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<DATE>2010-09-07</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B00698">
<STC T="S">22496</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">44920430</BIBNO>
<VID>173875</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="engraved title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P><FIGURE>
<P>A FOUNTAINE SEALED OR <HI>The</HI> Dutie <HI>of the &s;ealed to the</HI> SPIRIT</P>
<P><HI>And the</HI> worke <HI>of the Spirit in Sealing.</HI></P>
<P>By <HI>Rich: Sibbes, D. D. The 3^d^. Edition.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Printed for L: Chapman &amp; are to be &s;ould at his &s;hope at Chancery Lane end in Holborne.</HI></P>
<P><HI>will: Mar&s;hall. &s;culpsit.</HI> 1638.</P>
<FIGDESC>engraved title page</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<P>A FOUNTAIN SEALED: <HI>OR,</HI> The <HI>duty</HI> of the &s;ealed to the Spirit, and the <HI>worke</HI> of the Spirit in Sealing.</P>
<P><HI>Wherein</HI> Many things are handled about the Holy Spirit, and grieving of it:</P>
<P>As al&s;o Of a&s;&s;urance and &s;ealing what it is, the priviledges and degrees of it, with the &s;ignes to di&s;cerne, and meanes to pre&s;erve it. Being The &s;ub&s;tance of divers Sermons prea|ched at <HI>Grayes Inne.</HI></P>
<P>By that Reverend Divine, RICHARD SIBBES, D. D. and &s;ometimes Preacher to that Honourable Society.</P>
<P>LONDON, Printed by <HI>Thomas Harper,</HI> for <HI>Law|rence Chapman,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop at Chancery lane end, in Holborne, 1638.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>To The truly Noble, and much honoured Lady, the Lady <HI>Elizabeth Brooke,</HI> Wife to Sir <HI>Robert Brooke.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Madame:</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_BE&s;ides that de&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ved in|tere&s;t your Lady&s;hip held in the
<PB REF="4">fections and e&s;teeme of this worthy man more then any friend alive, which might intitle you to all that may call him Authour. This &s;mall piece of his acknowledgeth a more &s;peciall propri|ety unto your Lady|&s;hip. For though his tongue was as the Pen of a ready Wri|ter in the hand of Chri&s;t who guided
<PB REF="4">him, yet your Lady|&s;hips hand and Pen was in this his &s;cribe and Amanuen&s;is whi|le&s;t hee dictated a fir&s;t draught of it in pri|vate, with intention for the publique. Jn which labour both of humility and love, your <HI>Lady&s;hip</HI> did that honour unto him which <HI>Baruch</HI> (thogh great and Noble) did but receive in the
<PB REF="5">like, tran&s;cribing the words of <HI>Ieremiah,</HI> from his mouth: wher|in yet your <HI>Lady&s;hip</HI> did indeed, but write the &s;tory of your owne life, which hath beene long exactly framed to the rules herein pre&s;cribed. We there|fore that are intru|&s;ted in the publi&s;hing of it, deeme it but an act of Ju&s;tice in us to return it thus to your
<PB REF="5">Lady&s;hip, unto whom it owes, even its fir&s;t Birth: that &s;o where ever <HI>this</HI> little Trea|ti&s;e <HI>&s;hall come, there al&s;o this that you have done, may bee told and recorded for a memorial of you.</HI> And wee could not but e&s;teeme it al|&s;o an addition of ho|nour to the worke, that no le&s;&s;e then a Ladies hand (&s;o pi|ous
<PB REF="6">&amp; &s;o much honou|red) brought it forth into the world, al|though in it &s;elfe it de|&s;erveth as much as any other this ble&s;&s;ed wombe did beare. The Lord in way of recom|pence, write all the ho|ly Contents of it, yet more fully and abun|dantly in your Lady|&s;hips heart, and all the lineaments of the I|mage of <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI>
<PB REF="6">and <HI>&s;eale</HI> up all unto you <HI>by his</HI> ble&s;&s;ed <HI>&s;pi|rit,</HI> with joy and peace <HI>to the day of Re|demption.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>Madame,</SALUTE> <SIGNED><HI>we are your Lady&s;hips devoted,</HI> THO. GOODWIN. PHILIP NYE.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="7">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>_GRieve not the ho|ly Spirit of God.</HI> The Holy Gho&s;t why called a Spi|rit, <HI>page 3</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Why holy, <HI>page 5</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>From the Apo&s;tles di&s;&s;wa&s;i|on, the&s;e foure pre&s;uppo&s;ed truths.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> That the holy Gho&s;t is in us, <HI>page 8</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> And is as a guide to us, <HI>page 12</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> The be&s;t of us are apt to grieve him, <HI>page 13</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="8"><HI>4</HI> Therefore wee &s;hould bee carefull of it, <HI>page 14</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect; <HI>1. Of grieving the Spirit.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>I</HI> What it is to grieve the Spirit, <HI>16.</HI> how the Spirit wor|keth in us, <HI>page 20</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>II</HI> Wherein doe we e&s;pecial|ly grieve the Spirit.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> In our &s;elves, and that in the&s;e particulars.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> In walking contrary to, and in neglecting of its moti|ons, <HI>25.</HI> and comforts, <HI>27.</HI> &s;eeking comfort from the fle&s;h, <HI>page 28</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> By unkindene&s;&s;e, <HI>29.</HI> the &s;innes of Profe&s;&s;ors, and tho&s;e that have mo&s;t acquain|tance with the Spirit, grieve mo&s;t, <HI>page 30</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> By pre&s;umptuous &s;innes, <HI>33,</HI> &s;innes again&s;t knowledge
<PB REF="8">of two &s;orts. <HI>ibid.</HI> why volun|tary &s;innes are &s;o great, and grieve the Spirit &s;o much, <HI>36,</HI> the rea&s;on why &s;innes of the &s;e|cond Table grieve mo&s;t, <HI>39,</HI> up|on divers re&s;pects the &s;ame &s;ort of &s;innes may grieve more and le&s;&s;e, <HI>page 44</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> By worldline&s;&s;e and pay|ing tribute to the fle&s;h, <HI>page 45</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> Abu&s;ing &s;pirituall things to our owne ends, <HI>48.</HI> and fa|thering the workes of the fle&s;h upon the &s;pirit, <HI>page 49</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> By &s;ins again&s;t the Go&s;pell, <HI>49,</HI> &s;lighting ordinances, <HI>page 51</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Sinnes plotted and contri|ved, <HI>page 57</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> By fal&s;e judgement of things, <HI>page 55</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> By not u&s;ing the helpes we have, <HI>page 58</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> Cavelling again&s;t the truth, <HI>page 59</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="9"><HI>11</HI> By doing duty in our owne &s;trength, <HI>page 61</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>12</HI> Thru&s;ting our &s;elves into over-much worldly employ|ment, <HI>61,</HI> whence,</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>13</HI> Omi&s;sion or &s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ght perfor|mance of duty, <HI>page 63</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> In others many ways, as
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Neglecting the grace in them, <HI>page 65</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Sharpe cen&s;ures, <HI>page 65</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Superiours by unju&s;t com|mands, <HI>page 66</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Inferiours by untractable|ne&s;&s;e,</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> By evill examples, <HI>page 68</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>III</HI> How we may know when we have grieved the &s;pirit, <HI>69</HI> and what is the danger of it, <HI>page 71</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>How farre a childe of God may grieve the Spirit. <HI>page 76</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the &s;inne again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>81,</HI> and a twofold mi&s;|carriage
<PB REF="9">about it in cen&s;uring, <HI>page 82</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>IIII</HI> What cour&s;e we &s;hould take to prevent grieving the Spirit <HI>84,</HI> in divers rules.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Give your &s;elfe up to the go|vernment of it, <HI>page 84</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Subject con&s;tantly to the Spi|rits motions: they are knowne from other motions.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> By a &s;peciall &s;trength in them, by which they are rai&s;ed to higher ends, <HI>page 87</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> By their con&s;tancy, <HI>page 88</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> They proceed from a chan|ged heart, <HI>page 89</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> They are &s;ea&s;onable, <HI>ibid.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> A &s;elf evide~ce in them, <HI>page 90</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Orderly, in re&s;pect of both Tables of the law, <HI>ibid.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Dependant upon God, <HI>page 91</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Ioyne and co-operate with the Spirit, <HI>page 92</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Turne motions into re&s;olu|tions,
<PB REF="10"><HI>94</HI> and re&s;olutions into practi&s;e, <HI>page 95</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> Depend on ordinances, and get a heart &s;uteable to them, <HI>page 96</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Ob&s;erve the Spirits fir&s;t withdrawing, and &s;earch the cau&s;e, <HI>page 100</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Take heed of &s;uch &s;innes as wee terme little ones, <HI>102,</HI> and looke upon all &s;inne in the ri&s;e and root of it, <HI>104</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> Get &s;pirituall wi&s;edome to know what is plea&s;ing and di&s;|plea&s;ing to the Spirit, <HI>page 105</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> Vpon breaches, renew repen|tance, <HI>page 108</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> Avoyd corrupt communi|cation, <HI>page 109</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Whereby you are &s;ealed.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect; <HI>2 Of the &s;ealing of the Spirit.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Chri&s;t is &s;ealed, <HI>page 122</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> So are Chri&s;tians, <HI>page 125</HI>
<LIST>
<PB REF="10">
<ITEM><HI>I</HI> What this &s;ealing is, and how it is wrought, <HI>page 125</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>II</HI> The priviledges of it.
<LIST>
<HEAD>A &s;eale &s;erveth for</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Confirmation, <HI>page 131</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Di&s;tinction, <HI>page 132</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Appropriation, <HI>page 139</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> E&s;timation, <HI>page 141</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> Secrecy, <HI>page 144</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Security, <HI>page 146</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>III</HI> Degrees of &s;ealing.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> The worke of faith, <HI>page 149</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Sanctification, <HI>150.</HI> yet not without a new act of the Spirit, <HI>153,</HI> the rea&s;ons, <HI>page 155</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Ioy, <HI>156.</HI> which hath its degrees al&s;o, <HI>158,</HI> being from the &s;pirit, <HI>page 159</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the three witne&s;&s;es on earth, <HI>160,</HI> their order, <HI>page 164,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the witne&s;&s;e of the Spirit immediately from it &s;elfe, which is the highe&s;t, and that which bringeth mo&s;t joy, <HI>page 166</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="11">Of &s;uch joyes and raptures of the Spirit, and how they are knowne from illu&s;ions, <HI>Page 169.</HI> as
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> By what goes before them: as
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> The word imbraced by faith, <HI>Page 171</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Deep humiliation, <HI>Page 172</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Selfe-denyall, <HI>Page 174</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Comfort &amp; victory, <HI>Page 175</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> Spirituall &s;trength put forth in duty, <HI>Page 176</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> By what accompanieth them: as,
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Pryzing ordinances, <HI>Page 177</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Liberty &amp; boldne&s;&s;e with God, <HI>Page 179</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> And for the mo&s;t part Sa|thans malice, <HI>Page 180</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> By what follweth them,
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> More humility, <HI>Page 180</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Increa&s;e of &s;pirituall &s;trength, <HI>Page 181</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> A joyfull expectation of Chri&s;t. <HI>Page 183</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="11"><HI>4</HI> Other degrees of &s;ealing from the divers degrees of revelati|on, <HI>Page 185</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Vnto the day of Rede~ption.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>&sect; <HI>3 Of the day of Redem|ption. Page 191</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>From the con&s;ideration of what formerly hath beene &s;po|ken, &s;ome generall conclu&s;ions are collected, <HI>Page 202</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>I</HI> Concl. Wee may attaine to the knowledge that wee are in the &s;tate of grace, <HI>Page 203</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>All that have faith, have not a&s;&s;urance, <HI>Page 209</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>II</HI> Concl. Vpon knowledge of our &s;tate of grace for the pre|&s;ent, wee may be a&s;&s;ured of our future full redemption, <HI>Page 215</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Why we pray for forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes notwith&s;tanding, <HI>Page 218</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>This a&s;&s;urance we have, <HI>Page 221</HI> that, fir&s;t, God may be glorifi|ed,
<PB REF="12"><HI>222,</HI> &s;econdly, our &s;oules comforted, <HI>Page 223</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>III</HI> Concl. This a&s;&s;ured know|ledge is wrought by the Spirit, <HI>Page 224</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>IIII</HI> Concl. The &s;ealing of the Spirit unto &s;alvation, &s;hould bee a prevailing argu|ment not to grieve the Spirit, <HI>Page 228</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> To tho&s;e that are not as yet &s;ealed. <HI>Page 230</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> To tho&s;e that are &s;ealed either in a lower, <HI>233.</HI> or high|er worke of &s;ealing, <HI>236</HI> and that from
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Ingenuity, <HI>Page 237</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Benefit received from the Spirit, <HI>Page 239</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> A kinde of nece&s;sity, <HI>Page 240</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> The nature of love, <HI>Page 241</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> And other graces, as faith and hope, that worke by a&s;simi|lation. <HI>Page 242</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="12">The doctrine of a&s;&s;urance is <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">0</HI> doctrine of liberty <HI>Page 243</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>But of deepe and &s;weet in|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">agement, <HI>Page 244</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Therefore we &s;hould pre&s;erve he worke. <HI>Page 247</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="13">
<PB N="1" REF="13">
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Ephe&s;. 4.30.</HI></BIBL>
<Q>And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby yee are &s;ealed unto the day of redem|ption.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_WHether the words bee a Command en&s;uing from au|thority, or coun|&s;ell, from wi&s;edome, or a caveat from Gods care of our &s;oules, it is not materi|all: con&s;idering both Coun|&s;ell and Caveats of the great God, have both force of a Command, with &s;ome mixture of the &s;weetne&s;&s;e
<PB N="2" REF="14">of love: the Apo&s;tle as his manner is, from in the large|ne&s;&s;e of his Spirit, ri&s;eth from a particular di&s;&s;wa|&s;ive from corrupt commu|nication,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Scope of the words.</NOTE> in the ver&s;e be|fore, to this generall advi&s;e of not grieving Gods Spi|rit by &s;inne; e&s;pecially a|gain&s;t con&s;cience inlighte|ned: and this di&s;&s;wa&s;ive from evill, is inforced from a dangerous effect of grieving the &s;pirit of God; and the danger of grieving ari&s;eth from this, that it is the Spirit of God, and God him&s;elfe whom we grieve, and a holy Spirit, holy in him&s;elfe, and holy as the cau&s;e of all holine&s;&s;e in us; and hee that after he hath wrought holine&s;&s;e in us, &s;ealeth and confirmeth us
<PB N="3" REF="14">in that act of grace, untill the day of our glorious re|demption: &s;o that the grounds of not grieving, are from the greatne&s;&s;e and goodne&s;&s;e of the per&s;on whom we grieve, and from the greatne&s;&s;e and con&s;tan|cy of the benefits we have by him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Holy Gho&s;t cal|led Spirit, why.</NOTE> To &s;peake &s;ome|thing of the per&s;on, the ho|ly Spirit is called a Spirit, not onely by nature, as be|ing a &s;pirituall e&s;&s;ence, but in regard of his per&s;on and office, he is both breathed from the Father and the Sonne, as proceeding from them both; and by office, breathed into ail that God hath given Chri&s;t to re|deeme, and him to &s;anctifie; he is &s;o the &s;pirit of God in proceeding from God, as
<PB N="4" REF="15">that he is God, which who &s;o denieth, deny their owne Bapti&s;me, being as well Baptized into the name of the Holy Gho&s;t, as into the Father and the Sonne; and no le&s;&s;e a per&s;on, then God, is needfull to a&s;&s;ure our &s;oules of Gods love, and to change our nature, being in an oppo&s;ite frame: who can reveale to us the minde of GOD, but the Spirit of God? and herein wee may &s;ee the joynt forwardne&s;&s;e both of the Father and Son and holy Gho&s;t; when both Father and Sonne joyne in willingne&s;&s;e to &s;end &s;o great a per&s;on to apply unto us, and to a&s;&s;ure us of that great good the Father hath decreed, and the Son performed for us.</P>
<P><PB N="5" REF="15"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Holy Spirit.</NOTE>That attribute the Spirit delights in, is that of holi|ne&s;&s;e, which our corrupt nature lea&s;t delights in,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Holine&s;&s;e not onely an attri|bute in God, but the excel|lency of all his at|tributes. He is holy in mercy, in ju&s;tice, in good|ne&s;&s;e, &amp;c.</NOTE> and mo&s;t oppo&s;eth: holine&s;&s;e is the glory and crowne of all other excellencie; without which they are neither good in them&s;elves, nor comfortable to us. It im|plies a freedome from all impuritie, and a perfect ha|tred of it; an ab&s;olute per|fection of all that is excel|lent. What is it then to grieve &s;uch an holy Spirit; before whom the heavens them&s;elves are impure, and not onely the Divels trem|ble, but the Angels cover their faces? What &s;hall wee thinke then of them which doe not onely neglect, but de&s;pi&s;e, yea oppo&s;e this
<PB N="6" REF="16">holine&s;&s;e, and indure any thing el&s;e? what is hated in the world with <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eene and perfect hatred, but <HI>holy|ne&s;&s;e, without which</HI> yet, <HI>wee &s;hall never &s;ee God,</HI> nor enter into that pure place, into which, we all profe&s;&s;e a de&s;ire to enter?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Two de|&s;ires in man by nature.</NOTE> There was planted in man by na|ture, a de&s;ire of holine&s;&s;e, and a de&s;ire of happine&s;&s;e: the de&s;ire of happine&s;&s;e is left &s;till in us, but for holi|ne&s;&s;e which is the perfecti|on of the image of God in us, is both lo&s;t, and the de|&s;ire of it extingui&s;hed: and that men might the better drive it out of the world under a forme and &s;hew of it; they oppo&s;e the truth of it, and that with the greater &s;ucce&s;&s;e, becau&s;e under that
<PB N="7" REF="16">great colour the Divell and his Vicar, carry all their divelli&s;h policies under a &s;hew of holine&s;&s;e. We &s;ee in Popery, every thing is holy with them, but that which &s;hould be holy, the truth of God, and the ex|pre&s;&s;ion of it. The man of &s;inne him&s;elfe mu&s;t have no wor&s;e title, then his Ho|line&s;&s;e: a &s;hew of devi&s;ed holine&s;&s;e plea&s;eth mans na|ture well enough; as being glorious for appearance, and u&s;efull for ends. But the truth of it being cro&s;&s;e to the whole corrupt na|ture of man, will never be entertained, untill nature be new moulded by his ho|ly Spirit in the u&s;e of holy meanes, &s;anctified by him|&s;elfe for that end: it is this
<PB N="8" REF="17">that makes a man a Saint, and civill vertues to be gra|ces, which ray&s;eth things that are (otherwi&s;e) com|mon, to an higher degree of excellency: this is that to a Chri&s;tian which rea&s;on is to a man: it gives him a being, and a beauty diffe|rent from all other: it makes every action we doe in obe|dience to GOD a &s;ervice, and puts a religious re&s;pect upon all our actions, dire|cting them to the highe&s;t end.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Foure things pre&s;uppo|&s;ed.</NOTE>Now that which the Apo|&s;tle di&s;&s;wades from, is from grieving &s;o holy a Spirit. The&s;e truths, are pre&s;uppo|&s;ed: Fir&s;t, that the holy Gho&s;t is not in us per&s;onal|ly as the &s;econd Per&s;on is in Chri&s;t man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The &s;pirit in us.</NOTE> for then the
<PB N="9" REF="17">holy Gho&s;t, and wee &s;hould make one per&s;on: nor is the holy Gho&s;t in us e&s;&s;entially only: for &s;o he is in all crea|tures: nor yet is in us onely by &s;tirring up holy moti|ons, but hee is in us my&s;ti|cally, and as Temples dedi|cated to him&s;elfe: Chri&s;ts humane nature is the fir&s;t temple, wherein the Spirit dwels; and then we become temples by union with him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Difference of the Spirits be|ing in Chri&s;t, and in us.</NOTE> The difference betwixt his being in Chri&s;t &amp; us, is, that the Spirit dwels in Chri&s;t in a fuller mea&s;ure by rea&s;on that as a head hee is to con|veigh &s;pirit into all his members. Secondly, the Spirit is in Chri&s;t intirely without any thing to op|po&s;e: the Spirit alwayes findes &s;omething in us, that
<PB N="10" REF="18">is not his owne, but ready to cro&s;&s;e him. Thirdly, the Spirit is in us derivatively from Chri&s;t, as a fountaine wee receive grace at &s;econd hand, an&s;werable to grace in him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">How the Spirit was in <HI>Adam</HI> in innocency.</NOTE> The holy Gho&s;t was in <HI>Adam</HI> before his fall, immediately; but now hee is in Chri&s;t, fir&s;t, and then for Chri&s;t in us, as members of that bo|die, whereof Chri&s;t is the head: &amp; it is well for us that he dwels fir&s;t in Chri&s;t, and then in us: for from this it is that his communion with us is in&s;eparable, as it is from Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, with whom the Spirit makes us one. The holy Spirit dwels in tho&s;e that are Chri&s;ts af|ter another manner then in others in whom hee is in,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How in carnall men.</NOTE> in
<PB N="11" REF="18">&s;ome &s;ort by common gifts, but in his owne, hee is in them as holy, and as ma+king them holy, as the &s;oule is in the whole body in re|gard of divers operations; but in the head onely as it under&s;tandeth, and from thence ruleth the whole body: &s;o the holy Gho&s;t is in his, in regard of more noble operations, and his per&s;on is together with his working, though not per|&s;onally; and though the whole man be the temple of the holy Gho&s;t, ye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the &s;oule e&s;pecially, and in the &s;oule the very Spirit of our mindes, a mo&s;t &s;uteable to him being a Spirit. Whence the Apo&s;tle wi&s;hes the <HI>grace of Chri&s;t to be with our Spirits,</HI> the be&s;t of &s;pi|rits
<PB N="12" REF="19" MS="y">delight mo&s;t in the be&s;t of us, which is our &s;pirits: in the Temple the further they went, all was more holy, till they came to the holy of holie&s;t. So in a Chri&s;tian the mo&s;t inward part the &s;pirit is, as it were the holy of holies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The holy Gho&s;t dwels not in us as in ordinary hou&s;es, but as Tem|ples. The holy &s;pirit makes all holy, where ever he comes.</NOTE> where incen&s;e is offered to God continually. What a mercy is this that hee that hath the heaven of heavens to dwell in, will make a dungeon to bee a temple; a pri&s;on to be a para|di&s;e; yea an hell to bee an heaven? Next to the love of Chri&s;t in taking our nature, and dwelling in it; we may wonder at the love of the holy Gho&s;t, that will take up his re&s;idence in &s;uch defi|led &s;oules.</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing pre|&s;uppo&s;ed,
<PB N="13" REF="19">is that the holy Spirit being in us after hee hath prepared us for an hou&s;e for him&s;elfe to dwell in,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The &s;pirit a Coun|&s;ellor and Comfor|ter.</NOTE> and to take up his re&s;t and delight in, hee doth al|&s;o become unto us a Coun|&s;ellour in all our doubts, a Comforter in all di&s;tre&s;&s;es, a Solicitor to all dutie, a guide in the whole cour&s;e of our life, untill wee dwell with him for ever in heaven: unto which his dwelling here in us doth tend: he go|eth before us as Chri&s;t did in the pillar of the cloud and fire before the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> into Canaan: being a defence by day, and a direction by night. When we &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 We are prone to grieve the Spirit.</NOTE> what doe wee el&s;e but grieve this guide?</P>
<P>The third ground is, that
<PB N="14" REF="20">we, the be&s;t of us, are prone to grieve this holy Spirit: what u&s;e were there el&s;e of this caveat? wee carry too good a proofe or this in our owne hearts: we have that which is enmitie to the &s;pirit within us, &s;inne; and an adver&s;ary to the &s;pirit &amp; us, Sathan: The&s;e joyning together, and having intelli|gence, and holding corre|&s;pondence, one with ano|ther, &s;tirre us up to that which grieves this good Spirit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">4 We &s;hould be carefull of grie|ving it.</NOTE>The fourth thing pre&s;up|po&s;ed, is, that we may and ought by Chri&s;tian care and circum&s;pection, &s;o to walke in an even and plea|&s;ing cour&s;e, that wee &s;hall not grievou&s;ly offend the &s;pirit, or grieve our owne
<PB N="15" REF="20">&s;pirits. We may avoyd ma|ny la&s;hes and blowes, and many an heavy day which wee may thanke our &s;elves for, and God delighteth in the pro&s;perity of his chil|dren, and would have us walk in the comforts of the holy Gho&s;t, and is grieved when we grieve him: that then hee mu&s;t grieve us to prevent wor&s;e griefe. The due and proper act of a Chri&s;tian in this life is to plea&s;e Chri&s;t, and to bee comfortable in him&s;elf, and &s;o to bee fitted for all &s;ervi|ces.</P>
<P>The&s;e things premi&s;ed, it is ea&s;ie to conceive the e|quitie of the Apo&s;tles di&s;|&s;wa&s;ive from grieving the holy &s;pirit. For the better unfolding of which, we will
<PB N="16" REF="21">unfold the&s;e foure points. Fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Foure points ob&s;erved.</NOTE> what it is to grieve the Spirit. Secondly, is wherein we &s;pecially grieve the Spirit. Thirdly, how wee may know when wee have grieved the Spirit Fourthly, what cour&s;e wee &s;hould take to prevent this griefe.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 What it is to grieve the Spirit.</NOTE>For the fir&s;t: The holy Gho&s;t cannot properly be grieved in his owne per&s;on, becau&s;e griefe implyes a defect of happine&s;&s;e in &s;uf|fering that wee wi&s;h remo|ved. It implyes a defect in fore&s;ight, to prevent that which may grieve. It im|plyes pa&s;&s;ion, which is &s;oone rai&s;ed up, and &s;oone laid downe: GOD is not &s;ubject to change; it implyes &s;ome want
<PB N="17" REF="21">of power to remove that which we feele to be a grie|vance: and therefore it is not be&s;eeming the Maje&s;tie of the Spirit thus to bee grieved. Wee mu&s;t there|fore conceive of it as befit|ting the Maje&s;tie of God, removing in our thoughts all imperfections. Fir&s;t then we are &s;ayd to grieve God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Spirit grieved how.</NOTE> when we doe that which is apt of it &s;elfe to grieve: as wee are &s;aid to de&s;troy our weake brother, when wee do that which he taking of|fence at, is apt to mi&s;leade him, and &s;o to de&s;troy him. Secondly, we grieve the Spirit, when wee doe that whereupon the Spirit doth that which grieved per&s;ons doe; that is, retireth and &s;heweth di&s;like, and returns
<PB N="18" REF="22">griefe againe. Thirdly, though the pa&s;&s;ion of griefe be not in the holy Gho&s;t, yet there is in his holy na|ture a pure di&s;plicence and hatred of &s;inne, with &s;uch a degree of abhomination as though it tend not to the de&s;truction of the offender, yet to &s;harpe correction: &s;o that <HI>griefe</HI> is eminently in the <HI>hatred</HI> of God in &s;uch a manner as becomes him. Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Spirit con|fidered as in him|&s;elfe, as in us.</NOTE> wee may con|ceive of the Spirit as hee is in him&s;elfe in heaven, and as hee dwels and workes in us; as wee may conceive of God the Fa|ther, as hidden in him&s;elfe, and as revealed in his Son, and in his word; and as wee may conceive of Chri&s;t as the &s;eco~d per&s;o~, &amp; as incar|nate:
<PB N="19" REF="22">&s;o likewi&s;e of the holy Gho&s;t as in him&s;elfe, and as in us, God in the per&s;on of his Sonne: and his Sonne as man, and as Mini&s;ter of Circumci&s;ion, was grieved at the rebellion and de&s;tru|ction of his owne people. The holy Spirit, as in us grieveth with us, witne&s;&s;eth with us, rejoyceth in us, and with us; and the &s;pirit in him&s;elfe, and as hee wor|keth in us hath the &s;ame name, as the gifts and gra|ces, and the comforts of the Spirit are called the &s;pirit; even as the beames of the Sunne &s;hining on the earth are called the Sunne: and when wee let them in, or &s;hut them out, wee are &s;aid to let in or &s;hut out the Sunne. We may grieve the
<PB N="20" REF="23">&s;pirit, when we grieve him as working grace, and offe|ring comfort to us: the gra|ces of the Spirit have the name of the Spirit whence they come, as the Spirit of love and wi&s;edome. Againe, our owne &s;pirits, &s;o farre as &s;anctified, are &s;aid to be the Spirit of God: So the Spi|rit of God, not in it &s;elfe, but in <HI>Noah</HI> did &s;trive with the old world; and &s;o we grieve the Spirit, when wee grieve our owne or other mens &s;pi|rits, &s;o farre as they are &s;an|ctified by the Spirit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">How the Spirit worketh in us.</NOTE>Now the &s;pirit as in us worketh in us, according to the principles of mans na|ture, as under&s;tanding and free creatures, and prefer|veth the free manner of working proper to man;
<PB N="21" REF="23">and doth not alwaies put forth an ab&s;olute preroga|tive power, but dealeth with us by way of gentle and &s;weet motions and per|&s;wa&s;ions; and leaveth it in our freedome to imbrace or refu&s;e the&s;e inferiour workes of the Spirit: and our hearts tell us it is in our power to entertaine or re|ject the motions: which when wee doe in our owne apprehen&s;ion, wee churli&s;h|ly offend the &s;pirit, as wil|ling to draw us to better waies; and wee cannot o|therwaies judge of this, but as grieving. God in his dea|ling with men, puts his cau&s;e into our ha~ds, that by our prayers and otherwi&s;e, wee may helpe or hinder him again&s;t the mighty.
<PB N="22" REF="24">And Chri&s;t puts him&s;elf into our hands in his Mini|&s;ters, and in the poore counts him&s;elfe regarde<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> or neglected in them: &s;o the holy Spirit puts as it were his delight and content|ment in our power, and counts when we entertaine his motions of grace or comfort, we entertain him, and when we refu&s;e them wee grieve him. And the holy Gho&s;t will have us in|terpret our refu&s;ing of his motion, to be a refu&s;ing of him; and not onely a refu|&s;ing of him, but of the Son, and of the Father, who&s;e &s;pirit he is. Oh, if wee did but con&s;ider how high the &s;lighting of a gracious mo|tion reaches, even to the &s;lighting of God him&s;elfe:
<PB N="23" REF="24">it would move us to give more regard unto them. As we u&s;e the&s;e motions. &s;o would wee u&s;e the Spirit him&s;elfe, if he were in our power. They are not onely the Amba&s;&s;adors, but the royal off-&s;pring of the &s;pirit in us, and when we offer violence to them, we kill as much as in us lyeth, the roy|all &s;eed of the Spirit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Object.</HI> We intend not in &s;in, to grieve the Spirit. <HI>An&s;w.</HI> We doe it in the cau&s;e.</NOTE> <HI>Ob.</HI> It may be objected, when wee doe any thing a|mi&s;&s;e, we intend not the grieving of the Spirit? It is true, unle&s;&s;e we were di|vels incarnate, we will not purpo&s;ely and directly grieve the Spirit; but when we &s;inne, we will the grie|ving of him in the Cau&s;e. No man hates his owne &s;oule, or is in love with
<PB N="24" REF="25">death, yet men will wil|lingly doe that, which i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> they hated their own &s;ouls. and loved death, they could not doe wor&s;e. <HI>Why wil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> you peri&s;h, you hou&s;e of I&s;|rael?</HI> &s;aith God, they inten|ded no &s;uch matter as peri|&s;hing: Gods meaning is, why will you go on in &s;uch de&s;tructive cour&s;es, as will end in peri&s;hing? if we could hate hell in the cau&s;e of it and way to it, as we hate i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> in it &s;elfe, we would never come there.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Wherein we grieve the Spirit.</NOTE>For the &s;econd point, wherein wee e&s;pecially grieve the Spirit: griefe ari|&s;eth either from antipathy and co~trariety, or from di&s;|union of things naturally joyned together. In grea|ter per&s;ons e&s;pecially,
<PB N="25" REF="25">griefe ari&s;eth from any in|dignity offered from neg|lect or di&s;re&s;pect, and mo&s;t of all from unkindene&s;&s;e af|ter favour &s;hewed. Thus the holy Gho&s;t is grieved by us: what more contrary to holine&s;&s;e, then &s;inne, which is the thing, and the onely thing that God ab|hominates, yea, in the di|vell him&s;elfe? But then adde to the contrarietie in &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">We grieve the Spirit by unkind|ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> the aggravations from un|kindene&s;&s;e; and this makes it more &s;infull. What grea|ter indignity can wee of|fer to the holy Spirit, than to preferre ba&s;e du&s;t before his motions, leading us to holine&s;&s;e and happi|ne&s;&s;e? what greater unkind|ne&s;&s;e, yea, treachery to leave directions of a friend
<PB N="26" REF="26">to follow the coun&s;aile of an enemy? &s;uch as when they know Gods will, yet will con&s;ent with fle&s;h and bloud, like <HI>Balaam,</HI> who was &s;wayed by his profit a|gain&s;t a cleere di&s;covery of Gods will. Wee cannot but make the Spirit of God in us in &s;ome &s;ort a&s;hamed to thinke of our folly; in <HI>lea|ving the Fountaine,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier.</NOTE> and <HI>dig|ging Ci&s;ternes:</HI> in leaving a true guide, and following the Pirate: men are grieved e&s;pecially, when they are di&s;re&s;pected in their place and office. It is the office of the Spirit to enlighten, to &s;often, to quicken, and to &s;anctifie; when wee give content to Sathan, it puts the holy Gho&s;t out of of|fice. The office of the holy
<PB N="27" REF="26">Gho&s;t is likewi&s;e to bee a comforter: it cannot there|fore but grieve the holy Spirit, when <HI>the con&s;olations of the Almighty</HI> are either forgotten, or <HI>&s;eeme no|thing</HI> unto us in the peri&s;h|ne&s;&s;e of our &s;pirits; when with <HI>Rachel wee will not bee comforted.</HI> Who in &s;tead of wra&s;tling with GOD by prayer, wrangle with him by cavelling objections: They take plea&s;ure to move objections, in&s;tead of a ho|ly &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to higher rea&s;ons that might rai&s;e them to comfort: and take Satans part again&s;t the holy Spirit, and their owne &s;pirit: and again&s;t argu|ments that are mini&s;tred, by tho&s;e that are more skilfull in the wayes of &s;al|vation,
<PB N="28" REF="27">then them&s;elves. How little beholding is the holy Spirit to &s;uch, who plea&s;e them&s;elves in a &s;pirit of oppo&s;ition? and yet &s;o &s;weet is this holy Spirit, that after long pati|ence, hee overcomes ma|ny of the&s;e with his good|ne&s;&s;e: and makes them at length with &s;hame, lay their hands upon their mouthes, and bee &s;ilent. Yet that is one rea&s;on they &s;ticke &s;o long in temptati|ons, and are kept &s;o long under <HI>the Spirit of bondage.</HI> Tho&s;e likewi&s;e cannot but grieve the Comforter, that leave his comforts, and &s;eeke for other Comfor|ters: that thinke there is not comfort enough in Religi|on, but will bowe downe
<PB N="29" REF="27">to the world, &s;uch as linger after the liberties of the fle&s;h, after &s;tolne waters; as if God kept hou&s;e not good enough for them. It is a great di&s;paragement to preferre huskes before the provi&s;ion of our fathers hou&s;e, and to dye (like fi&s;h out of their proper ele|ment) if wee want carnall comforts. But above all, they grieve the Spirit mo&s;t, that have had deepe&s;t ac|quaintance with the Spirit; and have received greate&s;t favours from the Spirit. When the holy Gho&s;t comes in love, and wee have given way to him to enlighten our under&s;tan|dings, and when in our af|fections, wee have ta&s;ted of the good things of God,
<PB N="30" REF="28">that the promi&s;es are &s;weet, and the Go&s;pell is good. When wee have given &s;uch way to the Spirit, then to u&s;e him unkindely; this grieves the Spirit. Where the holy Gho&s;t hath not on|ly &s;et up a light, but given a ta&s;te of heavenly things, and yet wee upon fal&s;e al|lurements will grow to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> di&s;ta&s;t, it cannot but grieve the Spirit. And this makes the <HI>&s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t</HI> &s;o de&s;perate, becau&s;e there hath beene a &s;trong conviction and illumina|tion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aggrava|tion of &s;innes of Profe&s;&s;ors.</NOTE> Therfore of all &s;innes the &s;innes of Profe&s;&s;ours o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Religion, grieve the Spiri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> mo&s;t; and of all Profe&s;&s;or tho&s;e that have mo&s;t mean<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of knowledge: becau&s;e their obligations are dee<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="31" REF="28">and their ingagements grea|ter. The deeper dee affe|ction hath entred, the grea|ter the griefe mu&s;t needs be in unloo&s;ing. The offence of friends, grieves more than the injuries of ene|mies. And therefore the &s;innes that offend GOD mo&s;t, are committed within the Church; where is the greate&s;t &s;inne of all, the &s;in again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t committed, but within the Church? and where there is the greate&s;t light, and the greate&s;t meanes. Sinnes again&s;t knowledge grieve mo&s;t, e&s;pecially, if there be a malicious oppo&s;ing: for there can be nothing to ex|cu&s;e it. The malice of the will maketh the &s;inne of the deeper die: and it is con|trary to the &s;pirit, as it is a
<PB N="32" REF="29">Spirit of goodnes, &amp; hence is it that pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;u~ptuous &s;ins &s;o much grieve the &s;pirit, for by &s;uch &s;innes we abu&s;e the &s;weete&s;t Attribute of Gods Spirit, his goodne&s;&s;e, and be therefore evill becau&s;e he is good, and turne his grace into wantonne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sins a|gain&s;t knowledg are &s;uch either, 1 Directly</NOTE> the &s;in of this age. Sins again&s;t know|ledge are either &s;uch as are 1. Directly again&s;t know|ledge, as when we will not under&s;tand what wee &s;hould doe, becau&s;e wee will not doe what wee under&s;tand: &s;uch put out the candle, that they may &s;inne with the more freedome. This kinde of ignorance doth not free from &s;inne, but increa&s;eth it; &s;ome men will not heare the Word, nor reade good Bookes, le&s;t their con&s;ci|ences
<PB N="33" REF="29">&s;hould bee awaked; this affected ignorance in|crea&s;eth the voluntarine&s;&s;e. Againe, when we maintaine untruths for any advantage, knowing them to bee un|truths; as many learned Pa|pi&s;ts cannot but doe. What a great indignity is it to the Spirit of GOD to <HI>&s;ell the truth,</HI> which we &s;hould <HI>buy,</HI> yea with the lo&s;&s;e of our lives: and to prefer the plea|&s;ing of a ba&s;e man, or &s;ome gaine to our &s;elves before a glorious <HI>beame</HI> of GOD? Other &s;innes if wee know them to be &s;innes, are &s;innes again&s;t knowledge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Indi|rectly,</NOTE> not &s;o directly, but collateral|ly: yet this will bee the chiefe aggravation, when our con&s;cien<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">s are once awaked, not &s;o much that
<PB N="34" REF="30">we have &s;inned, as that wee have &s;inned again&s;t the light, when the will hath nothing to plead for it &s;elfe, but it &s;elfe; it would, becau&s;e it would, though it knew the contrary. Involuntari|ne&s;&s;e, takes away &s;omething of the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;inne: when there is ignorance, perturbation, or pa&s;&s;io~, there is le&s;&s;e &s;inne, and le&s;&s;e grie|ving of the Spirit: but when there are none of the&s;e, but a man will &s;inne, becau&s;e he will; accounting it a kinde of &s;overaignty to have his will, this wil prove the mo&s;t mi&s;erable condition: for not to have the will regulated by him that is the chiefe&s;t good, is the greate&s;t per|ver&s;ene&s;&s;e, and will end in de&s;peration.</P>
<P><PB N="35" REF="30"><HI>Q.</HI> Why are voluntary &s;innes &s;o great, and &s;o much grieve the Spirit of God?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Why vo|luntary &s;ins grieve the Spirit &s;o much.</NOTE> <HI>An&s;w.</HI> When there is pa&s;|&s;ion, there is &s;ome colour for &s;inne; as profit, plea&s;ure, feare to di&s;plea&s;e, &amp;c. When there is ignorance, there is a want of that that might help the under&s;tanding; but when there are none of the&s;e, and a man willingly &s;innes, hee is more <HI>directly</HI> carried again&s;t the com|mand and will of God: there is nothing puts him on: yet hee accounts it &s;o &s;mall a matter, that hee will doe it without any provocation, out of a &s;light e&s;teeme of the good plea&s;ure and will of God.</P>
<P>As common &s;wearers, can they plead ignorance? they
<PB N="36" REF="31" MS="y">know the Commandement, <HI>God will not hold them guilt|le&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 20.</NOTE> <HI>that take his name in vaine:</HI> can they plead per|turbation? They doe it oft in a bravery, when they are not urged: there is no in|gagement in that &s;in of pro|fit or plea&s;ure, but a volun|tary &s;uperfluity of pride. They would have you to know, that they are men that care not for God him|&s;elfe; let God and his Mini|&s;ters take it as they will, though I have no plea&s;ure or pro&s;it by it, yet I wil have my liberty. The heart that hath been thus wicked, will hardly admit of comfort, when it &s;tands in neede of it.</P>
<P>We are not &s;aid to be ill, becau&s;e we know ill, but be|cau&s;e
<PB N="37" REF="31">we will and con&s;ent to ill; it is the will that makes up the bargain, &s;in were not &s;inne el&s;e. God hath given us the cu&s;tody of our owne &s;oules, and as long as wee keepe the keyes faithfully, and betray not our &s;oules to Sathan, &s;o long wee po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;e our owne &s;oules, and our comfort: but when hee &s;ugge&s;ts; doe this, or &s;peake this, and wee con&s;ent; hee takes full and free po&s;&s;e&s;&s;i|on of us, as much as in us lies; and God in judgment &s;aith Amen to it. God &s;aith take him Sathan: &s;ince hee will not have my Spirit to rule him, it is fit hee &s;hould have a wor&s;e. The more willingne&s;&s;e, the more &s;in|fulne&s;&s;e, and the le&s;&s;e de|fence; and Gods ju&s;tice
<PB N="38" REF="32">cannot better bee &s;atisfied than by puni&s;hing the~ mo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> again&s;t their wils, who &s;in|ned mo&s;t with their will. The clearer the light is, and the more advantages it hath the more we &s;inne.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sinnes a|gain&s;t the &s;econd Table in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> what re|&s;pect they grieve mo&s;t.</NOTE>In this re&s;pect it is, that &s;innes again&s;t the &s;econd Table grieve more then &s;innes again&s;t the fir&s;t; be|cau&s;e here the con&s;cience is more awaked. The&s;e be &s;ins again&s;t a multiplied light, a|gain&s;t the light of nature, light of the Word and Spi|rit: and &s;uch &s;innes are con|trary to humane &s;ociety, they di&s;&s;olve tho&s;e bonds that nature, even by the common reliques it hath left, &s;tudies to maintaine. Though corrupt nature hath no good in it, for we de&s;er|ved
<PB N="39" REF="32">to bee like divels, yet God intending to have ci|vill &s;ociety, out of which he u&s;ually gathers his Church, pre&s;erveth in mans nature, an hatred of &s;innes that o|verthrow &s;ociety: &s;uch &s;ins therefore being committed again&s;t more light, wound more: as in ca&s;e of murther, notorious perjury, theft, &amp;c.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods me|thod in dealing with &s;in|ners.</NOTE>Therefore God oft gives up men, upon breach of the fir&s;t Table, to breaches of the &s;econd, that &s;o they may come to more griefe, and &s;hame, as being the breakers of both Tables: Men never fall into the breach of the &s;econd Table, but upon breach of the fir&s;t: No man de&s;pi&s;eth mans Law, but he de&s;pi&s;eth Gods
<PB N="40" REF="33">law fir&s;t; No man breake<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the <HI>law of nature,</HI> but he de|&s;pi&s;eth the <HI>God of nature.</HI> Prophane Athei&s;ticall per|&s;ons that glory in the breach of the third Commande|ment by &s;wearing; GOD meets with them by giving them over to gro&s;&s;e abho|minable &s;innes of the &s;e|cond Table; which vexeth them more (though they &s;hould no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">) than &s;ins again&s;t the fir&s;t Table, expo&s;ing them, be&s;ides inward griefe, to open &s;hame; then God opens Con&s;cience to tell them, not onely that they are too blame for their gro&s;&s;e &s;innes, but for the root of them; Athei&s;me, prophanene&s;&s;e, loo&s;ene&s;&s;e, which are &s;innes again&s;t the fir&s;t Table. This is an ag|gravation
<PB N="41" REF="33">of &s;innes again&s;t knowledge, when our knowledge hath beene hol|pen and &s;trengthened by e|ducation, by example of o|thers running into our eyes, which is a more familiar teaching than that of Rule, and &s;trengthened al&s;o by ob&s;ervation and experience of our &s;elves; and the for|mer &s;trength wee have had, again&s;t the &s;inne wee now commit: and &s;weetne&s;&s;e we have found in the re&s;i&s;ting of it. None are wor&s;e than tho&s;e that have been good, and are naught, and might be good, and will be naught. When there is more delibe|ration and fore-knowledge of the dangerous i&s;&s;ue, and this al&s;o joyned with the warning of others. As <HI>Reu|ben</HI>
<PB N="42" REF="34">&s;aid unto the re&s;t of hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> brethren, <HI>Spake I not un<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> you, &amp;c?</HI> So may Gods Spi|rit, and con&s;cience, &s;ay t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> men, Did not I acquai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> you with the danger of &s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> You are now in mi&s;ery, an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> terrours of con&s;cience, bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> did you not &s;leight forme<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> admonitions, and helps, and meanes? Con&s;cience is a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> inferiour light of the Spirit to doe things again&s;t con&s;ci|ence, is to doe them again&s;t the Spirit. God &s;pake to me, and I heeded him not, how doth God &s;peake? When con&s;cience &s;peakes, and &s;aith this is good, this is bad then God &s;peakes, con&s;ci|ence hath &s;omewhat divine in it: it is a petty god, it &s;peakes from God; e&s;pecial|ly when the Spirit joynes
<PB N="43" REF="34">with con&s;cience, then God &s;peakes indeed, then there is light upon light.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Some &s;ins grieve more than other.</NOTE>Vpon divers re&s;pects &s;ome &s;inne may grieve more or le&s;&s;e than another. As the holy Gho&s;t is a Spirit, &s;o <HI>&s;pirituall &s;innes</HI> grieve mo&s;t; as pride, envy; imprinting upon the &s;oule as it were, a character of the contrary ill &s;pirit. <HI>Carnall &s;innes,</HI> where|by the &s;oule is drowned in delight of the body, may more grieve the &s;pirit in a|nother re&s;pect; as defiling his Temple, and as taking away &s;o much of the &s;oule; love and delight, carry the &s;oule with them, and the more deeply &s;uch &s;innes en|ter into the creature, be&s;ides the defilement, the le&s;&s;e &s;trength it hath to &s;pirituall
<PB N="44" REF="35">duties: grace is &s;eated in the powers of nature, now car|nall &s;innes di&s;able nature: and &s;o &s;ets us in a greater di&s;tance from grace, as ta|king away the heart, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 4. Hereupon the Apo&s;tle &s;ets being <HI>filled with wine,</HI> con|trary to being <HI>filled with the Spirit.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.18.</NOTE> And hence it is the Apo&s;tle forbids, in the for|mer words, <HI>uncleane commu|nication:</HI> the holy Spirit is a Spirit of truth, hates hy|pocrites, being painted &s;e|pulchers; but as a &s;pirit of purity, hates &s;oule livers, and &s;oule-mouth'd &s;pea|kers, as open &s;epulchers. They cannot therefore but much grieve the &s;pirit, that feed corrupt lu&s;ts, and &s;tudie to give contentment, and pay tribute, to the
<PB N="45" REF="35">fle&s;h; to which they owe no &s;ervice and are no debters: and by &s;owing to the fle&s;h from which wee can reape nothing but corruption.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6.</NOTE> When our thoughts are ex|erci&s;ed to content the out|ward man, to contrive for the things of the world one|ly; this is to pay tribute of the &s;trength and vigour of our affections to the utter e|nemy of Gods Spirit, and our owne &s;oules: when our thoughts runne deeply into earthly things, we become one with them.</P>
<P>Who will think him&s;elfe well entertained into an hou&s;e, when there &s;hall be entertainement given to his greate&s;t enemy with him? and &s;hall &s;ee more regard had, and better countenance
<PB N="46" REF="36">&s;hewed to his enemy, than to him? when the motions of corrupt nature are more regarded, then the motions of the Spirit. The <HI>wi&s;edom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> of the Spirit <HI>which is from above, is fir&s;t pure,</HI> and ma|keth us &s;o, and ray&s;eth the &s;oule upward to things a|bove. Chri&s;tians indeed have their failings; but if true Chri&s;tian examine him&s;elfe, his heart will &s;ay that every day hee intends the glory of God, and the good of the &s;tate hee lives in: hee hath a larger hear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> than a ba&s;e worldling, that keepes within the &s;phere o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> him&s;elfe; &s;pending all his thoughts there, and con|&s;ults onely with fle&s;h and bloud, with profit and plea&s;ure, to heare what
<PB N="47" REF="36">they &s;ay. Such ba&s;ene&s;&s;e cannot but grieve the Spi|rit, as contrary to our hopes, and heavenly calling, which are glorious.</P>
<P>It is a dangerous grieving of the Spirit, when in&s;tead of drawing our &s;elves to the &s;pirit, we will labour to draw the &s;pirit to us, and &s;tudy the Scriptures, to countenance us in &s;ome corrupt cour&s;e; and labour to make God of our minde, that wee may goe on with the greater libertie. When men get to them&s;elves teachers after their owne <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;ts, as many doe (e&s;pecial|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">y if they be in place) <HI>Ahab</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hall not want his 400 fal&s;e Prophets. When men cut <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">he rule and &s;tandard to fit <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hem&s;elves, and not fit
<PB N="48" REF="37">them&s;elves to it. You have &s;ome that are re&s;olved wha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> to do, and yet will be askin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> coun&s;ell, and if they hav<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> an an&s;wer to their minde<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> then they re&s;t; if not, the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> their an&s;wer is: This is you<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> judgement, but others a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> of a contrary opinion: an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> thus they labour to mak<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Spirit of God in his M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">|ni&s;ters to &s;erve their turne &s;o did the Iewes in <HI>Ierem<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters"></HI> time.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 42.</NOTE></P>
<P>Some will father tho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;infull affections that ari<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> from the fle&s;h, and a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;trengthened by Sathan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> upon the holy Spirit, coun+ting wrath that is kindle<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> from hell to be fire of hol<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> zeale comming from hea+ven. Thus the enemies <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> Religion thinke they do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="49" REF="37">God &s;ervice in their ma&s;&s;a|cres; &s;uch are tho&s;e that wickedly oppo&s;e the wayes of God, and yet are ready to &s;ay, <HI>Glory be to the Lord;</HI> &s;uch men &s;tudy holine&s;&s;en in the &s;hew, that they may o|verthrow it in the power; and will countenance an ill cour&s;e by Religion.</P>
<P>Such al&s;o are faulty who lay the blame of an uncom|fortable life upon Religion, when men are therefore un|comfortable, becau&s;e they are not religious enough. <HI>The wayes of wi&s;edome are the wayes of plea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Spirit is grieved by &s;innes again&s;t the Go&s;pell.</NOTE>In the&s;e times, being the &s;econd &s;pring of the Go|&s;pell, wee mu&s;t take heed of &s;innes again&s;t the Go&s;pell. Benefits, the greater they are, being neglected, or a|bu&s;ed,
<PB N="50" REF="38">bring the greater judgement. The office of the holy Spirit is, by the Mini&s;tery, to lay open the riches of Chri&s;t, and the glory of Gods grace in him: by neglecting &s;o great &s;alva|tion, and by thinking this favour of God to be a com|mon favour; wee &s;inne a|gain&s;t, both Father, Sonne, and holy Gho&s;t, and in that they de&s;ire mo&s;t to be glo|rified. Such therefore as &s;ay to the clouds, Drop not, and to the winds, blow not; and to the <HI>Prophets, prophe|&s;ie not;</HI> that &s;tudy to keepe out the light and &s;in again&s;t it, as di&s;covering them, and awakening them, and hin|dering them from taking that &s;olace in carnall cour|&s;es of the world: as opening
<PB N="51" REF="38" MS="y">the eyes of others to know them further than they would be knowne, and &s;o to lo&s;e that re&s;pect they would have in the hearts of men. This cannot but grieve the Spirit of God; and move him to take away that truth that wee are &s;o farre from thinking a ble&s;&s;ing, that wee are weary of it, and fret a|gain&s;t it.</P>
<P>The office of the Spirit is to &s;et out Chri&s;t, and the favour, and mercy of God in Chri&s;t:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Slighting ordinan|ces.</NOTE> when wee &s;light Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pell, the ordinance, &amp; organ of wor|king good in us, the holy Gho&s;t is &s;lighted, and grie|ved. Bad is our condition by nature, and what a deale of mi&s;ery doe wee adde to this bad condition? Are we not
<PB N="52" REF="39" MS="y">all the children of wrath? And have we not &s;ince wee were borne added &s;inne un|to &s;inne? Doe we not grow in &s;inne as we do in yeares? Is not God ju&s;t? and hell terrible? Now God out of infinite mercy having pro|vided a way to free us from the danger of &s;inne; and not onely &s;o, but to advance us to life everla&s;ting; and that wee &s;hould not be ignorant of that he hath done for us, he hath &s;et up an ordinance wherin the holy Gho&s;t di&s;|covers his love. When wee &s;leight this, and account it but an ordinary favour, nay, rather a burthen, and thinke the opening of divine my|&s;teries, things that may be &s;pared; that there is too much preaching, and what
<PB N="53" REF="39" MS="y">needs all this adoe? This grieves the Spirit, who&s;e office is to lay open the un|&s;earchable riches of Chri&s;t, th&eacute; infinite and glorious mercy, and goodne&s;&s;e of God in Chri&s;t, wherein God hath &s;et him&s;elfe, in all his attributes, to triumph, and be glorified. We grieve all the &s;acred Trinity: God the Father is grieved, to &s;ee his mercy &s;lighted: God the Sonne, to &s;ee his bloud ac|counted common; and God the holy Gho&s;t, who&s;e of|fice it is to di&s;cover the&s;e things.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;inne of the&s;e times.</NOTE> This is the common &s;inne of the times, and king|dome, which threatneth judgement more than any thing el&s;e. When the Go|&s;pell, the ble&s;&s;ed truth of &s;alvation is publi&s;hed, <HI>The
<PB N="54" REF="40">axe is layd to the root of the tree,</HI> the in&s;trument of de|&s;truction: if men &s;light the mercies of God, entertaine not Chri&s;t, walke not wor|thy of the Go&s;pell, they &s;hall feele the &s;troke of his &s;harpe anger. The bloud|red hor&s;e followeth the white hor&s;e, <HI>Revel.</HI> 6.4. The white hor&s;e is, the publi&s;h|ing of the Go&s;pell: when God &s;ets him&s;elfe to glori|fie him&s;elfe, in mercy, in the greate&s;t benefits, and wee account them nothing, or but common favours, God removes the Candle&s;ticke; the red hor&s;e of bloud, and de&s;truction, followes. And indeed what man will en|dure his greate&s;t favours and kindne&s;&s;es to be &s;leigh|ted?</P>
<P><PB N="55" REF="40">Now a degree in grie|ving the Spirit this way, is, when men will not be tho|rowly conceived of their owne &s;infull condition, and of the infinite love and mer|cy of God in Chri&s;t, in the pardoning of them. If God by his Spirit in the Mini&s;te|ry, or in a particular re|proofe come to men, and di&s;cover their naturall con|dition, and tell them they are wor&s;e than they take them&s;elves to be: they will oppo&s;e it, and &s;tudy re|venge, as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Am I become your enemie, be|cau&s;e I tell you the truth?</HI> this mu&s;t needs grieve the Spi|rit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">By fal&s;e judgement of things.</NOTE>Againe the holy Spirit is grieved, when yee have a corrupt judgement of
<PB N="56" REF="41">things, not weighing them in the right ballance, nor value them according to their worth. When wee e|&s;teeme any knowledge ra|ther than divine know|ledge, any truths but truths that concerne Chri&s;t, when men looke upon grace as contemptible, and prefer o|ther things above it, make a tu&s;h at holine&s;&s;e, give us (&s;ay they) gifts and parts. Alas, what are all gifts and parts, without a gracious heart? Have not the divels greater parts then any man? Are they not called <HI>Daemo|nes,</HI> from the largene&s;&s;e of their under&s;tanding? If parts and gifts were be&s;t, the divels were better than wee. What an indignity is this to the holy Spirit, to thinke it
<PB N="57" REF="41">better to be accounted wit|ty, and politicke, then to be holy, and gracious?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">When we plot and contrive &s;inne, the Spirit is grieved.</NOTE> Again, tho&s;e &s;ins wherein there is plotting, and contri|ving, exceedingly grieve the Spirit: becau&s;e they are done in cold bloud. <HI>David</HI> deeply wounded his con&s;ci|ence, and grieved the Spirit, in plotting the death of <HI>V|riah,</HI> which was the diminu|tion of the credit of <HI>David:</HI> that the Scripture &s;aith, he was good in all things, ex|cept in the matter of <HI>Vriah:</HI> why? becau&s;e therein he grieved the Spirit mo&s;t, in plotting, and contriving the cruell murther of &s;o good a man. How can they thinke they have the Spirit of God, that plot, and under|mine mens e&s;tates, to have
<PB N="58" REF="42">their wils in unju&s;t cour&s;es; or if they have the &s;pirit, can this be without grieving it; for the Spirit will perpetu|ally &s;ugge&s;t the contrary.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">And &s;inne having helps to doe the contrary.</NOTE>Againe, we grieve the ho|ly Spirit, when we commit &s;uch &s;innes, as we might a|void, &s;uch &s;innes as we have &s;ome helps again&s;t, and lea&s;t provocation unto. It is a ge|nerall rule, <HI>Quanto major fa|cilitas, &amp;c.</HI> The more the fa|cility of not &s;inning, the greater the &s;inne. Therefore when we are tempted to &s;in, con&s;ider what con&s;cience &s;aith: I have beene an hea|rer of the word, what hath the Spirit of God revealed and di&s;covered unto mee? He hath &s;hewed that this is a &s;inne: whom do I grieve, by the commi&s;&s;ion of it? The
<PB N="59" REF="42">Spirit of God, and wound my owne con&s;cience: and then con&s;ider, will that, that I &s;in for, countervaile this? Doe I not buy my &s;inne too deare? Sinnes are dearely bought, with the grieving of the Spirit of God: there|fore wi&s;ely thinke before hand what &s;inne will co&s;t.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">By cavel|ing again&s;t the truth.</NOTE>Men grieve the Spirit, by cavelling again&s;t the truth. The heathen ma~ could &s;ay, It is an ill cu&s;tome to be ca|velling again&s;t Religion, whether in good earne&s;t, or in je&s;t: yet wee have a &s;ect, a generation of men, that are of all religions, of no religion, men of a con|tradictory &s;pirit, that al|wayes take the oppo&s;ite part; that cavell at the truth to &s;hew their parts: this is
<PB N="60" REF="43" MS="y">too ordinary among the wits of the world.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Neglect of prayer and depen|dance.</NOTE>This grieves the holy Spirit al&s;o, when men take the office of the Spirit from him, that is, when we will doe things in our owne &s;trength, and by our owne light, as if we were gods to our &s;elves. Man naturally affects a kinde of divinity (it was the fault of <HI>Adam</HI>) and till God drive him out of him&s;elfe by his Spirit, and by afflictions, he &s;ets much by his owne parts, and wit, and thereupon neglects prayer, and dependance on God, as if the Spirit had no|thing to doe with his regi|ment. When men &s;et upon actions in the &s;trength of na|turall parts, perhaps they may goe on in their cour&s;e
<PB N="61" REF="43" MS="y">as civill men, but never as Chri&s;tians, to have comfort of their actions, becau&s;e they will bee guides, and gods to them&s;elves. If a man belong to God, God will cro&s;&s;e him in &s;uch wayes, wherein he refu&s;eth to honour God, and to give him his due place: he &s;hall mi&s;carry, when, perhaps, other men &s;hall have &s;uc|ce&s;&s;e, though it be to har|den them to de&s;truction. This is a &s;ubtle way, by which Sathan abu&s;eth men. The life of a Chri&s;tian is de|pendant on an higher prin+ciple than him&s;elfe, to rule and guide him.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Over|much worldly bu&s;ine&s;&s;e.</NOTE>Another way whereby wee commonly grieve the Spirit of God is, when the minde is troubled with a
<PB N="62" REF="44">multitude of bu&s;ines; wher<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the &s;oule is like a mill, where one cannot heare another: the noy&s;e is &s;uch as takes a|way all entercour&s;e: It dimi|ni&s;heth of our re&s;pect to the holy Spirit, when wee give way to a multitude of bu&s;ine&s;&s;e: for multitude of bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, begets multitudes of pa&s;&s;ions and di&s;tractions; that when Gods Spirit di|ctates the be&s;t things, that tend to our comfort, and peace, wee have no time to heed what the Spirit advi|&s;eth. Therefore we &s;hould &s;o moderate our occa&s;ions, and affaires, that we may be alwaies ready for good &s;ug|ge&s;tions. If a man will be lo&s;t, let him lo&s;e him&s;elfe in Chri&s;t, and in the things of heaven: for if wee be
<PB N="63" REF="44">drowned in the world, it wil breed di&s;comfort.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Omi&s;&s;ion of duties.</NOTE>La&s;tly, omi&s;&s;ion, or &s;light performance of du|ties, grieve the Spirit: the Spirit as he comes from the Father, and the Sonne, from God, &s;o he is great in him|&s;elfe being God; <HI>Offer this to thy King,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Malachy,</HI> when hee &s;aw them come negligently and carele&s;ly to the wor&s;hip of God; when people heare drow&s;ily, and receive the Sacrament un|preparedly: this grieves the Spirit, becau&s;e it comes from irreverence and di&s;re|&s;pect: And the rea&s;on why &s;o many are dead hearted, is becau&s;e they make no con&s;cience of omi&s;&s;ions, of drow&s;ine&s;&s;e, of negligent cold performances. Such
<PB N="64" REF="45">Chri&s;tians what doe they differ from carnall men in+duties, for they will heare, pray, receive Sacraments. He is the be&s;t Chri&s;tian that is the mo&s;t reverend Chri|&s;tian, the mo&s;t carefull Chri&s;tian, mo&s;t jealous o|ver his owne heart. V&s;ual|ly tho&s;e are the riche&s;t in grace. Even among&s;t good men, tho&s;e that are mo&s;t carefull, and watchfull over them&s;elves: they goe away inriched with the greate&s;t ble&s;&s;ing. Therefore let us heare, and &s;o heare, let us receive, and receive <HI>Thus, So let us eate of this bread, &amp;c.</HI> The Scripture fixeth a reve|rend re&s;pect before duty, &s;u|table to the Maje&s;tie of the great God, who&s;e bu&s;ine&s;&s;e we are about.</P>
<P><PB N="65" REF="45"><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Spirit grieved in others, is grieved by</NOTE> Be&s;ides grieving Gods Spirit in our &s;elves, there is an heavy guilt lyes upon us for grieving the Spirit in others, which is done many wayes.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Neglects.</NOTE> by neglecting the grace of God in them, or de&s;pi&s;ing them for &s;om in|firmities, which love &s;hould cover.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Contempt.</NOTE> Contempt is a thing which the nature of man is more impatient of, then of any injury, tho&s;e that are given this way to wrong o|thers, are puni&s;hed with the common hatred of all.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Censures.</NOTE> Wee likewi&s;e grieve the &s;pirit of others, by &s;harpe cen&s;ures: and the greater our authority is, the deeper is the griefe, a cen&s;ure infli|cteth: many weake &s;pirits cannot enjoy quiet, while
<PB N="66" REF="46" MS="y">they are exerci&s;ed with &s;uch &s;harpene&s;&s;e. They thinke them&s;elves excommunica|ted out of the hearts of tho&s;e, in who&s;e good liking they de&s;ire to dwell.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">By &s;uperi|ours.</NOTE>Againe, tho&s;e that are a|bove others, grieve the &s;pi|rits of tho&s;e under them by unju&s;t commands: as when Ma&s;ters pre&s;&s;e their Ser|vants to that which their con&s;ciences cannot dige&s;t, and &s;o make them &s;inne, and offer violence to that tender part.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">By inferi|ours.</NOTE>Againe, wee grieve the Spirit of others when tho&s;e that are inferiour, &s;hew them&s;elves untractable to tho&s;e above them in magi|&s;tracie or mini&s;terie. When they make them &s;pend their &s;trength in vaine: thus
<PB N="67" REF="46">the Spirit of God in <HI>Noah</HI> &s;trove with the old world: our duty is therefore, to walke wi&s;ely in regard of others: and if it bee a dutie to plea&s;e men in all things lawfull in the way of humanity, much more ought we to plea&s;e Chri&s;ti|ans in tho&s;e things where|in wee doe not di&s;plea&s;e God; as being joyned in communion with them in the &s;ame &s;pirit. Yet here wee mu&s;t remember that it is one thing to cro&s;&s;e the humour, and offend the pride of another; and ano|ther to grieve the Spirit in him: no cures can bee wrought without griefe in that kinde, and if wee grieve not their &s;pirits, when &s;uch humours prevaile in them,
<PB N="68" REF="47" MS="y">we &s;hall grieve our own for neglect of duty.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">By ill ex|ample the Spirit is grieved.</NOTE>And in the la&s;t place this cau&s;eth another griefe when tho&s;e that are good watch not over their waies&punc; the Spirit is grieved for the reproches of religion tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> come from the wicked: for what &s;ay they? doth religi|on and the Spirit teach yet this? thus Chri&s;tians make the name of God to be ill &s;poken of; and this grieves the Spirit, and will grieve them if they belong to God. Oh wretch that I am, that I &s;hould open the mouthes of others and grieve the &s;pirit of God, not onely in my &s;elfe, but in others, be|cau&s;e he is grieved by mee!</P>
<P>Scandalous cour&s;es: ei|ther by unrea&s;onable u&s;e of
<PB N="69" REF="47" MS="y">our liberty, without re&s;pect <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o the weakene&s;&s;e of others; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">r by actions that are in them&s;elves evill, or of ill re|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ort; by &s;uch actions wee <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">rieve the &s;pirits of others. An ill example alwaies ei|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">her grieveth or infecteth. The &s;pirit of <HI>Lot</HI> was grie|ved for the uncleane con|ver&s;ation of the Sodomites, which no que&s;tion ha&s;tened their ruine.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">How it may be knowne when the Spirit is grieved.</NOTE>How &s;hall we know when we grieve the Spirit? wee may know that by the &s;ins before mentioned, as the cau&s;e of griefe. Againe, the Spirit will bring report of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">s owne griefe: wee may know wee have offended a friend when he leaves our company; &s;o we may know wee have di&s;contented the
<PB N="70" REF="48" MS="y">Spirit by &s;pirituall defen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">+ons, both in re&s;pect of a&s;&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tance in the performance o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> duties, and re&s;i&s;ting tempta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">tions, and bearing afflicti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ons; as al&s;o in re&s;pect o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> comfort, as when wee find a &s;trangene&s;&s;e and dulne&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of di&s;po&s;ition; unle&s;&s;e it be from &s;ome naturall di&s;tem|per of body, wee may feare all is not well.</P>
<P>When wee finde a proune|ne&s;&s;e to divert to other comforts, and to hold cor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">re&s;pondency with carnall per&s;ons: and delight not a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> formerly in the communion of Saints, but finde an in dif|ferency for any acquain|tance. When we drive hard|ly, and our wheeles fall off; when con&s;cience will not let us omit good duties,
<PB N="71" REF="48">and yet we want the oyle of the Spirit to make us &s;trong and nimble in the perfor|mance of them: whereupon they come not off with that acceptance to God or our owne &s;pirits. The&s;e indi&s;|po&s;itions &s;hew we have not u&s;ed the Spirit well, whom otherwi&s;e wee &s;hould finde a Spirit of &s;trength, a Spirit of comfort, a quickening Spirit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;&s;ues of grieving the Spirit.</NOTE>The i&s;&s;ues of grieving the Spirit, will prove very dan|gerous: for the Spirit may ju&s;tly leave us to our owne &s;pirits and deceitfull hearts; which as they are arch Flatterers, &s;o will prove arch-Traitors to us, and &s;o let in a wor&s;e gue&s;t into our &s;oules. The ill Spirit is al|wayes ready, pre&s;ently to
<PB N="72" REF="49">take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; who, by joyning with the &s;treame o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> our corruptions, may plea&s;e us for a time, but will de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;troy us for ever.</P>
<P>When we grieve the good Spirit of God, and cau&s;e him to leave us; our &s;oule is left as a hell: for what is hell but the ab&s;ence of God, in his favour and mercy?</P>
<P>Againe, we cannot grieve the Spirit of God in doing any thing again&s;t it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Grieving our &s;pirits.</NOTE> but it will grieve us againe, and being a &s;pirit, may fill our &s;pirits with that griefe that may make our conditions a kinde of hell upon earth. Few reprobates feele tho&s;e terrours here, that the god|ly oft doe by their bold ad|ventures: for be&s;ides the terrours of the naturall con|&s;cience,
<PB N="73" REF="49">they have the Spirit, to &s;et them on; and that &s;pi|rit, that had &s;o well de&s;er|ved of them before: which cannot but increa&s;e the hor|rour and &s;hame. In hell it &s;elfe, this will be the bitter|e&s;t torment, to thinke of re|fu&s;ing mercy, mercy pre&s;|&s;ed, and offered with all love. A carele&s;&s;e &s;pirit oft proves a <HI>wounded &s;pirit,</HI> and that, <HI>who can beare?</HI> and that, <HI>who can beare?</HI> untill hee that woundeth, healeth againe by giving grace to afflict our &s;elves, and wait his good time to take pitty of us: that which wee &s;ay of con&s;cience, is true; it is our be&s;t friend, and our wor&s;t enemy. If a mans con&s;ci|ence bee his friend, it will make all friendly to him: it will make God his friend,
<PB N="74" REF="50">affliction his friend, nothing can &s;it at the heart to grieve him. But if a mans con&s;ci|ence turne his enemy, there need no other enemies be &s;ought out, he hath enow in his owne heart, his owne tormenting con&s;cience tea|ring it &s;elfe. This may be as truely &s;aid of the Spirit of God, who is above Con&s;ci|ence: if wee make him not our be&s;t friend, we are &s;ure to have him our wor&s;t ene|my, that &s;ets all other ene|mies upon us. Di&s;plea&s;ure is as the per&s;on is: <HI>it is a feare|full thing to fall into the hands of the living God, who knowes the power of his wrath?</HI> it is a powerfull wrath, no crea|ture hath power over the Spirit immediately, but this Spirit of &s;pirits, who can fill
<PB N="75" REF="50" MS="y">the &s;oule, the whole &s;oule, and every corner of it, being adaequate to the &s;oule, as large as the &s;oule, and lar|ger, he can fill it with wrath, of God, when the Spirit of God &s;ets it on once?</P>
<P><HI>Qu.</HI> Whence is it that we grieve the Spirit?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Becau&s;e there is a cur&s;ed principle in us, al|waies active, which is not perfectly &s;ubdued in this life. Death is the accom|pli&s;hment of mortification: but while we are, here, this corruption in us will alway be working. <HI>The fle&s;h lu&s;teth again&s;t the Spirit:</HI> the fle&s;h is an active bu&s;ie thing, it be|&s;tirs it &s;elf: now when co~tra|ries are &s;o neare, as the fle&s;h
<PB N="76" REF="51" MS="y">and Spirit, in the &s;ame &s;oule: they mu&s;t needs thwart and grieve one another continu|ally.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que&s;t</HI> How far a childe of God may grieve the Spirit.</NOTE>It may be emanded how farre forth a childe of God may grieve the Spirit, and yet remaine the childe of God?</P>
<P>In An&s;wer to this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> know, that wee mu&s;t not judge of &s;inne by the matter in which, but by the Spirit, from which &s;inne is com|mitted. There is no &s;inne &s;o gro&s;&s;e, but the Saints of God may fall into it, but yet the childe of God is hindered by a contrary law of the Spirit, from yeelding full con&s;ent before, or ta|king full delight in a &s;inne, or <HI>allowing</HI> or <HI>per&s;i&s;ting</HI> after. And though in regard of
<PB N="77" REF="51" MS="y">ingratitude, the &s;inne of a godly man admits of agrea|ter aggravation, than the finne of others: yet &s;etting that a&s;ide, the &s;inne it &s;elfe of a godly man is le&s;&s;e, for his temptations be &s;tronger, and Sathans malice more eager again&s;t him, and his re&s;i&s;tance of &s;inne greater; all which doth abate the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the guilt. The more re&s;i&s;tance from within, argues a &s;tronger party from within, in the godly, the force of &s;inne is broken from within: take a godly man at the wor&s;t, there is &s;ome worke of the Spirit in him, that in &s;ome mea&s;ure is an&s;werable to the coun&s;els and motions of the Spirit without him: the holy Sprit hath &s;ome hold in
<PB N="78" REF="52" MS="y">him, by which hee doth re|cover him. A wicked man proceeds from grieving to quenching, and from quenching to re&s;i&s;ting. The Spirit hath no party, no &s;ide in him, and therefore when the Spirit is gone, fare well he: glad they are, that then they can follow their plea&s;ures and &s;innes without checke.</P>
<P>Sometimes God leades his children to heaven through &s;ome to heaven through &s;ome foule way, by which hee lets them &s;ee what need they have of wa&s;hing by the bloud and Spirit of Chri&s;t; which o|therwi&s;e perhaps they would not &s;o much value, when they grieve the Spi|rit, and the Spirit thereup|on grieves them, and that
<PB N="79" REF="52" MS="y">griefe proves medicinall; the griefe which &s;inne breeds, con&s;umes the &s;inne that bred it. We are in cove|nant with &s;o wi&s;e and powerfull a God, that o|ver-rules even &s;inne it &s;elfe, to &s;erve his purpo&s;e in bringing his to heaven. They have that in them whereby they hate the &s;inne they doe, and love the goodne&s;&s;e they doe not: whereas others hate the good in &s;ome re&s;pects they doe, and love the ill which they dare not commit. How&s;oever they are drawn into &s;inne, yet they will ne|ver breake their conjugall bond betwist Chri&s;t and their &s;oules, &s;o farre as that &s;inne &s;hould raigne in them as a commanding Lord:
<PB N="80" REF="53">they will not for&s;ake their oath of allegeance to &s;erve willingly a contrary King. They may pre&s;ume &s;ome|times upon Chri&s;t, thinking they have a Balme ready to cure the wound againe, (as &s;ome to &s;hew the vertue of their oyles, doe make wounds in them&s;elves) the deceitfulne&s;&s;e of &s;inne &s;e|ducing them: but God ever cha&s;ti&s;eth this boldne&s;&s;e, and taketh &s;uch a cour&s;e with them, that it ends in taking the greater &s;hame to them&s;elves; and by &s;o much, as they have beene more pre&s;umptuous. The lo&s;&s;e of comfort, and the &s;ence of &s;orrow they feele, makes them &s;ay <HI>from experience:</HI> that there is nothing gotten by &s;inne, and that it proves bitterne&s;&s;e in the end.</P>
<P><PB N="81" REF="53" MS="y"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods children commit not the &s;in again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t.</NOTE>Againe, though they are not kept from &s;innes (in &s;ome &s;ence) pre&s;umptuous, yet they are alwayes kept from that <HI>great offence.</HI> Though they may commit <HI>a</HI> &s;in again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Since a|gain&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, what?</NOTE> yet they can never commit <HI>the</HI> &s;inne again&s;t the holy Spirit, becau&s;e this is a &s;inne of malice after &s;trong con|viction: expre&s;&s;ed in words dipt in malice by a <HI>tongue &s;et on fire by hell,</HI> and in actions comming from an oppo&s;ite &s;pirit, and tending to oppo|&s;ition, and to bitter per&s;ecu|tion, if their malice bee not greater then their pow|er. And it ends alwaies in impenitencie, by rea&s;on they de&s;pi&s;e that grace, and ca&s;t away that poti|on whereby they &s;hould re|cover:
<PB N="82" REF="54" MS="y">their pride will not &s;toope to Gods way.</P>
<P>Thirdly, after &s;uch feare|full relap&s;es, darkene&s;&s;e in the under&s;tanding, and re|bellion in the will increa|&s;eth, &s;inne growes &s;tronger, and they weaker and wea|ker to re&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Sathan being once ca&s;t out by &s;ome de|gree of illumination and re|formation, brings <HI>&s;even di|vels</HI> after, <HI>wor&s;e than him|&s;elfe;</HI> when they &s;ee their former cour&s;es &s;tand not with their lu&s;ts and hopes, they take a contrary cour&s;e, and &s;o fall to bitterne&s;&s;e in the end.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mi&s;carri|age con|cerning the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t.</NOTE>There is a double mi&s;|carriage about this &s;inne: &s;ome are too head-long in their cen&s;ures of others,
<PB N="83" REF="54" MS="y">whereas the greater the &s;in is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Concern|ing others.</NOTE> the greater caution &s;hould be in fa&s;tening it up|on any, e&s;pecially who&s;e &s;pirits we are not thorowly acquainted withall; con&s;i|dering &s;o many thing mu&s;t meet in this &s;inne.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Concern|ing them|&s;elves.</NOTE>The &s;econd mi&s;carriage is, in an ungrounded cen|&s;ure of our &s;elves: there be three things that feare frees us from the danger of. Fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fearefrees from three things.</NOTE> feare le&s;t the time of our conver&s;ion be pa&s;t, becau&s;e we have &s;o often grieved the Spirit: whereas if their time were pa&s;t, they would be given up to a carele&s;&s;e &s;e|curity. A &s;econd is feare of &s;ome judgement which God &s;tirres up in the heart to prevent the judgement that wee may not feele that
<PB N="84" REF="55" MS="y">we feare, becau&s;e feare &s;tirs up care, and care &s;tirres up diligence to avoid what we feare: a third is, <HI>feare,</HI> le&s;t we have committed the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, which &s;hewes wee have not committed that &s;inne; it is never committed but with|out feare, and with delight. In the&s;e ca&s;es we need feare them lea&s;t, that feare them|&s;elves mo&s;t.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">How to prevent grieving the Spirit.</NOTE>The fourth point is, what cour&s;e wee &s;hould take to prevent this grieving of the Sprit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Give up our &s;elves to the guidance of the Spirit.</NOTE>Let us give up the govern|ment of our &s;oules to the Spirit of God; it is for our &s;afety &s;o to doe, as being wi&s;er then our &s;elves, who are unable to direct our owne way: it is our libertie
<PB N="85" REF="55" MS="y">to bee under a wi&s;edome and goodne&s;&s;e larger then our owne. Let the Spirit thinke in us, de&s;ire in us, pray in us, live in us, doe all in us: labour ever to be in &s;uch a frame as we may be fit for the Spirit to worke upon; as <HI>Nazianzen</HI> &s;aith of him|&s;elfe, <HI>Lord I am an in&s;tru|ment for thee to touch.</HI> A mu|&s;icall in&s;trument though in tune &s;oundeth nothing, un|le&s;&s;e it bee touched; let us lay our &s;elves open to the Spirits touch. Thus Saint <HI>Paul</HI> lived not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.</NOTE> but Chri&s;t lived in him: this requires a great deale of &s;efle-deny|all, to put our &s;elves thus upon the guidance of the Spirit: but if we knew what enemies wee are to our &s;elves, it would be no &s;uch
<PB N="86" REF="56" MS="y">hard matter.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 To obey him per|fectly.</NOTE>Secondly, &s;tudy to walke perfectly in obeying the Spirit in all things, which requires much circum&s;pe|ction in knowing and re|garding our wayes: and then we &s;hall &s;inde the Spirit rea|dy to clo&s;e with us, and tell us, <HI>This is the way, walke in it:</HI> and upon obedience wee &s;hall finde the Spirit incou|raging us by a &s;ecret intima|tion that this or that is well done. Thus <HI>Paul</HI> was &s;aid to be <HI>bound in Spirit,</HI> the Spirit &s;o put him on, that he could not with&s;tand the motions untill the execution of it. We mu&s;t take e&s;peciall heed of &s;lighting any motion, as being the Spirits me&s;&s;enger, they are Gods Amba&s;&s;a|dours &s;ent to make way for
<PB N="87" REF="56" MS="y">God into our hearts, there|fore give them entertaine|ment. Many men rather then they will be troubled with holy motions, &s;tifle them in the birth, as harlots, that to avoid the paine of childe-birth, kill their fruit in the wombe: let us take heed of murthering the&s;e births of the Spirit. But &s;eeing Sathan will oft interrupt good mo|tions by good motions, that he may hinder both:</P>
<P>How &s;hall we know from whence the motions come?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Que&s;t.</NOTE></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>An&s;w.</HI> How to know the motions of the Spi|rit.</NOTE>When two good motions ari&s;e, &s;eeming divers, the Spirit of God carries &s;trong to one, (and that is from God) more than to the o|ther. Good motions are ei|ther rai&s;ed up in us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 They rai&s;e higher.</NOTE> or &s;ent unto us, by the Spirit, both
<PB N="88" REF="57" MS="y">the&s;e if they bee rai&s;ed by the Spirit, will carry us to God: they will ri&s;e as high as the Spring is whence they come: what ari&s;eth from our &s;elves, endeth in our &s;elves.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Are con|&s;tant.</NOTE>Tho&s;e motions that the Spirit &s;tirs up from within, come from &s;anctified judge|ment &amp; e&s;timation of what they are moved to; other motions, are ha&s;ty, and gone before they have their er|rand: holy motions are con|&s;tant, (as &s;trengthened from con&s;tant grace within) will they &s;ee the i&s;&s;ue of what they are moved to: other motions are like lightening, and &s;udden fla&s;hes, that leave the &s;oule more da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ke and a|mazed then before. Holy motions are an&s;werable to
<PB N="89" REF="57" MS="y">the duties of our calling: o|ther motions oft leade us out of the compa&s;&s;e of our calling.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">3 They change the heart.</NOTE>The Spirit moveth in the godly, fir&s;t by a dwelling in them, and working in them gracious abilities, and then drawes forth tho&s;e abilities to good actions. But the Spi|rit dwelleth not in others, nor produceth any &s;anctifi|ed abilities in them, but one|ly moveth them &s;ometimes to good actions, without changing of them.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">4 Are &s;ea&s;o|nable.</NOTE>The holy Spirits moti|ons are &s;ea&s;onable: other motions oft pre&s;&s;e upon us, to di&s;turbe an holy duty. The breath of the Spirit in us is &s;uteable to the Spirits breathing in the Scriptures: the &s;ame Spirit doth not
<PB N="90" REF="58" MS="y">breath contrary motions.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">5 Evidence them&s;elves</NOTE>Motions of the Spirit when they come in favour carry their owne evidence with the~, as light doth. The motions of the Spirit are &s;weet and milde, and leade us gently on; they are not ordinarily violent raptures. Removing the &s;oule from it &s;elf, but leave in the &s;oule a judgement of them, and of other things.</P>
<P>Againe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">6 Orderly.</NOTE> the Spirit mo|veth us &s;o to duties of Re|ligion, as agree with civill hone&s;ty, and charity to our neighbours. Tho&s;e there|fore know not what &s;pirit they are of, who under a pretence of zeale, will be uncivill, and cruell, &s;hewing they are not led by that &s;pirit that appeared in the
<PB N="91" REF="58">&s;hape of a dove. Both Ta|bles in this are one; that they come from one &s;pirit: and <HI>the &s;econd of like the fir&s;t,</HI> and require love. And becau&s;e all graces and duties come from the &s;ame &s;pirit, there|fore one duty never cro&s;&s;es another; but the wi&s;edome of the Spirit moves to all holy duties in their &s;everall and &s;uteable places.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">7 Depen|dant on God.</NOTE>Motions for the matter good, yet may be carnall, in regard of &s;elfe-confidence from whence they come. That which <HI>Peter</HI> re&s;olved upon was good, but confi|dence in him&s;elfe marred it: tho&s;e motions which the Spirit &s;tirres up, are carryed along in relying upon a&s;|&s;i&s;ting grace. So much for that que&s;tion.</P>
<P><PB N="92" REF="59" MS="y"><NOTE PLACE="marg">3 To con|curre with the &s;pirits motions.</NOTE>Againe, if we would not grieve the Spirit, let us take heed of being wanting to the Spirits direction. The fle&s;h here will make a fro|ward objection, <HI>Wee can doe no more then me can.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Spirit is al|wayes before-hand with us, preventing us with &s;ome knowledge, and &s;ome abili|ty, which if we joyne with the &s;pirit in putting forth, the &s;pirit is ready to con|curre with us, and leade us further. And our con&s;cience will tell us &s;o much, that if we doe otherwi&s;e; it is not for want of pre&s;ent a&s;&s;i|&s;tance, or privitie, that the Spirit will deny us &s;trength if we put our &s;elves upon if: our own hearts, though de|ceitfull, will tell us, that we
<PB N="93" REF="59" MS="y">doe what we doe out of wil|lingne&s;&s;e; preferring &s;ome &s;eeming good before the motions of the Spirit. Here|in wee carry in our con|&s;cience, that which will quit God, and condemne our &s;elves. There is not the wor&s;t man, who&s;e heart runnes away from God, but God followes him a great while with &s;weet motions, though &s;uch bee the invin|cible &s;tubborne&s;&s;e of the heart, that it will not yeeld: this will take away all ex|cu&s;e, as Saint <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> argues well. If I had knowne (&s;aith a wicked man) I would not have done thus: &s;aith hee, the pride of thy heart &s;ug|ge&s;ts that, had&s;t thou not motions and admonitions that told thee the danger of
<PB N="94" REF="60" MS="y">it? if the Spirit even in the wor&s;t actions, concurre &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> farre as they are actions and motions; may we not thinke that he is much more ready to concurre with holy mo|tions &s;tir'd up fir&s;t by him|&s;elfe? if the Spirit be willing to concurre in naturall acti|ons, much more in &s;piritu|all, whereunto it &s;elfe is the fir&s;t mover; the Spirit leave<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> not us, till wee leave the Spirit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">4 Cheri&s;h holy mo|tions.</NOTE>When the Spirit &s;ugge&s;ts good motions, turne them pre&s;ently into holy re&s;olu|tions. Is this my duty, and that which tends to my comfort? certainely I will doe it. Let not the&s;e moti|ons dye in us. How many holy motions are kindled in hearing the Word, and
<PB N="95" REF="60" MS="y">receiving the Sacraments, &amp;c. which dye as &s;oone as they are kindled, for want of re&s;olution? therefore let us not give over till the&s;e motions be turned into pur|po&s;es; and tho&s;e good pur|po&s;es ripened to holy acti|ons, that they be not nip|ped in the blo&s;&s;ome, but may bring forth perfect fruit. Let us labour to im|prove the&s;e talents, to the end for which they are &s;ent: are they motions of com|fort? let us u&s;e them for comfort: are they motions tending to duty? let us make con&s;cience to doe our duty: let not our de&s;pairing hearts cro&s;&s;e the Spirit in his com|forts, nor &s;tand out &s;tub|bornely as enemies again&s;t our duty, for that is to cro&s;&s;e
<PB N="96" REF="61" MS="y">God, and to nip his motion<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the bud.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">5 Give the Spirit &s;cope in his ordi|nances.</NOTE>Let the Spirit have fu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;cope both in the ordinan+ces and in the motions &s;tir+red up by the ordinances this is the way to make the ordinances and the time glorious; but the liberties of the Go&s;pell are contrary to the liberties of the fle&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> it turneth all things up&s;ide downe, and men out of them&s;elves. Hence is it tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> there is nothing &s;o much oppo&s;ed by the &s;pirit of the world, as the purity and power of the Go&s;pel, which is a &s;ufficient prejudice of an ill condition that all &s;uch men are in. But there is ano|ther &s;pirit in gracious men, they are the children of light, and love it. If wee
<PB N="97" REF="61" MS="y">would not grieve the Spirit, we mu&s;t be willing to bring our &s;elves under all advan|tages of the Spirits work|ing: as conver&s;ing with tho&s;e that are &s;pirituall, and e&s;pe|cially attending on tho&s;e ordinances wherein the Spirit breatheth: wherein wee may meet the Spirit. The walkes of Gods Spirit are, in the meanes of &s;alva|tion, hearing the Word preached, and holy commu|nion one with another: the Word &amp; Spirit go together, therefore if we will have the comforts of the Spirit, wee mu&s;t attend upon the Word. Men grieve the Spirit by neglecting the Word, and holy conference, &amp;. It is with the Word and Spirit, as with the veynes and
<PB N="98" REF="62" MS="y">arteries: they veynes have ar|teries, that as the veyns car|ry the bloud, the arteries carry the &s;pirits to quicken the bloud. The Word is dead without the Spirit, and therefore attend on the Word; and then wait on the Spirit to quicken the Word; that both Word and Spirit may guide us to life everla|&s;ting. Motions of this kinde come from the Spirit: as it is &s;aid of old <HI>Simeon,</HI> that he came by the motion of the Spirit into the Temple. <HI>Iohn</HI> was in the Spirit on the Lords day: our Manna fals mo&s;t then, Chri&s;ts Spirit and Word dwell together in the heart: therefore the A po&s;tle u&s;eth the dwelling of Chri&s;t in us, and the Word, indefinitely. Faith
<PB N="99" REF="62" MS="y">wrought by the Word, layes hold upon Chri&s;t, and brings him into the &s;oule, and keepes him there. It is a ble&s;&s;ed thing, when the Spi|rit in the ordinance, and the Spirit in our hearts meet to|gether: this is the way to feede and cheri&s;h the Spirit in us, and to put oyle as it were into the Lampe; be|cau&s;e the Spirit as it is in us, is thus nouri&s;hed, even as the fire, though in its owne ele|ment, feedeth upon no|thing, yet with us here be|low, it is maintained with fuell, otherwi&s;e dyeth and goeth out. Take heed of &s;lighting any helpe of faith, that God affords us, as wic|ked <HI>Achaz:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ay. 7.</NOTE> GOD offered him for the &s;trengthening of his faith, a &s;igne from
<PB N="100" REF="63">heaven, or from earth, or a|ny other creature: oh no, hee would not tempt God: hee &s;eemed a pious man, hee would not tempt God, but what &s;aith the Prophet? <HI>Is it little for you to de&s;pi&s;e mee, but you will grieve God?</HI> in&s;i|nuating, that when wee de|&s;pi&s;e tho&s;e helpes God hath given, wee grieve the Spirit of God. Tho&s;e that neg|lect the Word and Sacra|ment, what do they de&s;pi&s;e, a poore Mini&s;ter? and neg|lect bread &amp; wine? no, they de&s;pi&s;e God him&s;elfe, who knowes better then our &s;elves what need wee have of the&s;e helpes.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">If the Spi|rit with|draw, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ch the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">&s;e.</NOTE>Againe, when wee finde the Spirit, not a&s;&s;i&s;ting and comforting as in former times, it is fit to &s;earch the
<PB N="101" REF="63" MS="y">cau&s;e, which we &s;hall finde; &s;ome &s;lighting of holy mo|tions, or the meanes of breeding of them, or yeel+ding to &s;ome corruption which wee are more e&s;peci|ally addicted unto, or &s;ome &s;inne unrepented of, which wee take no notice of. It is good therefore to &s;carce our &s;oules to the bottome: there may bee &s;ome hidden corruption lying in the &s;oule, which may under|mine our grace &amp; comfort: there may bee a privy thiefe that robs us of all. And be&s;ides beloved and &s;ecret &s;innes: it is good to bethinke our &s;elves of old &s;innes, which perhaps hitherto wee have but outwardly thought of: and God is wil|ling by &s;ome deadne&s;&s;e and
<PB N="102" REF="64" MS="y">trouble of &s;pirit, to minde us of renewing of &s;orrow for them: for want of &s;trict accounting with our &s;elves, God cals us to the&s;e arrera|ges and backe reckonings as wee &s;ee in <HI>Io&s;ephs</HI> Brethren. If wee finde not that &s;weet|ne&s;&s;e of communion with the Spirit, that formerly we enjoyed, bethinke our &s;elves when and wherein wee lo&s;t it, that wee may meete the Spirit againe in the&s;e waies wherein wee found him be|fore wee lo&s;t him, and take heed of tho&s;e cour&s;es, in the entrance of which we found the Spirit leaving us.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Take heed of le&s;&s;er &s;innes.</NOTE>Againe, take heed of lit|tle &s;innes, which wee count le&s;&s;er &s;innes perhaps than God doth. We weigh &s;inne in our owne ballance, and
<PB N="103" REF="64">not in his, whereas no &s;inne is to bee accounted little: for if it were once &s;et upon the con&s;cience, and the wrath opened due unto it; It would take all comfort from us. And therefore wee mu&s;t judge of &s;inne, as the Spirit doth, if we would not grieve the Spirit; as the communi|on of the Spirit, is of all the &s;weete&s;t, &s;o the pre&s;erving of it, requires mo&s;t exact watchfulne&s;&s;e, and through under&s;tanding of our &s;elves. Take heed of the beginning of &s;in, when any lu&s;t ari&s;eth, pray it downe pre&s;ently, &s;ay nay to it, let it have no con|&s;ent, be pre&s;ently humbled, otherwi&s;e wee are indange|red by yeelding to grieve, by grieving to re&s;i&s;t, by re|&s;i&s;ting to quench, by
<PB N="104" REF="65" MS="y">quenching, maliciou&s;ly to oppo&s;e the Spirit: &s;inne hath no bounds, but tho&s;e which the Spirit puts, whom ther|fore wee &s;hould not grieve. And let us looke to the head and &s;pring of &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Looke to the fir&s;t ri&s;e of &s;ins.</NOTE> where|by wee grieve the Spirit of God, not to the &s;inne &s;o much, as to the root. Wee are angry with our &s;elves for being pa&s;&s;ionate, but what is the cau&s;e of pa&s;&s;ion? It comes from pride. <HI>Ionas</HI> was a pa&s;&s;ionate man, in that mea&s;ure that he was pa&s;&s;io|nate, hee was proud: hee was loth to be &s;hamed when hee had &s;aid, <HI>Niniveh &s;hall bee de&s;troyed,</HI> hee thought upon the &s;paring of them, hee &s;hould bee di&s;credited; and he preferred his credit be|fore the de&s;truction of a po|pulous
<PB N="105" REF="65">Citie. So there is much depraving, and detra|ction in the world, and ther|upon brawles, and breaches. What is the cau&s;e? a &s;pirit of envy, and oft times a &s;pi|rit of pride. So men runne into the danger of others, by wronging them, what is the cau&s;e? worldline&s;&s;e, ba&s;e earthly-mindedne&s;&s;e. Men thinke not of the root of &s;inne, but dwell upon the act done, wee &s;hould be led from the remote &s;treames, to the Spring and &s;our&s;e of all, and bewayle that e&s;pe|cially.</P>
<P>This care will be helped by &s;pirituall wi&s;edome, whereby wee may di&s;cerne both wherein we <HI>have</HI> grie|ved the Spirit, and wherein for the time to come wee
<PB N="106" REF="66" MS="y">may. We cannot maintaine friend&s;hip in perfect and &s;weet termes with any, who&s;e di&s;po&s;ition we know not, what will plea&s;e or di&s;|plea&s;e them; therefore wee &s;hould &s;tudy the nature and delight of the Spirit, and wherein we are prone both to forget our &s;elves and the Spirit. Wee e&s;teeme not much the friend&s;hip of tho&s;e who are &s;o much friends to them&s;elves, as they pa&s;&s;e not much whe|ther friends bee contented or di&s;contented. The Spirit dwels more largely in that heart that hath emptied it &s;elfe of it &s;elf: the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> felt not the &s;weetne&s;&s;e of <HI>Manna,</HI> till they had &s;pent their fle&s;h pots and other provi&s;ion of <HI>Egypt.</HI> The na|ture
<PB N="107" REF="66">of Gods Spirit is holy; as it is holy, &s;o delighteth onely in holy Temples: tho&s;e therefore that &s;et up any <HI>Idoll of jealou&s;ie</HI> in their &s;oules again&s;t God, that doe not <HI>pre&s;erve their ve&s;&s;els in holine&s;&s;e,</HI> cannot thinke of a|ny communion with the Spirit. The Spirit is jealous of our affections, and will have nothing &s;et up in the heart above God; though the Spirit &s;toopes to dwell in us, yet wee mu&s;t not for|get the re&s;pect due to &s;o great a Superiour, but reve|rently entertaine what ever comes from him. Reverence and obedience is the carri|age due to a &s;uperiour, and where this di&s;tance is not kept, a breach will follow. Wee &s;hould reverence our
<PB N="108" REF="67" MS="y">&s;elves for the &s;pirits &s;ake, and thinke our &s;elves too good for any ba&s;e lu&s;t to lodge in; that heart that the Spirit hath taken for it &s;elfe, &s;hould turne off all contrary motions with abhominati|on: what &s;hould pride, and envy, and pa&s;&s;ion doe in an heart con&s;ecrated to the &s;pirit of meekne&s;&s;e and holi|ne&s;&s;e?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Renew re|pentance.</NOTE>Vpon any breach, wee mu&s;t fir&s;t looke by renew|ing repentance, and faith in Chri&s;t, to renew our peace with God, before wee can expect the grace and com|fort of the Spirit. For as the Spirit commeth from the Father and the Sonne, and is procured by the death and &s;atisfaction of the Son to the Father, without
<PB N="109" REF="67">which, we could never have expected the gift of the Spi|rit: &s;o &s;till we mu&s;t have an eye to this &s;atisfaction by Chri&s;t, and reconciliation through it, before wee can recover communion with the Spirit, as being the be&s;t fruit of the love of God re|conciled through Chri&s;t. We &s;ee <HI>David</HI> in the 51. P&s;alme, fir&s;t importunes God for mercy againe and againe, and then for the <HI>Spi|rit,</HI> and for the <HI>joy of &s;alvati|on.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Avoyd corrupt communi|cation.</NOTE>And take heede that no|thing come in, nor goe out of our &s;oules that may grieve the Spirit of God: &s;ome things come in to us that grieve the Spirit; the corruptions wee receive from others: &s;ome things
<PB N="110" REF="68">come out of our hearts that grieves Gods Spirit, as cor|rupt thoughts, and &s;peeches, that indeed is the &s;cope of this place, <HI>Let no corrupt communication come out of your mouthes, &amp;c.</HI> and then fol|lows, <HI>And grieve not the holy Spirit of God.</HI> And after a|gaine he &s;aith, <HI>Let all bitter|ne&s;&s;e, and wrath, and clamour bee laid a&s;ide;</HI> in&s;inuating that one way of grieving the Spirit, is by ill and cor|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">age. Wee can ne|ver <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">e with company that is not &s;pirituall, but they will either vexe, and grieve us or <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">t, and defile us; unle&s;&s;e it bee in &s;uch exigen|ces of our calling as re|quires our conver&s;e with them. But I &s;peake of a vo|luntary choyce of &s;uch as
<PB N="111" REF="68" MS="y">&s;avour not good things. Ma|ny men to plea&s;e their owne carnall &s;pirits, and the car|nall &s;pirits of others, they vent that that is again&s;t con|&s;cience, and again&s;t that that is higher then con&s;cience, a more divine principle, the holy Spirit of God: loo&s;e carnall &s;peakers, are people voyd of the power of Reli|gion.</P>
<P>Let no man &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Object.</NOTE> Here is ado indeed, duty upon duty, this will make our life trou|ble&s;ome.</P>
<P>The life of a Chri&s;tian is an honourable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE> a com|fortable, &s;weet life; indeed it requires the mo&s;t care, and watchfulne&s;&s;e of any life in the world, being the be&s;t life, it is begun here, and accompli&s;hed in an everla|&s;ting
<PB N="112" REF="69">life in heaven. Nothing in this world, neither our e|&s;tates, nor our favour with great per&s;ons, can be pre&s;er|ved without watchfulne&s;&s;e: and &s;hall wee thinke to pre|&s;erve the chiefe happine&s;&s;e of our &s;oules without it, ha|ving &s;o many enemies with|out and within, that labour to draw us into a cur&s;ed con|dition?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Motives not to grieve the Spirit.</NOTE>Therefore to &s;tirre us up to the practi&s;e of the&s;e du|ties, that wee may give con|tentment to &s;o &s;weet a gue&s;t, con&s;ider what rea&s;on we have, to regard the Spi|rit, and his motions, from the good we have by them.</P>
<P>The holy Spirit of God is our guide: who will di&s;|plea&s;e his guide? A &s;weet comfortable guide that
<PB N="113" REF="69">leades us through the wil|derne&s;&s;e of this world, as the cloud before the I&s;rae|lites, by day, and the pillar of fire by night: &s;o hee con|ducts us to the heavenly Canaan; if wee grieve our guide, we cau&s;e him to leave us to our &s;elves. The I&s;rae|lites would not goe a &s;teppe further then GOD by his Angell went before them. It is in vaine for us to make toward heaven without our ble&s;&s;ed guide; wee cannot doe, nor &s;peake, nor thinke any thing that is holy and good, without him: what&s;o|ever is holy, and pious, it growes not in our garden, in our nature, but it is planted by the Spirit.</P>
<P>There is nothing in the world &s;o great and &s;weet a
<PB N="114" REF="70">friend that will doe us &s;o much good as the Spirit, if we give him entertainment. Indeed he mu&s;t rule, he will have the keyes delivered to him, we mu&s;t &s;ubmit to his government. And when he is in the heart, hee will &s;ub|due by little and little all high thoughts, rebellious ri&s;ings, and de&s;pairing fears. This &s;hall be our happine&s;&s;e in heaven, when we &s;hall be wholly &s;pirituall, that <HI>God &s;hall be all in all;</HI> wee &s;hall be perfectly obedient to the Spirit in our under&s;tan|dings, wils, and affections. The Spirit will then dwell largely in us, and will make the roome where hee dwel|leth, &s;weet, and light&s;ome, and free, &s;ubduing what&s;o|ever is contrary; and bring
<PB N="115" REF="70">fulne&s;&s;e of peace, and joy, and comfort. And in the meane time in what conditi|on &s;oever wee are, wee &s;hall have &s;uteable helpe from the Spirit. Wee are partly fle&s;h, and partly &s;pirit, God is not all in all, the fle&s;h hath a part in us, wee are often in afflictions, and under clouds. Let us therefore prize our fellow&s;hip with the Spirit. For are we in darkene&s;&s;e? he is a Spirit of light: Are wee in deadne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit? he is a Spirit of life: Are wee in a di&s;con&s;olate e&s;tate? hee is a Spirit of con&s;olation: Are we in perplexity, and know not what to do? he is a Spi|rit of wi&s;edome: Are wee troubled with corruptions? Hee is a &s;anctifying, a &s;ub|duing, a mortifying Spirit:
<PB N="116" REF="71">in what condition &s;oever we are, hee will never leave us, till hee hath rai&s;ed us from the grave, and taken full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of body and &s;oule in heaven; hee will prove a comforter, when neither friends, nor riches, nor any thing in the world can com|fort us. How carefull &s;hould wee be to give contentment to this &s;weet Spirit of Gods?</P>
<P>No Chri&s;tian is &s;o happy as the watchfull Chri&s;tian that is carefull of his duty, and to pre&s;erve his com|munion with the holy Spi|rit of God: for by entertai|ning him, hee is &s;ure to have communion with the Fa|ther and the Sonne. It is the happie&s;t condition in the world, when the &s;oule
<PB N="117" REF="71">is the Temple of the holy Spirit; when the heart is as The holy of holies, where there be prayers, and pray|&s;es offered to GOD. The &s;oule is as it were an holy Arke, the memory like the pot of <HI>Mannah</HI> pre&s;erving heavenly truths. It is an hea|venly condition, a man pro|&s;pers to heavenward, when the Spirit of God is with him. You know <HI>Obed-Edom,</HI> when the Arke was in his hou&s;e, all thrived with him: &s;o while the Spirit and his motions are entertained by us, wee &s;hall bee happy in life, happy in death, happy to eternity. For it is he</P>
<P><HI>By which you are &s;ealed to the day of redemption.</HI></P>
<P>The Apo&s;tle &s;ealeth this
<PB N="118" REF="72">grave admonition by an at|gument taken from the Spi|rits &s;ealing of them to the day of redemption.</P>
<P>Wee are all by nature in bondage to &s;inne and cor|ruption: we are all redeemed from &s;inne by the fir&s;t com|ming of Chri&s;t, and are to be redeemed from corrupti|on by the &s;econd.</P>
<P>There is a day appointed for this glorious worke.</P>
<P>In the meane time God would have us a&s;&s;ured of it aforehand.</P>
<P>This a&s;&s;urance is by &s;ea|ling.</P>
<P>And this &s;ealing is by the Spirit, none e&s;leneed doe it, no meaner per&s;on can doe it.</P>
<P>And what re&s;pect is due to the Spirit, for doing &s;o
<PB N="119" REF="72">gracious a worke, that wee grieve him not; and not one|ly &s;o, but that wee indevour &s;o to plea&s;e him, as hee may with delight goe on with this ble&s;&s;ed worke, that it hath plea&s;ed him to take up|on him.</P>
<P>As the duty is &s;pirituall, &s;o the arguments that in|force it are &s;pirtuall; and the argument here is fetched from that which hath a mo&s;t con&s;training force; love ex|pre&s;&s;ed in the &s;weete&s;t fruit of it, and the &s;tability of it &s;ealing, and &s;ealing to the day of redemption, as if the Apo&s;tle &s;hould rea&s;on thus; God the Father hath ordai|ned you to &s;alvation by the redemption of Chri&s;t his Sonne, and that you might have the comfort of it in the
<PB N="120" REF="73">way to it again&s;t all di&s;cou|ragements you may meet with; the holy Gho&s;t hath a&s;&s;ured you of it, and &s;et his &s;eale upon you, as tho&s;e that are &s;et apart for &s;o great &s;al|vation: that the &s;ence of this love might breed love in you againe, and love breed a care out of ingenuity, not to offend &s;o gracious a Spi|rit.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="121" REF="73">
<HEAD>The holy Spirit by which you are &s;ealed.</HEAD>
<P>THe holy Gho&s;t de|lighteth to &s;peake in our owne language: we cannot ri&s;e to him, ther|fore he &s;toopeth to us.</P>
<P>This &s;ealing is either &s;ea|ling of per&s;ons, or of good things intended to the per|&s;ons. Sealing is not onely a witne&s;&s;ing to us, but a worke upon us, and in us, carrying the Image of him that &s;eal|eth us, whereby we are not onely a&s;&s;ured of the good
<PB N="122" REF="74">promi&s;ed to us, but fitted for the receiving of it. God prepareth no good for any but whom hee prepares and fits for that good. There is not only an outward autho|ri&s;ing of the great grants we have by promi&s;e, oath, and Sacrament; but an inward, by the &s;pirit: per&s;wading of our intere&s;t in them, and working that which doth authori&s;e us to lay claime unto them after the u&s;e of a &s;eale, both in confirmation and repre&s;entation, and re|&s;emblance of him that &s;ea|led.</P>
<P>The per&s;ons &s;ealed are fir&s;t Chri&s;t, and then tho&s;e that are given to Chri&s;t Chri&s;t is &s;ealed,</P>
<P N="1"><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ea|ling of Chri&s;t.</NOTE>1 By the Father, Chri&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> was ordained by him to be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="123" REF="74" MS="y">a Saviour in our nature, pre|de&s;tinate to be the head of the Church. Wherefore he often &s;aith hee came to doe his Fathers will. <HI>Him hath the Father &s;ealed, Ioh.</HI> 6.27. anointing him, calling him, &s;etting him forth, &s;anctify|ing him by the &s;pirit, and e|very way fitting him with all grace to be a Saviour.</P>
<P N="2">2 He was &s;ealed, by the fulne&s;&s;e of the Godhead dwelling in fle&s;h, aba&s;ed, and exalted for us, &s;o his fle&s;h is the fle&s;h of the Son of God, and his bloud the <HI>bloud of God.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 Sealed by a te&s;timony from heaven of all three Per&s;ons by the <HI>Father,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 20.28.</NOTE> <HI>This is my welbeloved Son:</HI> by the <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> de&s;cending like a dove: by himself, to his
<PB N="124" REF="75" MS="y">humane nature dwelling in all fulne&s;&s;e in it. Chri&s;t is &s;ea|led by miracles done upon him, &amp; by him, by his bap|tizing and in&s;talling into his office, and by giving him&s;elf up to &s;hed his bloud for &s;inne, by which bloud the Covenant is e&s;tabli&s;hed and &s;ealed.</P>
<P N="4">In being ju&s;tified in the &s;pirit, being rai&s;ed from the dead,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1 4.</NOTE> and <HI>declared thereby to be the Sonne of God mightily with power,</HI> and then advan|ced him to the right hand of God, that through him our faith and tru&s;t might bee in God, 1 <HI>Peter</HI> 1.14. and ap|pearing there for ever for us, &s;heweth not onely his habilitie and willingne&s;&s;e to &s;ave us, but that it is done already: Wee any &s;ee all
<PB N="125" REF="75">what ever we can looke for to our &s;elves, performed in our head, to our com|fort.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chri&s;tians are &s;ealed.</NOTE>As Chri&s;t was &s;ealed and fitted for us, &s;o we are &s;ealed and fitted for Chri&s;t. There is a privy &s;eale in prede&s;ti|nation, this is knowne onely to God him&s;elfe: <HI>The Lord knoweth who are his.</HI> And this knowledge of God of us, is carried &s;ecret,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Simile.</NOTE> as a River under ground, untill his cal|ling of, and &s;eparating us from the re&s;t of men. When fir&s;t by his Spirit hee convinceth us of what wee are in our &s;elves, and of our cur&s;ed condition; and thereby layeth us low by &s;orrow and humi|liation for finne, as the greate&s;t evill. And then a
<PB N="126" REF="76" MS="y">pardon is more to us then a Crowne; then we will wait for mercy, and continue &s;o, and begge for mercy, and that upon Chri&s;ts own con|dition, by denying and re|nouncing any thing of our owne, then Chri&s;t is Chri&s;t unto us. Indeed after this, it plea&s;eth Chri&s;t by his Spi|rit to open <HI>a doore of hope,</HI> and give &s;ome hints of mercy, of love; and withall, to rai&s;e up the &s;oule by a &s;pirit of Faith, to clo&s;e with particu|lar mercy opened and offe|red by the Spirit, whereby the &s;oule &s;ealeth to the truth of the promi&s;e, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 3. <HI>Hee that beleeveth hath &s;et to his &s;eale that God is true.</HI> It is &s;trange, that GOD &s;hould &s;toope &s;o low as to receive
<PB N="127" REF="76" MS="y">(as it were) confirmation by our beliefe: but thus GOD conde&s;cends in the phra&s;e of Scripture; As wee are &s;aid to helpe God, <HI>cur&s;e yee Meroz, becau&s;e they came not to helpe the Lord, &amp;c.</HI> God &s;toopes to be helped by us, and to have his truth, and power, and goodne&s;&s;e ratified, and confirmed by us, when we beleeve the promi&s;e of God in Chri&s;t (though it bee by the helpe of the Spirit) wee &s;eale Gods truth. And then God honoureth that &s;ealing of ours, by the &s;ealing of his Spirit; <HI>After you beleeved, you were &s;ealed,</HI> &s;aith the A|po&s;tle; that is, the gracious love of Chri&s;t was further confirmed to them. GOD honours no grace &s;o much as Faiths Why? becau&s;e it
<PB N="128" REF="77" MS="y">honours God mo&s;t of all others; it gives GOD the honour of his mercy, and goodne&s;&s;e, and wi&s;edome, and power, and of his truth; e&s;pecially hee that beleeves in God, by beleeving &s;eales that God is true, and God honours that &s;oule againe by &s;ealing it to the day of redemption: God hath pro|mi&s;ed&punc; <HI>Tho&s;e that honour mee, I will honour.</HI> Therefore, <HI>Hee that beleeveth, hath the wit|ne&s;&s;e in him&s;elfe,</HI> that grace promi&s;ed, belongeth to him, for hee carries in his heart the counterpaine of the promi&s;es; hee that con|fe&s;&s;eth and beleeveth &s;hall have mercie. I beleeve, &s;aith the &s;oule, therefore the promi&s;e belongs to mee, my faith an&s;wering Gods
<PB N="129" REF="77">love in the promi&s;e, witne&s;|&s;eth &s;o much to mee. The Spirit not onely revealeth Chri&s;t, and the promi&s;es in generall, but in attending upon the ordinances by an heavenly light: the &s;pirit di&s;covers to us our intere&s;t in particular, and &s;aith to the &s;oule, God is thy &s;alva|tion; and inableth the &s;oule to &s;ay, I am Gods: <HI>I am my beloveds, and my beloved is mine.</HI> Chri&s;t loved mee, and gave him&s;elfe for mee. Whence came this voyce of Saint <HI>Paul?</HI> It was the &s;till voyce of the Spirit of GOD; that, together with the generall truth in the Go&s;pell, di&s;covered in par|ticular Chri&s;ts love to him. It is not a generall faith that will bring to heaven, but
<PB N="130" REF="78" MS="y">there is a &s;peciall worke of the Spirit (in the u&s;e of means) di&s;covering and &s;ea|ling the good will of God to us, that hee intends good unto us; and thereupon our hearts are per&s;waded to be|leeve in God, and to love God as our God, and Chri&s;t as our Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>This is excellently &s;et downe in the &s;weet commu|nion of marriage, the Spirit is the <HI>paranymphos,</HI> the pro|curer of the marriage, be|tweene&punc; Chri&s;t and the &s;oule. Now it is not &s;uffici|ent to know that God and Chri&s;t beare good will to all beleevers (though that be the ground, and generall foundation of all, and a great preparative to the &s;peciall &s;ealing of the Spirit) but
<PB N="131" REF="78" MS="y">then the Spirit comes, and &s;aith, Chri&s;t hath a &s;peciall good will to me, and &s;tirres up in mee a liking to him a|gaine, to take him upon his owne conditions, with con|flict of corruptions, with the &s;cornes of the world, &amp;c. Whereupon the mutu|all marriage is made up be|tweene Chri&s;t and us: this worke is the &s;ealing of the Spirit.</P>
<P>Many are the priviledges of a Chri&s;tian from this his &s;ealing, as the u&s;e of a &s;eale in mans affaires is manifold.</P>
<P N="1">1 Seales &s;erve for con|formation and allowance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 For con|formation.</NOTE> to that purpo&s;e mea&s;ures are &s;ealed: <HI>God is &s;aid to &s;eale in|&s;truction. Iob</HI> 33.16. Confir|mation is either by giving &s;trength, or by the autho|rity
<PB N="132" REF="79" MS="y">of &s;uck as are able to make good what they pro|mi&s;e; &amp; al&s;o willing, which they &s;hew by putting to their &s;eale, which hath as much &s;trength to confirme him to whom the promi&s;e is made, as he hath will and power to make it good that hath ingaged him&s;elfe. A|mong&s;t men, there is the writing, and the &s;eale to the writing; when the &s;eale is added to the writing, there is a perfect ratification: So there are abundance of gra|cious promi&s;es in the Scrip|tures&punc; now when the Spirit comes and &s;eals them to the &s;oule, then they are &s;ure to us; the Spirit puts the &s;eale to the promi&s;es.</P>
<P N="2">2<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Di&s;tincti|on.</NOTE> The u&s;e of it likewi&s;e is for di&s;tinction from o|thers
<PB N="133" REF="79" MS="y">that carry not that mark. So the &s;ealing of the Spirit di&s;tingui&s;heth a Chri|&s;tian from all other men. There is a di&s;tinction be|tweene men, in Gods eter|nall purpo&s;e, but that con|cerns not us to meddle with, further then to know it in generall.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2.</NOTE> God <HI>knoweth who are his,</HI> and who are not his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> but in time the holy Spirit di&s;tingui&s;heth, and rankes men, as they were di&s;tingui|&s;hed before all worlds, and as they &s;hall be at the day of judgement: the <HI>beginning</HI> of <HI>that</HI> di&s;tinction that &s;hall bee afterwards is in this life.</P>
<P>A &s;eale maketh the imapre&s;|&s;ion of an Image; the Prin|ces Image u&s;eth to be in his &s;eale: &s;o is Gods Image in
<PB N="134" REF="80">his, which de&s;troyeth the old&punc; Image and print that was in us before. Holy and good men by this worke of the Spirit are di&s;tingui&s;hed,</P>
<P N="1">1 From civill men by the worke of holine&s;&s;e, which meere civiil men have not at all, but de&s;pi&s;e.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, from &s;ee|ming good men, by the depth of that worke, the Spirit of God workes a new nature in them, whereby they are di&s;tingui&s;hed. Now nature in every creature is carried to one thing more then to another. There is a di&s;tinct propen&s;ion in a good man, to God, to grace and goodne&s;&s;e, his aymes, and bent are di&s;tinct: and thereupon he hath a greater inlargement of heart &s;uta|ble
<PB N="135" REF="80">to his great aymes; hee looks above the world and worldly men; they are nar|row, low, ba&s;e &s;pirited men, the be&s;t of them.</P>
<P>Againe, things by nature worke from within: Herein painted hypocrites are di|&s;tingui&s;hed from a true &s;ub|&s;tantial Chri&s;tian: he workes from a principle within, a|nother man is moved as the <HI>Automata,</HI> things of motion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Simile.</NOTE> Clockes, and the like, en|gines of wit, that move from a weight without that poy|&s;eth them: if they doe any good, it is from &s;omewhat without that &s;wayeth their aymes and ends, and not from an inward principle: nature workes from an in|ward principle; light things goe upward, and heavie
<PB N="136" REF="81">things downeward, natural|ly: artificiall things are for|ced. Thus good men are di|&s;tingui&s;hed from tho&s;e that are &s;eemingly holy; there is a new nature wrought in them.</P>
<P>Againe, nature is con|&s;tant; what is done natural|ly, is done con&s;tantly: hea|vie bodies goe alwayes downeward, and light bo|dies upward: every crea|ture works according to his nature, an holy man is ex|erci&s;ed in holine&s;&s;e con|&s;tantly, becau&s;e hee doth it from an inward principle, from a worke and &s;tampe within. Different things may &s;eeme the &s;ame; as wilde hearbs may have the colour and forme of tho&s;e that are planted in the gar|den,
<PB N="137" REF="81">but there is difference in the vertue of them:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Similie.</NOTE> the &s;eeming graces and actions of an hypocrite, they have no vertue in them: as there are some drugges without vertue, dead things. But there is a di&s;tingui&s;hing vertue in the faith of a Chri&s;tian, whereby he over|comes the world and his lu&s;ts, whereby hee doth all duties, prayes, and heares, and is fruitfull in his con+ver&s;ation; in all his graces, there is a comforting &s;treng|thening vertue.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Similie.</NOTE> True gold hath the vertue to comfort and &s;trengthen the heart, that Alchymy gold hath not. True grace hath a wor|king comforting vertue. Another mans formall arti|ficiall actions have no ver|tue
<PB N="138" REF="82" MS="y">in them, neither is it in|tended; they being only put on to &s;erve a turne. Two men may doe the &s;ame things, and yet there bee a grand difference; the one doing them from the &s;eale of the Spirit, from a deeper dye and &s;tamp of the Spirit: the other if from the Spirit, yet it is but from a common work at the be&s;t. Some dyes cannot beare the weather, but alter colour pre&s;ently; but there are others that having &s;omething that give a deeper tincture will hold. The graces of a true Chri|&s;tian, hold out in all kinde of weathers, in winter and &s;ummer, pro&s;perity and ad|ver&s;ity; when &s;uperficiall counterfeit holine&s;&s;e, will give out: thus we &s;ee the
<PB N="139" REF="82">&s;eale of the Spirit, &s;erves for di&s;tinction.</P>
<P>The u&s;e of a &s;eale is like|wi&s;e for appropriation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 Appropri|ation.</NOTE> Mer|chants u&s;e to &s;eale their wares they would not have others have any right unto.</P>
<P>A Chri&s;tian is Gods in a more peculiar manner than others; there is not onely a witne&s;&s;e of the Spirit that God is his, but the Spirit workes in him an a&s;&s;ent to take God againe: there is a mutuall appropriation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Can. 6.</NOTE> <HI>I am my beloveds, and my beloved is mine;</HI> when the &s;oule can &s;ay, <HI>thou art my God,</HI> it is not fru&s;trate; becau&s;e God &s;aith before, <HI>I am thy &s;alvation:</HI> where the Spirit &s;eales, God appropriates:<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 4.</NOTE> <HI>GOD choo&s;eth the righteous man to him&s;elfe.</HI> And wee may
<PB N="140" REF="83" MS="y">know this appropriation by appropriating God againe; <HI>Whom have I in heaven but thee,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.</NOTE> <HI>and what have I in earth in compari&s;on of thee?</HI> There is no action that God works upon the &s;oule, but there is a reflect action by the Spi|rit to God againe. If God chu&s;e and love us, we chu&s;e and love him againe. God appropriates us fir&s;t: wee are his, and wee are Chri&s;ts; wee are Gods, becau&s;e hee hath given Chri&s;t for us; we are Chri&s;ts, becau&s;e hee hath given him&s;elfe for us; we are, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, a people of acqui&s;ition, <HI>A people purcha&s;ed,</HI> purcha&s;ed at a deare rate by the bloud of CHRIST; tho&s;e that are Chri&s;ts, the Spirit appropriates them:
<PB N="141" REF="83" MS="y">this appropriation is by &s;ea|ling.</P>
<P>Againe, we u&s;e to &s;ee our &s;eale onely upon that wee have &s;ome e&s;timation of;<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 E&s;timati|on.</NOTE> <HI>&s;et mee as a &s;eale,</HI> &s;aith the Church in the <HI>Canticles, upon thy right hand,</HI> have mee in thy eye and minde, as a &s;peciall thing thou va|lue&s;t.</P>
<P>The witne&s;&s;e and worke of the Spirit, &s;hewes Gods e&s;timation of us: the Scrip|ture is abundant in &s;etting forth the great price that God &s;ets on his children; they are his Children, his Spou&s;e, his Friends, his Portion, his Trea&s;ure, his Coyne, he &s;ets his marke, his likene&s;&s;e on them; they are things hallow<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d and con&s;ecrated, they are fir&s;t-fruits.
<PB N="142" REF="84"><HI>I&s;rael is a holy thing;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 2.3.</NOTE> their titles &s;hew the e&s;teeme that God hath of them; he values them more than all the world be&s;ides, which are as chaffe and dro&s;&s;e. <HI>The righteous man is more excel|lent than his neighbour.</HI> As there is a difference of ex|cellency betweene pretious &s;tones, and other common &s;tones, betweene fruitfull, and barren trees; &s;o there is among&s;t men: and in this re|gard, God &s;ets a higher e|&s;teeme upon &s;ome, and thence it is that they have tho&s;e honourable and glori|ous titles in Scripture, of <HI>Sonnes, Heires, Kings,</HI> and <HI>co-heyres with Chri&s;t:</HI> when others are termed dro&s;&s;e and dung, and thornes, and have all the ba&s;e termes
<PB N="143" REF="84">that may be.</P>
<P>Now this e&s;timation, by &s;ealing is knowne to us by the grace God works in us: common gifts and privi|ledges, and favours of the world, are no &s;eale of Gods e&s;timation. If God &s;hould give a man kingdomes, and great Monarchies, it &s;eales not Gods love to him, at all; but when God makes a man a &s;pirituall King to rule o|ver his ba&s;e lu&s;ts, this is a &s;eale of Gods valuing him above other men. Therfore we &s;hould learne how to va|lue others, and our &s;elves, not by common things that ca&s;t-awayes may have, but by the &s;tampe of God &s;et on us by the Spirit, which is an argument that God intends to lay us up as
<PB N="144" REF="85" MS="y">coyne for another trea&s;ury, for heaven. It is the com|mon grand errour of the times, to be led with fal&s;e e|vidences. Many thinke God loves them, becau&s;e hee &s;pares them, and followes them with long patience, and makes them thrive in the world. Alas, are the&s;e fruits of Gods &s;peciall love? What grace hath hee wrought in thy heart by his Spirit? <HI>hee gives his Spirit to them that pray;</HI> in&s;inuating, that next the gift of his Son, the greate&s;t gift is the Spi|rit, to fa&s;hion and fit us to be members of his Sonne: this is an argument of Gods love and e&s;teeme.</P>
<P>Seales likewi&s;e are u&s;ed for &s;ecre&s;ie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">5 Secre&s;ie.</NOTE> as in Letters, &amp;c. &s;o this &s;eale of the Spi|rit
<PB N="145" REF="85">is a &s;ecret worke, GOD knoweth who are his, they are onely knowne to him, and to their owne hearts; <HI>The white &s;tone is onely knowne to him that hath it,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 3.</NOTE> and <HI>the hidden Mannah:</HI> none &s;o in|fallibly can know the &s;tate in grace, as tho&s;e that have the gracious worke them|&s;elves. Holy men in &s;ome degree are knowne one to another, to make the com|munion of Saints the &s;wee|ter: there is a great deale of &s;pirituall likene&s;&s;e in Chri|&s;tians, <HI>face an&s;wereth to face;</HI> that one hath &s;trong confi|dence of the &s;alvation of another: but the undoubted certainty of a mans e&s;tate is knowne onely to God, and his owne &s;oule: nay, &s;ome|times it is hidden from a
<PB N="146" REF="86" MS="y">mans &s;elfe; there are &s;o ma|ny infirmities, and aba&s;e|ments, and troubles in the world, that this life is cal|led a hidden life in Scrip|ture: <HI>our life is hidde with Chri&s;tin God:</HI> it is unknowne to the Saints them&s;elves &s;ometimes, and the world alway; <HI>they neither know him that begets, nor them that are begotten.</HI></P>
<P>Hence likewi&s;e the u&s;e of a &s;eale,<NOTE PLACE="marg">6 Security.</NOTE> is to &s;hew that things &s;hould be kept <HI>invio|lable:</HI> hereupon the Church is as <HI>a &s;ealed fountain;</HI> &s;ealing &s;hewes care of pre&s;ervati|on from common annoy|ance: hereupon likewi&s;e it is, that &s;ealing is the &s;ecu|ring of per&s;ons or things &s;ealed from hurt. No man will violate a Letter, be|cau&s;e
<PB N="147" REF="86" MS="y">it is &s;ealed: the Tombe where Chri&s;t was butied, was &s;ealed, and the Pri&s;on doores upon <HI>Daniel,</HI> that none might meddle with them: &s;o the Spirit of God by this worke of &s;ealing, &s;ecures Gods children, as the bloud &s;princkled upon the po&s;ts of the doores of the I&s;raelites, &s;ecured them from the de&s;troying An|gell. In <HI>Ezek.</HI> 9. there was a marke &s;et upon tho&s;e that were to bee per&s;erved; that &s;ecured them; and in <HI>Revel</HI> 7. the &s;ealed ones mu&s;t not be hurt. So where this &s;eale of the Spirit is, it is an ar|gument that God meanes to pre&s;erve &s;uch a one from eternal de&s;truction, and from prevailing dangers in this world. They are Gods
<PB N="148" REF="87" MS="y">&s;ealed ones, no man can hurt them without wrong to God him&s;elfe, <HI>Touch not mine a|nointed, and doe my Prophets no harme:</HI> And likewi&s;e from devouring &s;innes, and dange|rous apo&s;ta&s;ie: a man that is truely &s;ealed by the Spirit of God, hee never becomes a member of Antichri&s;t, a &s;tigmatized Papi&s;t (for An|tichri&s;t hath his &s;eale too) he is kept from &s;oule-murthe|ring errours, he hath this &s;e|curity upon him by the worke and witne&s;&s;e of Gods Spirit. What&s;oever the u&s;e is, or can be, of a &s;eale in mans affaires, that God will have us make u&s;e of in his heavenly intercour&s;e be|twixt him and us.</P>
<P><PB N="149" REF="87"><HI>Whereby you are &s;ealed.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Degrees of &s;ealing.</NOTE>Now there are divers degrees of the Spirits &s;ea|ling.</P>
<P N="1">1 Faith:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Faith.</NOTE> <HI>Hee that beleeves hath the witne&s;&s;e in him&s;elfe.</HI> 1 <HI>Ioh.</HI> 5.10. hee carries in his heart the counterpane of all the promi&s;es. This grace is fir&s;t planted in the heart, and an&s;wereth to Gods love and purpo&s;e to|wards us of giving eternall life: the &s;eale and fir&s;t di&s;|covery of election is mani|fe&s;ted to us in our belee|ving, <HI>Act.</HI> 13.48. <HI>As many as were ordained to eternall life beleeved.</HI> This belee|ving is al&s;o a &s;eale to us, in that it is of who&s;e gifts that <HI>accompany &s;alvation,</HI> of
<PB N="150" REF="88" MS="y">which GOD never repents him by calling back againe, it is a <HI>feed that abideth for e|ver.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sanctifi|cation.</NOTE>2 The worke of &s;ancti|fying grace upon the heart, is a &s;eale, whom the &s;pirit &s;anctifieth, hee &s;aveth. <HI>The Lord knoweth who are his:</HI> but how &s;hall wee know it? By this &s;eale, <HI>Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord, depart from iniquity:</HI> not onely in heart and affecti|on, but in conver&s;ation, and that &s;hall bee a &s;eale of his Sonne&s;hip to him: none are children of God by adop|tion, but tho&s;e that are children al&s;o by regenera|tion: none are heires of heaven, but they are new|borne to it. Ble&s;&s;ed be God the Father of our Lord Ie|&s;us
<PB N="151" REF="88" MS="y">Chri&s;t, who hath begot|ten us a new to an inheri|tance immortall, &amp;c. This &s;eale of &s;anctification leaves upon the &s;oule the likene&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, even grace for grace.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e in time of de&s;ertion and temptation we are in a my&s;t, and cannot reade our owne faith, and our owne graces, it plea&s;eth Chri&s;t after &s;ome triall and exerci&s;e to &s;hine upon his owne graces in the heart, whereby we may know we beleeve, and know we love: untill which time the heart &s;ees nothing that is good, and &s;eemes to bee nothing but all objections, and doubtings. Wee may bee &s;ometimes in &s;uch a &s;tate as <HI>Paul</HI> and his company
<PB N="152" REF="89" MS="y">was in the &s;hip, <HI>Act.</HI> 27.20. when they &s;aw neither Sun nor Starres many dayes to|gether, almo&s;t pa&s;t all hope. So a Chri&s;tian may for ma|ny dayes together &s;ee nei|ther Sunne nor Starre, nei|ther light in GODS coun|tenance, nor light in his own heart no grace i&s;&s;uing from GOD, no grace carrying the &s;oule to God, though e|ven at that time GOD darts &s;ome beame through tho&s;e clouds upon the &s;oule: the &s;oule againe by a Spi|rit of faith, &s;ees &s;ome light through tho&s;e thicke&s;t clouds, enough to keepe the &s;oule from utter de&s;paire, though not to &s;ettle it in peace.</P>
<P>In this darke condition, if they doe as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> and
<PB N="153" REF="89" MS="y">his companie did, ca&s;t An|chor even in the dark night of temptation, and pray &s;till for day; God will ap|peare, and all &s;hall cleere up, wee &s;hall &s;ee light with|out, and light within: the day-&s;tarre will ari&s;e in their hearts.</P>
<P>Thought by reflecting upon our &s;oules we are able to di&s;cerne a &s;pirit of faith, GOD may hide him&s;elfe from the &s;oule in regard of comfort: Nay, a Chri&s;tian may know him&s;elfe to bee in the &s;tate of grace, and yet bee in an afflicted con|dition. As in <HI>Iobs</HI> ca&s;e, hee knew his Redeemer lived, and hee re&s;olved to tru&s;t in him even though hee killed him: hee knew hee was no hypocrite, he knew his gra|ces
<PB N="154" REF="90" MS="y">were true: an for all the imputations of his friends, they could not di&s;|pute him out of his &s;inceri|ty; you &s;hall not take my uprightne&s;&s;e from mee. Yet for the pre&s;ent hee &s;aw no light from heaven, till it plea&s;ed GOD to reveale him&s;elfe in &s;peciall favour to him. There is alwayes peace and joy in beleeving, yet not in that degree which gives the &s;oule con|tent, untill by honouring God in beleeving and wai|ting &s;till his good time, hee honoureth us with further &s;ence of his favour, and powreth forth his Spirit to us, manife&s;ting his &s;peciall love towards us: and this is a further degree of &s;ealing of us, confirming us more
<PB N="155" REF="90" MS="y">&s;trongly then before.</P>
<P>The rea&s;on why wee can neither have grace to be|leeve, nor know wee be|leeve, nor when wee know we beleeve, enjoy comfort without a fre&s;h new act of the Spirit, is becau&s;e the whole carriage of a &s;oule to heaven is above nature, where the Spirit makes a &s;tand, we &s;tand and can goe no further; wee cannot con|clude from right grounds without &s;ome helpe of the Spirit, &s;ome doubts, &s;ome feares will hinder the ap|plication to our &s;elves, e|ven as tho&s;e that live in &s;ome damnable &s;inne can|not but grant that tho&s;e that live in &s;uch a &s;inne &s;hall never inherit heaven: and their con&s;cience tels them
<PB N="156" REF="91" MS="y">they live in &s;uch a &s;inne, yet &s;elfe-love blindes them &s;o, that they will not conclude again&s;t them&s;elves that they &s;hall be damned, &s;o true be|leevers cannot conclude for them&s;elves without divine light and helpe.</P>
<P>It plea&s;eth God thus to keepe every degree and act of &s;ealing in his owne hand, to keep us in a perpetuall de|pendance upon him, and to awe us, that wee &s;hould not grieve the Spirit of grace, and cau&s;e him to &s;u&s;pend either act of grace or com|fort.</P>
<P>Ioy and &s;trong comfort come from a &s;uperadded &s;eale of the Spirit. The works of the Spirit are of a double kinde: either in us by imprinting &s;anctifying
<PB N="157" REF="91" MS="y">grace, or upon us, by &s;hi|ning upon our &s;oules in &s;weet feelings of joy: what the Spirit worketh in us is more con&s;tant, as a new na|ture which is alwayes like it &s;elfe, and worketh uni|formely: but comfort and joy are of the nature of &s;uch priviledges as God vouch|&s;afeth at one time, and not another, to &s;ome, and not to others.</P>
<P>This degree of &s;ealing in regard of joy hath its degrees likewi&s;e : &s;ome|times it is &s;o cleare and &s;trong, that the &s;oule que|&s;tioneth not its &s;tate in grace ever after, but pa&s;&s;eth on in a triumphant manner to that glory it lookes for. Sometimes after this &s;eal|ing, there may bee interrup|ting
<PB N="158" REF="92" MS="y">of comfortable com|munion of farre as to que|&s;tion our condition: yet this calling into que&s;tion comes not from the Spirit, which where it once witne&s;&s;eth for us, never witne&s;&s;eth a|gain&s;t us, but it is a fruit of the fle&s;h not fully &s;ubdued, it is a &s;inne it &s;elfe, and u&s;u|ally a fruit of &s;ome former &s;inne. For how&s;oever wee &s;hould not doubt after a former witne&s;&s;e of the Spi|rit, yet there will be &s;o much weakening the &s;ence of our a&s;&s;urance, as there is yeeld|ing to any lu&s;t. The know|ledge of our e&s;tate in grace and comfort thereupon, though it may bee weake|ned by neglcd of our watchfulne&s;&s;e, yet &s;till it hath the force of an argu|ment
<PB N="159" REF="92" MS="y">to a&s;&s;ure us when the Spirit plea&s;eth to direct us to make u&s;e of it, becau&s;e Gods love varies not as our feeling doth, and a fit doth not alter a &s;tate. The childe in the wombe &s;tirres not al|waies, yet it lives, and that may bee gathered from the former &s;tirrings.</P>
<P>This degree of &s;ealing by way of witne&s;&s;e and comfort, is appropriated to the holy Spirit: every per&s;on in the ble&s;&s;ed Tri|nitie hath their &s;everall worke; the Father chu&s;eth us, and pa&s;&s;eth a decree up|on the whole ground-work of our &s;alvation. The Sonne executeth it to the full. The Spirit applyeth it, and wit|ne&s;&s;eth our intere&s;t in it by leading our &s;oules to lay
<PB N="160" REF="93" MS="y">hold upon him, and by rai|&s;ing up our &s;oules in the a&s;|&s;urance of it, and by breed|ing and cheri&s;hing &s;weet communion with Father and Son, who both of them &s;eale us like wi&s;e by the Spi|rit. This joy &amp; comfort is &s;o appropriated to the Spirit, as it carrieth the very name of the Spirit, and is one of the three Witne&s;&s;e&s; on earth, that witne&s;&s;eth not onely Chri&s;t to bee a Savi|our, but our Saviour. The three witne&s;&s;es on earth are the <HI>Spirit, water, and bloud:</HI> for the better conceiving of which place, wee mu&s;t know th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> great worke of Chri&s;t of redemption and ju&s;tification was typi|fied in the old Te&s;tament by bloud; and the great worke of Chri&s;t of redemption ju&s;tification wa&s; typi|fied in the old Te&s;tament by bloud; and the great
<PB N="161" REF="93" MS="y">worke of our &s;anctification typified by their wa&s;hing: To an&s;wer which types, when Chri&s;ts &s;ide was pier|ced, there came forth both bloud and water, &s;hewing that Chri&s;t came not onely by bloud to ju&s;tifie us, but by water to &s;anct<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">fie us. Hereupon bloud and water have the power to bee wit|ne&s;&s;e&s;. The bloud of Chri&s;t being &s;princkled on the heart by the Spirit, doth pa|cifie the con&s;cience in a&s;&s;u|ring it that God is pacified by bloud, as <HI>being offered by the eternall Spirit:</HI> this quieting power &s;heweth that it was the bloud of God, and &s;hed for me in par|ticular.</P>
<P>The witne&s;&s;e of water is from the power the Spirit
<PB N="162" REF="94" MS="y">hath to clean&s;e our nature: which no creature can doe but the Spirit of GOD; change of nature is peculiar to the Author of nature. If wee feele therefore our na|tures altered, and of un|cle become holy, in &s;ome mea&s;ure wee may know we are the children of God, as being begotten by the Spirit of Chri&s;t, conforming us to his owne holine&s;&s;e: our &s;pirit as &s;anctified can wit|ne&s;&s;e to us that wee are Chri&s;ts.</P>
<P>But oft it fals out, that our owne &s;pirits, though &s;anctified, cannot &s;tand a|gain&s;t a &s;ubtill temptation &s;trongly inforced, God &s;u|per-addes his owne Spirit: guilt often prevailes over the te&s;timony of bloud,
<PB N="163" REF="94" MS="y">that of water by rea&s;on of &s;tirring corruptions runneth troubled. Therefore the third the immediate te&s;ti|mony of the Spirit is nece&s;|&s;ary to witne&s;&s;e the Fathers love to us, to us in particu|lar, &s;aying, <HI>I am thy &s;alvati|on, thy &s;innes are pardoned.</HI> And this te&s;timony the Word ecchoeth unto, and the heart is &s;tirred up, and comforted with joy unex|pre&s;&s;eable. So that both our &s;pirits and con&s;ciences, and the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t joy|ning in one &s;trongly, wit|ne&s;&s;e our condition in grace, that wee are the &s;onnes of God.</P>
<P>In this threefold te&s;timo|ny the order is this; bloud begets water: &s;atisfaction by bloud procures the Spi|rit
<PB N="164" REF="95" MS="y">from God, as a witne&s;&s;e of Gods love; and by fee|ling the power of bloud and water, we come to have the Spirit witne&s;&s;ing, and &s;ealing our adoption unto us to e&s;tabli&s;h us in the &s;tate of grace again&s;t &s;tormes of temptation to the con|trary. The Spirit petiwa|deth to looke unto bloud, convinceth the heart of the efficacie of it, and then qui|eteth the &s;oule, which gi|veth it &s;elfe up to Chri&s;t wholly, and to whole Chri&s;t: and thence feeles his heart e&s;tabli&s;hed again&s;t carnall rea&s;on, &s;o as hee can and doth oppo&s;e Chri&s;ts bloud to all the guilt that doth ari&s;e. And this wit|ne&s;&s;e of the Spirit comfort|ing the &s;oule i&s; the mo&s;t
<PB N="165" REF="95" MS="y">familiar, and affects mo&s;t.</P>
<P>If wee feele it not (as oft we do not) then ri&s;e upward from want of this joy of &s;pirit to water, and &s;ee what worke we finde of the &s;pirit in clen&s;ing our &s;oules, and if wee finde the&s;e wa|ters not to runne &s;o clearely as to di&s;cerne our conditi|on in them; then goe to the witne&s;&s;e of bloud, and let us bathe our &s;oules in it, and then we &s;hall finde peace in free grace procured by bloud: for oft times a Chri|&s;tian is driven to that passe, that nothing can comfort him, within, or without him, in heaven or earth, but the free and infinite mercy of GOD, in the bloud of Chri&s;t, whereon the &s;oule relyeth when it feeles no
<PB N="166" REF="96" MS="y">comfort, nor joy, of the Spirit, nor &s;ee&s; no worke of &s;anctification: then it mu&s;t re&s;t on the &s;atisfaction wrought by the bloud of Chri&s;t; when the &s;oule can goe to God, and &s;ay, If wee confe&s;&s;e out &s;innes, thou art ju&s;t to forgive them, and the bloud of Chri&s;t &s;hall clean&s;e us from all &s;inne. Therefore though I feele not inward peace, nor the worke of the Spirit, yet I will ca&s;t my &s;elfe upon thy mercy in Chri&s;t. Hereupon we &s;hall in Gods time come to have the witne&s;&s;e of wa|ter and the Spirit more evi|dently made cleare unto us.</P>
<P>The Spirit i&s; that wit|ne&s;&s;e&s; with bloud, and wit|ne&s;&s;e&s; with water, and by
<PB N="167" REF="96" MS="y">water, what&s;oever of Chri&s;t is applyed unto us, by the Spirit, but be&s;ides witne&s;&s;ing with the&s;e wit|ne&s;&s;es, the Spirit hath a di|&s;tinct witne&s;&s;e by way of inlarging the &s;oule: which joy in the apprehen&s;ion of Gods fatherly love: and Chri&s;ts &s;etting the &s;oule at libertie. The Spirit doth not alwayes witne&s;&s;e unto us our condition by force of argument from &s;anctifi|cation, but &s;ometimes im|mediately by way of pre|&s;ence; as the &s;ight of a friend comforts without helpe of di&s;cour&s;e: the very joy from &s;ight prevents the u&s;e of di&s;|cour&s;e.</P>
<P>This te&s;timony of the Spirit containeth in it the force of all, word, promi&s;e,
<PB N="168" REF="97" MS="y">oath, &s;eale, &amp;c. this is grea|ter then the promi&s;e, as a &s;eale is more then our hand; &amp; as an oath is more then a mans bare word. The &s;ame that is &s;aid of God&s; oath in compari&s;on with his bare promi&s;e, may bee &s;aid of this &s;ealing in compari&s;on of other te&s;timonies. That as G O D was willing more abundantly to cleare to the heires of promi&s;e their &s;al|vation, hee added an oath, <HI>Hebr.</HI> 6.18. So for the &s;ame end hee added this his Spi|rit as a &s;eale to the promi&s;e, and to the other te&s;timo|nies, Our owne graces in|deed if wee were watchfull enough, would &s;atisfie us: The fountaine is open as to <HI>Hagar,</HI> but &s;hee &s;eeth it not, &amp;c. how&s;oever the Spirit,
<PB N="169" REF="97" MS="y">if that commeth, if &s;ubdueth all doubts.</P>
<P>As God in his oath and &s;wearing joyneth none to him&s;elfe, but &s;weareth by him&s;elfe: &s;o in this witne&s;&s;e hee taketh confirm it, but wit|ne&s;&s;eth by him&s;elfe. And hence ari&s;eth joy un&s;peake|able, and glorious, and peace which pa&s;&s;eth all under&s;tan|ding; for it is an extract of heaven when wee &s;ee our being in the &s;tate of grace, not in the effect only, but as in the brea&s;t and bo&s;ome of God.</P>
<P>But how &s;hall wee know this witne&s;&s;e from an en|thu&s;ia&s;ticall fancie and illu|&s;ion?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Que&s;t.</NOTE></P>
<P>This witne&s;&s;e of the Spirit is knowne from<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;w.</NOTE>
<PB N="170" REF="98" MS="y">the &s;trong conviction it bringeth with it, which wayeth and over-powers the &s;oule to give credit un|to it. But there be, you will &s;ay, &s;trong illu&s;ions? True, bring them therefore to &s;ome rules of di&s;cerning. Bring all your joy, and peace, and confidence to the Word, they goe both together, as a paire of In|dentures, one an&s;wers ano|ther. In Chri&s;ts transfigu|ration upon the Mount, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Elias</HI> appeared together with Chri&s;t. In what&s;oever transfiguration and ravi&s;hment, wee cannot finde <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and <HI>Elias,</HI> and Chri&s;t to meet, that is, if what wee finde in us bee not agreeable to the Scriptures, wee may well &s;u&s;pect it as
<PB N="171" REF="98" MS="y">an illu&s;ion.</P>
<P>That you may know the voyce of the Spirit of God from the carnal confidence of our owne &s;pirits, inquire,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 What went before.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 What accompanieth it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3 What followeth after this ravi&s;hing joy.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1"><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 What go|eth before this wit|ne&s;&s;e of the Spirit.</NOTE>1 The Word mu&s;t goe before it, in being a&s;&s;ented unto by faith, and &s;ubmit|ted unto by an&s;werable o|bedience. <HI>In whom after you beleeved</HI> the word of pro|mi&s;e, <HI>you were &s;ealed.</HI> So that if there be not fir&s;t a belee|ving of the word of pro|mi&s;e, there is no &s;ealing, <HI>The God of peace given you joy In beleeving.</HI> There mu&s;t be a beleeving, a <HI>walking ac|cording to Rule,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6.</NOTE> or el&s;e no joy nor peace will bee unto
<PB N="172" REF="99" MS="y">us. If wee cannot bring the Word and our hearts toge|ther, it is not Gods, but Sa|thans &s;ealing, a groundle&s;&s;e pre&s;umption, and it will end in de&s;paire: as Chri&s;t came by water and bloud, &s;o doth this te&s;timony, it commeth after the other two. Fir&s;t the heart is carried to bloud, and from thence hath quiet: then followeth water, and our nature is wa&s;hed, and changed, and then com|meth this of the Spirit; though it bee not grounded on their te&s;timony, but is a|bove theirs, yet they goe be|fore. Where wee thus finde the worke, wee may know it to bee right by the order of it.</P>
<P>It commeth after deepe
<PB N="173" REF="99" MS="y">humiliation, and aba&s;ement: though wee know our &s;elves to bee the children of God in &s;ome &s;uch mea&s;ure, as we would not change our con|dition for all the world; yet we would have more evi|dence, wee would have fur|ther manife&s;tation of Gods countenance towards us, we are not &s;atisfied, but waite: After wee have long fa&s;ted, and our hearts melted, &amp; &s;of|tened, then God powreth water upon the dry wilder|ne&s;&s;e, and then it comes to pa&s;&s;e, through his good|ne&s;&s;e and mercy, that hee comforts, and &s;atisfies the de&s;ires of the hungry &s;oule; GOD will not &s;uffer the &s;pirit of his children to faile.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="174" REF="100" MS="y">3 Likewi&s;e after &s;elfe-denyall in that which is plea&s;ing to us, it is made up with inward comfort: if this &s;elfe-denyall bee from a de&s;ire of nearer commu|nion with GOD, God will not faile them in what they de&s;ire. There are wretches in the world that will deny their &s;infull nature nothing, if they have a di&s;po&s;ition to pride, they will bee proud; if they have a lu&s;t to bee rich, to live in plea|&s;ures, to follow the vanities of the times, they will doe &s;o, they will not &s;ay nay to corrupt nature in any thing: will God vouch&s;afe to give any true joy or comfort of &s;pirit to &s;uch ones? No: tho&s;e that let loo&s;e their natures without
<PB N="175" REF="100" MS="y">a checke, &s;hall never ta&s;te of this hidden Manna. But when wee deny our &s;elves, deny to heare or &s;ee that which may feed corrupti|on: When wee deny to take delight in that, that wee might if wee would goe the cour&s;e of the world, there is a proportionable mea|&s;ure of joy, and peace, and comfort in a higher kinde made good to the &s;oule. GOD is &s;o good, wee &s;hall lo&s;e nothing for parting with any thing for his &s;ake.</P>
<P N="4">4 It is u&s;ually found af|ter conflict and victory, as a reward. <HI>To him that over|commeth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 2.</NOTE> <HI>will I give to eate of the hidden Manna.</HI> Gods children after &s;trong con|flict with &s;ome temptation
<PB N="176" REF="101">or inward corruption, e&s;pe|cially, that which accom|panieth their di&s;po&s;ition and temper, when they have &s;o conflicted as that at la&s;t they get the better, they finde by experience &s;weet inlargement of &s;pirit: to &s;trive again&s;t them, is a &s;igne of grace; but to get victory over them, even to &s;ubdue our enemies under us that ri&s;e up again&s;t us, this bringeth true peace and joy.</P>
<P N="5">5 After wee have put forth our &s;pirituall &s;trength in holy duties, God crownes our indeavours with in|crea&s;e of comfort. A Chri|&s;tian that takes paines with his heart, and will not &s;erve God with that which co&s;t him nothing, enjoyes that
<PB N="177" REF="101" MS="y">which the &s;pirituall &s;lug|gard wi&s;hes for, and goes without. God is &s;o ju&s;t that tho&s;e men which have &s;tri|ven to live according to principles of nature, have found contentment propor|tionable to their indeavours; &s;ome degree of plea&s;ure attends every good acti|on, as a reward before a re|ward.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 What ac|compani|eth, &amp;c.</NOTE>Be&s;ides the&s;e things that goe before this joy and te|&s;timony, there are &s;econd|ly &s;ome things that doe ac|company it, if it bee right: as,</P>
<P N="1">1 This &s;pirituall comfort inlargeth our hearts to a de&s;ire after an high prizing the ordinances; &s;o farre is it from taking us off from a dependance upon them.
<PB N="178" REF="102">In the Word and other meanes it found comfort from GOD, therefore de|lights to be meeting GOD &s;till in his owne wayes. The eye of the &s;oule is &s;trengthe|ned to &s;ee further into truths, and is inabled more &s;piritu|ally to under&s;tand the things it knew before: as in ma|ny of the &s;ame truths that wi&s;e men under&s;tand, they under&s;tood them when they were young, as when they were old, but then more clearely. So all truths are more clearely knowne by this; the Spirit by which wee are &s;ealed, is the Spirit of illumination, not that it reveales any thing different from the Word, but giveth a more large under&s;tan|ding, and inward know|ledge
<PB N="179" REF="102" MS="y">of the &s;ame truths as were knowne before.</P>
<P N="2">2 A libertie and bold|ne&s;&s;e with GOD: for <HI>where the Spirit is, there is</HI> a graci|ous <HI>liberty;</HI> that is, further inlargements from the law, guilt of &s;inne, and the feare of the wrath of GOD, that wee can come with &s;o me boldne&s;&s;e to his throne, and to him as our Father, a free|dome to open our &s;oules in prayer before him. This &s;tands not &s;o much in mul|titude of words, or formes of expre&s;&s;ions, but a &s;onne-like boldne&s;&s;e in our ap|proaches in prayer. The Hypocrite e&s;pecially in ex|tremity, cannot pray, his Con&s;cience &s;toppes his mouth: but where the Spi|rit
<PB N="180" REF="103" MS="y">&s;ealeth, it giveth this li|berty, freely to open and &s;pread our ca&s;e before him, and call upon him, yea under the evidence of &s;ome di&s;|plea&s;ure.</P>
<P N="3">3 There doth likewi&s;e ordinarily accompany this &s;ealing of the Spirit, Sa|thans malice and oppo&s;iti|on; who being ca&s;t from heaven him&s;elfe, envies this H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">aven upon earth in a creature of meaner ranke by crea ion then him&s;elfe: wee mu&s;t not thinke to en|joy pure joy here without mole&s;tation, If there bee danger of exalting above mea&s;ure, wee mu&s;t looke for &s;ome me&s;&s;enger of Sa|than.<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 What fol|loweth af|ter th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s witne&s;&s;ing of the Spirit.</NOTE></P>
<P>After this witne&s;&s;e it leaves the &s;oule more hum|ble:
<PB N="181" REF="103" MS="y">none more aba&s;ed in them&s;elves, then tho&s;e that have neere&s;t communion with God; as wee &s;ee in the Angels that &s;tand before God, and cover their faces: &s;o <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 6. <HI>Iob</HI> after God had manife&s;ted him&s;elfe unto him, abhorred him&s;elfe in du&s;t and a&s;hes. It brings with it a greater de&s;ire of &s;anctification and heavenly-mindedne&s;&s;e. As <HI>Elias</HI> a&s;|cended up into heaven, his cloake fell by degrees from him: the higher our &s;pirits are rai&s;ed, the more wee put off affections to earthly things.</P>
<P N="2">2 Againe, the end of this further manife&s;tation of the Spirit being incourage|ment to dutie, or &s;uffering in a good cau&s;e, the &s;oule
<PB N="182" REF="104" MS="y">by this witne&s;&s;e of the Spirit findes increa&s;e of &s;pirituall mettle, it findes it &s;elfe &s;tee|led again&s;t oppo&s;ition. Whi|le&s;t this winde filleth their &s;ayles, they are carried on a maine, and are frighted with nothing that &s;tands in their way. See how the be|leevers triumph upon <HI>the Spirits witne&s;sing to their &s;pi|rits, that they are the &s;onnes of God,</HI> Rom. 8.</P>
<P>GOD u&s;ually re&s;erveth &s;uch comforts for the wor&s;t times,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 32.6.</NOTE> <HI>Give wine to tho&s;e that be of heavy hearts: Proverbs</HI> 31. The &s;ence of this love of Chri&s;t is better then wine. This refre&s;hing <HI>Paul</HI> had in the dungeon, and he &s;ung at mid-night. After this witne&s;&s;ing therefore looke for &s;ome piece of &s;er|vice
<PB N="183" REF="104" MS="y">to doe, or tryall to un|dergoe.</P>
<P>Much mu&s;t bee left to GODS fatherly wi&s;edome in this, who knowes whom to cheare up, and when, and in what degree, and to what purpo&s;e and &s;ervice, and remember alwayes, that the&s;e inlargements of &s;pirit are as occa&s;ionall refre&s;h|ings in the way, not daily food to live upon: we main|taine our life by faith, not by &s;ight or feeling. Fea&s;ting is not for every day, except that Fea&s;t of a good con|&s;cience which is continuall: but I &s;peake of grand dayes, and high fea&s;ts: the&s;e are di&s;po&s;ed, as GOD &s;eeth cau&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3 Where this &s;ealing of the Spirit is, there fol|loweth
<PB N="184" REF="105" MS="y">al&s;o upon it a lift|ing up of the head, in thin|king of our latter end; it makes one thinke of the times to come with joy, as the holy Gho&s;t here menti|oneth the day of redempti|on; as a motive to them to take heed that they did not grieve the Spirit: intima|ting, they &s;hould thinke of the day of redemption with a great deale of joy and comfort. The Saints are de&s;cribed in Scripture to be tho&s;e that <HI>looke for the appea|ring of Chri&s;t:</HI> they are Chri&s;ts, and in him their reckonings and accounts are even. And therefore with delight they can often think and meditate upon the ble&s;&s;ed times that are to come.</P>
<P><PB N="185" REF="105" MS="y">There be divers degrees of &s;ealing, ari&s;ing from di|vers degrees of revelation. God fir&s;t reveales his good will in his promi&s;es to all beleevers; this is the privi|ledge of the Church, e&s;pe|cially in the&s;e latter times: then by his Spirit reveales tho&s;e &s;aving truths to tho&s;e that are his by a divine light. So that by argument drawne from the power, they feele from truths in &s;earching &s;ecrets, in ca&s;ting downe, in rai&s;ing up, in &s;tay|ing the &s;oule, they can &s;eale to them that they are di|vine.</P>
<P>The &s;ame Spirit that re|veales the power of the Word to mee, reveales in particular mine owne in|tere&s;t in all tho&s;e truths
<PB N="186" REF="106" MS="y">upon hearing them. Where|upon they are written in my heart, as if they had beene made in particular to me: the comfortable truths in the Word are tran&s;cri|bed into my heart an&s;wer|able to the Word; as that GOD in Chri&s;t is mine, forgivene&s;&s;e mine, grace mine: whereupon adoption in Chri&s;t is &s;ealed; which God &s;till &s;ealeth further to my &s;oule by increa&s;e of comfort, as hee &s;eeth cau&s;e for incouragement. The &s;ame Spirit that manife&s;t|eth in me the word, I heare and reade to bee the truth of God, from the power and efficacie of it: the &s;ame Spi|rit teacheth to apply it, and in applying of it, &s;ealeth me.</P>
<P><PB N="187" REF="106" MS="y">Therefore wee ought to de&s;ire to bee &s;ealed by the Spirit, in regard of an holy impre&s;&s;ion; and then that the holy Spirit would &s;hine upon his owne graces, &s;o as wee may clearly &s;ee what is wrought in us above na|ture; and becau&s;e this is furthered by revealing his love in Chri&s;t in adoption to us, wee mu&s;t de&s;ire of GOD to vouch&s;afe the Spirit of Revelation, to reveale the my&s;teries of his truth unto us; and our portion in them in particu|lar; and &s;o our adoption: and in the meane time to wait and attend his good plea&s;ure in the u&s;e of all good meanes. Thus wee waiting, God will &s;o farre reveale him&s;elfe in love to
<PB N="188" REF="107" MS="y">us, as &s;hall a&s;&s;ure us of his love, and &s;tirre up love a|gaine: and the &s;ame Spirit that is a Spirit of Revelati|on, will bee a Spirit of &s;an|ctification, and &s;o adoption. Dignity, and fitting qualities &s;ureable to dignity, go both together.</P>
<P>In that grand inquirie a|bout our condition, there is a great mi&s;carriage, when men will beginne with the fir&s;t worke of the Father in election, then pa&s;&s;e to re|demption by Chri&s;t: I am Gods, and Chri&s;t hath re|deemed mee; and never thinke of the action of the third per&s;on in &s;anctificati|on, which is the neere&s;t action upon the &s;oule, as the third per&s;on him&s;elfe is neare&s;t unto us. And &s;o
<PB N="189" REF="107" MS="y">fetch their fir&s;t ri&s;e where they &s;hould &s;et up their la&s;t re&s;t. Whereas wee &s;hould begin our inquirie in the worke of the third per&s;on, which is next unto us: and then upon good grounds we may know our redemption and election.</P>
<P>The holy Spirit is both a Spirit of Revelation, and of Sanctification together, as hath beene &s;aid: for toge|ther with opening the love of the Father, and the Son, hee fitteth us by grace for communication with them.</P>
<P>People out of &s;elfe-love will have conceits of the Fathers and Sonnes love &s;evered from the worke of the Spirit upon their hearts which will prove a dange|rous
<PB N="190" REF="108" MS="y">illu&s;ion. Although the whole work of grace by the Spirit ari&s;e from the Fathers and Sonnes love, witne&s;&s;ed by the Spirit, yet the proofe of the Fathers love to us in particular, ari&s;eth from &s;ome knowledge of the worke of the Spirit: the er|rour is not in thinking of the Fathers and Sonnes love, but in a &s;trengthening them|&s;elves by a plea&s;ing power|le&s;&s;e thought of it again&s;t the worke of grace by the Spirit, which their corrup|tion with&s;tands. So they will carve out of the worke of the Trinitie what they thinke agreeable to their lu&s;ts, whereas otherwi&s;e if their heart were upright, they would for this very end think of Gods love, and
<PB N="191" REF="108" MS="y">Chri&s;ts, to quicken them to duty, and to arme them a|gain&s;t corruption.</P>
<P><HI>To the day of Redemption.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Redemp|tion dou|ble.</NOTE>There is a double re|demption: redemption of the &s;oule by the fir&s;t comming of Chri&s;t, to &s;hed his bloud for us; redemption of our bodies from corruption, by his &s;econd comming. Wee have not the perfect con|&s;ummation and accom|pli&s;hment of that which Chri&s;t wrought in his fir&s;t comming, till his &s;econd comming, then there &s;hall bee a totall redemption of our &s;oules and bodies, and conditions. There is a dou|ble redemption, as there is
<PB N="192" REF="109" MS="y">a double co~ming of Chri&s;t; the fir&s;t, and the &s;econd; the one to redeeme our &s;oules from &s;inne and Sathan, and to give us title to heaven, the other to redeeme our bodies from corruption, when <HI>Chri&s;t &s;hall come to bee glorious in his Saints.</HI> As likewi&s;e there is a double re&s;urrection, the fir&s;t and the &s;econd, and a double re|generation of &s;oule and bo|dy.</P>
<P>In &s;ickne&s;&s;e &amp; weaknes of body, or when age hath o|vertaken us, that we cannot live long here, and the hor|rour of the grave, the hou&s;e of darkene&s;&s;e, is pre&s;ented to us. Oh let us thinke, there will bee a redemption of our bodies, as well as of our &s;oules! Chri&s;t will re|deem
<PB N="193" REF="109" MS="y">our bodies from cor|ruption, as he came to work the redemption of our &s;oules from &s;inne and death; and hee that will redeeme our bodies out of the grave, he will redeeme his Church out of mi&s;ery, hee will call the Iewes; hee that will doe the greater, will doe the inferiour. When wee heare of this, let us thinke with comfort of all the promi|&s;es that are yet unperfor|med.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Full re|demption not yet.</NOTE>Secondly, full redem|ption is not yet, What need I bring Scripture to prove it? It is a point that every mans experience teacheth. Alas, let our bodies &s;peake<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> wee are not free from &s;ick|ne&s;&s;e and di&s;ea&s;es: nay, what is our life but a going
<PB N="194" REF="110">to corruption? the &s;entence is pa&s;&s;ed upon us, <HI>earth re|turneth to earth;</HI> till death wee are going to death, &s;o be&s;ides &s;ickne&s;&s;e and weake|ne&s;&s;e here, we mu&s;t dye, and after death bee &s;ubject to corruption. The Apo&s;tle in this re&s;pect calleth our bo|dy, <HI>a vile body.</HI> As for our &s;oules, though they bee freed from the guilt and damnation of &s;inne, yet there are remainders of corruption that breed feare and terrour; and though they be freed from the rule of Sathan, yet not from his mole&s;tation and vexations by temptations. In a word, our whole &s;tate and condi|tion in this world, is a &s;tate and condition of mi&s;ery, wee are followed with ma|ny
<PB N="195" REF="110" MS="y">afflictions, &s;o that there is not yet perfect redemption, whether we looke to body, &s;oule, or &s;tate; the body be|ing &s;ubject to di&s;ea&s;es, the &s;oule to infirmities, the &s;tate to mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>But there is a <HI>day</HI> appoin|ted for it.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A day of Redempti|on.</NOTE>By a <HI>day</HI> wee are not to under&s;tand the time mea&s;u|red by the cour&s;e of the Sunne in 24 houres, but in the Scriptures meaning, a day is a &s;et time of mercy or judgement. As there was a &s;olemne day, <HI>the ful|ne&s;&s;e of time,</HI> for the work|ing of the fir&s;t redemption, &s;o there is a &s;olemn time &s;et for the &s;econd redemption, when all the children of God &s;hall bee gathered; tho&s;e that lye in the du&s;t
<PB N="196" REF="111">&s;hall be rai&s;ed, and for ever glorified. It is the day of all dayes: that day that by way of excellency, is called <HI>THAT day</HI> in the Scriptures, and <HI>the day of the Lord.</HI> The day that were &s;hould thinke of every day; e&s;pecially in &s;ickne&s;&s;e and trouble, and cro&s;&s;es, and mole&s;tations, from the wicked world, and in &s;en&s;e of the remain|ders of corruption. There is a day of redemption to come, that will make a|mends for all. The fre|quent thoughts of that day would comfort us, and keepe us from &s;hrinking in any affliction and trouble; it would move us to a carri|age and conver&s;ation an|&s;werable to our hopes, and al&s;o it would helpe to fit us;
<PB N="197" REF="111">it would infu&s;e a de&s;ire of qualification to be prepared for that great day.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The day of Re|demption ought to be thought on.</NOTE>But how little of our time is &s;pent in thoughts this way? If wee could oft thinke of the day of re|demption, our lives would bee otherwi&s;e, both in re|gard of gracious, as al&s;o of co~fortable carriage, &s;hould we be di&s;con&s;olate at every lo&s;&s;e and cro&s;&s;e, at &s;ickne&s;|&s;es, and the thought of death, when wee &s;hall be turned into our fir&s;t princi|ple, the earth? if wee did thinke of the day of re|demption, when all &s;hall be re&s;tored againe, all the de|cayes of nature, and the I|mage of God be perfectly &s;tamped: the thought of this would make us goe wil|lingly
<PB N="198" REF="112" MS="y">to our graves, know|ing that all this is but a pre|paration for the great <HI>day of redemption</HI> The fir&s;t day of redemption, when Chri&s;t came to redeeme our &s;oules, and to give us title to heaven; It was in the ex|pectation of all good people before Chri&s;t; they are &s;aid <HI>to wait for the con&s;olation of I&s;rael;</HI> that was the chara|cter to know tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed people by. And what &s;hould be the di&s;tingui&s;hing character of gracious &s;oules now, but to bee &s;uch as wait for the comming of Chri&s;t? how oft in the E|pi&s;tles of Saint <HI>Paul</HI> is it? <HI>There is a Crowne of righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e for mee, and for all that wait for the appearing of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="199" REF="112" MS="y">There was a yeare of <HI>Iu|bile</HI> among the Iewes eve|ry fifty yeares; then all that were in bondage were &s;et at liberty. So at this ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Iubile,</HI> this glorious day of redemption, all that are in bondage of death, and un|der corruption, &s;hall be &s;et at everla&s;ting liberty. No que&s;tion but the poore &s;er|vants that were vexed with hard ma&s;ters, they thought of the Iubile, and tho&s;e that had their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions tooke away, they thought of the Iubile, the day of recove|ring all. So let us oft thinke of this everla&s;ting Iubile, when wee &s;hall recover all that wee lo&s;t, for ever to keepe it, and never to lo&s;e it againe as wee did in the fir&s;t creation. Let us oft
<PB N="200" REF="113" MS="y">thinke of this day; it will infu&s;e vigour and &s;trength into all our conver&s;ation. Indeed to the ungodly, it is not a day of <HI>redemption,</HI> but a day of <HI>judgement,</HI> and <HI>the revelation of the ju&s;t wrath of God,</HI> when their &s;ins &s;hall be laid open, and receive a &s;en|tence an&s;werable.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Day of vengeance to wicked.</NOTE>Alas, there is &s;uch a deale of Athei&s;me in the world, (and the &s;eeds of it in the be&s;t, unle&s;&s;e it be wrought out daily) that we forget the God of vengeance, and the day of vengeance. Would men goe on in &s;innes again&s;t con&s;cience, if they thought of this la&s;t day? It is impo&s;|&s;ible: &s;uch cour&s;es come fro~ this abhominable root of A|thei&s;me, and unbeliefe, for had they but a &s;light Faith,
<PB N="201" REF="113">it would be effectual to alter their cour&s;e in &s;ome mea|&s;ure: therefore the Scripture gives them the name of fooles (though they would be thought to bee the onely wi&s;e men.) <HI>The foole hath &s;aid in his heart, there is no God:</HI> and what followes? <HI>Corrupt are they, and abho|minable.</HI> The cau&s;e of all is, the foole hath &s;aid in his heart, he will needs force it upon his heart; that there is no God, hell nor heaven, nor judgement; thence come abhominable cour|&s;es.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="202" REF="114">
<HEAD>Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby yee are &s;ealed unto the day of Redem|ption.</HEAD>
<P>FRom the con&s;ideration of all that hath beene formerly &s;poken of, the &s;ealing of the &s;pirit to the day of Redemption, there ari&s;eth the&s;e foure conclu&s;i|ons.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that we may attaine unto to knowledge that wee are in that &s;tate of grace.</P>
<P>Secondly, that upon know|ledge of our &s;tate in grace for the pre&s;ent, we may be a&s;&s;ured of our future ful Re|demption.</P>
<P>Thirdly, that this a&s;&s;ured knowledge is wrought by the Spirit.</P>
<P><PB N="203" REF="114" MS="y">Fourthly, that the con&s;i|deration of this a&s;&s;urance wrought by the Spirit, is an effectuall argument to di&s;&s;wade from grieving the Spirit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t conclu&s;ion.</NOTE>For the fir&s;t <HI>wee may know wee are in the &s;tate of grace:</HI> fir&s;t, becau&s;e the Apo&s;tle would not have u&s;ed an ar|gument moving, not to grieve the Spirit, from a thing unknowne or gue&s;|&s;ed at; it is an ill manner of rea&s;oning to argue from a thing unknowne.</P>
<P N="2">2 Againe, &s;ealing of us by the Spirit, is not in regard of God, but of our &s;elves. God knoweth who are his, but we know not that weare his, but by &s;ealing.</P>
<P N="3">3 The &s;cope of the Scrip|tures indited by the Spirit,
<PB N="204" REF="115" MS="y">is for comfort, the Apo&s;tle &s;aith &s;o directly, and what comfort in an uncertaine condition, wherein a man knowes not but hee may be a reprobate? Wherefore came our Saviour into the world, and tooke our na|ture upon him; why became he a cur&s;e for us; why hath hee carried our nature into heaven, and there appeares for us till hee hath brought us home to him&s;elfe, but that hee would have us out of all doubt of his love af|ter once by faith wee have received him? whence pro|ceeded tho&s;e Comman|dements to beleeve, tho&s;e checkes of unbeleevers, the commendation of them that did beleeve, tho&s;e upbraidings of doubting,
<PB N="205" REF="115" MS="y">as &s;pringing from unbe|liefe: to what u&s;e are the Sacraments, but to &s;eale un|to us the benefits of Chri&s;t? if upon all this wee &s;hould &s;till doubt of GODS love, e&s;pecially when be|&s;ides the &s;ealing of the pro|mi&s;es to us, wee are &s;ealed our &s;elves by the Spirit of promi&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> This is true, if wee know we doe beleeve:</P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer.</HI> It is the office of the Spirit, as to worke Faith and other graces, &s;o to reveale them to us: every grace of GOD is a light of it &s;elfe, com|ming from the Father of lights: and it is the proper|ty of light, not onely to di&s;|cover other things, but it &s;elfe too; and it is the of|fice
<PB N="206" REF="116" MS="y">of the Spirit to give further light to this light by &s;hining upon his owne grace in us: an excellent place for this is the 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.12. <HI>Wee have received the Spirit that is of God, that wee might know the things that are freely given to us of God,</HI> in the mouth of two or three witne&s;&s;es &s;hall every thing bee confirmed: one witne&s;&s;es is <HI>the Spirit of man</HI> which knowes <HI>the things that are in man;</HI> the other witne&s;&s;es is <HI>the Spirit of God, witne&s;sing to our &s;pirits that we are the children of God.</HI> Here is light added to light, wit|ne&s;&s;e added to witne&s;&s;e, the greater witne&s;&s;e of the Spi|rit to the le&s;&s;e of our Spirits: the Apo&s;tle joynes them both together,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9.</NOTE> <HI>My con&s;ci|ence
<PB N="207" REF="116" MS="y">bears me witne&s;&s;e through the holy Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Obje.</HI> Mans heart is deceit|full.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> But the &s;pirit of God in mans heart is not deceitfull, it is too holy to deceive, and too wi&s;e to be deceived in this point of a&s;&s;urance: wee plow with the Spirits Heifer, or el&s;e we could not finde out this Riddle: where there is an object to be &s;eene, and an eye to &s;ee, and light to di&s;|cover the object to the eye, &s;ight mu&s;t needs follow. In a true beleever, after he is inlightened, as there is grace to bee &s;eene, and an eye of Faith to &s;ee, &s;o there is a light of the Spirit di&s;|covering that grace to that inward &s;ight: in the bot|tome
<PB N="208" REF="117" MS="y">of a cleare River, a cleare eye &s;ight may &s;ee a|ny thing; where nothing is, nothing can bee &s;eene; it is an evidence that the Pa|trons of doubtings have lit|tle grace in them, and much boldne&s;&s;e in making them&s;elves a mea&s;ure for other. Tho&s;e that are ba&s;e borne, know their Mothers better then their Fathers;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1.</NOTE> the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> is all for the Mother, but the babes of Chri&s;t know their Father; the remainder of corruption will indeed be &s;till breeding doubts, but it is the office of the Spirit of Faith to quell them as they ari&s;e. Wee are too rea|dy in time of temptation to doubt, wee need not helpe the tempter, by holding it
<PB N="209" REF="117" MS="y">a duty to doubt; this is to light a candle before the di|vell as we u&s;e to &s;peake.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;tion.</HI> May not there be doubtings where there is true faith, may not a true beleever bee without a&s;&s;u|rance?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"><HI>An&s;wer.</HI> There bee three rankes of Chri&s;tians: fir&s;t, &s;ome that are yet under the &s;pirit of bondage, that like little children doe all for feare. Secondly,<MILESTONE N="2"> tho&s;e that are under the &s;pirit of a|doption, and doe many things well, but yet are not altogether free from feare; the&s;e are like tho&s;e chil|dren that are moved with reverence to obey their Parents, and yet finde their commands &s;omewhat irke|&s;ome unto them.<MILESTONE N="3"> The third
<PB N="210" REF="118" MS="y">are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters">h as by the love of God &s;hed into the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> hearts by the Spirit of adoption, are carried with large Spi|rits to obey their father, and herein like unto tho&s;e children, that not onely o|bey, but take a delight in it upon a judgement that both obedience and the thing wherein they obey is good; this wee ought to labour for, but wee finde many Chri&s;tians in the &s;e|cond ranke, many truely beleeve in Chri&s;t by &s;ome light let into their hearts by the Spirit of adoption, who are not yet fully a&s;&s;u|red of the love of Chri&s;t. There is the act of faith, and the fruit of Faith; the act of faith is to ca&s;t our &s;elves upon Gods mercy
<PB N="211" REF="118" MS="y">in Chri&s;t, the fruit of faith is in beleeving to bee a&s;&s;u|red of this: wee mu&s;t know that faith is one thing, a&s;|&s;urance another, they may have faith, and yet want a double a&s;&s;urance: fir&s;t, a&s;|&s;urance of their faith, being not able to judge at all times of their owne act; likewi&s;e, &s;econdly, a&s;&s;u|rance of their &s;tate in grace, as in time of de&s;erti|on and temptation: a &s;oule at &s;uch a time ca&s;ts it &s;elfe upon Chri&s;t, as knowing comfort is there to be had, though hee bee not &s;ure of it for him&s;elfe: and this the &s;oule doth out of obedi|ence, though not out of feeling, as the poore man in the Go&s;pell, <HI>Lord I be|leeve, helpe my unbeliefe:</HI>
<PB N="212" REF="119" MS="y">the &s;oule often times out of the deepe, cryes, and in the darke tru&s;ts in GOD, and this is the bold adven|ture of faith, the fir&s;t ob|ject whereof is <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> held out in a promi&s;e; and not <HI>a&s;&s;urance,</HI> which &s;pringeth from the fir&s;t act when it plea&s;eth God to &s;hine up|on the &s;oule, and is a reward of glorifying Gods mercy in Chri&s;t by ca&s;ting the &s;oule upon his truth and goodne&s;&s;e. A&s;&s;urance is GODS &s;eale, faith is our &s;eale; when wee &s;et to our &s;eale by beleeving, hee &s;ets to his &s;eale, a&s;&s;uring us of our condition: we yeeld fir&s;t the con&s;ent and the a&s;|&s;ent of faith, and then God puts his &s;eale to the con|tract: there mu&s;t be a good
<PB N="213" REF="119">title before a confirmati|on, a planting before a roo|ting and e&s;tabli&s;hing, the bargaine before the ear|ne&s;t. Some would have Faith to bee an over-pow|ring light of the &s;oule, whereby undoubtedly they beleeve them&s;elves to bee Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t to be theirs: which &s;tumbleth many a weake, yet true Chri&s;tian, for this is rather the fruit of a &s;trong Faith, then the act of a weake, which &s;truggleth with doubting, untill it hath gotten the upper hand. True it is, there mu&s;t bee &s;o much light let in to the &s;oule, as the &s;oule may re|ly upon Chri&s;t, and this light mu&s;t bee di&s;covered by the Spirit, and &s;uch a
<PB N="214" REF="120">light as &s;hewes a &s;peciall love of Chri&s;t to the &s;oule. And againe, it is true that wee are not to take up our re&s;t in the light, untill the heart be further &s;ubdued: as many are too ha&s;ty to con|clude of a good condition upon uncertaine &s;ignes, be|fore they have attained un|to fuller a&s;&s;urance, but yet wee mu&s;t not deny faith where this &s;trong a&s;&s;urance is wanting, &s;o farre as to conclude again&s;t our &s;elves; if there be de&s;ires, putting on, to endeavour with con|flict again&s;t the ri&s;ing of unbeliefe, with a high pri|&s;ing of the favour of God in Chri&s;t, &s;o as to value it above all things. Degrees doe not varie the kinde, weakene&s;&s;e may &s;tand with
<PB N="215" REF="120">truth; but where truth is, there will be an unce&s;&s;ant de&s;ire of future &s;ealing.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;e|cond con|clu&s;ion.</NOTE>The &s;econd conclu&s;ion: <HI>We may upon the knowledge of our pre&s;ent e&s;tate in grace bee a&s;&s;ured for the time to come:</HI> for this &s;ealing is to the day of Redemption; that is, till wee be put into full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of what we now beleeve; and be&s;ides, &s;ea|ling is for &s;ecuring for the time to come, and our Sa|viours promi&s;e is, that though He departed from them, yet the Comforter &s;hould abide with them for ever, <HI>Iohn</HI> 14. And why are wee certaine of the favour of God to our comfort for the pre&s;ent, but that wee doubt not of it for the time to come?</P>
<P><PB N="216" REF="121" MS="y">Faith and love, and the&s;e graces, they never faile fi|nally; therefore when the Scripture &s;peakes of Faith, it &s;peakes of &s;alvation by it for the pre&s;ent: as if a man &s;hould bee in heaven pre|&s;ently &s;o &s;oone as hee be|leeves. <HI>Wee are &s;aved by faith,</HI> &s;ay the Scriptures: we are not yet &s;aved; but the meaning is, wee are&punc; &s;et by faith into a &s;tate of &s;al|vation. Being put into Chri&s;t by Faith, we <HI>are ri|&s;en with Chri&s;t, and &s;it in hea|venly places with him.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2.</NOTE> Faith makes the things to come, pre&s;ent: and Faith beleeves, that <HI>neither things pre&s;ent, nor things to come,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.</NOTE> &s;hall bee a|ble to &s;eparate us from the love of God in Chri&s;t.</HI> So that our a&s;&s;urance is not onely
<PB N="217" REF="121">for the pre&s;ent, but for the time to come. We are &s;ealed <HI>to the day of Redemption,</HI> and who can rever&s;e Gods &s;eale, or Gods act &amp; deed? Grace is the earne&s;t penny of glo|ry: God hath made a cove|nant, and given earne&s;t, hee will not lo&s;e it, the earne&s;t is never taken away, but filled up; if we be a&s;&s;ured of grace for the pre&s;ent, wee may bee &s;ure it &s;hall bee made up full in glory hereafter. If the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t bee in us, the &s;ame &s;pirit that rai&s;ed Chri&s;t from the dead, will rai&s;e us up likewi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.11</NOTE> and not leave us untill wee bee in full redemption, <HI>wee &s;hall walke, filled with his i|mage.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al.</NOTE></P>
<P>No oppo&s;ition &s;hall pre|vaile, God hath &s;et us as a
<PB N="218" REF="122" MS="y">&s;eale on his right hand to keep us, I and on his brea&s;t (as the high Prie&s;t had the twelve Tribes) to love us, and on his &s;houlder to &s;up|port us. The marked and &s;ealed ones in <HI>Ezech.</HI> 9. and <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. were &s;ecured from all de&s;truction. If we be in Chri&s;t our Rocke, temptati|ons and oppo&s;itions are but as waves, they may da&s;h upon <HI>us,</HI> but they breake <HI>them&s;elves.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Why then doe we pray for the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;innes?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Why wee pray for forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;innes.</NOTE> <HI>An&s;wer.</HI> Wee pray for a clearer evidence of what wee have: &s;econdly, as the end is ordained, &s;o the meanes mu&s;t be u&s;ed: God doth and will pardon &s;inne, and therefore we mu&s;t pray
<PB N="219" REF="122" MS="y">for pardon, as a meanes or|dained. Thirdly, prayer doth not prejudice the cer|tainty of a thing: Chri&s;t prayeth for that hee was mo&s;t &s;ure of, <HI>Iohn</HI> 17. <HI>I pray for them which thou ha&s;t given me, for they are thine.</HI></P>
<P>Pregnant for the proofe of this point,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.3, 4, 5.</NOTE> is that of <HI>Pe|ter, Wee are begotten againe to a lively hope,</HI> a <HI>hope</HI> of that life which maketh <HI>live|ly.</HI> Oh but wee are weake! true, but <HI>wee are kept by the power of GOD:</HI> an in|heritance is not onely kept for us, but we are kept for it.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But Sathan is &s;trong, and his malice is more than his &s;trength?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> True, but wee are <HI>kept</HI> as by a Gari&s;on, wee
<PB N="220" REF="123" MS="y">have a guard about us.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> All this is true, while faith holdeth out; but that may faile?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> No, we are kept by the power of GOD <HI>through faith;</HI> God keepeth our faith, and us by faith.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But the time is long betweene us and &s;alvation, and many dangers may fall out?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Be it &s;o that the time is long, yet wee are kept <HI>unto &s;alvation,</HI> even untill the <HI>day of Redemption:</HI> for the Spirit by vertue of the Covenant, puts the feare of GOD into our hearts, that wee &s;hall never depart from him: GOD doth not promi&s;e what wee &s;hall doe of our&s;elves, but what he will doe in us, and
<PB N="221" REF="123">by us. Thus the holy Gho&s;t putteth a &s;hield in|to our hands to ward off all objections; and helpes us to &s;ubdue the rea&s;o|nings that are apt to ri&s;e within us again&s;t this ble&s;|&s;ed hope. So that this happy condition is not onely &s;ure to us, but God hath a&s;&s;ured us of it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Why God a&s;&s;ur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="3 letters"> us of our &s;alvation.</NOTE> Gods gracious indulgence is &s;uch, hee &s;ees here wee goe through a wilderne&s;&s;e, and are mole&s;ted every way, therefore he would have us a&s;&s;ured of a ble&s;&s;ed con|dition to come. So good is God, hee doth not onely finde out a glorious way of Redemption by the bloud of his Sonne&punc; God-Man, but hee acquaints us with
<PB N="222" REF="124" MS="y">it in the dayes of our pil|grimage.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 For his glory.</NOTE> Partly, that wee may glorifie him, that hee may have the prai&s;e before hand of what good hee in|tends us: for a&s;&s;urance of that ble&s;&s;ed condition will &s;tirre up our &s;pirits to ble&s;&s;e God. What the thing it &s;elfe would worke, Faith workes the &s;ame in &s;ome mea&s;ure. Therefore Saint <HI>Peter,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be God</HI> (&s;aith hee) <HI>who hath begotten us againe to a lively hope of an inheritance immor|tall, underfiled, that fadeth not away, re&s;erved in the hea|vens.</HI> Why doth hee ble&s;&s;e God before we have it? be|cau&s;e wee are as &s;ure of it as if wee had it: what is revea|led before hand, is prai&s;ed for before hand. GOD
<PB N="223" REF="124">would have us a&s;&s;ured, that he may have glory.</P>
<P>Partly to comfort us:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 For our comfort.</NOTE> for Faith is effectuall to worke that comfort that the thing pre&s;ent would doe in &s;ome mea&s;ure. What comfort would the &s;oule have, if it &s;hould &s;ee heaven open, and it &s;elfe entring into it, if re|de~ption were at hand? The &s;ame Faith workes in &s;ome mea&s;ure. What is more &s;ure then the thing it &s;elf? What more comfortable then Faith in it?</P>
<P>When the I&s;raelites were in the wilderne&s;&s;e going to Canaan, they had many promi&s;es that they &s;hould come to Canaan, and many extraordinary helpes to leade them thither; the pil|lar, and cloud, and Angell:
<PB N="224" REF="125" MS="y">and God out of indulgence conde&s;cending to their weakne&s;&s;e, gave them &s;ome grapes of Canaan: he put it into the minde of the &s;pies to bring of the fruits. So God give us &s;ome work of his ble&s;&s;ed Spirit, whereby hee would have us a&s;&s;ured, and &s;ealed to the day of re|demption.</P>
<P>The third conclu&s;ion is this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third conclu&s;ion</NOTE> that <HI>the &s;pirit doth &s;eale us.</HI> This cannot bee other|wi&s;e, for who can e&s;tabli&s;h us in the love of God, but he that knowes the minde of God towards us; and who knowes the minde of God, but the &s;pirit of God?</P>
<P>Then am I &s;ealed, when I doe not onely beleeve, but by a reflecting act of the &s;oule, know I doe be|leeve:
<PB N="225" REF="125" MS="y">and this reflection though it be by Rea&s;on, yet it is by Rea&s;on inabled by the Spirit; our &s;pirits by the Spirit onely can di&s;cerne of &s;pirituall acts: it is not for us to know things above na|ture, without a cau&s;e above nature. None can know the meaning of our broken de&s;ires, &s;o as to helpe us in our infirmities, but that Spirit that &s;tirred up tho&s;e de&s;ires. Againe, none knowes the grievances of our &s;pirits, but our owne &s;pirits, and the Spirit of God, who knowes all the turnings and corners of the &s;oule.</P>
<P>Who can mortifie tho&s;e &s;trong corruptions, that would hinder us in the way to heaven, but the Spi|rit
<PB N="226" REF="126" MS="y">cloathing our &s;pirit with power from above? who pu|rifieth the con&s;cience, but he that is above co~&s;cience? Who can rai&s;e our &s;pirits a|bove al temptations &amp; trou|bles, but that Spirit of power that is above all?</P>
<P>The &s;trength and vigour of any creature is from the &s;pirits: and the &s;trength of the &s;pirits of all fle&s;h is from this Spirit, who&s;e office is to put &s;pirit into our &s;pirit.</P>
<P>As GOD redeemed us with his bloud, &s;o GOD mu&s;t apply this bloud, that con&s;cience may bee quie|ted. Hee onely can &s;ubdue the rebellion of our &s;pirits, and &s;often our hearts, and make them fit for &s;ealing. The Spirit onely can &s;o re|port the mercy of God to
<PB N="227" REF="126">our &s;ouls, as to per&s;wade and worke our hearts to this a&s;|&s;urance, otherwi&s;e wee would never yeeld. For part|ly the greatne&s;&s;e of the &s;tate is &s;uch, that none but God can a&s;&s;ure: and partly the mi&s;giving and unbeliefe of our heart is &s;uch, that none but God can &s;ubdue it. The thing being &s;o great, and our de&s;ervings &s;o little, be|ing unworthy of the things of this life, much more of that eternall happine&s;&s;e; this cannot be done without the high and glorious Spirit of God.</P>
<P>How earne&s;t and de&s;i|rous then is both the Fa|ther and the Sonne to &s;ave us, that plea&s;ed to &s;end &s;uch an Orator and Emba&s;&s;a|dor as is equall with them|&s;elves
<PB N="228" REF="127" MS="y">to per&s;wade us, to a&s;|&s;ure us, to fit us for &s;alvati|on? and how gracious is the Spirit that will vouch&s;afe to have &s;uch communion with &s;uch poore fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">full &s;pi|rits as ours? And &s;hould not this worke upon our hearts a care not to grieve the holy Spirit? and &s;o wee come to the fourth conclu|&s;ion.</P>
<P>The fourth conclu&s;ion is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The forth conclu&s;ion</NOTE> that <HI>the &s;ealing of the &s;pi|rit unto &s;alvation, &s;hould bee a &s;trong prevailing argument not to grieve the Spirit,</HI> that is, not to &s;inne: for &s;inne onely grieves the Spirit.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit, 2.11.12.</NOTE> <HI>The grace of God</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Titus</HI>) <HI>that bringeth &s;alva|tion,</HI> Chri&s;t appeared: and what is Chri&s;t but grace? Chri&s;t appeared, and the
<PB N="229" REF="127">free favour of GOD in Chri&s;t, whereby wee are a&s;&s;ured of &s;alvation: <HI>which teacheth us,</HI> what to doe? <HI>to deny all ungodline&s;&s;e and worldly lu&s;ts, and to live &s;o|berly, righteou&s;ly&punc; and godly in this pre&s;ent world.</HI> Even the con&s;ideration of the benefits of Chri&s;t, that are pa&s;t, &s;uch as came with Chri&s;ts fir&s;t comming, but that is not all, Ver&s;e 13. <HI>Looking for that ble&s;&s;ed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savi|our Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> The &s;econd comming of Chri&s;t enfor|ceth likewi&s;e the &s;ame care of holin fle.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.20</NOTE> <HI>Our conver&s;ati|on is in heaven,</HI> and not as theirs (&s;poken of in the for|mer Ver&s;e) who&s;e end is damnation, who&s;e belly is
<PB N="230" REF="128">their GOD, who minde earthly things: no, we minde heavenly things, and the&s;e heavenly de&s;ires from whence &s;prung they, but from the certaine <HI>expectati|on of our Saviour the Lord Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t, who &s;hall change our vile bodies, &amp;c.</HI> that is, &s;hall redeeme us fully even our bodies as well as our &s;oules.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">It is an argument to them that are 1 Not &s;ea|led.</NOTE>It is an argument of force, whether we be not yet &s;ea|led, or be &s;ealed: if not &s;ea|led, then gieve not him who&s;e onely office it is to &s;eale, entertaine his moti|ons, give way to him, that hee may have &s;cope andli|berty of working.</P>
<P>Set no rea&s;ons again&s;t his rea&s;ons, hearken to no coun&s;ell again&s;t his coun|&s;ell,
<PB N="231" REF="128">&s;tand not out his per|&s;wa&s;ions any longer, but yeeld up your &s;pirits to him, le&s;t hee put a perio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> to his patience: hee is <HI>long</HI> &s;uffering, but not <HI>alwayes</HI> &s;uffering: if hee give us up to our own &s;pirits, wee &s;hall onely be witty to worke out our owne damnation: wee are not given up to our owne &s;pirits, but after ma|ny repul&s;es of this holy Spirit: and at length, what now will not &s;erve for an argument to per&s;wade us, &s;hall bee u&s;ed hereafter as an argument to torment us. The Spirit will helpe our &s;pirits to repeate and recall all the motions to our owne good, that wee formerly put backe. Wee &s;hould thinke when con|&s;cience
<PB N="232" REF="129">&s;peakes in us, God &s;peakes, and when the Spi|rit moves us, it is God that moves us, and that all ex|cu&s;e will be cut off: an&s;were will bee, did not I tell you of this by con&s;cience, my deputy? did not I move you to this good by mine owne Spirit? Take heed of keeping out any light, for light, where it doth not come in and &s;often, har|dens: none &s;o hard hearted, as tho&s;e upon whom the light hath &s;hined: there is more to bee hoped from a man, that hath onely a na|turall con&s;cience, then from him, who&s;e heart and &s;pirit hath beene long bea|ten on: there is more to bee hoped from a heathen <HI>Pi|late,</HI> than a proud Phari&s;ee.
<PB N="233" REF="129">Tho&s;e that will not bee &s;ea|led to their &s;alvation, it is ju&s;t with GOD that they &s;hould be &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">led up to their de&s;truction; the &s;oule with|out the &s;pirit is darkene&s;&s;e and confu&s;ion, full of &s;elfe accu&s;ing and &s;elfe tormen|ting thoug<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ts: it we let the Spirit come in&punc; it will &s;cat|ter all, and &s;ettle the &s;oule in a&s;weet quiet.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tho&s;e that are &s;ealed ei|ther in a 1 Le&s;&s;er degree.</NOTE>For tho&s;e that have beene &s;ealed by the Spirit, and yet not &s;o fully, as to &s;i|lence all doubts, about their e&s;tate: tho&s;e &s;hould out of that beginning of comfort which they feele, &s;tudy to bee pliable to the Spirit, for further increa&s;e. The Spirit &s;ealeth by de|grees: as our care of plea|&s;ing the Spirit increa&s;eth,
<PB N="234" REF="130" MS="y">&s;o our comfort increa&s;eth; our light will increa&s;e as the morning light unto the perfect day. Yeelding to the Spirit in one holy mo|tion, will cau&s;e him to leade us to another, and &s;o on forwards untill wee bee more deepely acquainted with the whole coun&s;ell of God concerning our &s;alva|tion: otherwi&s;e if wee give way to any contrary lu&s;t&punc; darkene&s;&s;e will grow upon our Spirits unawares, and we &s;hall be left in an un&s;et|led condition, as tho&s;e that travaile in the twi|light, that cannot perfectly finde out their way. Wee &s;hall be on and off, not da|ring to yeeld wholly to our lu&s;ts, becau&s;e of a worke of grace begun: nor yeeld
<PB N="235" REF="130">wholly to the Spirit, be|cau&s;e we have let &s;ome un|ruly affection get too much &s;trength in us, and &s;o our &s;pirits are without comfort, and our profe&s;&s;ion without glory.</P>
<P>We &s;hall lye open to Sa|than, if hee be let loo&s;e to winnow our Faith: for if our &s;tate come to bee que|&s;tioned, wee have nothing to alledge but the truth of our graces: and if wee have not u&s;ed the Spirit well, we &s;hall not have power to al|ledge them, nor to looke upon any grace wrought in us, but upon tho&s;e lu&s;ts and &s;innes whereby wee have grieved the Spirit; they will bee &s;et in order before us, and &s;o &s;tare us in the face, that wee cannot
<PB N="236" REF="131">but fixe our thoughts upon them. And Sathan will not lo&s;e &s;uch an advantage, but will tempt us to call the worke of grace in que&s;ti|on: which though it bee a true worke, yet for want of light of the Spirit to di&s;|cerne it, wee cannot &s;ee it to our comfort. Whereas if the Spirit would witne&s;&s;e unto us the truth of our &s;tate, and the &s;incerity of our graces, wee &s;hall bee a|ble to hold our owne, and tho&s;e temptations will va|ni&s;h.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tho&s;e that are &s;ealed in a higher degree.</NOTE>For tho&s;e that the holy Spirit hath &s;et a clearer and &s;tronger &s;tampe upon, that doe not que&s;tion their condition, they of all others &s;hould not grieve the Spi|rit.</P>
<P><PB N="237" REF="131"><MILESTONE N="1"> A Spirit of ingenuity will <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">inder them, and &s;tirre up <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;hame in them to requite &s;o ill, &s;uch a friend. No|thing &s;o ingenuous as grace: what is commenda|ble in nature, is in greater perfection in grace. How doth the con&s;cience of un|kindene&s;&s;e to a friend that hath de&s;erved well of us, trouble our &s;pirits, that wee know not with what face to looke upon him? And will not unkindene&s;&s;e to the Spirit make us a&s;hamed to lift up our face to hea|ven?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Benefits are bonds, and the greater favour, the &s;tronger obligation; now what greater favour is there, then for the Spirit to renew us according to
<PB N="238" REF="132">the Image of God our glo|rious Saviour: who carried the Image of Sathan be|fore? And by this to ap|propriate us unto GOD, to be laid up in his trea&s;ure, as carrying his &s;tampe, and by this to bee &s;eparated from the vile condition of the world; although wee carry in us the &s;eeds of the &s;ame corruption that the wor&s;t doth, differing no|thing from them but in GODS free grace and the fruits of it. For God to e|&s;teeme &s;o of us, that have no worthine&s;&s;e of our owne, but altogether per|&s;ons not worthy to bee be|loved: as to make our un|worthine&s;&s;e a foile, to &s;et out the freene&s;&s;e of his love; in making us worthy,
<PB N="239" REF="132">whom he found not &s;o. For the Spirit by &s;ealing of us to &s;ecure us in the mid&s;t of all &s;pirituall dangers: and to hide us as this &s;ecret ones, that <HI>that evill one</HI> &s;hould not touch us to hurt us. The&s;e, as they are fa|vours of an high nature, the more care they require to walke worthy of them. We cannot but forget our &s;elves, before wee yeeld to any thing again&s;t that dignity the Spirit hath &s;ealed us to.</P>
<P>Nature helped with or|dinary education, moveth every man to carry him|&s;elfe an&s;werable to his condition: a Magi&s;trate as a Magi&s;trate, a Subject as a Subject, a Childe as a Childe; and wee thinke it
<PB N="240" REF="133">di&s;gracefull to doe other|wi&s;e: and &s;hall that which is di&s;gracefull to nature, not be much more di&s;grace|full to nature renewed, and advanced by the Spirit? And indeed as wee &s;hould not, &s;o wee cannot grieve the Spirit &s;o farre forth as wee are renewed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Ioh. 3.</NOTE> Our new nature will not &s;uffer us to di&s;&s;emble, to be worldly, to bee carnall, as the world is, wee cannot but &s;tudy holine&s;&s;e, wee cannot but be for GOD and his truth, wee cannot but expre&s;&s;e what we are, and who&s;e wee are.</P>
<P>It is impo&s;&s;ible a man &s;hould care for heaven, that doth not care for the be|ginnings of heaven: hee cannot bee &s;aid to care for
<PB N="241" REF="133">full redemption and glory, that doth not care for the &s;pirit of grace: fulne&s;&s;e of grace is the be&s;t thing in glory; other things, as peace and joy, and the like, they are but the &s;hinings forth of this fulne&s;&s;e of grace in glo|ry.</P>
<P>Againe, when the Spirit a&s;&s;ureth us of Gods love in the greate&s;t fruits of it, as it doth when it a&s;&s;ureth this redemption: That love kin|dles love againe, and love con&s;traines us, by a &s;weet nece&s;&s;ity to yeeld cheerefull and willing obedience in all things: there is nothing more active and fuller of inventi|on, than love, and there is nothing that love &s;tudies more than how to plea&s;e, there is nothing that it fears
<PB N="242" REF="134">more than to di&s;content. It is a neate affection, and will indure nothing offen&s;ive, ei|ther to it &s;elfe, or the &s;pirit of &s;uch as we love: and this love the Spirit teaches the heart, &amp; love teaches us not onely our duty, but to doe it in a loving and acceptable manner. It carries out the whole &s;treame of the &s;oule with it, and rules all, while&s;t it rules, &amp; will not &s;uffer the &s;oule to divert to by-things, much le&s;&s;e to contrary.</P>
<P>Againe, the&s;e graces that are conver&s;ant about that condition which the Spirit a&s;&s;ureth us of, as faith and hope, are purging and puri|fying graces, working a &s;uteablene&s;&s;e in the &s;oule, to the things beleeved, and ho|ped for: and the excellency
<PB N="243" REF="134" MS="y">of the things beleeved &amp; ho|ped for, have &s;uch a work|ing upon the &s;oule, that it wil not &s;uffer the &s;oul to de|file it &s;elfe. Our hopes on high, will leade us to wayes on high, therefore while&s;t the&s;e graces are exerci&s;ed a|bout the&s;e objects, the &s;oule cannot but bee in a plea&s;ing frame.</P>
<P>It hath been an old cavill, that certainty of &s;alvation breeds &s;ecurity &amp; loo&s;ene&s;&s;e of life. And what is there that an ill di&s;po&s;ed &s;oul can|not &s;ucke poy&s;on out of? A man may as truely &s;ay, the Sea burns, or the Fire cools: there is nothing quickens a &s;oule more to cheerefull o|bedience, than a&s;&s;urance of Gods love, &amp; that our <HI>labour</HI> &s;hould <HI>not bee in vaine in the
<PB N="244" REF="135" MS="y">Lord;</HI> this is the Scriptures Logick and Rhetorick to in|force and per&s;wade a holy life from knowledge of our pre&s;ent e&s;tate in grace. <HI>I be|&s;eech you by the mercies of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12.</NOTE> &s;aith Saint <HI>Paul:</HI> what mer|cies? &s;uch as he had &s;poken of before. Iu&s;tification, San|ctification, A&s;&s;urance that all &s;hall worke together for good, that nothing &s;hall bee able to &s;eparate us from the love of God in Chri&s;t: all duties tend to a&s;&s;urance, or &s;pring from a&s;&s;urance.</P>
<P>Gods intendment is to bring us to heaven by a way of love, and cheerefulne&s;&s;e; as all his wayes towards us in our &s;alvation, are in love. And this is the &s;cope of the covenant of grace; and for this end hee &s;ends the Spirit
<PB N="245" REF="135" MS="y">of adoption into our hearts, that we may have a childe-like liberty with God in all our addre&s;&s;es to him. When he offers him&s;elfe to us as a father, it is fit we &s;hould of|fer our &s;elves to him as chil|dren; nature teaches a child, the more hee de&s;ires his fa|thers love, the more he fears to di&s;plea&s;e him. And hee is judged to be gracele&s;&s;e, that will therefore venture to of|fend his father, becau&s;e hee knowes hee neither can, or will di&s;inherit him. Certaine it is, the more &s;urely wee know God hath begotten us to &s;o glorious aninheritance, the more it will worke upon our bowels, to take all to heart that may any way touch him: this wrought up|on <HI>David,</HI> when the Prophet
<PB N="246" REF="136">told him, God hath done this and this for thee, and <HI>would have done more, if that had beene too little,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 12.</NOTE> it melted him pre&s;ently into an hum|ble confe&s;&s;ion. Tho&s;e that have felt the power of the Spirit of adoption on their hearts, will both by a divine in&s;tinct, as al&s;o by &s;trength of rea&s;on, bee carried to all tho&s;e cour&s;es wherein they &s;hall approve them&s;elves to their father. In&s;tinct of na|ture &s;trengthened with grounds, wil move &s;trongly.</P>
<P>To conclude this di&s;cour&s;e, let Chri&s;tians therefore bee carefull to pre&s;erve and che|ri&s;h the worke of a&s;&s;urance and &s;ealing in them.</P>
<P N="2">2 What God doth for us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Meanes.</NOTE> he doth by grace in us, he wil pre&s;erve us that we &s;hall not
<PB N="247" REF="136">fall from him by putting the grace of feare into us, <HI>Ier.</HI> He will keep us, but by what means?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.</NOTE> <HI>The peace of God which pa&s;&s;eth all under&s;tan|ding, &s;hall guard our hearts.</HI> God maketh our Calling and Election &s;ure in us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1.</NOTE> by &s;tirring our hearts up to be diligently exerci&s;ed in ad|ding one grace unto ano|ther, and in growing in eve|ry grace, as 2 <HI>Pet</HI> 1. There|fore wee mu&s;t attend upon al &s;piritual means of growth and quickening: &s;o &s;hall you have a further <HI>entrance into the kingdome of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> that is, you &s;hall have more evident knowledge of your ent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">a~ce into the kingdom of grace here, and likewi&s;e into the kingdome of glory here|after. Tho&s;e that do not &s;o,
<PB N="248" REF="137" MS="y">&s;hall have no comfort either from the time pa&s;t, for they &s;hall <HI>forget they were purged from their &s;innes,</HI> or from thoughts of the time to come, for they &s;hall not bee able to &s;ee things <HI>farre off.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 If a&s;&s;urance be in a le&s;|&s;er degree,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Meanes.</NOTE> yet yeeld not to temptations and carnall rea|&s;onings: if our evidences be not &s;o faire, yet we will not part with our inheritance. Coynes, as old groates, that have little of the &s;tamp left, yet are currant. We lo&s;e our co~fort many times, becau&s;e wee yeeld &s;o ea&s;ily, becau&s;e wee have not &s;uch a &s;trong and cleare &s;eale of &s;alvation as wee would, to bee borne downe that we have none at all, is a great weakene&s;&s;e: ex|erci&s;e therefore the little
<PB N="249" REF="137" MS="y">faith thou ha&s;t in &s;triving a|gain&s;t &s;uch objections, and it will bee a meanes to pre|&s;erve the &s;eale of the Spirit.</P>
<P N="3">3 Becau&s;e this &s;ealing is gradually,<NOTE PLACE="marg">3 Meanes.</NOTE> wee &s;hould pray as <HI>Paul, Ephe&s;.</HI> 1. <HI>for a &s;pirit of revelation,</HI> that wee may be more &s;ealed: (the Ephefi|ans were &s;ealed, for whom <HI>Paul</HI> prayes, and &s;o the Co|lo&s;&s;ians; yet) that GOD would reveale to their &s;pi|rits, more their excellent co~|dition.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2.2.</NOTE> There are <HI>riches of a&s;&s;urance,</HI> the Apo&s;tle would have the~ labour not only for a&s;&s;urance, but for the riches of it, that will bring rich comfort, and joy and peace. Times of temptations and tryall may come, and &s;uch as, if we have not &s;trong a&s;|&s;urance, wee may be &s;orely
<PB N="250" REF="138" MS="y">troubled, and call all into que&s;tion. This may be the &s;ad condition of Gods owne children, and from this, that in times of peace, they con|tented them&s;elves with a le&s;&s;er degree of this a&s;&s;u|rance and &s;ealing.</P>
<P N="4">4 La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">4 Meanes.</NOTE> be watchfull o|ver your owne hearts and wayes, that according to what you have now learned, you grieve not the &s;pirit, <HI>for by it you are &s;ealed,</HI> intima|ting, that if in any thing wee with&s;tand and grieve the &s;pirit, wee &s;hall in &s;o doing, prejudice our &s;elves, and &s;uffer in the comfort and e|vidence of our &s;ealing.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="138">
<PB REF="139">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
