many a &s;oul, who have gone &s;oftly in the bitterne&s;s of their &s;pirits all their daies.</HI> Mark the ju&s;t man, and behold the perfect man; <HI>For the end of that man is peace, P&s;al.</HI> 37.37. Though you have clouds, and darkne&s;s upon you all your daies, and though Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth &s;eem to carry it roughly to you, through the whole cour&s;e of your pilgrimage; yet when you are actually going into the good Land, then you &s;hall &s;ee <HI>Jo&s;huah</HI> going before you. Many that have had fears and terrours all their life time, yet at the end of their life, when they have been going out of the world, they have had joy, and comfort. The &s;tory of Mris. <HI>Drake</HI> is known, &s;hee had many terrours, much &s;adne&s;s, no &s;miles from Chri&s;t all her daies; till at la&s;t, when &s;hee came to dye, a little before her death, Chri&s;t dealt &s;o kindly, that &s;hee went out of the world in an extacy, and ravi&s;hment of &s;pirit, full of peace, and full of joy; triumphing in the Lord; &s;o that in the I&s;&s;ue of our time and life, wee &s;hall finde Chri&s;t kinde, however hee is at fir&s;t to us. But then</P>
<P>Thirdly, Or <HI>el&s;e in the I&s;&s;ue of all things.</HI> When all things &s;hall bee wrapt up, by a final End and I&s;&s;ue put to them, then Chri&s;t will &s;hew him&s;elf
<PB N="143" REF="81">kinde, however &s;trange hee did &s;eem to carry it to poor &s;ouls before. You read of <HI>a day</HI> (in <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.17.) <HI>in which the Lord will make up his Jewels,</HI> and then you &s;hall return, and di&s;cern between the righ|teous and the wicked, &amp;c. And <HI>Matthew</HI> 25. there Chri&s;t &s;peaks very &s;weetly, when the Lord &s;hall &s;ay to tho&s;e on his right hand, <HI>Come yee ble&s;&s;ed of my Fa|ther, inherit the Kingdome prepared for you, &amp;c.</HI> Then hee &s;hall &s;ay to this poor man, and woman, thou did&s;t mourn after mee all thy daies, thou did&s;t wait upon mee all thy life, and though I &s;eemed to carry it &s;trange, thou wert &s;incere; <HI>Come yee ble&s;&s;ed of my Father, inherit the Kingdome prepared for you, &amp;c.</HI> I do ob&s;erve that this carried up the heart of <HI>Job,</HI> in <HI>Job</HI> 19. <HI>I know that my Redeemer liveth, and hee &s;hall &s;tand at the latter day upon the Earth,</HI> and then in my fle&s;h I &s;hall &s;ee him, &amp;c. This Text in <HI>Job</HI> is worth its weight in Gold upon many accounts. That, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t that is now at the right hand of the Father, <HI>Job</HI> many thou&s;and years ago &s;aid, hee &s;hould know upon the Earth, and though hee &s;et him up as a mark to &s;hoot at then, yet hee knew at la&s;t hee would deal kindly with him. Well then, I pray put all together; <HI>Per&s;ons truly comming to Chri&s;t, in the I&s;&s;ue, either of the Act of coming, or of their Lives, or of all things, &s;hall finde this to bee a certain Truth, that Chri&s;t will deal &s;weetly with them, how|ever now hee may &s;eem to carry it &s;trangely.</HI> And (my Beloved) I &s;hall not need to bring any other in|&s;tance to prove it, than this in&s;tance in the Text. Never was any &s;o &s;trangely dealt withall, as the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and yet what a ble&s;&s;ed I&s;&s;ue doth hee make with he<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">? <HI>Oh Woman, great is thy Faith, bee it unto thee even as thou wilt, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<PB N="144" REF="82">
<P>There are onely two things that I aim at in the explication of the point. And,</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is to &s;hew you <HI>wherein the kinde clo&s;e of the Carriage of Chri&s;t in the I&s;&s;ue &s;hall appear to poor &s;ouls,</HI> however at fir&s;t hee may carry it &s;trangely. And</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>The ground of this.</HI> Wee &s;hall begin with the fir&s;t; And I &s;hall out of this in&s;tance of the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> &s;hew you how kindly Chri&s;t will carry it at la&s;t, in the I&s;&s;ue, though hee carry it roughly at fir&s;t. Pray ob&s;erve this &s;peech, <HI>Je&s;us an|&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, &amp;c.</HI> I remember in the book of <HI>Ruth,</HI> when <HI>Boaz</HI> had e&s;pied <HI>Ruth,</HI> and talk|ed of her to his &s;ervants, hee &s;pake to her him&s;elf, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 8. and what &s;aith &s;hee, in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 10. <HI>Shee fell upon her face, and bowed her &s;elf to the ground, and &s;aid unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou &s;houlde&s;t take knowledge of mee, &s;eeing I am a &s;tranger?</HI> It was a marvelous act of kindne&s;s, that <HI>Boaz</HI> &s;hould take knowledge of her to <HI>speak</HI> to her. Ju&s;t &s;o mee thinks it was here; Chri&s;t at fir&s;t talks to his &s;ervants of this Woman, hee did not &s;peak at fir&s;t to her, but to the Di&s;ciples of her. But now, al|though before the Lord did not &s;eem to take know|ledge of this Woman, yet I &s;ay, now the Lord is &s;o kinde, as hee turns to her, and takes notice of her, and hee &s;peaks exceeding kinde to her. <HI>Oh Woman, great is thy Faith, bee it unto thee even as thou wilt, &amp;c.</HI> Let us open it a little.</P>
<P>Here are three Parts.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Oh Woman, great is thy Faith.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>At the &s;ame hour her Daughter was made whole.</HI></P>
<PB N="145" REF="82">
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Hee an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Woman, great is thy Faith.</HI> My Beloved, wee mu&s;t open this by degrees; and it is very much which is here con|tained. For,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, <HI>Hee an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her.</HI> O ble&s;&s;ed kindne&s;s! that Je&s;us Chri&s;t that before an|&s;wered her not a word, hee now opens his lips, and vouch&s;afes to &s;peak to her. <HI>David,</HI> who knew what an act of kindne&s;s this is, &s;ets it forth, both in the <HI>Negative,</HI> and in the <HI>Affirmative.</HI> Negatively, &s;peaking of his enemies, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18.41. <HI>They cried, but there was none to &s;ave them; even unto the Lord, but hee ANSWERED THEM NOT.</HI> And Af|firmatively, &s;peaking of him&s;elf, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 118.5. <HI>I called upon the Lord in di&s;tre&s;s; the Lord an&s;wered mee, and &s;et mee in a large place.</HI> Oh my Beloved, it is an act of kindne&s;s that Chri&s;t will &s;peak. Let not my Lord bee angry, &s;aith the &s;oul, do but &s;peak to mee. Oh it is mercy and kindne&s;s, when the Lord breaks his &s;ilence, and doth but &s;peak to us. Why now Chri&s;t you &s;ee &s;peaks to the Woman. And it is &s;aid, Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid <HI>unto her,</HI> hee an&s;wers his Di&s;ciples before, <HI>about her,</HI> but <HI>did not &s;peak to her;</HI> now hee &s;peaks to her. Remember you not the expre&s;&s;ion, in <HI>Cant.</HI> 8.13? <HI>Thou that dwelle&s;t in the Gardens, the Companions hearken to thy voice: cau&s;e mee to hear it.</HI> Oh, &s;aith the poor &s;oul &s;ometimes, Ble&s;&s;ed Lord, thy Companions hear thy voice; An|gels that wait upon thy Throne, they hear it; and the Saints in the Sanctuary, they hear it; and I am with|out knocking, Lord let mee hear thy voice. Here is the fir&s;t &s;tep, that hee vouch&s;afes to &s;peak to her.</P>
<P>Secondly, Hee &s;aith unto her, <HI>Woman, &amp;c.</HI> how
<PB N="146" REF="83">&s;oft is this language? Now hee doth not &s;peak to her in a <HI>rough manner,</HI> but <HI>Woman.</HI> My Beloved, you know what is &s;aid of <HI>Job; Then the Lord an&s;wered Job out of the whirlwind, who is this that darkens words of wi&s;dome, without knowledge?</HI> Job 38.1, 2. But behold the Lord hee an&s;wers in a <HI>&s;till voice,</HI> hee &s;peaks as <HI>a man to a woman.</HI> By Beloved, had the Lord &s;poken louder, it may bee it would have broke her; the Lord will &s;peak to poor &s;ouls in a &s;till voice. I re|member a prayer of <HI>Job, Job</HI> 13. about <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 20. <HI>Onely do not two things unto mee: then will I not hide my &s;elf from thee, withdraw thine hand far from mee; and let not thy dread make mee afraid, &amp;c.</HI> And it is worth our con&s;idering, becau&s;e it will open what wee are upon; hee doth as it were capitulate with God, and hee makes but one Article, <HI>Let not thy dread make mee afraid;</HI> As if <HI>Job</HI> &s;hould &s;ay, Lord, if thou wilt but take away thy dread, if thou wilt not &s;peak in thy Maje&s;ty, as a great God, then &s;peak Lord. That this is the meaning, appears by <HI>Elihu</HI> his interpretation of it, in <HI>Job</HI> 33. about 6, &amp; 7. <HI>ver&s;es. Behold, I am, according to thy wi&s;h, in Gods &s;tead: I al&s;o am formed out of the clay. Behold, my terrour &s;hall not make th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">e afraid, neither &s;hall my hand bee heavy upon thee. Job</HI> was afraid to hear God &s;peaking (as wee &s;ay) in high language; and there|fore de&s;ired God to forbear it. Why you &s;ee, Chri&s;t doth here forbear high words, hee now &s;peaks to this woman in a low, and loving manner, even as a man to a man, or a woman to a woman; Hee an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, <HI>Woman.</HI> Without doubt this fa|miliar word, and way of &s;peaking to this Woman, did much chear her heart; and &s;hee might hereupon &s;ay (as <HI>Ruth</HI> did to <HI>Boaz,</HI> when hee &s;pake familiarly
<PB N="147" REF="83">to her) &s;aith <HI>Ruth</HI> in the &s;tory, <HI>Ruth</HI> 2.13. <HI>My Lord hath comforted mee, and hath &s;poke friendly un|to mee.</HI> It is much mercy that Chri&s;t will give us an an&s;wer: But it is much more mercy, that hee will give us a <HI>&s;oft an&s;wer.</HI> You know the &s;tory of <HI>Eliah,</HI> God &s;aith, hee would &s;peak to him, but hee came in a <HI>whirlwind</HI> before hee came in a <HI>&s;oft an&s;wer;</HI> but <HI>Eliah</HI> was a &s;trong man, and could bear what wee cannot. If Chri&s;t &s;hould not &s;peak to a poor heart <HI>in a &s;till voice, but in a whirlwind,</HI> ala&s;s, it would over-power the &s;oul; Therefore it is that Chri&s;t &s;peaks as a man to his friend, yea, as a Father to a childe; &s;o you know hee did u&s;e to &s;peak. <HI>Daugh|ter,</HI> bee of good chear; <HI>Son,</HI> bee of good chear. And thus wee finde it in other places, the Lord &s;peaks friendly, <HI>Zach.</HI> 1.13, <HI>And the Lord an&s;wered the Angel that talked with mee, with good words, and comfortable words.</HI> If Je&s;us Chri&s;t do not &s;peak at all, or if hee do &s;peak, yet if it bee not comfortable words, wee count it &s;trange and har&s;h; and &s;o it is, and may bee (as wee have &s;hewed at fir&s;t) But &s;till know now for all this, whatever hee &s;aith at fir&s;t, yet at la&s;t hee will &s;peak comfortable words.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Chri&s;t conde&s;cends yet, and &s;peaks more kindly; for, <HI>hee owns, acknowledgeth, and com|mends this poor Womans Faith.</HI> Mark it, Oh Wo|man <HI>great is thy Faith.</HI> Why here is our third &s;tep. The Lord Je&s;us <HI>eyes and owns her Faith,</HI> and that is a great act of kindne&s;s. <HI>Poor &s;oul! Thou lye&s;t at the feet of Chri&s;t,</HI> thou &s;aye&s;t, I have de&s;ire, but no hope; I have fear, but no faith (thou that art full of fears) yet the Lord will call thee (for all that) <HI>Releever,</HI> hee will &s;py out, and acknowledge thy Faith, and
<PB N="148" REF="84">call thee a <HI>Daughter of Abraham,</HI> as here, <HI>Woman, great is thy Faith.</HI> It is the kindne&s;s of Chri&s;t, hee will e&s;py our gold, under much dro&s;s; our little coal of fire, under many embers; Chri&s;t will do for us, as for the Church of <HI>Philadelphia,</HI> Rev. 3.8. &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Thou ha&s;t a little &s;trength, and ha&s;t kept my word;</HI> Or as hee &s;aid in that &s;ame chapter to <HI>Sardis, A few Names are among you.</HI> O how doth Chri&s;t &s;peak to this Woman now at la&s;t! Mark it, and &s;ee, is not the language altered? Chri&s;t at fir&s;t &s;pake to her as a Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> calls her upon that ac|count (as &s;ome call Turks and Infidels) <HI>Dogg;</HI> but now hee &s;peaks to her as a Daughter of <HI>Abra|ham</HI> (for &s;o are beleevers called, in <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.7.) &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Know yee therefore, that they which are of Faith, the &s;ame are the children of Abraham.</HI> In this &s;peech, Chri&s;t tells her in effect, <HI>Shee is an I&s;|raelite.</HI> Once it was (poor &s;oul) a <HI>&s;tranger,</HI> an <HI>enemy,</HI> a <HI>Canaanite,</HI> a <HI>Hittite,</HI> &s;uch were the words in which Chri&s;t at fir&s;t did as it were &s;peak to thee. Well, but yet &s;tay a little, and thou &s;halt hear Chri&s;t &s;peaking in kinder language, hee will yet call thee <HI>Son, Daughter, Saint, Friend,</HI> in a word, no more a <HI>Canaanite,</HI> but at la&s;t Chri&s;t will &s;peak to thee as an <HI>I&s;raelite;</HI> and &s;ay of thee, as of <HI>Nathaniel, Behold an I&s;raelite, in whom there is no guile.</HI> I Pray minde it, it is an admirable di&s;covery (this) how kinde Chri&s;t will carry it at la&s;t. Whatever &s;in hee charges in a &s;pirit of conviction at fir&s;t, yet alwaies at la&s;t hee will acknowledge our Faith, I &s;ay, our faith, and love, and whatever is good in us. I appeal to you (O experienced &s;ouls!) are not you afraid to own your own faith? <HI>One while your unbeleeving fears, another while the humble working of your hearts, will
<PB N="149" REF="84">not let you &s;ee your own Grace;</HI> I but you have a kinde Chri&s;t that will take notice of it, and own it; though thou bee a <HI>Canaanite</HI> in thy fir&s;t addre&s;s, and in thine own account (and Chri&s;t may &s;eem there|fore to deal har&s;hly with thee) yet &s;till (I &s;ay) in this hee will at length bee kinde, and &s;hew it in eye|ing and acknowledging any good, every Grace that is in thee. But I proceed unto the next thing here in Chri&s;ts &s;peech.</P>
<P>The fourth, which is, <HI>Great is thy Faith.</HI> Hee doth not onely <HI>own,</HI> but <HI>honour her Faith.</HI> Oh my Beloved! what an act of kindne&s;s is this commendation of Chri&s;t? Prai&s;e is a fruit of love, a &s;ign of love; why my beloved. Je&s;us Chri&s;t will deal &s;o kindly, that hee will prai&s;e you at la&s;t. Hee doth now prai&s;e this poor Woman, whom hee &s;eemed to &s;leight before. And though Chri&s;t may at fir&s;t &s;eem to &s;leight and de&s;pi&s;e us, yet at la&s;t hee will not only <HI>own,</HI> but <HI>honour us.</HI> And this is certainly his kindne&s;s. How kindly did hee deal with the poor Woman, in <HI>Luk.</HI> 7? hee was entertained by a Phari&s;ee, and had large entertain|ment, yet how doth hee turn him&s;elf to the Woman, and how kindly did hee deal with her? <HI>Hee com|mends not the Ma&s;ters Fea&s;t, but the Womans Faith.</HI> Nay, hee &s;eems to reproach the Phari&s;ee that invited him, and to exalt, and honour the poor &s;inner that came unto him. <HI>Her Love and Faith are very much prai&s;ed by Chri&s;t there,</HI> (ver&s;. 46, 47, 50.) Oh Sirs, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t that you go unto, truly, however at fir&s;t hee may &s;eem not to own you, much le&s;s to honour you; at la&s;t hee will both own, and honour you. Look as Je&s;us Chri&s;t will deal &s;everely with painted Sepulchres, Hypocrites, &s;o hee will deal &s;weetly with &s;incere Beleevers. That is one part of
<PB N="150" REF="85">this kinde &s;peech, wherein our Lord deals very kind|ly, though at fir&s;t hee &s;pake to her har&s;hly.</P>
<P>The &s;econd part is, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> Wee may &s;ay of the&s;e words, as one of the Antients &s;aid of &s;ome others; <HI>They are wonders, and not words.</HI> Oh how doth the Lord conde&s;cend in kind|ne&s;s now to this poor Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> when hee &s;aith, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> Once hee &s;aid, <HI>I am not &s;ent but to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael.</HI> Once hee &s;aid, <HI>It is not meet to take the chil|drens bread, and give it to Doggs,</HI> But how well is the world mended with this poor creature? Now the Lord doth not hint, that hee was not &s;ent to her; but hee calls her beleever. Now hee doth not tell her, &s;hee &s;hould not have childrens bread; but now hee bids <HI>her take what &s;hee would.</HI> Once it may bee (poor &s;oul) Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;aid this to thy con&s;cience, Thou art a <HI>Rebel,</HI> (de&s;erving no mercy) at another time it may bee hee &s;aid this; Thou art a <HI>filthy per|&s;on</HI> (and not yet prepared for mercy) I but at la&s;t Chri&s;t will no more mention <HI>guilt</HI> or <HI>filth,</HI> but hee will &s;ay to thee, <HI>Rebel,</HI> There is a <HI>pardon;</HI> And to thee, <HI>polluted</HI> &s;innet, There is <HI>purging</HI> and clean&s;ing; yea, hee will &s;ay to thee, poor &s;oul, There is <HI>Mercy, All Mercy, Any Mercy;</HI> what <HI>thou wante&s;t, what thou wilt,</HI> there it is, &amp;c. As it is in this expre&s;&s;ion here to this Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> I will open this too, in two or three &s;teps. <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>How fully doth the Lord spenk to this Wo|man?</HI> P&s;al. 81.10. <HI>Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.</HI> Woman, take to the full as much as thou wilt; As if our Lord Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;ay, Woman, Thou <HI>art a poor Woman</HI> of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and art in want;
<PB N="151" REF="85">and I have a <HI>rich Trea&s;ure;</HI> it is un&s;earchable; go to the <HI>Mine,</HI> take what thou wilt. Woman, I &s;ee thou art a <HI>poor hungry</HI> &s;oul, and I am <HI>Manna,</HI> and bread from Heaven, come to mee, and take as much as thou wilt. Woman, thou ha&s;t made but <HI>one Peti|tion,</HI> but I &s;ee more in thy heart, <HI>take what thou wilt.</HI> My Beloved, the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee gives like him&s;elf, very largely to poor creatures; Hee &s;ati&s;|fies their &s;ouls even to the full. <HI>David</HI> at la&s;t could &s;ing &s;uch a &s;ong as this is, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 103.3. <HI>Ble&s;s the Lord, Oh my &s;oul, who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all thy di&s;ea&s;es, &amp;c.</HI> You that lye hun|gring at the gate of Chri&s;t, and cry, <HI>bread</HI> Lord, a <HI>Mor&s;el</HI> Lord, yea, a <HI>C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">umb</HI> Lord; Chri&s;t will &s;ay, There is a <HI>whole Loaf,</HI> bee it to thee as thou wilt. It was the &s;peech of a dying Saint, that lived long full of &s;orrow; <HI>I am now as full of joy as my heart can hold.</HI> See <HI>Zach.</HI> 9.12. <HI>Turn yee to the &s;trong hold, yee pri|&s;oners of hope; even to day do I declare that I will ren|der double unto thee.</HI> Good now minde it (poor &s;oul) it may bee Je&s;us Chri&s;t may &s;hut thee up in pri&s;on, yet there thou wilt bee a <HI>pri&s;oner of hope;</HI> I but what &s;hall you have at la&s;t? Hee <HI>will render double unto thee.</HI> All the Lords children at la&s;t, they &s;hall have double: So it was with <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> hee had hard u&s;age at fir&s;t, ca&s;t into pri&s;on, &amp;c. but at la&s;t hee is out, <HI>and Governour of all the Land.</HI> At la&s;t Chri&s;t will deal with you all, as hee dealt with <HI>Jo|&s;eph.</HI> The Lord Je&s;us will deal with a <HI>bountiful hand, full, heaped up, running over.</HI> That is the fir&s;t thing. But then,</P>
<P>Secondly, Bee it unto thee <HI>EVEN AS</HI> thou wilt; It relates to the <HI>Manner</HI> eminently, as well as to the Matter. <HI>As</HI> thou wilt; that is, <HI>in &s;uch a man|ner</HI>
<PB N="152" REF="86">as thou wilt. When <HI>David</HI> came up to <HI>Araunah,</HI> to have the thre&s;hing-floor, and cattel for a &s;acri|fice, hee would have them &s;o, and &s;o; And <HI>Araunah</HI> &s;aid to him, <HI>Do what &s;eemeth good unto thee,</HI> 2 Sam. 24.22. And there is very much in that; The Lords <HI>people have their hearts many times &s;et upon the man|ner of their mercy.</HI> Deal bountifully with thy &s;er|vant, <HI>as thou u&s;e&s;t to do unto tho&s;e that love thy Name,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David</HI>) in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.132. The poor &s;oul that lies at the feet of Chri&s;t, would have mercy, and have <HI>&s;uch mercy</HI> as his Lambs have, that lye in his bo&s;ome. <HI>Thomas,</HI> hee would have a <HI>&s;ign</HI> from the Lord, and hee would have <HI>&s;uch a &s;ign,</HI> John. 20.25. and in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 27. Chri&s;t conde&s;cends to him; but a little to open this. One while the &s;oul will have Love, I, and it mu&s;t bee <HI>immediate Love. Let him ki&s;s mee with the ki&s;&s;es of his mouth,</HI> Cant. 1.2. It was a very elegant, and holy allu&s;ion of <HI>Bernard,</HI> (and therefore I &s;hall mention it) There is the <HI>ki&s;s of the foot</HI> of Chri&s;t, and of the <HI>hand,</HI> and of the <HI>mouth</HI> of Chri&s;t, <HI>i. e.</HI> There are &s;everal &s;orts of kinde expre&s;&s;ions; now the Spou&s;e &s;pecifieth what kinde of Love-expre&s;&s;ion &s;hee would have (as &s;ometimes the &s;oul doth, and may do) &s;hee would have, not the <HI>ki&s;s</HI> of the <HI>feet,</HI> but of the <HI>mouth,</HI> and Chri&s;t gave it her, as &s;hee intimates, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 4. Minde it then, One while thy &s;oul will have <HI>immediate Love</HI>-To|kens, and the Lord will give you as you will. Ano|ther while the &s;oul cries out, as <HI>David</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 35.3. <HI>Say thou unto my &s;oul, thou art my &s;alvation, &amp;c.</HI> The childe will have bread, and it will have it upon the Mothers lap. Another while the &s;oul is ready to &s;ay, <HI>Shew mee a token for good, that tho&s;e that hate mee may &s;ee it, and bee a&s;hamed,</HI> P&s;al. 86.17, 18.
<PB N="153" REF="86">Oh my Beloved, what infinite love is it in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that hee &s;hould conde&s;cend &s;o low, as to give us not onely <HI>what</HI> wee will, but <HI>as</HI> wee will! That expre&s;&s;ion is very full, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 145.19. <HI>Hee will fulfil the de&s;ire of them that fear him.</HI> The &s;oul hath what hee will, and ju&s;t as hee will have it, his <HI>whole de&s;ire.</HI> And &s;o Je&s;us Chri&s;t will do; and therefore bear up your hearts, you that come to Chri&s;t, hee may deal har&s;hly with you at fir&s;t, but hee will let it bee as <HI>you will</HI> at la&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly and la&s;tly, <HI>Bee it unto thee.</HI> Chri&s;t is ve|ry po&s;itive, very peremptory, hee &s;peaks as one re|&s;olved to do. The Lord Je&s;us doth not &s;ay, <HI>I will think of it,</HI> or <HI>I will take it into con&s;ideration,</HI> and it may bee it &s;hall bee &s;o; but hee is po&s;itive, <HI>Bee it un|to thee even as thou wilt.</HI></P>
<P>Two things there are that I eye in this expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>Bee it unto thee.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It is a <HI>Commanding</HI> word.</P>
<P>Secondly, It is a <HI>Creating</HI> word.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It is a Commanding word. <HI>Bee it unto thee.</HI></P>
<P>The Lord doth as it were command, and &s;ay, Woman, I have commanded that it &s;hall bee &s;o. In <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 42.8. Saith the P&s;almi&s;t there, <HI>The Lord will command his loving-kindne&s;s in the day time, and in the night his &s;ong &s;hall bee with mee.</HI> The poor &s;oul, while it is in the world, it mu&s;t deal with means, as well as with grace; and the &s;oul is ready to &s;ay, will the means give out? Ju&s;t as the poor petitioner that deals with a Lord, but hee deals likewi&s;e with &s;ome of the Officers, though the Lord grant his reque&s;t, yet hee doubts whether hee &s;hall get it our of the Officers hand; why, &s;aith hee, <HI>I have commanded it.</HI></P>
<PB N="154" REF="87">
<P>Remember, and rejoyce in this hint, O poor heart! who hope&s;t Chri&s;t is free, but doubte&s;t what means may do. Po&s;&s;ibly thou ha&s;t &s;aid this, I have good hope the Lord will &s;peak kindly to mee, but will the Ordinances give it out too? why, &s;aith God, <HI>I have commanded it,</HI> it &s;hall bee &s;o; Bee it unto thee.</P>
<P>My Beloved, Je&s;us Chri&s;t at la&s;t will &s;ay, <HI>I com|mand every Ordinance, every Creature, every word thou reade&s;t, that it bee to thee as thou wilt.</HI> Time was at fir&s;t, that Chri&s;t carried it &s;o, as nothing did &s;ub|&s;erve you, or yeeld unto you any re&s;pect; but when the Lord is reconciled, at la&s;t hee will command all to bee yours. Time was, when no <HI>Man, Means, Creature, Ordinance,</HI> had any commi&s;&s;ion to &s;mile on you, or &s;peak well to you, and then it was &s;ad; But at length Chri&s;t will give a word, &s;end a Com|mi&s;&s;ion to all, and command them, &s;aying, Bee it &s;o and &s;o to &s;uch a poor &s;oul, as it will, as it wi&s;heth.</P>
<P>Secondly, As there is a <HI>Commanding,</HI> &s;o there is a <HI>Creating Power in the Word;</HI> and that is much. Be|leever! Beleever! though the Lord carry it at fir&s;t like a man a&s;toni&s;hed, hee <HI>will create</HI> mercy at la&s;t. As in the Creation of the world, God &s;aid, <HI>Let there bee light, and there was light. &amp;c.</HI> So in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57.7. &s;aith God, <HI>I create the fruit of the lips, peace.</HI> The Lord that <HI>creates light</HI> out of darkne&s;s, peace out of trouble, &s;weet out of bitter; Hee will <HI>create</HI> for thee; bee it light unto &s;uch a &s;oul; &s;uch a &s;oul wants light, and there is light created for him; &s;trength, bee thou created for him, &amp;c. I remember the A|po&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> doth exhort Beleevers, as their la&s;t re|fuge, to eye the creating power of Chri&s;t, and act
<PB N="155" REF="87">Faith upon him, not onely as a Redeemer, but as a <HI>Creatour.</HI> In 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.19. Saith hee, <HI>Commit the keeping of your &s;ouls to him, in well doing, as unto a faithful Creatour.</HI> Soul, if <HI>Creating Mercy</HI> can help you, bee confident Chri&s;t will put it forth at length; there &s;hall bee another <HI>fiat,</HI> another <HI>let there bee,</HI> this or that, for &s;uch a &s;oul, and that with creating influence in it. And oh! how kindly doth Chri&s;t carry it now at la&s;t, that hee commands all, and will create (rather than fail) comfort for this poor Woman, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> Thus have wee in Chri&s;ts &s;peech to this Woman &s;een (as in a glimp&s;e) what his la&s;t dealings will bee with tho&s;e that come to him; And is not this enough to con|firm your hearts, that at la&s;t Chri&s;t will bee kinde, however hee is at fir&s;t? But I proceed to the o|ther thing here in Chri&s;ts Carriage to this Wo|man.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Her Daughter is made whole the &s;ame hour.</HI> Poor Creatures, you are full of unbeleef, and I mu&s;t &s;ay to you, as <HI>John</HI> &s;aid, <HI>The&s;e things are written th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">t you might beleeve.</HI> Chri&s;t will deal &s;o well with poor &s;ouls, that at la&s;t hee will give them their de&s;ires to the full. And that which may bee their reque&s;t, in an eminent manner, more parti|cularly, will the Lord Chri&s;t give them that. I pray mark it a little thus. The &s;oul wants many mer|cies, wi&s;hes all, but it <HI>hath &s;ome particular pinch for the pre&s;ent, &amp;c. Now that &s;hall bee given in to the &s;oul.</HI> You have a fine expre&s;&s;ion to import the con|de&s;cention of God to particular mercies, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 21.2, 4. <HI>Thou ha&s;t given him his hearts de&s;ire; and ha&s;t not with-holden the reque&s;t of his lips. Hee asked life of thee, and thou gave&s;t it him, even length of daies
<PB N="156" REF="88">for ever and ever.</HI> Why my Beloved, you that wait upon the Lord, and truly come to him, know and remem|ber, however hee carries it, as if at fir&s;t hee will grant nothing, yet at la&s;t hee will grant every thing; and in particular, that Mercy, that particular &s;pecial Mercy, which thy heart is drawn forth to mention before the Lord. Oh, &s;aith the &s;oul, I would have all &s;in dead, but let <HI>this &s;in dye.</HI> Now the &s;oul &s;hall have his this thing; <HI>In this thing the good Lord bee merciful to mee;</HI> why the Lord will in <HI>that thing</HI> bee kinde. Let the &s;oul &s;ingle out its particular reque&s;t! Oh in <HI>this matter,</HI> in <HI>that</HI> childe, in <HI>this</HI> cau&s;e, &amp;c. And hee &s;hall finde Chri&s;t at la&s;t will come down to <HI>that very thing.</HI> But I &s;hall &s;peak to this in the la&s;t Sermon by it &s;elf, therefore I will not urge it here. Onely now put all together, and tell mee if the point bee not certain, <HI>That Chri&s;t at la&s;t will deal very kindly with &s;ouls that truly come to him: how|ever at fir&s;t hee may &s;eem to deal har&s;hly.</HI> What could the poor &s;oul wi&s;h more than &s;hee had? hee &s;pake kindly; now hee doth what &s;hee will, and as much as &s;hee will; now her Daughter &s;hall bee whole in a moment, &amp;c. This is all I &s;hall &s;ay for the demon|&s;tration of the point. There are &s;ome Objections to bee an&s;wered, I &s;hall at this time mention one.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> I but will the &s;oul &s;ay, <HI>This is a particular example; and particular examples they are not founda|tions for general conclu&s;ions.</HI> Here is a Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and the Lord deals well with her, what is this to mee? For,</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Beloved in the Lord, know this, <HI>That every example of Go&s;pel-grace, is not &s;o particular, but that it is a general pattern.</HI> All this was written that wee
<PB N="157" REF="88">might beleeve. And you know what the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, in that &s;ame, <HI>Rom.</HI> 15. and the beginning; <HI>The&s;e things are written for our learning, &amp;c.</HI> Do not &s;ay, This was a Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and I am a poor o|ther kinde of creature; Know, this was written for thee. In 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.16. &s;aith <HI>Paul</HI> there, <HI>That in mee fir&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t might &s;hew forth all long-&s;uffer|ing, for a pattern to them&punc; which &s;hould hereafter beleeve on him to life everla&s;ting.</HI> If the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> were alive, &s;hee would &s;ay, <HI>I was a pattern</HI> for thee; &s;hee would &s;ay, Chri&s;t dealt thus with mee fir&s;t, to &s;hew how hee would deal with other poor creatures afterwards. Let this bee an an&s;wer. But then the</P>
<P>Second An&s;wer is this, <HI>The account upon which &s;hee had this grace, it was not particular, but common.</HI> A particular thing, with a particular account, is too &s;treight to bee made a general Rule, but <HI>a particular example, upon a general account,</HI> may bee made a general Rule; remember that. Now this mercy was given to her, not upon any per&s;onal, particular account, but upon a general account; what is that account? <HI>Woman, great is thy Faith.</HI> Shee hath this mercy, not as a <HI>Woman,</HI> nor as a <HI>Woman</HI> of <HI>Canaan,</HI> nor as <HI>&s;o and &s;o &s;peaking,</HI> but as a <HI>Beleever.</HI> Now up|on this Rea&s;on, Becau&s;e the Lord dealth thus with her upon the account of <HI>Faith;</HI> where-ever there is true Faith, the Lord will deal thus. It is the parti|cular argument of <HI>Rom.</HI> 4. The Apo&s;tle proves, that <HI>Abrahams Ju&s;tification was a general type to o|thers.</HI> How doth hee prove it? becau&s;e it came to him by <HI>Faith.</HI> The &s;trength of the Argument lies thus, <HI>Abraham</HI> was not ju&s;tified as &s;uch a man, up|on any per&s;onal account, but becau&s;e hee was a be|leever;
<PB N="158" REF="89">and therefore hee argues, that all beleevers &s;hould bee ju&s;tified as hee was. Therefore do not &s;ay, it was a particular example, it is a pattern, and it is upon a general account.</P>
<P>There are onely two words of Application I &s;hall make at pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I will gather one <HI>terrible Con&s;equence</HI> from all this con&s;olatory di&s;cour&s;e. And,</P>
<P>Secondly, I &s;hall gather one <HI>Rational Caution</HI> from the whole.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I &s;hall gather a <HI>terrible Con&s;equence</HI> from all this. When mercy is preached, and comfort is held out, wee have many &s;natch for it, that have nothing to do with it. And while I would comfort a Son or Daughter of <HI>Abraham,</HI> I would not &s;trengthen the hands of any in &s;in; Well then, &s;inners, hear, and fear; Look about you (as I u&s;e to &s;ay) for certain|ly, As Je&s;us Chri&s;t will deal kindly with tho&s;e that truly come to him, at la&s;t: So hee will deal exceed|ing terribly with tho&s;e, who notwith&s;tanding all his good carriage, carry it ill to him. If Je&s;us Chri&s;t, (Man or Woman) will deal well with that &s;oul, that did tarry long, becau&s;e it tarried out to the end, then hee will deal ill with thee (whoever thou art) who notwith&s;tanding all his good carriage to thee, deale&s;t perver&s;ly with him; though hee wooes you, and be&s;eeches you now, yet at la&s;t hee will deal terribly with you; at la&s;t there &s;hall bee two in one bed, the one &s;hall bee taken, and the o|ther left. Verily, my Beloved, Look as mercy and kindne&s;s will oblige the heart of Chri&s;t to bee kinde to waiters, and commers at la&s;t; &s;o the ju&s;tice and wrath of Chri&s;t, will, as it were, ingage Chri&s;t to bee dreadful to Rebels, and impenitent ones at la&s;t.
<PB N="159" REF="89">Husband! thy Wife came to Chri&s;t, and wait|ed on him long, Chri&s;t will in the i&s;&s;ue bee kinde to her; But thou &s;tande&s;t it out &s;till, art a Rebel to this day, Oh tremble to think what Chri&s;t will do at la&s;t. Hee will judge, and condemn, and de|&s;troy thee upon <HI>whom</HI> hee hath waited long, and <HI>who</HI> yet at la&s;t woulde&s;t not come in.</P>
<P>The <HI>Jews</HI> are a &s;ad example of this terrible Con|&s;equence that I am upon. The poor <HI>Canaanites</HI> that Chri&s;t dealt &s;o &s;everely withall (all the Prophecies of the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> were &s;ealed books to them, &amp;c.) at la&s;t in the fulne&s;s of time Chri&s;t comes, and hee &s;peaks mercy to the <HI>Gentiles;</HI> but how doth hee deal with the <HI>Jews?</HI> the <HI>Jews</HI> that hee had been kinde to, becau&s;e they came not in, hee turns away from them to the <HI>Gentiles.</HI></P>
<P>Now therefore I be&s;eech you look about you, Chri&s;t hath been dealing well with you many a day, beleeve it, the Lord will deal har&s;hly with you that &s;tand it out, and deal ill with him. As hee will bee merciful at la&s;t to the home-commers, &s;o will hee bee cruel (and yet ju&s;t) to you that have, and do &s;tand it out to the la&s;t all your daies. Con|&s;ider this then, you that forget Chri&s;t, le&s;t the <HI>Lamb</HI> prove a Lion to tear you in peeces, that yet continue in your &s;ins and impenitence.</P>
<P>A &s;econd word; I be&s;eech you let mee give you all, one <HI>Rational Caution.</HI> If the Lord will deal &s;o well at la&s;t, then pray now bee &s;o wi&s;e, as <HI>not ab&s;olutely to conclude again&s;t this Truth.</HI> Is there a poor Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> before the Lord, that hath had many a frown, and many a hard put off; many a frighting without, and fear within? <HI>Be|ware how you conclude again&s;t everla&s;ting mercy;</HI>
<PB N="160" REF="90">for Chri&s;t may bee kinde at la&s;t. That which I would pre&s;s, is in allu&s;ion to the 77. <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> about the 7. <HI>ver&s;. Will the Lord ca&s;t off for ever? and will hee bee favourable no more? &amp;c.</HI> I ob&s;erve that good man did never po&s;itively &s;ay &s;o, but onely hee <HI>questions it;</HI> and before hee comes to conclude, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 10. hee &s;aith, <HI>It was his infirmity.</HI> Thou &s;aye&s;t, &s;hall I cry, and never bee heard? &s;hall I beg bread, and not have a crumb? know, that the <HI>Lord that hath a deaf ear at first, will have a hearing ear at la&s;t.</HI> Therefore it is but a rea&s;onable reque&s;t, you that are waiting upon the Lord, it is but a rea|&s;onable thing I beg of you; <HI>Do not &s;ay the Lord will never bee gracious.</HI> I &s;hall inlarge it more hereafter. But my thinks a Que&s;tion is put now, and I will in a word an&s;wer it.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But what &s;hall I do in the mean time?</HI> I think the Lord will bee good at la&s;t, but I &s;hall &s;tarve in the mean time?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Pray look once more into the &s;tory of <HI>Jo|&s;eph, Jo&s;eph</HI> carried it very roughly at fir&s;t, but hee carried it well at la&s;t; but what do they do in the mean time? <HI>Why they &s;hall have bread to carry them unto their home.</HI> The Lord Je&s;us is every way <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> be|fore hee doth reveal him&s;elf, and deal kindly with you, you &s;hall have bread to live upon. Though the Lord &s;eem to carry it &s;trangely now, hee will do as <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> did, <HI>Give you bread to &s;upport you</HI> in your journey. Look into the Scripture, there is bread enough for you. Never did the Lord let any peri&s;h, but hee gave them &s;ufficient to carry them up; and to &s;upport them even in the way, be&s;ide the be&s;t, and abundance, which is kept till la&s;t. Therefore lift up thy hanging down hands, and &s;tay thy &s;oul even at
<PB N="161" REF="90">pre&s;ent; <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t will give in nece&s;&s;ary, &s;ecret &s;up|plies, before hee reveal him&s;elf in the open, ample mani|fe&s;tations of his grace.</HI> You &s;hall (even while in the Journey, and the wilderne&s;s) have a <HI>Viaticum,</HI> tra|velling nece&s;&s;aries; and at the end, you &s;hall have the full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and inheritance of the Milk and Hony in <HI>Emanuels</HI> Land. This I have proved, and &s;hall next time give you grounds for it.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="162" REF="91">
<HEAD>Sure Grounds that Chri&s;t will bee kinde at la&s;t. <HI>The Eighth SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>Matthew 15. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 28.</BIBL>
<Q><P><HI>Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, O Wo|man, great is thy Faith: bee it unto thee, even as thou wilt, &amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THat all Per&s;ons, Conditions, Affairs, are expo&s;ed to alteration and change, is a truth no le&s;s &s;weet in &s;ome re&s;pects, than bitter upon others. Indeed, my Beloved, upon &s;ome accounts it is our mi&s;ery that wee are mu|table, but withall, upon other accounts it is our hap|pine&s;s, that things &s;hall not (as wee &s;ay) &s;tand al|waies at one &s;tand. This pre&s;ent &s;ea&s;on, though it bee &s;harp and cold, an alteration will follow, and a warmer &s;ea&s;on will come. Our very bodies, though &s;ometimes weak, yet a change doth come, and wee are rendered &s;trong. And as it is thus with us in corporals, &s;o, ble&s;&s;ed bee God, it is thus with us in &s;pirituals. Though for a time wee may lye under the wrath of man, and the frowns of God, yet a change will come; for God hath &s;aid, Hee <HI>will re|&s;train the wrath</HI> of Man, as it is, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 76.10. and for his <HI>own anger hee will take it away,</HI> &s;o hee promi|&s;eth, <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 14.4. Though for a time this Woman
<PB N="163" REF="91">of <HI>Canaan</HI> was under the frowns of Chri&s;t, though hee &s;eemed to take no notice of her, yet behold what a change is here, hee that before would not an&s;wer her a word, doth now an&s;wer her many words, and many comfortable words. <HI>Hee an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her, Oh Woman, great is thy Faith, bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> Wee are now come to the la&s;t thing in the &s;tory of this Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and that is the con&s;ideration of that conclu&s;ion, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth here make with her. And you may re|member the Ob&s;ervation wee did draw forth the la&s;t day, was this, <HI>Viz.</HI></P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That all tho&s;e who truly come to Chri&s;t, &s;hall in the i&s;&s;ue finde his Carriage to bee &s;weet and gracious, however at the fir&s;t it may &s;eem rough and &s;trange.</HI></P>
<P>Wee did then open the Point, and did go a good way in the confirmation of it. There were onely two things which I &s;aid I would &s;peak to in the Ampli|fication of the Doctrine.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, To &s;hew you <HI>wherein Je&s;us Chri&s;t would ap|pear &s;weet and gracious in the end,</HI> how&s;oever hee may carry it at fir&s;t to poor &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Whence this &s;hould come to pa&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Now, for the fir&s;t of the&s;e, Wee told you wee need go no further than the in&s;tance of the Text. And wee did then indeavour to &s;et out the kindne&s;s of Je&s;us Chri&s;t to the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> Now here are many words to &s;et it forth.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t generally, <HI>Hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, Oh Wo|man, great is thy Faith.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly particularly, <HI>Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> And then,</P>
<P><PB N="164" REF="92">Thirdly, Hee doth particularly grant her parti|cular reque&s;t that &s;hee had made. <HI>And from that hour her Daughter was made whole.</HI> I did then &s;peak to tho&s;e di&s;tinctly.</P>
<P>Two Objections there lye again&s;t this in&s;tance, which being cleared up, wee will come to the Rea|&s;ons of the Point.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> 1. The fir&s;t Objection was this; But this in&s;tance of the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> &s;eems to bee &s;o rare, that it doth not concern us.</P>
<P>To that wee &s;aid two things.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. That all Go&s;pel-in&s;tances of Grace (I intend not in&s;tances of miracles, and extraordinary favours) are perpetual examples for after ages. And,</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. This kindne&s;s of Chri&s;t to the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> was not upon any per&s;onal, or particular account, but upon a general account, namely, her Faith. But there is another Objection to bee clear|ed up, and that is this.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> 2. But though this example bee not &s;o particular as to &s;hut us out, Yet</P>
<P>Secondly, There are &s;ome things in it &s;o extraor|dinary and &s;pecial, as that wee cannot look for the &s;ame things in our ca&s;es. To this I &s;hall &s;ay two things.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. <HI>That however, &s;ome things indeed here may bee extraordinary,</HI> (and &s;o not to bee expected) <HI>yet as to the MAIN of all things, wee may expect the like.</HI> This is certain, that tho&s;e favours that God hath &s;hewn in any one age, to any of his chil|dren, though they might have &s;ome particular cir|cum&s;tance, wherefore wee may not expect the &s;ame, yet in the general, (and by proportion) wee may expect the &s;ame. As in the in&s;tance of <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> The
<PB N="165" REF="92">Apo&s;tle makes the kindne&s;s of God to <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> a ge|neral example, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.5. <HI>Bee content with &s;uch things as yee have, for hee hath &s;aid, I will never leave thee nor for&s;ake thee.</HI> Now wee cannot expect in a particular way, as <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> did. In like manner, the &s;ame Apo&s;tle in the &s;ame place, doth argue from <HI>David,</HI> in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 6. And though wee cannot expect &s;ome rare circum&s;tances, as <HI>David</HI> did, yet as to the main, wee may &s;ay, <HI>The Lord is our helper:</HI> So though po&s;&s;ibly wee may not expect &s;ome particular circum&s;tances of the kindne&s;s that this Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> had; yet as to the main wee may bee certain to have the like.</P>
<P>Secondly, However wee may not meet with all the particular Acts of kindne&s;s from Chri&s;t, that this Woman had; yet, there are u&s;ually the&s;e three things wherein wee &s;hall certainly finde Chri&s;t to deal &s;weetly with us at la&s;t, however hee may deal with us at fir&s;t. Or, There are three De|mon&s;trations, wherein the Lord will demon&s;trate him&s;elf to bee kinde to you at la&s;t, however hee may carry it at fir&s;t.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>At la&s;t the &s;oul &s;hall finde this, that hee will not ab&s;olutely, and peremptorily reject the poor &s;oul.</HI> Po&s;&s;ibly thou wilt not finde &s;o clear an <HI>entertainment,</HI> &s;o comfortable an a&s;&s;urance, as this Woman had; I but this thou &s;halt finde, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t will ne|ver <HI>ab&s;olutely ca&s;t thee off;</HI> hee will never perempto|rily deny thee, or ca&s;t thee off. It is very remark|able, hee did not peremptorily &s;end the Woman a|way; though hee did not an&s;wer her, yet hee did not bid them &s;end her away. And this thou &s;halt finde, that though Chri&s;t may not &s;eem to an&s;wer, yet hee will not ab&s;olutely deny; though hee may &s;ay, It is
<PB N="166" REF="93">not meet thou &s;houlde&s;t have mercy, yet hee will not deny chee mercy. That &s;peech is an eternal Truth, in <HI>John</HI> 6.37. <HI>Him that cometh to mee, I will in no wi&s;e ca&s;t out.</HI> I remember an expre&s;&s;ion that wee have in the Prophecy of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> which I think is mi&s;took, and therefore I &s;hall mention it. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 50. at the be|ginning, <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, Where is the bill of your Mothers divorcement, whom I have put away? &amp;c.</HI> The meaning I take to bee this, That though God did as it were &s;eparate <HI>I&s;rael</HI> from him&s;elf for a while for &s;in, yet hee did not divorce them; hee did never give them &s;uch a bill, as upon the account of which they might conclude I am divorced. And that which I gather from it, is this, that at la&s;t the &s;oul &s;hall not bee able to produce a bill of divorcement from Je&s;us Chri&s;t. No, &s;oul, whoever thou art, take this for a certain comfort, Chri&s;t will not whol|ly ca&s;t thee off, hee will not at la&s;t bid thee bee gone, though at fir&s;t hee may not pre&s;ently entertain thee. This is one thing.</P>
<P>And then &s;econdly, How&s;oever Chri&s;t may deal with thee at pre&s;ent, for thy comfort, yet <HI>at la&s;t hee will in&s;ure thee of everla&s;ting &s;alvation.</HI> Po&s;&s;ibly now hee will not give thee bread (&s;o much as thou woulde&s;t have) but yet hee will ab&s;olutely &s;ave thy &s;oul, and have mercy upon thee to all eternity. Therefore, this is that Chri&s;t &s;aith, in <HI>John</HI> 6.39. This is the will of him that &s;ent mee, That of all which hee hath given mee, <HI>I &s;hould lo&s;e nothing, but &s;hould rai&s;e it up again at the la&s;t day.</HI> There lies this for certain, <HI>At the la&s;t day, Je&s;us Chri&s;t will rai&s;e up all tho&s;e that come to him.</HI> Now this is &s;poken not of a bare corporal re&s;urrection, but of a re&s;ur|rection to life. It is &s;poken of &s;uch a re&s;urrection,
<PB N="167" REF="93">as is peculiarly the portion of true Beleevers. Chri&s;t will at la&s;t rai&s;e up all Beleevers to life, and glory, albeit hee may not &s;eem to carry it in this life to the poor &s;oul, as it de&s;ires. So that is a &s;econd thing which wee may conclude in the general, about Chri&s;ts kindne&s;s to us, however in &s;ome particulars hee may not deal with us as with others.</P>
<P>A third thing wee &s;hall bee &s;ure to finde at la&s;t, is this, <HI>That Je&s;us Chri&s;t will give us &s;omething &s;uffi|cient to &s;upport us, though not, it may bee, to &s;atisfie us in all our de&s;ires.</HI> How&s;oever the Lord may &s;eem to put us off for a while, and make as if hee would not give us a <HI>Mor&s;el;</HI> yet &s;ecretly hee will give &s;upports to the &s;oul, as in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 138.3. <HI>In the day when I cried, thou an&s;wered&s;t mee; and &s;trengthened&s;t mee with &s;trength in my &s;oul.</HI> Secret, &s;ufficient &s;oul-&s;trength, &s;hall certainly bee given in by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, however hee may carry it at fir&s;t; at la&s;t the &s;oul &s;hall bee able to &s;ay, All the while Chri&s;t did frown upon mee, I had &s;ome &s;ecret &s;up|ports given: So that though the example bee rare, and though &s;ome things in it bee extraordinary, yet in the&s;e three particulars every &s;oul at la&s;t, &s;hall finde Chri&s;t will carry it kindely, however at fir&s;t hee may carry it &s;trange.</P>
<P>To come now to give an account of the Rea&s;ons of the point. There are many Rea&s;ons, which (if need were) wee might dilate upon. I &s;hall onely name the&s;e four or five.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Rea&s;on whence it comes to pa&s;s that Je|&s;us Chri&s;t will deal thus kindly at la&s;t, Is taken <HI>from God the Father.</HI> My Beloved, that &s;ame Will, Command, and Commi&s;&s;ion which Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath received from the Father, and which hee is careful
<PB N="168" REF="94">to ob&s;erve, is the great rea&s;on of this Carriage of Je|&s;us Chri&s;t. I pray mark it a little, Chri&s;t coming into the world, hee comes not onely as our Saviour, but as his <HI>Fathers Servant;</HI> and this hath an influ|ence upon the heart, and upon the hand of Chri&s;t in all his carriage to us. This, <HI>i. e. That hee comes as the Fathers Servant,</HI> and becau&s;e God the Father will have him do thus, and thus, therefore to bee certain hee will do it. As for in&s;tance, doth Je&s;us Chri&s;t come into the world to dye for &s;inners? what is the ground of it? becau&s;e God the Father hath given him in Commi&s;&s;ion &s;o to do: So, will not Chri&s;t <HI>break the brui&s;ed Reed, nor quench the &s;moak|ing Flax,</HI> as it is prophe&s;ied hee will not, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 42? Why this is the Rea&s;on, becau&s;e hee is <HI>his Fathers Servant,</HI> as it is there, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 1. and God hath charged him that hee &s;hall not break the brui&s;ed Reed, &amp;c. And &s;o in this particular, Je&s;us Chri&s;t will at la&s;t deal kindly with all that truly come un|to him, becau&s;e <HI>this is the will of him that &s;ent him.</HI> This is particularly the rea&s;on, in <HI>John</HI> 6.37, 38. (a Scripture that you may look upon as the foundation of your Faith, but I wi&s;h you did well under&s;tand what you did build your Faith upon) <HI>All that come to mee, I will in no wi&s;e ca&s;t off;</HI> What is the rea&s;on? Mark the 38. <HI>ver&s;. For I came down from Hea|ven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that &s;ent mee.</HI> When you act your Faith upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t for his kindne&s;s, I pray look to God the Father like|wi&s;e, and this will further &s;trengthen your Faith. The poor &s;oul is ready to &s;ay, why &s;hould Je&s;us Chri&s;t receive mee? why &s;hould Je&s;us Chri&s;t carry it kindly to mee? what is there in mee? nothing. But there is another ground, there is <HI>the will of him
<PB N="169" REF="94">that &s;ent him;</HI> there is the Fathers will. God the Father deals well with us for Chri&s;ts &s;ake; and Je&s;us Chri&s;t deals well with us for the Fathers &s;ake. So that now my Beloved, when the poor &s;oul goes to Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, you may imagine that God the Father &s;aies thus, Son, deal well with that &s;oul, it is my will that thou &s;houlde&s;t not ca&s;t him off. Indeed in this place, Chri&s;t doth intimate that hee doth car|ry him&s;elf according to his Commi&s;&s;ion. The Com|mi&s;&s;ion that was given to Chri&s;t, it was the ground of this whole carriage of Chri&s;t. But here is the Commi&s;&s;ion, Chri&s;t hee &s;hall not give childrens bread to Doggs; yet if Doggs will come to him, and lye at the Fathers door, it is the will of his Fa|ther that hee &s;hould not ca&s;t them off.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>The innate kindne&s;s and tenderne&s;s of the heart of Chri&s;t,</HI> is the rea&s;on of this truth; that hee will deal well at la&s;t, though hee &s;eem to carry it &s;trange at fir&s;t. My Beloved, the Lord Je&s;us hath that per&s;onal renderne&s;s in him&s;elf, that if his Fa|ther &s;hould never have wi&s;hed him, nor willed him to deal thus kindly with poor &s;ouls, his own bowels would have put him on to it. Indeed the <HI>bowe's of Chri&s;t</HI> are &s;o tender, that the tendere&s;t love is &s;et out by the bowels. When <HI>Paul</HI> would have the <HI>Philip|pians</HI> to know how much hee did love them, and long after them, &s;aith hee, (<HI>Phil.</HI> 1.8.) <HI>I long after you in the bowels of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>My Beloved, the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee hath ten|der bowels, and becau&s;e of that it is that hee doth deal tenderly with poor &s;ouls that come to him. What is the particular nature and notion of bowels in the Scripture? it is this; For a per&s;on to bee moved at la&s;t, by the &s;en&s;e of a per&s;ons mi&s;ery,
<PB N="170" REF="95">though at fir&s;t hee may &s;eem to &s;tand off. You have many notable in&s;tances of this. That of <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> what was it which made <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> deal kindly at la&s;t, though hee did deal roughly at fir&s;t? In <HI>Gen.</HI> 43.30. <HI>His bowels yearned within him,</HI> and that made him to &s;peak kindly to his brethren. O my Beloved, <HI>The Lord Je&s;us is full of bowels;</HI> hee doth pitty many times, when hee is not &s;poken to, as in <HI>Luk.</HI> 7.13. It is &s;aid there concerning a Woman, that Chri&s;t had <HI>compa&s;&s;ion on her,</HI> hee was troubled, for his bowels did yearn towards her. The Lord Je&s;us ha|ving therefore &s;uch tender bowels, thence it comes to pa&s;s, that though at fir&s;t hee may carry it &s;trangely, yet at la&s;t hee will carry it kindly. This poor Wo|man of <HI>Canaan,</HI> once the Lord &s;eemed to &s;peak har&s;hly to her, but his bowels did yearn, and upon that account hee dealt well at la&s;t.</P>
<P>The third Rea&s;on in a word is this, <HI>Chri&s;t will car|ry it thus well at la&s;t, becau&s;e in a &s;en&s;e hee is very fear|ful, and therefore very careful, that none do peri&s;h in a good way, at lea&s;t through his neglect.</HI> My Beloved, Chri&s;t is fearful of the <HI>peri&s;hing of poor &s;ouls,</HI> e&s;peci|ally in a <HI>good way,</HI> and mo&s;t e&s;pecially <HI>through his neglect.</HI> Sinners, look about you, if you will rebel, and run away from Chri&s;t, and wander from him, and peri&s;h, Chri&s;t cares not; but if thou ha&s;t a heart to look towards God, if thou goe&s;t after Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and crie&s;t to him, hee is very fearful le&s;t thou &s;houlde&s;t peri&s;h in &s;uch a good way. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57.16. Saith God there, <HI>For I will not contend for ever, nei|ther will I bee alwaies wrath: for the &s;pirit &s;hould fail before mee, and the &s;ouls which I have made.</HI> If Chri&s;t &s;hould carry it tough alwaies, the &s;pirit of the poor creature would fail. If &s;o bee you will wander in
<PB N="171" REF="95">the high waies from Chri&s;t, then the &s;peech of the Prophet may bee made good, in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 51.20. <HI>Thy Sons have fainted, they lye at the head of all the &s;treets, as a wilde Bull in a Net; they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.</HI> Yea, but if you come to him, that cries after you in the &s;treets, (as it is, <HI>Prov.</HI> 1.) If you lye not &s;till, but come at his cry, and upon his call, then will hee <HI>pour forth his Spirit on you</HI> (<HI>as in that place hee promi&s;eth,</HI> Prov. 1.23.) If you peri&s;h in your own neglect to come, &s;o it is; but if you come, Chri&s;t will not let you peri&s;h at his doors. Oh no; The Lord Je&s;us will never bee a <HI>Dives;</HI> a poor <HI>Lazarus</HI> at Chri&s;ts door, &s;hall never peri&s;h there; never did any that lay knocking, and begging for mercy there, go away and peri&s;h for the want of it.</P>
<P>Fourthly, The Lord Chri&s;t will bee thus kinde at la&s;t, <HI>That hee may &s;top the mouths of all tho&s;e that are ready to &s;peak hardly of him.</HI> My Beloved, if Chri&s;t &s;hould alwaies carry it &s;trangely (e&s;pecially when the &s;ould carries it humbly) &s;oon you would hear that &s;peech of the man in the Parable; <HI>I knew thou wert a hard Ma&s;ter.</HI> But God is re&s;olved that never &s;hall there bee a witne&s;s brought again&s;t him of his hard|ne&s;s. This Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> might have been brought in as a witne&s;s again&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t, if (after all this) hee &s;hould have ca&s;t her off: but God will bee true, and all men lyers; Hee will bee kinde at la&s;t to confure that report, and reproach, which Satan and unbeleef are ready to ca&s;t on him, truly I may &s;ay, Chri&s;t will bee kinde for his own credir. That none may &s;lander him, hee will, and mu&s;t bee &s;weet at la&s;t.</P>
<P>Fifthly and la&s;tly, <HI>Chri&s;t hath a particular de&s;ign to
<PB N="172" REF="96">de&s;troy the work of the Devil.</HI> Now my Beloved, up|on this account it is, that hee will deal kindly at la&s;t; for if Chri&s;t &s;hould not at la&s;t deal well with tho&s;e that truly come to him, the de&s;ign of the De|vil would not bee de&s;troyed. I build the founda|tion of this rea&s;on upon that Scripture, in 1 <HI>John</HI> 3.8. <HI>For this purpo&s;e was the Son of God manife&s;ted, that hee might de&s;troy the works of the Devil.</HI> When a poor &s;oul comes to Chri&s;t, and is roughly dealt withall, the Devil hath a three-fold de&s;ign upon that &s;core.</P>
<P><HI>Viz. One de&s;ign is upon the &s;oul it &s;elf,</HI> to lead the &s;oul to de&s;pair.</P>
<P><HI>Another de&s;ign is upon other &s;inners,</HI> to di&s;courage them for ever, from comming to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And a third de&s;ign (which though la&s;t in execu|tion, is fir&s;t in intention) and that is to <HI>ca&s;t a di&s;|grace upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> If this poor Woman &s;hould have been &s;ent away, and not been dealt kindly withall, The Devil would have &s;aid, now de&s;pair, now no body go to him, &amp;c. How doth Satan &s;ay, it is in vain for you to pray, to beleeve, Nay, though you wor&s;hip him, hee will not regard it?</P>
<P>Now mark it, the Lord is re&s;olved to de&s;troy the de&s;igns of Satan, and that Satan may never pro&s;per in the&s;e de&s;igns, Chri&s;t will carry it well at la&s;t, however hee may carry it ill at fir&s;t. Doth Satan &s;ay, it is in vain to wait? No, it is not in vain to wait, for the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> waited, and was accepted; doth Satan &s;ay, go not to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, hee will not receive you? Yes, then &s;ay thou, and thou, O &s;oul (every one that is not re&s;olved to hearken to Satan for his own ruine) wee will go, hee will re|ceive us at la&s;t; doth Satan &s;ay, hee is a hard Ma|&s;ter?
<PB N="173" REF="96">&s;ay no, hee will deal kindly at la&s;t. Well, to come to the Application, indeed the prime, and the proper U&s;e of this point is but one, and that I &s;hall principally &s;tand upon; but I &s;hall add ano|ther, though briefly.</P>
<P>U&s;e, The prime U&s;e of this Point is but one, Namely, for the comfort and the refre&s;hing of all tho&s;e, who, it may bee, are in the &s;ame condition that the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> was. <HI>Who is there a|mong you, that feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of his &s;ervant, that walketh in darkne&s;s, and hath no light? Let him tru&s;t in the Name of the Lord, and &s;tay upon his God.</HI> I&s;a. 50.10. What &s;oul is there that hath found a want of Chri&s;t, and hath had a de&s;ire after Chri&s;t, and hath been a great while waiting upon Chri&s;t, and hath not had your de&s;ires &s;atisfied; bee of good comfort, though the Lord tarry long, hee will come at la&s;t. The Lord that &s;eems to carry it rough at fir&s;t, at la&s;t, in the i&s;&s;ue will carry it kindly. Therefore bear up your hearts, it may bee your i&s;&s;ue is not yet come, and no marvel if Chri&s;t do not &s;peak. Po&s;&s;ibly you are but in the Treaty (as I &s;pake in the Explication the la&s;t day) or it may bee you are not yet fully come, nor do really, and right|ly cloze with Je&s;us Chri&s;t. For certain, if that were, hee would bee kinde unto you according to your hearts de&s;ire. It is a full and everla&s;ting &s;peech of comfort, that, that you have in <HI>Job, Job</HI> 8.20, 21. <HI>Be|hold God, will not ca&s;t away a perfect man, neither will hee help the evil-doers, till hee fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoycing.</HI> Thou do&s;t lye before Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and hee &s;eems to reject thee; I but know, <HI>That hee will not ca&s;t thee away, till hee hath filled thy mouth with gladne&s;s.</HI> No, though at
<PB N="174" REF="97">pre&s;ent hee may &s;eem to carry it &s;trange, yet in the i&s;&s;ue hee will carry it well. Becau&s;e I would clearly hold forth this, I &s;hall &s;peak my thoughts by two or three &s;teps.</P>
<P>There are two things I would &s;peak to all you, who, it may bee, are in the condition of the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Beware how thou thinke&s;t thy estate too &s;trange,</HI> and how thou inquire&s;t after the cau&s;e of it too far.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Bee confident of this, how &s;trange &s;o|ever thy ca&s;e bee now, the conclu&s;ion &s;hall bee very &s;weet.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Beware how thou thinke&s;t thy &s;tate too &s;trange, and how thou inquire&s;t after the cau&s;e of it too far.</HI> Was there ever &s;orrow like to my &s;orrow? and was there ever &s;oul like to my &s;oul? &s;aith the poor &s;oul, &amp;c. and what is the matter, that I have knockt, and knockt, till I am weary of knocking? Oh what is the cau&s;e! &amp;c. bee not too curious in looking after the cau&s;e; po&s;&s;ibly there may bee a rea&s;on that at fir&s;t you may not &s;ee, but you may &s;ee it hereafter. As Chri&s;t &s;aid to <HI>Peter, What I do thou knowe&s;t not now, but thou &s;halt know hereafter,</HI> John 13.7. Hereafter thou &s;halt know why the Lord did keep thee from childrens bread &s;o long, and it may bee (by the way) it was to bring down thy proud &s;tomach; hereafter the Lord will &s;atisfie thee, but at pre&s;ent know, that no new thing hath happened to thee, others have lain as long as you.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Bee confident of this, how &s;trange &s;oever thy ca&s;e bee, the conclu&s;ion &s;hall bee very &s;weet.</HI> My Beloved, the Lord Je&s;us cannot &s;hut up his bowels, the Lord Je&s;us cannot alwaies refrain him&s;elf,
<PB N="175" REF="97"><HI>I&s;a.</HI> 63.15. <HI>Where are the &s;ounding of thy bowels, and of thy mercy towards us, are they re&s;trained?</HI> That pa&s;&s;age in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 42. is remarkable, though <HI>David</HI> was very &s;ad, yet &s;aith hee, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 8. <HI>The Lord will command &s;alvation for mee, and yet I &s;hall prai&s;e him.</HI> And verily at la&s;t, you &s;hall &s;ee the good|ne&s;s of the Lord in the Land of the Living; hee will <HI>command and create comfort for you.</HI> I but &s;aith the &s;oul, though <HI>David</HI> might &s;ay &s;o, what is that to mee? &s;till I &s;ay remember it is to thee. All that take hold of the Covenant of Grace, that God made with <HI>David; God makes with them the &s;ure mercies of David</HI> (as it is in that precious Promi&s;e, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 55.3.) But however mark the example wee are upon, con|&s;ider the Woman of <HI>Canaan;</HI> and when you con&s;ider the whole &s;tory of her, you may bee confident at la&s;t Chri&s;t will deal kindly with you. Minde (above, and be&s;ides what wee have &s;aid) Three things in this &s;tory, to comfort your hearts, that however Chri&s;t may deal har&s;hly at fir&s;t, yet in the end hee will deal kindly.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>You cannot bee further off from Je&s;us Chri&s;t, than the Woman of</HI> Canaan <HI>was.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>You cannot bee dealt withall wor&s;e, than the Woman of</HI> Canaan <HI>was.</HI> But.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Though wee &s;hould grant, you &s;hould bee further off than the Woman of</HI> Canaan <HI>was, and dealt withalt wor&s;e than &s;hee was, yet there is hope in</HI> I&s;rael <HI>for this thing.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You cannot bee further off than the Wo|man of <HI>Canaan</HI> was. My Beloved, <HI>There were no people vi&s;ibly &s;o far from the Covenant of Grace, and &s;o much out of the Commi&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, as the</HI> Canaa|nites, <HI>and the</HI> Samaritans, and yet it is ob&s;ervable,
<PB N="176" REF="98">you have two great in&s;tances, the one of a <HI>Canaanite,</HI> and the other of a <HI>Samaritan,</HI> that Chri&s;t mu&s;t deal well withall. In <HI>John</HI> 4. It is &s;aid of Chri&s;t, <HI>That hee mu&s;t needs go thorow</HI> Samaria; and what was it for, but to bring home a poor Woman of <HI>Samaria?</HI> now a <HI>Samaritan</HI> was far off from Chri&s;t, and &s;uch a one as &s;hee was very far from Chri&s;t; yet the Lord at la&s;t <HI>mu&s;t</HI> deal kindly with her. And &s;o this Wo|man of <HI>Canaan,</HI> &s;hee was far off from Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;hee was a Woman of <HI>Tyre</HI> and <HI>Sidon,</HI> yet &s;hee came to the Lord, and the Lord dealt well with her.</P>
<P>Secondly, Con&s;ider this for your comfort; <HI>Christ cannot deal wor&s;e with you, than hee dealt with the Wo|man of</HI> Canaan. I be&s;eech you in the Lords pre|&s;ence (you that have been under any darkne&s;s, clouds, or trouble) tell mee, did ever the Lord &s;peak to you, as hee did to this Woman? when you &s;aid, Je&s;us, thou Saviour of &s;inners, have mercy upon mee, did hee ever &s;ay, <HI>I was not &s;ent, but to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael?</HI> when in the an|gui&s;h of your &s;pirits, you did turn into a corner, and lay in the du&s;t grovling and crying for a crumb of comfort, did hee ever tell you, It was not meet to give you childrens bread? yet you &s;ee Chri&s;t &s;aid &s;o to this Woman. Indeed I think Chri&s;t never dealt with any (all things con&s;idered) &s;o &s;eemingly ill, and rough, as with this woman: Certainly you can|not bee wor&s;e dealt with, yet at la&s;t you &s;ee how well &s;hee &s;peed. But then,</P>
<P>Thirdly, Suppo&s;e, &s;uppo&s;e that you bee further off from Chri&s;t than the woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> was; and that you have been dealt withall wor&s;e, than the woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> was; <HI>Yet there is hope in</HI> I&s;rael <HI>con|cerning
<PB N="177" REF="98">this thing.</HI> Why, what hope? there is this hope, that the <HI>Lord will create a new thing in the world.</HI> It is often u&s;ed in the Prophets that expre&s;|&s;ion; among others I &s;hall now minde you onely of one. In <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 43.18, 19. Saith the Lord there unto his people, <HI>Remember yee not the former things, nei|ther con&s;ider the things of old. Behold I will do a new thing, &amp;c.</HI> As if the Lord &s;hould &s;ay, My people, look back to the daies pa&s;t; do not you remember former things? happily they may &s;ay, wee remem|ber old experiences, but ours is a new ca&s;e; wee re|member what thou did&s;t in the daies of old, but our ca&s;e is wor&s;e than theirs; Behold (&s;aith God) <HI>A new thing I will create;</HI> and what is that new thing God will create? <HI>Why the Bea&s;ts of the field &s;hall ho|nour him, &amp;c.</HI> Time was when the Virgin Daughter of <HI>Sion</HI> did honour him; time was when <HI>I&s;rael</HI> fol|lowed him thorow the wilderne&s;s; I but now God will create a new thing, <HI>The Bea&s;ts of the field &s;hall honour him.</HI> My Beloved, there is very much in this, <HI>viz. in the Creating-power, and the Creating-mercy of the heart of God.</HI> Suppo&s;e never was any &s;o far off, nor never any &s;o dealt withall, yet the <HI>Lord will create a new thing in the world:</HI> So that I &s;ay, it may much comfort the hearts of all tho&s;e that are in the condition of the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> that the Lord will deal well at la&s;t, however hee may deal at fir&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But now my thinks I hear the poor &s;oul &s;ay, <HI>But I am not like the Woman of</HI> Canaan; were I as the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> then I &s;hould hope the Lord would deal well with mee, but I am not as &s;hee. Why how is that?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I have not that Grace as &s;hee had, I have
<PB N="178" REF="99">not her Prayer, her Humility, I never wor&s;hipped the Lord, as the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> did, I never was &s;o broken, as the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> was. I &s;hall give two An&s;wers.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>If you bee not &s;o humble as the Woman of</HI> Ca|naan, <HI>think of it now to bee as humble as &s;hee was.</HI> But yet I tell you in the</P>
<P>Second place, <HI>It was not the Woman of</HI> Canaan<HI>'s Humility, nor her Patience, nor her Prayer, not the Wor&s;hipping; but the Woman of</HI> Canaan<HI>'s Faith, upon which the Lord did all.</HI> And I take it to bee an un|deniable truth, that that Grace unto which all kind|ne&s;s is &s;hewed, is the Grace of Faith. True, Humi|lity is good, and &s;o is Humiliation; and the Lord give us our mea&s;ure; but yet I &s;ay, the great Pro|mi&s;e is not to Humility, nor to Humiliation, but to Faith. <HI>Woman, great is thy Faith.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> I but then &s;econdly, &s;aith the &s;oul, <HI>But I have not the Woman of</HI> Canaan<HI>'s Faith;</HI> If I had her Faith, I &s;hould think the Lord would deal well with mee. It is &s;aid, the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> had a great Faith, but the Lord knows I have but a little.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I have an&s;wered already this, and &s;hew|ed, <HI>That it was not to the mea&s;ure of the Grace, but to the Grace it &s;elf that Chri&s;t did this.</HI> Therefore I &s;ay, as often as you read the &s;tory of the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> comfort your hearts with the&s;e words; do as the Prophet <HI>Habakkuk, chap.</HI> 2. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 1. <HI>I will &s;tand upon my Watch-Tower, and ob&s;erve what God will &s;ay, for the vi&s;ion will speak at la&s;t.</HI> So &s;ay I to the Sons and Daughters of the Woman of <HI>Candan;</HI> Go upon your Watch-Tower, and ob&s;erve, the vi&s;ion will &s;peak at la&s;t. I &s;hall hint to you that &s;peech, in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 54.6. <HI>The Lord hath called mee as a Woman
<PB N="179" REF="99">for&s;aken, and grieved in &s;pirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wa&s;t refu&s;ed, &s;aith thy God.</HI> The Lord hath called thee (truly it was his anger, and wrath that was upon her, and yet hee had called her as a Wo|man refu&s;ed.) Poor heart, thou art <HI>as a woman grie|ved in &s;pirit,</HI> yet the Lord is kinde.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> I but you will &s;ay, <HI>That is a Promi&s;e made to tho&s;e who once were in the heart of Chri&s;t,</HI> who once were married to the Lord, and afterwards &s;eem to bee &s;eparated.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. <HI>That is true;</HI> and therefore by the way, if there bee any of you that once were married to the Lord, and by your &s;ins are &s;eparated, bee of good comfort, the Lord doth ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">l thee.</P>
<P>But &s;econdly, <HI>Though the &s;ixth ver&s;e speak to one that was once a Wife; yet the fir&s;t ver&s;e speaks to one that was never a Wife.</HI> Sing O barren, thou that did&s;t not bear, <HI>for more are the children of the de&s;olate, than the children of the married Wife.</HI> So that mark it, put it either way, thou that <HI>once wa&s;t married</HI> to Chri&s;t, and thou that <HI>wa&s;t never married, there is a &s;ong of prai&s;e for you.</HI> Who&s;oever you are that come to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, whether it bee your fir&s;t coming, in the day of conver&s;ion from an unregenerate e|&s;tate, or &s;econd coming, in the day of your return from a back&s;liding e&s;tate, I &s;ay, which &s;oever it is, if you come, Chri&s;t will bee kinde unto you. I will conclude. And two words I &s;hall &s;peak.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Know, <HI>It is ab&s;olutely impo&s;&s;ible that it &s;hould bee otherwi&s;e, but that Chri&s;t &s;hould deal well with you at la&s;t.</HI> You know the Apo&s;tles expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.18. <HI>That by two immutable things, in which it was impo&s;&s;ible for God to lye, wee might have &s;trong con&s;olation, &amp;c.</HI> When you have the <HI>Lords Word,</HI>
<PB N="180" REF="100">and the <HI>Lords Oath;</HI> when you have the <HI>Lords Pro|mi&s;es,</HI> and <HI>many Experiences;</HI> It is impo&s;&s;ible now that God &s;hould fail; here are immutable things. You have the Experience of this Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and you have the Experience of many thou&s;ands, be|&s;ides, the Promi&s;es, and Oath of God, and Chri&s;t: &s;o that I &s;ay, it is impo&s;&s;ible that it &s;hould change, and bee otherwi&s;e. It cannot bee but that Chri&s;t &s;hould deal well at la&s;t with tho&s;e that come unto him. I &s;ay again (and Oh remember it) it cannot po&s;&s;i|bly bee otherwi&s;e.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>It is very probable your comfort may bee nearer than you are aware of.</HI> Po&s;&s;ibly thou wilt &s;ay, It was never wor&s;e, never further off. Bee it &s;o, upon this account thou wert never nearer to com|fort. My Beloved, it is a certain Truth, <HI>When wee are ready to give up hope, and ready to peri&s;h, that is the time of our refre&s;hing and reviving.</HI> Po&s;&s;ibly now thou do&s;t think thou art at the wor&s;t, the Lord may be rea|dy to deal kindly with thee. When did the Lord re|veal this kindne&s;s to the Woman of <HI>Canaan?</HI> when? after hee had &s;poken wor&s;t of all. Hee had &s;aid, <HI>It was not meet to give childrens bread to Doggs,</HI> and pre|&s;ently after this word, <HI>hee &s;aith, Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt.</HI> It may bee the Lord tells thee, It is not meet to give thee bread; now bee of good com|fort; now hee calls thee Dogg, and is ready to beat thee off; a thou&s;and to one if hee do not give you childrens bread. Indeed this I ob&s;erve as a particu|lar thing in the &s;tory of <HI>Jo&s;eph;</HI> when was it that <HI>Jo|&s;eph</HI> brake out in his kindne&s;s to his brethren? See in <HI>Gen.</HI> 45.1. <HI>Then Jo&s;eph could not refrain him&s;elf, &amp;c.</HI> When? truly when <HI>Judah</HI> had told him &s;uch a &s;ad &s;tory, in <HI>chap.</HI> 44. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 18. As if <HI>Judah</HI> &s;hould
<PB N="181" REF="100">&s;ay, My Lord, great man, what &s;hall I do if thou do not let <HI>Be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">amin</HI> go? &amp;c. <HI>Then Jo&s;ephs heart melted.</HI> Happily thou art brought to this que&s;tion, Lord, what &s;hall I do? Lord, I have waited, prayed, cried, and Oh Lord, what &s;hall I do? why bear up thy heart, now thou art near &s;inking, the Lord may re|veal him&s;elf to thee, as hee did to the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> Well, that is the fir&s;t, and the proper U&s;e, To comfort tho&s;e that are in the Woman of <HI>Canaans</HI> condition. I &s;hall add but one word of Exhortation.</P>
<P>If it bee thus, that the Lord Chri&s;t will deal thus kindly at la&s;t, however hee carry it at fir&s;t, <HI>Then let the &s;ame minde bee in you, that was in the Lord Je&s;us.</HI> This you know is a great Rule, That wee &s;hould bee followers of Chri&s;t. Wherein &s;hall wee bee fol|lowers of Chri&s;t?</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Carry it <HI>thus one to another.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Carry it <HI>thus to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Carry it thus one to another.</HI> If &s;o bee through frailty, you have carried it too roughly one to another hitherto, carry it kindly now. Bee not of a rough &s;pirit irreconcilably; It is time for Beleevers to lay a&s;ide their bitterne&s;s, which hath been their &s;in, and &s;hame, many years. Oh that whatever un|brotherly, ungo&s;pel-like carriage hath been among&s;t Saints (and too much hath been) may now at la&s;t end. Let us in this imitate Chri&s;t, to carry it well at la&s;t, for a long time wee have carried it har&s;h and ill. And in particular ca&s;es between one Relation and another, one friend and another, bee as Chri&s;t, &s;weet and kinde in the cloze, what ere you are, or have been at fir&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, And e&s;pecially, <HI>Carry it &s;o to Je&s;us
<PB N="182" REF="101">Chri&s;t.</HI> There is never a one of you but have carried it very &s;trangely to Chri&s;t at fir&s;t; the Lord help you to carry it well at la&s;t. Have not you carried it to Chri&s;t, as Chri&s;t carried it to the Woman of <HI>Canaan?</HI> The Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> called, but hee would not an&s;wer; Chri&s;t comes to you, and calls you, but you will not an&s;wer; Chri&s;t calls you, you will not hear; Young man (&s;aith Chri&s;t) turn to mee; it is not meet for mee to do &s;o (hath the young man an&s;wered) I will not ca&s;t my youth and &s;trength on a doting, di&s;graced way, as many do; &s;o have your hearts &s;aid too often. And &s;o for old, and rich, and great ones, how oft have they put off Chri&s;t with no an&s;wer, or at be&s;t with a delatory one? I may &s;ay to you all, that many a time, after many a call, and in many a ca&s;e, you have dealt unkindly with Chri&s;t. Well, but however, though you have car|ried it ill to Chri&s;t heretofore, yet pray carry it well at la&s;t. I &s;hall allude to a &s;peech, in <HI>Matth.</HI> 21.28. Chri&s;t &s;peaks of two Sons of a certain man, and hee came and &s;aid to the <HI>fir&s;t, Go work to day in my Vine|yard, hee an&s;wered and &s;aid, I will not: but after|wards hee repented, and went, &amp;c.</HI> The Lord Chri&s;t &s;hews in that parable how &s;ome, yea many deal with him. Hee calls, and commands the poor &s;oul; hee &s;aith to the &s;inner, Go to work, leave off &s;in, but the &s;oul returns an&s;wer, No, I will not: Oh this is naughty carriage; yet now if wee recall our &s;elves, and &s;ay as hee &s;aid at la&s;t, I go, <HI>(But afterwards hee repented and went)</HI> This will bee doing good at la&s;t; and however our former carriage hath been, Chri&s;t will accept and count this well, and &s;ay, Here is good carriage; So then O &s;oul take this word to thy &s;elf; And <HI>if thou ha&s;t dealt unkindly with Chri&s;t,
<PB N="183" REF="101">and notwith&s;tanding great wooings, great means, abun|dance of favours be&s;towed upon you, yet thou wouldest not repent:</HI> Oh yet afterwards repent and do it And this is to draw out holine&s;s, at well as comfort, out of the &s;tory of the woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> And truly that is my de&s;ire, that wee &s;hould thus improve this example, not onely to <HI>Faith and Comfort,</HI> but al&s;o to <HI>Holine&s;s and Obedience;</HI> and that in this particular, of being like-minded unto Chri&s;t, not onely to o|thers, but e&s;pecially to Chri&s;t him&s;elf, to deal well with him now at la&s;t, for as much as wee have dealt ill with him many a day.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="184" REF="102">
<HEAD>Comings to Chri&s;t prevails for Corporals as well as Spirituals. <HI>The Ninth SERMON.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Matthew 15. the la&s;t clau&s;e of</HI> ver&s;. 28.</BIBL>
<Q><P>And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_WEE are come to the la&s;t part of the &s;to|ry of the woman of <HI>Canaan;</HI> the prin|cipal matter wee have already di&s;|patched; and I &s;hall at this time brief|ly give you an account of the&s;e words, and &s;o end the Di&s;cour&s;e. VVithout looking back therefore to any thing wee have formerly delivered; wee &s;hall pre&s;ently &s;peak to the&s;e words that I have now read. <HI>The&s;e words do particularly relate to the Daughter of the Woman of</HI> Canaan; and they do hold forth <HI>the kindne&s;s of Chri&s;t unto a childe, as a return of the Prayer, and Faith of a Parent for a childe.</HI> And there is one Note, that in the very entrance into the di&s;cour&s;e wee &s;hall take up in the general. And that is this,</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That the Prayer and the Faith of belee|ving Parents, are very prevalent with the Lord Je&s;us on the behalf of children.</HI></P>
<P>My Beloved, little do wee know what our prayers
<PB N="185" REF="102">may procure at the hand of Chri&s;t, for ours. Thou ha&s;t oftentimes laid thy precepts upon thy childe, and that would do him no good; thou ha&s;t oftentimes (in a &s;en&s;e) made thy prayers to thy childe, and that would do him no good; Little do&s;t thou know what the prayers that thou do&s;t put up to God may yet effect. Verily, my Beloved, <HI>It is our folly and &s;in that wee are not more in prayer for our po|&s;terity, than wee are.</HI> Many a &s;oul-mercy, and body-mercy may bee procured at the hands of Chri&s;t up|on the Parents prayers for the poor children. It is famou&s;ly recorded of <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> that hee was the <HI>Son of Prayers, and Tears.</HI> Oftentimes I &s;ay for the &s;oul, and body, doth the Parents prayers prevail for the childe. To come to the words in particular, there is no difficulty in the Letter, and therefore wee &s;hall not &s;tand upon the Expo&s;ition. There are onely three Notes wee &s;hall take up. The two fir&s;t more particular; the la&s;t more general; and therefore that I &s;hall &s;pend the time in.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, in particular, Here are two Notes that do relate to the per&s;onal honour and glory of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and upon that account, I &s;hall mention them in two Ob&s;ervations.</P>
<P>Doct. 1. <HI>That Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath power over all di&s;ea&s;es, over all di&s;tempers.</HI></P>
<P>Her Daughter was &s;ick, yea vexed with a Devil; &s;hee praies to Chri&s;t, and her Daughter was made whole. You know what hee &s;aid in the Go&s;pel, <HI>Mat:</HI> 8.8. <HI>Lord, if thou wilt but &s;peak the word, my &s;ervant &s;hall bee whole, &amp;c.</HI> Any di&s;ea&s;e is at the command of Chri&s;t, to go, and to come, as hee plea&s;es: So much may wee gather from the <HI>Centurions</HI> language,
<PB N="186" REF="103"><HI>Luk.</HI> 7.8, 9. That expre&s;&s;ion, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 4.23, 24. is full, where it is &s;aid, <HI>Hee went about healing all di&s;|ea&s;es, &amp;c.</HI> Indeed it is a fine que&s;tion, <HI>Whether in the&s;e daies Chri&s;t do cure immediately,</HI> as hee did in the times of the Go&s;pel? That hee can &s;o cure is made no que&s;tion; but whether hee do, is a que&s;tion; yet this I will &s;ay, that &s;ometimes I make no doubt, but the Lord Je&s;us doth immediately heal di&s;ea&s;es. And it were no &s;tretching the Truth to tell you, that more than one, or two, or &s;cores of in&s;tances may bee given of per&s;ons, that have been given over for lo&s;t by man, by no means u&s;ed, nothing done to re|cover, many who have been yet immediately cured by Je&s;us Chri&s;t. However, it is a certain truth, that all di&s;ea&s;es can bee cured by Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And the &s;econd Note is this (and I pray minde it.)</P>
<P>Doct. 2. <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t is not tied to any time to do his work.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The &s;ame hour her Daughter was made whole.</HI></P>
<P>My Beloved, the Lord Je&s;us hee can cure by one word, in one moment. That is a famous &s;tory, in <HI>John</HI> 4.49. You have one there that comes unto Chri&s;t, and &s;aith hee, Sir, <HI>Come down ere my childe dye.</HI> Hee was afraid that Chri&s;t could not come away &s;oon enough. Mark, &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Go thy way, thy Son liveth,</HI> and it is &s;aid, hee enquired of them the hour when hee began to amend; and <HI>hee knew that it was at the &s;ame hour, in which Je|&s;us &s;aid unto him, thy Son liveth.</HI> The Lord Je&s;us is not tied to any time for any work. There are two &s;ad words, which wee may truly &s;peak of the be&s;t men, and means, which yet can never bee &s;aid of
<PB N="187" REF="103">Je&s;us Chri&s;t. The fir&s;t word is this, That time is pa&s;t. And the &s;econd word is this, That time is too &s;hort. But now you can never &s;ay any of the&s;e words to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Of the be&s;t men, and the be&s;t means wee may &s;ay, time is pa&s;t.</HI> Wee often do &s;ay, and cry out, Oh! If this Phy&s;ician had come at &s;uch a time, the childe had been well; and if &s;uch means had been taken, the thing had been done; I but now time is pa&s;t; But mark it, though you can &s;ay thus of men, yet you can never &s;ay the time is pa&s;t to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. You have a very glorious in&s;tance of this, in the &s;peech of <HI>Martha</HI> to our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in <HI>John</HI> 11.21, 22. <HI>Then &s;aid Martha unto Je&s;us, Lord, if thou had&s;t been here, my Brother had not died; but I know, that even NOW, what&s;oever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.</HI> Shee doth not &s;ay, If thou had&s;t come, my Brother had lived, but <HI>now it is too late;</HI> but &s;aith &s;hee, <HI>now I know,</HI> that <HI>even now,</HI> what&s;oever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. My Beloved, when death is written upon any per&s;on, and it is too late for men to help, it is not too late for Je&s;us Chri&s;t; time is never pa&s;t to the Lord Je&s;us. But then</P>
<P>Secondly, As time is never pa&s;t, <HI>&s;o time is never too &s;hort for Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> You may &s;ay of &s;uch men, if they had but time, they might do &s;omething; and of &s;uch means, if there were time, it might do &s;ome|thing. I but you can never &s;ay, it is too little, or too &s;hort a &s;pace, or time, for Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>In the &s;ame hour.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t can do a great deal of work in a little time. Chri&s;t who is the mighty God, can do a great work in a day. That is a ble&s;&s;ed word, in <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.8. and it bears upon this Notion that I now hint.
<PB N="188" REF="104">It is &s;aid of <HI>Babylon, That all her plagues &s;hall come upon her in one day, &amp;c.</HI> In one day, why the intire&s;t of Pride, and Honour, Idolatry, and Per&s;ecution, that &s;o many ages were winding up to a height; can this bee de&s;troyed in &s;o little time? &s;hall this bee done in <HI>one day?</HI> Yes, <HI>For &s;trong in the Lord God who judgeth her.</HI> A great God, is never confined to any time. Oh my Beloved! bear up your hearts in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t; time can no way pre&s;cribe him, hee can do what hee will, and when hee will. But there is one general point that I &s;hall take up from the place, and end this di&s;cour&s;e. And the general Point is this.</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That faithful coming unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t, doth &s;ometimes prevail even in Corporal Ca&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>This woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> came to Chri&s;t, and &s;hee came in Faith; Here is a faithful commer to the Lord Je&s;us, and &s;hee prevails for her own &s;oul, I and &s;hee prevails for her Daughters body; &s;hee prevails eminently for her own &s;piritual concernments, I and &s;hee prevails al&s;o for her Daughters corporal con|cernments. That Faith prevails alwaies in &s;piritual concernments, that wee have often opened (and my Beloved, it is a mercy, that if it do not alwaies pre|vail for our body, yet that it doth for our &s;ouls) But God hath provided, and doth &s;o order it, that &s;ome|times it &s;hall prevail for body and &s;oul too.</P>
<P>Indeed going to Chri&s;t is good for every thing, and they who truly go to the Lord Je&s;us, &s;hall one day have cau&s;e to &s;ing the &s;ong of <HI>David, Ble&s;s the Lord, Oh my &s;oul, who forgiveth all thy &s;ins, and healeth all thy di&s;ea&s;es.</HI> You that go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t,
<PB N="189" REF="104">you &s;hall have cau&s;e to &s;ay, Ble&s;&s;ed bee God, I have &s;oul-mercy, and bodily-mercy too. If you look thorow the whole &s;tory of the Life of Chri&s;t, you &s;hall &s;ee this truth. The whole hi&s;tory of the Go&s;pel gives us in&s;tances; that faithful coming to Chri&s;t, did &s;ometimes prevail with him for corporal-mercies, as well as for &s;piritual mercies. A double in&s;tance I &s;hall give.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, An In&s;tance of <HI>prevailing for our &s;elves.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, An In&s;tance of <HI>prevailing for others.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, An In&s;tance of prevailing for our &s;elves; &s;aith the Leper, in <HI>Matth.</HI> 8.2. <HI>Lord, if thou wilt, thou can&s;t make mee clean.</HI> And that of the blinde man <HI>(Barthomeus)</HI> in <HI>Luk.</HI> 18.41. &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>What wilt thou that I &s;hall do unto thee?</HI> and hee &s;aid, Lord, <HI>That I may receive my &s;ight, and his &s;ight was re&s;tored to him.</HI> Many a time the Lord Chri&s;t was prevailed withall for corporal mercies.</P>
<P>But &s;econdly, As many did prevail for them|&s;elves, &s;o they did often <HI>prevail for others.</HI> As in <HI>Matth.</HI> 15.30. It is there &s;aid, <HI>Great multitudes came to him, having with them tho&s;e that were lame, blinde, dumb, maimed, and many others; and ca&s;t them down at Je&s;us feet, and hee healed them, &amp;c.</HI> The Lord did many corporal kindne&s;&s;es for others. The like to this you have, in <HI>Matth.</HI> 9.1, 2. <HI>They brought to him one &s;ick of the Pal&s;ie, and Je&s;us &s;eeing their Faith, healed him.</HI> But now, here is one Ob|jection again&s;t this.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But you will &s;ay, <HI>This was true of the times wherein Chri&s;t lived;</HI> Chri&s;t, when hee was up|on Earth, healed <HI>Simon Peters</HI> wifes Mother of a fea|vour; and &s;uch a ones Daughter, and &s;uch a ones Son; but now hee is in Heaven, &s;uch things are
<PB N="190" REF="105">not to beee expected; &s;o &s;ome do think.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For An&s;wer, Fir&s;t, <HI>If wee &s;peak of his mi|raculous way of healing,</HI> then it may bee &s;aid, that miraculous way of healing di&s;ea&s;es was a <HI>mercy more eminently put forth in tho&s;e daies, of Chri&s;ts being in the fle&s;h.</HI> But if you &s;peak of the <HI>thing it &s;elf,</HI> healing di&s;ea&s;es, <HI>curing of bodies,</HI> I doubt not but wee may expect the &s;ame mercy from Je&s;us Chri&s;t now, that they did then. And the Rea&s;on is, <HI>Becau&s;e there is the &s;ame ground for Chri&s;t to &s;hew corporal kindne&s;&s;es now, which was then.</HI> Where the ground of a thing is perpetual, moral, and eternally the &s;ame in all ages, the &s;ame things may bee done upon the &s;ame ground, But, &amp;c. I finde in the Go&s;pel a double ground, why Chri&s;t did heal corporal di&s;ea&s;es.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t ground was <HI>his pitty and &s;ympathy.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;econdly, <HI>To fulfil Prophecie and Promi&s;e;</HI> Upon the&s;e two grounds did Chri&s;t heal, either upon the grounds of pitty and compa&s;&s;ion, as a man, or el&s;e upon the ground of Prophecie or Promi&s;e.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t ground you have it, in <HI>Matth.</HI> 14.14. It is &s;aid, Je&s;us went forth, and &s;aw a great multitude, and was <HI>moved with compa&s;&s;ion toward them, and hee healed their &s;ick.</HI> Compa&s;&s;ion did move Chri&s;t, and therefore hee healed them. Now ob|&s;erve, Je&s;us Chri&s;t now in Heaven, hath the &s;ame compa&s;&s;ions that hee had here on Earth; and that is founded upon his keeping, or retaining of his humane nature &s;till: If Chri&s;t had not now in Heaven our humane nature, hee would not have had this com|pa&s;&s;ion; for you &s;hall finde, that the compa&s;&s;ion that was in Chri&s;t, it was not built upon his God-head, but upon his humane Nature. And therefore in <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.16, 17. It is &s;aid, Chri&s;t took not on him
<PB N="191" REF="105"><HI>the nature of Angels, but hee took on him the &s;eed of Abraham;</HI> Why &s;o? <HI>that hee might bee a merciful, and faithful High Prie&s;t, &amp;c.</HI> Hee did therefore take <HI>Mans Nature,</HI> that hee might have <HI>compa&s;&s;ion.</HI> Now this, Je&s;us retains for ever, and hee hath the &s;ame compa&s;&s;ions now hee is in Heaven, that hee had when hee was upon the Earth.</P>
<P>The &s;econd ground is that which I finde, in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.4. compared with <HI>Matth.</HI> 8.17. I pray minde it (for it is good to know what is the ground of Faith.) In <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53. Saith the Prophet there, <HI>Surely hee hath born our griefs, and carried our &s;orrows, &amp;c.</HI> This was prophe&s;ied of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that hee &s;hould not onely have compa&s;&s;ion on our &s;piritual infirmi|ties, our &s;ins, but our corporal; and this was the ground why hee did heal di&s;ea&s;es in the time of his fle&s;h, <HI>Matth.</HI> 8.17. It is &s;aid, <HI>Hee healed all that were &s;ick, that it might bee fulfilled which was spoken by I&s;aiah the Prophet,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Him&s;elf took our in|firmities, and bare our &s;ickne&s;&s;es.</HI> Here was the ground why Chri&s;t did heal then, becau&s;e it was pro|phe&s;ied, hee &s;hould bear our &s;ickne&s;&s;es. Now this Prophecie is an eternal truth. And if in the time of his fle&s;h hee did &s;hew corporal kindne&s;&s;es, that that Prophecie might bee fulfilled; hee will now do the &s;ame, that the &s;ame Prophecie might bee fulfilled. Even in the&s;e daies wee may expect, that our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, upon our faithful coming to him, &s;hould &s;hew corporal kindne&s;s to us, and ours, as well as &s;piritual. One Scripture I &s;hall add for the Truth of it, and that is in <HI>James</HI> 5.14. <HI>Is any man &s;ick among you? Let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, &amp;c. and the prayer of Faith &s;hall &s;ave the &s;ick, &amp;c.</HI> Here ob&s;erve,
<PB N="192" REF="106">that faithful prayer &s;hall prevail for the &s;aving of the &s;ick: Now a little to clear up this, you mu&s;t know, fir&s;t, that this is to bee under&s;tood of corpo|ral &s;ickne&s;&s;es; and therefore the very two terms that are here u&s;ed, for <HI>&s;aving,</HI> and <HI>&s;ick,</HI> are u&s;ually applied to corporal di&s;ea&s;es. I but it is &s;aid, this was by virtue of the anointing of the Elders. To this I an&s;wer, this expre&s;&s;ion hath been abu&s;ed; But how|ever that this &s;alvation doth not depend upon the anointing, will appear, if you ob&s;erve the phra&s;e, <HI>And the Prayer of Faith &s;hall &s;ave the &s;ick.</HI> Hee doth not &s;ay, the <HI>Anointing</HI> &s;hall do it, but the <HI>Prayer of Faith;</HI> and further, ob&s;erve, this is a general Scrip|ture concerning all ages, built upon perpetual grounds, and to hold now, as well as then; That coming to Chri&s;t in Faith, will prevail with him for corporal kindne&s;&s;es, both for our &s;elves, and others. Wee &s;hall add no more for the proof, but give you the Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P>There are five Rea&s;ons whence it comes to pa&s;s, that &s;ometimes our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t is prevailed withall by tho&s;e that faithfully come to him, incor|poral ca&s;es for them&s;elves, and others.</P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 1. <HI>That the Lord Je&s;us may &s;hew that hee hath power in this particular.</HI> My Beloved, Je&s;us Chri&s;t will &s;ometimes &s;peak, and do &s;uch a word, and &s;uch a work, for this rea&s;on, that it may bee known what hee could do in that ca&s;e. In <HI>Matth.</HI> 9. and the beginning, Why did hee &s;ay to the &s;ick of the Pa&s;|&s;ie, <HI>Bee of good cheer, thy &s;ins are forgiven thee? but that they might know the Son of Man hath power on the the Earth to forgive &s;ins.</HI> Beleevers, Beleevers, you &s;hall know what your Saviour can do, you &s;hall know what a Chri&s;t you have, and what hee can
<PB N="193" REF="106">do in every thing. You think hee can do for your &s;ouls, you do not que&s;tion it; hee will make you know, hee can do for your bodies too. That hee may &s;hew his power, hee will &s;ometimes &s;hew cor|poral kindne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>That hee may &s;hew him&s;elf to bee the &s;ame in all ages.</HI> My Beloved, poor hearts are too too ready to &s;ing that doleful P&s;alm, <HI>Is the Lords mercy clean gone? is his loving kindne&s;s come to an end? &amp;c.</HI> Poor hearts are too too ready to &s;ay, the Lord did &s;uch a mercy at &s;uch a time, but did hee not then re&s;olve to do &s;o no more? at &s;uch a time the Lord healed &s;uch a one, but did hee not end the work then? No, the Lord Chri&s;t is from everla&s;ting to everla&s;ting? thorow all generations, &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 103.14, &amp; 17. <HI>ver&s;es. For hee knoweth our frame; hee remembreth that wee are but du&s;t; but the mercy of the Lord is from everla&s;ting to everlasting, upon them that fear him: and his Righteou&s;ne&s;s unto chil|drens children.</HI> That you may know that it is not onely a peculiar mercy to tho&s;e times, therefore, thorow all generations hee will heal, as hee did then, that it may appear hee is the &s;ame in all ages. That Text is to bee under&s;tood of corporals.</P>
<P>Thirdly, The Lord Je&s;us will &s;ometimes &s;hew corporal kindne&s;&s;es to our &s;elves, and others, <HI>that hereby hee may ingage us.</HI> Oh my Beloved, Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth love to ingage poor &s;ouls to him&s;elf; hee <HI>loves to lay his fair yoak upon your backs;</HI> hee loves to lay the cords of men (of humane love) upon their hearts, to binde them to him&s;elf. Now <HI>corporal kindne&s;&s;es do much ingage.</HI> The truth is, it is our folly, and Chri&s;ts kindne&s;s in a my&s;tery, that <HI>a cor|poral kindne&s;s works more &s;ometimes than a &s;piritual,
<PB N="194" REF="107">and Chri&s;t therefore goes that way to work upon us.</HI> Wee finde in dealing with children (and the Lord knows &s;illy children wee are the be&s;t of us) that wee do oftentimes more win by an Apple, than a better thing. Oh wee have a good Chri&s;t that conde&s;cends to our childi&s;hne&s;s, hee will have corporal kindne&s;|&s;es, becau&s;e hee &s;ees they will prevail with us &s;ome|times, when others will not. How &s;tately is that <HI>P&s;alm, P&s;al.</HI> 116. Oh &s;aith <HI>David</HI> there, <HI>I will love the Lord, &amp;c.</HI> What did ingage <HI>David? I was in mi&s;ery, the &s;orrows of death took hold of mee, and the Lord delivered mee, &amp;c.</HI> Oh, for the Lord Je&s;us to &s;hew a kindne&s;s to our poor carka&s;&s;es, doth ingage much. At &s;uch a time I had a childe &s;ick, a rela|tion &s;ick, I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord heard mee; I will love the Lord as long as I live.</P>
<P>Fourthly, The Lord doth it, <HI>that hee may incourage Faith.</HI> Sirs, <HI>glorious things</HI> (as Doctor <HI>Sibbs</HI> ap|plied that Scripture) <HI>are &s;poken of thee, O thou Grace of Faith!</HI> Now this is a great incouragement, when Faith &s;hall prevail with Chri&s;t for body and &s;oul too for inward and outward mercies, how is Faith incouraged? Pray will you turn to <HI>John</HI> 4.53. The kindne&s;s of Chri&s;t to the Noble mans childe, whom the Lord did cure upon his Fathers reque&s;t, mark how it did work upon that great man, <HI>Hee enquired concerning the time, and hee knew that it was at the time that Chri&s;t &s;aid, his Son liveth,</HI> What follows? then, <HI>Him&s;elf beleeved, and his whole hou&s;e.</HI> Why, did not the man beleeve, be|fore Chri&s;t had cured his childe? Yes, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 50. it is &s;aid, <HI>Hee beleeved,</HI> but the Ma&s;ter that belee|ved before, beleeves more, I, and the whole Fami|ly beleeved too. Verily Sirs, Faith is marvelou&s;ly
<PB N="195" REF="107">incouraged by corporal kindne&s;&s;es. What did in|courage <HI>David</HI> again&s;t <HI>Goliah,</HI> but this? Thy <HI>&s;ervant &s;lew both the Lion, and the Bear: and this uncircumci&s;ed Phili&s;tine &s;hall bee as one of them.</HI> Oh, when the Lord &s;hall hear us for our poor carka&s;&s;es, this will incourage Faith. Many a per&s;on hath been wrought upon to come to Chri&s;t, by the kindne&s;&s;es that hee hath &s;hewed to others. There is a &s;tory of a poor Chri&s;tian Maid (in the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical hi&s;tories) who&s;e Prayer and Faith cured a great Mans childe in a heatheni&s;h place. The Governour of the place had a childe &s;ick, and every one was to give &s;ome|what to help it, but nothing would do; at la&s;t a poor captive Chri&s;tian was asked what &s;hee could do; &s;hee &s;aid, I can pray to my God, and hee can heal; &s;hee did &s;o, and the childe was healed; and it is &s;aid, it was the occa&s;ion to work upon many, to inquire after, and to embrace Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the Chri&s;tian Re|ligion. And let mee appeal unto you, have you not known, at lea&s;t have you not heard of &s;ome poor wretched creatures, that have been much wrought upon when they have ob&s;erved that God hath heard the prayers of &s;uch a Mini&s;ter, of &s;uch a poor Chri|&s;tian, when they were &s;ick, and this hath drawn them on in the way of Faith and Holine&s;s?</P>
<P>Fifthly and la&s;tly, Je&s;us Chri&s;t will &s;ometimes &s;hew corporal kindne&s;&s;es, <HI>that &s;o hee may make good all the Promi&s;es.</HI> In 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.8. Godline&s;s is &s;aid to have <HI>the Promi&s;e of the Life that now is, and of that which is to come.</HI> Why now you know what is &s;aid, in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.20. That <HI>in him all the Promi&s;es are</HI> Yea, <HI>and</HI> Amen. All Promi&s;es are made to Beleevers, but the fulfilling of all, doth depend upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Now my Beloved, That the Lord may fulfil tem|poral
<PB N="196" REF="108">Promi&s;es, hee will upon the faithful coming of his &s;ervants, &s;ometimes give them temporal mercies. Wee &s;hall now come to the U&s;e. There are but two U&s;es that I would make of this Point.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, therefore, Let this &s;erve for a <HI>word of Conviction.</HI> And,</P>
<P>Secondly, For a <HI>word of In&s;truction.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It &s;erves for a <HI>word of Conviction.</HI> To con|vince the folly, and the mi&s;take of many poor crea|tures, who think, and &s;ay, that going to Je&s;us Chri&s;t may bee good for the &s;oul, but they cannot tell what it is for the body. <HI>Repentance, Faith, real Conver&s;ion to the Lord Je&s;us, may &s;ave our &s;ouls, but they cannot &s;ee what it will do for their bodies.</HI> This kinde of Dutch-divinity is every where, to minde <HI>Mammon,</HI> and body, be&s;t, and mo&s;t; and to think Religion is not for any profit or purpo&s;e in tho&s;e particulars. But &s;ee here this folly, and know, that <HI>Religion is good for all things. Length of daies are in Chri&s;ts right hand; and in his left, riches and honour.</HI> Oh &s;ouls, learn to &s;ee, going to Je&s;us Chri&s;t is good, not onely for our &s;ouls, but for our bodies. You &s;hall go to the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and have the mercies of Hea|ven, and the mercies of Earth too. <HI>Can the Son of Je&s;&s;e give you Olive yards, and Vine-yards, &amp;c.?</HI> Was the &s;peech of <HI>Saul,</HI> 1 Sam. 22.7. So &s;ay the men of the world, <HI>Do you think to get any thing by being godly?</HI> Yes, if the Lord plea&s;e, you may get for body, as well as for &s;oul, by going to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. The world is mightily mi&s;taken, that think godline&s;s is good for nothing but &s;alvation; it is good for this pre&s;ent world too. But then,</P>
<P>Secondly, Let it &s;erve for an U&s;e of <HI>In&s;truction, To teach us all whither to go in all ca&s;es,</HI> whether &s;pi|ritual
<PB N="197" REF="108">or corporal; why, to go to the Lord Je&s;us. Whatever thy ca&s;e bee, away to Chri&s;t; going to Chri&s;t is good for &s;oul, and for body. What is your condition? Say &s;ome, I am a <HI>poor man,</HI> and I have a little e&s;tate, and a great charge, I hope beleeving in Je&s;us Chri&s;t will &s;ave my &s;oul, but what &s;hall be|come of my Family? go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, hee can give corporal, as well as &s;piritual mercies. Saith another, I am <HI>&s;ick, &amp;c.</HI> little do wee know what may bee expected from Chri&s;t even in corporal ca&s;es. You have a fine &s;peech, in <HI>Proverbs</HI> 3.16. <HI>Length of daies are in her right hand: and in her left hand, riches and honour. Shee is a tree of Life, and &s;hee is health to the Navel, and the Fle&s;h,</HI> chap. 4.22. This is &s;poke of <HI>Wi&s;dome,</HI> what Wi&s;dome? why it is &s;poken of <HI>E&s;|&s;ential Wi&s;dome,</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t; why, what of Chri&s;t? it is &s;aid, <HI>Length of daies are in his right hand;</HI> Eter|nity of Life is a right-hand-mercy for Je&s;us Chri&s;t to give; I but how &s;hall I live here? why, <HI>In his left hand are riches and honour.</HI> You go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and &s;ay, Lord, I have a dead &s;oul, dead in tre&s;|pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins, Lord, Length of daies are with thee; But thy body is &s;ick, why go to Chri&s;t, hee can cure bodies too; and is this onely for your &s;elves? No, but for others too; you may go to the Lord Je|&s;us, not onely for a mor&s;el of bread for thy poor &s;oul, but for &s;ome cure for thy childe.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>But may I go to the Lord Je&s;us?</HI> will the Lord Chri&s;t accept mee, <HI>who come to him upon a carnal account?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For an&s;wer. <HI>That Je&s;us that hath the mer|cy of God, to pitty &s;ouls, hath the pitty of a man to pitty bodies;</HI> and humane compa&s;&s;ions will prevail with him for bodily pitty.</P>
<PB N="198" REF="109">
<P>Object. I but will the &s;oul &s;ay, <HI>Is there then any hope that I may prevail with the Lord for my &s;ick childe?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> My Beloved, I told you in the beginning, That <HI>the Prayers and Faith of the Parent will much prevail with Chri&s;t,</HI> for the good of the childe. In <HI>Gen.</HI> 17. <HI>Abraham</HI> goes to the Lord, and hee praies for <HI>I&s;hmael, Oh that I&s;hmael might live in thy &s;ight.</HI> That is, that hee might bee the childe of the Pro|mi&s;e; Hee was a <HI>Son of the Fle&s;h,</HI> but not an <HI>Heir of the Promi&s;e;</HI> but yet mark what follows, though <HI>I&s;hmael</HI> &s;hould not bee the <HI>childe of the Promi&s;e,</HI> yet the Lord doth there a&s;&s;ure <HI>Abraham</HI> of this, that <HI>I&s;hmael &s;hall bee ble&s;&s;ed. I&s;aac</HI> is the childe of the pro|mi&s;ed &s;eed, yet <HI>I&s;hmael</HI> &s;hall bee ble&s;&s;ed too. <HI>Many a time doth the Lord hear the prayers of his &s;ervants, e|ven for an I&s;hmael, i. e.</HI> for a childe, yea a <HI>carnal childe;</HI> and this is certain, even bad children have many corporal mercies for their Parents &s;akes; and wee may expect it.</P>
<P>Object. But wee <HI>have known many a Parent that have gone in Faith to Je&s;us Chri&s;t for a poor childe, that never have prevailed.</HI> How then can you build us up in this Truth, when wee &s;ee the contrary?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, <HI>If thou goe&s;t to the Lord, and praye&s;t for a childe, and do&s;t not prevail, God deals no wor&s;e with thee than hee dealt with thy betters. Da|vid,</HI> who was a man after Gods own heart, went to God for a childe, and hee prayed hard, but yet the Lord did not hear him. You have the &s;tory in 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.16. <HI>David be&s;ought God for the childe, and fa&s;ted. &amp;c.</HI> And if it bee &s;o with you, yet are you as well in this re&s;pect, as <HI>David</HI> was; But more ful|ly to an&s;wer the Objection. I pray mark it, that in
<PB N="199" REF="109">that place, there are two things might &s;atisfie <HI>Da|vid,</HI> and &s;o any in the like ca&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>It was not good for David that the childe &s;hould live.</HI> I make that appear thus; what was the childe that <HI>David</HI> did de&s;ire might live? you know the &s;tory, it was the ba&s;e-begotten childe, which hee got upon <HI>Bath&s;heba.</HI> Certainly it was not good for <HI>David</HI> that the childe &s;hould live; had the childe lived, it would have been his Fathers &s;hame, &amp;c. When thou goe&s;t to God to begg the life of thy childe, if thy childe do not live, what is the rea&s;on? hee may live to bee thy &s;hame. Some have begged of God the life of a childe, what ever came of it; God hath given it as a cur&s;e, and the childes life hath been a monument of their &s;hame, and a perpe|tual heart-breaking to the Parents all their daies. (As a good Woman once &s;adly &s;aid) So that is one thing, it <HI>may bee for good to the Parent, that God &s;hould not hear prayers for a childes life,</HI> and then that may &s;atisfie us, if hee do not. But then,</P>
<P>Secondly, Though the Lord did not hear <HI>David</HI> for the life of the childe; I per&s;wade mee, <HI>Hee did hear David for the &s;oul of the childe.</HI> I &s;hall give you this account of it. Saith <HI>David,</HI> in <HI>v.</HI> 23. <HI>I &s;hall go to him, but hee &s;hall not return to mee.</HI> Whither is that? not &s;o much, I &s;hall go to him in my body to the grave, but in my &s;oul to God. And my Beloved, that this is intended, doth appear upon this con&s;ideration; no|thing but this could have &s;o quieted the heart of <HI>Da|vid,</HI> that the childe was happy. Indeed &s;ome think that the phra&s;e, <HI>I &s;hall go to him,</HI> is no more, but I &s;hall bee dead, as hee is; and they &s;ay, <HI>David</HI> did acquie&s;ce in this, that the will of God was fulfilled; and therefore <HI>David comforts him&s;elf in this,</HI> I &s;hall
<PB N="200" REF="110">go to him. But if this had not been to Heaven, it could have been no great comfort. Ala&s;s! what comfort is this bare thought to a mourning Parent? my childe is dead, and I &s;hall dye too. <HI>David</HI> might have had that comfort in <HI>Ab&s;olons</HI> death; but here was his comfort, I &s;hall go to him, <HI>i. e.</HI> to glo|ry; the <HI>bare grave is not comfort,</HI> nor was it to <HI>Da|vid,</HI> but the glory beyond the grave is. And this is that comfort which doth &s;tay the heart, I &s;hall go to him. <HI>Though God did not hear him for his childes life, yet I think for his childes &s;oul.</HI> So that is ano|ther thing to &s;atisfie any Chri&s;tian in this ca&s;e. I &s;ay, when Chri&s;t doth not hear prayers to re&s;tore a childe to life, and health; yet, in this ca&s;e, in parti|cular, go to the Lord Je&s;us, you may go, and you may prevail for corporal kindne&s;&s;es for them, and if not for their bodies, who can tell but you may for their &s;ouls? Then, I be&s;eech you all in the words of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.6. compared with <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 19. <HI>Bee careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and &s;upplication, with thank&s;giving, let your request bee made known unto God. My God &s;hall &s;upply all your need, according to his riches, in glory, by Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI> Whatever your condition bee, bee not over careful, go to the Lord Je&s;us, and hee will &s;upply all thy wants, hee will give a pardon to thy &s;oul, and a plai&s;ter to thy body, and to thy childes body too; you may go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t for what you will, in a way of beleeving, and to bee &s;ure you &s;hall al|waies prevail in &s;pirituals, and &s;ometimes in corpo|rals. But there are two que&s;tions that wee mu&s;t an|&s;wer.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, But in <HI>what ca&s;es may it bee lawful to put Prayer and Faith a working in going to Chri&s;t for corpo|ral kindne&s;&s;es?</HI></P>
<P><PB N="201" REF="110">Secondly, <HI>When may wee hope that wee may prevail with Chri&s;t for corporal kindne&s;&s;es?</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, In what ca&s;es may wee go to the Lord Je&s;us, and &s;et Prayer and Faith on work for corporal kind|ne&s;&s;es? It is a Ca&s;e of Con&s;cience, which is not of|tentimes touched upon.</P>
<P>Three things I &s;hall tell you to regulate you, and then in any ca&s;e you may go to Chri&s;t, and act Faith for corporal mercies.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>When the thing is lawful that you ask.</HI> There are many things that are not lawful for us to ask. Like <HI>Neroes</HI> Mother, ask, and &s;ay, I will have my Son King, though I dye for it. You may not begg of the Lord, that your childe may bee thus great, or thus honourable; but you may begg of the Lord, life, and health, creature accommodations, &s;o far as ne|ce&s;&s;ary, the&s;e things you may begg, and go to Chri&s;t for.</P>
<P>Secondly, You <HI>mu&s;t look that your spirits bee not inordinately &s;et upon the things.</HI> When ever thou finde&s;t thy heart inordinately &s;et upon any thing, then do not pray for it. And then,</P>
<P>Thirdly, When <HI>you can appeal to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that the end, for which you begg a corporal kindne&s;s, it is for his glory,</HI> then you may begg it. As <HI>David</HI> there, in <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 119.17. <HI>Deal bountifully with thy &s;ervant; that I may live and keep thy Word.</HI> You may go and &s;ay, Lord Je|&s;us, <HI>Let my childe live:</HI> for what end? that hee may bee a great man, a rich man? &amp;c. No, the Lord will abhor it; But <HI>that my childe may live to &s;erve the Lord;</HI> if that bee your end, you may pray for it. And then,</P>
<P>Que&s;t. 2. But you will &s;ay, <HI>When &s;hall I know, or may I gue&s;s, that I &s;hall prevail with Chri&s;t?</HI> What
<PB N="202" REF="111">are the &s;igns of the time, and &s;ea&s;on when I may hope I &s;hall prevail with Chri&s;t for mercy, &amp;c?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer, <HI>When the frame of your &s;pirit, is as the frame of the &s;pirit of the Woman of</HI> Canaan. I pray mark it a little, what the frame of the &s;pirit of this Woman was; Take it in &s;ome particulars. I will name onely two, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Shee had this frame of &s;pirit; <HI>That though &s;hee mentioned her childes ca&s;e, yet &s;hee &s;eems to minde her own &s;oul mo&s;t:</HI> And,</P>
<P>Secondly, Shee had this as the frame of her &s;pirit, <HI>To beleeve for both.</HI> Now to urge it in a few words to you.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t frame of her &s;pirit was, That <HI>though &s;hee did begg this mercy for her childe, yet the frame of her &s;pirit was principally &s;et upon her &s;oul.</HI> This poor Wo|man did de&s;ire her Daughters life; but however Lord, <HI>bread for my poor &s;oul.</HI> Oh Sirs, when you can go to God, and &s;ay, Lord, I would have &s;uch a corpotal mercy, but <HI>however Lord, &s;oul-mercy;</HI> when you can de&s;ire a &s;ick childe may bee made well, but e&s;peci|ally <HI>an evil heart mended;</HI> when your &s;oul is &s;et <HI>mo&s;t|ly upon your &s;oul,</HI> and its concernments, then are you in a good frame.</P>
<P>Secondly, This Woman was rai&s;ed up to <HI>mea&s;ure of Faith.</HI> Indeed &s;ome great and con&s;iderate Divines do think, that that Text of <HI>James</HI> 5. (where it is &s;aid, The prayer of Faith &s;hall &s;ave the &s;ick) <HI>is to bee un|der&s;tood in reference to a particular Faith.</HI> And my Beloved, how&s;oever, yet let mee tell you, it is not alwaies nece&s;&s;ary wee &s;hould have a particular per|&s;wa&s;ion, yet <HI>when the Lord doth intend to an&s;wer in a corporal kindne&s;s, hee doth &s;ecretly, either out of the word, or by providence, hint &s;ome word that may bring
<PB N="203" REF="111">the &s;oul to a beleeving frame.</HI> Something is pre&s;ented to us, which rai&s;eth up a Faith in us; &s;o that when wee are in &s;uch a frame of heart, as to minde &s;pi|ritual things mo&s;t, and yet to beleeve, that in a tem|poral thing God will gratifie us, then may wee ex|pect that wee &s;hall not bee a&s;hamed of our Faith, and that wee &s;hall have the particular corporal mer|cy granted to us. But to end, This is that I would pre&s;s upon the whole; <HI>As ever you would have mercy for body and &s;oul, go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> But now there is &s;ome general word, that I would draw from the whole &s;tory. Wee have now di&s;patched this whole di&s;cour&s;e of the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> What is there that is upon my &s;pirit to begg of the Lord for you, and for my own &s;oul, but this? <HI>That this &s;tory may bee alwaies a good &s;tory to us.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, therefore, I &s;ay, <HI>Look about you, that the &s;tory of the Woman of</HI> Canaan <HI>may not bee a &s;ad &s;tory to any.</HI> Is there any &s;uch as may have cau&s;e to fear that, you will &s;ay? Yes; man or woman, whoever thou art, who <HI>do&s;t not faithfully go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> the &s;tory of the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> &s;hall condemn you; you have no excu&s;e to keep you off from going to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but this Woman will condemn you. Three Excu&s;es &s;ome make.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Ala&s;s, <HI>I am a poor man,</HI> or a poor woman, that have heard but a little of Chri&s;t, and am but a &s;tranger to Chri&s;t: &s;o was the Woman of <HI>Canaan.</HI> I but &s;aith another,</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>I have &s;omething el&s;e to look after;</HI> a great family, or a &s;ick childe, &amp;c. The Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> had a &s;ick childe, but did that keep her from Chri&s;t? No, that brought her to Chri&s;t. If that &s;peech had been &s;poke with gravity, that one &s;aid upon that in
<PB N="204" REF="112">the Parable, <HI>Luk.</HI> 14.15. <HI>Hee might have brought his Wife with him,</HI> it had been right enough; you &s;hould bring relations with you to Chri&s;t; do your indea|vour to bring children; let not children keep back you.</P>
<P>But thirdly, <HI>Ala&s;s, I cannot tell where to finde Chri&s;t.</HI> It is a marvelous hard thing now adaies to finde a Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Mark what the Woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> did; The Evangeli&s;t <HI>Mark</HI> (who records this &s;tory, <HI>Mark</HI> 7.24.) &s;aith, that Chri&s;t entered into a hou&s;e, <HI>and would have no man know it, but hee could not bee hid;</HI> for a Woman of <HI>Canaan found</HI> him out, &amp;c. It was one of the tempting (but the gracious tempting) hours of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. But hee <HI>could not bee hid, for a Woman of</HI> Canaan <HI>found him out.</HI> The Lord doth look thou &s;houlde&s;t finde a Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and <HI>never leave looking, till you do finde him.</HI> The Woman of <HI>Ca|naan</HI> will condemn &s;uch as the&s;e. <HI>Let not the &s;tory of the Woman of</HI> Canaan <HI>bee ever a &s;ad &s;tory to you.</HI> But,</P>
<P>Secondly, Let the &s;tory of this Woman <HI>bee a &s;weet &s;tory alwaies to your spirit.</HI> Let it bee a &s;tory, as a <HI>&s;tore-hou&s;e,</HI> unto which you may go and fetch &s;ome comfort in your wants. Who of you have been wait|ing upon Chri&s;t many a day, and have not what you begg? go to the Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and eat out of her basket.</P>
<P>There are three things in the &s;tory, that will &s;peak comfort to you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>That many &s;ins, and great unworthine&s;s, &s;hall never finally keep the &s;oul from Chri&s;t.</HI> Oh Sirs, you go to the Lord Je&s;us, and you knock, but your &s;ins bolt the door; you cry, but your corruptions cry louder; the woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> will tell you, <HI>I</HI> was as bad as you, and the Lord heard mee.</P>
<P><PB N="205" REF="112">Secondly, This &s;tory hath this in it for your com|fort, <HI>That Prayers ca&s;t back, may have a ble&s;&s;ed re|turn afterwards.</HI> The Lord Je&s;us may now &s;eem to be dumb, &s;o that hee may make thee &s;peak the more. Chri&s;t you &s;ee as in this womans ca&s;e was &s;ilent (as to granting her reque&s;t a long time) yet you &s;ee at la&s;t hee an&s;wers, and that largely and lovingly. Go to this &s;tory for that comfort; were the woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> alive, &s;hee would tell you this experience: <HI>A &s;oul may have a Prayer returned in mercy, that at fir&s;t was &s;eemingly ca&s;t off.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, The woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> will tell you this, That <HI>a mercy may come at la&s;t, of which the &s;oul hath no a&s;&s;urance.</HI> What a&s;&s;urance had the woman of <HI>Ca|naan?</HI> none, why the woman of <HI>Canaan</HI> will tell you; I had comfort in the end, though I had no a&s;&s;u|rance; &s;ouls are much ca&s;t down for want of particu|lar a&s;&s;urance; They pray, and hope, but are not a&s;|&s;ured; why what a&s;&s;urance had this woman? Nay, had &s;hee not the quite contrary? had not &s;he a &s;eem|ing <HI>rejection</HI> at fir&s;t, and <HI>no a&s;&s;urance</HI> at all? But be|hold, &s;hee hath the mercy, before any previous a&s;&s;u|rance; And &s;o may you have; though no a&s;&s;urance now, yet po&s;&s;ibly you may have the mercy de&s;ired ve|ry &s;peedily. However learn and remember th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">. <HI>You may IN TIME have a mercy, of which you have as yet no a&s;&s;urance.</HI> Thus meditate on this &s;tory, and look into it, as <HI>I</HI> &s;aid, as into a <HI>&s;tore-hou&s;e of comfort in many ca&s;es.</HI> To end all, Beloved, (as the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> &s;aid, <HI>You have heard of the Patience of Job, and what end the Lord made with him</HI>) &s;o &s;ay <HI>I,</HI> you have heard of the <HI>Practice of the woman of</HI> Canaan, <HI>and what end the Lord made with her.</HI> Let not this &s;tory bee forgot, as an <HI>old &s;tory</HI> is, but remember it many a
<PB N="206" REF="113">day, yea all your daies. For certainly there is much &s;weetne&s;s and refre&s;hing which you may gather from this record of the <HI>Woman of</HI> Canaan.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
<HEAD>Courteous Reader, The&s;e Books are printed for, and &s;old by <HI>Henry Mortlock,</HI> at the Sign of the Phoenix in <HI>Pauls</HI>-Church-yard, near the Little North-door.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Folios</HEAD>
<P>A Commentary upon the whole Epi&s;tle of <HI>Paul</HI> to the <HI>Ephe&s;ians,</HI> wherein the Text is learnedly and fruitfully opened, with a Logical Analy&s;is, &s;piritual, and holy Ob&s;ervations, Confuration of Arminiani&s;m and Popery. By Mr. <HI>Paul Bain.</HI></P>
<P>A Commentary on the <HI>Proverbs, Eccle&s;ia&s;tes, Can|ticles,</HI> and the <HI>Major</HI> Prophets. By <HI>John Trap;</HI> M. A.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Quartos.</HEAD>
<P>An Expo&s;ition of the Prophecy of <HI>Ezekiel.</HI> By <HI>Wil|liam Green-hill.</HI></P>
<P>The dividing of the Hoof, or &s;eeming Contradi|ctions throughout &s;acred Scriptures, di&s;tingui&s;hed, re&s;olved, and applied. By <HI>William Streat,</HI> M. A.</P>
<P>Some Sermons preached upon &s;everal occa&s;ions. By <HI>Peter Sterry.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="113">
<HEAD>Large Octavos.</HEAD>
<P>A Treati&s;e of the Divine Promi&s;es, in five Books: In the fir&s;t, A general De&s;cription of their Nature, Kinds, Excellency, Right U&s;e, Properties, and the Per&s;ons to whom they belong: In the four la&s;t, A Declaration of the Covenant it &s;elf, the bundle and body of all the Promi&s;es, and the &s;pecial Promi&s;es likewi&s;e which concern a mans &s;elf, or others, both temporal, &s;piritual, and eternal. By <HI>Edw. Leigh,</HI> M. A. of <HI>Magdalen</HI>-Hall in <HI>Oxford.</HI></P>
<P>The Hypocrites Ladder, or Looking-gla&s;s, or a Di&s;cour&s;e of the dangerous and de&s;tructive nature of Hypocri&s;ie, the reigning and provoking &s;in of this Age; wherein is &s;hewed how far the Hypocrite, or formal Profe&s;&s;or may go towards Heaven, yet utter|ly peri&s;h, by three Ladders of &s;ixty &s;teps of his A&s;|cending. By <HI>John Sheffield,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Word at <HI>Swithins, London.</HI></P>
<P>An Improvement of the Sea, upon the nine Nau|tical Ver&s;es, in the 107 <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> wherein among o|ther things you have a very full and delightful De|&s;cription of all tho&s;e many various and multitudinous Objects, which they behold in their Travels (through the Lords Creation) both on Sea, in Sea, and on Land, <HI>viz.</HI> All &s;orts and kinds of Fi&s;h, Fowl, and Bea&s;ts, whether wilde, or tame; All &s;orts of Trees and Fruit; All &s;orts of People, Cities, Towns, and Countries. By <HI>Daniel Pell,</HI> Preacher of the Word.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Small Octavos.</HEAD>
<P>Several Treati&s;es u&s;eful for Chri&s;tian Practice, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>Warning to Back&s;liders, The way to true Hap|pine&s;s, Mercies Memorials, A Sermon preached on the fifth of <HI>Novemb.</HI> Milk and Hony, fir&s;t and &s;e|cond
<PB REF="114">Part, Orthodox Paradoxes, The New Com|mandement, Divine Similitudes, or My&s;teries and Revelations. By <HI>Ralph Venning.</HI></P>
<P>The exceeding Riches of Grace advanced by the Spirit of Grace in an Empty Nothing-Creature, <HI>viz.</HI> Mris. <HI>Sarah Wight.</HI> Publi&s;hed by <HI>H. Je&s;&s;ey,</HI> A Ser|vant of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>A Latin and Engli&s;h Grammar. By <HI>Charls Hool,</HI> M. A.</P>
<P>Phy&s;ical Rarities, containing the mo&s;t choice Re|ceits of Phy&s;ick and Chirurgery, for the Cure of all Di&s;ea&s;es incident to mans body: Hereunto is an|nexed the Phy&s;ical Mathematicks of <HI>Hermes Tri&s;|megi&s;tus.</HI> Publi&s;hed by <HI>Ralph Williams,</HI> Practitioner in Phy&s;ick and Chirurgery.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Twelves.</HEAD>
<P>Spiritual Experiences of &s;undry Beleevers, with the Recommendation of the &s;ound, &s;avoury, and &s;pi|ritual worth of them, to the &s;ober, and &s;piritual Rea|der. By <HI>Vava&s;or Powell,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>The Saints De&s;ire, or Divine Con&s;olations, be|ing a Cordial for a Fainting Soul, containing Ob|&s;ervations, Experiences, and Coun&s;els; The Saints daily Duty, the Life of Faith, and how a Soul may live in the &s;weet enjoyment of the Love of God, &amp;c. By <HI>Samuel Richard&s;on.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
