FREE GRACE. Exalted, and thence Deduced. EVANGELICAL RULES FOR EVANGELICAL SUFFERINGS. In two Discourses made 29. March, and 10. May, 1670. From Rom. 5.21.  
LONDON, Printed in the Year, 1670.   

TO THE READER.  
RUth reaped a bountiful blessing with her humble gleaning in the field of her near kinsman Boaz, to become the Mother of her Lord and Saviour; the same benediction is perpetually to be found in the field of the Gospel, whereof the former field is the figure: a poor creature having had the opportunity of a turn or two in that field, and finding much heavenly consolation there, picked up with his Pen a few scatter of what was lately presented before the God of the whole harvest, in two Discourses, of the Free Grace of, and Suffering for, the Gospel; and being willing they should extend to a standing benefit of a few more than the Auditors, out of love to the truth and souls hath transcribed them for the Press, and if out of them any poor soul shall press the wine of the kingdom to comfort and establish him, by the assistance of the spirit of Grace, let him bless the Master of the Vineyard, who refreshes every weary soul that comes to him. I confess the world is well replenished with treatises of both subjects, Free Grace, and Sufferings, all I wish is, they were better studied and practised, this is only the casting two Mites into the Treasury, which it is hoped some will reap the benefit of, nay these in themselves contain the whole Treasury if sanctified to an humble soul.  
There is only this note to be made, whereas there is a necessary caution laid down against sourness of spirit, wrath, desire of revenge, or the like, to be allowed by any in their sufferings; that yet this doth not tend to invalidate the true and faithful sayings of God, that he will in his time appointed pour out his fierce wrath and indignation against all implacable enemies, as Babylon and her Confederates, in order to the setting up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus universally in the earth in truth and righteousness; here is the faith and patience of the Saints, and hence it is they cry, Come Lord Jesus come quickly.   

Free Grace Exalted, and thence Deduced. In a Discourse March 29. 1670.  Rom. 5.21. 
As Sin,— So might Grace reign through righteousness to Eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.  
ST. Paul in this Epistle doth establish on heavenly grounds, and heavenly pillars of divine truths, and divine arguments▪ The doctrine of free Grace as a rock, as a rock of Eternity, on which the rock himself Jesus Christ, as he is the Mediator of the Covenant, is founded, against which all the gates of hell shall not be able to prevail; he establisheth it against all assaults by which the powers of darkness do invade it; he sets it before us as the● 〈◊〉 out of which all the most precious and pleasant mysteries of the Gospel do spring, and as the head, which is chief of them all, on which they all depend, from which they all have the life, strength, beauty and sweetness: In these two last verses of this Chapter, you have the treasure of the whole Epistle and whole Gospel, comprised with a divine skill in a little compass; he gives a distinct view of the whole; In these two verses is a comparison between the Law and the Gospel; or the Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace; the mystery of the Law, and Covenant of works, with its design, end, and effect, represented; the Law entered that the offence might abound, Sin reigns to death; that's the design of the Law; It never entered into the heart of God, that righteousness or life should be by the Law, or the Covenant of works; no, the design of the Law is, that Sin might find a way into the world and be heightened, that the offence might abound, and that Sin may bring in death upon all; but is this in the eye of God simply thus to determine his Counsels? no, but the Gospel follows, and is the sweet Riddle, Out of the Eater came Meat, and out of the Strong came Sweetness; the Law is as a foil for a Diamond, 'tis the design of God, that the Covenant of Grace that everlasting love, might come down from Heaven with a greater pomp and glory, with a greater train of sweetness and joy, bringing everlasting righteousness, and everlasting life along with it; so you see the 20th. verse, The law entered that the offence might abound, but where sin abounded, grace doth much more abound: a great heap of fuel is laid to this end, that the fire taking hold of it, might consume it, and spread itself, and rise to Heaven with a glorious flame, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might Grace reign to Eternal life through righteousness by Jesus Christ our Lord. My design is to speak to the last part of this verse, So might Grace etc. where you have all the treasures of the Gospel richly pointed at in the compass of two lines; First, you have here a King, Grace, this King is on the Throne, grace reigns; it reigns over sin and death; 2ly, you have the Sceptre of this King righteousness, grace reigns through righteousness, he reigns to righteousness, or by righteousness, righteousness is the Sceptre of the kingdom of grace; 3ly, you have the effect or end of this reign, how blessed is it to be Subjects to this King? how good and blessed is this King's reign to all his Subjects, for 'tis to eternal life, a life of grace and of glory, a life that is begun here in earth and flesh by grace, that is perfected in the spirit and in heaven by glory; then 4ly, here is the great Minister of this great King, by Jesus Christ our Lord, grace reigns by Jesus Christ▪ as great Kings; First, they make their Ministers of State▪ they first raise them, then use them, and reign by them, as Pharaoh by Joseph, so Jesus Christ is both the gift of this grace, and the Minister of this grace, free grace raised Jesus Christ up to be a Mediator in the Covenant of grace, to be a Minister in this kingdom of grace, and then reigns by him to eternal life; Jesus Christ is the Minister of grace by both righteousnesses, the righteousness of justification, which is the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, resting as a Crown on the head of a Soul to justify him, and he is the righteousness of Sanctification, the righteousness of God by Jesus Christ as a root of holiness in the heart of a Saint, springing up into all holiness and spirituality there; how full is this blessedness? how full is the Covenant of grace? so many words as be here, so many heavens open themselves in fullness of grace and glory; Grace, Righteousness, Eternal life, Jesus Christ our Lord, every one comprehends all.  
Divines distinguish between two sorts of grace, one is grace-making-grace, the other is grace-made-grace▪ the one is Eternal love in the heart of the Father to the Soul, the other is a Spiritual loveliness in the heart of a Believer, which is this love from the heart of the Father, first shining into the Soul, and so kindling itself to a holy love there, which love at once carries the Soul out of itself to the bosom of God, and changes the Soul to the likeness of God, & fills it with the grace & joy & glory of God.  
The grace mentioned here in the Text, is the first of these, that which Divines rightly call free grace, for you see 'tis a grace that is antecedent to, and transcendent over eternal life, and Jesus Christ himself in his mediatory office, for 'tis a grace that reigns by all these, as the Sceptre, Minister, and effect of his reign.  
The Doctrine which I intent to prosecute from these words is this; the free grace of God is the Supreme and Sovereign good in covenant of grace, and in the Gospel, 'tis that from which all the good things of the Gospel flow, on which they all depend, and by which they are all dispensed; we see it lies plain in the Text, 'tis the great King that reigns, the glorified person of our Lord Jesus Christ is but the Throne of this grace where it sits, from which it reigns; righteousness is the golden Sceptre of this grace, & eternal life the fruit of this grace; this free grace reigns to eternal life, this grace must of necessity be Sovereignly, supremely, absolutely, every way infinitely free and full when 'tis before eternal life, it being the beautiful cause that produces this blessed effect eternal life, which comprehends the life of grace and of glory in the whole compass of it, Zach. 4.7. the Lord speak thus, Who art thou, O great Mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a a Plain, and he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, crying grace, grace unto it. Zerubbabel is the figure of Jesus Christ, the scatterer of Babel, that spirit of heavenly beauty and order that takes away all confusion, which saith, O death I will be thy death; so he calls himself Zerubbabel, the confusion of all confusion 〈◊〉 brings out the head stone, he brings out himself the head stone of the spiritual building with shouting, and what doth he teach them to cry to it in the shouting, Jesus, Jesus? no no, they cry to Jesus himself as he brings out himself the head stone, grace, grace, free grace, love from eternity, supreme love, sovereign love, the most beautiful womb out of which Jesus Christ together with all his heavenly treasure and sweetness springs, cry grace, grace to it. My beloved, you know that the material Temple was but a figure of the spiritual and living Temple, which is the Temple of the Lord Jesus, and of every Saint; O that your spiritual senses were awaked, what melody should we hear at this building of grace, of the spiritual Temple, in every soul, as begun in laying the head stone the foundation, as carried on in rearing the walls, as finished in laying on the roof of glory, we should hear the heavenly company the blessed Angels and Spirits shouting with ravishing harmony, crying to it, grace, grace, free love, supreme sovereign love, eternal love, 'tis this, 'tis this, which lays itself as the foundation and head stone in the person of Christ, this carries on the building in the walls and flores, and lays itself the top stone in glory: O my beloved that have this building though imperfect in you, you that lie in the rubbish, that have any sense of the beauty of this building, of the glorious company that inhabit it, there is no such way to have it begun, carried on, and finished, as to cry continually to it, grace, grace, as with a shout of ravishing affections from a sense of love, love infinitely free, transcending all your expectations, with a shout of admiration cry continually with the language of all within you, of all your parts, powers, senses, grace, grace; O the infinite freedom of grace, O the sovereignty and supremacy of grace, of eternal love reigning through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord, reigning over sin and death, and even out of them from the blackest darkness, raising the more beautifully the Temple of divine light, and divine love.  
I design to speak somewhat largely of Free Grace.  
In the Porch of the Temple were two great Pillars, Boaz, and Jachin, one signifying in strength, the other, he shall establish, or he shall prepare: O my beloved, blessed are they whose heart, whose hope, whose grace, whose glory doth go up as a heavenly Temple, resting on these two Pillars which meet both in one, free grace; here's the strength of the Godhead his love, God is love; here's the preparation and establishment, the preparation from eternity, free grace from eternity, and the establishment, is through all changes and storms of times to eternity.  
There be three things in which in general I would open and confirm the nature of free grace. First, The grace of God, free grace is the highest love. Secondly, 'Tis the highest loveliness; and Thirdly, It is the highest joy.  
First, The grace of God is the highest love; grace in the Hebrew tongue Kene from Kana, signifies most properly a love condescending, stooping from the greatest height with the greatest complacency, bowing itself down, so making itself one with the lowest object in its lowest estate, and that to this end, that it may raise this object, and carry it to its own height, to be one with its self in its own beauty and triumphant blessedness; the force of the word according to some enforces thus much, this is expressed by another word, Psalms 63.3. Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee: 'tis Keses, here's the grace of God expressed as the highest love, better than life; there be three excellent things, light, life, and love, life is an excellency of a higher kind than light is, life is light in a transcendent perfection, therefore called light of life; and so is love above life, 'tis a higher kind of excellency than life, 'tis the perfection of life; as life is better than single light, because 'tis light in a perfection in which it transcends itself, so is love better than life, because 'tis life in a perfection in which it transcends itself; the highest love is the love of God free grace, what purity, power, pleasantness, and glory, is there in light? what strength, virtue, sweetness, and joy, is there in life? all these be comprehended in the love of God, all these be comprehended in free grace with an eminency surmounting themselves. The effect is in the cause after a more excellent manner; love is the Fountain of life, and so the Crown of life, every thing that is desirable in light and life, is more desirable in love, as the cause exceeds the effect: thus the loving kindness of God is better than life.  
This love signifies a natural love that flows freely and sweetly from its own nature; O how high a love is that of free grace? O how free is this grace and love in all its sweetness, and how sweet in all its freedom, flowing from the divine nature, from the Godhead? the best of honey is live honey that drops from the Comb without straining; the purest myrrh is that which comes from the tree of its self; this is love at its greatest height, this is the pure honey the grace of God, free grace that flows of its own accord, without any thing moving, from the nature and heart of God himself. As a Fountain is a treasury of water which continually sends out living streams, as the Sun is a body of light which from the beginning of the world to the end sends out millions of beams every moment, yet it remains still full and undeminished, such is free grace, or God the Fountain of free grace; our God is a treasury of love, a composure of love and sweetness that freely from himself every moment, from eternity to eternity, sends out millions of millions of streams and of beams of glorious love, yet still remains a Fountain, a Sun of richest love undeminished; how pleasant, and pure, and powerful, is free grace? how sweet is it to rest in the bosom and lie in the arms of free grace? it is to lie in the bosom and arms of God, as in an unlimited treasury of the highest love and sweetness, where love is springing with millions of springs and communications of its self in all forms of grace, comfort, strength, joy, and glory everlastingly, without any cessation or diminution. I would not be long, neither would I miss my application, therefore shall leave the other two arguments to set out free grace, in that it is the highest loveliness, and highest joy, as well as the highest love, therefore shall spend the rest of the time in the use.  
My first Use is of Admonition; take heed of being strangers, and being enemies to the grace of God, to free grace▪ as a bird wand'ring from his nest, so is a man from his place; the Jews say place there is the name of God, 'tis free grace that is the rest of every Spirit, of every Soul, here 'tis born, here 'tis hatched, fledged, cherished, and fed, here the heavenly Mother, the eternal spirit spreads his wings; 'tis free grace is the place of every soul, every thing is at rest in its place, and strengthened in its proper place or element; here is thy place O man, here alone is thy rest, here you spring up to spiritual strength and virtue, O then take heed of being strangers and enemies to it; he that is a stranger to it, is as a man wand'ring from his place, a bird wand'ring from its nest, where shall it be cherished and fed? he that disturbs his Family, is like one that beats his own flesh, saith Solomon; be not enemies to grace, this is thy place and nest, if you disorder your own place, and fillest it with enmity, you be as he that consumes his own life and being.  
There be three sorts of persons strangers and enemies to free grace, these two fall into one, for free grace hath no enemy to it, but he that is ignorant of it, and 〈◊〉 stranger● to it, for those that know thy name will trust in thee, those that have tasted the sweetness of free grace, what a heavenly Vine this is that cheers both the heart of God and man, these will bow down to it, and cry to all their hopes and expectations, grace, grace. The three sorts of persons that are strangers and enemies to free grace, are first, the Profane Heathen, 2ly, the Pious Jew, and 3ly, the Vain Christian; O you that here me when I speak of the Heathen and Jew, think not that I talk of Jerusalem or the Indies; O that these three strangers were not in the midst of us: the first stranger is the Profane Heathen, Jesus Christ said to Pilate, John 18.37. For this cause came I into the world, to bear witness to the truth; he that is of the truth hears my voice: Pilate said, What is truth, and then went out: this is a Pilate spirit, a Heathen spirit, one that is fit for interest sake to crucify Christ: when Christ spoke of so great a glory as the end both of his life and death, he asks, What is truth, and turns his back on Christ; but what is this truth that Christ hath such an esteem of, That he came from Heaven to Earth, and died to declare, see it in two or three Scriptures, 'tis that truth of the Gospel which Saint Paul sets out, 2 Cor. 4.6. the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; this is that truth, a light of glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ; what is this glory, see that in another Scripture, Eph. 1.6. to the praise of the glory of his grace; here's the glory, the grace of God, free grace is the glory of God; this is the truth, this is the truth for which Christ lived and died, that the light of this glory, the most glorious and sweet light of the free grace of God, might shine from his face on the heart of his brethren. Again, what that truth is for which Jesus Christ lived and died, see in those last words of his Prayer to his Father, John 17. ult. I have declared to them thy name, and will declare it; what's that name and that declaration? 'tis this free grace, that God is love, known by his name of love, so it appears, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them; O unexpressible love!  
How infinitely sweet and free is that love; consider three things in it, first, that the love that the Father hath to Jesus Christ, is that very love by which he brings out Jesus Christ as the second person in the Trinity, the only begotten of the Father from eternity to eternity; 'tis that love by which he delights in him, and embraces him, and hath all joy in him, as he lies eternally in the bosom of the Father, the eternal generation of the Lord Jesus, which is the same from eternity to eternity, with which he is the delight, and joy, and glory of the Father; this is the love of the Father with which he loves Jesus Christ, and is not this a free love?  
Secondly, This love of the Father with which he loves Jesus Christ, is the same love of the Father which is in the Saints as their root, as that eternal root out of which the Saint's spring, and out of which Jesus Christ springs in a Saint, that eternal root out of which Jesus Christ, and a Saint, spring both together as two Spirits married, and become one Spirit, how rich and free is this love?  
Thirdly, This love of the Father to a Saint is that to which the being of Christ in a Saint is a consequent, how full is this love which is anteceedent to the Union of Jesus Christ, and a Soul out of which all good springs to a Soul, is not this free grace? that glory of God for which Jesus Christ lived and died that this truth might shine in the face of all his Saints, this is that love in which the joy of all holy Angels and men is placed; who art thou now, when Jesus Christ lived and died to publish this joyful sound of free grace, when the Ministers of Christ, when Saints Baptised into the Spirit of Christ, continually shout and cry concerning all good within them, or round about them, grace, grace, free grace, love from eternity, and to eternity? who art thou, that as Pilate negligently cries, what is this grace, I understand it not, and so goest away turning thy back on this grace, on Jesus Christ, on the glorious Ministry of this grace, on the everlasting Father the Fountain of this grace? this is the Profane Heathen.  
The second stranger and enemy to free grace, is the pious Jew, when Jesus Christ by his doctrine discovered his glory, and the people believed on him, the most religious Jews cried out, we know that God spoke to Moses, but whence this man came we know not. Oh how many such Jewish devout spirits be among Christians? when Jesus Christ in the Ministry of his Gospel shines out with the beams of free grace, breaking out in their simplicity, purity, and unmixed freedom, see it not, and know it not; when Jesus Christ in his glorified face scatters those beams of grace into the bosom of many men, they cry out, this we know, that Moses, that the latter of the Scripture every where calls upon us to be doing, to abound in good works, to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling; but what this doctrine of free grace is, we know not, nor whence it comes, although there be no right doing or abounding in good works, or working out Salvation, but by the operation of this free grace, for it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do; how ignorant are many of the Religious Jews among us of the glory of this King, of the power of his reign, who reigns by a Sceptre of righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh let no more thine own reason, the free will or power of the creature, or all works arising from these in opposition to the free grace of God, 〈◊〉 contend with it for the pre-eminence or copartnership, to take the Sceptre of righteousness out of his hand; no, free grace hath a most glorious Minister by which he will reign to bring out eternal life through righteousness, and that is Jesus Christ: in the place of free will, right reason so called, and all created excellencies, he sets up Jesus Christ; free grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ.  
The third enemy and stranger to the grace of God, is the Vain Christian, and this is of two kinds; first, he that plays the wanton with the grace of God, Oh that there were not too much of this; when God reigned to the Jews the bread of Angels in the wilderness, they loathed it, and said, What is this manna, how insipid is this, we find no strength in it; Oh that this were not the temper of many. How is that relish of free grace, that savour and esteem of free grace, that eager feeding of the soul on free grace, as the delicacy of Heaven and Eternity which was among the Saints of old, now almost quite lost? how do we play the wanton with this grace of God that reigns so freely? we find no relish in it to satisfy our understanding, or to feed and feast our will and affections; taken heed I beseech you of thus playing the wanton with free grace, whosoever he be that subordinates the free grace of God to any thing besides its self, or bounds it in any thing besides itself, he that gives it confinement to or dependence on any thing of the creature, or subjects the free grace of God to man's reason, or which is the other wantonness, turns this grace of God into a liberty to sin, and makes this high free love a pretence or cloak to licentiousness, he is a stranger and enemy to the grace of God, as 'tis of God, he that sees not God to be all in all, sees nothing at all of God rightly, so he that sets not up the grace of God in the infiniteness, unlimitedness, independency of its own freedom and sweetness, transcendent over, antecedent to all good in the creature, he makes the grace of God nothing; grace is no grace, unless it be all grace, abate any thing of the freedom of divine grace, and 'tis no more grace at all. I conclude this Use with the last of the Revelations 18. For I testify to every man that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this book; If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the Plagues that are written in this book, and if any man shall take away from the words of this book, God shall take away his part out of the book of life. See the danger of adding to, or taking from the word of God; now to bring this to my purpose, you may see that this word of God is no other than the word of his grace, no word comes from God to his people, but the word of his grace, it hath its beginning, strength, and end in this grace, as appears 20 Acts 32. Now Brethren I commend you to God, and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance amongst all them that are sanctified▪ he takes from & adds to the word of God, that takes from and adds to the grace of God. O my beloved, let us all then, as the glory of God is dear to us, as the peace of our souls and bodies is dear to us, le's take heed of taking from, or adding to the grace of God, if we take from the grace of God any thing of its own freedom, of its antecedence to all good in all creatures, God certainly will take from us proportionably of the purity, of the peace, of the power, of his spirit in our spirits, of the comfort and prosperity of our lives, of consolation and joy in death, of our blessedness and glory after death. If we add to the grace of God, any power in the creature, any free will in the creature, any excellency in the creature, God certainly will so withdraw from us, that by it we shall find we add to our corruptions, we add to our care, fear, grief, doubt, despair and anguish, while we live and add to the blackness of darkness in death, and add to everlasting torments after death, if this free grace itself do not interpose and prevent it by its own freedom.  
My next Use is to persuade all, Heathens, Jews, and Christians, to seek after this grace of God, to be acquainted with it, and that their acquaintance may increase, seek acquaintance with the free grace of God with all your heart; let all the desires of your heart be wrapped up in the search of free grace, Psalm 27.8. My heart saith, seek my face, thy face will I seek; free grace, eternal love, this is the naked face of God, Oh seek, let your heart with all within you, say to you continually by day and by night, seek the face of God, the grace of God, and let your heart answer again in the truth of your practice, thy grace O God we will seek; all good things of time and eternity are wrapped up in the grace of God, wisdom is a tree of life to those that take hold of it, 'tis the Gospel is the Tree of life, 'tis grace is the Gospel, the glad tidings from Heaven; take hold of this grace of God by faith, 'tis a tree of life, God is the root of this tree in thy spirit, when you take hold of the grace of God, you shall have the Father the Fountain of this grace, the Son the Channel full of this grace, the holy Spirit as the living Streams, living Water, and Flood of this grace, pouring out itself into thee, you shall have the new nature, the spiritual man, the buds of this tree springing out of this root, and every spiritual grace as the branches of it, and all joy and glory of the spirit as the fruit of free grace, on which your soul shall feed as on the fruit of his own tree; O then follow free grace, wait for it, seek acquaintance with it, with all your understanding, might and power.  
My next Use is, to warn all that profess the name of God to take heed of living under the law, of abiding in a legal spirit; you shall see how I come to this admonition from this doctrine, if you consider that Text which loudly alarms us to haste from Sinai to Zion, 6 Rom. 14. For Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Law, but under grace. O behold and tremble to see that the law and grace are inconsistent in their reign, if you be under the law, you cannot be under grace; if you be under grace, you are no more under the law; if you be under the law, sin domineers over you, grace is no King to you; O then be fearful to build Tabernacles on Mount Sinai in clouds and earthquakes under the administration of the law; but you will say, how shall we know if we be under the law or no? I shall at this time give you one character to know it by; art thou still in thy natural estate of unregeneracy of unbelief, than you are under the law, and not under grace, the Lord Jesus tells, John 3.3. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God; and again, Except a man be born of Water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God: art then acquainted but with a natural birth, art thou a stranger to the new birth, the second birth, that from above where grace is a King, whose Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Ghost; art not thou born of water and of the spirit, of that spirit the spirit of grace, of that water which is above the Firmament, the grace of this spirit which flows for ever, than you cannot see or enter into the Kingdom of grace; there is a Cherub with a flaming sword, the Ministry of the law, that keeps the entrance that you cannot taste the sweetness, joy and glory of this grace; the law hath dominion over thee, and sin, death, the devil, and eternal wrath, have dominion over thee according to thy present state; Oh that you would lament this with tears of blood, that your hearts would break with longings, till grace according to its freedom translate from this Kingdom of the law to its own Kingdom and Dominion, a Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth. Alas, while under the law in vain do you strive to break the chains of corruption and lust, guilt and fear; sin reigns powerfully, and will reign to death, to a first death, a dark and melancholy state, to the second death, a long and endless night without any glimpse of light or the least refreshment, where you lie in torments unexpressible beyond that of the highest fear, in unquenchable burnings, where evil spirits and devils in this Kingdom of the law and wrath pour continually oil to the fire, and cry out, where be the pleasures of sin, the riches of the world, where is your pomp, happiness and joy, now in all the things that were seen, and be now vanished, and be as fuel to heighten your flame; O come to the Lord Jesus and be counselled by him: we read when an Army of the Philistines lay between David, and Bethlehem, he cried out, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the Well of Bethlehem which is by the gate, and three mighty men broke through the Host and brought water to David, but he poured it out unto the Lord and said, far be it from me, is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Hear all you that are under the law, the bosom of the Father is the true Bethlehem, the house of bread, Jesus Christ the bread of God is there, in the gate of this Bethlehem is a fountain of grace, O long day and night cry and say, in the ear of the Lord Jesus, who will give to drink of that Fountain in the gate of Bethlehem, in the fountain of grace, than I shall not be parched with the burning heat of lust, of guilt, of grief, of pain, then shall I thirst no more after the poisons of this world, the least drop of that water would be an eternal solace to my soul; Oh hear and see thou that thus longest and faintest to drink, but criest, alas there be Armies between thee and this fountain, Armies of corruptions, of guilt, of sin and wrath, Armies of devils, Oh who now shall give me to drink of this fountain? Be not cast down, look up, behold, and see, and rejoice to see Jesus Christ the mighty Worthy of God hath broke through all these Armies, and in despite of all, he brings of the living water of grace, from the fountain of grace for thee to drink, nay he brings thee to the fountain in the bosom of the Father; Oh now in this moment, thou that hast hitherto been in thy natural estate under the dominion of the law, hear his voice that by the Ministry brings thee to the fountain of grace, that calls thee to come freely without money and without price, to drink deep of this fountain; this shall spring up to all righteousness, holiness and joy in thee; this shall spring up as streams to make thee flourish like the garden of God; Oh that the Lord Jesus would be present with thee now to a new birth, to give thee a new heart, a believing heart, do not as hitherto pour out the precious water of this grace from this fountain on the ground by contempt of it; but say now, Shall I spill the water of this grace, which is the blood of my Jesus, the life of my Jesus, that not only hazarded, but poured out his blood to bring me to this fountain; Oh drink then, the spirit of grace give thee a new nature, a new heart to drink deep, to drink abundantly by day and by night of this free grace which reigns through righteousness by Jesus Christ our Lord.   

EVANGELICAL RULES CONCERNING SUFFERING. In a Discourse, May 10. 1670.  Romans 5.21. the latter part. 
So might Grace reign through Righteousness unto Eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.  
I Have raised this Doctrine from these words, That the Grace of God is the Supreme good in the Gospel, in the Covenant of Grace, there is no good above it, there is no good before it, all the good of the Gospel comes from it, all good depends on it, and is dispensed by it. I have showed that this Grace is sovereignly infinitely free, sweet, and irresistible: I demonstrated this by three Arguments.  
First, That the grace of God is the highest love; Secondly, The grace of God is the highest loveliness and beauty; Thirdly, It is the highest joy. This is the grace of God, the love of the Father, the loveliness of the Son, God in all the three Persons at once shining out in each of them in the light of divine love, heavenly beauty, and incomprehensible joy, and breaking out from God in the spirit of a Saint as a spiritual flame of divine love, heavenly beauty, and infinite joy, enlightening inlivening the soul of a Saint, teaching it and transforming it to one spiritual flame of the same love, beauty, and joy, with itself.  
My last Use was an Exhortation to glorify the grace of God, and thereby the God of grace. First, in our lives, by living to this grace; Secondly, by suffering for this grace, by this grace. I spoke of the first, and shall by the assistance of God spend this time on this last part, to glorify the grace of God in your sufferings. Here I began by the grace of God to deliver those things to you, which I myself have sometimes received from Jesus Christ, when I have seen his face and tasted his love by a spirit of faith, and so do I hope and desire in the simplicity of my heart to lead you by the same anointing of the spirit of this grace of God shining in the face of Christ with this heavenly love, beauty, and joy, as I hope I myself am led and taught to live upon them.  
There be five Rules I would lay before you in the pursuit of this Exhortation.  


Rules.  First, See that you suffer from the grace of God calling you to suffer.  
Secondly, Suffer only for the grace of God.  
Thirdly, Suffer with grace in your spirits.  
Fourthly, Suffer with grace in your outward behaviour.  
Fifthly, Let grace alone, this grace of God, be all your solace in all your sufferings.   
First, Suffer from the grace of God calling you to it, Heb. 5.4. the Holy Ghost tells us, No man takes this honour to himself, as a Priest to God, but he that is called of God, as Aaron was; when you suffer as Saints, than you will by Jesus Christ become like him, and be both the Priest and the Sacrifice; but take heed you take not this honour to yourselves to be Priests and Sacrifices to God, except he call you to it, as he did Aaron: St. Paul lays this as the ground of all that spiritual light that flowed from him, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. 1.1. Paul called to an Apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God; then have you a sweetness and strength in your sufferings, when you can say of yourselves, such an one is called to be a Sufferer; when the grace of God calls you to be a Sufferer, than the title of a Sufferer and the triumph will be great. Paul when he stood before the Roman Governor, makes this the ground of his confidence and consolation, O King Agrippa I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; what a spring of fresh life will this be to say, I have not been disobedient to the heavenly vision, I have not been disobedient to the heavenly call, the grace of God shining without me in his providences of grace, and shining before me in his word of grace, and shining within me from the spirit of that grace on my spirit? O ye the Flock of Jesus Christ, O ye little Flock, keep your eye on your Shepherd the Lord Jesus, especially when he leads you into the Wilderness, and into the Storm, see him going before you, and hear his voice calling to suffer, and know his voice; then shall you go in and out and find pasture; then in the valley of death you shall meet with green pastures; then in the time of great tempests when the Sea roars, you shall feed by the still water-brooks and rivers; then in the hot noon of Persecution your Shepherd shall lay you in a shady grove, under his own shadow, in the tender grass, in his own bosom, and there and then your Conscience, together with the spirit of grace, the holy Angels, all blessed Spirits, shall be as so many Birds singing about you, and you shall appear as a continual Spring; God shall spring up in the beauty of his appearance, in the manifestation of his love, while you are obedient to the heavenly vision, and follow the heavenly call of his grace in his Providences, his Word, and Spirit. This is the first Rule, See that you suffer only from grace calling you to it.  
Second Rule is, See that you suffer for the grace of God only; but before I fall on the affirmative part of this Rule, I have cautions to give, to take heed of these things for which you are not to suffer.  
First, Suffer not for the favour of man to please any party or persuasion; Saint Paul saith, Do I persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ, Gal. 1.10. Oh suffer not to approve yourselves to men; the Scripture saith, Judg. 9.13. That Wine cheereth the heart of God and man. A learned Interpreter applies this to Christ and his Saints, Christ the Vine, and Saints the Branches, the blood of Christ in his Saints poured out in sufferings, makes glad the heart of God and man, Oh pour not out this blood to make glad the heart of man alone; how foolish be we to seek to please men with a false fleshly spirit? Oh let this Wine be poured out to this end, to make glad the heart of God, and all that partake of the same divine joy with him. A great King when he met with a great Philosopher said, Oh what a Theatre have I lost, by thy not seeing my actions: It was more to him to be applauded by this one man before all the world, than all the benefit of his victories besides. Beware of this, to make any man, any sort of men, the Theatre of your Sufferings, to be applauded by men, let God alone be the Theatre of your Sufferings, 'tis a light thing with me, saith the Apostle, to be Judged in man's day; let this be the beginning and end of all your suffering, to be applauded by God, approved of God, and accepted by him.  
Suffer not out of any humour or passion, the Apostle exhorts 1 Cor. 5.8. Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth; this relates to the Passeover, 7th. verse, For Christ our Passeover is sacrificed for us: there is to be a conformity between the sufferings of Christ and a Saint; do you come to suffer with Christ? let it be like Christ, let it be a Passeover, let it be a Sacrifice of a Lamb, lay thyself down as a Lamb, gentle, innocent, and meek, and let this be a feast, and cast out the old leaven, all sour, sullen, cross, perverse spirits; keep this feast with the unleavened bread, the sincerity, truth, simplicity of an innocent, gentle, meek spirit.  
Suffer not for any earthly interest, worldly power, or earthly kingdom; Saint Paul tells us, 2 Cor. 3.17, 18. that that which kept him from fainting in affliction, we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen, for the things that are seen are temporal; now while the outward man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day; if we suffer with our eyes on visible powers and interests, we shall faint in our suffering, when instead of having our expectations of great rewards answered, we shall find our outward man, and the interests thereof decay, at what a loss shall we be. Saint Paul joins these two together, minding earthly things, and being enemies to the Cross of Christ, Phil. 3.18, 19 be not deceived, it will be found an unhappy delusion; while we think we are in conformity to the Cross of Christ, for us to keep our eye, mind, and heart, fixed on earthly things, we shall be found in truth enemies to the Cross of Christ.  
My fourth caution is this in my second Rule of suffering for grace, suffer not for a wrathful spirit, for a Ministry of wrath and of the Law; this is the servile spirit, the son of Hagar the bondwoman which is of Mount Sinai, this spirit shall not inherit the promise or the kingdom of God; that is reserved for the spirit of the freewoman, for Isaak the seed of love, of divine mirth and joy: when Nadab and Abihis offered strange fire before the Lord, the strange fire returns upon them and consumes them; God calls his own works of wrath, a strange work; 'tis a strange fire to God who is love, If you come to suffer with the strange fire of a wrathful spirit, this fire will burn upon you till this wrathful spirit hath consumed you. Moses himself, the meekest man on earth, yet being a Minister of the law and of wrath, for one wrathful expression, hear now ye Rebels, he was not suffered to enter into the good land of Canaan. David, a man after God's heart, though he had fought the battles of the Lord, for his wrath in murdering Vriah, was not permitted to build the house of God the Temple. When Christ was to suffer, he bids Peter put up his sword, for he that uses the sword, shall perish by the sword. If we suffer for a Ministry of wrath, with a spirit of wrath, we shall find the wrathful sword turn itself against us; 'tis the spirit of grace alone, 'tis the spirit of love, of faith and joy, which brings to the good land of rest, which builds up the heavenly Temple.  
Now I come to my Rule itself, which is, Suffer alone for the grace of God. I shall divide this Rule into four parts.  

Suffer first for the Ministry of the grace of God.  
For attendance to this Ministry of the grace of God.  
For obedience to this grace.  
For the kingdom of this grace.   
First, Suffer only for a Ministry of grace; hast thou seen the beauty of Christ? hast thou tasted the love of Christ? hast thou known how sweet the Lord Jesus is to the poor soul of man, to poor lost sinners? and canst thou forbear to declare or hear those things which you have tasted and seen, when they appertain to the glory of the King of grace, when they appertain to all mankind, when they are the joy of the whole earth and of heaven, when they are the hope of all Nations, and of every creature in its capacity? I will publish the name of God, sings Moses in Deut. 32.3. you to whom that name hath proclaimed itself in the Gospel, publish that God is light in whom is no darkness, a light of pure glory, that God is love itself, free, absolute, unmixed, that he is God Emmanuel, this light, this love, with us, for us, in us, in our stead, springing up in us. Oh pour out this name of God wherever you come, as an ointment that may fill all spirits round about you with a sweet smell, to draw all souls by the sweet smell of Christ's loveliness in thee, to Jesus Christ, and make them in love with him; and now see what Saint Paul saith, Phil. 2.17. Yea, and if I be offered on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all; for the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me. Doth the most high God in thy spirit shine out with the light of his blessed beauty and love? doth he by thy spirit shed abroad his dearest love to many souls? doth he by thee woo souls and bring them into the bosom of his most heavenly love, where they also become Children of light and love, shining in the same beauty, springing in the same sweetness? If thou be offered up in any degree of suffering, and made a sacrifice for this service of the faith of any, for thus espousing Jesus Christ, and the souls of Saints one to another in this golden band of incorruptible beauty and love, Oh rejoice, and call all holy Angels, and blessed Spirits, to rejoice with thee, and be thereby helpers forward of your joy. Thus suffer for the Ministry of grace.  
Secondly, Suffer for thine attendance on the Ministry of grace; faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; Oh cursed, saith that good and noble Italian Marquis, be he that thinks all the treasures in the world to be worth one moments communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. David a great King saith, One day in the house of the Lord to behold his glory, is better than a thousand elsewhere. Doth God by any Ministry through the outward word of his grace bring forth himself to thee as a heavenly Bridegroom coming out of his Chamber richly adorned as the Sun in a Summer morning fresh and sweet with beauty of his grace, to take thee out of thy state of sin and sorrow, out of the tumults of the flesh, to his Bridal Chamber, to his Marriage Chariot, to ride with him as his Queen? canst thou now think there are any joys, any treasures to be compared with this State? have you thus in the Ministry of his grace seen the Lord Jesus, and received him in his love into your souls? and is not one hour spent thus, better than thousands in all the glory of the world? is not one grain of this glory better, of more worth, than all this world at present, with respect to the present sweetness? what will it then be as it grows up in full ripe Fruits to Eternity? Thus suffer for attending to the Ministry of grace.  
Thirdly, Suffer for your obedience only to the grace of God; the Wise men followed the Star, though it went into a Stable, because there they met with the King of glory. Behold a more beautiful guide than a Star, I will guide thee by my eye, the face of God to his people, is the day spring from on high; Follow this day spring, this eye, this face of God, whethersoever it leads thee, though to a Manger, though to a Prison, though to the Cross and to the Grave, to Poverty and Desolation: Oh follow it, for wherever it leads you, you shall find your Jesus there, the Prince of glory, turning the Stable, the Prison, to a Palace of glory, and turning the Cross to a flourishing Tree of life, budding as Aaron's Rod.  
Fourthly, Suffer only for the kingdom of grace; there be two Scriptures which I shall present to you, to make good this part of my Exhortation, Heb. 11.13. They confessed that they were strangers and Pilgrims on the earth: then 14th. They that say such things, declare they sought a Country, a Kingdom, but what Kingdom, 15. vers. not that from whence they came; and 16. but now they desire a better Country, that is an heavenly; therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a City: they seek a Country, 'tis their heavenly native Country; the word is Patrida, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, suffer as Pilgrims here, not to be Princes, care not for it; have you been cast out of your Possessions, Estates, and Glories here, and desire not to return whatever opportunities present themselves? let not this be in your eye in suffering, profess here you have no abiding place, no enduring substance, profess yourselves Pilgrims, give yourselves to suffer as such, let your eye be upon your native Country, on the heavenly Jerusalem; now you please God to the heart, and God delights to be called your God, when together with him, you will be sojourners here, and seek no kingdom but that in which he Reigns; now God will prepare, now God hath prepared for you a City, nay a Kingdom. The second Scripture is 2 Cor. 4.18. with the 5th. and 1st. what carried Paul through suffering, saith he, We look not at the things that are seen, but things not seen, which are Eternal; and now we know, that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God Eternal in the Heavens, and this we groan for, to be clothed with our house which is from Heaven, not to be unclothed, but clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up of life▪ here's a Kingdom for which alone all the Saints are to suffer; not of this world, nor in this world; not of the flesh, or in the flesh; but of the spirit, and in the spirit; but for an invisible kingdom, which the eye of no natural understanding can reach, a kingdom seated and established in God, a kingdom eternal in the Heavens, where the invisible light and glory swallows up all that is visible, temporal, and mortal into itself: for this kingdom of grace endure sufferings, so you will be like Christ, for it is said he endured for the joy set before him; what was that joy set before him? see that John 17.5. And now, O Father, glorify me with thyself, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was: see here the joy and kingdom which was in the eye of Christ, that kingdom of God above which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, which is not in this world, which was before the world was; a kingdom in Eternity, God himself that kingdom, the invisible, eternal glory of the Godhead, which was, when the world was not, and shall be, when the world is no more, which while the world continues is the same, but not in the world, nor in appearance to sense or reason, but in the invisibility of the eternal spirit, in a glory far surmounting sense or reason; this kingdom was in Christ's eye when he suffered, now the joy of this kingdom made him despise the shame; Oh be ye like Christ, and suffer for this kingdom to reign with God in his invisible and eternal glory. So much for this second Rule, To suffer only for the grace of God.  
Thirdly, Let us suffer with the grace of God in our spirits; when the Disciples desired Jesus Christ to call for fire from Heaven to destroy those Samaritans that would not suffer him to go through their City, Jesus Christ saith unto them, Ye know not what spirits you are of; these words are capable of a twofold sense: first, you know not not O my Lambs what is your proper spirit, and how that you ask is your proper spirit, this is unproper to my spirit, and do you desire to know what spirit this is? the Holy Ghost tells in the Epistle of Saint James, Jam. 3.14. If you have any bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth; this is a bitter Zeal in the Original, call not this Zeal, Religion, and Grace, and the Spirit of the Gospel, you lie against the truth if you do so; this wisdom is not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish: O see what spirit we are of, if we call for fire from Heaven to consume those that reject us and resist us, to destroy the soul or life of any man; this is a bitter Zeal, and brings in 16 verse. Confusion, and every evil work.  
A second sense is, you know not what spirit you are of, that is, you do not understand what the spirit of grace, of the Gospel, in you is, and what the spirit of a Saint under the Gospel is; For the Son of Man came not to destroy souls, but to save them: would you know the proper spirit of a Saint? see that in the 17th. verse. But the wisdom that is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, and the fruits of righteousness are sown in peace, without partiality; the word is, without wrangling: See the spirit which is your spirit, the spirit of Saintship, 'tis a Dove, as the eyes of the Spouse, a spirit composed of the purity of a spiritual and heavenly loveliness, and in the simplicity of this loveliness, it flows out in love to all, without regard to this party, or the other party, without quarrelling, and so in its life, it sows the fruit of righteousness, in peace, in the purity, love, peacebleness, and gentleness of this spirit, and so makes peace, and springs up into peace. Oh that our Lord Jesus were ever in our eye and heart as a pattern; when he was Crucified, he died to be a Sacrifice of Love to those that Crucified him; when his blood was poured out with the greatest malice, he shed it to wash away their sins that spilt it, to make his blood a heavenly wine in the kingdom of his Father for those very sinners to drink of, and receive a new life, to have fellowship with him in his life; his last-breath was spent in a Dovelike breathing, and giving a kiss of love to those souls that Crucified him, in these words, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do: what a kiss of kindness was this to those souls that were with the greatest rage Crucifying him. Oh suffer ye in like manner.  
'Tis said, the blood of the Saints, is the seed of the Church; when you suffer, let your loss and suffering be with this spirit, to sow a precious seed of grace and love, of peace and righteousness, to spring up in the souls of those by whom you suffer, by your heavenly love and meekness in suffering. If you die suffering on account of the grace of God, let the breathe of your soul to the last, be an offering of prayers in the behalf of those that cause your sufferings, that God may pardon them, and delight in them, to do them good, and bring them to the same rest of God with you.  
My fourth Rule is, Let grace be in your outward behaviour when you suffer; It is said of the Spouse, that milk and honey are under her tongue; so in your deportments, carriage, looks, or words, let there appear nothing of the venom of the Serpent, nothing of the fierceness of the Wolf, let all be Lamblike, let your eyes be Doves-eyes, let every action and word be milk and honey, pure, true, wise, healing, nourishing, gentle, softening, sweetening; as spices when they are thrown into a fire, send out a sweet perfume to recreate the senses of those that threw them into the fire; such should the suffering of a Saint, breathing out the sweetness of heavenly joy and love to those that cast them into the fire, to allure them into the fellowship of this grace, and so heap coals of fire upon their heads, according to that of the Apostle, 1 Cor. 4.12. Being reviled, we bless.  
A fifth Rule is this, Let the Grace of God be your only solace in all your sufferings; I shall only gloss a little on two Scriptures, and so conclude; the first is, in Rom. 8.35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, distress, or persecution, famine, or nakedness, peril or sword? nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us; for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor any creature, shall be able to separate from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  
The grace of God that we have been speaking of, and the love of God here in the Text, are all one, how sweet and full of consolation is this grace in suffering? the love and grace of God which shines out and lives in the glorified person of Jesus Christ, is the same that he communicates to his Saints and lives in them. And now whatever suffering comes to a Saint, no part of it shall ever come between you O Saint, and this bosom of love, nothing shall separate from this love: A cloud of suffering may surround you, and be black without to those that look on it, but this cloud within shall (like the Tabernacle with badger's skins without, all glorious within) shall be full of divine love to you; this cloud shall not come between you and this love of God, the grace of God shall be between you and every cloud; They say of the Romans of old, that they had a sort of linen that would not be burnt in the fire, and after they had burned the dead as was their custom, they took up the bones and wrapped them in that linen, and therein burnt them to ashes to keep the ashes unmixed from the common ashes. Let what suffering will come, let what fire will be kindled upon you, you are wrapped in the bosom of the Lord Jesus; and whatever operation the fire may have upon you, it 〈◊〉 do you no hurt, for you are safe wrapped up in that love which the fire cannot hurt. The houses of great persons have naked, bare, dead, damp walls in them, when the owner's family is from thence; but when they come to their houses they furnish them with rich hangings, which are beautiful to the eye, and keep the rooms warm, and serve for recreation to entertain the indwellers with some pleasant stories which are described in them. O my beloved, every state of suffering into which a Saint comes, is a distinct room of the Palace of the great King of Glory and his Bridegroom, and though that condition be like bare walls, damp, melancholy, and naked, yet when you come into it, having this grace of God accompanying you in every state; now it is furnished richly for you with love, as for an heir of glory, with the grace of God, which is the light of Divine love, beauty and joy all in one; God in Christ shining in the simplicity of all his love, doth as with hangings of glory furnish thy room; now the deformity of the walls is covered with divine beauty, now the damp of the walls is taken away with the warmth of divine love, now the melancholy is taken away, and you are entertained with pleasant stories of this love and its glory, all in this furniture, in this love of God which comes between thee and sufferings, and present themselves to thee according to all wisdom and prudence. My last Scripture is, 1 Pet. 4.14. If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, happy are yo● for the spirit of God and of glory rests on you. Let me give you a few considerations from this word of grace; First, when you suffer as a Saint God is with you, he presents himself and appears to thee in grace and love. So it was with Jacob, he was by Esau's ill will cast out of his Father's house, sent away poor and alone; with my staff I went over saith he; he wanders in a large field, and meets with a dark night and a hard bed, having a cold stone for his sorrowful head to sleep upon; but behold there he met with that presence of God, that spirit of God and of glory, in such eminency, as he never saw before, that he cries out, This is none other but the house of God, this is the gate of Hea●●●. Let us not fear what will befall us while we be obedient to the heavenly vision in the face of Christ; we may be cast out of our Father's house by our churlish Brethren, from our own houses, estates, and joys of this life to wants and nakedness. But behold their God will appear to us, that we shall say, O blessed experience, I am cast out of my own house, but here I am in the house of my God, where I shall dwell for evermore.  
2ly. God will be with thee in his spirit, not a spirit of grace only, but a spirit of glory, God will be with thee in the spirit unvailed, and give thee the sweetest view of his naked face, he will in this spirit of grace and glory pour out himself in the highest delights to thy bosom, and take thee to his bosom, to the fountain of love and sweetness, making himself with thee one spirit of Joy, beauty, sweetness, love and light, all your graces shall be turned into glories; now as Gold by the fire is heightened to a lustre, the spirit shall be in every grace, comfort, and truth, a spirit of glory. God shall say to you, come out from the possessions and joys of this world, to the naked open field; there I will bring thee to my garden, and there I will sing of my loves, come out of the Tabernacles of clay, come with me my love to my banqueting house, there I will give thee my loves, there I will spread my banner of love more gloriously than ever you saw it, and you shall be more sick of love for me, and I will more abundantly satisfy thy love.  
Thirdly, God will now be with thee to rest on thee to continue with thee, not as in your prosperity like a waifairing man, to give a visit for a night and away; no, he will say thou hast left and lost comfort of relations, & friends, & ready to lose thy life, now I will not leave thee alone, I will be house and land, gardens and orchard, sweet relations, all joys of life; i'll be the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud at once to thee by day and by night; i'll be a firm security to thee, a fire shining round about thee with flames of purest glory, most ravishing sweetness, divinest love; I'll be a sweet cloud overshadowing thee, distilling on thee peace and rest; I will keep thee in perpetual safety by my over shadowing thee; I will never leave thee alone while you sleep; I'll watch over thee when you awake; I will talk with thee; I will entertain thee; I will speak of my Kingdom and glory, and in all thy walks I will guide thee; I will tell thee of the union between thee and me, which is an unsearchable mystery to the natural man; I will celebrate before thee my everlasting love, my light, life, and love, shall be the way in which you shall walk, in which you shall go from one delight to another, till you come to eternal joys in myself.  
Lastly, when you suffer for the grace of God, it appears from this Scripture, the God of all grace will rest in thee, that is, will lay himself down in thy bosom, and give thee full satisfaction, highest complacency and joy that you are capable of: when Christ was baptised, Heaven was opened upon him, and God came down in the form of a Dove, and said, This is my well beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Oh who would not with Jesus Christ enter into a Baptism of the deepest affliction, the greatest suffering, to have God as the Heaven of Heavens opening himself about thee, and come in a Dovelike form in purest love, speaking such words as these, this is my beloved Child, in whom my soul is well pleased? now is my joy full in thee, and thy joy shall be full in me, and I will glorify thee with myself; these sufferings themselves shall be a Crown of glory.  
Thus my beloved, make the grace of God the only solace to you in sufferings, and set these Rules before you in suffering, from the grace of God, for the grace of God, as a Ministry of love, and in attendance on it, obedience to it, to walk in God as he is love, and have nothing but this love dwell in you; suffer with a spirit of grace and love, springing up into all grace, suffer with a gracious behaviour, where nothing but love to all, springs up a divine love like the love of our Saviour, making you in suffering a sacrifice of a Lamb for all in love; and then let this grace of God, this grace which is the highest love, beauty and joy, which is God himself in highest love and joy, coming to you, and taking you to himself; let this be your solace in suffering, and so the God of grace and peace shall keep you whether you live or die, he shall sow the Fruits of Righteosness in peace, which shall spring up in peace to yourselves, and all round about you. And thus much for this Exhortation.  
FINIS.