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<DATE>2014-01-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<HEAD><HI>CR&V;MBS of COMFORT:</HI> OR, GRACE IN ITS Various Degrees, and yet Onene&s;s in Kind, <HI>Mat.</HI> 14.27.</HEAD>
<BYLINE>By Mr. <HI>WILLIAM GUTHRIE.</HI></BYLINE>
<P>THE Doctrine is thus: <HI>Although there is gradual difference in many things in Gods hou&s;e, yet there is no e&s;&s;ential difference among the&s;e things:</HI> This no man does acknowledge. There was a Fea&s;t at the Table, that people may partake of; and there is Crumbs that are not e&s;&s;entially different from the&s;e great Loaves; there is &s;ome that &s;its at his Elbow at the Table; and there are others that are but Dogs in their e&s;teem, and yet have a true intere&s;t, but creep in among the bearns, and eat the Crumbs that fall from the Table;
<PB N="2" REF="2">yet that is e&s;&s;ential bread, as well as the great loaves. 1. What be tho&s;e things of God wherein there is &s;uch gradual difference? and wherein doth it appear? 2. We &s;hall &s;hew, though there be a gradual difference, yet there is no e&s;&s;ential difference. 3. Why the Lord hath re&s;olv'd to keep &s;uch a difference, had it not been much matter, if his Servants had been all one of the &s;ame &s;ize.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t thing wherein this appears, there is a differ|ence among the peoples tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions; &s;o there is a gradual difference among them in the Law-work, which prepares Chri&s;ts work throughout the Soul: There is &s;ome that hath &s;uch Convictions, as they can &s;carcely &s;ay, that they have the impre&s;&s;ion of them upon their heart; and there are &s;ome others, who are kept many days under the &s;pirit of bondage, and &s;o weighty up|on them, as they were going to hang them&s;elves, or &s;tab them&s;elves, yea &s;ome put &s;tone-blind with the terror of con&s;cience; it hath been the mercy of &s;ome, that they have not been put upon that extremity. Then there is a difference in the Lords out-giving of &s;aving-grace, yet keeping that rule as they take up, God to be God, and Sin to be &s;in; yet O, how far are they from that &s;agacity of Grace and Wi&s;dom that others par|take of! the Lord hath given to &s;ome to look to Chri&s;t, and they dare do no more; but he giveth to others, to receive him in open arms, and he makes out all his re|ceipts with a different proportion, yet no ground of quarrelling: and &s;o it is in all the re&s;t of the Graces; &s;ome dare not venture upon &s;uffering, as others; and &s;ome gets &s;trength in the temptation to &s;tand.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="3" REF="2"> 3. There is a gradual difference in the manfe&s;tation of his &s;pecial communication of his favour and face, the blinks of Gods face: There was &s;ome got but &s;uch a ta&s;te, as &s;carce did they think any thing at all; others have got Wine and Apples, and &s;o there is &s;ome call'd <HI>babes,</HI> others <HI>young men</HI> for &s;trength, others Fathers for experience: Then there is a gradual difference in pro|mi&s;es, made to all the&s;e forementioned &s;izes, which agrees to the per&s;on, as an in&s;tance to them that hungers, and &s;o are differently moulded according to the Pa|rity.</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing is to let you &s;ee, that there is no e&s;&s;ential difference among&s;t them, con&s;idering the true nature of things them&s;elves, that we have &s;poken of, to partake in the meane&s;t &s;ize; there is no e&s;&s;ential dif|ference from tho&s;e who partake in the lea&s;t, or greate&s;t &s;ize. Fir&s;t in the Law-work, which makes way through|out the &s;ouls of people for Chri&s;t; &s;ome has gotten but little of that work, yet &s;uch has walk'd afterward; that they dur&s;t not &s;ay, but that they had the grace of God, as well as they that have had much of it; for in both cau&s;es there has been a belief of the cur&s;e, and propriation of the cur&s;e of the Law to them&s;elves for &s;in; then the party from the apprehen&s;ion of its mi&s;ery being pa&s;t hope of all relief from its &s;elf, and &s;uch a &s;elf-di&s;covery, as emptying it &s;elf as full room has been for Chri&s;t; and &s;o its call'd <HI>the like precious faith,</HI> but <HI>the like &s;trong;</HI> &s;o both kind of per&s;ons, there is an im|propriation of the fulne&s;s of Chri&s;t to the heart joyn|ing with it, for therein &s;tands the true e&s;&s;ence of faith, when the Creator applies Chri&s;t in the promi&s;es to its cau&s;e, although it knows not if it come &s;peed: If it be
<PB N="4" REF="3">&s;o, why do we carp, that we have not &s;o much faith as others? We have the E&s;&s;entials of Grace in like man|ner; there is no e&s;&s;ential difference in the Grace of Love; for fir&s;t, is there not that operating Love to put him above all the creatures with an invincible re&s;pect to him, that all the waters cannot quench; he keeps &s;till, in both cau&s;es, a regard of his commands upon the heart, upon which the Spirit of God has terminate the love of God, though ye have not that overcoming obe|dience to the Commands of God.</P>
<P>Then next in the Grace of Patience, there is a gra|dual difference, though no e&s;&s;ential: And I know this troubles much the People of God, that they can be &s;o far different from others in &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, yet dar'&s;t not &s;ay that they have no grace; yet I will let you &s;ee, that it is not the meane&s;t degree of patience, that they have given way to Chri&s;t throughout their &s;oul, and that they have re&s;pect to his Commands, for that mu&s;t take up the party, for their patience will not do, if that be not; if ye grant that, then ye mu&s;t grant this al&s;o, that all the Graces of God are in them in habit: &s;o here is a &s;elf-judging, and cordial ju&s;tifying of God, and deliberately &s;ubmits to him in their cold blood; and when their heart will not &s;ubmit, they appeal to God for it. Then hereby ye may apprehend, that there is no e&s;|&s;ential difference among the Works of Grace, becau&s;e the promi&s;es are equally ca&s;t out to all degrees; &s;o pro|mi&s;e is made, as well to him that looks, as to him that eats: this will hold it out, that there is as good account of the meane&s;t degree of gracious receipts, and of the meane&s;t &s;ize in difficult ca&s;es, and in the day of &s;uffer|ing and te&s;tifying for Chri&s;ts intere&s;t, as of a people that
<PB N="5" REF="3">are of a greater u&s;e; and many times the weake&s;t, that we &s;carcely expected any good account of at their death, hath a better confe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t than the greate&s;t pro|fe&s;&s;or; and the rea&s;on is, Chri&s;t has gotten his peny|worths of the man that was &s;o noted for a profe&s;&s;or; but a poor body, that was never known, goes away to death, glorifying God to the refre&s;hing of all &s;tanders by; then all the&s;e different degrees of Grace are the work of one and the &s;ame gracious Spirit, and works one and the &s;ame graces, and work al&s;o gracious ends, that &s;ays there is no difference e&s;&s;entially, though there be different admini&s;trations and manife&s;tations, and is uniting to him, and &s;o conforming, that all the&s;e graci|ous admini&s;trations carry on &s;uch an end.</P>
<P>The next thing is, Why doth God keep a gradual difference? may not he keep a great &s;tock of faith, pa|tience and love to keep his people comfortable, than to hold them after this manner? We indeed think &s;o, but he, becau&s;e the Lord has re&s;olv'd to give out divers Ad|mini&s;trations, of which him&s;elf is head; and he will have different members of his body, with which he will be &s;erved with divers Admini&s;trations of the Spirit; he will have eyes, tongue, hands, yea love more than I do, yet I believe more than ye know.</P>
<P N="2">2ly, This gradual difference the Lord keep, that the ran&s;ome may be &s;till in reque&s;t; for if we had gotten in our hand, we &s;hould have lo&s;t re&s;pect to the ran&s;ome, the thought of our infirmities, and that we mu&s;t come to Chri&s;t, makes him precious to us.</P>
<P N="3">3ly, He is plea&s;ed to keep this diver&s;ity of admini|&s;tration, becau&s;e earth cannot bear grace in its perfecti|on; therefore the Lord hath hewen it out in a &s;mall
<PB N="6" REF="4">mea&s;ure, for the Lord is re&s;olved to tran&s;plant all the trees of grace to <HI>Emanuel</HI>'s Land, where there is b<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 chunk">|thing of the Holy Gho&s;t; we would work no more if Grace were at its perfection.</P>
<P N="5">5ly, The Lord is plea&s;ed to do, becau&s;e he intends that there &s;hall be a clear difference between heaven and earth; O how &s;weet will Heaven, and Chri&s;t, and the fulne&s;s of joy at his right hand be to the &s;oul that is ne|ver &s;atiate! how &s;weet will heaven be to him that never could get corruption mortified, but was trailed many a day up and down with it.</P>
<P>Infer. 1. Go not away then with an evil report of him, though ye find not the&s;e things in your &s;elf, that others of his people has found; and I obte&s;t you to count Crumbs e&s;&s;ential bread, though ye get no more at pre|&s;ent, make &s;ure of the true nature and being of Grace; make &s;ure, that ye have a re&s;pect to his Commands, tho ye cannot get further to any mark of grace. 2. Do not judge with a &s;pirit of jealou&s;ie, becau&s;e ye are not all of the &s;ame &s;ize; there is &s;ome below you in under&s;tand|ing the matters of God; that when it comes to the point, will be as particular in confe&s;&s;ion of the truth as any. 5. Be not cen&s;orious, though any with many degrees &s;hall fall into corruption. But then again, if he that has but grace in the third degree, come honourably through|out, not polluted with the temptation, how aggravating is thy &s;in? who has received grace in the &s;ixth degree? But be it known to you, that it is not degrees of grace that holds up grace to fight with corruption and tempta|tion, with de&s;ertion, but the Soveraignty that makes it &s;tand; for if it were the degrees of grace that keep a man up, how comes it that he who has the lively exerci&s;e of
<PB N="7" REF="4">grace, he is almo&s;t overcome of a temptation, and foiled in an evil frame, and grace at under with him, that he is run down with corruption: Truly none can give a rea&s;on for it, but he who has &s;et bound to the Sea, and &s;aid, <HI>Hi|therto &s;halt thou come, and no further;</HI> hath &s;et bounds to a mans corruptions, that &s;uch a length it &s;hall come, and no further; therefore li&s;ten much to God and his Soveraignty, and very little to your own receipts of grace, yea in the highe&s;t degree that men do create, and that with influences of the &s;pirit. 7. That the gradual degrees of grace and parts is not founded upon di&s;pro|portion of natural proprieties. 8. Grace runs in that channel, that mo&s;t in forthcoming, where lea&s;t expected: and this becau&s;e they are come of an evil kind, and evil edification, and &s;o few means of grace, and &s;o little pro|fe&s;&s;ions; and yet all of the&s;e good &s;ymptoms of a choice Chri&s;tian. 9. For ground of encouragement, the Ma|&s;ters honour and glory, and our well-being is winded up, that is, our &s;tanding &s;tedfa&s;t in an evil time, and is the accompli&s;hment of all the greate&s;t promi&s;es in the word, &s;ince we have many &s;weet clouds and &s;howers of prayers in behalf of tho&s;e who own the truths of God; and if we were not more beholden to other mens prayers than our own, we &s;hould be in a poor ca&s;e; but there will be forth|coming in many, beyond expectation, in re&s;pect of &s;olid acknowledgment, and bearing witne&s;s to the truths of God in a declining time, when people, when great parts will fail: but there will be rich forthcoming in point of faith; it's ea&s;ie believing, when no oppo&s;ition; to call the Court, when none calls again; but tho&s;e who dur&s;t never much &s;ay great things, they would do, will exceedingly tran&s;cend great lights in te&s;timony-bearing. 10. There
<PB N="8" REF="5">will be forthcoming, in point of Charity to &s;uffering worthy Mini&s;ters, and others of his people in &s;trait for him: and I a&s;&s;ure you, that this is not the lea&s;t piece of Religion. But 4. as the rea&s;on why God takes this way, becau&s;e it's mo&s;t u&s;ual, that way which we pitch on, and that per&s;on we e&s;teem and mean elect; the Lord tru&s;ts it, and it's a hundred to one and ever he proceed that road way. Now you that are great profe&s;&s;ors in the Countrey, pray you de&s;ire not tryals; people &s;ays, that they will do this, and that, and the other thing, when call'd to it: away with your Romances. 5. We have much hope of &s;ome peoples prai&s;e, faithfulne&s;s and ho|ne&s;ty, who have little or none of them&s;elves. Be not then upon no terms ca&s;ten to a di&s;pondency, when the matter comes to a choak, becau&s;e ye have nothing pro|mi&s;ing in you an&s;werable thereto, for he gives out the expences immediately, when we are call'd to disbur&s;e, and lea&s;t expecting it.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, The eminent &s;hining-profe&s;&s;ors, let fear of &s;hame, di&s;grace, di&s;honour to your &s;elf and Ma&s;ter pro|mote you to be forthcoming for the Ma&s;ters prai&s;e, in word, thought and deed, and to be practical in patience, temperance, holine&s;s, and &s;ummarily make it all your work, how ye may be to his glory, who has taken &s;o much pains upon you.</P>
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<P>Printed for <HI>Alexander Kennedy.</HI> 1681.</P>
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