Heart-Salve for a Wounded Soul

THE EPISTLE To the READER.

FAith and assurance, the Christians Ourania, is better worthy Wooing and fighting for, then the Grecians Helena; the one is but the subject of a worm-eaten beauty, the other carries with it a decor and beauty that no old age (no not Eternity itself) can wrinkle or furrow with uncomeliness: holy Souls find it hard in the getting, and meet with 〈◊〉 task, that makes them implo • all their shoulders and sinews fo • the keeping of it. The Labors of the Saints to fight with the Monsters that Satan sets on work against them, the scruples, doubts, fears, distempers, temptations, hellish methods, noemata and depths of the Serpent, do put a name of softness and facility upon all Hercules his labors, & sore trials with Beasts and Men; yet this is their comfort, their help is more, for Christ having begun his Grace, will stand by them, and work for them till all his Heavenly business be perfected; and though the Serpent may rend the Skin, and wound the flesh of the Heel, yet God's Servants shall end in capite, in the Head, both bruising the Head of the Serpent, and being sure to have the benefit as members of Jesus Christ their Head, of whom they hold. The first of these Texts was addressed and dressed for the wounded Heel of a gracious Saint, that was struck sick by the Serpent, of which sore (drinking up the moisture of her Spirits) she was dangerously, deeply, and distressfully sick, lying in the valley of the shadow of death 3 Quarters of a Year, day and night combating with God, about Eclipses of his Face, desertions, manifestations of wrath, apprehensions of hell, which squeezed out frequent confessions and complaints of an estate worse then Cain's, an owning of the Sin against the Holy Ghost, a challenging reprobation as its due portion. And besides the, sense of an angerful 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 God, there was continual combating with the spiteful Spiri • of Hell, every day ready t • write its own Epitaph with the blackest letters of damnation, and a lost Soul: All these accompanied with solitude, and secrecy, with two & three days together fasting, praying, and weeping, till the eyes were turned into buckets, and few spiritual comforters and legati pacis to be met withal, save one spirit of Grace, that had bound up the Soul in this Resolution, Though God will not be my God, yet I will die praying and seeking after him: and a poor messenger of God, who having but a little Oil in his cruse, by daily dropping of it into the wound, it both increased and healed with the dropping. It pleased God at length, to make the winter and sad wea • her of this storm-beaten ••• l to be over & end, so as the flowers appeared, singing of birds was come and the voice of the Turtle was heard, & a cheerful Soul, began sweetly to sing in its Cage of Clay. The sorrows were deep, the comforts rose very high; and as once wormwood waters were drunk in the Cellar of bitterness, and the banner over the Soul seemed in • reat letters to have it The Lord hath forsaken me: Now • t is led into the Wine Cellar of of God's promises, the sweetest comforts are broached and drunk, and the Lord's banner of love is spread over. Here Heaven out of Heaven, and some of the masters joy descended down, before the Soul ascended up to it. After the Vesse • had been seasoned some months with this unknown and admirable new Wine of living comforts, the Lord by a Chariot of sickness, and that a violent one, hurries the Soul to Heaven, first giving it clusters of Canaan's Grapes, and then making it walk through Jordan to come into the promised Land, and eat of all the fruits of blessedness to the full. The second Tractate was after the cure of the Heel, at the celebration of the triumph in the Head Jesus Christ. We say no more of the discourses and treatises, but that they may still be profitable even after the hours of their first hirth; they are of age, whether they can speak much for themselves or no, I know not; you may see no great desire there was in the Author to send them abroad, though they have been desired. They were conceived and born in the year 1632. when the Womb they came from could plead nothing but unripeness and youth, and therefore hopes his pardon may be the sooner sued out; it is now fifteeen years since almost, Horoces no • um prematur in annum; It hath the same matter and form it had, unaltered; only that • f Isaiah has the Conclusions all • andled, and so suff • rs a little • ddition of what was not spo • en, to fill up the Text. I have •• me reasons why I make this walk in public, for, first, I owe so much to her memory myself. 2. There is some need of • eviving her graces for others that knew her, among whom • uch examples are rare living, • nd are rarely thought of when the parties are dead; for we are very prone to bury good examples, but evil examples have a daily Resurrection, 3. No great reason app • ars, but that now when so many Wild Goose Quills are writing, and so many Soul poisoning, and Faith blasting Themes are daily printed and published, to the detriment of many Souls, set out with the plausible and gay flourishes of new Truth, and new Revelations, but it will stand the servants of God in hand to put out something practical, and sound, to fill the hands of their • riends with that which is wholesome, though it be not so glory • as to the eye and fancy, We run like the Dromedary in the wilderness after Doctrines of new Theories, and we forget the old rules of holy practical Theology; O that in Science we were more sober, and in Conscience more sound! It was a true censure of our, and former times, that the Primitive and foregoing servants of God had less Science, and more Conscience: and our men and age have more Science, but less Conscience. that is, less integrity and simplicity of Consciscience; the former times were full of Fire, and ours full of Glow-worms. That good Soul about whom these ensuing lines were, might for a wakened and right Conscience) challenge some praise, to set her forth as exemplary, specially to her rank, that they might not strive to be called fine Ladies, Ladies always in the fashion, but what is better, Ladies in the faith, and as St. John's Elect Ladies; But living she desired it not, and dead she needs not any such thing. Flatterly commonly, and Wit sometimes has gone very far in the praise of things, where all was an occult quality, so hidden as could not be found. Augustine saith of Julian the Pelagian, that he was [idoneus dicere panegyricum Satanae] He was fit to make an Oration in praise of the Devil: And one Bruno an Italian did expressly do it: But away with such fancies, it will be better for us to inquire after the great Rabbies and Mastors under which she tutor'd did, and we also may profit, and attain to exact holiness; and they were three great Tutors, that ( Luther writes) make a complete Divine, Meditation, Prayer, Temptation. Reader, peruse, ponder, practice, thou mayst find what (rightly considered) may teach thee to be a Christian Sentinel, to watch thy Soul, and keep thy spiritual peace carefully, lest thou come to the mournning and great cries of Ramath, with Rachel, to weep if not for the Children of thy womb, yet for thy peace and assurance, the Children of the Lord's womb, and be much troubled because they are not. A right use of the departure of good Souls may be learnt so much the rather because it is so neglected, as if there were no more thoughts of heart to be had about the withering of Roses, then the cutting up of Nettles; the departure of a Stephen, and the death of a Cain. Thou mayst if thou wilt receive some benefit, if not, this is one witness more against thee then thou knewest of before: good things if they profit not, they hurt. I will not abuse my small leisure to a larger prodrom, or extended, Epistle, lest, as the lips of a fool swallow up himself, so my lines might be censured. If this and such like Treatises may keep any from conversing in the frothy todder of Pamphlets idle and vain; or if any Soul may hereby learn better to mind duty, and either keep or recover sense of sweet mercy, he shall rejoice Who is

HEART-SALVE FOR A WOUNDED SOUL.

IN this Psalm we have the Picture of David without his Harp, having laid aside all his pleasant Tools, he is now in his poenitential plight: sadness sorts not with Music: If we ask the reason of the metamorphosis of this holy man, from his heights of joy to such depths of sorrow, he may answer with him who was a Patriarch of the same Tribe of affliction, My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burnt with heat, my Harp also turned into mourning, and my Organ into the voice of them that weep. Or with the words of this Verse, My Music fails, for my spirit fails: Let the living rejoice, but I am as one dead and ready to be laid in the pit. The Septuagint entitle the Psalm, A Psalm of David when he was persecuted by his son Absalom; the Original has no such matter. The ground of the former is fetched from the 3, and 9, and last Verses of the Psalm: True it is, this wicked Son often made his Father sing with a heavy voice, where David was deceived in imposing on him the name of Absalom, his Fathers Peace, his life signified no such thing, he being Benoni, a Son of sorrow and mischief to his Father; whatsoever were the occasion, the matter of the Psalm is evident, the light of God's countenance, God's audience of his Prayers, the comforts of his Spirit, his power to sustain him, his Grace to quicken him, all earnestly desired; these are the substance of this holy Psalm: what the Father saith of that Verse, Psal. 77 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking, &c. a sleepy Monk cannot say that Verse; the same may I say in another kind, a sleepy secure Christian, that mourns not for his sins, and by faith and patience not earnestly trusting and waiting upon God, cannot truly say this. The Psalm is a congress for a Combat, or a pitched field 'twixt faith and distrust, the old and new man in the Soul of a sanctified man; distrust of the flesh arms itself with a multitude of sorrows, and fainting with waiting for God's delayed help: Faith in the new man comes strengthened with a multitude of God's mercies against the multitudes of miseries, waiting to spy God's face, though he do for a while hide it; yea, as winning the Battle, steadfastly concluding, Though thou hide thy face, yet art thou my God, and my hiding place. Here, about God's help, we have David requesting and reasoning with God. The request are two, the reasons two, to move the Lord to grant his re-requests. 1. Request is for audience, and that speedily. Hear me speedily, O Lord. And that is backed with reason, why? What haste? why begest thou for so speedy hearing? He gives the reason, My spirit fails, I can hold out no longer. 2. Request is for light of God's countenance, Hide not thy face from me.

2. Reason, for that is the present peril he is in, even ready to die: If thou hide thy face, Lord, I shall perish, and accompany them that lie in the pit. We may frame him to our understanding, as if he thus pleaded with the Lord, How long, O Lord, wilt thou shut out my prayers, look upon me, and behold how low I am brought; O hear me quickly, lest my tired spirit give over, lest my faint heart, which has now no more strength to subsist without thy help, do quite break off, as drowned in the whirl pit of my deep sorrows. Now at length, O Lord, after my long waiting, send, and let shine the light of thy countenance upon me, which may glad my Soul, show me thy face, which may raise me up again, else if thou still delay, what is there can keep me alive any longer from the company of them that are laid in the grave, and sleep under the c • o • s of death; my life (without sense of thy love) being worse than death..

[Doctr.] First request, Hear me speedily: David he is in trouble and he betakes him to prayer: Prayer is the sovereign Remedy the Godly fly to in all their extremities. The Saints in sorrows have fled for comfort and healing unto Prayers and Supplications. Heaven is a shop full of all good things, there are stored up blessings and mercies; this the Children of God know, who fly to this shop in their troubles, begging for help from this holy Sanctuary; In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. When any vexation makes our life grievous unto us, what should we seek but help? of whom should we seek, but of the Lord? how should we seek, but by prayer? My sore (saith he) ran and ceased not; so his Soul ran and ceased not to pray to the Lord. When the sorrows of death compassed him, and the pains of hell got hold upon him, what was his course? then he got hold of the Lord, and prayed unto him right humbly: Then called I upon the name of the Lord, O Lord, I beseech thee deliver my Soul. We have to confirm this, for a sure and saving way, Precept, Practice, Promise, Performance.

1. Precept, God commands us to pray at all times, especially in sad times. Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. He commands us to depend on him for deliverance, and calling upon him is the best dependence.

2. Practice, the Godly have walked in this way, which God has prescribed: All David's Psalms will witness, that he coupled his troubles and prayers together, Psa. 6. Psal. 38. So Hezekiah, at hearing the message of death, sent to the Lord a message of Prayers. So Nehemiah in Jerusalem's destruction, sought succor to her distress by prayer.

3. Promise, the Lord hath armed us in our Petitions with hope, which is made up of sure Promises; we shall not pray to one that is deaf, as soon as we can find our tongue, we shall find his ear: Every humble praying sinner, shall have a hearing and helping Savior.

4. Performance; all Saints are ready to subscribe, We prayed, the Lord has performed and delivered, This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. This poor woman, even Hannah prayed, and the Lord heard her, he gaver her Samuel, the thing she asked of God, as the name signifies: All the Saints cry, and by experience witness the Lord's performance upon their prayers: we have swimmed (say they) in all Seas of sorrows, ready to sink, but prayer hath held up our heads. I was in the stocks, I prayed and am delivered, saith Joseph; in the Lions den by prayer I muzzeled those cruel Beasts, that they did not bite, saith Daniel: our bed was made in the fire, our coverings violent flames, prayer prevailed with the Lord to cool all this heat, say the three Children. God has thus performed, he will still perform; our evils are no greater, God is not deafer; he can still deliver, for he is as strong; he will still deliver, for he is as loving and gracious; he must hear and deliver us, for he is faithful, and will not deny his Seal and Promise, which he hath given us.

[Use.] Away then with all broken reeds, learn we not to lean on, or to trust to vain confidences, & flying to carnal remedies in our evils. Is there any evil which the Lord hath not wrought? Are we in some trouble? the arm of Heaven sent it, the arm of flesh cannot remove it. Has God wounded thee? seek not then to the Devil, or the Witch his Agent for a Plaister: Art thou in poverty? trust not to unlawful shifts, they may raise thee up again in the world, they cast thee twice as low in the world to come. O the folly of worldly men, who think with pleasures to drown their sorrows, with mirth to stop the mouth of Conscience, and to laugh away the burden of their evils. In vain is salvation hoped for from the mountains; if God wound, worldly comforts are but foolish Physic. There is no way like this, to fly to him by Prayer; when we trust to earthly helps, we take no notice of God's hand.

Secondly, Lawful means may not be neglected; carnal and sinful means may not be used: Better use none but prayer, then use all without prayer: As carnal and evil helps are to be avoided, so let this give an exhortation for direction to the Sovereign means of help in all our necessities and exigencies, to betake us unto prayer, that, even for the time we pray, will mitigate and alleviate the evil, and in Heavens appointed time will obtain a removal of it. The voice of a good heart is that of the Prophets, Come let us return to the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will heal us, &c. Tender before God your troubled spirits, lay before him all your sorrows, he will be overcome by fervent prayer, to lay unto them an equal, yea a far more surpassing weight of mercies, in giving a gracious deliverance. The Prophet knew the virtue of prayer to be so powerful, that he falls a wondering why God can be angry with his people that prays: For how can God be angry with a • ruly praying heart? unless he will be angry with his own Spirit, which teaches to pray, yea which frames the Petitions his Children put up unto him. God cannot be displeased, and continue his wrath, if there continue in me his Spirit of prayer, for then there should be discord 'twixt God the Father and the Holy Spirit, when yet they are but one God. If we pleaded with the bare spirit of man, our Weapons were but Vitrea tela, Weapons of Glass, as the Father calls Heretics Arguments, quickly broken, of no force, but being assisted by the Spirit of Grace, what shall stand in our way? not tribulation, not anguish, not sorrow of mind, not temptations of Devil, not malice of men, not the failings of our own hearts, for he that hath given us his Son to intercede above, and his Spirit to intercede below for us, and in us, how shall he not wtth them give us all things else, especially things concerning his Service? If God have any marks for his sheep, sure this is one, that they call upon God, and are accustomed in all their needs to show their rent fleeces, their weakness, their evils to the eye, and ear of the great Shepherd of their Souls by prayer. If there be and so carnally foolish, as will cavil at, and se • m this Heavenly habit of prayer, saying, Who can show us any good that comes from it? many pray, but where is their Cross removed, and blessings conferred by it? to such this good we can show, that though their deliverance do not appear, yet this appears a sign of their adoption, and which shall certainly bring them peace at the last, when all carnal men shall be accursed, who have carried this mark of Goats, that they loved not to call upon God. Besides, this good shall certainly come, their afflictions are sanctified to them by prayer, and a sweet communion and fellowship is maintained 'twixt God and the Soul, which is the only Heaven to be had upon earth.

Here are two errors about prayer would be avoided. The first of wicked men, who despise small evils, and use not to fly to the remedy of prayer, but at some sore plunge and last pinch, when the Boat has tried all other Oars, and cannot be brought safe into the Haven. It is not the custom of them that are unaccostomed to Godliness, not to betake themselves to prayer, till worldly helps are out of joint and cannot help them? Then when worldly means will not delp our decayed estate, the last refuge is to call on God. When the Apothecaries pots cannot draw them out of the bed of sickness, (after all) prayer chooses God for the Physician. When 12 years Physic will do no good, then the diseased woman cares not to ask Christ his counsel. When death or the utmost end of any evil approaches, then doth the worldly spirit turn to God, because he cannot work it out himself: an evil ordering, when God must be put in the second and last place. Thus justly doth God suffer men to despise small Crosses, till they by neglect of prayer grow vehement and immense, like waters from the ankle to the chin. Well worth St. Augustine, who, when his teeth did but ache, did fly unto prayer, and desired them that were present with him to pray for him, and with him: whereas we only foolishly, ungodlily, do desire the prayers of others, and fly to our own prayers, only when evils are grown great and ripe. Be our evils never so small, yet they may grow greater, unless we take prayer the remedy for prevention.

Second error is of Godly men, who by the greatness of their sins, or afflictions are kept and affrighted from prayer, as if it were only able to remove lighter burdens; nay rather, they should be more diligent in prayer, by how much more vehement their anguish is. If your evil be so great, why do you increase it? Expectation of deliverance from the most leaden and heaviest weights is not hopeless, unless we be prayerless. This is as if some silly one should argue, Strong ropes and good tacklings, firm Masts, and whole Sails are profitable in a calm Sea, but in a storm and violent tempest nothing will hold, all will be broken with the Win • s, yea, •••••• less, if in our calm or evil • •••• e • be profitable, much more is it necessary when the winds blow, the rain fall and the storms beat, for this will underprop and stablish a Christian to keep him from falling.

But against prayer in those cases the Godly (deeply afflicted) have to shifts.

Fain would we pray, but in our prayers we find no delight, no spiritual relish in this duty: and what shall we get in that if we go about it, for which we are so unfit and indisposed? so shall we rather provoke God than any way please him. This is called dryness and barrenness in spiritual exercises; yet why should this hinder us? be our hearts never so dry and barren, this is the way to moisten them: It may be through the trouble of our hearts we find no delight in our devotions; we know the Angel was in the Pool when the waters were stirred and troubled; so though we think our troubled tumultuous thoughts, unfit to meet and commune with God in prayer, yet even then God's Spirit can move in those troubled waters: our unfitness cannot hinder the fitness of God's Spirit, whose best and most prevailing language is troublesome groans and sighs that cannot be expressed. We may go to God unfit for prayer, and yet be marvelously fitted by him that works upon hearts in the very act of prayer. Yea, surely, a prayer which is put to God constrainedly, not to please ourselves, for we find no taste pleasant in it, but reemly to obey God, because it is his will, is very acceptable to him. The more humble we are in misliking our prayers, the more commonly doth the Lord like them. This hindered not the Prophet in his distress, I am so troubled (saith he) that I cannot speak; yet for all this he prays: And Hezekiah, when his great sorrow so disturbed his prayers, that he seemed rather to chatter like a reasonless Crane, than to speak like a man or pray like a Servant of God; yet this cackling, chattering, troubled prayer brought to him the sealed Patents of God's Promise, for spinning out the thread of his life to fifteen years length; what better prayer could the freest prayer have brought? God knows our broken fighs, and loves our undigested troubled groans, for he commonly dwells most pleasingly in troubled hearts; he takes our prayers, not as they are heavy and distracted, dead and dull, but such as we would have them, quick and fervent, lively and earnest.

Yea, but God seems to be our enemy, he hides away his face, and if the face be turned away, the ear goes with it. Here the Serpent shows his tail, this is one of Hells Arguments, to withhold the humbled heart from approaching the wellspring of comfort. Suppose God seem to be thy enemy, is not Christ's counsel good, to agree with thine adversary quickly, to appease him and make him thy friend by supplication unto him? When two are at odds, the best way is to bring a third person, to mediate betwixt them. Dost thou feel a seeming sense of God's displeasure, then say I in like advise to that given to Abraham, Go take his son, his only Son Jesus, offer him up to his Father upon the Altar of thy contrite heart, pray him to be the third Person to mediate betwixt God and thee; beseech this Heavenly Proctor and Advocate, to plead the causes of thy Soul unto his Father; say unto Chrip, I dare not speak to God, he seems to be my enemy, let thy blood speak for me, stand thou betwixt him & me & be my reconciler, for in thee he is well pleased. The Prophet was in this case, he would gladly pray to God, but the remembrance of God troubled him, when he saw (to his judgment) that the tokens of God's displeasure were upon him. But against this fear we may be bold and confident in it, that if God be displeased, he cannot refuse the sighs of a contrite heart, let this sacrifice smoke before him, and God's displeasure cannot long smoke against thee; Satan may be displeased at it, but believe him not when he tells thee, that for all this God is displeased.

Speedily: his request is not only for hearing, but for speedy hearing: Hear me, and hear me speedily: answer, and answer quickly; this is the tone and tune of men in distress. Man in misery earnestly sues for speedy delivery. In our afflictions and troubles, deliverance though it should come with wings, we never think it comes soon enough. Weak man cannot content himself to know he shall have help, unless it be present help. If evil fall upon us in the night, we would have it removed ere the morning; if in the morning, we would not have it our bed fellow in the evening. We would have the Lord's Promise run thus, Your sorrows shall not endure the whole night, your joy shall come long before the morning. The luxurious Emperor and his drunken mates eat and drank all the night, and slept all the day, in so much as it was said of them, they never saw Sun-set nor Sun-rise. Such would we have our evils we suffer, of so short continuance, as might neither have Sun-set nor Sun-rise, to see us in our misery. Which makes me marvel at that strange Egyptian Beast called Pharaoh, who being demanded by Moses, when he would have God's Plague of the Frogs removed, answered, To morrow. Surely here he spake not as a man, to whom an hours trouble is accounted a day, a day a month, a month seems a year. For in leaving of two things we change our desires, and are much different.

1. In leaving of sin, there we procrastinate and put off; and when God says, today hear my voice, we answer, tomorrow, and are like the Levites Father too kind hosts to such bad Guests; O my sins, you shall not be left today, tarry till the morning; our pace to repentance is slow, far from haste.

2. But for afflictions to leave us, there we wish they had feet like hinds feet, to run away from us, or we the wings of a dove to fly away from them, and be at rest. The Prophet, who had good shoulders to bear much, yet cares not how soon the weight were off them: Be pleased (O Lord) to deliver me. How long time would he willingly lie under his troubles? doth he desire God to help him after some months and years? alas, no, within some few hours; Make haste (saith he) to help me. Yea, because God seems to come slowly, he intreats him to amend his pace, Make no long tarrying, O my God, in the day when I call, answer me speedily. He would be helped the first day of his trouble; nay, and he would not have the day spent neither; speedily let it be, betimes, even in that day. What Prisoner desires not to be presently set free, and that liberties soft hand may loose his Iron knots? what Mariner wishes a long storm? what Servant sighs not for his hard Apprenticeship? yea, who is he, th •• if there were an appear •••• of 〈◊〉 offering to take the C • p o • calam • ty •• om his mouth, saying, Thou shall • • ri • k no more, would answer, This Cup shall • not yet pass •• om me. I delig •• to carouse and drink deeply of these bitter waters: yea, this desire extends so far, as it comes to the Son of Man, the blessed Seed of the Woman, who was so clad with our human weakness, as that he earnestly prays for speedy help from his heavy anguish, and that not once, but often, O my Father, if it be possible, &c. and when his Father answers not, he cries like one ready to fall under the burden, [Reas. 1] My God, my God, &c. The reason in Christ thus complaining is to be fetched from thence, whence his flesh came, even from us; it was our human flesh not his divine Spirit which was so weary of suffering; his Spirit was willing, it was our flesh that was so weak.

And the reason in us is that to the Hebrews, all chastisement for the time is sharp and uncoo • h some; affliction is grievo •• 〈…〉 present to mankind • , 〈…〉 • mong some Priests 〈…〉 Baal, th •• 〈…〉 • e lancing of 〈…〉 foolish ••• rs of the Romans Baal, 〈◊〉 d •• ght fo • penance to lash and whip their own skins; few or else none but they shrink at the Cross.

Or we may fetch the Reason [Reason. 2] from the common appetite, and desire of the unreasonable Creatures; the withered hand of mere sense leads the poorest Creature to seek for its own ease and quiet; the simple Bird would have speedy deliverance from the Cage.

[Use.] Take we heed, that we do not so dote upon speedy help, that for it we venture the loss of God's love, and the breach of his Commandments: Never so affect speedy release, unless it may come in at the right door. Do we suffer hard things, do we cry, how long, O where is he that shall deliver me! yet take we heed that God's wisdom be not thrust out of the Chair, and carnal Policy put in the room of it. There are such unlawful shifts and shifters, that when they have waited a while and help comes not, they bid farewell to dependence on God, and as it were resolve, we will tarry no longer, come brains plod for release; now Policy and arm of fleshly helps play thy part; now carnal shifts invent a means of safety. I do confess, we may thus get a deliverance, but it's a deliverance with a vengeance, when there is neither God's Hand and Seal at it, nor our faith in it; it proceeds from an incredulous, impatient heart to say, when help is defer'd (with that impious King) Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? If we love help and release, let us cleave only to God that Rock of help, and look for it only at his hand, It comes soon enough, and in a good time, what time soever it come, if it come from him.

[Use. 2] 2. Let them that are in distress learn not only to call upon God, but to call waiting, and to tarry the Lord's leisure, lest we make too much speed; God may love thee though he do not presently deliver thee, and thou must learn to trust in God, though (with Simon of Cyrene ) thou travel a long way with an heavy Cross upon thy neck. He that believeth maketh not haste, for in too much haste we we may come to stumble in God's service. As the Prophet confesses, his hastiness made him stumble; being long afflicted, He said in his haste, all men were liars, that thought there were hopes of deliverance. When we in passion cry out, God has forgotten me, do's not our patience stumble? our confidence, doth it not here cath a fall, and cannot keep his feet? Beware lest Satan give thee a reed instead of a staff, and cause thee in thy weakness to think God is weak, and I am now past remedy; or his truth is weak, he will not keep promise to deliver me. Oftentimes Satan raises in the minds of God's afflicted ones an hard conceit of God, that he loves them not, that he cares not for them, and all is by dashing them upon this Rock, because he delays and doth not speedily help them. It is a point of precious wisdom to learn with Paul and Silas to sing in the stocks; to be a Scholar in Jobs form, praising God even upon the dunghill, patiently expecting deliverance, though it come with a slow foot. The Jews Hebrew Language ('tis thought by some) shall be used in Heaven, but their words in the desert are the very Language of Hell, to murmur, grumble, and repine at the Lord's doings, if the Salve be not as ready as the sore, and meat as ready as their appetite. This same speedy deliverance is good, but to trust and depend upon the Lord in his Word of Truth, when help lingers and is long a coming, this is far better. Gladly would I with good Jonathan shoot some Arrows, to let David in his trouble know what to do, and how to collect, that we may have the Lord's love, and the Lord's Rod both together, and a long time to scourge us without ease, and speedy help: and thus I shoot them in these considerations, it may be some instead of Jonathan's Boy will gather them, and take them up.

1. Consider that the Lord's reasons are for thy good, though he do not speedily deliver thee; now the Lord means to try what is in thee; thou madest good shows in the day of prosperity and ease, now he has brought thee to the proof, to see if thou madest not false flourishes and gave the view of Clouds without any water in them: He has brought thee into the field, to see how thou canst clasp hold of him, and wrestle with faith and patience. There were fair promises as great as Peters in thy mouth, he has brought thee into the High Priests Hall, to try what is in thy heart: thus he tried Hezekiah. God loved Joseph, though in the stocks, yet he made not that haste he desired to help him; he suffered the Butler to forget him; this was harsh, that both God and man should seem to fail him, yet was it for his profit and proof, all this while was the Lord a trying him in his affiance, patient dependence, and then he must be delivered, and the Prince looses him, and sets him free, when the time of God's Word is come, and when the Word has tried him: our time of deliverance is come, when time of trial ends. Thus is it with thee, look to thyself, the Lord is trying thee, play thy part of confidence, and hope in God well in thy troubles & then for one blessing thou expectest, thou shalt have two; God will both release thee and praise thee. Art thou not yet helped? why, suffer a while longer, thou art not yet tried, the Lord knows well enough the way he takes with thee, and when thou art tried, thou shalt not only come forth, but thou shalt come forth as gold that is tried in the fire, fitter by the fire to make a vessel of honor.

2. Consider, the great benefit that the Lord would bestow on us by deferring help: the Lord by this means teaches thee an Art beyond all the seven liberal Sciences, the Art of prayer: In prayer we have special familiarity with God; but prayer in deep affliction comes nearer him than at any other time, and is more welcome to him! We should never learn to beg right and soundly, but by begging often and frequently. Often visits breed stronger and dearer acquaintance 'twixt friends. I will willingly be acquainted with troubles to get acquaintance with the Lord, and his Court of mercy. When we are fain to pray again & again, it teaches us to seek out several Arguments and motives to move God; some from his power, he is able to help us; some from his truth, Lord what is become of thy true promise, is thy Covenant come to an end for evermore? some from his love and mercy, Hast thou forgotten to be gracious? Art thou that God of whom they sing. His mercy endureth forever; and hast thou no mercy to hear and help me? Thus like a scruple in our estates, which makes us seek all the Court Rolls, do our longing affections lead us to God with earnest and urgent prayers, and seek out the wisest and movingst Arguments to put life into our Prayers. O the excellent learning of afflictions, which teach us to search out all God's Promises, to lay to our own hearts and before his eyes by faithful prayer. There is a great deal of difference betwixt a prayer in ease, and that in adversity, especially spiritual troubles: there is more Art and Arms, more wisdom, more life, and feeling in the one, than in the other: it is one thing to pray, another thing to strive in prayer.

Consider that the longest trouble is but short in several respects

1. In respect of the time of our sinning: Thou sufferest but a week, thou hast lived in sin many weeks and months; or, thy grief lasts a year, hast thou not provoked God many a year? We love indeed long faults and short rods: we should never be free from scourges, if the Lord continued striking so long as we continue sinning, God exacts less than our iniquities deserve.

2. In respect of God it is long to us, it is short to him: with him a thousand years are but as one day; we seem to suffer a thousand hours, this unto him is but as one minute. It is not our sentence, but God's Judgment that must stand for giving estimation to anything. He calls our suffer •• gs but a To 'nun, sufferings of this present time.

3. In respect of tha • 〈◊〉 a • d en • less ease • 〈…〉 bo •• suc •• eds 〈…〉 •• ese sorrow •• d sufferings 〈◊〉 now criest, make haste to help me, hear me speedily, how long shall I be vexed in my Soul? thou wilt one day say, O happy heavy afflictions, for a night, which have brought such joy in the morning: Blessed temptations, which though grievous and tedious in the end, have brought me to glory and peace without end. Who will be afraid of suffering a little while with Christ here, that he may be a partner of everlasting glory with him hereafter? Jacob's hard seven years service, he counted but short, compared with that sweet society he should have with his wife at the end. We suffer an hour, we shall reign forever. Compare a moment and eternity together: we shall weep but a short time, we shall have a long time of joy for it. The Lord would have us consider how he will make amends for our sufferings. It is but for a small moment that I have forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee: In 〈◊〉 little wrath I hid myself from thee, for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. It is good being scourged an hour, to have the Rod cast away forever. O how well should we endure the sorest afflictions, if we did but consider that they are light and momentary, yet work unto us an exceeding surpassing weight of glory?

4. Consider, thou hast a safe way by resignation of thyself in to the Lord's hands; Cast thyself upon him, he brought thee in, trust him with it, he will in good time bring thee out: Conclude with thyself, if release do not yet come, it must and will chme, for God is faithful who hath promised; Submit to his hands and handling; being sick do not correct and find fault with thy Physic; the Physician knows best what and when anything is fittest for us; when these corrasives have eaten out sins foul matter, then the Cordials of God's Spirit of Peace shall refresh thy Soul. We would have no tart nor bitter Medicine, when God knows it may be Sugar would mar our Physic. Impatient man would have the Plaister pulled off the sore too soon, before the wound be either drawn or closed. Give the Lord leave to do his pleasure, he continues thy grief, because hasty Physic might do thee hurt. If the Lord heals us slowly, say to thyself, Be contented, O my Soul, it is for thy good, that he may do it soundly.

5. Consider, that when one eye sails thou must get another, when the eye of sense is shut up, open the eye of faith, and thou shall see wonders. Look up and wait upon God with that eye, and then thou shalt sweeten darkness with the hope of light, peep under the black leaves of sorrow, and see a goodly fruit of joy budding forth; which shall appear in time. Exercise faith to see him that is invisible, and that secret arm which all this while supports thee. O! if thou couldest well look upon that eye, thou shouldest see there is one at God's right hand, who cannot forget thee, yea, in thy troubles he is at thy right hand, stopping and breaking the strength of temptations blows, so as thou shalt not greatly be moved; yea, he carries thee in his arms, so that not one of thy bones shall be broken, though they may be astonished a while, ond out of joint. And if the Lord take care and count of thy bones and hairs, surely his care is more for thy Soul, it shall never miscarry; only learn thou a Lesson over, and beyond the leaf of sense, and present feeling, to see something in nothing, to believe that the Bush shall not be hurt, though the fire be in it; to hope for a sweet kernel within the hardest shell, and to see the Son of Man walking with thee in the midst of thy furnace. Look as well upward to the Crown, on which is writ, Vincenti dabitur, To him that overcomes, as to the bottom of thy deep Cross; with an holy indifferency resolve to endure the Lord's good pleasure: Say unto him, this trouble (O Lord) is grievous, O haste to deliver me: yet (O Lord) my will shall wait (as a servant) upon thine: I will suffer anything, only sanctify thou my sufferings, and strengthen me to bear them.

6. Lastly, consider and often ruminate upon the Saints carriage, and words in the like extremities; if thou be wearied running with footmen, how wouldst thou ever have kept with the Horses? if thou be so discouraged in shallow foords, what wouldst thou have done if thou hadst swimmed with them in the swellings of Jordan? I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Habak. 2.3. See Jonah 2.2. Micah 7.7, 8, 9. Psal. 73.25, 26, 27, 28. Psal. 23.4. Psal. 42.11. Psal. 130.5.6, 7. Job 23.10, 11. Jerem. 30.11. Lament. 3.24, 25, 26. and 31, 32. Rom. 8.18. and 35. to the end 2 Tim. 1.12. Heb. 10.35, 36, 37. To this purpose the prayer of Fulgentius in his sore sickness was not ill-beseeming a Saints behavior, Do • ine, da mihi modo patientiam & postea indulgentiam: Lord, here give me a little patience, and hereafter thy merciful indulgence.

[Doct.] My spirit faileth: This is David's first reason to move the Lord, he is at the last cast and even giving up the ghost, with long waiting for help: from his low condition we may see what is often the condition of God's Children, That the best of God's servants have waited for comfort • nd the feelings of his Spirit, to the very failing of their own spirit. David, a man after God's own heart, is yet brought low with the faintness and failing of his heart, in waiting for help from God. In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread; this lies upon the Sons of men. But here not to sweat of face only, that were but small, but to sighs and fainting of the heart lies upon the Sons of God, in seeking and hungering after a taste of God's Bread of life, inward comfort, assurance, and joy of the Holy Ghost: Thus the Church was brought to this sick bed, ere her comfort came. For these things I weep, mine eye, mine eye runs down with water, because the comfort • that should relieve my Soul is fa • from me. The Disciples spirits were even failing in the Tempest when Christ slept, and seemed to neglect them, as if he cared not though they perished. How should our spirits do other bu • fail, when our Comforter sleeps when our only friend seems to b • our enemy? I am afflicted (saith the Prophet) and even ready to di • while I suffer thy terrors distracted or, with a troubled mind.

The good man of an house may sit quietly at peace within his own house, and under his roof, though there be quarrellings and tumults without doors: but if there be no troubles without, if there be wounds, and fightings and terrors within, this wounded spirit is hard to bear up, have we never fo • strong reins of patience, all is little enough to keep it from fainting. The heart of man is much like an unquiet Dame of an house, if she be not pleased, all is in a tumult, the house is full of tempests, this dry land is more stormy than the Sea; and till she be pacified, Solomon thinks if a man get to the house-top, he gets him not far enough from the mischief. Such tumults in the thoughts, such fears in the mind doth the heart disquieted stir up, if it want a pacifying feeling, an inward settling, it disturbs all without and within, it makes that there is no rest in the bones, no soundness in the flesh, all strength fails, and all the Orderly Offices of this little Common-wealth of Soul and body are thrust out of order. This spiritual inward War being like a Civil War in a State, which brings the strength of the best things in it to weakness: So we hear the Saints complain of eyes failing with waiting, hands with stretching forth, Soul with sighing, and body pining, when God hides his face, delays grant of prayer, removes not the hideous face of sin from being presented to the Souls eye, without hopes of pardon; 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 and thereby suffering the heart to be steeped in gall and wormwood that if their strength were strength of stones, and flesh o • brass, yet it can harldly hold out, as Job argued.

[Reas.] Unto such straits will the Lord have his Children brought, because comforts thus earnestly, and long sought, and thus dearly bought, are the best for Christians, they will do them the most good when they get them. When we come so hardly to the sense of God's love, it will make us hug it, and embrace it the more, and safely lock it up in our hearts, that we lose it not, to be put to as much cost and care in recovering it. When as the Captain said of his Romish freedom, so we can say of our spiritual freedom, With a great sum I obtained this freedom: we shall then count t a precious prerogative, and look well to it that we lose not the comforts of it. None is so careful of that Lesson, Quench not the Spirit, as he whom it hath cost much labor to kindle the sparks of that fire. Bid such an one in Paul's Text preached to him, Quench not, and grieve not that good Spirit; he will answer, I have good cause to look that I grieve it not, for with great grief obtained I the joy of it. The Spouse in the Canticles represents every careful Soul that comes hardly to its comfort, when she has had weary heart and foot in seeking Christ in bed, City, streets, broad ways; at last when she finds him, she lays not a slack hand on him, but careful to keep her dearbought comfort, she holds him fast, and will not let him go, and carries him to her Mothers house, and Chamber, is very watchful in keeping him, whom she (after long labor) found. And indeed if God should let us come to our desires more easily, we should be the more careless in keeping those good things. Short gettings have commonly short cares, or less esteem, and valuing of them.

[Reas. 2] Failing of Spirit, is both a motive which God means to yiel • unto and to be won withal; and it is also his opportunity, when h • usually helps. It is a strong motive in our prayers to move him for he is pitiful, and will not le • his Children utterly fail and perish; he is a pitiful Spirit to failing Spirits. I will not contend saith • the Lord) forever, neither will be always wroth; Why? we deserve his wrath should last an • take fire forever against us; yea but (saith the Lord) this is the reason, The spirit should then fai • before me, and the Souls which 〈◊〉 have made: I love and pity the fainting Souls and Spirits of men, I will help my Children; how can I see my Creatures whom I made, and do love, to perish for want of my help? David knew the Lord's nature, and that this was a speeding argument in prayer, which made him here and elsewhere, so often use it. A p • tiful Father will no • 〈…〉 • his Children utte ••• 〈…〉 opportunity, he usually helps when all other helps fail, that we may • he more strongly cleave to him, and ground ourselves upon him, as knowing how infirm we are, if he confirm us not. When man's Cruse of Oil is dry, and fails, can drop no more, then is God's time to prepare his. Thus helped he the Israelites at the Red Sea, when all man's strength and wisdom was at a stand. He loves to be seen in the Mount, in extremities. These are the truest glasses to show God's truth, power, wisdom, goodness, and to show to man his own Nothingness, Emptiness, Vanity, that he can do nothing with the strongest brawn of his own fleshly arm. We should never learn rightly this Lesson of dependence upon God alone, if he did not delay deliverance ofttimes to the very failing of our Spirits.

1. Art thou then in that shi • which is tossed, and Christ sleep • and helps thee not? doth thy sp • rit fail in struggling with the stro • sense of inward misery, want 〈◊〉 Grace, or want of the joy 〈◊〉 Grace? Learn at that time t • look on thy condition aright: Loo • not on thyself in thyself, but loo • upon thyself in the Saints se • thy case in the Saints commo • case. Thou art not singular, God sheep have commonly been thu • marked.

Thou thinkest God has forgotten thee: yes, he has forgot thee as he forgot his Children heretofore. Thus he forgot David, Job Paul, they were brought to perplexity, though not to despair; we are cast down but not destroyed I entreat thee, tell me if this • hy, comfortless estate, shall bring thee the jocund offspring of the world, whom conscience sleeping never troubles; Cain the Builder, Juba • the merry Musician, worldly Nabal, carnal Ishmael, temporizing Demas, or any of that fleshly Tribe, who never knew one sigh of a penitent heart, nor ever came • ear to the failing of their spi • it in waiting upon God. O no, • hou sayest, it is fearful to be sor • ed with these, whose Candle God will put out, who spend their days in jollity, and in a moment • umble into the grave. But now the Lord has dealt well with thee, having joined thee to the number of his own; thus hath he scourged (though not in the same degree) every Son and Daughter he has received, thus have they been taught to mourn before him. Great joy ought it to be to us, that we bear the same Livery and Badge upon earth, which they once wore, who are now the blest Courtiers of Heaven.

The Apostle was so far from troubling himself for it, that he bids all others cease troubling him, and take heed what they do to him, for he carries in his body the noble marks of sufferings, and wounds for Christ; he gloried in it: Let no man henceforth trouble me, for I bear in my body the mar • of the Lord Jesus. O high dign • tion, to be like Christ in any 〈◊〉 state, yea, though it be in h • sweating, suffering, and sighi • out his My God, my God, why ha • thou forsaken me? For if we bear • bout the dying of the Lord Jesus, is for our future comfort that the li • of Jesus may be manifest in our mo • tal bodies. Remember we the • always, that be our spirits neve • so low, God's dearest Childre • have been in the same pit yea, an • lower than we, and yet God a • length raised them up from thes • hopeless depths. They cried til • their tongues failed, with long praying for deliverance; thei • eyes failed with waiting, thei • hands failed with being lif • up. And yet which of these waited upon God in vain? None of them; tell us amongst all these failings that God failed, and did not at length give them their hearts desire.

[Use. 2] Let the failing spirit be directed to take David's course, though he cried out of failing, yet he failed not of crying to his God. The weaker we are, it should make us cry the faster. So long as the Spirit of prayer fails not in us, so long the Spirit of power will not fail to uphold us: only cry we as men far cast down, Lord, if thou wilt forsake me, yet Lord, forsake me not long: My spirit now fails me, that thy Spirit may help, & fill me; for so some gloss upon this Verse. For this is is the ground of the application of God's Promise, and for our encouragement. Are we weak? now is the time come he promised to help us: He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength: Even the youths shall faint and be wear • and the young men shall utterly fall But they that wait upon the Lor • shall renew their strength, &c. An • again, when we are thinking, 〈◊〉 I shall never get out of this troublesome evil: the Lord answers Fear not, for I am with thee, be n • dismayed, for I am thy God. Ye • but I have no more strength t • wait upon God; then have w • God's answer, I will strength thee, I will help thee. O but th • Cross is so heavy, I shall fail an • perish under it. No (saith he) will uphold thee with the right han • of my righteousness. Here is 〈◊〉 large and liberal promise: Tho • hast God's Word, God's hand • God's help, God's strength, though • mayst utterly fail if his strengt • fail thee. If thou criest on him t • look at his Promises, and remember his Covenant with his Children, he cannot finally neglec • thee, unless Christ sleep in his sea • of intercession, or his memory perish that he forgets his Children, or he forget his own hands, where his Children's names and necessities are engraven. For this end in crying and calling upon him, the failing spirit may plead with these two strengthening Arguments.

As first, that it stands much for God's glory that he do help us in respect of ungodly and impious men. Thus may it be urged, If thou suffer my spirit to fail and me to perish, then Lord thou losest not only thy Creature, but thy Glory also: let none of thy glory be diminished; For why should the Heathen say, where is now their God? If God cast off his Children, and give them not deliverance, Religion would receive a great blow, and ungodly men would speak evil of his ways and worship. They whose service is sin, when they see God's devout Children are at a low ebb, & in a deep extremity, then they throw dung in the face of Religion, and cry, there, there, so would we have it. Is not this the fruits of your fear, confidence, uprightness of your ways, and your hope? This is the fruits of Religion and profession, it spoils all our mirth, see how it makes them melancholy and pensive, they are all alike unsociable, and uncomfortable; who will enter that path which leads to such sadness? Beseech God to let thy case be no impediment to his Glory, by hindering and deferring those that are without, from coming in, lest they dislike Religion for thy sake. God has sometimes said, he would do good to his Children, that their enemies might not have cause to lift up their Horns.

Call on him to do it for his own Children's sake, that are within the Church; Let not them that wait on thee be ashamed for my sake, O God of Hosts, let not them that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. As if he said, There are many weak in the the faith, O Lord, who trust in th • e, and if thou fail me, they will be scandalized, their weakness will make them stagger, and start back, when they see thy Promises fail towards me; how shall they trust in those Promises for themselves, which they see have failed others? Nay, Lord, rather deliver me, that the weak thereby may be the more strengthened thou shalt get glory by bringing many both to praise thee, and trust in thee more confidently for my sake, or for thy promises gracious performance towards me; They that fear thee will be glad when they see me, because I have hoped in thy Word, yea, the righteous shall then resort unto my company; I will call them and tell them what great things thou hast done for my Soul: Further, in thus delivering me, much praise and glory shall come to thy name, thanksgiving shall be sent to thee by many in my behalf, who will shout for joy, and say, Praised be the Lord, who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

[Use. 3] If the comforts of the Soul be bought so dear, as they will cost us the very fainting, and almost failing of our Spirits, let him be lessoned who hath his Soul replea • with peace and quietness in his God, to lock the Promises within his heart, to cherish and keep burning that good fire lest wit • many strong blasts of prayers he cannot get it kindled afresh, when once it is somewhat quenched, and dying out. For this purpose it behooves those who are yet in the Sun-shine of peace, and lightsomness of heart, to rejoice in God and his mercies, to labor as much to keep it, as ever they labored to get it.

1. To beware of sin, that they fall not into any wickedness, for that will devastate the Conscience, and spoil its peace.

2. They should cherish and make much of God's Spirit, and the joyous motions it stirs up in them. Guests stay with us according to their welcome; bad ente • tainment, and neglect of them, gives us their backs instead of their faces: Grieve not the Spirit of God.

3. Keep we our hearts exercised in good things, prayer, hearing, reading, meditation, those put forth our Talents we have, to come in with more increase. Take we heed, if such good means be not used, we may come to see our Candle burn dim, and with perplexed hearts, and sorrowing spir • ts, as Joseph and Mary, we may come to seek our Comforter, and be long without him, till our spirits be ready to fail in seeking, because our care and diligence failed in keeping.

[Use 4] Lastly, though all the Saints of God have cried there spirits fail, yet this may make for their exceeding comfort, none of their spirits did ever yet so utterly fail, but they have had their resurrection to some lively hopes, who seemed hopeless. We have our spiritual dejections, and spiritua • resurrections. Where is • ha • man, and who is that Saint an • Servant of God, that perished in waiting upon God, and expecting his help? Our comfort may be long in coming, but at length it shall come and not deceive us: either the tongue shall cry it after long waiting, He is come, he i • come; or the heart shall feel it, or find it, it may be without, but certainly beyond expressions. It may be that the noon, afternoon, evening, night, may all hold him in the bonds of vexation, but (undoubtedly) joy comes in the morning: If it cannot be found in the beginning, no nor in a long time in the proceedings; yet, Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man shall be peace. There are who have been brought from those desperate conclusions made in the strength of temptations, I shall never be mermerry again so long as I live, to tell the same party, being strongly filled with new quickening hopes, If I told thee before I should never in my life be joyful, now I assure thee, I shall never anymore be sorrowful. Though we should be so low, as we were hopeless, yet God must continue faithful, he cannot deny himself, he will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it.

[Doctr.] The next request is, that God would not hide his face, and the reason, because in the light of his countenance is life, in the hiding of it is very death: From David's request that God would not hide his face, see this Position, That God hath his times of hiding and showing his face to his Children, and all for their good: both by declared favor, and seeming displeasure, God leads on his Children unto blessedness. All the months of the year are not alike, some make the earth horrid with frosts and mists, and large expenses out of the Lord's Treasury of Hail and Sow, as in Job, the Lord calls • t; others make the fiel • 〈…〉 with abundance of flower 〈◊〉 fruits, the Sun with his revi • ing heat, putting life into bird bud, and beast. Shall, we than • God for May and not for March The dispensing of fair and foul seasons are both acts of Divine Providence, for the good of man and beast. He that is God of the Summer, is as good a God of th • Winter, in spite of the blaspheming Manichees, procuring our good in the one, as well as in the other. Thus is it with Man the abridgement of God's Creation, and with the holy man the object of his more special love; The Sun shines not always alike on him, he is sometimes joyed with a sense of God's love, by and by in sorrow through some growing afflictions: his months are sometimes watery as April, sometimes mirthful as May, and yet by all these varieties his field of sanctification becomes more fruitful. All the months of Jobs years were not alike, O that I were (saith he) as in the months past: What were those seasons? lightsome days, prosperous, favorable, God's Candle burnt over my head, all went with a sweet stream. But now he possesses months of grief and darkness, he goes mourning without the Sun, yet we know all these wrought for his good, the glory of his patience, the excellency of his affiance, the worthiness of his hope, when the blind eye of man could espy nothing but what appeared hopeless. These changes of joy & sorrow are not because the Lord is changed, for he is immutable and changes not; but they signs of our changeableness. When God bestows good things on us, and his favor is towards us, we are ready to change this into occasion of pride, and security; thereupon the Lord strips us of our consolations, and sends some Messenger of Satan to buffet us, lest we should be puffed up, or because we are puffed up.

1. Lest we should, for prevention: And is not this for o • r good, when the poison is taken out 〈◊〉 our hands, which we are ready t • drink?

2. Because we already are, fo • our humiliation: and is not this fo • our good also, that like Tenant we might acknowledge of whom we hold? In a short time yo • shall see David both up and down, by the Lord's hand so setting him in prosperity; up, by his own security, I shall never be moved: Presently he is down; down, by the Lord's hiding his face, as a pricking of this windy Bladder, that his proud confidenec may fall; and down in own sad apprehensions; then I was troubled, and saw how quickly the Lord can abase our highest thoughts, and turn away his face from us.

We do not always find God writing pleasant Epistles to his Children, he sometimes writes bitter things.

[Reason.] It must be thus to make good the difference 'twixt Earth and Heaven: Earth is a place of change and variation, in Heaven all things always continue alike. The Sun if it rise with us, in its very rising it is passing from us to the West. In Heaven the glorious light rides always in the East, there is no declination, nor setting; the Lord is an everlasting light. Here all things are full of Transitions, joy sits but while, then sorrow takes the room. One generation passeth, and another cometh. In our way to Heaven we must look for change of ways, many turnings; only at our journeys end we find a good, and always remaining good estate, durable and immutable: When once we come in presence of that face of glory, there is no Cloud can ever be interposed 'twixt us and it, to hide it from us. Earth would be too like Heaven, if our good things did fasten their foot with us, and we should know no change.

[Reason, 2] This sorts with the nature of man, who cannot well coniinue and endure in any stayed estate to use it aright. He cannot keep within his measure: If he be full, he will burst like a bottle, unle •• God give him some vent: If 〈◊〉 be empty, he will burst with impatience, unless God put some meal into the barrel. Mans han • is paralytick, cannot hold the balance even, one of the Scales go too low by too much sorrow, o • is lifted up by too much presumptuous and secure joys. We cannot well grieve, but over-grieve; and when we joy, we are subject to be over joyed. Only we have a wise God, that knows our temper and whereof we are made, and so disposes of us, that we shall sometimes have matter o • patience in our afflictions, other times matter of praise and thanks in a condition more easy and prosperous. Surely I think these two excellent virtues would scarcely be found, were it not for the vicissitude and changes of sweet and bitter. For where would God get his due thanks, if he did not sometimes manifest his face and favor to his Children? and what use had we for patience, if God suffered us not sometimes to wait for his countenance to shine on our persons, and his accptance of our prayers, and grant of our desires? Here is now some work for that Grace.

[Use.] Doth God work our good by such contrary means? This should teach us to weigh God's work with his own weights, and to look into his dealings with us with better eyes than those of human wisdom. The wisdom of men is but foolishness with God, it cannot give a true censure of his actions. If God work not by visible and probable means and instruments, such as man would imagine the fittest, we then conclude our vain expectance of a good end from such strange proceedings. We, if we had seen Christ put clay and spittle in a man's eyes, should be ready to shoot our bolts of folly, and to think what fault has the man committed, thus to have his eyes put out? Alas, weak wisdom!

Consider the workman, it is Christ, who can bring light out of darkness, heal with wounding, fetch water out of flints, and beget good to be brought out of the womb of evil. That God who made waters stand like a wall, who quickened the dead and barren womb of Sarah; that God who made a Maiden a Mother, who raised the Prince of righteousness & glory out of a Manger who made the earth bring forth fruit before there was a Sun to shine upon it; that God, I say, who works by contrary means, and without means, why should we distrust him working by unlikely means? He turns away his face from thee, it is for thy good, to strengthen thy faith in waiting and praying, to bring thee to loath and distaste worldly comforts, when thou findest so little health and help in them, and to raise thy affections to run the faster him. When we think God is so angry with us, as no better end can be expected, than that his sore strokes should consumes us, and make an end of us, then has the Lord worthy ends intended; working for his own glory, and his Children's fuller consolation thereby; for it is the privilege of his Divine Power to effect matters far above all that we can either ask or think, or conceive with the most quick eye of human wisdom. What if we be cast into the dungeon with Joseph, cannot God bring him through this room, and make it the high way to seat him a Compeer with Pharaoh? though cast out with Moses into the Bullrush-boat, it may be God sees this the ready way to advancement. When we look upon a man rowing in a Boat, we see him look one way, and row another way; he looks from home; but his boat goes homeward. Whatsoever the Lord's dealings be, cast not away thy confidence, O distressed heart, though he seem to be a going from thee: he is coming to thee: Thou thinkest the Lord in anger turns away his face from thee, yet the Boat of thy Soul for all • this is rowed homeward and Hea • venward. These afflictions of thy spirit, faintings of heart, strong groans after sense of his love, are infallible Sea-marks in thy way to the Haven of life and comfort: only keep thyself in the Boat, leap not out with diffidence, though great waves leap in, trust the Lord with the rowing, commit thy ways unto him, and he will bring it to pass.

[Use. 2] Learn to suspect, rather than envy that estate which knows no changes: It is the sinners saddest lot to be settled on the Lees, and never moved nor changed from Bottle to Bottle. Let my Soul never sleep the sinners unbroken sleep of security; they have no change, and are not in trouble like other men. But the righteous and whom God loves, find manifold diversities of God's proceedings with them, because he means to make something of them.

His reason for his last request, Lest I be like them that go down into the pit: Not the Pit or Lake of Hell or Purgatory; nor the depth and profundity of sins, as some would have it; but the pit of Golgotha, the place of dead men's skulls, the Chambers of mortality, the Grave. Elsewhere he seems so to reason, Shall the dead praise thee? what profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Note here how David joins God's love and his life together, and counts the hiding away his face to be death, and that which carries him to the grave.

[Doct.] The faithful heart finds no life, but in God's love. God's favorable face is the Christians health and life; his maintenance lies all in God's countenance. The basest low condition'd life is royalty with God's favor, and the royallist life, is but a painted dunghill, or a golden grave, if his face be hid from it, and shine not there. Yea, but David, thou mayest be a living man, eat, drink, and sleep, though his face be hid from thee; Thou hast Music to cheer thee, art thou not a Prince? th • hast the Sovereignty of a Kin • dom to comfort thee, Nobles a • High Estates to attend and a • company thee, thou mayst ha • all the delights of the Sons of m •• and earthly contentments to e • hilerate thee; why dost thou th • speak of a grave or pit? can man die among so many livin • comforts? Thus indeed mig • reason reason the case: But D • vid spoke advisedly, he did n • (as sometimes he did) speak 〈◊〉 his haste, he is often saying th • same, Let thy tender mercies co • unto me that I may live: There's n • life without assurance of his me • cies: Quicken me after thy lovin • kindness: He counts himself dea • without his loving kindness, th • quickens him, and puts new li • into him. It is a great dignit • and comfort to a man to hav • birds, beasts, fishes, Sea, Ai • Earth and all things to be mad • for him, and subjected to him Now David looks higher than th • 8th Psalm, there must be more than all this to make a man to have a true and worthy life. Though the body live by the Soul, yet there wants God's favor and face, which is the Soul of the Soul, and more to it, than it is to the body. The spiritual life, to have to have the vital powers of grace, the inspiration of God's quickening Spirit, an inward sight • iewing of God's face in Christ, and sweet s • nse of his loving coun • enance, as John saith of the true • ight, so this is the true life. In anotner place he has the very words, His anger endureth but for a moment, and in his favor is life. Again, Thou didst turn away • hy face, and I was troubled: There is death in • he hiding of his countenance. In the first Psalm the righteous man is compared to a tree, and here methinks the righteous man is compared to a flower, the Tuli • or Marygold; if the Sun open h • bright lightsome face upon them these open their leaves; but if 〈◊〉 set and shut up his shining shopi • Heaven, these lour, and clasp t • gether their leaves on earth Such is God's favor and fac • of love; David's Soul, and ev • ry Christians holy Soul rises a • sets with it. Absalom cou • tell us, though he had lands a •• maintenance from his father, y • he lived bion 'abion, a lifeless lis • so long as he might not come in his fathers presence, and beho • his face. The face of God reco • ciled, has more ravishing swe •• ness in it for every adopted Chil • who has tasted how gracious t •• Lord is: and how can they b • droop, when that is hid fro • them, under se • and feeling of displeasure? W • thou art angry our days are go • The Idolizi •• Lover will t • you his life lies in his Mrs eyes; an amorous and pleasant look quickens him, a frown or neglecting countenance casts him into deep vexations of heart. This is but the Creature; shall there not be thought there is more power of life and death in the Creator, appearing graciously favorable, or displeased?

Real proofs of this have been the horrible vexations, even to dispair, of wretched men, when the ireful face of God has been set against them for their sins, and presented to their Souls. As also those bitter cries, and prayers of the Godly in deep afflictions, when no glasses could show unto them the face of God's favor, this made them averse and pull back their hand from all offered comforts, because they wanted the sense and sight of this only comfort. And this is a common phrase of God's favor and love, the showing of his face, because the heart acts all the parts of its several affections upon the Stage of the face, it is the outward Map of the inward passions of the mind. If there be fear within, it may be seen in the trouble of the countenance, and paleness clothing the face without. If anger rise, then cloudy frowns and angry demonstrations give warnings of it. If love and favor sweeten the disposition of the Soul, then a pleased look, a cheerful eye, a gladsome contented countenance will declare the good pleasure and acceptation of the mind. According to those variations of God's face do the Saints vary their prayers; one while praying the Lord to show them his face, and the light of his countenance to shine upon them; that is, to show them his divine favor, and fatherly good pleasure; otherwhiles praying him to turn away his face, that is, his angry countenance, and face of displeasure.

[Reas.] Reason why the life of the faithful lies in God's loving face, is, because it is the very life and happiness of the Saints in Heaven. For those even in Heaven in the presence of all good things, and want of all evils, had but a miserable happiness, if either God were not present with them, or, being present, if they did not always behold his blessed face of • ove and favor. If this be the • ife of Heaven, much more must • he comfort of it quicken the • aints upon earth.

[Use.] Here will be a fair trial of the • incerity of a good Christian • eart, hereby may be known, To • nesion tes 'agapes, the sincereness and genuineness of our love whe • her our service and obedience be grounded upon a right love to God or no. How are we affected to the Lord, do we lay up all our treasure in his love and loving countenance? can we content and • uiet our hearts with this, that God is well pleased with us in the midst of our calamities? Canst thou say in the midst of ease, riches, friends, honor, and the fullest streams of worldly contentment. Alas! foolish vanities, one glance of God's face, the persuasion of God's favor do I delight in more than all you? yea, I had rather be the basest footstool of the world with God's love, than a glorious Monarch with a graceless Soul. Wicked men always love God's hand, better than his face, the gifts better than the giver. Give them the worlds marrow and fatness, let their Corn and Wine, and Oil increase, let them walk in Sunshine of earthly prosperity, and they never find a want of inward assurance of God's love in the Soul, they want eyes to see the want of spiritual life, and want Grace to long after God's countenance, to shine upon their Souls in sanctification and true peace. The worlds voice is, who will show us any good? that is, gifts of God's hand: but the Godlies voice is, Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. If thou canst make it all thy care to keep the assurance of God's love, and all thy joy to rejoice in his face when thou hast it, and make it all thy grief that nothing can comfort thee when thou wantest it, & all thy labor for to regain it; doubtless thy love to God is sincere and true, you are reconciled ones, for one friend cannot brook the absence of another.

[Use. 2] What esteem will this teach us to give to the life of a wicked man? doth he live who wants the Spirit of life, the face of God's favor, which is better than life? No, his life is a spiritual death, he may live in the eyes of men, but he is a dead stinking Carrion in the eyes of God, Dead, nay, that is not enough, he is thrice dead and plucked up by the roots. For first, he is dead in sin; next, he is more miserably dead, because God's face is turned away from him, he loves him not, delights not in him, and which is worse than death, this wretched Soul perceives it not, and is not grieved for it. O man, pray for an Heavenly light, that thy eyes may be opened to see thy misery. Thou art merry and jolly, for all things fall out to thy wish. Thou growest from weak to strong, from young to old; this is but the life of trees and plants. Thou walkest, eatest, drinkest, sleepest well, this is but the sensual life of birds and beasts. Thou buildest, talkest, reasonest, this is but the life of men, even Heathens, and strangers to Christ: thus thy life passes; but alas! among all these thou wantest the life of Grace, the loving countenance of God in Christ, the assurance of salvation by faith in him. Thou yet wantest the seeds and principles of a true Christian life, and therefore art a poor dead wretch before God, and canst not but perish, if thou seekest not for better comforts, and a better life than these; even that Christ may be thy life, and visit thy dead Soul with his quickening Spirit, and set his face of favor upon thee for his own chosen One. This is the misery of a senseless sensual Soul, Ahab. like, to grieve for no wants, but only of earthly things. If the Children of the most High so hardly come to Heaven with faintings of spirit, and approachings to the very grave and pit, in seeking God's face, what shall become of them then, that count God's face not worth looking after? sure against such the Lord hath set his face of wrath and displeasure forever.

[Use. 3] This will discover the common spring, whence these troubled waters arise, which so often almost drown the godly: Their anguish flows from a mistaking, and misinterpretation of this face of favor. Whensoever they fall into any temptations they pass an hard sentence against themselves, that God has turned awy his face from them, and is angry with them, because their anguish continues, and he doth not presently deliver them. When God's face is towards thee, why dost thou deny it? the Sun shines, though there be a Cloud 'twixt it and me; and even now God's face shines upon thee, though Satan hath placed some foggy vapors and clouds of distrust and temptations 'twixt thy Souls eye and it. It is no difficulty to prove, that we complain of God's hiding his face, when it is not hid from us. The best parts of a man's face for comfort, is the eye, and the ear; the one to see, and look kindly on us, the other to hear us willingly. Dost thou (though sore afflicted) trust in God, and wait on him, are thy eyes to him? then I am sure his eyes are upon thee, his eye of pity, of love, of tender compassion; he will not withdraw his eyes from the righteous; and his ears are open unto their prayer. What wouldst thou have more than an open ear, and piteous eye? what dost thou in this thy trouble, thou callest on God by prayer, thou mortifiest every known sin, thou laborest to find God in every promise? who guides thee to do this? not the tempter, for this is the way to break in pieces all his Temptations; not thyself, for thou knowest not aright what course to take; it is because God's eye is upon thee, for his eye guides thee to these ways. I will guide thee (saith the Lord) with mine eye. And they say the seat of Love, though it be in the face, yet it is specially in the eye. Again, God's ear is towards thee, thou prayest, and he hears; thou beggest strength and comfort, he gives the first? he delays but the last: he gives thee the comfort of strength, makes thee able to hold out in thy trouble; though he do not yet give thee the strength of comfort, to get out of thy trouble. Surely we want not his face and favor, when we have thus his good eye and gracious ear, and can say to to the Tempter, Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall, but the Lord hath been my helper. What wantest thou then of his face? nothing but one word from his mouth, that he would speak peace to thee, and say within thee in the voice of his Spirit, I am thy salvation: This I know is that the Saints ofttimes want, that God is long silent, speaks not comfort to them. Heaviness having seized upon the heart of man makes it stoop, but then a good word makes it glad. One good word from God would build up thy Soul, if he should but say, Be of good cheer thy sins are forgiven thee. And doubtless, this thou hast also, he speaks to thee in his promises; only Satan, and thy wrestling heart drown his voice, that thou canst not hear his promises speaking particularly and distinctly to thee. In the mean time call and pray unto God, that is a seeking of his face, and howsoever for a while he stand behind the wall, thou seest him darkly, but through the windows, and he show himself to thee but through the lattice, yet thou shalt in good time enjoy his face of comfort more fully, and have a more complete presence of him bringing sweet consolations to thy wearied Soul. Thou hast already his countenance, he will grant thee the joy of that countenance.

I conclude with that discourse of the Father concerning God's face.

If God should come (saith he) and with his own voice speak to you (though he is not silent, but speaks by his Letters) and should say to man; Wilst thou sin, sin on; do what delights thee; what ever thou lovest on earth, let it be thine, whom thou art angry at, let him perish; whom thou wouldst have taken away, let him be taken away; whom thou wouldst stay, let him be slain; whom condemned, let him be condemned; whom possess, thou mayest possess him: Let none resist thee, none say to thee, so much as, What dost thou? &c. Take thee abundance of all earthly things thou desirest, live in them, and not for a time, but forever; only upon this condition, thou shalt never see my face. Wherefore is your heart smitten, if God should say, Thou shalt never see my face. Behold, thou shalt be full of all earthly felicity, of all things, all temporal good things shall flow about thee, thou losest them not, never forsakest them; what wouldest thou have more? Surely chaste fear would weep and lament, yea, and say, Rather let all these things and this felicity be taken from me, so I may but see thy face; chaste fear would cry out with the Psalmist, Turn us again, O Lord of Hosts, let thy face shine on us, and we shall be saved; Psal. 80.19. And, One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit his Temple, Psal. 27.4. O Brethren, would you know where Paradise is scituate, and what Quarter Heaven lies in? It lies in God's countenance, and in his reconciled face; and the sorest torments of Hell lie in the everlasting hiding away of God's face. O Lord, we are helpless, give us the help of thy countenance When we are in darkness, O lift thou upon us the light of thy countenance, and our darkness shall be as Noon-day: When we are full of sorrow, thou shalt make us full of joy with thy countenance: Turn thou unto us, O God of our salvation, cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

EYE-SALVE FOR The blind World.

THe preaching King hath put this among his golden Observations, That the end of a thing is better than the beginning: His intended purpose therein, being to animate the faint-hearted, not to start back at the first, as afraid of enterprising weighty matters, because of an harsh entrance into them. Yet the beginning of this Chapter is much better than the end: it begins with Christ's Legacy, Peace to the Righteous; but the dregs are bitter at the bottom, which the ungodly shall suck up. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. Who cares for a blasted Rose? or what verdict gives the world on a righteous man in his life, but this, which the Prophet gives of Christ for his human base appearance? there is no form or comeliness in him, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. And yet these blind Balaam's, when they have done Satan all his work, would willingly exchange their best wages of unrighteousness for the godly man's Vineyards penny. Is it not a misery, to see a Soul, that hath all the days of this life, been drunk with the wine of worldly • usts, the body now standing upon the brink of the grave, not shaking the hands of others, but wringing their own hands in a woeful farewell, the fingers pidling with the bed-clothes, and the Soul now standing upon the lips, like a bird ready to take her flight, and if it were visible, should be seen like his soul, which was said to be seen to fly out of his body in shape and color of a Crow; that then at last, alas! too late, it should come to this sober and sad reckoning, O let me die the death of the righteous, and let my later end be like unto his, Num. 23.10. Children, when they are asleep look the prettiest; the Godly man is a fool in his life, yet the worlds deepest heads would be no wiser in their deaths, his last sleep has form and comeliness in it. Our Prophet intends i • these words to tell us as much, tha • under the hard shell of death, h • finds a sweet kernel of life; h • is taken away from evils an • troubles, quietly to rest; as if he were laid in his own Bed chamber. This Prophet has many drops to comfort God's Servants; he writes like an Evangelist, our Savior and his Apostles dwelt much in his leaves, for he spake the Gospels Language of consolations, the New Testament has honored him above other Prophets, with quoting his Prophesy 60 times, from Chapter 40. to the end of the whole Prophesy; it is like Canaan, full-stream'd with milk and honey, almost altogether consolatory. This very Chapter, among the rest, is not so short, as sweet, having goodly beams come from it.

First, It gives a bright and clear beam, to stand like a light over the grave of the Right ••• s, to let us see how they are buried in • eace, to the third verse.

Secondly, a sharp piercing • eam of reproos for conviction of the ungodly of divers sins, mocking of the Holy, Idolatry, &c. to the thirteenth Verse.

Lastly, an heating beam of comfort, promises of favor, reconciliation and peace, to stay the tears of all Zion's mourners, to the end of the Chapter.

These words otherwise may be named, the short Table or view of the Child of God, in his life and death.

1. In his life, and so he is described two ways.

• 1. Godward, so he is righteous.
• 2. Manward, so he is merciful.

2. In his death, which we consider two ways.

• 1. How expressed.
• 2. How respected.

1. Expressed two ways, he is said to

• 1. Perish.
• 2. Be taken away out o • the world.

2. Respected two ways:

• 1. Of God, he respect • them with care, to free them from the evil to come.
• 2. Of wicked men, thei • respect is respectlesness, set out

Two ways, by two Phrases of careless neglect:

• 1. They never take it to heart.
• 2. They little consider or mind it.

Or more briefly, the whole may be summed into these two Heads:

1. God's Judgment in the death of the Righteous, taking them away to himself, when he means to punish the world.

2. The worlds want of judgment and consideration of God's end of it, None considers it, none lays it to heart.

Let some light of explication make clear the words.

The righteous. ] Righteousness is hard to find. Are there some Righteous? is it not the voice of the Scripture, there is none righteous, no not one: Not a Just man upon earth? True, when we name Righteousness, we call to mind our lost Pearl: God made man Righteous. This Apple of our eye was given away for an Apple of the Tree of Knowledge. If we speak of men Righteous and Just, in respect of their deeds among men, we mean upright and honest dealing; if we speak of Righteousness in respect of God, then we mean no more a righteousness of inherence, that is gone; but of adherence and cleaving to Christ by faith. Christ's Righteousness and merits are imputed to us. Just and righteous is that style holy and good men are honored withal in the Scriptures, denoting fruits of righteousness in an upright life, according to that, he that doth righteousness is righteous. Thus Joseph is called a Just man; so Cornelius; where the word Just notes the universal and general carriage in uprightness, holiness and God's fear.

Perisheth.] This word sounds harshly, as to die miserably, untimely; but surely the righteous so perish not, unless the Prophet speak after the opinion and in the phrase of the ungodly. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die or perish, and their departure is taken for misery; yet to perish is expounded afterward to be nothing else, but to be taken away, and depart this life.

No man layeth it to heart.] No man, that is, very few or none mind to take care for the worlds loss of the Righteous, their hearts are nothing at all moved, or touched with it. Things that come near the heart most affect us. To lay to heart, is a common phrase in Scripture, and is expounded after by the word consider: It is used again verse the eleventh, Thou hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart. It seems to imply three things.

First, to understand the thing we would consider.

Secondly, To consider and earnestly to think of the causes, and consequents of it.

Thirdly to be affected with it upon that consideration, so as the heart joys in it, if it find it good; is greatly grieved, and sorry for it, finding it evil: the affection of sorrow arising in a matter deplorable, of joy in a thing comfortable. So then, none lays it to heart, is thus much, None considers at all God's anger intended to the world in the death of the godly; none repent of their sins, or stand in fear of some ensuing Judgment.

Merciful men.] The word signifies Good or kind men, and it is Translated Good, or Godly in other places: To show us, that Mercy is a great part of Godliness. It is taken passively, for one that has received mercy from the Lord, or Actively, for one that shows mercy to others, in which acception it stands here.

Are taken away] Colliguntur, are gathered together; so the Patriachs dying are said to be gathered to their fathers, which is not so meant of their bodies, which were it buried in Tomb purchased by their Kindred, for a burial place to that family; but especially it is meant of the Souls of the faithful, which in the death of their bodies are gathered to the blessed number of the righteous, glorified in Heavens; gathered to the rest of the spirits of Just men made perfect. This taking away, or gathering, may be considered doubly, as a gathering out, or a gathering in.

First. A gathering out, which is when there is a mixture of things good and bad together, when we pick out one sort from the other, it is a gathering or selecting collection. As when the Net catches all kind of fishes, the good are picked out, and the bad cast away. Sometimes they are thus gathered, when danger is likely to seize on all together, then that which is good gathered out, that the danger may not fall on it. Thus the righteous are mixed in this world with ungodly men, and the Lord picks his Children from among the rest, he is preparing plagues for the world, and before hand he takes care for his, by gathering them out of the danger: so that phrase imports, from the evil to come.

2. A gathering in, which is after the picking out, to lay that which is good in a better place by themselves. Thus the Righteous (separated from the world by death) are gathered (like the good fishes) into a vessel by themselves, into one blessed society and unmixed company, into heavenly glory, where no wicked men shall enter among them anymore. And of this gathering is this Colliguntur, they are thus taken away.

None considering.] Before, none laying it to heart, for so they are both taken one for another, Consider your ways, in Haggai in the Original is, set your heart on your ways.

From the evil to come.] From the face or presence of evil.

From the evil of sin, lest if he should live any longer, he might be infected with the sins of wicked men: But the truest is, from the evil of punishment, wherewith God means to plague the wicked world, that they may not smart with the sinners. When God has a quarrel with the earths Inhabitants, he takes his Children from among them, that he may be revenged upon those who have provoked him. Thus the meaning of the words appearing, the Prophet seems to speak to his people, and in them to us, after this manner.

O how great and graceless is our security, with what hasty feet do all men run to their pleasures? How blind are we, that cannot see the Land falling under the hand of the Lord's severe Judgment? Do we not daily see the Lord fetching away by death his dearest and holiest Servants? Surely therein he would signify to us, that his intentions are to bring punishments upon us, he taking his own out of the way, that they may not see nor feel the vengeance which the world has deserved and shall undergo. Yet where is there a man that thinks of this, or lays it to heart, or takes notice what the Lord is about to do, when he takes the righteous from among us?

From the words (like clay thus tempered and prepared) we may make up these five Vessels, or extract these evident Conclusions.

First, that Righteous and holy men are also merciful men.

Secondly, God's most Righteous Servants must die as well as others.

Thirdly, The Souls of the Saints in their deaths are gathered to the Lord, and (by the Lord) into blessedness.

Fourthly, When the Righteous go from among us, some Judgment is to be feared is coming towards us.

Fifthly, The secure wicked world is little moved with the removal of the Godly. — None considers it, none lays it to heart. How easily these rise, we need not fly to Reasons to demonstrate it: Righteous men are merciful men. — Our Savior hath enjoined it them, and they lay up his sayings in their hearts, Be ye merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful. These have received mercy of the Lord, and are thereby transformed into such a merciful and pitiful nature, as his is. If we should ask fire why it burns? It must be answered, It is the nature of fire: Why doth the Sun shine? It is the nature of the Sun to do so: How is it the Godly man is so merciful? It is the nature of him, I mean the new nature that is engrafted in Christ, to be like affected to the misery of othors, as he has found Christ to him. These may truly say, We cannot but do it, the love of God constrains us to it.

There are no Graces poured by God into a good man's heart, as water into a Tub or Pond, which keeps all to itself, and lets the ground be dry about it; but every gracious man is a Spring, a Fountain, that sends forth streams to water the eatth, and feeds the rivulets that flow from it. When we once come to Christ the great Spring, he makes us little Springs to others: The waters that I give (saith Christ) shall be in him that receives it a Well springing up to everlasting life: yea, might some say, it springs up for himself: yes, and for others also, for out of his belly shall these waters flow to the benefit of others. The woman of Samaria had no sooner drunk of this water of Christ's receiving her to mercy, but it burst and flowed out of her belly, in pity she labored the salvation of her Neighbors, crying earnestly on them, Come and see a man, &c. Come and taste of that mercy which I have tasted of in Christ: the Prophet David has the very words of this conclusihn, the Righteous is merciful and liberal; that is, he shows his mercy by his liberality. Elsewhere he sings the Marriage song of these two in God, Mercy and truth are met together; and as sweet is Righteousness and Mercy, Piety and Pity conjoin'd in a Christian: A sweet pair and lovely couple of young Pigeons, not the offering of the poor, but this Offering to the poor, which the Lord loves better than a fat Bullock laid on his Altar; With such sacrifices of mercy (for he loves mercy better than sacrifice) is God well pleased. This mercy is an holy affection of the heart sympathizing with them that are in misery, and a liberal and holy action of the hand helping and refreshing those in misery. Piteous affection that is the root; actions of liberal distribution, and relief, that is the fruit, which like the fruit of the Vine, cheers both God and man. Misery which is the object of Mercy is corporal or spiritual.

1. Mercy looks at them both, to the bodies sickness, nakedness, poverty, beggary; there mercy will make a Christian a Dorcas, to clothe, and relieve, to visit and refresh.

2. To the Souls misery, as ignorance of God, impenitence, living in sin, &c. there mercy will be a counselor, to counsel them for God; an instructor, a reprover, a builder, pitying those blind Souls.

Briefly, all misery is the object of mercy, upon every occasion it has (like Christ) an open side to show the bowels of compassion.

[Use.] This will be of Use, as if it were a Book with two leaves to let two several sorts of men read legibly in it their condition and estate, thereby to learn what it is.

1. If Righteous men be merciful men, then here is a note to try our Righteousness by, here in this Leaf mayest thou read thine estate towards God, in thy piteous compassion towards man. Art thou pitiful-hearted to any in necessity? dost thou love to stretch forth thy hand, & reach out bounty to the poor Members of Christ? canst thou fee Christ in a stranger? then art thou no stranger to Christ. There are many notes of Righteousness, the Lady and Queen of all is Faith; yet Faith is dead if she want breath; the breath of Faith is Love, and Love is dead if it show not Mercy. How can any have a surer characteristick sign of his sins pardon than this, that in injuries he can feelingly say, I will pardon, for Christ has pardoned me; in poverty he can say, I will help this miserable wretch, for the Lord might have made me far more miserable: Yea, when he meets with these objects of pity, he can say in himself, Lo, Christ has cast this man in my way to try my bounty and compassion, I will not lose this opportunity. If upon all occasions thou art ready to distribute to the necessity of God's poor Children, doubtless thou art one of God's Children, for he begets Sons like himself, piteous and compassionate.

2. If the Righteous be merciful, then let us turn to the other leaf. Look here churlish Nabal, unmerciful Christian, covetous Iron-bowel'd oppressor, let me say as Christ, What is writ in the Law, how readest thou? What is writ in this leaf? this mayest thou read to the shame of thy face, and terror of thine heart, that such unmerciful men are unrighteous, yea, godless wretches. Are there not some, whom the Lord has filled with earths good things, and yet the Box of Spikenard, that those in necessity might smell the odour of Mercies Ointment? The Godly man puts his earthly trust in his hand, it never comes in his heart: the ungodly covetous put it in their hearts, it never comes in their hands to distribute; and can there be any room for Christ, or his Grace in such earthly hearts, where earthly metal takes up all the place? Be not deceived, you that have abundance, and riot in that abundance, never pitying nor rembring the afflictions of Joseph; you that by oppression and hard dealing, as Satan's grindstones, do grind the faces of the poor, shut your ears and hands at the cry of the needy, and worse than Bethlehemites, will not help Christ (in his Members) to Stable-room, you (running in this course) are strangers to righteousness, and enemies to mercy. Doubtless such never tasted of Christ, nor love Christ; for who loves the Head, which hates the Members? If the righteous man be merciful to his beast, then surely such are unrighteous, and very beasts who will not show mercy to man. Learn of me (saith Christ) what will he teach? pity, compassion, meekness, love: If we will not learn this of Jesus, we may seek out another Master; unmerciful men may go to School to Judas and profit under him, he will (of all men most unmerciful yet) read unto them a Lecture of mercy, might not this have been sold and given to the poor? sorry that the Ointment was not better spent; the lesson was good, though his meaning was naught. Little and slender are the hopes for Heaven, who go on in the path of covetous mercilesness. If unmerciful men ever come in Heaven, then unrighteous men may come there also, and then where will the truth of God's Word appear, which threatens those who cast away all piteous affection, an • consider not the cause of the poo • and needy. Such may persuade • themselves with presumptuou • hopes, that for all this they hav • claim; but sure they build 〈◊〉 goodly house which forget to la • the foundation: Saint Paul hath herein given us the way to make sure hold and hopes of eterna • life, by being rich in good works, and ready to distribute, this lays a sure foundation for time to come. Mercy (in one word) marks us for God, unmercifulness for Satan, and is the cognizance of an unrighteous man; to do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with God, must be found in him that belongs to God.

Where might exhortation be better bestowed, and largelier urged, then in stirring up all men, to let their light shine before men in works of mercy. O that we would all put on these bowels of mercy • and tender-heartedness, clothes that wax not old, which will keep us warm with a comfortable heat in the coldest day 〈◊〉 distress, in life, death, and judge • ent. The only way to be rich, 〈◊〉 to be trading with the poor in • cts of mercy and pity. We take • reat care to lay up our wealth • ase; it is never so safely laid up, • s when it is thus laid out, in clo • hing the naked back, and filling • he empty belly, and main • aining the right cause of the Fa • herless and Orphans. So many • s have been refreshed by our • ounty, are made our Intercessors • n earth, and are bountiful in • heir prayers to us and for us, that when we pray, we have all their prayers joined with an holy importunity, overcoming God to grant our requests. Happy was O ever nesiphorus, that he looked mercifully upon Paul in his Chain, for he got Paul's prevailing prayer, that for mercy to him, the Lord would have mercy likewise on him at the last day. Especially, Learn we to pity sinners, blind, naked, and beggarly Souls: Save such ungodly wretches with fear; wh • fear? with fear, lest thou suff • them to perish in their sins; a • pull them out of the fire, ev • out of the fire of Hell, towar • which every sin (unrepented o • carries a man; of such have co • passion, by correcting them f • their evil course, and by directin • them into the way of Go • fear.

In four actions may we she • our merciful disposition.

First, In bearing, for mercy h • an ingredient of patience to be • wrongs.

Secondly, In forbearing revenge and showing a meek and gentl • nature.

Thirdly, In giving, whethe • corporal or spiritual Alms.

Fourthly, In forgiving, yea praying for our persecutors: a high degree of mercy, so to fo • give, as we can pray for God mercy to forgive our enemies.

Motives to this might be many but that one most powerful, the the Judicatory Sentence of Christ Judging the world, shall pass according to the works of mercy done, or omitted; I was an hungry, and you fed me, naked and you clad me, &c. Therefore, Come you blessed Children of my Father, &c. For the mercy of a crumb you shall have the mercy of my Kingdom. On the contrary, how dreadful is that voice, I was sick and you visited me not, naked and you clad me not, &c. Therefore, go you cursed, &c. you shall have Judgment without mercy, because you have shown no mercy. How deeply will that wound the merciless heart, when Christ shall lay it to his Charge. The dogs were fed, and my Children famished. These Actions of mercy are that which procures God to be our Orator, when he, in the general concourse of all them that ever lived upon earth, will mention and declare the Alms and compassion of the good man to his Children. What Abel suffered, how Noah preserved the World, Abraham kept the faith; Christ tells not of these at the last day, but Angels and all Saints shall hear of the bread that the poor have eaten, of the clothes that have covered their nakedness, of the drink which quenched the thirst of their throats. Some wish the Crown of Jobs passion I desire the recompense rather of his compassion; happy is he that hath skill to pronounce his language of mercy: I delivered the poor that cried, the fatherless and him that had none to help him: The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widows heart to sing for joy: I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame: I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not, I searched out.

[Doct. 2] God's Righteous and holy Servants must die as well as others. At one common door all enter, the Womb; at one common door we all go out, the Grave. All men came upon the Stage of life upon this condition, that having acted our parts we should go off. There is a way that is called the way of • ll flesh: Christ himself, if he take • pon him man's flesh, mortality • eizes upon that which is mortal, • e dies. I may take David's words, speaking of another Gate, • nd apply them to this Gate of • eath, This is the Gate of the Lord, • ven the Righteous shall enter in • hereat. God's Servants (even • is best) must be taken away, and • hat in a threefold respect.

[ I] In respect of Nature, they must • lie, whose Candle is not infinite, • t cannot burn always; it was • ighted upon this condition, that • t should once die out. The Week • hich burns, and the matter • hich feeds it, is elementary, ends to corruption.

1. This Candle is sometimes • iolently dashed out, as Abimelech's • andle of life with a stone thrown • t it.

2. Sometimes a great wind lows it out, as Herod's breath puf • ed out John Baptists light.

3. Sometimes it burns itself to • e very last, and spends itself in the Socket, as Methuselah and Abraham, dying in their old age, and full of days.

4. Yea, often this Candle is no sooner lighted up, but it is presently thrown down and put out; so died the Innocents, and so many young Children; the world had scarce bid them welcome, and they turned their backs, and bad it fareful. The Clew of life, though it were not violently cut, yet voluntarily would it in time unwinde itself, and let it appear that human life is wound up but upon a bottom of Clay. Righteous men in the world are Flowers among Grass and Weeds; yet are they but Flowers, these Lilies must wither, these Roses must cast their leaves: For all flesh is grass, and the glory thereof as the flower of the field; the grass withers, the best flower will fade.

[ II] In respect of Grace it is necessary they die: will God put off his Children with the first-fruits of his Spirit? no, he in • eads to perfect all Grace, and to fill them with all Divine fullness, to make them full Heirs, in bringing them to the Fountain and Well-head of life. Achsah gets the upper-Springs granted to her, as well as the nether; so God has upper-Springs of perfection for his Children, whose best Graces are here mixed with many imperfections: the Grace of Sanctification is here perfect for the nature, because it is holy, divine, and comes from God, but not for the stature, the strength and growth of it: it is always a growing here, there is a perfect measure and stature of the fullness of Christ, which once attained (and must be attained by death) it is ripe, and grows no more: then all planting and watering shall cease by Word and Sacraments, the Tree of Grace being come to full growth. It is called, The righteous man's perfect day; now tha • which is perfect, cannot come till that which is imperfect 〈◊〉 done away, which is by death that conveys us to our estate an • place of perfection: so some hav • drawn the Original of Death, t • signify that which is perfect. The • shall our Wheat grow without either Straw or Chaff, when temptations and imperfections shall n • more trouble us, all corruptio • being perfectly weeded out of th • heart, which cannot be her whiles we are absent from th • Lord.

3. Lastly, the Righteous mu •• die, in respect of the miseries o • this life, that their afflictions an • troubles may die and have an end The world laughs and the godl • weep: But shall the Righteou • man's Cheeks always be an Islan • compassed with Tears? No, th • Lord has told of a time, wherei • all tears shall be wiped from h • eyes. Who is persecuted, mocked scourged, the Butt of Satan's temptations, the subject of the worlds • corn, but the Servants of Christ? • hall this time last always? No, • urely the Lord has a time for • hem, called, The time of refresh • ent, when they shall be fuller of • lory and rest, than ever they • ere of troubles and miseries. We are here set in a warfare, as • aulted with fightings without, and errors within: we are compassed • ith an unruly body of flesh; we • re laden with corporal maladies, • ains, infirmities; pestered with • piritual faintings, qualms, and • eak fits, that if we had not bet • er comfort brought us for the fu • ure, to free us from these cum • ersom anxities, a servant of God • ere of all men most miserable: but • weet Death looses our Chains, • nd sets us free. Upon this ground • id the Holy Father build that • ghing prayer of • is to God, O Lord (saith he) • elp me off, loose • nd unbuckle this • eavy Coat (meaning the flesh full of infirmity which lies with such a ponde •• pressing weight upon my should • and give me a lighter and easier g • meant; meaning the garment eternal life, so pleasant, so ease • and free from all troubles, whi • death brings us, and clothes withal. If there were 〈◊〉 such Sugar at the bottom the Christians Cup, and the b • Wine kept to the end of the Fea • he had the worst fate of all me • but he may with a patience dig • these earthly troubles, because t • Lambs Supper shall make amen • for the worlds sharp Dinner. I h • utterly fainted (saith David) 〈◊〉 that I believed verily to see the go • ness of the Lord in the Land of th • • ving. That is meant of this li • much more may thoughts of et • nal life keep us from fainting. T • hope of death, is the hope of 〈◊〉 life: it is necessary we die that 〈◊〉 sorrows may die.

[Use. 2] Must the very Righteous d • let it lead us to consider of, a • conclude that universal deluge • riginal corruption, wherein all • ankind lies drowned. It is too • rue, that being made of dust, sin ends us to retur • to dust again. Who will defend nature to be im • aculate, and unwounded? • eaths Weapons could not enter • lesh, had not our original impu • ity weakened us, and streng • h • ned • im. Man first brought sin into • he world, sin brought death; Let one be so bold as to defend na • ure to be untainted, unless he • an bring this Argument to • rove it, Here is one free from • eath, Ergo, free from that sin. We are born Heirs and Coheirs (annexed with Adam ) of sin • nd death. Pray we and strive we against Original lust, yea, repent we of this sin, as that which put death in office, and reached the dart into his hand.

[Use. 2] This might stir us up, that seeing all men (even the Righteous) must die, that we should labor to die Righteous. The Righteous man's eye is all on God in his life; and God's eye (as at other times so) especially is set on him at his death, to fetch him to a blessed Mansion. We must die, but oh! that that last Act were made the Axle-tree, on which all the actions of our life might turn about, by continually thinking on our later end. A paper newly written is kept from blotting, if dust or sand be cast upon it: The remembrance that we are but dust and ashes, often, and daily cast upon our hearts and meditations, would keep us in an holy watchful course, that our lives should not be stained with so many blots of impiety, and neglect of God's worship. Death indeed shall come to all, but our lives are that which makes death bitter or swee • unto us. For he shall come to the wicked and rigtheous in a different manner.

1. To the wicked and unrighteous he shall come as a man of War to a man where sin lives as long as he lives, where Sata • sways the Scepter of his Monarchy in his Soul, living impenitently in fleshly lusts, deaths message is astonishing to such a one; Such a sinful wretch looking approaching death in the face, his Conscience cries a loud, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? as Ahab to Elias. To whom death answers with no better answer, than Ahijahs to Jeroboams wife, I am sent to thee with heavy tidings, a hard message, I have brought thee thy wages of sin, which is death. And then doth the desperate sinner tremble and quake, remembering how bad a life has made way for death, and death to torment; then (too late) his sins affright him, and he cries out, but one day longer to repent, as did that man in his death, O spare me, and give me but respite and truce till the morning, that I die not in my sins, and for my sins. O where are those many hours neglected in vanity?

2. But to the Godly and Righteous Soul, his appearance and face is glorious and amiable, he speaks a comfortable language to him. I cannot hurt thee, thy Savior has taken thy weapons from me; his death was my death was my death, for his Children, I come but to be thy Bridge that thou mayest pass over me into eternal life. So great a difference is there 'twixt the Godly and the wicked. Christian, get thy debts paid in Christ, and thy Bond cancelled in his blood, get into the crowd, and touch but the hem of his Garment by faith, to draw virtue, holiness, and his righteous-making merits, then shall there be no terror in deaths Vizard, that will sweeten the bitterness of the Grave unto thee, and finding that thou art righteous and accepted in Christ, thou mayest challenge him, O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? O! by repentance keep thy Soul from dying and the death of the body will • be a blessed prelude to immortality. And so much for a general view • of the necessity of death to the very righteous.

[Doct.] The Souls of the Saints at their death are gathered to the Lord, and by the Lord into blessedness.

This Conclusion has inclusively in it two parts.

1. That in this life there is a mixture of good and bad.

2. That in death God gathers the Souls of the righteous into a • happy unmixed society by themselves. — Do not all go to one place? saith Solomon, yes, for bodies in death, the Grave is the common receptacle of good and bad; a Murderer and a Martyr may be laid in one Grave together, but for Souls they change Countries. The Sanctum Sanctorum is for those Souls which have been Kings and Priests to God; the Righteous are gathered into Heaven, but the wicke • they shall be gathered into another place, they shall be turned into Hell, into the Company of all them that forget God. This Phrase of being gathered together in death, may be an allusion to the custom of the Jews who in death are said to be gathered to their Fathers when they died, for bodies as well as Souls, because they purchased burial places for their family apart. So both Jacob and Joseph charged their Children to carry them out of Egypt, and bury them with their Fathers, and thei • own people in Canaan. Whic • desire of theirs to be buried nea • their holy Kindred did,

1. Shew their love to one another, desiring their company being dead, whom they loved living

2. They did it to testify the faith in the Resurrection, hopin • by this means at the last Resurr • ction, they should all rise togethe • in glory.

3. Not to mention a third s • perstitious reason, by which p •• haps they might be induced, 〈◊〉 opinion of receiving some woe • or acceptableness to God, by •• ing near to those in the Gra • who for holiness were dear to hi • and beloved of him. Thus J • ahs death was a gathering to his • thers, of his Body to the Sep •• chres of his Fathers, and of his Soul to the company of all the Holy Fathers, that died in the same faith, pose may be seen To this purin the knowledge of the words Sanctuaria & Brandea, how far this Superstition afterward grew; which Scolars may inquire after. Our Savior tells of this happy gatering, I say unto you, that many shall come from the East and West, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. Our departure out of this life, wheresoever we live. East, West, North, South, sends all holy Souls to sit at the same Table of Glory with all Patriarchs and Believers that have been since the beginning of the World. Here we sit at Table hand over-head, Judas has his hand in the same dish with Jesus, Goats and Sheep go in the same Pasture; good and bad are mixed; but hereafter there shall be a separation, there shall be a society of the blessed, where no unclean thing shall enter. The Godly shall sit at a Table by themselves, none shall come there without a wedding Garment. Here is Mega Chaos, a great confusion, but there will be a time when there shall be Mega Chasma, a great Gulf separating distance, whereby sinners an • Saints shall be kept from blending together. That same last division which shall be made, i • fearful to think on, when Goat shall go among Goats, and She • with Sheep: yea, (that we ma • quake and tremble at it) of though •• many hundreds that hear me th • day, there shall be a divisio • some shall go to the right han • other shall be gathered to the le • we are all gathered together her • there will be a separation, yea two that sit in one Seat, of t • that lie in one bed, the one sh • he taken and the other left; the 〈◊〉 gathered to glory, the other tu • bled into a lake of wrath, ne • to meet again. To confirm t • doctrine of gathering, we have the Parables of our Savior of the Wheat and Tares, which here grow together, but at length shall be separated, when Wheat shall be gathered to the Barn, and Tares to burn. The modern Jews have a prayer for their dead, which has more of Babylon than Zion in it: The Lord (say they) have mercy on the Soul of N. or such a one, who is gone to his World, therefore I vow to give alms for him, that his Soul may be bound up in the bundle of life, with the Souls of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and the rest of the Righteous men, and women, Amen. Though part of this prayer be foolishly superstitious, to pray for the dead, yet that which is for our purpose in hand, is the phrase of the bundle of life, which the Scripture acknowledges. Which manner of speaking instruct us, that God keeps all the Souls of his Saints bound up by themselves, as it were, in one blessed bundle.

A bundle it is called, first, to signify that they were once dispersed one from another here on earth, but are there collected into one company and place.

2. To signify the unity of the blessed, These fly not asunder in discord, there is perfect agreement and concord. A bundle, a tied up Fagott, a Wheat Sheaf, is an emblem of unanimity.

3. To signify the firm perpetuity of their estate; God has bound them up fast, and surely, and what can break Heaven's bundles?

4. It notes their felicity and happiness, its a bundle of life and glorious immortality: Thus are they gathered all the faithfu • Members one to another, and all • to their Head Jesus Christ. Deat • gathers Souls, but the great gathering day is, when Bodies and Souls shall all be gathered together unto Glory.

Why should not the Saints be gathered together by themselves, they never desired the society of the wicked? yea, it is an heavy part of their Cross that there are Ishmael's in the same family with them. Here living among the wicked, their bodies are joined, but their affections, he • ts and wills are distinct and separate.

[Reason 2] They have had many gatherings by themselves.

1. They have their names (and they only) all written and gathered in one Book of Life, by Election.

2. They all fly and are gathered like Eagles unto one Carcase, and food of life, Jesus Christ, to seed on him in Word and Sacraments.

[Use.] 3. How far so ever they be separates they are all, gathered into one common communion of Grace; and why should they not be gathered at last into one communion of blessedness, and Glory.

Are the Saints Souls gathered in death, till then must there be a mixture? This will meet with them who accurse the Moon for some spots they find in her, such as will either throw away the Church, or themselves out of the Church, because the Fringes of her Coat are somewhere rent off, & all is not aright in her. True it is (and O that the Lord would purge his Temple, and set up Pastors after his own Heart) that there is something in the Church as black as Tents of Kedar, for which good hearts will mourn; but withal in many other things she is comely as the Curtains of Solomon, for which we owe the Lord much praise. It is one thing to live, where means of pure worship are wanting, another to be where false worship is erected for the first we are not to fly the Church, but by purges and patience to stay the Lord's mercy for the other, we must depart, because of that abomination. Who is so mad as to set a fire on his house, because he finds some Spiders webbs in it? Here will be always in the Church good and bad Shepherds, sound and unsound Members; It is the time she must be militant, when she is Triumphant, there shall be none in her but those that are sound, and righteous.

Abuses have been and will be in the purest Church; she must suffer Cramps and Convulsions, in Schisms and Sects, that good members may be approved. The fanning time is not yet come, when God will blow away all the Chaff; these spots and wrinkles will be in her face, till the last day, when Christ will present her to his Father without spot or blemish. In the mean time pray we that she may be purged, and seek we for as pure a congregation as may be, though we could thrust ourselves into Noah's Ark, (God's Church in a little compass) we should find among those eight Righteous Souls, one Cabin full of Beasts and dung, something in our judgment off • n • ive, either crossing orders decency, or doctrines verity: And for our parts let us be so wise, as to let God use his own Fann, and not to separate ourselves, because the time is not yet come, hearkening to these directions,

1. Join we ourselves to the soundest and best parts of Christ's Body.

2. Remember we to build up ourselves in Christ's sufficiency, to be a careful Superintendent and Governor of his Church, to amend what is amiss; censure no farther then the Lord censures. 3. Though he say to the Church of Ephesius he has something against her, yet he doth not un • church her, he still loves her as a true Church, which had many good things in her. 4. Lastly wait, and waiting meditate or that time, when there shall b • gathered a glorious Church together, and all her chalk stones that are now in her, shall b • stamped to powder, and she buil • upon preceious stones, free from all fault, and the least blemish, Christ immediately in his own person governing. That shall not be Domecratia, but Theocratia, as Josephus calls the Government of the Jews commonwealth, and Church.

[Use. 2] Are the Saints Souls gethered together in death, this in the mean while may be a Plaister for their sore, among whose griefs this is not the least, that they cannot live here but among wicked and ungodly men. The Child of God would have all like himself, and O how it vexes his righteous Soul from day today to see such Waves of impiety drown them among whom he lives! It is a good trial of our Hearts sincere love to the Lord Jesus, when we are often in the Prophets ditty, O that I had Wings like a Dove to fly away and be at rest, from seeing or hearing the Lord dishonored: It grieves him that he lives or living, that he has eyes to see it. As that Bishop of Chalcedon Maris in the Primitive Church, who being blind and meeting with tha • Arch enemy of Christ Julian th • Apostate, who called him reproachfully a blind wretch, an • asked him whether his Galilaea • God would not cure him? h • presently replied, I thank my Go • that I have no Eye-sight to see suc • a sworn Enemy of Christ, as thee. But how will this medicine b • applied to do us good? even thus that we apply ourselves to submit to the Lord's will, and pleasure, in patiently undergoing this, that we must converse amongst wicked men; for if all the Saints should live together, it would be Heaven upon earth. There is no such holy ground our seat can stand on, but we shall find cause to sing that tune, Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell with Mesech: to have my habitation among the Tents of Kedar. We must content ourselves, for a while, the time doth not yet appear, when none but the righteous shall live together. God's Children seem to be fa off us, and we grieve that there is such a distance often times betwixt us, notwithstanding how far soever they live from us, we have the benefit of their best society, their communion and fellowship in pity and Prayers; though Bodies be severed, we have the best conjunction of their wills, and Hearts to ours. We must rest in God's pleasure, who out of this mixture, fetches much benefit to his Church.

1. The godly are dispersed into several Angles and Corners of the World (like the Levites all over the Land) to work the fear of God in the hearts of wicked men where they live.

2. We must remain among those that are stangers to God, that our patience may have the perfect work, in bearing their reproaches daily which they have cast upon us.

3. That our conversation in holiness may ashame and convince them, as Noah's preparaing an Ark condemned the World.

[Use 3] 4. God hereby takes occasion to make our Crown the more glorious, because we keep the faith in the midst of hindrances, and continue to hold fast his name, and worship though we dwell where Satan's Seat is. It is a secret in Ga • denings Art, to Sow and Set Roses near the unpleasant smelling Garlic, as a means to bring forth Roses far sweeter, and more fragrant then others not so planted. So is it in grace, they that honor the Lord's name, being amongst wicked men, where are least encouragements; these Roses are the Lord's sweetest flowers, their devotion is most acceptable to the Lord.

Thirdly, this may lend comfort to the Friends of some dying, and to the person dying. 1. To the Friends of men dying.

1. Commonly we send away those that we love swimming in our Tears, and make the Coffin, as it were a Boat; This is the drink-offering of natural affection. And what is the burden of our grief, but this? why, they are gone away from us, whose love, and society was sweet and dear unto us. What then? if they loved us, why then do not we love them? would we have them out of Heaven, and the company of the blessed, to whom they are gathered? we ourselves shall discontinue but a small time, then shall we have their blessed society again: Our Souls and theirs (by death) shall meet and be gathered together never more to be parted. As Saul and Jonathan, if we loved one another in our lives, so in death we shall not be divided. Away then with that tearing of Hair, and immoderate sorrows for a dead Child, sweet Wife, or loving Husband departed this life; they are gathered to the Lord, and his flock of blessed ones, Do we envy their happiness? would we have them break off their blessed company, for ours? and have their Souls reinspired into these Clay-Tabernacles, and then to live again below in these smoky Houses of sin, and vanity? No, let us set a period to our plaints, and say, Blessed be God, who hath delivered these our Friends from all mundane miseries, and gathered them so near unto himself; We shall go to them, but they shall not come to us, as David said of his dead Child.

2. To the person dying Death indeed seems terrible; but shall we fear it, as that which destroys all our joy? What is there else that we need fear, if we fear God? Doth thy Conscience witness within thee, that all thy endeavors have been to honor the Lord in thy life? never start then for fear of death, all the harm he will do thee, is a gathering of thy Soul unto the Lord, and to the society of the blessed. Socrate • could fly to this, to sweeten his poisoning Cup of death, to which he was condemned, saying, Count ye it not an high matter to have conference in another life with Orpheus, Musaeus, Homer, Hesiod? O how shall I swim in abundant pleasures, when I shall meet with Palamedes and Ajax, and other falsely condemned? Truly (saith he) I would willingly often go out of this life, if it might be to find these men my Companions. Lo, Christian, blush before the Heathen, who could warm himself with these poor Chipps, and this cold comfort: How far sweeter will be the Heavenly inhabitants, when thou shalt see Adam, Abel, Abraham that glorious Friend of God, and Father of the faithful; Moses and Elias, those picked out by Christ to confer with at his Transfigurations: There shalt thou see David and Samuel, Paul, who hath filled the world with sweetness by his honeyed leaves, John the darling of Christ; yea, that Jewel of women, Mary the blessed Mother of Christ, and Christ himself the Lord of Glory, with all the faithful Saints that ever the world had; yea, all our dead Friends departed in the faith of Christ. Would he go often to see such blind Heathens whose Heaven (it is to be suspected) is Hell, and shall we be afraid once to be transported into such a glorious Clew of Heavens Citizens? Go out therefore undaunted (O my Soul) fear not death, thou goest to God, thou art gathered to Christ, to Angels, to Saints glorified, to the society of the Spirits of just men made perfect. Shall the Souls of righteous, &c. [Use 4] Learn we farther from it these things. 1. It will teach us what becomes of the wicked in their deaths, they also are gathered together among themselves, as the Godly among themselves, to make a bundle of life, so are these Tares bound up in the bundle of death, to feed eternal fire. Hear, O drossy Hearts, you sons of Abaddon have a great mercy that you live mixed with Saints, whose examples might be made unto you at occasion of blessedness, but from their lives you will not learn holiness: you shall not be always together, hereafter, you shall be separated, and go Goats with Goats. The righteous when they die go to Heaven, and the blessed Canaan, that is their own place, as the earthly Canaan was called Jacob; and so wicked men when they die they go the Kingdom of perdition, that is their own place, as Judas when he perished. They have a place of their own, (where no righteous man shall come among them) they have wrought for it, and they shall have it, the place of darkness and horror. Which made the Prophet cry out, O Lord, gather not my Soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men. O what mirth and joy is here upon earth, when a knott of lewd and licentious livers, that hate Christ and laugh at his Word, do meet together, and he is the happiest counted of this unhappy Crue, that can coin some scurrilous and base jest upon a Christian, that walks after Paul's rule circumspectly, strictly, or (as they call it) precisely: yet these blind wretches in their death shall wish to be the Dogs, that might but lick the Crumbs which fall from the Table of these Children of the most High, whom they have despised and reviled. O sinner, learn betimes the way of the righteous, Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. If thou diest unreconciled to God, thou shalt not have part with the righteous, thou shalt be gathered among thy miserable Companions; as the faithful are gathered into Abraham's bosom, so shalt thou be gathered into Judases bosom (the Patriarch of them that perish) with Cain, Saul, Demas, Herod, Julian, &c. And all that wicked crew which hated Christ.

2. Seeing the Righteous shall be gathered together hereafter, let it exhort us to love their companions in Heaven; seek out the Godly man, affect his society, talk with him, walk with him, for he walks with God. As he that rubbs his hands on Musk, or Civit, shall savor of it; so by thy society with the righteous, thou shalt get a savor of good things: his conference will quicken up thy Graces, his zeal provoke thee, his hands drop myrrh upon thee.

3. Hate all wicked associates, partners in sins shall be partners in sins scourge. As thou desirest not to be gathered with the wicked men and their black Angels hereafter, so hate thou to be gathered into their counsel and company here.

When the Righteous go from among us, some Judgment is to be feared is coming towards us. It is to be suspected that some great evil is ready to fall on that people, out of whom God selects them. When mercy gathers the godly, some judgment is like to come and scatter the ungodly. God in this may be compared to a careful Husband, whose House beginning to burn, here he snatches his Plate, there he gathers up his Jewels, conveys away his Trunks of Linnen, and Goods o • most worth: as for baggage • wood-vessels, and other cheap an • baser Furniture, he lets that bur • because he has saved that he love • the best. Thus doth God, whe • a sinful nation is kindling hi • wrath against it in some judgmen • the Lord before it begin, or in th • beginning, takes, and snatche • away here an holy man, and there • an holy woman; he gathers u • these his Jewels and choice • Plate, to lay them out of th • reach of the fire, that only th • wicked may perish in those flame • their own sins have kindled. Se • it in Lot, so long as he is in Sodo • their Table is not spread for God • hot banket of fire and Brimstone • but as soon as the Lord has go • him out, fierce wrath overwhelm • them, it stays not long after hi • departure. The Lord said before, I can do nothing till thou come hithe • that is out of Sodom into Zoa • Why could the Lord do nothing while Lot was there? Because,

1. Either Lot with his prayers bound the Lord's hands, as it were, that he should not smite.

2. Or because the Lord will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. Justice indeed cries against sinners, Tumble them down into the Sea of thy wrath. Mercy then stands up and saith, nay, but rather save them for the righteous sakes, or at least free them from the vengeance, let not the Wheat be burnt with Chaff, The like is manifest i • Josiah, he is like Wheat among Tares. The Lord purposes to burn the sinful Tares with a judgment, but he first plucks up the Wheat from that evil to come. I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gather-into thy Grave in peace, and thine eyes shall not see all the evil, which I will bring upon this place. Josiah goes, and Judgment comes.

When the Leaves fall fast off the Trees, then we say Winter is at hand: so when we see not Leaves only, but the fruitfullest branches, even righteous men, cut off from the Tree of this life we may judge there is some Wi • ter-weather of Judgments abo • to fall on the World.

[Reason] We may take Solomon's reaso • Righteousness exalts a nation, b • sin is a reproach to any people: If th • Righteous and righteousness co • tinue in it, it is likely to flouris • but if nothing but sin and sin • be left, wrath is not far off, 〈◊〉 cannot prosper. Weeds are fence about in a Garden for the Her • sake, and wicked men may than God for the holy men that li • among them, for they are bett • unto them than the Roman Tutel • God's, wrath is held off for the sakes; they build Walls abou • the place where they dwell wi • their Prayers, and Righteouness.

Q. It may be demanded, C • there no wrath seize on a natio • or place, or people, while t • righteous are alive, and rema • among them?

A. Yes, But not upon t • righteous in that nation, it is n • wrath to them; and if it do fall upon the people, or place:

First, it is a long time deferred, and kept off, it comes not till after God's long patience, even for their sakes.

2. When it comes, it comes not so sore; the cup of God's fury is cast in a lesser mould, and he puts in fewer dregs, gathers less Gall and Wormwood to embitter it for their sakes.

3. It continued the shorter for their sakes; God sounds a re •• at the sooner to the Hosts of his wrath, for their prayers, that are continually sounding in his Ears: They will not let him alone, until he let the land alone, and pull back his wrath.

Neither doth the death of the Righteous foretell Judgments, but besides that, look at their usage in the world, and it will prove the best Almanac to prognosticate it fair, or foul weather, that is likely to come on the Church, or Common-wealth.

Look we into the Sky of the Righteous, it is an infallible Astronomy; if their Sky be fair, if the righteous, and holy be advanced and honored, with high places, either in Church or Weal-public, it is a sign of fair Weather; God means a blessing to that land, for they will maintain truth and equity, that they shall like streams run in the streets; when God means to bless a people he sets up such; even Egypt shall not want a blessing whilst Joseph is the Governor.

On the contrary, if the Sky be lowering, if good men be the despised Branches of the Land, if they that fear God be not set up, and honored, but wicked Heads and Governors (not fearing God) get all the power into their hands, foul-weather cannot be far off, the Lord has a purpose to punish that people. When a • King arose that knew not Joseph, and he was not in favor in the Egyptian Court, as before, then the Egyptian Sun declined towards setting, and (not long ofter) wrath fell on them and rooted them out, in sore plagues, and drowning in the Red Sea. King Solomon has long since observed it, who had the best insight into matters of kingdoms, When the Righteous are in Authority, the people rejoice; God smiles upon that Land; But when the wicked bear rule the people mourn; some Judgment lies at the door.

The Application of this, and the last conclusion, shall be joined together.

[Doct. 5] The secure wicked world is little or nothing moved with the removal of the Godly. None considers, none lay it to heart, and says to himself, Sure these are taken away from some evil to come. Our consideration is never so much to seek as in matters 'twixt God and us: In a private loss of a dear friend, we can mourn, and take on, and lay it to heart, but in a public damage, where God's Church is cast into danger, there we fear not at all, take no care for it. When we see one great stone after another fall out of the Wall, we consider it, and say, This Wall will not stand long: The righteous, the best and strongest stones of ou • wall, are daily falling, and dropping into the Grave and yet no man regards it; sensual security still makes the land drunk. It is the Lord's complaint, that we have no eyes, his Judgments are far out of our sight, Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: Surely these are poor and foolish peole, for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God. It is the plague of the world that they shall have Eyes and see not, and hearts which consider not the things of God. Has the World neither Eyes, nor Heart? yes but none for God. These things are hid from their eyes, and far from their Hearts. Their Eyes and their Hearts are but for their covetousness, and for to purvey for these earthly things.

The Reasons among many, may be judged these.

[Reas. 1] There is an evil disease of deep-sleep and security lies upon the World, whereby they mind nothing of this nature, and are prone to put far from them the evil day, making covenants with death.

2. There is the Athenians disease of curiosity, which makes us inquire after novelties, and the Lord's dealings are altogether neglected, not thought upon.

The Lord in Judgment suffers it, that evils may overtake the wicked, before ever they thought on them.

The righteo • s are not regarded in their lives, and therefore are despised, and little consideration had of them in their deaths.

So far are the ungodly from thinking they are taken away from evil to come, that they lay it another way to Heart, even as matter of joy, that the Land, or place is well rid of them.

Are the Righteous taken away from evil which is to come upon others, then much more from evil to come upon themselves.

〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉

1. Then away with Purgatory the righheous are taken from tha • evil to come. An evil it is, where there is the punishment of loss and want of God's presence, yea which differs nothing in punishment of sense from Hell, but for the continuance. If the Lord take away the Righteous from evils on earth, much more from that evil of a temporary Hell. When they die, they go to rest and peace, but small is the rest that those torments will afford them.

2, Again it will cut off prayers to Saints departed, they are taken away from evils, they know not our evils, they see not the miseries we suffer upon earth. So the Lord saith of Josiah, his eyes shall not see all the evil that he will bring upon that place; No, he shall not see it in that Glass of the Trinity. The Saints departed see not our particular miseries; they can help us living upon earth with their Prayers, but when they are dead, Abraham is ignorant of us, and Israel doth not acknowledge us; Our praying to them to see and help us out of our evils, is like the vain breath of a bowler, who having thrown his Bowl out of his hand, calls after it, and intreats it to run this way or that way. If the Saints be taken away from seeing, or knowing our evils, then do we call upon them for help in vain.

[Use. 2] Let this give warning to a nation and people (yea to our nation, and us people) to take notice of the Lord's of late takeing his Saints fast from among us, holy Sons, zealous Hearts, Heavenly Spirits, faithful Preachers? Hast thou not taken these from us, O Lord? what wilt thou do with us? art thou not separating us for some judgment?

O Brethren, let us meet the Lord, and hold his weapons, for doubtless when he comes thus, he comes with a purpose to strike.

For are not these as brands plucked out of the fire? Now the Lord may deal with us as our sins deserve, and God knows that is an heavy doom; for the Righteous that would have broke the strong streams of his indignation are carried away. If the Righteous abide among us, though they do but hold up their hands, Amalek shall not prevail; but if we have no Moses left to do it, then Amalek, the enemy may over-run Israel. Why did not the plague now of late destroy all where it came? why came it not among us? thanks be to God for the prayers of the Righteous, for their sakes we are kept from the infection.

But what if the Lord thus deal often with us, to take from among us such praying Soul as this, what shall we then do, God being provoked, and we have none to quiet him and appease him, none to clap the hands and stamp with the feet, and cry, alas, for the abominations of the house of Israel? O let us be entreated (as wise Christians) to observe these evil days, and not be so sensual and senseless, as no think but meanly of the death of God's dear ones. In them we lose our horsemen and our Chariots, the strength and munition of Israel consists in them. We had better lose many Pieces of Ordinance, then to have one of these taken from among us, for it is to be feared God has a controversy with that place where he picks out these persons in their flourishing age, and the prime of their years. Hard before the destruction and overthrow of Jerusalem there was a voice heard in the Temple, Migremus, Migremus hinc, Let us away, let us away from hence: We have heard this voice, many of God's Saints both have cried, let us go away, and they are gone away from among us, yet we fear not, yet we tremble not, and never dream of any evil to come.

And though we see the Stars falling, have not the wisdom to Collect, that it is a sign of some great Winds to blow upon us.

The prophet David might teach us to make better use of these things, who seeing the number of the godly daily diminish'd, he creis out, Help Lord. He cries as if the axietree of Heaven and Earth had been split asunder, as if the poles had knapt in pieces, and the World had received an inrecoverable loss; and what is it that makes this good man thus cry out, nothing but this, that the godly grew scarce, and the righteous fell into a small number, whereby some great judgment was likely to follow and destroy the corrupt World.

Besides Nations, it may be a warning to our Towns and families, if the godly in our Towns, or houses be taken from among us, it will not • e • n 〈◊〉 •• r us to • o • k e • r • estly to 〈◊〉 y • lest • he Lord make this as 〈◊〉 •• ologue to some Judgment coming upon us. These are like good Angels, while we have them to guard and procure blessings to our dwellings and inhabitations.

Q. It may be asked, yea, but how shall we lay their deaths to hrart?

Answer, This way and by this means.

First, Prayer, beseeching God and praying for these two things.

1. That his taking of them away be in mercy, and not in Judgment: It is in mercy always to them, but pray we that he do it in mercy to us also.

2. That he would raise up holy and righteous ones in their room, that there may never want some holy ones to stand in the Gap.

Secondly, Repentance: so laying it to heart, as that we seek out and repent of those sins of ours for which the Lord might take them away, and bring his wrath on us.

Thirdly, Imitation: so thinking of the righteous gone from us, that we labor to tread in those holy footsteps, and imitate those Graces which were eminent in them, and left for our pattern. Thus though they be taken away for evil to come, yet by this, our laying it thus to Heart, the Lord will avert the evil from us.

[Use 3] This will teach us how to lay the death of the wicked and unrighteous to Heart, that is to be considered of us also. As the Righteous are taken away from evil to come, so should we consider that the wicked are taken away for evil to come. They dying in impenitency and unbelief, cannot scape the deserts of vengeful wrath, that is their evil to come.

When profane and Godless wretches die, the wicked should lay it to heart that live, lest they die so, and (as the Rich man said) come into the same place of torment. Alas, when they die all their good days are done; now they are taken away from evil, and vengeance to come, The Godly should lay it to heart also, and it should cause them to depart from iniquity. This was the Prophets practice, and ought to be ours, to consider the end of them, how God sets them in slippery places, and at length they rumble and fall into the pit, and sin and death push them down into perdition.

Yea, but are we not to mourn for them as such, by the loss of whom the Church and Commonwealth have received some sore stroke?

No such matter, nay rather it behooves us to joy when these horns (that pushed at Jurusalem, and hurt God's Children) are thus broken in pieces: It is for some good to come unto the Church that they are removed out of the way: yea, when God picks out profane and wicked men (especially great Branches) then may we have hope he is procuring same great blessings for his people. Take away the dross from the silver and there shall come forth a Vessel for the Finer; Take away the wicked from before the King, and his Throne shall be established in righteousness. When the Godly are taken from among us, we lose a precious liquor of sovereign virtue for good to the Church: if wicked ones be taken from among us, let their sinful associates mourn for the loss of one of their hellish Confederates and Companions. But count we no better of them then the Holy Ghost doth, their death is but the emptying of a filthy washpot, (Moab is my wash pot) Corn will grow the better when Weeds are taken from it, which hinder the growth.

Our account must go like God's account. The wicked are vile and base in their lives in his esteem, but more vile in their deaths.

Precious is the life and death of the Saints in his sight, so let it be in ours, for 〈…〉 and laying to heart their departure from among us; lamenting in Jeremiah's tone, The Crown is fallen from our Heads, woe unto us that we have sinned: they are taken away for our evils of sin, and for some evils of punishment to come upon us.

AN ELEGIE OR The flowing Tears of a mourning friend, poured upon the Grave of the Holy living, and Happy dying Christian, the Lady Mary Gryffith, first wife to Sir Henery Gryffith, Barronet of Burton Agnes, who ascended to Christ the day named from his Ascension, An. Dom. 1632.

The Epitaph on the Lady Mary Gryffith.