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<DATE>2011-02-22</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>SAINTS Duty di&s;cour&s;ed, from 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.18.</P>
<P><HI>And the</HI> SAINTS Dignity handled, from <HI>Eph. chap.</HI> 1. <HI>v.</HI> 7.</P>
<P>With Directions to both, deli|vered from a <HI>Chatecheticall,</HI> DIALOGUE.</P>
<P>By him that was, and is,
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<Q><BIBL><HI>Luke 3.10.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And what &s;hall we doe?</P>
<BIBL><HI>12.</HI></BIBL>
<P>What &s;hall we doe?</P>
<BIBL><HI>14.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And what &s;hall we doe?</P>
<BIBL><HI>Mark. 13.37.</HI></BIBL>
<P>What I &s;ay to you, I &s;ay to all, Watch.</P></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>William Franckling,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his Shop near the Signe of the <HI>George</HI> in <HI>Norwich.</HI> 1649.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
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<HEAD>TO The mirrour of her age, and example of her yeares, M^r^s PHILIP HOBART, (Daughter to the Right Ho|nourable the Lady FRAN|CES HOBART) the Au|thor in all humility and &s;incerity wi&s;heth the growth of grace in this life, and glory of grace in the life which is to come.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Truely Vertuous,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_NOne that know you but know your worth is &s;o farre above a Comple|mentall flatterie, that who har|bors a thought thereto, be wraies him&s;elfe a &s;ycophantizing Pa|ra&s;ite. None that know me, but know
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<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> is as farre be|neath me, as a Complement is above me: In downe right fide|lity, did not your ample and ad|mired te&s;timony of good &s;eed, &s;owne in good ground, di&s;cover it &s;elfe, the world &s;hould never have been intelligenced thus, of your continuall practice, to un|der&s;tand and record the prin|ciples of Religion: your atten|tivene&s;se at, your delightfulne&s;&s;e in, &s;acred Ordinances; a &s;hame, as patterne to riper yeares: May I adde, tis pitty, but all incouragement to a further pro|gre&s;&s;e, &s;hould rai&s;e it &s;elfe, to &s;teele your re&s;olution, in imita|ting and exceeding Honourable precedency: That the la&s;t may
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be the be&s;t gener<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">m|ber (hopefull off-&s;pring) what advantages you have above mil|lions of Families in the conti|nuall dropping of Go&s;pell-Or|dinances; if your mea&s;ure &s;ur|mount not other, you come &s;hort; if you grow not in grace, as in yeares, you frustrate expecta|tion. I have over-boldened my &s;elfe to pre&s;ent this to your eye, which was tendred to your eare, and taken by your Pen; but your gracious and noble &s;pirit can ac|cept the de&s;ires, and connive at the failings of them that wi&s;h you well in the Lord. I mu&s;t tell the world, that among many whom God hath ble&s;&s;ed (&s;ince your Lady mothers zealous piety
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<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> weekly Lecture in her private Chappell) to the rejoycing of divers precious &s;oules, the faire hopes of your imitable graces lu&s;tre you farre and nigh, renowned. Wi&s;edome with an inheritance is good, &s;pake that wi&s;e, and rich man, and King: your inheritance is faire in re&s;pect of the nether, let your continuall growth in the grace of Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;peak you &s;till wonderfull in regard of the upper &s;prings. Proceed (gracious &s;tem) to flori&s;h, &s;o as long you may continue an ex|ample and honour to your Fa|mily, an encouragement to all that feare God, a pre&s;ident to all young noble plants, and an
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ornament to the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>For this purpo&s;e (pardon the pre&s;umption) I have dared to Dedicate to your worthine&s;&s;e, the Saints practice, with their pri|vilege, and path-way to both; the two fir&s;t di&s;cour&s;ed in your Chapley-field Oratory, the last to my dearely beloved Pari&s;h.</P>
<P>May the Lord reap glory, you, or for your &s;ake any, bene|fit; Who can expre&s;&s;e my joy or thanks? Thus bowing the knee to the Father of our Lord Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, making continuall mention of you in my prayers day and night without cea&s;ing, that the Lord would bestow up|on you length of dayes, with
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<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">, perfecting the good work he hath hopefully be|gun in you, to his eternall glory, and your everla&s;ting &s;alvation by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to who&s;e in|terce&s;sion and acceptance I commend your &s;oule and body: resting,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your humble Orator at the Throne of Grace, <HI>R. A.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
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<HEAD>The SAINTS duty di&s;cour&s;ed.</HEAD>
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<Q><BIBL><HI>2 PET.</HI> Chap. <HI>3.</HI> ver. <HI>18.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THe Penman of this Epi&s;tle is &s;pecified in the fir&s;t Chap|ter and fir&s;t ver&s;e, thus: <HI>Peter a &s;ervant and an A|po&s;tle of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> The per&s;ons to whom this Epi&s;tle was de|dicated, to &s;uch as from free grace had obtained like precious faith with them that were of the Privy Councell: the Apo&s;tles, by the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our God and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t, ver&s;e the fir&s;t, even to &s;uch contemned, con|demned, poore, &s;cattered ones, <HI>through
<PB N="2" REF="6">
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, A&s;ia, By|thinia,</HI> as in<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Ep. ch. v. 1.</NOTE> The &s;cope, is to fore|warne them of dangerous dayes and perillous times approaching, in which many will endeavour to pervert their life, and &s;ubvert their faith, even to the making &s;hipwracke thereof; whereby they might prove as ignominious to them&s;elves, &s;o inglorious to the Go&s;|pell of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; he therefore in the precedent, and in this pre&s;ent Chapter reminds them of divers and dangerous po&s;itions and practices of men, that forewarned, forearmed; and walke as Pilgrims, and &s;trangers warring again&s;t whatever will endanger their precious &s;oules, holy faith, or godly life, not knowing when the day of the Lord comes nor with what &s;peed, nor dread; by a convincing interrogatory he winds up their faith, to an exact pitch of the power of godline&s;&s;e, and holy conver|&s;ation, ver&s;e 11. &s;econded by variety of arguments, <HI>ver.</HI> 14, 15. that they may keep them&s;elves from being plucked away with the errour of the wicked; either <GAP DESC="foreign">, or <GAP DESC="foreign">, which to prevent, he pre&s;cribes my Text as an Antidote. As the la&s;t words u&s;ually be&s;t
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remembred; So, <HI>But grow.</HI> The words containe a needfull direction for all Chri&s;tians &s;cattered to and fro through|out the face of the whole Earth. If any aske the que&s;tion, what is required in the Text? 'tis an&s;wered, <HI>To grow;</HI> In what? <HI>In grace and knowledge;</HI> Of whom? <HI>Our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> In what order? here the method, <HI>In grace and knowledge:</HI> from which might be rai&s;ed the&s;e three ob&s;erva|tions:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, 'tis our duty to <HI>grow in grace.</HI><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Ob&s;er."></P>
<P>Secondly, 'tis our duty to grow in <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Ob&s;er."> <HI>knowledge.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, 'tis our duty to <HI>grow in grace <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Ob&s;er."> and knowledge.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall in&s;i&s;t on the fir&s;t only.</P>
<P><HI>'Tis the duty of Chri&s;tians to grow in grace.</HI> In the handling of which,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Doct.</HI> 1.</NOTE> I &s;hall according to my u&s;uall method, Fir&s;t open the termes of the Doctrine, <HI>grow</HI> and <HI>grace;</HI> Secondly, prove the point by the <GAP DESC="foreign"> of Scripture, and <GAP DESC="foreign"> of rea|&s;on; and Thirdly, make the u&s;e and ap|plication; and the &s;trength and ble&s;&s;ing of the Lord be in and on us all.</P>
<P>To <HI>grow,</HI> is a metaphoricall expre&s;|&s;ion, and may fetch its illu&s;tration from
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Plant, Trees, Flowers, Corn, &amp;c. which from &s;mall &s;pires, &s;prigs, &s;eed, augment, &s;pread, enlarge them&s;elves, &s;o may be &s;aid to increa&s;e, grow; this the word <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignifies: As the&s;e grow deeper, bigger, &s;tronger, higher; &s;o mu&s;t a Chri&s;tian &s;prout, flouri&s;h, waxing &s;tron|ger and &s;tronger in the &s;trength of the Lord, and power of his might: Or to <HI>grow;</HI> may &s;end forth an under&s;tanding to us of the duty, by ob&s;erving of our naturall or civill growth; as we de&s;ire to manife&s;t our &s;elves by our long tra|ding, to be richer, wi&s;er, better: So by our longer continuance under the brea|things of the &s;pirit in Go&s;pell-di&s;pen&s;a|tions, &s;hew ye your &s;elves to have re|ceived an increa&s;e of more light, life, zeale, love, knowledge, &amp;c. this is to <HI>grow in grace.</HI> I conceive the grace in the Text, is not that grace of graces, free and perfect, di&s;plaid upon a &s;oule by the infinite riches of wonderfull mercy, that admirable free, full grace of Ju&s;tification. But by <HI>grace</HI> here, the graces of Gods holy Spirit, through the Word, with power and life, con|veighed into the beleevers &s;oule, by the Holy Gho&s;t; which may therefore fitly
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be phra&s;ed, the <HI>fruit of the &s;pirit,</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.22, 23.</NOTE> which are thus in Apo&s;tolicall account enumerated; <HI>Love, Joy, Peace, long-&s;uffering, gentlene&s;&s;e, goodne&s;&s;e, faith, meekne&s;&s;e, temperance.</HI> The&s;e are gra|ces of Gods Spirit, and this <HI>grace</HI> in the Text includes the graces of this kind, in which we mu&s;t endeavour to grow; to which <HI>knowledge</HI> is added in the ver&s;e, even that di&s;tinct under|&s;tanding of divine truths revealed in the Word, concerning the knowing of God and Chri&s;t, whom to know aright is not le&s;&s;e then life eternall.<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 17.3.</NOTE> The &s;umme is, that little grace of Gods Spirit in thee, thou mu&s;t be &s;ure to act, that it increa&s;e more and more: that as to men there is evident a growth in your body; &s;o to God and men you may make it apparent there is an increa&s;e in your &s;oule, in the gracious exerci&s;e of a con&s;cience and conver&s;ation void of offence before God and man. This I conceive, with &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to better judgements, the &s;ence of the terme of the Text. I proceed to the point to be proved.</P>
<P><HI>'Tis a Chri&s;tians duty to grow in grace:</HI> which growth may have a re|ference
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to the number of graces, or to the mea&s;ure of graces; in re&s;pect of both, we mu&s;t <HI>grow.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>Paul</HI> advi&s;eth <HI>Corinth.</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 18.7.</NOTE> <HI>Therefore (as ye abound in every thing, in faith, utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in love to us) &s;ee that ye abound in this grace al&s;o:</HI> a bundle of beautifull excellencies are here col|lected. And our Apo&s;tle in the fir&s;t Chapter, the fifth, &s;ixth, and &s;eventh ver&s;es: <HI>And be&s;ides this, give all dili|gence, adde to your faith vertue, and to vertue knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godline&s;&s;e; and to god|line&s;&s;e, brotherly kindne&s;&s;e; and to bro|therly kindne&s;&s;e, charity.</HI> An addition, increa&s;e and growth of graces in the number. Is not this intimated in the parabolicall Hi&s;tory of the Lord and his &s;ervants concerning the expected in|crea&s;e of the talents? in which the ho|nouring Encomiums, &s;peaking them good and faithfull, that increa&s;ed and multiplyed their two to other two, their five to ten, with an <HI>euge, well done good and faithfull &s;ervant, thou ha&s;t been faithfull over a few things, I will make
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thee ruler over much, enter thou into thy Masters joy.</HI><NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.21.</NOTE></P>
<P>For the growth of the mea&s;ure of grace; grow in it: hath not Chri&s;t given grace that wee &s;hould grow to a higher mea&s;ure, even to the perfecting of the Saint, and come up to the mea|&s;ure of the &s;tature of Chri&s;t, the ful|ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.13.</NOTE> for-which <HI>Paul</HI> greatly rejoyced, hearing the faith of the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> grew &s;o exceedingly, and their charity toward each other &s;o abounded<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 1.3.</NOTE> to this <HI>Paul</HI> expects in the<NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 4.1.</NOTE> that as they had received of them that were di&s;pen&s;ers of the Go|&s;pels-my&s;terie, &s;o they would walke in plea&s;ing God, and abound therein more and more, as in the fore-mentioned place; as man, &s;o God, calls for more weight, more mea&s;ure; to adde to the number and mea&s;ure of grace; grow. Chri&s;tians had need to looke to their growth, <HI>Non e&s;t bonus qui non vult e&s;&s;e melior,</HI> hee that hath no care for the growth of his grace, will &s;oone bring the truth of his grace into &s;u&s;pition: by an Apo&s;taticall revolt, or Cork-like levity in being removed from, or wa|vering in the fir&s;t and be&s;t principles.
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Need we have to grow in grace, from the <GAP DESC="foreign"> to the <GAP DESC="foreign"></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Rea&s;."> The Lord hath more to be&s;tow on thee than yet appears to be in thee; what ever grace thou art enriched with, God hath more yet in the granary of his goodne&s;&s;e for a poor &s;oule: Think not thy &s;elfe more than a broken Ci|&s;tern; plume not thy &s;elfe to &s;ing a Re|quiem to thy &s;oule, as if thou had&s;t grace, holine&s;&s;e, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, know|ledge enough; bee not deceived who|ever thou art, endowed with an ad|mired competency of gifts and graces, yet you need more than yet you enjoy; that great mea&s;ure of knowledge is not the lea&s;t of that you are ignorant of: Should I &s;ay be yee warm'd and fil|led, and give not that which is need|full for the body, it would little pro|fit: &s;hould I preach, <HI>grow in grace,</HI> and not tell you, God hath more for you than yet appeares in you, le&s;&s;e rea|&s;on, to be up and doing. But God is an inexhau&s;ted Fountaine, that both can and will be&s;tow, more upon every &s;oule that truely de&s;ires the growth of grace: Aske thy &s;oule if it had not need be better &s;tocked, and more &s;tirre
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up it &s;elfe to lay hold on God, if he wil not give further &s;upply of grace and knowledge: Tis my happine&s;&s;e, I know in my need how to be furni&s;h|ed, it &s;hall bee my rea&s;on; Therefore Ile grow.</P>
<P>Therefore grow in grace: The more <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Rea&s;."> grace the more &s;trength: The infu&s;ion of grace puts life and energy into the &s;oule, the addition of grace renewes the active faculties with greater &s;trength: that as of the heroick Cham|pions enroll'd in the eleventh Chapter of the <HI>Hebrewes,</HI> of weake (by the grace of faith) they became &s;trong, &s;trong to an unmatchable power: So by the growth of grace, the &s;oule that was wont to be as water, becomes to be as &s;trong as &s;teele it &s;elfe; the Apo&s;tles witne&s;&s;ing the truth of this to the world. The want of &s;aving grace hinders the want of &s;aving knowledge, that enlightens, emboldens: when hea|ven afforded many an advantagious opportunity to &s;atisfie thy darkened judgement, doubting &s;pirit, let mee appeale, if thou ha&s;t not returned home, <HI>likewi&s;e,</HI> as came out: the &s;ad experience of our owne heart, dictates
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want of <HI>grace</HI> proudly kept backe, that in many things, we remaine as new|borne Babes, poore, weake Creatures. The truth of grace (O Chri&s;tian) quickens, but the growth of grace &s;trengthens thy &s;oul: that panoply of God makes the Saints &s;trong, the brea|thing of the &s;pirit of grace makes a &s;tripling more pui&s;&s;ant than the <HI>Goli|ah's</HI> of the Nations. 'Tis recorded of Father <HI>Abraham,</HI> being not weake in faith, he &s;taggered not at the promi&s;es of God, but being &s;trong in faith, hee beleeved in hope even again&s;t hope<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.20, 21.</NOTE> Chri&s;tians meet with Principalities, Powers, and the Rulers of the dark|ne&s;&s;e of this world, a terrible army; how &s;hall a poore &s;oule encounter with this maine body, when onely the &s;trength he hath is little more than a forlorne hope? let him &s;trengthen him&s;elfe with the graces of Gods Spi|rit, and hee &s;hall finde a power invin|cible; none more need of &s;trength than a poore Chri&s;tian: The more grace the more &s;trength; Whe|ther,</P>
<P N="1">1. Again&s;t &s;in, that is not &s;atisfied with a being in, but would dominiere
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over a Chri&s;tian: or what &s;trugling with &s;ecret corruptions, as wra&s;tling with too many corruptions, hard to be &s;ubdued, enforcing <HI>Paul</HI> to cry out<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.24.</NOTE> <HI>Oh wretch who &s;hall deliver me from this body of death?</HI> Oh, the &s;obs and groanes, teares and feares of a weak Chri&s;tian, when corruptions be|gin to di&s;cover them&s;elves, then they in apprehen&s;ion, the undone of all the world: <HI>Amaleck</HI> fights and &s;ometime prevails, the want of &s;trength foiles the &s;oule, the height of grace upholds the &s;oul, the more grace the more &s;trength again&s;t &s;inne.</P>
<P N="2">2 Again&s;t &s;uffering, the Church and people of God meet with oppo&s;ition, contradiction, per&s;ecution, who more? it was the Fathers appoint|ment, as the &s;onnes prediction<NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg">Io. 15.16.</NOTE> and this Apo&s;tles, the great Doctor of the Gentiles oft in &s;acred Writ, To pa&s;&s;e by bad report, hunger, nakedne&s;&s;e, pri|&s;on, &amp;c. 'tis difficult, for &s;ome, not all. When &s;trongly growne in the grace of Chri&s;t, <HI>Paul</HI> can conquer, the A|po&s;tles with admired re&s;olution, daunt their enemies; when formerly all left he Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and why? they
<PB N="12" REF="11">
were growne in grace, and more grace, more &s;trength again&s;t &s;uffering.</P>
<P N="3">3. Again&s;t Temptation: our Saviour would not have taught his Di&s;ciples to pray, <HI>Lead us not into temptation,</HI> had not he known, the devill and an evill heart, laid &s;nates to tempt; which of Gods choi&s;e&s;t Jewels free? Not <HI>Abra|ham, Job, David,</HI> not Chri&s;t him&s;elf; And can&s;t thou expect or reque&s;t to be above thy Lord? Poor weak Chri&s;ti|an, thou mu&s;t look to be buffeted, a&s;|&s;aulted. Labor for more grace; &s;o more able to re&s;i&s;t: for by the grace of God you may &s;tand, as with&s;tand.</P>
<P N="4">4. Again&s;t De&s;ertion: The more grace the more &s;trength. Tis a conditi|on Gods people &s;ometimes meet with, and complaine of: A bitter expo&s;tula|tion, <HI>My God, my God why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken?</HI> Faith and feare in a double combate: Whither in reference to <HI>Da|vid,</HI> the Type, or the Son of <HI>David</HI> the Antitype, The Lord Chri&s;t: And may not your full tide ebbe? Your bright moon ecclip&s;e? Your fair day cloud? and your clear Sun mi&s;ten? Oh know ye that are dandled in the armes of an everla&s;ting God may yet not be
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ever danced in Gods everla&s;ting arms? He may &s;hoot bitter Arrows again&s;t you, and his everloving &s;mile may frown it &s;elf to a momentary indigna|tion, as bitter as death, as dreadfull as hell it &s;elf; Labour therefore for more grace, &s;o more &s;trength to &s;uffer all, and endure hard&s;hip, as the good &s;oul|dier of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. So that either &s;i|lently with <HI>Aaron</HI> hold your peace: or with <HI>David</HI> religiou&s;ly Language, <HI>It is the Lord, let him do as &s;eemeth him good.</HI> The more grace the more &s;trength in all, again&s;t all. <HI>Ergo.</HI></P>
<P>The more grace the more comfort; <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Rea&s;."> many that regard not to live con&s;cio|nably, yet are de&s;irous to &s;pend their years in pro&s;perity, and their daies in comfortable plea&s;ures; but as without grace little con&s;cience, &s;o without true grace little true comfort; the more &s;in in us, the more oppo&s;ition, the more trouble, griefe, and fearefull horrour, to the appaling of &s;pirit, and deading of heart. But let a &s;oul reflect, and in &s;im|plicity &s;peak, an increa&s;e of humility, faith, zeal, love, knowledge, grace, more comfort que&s;tionle&s;&s;e; not more rejoicing can a condemned Malefactor
<PB N="14" REF="12">
receive by the tender of a Princes par|don, than a poor &s;oul comfort, con|tent, in the truth and growth of grace; were it not for the grace of God in them, of all men Chri&s;tians were mo&s;t mi&s;erable: in the &s;ad apprehen&s;ion of many and mighty corruptions within them, diver&s;e and great troubles upon them, and &s;everall &s;candalous reproa|ches again&s;t them: Whither &s;hall the &s;oul &s;earch for comfort? To whom fly for &s;olid con&s;olation? Can that honour that is fading, that e&s;tate that is flying, that name that is bla&s;ting, that friend that is dying afford any? Alas, mi&s;era|ble comforters all! nothing &s;o much as the lea&s;t &s;park of divine grace; and if a little will cheri&s;h, what &s;trong con|&s;olations will the growth added to the truth of grace afford? view and re|view the in&s;tances of Sacred Writ, and you &s;hall find, where mo&s;t grace, there mo&s;t comfort; Therefore grow in grace,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="Rea&s;."> This comfortable evidence, the &s;in|cerity and truth of your grace, &s;hew me your faith by works, a dead faith, no life in works? The &s;oule is barren and unfruitfull: What is a body without a
<PB N="15" REF="12">
&s;oule? a poor body: What is a &s;oule without grace? a poor &s;oul: And what is grace without the growth thereof? uncomfortable grace: What advantage to have a name to live, and want life? What profit to have a forme, and void of the power of godline&s;&s;e? This will upon good ground witne&s;&s;e to the world the truth of grace is in you, when they &s;ee your light &s;hine, that they may glorifie your father in hea|ven; and your light which was at fir&s;t as the dawning of the day, appea|ring as the Sun heightned to the top of the <HI>Zenith,</HI> fairly di&s;covers the truth of grace in you to men: And to con|&s;cience an evidentiall &s;ign of truth, when that which flames as a fire begins to live, to a never dying worm, tis quenched and cra&s;hed by this: my con|&s;cience bears me witne&s;&s;e, that I, though my beginning was &s;mall, yet am encrea&s;ed to a &s;econd, a fift, a tenth talent: behold oh con&s;cience, did I make bones of Cur&s;e, Lye, Oath, Sabbath, Go&s;pell, Ordinance, Hypo|cri&s;ie, Pride, Pa&s;&s;ion, &s;ecret Impiety, or open Enormity, in times pa&s;t? And do I not, do&s;t not thou oh con&s;cience, oh
<PB N="16" REF="13">
heart, hate and abhor every fal&s;e way? Do&s;t not performe and delight to do what God plea&s;eth, pre&s;&s;ing hard to be found in the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Je&s;us Chri&s;t? Who in my Infancy hoped to be ju&s;tified by duties, de&s;ires, well-mea|ning, &amp;c. whence comes my love to God and his? Whence Patience, Zeal, Faith, more then in times pa&s;t? Comes not my growth from my truth? oh ene|my be my Judge, &s;peak righteou&s;ly. And to God al&s;o, when at the houre of Death, day of Judgement, &s;ummoned to appear, di&s;armed of all hopes, &amp; helps, no more mu&s;e or burroughs to &s;ave or &s;helter; This will witne&s;&s;e for thee, though thou ha&s;t been a poor comfort|le&s;&s;e one, yet a true one; behold Lord, thy Talent hath gained, multiplied, tis encrea&s;ed and grown, though little yet good evidence, the truth of grace is in thee: When as on the contrary, to man, to con&s;cience, to God, I have no more grace now then from my Infancy and day of youth; This comes off with &s;in, &s;hame, &s;orrow, to the blackne&s;&s;e of de|&s;paire it &s;elfe: Therefore being the growth of grace evidences the truth of grace, good rea&s;on we &s;hould grow in grace, &amp;c.</P>
<P><PB N="17" REF="13">According to my u&s;uall method, I proceed to the U&s;e.</P>
<P>Learn hence, The life of a Chri&s;ti|an <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&V;&s;e"> mu&s;t be a life of action;<NOTE PLACE="marg">In&s;tru.</NOTE> Tis &s;hame|full impiety to practice (when once enlightned, graced from God with precious Truths, Promi&s;es, Privileges) nothing: Such a lazy devotion as brings in que&s;tion the truth of grace: Grace will make us faithfull husbands, wives, &s;ervants, as Chri&s;tians: If man cannot endure a Lurdan Lozell, God cannot endure a loitering idle Chri&s;tian, nor in reference to the things of this life, or that which is to come; I know not a Chri&s;tian as a man or woman but have or might have employment, or in works of nece&s;&s;ity or charity: And as a Chri&s;tian man or woman hath to work out Salvation, a work hard enough, to &s;o far from thinking them idle drones, that may &s;purre them to be as bu&s;ie as the Bee, and all little enough to give a good account at the la&s;t day: <HI>Jacobs</HI> Ladder is u&s;ually applyed here, as Angels &s;ome a&s;cending, &s;ome de|&s;cending, but none &s;tanding &s;till, to in|timate &s;o it mu&s;t be in the Church of God; Either looking up to God, or in|to
<PB N="18" REF="14">
the &s;oul, that admire God for his Ma|je&s;ty, Glory, Mercy, or humble our &s;elves for our unworthine&s;&s;e, &s;in, and iniquity. Did not God &s;et his <HI>Adam</HI> pre&s;ently after he had made him a li|ving &s;oule into the Garden to dre&s;&s;e it, &s;o to become a labouring &s;oule; and why? But to tell the children of <HI>Adam</HI> that they mu&s;t not be without motion, action; God gives no <HI>Super&s;edeas</HI> for a Chri&s;tian to be idle, or &s;tanding &s;till: Nay, he checks with a <HI>Why &s;tand you idle all the day long</HI><NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg">Mat. 20.6.</NOTE>? Tis here in the Text required that he be doing, thri|ving, growing, Grow in grace; This of the fir&s;t U&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2," UNIT="&V;&s;e"> If a Chri&s;tians duty be to grow in grace: Try we then, whither we have performed this duty or no. But how may I know? I an&s;wer.</P>
<P N="1">1. They are grown more and better in duties: Grace is like <HI>Ezekiels</HI> wa|ters, though little at fir&s;t, di&s;covers it &s;elf by &s;treames to run, rivolets, rivers, to waters impa&s;&s;able: Or as fire, that encrea&s;es in light, heat, more, greater, &s;o grace in growth makes a Chri&s;tian in his duties more frequent; whereas before he would court the Lord in a
<PB N="19" REF="14">
morning, &s;o bid him good morrow, or complement with a goodnight, he now begins to be more frequent, grace acts him to morning, evening, and when occa&s;ion &s;erves, at midnight as high-noon: at fir&s;t &s;eldome, &s;ince he is grown more frequent.</P>
<P N="2">2. They are more fervent, more zealous, if not, I could que&s;tion that truth as growth of grace; Though at fir&s;t grace as fire, of which compara|tively we &s;ay, tis a cold fire; &s;o a &s;oul finds it &s;elf, in the dutie of hearing, praying, receiving, cold devotion in all, chill, almo&s;t &s;tiffe, but by that time encrea&s;ed, grown, grown warme <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;eething boyling hot; the affections kindled to a flame, a zeale as hot as fire.</P>
<P N="3">3. More con&s;cionable, what in times pa&s;t was done in cu&s;tome, formality, hypocri&s;ie, education, &s;elfe, is now &s;teeld, from con&s;cience he doth it, and dare not but do it, and delight to do it al&s;o: He at fir&s;t &s;aw the ob&s;erving the Ordinances, and Sabbaths, of God his duty, now grown beholds them his privilege, &s;o that as in time pa&s;t he acted them as a task, now he performes
<PB N="20" REF="15">
them as his delight, and joy to think of his communion with the Lord: Now he makes con&s;cience and will not omit a duty, as not commit a &s;in, he makes con&s;cience of all; &s;o doth a Chri&s;tian that is grown in grace: di&s;|cover it in his duties, being more fre|quent at them, fervent in them, and con&s;cionable of them: Try and enlarge the particulars in your meditations, I mu&s;t ha&s;ten.</P>
<P N="2">2. The growth of grace di&s;covers it &s;elfe by the death and dwinging away of &s;in, at fir&s;t &s;in lives, but when grace comes &s;in pines, and graces growth is &s;ins decay; as the hou&s;e of <HI>Saul</HI> weaker and weaker, and the hou&s;e of <HI>David</HI> &s;tronger and &s;tronger: So grace and &s;in in the &s;oule. As tis in the body with nature and the humour: If the hu|mour prove predominant then nature decaies, and &s;oon man is gathered to his Fathers; but when nature gets the upper hand by degrees the killing hu|mour le&s;&s;ens, and abates to a perfect recovery; &s;o that the bed-red one walkes &s;trongly and comfortably. This grace, like his bloud, runs through eve|ry veine, actuates in every faculty of
<PB N="21" REF="15">
the &s;oule, as the &s;oule in the whole body; Now mortifying this, now cru|cifying that corruption, laying the axe of zeale, revenge, care, to the root, and &s;o cuts down root and branch, he leaves not a hoofe behind, &s;pares not the <HI>Da|lila,</HI> the darling, the &s;weet bit under the tongue, or bo&s;ome &s;in in any corner of his heart, nothing in his Judgment, Under&s;tanding, Will, Memory, Affe|ctions, but &s;hall relate to grace; The Enemy thereof &s;hall be brought and arraigned before Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and ca|&s;hiered for ever, his precious, gracious &s;oule; he is grown and acts to the ut|mo&s;t, as fire, heat, and water moi&s;ten to the utmo&s;t, &s;o grace, that dwinges &s;in to decay and dye: The gallant <HI>Adonijah</HI> &s;hall not be &s;pared, the deli|cate <HI>Agag</HI> not connived at, nor the lea&s;t of his &s;ins (if &s;in again&s;t God can be called little) but &s;hall be examined, traduced, and gibbited before the God of <HI>I&s;rael:</HI> He &s;pies the in&s;ide, he views the out&s;ide, what gracele&s;&s;e thing is di&s;covered, is di&s;carded, he ab&s;tains from, and abhors &s;ecret as open wic|kedne&s;&s;e: So that no &s;in &s;hall have a willing being in his &s;oule; but he is
<PB N="22" REF="16">
&s;en&s;ible, &s;o &s;en&s;ible of their imperfecti|on, as a bone in throat, or mote in eye, never quiet till removed, u&s;ing all means to recover the health of the &s;oule into the &s;tate of &s;trength, Oh try, which dwinge and decay grace or &s;in. So &s;econd triall.</P>
<P N="3">3. Grown Chri&s;tians more boldly, manife&s;t the grace of God in them, confidently they dare to &s;peak and act upon the growth than they did upon the fir&s;t truth of their grace; The Apo|&s;tles would flie and deny Chri&s;t before they would &s;uffer or die: But after the truth of their grace, faith, knowledge was &s;trengthened, then they feared not the Synods, Councels, of countermand|ing preaching Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as you that are ver&s;ed in the Acts of the Apo&s;tles can atte&s;t. A &s;oule at fir&s;t is like <HI>Nico|demus,</HI> it loves and would faine be with Chri&s;t, but a great deale of feare|full &s;in clouds the new in&s;pired grace, &s;ecretly it dare but appeare for feare of the Jews; I wave quotations for that I &s;peak to (or I am much mis-inform|ed and mi&s;taken) Scripture-&s;earching Chri&s;tians: But grown as <HI>Daniel,</HI> &amp; the 3 Children, they are gloriou&s;ly manife|&s;ting
<PB N="23" REF="16">
their zeale for God, and none but God, though controled by Soveraignty it&s;elfe: As a child that hath life <HI>in ope|rari &amp; e&s;&s;e,</HI> goeth but by this &s;upport, and that a&s;&s;i&s;tance, for but weak now, new going; When a few yeares over-pa&s;t, a &s;hame to hold by a Finger, Chaire, Stoole, &amp;c. but now &s;trength encrea&s;ing hee goeth confidently by him&s;elfe: So a poore &s;oule at fir&s;t creeps, cannot go; but his grace &s;trengthened, renewed, he ventures <HI>in nomine Domini,</HI> as <HI>David</HI> again&s;t <HI>Go|liah</HI> and dreads not, when all I&s;rael is &s;truck with a mi&s;giving doubt, if not Panick feare. A grown Chri&s;tian ma|nife&s;ts his grace by undanted profe&s;&s;i|on in the harde&s;t of body-torturing per|&s;ecution, and midde&s;t of (precious name) di&s;gracefull &s;lander: In a word, by what contradiction &s;oever of men, oppo&s;ition of the gates (the power and wi&s;dome) of hell the poore Chri&s;tians grace is a&s;&s;aulted with it di&s;covers it &s;elfe void of feares as offence, in the flames of a Sacred love to God, Chri|&s;tian love to the Saints of God, in a &s;teadfa&s;t re&s;olution to walk up to Co|venant and Go&s;pell Reformation, and
<PB N="24" REF="17">
in a Chri&s;tian deportment of them|&s;elves, with the exerci&s;e of a good con&s;cience before God and man: here I conceive is growth as truth of grace: Try, oh try if it be thus with thee or not. I mu&s;t ha&s;ten, time bids a di&s;|patch.</P>
<P N="4">4. They can tru&s;t God with outward and inward e&s;tate al&s;o, &s;ometime in weakne&s;&s;e he feared one, &s;ometime the other; Now &s;teere over both, knowing that God hath given the Pro|mi&s;e to godline&s;&s;e, of this and that life which is to come. No di&s;tru&s;tfull thoughts for things temporall; Chri&s;t hath commanded, and his <GAP DESC="foreign"> war|rant for a growne Chri&s;tian,<NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.25.</NOTE> and a&s;&s;ured for things of eternity to the truth as growth of grace, that nor faint nor feare: by which well may the &s;oul relye on the Lord for its outward and inward e&s;tate. <HI>Abraham</HI> the Father of the Faithfull &s;ometime doubted, but after<NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg">Rom. 4. from 16. to ver&s;. 22.</NOTE> Try how this reflects on thy &s;oule, by a patient, humble waiting, till God an&s;wer.</P>
<P N="5">5. La&s;tly, they that are grown in grace, grow and endeavour to grow in the knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t more and
<PB N="25" REF="17">
more in the <GAP DESC="foreign"> &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign"> thereof: truly to beleeve God and Chri&s;t, in God and Chri&s;t, and to acknowledge the Lord Je&s;us, by a &s;eparation from the goats, and communion with the &s;heep of Chri&s;t: Not only notionally to know and under&s;tand more of the hi|&s;tory of Chri&s;t, but practically to doe for Chri&s;t more then in times pa&s;t; that we may read in conver&s;ation one &s;an|ctified and &s;trengthened in the grace of the Lord; and experimentally, that God may have experience, and the world al&s;o, that their grace, is a grace and knowledge of and according to Je&s;us Chri&s;t: making them more humble<NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg">Job 42.5, 6.</NOTE> and more de&s;irous to know and find more, &s;o the truly wi&s;e and knowing Chri&s;tian; not to di&s;play the radiant beames of their vainglorious under|&s;tanding, but to di&s;cover the riches of Gods free and infinitely full grace to their &s;ouls, in looking upon them when blind in under&s;tanding, and un&s;anctified in heart; after this they pre&s;&s;e to know more of them&s;elves, and more of Chri&s;t, to the prai&s;e of the Lord their God for be&s;towing as truth, &s;o a growth in grace. Try, and by this comfortably
<PB N="26" REF="18">
conceive growth of grace.</P>
<P N="3">3. Now after Triall the u&s;es follow, of terrour to &s;ome, comfort to others, exhortation to all. If not growne in grace, come in, come in, I have bitter things again&s;t thee, yet &s;hall this Law condemne none before it heare him &s;peake: Ask con&s;cience then if growne in grace; whence bleating of &s;heep, lowing of oxen? whence in the &s;oule, or Family, or Congregation, neglect of duties, or if performed, re&s;ting on du|ties? how many ca&s;t the word of God behind their backs? prophane the Sab|bath, condemne the &s;oule-ravi&s;hing promi&s;es of the everla&s;ting Go&s;pell? whence is it men tru&s;t to and re&s;t in their duties? as the hypocriticall Jews,<NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 58.23.</NOTE> ri&s;ing to too lofty an expo&s;tulation, in que&s;tioning the Deity it &s;elfe, a non|timely an&s;wering, regarding their pray|ers and performances? how many as the Phari&s;ees vainly gracing them|&s;elves<NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg">Luk. 18.11, 12.</NOTE>? A &s;oule growne in grace, would nor make it an Idoll, nor a &s;light, yet how many of us thus guilty?</P>
<P N="2">2. The falling of (too many) from their fir&s;t love, like that <HI>Ephe&s;ine</HI>
<PB N="27" REF="18">
Church in the &s;econd of the <HI>Revela|tion;</HI> and is not the love and zeale of many waxen cold in this day of affli|ction, in the winter of our adver&s;ity? when if ever, God, Covenant, Church and Kingdome had need of champions, zealous for the glory of the one, the re|nowne of the other, the &s;afety and ho|nour of all; Now, but woe, and alas, oh what cold, dead &s;pirits, hearts, are we po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed withall? when at fir&s;t zealous, &s;ince remi&s;&s;e, matter of humili|ation and feare: 'tis neither naturall, nor &s;upernaturall, for either would make the nearer the center more life, vigor and activity: let con&s;cience &s;peak if thou did&s;t not in time pa&s;t better affect Gods wayes, Wor&s;hip, Sabbaths, Ordinances, Mini&s;ters, People, then now: fear we may: guilty we are.</P>
<P N="3">3. The pride of thy grace &s;peaks the not growing of grace: and how many plume them&s;elves in this unhappy age, with the <HI>men-admiring</HI> vertue, when they put off the <HI>God-be&s;towing</HI> grace? into what a&s;&s;emblies &s;hall we enter? in what company &s;hall we be? but God &s;hall be robbed of his glory, by mans boa&s;ting of his grace; Grace keeps a
<PB N="28" REF="19">
&s;oule low, and exalts the Lord, know|ing whatever received, received of God: the Apo&s;tle and the &s;trong Chri|&s;tian, number not them&s;elves with &s;uch as commend them&s;elves, and mea&s;ure them&s;elves with them&s;elves, for they are not wi&s;e<NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 10.12.</NOTE> the more grace the more humility, while men advance and exalt, &s;o as boa&s;t of zeale, grace, <HI>John</HI>-like, &amp;c. it &s;peaks us not grown.</P>
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, the &s;eldome &s;earching of our hearts &s;peaks no growth of grace, if I ca&s;t not up my account, I know not whither my receipts or disbur&s;ements be mo&s;t, I feare a bad reckoning, in this the Lord be mercifull unto us, we know not the windings of our hearts, de&s;pe|rately wicked and deceitfull, we try not, &s;earch not: how many (nay how few) Sermon after Sermon, Sabbath af|ter Sabbath, moneth after moneth, commune with their owne hearts, to &s;ee in what this or that grace is increa|&s;ed &s;ince the reception of &s;o many mer|cies? When a man &s;eldome looks into his heart, I cannot conceive how it &s;hould be di&s;covered he is growne in grace, but mu&s;t pa&s;&s;e &s;entence: (I &s;peak to wi&s;e men) are they not blame|worthy?
<PB N="29" REF="19">
And may I not?</P>
<P N="1">1. When the Lord hath graciou&s;ly affoorded time and &s;pace; it was a check &s;evere; he gave her &s;pace to re|pent, and &s;he repented not:<NOTE N="t" PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.21.</NOTE> And may not the Lord &s;ay, many a day and yeare have I offered free grace &s;tretch|ing out my hand all the day long, and ye de&s;pighted hitherto the &s;pirit of grace? Goe gracele&s;&s;e &s;oule into gracele&s;&s;e &s;o|ciety; &s;ad &s;entence.</P>
<P N="2">2. Yea, when in that &s;pace cal'd and tendred all the means that infinite un|der&s;tanding conceiv'd conducible to the growth of grace; no pruning, dre&s;&s;ing, nor watering wanting; <HI>Judge I pray betwixt me and my vineyard, what could I doe more?</HI> 'tis heavens gracious con|de&s;cending appeale: Oh England, what &s;hall I doe unto you? Oh People, how &s;hould I intreat you? your goodne&s;&s;e yet as a morning cloud, your grace &s;o far from growing, as 'tis the early dew di&s;mi&s;t, di&s;pell'd: When a father thus by a child, or a Prince thus by a Tyrone, the doome of death mu&s;t follow. A harve&s;t is &s;et, and at due time the axe mu&s;t be laid to the root of the &s;oule, and the tree cut downe<NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg">Mat. 3.10.</NOTE>: What in
<PB N="30" REF="20">
Chri&s;t? at his Church? and Ordinance? of his profe&s;&s;ion? and not fructifie, multiply, increa&s;e and grow? See<NOTE N="w" PLACE="marg">Joh. 15.2.</NOTE> he takes away God, and God takes away the firme influence of his &s;pirit, from the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of his inheritance, he takes away, and then the &s;oule wi|thers, and withers, till fuell for everla|&s;ting burning. Oh di&s;mall: when man endued with &s;uch a &s;oul as an Angel of God, &s;hould &s;o undervalue it in the neglect of grace and &s;leight of God, the God of grace, &s;uch a grace, &s;uch a God vilifyed: what can be expected le&s;&s;e then the height of calamity, and depth of mi&s;ery to be inflicted, while Gods ju&s;tice, and Satans tyranny &s;hall re|main? but hoping better things of you, and wi&s;hing better things to you, I wave the terrour, and pa&s;&s;e to the u&s;e of comfort.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&V;&s;e"> To all &s;uch as <HI>Grow in grace,</HI> Com|fort; for,</P>
<P N="1">1. Thou art more then a naturall man, then take comfort: wert in na|ture only, I could not line or letter of con&s;olation thus, but daub with un|tempered mortar; but intituled to, or inve&s;ted with grace, true comfort in|deed.
<PB N="31" REF="20">
When a Parent &s;ees a child out|run his extravagant cour&s;es, to become a man, and a man of God in the world, is it not great comfort? &s;o for a be|leeving husband or wife, to perceive the worke of grace in each other, joy to ravi&s;hment. Nor can the Mini&s;ter be &s;ilent in this, but when he beholds Je&s;us Chri&s;t formed in his Congregati|on, he mu&s;t rejoyce with joy un&s;peak|able, &amp; full of glory, for his people being filled with grace; and is it not a joy for the Church of God nigh you, by you? &s;o let it be to thy &s;oule al&s;o: Thou art more then a naturall man.</P>
<P N="2">2. Art growne in grace? herein is comfort that more &s;hall be given thee: to him, to her that hath &s;hall bee given,<NOTE N="x" PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.26.</NOTE> more given to you, more done for you, God him&s;elfe will purge you, that yee may bring forth more fruit<NOTE N="y" PLACE="marg">Joh. 15.2.</NOTE>: the Lord &s;eldome, never, meddles with a &s;oule, but it fares the better, growes the fa&s;ter: A &s;ecret influentiall vertue di&s;tils it &s;elfe to the flouri&s;hing in grace and duty, and per|fecting to every good worke; this talent doubled, thy grace ble&s;&s;ed, that more and more fruitfull and abundant
<PB N="32" REF="21">
in the worke of the Lord be com|forted.</P>
<P N="3">3. Ye can more boldly goe to the Throne of grace, the growne righteous man as bold as a Lion: &s;o comfortably a weake new-borne babe cannot ap|proach before the pre&s;ence of a jea|lous God and con&s;uming fire, as one that with re&s;olved exerci&s;e of &s;ancti|fying grace, hath waded through the troubled waters of mortification, &amp;c. and landed at the haven of full a&s;&s;u|rance: Je&s;us Chri&s;t being our High-prie&s;t warrants it, the Apo&s;tle inferres it,<NOTE N="z" PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.21, 22.</NOTE> for he by his one oblation for ever hath perfected them that are &s;an|ctified<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Heb 10.14.</NOTE>: He therefore exhorts and &s;o comforts the Saints as<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.15, 16.</NOTE>, and may not that comfort?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Compl.</NOTE>But oh, I &s;ee other that younger, more illiterate, unlearned then I, have more grace and knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t then I; therefore I feare the truth, the growth of grace, and what can I take of comfort?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Re&s;p.</NOTE>And what if &s;o? why O &s;oul &s;hould&s;t thou be di&s;quieted? take heed of a cu|rious eye, when the hand of providence di&s;po&s;es as plea&s;es him, beware it di&s;|plea&s;e
<PB N="33" REF="21">
not thee; le&s;t you murmure and &s;uffer: it was none of <HI>Jo&s;hua's</HI> vertues to exa&s;perate <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> for the prophe|cying of <HI>Eldad</HI> and <HI>Medad</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Num. 11.28, 29.</NOTE>, but <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is for our imitation: And ble&s;&s;e ye the Lord, that he adds to the number of his Church, and you behold others to magnifie the name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. A grown Chri&s;tians eyes gu&s;h out with rivers of teares, when men &s;inne again&s;t God, and their hearts leap with joy at the conver&s;ion, &s;alvation of others, &s;eeing the Go&s;pell of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in|larged. <HI>Goe ye and doe likewi&s;e:</HI> ye and they &s;hall have eternall po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, be not overwhelmed with &s;orrow.</P>
<P N="2">2. The le&s;&s;e ye have, the le&s;&s;e to an&s;wer for, the Lord requires no more then he gives: if you have five talents, five more will content; if you have but two, two more will &s;atisfie: The Lord is not &s;evere, au&s;tere; if you have not an oxe or heifer, a goat, kid or lamb, nay a turtle Pigeon; God will not ex|tort, be but faithfull, fruitfull in thy lit|tle, and he will make thee ruler over much: God looks to the truth of thy graces, to the quality rather then the quantity; &s;o that if but a mite, a cup of
<PB N="34" REF="22">
cold water, accepted, rewarded, be therefore comforted.</P>
<P N="3">3. Thou that growe&s;t though but lit|tle and other more, thou &s;halt never want, thou &s;halt hold out; 'tis to the happine&s;&s;e of &s;alvation, and why not to the hearts con&s;olation? thy grace is Gods grace, he a fountain, when thou beginne&s;t to be dry, know God can refre&s;h, renew: In the Prophets phra&s;e I end all; <HI>Thou &s;halt be as a Tree plan|ted by the waters, who&s;e root &s;preads out by the river: thou &s;halt not &s;ee when heat commeth, but thy leafe &s;hall be green, thou &s;halt not be carefull in the yeare of drought, neither &s;halt cea&s;e from yeelding fruit</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Jer. 17.8.</NOTE>. Take this for thy comfort, and I am now di&s;mi&s;&s;ing this A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P>Suffer but a word of exhortation:</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&V;&s;e"> Fir&s;t, <HI>Grow, grow,</HI> thrive and pro&s;per in grace and knowledge of God, let me crave leave to pre&s;cribe meanes, to propound motives, and I have done.</P>
<P N="1">1. Exerci&s;e of grace, that little, that truth of grace you have; do we not direct, u&s;e legs and have legs, u&s;e me|mory and have memory? actions intend habits: Stirre up and exerci&s;e that grace
<PB N="35" REF="22">
of God in you, and your morning, dawning, will appeare bright as the Sun.</P>
<P N="2">2. Unite to gracious company, joyn to the a&s;&s;emblies of the Saints, with|draw not from &s;uch as &s;peake to edifi|cation, giving grace to the hearers; the tongues that are tipped with the language of Canaan, will advantage to enlightning, to greater heat, and further growth: &s;it not in the &s;eat of the wicked, that cooles; di&s;cour&s;e furthers the Schollars &s;tudies; good coun&s;ell helps forward to heaven: 'tis &s;ad (be|cau&s;e oft too late) to &s;ay, oh that I had followed good coun&s;ell, of &s;uch Mini|&s;ters, friends, parents, I had never come to this place of execution: le&s;t we re|pent too late, u&s;e the &s;ociety of the Saints.</P>
<P N="3">3. Beware of &s;ecret corruption; as fame and credit wil keep a natural man from open, &s;candalous, tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion; let grace and piety keep a &s;pirituall man from &s;ecret corruption; &s;trive and pray again&s;t it, as <HI>David</HI> in the nineteenth P&s;alme. Du&s;t, coales, and &s;uch tra&s;h, in &s;ecret, will overthrow the &s;tomacke, and make the whol&s;ome&s;t food, loath|&s;ome:
<PB N="36" REF="23">
&s;o will &s;inne, if we harbour with delight a clo&s;e iniquity under our tongue, it will nau&s;eate all the &s;aving truths of Je&s;us Chri&s;t gloriou&s;ly held out in his Go&s;pell, and hinder the growth of grace.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, con&s;cionably u&s;e the Ordi|nances of God, doe not as many for cu&s;tome, formallity; but <HI>hoc age,</HI> doe it in the integrity and &s;implicity of con|&s;cience; the Law and &s;tatutes of God<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">P&s;. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">9.7, 8.</NOTE> are beneficiall, that which i&s;&s;ues out of the Sanctuary increa&s;es<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 47.12.</NOTE>, when pray, read, receive, exerci&s;e your &s;elves con&s;cionably, and your benefit will be profitably di&s;covered to all.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="motives">
<HEAD>Motives.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Mot.</HI> 1. The more grace, the more exalt Chri&s;t, 'tis a &s;oules burthen, I can|not live to honour Chri&s;t for all his merit, goodne&s;&s;e, truths, and mercies; labour then for more grace, &s;o &s;peake more of his name, and ye will be in life, death, to magnifie Chri&s;t little lower then Angels in their prai&s;es to their Maker: grace brings you higher and higher to the&s;e Seraphicall &s;pirits; &s;o you will chaunt the perpetuall Halle|lujah's with the Quire of Heaven, of
<PB N="37" REF="23">
whom Chri&s;t is to be prai&s;ed: as of you to be honoured.</P>
<P N="2">2. Grace makes the more eminent; grace and fame are &s;aid to be compani|ons, as the righteous &s;o the gracious is more excellent then his neighbour: the world cleares this truth when the mo&s;t debauched wretch would not but &s;eeme gracious; the &s;trumpet, luke|warme <HI>Laodicea:</HI> all outwardly as the Phari&s;ees: yea the Devill, el&s;e why transformed into an Angell of Light, but that with more credit to act in the children of darkne&s;&s;e, and heires of light al&s;o; but grace with God and Chri&s;t, a name better then of &s;onne or daughter.</P>
<P N="3">3. Time may come need of more grace, the&s;e are the plundring times, and exerci&s;e the faith and patience of many a precious &s;oule, though (ble&s;&s;ed be God) we heare it only with our eares, and &s;ee it not with our eyes, nor feele it to our hearts; but a time may come: one grace fits not for every temptation, no more then one &s;hooe for every foot or one garment for every backe: The Apo&s;tles harne&s;&s;e in his <HI>Panoply</HI><NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Eph. 6. from 10. to 19.</NOTE> that compleat: &s;ome|time
<PB N="38" REF="24">
a Chri&s;tian hath need of this grace, &s;ometime of another, we know not which God will call us to exerci&s;e; leave not a hoofe behind, as in one, grow in all, and &s;trengthen every one, fearing and feeling the time bad to be wor&s;e: be not unprovided, con&s;ider the &s;ea&s;on, and <HI>grow in grace.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. This will keep you true and &s;ted|fa&s;t to God, to Chri&s;t, and the principles of Religion, that ye waver not in a corklike vento&s;itie, to the hazard of faith and a good con&s;cience: this will arme you again&s;t all delu&s;ions, errours, &s;innes, feares; and keep you entire to Chri&s;t, till you come for ever to be with him, where is the Crowne of grace, glory; with which hee con|firme you here, and a&s;&s;ure you here|after, for his owne name and glory &s;ake. Con&s;ider what I have &s;aid, and the good Lord grant you a true under|&s;tanding in all things, that ye may grow in grace &amp; knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. To whom be glory for ever and ever.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="treatise">
<PB N="39" REF="24">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>EPHES. Chap. 1. ver. 7.</HI></BIBL>
<P>In whom we have redemption, through his bloud, the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>PA&V;L</HI> by the will of God, &s;epa|rated to the Go&s;pell for the Churches &s;ake of the Gentiles, renders the worke of his Mini|&s;try faithfull as to others, to this Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us;</HI> which after his Apo&s;tolicall &s;alute in the fir&s;t and &s;econd ver&s;es, doth magnifie <HI>the God and Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who hath ble&s;&s;ed us with all &s;pirituall ble&s;&s;ings in heavenly places in Chri&s;t,</HI> ver&s;e the third. A|mong&s;t which precious excellencies, this in the Text for the con&s;olation of the faithfull in Chri&s;t, is little inferiour to life everla&s;ting, this being the trou|ble&s;ome ob&s;tacle to a beleeving &s;oule till it apprehend Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in whom
<PB N="40" REF="25">
it <HI>hath redemption,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Doct.</NOTE>The Text contains this truth, <HI>fully to redeeme from &s;inne, co&s;t no le&s;&s;e then the bloud of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, or the bloud of the Saviour is the redemption of the Saints.</HI> That this is &s;o, why this is &s;o, and what u&s;e hereof, are the three things I &s;hall burthen your memory and patience with at this time.</P>
<P>That it is &s;o, appeares by the Text: 1. In whom, that is, in Chri&s;t, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 3. in whom elected, <HI>ver.</HI> 4. prede&s;tinated unto adoption, <HI>ver.</HI> 5. in whom we are accepted, <HI>ver.</HI> 6. <HI>In whom redemption,</HI> as in the Text: <HI>We,</HI> the Saints, &amp;c. faith|full, <HI>ver.</HI> 1. ble&s;&s;ed with all &s;pirituall ble&s;&s;ings, <HI>ver.</HI> 3. Select <HI>Paul,</HI> elect <HI>Ephe|&s;ians</HI> in Chri&s;t, <HI>In whom we have re|demption,</HI> freedome, full plentifull free|dome, the word in the Originall having a Prepo&s;ition added, &s;peaks the perfe|ction of the redemption: To take re|demption as in reference to the body or &s;oule here, body and &s;oule hereafter, no redemption but by Chri&s;t, <HI>in whom</HI> full <HI>redemption;</HI> Redemption is &s;aid to be fourefold.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, by Manumi&s;&s;ion, as Lords, their va&s;&s;els freely di&s;charging, &s;o Chri&s;t by
<PB N="41" REF="25">
his grace freely ju&s;tifying.<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.24</NOTE></P>
<P>Secondly, by permutation or change, as in warres; &s;o Chri&s;t him&s;elfe bare our &s;innes in his owne body on the Tree<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.24.</NOTE>; the wrath of the Father went downe in the Sonne to redeeme the Saints: he &s;uffered in his body that we might be redeemed in our &s;oules; &s;o a redemption.</P>
<P>Thirdly, by violent ablation; &s;o <HI>Abra|ham</HI> rc&s;cued <HI>Lot;</HI> &s;o Chri&s;t redeemed his, having &s;poiled Principallities and Powers; blotting out the handwriting of Ordinances that was again&s;t us, ta|king them out of the way,<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Col. 2.14.</NOTE> and through death de&s;troyed him that had the power of death, delivering them, who through feare of death, were all their life-time &s;ubject to bondage.<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Heb. 2.14, 15.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fourthly, by price and ran&s;ome; &s;o &s;laves and captives are redeemed from the thraldome of cruell Turks, and the hands of barbarous enemies: Thus Chri&s;t redeemeth his al&s;o captived un|der captivity, yee are bought with a price<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 6.10</NOTE>, not with corruptible things of &s;ilver and gold, but with the precious bloud of Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, that immacu|late Lambe<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.18, 19.</NOTE>. <HI>In whom we have,</HI> &amp;c.
<PB N="42" REF="26">
<HI>Through his bloud:</HI> that is, the &s;hed|ding &amp; oblation of his bloud. As in the Law the bloud of buls and goats &s;ancti|fyed to the purifying of the fle&s;h: &s;o Chri&s;t by the &s;acrificing of his bloud obtained thorow &s;anctification,<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Heb 9.14.</NOTE> and eternall redemption, ver&s;e the tenth. <HI>In whom,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>The forgivene&s;&s;e of our &s;innes:</HI> That is, Remi&s;&s;ion, or as the word &s;ignifies, retromi&s;&s;ion, or &s;ending backe againe from the &s;oule to the fir&s;t Originall the Father of all &s;inne: A full remi&s;&s;ion from the defilement and de&s;truction, from the guilt and cur&s;e, from the do|minion and power; by his bloud, from the guilt of &s;inne; and by his &s;pirit, from the power: In a word, from all that re|lates to, or attends upon the blackne&s;&s;e and darkne&s;&s;e of &s;inne. <HI>The forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes:</HI> The forgivene&s;&s;e, not only by the bloud of Chri&s;t have we <HI>re|demption</HI><NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">Col. 1.20.</NOTE>, or <HI>&s;anctification</HI><NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.14.</NOTE>, but <HI>remi&s;&s;ion</HI> al&s;o, as in the Text; &s;o<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">Col. 1.14.</NOTE> in whom we have redemption by his bloud, even the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes. <HI>John</HI> in his Revelation<NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg">Rev. 1.5.</NOTE> confe&s;&s;es that Chri&s;t wa&s;hed us from our &s;innes by his bloud; and to fetch the record
<PB N="43" REF="26">
(bearing witne&s;&s;e to this truth) as high as heaven<NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg">Rev. 5.9.</NOTE> the foure and twenty Elders acknowledge, Thou wert &s;lain, and ha&s;t redeemed us to God by thy bloud, out of every kindred, tongue, people, and Nation. Agreeing to this, is that of<NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 1.7.</NOTE>, and the bloud of Je&s;us Chri&s;t his Sonne clean&s;eth us from all &s;inne. Hath a poore &s;oule need to be healed? Chri&s;t is a Phy&s;itian to cure him; doth thy &s;oule parch and burne within thee? Chri&s;t is a fountaine to refre&s;h thee; art thou laden with the un&s;upportable burthen of thy &s;innes? Chri&s;t is righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e to ea&s;e thee; if thou feare&s;t the &s;troke of death, he hath for thy poore beleeving &s;oule the gift of eternall life; and if thou walk mourn|fully apprehending damnation for &s;inne, he hath <HI>redemption</HI> for thee <HI>from &s;inne,</HI> as in the Text. The Rea&s;ons follow.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t only acceptable to God, the <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Rea&s;."> heavens are not cleane in his &s;ight, he chargeth his Angels with folly, the quire of Heaven and Saints in earth are not well-plea&s;ing in his &s;ight, di|&s;tinct from Chri&s;t; he is the Son of his Love, he the Son of his complacency, of his delight, in whom only he is well-plea&s;ed
<PB N="44" REF="27">
<NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg">Mat. 3 17.</NOTE>, and in the ver&s;e before my Text, he hath made us accepted in the beloved; all the oblations Legall, and offerings Ceremoniall, had a redolent &s;avour in the pure no&s;thrils of the Al|mighty, as they &s;tood in reference to Chri&s;t. Without God none could plea&s;e God, &s;aith <HI>Ambro&s;e;</HI> whatever is pre|&s;ented to the Father without the Son, is &s;aid to be unprofitable, and unaccep|table; as the High-prie&s;t offered all in the time of the Law, &s;o the Lord Je&s;us pre&s;ents all in the time of the Go&s;pell, without him nothing is accepted: ther|fore of him the Saints have all, to, and of, redemption. This is the fir&s;t Rea&s;on, the &s;econd followes.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Rea&s;."> He only able to &s;atisfie divine ju|&s;tice, thou&s;ands of Rammes, ten thou|&s;ands of rivers of oyle un&s;atisfactory; to give the fruit of the body for the &s;inne of the &s;oule, and the fir&s;t-borne for my tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion<NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg">M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">c 6.6.</NOTE>, It will neither be plea&s;ing to God, nor &s;atisfactory to divine ju&s;tice; the leaprous per&s;on was to be clean&s;ed by the bloud of the little bird<NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg">Lev. 14.51.</NOTE>, and the leaprous &s;oule is to be purified and redeemed from all its &s;inne and uncleanne&s;&s;e by the bloud of Je&s;us
<PB N="45" REF="27">
Chri&s;t, that bird of Paradi&s;e, the coele|&s;tiall Pellican, that &s;acrificed him&s;elfe to death to &s;ave his to everla&s;ting life: when &s;inne was to be remitted, it was to be put upon another, none mu&s;t ex|pect a &s;atisfaction in or from him&s;elfe; the &s;innes of the people were to be put upon the Scape-Goat: Thus they were delivered<NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg">Lev. 16.</NOTE>, to teach us under the Go&s;|pell, our &s;innes mu&s;t be put upon Chri&s;t to be the only &s;atisfaction to Almighty ju&s;tice.</P>
<P>Two things are required of &s;uch as &s;atisfie Gods ju&s;tice.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he that &s;atisfies mu&s;t be free from all &s;inne: if any man under Chri&s;t, &s;aith he have no &s;inne, he deceives him|&s;elfe, and the truth of God is not in him;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 John 1.9.</NOTE> Chri&s;t in every thing like us, &s;inne only excepted: his enemies being Judges he hath done all things well; &s;o he, he only free from &s;inne, can &s;atisfie Gods ju|&s;tice.</P>
<P>Secondly, that which &s;atisfies mu&s;t be pure, only pure in the offering, and &s;uch oblations, &s;acrifices, poore mortals cannot tender to their God, there is iniquity in their holy things, they are unprofitable, and come &s;hort of grace
<PB N="46" REF="28">
now, and mu&s;t of glory for ever, if the Lord be not freely gracious in accep|ting, as be&s;towing: Oh the wants and weakne&s;&s;e in our hearing, praying, in our duties, graces, uncleane, uncleane, imperfect, imperfect in all, but Chri&s;t a pure and holy offering unto the Lord: hence in the Law, when the High-prie&s;t went for an atonement, he only entred into the <HI>Sanctum Sanctorum,</HI> &amp; in the Go&s;pell, Chri&s;t trode the wine-pre&s;&s;e of his fathers wrath alone<NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 63.3.</NOTE>, and thats the &s;econd rea&s;on.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Rea&s;."> Thirdly, that the glory of our redemp|tion may redound to the prai&s;e of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; who&s;e is the worke, 'tis fit theirs &s;hould be the honour: <HI>Hos feci, tulit alter honores,</HI> is inju|&s;tice; rich mercy, full merit is the ground worke and foundation of all our excellency. The Saints good and com|fort ari&s;eth from the free grace of the Father, and the full merit of the Sonne, and why to man or Angell &s;hould the glory be given? when Scriptures &s;peake any thing of this &s;pirituall ble&s;|&s;ing, redemption, or forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins, there is u&s;ually annexed a doxology or ble&s;&s;ing, as<NOTE N="t" PLACE="marg">Rev. 1.5, 6 So Rev. 5.9, 12. Col. 1.12, 14. 1 Cor. 1.30, 31.</NOTE> with this in the Text,
<PB N="47" REF="28">
as appeares in the third ver&s;e; and thus of the third Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>That the Type might corre&s;pond <MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="Rea&s;."> with the Antetype; the Law and the Go&s;pell might an&s;wer one the other: In the Law the bloud was &s;prinkled round about the Altar, to intimate, that nothing is of worth but by the force of Chri&s;ts bloud: and as without bloud&s;hedding no remi&s;&s;ion<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.22.</NOTE>, &s;o no forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne but by the bloud of Chri&s;t: herein is a large field, but I ha&s;ten to the U&s;es.</P>
<P>In&s;truction;<NOTE PLACE="marg">U&s;e in&s;tr.</NOTE> <HI>If the bloud of the Sa|viour be the redemption of the Saint,</HI> learne we fir&s;t, what an unhappy and cur&s;ed thing &s;inne is, the forgivene&s;&s;e whereof co&s;t no le&s;&s;e then Chri&s;ts dea|re&s;t hearts bloud, it deludes us to defile us, it defiles us to de&s;troy us, that our poore (yet precious) &s;oules &s;hould pe|ri&s;h for ever without remedy, but for Chri&s;t <HI>in whom we have,</HI> &amp;c. Sinne <HI>Dalilah</HI>-like, &s;peaks fairly, acts friendly, for her advantage; but when oppor|tunity &s;erves, then &s;hall <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> &s;mart for it; <HI>Adam</HI> bemocks him&s;elfe to a being made immortall, and doomes his &s;elfe, and po&s;terity as low as death
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and deep as hell, When he had faire promi&s;es to be as God, high as heaven, lofty as Eternity; by eating the forbid|den fruit, fruit though plea&s;ant in the ta&s;te, bitter in the bowels as everla&s;ting burning; cur&s;ed &s;inne as a leapro&s;ie and plague infects and over&s;preads all de|grees, faculties, per&s;ons, e&s;tates, &s;ouls, bodies, in&s;naring millions to the eter|nall, infernall tortures of devouring Tophet, as impo&s;&s;ible to avoid, as in|tolerable to endure, without the bloud of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>in whom we,</HI> &amp;c. Oh that the Lord would enlighten our un|der&s;tandings to &s;ee &s;inne in its naked|ne&s;&s;e, then we would (as purity it &s;elfe) hate it with a perfect hatred: Did we con&s;ider aright that Chri&s;t is &s;o long in &s;orrow as we are in &s;inne, would we thus tran&s;gre&s;&s;e? Unhappy Oath, cur&s;e, &s;ecurity, unbeliefe, &s;inne of what &s;ort or condition &s;oever, crucifying the Lord of glory, unpardonable but by the al|&s;ufficient merit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. What meant in the Law an oblation of a He|goat for a &s;in-offering? but to teach us that &s;inne is of an odious &s;ent, and an ill &s;avour in the no&s;thrils of the Lord: Oh cur&s;ed &s;inne, when not all the Saints
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on Earth, nor all the Seraphicall &s;pirits in heaven can expiate that &s;inne which notion called the lea&s;t: Oh that the children of men, and the Sons of God would apprehend the Lord &s;peaking to a &s;oule, as once <HI>Leah</HI> to <HI>Jacob:</HI> I have hired thee with my &s;onnes Mandrakes, thou mu&s;t come unto me. So the Lord to our &s;oules, ye are mine, you mu&s;t come unto me by faith, love, obedience; I have bought thee with my Sonnes teears, &s;ufferings and bloud; precious &s;oules, &s;et your e&s;teeme on every &s;inne, as is the redemption, and it will &s;peake you to remember how unhappy and cur&s;ed a thing &s;inne is, when for the pardon thereof it co&s;t no le&s;&s;e then the unvaluable bloud of the Sonne of God, the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>in whom we,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Is the bloud of the Saviour the re|demption <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="U&s;e"> of the Saints? learne hence how deare and precious in the &s;ight of Je&s;us is the &s;oule of the Saints: Oh the tender love of Chri&s;t to a poore Chri|&s;tian; as the relation &s;peaks him, a friend, a brother, a Father, a Spou&s;e, a Creatour, each tearme &s;peaks him in|gaged to love: &s;o his love beyond mea|&s;ure, &s;o deare, tender, unparalell'd, to be
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admired, not to be expre&s;&s;ed; greater love then this can no man &s;hew. What greater then this could God declare? his love engaged that piety be &s;cour|ged, and impiety by his &s;tripes healed; it was content wi&s;edome it &s;elfe be derided, and folly pa&s;&s;e un&s;coffed; truth &s;uffers, and fal&s;hood triumphs; Ju&s;tice is condemned, and unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e e&s;capes free away; mercy is afflicted for cruelty; life re&s;ignes it &s;elfe to death, to pre&s;erve the damned from the &s;ting thereof: In a word, God dyeth once, that man might live for ever; by right propriety, he doth redeem the poor &s;oul as his creature, by right of propinqui|ty, redeems man as his creature-Saint: he undertooke that which would have mouldred ten thou&s;ands of men to du&s;t to have endured, and attomed the myri|ads of Angels to have &s;uffered. Oh the depth, breadth, length, height of Chri&s;ts love, &s;peaking to the Father in a loftier expre&s;&s;ion then <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Philemon</HI> concerning <HI>One&s;imus,</HI> I be&s;eech thee for my &s;onne <HI>One&s;imus,</HI> whom I have begotten in my bonds, formerly unpro|fitable to thee; I <HI>Paul</HI> have written it with my owne hand: Holy Father
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I be&s;eech thee for this my poore &s;oule, whom by my Go&s;pell I have begotten, to thee formerly unprofitable, un&s;ervice|able, and yet unfruitfull enough, but let me obtaine all his &s;innes to be laid upon my &s;houlders; 'tis thy beloved Sonne, that Sonne in whom thou art well plea&s;ed, I have writ it, and &s;ealed it, with no le&s;&s;e then my precious bloud: Behold, love, love and admire! was not, was not <HI>Rebeckah's</HI> love great to <HI>Ja|cob?</HI> doe as I advi&s;e, the cur&s;e be on me and the ble&s;&s;ing on thee: &s;o Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Soule, follow my advice, doe as I bid, and all the ble&s;&s;ings of thy Father be upon thee, and if any cur&s;e, let it light on me, for <HI>in me</HI> thou &s;halt have <HI>redemption:</HI> Oh, &s;ee as to &s;erve Chri&s;t for his love, and thy redemptions &s;ake, deare and tender, when his life is not &s;pared, that thy &s;inne may be pardoned, and &s;oule &s;aved in the day of the Lord. You &s;ee then how deare a Saint is to Chri&s;t; thus of the fir&s;t U&s;e.</P>
<P>Deale faithfully O ye beloved of the Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2.</HI> &V;&s;e is of exam.</NOTE> and examine whether or no you can &s;ay, in him we have redemption: <HI>David</HI> &s;peaks of the goings of God in his Sanctuary, the &s;ingers before and
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the min&s;trels follow after: O holy, O happy progre&s;&s;e; &s;o may I behold the &s;oule going to, and comming with par|don of &s;innes; try we fir&s;t by what precedes and goes before, then &s;ee what followes after <HI>remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes,</HI> &s;o may we apprehend terrour or comfort to a remitted or unforgiven &s;oule: This I premi&s;e, the foregoings of a pardoned &s;oule, are not to be looked on as cau&s;es, though conditions, or as kind of quali|fications that &s;upport a &s;oule to hope|full comfort.</P>
<P N="1">1. Try and examine whether or no you &s;ence your &s;innes deeply, I cannot in&s;tance in whom &s;inne was pardoned comfortably, that was never &s;en&s;ed deeply; the experimentall Chri&s;tian knew once &s;adly, as truly, it lay a load upon his &s;oule, and a burthen upon his &s;pirit, that nothing but a &s;ecret &s;upport kept him from re&s;igning up infinite mercy: A load to a griefe, a griefe and load with a witne&s;&s;e, and can it be le&s;&s;e to thy &s;oule when &s;uch a di&s;honour to thy God, A cur&s;e to thy Chri&s;t, a grief to thy &s;pirit, a &s;adning to Angels, and a vexation to all the Saints of God? a deep &s;ence as that reported of Queen
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<HI>Mary,</HI> were my heart unript, you &s;hould find the lo&s;&s;e of <HI>Callice</HI> there; &s;o the &s;oule, were my heart unca&s;ed, it would be knowne to men and Angels, and is knowne to the Lord that knowes all &s;ecrets; never any &s;orrow like this, never any burthen to my &s;pirits as this; my unbeliefe, my unprofitablene&s;&s;e, my deadne&s;&s;e, my unworthy walking to that high calling and rich mercy, to which I am called, and which I have received, none like my &s;inne, a burthen too heavy for me to beare, If I have not a &s;upply from my Chri&s;t, in whom I hope to have <HI>redemption:</HI> Try whe|ther &s;uffering or &s;inning mo&s;t burthen thy &s;oule, 'tis that which is deeply &s;en|&s;ed, if hopefully to be pardoned.</P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;oule before it comfortably can expect the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne, feares dreadfully, to this dread and feare the poore &s;oule mu&s;t needs &s;tep. When it &s;en&s;eth &s;inne deeply, apprehends it rightly, di&s;may, terrour, mu&s;t appale the &s;pirit, and affright the heart; when the &s;oule looks on the &s;innes many and mighty, that every &s;inne is a crucifier of Chri&s;t, and not feare, and not be trou|bled, 'tis impo&s;&s;ible: When <HI>David</HI> ap|prehended
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his &s;inne<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 38.3.</NOTE> <HI>There is no re&s;t in my bones becau&s;e of &s;inne,</HI> ver. 6. <HI>I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, I goe mourning all the day long feare and trembling</HI> make all my bones and every veine of my heart to &s;hake: If appre|hending of judgement will make the quaffing <HI>Belte&s;hazzer</HI> &s;hake and trem|ble, what mu&s;t the deep apprehen&s;ion of &s;inne and judgement too? When the malefactor perceives the &s;entence of death pa&s;&s;ed upon him, Oh what a &s;haking &s;tupid trembling fals upon him? &s;o a poore &s;oule receiving the &s;entence of death in him&s;elfe; oh what feare, what amazement, and horrour? un&s;peakable; the apprehen&s;ion of &s;inne di&s;covers the frownes of an everliving, and ever-gracious Father, this trou|bleth a &s;oule to a&s;toni&s;hment; the pro|mi&s;e is, God will come and &s;ave you, the Lord will come with recompence and vengeance (oh &s;weet) vengeance on thy &s;innes, recompence on thy poore de&s;ires; but what goes before, to whom is this &s;alvation engaged? to the fear|full heart<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 35.4.</NOTE>, Try, ha&s;t, do&s;t feare &s;innes cur&s;e, heavens anger? hope thy Saviour is working a pardon for thee his Saint.</P>
<P><PB N="55" REF="32">Once more, if thy &s;oule be pardoned, then it hath been throughly humbled, will not experience tell you, rea&s;on in|forme you, when a &s;inne is deeply &s;en|&s;ed, a &s;oule is terribly afraid, and how can it then but be throughly humbled, how &s;hould it le&s;&s;e? When the pro|mi&s;es of the Lord are engaged to com|fort the broken, contrite, and humble &s;oule, and the Lord of Promi&s;es inhabi|ting Eternity, inthrones him&s;elfe in &s;uch a &s;oule<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 57.15.</NOTE>, when the day of expiation was, the &s;oule was to be afflicted<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Lev. 23.</NOTE>, why but to hint as God was ready to &s;hew him&s;elfe mercifull, &s;o the people ought to &s;hew them&s;elves humble. A childe when faulty, or &s;ervant guilty, expect no favour except they be &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ive: &s;o a poore &s;oule, little hope of mercy till humble. Repent, for the king|dome of heaven is at hand, that king|dome that affords the &s;ubduing of, and pardon for &s;in to a poore penitent hum|ble &s;oul: Try, ha&s;t bin humbled for every &s;inne, as any &s;inne? ha&s;t &s;entenced thy &s;elfe to hell? ha&s;t been afraid to come before God? lying low in thy eyes, worth nothing but confu&s;ion? ha&s;t ag|gravated thy &s;inne again&s;t &s;uch a God,
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&s;uch a Father; faire hopes for a gracious pardon.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, Try, ha&s;t &s;ought, do&s;t &s;eeke with all earne&s;tne&s;&s;e and inten&s;ene&s;&s;e of &s;oule and &s;pirit? making it the great reque&s;t, that the Lord vouch&s;afe pardon and forgivene&s;&s;e to thy poore &s;oule? When a man is in danger of the Kings wrath, will he not endeavour a compo|&s;ition? and when a poore &s;oule &s;ees it &s;elfe by &s;inne, in danger of hell, will it not &s;eeke the Lord while he may be found? and call upon him while he is neare? by and by the Lord will abun|dantly pardon: How earne&s;tly will a condemned malefactor &s;ue and cry, good my Lord, mercy, mercy my Lord I be&s;eech you for Chri&s;ts &s;ake: even &s;o the &s;oule &s;entenced to the gates of death, and chambers of hell, hearing the God of &s;inners is a mercifull God, in all duties, upon all opportunities, &s;eeks for <HI>redemption, the forgivene&s;&s;e of their &s;ins,</HI> crying for Chri&s;ts &s;ake to find grace; the &s;oule knowes well that prayer breaks downe the banke of &s;inne, and makes a &s;luce for the &s;treames of di|vine pardon to flow amaine to a pray|ing &s;oule. Pray if perhaps the thoughts
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of the heart may be forgiven, was the advice of <HI>Simon Peter</HI> to <HI>Simon Ma|gus</HI><NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Acts 8.22</NOTE>; when a &s;oule knowes it is ble&s;&s;ed in heavens accompt, if the &s;ins be remitted<NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 32.1.</NOTE>, what can impead the &s;oule from making out with &s;uch ear|ne&s;tne&s;&s;e that neither lets it &s;elfe nor the Lord be quiet till a pardon be &s;ea|led, by this time I conceive the Lord Je&s;us di&s;covers him&s;elfe to the &s;oule, the one, the only one <HI>in whom it hath redemption,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>The&s;e precedent foregoings for par|don, experience will atte&s;t &s;ure enough, lets heare the min&s;trels which follow after.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the &s;oule accepts thankfully; who can expre&s;&s;e the gratitude? the gladde&s;t tydings and joyfulle&s;t newes that could be related to a poore droop|ing Chri&s;tian, that all the day and night long crys out, oh my &s;innes; oh my &s;ins. How thankfull will a poor bedrid man be to his Phy&s;itian that is in&s;trumentall to his inlargement? how thankfull a pri&s;oner endungeoned for his free|dome? or a condemned per&s;on at the place and minute of execution to heare and &s;ee a pardon? And what thanks
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unutterable to the Lord will a poore &s;oule render? what huggings, and em|bracings? what &s;peakings and actings of thanks? till obtained; deep load, dreadfull feare, humble dejection, and earne&s;t &s;eeking, now an an&s;wer of peace enjoyed, how thankfull? <HI>Hig|gaion Selah</HI> can be&s;t expre&s;&s;e though farre beneath the thanks of a &s;oule <HI>re|deemed by the bloud of Chri&s;t.</HI> Try if thy &s;oule hath gladly accepted, joyfully received this un&s;peakable mercy, by the returne of ineffable &s;oul-hearty thanks; can&s;t thou in &s;ome mea&s;ure &s;ub&s;cribe to<NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">Rev. 1.5.</NOTE>, or to<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Rev. 9.</NOTE>, or this third ver&s;e, to ble&s;&s;e God as for other, &s;o for this his &s;piri|tuall ble&s;&s;ing, redemption, forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes? a comfortable &s;igne. To pro|ceed.</P>
<P>Secondly, a &s;oule pardoned will henceforth &s;hun &s;inne carefully; it well knowes there is forgivene&s;&s;e with the Lord, that he may be feared; the childe once flamed or ga&s;ht will feare the burning fire, and cutting knife long after; the pri&s;oner coopt up to hard|&s;hip and dungeon-&s;traights, relea&s;ed, will be fearfull of debts and &s;in againe: And &s;hall not a &s;oule long fetter'd by
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the helli&s;h guilt and apprehen&s;ion of &s;inne, redeemed through the only worth of Chri&s;ts all-meritorious bloud, dare to meddle with &s;inne, the way to hell as hell it &s;elfe? The pardoned &s;oule knowes there is only one Phy&s;itian to afford forgivene&s;&s;e, to attaine his care and cure, a worke and labour of highe&s;t difficulty: nor can the &s;onne of man, or Daughter of Jeru&s;alem bee more watchfull over an unparalleld gla&s;&s;e, than the pardoned &s;inner, over his &s;oul, fearing if once broken, hard, if ever po&s;&s;ible, to bee repaired. The appre|hen&s;ion of this made one of the Anci|ents to &s;ay, Till &s;inne hath done as much for me as God, I will have no|thing to doe with the &s;toole of iniqui|ty. Try precious &s;oule, can&s;t &s;ay, I have wa&s;hed my feet, how &s;hall I de|file them? gracious pardon hath ca&s;t off the ragges of &s;inne, what have I to doe any more with Idolls? &s;hall &s;uch a one as I flee? have I &s;hed &s;o ma|ny teares to the dimming of my eyes, to the breaking of my heart? have I beene oft hurried as low as everla|&s;ting burnings to obtaine a pardon
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for my &s;inne? and hath infinite good|ne&s;&s;e enricht my &s;oule in its forgive|ne&s;&s;e? and &s;hall it be in vaine? &s;hall I againe returne with the Dogge to the vomit, and with the Swine to wal|low in wickedne&s;&s;e? God forbid: Ile &s;hunne &s;inne hereafter carefully; do&s;t thou &s;o? de&s;ire&s;t thou truely &s;o? a hopefull &s;igne.</P>
<P>Thirdly, a pardoned &s;oule will live honourably: if once thou gaine Redemption through Chri&s;t, thou wilt live like a Saint on earth, yea a Citizen in heaven; yea thou wilt walke like the redeemed of the Lord; not as one impri&s;oned in a mierie Dungeon, but as one walking in a Paradi&s;e of <HI>Eden;</HI> now as the Pro|digall in a new Garment, a Ve&s;ture of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; not as the Brat of Hell, but as heavens Royall Off|&s;pring; not with the men&s;truous Cloathes of &s;infull <HI>Adam,</HI> but the Candid &s;tole of Chri&s;ts innocency, daily inve&s;ted with his holy-day ap|parell: his conver&s;ation in heaven, his vaine thoughts di&s;lodged, his frothy words checked, his idle wayes
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refrained, the whole man Saint-like, hee is bought with a price, hee will glorifie the Lord with body and &s;oule, hee puts to his Seale, tis a &s;inne with a &s;hame and cur&s;e to keep the Labourers hire<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">Deut. 24.15.</NOTE>. A &s;oule that &s;ees his Redemption in Chri&s;t, know|eth it co&s;t his precious bloud: &s;hould hee live any longer to him&s;elfe, to his former &s;innes, hee ea&s;ily under|&s;tands hee detaines his &s;oule and body from Chri&s;t, the purcha&s;e of Chri&s;t, hee re&s;olves therefore henceforth to know no thing, no per&s;on unrelate to Chri&s;t, hee hath obtained his par|don, his deportment &s;hall be as Co|heire with Chri&s;t, and heire to God of eternall glory, hee will live ho|nourably. Try if you &s;o live and breath, act and affect, that your conver&s;ation may be &s;utable to your priviledge, and all your endeavours an&s;werable to this Princely preroga|tive, the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes: Doe&s;t thou labour to exalt the Lord, and magnifie Je&s;us Chri&s;t above &s;in, crea|ture, &s;elfe? comfortable &s;ignes, if not, <HI>e contra.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="62" REF="36">Fourthly, the &s;oule pardoned walks more comfortably than ever: A man long time confined to bed, home, or pri&s;on, &s;et free, with what in|ward joy, &s;atisfactory content, his &s;oule is comforted, experience can be&s;t expre&s;&s;e; &s;o a poore &s;oule for|merly plunged in gha&s;tly feares, and helli&s;h apprehen&s;ions to dwell and live in everla&s;ting darkne&s;&s;e for want of pardon: Now the Lord by his Spirit &s;ealing as full, as free remi&s;&s;i|on, no &s;tranger can intermeddle to relate his joy un&s;peakable and full of glory, pardon and peace; remi&s;&s;ion and con&s;olation like <HI>Aaron</HI> and <HI>Hur,</HI> hold up <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> hands, &s;upport the pardoned &s;oule; <HI>Goe in peace, and be of good comfort, thy &s;innes are forgi|ven thee</HI> bee frequent expre&s;&s;ions of holy Writ. When by pardon of my &s;inne, my &s;oule beholds it &s;elfe once a farre of, now nigh by the bloud of Chri&s;t, how can I but rejoyce? the feares, &s;orrow, trembling, hor|rour, becau&s;e my &s;innes were unpar|doned, di&s;pell'd, mu&s;t needs create inward joyes un&s;peakable, for that
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mine iniquities are forgiven. Try what inward joy and con&s;olation in &s;ome mea&s;ure, at &s;ome time, Gods Word affords from Chri&s;t, <HI>in whom thou ha&s;t redemption.</HI> Thus for the tryall.</P>
<P>Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 <HI>U&s;e for</HI> Reprehen|&s;ion.</NOTE> this &s;erves to reprove &s;uch as cannot &s;ay, <HI>in him wee have redemption;</HI> hath not pardon beene tendred? free, full, long as the &s;inne? the doome mu&s;t bee thine, if no redemption by Chri&s;t, thou art a Captive to the power of thy lu&s;t, and a bond &s;lave to the cur&s;e of thy &s;inne; to an ingenuous &s;pirit, it is mi&s;ery to bee a pri&s;oner to a &s;uperi|our, deep calamity to bee &s;ubject to an equall, but a &s;lave to his drudge vexation high; little comfort left for the gallantry of brave&s;t &s;pirits but this, they are enthralled by men, and in that little comfort too, but to bee en&s;laved under Hels Darling, Heavens &s;corne, the &s;oules everla|&s;ting &s;hame and confu&s;ion, &s;inne, makes not onely the eare to tingle, heart to tremble, but dumbes, be|cau&s;e it doomes to that Lake which
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burnes with torturing fire and &s;ul|phurous brim&s;tone; whether the pains of &s;ence, or lo&s;&s;e be &s;ore&s;t, needs no determination, either enough to fill a &s;oul with the terror of black de&s;paire, well con&s;ider<NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg">Job 20.11.</NOTE>, The thoughts of a re&s;urrection &s;peakes the &s;oule glad to returne to du&s;t againe: But hoping better things of you (precious &s;oules) I &s;pare to reprove, and pa&s;&s;e to the fourth U&s;e.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>4.</HI> U&s;e of Comfort.</NOTE>To all you that can &s;ay in any mea|&s;ure, my Saviours bloud is my Re|demption, let your &s;oules rejoyce, and all within you ble&s;&s;e his name: For,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, thou art ble&s;&s;ed, as the &s;weet P&s;almi&s;t<NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 32.1.</NOTE>, in this happy e|nough, happy in Gods account; what if deprived of earthly contents and enjoyments? yet thou ha&s;t remi&s;&s;ion, forgivene&s;&s;e, thats worth a thou&s;and Worlds: I deny not (deare &s;oule) but that many have more of ble&s;|&s;ings without, but thou ha&s;t that white &s;tone, that new name<NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.17.</NOTE> affor|ding &s;uch a con&s;olation within as may fill thy &s;oule with joy ineffable and full of glory.</P>
<P><PB N="65" REF="37">Secondly, by this a&s;&s;ured of Sal|vation; it is the &s;ouls trouble, the uncertainty of the reward, &s;o that it workes it out with little below feare and trembling; the forgivene&s;&s;e of thy &s;innes di&s;tills with a &s;weet influence enlightning to &s;alvation: as by the heat I know the fire burnes, by the light I know the Sunne &s;hines, by the pardon of my &s;inne, I am confident of the &s;alvation of my &s;oule.<NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg">Luk. 1.77</NOTE></P>
<P>Thirdly, in this comfort, what&s;oe|ver God &s;ends or &s;uffers, tis in mercy; no affront from beneath, no de&s;erti|on from above, no affliction without, no temptation within, but proceeds from a Father as well as from a God: <HI>Jonathans</HI> Arrowes were &s;hot for <HI>David,</HI> as at <HI>David;</HI> the tender Mother gives with a bitter Pill, clo&s;e|ly Sugar to &s;weeten: &s;o the Lord, though hee &s;ometimes an&s;wers with terrible things, yet hee is the God of &s;alvation, take comfort there|fore.</P>
<P>Fourthly, God will &s;anctifie thee as well as ju&s;tifie thee, thou &s;halt be partaker of his Spirit as well as
<PB N="66" REF="38">
of his bloud: I know thy &s;oule long|eth to bee &s;anctified, it &s;hall bee, bee comforted, where God pardons hee purges, &s;o runnes the Covenant<NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 36.25, 26, 27.</NOTE> &s;econded by the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI><NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 1.9. <HI>Object.</HI></NOTE>. But here a &s;oule is ready to complaine, there is nothing in me from me, that I &s;hould hope of the Lords pardon to me.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE>To this I An&s;wer: Ha&s;t thou not as much as God looks for? what had the Infant, the Churches Hierogli|phicke<NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 16.</NOTE> but bloud in it, polluted, defiled? yet God pittied: What had the Prodigall? yet his Father freely pardoned, and joyfully entertained him. Feare not then, for Chri&s;ts &s;ake, the Lord will doe more than this, in him there is Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, Grace, Perfection, Merit enough to redeem from Hell, the nethermo&s;t Hell, to &s;ave, to &s;ave to the highe&s;t Hea|vens: Hath not he offered him&s;elfe a Sacrifice for &s;inne for ever? and will not he for ever perfect them that are &s;anctified? and will the Lord remember their &s;innes and iniquities any more<NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.12. &amp; 17.</NOTE>? Be comforted there|fore,
<PB N="67" REF="38">
and if this will not &s;erve, let God him&s;elfe an&s;wer &s;uch an obje|ction made<NOTE N="t" PLACE="marg">I&s;ay 43.22, 23, 24. <HI>Exhort.</HI></NOTE>. I ha&s;ten to the la&s;t U&s;e, Labour to &s;ub&s;cribe to this truth, you that cannot &s;ay you have redemption through his bloud.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="means">
<HEAD>Meanes.</HEAD>
<P>Fir&s;t, labour for a forgiving heart, and a remitting &s;pirit; doe as you would bee done unto is the Royall Law<NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.14</NOTE>, with that of<NOTE N="w" PLACE="marg">Mark 11.25, 26.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Secondly, labour for a truely humb|led &s;pirit, a throughly humbled &s;oul, &s;o that Promi&s;e &s;ealed to thee, in the twelfth of <HI>Zacharie,</HI> the latter end and beginning of the thirteenth Chap|ter.</P>
<P>Thirdly, believe in Chri&s;t, enter|taine him in all his Truths, his Pro|mi&s;es, exerci&s;e thy faith in &s;pight of oppo&s;ition, and<NOTE N="x" PLACE="marg">Acts 10.43.</NOTE>. A faire in|&s;tance<NOTE N="y" PLACE="marg">Mark 2.4, 5.</NOTE>.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="motives">
<HEAD>Motives.</HEAD>
<P>God will then bee one with you; <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Mot.">
<PB N="68" REF="39">
the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI> by his &s;inne lo&s;t you, the &s;econd <HI>Adam</HI> by his merit regai|ned you, no more a &s;tranger from God, or the Covenant of grace, his Royall Attributes are martialled while you are in the valley of teares to doe you good.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Mot."> This will make you pa&s;&s;e through all difficulties what&s;oever with com|fort; now thou feare&s;t, and art ama|zed, loath to hazard this, or ven|tare that for God or his Go&s;pell; and why? I have not my &s;innes pardo|ned: were I &s;ure of this, went I through a valley of teares, and &s;ha|dow of death, I would feare no e|vill, but with <HI>Paul</HI><NOTE N="z" PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.32</NOTE> challenge all per&s;ons and things; that thus you may remaine faithfull, and with com|fort wade through a &s;ea of bloud, la|bour for Redemption.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, yee that can &s;ay with <HI>Paul</HI> in the Text, <HI>We have redemp|tion, &amp;c.</HI> Love him, live to him, and to none but him; let your Duties, Mercies, Graces, Lives, bee prai&s;e to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, you need not que&s;tion Gods love; the favour of the royall
<PB N="69" REF="39">
brea&s;t is knowne by Mercy, by Remi&s;|&s;ion: hath the Lord delivered mee from the power of darkne&s;&s;e, and tran&s;lated mee to the Kingdome of his deare Sonne? and &s;hall not his free grace bee magnified? Prai&s;e the Lord O my &s;oule, and let all that is within mee ble&s;&s;e his holy Name for his <HI>Chri&s;t, by who&s;e bloud I have re|demption, the forgivene&s;&s;e of my &s;ins,</HI> and let all that wi&s;h well to my &s;oule, for my &s;oule, &s;ay, ble&s;&s;ed be the Lord for ever and ever. Amen.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="40">
<PB REF="40">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
