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 COLLECTION OF PURITAN AND 
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 LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://archive.org/details/divineOObaxt 
 
The Divine Life : 
 
 IN THREE 
 
 TREATISES; 
 
 THE FIRST, 
 
 Of the Knowledge of God. 
 
 THE SECOND, 
 
 Of Walking with God. 
 
 the third; 
 
 Of Covering with God 
 
 In S o L i t u D E« 
 
 By Richard Baxter. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for Fra»eit Tjto» at the three Daggers in Fleet- 
 
 ftreet, and Nevil Simment Bookfeller in Ke 
 
 derminfter. 1664. 
 
I 
 
A 
 
 TREATISE 
 
 - OF T HE 
 
 KNOWLEDGE 
 
 OF 
 
 G O D 
 
 ANDTHE 
 
 Jmprefsion which it muft 
 
 make upon the Heart; and its ne^ 
 ceiTary Effects upon our Lives. 
 
 Upon fohn 17. 3 
 
 By Richard Baxter, 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for Francis Tj/ton at the three Daggers in Fleet- 
 
 ft ret t, and Nevil SimmQns Bookfeller in Ke- 
 
 derminfter. 1664. 
 
TO THE 
 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 AND 
 
 Exemplary Lady 
 
 sjy^y( countess 
 BALCARRES 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 ;N hope of the fuller pardon of 
 my delay, I now prefent you 
 with two other Treatifes be- 
 fides the Sermon (enlarged) 
 which at your dcfire I preach- 
 ed at your departure hence. I 
 knew of many and great affli&ions, which 
 you had undergone in the removal of your 
 dcareft friends, which made this fubje&feem 
 fo fuitablc and feafonable to you at that time: 
 
 A 3 Btic 
 
The Epiftle ^Dedicatory* 
 
 But 1 knew not that God was about to make 
 
 fo great an addition to your tryals in the fame 
 
 ' , iArtI kind, by taking to himfelf 
 
 * Charles Earl of Bal- w , > J . . & 
 
 carres vho djedof aflone * th e principal branch of 
 *> /;« Wr , of a very your Noble Family, (by a 
 y?™^ «*.*,*. rarc difeafe ^ thc embleme 
 
 of the mortal malady now raigning.) I hope 
 this lofs alfo fhall promote your gain, by 
 keeping you nearer to your Heavenly Lord, 
 who is fo jealous of your affe&ions, and re- 
 folved to have them entirely to himfelf : And 
 then you will ftill find, that you are not alone, 
 nor deprived of your deareft or iroft neceffary 
 friend, while the Father, the Son, the fan&i- 
 fying and comforting Spirit is with you. And 
 it fhould not be hard to reconcile us to the 
 difpofals of fo fure a friend. Nothing but 
 good can come from God *• however the 
 blind may mifcallit, who know no Good or 
 Evil, but what is meafured by the private 
 ftandard of their felfifti intereft, and that as 
 judged of by fenfe. Eternal Love engaged 
 by Covenant to make us happy, will do no- 
 thing but what we fhall find at laft, will ter- 
 minate in that blefled end. He envyedyou 
 not your Son, as too good for you, or too 
 
 grea 
 
T'be Epiftle Dedicatory. 
 
 great a mercy, who hath given you his oWn 
 Son, and with him the mercy of eternal life. 
 Corporal Offerings with Spiritual blefsings, 
 arc the ordinary lot of Believers here on earth : 
 As corporal profperity with spiritual calamity 
 is the lot of the ungodly. And I befeech you 
 confider, that God knoweth better than you 
 or I, what an Ocean your fon was ready to 
 lanch out into , and how tempeftuous and 
 terrible it might have proved, and whether 
 the world that heis faved from, would have 
 afforded him more of fafety or fedu&ion, of 
 comfort or calamity ? whether the protraction 
 of the life of your Noble husband, to have 
 feen our fins and their effedls and confe- 
 qucnts, would have afforded him greater joy 
 orforrow? Undoubtedly as God had a bet- 
 ter title to your Husband, and Children, and 
 Friends than you had, fo it is much better to 
 be with him, than to be with you, or with the 
 beft or greateft upon earth. The heavenly in- 
 habitants fear not our fears, and feel not our 
 affliftions. They are part our dangers, and 
 out of the reach of all our enemies, and deli- 
 vered from our pains and cares, and have the 
 fullpoffefsionofall thofe mercies which we 
 
 pray 
 
The Fpifile QedicatoYj. 
 
 pray and labour for. Gan you think your 
 Children and Friends that are with Chrift, are 
 not fafer and better than thofe that yet remain 
 with you? Do you think that earth is better 
 than heaven for you your (elf ? I take it for 
 granted you cannot think fo, and will not fay 
 io 5 And if it be worfe for you, its worfe for 
 them. The providence which by haftening 
 their Glorification, doth promote your San- 
 <5tification ; which helpeth them to the &*^ 
 and helpeth you in the Way, muft needs be 
 good to them and you, however it appear to 
 flefh and unbelief. O Madam, when our 
 Lord hath fhewed us (as he will fliortly do) 
 what a ftate it is to which he bringeth the 
 fpirits of the juft, and how he doth there en- 
 tertain and ufe them, w r e (hall then be more 
 competent judges of all thofe a&s of Provi- 
 dence, to which we arc now Co hardly re- 
 conciled ! Then we fliall cenfure our cenfur- 
 ings of thefe works of God, and be offended 
 with our offences at them , and call our fel^ves 
 blind unthankful finners, for calling them Co 
 bad as we did in our misjudging unbelief 
 and pafsion. We fhall not wifli our felves or 
 friends again on earth, among temptations 
 
 and 
 
The Epiflle Dedicatory. 
 
 and pains , and among uncharitable men , 
 malicious enemies, deceitful flatterers, and 
 untrufty friends/ When we fee that face 
 which we now long to fee, and know the 
 things which we long to know, and feel the 
 Love which we long to feel, and are full of 
 the joyes which now we can fcarce attain a 
 tafte of, and have reacht the End which now 
 wefeek, and for which wefuffer, we fhall 
 no more take it for a judgement to be taken 
 from ungodly men, and from a world of fin, 
 and fear, and forrow ; nor fhall we envy the 
 wicked, nor ever defire to be partakers of their 
 pleafures. I ill then, let us congratulate our 
 departed friends the felicity which they have 
 attained, and which we defrre ; and let us 
 rejoyce with them that rejoyce with Chrift, 
 and let us prefer the leaft believing thought 
 of the everhfting joyes, before all the defi- 
 led tranfitory pleafures of the deluded, 
 dreaming, miferable world. And let us pre- 
 fer fuch converfe as we can here attain, with 
 God in Chrift, and with the Heavenly So- 
 ciety, before all the pomp and friendship of 
 the world. Wc have no friend that is fo 
 able to fupply all our wants, fo fufficientto 
 
 ( a) content 
 
The Epi/lle Dedicatory* 
 
 content us, fo ready to relieve us, fo willing 
 to entertain us , fo unwearied in hearing 
 us, and converting with us, as our blcffed 
 Lord. This is a friend that will never prove 
 untrufty • nor be changed by any change of 
 intereft, opinion or fortune s nor give us 
 caufe to fufpeft his Love : A friend that we 
 are fure will not forfake us, nor turn our ene- 
 my, nor abufeus for his own advantage, nor 
 will ever dye or be feparated from us, but 
 wefliall be alwaies with him, and fee his 
 Glory, and be filled and tranfported with his 
 Love , and fing his praife to all Eternity. 
 With whom then fhouldwe fo delightfully 
 converfe on Earth ? and till we can reach 
 that fweet delightful converfe,, whom fliould 
 we feek with more ambition, or obferve with 
 greater devotednefs and refpeft ? Othat we 
 were lefs carnal, and more (piritual , and 
 lived lefs by Senfe , and more by Faith . 
 that we knew better the difference between 
 God and Man, between vifible Temporals, 
 and invifible Eternals ! we fliould then have 
 other thoughts, and defires, and refolutions, 
 and converfe, and employments and plea- 
 furcs than too many have ! 
 
 Madam. 
 
"The Epjlk Dedicatory. 
 
 Madam , it difpleafeth me that it is no 
 more elaborate a Treatife, to which the pre- 
 fent opportunity inviteth me to prefix your 
 Name 5 but your own Defire of the Third 
 muft be my excufe for all : But pardon the 
 Manner, and I dare commend the Matter to 
 you, as more worthy your ferious contempla- 
 tion, and your daily moft delightful pra&ice, 
 than any other that was ever propofed unto 
 mortal man. This is the man-like noble life : 
 The life which the Rational foul was made 
 for : To which if our faculties be not by fan- 
 ttifying Grace reftored, they fall below their 
 proper dignity and ufe, and are worfe than 
 loft; like a Prince or Learned man that is 
 employed only in fweeping Dog-kennels, or 
 tending Swine, to walk in Holinejs with the mo/l 
 Holy God, is the improvement and advance- 
 ment of the nature of man, towards its de* 
 figned equality with Angels : When Earthli- 
 nefs and Senfuality degrade humanity into (a 
 voluntary, and therefore finful) brutifhnefs : 
 This is the Life which affordeth the foul a fo- 
 lid and durable pleafure and content : When 
 carnal minds evaporate into Air, and bubble 
 into froth and vanity, wafted in a dream, and 
 (a 2) the 
 
The Epiftle 'Dedicatory. 
 
 the violent bufie purfuit of a fliadow ; decei- 
 ving themfelves with a mixture of fome coun- 
 terfeit Religion- playing with God, and wor- 
 king for the world- living in jeaft, and 
 dying, and defpairing, and fuffering in ear- 
 ned; with unwearied labour building on 
 the Sand, and finking at death for want of a 
 foundation ; hating the ferious practice of 
 their own profeft: Religion, becaufe it is not 
 theprofe(Tion,butthe ferious pra&ice which 
 hath the greateft enmity to their fenfual de- 
 lights ; yet wifliing to be numbred with thofe 
 hereafter, whom they hated here : This Holy 
 Walkingwith the moft Holy God^ is the only life 
 which is beft at laft, and fweet in the review ; 
 which the Godly Live in, and moft of the 
 ungodly could wifh to dye in 5 like him that 
 wifhed to be C^e/ur in life, and Socrates at 
 death : Yea this is the Life which hath no 
 end 5 which we are bete but learning, and be- 
 ginning to pra£tife,and which we muft here- 
 after live (in another manner and degree*) with 
 God for ever: O wondrous Mercy! which 
 thus ennobleth even the ftate of mortality ! 
 and honoumhEanh with fo much participati- 
 on of,and communion with Heaven ! That by 
 
 God. 
 
The Epijlle Dedicatory. 
 
 God, and with God, we may walk in holy peace 
 and fafety unto God, and there be bleflfed in 
 his perfect Sight and Lonye for ever! Madam, 
 the greateft fervice I can do you for all your 
 favours, is, to pray that God will more ac- 
 quaint you with himfelf, and lead you by this 
 blelTed way to that more blefled end 5 that 
 when you fee all worldly glory in the duft, 
 you may blefs him for ever, who taught you 
 to make a wifer choice : Which are the 
 prayers of 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Tour <vtry much obliged Servant, 
 
 Dec. 24. 
 
 l66 *- Richard Baxter* 
 
 (*3) TO 
 
«*3 S>** «*€ &©• ■*€ 9<* *£>€9*» -OSS** «*G9t* 
 TO THE 
 
 READER.. 
 
 Reader, 
 ^^^^| H B Embryo of this Bock was but one Ser- 
 mon, preached a little before the ending of 
 f% m J fetich UMiniflry, upon the Text tf the 
 third 'Treatife, (upon the occafionimimattd 
 in the Bpiflle to that truly Honourable hud) ) 
 Being obliged to communicate the Notes , and unavoidably 
 guilty of feme delays, I made a compenfation by enlarge- 
 mentt, and {having reafons {or the publication of them^ 
 with which I fhall not trouble you) to make them more fult* 
 able to the defigned end, 1 prefixed the two former Tret* 
 tifes : The fir ft I had preached to my ancient flock : of the 
 fecond! had preached but one Sermon- J f many of the ma- 
 terials in the fecond be the fame as in the 'fifl, youmuft 
 under fl and that my defign required that it fh&uldbe fo .* 
 They being the fame Attributes of God, which the fir ft Part 
 endeav$ureth to imprint upon the mind % and which the 
 fecond and third endeavour to improve into a cmflant 
 courfe of holy affeftion and conversation : As it k the 
 feme food which the fir fl concoction chylfiah, which the 
 perfecting conceptions do work ever again, and turn inta 
 blood and fpirits and flefli : fo far am I in fuch points 
 from gratifying thy ftcklj de fire of variety, and avoiding 
 the di ft leafing of thee by the rthearfals of the fame 9 that it 
 
 is 
 
To the Reader. 
 
 is my very bufintj? with thee to perfwade thee, to live con- 
 tinually upon the fe fame Attributes and Relations of God, 
 as upon thy daily air and bread *, and to for fake that lean 
 confuting company, who feed on the (be Is of hard and bar* 
 ren co»troverfies, er on the fret h of complements'and affetf- 
 ed (hew , and run after novelty inflead of fub {lanital foltd 
 nutriment : And to tell thee, that the primitive, pure, fim- 
 fie thnfiianity, confified in the daily ferieus u(e of the 
 great materials of the Creed, Lords Prayer, and ten 
 Commandements, contracted in the words of our Ba- 
 ptifmal Covenant. Do thus, and thou wilt be like thofe 
 examples of the fucceedtng Church, in uprightnefs, purity, 
 [impiety, charity, peace ablenef and holy communion with 
 God, when the pretended fubtilties and fublimiiies of wan- 
 ton, uncharitable, contention wits, willferve but to fir an- 
 gle or delude their fouls. I have purpofcly been very brief 
 on the fever al Attributes and Relations of God, tnthe 
 firjl Treatife, becaufe the copious handling of them would 
 have made a very great volume of it felf, and because it is 
 my great defign in that fir (I part, to give you a fight of all 
 Gods Attributes ^WRelacionsconjun&j W/» their or- 
 der, that looking on t htm, not one by one, but all together in 
 their proper places, the wholelmage of God, may by them y 
 be rightly imprinted on your minds-, The Method being 
 thefaR. thing, and the necejjary ImprefCions on the foul 
 thefecond, which! there dejire you to obferve and employ 
 your minds about, if you defire to profit, and receive what 
 1 intend you. 
 
 Decern. 24. 
 1663. 
 
 THE 
 
-ggjs<» «frS so» «o ^ *«» ^€-»e- »>gsfr «oe?H> . 
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 1^H£ Text explained: The DoUrine. The Know- 
 ledge of the onlj true God and of^fejtu Chri(l the 
 CMediatour, is the life, of grace and theneceffary 
 way to the life of glory. What is contained in the Know- 
 ledge of God, as to the A6i : what its to the objeff. A 
 f)ort Scheme of the Divine properties and Attributes 
 to be known. Page i 
 
 Chap. II. 
 Of the Knowledge of Gods Being 5 and the neceffary 
 effefts of it on the heart. p. 1 4 
 
 Chap. III. 
 Of the Knowledge of Gods Unity and Indivifibility, and 
 its neceffary effects . p, 1 7 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 Of the Knowledge of Gods Immenficy, and fo of his In- 
 comprchenfiblencfSj Omniprefence 3 and the effetfj. 
 
 p. 21 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 Of the Knowledge of Geds Eternity and its duetffcBs. A 
 
 Believer referring all things to Eternity, honourethhU 
 
 'very horfe,or dog, or fmallefi mercy, more than Vnbe- 
 
 lievers honour their King, their lives^ their fouls, re- 
 
 ( b ) gtrding 
 
The Contents. 
 
 girding them but for tranfttory ends* Unbelievers de- 
 lying the End, diflroy moral! ) all fouls, nil mercies, all 
 Divine revelations, all Gods ordinances, all graces, and 
 duties, and the whole Creation. p. 1 8 
 
 Chap. VI- 
 ihe Knowledge of God as he is a Spine, ^incor- 
 poreal: and consequently, i. As A*£ fimple ^run- 
 compounded. 2 # Invifible, ejre. 3. Immortal, In- 
 corruptible, Immut2b!e: The Ufes of Gods Simpli- 
 city : The Ufes of bis Invifibility : ihe Ufes of his 
 Immortality > and Immutability. p. 44 
 
 Chap. VII, 
 Of the Knowledge of Gods Almightinefs, and of its due 
 effztts. p. 50 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 of the Knowledge of Gods Omnifcience, or Infinite Wif- 
 dome5 with the due effects. P* 57 
 
 Ch a p. IX. 
 of the Knowledge of Gods Infinite Goodnefs^WLove; 
 and of the due imprejfion of it on the foul. p. 65 
 
 Chap, X. 
 Of the Knowledge of Godot the firft Caufe, Creator and 
 Preterver of all things. All things are for God, as the 
 Ultimate End 5 m am fe fled. How his Will U fliS ful- 
 filled. Whether he will de eventu that all obey him i 
 God willetb not fin. Differences ended about it. Whe- 
 ther he Decree not or will not ut evenit peccatum i 
 Whether he will de eventu that fin fhall not come to 
 pajs, when it doth? All Gods works good : None to be 
 dishonoured : no not curfelves, our Reafon and Free- 
 will, as Natural^ of God 5 though as vitiated by 
 us/w^illdifpofed, wemuftaccufett. p. 76 
 
 Chap. 
 
The Contents. 
 
 Chap. XL 
 
 Of the Knowledge 0/God as our Redeemer, Infants not 
 " in a ft Ate of mmcency, but of Original fin : fully prov- 
 ed: The great ends of Redemption, enumerated : The 
 effecls it mnft have upon the fouL p. 86 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 7 he Knowledge of God the Holy Ghoji as our Sanciifer and 
 Comforter: \^A further proof of Original fin. Twenty 
 cenfiderations by way of fere's to convince them that 
 deny or extenuate the Sanctifying works of the Holy 
 Gboft, afcribingthem to Nature and themf elves, p, 100 
 Chap. XIII. 
 Of the Knowledge of God as the Abfolute Owner, Pro- 
 prietary or Lord of all : of his Jus X5on\\\\\\ grounded 
 on his Creation and Redemption 5 and the Ufes. p. 10 > 
 Chap. XIV, 
 Of the Knowledge of God as our Sovereign Governour or 
 King : His J11* Imperii : The grounds : Iheexercife : 
 The ufes and effecls. p. 1 1 5 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 Of the Knowledge of God as our mofl bountiful Bentfa- 
 <5tor, ormofl Loving Father. The Benefits founding 
 this Relation : 1. Common : 2. Special/^ his cho- 
 fen ones. The necefjary effecls. p. 1 24 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 Of the Freedome of God. p. l * 1 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 OftbeJufticeofGod: what it is : the effecls.- p. 132 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 Of the Knowledge of GodsHolineb. What it is. The ne- 
 ctary effecls. p. 1J3 
 Chap. XIX. 
 Of Gods Veracity , or Truth and Faithfulnefs. The 
 
 {b 2 ) ufess 
 
The Contents. 
 
 Vjes i The Dominicans dochine of Phyfical efficient 
 immediate predetermination , at once obliierateth all 
 Divine faith^ by denying the Veracity of God ^ which is 
 its formal Objetf \ Lying and Perjury abhominable. 
 
 p. 138 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 Of the Knowledge of Gods Mercitulnefs {including his 
 Patience and long fuffering) and the necejjarj »fes 
 and eff efts. p. 144 
 
 Chap. XXI. 
 
 Of the Knowledge of Gods Dreadfulnefs or Terr&Ie- 
 nefs : and the necejfarj ufes and effeBs m p, 148 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
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 Jhoi 
 
John 17. j. 
 
 Ani this is Life Eternal _ that they might know 
 thee the only true God y and $efm Chrift whom thou 
 hafl fent. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 OD is the Principal Efficient, the Su- 
 pream Directive, and the Vltimate final 
 Caufe of man : For OF him, and 
 T HROUGH him, and TO him&re 
 all things, and to him (hall be the Glory 
 JU for ever, Rom. n. 36. The New life, 
 or Nature in the Saints u his Image, Col. 
 3.10. The Principle of it is called The 
 Dhine Nature, 2 Pet. 1.4. The exercife of that principle 
 (including the principle it lelf) is called The life of God, ^h. 
 4. 1 8. from which the Gentiles are faid to be alienated by their 
 ignorance. There, r o:e-it is called Holinefs, which is a fcfara- 
 tion to God from common ufe : and £ Qods dwelling in u$,~\ 
 and [_ ours in him~] 1 John 4. 12, 13. of whom we are faid 
 to be \_bom and regenerate ~] 1 John 4. 7. John 3. 5. And 
 our perfetlion in Glory, is our living with God, and enjoying 
 
 B him 
 
2 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 him for ever. G O D L I N E S then is the comprehenfive 
 name of all true Religion. Jefus Chrift. himfelf came but to 
 reftore corrupted man to the Zw,and Obedience , and Fruition 
 of his Creator, and at iaft will give up the Kingdom tc the fa- 
 ther, that God way Ire All, and in all : and the S)* himfelfftatt 
 be fubjetl to this end, i Cor. I 5. 24, 28. The End of Chnils 
 Sacrifice and Jnterceffion'xs to Reconcile God and man : The 
 End of h\s DMrine is to teach us to know God: The end of 
 his Government is to reduce us to the perfect obedience of our 
 Maker. It is therefore the greaceft Duty of a Christian to 
 know God as revealed by his Son ^ and it is fuch a Duty aboat 
 our Vhimate End as is alfo our greateft Mercy and Felicity. 
 Therefore doth the Lord Jefus here in the Text defcribethat 
 Life Eternal which he was to give to tbofe whom the Father 
 had given him, to confiil in Knowing the only true God, and 
 Jefus Chrifi whom he had fent. My purpofe is in this Treatife 
 to fpeakonly of the firft part of the Text, (The Knowledge 
 of God) And fir ft I {hall very briefly explain the Text. 
 
 f T H I S ] That is, This which I am defcribing. 
 
 [LIFE] Life is taken fometime for the Souls abode in 
 the Body, which is the Natural Life of man ; or the fouls 
 continuation in its fepai ated ftate, which is the Natural life 
 of the foul : and fometimes for the Perfetlions of Natural 
 life: And that either its Natural Perfection, that is, Its Health 
 and Vivacity •, or its moral perfection or Retlitude •, and that is 
 either in the Caufe , and io God is our Life ^ Chrifi is our 
 Life ^ the Holy Spirit is our Life : or in it felfi and fo Ho- 
 linefs is our Life in the Princifle, Seed or Habit. Sometime 
 Life is taken for the/f^r^, Imployment and Exercife of Life; 
 and fo a Holy Converfation, is our Moral, Spiritual, or holy 
 life. And fometime it is taken for the Felicity of the living : 
 Andfoit containeth all the former in their higheft perfection, 
 that is, both Natural Life, and Moral- Spiritual Life , and the 
 holy exercife thereof, together with the full attainment and.fru* 
 ition of God in Glory, the End of all. 
 
 ^ETERNAL] That is, fmply eternal , objectively, as to 
 God the principal object : and E:ernal ex parte pofl,fubjeclive- 
 ly ; that is, Everlafting. 
 
 [THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL] Not Natural life 
 
 in 
 
Part L Of the Krt$rvUJge $f G$d. 3 
 
 in ic felf confidered , as the Devils and wicked men (hail 
 haveir. Buc i. Ic Js the fame Moral- Spiritual Life which 
 (hall have no End, but endure to Eternity: It Js a Living to 
 God in Love- Buc only initial, and very imperfect here, in 
 comparison of what it will be in Heaven. 2. It is the Eter- 
 nal felicity , i.Seminally ^ for Grace is as it were a feed of 
 Glory ^ 2. As it is the Necejfary way or means of attaining it ^ 
 and that preparation which infallibly procureth ir. The 
 Perfetl Holinefs of the Saints in Heaven will be one part of 
 their perfetl happinefs : And this Holinefs imperfett they have 
 here in this life : It is the fame God that we know and love here 
 and there, and with a Knowledge and Love that is cf the 
 fame nature feminally ; As the egg is of the nature of the 
 Bird: (Whether it may be properly faid to he formally and 
 specifically the fame quoad t'ttum, as well as quoad ofyfium ^ 
 yea whether the Okjettum dare vifnm , and the ohycttum in 
 ffieculo vel anigmate vifum make not the att specifically differ, 
 I (hall not trouble you to difpute. ) And this imperfett Holi- 
 nefs hath the promife of Perfect Holinefs and Bappinefs in the 
 full fruition of God hereafter. So ic is the iSV^and Progno- 
 flicks of Life Eternal. 
 
 £1*0 KNOW] Non femper & uhi<\\ eodem modo vel 
 gradu : Not to know God ^r^and hereafter in the fame man- 
 ner or degree. But to know him here as in a, gl<*fs> and here- 
 after in his Glory, as face to face. To know him by an Affe- 
 ctive Practical knowledge : There is no Texc of Scripture of 
 which the rule is more clearly true and neceffary than of this, 
 that Words of Knowledge do imply affection. It is the dofure 
 of the whole foul with God,which is here called the knowing 
 of God: Andbecaufeit is not meet to name every particular 
 ad of the foul, when ever this duty is mentioned , ic is all 
 denominated frcm Knowledge, as the firfi Att , which infer- 
 red all the reft, r . Knowledge of God in the Hahit, is Spiri- 
 tual Life as a Principle. 2. Knowledge of God in t he cxtrcife % 
 is Spirit aal Life, as an t mployment. 3 . The Knowledge of God 
 in perfection with its effects , is Life Eternal as ic fignifi- 
 eth full felicity. What ic concamethl (hall further (hew 
 anon. / 
 [THEE 3 That is, The Father, called by feme Divines, 
 
 B 2 Tons 
 
4 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I . 
 
 Eons vel fundament umTrinitatis : the fountain, or foundati- 
 on of the Trinity : nndofcufedin the fomefenfe as the word 
 [GOD,] tofignifie the pure Deity. 
 "[THE ONLY] He that beheveth that there is more 
 Gods than One, believeth not in any. For though he may 
 give many the Name, yet the defcription of the true God can 
 agree to none of them. He is not God Indeed, if he be not One 
 only. 
 
 This doth not at all exclude Jefus Chrifr,as the fecond perfon 
 in Trinity : but only diftinguiftieth the pure Deity , or the On- 
 ly true God as fuch, from fefus Chrifi at Mediator between 
 God and man. 
 
 [TRUE] There are many that faljly and Metaphorically 
 are called Gsds : If we think of God but as one of thefe, it is 
 not to know him, but deny him. 
 
 [GOD J The word GO D doth not only fignifie the 
 Divine perfections in himfelf , but alfo his Relation to the 
 Creatures. To be a God to us, is to be one to whom we muft 
 afcribe all that we are or have -, and one whom we muft Love 
 and obey , and honour with all the powers of foul and body : and 
 one on whom we totally depend, and from whom we exped: 
 our judgement and reward, in whom alone we can be perfrtlly 
 blclTed. 
 
 [AND JESUS CHRIST] That is, As Mediator, 
 in his Natures , ( God and man ) and in his Office and 
 Grace. 
 
 [WHOM THOU HAST SE NT-J Thatis,whom 
 thy Love zndWifdom defegnedandcommi/fioned to this under- 
 taking and performance. 
 
 The Knowledge of the Holy Ghofi feemeth here left out, as 
 if it were no part of life Eternal : But i. At that time the 
 Holy Ghofi in that Eminent fort , as fent by the Father and 
 Son on theApoftles afcer the Refurrection and Afcenfion of 
 Chrift, was not yet fo manifefted as afterwards, and there- 
 fore not fo neceffarily to be diftin&ly known and believed in as 
 after : The having of the Spirit being of more necefllty than 
 the diftincl knowledge of him. Certain it is that the Difciples 
 wereatfirft very dark in this article of faith ; And Scripture 
 more fully rcvealeth the necejfity> to falvation, of believing in 
 
 the 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 5 
 
 thzT aibcr and ^»,than in die Holy Gbofl tiiftinclly . ye: telling 
 US, that if any man have not the fpirit of Chrifl, the fame is 
 n.neof /^,Rom. 8. 9. 2. But presently after, when the Spi- 
 rit wes ro befent, thenecefficy of believing in him is expref- 
 (ed •, eipeciatly in the Apoitles Commiflion to Baptize all Na- 
 tions ( that were made Difciples ) \n the name of the Father 
 Son and Holy Ghoft. 
 
 Do ft. *TT*He Knowledge tf the only true God t and of Jefus 
 A Chrifl the Mediator, is the Life of Grace, and the 
 neceffary way to the life of Glory. 
 
 As fames diftinguifheth between fuch a dead faith as De- 
 vils and wicked men had, and fuch a living and wording faith 
 as was proper to the juftified. ^ forauftwe here of the Know 
 ledge of God. Many frofefs that they know God, but in works 
 they deny him, being abominable and dif obedient t and to every good 
 worl^ reprobate, Tit. 1. 16. There is a form of knowledge which 
 the unbelievers had, Rom. 2. 22. and a knowledge which puf- 
 fethup,zndis void of Love, which hypocrites have, 1 Cor. 
 8. 1. & 1 3 . But no man ( fpiricuaHy ) knoweth the things of 
 God, but by the fpirit. And they that rightly know his nave, 
 will put their trufi in him, P fal. 9 10. Thus he giveth the re- 
 generate* heartto knowhim, Jer. z\. 7. and the new crea- 
 ture £ renewedin knowledge, Col.3.10. And vengeance fhall 
 be poured out on them that knaw not God, 2 Thef. 1.8. 
 This favingKnowledge of God which [sEternal Life ,CQntaineih 
 and impiyeth in it all thefe afts, 1 .The nnderftandings apprehefion 
 of God according to the neceffary articles of faith. 2. A Belief 
 of the truth of thefe articles : that God is, and is fuch as he is 
 therein defcribed. 3 . An high eftimation of God according- 
 ly. 4. A Volition, complacency or Love to him as God, the 
 chiefeft (7<W. 5. A'Defiringafarbim. 6. A C hoofing him^ 
 with the rejection of all competitors. 7. A Confent that he 
 be$«r(SW,and a giving up our ielves to him as his people. 
 8. An intending him as our Ultimate End in the ufe of means, 
 in the conrfe of our Conventions. 9. A feekjng him in the 
 choife and ufe of means, 1 0. An obeying him as our So vera?gn 
 
 B 3 Governour. 
 
6 of the Knowledge of Gad, Part I. 
 
 Govcrnour. il. An honouring, and praifing him as God. 
 12. And an enjoying him and delighting in him ( in Tome fmall 
 foretafts here, as he is feen by faith-, but perfectly hereafter^ 
 as £fW^ in Glory.) The afftftive practical Knowing of (Jod, 
 which is Life eternal, contamcth or implyeth all thcie parts. 
 
 And every Chnftian that hath any of this Knowledge defireth 
 more : It is his great defire to Knoty more of God, and to know 
 him with a more affecting powerful knowledge. He that^ro^- 
 ^injrr^jdoth accordingly grow in this knowledge of God 
 and of Jeftu Chrifi. The vigour and alacrity of our fouls 11- 
 eih in it : The rectitude of our actions ,and the holinefs of them 
 floweth from it : God is the excellency of our Hearts and 
 lives : Our advancement and our joy is here only to be found. 
 A 11 other knowledge \s to far defirable, as it conduceth to the 
 knowledge of God, or to the feveral duties which that know- 
 ledge doth require. All knowledge of Words or things, of 
 caufes and effects % of any creatures, actions, cuftomes, Laws, 
 or whatfeever may be known, is fo far valuable as it is u/eful •, 
 and fo far ttfefulas it is Holy, fubferving the knowledge of 
 God,inChnft. What the fun is to all mens eyes, that God 
 is to their fouls, and more : It is to Know him that we have 
 underfiandings given us -, And our under landings enjoy him 
 but fo far a? they j^ewhim -, as the eyeenjoyeth the Light of 
 the fun, by feeingxt. The ignorance of God, is the blindnefs 
 and part of the atheifm of the foul, and inferreth the reih 
 They that know him not s de fire not heartily to know him -, nor 
 can they Love him, Truft him. fear him, ferve him, or call up. 
 on him, whom t hey do not Know. He\\> /hall they call upon him 
 in \X>hom they have not believed, Rom. 1 o. 14. The heart of the 
 Vngodly faith to God, Depart from m : for we dejire not the 
 knowledge of thj wayes •, what is the Almighty that we Jlould 
 ferve him . ? find what profit (ball we have if we pray unto Ifim I 
 Job. 2T. 14, 15. & 22. 17. All wickednefs hath admiffion in- 
 to zhn heart or land, where the knowledge of God is not the 
 watch to keep it out : Abraham inferred that the men of Gerar 
 would kj 11 him for his wife, when he faw that the fear of God 
 was not in that place : Gen. 20. 1 1 . It was Gads controverfie 
 With ifrael, becaufe there wm no truth, mr mercy, nor knowledge 
 if God in the land ■, but by/wearing, and lyings and killing and 
 
Part I . Of the Knowledge of God. 7 
 
 ftealing, they brake owt , and blood touched blood, Hof. 4. 1,2- 
 They are called by God, a foolifi people , fotttfh children, of n° 
 finder ft anding, that knew not God-, though they were wife to do 
 t vil y Jer. 4. 22. He will pour out hit fury upon the heathen th.it 
 know him not, and the families that call not on his name, Jer. 
 10. 25. As the day differeth from the night by the light of the 
 fun, fo theChurch difTereth from the worldby the Knowledge 
 of God in JcfusChrift. Pfal.76. 1,2. Injudah is God k»omn • 
 his name is great in Ifrael : In Salem alfo is his Tabernacle, 
 andhis dwelling place in Sion. The Love, and Vnity, and peace 
 which fhaH fucceedperfecution and malice in the bleffed times, 
 fhall bebecaufethe earth [hall be full of the knowledge of the 
 Lord, as the waters cover the fea,Hz. 1 1. 6,7,8, 9. Hypocrites 
 (hall know himfuperficiallj and uneffetlually : and bis holy ones 
 fliall know him fo as to Love him, fear him, truft him, and obey 
 him •, with a knowledge effetluai *pon heart and life : And he 
 will continue hid loving kindnefs to them that know him, Pfal. 
 36, 10. 
 
 He is the befi Chriftian that hath the fulhft impreffion made 
 upon his foul by the Knowledge of God in all his Attributes. 
 Thus it is our Life eternal to Know God in Chrifi. Ic is to 
 reveal the Father that the Son was fent •, and it is to reveal 
 the Father and the Son, that the Holy spirit is fent •, God is 
 the light and the life, and felicity of the foul. . The work of 
 its falvation is but thercftoringit to him, and putting it in pof- 
 feffion of him. The beginning of this is Regeneration and 
 Reconciliation : the perfection or it is Glorification, beatifical 
 Vifion, and Fruition. The Mind that hath haft of God. is 
 the darkeftand mod deluded Mind : And the mind that hath 
 moft of him, is the moft lucide, pure, and ferenc. And how is 
 God in the Mind, but as the Light and other vifible objects are 
 in the eye ; and as pleafant melodic is in the ear , and as delight- 
 ful meats zn& drink* we m the taft f But that God maketh a 
 more detp and durable imprefs on the foul, and fuch.as is fuka- 
 blc to its fpiritual immaterial nature. 
 
 As your feal is to make a full impreffion on the wax, of the 
 whole figure that is upon it felf, fo hath God been pleafed 
 in divers feats to engrave his Image , and theft muit make their 
 Imprefs upon us. 1. There is the feal of the Creation-, for 
 
 the 
 
8 Of the Knowledge of God. Parti, 
 
 thcWcrWhath much of the Image of God : It is engraven 
 al fo on the feal of Providential diffofals ( though there we are 
 uncapable of reading it yer, fo fully A in the reft ) 2. It is en- 
 graven on the feal of" the holy Scriptures. 3. And on the Per- 
 Jonof Jefus Chrifi, who is the rureft cleared Image of the 
 Father r as alfo on the holy example of his life. 4. And by the 
 means of all thefeapplyed to the foul, in ourfober con federa- 
 tion, by the working of the Holy Ghoft, the Image of God is 
 made upon us. 
 
 Here note, i.That All the revealed Image of God muft 
 be made on the foul, and not apart only ; and all is wrought 
 where any is truly wrought. 2. That to the compleatnefs of 
 his Image on us, it is necefTary that each part of Gods Defcri- 
 ptionbe orderly made, and orderly make the lmprefs on tis, 
 and that each part keep its proper place: For it is a monfter 
 that hath feet where the head (hould be, or the backfide for- 
 ward, or where there is any grofs mifplacing of the parts. 
 3 . Note alfo that all the three forementioned feats contain all 
 Gods Image on them •, but yet not all alike •, but the firfi part 
 is more clearly engraven upon the firfi of them, and the fecond 
 part upon the/ecend of them, and the third part mod clearly on 
 ttte third iiid Ufi, 
 
 To open this more plainly to you -, Vnity in Trinity, and 
 Trinity inVnity , is the fura of our holy faith. In the Deity 
 there is revealed to us, One God in three per/ens, the Father, 
 Son % and Holy Ghoft • The Ejfence is but one ; the fubftftences 
 are three . And as we muft conceive and fpeak of the Divine 
 Nature according to its Image? while we fee it but in zglafs •, 
 fo we muft fay, that in this Blcffed Deity in the Vnity of Ef- 
 fence, there is a Trinity of Effential properties and Attributes, 
 that is, Po^w, VW/^w, and Goodnefs % Life, Light and Love ; 
 The meafure of which is to have no meafure, but to be Infi- 
 nite. And therefore this Being is Eternal, and not meafured 
 by Time, being without Beginning or end; He is Immenfefis 
 being not meafured by place, but containcth all places, andls 
 contained in none.He isTerfctl^s not Meafured by Parts 
 Degrees, but quite above Degrees and Parts. This Infinite nefsoi 
 his Being doth communicate it felf, or alfo confift in the Jnfi- 
 . mttnefs of his Effential properties Mis Power is Ornipotency, that 
 
 is. 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God, 9 
 
 is, In finite Power-, His Knowledge or wifdom is Omnifcience* 
 that is, Infinite Wifdom : His Goodnefs is Fdicitj it felf , or Jnfi* 
 nite Goodnefs. 
 
 The firil leal (to our Cognifance) on which he engraved 
 this his Image, was the Creation, that is 1. The whole world'.n 
 General. 2. "The Intellectual Nature , or Man in fpecial. 
 
 In the Being of the Creation and every particular Crea- 
 ture, his Infinite Being is revealed • To wretched a Fool is the 
 Atheifl, that by denying God, he denyeth all things ! Could 
 he prove that there is no God, I would quickly prove that there 
 is no world, no man, no creature : If he know that he #him- 
 felf, or that the world or any Creature is, he may know that 
 God U : For God is the Original Beings And all Being that is 
 not Eternal, muft have fome Orig inal : And that which hath 
 10 Original is God, being Eternal, Infinite, and without 
 caufe. 
 
 The Power of God is revealed in the Being and Powers of 
 the Creation. His wifdom is revealed in their Nature, Order, 
 Offices, ErTeds, &c. His Goodnefs is revealed in the Creatures 
 Goodnefs , its beauty, ufefulnefs and accomplifhments. But 
 though*///;/* Image thus appear upon the Creation^ yet is it 
 his Omnipotency that principally there appears. The behold- 
 ing and confideration of the wonderful greatnefs, adivity 
 and excellency of the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the fire, and 
 other creatures, doth firft and chiefly poffefs us with appre- 
 henfionsof the Infinite Greatnefs or Power of the Creator. 
 
 In the Holy Word or Laws of God, which is the fecondglafs 
 or feal (more clear and legible to us than the former) there 
 appeareth alfo all his Image •, His power in the narratives, pre- 
 dictions, &c. His JV*/^win the prophelies, precepts, and in 
 all ; His Goodnefs in the promifes, and inftitutions in a fpecial 
 manner. But yet it is his fecond property, his Wifdom, that 
 moft eminently appeareth on this fecondfeal, and is feen in the 
 glafs of the holy Law. The difcovery.of fuch myfteries ^ the 
 revelation of fo many Truths ; the fuitablenefs of all the in- 
 ftituted means • and the admirable fitnefs of all the holy con- 
 trivances of God, and all his precepts, promifes and threat- 
 nings,for the Government of Mankind, and carrying him on 
 for the attainment of his end, in a way agreeable to his na- 
 
 C ture- 
 
i o of the Knovoltdgt of God. Pare I. 
 
 ture , thefe fliew that wifdom that is moft Eminently here re- 
 vealed, though Powe rand Goodnefs be revealed with it •, foin 
 the face of Jefus Chrift, who is the -third and moft perfed 
 /*<*/ and £/<?/}, there is the Image of the Power, and Wifdom 
 and Goodie fs of the Godhead : But yet it is the Love or Good- 
 nefj of the Father that is moft Eminently revealed in the fon : 
 His Power appeared in the incarnation, the conquefts, over 
 Satan and the world, the Miracles, the Refurre&ion and the 
 Afcenfion of Chrift. His Wf/^owappeareth in the admirable 
 myfterie of Redemption, and in all the parts of the office, 
 works, and laws of Chrift, and in the means appoinced in fub- 
 ordination to him ; But Love andGoodnefs fhineth moft clear- 
 ly and amiably through the whole ; it being the very end of 
 Chrift in this bleffed work 4 to reveal God to man in the Riches 
 of his Love, as giving us the greateft mercies,by the moft preci- 
 ous means, in the meeteil feafon and manner for our good • 
 Reconcilirgus to himfclf, and treating us as Children,with Fa- 
 therly companions, and bringing us nearer him, and opening 
 to us the everlafting treafure, having brought life and immor- 
 tality to light in the Gofpel. 
 
 God being thus revealed to man from without, in the three 
 Glaffes or Seals of the Creation, Law, and Son himfelf, he is 
 alfo revealed to us in our felves,man being, as it were, a little 
 world. 
 
 In the Nature of man is revealed as in a Seal or Glafs the 
 nature of the bleffed Go d'\n fome meafure. In Vnity ofEffence> 
 we have a Trinity of Faculties of foul, even the Vegetative, 
 Senfttive md Rational , as our bodies have both parts and fpi- 
 rits, Natural, Vital, and Animal ■, the Rational Power in Uni- 
 ty , hath alfo its Trinity of faculties, even Power for Execution, 
 Vnderftanding for Direction, and Will for Command : The 
 meafureof PoVverss Naturally (ufficlent to its ufe and end ± 
 the underftanding is a faculty to reafon, difcern, and difcourfe ; 
 The will hath that Freedom which befeemeth an undetermined, 
 fclf-determining creature herein the way. 
 
 Befides this 7>hyfical Image of God that is inseparable from 
 our Nature, we have alfo his Law Written in our hearts, and 
 are our/elves objectively part of the Law of nature, that is, the 
 fgnifiersofthewill of God. Had we not by fin obliterated 
 
 fomewhat 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge ef Ged. 1 1 
 
 fomewhatof this Image, it would have (hewed it feif more 
 clearly, and we fhould nave been more capable of underftand- 
 
 1 And then whenwe are icXgwmrt* and Renewed by the grace 
 and Spirit of Chrift,and planted into him ,as living members of 
 his body we have then the thirdimpreffion upon our fouls, and 
 are made like our Head in Wifdom, Bolinefs and in effetiml 
 
 Confidered as Creatures endued with Power, undemanding 
 and will, we have the Imprefs of all the forefaid Attributes of 
 God: Buz Eminently of h\s Power. 
 
 Confidered as we were at firft poffeffed with the light ^nd 
 law of works or Nature, (of which we yet retain fome part; fo 
 we have the Imprefs of *//thefe Attributes of God -, But mod 
 Eminently of his Wifdom. 
 
 Confidered as Regenerate by the Spirit, and planted into 
 Chrift, fo we have the imprefs of all his faid Attributes • But 
 mob eminently of his Love andGoodnefs, (hiningin the Moral 
 accomplishments or graces of the foul. 
 
 Man being thus made at firft the Natural and Sapiential 
 image of God, ( with m*;6 of the Image of his Love) the 
 Xor^didprefentlyby nectfftry Refultancy and voluntary con- 
 fent,^^ Related to us in fuch wrayr of Relations, as an. 
 fwer the forefaid Properties and Attributes. And thefe lfr/rf- 
 *»9»j of God to us, are next to be known, as flowing from his 
 
 Attributes and Works* _ i '•, '•. , ' . . 
 
 As we have our 4r»W 2**#£ from God who is the Pnmt- 
 the Eternal Being ■ fo from our Being given by Creation, God 
 is 2fc/rf^tous as our Maker -, From this Relation of a Crea- 
 tor in Unity, there arifeth a Trinity of Relations : This Trinity 
 is in that Vnity, and that Vnity in this Trinty. Firft Gcd 
 having w^ pu of nothing, is neceffarily fo/^d to us as o#r 
 Z^-, By a Lore* we mean ftri&iy, a Proprietary o^ Owner, 
 asyouarethetfttwrof your goods or anything that is jour 
 
 Own. ^ 
 
 Secondly , He is Related to us as our Ruhr, our Govtrnour or 
 King. This rifeth from our nature, made to be Ruled in order 
 to our End, being Rational Voluntary Agents ^ and aifo from 
 the Dominion and bleffed nature of God, who only hath Right 
 
 C 2 V> 
 
1 2 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 to the Government of the world, and only is fit and capable of 
 Ruling it. 
 
 Thirdly, ,He is Rtlated alfo touszsoar Benefatlor or Fa- 
 ther ; freely and of his bounty giving us all the good that we 
 do receive. 
 
 Hlsfirfi Relation in this Trinity, anfwereth his fir ft Property 
 in the Trinity : He is our Almighty Creator, and therefore is 
 our Owner or our Lord. 
 
 The fecond of thefe Relations anfwereth the fecond Property 
 of God. He is moft Wife, and trade an lmprefs of his Wifdom 
 on the Rational Creature, and therefore is our Governour. 
 
 The third Relation anfwereth the third property of God. 
 As he is mofl Good, fohc is our Benefatlor * Pfal. 119.68. 
 Thou art Good, and doft Good. Mans nature and difpofition is 
 known by his Works, though he be a free agent ; For the Tree 
 is known by its fruit, Mat. 7. 1 7. And (0 gods nature is known 
 by his works (as far as is fit for us here to know) though he 
 be zfree agent. 
 
 In each of thefe Relations , God hath other f pecial Attri- 
 bute s y which are denominated from his Relations, or his fol- 
 lowing fyorlej. 
 
 As he is our Lord or Owner, his proper Attribute is to be 
 *Abf$lute, having fo full a title to us, that he may do with us 
 what he lift, Mat. 20. 1 5. Rom. 9. 21. 
 
 As he is our Ruler, his proper Attribute is to be our Sove- 
 reign or Supream •, there being none above him, nor co-ordi- 
 nate with him, nor any Power of Government but what is de- 
 rived from him. 
 
 As he is our Benefactor, it is his prerogative to be our fhief, 
 or All: the Alpha and Omega-, theFountain or firft Effici- 
 ent caufe of all that wc receive or hope for ^ and the End or 
 ultimate final caufe that can make U9 Happy by fruition, and 
 that we muft ftill intend. 
 
 As thefe are the Attributes of God in thefe his great Rela- 
 tions, foinRefpcft to thz Works of thefe Relations, he hath 
 other fubordinate Attributes. As he is our Owner, it is his 
 Work to Difpofe of us ; and his proper Attribute to be moft 
 Free. As he is our Ruler \ it is his work, to Govern us -, which 
 is fjrft, by making Laws for us, and then by teaching and per- 
 
 [wading 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge efGeJ. r j 
 
 fwading us to keep them, and laftly by executing them ; which 
 is by Judging, Rewarding, and PunipAng. In refpeft to all 
 thefe, his principal Attribute is, to be fufi or Righteous . In 
 which is comprehended his Truth or F ait hfulnefj, his Holinefs, 
 his Merc], and his terrible dreadfnlnefs. As h s Attributes 
 appear in the Affertions of his word, he is True ( his Veracity 
 being nothing but his *? ower,Wifdow, and Goodnefs, exprel- 
 fing themfelves in his Word or Revelations.) For he that is 
 Able to do what he will, and fo wife as to Know all things, and. 
 fo Good as to Will nothing but what is Good, cannot poflibly 
 lye •, For every lie is either for want of Power y or Knowledge ,or 
 Goodnefs ^ He that is mod Able and Knowings need not deceive 
 by Lyings And he that is mod Good, will not do it without 
 need. As hisflrft properties appear in the word of Promife, 
 he is called Faithful, which is his Truth in making good a 
 word of grace. As he Commandeth Holy duties, and con- 
 demnethfin as themoft deteftable thing, by a pure, righte- 
 ous Law, fo he is called Holy ; andalfo as the fountain of this 
 Law, and the Grace that jfen&ifieth his people. As he fulfil- 
 let b his promifes, and rewzvdeth, and defendcth men accord- 
 ing to his word, fo he is called Merciful and Gracious as a 
 Governdur, (where his Mercy is confidered as limited or or- 
 dinate by his laws.) As hefulfilleth his Threatnings y he is cal- 
 led, Angry, wrathful \terrible, dreadful, holy, jealous, &c. But 
 be is J*p in all. 
 
 And as thefe are his Attributes as our Soveraign Ruler ; fo 
 as our Benefatlor, his fpeciaj Attribute is to be Gracious, or 
 Bountiful or Benign • or to be Loving, and inclined to do 
 good. Thefe are the Attributes of God refulcing from his 
 Nature as appearing in his Image in the Creation, Laws, zr.d 
 the perfon of his Son ,and refulting from his Relations and the 
 worJej of thofe Relations -, even as he is our Creator, in Vnity ; 
 and our Lord or Owner, our Ruler, and Benefactor^ in Tri- 
 nity. 
 
 Were it not my purpofe to confine my felf to this (hort dif- 
 coveryof the nature, attributes, and works of God, but to 
 run deeper into the reft of the body of Divinity, 1 (hould 
 comedown to the fall, and work of Redemption, and fhew 
 youintheGo/p*/ and all the ordinances ^ &c the footfteps of 
 
 C 3 chi s 
 
14 of the Knowledge ofGol Part I. 
 
 this Method of Trinity \nVmtj % vihkh I have here b^gun •, 
 but that were to digrefs. 
 
 Befides what is faid, we might name you many Attributes 
 of God thatarecommonly called Ntgative, and do but diftin- 
 guilh him from the Imperfect Creature, by fctting him above 
 us Infinitely in his petfecYions. Man hath a Body •, but God is 
 nota Body ^Imt a fpirit -, Man is mutable , but God Immuta- 
 ble \ Man is Mort al, but God Immortal, &c. And now as I 
 have fhewed you thefe Properties, Relations, and Attributes 
 of God, fol mult next tell you that we alfo ftand in anfwera- 
 bie counter-relations unto him ; and muft have the qualities, 
 and do the works that anlwer thofe Relations. 
 
 i . As God is our Almighty Creator, fo we are his Creatures, 
 impotent aud inefficient for our feives. We owe him there- 
 fore all that a Creature can owe his Maker, that hath but our 
 receivings. 2. In this Relation is contained a Trinity of Re- 
 lations, i. We arc his 0j*«, as he is our Zc^d. 2. We arc his 
 Jubjetts as he is our Ruler. 3 . We are his Children as he is our 
 Father ; or his obliged Beneficiaries as he is our Benefa&or. 
 And now having opened to your obfervation the Image of 
 God,andtheextrinfick feals, I have ripened the difcourfe fo 
 far, thatlmay fitlyer (hew you, How the Imprejfion of this 
 Image of God is to be made upon the foul of the Believer. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 Of the Knowledge of Gods Being, 
 
 I. TT£ that cometh to God \mufl believe that God is , andthat 
 JLi he is a revsarder ef them that diligently feek^ him, 
 Heb. 1 1.6. The firft thing to be imprinted on the foul is, 
 that there is a God: that he is a real mofi Trafcendent Being. 
 Asfure as the Sun that fhineth hath a Being, and the Earth 
 that beareth us hath a being, fo lure hath God that made them 
 a Being infinitely more excellent then theirs. Asfure as the 
 ftreams come from the fountain, and as fure as Earth and 
 Stones, and Beads, nnd Men did never make themfelves, nor 
 do uphold themfelves, or continue the courfe of nature in 
 themfelves and others, nor govern the world, fo fure is there 
 
 an 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of Ged. I S 
 
 an Infinite eternal Being that doth this. Every Atrheift tha c 
 is not mad muft confefs chat there is an Eternal Being, that 
 had no beginning or caufe > The queftion is only, which this 
 is\ which ever it is, it is this that is the true God. What now 
 would the Atheift have it to be ? Certainty ic is that Being 
 that hath being it felf from none that is the firfl caufe of all 
 other Beings : And if it caufed them, it muft neceflarily be 
 every way more excellent then they, and concain all the good 
 that it hath caufed • For none can give that which it bath not 
 to give -, nor w^ that which is better then it feif •, that Be- 
 ing that hath made fo glorious a creature as the Sttn } mull: 
 needs it felf be much more glornus, It could not have put 
 ftrength and porter into the Creatures, if it had not it fclf more 
 flrength and power. It could not have put PFifdom and Good- 
 nefs into the Creature, if it had not more fvifdom and Goodnefs 
 then all they. Whatever it is t hcrefore that hath more Power t 
 Wifdom and Goodnefs then all the world befides, that is it which 
 we call God. That caufe that hath communicated to all things 
 elfe^ the Being, Power, and all perfections which they have, is 
 the God whom we acknowledge and adore •, If Democritifts 
 will afcribe all this to Atomes, and think that the Motes did 
 make the Sun ; or if others will think that the Sun is God 
 becaufe it participated of fo much of his excellency, let them b# 
 mad a while till judgement (hall convince them. So cleat 
 beyond all queftion to my foul is the Being of the Godhead < 
 that the Devil hath much loft the reft of his more fubtil tem- 
 ptations, when he hath fooliihly and malicioufly adjOynecl 
 this, to draw me 'to queftion the Being of my God -, which is 
 more then to queftion Whether there be a Sun in the Firma- 
 ment. 
 
 But what is the Jmprefs that the Being of God muft make 
 upon the Soul ? 
 
 I anfwer From hence the holy foul difcerncth that the Be- 
 ginning and the Endof his Religion, the fubfiance of his Hope 
 is the Being of Beings , and not a (haddow ^ and that his 
 faith is not a fanfie. The Object is as it were the matter of the 
 ad. If our faith and hope and Love and Fear be exercifed 
 about the moft Real Being, it fhews that there is a Reality in 
 ©ur/rf//&,andthatwe be not exercifed in a delufory work- 
 
 God 
 
1 6 Of the Knowledge c/Gtd. Pare I. 
 
 God is to the Acheift buc an emp;y name \ He feels no life 
 or £f/>*£ in him ; And accordingly he ofTereth him zfiaddow 
 of devotion, and a nsminal fervice. But to the holy foul 
 there is nothing that hath life and Being but God, and that 
 which doth receive a Being from him, and leadcth to him. 
 This iWobject putteth a Reality into all the devotions of a 
 holy foul. They look upon the vanities of the world as No- 
 thing ; and therefore they look on worldly men as on idle 
 dreamers that we doing nothing.This puts a fcrioufnefs and Life 
 into the faith and holy affections of the believer. He knows 
 Vvhomhe trufteth, 2 Tim. i. 12. he knows whom he Loveth, 
 and in whom he Hopeth. Atheifts and all ungodly men, do 
 practically judge of God, as the true Believer judgeth of the 
 -pforld. The Atheift takes the pleafures of the world to be the 
 only fubflance ; and God tobe but as a fhaddow, a notion, 
 or a dream. The godly take the world to be as nothings and 
 know it fs but a fancy and dream,and fhadow of pleafures, and 
 honour, and profit, and felicity, that men talk of and feek fo 
 eargerly below -, but that God is the fubftantial object and 
 portion of the foul. If you put into the mouth of a hun- 
 gry man, a little froth, or breath, or aire, and bid him eat it, 
 and feed upon it, he will tell you, he finds no fubflance in it ^ 
 fo judgeth the gracelefs foul of God, and fo judgeth the gra- 
 cious foul of the creature as feparate from God. 
 
 Let this be the Jm pre /ft on on thy foul, from the confidera- 
 tion of Gods tranfeendent Being ! O look upon thy felf and all 
 things as nothing without him! and as Nothing in comparifon 
 of him I And therefore let thy Love to them be as nothing, 
 ind thy de fires after them and care for them as mthing\ But 
 let the Being of thy Love, defire, and endeavours, be let out 
 upon the tranfeendent Being. The creature hath its kind of 
 being-, but if it would be to us inftead of God, it will be as no- 
 thing. The Aire hath its Being $ but we cannot dwell in it, 
 nor reft upon it tofupportus as the earth doth. The water 
 hath its 'Being, but it will not^r us, if we would walk upon 
 it. The name of the great Jehovah is \_Iam~\ Exod.3. 14 
 Try any Creature in thy need, and it will fay, as Jacob to* 
 Rachel \ Gen. 3 o. 2. Am I in Gods ftead that hath withheld thy 
 defire from thee ^ fend to it, and it will fay as John Baptifi, 
 
 that 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge $f Cod. i 7 
 
 that confeffed \_lam not the Chrifi ] Joh. i . 20. Let nose of 
 
 all the arTedions of thy foul, have fo much Life and Being in 
 
 them, as thofe that are exercifed upon God. Worms and 
 
 motes are not regarded in comparifon of mountains', a drop 
 
 is not regarded in comparifon of the Ocean. Lee the Being 
 
 of God take up thy foul and draw off rhy obfervation from 
 
 deluding vanities, as if there were no fuch things before thee. 
 
 When thou remembreft that there is a God, Kings and Nobles, 
 
 Riches and Honours, and all the world fhould be forgotten 
 
 in comparifon of him ^ And thou fhouldft live as if there were 
 
 no fuch things % if God appear not to thee in them. See them as 
 
 ifthoudidft not fee them, as thou feeft a candle before the 
 
 fun-, or a pile of grafsOr fingle duft in comparifon with the 
 
 Earth. Hear them as if thou didlt not hear them •, as thou 
 
 hearcft the leaves of the fhaken tree, ac the fame time with a 
 
 clap of thunder. As greatefi things obfeure the leaft, fo lee 
 
 the Being of the Infinite God fo take take up all the powers of 
 
 thy foul, as if there were nothing elfe but he, when any thing 
 
 would draw t^ee from him. O if the Being of this God were 
 
 feen by thee, thy feducing friend would fcarce be feen, thy 
 
 tempting baits would fcarce be feen, thy riches and honours 
 
 would be forgorten ^ all things would be as nothing to thee in 
 
 comparifon of him. 
 
 Cm a p. III. 
 
 2. A StheBeingofGodftiould make this Irnpreffion on thee, 
 -LjLfo the Attributes that fpeak the perfection of that Being, 
 rouft each one have their work j as his unit) or indivif\bility % 
 his Immenfity, and Eternity. 
 
 Andfirit, the thought of Gods unity fhould contrad and 
 mite chy ftragling affedions, and call them home from multi- 
 farious vanity. Itfhould poffefs thy mind with deep appre- 
 henfions of the excellency of holy Unity in the foul, and in 
 the Church ; and of theevilof/)*'z/^«j«,andmifery of diftrad- 
 mg multiplicity. The Lord our God UOne God, I Cor. 8 6. 
 Perfection hath unity and fimplicity. We fell into Divifions 
 and miferable diftradion when we departed from God unto 
 
 D the 
 
i8 Of the Knowledge of Cod. Part I. 
 
 \hz Creature \ For the Creatures are Many and of contrary 
 qualities, difpofitions,and'affe&ions. And che heart that is 
 iec on fuch an objt d, muft needs be a Divided heart ; And the 
 heart chat is Divided among fo many and contrary or difcordant 
 objefts, muft needs be a diftratled he/irt. The con fu (ions of 
 the world confound the heart that is fet upon the world. He 
 that makeih the world his God, hath fo many Gods, and fo 
 difcordant, that he will never pleafe them all, and all of them 
 together will never fully content and plea fe him. And who 
 would have a God that can neither pleafeus, nor be pleafed ? 
 He chat makeih Him/elf his God, hath a compounded God 
 ( and now corrupted ) of multifarious, and now of contrary 
 defires, as hard to pleafe as any without us. There is no Reft 
 or Happinefs but in Vnity. And therefore none in our felves 
 or any other creature •, but in God the only center of the ioul. 
 The further from the Center, the further from Vnity. It is 
 only in Cod that differing minds can be well united. Therefore 
 is the world fo divided , becaufe it is departed fo far from God. 
 Therefore have we fo many minds and wayes, and fuch diver- 
 sity of opinions, and contrariety of affections, becaufe men 
 forfake the Center of Vnity. There's no Uniting in any 
 worldly>carnal, lelf-deviled principles, or pra&ifes. When 
 Holinefs brings thefe diftra&ed, fcatterd fouls to God, in him 
 they will be one. While they bark at Holinefs, and cry up Vni- 
 ty, they (hew themfelves diltrad:ed men. Tor Holinefs is the 
 only way to Vnity, becaufe it is the clofure of the foul with 
 God. All countreys, and perfons cannot meet in any one 
 intereft or Creature , but each hath a feveral intereft 
 of his own ^ But they might all meet in God. If the Pope 
 were God and had his perfections , he would be fit for all 
 the Church to Center in . But being man, and yet pretending 
 to this Prerogative of God, he is the grand divider and di- 
 firatler of the Church. The Proverb is too true •, [_ So many 
 men,fo many minds ] becaufe that every man will be a God co 
 himfelf, having a [elf mind, and/elf- Will, and all men will not 
 yield to be one in God. God is the common intereft of the 
 Saints • and therefore all that are truly Saints ,are truly united 
 in him. And if all the Vifiblt Church % and all the world, would 
 beartily make him their Common Intereft , we fhould quickly 
 
 have 
 
Part L of the Knowledge ef God, ip 
 
 have a Common Vnity and Peace, and the Temple of double 
 faced Janus would be (hue up. They that fincerely have One 
 Go^havealfo one Lord (and Saviour) one spirit, one faith, 
 one Baptifm (or holy Covenant with God) even becaufe 
 they have one God and Father of all, Vvho is above all, and 
 through all, and in them all. And therefore they mult keep the 
 nttity of the fpirit in the bond of Peace , Eph.4. 3, 4, 5, 6. 
 Though yec they have different degrees of gifts (verf. 7.) 
 and here^ore differences in opinion about abundance of infe- 
 riour rhmgs. The further we go from the trunk or ftoct> t 
 the more numerous and fmall we (hall find the branches. They 
 are one in God, that are divided in many doubtful controverfies. 
 The m ifyft therefore in the faith mull be received into this 
 Vnion and Communion of the Church • but not to doubtful 
 difputari>»s,Rom. 14 I. As the antient Baptifm, contained 
 no more but our Engagement to God, the Father, Son and Holy 
 Ghofi. (0 the antient Prefefion of faving faich, was of the fame 
 excent. God is fufficient ior the Church to Vnite^ in. A Union 
 in other Articles of faith is fo far neceffary to the Unity of the 
 Church, as it is neceffary to prove our faith and Vnity in God, 
 and the lincerity of this antient fimple belief in God the Father 
 Son, and Spirit, 
 
 The Vnity of God\s the Attribute to be firft handled and 
 imprinted on the mind, even next unto his Effence -, Deut.6.^. 
 The Lord our God is one Lord. And the unity of the Church 
 is its excellency and attribute, that's firft and moft to be efteem- 
 ed and preferved next unto i:s Effence. If it be not a Church, 
 it cannot be One Church >, sind if we be not Saints^ we cannon 
 be united Saints. If we be not Members, we cannot make One 
 Body. But when once we have the Ejfence of Saints and of a 
 Church, we mud next be folicitous for its Vnity ; Nothing be- 
 low an effzntial point of faith will allow ns to depart from the 
 Catholike Vnity, love, and peace that^ due to Saints -, And 
 becaufe fuch effentials are never w.inting in the Catholich 
 Church, ox: any true member of it, thereforewc are never al- 
 lowed to divide from the Cathdiks Church, or any true and 
 vifible member. It is firft neceffary that the Church be a 
 Church,thzt\s, a People [eparated from the world to Chrift -^ 
 and that the Chriftian be a Chriftian in Covenant with the 
 
 D 2. Lord. 
 
2 o of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 J-ord. But the next point of Neceflity is it that the Church 
 ^eOne, and Chnfhans he One. And he that for the fake of 
 lower points, how True foever, will break this holy bond of 
 Vnitj fliallfindatlafttohisfhame and forrow, that he un- 
 deritood not the excellency or neceftityot unity. The prayer of 
 Chrift for the perfe&onot his Saints is, [_thattbey all may be 
 One, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they alfo maj be 
 one in us -, that the world way believe that thon hafl fent me : 
 And the glory which thon gave ft me I have given them, that they 
 may be One ^ev en as we are One : J in them, and thou in me, that 
 they may be made perjeElin One , that the world may know that 
 than haft fent me , and haft loved them as thou haft Ized me~\ 
 Here it appeareth that the Vnity of the Church or Saints is 
 neeeffary, to convince the world of the truth of Chriftianity, 
 and of the Love of God to his people, and neeeffary to the 
 glory and perfection of the Saints. The nearer any Churches, ' 
 or members are to the divine perfeUioxs, and the more ftriftly 
 conformable to the mind of God, the more they are One, and 
 replen fhed with Cathcli^Loveto all Saints, and defirous of 
 V'nity and Communion with them. It is a moft lamentable delu- 
 fion of fomeChriitians that think their afcending to higher de- 
 grees of Holinefc, do h partly confift in their withdrawing 
 irom the Catholike Church, or from the Communion of moft of 
 the Saint son Earth, upon the account of fome fmaller differ- 
 ing opinions • And they think that they (hould become more 
 loofe, and leave their ftri&nefs, if they fhould hold aCailw- 
 lify Communion, and leave their ftate of feparstion, and divi- 
 fion ! Is there any ftritlnefs amiable or defirable, except a 
 ftritl Conformity to God ? Surely a llrid way of fin and wick- 
 ednefs is not defirable to a Saint. And is not God One, and 
 his Church One, and haih he not commanded all his fervants to 
 be One, and is not Love the ncVv and great commandment, by 
 which they mutt be k^nPwn to all men to be his Difciples * 
 Which then is the ftricler fervant of the Lord ? he that Lo- 
 ved much, or he that Loveth little ? he that Loveth all (fhri- 
 ftians, orhe that Loveth but a few, with the fpecial Love ? 
 He that Loveth a Chrift ian as a Chriftian •, or he that Loveth 
 him but as one of his party or opinion ? He that is One in the 
 Cat hclikf Body ', Or he that difowneth Communion with the 
 
 fa r 
 
Part I. of the Kmnlcdgt of Ged. 2 1 
 
 far greateft part of the body } Will you fay ihat Chrifl 
 was loofe, and Phtrifes ftricl, becaufc Chrift cat and drank 
 with Publicans and Sinners, and the Pharifes condemned him 
 fork ? It wns Chrift that was ftritfer'in holinefs then they ^ 
 for he abounded more in Love and Good ytorkj •, but thej 
 were firitter then he in a frond, Jelf-conceeted moroftty and 
 feparation. Certainly he that is higheft in Love, is higbefi 
 in Grace , and not he that confinerh his Love to few. Was it 
 not the weal^Chriftian that was the ftricler, in point 6? meats 
 and drinltj&nd dayes} Rom. 14. &15. But the fironger that 
 were cenfured by them, did more ftrittly keep the command- 
 ment of God. 
 
 Chriitian Reader, let the Vnitj of God have this efTed 
 upon thy foul, 1. To draw theetrom the diftrading multi- 
 tude of Creatures, and make thee long to be all in God, 
 That thy foul may be ftill working toward him, till thou find 
 nothing but God alone within thee. In the multitude of 
 thy thought s within thee, let his comforts delight thy foul, Pfa', 
 94. 19. The multitude • diftradeth thee ^ Retire into Vnitj 
 that thy foul may be compofed, quieted, and delighted. 
 
 2. And let it make thee long for the Vnitj of the Stints t 
 and endeavour it to the utmoft of thy power , that the 
 Church in Unity may be more like the Head. 
 
 3. And let k caufe thee to admire the Happinefs of the 
 Saints, that are freeed from the bondage of the diftrading 
 Creature, and have but One to Love, and Fear, and Truft, and 
 Serve, and Seek, and Know •, One thing is needful^ which 
 fhould be chofen, but its many that we are troubled about, 
 Luk, 11.42. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 '3. *T*He Immenfity of God (which is the next Attribute 
 
 J to be confidered ) mull have this Effed upon thy 
 
 foul : 1. The Infinite God that is everywhere comprehending 
 
 all places and things, and comprehended by none, mutt 
 
 raife admiring reverent thoughts in the foul of the believer, 
 
 D3 We- 
 
zt of the Kntwkdgc e{ God. Part I. 
 
 Wc wonder at the Magnitude of the S**» and the Heavens •, and 
 of the whole Creation; But when we begin to think what is 
 beyond the Heavens, and all created Being, we are at a knd of 
 lofs. Why it isGodthzt is in all, and above all, and beyond all, 
 and beneath z\\ : and where there is no place becaufe no Crea- 
 ture , there is God; And if thy thoughts ftiould imagine mil- 
 lions of millions of miles beyond all place and meafure, all is 
 but Cjod , and go as far as thou canft in thy thoughts and thoa 
 canftnotgo beyond him. Reverently admire the Immenfttj 
 of God. The world and all the Creatures in it, are not to 
 God fo much as a J and or at owe is to all the world. The point 
 of a needle is more to all the world, then the world to God. 
 For between that which is Finite, and that which is Infinite, 
 thereis no comparison. Ifa. 40. 12, 15, 17. Who hath wea* 
 fured the waters in the follow of his hand f and weated out Hea- 
 ven With the (fan , and comprehended the dufi of the earth in a 
 meafure, and weighed the mountains in fcales and the bills in a 
 balUnce ? » Behold the Nations are as a drop of a bucket, 
 
 and are counted as the (mall dufi of the ballance : behold he 
 
 taketh up the lies as a very little thing, All Nations before 
 
 hiw are as nothing ; and they are counted to him Icfs then No- 
 thing and Vanity .] 
 
 2. From this Greatnefs and Immenfity of God alfo thy 
 foul mull reverently ftay all its bufie, bold enquiries, and 
 know that God is to us and to every creature Imcowprehenfible. 
 If thou couldft fathome or meafure him, and know his Great- 
 nefsby zcomprehenfive knowledge, he were not God. A Crea- 
 ture can comprehend nothing but a Creature. You may know 
 God, but not cowprehendhlm •, As your foot treadeth on the 
 earth, but doth not cover all the earth. The Sea is not the Sea, 
 if you can hold it in a fpoon. Thou canft not cowprehend the 
 Sun which thoufeeft, and by which thou feeft all things elfe, 
 nor the fea, or earth, no nor a worm or pile of grafs ; Thy 
 underflanding knoweth no: all chat God hath put into any the 
 leaft of thefe ^ Thou art a ftrangcr to thy/i//,and to fomewhar 
 in every part of thy felf, both body and foul. And thinkeft 
 thou to cowprehend Cjod, that perfectly comprehended no- 
 thing* Stop then thy overbold enqniries, and remember that 
 rhou art a (hallow finite worm, and God is Infinite. Firft, 
 
 reach 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 23 
 
 reach to comprehend the Heaven and Earth and whole Crea- 
 tion, before thou think of Comprehending him, to whom the 
 world is nothing, or vanity, or (o fm ill ft du;i:,or drop f or point. 
 [ Job. 37. 1,5. fafrb Elihn, eJrff r/?a «y heart trembleth, and 
 is moved out of his place : Hear attentively the Noife of his 
 
 Voice , Godthundereth marvelou/ly with his Voice ; great 
 
 things doth he which we cannot comprehend ] How then fhould 
 we comprehend himft If f When God p'.eaceth his caufe with 
 fob himfelf, what doth he but convince him of his Infinitentfs 
 and abfolutenefs t even from thegrcatnefs of his works, which 
 are beyond our reach and yet are as nothing to himft If ! Should 
 he take the bufie enquirer in hand, but as he did begin with 
 fob, 38. 1,2. &c. \_who k this that darkeneth Counfel by tyords 
 without knowledge f Gird up thy loins like a man, for I will de- 
 mand of thee, and anjtyer thou me, dec. ] alas, how foon would 
 he non-ptus and confound us ? and make us fay as fob. 40. 4*. 
 C Behold lam vile ! what Jhall I anfwer thee J I will lay my 
 hand upon my mouth : Once have Iffoken, but I will not anftyer - 
 yea twice, but I Will proceed no further. "] Indeed there is 
 mentioned E£>h. 3. n. The Saints comprehending the dimen- 
 fionsof the Love of Chrift, bmzs thenexeverfe faith, it paf- 
 feth knowledge -, fo comprehending there fignifieth no more, buc 
 a knowing according to our Meafure •, an attainment of what we 
 arc capable to attain ^ nay nor all that neither, buc fiich a pre- 
 valent knowledge of the Love of Chriftas is common to all 
 the Saints • As there is nothing more viable then the Sun, and 
 yet no vifible being lefs comprehended by the fight •, fo is there 
 nothing more Intelligible then God ( for he is All in all things) 
 and yet nothing fo Incomprehtnfible to :he mind that knoweth 
 him. It fatisfieth me not to be Ignorant of God, nor to know 
 fo little as I know, nor to be (hort of the meafure that I am 
 capable of ; but it fatisfieth me to be mcapable of compre- 
 hending him, or elfe Imuft be unfatisfied becaufe I am not 
 God. O the prefumptuous arrogancy of thofe men , if 
 I may call them men, that dare prate about the Infinite 
 God fuch things as never were revealed to them, in 
 his works or word ? and dare pretend to meafure him by 
 their (hallow understandings, and queftion, if not deny and 
 cenfure, that of God which they cannot reach / and fooner 
 
 iufped .:• 
 
24 of the Knowledge ofGol Pare I. 
 
 fufpeft the word chat doth reveal him, then their muddy brains 
 that fhouid better conceive of him I Saith Elihu Job 36. 26. 
 £ BtholdGodis Great ,e.ndwe \enow him not , neither can the num- 
 ber of his years be fear c he d out. ^\ Though the Knowledge of him 
 be our Life Eternal, yet we k»ow him not by any full and ade- 
 quate conception. We know an Infinite God, and therefore 
 with an Excellent Knowledge ob jetl ivsly conlidered •, but with 
 a poor degree and kjnd of Knowledge next to none, as to the 
 atl\ andit isathoufand thoufandfold more that we know not 
 of him, then that we kyow : For ineeed there is no compari- 
 fon to be here made. 
 
 3 . The immenfity of God as it proveth him incomprehenfible, 
 fo it containeth his Omniprefence -, And therefore fhouid con- 
 tinually arYed us as men that believe that God ftands by them. 
 As we would compofe our thoughts, and minds and paffions, 
 if wefaw ( were it poflible ) the Lord ftand over us, 16 fhouid 
 we now labour to compofe them. As we would reftrain and 
 ufe our tongues, and order our behaviour if we faw his Ma- 
 jefty, fo fhouid we do now when we knoVt that he is with us. 
 An eje fervant will work hard in his mafiers prefence, what 
 ever be doth behind his back. Beftir thee then Chriftian, for 
 God ftands by -, In him -we live and move and have our Being, 
 Ad:. 17.28. Loyter not till thou canll truly fay that God is 
 gone or abfent from thee •, fin not by wilfulnefs or negligence 
 till thou canfl fay, thou art behind his back. Alafs that we 
 fhouid have no more awakened ferious fouls and no more fer- 
 vent lively prayers, and no more ferious holy fpeech, and no 
 more careful heavenly lives, when we fiand before the living 
 God, and do all in his ftght, and fpeak all in his hearing? O 
 why fhould/^fomucharTedus, and faith, and Knowledge 
 work no more? we can be awed with the prefence of a man, 
 and would not do before a Prince, what raoft men do before 
 the Lord. Yea other things affed us when we fee them not ^ 
 and fhall not God ? But of this more anon. 
 
 4. The Immenfity of God afTureth us much of his Alftffi- 
 ciency* He that is everywhere, is eafily able to hear all prayer j,w 
 helpw in allfiraits y to f apply all wants, to pnnifh all fins. A 
 Blafphemous conceit ol God as Finite . and as abfent from us, 
 is one of the caufes of our diftruft. He that doth diftruft 
 
 an 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 2 5 
 
 an abfent friend, as chinking he may forget him, or neglect 
 bim, will trull: him when he is with him • cannot he hear 
 thee, and piety thee and help thee that is ftill wuh thee? O 
 what an awe is this to the carelefs ! what a fupport to faith ! 
 whac a quicker to duty I what a comfort to the afflicted 
 troubled foul / God is in thy poor cottage, Chriftian, and 
 well acquainted with thy wants. God is at thy bedfide when 
 thou arc fick,and nearer thee then theneareft of thy friends. 
 What wouldft thou do in want or pain if God ftood by ? 
 wouldft thou not pray and Trufl him if thou fawefi him ? fo 
 do though zhoufee him not, for he is furely there. 
 
 5. The Immenftty and Infinite Greacnefs of God a-flureth 
 us of his Particular ^Providence. Some blafphemous Infidels 
 imagine that he hath only a General Providence, and hath lefc 
 ail to fome inferiour powers, and medleth not with particular 
 things himfeif: They think that as he hath left it to the Sun 
 to illuminate the world, fo hath he left all other inferiour 
 things and events to nature or inferior caufes •, and that he 
 doth not himfeif regard, obferve, reward or punifli the 
 thoughts, and words, and wayes of men. And all this is becaufe 
 they confider not the Immenftty or Infinite Greatnefs of the 
 Lord.Its true, that God hath framed the Nature of all things, 
 and delighteth to maintain and ufe the frame of fecond caufes 
 which he hath made- and will not eafily and ordinarily work 
 againft or without this order of caufes:But it is as true and cer- 
 tain both that fometimes he maketh ufe of Miracles ,and that in 
 the very courfe of natural caufe she is able to exercife a parti- 
 cular Providence, as weii as without them by himfeif alone. 
 The Creature doth nothing but by him. All things move as he 
 firftmoveth-chem, in their natural agency. His wifdom gui- 
 dech, his *?/'// intendeth, and commandeth ♦, his Power moveth 
 and difpofeth all. The Sun would not fhine, if he were not 
 the light of it •, and he is no lefs himfeif the Light of the 
 world, then if he did illuminate it without a Sun. God is ne» 
 ver the further off, becaufe the Creatures are near us • nor ne- 
 ver the lefs in the effect, b:caufe he ufeth a. fecond caufe, then 
 if there were no fecond caufe at all. What influence fecond 
 caufes have upon the fouls of men, he hath for the moft pare 
 kept unknown to us ■ But that himfeif difpofeth of us and a I 
 
 E things 
 
26 of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 things afterthe counfel of bis own will, is beyond all queftion. 
 Can he that is mod neerlj prefcnt with thy thoughts, beward- 
 /f// of them ? canheberegard!efsofthy W r^andw»4Tf?chat 
 is with Ehee and feeth and hcareth all ? If thou believe not thit 
 he is as verily with thee as thou arc there thy felf thou arc 
 thenanAthetit. If thou believe him not co be Infinite thoii 
 believc-fthim not to be God. It is not God that canbtabfent 
 limited or finite. And if thou be not futh a fenfelefs Atheift* 
 but knoweft that God is everywhere, how is it poffiblc thou 
 fliouldft doubt of his care or obfervance or particular provi- 
 dence about every thing? No child is fcarcefofoolifluhac will 
 think his Father cares not what he faith or doth, when he 
 ftands before him. Wouldft thou doubt of Gods 'par ticniat 
 providence, whether ht regard thy heart, and ta/kj and p ra . 
 tlice, if thou d\d{\feehim with thee? fure it isfcarcepo/fiblev 
 Why then do ft thou queftion it when thou knoweft chat he is 
 with thee? If thou be an Atheiftand knoweft**, look about 
 thee on the world, and bethink thee whether (tones, and tree? 
 and earth, whether beads, or birds or men do make them' 
 felves ; If they do, thou were b& uphold thy felf, and be noc 
 fiek, and do not <//>. If thou w a deft thy flf, thou canft fure 
 preferve thy felf ; But if any thing elfe made thee and all thefe 
 lower things, either it was (omsvihzt greater or lefs then they ■ 
 ei- her ;forrcthing Wr or worfe then they .If hfs,ox werfe 9 how 
 couldit make them Greater or Better then it felt ? Can any thing 
 give that which it hath not? If it muft needs be Greater and 
 Better then the Creatures, then as it mud be wife r than they, 
 and more Holy, Gracious and fnft then they, fo muft it be 
 more comprehenfive then all they. Whoever made this earth, 
 is certainly greater then the earth, or elfc he fliould give it more 
 than he had to give. A nd if he be Greater, he muft be prefext : 
 If thou fhouldft be fo vain as to account any other higher 
 thing the Maker of this world, that is not God, thou muft 
 akribcalfoa/i^WfWj to that maker, toexercilc a particular 
 providence, and moreover be put to corftder who did make 
 that Maker. Nothing therefore is more certain even to Reafon 
 it fclf,then that theMaker of the world muft be Greater then the 
 world, and therefore prefent with all the world ; and therefore 
 muft otrferxte and regard d\[ the world. When thou canft find 
 
 out 
 
Part I. of the Kmvokdge of Cod. 2 7 
 
 out a thought ^ or wori^ or deed that was not done in {he prefence 
 oiGod, or any creature that is not in his prefence, then believe 
 And fpare not that he feeth it not, or regardeth it nor-,yea aivJ 
 that it hath no being. O blind Atheifts I you fee the San 
 fore your eyes, which enlightneth all the upper parr of the 
 earth at once^ even millions of millions fee all by ics light- 
 and yet do you doubt whether God beholds and regards and 
 provides for all at once ! Tell me, if God had never a Creature 
 to lock to in all the world but *to,wouldft thou believe ihac 
 he would regard thy heart, and words, and wayes, or not ? 
 If he would, why not wow, as well as then/ Is he not as Effi- 
 cient for thee % and as really prefent with thee, as if he had no 
 other creature elfe? If all men in the world were dead fave 
 one, would the Sun any more illuminate that one then now it 
 doth? Maift thou not fee as well by the light of it now, as if ic 
 had never another to enlighten ? And dolt thou fee a Creature 
 do lo much,and wilt thou not believe as much of the Creator f 
 If thou think us worms too low for God (b exactly to ob- 
 ferve, thou maift as well think that we are too low for him to 
 Create, or preferve •, and then who made us and preferveth 
 us? Doth not the fun enlighten the fraalleft bird, and crawling 
 vermine, as well as the greateft prince on earth ? Doth it with- 
 hold its light from any Creature that can fee, and fay, I will 
 not fhine on things fo bafe ? And wilt thou more reftrain the 
 Infinite God that is the Maker, Light, and Life of all ? Ic is he 
 that fillet h all in all. Eph. 1.23. The Heaven cf Heavens can- 
 not contain him, I Kirg. 8. 27. and is heabfent from thee} He 
 doth be fet thee before and behind, and lajeth his hand upon thee ^ 
 Whither Vtilt thou go from his fpirit , or whither wilt thou flj 
 from his presence . ? // thou afcend up into Heaven, he is there ; 
 If thou make thy bed in Hill, thou wilt feel him there ; If thou 
 take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermofl parts 
 cf the Sea, even there fhalt thou find him to be to thee as thou art, 
 Pfal. 1 39. 5,7,8, 9, 10. Thou maift think with finful Adam 
 and Eve, Gen. 3.8. to hide thy felf from the prefence of the 
 Lord : But thou wilt quickly find that he obferveth thee ; 
 and be fure thy jtn will find thee out, Numb. 32. 23. Thou 
 maift with Cain be turned cut of the Grac'mts prefence 
 of God, Gen. 4. 16. andcaft out of his Church and Mercy-, 
 
 E 2 and 
 
28 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 and with the damned thou maift be turned out of the prefence 
 of his blfffedneft and glory : but thou (halt never be out 
 of his cffential prefence, nor fo efcape the pre fence of his Juftice, 
 Job i. 12.&2.7. It is ihcpreftnce of his Grace where the up- 
 right arc promiied here to dwell, Pfal. 140. 13. and out of 
 which they fear left they be caft, pfal. 51. 11. [Cafimenot 
 away from thy prefence, and take not thy holy fpirit from me ] 
 And it is the prefence where is fulnefs offoy, which they afpirc 
 after, Pfal.16. 1 1. But there is alfo a prefence that the earth Jball 
 tremble at, Pfal. 114. 7. and that the wicked fhall perifi at, 
 Pfal. 68. 2. fo that a particular Providence muft be rcmem- 
 bredby them that believe and remember the Immenfity of 
 God. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 4. np He Eternity of God is the next Attribute to be Known, 
 JL which alfo muft have its work upon the foul. And 
 1. This alfo fhewcth us that God is Incomprehenfible >, For 
 man cannot comprehend Eternity. When we go about to 
 think of that which hath no Beginning nor End, it is to our 
 ?nind,zsa place athoufand miles off is to our eye-, even be- 
 yond our reach •, we cannot fay there is no fuch place, yea we 
 know there is ; but we cannot fee it : fo we know there is an 
 Eternal Being \ but our Knowledge of his Eternity is not in- 
 tuitive, or comprehenfive. Eternity therefore is the object of our 
 faith, and reverence, and admiration, but forbids our bufie 
 bold enquiries , O thearrogancy of thofeignoramly- learned, 
 and foolifhly-wife difputing men, that have fo long perplexed, 
 if not torn in pieces the Church, about the priority and pofie- 
 riority of the knowledge and decrees of God, when they con- 
 fefs them all to be Eternal I As if they knew not that terms of 
 priority, preftntiality, and poflcriority, have not that (ignin- 
 cancy in or about Eternity as they have with us/ 
 
 2. The Eternity of God muft draw the foul from Tranfitory, 
 10 Eternal things. It is an Everlafting bltffednefs, even the 
 Eternal God, that our fouls arc made for 4 the Bruits are 
 
 made 
 
Parti. Ofthe Knowledge efGed. 29 
 
 made for a mortal happinefs - The Immortal f ul cannot b e 
 fully content with any thing tint will have an end. 
 Asa capacity of this endlcfs blejjednefs dot h difference man from 
 the beafts chat perifh •, (o the Difpofttion to it doth difference 
 JW»jj from the ungodly •, and the Fruition of it doth difference 
 the Glorified from the damned. Alas what a filly thing were 
 man\l he were capable of nothing but thefe tran fit or y things ! 
 What were our Lives worth , and what were our time 
 worth, and what were all our mercies worth, or what were 
 all the world worth to us, or what were we worth, our 
 felves ? I would not undervalue the works of God ■ but 
 truly if man had no other life to live but this, I ihould efteem 
 him a very contemptible creature. If you fay that there's 
 fome excellency in the Bruits, Ianfwer, True •, but their ufe- 
 fulnefs is their chiefeft excellency ; And what is their ufe but 
 to be a glafs in which we may fee the Lord, and to be fervicea- 
 ble to man in his paffage to Eternity ? They are not capable 
 of Knowing, or Lovirrg, or enjoying God them/elves : but they 
 are ufeful to man that is capable of this-, and fo they have an 
 everlasting end , and this is their Excellency. And therefore 
 the Atheifl that denyeth an everlafiing life to man, doth bring 
 himfelf into afar bafer (late then the bruits are in. For the 
 bruits have an everlafiing end, in promoting the bappinefs of 
 man: But if man have no everlafiing end himfelf, there is no 
 other whofe everlafting happinefs he can promote. The un- 
 believer therefore doth debate his oVfrtfTW and the whole cre- 
 ation : And faith and holinefs advance the foul And all things 
 with it, that are ufeful to our advancement. The true Be- 
 liever honour cth his horfe, his dog, his food and rayment, and 
 the earth he treadeth on, and every creature, incomparably 
 more than the Infidel doth honour his own or any others foul, 
 or then he honoureth the greatefl prince on earth. For the 
 Believer ufeth all things, even the vileft in reference to Enr~ 
 nity •, but the Infidel ufeth his life and foul but to a tran fit ory 
 end-, and takes the greatefl Prince on earth to be but for a 
 tranfitorj ufe. And as Eternity \s unvalualbein comparison of 
 time, to the ufe and excellency chat a Believer doth afcribe to a 
 bit of breador the bafeft creature in the fanctified improve- 
 ment of it, is ten thoufand times, even unfpeakably above the 
 
 E 3 *f* . 
 
jo Of the Knowledge of God. r ' * I. 
 
 nfe and excellency that an ZJ-nbeliever afcribeth to his fottl or 
 to his Prince. He that ftampeth the Image of a Bog or a 
 Toad upon gold inftead of the Image of the Prince , and 
 would have ten thoufand pounds-worth goe but for a 
 farthing, doth no: by a thoufand degrees fo much debafe the 
 guides the Infidel doth debafe his foul and all things. Infidc 
 //rj is guilty of the deftru&ionof all fouls, and thedeftru&ion 
 of all mercies, and the deftru&ion of all Divine Revelations, of 
 allgraces, of all ordinances ', and means , and of the deftru&ion 
 of the irWf creation that was made for man : For he that 
 deftroyeth the End, deflroyeth all the means : But the Infidel 
 deftroyeth and denyeth the end of every one of thefe, and Ho- 
 linefs only doth give them up and ufe them to their ends. 
 
 i. He is guilty of the deftructionof^/W* : For as much 
 as in him lie's they are deftroyed, while they are all made ufe- 
 lefs to the End for which they were created. If there be no 
 other life and happinefs Everlafiing, what are fouls good for ? 
 what is the Reafonable creature good for? Is it to be Happy 
 here ? In what ? Here is no happinefs. Is it in eating and 
 drinking and fleeping ? why thefe are to ftrengthen us for 
 our fervice which tendeth to our end, and therefore cannot be 
 themfelvesour end. Is it not better be without either meat 
 or drinks or jleep in point of Happinefs, fo be it we alfo were 
 without the need of them, then to need them and have them for 
 our need, efpecially with the care and trouble which they coft 
 us? I -had an hundred times rather for my part, if it were 
 lawful to defirc it, never have meat, or drink, or deep, and be 
 without the need of them, as I had rather be without a fore, 
 then to have aplaifter that will cafe it, and be every day at 
 the pains to drefs it. Brutes have fome advantage in thefe 
 above men, in that they have not the care, and fear, and for- 
 row of mind as we have, in the getting or keeping what they 
 have or need. If you go downward, and fay that men are 
 made to govern brutes , then what are brutes made for, unlefs 
 to dung the earth ? and fo the bafeft (hall be the end of the 
 nobleft, and God may be as wifely faid to be for man % becaufe 
 he is to govern him. Truely if there were no Everlafiing life, 
 but man were a meer terreftrial animal, 1 had rather never 
 have been born, or (hould wifh I had never been a man .- I 
 
 knew 
 
Pa* . I . of the Knowledge of God. 3 1 
 
 knew not what to do with my felf, nor how to imploy the 
 faculties of my foul or bady, but they would ail feem tome 
 as ufelefs things* What (hould I do with my Reafon % if I had 
 no higher an end then beafts i what (hould I do with a mind 
 that knoweth that there is a God, and another world, and that 
 is capable ofdefiring him, feeking and enjoying him, ifitmuft 
 befruftratcdofall? what (hould I do with a heart thats capa- 
 ble of the Lwe of God and delighting in his Love, ifl have no 
 God to Love and delight in when this life is ended ? why have 
 I a heart that fo defireth him, in fuller vifion and fruition, if I 
 be capable of no fuch thing ? what then (hould I do with my 
 time and life ? verily I know not, if I wereful!y*>f this fad 
 opinion, whether I (hould turn brute in my life agreeably to 
 my judgement, or whether I (hould make an end of my life 
 tobeeafedof a ufelefs burden -, but confident lam I (hould 
 not know what to do with my felf •, I (hould be like a poor ca- 
 fhiered Souldier, or like one turned out of his Service, that 
 knew not where to have work and w^ges : And if you" found 
 me (landing all day idle, Imuftgive you theieafon, becaufe 
 no man hath hired me. What do thofc wretches do with their 
 lives, that think they have no God to ferve and feek, or fu- 
 ture happinefs to attain ? As men ufe to fay of naughty Mini* 
 fters, fo may I fay of all mankind according to the Dodrine of 
 the Infidels: A forry Taylor may make a Botcher, or a bad 
 Shoomaker may make a Cobler, and a broken Mercer may be a 
 P idler •, but a naughty 'Priefl is good for nothing (And its true 
 rofhimasfuch) and as Chnft himfelf faith, Matth. 5.13, 14, 
 Tee are the fait of the earth : but if the fait have loft his favour, 
 7v herewith /hall it befalted} It is thenceforth good for nothing, 
 but to be caft out, and to be trodden underfoot of men : yce are the 
 light of the world', men do not light a candle to put it under a 
 buftjel. So I fay of the Reafonable Creature: The grafs is 
 ufeful for the beafts: The beafts are ferviceable unto man : 
 A (wine that cannot ferve you living, is ufeful being dead. But 
 if there were no God tofeek^ and ferve, and no life but this for us 
 to hope for, for ought I know man were good for nothing : 
 What were Light good for if there were no eyes} or eyes if 
 there were no light to fee by ? what is a Watch good for but 
 to tell the hour of the day ? All the curious parts and work- 
 I % manflilp 
 
5 % Of the Knowledge of God. P: re I. 
 
 manfhipof it, is worth no more then the mettal is worth , 
 if it be not ufefulto irs proper end. And what Reafon, and 
 mil, and affetlions in man are good for, I know not, if not to 
 feek.., topleafe and to enjoy the Lord / Take off this poife, and 
 all the wheels of my foul mull: (land ftiil, orelfe do worfe. 
 
 2. The Infidel and ungodly man that looks not after an 
 Etern. lend, deltroyeth ail the mercies of God, and makes them 
 as no mercies &t&\\ : Creation and our Being isa. mercy : but it 
 is in order to our Eternal end. Redemption by Chrift is an 
 unfpeakable mercy ;but its denyed by the Infidel, and rejetled 
 by the Vngodly : what is Chrift worth, and all his mediation, if 
 there be no life for man but this} Peace and Liberty, health 
 and /*/*, friends and neighbours, food and rayment, are all w*r- 
 rj*?/ to us, ias a y£i/> and /*//* are to the Mariner, or a fair 
 way, or Hor/*?, or Inn to a Traveller : But if by denying our 
 Eternal end, you make our wj^ or our journey vain, thefe 
 mercies then are little worth: no more then a Jbip on the 
 land, or a p/ow in the/f <*> or a /?<?r/<? to him that hath no ufe for 
 him. And O what an ungrateful wretch is that who will deny 
 all the mercies of God to himfelf, and to all others / For once 
 deny the ufe and the Eternal end,and you deny the mercy. 
 
 3. He that believethnot, or feeksnot after an Eternal end, 
 deftroyeth all the Dotlrive, Law and Government of God : 
 For all is but to lead us to this end. All the holy Scriptures, 
 the precepts offhrifl: and his holy example, the Covenantor* 
 Grace, the gifts and miracles of the Holy Ghoft, the light and 
 law of Nature it felf, are all to bring us to our Eternal end : 
 And therefore he that denyeth that end, doth cancel them all, 
 and caft them by as ufelefs things. 
 
 4. And he denyeth all the Graces of the Spirit : For what 
 ufe is there for Faith, if t\\z object of it be a faiffoood ? what 
 ufe for Hope, if there be no life to be Hoped for ? what ufe for 
 holy de fires and love, if God be not to be enjoyed ? Grace is but 
 the delufion&nd deformity of the foul, if the Infidel and ungodly 
 be in the right. 
 
 5. They dcflroy alfo All the means of our Salvation, if 
 they deny Salvation which is the End. To what purpofe 
 fhould men ft udy, or read, or hear, or pray, or ufe either Sa- 
 craments or any other means, for an End that is not to be had ? 
 
 To 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 3 3 
 
 To what end ftiould men obey or fujfer, for any fuch end thats 
 not attainable? 
 
 6. Yea they do let loo fe the foul to fin, and take off all effe- 
 ctual reftraint. If there be no Eternal end, and no Reward or 
 Funifbment but he re , what can erfe&ually hinder the men of 
 this opinion from dealing, whoredome, or any villany when 
 it may be done with fecrecy ? what (hould hinder the revenge- 
 ful man from poifoning or fecret murdering his enemy, or 
 fetting his houfe on fire in the night } If I know a man or wo- 
 man that believes no life to come, I take it for granted they 
 are revengeful, thieves, deceivers, fornicators, or any thing 
 that is bad, if they have but temptation and fecret opportuni- 
 ty. For what hath he to feek but the f leafing of hlsfiefi, thac 
 thinks he hath no God zofeek^or pleafe, or no future reward or 
 punifhment to expect ? He that confelTeth himfelf an Infidel, 
 to me, doth confefs himfelf to he in all things elfe as bad as 
 ever he can or dare. Hontjly is renounced by that man or wo- 
 man that profefsthemfe'ves to be Atheifis or Infidels ; Me- 
 thinks in congruency with their profeflion they fhould take it 
 for a wrong to be called or reputed honefi ! If you tell me thac 
 Heathens had a kind of Hone fly ^ I mult tell you again thac 
 moil Heathens believed the Immortality of the (oul, and thac 
 kind of feeming Hone fly which they had was only in thofe of 
 them that thus expeded a life to come. B.it thofe that believe 
 not an- ther life where man is to have his punifhment and re- 
 ward, have nothing like to Honefly in them, but live like gree- 
 dy ravenous beails, where they are from under the Laws and 
 Government of them that look for another life. The Canni- 
 bals that eat mens fkfh, and fome fuch favages as they, are 
 the Nations that expect no life but this. It is believed fo com- 
 monly by all the civil Infidels and Turks, as fhews it to be a 
 principle that nature doth reveal. 
 
 7. Yea the whole Creation that is within the fight of man 
 is ^yrVey^opinionatively by the Infidels that look for no Im- 
 mortal life : For all things were made to further our Salvati- 
 on : the Heavens to declare the Glory of God, and the firma- 
 ment to (hew his handy work, and all Creatures to be our 
 Glafs in which we mult behold the Lord, and our Book in 
 which we muft read and learn his nature and his will. The fun 
 
 F is 
 
* 4 Of the Knowledge of Cod. Part I. 
 
 * s to Ugbttu, and maintain our Life r and the Life of other 
 lower Creatures, while we prepare for Immortality : The 
 earth is to bear us, and to bear fruit for us; and the Trees 
 an d Plants and every Creature to accommodate and ferveus, 
 while we ferve the Lord and pafs on to Eternity. And there- 
 fore the Acheift that denyeth us our Eternity, denyeth the 
 vfcffilnefs of all the world ■ what were all the Creatures here 
 good for, if there were no men ? the earth would be a wilder- 
 ne s j and the beafts would for the mod part perifh, for wane 
 of fuftenance, and all would be like a forlaken Cottage thar no 
 man dwellech in, and doth no good; And if man be not the 
 Heir of Immortality , they can do him no good. All Crea- 
 tures are but our provifion in the way to this Eternity : And 
 therefore if there were no Eternity, what fhould we do with 
 them ? what fhould we do with wayes, and pavements, or with 
 Inns for Travellers, or with horfes or other provifion for our 
 journey, if there were no travelling that way ? And who will 
 rravel to a place that u.not, or a City that is nowhere but in his 
 brains, befides a mad man ? Its evident therefore that as all 
 the tools'\n a workmans(h"op,are made ufelefs to him if he be 
 forbidden toufe his trade, and all the books in my Library are 
 ufelefs, if I may not read them to get knowledge-, foallCV**- 
 tures under Heaven are made ufelefs and deftroyed do&rinally 
 by the Atheift, that thinks there is no Eternal life for which 
 they fhould be ufed. I mull ferioufly profefs if I believed 
 this (being in other things of the mind I amj I knew not what 
 to do with any thinr. What fhould J do with my Hook/, but 
 to learn the way to thU Eternity ? what fhould I do with my 
 money, if there be no treafure to be laid up in Heaven^ nor 
 friends to be made with the Mammon abufed commonly to 
 unrighteoufce.fs ? what fliould 1 do with my Tongue , my 
 Hands, my Time, my Life, my Self, or anything, if (here 
 were no Eternity ? I think I fhould dig my grave, and lay me 
 down in it and die and perifh, to fcape the forrows of a longer 
 life thar mult be my companions. 
 
 Remember then Chriftians, and ftiH remember it, that 
 Ettrnity is the matter of your Faith and Hope! Eternity is 
 your portion and felicity ! Eternity is the End of all your de- 
 <ire% and labours, and diiirefles ! Eternity is your Religion^ 
 
 anU 
 
Parti. of iht Knowledge of Goi. 35 
 
 and the Life of all your holy motions-, and as without the 
 Capacity of it, you would bebu: bcafts, (o without the Live 
 and £>t fire of it, and title to it, you would be but wicked mifer* 
 Me men. Set not your hearts on rranfitory things, while you 
 fland near unto Eternity. How can you have room for fo 
 many thoughts on fading things, when you have an Eternity 
 to think on? what light can you fee in the Candles or Glow- 
 worms of this world,in the Sunfliine of Eternity} Oh remem- 
 ber when you are tempted to p'eafe your eyes, your taft, and 
 fenfual defires, that thefe are not li^r^/pleafures ! Remem- 
 ber when you are tempted for wealth or honour to wrong 
 your fouls, that thefe are not the Eternal riches / Houfes and 
 Lands are not Eternal I meats and drinks are not Eternal ! 
 fports and paftimes, and jocund finful company are not Etern- 
 al ! Alas, how fhort / how foon do they vani(h mco no- 
 thing 1 But it is God, and our dear Redeemer that are Eternal! 
 The flower of beauty withereth with age, or by the nipping 
 blaft of a fhort difeafc ^ the honours of the world are but a 
 dream; your graves will bury a ! l its glory. Down comes the 
 Prince, the Lord, thegallanr, and fuddenly takes his lodgings 
 in the duft. The corps that was pampered and adorned ye- 
 fterday, is a clod to day. The body that was bowed to, at- 
 tended and applauded but the other day, is now interred in 
 the vault of darknefs, with worms and moles. Today it is 
 corruption and a moft loathfome thing, that lately was dream- 
 ing of an earthly rnppinefs. One day he is driving for riches 
 and preheminences, or glorying and rejoycing in them, that 
 the next day may be fna:cht away to hell. O fix not your 
 minds on fading things, that perifh in the ufing, and by their 
 vanifh ; ng mock you that fet your hearts upon them. * You will 
 not fix your eye and mind upon every bird that flyeth by you, 
 as you will on the houfes that you mutt dwell in: nor will 
 you mind every pajfenger, as you will do your friends that ftill 
 Jive with you. And fiia'.l tranfitory vanity be minded by you 
 above Eternity ? 
 
 3 . It is Eternity that muft diretl you in your eflimate of ail 
 things. Ic is this that fheweth you the excellency of man above 
 the besfisi It is this that tells you the worth of Grace, and ch: 
 weight of fin i the precioufnefs of holy Ordinances and helps, 
 
 F 2 and 
 
3 6 of the Kiiwledge of God, Part I. 
 
 and the evil of hinderances and temptations ^ thewifdomeof 
 the choice and diligence of the Saints, and the folly of the 
 choice, and negligent, finful lives of the ungodly- the worth 
 ot Gods favour, and the vanity of mans ; and the difference 
 between the godly and the unfin&ified world, in point of 
 Happinefs. 
 
 Were not Grace the egg, the feed, the earnefi of an Eternal 
 glory, it were not (o glorious* thing. But O how precious 
 are all ihok thoughts, defires, delights and breathings of the 
 foul, that bring us on to iweet Eternity I Even thofe lorrows, 
 and groans, and tears are precious that lead to an Eternal joy ! 
 Who would not willingly obey the holy motions of the holy 
 Spirit, that is but hatching and preparing us for Eternity ! 
 This is it that makes a Bible, a Sermon, a holy 2? ocj^, to be of 
 greater value then Lands and Lord/hips. It is Eternity thac 
 makes the illuminated foul fo fearful of finning, fo diligent in 
 holy duties, fo chearful and refolved in fuffering, becaufe he 
 believethit is all for an Eternity. A Chriftian in the holy 
 Affcmbltcs, and in his reading, learning, prayer, conference, 
 is laying up for Everlafting,when the worldling in the Marker, 
 in the field or (hop, is making provifion for a few dayes or 
 hours: Thouglorieft in thy Riches and preheminence now, 
 but how long wilt thou do fo ? Today that houfe, that land 
 is thine-, but canft thou fay, it {hall be thine to morrow ? Thou 
 canft not : But the Believer can truly fay, *My God, my Chrift 9 
 is mine to day, and will be mine to all Eternity 1 O Death I 
 thou canft take my friends from me, and my worldly riches 
 from me, and my time, and firength, and life from me 1 but 
 take my CJod, my Chrift, my Heaven, my Portion horn me, if 
 thou canft / My finis all thy (ling and flrength / But where 
 is thy (ting when fin is gone ? and where is thy flrength when 
 Chnft hath conquered thee ? Is it a great matter that thou de- 
 prive ft me of my finful weak and troublsus friends, when 
 againft thy will thou bringeft me to my perfecl bletfed friends 
 with whom I muft abide for ever ! Thou doft indeed bereave 
 mzoUhefe Riches -, but it is thatlmay pofTefs the unvaluablc 
 Eternal riches I Thou endeft my Time, that I may have Eter- 
 nity ! Thou eafteft me down that I may be exalted I Thou 
 takeiUway my flrength of life, that I may enter into Life 
 
 Eternal I 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of Cod. 3 7 
 
 Eternal ! And is this the worfi that Death can do ? And (hall I 
 be afraid oUhls} I willingly layby my cloaths at night, that 
 I may take. my reft, and I am not loth to put off the old when 
 I mult put on tie w. The bird that is hatcht is not grieved bc- 
 caufehe mult leave the broken fhel!. Nor is it the grief of 
 manor beait that he hath left the womb / Death doth but 
 open the womb of 77we,and let us into Eternity , and is the 
 fecond birth day of the foul. Regeneration brings us into the 
 Kingdom of Grace • and Death into the Kingdom of Glory. 
 Blefted are they that have their part in the New birth of Grace 
 and the firftRefurrc&ion from the death of fin •, for to fuch 
 the Natural Death will be Gain • and they (hall have their 
 part in the fecend Rcfurrillicn, and on them the everlafling 
 Death (hall have no power. O firs, it is Eternity that tellecti 
 you what you fhould wind, and be, and do I and that rorneth 
 the (biles in all things where it is concerned. Can you fleep 
 in fin foneer Eternity ! Can you play and laugh before you 
 are prepared for Eternity ! Can you think him wife that felleth 
 his eternal Joy for the eafe, the mirth ,the plea/ 'ure of a moment ! 
 and trifleth away the time in which he muft win or lofe Eterni- 
 ty I \Uhe[e men be wife,\heie are m fools ! nor any but wife men 
 in 'Bedlam ! Dare thy tongue report, or thy heart imagine, 
 that any holy work is needlefs, or a heavenly life too much 
 adoe, or any fuffering too dear, that is for an Eternity! O hap- 
 py fou's that win Eternity with the lofs of all the world I O 
 blefs that Chrift, that fp-.ric, that light, that word, that mef- 
 fenger of God, that drew thy heart to choofe Eternity before 
 all tranfitory things / That was the day when thou beganft to 
 be wife, and indeed to fhew thy felf a man 1 Thy wealth, thy 
 honour, thy pleafure will be thine when the fenfual world 
 hath nothing to fhew, but fin and Hell, of all they laboured 
 for. Their pleafures, honours, and all die, when they die • But 
 thine will then begin their perfection .' The Hopes of the un- 
 godly are like an addle egge that when it is broken fends forth 
 nothing but an odious ft in j^, when another fends forth the 
 living bird •, O all you worldlings, rich and poor, you dream , 
 you play, you triflle, becaufe you labour not for Eternity I 
 Even worldly Princes,and Nobles of the earth, your glory is 
 butafquib, aflafh, a nothing, in comparifon of the Eternal 
 
 F 3 glory 
 
;g Of the Knmlcdgt of God. Part I. 
 
 glory which you lole- you are doing Nothing when you are 
 ilrivingfor the world -yon are trifling and befooling your 
 Immortal fouls while you are grafpingafhaddow, the uncer- 
 tain Riches ; It is the Believer whom you defpife, that feeks 
 tor fowething, that lofeth not his labour, that fhews himfclf a 
 man of rea(on,who is caring-, and fludying, and labouring, and 
 praying, and watching, and furYering for Eternity-, why is a 
 day in the courts of God, fo much better then a thoufand in 
 the tents or palaces of wickednefs, butbecaufe it is the Ex- 
 change where we have News of Heaven, and trade for an 
 Eternity ? And why is it better to be a door keeper in the 
 houfeof God, then to flourfli in the profperity of linners , 
 but becaufe Gods houfe is the porch or entrance of an Eternity 
 ef dt lights , and the loweft room among the faints affo. ds us a 
 better profped into H^i^then the Higheft flate of worldly 
 dignity ■/ The ungodly are neer to cutting down when they 
 fUurfa in their greateft glory, Pfal. 37.2,20. Stay but 
 a little ,and he that flourijheth will he withered and cah 1 into the 
 fire, and the Righteous fha 11 fee it when he is cut off, and (hall 
 /ff/^iWjbutheisnot to be found , verf. 34, 35, 36,38. For 
 the enemies of God, and all that are far from him /hall periflj, 
 Pfal. 92. 9. & 1 3.27. their deftreftjall perijb, Pfkl.Il2.1Q. their 
 hope Jhallperifh, Pro v. 1 1. 7. Job 8.13. their way fh 11 perifh > 
 Pfal. 1.6. and himfelfixA alii hat they fought, and loved^nd 
 delighted in, (hall perifh, fobio.y. 2 Pet. 2. 12. Rom. 2.12. , 
 Heb.i.ii* Even the vifibie Heavens and Earthy which they 
 abuied,(hall ht confumed with fire. Seeing then that all the/e 
 things [hall be diffjlved i what manner of ' perfons ought we to be 
 in all holy converfation and godlinefs , looting towards and wait- 
 ing for the coming and appearance of our Lord I 2 Pec. 3. 1 1. 
 Shall any rmn be accounted wife, chac is not wife for Eternal 
 happinefs f ihall any man be counted Happy that mult be molt 
 wiferable to Eternity Mn the name of God ,Chriftian,T charge 
 thee to hold on, and look to thy foul, thy words, thy w«ycs, 
 for it is for Eternity. O play nor,loycer no:, do nothing by 
 the halves in the way to Eternity ! Lee the carelefs world do 
 what they vv.il ; they defpife, and know not what they do 
 (fh-fi i ! e -, dieynegkd, and know not what they do negkd ^ 
 >u lY.p.Lfitks ft, and labourefi, and Vt,:i!rft,knoweft what 
 
 thou 
 
Pat t I . of the Kmwldgt of God, 3 9 
 
 thou feekefi, and Lfaxreft and wait e J} for. They fin and 
 and k:iownoc what they do. They know no: whs: they are 
 treafurirg up for an Eternity. Due then k*oweft why thou 
 tar*/?, and avoidefi fill. 
 
 Sinners, be awakened by the Call of God^ Do you know 
 whereyouare.and what youdo? You are. very man of you 
 flepping into Eternity ? Will you J/» 4B>djr, will you /ojfrr 
 away, will you fell for nothing, an Eternal Qlory Ms chy 
 finfulluft, and gain, and mirth, and gluttony and excek of 
 drink, a price to fee upon Eternity ? if Heaven be no more 
 worth to thee, art thou not as bad as Judo*, that for thirty 
 pieces of filver would fell his Lord? O Eternity, Eternity , whac 
 hearts have they that can fo forget thee, negled thee, and 
 difefteem thee, when they ftand fo neerihez / Ofleepy fouls I 
 do you never ufe to rub your eyes, and look before you co- 
 wards Eternity ? And doth it not amaze you to fee whither ic 
 is that you are going? Merrily you run down the Hill ^ buc 
 w here's the bottom ! If you look buc down from the top o£ 
 a fteeple, it may occafion an amazing fear ; what then fhould 
 it caufe in you to look down into Hell-, which \syottr Eternity I 
 ^ogood can pollibiy be fmall that is Eternal • And no hurt or ' 
 paincia be called little that is Eternal : An Eternal tooth- ahe 9 
 or an Sternal gowt ,or fione, or fewer, were a mfery unfpeak- 
 ab!e -, Buc O what are thefe to an Eternal Lfsof Heaven , and 
 to an Eternal fenfe of the burning wrath of God Almighty I 
 lobzoutof Heaven a day, and in Hell that day, is a oiifery 
 »alfr unknown to finners -, But if ic were as many thoufand 
 years as the earth hath fands,ic were* greater Mfery • B ic to 
 be there for Ever, doth make the Mifery pall ail Hope, and all 
 conceiving. O me thinks the very name of Eternity , fh >u'd 
 frighten the drunkard out of the Alehoufe, and the ft:* y 
 (inner out of hisfecurity, andtheluftfol, fporcful, voluptuois 
 finner out of his fenfual delights i Methinksthe very named 
 Eternity, (hould call off the worldling to feek berime a mo: e 
 enduring treafure, and fhould take down the gallants pride j 
 and bring men to look after o:her matters then the molt 10 
 look after. Me thinks to hear the name of Eternity (hou!d 
 with menof any faith and reafon, even b'alt ail the beauty, 
 and blurre the glory, and fadden thedeiigh^and weaken the 
 
 tensptatiors -. 
 
40 Of the Knowledge of God- Part I. 
 
 temptations of the world, and make ail its pleafure, pomp 
 and fplcndour, to be to our apprehenfions as a fmoak, a ftiad- 
 dow, as the dire that we tread upon. Methinks to hear the 
 name of Eternity, (hould lay fo odious a reproach on fin, 
 and fo nakedly open the folly, and fhame and mifery of the 
 ungodly, and fo lively (hew the need, and worth of faith and 
 Holinefs, that need men fhould be foon rcfolved in their choice, 
 and foon be at the end of an ungodly courfe, and need no more 
 words to make them the refolved fervants of the Lord, be- 
 fore to morrow. O me thinks, that a thought of Eternity, 
 (hould with a Believer, anfwer all temptations, and put life in, 
 to all his prayers and endeavours/ If we were never fo cold, 
 or dull, or fleepy, one would think a ferious thought of Eter- 
 nity {hould warm us, quicken us, and awake us ! O Chriftians, 
 (haliwe/?^zr carelefly or Jpeak^ carelefly of Eternity .? (hall 
 we pray coldly, or labour negligently for Eternity ! O what 
 an Ocean of joy will Eternity be unto the ian&ified / It hath 
 neither banks nor bottom. O what a gulf of mifery, and woe, 
 will Eternity be to the ungodly / wonderful / that on their 
 dying beds they quake not with the horrour, and that they 
 cry not out with greateft lamentation, to think what a bot- 
 tomlefs gulf of mifery their departing fouls mud be caft into. / 
 To be for Ever, Ever, Ever, under the moft heavy wrath of 
 God I This is the appointed wages of ungodlinels •, This is 
 the end of wicked wayes •, ThU is it that Tinners chofe, becaufe 
 they would not live to God / This they preferred, or ventured 
 on, before a holy heavenly life / And this is it that Believers 
 are labouring to efcape in all their holy care and diligence/ It 
 is an Infinite value that is put upon the blood of Chrift, the 
 promifes of God, the ordinances and means of Grace, and 
 grace it felf, and the pooreft duties of the poorelt Saints, be- 
 caufe they are for an Infinite, Eternal glory. No Mercy is 
 (mallthntaftsof Heaven ( as all doth or fhould do to the 
 Btliever.) No atlion is low that aims at Heaven. And O 
 how lively fhould the Refolutions and courage of thofe men 
 be, that are travelling, fighting, and washing for Eternity / 
 How full (hould be their Comforts, that are fetcht from the 
 forefight of Infinite Eternal Comforts ! As all things will pre- 
 fently be fwallowed up in Eternity, fo methinks the prefent ap- 
 
 prehenfion 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge of God. 41 
 
 prehenfion of Eternity (hould nowfwallowupall things clfe 
 in the foul. 
 
 Objed. But f faith the Unbeliever) if God have made man 
 for Eternity., it is a wonder that there are no more lively Im- 
 frefiions of fo Infinite a thing upon the fouls of all ! Our fenfe of 
 it is fo /wall, that it makes me doubt whether we are made 
 for it. 
 
 jinjw. Confider, 1. That benuromednefs, and fleep and 
 death, is the very (late of an unholy foul / Haft thou caft thy 
 felfintoafleepy fenfelefs difeafe, and wilt thou argue thence 
 againft Eternity? This is as if the blind fhould conclude that 
 there is no Sun, or that the eye of man was not made to fee 
 it, becaufe he hath no fight himfelf I Or as if you fhould think 
 that man hath not any life or feeling, becaufe your palfie limbs 
 do not feci / Or that the ftomack was not made for meat, 
 becaufe the ftomacks of the fick abhor it / 
 
 2. And for believers, 1. You may fee by their lives that 
 they have fome apprehenfions of Eternity : why elfe do they 
 differ from you, and deny themfelves, and difpleafe the 
 world and the flefh it felf ? why do they fet their hearts above, 
 if they have not lively thoughts of an Eternity ! 
 
 2. But if you aske me, Why their apprehenfions art not a, 
 thoufand times more lively about fo Infinite a things Ianfwer, 
 1. Their Apprehenfions mud be fuitable to their State. Our 
 ftate here is a ftate of Imperfection ; and fo will our apprehen- 
 fions be-, But a perfect (late will have perfed apprehenfions. 
 It is no proof than the Infant in the womb is not made to come 
 into this world, and fee the Sun, and converfe with men, be- 
 caufe he hath no apprehenfions of it. Our ftate here is a con- 
 junction of the foul to a frail diftempered body ^ and fo neer 
 a conjunction, that the actions of the foul muft have great de- 
 pendance on the Body ^ And therefore our Apprehenfions are 
 limited by its frailty •, and the foul can go no higher then the 
 capacity of the Body will allow ^ 2. And our Apprehenfions 
 now are fitted to our Vfe and benefit ^ We are now Belie- 
 vers ^ and muft live by faith: And therefore muft not btgehoU- 
 ers, and live by fenfe* If Eternity were open to mens Natu- 
 ral fight ,ox: we had here as clear and lively apprehenfions of 
 ir, as thofe have that are there jl\\sti it were no thanks,no praife 
 
 G to 
 
4* Of the Knowledge of God. p art j t 
 
 co us to ht believers, ox tocbey, and Uveas Saints / And then 
 God (hould not Govern man as man here in the w.iy by a 
 La^butasabeaflby/^, or as the glorified that have pof- 
 fefflon. Where there are perfed Apprehenfions of God and 
 Glory, there will be alfo perfedLove,and Joy,and Praife and 
 confequently perfed Happinefs . and this were to make Earth 
 and Heaven, the way and the end co be all one. Perfed appre 
 henfions are kept for a perfed ftate of Happinefs. But here 
 it is well if we have fuch Apprehenfions as are fitted to the 
 ufeof travellers and foldiers as will carry us on, and prevail 
 againft the difficulties of our courfe. If you had never been 
 at London, you could not have any fuch clear Apprehenfions of 
 the place, as thofe that fee it have- And yet your imperfecl 
 Apprehenfions might be fufficient to make you take a journey 
 thither, and you may come as fafelj and certainlj to it as If 
 you had feen it. Moreover, the body, the brain, which the 
 foul in Apprehending now makes ufe of, cannot bear fuch 
 Apprehenfions as are fuitable to the thoufandch part of the 
 greatnefs of the objed, without diftradion. The fma/kfi 
 eye may fee the fun, but the greatefk cannot endure to gale 
 upon its Glory; much lets if it were at the neerefl approach 
 Its a mercy of mercies to give us fuch Apprehenfions of Eter- 
 nity, as are meet for paffengeis to bring us thither- and it is 
 part of our Mercy that thofe Apprehenfions are not fo great 
 as to di fir atl and overwhelm us. 
 
 4- LMy,The Eternity of God mud teach the foul content- 
 ednefs and patience under all labours, changes fufferinrs and 
 dangers that are here below. Believing Soul, draw neer; look 
 ierxouily on £m-^,and try whether it will not make fuch 
 Impreffions as thele upon thee. Art thou weary of Labours 
 either of the mind or body ? Is not Eternity long- <nowh 
 for thy Reft ? Canft thou not afford to worl^ out the day light 
 of this life, when thou muft Reft with (hrift to all Eternity f 
 Umit thou 1 not runwith patience fo fliort a race, when thou 
 lookeft to fo long a Reit ? Canft thou not watch one hour with 
 Cnnit,that mult Reign with him to all Eternity ? Doft thou 
 begin to fhrinke at fuf rings for cbrift, when thou muft 
 be in Glory with him for ever ? How fiort is the fuferinr > 
 how long is the Rmrdf Doft thou begin to think hatdly of 
 
 the 
 
Parti. of the KMwledgcef God. 43 
 
 the dealing of the Lord.becaufe his people are here aflU 
 andmadethefcornar.d by-word of the world? why is no: 
 Eternity long enough for God to (hew his Love and county 
 to his people in? Is not the day at hand, when Lazarus and 
 the Richworldlmgbo'h mult hear [But new he u comforted* 
 andthou art tormented^ Luk. 16.25. Did not that [ New ] 
 come rime enough which was the entrance of Etermq ? 
 Even hfm the Author and perfetter 0} our faith, for the fy 
 that was fet before him, endured the Crofs, de fifing the frame, 
 and v fet down at the right hand of the throne of Goal confider 
 him that endured fuch contrMion of finntrs again? htmjelf, 
 left ye be Retried and faint in j/our minds J Heb 12 2, 3. 
 Dcit thou grudge at the profperity of the wicked, and pre- 
 valency of the Churches Enemies/ Look then unto Eternity, 
 and bethink thee whether that be not long enough for the 
 Saints to Reign, and the wicked to be tormented. Wou.dft 
 thou have them in Hell before their time f Doft thou begin 
 to ^fc of &*comingofChrift 9 ortht truth of his promifes 9 
 becaulehe doth fo long delay ? O what is a thousand years 
 to Eternity I Is there not yet time enough before thee for 
 Chrift to make good all his promifes in I Were not thofe Difci- 
 plesfharply but juftly rebuked as [ Fools ana (lew of heart to 
 believe ] that when their Lord had been but two dayes dea ; 
 were unbelievingly faving[W> hoped this had been he tbatjhould 
 have redeemed Ifrael?^ O Remember, Chriitian, in all thy 
 darknefs and ignorance of the difficult paffagesot Scripture, 
 or of Providence, that the things that *xt chained to Eternity 
 cannot be perfectly underftood by him that ftandcth in an inch 
 of time : but when Eternity comes, thou (halt underibnd tberr. 
 Remember when things teems crooked in this world, and the 
 belt are loweft, and the worft are higheft, that Eteriv/.y is long 
 enough to fet all ftraight . Remember when Tinners crow and 
 triumph, that Eternity is long enough for their complaints; In 
 thy poverty, and pain,. and longeit affiid.ons, remember that 
 Eternity is loncenough for thy relief, it thy forrow be long 
 and thy comiorts(hort,remembcr that Eternity blor.g enougd 
 for thy fojes Cannot we be content to take up Ihort in th s 
 life when we believe Eternity I Doft thou ftagger at the 
 length or itrengch of thy temptations ? and arc tboo ready 
 
 G 2 
 
44 Of the Knowledge of God. p ; rt j # 
 
 to draw back and venture upon fin? why what Temptation 
 can there be, that fhould not be lighter then a feather if 
 Eternity be put againft it in the fcales ? In a Word if there 
 be any man that efcapeth the foolifh feduftions of this world 
 andufethitasnotabufingit, and hath all his worldly accom- 
 modations as if he had none, ir is he that fixeth his eye upon 
 Eternity, and feeth that the fafhion of thefe lower things doth 
 pafsaway, i Cor. 7. 29, 30, 31. No man can be ignorant of 
 the Neceflity and worth of a Holy life, that difcerneth that the 
 EterndGodis ihtSud of it. The right Apprehenfion* olGods 
 Eternity, (fuppofing him our £W,which is further to bemani- 
 ieilcd in its place ) is a mod powerful antidote againft all fin 
 and a moft powerful compofer of a diftempered mind and a' 
 moft powerful means to keep up all the powers of theVoul in. 
 a refolute, vigorous, cheerful motion to the Eternal GocJ for 
 whom and by whom it was Created. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 5^ l T»Hc next Attribute of God, that is to make its Imprefs 
 1 on us, is, that He is a spirit. In this One are thefe 
 three especially comprehended : 1 . That he is Simple, and not 
 material or compounded as bodies are- 2. That he is Invifible 
 and not to befeen as Bodies are ; 3. That he is Immortal and 
 Incorruptible, and not fubjed: to death or change, as Bodies 
 are. 
 
 I. As fimplicity fignifieth unity in oppofition to Multiple 
 ^ we have Ipoken of it before. 4s itisoppofite to all ma- 
 teriality, mixture or compofition, we are now to fpeak of it : 
 And the believing thoughts of Gods immateriality and RmpV- 
 city, fhould have thefe three effects upon the foul. j. it 
 ihould do much to win the heart- to God, aud caufe it to cfofe 
 with bim as its felicity : Becaufe as he hath no matter or mix- 
 ture, fo he harh nothing but pure and perfeci Goodnefs, and 
 therefore there is nothing in him to difcourage the foul. 'The 
 Creatures have evil in them with their good, and by contrary 
 qualities do hurt us when they help us/ and difpieafeus when 
 
 they 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge of Cod. 45 
 
 they pleafeus: But in God there is nothing but Infinite good- 
 nefs . And fhould not the foul adhere to him, where k is fare 
 to find nothing but fimple, pure and unmixed good ? The 
 Creatures are all lyablc to feme exceptions : In one thing they 
 help us, but in another they hinder us •, in one thing they arc 
 fuicable to us, and in another thing unfuitable 1 But God is 
 lyab'e to no exceptions. This will for ever confound the un- 
 godly that gave not upthemfelves unto him : They did even 
 for a thing of nought forfake that God that was purely and 
 fimply good, andagainft whom they had no exceptions. Had 
 there been anything in God to difcourage the foul, or which 
 his mod mahcious enemy could blame, the. ungodly foul had 
 fome excufe. But this will (lop all the mouths ot the con- 
 demned, that they had nothing to fay againft the Lord, and 
 yet they had no mind to him, no hearts for him, in companion 
 of the vain vexatious Creatures, 
 
 2. The fimplicity of God fhould make us know the imper- 
 fection and vanity of all the Creatures that are compounded 
 things • and fo fhould help to alienate us from them, Our 
 friends' 'have in them perhaps much holynefs, but mixed with 
 much fin. They may have much knowledge-, but mixed with 
 much ignorance, Their humility is mixt with Pride :, their 
 mtknefswiih fome Paffms , their love with felfilnef*? and a 
 fmall matter will cauie them to cUftaft us : They may be 
 much /or God • butwithall they may do much againtt him. They 
 help the Church; but through their weaknefs they may la- 
 mentably detract or wrong it : They are able to help us but in 
 -part j and willing but in fart •, and they have ufually inter efls 
 of their bwn 9 that are inconfiitenc with ours. We have no 
 Commodity t but hath its dif commodity : Our houfes, our fa- 
 milies, our neighbours, our callings, our cattle, our land, our 
 Countries, Churches, Minifters, Magiftrates, Laws and Judge- 
 ments, yea even health, and plenty, and peace it felf, all have 
 their Mixtures of bitter nefs or danger, and thofe the mofl 
 dangerous commonly that have leaft bittermfs. But in God 
 there is none of all this Mixture, but Pure uncompounded 
 Good. Beislight, andmthhim unodarknefs, 1 Joh. 1.5. 
 Indeed there is fomewhat in God that an ungodly man diftaftr 
 cth,- and that feemethin theftate that he if in tobeagamit 
 
 G 3 hm 
 
tfi Of tht Knowledge tf Gcd, Part I. 
 
 him and [hurtful to him : as is hi, \nfi\tt\ Holim r s\ Truth, &c' 
 but /*/?,« ls not evil, becsufe it doth condemn a Thief or 
 Muraerer ; Men is not tadbsczuie the tick diftafl it. It is 
 the crofipofition of the finful foul, or his enmity to the Lord 
 that anker the Lord to ufe him as an enemy. Lee him but 
 
 fi™/ ( je8 , fit fi * fiw « fr dealin S ^om God, and he is 
 lure to find it . Leave then the compounded, feif-contradift- 
 mg Creature, and adhere to the Pure, fimple Deity. 
 
 3. Gods fimiMcitj mutt draw the [«mi to a ho'lj fimtlicity 
 that , t may be /* to God. We that ferve a Pure fimple God' 
 mvbioxtmth Jimph P*r t affecYons, and not with hypocrite 
 or a double heart, m interefi in us rtrould be maintained 
 with a holy Tea oufie that no other Interefi mix it felf there- 
 with. The foul flionld attain to a holy (implicit! by define 
 with the fimple infinite God, and fnffe rmg nothing to be! 
 fharer wuh him ,n onr (uperlative tfcaions. All Creatures 
 mult Keep their phces in our hearts, and that is only in a dm 
 MordiHMtuH and (Hb[trvie»cj to the Lord : But nothine 
 fnuuldtakeuptheleaft of that eiWion, affeAons or en- 
 deavours that are his own peculiar. God will not accept of 
 hull a heart: A double minded, double hearted double face-* 
 or double tongued perfon, is contrary to the holy (implicit} 
 of a Same. As we would not toy, the W to any gods but 
 one fo neither fhould webowtheWr or/^tothem We 
 Jhould know what is Gods prerogative, and thatwefhould 
 keep entirely for him. A fubordinate efleem, and love, and 
 defire the Creature may have, as it revealeth God to us or 
 leadeth to h,m orhelpeth us in his work : But it ftonld not 
 
 SSf^f" in our efteem, or love, or defire. This 
 is the Chafiiry, the Purity, the Integrity of the foul. It is the 
 mixture, impurity, corruption and cor fufion of our fouls 
 when any thing is taken in with God. See therefore Chrift,! 
 an that in thy heart thou have no God but ONE, and that he 
 hwallthj heart, and /*„/, .ndy^r*. as far as thouc nrt 
 attain ,t And becaufe there will be^till ,n impcrfeft fo u s 
 fome finful mixture of the Creatures interefi with Gods let i< 
 
 itout.and deanfing thy heart of it, as thcu wouldftdothy 
 
 food 
 
Part I . of the Knowledge of God. 47 
 
 food if it fall into the dirt. For whatever is added to God in thy 
 Affeilions, doth make no better an incrcafe there, then the 
 adding ofWf/? unto thy £0/^, or otdungunto thy meat, or of 
 corrupted humours and ficknefs to thy body. Mixture will 
 make no better work. 
 
 It may be thy Rejoycing if thou have the teftimony of 'a good 
 confcience, that in ftmplieity audgoaly finccrity, and not in flcjhly 
 wifdome, but by the grace of God, thou haft had thy conversation 
 intheworld, 2Cor.i.i2. It is the ftateof Hypocrifie, when 
 One God is openly profefled and worfhipped, and yet the crea- 
 turelyeth deepeft and neareft to the heart. 
 
 2. The Invifibilitj of God alfo mud have its due effeds 
 uponus. And, 1, It muft warn us, that we piclure not God 
 to our eye fight, or in our fancies in any bodily Jh ape. Saith the 
 Prophet, If a. 40.18. To Vehom will you liken God 1 or what 
 lilejnefs will ye compare unto him? fo 25. [jVo man hath feen 
 God at any time ; the only begotten Son which is in the bofome cf 
 his Father, he hath declared him, Joh. 1. 18. and therefore we 
 muft conceive of him but as he is declared, Joh. 6.46. Not that 
 any man hath feen the Father, fave he which is of God, he h.nb 
 feen the Father.'] 
 
 Ifyouaskme, How then you fhould conceive of God, if 
 not in any Bodily fhape? I anfwcr, Get all thefe Attributes, 
 and Relations of God to make their proper Imprefs upon 
 thy foul , as now I am teaching you, and then yew will have 
 the true Conceiving of God : This Queftion therefore is to 
 beanfweredattheend of this Difcourfe, when you have feen 
 all the Attributes of God together, and heard what imprenlon 
 they muft make upon you. 
 
 2. This muft teach us, to think mo ft highly of the things 
 that are Invifible, and meanlitr of thefe vifible things. Let ic 
 be the property of a Beaftznd no: of a man, to know nothing 
 bnt what he feeth or hath feen : Let ic be the mark of the 
 bruitifh Infidels, and not of Chriftians to doubt of the invifi- 
 ble things becaufe they are inviftble ; or to think that things 
 vifible are more excellent or fure. As the fenfes are more ig- 
 noble then the Intellect, fa beaft having as perfect fenfes as a 
 man, and yet no reafonable underftandmgj fo the objects of 
 fenfe muft proportionably be below the Objects of the undet- 
 
 ftanding, 
 
43 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 {landing, as fuch. The grojfefi and mod palpable obje&sare 
 the bafefi. It is the fubtle pare chars called the Spirits, which 
 being drawn out of plants or other vegetables is moft powerful 
 and excellent , and valued, when the earthly dregs are cad away 
 as little worth. It is that fubtle part in our blood chats called 
 the Spirits, that hath more of the virtue of life, and doth more 
 of the -workj then the feculent >grofs and earthly part. The aire 
 and wind have as true a Being as the Earth, and a more excel- 
 lent nacure, though it be moiegrofs, and they invifible. The 
 Body is not fo excellent as che invifible foul. Invifible things 
 are as ra/ as vifible, and asfuhable to our more noble invifible 
 part, as vifible things to our flefhly bafer part. 
 
 3. The invifibility of God muft teach us to Live a life of 
 Faith, and to get above afenfuallife : And it muft teach us to 
 value the faith of the Saints, as knowing its excellency and 
 neceflity* Invifible objects have the moft perfecj excellent 
 Reality; and therefore Faith hath the preheminence above 
 fenfe. Natural Reafon can live upon things not feen if they 
 have been feen, or can be l^nown by natural evidence (fubjeds 
 obey a Prince that they fee not: and fear a punifhment which 
 they fee not: and the nature of man is afraid of the Devils 
 though we fee them not.) But Faith liveth upon fuch invifible 
 things, as mortal eye did never fee, nor natural ordinary evi- 
 dence demonftrate, but are revealed only by the Word of 
 God : though about many of its invifible objetls, Faith hath 
 the confent of Reafon for its encouragement. Value not fight 
 and fenfe coo much. Think not all to be meer uncertainties and 
 notions that are not the objects of fenfe. We fhould not have 
 heard that God is a ffririt, \i Corporal [ub fiances had not a bafer 
 kind of Being then Spirits : IntelleUion is a more noble opera- 
 tion then fenfe . If there be any thing properly called/^ m 
 Heaven, it will be as far below the pure Intelhtlive Intuition 
 of the Lord, as the glorified Body will be below the glorified 
 fuuL But what that difference will be, we cannot now un- 
 derhand. Fix not your minds on fenfible things. Remember 
 that your God, your home, your portion are unfeen : And there- 
 fore live in hearty ArT.dhons to them, and ferious profecution 
 of them as if you faro them. Pray as if you f aw God, and 
 Heaven, and Hell: Hear as if you faw him that fends his 
 
 Meflenger 
 
Part I # Of the Knowledge of Cod. ty 
 
 MefTen£er so fpeak to you. Refill all the Temptations to luft, 
 and fenfuality, and every fin, as you would do Ityou farv God 
 ftand by. Love him, and Fear him, and Truft him, and Serve 
 him as you would do if you beheld him. faith is the evidence 
 of things not (ten, Heb. 1 1 . I Believing muft be to you in (lead 
 of feeing-, and make you as ferious about things un fee n, as 
 feniuai men are about things fenfible. In every thing that you 
 lee, remember it is he that id unfeen that appeareth in them. 
 He Hghcerh you bv the fun • he warmeth you by the fire . he 
 heareihyouby the Cartb. See him in all thefe by the eye of 
 Faith. 
 
 3. The Immortally Incorruptibility and Immutability 01 
 God, muft 1. Te*thche foul to rile up from thefe Mortal, 
 Corruptible, Mutable things, and to fix upon that God who 
 is the immortal, incorruptible portion of his Saints. 
 
 2. It rautf comfort and encourage all Believers in the con- 
 fideration of their felicity • and lupport them under the fa 1- 
 ings of all mortal, corruptible things. Our Parents, and 
 Children, and Friends are mortal : They are ours today, and 
 dead to morrow : They are our delight to day, and our for- 
 row or honour to morrow: But out God is Immortal. Our 
 houfes may be burned : Our goods may be confumed or ftolne •, 
 our cloaths will be worn ouc ^ our treafwe here maybecor- 
 rup ed. But our: God'\s unchangeable,^ fame for ever. Our 
 Laws and Cuftomes may be changed • our Govemours and 
 Priviledges changed •, our company, and employments, and 
 habitation changed : but our God is ne\er changed. Our 
 eftatcs may change from Riches to poverty- and our names 
 that were honoured may incur difgrace. Our health may 
 quickly turn to ficknefs, and our eafe to pain : But ftill oar Cjod 
 is unchangeable for ever. Our friends are liriconftaiu and 
 may turn our enemies : Our Peace may be changed irito war ; 
 and our liberty into flavery : but our God doth never charge. 
 Time will change cuftomes, families and all things here •? but 
 itchar.geth not our God. The Creatures are all but earthen 
 mettal, and quickly dafht in peiccs : our comforts are change- 
 able; our [elves are changeable and mortal ; but fo is not 
 our God* 
 
 3. And it (hould teach us to draw as near to God as we arc 
 
 H capable, 
 
50 of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 capable, by unchangeable fixed Refolutions, and conflancj of 
 endeavours -, and to be ftill the lame as we are at the belt. 
 4. It (hould move us alio to be more defirous of parting 
 into the Rate of immortality, and to long for our unchange- 
 Me habitation? and our immortal, incorruptible Bodies, and to 
 poffefs the Kingdom that cannot be moved, Heb. 12. 28. And 
 let not the mutability of things below much trouble us, while 
 our Rock^ our por»o» is unmoveable. God waxeth not old: 
 Heaven doth not decay by duration : the Glory of the bleffed 
 (hail not wither , nor their fun fee upon them, nor their day 
 have any night; nor any mutations or commotions difturb 
 their quiet poffe (lions. O Love and Long for Immortality 
 andlncorruption / 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 6.T TAvingfpoken of theeffe&s of the Attributes of God s 
 AJl Ejfence as fuch, we mull next fpeak of the Effects of 
 his three great Attributes which fomecall Subfiftential, tint is ' 
 his OmnipQtencj,Vnderflanding and Will '«,or his Infinite Pofter, 
 Wifdom and Goodnefs : By which it hath been the way of the 
 Schoolmen and other Divines to denominate the three fr>- 
 fons, not without fome countenance from Scripture Phrae. 
 The Father they call the Infinite Power of the Godhead ; a n d 
 the Son, the Wifdom and Werd of God, and of the Father;, a n d 
 the Holy Ghofl, the Love andGoednefs of God, of the Far; V 
 andSon. But that thefe Attributes, o\ Power, Vnderftaxv 
 and Willy or PoVcer, WiJ 'dome and Goodnefs, are of the (a lTl e 
 importance with the tcrmes of Personality, Father, Son and 
 HoljGhoft, we prefumenot to affirm. It fufficeth us, i.That 
 God hath aflumed thefe Attributes to himfelf in Scripture. 
 2. And that man who beareth the Natural Image of God, 
 hath Power, Vnderftanding and Will ; and as he beareth the 
 Hoi) Moral Image of God, he hatha Power to execute that 
 which is Good;, and Wifdome to diretl, and Goodnefs of Will to 
 determine for the execution: And fo while God-is feen of us in 
 this Glafs of Mm^ wemuft conceive of him after the Image 
 
 that 
 
Parti. of the Knowledge J God. 51 
 
 that in man appeareth to us, and fpeak of him in the language 
 of man, as he doth of himfelf. t 
 
 Andfirft, The Almightinefs of God mult make thefc im- 
 preffions on our fouls. 1. It muit po fiefs the foul with very 
 awful Reverent thoughts of Cod • and fill us continually with 
 his holy Fear. Infinite Greatnefs and Power, mult have no 
 common carelefs thoughts, left we Blaspheme him in our 
 Minds, and be guilty of Contempt. The Dread of the Hea- 
 venly Ma jelly fhould be ftill upon us • and we mult be in hus 
 fear all the day long, Prov.23. 17- ^ ot under that fl* vi & 
 Fear that is void of Love, as men fear an Enemy, or hurtful 
 Creature, or that which is Evil: Tor we have not fucha 
 (pirit from the Lord, nor itand in a Relation of enmity and 
 bondage to him : But Reverence is neceffary • and from thence 
 a Fear of finning and diffi leafing 10 Great a God. The fear of 
 the Lord is the beginning of wifdome, Prov. 1. 7. and 9. IO. 
 Pfal. 1 1 1 . I o. By it men depart from evil, Prov. 1 6. 6. Sin is 
 forwantofthe JWo/Go^Luk. 25.40. Pro. 3,7. Jer.5.24. 
 Lev. 25. 56. The Fear of God is often put for the whole new 
 man, or all the work of Grace within us, even the Principle 
 of new life • ?er. 2.19. and 3 2. 40. And it is often put for 
 the whole work of Religion or Service of God, Pfal; 34^11. 
 Prov. 1.29. Pfal. i3C4.and34.9. And therefore the God- 
 ly are ufually denominated, fuchaslW<W, P^al. 15* 4- an( * 
 22.23. and 115. 11, 13 and 13$. 20. and 34. 7,9>Scc- 
 The godly are devoted to the Fear ofQod, Pfal. 119. 38. Itis 
 our San&ifying the Lord in our hearts , that he be our fear and 
 ife«f,lfa.8.i3-; \(we Fear him not, we take him not for our 
 Mafier,Ud\. 1. 6. Evangelical Grace excludech not this Teax % 
 Luk. 1 2. 5 . Though we receive a Kingdom that cannot be moved, 
 yetmufi our acceptable fcrvice if God, be with Reverence and 
 godly fear, Heb. 1 2. 28 With fear and trembling we mufiwork^ 
 outourfalvation, Phil. 2. 12. In fear we muft pafs the time of 
 fojourninghere, i Per. 1. 17. In it we muftconverfe together, 
 Eph. 5.4. Yea Holinefs is to be perfetled in the fear of Qod, 
 2 Cor. 7. 1. ana thai becaufe we have the Promifes. Tnemoft 
 profperous Churches walk^in this fear, Ads 9. 3 1 - lcs a nc " 
 ceffary means of preventing deftruttion> Heb. 11. 7. and of 
 attaining falv&ion when we have the promifes, Heb. 4. 1 . God 
 
 H 2 P**tr 
 
5 2 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 puts thU fear in the hearts ofthofe that /ball not depart from him, 
 Jer. 32.40. Sec therefore that the Greatnefs of the Almighty 
 Gc^polTeis thy foul continually with hss Fear. 
 
 2. Gods Almightimfs fhouid aHb pofTefs us with holy Ad- 
 miration of him, andcaufeus in heart and voice to Magnifie 
 him. Oh what a Power is that which made the world of no- 
 thing ? which upN ldeth the earth without any foundation but 
 his Will?which placed and maintameth all things in ihtWOrdtr 
 in Heaven and Earth I which caufeth fo great and glorious a 
 crearureastl'e ,?##,that is fo much bigger then all the earth, 
 to move fo many rhoufand miks in a few moments, and con- 
 ftantiy to keep its time and courfe / that giveth its inftind to 
 every brute, and caufeth every part of nature, to do its office 1 
 By ht6 Power it is that every motion of the Creature is per* 
 formed, and that order is kept in the Kingdoms of the world, 
 Jer. 32. 17, 18, 19. [He made the Heaven and the Earth by 
 his Great Power and ftretched out arm, and nothing is too hard 
 for him : The Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of Hofis u his 
 Name -, great in ccunfel, and mighty in works'] Neh, 9.32. The 
 Great, the Mighty, the terrible Cjod,] PfaL 136.4. To him 
 therefore that .done doth Great wonders we mull give the Greatefl 
 Praife] G how Great are his works, and his thoughts are very 
 deep, PfaJ. 92. 5. [Great is our Lord and of Great rower, PW. 
 I 47-S-D And therefore in Zion ixuift. he be Great] p/a!m 
 99. 2 And his Great and t err ble Name muft be Praifed. 
 
 3 . In the Church where he is known ,muft his Name be Great, 
 Pfal. 76. I. For wc know that the Lord is Great, and our God is 
 above all Gods,Vh\. 135.5. His Saints delight to praife his 
 Greatnefs: Pial. 104.1,2,3,4. \_Blefs the Lord O my foul I 
 Lord my God thou art very Great : thou art cloathed with ho- 
 nour and M^jcfij, who covereft thy felf with Light a* with a 
 garment, whoflretchefl out the Heavens like a Curtain, who lay- 
 eth the beams of his Chambers in the waters, who maketh the 
 clouds his Chariot '1 ft ho walketh upon the wings of the wixd, who 
 maketh his Angels Spirits, his Minifters a flame of fire > die. ~] 
 prom Almightinefs all things have the:r being, and therefore 
 mull honour the Almighty, Rev. 1.8. [_] am Alpha andOme- 
 ga, the beginning and the ending; faith the Lord, which is, and 
 which wMy and which is to come, the Almighty] Rev. 1 5- 3 • 
 
 They 
 
Pirt [. of the Knowledge of God. . 53 
 
 They that magnifie the Lord with the/Ltfg of Mofes *nd*f th 
 Lamb, iay [Great and Marvellous are thy workj, O Lord 
 God Almighty \ Jufl and True are thy "ftayes thou King of 
 Saints. ~\ 
 
 3. The Almightinefs ef God muft imprint upon our fouls 
 zftrongandfiedfafi confidence in him, according to the tenour 
 of his Covenant and promifes. Nothing more certain thjn 
 that Jmpotency and hfufficiency will never caufe him to fail us 
 or to break his word. O what an encouragement is it to the 
 Saints, that they are built on fuch an impregnable Rock, and 
 that Omnipotency is engaged for them / And O what a Ihame 
 is this to our unbelief, thu ever we (hould diftruft omnipotency ! 
 If God be Almighty, 1. Remembein thy greateft wants, 
 that there is no want but he can eafiiy and abundantly fupply. 
 
 2. Remember in thy greateft fufferings, pains, or dangers, 
 that no pain is fo great which he cannot mitigate and re- 
 move, and no danger fo great from which he is not abie to 
 deliver thee. The fervants of Chrift dare venture on the 
 flames, becaufe they truft upon the Almighty, Dan. 3. 16, 
 17,18. In confidence on Omnipotency they dareftand againft 
 the thrcatnings of the greateft upon earth. [ We are not care- 
 ful (faid thofe three Believers to the King) to anffter thee 
 in this matter : If it be fo,our GodVehom we ferve is able to 
 deliver us, &c] He that is afraid to ftand upon a (lender 
 bow,or upon the unliable waters, is not afraid to fland up* 
 on the earth ; And he that is afraid of robbers when he is 
 alone , is bolder in a conquering Army •, what will man Truft, 
 if hediftruft Omnipotency t Where can we befafe, if not in 
 the Love, the Covenant, the hands of the Almighty God 1 
 When ftorrrs and winds had feared the Dilciples, left they 
 fhould be drowned when Chrift was in the (hip, their fin was 
 aggravated by the prefence of their Powerful Lord, whofe 
 mighty works they had often feen [_ Why fear ye ( faith he ) 
 O ye of little faith ! Mat. 8. 26.] Cannot he rebuke our 
 winds and waves / and will not ail obey the rebukes of tie 
 Almighty} when thou haft a want that God cannot fupply, 
 or aficlenefs that he cannot eure, or a danger that he cannot 
 prevent, then be thou Fearful, and diftruft him and fparc 
 not, 
 
 H 3 3, Remember 
 
54 Of the Knowledge of cod. Parf T 
 
 3. Remember alib in thy /™,* /? , j • t 
 
 "P A* C W or ,*,, evi ,n a m ome „c '^^ " aMe t0 ra ' fe 
 
 f«be hach'revealed his w?, ^ £" ,n due P^ce, ho W 
 we have his promife, ZJ t ti£ tu^T' l " fum > 
 «*r*«W, Rom. 8. 28. and what Sid t h""* '«"*»■ /" 
 you have that wh lc h i, evil for Jo"? havemo ''^ Would 
 
 that « rvort „ too hard for th. AlmUU & AS ' ' Be fur « 
 in the .thought, of thy &£ ^tUj*?£ io mUth as 
 fay w.th thofe unbelievers pfc| V , ?? °r> P ^ and 
 ■"W "Tabled the mlderreftt r L 9 ' ^ Can God fir- 
 
 God, believe then he moft d,7 ^ r0t the *>*« of 
 
 them. The RefumBkn Lmeth i£ k £7"' ° r P romife 
 ™n . But God nath p roj'dn And S h * • t0 , imp0tenc 
 Omnipotent}. IhJallZfff ti , h ' ng ' S difficuIt W 
 
 ^ downfall of the Pot & L -J ^^"'vf 'he Turk. 
 
 fiHe,bnte*fi e . He , at no ml S , L G ° d are not °n,W- 
 then to mike a 5^ or mske flv & 7 make awo ' Id > 
 
 J'pthjl Pf a |. i 35 . 6 _ Dolt thou rhini ; '*'/'* W >» 'bt 
 all thy fins(ho U ld be conquere if^''^^^ 
 ftould live with Chrift amo^ , e .oT'c' a ! ev " ^ ^ 
 a , lld that ever thy Body that n-ufl firft£ y j ? a and An S ds 
 theftar s ,nthe n Lam n tofefodf W d " ft ^ ^ ft»« 
 thee improbable ? r s it not s ,„/• ^ dolb ic fee <" ' 
 earth to ftand on no hi /and he j£ u * &% 1° Mufe th 
 
 If God had proofed tnee to I Je 1, J 1 " 1 '" da " y £ ° Urfe ' 
 and « ro , • hou i«J g /^ r or any [maL 
 
 aseafie to him to advance thee ^ r i /?■ ; Ana,Sltno 
 "ufetheetohveanotherho r no k" 'a $ G ^ 
 from perifting? /f„ is t00 ftrong f or Z - ' Y hM( 
 
Part 1. of the Knowledge of -God, 55 
 
 not for Chrift. Heaven is coo high for thee i o reach by 
 own ftrength ; but he chat is r here, and prepared ic for theq 
 can take thee thither. Tr h ft God or trull nothing « He t 
 cannot Truft in him, (hall defpair for ever -, for all other con- 
 fidence will deceive him. Pial.o. 10. \_They that know his 
 Name, will put their Truft in him ^ for the Lord hath not for- 
 faken them that feek^ him. ~\ All thofe that Truft in him Jhall 
 Re Joyce, and ever /bout for joy, becaufe he defendeth them, P/al. 
 5. 1 1 . [_ Bleffed is the man that maketh the Lord, his Truft , and 
 refpetleth not the Proud, norfuch a* turn a fide to lies, Pfal. 40.4. j 
 C Who fo futteth his Truft in the Lord Jhall be fafe, Prov. 
 29.25.] O what hath Almightinefs done in the world? and 
 what for the Church } and what for thee ? and yec wile thou 
 diftruft him ? [O how great is the goodnefs that he hath laid up 
 for them that fear him f which he hath wrought for them that 
 Truft in him before the fons of men ? Pfal. 3 1. 19. j [ The 
 Lord redeemeth the fouls of his fervants, and none of them that 
 Truft inhim Jhall be defolate,Pfo. 34-22. Are thy (traits too 
 great ? thy work too hard ? [_ Commit thy way unto the Lord ; 
 Truft alfo in him, and he fhall bring it to pafs, Pfal. 37. 5. ] 
 In thy loweft (tare look up to the Almighty, and fay \_What 
 time I am afaid 1 will Truft in thee : In God h/ive I put my 
 Truft -, I will not fear, what man can do unto me, PfBl.56. 3,4.] 
 £ The Lord is my Rockland my fortrefs,and my deliverer : my 
 God-,, my ftrength • in whom I will put my Truft; my bucks 
 ler, and the horn of my falvation, and my high tower, Pfa). 
 1 S. 2.3 \He is a buckler to all that Truft in him ] [_Some Truft 
 in Chariots, andfome in Horfes ; but we will remember the Name 
 of the Lordonr God, Pfal. 20.7. ] Truft not in the Creature • 
 that is, in vanity and infirmity. There is not Almightinefs 
 in man, or any Creature. [ It is better therefore to Truft in t 
 Lord, then to put confidence in man: It is be'ter itTrufl'inthe 
 Lord y then to put confidence in P rin ces , P fa ! . 1 1 8 . 7, J . ] w I 
 a working patfage is that, Jer. 17. 5, 6, 7. [Thusfaitht 
 Lord, Cur fed be man that Trufleth in man, and maketh fiefh his 
 arm, and whofe heart depart eth from the Lord ! For he fhall be 
 like the heath in the deferts,and fhall not fee when good cometh, 
 Bleffed is the man that Trufteth in the Lord, whofe Hope the 
 Lord is \ For hefball be as a tree planted by the waters, and that 
 
 fpreadct/j 
 
5 & Of the KnoveUAgt of God. p art [ # 
 
 ffireadetb out her roots by the river , And fall not fet when heat 
 
 cometh J 
 
 2. Trufi alio in God as one thac is aflured, chat no Enemy is 
 too ftrvng for the Almighty • Alas, whac is an Army of Bu'v 
 toOmtfotencj J H the Lord do butarife^ Enemies mi be 
 fcatrerea y and thty that hate him will flee before him • as fmoab is 
 striven away, and as wax melteth before the fire, the wicked fall 
 fenfi at the pre fence of the Lord, pfai. 68. i, 2. ] while the 
 Lord of Hofts ts-for us, we need nor fear if hofts come againft 
 us . A. worft rhey can but Kill our bodies • And Greater is he 
 that u in m , then he that is in the \*orld y i Joh.4.4 ] Oh whac a 
 march have the mifcrable Enemies of the Church ? whac a 
 work do they undertake? what a defperate accempt do thev 
 cmerprrfe ? to ftrive againft Heaven, and overcome Omni 
 potency ? 
 
 3. T^y? in the Lord, as one that beheveth that no Means 
 orlnftrumentsarttoofmallor we, \ for Almightnefs (uccefsful- 
 Ijtouft . No matter who the Inltrument be, how mean and 
 weak,anddefp,cab!e,if it be but an Almighty hand thatufes 
 it. A few poor fifhermen and delpifed people (hall pull down 
 ..m tans Kingdom in the world, and conquer the o rea ceft and 
 bring in the Nations to the faith if Ornnipotency be' with 
 tncm. ' 
 
 4. The Almigktiriefstf God muft fill our hearts, with Cou- 
 rage and Rtjolueim in his Caufe, and make us go on with great- 
 eft alacrity in his work. Though we muft be Doves and Lambs 
 tor #*w«»f 7 and w^«/ /f yet muft we be foMierjfor valour 
 and itabihcy. Shall we flig or (brink that have Omnip 
 wrjon oar fide? who ever fcorneth thee, hateth thee threat- 
 neth thee, imprifoneth thee, is nor the Almighty enough to 
 let againft them all for thy encouragement ? 
 
 5- The Almightinefs of God muftbe tbeCW/w of all that 
 have Jntereft in him. O did the blind world buc fee him that 
 is Omnipotent, or know the ftrength that is engaged for the 
 weakeft Saint, they would foon fee which is the ftronnerfide 
 and which to cleave to for their fecunty. O Bfefled people 
 that have the Almighty on their fide, and engaged with them 
 againlt their enemies, and to do their works, and anfwer 
 tteir defires ? How can any of them perifh, when the Al- 
 mighty 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge $f God. 57 
 
 mighty is engaged for their falvation ? The Father is Greater 
 then all, and none fh all take them out of his hands, Job. 10. 2Q.] 
 How glad would men be in the beginning of a war to Know 
 which fide wil! prove the ftronger, that they may joyn with 
 that } Can the fide that God is on be conquered ? If you are 
 wife, obferve what caufe is his, and let that be yours. Its hard 
 to Kickagainfi the Prickj ; Woe to thofe fouls that the Al- 
 mighty isagainft,and thatdafh themfelves on the Rock that 
 they (hould build on. 
 
 Cm ap. VIII. 
 
 7. TPHe next Attribute that mud work upon us, is the 
 1 Infinite Wifdorm or Omnifciencc of God. Pfal. 147.5. 
 Hit under flan dig it Infinite'] And the Impreffions that this 
 fhould make upon our fouls are thefe. 
 
 i . Delight in Wifdom, that you may in your places be like t<* 
 God. The New man is renewed in knowledge after the Image of 
 him that Created him, Col. 3. 10. If God be infinitely Wife, 
 thofe then are the moft excellent that are the Wifeft. Ignorance 
 is the fouls blindnefs, and the privation of the Image of God 
 on the underftanding. [Wifdcmexcelleth folly , as far as light 
 excelltth dar^yiefs, Ecclcf. 2. 1 3 J To defire as Adam did any 
 of that Knowledge that God hath referved to himfelf, or is 
 unneceflary tor us, is not indeed to be Wife in our defires : 
 Vnnectffury Knowledge is but a trouble. But to Know the 
 Lord, and his revealed Will ; and the way of life, is che lighc 
 and gl^ry of our minds. He that huh loft his eye fight, 
 hath loft his principal natural delight, and is as out of 
 the- world while he is in it. And [he ignorant fouls that 
 are void of the heavenly Illumination , muft needs be void 
 of the delights of Grace : and though they live in the 
 vifible Church, where the beauty of Hobnels is the excellency 
 of the Saints, yet they do v.oz fee this beauty, hue are lil-e rhe 
 Infidels that are out of the Church while they are in it. The 
 Blind arc \n continual danger •, They know not where chey 
 fet their leer. And they know not when to be confident, nor 
 
 I tfkeh 
 
5 8 Of the Knowledge of Gtd. Fart I. 
 
 when to fear-, fomerimes they are afraid where there is no 
 canfe , lecau'e there may be caufe for ought they know , And 
 ibmetime they are fearlefs at the very brink of death, and 
 little think or" the evil that they are neer. Why do our poor 
 deluded people fo boldly live in an unconverted fhre, but be- 
 cause they Know not where they are ? Why do they To care- 
 lefly lie down and rife in an unfan&ified condition, unpar- 
 doned, unready for death and judgement, and under the con- 
 demnation of the Law, but becaufe they kriow not the mifery or 
 danger in which they Aand ? Why do they go on fo carelefly 
 and wilfully in fin, and defpife the counfel of their Teachers 
 and of the Lord, and take a holy lifeas needlefs, but becaufe 
 they Knew not what they do? Menco«/^not go fo quietly or 
 merrily to Hell, with their eyes open, as they do when they are 
 0i by Ignorance. Whence is it that fuch Multitudes are it ill 
 ungodly under all the Teachings and warnings of the Lord? 
 but becaufe £ they have their under ft andings darkened, being 
 alienated from the life of God by the ignorance that is in them, ■ 
 becaufe of the blindnefs of their heart : and therefore many be- 
 ing paft feeling have given them over. to Ufcivioufnefs, to vsorl^all 
 nncleannefswithgreedinefs,Eph. 4. 18, 19.] Sin is the fruit 
 of folly ,and the greateft: folly • Ihcy fire fools that make ajeft 
 of it, Prov. 14 9. And it is for want of wifdom that they die 3 
 Prov. 10. 21. & 1. 32. The ignorant are prifoners to the 
 Prince of dark*fs, Epb. 6 12.&5.8. Knowledge is dejfifed 
 by none but fools, Prov. I. 7, 22. Theconqueit ofio many fub- 
 ti! enemies, the performance of fo many fpintual duties, which 
 we muftgo through if we will be faved, are works too hard 
 for fools to do. The faving of a mans foul, is a work that 
 requireth the greateft wifdom. And therefore the Illumina- 
 tion of the mind is Gods firft work in the Converfion of a /in- 
 ner,./^. 26. 18. Eph. 1. 18. If Infinite wifdom communicate 
 to you but the fmalleft beam of heavenly light, it will change 
 your minds, and make you other men then beforehand fetyou 
 On another courfe ; Wifdom will be your guide, and keep you 
 in fafe paths ^ It will caufe you torefufe theevil,andto choofe 
 the good : It will fhewyou true Happinefs, and the way to 
 obtain it: It will caufe you to fore fee the evil, and efcape it, 
 when fools go an and ai'C deftroyed, Vrow, 22. 3. Wifdom will teach , 
 
 you 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge tfGti. $$ 
 
 you to know the feafon, and Redeem your Time^ and walk^ex- 
 aflly, when folly will leave you io too lace repentance, Epb. 
 5.15. There isnot a foul in Hell buc was broughc thither by 
 finful folly \ Nor is there a foul in Heaven ( of them at age ) 
 but by heavenly wifdom was condu&ed thither.In worldly mat- 
 ters the wicked may feemwifeft -, and many a Saint may be 
 very ignorant : Bucwhen.you fee the end, you will all confefs 
 that chofe were die wife men that had wifdom to repell tem- 
 ptations, and co refufe the entiling baits of fin, and to make 
 fureof eyerlafting Joyes. 
 
 O therefore apply your hearts to Wifdom / Go to Chrift 
 for it, who is the Wifdom of God t 1 Cor. 1. 24. and is appointed 
 by him to be our Wifdom, 1 Cor. 1.30. He will teach it you, 
 who is the bed Matter in the world, io you will but keep in 
 his School, that is his Church, and will humbly learn as little 
 Children, and apply your felves fubmiflively to his fpirit, 
 word and Minitters : Ask^ Wifdom of God, that glveth liberal- 
 ly,^ up braideth not wich former ignorance, Jam. 1. 5. Think 
 not any pains in holy means coo much cogec h,Prov.2. 1,2, 
 3,4,5. {_If thou wilt receive the words of God, and hide hid 
 Commandments With thee, and enclme thy heart to wifdom^ and 
 apply it to under flanding ; yea if thou- crjeft after Knowledge, 
 and liftefl up thy voice for underftanding • if thou feekeft her 
 as filver, andfearcheftfcr her as for hidtreafures, then fhalt thou 
 understand the fear rf the Lord, and find the knowledge of God • 
 For the Lcrdgiveth wifdom •, out of his mouth is Knowledge and 
 under flanding. ~\ Ar.d fear noc being a lofer by thy coft 
 or labour. Tor £ Happy is the man that findeth wifdom y 
 and the man that getteth undemanding : For the merchan- 
 dife of it is better then ftlver ., and the gain thereof then of 
 fine gold : foe is more precious then Rubies, and all the things 
 thou canft de fire, are not to be compared to her ; Herwayes are 
 
 \\>ayes of p leaf ant raj's, and all her paths are peace ] Prov. 
 
 3-i3.toi8. 
 
 2. The Infinite Wifdjrx of God, mutt refo! ve.you. co take 
 him for your principal Teacher, Comfeller and direclor in ail 
 your undertakings. Who wouidgo feek the advice of a 'foot 
 when he may have Ufallible wifdom ro dircd him ? In a work 
 of fo great difficulty and concernment , a work that Hell arU 
 
 I 2 Earth 
 
60 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 Earth and Flefh oppofeth ■ a work that our Everlafting ftate 
 dependethon, I think itbehoveth us ro take the beft advice 
 that we can get. And whoknoweth rhe tyillof Godlike God f 
 or who knowech the certain means of falvation like him that i? 
 the author and giver of falvation? would you know whether ic 
 be beft to live a mortified holy life ? Whofhall be your coun- 
 felier ? If you advife with your Flejh, you know that it would 
 be Pleafed. If you advife with the World of wicked men, you 
 know, that they would he imitated, and judge as they are •, and 
 arenotliketo be w&'for you, that are fo foolifh for them' 
 (elves, as to part with Heaven for a merry dream. M you ad- 
 vife with the Dtvil, you know he would be obeyed, and have 
 company in Is is mifery. You can advife with none but God, 
 butfuch as' arc, y our : *JZjj!fmUs\ And will you ask an enemy, a 
 deadly enemy, what courfe you fhould take to make you happy? 
 Will you ask the Devil how you may be faved ? Or will you 
 ask the blind ungodly world, what courfe you (hould take to 
 p leaf ettiQ Lord? Or will you ask the Flefh, by whar means 
 you may [nbdtte it and become ffirltnall If you take advice 
 of Scripture, of the fpirit, of a holy well informed Minifler, 
 or Chrifijan, or of a renewed well informed Conscience, I take 
 this for your advifing with the Lord ; Bur befides thefe that 
 are his mouth, you can ask advice of none but enemies. But if 
 they were never fo much your friends , and wanted wifdom, 
 they could but ignorantly (educe you. And do you think that 
 any of thern ail, is as wife as God ? It is the confiant courfe of 
 a -worldly man to advife with the -world, and of carnal men :o 
 advife with theflefi •, and therefore it is that they are hurried 
 to perdition. Thefiefi \%brutifh, and will lead you to a brutifb 
 life, and*/ you live after *>, undoubtedly you fhall die, Rom. 
 8. 13. and if you fow to it , you flail but reap Corruption, Gal. 
 6. 6, 7. If you are tempted to Luft, will you ask the flelh that 
 temptethyou whether you fhould yield ? If the cup of excefs 
 be offered to you, or flefh-pleafing feaits prepared for you, 
 will you ask the flefh whether you (hould take item or refufe 
 them? You may eafily know what counfel it will give you. 
 The Counfel of God, and of your flefb are contrary, and there- 
 fore the lives of the carnal and fpiritual man are contrary. 
 And will you venture on the advice of a brutifh appetite, and 
 
 refufe 
 
Part I . of the Knowledge of God. 6 1 
 
 refufe the counfel of the all knowing God} fuch as is your 
 Guide, ?d\d Counfellor, fuch will be your End. Never man mi f« 
 carried by obeying God : and never man fpe i well by obeying 
 the flefh : Go adetb no man ro perdition, and the flefh 
 leadeth no man to bis Salvation. Gods morions art all for our 
 Eternal good, though they feem to be for our temporal hurt : 
 The motions of the flefh are for our Eternal hurt, thourh 
 at prefent they feem to be for our Corporal benefit. H 
 at any time you be at alofs ■ and your carnal friends, or your 
 commodity, or pleafure advifeth you one way, and the 
 Word of God, and his faithful Miniflers advife you another 
 way, ufe but your Reafon well , and confidcr whether 
 God or thofe that contradid him be the wifcr, and accord* 
 ingly fate your practice. Alas mar, thy friend is ignorant 
 and knows not what is good for himfelf. Thy flefh 
 is ignorant, and knows not what is good for thy foul ! But God 
 knoweth all things. Your flefh and friends do feel what 
 pleafeth th:m at prefent, and judge accordingly : but what 
 will be hereafter they underftand nor, or confider not : Buc 
 God knoweth as well what will be as what is : He counfelleth 
 you as one that knoweth how your actions will appear at I aft, 
 and what it is that will fave you or undo you to all eternity. 
 If you be but fick, its too to one but the Counfel of your Phyfi- 
 tion and of jour appetite w'\\\ differ. And if you will obey your 
 7>hjfttion bdore your appetite, for your health or life, fhould 
 ycu not obey God before it for your Salvation ? Do you think 
 in your Confciences that any that perfwade you to a carelefs 
 worldly flefhly life, areas Wife as God that perfwadeth you 
 to the contrary ? you dare not fay (o with your tongues ? 
 and yet the moft dare fay fo with their lives. O how juftly 
 do the ungodly perifh, that deliberately choofe ^brntifl) appe- 
 tite, a malignant world, and zmnticioui Devil, as a wifer or 
 fitter condudter then the Lord! But bltjfed is the man that 
 walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, but his delight is in the 
 Law of the Lord, Pfal.i. i, 2. And wotothe ungodly thac 
 rejeft and fet at nought the counfel of the Lord, Prov. i„ 25,30. 
 Luke 7. 50. and will have none of it ! that wait not for his 
 counfel, Pfal. 106. 1 3 . that rehell againft the words of God, and 
 contemn the counfel of the moft High, pial, 1 07. 11. And wo co 
 
 1 3 them 
 
6i Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 them that take counfel again ft the Lord and his Chrifi, that they 
 may break, af under his bondt, and caft away his obligations, Pfal. 
 2. j, 2, 3. And wo to them that are given up totheluftsof their 
 own hearts, and to walkfn their own counfels, Pfal.8i.i2. For 
 by their own counsels jh all they fall, Pfai. 5. 10. But had they 
 barkened to the Lord, and walked in his way, wich the fulnefs of 
 his blefiings would he tnve fatisfied them, Pfal. Si. 1$, 16. 
 Refolve therefore what ever the flefh or the world fay, tha: 
 the Teflirnmies ofGodfljall be your Counfellors y Pfal. 119. 24. 
 and blefs the Lord that giveth thee counfel, Pfal. 16.7. For his 
 counfel is infallible -, having guided thee by his counfel he will 
 bring thee to his glory, Pfal 7 3 . 24. 
 
 3. The Infinite Wifdome ox God, rauft refolve the foul to 
 Reft in his determinations. We are moft certain that God is 
 not deceived. Though all men feem Ljers to you, let God be 
 true : for it is impoffiblefor him to lye, Heb. 6.18. If our Reafon 
 be to feek, fo is not God. When we are faying with Nicode- 
 •mns, How can thefe things be ? God knoweth how : and it is 
 enough for us to know that they are fo. If Infinite wifdome 
 fay the word, Believe it, though all the world contrad & it. 
 Though proud unbelievers fay, that the words of God are 
 improbable, let them know that God is not at a lofs when ever 
 mens dark underftandings are at a lofs : The Sun is not taken 
 out of the firmament, when ever a man clofeth or lofethhis 
 eyes. What? will thofe cavillers puzzle the Almighty/ will 
 they pofe Omnifcience ? Doth it follow that the courfe of the 
 Planets, and the Heavens, and all the Creatures are out of or- 
 der, if thefe filly Moles underfiand not the order of them ? No 
 more will it follow that any word of God \sfalfe, or any Rule of 
 God is crooked, becaufe they fee not ics truth and reilitude. 
 Shall duft and afhes judge the Lord ? who hath been his Coun- 
 feller ? and with whom hath headvifed for the making, re- 
 deeming or governing of the world ? There is no Reft to an 
 inquifitive foul but in the Infinite wifdome of the Lord. Find 
 once that it is huword, and enquire no further. Its madnefs 
 to demand a further proof. * As all Goddmfs is comprized in 
 his Will and Love •, fo all Truth is comprized in his Wifdom 
 and Revelations. There are no Arguments but what are lower 
 and fubordinate to this. And therefore if thy Reafon be at a 
 
 lofs 
 
Part I. Ojtht Knowledge of God. 6$ 
 
 lofs, as to the caufe or manner , yet haft thou the greateft Rea" 
 fon to believe that all is juft and true that proceedech from the 
 Wifdom of the Lord. It fkfh and blood and a!! the world 
 gainfayit, yet Reft in theWordofGod. 
 
 4. And chats the next effed that Gods Omnifcience fhould 
 have upon our minds. Take all the layings of men as folly that 
 are again ft the Lord. Let them be high or low, learned or un- 
 learned if they contradid the God of Infinite wifdome, take it 
 but as the words of a diftraded man. Did you ever meet with 
 any man of them , that durft fay he was wifer than God himfelf ? 
 Herod that was ea:en to death with vermine, was applauded 
 by the flattering crowd, but with this acclamation, It i* the 
 voice of 'a God, and not of 'a man , Ad. 12.22. And will you fay 
 of any man that he is wiferthan God ? If you dare not fay fo, 
 how dare you hear them and believe them againft the Word of 
 God ? How dare you be drawn from a holy life, or from a 
 felfdenying duty, or from the truth of God, by the words of 
 a man, yea perhaps of a very fot, that fpeaks againft the 
 Word of God 1 To the Law, and to the Teftimony : if they 
 Ife^k^ not according to thefe, it is becaufe there is no Light in 
 them, Ifa. 8.20.] 
 
 5. The Infinite wifdom of God, fhould eftablifh our confidence 
 concerning the fulfilling of all his Word. He will not fail for 
 want of Knowledge : when he fpoke that Prophefie, that Pro- 
 mife or that Threatning, he perfectly knew all things that would 
 come to pafs, to all eternity. He knew therefore what he fr.id 
 when he gave out his Word, and therefore will fulfill it. Hea- 
 ven and earth may pafs away, but one Iota or tittle of his Word 
 /hall not pafs away till all be accompliftjed, Mat. 5.18. 
 
 6. And from the Infinite wifdom of God, the Church muft 
 be encouraged in its greate ft ftraits, and againftall the cunning 
 fubtilty of their enemies. Are we ever in fuch ftraits, that God 
 knows not how to bring us out ? when we fee no way for our 
 deliverance, doth it follow that hefeesnone? If cunning Ser- 
 pents are too fubtle for tts, do we think that they can overwit 
 the Lord? what had become of us long ago, it God Indnot 
 known whatever is plotted at Rome, or Spain, or Hell againft 
 us ? If heknoweth not of all the confutations of the conclave, 
 and of all the contrivances of Jefuitsand Fryers • and of all 
 
 the 
 
6 4 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 the jugungs of the masked Emiflfaries ^ H God had not known 
 of Van* and his Powder mine, it might have blown up all our 
 hopes. But while we know thin God is in their Councils, and 
 hcarech every word they (ay, and knoweth every fecret of 
 their hearts, and every mifchief which they enterprife, let us 
 do our duty, and reft in the wifdom of our great Prote&or, 
 who will prove^all his adverfaries to have plaid the fools : For 
 as fure as his Omvipatency (hall be glorified by overtopping ail 
 oppofing powers* fo fure {hall his Infinite wifdem be glorified, 
 by conquering and befooling the rtifdom that is againft 
 him. 
 
 7. Laftly, if God be Infinite in Knowledge, it muft refolvc 
 us all to live accordingly. O Remember what ever thou 
 Thinkeft, that God is acquainted with all thy Thoughts. And 
 wilt thou feed on luftful, or covetous, or malicious, or unbe- 
 lieving Thoughts, in the eye of God ? Remember in thy 
 prayers and every duty, that he knows the very frame of ail 
 thy affections, &n& the manner as well as the matter of thy fer- 
 vices. And wilt thou be cold and carelefs in the fight of God ? 
 O Remember in thy fecret ft fins, and thy works ofdarknefs, 
 that nothing is unknown to God •, and that before him thou 
 art in the open light. And fcareft thou not the face of the 
 Almighty? Wilt thou do that when he knowct hit, that thou 
 wouldft not do if man did know ? He knows whether thou 
 deceive thy neighbour, or deal uprightly / D.fraud not therc- 
 fore-, for the Lord is the avenger, 1 The f. 4 6. Do nothing 
 that thou wouldft not have G&dtoknow. For certainly he 
 knoweth all things. Shall he not fee that made and illuminateth 
 the eye ? And (hall he not hear that made both tongue and 
 ears ? and (hail he aot know that giveth us underftanding.and 
 by whom we know ? Pfal. 94. 8 , 9, 7 o. 
 
 And let this be thy comfort in thy fecret duties. He that 
 knoweth ihy Heart, will not overlook the de fires of thy Hearty 
 though thou hadft not words as thou delireft to exprefs them. 
 And he that knoweth thy uprightnejs, will juftifie thee, if all the 
 world condemn thee. He that fieth thee in thy fecret Alms, or: 
 Prayers , or Tears, will openly reward th»e, Mat. 6 4 6. Let 
 this alfo comfort thee under ;;li the flinders of malicious or 
 mifinformed men.vHe that mult be thy fudge and theirs : is ac- 
 
Part I. of th Knowleige /God. 65 
 
 quainted with the truth : who will certainly bring forth thy 
 righteoufnefs as the light, and thj judgement as thenoone day, 
 Plal. 37. 6. O how many fouls are jvftified with the Omnifci- 
 ent God that are condemned by the malignant world { And how 
 many blots will be wiped off before the world at the day of 
 Judgement , that here did lie upon the names of faithful upright 
 men / O how many Hypocrites fhall be then di/clofed ! And 
 what a cutting thought fhould it be to the diffembler, that his 
 fecretfaUhoodis^w»f<? god! And when he hath thz Refu- 
 tation that he fought with men, he hath his reward I Mat. 6. 2 . 
 For its a (adder reward that God will give him* 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 
 8.T^HE next of Gods Attributes that mud make its Im- 
 j prefs on the foul, is Bis Infinite Goodnefs. The Deno- 
 mination of Goodnefs ("as all other his Attributes) is fetchc 
 from, and fuited to the capacity or affections of the foul of 
 man. That which is truly Amiable is called Good. Not as if 
 there were no Goodnefs, but what is a means to mans felicity, as 
 fome molt fottifhly have affirmed : For our End and Felicity 
 itfelf, and God as he is Perfett and Excellent in himfelf, is more 
 amiable then all means. 
 
 In three refpe&s therefore it is that God is called <7<W, or 
 Amiable to man. I. In that he is Infinitely Excellent and per* 
 fell in Him f elf. For the Love of Friendjhip is a higher Love 
 then that ofDeftre. And the molt perfcd fort of Love, is that 
 which wholly carrieth the Lover from himfclf to the perfect 
 obje&ofhisLove. The foul Delighteth to contemplate ex- 
 cellency, when the excellency it (elf and not the delight, is the 
 ultimate end of that defire and contemplation. 
 
 2. God s called Good as he is the Pattern and Fountain of all 
 Mjrul Good. As he 1; aketh us Righteous Holy Laws, com* 
 manuing Moral Good, and forbidding and condemning evil* 
 And thus his Goodnefs is his Holinefs and Righteoufnefs > his 
 Faithfulnefs and Truth. 
 3 .God is called GW,as he is the Fountain of all the Creatures 
 
 K happinefs. 
 
66 Of the Knowledge of Gel Part L 
 
 happinefs, and as he is bountiful and graciotu and ready to da 
 good, and as he is the felicitating end and object of the foul. 
 
 And this Infinite geodnefs muft have thefe effects upon u?.. 
 T . Ic mull pifftf m with afuperlativt Love to God. Ti is bieffed 
 Attribute is it that makes us Saints indeed, and makerh that 
 Jmpriffin on us, which is as the Heart of the New Creature. 
 IzisGoodncfs that produced"! Love. And Love is chat Grace 
 that clofech with God as our Happimfs and End, and is the 
 felicitating enjoying Gr&cc. Without it we are but as founding 
 brafs^ or tinkling Cymbals, whatever our gifts and parts may 
 be, i Cor. I 3. L&ve is the very excellency of the foul , as it 
 cloferh with the infinite excellency of God. Ic is the very felt- 
 city of the foul, as it enjoyeth him that is our felicity. Molt 
 certainly the prevailing Love of God, is the furefl evidence of 
 true fanftification. He ttiat hath mofl Love, hath mo ft Grace • 
 isndis ihebefi and ftrongefi Chriftian : and he that hath leaft 
 L'<ve y is the worft or weakefl. Knowledge and faith are but to 
 work our hearts to Love •, and when Love is perfect they have 
 done their work, 1 Cor. 1 2. 3 1, and 13. 8, 9, I-O, 13. Teach- 
 ing and difiant Revelations wiilnotbefor ever-, a-nd there- 
 fore ftich Knowledge and Faith as we have now, will not be 
 forever. But God will be for ever Amiable to tu, and there- 
 fore Love will endure for ever. The goodnefs of God is called 
 Love^and as God is Love, fo he that awe lleth in Love doth dwell 
 in God, and Godin him, 1 Joh.4. 16. The knowledge of Divine 
 goodnefs makes us good, becaufe it makethus Love him that is 
 good. Ic is Love that adreth rr.oil purely for God. Fear is 
 felfijh,znd hath fomewhat ofaverfation. Though there be no 
 evil in God for us to fear, yet is there fuchgeod in him that will 
 bring the evil of punifbment upon the evil ^ and this they fear. 
 But Love dothrefign the foul to God, and that in the mod 
 congruous acceptable manner. Make it therefore your daily 
 work to poffefs your fouls with the Love of God. Love him 
 once, and all that he faith and doth will be more acceptable to • 
 you : and all that you fay or do in Love % will be more Acceptable 
 unto him. Love him and you will be loth to offend him : you 
 will be defirous to pleafe him : you will be fatisfled in his 
 Love. Love him and you may be fure that he Lovethyou. 
 Love ps the fulfilling of his Law, Rora. 13. 10. And that you 
 
 may 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of Cod. 6 7 
 
 may Love him, this muft be your work ro Believe and Con" 
 template his gQodnefs. Confider daily of the Infinite goodnef* 
 or *Amiablenefs of his Nature , and of his excellency appear" 
 ing in his Veorkj , and of the per fed Holinefsot his Laws. Bat 
 efpecialiy fee him in the face of Cbrifl, and behold his Love in 
 thedefign of our Redemption, in the per/en of the Redeemer, 
 andincheprowi/fjofGrace, and in all \\\t benefits of Redem- 
 ption. Yea look by Faith to Heaven it felf, and think how 
 you muft for ever live in the perfect blefled Love of infinite 
 enjoyed goodnefs. As it is the knowledge and fight of gold, or 
 beauty, or any other earthly vanity thac kindleth the Love of 
 them in the minds of men ., fo is it the knowledge and ferious 
 contemplation of the goodnefs of God that muft make us Love 
 him, if ever we will Love him. 
 
 2. The goodness of God muft alfo encourage the foul to trufi 
 him. For Infinite good will not deceive us. Nor can we fear 
 any hurt from him, but what we wilfully bring upon our felves. 
 If I knew but which were the befl and mofi Loving man in the 
 world,! could trufi him above all men . and I fhould not fear 
 any injury from him. How many friends have I ihat\ dare 
 trufi with my e flat e and life, becaufc I know thac they hive 
 Love and goodnefs intheirlow degree / Ana 1 fhall I not trufi 
 the BleffedGod, that is Love it felf and Infinitely good} whac 
 ever he will be in fufiice to the ungodly, I am hire he delight- 
 eth not in the death of finners, but rather that they tarn and live ^ 
 and that he will not caft off the foul chat L.veth him, and 
 would fain be fully conformed to his will. Ic c-mnot be thac 
 he fhould fpurn at them that are humbled at his feet, and long, 
 and pray, and feek, and mourn nfcer nothing more then his 
 grace and love I Think not of God as if he were fc'anter, of 
 love and goodnefs, then the Creature is : If you have high and 
 confident thoughts of the goodnefs and fidelity of any man on 
 ^ earth, and dare quietly trufi him with year life and all ; fee 
 that you have much higher thoughts o(God,in6 trufi himvi\x\\ 
 greater confidence, left you let him below the filly creature in 
 the Attributes of his goodnefs, which his Glory and your Hap- 
 pinefs require you to know* 
 
 3. Ihc Infinite goodnefs of God, muft call effuur hearts from 
 the inordinate Live of all created good whatever. Who would 
 
 K z ftoop 
 
68 of the KnwledgtofGod. Part 7. 
 
 {loop fo low as earth, that may converfe with God ? And who 
 "would feed on fuch poor delights that hath rafted thegraci- 
 oufncfsoftheLord? Nothing more fure then that the Love 
 cfGoddo.h not reign in that foul, where the Love of 'the wor Id , 
 or of flcpAj lufi , or pleafnrc reigneth, I fohnz. 15. Had 
 worldlings, or ferfual, or ambitious men, but truly lejto^n the 
 goodvefs of the Lord, they could never have fo fallen in Love 
 with thofe deceitful vanities. If we could but open their eyes 
 to fee the Lovelinefs of their Redeemer, they would foon be 
 weaned from other Loves. Would you conquer the Love of 
 Riches, or Honour, or any thing elfe that corrupteth your affe- 
 ctions ? O try this fure and powerful way 1 Draw nigh to 
 God, and take the fulled view thou canft, in thy tnoft ferious 
 Meditation of his Infinite goo dnefs^ and all things elfe will be 
 vile in thy efteem, and thy heart will foon contemn them 
 and forget them, and thou wilt never dote upon them more. - 
 4. The Infinite goodnefs o(God t {hou\d increafe Repentance, 
 and win the foul to a more refolute chearful fervice of the Lord. 
 O what a heart is that which can of end, and wilfully offend fo 
 good a God! This, sihe odioufnefsofftn, that it is an abufeof 
 an Infinite good. This is the molt hainous damning aggrava- 
 tion of ir, that Infinite goodnejs could not prevail with wretch- 
 ed fouls againft the empty flattering world 1 but that they 
 fuffered a dream and fhadow, to weigh down Infinite goodvefs 
 in their efteem. And is it pofliblefor worfe then this to be 
 found in man? He that had rather the fun were out of the 
 firmament, then a hair were taken off his head, were unwor- 
 thy to.fee the light of the Son. And furcly he that will f turn 
 away from God himfelf to enjoy the pleafures of his fit fh, is 
 unworthy to enjoy the Lord. Its bad enough that Auguftine in 
 one of his Eptftlcs faith of fottifh worldly men, that they had 
 rather there were two ft ars fewer in the firmament % then one Cow 
 fewer in their Paftures , or one tree fewer in their woods or 
 grounds. But it is ten thoufand times a greater evil that every 
 wicked man is guilty of,that will rather forfake the Living God, 
 and lofe his part in Infinite goo dnefs, then he will let go his 
 filthy and unprofitable fins : O Sinners,as you love your fouls, 
 deffrife not the riches of the goodnefs, and forbearance , and long 
 } offering of the Lord -, tut know that his goodnefs fhould lead you 
 
 to 
 
Parti. of the Knowledge of God, & 9 
 
 to Repentance, Rom. 2. 4. Would you fpit at the Sun ? Would 
 you revile the ftars ? Would you curie the holy Angels ? If 
 nor, O do nor ten thoufand fold worle, by your w.hul finning 
 againft the Infinite Goodrrcfs it felf. 
 
 But for you Chriftians that have feen the AmiabUnefs of the 
 Lord, and tafted of his perf eft Goodnefs, let this be enough to 
 melt your hearts, that ever you have wilfully fin'd againft him , 
 O what a Good did you contemn in the dayes of your unre- 
 generacy, and in the hour of your fin I Be nor fo ingrateful 
 anddifingenuous asto do foagain. Remember when ever'a 
 Temptation comes, that it would entice you from rhe Infinite 
 Good ^ A*k the tempter , man or Devil, Whether he hath 
 more then an Infinite Good to offer you ; and whether he can 
 outbid the Lord for your afTe&ion. 
 
 And now for the time that is before you, how cheerfully 
 (hould you addrefs your felves unto his fervice /and how de- 
 lightfully (hould you follow it on from day to day/ What 
 manner of perfons (hould the fervants of this God be, that are 
 called to nothing but what is Qood ! How Good a Matter 1 how 
 good a work / and how good company, encouragements and 
 helps / andhow£O0^anEnd I Allis^oo^becaufeit is the Infi- 
 nite Good, that we ferve and feek. And (hall we be loitering 
 unprofitable fervants I 
 
 5. Moreover this Infinite Goodnefs fhould be the matter of 
 our daily Prsifes. He that cannot cheerfully magnifie this At- 
 tribute of God, fo fmtable to the nature of the Willis furely 
 a ftranger to the Praifes of the Lord. The Goodnefs of God 
 (hould be a dail j feaft to a gracious foul, and (hould conti- 
 nually feed our cheerful Praifes, as the fpring or cittern fills 
 the Pipes. I know no fweeter work on earth, nay I amfure 
 there it no fweeter, then for faithful fan&ified fouls, rejoicing- 
 ly to magnifie the Goodnefs of the Lord % and joyn together in 
 his cheerful Praifes. O Chriftians, if you would taft the Joys 
 of- Saints, and live like the redeemed of the Lord indeed, be 
 much in the exercife of this Heavenly work, and with holy 
 David, make it your employment, and fay [O how great is thy 
 Goodnefs which thou haft laid up for them thut fear thee ! Pfal. 
 31. 19. ] The earth is full of the goodnefs of the Lord, Pfaf.. 
 3 3 • 5 J Wnat then are the Heavens ? [Thy Congregation hath 
 
 K 3 dmh 
 
7© Of the KnwUdge of God, Part 1. 
 
 dwelt therein: thou Lord haft prepared thy Goodness for the 
 fbor, \0 that men would praife the Lor A for his Goodnefs, and 
 ' r his wonderful workj to the children of men ! For he fatisfy- 
 ah the longing foul, and filleth the hungry foul with goodnefs, 
 Pfal. 107. 8,9.] The goodnefs of Ged tndurcth continually^ 
 Pial. 52.1. Truly God is good to Ifraef eventofuch at are of a 
 clean heart, V &l. 73- I-] [btafte and fee that the Lord is good, 
 blefed is the man that trufteth in him$h\. 34. 8. ] [The Lord is 
 good, his mercy is Everlafting, his truth endureth from genera- 
 tion to generation, Pfal. ICO. 5. ] \_The Lord is good to all, and 
 his tender Mercies are over all his works , Pial. 1 35.9.] Praife 
 the Lord, for the Lord is good, fing Praifes to his name % for it is 
 pleafant, Phi I 3 5. $.] Call him as David [_My goodnefs, and 
 my fortrefs, my high tower ^nd my deliverer, and my fhield, and he 
 in whom Itruft, Pial. 144 2.] Let men therefore fpeak^ of the 
 glorious honour of his Majefty and of his wonderous works : Let 
 them abundantly utter the ,.iemory of his great goodnefs, and fin g 
 of his Right eoufnefs, Pfal. 145.5,7.] If there be a thoughc 
 that is truly fweet to the foul, ic is the Thought of the Infinite 
 Goodnefs of the Lord. If there be a pleafant word for man to 
 fpeak, it is the mention of the Infinite goodnefs of the Lord! 
 And if there be a pleafant hour for man on earth to fpend, and 
 a delightful work for man to do, ic is to medicate on, and with 
 the Saints to Praife thelnfinite goodnefs of the Lord. What 
 was the glory that God (hewed unto Mofes, and the taft of 
 Heaven that he gave him upon Earth? but this Q / will make 
 all my Goodnefs pafs before thee, and I will proclaim the name of 
 the Lord before thee \ and I will be gracious on whom 1 will be 
 gracious, and will /hew Mercy on whom 1 will fhew Mercy , 
 Exod.33.19] And his proclaimed Name was \_The Lord, 
 the Lord God, Merciful and graciotti Jong fuffering, and abun- 
 dant in goodnefs and truth ]Exod.34.6. Thefewerethe 
 
 holy Praifes chat Solomon did coniecrate the Temple with, 
 2 Chron. 6.41. \_Arift Lord God into thy re fling place, thou 
 and the Ark^of thy ftrength : let thy Priefis O Lord God be 
 cloathedwith fdvation, and let thy Saints rejoyce in Goodnefs.] 
 See Ifai. 63. O Chriflians, if you would have joy indeed let 
 this be your employment / Draw neer to God, and have no 
 low undervaluing thoughts of his Infinite Goodnefs - ? For [How 
 
 treat 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge tf God. 7 1 
 
 great is his (joodntfj and huw great is bis 12 entity f Zlih.o 1 7.] 
 Why is it thac Divine Confoi icions are fo (trange ro us, hue 
 becaufe Dive Go odne ft is (o lightly thought upon ? As thole 
 that think little of God at all, have little of God upon their 
 hearts- fo they that thinkbut little of his Goodnefs in particu- 
 lar, have little Love, or Joy, or Praife. 
 
 6 Moreover, the Goodnefs of God, mud: poflefs us with de- 
 fire to be conformed to his goodnefs in our meafure. The Holy 
 perfe&ionof his W//,muit makeusdefire to have our Wills 
 conformed to the will of God •, We are not called to Imitate 
 him in his works of Power, nor {o much in the paths of his 
 Omnificience^s we are in his goodnefs , which as manifefted in 
 his work^i and word, is the Pattern and ftandard of Moral 
 Goodnefs in the Tons of men. The Imprefs of his goodnefs within 
 us, is the chief part of his Image on us ; and the fruits of it in 
 our Lives is their Holintfs and Vertue. As he is Good and doth 
 Good, Pfal. 119. 68. fo muft it be our greateft care to be as 
 g9od and do as much goodas pofiibly we can. Any thing with- 
 in us that is finful and contrary to the Goodnefs of God, 
 fhould be to our fouls as griping poyfon to our bodies, which 
 nature is excited to ftriveagainit with all its ftrcngth, and can 
 have no fafety or reft till it be caft our. And for Doing Good, 
 it muft be the very ftudy and trade of our lives. As world- 
 lings ftudy and labour for the world, and the Pleaiing of their 
 flefh •, fo muft the Qhriftian ftudy and labour to improve his 
 mailers talents to his ufe, ar.d to do as much good as he is able, 
 and to please the Lord. Prov. 11.23. [The define of the Righ- 
 teous ( as fuch ) is only Good'] To de-part from evil and do 
 good, is the care of the juft, Pfal. 34. 14. We muft fleafe our 
 neighbours for Gtod to their Edification, Rom. 15.2. While ,ve 
 have time we muft do good to all men ( as we are able J but efpe- 
 cially to them of the houfhold of faith, Gal 6. 1 o ] Not only to 
 rhem i\\U do good torn, but \o our enemies, LuR. 6 32,33,34. 
 Mat. 5 . 44. 1 his is it that we mud not forget, Heb. 13.16. and 
 which by Miniflers we mult be fut in mind of 1 Tim. 6. 18. 
 which all that love life and would inherit the bltffing muft de. 
 vote themfelvesto. 1 Pet.%. 10, 11,12. In this we muft be 
 like our heavenlj Father y znd approve our fdves his Children, 
 Mat. 5-45>4 ; 6. 
 
 7. from 
 
7* Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 7. From the perfect Infinite goodnefs of God,wc mud learn 
 to judge of Good and Evil, and in all the Creatures. To this 
 mult all be reduced as the ftandard, and by th ; s muft they be 
 tryed. It is a mod wretched abfurdity of fenfual men, to try 
 the will, or word, or wayes of God, by them] elves f and 'by their 
 own inter efts or wills • and to judge all to be Evil in God that 
 is againft them. And yet, alas, how common is this cafe I Eve- 
 ry man is naturally loth tobemiferable : fuffering he abhors • 
 and therefore that which caufeth his fuffering he calleth evil 
 Andfowhenhehathdefervcdit himfelf by his fin, he thinks 
 thattheZwig^wYforchreatningic, and that God himfelf 
 is Evil for infliding it, fo that Infinite Goodnefs rauft be tryed 
 and judged by the vicious creature, and the Rule and ftandard 
 mult be rednccd to the crooked line of humane actons or 
 difpofitions ; and if God will pleafe the worldlingjht fenfuaM 
 theproud,ihe negligent, who fhould pleafe him, then he (hall 
 be£<W,andhefhallbe God; if not, lay thefe judges, he (hall 
 be evil, and unmerciful, and no God. They will not believe 
 that he is Good that punifheth them. And thus if the Thief ot 
 Murderer had the choife of Kings and Judges, you may 
 know what perfonshe would choofe^ No one (hould be a 
 Judge, or accounted a good man, that would condemn and 
 hang him. 
 
 But I befeech you confider, what is fit to be the Rule and 
 ftandard, if not per feBion of Goodnefs it felf. Do you think 
 that the mil of ignorant, flefhly, fin fill man, is fitter to be 
 the Rule cf Goodnefs, then the Will of God ? We are fure that 
 God is not deceived, and fure that there h no iniquity with 
 him 1 but we know that allmen are lyable to deceit, and have 
 private interefts, and corrupted minds, and wills'that have 
 fome vicious inclinations. O what Blafpheamy is in the 
 heart of that man, that will fponer condemn the holy Will 
 andLawof God, then his own Wiil, or the Wills ofany men 
 be they never fofeemingly wife or great ! The will of God is 
 revealed in his Laws, concerning the neceflity of a holy life . 
 and the will of foolifh wicked men is by their fcornfu! fpceches 
 and finful lives revealed to be againft ir. And which of thefe 
 do you follow ? which is it that prcfcribeth you the better 
 courfe? the will of God that isin finitely good.or the will of man 
 
 that 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 73 
 
 that is raiferably evil } If thou know any Better then God, 
 follow him before God. But if none be Greater and more 
 Powerful then he, if none be Wifer or of more Knowledge , it is 
 as fure that none is Better. Much lefs are thofe ignorant wicked 
 men, that defpife the Scripture and a holy life, and would per- 
 fwade you that they can tell you of a Better way. Let me fpeak 
 it to the terrour of the ungodly foul, that by the deceits or 
 fcorns of any fort of men, is drawn away from Chrift and holi- 
 nefs j It (hall ftand on record againft thee until judgement, and 
 it (hall flick everlaftingly as a dagger in thy heart, that thou 
 didft prefer the Reafons and the Will of man, yea perhaps 
 of afotti/h drxnfard or a worldling, before the word or will of 
 God-. And though thy tongue durft not fpeak it, thy life did 
 fpeak ir, that thou thoughteft the word and will of man to 
 be Better then the word and will of God : Yea more, that thou 
 tookeft the way of the Devil, to be better then Gods wayes, 
 who is infinitely good ; For furely thou choof eft that which thou 
 tzkeft to be be ft for thee. And therefore if that man deferre 
 damnation, that fets up a man, or a horfe, or an image, and 
 faith [This is greater and wifer then God, and therefore thisfhdl 
 bemjGod] then doft thou deferve the fame damnation, that 
 fetteftup the words or Will of man, even of Wicked men, and 
 fayed by thy practice [Thefe are Better then G&d y andhisword t 
 or will, and therefore I Will chooser follow them"} For God is 
 full as jealous of the honour of his Goodnefs % as of his Bowtr 
 or Wifdom. 
 
 Well Chriflians, let 'flefti and blocd fay what it will, and let 
 all the world fay what they will, judge that Beft that is moll: 
 agreeable to the Will of God • for Good and Evil nfuft be 
 meafured by this will. That Event is beft which he determin- 
 eth of, and that Action is beft which he Commandeth. And 
 all is naught and will prove fo in the end, that is againft this 
 will of God, what policy or good foever may be pretended 
 for it. 
 
 8» And if the will of God be Infinitely Good, we mult all 
 labour both to Werjto^ it, and perform it. Many fay, wh$ 
 willfhtw in any Good, Pfal .4.6. Would you not know what Is 
 Beft,that you may choofe and feek^ it ? As the inordinate de- 
 fire of Knowing natural GWi?nd Evil did caufe our mifery, 
 
 L io 
 
74 Of the Knowledge of Cod. Part I. 
 
 fo the holy re&ified defires of Knowing [piritual Goed, muft 
 recover us >, fearch the Scriptures then, and ftudy and enquire ^ 
 for it more concerns you to know the Will of God, then to 
 know the will of your Princes or btntj aftors , or to know of 
 any treafures of the world •, The Riches of Grace are given to 
 us, by Gods making known the myftery of his will, accerdi*>gto 
 his Gocd \lea[ure which he purpofed in hlmfelf , Eph. I. 7, p. 
 And our defire to know the Good will of God, mnft be that 
 we mar Do ir. For this mult we pray, Col. 1.9,10. That Vee 
 ?/jay be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wifdem and 
 [piritUdlundtrftanding,thatwemay walk, worthy of the Lord, 
 unto all pleafmg, beingfruitful in every good work. ~\ ^ ac w ^ 
 may [_be made pcrfitc in every good work, to do his will, and 
 haze that wrought in vu which is pltafing in his fight, Heb. 
 13.21.] that we may nor only knoto his will and approve the 
 things that are excellent, Rom, 2. 18. but may prepare our 
 [elves to do according to his Will, left we be punifhed the more •, 
 Luk; 12. 47. See that the will of no man be preferred 
 before Gods will •, feek not your own Wills, nor fet them up 
 againft the Lords : If Chrift whofe will was pure and holy, 
 profefs that he fought not &/*0w« will, but hu fathers, Job. 
 5.30. and that he came not to do his oVen will, but hid that [ent 
 him,]oh. 6. 38. fhould it not be our refolution, whofe wills 
 arefo mifguided and corrupt ? 
 
 9.>lf Gods will be Infinitely Goed 3 we muft Reft in his Will ^ 
 when hiswayes are dark, or grievous to our flefh ; when his 
 word feems difficult ♦, when we know noc what he is doing 
 with us, 1 emember it is the Will that is Infinitely Good, that is 
 difpofing of us. Only let us fee that we ftand not crofs to the 
 greater Good of his Church, and honour-, and then we may 
 be fure that he will not be againft our Good, We that can Reft 
 in the will of a dear and faithful friend, fhould much more 
 Reft in the will of God • Do your duty, and be not unwife, but 
 under ft anding^hat the will oj the Lord is for you to do, Eph. 
 5.17. and then diftraft not your minds with diftruftful fears 
 about his will that is infinitely Good, but fay, The Will of the 
 Lord be done, Ad:. 21. 14. 
 
 10. The Infinite Goodnefs of God, fhould draw out our 
 hearts to deftre communion with him> and to long after the 
 
 blejfed 
 
PartL of the Knowledge $f God. y$ 
 
 bleffed fruition of him in the life to come. O how glad fhould 
 wc be co tread his courts / to draw neer him in his holy wor- 
 fhip,to meditate on him, and fccrerly open our hearts before 
 him, and to con verfe with thofe gracious fouls thet love to be 
 fpeaking honourably of his name 1 What will draw the heart 
 of man il Goodnefs and infinite Goodnefs will not? When the 
 drunkard faith in the Alehoufe [It is Good t$ be here"] and 
 the covetous man among his gains, and the fenfual man among 
 his recreations and merry companions,^ is good to be here^the 
 Chriftian that can get nigh to God,or have any profped of his 
 Love in his ordinances,concludeth that of all places upon earth 
 [it is good to be here~] and that a daj in his Courts is better then 
 athoufand,Vfo\.%4. lO. But Oto depart andbe with Chrifi, is 
 far better, Phil. 1.23. IVith Infinite goodnefs we (hall find no 
 e v U, no e wptinefs, or defect •, when we perfectly enjoy the per- 
 fect Good, what more can be added, but for ever to enjoy it / O 
 therefore think on this Chriftians when death is dreadful to 
 you, and you would fain ftay here, as being afraid co come be- 
 fore the Lord, or loth to leave the things which you here pof- 
 fefs- (hall Goodnefs it felf be diftruited by you, or feem no more 
 defirable to you ? Are you afraid of goodnefs f even of your 
 Father, of your Happinefs it felf? Are you better here, then 
 you (hall be with God ? Are your houfes, or lands, or friends, 
 or pleafures, or any thing better then Infinite Goodnefs? O 
 meditate on this blefTed Attribute of God, till you diftaft the 
 world , till you are angry with your withdrawing murmur- 
 ing delh , till you are afhamed of your unwiilingnefs to be 
 with God, and till you can calmly look in the face of death, 
 and contentedly hear the meffiage that is pofting towards you, 
 that you muft prefently come away to God. Your Natural 
 birth day brought you into a Better place then the womb ^ and 
 your gracious Birth day brought you into & far Better itare 
 then^our former finful miferablc captivity ^ And will not 
 your Glorious birth day put you into a better habitation then 
 th\s world? O know, and choofe, and fttk*% ar *d live to the 
 Infinite Good ,and then it may be your greatefi joy when you 
 are called to him. 
 
 L 2 Chap. 
 
7 5 ' Of the Knowledge of Cod. Part I. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 9. T"T Aving fpoken of thefe three great Attributes of God, 
 JLAl rauft needs fpeak of tliofc three great Relations oi 
 God to man, and of thefe three wurkj in which they are 
 founded, which have flowed from thefe Attributes. 
 
 This one God in three Perfons, hath Created man and all 
 things which before were not • hath Redeemed man when he 
 was loft by fin; and fantlifieth thofe that (hall be faved by 
 Redemption. Though the external works of the Trinity are 
 undivided^ yet not indiftinB as to the order of working, and. 
 a fpecial intereft that each perfon hath in each of thefe works, 
 The Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft did create the world ^ and 
 they alfo did Redeem us, and do SanSifie us. But fo as that 
 Creation is in a fpecial fortafcribed to the Father, Redemption 
 io the Sen, and Santlification to the Holy Spirit •, Not only 
 becaufe of the order of operation, agreeable to the order of 
 fub filing -, for then the Father would be as properly faid to 
 be incarnate or to die for us, or mediate , as the Son to create 
 us; (which is not to be faid ;) For he created the world by 
 his Word, or Son and Spirit (foh.i.$. Pf*L 33.6. ) and he 
 Redeemed it by his Son, and Sandiieth it by his Spirit. But 
 Scripture affur.eth us that the Son alone was incarnate for us, 
 and dyed and Rofe again, and not the Father, or the Spirit -^nd 
 fo that the humane nature is peculiarly united to the fecond 
 perfon, in glory-, andfo that each perfon hath a peculiar in. 
 r.ereftin thefe ieveral works, the Reafon of which is much 
 above our reach. 
 
 The firft of thefe Relations of God to man, which we are 
 to confider of, is, that he is our Creator ^ It is he that giveth 
 Being to us and all things , and that givech us all our faculties 
 or Potters. Under this, for brevity, we (hall fpeak of him 
 alfo as he is our Pre fewer • becaufe prefervation, is but a kind 
 of continued Creation, or a continuance of the Beings which 
 God hath caufed. God then is the firft efficient caufe of all 
 the OTJ*/*ra from the greatefUo the ieaft,GV«. 1. And eafily 
 
 did 
 
Part L of the Knowledge efGoJ. 77 
 
 did he make them, for he sf>*ke but the word, and they -were 
 created : They are the Pr odufts of his Power , Wifdome and 
 Goodnefs. Pfal. 33. 6- Joh. i. 3. Pfal. 148. 5. He commanded 
 and they were created] He Hill produceth all things that in the 
 courfe of nature are brought forth [ Pfal. 1 04. 3 o. Thou 
 fendefl forth thy ffirit , they are created : thou renewefl the 
 face of the earth~] And from hence thefe following impreilions 
 mud be made upon the confidering foul. 
 
 1. If tsfll things be from God as the Creator and Preferver, 
 then we mud be deeply poffeffed with this truth, that All 
 things art for God as their ultimate end. For he that is the 
 Beginning and firfi caufe of all things, muft needs be the End 
 cfall. His W ill produced them, and the Pleafure if his Will 
 is the End for which he did produce them. Ifa 43.7. Ih.ive 
 created him for my glory"] Pro v. I 6. 4. The Lord hath made all 
 things for himfelf, yea even the wickjd for the day of evil] 
 I think the Chaldee Paraphrafe, the Syriack and Arabick give 
 us the true meaning of this, who concordantly trarilate it, 
 £ The wicked is kjpt fsr the day of evil] as Job hath it, 2 1 . 30. 
 The wicked is Ttferved to the day of deflrutlion ; they pull be 
 brought forth to the day of Vvrath. And 2 Pe t. 2 . 9. \To referve 
 the unjuft to the day of judgement to be funijhed] God made not 
 the wicked as wickjd, or to be wicked ; but he that gave them 
 their Being and continuethit, will not be a lofer by his Crea- 
 tion or pre/ervation, but will have the glory of his Juftice by 
 them in the day of wrath or evil, for which he keefsthem, and 
 till which he beareth with them, becaufe they would not obc* 
 diently give him the glory of his Holincfs and mercy. So it is 
 faidofChrift, Col. 16, 17. For by him were all things created 
 that are in Heaven and that are in earth, vifible and invifi- 
 
 ble all things were created By him and Tor him. If they 
 
 are By him, they mujt needs be For him. So Rev. 4. 1 1. Thon 
 art worthy O Lord, to receive Glory, and Honour , and Power: 
 for thou haft created all things, and for thy pleafure they are and 
 Vvere created] This Pleafure of Gods will is the End of all 
 things: and therefore it is certain that he will fee that all 
 things (hall accompIKh that end, and his will (hall bepleafed. 
 Rom. 1 1. 36. we have all in few words \_F or of him, and through 
 him \ 9 and to him are all things t and to whom h glory for ever , 
 
 Amtn,2 
 
78 of the KnowleAgt of God. Part I. 
 
 Amen."] Of him as the fir ft efficient that: giveth them their 
 Beings : and Through him as the Prcferver , difpofer and 
 conduder of them to cheir end : and To him as the Vltimate 
 end. 
 
 If you fay, But how is the fie a fur e of Gods will attained from 
 the wicked that breaks his Laws, and diffleafe his Will f 
 
 Ianfwer-, Underibnd but how his will is crofjed or ace -om- 
 plified, pleafed or difpleafed, and you will fee, that his will is 
 alwajes done and pleafed, even by them that diffleafe him in 
 violating his \\nll. Vor Gods will hath two forts of Objects or 
 Products/ which ujuft be ftill diltinguiihed : i. He willeth 
 what (hall be Due from us to him, and from him to us. 2. He 
 willeth Entities and Events, or what (ball actually Be, or come 
 to pafs. Srridiy both thefe ads of Gods will, perform the 
 things willed, and fo are not without their proper effect. God 
 as the Caufe and difpofer of all thing?, attaineth his will con- 
 cerning Events : All things (hall Come to pafs which he abso- 
 lutely willeth (hall come to pafs. He is not fruftratedof his 
 will herein, being neither unwife nor impotent, nor unhappy. 
 Whatfoever pleafed the Lord, that did he in Heaven and in Earthy 
 in the Sea and in the depths , Pfal. 135.6. Our God is in Heaven , 
 he hath done whatfoever he pleafed, Pfal. 1 1 5. 3. And as God 
 as cur (jovernour doth by his Laws oblige man to his Duty, 
 his will hath its effed : A Command doth but make the thing 
 commanded to be our Duty •, and our Duty it is : and fo this 
 att'oi the Will of God is not in vain. Thus far he hath h'xswilL 
 By his Promifes he maketh the Reward to be Due to all on con- 
 dition they perform the Duty, on wjiich he hath fufpended it, 
 and to be Actually Due to thole only that perform the condi- 
 tion : And all this is accomplifhed. Heaven is Conditionally 
 given to all, and Actually to the Faithful only. So that what 
 God willeth to be Due as a Lawgiver,^ accordingly Due •, and 
 what he actually willeth (hall come to pafs, (hall come to pafs 
 according to his w///. 
 
 But perhaps you will fay, He doth not will that all wen frail 
 Eventually obey his Laws, but only that it fhdl be their Duty. 
 
 I anfwer, Our fpeeches of God b^ing borrowed from man, 
 (who is one of the Glaffcs in which he is here feen by us -, efpe- 
 chWythemanhoodofJefusChrift) We mull accordingly con. 
 
 ceiye 
 
Par 1 1 . of the Knowledge of God. 7 9 
 
 ceive and fay (acknowledging dill the improprieties and im- 
 perfections of our conceptions and exprcfiions) that as man 
 doth fimply and molt properly will the Event of fome things 
 which he abfolutely defireth fhould come to pals, and doth 
 not fimply will fome other things, but only in tantum^ he fa 
 far willeth them, that he willeth and refolveth to do fuch and 
 Jucb things as have a tendency thereto, and to go no farther, 
 and do no more for the attaining of them, though he could ; 
 fo God doth fimply and froperly will fame things, that Is, the 
 things which he Decreeth (hall come topafs: but we muft after 
 our manner conceive and fay , that there are other things 
 which he willeth but in t.mtum, Jo far as to make it mans Duty 
 to perform ic, and perfwade him to the doing of that duty, and 
 give him fuch a measure of help as leaveth him without any 
 juft excufe, if he do it not ; and fofar he willeth the falvation 
 of fuch, as to Promife or offer it them on fuch terms : and»o 
 further doth he will the obedience or falvation which never 
 comes to pafs, but leaveth it here to the will of man. For if 
 he fimply willed that every Duty fhould be Eventually done, it 
 would be done : and if hcjimply willed that all rrcn fhould be 
 actually faved, they would be faved. And that he fimply willeth 
 their Duty or Obligation, and in tantum, fo far, doth mil the 
 event of their obedience and falvation, as this comes to, as 
 aforefaid, is certain, and in this we are all agreed ^ and I am 
 not fo well s\ild in dividing as to underftand where the real 
 difference \ytth between the parties that here moft: contend : 
 But about the bare Name I know they differ, fome thinking 
 that thU lafi is not to be Named an Acl of Qods will, or a 
 Willing of mans obedience or falvation, and fome thinking 
 that it i6 fo to be named : who doubtlefs are in the rights nor is 
 thereroomforcontroverfles, while weconfefs the impropriety 
 of this and all our fpeechesof God, as fpeaking after the man- 
 ner of men, and while Scripture that muft teach us how to 
 fpeak of God, doth frequently fo fpeak before us. 
 
 2. God being the Maker and firft Caufe of all things, that 
 is of all fubflantial 'Beings, commonly called Creatures, we 
 muft conclude that Sin is no fuck Being, becaufeitis moft cer- 
 tain that he is not the Creatour or the caufe of ir a Scripture 
 afTurethus, and all Chriltians are agreed chat God is not the 
 
 Caufe 
 
8o Of the Knowledge of Ged. Fart I. 
 
 Caufe or Author of fin. How odious then fhould that be to tu t 
 that is fo bad as not to come from God? If Goddifdaimir, 
 lee us difclaim it. Let us abhor that it (hould come from us, 
 feeing God abhorreth that it fhould come from him. Own 
 not that which hath nothing of God upon ir. 
 
 If you fay, that it is an Accident though not a fubftance, and 
 therefore it muft needs come from God ; becauft even Accidents 
 have their Being. 
 
 Ianfwer, That among the fubtileft Difpurers it is granted, 
 that it hath no Created Being,or no Being that is caufedby God\ 
 of this they are agreed. Its granted by all Chriftians that tin 
 hath no other kind of "Beings but what the -will of man can 
 caufe. And if that be fo, the Philofophical trifling controver- 
 fie, whether it be only a Privation, or a Relation, or Modta 
 Sn'tis, which the will thuscaufeth, mud be handled as Philofo- 
 phical, and valued but as it deferveth : For this is all the con- 
 troverfie that here remains. If the form be Relative, and the 
 Foundationbcbutz meer Prevation, (the Difconformity being 
 founded in a defeel) then the cafe isfoon refolved, as to the 
 reft. He that crreth, under ft andeth amifs : that he under ft and- 
 eth, is of God : that he erre th % that is, is defective, and (ofalfe in 
 his undemanding , is of him f elf % : that he VoilUtb when he 
 choofcth fin, is of God the Vnlverfal caufe : But that he reil- 
 leth a forbidden objett rather then the contrary , and faileth in 
 his underflanding and his will, this is not of God, but of him f elf. 
 If others fay, that the very Fundament urn of that Difconfor- 
 mity which is the Form of fin, is fometime an Aft, they mutt 
 alfo fay that it is not an A& asfuch, but This Aft comparative- 
 ly considered, or as circumftantiated, or as exercifed on the for- 
 bidden objeel rather then another, or a Volitioninftz&dot a No- 
 lition, and choofing that which fhould be refufed, or a refufing 
 that which fhould be chofen : And whether this comyarate 
 specifying foundation^ be a Privation, or a Mode, is a Philofo- 
 phical controverfie ; and in Philofophy, and not in Theology is 
 the difficulty -, Divines being agreed as aforefaid, thatwhac 
 ever you Name it^Being, or Privation, or Mode, it is but fuch 
 as muft be refolved ultimately into the jvillofman as its Ori- 
 ginal, or firft caufe, fuppofing God to be the Creator and 
 Conferver of that free F'oVcer that is able to choofe or to refufe, 
 
 and 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of Ged. 8 1 
 
 and as an univerfal Caufe to concur with the agent to the Ac~l 
 asfuch.Rut Philofophers indeed are at a lofs,and are fain to tell 
 us oi^Privations, Modes, Relations ^Denominations , Entia Ratio' 
 nit and* I know not what, that they fay are neither Beings nor 
 Nothing,bm between both they know not what / the nature of 
 things, in the utmoft. extremities of the branches being fo capil- 
 lar, and fpun with fofine a thred, that the understanding is 
 not fubtil enough to difcern them. And (hall this difturb us 
 in Divinity , or be imputed to it ? 
 
 If you (ay, That the Will of God is the Caufe of all things ^and 
 therefore of fin. 
 
 Ianfwer, If you call fin Nothing, as a Jhaddow, darknefs, 
 death, &c are nothing ( for all that we abhor them ) then 
 you anfwer your felves^ If you call it fomething, we are all 
 agreed, that its but fuch a fomething as man can caufe without 
 Codsfirfi caufingit •, It furTketh that God do the part of a 
 Creatour in giving man the free Power of choofingor re f fifing \ 
 and the part of a preferver, in maintaining that power, and as 
 an univerfal caufe concurring to all atls in genere^ as the fun 
 doth fhineonthe*//*H£^7/and the flowers : and that he alfo 
 do the part of a jufi Governour in prohibiting, and diflfwading, 
 and threatning (inner?. 
 
 Objcd. But how can fin Eventually be , if God decree it not % 
 feeing all Events are from hi* Will f 
 
 Ianfwer I. We c.re agreed that he Caufethitnot. 2. And 
 that he doth not fo much as will the Event of fin as fin. 3 .And 
 that he willingly fermitteth what is by him permitted. 4. And 
 that (in is fuch a thing as may Svcnire, be brought forth by a 
 bare per mi [fio*, if there be no Pofitive Decree for the Event. 
 As a Negative in the effetls, requireth not a Pofitive Caufe , fo 
 neither a Tofitive Will for its production. There are 
 millions of millions of worlds, and individual creatures, and 
 ipecies Poffible, that (hall never be : And it is audaciouf- 
 nefs to ciflerr, that there muft be millions of millions of Pofitive 
 Decrees, that fuch worlds or creatures (hall not be. 5 . Nor 
 is it any difhonour to God, if he have not a Pofitive Decree or 
 Will about every Negation ( as that all the men in the world 
 (hall not be called by a thoufand poffible names rather then their 
 own t Sec.) 
 
 M Thcfe 
 
82 of the RruwUdge of God. Part I. 
 
 Thefe things being all certain, I add i. Let them difpire 
 that dare, that yet de f&tto God doth Pofitively Will the E~ 
 vents of all Privations, or Negations of ads. 2. But when 
 men are once habitually wicked, and bent to evil, it is jufl with 
 h.m, if he permit them to follow their own lulls, and if he 
 have before ihem fuch Mercies as he foreknowech they will 
 wilfulfuiiy make occafions of their fin ^ and if he refoive to 
 make ufe of the fin which he knoweth they will commir,for his 
 Churches Good, and for his Glory. 
 
 Oojed. But doth not God Will that fin Eventually flail 
 not be 1 
 
 Anfw. Even as I before faid, he willeth that obed ence 
 evtntually Jhall be. If fin come to pafs, it is certain that God 
 did not fimply Will that itfhould not come to pafs : For then he 
 mud be conquered and unhappy by every fin : But he willeth 
 fimflj chat it (hall be the Duty of man to avoid it ; And he 
 may te laid to Nill the Event in tantum, fo far as that he 
 will forbid i>, and threaten and difftyade the (inner, and give 
 him the helps, that (hall leave him unexcufableif he fin 5 and fo 
 leave it to his Will. Thus far he may be faid to Will that fin 
 Eventually /hall not be •, but not [imply. 
 
 Though thefc things are not obvious to vulgar capacities 
 yet they are fuch, as the fubjed in hand, viz,. Gods firfi cau- 
 fation and Creation, together with the weight of them, and 
 the contentions of the world about thera, have made need- 
 full. 
 
 3. If God be the Creator and the caufeofall, then we muft 
 remember that all his ^ork^ are Good : and therefore nothing 
 mufl be hated by us that hath he made, confidered in its native 
 Goodnefs. God hateth fen, and fo muft we : for that he 
 made itnot, Rev.2.6. Tfal.^.j. If a. 1.14. And he h teth 
 allthewerkjof iniquity as fuch, PfaL 5.5. and fo muft we - y 
 but we muft Love all of God that is in them, and Love them for 
 it. There is fomewhat Good and Amiable in every crea- 
 ture • yea all of ir, that is of God. Though Toads and Ser- 
 pents are odious to us, becaufe they are hurtful and feem de- 
 formed in themfclves, yet are they Good in thewfelves, and 
 not deformed ai parts of the univerf e % but Good unto the com* 
 mon tnJL The wantj in the wheels of your watch are as ufc- 
 
 ful- 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge jGod. $3 
 
 ful to the motion as the nuckj or folid parts. The night is pare 
 of the ufeful order of the creation, as well as the day. The va- 
 cant interfpace in your writing, is needful as well as the 
 words: Every letter fhould not be a vowel, nor eveiy chara- 
 cter a Capital •, Every member fhould not be a heart or head or 
 eye: Nor fhould every one in a Commonwealth be s. King, or 
 Lord: So in the Creation the parts that feem bafe, are ufeful 
 in their places, and good unto their Ends. Let us not there- 
 fore vilific or deteft the works of God , but ftudy the excel- 
 lencies of them, and fee, and admire, and Love them as they 
 are of God. It is one of the hardeft practical points before 
 us, to know how to efteem of all the Creatures, and to ufe 
 them without running into one extream. At the fame time 
 to Love the world* and not to Love it; to honour ic,and defpife 
 it : to exalt it, and to tread it under our feet -, to mind it, and 
 ufeit with delight, and yet to be weane d from it asthofe that 
 mind it not. And yet a great part of onr Chriftian duty ly- 
 eth in the doing of this difficult work. As the world is the 
 Devils bait, and the fkfties Idol, fet up againft God, and 
 would tice us from him,or hinder us in his fervice, and either be 
 our Carnal end and happkiefs, or a means thereto, fo we muft 
 make it the care of our hearts to hate it, defpife it, negled it, 
 and tread it under foot ; and the labour of our lives to con- 
 quer it. But the fame creatures muft be admired, ftudyed, lo- 
 ved, honoured, delighted in, and daily ufed, as they are the 
 excellent work of the Almighty God and reveal to us his 
 Attributes or will, being the Glafs in which we muft fee him 
 while we are in the flefh •, and as they lead us to God, and 
 ftrengthen, furnifh or help us in his fervice. But to Love 
 them for God^ndnotfor them/elves, O how hard is it / To 
 keep/?/*n? affetliom towards them and a [piritftal delight in 
 in them that (hall not degenerate into a carnal de light, is a task 
 for the holieit Saint on Earth, to labour in With all his care and 
 power, as long as he here livech. Yet this muft be done •, and 
 the foul that bath obtained true felf denyal, and is^dead to the 
 world, and devoted and alive to God, is able in fome good 
 meafure to perform it. To love the world for it felf, and 
 make the creature our chief delight, and live fi it us 01 r }\nd 
 and Idol, this is the common damning courf.\ To call away 
 
 M z our 
 
84 of the Knowledge of Col Part I . 
 
 our poffeflions, and put our talents into our fellow fervants 
 hands, and to withdraw our fclves as it were out of the world 
 into folitude as Monks or Hermers do, this is too like the hide- 
 ing of our talents, and ,i dangerous courfe of unfaithfulnefs and 
 unprofitablcnefs, ualefs in iome extraordinary cafe ; and is at 
 belt the too eafie way of weaklings, that will be fouldiers on- 
 ly out of the Army, or where there is but little danger of the 
 Enemy-, Bu: [O Keep our Scations, and take Honours, and 
 Riches as our Matters talents, as a burden chat we mud honour 
 him by bearing , and the inflruments by which we mud 
 laborioufly do him fervice , and to fee and Love him in 
 every creature, and ftudy him in it, and fandifie it to bis 
 ufe •, and to fee that our luft get no advantage by it, and feed 
 not on it, but that we tame our Bodies, and have all that we 
 have for God, and not for our flefb, this is the hard, but the ex- 
 cellent, mod acceptable courfe of living in this world. 
 
 And it is not only other creatures, but our felves a\io that we 
 mull thus admire, and love, and ufe for God, while we abafe 
 our felves as to our fclves, ar\d deny our '{elves, and ufe not our 
 fclves for our felves, but as we itand in due fubordination to 
 him. Abafe your felvts as Jinful, and abhor that which is your 
 own, and not the Lords; But vil.fienoc your naiure in it felf, 
 nor any thing in you that is the work of God. Pretend not 
 humilitj lor the difhonouring of your Maker. Reafon and 
 Nat ural freedom of the Will, art Gods work^, and not jours, 
 and therefore muil be honoured, and not fcorned and revi- 
 led -, But the blindnefs and errour of your Reafon, and the 
 bad inclinations and atlions of your free-will.?, thefe arc your 
 own, and therefore vilifie them and hate them and fpare nor. 
 And when you lament the fmalnefs of your Graces, deny them 
 not, and Height not, but magnifie the precioufnefsof that little 
 that you have, while you mourn for the imperfection. And when 
 men offend you, or prove your enemies, forget not to value and 
 love that of God that yet is in them. AllisGoodtbatis of (jod. 
 
 4. If all things be of God as the Creator and Conferver, we 
 mutt hence remember on mhom it is that our fives and all things 
 elfe depend. Jn him we live and move and kve our being, 
 Ad. 17.28. He upholdctb all things by the word of his 
 power y Hcb.L3.Thc earth flandethupon his will and word.The 
 
 Na- 
 
Part I # of the Knowledge of Cod. 8 5 
 
 Nations are in his hands, fo are the lives of our friends and 
 enemies, and fo are our /elves. And therefore our eye mud be 
 upon him ; and our care mull be to pleafe him •, and our truft 
 and quietnefsmuft be in him ; and bleffed is he that maketh 
 lure of an Intcreft in his fpecial Love. 
 
 5. Hence alfo we muftobferve. the vanity of all Creature 
 confidence, and our hearts muft be withdrawn from reft ing in 
 any means or inftruments. They are nothing to us 5 andcan do 
 nothing for us, but what they have or do from him that made 
 and pre/erveth us. 
 
 6. And laitly hence alfo we may /if * the patience and goodnefs 
 of the Lord, that as he refufed not to make thofe men that he 
 foreknew would live ungodlily, fo he denyeth not to uphold 
 their Being, even while they fin againft him. All the while that 
 they are abufing his creatures, they are fubftained by him, and 
 have thofe Creatures from him.From him the drunkard hath his 
 drink, and the glutton his meat, and the voluptuous youth 
 their abufed health and ftrength ^ and all men have from him 
 the Powers or faculties of foul and Body by which they fin. 
 And fliall any be fo ungrateful as to fay therefore that God 
 dothcaufe their fin ? Its true, he can eafily ftop thy breath 
 while thou ait (wearing, and lying, and fpe?king againft the 
 ferviceof God that made thee : And wouldft thou have him 
 do fo ? He can eafily take away the meat , and drink, 
 and riches, and health, and life which thou abufeft ; And 
 wouldft thou have him do it ? He can eafily keep thee 
 from finning any more on earth, by cutting off thy Ik and 
 fending thee to" pay for what thou haft done: And art thou 
 content with this ? Muft he be taken to be a partaker in thy 
 fin,becaufehedothnot ftrike thee dead, or lame, or fpeech- 
 \ch, or difable thee from finning ? Provoke him not by thy 
 Blafphemies, left he clear himfelf in a way that thou defireft 
 nor. But O wonder at his patience,that holds thee in his hand, 
 and keepeth thee from falling into the grave and HelJi while 
 thou art finning againft him. Whileacurfe or oath is in thy 
 mouth, he could let thee fail into utter mifery. How oft haft 
 thou provoked him to take thee in thy luft,in thy rage, or in 
 thy neglect of God, and give thee thy defert / Would any of 
 you fupport your enemy, as God doth you ? 
 
 Ms Chap, 
 
S<5 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 i.O. A S we muft know God as our Creatour, fo alfo as our 
 JTjl Redeemer*, Of which I (hall lay but little now, be- 
 caufe I have mentioned it more fully in the Directions for found 
 Convtrfion. It is life Eternal to knoty the Father, and fefus 
 Chrifi whom he hathfent, Joh .17.3. The Father Redeemeth us 
 by the Son,whom he Cent, and whofe Sacrifice he accepted, 
 and in whom he is well pleafed. And this muft have thefc 
 effects upon our fouls. 
 
 1. We muft be hence convinced, that we are not now in a 
 fiate of innocency, nor to be faved at innocents, w on' the terms of 
 the Law of eur Creation ; Bue Salvation is now by a Redeemer : 
 and therefore cor flfteth in our recovery and reparation. The 
 objects of it are only lapfedfinful miserable men. Name the 
 Creature if you can fince Adam, that flood before God here 
 in the flefh, in a ilateof perfonal perfttt innocency, except the 
 immaculate Lamb of Cjod. If God as Creator (hould' now fave 
 any, without re fpccT to a Redemption, it muft been the terms 
 of the Law of Creation , upon which it is certain that no man 
 Hath or (hall be faved • that is, upon perfect perfonal perfe- 
 vtring obedience. You cannot exempt Infants themfelves from 
 fin and mifery, without exempting them from Chrift the Re- 
 deemer, dnd the remedy, Rom. 3. 10, 19,20,22,23. [There 
 is none Righteous ( in himfelf without a Redeemer ) no not 
 
 one They are all gone out of the way • That every month 
 
 way be flopped, and all the world may become guilty before God, 
 ( And if all the world be guilty, none are innocent : ) therefore 
 by the deeds of the Law there fljall no flejh bejufttfied in his fight. 
 For all have finned and come fhort of the glory of God • being 
 juftified freely by his gracejhrvuoh the Redemption that is in f e - 
 fusChrift"] ife. 53- 6 > All we like fheep have gone aflray, we 
 have turnedevery one to his own w*y, and the Lord hath laid on 
 him the iniquity of us all. .] Rom. 5. I 5. [Through the offence 
 of one, many are dtad~\ 16. And the judgement was by One to 
 condemnation"] 17. By the offeree of one death reigned by 
 oxer\ 18. *By the offence of one, judgement came on all men to 
 
 con- 
 
Parti. of the Knowledge tfGoJ. 87 
 
 condemnation-'] l9.Byc»e ***** difobedience many w-.re made 
 ftnntrs~\ Pfal. 51.4- Ve ^ ere fi a ? en ** i*fy**tj, and in fin 
 did our mothers conceive w 3 Hph.2. I, 3. We wtre by nature 
 the Children of wrath, ani dead in trefp^ffes and fin ] 1 Cor. 
 15. 22. [in Adam all die ] 2 Cor. 5.14 [ We thm judge, 
 ihat if one dyed for all, thtn were all deadf\ Bph 52$. Chrift is 
 the Saviour of the Body ] & v. 25 , 26, 27. £ Chrift Uved the 
 Church and gave him f elf for it, th*t he might J "anil 'i fie and 
 cltanfe it with the wafhingof water, by the word, that he might 
 
 prefent it to himfelf a glorious Church- *] If Infants have 
 
 no fin and mifery , then they arc none of the Body, the Churchy 
 which Chrift loved and gave himfelf for that he might cleanfe 
 ir. But what ne?d we further proof when we have the com- 
 mon experience of all the world ? Would every man that is 
 born of a woman without exception, fo early manifeft- fin in 
 thzlife, if there were no corrupt difpofition at the heart * And 
 (hould all mankind without exception, tait of the pmifbment 
 of fin, if they had no-participation of the guilt f Death is the 
 wages of fin j and by fin death entred into the world, and it paf~ 
 feth upon all men, for that all have finned, Rom. 5.12. Infants 
 have fieknefs, and torments, and death, which are the fruits of 
 fin. And were they not prefented to Chrift as a Saviour, 
 whenhetook them in his arms and blefTed them, and faid, of 
 fuch is the Kingdom of God f Certainly, none that never were 
 guilty or miferable, are capable of a place in the Kingdom of 
 the Mediator. For to what end fhould he mediate for them ? 
 or how can he Redeem them that need not a Redemption? or 
 how fliould he r^ro»f i/f them to God that never were at en* 
 mity with him ? Or how can he wapjthem that were never un- 
 clean ? Or how can he be a Phyficion ro them that never were 
 fick^ ? "when the whole have no need of the Phyficion, Mar. 9. 12. 
 He came tofeek^ and to fave that' which was loft, Luk. 19. 10: 
 and to fave his people from their fins , Mat. 1. 21. They are none 
 of his fave d people therefore that had no fin. He came to re- 
 deem thofe that were under the Law, Gal. 4. 5. But it is moft cer- 
 tain that Infants were under the Law as well as the adult : And 
 they were a part of hU people Ifrael wUm he vifited and Re* 
 deemed Luk, 1 • 68, If ever they be admitted into* Glory, they 
 muft praife him that Mf deemed them by hit blood, Rev. 5 9- 
 
 God 
 
3 8 of the kntwkJge of Cod. Part L 
 
 God doth BrRjuftifie thole whom he Glorifietli, Rom. 8. 30. 
 And they mutt be born again that will fjrfer mm his Kingdom, 
 J "- 3-3,5- An d there is £0 Regeneration or renovation but 
 jrom fen, Col. 3.10. Eph. 4.22. Nor any fuftification but 
 fromfi» a and from what we could not be fvftified from by the 
 Lawof Mofes, Ad:. 13.30 Nor anv purification but what 
 tontaireihaiJfw.^o/^Rom. 3. 25. And where there is 
 »oyJ«, there is none to be Remitted. Nor is there any Juftifi- 
 c^onbutwh&zls through the Redemption that is in Chrift fe. 
 fus end his propitiation, Rom. 3. 24,25. He is made of God 
 Redemption to 10, 1 Cor. 1. 30. And the Redemption that we 
 havebyhm, \s Remiffion of ftnsby his blood, Col. I. 14. Eph. 
 If 7- By his own blood entered he once into the holy place, 
 having obtained eternal Redemption for us: The eternal inheri- 
 tance is received by means. of death for the Redemption of t ran ft 
 grejftons, Heb.p. 12, 15.] fo that all Scripture fpeaks this 
 truth aloud to us, that there is now no falvation promifed buc 
 to the Church, the fuftified, the Regenerate, the Redeemed • and 
 that none, can be capable of thefe but ftnners, and fuch as are 
 loft and miferabie in themfelves. And till our necejftty be un- 
 derftood, Redemption cannot be well underftood. They that 
 believe that Chrift dyed not only for this or that man in par- 
 ticular, but for the world, methinks fhould believe that the 
 world are ftnners and need hisdeath. Heiscalled the Saviour 
 of the world, Joh. 4. 42. and the Saviour 0$ all men, efpecially 
 of believers, I Tim.4.10: 1 ]oh^.l^We have feen and dj teftifie 
 that the Father fent the Son to be the Saviour of the world'} And 
 from what doth he fave them ? From tharftns, Mat. r . 2 1. and 
 from the wrath to come, I Thef. 1. 10. [ For this is a faithful 
 fayingand worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift fefus came into 
 the world to fave ftnners ~\ Jnfants then are ftnners, or none of 
 thofe that he came to fave. Chriit hath made no man Righte- 
 ous by hy Obedience, but fuch as Adam made ftnners by his dift 
 obedience, Rom. 5. 19. \_F or as by one mans difobediencc, many 
 were made ftnners, fo by the obedience of one many /ball be made 
 Righteous^ Jnfantsare not made Righteous by Chrift, if they 
 were not [inners : And ftnners ihey cannot be by any but Ori- 
 ginalfin, Rom. 5.8,9, 10. [God commended his Love to us, in 
 that while we Were yet ftnners Chrift dyed fer us : Much more 
 
 being 
 
Part L Of the Knowledge of God. 89 
 
 being now fufiified by his bloody we /hall be faved from wrath 
 through him : When we were enemies we were Reconciled to 
 God by the death of his Son~j fo that it \sfenners that Chrifi dyed 
 for, and finners that are juftified by his blood, and finners that are 
 reconciled to Gvd. Infants therefore are finners, or they are 
 none of the Redeemed, J ufiified or reconciled. And when Jc- 
 fus (Thrift [by the grace of God did t a fie death for every man] 
 Heb. 2. 9. Infants are fure included. [There is one Mediator 
 between God and men, the man Chrifi J ejus, who gave him f elf a 
 Random for all, 1 Tim. 2. 5,6.] therefore all had fin andmifery 
 and needed that ranfome. [He is the propitiation for our fins, 
 and not for ours only, but alfofor the fins of the whole world."] 
 And is it not plain then that the whele world are finners f 
 
 I fpeak all this for the evincing of Original fin only, becaufe 
 that only is denyed by fuch as yet pretend to Chriftianity • For 
 attualCm is commonly confdTed, and (hews it felf. And truly fo 
 doth Original ftn in our pronenefs to atlual ; and in the earlinefs 
 and cowmonnefs of fuch evil inclinations,, and in the remnants 
 of it which the fan&ificd feel, though they are fuch as were 
 fan&ified never fo early, before a&ual (in had time to breed 
 thofe evil habits, which therefore certainly were born with us. 
 
 And if xht Image of t7<^,coniifting in true holinefs>bz not 
 natural, or born in every Infant in the world, then Original fin 
 mult needs be born with them : for that fin is either only or 
 chiefly the Privation of that Image or Holinefs. He that will 
 fay that this Image is not rcquifiteio Infants, and fo that the 
 abfence of it is a meer negation, doth make them bruits, and not 
 of the race of man, whom God created after his Image, and 
 leaves them uncapable of Heaven or Hell, or any other life 
 then be*fts have. And he that thinks fo of Infants 1 o day, may 
 think fo of himftlf 'to morrows. And he that will affirm that this 
 Image or Holinefs is born with every Infant into the world, fo 
 wilfully contrad;d:eth common evidence which appeareth in the 
 contrary effects, that he is not worthy to be further talkt with. 
 
 One thing more I will proponnd yet to the contrary-mind- 
 ed •, Can they fay that any Infants are faved or not t If not, ei- 
 ther they perifh as bruits ( which is a bruitifb opinion) or 
 they live in mifery •, and then they had fin that did deferve it -, 
 yea if they think that any of them perifh in the wrath to come, 
 
 N k 
 
$>o of the Knowledge of Cod. Part I. 
 
 it mutt be for fin. If they think that any of them are favcd, 
 it is either by covenant or without -, there is/ome promife for ir,' 
 or there k »o»f. If none, then no man can fay that *»jf of 
 them are A>z>^. For who bath known the mind of the Lord 
 without his Revelation ? It isarrogancy to tell the world of 
 the favingof any chat God did no way reveal that he will 
 lave. But if they plead & Revelation or promi/e, it is either 
 the Covenant of Nature or of Grace ; a promife contained in 
 Nahsre,Lawor Gofpel. The former cannot be affirmed, (not 
 only becaufe the diffenters themfelves deny any fuch Covenant 
 to have been in nature or any way made to Adam, hue) be- 
 caufe the:e is no fuch Covenant or promife in Nature to be 
 found, for the Salvation of all Infants ( and if not for all, then 
 for none:) and becaufe it is contrary to abundance of plain 
 pafTages in the Scriptures, that affure us there is but One Cevc- 
 riant of Salvation now in force : and that all the Worldfhall be- 
 come guilty before God, and every mouth be flopped, Rom. 3.19. 
 and that by the deeds of the Law no fle/h /hall be juftified in his 
 . fight, v. 20. Gal. 2. 16. knd'xi right eoufnefs come by the Law, 
 then Chrift is dead in vain. t Gal. 2.21. F°r as many as arc of the 
 works of the Law, are under the Curfe, Gal. 3. 10. And that 
 no man is fuftified by the Law in the fight ef God, is evident -, for 
 the jufl /hall live by faith •, and the Law is not of faith • but, The 
 man that doth them fhall live in them) And certainly the Law 
 of nature require th not lefs then Aio/es Law, to a mans juftifi- 
 cation,if not more. And [ if there had been a Law given tyhich 
 could ha.\e given life, verily Righteou'nefs fiould hive been by 
 the Law. hut the Scripture hath concluded All under fin, that 
 the promife by faith of fcftu Chrift might be given to them that 
 belive~\ Ga). 3. 21,22. 
 
 By the fulnefs of this evidence, it is eafie to fee, that Infants 
 and all mankind are Jinners, and therefore have need of the 
 Redeemer. 
 
 2. 'Xo know God as our Redeemer, containeth the knowledge 
 of the great ends of our Redemption, and of the manifestation of 
 God to man thereby. Having treated of thefe in the Book fore- 
 cited, I (ball now fay but this in brief. It is beyond difpute, 
 that God could have made man capable of Glory, and kept 
 him from falling by confirming grace, and without a Redeem- 
 er 
 
Part L Of the Knowledge of God. % % 91 
 
 er fecled him in felicity, as he did the A* gels. He that forefaw 
 is iaU and neceffity of a Saviour, could eafily have pic- 
 vented that fin and neceffity : But he would not ; he did not : 
 but chofe rather to permit it, and fave man by the way of a 
 Redeemer. In which his Infinite wifdom is exceedingly ma- 
 nifefted. And in Chrift who is the Power and Wifdom of God, 
 1 Cor. x.24. among others thefe excellent effects are decla- 
 red to us, which the way of Redemption attaineth above what 
 the faving us on the terms of Nature would have attained. 
 
 I.God is now wonderfully admired and magnified in the per- 
 fon oi the Redeemer. Angels themfelves dciire to pry into 
 this myilerie, 1 Pet. 1. 12. As the frame of Nature is fetus 
 to fee God in, where we daily as in a glafs behold h.m and ad- 
 mire him < fo the perfon of the Redeemer, and work of hear. 
 nation and Redemption y \s (et the Angels for their contempla- 
 tion and admiration, as well as us : Eph. 3.10. [To the intent 
 that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places 
 might be known by the Church the manifold wifdom of God, ] 
 And in the glorious perfetlion and dignity of the Redeemer 
 wili God be everlafiingly glorified ^ For his greatefi works do 
 greatliefi honour him : And as the fun doth now to us more 
 honour him then aftar, fo the glorified perfon of the Redeem-. 
 er % doth more honour God then manor Angels. 1 Pet. 5. 23. 
 [He is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, An- 
 gels ^and Authorities, and Powers being made fubjctl to him. ] 
 Eph. 1.20,21,22. Being raifedfrom the dead, Goa hathfet him 
 at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principa- 
 lities ', and powers, and might, and dominion, and every name that 
 is named, nut only in this world, but alfo in that which is to come -, 
 and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the Head 
 over all things to the Chnrchjtohich is hi* Body, the fulnefs of him 
 that filleth ail in all.'] Heb. 1.3. [Who being thebnghtnefs of 
 his glory , and the ex ;refs image of his perfon and upholding all 
 things by the word of his power, when he bad by himjelf purged 
 eur fins, fate down on the right hand of the Mayfly on high -, be- 
 ing made fo much better then the Angels, as he hath by inheri- 
 tance obtained a more excellent name then they j 
 
 And here awery great truth appeareth, which very many 
 overlook, that the exaltation of the perfon of the Redeem r, and 
 
 N 2 th: 
 
$2 . Of the Knowledge of God. Parti. 
 
 the glory that Go J will have in him, \s a higher and more prim- 
 fipal pare of Gods iifrtifHn the fending of him to be Incarnate 
 and ifafaf0DS 9 t fieri the glorifying of man , and of God /v ^ 
 Chriitwill £f more gloriom then w« or Angels and thert* 
 fore will ww* gUrifie God • and G >d will eternally take 
 wore complacency in him then \nmett or Angels • And therefore 
 ( though in feveral refpefts) /ft is ftr «,* and the «***, f 
 
 fir felicity-, and w aie/or W», and the www of &/ */„,,• 
 (as the Head is for the Body, and the Body for the Had) yec 
 Wf are mere for Chrijl as a wfrfw to &/ £/cr;, then ^ /* r w . 
 
 1 mean he is the more excellent principal end, [For to this £nd 
 thrift both dyed, rofe and revived, that he might be Lord both of 
 the dead and living^ Rom. 14. 9. [who being in the form of 
 God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made him- 
 felf of no reputation, and took, upon him the form of a feroant 
 and wot made in the lihnefs of men • and being found in fafhion 
 M a tr.an, he humbled hlmfelf and became obedient unto death 
 even the death of the Crofs : Wherefore God alfo hath highly 
 exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name > 
 that at the name of Jefpu every knee fhonld bow, both of things in 
 heaven and things inearth and under the earth ; and that evert 
 tongue fhouldconftfsthat fefusChrifi u Lord, to the ghry If 
 God the Father] Phil. 2. 6. to 12. Rev. 5. 8, 9, 10, 1 1 12 
 [] And I beheld, and 1 heard the voice of many Angels round about 
 the Throne, and the beafis, and the elders, ana the number of them 
 was ten thoufand times ten thoufand, andthoufands oftheufands • 
 faying with a loud voice , Worthy is the Lamb that was (ljin to 
 receive power, and riches, and wifdom , andftrength, and honour 
 and glory, and bleffing : And every creature which is in Heaven 
 and on Earth ,and under the Earth, and fuch as are in thefea and 
 all that are in them, heard I faying, Bhjftng, honour, glory and 
 fowerbe unto him that fitter h on the Throne, and unto the Lamb 
 for ever and ever .] So Rev. 15.3, 4-& 20.6. Rev. 2 J. 23. f The 
 
 and his fervants (hall ferve him ; And they fhall fee his face 
 and his namefljall be in their foreheads.} Thefe and many other 
 Scriptures (hew us, thac God will be for ever Glorified in 
 
 t he 
 
Part I. ofthe KnwlectgeefGod. 93 
 
 the p erf on of the Redeemer, more then in either men or Angels s 
 and consequently that it was the principal part of his Intention 
 in thedcfign of mans Redemption. 
 
 2. ( I will be briefer in the reft ) In the way of Redemption 
 man will be faved with greater humiliation and felf-denjd chen 
 hefhould have been in the way of Creation, If we had been 
 faved in a way of Innocency , we fhould have had more to 
 afcribe to our felves. And it is meet that all Creatures be 
 humbled and abaied, and nothing in themfelves, before the 
 Lord. 
 
 3. By the way of Redemption, fin will be more difhonoured 9 
 and Holinefs more advanced, then if fin had never been known 
 in the world. Contraries illuftrate one another. Health 
 would not be fo much valued if there were no ficknefs : nor 
 Lift if there were no Death: nor Day if there were no Night; 
 not Knowledge if there were no Ignorance : nor Good if man 
 had not known Evil. The Holinefs of God would never have 
 appeared in execution of vindidive Jufticeagainftfin, if there 
 had never been any fin : and therefore he hath permitted it, and 
 will recover us from it, when he could have prevented our 
 falling into it. 
 
 4. By this way alfo, Holinefs and Recovering Grace /hall be 
 more triumphant againfi the Devil and all its enemies : By the 
 many conquefts that Chnft will make over Satan, the World 
 and the Flefh, and Death, there will very much of God be 
 feen to us, that innocency would not thus have manifefted. 
 
 5. Redemption brings Godnearer unto man : The myfteric of 
 Incarnation giveth us wonderful advantages to have more 
 familiar thoughts of God, and to fee him in a clearer glafs y 
 then ever we fhould elfe have feen him in on tarth, and to have 
 acceft with boldnefs to the thront of grace. The pure Deity Is 
 at fo vaft a diftance from us, while we are here in flefh, that 
 
 it had not appeared in the flefh unto us, wc fhould have been 
 at a greater lofs. But now without ccntroverfie great is the 
 myfterie of godlinefs ^ God ft at manifefted in the flejb , juftified in 
 the fpirit 3 feen of Angels, preached to the Gentiles , believed on in 
 the Vrorld, and received up into glory, J Tim. 3. 16. ' 
 
 6. In the way of Redemption^ man is brought to more earneft 
 and frcqnent address unto God, and dependence on him : Ne- 
 
 N 3 njftty. 
 
94 Of the Knowledge of God, Part I # 
 
 ^ydrivetbhim: And he ham ufe for more of God, or for 
 God-m more of the wayes of his mercy, then elfehe wou'd 
 nave had. 
 
 7- Principally in this way of faying referable man by a Re- 
 deemer, there is opportunity for the more abundant cxercife of 
 Gods mercy, and consequently for the more C / ri » ^ mr y 
 Love and Goodnefs 10 the ions of men, then if they had 
 into no luch Necefficiei. M.fcry preparech men for the 
 lenfeofafrgr. In the Redeemer there is fo wonderful a dif- 
 coveryo! Loveznd Mercy, as is thealloniftimene of men and 
 Angelt I foh. ?. L ^Behold what manner of L^ve the Father 
 hah beftowed upon us, that we.fijouldbe called thefons ofGod'l 
 Z. 4 5 IGodwho U rich in Mercy, for hi* ^reat Love 
 wheremth he loved us, even when \\ e were dead in Cms huh 
 quickened us together with Chrifi (by grace jee are faved) 'and 
 hath raifed us up together, and made us fit together in heavenly 
 places in Chrifi Jefus • that in the ages to come he might /hew the 
 exceeding nchet of hts grace, in hi* kjndnefs towards us by Chrifi 
 fejus: for by grace yee are faved through faith, and that net of 
 
 Jhndd MjTirj 3,4. For we our fches were fo J f times 
 foolifb, difobedtent, deceived, fervmg divers I ufis and flexures 
 &c. But after that the kjndnefs and love of God our Saviour to- 
 ward man appeared, not by works of right eoufnefs which we have 
 done, but according tohU Mercy he faved us, by the wafhina of 
 regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghoft^ Never was thVe 
 iucha difcoyeryof God as he is Love, in *w&y { Mercy to 
 man on earth, asin the ^ wwr , and his ^»^/. ' • 
 8 rn the way of Redemption the foul of man is formed to the 
 mopftoeet and excellent temper, and his obedience cafl into the 
 happiefl mold. The glorious demonftration of Love doth 
 animate us with Love to God >, and the fheddingabroad'of his 
 Love m ouv hearts by the fpirit of the Redeemer, doth draw 
 out our hearts in Love to him again: And the fenfe of his 
 wonderful Love znt Mercy filleth us with Thankfutnefj • fo 
 that Dve is hereby made the nature ofthe new man ■ 'and 
 Thn \junefs is r he life of all our obedience: For all fl 0we th 
 1 ora t he fe principles, and expreffeth them : fo that Love is the 
 compendium oi all Holinefs in one word-, andThank/u/neftoi 
 
 all 
 
Par 1 1 . of the Knowledge of God. 9 r 
 
 a\\ Evangelical obedience. And ic is a more fivect and excel" 
 lent {lace of life, to be the Spoufe of Chrifl, and his members* 
 and ferveGod as friends and children^ wich Love and Th.tr. k- 
 fulnefs, then to ferve him meerly as the mod loyal fubjdis, or ' 
 wich an obedience that hath iefs of Love. 
 
 o. In the way of Redemption, Holinefs is more admirably 
 exemplified in Chrift , then ic was, or would have been in 
 Adam. Adam would never have declared it in thac eminejney 
 of Charity to others , fubmiflion to God, contempt of the 
 world, ielf-denyal, and conqueft of Satan, as Chrifi hath 
 done. - 
 
 10. And in the way of Redemption, there is a double obliga- 
 tion laid upon man for every duty. To the obligations of Crea- 
 tion, all the obligations of Redemption and the new Creatien are 
 fureradded : And this threefold cord fhould notfo eafilybe 
 broken. Here arc moral means more powerfully to hold the 
 foul to God. 
 
 11. And in this way there is a clearer dif cover] of the ever. 
 I a fling ft ate of man, and life and immortality are more fully 
 brought to light bj the Go/pel (2 Tim. 1. 10 ) then for oughc 
 wefind in Scripture, they were to innocent man himfelf [_No 
 man hath feen God at any time : the onl] begotten Son that is in 
 the bo fame of the Father, he h^th declared him, Job. I. 18.] For 
 no man hath afcended up into heaven, but he that came down from 
 heaven , even the j on of man, y»hich is in heaven t Joh 3. 13. 
 
 12. Man. will be advanced, to the judging of the ungodly and 
 of the conquered Angels : even by the good wiil of the Farher, 
 and a participation m the honour of Chrifi our head, and by 
 a participation in his Vt&ories, and by our own Vi dories in 
 his ftrengch , by the right of Conquefr, we (hall judge with 
 Chrift, both Devils and men, that were enemies to him, and 
 our falvacion : as you may fee 1 Cor. 6. 2,3. And there is 
 more in that promife then we yet well underftand, Rev. 2. 
 26, 27. \_He that overcometh, and keepeth my words unto th? 
 end, to him will J give peVver over the Nations , and he /hall rule 
 them with a rod of Iron, as the vejfels of a Potter /hall they be bro 
 ken to Jhiver s>even as 1 received of my Father f\ 
 
 13V And that which Auguftine fo much inlifteth on, I think 
 is alfo plain in Scripture, that the Salvation of the Elett is bet- 
 ter 
 
95 Of the Knowledge of Cod. Fart I. 
 
 t r fecnrtd in the hands of Chrifl, then his o\\>n or any of his 
 pofteriries was in the hands of Adam. We know that *sfdam 
 loll that which was committed to him: But [we k»ow whem 
 ve believed, and tire perfwaded^ th.tt he is able to k^cep that 
 ':• we commit to him, ag:inft that day] I Tim. i . 1 2» Force 
 not thefe Scriptures againft our own Confolacion, and the 
 glory of our Redeemer, and then judge. [ J oh. 7, 2. As thou 
 haft given him fewer over allfl fb , that he Jljould give eternal 
 Life to as many as thou haft given him] Joh. 6. 3. [All that 
 the Father giveth me, /ball come to me • and him that cometh to 
 me, I Veill in no wife cafi out~] Ver. 39. tslnd this is the Fa- 
 thers will which hath fent me, that of allVrhichhe hath given 
 me Ijbould lofe nothing, but Jbould raife it up again at the lad 
 day] Joh. 10. 26,27,28,29. [But yeeb:lievenot 9 becaufeyee 
 are not of ?ny floeep , as I faid unto yon : My /beep hear my v ice, 
 and J know them and they follow me , and I give unto them eternal 
 life, and they /ball never perijb, and none /ball take them out of my 
 hands : My Father which gave them me is greater then all, and 
 no man is able topluck,them out of my Fathers hands]Eph, 1**3 4, 
 Bleffed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrifl, Voho hath 
 bltffcdus with all Jpiritualblefflngs iu heavenly places in Chrifl, 
 according as he hath chofen us in him before the foundation of the 
 -world, that we Jbould be holy and without blame be fere him in 
 Love : Having predeflinated us to the adoption of his children by 
 ?efus Chrifl to himfelf according tot he good p leaf ure of his will, 
 to the praife of the glory of bis grace , wherein he hath made us 
 accepted in the beloved] [Being predeflinated according to the 
 purpofe of him tbatworketh all things after the counfel of his 
 own will] Ver. I j. 
 
 And it Faith, and Repentance, and the right disjofition of the 
 will it felf,be his refolved gift tohis Eletl, and not things left 
 meedy to our uncertain wills, then the cafe is pail all queftion. 
 2 Tim. 2. 2$, 26. [in ntceknefs infirucling thoje that oppofe 
 them f elves, if God ptr adventure will give them Repentance to the 
 acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themfclves 
 out of 'the fnare of 'the Devil] Eph. 2 8. [By grace yee are Javed 
 threugh faith, and that not of your felves, it is the ^iftofGod] 
 
 Gal. 5.22. The fruit of the sjirit is Love, Faith ■] Phil. 
 
 I • 29, To jou it is given on the behalf of Chrifl , not only to be- 
 lieve 
 
 m 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge $f God. ' 9 7 
 
 lieve on him ] Aft. 13. 48. As many m were ordained to 
 
 eternal life believed~\ Jcr. 24. 7. And J will give them an heart 
 to know me, that 1 am the Lord } and they fljall be mj people, an\ 
 I will be their God - y for they /ball return unto me with their 
 whole heart~\ Ezek. 1 1. 19, 20. And 1 will give thnn one hearr, 
 and I will f Pit anew ffirit within you : and I will tak* the flony 
 heart out of their ftefi, and will give them an heart of ftffi s th.iv 
 the j may wall^in my flatutes, and keep my ordinances and do 
 them, and they {hall be my people, and I will be their God~\ Ezek\ 
 36. 26, 27. ^A new heart al/o will I give you-, and a new (pirit 
 will 1 put whhin you, and I will take away the fhny heart out 
 of your fefh and givey oft an heart of-flcjh, and J will put my /pirit 
 Within you, an J cau/e you to \iv/^. in my ftatutes^ -—See alio 
 Heb. 8. 6, 7,8, 9, 10. where tins is called the new and better 
 Covenant [_ I will pur my Laws in their minds and write thgm 
 
 in their hearts- "\ J er. 31.33. And Jcr. 32. 39,40. And 
 
 J will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me for 
 ever. And I will ' makg an everlajiing Covenant with them, 
 and I will not turn away from them to do them good , but I will 
 put my fear in their hearts that they /hall not depart from me~\ 
 I Cor. 4. 7. Who makes thee to differ ? and what haft thou that 
 thoudidft not receive f] Much more may be produced, from 
 which i: is evident that Chrift is the Author and fini/he r -of our 
 Faith i and that the certainty of the falvation of his Eletl, 
 doth lie more on his undertaking and refolution infallibly to 
 accomplifh their falvation, then upon ourwifdom t or the lia- 
 bility of our mutable free-wills : and that thus we are better 
 in the hands ohhz fecond Adam, then we were in the hands of 
 tbefirfi. 
 
 14' To conclude j Vindiclive Juftice will be doubly ho- 
 noured upon them that are final rejecltrs ef this grace. Though 
 conference would have had matter enough to work upon for 
 the torment of the (inner, and the juftifying of God, upon the 
 meer violation of the Law of nature or works, yet nothing to 
 what it now will have on them that are the defpifers of this 
 great falvation. For of how much/orer punifiment fftppofe yee 
 /hall he be thought worthy that hath trodden under foot the Son 
 ofGodf\ when it is willful impenitency % againft moft excellent 
 means and mercies , th.it is to be charged upon Tinners, and 
 
 O when 
 
98 of th Knowledge of God, Parti. 
 
 when they perifhbecaufe they would not befaved, Juftice will 
 be moil fully glorified before all, and in the conference of the 
 Tinner him fe!f. All this confidered you may fee that (beiidcs 
 what reafonsofthe counfelof God are unknown to us) there 
 is abundant reafon open to our fight, from the great advan- 
 tages of this w y, why God would rather fave us by a Re- 
 deemer, then in a way of Innocency as our meer Creator. 
 
 But,fortheanfweringofali objections againft this, I mult 
 defire you to obferve thefe two things following, i. Thatwe 
 here fuppofemana terreftrial inhabitant cloathed with fiefh : 
 other wife it is confelTed that if he were perfeB in heaven, where 
 he had the Beatifical Vi/ion to confirm him, many of thefe 
 forementioned advantages to him would be none. 
 
 And it is fuppofed that God will work on man by Moral 
 means \ and where he never fo infallibly produceth the good 
 of man, he doth it in a way agreeable to his nature and pre- 
 fent ftatc - and that his work of Grace is Sapiential, magni- 
 fying the contrivance and condud:o{h\sWi[dom, as well as his 
 Power: otherwife indeed God might have done all without 
 thefe or any other means. 
 
 3. The knowledge of God in Chrift as our Redeemer , mult 
 imprint upon the foul thofe Holy A feclions which the defign 
 and nature of our Redemption do beipeak, and which at iwer 
 thefe forementioned ends. As 1. It mult keep the foul in a 
 fenfeof ihcodioufnefsof fin, that mult have fuch a remedy to 
 pardon and deltroy it. 
 
 2. It mult raife us to molt high and honourable thoughts 
 of our Redeemer, the Captain of our Salvation, that bringeth 
 back 1< ft finners unco God ; and we mufl fludy to advance the 
 Glory of our Lord, whom the Father hath advanced and fet 
 over all. 
 
 3. It mult drive us out of our felves and bring us to be no- 
 thing in our own eyes, and caufe us to have humble, penitent, 
 felf condemning thoughts, as men that have been our own 
 undoers, and deferved fo ill of God and man. 
 
 4. It muft drive us to a full and conftant dependanceon 
 Chrift our Redeemer, and on the Father by him : As our life is 
 now in the Son asks root and fountain , fo in him muft be our 
 faith and confidence, and co him we muft daily have recourfe , 
 
 and 
 
Part I . of the Knowledge of God. pp 
 
 and feck to him, and to the rather in his Name for all that we 
 need, for daily pardon, ftrength, prote&ion, provifion and 
 confolation. 
 
 5. It muft caufe us the more to admire the Holinefs of God, 
 which is fo admirably declared in our Redemption ^ and ftill 
 be fenfible how he hateth (in and loveth Purity. 
 
 6. It muft invite and encourage us to draw near to God, who 
 hath condefcended to come fo near to us j and as fons we mult 
 cry Abba Father , and though with reverence, yet with holy 
 confidence muft fee our (elves continually before him. 
 
 7. It muft caufe us to make it our daily imployment to ftu- 
 dy the Riches of the Love of God, and his abundant mercy 
 manifeftedin Chrift; fo that above all books in the world, we 
 fhould moft diligently and delightfully perufe the Son of God 
 incarnate, and in him behold the Power, and ivifdom ,zr\d Good- 
 nefs of the Father % And with Paul we fhould dzfaztokjiow 
 nothing but Chrifl crucified; and all things fhould be counted 
 but lo(s and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrifi 
 fcftu our Lord, Phil. 3. 8. That we may be able to comprehend 
 withal! Saints, what u the bredth, and length, and depth, and 
 heighth y and to know the Love of Chrifi which pajfeth know* 
 ledge, that we may be filled with allthefulnefs of God!\ 
 
 8. Above all, if we know God as our Redeemer, we muft 
 Live in the Power of holy Love and Gratitude. His Man't- 
 fe fled Love muft prevail with usfofar, ihu unfeigned Love to 
 him may be the predominant affetlion Ot our fou.s. And being 
 free from the spirit of bondage and fhvifh fear, we muft make 
 Love and Thankjulnefs the fum of our Religion : and think 
 not any thing will prove us Chriftians without prevailing Love 
 to Chrifi, nor that any duty is accepted that proceeded! not 
 from ir. 
 
 9. Redemption muft teach us to apply our felves to the 
 holy Laws and Example of our Redeemer for the forming and 
 ordering of our hearts and lives. 
 
 10. And it muft quicken us to Love the Lord with a re- 
 doubled vigour, and to obey with double refolucion and dili- 
 gence , becaufe we are under a double obligation. Whar. 
 fhould a people fo Redeemed efteem too much or too dear 
 for God? 
 
 O 2 II. Redem- 
 
i co of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 ii. Redemption muft make us a more Heavenly people, as 
 being Redeemed to the incorruptible inheritance in Heaven.: 
 [The blifiedGod and Father of our Lord Jefm Chrift, according 
 to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope , 
 b] the Refurrctlion of fefus Chrift from the dead, to an inheri- 
 tance incorruptible, unde filed, and that fade th not away , re- 
 ferved in Heaven for us , who are kept by the power of Gud 
 through faith unto falvation~\ I Pet. I. 3. 
 
 1 2. Laftly Redemption mult caufc us to walk the more care- 
 fully,and with a greater care to avoid all fin, and to avoid che 
 chreatned wrath of God, becaufe fin againft fuch unfpeakablc 
 Mercy isunfpeakably great,and condemnation by a Redeemer 
 for defpifing his grace will be a double condemnation, Joh. 3. 
 19.36. 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 
 u.'TpHE third Relation in which God is to be Known by 
 i us, is as he is our Santlifier and Comforter, which is 
 fpecially afcribed to the Holy Ghoft. And doubtlefs as the 
 'JDfpenfation of the Holy Ghoft is the Perfecting d\ffenfation % 
 without which Creation and Redemption would not attain their 
 ends- and as the fin againft the Holy Ghoft, is the great and 
 dangerous fin ; fo our Belief in the Holy Ghoft, and Know- 
 ledge of God as our Santlifier by the Spirit, is not the leaft or 
 lowefi ad of our faith or Knowledge. And it implieth or con- 
 tained thefe things following. 
 
 1. We muft hence take notice of the certainty of our com' 
 won original fin. The nccejfity of fanttificatnn provech the 
 corruption, as theneceftity of a Redeemer proveih the guilt : 
 It is rot one but all that are Baptized, that muft be Baptized in- 
 to the Name of the Son and Holy Ghoft, as well as of the Father : 
 which is an entering into Covenant with the Son m our Re- 
 deemer, *.nd with the Holy Ghoft ai our Santlifier. So that 
 Infants themfelves muft be Santlified or be none of the Church 
 of Chrift , which confifteth of Baptized Santlified perfons. 
 ^Except a man be born again (even of the Spirit > as well as 
 
Pare I. Of the Knowledge of God. 101 
 
 water) he cannst enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.~\ For that 
 which is born of the fie fh is fie Jh, and that Vvhich is bom of the 
 Spirit is Spirit, Joh. 3.3,5,6. and therefore the flefhly birth 
 producing not a Spiritual creature, will noc fave without the 
 Spiritual birth : The words are mod plain • not only againft 
 them that deny Original fin, but againfttheoi that mifunder- 
 ftanding the nature of Redemption, do think that all Infants 
 are meetly by the price paid, put into a ftate of Salvation, and 
 have the pardon of their Original fin in common, attending 
 their natural Birch. But thefemen (hould confider, i. Thac 
 this text and conftant experience tell us that the new Birth 
 doth not thus commonly to all accompany the natural birth : 
 and yet without the new birth none can be faved, nor without 
 Holinefs any fee God. 2. That Pardon of (in is no mans upon 
 the bare f up ring of Jefus Chrift -, but muft be theirs by fome 
 Covenant or Promije conyeying to them a Right to the benefits 
 of his fuffering. And therefore no man can be faid to be 
 pardoned or faved (without great arrogancy in che affirmer) 
 that hath not from God zpromife of fuch mercy. But no 
 man can (hew any Promife that giveth Remiffionof Original 
 y7»coall Infants. Produce it, or prefume noc to affirm it, 
 left you fall under the heavy doom of thofe that add to his 
 holy Word. The Promife is to the faithful and their feed, 
 The reft are not the children of the promife , but are under the 
 commination of the violated Law; which indeed is difpenfa- 
 ble-, and therefore we cannot fay that God will par don none of 
 them ; but withal, we cannot fay that he will, unlefs he had 
 told us (o. All the world are in a neceffity of a Saniliper : 
 and therefore mod certainly ('even finccChrifts death) they 
 are naturally corrupted. 
 
 2. And as our Belief in the HoljGhofizs S an Bi per 3 engzgeth 
 us to acknowledge our Original fin and mifery, to doth it en- 
 gage us to magnifie his renewingwork^of grace, and be con- 
 vinced of the neceffity of it, and to confefs the inefficiency of 
 corrupted nature to its own renovation. As no man muft 
 difhonour the work of our Creator •, and therefore our facul- 
 ties of Redfen and natural Freewill are not to be denyed or 
 reproached: fo muft we be as careful that we difhonour not 
 the works of our Redeemer or Sanftifier : and therefore 'the 
 
 O 3 vickufnefi 
 
OfthtKnmUigtoiCod. Part 7 
 
 vidcHfmfs and ill Mfyf e j wfj f t h*ft facil!riec . . ' 
 
 thraldom of our mils to rheir' . X /. acu,c, «s , and the 
 
 <«*£" m uft Jr«S a S'Ssg Mc lrfTr' ■*"»** 
 
 the cure. It j s not innennn.'c f "^ of Grace to work 
 
 ? d m irah,e a pale o°f EX? n tt we^To £" ** ^ 
 hue us from cur fin aid miferv ,h„ '1 f? eemus ' &nd 
 our d.feales, and make our £st r T e ^haf *t ° f ^ 
 «* ««. of the %yW , JfS ' V t he c Ure W t s ,laVe b " C 
 *»*««>-, and conlequentlv deferve-h „„7 V w great 
 
 the Church ,s troubled Wen f ^ >7^ ' " nQW 
 CM., that i„ chefe poin ZZ Zl J3 o cSea^ O^ 
 , We denymg t be ^V„„ W „„ w a *, t ,e oth er rh^ ' 
 ff»r«4/ way of God in our recovers fV i , e °»»</'«- 
 
 robbing tb* J jUJ n / nd 4kw t the t n r P 'r' y 
 recovery. But it is the lar*.r /h ^ -• , . , e "onour of our 
 to fpeak to I fa Ik^Z^ZrVI? 1 ^'*™™ 
 would draw you toeSnuaTe c ? S*?^' f < 
 
 . Doth it not implyc£:S d £ ^'o?.^ ^ W 
 
 ot the 7V»«jr of>r/«M that we are baptized Ir ;« 1 ^ 
 « ■•«*»*«« into our happy Relation to rl J ,1 ?T C ?" 
 
 t", ad '" m »» be thus «/-J ro thej«ff fi 7 C ^ 
 «,2fir 'an Jr l^ Zl^f^' that We Va,ue 
 
 J&efi. 2 . 
 
Parti. of ihe Knowledge ef God. x©. 
 
 Que (I. 2. Why is It thir.k yon that the HolyGkfl and 
 this renewing work^, are fo much magnified in the Scripture ? 
 Is not the glory of it anfwerabie to thofe high expfeftfohs ? 
 undoubtedly it is. i have already told you elfewhere of (he 
 Elogiesof this work. It is that by which Cbrifi dwelUth in 
 them, and they are made a habitation of God by the spirit, Eph. 
 g. 17. and 2.22. They are made by it the Temples of the Holy 
 Ghofl, 1 Cor. 6.19. Itis ihc Divine Power (whichis no other 
 then Omnipotence ) that giveth us all things pertaining unto 
 Life and Godlinefs, 2 Pet. I. 3- Think not i befeech youany 
 lower of this work then is confident with thefe expreflionc. 
 It is the opening of the blind eyes of oar under ft anding, and turn- 
 ing us from darknefs to light, and from the power of Satan unta 
 God, and bringing us into his marvellous light, Ad 26. 18. 
 Eph. 1. 18. 1 Pet. 2.9. It is an inward t e aching of us by God ^ 
 Joh. 6. 45. 1 Thef. 4. 9. an effectual teaching and anointing, 
 1 Joh. 2. 27. and a writing the Latys in our hearts and putting 
 them in our inward parts, Heb. 8. 10, n. I purpofely for- 
 bear any expoficion of thefe texts, left I feem to diftort them • 
 , and becaufe I would only lay the naked Word of God before 
 your own impartial confiderations. It is Gods work, D y the 
 Spirit, and not our own as ours that is here fo much magnified. 
 And can all this fignifie no more but a common bare propofal 
 of truth and good to the intellect and will •, even fuch as igno- 
 rant and wicked men have? Doth God do as, much to illu- 
 minate, teach, andfandifle them that miieY Ore ffturninated, 
 or taught, and fandified, as them that are ? This work of the 
 Holj Ghoft is called a quickning, or making men that were dead, 
 alive, Eph. 2. t,2. Rom. 6.1 1, 13. It is called anew begetting 
 or new birth, without which none can enter into heaven, fob. 
 3.3,5,6. A renewing us, and making us new men, and new 
 creatures-, fo far as that old things are pafl away, and aU become 
 new, Eph. 4. 23,24. Col. 3. 10. 2 Cor. 5. 17. It is a new 
 creating us after the Image of God, Eph. 4. 24. It makech us 
 Hclj as God is Holy, 1 Per. 1. 15,16. yea it rnikeih us par- 
 takers of the Divine nature, 2 Pet. 1,4. It giveth us repentance 
 to the acknowledging of the truth, that we may recover our f elves 
 out of the fnare of the Devil, who were taken capliv; by him at 
 hU willy 2 Tim. 2. 25,26, It giveth us that Love by which 
 
 God 
 
104 °f the Knowledge of Cod. Part I. 
 
 God Arvelleth in us, and we in God, I Job. 4, 16. We are re- 
 deemed by Chub from all iniquity, and therefore it is that 
 he gave him/elf for us, to purlfie to himfelf a peculiar people 
 zeslous of good \\yjrkj, Tit. 2. 14. It is an abundant [bedding of 
 the HelyGbofi onus for cur renovaticn,T\t. 3.5,6. and by 1: 
 afheddingthe Lcve of God abroad in our hearts, Rom. 5. 5. Ic is 
 this Holy Spirit given to believers by which they pray, and by 
 which they mortifiethe fte/hjad. 20. Rom. 8. 26. 13". By this 
 Spirit we live, and wal^zndrcjoyce, Rom. 8. 1 . and 14. 17. 
 Our joy, and peace, and hofe is through the power of the 
 HcljGhoft, Rom 15. 13. legiveth us a fpiritual mind, and 
 takcth away the carnal mind that is enmity againfl God, and 
 neither is nor can be fubjett to his law, Rom. 8. 7. By this Spirit 
 that is giren to us, we muft knoW that we are Gods children, 
 I Joh. 3. 24. & 4. I 3. For if any man have not the fpirit of 
 thrift , the fame is none of his, Rom. 8, 9. All holy graces are 
 thefrmtsof the fpirit, Gal. 5. 22, 23. Ic would be too long 
 to number the feveral excellent effects of the farcifying Work 
 of the fpirit upon the foul, and to recite the Elogles of it in 
 the Scripture. Surely it is no low or needlefs thing which all 
 thefe expre/fions do intend. 
 
 guefi. 3 . If you think it a molt hainous fin to vilifie the Cre- 
 ator and his work, and the Redeemer and his work, why fhould 
 not you think fo of the vilifying of the fantlifier and his work, 
 when God hath fo magnified it, and will be glorified in it ? and 
 when it is the applying perfecting work, that maketh the pur- 
 chafed benefits of Redemption to be ours, and formeth our 
 Fathers Image on u?. 
 
 Qveft. 4. Do we not Dodrinally commit too much of that 
 fin ( it we undervalue the Spirits fantltfying wor^ as a com- 
 mon thing) which the ungodly world do manifcit in pratlice, 
 when they fpeak and live in a contempt or low eiteem of grace? 
 And which is more injurious to God? for a prophane perfon 
 to jcR at the Spirits work, or for a Chriftian or Minifter deli- 
 berately to extenuate it ? efpecially when the preaching of 
 grace* a Minifters chief work , fure we fhould much fear 
 partaking info great a fin. 
 
 gucf. 5 . Why is it that the Scripture fpeaks fo much to take 
 men eff from boa/ling or afcribing any thing to themfelves? 
 
 Rom* 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. jo; 
 
 Rom* 3. 19. That every mouth may be flopped • and why doth 
 noc the Law of works exclude boafling but only the Law of 
 faith /Rom. 3.27. Surely the actions of nature ( excepc fo 
 far as it is corrupt) areas truly cf God, as the ads of grace. 
 And yet God will not take it well to deny him the glory of 
 Redemption, or Santtification, and tell him that we paid it him 
 in another k}*d) and afcribed all to him as the author of our 
 free wi //by natural produtlion. For as Nature fliall honour 
 the Creatour, fo Grace (hall alfo honour the Redeemer and San* 
 tlifier. And God defigneth the humbling of the ftnner, and 
 teaching him to denyhimfelf; and to honour God in fuch a 
 way as may (land with felf abafement, leaving it to God to ho- 
 nour thole by way of reward, that honour him in way of du- 
 ty, and deny their own honour. 
 
 £lu>eft. 6. Why is the Blafpheming, and finning againft the 
 Holy Ghofl made 10 hainous and dangerous a fin, if the works 
 of the Holy Ghofl were not moll excellent, and fuch as God 
 will be mod honoured by ? 
 
 ^ffl.j. Is it not exceeding ingratitude for the foul that 
 hath been illuminated, converted, renewed, quickened and 
 laved by the HAy Ghofl, to extenuate the mercy, and afcribe 
 it molt to his natural Will ? O what a change was it that San- 
 dt.ftcation made? whatablefTed birth- day was that to our 
 fouls when we entered here upon Life Eternal / Joh. 17. 3. 
 And is this the thanks we give the Lord for io great a 
 Mercy 1 
 
 J^eft.8. What mean thofe texts, if they confute not this 
 unthankful opinion? Phii2.1i. [itu God that workjthin 
 you to Will and to do of his good pleafure~\ Eph.2. 7,8,9, 10. 
 God hath raifed w up together, and made ns fit together in hea- 
 venly places in Chrifl Jefm , that in the ages to come he might 
 fliew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kjndxefs towards 
 us through Chrifl Jefm: For by Qrace ye are faved through 
 faith, and that not of ^ your J r elves ,it is the gift of God • Not of 
 workj left any man fhould boaft • For we are his workmanflAp 
 Created to Good works in Chrifl Jefus'] The like is in Tit. $. 
 5>^-7- J°h. 15. 16. Te have not cho fen me, but Ihavecho' 
 fen you, and ordained you that you Jhouldgo and bring forth fruit, 
 that y:ur fruit fhwld remain^ 1 Joh. 4. IO. Herein is 
 
 P Love : 
 
1 06 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 Love : not that we loved God, but that he loved m -] 1 Cor. 
 
 4.7. Forwhomaketh thee to differ . ? and what haft that thou 
 that thou did ft not receive ] Job. 6. 44. No man an come unta 
 me, except the Father which hath fent me draw him ] I Cor. 
 2. 1 4. The natural man recciveth r.ot the th'mgs of the 
 ffirit of God, for they are foolifhnefs unto him, neither can he 
 knew them, becaufe they are (piritually dijeernedj] Joh. 3. 6. 
 That which is born of the flefi is ftfh,and that which is born of 
 the ffirit is $f)irit~] that is, plainly, the flefilj birth produ- 
 ceth but fie/hand not ffirit^ if any man will have the fpiric 
 (and fo be faved) it mult be by a fpiritual begetting and 
 birth by the Holy Ghoft, Act. 16. 14. The LordopenedLydiz'j 
 heart that /he attended to the things that were (poken of Pa u ), 
 &c. ] Was the Converfion of Paul a murdering perfecu ce r 
 his own nwi^rather then the Lords, when the means and man- 
 ner were fuch as we read of ? Ad. 22.14. Q The God of our 
 Fathers hath chofen thee that thoufhouldft know his Will, and f ee 
 that yuft one, and hear the voice of his mouth, &c] He was 
 chofen to the Means and to faith, and not only in faith to frl- 
 vation. WhenChnft caikd his Difciples to come and follow 
 him, was there no prevailing inward pswer that rmde them 
 leave all and follow him ? And was it not the poWer of the Ho- 
 lyGhofi that Converted three thvufand Jewes at aSermo^of 
 "them that by wicked hands had Crucified and flain the Lord 
 Jefus?>2#. 2.23,41. When the Preaching and Miracles of 
 Chrift Converted fo few; his Brethren, and they that (aw his 
 Miracles believed not on him, Job. 12. 37. & 5. 38. & 6. 36. 
 &7. 5. but when the Holy Ghoft was given after his Af ceri ^ 
 in that plenty which anfwered the Gofpel and promife, his 
 words were fulfilled, Joh. 12. 32. [And J if J be lifted upfront 
 the earth, will draw all men unto me. j I pafs by abundance 
 more fuch evidence. 
 
 £l*i- ft: 9- Doth it not tend to bring fin into credit which 
 holinefs is contrary to, and to bring the love of God into dif- 
 credit,andto hinder mens Conversion* and keep them from a 
 holy life, when holinefs is taken for fo low and natural or com- 
 mon a thing? 
 
 Queft. 10. And confequently doth it not tend to the 
 vilifying of the Attribute of Holinefs in God 9 when the 
 
 Imagz 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 1 07 
 
 Image and effect of it is fo extenuated ? 
 
 J£*efl. 11. And doth it not tend to the contempt of He a- 
 venit ielf,whofe ftate of felicity confifteth much in per f el 
 Holinefst And if San&ification be but fome common motion, 
 which Cain and ^udas had as well as Taul, fure ic is UfsDi* 
 vine and more inconfiderab/e then we thought. 
 
 <£^/r. 12. Doth it not fpcakvery dangerous fufpicionof 
 a fom that never felt the fpecial work of grace, that can make 
 light of it, and afenbeitmofttohisown will? And would not 
 found Humiliation do more then Arguments to cure this great 
 miftake ? I never yet came neer a throughly-humbled foul, 
 but I found them too low and vile in their own eyes, to have 
 fuch undervaluing thoughts of grace, or to think it beft for 
 them to leave all the efficacy of grace to their own wills / A 
 broken heart abhors fuch thoughts. 
 
 J£ueft. 13. Dare any wife and fober man deftre fuch a thing 
 of God, or dare you fay that you will expetl no other Grace, but 
 what (hall leave ic to your felves to make it effe&ual or fru- 
 ftrateit? I think he is no friend to his foul that would take 
 up with this. 
 
 £>ueft. 14. Do not the conftant Prayers of all that have but 
 a fhew of godlinefs contradict the dodrine which I am con- 
 tradicting ? Do you not beg of God to me It and [often and 
 bow your hearts, and to make them more holy, and fill them 
 with light, and faith,and Love, and hold you clofe to God and 
 duty / In a word, do you not daily pray for effectual grace, 
 that (hall infallibly procure your defired ends? I fcarce ever 
 heard a prayer from a fober man but was orthodox in fuch 
 points,though their fpeeches would be heterodox. 
 
 Jjhtefi. 1 5 . Do you not know that there is an enmity in every 
 unrenewed heart againft fwtlification till God remove it ? Are 
 we not greater enemies to our felves,and greater refill ers of the 
 Holy Ghoft, and of our own converfion and fan&ification and 
 falvation, then all the world bifides is ? wee to him thatfeel- 
 cth not this by himfelf. And is it likely that we that are ene- 
 mies to holinefs (hould do more to our own Sanctification, 
 then the Holy Ghoft? Woe to us if he conquer not our en- 
 mity. 
 
 £mJI. 16. Is it probable that fo great a wor^s the deftroy- 
 
 P 2 ing 
 
108 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 ng of our dcareft fins, the fetting our hearts and all our hopes 
 on an Invifible glory, and delighting in the Lord, and lor- 
 fakingall for him, &c. fhould come rather from the choice of 
 a will that loveth thofe fins, and hateth that holy heavenly life, 
 then from the fpirit of Chriit. ? fure this is much above us. 
 
 ^*efi. 17. Whence is it that fo often one man that hath 
 been a notorious (inner is Converted by a Sermon, when a 
 civiler man, of better nature and life, is never changed though 
 he have that and ten times more perfwafions ? 
 
 ^eft. 18. Doth not experience tell impartial obfervers, that 
 the high efteemersof thefandifying work of the Holy Ghoft, 
 are ordinarily of more holy heavenly lives, then they that ufe 
 to afcribe the differencing work to their free wills ? In my ob • 
 fervarion it is (o. 
 
 Jiluefi. 1 9- Should not every gracious humble foul, be more 
 cnclmed to magnifie God thenhimfelf ? and to give him the 
 Glory, then to give it to our (elves, efpecially in a cafe where 
 Scripture and experience telleth us that we are more unlikely 
 then God to deferve the praife } Our deftrudion is of our 
 fe! ves but in him is our help, Hof. 13.9. When we fee an ef- 
 fect and know it, and the caufes that are in queftion, it is eafie 
 to conjecture from the quality which it the true eaufe. If I 
 fee a Serpent brought forth, I will fooner think that it was ge- 
 nerated by a Serpent then a Dove. If I fee fin in the world, I 
 (hall eafily believe it is the fpawn of this corrupted will, that 
 is fo prone to it. But if 1 find a divine nature m me, or fee a 
 holy heavenly life in any, I mult needs think that this is liker to 
 be the work of theblefled God, then of fuch a naughty heart 
 as mans, that hath already been, a felf-deftroyer. 
 
 Slgfft- 20 - What motive hath any man to exalt himfelf, and 
 fin again the Holy Ghoit by fuch an extenuation of his faving 
 grace? It is a caufelefs, fruhlefsfin. The only reafon that 
 ever I could hear for it, was left the dodrine of differencing 
 gracefhould make God a refpederof perfons, or the author 
 of fin, of which there is no reafon of a fufpicion. We all 
 agree that no man perifhech or is denyed Grace, but fuch as 
 deferve it: And when all deferve it.it is no more refped of per- 
 fons in God to fandifie fomeonlyof thofe ill defervers, then 
 it is that he makes not all men Kings, nor every dog or toad 
 
 a man. 
 
Pare I. of the Knowledge of God. 109 
 
 a man, nor every ftar a Sun, or every manor Angel. To char 
 rf/Zobjedfrons concerning this would be but to digrefs. 
 
 3. Laftly, Our knowledge of the Holy Ghoft mud raife 
 us to an high eftimation of his works, and a ready reception 
 of his graces and cheerful obedience to his motions. He San- 
 ctified our Head, that had no fin, by preventing fin in his con- 
 ception, and he annoinced him to his office, and came upon 
 him at his Baptifm • He Sanctified and anointed the Prophets 
 and Apoftles to their offices, and by them endited the holy 
 Scripture. ' He illuminatetb, converted), fan&ifieth and gui* 
 deth all that are to be the heirs of life. This is his work. Ho- 
 nour that part of it that is done on Chrifr, on the Prophets, 
 Apoftles, and the Scriptures ^ and value and feek after thac 
 which belongeth to your felves. Think not to be Holy with- 
 out the Sandifier, nor to do any thing well without 
 the fpirit of Jefus Chrift, who is Chrifts internal invifible 
 Agent hereon earth (as Tertullian in the Churches Creed 
 fpeaks, mi fit vicariam vim ffiritus fantti qpti credentes agat.) 
 O that men knew how much of their well-iare dependeth on 
 a faithful obeying of the Holy Ghoft/ . 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 
 12. "T"*Henext part of our Knowledge of God is to know 
 4 'him in thofe great confequent Relations, to which he 
 is entitled by Creation and Redemprion, viz,, as he is Our 
 Abfolute Lord, or Owntr, our msfi Righteous Governour t and 
 0U mofi Bountiful or Gracious Father or Benefactor. 
 
 1 . God both as our Creator and Redeemer hath Jus Domi- 
 ttii, an Abfolute Dominion of the world •, that is, He is our 
 Owner or Proprietary , and we are his Own ^ For we take noc 
 the term £ Lord/hip or Dominion^ here in the loojer fenfeas 
 it fignifieth a Ruler ^ but in the ftritler fenfe as it fignifieth 
 an Owner. Of this Relation I have already fpoken in a Sermon 
 of [Chrifts Dominion :.] and therefore fhall fay the lefs in this 
 place. 
 
 The Knowledge of Gods Dominion or Propriety mud com- 
 
 P 3 prehendj 
 
i io ofthe Knowledge of God. Tart I. 
 
 prehend, i. The certain truth of this his right ^ 2.The fulnefs 
 of ir. 3 .'The effects that it mud have on us. 
 
 I. And the Truth of it is beyond difpuce, even among In- 
 fills that know there is a God. He that made us of his own 
 materials, or of nothing, muft needs be the OVvner of us • And 
 fo muft he that Bought *f from deftrudion. Ezek. 18.4. Be- 
 hold all fouls are Mine :] R° m > *4- 9. To this end Chrifi both 
 djed, rofe and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and 
 living^ Joh. 16. 14, 15. All things that the Father hath are 
 Mine] The Father then hath this Propriety by Creation, and 
 the (on by Redemption : and the Father alfo by communication 
 with the Son in Redemption -, and the Son by communication, 
 with the Father in Creation. 
 
 II. And it muft be the mofi Absolute Plenary Dominion, 
 becaufe the very Being of all the Creatures is from God, and 
 therefore no one can be co-ordinate with him, or bis corrival, 
 nor any thing limit his Intereft in us. 
 
 I I I. And the effe&s that this muft have upon us , are thefe 
 
 following. 
 
 1. Hence we muft conclude and reverently and willingly 
 confefs that further then he voluntarily doth oblige himfelf to 
 us, it is impoffible thatCW fhouldbe our Debtor ; and confe- 
 quently that upon terms of commutative fuftice we (hould 
 Merit any thing of God. For what can we render to him but 
 huOm? Andhowfhouldhe (properly and Antecedently; 
 be indebted to and for his Own i 
 
 2. And we muft conclude, that (antecedently to his Laws 
 zn&promife) it is impoffible that God can do us any wrong, or 
 any thing that he can do can be guilty of injuftice : For 
 ?a/?i<re giveth to all //;;*> Own ; and therefore it giveth No- 
 thing to us from God, but what he voluntarily giveth us fomftlf, 
 which therefore is firft a gift of Bounty, and but fecondanly a 
 Due in Juftice. . . 
 
 3. And therefore we muft hence learn, that Godmaydowith 
 his own as he lift. And therefore we mutt take heed iliac we 
 repine not at any of his Decrees or Providences, or any paf- 
 fages concerning them in his word. Much may be above us, 
 becaufe our blindnefs cannot reacluhereafons of his wayes • 
 
 but nothing is unreaf enable or evil -, For all proceeded from 
 
 Infinite 
 
Part !• of the Rnwltdgt efCod. \ 1 1 
 
 Infinite fVifoom and Goodnefs, as well as from Omnipotency ; 
 As no manmuft/ftp any thing of God, and fay {This is his 
 Decree, or Word or Providence •, and therefore it is good, ,] when 
 there is no fuch thing r*^.*/^ to us ^ fo when we hVid that it 
 \s indeed Revealed^ our Reafon muft prefently fubmit, and un- 
 doubtedly conclude it reafenable and good. Yet is there no 
 caufe from hence to fear, left God (liould condemn the innocent, 
 or break his promifei, and deny us the reward •, nor is there 
 any hope to wicked men that he (hould violace his peremptory 
 threatnings, or ( as they call it in their felfifh language) be 
 better then his word : Becaufe though God have an Abfolme 
 Propriety, and therefore in regard of his intereft or Power, 
 may do what he Will, yet he is effentially alfo moft wife and 
 Good, and accordingly hath fitted all things to their ufe, and 
 taken upon him the Relation of our Governour, and as it were 
 obliged himfelf by his Laws and Covenants, and declared him- 
 felf to be mo ft fuft •, and (hewed us hereby chat he Will do no- 
 thing contrary to thefe. As there is no contradiction, but 
 moft perfect Unity in Gods Omnipotency , Wifdom and Goodnefs -, 
 his Dominion or Propriety, his Kingdom, and Paternity >, fo 
 (hall there be no contradiction, but a perfed Concord of ail 
 thefe in the exercife. He therefore that as our King or Go- 
 vernour, hath undertaken to advance the Godly, and deftroy 
 the wicked, will not by the exercife of his Abfolute Dominion, 
 deny himfelf, nor be unfaithful to his people or to his rules of 
 Government. 
 
 If you ask me, in what cafe's then this Dominion is exer- 
 cifed ? 1 anfwer, i.In laying the Foundations of laws, and 
 Right. 2. In the Difpofal of the unreafonable Creatures. 3. In 
 abundance of things about his Rational Creatures, wherein as 
 Reclor he is not engaged, nor hath in hisLaws declared his will- 
 {"As about the various conftitutions and complexions of men, 
 their ranks and dignities in the world, their riches or poverty, 
 their health, or ficknefs, their gifts and parts both natural and 
 acquired •, the fir ft giving of the Gofpel , and of fpecial 
 Grace, to fuch as had forfeited them, and had no promife of 
 them : the degrees of outward means and mercies -, the de- 
 grees of inward grace, more then what is promifed, &c.) 
 From hence alfo we mull learn, not to repine at the provi- 
 
in Of the Knowledge of God. Part I, 
 
 dences o( Cod about his Church, which are ftrange to us and 
 paft our reach , and feera to make againft it wellfare. Remem- 
 ber that as he may do with his own as he lift, fo we have no 
 reafon to think that he will be lavifli or dilregardful of his 
 own. The Church is not ours but Gods : and therefore he is 
 fitter then we to be trufted with it. 
 
 And fo in our own diitreiTes by afflidion • when flefli re 
 pmeth, let us remember, that we are his Own, and he may do 
 withusashcpleafe. If webepoor, defpifed, Tick and mifc. 
 rablein the world, let us remember that as it is no injury to 
 the beafls that they are not men y ot to the worms that they are 
 rot^/?/,ortothe;/^r/that they have not fenfe, or to the 
 ftars that they are not funs . fo it is no wrong to the fubkcls 
 chat they are not Princes, or to the poor that they are non 
 
 r A i ?* Z0 ^ ftck - thaC they are not healthful. May not 
 God do with his own, as he lift ? (hall a Beggar grudec that 
 yougivenot^/thathedefireth,when you are not bound to 
 give him anything? 
 
 4- Yea hence we muft learn to be the more Thankful f or 
 all our mercies, becaufe they proceed from the Abfolute Lord 
 that ^was not obliged to us. He might have made us Ideots or 
 madmen s he might have us hafts or toads, without any inju- 
 ry to us • And the Mercies which are confidently from his 
 Frormfe,w 'Antecedently from his Propriety and Dominion . 
 t^or he might have put us into other capacities, and have cho- 
 len not to have made thofe promifes, And his tromifes bind 
 us not to be left thankful but wore. As his mercies are not 
 the/,/, mercies but the greater for being promifed ; becaufe 
 
 we have now the comfort and ufe of them in the promifc be- 
 fore we have them. ' 
 
 5. Hence alfo we mud learn, that there can be no fimple ab- 
 folute Propriety in any Creature. No creature gave ail the Be- 
 >ȣand well being ro another that it hath, and this originally 
 as of its Own. We being not Our Own but God's, cannot have 
 any thing that is Abfdutelyour Own. Hnmane Propriety is but 
 derived limited,^ refpetlive. Our Goods, and Lands, and 
 Lives are Ours • that is, they arc Ours to Vfe for God, as the 
 J»ftmmenJs of a workman to do his work- but not ours to 
 ufe ar we think meet. They are fo curs as that men may not 
 
 take 
 
Part I. Of the Knwkdgt $fGod. 1 1 3 
 
 take'them from us, but God may take them from us at his 
 pleafurc. And therefore think not you may rmfpend a penny 
 if you were never fo rich, becaufe it is your own • but know 
 that you muft mifpend nothing, becaufe it is not your own, buz 
 
 6. Principally we mud: hence learn to Deny our [elves as 
 bein\notourown, and having nothing in the world that is our 
 Own, in refyti to God, the abfolute Owner. And therefore 
 above all the fins of your fouls , ftill watch agamft this fclfijh- 
 nefs • left you (hould.grow to look at your Time , your 
 Strength your Wealth, your Inter efts as your own, and forget 
 that you are meer ftewards s and fay as the ungodly Pfal. 
 12 4. [Our lips are our own ; Who is Lord over m J 'J O take 
 heed that you ufe not your ftrength, or intereft, or any thing 
 for pur [elves: no not fo much as your food and rayraent, 
 1 Cor 10 31. that is, for your [elves ultimately, or not in 
 [ubordination to the Lord. For (elf as [ubjetl unto God, or as 
 clofed with him in the bond of Love, is no longer/*// 1« lenmtj 
 and oppofition, nor that which we are forbidden to feek or 
 
 ferve. , . , n 
 
 7. And this Knowledge of the Dominion oi Goa muit pre- 
 vail with us eflfedually to Reftgn our [elves absolutely to him. 
 Our conftnt doth give him no title to us, but it is oeceflary to 
 our well-fare that we confefs his title. AH men, even the 
 Kicked are his Own: but that is againft their wills .- but the 
 godly are willingly his Own, and dttdaim all intereft in them- 
 felvcs but what is duely fubordinate to his : The name ofOod 
 is put upon them, as you put your names on your goods or 
 fheep. E&k. 16.8. I /ware unto thee, and entered into a Co- 
 venant with thee, faith the Lord, and thou became ft mine] Mai. 
 3 17 [And they fhall be mine faith the Lord in that day when 
 Intake up txy jewels] To be entirely his by Covenant is proper 
 to a Stint : For fanttification bach thefe parts • one is the 
 habitual devotion of the loul to God, and the other is the aBual 
 dedication, and a third is the relation of the per fen as th H* aeat- 
 cated, and the fourth is the aUmlufing of our (elves for God. 
 TtvTe four.are the parts of Sar.ftificacion •, io chat all is buc 
 our Giving up our felves to God. But to be his m Right is 
 common w the Drwfaandmoft ungodly. The Hearts of the 
 
 o lanctihea 
 
H4 °f ^ e Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 (an&ifcd do refolvedly and delightfully fay £ Cant .2. 16. 
 Jtfj beloved is mine, and Jam his] and 6 5. Q/^w my beloveds ^ 
 and my beloved is mine"] See then that you keep noc any thing 
 Kick, but refign upyour felves entirely to God, as thofe that 
 know they are wholly his. 
 
 2. And with our ielveswe muft refignup all to God that we 
 have. For if we are not our own but fj*/, then our children^ our 
 n:alth y our wrj, our /-/>/*, our abilities and all that we have 
 are /;*/. All is not to be ufedone way r or God : not all to the 
 poor, nor all to the Commonwealth, nor all tothedired pro- 
 moting of his wor/hip : but all mull be his, and ufed tor him, 
 in one way or other, and in thofe wayes which he requirech. 
 PolTefs not any thing meerly for your felves. 
 
 9. And efpecially fee to it in the ufe and improvement , that 
 you ufe your/f/i^.r andall that you have for God. Let this be 
 your intention, trade and fludj. See that you be alwayes at his 
 Vpork^-, that if a man come in upon you any hour of the day, 
 and ask you what you are doing, and whofe workiz is that you 
 are upon, you may truly be able to fay, the Lords. Ifyoube 
 asked, who you are now fpeakingfor, or fpending your time 
 for, or for whom you do expend your wealth }] you may 
 truly fay of every hour, and every penny, and every word, 
 [Itis for the Lord.] Even that which you give your children 
 or friends, and that which you receive for your fupport or 
 comfort, nny all be principally and ultimately for God : £Ye 
 are not you*' own •, for ye are bought with a price : therefore 
 giorifie Goi in your body ~ and in your fpirit, which are 
 Gods] 1 Cor. 6. 1 9, 20. \Chrifl dyed for all, that they which 
 live, fhoptldnot henceforth live unto themfelves, but to him that 
 dyed for them, androfe again, 2 Cor. 5.15* 
 
 IO. Laftly, This mufl be a flay to the fouls of true believers, 
 andcaufe them with comfort to truff themfelves and all their 
 affairs in the hands of God. When we have nrft made it our 
 care to give to Q&d the things that are God's, Mat. 22. 21 . and 
 heartily confecrated our (elves and all that Vve have to him as 
 his o^n y we have no reafon to doubt of his acceptance, nor of 
 his care and protection and merciful diffojal of us. This is a 
 wonderful comfort to poor Chrilhans, to think that they have 
 Indian Owner. Whoever is againit you Chnitians, be fure 
 
 of 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. i T j 
 
 of it God will look to you, as his own I And if you do but pro~ 
 mife another that you will be as careful of his child, his horfe, 
 his goods, as if they were your own, he will think you fay as 
 much as can be expeded. If you be poor, or fick, or defoUte, 
 you may be fure that yet God will look to you as his own. 
 And why fhould you think he will be carclefs oi his own ? 
 Ground your prayers and confidence or. this, as D <vid do^h, 
 Pfal. 119.94. I am thine, faveme7\ And in all our labours 
 rnd he affairs of our lives, when our confciences can fay that 
 we live to God, aid ftudy to do all we do for him, and to im- 
 prove all oui time and parts and ocher talents whisu/e, it may 
 very much quiet us in all his difpofals of us. If he keep us in 
 theloweit cafe, if we be his, wemuftreft in his wifdom, chat 
 knows h&hvwioufehisown. Ifhe uktoyxr friends fromus, 
 he takc.h bu his own. it' he deny his faving giwce to our un- 
 goi |y children ( a heavy judgement of which wemuft be fen- 
 fib cj yet when we f-avedevoced them to God, and d -neour 
 own p.irt, wemuft be filent as Aaron was when Lis foi > were 
 deftioyed, L tV 10. 3 andconiefs thatcl e Potter h*th power 
 ovtr his vwn claj, to muke of the fame lump avefitl to honour .»d 
 another t j ufror.'.ur, R m 9 21. Ail hi^difpoials (hall work 
 to that end winch is the nwi\ univerfal perfetl good, and moft 
 der-omnnteth ail the means. But thofe that are his own by 
 cenfem and Covenant may be fure that all {hull work to their 
 own good. Let us die with (Thrift, and be buried to the world", 
 and know no Lord or Owner but our great Creatour and Re- 
 deemer (except in a limited fubfervient fenfe) and then we 
 may boldly argue with him to the quiet of our fouls from this 
 Relation [lam thint,he/pme] Pfal. 35.23. Stir up thy [elf and 
 awuke to my judgement, even to my caufe^my Lord and my G*d\ 
 when faith and love have fir/} [aid as Thomas [my Lord and my 
 GWJJ0h.20.28. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 1 3 T *K E neXt Relacion t0 be Spoken of,is Gofofoveraigmy: 
 
 1 both by Creation and Redemption^ be hath the Ri^ht of 
 
 Governing us as our Sovereign King, and we are obliged to bt 
 
 Q 2 his 
 
j 1 6 Of the Knowledge cfCed. Part I. 
 
 " bis willing fvby lis, and asfuchto obey his holy laws. He is the 
 Lord or Owner of all tie World ■ even of Brutes as properly.as 
 of Man : But he is the Swtraign King or Govtrnour only of 
 the Reafonable Creature • becaule no other are capableof that 
 proper ^ Moral Government which now we fpeak of. Vulgarly 
 indeed his Phy fecal motions and difrofitions are called his Rule or 
 Government : and fo God is laid to Govern Brutes and inani- 
 mate creatures: but that isbuta Metal W/W expreiFion : as 
 zn Artificer Metaphorically Governeth his cloc\ or engineer a 
 Shepheardh'isfheep. But we now fpeak of proper moral Govern- 
 ment. God having made man a Rational and free agent having 
 an immortal foul, and capable of everlafting happinefs, his very 
 nature and the end of his creation required, that he fhould be 
 conduced to that end and happinefs by means agreeable to his 
 nature: that is, by the Revelation of the Reward before he 
 [eeth'xl, thathemav.Micandbe/i^^ for it : and by pre- 
 feribed duties that are ncceffary to obtain it, and to bis living 
 here according to his nature : and by threatned penalties to 
 quicken him to his duty : fo that he is naturally a creature to 
 be Governed, both as fociable, and as one to be conduced to 
 his end. He therefore that created him having alone both 
 Sufficiency and Right, doth by this very Creation become his 
 Governour. His Government hath two parts (the world being 
 thus confiitutedthe Kingdom of God) The firft is by Legifl ition y 
 or making Laws and Officers tor execution. Thefecond is by 
 the procuring the execution of thefe Laws: To which end he 
 doth exhort and perfwade the fubjetls to obedience, and judge 
 them according to their works, and execute his judgement. 
 Ulsfirfl Law was to Adam, the Law of Nature, obliging him 
 
 ■ to adhere to his Creator, and to love him, trufl him, fear him, 
 honour him, and dey him with all his might, in order to the 
 pleafmgof his Creator and the attainment of everlafting !,fe : 
 To which was added a pofitive Law, agamft the eating ot the 
 tree of Knowledge: and Death was the penalty du * c ° ™ e 
 finner: This Law was quickly broken by man • and God de- 
 layed not his judgement, but fentenced the Tempter, the Wo- 
 man and the Man: but not according to their merits: hue 
 -cioufly providing a Redeemer, he prcfently ftopt theexecu- 
 
 gr* k r the far grcateit pare of the penalty, the Son c^God 
 
 tion Oi K 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 1 1 7 
 
 undertaking as our furcry to become a facrifict and rtnfme 
 
 for us. Hereupon the Covenant of Grace was made, and the 
 La\* of Grace ena&ed wi:h mankind: but more obfeurely in 
 the beginning ; being cleared up by degrees in the fevcrai 
 Promifes to the Fathers, the types of the Law, and the Pro- 
 phecies of the Prophets of fcvcral ages , the Law being inter-. 
 pofed becaufe of tranfgreflion ; In the fulneis of time the Mef- 
 flah was incarnate, andtheflrft promifes concerning hm 1 ful- 
 filled and after his holy life, and preachings, and cor.queits of 
 the Tempter and the world , he gave himfelf a Ranfome for us, 
 and conquering Death he Rofe again, afcer.ded into Heaven, 
 being poffeffed in his manhood of the fulnefs or his power, and 
 all things being delivered into his hands • fo that he was made 
 the Qenerd Admimftrator, and Lord of all. And thus he 
 more clearly revealing his Covenant of Grace, and bringing 
 life and immortality to light, commiffioned his Minlflers to 
 preach this Gofbel to all the world. And thus the Primitive 
 Sever aign\s God, and the Sever aign by Derivation u f ejus the 
 Mediator in his manhood united to the fecond perfon m the 
 Godhead . and the Laws that we are governed by, are the 
 Law of Nature with the fuperadded Covenant of Gract •, the 
 fubordinate officers are Angels, Magiftraces, and Pallors of 
 the Church (having works ddlind) thefeciety ix felf is called 
 the Church and Kingdom of God • the Reward is everlafttng 
 glory, with the mercies of this life in order to it : and the 
 Pumpmen is everlafting miferj with the preparatory judge- 
 ments, efpecialiy on the ioul, which are here inflicted. Steeje- 
 aion is due upon our fir ft being ; and is confented to or vowed 
 in JBaptifme, and is to be manifefted in holy obedience to the 
 death. This is the S over aignty andGovtrnmemol God. And 
 now let us fee how God as our Sovereign mufl be knoVw. 
 
 1. The Princes, and all the Rulers of the world, rnuit un- 
 derhand their Place and Duty : They are fir ft Gods fubjetts, 
 and then hu officers, and can have no power but from Qod, Rom. 
 13.3,4. nor hold any but \n dependence onh\m, and iubor- 
 dination to him. Their -cwtr extendeth no further the 
 Heavenly Soveraign hath fignified his pleafure, and by com- 
 miffiontothem, or command tons, conferred it on them. A« 
 they have noftrmttk (or natural power) but from the Omm* 
 
 1 J * Q^ 3 potent 
 
1 1 8 Of the \Kmrvkdge of God. Part I. 
 
 C^i/r, aiU r hey h u Ven0 Amhorit y (V Governing Po- 
 Wro r Rtgh) b uc from the Abfdute King of all the world. 
 
 frnm'r a !! I PT endr0a Ri & ht0 * Governing not 
 > from Ood, chcn a fufiice or. Owrjfcrf/, may co fuch Po: 
 
 derived 
 ii Power noc 
 derived from ^earthly f over aigns. 
 
 ' P ' T ;? C ? an . d Scat t cs ail ° muft fc n <* underftand their 2<W 
 Wforfe Uod who is che Beginning, muft be the £W aifo of 
 tb&rGov4r*ment: Their £ 4W mult be but ^7- Laws fufar- 
 vitntto his Laws, ro further mens obedience to them. The 
 Common Good, which is their lower nearer End, muft be raea- 
 faredbyhislntcrefi in the Nations, and mens Relations un- 
 to W The Common pofTeffion of his favour, bleflin* and 
 pro;:etf:ion,tsthegreateit Common Good. His Intereftln us 
 and ours in him, muft therefore be principally maintained 
 
 2. The Knowledge of God as our Sovereign King, mutt brinjr 
 the whole man in [ubje&ion to him. Our Vnderfl findings muft be 
 fubjed to his Dodane • and rcfigncd to him, as teachable and 
 tradable : When we know what is hu Law and WUl, we muft 
 reft in it, though we know noc the Reafons ofir. We cake 
 not on us to be compecenc Judges of all the Reafons of the 
 Laws of men, but muft obey them without difputing the Rea- 
 fons (with the limitations after to be mentioned.) How much 
 more muft we fubmic to the wifdome of the Infallible Law- 
 giver, that cannot deceive, or be deceived / Our Wills alfo 
 muft be fully fubjed Co his Will, revealed by his Precepts. We 
 muft defire no more to move us, or to ftop us, but co know 
 whac God would have us do. As the firft wheels in a watch 
 or other engine movech all the reft, fo the Will of God muft 
 move all our Wills, and Rule our Lives. We muft take heed 
 above all things in the world, left our Wills ( which are che 
 lower Wheels) (hould have any fuch defeds, diftemp.rs, re- 
 ferves, any carnal byas, intereft, or inclination, that makes 
 them unfit to receive the Law of God, or be Ruled by his will. 
 We muft imitate our Lord (Hek 10. 7 J and learn of the Pro- 
 phet, Pful. 40. 8. \_1 delight to do thy Will, O Godr\ With 
 chearful rcadmefs ro obey, we muft ftand waiting for the 
 word of his Command- and fay as Pfal. 143. 10. Te*<h 
 meeto do thy Will, for thou art my God: ] And as Samuel, 
 (1 S*m. 3. 9.) Speal^Lord, for thy Servant hear -eth7\ When a 
 
 mans 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. 1 19 
 
 mans felfiflt carnal Will is mortified, and his Will lies flat be- 
 fore the Lord, and wholly applied) ltfelfto hu Will, and it is 
 enough to a m3n ro move him in the greatcfl matters, to 
 know that it is the Will of God, this is a ftate of true fubje&;on. 
 Thus muft we be in fubjctlion to the Father of Spirits, fubmit- 
 ting even to his (harpeit difpenfarions, Bib. 12. 9. And all the 
 Church is fubjetl unto Chrift, Ephef. 5. 24. And this is efftntiul 
 to our holy Covenant and Chriftianitj it fclf. When God is 
 taken tobe our God> and we give up our (elves to be his People -, 
 when Chrift is taken to be our Saviour, and we give up opir 
 f elves to him as his members, and redeemed ones, it effencially 
 containeth our taking him fer our chief Qovernour, and giving 
 up our f elves to him as his fub jells. Take heed of that wifdome 
 that would overtop the Wifdome of God, and be your Guide 
 ibfelf, without depending on hu\ \ Wifdome. This is thefoohfh 
 damning Wifdome of the World. Take heed of that Cone ft- 
 pifcence or Will that would be jour Ruler, and overtop the 
 Will of God. For this is the grand Rebel, and grcateft Enemy 
 of God and Us. 
 
 3. And Subjection muft produce Obedience •, Subjetlion is the 
 Confent of the Will te be Subjetls, and to Obey : Obedience is the 
 atlual performance of Commanded duties. Subjetlion is the roo t 
 of Obedience^ and Virtually eontaineth it : Obedience is the 
 fruit of fubjetliou, and fuppofeth ir. If God be your Mafter, 
 fhew it by his fear, or fervice : Mai. 1. 6. It is not calling 
 Chrift our King, but obeying him before all, that will prove us 
 fubjefls.N[&t.J.2i. [Not every one that faith unto mee. Lord, 
 Lord, {hall enter into the Kmgdome of Heaven : but ht that doth 
 the Will sfmy Father Which is in Heaven.'] Rom. 1 2. 1 , 2. [/ 
 befeecb you therefore Brethren, by the mercies of G*d, that you 
 prefent your bodies a living facrifice.holy, acceptable t9 Ggdyour 
 Reafonable fervice \ and bt not conformed to this s \orld , but he 
 you transformed (or turned into othej" men^ by the renewing 
 of your mwd y that you may prove what is that good, th^t acap- 
 table and perfttl Wdl of God.} £ And this is the Will of God, even 
 your fantlt fie ation~\ I Thel. 4.3. I Per 4. t,2, [_Fsrafmuch 
 then as Chrift hath fuffcred for us in the ft°jh, ,;m> your f elves 
 lifywife with the fame mind : For he that hath fujfered in the 
 flefifiath ceafed from Jin : that he no longer fhould live the reft of 
 
 hid 
 
1 20 of the Knowledge of God. Part L 
 
 his time in the flip), to the lufis of men, but to the Will of Godl 
 Yea we fnould \_fiand Perfett andcompleat in ail the W 11 of 
 G^Col/4. 12.] And by thepwer of the Word of God, eve- 
 ry thought fhould be brought in obedience unto Chriff\ 2 Cor, 10. 
 5. Our obedience fhould be publicl^znd exemplary, Rom. 16. 
 1 9 [Forfo is the Will of God, that with well doing we put tofi- 
 lence the ignorance of ' foolijh men} 1 Per. 2. 15. Obedience is be t- 
 tcr than facrifice, I Sam. 15. 22. Whatever you do, therefore 
 keep clofe to che Law of God. 
 
 4. To this end we mufi labour to hriow the Law, and be ac- 
 quainted with Geds Will. The book of Nature mull be itudied : 
 the holy Scripture muilbe fearched, Joh 5. 39. and meditated 
 tn both day and night, Pfal. I. 2. Princes mud have this Book 
 continually in their hands, Deut. 17. 18, 19, 20. Jofh. I. 8 o. 
 Rich and poor muft learn it, that they may Obey it, Dew 
 6.6,7. 
 
 5. And our fubjeBion to Qsd obligeth us to afubjeclionto the 
 Officers that hefetsover us. Jfany man fay to Judges, Juftices 
 and Confhbles [I will obey the King, but you are not Kims 
 therefore 1 will not obey you\ he fhall furfer as di {obey in ("the 
 Kingln his Officers. Contempt of Magifirates and Mini fiers 
 reflects on God. 
 
 6. Yea hence we muft practically underftand, in what resjett 
 to obey our Governours : Not meerly as the Officers of men : nor 
 only as chofen by the people ^ but as the Officers of God, that from 
 him have their Authority. The Atheiftical Politicians that de- 
 rive Authority no higher than the Sr»fird,or the Peoples choice, 
 or natural ftrength, do teach men to obey their Governours] 
 but as a little Dog fubmits unto a Mafiijf, or fo far as their 
 Commodity perfwadeth them, but not for confeience in obedi- 
 ence to God. And they teach men to look to no higher end 
 than common prefervation and liberties, and not to exped: 
 protection or reward from the abfolute Soveraign. In a word 
 they entice all Princes and people into damnable rebellion 
 againfl the Lord • as much as if they fhould entice all Con- 
 ftables and Jufticds to hold their places without dependence on 
 the Prince. But God teacheth us that {there is no Fewer but of 
 God : the Powers that be are ordnined of God : whofoever there- 
 fore re fifieth the forcer, re fifieth the ordinance of God : and they 
 
 that 
 
Pare I. Of the Knowledge of God. 1 2 1 
 
 that reftfi , fiall receive to themfelves damnation • For h e 
 is the Mini ft er of God to hs for good-, even the Mini ft er of God* 
 an avenger to execute -wrath upon him that doth evil. ~\K<. 
 13. 1, 2, 4. [Wherefore we wufl needs be fubjecl not only for 
 
 wrath, but alfo for conference f*Me - — [For they are Gods 
 
 Adinifters, continually attending upon this very thing : and for 
 this caufe We muft pay them tribute} verf. 5 , 6. [Submit your 
 
 f elves to every ordinance of man for the Lords fake, For (0 
 
 u the Will of God 1 Pet. 2. 13,15. Deut. I. 16,17. [fudge 
 
 righteoujly between every man and his brother yeftjallnot 
 
 reffeel perfons in judgement , but fiall hear the f mall as well as the 
 great, yott fhall not be afr aid of the face of man ; for the judge- 
 ment is Gods ,] 2 Chron.19 5,6,7. [And he faid to the fudges, 
 Take heed What ye do ; for you judge not for man, but for the 
 Lord, who is with you in the judgement •, wherefore let the fear of 
 the Lord be upon you} But our Atheifiical Politicians would 
 teach Rulers that they are none oftheMinifters of God, and 
 that they judge for man only and not for him. The nature of 
 all true obedience is fuch as 7^?/// defenbeth in children and 
 iervams, £ph.6. 1,6,7,8. that fetcheth its rife and motives 
 from the Lord [Children obey your Parents in the Lord, for this 
 
 is right Servants be obedient to them that are your Ma- 
 
 fters according to the fle/h, with fear and trembling, infinglenefs 
 of your heart .as unto Chrift : not with eye-fervice as men-pleafers 3 
 but as the fervants of Chrift, doing the will of God- from the 
 heart -, with good-will doing fervice as to the Lord and not to 
 men^ So Colof.i, 22, 23. 
 
 7. Hence alfo you mud learn, that Gods authority is the 
 hlghefl authority, and there is indeed nofuch thing in the world 
 as true authority that is againft him,or not fubordinate unto him: 
 And therefore if men command us to difobey God, by neglect- 
 ing that which is hie & nunc a duty, or by iinning againil him, 
 their commands are from a difobedient will ofrheir own, but 
 from no Authority : and it is better in fuch cafes to obey God 
 then man, Ad. 5.29. fo many Prophets, Apoftles and other 
 Martyrs, would not have been Jacririccd by the fury of Perfe- 
 tutors, if they had thought it full to obey them before God. God 
 never gave any man Authority againft him.'} Nor to nul'iiie 
 his laws. The ads of a Juftice or Conflable againfl the King y 
 
 R o r 
 
! 2 * 0/ f be Knowledge of Cod. Part. I. 
 
 d [heir power, are private or rebellious aft;, a 
 joritative. And io are the Laws oi men thac are agaW 
 GW. Yet nc r e well, trwt though we rnufl ranher < ; ;/^ 7^ 
 then <W, yet we may no: iorcib y Refift, when we may not obey 
 them. And in forae cafes fas if a King would ravifli a woman, 
 ( ctheiikc) -when itUlwful to Rejift his fail, it is not lawful 
 vyReftft his State, and diftuxb the Government of the Com- 
 monwealth : Obey men chearfully when God forbids it not : 
 bu: fee that God be your Abfolute Soveraign,\vhok Laws can 
 be difpenfed with by none. 
 
 U Parents or Maflers command you to break the Laws of 
 God, obey them nor. T>e(pi(e them not, but humbly deprec; 
 their difpicafure, and obey them in all other things • but in the 
 unlawful thing obey rhem not : no not if they were thegreat- 
 eft Princes upon earth. But fay as the three witnefTes of God, 
 Dan. 3 . 1 6, 1 7. [ We are not careful to anfwer thee in this mat- 
 ter : J fit be fo, our God Vehom we ferve is able to deliver hs from 
 the J? timing fiery furnace, and he will deliver hs out of thy hands 
 King : 'But if not, be it known unto thee O King, that we will 
 not ferve thy gods,nor worfhip thy golden Imwe which thou had 
 fee up. 
 
 What I have faid of Magiftrates, in the two laft cafes, I mean 
 aifo of Paftours of the Church. They mull be obeyed in and for 
 the Lord -but not ^gf the Lord. Saith Paul of the Churches 
 of Macedonia, 2 Cor. 8. 5. [They gave their own [elves to the 
 Lord, anduntous^ by thewillof God\ See Ail. 20, 28. I Thef. 
 5. 12. LukjlO. 16. Hethathearethyouhearethme,andhethat 
 dejpifethyou defyifeth me.'] And yet the leaven of the Phariftes 
 muit be avoided : and an Angel from Heaven be held as accurfed 
 if he fiould freachanctherGerfel, Gal. j. 8. And i would not 
 nave flatterers to fet either Princes or Paftours above the An- 
 gels of Heaven. Though yet in other rerfecls we may beffill 
 obliged, as I faid before, to hear and co obey them. 
 
 8. And the Knowledge of Gods foveraignty, muft teach hs 
 to fear his rightecw Threttnings , and reverence hisfuftice.and 
 -prepare our f elves to be judged by him. He ruleth by his Laws, 
 and fo by Threat nings andPromifes, which he will make good* 
 It is not a painted fire that he Threatneth. Judgement is a pare 
 Of Government. Zawarcbucfliadows if time be no execution 
 
 [0 worjhip 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge »f God. 123 
 
 [O worfhipthe L f *d in the he amy of H>linefs • fear before hi m 
 all the earth. S<*J amonq^ the Heathen that the Lord reigneth——~\ 
 Pfal. 96. 9, 10, As h\s pr em ifes, fohis peremptory thre.anings 
 flail be fulfilled. He will not revoke his itablifhed Laws (or 
 fear of hurting willful Tinners, that willnoc fear his judgements 
 till they feel them, [Pfal.11.8. Let all the earth fear the Lord, 
 let all the inhabitants of the world fiand in aw of him : for he 
 sftake and it wot done •, he commanded anditjfood faft7\ Mark 
 alfo thepreftnt judgements of the Lord, and rufhnoton his 
 indignation. For the Lorduhriown by the judgements which he 
 exec tit eth : the kicked is (oft) fnared in the Wori^ of his oW* 
 handi~\ Pfal.9 16. Though [the wicked contemn God, and fdj 
 in his heart, Thou wilt not require it~\ Pfal. 10, 13.) yet they 
 fhaii find 1 hat \he beholdeth tnifchiefto requite it with his hand; 
 and that he is the helper of the fatherlefs and poor that commit 
 themfe Ives unto him, ver. 14. [The Lordi throne is in heaven; 
 his eyes beheld, his ty lids trj the children of men : the Lord 
 tryeth the Righteous, but the wicked and him that lovcth violence 
 his foul hateth, Pfal. I r. 4,5. 
 
 9. The Soveraignty of God is a comfort to hislojal fubjitlf. 
 They may be furc that he will protect them, and make good 
 his word. *Behold he cometh, and his reward gJtoith-him, Rev. 
 
 22.12. The righttom Judge at his apjtti&jJLr will give the Crown 
 of Right eoufnefs to all them that lovelHf^pearihg,z Tim. 4. 1 8* 
 7> 8. £ O let the Nations be glad andfing for joy, for thou (bait 
 judge the people righteou fly, and govern the Nations upon e art h^ 
 
 Pfal. 67.4. \_Ltt the Heavens rejoyce, and the earth be glad 
 
 before the Lord; for he cometh , for he cometh to judge the Wjrld 
 with righteoufnefs and the people with hts truth, J pfa). 69. 
 
 11. 13. 
 
 10. Laftly, the Knowledge of Gb<F as our Sovereign King, 
 muft-caufe us to deftre andprayfor and promote the glory of his 
 Kingdome, and the obedience of his fubjc&s or!d, that 
 his Name may be hallowed, by the c bis Kingdom, and 
 the doing of hts will on earth as it is in He'*v w, mult be the mar- 
 ter of our daily requeils to God. It mutt be the grief of every 
 fubjecl: of the Lord, to think of the Heathen and In. 
 
 of the world } and to fee the Rebellion of the Prophage among 
 usj and that the Laws of God are unknown or de the 
 
 R 2 
 
1 24 of the Knowledge of God. Pare I. 
 
 mod of men. Alas what abundance are ruled by their lufts, 
 and felf-conceitednefs, and corrupted wills, and the cuftoms 
 of the world, or the wills of men! but how few are Ruled by 
 theLsws of God / Ohow fliould it grieve an honeft heart, to 
 fee Gods Kingdom hindered by Infidelity ,and weakned, divided 
 and diilurbed by Popery, and Herefie , and difhonoured by 
 fcandal and impiety, as it is ! And to fee the multitude, and 
 the violence and induftry of corrupters, dividers* and de- 
 ftroyers : and thefewnefs, the coldnefs, and remifnefs of the 
 builders, the healers and reftorers / All you that are loyal 
 fubjvfts to your Lord, lament thefe waies of Rebellion and 
 Dilobediencc, and the diminutions and diftempers of thefub- 
 jedh of his Kingdom, and theunfaithfulnefs and negligence of 
 hisMiniftcrs : and bend your cares, defires and prayers to 
 the promoting of Gods Kingdom in you, and in the world ; 
 and befriend not any thing that hindereth its profperity. 
 
 Chap. XV. 
 
 14. -np H E third of thefe Relations, and the next point in the 
 1 Knowledge of God to be fpoken of, is, that he is [Our 
 mo ft Loving Father, or Bountiful BentfaUor\ As he is Good, fo 
 he doth Good, Pfal. 1 19. 68. And as he is the chief eft Good, fo 
 liebeitoweth the greateft fieuffits : and therefore is thence by 
 a NcceiTary Refultancy, our Moft Bountiful Benef abler. The 
 term Q^FW/tfrJcomprehendeth in it ail his three great Relati- 
 ons to us. I. A Father gives Being to his Children, and there- 
 iorehathfome Propriety in them ^ and God is the firft eaufg 
 of our whole Being, and therefore we are hiiOvtn. 2. A Fa- 
 ir;cr is the Governour of his Children : and God is our Chief 
 Governeur. 3. A Father tenderly Loveth his Children thac 
 are childlike \ loving and obedient to him^ and feeketh their 
 felicity: and fo doth God Love, and will make Happy his loving 
 and obedient children, who have not only their Being from 
 him as their Maktr y but their Nety being "or Holy nature from 
 him as their Santlifier. And this Iaft being the end and perfe- 
 ction of the reft, doth communicate its nature to the reft as the 
 
 Mews. 
 
part I. of the Knowledge of .God. 125 
 
 -Means. And fo, i. The neWnature that God thus giveth us 
 n our Regeneration, is not from his common Love, but is an aft 
 of Special Grace, proceeding from his special Fatherly Love. 
 2. The Government thu heexercifeth over them as his Rege- 
 nerate children, is not a Common Government, fuch as is that of 
 themeerLawof Nature or of works; but it is a special Go- 
 vernment by a Law of 'brace, a fuftifjing, Remedying, Saving 
 Law, or Covenant; together with an internal illuminating, 
 quickning,guiding fpirit, withChurch-ftate, and Officers and 
 Ordinances, all fuited to this way of Grace ; Even as his Dj- 
 minion or Propriety by Redemption, and our Santlificatisn and 
 Rejignation, is not a Common Propriety , but a gracfous Rela- 
 tion to us as Our Oven Father, who have the endeared Relation 
 to him of bzinghis Own Children. All is from Love, and/a** 
 way of Love , and for the exercife and demonftration of Love : fo 
 that when I call God \_Our Benefactor'} I precifely diitinguifh 
 this laft pare of his Relations to us, from the red .- But when 
 I call him[a Father} i mean the fame thing, or Relation which 
 a Benefactor fignifieth ^ but with fuller afpeft on the foregoing 
 Relations,, and connotation of them as they are perfected all 
 in this* 
 
 And here I. I fhall briefly name the Benefits on which this 
 Relationof God is founded. And 1. Even in Creating us-, 
 headed as a Benefactor, giving us the Fundamental Geodot 
 Being, and the excellency of manhood. 2. By fetting us in a 
 wellfurnifhed world, and putting all things under our feet, and 
 giving us the ufe of Creatures. 3. By entering into the Re- 
 lation of a Govemour to us, and confequently engaging himfelf 
 to terms of Juftice in his dealing with us, and to proted us, and 
 reward us, if we did obey •, and making us capable of an ever- 
 iafting happinefs as our end, and appointing usfuffieient means 
 thereto. Thefe Benefits denominated God the Great Bene- 
 factor or Father unto man , in the ftate of his Creation. 
 
 But then moreover he is a Common Benefactor alfo. 4. By 
 fo loving the world as to give his only begotten Son, to be their 
 Redeemer ; a fufficient facrifice for fin. 5. By giving out his 
 Premife or Covenant of Grace, and making a Common Deed of 
 Gift of pardon, Reconciliation and Eternal Life, to all thac 
 will accept it in and with Chrift, to Gofpel ends. 6. -By fend- 
 
 R 3 iflg 
 
\i6 of the Knowledge of God. Parti. 
 
 fending forth the Meflengers of thisG<'ace, commanding them 
 \o r Preach to every creature theGvffel, or v?crd of Reconcilia- 
 tion committed to them, And to be fetch men in Chrifis /lead, as his 
 Bmbaffaduurs, as if God himfclfdidintreat by them , to be reccn- 
 citedtoGod,}A&tth. 28. 18,19. Mar. 16. 16. 20^5.19,20. 
 ing fomecommen mercies w^hou:, and motions of 
 Ins : bin, to fecond thefe invitation*. But though by 
 
 this much God hath a Title to their dearefi Love, yet they have 
 no Title to b is higheft Benefits, nor are in the neareft Relation of 
 Children or Beneficiaries to him. 
 
 But, 8. Wh n he begetteth m again to a lively Hope, by his 
 incorruptible feed , and giveth us both to will and to do, and 
 when the Fatbtr effe&ually draweth us to the Son, and reneweth 
 us according to his Image , and takjth away our old and ftony 
 he arts 4 and giveth us new and tender hearts, and giveth us to 
 Know him, and Love him as a Father ^ then is he our Father in 
 the deareit and moft comfortable fenfe, and we are his children 
 that have intcreft in his de art ft Love, 9. And therefore we 
 havehisfpinr, and pardon, Juftirlcation and Reconciliation 
 with him. io- And alio we have ipecial Communion with 
 him in Prayer, Praifes, Sacraments and all holy Ordinances 
 and Converfation. 1 1 . And we and our fervices are pleafing 
 to him, and fo we are in the light of his countenance , and under 
 a fpecial promifeofhis protection and provifion, and that all 
 things (hall work together for our good. 12. And we have 
 the promife of perfection in everlafting Glory. 
 
 II. And no was you fee how God is our Bene faclor, or 100ft 
 Gracious and Loving Father, let us next iee what this muft 
 work on us. 
 
 And 1. Goodnefs and Bounty fhould fhame men from their 
 fitt, and lead them to Repentance, Rom. 2 4, 5 Love is not to 
 be abufed and requited with unkindnefs and provocation. He 
 that can turn grace into wantonnefs, and do evil becaufe g ace 
 hath abounded, or that it may abound, (hall be forced to con- 
 fefs that his damnation is juft. He that will not ha.c his fin, 
 when he leech luch exceeding Benefits itand by, and heareth 
 mercy, and wonderful mercy plead agair.fi it, and upbraid 
 the finnej widh ingratitude, is like to die a double death, and 
 fh? 11 have no more facrifice for fin, 
 
 2. The 
 
part I . of the Knowledge of God. 327 
 
 2. The Fatherly Love&nd Benefits of God, do call for our 
 beft returns of* ZffW The Benefits of Creation , obi ge 
 Love him with all their Heart, and Soul, and Mghc : Much 
 more the Benefits of Redemption, and efpecrally fas appljed by 
 Unllifying Grace to them that (hall be heirs of life, it obi 
 them by multiplied ftrongeft obligations : The Worfi are obli- 
 ged to as much Love oTGod t a* the Beft (for none can be ob- 
 liged to more than to hove him -with all their Heart, &c.) but 
 they ate not as much obliged to that Love : We have new cm J 
 fpecial obligations ; and therefore muft return a Hearty Love, 
 or we are doubly guilty. Mercies are Loves Mejfengers, fent 
 from Heaven to win up our Hearts to Love again, and entice 
 us thither. All mercies therefore (hould be ufed to this end. 
 That mercy that doth not encrcafe, or excite and help our 
 Love, is abufed and loft, as feed that is buried when it's fowed, 
 and never more appeareth. Earthly Mercies point co Heaven , 
 and tell us whence they come, and for what, Like the Flowers 
 of the Spring 'they tell us of the reviving approaches of the 
 Sun: But like foolifh children, becaufe they are near us % we 
 Love the Flowers better than the Sun . forgetting that the 
 Winter is drawingon. But Spiritual Mercies are as the Sun- 
 fhine that more immediately dependeth on, and floweth from 
 the Sun it felf. And. he that will not fee (and value) the Sun 
 by its Li*ht, wi!l never fee it / Thefe beams come down to in- 
 vite ourlvlinds and Hearts to God; and vf we (hut the win- 
 dows, or play till night, and they return without us, we fhall 
 be left to utter darknefs. 
 
 The Mercies of God muft imprint upon our minds the fu!- 
 left and deepeft conceptions of him, as the moft perfetljuitable , 
 Lovely ObjeBs to the foul of man • when all our Good is Ori- 
 ginally in him, and all flows/row him, that hath the Goodnefs 
 of a Means, and finally hknfelfis*//; not to Love God then, 
 is not to Live Goodnefs it felf •, f>nd there is nothing but Good 
 that's fuited to our Love. Night and day therefore (hould 
 the Believer be drawing and deriving from God, by the views 
 and tads of his precious Mercies, a fweetncfsof nature, and 
 increafeofholyLovetoGod , .as the Bee fucks Honey from 
 the flowers.We (hould not now and then for a recreation light 
 upon a flower, and medicate on fome Mercy of the Lord, buc 
 i k make 
 
128 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 make this our work from day to day, and keep continually up- 
 on our fouls, the lively tads, and deep impreflions of the Infi- 
 nite Goodnefs'and Amiablcnefs of God. When we Love God 
 moft , we are at the beft y moft pleafing to God ^ and our lives 
 are fweeteft to our felves : A nd when we deep our minds in 
 the believing thought of [he abundant Fatherly Mercies of 
 the Lord, we (hall moft abundantly Lo&him. Every Mtrcj 
 is a Suiter to us from God / The contents of them afl is this 
 [_My Son, Give wee thy Heart\ [Live him that thmlovetk 
 thee] Love him, or you rejed turn, O wonderul Love / that 
 Godwill regard the Love of man / that he wiil enter into a 
 Covenant of Love I that he will be Related to us in a Relation 
 of Love ! and that he will deal with us on terms of Love I 
 that he will give us leave to Love him, that are fo bafe, and 
 have fo Loved Earth and Sin / yea and r.hn he will befo ear- 
 ned a fuiter for our Love, as if he needed it, when it is only 
 we that need ! But the paths of Love are myfterious and in- 
 comprehcnfible. 
 
 g 3 . As God is in ffeclal a Bcnefatlor and Father to *#, we 
 muft be the readieft, and moft diligent in obedience to him. 
 Qhildlike duty is the moft willing and unwearied kind of duty. 
 Where Love is the principle, we jfhall not be eyefervants, but 
 delight to do the Will efGod, and with, O that I could pleaie 
 him more / It is a lingular delight to a Gracious foul to be 
 upon any acceptable duty •, and the more he can do good, and 
 pleafe the Lord, the more he is pleafed. As Fatherly Love and 
 Benefits are the fulleft and the fur eft, fo will filial duty be. 
 The Heart is no fit foil for Mercies, if they grow not up to 
 holy fruits. The more you love, the more chcarfully will you 
 obey. 
 
 4. From hence we muft well learn, both How God is mans 
 End, and what are the chief Means that lead us to him. 
 
 1. God'n not the Endot Reafon, nakedly confidered jbut he is 
 Finis Amanti6-> the End which Love inclineth m to-> and which 
 by Love is attained^ and by love enjoyed .-The understanding of 
 which would refolve many great perplexing difficulties that 
 a natura finis do ftep into our way in Theological ftudies. I will 
 name no more now, but only that it teachech us, How both God 
 and our own Felicity in the fruition of him, m*y be faid to be 
 
 our 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge $f Cvd. 129 
 
 our Ultimate End y -without any contraditlion, yet fo that it be 
 Eminently and Chiefly God. For it is a Vnion (fuch as our Na- 
 tures are capable of) that is defired, tn which the foul doth 
 long to be fwallowed up in God • Underifand but what aj£- 
 lial or friendly Love is, and you may underftand what a regular 
 Intention is, and ho^ God muft be the Chriflians End. 
 
 2. And withall it ftiews us, that the molt dircA and excel- 
 lent means of our felicity, and to our End, are thofe that are 
 mod fuited to the workjf Love. Others are means more Re- 
 motely, and necefTary in their places ^ but thefe diretlly. And 
 therefore the Promifes and Narratives of the Love and Mercy 
 of the Lord, are the mod: dired and powerful pare of the 
 (7tf//^/ conducing to our End : and the Threatnings the re- 
 moter means. And therefore as Grace was advanced in the 
 world, the Promijfory part of Gods Covenant or Law, grew 
 more illuftrious, and theGo/jpf/confiftcdfo much of Promifes \ 
 that it is called Cjlad tidings of great joy. And therefore the 
 mod full demonftration of Gods Goodnefs and Love line fs to 
 our hearers, is the mod excellent fart of all our Preaching, 
 though it is not all. And therefore the meditation of Re- 
 demption, is more powerful than the bare meditation of Crea- 
 tion^ becaufe it is Redemption that moft: eminently revealeth 
 Love. And therefore Chrifl is the Principal Means of Life, 
 becaufe he is the Principal Meflenger and Demonftration of 
 the Fathers Love, and by the wonders of Love which he re- 
 veaieth, andexhibitethin his wondrous Grace, he wirsjihe 
 foul to the Love of God. For God will have external objeclive 
 means, and internal effective means concur, becaufe he wil 
 work on man agreeably to the nature of man. Though there 
 was never given out fuch prevalent invincible meafures of the 
 Spirit, as Chrift hath given for the Renewing of thofe that he 
 will fave, yei fhall not that Spirit do it without as excellent ob- 
 jeblive means. And though Chrifl, and the Riches of his 
 Grace revealed in the Gofpel, be the moft wonderful objetlive 
 means, yet fhall not thefe do it without the internal effitluJ 
 means. But wheu Love dothfhine tousib refplenderuly with- 
 out us, in the face of the Glorious Sun of iW,and isallo let 
 into us by the Spirits Illumination, that Jheds abroad this L f >ve 
 in our hearts, then will the holy fire burn, which comes from 
 
 S Heaven, 
 
1 30 of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 Heaven, and leads toHeaven, and will never reft till it have 
 reach: its center, and brought us to the face and arms of 
 God. 
 
 5. And from the Father'] Relation and Love of God, we 
 mull learn to Tru(l him, and Reft cur fouls in his ftCHring 
 Love. Shall we diftrufta Father? ^Omnipotent Father 11 'here- 
 fore is this Relation prefixed to the petitions of the Lords 
 Prayer, and we begin with \_Our Father -which art in Heaven] 
 that when we remember his Love, and our Interefl in him,?.nd 
 his Alfi:ffic;ency,wemay be encouraged to Trufl him ,and make 
 ourrddreiTes to him. Ifa Father, zndfuch a Father fmice mee, 
 I will fubmir, and kifs the Rod : for I know it is the healing 
 fruit of Love. If a Father, and Jttcb a Father affi & mee, 
 wound mee, deal ftrangely with mee, and grieve my flejfli, let 
 mee not murmure or diftruft him-, for he wcllunderfbnde:h 
 what he doth, and nothing that (hall hurt mee finally can come 
 from Omnipotei t Paternal Love. If ^Father, and fuch a Fa- 
 ther k:ll mee, yet lee mee Trnft in him, and let not my foul re- 
 pine at his proceedings, nor tremble at the feparating ftroak 
 of death. A Bead knows not when we drive with him, what 
 we intend, whether to Cure,w to Kill him : but a Child need 
 not fear a killing blow, nor a Loving fonl a damning death, 
 from fuch a Father. Ifhebea Father, where is his Love and 
 Truft? 
 
 6. If God be our Father, and fo wonderful a Bemfablor 
 to us, then Thankj and Praife mull be our mod conftant worl^, 
 and muft be ftudied above all the reft of Duty, and moft dili- 
 gently performed. If the tongue of man, which is.called his 
 G'ory, he made for anything, and good for any thing, it is to 
 give the Lord his ( Uorj, in the Thankful acknowledgement of 
 his Love and Mercies, and the daily chearful Pratfes of his 
 Name. Let this then be the Chrift ; ans work. 
 . 7- The Children of fitch a Father, (hould Wvc a contented 
 chearfullife. Diligence becometh them, bnt not contrivances 
 for worldly greatnefs, norcarking cares for that which the'vr 
 Father hathpromifed them to care for. Humility and Reve- 
 rence befeerncth them, but not dejettion and defpondency of 
 mind, and a ftill complaining, fearful, troubled, difconfolate 
 foul If the Children of fuch a Father (hall not be hold and con- 
 fident, 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge o/aoJ. 1 3 r 
 
 fidenr, and chearfu! , let joy and confidence then be banifhed 
 from the earth, and be renounced by all the Sons of men. 
 
 Chap. XVI. 
 
 ^.•TTHere are yet divers fubordinate Attributes of God, 
 J that being comprized in the forementioned, may be 
 pafled over with the briefer touch. And the next that I (hall 
 ipeak of, is, his Freedome .And God is Free in more fenfes than 
 one ; but for brevity, I (hall fpeak of all together. 
 
 1. And firft, God hath a Natural Freedome of will, being 
 Determined to Will by nothing without him, nor liable to any 
 Neceility, but what is confident with perfect Bieflednefs and 
 Liberty. His own Being, and Bleffednefs, and Perfections, are 
 not the objects of his Slttlion •, and therefore not of that which 
 we call Free Willi But all hisWorkj without, as Creation, Pro- 
 vidence, Redemption, e^c.are the effects of his Free Will ;Noc 
 but that his Will concerning all thefe, hath a Neceffity of exi- 
 gence : For God did from Eternity Will the Creation, and all 
 that is done in time^ and therefore from Eternity that will exi- 
 fling, had a Neceffity of exigence : But yet it was Free, becaufe 
 it proceedeth not Neceffarily from the very Nature of C]od : 
 God wa6 (7<^ before he made the world, or Redeemed it, or did 
 the things that are daily done. And therefore one part of the 
 Schoolmen maintain, not only that there is Contingency from 
 God, but that there could be no Contingency in the Creature, if 
 it had not its Original in God : the Liberty of God being the 
 fountain of Contingency. 
 
 2. There is alfo an Eminency both of Dominion and Save* 
 raigntj in God, according to which he may be called Free. His 
 Abfolutenefs of Propriety frecth him from thertftrainc of any 
 Obligation, but what floweth from his own Free Will, from 
 Difpofing of his own as he pleafes. And his Abfolute Sovtraign- 
 ty frecth him from the Obligation of his own Laws as Law*, 
 though he will flillbe true ro his Promifes and Predictions. 
 Let man therefore take heed how he queftioneth his Maker, 
 or cenfureth his Laws, or Works, or Waies. 
 
 S 2 CHAP, 
 
! 3 2 Of the Knowledge of God. Part. I. 
 
 Chap. XVII, 
 
 16. A Nother Attribute of God is bis Juftice. With fubmif- 
 -cjkfionl conceive that this is not to be faidcobe from 
 Eternity, any ocherwife than ail Gods Relations are (as Creator, 
 Redeemer .&c ) becaufe there is no time with God. For though 
 the Bhffed Nature denominaced Jufl\s from Eternity ,yct not 
 the Formality or Denomination ofjuftice. For Juftice is an At- 
 tribute of (Jod ) as he is Govemour only : And he was not Go- 
 oternour ,i\\\ he had Creatures to Govern : And he could not be 
 a fuft Govertfttr when he was #0 Governour. The Denomination 
 did not strife till the Creation had laid the Foundation. M^ny 
 Qjeftioi.s may berefolved hence, which I will not trouble you 
 torecire. 
 
 - Juftice m God is the Perfetlion of hi* Nature, as it giveth 
 evcr^ o»t his due , or Governeth the world in the moft^r/ffi 
 Orders for the Ends of Governmen\ Becaufe he is Juft, be will 
 Reward the Right eopu^vA difference between the (Jod/y <s»^ //?<? 
 Wicked\ For that Governor that ufeth all alike r is #^ J**^- 
 The Crown of Rightcoufnefs is given by him as a Righteous 
 Judge, 1 Tim 4. 8. 
 
 1. The Juftice of God is fubftantially (in men we call it 
 *?» Inclination) in his Nature, and/o ft « Eternal. 
 
 2. It is founded formally \nh\s Relation of [Governour.'] 
 
 3. It'isexprejfivelyfirft in his Z^wj : For as a 7#/? Gover- 
 nour he made them luited to the Subjeds, Objects, and 
 Ends. 
 
 4. It is exprejftvely fecondarily in his Judgments and Execu* 
 tions •, which is when they are according to hit Law •, or in the 
 Cafe* of Penalty where he may difpenfe at leaft according to 
 the fiate ofthefubjett, and fitted to the Ends of Government. 
 
 1. The Juftice of God is the Confolation cf the Juft : He will 
 Juftifie them whom his (jefpel fuftificth, becaufe he is Juft.The 
 Jultice of God in many places of Scripture, is taken for his Fi- 
 delity in vindicating his people, and his fudging for them % and 
 procuring them the happy fruits of his Government, and fo is 
 takeninaConfolatory fenfe, Pfal. 89. 14. Jujiice and Judge- 
 ment are the habitations of thy Throne-^ Mercy and Truth fball go 
 
 before 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge of God. \ ^ 
 
 before thy face"} 2 Thef. 1.5,6. Ic u a Righteous thing -with 
 God to recommence tribulation to them that trouble us, and Reft 
 to the troubled.^ 
 
 2. The Juftice of God is the terrour of che ungodly. As lie 
 would not make unrighteous Laws, for the pleafure of un- 
 righteous men ; fo neither will he pafs unrighteous judgement. 
 Buc look what a man foweth,that (hall he alio reap. All his 
 peremptory threatnings fhalibe made good,and his wrath pour- 
 ed out for ever; upon impenitent fouls, becaufe he is the Righ- 
 teous God. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 
 17. A Nothtr of Gods Attributes is his Holinefs. He is cal- 
 a\ led Holy. 1. As he is Tranfcendently above and / ^pa- 
 rated from all the Creatures, incomparifon of whom the Hea- 
 vens are not clean ^ and from whom all things ftand at an In- 
 finite diftance. 2. As the Perfetlion of his nature is the Foun- 
 tain of all Moral Good. 1. In the Holinefs of his Law, the 
 Rule of Holinefs. 2. In the Holinefs of the/out : and, 3. In 
 his holy Judgements, And confequently as this Perf eft Na- 
 ture is contrary to all the Moral Pollution of the Creature, 
 loathing iniquity, forbidingand condemning ir. That Perfctt 
 Goodnefs oUhewitt of God, from whence Flo we $ holy Laws, 
 and motions, and the Holinefs of the foul of man, is it that 
 Scripture meaneth ufually by Gods Holinefs •, rather then the 
 forefaid diftance from the Creatures. And therefore his Ho? 
 linefs is ufually given as the Reafonofhis LaWs and Judge- 
 ments, and of his enmity to Jin : And our Holinefs is called his 
 Image (who imitate not his Tranfcendency) and we are com- 
 manded to be Holy as he it Holy, 1 Per. j. 16. The nature of 
 the Image will belt tell us what Holinefs is in God. Holinefs in 
 us is called The Divine Nature, 2 Pet. 1.4. and therefore 15 
 radically a right inclination and di$$9 fit io n of the foul • which 
 hath its rife from a Tranfcendenc Holinefs in God, even as 
 our Wifdome from his Tranfcendent Wifdome, and our Being 
 from his Being. Holinefs therefore being indeed the fame 
 
 S 3 with 
 
1 3 4 °f the Knowledge of God. Part 1 . 
 
 with the Tranfcendemly Moral Goodnefs of God , which I 
 have fpoken of before, I fhalj fay but little of it now. Thus 
 mud the Holinefs of God be known. 
 
 i. It muftcaufeus to haveamoft high and honourable 
 cfteem of Holinefs\n the Cftature, becaufe it is the Image ot 
 the Holinefj of God. Three forts of Creatures haveaj>r^ 
 vative Holinefs : The fnlt. is The Law ; which is the meer 
 Hgmrication of the Wife and Holy Will of God concerning 
 mans Du:y with Rewards and Penalties, for the Holy Govern- 
 ing of th: word / This is iheneareft Image of God, engraven 
 upon that Seal which muftbethe Internment of imprinting ic 
 on our fouls. Now the Holinefs of the Word is not the meer 
 product of the jT/V/ofGod, cor.fidercdas a will; butofthe 
 Will of God considered as Holy, that is, as the Infinite Tran- 
 fcendenc Moral Goodnefs in the Architypeor Original. For 
 &\\ events :hat proceed from God, are the produces of his Wig 
 which is Holj y bur not as Holy ( as the creating, preferring, 
 difpofing of every fly, or fifh in the fea, or worm in the earth, 
 &c.) There is fomewhat therefore in the Nature of God, 
 which is the Perfetlionof his Will, and is called Holinefs , which 
 *he Holinefs of the Law doth flow from and cxprefs. 
 
 This Holy Word \s the Immortal feed chat begetteth Hdi- 
 nefs in the loul, which is the fecondfubjc ft of derived Holinefs ^ 
 And this our Holinefs is a conformity of the foul to the Law ,%s 
 the Produtl of the Holy will of God, and no: a meer conformi- 
 ty to his predictions y and decreeing Will as fuch. It is zfepar 'Ac- 
 tion to God, but not every feparation : Pharaoh was fet apart to 
 be the Paffivc monument of the Honour of Gods Name : and 
 Cyrus was hh fervant to re.ftore his peorle, and yet not thus 
 Holy : But it is a feparation from common and unclean nfes ^ 
 and a Purgation from polluting vice, and a renovation by re- 
 ception of t':e Image of Gods Holinefs, whofe Nature is to en- 
 cline the loul to God, and devote it wholly to him- both in 
 ^ */?/'«, becaufe weare hisown t and in Love, becaufe Ik : is mofi 
 Holywd perfectly Good. 
 
 1 he third fukjctl of Holinefs is thofe creatures that are but 
 
 orated to Holy ufes, and thefe have but a Relative Holinefs^ 
 
 and fecundum quid : As the Temple, the holy utenfils, the Bi. 
 
 ^astothe macenals, the Minifhr,^ an Officer, the people 
 
 Zsviftbi *-sMc All 
 
Part I. Of the Knowledge of God. 1 3 j 
 
 All thefe mud be reverenced and honoured by us, accord- 
 ing to the proportion of their Holimfs. 1. Our principal 
 Reverence mult be to the Holy Word of God: For Holinefs is 
 more perfect: there then in our fouls. The Holinefs of the Word, 
 which is it that the ungodly hate or quarrel ac, is the Glory of 
 it in the eyes of Holy men. We may much difcern a Holy and 
 an unholy foul, by their Loving or not loving* Holy Lw h 
 especially as it is a Rule to themtelves. A diftait of the Holi- 
 nefs of Scripture, and of the Holinefs of the writings of*Di- 
 vi nes, and of the Holinefs of their preaching or conference , 
 difcovereth an unholy foul. A Love to holy Doctrine fheweth 
 that there is fomewhat fuitable to it in the foul that Loveth it. 
 It is the elogy of the Scriptures, the Promifes^the Covenant. the 
 Prophets and Apoftles, that they are *// Holy, Rom. 1.2. Pfal. 
 105.42.Luk. 1. 70,72. Rev. 18.20.2 Tim. 3. 15 Rom. 7.12. 
 The Holinefs of the Scripture doth make it as fuitable and fi« 
 voury to a Holy foul, as Light is fuitable to the eyt-fight, and 
 fweetnefs to the taft : and therefore it is to them as the hony 
 comb. But to the unholy it is a myflery, and zsfoolifhnefs, and 
 that which is contrary to their difooficion, and they have an 
 tnmitj to it : which makes a wonderful difference in their 
 judging of the evidences of Scripture Verity, and much facili- 
 tated the work of Faith in one fort, and ftrengrbenecb un- 
 belief in the other* Holydo&rine is theGiafs that fheweth 
 us the Holy face of God himfelf, and therefore mud needs be 
 mod excellent to the Saints. 
 
 2. And we muft honour and love alfo the Holinefs of the 
 Saints : For they alfo bear the Image of the Lord. Their Holy 
 Affections , Prayers , Dlfcourfts , and Converfations muft bw 
 beautiful in our eyes : And we muft take heed of thofe tempta- 
 tions, that either from perfonal injuries received from any, or 
 from their blots or imperfections, Of from their meannefs in the 
 world, or from the contempt and reproach and flinders of the 
 ungodly, would draw us to-think difhononrably of their Holi- 
 nefs- He that bonoureth the Holy God, will honour his 
 Image in his Holy people. In his eyes a vileperfon will be con- 
 temned, but he will honour them that fear the Lord, P«a!, 1 5- 4- 
 The Saints on earth are the excellent in his eyes, and bis delight 
 is in them, Pfal. 16. 2, 3. The breathings of Divine-Love in 
 
"»i< °f *h K**»Mgt $f e,d. part j 
 
 ttrxo^s^s^ the S3 t and **" 
 
 holy fouldod, (weed, r e1^ an °;.,nr' "•' thm » that a 
 Jo to hear an A Htl I 2 ' „l *Z " k * ^f m '"." »e would 
 Glory. s p k ot the Hol >' thin S s of the invifible 
 
 holinefs ofrbciS «t / > al '» P-^cicipatc of the 
 
 it is contrary to the ^W, of r i oat ^ ometo us becaufe 
 
 Holy-] Lev. i 9 . z [ Sr £$ ■' f V, ,he ?"*J°»r God an, 
 <Xfj i Tim.,.p 5 w ,&ft wl,w ' ilh «« 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge ef God. 137 
 
 vice~] For we are \_chofen in Chrift before the foundation of the 
 world, that 'toe fhouldbe Holy % and. without blame'} Ephef. 1 . 4. 
 and arc Redeemed and Santtifiedby Chrift, that we may be pre- 
 fented Glorious, Holy, and without blemi[h\ Ephef. 5. 26,27, 
 See therefore that you follow Holinefs? Without which no man 
 Jhallfee the Lord, Heb. 12.14. For Blejfed are the Pure in heart , 
 for they /ball fee him, Mat. 5. 8. 
 
 3. The Holinefsoi God, muftbe to us a {landing nnanfwcr- 
 ablc Argument to Chun all temptations that would draw us to 
 be unholy , and to confound all the words of wicded men that 
 are fpoken againft Helinefs. Remember but that God is Holy, 
 and if thou like that which is fpoken againft God, thou art hU 
 Enemy. Think on the prophefie of Henoch, Jude 14.15.^- 
 hold the Lord cometh with ten thonfand of hit Saints ta execute 
 Judgement upon all, auAto convince all that are ungodly among 
 them % of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly com- 
 mitted, and of all their hardfpeeches, Which ungodly finners have 
 fpoken again ft him, ,"} God will net hold him guilt lefs that taketh 
 his holy Name in vain -, much lefs that blafphemeth Holineft, 
 which is the peifed: on of his blefTed nature. 
 
 4. The Holinefs of God mult poflefs us with a fenfe of our 
 Vncleannefs, and further our Humiliation When Ifaiah heard 
 the Seraphims cry, \Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Ho ft s, the 
 whole Earth is full of his Qlory\ Ifa. 6.3. He (aid \Woe is mee, 
 for I am undone ; because I am & man of unclean lips, and I 
 dwell in the midftofa people of unclean lips j for mine eyes h*VJ 
 feenthe King, the Lord ofHofts7\ v. 5. 
 
 5. The Holineff of God mult caufe us to waik^ continually in 
 his F ear, and to take heed to all the affe&ions of our fouls, and 
 even to the manner of our behaviour, when we come near to 
 him in his Holy Worfhip. What fuffered the Bechfhemitesfo ■.* 
 unreverent looking incothe Holy Ark, 1 Sam, 6. 19. and £/*,- 
 zah bnc lor couching it ? And what a dreadful example is thac 
 or the two Sons of Aaron, thac were (lain by a devouring fire 
 from the Lord, for offering ftrange fire which he commanded 
 noc, Lev. 10. 1, 2. And Aaron was awed intofilence by this 
 accounc from God. \_I will be funUiped in them that come nigh 
 wee, and before all the people f will be glorified^ v. 3. Take heed 
 left unreverence,ordeadnefs, orxuftomary heartlels wordy 
 
 T fer vices, 
 
1 3 8 Of the Knowledge of Ged. Vtxt I. 
 
 fervices, fhould be brought before a Holy God. Take heed of 
 hypocritical carnal worfhip. The Hojy God will not be 
 mocked with complements and fhews. 
 
 C H A P. X IX. 
 
 i8."T~He next Attribute of God to be fpoken of, is \^HU 
 1 Veracity , Truth, and Faithfulnefs.~] This is the refuk 
 ofhisperfed Wifdome, Goodnefs, and Omnipotency : For be- 
 caufe he is mofi Wife and Powerful, he cannot be Necejjitated 
 to Lye : And becaufe he is mofi Goed, he Vriltmt Lye. Tnough 
 God fpeaketh by none but a Created Voice ,and figmfe hi-s Will 
 to us by men, that in themfelves confidered a re defc&ible, yc: 
 what he maketh his Voice fhall fpeak Truth • and what he 
 choofethtofignifie^ Willy fhall truly fignifie it. He there- 
 fore condemneth Lying in man, becaufe it is contrary to his 
 cwnVeracity. For if any fhould fay that God is under no 
 Law, and therefore is not bound to fpeak Ttuth, or not de- 
 ceive a Prophet or Apoftle by his Infpirations • I anfwer, that 
 he hateth Lying as contrary to his P erf eB Nature, and \%bw 
 felfsgimRk, and cannot poffibly be guilty of it, becaufe of 
 his own Perfetlion •, and not becaufe he is under a Law. Lying 
 comes from fome Imperfeclion, either of Knowledge, Power, or 
 Goodnefs, which can none of them befall the Lord. The Good- 
 nefsoi the Creature is a Goodnej j of Conformity to an Obliging 
 Law •, and the Goodnefs of theX^^is aGoodnefs of Confor- 
 mity to, and exprefiion of the Goodwill of God. But the Good- 
 neJsofGod'xs a Perfection of Effence , the Primitive Goodnefs, 
 which is the Fountain, and Standard, and End of all other 
 Good • and not a Goodnefs of Conformity to another. 
 
 And ihis Attribute of God is of very great ufe to his fer- 
 vants. i . From hence we mufl be Refolved for Duty, and for 
 a holy, heavenly life: becaufe the Commands of God are 
 ferious, and his Promifesand Threatnings True. If God were 
 not True, that tells us of thefe great Eternal things, then 
 might we excufe our felves from Godlinefs % and juitific the 
 worldling in his fenfual way : There is nothing of common 
 fcnfe and reafon that can be faid againft a Holy life, by a man 
 
 that 
 
Part I. of the Knowledge efGeJ. 139 
 
 that denieth not the Truth ofQod^ or of his Word. And to de- 
 ny Gods Truth is moft unreafonable of all .- O Sirs / when 
 you read and hear of the wonderful weighty matters of the 
 Scripcure, of an Endlefs Life, and the way thereto • bethink 
 you, if thefe things be True, what manner ofperfons yeufbould 
 be in all Holy Conversion and Godlinefs! 2 Pet. J. II. If the 
 Word be True, that telleth us of Death and Judgement, and 
 Heaven and Hell, is it time for us to fin, to trifle and live un- 
 ready / ! : 
 
 2. The Truth of God is the Terror oihis Enemies. O hap- 
 py men, if their Unbelief could make void the Threatningsof 
 God, and doubting of them would make them falfe ! and if 
 their mifery were as cafily remedied as denied-, and ended as 
 eafily as now forgotten ! or forgotten hereafter as cafily as 
 now / But true and righteous is the Lord, and from the begin- 
 ning his Word is true ,Plal. 119. 16. Not a word fhall fall to 
 tfce ground, nor a jot or tittle pafs unfufilled. 
 
 3. The Truth of God is the Ground of Faith, and the flay of 
 our fouls, and the Rock of all our confidence and comfort. A 
 Chriftiandid not differ from another man (unlefs in being 
 fomewhat more deluded ) if God were notTrue. But this is 
 the foundation of all our hopes, and the life of our Religion, 
 and all that we are as Chriliians, proceeds from this. Faith 
 is animated by Gods Veracity, and from thence all other Graces 
 flow, or are excited in us. O Chriftians, what a treafure is 
 before your eyes, when you open theBleffed Book of God / 
 what life fhould it put into your confidence andconrorts, to 
 think that ail thefe words are true ! All thofe defcriptions of 
 the Everlaftmg Kingdome, and all thofe exceeding precious 
 Promifes of this life, and chat which is to come, and all the ex- 
 piefik>ns< f that exceeding Love of God unto his fervan:s, ail 
 theie are die True flings of God. A faithful witnefs will net 
 Lye, Prov. 14. 5. much 1 is will the faithful God. Eternal 
 Life is promifed by God that cannot Lye, Tit. I. 2. [_\Vhcrtin 
 God vpiUingmors abundantly to fhew unto the heirs of Promife, 
 the immutability of his Counsels confirmed it by an oath •, that by 
 tfro immutable things, in tyhich it was impojfible for God 10 
 Lye, we might hive a flrong C ovulation, who have fled for <\V- 
 juge to Liy hold upon the hope fet before ui\ Heb. 6. 17, 18 Lee 
 
 T 2 FaitJ> 
 
1 4 o Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 Faith therefore live upon the Truth of God, and let us be 
 iUengthned, and rej >yce therein. 
 
 4. Abhor all doctrines which deny the Truth and Faith- 
 ■fptlnefioi God : For they deftroy the ground of Chrifttan 
 Faith, of all Divine Faith, and all ReligUn. The Veracity of 
 God is the formal Object ofa'l Divine Faith : We believe God, 
 becaufe he cannot Lye : iiht can Lye, and do Lye, he is not 
 credible. But you will fay, Is there any that hold fuch odious 
 doctrines ? Anfrv. I like not the charging of Per/ons with the 
 confluences of their opinions which they difcern not, but 
 difclaim: God will not charge them with fuch con r equences, 
 who do their bed to know the truth, and why Oiould we? All 
 men have fome erreurs, whofe confequences contradict fome 
 Articles of Faith. It is not the perfons that I perfwadeyou to 
 diflike, but the Dottrine. And' the Dollrine is never the lefs 
 to be abhorred, becaul'e a wife or good man may hold that 
 which doth infer it. 
 
 Ifhallnow infhtneeonly in the Dominicans predetermina- 
 ti&n. They that hold that it is necefary to the being of every 
 circumftantiated at~l natural and free, that God be the principal 
 immediate Phyfical efficient predetermining cattfe of it, do hold 
 that he/0 caufeth all zhtfalfefpeeches and writings (as well as 
 other fins) that ever were fpoken or written in the world : 
 not only as they MQatls in genere^ but as thefe words in par- 
 ticulars that he fo predetermined the tongues of Ananias and 
 Saphira to fay thofe very words which they faid, rather than 
 others : Now feeing it is apparent 1. That God hath not a 
 voice but fpeaketh to us by a Created Voice, even by Prophets 
 and Apoftles^nd that the Scripture was written by men. 2. And 
 that Gods Veracity, which is the formal objetl of our Faith, con- 
 fiftethinhis not ufing lying inflrumenti, nor fending a lying 
 meffenger to us; (it is Veracitasrevelantis peralium.) 3< And 
 that no way of Infpiration can make God to be any more the 
 caufe of the words or writings of an Apoftle,than his Immediate 
 Phyfical efficient fpec'tfyingpredetermindtion doth (Tor it can do 
 no more than irrefiftibly as the firft caufe,Phyfica!ly to premove 
 the agent to this Thought, Will, Word^or Zto^eonfidered with 
 all its circumftances J It folio weth that we have no certainty 
 when God premovethan Apoftle or 'Prophet to fpeak true, 
 
 and 
 
Pare I. Of the Knowledge $f God. %\l 
 
 and when tofpeakfalfly; and that no words or writings arc o 
 certain truth, upon any account of Gods infpiration or premo- 
 tion , becaufe God not only r^but doth caufe all the untruths 
 that are fpokenor, written in the world :Therefbrc no Faith in 
 Gods Revelations hath any fure foundation, nor any formal 
 object at all: And fo all Religion is dafht out at aftroke. To 
 lay that God caufeth not the falfity of the word, nor the word 
 asfalfe, but the word which u falfe, might well bethejuihfT- 
 cacion of them that affirm God to be but the Vniverfal Caufe 
 of the Wordot Aft in genere as a W^rdor Atl -, and that the 
 fp education is only from the finner. But in them that fay he 
 \s the particular Catife of this word comparatively rather than 
 another, it is but a contradiction : i. For there is no other 
 caufe of the falfity, which is a meer Relation, but that which 
 caufeth the Rule and the Word or Writing which is falfe, and 
 folayeththe foundation. 2. It overthroweth all certainty of 
 Faith, if God fpeaktous by his Inflruments, thefe "toordt that 
 arefalfe : The J>uodfalfum y as well as the Qua falf urn ,\eaweth 
 us no ground of certainty. The Dominicans therefore have 
 but one task in which their hope is placed, to excufe their opi- 
 nion from plain obliterating all Divine Belief and Religion,and 
 that is, to prove that there is fo great a difference between /»- 
 jpiration, and their Phyfical Predetermination, that God can- 
 not by Iteration premove to an untruth, though by Phjfical 
 Predetermination he may : This is their task-, which I fee not 
 the leaft poilibility that ever they (hould perform: If God 
 premove, and ^redeterminate every Will, and Tongue, and Pen, 
 to every lye that is fpoken or written, more potently and irre- 
 fiftibly than I move my Pen in writing, it is paltmy power to 
 underftand what more he can do by infpiration, to intereft 
 him in the Creatures A& : or at leaft how the difference can 
 be fo great as that one of the waies he can predetermine all men- 
 to their falfities, and none the other way. But of this I have 
 written a large Difputation •, yet think it not needlefs, even 
 in a pratlicalTreatife to fay this much here. 
 
 5. IheTruth of God mud teach us to hate every Motto* 
 to Vnbeliefin our felves and others : It is a hainons fin to 
 give God the Lye, though he fpeak to us but by his meftengersj 
 Every hone ft man, fo far as he is honeft, is to be believed * and 
 
 T 3: ' is* 
 
\ 42 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 is God lels true } A gracelefs Gallant will challenge you the 
 field for the difhonour, if you give him the Lye. If you de- 
 ny Gods Veracity, you do not only equal hira with the worfl 
 efmen, but with the 'Devil, who was a Ljer from the begin- 
 ning. Yea you make him uncapable of being the Govemour 
 of the Voorld, or fuppofehim to Govern'w by Deceits and Ljes. 
 Abhor therefore the firit motions .ofVobelief. It makes men 
 fomewhac worfe than Devils \ tor the Devils know that God 
 cannot lye, and therefore they believe and tremble. Vnbelief 
 of the Truth of the Word oi God, is the curie of the foul ^ 
 the enemy and bane of all Grace and Religion, fo far as it pre- 
 vailed : Let it be the principal care and labour of your fouls, • 
 to fettle the foundation of your faith aright, and to difcern 
 the Evidence of Divine Authority in the holy Scriptures, and 
 to extirpate the remnants of Infidelity in your hearts. 
 
 6. Let the Truth and Faithfulnefs of God engage you to 
 be True and Faithful to him, and to each other. You have 
 promifedhim to be his fervants ; be faithful in your pro- 
 mises: You are in Covenant with him : break not your Co- 
 venant. Many a particular promife of Reformation you have 
 made to God : Prove not falfe to him that is True to you. 
 
 Be as good as your word to all men that you have to do 
 with. Abhor a Lp as the off-fpring of the Devil, who is the 
 father of it : Remember you ferve a god of Truth: and that 
 it is theRe&icude and Glory of his fervanrs to be confor- 
 mable to him. They fay the Turks are offended at ChruTia- 
 nity, becaufe of the lyes and falfboodotChriftians. But fure 
 they were but nominal Chriftians, and no true Chnftians that 
 ever they found fuch : And its pitty that Chriflianity fhould 
 be judged of through the world, by the lives of them that ne- 
 ver were Chriflians but from the teeth outward, and the 
 skin that was wafht in Baptifm. They that will lye to God, 
 and covenant to be his holy Servants,when [hey hate his holy 
 fervice, w\\\ lye to man, when their commodity required ir. 
 When they feem to Repent, and honour him with their 
 torgues [They flatter him with their month , and lye t9 him 
 with theh tongues •, for their heart is rrnt right with him, neither 
 Are they fledfaftinhi-sCwen -nt\ pfal. 78. 34, $5^6-37. God 
 Lmit. 19. 1 1. Te Jhall Kotfteal, nor deal faftj, nor lye 
 
 one 
 
Pare I. 0} the Kncwkdge of God. 1 43 
 
 one to another."} A Righteous man hatcth lying, Prov. 13, 5. 
 The lying tongue u but for a moment, Prov. 12 I 9. For God 
 hatethit, and it is an abomination to fum, Prov. J 6. 16, 17. 
 The lovers and makers of lyes are fbut out of the Kingdom tf 
 Chrift, Rev. 22. 15. 
 
 Buc above all falfeTeachers that preaehand prophefie lyes, 
 and deceive the Rulers and people of che Earth, are abomi- 
 nable to God. See^r. 27 10, 14, 15. 16. & 14. 14. & 23. 
 25, 26, l2.Ez.tk. 13.9, 12. lfa< 54. 13. When Ahabwas :o 
 be deftroyed, a /jr#«£ yjn>#> /« f£* mouth of his ^Prophets de- 
 ceived him. And if a Ruhr hearken to lyes^ all his (ervs.ntsare 
 mcked^Prov, 29. 2. 
 
 7. Above all falfe witnefs and perjury (hould be moft odi- 
 ous to the fervantsof the God of Truth, Prov. 19 9. ^ jW/> 
 wit nefs /ball not he unpunijhed, and he that fpeaketh lyes /hall 
 perlfh~\ Ecclel. 5.4, 5. when thou voweftavow to God, defer 
 not to pay it. Saith David {Thy Vows are ufOttmee, O God, PiaJ. 
 56.12. And unto thee [hall the Vow be performed, Pfal. 65.1. Per- 
 jury is a fin thatfeldome fcapeth vengeance, even in this life. 
 The in fiances of «SW the fir ft, and Zedekjah the laft ofthe 
 Kings of fudah, before their defolation, are both very ter- 
 rible. Sauls pofterity mull be hanged, to ftay the Famine that 
 came upon the people for his breaking a Vow that was made by 
 Jojbua, and not by him, though he did ir in valfor Ifrael^ 
 2 Sam. 2i.Zf^**J!?'scafc you may fee, 2 Chron. 26. E^k, 
 17. He that fweareth,appealeth to God as thefearcher of 
 hearts, and avenger of perjury. The perjured perfon chooferh 
 the vengeance of Go4. He is unfit (till he repent) to be a mem- 
 ber of any civil fociety. For he diflolvech the bond of all focie- 
 ties. He cannot well be fuppofed to make confidence of any fm 
 or villany in the world, againft God, his Country, hn Kingjhis 
 Friend or Neighbour, that makes no confeience of an oath. Ic 
 is not eafie to name a greater wickednefs out of Hell, than ro 
 approve of per jury by Laws or T> otlrine. And whether the Church 
 of Rome dofoornot,! only defirethem roconfider that have 
 read the third Canon of the Council at Lattran under P. 
 Innocent the third, where an Approved General Council de- 
 creeth, that the Pope dif charge vajfals from their allegiance or 
 fidelity to thofe Temporal Lords that exterminate not Heretickj 
 
 fas 
 
•i 44 Of the Knowledge of God. Part. I. 
 
 fas they call them) out ef their dominions. What (hall reftrain 
 men from killing Kings, or any villany, if once the bond of oaths 
 be nullified? But Scripture faith \_Keepthe Kings Command- 
 went , and that in regard of the OMh of God,Ecc\z\& 2.]No man 
 defendeth Perjury by name : Bat to lay that men that fwear to 
 do that which God commande3h,or forbids not, are not bound 
 to keep that oath • or that the Pope may abfolve men, or dif- 
 oblige them that fwore fidelity to Temporal Lords, when once 
 
 the Pope hath excommunicated them, doth feetn to mee of the 
 
 fame importance. 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 1 9.-TPH E next Attribute to be fpoke of,is, his Mercifulnefs , 
 JL and his Long- fuffering Patience, which we may fet to- 
 gether. This is implied in his Goodnefs, and the Relation of a 
 Father before expreffed. Mercy is Gods Goodnefs inclining him 
 to prevent or remove his creatures Mifery. It is not only the Mi- 
 ferable that are the©Ajf#of it, but alfo thofe that maybe mi- 
 ferable ; it being as truly Mercy to keep vu out of it forefeen, 
 as to deliver us out of it when we are in it. Hence it is that he 
 Pakethnot Pleafure in the death of the wicked, but rather that he 
 turn and Live. And hence it is that he Afflicls not willingly , nor 
 grieves the children of men, Lam. 3. 3 3. Not that his Mercy enga- 
 geth him to do all that he can do for the falvation of every (in- 
 ner, or abfolutely to prevent or heal his mifery • But it is his 
 Attribute chiefly considered as Governour of the Rational Crea- 
 ture •, and fo his Mercy is fo great to all, that he will deftroy 
 none but for their wilful fin, and (hut none among us out of 
 Heaven, but thofe that were guilty of contemning it. God doth 
 not prevent the finner with his Judgement, but with his Grace 
 he often doth. He never punifheth before we are finners, nor 
 never Decreed fo to do, as all will grant. He punifheth none, 
 where his foregoing commands and warnings have had their 
 due effect for the prevention.- And therefor* becaufe the Pre- 
 cept is the firft part of his Law, and the Threatning is but fub- 
 fervient 10 that, and tht firfi intent of a Governour is to pro- 
 cure 
 
Parti, of the KndwkdgeofCod^ T45 
 
 cure Obedience ,and T unifying is but upon fuppofition that he 
 mifieth of the firft; therefore is God faid not to affliEl willingly, 
 becaufe he doth it not** volumate antecedente , but ex voluntate 
 confequente, that is(for fo the diftin&ion is found)notasa£dtt>- 
 giver, and Ruler by thofe Laws confidered^/orf the violation-, 
 but only as a fudge of the Law -breakers. But yet Gods Mercy is 
 no fecurity to the abufers of his Mercy- Bot rather will fink 
 them into deeper mifery, as the aggravation of their fin : As 
 God Afft ills not willingly, and yet we feel that he afflitleth : fo 
 if he do not condemn you willingly, you (hall finde if you are im- 
 penitent, that yet he will condemn you. 
 
 If 'you fay , God can be forced to do nothing again ft his will; I 
 anfweryou, that it is not [imply againft his will-, for then it 
 fhould never come to pafs : But it is againft the Principal ail ef 
 his will, which floweth from him as a Lawgiver ', or Ruler by 
 Laws, in which refped it may be faid that he had rather that 
 the kicked turn and live: but yet if they will not turn, they 
 fhall not live. A merciful Judge had rather the Thief had faved 
 his life by forbearing to Real-, but yet he had not rather that 
 Thieves go unpunlfhed than he fhould condemn them. 
 
 But, you'l fay, If Godhadrather men did not fin, why doth he 
 not hinder it f I anfwer i. He had not abfolutely and [imply 
 rather -, that is, fo far as to do all that he can to prevent it, nor 
 all that without which he foreknoweth it will not be preven- 
 ted ; But he doth much againft fin as a Law-giver, and nothing 
 for it •, hecaufethus not, butperfwadesus from it ^and there- 
 fore as a Ruler he may be faid to have rather that men did not 
 fin, or rather that they would turn and live. 
 
 1. The Mercy of God, therefore fhould lead finners to Re- 
 pentance, and fhame them from their fin, and lead them up 
 to God in Love. 
 
 2. Mercy fhould encourage finners to Repent, as well as en- 
 gage them to it : For we have to do with a Merciful God, that 
 hath not fhut up any among us in defpair, nor forbid them to 
 come in, but continueth to invite when we have oft refufed, 
 and will undoubtedly pardon and welcome all that do return, 
 
 3 . Mercy being fpecjally the portion of the Saints, mufl keep 
 them in Thanhjulnefs, Love and famfort : and all Mercies mufl: 
 be improved for their proper ends : When a Merciful God is 
 
 V pleafed 
 
1 4©" Of the Knowledge efCcl Part I. 
 
 pleafed to fill up his ferwnts lives with fuch Great and Various 
 Mercies as he doth, it fliould breed a continual /w««/iupon 
 their hearts, and eauTe them to ftudythe moft grateful retri- 
 bution. He fliould breath forth nothing but Thankfulnefs , 
 ObeMence M*v«A. who breaths nothing but Mercies from 
 God, As the fad that men live upon, toll be feen in their' 
 temperature, health and ftrcngth ; fo they that live continually 
 ^Mtnttt, flfould be wholly turned into Love and Thank: 
 falneft : It fliould become as it were their nature, temperature 
 and conftitution. O how unfpeakable is the Love of God that 
 provideth fo fweet a life for his fervants, even in their warfare 
 and pilgrimage in this world? that^^muft be as it were 
 the Air that they breath in, the/W which they muff five upon; 
 and the remembrance improvement, aud thankful mention of 
 it mult be the bupnefs and imphjmem of their lives ? O with 
 what fweet affe&ons, meditations, and expreffions fliould we 
 live, if we hved but according to the rate of thofe Mercies 
 upon which we live / Love, and fa, and Thanks, and Praife, 
 would be _our very Uves. What/™ thought. r would Merc] 
 breed and feed m our minds when we are alone? what fweet 
 apprehenfions oftheZm of Cod, and Life Eternal fliould 
 wehaveinPr^r,^^,^^^ and other holy ordi- 
 nances/ Suknejs and Health Poverty and Wealth, Death as 
 well as L,fe would be comfortable to us: for all is full of 
 ^ r TJc*l- 4 ? S *?'"'' OChriftitn,. what a ftiamc 
 1L L r mUCh V "^ a "° our felves fo much 
 
 defrauded of our peace and oy, by palling over fuchabun- 
 dance of great unviable mercies, without tailing the.r 
 
 SdS h „ *"£ ".^S'ofPra.fe would ^^ teach u, to 
 Lur v n ,rK H affea ' onateI y ^ ul ° »« recount the mercies of 
 our youth and riper age? of every place and ftate that we 
 
 encouS : \° ft b c T r °J ™ Gracious Lord, and J. 
 cifulhef ofth <>fcthat Wnot how Good and Mer- 
 
 SST&Sfa "-«^*"yo-r«»truft iin the iZr 
 01 jour ailtreflcs. O do nor trample upon Mercy now left 
 you be confounded when you (hould c/y for Me/cy in ' y S 
 
 4- The 
 
Part I. of the Kmwledge *f God. 1 47 
 
 4. The Mercifulnefs of God, mud caufe his fervants to 
 imitate him in a L$ve of mercy : Be merciful, for your be** 
 venlj Father is merciful. Blfffed are the merciful, for they 
 /hall obtain mercy, Matth. 5. 7. Be merciful in your Ct»- 
 fures : Be merciful in your retributions : You are none of 
 Gods Children, if you Love not your Enemies, and pray not for 
 them that curfe jeu, and do not good to them that hate and per- 
 fecute you ( according to your power) M*tth. 5. 44,45. 
 If you forgive not men their trefpaffes, buc take your Brother 
 by the throat, neither will your heavenly Father forgive 
 you your Trefpajfes, Matth. 6. 14, 15. Mark, that even 
 while he is called [your heavenly Father] yet he Will not for- 
 give, if you forgive not* Unmerciful men are too unlike to 
 God, to claim any intereii in his laving mercy, in the hour 
 of their extremeft mifery. Men of cruelty, blood and vio- 
 lence he abhorrech ; And ufually they do not live out half 
 their daies : But they that bite and devour one another, *re 
 devoured one of anothtr , Gal. 5. 15. The laft judgement will 
 pafs much according to mens works of mercy, to the mem- 
 bers of Chrift, Matth. 25 . He /hall have judgement without 
 mercy, that hath /he^edno mercy : and mercy rejoyceth again ft 
 judgement, James 2. 13. Pure Religion and mde filed before 
 God and the Father is this, to vi fit the Fatherlefs andWiddows 
 in their *ffliftion % and to kjep himfelf mfpotted in the world, 
 James I.27. He */?*** having this worlds ooods, feet h his Bro- 
 ther in need, and Jhuttcth up the bowels of his compaffion from 
 him % how dweSeth the Love of God in him ? But above all 
 cruelty, there is none more devili/h than cruelty to /ouls. 
 Andinthofe that undertake the place of Pa/tors, cruelty to 
 men-s fouls is a far greater fin than in any others. To ftarve 
 thofe that they undertake to feed; and to feduce thofewhem 
 they undertake to Guide, and be Wolves to thofe whofe Shep- 
 herds they pretend to be, and to prefer their worldly honours, 
 and commodity, and eafe, before the fouls of many thou- 
 fands, to be to cruel to [ouls, when Chrift hath been fo mer- 
 ciful to them, as to come down on earth to feek^ and fave 
 them, and to give his life a ranfome for them -, this will one 
 day be fo heavy a charge, that the man that rouft ftand as 
 guilcy under it, will a thoufand times wifli, that a milftone- 
 
 V 2 had 
 
1 48 Of the Knowledge efGed. Part I 
 
 V 
 
 had been hanged about his neck^> and he had been cafi into tht bot* 
 tenteoftheSea, before he bad betrayed or murdered fouls, or 
 offtnded tne of the little ones of Chrift. Be merciful to mens 
 fouls and bodies, as ever you would find mercy with a merciful 
 God'm the hour of yourneceflity and diftrefs. 
 
 Chap. XXL 
 
 20. c ~pHE laft of £0^ Attributes which I fhall nowmen- 
 J, tion, is, his Dreadfulnefs or Terriblenefs , to thofe that 
 are the objeds of his wrath. This is the refult of his other At- 
 tributes, efpeciallyof his Holinefs, and Governing }uftice,&nd 
 Truth in hiscomminations. He is a Great and Dreadful God % 
 Dan. 9. 4. A mighty God and terrible , Deut. 7. 2 1 . A great 
 and terrible (Jod y Nail. I. 5-. With God is terrible Afajefty^Job 
 37. 22. The Lord me ft high is terrible, Pfal . 47. 22. 
 
 1. His Children therefore mud be kept in a holy awe •, God 
 is never to be approached or mentioned, but with the greateft 
 reverence. Wcmu{[fanclifie the Lord of Hofts himfelf , and he 
 muft be our fear and dread, I fa. 8. 1 3 . Even they that receive 
 the unmove able Kingdom, muft have grace in their hearts to 
 ferve him acceptably with Reverence and godly fear , becaufe eur 
 God is a confuting fire, Heb. 12.28,29. When we come to 
 worfhipin the holy Affemblies, we fhould think, as Jacob, 
 Gen. 28. 17. HoVp dreadful is this place ? This is none other 
 but the Houje of God, and this is the gate of Heaven. Efpecially 
 when God fc erne th to frown upon the foul, his fervants muft 
 &#w£/* them felves before him, and deprecate his wrath, as pe- 
 remiah did, fer. 17. 17. Be not a terrour to mee. It ill becom- 
 eththe ^7?oifmen, to make light of the frowns and threat- 
 nings of God. Alfo when he dealcth with us in Judgement, 
 and we feel the fmart of his chaftifements, though twe muft 
 remember that he is a Father, yet withall we muft confider 
 that he (lie we th himfelf an offended Father'. And therefore 
 true and deep Humiliation hath ever been the courfe of 
 tffrli&cd Saints, to turn away the wrath of a terrible 
 God. 
 
 2. But 
 
Part I # of the Knowledge $f Cod^ 146 
 
 2. But above all, what caufehave the Vngodly to tremble 
 at the Dreadfulnefs of that God, who is engaged in Juftice, 
 (except they be converted) to u(e them evcrlaftingly as his 
 unpardoned enemies. As there is no felicity like the favour 
 of God ^ and no joy comparable to hiFchildrens;^/ ^ fois 
 there no mifery like the fenfeof his Di^leafure, nor any ter- 
 rours to be compared to thofe, which his wrath inflideth 
 everlaftingly on the ungodly. O wretched {inner / what 
 haft thou done to make God rhine enemy ? what could hire 
 thee to offend him by thy willful fin ? and to do that which 
 thou kneweft he forbad and condemned in his Word? Wbac 
 ■madnefs caufed thee to make a mock at fin and hell, and to 
 play with the vengeance of the Almighty ? what gain did 
 hire thee to caft thy foul into the danger of damnation ? canfi: 
 thou fave by the match, if thou win the world and lofe thy 
 foul ? Didft thou not know who it was thou hadft to do with ? 
 It had been better for thee that all the world had been offend- 
 ed with thee, even men and Angels, great and fmall, than the 
 mod Dreadful God ? Didfl thou not believe him when he 
 told thee how he was refolved to judge and punifh the ungod- 
 ly / Read it zThef. 2.7,8,9,10. and 2. 10, 1 1. Matth.25, 
 fud. 15. PfaL i.&c. what caufed thee to venture upon the 
 confuming fire ? Didft thou not know that as he is Merciful, 
 (o he is fealotts, Holy, fufi and Terrible f In the Name of 
 God, I require and intreat thee, fly to his Mercy in Jefus 
 Chrift^ and hearken fpeedily to his Grace, and turn at his 
 reproof and warning •, To day while it is called to day , harden 
 not thy heart, but hear his voice, left he refolve in his wrath, 
 that thou (halt never enter into his reft • There is no en- 
 during, there is no overcoming, there is no contending with an 
 angry, dreadful, holy God : Repent therefore and turn to 
 him, and obey the voice of Mercy that thy foul may live. 
 
 3. The Dreadfulnefs of God, doth tell both govd and bad 
 the great neceffity of a Mediator. What an unfpeakable 
 mercy is it that God hath given us his Son I and that by Jefus 
 Chrift we may come with boldnefs and confdtnce into the pre- 
 fence of the Dreadful God, that clfe would have been to us 
 a greater terror than all the world, yea than Satan hirafelf. 
 The more we are apprehenfiveofour^^^ from God, and 
 
 V 3 ©f 
 
i5<3 Of the Knowledge of God. Part I. 
 
 of 'bis Terrible Ma)t fly , and his more Terrible jufiice againfl: 
 fuch finners as we have been, the more we (hall undcrftand 
 the myfterie of Redemption, and highly value the Mediation 
 ofChrift. 
 
 4. Laftly, kt the Dreadfulnefs of God, prevail with every 
 believing foul, to piny the ungodly thatpitt} not themfelves. 
 O pray lor them, O warn them, exhort them ., intreat them, 
 as men that know the Terrours of the Lord, 2 Cor. 5. II. If 
 they knew as well as you do what fin is, and what it is to be chil- 
 dren of wrath, and what it is to be unpardoned, unjuftifled 
 and unfanftified, they would pitty themfelves, 'and cry for 
 mercy, mercy, mercy, from day to day, till they were reco- 
 vered into a ftate of life, and turned from the power of Satan 
 unto God. Alas, they know not what it is to die, and to fee 
 the world to come, and to appear before a dreadful God : 
 They know not what it is to be in Hell fire ; nor what it is to 
 be glorified in Heaven ; They never faw or tryed thefe things, 
 and they want the Faith by which they mult be forefeen by 
 thofe that are yet (hort of nearer knowledge : you therefore 
 that have Faith to foreknow thefe things, and are enhghtned 
 by the Spirit of God, O pitty and warn and help the miser- 
 able / Tell them how much eafier it is to efcape Hell, than to 
 endure it : and how much eafier a Holy life on earth is, than 
 the endlefs wrath of the mod Dreadful God. Tell them that 
 unbelief, preemption andfecurity, are the certain means to 
 bring their mifery , but will do nothing to keefitoff; though 
 they may keep off the prefent knowledge zndfenfe of it, which 
 would have droven them to feek a cure. Tell them that 
 death and judgement are at hand, and that when they laugh, 
 or fport, or fcorn, and jeaft at the Difpieafure of the Dread- 
 fulGod, it is pofting toward them, andwllbeupon them be- 
 fore they are aware ; and when they (lumber, their damna- 
 tion flumbereth not ; but while unbelieving finners fay, 
 Peace, Peace, fudden deilru&ion will come upon them, as 
 unexpected travail on a woman with child, and they (hall not 
 efcape. O tell them how dreadful a thing it is, for a foul that 
 isunregencrate andunfan&ified, to go from that body which 
 it pampered and fold its falvation to pleafure, and to appear at 
 the tribunal of God ^ and how dreadful it is for fuch a foul, 
 
 to 
 
Part L of the Knowledge of God. 1 5 1 
 
 to fall into the hands of the living God. At leaft fa ve your 
 own fouls, by the faithful difcharge of fo great a duty ^ and 
 if they will take no warning, let them at lait remember when 
 it is too late, that they were told in time, what they fhould fee 
 and feel at Jaft, and what the later end would prove • and 
 that God and man did warn them in companion, though they 
 perifh becaufe they would have no companion or mercy upon 
 themfelves. Thus let the Terriblenefs of God provoke you, 
 to do jour duty with ffeed and zeal, for the converting and 
 faving of miferable fouls. 
 
 AND thus 1 have briefly fet before you the Glafs in which 
 you may fee the Lord, and told you how he rauft be 
 known : and how he muft be conceived of in our apprehen- 
 fions •, and how the knowledge of God muft be improved,and 
 what impreffions it muft make upon the heart, and what effed 
 it muft have upon our lives: BlefTed and for ever blefled are 
 thofe fouls, that have the truly and lively Image of this God, 
 and all thefe his Attributes imprinted on thenij (as to the 
 Creature they are communicable. ) And O that the veil Wert 
 ta\en from our hearts , that "we all with open face beholding as in 
 a glafs the Glory of the Loord, may be changed into the fame 
 Image from Glory to Glory , as by the fir it of the Lord, 2 Cor, 
 3. 18. and may increafc and live in the knowledge of the true 
 and only God, and of feftu Chrifi , which Is Eternal Lift*, 
 Amen. 
 
THE 
 
 DESCRIPTION, 
 
 Reafons & Reward, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BELIEVERS 
 
 Walking with God 
 
 On Gen. 5. 24. 
 jB> Richard Baxter. 
 
 LOHDOZi, 
 
 Printed for Francis Tjton at the three Daggers in 
 
 Fleet- flreet, and Nevil Simmons Bookfeller 
 
 in Kederminfter. 1664. 
 
*s «i m A e* £* «l w *if* <?a fa. ?s f*fif* &. A&. As% 
 
 ^9 Cp Cp Cp <p *p «p Cp Cp <p tp <p <p <p <p <p rp vp cp Cp Cp 
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 T 
 
 Chap. I t 
 
 #£ text explained : *£** /* it to Walk with 
 God : what it containetb both for Matter and 
 ^Manner. Page 15? 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 Tbefirfllife : A Lamentation of the p aft Heal Atheifme 
 of the world. Motives to change jour inordinate crea» 
 ture- converfe into converfe with God : How much fin- 
 ners have to do with Cod $ more than with all the world 
 besides : /hewed in iqinjlances. p. 1 85 
 
 Chap. IIT # 
 
 An anfwer to them that think God doth us good byne- 
 cefiity of Nature^ as the fan doth illuminate and warm 
 us • and therefore though he have much to do for us, yet 
 
 X 2 much 
 
The Contents. 
 
 much is mt required from us towards him. And to 
 them that think > he is above our converfe^ and ftnfuit- 
 able to us. 7 en Jguere's to evince the nectfiity of our 
 own holy diligence in godlinefi : BfpeciaHy of ex- 
 eniftng our Thoughts upon Cod, Ten mifchiefs that 
 befall them, who have mt God in all their Thoughts. 
 
 p.ioj 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 Traffic d Atheism further detected. Ananfwer to them 
 that think it unfit for ignorant men, or podr men to 
 think fo much of God, and that tt wtll make men me- 
 lancholy and mad. Ten proportions (hewing how far it 
 is our duty to Think of God $ bj way of explication. 
 
 p. 220 
 C H A P. V. 
 
 An anfwer to them that fay, Godre^ardeth not Thoughts 
 but Deeds. Twelve evidences of the regardablenefs 
 of our Thoughts* p. 2 30 
 
 Chap. VI, 
 
 The application to the Godly. The Benefits of walking 
 with God. I. // is f nit able to humane Nature. How 
 it is Natural. No middle life between the fenfual 
 and the Holy, of them that delight in Knowledge and 
 moral vertue. Nature in its fir ft conflitution was not 
 only Innocent but Holy: Proved, 1 1. To walk with 
 God is the higheft and noble ft lift. Ill, It is the only 
 tourft to prove and make men truly wife. Proved by 
 
 Un 
 
The Contents. 
 
 ten evidences. IV. It maketh mtngood as well <u 
 vtifc^and advanceth to the zreatejlholinej? and reBl- 
 tude. Proved by five evidences, V, It is the befl 
 f reparation for Jufferings And death -, /hewed by [even 
 advantages , to that end % p. 235 
 
 Chap, VII. 
 
 Five [fecial obligations on true believers to walk with 
 Cod, and to avoid inordinate Creature- converfe. 
 
 p. »77 
 
 X } Chap* 
 
m 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 Gen. 5.24. 
 
 And Henoch . walked with God, and he wm not 5 
 for God took him. 
 
 t Eeing to fpeak of our Converje with God 
 in Solitude, I think it will not be unfuit- 
 ablc, nor unterviteable to the Ends of 
 that Difcourfe, if I here premife a fliort 
 defcripiionofthe General Duty of pra» 
 Bicalgodlinefs, as it is called in Scripture 
 a Walking with God. It is here commend- 
 ed to us in the example of Holj Henoch, 
 whofe excellency is recorded in this fignal character, thjic [he 
 
 walked 
 
1 60 WSlVing with Ged. Part II. 
 
 walked with God :1 and his fpeaal Reward expreffed in the 
 
 words following [and he was not ^ f-^rGod toot^ him."} I (hall 
 fpeak wscj? of Ins (fharamr^ and then fomewhat ot his ifr- 
 
 The Samaritan and vulgar-Latineverfions, do ftridly tran- 
 flite the Hebrew as we read it : but the interpretation of the 
 SepMisgint, the Syriack, the Chaldceand the Arabick, are ra- 
 ther good expofitions fall fet together) of the meaning of the 
 word, than ftriH trxn (I At ions. The Septuagint and Syriack 
 read it £ Henoch pleafed God."] The Chaldee hath [Henoch 
 walked in the fear of God :] And the Arabick [he walked in 
 obedience to God.] And indeed to walkin the fear and obedience 
 e>f God, and tbiereby to pleafe him"] is the principal thing in our 
 [Walking with God.'] The fame Character is given of Noah 
 in Gen. 6. 19. and the extraordinary Reward annexed j He 
 and his family were faved in the Deluge. And the holy life 
 which God commanded Abraham is called £ a walking 
 before God] Gen. 17. 1. [_Wafy before me, and be thou per- 
 feB. ] And in the New Teftament the Chriftian Conver* 
 fation is ordinarily called by the name of [Walking.] Some- 
 time a Walking in Chrift : as Col. 2. 6. Sometime a Walk: 
 ingin the ftirit, in which we live, Gal. 5. 25; And a Walk? 
 ing after the Jpirit, Rom. 8.1. Sometime a Walking in th$ 
 Light, at God is in the Light, l Joh. 1.7. Thofe that abide 
 in Chrift muft fo walJ^evcn as he hath walked,] I Joh. 2. 6. 
 Thcfe phrafes fet together tell us, what .it is to Walkjtoith 
 God. Rut I think it not unprofitable fomewhat more 
 particularly to (hew you what this Walking with God doth 
 contain. 
 
 As Athtifm is the fum of wickednefs, fo all true Religiouf- 
 nefs is called by the name of Godlinefs or Holinefs, which is 
 nothing elfe but our Devotednefs to God, and Living to Him , 
 and our Relation to Him as thus Devoted in Heart and Life; 
 Practical Atheifm is a Living at without God in the world,] 
 Ephcf. 2. 12. Godlinefs is contrary to practical Atheifm, and 
 is a Living as with and to God in the world and in the Church, 
 and is here called a Walking with God, And it containeth in 
 it thefe particulars. 
 
 1. To 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 1 61 
 
 i. To walkwith 0*f included! ch -. PraQkdl acknowledge 
 ment (char is made by the TV/7/ as well as the Vnderfianding) 
 of the grand Attributes of God, and lis Relations \o Man\ 
 that he is jnfini e in ; is Being, that is, Immenfe and Eternal - 9 
 as all*. \wer, Wifdom and Goodnefs i that he is the Crea- 
 
 tor, Redeemer and Sar.Eti fieri that he is our Abfolute Lord (or 
 Owner') our mod Rtghteopts Gvemour ,znd moil bountiful Be- 
 nefaftor ( r Father:) ?h\. Of Him, and Through Him, and 
 T i Him are all things : tha: >'» /^w we Live, and wot»e, and 
 have our being i that he is the fountain, or p7? fd#/e from 
 which ail (proper) %4ng y Trutb and Goodnefs in the Creature 
 is but a derived dream. To have the foul unfeignediy refign 
 it (elf to Him, as his Own •, and fubjetl it J elf to Him as our 
 GWr»0«r,waiking in the awe of his kneraign Power ; fenfible 
 oftheftrong obligation of his Laws, which Reafon, Juftice 
 and Neceffity do all command us to obey. To live as in full 
 dependence on him •, To have the firft and greateft refpe& unto 
 him : Amoree^r^^refped to Him than to our Rulers: 
 A more obedient refpect to Him than to our Maflers i A 
 more dependent tender and honourable refpeft to Him than 
 to Parents, or our neareft friends. Thus he thai come th to God 
 fas God, andfo as to be accepted of him J muft believe that He 
 is, (his Effential Attributes) and (what he is in his Relations 
 to man ^ efpecially that as our Governour and BenefaBor) he 
 is the Rewarder of them that diligent feekjiim, Heb. 1 1. 6. The 
 imprefs of a Deity in his Effential and Relative Attributes mull: 
 be upon the Heart of him that walks with God: Yea, the Being 
 of(7^muftbe much more remarkable ro him, than the Being 
 oiaR Creatures •, and his preftnee more regarded, than the 
 presence of the Creature ; and al! things muft be to us in 
 comparifon of God , as a Candle is in comparison of the 
 Sun : His Greatnefs and tranfeendent Excellencies muft fo 
 over- power them all, as to make them lefs obferved and 
 regarded, by his taking up our chiefobfervation and regard. 
 
 2. Our walking with God includeth our Reconciliation to 
 him, and that we are not in our natural (late of Enmity, but 
 made his Children and friends in Chrift. (fan tV?o wal po- 
 ther unlefs they be agreed} Amos 3.3. Enmity is againll 
 Vnitj , Difaffetlion caufeth Averfion , and flying from 
 
 Y each 
 
i6z Waiting with God. Part II, 
 
 each other : Yea the fears of a guilty Child may make 
 him flye from his Fathers prefence, till there be a particular 
 Reconciliation befides the general ftate of Reconciliation. A 
 provoking faulty Child doth Dwell with God his Father, 
 though under the continual terror of his frowns: But to 
 walk with him (in the full fenfe) is more than to be rela- 
 ted to him, and to dwell with him : In a large fenfe indeed 
 all Gods Children may be faid to walk, with him , as it figni- 
 fieth only a converfation ordered in godlinefs, (incerity and 
 fimplicity. But in this fublimer fenfe, as it fignifieth* lively 
 exercife of Faith and Lo^e, and heavenly -mindednefs, and a 
 courfe of comp/acential contemplation, and holy converfe with 
 God, foit is proper only to fome of the founder and more 
 vigilant induftrious believers. And hereto it is neceflary, not 
 only that we be J uft ified and Reconciled to God from our ftate 
 of Enmity, but alfo that we be par doned.juft ified and reconciled 
 from our particular wounding falls, which are more than the 
 ordinary infirmities of Believers. And alfo it is neceflary 
 that we have grateful friendly thoughts of God : that we 
 have fo much ienfe of his excellency, goodnefs and kind- 
 nefs to our {elves, as may give us a complacency in conver- 
 ting with him, and may make the thoughts and mention of 
 him to be defirable and pleating to us. Walking with God 
 doth import, though not the full aflurance of his fpecial 
 Love and Grace to us , yet fuch an apprehenfion of his Love 
 and Goodnefs, as may draw the heart to think of him with 
 defire, if not with delight. A lothnefs to draw near him, 
 to think of him , or to mention him, a wearinefs of his 
 fpecial fervice , are contrary to this fpecial talking with 
 God. 
 
 3 . Our Walking Vvith God, doth include our efieeming 
 «nd intending Him as the Vhimate End and felicity of our 
 fouls. He is not to be fought, or loved, or convened with, 
 as a means to any greater good (for there is no greater) nor 
 as inferiour, or meerly equal unto any ; His Goodnefs muft 
 be the moft powerful attractive of our Love : His favour 
 muft be valued as our happinefs ^ and the Pleafing of him 
 muft be our moft induftrious imployment. To walk^ with 
 him, is to live in the warming reviving funlhine of his Good- 
 nefs, 
 
Part II. mlkfog with God. 163 
 
 nefs, and to feel a delighting [stuffing virtue in his Love and 
 gracious prefence. To live as thofe that are not their own 9 
 and that have their lives, and faculties, and provifions, and 
 helps Tor their Maflers fervice : As a Horfe or Dog is of 
 fo much worth, as he is of z> ft to him thatowneth him- and 
 that is the be ft that is the moft ferviceable to his Matter : Yet 
 with this very great difference, that man being a more noble 
 and capacious creature, is admitted not only into a ftateo/ 
 Service, but of Son/hip, and Friend/hip, and Communion with 
 God •, and is allowed and appointed to (hare more in the 
 pleafure and fruits ofhisfervices, and to put in his ownfeh- 
 city and delight \mo his End, not only becaufe Self love is 
 natural and nece [far j to the Creature, but alfo becaufe he is 
 under the Promife of a Reward • and ( more than either) 
 becaufe he is a Lover, and not only a Servant, and his work 
 is principally a work of Love, and therefore his Endis finis 
 amantis, the end of a Lover, which ia Mutual Complacency in 
 the cxercifes of Love. 
 
 He that feeketh not fir ft the Kingdome and Righteoufnefs of 
 Cod, and referreth not other things to Him, butfeeks fir ft 
 the Creature, and God only for it , doth but deny God in 
 his heart, and bafely fubjed him to the works or his own 
 hands, and doth not walk, yith God, but vilifie and rejetl 
 him. If you Live not to God, even to obey, and pleafe, and 
 honour him, you do not walk^ with him ; but walk^ contrary 
 to him (by living to his Enemies, theFlefh, the World, and 
 the Devil ) and therefore God will wall^ contrary to yon , 
 Levit. 26. 21,23,24, 27, 28. You were both Created and 
 Redeemed, though for your own felicity, yet principally for 
 the Glory and Pleafure of your Creator and Redeemer -, and 
 fol no felicity of your own, but what confifteth in Pleafing 
 him, Glorifying him, and Enjoying him : Whether therefore 
 we eat or drinks er whatever we do, it fiould all be done to the 
 Glory of God, 1 Cor. 10. 3 1. He that regardeth a day, ovre- 
 gardeth it not', he that eateth, or that eateth not, muft do it 
 to the Lord: (And though a Good Intention will not fandtifTe 
 a forbidden atlion , yet fins of Ignordnce and meer Frailty are 
 forborn and pardoned of God, when it is his Glory and Ser- 
 vice thatisfincerely intended, though there be a miftake in 
 
 Y z the 
 
i6\ WAlking mtb God. Part II. 
 
 the cl.oice of means.) None of m liveth to himfelf, and no 
 wan dyith t$ himfelf : Fer whether we live, we live unto the 
 Lord, and whether we dye, we dye unto the Lord : Whether we 
 live therefore or dye, we are the Lords : For to this end Chrifc 
 both dyed, rofe and revived, that he might be Lord both of the 
 dead and iiving~\ Rom. 1 4. 6, 7 , 8 , 9. Oar walking with God, 
 isaferious Labouring, that whether prefent or abfent,\X>e may 
 be accepted of him, 2 Cor. 5. 9. To tins ihe Love of our Re- 
 deemer mult conftrain m : For he dyed for all y that they which 
 live, fhould net henceforth live unto themfelves, but unto him 
 tht dyed for them, and rofe *gainJ\ Verf. 14,15, Religion 
 therefore is called the feeking of God, becaufe the foul doth 
 prefs after him. and labour tu enjoy him, as the Runner feeks 
 to reach the prize ; or as a Suiter feeketh the Love and frui- 
 tion of the perfon beloved. And all the particular ads of 
 Religion are oft denominated from this intention oftheEnd t 
 and following after it, and are all called a feeking the Lord. 
 Conversion is called & feeing the Lord, Ifa. 55. 6. Seek^ye 
 the Lord while he way be found :~\ Hof. 5.5. The Children of 
 ifraelfbaM return andfetk^the Lord their Ged~\ Hof. 7. 1 o. They 
 do not return to the Lordtheir God, nor feekjhim : ] Men that 
 are called to Converfton, are called to feekjGod, Hof. 10. 12. 
 Break up your fallow ground, foritis time to feek^ the Lord till 
 he come and rain Righteoufnefs uponyou.~\ The converted Chil- 
 dren of Jfrael and Judah fhall go weeping together to feek^ the 
 Lord their God, Jer. 50.4. The wicked are described to be 
 men that do not feekjhe Lord, Ifa. 9. 1 3 . & 3 1 . I . The holy Co- 
 venant, 2 Chron. 15. 12, 13.W&S to feekjhe Lord? If therefore 
 you would Walkwith God, let him be the mark^ the prize, the 
 treafure, the happinefj, the Heaven it (elf which you aim at,and 
 fincerely feek,i Chron. 22.1 9. Now fet your heart andyourfoul 
 tofeekjthe Lord your God : ] Pjfal, 105.3,4 [_G lory ye in his Ho- 
 ly Name : Let the heart of the w re Joyce thatfeek^ the Lord : Seel^ 
 the Lord and hisftrength , feekhis face for evermore.^ As the 
 life of aCovetous man is * feeking of Riches, and the life of an 
 ambitious man is a feeking of worldly honour and applaufe, fo the 
 life of a man that liveth to God, is a feeling Him , to pleafe him, 
 honour him, and enjoy him , And fo much of this as he attain- 
 ed^ fo much dotb heattain of fatisfaftion and content. If you 
 
 live 
 
Part 1 1 . Walking x*ith God. 1 6 $ 
 
 live to God, and feek^him as your End and All, the want of 
 any thing will be tolerable to ynu, which is but confiftent with 
 the fruition of his Love. \i he be pleafcd, mans diffleafure 
 maybe borne: The lofsof all th:ngs ifChnft be won, will 
 not undo us. Mans condemnation of us fignitieth but little, if 
 God the abfolute Judge do juftifie us. He walketfi^hot with 
 God, that Livtth not to him as his only H^pinefs and End. 
 
 4. Moreover our Waling withGod includech our fubjeftion 
 to his Authority, and our taking His Wifdom and Will to be 
 our Guide, and his Laws m Nature and Scripture for our 
 Rule : you muft not walk with him as his Equals, but as his 
 Subjects ; nor give h-m the honour of an ordinary fttperior, 
 but of the univerfal King : In our doubts he muftrejolve us ; 
 and in our firaits we mult ask' counfel of the Lord : \_Lord, 
 ■what wouldft thou have me to do~\ is one of the firft words of a 
 penitent foul, Aft. 9. 6. When fenfual worldlings do firft ask 
 the flefb, or thofe that can do it hurt or good , what they would 
 have them be or do. None of Chrifts true Subjects, do call 
 any man Father or Mafter on earth, but in fubordination to 
 their higheft Lord, Matth. 23. The Authority of God doth 
 aw them and govern them more than the fear of the greateft 
 upon earth. Indeed they know no power but Gods, and that 
 which he committeth unco man . And therefore they can 
 obey m man againft God, what ever it coft them : but under 
 God they are molt readily and faithfully fubjed to their Go- 
 vernors, not meerly as to men that have power to hurt them 
 if they difobey^ but as to the officers of the Lord, whofe 
 Authority they difcern and reverence in them : But when they 
 have to do with the enemies of Chnft, who ufurp a power 
 which be never gave them, againft his Kingdom and the fou's 
 of men, they think it ealie to refolve the queftion, whether it 
 he better to obey God or men ? As the commands of a rebellious 
 Conftable or other fellow- fubjed: are of no authority againft 
 the Kings Commands •, lo the commands of all the men on 
 earth, are of fo fmall authority with them againft the Laws of 
 God, that they fully approve of the ready and refolucean- 
 fwer of thofe VVitneiTes, Dan.$. 16, 17, 18. \jVe are not care- 
 ful to anfwer thee in thU matter : If it be fo, our God whom we 
 ferve is able to deliver hs, &c. But if not ^ be it knoty* mto thee 
 
 Y 3 OKing 
 
1 66 WMing with God. Part II. 
 
 OKing that we will not ferve thy gods nor worjhip the golden 
 image which thou haft fet u?.~\ Worldlings are ruled by i heir 
 flefhly intereft, and wifdom, and felf-will, and by the will of 
 man io far as it doth comporce with thefe : By thefe you may 
 handle them and lead them up and down the world ; By thefe 
 doth Satan hold them in captivity. But believers feel them- 
 feives in fubjeftion to a higher Lord and better Lr.w, which 
 they faithfully though imperfectly obferve : Therefore our 
 walking with God is called A walking in hit Law, Exod .16.4, 
 A walking in his fiat Hies, and keeping and doing hit commands , 
 Lev. 26. 3 . A talking in his paths, Mic. 4. 2. It is our follow- 
 ing the Lamb, which way foever he goeth : To be given up to 
 our own hearts tufts, and to walk* in onr counfels, is contrary to 
 this holy walkwith <?<^,Pfal 81. 12. and is the courfe of thofe 
 that are departed -from him : And they that are far from him 
 /ball peri/h : he deftroyeth thofe that go a whoring from him : 
 But it is good for hs to draw near to God, Pfial. 73. 27, 28. 
 
 5. Our walking with God doth imply that as we are ruled 
 byhisW/#, (owe fear no punifhment like histhreatned di]plea~ 
 fure : and that the threats of death from mortal men, will not 
 prevail with us fo much as his threats of Hell, Luk. 12. 4. If 
 God fay, I will condemn thee to everlafling punifhment if 
 thou wilt not keep my Laws] And if men fay, We will con- 
 demn thee to imprifonment or death if thou keep them] the 
 believer more feareth God than man : The Law of the King 
 doth condemn 'Daniel to the Lyons den, if he forbear not to 
 pray for a certain time. But he more feareth God that will 
 deny thofe that deny him, and rorfake thofe that forfakc 
 him : Therefore the forementioned witnefiVs ventured on 
 the fiery furnace, becaufe God threatned a more dreadful 
 fire. Therefore a true believer dare not live , when an unbe- 
 liever dare not die: He dare not fave his life from God left he 
 lofeit; but lofeth it that he may fave ir. But unbelievers that 
 walk not with God, but after the fie ft , do moftfear them that 
 they obferve mod powerful in the world, and wil! more be 
 moved with the penalty of fomc worldly lofs or furTering, 
 then with Gods moft dreadful threats of Hell : For that 
 which they fee not, is to them as nothing, while they want that 
 faith by which it is foreknown, and mult beefcaped. 
 
 6. More- 
 
Part I I. Walking with God. i $ 7 
 
 6. Moreover he that walkjwithGod, doth from God expeel 
 his f ull reward. He ceafeth not his holy courk-, though no 
 man obferve him, or none commend him or approve him • 
 though all about him hate him and condemn him ., though he 
 be (o far from gaining by it with men, that it coft him all that 
 he hath or hoped for in the world : For he knoweth that Godli- 
 nefs is of it felt great gain, and that it hath the promife of this 
 life and that to come, and none can make Gods promife void : 
 He knoweth that his Father which feeth in fecretwill reward 
 him openly, Matth. 6. and that he /hall have a treafure in hea- 
 ven that parteth with all on earth for Chri(t,£«^. 18.22. And 
 he hath fuch refpeft to this promifed recompence of reward, 
 that for it he can fuffer with the people of God t and account the 
 very reproach of Chrift a greater treafure then Court or 
 Country can afford him in a way of fin, Heb.11.26. He ac- 
 counteth them bleffedthat are perftcutcd for righteeufnefs fake, 
 becaufe the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. He judgeth it a 
 caufe of exceeding joy, to be reviled and perfecuted, and to have 
 all manner of evil falfly fpoken of us for the fake of Chrift, be- 
 caufe our reward in Heaven is great , Matth. 5. 10, 1 1, 12. For 
 he verily believeth that as fure as thefe tranfitory pleafures 
 will have an end, and everlaftingly forfake thofe miferable 
 fouls that were deluded by them, fo certainly is there a life of 
 endlefs joyes, to be poffeffed in Heaven with God and all the 
 Holy ones^ and this he Willtruft to as that which will fuily 
 repair his lojflfes and repay his coft, and not deceive him : Lee 
 others truft to what they will, it is this that he is refolved to 
 truft to, and venture all to make it fure (when he is fure that 
 AHi$ Nothing which he ventureth, and that by the adventure 
 he can never be a lofer, nor never fave by chooflng that which 
 itfelf mult perifli.J Thus he that truly walks with God ex- 
 pe&eth his Reward from God, and with God , and thence is en- 
 couraged in all his duty, and thence is emboldned in all his 
 confl ift«, and thence is upheld and comforted in his fufferingf 2 
 When Man is the Rewarder (as well as the chief Ruler) of the 
 Hypocrite, and earthly things are the poife and motives to his 
 earthly mind. 
 
 7. Our talking with God importeth that as we expect our 
 Reward from hiro, fo alfo that we take his Promife for our fe- 
 
 curity 
 
1 63 Walking with Cod. Part 1 1. 
 
 curity for that Rewird. Believing hh Word ?.nd trufiinghls 
 fidelity to the quieting and emboldening of the foul, is part of 
 our holy walking wirh him. A promife of God is greater fa- 
 tishiftion and encouragement to a true believer, than all the 
 vifible things on earth: A promife ef God can do more and 
 prevail further with an upright foul, than all ihefenfibleobjetls 
 in the world. He will do more and go further upon fuch a 
 promife, then he will for all that man can give him. Perufe 
 the lire of Chrifts Apoitle? and fee what a promye of Chritt can 
 do- How it nude them forfake all earthly pleafures, poflef- 
 fions and hopes, and part with friends, and houfes, and Coun- 
 try, and travail up and down the world, in dangers and fufTer- 
 ings and unwearied labours, defpifed and abufed by great and 
 fmall : and all this to preach the Gofpd of the Kingdom 
 which they had never feen } and to attain that Everlafh'ng Hap- 
 pinefs, and help others to attain it, for which they had nothing 
 but the promife of their Lord. See what a promife well be- 
 lieved will make a Chriftian do and furTer. Believers did 
 thofe noble ads, and the Martyrs underwent thofe torments, 
 which are mentioned Heb.n. becaufe thy judged him faith- 
 ful that had promifed, Heb. 1 1 . 1 1 . They confidered not difficul- 
 ties and deftft of means and improbabilities as to fecond 
 caufes, nor ftaggtred at the promife of God through unbeliefs 
 but being firong in faith gave glory to God, being fully perfw.ided 
 that what he had promifed he was alfo able to perform^ As it is 
 faidof Abraham, Rom. 4. 19,20,21. 
 
 8. To Vvalk.with God, is to live as in hU pre fence , and that 
 with de fire and delight. When we believe and apprehend that 
 whereever we are, we are before the Lord, who feeth our hearts 
 and all our waies • who knoweth every thought we th ; nk, and 
 every word we fpeak, v and every fecret thing which we do: 
 As verily to believe that(7o^is here prefent andobferveth a'l, 
 as we do that we our (elves are here : To compofc our minds, 
 our thoughts, our affections to that \ioly reverence and feriouf- 
 nefs as befeemeih man before his Maimer : To order our words 
 with that care and gravity as befeems thole that fpeak in the 
 hcaringoi the Lord. That no mans pre fence do feem more 
 confiderabletousthcn ^prefence : As we are not moved at 
 theprefenceofa fly t or worm, or dog, when perfons of honour 
 
 and 
 
Part IL WdklngwlthGoL \$ 9 
 
 and reverence are prefent, fo fhould we not comparatively be 
 moved ac the preface of watt, how great, or rich, or terrible fo- 
 ever, when we know that Qod himfelf \s prefent , to whom the 
 greateil of the fonsofmen, is more inconfiderable then a fly 
 or worm is unto them. As the prefencc of the King makes 
 ordinary {landers by tobeunobferved, and the dijc our feso? 
 the learned make us difregard the bablings of children , fo the 
 frefence of God fhould make the greateft to be fcarce obferved 
 or regarded in companion of himi God who is (till with tu 
 fhould fo much take up our regard, that all others in his pre- 
 sence fhould be but as a candle in the prefence of the fun. 
 Therefore it is that a believer compofeth himfelf to that be- 
 haviour which he knoweth Goddozh moil expe&, and befeem • 
 cth thofe that (land before him : when others accommodate 
 therofelves to theperfons that arc prefent, obferving them, 
 plcafing them, and fhewir.g them refped, while they take no 
 notice of God at all, as if they believed not that he is there. 
 Hence it is that the men of God were wont to fpeak (though 
 reverently yet) familiarly of God, as children of their Father 
 with whom they dwell, as being indeed fellow-citizens with the 
 Saints ,who are his houpjold : Abraham calleth him Gen. 24.40. 
 [The Lord before whom I walkj\ And Jacob, Gen. 48, 15. 
 God before Whom my Fathers Abraham and Jfaac walked.^ And 
 'David refolveth, PfaL 116. 9. [J will walk^before the Lord 
 in the land of the Bving.~\ Yea God himfelf is pleafed to ufe 
 the terms of gracious condefcending familiarity with them. 
 Chrifl dwelleth in them by faith, Eph. 3. 17. £fo ffiirit dwelleth 
 in them as his houfe and temple, Rom. 8.9* Tea the Father 
 himfelf "is faid to dwell in them, dnd they in him, 1 Joh. 3. 24. 
 He that keepeth his Commandements dwelleth in Him, and He in 
 him\ and 3. 12. \_lf we love one another, God dwelleth in us^\ 13. 
 [Hereby we k*ow that we dwell in him, and He in us, becauje he 
 hath given us of His sf>irit~\ 15. Whoever fhall confefs that 
 Jefus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him andheinGod~\ 1 6. 
 £ God is Love, and he that dwelleth in Love, dwelleth in G§d,and 
 Godinhim.~\ Yea God is faid to walk^ i n them, as they are faid 
 to wall^with Him : 2 Cor. 6. 16. [For ye are the Temple of the 
 living God -, as God hath [did I will dwell in them, and walk ** 
 them y and I will be their God and they fhall be my people f] 
 
 Z Our 
 
1 70 Walking with Cod. Part 1 1. 
 
 Our -walking Vvith God then is not only a fenfe of that cdm- 
 won pre(ence which he mud needs, afford to all •, but it is alfo 
 a believing apprehenfion of his Gracious frefence, Hour God 
 and reconciled Father, with whom we dwell, being brought 
 near unto Him by Chrifi •, and who dwellech in us by his 
 ffiirit, 
 
 9. To walkjvithGod (as here we are in flefh,) included not 
 only our believing hU prefence, but alfo that we fee him (as the 
 chief ca fife in the effects) in his creatures and hu daily provi- 
 dence, that we look not on creatures as independent or feparat- 
 ed from God; but fee them as the GUfs, and<Jodas the repre- 
 fentedface •, and fee them as the letters and words, and God as 
 the fenfe of all the creatures that are thzfirft Book^ which he 
 appointed man to read. We mud behold his glory declared 
 by the Heavens, Pfal. 19. 1. and fee Him fining in the Sun •, 
 and fee his Porter in the Fabrick of the world, and his wifdom 
 in the admirable order of the whole : we muft taft the fweet- 
 nefsof his Love in the fweetnefsofour/W, and in the com- 
 forts of our friends, and all our accommodations we muft fee % 
 and Love his Image in his Holy ones ; and we muft hear his 
 Voice in the Miniftry of his Meffengers. Thus every creature 
 muft become a Preacher to us, and we muft fee the Name of 
 God upon it : and thus all things will be fanclified to us, while 
 Holinefs to the Lord is written upon all. Though we muft noc 
 therefore make Idols of the creatures, becaufeGod appearech 
 to us in them, yet muft we hear the meffage which they bring us, 
 and reverence in them the Name of the Creatour which they 
 bear. By this way of converfing with them* they will not 
 enfnare us, or deceive, or poyfon us, as they do the carnal 
 unbelieving world: but as theFifti brought money to Peter 
 to pay his tribute, fo every creature would bring us a greater, 
 even a fpiritual gain. When we behold it, we fhould lay with 
 pleafant admiration [This is thework^of God, andit is won' 
 derful in our eyes. ~\ This is the true Divine Thilofophy, which 
 feeketh, and findeth, and conttmplateth, and admireth the Great 
 Creatour in his works : When that which fticketh in the 
 creature it (elf (whatever difcovery itfeem to make) is but a 
 childilh unprofitable trifling : like learning to fhape all the 
 Letters aright, without learning to know their fignification 
 
 and 
 
Pare II. Walking with God. 1 7 f 
 
 and fenfe. It is God appearing in the creatures, that is the 
 life, and beauty, and ufe, and excellency of all the creatures; 
 wthout him they are but carkafTcs, deformed, ufelefs, vain, in- 
 fignifcant and very nothings. 
 
 10. Our walking with God, doth contain our milling and 
 [metre attendance on him in the ufe ofthofe holj duties in which 
 he hath appointed us to expect his grace. He is everywhere in 
 his ejfential pre/ence, but he is not everywhere alike to be 
 found in the communications of his grace. The affemblies 
 of his Saints that worfhiphim in he ly communion, are places 
 where he is likelyerto be found, then in an Ate-houfeora 
 Play-houfe. You are likelier to have holy conrerfe with him 
 among the holy, that will fpeak of holy things to your edifica- 
 tion, then among the fenfelefs ignorant fenfualifts, and the 
 fcornful enemies of Holinefs, that are the fervants of the De- 
 vil, whom he ufeth in his daily work for the deceiving and per- 
 dition of the world. Therefore the converfation of the 
 wicked doth grieve, and vex a righteous foul (as its fa id the 
 Sodomites did by Lot, 2 Pet. 2.7, 8.) becaufe all their con- 
 verfation is ungodly, far from God, not favouring of any true 
 knowledge of him, or love to him, but is againft him by enmity 
 and provocation. If God himlelf do dwell and wall^ in all 
 his holy ones, then they that dwell and walk^ with them, have 
 the beft opportunity to dwell and W<*/^ with God. To con- 
 verfe with thofe in Vehom God dwelleth, is to converfe with him 
 in his lmage,znd to attend him at his dwelling : And willfully 
 to run among the wicked, is to run far away from God. In 
 his Temple dothevery man ffieal^of his Glory, Pfal.29. 9, when 
 among his brutiih enemies every man fpeaketh to the difho- 
 nourof him in his word and wayes. He isothenvUe prefent 
 with thofe that are congregated in his Name and for his wor- 
 ftiip, then he is with thofe that are aflemblcdfor wickednefs 
 or vanity, or live as brutes without God in the world. And 
 wemuft draw as near him as we can, if we would be fuch as 
 walk with God. 
 
 Wemuftnocbe ftrange to him in our Thoughts, but make 
 him theobjed of our moil ferious meditations : Its faid of the 
 wicked that they are far from God ^ and that Godis not in all 
 their thoughts, Pf. 73.27. Pf. 10. 4. The thoughts are the 
 
 Z 2 minds 
 
1 7 2 Waking with God* Part I I. 
 
 minds employment. It dwells on that which it frequently 
 thinks of. It is a walk. °* tn ^ Mind, and not of the Body 
 which we are treating of. To mind the -world, and flcfbly 
 things, is contrary to this walk, with Qod : we are far from 
 him, when our thoughts are (ordinarily) far from him. I know 
 that it is lawful and meet to think of the bufinefs of our 
 callings, fofar as is necefliry to the prudent fuccefsful man- 
 agement of them : and that it is not requifite that our 
 thoughts be alwaies attually upon God ; but he that doth 
 manage his calling in Holinefs, do:h all in obedience to Gods 
 commands, and fees that his work be the work of God, and 
 he intendeth all to the glory of God, or the pleafing of his 
 bleffed w 11 : and he oft reneweth thefe actual intentions ; 
 andoftinterpofeth thoughts of the prefence, or power, or 
 love, or intereft of him whom he is ferving : He often lifteth 
 up his foul in fome holy defire orejaculatory requeft to God s 
 He oft taketh occafion from what he feeth, or heareth, or is 
 doing, for fome more fpiritual meditation or difcourfe; fo 
 that (till it is God that his mind is principally employed on or 
 for, even in his ordinary work, ( while he Iveth as a Chri- 
 ftian.) 
 
 And it is not enough to thinly of God, butwemuft thin^of 
 him as God, with fuch refyetl , and reverence, and love, 
 andtrvft, and fttbmiffion (inourmeafure) as is due from the 
 Creature to his Creator. For as fome kind of fpeakjng of him 
 is but a taking his Name in vain : fo fome kind of thinking of 
 him is but a difhonouring of him, by contemptuous orfalfe 
 unworthy thoughts. Moft of our walking with God confift- 
 eth in fuch affectionate apprehenfions of him as are fuicableto 
 his bleffed Attributes and Relations. Ail the day long our 
 thoughts fhould be working either on God, or for God : either 
 upon fome work of obedience which he hath tmpofed on us 2 
 and in which we defire to pleafe and honour him, or elfe di- 
 rectly upon himfel r . Our hearts mud be taken up in contem- 
 plating and admiring him, in magnifying his Name, his Word 
 and Works >, and in pleafant contentful thoughts of his be- 
 nignity, and of his Glory, and the Glory which he conferreth 
 en his Saints. He that is unskilful or unable to manage his own 
 thoughts with fome activity, ferioufnefs and order, will be a 
 
 Granger 
 
Part 1 1. Walking with God. 173 
 
 ftranger to much of the holy converfe which believers have 
 with God. Trrey that hive given up the G>vernment of 
 their thoughts, and turned th:m loofe to go which way phan- 
 tafie pleafeth, and prefent fenfitive objeft* do invite them, 
 and to run up and down the world as mafterlels unruly va- 
 grairs, can hardly expe& to keep them in any conftant atten- 
 ds ce upon God, or reading for any facred work. And the 
 ftt'Jn thoughts which they hxvt of God, will be rude and flu- 
 pic "ing moreof prophanecont?mpr, than of hoiinefs, 
 
 when they (hould be reverent iferiouSjajfettioftate and pratlical, 
 an.i fucji as conduce to a holy compofure of their hearts and 
 lives. 
 
 And as we muft walk with God, 1. In our communion "frith 
 his fervants, 2. And in our affectionate Meditations \ fo alfo 
 3 in a/I the ordinances which he hath appointed for our Edi- 
 fication and his Worfhip. 
 
 I. The Reading of the Word of God, and the explication and 
 application of it in good r Bo$kj , is a means to pofTefs the mind 
 with found, and orderly, and working apprehenfionsof God, 
 and of his holy Truths:So that in fuch Reading our underitand- 
 ingsareofc illuftrated with a heavenly Light, and our hearts 
 are touched with a fpecial delightful rellifh of that truth, and 
 they are fecretly attracted and engaged unto God, and all 
 the powers of our iouls are excited and animated to a holy 
 obedient life. 
 
 2. The fame Word preached with a lively voice, with clear- 
 ness and affc&ion, hath 2l greater advantage for the fame illu- 
 mination and excitation of the foul. When a Minifter of Chrift 
 that is truly a Divine, being filled with the Knowledge and 
 LeveofGod, (hall copioufly and afic&ionately open to his 
 hearers the excellencies which he hath feen t and the happi- 
 nefs which he hath forefeen and taftedof himfelf, it frequently 
 (through the co-op:ration of the Spirit of Chrift) doth wrap 
 up the hearers hearcs to God, and bring them into a more 
 lively knowledge of him, actuating their graces, and enflam- 
 ing their hearts with a heavenly Love, and fuch defires as God 
 hath promifed to fatisfie. Chrift doth not only fend his Mi- 
 nifters furnilhed With Authority from him, but alfo furnifhed 
 mihhii Spirit* to fpeakoffpintual things in a /jpiritual man- 
 
1 74 Walking Whb Cod. Part 1 1. 
 
 rer . fo that in both refpeds he might fay £He that hearethjott 
 hearethmee :] and alio by the fame Spirit £ol\\ open and ex- 
 cite the hearts of the hearers : fo that it is God himfelf that a 
 ferious Chriftian is principally employed with, in the hearing 
 of his heavenly transforming Word : And therefore he is af- 
 fected with reverence and holy fear, with fome tafte of hea- 
 venly deiight, with obediential fubje&ion andretignation of 
 himfelfto God. The Word of Qod is power ful y not only in 
 pulling down all high exalting thoughts, that rife up againft 
 God , but alfo in Hieing up deprefled fouls, that are unable to 
 rife unto heavenly knowledge, or communion with God. If 
 fome Chriftians could but alwaies finde as much of God upon 
 their hearts at other times, as they finde fometimes under a 
 fpiritual powerful Miniftry, they would not fo complain that 
 they feem forfaken, and Grangers to all communion with 
 God, as many of them do. While God (by his Meffengers and 
 Spirit) is/peaking^ and man is hearing him ♦, while GWis trea- 
 ting with man about his reconciliation andeverlafting happi- 
 nefs, and man is ferioufly attending to the treaty and motions 
 of his Lord, furely this is a very confiderable part of our 
 walking and converfe with God. 
 
 I . Alfo in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Chrifi % we 
 are called to a familiar converfe with God : He there appear- 
 cthto us by a wonderful condefcenfion in the reprcfenting, 
 communicating figns of the flefh and blood of his Son, in which 
 he hath molt confpicuoufly revealed his Love and Goodnefs to 
 Believers; There Chrift himfelf with his Covenant-gifts arc 
 all delivered to us by thefe Inverting figns of his own infHtu- 
 tion; events Knighthood is gwenby afword y and as a Houfe 
 is delivered by a Key, or Land by a Twig and Turf No- 
 where is God fo near to man as in feftts Chrift : and nowhere 
 is Chrift fo familiarly reprefented to us, as in this holy Sacra- 
 men'. Here we are called to fit with him at his Table, 
 as his invited welcome guefts ^ to commemorate his fa- 
 crifice, to feed upon his very flefh and blood ^ that is, with 
 our mouths upon his Reprefentative flefh and blood, and with 
 our applying Faith upon his real flefh and bloody by fuch a feeding 
 as belongs to Faith. The Marriage- Covenant betwixt God 
 ncarnate, and his efpoufed ones, is there publickly fealed, ce- 
 lebrated 
 
Part 1 1 . Walking with God. 1 7 5 
 
 lebrarcd and folcmnized. There we are entertained by God 
 as friends, and not as fervantsonly, and that at the moll pre- 
 cious coftly tea ft. If ever a believer may on earth expect his 
 kindeft entertainment, and near accefs, and a humble intimacy 
 with his Lord, it is in the participation of this facrifice-fec.ft, 
 which is called [The Communion] becaufe it is appointed as 
 well for our fpecial Communion with Chrifi as with one another. 
 It is here that we have the fulled intimation, expreffion and com- 
 mttnicationoi the wondrous Love of God ; and therefore it is 
 here that we have the loudeft call, andbeft aftiftance to make 
 a large return of Love: And where there is the moftof this 
 Love between God and man y there is moil Commnnion, and moil 
 of Heaven, that can be had on Earth. 
 
 But it much concerneth the members of Chrift, that they 
 deprive not themfelves of this Communion with God in this 
 Holy Sacrament through their mifcarriage ; which is too fre- 
 quently done by one of thefe excreams. Either by rufhing up- 
 on holy things with a prefumptuous carelefs common frame 
 of heart , as if they knew, not that they go to feail with 
 Chrift, and difcerned not his body: or elfeby anexcefs of 
 fear, drawing back, and questioning the good will ofGod,and 
 thinking diminutively of his love and mercy : By this means 
 Satan depriveth many of Khz comfortable part of their commu- 
 nion with God, both in this Sacrament, and in other waies of 
 grace ^ and maketh them avoid him as an enemy, and be loth 
 to come into his fpecial prefence^ and even to be afraid to 
 think of him, to pray to him, or to have any holy converfe 
 with him : When the juft belief and obfervation of his Love 
 would ftablifh them, and revive their fouls with joy, and give 
 them experience of the fweet delights which are opened to 
 them in theGofpel, and which believers finde in the Love of 
 God, and theforetaflof theeverlafting pleafures. 
 
 4. In holy , faithful ', fervent Prayer a Chriilian hath very 
 much of his converfe with God. For Prayer is our approach 
 to God, and calling to mind his prefence and his attributes, 
 and exercifing all his graces in a holy motion towards him,and 
 an exciting all the powers of our fouls to leek him, attend him, 
 & reverently to worfhip hinv.lt is our treating with him about 
 the moft important bufinefles in all the world : a begging of 
 
 the 
 
j 7 5 Walkingrvitb Gel Part II. 
 
 the greateft mercies, and a deprecating his mod grievous judg- 
 ments ^ and all this with the neared familiarity that man in 
 flclh can have with God. In prayer the Spirit of God is 
 workingup our hearts unto him, with defircs expreft infighs 
 and groans: It is a work of God as well as oiman : Heblow- 
 cth the fire, though it be ear hearts chat burn and boil. In 
 Prayer we lay hold on JefusChrift, and plead his merits and 
 intcrceffion with the Father : He taketh us as it wereby the 
 hand, and leadech us unto God, and hide:h our fins, and pro- 
 cured our acceptance, and prefenteth us amiable to his 
 Father, having juftified and fandified us, and cleanfed u« 
 from thofe pollutions , which rendered us loathfome 
 and abominable. To fpeak to God in ferious prayer, 
 is a work fo high, and of fo great moment, that it calleth off 
 our minds from ail things elfe, and giveth no creature room 
 or leave to look into the foul, or once to be obferved : The 
 mind is fo taken up with God, and employed with him, that 
 creatures are forgotten, and we takeno notice of them fun- 
 lefs when through the diverfions of the fledi, our prayers are 
 interrupted and corrupted, and fo far degenerate, and are no 
 prayer ^ fo far I fay as we thus turn away from God J So that 
 the foul'that is mod and belt at Prayer,is mod and bed at walk- 
 ing with God, and hath mod communion with him in the Spi- 
 rit : And to withdraw from Prayer, is to withdraw from God: 
 And to be unwilling to pray, is to be unwilling to draw near to 
 God. Meditation or Contemplation is a duty in which God is 
 much enjoyed: But Prayer hath Meditation in it, and much 
 more. AH that is upon the mind in Meditation, is upon the 
 rn'mdin Prayer, and that with great advantage, as being pre- 
 fented before God, and pleaded with him, and fo animated 
 bytheapprehenfionsofhisobferving prefence, and aduated 
 by the defires and pleadings of the foul. When we arc com- 
 manded to /Vmj it includeth a command to Repent and Be- 
 lieve, and Fear 'the Lord, and Defire his Grace I For Faith and 
 Repentance, and Fearznd Defire, are altogether m action in 
 a ierious prayer 5 And, as it were, naturally each one takes 
 his place, and there is aW; or^r in the ading of thefe gra- 
 ces in a Chriftians prayers, and a harmony which he doth 
 feidomehimfelf obferve. He that in Meditation knoweth not 
 
 how 
 
Part 1 1 . Walking with God. i 7 7 
 
 how to be regular and methodical, whenhei* ftudioufly con* 
 triving and endeavouring it, yet in Prayer before he is aware, 
 hath Repentance, and Faith, and Fear, and Defer e , and every 
 grace fail in its proper place and order, and contribute its 
 part to the performance of the work. The neV9 nature ot a 
 Chriftian is more immediately and vigoroufly operative in 
 Prayer, than in many other duties : And therefore every In- 
 fant in the family of God can pray (with groaning deferes, and 
 ordered graces, if no: with well- ordered words : ) When Paul 
 began to live to Chriit, he began (arightj to pray : Behold be 
 prayeth,h.\thGod to Ananias , Ad. 9. II. And becaufe they 
 are Sons, God [ends the Spirit of his Son into the hearts of his 
 EleEi, even the Spirit of Adoption, by which the) cry Abba Fa* 
 ther, Gal. 4. 6. as children naturally cry to their Parents for 
 relief. And Nature is more regular in its works than Art or 
 humane contrivance is. Necejfitj ceacheth many a beggar to 
 pray better for relief to men, than many learned men (that 
 feel not their neceftities) can pray to God. The Spirit of 
 God is a better Methodift than we are : And though I know 
 that we are bound to ufe our utmoft care and skill for the or- 
 derly atluating of each holy affitlion in our Prayers, and not 
 pretend the fufrlciency of the Spirit for the patronage of our 
 negligence or (loth (Tor the Spirit makes ufe of our under- 
 ftandings for theaduacing of our wilis and affedons ,) yet 
 withall it cannot be denied, but that it was upon a fpecial rea> 
 fon that the Sp'-rit that is promifed to Believers is called a Spi- 
 rit of Grace and Supplication, Zech. 12.10. And that it is given 
 us to help our infirjnittes, even the infirmities of our under- 
 ■ftandwg, when wi know not what to pray for as we ought, Rom. 
 8.26. And that \he Spirit it f elf is hid to make interceffion for 
 us % wtth growings which cannot be tittered. It is not the Spirit 
 whhzut that is here meant : fuch interceffion is nowhere 
 afcribed to that. How then is the Prayer o£ the Spirit Within 
 us diftinguifhed from our Prajer ? Not as different efTeds of 
 different caufes : as different prayers by theie different parties ; 
 But as the fame prayer proceeding from different caufes,hiving 
 a fpecial force (for quality and degree,) as from one canfe (the 
 Spirit) , which it hath no: froa the other caufe prom our 
 /elves) except as received from the Spirit. The Spirit is as a 
 
 A a Nt* 
 
178 miking with God. Part II. 
 
 New Nature , ox fixed inclination in the Saints : For their ve- 
 *> T fetf-love and will -:o good is fandified in them, which works fo 
 readily (though voluntarily) as that it is in a fort by the way 
 ofNature, though not excluding Reafon and Will-, and not as 
 the motion of the brutifh appetite. And that God is their fe- 
 licity, and the only help and corn-fort of their fools, and fo the 
 principal Good to be defired by them, is become to them a^ 
 trueh fo certain, and beyond all doubt, chat their underftand - 
 ings are convinced that Vtfle Bonnm^ & Velle Dum, to Love 
 Good, and to Love God, are words that have almoft the lame 
 figmfication; and therefore here is no room for deliberation 
 and choice, where there is omnimodji ratio boni % nothing but 
 unqueftionablegood. A Chriftian (fofaras he is fuchj can- 
 not chufebutdefire the favour and fruition of God in im- 
 mortality, even as he cannot chufe (becaufehe is a man) but 
 defirehisown felicity in general : And as he cannot (as a 
 man) but be unwilling of deftru&ion, and cannot but fear ap- 
 parent mifery, and that which bringeth it ^ fo as a Chriftian 
 he cannot chufe but be unwilling of damnation, and of the 
 wrath of God, and of fin as fin, and fear the apparent dangers 
 of his foul, fo that his New Nature will prefently caft hs 
 Fear, and Repentance, and 1)* fires into their proper courfe 
 and order, and fet them on work on their feveral objects 
 (about the main unquestionable things, however they may 
 erre, or need more deliberation about things doubtful ■ ) The 
 New Creature is not as a lifelefs Engine (as a Clocl^ or 
 Watch, or Ship) i where every part muftbefetin order by the 
 art ard hand ofman, and fo kept and ufed : But it is liker to 
 the frame of our own nature, even like w^who is a living 
 Engine, when every part is fet in its place and order by the 
 Creatour, and hath in it felf a living and harmonical principle, 
 which d:fpoiethit to atlion, and to regular atlion,i and is fo 
 to be kept in order and daily exercife by our [elves, as yet to 
 be principally ordered and a&uaied, by the Spirit which is 
 the principal caufe. 
 
 By all which you may underftand how the Holy Ghoft is 
 inusafpiritorSupplication,and helpeth of our infirmities, and 
 teacheth us to pray, and interceded in us-, and alfo that 
 Frajer is to the New Man, fo natural a motion of the foul to- 
 wards 
 
Pare II. Walking withVod, 17$ 
 
 wards God, that much of our walking with God is exercifed 
 in this holy duty: And that it is totheiWw Life ^i breathing 
 to our Natural Life •, and therefore no wonder that we are 
 commanded to pray continually, i Thefe 5. 17. as we muft 
 ^^continually, or as nature which needetha daily fupply 
 of food for nounlhment, hath a daily appetite to the food 
 which it needeth, fo hath the Spiritual Nature to its necefTary 
 food, and nothing but ficknefs doth take it off. 
 
 And thus I have (hewed you how our walking ty;>/? God 
 containeth a holy ufe of his appointed means. 
 
 If. To W^/?/?c7^includeth our Dependence on him for 
 our Receivings , and taking our Mercies as from his hand, To 
 live as upon his Love and Bounty ; ss Children with their 
 Father, that can look for nothing but from him. As the eye 
 of a Servant, yea of a craving Dog, isiipon his Matters face 
 and hand, fo mutt our eye be on the Lord, for the gracious 
 fupply of all our wants. If men give us any thing, we take 
 them but as the Mefftngcrs of God, by whom he fendeth it 
 us ; We will not be unthankful unto men • but we thank them 
 but for bringing us our Fathers gifts. Indeed man is fo much 
 more than a meer MeiTenger, as that his own Charity alfo is ex- 
 ercifed in the gift. A meer Meffenger is to do no more but 
 obedientlly to deliver what is lent us, and he need notexer- 
 cife any Charity of his own ; and we owe him thanks only for 
 his fidelity and labour , but only to his Mafler for the gift : 
 But God will fo far honour man, as that he (hail be called alio 
 to ufe hit Charity, and dittribute his Matters gifts with fome 
 felf-denial^ and we owe him thanks, as under God; he par- 
 takethinthe (fharity of the Gift; and as one childe oweth 
 thanks to anocher, who both in obedience to the Father, and 
 Love to his Brother, doth give fome part of that which his 
 Father had given him before. But ftill it is from our Fathers 
 Bounty, asihe principal caufe that all proceeds. Thus Jacob 
 fpeakethofGod,c7*». 48. 15. [God, btftre whom my Fathers 
 Abraham and Jfaac did walk^, the God which fed mee ail my 
 lifelong unto this day^ the Angel which redeemed mee from all 
 evil, blefs the Lads ,&c7\ When he had mentioned hisFacher 
 Abraham and l[aac\ walking with God, hedefcribech his own 
 by his dependence upon God, and receiving from him, ac- 
 
 Aa 2 knowledging 
 
180 Walking with Cod. p ar t I J* 
 
 knowledging him the God chat had fed him, and delivered him 
 all his life. Carnal men that live by fenfe, do depend upon 
 inferiour fcnfible caufes • and though they are taught to pray 
 to God, and thank him with their tongues, it is indeed their 
 own contrivances and induftry, or their vifible benefactors 
 whithchvir hearts depend upon and thank. It were a fharr- 
 ro theen to be fo plain as Pharaoh, and to fay, who is the 
 Lord? ortofpeakasopenlyasJV^W^^r/and fay nf 
 not thU great. Babylon that I have built, by the mioht of mi 
 poKert&c. Dan. 4. 30,. Yet the fame Atheifm and Self- 
 idohzing is in their hearts, though it be more modeilly and 
 cunningly expreft. Hence ,t is chat they that **/* mth God' 
 have all their Receivings fancied to them, andhave in alia 
 Divine and fpintual (weetnefs, which thofe that take them but 
 as from Creatures, do never feel orunderftand. 
 
 1 2. Laftly it is contained in our Walking with God, that the 
 greatefi bufinefs of our Uves be with Him, and for him. It" is 
 not a walk lor complement or recreation only that is here 
 meant-, but it is a Iifeofnearnefs, converfe'and employmenr 
 as,afervant or child that dwelleth with his Mafter or Father 
 T h ^ A God{h ? uldbea! ^yesfo regarded, that Man 
 ftouldftandbyasiV^;^, and be fcarce obferved in com- 
 panfon of Him. We fhould begin the day with God and 
 entertain Him in the hrft and fweeteft of our thoughts'- we 
 fhould walk «broadand do our work as inhlsfight : wetnuft 
 refolvc to do no work but His, no not in our trades and or 
 dinary callings : we mud be able to fay, It is the work which 
 my Matter fee me to do, and I do it to obey and pleafe his 
 mil. At night we mult take an account of our felvcs and 
 fpread open that account before him, defiringhisacceotsrice 
 of what was well, and his pardon for what we didamifr that 
 wemay thus be ready for our laft account. In a word, though 
 Men be our fellow-labourers and companions, yet the prin- 
 cipal bufinefsofour Care and Diligence, muft be our Matters 
 icrvicc in the world. And therefore we mufVlook about us 
 and difcern the oppmmitiesoi ferving him, and of the heft im- 
 provement of his talents • and mult make it our daily (ludr 
 and. bufineff 9 todohim the greatcft fervice we are able/whac- 
 eyentmaycoftus through the malice of the enemies, h6ng 
 
 furs 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 1 3 1 
 
 fun our labour (hall not be in vain, and that we cannot ferve 
 him at too dear a rate. It is not as idle companions , but as 
 fervants,as fouldiers, as thofe chat put forth all their ftrength, 
 to do his work and reach the Crown, that we are called to 
 wdkjwithGod. And all this is done, though not in the fame 
 degree by all, yet according to the meafureof their Holinefs 
 by every one that lives by faith. 
 
 Having told you what it is to WalkwithGod, as to the 
 AL.tttr of ir, I fhall more briefly tell you as to the Manner : 
 Thenat»re.ofgod,oima»,andohhz wor^,w\\l telljt you. 
 
 i. That our walk with God muft be with the greatefi 
 reverence: were we never fo much allured o( his fpeciallove 
 to us, and never fo full pi faith and joy, cur nverence muft be 
 never chelefsfor this. Though Love call out that guilty fear 
 which difcourageth the (Inner from hoping and feeking for 
 the mercy which would fave hira r and which dTpofcth him to 
 hate and fly from God, yet doth it not caft out that Rtvertncc 
 of God, which we owe him as his creatures fo infinitely below 
 him as we are. Ir cannot be that God fhould be known and 
 remembredas God, without fome admiring and awful appre- 
 henfionsofhim. Iniinitenels, Omnipotency and inscceflible 
 Majefty and Glory, muft needs affed the foul that knowcth 
 them, with reverence and felfe-abaferaent. Though we receive 
 a Kingdoms that cannot be. moved, yet if we will jerve God ac- 
 ceptably., we muft ferve him with reverence and godly fear, as 
 knowing that as he is our God, fo he #alfoa confuming fire, 
 Hcb. 12. 28, 29. We muft fo worfhip him as thofe that re- 
 member that we are Worms and guilty finntrs, and chat he is 
 mofi High and Holy, and Will be fanfaifisd -in them that come 
 nigh him, and before all the people he will be glorified, Lev. 1 0.3. 
 Vnreverenct fheweth a kind of Atheifiicd contempt of God, or 
 elfea fleepinefs and inconlideratenefs of the foul. The fenfe 
 of the Goodnefs and Love oiGod, muft connft with the fenfe of 
 his Holinefs and Omnipotency. It is prefumption, pride or 
 b'ockiih ftupidity, which excludeih Reverence^ which Faith 
 doth caufe^ and not oppofe, 
 
 2, Our walking with God muft be a work of humble beldnefs 
 and familiarity. The Reverence of his Holinefs and Great nefs, 
 muft not overcome or exclude the fenfe of his Goodnefs and 
 
 A a 3 com- 
 
jg a WalMtg vith Ccd. Part II. 
 
 compajTJon, nor the ///// tjfnrance if j»* and ^/* Though 
 byfinwc arc enen s :eto God, and Hand afar off, 
 
 xetinChrift w o hin and brought near, £/>&. 
 
 2 1 3 For /;* » car ftdri, #fc t«i '*k» ^ v7 ™ r/ ^ Petition t 
 dolifbed the enmity, and reconciled ?i» and Gentile unto 
 Xjod. Ver. 14, i S, 16. And through him we have all an accefs 
 to the Father by one spirit '• Kearemw no more ftrangers and 
 forr 'signers; but fellow-Citizens of the Saints and of the houjhold 
 of God- vc 18 19. Inhimwc have boldnefs and accefs with 
 confidence by the belief of him , Epb. 3.JX Though of our 
 lelves we are unworthy to be called hi? children , and may well 
 Hand afar off with the Publican, and not dare to life up our 
 faces towards heaven, bur. fmite our breads and fay, O Lord 
 be merciful to me a ftnner.'] Yet have we boldnefs to enter into 
 ' the Holiefi\ bj the blood cf Jefus, by a new and living way which 
 he hath confecratedfer us, through the vail, that utofaj, hi* 
 fi-fh : And having an high Frieft over the houfe of God, We may 
 draw near with a true heart in full jffurance of frith."] Heb.lO. 
 19 20 21,22. Therefore whenfoever we are afraid at the 
 fight of fin and ]ufticc,let us remember that we have a great 
 highPriefl that is paffedinto the heavens, even fefus the Son of 
 God: andthtrefreletus come boldly to the throne of grace, that 
 we way obtain mercy, ana find grace to help in time of need J 
 Heb 4 14 15 16. He ctm alloweth us to walk^wuh htm, 
 doth allow'usiuch humble familiarity asbekemeth thofe that 
 walk together with him. 
 
 3. 0\xx walking with God muftbea work of fome holy plea- 
 
 fure and delight. We may unwillingly be Jrag'd into the 
 
 prefence of an enemy M ferve as drudges upon rneer necefficy 
 
 or fear. But wa/l^ng together is the loving and delightful con- 
 
 verfeof friends. When we takefmet connfel of the Lord, and 
 
 fet himalwaies as at our right hand, and are glad to hear from 
 
 him, and glad to fpeak to him, and glad to Withdraw our 
 
 thoughts from all the things and perfons in the world, that we 
 
 mayfolaceourfeivesin the contemplations of his excellency, 
 
 and the admirations of his Love and Glory, this is indeed to 
 
 T>alh with God. You converfe with him as with a itranger, 
 
 an enemy, or your deftroyer, and not as with God, while you 
 
 had rather be far from him, and only tremble in his prefence 
 
 ana 
 
Part 11. Walking with God. l8j 
 
 and are glad when you have done and are got away, but have 
 no delight or pL-aiure in him. If we can cake delight in our 
 walking with a/r;7»al, afrier.d that is truly loving anc 
 ltart afriendthat is learned, wife and holy / if their 
 and heavenly difcoune be better to us, then our recreations, 
 meat or drink, or clothes / what Might then (hauld we find 
 in our fecret converfe with the mod high, moft wife and gra- 
 cious God I How glad fnouid we be to rind him willing and 
 ready toentertain us ? How glad fhould we be that v.e may 
 employ our thoughts on fo high and excellent an objed? 
 what caufe hare we to fay, \_Mj meditation of him {ball be 
 fweet and I wiU be glad in the Lord, pf. 104. 34- 1» the mul- 
 titude of wy thoughts within n,e (my forrowiul, troublelor.ie, 
 weary thoughts J thy comforts do delight my foul, Pf. 94- 19. 
 Let others take pleaiure in chiidifh vanity, or ienfaality, hue 
 fay thou as David, Pf. 1 19- I4» *Si l6 - t 1 h * ve rejojeed in 
 the wayes of thy Commandements, as much as in all riches : J will 
 meditate in thy precepts and have resftti unto thy waits : I wig 
 delight my M '* thy fiatutes, and will not forget thy Word.} 
 Ver. 47. 1 will delight my [df in thy commandements which I 
 have loved~\ Let [corners delight in (corning , and fools kite 
 knurled**, ( Pr0v - lz2 -) huzwakemtogo in the path of thy 
 commandements, for therein do I delight: Ptal.i 1 9-3S- r lf &™ 
 wouldft experimentally know the lafcty and glory of a holy 
 life delight thy [elf in the Lord, and he. [hall give thee the dc fire 
 of thy heart, Pf. J7-4- Efpecially when we draw near hm in 
 his folemnworfhip, and when we feparate our felves on his 
 holy dayes from all our common worldly though:s,to be con. 
 verfant as in heaven with theblelTed God, then may we with 
 the holy Apoftle be in the fpirit on the Lords day, Rev. 1 . 1 o. 
 andifwe turn away our foot from the Sabbath, from doing our 
 pleafure on that holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the hclj 
 of the Lord, honourable, and fh all honour him, not doing our own 
 wayes, nor finding our own pleafure, norjpeaking our own Woras, 
 then {bailee delight our [elves in the Lord,] Ifa. 58.13,14. 
 and underftand how great a priviledge it is, to have the liberty 
 of thofe holy dayes and duties for our fweet and heavenly 
 converfe with God. , 
 
 4. Our walking with Cod muft be a matter of indufirj ana 
 
 diUr 
 
184 Walking with did. Part II. 
 
 diligence*. It is not an Occafional idle convcrfe, but a life of 
 obfervance, obedience and imphyment, that this phrafe import- 
 eth. Thefluggifti idkwifhesof the hypocrite, whofe hands re- 
 fufe to labour, are not this walking with God : nor the fa- 
 
 * trifice of fools, who are hafty to utter the overflowings of 
 their fantafie before the Lord, while they keep not their foot, 
 nor hearken to the Ltw, nor con fider that they do evil] Ecclef. 
 5. 1, 2, 3. He that cemeth to God ("and will walk with him) 
 
 * muft belitvethathe is> and that he is the rtwarder of them that 
 diligently feckjnm : God is with yon while you are with him-, but 
 if you forfake him, he will for fake you , 2 Chron. 15.2. Vp and 
 be doing, and the Lord will be with you, I Chron. 22. 16. If 
 you would meet with God in the way of Mercy [_takj 
 diligent heed to do the Commandment and Lzw , to love the 
 Lord your God, and to walk in all his \Vy:s, and to cleave 
 unto him. and toferve him with all your heartland with all your 
 [only Jofli. 22. 5. 
 
 5 . Our talking with Godlsa matter of fome Confiancy : It 
 (ignifieth our courfe and trade oUife , and not fome acciden- 
 tal a&ion on the by • A man may walk with zftrangtr for a 
 Vifit, or in Complement , or upon fomeunufual occalion : But 
 this walk with God, is the ad of thofe that dwell with him in 
 his Family, anddo h.swzrk.- It is not only to ftep and fpeak 
 with him, or cry to him for mercy in fome great extremity, 
 or to go to Church for company or cuftome, or think ortalk 
 ofhimfometime heartlefly on the by, asa man will talk of 
 news, or matters that are done in a forein Land, or of per- 
 fonsthat we think we have little to do with: But it is to be 
 alwaieswith him ,Luk. 15. 31. To feck^fi r ft his Kingdom and 
 Right eoufnefs, Matth. 6. 33. Not to labour ('comparatively) 
 for the food that perifljeth, but for that which endureth to ever- 
 lafting life, Joh. 6. 27. To delight in the Law of the Lord, and 
 meditate in it day and night, Pfal. 1.2. Thaths words be in 
 our hearts,and that we teach them diligently to our Children, and 
 talk^of them fitting in the houfe, and miking by the way, lying 
 down, and rifingup, &c. Deur. 6. 6,7, 8. That we pray con- 
 tinually, l Thcf. 5. 17. And in all things give thanks. But will 
 the hypocrite delight him f elf in the Almighty, or will he alwaics 
 call upon God 1 Job 27. IO» His goodnejs is as the morning 
 
 Cloud, 
 
Part II. Walking with Cod. 18 j 
 
 Cloudy and as the early Dew it goeth away, Hof. 0.4. 
 So much of the defcription of chis Walking with God. 
 
 Chap. II. 
 
 Vfe. \j\7^ are next to confider how far this do&rine 
 V V do:h concern our /elves, and what ufe we have 
 to make of it upon our hearts and lives. 
 
 And firfl itacquaintethus with the abundance of Atheifm 
 that is in the world , even among thofe that profefs the know- 
 ledge of God. It is Atheifm not only to fay, There is no God : 
 but to fay fo in the heart, Pfal.14. 1. While the heart is no 
 moreaife&ed towards him, obfervant of him, or confident in 
 him, or fubmiflive to him, than if indeed there were no God : 
 When there is nothing of God upon the Heart, no Love, no 
 Fear, noTruft, no Subjection, then is Heart- Atheifm. When 
 men that have fome kind of knowledge of God, yet glorifie him 
 not as God, nor are thankful to him, but became vain in their 
 imaginations, and their foolifh hearts are darkened -, thefe men 
 are Heart- Atheifis, Sind prof effing themf elves wife, they become 
 fools, and are given up to vile affections : And as they do nor 
 like to retain Qodin their knowledge (however they may dif- 
 courfe of him, fo) Godohgiveth them over to a reprobate mind, 
 to do thofe things that are not convenient, being filled With all 
 unrighteoufnefs, fornication, wickfdnefs, covet oufnefs, maliciouf- 
 nefs ,envj ^murther, debate, deceit, malignity , &c. Rom. I. 21, 
 22,26,28,29,30. Swarms of fuch Atheifts go up and down 
 under the felf-deceiving name ofchriftians : being indeed un- 
 believing ar.d defiled, fo void of Purity, that they deride it,and 
 nothing is Pure to them ; but even their mind and confeience is 
 dt -filed : Thtj profefs that they know God, but they deny him in 
 their Worlds, being abominable and difobedient, and to every good 
 work^ reprobate, Tit. I. 15, 16. What is he but an Atheifi, 
 when God is not in all his thoughts, Pfal. 10.4. unlefs it be in 
 their impious or bLi(pheming thoughts , or in their fieight con- 
 tempt mm thoughts / TotaKe God for God indeed, and for our 
 God, efTentialiy mciudeth the taking him to be the woft power- 
 ful, Wife and good, the moftjujl and holy, the Creator, Prefer- 
 
 B b vt r 
 
i8p Walking with Gel Part II. 
 
 ver and G over mur of the world, whom we and all men are ob- 
 liged abiolutely to obey and fear, to love and defire, whofe 
 Willis our Beginning, Ruleand End : Heth3t taketh not God 
 for fuchas here defcribed, taketh him not for God, and there- 
 fore is indeed an Atheifi: What name foever he affumethto 
 himfelf, this is the- name that God will call him by j even a 
 fool that hath [aid in his heart there u no God : while they are 
 corrupt and do abominably, they undtrfl and not, and feel^not af- 
 ter God -, the j Art all gone a fide ^ and are altogether become filthy , 
 there u none of them that doth good ^ they are workers of iniqui- 
 ty that have no knowledge , and eat up the pecple of God as bread, 
 and call not upon the Lord, Pfal. 14. 1,2,3,4. [_Vngodlinefs\ 
 is buttheEnglifh for \^Athtifm7\ IhtAtheiflor Vngodly in 
 Opinion, is he that thinks that there is no God, or that he is 
 One that we need not Love and Serve (and that is but the 
 fame, viz,- to be no God.) The Atheift or Vngodly in Heart or 
 Willy is he that confenteth not that God (hall be his God, to 
 be loved, feared and obeyed before all. The Atheift in Life 
 or ouiward practice, is he that liveth as without God in the 
 world •, that feekcth him not as his chiefeft good, and obeyeth 
 him not asbishigheftabfoluteLord • fo that indeed Atheifm 
 is the fumme of all iniquity, as Godlinefs is the fumme of ali 
 Religion and moral good. If you fee by the defcription which 
 I have given you, what it is to be Godly, and to walk^with 
 God, and what it is to be an Atheifi or Vngodly , you may ea- 
 fily fee that Godlinefs is more rare, and Atheifm more common, 
 than many that themfelves are AtheiflsmW believe. It is not 
 that which a man calls hisGod,that is taken by him for hisGod 
 indeed. It is not the Tongue, but the Heart thai is the w**. 
 Pilate called Chrift the King of the Jews, when he crucified 
 him. The Jews called God their Father, when Chrift tclleth 
 them, they were of their father the Devil, and provexh it, be- 
 caufe(what ever they laid) they would do hii lufts, Job. 8. 44. 
 The fame Jews pretended to honour thenameoftheMefiiah, 
 and exped him, while they killed him. The queftion is not 
 what men call themfelves, but what they are : Not whether 
 you fay you tal^eGodforyeur Qod, but whether joudofo indeed: 
 Not whether you prrfefs your felves to be Atheifis, but whe- 
 ther you are Atheifts indeed or not. If you are not, look over 
 
 what 
 
Part 1 1. Walking with Cod. 187 
 
 what I have here faid, and tell your confciences, Do you walk 
 with" God? who is it that you fubmit your fclves willingly to 
 be difpofed of by ? To whom are you mod fubjed: ? and whofe 
 commands have the moft effedual authority with you? who 
 is the Chief Governour of your hearts and lives? whom is ic 
 that you principally defire to pleafe f whom do you moft /wr? 
 and whofe difplealure do you principally avoid? from whom 
 is'itihttyoucivt&yourgretteft reward? and in whom, and 
 with whom do you place and exped your bappinefs? whofe 
 work isitthatyoudo,asthegreateft bufinefs of your lives? 
 Is it the goodnefs of God in himfelf and unto you, that draw- 
 eth up your hearts to him in Love? Is he the ultimate End of 
 the mam intentions, defign, and induftry of your lives ? Do 
 you truft upon his Word as your fecurity for your everlaft- 
 ing hopes and happinefs ? Do you ftudy and obferve him in his 
 works? Do you really live as in hisprefence? Doyoudehght 
 in his Word , and meditate on it ? Do you love the Commu- 
 nion of Saints ? and to be moft frequent and familiar with them 
 that are moft frequent and familiar with Chrift ? Do you fa- 
 vour more the particular affcttiouate fflcourk about his Na- 
 ture Willed Kingdom, than the frothy talk of empty wits, 
 or the common difcourfe of carnal worldlings ? Do you love 
 to be employed in thinking him for his Mercies, and in fraifing 
 him, and declaring the glory of his attributes and works? Is 
 your dependence on him asyourgren henefailor, and do you 
 receive your mercies as his gifts? If thus your principal obfer- 
 vationbe of God, and your chief defire after God, and your 
 chief eft confidence in God, and your chiefeft bufinefs in the 
 world be with God, and for God, and your chifefi joj be in the 
 favour of God (when you can apprehend it) and in the prof- 
 perky of his church , and your hopes of glory ; and your 
 chiefeft grief aud troublebe your fm r ui diilance from him,and 
 your backwardness and difability in his* love and fervice, 
 and the fear of his difpleafure, and the injuries done to his 
 Gofpel and honour in the world- then I muft needs fay, you 
 are favingly delivered ftom your Atheifm and Ungodlmefs • 
 you do not only talk°f God, but wdkyith God; you are then 
 acquainted witii that ipiritual life and work, which the fen- 
 fual world is unacquainted with,and with thofe iavifible ever- 
 
 B 2 laftmg 
 
l8S Walking With God. Part 11. 
 
 lafting excellencies, which if worldlings knew, they would 
 change their minds,and choice and pleafurcs : You are then ac- 
 quainted with that rational, manly, faintly life, which ungod- 
 ly men are grangers to ; and you are in the way of that well 
 grounded Hope and Peace to which all the pleafurcs and 
 Crowns on earth, if compared, are bur cheats and mifery. 
 But if you were never yet brought to walk^with God, do not 
 think that you have afoundbeliefinGod, nor that you acknow- 
 ledge him fincercIy,nor that you are faved from heart atheifm: 
 Nor is i: Pntj in the O r inien and the Tongue, that will fave 
 him that is an sltheift or ungodly in heart and life. Divinity 
 is an afettive-pr attic al fcience : Knowing is not the ultimate 
 Or perfetlive ad: of man : but a means to holy Love and for 
 and fervice. Nor is it clear and [olid knowledge, if it do noc 
 fomewhat a feci the heart, and engage and aduate the life, 
 according to the nature and ufe of the thing known. The 
 foundnefs of Knowledge and Belief is not bed difcerned in 
 the incellcdual ads themfelves, but in their powerful, free and 
 pleafant efficacy, upon our choice and praclice. By thefe there- 
 fore you mull judge, whether you are Godly or Atheiflical. 
 The queilion is not what your Tongues fay of God, nor what 
 compiemental ceremonious obfervances you allow him , but 
 what your Hearts and your endeavours fay of him, and whe- 
 ther you gloripe him as God when you fay you know him ; 
 Ckherwife you will find that the wrath of God is revealed from 
 heaven^ againfi aS mgodlinefs and unrighteoufnefs of men, whs 
 held the truth in unrighteoufnefs J Rom. i . 1 8 , 2 1 . 
 
 And now alas, what matter of lamentation is here before 
 us / To fee how ferioufly men converfe with one another j 
 and how God is overlookt or negleded by the moft / How 
 men live together, as if there were more that is considerable 
 and regardable in thefe particles of animated duft, then in 
 the Lord Almighty, and in all his graces , fervice and rewards 1 
 To fee how God is call afide, and his intereft made to give 
 place to the interelt of the flefli, and his fervices muft flay till 
 men have done their fervice to their lulls, or to worldly men, 
 that can do them hurt, or (hew them favour .' And his will 
 muft not be done, when it crolTeth the will of finful man I 
 Mow little do all the commands, and promifes, and threatnings 
 
 of 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 1 8? 
 
 of God fignifie with thefe Athciitical men, in comp.irifon of 
 their lulls, or the laws of men, or anything that concerrcrh 
 iheir temporal prolperity ! O how is die world revolted from 
 their Maker I How have they loft the knowledge of them- 
 felves , and forgotten their natures,capacittes and obligations, 
 and what ic is to be indeed a man ! O hearken finners, to the 
 call of your Redeemer ! Return, O feduced wandering fouls, 
 and know atlaft yourrefling place / why is not God in all 
 your thoughts ? or why is he thought on with fo much re- 
 mifnefs, unwillingnefs, and contempt / and with fo little 
 pleafure, ferioufnefs, or regard ? Do you understand your 
 felves in this ? Do you deal worthily with God? Or wifely 
 for your felves ? Do you take more pleafure, with the Prodi- 
 gal, to feed fwrne, and to feed with fwine, then to dwell ac 
 home with your heavenly Father? and to walk before him, 
 and ferve him in the world ? Did you but know how danger- 
 ous a way you have been in, and how unreasonably you have 
 dealt, toforfakeGod in your hearts, and follow that which 
 cannot profit you, what hafte would you make to leave the 
 crowd, and come home to God, and try a more noble and 
 gainful converfation ? If Rea-'ons may have room and leave 
 to work upon you, I will fet a few before you more diftindly, 
 co call you off from your barren inordinate creature converfe, 
 to a believing ferious converfe with God. 
 
 1. The higher and more excellent the objcEl is (efpecialiy 
 when it is alfo of moft concernment to our felves) the more 
 excellent is the converfe. Therefore as nothing dare compare 
 it felf with Godjo no employment may be compared with rh.s 
 of holy walking with him. How vile a contempt is it of the 
 Almighty, and of our Celeftial joyes, for the heart to negleft 
 them, and turn away, and dwell upon vanity and trouble, and 
 let thefe higheft pleafures go 1 Is not God andG lory worthy of 
 thy thoughts, and all thy fervice? 
 
 2. What are thofe things that take thee up t Are thtj bttttv 
 thenGodl Or fitter to lupply thy wants? If thou think, and 
 truft in them accordingly, ere long thou flialt know better 
 what they are, and have enough of thy curfed choice and con- 
 fidence. Tell thofe that (land by thee at the parting hour 5 
 whether thou didft choofe aright and make a gaining or a 
 
 Bb 3 faving 
 
1 90 Walking with God. Part 1 1. 
 
 faying match. O poorfinners! have you not yet warning 
 enough co fatisfie you that all'tbin^s below are Vanity and 
 Vexition, and that all your hope of itappinefs is above / Will 
 not the tellimony of God fatisfie you ? will not the experience 
 of the world for fo many thousand years together fatisfie you? 
 will not the ill fuccefs of all the damned fatisfie you c will no- 
 thing but your own experience convince you ? If fo, confidcr 
 well the experience you have already made, and feafonably 
 retire, and try no further, and truft not fo dangerous a de- 
 ceiver to the laft,leaft you buy your knowledge at a dearer race 
 then you will now believe. 
 
 3 . Ton have daily more to do with God, than with all the 
 World, whether yon will or no ; And therefore feeing you can- 
 mt avoid him if you Voonld, prefer that volnntarj obediential 
 converge, which huhareward, before that necejfitated converfe 
 which hath none. You are alwaies in his hands : he made you 
 for hisfervice^ and he will difpofeof yon and all that you 
 have according to his will. It (hall not go with you as yonr 
 f elves would have ir, nor as your friends would have it, nor as 
 Princes and great ones of the world would have it -, (unlefs as 
 their wills comply with Gods-,) but as God would have it, 
 who will infallibly accomplifh all his will. If a If arrow fall 
 not to the gronnd withont him, and all the hairs of onr heads are 
 numbered, then certainly he overrulech all your interertsand 
 affairs, and they are absolutely at his difpofe. To whom then 
 in reafon fhould you fo much apply your felves as unto him .? 
 If yon will not take notice of him, hernW take notice otyon ; 
 He will remember you whether you remember him or not : 
 but it may be wi.h fo ftrid: and fevere a remembrance, as may 
 make you wifh he did quite forget you. You are alwaies in 
 his prefence ; and can you then forget him, and hold no vo- 
 luntary converfe with him, when you Hand befbrehim? Ih'r, 
 bebutmeaninferiour perfons tha^t we dwell wth andareitill 
 in company with, yet we mind them more, and fpeak more to 
 them, then we do to greater perfons that we feldom fee. But 
 in God there is both Greatnefs and Nearnefs to invire you. 
 Should not all the worms on earth (land by, while the Glorious 
 God doth call you to him, and offer you the honour and hap- 
 pinefs of his converfe? fhili the Lord of Heaven and Earth 
 
 Hand 
 
Part II. Walking with God. ipi 
 
 fhnd by, and befhut out, while you are chatting ortrfflng 
 with his creatures > Nay, fhali he be negle&ed that is alwaies 
 with you? You cannot remove your felves a moment from 
 his fight • and therefore you fhould not (hut your eyes, and 
 turn away your face, and refufe to obferve him who is ltill ob- 
 ferving you. 
 
 Moreover, your dependence both for fcul and body is all 
 on him : You can have nothiugdefirable but by his gift. He 
 feeds you, hecioatheth you, he maintained you, he gives you 
 life and bteath,and all things- and yet can you overlook him 
 or forget him ? Do not all his mercies require your acknow- 
 ledgement ? A Dog will follow him that feedeth hin? : his 
 eye will be upon his Matter : And (hall we live upon God, and 
 yet forget and difregard him ? We are taught a better ufe of 
 his Mercies by the Holy Prophet, Pfal. 66. 8, 9. O blefs our 
 God y ye people j and make the voice of his praife to be heard 1 
 Vvhichholdetkour foul in life, and f tiff ereth not our feet to be 
 moved ! 
 
 Nay it is not your felves alone, but all the world that de- 
 pends on God. It is his power that fupporteth them, and his 
 will that difpofeth of them, and his bounty that provideth 
 for them : And therefore he muft be the obfervation and ad- 
 miration of the world : It is lefs unreafonable to take no no- 
 tice of the Earth that beareth us and yieldeth us fruit, and 
 of the Sun that yields us heat and light, than to difregard the 
 Lord that is more to us than Sun and Earth, and all things. 
 The eyes of all things wait on him-, and he give th them their 
 meat in feafon : H e openeth his hand and fatisfietb the defire 
 ef every living thing, Pfal. 145. 15, 1 6. The Lord is good t$ 
 all, and his tender mercies are over all his worlds : kAU his 
 workj therefore fhall praife him, and his Saints fha 11 blefs him : 
 They {hall ffteak^ of the glory of his Kingdom, andtalk^ of his 
 power, verf. 10,11. 
 
 Moreover God is fo abundantly and wonderfully repreftnted 
 to us in all his worlds, as will leave us under the guilt of molt 
 unexcufable contempt, if we overlook him, and live as with- 
 out him in the world. The Heavens declare t be glory of God, 
 and the firmament fhemth his handy wor^ Bay unto day ut~ 
 terethfpeech^and night mto night fieweth knowledge ffo . 1 p. 1 ,2^ 
 
 Thuj 
 
l9 z Walking with God. Part 1 L 
 
 Thus that which may be known of God is manifeft •, for the 
 invifible things of him from the Creation of the world are clearly 
 feen , being under ftood by the things that are made, even his eter- 
 nal power and Godhead j fo that tb^ungodlj are without excufe, 
 Rom. 1. 19,20. Cannot you fee that which all the world re- 
 vealethf nor hear ihzt which all the world proclaimeth? O 
 fing ye forth the honour of his name : make his praife glorious i 
 S,ty to the Lord, How terrible art thou in thy Works ! through 
 the great nefs of thy power fhall thine enemies (ubmit themfelves 
 unto thee: All the earth fhallworfhip thee, and [hall fing unto 
 thee : they Jhall fing unto thy name : come and fee the workj of 
 God: he is tertible in his doings towards the children of men, 
 Pfal. 66. 2, 3,4, 5. Can we pafs him by that is everywhere 
 prefent, and by every Creature reprefented to us ? Can we 
 forget him, when all the world are our remembrancers?Can we 
 Hop our f^sr^againlt the voice of Heaven and Earth? Canwe 
 be ignorant of him, when the whole Creation is our Teacher ? 
 Can we overlook that holy glorious &ame, which is written fo 
 legibly upon all things that ever our eyes beheld, that nothing 
 but blindnefs, (leepinefs or diftratlion, could pofiibly keep us 
 from dtfeerningit / I have many a time wondred, that (as 
 the eye is dazzled fo with the beholding of the greatefl Light, 
 that it can fcarce perceive the fhining of a leffer, fo) the Glo- 
 rious tranftendent Ma jelly of the Lord, doth not even over- 
 whelm our underftandmgs, and fo tranfport and take us up, 
 as that we can fcarce obferve or remember any thing elfe. For 
 naturally the greatcft obje&i of our fenfe, are apt to make us 
 at that time infenfible of the fmaller : And our exceeding great 
 bufwefs, is apt to make us utterly negled and forget thoie that 
 are exceeding/)?^; And O what Nothings are the Be ft and 
 Greateftoi the Creatures, in companion of God / And what 
 toyes and trifles are all our other bufmefTes in the world, in 
 comparifon of the bufinefs which we have with Him / But I 
 have been (topped in thefe admirations by confidering that the 
 wife Creator hath fitted and ordered all his Creatures accord- 
 ing to the ufe which he defigneth them to ; And therefore as 
 the eye mud be receptive only of fomuch light as is propor- 
 tioned to its ufe and pleaiure, and muft be fo diftant from the 
 Sun-hat ics Light may rathe/ guide 4 than blind us,and its Heat 
 
 may 
 
Part 1 1 . Walking with God. 1 9 3 
 
 may rather quicken, than confume us ^ fo God hath made our 
 underftandings capable of no other knowledge of Him here, 
 than what is fui ted to the work of holinefs : And while we 
 have Flefh, zndfle/hly workj to do, and lawful necelTary bufi- 
 nefsin the world, in which Gods own commands employ us, 
 our fouls in this Lanthorn of the body, mud fee him through 
 (o thick a glafs, as (hall fo far allay our apprehenfion, as not 
 to diftra&us, and take us off the works which he enjoynech 
 us. And God and our fouls (hall beat fuch a diftance, as that 
 the proportionable Light of his countenance may condutl ut, 
 and not overwhelm hs ; and his Love may be fo revealed, as to 
 f«/V^»ourde(ires, and draw us on to a better (late, but not 
 io as to make us utterly impatient of this world, and utterly 
 weary of our lives, or to fwallow us up, or poffefs us of our 
 wofrde fired happinefs, before we arrive at the fiat e of happinefs. 
 While the foul is in the body, it maketh fo much ufe of the 
 body (the brain and fpirits) in all is operations . that our 
 wife and merciful Creator and Governour, doth refpeS the 
 body as well as the foul in his ordering, difpollng, and repre- 
 fenting of the obje&s of thofe operations : fo that when I con- 
 lider that certainly all men would bediftratled, if their appre- 
 henfions of God were any whit anfwerable to the Greatnefs of 
 hit Majefly and Glory (the "Brain being noe able to bear iuch 
 high operations of the foul, nor the greatnefs of the pajfions 
 which would neceffarily follow,) it much reconcileth my won- 
 dring mind, to the wife and gracious providence of God, even 
 in fctting innocent nature it felf at luch a diftance from his 
 Glorj (allowing us the prefence of fitch Grace, as is neceffaty 
 tobtingus up to Glory) Though it reconcile me not to that 
 doleful diftance which is introduced by fin, and which is fur- 
 thered by Satan, the world, and the flefh, and which our Re- 
 deemer by his Spirit and Interceffion mult heal. 
 
 And it further reconcileth me to thisdifpofure and will of 
 thebleffed God, and this neceffary natural diftance and dark- 
 nefsof our minds, when I confider,that if God, and Heaven, 
 and Hell, were as near and open to our apprehensions, as the 
 things arc which we fee and feel, t hU life would not be what 
 God intended it to be, a life of Try aland preparation to ano- 
 ther, awcr^, a race % a pilgrimage, a warfare j what Tryal 
 
 Cc would 
 
1 94 Walking with Cod. Part II. 
 
 would there be of any mans Faith, or Love ,or Obedience, or 
 Confiancj ,or Self-denial? If we faw Qod ftandby, or appre- 
 hended him as if we faw him (in degree) it would be no more 
 praife-worthy or rewardable for a man to abhor all tempta- 
 tions to worldlinefs, ambition, gluttony, drunkennefs, luft, 
 cruelty, &c. than it is for a man to be kept from fleepingthat 
 is pierced with :horns, or for a man to forbear to drink a 
 cup of melted Gold which he knoweth will burn out his 
 bowels, or to forbear to burn his flelh in the fire. It were no 
 great commendation to his Chafiity, that would forbear his 
 filthinefs, if he faw or had the fulled: apprehenfions of God > 
 when he will forbear it in the prefence of a mortal man : It 
 were no great commendations to the intemperate and volup- 
 tuous, to have no mind of fenfual delights, if they had but 
 fuch a knowledge of God as were equal tofigbr. It were no 
 thanks to the perfecutor to fotbear his cruelty againft thefer- 
 vantsof the Lord, if he fawChrifl coming with hii gloriom 
 Angels, to take vengeance on them that knoVv not God, and obey 
 not the Gospel, and to be admired in his Saints \ and glorified in 
 them that noVv believe , 2 Thef. 1.7,8,9, 10. I deny not but 
 this happily neceffitated Helinefs is beft in it (elf, and therefore 
 will be our ftatew Heaven, but what is thereof Tryal in it? 
 or how can it befuitableto tbeftateof man, that muft have 
 Good and Evil fet before him, and Life and Death left to his 
 choice ^ and that muft conquer if he will be crowned, and ap- 
 prove his fideliry to his Creator againft competitors, and muft 
 live a rewardable life before he have the reward ? 
 
 But though in this life we may neither hope for, nor defire, 
 fuch overwhelming fenfible apprehenfions of God, as the reft 
 of our faculties cannot anfwer, nor our bodies bear^ yet that 
 our apprehenfions of him fhould be/o bafe, and fmall, and dull, 
 &nd unconftant 9 as to by born down by the noife of worldly bu- 
 finefs, or by the prefence of any creature, or by the tempting 
 baits of fenfuality, this is the more odious, by how much God 
 is more Great and Glorious than the creature, and even be- 
 caufe the ufe of the creature it felf is but to reveal the Glory 
 oftheLord. To have fuchfieight and (lupid thoughts of him, 
 as will not carry us on in uprightnefs of obedience, nor keep 
 us in his fear, nor draw out our hearts in fincere defires to 
 
 pleafe 
 
Part II. Wdklng with God. 1$5 
 
 pleafe him,andenjoy him, and as will notraifeus to a con- 
 tempt of the pleafures, and profits, and honours of this 
 world, this is to be defpifers of the Lord, and to live as in a 
 fleep, and to be dead to God, and alive only to the world and 
 flefh. Itisnounjuftdifhonour or injury to the Creature , to 
 be accounted as Nothing in comparifon of God, that it may 
 beableto^iVor^'^againft Him and his intcreft : But to 
 make fuch a Nothing of the moft Glorious God,by our contemp- 
 tuous forgetfulnefs or neglecl, as that our apprehenfions of 
 Him cannot prevail againft the fordid pleafures of the flefh, 
 and againft thericheft baits of fin, and againft all the wrath 
 or allurements of man, this is but to make a God of duft, and 
 dung, and nothing, and (in heart and pra&icej to make God 
 worfe than duft and dung. And it is a wonder that mans un- 
 demanding can become fofottifli, as thus to wink the Sun it 
 felf into a conftant darknefs, and to take God as Nothing, or 
 as no God, who is fo abundantly revealed to them in afto- 
 nifhing tranfcendent Greatnefs and Excellency, by all the 
 Creatures in the world, and with whom we have continually 
 fo much to do. O finful man / into how great a depth of ig- 
 norance, ftupidity and mifery art thou fain ! 
 
 But becaufe we may fee by the lives of the ungodly, that they 
 little think that they have fo much to do with God, though I 
 have fpoke of this to the Godly in the other Part ofthisTrea- 
 tefe, Ifhall fomewhat more particularly acquaint thofe that 
 have molt need to be informed of it, what bufinefs it is that 
 they have with Ged. 
 
 1. It is not a bufinefs that may be done, or left undone, like 
 your bufinefs with men : but it is fuch as muft be done, or you 
 are undone for ever. Nothing is abfolueely NeceJJary but this : 
 Nothing in all the world doth fo much concern you. You may 
 at far cheaper races forbear to eat, or drink, or cloath your 
 feives, or live, than forbear the difpatch of this neceffary 
 work. 
 
 2. Your bufinefs with God, and for God in the world, is that 
 which you have all jour powers and endowments for ; it is that 
 which you were born into the world for, and that which you 
 have underitanding and free will for, and that which you have 
 your thoughts, and memories, and affe&ions for, and that 
 
 Cc 2 which 
 
T96 Walking with Gcd. Part II. 
 
 which you have eyts, and ears, and tongues, and all your cor- 
 poreal parts and abilities for : It is that which you have your 
 food and rayment for • and that which you hare your time 
 for •, and your prefervation, protection and provifions : It is 
 that which you have all your teaching for-, which Chrift 
 himfeif came for into the world ^ which the Scriptures are 
 written for; which Minifters are fent for , which all Order 
 and Government in Church and State is principally appointed 
 for ; In a word, it is that for which you have your lives, and 
 fill things, and without which all wece as nothing, and will 
 be to you worfe than nothing, if they do not further your 
 work with God: You will wifh you had never feen them if 
 they befriend you otin this. 
 
 3 . Your bufinefs with God, and for him, is fuch as you muft 
 be continually doing : as is incumbent on you every hour , 
 for you have every hour given you for this end. You may 
 difpatch this man to day, and another to morrow, and have 
 no more to do with them again of a long time : but you have 
 alwaies inceffantly important works to do with God. For your 
 common Wor^fhould be all his work^\ and all fhould be done 
 with principal refped to him. 
 
 But I fhallyet more particularly tell the ungodly yphat bufi- 
 nefs it ii that they have with God, which it feems by their care- 
 lefs negligent lives they are not aware of. 
 
 I. You muft beeither/kz/^or damned by him - 5 either Glo- 
 rified with Him, or funifhed by Him toeverlafting : And it is 
 New that the matter muft be determined, which of the two 
 conditions you muft be in : You muft Now obtain your title 
 to Heaven, if ever you will come thither : You muft Now 
 procure your deliverance from Hell fire, if ever you will 
 efcapeit. Now his that all that muft be done, upon which the 
 fcales muft turn for your falvation or damnation : And you 
 know this work is principally to bedone between you and 
 God, who alone can favc you or deftroy you j and yet do ycu 
 forget him, and liveas if you had no bufinefs with him, when 
 you have your falvation to ebtain from him, and your dam- 
 nation to frevent ? Have you fuch buftmfs as this with any 
 ether } 
 
 2. You have aftritt and righteous Judgement to undergo, in 
 
 order 
 
Part II. Walking with Cod. I p 7 
 
 order to this falvation or damnation. You mud ftand before 
 the Holy Majefty, and he judged by the Governour of the 
 World : yon muft be there accufed, and found guilty or not 
 guilty v and jadged as fuiflllers or as breakers of the holy 
 Covenant of Grace : you muft befec on the right hand or on 
 the left : you muft anfvver for all the time that you here fpent, 
 and for all the means and mercies which you here received,and 
 for that you have done , whether it were good or evil: And 
 it is now in this l.fe that all your preparation muft be made, 
 and all that muft be done, upon which your juftificationor 
 condemnation will then depend. Anh it is between God and 
 you that all this bufinefs muft be done : And yet can you live 
 as negligently towards him, as if you had no bufinefs with 
 him ? 
 
 3. You have a Death to dye % a change to make which muft 
 be made but once; which will be the entrance upon endlefs 
 joy or pain : And do you think this needeth not your moft 
 timely and diligent preparation ? You muft ftruggle with 
 pains, and faint with weaknefs, and feel death taking down 
 your earthen tabernacle: you muft then have a life that is 
 ending to review, and all that you have done laid open to 
 your more impartial judgement; You muft then fee Time as 
 at an end, and thelaftfand running, and your candle ready 
 to go out, and leave the fnuff; . You muft then look back upon 
 all that you have had from the world, as ending ; and upon 
 all that you have done as that which cannot be undone again, 
 that you may do it better . and you muft have a morcferi- 
 ous look into Eternity, when you are ftepping thither, then 
 you can now conceive of : And doth ail this need no pre- 
 paration ? It is with God that all that bufinefs muft be Now 
 tranfa&ed, that muft make your death to be comfortable, or 
 fafe. If Now you will only converfe with men y and know no 
 bufinefs that you have with GW, you (hall find at laft to your 
 exceeding terrour, that you arc in his hands, andpafting to 
 his bar, and that it is God that then you have to do with, 
 when your bufinefs with all the world is at an end: He will 
 then have fomething to do with yon, if you will now find nothing 
 to do vi'whhim, 
 .4. In order to all this, you have nor? jour Peace to be made 
 
 Cc 3 *//&. 
 
198 Walking with God. Part II. 
 
 with God, and the pardon of all your fins to be obtained. For 
 woe to you ifthenyouare found under the guilt of any fin. 
 Look back upon your lives, and remember how you have lived 
 in the world, and what you have been doing : how you have 
 ipent your time, in youth and in your riper age; and how 
 many finful thoughts, and words, and deeds you have been 
 guilty of; how ok you have finfully pleafed your appetites, 
 and gratified your flefh, and yeilded to temptations , and 
 abufed mercy, and loft your time : how oft you have neglect- 
 ed your duty, and betrayed your fouls : how long you have 
 lived in forget fulnefs of God and your falvation ^ minding 
 only the things of the flefh and of the world : how oft you 
 have finned ignorant ly and againft knowledge, through care- 
 lefnefsand through rafjnefs^ through negligence and through 
 prefumption, in paffion, and upon deliberation j againft convi- 
 tlions^purpofesand promifes : how oft you have finned againft 
 the precepts of piety to God, and of juftice and charity to 
 men. Think how your fins are multiplied and aggravated, 
 more in number then the hours of your lives : Aggravated by 
 a world of mercies : by the cleareit teachings, andthelowd- 
 eft calls, and (harped reproofs, and feafonable warnings, and 
 by the long and urgent importunities of grace. Think of all 
 thefe, and then confider whether you have nothing now to 
 do with God, whether it be not abufinefs to be followed 
 with all pofiible fpeed and diligence to procure the pardon of 
 all thefe fins : you have no fuch bufinefles as thefe, to tranfad 
 with men : you may have bufinefs with them which your 
 eftates depend upon, or which touch your credit, commodity 
 or lives^ but you have no bufinefs with men (unlefs in fub- 
 ordination to God) which your falvation doth depend upon : 
 your eternal happinefs is not in their hands: They may kill 
 your bodies, (if God permit them) but not your fouls. You 
 need not follicite them to pardon your fins againft God : It 
 is a (mall matter how you are judged of by man : you have 
 one that judgeth you, even the Lord, i Cor. 4. 3,4. No man 
 can forgive Tin, but God only. O then how early, how 
 earneftly mould you cry to him for mercy ! Pardon mttft be 
 obtained novo or never : There is no purification for that man at 
 the day of Judgement, tint is not forgiven and jvftified now. 
 
 Ble$ed 
 
Part N. Walking with Cod. 199 
 
 Bleffcd then is the man whofe iniquity is forgiven , who ft fin is 
 covered, and to whom it is not imputed by the Lord, Rom. 4.7,8. 
 And wo to that man that ever he was born, that is then found 
 without the pardon of his fins/ Think of this as the cafe de« 
 ferves, and then think if you can, that your daily bufinefs with 
 God is final), 
 
 5. Moreover, you have Teace of Conference to obtain; and 
 that dependeth upon your Peace Vritb (jod. Confcience will 
 be your accufer, condemner and tormenter,if you make it not 
 your friend, by making God your friend. Confider whac 
 Confcience hath to fay again ft you, and how certainly it will 
 fpeak home, when you would be loth to hear it : and bethink 
 you how to anfwer all its accufations, and what will be necefTa- 
 ry to make it a meffenger of Peace •, and then think your bu- 
 finefs with God to be but fmall, if you are able. It is no eafie 
 matter to get affnrance that God is reconciled to you, and that 
 he hath forgiven all your fins. 
 
 6. In order to all this, you muft be united to fefttsChri(l y 
 and be made his members \ that you may have part in him, and 
 that he may wafh you by his blood, and that he may anfwer 
 for you to his Father ! woe to you if he be not your righteouf- 
 nefs, and if you have not him to plead yourcaufe, and take 
 upon him your final jultification/ None elfe can fave you 
 from the wrath of God: And he is the Saviour only of his 
 body, Eph. 5. 23 . He hath dyed for you without your own con- 
 fent, and he hath made an univerfal conditional grant of pardon 
 andfalvation, before you confemed to it : But he will not be 
 united to you, nor a clually forgive and jufiifie and fave you 
 without your own confent : And therefore that the Father may 
 draw you to the Son, and may give you Chrifi and Life in him 
 fijoh.5.9, 10, 11 J when all your hope dependeth on ic, 
 you may fee that you have more to do with God, then, your 
 fenfelefs hearts have hitherto underftood . 
 
 7. And that you may have a favingintereft in Jefus Chrifi, 
 you muft have found Repentance for all your former life of 
 wickednefs, and a lively efftBual faith in Chrifi .- Neither fin 
 nor Chrifi muft be made light of. Repentance muft tell you 
 to the very heart, that you have done foolifhly in fining, and 
 that it u an evil and a bitter thing that yon forfook. the Lord, 
 
a oo Walking with Cod. Part 1 1. 
 
 and that his fear Vtas not in you : and thttf jour Vtickednefsjhall 
 corrett you and reprove you, Jer. 2. 19. And Faitbrnuft tell you 
 that Cbrift is more neceffary to you then food or life, and that 
 there is no other name given under heaven by which you can 
 be faved, Aft. 4, 12. And it is not foeafie, nor fo common 
 a thing to Repent and Believe as ignorant prefumptuous fin- 
 ners do imagine. It is a greater matter to have a truly hum- 
 bled contrite heart, and to loath your felves for all your fins, 
 and to loath thofe fins, and refolvediy give up your felves to 
 Chriftand to his Spirit for a holy life, then heartlefly and hy- 
 pocritically to fay, lam/orry, or / Repent , without any true 
 Contrition or Renovation. And it is a greater snatter to betake 
 your felves to Jefus Chrift as your only hope to fave you 
 both from fin and from damnation, then barely through cu- 
 flom and the benefit of education to fay, I do believe inChrifi. 
 I tell you it is fo great a work to bring you to found Repentance 
 andFaith t ihatitmuftbe done by the power of God himfelf, 
 .^#.5.31. zTim.2.2$. They are the Gift of Qod^ph.z.S. 
 you mult have hujpirit to illuminate you, Eph. 1. 28. and fhew 
 youtheodioufneis of fin, the intolerabienefsof the wrath of 
 God, the neceflity and fufficiency, the power and wiflingnefs 
 ©fChrift-, and to overcome all your prejudice, and fave you 
 from your falfe opinions and deceits -, and to repulfc the 
 temptations of Satan, the world and the flelh which will all 
 rife up againfl you. All this mud be done to bring you home 
 to Jefus Chrift, or elfeyou will have r,o part in him, hisrigh- 
 teoufnefs and grace : And can you think that you have not 
 molt important bufinefs with God, who mufi do all this upon 
 you, or elfe you are undone for ever / 
 
 8. Moreover you muft have all the corruptions of jour na- 
 tures healed , and your ftns fubdued, and your htarts made new 
 by f an tlifying grace, and the Image of God implanted in you, 
 and your lives made holy and finccrely con r ormable to the 
 will of God. All this muft be done, or you cannot be acccpta- 
 bletoGod, nor ever will be faved : Though your carnal in- 
 tereftrife againft it • though your eld corrupted narures be 
 ag:.inft it - y though yodr cuilome, and pleafure, and worldly 
 gain and honour be againfi it ; though all your carnal friends 
 and fuperiorsbeagsinftit • though the devil will do all that 
 
 he 
 
Part II, Walking with God. 201 
 
 he can againfl it ; yet al! this mufl be done, or you are loft for 
 ever : And all this muft be done by the Spirit of God •, for ic 
 is his work to make you New and Holy : And can you think 
 then that the bufinefs is not great which you have with God ? 
 when you have tryed how hard every part of this work is, to 
 be begun and carryed on, you will finde you have more to do 
 with God, than with all the world. 
 
 9. Moreover in order to this, it is necefTary ih&{ you read, 
 And hear, and under fiand the GosJ el ', which mud be the means 
 of bringing you to God by Chrift : This mull be the tnftru- 
 ment of God, by which he will bring you to Refent and Be- 
 lieve, and by which he will renew jour Natures, and imprint 
 his Image on you, and bring you to Love him, and obey hit will. 
 The Word of God muft be your Councilor, and your delight, 
 and you muft fet your heart to it, and meditate in it day and 
 night. Knowledge muft be the means to reclaim your perverfe 
 mifguided Wills* and to reform your carelefs crooked Lives, 
 and to bring you out of the Kingdom of darknefsinto the 
 State of Light and Life. And fuch Knowledge cannot be ex- 
 pected without a diligent attending unto Chrift the Teacher 
 of your fouls, and a due confederation of the truth. By that 
 time you have learnt what is needful to be learnt for a true 
 Converfion, a found Repentance, a faying Faith, and a holy 
 Life, you will fmde that you have far greater bufinefs with 
 God than with all the world. 
 
 10. Moreover for the attaining of all this Mercy, you have 
 wany a prayer to put up to God : You muft daily pray for the 
 forgiveness of your fins, and deliverance from temptations, and 
 even for your daily bread, or neceffary provifions for the 
 work which you have to do : You muft daily pray for all the 
 fupplies of Grace which you want, and for the gradual mor- 
 tification of the flelh, and for help in all the duties which you 
 muft perform ; and for ftrength againft all the fpiritual cne* 
 mies which will alTaukyou -, and preiervationfrom the mani- 
 feft evils which attend you: And thefe prayers muft be put 
 up with unwearied conftancy, fervency and Faith. Keep up 
 l\\\s comkol fervent prayer, and beg lor Chrift, and Grace, 
 and Pardon, and Salvation in any meafureas they deferve,and 
 according to. thy own netfjfity, and then tell mee whether thy 
 
 D d bufinefs 
 
10 i Wdlkhgmth Gel Part II, 
 
 bufinefs with God befraail, and to be put off as lightly as it 
 is by the ungodly. 
 
 ii. Moreover, you are made for the Glory of your Creator, 
 find mid ft apply your ft Ives wholly to glorifie him in the world • 
 Youmuit mukehisfervice the trade and bufinefs of your lives, 
 and not put him off wiih fomechingon the by : You are good 
 tor nothing elfe but to fervehim •, as a knife is made to cut, 
 and as your doathsare made to cover you, and your meat to 
 hed you, and your horfe to labour for you •, fo you are made 
 and redeemed, and maintained for this, to Love and Pleafe your 
 great Creator ; And can you think that it is but little bufinefs 
 that you have with him, when he is the End and Mafler of 
 your lives, and all you are or have is for him ? 
 
 12. And for the due performance of his fervice, you have 
 fill his Talents to employ. To this end it is that he hath entrufted 
 you with reafon, and healthy zndftrength, with time , and parts % 
 and intereft,znd wealth, and all his mercies, and all his ordinan- 
 ce* and means of Grace ; and to this end mud you uie them,or 
 youiofeihem: And you mult give him an account of all at 
 lafl:, whether you have improved them all to yout Mafters ufe. 
 And can you look within you, without you, about you, and 
 fee how much you are trufted with, and muft be accountable to 
 him for, and yet not fee how great your bufinefs is with 
 God? 
 
 13. Moreover, you have all the grace s which you ./W/ re- 
 ceive to exerclfe •, and every grace doth carry you to God, 
 and is exercifed upon him, or for him : It is God that you mull: 
 fiudy, and know, and love t and defire, zndtrufl, and hope in, 
 and obey : It is God that you mull fee Rafter, and delight in fo 
 far as you enjoy him : It a hid abfence or difpleafure that muft 
 be your fear and forrow : Therefore the foul is faid to befan- 
 fti fie d when it is renewed, becaufe it is both diffiofedznd de- 
 voted unto God, And therefore Grace is called Holinefs, be- 
 caufe it a\\diJpofeth,and carryeth thefoul to God, and ufeth 
 it upon and for him. And can you think your bufinefs with God 
 is fmall, when you muft live upon him, and all the powers of 
 your foul muft be addided to him, and be in ferious motion 
 towards him? and when he muft be much more to you than 
 the Air which you breath in, or the Earth you live upon, or 
 
 than 
 
Part I L Walking with God, io$ 
 
 than the S*U that gives you light and heat ^ yea than the foul 
 is to your bodies ? 
 
 14. Laftiy, you have abundance of temptations and impede 
 ments to watchznd fir ive againd, which would hinder you in 
 the doing of all this work, and a corrupt and treacherous heart 
 to watch and keep in order, which will be looking back, and 
 fhrinking from the fervice. Lay all this together, and then 
 confider whether you have not more and greater buiinefs with 
 God, than with all the creatures in the world. 
 
 And if this be fo (as undeniably it is fo) is there any cloak 
 for that mans fin, who is all day taken up with creatures, and 
 thinks of God as feldome and as carelefly as if he had no bufi- 
 *f/j with him ? And yet, alas, if you take a furvey of high and 
 low, of Court, and City, and Country, you (hall find than 
 this is the cafe of no fmall number, yea of many that obferve 
 it not to be their cafe ; it is the cafe of the prophane that pray 
 in jeaft,andfwear,andcurfe,andrailinearnelt. It is the cafe 
 of the malignant enemies of holinefs, that hate them at the 
 heart that are mod acquainted with this converfe with God, 
 and count it but hypocrifie, pride or fancy, and would not fuf- 
 fer them to live upon the Earth, who are moft fincerely con- 
 verfant in Heaven. It is the cafe of Pharifees and Hypocrites, 
 who take up with ceremonious obfervances, as touch not, tafie 
 not, handle not, and fuch like traditions of their forefathers, in- 
 fteadofa fpiritual rational fervice, and a holy ferious walking 
 with the Lord. It is the cafe of all ambitious men, and cove- 
 tous worldlings, who make more ado to climb up a little 
 higher than their brethren, and to hold the reins, and have 
 their wills, and be admired and adored in the world, or to gee 
 a large eftate for themfelves and their poftcrity, chan to pleafc 
 their Maker, or to fave cheir fouls : It is the caie of every fen- 
 faal Epicure, whofe belly is his God, and fervech his fancy, 
 luit and appecice before the Lord. It is the cafe of every un- 
 iandified man, that feeketh fail the profperity «of his flefh, 
 before the Kingdom and Righteoufnels of God, and is moft 
 careful and laborious to lay up a treafure on Earth, and la- 
 bourethmore (with the greater eftimation, refolution and 
 delight) for the meat that perifheth, than for that which en- 
 durech to everlafting life. All thefe ("who are too great a pare 
 
 D d z " of 
 
204 Walking with God.. Part II. • 
 
 of the world , and too great a part of profeffed Chrifti- 
 an>) are taken up with eretture converfe *, and yet think 
 to fcape the deludge of Gods difpleafure, becaufe the He- 
 nocks and Noahs arc fo few who walk^^ith God^ and they 
 think God will not deftroy fo many: And thus they think 
 to be faved by their multitude, and to hide themfelves 
 in the croud (torn God : They will go the wide and common 
 path, aud be of the mind that moft are of: They will not be 
 convinced till mefl men are convinced ; that is, till their wif- 
 domecome too late, and coft them dearer than its worth. 
 When altme»&re convinced that God ihould have been pre- 
 ferred before the world, and ferved before their flefhly lulls* 
 (as they will certainly and' fadly bej then tbej will be con- 
 vinced with the reft. When all men underftand that Life was 
 given them to have done the work which Eternal Life de- 
 pended on, then they will underftand it with the reft. When 
 ell wen {hall difcern betw-een the righteous and the vfickjed -, be* 
 twecnthofe that ferve God, andthat ferve him n^t^ then they will 
 difcern it with the reft : They will know what their bulincfs 
 was in the world, and how much they had to do with God • 
 when rf//wf# know it. But O how much better for them 
 had it been to have known it in time while knowledge might 
 have done them better fcrvice, than to make them feel the 
 greatnefs of their fin and folly, and the hopes which once 
 they had of happinefs, and to help the fting of defperation 
 continually to prick them at the heart: They would be of fo 
 little a FlockjiS that to which it was the good pleafure of God 
 to give the Kingdom, Luk» 12. 32. If you demand a Reafon 
 of all this, their Reafon was in their throats and bellies'. They 
 had fiefily appetites and lufts, and thereby could rellijh flefhlj 
 ?lea{ures; but fpiritual/#/<? and appetite they had none, ana 
 therefore rellijhednot fpiritual things ; Had Ch'rifi, and Boli- . 
 nefs, and Heaven been as fuitable to their appetites, as the 
 fweetnefs of their meat, and drink, and Jufts, and as fuitable 
 ■to their fantafies as their worldly dignities and greatnefs were, 
 they would then have made a better choice. They would have 
 walked with God, ifdrunkennefs and gluttony, and pride and 
 wantonnefs, and covetoufnefs and idknefs, had been the way 
 in which they might have walked with him. If tbe/e had been 
 
 Godlincfs, 
 
Part II Walking with God. 20j 
 
 Godlinefs, now Godly would they have been ? How certainly 
 would they have come to Heaven, if this had been the' way ? 
 To be idle and proud, and flefhly, and worldly, is it chat they 
 love- and to be humble, and holy, and heavenly, and morti- 
 fied, 'is that which they hate, and cannot away with : And 
 their Love and Hatred proceed from their corrupted natures • 
 andthefeareinfteadof Reafon to them. Their ftrong appre- 
 henfionsof a prefect fuitablenefs in fic/hly fleafures to their 
 appetites, andotaprefent unfuitablenefsot a holy life, do keep 
 out all effe&ual. apprehenfionsof the excellencies of God, and 
 offpiricual heavenly delights, which crofs them in the plea- 
 fures which they moll defire. 
 
 But yet (their appetites corrupting their underftandings as 
 well as their wills) they will not be mad without/owe reafon, 
 norrejeft their Maker and their happinefs without [owe rea- 
 fon, nor negled that holy work which they were made for 
 wichout fome reafon .- Let us hear then what it is. 
 
 C H A P. I I [. 
 
 Objctt. i.TTHey fay [_It is true that god hath much to do 
 JL with us, and for us : but itfolloweth not that we 
 havefo much to do with him, or for him, as you would have us 
 tobelitve : For he is neceffarily Good, and neceffarily doth 
 good ^ and therefore will dofo, whether we thinkjfhim or not; 
 The Sun Will not give over fhining on mee, though I never thinly 
 on it, or never pray to it, or give it thanks. Nor doth God need 
 any fey -vice that we can do him, no more than theSuu doth: nor 
 p$ he p leafed any more in thepraife of men , or in their rvorkj. 
 
 An(w. I . It is mod certain that God is Good as neceffarily as 
 he is God : But it is not true that he muft neceffarily do good to 
 you, or other indi vidual perfons ■ nor that he neceffarily doth 
 the Good he doth to them. As he is not neceffnated to make 
 Toads and Serpents as happy as Men, or Men as Angels ; Co 
 he is not necefiitated to fave the Devils or damned fouls (for 
 he will not fave them.) And he was under no greater a necef- 
 fity to favejoa, than them. He was not neceffnated to give you; 
 a biing : He could have paft you by, and caufed others to have 
 
 Dd 3 poffeft. 
 
*o5 Walking with G$d. Part 1 1. 
 
 poflefl: your room. As it was Gods freewill and not any 
 necejfity that millions more are never born, that were in pofii- 
 bihty of it : (For ail that is pofi?ble doth not come to pafs J 
 So that you and millions more were born, was not of necejfity 
 but oft lie fame freewill. And as God did not mak^ you of 
 Necejfity but of freewill ; fo he doih not Neceffarily but 
 Freely,juftifi?, or fanffifie, or fave. It he did it by neceftiiy 
 of nature, he would do it zo a 11 as weUasfome ; feeing all haw c 
 a natural capacity of grace as weli as thofe that receive it : 
 God is able to San&irieand fave more, yea all, if it were his 
 will : And it is not for want of power or Goodnefs that he doth 
 not. Millions of beings are pojftble which are not future, 
 God doth not all the good which he is able, but communi- 
 cated! fo much to his feveral creatures as to his wifdom feem- 
 eth meet, if the damned would be fo prefumptuous as to 
 argue, that becaufe God is able yet to fantlifie and fave them, 
 therefore he mufl do it of necejfity of nature \z would not be long 
 before they fhould thus dilpute themfelves out of their tor* 
 rnents. God will not ask leave of finners to be God: Their 
 denying him to be Good (chat is, to be God) becaufe he com- 
 plyeth not with their conceits and wills y doth but prove them 
 to befools and ^themfelves. 
 
 Indeed fome Sciolifts, pretending to learning, while they 
 are ignorant of mod obvious ptinciples of natural knowledge, 
 have taught poor finners to cheat their fouls with men dreams 
 as thefe. They have made themfelves believe that Goodnefs 
 in God is nothing elfe but his flenignity, ordifpoficiontodo 
 Good. As if the creature were the ultimate end, and all Gods 
 Goodnefs but a means thereto : And To God were the Alpha or 
 firfi efficient, and yet the Creature the Omega or finis ultimut ; 
 and all the Goodnefs in God were to be eltimated and deno- 
 minated by its refped to the felicity of man : And fo the crea- 
 ture hath the befl part of the Deity. Such notions evidently 
 fhcwus, that lapfed man is predominantly/?/^, and is be- 
 come his own Idol, and is loft inhimfelf, while he haihlofb 
 him/elf by his lofs of Qod: when we fee how powerful his 
 felfintereft is, both with his intelletl and will : even men of 
 great ingenuity, till Sanctification hath reilored them to God, 
 and taught them better to know Him and them[elves, arc 
 
 ready 
 
Part 1 1. Walking with God. 207 
 
 ready to meafure all Good or Evil by their otyn intereft • when 
 yet common reafon would have told them, if they had noc 
 perverted it by pride and partial fiudies, that fiort of God, even 
 among the Creatures, there are many things to be preferred 
 before themfelves and their own f elicit J : He is irrationally 
 enflaved by fclf love, that cannot fee that the hap;imfs of the 
 world, or of his Country , or of multitudes is more to bedeiircd 
 then hisbappinefs alone. And obat he ought rather to choofe 
 to be annihilated or to be miferable ( if it were mide a matter 
 of his deliberation and choice} then to have the Sun taken ouc 
 of the firmament , or the World, or his Country to be annihilated 
 or miferable* And God is infinitely above the Creature. 
 
 Obj. But they fay, He needeth nothing to make him happy \ 
 having no defeSi of happwefs. 
 
 Anfw. And what of that? Muft it needs therefore follow 
 that he made not all things for himfelf, but for the creature 
 finally * He is perfectly happy in himlelf,and his will is himfelf V 
 This will was fulfilled when the world was not made, (foric 
 wai his will that it (hould not be made till it was made) and 
 it is fulfilled when it is made,and fulfilled by all that comes to 
 pafs : And as the abfolute fimple Govdnefs and Perfetlion of Gods 
 effence \s the Greatest Good, the eternal immutable Good; fo 
 the fulfilling of his will is the ultimate end of all obedience : He 
 hath exprefled himfelf to take pleafure 'in his works, and in the 
 holinefs, obedience and happinefs of his choien : And though 
 Pleafure be not the fame thing in God as it is in man (no more 
 then will or under/landing \s) yet it is not nothing which God 
 expreflfeth by fuch terms, but fomething which we have no 
 fitter expreilion for: This Pleafmg of the will of God being 
 the end of all, even of our felicity, is better then our felicity ic 
 fclf. 
 
 They that will maintain that God, who is naturally and 
 neceffarily Good, hath no other Goo dnefs but his Benignity or 
 aptnefs to do good to his creatures, muft needs alio maintain 
 that (God being for the Creature 3 and not the Creature for God) 
 the Creature is better then God, as being the ultimate end of 
 God himfelf, and che higheft ufe of all his Goodneis being but 
 for the felicity of the Creature : As alfo that God doth do all 
 the Good that he is able ; (For natural neceffary agents work 
 
 ad 
 
2 o8 Walking With God. Part 1 1. 
 
 ad ultimum pojfe.) And that all men fhall be faved, and ail 
 Devils, and every worm and toad be equal to the higheft An- 
 gel, or elfe that God is notable to do it. And that he did thus 
 makf happy all his Creatures from eternity (for natural necefla- 
 ry agents work alwajes if they be not forcibly hindered-, ) 
 and that there never was fucha thing as pain or miferj, in 
 manor brute , or elfe that God was not able to prevent it. 
 But abundance of fuch odious confequences rauft needs follow 
 from the denying of the Higheft Gsod, which is God himfelf, 
 and confefting none but his efficient Goodnefs. But fome will 
 be offended with me for being fo ferious in confuting fuch an 
 irrational Atheiftical conceit^ who know not how far it pre- 
 vaileth with an Atheiftical generation. 
 
 Be it known to you carelefs finncrs, that though the Sun 
 will fhine on you whether you think on it or not, or love it, 
 or thank it or not-, andthep? will warm you whether you 
 think on it and love it or not- yet God will not juftifie or 
 fave you whether you love him or thinly on him or not : God 
 doth not operate brutifhly in your falvation s but Governeth 
 you wifely , as rational Creatures are to be governed ^ and 
 therefore will give you Happinefs as a reward -, and therefore 
 will not deal alike with thofe that love him and that love him 
 not, that feek him and that feek him not, with the labourers 
 and the loiterers, the faithful and the flothful fervant. Would 
 you have us believe that you know better then God himfelf 
 what pleafeth him, or on what terms he will give his benefits, 
 and fave mens fouls ? or do you know his nature better then 
 he knoweth it, that you dare prefume to fay, becaufe he need* 
 eth not our love or duty, therefore they are not pleafing to 
 him ! Then what hath God to do in governing the world, if 
 he be pleafed and difpleafed with nothing that men do, or 
 with good and evil actions equally ? Though you cannot hurt 
 him, you (hail find that he wil! hurt you if you difobey him : 
 And though you cannot make him happy by your hoi inefs, you 
 fhall find that he will not make you happy without it. 
 
 And if he did work as ;nece(Tarily as the Sun doth fhine, ac- 
 cording to your fimilitude • yet, i. Eventhe (hining ofthe 
 Sun doth not illuminate the blind, nor doth it make the feeds 
 of thorns and nettles to bring forth vines or rofes, nor the 
 
 gendering 
 
Part II. Walking with Gt J. 
 
 a ««, of frees to bring forth men , but it aauateth alt 
 gendering of irogs to b ^ rs Ai;d 
 
 ihings according to the Uvem unbelieving 
 
 th r u nholvTo " C dTn joy felicity £ God, when in that 
 and unholy ioui, »i i j d . f h ^ do ntce fa. 
 
 itace they are wcapable of it . -. * £ lUuminate d i and 
 rily illuminate any one, he mult ne « uar ^ . ft be neccffa . 
 if Leceffanly 7™^^ e "^u "Jould'affert contra- 
 
 u' d l0r „., Irmld neceffarily be faved and made happy. And 
 happy, you would nece uaniy ^ 
 
 that conta.neth#.»««7 your B*W £ ^ . 
 
 and faking after God-, To be/4w * ™*ff hi M fc ^ oc 
 
 that God convey eth hu ;£*fe* jJjM o/ 6 . £„/■ 
 
 ft*. 6. 27. C«'. 4- ' • a ■ 5 h h God do ^ ww ^ or not 
 remameth undecided be , w^ 1 ' 1 hecaufe he wi! noc 
 
 in ^W ° c r a f T tuie^y u^ him coTeceive fans- 
 
 fa&on, who will eafily « enc «" a C e your accufations 
 
 and juftifie his work and 1 aw. Prep J and he _ 
 
 againfth.m, if you wi.l W eas mm l "P. ] h art a 
 ther he or you (hall prevail : but "<;,, • d when 
 worm and he is God, ana that hew ,1 be hem, j , g ^ 
 all ,s done , and ignorance and ^j™**^* Hiall not 
 to their own coniufion, in tie da> 01 k> » 
 
 /„/,. And U is ihe/Mj/i, the *"£ fc »" a " ,e ™ e then their 
 vou daily corwerfc with here in the world, more « 
 LL,andyetyounever/^,>^«.'^he 1 r **■ ««g 
 
110 talking with God. p artII 
 
 ftfcSnnj.f.rfro^ 
 
 lighten, and warm and quicken a worm or fly here below Tf 
 
 any be yet fo much an Atheift astothmk rJcRSowJ 
 
 re e w f ;:tn?° d * S bUt 3 *** *^,«2S£S 
 «%'/. i. Doth not the continued &,W and »,// A ■ <• 
 
 •nd««.W; chey depend, and ifom whomThey /^ 
 W whatsoever they are and whatfoever they hL? T*\ 
 therefore that paflively all the Creatures have ZnVjJat 
 him by far then to one another ? pert t0 
 
 .g-tf. z. Seeing God communicateth M even rw„ 
 accord.ng to their feveral capacities • is it not me/t & 
 feceal w. th ma n as „«,, even as a Cr M(w Ratola"^ 
 to how and love aniobej his Great Creator and to * /. ' ■ 
 theknowledge,loveand fruition o^iTxfft Si^SS 
 ««««//«*/«„, and «p**fe; is not to be denyed bv J « 
 that knoweth what it is to h a n\« n , And that God hatH? 
 
 Jem. and fit to be our happ.nefs ? ] not t en W S C V" 
 either to certam infelicity, contrary to the tended of I 
 natures or elfe we muftfeek our feisty ,n God ^ ° f °" 
 titif^rr 4 ' therean y thin 8 more certain then that bv the 
 all that he hath made-, and confenuently to all our live ™& 
 htl7h T T ^.twrsi For whom ftould L J 
 beuled but for mm from whom we have them? } a " 
 
 -<S#. 5- Can any thing be more f ure , t h en thac God ;$ 
 
Pare II. Walking with God, « l r 
 
 . ». \ rumour of the world? and that he Governed 
 the Hb'<™<^Z?; byxL and f.dgcmnt ? And can 
 
 ^pHient then e ther you cake him wot to De tire u"*" 
 obedient tnene > take nirat0 be an««r^- 
 
 lheW sL; e rnou -And then you tnuft by the fame reaion 
 rt?acSr^andP.i«(hould dofo too,.ndlove 
 indr wardthVobedtent and difobedient ^afioi 
 mans difobedience were exercifcd to your hurt, by n™ deiln t>» 
 or n ang.orrobbingyou, I, dare toy you would not then 
 
 ■be ne4le6 for him to /-*««■ for tbc hap P ;neis of hisloul* u 
 GodwiHoot«ive«our^«;*r«d while we never *fo«Jof 
 f orS it why fbould we'esped that he w,l giv'eus H<*-, 
 - fhrnioh we never rW»* on ir, *m/« it, or/ee^c i 
 
 „frfi and yet »»r ro ««.««•, */S« «». « /«*>* ' How 
 S iftha Se J«rf can reach its O^fl, but by tfiimat** t Afi* 
 andM^tft"" 5 And how fhould it ,»j« r t but by i*«*g 
 
 ^^u^L but to wrangle aga ihtt.heBji 
 of behevers, do you not plead againft the «»/«* »f *^ 
 ° A of believers ? For furely the mplojmentot the foul <* 
 ffS randftrti-) is the Am/, A and flcafun of the foul;, 
 And to call away the foul from fuch employment, is to.»p»- 
 L it in the dungeon of this world, and to forbid us to fm ell 
 (o the fweeteft flowers, and confine us to a fink or dunghill; 
 and to f rb id us to tal\ of the food of Angel,, or of men, and 
 tooffe u Vmeger and Gall, or turn us over tc , fad I w«h 
 Swine. He that pleadeth that there is no fuch thing as i«aj 
 Holinef, & Communion »fc*G.d,doth plead m effeft i ha there 
 is no true felicity or delight for any of the Sons of men. And 
 
1 1 % Waiting with God. Part I L 
 
 how welcome fliould ungodly Atheifls be unto mankind r that 
 would for ever exclude them ail from happiuefs, and make 
 them believe they ate all made to be remedilefly miferable ? 
 
 And here take notice of the madnefs of the unthankful 
 world, that hateth and perfecuteth the Preachers of the Gof- 
 pel, that bring them the glad tidings of pardon, and hope,and 
 life eternal, offolidhappinefs, and durable delight- and yec 
 they are not offended at thefe Atheifts and ungodly Cavillers, 
 that would take them off from all that is truly good and plea- 
 fant, and make them believe that nature hath made them ca- 
 pable of no higher things than beads, and hath enthralled them 
 in remedilefs infelicity.. 
 
 ££t*eft. 9. Do you not fee ty experience that there are a 
 -people in the world whofe hearts are upon God, and the life to 
 come , and that make it their chiefeil care and bufinefs to 
 feek him and to ferve him ? How then can you fay that there 
 is no [nek thing, or that we arc not capable of it, when it is 
 the cafe of fo many before your eyes ? If you fay that it is 
 but their fancy or j elf-deceit : I anfwer, that really their hearts 
 arefet upon God, and the everlafting world, and that it is their 
 chiefeft care and bufinefs to attain it - 9 this is a thing that they 
 feely and you may fee in the bent and labour of their lives ^ and 
 therefore you cannot call that a fancy, of which you have fo 
 full experience : But whether the motives that have invited 
 them, and engaged them to fuch a choice and courfe, be fancies 
 and deceits or not, let God be Judge, and let the awakened 
 confciences of worldlings themfelves be Judge, when they 
 have feen the end, and tryed whether it be Earth or Heaven 
 that is the fhadow, and whether it be God or their unbe- 
 lieving hearts that was deceived. 
 
 Que ft. 10. Have you any hopes of living with God for ever, 
 or not ? If you have not, no wonder if you live as beafts, when 
 you have no higher expectations than beads: Whence are 
 fo blind as to give up all our hopes, we will alfo give up all our 
 care and holy diligence, and think we have nothing to do with 
 Heaven. But if you have any fuch hopes, can you think that 
 any thing is fitter for the chicfeft of your thoughts and cares] 
 than the God and Kingdom, which you hope tor ever to en- 
 joy J Or is there any thing that can he moxtfuitabh^x fliould 
 
 be 
 
Part II." Walking with God. 41 3 
 
 k» n« r e AtlUhtful to vour thoughts, than to employ then 
 I ": ©eft hopes. u P on 8 your endlefs happinefs an 
 ?ov ? and fcould not that be now the moft noble and plea an 
 emlvrnentforyonr minds, which is neareft to that which 
 vouhopetobeexerdfedin for ever/ Undoubtedly he that 
 X£rLr,df t riou» thought, of Heaver, will tnghheft value 
 rhatlfeon^rrfewh.chfs hkeftto thel.fein Heaven : And 
 £ h t hat«h, or is moft averfe to that winch ,s neareft to ths 
 workofHeav en, doth boaft in vain of h.s hopesof Heaven 
 SchU time you may fee fifyou love not to be blind) that 
 7 TJfiM in the wor d is with his God, and that our 
 T,££dalUur powers are made to be employed upon 
 KS d ht m ran P d that this is no fuch needlefs work as 
 Arheifts make themfelves believe. ■ , , 
 
 Remember that it is the defection of the Jefperatoy 
 wicked PU 10.4. that Godunot in *A I ks thought s. And L at 
 V youunderftanditnot, I will a little further (hew you the 
 evil of fuch Atheiftical unhallowed thoughts 
 
 There is nothing but <4,r W'»> -* » *7 ? h ° H £ h ">i G ° d 
 K. nor in them Thou^w^ ««*»»£, if thou knoweft r.Ou 
 KndhouVj«rth y knowledgtif thou ufe ,t not on 
 1^' To know the creature as without God, is to ^»« *•- 
 feV^iore than to know all the Letters in the Book, 
 Sot to know their ^«^^« or /,«/, All things in the 
 worSarebnt inf.gni^antcifhers, and of no other fif or 
 T if von fcparate them from G^, who is their He and 
 & If vou 1 ave out God in all your ftud.es, you do but dream 
 and dot y e and not underfland what you feem to under Hand 
 ThoS vou were taken for tie learnedft men >n the world, 
 Id wire able to difcourfe of all the Sciences,and your thoughts 
 flower employment daily than the moft fubl.mr fpe- 
 culations which the nature of all the creature, doth afford .t« 
 aU but folly and impertinent dotage, ft it reach not unto 
 
 G °^' Yea vour thoughts are erroneous and ,f*l(e which is 
 
 sSSrtsbs $5? as» fi £ 
 
 SyourminV YoBt.kethemtobe/««»W.when thej «e 
 
 b e J; A 
 
as 4 Walking mth Gti. p art t r , 
 
 nothing-, you are covetous of thenar pur/e, and know rJ 
 that you caftaway ihctnafure: YoVare hirfty a £r 'h 
 tmppcup when you Wilfully caft away the Jrini You lm n 
 
 wre by feparating it from Cod who „ its life, and then vou a f P 
 r>:..-,*oW on the «,-*«/}, and foendvour'daier >nH i 1 
 .n Us cold emblement/. Your tho gh s ar bu JIS' 
 ftraghng abroad the world, and following mperX °" ds V 
 God be not in them. You are like men K w Ik n „ .' '1 
 down m their fleep, or like thofe that have Ioftthemf P > P and 
 
 tner, ana iliave no end, nor certain tvay. ' 
 
 3. HGodbsnotinallyourthouchts thev a « » - 
 They are hke the drone that gathered no hL e v^h "t" 
 abroad and return home empty .• They brL hoi' Thcy ^ 
 o honour to God, of profitU comfort o "^^ "i)™ 
 are employed to no more purpofe than in yourX" i^ 
 Iy they are more capable of fin -Like the diftnSS £ ' ° n - 
 ofoae that doteth in leaver, theyarea! out* ?'/ f*&» 
 
 4. If God be not in all your thoughts thev innArt- l 
 
 -Pon incoherent ^S^^lTnn?"" - '^ 
 in God : The further we go from hS the? T V "^ b »t 
 to divifions and confufiorf Xe «n be no "^ T fU " '"- 
 them, becaufehe is left wt^^^^g" !? 
 1 'ley are not like a well ordered Arm« 2 1 the ^- 
 
 work: But like a fvvarm of Fives tbar hnv^.k L do the,r 
 
 in 
 
Part XI. Walking with Cod, 2 i j 
 
 in the Air : They are impotont as to the refilling of a 
 and as co the doing of ar.y fa v in g- good : They have no jircngtb 
 in them, becaufethey are laid out upon objccls that have no 
 flrength : The\ have no quickning, renewing, reforming, en- 
 couraging, refolving, confirming power in them , becaufe there 
 is no fuch power in ihe things on which they are employed : 
 whereas the thoughts of Gotland everlafting life, can do won- 
 ders upon the foul : They can raifeup men above this world, 
 and teach them to defpife the worldlings Idol, and look upon 
 all the pleafures of the flefh as upon a Swines delight in wal- 
 lowing in the mire. They can renew the foul, and call out the 
 mod powerful beloved fin, and bring all our powers into the 
 obedience of God, and that with pleafure and delight: They 
 can employ us with the Angels, in a heavenly converfarion, 
 andfhewus the Glory of the world above, and advance us 
 above the life of the greateft Princes upon earth : But the 
 thoughts of earthly pfbly things have poWer indeed to delude 
 men, and miflead them, and hurry them about in a vertigi- 
 nous motion-^ but no power to fupporc us, or fubdue concu- 
 pifcence, or heal our folly, or fave us from temptations, or re- 
 duce us from our errors, or help us to be ufeful ie the world, 
 or to attain felicity at lair. There is no Life, nor Power, nor 
 Efficacy in our thoughts, if God be not in them. 
 
 6. There is no ft Ability or fixednefs in your thoughts, if God 
 be not in them. They are like a boat upon the Ocean, toil up 
 and down with winds and waves : The mutable uncertain crea- 
 tures can yield no reft or Settlement to your minds. You arc 
 troubled about many things j and the more you chirk on them, 
 and have to do with them, the more are you troubled : But: 
 you forget the One thing Ncceffary, and fly from theism;..; 
 Rock, onwhichyou muft build it ever you will beeftablifhed, 
 While the Creature is in your thought inftead of God, you 
 will be one day deluded with its unwholefome pleafure, a: 
 ihe next day feel it gripe you at the heart: One day it v. 
 feem your happinefs, and the next you willwifh you had nc-. 
 known it : That which feemeth the only comfort of your iii 
 this year, may the next year make you aweary of your li\ [ 
 One day you are impatiently defiring and feekmg ir, as if ^ 
 could not live without it : and the next day, or ere long y 
 
 are 
 
2l6 Walking x&Uh God. Part II- 
 
 are impatiently deflring to be rid of it : You are now taking 
 in your pleafant morfels, and drinking down your delicious 
 draughts, and jovially fporting it with your inconfiderate 
 companions : But how quickly will you be repenting of all 
 this, and complaining of your folly, and vexing your felves, 
 that you took not warning, and made not a wifer choice in 
 time? The creature was never made to be your end % or reft, 
 or happinefs : and therefore you are but like a man in a wil- 
 dernefs era maze, that may go and go butknoweth not whi- 
 ther, and findeth no end , till you come home to God, who 
 only is your proper end, and make him the Lord and life and 
 pleafure of your thoughts. 
 
 7. As there is no prefent fixe dnefs in your thoughts, fo the 
 bufine/s zndpleafure of them will be of very Jhort continuance, 
 if God be not the chief in all. And who would choofe to 
 imploy his thoughts on fuch things as he is furethey muft 
 foon forget, and never more have any bufinefs with to all eter- 
 nity / You (hall think of thofe houfes, and lands, and friends, 
 and pieafures but a little while , unlefs it be with repenting 
 tormenting thoughts, in the place of mifery .- you will have 
 no delight ro think of anything, which is now moil precious 
 toyourflefh, when once the fkfliit felf decayes, and is no 
 more capable of delight, ffaL 146. 4. His breath goeth forth, 
 he returneth to his earth •, in that very day his thoughts perijh. 
 Call in your thoughts then from thefe tranfltory things, 
 that have no confiftency or continuance, and turn them unto 
 him with whom they may find everlafting employment and 
 delight: Remember not the enticing baits of ienfuality and 
 pride, but \_Rewember now thy Creatour in the dajes of thy 
 youth, -while the evil day es come not, nor the years draw nigh wkitt 
 thou /halt fay , I have no pleafure in then/Jj 
 
 8. Thy thoughts are bnvfordid, diftonourable and low, if 
 Godbenotihcchiejeft in them. 'I hey reach no higher then 
 the habitation of beads ; nor do they attain to any fweeter 
 employment then to meditate on the felicity of a brute : Thou 
 choofeft with the fly to feed on dung and filthy ulcers, and as 
 magots to live on (linking carrion , when thou mightit have 
 freeaccefs to God himfelf, and mighi ft be entertained in the 
 Court of heaven, and wellcomed thither by the holy Angels : 
 
 thou 
 
Pait II. Walking with GfiL fe I 7 
 
 Thou wallowed in the mire with the fwine, or digged: thy fclf 
 a houfe in the earth , as worms and moles do , when thy 
 thoughts might be foaring up to God, and might be taken up 
 with high and holy and everlafting things. What if your 
 thoughts were employed for preferment, wealth and honour 
 in the world ? Alas what filly things are thefe, in comparifon 
 of what your fouls are capable of? You will fay fo your felves 
 when you fee how they will end, and fail your expectations, 
 lmprifon not your minds in this infernal cell, when the fuperi- 
 or regions are open to their accefs : confine them not to this 
 narrow veflel of the body, whofe tofiings and dangers on 
 thefe boiftrous feas will make them reftlefs, and difquiet them 
 with tumultuous pafiions, when they may fifely land jn Para- 
 difeand there converfe with Chrift. God made you men y and 
 ifyou reject not his grace, will make you Saints : Make not 
 your felves like bcafls or vermine. God gave you fouls that 
 can ftep in a moment from earth to heaven, and there fore taft 
 rheendlcfs joyes : Do not you flick then faft in day, and 
 fetter them with worldly cares, or intoxicate them with flefti- 
 ly pleafures, nor employ them in the worfe-then-childifh 
 toyes of ambitious , fenfual, worldly men : Your thoughts 
 have Manna, Angels food, provided them by God : If you 
 will loath this and refufeit, and choofewith the ferpentto 
 feed on the duft, or upon the filth of fin, God (hall be judge, 
 and your confeiences one day fhallbe more faithful witneffes, 
 whether you have dealt like wife men or like fools ; like 
 friends or enemies to your felves; and whether you have not 
 chofen bafenefs, and denyed your felves the advancement 
 which was offered you. 
 
 9. If God be not the ckiefefi in your thoughts, they are ho 
 better then dtfioneft and unjufi. Yon are guilty of denying 
 himhls own. He made not your mindes for luft and pleafure, 
 but for him/elf : you expe& that your cattle, your goods, 
 yourfervants, be employed for you r felves, becaufe they are 
 your own. But God may call your minds his otyn by a much 
 filler title : for you hold all but derivatively and dependency 
 from bim : what will you call it but injuftiee and difhonefty, 
 if your wife, or children, or fervants, or goods, be rnoreac 
 the ufe and fervice of others, then of you? If any can fhewa 
 
 F f better 
 
*iS Walking with Ged. Part 1 1. 
 
 better title to your Thoughts then God doth, let him have 
 them ; but if not, deny him no: his own. O flraggle not fo 
 much from home j -for you will be nowhere elfe fowell as 
 there : Defire not to follow ftrangers,you know not whither, 
 nor for what : you have a Matter of your own, that will be 
 better to you then all the (hangers in the world. Bow not 
 down to creatures, that are but Images of the true andfolid 
 good: Commit not Idolatry or Adultery with them in your 
 thoughts: Remember Hill that God Hands by: Bethink you 
 how he willtakeitatyour hands: and how it will be judged 
 ofatlaft, when he pleads his right, his kindrtefs, and folliciu- 
 Lions of you ; and you have fo little to fay for any pretence of 
 right or merit in the creature. Why are not menafhamed 
 of the g'reateft difhonefty againft God, when all that have any 
 humanity left them, do tiktadttltery, theft and^other difbonefty 
 againft creatures for a fharae? The time will come when Qod 
 and hisintereft (hall be better undcrflood, that this difbonefty 
 againft*H*?», will be the matter of the mod confounding 
 fhame, that ever did or could befall men. Prevent this by 
 thejufter exercife of your thoughts, and keeping them pure 
 and chaft to God. 
 
 io. If God be not in your thoughts fand the chief eft in 
 them) there will be no matter in them ol f olid comfort 01 con- 
 tent. Trouble aud deceit will be all their work : when they 
 have fled about the earth, and taken a taft of every flower, 
 they will come loaden home with nothing better then Vanity 
 and Vexation. Such thoughts may excite the laughter of a 
 fool, and c'aufe that mirth that is called madnefs, Ecclef. 7. 4, 6.' 
 and 2. 2. But they will never conduce to fctled Peace, and 
 durable content: And therefore they are alwaies repented of 
 themfelves, and are troublefome to our review, as being the 
 fhame of the (inner, which he would fain be cleared of ordif- 
 own. Though you may approach the creature with paflionate 
 fondnefs, aud the molt delightful pfomifes and hopes, be fure 
 of it, you will come off $& laft with grief and difappointmenr, 
 if not with the loathing of that which you chofe for your de- 
 light. Your thoughts are in a wildernefs among thorns and 
 bryars, when God is not in them as their guide and end : 
 They are Jolt and torn among the creatures 5 but reft jand 
 
 fatif- 
 
Part 71. Walking with God. t l9 
 
 fatisfaction they will find none. Ic may be at the prefenc it is 
 pleafanter to you to think of recreation , or bufinefs, or 
 worldly wealth then to think of God : But the plcafure of 
 thefe thoughts is as delufory , and fhort-lived, as are the things 
 themfelves on which you think. How long will you think 
 with pleafure on fuch f acting tr an fit or y things ? And the plea- 
 fure cannot be great at the prefent, which reacheth but the 
 flefh and fantafie, and which the poffefled knoweth will be but 
 fhort. Nay you will fhordy find by fad experience, that of 
 all the creatures under heaven, there will none be (o bitter to 
 your thoughts, as thofe which you now find greateft carnal 
 fweetnefsin ; O how bitter will the thought of idolized ho- 
 nour, and abufed wealth and greatnefs be to a dying or a 
 damned Dives ! The thoughts of that Alehoufe or Playhoufe 
 where thou hadft thy greateft pleafure, will trouble thee more 
 then the thoughts of all the houfes in the town befides : The 
 thoughts of that one ^oman with whosn thou didft commie 
 thy pleafant fin, will wound and vex thee more then the 
 thoughts of ail the women in the town befides. The thoughts 
 o th r beloved (port which thou couldft not be weaned from, 
 wl) be more aoubleiome to thee then the thoughts of a 
 thou-and other chiags in which thou hadft no inordinate 
 delight. For the end of finf W mirth is forrow : when Solo- 
 mon hadiryed to pleafe himlelf to thefull, in mirth, in build- 
 ings, vineyards, woods, waters, in fervants, and pofTefiions, 
 filver, and gold, and cattel, and fingers, and inftruments of 
 mufick of all forts, in greatnefs, and all that the eye or appe- 
 tite or heart defired, he findeth when he awaked from this 
 pleafant dream, that he had all this while been taken up with 
 Vanity and Vexation, in fomuch that he faith on the review 
 ^Therefore I hated life, becaufe the Vvork^ that is wrought under 
 the fun 3 ii grievous to me, for all is vanity and vexation of fpirit z 
 Tea 1 halted all my labour which I had taken under the [un^\ 
 Ecclef.2. 1,2, 3,&c. 17.18. You may toil out and tire 
 your felves among thele bryars, in this barren wilderuefs ; 
 but if ever you would feel any folid ground of quietnefs and 
 reft, it muft be by coming off from vanity, and feeking your 
 felicity in God, and living fincerely for Him and upon Him; 
 as the worldling doth upon the world. His pardoning mercy 
 
 I f a mult 
 
2 1 o Walking with Gcd. Part 1 1. 
 
 mutt begin your Peace forgiving you your former thoughts , and 
 his healing quickening mercy rauft/Ww/f it, by teaching you 
 better to employ your thoughts, and drawing up your hearts 
 unto himfelf-, and his glorifying mercy mult perfect ir, by 
 giving you the full intuition and fruition of himfeif in heaven, 
 and employing you in his perfect Love and PraLfe, not leaving 
 any room for creatures, nor luffering a thought to be em- 
 ployed on vanity for ever. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 BY this time I hopeyoumay fee reafon to call your felves 
 to a ftn'd: account, what converfeyou have been taken 
 up with in the world, and upon what you have exercifed your 
 thoughts : furely you mult needs be confeious , that the 
 thoughts which have been denyed God, have brought you 
 home but little fatisfa&ion, and have not anfwered the ends 
 of your creation, redemption or prefervation / and that they 
 are now much fitter matter for your penitential tears, then 
 for your comfort, in the review 1 I do not think you dare oven 
 andftandto, thofe thoughts which have been fpent for flejhly 
 ■p/eafures, or in mneceffary worldly cares, or that were waited 
 in impertinent vagaries upon any thing, or nothings when you 
 jhould have been feeking God I I do not think you have now 
 any great pleafure, in the review of thofe thoughts, which 
 once were taken up with pleafure, when your mo ft plea fane 
 thoughts fhould have been of God. Dare you approve of 
 your rejecting your Creatour and the great concernments of 
 your foul out ofyour/^^£^j,and waiting them upon things 
 unprofitable and vain ? Did not God, and Heaven deferve 
 more of your ferious thoughts then any thing elfe that ever 
 they were employed on ? Have you laid them out on any 
 thing that more concerned you ? or on any thing more ex- 
 cellent, more honourable, more durable, or that could claim 
 precedency upon any juft account ? Did you not (hut heaven 
 it {elf out of your thoughts, when you (hut out Ged ? And is 
 k not juft thatC^ and Heaven fhould ftuuouc^*? {{Hea- 
 ven 
 
Part 1 1 w Walking with God. 2 2 1 
 
 vm be not the principal matter of your thoughts, its plain that 
 you do not principally love it : And if fo, judge you whether 
 thofe chat Love it not are fit to be made pofleffors of ir. 
 
 O poor diitra&ed fenfelefs world / Is not God Great 
 enough to command and take up your chiefeft cogitations? 
 Is not Heaven enough to find them work, and afford them fa- 
 tisfadion and delight? And yet is the dung and dotage of the 
 world enough ? Is your honour and wealth, and fkflily de- 
 lights aed fports enough ? God will fhortly make you know, 
 whether this were wife and equal dealing / Is God fo low, fo 
 little, fourideferving, to be fooft and eafily forgotten, and 
 fo hardly and fo fleightly remembred ? I tell you, ere long 
 he will Makejou think of him to your forrow, whether you 
 will or no, if grace do not now fee open your hearts, and pro- 
 cure him better entertainment; 
 
 But perhaps you will th nk that you roalkyith God, becaufe 
 you thinly of himfometimes inejfefitiallj, and as on the by. But 
 is he efteemed as jour God, if he have not the Command , and if 
 he have not the precedency of his creatures ? Can you dream 
 that indeed you Vpaik^withGod, when your hearts were never 
 grieved for offending him,nor never much folicitous how to be 
 reconciled to him; nor much inquilitive whether your ftate 
 or way be pleafing or difpleafing to him ? when ail the bufinefs 
 of an unfpeakable importance, which you have to dowtch 
 God, before you pafs to judgement, is forgotten and undone \ 
 as if you knew not of any fuch work that you had to do ! 
 when you make no ferious preparation for death , when you 
 call not upon God in fecret, or in your families, unlefs with a 
 little heartlefs lip labour -, and when you love not the fpiri- 
 tualicy of his worfhip, but only delude your fouls with the 
 mockage of hypocritical outfide complement. Do you wdk, 
 with God while you are plotting for preferment, and gaping 
 after worldly greatnefs, while you are gratifying all the de- 
 fires of your flefh, and making provifion for the future fatif- 
 fyingofits lufts? Rom. 13.13. Are you walking with God 
 when you are hating him in his Holinefs, his Juftice, Ins 
 Word and Waies, and hating all that ferioufly love and feek 
 him ? when you-are doing your worft to difpatch the work of 
 your damnation, and put. your falvation pail all hope, and 
 
 Ff 3 draw 
 
%2t Wdlkingwith Ge& Part 1 1* 
 
 draw as many to Hell with you as you can : If this be a walk* 
 ingwith Qod, you may take further comfort that you (hail 
 alio dwell with God according to the fenfe of fuch a -walk : you 
 fhall dwell with him as a devouring fin ,and m jufi, whom you 
 thus walked with in the contempt oi lhs mercies , and the provo- 
 cation otitis Jufiice. 
 
 I tellyon,ifyouw4/^ti»i^ Qod indeed, his authority would 
 rule you, his Grcatnefs would much take up your minds, and 
 leave left room for little things ^ You would trufthispro- 
 mifes, and fear his threatnings, and be awed by his prcfence, 
 and the Idols of your hearts would fall before him ; He would 
 overpower your lulls ,and call you off from your ambitious and 
 covetous defigns, and obfeure all the creatures Glory. Be- 
 lieving ferious effectual thoughts of God, are very much dif- 
 ferent from the common s doubtful, dreaming , mt ffeclual ^ cogita- 
 tions of the ungodiy world* 
 
 Objetl. But (perhaps fome will hy) {This feemeth to be 
 the work of Preachers, and not of every Chriflian to be altyaics 
 meditating of God : Poor people mufl thinly of ether matters : 
 They have their bufinefs to < do , and their families to provide fori 
 And ignorant people are weak-headed , and are not able either to 
 manage or endure a contemplative life : fo much thinking of God 
 "will make them melancholy and mad, as experience tells us it hath 
 done by many : and therefore thi* is no exereifefor them^\ 
 
 To this I anfwer, i. Every Chriflian hath a God to ferve^ 
 and a Soul to fave, and a C&r*J? to believe in and obey, and 
 an endlefs happinefs to fecure and enjoy, as well as Preachers : 
 Pafiors mult ftudy to infiruU their ftock^and to fave themfelves^ 
 and thofe that hear them : The people muft ftudy to under- 
 [land and receive the mercy offered them, and to make their 
 own calling and election fure. It is not laid of Pafiors only, but 
 of every bleffed man, that His delight is in the Law of the Lord, 
 and therein doth he meditate day and night , Pfal. 1.2. 2. And 
 the due meditation of the foul upon God, is fo fat from taking 
 you off from your neceffary bufinefs in the world, that it is the 
 only way to your orderly and fuccefsful management of it. 
 3 . And it is not a difirafhing thonghtfulnefs that I perfwade you 
 to, or whickis included in a Chriftians walk, "frith God: but 
 i t is a dirctling , quickening , exalting^ cwforting courfe of me- 
 ditation : 
 
Part XL Walking with God. «3 
 
 ditation: Many a hundred have grown mcLtnchcly and mad 
 with careful difconttntful thoughts of \\\zwortt ; it doth not 
 follow therefore that nowan muft thinfaf the world at Ml, tor 
 fear of being mad or melancholy ; but only that they fhou'.d 
 think of it more regularly, and corr€& the errour of their 
 thoughts and pa (pons', fo is it about God and heavenly things : 
 Our thoughts are to be W/ ordered, and the ermir of them 
 cured, and not the ufe of them forlorn. nAtheifm and //»- 
 piety , and forgetting God, are unhappy means to prevent me- 
 lancholy : There are wifer weans for avoiding madnefs, than 
 by renouncingall our Ret/en? and living by fenfe like thebeafts 
 thatpcrifh, and forgetting that we have an everlafting life to 
 
 live, 
 
 But yet becaufe I am fenfible that fome do here miftake on 
 the other hand, and I would not lead you into any excream, I 
 fhall fully remove the fcruple contained in this Objection, by 
 (hewing you in thofe following Proportions, m what fenfe, and 
 how far your thoughts muft be taken up with God (fuppofing 
 what was faid in the beginning, where Idefcribedto you the 
 duty 0? Walking with God.) 
 
 Prop. i. When we tell you that your Thought s muft be on 
 God, it is not a courfe of i<i/* mufing, or meer thinking, that 
 we call you to, but it is a necefjary practical thinlnng of that 
 which you have to dp, and of him that you muft love, obey 
 and enjoy. You will not forget your Tarents,or H ml? and , 
 or Wife, or Friend •, and yet you will not fpend your time in 
 fitting ftill and thinking of them, with a mufing unprofitable 
 \heughtfulnefs-, But you will have fuch thoughts of them, 
 and fo many as are neceflary to the Ends, even to the £ovt 
 and Service which you owe them, and to the Delight that 
 your hearts (hould have in the fruition of them. You cannot 
 love , or obey ,or take p le a fure in thofe that you will not thinly 
 of; You will follow your trades, or your Mailers fervice but 
 unhappily, if you will not *to^ on them, Thinking is not the 
 work that we muft takeup with : It is but a fubfervient infirur 
 mental duty, to promote tome greater higher duty : Therefore 
 we muft T^'«^°fGod, that we may Love him, and do his 
 Service, and TVa/£ him, and j^rhim, and Hope in him, and 
 make him our Delight. And all this \$ it that we call you to, 
 
 when 
 
224 Walking With Cod. Part II, 
 
 when we arc perfwading you to Thinl^on Qod. 
 
 2. An hypocrite\or a wicked' enemy of God, may Think, of 
 him speculatively, and perhaps be more frequent in Iuch 
 thoughts than many practical believers. A Learned man may 
 ftudy about God, as he doth about other matters, and names, 
 and notions-, and propositions and decisions concerning God, 
 may be a principal part of his Learning • A Preacher may ftu- 
 dy about God and the matters of God, as a Phyftcian or a 
 Lawyer do about the matters of their own profeilion, either 
 for the pleafure which knowledge as knowledge brings to hu- 
 mane nature, or for the credit of being efteemed wife and 
 learned, or becaufe their gain and maintenance comes in this 
 way. They that fill many Volumes with Controversies con- 
 cerning God , and fill the Church with contentions and 
 troubles by them, and their own hearts with malice and un- 
 charitablencfs againft thofc that are not of their opinions, 
 have many and many & thought of God, which yet will do no- 
 thing to the faving of their fouls, no more than they do to 
 the fan Eli fy in g of them. And iuch learned men may think more 
 Orthodoxly and Methodically concerning God, than many an 
 honeft fenous Chriftian, who yet thinks of him more effetlual- 
 ly andfavingly : Even as they can difcourfe more orderly and 
 copiouflyoi God, when yet they have no faving knowledge of 
 him. 
 
 .3. All me n muft not bellow fo much time in Meditation as 
 fome muft do : It is the Calling of Afinifters to ftudy fo as to 
 furnifh thrir minds with all thofe truths concerning God , 
 which are needful to the Edification of the Church •, and fo to 
 meditate en the ft things as- to give themf elves wholly to them , 
 1 Tim, 4. 15, 16. It is both the work of their common and their 
 fecial Calling : The ftudy necefTary to Chriflians as fuch, be- 
 longethaswell to others as to them; But other men have 
 another sjecial or particular Calling, which alfo they muft 
 think of, ib far as the nature and ends of their daily labours do 
 require. It is a hurtful errour to imagine that men muft either 
 lay by their Callings to meditate on God, or than they muft do 
 them negligently, or to be taken up in the midft of their em- 
 ployments with fuch fiudies of God as Minifiers are that are ft- 
 parated to that work: 
 
 4. No 
 
Part II. Walking mth God. 225 
 
 4. No man is bound to be continually taken up with actual 
 difth.cl cogitations about God: For in duty we have many 
 many other things to think on, which mud have their time.- 
 And as we have Callings to follow, and mutt eat our bread in 
 the fweat of our brows, io we mud manage them with pru- 
 dence.- i4 goedman will guide his affairs with difcretion^h], 
 1 12. 5. It is both neceffary as duty, and necefTary as a means 
 to the preservation of our very faculties, that both body and 
 mind Live their times of employment about our lawful bufinefs 
 in the world; The under (tan dings of many canno: bear it, to 
 be dwaies employed on the greattfi and mefi fericus things : 
 Like Late firings they will brea\, if they be railed too high^nd 
 be not let down and relaxed when the leflbn is plaid. To 
 think cf ncth ingelfe bat (jcd ) is to breathe Law of God, and 
 to confound the mind, and to difable it to thinly aright of God, 
 or any thing. As he that bid us praj continually, > did not mean 
 that we fhould do nothing elfe, or that allud prayer fhould 
 have no interruptions, but that habitual defires fhould on all ■ 
 meet occasion be actuated and expreft ^ fo he that would be 
 chief in all our thoughts, did never mean that we fhould have 
 no thoughts of any thing elfe, or that our ferious meditation 
 on him fhould be continual without interruption : but that the 
 final intending of God , and our dependence on him, fhould be 
 fo confiant as to be the fpring or mover of the reft of the 
 thoughts and a&ior.s of our lives. 
 
 5. An habitual intending God as cur End, and depending on 
 his fupporty and fubfiUion to his Government , will carry on the 
 foul sna fincereand confiant cou'TeofGodlinefs, though the 
 actual mo]} obfervedthoughts of the foul, be fewer in number 
 abou^God, than about the means that lead unto him, and the 
 occurrences in our way : The foul of man is very adive and 
 comr-rehenfive, and can think of feveral things at once : and 
 when it is once clear and refdved in any cafe, it can afl accord- 
 ing to that knowledge and refolution, without any prefent fen' 
 [ible cogitation-, nay while its atlual mofi obferved thoughts, 
 are upon iomething elie. A Mufician that hath an habitual 
 ifyll, can keep time and tune while he is thinking of fome other 
 ^ matter : A v/eavcr can calt his {huttle right, and work truly, 
 while he is thinkingor talking of other things. A man can eat 
 
 Gg and 
 
2 1 6 Walking with Cod. Part 1 1. 
 
 and ^n'wi^with difcretion while he talks of other things. Some 
 men candidate to two or three Scribes at once, upon divers 
 fubjects : A Traveller can keep on his way, though he feldome 
 think diftindlyof his Journies end, but be thinking or dif- 
 courfing moll of the way, upon other matters : For before he 
 undercook his Journey he thoughthothot the f»^ and W*j,and 
 refolved then which way to go, and that he would go through 
 ail both fair and foul, and not turn back, till he faw the place : 
 And this habitual underitanding and refolution, maybe fe. 
 cretly and unobfervedly adive, fo as to keep a man from er- 
 ring, and from turning back, though at the fame time the 
 Travellers moft fenfible thoughts and his difcourfe may be up- 
 on fomethingelfe. When a man is once refolved of his End, 
 and hath laid his defign, he is pail deliberating of that, and 
 therefore hath lefsufe of his cogitations thereabout: but is 
 readier to lay them out upon the means, which may be dill 
 uncertain, or may require his frequent deliberation. We have 
 ufually more thoughts and fpeeches by the way, about our 
 company, or our Horfes, or Innes, or other accommodations, 
 or thefairnefsorfoulnefs of the way, and other fuch occur- 
 rences, than we have about the place that we arc going to : 
 And yet this fecret intention of our end^W bring us thither. So 
 when a foul hath call up his accounts, and hath renounced a 
 worldly andfenfual felicity, and hath fixed his hopes and refo- 
 lutions upon Heaven, and is refolved to cad himfelf upon 
 Ghrift, and take God for his only portion, this fe fret habitual 
 refolution will do much to keep him conftantin the way , 
 though his thoughts and talk^ be frequently on other things: 
 Yea when we are thinking of the creature, and feel no actual 
 thoughts of God, it is yet God more than the creature that we 
 thin\of : For we did before hand look on the creature is Gods 
 itvorkj reprefenting him unto the world, and as his talents 
 which we muil employ for him, and as every creature is re- 
 lated to him: And this eftimatim of; the creature is flill habi- 
 tually (andinfome fecret lefs* perceived atts)) moft prevalent 
 in the foul. Though lam not alwaies fenfibly thinking of the 
 King, when I ufe his Coin, or obey his Law, &c. yet it is only 
 as hi* C°m Ml tnat I u k lt * anc * & his Laws that I obey them c 
 Wea^Habits unnot do their work without great carefukiefs 
 
 of. 
 
Pan II. Walking with God. 2 a 7 
 
 of thoughts : but perfe Eh habits will acl a man with little 
 thoughtfulnefs, as coming near the natural way of operation. 
 And indeed the imperfe&ion of our Habitual Godlinefs doth 
 make our feriom thoughts and vigilancy and indufiry to be the 
 more necefTary to us. 
 
 6. There are /<?wf thoughts oi God that are necefTary to 
 the very 2fc /#£ of a Holy ft>ite ; as that God.be fo much in our 
 thoughts, as to be preferred before all things elf e, and principally 
 beloved and obeyed - y and to be the end of our lives, andthe^j^ 
 of our wilts : And there are fome thoughts of God that are 
 necefTary only to ailing andTincreafe of grace. 
 
 7. So great: is the weaknefs of our Habits, fo many and great 
 are the temptations to be overcome, fo many difficulties are in 
 our way, and the occafions fo various for the exercife of each 
 grace, that it bchoveth a Christian to exercife as much thought- 
 fulnefs about his end and work^ as hath any tendency to promote 
 his wor^ and to" attain \\\%endi But fucha thought fulnefs as 
 hindtreth us in our nw£, by (topping, or diftraEling, or *£- 
 verting us, is no way pleafing unto God. So excellent iso^r 
 fW, thac we can never encourage and delight ihe mind too 
 much in che forethoughts of ir. So fiuggifh are our hearts, and 
 foloofe and unconitant are our apprehenfions and refolu- 
 tions, that we have need to be moft frequently quickening 
 them, and lifting at them, and renewing our defires, and fup- 
 prefiingthe contrary deiires, by the fe riom thoughts Oi God 
 and Immortality. Our Thoughts are the bellows that mull: 
 kindle the flames of Love, defue^hope and zeal : Our thoughts 
 arethefpur that muft put on afluggifhtired heart. Andfo 
 far as they conduce to any fuch works and ends as thefe, they 
 are defireable and good. But what Matter loveth to fee his 
 fervantfit dotyn and Think* when he (hould be atveorkj Or 
 to ufe his Thoughts only to grieve and vex h.imfelf for his faults, 
 but not to mend chem ? to lit down lamenting that he is fo bad 
 and unprofitable a fervant, when he {hould be up and doing 
 his Matters bufinefs as well as he is able. Such Thoughts are 
 fi»s as hinder us from duty, or difcourage or unfit us for it, how- 
 ever they may go under a better name. 
 
 8. The Godly t hem f elves i.rc very much wanting in the holt- 
 nefs of theic. thought 7, and the live line fs of "their affeilions* 
 
 Gg 2 Scnfe 
 
22 8 Walking with God. Part II 
 
 Senfe leadcth away the thoughts too eafiiy after thefe prefent 
 (enfible things •, while faith being infirm ,the Thoughts of God 
 and heaven are much difadvantagcd by their invifibility. Many 
 a gracious foul cryeth out, Othit I could thinly as eafiiy and 
 M afftEiionately and as unweariedly about the Lord and the life 
 to come, as J can do about my friends , my health, my habitation, 
 my bufinefs, and other concernments of this life I But alas fuch 
 thoughts of God and Heaven have far more enemies and re- 
 finance, then the thoughts of earthly masters have. 
 
 9. It is not diflralling, vexatious thoughts of God, that the 
 holy Scriptures call us to-, but it is to fuch thoughts as tend 
 to the healing and peace and felicity of the foul •, and therefore 
 it is not to a melancholy, but a joyful life. If God be better 
 then the world, it mutt needs be better to think of him. If he 
 be more beloved then any friend, the thoughts of him fhouid 
 be fleeter to us. If he be the everlafling hope and happinefs of 
 the foul, it fhouid be a foretaft of happinefs to find him ncarelt 
 to our hearts. The nature and ufe of holy thoughts, and of 
 ail Religion, is but to exalt and fanclifie and delight the foul, 
 and bring it up to everlafling Reft : And is this the way to 
 melancholy or 'madnefs . ? Or is it not liker to make men melan- 
 choly, to think of nothing but a vain, deceitful and vexatious 
 world, that hath much to difquietus, but nothing tofarisfie 
 us, and can give the foul no hopes of any durable delight? 
 
 10. Yet as God is not equally related unto all, fo is he not 
 the fame to all mens thoughts. Jfa wicked enemy of God and 
 godlinefs, be forced and fnghtened into fome thoughts of 
 God, you cannot exped that they fhouid be as fiweet and 
 comfortable thoughts, as thofe of his molt obedient children 
 are. While a man is under the guilt and power of his reigning 
 #», and under the wr at h and curfe of God, unpardoned, un- 
 juftifled, a child of the devil, it is not this mans duty to think of 
 God 3 as if hewere fu\\y reconciled to him, and took pleafurein 
 him as in his own. Nor is it any wonder if finch a man think of 
 God with fear, and think of his fin with grief and fhame. Nor 
 is it any wonder if the juftified themfeives do think of God 
 with fear and grief , when they have provoked him by fome 
 finful and unkind behaviour, or are caft into doubts of their 
 fincerity and intcreft in Chrift, and -when he hides his face, or 
 
 aflaulc- 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 1 29 
 
 aflaulteth them with his terrors. TVdoubc whether a man 
 fhall live for ever in Heaven or Hell, may rationally trouble 
 the thoughts of the wifeft nun in the world ^ and it were hue 
 fottiftinefs not to be troubled at it : David himfelf could fay 
 [Jn the day of my trouble I fought the Lord : my fore ran in the 
 right and ceafed not : my foul refufedto be comforted: I re* 
 ynembred God and reus troubled; I complained and my fpirit was 
 overwhelmed : Thou hetteft mine eyes w eking : 1 am fo troubled 
 that I cannot ffeak^- Will the Lord cafl off for ever? * ] 
 
 PfaJ.77.2, 3,4,5»7- 
 
 Yet all the forrcwful thoughts of God, which are the duty 
 of either the godly or the wicked, are but the ncceffar y "prtv 
 paratives of their joy : It is not to melancholy , diftratlionov 
 defpair that God calleth any, even the worft : But it is that 
 the Wicked would [Seek, the Lord while he may be found, and 
 call upon him while he is near : that he would forftike his way, 
 and the unrighteous man his Thoughts ; and return unto the 
 Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our Gsd t and he 
 will abundantly par don~\ Ifa. 55.6,7. Defpair\s fm^ and the 
 thoughts that tend to it are finful thoughts^ even in the 
 wicked. If worldly croffes, or the fenfe of danger to the foul 
 had caft any into melancholy , or overwhelmed them with 
 fears, you can name nothing in the world that in rcafon fhould 
 be fo powerful a remedy to recover them, as the Thoughts of 
 God, his 6W«f/}and Mercy and readinefs to receive and par- 
 don thofe that turn unto him, his Covenant, and Promifcs, 
 and Grace through Chrift, and the everlafting happinefs 
 which all may have that will accept and feek it in the time of 
 grace, and prefer it before the deceitful tranfitory pleafures 
 of the world. If the Thoughts of God and of the Heavenly 
 everlafting joyes, will not comfort the foul, and cure a fad 
 defpairing mind , I know not what can rationally do ir, 
 Though yet its true that a prefumptuous (inner mull: needs be 
 in a trembling (late, till he find himfelf at peace with God s 
 And miftaken Chriitians, that are caft into caufelefs doubts 
 and fears, by the malice of Satan, are unlikely to walk, com" 
 fortably with God, till they are refolved and recovered from 
 their miftakes and fears, 
 
 Gg 3 C H A ?, 
 
* 3° Walking with God. p art II. 
 
 Chap. V. 
 
 ° V]% T^ U -' ,Mra y betlleob i e<a ° r will be ready to think, that 
 XJ L // it be indeed our duty to «*/^ with God yet 
 Thoughts are nc confederate part of it : Vthat more uncertain 
 <r mutable then cur Thoughts f It is Deeds and not Thoughts 
 that Codregardcth: To do no harm to any, but to do rood to all 
 this is indeed to wa\ Kith God. Ton fet a man upon a trouble- 
 tome and impojjible work , while jou fet him uponfoftritl a guard 
 xndjonnichexercifecf his thoughts: what cares the Alm'nhn 
 for my thoughts f a J 
 
 Anfw . i, If God know better then you, and beto be be- 
 lieved, then Thoughts are not fo inconfiderable as you fup- 
 pofe. Dothhenocfay, that [t he To ughts eft he wicked are an 
 abomination to the Lord I Prov. 15.26. It is the work of the 
 OofpcJ by its power, to pulldown ftrong holds, casing down 
 imaginations and every high thing that exalt eth it f elf again ft the 
 knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to 
 the obedience rf Cbrift, 2 Cor. 10. 4,5- The unrighteous 
 ru^ns forfaking hu thoughts, is part of his neceflary conver- 
 sion, I f a . 55.7. It was the description of the deploratc irate 
 of the old world, Gen. 6. 5. [God (aw that the wickednefs of 
 man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the 
 thoughts of his heart, was only evil continually • and it repented 
 the Lord that he had made man on the earth, * and it grieved him 
 at his heart) Judge by this, whether Thoughts be Vo little re- 
 garded by God, as you imagine. David faith of himfelf 
 1.1 hate vain thoughts'] Pfal. 1 19. 1 1 3 . Solomon faith, [The 
 thoughts of the righteous are right] Prov. 12.5. Paul faith char 
 [Charity think eth not evil] I Cor. 13.5. 
 
 2. Thoughts are the ijfut of a rational foul. And if its 
 operations hz contemptible, its effence is contemptible : If its 
 tffcr.ee he noble, its operations arc confiderable. If the foul be 
 more excellent then the body, its operations muft be more ex- 
 cellent. To neglect our Thoughts and not employ them upon 
 God, and for God, is to viliftc our nobleft faculties , and 
 
 deny 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 23 r 
 
 deny God who is afpirit that fpirituai fcryicc which he re- 
 
 quireth. ,. 
 
 3 Our Thoughts are commonly our moil cordsal voluntary 
 afts' andrfljew the temper and inclination of the hear: : 
 therefore are regardable to God that fearcheth the heart, and 
 caileth fir ft for the fervice of the heart. 
 
 4, Our Thoughts are radical ind infirnmenttl ads : itch 
 as they are, fuch are the actions of our lives. Chrift tclleth us 
 that oat of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries^ 
 fornications, thefts, fal/e witnefs, blaffhemies, which defile the 
 wan, Matth. 15. 19. / , 
 
 5. Our Thoughts are under a Law, as well as worms and 
 deeds, Prov. 24. 9 The thought of foolifbnefs is fin ] And 
 Matth. 5-28,&c. Chrift extendeth the Law even to the 
 thoughts and dt fires of the heart. And under the Law it is 
 faid Deut. 1 5. 9. Beware that there be net a thought in thy 
 wicked heart , &c. ] vim. of unmercifulnefs towards thy 
 brother. , 
 
 6. Thoughts can reach %/^r much then fsnfe, ana may be 
 employed upon the moft excellent and invifible objects , and 
 therefore are fit inftruments to elevate the foul that would 
 converfe with God. Though God be infinitely above us, 
 our Thoughts may bcexercifed on him : Our jerfons never 
 were in Heaven, and yet our Converfaticn mud beinHeaven % 
 Phil. 3. 20. And how is that but by our thoughts? Though 
 we fee not Chrift, yet by the exercifeof believing thoughts on 
 him, we love him andrejojee with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. Though God be invifible, yet our Meditation of him 
 may be fweet, and we ma y delight in the Lord, Pfa!. 104. 34. Say 
 not that all this is but fantafiical and delufcry, as long as 
 Thoughts of things unfeen are meeter to aduace and elevate 
 the love, defires and delights of the foul, and to move and 
 guide us in a regular and holy life, then thefenfeof Ufferpre- 
 fent good. The Thoughts**? not vain or delufory, uniefs the 
 cbjetJ of them be falfe and vain and delufory. Where the 
 objett \s great ,md fur e and excellent, the thoughts of fuch thing. 
 arc excellent operations of the foul. If thoughts of vainglory, 
 wealth and pleafure, can del ; ght the ambitious, covetous and 
 fenfual- no wonder if the Thoughts of God and life eternal 
 afford us folid high delights. 7- 1 '- c 
 
2 3 1 Wdlkwg with Gcd, Part II. 
 
 7. The Thoughts are not fo lyable to be counterfeit and 
 hypocritical as are the words and outward deeds : And there- 
 fore they (hew more what the man is, and what is in his hearr. 
 For as Solomon faith, Prov. 23. 7. as he thin^th in k'4 heart ,/• 
 /* he. 2 
 
 8. Our Thoughts may exercife the highefi graces of God in 
 man ^ and alfo/&fT* thofe graces, as being their effitts. How 
 is our Faith, and Love, and Defire, andTrufi, and ^ and 
 Hop to beexercifed but by our cogitations ? If Grace were 
 noznecfffary and excellent, it would not be wrought by the 
 sfirltofGod, and called the Divine nature, and the imavetf 
 God: And if Gm-? be excellent , the #/<? and exercife of it is 
 excellent: And therefore our Thoughts by which ltisexer- 
 cifed muft needs have their excellency too. 
 
 9. Our Thoughts mud be the inflruments of cur improving 
 all holy Truth in Scripture, and all the mercies which we re- 
 ceive, and all the ajjUclicns which we undergo. What good 
 will Reading a Chapter in the Bible do to any one that never 
 Thinketh on it ? Our delight in the Law of God muft engage us 
 to meditate in it day and nighty Pfal. I. 2. What good (hail he 
 get by hearing a Sermon that exercifeth not his Thoughts for 
 thereceivinganddigefting it. Our confideringWhat is [aid, 
 is the way in which we may exped that God Yhould give hs 
 ttnderftanding in all things, 2 Tim. 2. 7. What the better will 
 he beforanyof the merciful providences of God, who never 
 bethinks him whence they come, or what is theufe and end 
 that they are given for ? what good will he get by any affliclion 
 that never bethinks him, who it is that ehaitifet-h him and for 
 what, and how he muft get them removed, and fancied to 
 his good? A man is but like one of the pillars in the Church, 
 or like the corps which he trcadeth on, or at heft but like the 
 clog chat followeth him thither for company, if he ufenothis 
 Thoughts about the work which he hath in hand, and cannot 
 fay, as P/W.48. 9. We have thought of thy loving kjndnefs 
 O god in the midfi of thy Temple"] He that bideth ] ou Hear, 
 doth alfo bid\ou Take heed how you hear, Luk. 8. 1 8. And 
 you are commanded to lay up the Word inyour heart and foul, 
 Deut. 1 1 . 18, 19. And tofctyour hearts to all the words which 
 are teftified among you : for it u not a vain thing for you, becaufe 
 h ft ) .7, m- life. J 10. Our 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 233 
 
 * 10. Our Thoughts are fo confiderable a part of Gods fer- 
 vice, that they are oft put for the -whole. Mai. 3. 16. A bool^ 
 of remembrance was written for them that feared the Lord anX 
 that Thought upon his Name~\ Our believing and lovin<r God, 
 and truftingm him, and dc firing him and his grace, are the 
 principal parts of his fervice, which are exercifed immediately 
 by our thoughts : And in praife and prayer it is this inward 
 part that is che foul and life of all. He is a foolijb hypocrite than 
 chinks fo £<? heard for his much ballings Matth. 6. 7. 
 
 And on che contrary the Thoughts are named as the fum of 
 all iniquity , I fa . 59. 7. 7*£«V thoughts are thoughts of iniquity] 
 Ifa. 65. 2. |_ I have ffired out my hands all the day long unto a 
 rebellious people, which wtlketh in a way that was not good, after 
 their oWn thoughts,] Jer. 4. 14. Jcru(alem,wapj thy heart 
 from wickjdnefs that thou maifi be faved : hoW Isng Jhall thy 
 vain thoughts lodge Within thee I Pfal. 14. 1. The fool hath f aid 
 in his heart > there a no God.] 
 
 II. A mans Thoughts are the appointed orderly way for 
 the Converfion of a ftnner, and che preventing of his fin and 
 miier\ . "David faith Pfal. 119. 59 / thought on my wayes, 
 and turned my feet unto thy teftimonies.] The prodigal Luk^ 15. 
 17, 18. Came to him f elf and returned to his Father, by the 
 fuccefs of his own Con ft deration. Thus faith the Lord of 
 Ho fts .Confider your wayes f] Hag. 1. 5. is a voice that every 
 finner fhould hear. Enck^. 18. 14, It is hethatConfidereth and 
 doth not according to his Fathers fins, that/haB not die. There- 
 fore it is Gods define, O that they Were wife and underfiood this, 
 And that they would con fider their latter end, Deuz. 32.29. It is 
 either mens inconfideratenefs, or the errour of their thoughts, 
 that is the caufe of all their wickednefs : Ifa. 1. 3 My people 
 doth not con fider] Paul [verily thought that he ought to do many 
 things again ft the Name tf fefus] Ad. 26, 9. Many dectivs 
 themf elves by thinking themfelves fomt thing when they are no- 
 things Gal. 6.3. They think^it ftrange that we run not with 
 them to excefs of riot ; and therefore they ffeak^ evil of us, 
 1 Pet. 4. 4, Difobedient formalifts Confider not th t they da 
 evil, when they think they are offering acceptable facrifices to 
 God: Ecclef 5. 1, 2.. The very murder of Gods holy ones 
 hath proceeded from thefe erroneous thoughts -, They that kill 
 
 Hh yon 
 
234 Walking With Cod. Part 1 1. 
 
 you fh.ill thin}^ they do God fervice, Job. 1 6. 2. All the ambi- 
 tion, and covetoufnefs, and injuitxe, and cruelcy following 
 thereupon, which troubleth the world , and ruinech mens 
 fouls, is from their erroneous thoughts , overvaluing thefe de- 
 ceitful things. Pfal. 49. 1 1. Their inward thought is that their 
 houfes /ball continue for ever^ and their dwelling places to all 
 generations.^ The prefump'uous and impenitent are furprized 
 by deltruftion, for want of thinking of it to prevent it : [_[n 
 fuch anhour as yon thir\not^ the fonof man comethf\ 
 
 11. Laftly the Thoughts are the mod con ftant atl 'ions of a 
 man, and therefore mo ft of the man is in them. We are not 
 alwayes reading, or hearing, QT praying, or working : hut we 
 are alwayes Thinking. And theretore k doth efpecially con- 
 cern us to fee that this conftant breath of the foul be fweet, 
 and that this conftant fire am be pure and run in the righc 
 channel. Well -therefore did David make this his requeft, 
 Pfal. 1 3 9. 23 , 24. Search me God and know my heart : try 
 fne and know my thoughts ; and fee if there be any wicked way in 
 me, and lead me in the way everlafting. I fay therefore to thofe 
 that infill on this irrational obje&ion, that thefe very Thoughts 
 of theirs, concerning the inconfiderablenefs of Thoughts, are fo 
 foolifh and ungodly, that when they underltand the evil even 
 of thefe, they will know that Thoughts were more to be re- 
 garded. £// therefore thou haft done foolijhly in lifting up thy 
 felf , or if thou haft thought evil , lay thy hand upon thy 
 month. ~\ 
 
 And though, after all this, I (till confefs that it is fo exceed- 
 ing hard a matter to keep the thoughts in holy exercife and 
 crder, that even the be ft do daily and hourly fin, in the omifii- 
 ons, the diforder or the vanity of their thoughts, yet for all 
 that we muft needs conclude that the inclination and deftg» of 
 our Thoughts muft be principally for God , and that the 
 Thoughts are principal inftruments of the foul , in a&ing it in 
 his fervice, and moving it towards him, and in all this holy 
 work of our Walking with God: And therefore to imagine 
 that Thoughts are inconftderable and of little ufe, is to unman 
 us and unchriften us. The labour of the mind is neceflary for 
 the attaining the f elicit) of the mind, ias the labour of the body 
 is neceffary for the things that belong unto the body* As bodily 
 
 idlwft 
 
Part 1 1 v Walking with God. 235: 
 
 fJl/xeffbnngeihmtO beggery, when the diligent hand makes 
 rich , fo the idlenefs of the foul doth impoverish, the foul, 
 when the laborious Chriftian livetfa plentifully and com- 
 fortably through the bleffingof God upon his induftry and 
 hbour. You cannot expeft that God appear to ysu'm a bodily 
 Jhape, that. you may have immediate ctnverfe with him in the 
 bddj : The corporal eating of him in tranfubfiantiate bread , 
 fuppofed common to men and mice or dogs, we leave toPa* 
 pifts, who have made themfelves a fingular new Religion, in 
 dcfpight of the common fenfe and reafon of mankind, as well 
 as of the Scriptures and the judgement of the Church: It is 
 in the fpirit that you muft converfe with God who is a, fpirit. 
 The mind feeth him by fait h, who is inviftble to the bodily eyes. 
 Nay if you will have a true and faving knowledge ot God, 
 you muft not liken him to any thing that is viftble, nor have 
 any corporal conceivings of him ; Earthly things maybe the 
 glafsin which we may behold him, while we are here in the 
 flefh. But our conceivings of him muft be spiritual, and 
 Minds that are immerft in flefh and earth, are unmeet to hold 
 communion with him: The natural man knoweth him nor, 
 and the carnal mind is enmity to him, &nd they that are in the 
 flejb cannot fleafe him, Rom. 8. It is the pure abftractcd ele- 
 vated foul, that underftandeth by experience what it is to 
 Walkjwith God. 
 
 Chap, V J, 
 
 §. i.TTAving in the foregoing Ufes, reproved fheAthcifm 
 JLjl and contempt of God, which ungodly men are con- 
 tinually guilty of, and endeavoured to convince them of the 
 necedity and defirablenefs of Walhingwith God, and in par- 
 ticular of improving our Thoughts For holy converfe with 
 him, and anfwered the objections of the impious and Atheifts ; 
 I (hall nest endeavour to cure the remnants of this difeafe, 
 in thokthn ate fincerely holy, who live too ftrangely to God 
 their Father in the World. In the performance of th is, I fhall 
 firft fhew ycu what are the benefits of this holy life which 
 
 H h 2 . (hould 
 
7^6 Walking with Cod \ Part II. 
 
 fhould make it appear defirable and del!£htfu , . 2. I fliaii 
 (hew you why Bdhvirs fhould add;c"t them/elves to it as 
 doub lj obliged, and how it appeareth that their negled: of it 
 is a fin of fpecial aggravations. This is the remainder of my 
 cask. 
 
 $.2. I. To Walh^ with God in a Holy and Heavenly Con- 
 verfation, is the employment mod fuitable to humane nature 
 not to its corrupt dijp option, nor to the carnal inter efl and*/?- 
 petite ; but to nature as nature, to man as man ; It is the very 
 work that he was made for : The faculties and frame of foul 
 and body were compofed for it by the wife Creatour : They are 
 rcfiored for it by the gracious Redeemer. Though in corrupted 
 nature where fenfuality is predominant, there is an eflranged. 
 nefsfrom God, and an enmity and hatred of him, fo that the 
 wicked ate more aver fe to all fcrious holy con verfe with him 
 fin prayer, contemplation, anda heavenlylife) then they are 
 to a worldly flnful life ; yet ail this is but the dijeafe of nature, 
 corrupting its appetite, and turning it againft that proper 
 food, which is moil fuitable to its found defires, and neceffary 
 to its health and bappinef?. Though linful habits are become 
 asitwereafecondNature to the ungodly, fo depraving their 
 judgements and defires, that they verily think the bufmefs and 
 pleafures of the flefh are moll fuitable to them ^ yet thefe are 
 as contrary to nature as nature, that is, to the primitive ten- 
 dencies of all our faculties, and the proper ufe to which they 
 were fitted by our Creatour, and to that true felicity which 
 is the end of all our parts 'and powers, even as madnefs is con- 
 trary to the rational nature, though it were hereditary. 
 
 1. What can be more agreeable to ;the nature of man, then 
 to be rational and wife, and to live in rhepureil exercifeoi 
 Reafon? And certainly there is nothing more rational then 
 that we (hould live to God, and gladly accept of all that 
 communion with him which our natures on earth arc capable 
 of. Nothing can be more Reafonable then for the Re afon able 
 foul to be entirely addi&ed to him that did create it, that doth 
 preferve it, and by whom it doth fubfift and ad. Nothing 
 is more Reafonable then that the. Abfolute Lord of nature be 
 honoured and ferved wholly by his Own: Nothing is more 
 Reafonable then that the Reafonable creature do Jive in the 
 
 trued 
 
Part I I. Walking with God. 237 
 
 trued dependence upon, and fubordinarion to the VUghtft 
 Reafon • and that derived, imperkd, deftdiblc wifdome, be 
 iubfervienc to, and guided by the primitive, perfid, indc- 
 fcdible wifdome : It is moft reafonable that th- Children de- 
 pend upon the Father, and the foe liflj be ruled by che moft v. 
 and that the Sabytts be governed by the univerfal King ; and 
 that they honour him and obey him, and that the indigent ap- 
 ply thcmfelves to him that is A lit 'efficient , and is moft able 
 and ready tofupply their wants; and that the Impotent reft 
 upon him that is Omnipotent. 
 
 2. Nothing can be rr.ore Reafonable, than that the Reafo- 
 nable Nature fhould intend its End, and feek after its true 
 and chief felicity : And that it fhould Love Qood as Good, and 
 therefore prefer the chief eft Good before that which is tranfi- 
 tory and inefficient. Reafon commandeth the Reafonable 
 Creature to avoid its own delufion and defhudion, and to 
 reft upon him that can everlafting'y fupportus, and not upon 
 the creature that will deceive us and undo us.- and to prefer 
 the higheft and nobleft converfe before that which is inferiour, 
 unprofitable and b3fe, and that werejoyce more in the bightft, 
 pureft , and moft durable delights, than in thofe that are for- 
 did, andoffhort continuance. And who knowe;h not that 
 God is the chiefeft Good, and tiue felicity of man , the ever- 
 laftingRock, the durable delight, and to be preferred before 
 his creatures? And who might not find that would ufe his 
 Reafon, that all things below are vanity anJvex,u:on? 
 
 3. Nothing can be more Rational and Agreeable toy 
 Nature, than that the fup.riour faculties fhould govern the in- 
 feriour, that the Drutifh part be fubjed co the Rational •, and 
 that the ends and objeds of this higher faculty be preferred 
 before the objeds of the lower, that the objeds of fenfe be 
 made fubfervient to the objeds of Reafon. If this be net A T .*- 
 tural znd Rational, then it is natural to Alan to be no Man^ 
 but a Reaft, and Reafonable to be VnreafoKabU. New it is evi- 
 dent that a Holy Living unto God, is but the improvement of 
 true Reafon^ and its ir.pioyment for and upon its nobleft ob- 
 jed, and its ultimate End : And that a fenfti.il life is cheex- 
 erciieofthe inferiourbru:ifh faculties, in predomiracy above 
 and before the rational; And therefore to queftion whether 
 
 H h 3 <J. 
 
238 Walking with Get. Part II. 
 
 God or the Creature fhould be firft fought, and loved, and 
 principally defired, and delighted in, and ferved, is but to 
 quefiion whether we fhould live like Me* or like Beafts, and 
 whether JDsgs or wife men be fitter companions for us? and 
 whether the Rider or the Horfe (hould have the rule? whe- 
 ther the Rational or Senfitive Powers be fuperiour and proper 
 to the nature of a man ? 
 
 Object. But there is a middle ft ate of life betwixt the fenfual 
 end the Divine or Holy Life which fober Philofophers did live,- 
 ■and this is the me ft Nacutal Life, and mofi properly fo called. 
 
 Anfw. I deny this : There is no middle (late of life, if you 
 denominate the feveral ftates of life, from the feveral Ends, 
 or the feveral Powers. I grant that the very fenfnive powers 
 in man, efpecially the imagination, is much advanced by the 
 conjunction of Reafon, above that of a brute; And I granc 
 that the Delights of thephantsfie may be preferred before the 
 immediate pleafure ofthefcafes • And I grant that fome little 
 diftant knowledge of God, and things Divine, and Hopes of 
 attaining them, may affect an unfandifled man with an an- 
 fwerable pleafure. But all this is nothing to prove that there 
 isa third(ort of End, or o( Powers, and fo a third or middle ' 
 flue of life, fpecifkalJy diftinct from the fenfitive and the Holy 
 life. Befides, the Vegetative man hath no other life or faculties, 
 than the Senfttive and the Rational : And therefore one of 
 thefe mull be in predominancy or rule. And therefore he can 
 have no middle fort or End-, and therefore no middle ftate 
 of life, that can be faid to be agreeable to his nature. Thofe 
 that feek and take up iheir chief felicity in Riches and plenty, 
 and provifionsfor theflefh, though not in prefent pleafing of 
 thefenfe, do live but the life of fenfuality. A Fox or Dog 
 takes pleafure when he hath eaten his belly full, to hide and lay 
 up the reft.- And fo doth the Bee to fill the Hive, and make 
 provifion for the Winter. The Proud that delight in Honour 
 and applaufe, and making others fubjeft to their lu(ts, do live 
 but the lifeof fenfuality : ADog,aHorfe, and other brutes, 
 haveiomethir.gof the fame. They that are grave through 
 -Melancholy, or becaufe they can reach no great matter in 
 the world, and becaufe their old or duller fpirits are not 
 much pleafed with juvenile delights, and fo live retiredly, and 
 
Pai t IT. Walking with God. 239 
 
 feekjio higher pleasure or felicity, but only fit down with the 
 weeping or the laughing Philofopher, lamenting or deridwg 
 the Vanity of the world, do yet live no other ihan a fenfuai 
 life: as an old Dog that hath no pleafure in hunting or pkyiul- 
 ncfe, as he had when he was a Whelp. Only he is iefs del 
 and lefs vain, than other fenfualifts that find more plea fure in 
 their courfe. 
 
 A 11 the doubt \$ concerning thofethrt place their felicity in 
 Knowledge, and thofe that delight in Moral Venues , or that 
 delight \nftndying of God, though they are no Chriftians. 
 
 Anfw. The point is weighty, and hath oft unhappily fain 
 into injudicious hands. I (hall endeavour to refolve it as tru- 
 ly, clearly and impartially as I can. 1. It is a great errour 
 againft the Nature of man, to fay, that Knowledge as fuch, is 
 fit to be any mans chief and ultimate End. It maybe that act 
 which is next the Enjoying AH of the Wilt, which is it that in- 
 deed is next the End , objectively confidered : But it is 
 not that Ad which we call Vhlmate Vltimus. And this is 
 plain 1. Jkcaufe the Ohjctl of the Vndtr {landing, which is 
 Truth, is not formally the neareft object or matter of full/*- 
 licity or delight : It is Goodnefs that is the neareit object. 2. And 
 therefore the office of the Intellect is but introductive and fub- 
 fervient to the office of the Will, to apprehend the Verity of 
 Good, and prefent it to the will to be profecuted or embra- 
 ced, or delighted in. There are many Truths that are un- 
 grateful and vexatious, and which men would wifh to be no 
 truths : And there is a knowledge which is troublefome, ufe- 
 lefs, undefirable and tormenting, which even a wife man 
 would fain avoid if he knew how. Morality is but prepara- 
 tively in the intellect : and therefore intellectual acts as fuch 
 are not morally Good, or evil, but only participatively, as 
 fubject to the Will. Aj&d therefore knowledge as fuch being 
 not a Moral Good, ca'n be no other than fuch a Naturul Good 
 as is Bonum alicui 9 only fo far as it tendeth to fome Welfare or 
 Happinefs, or pleafure of the pofTeffor or fome other : And 
 this Welfare or Plea/tire is either that which is fuited to the 
 Sen/itive Powers, or to the Rational (which is to be found in 
 the love of (Sod alone.) 
 
 a. I add therefore that even thofe men that feem to rake up 
 
 their 
 
24 o Wtlkitgwtb Gti- Part IK 
 
 their felicity in common Knowledge, indeed do buc make their 
 Knowledge fnbfervient to lomething eifc which they take for 
 their felicity. For Knowledge of Evil may Torment them. It 
 is only to know fomcthing which they take to be Good, that is 
 their Delicto. And it is the Complacency or Love of that 
 Goodzt the Heart, which fetsthemon work, and caufeth the 
 delight of Knowing. If you will fay that common Knowledge 
 as Knowledge doth immediately Delight, yet will it be found 
 butfuch a piecing of the Phantafie, as an Ape hath id fpymg 
 marvels which if it have no end that's higher, is (till but a 
 fenftiVe Delight 5 but if k be referred to a higher Delight (m 
 God; it doth participate of the nature of it. Delight in general 
 Is the common end of Men and Brutes : But in sjecie they 
 &tc Mhgxf.facd as Se.nf»*lov Rational. 
 8 3 If you fuppofe a Philofopher to be Delighted in itudying 
 Mar'hematicks, or any of the works of God, either he hath 
 herein an End, or no End beyond the Knowledge of the Crea- 
 t fire : Either he terminatetb his defires and delights in the 
 Creature, or cMcufethit as a means to raife hiro to the Crw- 
 tour. If he ftudy and delight in the Creature ultimately, this is 
 indeed the A& of a rational Creature, and an >,& or Reafon, 
 as to the faculty it proceeds from (and fo is a Rational Con- 
 trivance for fenjual ends and pleasures i ) But it is but the.r- 
 reur of Re af on, and is no more agreeable to the Rational Na- 
 ture thznthe deceit of the fenfesis to the fenfitive. Nor is it 
 finally to be numbred with the operations felicitating humane 
 nature any more than an erroneous dream of pleafure, or 
 than that man is to be numbred with the lovers of learning, 
 who taketh pleafure in the binding, leaves or letters of the 
 book while he underitandeth nothing of the fenfe But if 
 this Philofopher feek to know the Creatour in and by the Crea- 
 tures, and take delight in the Maimers Power, tviffome and 
 Goedne/s, which appeareth in them, then this is truly a Ra- 
 tional Delight, in it (elf confidered, and befeeming a l man. 
 And if he reach fofar in it, as to make God his Htghejt defire 
 and delight ; overpowring the defires and delights ot fenfuah- 
 ty, heihallbe^p^.asbeingled by the Son unto the Father: 
 But if he make but fomc little approaches towards it, and 
 drown all fuch defires in the fenjual defires and delights % he 
 
Part II. Walking with God, 241 
 
 isthenlutanun'iappy fenfualifi, and liveth brmifhly in the 
 tenor of his life, though in fome alls in part he operate rational' 
 /j as a man. 
 
 The like I may fay of them that are faid to place their de- 
 light in Moral Venues. Indeed nothing is properly a Moral 
 Good (or vertue) but that which is exercifed upon God as our 
 End, or upon the Creature as a Means to this End. To ftudy 
 and knowmecrwnw ofGW, or what is to be held and hid 
 of him in difcourfe, is not to ftudy or to hnoyv God , no more 
 than to love the language aud phrafe of holy wri:ing,is to Love 
 God. To ftudy God as one thai is lefs regar dalle and defirablc 
 than our fenfual delights , is but to blafpheme him. To ltudy 
 feek and fcrve him as one that can promote or hinder our fan- 
 fualfelici:y, is buttoabufehimas a means to your fcnfu?.'iy. 
 Ar.d for the vertu:s of Temperance, Juftice or Charity, they 
 .are but Analog cally and fecundum quid to be found in any 
 ungodly perfon. Materially they may have them in an emi- 
 nent degree • but not as they are informed by the End which 
 moralizeth them, frzalel's fa ft was not formally a vertue, 
 but an odious way ofHypocrifie toopprefs the innocent: He 
 that doth works of fuftice or Mercy, to Evilends only fas 
 for apphufe, or to deceive, &c.) and not from the true 
 principles olfufiice and Mercy, doth not thereby exercife 
 Moral Vertue, but hypocnfie, and other vice. He that doth 
 worksof ?#/?*'^ and Mercy, out of meer natural companion 
 toothers and defire of their good, without refped to God, 
 as obliging, or rewarding, or deftring it, doth perform fuch 
 a natural woodwork, as a Lamb or a gentle Beaft doth to his 
 fellows which hath not the true form of Moral Vertue, but 
 the Matter only. He that in fuch works hath fomelitcleby- 
 rcfpe&to God, but more to his carnal intereft among men, 
 dcth that which on the by, participateth of Moral Good, or is 
 fuch fecundum cjuid, but not ftmpliciter, being to be denomi- 
 nated from the part predominant. He that doth works of fu» 
 ftice or Charity principally to pleafe God, and in true obedience 
 to/?«Wi//,and a deiite to be conformed thereto, doth that 
 which is formally a M*™1 Go °d t and Holj, though there may 
 be abhorred mixtures of worfe refpeCts. 
 
 So that there are but two ftatcs of life here : One of thofe 
 
 Ii that 
 
w».«ofpleafure. And even t Rr ^ mattria '* ** 
 carnal 'end, are carnal fi„2 and f « *'$' that fovea 
 a<WReafon ; For thfv a 2 h™ T^' thou §h they are 
 defedivenefs of true SSlitv ^ ^ *"? f Reafon ' a "d 
 
 the ctrnal Jnterefi, they are tLmf ^' ""? fubf <*vient to • 
 c*r»*l: And fo even the y R Taf n a hiL eS , t0 b L e den °™nated 
 
 eta s« ^ftsa sns-ift 
 
 f W^ *F« Ob, 
 
 Judgcrnent,, without /nyTov/ J St, t[le *" of Gods 
 
 ofLiving unto God/a & gTnSr the Reafo " a °Ws 
 
 vernmenc of the lower faculr^cr 6 fouI ' and tf >eir Go- 
 Mjjf, do feem toSft hf c F ° r '/^^^ called J£. 
 e-thertheydo^/J f do t.%t '* <« the **£' 
 deed predominant, and their '«£?? ,ntereftb ^g.n: 
 thereto: orat the beft it i, bur fom ' °P eration * ^/efted 
 
 weak approaches towards "Chfch » n J ?? E ercifc .<* fomc 
 deed the life which the RatS^ d ho,y ,lfe . wf >'chisin- 
 »*chj the right i4rove a SofT Ure "" «*««» f <*. «S 
 
 man, thrtlVSlilT b / ee » tbe ™<"eof 
 
 »/r//j a n d toIiveth{;^&f ^*V"«*«/ */ 
 
 For every nature tendethfoSr/^n 3 ' " is ca P a ^ of 
 ev.dentthatto^/^^/^J^f/;^. But it is moft 
 
 n>ane nature is capable of and thlt^v ? ^"g^thu- 
 
 SUES**- ' aiKfi^Bfts 
 
 H!^&^Ti^3^'^« a Cre, 
 ■'"?"•", ?ef«brication of our nZ'\ pt T Creat ^ *" 
 
Part II. miking *itb God. M? 
 
 ties plainly prove, that Hit End was that we fhould be fitted 
 for M Service : He gave us no powers or capac.ty in vam • 
 And therefore to fcrve him and walk with him, is moft fuitable 
 
 t0 olFT™'imtKrMl»bich u'firfi, and born with w : But 
 cur enmity to Holinef, it firfi, and not our Holinef,. .... 
 TX ir may be called Natural indeed, becaufe ,c«M. 
 .hdbWwithu's: And in,** «M « copftfi gc fia «d 
 noc Holinefs is Natural to us. But Holinefs » called JV**«r*/ 
 to" "ma higher refpeft, becanfe it was the Pnnnt.ve Natu- 
 Sconftitutiln of man.and was before fin, and is the perftdion 
 or health ofnaturc, and the right employment and improve- 
 ment of it, and tends to its happineft An ^.tarylepro- 
 fie may be called Natural, as it «j!r/?, and before health 
 in that W« = But Am/** and /«**»*/* > s J**"*. as ™ n S 
 the wJ-*W of N*t»re, when the i^^ unnatural, as 
 being but ite i/f^i,.«.nd tending tons deftrudion 
 
 Ob). B«tN«W*in it, fir f confiitution wa,not Uolj but 
 Innocent only, and ,*»* Ay a Superadded g,ft of Grace ^J 
 became Holy a, fome Schoolmen th t »\; and a, other, thnk., 
 Adam had no Holinef, till hit nftoraUon. Anntnratn 
 
 Anfw Thefe are Popifh improved fancies, and contrary to 
 Nature and the Word of God. i. They are nowhere written, 
 nor have no evidence in Nature, and therefore are the ground- 
 lefs dreams of men. «•,,:„«,„> 
 
 2 The work of our recovery to God is called in Scripture 
 & Redemption, Renovation, Restoration, which imply that Na- 
 ture was once in that Holy eftate be ore the fall. And .t « 
 exprefiy faid, that the New man which we put on is renewed %» 
 knowledge after the Image of him that created km} Co!. J. 10. 
 And after Gods ImigiAdam was created. . 
 
 t If it belong to the foundnefs and integrity ofNaturjto 
 UH>h Cthatis, difpofedandaddiftedto live to God) then 
 it is an abufive temerity, for men out of their own pagina- 
 tion tofeign,thatGod^madeiV.««« defc olive, and then 
 mended it by Superadded Grace. But if it belong.™* to the 
 foundnefs and integrity of humane iV^m to be #>/;,, then why 
 did God give him Grace to make him lo ? Nay then, it would 
 follow that when God fanftified Mam, or any fince, he made 
 
 li 2 " im 
 
144 WMtegnhhGod. Part II V 
 
 him fpecifically another thing, another creature, of another 
 nature, and did not only cure thedifeafes of his nature. 
 
 4. It is yet apparent in the very Nature of mans faculties, 
 that their very ufefu 1 nefs and tendency, is to live to God, 
 
 and to enjoy him : And that God fhou'd make a Nature apt 
 for Huh a ufe, and give it no difpofednefs to iis proper ufe, is 
 an unnatural conceir. We fee to this day that it is but an un- 
 reafonableabufe ofReafon, when it is not ufed Holily for 
 God ; and it is a very difcafe of nature to be otherwife dif- 
 pofeJ.Therefore Primitive Nature hadfuch a Holy inclination, 
 
 5. The contrary opinion'tendeth to Infidelity, and to bru- 
 t'fie humane Nature. For if no man can believe that he mull: 
 be Holy and live to God, and enjoy him hereafter in Heaven, 
 but he that alio believeth that Primitive Nature was never 
 dijpofed or qualified for fuch a life-, and that God muft firft 
 make a man another creature in fpecie, of another nature (and 
 confequently not a man) this is not only fo improbable, but to 
 contrary to Scripture and Reafon, that few confederate per- 
 sons would believe it. As if we rnult believe that God would 
 turn brutes into men. God healetb, elevateth and perfedeth 
 Nature,but dcth not fpecificially change k f at leaft in this life. 
 
 Obj. But let it be granted that he giveth not man fpecifically 
 another Nature, yet he may give him fuch higher gifts, as may 
 be like another Nature to him fo far. 
 
 Anfw. No doubt he may and doth give h'm fuch gifts as 
 actuate and perfect Nature : but feme Diffofttion to our ulti- 
 mate end is effential to our Nature ^ and therefore to sflign 
 man another ultimate end, and to give a Dijpofition to it , of 
 which he bad no feed, or parr, or princip^ before, is to make 
 h'm another creature. I cenfefs that in Upfed man, the Holy 
 Diffrofition is fo far dc^d, as that the change maketh a man a 
 New Creature in a Moral fenfe (as he is a New Man than 
 changethbis mind and manners : ) Butftill Nature hath its 
 aptitude ss Rational to be employed for its Maker ^ fo that he 
 is not a New Creature in a Natural ft nfe. 
 
 An allual or habitual willingnefs to this Holy employment, 
 & promptitude ton, and a due understanding of it, is the New 
 Creature Morally fo ca'led which is given in our far edification : 
 But the Natural aptitude that is in our faculties as Rational^ 
 
 to 
 
I 
 
 Part II. Walking with Cod. 34J 
 
 to this holy life, is tfential to us as men, or as Rational ^ even 
 to have the Potentiamnaturalem which mad yet have further 
 help or moral life to actuate it. And Adam had both theft: 
 The one he retained, or elfe he had not continued a man, 
 The other he lofl, or elfe he had not had need of Renovation. 
 6. If Adams Nature had not been Difpofedto God as to his 
 End and Scveraign, then the Law of Nature (to adhere to 
 God, and obey and fervc him) was r.ot wricten in Irs heat t : 
 And then it would not have been his duty to adhere to God, 
 and to obey and ferve him ^ which is fo falfe, that even in 
 lap fed unrenewed Nature, there is left fo much aptitude hereto, 
 js wi.'l prove him to be llill under the cbligations of this Law 
 if Nature, even aUuallj to adhere to Cjod, and to obey him,v.'lvxh 
 a dead man, a mad man, or an Infant is not (immediately.,) 
 
 By all this you fee, tl at though the blindnefs and difeafe of 
 Reafon, iscontraiy to faith snd holinefs, yet Reafcn is ft If \$ 
 fo much for ir, as that Faith it felfis but the act of elevated 
 mil informed Reafon ; and fupematural Revelation is but the 
 means to inform cur Rcafon t about things which have rot a 
 natural evidence, difcernable by us. And fanctirlcacion 
 ( actively takenj is but the healing of our Reafon and Rational 
 appetite : And Holinefs is but the health or foundnefs of them. 
 The errour of Reafon muft be renounced by Believers-, but 
 not the ufe of Reafon : The /##fiV»*j of Reafon and Natural 
 Light without fupernatural Light and Help, we muft all deny : 
 But to fet Reafon as Reafon in oppolition to Faith or Holi- 
 nefs, ox Divine Revelation, is as grofs a piece of foolery, as to 
 fet the vi&re facuky in cppoiuion to the Light of the Sun, or 
 to its objects. It is the unreafonablenefs of iinners that is to 
 be cured by Illuminating Grace. Thij are mfs to do evil, but 
 to do goad they havens* knowledge. Their Reaion is wounded, 
 depraved and corrupted about the matters of God : They 
 have Reafon to ftrve the flefb, but not to Mafterit. God 
 doth rerew men by giving them vtifdome, and bringing them 
 to a found mind • As LogicJ^ belperh Reafon in difcourfeand 
 arguing, fo Thsdogj info met h Reafon about the matters of 
 Godandourfalvation ; and the Spirit of Qod doth make his 
 Doctrine and Revelation effectual Make Nature found, and 
 Reafon clear& then we wll confent that all men b§ perfwaded 
 
 Ii 3 to 
 
W6 Walking with GU p art u 
 
 ^ssai^ssrw ihcir ^- But if a *'*■ 
 
 J "§ to « Nw'"„f and0 ^ r$ > a , nd ^^Ws is accord, 
 do cure f|.„ w 7 •> ^K"V " ,s ficter th " < b *>™ and whips 
 
 «^^4^S^A° *?? be allowed K 
 
 will fay, MyN,tl~nA A V f?" w W or «*»«*«*«- 
 
 ^*r^ft*faxfSi^^ to p J eafe ray ? p- 
 
 and other noxious crMrnr« T , Y° hes ancl Foxes, 
 cured of its bSefc "Z i vldl'" hUmane NatUre b < 
 will need noexcerna?tS y tlS? £ ** " 
 
 Love and Live to our Cr«?„ PP "!i o 'f " *"*"'for us to 
 
 •railed P? T i Efi TgiZZV' "• theirratio ^' motion i, £ 
 
 totbewavof w 7 » .» ace worketh ™t according 
 
 ^W^rI ?: tWBrU l tf ' ,Nat » r ^ but according to 
 
 J"ch rofarafhedT/'' 5 *S" r 'J t0 a **" W Cl ™^ a 
 tfnXZil; Jte ) C - Yeaand ^<". ^ough they 
 
 their bein "InImZIZ-Z du T Ur *- Tht y COntai ° » 
 Obi sJtZ ? r d / and '"*»#/ t0 a<S.on. 
 
 -*»/». Nofucb matter: Though ™/^ „ w ^ be „,. 
 
Part II. Walking with Cod. 247 
 
 led Natural, as it is mod agreeable to Nature fo far as it U 
 found and is the felicity and meeteft employment of the rati- 
 onal nature as fuch v Yet I. Difeafed nature doth abhor k 
 as a difeafed ftomack the plcafancett and moil wholelome food 
 fas I faid before.) 2. And this difeafe of Nature cannot be 
 cured without Divine fupernatural Grace. So that as to the 
 efficient caufe, our Holincffc is fupernatural. But it is un- 
 bound dodrine of thofe that affirm that vtaammhis pure 
 Neural fiate of innoctney, had no Natural Holinfs, or apti- 
 tude and promptitude to Wal\ with God in order to everlafttng 
 kappinefs- but fay that all this was either wanting to him, 
 &ndw&saftatejpecificallydifli*a, which he fell fhort off by 
 his fin, or that it was given him bj fuperadded Grace, and was 
 not'm\i\% entire Nature. 
 
 And yet we deny not but as to Degrees, %4dams nature was 
 to grow up to more perfection: and that his Natural Holi- 
 nefs contained not sufficient immediate aptitude and prompt i- 
 tude to every duty which might afterward be required of 
 him • but this was to be obtamed in the exerctje of that Ho- 
 Jinefs which he had : Even as a Vine or other fruit tree 
 though it be Natural to it to bear its proper fruit, yet hath 
 it not an immediate Efficient aptitude herero, whilft it is but 
 appearing out of the ieed, before it be grown up to juft ma- 
 turity * Or as it is Natural to a man todifcourfeznareafon^ 
 but yet his nature in infancy, or untaught and unexercifed, 
 hath not a Efficient immediate aptitude and promptitude here- 
 unto Or as Grace inclineth a renewed foul to every holy 
 Truth znd duty: and yet fuch afoul in its infancy of Grace, 
 hath not a fufEcient immediate aptitude or promptitude to the 
 receiving of every holy truth, or the doing of every holy du- 
 ty • but mult grow up to it by degrees. But the addition of 
 thek degrets, is no rfecifical alteration of the nature of man, 
 or of that grace which was before received. 
 
 Having been folong upon this fir ft Confideration (chat 
 Walking with God ;s moil agreeable to humane nature) I (hall 
 he briefer in the reft that follow. 
 
 II. To 
 
Walking with Gcd. Part II. 
 
 n.TpO Walk with God and live to him, i, incomparably 
 J. the W,^ and ^/? Hfc To conrerfe ™V 
 
 only, .,to convetfe with Wom,: whether they bTprmces 
 
 SET E Kf" ^"^K" vermine fromTh 
 icuer. it they be FPi/ f and GW, the r Converfe mav he nm 
 
 fifbleanddehghtful, becaufe they have a beamed ™xctlK 
 
 from the face of God: (And (D how unfpeakab efs thed* 
 
 Siv be ZT " W f' m r/ G °°W>, «nd ,*,,„ /) Buf f 
 tney befoohfi t ungodly MiMficntfl, howloathfome is thJl 
 converfacon? What (linking brealh is in the r p r ofa ne and 
 fi! hylanguage ? ,n their lies and (landers of the ff r in t he" r 
 foit.fti jearsand fcornsofthofe that Walk with God? which 
 expofeat once their folly and miltri ro the *;,„■<■ u I 
 aretr uIyun dcrftan*n / g / Whent(7a eg ^JS^ 
 of the things which they underftand no^ or wkh a ^fr " 
 confidence deeding merrily the holy command? „dS ^ of 
 God, they are much more lamentably e*pre/I5n E theS 
 
 indeed with the mod they fcape the reou-annr, .»V i V s 
 deferve, becaufe they aJatten'ded wi ?£ fens o7 tie r own" 
 proporcon of wifdom, that alwaves reverence a filke'^r 
 nd judge them wife thatweargoid lace, and h ve h g £ £ 
 eft fatislaA.on of their wills and lulls, and srerble to dnZa 
 m.fchtef ,n the world : and becanfeVw^ have Jear^ 
 Wthe^ of -their jftrf**,, fnd not to c^S 2 
 wy *™. But <SW is bold to call them £< th™ „ D a - 
 them in his word, fuch names a'nd chariffi^ g 
 »*£** come to know themfelves And it ;!„„, . «■ ? y 
 * ,ifc t0 *!*«** Got, 'S to ££ J r> S*5Sfc 
 wuh^toxtcated ftnttlflb ; that live d'JxS&'fe 
 
 foolledhvVf 6 "/^/^^ menare '*'V<W the Devil 
 Such of J e 1 ^"* Chr ' ft l!mfeIf . H 8- 44- becauie they C 
 ™ Ji W * r ' oftne ^«"V, and the hfli of their fafhil 
 
 O that fo v.le a Mailer fees them on, fob. 8. 34 . Certainly as 
 
^ 
 
 Part I I. Walking with Cod. 249 
 
 ihe fpirits of the juft arc fo lily to Angels, that Chrift faith, 
 we (hall beasthej and equal to them • fo the wicked are nearer 
 km to Devils then they themfelves will eafily believe. They 
 areas like him as children to their Father : He is a lyar, and 
 h are they : He is a W^r of cj^and god)inefs,and godly men, 
 and fo are they : He is a murderer, and would fain devour the 
 holy feed •, and fuch are they. He envyeth the progreft of 
 the Gofpel, and the profperity of the Church, and the in- 
 creafe of Holinefs-, and fo do they. He hath a fpecial ma- 
 lice againft the moll powerful and fuccefsful Preachers of the 
 Word of God , and againft the mod zealous and eminent 
 Saints; and fohave they. He cares not by what lyes and 
 fictions he difgraceth them, nor how cruelly he ufeth them i 
 No more do they, (orfomeofthemat leaft : ) He cherifheth 
 hcentioufnefs, fenfuality and impiety j and fo do they. If they 
 do feem better in their adverfity and rcitraint, yet try them 
 but with profperity, and power, and you (hall fee quickly' 
 how like they are to devils. And (hall we delight more to 
 converfe with brutes and incarnate devils, than with God f Is it 
 not a more high and excellent converfation to Wal\ with 
 God, and live to Him, then co be companions of fuch degene- 
 rate men, that have almoin forfeited the reputation of huma. 
 m'tj ? Alas, they are companions fo deluded and ignorant, 
 and yet fo wilfull-, (o miferablc, and yet fo confident and 
 fecure, that they are, to a believing eye, the moftlamenrab'e 
 fight that the whole world can (hew us out of hell. And how 
 fad a life muft it then needs be, to convene with fuch, wereit 
 not for the hope that we have of furthering their recovery and 
 Salvation / 
 
 But to Wal^withGod is a word fo high, that I (hould have 
 feared the guilt of arrogance inufingit, if L had not found it 
 in the holy Scriptures. It is a word that importeth fohigh 
 and holy a frame of foul, and expreffeth fuch high and holy 
 actions, that the naming of it ftriketh my heart with rever- 
 ence-, as if I had heard the voice to Mofes [fPutcffthjjboes 
 from eff thy feet , for the place whereon thou flandefl u holy 
 grettnd^ Exod.3.5. Methinkshe that (hall fay to me, Come 
 fee avian that walks With God , doth call me to fee one that is 
 next unto an Angel, or glorified foul ! Ic is a far more reverend 
 
 K k object 
 
250 WalkhgmthGcd. Part II. 
 
 obje&inmineeye, then ten thoufand Lords or Princes con- 
 fidered only in their flefhly glory. It is a mfer attion for 
 people to run and crowd together, to fee a man that Walk* 
 withGod, then tofeethe pompous train of Pi inces, their en- 
 tertainments, or their triumphs. O happy man, that Walks 
 Veitb God, though neglected and contemned by all about him / 
 What blelTed fights doth he daily fee / What ravifhing tydings, 
 what pleafant melody doth he daily hear , unlefs it be in his 
 fwoonsorilcknefs/ what deledable food doth he daily tail: / 
 He feeth by faith the God, the Glory, which the blefTed Spi- 
 rits fee at hand by neareft intuition : He feeth that in a glafs 
 and darkly, which they behold with open face : He feeth the 
 glorious Majefty of his Creatour, the Eternal King, the Caufe 
 of Caufes, the compofer, upholder, prefer ver, and governour 
 of all the worlds : He beholdeth the wonderful methods of 
 his providence : And what he cannot reach to fee, he ad- 
 lnireth,and waiteth for the time wheuthatalfo fhallbeopen 
 to his view / He feeth by Faith the world of Spirits , the hofts 
 that attend the throne of God •, their perfed righteoufneffe, 
 their full devotednefTe to God •, their ardent love , their 
 flaming zeal , their ready aad chearful obedience, their 
 dignity and fhining gJory, in which the lowed of them ex* 
 cecdeth that which the Difciples faw on Mofes and Elias when 
 they appeared on the holy Mount, and talkt with Chrift. They 
 hear by faith the heavenly confort, the high and harmonious 
 Songs of praife, the joyful trinmphs of crowned Saints, the 
 fweet commemorations of the things that were done and 
 furTered on earth , with the praifes of him that redeemed 
 them by his blood, and made them Kings and Priefts to God : 
 Herein he hath fometimea fweet foretaftof the everlafting 
 pleafures , which though it be but little, as Jonathans honey on 
 the end of his rod, or as the clutters of grapes which were 
 brought from Canaan into the wildernefs, yet are they more 
 excellent then all the delights of (inners. And in the behold- 
 ing of this celeftial Glory, fome beams do penetrate his breait, 
 and fo irradiate his longing foul, that he is changed thereby into 
 the fame image from GUry t» Glory - the spirit of Glory and of 
 God doth reft ufon him •, And O what an excellent holy frame 
 doth this cowerfe with God poffefs his foul of I How reverent- 
 
P*i t II. Walking with Cod. 251 
 
 ly doth he think of him / what life is there in every Name 
 and Attribute of God which hehearethor thinketh on / The 
 mention of his Power, his Wifdome, his Goodnefs, his Love, 
 his HolincfTe, his Truth, how powerful and how pleafant are 
 they to him I when to thofe that know him but by the hearing 
 of the ear, allthefearebut like common names and notions-, 
 and even to the weaker fort of Chriftians, whofe Walking 
 with God is more uneven, and low, interrupted by their fins 
 and doubts and fears, this life and glory of a Chriftian courfe 
 is leiTe perceived. 
 
 And the fweet appropriating and applying works of faith, 
 by which the foul can own his God, and finds it felf owned by 
 him, are exercifed molt eafily and happily in thefe near ap- 
 proaches unto God. Our doubts are cherifhed by our dark- 
 nefTe, and that is much caufed by our diftance: The nearer 
 the foul doth approach to God, the more diltin&ly it heareth 
 the voice of mercy, the fweet reconciling invitations of 
 Love-, and the more clearly it difcerneth that goodnefs and 
 amUblenefs in God, which maketh it eafier to us to believe 
 that he loveth us, or is ready to embrace us • and banifheth 
 all thofe falfe and horrid apprehenfionsof him, which before 
 were our difcouragement, and made him feem to us more 
 terrible then amiable. As the Miniftersand faithful fervants 
 ofChrift, are ordinarily fo miireprefented by the malignant 
 Devil, to thofe that know them not, that they are ready to 
 think them fome filly fools, or falfehearted hypocrites, and to 
 fhun them as ftrange undefirable perfons ^ but when they 
 come to through acquaintance with them by a nearer and 
 familiar converfe, they fee how much they were mifiaken, 
 and wronged by their prejudice and belief of flanderers mif- 
 reports : Even fo a weak believer that is under troubles, in 
 the apprehenfionof his fin and danger, is ape to hearken to 
 the enemy of God, that would (hew him nothing but his 
 wrath, and reprefent God as an enemy to him : And in this 
 cafe it is exceeding hard for a poor finner to beiie\e that God 
 is reconciled to him, or loveth him, or intends him good, but 
 he is ready to dread and fhun him as an enemy, or as he would 
 fly from a wild beaft or murderer, or from fire or water that 
 would deftroy him : And all thefe injurious thoughts of God 
 
 K k 2 are 
 
252 Wdlkhgmth 6ed. Part II. 
 
 are cherifhed by ftrangenefs and difacquaintance. But as the 
 foul do:h fall into an understanding and ferious converfe with 
 God, and having been often with him, doth find him more 
 merciful than he was by Satan represented to him , his expe- 
 rience reconciled) his mind to God , and maketh ic much 
 cafier to him to believe that God is reconciled wto him , 
 when he hath found much better entertainment with God 
 than he expected, and hath obferved his benignity, and the 
 treafures of his bounty laid up in Chrift, and by him diftributed 
 ro believers, and hath found him ready to hear and help, and 
 found him the only full and fuitable felicitating Good, this 
 banifhetb his former horrid thoughts, and maketh him afham- 
 ed that ever he fhould think fo fufpicioufly, injurioufly and 
 dfhononrably of his deareft God and father. 
 
 Yet I rauft confelTe that there are many upright troubled 
 fouls, that are much in reading, prayer and meditation, that 
 Rill find it hard to be perfwaded of the Love of God, and 
 that have much more difquietment and fear fince they fe: 
 themfelves to think of God, than they had before : But yet 
 for all this, we may well conclude, that to wal/^ with God, is the 
 way to confolatlon, and tendeth to acquaint us with his love. 
 As for thofe troubled fouls whofe experience is objected 
 againft this, fome of them are fuch as are yet but in their re- 
 turn to God, from a life of former fin and mifery, and are 
 yet but like the needle in the compafTe that is jha\en , in a 
 trembling motion towards their reft, and not in any Jetted ap- 
 frehenfions of it. Some of them by the ftraying of their ima- 
 gination too high, and putting themfelves upon more than 
 their heads can bear, and by the violence of fears- or other 
 paflions, do make themfelves uncapable of thofe fweet con- 
 solations which elfe they might find in their converfe with 
 God -, as a Lute, when the firings are broken with {trainings 
 is uncapable of making any melody. All of them have falfe 
 apprehenfionsof God, and therefore trouble themfelves by 
 their own mifts.kes. And if fome perplex themfelves by their 
 errour, doth it follow that therefore the Truth is not comfort- 
 able ? Is not a Fathers prefenee confolatory, becaufe fome 
 children are afraid of their Fathers, that know them not be- 
 caufe of fome difguife ? And fome of Gods children walk fo 
 
 unevenly 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 253 
 
 unevenly and carelefly before him, that their fins provoke 
 him to hide his face, and to feem to reject them and dif- 
 own them , and fo to trouble them that he may bring 
 them home ; But fhall the comforts of our Fathers Love 
 and Family, be judged of by the fears or fmart of thofe 
 whom he is fcourging for their difobedience, or their tryal? 
 Seek God with underftanding, as knowing his effential 
 properties, and what he will be to them that fincerely and 
 diligently feek him, and then you will quickly have experi* 
 er.CQ t that nothing fo much tendeth to quiet, and fettle a 
 doubting, troubled, unliable foul, as faithfully to walk, with 
 God. 
 
 But the foul that eftrangeth it felf from God, may indeed 
 for a time have the quietness of Jecuritj ^ but ( fo far ) 
 it will be flrange to the ajfurance of his Love , and to true 
 confoUtion. Exped not that God fhould follow you with his 
 comforts in your (infulneffe and negligence, and caft them 
 into your hearts whileft you neither feek nor mind them, or 
 that he give you the fruit of his wayes in jour own wayer. 
 Will he be your joy when you forget him ? will he delight jour 
 fouls with his goodnefs and amiablenefs^ while you are taken 
 up with other matters, and think not of him ? can you cxped: 
 to find the comforts of his family > among his enemies, out of 
 doors f The experience of all the world can tell you, that 
 -prodigals while they are ftragling from their Fathers houfe, 
 do never tad the comfort of his embraces > y lheftr angers meddle 
 not with his childrens joyes : They grow not in the way of 
 ambition, covetoufneffe, vainglory , or fenfuality •, but in the 
 way of holy obedience, and of believing* contemplations of 
 the Divine everlafting obje&s of delight. For, lo, thej that 
 are far from him /hall ferijh : he deftroyeth them that go a 
 Vohoring from him : bm it it good for m to draw nigh to God 3 
 PfaJ, 73. * 7 , 28. 
 
 Kk 3 III. Walking 
 
2 54 WaWw? With Cod. Part II. 
 
 III. X j\ 7 Alking with God, is the only courfe that can prove 
 \ V and make men truly Wife. \i proves them wife that 
 make fo ^//^ and good a choice, and are disjofed and jj^'iW in 
 any mcafure for lo high a work. Practical Wifdome is the fo- 
 lid,ufeful, profitable wifdome: And pra&ical Wifdome is 
 fecninourC&we of Goo d, and Refufal of Evil, as its moft 
 immediate and excellent effect. And no Choefmg or Refufmg 
 doth (hew the Wifdome or i 7 *?^; of man fo much as that which 
 is about the Greatest matters, and which everlafting life or 
 death depends or. He is not thought fo wife among men that 
 can write a Volume about the Orthography or Etymology of 
 a word, or that can guefs what wood the Trojane Horfe was 
 made of, or that can make a chain to tye a Fiea in , as he that 
 can bring home Gold and Pearls,or he that can obtain and ma- 
 nage Governments, or he that can cure mortal maladies ; 
 For as in lading we difference Bulk^ and Value, and take not 
 that for the heft commodity which is of greattft quantity or 
 Weight, but that which ir moft precious and ofgreateft ufe : fo 
 there is a bulky knowledge, extended far, to a multitude of 
 words and things, which are all of no great ufe or value-, and 
 therefore the Knowledge of them is fuch as they: And there 
 is a precious fort of Knowledge , which fixeth upon the moft 
 precious things- which being of greateft Vfe and Value, 
 do accordingly prove the Knowledge fuch. Nothing will prove 
 a man (imply and properly wife, but that which will prove or 
 make him Happy. He is wife indeed, that is Wife to his own 
 and others good: And that is indeed his Good, which faveth 
 his foul, and makethhim forever bk (fed. Though we may 
 admire the Cunning of thofethat can make the moft curious 
 engines, or by deceiving others advance themfelves, or that 
 can fubtilly difpute the moft curious niceties, or criticize up- 
 on the words of fcvcral languages • yet 1 will never call them 
 Wife, thatare all that while the Devils (laves, theenemiesof 
 God' therefufers of Grace, and are making hafte to endlefs 
 mifcry : And 1 think there is not oneofthofe in Hell who 
 were once the fubtile men on earth, that now take themfelves 
 to have been trul) wife, or glory much in the remembrance of 
 iuth Wifdome. And 
 
Part 1 1 v Walking with God. 255 
 
 And as thi$CiW«do:h prove men wife , fo the pradice of 
 this Holy walking with God, doth make them much wifer than 
 they were. As there mult be feme work of the Spirit to 
 draw men to bel'uve in Chrift, and yet the Spirit ispromifed 
 and given (in a fpecUI fort or meafure) to them that do 
 Believe ^ fo muft there be feme fpecial Wifdome to make men 
 C hoof e to walk^ with God:, but much more is giveu to them 
 in this holy conrfe. As Solomon was wifer than moft of the 
 world, before he aiked wi;dome of God, or elfe he would not 
 have made fo wife a Choice ~, and preferred wifdome before the 
 riches and honours of the world : And yet it was a more no- 
 table Degree of wifdome that was afterwards given him in 
 anfwer to his prayer : fo it is in this cafe. 
 
 There are many undenyable Evidences to prove, thac 
 walking with God doth do more to make men truly wife, than 
 all other learning or policy in the world. 
 
 1. He that Vealketh with God, doth begin aright, and fettle 
 upon a / ure foundation 1 (And we ufe to fay, that a work is 
 half finifhed that is well begun: ) He hath engaged himfelf 
 to the befi and wifefl Te/iche r : He is a Difciple to Him that 
 knoweth all things. He hath taken in infallible principles, and 
 taken them in their proper place and order: He hath learnt, 
 thofe Truths which will every one become a Teacher to 
 him, and help him to that which is jet unlearnt. Whereas 
 many that thought they were Do&ors in Ifrael, if ever they 
 they will be wife and happy, muft become fools fthat is, fuch 
 as they have efieemed fools) if ever they \will be Wife, 1 Cor. 
 3. 18. and muft be called back with Nicodemus to learn (Thrifts^ 
 Crofs, and to be taught that that which is born of the p[h is 
 butflejb, and that which is born of the fpirit is fpirit : and that 
 therefore they m»fl be born again (not only ot water, but al- 
 io of the /pm>) if ever they will enter into the Kingdome of 
 Heaven, Joh. 3.3,5,6. O miferabie beginning I and mife- 
 rable progrefs / when men that never foundly learnt themy- 
 fteries of Regeneration, and Faith, and Love, and Self-denyaJ, ; 
 and Mortification, do proceed to ftudy names and words,and 
 to turn over a multitude of Books, to fill their brains with 
 airy notions, and their Common-placcswith fuch fayings as 
 may be provifion and furniture for their pride and oftentation 3 
 
 and. 
 
2 5 6 Walking with God. Part 1 1. 
 
 and ornament to their ftyle and language •, and know roc yec 
 what they muft do to be laved, and indeed know nothing as 
 they ought to know / I Cor. 8.2. As every Science hath its 
 principles, which are fuppofed in all the confequential veri- 
 ties -, fo hath Religion as Doctrinal and Practical, thofe Truths 
 which mud befirfl received before any other can be received as 
 it ought ^ and thofe things which muftbe^r/? done, before any 
 other can be done fo as to attain their ends. And thefe Truths 
 and Duties arc principally about God himfelf, and are known 
 and done effectually by thofe, and only thofe, that wall^ "frith 
 God, or are devoted to him. It is a lamentable thing to fee 
 men immerft in ferious ftudies, even till they grow aged,and to 
 hear them ferioufly difputing and difcourfing about the con- 
 troversies or difficulties in Theology, or inferiour Sciences, 
 before ever they had any faving knowledge of God, or of 
 the work of the Holy Ghoft in the converting and fancti- 
 fying of the foul, or how to efcape everlafting mifcry 1 
 
 2. He that Wfe*£w'*£ God, hath fixed upon a right end, 
 and is renewing his cftimation and intention of it, and daily pro- 
 fecuting it : And this is the fir ft and greateft part of Practical 
 Wifdome. When a man once knoweth his End aright, he 
 may the better judge of the aptitude and feafonablenels of all. 
 the means. When we know once that Heaven containeth the 
 only felicity of man, it will direft us to Heavenly cogitations, 
 andtofuchfpiritual means as are fitted to that £W: If we 
 have the right mark in our eye, we are liker to level at it than 
 ifwc»»MffOurmark. He is the wife man, and only-he, that 
 hath fteadily fixed his eye upon that blcffednefs which he was 
 created and redeemed for, and makethftrait towards it, and 
 bends the powers of foul and body, by faithful conftant dili- 
 gence to obtain it. He that hath rightly and refolvedly deter- 
 mined of his end, hath wr^//j refolved a thonfand controvert 
 fies that others are unfatisfied and erroneous in: He that is 
 rcfolved that his End is to Pie afe and G lor i fie God, and to en- 
 py him for ever, is eafily refolved whether a holj life, or a 
 fenfual and worldly, be the way: whether the way be to be 
 Godly or to make a mock «t Godlinefs : whether Covetoufnefs 
 and Riches, Ambition and Preferment Voluptuoufnefs and 
 Flejblj pleafures, be the means to attain his End: whether it 
 
Part II. Walking whh God. 257 
 
 will be attained rather by the fhidyingof tie Word of God, 
 and medicating on it day and nighc, and by holy conference, 
 and fervent prayer, and an obedient life; or by negligence, or 
 worldlinefs, or drunkinnefs, or gluttony, or cards and dice, 
 or beaftly fiichinefs, or injustice and deceit. Know once but 
 whither it is that we are going, and its eafie to know whether 
 the S int, or the Swine % or the Swaggerer be in the way. Buc 
 a man that doth mi flake hid End, is out of his way at thefirft 
 ftep ^ and thefuuher he goes, the further he is from true fe- 
 licity * and che more he erreth, and the further he hath to go 
 back again, if ever he return. Every thing that a man doth 
 in the world, which is no: for the right end ('the Heavenly fe- 
 licity) is antftoifooli/hriefs and errour, how fplendid foever 
 the Matter or the Name, may make it appear to ignorant, 
 men. Every word that an ungodly pcrfon fpeaketh being noc 
 for a right End, is in him but fin and folly, however materially 
 it may bean excellent and ufeful Truth. While amikrable 
 foul hath his back upon God, and his face upon the world, 
 every ftep he goeth is an act of folly , as tending unto his fur- 
 ther mifery. It can be no ad: of wifdome, which tendeth to a 
 mans damnation. When fuch a wretch begins to enquire and 
 bethink him where he is, and whither he is going, and whither 
 hejhouldgo, and to chink of turning back to God, then and 
 never till then, he is beginning to come to him/elf ", and to be 
 •wife, Luk. 15. 17. Till God and Glory be the End that he 
 aimethat, and ferioufly bends his ftudy, heart and life to feek, 
 though a man were fearching into the myfteries of nature, 
 though he were ftudying or difcuQing the notions of Theo- 
 logy - y though he were admired for his learning and wifdome 
 by the world, and cryed up as the Oracleof the Earth, he is 
 all the while but playing che fool, and going a cleanlier way 
 to Hell than the groffcr fmners of the world/For is he wife,thafi 
 knowech not whether Heaven or Earthbc better ? whether 
 God or frs Flejh fhould be obeyed * whether everlafling joyes, 
 orihetranfitorypleafurtjofjin, (hoild be preferred ? or thac 
 feemeth to be convinced of che truth in tneie and [fuch like 
 cafes, and yet hath not the wit to make his choice, and bend 
 his life according to his convidion ? He cannot be wife thac 
 practically midakes his End. 
 
 LI * 3. He 
 
a 5 8 Waiting with God. Part II. 
 
 3. Hethat waltythwith Gsd, doth knowthofe things, with 
 adeep,iffcc~ltial y heart- changing knowledge, which other men 
 know but fuperficialty, by the halves, and as in a dream. And 
 true wifdomeconliiteth in the Intenfivenefs of the knowledge 
 fxbjeclively, as much as in the exte nfivene's of it objectively. To 
 Tee a few things in a narrow room perfpeuoufly and clearly, 
 doth (hew a better eye-fight, than in the open Air to fee ma- 
 ny things obfeurely fo as fcarceto difcern any of them aright • 
 ("like him that faw men walk like trees.) The clearnefs and 
 depth of knowledge, which makes it effectual to its proper ufe, 
 is the great ne/s and excellency of it ; Therefore it is that un- 
 learned men that love and fear the Lord, may well be faid to 
 be incomparably more wife and knowing men, than the moft 
 learned that are ungodly. As he hath more riches that hatha 
 little Goldor Jewels, than he that hath many load of ft ones : 
 fo he that hath a deep efftUnal knowledge of god the Father, 
 and the Redeemer , and of the life to come , is wifer and more 
 knowing than he that hath only a notional knowledge of the 
 fame things, and of a thoufand more. A wicked man hath fo 
 much knowledge, as teacheth him toffea^ the fame words of 
 God,jindChrill:, and Heaven, which a true Believer fpeaks * 
 but not fo much as to work in him the fame tfettions and 
 choice, nor fo much as to caufe him to do the fame "toor^. As 
 it is a far more excellent kind of knowledge which a man hath 
 of any Country by travel and habitation there, than that which 
 cometh but by reading or report;ov which a man hath of meat, 
 of fruits, of wine, by eating and drinking^ than that which ano- 
 ther hath by hearfay ; fo is the inward heart-affecting know- 
 ledge of a true believer, more excellent than the flafhy no- 
 tions of the ungodly.'7m£ (imply as 7Va/&, is not the higheft 
 and meft excellent objed: of the mind; But Go'odzs GW,muft 
 be apprehended by the Vnderfianding, and commended to the 
 Will, which entertaineth it with Complacency, adhereth to it 
 with Choice and Re folmion y profecutethix. with Defire and En- 
 deavour , and Enjoy <cth it with Delight : And though it be the 
 Vnderfianding which apprehendeth it, yet it is the Heart or 
 Will that r e Ri fbethh, zndtaftctb the greatcfi: fwectnefs in ir, 
 working upon it with forae mixture of internal fenfe (which 
 hath made fome afcribe a knowledge of Good as fuch unto the 
 
 Will) 
 
Part II. miking with God. a 59 
 
 Will.) And it is the Wills intention that caufcth the Vnder- 
 fl**^* to be denominated PraElicalx And therefore I may 
 well lay, that it is Wifiom indeed when it reacheth to the heart. 
 Noman'^W^/* the Truth of God fowell as he that moft 
 firmly Bditveth him ; And do man knoweth the Goednefs of 
 God io well as he that Loveth him molt : No man knoweth his 
 Power and Afrrrj fo well as he that doth mod confidently 
 Trufi h\rr\: And no man knoweth his fuftice andDreadful- 
 nefs fowell as he that feareth him: No man knoweth or be- 
 lieveth the Glory of Heaven fo well as he that moft efleemetb y de- 
 fitetb sand fetketh it, and hath the moft Heavenly Heart and 
 Converfationi Ho man believeth in Jefm Chrift fo well as he 
 that giveth up bimfelf untohim, with the grcaceft Love and 
 Thankiulneis, and Truft and Obeaience. As James faith [Shew 
 mee tbj Faith by thy works'] fo lay I , Let me Know the mea/ure 
 and value ol r'my knowledge by my Heart and Life. Thac is 
 wifdome indetd which conformed! a man to God, and faveth 
 h;s foul : Ibis only will be owned as wifdome to eternity, 
 when dreaming notions will prove but folly. 
 
 4. Hzihziwalketh with God hath an infallible Rule , and 
 taketh the right courfe to have the beft acquaintance with ir, 
 and skill to ufe it. The Do&rine that informeth him is Divine : 
 It is from Heaven, and not of Men : And therefore if God be 
 wifer than man, he is able to make his Difciples wifefi; and 
 Teaching will more certainly and powerfully illuminate. Ma- 
 ny among men have pretended to Infallibility, that never 
 could juftifie their pretenfions, but ha^ve confuted them by 
 their own miftakes and crimes : But none can deny the Infal- 
 libility of God. He never yet was deceived, or did deceive: He 
 erreth not, nor teacheth errou^. Nicodemus knew Chrift was 
 to believed, wheu he knew that he was a Teacher come from 
 God, Joh. 3.2. Chrift knew that the Jews themfelves dur. 
 dfcny the truths of foh»*sDo&tine 9 if he could but convince 
 themthatic was [from Heaven, and not of men] \t\simfof- 
 fMe for God to lye : It is the Devil that was a Lyar from the 
 beginning, and is yet the Father of lyes. No wonder if they 
 believe lyes that follow fuch a Teacher. And thofe that fol- 
 • low the pfh and the world, do follow the Devil : They thac 
 will believe what their flefily interefiand luffs perfwade them 
 
 LI 2 t0 
 
*$o Walking with God. Part 1 1; 
 
 to believe, do believe whac the Devil perfwadeth Am. .A* 
 Iieve i For he perfwadeth them ^J/Tnd £ f /, ^ wt°" 
 
 hoi ?re C tK^ft" ''T' ^ ° r a *""'/' M'l •' than 
 rnoie are the worft men that are moil careful to o'eafr 
 
 ana wealth and honour, are matters more deledable than 
 Prayer, end meditating on the Word of find ,„!( i ' L 
 and obeying him, andlait.ngX h^ofl £*, 3 hTc* 
 gluttons and drunkards, and whoremongers and cove ton 
 perfons, may enter into the Kingdom of God &c What Won 
 der if a thoufand fuch damnable Ives are Up ? ?' 
 Difciples of the Father of lyes 'what wonder ^'h ' by ^ 
 many Saint-haters, and Go'd-haterJ „ the w 1 t[l M t ° 
 
 or foul, or wicked, that Satan will not teach hVfSwSs ? i' 
 Or is his Kingdom of darknefs at an end? and ,u! y i 
 
 himin fin to their damnation, and wji overloXhe^ * ? W 
 
 JhotiUfet them free floh S^ v.* i - • . 2 ^^« 
 
 y fwmjree, [ JOH. 8.32. Yea he wul permit them (whe n 
 
 there's 
 
Part II. Walking with God % 2 ^ £ 
 
 there's no remedy) to ftudy the holy Scriptures, ffhe may 
 bun be the expounder and apptyer of it : Yea hewillpermic 
 them nocionally to underftand it, if they will not Jearn by it co 
 be converted, to be holy, and to be faved : He can fuffer them 
 to be eminent Divines, fo they will not be feriotu Chri&Uns. 
 Thus is the world by the grand Deceiver hurried in dark- 
 nefs to perdition , being taken captive by him at his will 
 2 77w. 2.26. But the Sanctified are all illuminated by the 
 Holy Ghoft, by whom their eyes are fo erTc&ually opened 
 that they are tamed from darknefs unto light , and from the 
 power of Satan unto God, A&\ 26. 1 8. The Father of Glory hath 
 given them the sjirit of wifdom and revelation, in the knowledge 
 ofChrifl, that the eyes of their understanding being enlivhtned 
 they may knew ffhat is the hope of his calling, and what the rich/; 
 of the (jlory of his inheritance in the Saints, Eph. I. 17, 18. 
 Certainly that illumination of the Holy Ghoft which is fa 
 often mentioned in Scripture as given to all true believers is 
 notafanfie, nor an infignificant name : And if it fignifie a'ny 
 thing, it fignifleth fomewhat that is much above the teaching 
 of man. All that walk with God are taught of God ! And can 
 man teach like God t God haih accefleunto the hearr and 
 there he doth tranferibe his Laws, and put them into our in- 
 ward parts. And they that walk with him have not only his 
 Word to read, but his Spirit to help them to underftand if: 
 and being with him, in his family (yea he dweileth in them 
 and they in him,) he is ready at hand to-refolve their doub:s : 
 when he gave them his fear , he gave them the beginning of 
 -wifdom, Pfal. 1 1 1 . I o. He caufeth chem to incline their ear ia 
 wifdom, Prov. 2. 2,6. and to apply their hearts unto it, Pfaj, 
 90. 12. andmaketh them to know it in the hidden parts P/a' 
 $1.6. 
 
 It is his Law that they have determined to make their rule : 
 They live as under his authority : They are more obfervanr. 
 of his Will and Government, than of any Laws or Govern- 
 mentofman. And as they obey man in and for the Lord fo 
 they do it in fubordination to him, and therefore not tio-ainfl 
 him and his Laws, which being the itandard of Juilice? and 
 the Ruie of Rulers, and of fub jed:; both, they are in the Weft . 
 way of unerring wifdom, who Vrall^witb God according to 
 
 L 1 3 tta 
 
iSi Walking with God. p ar t \\ 
 
 *tl (R " !ti and 1 !' erufe t0 turn ■"<««. thou*, commanded by 
 man, or enticed by Satan, the world, or fleftt. 
 
 5- He that W^/6 wit A God is the moil conf.derate perfon 
 and therefore hath great advantige to be wife. Thefrequenc 
 and fenous thoughts of God, do awaken all the powers of the 
 lonl fo thatdrowfTnefs doth not hinder the underftandin* 
 andfooccaiion its deceit: There is fcarce a more common 
 and powerful caufe of mens folly anddelufion and perdition 
 ™uJ re ' l i" thu &'?«/' and flupiditj Which hinder-! 
 eoi Kctjon from the vigorous performance of its office • In 
 UtosfenflePcafc though a man both know and confider of the 
 lame 1 ruths, which in their nature are mofl powerful to deanfe 
 
 tht g - V H"r d f »" h '" on| ..y«^«»A <ioth enervate 
 tlum: He knoweth them as ifheknew them not, and con- 
 fidereth them as if he never thought of them : They work 
 little more upon bim, then if he believed them not or had 
 never heard of them : even as a dream of the greateft matters 
 moveth not the fleeper from his pillow : In this fenflelte llate' 
 tne Devil can do almoft any thing with a finner : He can 
 make h,m fin againft his knowledge : And when Confcierce 
 natti tnghted him into fome kind of Penitence, and made him 
 cry out, I have finned and donefoolifhly, and canfedhim to 
 prom.fetodo fonomore ; yet doth the Devd prevail with 
 him to go on, and to break his promifes, as if he had never 
 been convinced of his fins, or confefTed them, orfeen anv 
 reafon or neceffity to amend : He doth but imprifon the 
 truth in unnghteoufnefs, and bury it in a fenfelefs heart • 
 whereas if you could but awaken ail the powers of his foul to 
 give this fame truth its due entertainment, and take it deeper 
 into his heart, it would make him even fcorn the baits of fin 
 and fee that the ungodly are befide themfelves, and make him 
 prefentlyrefolveand fet upon a holy life. And hence it is 
 xbuficknefs which caufeth men to receive the f entente of death 
 doth uiually make men bewail their former finful lives and 
 tnarvail that they could be before fo fottifh as to rcfiftfuch 
 known and weighty truths; and it makes thempurpofe and 
 promifereformatio/iandwifh themfelves in the cafe ofthofe 
 that they were wont before to deride and fcorn : Becaufe 
 row the Truth is deeplier received and digeited, by their 
 
 awakened 
 
Part II." Walking with God. a <5j 
 
 awakened fouls, and appeared) in its proper evidence and 
 ftrenrtb There is no man but muft acknowledge that the 
 fame truth doth at one time command his foul, which at ano- 
 ther t me fecms Of little force : It is a wonder to obiervc how 
 diffe ently the/-** confidera.ion worketh with a man when he 
 tJ-llkJd and when he is in a tcmtfiupi cafe' 
 " Now thl; is his advantage that w,/fc fth God : He « much 
 Jr "frequently then others <*,*?«<*, to a fenous appre- 
 TrVnTthe chinas which he underftandeth : The thoughts 
 oftpreencVoftre moft Holy God, wd. not fuffer im to 
 £../■;;«« and ftnMtfs as others are, or as he u himfelf when 
 he S£5 Sd/f«>m chi. Heavenly convention. Hehath 
 rndfuch exceeding tranfcendent excellencies, fuch Great- 
 Zk fuch Goodnefs continually to behold, that it keepeth h,s 
 ?oulm a much more ferUm IM, flaw, than any other means 
 ™ d keep it in : fo that when ever any truth or amy is pre- 
 , Ar« him all his faculties are awake and ready toobferve 
 fented to him all h™^ d book or godly con . 
 
 l l ""^Ta me cy w l en a man hatlbeen with God* in Jrayer 
 ference,oramercy,wn-n withhim an d fink much 
 
 XeTS anoTher d t't b Nay one ferious thought of 
 S himfelf will do more to make a man truly and iohdly 
 SfeVtiSali The reading and learning in the world, wh.ch 
 
 ^f^Z'^itb God ioih fix the mind, and keep it from 
 JWfcwana vagaries, and confcquently much helpethto 
 dwerltont anu & ■ d . and an f urni fhed. 
 
 make men wife. A ft ra J l '"£™^ moft {J t b „hpo *rtt, 
 
 ^f7£ and nof crow vvife, whole thoughts are ranging 
 th T t nersofthee 8 anh, and are like mafterlefTe dogs, thac 
 '" th n Z down accordi^ t0 their fanfie, and may go any 
 Xther buf have bufinef S § nowhere. The creature will Me 
 SSS But God is the center of all our cogitations : n 
 
 hlfeirTherefo^ lalki ^ith God is the moil «^ 
 h j , ,I;fof men ■ Let profperity or adverfity come ; 
 SrSfbeluS uVfidl- down, Ind the mountains be 
 
264 Walking with God. Part 1 1. 
 
 hurled into the fea, yet he changeth not : Let men allure or 
 threat, let them/W« or rage, let laws, and cuftoms, and go- 
 vernments, and intereft change, he is ftill the fame. ' For he 
 knoweth that God i* ftill the lame, and th^t his Word chang- , 
 eth not. Let that be death one year which was the way to 
 reputation another, and let the giddy world turn about as the 
 feafons of the year, this changeth not his mind and life (though 
 in things lawful he is of a yeilding temper : ) Tor he knoweth 
 that the intereft of hs foul doth not change, with the hu- 
 mours or interefts of men: He ftill feareth /*«»*#£, for he know- 
 eth that Judgement is (till drawing on , in all changes and 
 feafons whatsoever : He isftillfet upon the pleafing of the 
 moft Holy God , whoever be uppermoft among men ^ as 
 knowing that the God whom hefervethis able to deliver him 
 from man, but man is not able to deliver bim from God. He 
 ftillgoethonin the Holy path, as knowing that Heaven is as 
 fureand asdefirableas ever it was. Pfal. 112. 6, 7. Surely he 
 fhall not be moved f«r ever : the Righteous JbaH be ineverlafting 
 remembrance ■ He fluid not be afraid of evil tj Jings : Hm heart 
 is fixed tr rifting in the Lord ; His heart is eftabli/hed, he /ball not 
 be afraid 7\ 
 
 7. He that walkethwithQod, hath the great mafler- truths 
 upon his heart, which are the ftanolard of the reft, and the fioc^ 
 as it were, out of which they tyring. The great truths about 
 God, and Grace and Glory, have a greater power then many 
 hundred truths of an inferiour nature. And moreover, fuch 
 a one is fure that he (hall be wife in the greatefi and moft 
 neceffary points. He is guilty of no ignorance or errour that 
 (hall keep him out of heaven, or hinder his acceptance with 
 his God. And if he be wife enough topleafeGod and to be 
 faved, he is wife indeed : (as before was hinted. ) 
 
 8. fValkjng with God doth take off the viz>ar of deluding 
 things, and f^eepeth us out of the reach und power of thofe objetls 
 andarguments which are the infiruments of deceit. When a man • 
 hath been beiievingly and ferioufly with God, how eafily can 
 he fee through the fophiftry of the tempting world / How 
 eafily can he pradically confute the reafonings of the flefh I 
 and diicern the dotage of the feeming fubtilties of wicked 
 men, that will needs think they have reafon for that which 
 
 is 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 1 6 j 
 
 is difpleafing to their Maker, and tends to the damning of their 
 fouls / fo far as a man is converfant wiih God, fo far he is 
 fenfibie that all things are nothing, which can be offered as 
 a price to hirehim to fin : and that the name of preferment, 
 and honour and wealth, or of difgrace and imprifonment and 
 death are words almoft of no fignification, as to the tempters 
 ends, to draw the foul from God and duty. It is men that 
 know not God, and know not what it is to wal\veith him, 
 that think thefe words fo big and powerful, to whom wealth 
 and honour fignifie more thenGod and Heaven ; and poverty, 
 difvrace and death, do fignifie more then Gods dilfleafure and 
 tverlafting punifhment in hell. As it is eafie to cheat a man 
 that is far from the light, fo is it eafre to deceive the learnedft 
 man that is far from God. \ v 
 
 9. Walking Kith God, doth great Ij help us again ft the ae- 
 ceitfulnefs and erroneous disjofition of our own hearts. The 
 >W// hatha very great power upon the under ft anting : And 
 therefore ungodly fledily men will very hardly receive any 
 truth which croflech the carnal intereft or difpofkion : And 
 will hardly let go any errour that feedeth them : becaufe their 
 corrupted wills are a byas to their underfhndings, and make 
 them defperately partial in all their reading and hearing , and 
 hypocritical in their prayers and enquiries after truth. In- 
 tereft and corruption locketh up their hearts from their own 
 obfervation. Whereas a man that Vealketh with God, that is 
 Jealous and holy and juft and a fearcher of the hearths driven 
 from hypocrifie, and forced to behave himfelf as in the open 
 light and to do all as in the fight of all the world, as knowing 
 that 'the fight of God is of far greater concernment and re- 
 card. The partiality, corruption snd byas of the heart, is 
 detected and fhamed by the prefence of God. Therefore to 
 
 walk with G° d is t0 ™ l k. in the ll ^ ht " and ** chtldren °f th f 
 liaht and not in darkneis. And he that doth Truth comttb 
 to the light, that his deeds wight be maniftft, that they are 
 ytrontht in God : Vohen every one that doth evil hateth the light ■ 
 neither cometh to tht light le(t his deeds jhould be ref roved : ytnA 
 this is their condemnation, that light is come into the wort a and 
 men love the darknefs rather then the light, becanfe their deeds 
 areevil, Job. 3. 19,20,21. It tendcth therefore exceedingly 
 
 Mm t° 
 
266 Walking with God. Part 15. 
 
 to make men wife, to Wal\ with God, becaufeit is a walking 
 in the light , and in fuch a prefence as molt powerfully prevail- 
 ed againft that hypocnfie, deceitfulnefs and partiality of the 
 heart, which is the common caufe of damning errour. 
 
 10. Lailly, they that walkyithGod are entitled by many 
 promifes, to the guidance and dirtflion of his fpirit. And blefTed 
 are thofe that have fuch a guide : ac once a light in the world 
 without them , and a light immediately from God within 
 them : Forfo far as he is received and workethin them, he 
 will lead them into truth, and fave them from deceit and folly; 
 and having guided them by his counfel, will afterward take them 
 unto glory, Pial. 73. 24. Whereas the ungodly arc led by the 
 fiefh, and often given up to their own hearts lufts, tovcalh^in. 
 their own counfels, Rom.8. 1,13. Pfal. 81.12. tillatlaftthe 
 fools do fay in their hearts, there is no God, Pfal. 14. I. andthey 
 become corrupt andabhominable, eating up the people of the Lord 
 44 bread, and call not on his Name, ver. 2.&.C Deceiving and 
 being deceived; fenfual, having not the ffirit, Jud. 19. who /hall 
 receive the reward of their unrighteoufnefs, 04 accounting it 
 pleafure to riot in the day time y 2 Pet. 2. 1 3 .. 
 
 IV.. A Nother benefit of Walking mV/?C7^,is,thatit maketh 
 Jr\ men good, as well at wife : It is the moil excellent 
 means for the advancement; of mans foul to the highefi degree 
 of holinefs attainable in this life; If converfing with Gsod men 
 doth powerfully tend to make men good-, converfing with 
 ^Jrouft needs be more effcftualj. which may appear in thefe 
 particulars. 
 
 i . The apprehenfions oftheprefence and attributes of God, 
 do moft effectually chec\ the fiirrings of corruption, and re-, 
 buke all the vicious inclinations and motions of the foul : 
 even the moil fecret fin of the heart , is rebuked by his pre fence 3 , 
 as well as the moft open tranfgreffion of the life : For the 
 thoughts of the heart arc open to his view. All that is done 
 before God, is done as in the open light : nothing of it can be 
 hid : no fin can have the encouragement of fecrefie to em- 
 bolden it. It is all committed in the prefence of the llniverfa! 
 King and Lawgiver of the world, who hath forbidden ic : It 
 
P a i 1 1I„ Walking with God. 267 
 
 is done before him that moft abhorrech ir, and will never be 
 reconciled to ir. It is done before him that is the Judge of the 
 world, and will fhortly pafs the fentence on us according to 
 what we have done in the body. Ic ftandeth up in his prefence 
 who is of infinite Majeftyand perfe&ion, and therefore moft 
 to be reverenced and honoured ^ And therefore if the pre- 
 fence of a wife and grave and venerable perfon, will retrain 
 men from fin, the prefence of God apprehended ierioufly, 
 will do it much more. It is committed before him that is our 
 deareft friend, and render Father, and chiefeft benefa&or : 
 And therefore ingenuity, gratitude and love, will all rife up 
 againft it in thofe that rvall^with God. There is that in God, 
 before the eyes of thofe that walkyritbhim, which is moft 
 contrary to fin, and moft powerful againft it, of any thing in the 
 world. Every one will contefs that if mens eyes were opened 
 to fee the Lord in Glory ftanding over them, it would be the 
 moll: powerful means to reftrain them from tranfgre fling : 
 The drunkard would not then venture upon his cups : the 
 fornicator would have a cooling for his lufts : the iwearer 
 would be afraid to take_his Makers name in vain : the pro- 
 pbane would fcarce prefume to fcorn or perfecute a holy life. 
 And he that walketh with Qod, though he fee him not cor- 
 poreally, yet feeth him by faith, andlivethas in his prefence ^ 
 and therefore muft needs be reftrained from fin , as having the 
 means which is next to the fight of God. If pride fhould be- 
 gin to ftir in one that walhj with God, O what a powerful 
 remedy is at hand / How effe&ually would the prefence of 
 the Great and Holy God rebuke it / and conftrainus to fay 
 as Job 42. 5 )6\ lhave heard of thee by the hearing of the ear : 
 but now nine eyefecth thee 1 wherefore I abhor my [elf and repent 
 in d aft and ajhes.~] If worldly love or carnal lult fhould ftir n 
 fuch a one, how powerfully would the terrours of the Lord 
 reprefs it ? and his Majefty rebuke it ? and &is Love and 
 Goodnefs overcome it ? If worldly cares or murmuring dis- 
 contents begin to trouble fuch a one, how effectually will the 
 Goodnefs, the Allfufficiency and the faithfulnefs of God allay 
 them, and quiet and fatisfie the foul, and caufe it to be offend- 
 ed at its own offence, and to chide it felf for its repinings and 
 diftruft? If Pajfion arife and begin to dikompofe us, how 
 
 Mm 2 power- 
 
i6S Walking with God. Part II. 
 
 powerfully will the prefenceof God rebuke it? and the re- 
 verence of his Majefty, and the fenfe of his Authority and 
 Pardoning grace will affwage it, and fhame us intofilenc 
 quictnefs; who dare let out his paftions upon man, in the pre- 
 fence of his Maker, that apprehendeth his prefence ? The fame 
 I might lay of all other fins. 
 
 2. The f re fence and attributes of God apprehended by thofe 
 that wall^ With him, is the potent remedy againft Temptations. 
 Who will once turn an eye to the gold and glory of the world 
 that is offered him to allure him to fin, if he fee God (land by? 
 who would be tempted to lufl or any finful pleafure, if he ob- 
 fervethe prefence of the Lord ? Satan can never come info 
 ill a time with his temptations, and have fo little hope to fpeed 
 as when the foul is contemplating the attributes of God, or 
 taken up in prayer with him , or any way apprehend ve of his 
 prefence. The foul that faithfully walks with God , hath 
 enough at hand in him to anfwer all temptations. And the 
 further any man is from God, and the lefs he knoweth him, 
 the more Temptations can do upon him, 
 
 3. Theprefence of God, affordeth the moft powerful mo- 
 tives pinto Good, to thofe that walk, with him. There is no 
 grace in man, but what is from God, and. may find in God its 
 proper obfed or incentive. As God is God, above the crea- 
 ture tranfeendently and infinitely in all perfections, fo all the 
 motives to goodnefs which are fetcht from him y are tranfeen- 
 dently above all that may be fetcht from any creature. He 
 thatlivethalwaiesby the fire or in the Sun-ftiine, is likeft to 
 be warm. He that is moft with God, will be moft like to God 
 in Holinefs. Frequent and ferious converfe -with him, doth 
 moft deeply imprint his communicable attributes on the hearr, 
 and make there the cleared impreflion of his image. Believers 
 have learned by their own experience, that one hours ferious 
 prayer, or meditation, in which they can get nigh to God in 
 the Spirit, doth more advance their grace, then any help that 
 the creature can afford them. 
 
 4. Moreo\ er thofe that wall^ with God, have not only a 
 Powcrful,but an univerfal incentive for the acluating and in- 
 creafing of every grace. Knowledge, and faith, and rear,' and 
 love, and trull, and hope, and obedience, and zeal, and all 
 
 have 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 2( fp 
 
 have in God their proper objecls and incentives: One Creature 
 may be ufeful to us in one things and another in another thing- ; 
 . but God is the moil efTe&ual mover of all his graces : and that 
 in a holy harmony and order. Indeed he hath no greater Mo- 
 tive to draw us to Love him, and Fear him, and Truft him, and 
 Obey him, than himfelf. Jt u life eternal to know him in his 
 Son, Joh. 17. 3. And that is, not only becaufe it entitleth us 
 to life eternal, bnt alfo becaufe it is the beginning and incentive 
 of that life of holinefs which will be eternal. 
 
 5. Moreover, thofe that walk with God, have a conftant 
 as well as a Powerful and Vniverfal incentive to exercife and 
 encreafe their Graces. Othet helps may be out of the way: 
 Their Preachers may be filenced or removed ; Their Friends 
 maybefcatteredor taken from them; Their Books may be 
 forbidden, or not at hand : But God is alwaies ready and wil- 
 ling : They have leave at all times to come to him, and be 
 welcome. Whenever they are wiling they may go to him 
 by prayer or contemplation, and find all in him which they 
 can defire. If they want not Hearts, they (hall find no wane 
 of any thing in God. At what time foever fear would tor- 
 ment them, they may draw near and put their trufl in him, 
 Pfal. 56.2,3,4.&u. 1. & i8.2 > 30.&3i.'i,6. He will be 
 zfure andfpeedy refuge for them, a very prefent help in trouble, 
 Pfal.46. 1. &62, 7,8.&oi. 2,9 & 94. 22.Whenever cold- 
 nefs or lukewarmnefs would extinguifh the work of Grace, 
 they may go to him, and find thofe ftreams of flaming Love 
 flow from him, thofe ftrong attra&ives, thofe wonderful mer- 
 cies, thofe terrible judgements, of which while they are mu- 
 fing, the fire may again wax hot within them, Pfal. 3 9. 3 . 
 
 6. Laftly, byway of encouraging reward, Godufeth to give 
 abundantly of his Grace, to thole that walk^ mod faithiully 
 with him: He will fhew moft Love to thofe that mod love 
 him : He' will be neareft to them that moft deflroufly draw 
 nigh to him-, while he forfakech thofe that forfakebim, and 
 turneth away from thofe that turn away from him, 2 Chro. 1 5. 
 2. Prov. 1.32. Ez,r. 8.22. \The hand of our Qod is for good 
 upon all them that fcek^ him : but hid power and hit wrath is 
 again ft all them that f or fake him >~\ 
 
 Thus it is apparent in all thole evidences, that walking with 
 
 mm 3 * Cod, 
 
2 7° Walking With Cod. P art 1 1. 
 
 God, is not only a difcovcrj of the Goodnefs that men have* 
 but the only way to encreafe their Grace, and make them bet- 
 ter. O what a ivveet humility and ferioufnefs, and fpirituality 
 appeareth in the conference, or convention, or both,of thofe 
 that newly come from a believing clofeconverfe with God / 
 When they that come from men and Bookj* may have but a 
 common mind or life / And thofe that come from the bufi- 
 nefs and pleafureof the woiid and fledi, and from the com- 
 pany of foolifh riotous gallants, may come defiled, as the 
 Swine out of the mire ! 
 
 V»T Aftly, towall^wlthGod, is the be ft preparation for times 
 jL^tof fuffering, and for the day of death. As we mufl be 
 judged according to what we have done in the body-, fo the 
 nearer we find our felves to judgement, the more we (hall be 
 conftrained to judge our [elves according to what we have 
 done , and (hall the more perceive the effeds upon our 
 fouis. 
 
 That this is fo excellent a preparative for / offerings and 
 death ) will appear by the confederation of thefe particu- 
 lars. 
 
 i. That they walk, with tjc^are faftft from all deftruclive 
 fufferings • and fhali have none but what are fanftified to 
 their good 5 Rom. 8. 28. They are near to God, where deftru- 
 &ion cometh not ± as the Chicken under the wings of the Hen; 
 They walkwith him that will not lead them to perdition .- that 
 will not negled: them, nor fell them for nought, nor expofe 
 them to tie will of men and devils, though he may furTerthem 
 to be tryed for their good. No one can take them out of his 
 hands. Be near to him, and you are fafe : The deflroyer can- 
 not fetch yon thence. He can fetch you ("when the time is 
 comej from 1 he iide of your merrieft companions, and deareft 
 fr.cnds; from the prefence of the greatelt Princes ^ from the 
 ftrongeft Tower, or moft fumptuous Pallace, or from your 
 heaps of riches, in your fecureft health : But he cannot take 
 you from the arms of Chnft, nor from under the wings of your 
 Creatours love.' [_Fur there is no Godlike him jn Heaven above f 
 or on the earth beneath,rt>ho keepeth Covenant and Mercy -with hU 
 
 fervantjy 
 
Part II ^ Walking with Cod. 2 7 1 
 
 fervants, that walk^before him with all their heart, I King. S. 
 23.] 1 King. 11. 38. However we are ufed in our Fathers 
 prefence, wearcfureic fhall be for good in the latter end : Tor 
 lie wanteth neither Power nor Love to deliver us, if he faw de- 
 liverance to be belt. 
 
 2. Walking with God is the fureft way to obtain a certainty 
 of hit rfecial love,znd of our falvation ; And what an excel- 
 lent preparative for fufferings or death fuch aiTurance is, I 
 need not tell any confederate beleever. Howeafie may it be 
 to us to fuffer poverty, difgrace or wrongs, or the pairs of 
 ficknefs or death, when once we are certain that wefhall not 
 fuffer the pains of Hell / How chearfully may we go out of this 
 troublefome world, and leave the greateft profperity behind 
 us, when we are fure to live in Heaven for ever / Even an In- 
 fidel will fay, that he could fuffer or dye, if he could but be 
 certain to be Glorified in Heaven when he is dead. 
 
 S . Walking with God doth mortifie the flefi, and alle the af- 
 fections and lufts thereof: The foufthat is taken up with higher 
 matters, and daily feeth things more excellent, becometh as 
 dead to the things below: And thus it weaneth us from ali 
 that in the world which feemeth mod deferable to carnal men. 
 And when the flefh is mortified, and the world is nothing to us,, 
 or but as a dead and loathfome carkafs, what is there left to 
 be very troublefome in any [tigering from the world? or to 
 make us loth by death to leave it ? It is men that kno\\> not God 3 
 that overvalue the profits and honours of the world ^ and 
 men that never felt the comforts of Communion with God, 
 thatfettoom«chby the pleafures of the flefh : And it is men 
 that fet too much by thefe, that make fo great a matter of fuf- 
 fering. It is hethatbafely overvaltteth wealth, that whineth 
 and repineth when he comes to poverty' It is he that fet too 
 much by his honour, and being befooled by his pride, doth 
 greatly efteem the thoughts or applauding words of rr en, that 
 fwelleth againft thofe that difefieem him, aud breaketh hs heai z 
 wticnhc falleth into difgrace. He that is cheated out of his 
 wits by the pomps and fplendourof a high and piofperous 
 eftate, doth think he is undone when he is brought low. Rut 
 it is not fo mthh'imthztwalkj with God : For being taken up 
 with far higher things, he knoweth the vanity of thefe: . 
 
 he. 
 
i 7 2 Walking with God. Part II, 
 
 he feeth not in them any thing that is worthy of hlsflrong de- 
 fires, fo neither any thing that is worthy or much lamentation 
 uhen they are gone. He never thought that a fhidoworfea- 
 tler, ora"b!aftofwindcouldmakeh:rn happy: And he cannot 
 tHnk that the /(?/j of thefecan make him miferable. He that is 
 tr ken up with God, hath a higher intereftand bufinefs, and 
 findech not himfelf fo much concerned in the ftorms or calms 
 that arc here below, as others are, who know no better, and 
 never minded higher things. 
 
 4. Walking with God doth much overcome the fear tfman ; 
 The fear of him that can deftroy both foul and body in Hell 
 fire, will extinguilh the fear of them that can but kill the body, 
 Luke 12.4. The threats or frowns of a worm are inconfide- 
 rable to him that daily walketh with the great and dreadful 
 God, and hath his power and word for his fecurity. As Mo- 
 fes efteemed the reproach of Chrift greater riches than the trea- 
 f tires of Egypt, because he had reffeEb to the recommence of re- 
 ward -, fo he feared not the Vcrath of the King, for he endured as 
 feeing him that is invifible, Heb. 1 1. 27. 
 
 5. WalhingwithGod doth much prepare for (ufferings and 
 death, in that it breedtth quietnefs in the conscience : io that 
 when all is at peace within, it wiWbe ea fie to faff er any thing 
 from without. Though there is no proper merit in our works 
 to comfort us, yet it is an unfpeakable confolation to afhn- 
 dered perfected man to be able to fay, Thefe evil fajings are 
 (p^kfnfalfly of me , for thefal^e ef Chrift : and 1 fuffer not as an 
 evil deer, bur as aChriftian : And it is matter ot very great 
 peace to a man that is haftingunto death, to be able to fay as 
 Hizekjah, 2 King. 2G. $. [Remember noty, Lord, how I have 
 talked before thee in trpth, and wit ha perfeB heart, and have 
 done that wh'uh isgoodin thy fight: ] And as Paul, 2 Tim. 4. 
 7,8. I have fought a good fight, I have finijhed mj courfe, J 
 have kept the Faith •, henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown 
 of Righteoufnefs, &c7\ And as 2 Cor. 1 . 1 2. Tor our rejoycinfr 
 isthis, the tejiimonj of our confeience, that in fimplicity and god- 
 ly finceritj, not with flejhly wifdome, but by the grace of God, we 
 have hud our converfationin the world :]] fuch a teitimony of 
 confidence is a precious cordial to a fuffering or a dying man: 
 The time that we have fpent in a holy and heavenly converfa- 
 
 tion. 
 
Part H. Walking with (?*/. *7$ 
 
 tion k will be exceeding fweet in the laft review, when time 
 fpent infinful vanity, and ldlcnefs, and in worldly and fkfhly 
 defigns, will be grievous and tormenting. The day is coming, 
 and is even at hand, when thofe that are now the moft har- 
 dened Infidels, or obftinate prefumptuous Tinners, or fcorn- 
 ful malcious enemies ot hohnefs, would wifh and wifli a thou- 
 fand times, that they had fpent that life in a forlorn obedient 
 walking with God, which they fpent in feeking worldly wealth, 
 and laying up a treafure on earth, and feeding the inordinate 
 defires ot their flefh. I tell you, it is walking with God, that is 
 theoly way to have a found and quiet confeience : And he 
 that is healing and fetling hit confeience upon the Love of God and 
 the Grace of Chrifi, in the time ot his prosperity, is making the 
 wifeft preparation for adverfity ' And the preparation thus 
 made fo long before (perhaps :wenty, or forty, or threefcore 
 years or more) is as truly ufeful and comfortable at a dying 
 hour, as that part which is made immediately before, I know 
 that befides this general preparation* there fhould be alfo a 
 ■particular facial preparation, for fufferings and death : But 
 yet this general part is the chief eft and moil necefTary part. A 
 man that hath walked in his life time with God, (hall certainly 
 be faved, though death furprize him unexpectedly, withouc 
 any more particular preparation : But a particular preparation 
 without either fuch a life, or fuch a heart as would caufe it if 
 he had recovered, is no iufficient preparation ar all, and will 
 not ferve to any mans falvation. Alas what a pittiful provi- 
 fion doth that man make for death and for falvation, who neg- 
 le&eth his foul, defpiieth the commands or God, and diliregar- 
 deth the promts oi eternal life, till he is ready to dye, and 
 then crye'houc [_Irepent,Iamforryformy fin, {would 1 had 
 lived better] and this only from the conftrainc oi fear, with- 
 out any fuch love to God and holinefs which would m.ke him 
 walk with God if he (hould recover/ what tithe iV/£/?abiolve 
 this man from all hU fins f Doth God therefore abioivc him? 
 Or ftiall he hus be faved ? No, it is certain that all the Sa- 
 craments and Abfolution in ttw world, will never ferve to fave 
 fuch a toul, without thugucc which mud rmk.e it new and 
 truly holy. The A'jfolution of a Mmifler of Chrifi ^ when is 
 pronounced in his name, is a very gr.at comfort to the truly pe^ 
 
 N n nittnt ; 
 
174 Wdkhgmth Gel Part II. 
 
 nitent : For fuch Godhzih firft pardonedby his general Ad of 
 O blivion in the Gofpel, and it is God that fendeth his Meflen- 
 ge r to thera (in Sacraments and Mimiterial Abfolution) with 
 that pardon particularized and applied to themfelves. But 
 where the heart is not truly penitent and converted, that perfon 
 is not pardoned by the Gofpel, as being not in the Covenant, or a 
 child of promife-, and therefore thepardon of a Minifter, be- 
 ing upon wiftafy, or to an unqualified perfon can reach no fur- 
 ther than to admit him into the efteem of men, and to the Com- 
 munion and outward priviledges ot the Church f which is a poor 
 comfort to a foul that mult lye in Hell :) But it can never ad- 
 mit him into the Kingdom of Heaven. God indeed may ap- 
 prove the ad of his Minifters, if they go according to his rule, 
 and deal in Church adminiftracions with thofe that make A 
 CREDIBLE PROFESSION of FAITH and HOUNESSE, 
 as if they hadtrue faith and holinefs : but yet he will not there- 
 fore make fuch Minifterial afts effe&ual to the faving of unbe* 
 lieving or unholy fouls. Nay (becaufe I have found many fen- 
 fual ungodly people inclining to turn Papifts,becaufe with them 
 they can have a quick and eafie pardon of their fins , by the 
 Pope, or by the Abfolution of the Prieft) let me tell fuch, that 
 iftheyunderftand what they do, even this cheat is too thin to 
 quiet their defiled conferences: For even the Papifts School- 
 doftors do conclude, that when thePrieft abfolveth an impc- 
 nitent Jinner, or one that is not qualified for pardon, fuch a 
 one is not loofed or pardoned in Heaven (Leg. Martin, de Ri- 
 palda expoftU Liber. Magift. li. 4. dift. 18. p. 654, 655. &p. 
 663 , 664. dift. 20. Aquin. Dift. 20. q I .a. 5. Suar. Tom. 4. 
 in 3 .p. diffi. 52. Greg, Valent. Tom. 4. diff. 7. q. 20. p. %.Tolet„ 
 lib. 6. cap. 27 .Navar. Notab. 17. & 18. Cordub.de indulg. 
 li.$.q.2$.) they deny not the truth of thofe words of Ori- 
 gen, Horn. 14. adcap. 24. Levlt. [Exit quit a fide , perexit 
 de caftris EcclefiA etiamfi Epifcopi Voce non abjiciatur : ftcut 
 contra inter dnm fit, ut aliquunonretlojudicio eorum qui pr<t- 
 fant E celt fid, for as mittatur : fedfi non egit ut mereretur exire, 
 nihil Uditur : inter dum enim quod for as mittiturjntns eft ^ & 
 quiferueft, intus videtur retineri :] And what he faith of 
 Excommunication, \s true of Abfolution-. An erring Key doth 
 neither lock out of Heaven, nor let into Heaven. A Godly 
 
 Believer 
 
part 1 1.' Walking with God. 27? 
 
 Believer (hall be fa ved though the Prieft condemn him: and 
 an unbeliever or ungodly perfon (hall be condemned by God, 
 though he be abfolved by the Prieft. 
 
 Nay if you have not walked with God in the fpirit, bun 
 walked after the flefh, though your repentance fhould be found 
 and true at the laft, it will yet very hardly ferve to comfort you, 
 though it may ferve to your falvatien : becaufe you will very 
 hardly get any -durance thac it is fincere. It is dangerous left 
 it fhould prove but the efftft of fear f which will not fave) 
 when it cometh not till death do fright you to it. As Augu- 
 ftine faith, Nuttm expeftet, quando peccare non potefi : arbitrii 
 enim Ubertatem qmrit Bern, ut deleri pofpnt commiffa ^ non ne- 
 ceffttatem, (ed char it at em, non tantum timoremi quia non in 
 folo timore vhit homo. Therefore the fame Augufiine faith, 
 [Siquu pofitns in ultima necefptate voluerit accipere paniten- 
 tiam, & accipit •, fateorvobu, non illi negamus quod petit ; fed 
 non prafumimtu quod bene loinc exit : fifecurus hinc exierit, ego 
 nefcio : P anitentiam dare poffumus, fecuritatem nan p ffumpu. 
 You fee then how much it is needful to the peace of coniaence 
 at the hour of death, that you tyi/fc with God in the time of life. 
 6. Moreover, to rvalk^ith God is an excellent pre par at ion for 
 fuferings and death, becaufe it tendeth to acquaint the joul 
 With god, and to embolden it both to go to him in Prayer, and 
 toTrufion him, and cxped falvation from him. He thac 
 ypalketh with God is fo much ufed to holy Prayer, that he is a 
 man of Prayer, and is skilled in it, and hath tryed what prayer 
 can do with God: fo that in the hour of his extremity, he is 
 not tofeek, either for a God to pray to, or a Mediator to in- 
 tercede for him, or a Spirit of Adoption to enable him as a 
 child to fly forhelptohisw0»f*7^ Father. And having noc 
 only been frequently with God, but frequently entertained and 
 acceptedby h\m, aud had his prayers heard and granted, it is a 
 great encouragement to an affii&ed foul in the hour 
 of diflrefTe, to go to fuch a God for help. And it is a 
 dreadful thing when a foul is ready to go out of the world, to 
 have no comfortable knowledge of God, or skill to pray to 
 him, or encouragement to expect acceptance with him: To 
 think that he muft prefently appear before a God, whom he 
 never knew, nor heartily loved, being never acquainted with 
 
 Nn 2 thac 
 
2 7* Walking with Go J. Part I L 
 
 that communion with him in the way of Grace, which is the 
 way to communion in Glory, O what a terrible thought is 
 this .' But how comfortable is it when the foul can fay £ / 
 know whsm I have believed f The God that afflicleth me is he that 
 lovetb me, and hath manifefted his love to me by his daily *t~ 
 trattive, ajfifting and accepting Grace ! I am going by death 
 tofee him intuitively, whoml have often feen by the eye of 
 Faith, and to live with him in Heaven, with whom 1 lived 
 hereon earth-, From whom, and Through whom, and To 
 whom was my life / I go not to any enemy, nor an utter 
 ftranger,butto that God who was the Spring, the Ruler, the 
 Guide, the Strength and the Comfort of my life.He hath taard 
 mefo ofr, that I cannot think he will now reject me ; He hath 
 fo often comforted my foul, that I will not believe he will now 
 thruft me into Hell : He hath mercifully received me fo oft, 
 that I cannot believe he will now refufe me ; Thofe that come 
 to him in the way of Grace, I have found he will in no wife caft 
 out.] As ftrangtnefs to God doth fill the foul with diflruftful 
 fears, fo walking with him doth breed that humble confi- 
 dence, which is a wonderful comfort in the hour of diftrefs, and 
 a happy preparations to fufferings and death. 
 
 7. Laftly, to walk with G Q d % doth encreafe that Love of 
 Ged in the foul, which is the heavenly tintture, andindinethit 
 tolo3kupward, and being weary of a {inful flefh and world* 
 to delire to be perfected with God. How happy a preparation 
 for death is this, when it is but the pafTage to that God with 
 whom wzdefire to be , and to t\\2Xflace where we fain would 
 dwell forever ! Tolovethe ftate arid place that we aregoing 
 to, being made connatural and Juitable thereto, will much 
 overcome the fears of death. But for a foul that is acquainted 
 with nothing but this life, and favoureth nothing but Earth 
 and Flefh, and hath no connaturality with the^things above, 
 for fuch a fou 1 to be furprizcd with the tydings of death, alas, 
 how dreadful muft it be/ 
 
 And thus I have (hewed you the Benefits that come by walk^ 
 IngwithGod, which if you Love your (elves with a rational 
 love, mcthinks fhould refolve every impartial confiderate Rea- 
 der, co give up himfelf without delay, to fo deferable a courfe 
 of life 1 or, if he have begun it, to follow it more chearfully 
 and faithfully than he had donee Chap, 
 
Part II. Walking with God* 477 
 
 HAP 
 
 VII. 
 
 I Am next to (hew you that "Believers have Special obliga- 
 tions to this holy courfe of life, and therefore are doubly 
 faulty if they negled: it : Though indeed, to negleft k totally , 
 or inzhe main drift of their lives, is a thing inconftflent with a 
 living Faith. 
 
 Confider, 1 If you are true Chriftians, your Relations en- 
 gage you to wal^ith God : Is he not your Reconciled Father , 
 and you his Children in a fpeciai fenfe ? And whom lhould 
 Children dwell with, but with their Father ? You were glad 
 when he received you into his Covenant that he would enter 
 into fo near a Relation to you, as heexpreffeth,2 Qor, 6. 17, 
 18. \_I will receive you ^ and will be a Father toy u, andye fhak 
 be my Sons and Daughters , faith the Lord Almighty \\ And do 
 you draw back, as if you repented of your Covenant? and 
 were not only weary of the Daty y but of the Priviledges and 
 Benefits of your Relation ? Tea may have accefs to God, 
 when others are (hut out : Tear Prayers may be he ird, when 
 the prayers of the wicked are abominable: Tou may be wel- 
 come, when the worldling, and ambitious, and carnal are de- 
 ipifed : He that dwelleth in thehigheft Heaven, is willing to 
 loekjo you with retpttty and dwell with yoa 9 when he beholdeth 
 the proud afar off \ ifa. 66. i,2. & 57. 15,16. And yet will 
 you not come that may be welcome ? Doth he put fuch a dlf~ 
 ference between you and others, as to feed you as his Children ac 
 his table, while others are called Dogs jind are without the doorSo 
 and have but your crumsand leavings? and yet will you be 
 fo foolifli and unthankful, as to run our of your Fathers pre- 
 sence, and choofe to be without, among the Dogs? How came 
 your Fathers pre fence to be fo grievous to you ? and the pri- 
 viledges of his family to feem fo vile } Is it not fome mcbild- 
 lilej carriage ? the guilt of fome di(obedience or contempr 
 that hath firft caufed this ? Or have you fain again in love with 
 fiejhly pteafures and fome vanity of the world ? Or have yon 
 had enough of God and Godlinefs? till you begin to gro?7 
 
 Nn 3 aweary 
 
278 W diking with God. part 1 1. 
 
 aweary of Mm ? If fo, you never truly knew him. However 
 it be, if you grow indifferent as to C7^,Jdo not wonder it ihorc- 
 ly you find him fee as light by you: And believeit, the day is 
 not far off, in which the Fatherly Relation of God, and the pri- 
 viledges of Children, will be moreefieemed by you : when all 
 things elfeforfake you in your laft diftrefs, you will be loth 
 that God fhould then £orfa£c you, or feem a? a flranger to 
 hide his face: Then yo^ will cry our, as the anT&ed Church, 
 7/4.63. 1 5*1^. [Look, down from Heaven, and behold from the 
 habitation of thy holinefs and of thy glory : Where is thj ze Aland 
 thy flrength f the founding of thy bowels, and of thy mercies to" 
 Vcards me ? are they retrained ? Doubtlefsthou art our Father : 
 though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Jfrael acknowledge its 
 not, thou O Lord art our Father, our Redeemer, thy name is 
 from everlasting j Nothing but God, and his Fatherly Rela- 
 tion, will then fupport you ; Attend him therefore, and with 
 reverent, obedient chearfulnefs and delight, converfe with 
 him as with your dcareft Father. Yorfince the beginning of the 
 world, men have not known by fenfible evidence, cither the 
 ear or the eye, be fides God himfelf, what he hath prepared for 
 him that waiteth for him, \h. 64.. 4. Though he be wroth with 
 us becaufe Vve have finned, yet doth he meet him that rejoyceth 
 and worketh righteoufnefs, that remembreth him in his waies, 
 verf. 5. Say nor, I have played abroad fo long that I dare not 
 now go home : I have finned fo greatly, that I dare not fpeak 
 to him, or look him in the face. Come yet but with a peni- 
 tent returning heart, and thou mayeft be accepted through 
 the Prince of Peace : Prodigals find better entertainment than 
 they did expect when once they do but refolve for home. If 
 he allow us to begin with \j)ur Father which art in Heaven^ 
 we may boldly proceed to askforgivenefs of ourtrefpaffes, and 
 whatever elfe is truly good for us. But, alas, as our iniquities 
 feduce us away from God, fo the guilt of them affrighteth 
 fome from returning to him, and the love of them corrupteth 
 the hearts of others, and makes them too indifferent as to their 
 communion with him- fo that too many of his children live as 
 if they did not know their Father, or had forgotten him : We 
 may fay as If a. 64. 6,7, 3, 9. [But we are aU as an andean 
 thing, and all our righteoufneffes arc as filthy rags, and we aS do 
 
 fade 
 
Part II. Walking with God. 279 
 
 fade as a leaf \and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away: 
 and there is none that calleth upon thy name y thatftirreth up him- 
 f elf to take hold of thee •, for thou haft hid thy face from us. and 
 haft confumed us becaufe of our iniquities'. Butno^Q, G Lord, 
 tho* art jour Father ; Vre are the Clay , and thou our Totter, and 
 we are all the Vcorl^ofthy hand. Be not wroth very fore t O Lord, 
 neither remember iniquity for ever : Behold , fee , \¥* befeech thee, 
 We are all thy people.} O do not provoke your Father to dif- 
 own you, or to withdraw his help , or hide his face, or to fend 
 the Rod to call you home ! for if you do, you will wifti you 
 had known thepriviledges of his prefence, and had kept nea- 
 rer to him I Be not fo unnatural, fo unthankful, fo unkind, as 
 to be weary of your Fathers prefence (and fuch a Father's too) 
 and to take more delight in any others. 
 
 Moreover, you arc related to God inChrift, as a wife unto 
 a Husband, as to Covenant union, and nearnefs and dearnefs 
 ofaffeilion, and as to his tender care of you for your good : 
 And is it feemly, is it wifely or gratefully done of you, to de- 
 fire rather the company of others, and delight in creatures 
 more than him? 7/*. 54. 5, 6. How affectionately doth thy 
 Maker call himfelf the Husband of his people? And can thy 
 heart commit adultery, and forfake him : \_My Covenant they 
 brakj, though I Was an Husband to thee, faith the Lord, Jer. 3 1 . 
 32. O put not God toexercifehis jealoufte. It is one of his 
 terrible attributes, to be {_* jealous God,} And can he be other* 
 wife to thee, when thou loveftnothis converfe or company, 
 and careft not how long thou art from him in the world ? Woe 
 to thee if he once fay as Hof. 2.2. \_She is not my Wife, neither 
 am I her Husband.'} 
 
 Nay more than this, ifyou are Chriftians, you are members 
 of the body of ' Chrift : And therefore how can you withdraw 
 your felves from him, and not feel the pain and torment of fo 
 fore a wound or diflccation ? you cannot live without a con- 
 stant dependence on him, and communication from him, Joh. 
 15. I, 4, 5. J am the true Vine, and mj Father is the Husband- 
 man ; Abide in me, and J in you. - 1 am the Vine, ye are thg 
 
 Branches : He that abideth in me, and I in him, the fame brings 
 
 eth forth much fruit : for without me, ye can do nothing.- ■ — If 
 
 ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye {hall a*k» what 
 ye wiH 3 and it fhaU be done unto you. So 
 
2 80 Walking with God. Part 1 1; 
 
 So rear arc you to Chrift, that he delighteth to acquaint 
 you with his fecrets : Ohow many myfteries doth he reveal 
 to thofe that walk^ with him, which carnal ftrangers never 
 knew/ Myfteries o>Wif dome \ Myfteries of Love and faving 
 One.' ( .s of Scripture, and Myfteries of Providence ! 
 
 Myfteries felt by inward experience, and Myfteries revealed, 
 fortfeen by Faith 1 Not only the ftrangers that pafs by the 
 doo; s, but even the common fervants of the family are un- 
 acquainted with the fecret operations of the Spirit, anden- 
 ter tain ment$ of Grace, and Joy in believing, which thofe that 
 TtvJkjpith God either door may p-jffefs. Therefore Chrift cal- 
 Jerh }Ou friends as being more than fervants, Joh. 15. 14, 15. 
 Te are my friends if ye do whatfoever I command joh : Hence- 
 forth I call yoti not fervants ; for the jervant knoweth not what 
 the Lord doth : but I have called joh friends •, for- all things that 
 1 hme heard ofmj Father, J have made known unto jou.^ It is 
 rrue, for all this, that every true Chnfttan hath reafon (and is 
 apt) to complain of his darknefs and diftance from God. Alas, 
 they kntwfo little of him, and of the Myfteries of his Love and 
 Kingdom, that fometimes they are apt to think that they are 
 indeed but utter ftrangers to him : But this is, becaufe there is 
 infinitely more frill unknown to them than they know / what / 
 can the filly (hallow creature comprehend his infinite Crea- 
 tors ? Or (hall we know all that is to be linawn In Heaven, be- 
 fore we enjoy all that is to be enjoyed in Heaven ? It is no more 
 wonder to hear a belever pant and mourn after ? fuller know- 
 ledge nfGod, and nearer sccefs to h,m, than to fetk^after Hea- 
 ven, where this will be his happireK But yet, though his 
 K* owledge ofGod bejW//,compved with his Ignorance, that 
 li tie Knowledge of God which he hatt attained, is more myfte- 
 rious, fubiin.e and eicellent, than ail the learning of thegrea- 
 teft unfai.dified Scholars in the world. w«.ii{ with him ic- 
 cording f o r he nearnefs of your Relations to him, and you 
 (hall have this excellent knowledge of his Myfteries, which no 
 Books or Teachers alone can give. Yu (hall be effedually 
 touched at the heart with the truths which others do uneffe- 
 ftuallyhear : You (hall be powerfully moved, when they are 
 but untffecluaHj exhorted* When they only hear the voice 
 Without them, you (hall hear the voice within you, and as it 
 
 were 
 
Part II. Walking with Cod. i8i 
 
 were behind you, faying, This is the way, walk in it: O that 
 you could duly value fuch afriend, to watch over you, and 
 for you, and dwell in you,and tell you faithfully of every dan- 
 ger, and of every duty, and teach you to know good and evil, 
 and what to choofc, and what to refufe / How clofely and de- 
 lightfully would you converfe with fuch a tie fed friend, if jqh 
 rightly v.dued him ? 
 
 2. *\ A Oreover, you thst are the fervants of God, have by 
 AW. your Covenant and Proj 'tffion ^renounced and for fa^en a/I 
 things elfe(as they ftand in any oppofition to him,or competition 
 with him) and have refgned your {elves wholly unto him Alone : 
 And therefore with him mult you converfe, and be employed, 
 unlefs you will forfake yourCovenant.You knew firft that it was 
 your intereft to forfake the world and turn to God : You knew 
 the world would not ferve your turn, nor be inftead of God to 
 you either in life, or at death : And upon this Knowledge ic 
 was that you changed your Matter, and changed your minds, 
 and changed your way, your work, your hopes : And do you 
 dream now that you were mifiuken> Do you begin to think 
 that the world is fitter to be your God or Happinefs ? if nor, 
 you muft (till confefs that both your Inter eft and your Cove- 
 nant do oblige you to turn your hearts and minds from the 
 things which you have renounced, and to walk with him that 
 you have taken for your God, and to obey him whom you 
 have taken for your King and Judge, and to keep clofe to him 
 with pureft Love, whom you have taken for your everlafting 
 portion. Mark what you are minding all the day, while you 
 are neglecting God : Is it not fomething that you have renoun- 
 ced } And did you not renounce it uponfufficient caufe ? Was it 
 not a work of your mod feriom deliberation ? and of as great 
 wifdome, as any that ever you performed? if it were, turn not 
 back in your hearts again from God unto the renounced Crea- 
 ture. You have had many a lightning from Heaven into your 
 underftandings, to bring you to fee the difference between 
 them: You have had many a teaching, and many a warning, 
 and many a driving of the fpirit, before you were prevailed 
 with to renounce the world, the flefhandtke devil, and to 
 
 O 9 give 
 
2 8 i Walking with God. Part 1 1. 
 
 giveupyourfelfintirelyandabfolutelyto God. Nay, did it 
 not coft you the fmart of fomc afflictions, before you' would 
 be made fo wife ? And did it not colt you many a gripe of con- 
 fcicncc, and many a terrible thought of Hell, and of the wrath 
 of God, before you would be heartily engaged to him, in his 
 Covenant ? And will you now live as ftrangely and negle&fully 
 cowards him, as if thofedaies were quite forgotten? and as \£ 
 you had never felt fuch things? and as if you had never been 
 fo convinced, or refolved? O Chriftians, take heed of foe- 
 getting your former cafe / your former thoughts/ your for- 
 mer convictions and complaints and covenants / God did not 
 work all that upon your hearts to be forgotten: He intended 
 not only your frefent change, but your after remembrance of i r, 
 tor your clofe adhering to him while you live- and for your 
 quickning and conftanc prefervance to the end'. The forgetting 
 or their former miferies, and the workings of God upon their 
 hearts in their converfion,is a great caufe of mutability and re- 
 volting, and ofunfpeakable hurt to many a foul. 
 
 Nay, may you not remember alfo what forrow you had in 
 thedayofyouri^»r^a?,for your forf a king and neglecting 
 God io long? And will you grow again negle&ive of him ? Was 
 'it then fohainous a fin in your eyes? and is it not now grown 
 iefs? Could you ffo* aggravate it fomany waies (and juftly) 
 and now do you juftiHe or extenuate it? Were you then ready 
 to fink under the burden of it ? and were fo hardly perfwaded 
 that it would be forgiven you ? and now do you make fo fmall 
 a matter of it? Did you thenh much wonder at your folly .that 
 could fo long let out your thoughts and arTeftions upon the 
 creature,while you neglected God and Heaven/and do you be- 
 gin to look that way again ? Do you now grow familiar with a 
 life/* like to that whirh was once your ftate of death ? and bear 
 that cafily that once was the breaking of your heart ? O Chri- 
 ilians, turn not away from that God again, who once fetchn 
 you home, with fo much fmart and fo much grace ! with fuch 
 a twiftofZow and Fatherly /fz/mV;/ Methinks when you re- 
 member how you were once awakened, youfhould noteafily 
 fall afleep again. And when you remembet the thoughts which 
 then were in your hearts, and the tears that were in your eyes 
 and the earnefi prayers whi ch you then put up.that God would 
 
 receive 
 
part II. Walking with God. 183 
 
 receive you, md take you for his own, you {houldnot now for- 
 get him, and live as if you could live without him. Remember 
 that fo far as you withdraw your hearts from God, and lee 
 them follow inferiour things, fo far you contradiB hu mrkj up- 
 on your hearts ; fofar you violate jour Covenant with him, or 
 fmagainft it : fofar you are revolters, and go agamft :he prin- 
 cipal part of your prof eft Religion : Yea fo far you are ungodly, 
 as you thus withdraw your hearts from God. Cleave to him, 
 and profecute your Covenant, if you will have the faving be- 
 neficsof^ Love and Covenant. 
 
 3* \A Oreover, thefervants of God are doubly obliged to 
 J, VI walkwith him, becaufe they have had that experience of 
 thegvodnefsjhefafttj and the jweetntfs of it , which ft rangers have 
 not. Do you not rt men ber how glad you were, when you fi. ft 
 believed that he p^rdor.ed and accepted you ? A nd how much 
 you rejoyted in his Love and entertainment ? And how much 
 better you fou'd your Fathers houfe, than ever you had found 
 your finful itatc ? And Low much fweeter hi9 fervice was *han 
 you did before believe ? k's like you can remember fomeching 
 likethat which isdelcnbedin Luk. 15. 20,22,23 ,24. [Andhe 
 arofe and came to ht6 Father : But when he was jet a great way cff^ 
 his Father fare him, and had compaffton, and ran and fell on his 
 neck ana. hjffea him ; And the Son (aid unto him , Father, 1 have 
 finned again ft 'Heaven, una. in thy fight, and am no more worthy to 
 be called thy Son • But the Father /aid to hisfervants Bring forth 
 the be ft R<be and put it on him, and put a Rmgon his hand, and 
 Shooes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted Calf, and kill it, and 
 let us eat and be merry : for this my Son Was dead and ts alive 
 agum Mt wa4 hft, and is found.~]W Iwz would you have thought 
 or faid oi ch»s Prodigal, if after all this he fhould have been 
 weary of his Fathers houfe and company,and have taken more 
 pleasure in his former company ? Would you not have faid, he 
 was a forgetfnUnd unthankful Wretch, and worthy never more 
 to be received ? I do not ipeak to you now as to Apoftates,that 
 are turned ungodly, and have quite forfaken God and Ihlinefs : 
 But I befeech you confider what it is, afcer fuch experiences 
 and obligations as thefe, fo much as tc ) abate jour love, and 
 
 Oo 2 grow 
 
!34 Walking with Cod. Part II. 
 
 grow remifs, and mndlefsflnti indifferent, as if you were awea- 
 ry of God, and were inclined tonegle&him,and look again to 
 the world for your hope, and fatisfad on, and delight ? As you 
 love your foul?, and as you would avoid die fori ows which are 
 greater than any that ever you felt, take heed of flei^luing the 
 Love that hath done kich wonders for you, and of dealing fo 
 unthankfully with the everliving God, and of turning thus 
 away from him that hath received you / Remember whilft you 
 live, the Love of your efpoufajs : Was God fo good to you at 
 the fir ft, 2nd holinefs fo defirable ? and is it not fo full ? 
 
 And I am fure that your own experience will bear witnefs, 
 thatfince that time, in all your lives, it never was fo well with 
 you as when you walked nioft faithfully with G@d. If you have 
 received any fails and hurts, it hath been when you have itrag- 
 led from him : Ifeveryou had fafety, peace or Joy, it hath 
 been when you have been neareft to him : your wounds, and 
 grief, and death hath been the fruit of your ownwaies^znd of 
 your forfakjng him: Your recovery, and health, and life have 
 been the fruit of his waits t and of your adhering to him : Many 
 and many a time you have confeffed this, and have faid, It is 
 good for me to draw near to God. Ke hath helped you when 
 none elfe could help you ; and comforted you when none elfe 
 could comfort you. How far are you above the worldlings 
 happinefs, when you are nigh to Goci ? One lively thought of 
 his Greatnefs, and Excellency, and of his Love to you in Je- 
 fus Chrift, will make the name of wealth, and honour, and fa- 
 vour, and preferment, and fenfual pleafures, to feem to you as 
 words of no Signification : How indifferent will you be, as to 
 your profperity in the world, when you feel what it is to walk^ 
 -with G ok i If you are lively experimental Chriftian?, you have 
 found this to be true: Have you not found that it is the very 
 Health and Eafe, and proper employment of your fouls to 
 walhjwith Qod, and.keep dofe to him? And that all goes well 
 with you while you can do thus, however the world doth 
 efteemorufeyou? And that when you grow Grange or dif- 
 obedienttoGod,andmindlefsof his Goodnefs, his prefence 
 and his authority, you are like the ftomach that is fick,and like 
 a bone that is out of joynt, that can have[no eafe till it be hea- 
 led, and reftored to its proper place? No meats or drinks, no 
 
 company 
 
Par 1 1 1 . Walking with God. 285 
 
 company nor recreation, no wealth or grcatnefs will ferve to 
 make a Tick man well, or eafe the diflocated bones. Nothing 
 will ferve a faithful holy foul but God : This is the eaufe of the 
 dolour of his heart, and of the fecret groans and complainings 
 of his life, becaufe in this life of diftance and imperfection, he 
 finds hlmfelt Jo far from God- 9 and when he hath done all that 
 hecan,heis it ill fo dari^znd ft range , and cold in his arTe&ions/ 
 when perfecution drivcth him from theOrdinances and public^ 
 Worfhip, or when fin hath fet him at a greater diftance from 
 his God, hebemoaneth his foul as David in his banilhment 
 from the Tabernacle, PfaL 42. i 3 2,&c. <d s the Hart panteth 
 after the water- brooks , fo panteth my foal after thee God : My 
 foul thirftethfor Cjod, for the living Qod : When fball I come and 
 appear before God ? My tears have been my meat Aaj and night 
 while they continually fay mto me^ Where is thy God ? ] And it 
 is no wonder if with his greateft joy, he be yet clouded with 
 thefeforrows , becaufe heyetwanteth more of God than he 
 enjoyeth: and his enjoying graces (Love and Jojjarcyet im- 
 perfect. But when he hath attained his neareit approach to 
 •God, he will have fulnefs of Delight in fulnefs of fruition. 
 
 O Chriftians .' Do I need to tell you, that after all the tryals 
 you have made in the world, you have never found any ftatc 
 of life, that was worthy your defires, nor that gave you any 
 true content, but only this living upon God} If you have not 
 found fuch comfort here as others have done, yet at lead: you 
 have feen it afar off, within your reach: As men that in the 
 Indies, in the difcovery of Plantations, exped Gold Mines, 
 when they find thofe golden fands thatpromife it. You have 
 found a life which is certainly defirable, and leadeth to joy in the 
 raidftof forrow : And it is no fmallj&y to have a certain pro* 
 wife and proffettoi cverlafting joy. It is therefore more excu- 
 fable in thofe that never tafied any better than the pleafurcs of 
 the flefh, to negleft this fweeter Heavenly life, than it is in 
 you that have been convinced by your own experience, that 
 there is no life to be compared with it. 
 
 Do 3 4. Your 
 
2 $6 Walking With Cod. Pare II. 
 
 4.TT Our Walking with God is the neceffary prof edition of jour 
 JL I hoice and Hopes of life eternal, it is your nectfiry pre- 
 par at. on o your enjoying him in Heaven. And have you fixed 
 on chofc Hopes with fo great reafon and deliberation, and will 
 ydii now draw back and^be flack in the profecution of them ? 
 Have you gone fo far in the way to Heaven, and do you now 
 begin to look behind you, as if you were abouc to change your 
 mind ? Paul fetteth you a better example, Phil.i. 8 , 91 o, 1 1 , 
 j 2 j 3. [Teadoubtlefs I account all things but lofs for the ex 
 cellency of the Knowledge of Chrift J-efpu my Lord ; for whom I 
 have fuffered the lofs of all things, and do count them but dung 
 
 that I may win Chrift, and be found in him if by any means 
 
 1 might attain to the refurrettion of the dead : Not a* though I 
 had already attained, est her were already perfeil: But I follow 
 after, if that 1 may apprehend th tfor fthich alfo I am apprchen- 
 dedsf Chrift fefnt.* Brethren 1 count not my J elf to have appre- 
 hended y but thu one thing I do, for getting thole things which are 
 behind, and reaching forth unto thofe things which are before, I 
 prefstlw'irdtbemarifor the price of ' tbejfigh Calling of God in 
 Chr ft Jefw ] He comparech h;mfelf to a runner in a race, that 
 foil i? apprehend the price ur mari doth ftill m^ke forward with 
 all liis m ghr,and will not fo ri:uch s windor leo^tzny thing 
 behind httn;that would turn him bhc k,or (top him in his courfe. 
 Th' world and the frfljzre ihe things behind us : We turned 
 our b«cks u\ on them at our convertion ,\vhen we t urned to God: 
 It is thefe that would npw call ^-t^our thoughts, and corrupt 
 ourarTvdions, when we fhould run on, and reach forward to 
 the heavenly p ice : It is God and Heaven and the remaining 
 duties of a holy life, that are the thtngs before ml And (hall we 
 now lock back? what we that are running and ftrivwg for a 
 Crownoiendlefsgkryi iw.cbac if we lofe it, do lofe our fowls 
 and hopes tor ever / we, that have loitered in the morning of 
 ur hves, aid loft fo much precious time as we have done / we, 
 thai have rone fo far in our way, and held out through fo ma- 
 ny d fficul: es and affaults / Shall we now grow weary of 
 walk LwuhGod, and begin to look^to the things behind tut 
 Did he not tell us at the firft, that Father and Mother, and 
 
 houfe 
 
Part ir Walking with Cod. 1 8 7 
 
 houfe and land, and life, and all things muft. ie for ft. kf» for 
 Chrift) if we will be hU *Difciflcs ? Theft are the things behind 
 us, which we turned our back on when we confented to the 
 Covenant >, and are they now grown better ? or is God grown 
 worfe, that we turn our hearts from him to them? when we 
 firil begun our Cbriftian race, it was upon fuppoficion that it 
 was for that immortal Crown, which all the world is not to be 
 compared to : And have we not llili the fame confederation 
 before us, to move us to hold on till we attain it ? Hold on 
 Chriftians, it is for Heaven ! Is there not enough in th&t word 
 to drive back all the cares and pleafures, that importune your 
 minds to forget your God ? Is there not enough in that word 
 to quicken you up in your greateit dulnefs? and to call you 
 home when you are wandring from God, and to make you 
 again fall out with all, that would reduce you, or divert you t 
 and call it Vanity -and Vexation offpirit. Me thinks the fore- 
 thought of that life and work which you hope to have with 
 God for ever, fhould make you earneftiy defire to have as 
 much of the like on earth, as is here to be attained 1 If ft. will 
 he your Heaven and Happinefs then, ic muft needs be deiirable 
 now. It is not befeeming a man that faith he is feeking for. 
 perfect communion with God in Heaven, and that above all 
 things fas every Chriftian doth) to live in a daily negledor 
 forgetfulnefs of God on earth. Delightfully to draw near him; 
 and exercife all our faculties upon him, or for him, fometime in 
 prayer and contemplation on himfelf, and alwaies in works of 
 obedience to him •, this is the life that befeemeth thofe that pro- 
 fefs to leek eternal life. O therefore let us make it our daily 
 work, to keep oar God and Glory in our eye, and to fpur on. 
 our dull affections, and in the diligent attendance and follow- 
 ing the Captain of our falvation, to profecute our expected 
 End. 
 
 S-T Aftly confider, that God doth purpofely provide you hard 
 JL-j entertainment in the world, and caufe every creaure to de-* 
 ny you the pleafure andfatisfaclkn which you defire, that fey a, 
 may have none to walkwith but himfelf, with any bearc-fetlmg, 
 comfort and content. If you fee not enough in him to allure, 
 
188 Waiting with God. Part II. 
 
 youtohimfelf, ybu fliall feel enough in the mrld to drive 
 you to him: If his Love and GoodnefsmW not ferve alone to 
 make him your pleafure^nd hold you to him in the tefi, and 
 moft excellent way (of Love) at lead: the ftorms and troubles 
 that are abroad (hall fhew you a Neceffity of keeping clofe to 
 God •, and the Love of your [elves (hall help you to do that, 
 which was not done by the attraction of bis Love alone. If you 
 will put him to it, to fend out his command to every creature, 
 tocrofsand vex you, and difappoint all your expectations 
 from it, that fo he may force you to remember your Father 
 and your home, deny not then but it is long of your felves 
 chat you were not faved in an eafier way. Would you wijh 
 God to make that condition pleafant to you, which he feeth 
 you take too much pleafure in already (or feek, and defire it, ac 
 leaft?^ When as it is the pleafantnefs of the Creature that 
 is your danger, and which detaineth your thoughts and af- 
 fections from himfelf i> If you could but learn to walkwith him, 
 and ro take up your pleafure in his Love appearing to you in 
 his Creatures , and to make their fweetnefs a means to your 
 apprehenfion of the ftveetnefs of his favour , and of the ever- 
 laftingjoyes, then you might fay the Creature doth you good; 
 and then it's like you might be permitted to poflefs and ufe it 
 for fuch pleafure. The jealous (jod will watch your hearts , 
 though you watch them not > y and he will make you know that 
 he feeth which way they run out from him, and \\>hat Creature 
 it is that is minded and delighted in while he is neglected , as if 
 he wereunfuitab/e, and J 'car ce deferable. And youmuft never 
 look that he fhould /^permit you thofe prohibited delights, 
 or let you alone in thofe idolatrous inclinations: If he Love 
 you^ he will cure that Carnal Love i and recover your Love to 
 /?*>/<?//thathathdefervedit. If he intend not your falva- 
 tion, he may let you go, and try again whether the Creature 
 will prove better to you than himfelf : ' But you cannot 
 think that he will thus let go hid Children that muft live with 
 him forever. Have you not perceived that this is the de- 
 ftgn and meaning of his ajflitling and dij appointing providen- 
 ces? even to leave you no comfortable entertainment or 
 converle but with himfelf, and with his fervants , and 
 with thofe means that lead you to himfelf? If you begin to 
 
 defire 
 
Part IK Witting with 6~M. m§ 
 
 defirc to lodge abroad in ftrange habitations, he will unco* 
 ver thofe houfes, and will not leave you a room that's dry 
 to put your head in ; or he will throw open the doors, and 
 leave all open to the luft of ravenous beads and robbers. 
 He Vvillhave thy heart, and he willhwz thy company , becaufe 
 thou art his child , and becaufe he loveth thee. He will 
 allow thee neither thy carnal Delights or Hopes. If he per- 
 ceive thee either taking that Pleafure in thy Prof peril j which 
 thou (houldeft take in him alone, or Hoping at ieaft that the 
 •world may hercafrer prove more amiable and delightful to 
 thee-, the more he loveth thee, the more his Providence (hall 
 confpire with his grace, to change thy mind, by depriving thee 
 of thy unwholfome dangerous delights, and of all thy Hopes 
 of fuch hereafter, life the world as a traveller, for the enefs 
 to which it was ordained, to the fervice of God, and the fur- 
 therance of thy falvation, and then thou {halt find that God 
 will furnilh thee with all that is neceffary to thefe neceffary 
 ends: But if the world muft haveyour Love and Care and 
 muft be (your chicfeft bufinefs and delight, and your excufe for 
 not attending upon God, murmure not, nor marvel not i£ 
 he difpofe of it and you accordingly. If you are yet too 
 ■healthful to think with ferioufnefs on your eternal ftate \ If you 
 are too Rich to part with all for Chrift, or openly to oVen his 
 Caufe • If you are too much efteemed in the world to. own a 
 fcorned Hindered Religion . If you are/ bufte for Earth, that 
 you cannot have time to think of Heaven ; If you have/o much 
 delight in Houfe or Land, or in your employments, or recrea- 
 tions, or friends, that God and Godlinefi can have little or none 
 of your delight : Marvel not then if God dojhake your Health, 
 or wade your Riches, or turn your Honour into contempt; and' 
 fuffer men to flander and reproach you, and fpit in your face 
 and make you of no reputation : Marvel not if he turn you 
 outofall, or turn all to your grief and trouble, and make the 
 world a defert to you, and the inhabitants as wolves and bear?. 
 The great Lcffon that Chrift hath undertaken to teach you, is 
 the difference betwixt the Creatour and the Creature, and 
 the difference betwixt Heaven and Earth. The gi eat' work 
 that Chrift hath undertaken to do upon you, is to recover 
 your hems from the world to God ; And this Leflbn he will 
 
 PP tuih 
 
l9 o * Walking with Gcd. Part II. 
 
 teach you, and this work he will Coupon you, whatever it coft 
 you : For it wuft be done. Tet is not the world unjuft enough, 
 or cruel or vexatious enough to you, to teach you to come 
 home, and take up your cement and reft in God? It may -hen 
 prove more cruel, and more vexations co you, till you have 
 better learned this neceffary LelTon. Tet is not your conduion 
 empty enough of carnal delufory pleafures, to we*n you from 
 the world, and make you look wfurer things t Tet are you 
 keeping up your worldly hopes, that che world will again prove 
 better to you, and that you (hall have happy daics hereafter ? 
 It feems you are not yet brought low enough .• you muft 
 yet take another purge, and perhaps a (harper than you 
 took before: You mult have more blood letting, till your 
 deliration ceafe , and your feaverifh third after creature- 
 comforts do abate. It is fad that we fhould be fojW.j/& and 
 unkind, as to ftay from God, as long as any preferments, or 
 pleafures, or profits in the world, will entertain us : But fee- 
 ing it is fo, let us be thankful both to that Grace and that Pro- 
 vidence which cureth us. If you perceive it not better to dwell 
 with God, than with a flattering prospering world, he will try 
 whether you can think it better to dwell with God, than with 
 ZmalicieuX) cruel, fcrfecuting world: And whether it be bet- 
 ter to have your hearts in Heaven, than in poverty, prifon, 
 banifhmentor reproach. If you find it not better to converfe 
 with God, than with thofe that /w»$#r you, p/f <*/"<? you, or />♦■?- 
 /Vryou-, he will try whether you can think it better to con- 
 verge with him, than with thole that hate, revile^ belje, and 
 ferfecute you. And are thefe the wife and wholfome methods 
 of our great Phyfician? And (hall we not rather be ruled by 
 him, than by ourbrutifh appetites ? and think better of his 
 counfels, than of the blind concupifcence ofthe flefh ? Let this 
 be the (jf^ of all our fufferings,andall the cruelties and inju- 
 ries of the world, to drive us home to converfe With God t and 
 to turn our dejtres t znd labours, and expeditions, to the true 
 felicity that never will forfake us j and then, the Will of the 
 Lord be done / Lethimchoofc /;*/ weans, if this may be the 
 end: Let us kifs the Rod, and not revile ir, if this may be the 
 fruit of his corrections. Who will not pray that God would 
 deny us thofc contents , which keep us from faking our cement 
 
 in 
 
Par 1 1 L Walking with God. 1 9 1 
 
 in him ? And that he would deny us all thofe hurtful pleafuret 
 which hinder us from p leafing him, or from making him and 
 his waies our chiefeft pleafure ? And that he would permic us 
 no fuch creature-converfe, as htndcrth our converfe with 
 himf Id's ^living there (be it in prifon or at liberty) where 
 wcmzy live be fl to God. Come home, O fufforing Chriftian, 
 to thy God / take up thy Content and Re ft in him ^ be fatif- 
 fiedwith him as thy Portion \ and remember Where it is that 
 he is to be fully and -perpetually enjoyed \ and then it is good 
 for thee that thou waft afflicted j tor all thy fufferings have 
 their end. 
 
 This laft Confideration will be further profecuted in the 
 following Part : And the Directions for Walking -with God % 
 which I (hould here give you, I have referved for a peculiar 
 Jreatife, intided AChrifti*»Direttorj. 
 
 Pp* THE 
 
I 
 
 THE 
 
 CHRISTIANS 
 
 Converfc with God: 
 
 O R, 
 
 The Insufficiency and Uncertainty 
 
 OF 
 
 HUMANE FRIENDSHIP- 
 
 AND THE 
 
 Improvement of Solitude 
 
 IN 
 
 Con verfe with God . 
 
 With fome of the Authors brea- 
 things after him. 
 
 By Richard Baxter 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for Francis Tj ton at the three Daggers in Tlttt-firtn, 
 and Ntvil Simmons Bookfeller in Kederminfter. 1664. 
 
 u." ■ . wii w.iwi,HHHU)IHHi 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS- 
 
 THe Context opened. P- 2 ^8 
 
 Why ChrifiwM forfakenby his Bifclples. p. 300 
 life 1. Expecl bj the forfeiting of your friends to be 
 conformed unto Cbrift : Reafons for jour Expedi- 
 
 tion. 
 
 p. 3 oz 
 
 P. 3i3 
 
 P.3 1 * 
 p. 322 
 
 p. 324 
 
 p.m 
 
 the Aggravations of their for faking you. 
 
 Some quieting Con ft derations. 
 
 The order of forms in the School of Chr iff. 
 
 The Vifciples fcattered even man to bis own. 
 
 Selfijhnefs contrary to friendly fidelity. 
 
 Confederations to quiet us in the death of faithful friends. 
 
 Whether m (ball know them in Heaven. p. 3 J I 
 
 Whether creatures be any matter of our Comfort in Hea- 
 ven. P-33* 
 
 Queft, 
 
The Contents.' 
 
 Do$. B . when att Makes, and have us (as J'Je% 
 
 Ufc i Instate cbrifl , Live upon G od alone, &"J 
 
 Jn what cafes Solitude is lawful and rood J* 34 ' 
 
 Zeafons again/l unneceflary Solitude. ' P* 34* 
 
 Dtreiliensfer converting with GodinSolitS '' 3U 
 
 concluded in further Meditation StHdf ' P " 3 ?° 
 ACautkn. P-37J 
 
 . P-378 
 
 Job. 
 
$79 
 
 Joh. 16. 51, 
 
 <Behold the hour cometh,yea is come, that ye [ball 
 be fcattered every man to his ewn, and (ball leave 
 me alone ' And yet 1 am not alone, becauje the Father 
 is with me. 
 
 Aving treated of our Conformity to Chrijit* 
 fufferingt, in General, I fince came diftinctly 
 to treat of his f*rticul<trfi,ferings in which 
 we muft be conformed tobra: And having 
 gone over many of thofe particulars, lam 
 this day to handle the inftanceof [Chrift* 
 bei«<r forfaktn by hit friends and followers.] 
 He thought meet to foretell them how they Ihould mantfeft 
 their infirmity and untruft.nefc in this ^^P ora />' /^^rj 
 of him hat fo he might fullyer convince them, that he knew 
 what was in man, and that he knew future contingencies, v or 
 things to come which feem meft dependent on the wdl ol man) 
 and that he voluntarily fubmitted to his deiened ^fta and 
 expeft-d nofupportfrom crcacures.butthar ».^fhould then 
 do U4 for Chrifl, When Chrifi was doing mofi for n>,n ■ hat 
 i^by an unthankful forf*ki»iChrift, (hould then nian.fett 
 his/*r/«fc»dep\orateftate, when Chrift was to mase atone, 
 mentfot his Reconciliation to God, and was preparing the 
 
29% Of C0nvcrjing with Cod in Solitude. Part III. 
 
 mod coftly remedy for his recovery. He foretold them of the 
 fruit which their infirmity would produce, to humble them 
 that were apt to think too highly of themfelves for the late 
 free confeftion they had made of Chrift , when they had new- 
 ly faid [Now fre arc Jure that thouknowt ft all things : by this 
 7ve are lure that thou come ft forth from God, ver. 30 ] 
 
 He anfwereth -hem Q Do je now btlhvt f Behold the hour 
 coweth,&c.~] Not that Chrift would not have his fervants 
 k >ow his graces in them, but he would alfo have them know 
 thz corruption that is latent, and the infirmity confident with 
 their grace. We are very apt to judge of all that is in us, and 
 of all that we Jhalldo hereafter, by what wefeelat the prefent 
 upon our hearts. As when we feel the*ftirring of fome cor- 
 ruption wq are apt to think that there is nothing elfe, and hardly 
 perceive the contrary grace, and are apt to think it will never 
 be better with us : fo when we feel theexercife of faith, dejire 
 or love , we are apt to overlook the contrary corruptions, and 
 to think that we (hall never feel them more. But Chrift 
 would keep us both humble and vigilant, by acquainting us 
 with the mutability and unconftancy of our minds. When it 
 goes well with us, we forget that the time is coming when it 
 may go worfe. As Chrift faid to his Difoples here in the 
 cafe of Relieving, we may fay toour fetves in that and other 
 e-afes : Do we now Believe f It is well : but the time may be 
 coming in which we may be brought to (hake with the ftir- 
 rings of our remaining unbelief, and ftirewdly tempted to 
 queftion the truth of Chriftianity it felf, and of the holy Scri- 
 ptures, and of the life to come. Do we now rejoyce in the 
 perfwafions of the Loveof God ? The time may becoming, 
 when we may think our fel ves forfaken and undone, and think 
 he will eiteem and ufe us as his enemies. Do we new pray With 
 fervittr^nd pour out our fouls enlargedly to God ? It is well ; 
 but the time may be coming when we (hall feem to be as dumb 
 and prayerlefs, and fay, we cannot pray, or elfe we find no 
 audience and acceptance of our prayers. Chrift knoweth 
 that in us which we little know by our fclves -, and therefore 
 may foreknow that we will commit fuch fins, or fall into fuch 
 dangers, as we \ittk fear. 
 
 What Chrift here prophefieth to them did afterwards all 
 
 come 
 
Part III. Of Conveying with God In Solitude. 2pp 
 
 come topafs. As foon as ever danger and trouble did ap- 
 pear,they began to flag, and to (hew how ill they could adhere 
 unto him or fuffer with him, without his fpecial corroborating 
 grace : In the garden when he was fweating blood in prayer 
 they were fleeping ^ Though the fpirit was willing, the fle(h 
 was weak : They could not watch with him one hour, Mauh. 
 26.40,41. When he was apprehended, they fhiftcd each man 
 for himfelf, Matth. 26. 56. [Then all the Difciples forfoo^ 
 him and fled. And as this is (aid to be that the Scriptures might 
 be fulfilled, Macth. 16. 54, 56. fo it might be faid to be, that 
 this prediclion of Chrift him/elf might be fulfilled. Not that 
 Scripture Prophefies did caufe the fin by which they were ful- 
 filled, nor that God caufed the fin to fulfill his own predictions, 
 but that God cannot be deceived who foretold in Scriptures 
 long before that thus it would come to pafs : when it is faid 
 that \jhns it muft be that the Scripture maj be fulfilled ~\ the 
 meaning is not, that \jhus God will makeitbe\ or [thus he 
 cauftth men u do~\ that he may fulfill the Scriptures : It is not 
 necejfitas confequentis vel cau[ata that is inferred from predi- 
 ctions ; but only neceffitas confequentia • a Logical Neceflity 
 in ordine cognofcendi& dicendi ^ not a Natural Neceffity in or- 
 dine effendi : not a Necejfitj of the Thing it f elf as caufed by 
 the prediction or decree ; but a necejfity of the truth of this 
 conclufion in arguing •, \_jnch a thing Will be, becaufe God hath 
 decreed, foreknown or foretold it : ~] or [whatever God for e- 
 telleth,muft necefarily come to pafs-, (that is , will certainly 
 come to pafs : but this God hath foretold: therefore thisVftll 
 come to pafs."] 
 
 Here are three obfervable points in the Text, that are wor- 
 thy our diftind confideration, though for brevity fake I (hall 
 handle them together. 
 
 1. That Chrift was forfa\en by his own Difciples and left 
 alone. j 
 
 2. When the Difciples left Chrift, they were fcattered every 
 one to his own. They returned to their old habitations, and 
 od acquaintance, and old employment, as if their hopes and 
 hearts had been almoft broken, and they had loft all their la- 
 bour in following Chrift lo long : Yec the root of faith and 
 and love thac Hill remained, caufed them to enquire further 
 
 Qj[ 2 of 
 
3 oo ofC0»verfi*g with Gtd in Solitude , Part III 
 
 Scfe e m :" t d e ' rs andrOCOme "***. infeCr « t0 ™** *"** 
 3- When Cbrifi WMfrrltkfH of his Dif cities and left a h«. 
 
 JepJratedfromhimorhislove. 
 
 Wearenowtoconfiderofthisnotonly as a tartnf rU.-it 
 
 2ft^ * *'*• Ic ,™V Poffibly feem rtranre to fs ha 
 Chnft would fnffer all his D lf ciples to/"/*, him in £ St ea 
 ■nicy, and I doubt ,t will feem ftrange,. « when ir !«/,! 
 /«««_;, and our fuffering for Chrift fandperhaos f ,,I , 
 we (hall find our felves forfrken by thoYe tha 2 m/ft h W 
 valued and had the greareft family w,h BuTthere^ 
 many Reafons of this perm.flive providence open to Z 2 
 
 i. No wonder if when Chrift was fuffering/V /?* he would 
 even then permit the power and odioufnefs of fin toS 
 forth chat ,t m.ght be known he fuffered „, ft, J„ N ™ 
 
 the latent nnbel.ef.nd felfifhnefs, and unthankfulnefs S 
 rema,„ed , n them, thatfo they might know that the death of 
 Chnft was as neceflary for them as for others . and the 
 gvnfahtj o{ the Aft* might fhew the need that t'he „m «h 
 ftiould be untveral. And i, ft noneof Chrift, intent to ma£ 
 h,s fervants to feem better then they are, to rhemfelves * 
 others, orrohonourhimfelfby the mdingof their fo„E bu 
 to magn.fie b» pardoning and healing grace, by the means oJ 
 occafion of the fins wh.ch he pardonefh and healeth 
 
 2. Hereby he wdl bring his followers. to the fuller know- 
 kdge o themlelves, and (hew them that which all the.r dayls 
 fhould keep them humble, and watchful, andfave them from 
 Prefumpuonand rruftmg in thcmfelves : When we have made 
 any full confeflionof Chrift, or done him any confidence 
 
 ZBehU », h^efor/ksn Ml and folded thee , What Jhll) 
 »< b* W q As ,f they had rather been Givers to Chrift then 
 Jr«.«r»tro n ,h, m . and had highly mented at his hands: 
 But when TWforfweartth him. and the reft (hift for them- 
 ielves, and when they come to themfelvcs.after fuch cowardly 
 
 and 
 
Part 1 1 1 . Of CenverfiHg with Cod in Solitude. jc i 
 
 and ungrateful dealings, then they will better undei ftand their 
 weaknefs, and know on whom ihcy muft depend. 
 
 3, Hereby alfo they fhall better underftand what they 
 would have been, if God had left them to themfelves, chic fo 
 they may be chankful for grace received, and may not boaft 
 themfelves againl* the miferable world, as if they had made 
 themfelves to diffcr, and had not received ail tha: grace by 
 which chcy excel the common fore : wbenour falls have hurt 
 us and fhamed us, we fhall know to whom we muft be behol- 
 den tofupportus. 
 
 4. Chrift would permit bis Difciples thus far to forfake 
 him, becaufe he would have no fupport from man, in his yV//- 
 ferings for man : This was part or his voluntary humiliation, 
 to be deprived of all earthly Comforts, and to bear affliction 
 
 " even from thole few, that but lately were his faithful fervants; 
 that mm dealing like men, and finners t while he was doing like 
 God, and as a Saviour, no man might challenge tohimfelfthe 
 honour of contributing to the Redemption of the world, fo 
 much as by encouraging the Redeemer. 
 
 5. Chrift did permit the Faith and courage of his Difciples 
 thus far to fail, that their witnefs to him might be of the grea- 
 ter credit and authority, when his actual Refurre&ion and the 
 Communication of the Spirit fhould compel them to believe : 
 when all their doubts were diffipated, they that had doubted 
 themfelves, and yet were conftrained to believe, would be re- 
 ceived as the moft impartial witnefles by the doubting world, 
 
 6. Laftly,bythe defertion and diffipation of his Difciples, 
 Chrift would teach us whenever we are called to follow him in 
 fuffering, what to expeft from the belt of men • Even to 
 know that of themfelves they are untrufty, and may fail us : 
 and therefore not to look for too much affiilance or encou- 
 ragement from them, Paul lived in a time when Chriftians 
 were more felf-denyingand ftedfaft than they are now 2 And 
 Paul was one that might better exped to be faithftlly accom- 
 panied in his fufferings for Chrift, than any of us: And yet he 
 faith, zTim. 4. 16. \_At my fir ft anfvttr no man flood with me, 
 but all men farfeokjne :] and prayeth, that it be not laid to 
 their charge : Thus you have feen lome Reafons why Chrifi 
 confented to be left of all, and permitted his Difciples to de- 
 fert him in his fuffcrings. C^q 3 Yee 
 
so* Of Convcrftng mih Ccd in Solitude. Part 1 1 1, 
 
 Yet note here, "that it is but a partial temporary forfakjn* 
 thpt Chrift permitteth j and not a total or final foriakmg or 
 Apoflade. Though he will let them fee that they art yet men, 
 yet will he not leave them to be but as other men : Nor will he 
 quite ca(l them off, or fuffer them to penfh. 
 
 Nor is it ail alike that thus forfake him -, Peter doth not do 
 as Jndasi The fincere may manifeft their infirmity •, but the 
 Hypocrites will manifeft iheir hypocrifte. 
 
 And accordingly in our fuferings our familiars that were 
 falfe-hearced (as being worldlings and carnal at the heart) 
 may perhaps betray us, and/ff againft $§s y ox forfake the canfe of 
 Chriflt and follow the way of gain and honour: when our 
 tempted fhrinking friends that yet may have fome fincerity, 
 may perhaps look^jlrange at us, and feem not tok»oV? pu y and 
 may hide their heads, and (hew their fears •, and perhaps alio 
 begin to itudy fomefelf-deceiving arguments and diftin&ions, 
 and to ftretch their confeiences, and venture on fome fin, 
 becaufe they are afraid to venture on affliction ; till Chrift (hall 
 cad a gracious rebuking quickning afped on them, and (hame 
 them for their finful fhame,& fear them from their finful fears, 
 and inflame their Love to him by the motions of his Love to 
 them , and deftroy the Love that turned them from him; And 
 then the fame men that difhonourably failed Chrift and us, 
 and began to (brink, will turn back and reaffume their arms, 
 and by patient fuflering overcome, and win the Crown as we 
 have done before them. 
 
 Vfe. /^Hriftians, expect to be conformed to your Lord in 
 
 K^Jthis pArt of his Humiliation alfo: Are your friends 
 
 yet faft and friendly to you ? For all that expect that many of 
 
 them at lead fhould prove lefs friendly : and promife not your 
 
 felves an unchanged conftancy in them: Are they yet nfefnl 
 
 to you? expect the time when they cannot help you: Are 
 
 they your comforters and delight , and is their company much 
 
 of your folace upon earth ? Be ready for the time when they 
 
 may become your (harped fcourges, and moil heart-peircing 
 
 ? icfe, or at lead when you (hall fay, We have no pleafure in 
 
 them. Have any of them, or all, already failed you? what 
 
 wonder ? 
 
Part Ilf. ofCinvnfwg with God in Solitude. 303 
 
 wonder ? Are they not men, and finners? To whom were 
 they ever To conftant as not to fail them? Rebuke yourfeives 
 lor your unwarrantable expectations from them: And learn 
 hereafter to know what man is, and expeft that friends fliould 
 uie you as followeth. 
 
 1. Some of them that you thought [metre, fhall prove per- 
 haps unfaithful and difftmblers, and M^on fallings out^ or mat— 
 ters offelf-intereft may leek yout mine. Are you better than 
 David that had an %s4chitophil* or than Paul chathadaZfc- 
 wm ? or thanChrift that had a fudiU? Some will forfak*God : 
 what wonder then if they forfaKe you ? Bccaufe iniquity fhall 
 abound, the love of 'many fhall wax cold, Mat. 24. 12. Where 
 pride and vain-glory, and fenfuality and worldlinefs are un- 
 modified at the heart, there is no truftinefs infuch perfons : 
 For their wealth, or honour, or flefhly intereft, they will part 
 with God and their falvation ^ much more with their beft de- 
 ferring friends. Why may not you as well as fab ha\e occa- 
 fion to complain, f_He hathput my Brethren far from me, and 
 rnj acquaintance are very eftranged from me : My kjnsfolJ^have- 
 failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me : They that* 
 dwell in myhoufe, and my Maidens count me for a fir anger 1 I 
 am an alien in their fight : 1 called myfervant, a»d he gave me 
 no anfwer ; J intreated him with my mouth: My breath is 
 ftrangeto my wife-chough Untreated for the children* fal^e of my 
 own body : Tea young children defpifed me : 1 arofe^and they ffake 
 againft me : All my inboard friends abhorred me : and they whom. 
 I loved are turned againfiwe, Job 1 9. 1 3 , 14, 1 5,16, 1 7, 1 8, 1 p. 
 Why may not you as well &s David be put to fay Tea mine ow*. 
 familiar friend in whom 1 trufted, which did eat of my bread 
 hath lift up his heel againflmel~] Pfal. 41. 9. Thofe that have* 
 been moft acquainted with the fecrets of your foul, andprivy 
 to your very thoughts, may be the perfons that fhall betray 
 you, or grow flrangc to you. Thofe that yon have moft ob- 
 liged by benefits, may prove your greateft enemies. You may. 
 find fome of your friends like birds of prey, that hover about 
 you for what they can get, and when cheyhave catcht it, fly 
 away; U you have given them all that you have, they will 
 forfakeyou, andjperhaps reproach you, becaufeyou have nd 
 more to give them. Tney are your friends more for what 
 
 cbey 
 
Of Convtrfkg with God in Sditnda. Part HI. 
 
 \; yetexpecl from you, than for what they have already rs~ 
 ivei. If you cannot:/?/// be helpful to them, or feed their 
 covetous defires, or fupply their wants, you are to them but 
 chat they had never known. Many a faithful Miniftcr 
 ^hrift hath ftudied, and preacht,and prayed, and wept for 
 ■:ir peoples fouls, and after all have been taken for their 
 enemies, andufedas fuch • yea even becAnfe they have done 
 mvckiox them. Like the Patient, that being cnred of a 
 rtal fkknefs, fued his Phyfician at Law for making him 
 lick with the ftryfick (But it is indeed ouruncured patients on- 
 iy thatarj oflended v.ith us.) Paul was accounted an enemy 
 to i he GMuihianj^'btcmk he told them the truth. Ungrateful 
 truth rSaketl) /the faithfulleft Preachers mod ungrateful. Ic 
 muftfeem n^jjjfcpiiuV to a Preacher of the Gofpel, when he 
 hath entreated, prayed and wept night and day for' nufer .able 
 fouls, and laid his hands as it' were under their (eet jn hopes 
 of their converficn and falvation, to find them after all bis 
 bitter enemies, and feeking his deftrudion, that could have 
 laid down his life for their falvation. Jeremy feemed too 
 impatient under ths afrlcton, when he faid \Giveheedtome 
 O Lord, and hiArJ^en to the voice of them that contend with me; 
 Sk*llivil be refomptneedfor good! Remember th it I flood be" 
 fort thee to (p,.. l^gned for them y and to turn away thy wrath from 
 thfm: Therefore deliver uptb.ir children to the famine, and 
 ?>-w tut their blood by the force of the fword y &c. Jer. 18 
 ly, 20. 
 
 Tims may irgraitude p.fflid: you, and kindnefs be requited 
 vvuh urk ndncis, and the greaceft benefits be forgotten, and 
 requited wuh the greareft wrongs: your old famil-ars'may 
 be your foes: and you may be put to fay as Jeremy \_Fer 1 
 hea*d the defaming of many : fear en every fide : Report, fay 
 they, and we will report it'. All my familiars watched for my 
 halting^ faying^ Per adventure ht will be enticed, and we /hall 
 prevail againft him % and we fhall take our revenge on him.~\ 
 Jer. 20. 10. Thus muft the fervants of drift be uied, in con- 
 formity to their fuflfering Head. 
 
 2. And iomQthzt are fincere, and whofe hearts are with 
 you, may yet be drawn by temptation to dtfoWn you : when 
 malice is Hindering you, timerous friendihip may perhaps 
 
 be 
 
Part III, ofConvtrftng with God in Solitude. 30 f 
 
 be filenc, and afraid to juftifie you, or take your part : when a 
 Peter in fuch imbecillity and fear can difown and deny his Suf- 
 fering Lord, what wonder if faint-hearted friends difown you, 
 or me, that may give them too much occafion or pretence? 
 why may not you and] be put to fay as David did ,?/*/. 3 8.1 1 , 
 12. \_M] lovers andmy friends ft and aloof from myforjy and my 
 kjfnmenfiand afar off 1 Thy that fee \after my life Uy fnares 
 for me \ and they that feck^mj hurt fpeakjmifchitvottt things, and 
 imagine deceits all the day long!] They that in fearfulnefs will 
 fail their Maker and Redeemer, and hazard their (alvation^ 
 may by afmaker temptation be drawn to fail fuch friends at we. 
 
 3, Moreover, a hundred things may occafion fallings out % 
 evenamongft unfeigned friends'. Pajftons may caufc inconve- 
 nient actions or exprefiions, and thefe piay caufe p-aflions in 
 their friends h and thefe may grow fo high till friends do 
 feem to one another to be like enemies: Paul and "Barnabas 
 may grow fo hot, as to fall out to a parture. How eafily can 
 Satan fee fire on the tinder which he findethin the belt and 
 gendeit natures, if God permkiiim ? No friends fo near and ' 
 de^r, that pafiionate weaknefles may nc; either alienate^ jpr 
 make a grief to one another, How apt are we to take urfyhd- 
 neffes at one another, and to be fufpiciotts. of our friend*, or 
 offended vi'uh them ? And how apt 10 give sccafton of fuch of- 
 fence? How apt are we tocenfureone another, and to mif- 
 interpret the words and actions of our friends? Andhowapt 
 to give occafion of fuch miftakes and cutting cenfures ? And 
 the more kindnefs we have found in, or expected from our 
 friends, the more their real or fuppofed injuries will affect us. 
 We are apt to fay, \_Had it been aflranger, I could have born 
 it : But te be ufed thus by my bo ( t ome or familiar friend, goes 
 near my heart."] And indeed the unkindnefTes of friends is no 
 fmall affliction-, the fuffering going ufuallyas near the heart, 
 astheperfon thatcaufed it was near it : efpecially when our 
 own wcaknefs caufeth us to forget the frailty and infirmities 
 of man, and with what allowances and expectations we mult 
 choofeand ufe our friends •, and when we forget the Love 
 that remaincth in the midft of paffions. 
 
 4. Alfo crofs-interefts and unfuitablenefs may exceedingly 
 interrupt the faftelt irkndttiip.priendfiip is very much founded 
 
 Rr in 
 
306 of Converfing with God In Solitude. Part 1 1 L 
 
 \nfuitabhne(s, and maintained by it: And among mortal, 
 there is no perfect fuitablcnefs to be found •, but much unfui- 
 tablenefsflillremainetli. That which pleafeth one, is difplea- 
 firig to another : One likerh this place, and the other that : 
 One liketh this habit, and the other that ; One is for mirth , 
 and the other for fadnefs; One for talk, and the other for 
 filence.- One for apublick, and the other for a private life. 
 And their personality or individuation having fclf-love as in- 
 separable, will unavoidably caufe a contrariety of interefls. 
 The Creature is infufficient for us : If one have it, perhaps the 
 other mull want it: Like a covering too narrow for t lie bed. 
 Sometimes our Reputations feem to ftand crofs, fo that one 
 mans is diminished by anothers : and then how apt is envy to 
 create a grudge, and raife unfriendly jealoufies and diftaltes I 
 Sometimes the commodity of one is the dijeommodity of the 
 oiher: And then [Mine and Thine} (which are contrary 
 to the community of friendship) may divide, and alienate, and 
 make Two of thofe that feemed One. The inftances of Abra- 
 ham and Lot ("upon the difference among their fervants) and 
 Of Ifaac and jjhmael, and of Jacob and Efau, and of 
 Laban and Jacob, and of Leah and Rachel, and of Jo- 
 feph and his Brethren, and of Saul and David , and of 
 Ziba, Aftphibojbeth and David, with many others tell us 
 this, ft is rare to meet with a Jonathan, that will endearedly 
 love that man to the death, who is appointed to deprive him 
 ofaKingdome. If one can but fay [ifuffer by him, or I am 
 a loofer by him"} it feemeth enough to excufe unfriendly 
 thoughts and actions. When you cangratifie thedelires of 
 alhhe covetous, ambitious, felf-feeking perfons in the world, 
 or elfe cure their difeafes, and poffefs their minds with perfect 
 Charity, then all the world will be your friends. 
 
 5* C re f J opinions alfo are like to alienate many of your 
 friends. This age hath over and over again given the world as 
 full and fad demonltrations of the power of Crofs opinions , to 
 alienate friends, and make divisions, asmoftages of the world 
 have ever had. If your friend be proud, it's wonderful how 
 he will flight you, and withdraw his Love, if you be not of 
 hkmind* If he he zealous, he iseafily tempted, to think it a 
 part of his duty to God, to diiownyouif you differ from him, 
 
Part III. tfCmvttfing with God In Solitude. 307 
 
 as taking you for one that difownech the truth of God, and 
 therefore one that God himfelfdifowneth-, or at lead to grow 
 cold in his affection toward you, and to decline from you 5 as he 
 that thinks you do from God. As agreement in opinions doth 
 ftrangely reconcile affections ■ fodi (agreement doth fecretly 
 and ftrangdy annate them : , even before you are well aware, 
 your friend hath loft pofTcfEon of your hearts, becaufe of an 
 unavoidable diverfity of apprehenfions : Wheri ail your 
 friends have the fame intelle&ual complexion and tempera- 
 ture, and meafure of undemanding with your felves, then 
 you may have hope to efcape the ruptures which unlikelinefs 
 and difference? of apprehenfions might elfe caufe. 
 
 6. Moreo- i r, fome of your friends may fo far overgrow 
 
 you in ypifdovt, 01 wealth, or honour, or worth in their own 
 
 conceits, that they may begin to take you to be unfuitable for 
 
 them, and unmeet for their fur:her fpecial friendship. Alas 
 
 poor man, they will pitty thee that thou art no wifer, and that 
 
 thou haft no greater lght to change thy mind as faft as they, 
 
 or that thou art fo weak and ignorant as not to fee what fecms 
 
 to them fo clear a truth ; or that thou art fofimple to call 
 
 away thyfelfby crofting them that might prefer thee, or to 
 
 fall under the difpleaiure of thofe that have power to raife or 
 
 ruine thee : But if thou be tofimfle y thou mayeft be the objc$ 
 
 of their lamentation, but art no familiar friend for them. They 
 
 think it fltteft toclofeand converfe with thofe of their own 
 
 ran^andftature, and not with fuch Jhrubs and children, thac 
 
 may prove their trouble and difhonour. 
 
 7. And fome of your friends will think that by a more 
 through acquaintance with you, they have found out more of - 
 your infirmities or faults ; and therefore have found that you 
 are lefs amiable and valuable than at flrft they judged you .• 
 They will think that by di (h~.ee, unac-quaintednefs, and an 
 overhafty love and judgement, ihey were miflaken in you -, and 
 that now they fee reafon to repent of the love which they think 
 was guilty of fome errours and excefs : when they come nearer 
 you, and have had more tryal of you, they will think they arc 
 fitter to judge of you than before : And indeed our defecVare 
 fomany, and all our infirmities fo great, that the more men 
 know us, the more they may fee in us that deferveih pitty or 
 
 Rr z reproof i 
 
30$ Of Convtrfwg with G$i in Solitude. Part III. 
 
 reproof, and as pictures, we appear lefs beautiful at theneareft 
 view : Though this will not warrant the withdrawing of that 
 Love which is due to friends, and to vertue even in the imper- 
 fect : nor will excufe that alienation and decay of friendftiip 
 that is caufedby the prideoffuchas overlook perhaps much 
 greater failings and weaknefles in themfelves, which need for- 
 givene fs. 
 
 8. And perh?. ps fome of your friends wiWgrow weary of their 
 friendship, having that infirmity of humane nature, not to be 
 much pleafeA with one thing long. Their Love is a flower that 
 quickly withereth : It is a fhort-lived thing that foon groweth 
 old. It muft be ww/^ that mud feed their love and their de- 
 light. 
 
 9. And perhaps they may have got fome better friends in 
 their apprehenfions, that may have fomuch intereftasto take 
 them up, and leave no room for antient friends. It may be they 
 have met with thofe that are wore fuitable, orr^»be more 
 ufeful to them : that have more learning, or wit, or wealthy or 
 power y than you have, and therefore feem more worthy of 
 their fricndlhip. 
 
 10. And fome of them may think when you are in a low and 
 [offering fiate , and in danger of worfe, that it is part of their 
 duty of fe If- prefer vation to be ftrange to you (though in heart 
 they wifh you well.) They will think they are not bound to 
 hazard themfelves upon the difplcafure of fuperiours, to own or 
 befriend you or any other.Though they muft not deTertCbrift, 
 they think they may defert a man for their own preservation. 
 
 To avoid both extreams in fuch a cafe, men muft both ftudy 
 to underftand which way is molt ferviceable to Chrift, and to 
 his Church? and withall to be able to deny themfelves, and alfo 
 muft ftudy to underftand what Chrift meancth in his final fen- 
 ten ce [_In as much as you did it (or did it not) to one of the leafi 
 ofthefe my brethren, you did it (or did it not) to me.j As if it 
 were to viftt the contagious, we muft neither caft away our lives 
 to do no good, or for that which in value holdeth no proportion 
 with them • nor yet muft we deny to run any hazard when it 
 is indeed our duty : So is it in ourvifitmg thofe that fuffer for 
 the caufe of Chrift : (but that here the awning them being the 
 confefsingofhim t we need more feldome to fear being too for- 
 ward.,) n. And 
 
Part III. Of C$nvcrftng with Ced in solitude. $09 
 
 11. And fomcofyour friends may cover their unfaithful- 
 nefs with the pretence of fome fault that you have been guilty 
 of, fome errovr that you hold, or fome unhanfome or cnl;*ble 
 aft that you have done, or fome duty that you ha\e left un- 
 done or failed in. For they think there is not a better fruiter 
 for their unfaithfulnefs, then to pretend for it the Name and 
 CaufeefGod, andfo to makea^Wj of their /«. Who would 
 not jufbfiethem, if they can buc prove, that Godrequirtth 
 them, and Religion obligeth them to forfake you for your 
 faults? There are few crimes in the world that by fome are 
 not fathered on God (thatmoft hateth themj as thinking no 
 name can fo much honour them. Falfe friends therefore ufe 
 this means as well as other Hypocrites : And though god is 
 hove, and condemned] nothing more then uncharitablenefs 
 and malice, yet thefe are commonly by falfhearted Hypocrites, 
 called by fome pious vertuous names, and God himfelf is en - 
 titled to them : fo that few worldlings, ambitious perfons or 
 timefervers )» but will confidently pretend Religion for all 
 their falfhood to their friends, or bloody cruelty to the fer- 
 vants ofChrift, that comply not with their carnal intereft. 
 
 12. Perhaps fome of your friends may reallj mifiakeyour 
 cafe, and think that you fufferas evildoers, and inftead of 
 comforting you may be your fharpefl cenfurers : This is one of 
 the mod notable things fet out to our obfervation in the 
 book of Job : It was not the fmalleft part of his afflidion, 
 that when the hand of God was heavy upon him, and then if 
 ever was the time for his friends to have been his comforters, 
 and friends indeed, on the contrary they became h\s fcourge, 
 and by unjtuft accufations, and mi/interpretations of the provi- 
 dence of God, did greatly add to his affliction / when God 
 had taken away his children, wealth and health, his friends 
 would take away the reputation and comfort of h:s integrity - } 
 and under pretence of bringing him to repentance, did charge 
 him with that which he was never guilty of •, They wounded 
 his good- name, and would have wounded his confetence, and 
 deprived him of his inward peace : Cenforious falfe accufing 
 friends do cut deeper then malicious flandering enemies : Ic 
 is no wonder if ftrangers or enemies do misjudge and mifreporp 
 our anions : But when your bofome friends , that fhould moft 
 
 Rr 3 intimately 
 
$ 1 6 OfCenvtrfwg with God in Solitude. Part III; 
 
 intimately know you, and be the chief witnefs of your inno- 
 ccncy againft all others, (ball in their jealoufie, or envv or 
 pee\ math- or falling out, be ycur chief reproachers and un- 
 jultaccurei 5, as «t makes icferve more credible to others fo ir 
 will come neareft^o jour felvcs. And yet this is a thing that ■ 
 mnft be cxpefled : yea even your moft felf-denying ads of 
 rdience ro God, may be fo mifund^rflood by nodlv men" 
 and rea! friend?, as by them to be taken for your -great m i f 
 carriage, and turned to your rebuke: As David, dancin" be- 
 fore the Ark was by his wife- which yet did but make^im 
 refoive to be yet more vile. If you be caft into poverty or 
 chf-race,orprifon,or banifhment, for your neceffary obedi- 
 ence to Chrift, perhaps your friend or wife may become vour 
 accufer for this your greateft fervice, and fay, This is your 
 own doing : your raftinefs, or indifcrerion or felf- con ceited- 
 nefs, or wilifulnefs hath brought it upon you : what need had 
 you taiay fuch words, or to do this or that? why could not 
 you have yeilded info fmall a matter?] Perhaps your cofHieli 
 and mofi excellent obedience (hail by your n^rcfl friends be 
 called the fruits of pride, ox humour, or p*f r ,n. or fomecor- 
 i iipt affection, or at leaf* otfo/Ij and incenftfierac^fs. VVnen 
 l.in and blood hath long been driving injou jpainft your 
 duty, and faying, [Do not caft away thy felf: o icrve not 
 God at fo dear a rate : God doth not require chee to undo 
 tnyfelr: why fhouldeft thou rot avoid fo grear inctfrrvtni 
 ences?] When with much ado you have conquered all your 
 carnal reafomngs, and denyed your felves and your nrnal 
 ■intcreft you mufteipeft even fromfome religious? i^d* r 
 be accufed for theft very aftions, and perhaps their accniacioni 
 may fallen iuch ? blot upon your names, as (ball never be 
 wafhed our till the day of judgement. By d.ft.-enceof in* 
 rere.ts, or epprehenfions, and by unacquainted;-^ win vour 
 iicarts and actions, therighteoufnefs of theridueous may be 
 thus taken from him, and friends may do the work of enemies 
 yea of Satan himfelf the accufer of the brethren : and mav 
 provcas thorns in your bed, and gravel in your fhces, yeain 
 your eyes, and wrong you much more then open adversaries 
 could have done. How it is like togo with that mmsrepuu- 
 uon % you may cafily judge, vrhob friends are like Joh,tm his 
 
 enemies 
 
Part III, Of Converfw* with God in Solitude 3 1 1 
 
 enemies ^kt Davids that lay fnarcs before hi. b, .ind diligenrly 
 watch for matter of reproach ; yet this ma)' befall the be ft 
 ef wen. 
 
 13. ft>u may be permitted by God to fall intofome real 
 crime, and then your friends may poifibly ibink it is their duty 
 todifownyou, fo far as you have wronged God : When you 
 provoke God to frown upon you, he may caufeyour/WW/to 
 frown upon you: If you will fall out with him, and grow 
 ftrange tohira, no marvel if your trueft friends fall out with 
 you, and grow itrarfge to you. They love you for your god- 
 linefs, and for the fake of Chriit . and therefore mttft abate 
 their I©vc if you abate your godlinefs ; and muft for the fake 
 of Chriftbe difpleaied with you for your fins. And if in fuch 
 a cafe of real guilt, youfhouidbe difpleafed at their difplea- 
 fure, and fhould exped that your friend fhould befriend your 
 fin, or carry himfelf towards you in your guilt as if you were 
 innocent, you will but (hew that you underfhnd not the na- 
 ture oftruefriendlhip, nor the ufe of a true friend ^ and are 
 yet your felves too friendly to your fins. 
 
 14. Moreover, thofe few friends that are trueft to you; 
 may be utterly unable to relieve you in yourdiftrefs, or to 
 give you eafe, or do you any good. The cafe may be fuch 
 that they can but pitty you and lament your forrows, and 
 weep over you : you may lee in them that man is not as God, 
 whofcfriendihipcanaccomplifh all the good thathedefireth 
 to his friends. The wifeft and greatelt and belt of men are 
 Ally comforters, and uneffe&ual helps : you may be fick, aad 
 pained, and grieved, and diitrefTed, notwithstanding any thing 
 that they can do for you : Nay perhaps in their ignorance, 
 they may iocreafe your mifcry, while they defire your relief ^ 
 and by (hiving indire&ly to help and eafe you, maytyethe 
 knot fatter and make you worfe. They may provoke thofe 
 more againft you that opprefs you, while they think they 
 fpeak that which ihould cend to (ct you free : They may 
 think to eafe your troubled minds by iuch words as fhail *>;- 
 creafe the trouble ; or to deliver you as Peter would have 
 delivered Chrift, and faved his Siviour, firft by carnal counfd % 
 Matth. 16. 22. \_Be it far from thee Lord; this Jbaflnotbe unto 
 thee} And then by earml Mjuftfone 9 (by drawing hisfvvord 
 
 againfs 
 
3 * * OfConvtrfag mth Gsdin Solitude: Pai t III. 
 
 ^gamft the officers.) Love and good waning will not prevent 
 nemi chiefs of ignorance and miftakj?; If your friend cut 
 } our throat while he thought to cut but a vein to cure your 
 oi'Cale, it is notbis friendly meaning that will favevour lives. 
 Many a chonfand lick people arc killed by their friends, that 
 attend them with an earneit defire of their life,, while they 
 ignorantiy give them that which is contrary to'their difeafe 
 and will not be the lefs pernicious for the good meaning of 
 thegiver. Wftohave more tender affeftions then Mothers 
 to their children f And yet a great part of fhe calamity of the 
 world or (ukrefs, and toe mifery of mans life, proceeded 
 from the ignorant and erroneous indulgence of Mothers to 
 ineir children, who to pleafe them, let them eat and drink 
 \ fl thc y wiil >andufe;'em to excefs and gluttony in their 
 childhood, till nature be abufed and. mattered and clogged 
 Withihofefuperfluities and crudities, which are the dunghill 
 matter ofmoft of the iollowingdifeafes of their lives. 
 
 I might here alfo remember you how your friends may 
 themlelves be o\ercome With a temptation, and then become 
 the more dangerous tempters of you, by how much the greater 
 their intereft is in your affections. If they be infefted wirh 
 erreur, they are the ltkcftperfom to enfnare you ; If they be 
 tainted with Covetou/ne/s or Pride, there is none fo likely to 
 draw you to the fame fin ; And fo your friends may be in 
 fffeft your mod deadly enemies, deceivers and deftroyers. 
 
 15. And if you have friends that are never fa firm and con. 
 flant, they may prove (not only unable to relieve you, burj 
 very additions to your grief. If they are affiled in the parti- 
 cipation of your fftfferings, as jour trctthles Arc become theirs 
 (without your eale) io their trouble for you will onomc yours 
 and fo your flock of forrow will be encrcafed. And they are* 
 mortals, and lyable to diftrefs as well you. And therefore 
 they are like to bear their fliare in feveral forts of futT-rings : 
 And fo friendship will make their fufferings to be yours .- Their 
 lick' etfes and pains, their fears andgrie/s, their wants and 
 dangers, will all be yours. And the more they are your hearty 
 friends^ the more they will be yours. And fo you will have as 
 many additions to the proper burden of your griefs, as you 
 bave fufiering friends: When you do but bear that they are 
 
 dead. 
 
Part III. Of Cmverfing with God in Solitude. 3 1 j 
 
 dead^youfiyaslTW^Job. 11. 16. \_Let m alfogothat w e 
 may die with him.'] And having many fuch friends you will 
 almoft alwaies have one or other of them in diilrcfs ^ andfo 
 be feldome free from forrow ^ befides ail that which is pro- 
 perly your own. 
 
 16. Laftly, if you have a friend that is both true and ufe- 
 fftly yet you may be lure he muft ftay with you but a little 
 while. The godly men will ceafe, and the faithful fail from 
 among the children of men ^ while men of lying flattering lips, 
 and double heartsjurvive, and the wicked Wal^ on every fide 
 ythile the vilefi men are exalted, Pfal. 12. 1,2,8. while fwarms 
 of falfe malicious men, are left round about you, perhaps God 
 will take away your dearefi friends : If among a multitude of 
 unfaithful ones, you have but one that isy 'our friend indeed, 
 perhaps God will take away that one. He may be feparated 
 from you into another Country • or taken away to God by 
 death. Not that God doch grudge you the mercy of a faith- 
 ful fnend ; but that 6* wouldbcyour Ally and would not have 
 you hurt your felves with too much affe&ion to any Creature, 
 and for other reafons to be named anon. 
 
 And to beforfakjn of your friends, is not all your affliction : 
 but to befoforfaken is a great aggravation of it. 1. For they 
 ufe to forfakeusinour greateft lufTerings andftreighes, when 
 wc have the greatefl need of them, 
 
 2. They tailusmoft ata dying hour, when all other worldly 
 comfort faileth : As we muft leave our houfes, lands and 
 wealth , fo muft we for the prefent leave our friends : And as 
 ail the reft arc filly comforters, when we have once received 
 our citation to appear before the Lord, fo alfo are our friends 
 but (illy comforters ; They can weep over us, but they can- 
 not with all their care, delay the feparating itroak of death, 
 one day or hour. 
 
 Only by their prayers, and holy advice, remembring us of 
 everlafting things, and provoking us in the work of prepara- 
 tion, they may prove to us friends indeed. And therefore we 
 muft value a holy, heavenly, faithful friend, as one of the 
 greateft treafures upon earth. And while we take notice how 
 as men they may forfake us, we muft not deny but that as 
 SAitsts they are precious, and of lingular ufe to us ^ and Chriit 
 
 S f "" ufcth 
 
314 °f CMverfing with God in Solitude] Part 1 1 1. 
 
 ufeth by them to communicate his mercies ^ and if any crea- 
 tures in the world may be bleffings to us, it is holy ferfons t that 
 have moft of God in their hearts and lives. 
 
 3. And it is an aggravation of the crofs, that they often 
 fail us, when we are moft faithful in our duty , and (tumble mod 
 upon the moft excellent alls of our obedience, 
 
 4. And tbofc are the perfons that ofttimes fail us, of whom 
 we have deferved beft t and from whom we might have expect- 
 ed mo fi. 
 
 Review the experiences of the choiceft f#vants thatChrift 
 hath had in the world, and you fhall find enough to confirm 
 you of the vanity of man, and the inftability of thedeareft 
 jfriends. How highly was Athanafws efteemed? and yet at 
 laft deferred and banifhed even by the famous Conftamir.2 
 himfelf/ How excellent a man was Gregory Nazianzene, and 
 highly valued in the Church? and yet by reproach and dif- 
 couragements driven away from his Church at Conftatttittoph 
 whither he was chofen : and envied by the Bifhops round 
 about him. How worthy a man was the eloquent Chryfoftome, 
 and highly valued in the Church/ And yet how bitterly was 
 he profecuted by Hierome and Epiphanins ^ and banifhed, and 
 dyed in a fecond banifhment, by the provocation of factious 
 contentious Bifhops, and an Emprefs impatient of his plain 
 reproofs? What perfon more generally efteemed and ho- 
 noured for learning, piety and peaceablenefs then Melanch- . 
 ihon ? and yet by the contentions of lllyricns and his party, 
 he was made aweary of his life. As highly as [alvin was (de- 
 fervedlyj valued at Geneva, yet once in a popular lunacy and 
 difpleaiure, they drove him out of their City, and in contempt 
 of him fome called their dogs by the namecfCWi//*-, (though 
 after they were glad to intreat him to return.) How much 
 our Grindal and Abbot were efteemed, it appeareth by their 
 advancement to the Archbifhoprick of Canterbury : and yet 
 who knoweth not that their eminent piety fufficed not to keep 
 them from dcje&ing frowns I And if you fay, that it is no 
 wonder if with Princes through intereft , and with people 
 through levity ^ it be thus ; I might heap up inftanccs of the 
 likeuntruftinefsof particular friends : But all Hiftory and the 
 experiences of the moft, do fo much abound with them, that I 
 
 think 
 
Part III. Of Cwvtrftng with (Sod in Stlituds. 3 1 S 
 
 think it needlefr. Which of us mud not fay with 'David 
 that [aB men are lyars] Pfal. 1 16. that is, deceitful and un- 
 trufty, either through unfaithfulnefs, weaknefs or inefficien- 
 cy ; that either will forfake us, or cannot help us in the time 
 of need ? 
 
 ■ Was Chrifl forfaken in his extremity by his own Difciples t to 
 teach us what to expetl, or bear? Think it not ftrange then 
 to be conformed to your Lord, in this, as well as in other parts 
 of his humiliation. Expetl that w^fhould prove deceitful: 
 Not that you fhould entertain cenforious fufpicions of your 
 particular friends : but remember in general that wan is frail, 
 and the be ft too felfijh and uncertain -, and that it is no wonder 
 if thofe (hould prove your greateit grief, from whom you had 
 thehigheft expectations. Are you better then fob, or David, 
 or Chrift ? and are your friends more firm and unchangeable 
 then theirs? 
 
 Confider, 1 That Creatures muft be fet at a fufficient di- 
 ftance from their Creator. Allfufficiency, Immutability and 
 indefe&ible fidelity , are proper to Jehovah. As it is no won- 
 der for the Sun to kc or beecclipfed, as glorious a body as it 
 is -, fo it is no wonder for a friend, a pious friend, to fail us, 
 for a time, in the hour of our diftrefs. There are fome that 
 willnot : but there is none but may, if God fhouldleave them 
 to their weaknefs. Man is not your Rock, • He hath noftabi- 
 lity but what is derived, dependant, and uncertain, and de* 
 fedible. Learn therefore to reft on god alone, and lean not 
 too hard or confidently upon any mortal might. 
 
 2. And God will have the common infirmity of man to be 
 known, that fo the weak* ft may not be utterly difcotiraged, nor 
 take their weaknefs to be gracelefnefs , whileft they fee that 
 the ftrongeft alfo have their infirmities, though not fo great as 
 theirs. If any of Gods fervants lives inconftantholinefs and 
 fidelity, without any fhak^ngs or Humbling in their way, it 
 would tempt fome felfacculing troubled fouls, to think that 
 they were altogether gracelefs, becaufe they are fo fat fhorc 
 of others. But when we read of a Peters denying his Matter 
 in fo horrid a manner, with fwearing and curling that he knew 
 not the man, Mattb. 26. 74; and of his diffimulation and 
 not walking uprightly, GW. 2. and of a Dwids unfriendly 
 
 Sfz and 
 
3 1 6 Of Convening with Cod in Sdttude, Part 1 1 1. 
 
 and unrighteous dealing with Mefhihofheth, the feed of Jo- 
 nathan -, and of his moft vile and Treacherous dealing wuh 
 Vriah, a faithful and defcrving fubjid:-, it may both abate 
 our wonder and offence at the unfaithfulnefs of our friends, 
 and teach us to companionate their frailty, when they deferc 
 us -, and alfo fomewhat abate our immoderate dejt&ed- 
 nefs and trouble, when we have failed God or man our 
 felves. 
 
 3 . Moreover, confider, how the odioufnefs of that fin, which 
 is the root and caufe of fuch unfaithfulnefs, is greatly mani- 
 fefted by the failing of our friends. God will have the odivuf- 
 nefs of the remnant* of our {elf love and carnalmindednefs, and 
 cowardice appear : we (hould r.ot difcern it in rhe feed and 
 root, if we did not fee, and taft it in the fruits. Seeing with- 
 out tafiing will not fufficiently convince us: A crab looks as 
 beautiful as an apple ^ but when you taft ir, you better know 
 the difference. When you muft your felves be unkindly ufed 
 by your friends, and forfakenby them in your diflrefs, and 
 you have tafted the fruits of the remnants of their worldlinefs, 
 felfifhnefs and carnal fears, you will better know the odiouf- 
 nefs ofthefe vices, which thus break forth againll all obliga- 
 tions to God and you , and notwithftanding the light, the 
 confeience, and perhaps the grace, that doth refift them. 
 
 4. Are you not prone to overvalue and overlove your 
 friends ? U fo, is not this the meeteft remedy for your difeafe f 
 In the loving of god, we are in no danger ofexcefs j and there- 
 fore have no need of any thing to quench ir. And in the loving 
 of the godly purely upon the account of Chrifl % andin loving 
 Saints zs Saints, we are not apt to go too far. But yet our 
 underftandings may miftake, and we may think that Saints 
 Jiave more of fan&ity then indeed they have • and we are ex- 
 ceeding apt to mix a felfijb common love with that which is 
 spiritual and holy; and at the fame time, when we Love a 
 Cbriftianas a Chriftian, we are apt not only to Love him fas 
 we ought) but to overlove him becaufe he is our friend, and 
 Lovethns. IhokCbriftians that have no fyecial Love to ut^ 
 we are apt to undervalue and nrgldl, and Love them below 
 their holinefs and worth : But thofe that we think entirely 
 Love us, we Love abwe their proper worth, as they (land in the 
 
 " cfteern 
 
Part III. Of Convtrfmg with God in Solitude. 3 1 7 
 
 efteem of God : Not but that we may Love thofe that Love us, 
 and add this Love to that which is purely for the fake of Chrift; 
 but we (hould not let our own intereft prevail and overtop the 
 intereft of Chrift, nor Love any [0 much for Loving ut, as for 
 Loving Chrift: And if we dofo, no wonder if God fhall ufe fuch 
 remedies as he feeth meet, to abate our excule offelfifh love. 
 O how highly are we apt to think of all that Good which is 
 found in thole who are the highelt efteemers ofus, and mod 
 dearly love hs •, when perhaps in it felf it is but iome ordinary 
 good y or ordinary degree of goodnefs which is in them / Their 
 Love to us unreliftibly procureth our Love to them : And 
 when we Love them, it is wonderful to obferve, how eafily 
 we are brought to think well of almoft all they do, and highly 
 to value their judgements, graces, parts and works: when 
 greater excellencies in another perhaps are fcarce. obCerved,Dr 
 regarded but as a common thing: And therefore the deftru- 
 ftionor want of Love, is apparent in the vilifying thoughts 
 andfpeeches, that moft men have of one another • and in the 
 lowefteemof the judgements, and performances and lives of 
 other men: (much more in their contempt, reproaches and 
 cruel perfections.;) Now though God will have us encre^fe 
 in our Love of Chrift in his members, and in our pure Love 
 of Chriftiansas fuch, and in our common charity to all, yea 
 and in our juft fidelity to our friend -, yet would he have us 
 fufped: and moderate enr felfilh and exceffive Love, and inor- 
 dinate partial efteem of one above another, when it is but for 
 our felves, and on our own account. And therefore as he will 
 make us know,, that we our felves are no fuch excellent per- 
 fons, as that it ftiouldmakeanoiher fo laudable-* or advance 
 his worth, becaufe he Lovethus -,. fo he will make us know, 
 that our friends whom we overvalue, are but like other men : 
 If we exalt them too highly in our efteem, it is a fign that God 
 muftcaft them down. And as their Love to us. was it thac 
 made us fo exalt them-,fo their unkindnefs or unfaithfulnefs to 
 us, is thefitteft means to bring them lower in our eftimation 
 and affeftion. God is very jealous of our hearts, as to ou? 
 overvaluing and overlovingany of his Creatures: what we give 
 inordinately and exceffiveiy to them, is fome way or other tar 
 ken from him, and given them to his in jury % and therefore to 
 
 S f 3 M 
 
3 18 Of Cpnverftng wlthGodin Solitude. Part III. 
 
 his offence. Though I know that to be void of natural, friend- 
 ly or focial afTe&ions, is an odious extream on the other fide 5 
 yet God will rebuke us if we are guilty of excefs. And it's the 
 greater and more inexcufable fault to over-love the Creature, 
 becaufe our Love to God is focold, and hardly kindled and 
 kept alive: He cannot take it well to fee us dote upon duft and 
 frailty like our felves, at the fame time when all his wondrous 
 kindnefs, and attractive goodnefs, do caufe bun fuch a faint 
 and languid Love to him, which we our felves can fcarcely feel. 
 Ifthereforehecureus by permitting our friends to (hew us 
 truly what they are, and how little they deferve fuch exceffive 
 Love (when God hath fo little,) it is no more wonder, than 
 it is that he is tender of his glory, and merciful to his fervants 
 fouls. 
 
 5. By the failing andunfaithfulnefs of our friends, the won- 
 derful Tatiexce of God will be obferved and honoured, as it 
 is (hewed both to them and tu. When t hey forfakews in our 
 diftrefs (efpecially when we fufTer for the caufe of Chrift) it 
 is God that they injure more than us ; And therefore i(he bear 
 with them, and forgive their weaknefs upon repentance, why 
 fhould not we do fo that are much lefs injured ? The worlds 
 perfldioufnefs fhould make us think, How great and wonder- 
 ful is the patience of God, that bcareth with, and beareth up 
 fovile,ungratefu!, treacherous men that abufe him to whom 
 they are infinitely obliged? And it (houldmakeus confider, 
 when men deal treacheroufly with us, How great is that mer- 
 cy that hath born with, and pardoned greater wrongs which 
 I my felf have done to God, than thefe can be which men have 
 done to me / It was the remembranee of David's fin, that had 
 provoked God to raifeup his own Son againft him (of whom 
 he had been too fond,) which made him foeafily bear the cur- 
 fes and reproach of Shimei. It will make us bear abufe from 
 others, to remember how ill we have dealt with God, and how 
 ill we have deferved at his hands our felves. 
 
 6. And I have obferved another of the Reafons of Gods 
 permitting the failing of our friends, in the feafen zn&fuccefs. 
 It is, that the Love of our friends may not hinder us when we are 
 ■ catledtoftifferordje. When we over-love them, it tearethour 
 very hearts to leave them : And therefore it is a ftrong temp- 
 tation 
 
Part III. ofCMverfingmitkGodin SolltnAe. 319 
 
 ration to draw us from our duty, and to be unfaithful to the 
 caufe of Cbrift, left we fhould be taken from our too-dear 
 friends, or left our fuffering caufe their too- much grief. It is 
 fo hard a thing to dye with willingnefs and peace, that it muft 
 needs be a mercy to be laved from the impediments which 
 make us backward : And the excefiive Love of friends and 
 relations, is not the leaft ofthefe impediments: O how loth 
 is many a one to dye, when they think of parting with wife, cr 
 husband, or children, or dear and faithful friends ! Now I 
 have oft obferved, that a little before their death or ficknefs, 
 it is ordinary with God to permit fomeunkindnefs between 
 fuch too-dear friends to arife, by which he moderated and aba- 
 ted their affe&ions, and made them a great: deal the willinger 
 to dye. Then we are ready to fay, It is time for me to leave 
 the world, when not only the reft of the world, butmydea- 
 reft friends have firft forfaken me / This helpeth us to re- 
 member ourdeareft everlalting friend, and to be grieved at 
 the heart that we have been no truer ourfelves to him, who 
 would not have forfaken us in our extremity. And fometime 
 it maketh us even aweary of the world, and to fay as Ellas , 
 Lord take away my life, &c. 1 King. 19. 4, io, 14. when wc 
 muft fay, I thought I had one friend left, and behold even he 
 forfaketh me in my diftrefs.] As the Love of friends intang- 
 leth our arfedions to this world, fo to be weaned by their un» 
 kindneffes from our friends, is a great help to loofen us from 
 the world, and proveth oft a very great mercy to a foul that 
 is ready to depart. 
 
 And as the friends that Love us moft,and have molt intereft 
 in our eiteem and Love, may do more than others, in temp- 
 ting us to be unfaithful to our Lord, to entertain any errour, 
 to commit any fin, or to flinch in fufTering- fo when God 
 hath permitted them to forfake us, and to lofe their too great 
 intereft in us,we are fortified againft all fuch temptations from 
 them. I have known where a former intimate friend hath 
 grown ftrange, and broken former friendfhip, and quickly 
 after turned to fuch dangerous wayes and errours, as con- 
 vinced the other of the mercifulnefs of God, in weakning his 
 temptation by his friends defertion^ who might clfejhave 
 drawn him along with him into fin. And I have often ob- 
 ferved. 
 
3io of Converfing with God in Solitude. Part JII, 
 
 ferved, that when the husbands have turned from Religion 
 to Infidelity, Familifm, or fome dangerous herefie, that God 
 hath permuted them to hate and abufe their wives fo inhu- 
 manely, as that it preferved the poor women from the temp- 
 tation of following them in their Apoftafie or fin : When as 
 fome other women with whom their husbands have dealt more 
 kindly, have been drawn away with them into permcious 
 paths. 
 
 Therefore ftill I muft fay, we were undone if we had the 
 difpofingof our own conditions. If would be long before we 
 ihould have been willing our felves to be thus unkindly dealt 
 with by our friends : And yet God hath made it to many a 
 foul, a notable means of preferving them from being undone 
 forever. Yea the unfaithful nefs of all our friends , and the 
 rxaliceand cruelty of all our enemies, doth us not ufually fo 
 much harm, as the Love zndTemptation of fome one deluded 
 erring friend, whom we are ready to follow into the gulf. 
 
 7. Laftly, confider that it is not deferable or fuitableto our 
 ftate, to have too much of our comfort by any creature *• Not on- 
 ly becaufe it is raoft pure and fweet which is molt immediately 
 from God ^ but alfo becaufe we are very prone to over love the 
 Creature ^ and if it fhould but feem to be very commodious to 
 us,by ferving our neceffities or defircs, it would feem the more 
 amiable, and therefore be the ftronger fnare : The work of 
 mortification doth much confift in the annihilation or dead- 
 nefs of all the Creatures as to any power to draw away our 
 hearts from God, or to entangle us and detain us from our 
 duty. And the more excellent and lovely the creature ap- 
 pcarethtous, the lefs it is dead to us, or we to it ^ and the 
 more will it be able to hinder or enfnare us. 
 
 When you have well confidered all thefe things, Ifuppofe 
 you will admire the wifdome of God in leaving you under 
 this kind of tryal, and weaning you from every creature, and 
 teaching you by his providence as well as by his word, to 
 Ceafe from man % whofe breath is in his noftrils ; for wherein is 
 he to be accounted of *J And you will fee that it's no great 
 wonder that corrupted fouls, that live in other fins, fhould be 
 guilty ot this unfaithfulnefs to their friends : and that he that 
 dare unthankfuily trample upon the unfpeakable kindnefs of 
 
 the 
 
Part III. of Convtrftng with God In Solitude 32 1 
 
 the Lord, (hould deal unkindly with the bed: of men. You 
 make no great wonder at other kind of fins, when you fee the 
 world continually commit them • why then fhould you make 
 a greater or a ftranger matter of thii than of the reft? Are 
 you better than God} Muft unfaithfulnefs to you be made more 
 hainou<\ than that unfaithfulnefs to him % which yec you daily 
 fee and fleight? The leafl wrong to God is. a thoufandfold 
 more than the greateft that can be done toyou,asfuch. Have 
 you done that for your neareft friend, which God hath done 
 for him and yon, and all men ? Their obligations to you are 
 nothing in companion of their great and manifold obliga- 
 tions to God. 
 
 And you know that you have more wronged Godj your 
 felves y ihm any man ever wronged yon ; And if yet for all 
 that he bear wiihyou, have you not great reafon to bear with 
 others? 
 
 Yea, you have not been innocent towards men your felves : 
 Did you never wrong or fail another ? Or rather, arc you not 
 apter to fee and aggravate the wrong that others do to you, 
 than that which you have done to others ? May you not call to 
 mind your own neglects, and fay, as AdonUebec^ Judg. 1.7. 
 \ThteefcoYC tindten Kings having their thumbs and their great 
 toes cut off, gathered their meat\under my table : As I have done^ 
 fo God hath requited me.~\ Many a one have I failed or wronged : 
 and no wonder if others fail and wrong me.] 
 
 Nay you have been much more unfaithful and injurious to 
 your felves , than ever any other hath been to you. No friend 
 waslo near you, zsyettr [elves'. None had fuch a charge of 
 of you : None had fuch helps and advantages to do you good 
 or hurt : And yet all the enemies you have in the world, even 
 in Earth or Hell, have not wronged and hurt you half fo 
 much as you have done your felves. O, rnethinks the man 
 or woman that knoweth themfelver, and knoweth what it is 
 to Repent • that ever faw the greatnefs of their own fin and 
 folly, (hould have no great mind or lei fure to aggravate the 
 failings of their friends, or the injuries of their enemies, con- 
 fidering what- they have proved to thernfclves / Have I for- 
 feited my ortnfalvation^ and deferved everlafting wrath, and 
 fold my Saviour and my foul for fo bafe a thing as finful plea- 
 
 T t fure, 
 
3** ofConvtrftng withGodln Solitude] ' Partlll. 
 
 fure, and (hall I ever make a wonder of it, that another man 
 doth me fome temporal hurt ? Was any friend fo near to me as 
 my felf? Or more obliged to me? Ofwful foul, let thyoftn, 
 rather than thy fritnds deceit and treachery, and neglects, be 
 the matter of thy difpleafure, wonder and complaints / 
 
 And lee thy Conformity herein to Jefus Chrift, be thy holy 
 ambition and delight : Not as it is thy fuffering, nor as it is 
 cau kd by me ns [in : but as it is thy Conform ity and fellowfhip 
 in the farTerings of thy Lord, and caufed by his Love. 
 
 I have already fhewed you that fufferers for Chrift, are in 
 in the higheft form among his Difciples. The order of his fol- 
 lowers ufualiy is this ; i. At our entrance, and in the loweft 
 form, we are exercifed with the fears of Hell, and Gods dif- 
 pleafure, and in the works of Repentance for the fin that 
 we have done. 2. In the fecond form, we come to think 
 more ferioufly-of the remedy, and to enquire what we (hall do 
 to befaved,and to underftand better what Chrift hath done 
 and fuffered, and what he is and will be to us; and to value 
 him and his love and grace : And here we are much enquiring 
 how we may know our own fincerity, and our intereft in 
 Chrift, and are labouring for fome affurance, and looking af- 
 ter figns of grace. 3. In the next form or order we are feanh- 
 ing after further knowledge, and labouring better to under- 
 Hand the myfteries of Religion, and to get above the rudi- 
 ments and nrft principles : And here if we fcape turning bare 
 Opinionifts or Hereticks by the fnare of controverfie or curio- " 
 fity, it's well. 4. In the next form we fet our felves to the ful- 
 ler improvement of all our further degrees of knowledge •, and 
 to digeft it all, and turn it into ftronger Faith, and Love, and 
 Hope, and greater Humility , Patience, Self denial, Mortifica- 
 tion, and contempt of earthly vanities, and hatred of fin • and 
 to walk more watchfully and holily, and to be more in holy 
 duty. 5. In the next form we grow to be more publick-fpi- 
 rited : to fet our hearts on the Churches welfare, and long 
 more for the progrefs of the Gofpel, and for the good of 
 others • and to do all the good in the world that we are able, 
 for mens fouls or bodies, but efpecially to long and lay out our 
 felves for the convcrfion and falvation of ignorant,fecure, un- 
 converted fouls. The counterfeit of this, is, An eager defire 
 
 to 
 
P art II I. Of Ce»verf»g with G«d in s«lii«&. 3 a 3 
 
 to profe'vte others to our opinions or that Religion which we 
 h a v r echofen,bythed 1 rea,onofne(h and blood or which is 
 not of God, Voraccording unto Godlir.efs , but doth fubferve 
 ou c rnalends. 6. in the next form we grow toftudy more 
 Xp"re and wonderful Love of God in Chnft and to redfh 
 and admire that Love, and to be taken up with the Gooduef 
 and ender merc.es of the Lord, and to be kindling the : flames 
 of holv Love to hm that hath thus Loved us , and to keep 
 our fouls in the exercife of that Love : And withall ■ to l,V* 
 ?„ To? an Thanks, and Praife to him that hath redeemed us 
 and Loved us. And alfo by Faith to converfe in Heaven, and 
 to live in holy contemplation, beholding the Glory of the F,- 
 
 fentufe till we come to fee him face to face. Thole mat are 
 hehgh'eftmthisfcrm, do fo walk with God, and burn in 
 Tove and are fo much above infenour vamt.es, and are 
 fo conv rfant by Faith in H*ven , that their hearts even 
 dwefl there,and there they long to be tor ever. 7 And the 
 higheft form in the School of Chnft, we ate exerc'fing .his con. 
 firmed Faith and Love, in firings, efpecially for Chnft .In 
 Swing him with our Crofs, and being conformed to him 
 and dorfly ing God in the fulleft exercife and difcovery of his 
 G aces in us ,and in an adual trampling upon a that ftand«h 
 UP arainft him, for our hearts: and tn bearing the fn left wi. 
 "ef to his Truth and Caufe, by confUht enduring, though to 
 the death. Not but that the m*kift that are fi c 4M 
 
 fer for Chrifi if he call them to it : Mmrtyriw* 1 °[ 
 
 oroDerto the firong Believers: Whoever forfak 
 KfSSth ft/rChf.ft, cannot be bis Difciple, Z* <4 • 
 But to fuffer with that Faith and Love fa^ioncd, andj 
 that manner, is proper to the ftrong . And ufua yGoddo* 
 not try and exeicife his yenngand weak ones « ith ch< : tryals 
 of the ftrong s nor let his Infants on fo hardafervice, nor 
 p them.nfheiVont or hotceflof the battel, as he do;h he 
 rioe confirmed Chriftians. The fnfierings of tbtt inward 
 demand fears doth take up fuch : It is *,ftr { rg at ordr 
 narily are called to firings for Cbnfl ,.« leaft in any gg 
 tent ■ I have digrelt thus tar to make it plain 10 you, tnat 
 J: Conform r, Christ , **i WW mth hm>nh» 
 
 T C 2 J "11 iTl -&** 
 
324 ofConvtrftng with God in Solitude* Part III7 
 
 f offerings, in any notable degree , is the lot of his bt ft confirmed 
 ftrvants, and the higheft forme in his School among his Di. 
 fcipks : and therefore not to be inordinately feared or ab- 
 horred, nor to be the matter of impatiency,butof holy joy : 
 and in fuch infirmities we may glory. And if it be fo of 
 Offerings in the general, (for Chrift) then is it fo of this par- 
 ticular fort of fuforing , even to be forfaken of all our bed 
 and neareft, deareft friends, when we come to be mod abufed 
 by the enemies. 
 
 For my own part, I muft confefs that as I am much wanting 
 in other parts of my conformity to Chrift, fo I take my felf to 
 be yet much fhort, of what I expect he fhould advance me to, 
 as long as my friends no more forfake me. It is not long fmce 
 I found my felf in a low ( if not a doubting) cafe, becaufe f had 
 / enemies and fo little furferings for the caufe of Chrifl 
 fdiough I had much of other forts :) And now that doubt is 
 removed by the multitude of furies which God hath let, loofe 
 againft me. But yet, methinks, while my friends tbemfelves 
 are Jo friendly to me, I am much (hort of what I think I muft at 
 laft attain to. 
 
 BUt let us look further into the Text, and fee what is the 
 caufe of the failing and forfakjng Chrift in the Di/ciples ; 
 and what it is that they betake themfelves to, when they leave 
 him. 
 
 [_Te {ball be feat t ere d every man to his Own7\ 
 r - Self'denyal was not perfect in them, felfifhnefs therefore in 
 this hour of temptation did prevail. They had before for- 
 faken all to follow Chrift • they had left their Parents, their 
 Families, their Eftates, their Trades, to be his Difciples : But 
 though they believed him to be the Chrift, yet they dreamt of 
 a vifible Kingdome, and did all this with too carnal expecta- 
 tions of being great men on earth, when Chrift fhould begin 
 his reign. And therefore when they faw his apprehenfion 
 and ignominious fuffering, and thought now they were fru- 
 Urate of their hopes, they feem to repent that they had fol- 
 lowed him (though not by apoftafie and an habitual or plenary 
 change of mind, yet ) by a hidden paffionate frightful appre* 
 
 henfion 
 
Part III. Vf Converging with God in Solitude. 327 
 
 her. Hon, which vanished when grace performed its part. -They 
 now began to think that they had lives of their Oven to fave,. 
 and families of their Own 10 mind, and bufinefs of their Own to 
 do: They had before forfak'n their private interejfs\&nd affairs , 
 and gathered themfelves to Jefus Chrift,.and lived in c< mmu- 
 nionjwith him, and one another. But now they return to their 
 trades and callings, and are fcattered every man to hisowv. 
 
 Selfifhnefs is the great enemy of all focieties, of all fidelity 
 and friendship : There is no trufting thatperfon in whom ic 
 is predominant. And the remnants of it where it do:h nor 
 reign, do make men walk unevenly and unfteadfaft'y towards 
 God and men. They will certainly deny both God and their 
 friends, in a time of tryal who are not able to deny them- 
 felves : Or rather he never was area! friend to any, that is 
 predominantly felfifh. They have alway fome intercft of 
 their own, which their friend mud needs contradict, or is in- 
 fufficient to fatisfie. Their houfes, their lands, their monies, 
 their children, their honour or fomething which they call their 
 Own y will be frequently the matter of contention ^ and are fo 
 near them, that they can for the fake of thefe caft off the near- 
 eft friend. Contract no fpecial friendihip with a felfifti man : 
 nor put no confidence in him, whatever friendihip he may 
 profefs. He is fo confined to himfelf, that he hath no true 
 love to fpare for others : Ifhefeemto love a friend, itisnoc 
 at a friend , but as a fervant ,or at beft as a benefattour : He 
 loveth jo u for himfelf ', as he loveth his money, or horfe, or 
 iioufe, becaufe you may be ferviceable to him : Or as a horfe 
 or dog doth love his keeper, for feeding him : And therefore 
 when your provender is gone,his love is gone : when you have 
 done feeding him , he hath done loving you. When you have 
 no more for him^ he hath no more for jots. 
 
 Object. But ( fome will fay) it is not the falfenefs of my friend 
 that I lament^ bat the feparation, or the lofs of one that was mofi 
 faithful : I have found the deceitfulnefs cf ordinary friends .- y 
 and therefore the more highly prize thofe few that are fincere. 
 1 had but one true friend among abundance of (elf- feeders ; and 
 that ont is dead, or taken from me, and I am left m in a Wilder- 
 nefs, having no mortal man that 1 can truft or take much cam- 
 fart in. 
 
 Tt 3 Anfr?], 
 
Of CtHvtrfing with G$d in s»lU»J tm p ar£ m 
 yw miftdl ■ tlUth t0 havc ,ts P^per work upon 
 
 itn^God 1 ; iSfft s,f ^ ? "» 
 
 you? Was it not h™nrda nn S '",! 5 '° U ,^ Ke h,m from 
 And can God do any d£J Sirf'X « " .V 1 ? him h °™ ? 
 give him !eav e to do « he iKh £ "^ ' Wl " >' ou "<": 
 that there was w^juj^f *" ? ? are >"° n thin k 
 ■my in Gods difpo ffi- your irTerdTn^M^' ^' V < or 
 
 God could have P re1eTv^Sfr 0n 7fi n W , r ' W ' £• tb « 
 preferveth fapuM, by m«ns as 1 , , * " • '" bm God 
 And fometime he Teeth thlt S,^ «*»*"«*«* : 
 
 hke cob, ■ ^-ngS^^^ -^^ion a^e . 
 
 tage, and that no means is ft fit as Death k £ f f h • dvin - 
 fervation. And if God had oerm.^S - ' r h,s P re - 
 
 ptation to have fallen into 3 r". y ° n lr ' nend bv tem - 
 evil, or into err nor faTfe Zl fcanaai ° l ! sfin > orc °^of 
 much worfe ,hen death o h^ V "^ T have be ™ 
 fufferedyour fr Zd that wasfo f^T ^ ? ght have 
 
 to have feemed «,yonr ... w „ diou. as he t^^ea 
 
 and inconllancy in „,£"?£* ou t tare'of m " !?jS 
 are fadder rcors of corrnnrmn „o 7/ . ' And clltr e 
 
 God .nd m„ tit^Ji" rr ■"& " ,w 
 
 fon 
 
part III. OfCtnvtrfifig voith God in Solitude. 3*7 
 fontobe diftruftfulofour fclves? Andean we know another 
 better then cur felves ? or promife more concerning him? 
 
 4. How know you What great calamity wight have befallen 
 jour friend, if he had lived as long as you dt fired} When ihe 
 Righteous feem to men to perlfh, and merciful wen are taken 
 away , it is from the evil to come that they are taken, J fa. 57. ,1. 
 Howmanyofmy friends have i lamented as if they had died 
 unfeafonably, concerning whom fome following providence 
 quickly (hewed me, that it would have been a grievous mifery 
 ?othem to have lived longer! Little know you what calami- 
 ties were eminent on his perfon, his family, kindred/ neigh- 
 bours, country, that would have broke his heart : What if a 
 friend of yours had died immediately befoiefome calamirous 
 . fubverfion of a Kingdome, fome mines of the Church,^, 
 and if ignoramly he had done that which brought thefe things 
 to pafs, can you imagine-how lamentably fad his life weuid 
 have been to him, to have feen the Church, the Gofpel, and 
 his Country info fad a cafe? Specially if it had been long of 
 him? Many that have unawares done that which hath ruined 
 but a particular friend, have lived in fo much grief and trou- 
 ble, as made them confent that death (hould both revenge the 
 injured on them, and conclude their mifery. What then 
 would it have been to have feen the publick good fubverted, 
 and the faithful overwhelmed in mifery, and the Gofpel hin- 
 dered, and holy worfhip changed for deceit and vanity •, and 
 for confeienceto have been daily faying, [[had a hand in 
 this mifery : I kindled the fire that hath burned up all / J 
 
 What comfort can you think fuch friends if they had fur- 
 vived, would have found on earth? Unlefs it were a comfort 
 to hear the complaints of the afflided, to fee and hear fuch 
 odious fins as fometimes vexed righteous Lot to fee and hear j 
 or to hear of the fcandals of one friend, and the apoftafieot 
 another, and the finful compliances and decliningspfathird ; 
 and to be under temptations, reproaches and affl' ftions them- 
 felves? Is it a matter to be fomuch lamented that God hath 
 prevented their greater miferies and wo ? 
 
 5. What was the world to Jour friends while they did enjoy 
 it} Or what is it now, or like to be hereafter to your felves? 
 wasitfo good and kind to them, as that you (hould lament 
 
 their 
 
P3 OfCenvcrftngwlthCodinSelitudi. Part III. 
 
 their •Jepxratun from it? wns it not to them a place of toil 
 
 pact oft? ST h" d ,earSMd en€fs? ""Jworft5f.il,. 
 cure * A ,d $* gr0a 5 undcr c!,c burde " of a finfi"! na- 
 and 'J P t 7 £r / ' ttmp:ed ' troub1 ^ heart of languifhings 
 and wealncis of every grace, of the rebukes of God, the 
 wounds of conferee and the mahce of a wicked world? 
 And would you have them under thefe again? Or is their 
 dehver.nce become your grief? Did you not often joy^n 
 praye with them for deliverance from malice, calamities 
 trouble,, .raperfeftions, temptations and fin? and now thole 
 payers are anfwered in their deliverance : and do you now 
 grieve at that which then you prajedfor' 
 
 ,.. D /i! h C , h A W ° rld * f *J Mr f'to» fo we'll and kindly, as that 
 you fliould be lorry that your friends partake not of the feaft ? 
 Are you not groaning from day to day your fclves ? and arc 
 >ou grieved that your friends are taken from your criefs? 
 Sou are not wellpleafed with your own condition : when vou 
 iook into your hearts you are difpleafed and complain : when 
 you look ,nto your lives, you are difpleafed and complain: 
 wnen you look, into your families, into your neighbourh.ods 
 uruo your frtcxds, unto the Church, unto the Kingdeme, unto 
 
 3£ Tri' J? f e d 'J"P leafe< J and complain : And are you 
 a 10 dilpleafed that your friends are not under the fame dif- 
 pleafednefs and complaints as you ? Is the world a place of 
 ^ or trouble to you? And would you have your friends to 
 be as far from Reft as you ? 
 
 And if you have fome Eafe and Peace at prefenr, you little 
 know what ftorros are new 1 you may feethedayes, you may 
 hear the tyd.ngs, you may feel tbe griping griefs and pains 
 which may make you call for Death your fclves, and make you 
 lay that a hfc on earth is no felicity, and make you confefs 
 that they are Bleffedthat are dead i», he Lord, un/Hnrfrom 
 thetr labours, and being- paft thefe troubles, griefs and fears. 
 Many a poor troubled foul is in fo great d.ftrefi, as that they 
 take their own lives to have fome taft of Hell : and yet at the 
 lame time are grieving becaufe their friends are taken from 
 them, who would have been grieved for their griefs, and for 
 ouglK they know might have fallen into as fadaftate as they 
 themfelves are now lamenting. 6 2)e 
 
Part III. of Cenverftng with God in Solitude* a 2 $ 
 
 6. 'Do yoti thinks it is for the Hurt or the Good of your friend, 
 that he is removed hence ? Ic cannot be for his Hurt unleis he be 
 in Hell. (Ac leaft, ic is uncertain whether to live would have 
 been for his Good, by an increafe of Grace, and fo for greater 
 Glory.) And if he be in Hell, he was no fit perfon for you to 
 take much pleafure in upon earth : He might be indeed a fit 
 object: for your companion, but not for your complacency. Sure 
 you are not undone for want of fuch company as God will not 
 endure in his fight, and you mufl; be feparated from for ever. 
 But if they be in Heaven, you are fcarce their friends if you 
 would wifh them thence. Friend/hip hath as great refped: to 
 the goodof our friends as of our f elves* And do you pretend 
 tofnendfbtp, and yet lamenc the removal of your friend to 
 his greatelt happinels / Do you fet more by your own enjoy- 
 ing his company, then by his enjoying God in perfect blefled- 
 nefs / This fheweth a very culpable defect either in Faith or 
 Friend/hip •, and therefore befeemeth not Chriftians and 
 friends, if Love teacheth us to mourn with them that mourn, 
 and to rejoyce wirh them that rejoyce^ can it be an act of 
 rational Love to mourn for them that are poffeffed of the high- 
 eft everlafting joy es ? 
 
 7. God Veill not honour himfelfby one only, but by many : He 
 
 knoweth bed when his work is done : When our friends have 
 
 finifhedall that God intended them for, when he put them 
 
 into the world, is it not time for them to be gone, and for 
 
 others to take their places, and finifh their wor^ alfo in their 
 
 time ? God will have a fuccefiion of his fervants in the world. 
 
 Would you not come down, and give place to him that is to 
 
 follow you, when your part is played, and his is to begin? If 
 
 David had not died, there had been no Solomon, no jehQfba- 
 
 phat, no He^ehjah, no Jofiah, to fucceed him and honour God 
 
 in the fame throne. You may as wifely grudge that one day 
 
 only takes not up all the week, and that the clock ltrikechnoc 
 
 the fame hour (till, but proceedeth from one to two, from two 
 
 to three, &c. as to murmur that one man only continueth 
 
 not, to do the work of his place excluding his fuccefTors. 
 
 8. Tot* mufi not have all jour Mercies by one meffenger er 
 hand : God will not have you confine your Love to one only 
 of his fervants : And theretore he will not make one only uie- 
 
 Vu ful 
 
33© Of Conver fag with God to Solitude. Part III. 
 
 fultoycu: but when one hath delivered his meffage and don-- 
 lr.s part, perhaps God will fend you other mercies by another 
 hand : And it belongeth to him to choofe the metfenger who 
 gives the gifr. And if you will childiflily dote upon the firft 
 mcffengcr, and fay you will have all the reft of your mercies 
 by his hand, or you will have no more, your frowardnefs more 
 deferveth correction than compaflion : and if you be kept 
 fading till you can thankfully take your food, from any hand 
 that your Father fends it by, it is a corredion very fuitable to 
 your fin. 
 
 9. Do you fo highly value your friends for God, or for them 
 or for your /elves, in the final confideration ? If it was for God 
 what reafonof trouble have you, that g d hath difpofed of 
 them, according to his wifdome 3nd unerring will? fhould 
 you not then be more pleafed that God hath them and em- 
 ployeth them in his higheft fervice, than difpleafed that mu 
 want them ? J 
 
 But if you value them and love them for themfelves thev 
 are now more lovely when they are more perfeB ; and' thev 
 are now fitter for your content and joy, when they have 
 themfelves unchangeable content and joy, than they could be 
 in their fin and forrows. • 
 
 But if you valued and loved them but for your f elves only 
 it is juft with God to take them from you, to teach you to 
 value men to nghter ends, and upon better confederations - 
 and both to prefer God before your felves, and better to unl 
 derftand the nature of true friendfhip, and better to know 
 that your own felicity is not in the hands of any creature but 
 or God alone, J ' 
 
 10. 'Did you improve your friends while you had them i or 
 did you only Love them, while you made but \\11\e mfe of them 
 for your fouls? If you ^ them not, it was juft with God 
 tot all your Love to take tftem from you. Thev were oj V en 
 you as your candle, not only to Love it, bu: to work h th> 
 ^tghtot it : And as your garments- not only to Ltve them 
 but to wear them . and as your meat, not only to Love it but 
 to jeed upon eu Did you receive their counfel, and hearken 
 to their reproofs, and pray with them, and confer with them 
 uponthofe holy truths that tended toelevate your minds ro 
 
 God, 
 
Part III. OfCenvtrfwg with Gedin Solitude. 33 1 
 
 God, and to inflame yourbrefls, with facred Love ? If nor, 
 be it now known to you, that God gave you not fuel) helps 
 and mercies only to talk of, or look upon and Love, but alfo to 
 improve for the benefit of your fouls. 
 
 11. Do jou not feem to forget both where you are your felves, 
 and where joh muftfhortly and for ever live ? Where would you 
 have your friends, but where you mult be your felves ? Do 
 you mourn that they arc taken hence ? Why, if they had flaid 
 here a thoufand years, how little of that time (hould you have 
 had their company? when you are almoft leaving the world 
 ysur felves, would you not fend your treafure before you to 
 the place where you mufl abide? How quickly will you pafs 
 from hence to God , where you (hall find your friends that 
 you lamented as if they had been loft , and there (hall dwell 
 with them for ever / O foolifh mourners / would you not 
 have your friends at home ! at their home and your home) with 
 their Father and jour Father \ their God and jour God I Shall 
 you not there enjoy them long enough I Can you fo much 
 mifs them for one day, that muft live with them to all eterni- 
 ty ? And is not eternity long enough for you to enjoy your 
 friends in ? 
 
 Obj. But 1 do not know whether ever I Jh all there have any 
 diflintt knowledge of them, erlove to them, and whether God/haU 
 not there be fo far All in Aft^ m that we fhall nted or fetch no 
 comfort from the creature, 
 
 Anfifr. There is no reafon for either of thefe doubts. For, 
 1. You cannot juftly think that the knowledge of the Glo- 
 rified (hall be more confuted or imperfed then the knowledge 
 of natural men on earth. We fhall know much more, but not 
 fo much lefs. Heaven exceeded) earth in knowledge, as much 
 as it doth in joy. 
 
 2. The Angels in Heaven have now a diftind particular 
 knowledge of the leaft believers- rejoycing particularly in 
 their converfion, and being called by Chrift himfelf [Their 
 Angels.] Therefore when we (hall be equal to the Angels, we 
 (hall certainly know our neareft friends that there dwell with 
 us, and are employed in the fame attendance. 
 
 $. Abraham knew the Rich man in Hell, and the man knew 
 Abraham and Lazarus ; Therefore we (hall have as diftind a 
 Knowledge. Vu 2 4. The 
 
332 Of Ctnvtrftngwltb GodinSoUtude. Part Iff. 
 
 4. The two Difciples Knew Mofes and Ellas in the mount, 
 whom they had never feen before : Though it is poffible* 
 Chrifl told them who they were, yet there is no fuch thing ex- 
 prefled : and therefore it is as probable that they knew them 
 by the communication of their irradiating glory. Much more 
 fhall we be then illuminated to a clearer knowledge. 
 
 5. It is faid exprefly, 1 Cor. 13. 10, 11, 12. that our pre- 
 fect knowledge fhall be done away Only in regard of its imper- 
 fettion-, and not of it [elf, which (hall be perfe&ed : [when 
 that which is perfect u come, then that which id in part [hall be 
 done away:'] As we put away childijh thoughts and speeches, 
 when we become men : The change will be from [feeing in a 
 glafs] to I feeing face to face] and from [knowing in pun] to 
 [knowing even as we are known.] 
 
 2. And that we (hall both Know % and Love and rejoyce in 
 creatures even in Heaven, notwithftanding that God is all in 
 all, appeareth further thus. 
 
 1. Chrifl in his glorified humanity is a Creature: and yet 
 there is no doubt but all his members will there Know and 
 Love him in his glorified humanity, without any derogation 
 from the glory of the Deity. 
 
 2. The BodjofChrifi will continue its unity, and every 
 member W\\\bt fo nearly related, even in Heaven, that they 
 cannot choofe but Know and Love each other. Shall we be 
 ignorant of the members of our Body ? and not be concerned in 
 their felicity with whom we are fo nearly one ? 
 
 3. The ftate and felicity of the Church hereafter, is fre- 
 quently defcribed in Scripture as confident infociety.' It is a 
 Kingdom, the Citj of Qod, the Heavenly ferufalem : and it is 
 mentioned as part of our happinefs to beohh&zfocietj, Heb. 
 12.22,23, 24, ehr. J 
 
 4. The Saints are called Kings themfelves : and it is faid 
 that they fhall judge the world, and the Angels (adjudging 
 in Scripture is frequently put for Governing) There fore , (whe- 
 ther there will be another world of mortals which they fhall 
 Govern as Angels now Govern men ., or whether the Mifcry 
 of damned men and Angels will partly confift in as bafe a fub- 
 je&ion to the glorified Saints, as dogs now have to men, or 
 wicked reprobates on earth to Angels- or whether inrefpeft 
 
 of 
 
Part 1 1 L QfCwverfwg with God in Solitude. 3 3 3 
 
 olboththefe together the Saints (hall then be Kings, and Rule 
 and Judge- or whether it be only the participation of the 
 Glory of Chrift, that is called a Kingdom, I will not herede- 
 termine, bur) it is mod clear that they will have a d fti,d 
 particular Knowledge of the world, which they themfelves muft 
 judge - y and iome concernment in that work. 
 
 5. It is put into the defcription of the Happinefs of the 
 Saints, that they ihall come from the Eaft, and from the Weft, 
 and (hall fit down with Abraham, Ifaac and Jacobs in the King- 
 dom of God. Therefore they (hall know them, and take fome 
 comfort in their prefence. 
 
 6. Love{tven to the Saints as well as unto God) is one of 
 the graces that (hall endure for ever, 1 Cor. 13. It is exerci- 
 fed upon an Immortal object (the Image and Children of the 
 Moft High ) and therefore muft be one of the Immortal Graces. 
 For Grace in the Nature of it dyethnot : and therefore if the 
 Object ccafe not, how (hould the Grace ceafe , unlefs you will 
 call i t*s perfecting a ceaftng f 
 
 Itisa ftatetoo high for fuch as we, and I think for any 
 meer Creature to live fo Immediately and only ufon god, as to 
 have no ufe for any fellow Creature , nor no comfort in them. 
 God can make ufe of Glorified Creatures, in fuch fubferviency 
 and fubordination to himfelf, as (hall be no diminution to 
 his AUfufficiency or Honour, nor to our glory and felicity. We 
 muft take heeed of fancying even fuch a Heaven it felf, as is 
 above the capacity of a Creature ; as fome very wife Divines 
 think they have done, that tell us we (hall immediately fee 
 Cods Effence (\\\sGlory being that which is provided for our 
 intuition and felicity, and is diftind from his Eflence-, being 
 not everywhere as his Effence is J And as thofe do that tell us 
 becaufe that God will be All in All, therefore we (hall there 
 have none of our comfort by any creature. Though fle/b.axd 
 blood JhaU not enter into that Kingdom , buc our IZodies will thca 
 be Spiritual bodies •, yet will they be really the fame as now 3 
 and diftincl: from our fouls : and therefore muft have a felici- 
 ty fuitable to a Body glorified : And if the foul did immediate^ 
 ly ice Gods Effence, yet as no reafon can conclude that it can 
 tee nothing eife, or that it can fee even Created Good, and n*t 
 Love it, io the Body however muft have objecfo.and felicity fi$ 
 for a Body* Vv 3x 
 
3 54 OfConverfwg with Cod in Selitude. Part 111 . 
 
 Ob/. Butitisfaid, If we knew Chrift after the flejb, hence- 
 forth know we him no more. 
 
 Anpto. No doubt but all the carnality in principles, matter, 
 wanner and ends of our knowledge will then ceafe as it's imper- 
 fection : But that sl carnal knowledge be turned into a$*W- 
 tual y is no more a diminution to it, than it is to the glory of 
 our Bodies , to be made like the ftars in the Firmament of our 
 Father. 
 
 Obj. But then I Jhall have no more comfort in my prefent 
 friends than in any other. 
 
 Anfw. i. Ifyou Wnonein them, it is no diminution to 
 our happinefs, if indeed we fhouldhave all in God immedi- 
 ately and alone. 2. But if you have as much in others that 
 you never knew before, that will not diminilh any of your 
 comfort in your anticnt friends. 3 But it is moft probable to 
 ns, that as there is a twofold objed for our love in the Glo- 
 rified Saints ^ one \st>h6rHolinefs, and the other is the Re- 
 lation which they flood in between God and us, being made 
 his inftruments for our converfion and falvation, fo that we 
 fhall Love Saints in Heaven in both refpe&s ; And in the firft 
 refped (which is the chiefefl) we (hall love thofc moft that 
 have moft of God, and the greateft Glory (though fuch as 
 we never knew on earthy And in the fecond refpeft we (hall 
 Love thofemoft that were employed by God for our greateft 
 good. 
 
 And that we fhall not there lay by fo much refpedt to our 
 felves, astoforgetordifregard our benefatlours, is manifeft, 
 1. In that we fhall for ever remember thrift, and Love him^ 
 and Praife him, as one that formerly Redeemed us, and wafhed 
 us in his bloed, and hath made us Kings and Pr'ufts to God: And 
 therefore we may alfo in juft fubordmation to thrift, remem- 
 ber them with Love andThankfulnefs t ihu were his Inftrnments 
 for the collation of thefe benefits. 
 
 2. And this kind of Self- Love (robe fenGbleofGoodand 
 Evil to our felves) is none of the finful or imperfect felfi/hnefs 
 to be renounced or laid by, buc part of our very Natures, 
 and as infeparable from us as we are from our felves. 
 
 Much more, were knot digreflive, might be laid on this 
 fub;e& i butl fhall only add, that as God doth draw us to 
 
 every 
 
Part 1 1 1. Of Cenverftng with God in solitude. 335 
 
 every holy duty by (hewing m the excellency of that duty ^ and 
 as perpetuity is not the fmajieft excellency, fo he hath pur" 
 pofely mentioned that Love endureth for ever fwhen he had 
 defenbed the Love of one another) as a principal motive to 
 kindle and encreaje thU Love. And therefore thofe than think 
 they (hall have no perfonal Knowledge of one another, nor per- 
 (onal Love to one another (for we cannot Love perfonally, if 
 we know not perfonally) do take a moffc erTe&ual courfe to 
 deftroy in their fouls all holy fpeciaJ Love to Saints , by call- 
 ing away that principal or very great motive given them by 
 the Holy Ghoft. lam not able to Love much where I fore- 
 know that I (hall not Love long. I cannot Love a comely Inne, 
 fo well as a nearer dwelling of my own, becaufe I muft be gone 
 to morrow. Therefore muft I love my ]}ibh better than my 
 Lawbookj,or Pbjfic\6ookj,8cc. becaufe it leadeth to Eterni- 
 ty. And therefore I muft Love Holinefs in my felfand others, 
 better than meat and drink, and wealth and honour, and beau- 
 ty and pleafure \ becaufe it muft be Loved for ever , when the 
 Love of thefe muft needs be tranfitory, as they are tranfitory. 
 I muft profefsfrom the very experience of my foul, that it is 
 the belief that I fliall Love my friends in Heaven, that prin- 
 cipally kindleth my Love to them on Earth .• And if I thought 
 I fhould never know them after death, and confequently ne- 
 ver love them more, when this life is ended, I (hould in reafon 
 number them with temporal things, and Love them compara- 
 tively but a little-, even as I Love other tranfitory things (al- 
 lowing for the excellency in the nature of Grace) But now I 
 converfe with fome delight with my Godly friends,asbelieving 
 I (hall converfe with them forever, and take comfort in the 
 very Dead and Abfent, as believing we (hall (hortly meet in 
 Heaven\ and I Love them, I hope, with a Love that is of a 
 Heavenly Natttre, while I Love them as the Heirs of Heaven, 
 with a Love which I exped (hall there be perfected, and more 
 f filly and for evercxtrcded. 
 
 12. The laft Reafon that I give you, to move you to bear 
 the Lofs or A bfence of your friends, is, that it gives you the 
 Ioudeft call to retire from all the world, and to converfe with 
 God himfelf, and to long for Heaven, where you (hall be fe- 
 parated from your friends no more. And your forfaken ftate 
 
 wil 
 
33^ Of Cenverfwg with Gcdin Solitude. Part III. 
 
 will fomewhac sflift you to chat lolitary converfe with 
 God, which it calls you to : But this brings us up to the third 
 fart of the Text. 
 
 AND jet I am not alone, becaufe the Father is with me7\ 
 Do&. when allforfakje us, and leave us (as to them) 
 alone, we are far from being fimfly alone • becaufe God is with 
 us. 
 
 He is not withont company , that is with the King , 
 though twenty others have turned him off. He is not without 
 Light that hath the (hining Sun, though all his Candles be put 
 out. If God be our God, he is our All, and is enough for us : 
 And if he be oar All, we (hall not much find the want of crea- 
 tures while he is with us. 
 
 For i. He is with us, who is Everywhere, and therefore is 
 never from us • and knoweth ail the waies and proje&s of our 
 enemies -, being with them in wrath , as he is with us in 
 mercy. 
 
 2. He is with us who is Almighty, fufficient to prefer ve us , 
 conquerable by none - % and therefore while he is with us, we 
 need not fear what man can do unto us : For they can do no- 
 thing but what he will: No danger, no ficknefs, no trouble or 
 want can be fo great as to make it any difficulty to God to 
 deliver us when and howhepleafe. 
 
 3 . He is with us who is Infinitely wife, and therefore we 
 need not fear the fubtilty of enemies- nor (hall any of his un- 
 dertaken works for his Church or us miic.rry for want of 
 forcfight, or through any overfighr. We (hail be preferved 
 even from our own Folly, as well as from our Enemies fubtilty : 
 For it is not our own wifdome that our grcateft concernments 
 do principally reft upon, nor that our fafety and peace are 
 chiefly fecured by ; but it is the Wifdome of our great Prefer- 
 veri He knoweth what to do with us, and what paths to lead 
 us in, and what is bed for us in all conditions. And he hath 
 proraifed to Teach us, and will be our fure infallible Guide. 
 
 4. He is with us who is Infinitely Good, and therefore is only 
 fit to be a continual delight and fatisfa&ion to our fouls : that 
 hath nothing in him to difaffed us, or dikourage us : whom 
 
 we 
 
Part HI. GfCwvtrftng with Gcdin StUtnM, 33^ 
 
 we may love without fcarofoverloving; and need not Tetany 
 bounds ro our Love, the object of it being infinite. 
 
 5. He is with™, who is molt nearly related to us, and moft. 
 dearly loveth us -, and therefore will never be wanting to us 
 in any thing that is fit for us to have. This is he that is with 
 w, when all have left us, and as to man we are alone •, and 
 therefore we may well fay that wc are not alone. Of this I 
 (hall fay more anon in the application. 
 
 Queft. Butho^o is he with us / Anfw. I. He is Vvith us 
 not only in his EjfentUl prefence, as he is everywhere, but as 
 by his Gracious Fatherly presence: Wc are in his Family, at- 
 tending on him : even as the eye of a fervant is to the hand of 
 his Matter: We are alVcaies with him, and (as hephrafeth it 
 himielfin the Parable £#^15.) allthat he hath in ours, that 
 is, all that is fit to be communicated to us.and all the provifions 
 of his bounty for his children. When we a^ak^ % we fhouid be 
 ftill with him 1 When we go abroad we fh6uld be alwaies as 
 before him.- Our life and works fhouid be a Walking with 
 God. 
 
 2. He is alwaies With us efficiently tc do m Good \ Though we 
 have none elfe that^ra^orus, yet wiii he never caftusouc 
 of his care, but biddeth us calt our cure on him, aspromifing 
 that he will care for us. Though we have none elfe to provide 
 for us, he is alwiaes with us, and our Father knoweth what we 
 want, and will make the beft provifionfor us, Mat. 6. 32, 33. 
 Though we have none elfe to defend us againft the power of 
 our enemies, he is alwaies with us to be our fure defence: He 
 is the Rock to which we fly, and upon which we are furely 
 built. He gathercthus to himfelf as the Hen gathereth her 
 Chickens under her wings, Mat, 2%. 37. And fure while Love 
 is thus protecting us, we may well fay tha be Father himfelf 
 is with us. Though in all our wants we have no other to fup- 
 ply us, yet he is ftill with us to perform his promife, that no 
 good thing (hall be wanting to them that fear him. Though 
 we may have none elfe to ftrengehen and help us, and fupporc 
 us in our weaknefs, yet he is alwaies with us, whofe Grace is 
 fufiicient for us, to manifeft his ftrength in weaknefs. Though 
 wc have.no other to Teach us, and to refdve our doubts, yec 
 he is with us that is our chiefeit Matter , and hath taken us to 
 
 Xx be 
 
3 j8 OfCcnvtrfwg mtb God in Solitude, Part III. 
 
 behis Difciples, and will be our Light and Guide, and will 
 lead us into the Truth. Though wc have none elfe to be out 
 Comforters, in our agony, darknefs or diflrefs -, but all forfake 
 uSjOrare-takenfromus, and we are expofed as H*gar with 
 Jjlmael in awildernefsi yet (till the Father of allconlolatiors 
 is with us- his Spirit who is che Comforter is in us • And he 
 that fo often fpeaketh the words of Comfort tous in his Gof- 
 pel, and faith [Be of good c hear ; let not jour hearts be troubled, 
 neither be afraid, &c7\ will (peak them (in the leafon and mea- 
 fure which is fitccft for them) unto our hearts* Though all 
 friends turn enemies, and would deftroy us, or turn falfe ac- 
 cufers, as Job's friends, in their ignorance or pillion •, jhough 
 all of them fhould add afrL&ion to our affl dion,yet is our Re- 
 deemer and Juftifier ftill with us, and will lay his retraining 
 hand upon our enemies, and fay to their proudeft fury [Hi- 
 therto and no further fhalc thou go] He is angry with fob's 
 accufing friends, notwithftanding their friend (hip and good 
 meaning, and though they feemed to plead for God and God- 
 linefsagainft fob's fin : And whofhaRbe againfl us while C d 
 is for us? or who fha II condemn us when it is he that jufiifieth 
 ttr? Though we be put to fay as David, Pfaf. 142 4. [ / 
 looked on my right hand and beheld , but there \X>as no man that 
 •would know me \ refuge failed me \ no man cared for mj Joui :~\ 
 Yet we may fay with him, ver{. 5. & 7. [_I crjed unto thee, O 
 Lord • / /aid* Thou art my refuge and my portion in the Land 
 of the Living : Bring my foul out of frifon that' I may fraife 
 thy Name : The righteous foall compafs me about :for thou /halt 
 deal bountifully with me 1 2,3 I poured out my complaint be- 
 fore him \ 1 flnwed before him my trouble : When my ffirit was 
 overwhelmed within we> then thou kneweft my path : in the way 
 therein J walked have they privily laid a fnare for me.~] Thus 
 [Godisourrefuye and jirength ; a very prefent help in trouble.^ 
 Pfal. 46. 1. Therefore Should we not fear though the earth wire 
 removed, and though the mountains were carried into the mid ft 
 of the Sea •, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, &c. 
 ' verf.2, 3. Though as David faith, Pfal. 41. 5,6,7. [Mine 
 enemies fpeal^evil of me : when fla/l he dye , and his name perijh ? 
 *s4nd if he come to fee me , he ffeakfth vanity ' his heart ga- 
 thereth iniquity to it ft if \ when he gotth abroad he tellcth it .* All 
 
 that 
 
Part III. Of Convcrftng with God In Solitude. 335? 
 
 that hate me whiff>er together againfl me : againfl me do they de- 
 vife my hurt : An evil difeafejay they, cleaveth fafl unto him j 
 An d now that he lyeth, he fhall rife up no more : Tea ny own fa- 
 miliar friend in whom ] trufted, that did eat of my bread, hath 
 
 lift up his heel againfl me ] Yet we may add as he, v. 12. 
 
 [And as for me n thou ufholdeft me in mine integrity, and fettefb 
 me before thy face for cver.~] Though ( as Pfal, 3 5. 7, &c. 
 Without caufe they have hid for we their net in a pit, which 
 without caufe they hive digged for my foul: 11. And falfe wit- 
 ntjfes did rife up, they laid to my charge things that 1 kne\\> not • 
 they rewarded me evil for good: 15, 16. In my adverfity they 
 rofyced, and gathered themfelves together ; the abjecls gathered 
 themf elves together againfl we, and I knew it not •, they did tear 
 andceafed not •, With hypocritical mockers in feafls, they gnafhed 
 upon me with their teeth: 20. For they ff)?a\ not peace, but 
 thtydevife deceitful matters againfl them th At are quiet in th? 
 Land, j Yet verfl 9. [ My foul flail be joyful in the Lord', it 
 Jhall rejoyce inhisfalvation: 10. AH wj bones /ball fay, Lord t 
 W>ho is like unto thee, whodelivereft the poor from him that is too 
 flrongfor him, yea the poor and the needy from him that sfoileth 
 him.] Though friends be far off, the Lord is nigh to them that 
 are of a broken heart, andfaveth fuch as be @f a contrite (pirit : 
 Ma*y are the affliElions of the righteous >, but the Lord deliver eth 
 him out of them all7\ Pfal. 34. 18, 19. The Lord redeemeth the 
 foul ofhisfervants ; and none of them that trufl in him fhall be 
 dtfolate.'] v. 2 2. Therefore [I will be glad andrejyce in hit 
 Mercy , for he hath con fidered my trouble, and hath known (ar.d 
 owned) my foul in adverfity : and hath not fiat me in the 
 
 hand of the enemy When my life was f pent with grief , 
 
 and my years with fighing • my flrength failed becaufe of mine 
 iniquity, and my bones were cenfumed ; 1 was a reproach among 
 all mine enemies, but efpccially among my neighbours, and a fear 
 to mine acquaintance ; they that did fee me Without fled from me : 
 I was forgotten, and as a dead mm out of mind ; / was like a 
 brokrnv(ffel : 1 heard the flander of many : fear was on every 
 fide •, while thty tccl^counfel together againfl me, they devifed to 
 take a\X>ay my life : But 1 trufted in thee Lord : I faid, Th;u 
 art my Cjod : my times are in thy hand: deliver me from the 
 hand of mine en emits, and from them that perfecute me : M*k* 
 
 Xu thy 
 
540 Of Ccnwrfingmth Ged in Solitude. Pare III. 
 
 thy face to Jhlne upon thy fervant * Save me for thy mercies 
 
 j~ a l^ • q how gf eat is thy goodnefs which thou haft laid up 
 
 for them that fear thee, which thou haft wrought for them that 
 truft in thee before the fons of men ! Thou /halt hide them in the 
 fecretofthy pre fence from the pride of man : thou /halt keep them 
 fecretly in a pavilion from the ft rife of 'tongues , Pfal. 3 I J Thus 
 God is with m when men are far from us, or againft us; His 
 people finde by happy experience that they are not alone. Be • 
 caufe he is nigh them, evil /hall net come nigh them^ unlefs as it 
 workethfor their good. He is their hiding place to preferve 
 them from trouble : the great Water- floods /haM not come nigh 
 them : hewillcompafs them about with fongs of deliverance.^ 
 pfal. 32.6,7. 
 
 3. And as God is with us thus Relatively and Efficiently ,fo aUo 
 Objttlively for our holy convcrfc. Whereever our friends are, 
 God is ftill at hand to be the moil profitable, honourable and 
 del pjufulObjed of our thoughts. There is enough in him to 
 take-up all the faculties of my foul. He that is but in a well 
 furnifhed Library may find great and excellent employment 
 for his thoughts many years together : And fo may he char 
 Isvethin tie open world, and hath all the vifible works of 
 God to meditate upon: But all this were nothing if God 
 were not the fenfe of Bocks and Creatures ,.and the matter of 
 all thefe noble ftudies : He that is alone, and hath only God 
 himfelf toftudy, hath the matter and fenfe of all the Books and 
 Creatures in the world, to employ his thoughts upon. He 
 never need to want matter for his medjtacion, that hath God 
 to meditate on. He need not want matter of difcourfe (whe- 
 ther mental or vocal,) that hath God to talk of, though he 
 havh not the name of any other friend to mention. All our 
 ArTe&ions may have in him the higheft and mod pleafant 
 work. The foul of man cannot have a morefweet and excel- 
 lent work than to Love him : He wanteth neither work nor 
 pleafure, that in hi«s folitude is taken up in the believing con- 
 templations of Eternal Love, and of all his blefTed Attributes 
 and works. O then what happy and delightful converfe may 
 a Believer have with God alone / He is alwaies prefent, and 
 alwaies at leifure to be fpoken with', and alwaies willing of our 
 accefs and audience : He hath no intereft crofs to our felicity, 
 
 which 
 
Part III. Of Convcrfmg with Ged in Solitude. 3 4 1 
 
 which (houM move him ro reject us (as worldly great ones 
 ofrcn have) He never mifunderflandeth us, nor chargech tha: 
 tpon us which we were never guilty of : If we converfe with 
 men, their mift*ks s > and inrerefts, and pajfions, and inefficien- 
 cies, do make the trouble To great, and the benefit fo fmal!, 
 that many have become thereby aweary of the world, or of 
 humane fociety, and have fpent the reft of their daies alone in 
 defcrt place?. Indeed fo much of God as appears in men, fo 
 much is their converfe excellent and delightful : and theirs is 
 the beft that have molt of God : But there is fo much of vani- 
 ty, and felf, and flefh, and fin in the moft or ail of us, as very 
 much darkneth our Light, and dampeth the pleafure, and 
 blafteth the fruit of our fgcieties and converfe. O how ofc 
 have I been foiaced in God, when I found nothing but deceic 
 anddarknefs in the world / How oft hath he comforted me, 
 when it was paft the p uwer of man / How ofc hath he relieved 
 and delivered roe, when all the help of man was vain / It hath 
 been ray Stay and Reft, to look to him, when the creature hath 
 been a broken ftaff, and deceitful friends have been but as 
 a broken tooth, or a foot that is out Gf joynt (as Solomon 
 fpeaketh of confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble, 
 Prov. 25.29.) Verily as the. world werebut an horrid dun- 
 geon without the Sun, fo it were a howling wiidernefs, a place 
 of no considerable employment or delight, were it not that in 
 it We may live to God and do him fervice, and fometime b^ 
 refreshed with the light of his countenance, and the communi- 
 cations of his Love. But of this more anon. 
 
 Vfe l '\{\7^ fee our Example , "and our encouragements, 
 V V Let us now as followers of Cbrifi, endeavour 
 to imitate him in this , and to Live upon God, when men for- 
 fake tts % and to know that while God is with m y we are not 
 alone, nor indeed for fal^e n while he forfakes us nor. 
 
 I (hall, 1. Shew you here Negatively, what you mud not do. 
 2. Affirmatively, what you mufide-^ for the performance of 
 your duty in this imitation of Chrift. 
 
 1. Youmuftnot make this any pretence for the underva- 
 luing of your ufeful friends; nor for your unthankfulnefs for 
 
 Xx 3 
 
34 1 OfConverfwg itith Cod in Selitndt. Part III. 
 
 fo great a benefit as a godly friend : nor for the negled of 
 your duty in improving the company and help of friends : 
 Two is better then one : The communion of Saints, and help 
 of thofe that are wife and fairhfu!, is a mercy highly to be 
 efteemed. And the undervaluing of it, is at leaft a fign of a 
 declining foul. 
 
 2 You muft not hence fetch any pretence to flight your 
 friends, and difoblige them, or mvled any duty that you owe 
 them, or any means therein neceiTary to the continuation of 
 their friendship. 
 
 3. Youmuftnot caufe'efly withdraw from humane fociecy 
 into Solitude. A wearinefsofconverfe with men, is oft con- 
 junct with a wcarinefs of our dury : And a retiring volunta* 
 ri'y into folitude, when God doth not call or drive us thither, 
 is oft but a retiring from the place and work which' God hath 
 appointed us : And confequently a retiring rather from God , 
 than to God. Like fome idle fervants, that think they fhould 
 not work fo hard, becaufe it is but Worldly bpfinefs, and think 
 their Mailers deal not Religicufljr by them, pnlefs they let'them 
 neglect their labour, that they may fpend more t : me in ferving 
 God 2 as if it were no ferving God to be faithful in their Ma- 
 kers fervice. 
 
 I deny not but very holy perfons have lived in a ftateof re- 
 tirement from humane converfe : In fuch cafes as thefe ir may 
 become a duty, 1. In cafe of fuchperfecution zs at prefent 
 leavech us no opportunity of ferving or honouring God fo 
 much in any other place or flare. 
 
 2. In cafe that natural infirmly, or difabllity or any other 
 accident (hall make one iefs ferviceable to God and his Church 
 infociety than he is in folitude. 
 
 3. In cafe he hath committed a fin fo heinous and of inde- 
 lible fcandal and reproach, as that it is not fit for the fervar.ts 
 of Chriit any more to receive him into their local commu- 
 nion, though herepent : (Foras to Local communion, I think, 
 fuch a cafe maybe.) 
 
 4. In cafe a man through cuftome and ill company be fo 
 captivated to fome flelhly luft, as that he is not able to^W the 
 temptations that are found in humane converfe ; but falieth by 
 rhern into frequent heinous finning : In this cafe the righr band 
 
 cr 
 
Pare 1 1 1. DfConverJing with God In Solitude. 343 
 
 or eye is rather to be parted with, than their falvation. And 
 though a meer reftraint by diftance of temptations and op- 
 portunities of finning, will not prove a man fan&ified, nor 
 fave the foul that loveth the fin and fain would live in it ; Yet, 
 
 1. Grace may fometime appear in the ftrength and (elf-denyal 
 which is excrcifed in the very avoiding of temptations, when 
 yet perhaps the perfon hath not ilrength enough to have flood 
 againft the temptation if it had not been avoided. And, 
 
 2. The diftance of temptations, and opportunity of ferious 
 and frequent confideration, may be a means to help them to 
 fincerity th.it want it. 
 
 5. In cafe a man by age or fickle fs find himfelf fo nearte 
 dtath, as that he hath no.w a wove special call to look after his 
 prefect citlual preparation, than to endeavour any more the 
 good of others j andfind wichall, that folitude will he!p him in 
 his preparations, his fociety being fuch as would but hinder 
 him. Inthefe five cafes Ifuppofeit lawful to retire from hu- 
 mane converfe into [olitu-de. 
 
 But when there is no fuch necefluy or call, it ufualiy pro- 
 ceeded from one of thefe vicious diflempers : 1. From 
 Cotvardiz,? and fear of fufTering , when the fouldiersof Chrift 
 do hide their beads, inftead of confefling him before men. 
 2. From a lazinefs of minde and wearinefs of duty : when 
 flothful unprofitable fervants hide their talents, pretending 
 their fear of the auften'ty of their Lord. Itseafierco runaway 
 from our wor^ then do it : and to go out of the reach of ig- 
 norance, malice, contradiction and ungodlincfs, than to e«- 
 counter them,a.ndctnq.tter them by Truth and Holy lives. So 
 many perfons as we converfe wi:h, fo many are there to 
 whom we owe fome duty : Ad this is not fo eafie as it is to 
 over-run our work, and to hide our felves in fome Wilderncfs 
 or Cell, whilft others are fighting the battels of the Lord. 
 3. Or it may proceed from meer impatience: When met: 
 cannot bear the frown, and fcorns, and violence of the ungod- 
 ly, th c y fly from furTerings, which by patience they fhould 
 overcome. 4. Or it may come from bumeurzud mutability of 
 mind, and difcontent with ones condition ; Many retire from 
 humane converfe to pleafe a discontented paftionaic mind ^ or 
 expecting tofinde that in privacy > which in publick they could 
 
«44 ofConverpg with Ced in Solitude, Part I IL 
 
 rot find, nor is anywhere to be found on earth. 5. And fame 
 do kin Melancholy, mcerly to pleale a fi 'cl^im agination t which 
 is vexed in company, and a licde eafcth it ielf in living as the 
 pOiTeiTedman a*nong the Tombs. 6. And fomedmes it pro- 
 ceeded! from f( 1} "-ignorance, and an unhumbledflate of a foul : 
 When men think much better of themfelves than others, they 
 think they can more comfortably converfe with themfelves 
 than with others : Whereas if they well underftood that they 
 are the w'orfl or great eft enemies, or troubles to themfelves, they 
 would more fear their own comp.iny than other mens: They 
 would then coniider what proud, and flefhly , and wor!dly,and 
 ielrifh, and difordered hearts they are like to cirry with them 
 into their foiitude, and there to be annoyed with from day to 
 day : And that the neareft enemy is the worft, and the neareft 
 trouble is the greateft. 
 
 Thefe vices or infirmities carry many into foiitude ^ and if 
 they live where Popifti vanity may feduce them, they will per- 
 haps imagine, that they arefervingGod, and entring imoper- 
 fetlion, when they are but fitfully obeying their corruptions 1 
 and that they are advanced above others in degrees of grace, 
 while they are pleafing a difeafed fancy, and entnag into a 
 dangerous courfe of fin. No doubt but the duties of a publick 
 lifeare morein number, and greater in weight, and of more 
 cxcellenr confequence and tendency feven to the mod pub- 
 lick good, and grcateft honour of God) than the duties of pri- 
 vacy or retirement Vir bonus eft commune bonumi A good 
 man is a common good. And (ia.th Seneca) Nulla effent com- 
 munis nifi pars illorum pertineretad ftngulos] If every one 
 have nor iome fhare or iniereft in them, how are they com- 
 mon ? Let me add thefe few Confederations, to fhew you the 
 evil of voluntary unnecejjary Solitude. 
 
 1. You lefs contribute to the honour of your Redeemer, and 
 lefs promote his Kingdom in the world, and leis jfublerve his 
 death and office, while, you do good but to few, and live but 
 almoft to -jour f elves. 
 
 2. You live in the psoreft exerci/eof the grace of Charity ; 
 and therefore in a low undefirable condition. 
 
 3. You will want the communion of Saints, and benefit of 
 publick ordinances (for I account not a Colledge kfczSditary 
 
 life) 
 
Part III. of Converging with Cod in Solitude. 345 
 
 life.) And ycu will want the help of die Charity, Graces an \ 
 Gifts of others, by which you might be benefited. 
 
 4. It will be a life of fmaller comfort, as it is a life of fmaller 
 benefit to! others. They tna c do but little good (accord<ng to 
 their ability,) mud exped but little comfort. They have uiii- 
 alJy mod peace and comfort to themfelves, that are the mod 
 provable to others. [_Non poteft quifquam\bene degere qui fe' 
 tantum intuetur : Alteri vivas oportet, ft tibi vis vivere : Sen. J 
 No man can live well, that looker h but to himself-. Thou mujt 
 live to another , if thou wilt live to thy f elf ^ 
 
 O the delight that there is in doinggoodto many ! None 
 knoweth it that hath not tryed it : Noc upon any account of 
 Merit-, but as it PleafethGod, and as Goodnefs it f elf is ami- 
 able and fweet ^ and as we receive by communicating • and as 
 we art under promije •, and as Charity makes all the good chat's 
 done to another to be to us as our own ! 
 
 5. We are dark and partial, and heedlefs of our felves, and 
 hardly brought or kept in acquaintance with our hearts • and 
 therefore have the more need of the eye of others : And'even 
 an enemies eye may be ufeful, though malicious •, and may do 
 us good while he intends us evil, faith Bernard [^Aialum quod 
 nemo videt nemo arguit : Vbi autem non timet ur reprehenfor y (e- 
 curus acccdit tent at or ^ licentiui perpetratur in i quit as] [The 
 evil that none feeth, none reproveth : and where the reprover is 
 not feared, the tempter cometh more boldly, ana* the fin is commit- 
 ted the more licenttouflj.] It's hard to know the fpo:s in our 
 own faces, when we nave no glafs or beholder to acquaint us 
 with them. Saith Chryfoftome [Solitude is velamen omnium 
 vitiorum] the cover of all vices] In company this cover is 
 laid afide, and vice being more n,.k}d, is more a(b*med. It is 
 beholders that cmfefbame ^ which Solitude is not acquainted 
 with : And it's a peeceof impenitency not to be afbamed o r 
 fin. 
 
 6. And we are for the mod part fo weak and fickly, that we 
 are unable to fubfid without the help of others. Sen. Nemo 
 eft ex imprudentibus qui relinqui fibi dibet] unwife men (or in. 
 iancs, or tick-like menj muft not be lift to them/elves.] And 
 God hath let fome impo:cmy,in(ufrTc.e-icy and ncccili y upon 
 all that fliould keep men fociable, and make them acknowledge 
 
 Y y their 
 
346 Of Convtrfwg with Cod in Selltude. Part III. 
 
 their need r of others, and be thankful for afliftance from them , 
 and be ready to do good to others, as we would have others 
 do to us. He thai [etleth not the need of others, is fo unhum- 
 bleJ as to have the greater need of them. 
 
 7. Pride will have great advantage in private, and Repen- 
 tance great d[advantage y while our fins feem to be all dead, bc- 
 caufe there is not a temprstion to draw them out, or an ob- 
 ferverto reprove them. [Tarn din patiens quiffa fibi videtur 
 & humility donee nullim hominum confortio commifcetur ; ad na~ 
 turam priftinam riverfurus quum interpi Haver it cujuflibtt oc- 
 cafionis commotio , inquit Cajftanu/] Many a man feems to him' 
 f elf patient and humble , while he keeps out of company > % whd 
 would return to his own nature if the commotion of any occafion 
 did but provoke him.~] It's hard to know whfttfin or grace is in 
 us, if we have not iuch tryals as are not to be found in Soli- 
 tude. 
 
 8. Flying from the obfervation and Judgement of others, is 
 a kind of J \ If --accuj 'at ion) as if we confeftour felves fo bad as 
 that we cannot fhnd the tryal of the Light. \_Bona confeiexti* 
 turbam advecat : Mala in folitudine anxia eft & Jellicita : fi 
 hone ft a funt qua facts, omnes fciant : fi turpia , quid refert 
 neminem fcire : cum tu fcias I O te miferum fi contemn is 
 hunctefttm : inquit Seneca ~\ That is \_A good confeience will 
 call in the croud (or witncfTes, not caring who fteth : ) A bad 
 conscience is anxious and [ollicitoui even infolitude: If they be 
 things hone ft which thou do ft, let all men know : If they be difho- 
 xeft, What good doth it thee that no wan elfe kyeweth it, when thou 
 hnoweft it thy [elf \ miferable man if thou deffife this wit- 
 nefs I ] Something is fufpc&ed to be amiis with thofc that are 
 alwaies in their Chambers, and are never feen. Tell not men 
 that you cannot bear the light : It is he that doth evil that ha- 
 tcth the lighr, left his deeds fliould be reproved. 
 
 9. Solitude is too like to Death, to be defirable: He liveth 
 that doth good •, and he is dead ihzt is ufelefs. \Vivit is qui muh 
 tisufuicft: Vivit isqui[tntitur : quivero latitant & torpent % 
 mortem fuam amecefferint , in quit Sen.~] [He liveth that is 
 profitable to many : He liveth that is obferved or perceived : but 
 they that lye hid and drowfie do anticipate their death,~\ And it 
 is the moft culpable death % and therefore the worit, to have 
 Life, and not to u[e it, 1 0. A 
 
Par 1 1 1 L OfCenvcrfwg with God in Solitude. 347 
 
 10. A life of holy Communkn is li\rfl unto Heaven , where 
 r.one dial! befolitary , bur all as members of the Heavenly fe- 
 rufalem, fliall in harmony Love and Praife their Maker. 
 
 Thefe Reafons feem to me fufficient to fatisrie you that no 
 man fhould choofe a Solitude without a fpecid neceffity or cali-.nov 
 yet fhould it be taken for a life of greater fcrfeblion, then a 
 faithful ferving of God in puhlitl^, and doing good to more. 
 
 I Shall now come to the Affirmative ,and tell you for all this, 
 that [// 'God call us into Solitude, or menfor[a\e w,we may 
 re Joyce in this, that -we are not alone, but the Father is Vvith us7\ 
 Fear not fuch Solitude, but be ready to improve it, if you be 
 cart upon it. If God be your God, reconciled to you in Chrifr, 
 and his Spirit be in you, you are provided for Solitude, and 
 need not fear if all the world fhould caft you off. K you be ba- 
 nirlied,imprifoned, or left alone, it is but a Relaxation from 
 your^greateft labours •, which though you may not call off 
 your felves, you may lawfully be fenfibleofyoureafe, if God 
 rake off your burden. It is but a cefTation from your fharpefi: 
 conflids,and removal from a multitude of great temptations. 
 And though you may not cowardly retreat or fhift your felves 
 from the fight and danger, yet if God will difpenfe with you, 
 and letyoulivein greater peace and fafety, youhavenocaufe 
 to murmure at his dealing. A fruit tree that groweth by the 
 high-way fide, doth feldome keep its fruit toripenefs, while 
 fo many pafTengers have each his ilone or cudgel to caft at it ; 
 Seneca could fay [Nunquam a turba mores e\tios extuli refero : 
 Aliquid ex eoquodcompofui turbatur ; aliquid ex his qtt£ fuga- 
 vi redit : inimica efi multorum convcrfatio~\ I never bring home 
 well from a crowd the manners Vvmch I took^out with me : fome- 
 thing is di {ordered of that which I had jet in order : jomething of 
 that which I had banifoed doth return : the converfation of many 
 I find an enemy tome .] O how many vain and fooliih worcs 
 corrupt the minds of thofe that converfe with an ungodly 
 world, when your ears and minds who live in Solitude, are free 
 from fuch temptations/ You live not in focorrupc an Air as 
 they : You hear not the fikhy ribbed fpeeche^ which fight 
 againlt modefty and charity, and are the bellows of lull ; You 
 
 ' Yy 2 hear 
 
340 Of Converfwgmtb God in Solitude. Part III. 
 
 Lear not thedifcontented complaining words of the impatient; 
 nor the paflionate provoking words of the offended •, nor the 
 wrangling quarrelfome words of the contentious ; nor the ccn- 
 forious, or flanderous, or reproachful words of the malicious, 
 who think it tneir intereft to have their brethren taken to be 
 had, and to have others hate them, becaufe they themfelves 
 hate them •, and who are as zealous to quench the charity of 
 others, when it is deftroyed in themiclves, as holy perfons 
 are zealous to provoke others to Love, which dwelleth and 
 ruleth in themfelves. In your Solitude with God, you fhall 
 not hear the lyes and rmlicious revilings of the ungodly againft 
 the generation of the juft ; nor the fubtile cheating words of 
 Heteticks, who being themfelves deceived, would deceive 
 others of their faith, and corrupt their lives. You (hall not 
 there be diftra&ed with the noife and clamours of contending 
 uncharitable profefTors of Religion, endeavouring to make 
 odious firft the opinions, and then the perfons of one another : 
 one faying, Here is the Church, and another, There is the 
 Church : one faying,This is the true Church Government^and 
 another faying, Nay, but that is it : One faying, God will be 
 worfhipped thus, and another, Not fo, but thus or thus : You 
 fhall not there be drawn to fide with one againft another, nor 
 to joynwith any fa&ion, or be guilty of div'kfions: You fhall 
 not be troubled with the oaths and blafphemies of the wicked, 
 nor with the imprudent mifcarriages of the weak ; with the 
 perfections of enemies, or the falling out of friends : You 
 fhall not fee the cruelty of proud oppreflbrs, that fet up tyes 
 by armed violence, and care not what they fay or do,nor how 
 much other men are injured or fuffer, fo that themfelves may 
 tyrannize, and their wills and words may rule the world, when 
 they do fo unhappily rule themfelves. In your Solitude with 
 God, you fhall not fee the profperity of the wicked to move 
 you to envy, nor the adverfity of the juft to be your grief: 
 You fhall fee no worldly pomp and fplendour to befool you - y 
 nor adorned beauty to entice you , nor wafting calami- 
 ties to afflict you : You (hall not hear the laughter of 
 fools, nor the Tick mans groans , nor the wronged mans 
 complaints , nor the poor mans murmurings , nor the 
 proud mans boaftings, nor the angry mans abufive rggirgs. 
 
 A 
 
Part III. of Ctnvtrfing with Godin Solitude. 349 
 
 As you lofe the help of your gracious friends, fo you are 
 freed from the fruits of their peevilhnefs and paffions -, of their 
 differing opinions and wayes and tempers ^ of their inequality, 
 unfuitablenefs, and contrariety of minds or interefts •, of their 
 levity and unconftancy , and the powerful temptations of their 
 friendfhip, to draw you to the errors or other (ins which they 
 are tainted with themfelves. In a word, you are there half 
 delivered from the V AN I T Y and VEX ATI ON of the 
 world-, and were it not that you are yet undelivered from 
 jour [elves ■, and that you take diftempered corrupted hearts 
 with you, O what a felicity would your folitude be/ But, alas, 
 we cannot overrun our own difeafes, we muft carry with us 
 the remnants of our corrupted nature ; our deadnefs, and 
 du//iefs, our felfifhnefs and earthly minds, our impatience 
 and difcontents •, and worffc of all, our lamentable weaknefs 
 of faith and love and heavenly mindednefs, and our flrange- 
 nefs to God, and backwardness to the matters of eternal life, 
 O that I could efcape thefe, though I were in the hands of the 
 cruelleft enemies / Othatfuch a heart could be left behind / 
 How gladly would I overrun both houfe, and land, and ho- 
 nour, and all fenfual delights, that I might but overrun it / 
 Chvhere Is the place where there is none of this darknefs, nor 
 disaffection > nor diftance , nor eftrangednefs from God / 
 O that I knew it / O that I could find it 1 O that I might there 
 dwell / though I fhould nevermore fee the face of mortals ; 
 nor ever hear a humane voice, nor ever taft of the delights 
 of flefli / Alas, foolifh foul / fucha place there is, that hath 
 all this and more than this : but it is not in a wildernefs, but in 
 Paradife, not here on earth, but above with Chrift / And yet 
 am I fo loth to die ? yet am I no more defirous of the blcffed 
 day, when I fhall be unclothed offlefhand (in? O death, what 
 an enemy art thou even to my foul / By affrighting me from 
 the prefence of my Lord , and hindering my defires and 
 willingnefs to be gone, thou wrongeft me much more, than by 
 laying my flefh to rot in darknefs. Fain I would know God, 
 and fain I would more love him and enjoy him: but O this 
 hurtful love of life ! Othis unreafonable fear of dying, de- 
 tained! my defires from prcfling on to the happy place where 
 all this may be had / O wretched man that I am, who (hall 
 
 Y y 3 deliver 
 
3 <o OfCcnvtrfirtg mthcdin Solitude, Part I IT # 
 
 deliver me from this body of death .' th : s carnal unbelieving 
 heart* chat fomeome can think mure d . I S yof a Wilder- 
 nfs then of Heaven ^ that can go feck after God in defcrc 
 lolitude, among the birds and beads and trees, and yec is fo 
 backward to be looied from fiefn that I may find him and en- 
 joy him in the world of glory / Cm I expect, that heaven 
 come down to earch .' and that the Lord of Glory fhould 
 remove his Court, and ek her leave the retinue of hisceleftial 
 Couriers, or bring them all down into this droffy world of 
 flefhand fin, and this to fatisrle my flefnly foolifh mind / Or 
 can! exped the tradition of Henoch or the Chariot of Elias ? 
 Is it not enough that my Lord hath conquered Death, and 
 fan&ified the paffagc, and prepared the place of my perpetual 
 abode / 
 
 Well l for all this, though a Wlldernefs is not Heaven, ic 
 fhalibe fweet and wellcome for the fake of Heaven, if thence 
 I may but have a clearer profped of it : and if by retiring 
 from the crowd and neiie of folly I may but be more compofed 
 and better dijpokd to converfe above, and toufe my faith 
 (alas, my too weak languid faith) untill the beatifical vifion 
 and fruition come. If there may be but more of God, or 
 readier accefs to him,or more heart-quickening flames of Lov^, 
 or more heart-comforting intimations of his favour, inawil- 
 dernefs then in a City, inaprifon then in a Palace, let that 
 wildernefs be my City, and let that pnfon be my Palace, while 
 I muft abide on earth. If in folitude I may have Henoch: 
 walk with God, I (hall in duefeafon have fucha tranflation 
 as (hall bring me to the fame felicity which he enjoyeth : and 
 in the mean time as well as after, it is no incommodity, if by 
 mortal eyes! be fee n no more. If the Chariot of contem- 
 plation will in folitude raife me to more believing affedionatc 
 converfe with heaven, x} an I could exped in tumults ar.d 
 temptations, it (hall reconcile me unto lohtude, and make it 
 my Paradife on earth, till Angels inftead of the Chariot of 
 £Has, fh.ill convey me to the prefence of my glorified Head, in 
 theCelefll.il Paradife. 
 
 Obj'cd. BM it is grievous to one that hath been fifed to much 
 company, ube nUr>e. 
 
 Anfw, Company may fo ufe you, that it may be more grie- 
 vous 
 
F art III. ofCwuerfwg with Gad in solitude. 351 
 
 vous to you not to be alonc.The fociety of wafpes and terpent 5 
 nry beipared^ and Bets themtelveshave fuch (Lngs as mak e 
 f oivie that have felc them think they bought the honey dear. 
 
 But can you fay you are ahue while you are with God I Is his 
 pretence nothing to you } Doth it not figntfie more then the 
 company of all men in the world? faith Hierome, [Sapiens 
 nuncjuam fdus effe potefi : ha bet enim fecttm orr.nes qui funt , &r 
 
 qui fuerunt boni & fi hominum fit invpia, loquitur cum 
 
 Dee] viz. A wife man canr.ot be dene : for he hath "frith him 
 
 the good men that are or have been And if there be a want 
 
 of men, he sjeaks with God7\ He fhould rather have faid, There 
 can be no want of ' man, when we may ffeak^with God : And were 
 it not that God is here revealed to us as in a glafs, and that we 
 do converfe with God in man, we (hould think humane con- 
 verge little worth. 
 
 Object. O butfolitude is difconfolate to afociable wind, 
 Anfw. But the mod defirable fociety is no folitude : faith 
 Hierome [jnfinita eremi vaflitas teterret ? fedtu Paradifum 
 rr.ente deambula : Quotlefcunque cogitatione ac menteilluc con- 
 fcenderis, toties in eremo non eris] that is \JDoth the infinite 
 vaftne/s of the wilder nefs ter rifle thee ? But do thou (afcend) in 
 mind and walk^ in Paradife : As eft as thon afcendefi thither in 
 thought and mind, fo oft thou /halt net be in the wildernefs7\ If 
 God be nothing to thee,thou art not a Chriftian but an Atheift* 
 It Godbe God to thee, he is A // in all to thee , and then fhould 
 not his pretence be inftead of all ? O that I might get one ftep 
 nearer unto God, though I receded many from all the world / 
 O that I could find that place on earth where a foul may have 
 nearefl accefs unto him, and fuileft knowledge and enjoyment 
 of him, though I never more faw the face of friends { 1 fhould 
 chearfully fay with my bleffcd Saviour [I am not alone , for the 
 Father u with me7\ And I ihould fay fo for thefe Rcafons fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 1. If God be with me, the Maker, And Ruler, and Ditfofer of 
 aS u with me: fo that all things are? Irtually with me in him. I 
 have that in Gold and Jewels which I teem to want in Silver, 
 Lead and Drofs. I can wane no friend if God vouchfafe to be 
 my friend -, and I can enjoy no benefit by all my friends, if God 
 be my enemy : I need not fear the greateft enemies, if God be 
 
 reconciled 
 
3 5 1 0/ Converftng whb Cod in Solitude] Part 1 1 1. 
 
 reconciled to mel I (hall not mifs the light of the Candle, if I 
 have this bleffed San. The Creature is nothing but what it is 
 from God, and in God : And it is worth nothing, or good for 
 nothing, but what it's worth in order unto God , as it decla- 
 reth him, and helps the foul to know him, ferve him, or draw 
 nearer to him : As it is Idolatry in the unhappy worldling, to 
 thirft after the Creature with the negleft of God , and foto 
 make the world his God ; fo doth it favour of the fame hai- 
 nous (in to lament our lofs of Creatures more than the difplea* 
 fureofGod. If God be my enemy, or I am fallen under his 
 indignation, I have then fo much greater matters to lament 
 than the lofs, or abfence,or frowns of man, as (hould almoft 
 make me forget that there is fuch a thing as man to be regar- 
 ded : But if God be my Father, and my friend in Chrift,I have 
 then fo much to think of with delight, and to recreate and 
 content my foul, as will proclaim it molt incongruous and ab- 
 furd to lament inordinately the abfenceof a worm, while I 
 have his Love and prefence who is All in All. If God cannot 
 content me, and be not enough for me, how is he then my 
 God? or how ftiall he be my Heaven and everlafting Hap- 
 pinefs? 
 
 2. If God be with me, he is with me to whom I am abfolute- 
 ly devoted. lam wholly his, and have acknowledged his in- 
 tereftin me, and long ago difclaimed all ufurpers, and repen- 
 ted of alienations, and unrefervedly.refigned my felftohim : 
 And where (hould I dwell but with him that is my owner , and 
 with whom I have made the folemneft Covenant that ever I 
 made? I never gave myfelf to any other, but in fubordina- 
 tion to him, and with a falvo for his higheit inviolable /ight. 
 Where fhould my goods be but in my own houfe ? with whom 
 fhould a Servant dwell butwith his Mailer? and a Wife but; 
 with her Husband ? and Children but with their Father? I 
 am nearlier related to my God and to my Saviour, than I am 
 to any of my Relations in this world. I owe more to him than 
 to all the world : 1 have renounced all the world, as they 
 {land in any competition or comparison with him : Andean I 
 want their company then while jam with him} How'fhall I 
 hate Father and Mother, and Wife and Children, and Brother 
 and Sifter for his fake, if I cannot fp*re them 1 or be without 
 
 them 
 
Part III. DfConverfing with God in SoIitnJe. 3,53 
 
 them to enjoy 'him? Jo bate them is but: toufe them as me n 
 do hated things, that is, to caft them away with contempt a s 
 they would alienate me from Chrift, and to cleave to him, and 
 befatisfied in him alone. lam now married to Chrift, and 
 therefore muftchearfully leave Father and Mother, and my 
 native place, and all to cleave to him : And with whom fhou'd 
 I now delight to dwell, but with him who hath taken me into 
 fo near relation, to be, as it were, one flefh wich him ! O my 
 dear Lord, hide not thou thy face from an unkind an unwor- 
 t.wfinner! Let me but dwell with thee and fee thy face, and 
 feel the gracious embracements of thy Love, and then let me 
 becaftoffby ajl the world, if thou fee it meeteft for me ^ or 
 let all other friends be where they will, fo that my foul may be 
 with thee: I have agreed for thy fake to forfake all, even the 
 deareft that (ball ftand againft thee • and I refolve by thy grace 
 to fland to this agreement. 
 
 3. If "God be with me lam not alone, for he is with me that 
 L$vethmebefi.'] The Love of all the friends on earth is no- 
 thing to his Love. O how plainly hath he declared chat he Jo- 
 veth me, intheitrange condefcention, the furferings, death, 
 andinterceflionofhis Son? What Love hath he declared in 
 the communications of his Spirit, and the operations of his 
 Grace, and the near relations into which he brought me? Whac 
 Love hath he declared in in the courfe of his providences/ in 
 many and wonderful prefervations and deliverances? in the 
 condudof his wifdome, and in a life of mercies? What Love 
 appearcth in his precious promites,and the glorious provifions 
 he hath made for mewithhimfelf to all eternity? Omy Lord, 
 1 am afhamed that thy Love is fo much loft ; that it hath no 
 better return from an unkind unthankful heart j than I am not 
 more delighted in thee, and (wallowed up in the contempla- 
 tion of thy Love ; I carl contentedly let go the fociety and 
 converfeof all others, for the converfe of fomc one bofome 
 friend, that is dearer to me than they ail , as Jonathan to Da- 
 vid; And can 1 not much more be fatisfied in thee alone, and 
 let go all if I may continue wi:h thee ? My very Dog will glad- 
 ly forfakc all the Town, and all pcrfor.s in the world, to fol- 
 low me alone 1 And have I not yet found fo much Love and 
 Goodnefs in thee my dear and bkfTed God, as to be willing to 
 
 Z z converfe 
 
354 OfConverfing with God in Solitude] Part I II. 
 
 eonverfe alone with thee ? All men delight mod in the com- 
 pany ofthofe that Love them bed : They choofe not to cor> 
 veife with the Multitude when they look for folace and con- 
 rent, but with their deareft friends: And (hould any be fo 
 clear to me as God? O were not thy Love unworthily neg- 
 lected by an unthankful heart, I (hould never be fo unfatisfied 
 in thee, but fhould take up, or feek my comforts in thee: I 
 fhould then fay, Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there 
 is none on earth that I defire befides thee! Though not only 
 myfriends, but my flefh and heart themfelves (hould fail me, 
 it is thou that will itill be the ftrength of my heart, and my 
 portion for ever : it is good therefore for me to draw neir to 
 thee, how far foever I am from man: O let me there dwell 
 where thou wilt not be ftrange, for thy loving kindnefs is bet- 
 ter than life .- initead of the multitude of my turmoiling 
 thoughts, let me be taken up in the believing views of thy re- 
 conciled face, and in the glad attendance upon thy Grace : or 
 at lealt in the multitude of my thoughts within me, let thy ce- 
 leftial comforts delight my foul. Let me dwell as in thy family-, 
 and when I awake, let me be frill with thee / Let me go no whi- 
 ther but where I am dill following thee : Let me do nothing 
 but thy work, nor ferve any other but when I may truly call 
 it afervingthee: Let me hear nothing but thy voice, and lee 
 me know thy voice by whatever inftrument thou (halt fpeak : 
 Let me never fee any thing but thy felf and the glafs that re- 
 prefenteth thee, and the books in which I may read thy name: 
 And let me never play with the outfide, and gaze on words 
 and letters as infignificant, and not obferve thy name which 
 is the fenfe. Whether it be in company or in folitude, let rne 
 be continually with thee , and do thou vouchfafe to hold rnc 
 by my right hand : And guide me with thy counfel, and after- 
 wards receive me unto thy glory, Pfal. 73 . 23,24, 25 ,26,28 . 
 PM63.3. 
 
 4. If God be with me I am not alone ; for Jfhallbe with him 
 whofe Love it of greater ufe and benefit to me, than the Love of all 
 wj fritnds in the world. Their Love may perhaps be fome 
 lictle comfort, as it floweth from Jit* : But it is HU Love by 
 which and upon which 1 Live. It is His Love that gives me 
 Life andTV'w*, and health and/W, and prcfervation • that 
 
 gives 
 
Part II I. Of Cwvtrfing with God in Solitude. 355 
 
 gives me books and giveth me undcrftanding : that giveth me 
 provifion, and faveth me from turning it to pernicious flefh- 
 linefs andexcefs-, that giveth me even my friends themfelves, 
 and faveth me from that abufe which might make them tome 
 worfe than enemies. The Sun, the Earth, the Air is not fo 
 ufeful or needful to me as his Love. The Love of all my 
 friends cannot make me well when I am fick : it cannot forgive 
 thefmalleftofmy fins- nor yet allure me of Gods forgi ve- 
 nds : it cannot heal the maladies of my foul, nor give a fo- 
 lidlafting peace to the confeience which is troubled: if ail 
 my friends ftand about me when I am dying, they cannot take 
 away the fears of death, norfecure my pafT^ge toeveriafting 
 life: Death will be Death (till, and danger will be danger, 
 when all my friends have done their bell. But my Almighty 
 friend is Allfufficient : He can prevent my ficknefs, or rebuke 
 and cure ir, or make it fo good to me, that I (hall thank him 
 for it; He can bloc out my tranfgreflions, and forgive all my 
 fin -, and juft.fie me when the world and my conscience do 
 condemn me : He can teach me to believe, co repent, to pray, 
 to hope, to furTer, and ro overcome: He can quiet my foul in. 
 the midft of trouble, and give me a well grounded everlafting 
 peace, and a joy which normncan take from me. He -can 
 deliver me from all the corruptions and diftempers of my fro- 
 ward heart • and eafe me and fecure me in the troublefome 
 war which is daily managed in my breaft. He can make it as 
 eafiea thing to dye, as to lye down and take my re it when I 
 am weary, or toundrefs me at night and go to bed. He can 
 teach Death to layby its terrible afped, and tofpeakwith a 
 mild and comfortable voice, and to bring me the joy fulleft ty- 
 dings that ever came unto my ears • and to preach tome the 
 laft and fweeteil Sermon, even the fame that our Saviour 
 preached on the Crofs [Luke 11-41. Verily lfaj unto thee, 
 To dajfbalt thou be with Chrift in Paradi(e.~\ 
 
 And is this the difference between the Love of man and of 
 God? And yet do I lament the lofs of man I And yet ami fo 
 backward to converfe with God, and to be fatisfied in his 
 Lovealone/ Ah my God, how juftly mayeft thou withhold 
 that Love which I thus undervalue; and refufe that converfe 
 which I have firft rcfufed ? and turn me over to man, to filly 
 
 Zz 2 man, 
 
356 Of Converfwg with God in Solitude. Part 1 1 1. 
 
 man, tofinfulman, whofe converfe I fo much defire, till I 
 have learnt by dear experience the difference between man 
 and God, and between an Earthly and an Heavenly friend 1 
 Alas, have I nor tryed itoft enough, to have known it better 
 before this-day ! Havel not oft enough found what man is in 
 a time of tryal ! Have I not been told it over and over, and 
 told it to the quick, by deceitful friends, by felf-feeking 
 friends, by mutable, erroneous, deceived, fcandalous, back- 
 fliding friends, by proud and felfconceited friends •, by 
 paffionate , quarrelfome, vexatious friends , by felf- grie- 
 ving troubled friends that have but brought me ail their 
 calamities and griefs to be additions to my own -, by tempting 
 friends, that have drawn me to fin moreefTc&ually than ene- 
 mies- by tender, faithful, but unable friends, rhat have but 
 fetcht fire from my calamities and forrows to kindle their own, 
 not equally fharing, but each one taking all my trouble en- 
 tirely to himfelf: that have been -willing, but inefficient to 
 relieve me . and therefore the greater was their Love, the 
 greater was their own, and confequently mine affliction : that 
 would have been with me, but could not-, that would fain 
 have cafed my pain, and Strengthened my ianguilhing body, 
 but could not ; that would fain have removed all my trou bles, 
 and comforted my cad-down mind, but could not. O how 
 oftenhave Ifound that humane friendfbip is a fweetdefired 
 addition to our woe • a beloved calamity, and an afflic^on 
 which nature will not be without , not becaufe it Livtth ev>l, 
 nor becaufe it is wholly deceived in its choice (for there is 
 Qood'm friend/hip, and delight in holy Love ) but becaufe the 
 Good whuh is here accompanied with fomuch evil, is the be- 
 ginning of a more high and durable friendihip, and pointeth 
 us up to the bleffed delightful fociety and converfe which in 
 the heavenly Jerufalim we fhall have with Chrift / 
 
 But O how much better have 1 found the friendfhip of the 
 Allfufrkient God / His Love hath not only^im^ me> but re- 
 lieved me : He hath not only been as it were ajflteled -with we 
 in my affii&ions, but he hath delivered me leafonably, and 
 powerfully, indfweetly hath hedelivered me ; And when he 
 bad once told me that §ny affli&ions were his own, I had no 
 rcafontodoubtof a deliverance. My burdened mind hath 
 
 been 
 
Part III. of Converfwgwhb God in Solitude. 357 
 
 been eifed by his Love, which was but more burdened by the 
 fruitlefs Love of all my friends. Oft have I come to man for 
 help, and eafe, and comfort, and gone away as from an empty 
 Cittern, that had no water to cool my thirft j but God hfttfc 
 been a prefenthelp : Could I but get near him, I was fare of 
 Light,how great foever was my former darknefs : Could I but 
 getnearhim, 1 was fureof warmirg quickning Life, how 6q d 
 fbevcr I had been before ; But all my mifery was that I could 
 not get near him I My darkened eftranged guilty foul, could 
 not get quieting and fatisfying acquaintance: My lumpifh 
 heart lay dead on earth, and would not ftir, or quickly fell 
 down again, if by any celeftial force it began to be drawn up, 
 and move a little towards him : My carnal mind was entang- 
 led in diverting vanities r And thus I have been kept from com- 
 munion with ray God. Kept/ not by force or humane tyran- 
 ny; not by bars or bolts, or diftanceof a place, or by the 
 lownefsof my condition • nor by any mifreprefenrations or 
 reproach of man •, bu r , alas, by my ielf, by the darknefs and 
 deadnefs, aad fluggifhnefs, and earthlinefs, and fleflilinefs, and 
 paftions of a naughty heart. Thefe have been my bars, and 
 bolts,and jaylors • Thefe are they that have kept me from my 
 God: Had it not been for thefe I might have got nearer to 
 him \ I might have walkt with him, and dwelt with him ■ yea 
 dwelt in him, andhcinme : and then I fhould not have mi it 
 any friends, nor felt mine enemies ; And is it my finful di- 
 ftancefrom my God that hath been my Iof?, my wildernefs, 
 my woe / And is it a nearer admittance to the preface of his 
 Love that mull be my recovery and my joy, if ever I attain to 
 Joy I O then my foul, lay held on Chnft the Reconciler, and 
 in him and by him draw near to God: and ceale from 
 whofebreath is in hisnoftri'.s : Love God in his Saints* and 
 delightfully converfe with Chrift in them, while thou haft op- 
 portunity. But remember thou Liveft not upon them, or on 
 their Love, but upon God : and therefore defire their Compa- 
 ny but for H r i& '• and if thou have His y be content if thou have 
 nottheirs. He wan s not man that enjoyeth God. Gather up 
 all the Love, and Thoughts, and Dcfires which have been 
 fcattered and loft upon the Creatures, and kt them all on God 
 himfelf, and prefs into his prefence, and converfe with him, 
 
 Zz 3 and 
 
S 5 8 OfCenverfag with Cod in Sdttudt. Part III. 
 
 and thou (halt find the miftake of thy prcfencdifcontents and 
 fweet experience (hall tell thee thou hail made a happy change. 
 r. IfGodfaVpitbtKg, lam not alone, bee aw ft be is with m* 
 with whom wj greatejt bufinefs Ijeth : And whan company 
 inould I defire, bur theirs with whom I have my daily necetf* 
 ry work to do? I have more to do with God than with all 
 the werid: Yea more and greater bufinefs with him in one 
 day thm with all the world in all-my life. I have bufinefs 
 with man about houfe, or lands, or food, or raymenr or la 
 hour, or journymg, or recreations, about fociety and publick 
 peace :. Bar w:-at are thefe to my bufinefs with God ' Indeed 
 with holy men I have holy bufinefs ; but chat is but as they are 
 Meffengers from God, and come to me on his bufinefs and k> 
 they muftbcdeaiiy welcome: But even then my bufinefs is 
 much more with God then with them . with him that fenc 
 them, then with theMeffenger. Indeed my bufinefs with God 
 is io great, chat if I had not a Mediatour to encourage and 
 ailiil me, to do my work and procure me acceptance the 
 thoughts of it would overwhelm my foul ' 
 
 O therefore my foul, let man (land by: Ic is the Eternal 
 Ood that I have to do with : and with whom I am to tranhfl 
 in this little time the bufinefs of my endlefs life I have ro 
 deal wuh God through Chrift, for the pardon of my fins of 
 a I my greac and grievous fins ; and wo to me if I fpeed not 
 that ever I was born : I have fome hopes of pardon but in- 
 terim* with many perplexing fears: I Have evidences much 
 bloc:ed, and not eafily underftood : I want atfurance that he is 
 indeed my Father and reconciled to me, and will receive me to 
 himfclf when the world iorlakech me : I have many langu.fh- 
 ing graces to be firengthencd, and alas, what radicated ob- 
 Itinate, vexatious corruptions to be cu ed / Can Hook into 
 my heart, incofuch an unbelieving, dead, and earthly hearr 
 
 into inch a proud,and peevifh ? nd d.f.rdered heart , into fuch 
 a trembling, perplexed, felf accufing heart, and yet not un- 
 derttand how great my bufinefs ,s with God / Can I perufe mv 
 ima oi -feel my wants, and fink under my wcakneffef, and vec 
 not difcern how great my bufinefs is with God! Can Nook 
 back upon all the time that I have loft, and all che grace chat I 
 unthankfully refitted ,and all che mercies that I trod under foot 
 
 or 
 
Part HI. OfConvtrfwg with Cod in Solitude. 3 59 
 
 or fooiM away, and can I lock before mcand fee how re 
 time is to an end, and yet not undcrftand how great my buft- 
 nefs is with God / Can I think of the mal ce and diligence of 
 Satan, the number, power and fubtilty of mine enemic- 
 many fnares and dangers that are ftili before me, th . 
 and number of temptations, ar.d my ignorance, unwatchiu!- 
 nefs and weaknefs to refill:, and yet noc know that my greateft 
 bufinefs is with God / Can I feel my affldions and lament 
 them, and think my burden greater then I can bear, and find 
 that man cannot relieve me • can I go mourning in the heavi- 
 ness of my foul, and water my bed with tears, and fill the air 
 with my groans and lamentations, or feel my foul over- 
 whelmed within me, fo that my words are intercepced, and I 
 am readier to break then fpeak, and yet not perceive that my 
 greateft buiinefs is with God ? Can frthink of dying ? Can I 
 draw near to judgement ? Can I think of eveilalting joyes in 
 Heaven? and of everlafting pains in Hell, and yet not feel 
 that my greateft bufinefs is with God ? O then, my foul, the 
 cafe is eafily refolved, with whom it is that thou muft moft 
 defiroufly and fenoufly converfe. Where fhould ft thou be 
 bat where thy bufinefs is, and fo great bufinefs / Alas, what 
 have I to do with man / what can it do but make my head 
 ake, to hear a dealoffenflefs chat, about preferments, lands 
 and dignities ; about the words and thoughts of men, and a 
 thoufand toyes that are utterly impertinent to my great im- 
 ployments, and fignifie nothing but that the dreaming world 
 is not awake/ What p'.eafure is it to fee the bu^fles of a Bed- 
 lam world } what a ftir they make to prove or makf themfelves 
 unhappy? How low and of how little weight, are the learned 
 difcourfes about fyllables and words, and names and notions, 
 and mood and figure, yea or about the higheft planets, when 
 all are not referred unto God? Were it not that fome con- 
 verfe with men, doth further my converfe with God; and 
 that God did tranfad much of his bufinefs by his meffei.gers 
 and fervants, it were no muter wherher ever 1 more fiw rl.c 
 face of man: were it not chat my Mailer hath placed me in 
 focicty, and appointed me much of my worl^ for others, and 
 iWr&O'hers, and much or his mercy 15 con vcyeu kj or hers, m n 
 might ftandby, andiolitude were better then ihebeitioe . 
 
j5o ofCeriVtrftng with Ccdin Solitude, Part III. 
 
 and God alone fhould take me up. O nothing is fo much my 
 
 mifery and fhame, as that I am no more willing, nor better 
 
 fd in the management of my grea: important bufinefs / 
 
 That my work is with God, and my heart is no more with him/ 
 
 what might I do in holy mediation, or Prayer one hour, if 
 
 1 were as ready for prayer, grid as gocd at prayer, as one that 
 hath fo long opporcuntty and fo great neceflity toconverfe 
 wich God, fhould be / A prayerlefs heart, a heart that flyeth 
 away from God, is moit unescufable in fuch a one as I, that 
 hath fo much important bufinefs wich him: It is work that 
 muit be done ; and if well done, will never be repented of : 
 I ufe not co return from the preience of God (when indeed I 
 have drawn near him J as I do from the company of empty 
 men, repenting that I have loft ray time, and trembled that my 
 mind is difcompofed or depreffed by the vanity and earthly 
 favour of their difcourfe : I oft repent that I have prayed to 
 him fo coldly, and converfed with him fo negligently ,and ferved 
 him fo rtmifly j but I never repent of the time, the care, the 
 affections or the diligence imployed in his holy work. Many a 
 time I have repented that ever I fpent fo much time with man 
 and wifht I had never feen the faces of fome that are eminent 
 in the world, whofc favour and con verfe others are ambitious 
 of: But it is my grief and fhame that fo fmall a part of all my 
 life, hath been fpent wich God ^ and that fervent prayer and 
 heavenly contemplations, have been fofeldom and fo fh«>rr. 
 O that I had lived more with God, though I had been Iefs with 
 the deareft of my friends / How much more fweet then would 
 my life have been / How much more blamelefs, regular and 
 pure/ How much more fruitful, and anfwerable to my obli- 
 gations and profeflions / How much more comfortable to my 
 review/ How many falls, and hurts, and wounds, and griefs, 
 and groans might I have efcaped / O how much moreplea- 
 fingisit now to my Remeroberance, to think of the hours 
 in which I iiave lain at the feet of God, though it were 
 in tears and groans, than to think of the time which I have 
 fpent in any common converfe with the greateft, or the icarn- 
 edeft, or the deareft ofmy acquaintance I 
 
 And as my Greateft bufinefs is with God, fo my daily buff 
 w/zisalfowithhim ; Hepurpofely leavethmc under wants, 
 
 and 
 
Part III. of Comer fmg with Cod in Solitude. 3 $ x 
 
 and differs neceffities daily to return, and enemies to afTauU 
 me, andafrlidion tofurprizeme, that I may be daily driven 
 to him : He loveth to hear from me ; I-k would have me be 
 noitrangerwith him : I havebufinefs with him every hour, 
 I need not want employment for all the faculties of my foul, 
 if I know what it is to converfe in Heaven. Even prayer, and 
 every holy thought of God, hath an Objed fo great and ex- 
 cellent, as fhould wholly take me up. N-othing muft he thought 
 or fpoken lightly about the Lord. His name mud not be ta- 
 ken in vain : Nothing that is common befeemeth his worfhip- 
 pers. He will be fandined of all that fhall draw near hi-m : 
 He muft be Loved with all the Heart and Might. Hisfervants 
 need not be wearied for want of employment, nor through 
 thelighcnefs or-unprofitablenefs of their employment: If I 
 had Cities to build, or Kingdoms to govern, I might better 
 compkin for want of employment for the faculties of my foul, 
 than I can when I am to converfe in Heaven. In other ftu<- 
 dies the del'ght abaceth when I have reached my defire, and 
 know all that I can know : But in God there is infinitely 
 more to be known when I know the molt, lam nevzv Jatiattd 
 with the eafinefs of knowing, nor are my defires abated by any 
 unptfefulnels or umvorthinefs in the Objed - y but I am drawn to 
 it by its higheft excellencies, and tirawn on to defire more 
 and more by theinfinitenefsof the Light which I have not yet 
 beheld, and the infinitenefs of the Good which yet I hare 
 not enjoyed. If! be idle, or feem to want employment,, whea 
 lam to contemplate all the Attributes, relations, mercies, 
 works, and revealed perfedions of the Lord, its furefor want 
 of eyes to fee, or a Heart enclined to my bufinefs : if God 
 be not enough to employ my foul, then all theperfons and 
 tilings on earth are not enough. 
 
 And when I have Infinite Goodnejs to delight in, where my 
 foul may freely let out it felf, and never need to fear excefs of 
 # Love, how fweet ihould this employment be ? As Knowledge So 
 Love is never ftinted here, by the narrownefs of the Objed : 
 We can never Love him in any proportion either to his Good- 
 nefs aud amiabienefs in himfelf, or to his Love to us. What 
 need have I then of any other company or bufinefs, when I 
 have infinite Goodnefs to delight in, and to Love (further than 
 
 A a a they 
 
j 6 z ofConverftng with God in Solitude. Part III. 
 
 they fubferve this gre&tefl work?) 
 
 Come home then, O my foul, to God : Converfe in Hea- 
 ven ; Turn away thine eyes from beholding vanity : Let not 
 thy affections kindle upon ftraw or bryars, that go out when 
 they have made a flaih or noife, and leave thee to thy cold 
 and darknefs : But come and dwell upon celeftial beauties, 
 and make it thy daily and moft diligent work, to kindle thy 
 affections on the infinite everlafting Good; and then they 
 will never be excinguifhed or decay for want of fewel •, but 
 the further they go, and the longer they burn, the greater will 
 be the flame* I hough thou find it hard while Love is but a 
 fpark to make it burn, and complain that thy cold and back- 
 ward heart is hardly warmed with the Love of God, yet when 
 the whole pile hath taken fire, and the flame afcendeth, fire 
 will breed fire, Love will caufe Love* and all the malice of 
 Hell it felf fhali never be able to fupprefs or quench it unto all 
 eternity. 
 
 6. And it is a great encouragement to my converfe with 
 God, that no mifunderftanding, no malice of enemies, no for- 
 mer (in or prefent frailty, no nor the infinite diftance of the 
 moft Holy Glorious God, can hinder my accefs to him, or 
 turn away his Ear or Love, or interrupt my leave and liberty 
 of converfe. If I converfe with the poor, their wants afflicl: 
 me, being greater than I can fupply : Their complaints and 
 expectations which I cannot fatisfie, are my trouble. If I 
 would converfe with Great ones, it is not eafie to get accefs : 
 andlefseafietohave their favout, unlefsl would purchafe it 
 at too dear a rate : How ftrangely and contemptuoufly do 
 they look at their inferiours / Great friends' mull be made for 
 a word or fmile : And if you be not quickly gone, they are 
 aweary of you : And if you feek any thing of them, or would 
 put them to any coft or trouble, you are as welcome to them 
 as fo many vcrmine or noifome creatures. They pleafe them 
 beft that drive you away. With how much labour and diffi- 
 culty mud you clime, if you will fee the top of one ofthefe* 
 mountains? And when you are there, you are but in a place 
 of barrennefs ^ and have nothing to fatisfie you for your 
 pains, but a larger profped and vertiginous defped of the 
 lower grounds which are not youi own; it is feldome that 
 
 thefe 
 
Part III. of Corwtrfwg with God in Solitude- 3 6 3 
 
 thefe Great ones are to be fpoken with : And perhaps their 
 fpeech is but adenyal ofyourrcquefts, if not fome fnappifh 
 and contemptuous rejection, that makes you glad when you 
 are got far enough from them, and makes you the better like 
 and love the acceftible, calm and fruitful plains. 
 
 But O how much greater encouragements hath my foul to 
 coaverfe with God / Company never hindercth him from 
 hearkening to myfuit; He is infinite and Omnipotent, and 
 as fufficient for every individual foul, as if he had no other to 
 look after in the world: when he is taken up with the atten- 
 dance and praifes of his Heavenly Hoft, he is as free and rea- 
 dy to attend and anfwer the groans and prayers of a contrite 
 foul, as if he had no nobler creatures, nor no higher fervice 
 to regard. I am oft unready, but God is never unready : I 
 am unready to pray, but he is not unready to hear .• lam un- 
 ready to come to God, to walk with him, and to-folace my 
 foul with him •, but he is never unready to entertain me. Ma- 
 ny a time my conscience would have driven me away, when 
 he hath called me to him, and rebuked my accufing fearful 
 confcience. Many a time I have called my felf a prodigal, a 
 companion of Swine, a miferable hard-hearted (inner, unwor- 
 thy to be called his Son, when he hath called me Child, and 
 chid me for my queilioning his Love. He hath readify for- 
 given the (ins which I thought would have made my foul the 
 fuel of Hell : He hath entertained me with joy, with rnufick 
 and a feaft, when I better deferved to have been among the 
 Dogs without his doors. He hath embraced me in his fuitain- 
 ing confolarory arms, when he might have fpurned my guilcy 
 foul to Hell, andfaid, Depart from me thou worker of ini- 
 quity, I know thee not. O little did I think that he could 
 ever have forgotten the vanity and villany of my youth •, yea 
 ioeafily have forgotten my mod aggravated fins. When I 
 had (inncd agamft light >, when I had refitted confcience •, when 
 I had frequently and wilfully injured Love, I thought he would 
 never have forgotten it : But the greatnefs of his Love and 
 Mercy, and the blood and interceftion of his Son, hath can* 
 celled all. O how many mercies have I tatted (ince I thought 
 1 had finned away all mercies / How patiently hath he born 
 with me, fincc I thought he would never have put up more ? 
 
 Aaa z And 
 
364 OfCwverflwg with Ccd in Sdituie. Part II J. 
 
 Andyetbefidei my fins and the withdra wings of my own 
 heart, there hath been nothing to interrupt ourconverfe 
 Though he be God, and I a worm, yet that would not have 
 kept me out: Though he be in Heaven, yec he is near to foe. 
 cour me on Earth, in all that I call upon him for : Though he 
 have the Praife of Angels, hedifdaineeh not my tears and 
 groans : Though he have the perfecl Love of perfect fouls 
 he knoweth the little fpark in my bread, and defpifeth not my 
 weak and languid Love: Though I injure and difhonour him 
 by Loving him no more- though I oft forget him, and have 
 been out of the way when he he hath come or called me- 
 though I have difobediently turned away mine ears and un- 
 kindly refufed the entertainments of his Love, and'uafaith* 
 fulJy plaid with thofe whofe company he forbad me, he hath 
 not divorced me, nor turned me out of doors. O wonderful / 
 chat Heaven will be familiar with Earth / and God with man / 
 theHigheftwitha worm! and the moft Holy with an uncon- 
 ftant Tinner / Man refufeth me, when God willentertaine me • 
 Man, that is no wifer or better than my felf. Thofe that I ne* 
 ver wronged or deferred ill of, rejeft me with reproach : And 
 God whom I have unfpeakably injured doth invite me and 
 intreatme, and condefeendeth to me, as if he were beholden 
 lo me to be faved : Menthatlhavedeferved well of, do ab- 
 horre me : And God that I have deferved Hell of, doth accept 
 me. Thebeftof them are bryars, and as a thorny hedge and 
 he is Love, and Reft, and Joy : And yet I can be morVwel- 
 cometohim, though I have offended him, than Tcan to them 
 whom I have obliged ; I have freer leave to caft my felf into 
 my Fathers arms, than to tumble in thofe bryars, or wallow 
 in the dirt. I upbraid my felf with my fins, but he doth not 
 upbraid me with them. I condemn my felf for them but he 
 condemns me not : He forgivech me fooner than I can forrive 
 my felf: I have peace with him, before I can have peace of 
 conicience. 
 
 O therefore my foul, draw near to him that is fo willing of 
 thy company / That frowneth thee not away, unlefs it be 
 when thou haft fallen into the dirt, that thou mayeft wafh 
 thee from thy filthinefs, and be fitter for his converfc. Draw 
 aur to him that will not wrong thee, by believing mifreports 
 
 * of 
 
Part III. Of Convtrfwg with G$d in Solitude. 3 £5 
 
 of enemies, or !ayiag to thy charge the things thou kneweft 
 not: but will forgive the wrongs thou haft done to him, and 
 jaftifie thee/rom the fins that confcience iayeth to thy charge. 
 Come to him that by his Word and Spirit, his Minifters and 
 Mercies caHeth thee to come; and hath promifed that thofe 
 that come to him he will in no wife (hut our. O walk with 
 liimthat will bear thee up, and lead thee as by the right hand 
 (PfaJ. 73. 2 3. ) and carry his Infants when they cannot go / 
 O fpeak to him that teacheth thee to fpeak, and underftand- 
 eth and accepts thy ftammering • and freipeth thine infirmities 
 when thou knoweft not what to pray for as thououghteft ^ 
 and giveth thee groans when thou haft not words, and knotyeth 
 the meaning of hi* spirit in thj groans \ that cannot be eon" 
 tainedinthe Heaven of Heavens, and yet hath refped to the 
 o>?/W^/W, thattrembleth at his word, and feareih his dif- 
 pleafure: that pittieth the tears, and defpiieth net thefigh- 
 ing of a broken hearty nor the defires of the forrowfuK O 
 walk with him that is never weary of the converfe of an up- 
 right foul / that is never angry with thee but for flying from 
 him, or for drawing back, or being too ftrange, andrefufing 
 thekindnefs and felicity of \m prefence. The day-is coming 
 when the proudeft of the fons of men would be glad of a good 
 look from him that thou haft leave to walk with : Even they 
 that would not look or) thee, and they that injured and abufed 
 thee, and they that inferiours could have no accef, to , Ohow 
 glad would they be then of a fmile, or a word of hope and 
 mercy from thy father / Draw near then to him, on whom 
 the whole Creation doth depend-, whofe favour at laft the 
 proadeft and the worft would purchafewith theloudcftcryes, 
 when all their pomp and pleafure is gone, and canpurchafe 
 nothing. O walk with him that is Love it felf, and think him 
 nor unwilling or unlovely -, and let not the deceiver by hideous 
 nvljeprefentations drive thee from him: when thou haft felc 
 a * hile the ftorms abroad, methinks thou (houldeft fay, How 
 gord, how fafe, how fweet is it to draw near to God / 
 
 /. With Vohom jbould I fo defironfly converfe, as with him 
 yvkom I >f,u[t Live with for ever ? If I take pleasure in my 
 country, my walks, my books, or friends 
 them is* , v flefh, I mnftpofleff ibis pica 
 
 Aaa 3 
 
$66 OConvtrfing with Cod in Solitude. Part III. 
 
 but a little while ; Henceforth know we no man after the 
 flefh : Had we known Chrift. bimfelf after the flefh, wc rauft 
 know him fo no more for ever. (Though his Glorified fpiri- 
 tual Body we (hall know.) Do you converfe with Father or 
 Mother? with Wives or Children? with Paftors and Teach- 
 ers ? Though yor* may converfe with thefe as Glorified Saints \ 
 when you come to Chrift, yet in thefe Relations that they 
 ftand in to you now, you (hall converfe with them but a little 
 while: For the Time is fhort : It remaineth that both they that 
 have Wives be as though they had none ; and they that weep as 
 though they weft not •, and they that re'yyce as though they rt~ 
 joyced not ; and they that buy as though they poffeffed not ^ and 
 thty that uje this world, as not abufing it (or m though they 
 ufedit not : ) for the fafhion of this wsrld doth pafs away.^ 
 i Cor. 7. 29,50,31. 
 
 Why then fhould I fo much regard, a converfe of fo fhort 
 continuance ? why fhould 1 be fo familiar in my Inne, and fo 
 in love wuh that familiarity ,as to grieve when I mufl but think 
 of leaving it, or talk of going home, and look forward to the 
 place where I mufl dwell for ever? (hall I be fond of the 
 company of a pafTenger that I travel with (yea perhaps one 
 that doth but meet me in the way, and goeth to a contrary 
 place) and (hall I not take more pleafure to remember home ? 
 I will rot be fo uncivil as to deny thofe I meet a fhort falute, 
 or to be friendly with my fellow-travellers : But remember 
 O my foul, that thou doft not dr*e //but travel here, and that it 
 isihy Fathers houfe where thou mud abide for ever.- yea 
 ?> d he is nearer thee than man ( though invisible) even in 
 thy way. O fee him then that is invifible : Hearken to him 
 when he fpeaketh ; Obey his voice ; Obferve his way ; Speak 
 to him boldly, though humbly and reverently, as his child, 
 about the great concernments of thy State; Tell him what 
 it is that aileth thee; And feeing all thy fmart is the fruit 
 of thy own fin, confefs thy folly and unkindnefs, crave his for- 
 givenefs, and remember him what his Son hath fuffered,and for 
 whac : Treat with him about thy future courfe ; Defire his 
 Grace, and give up thy felf to his conduct and his cure; 
 Weep over in his ears the hiflory of thy mifdoings and un- 
 thankful courfe; Tell it him with penitential tears and 
 
 groans ; 
 
Part III. ofConverftng with God In Solitude. $6j 
 
 groans: But tell him alfo the advantage that he hath for 
 the honouring of his grace , if it may now abound where 
 fin aboundeth : Tell him that thou arc moft offended with 
 thy felf, for that which he is mod offended with : That 
 thou art angry with thy difobedicnt unthankful heart.- 
 that thou art even aweary of that heart that loveth him no 
 more : and that it (hall never pleafethee, till it love him bet- 
 ter and be more d^firous to pleafe him : Tell him of thy ene- 
 mies, and crave the protection of his love : Tell him of thy 
 frailties, infirmities andpaffions, and crave not only his ten- 
 der forbearance, but his help : Tell him that without him thou 
 canftdo nothing; and crave the Grace that isfufficient for 
 thee, that through him that ftrenghteneth thee thou maiit do 
 all things : when thou failed, deipair not, but crave his help- 
 ing hand toraife thee. Speak to him efpecially of theever- 
 iafting things, and thank him for his Promifes, and for thy 
 hopes: for what thou (halt be and have and do among his 
 Holj Ones for ever. Exprefs thy joyes in the promife of thofe 
 joyes *, that thou muft fee his Glory, and love him and praife 
 him better then thoucanft nowdefire/ Begin thofe praifes, 
 and as thou walkeft with him, take pleafure in the mention of 
 his perfe&ions •, be thankful to him and fpeak good of his 
 Name: Solace thy felf in remembring what a God, what a 
 defence and portion all believers have; and in confidering 
 whither he is now conducting thee, and what he will do with 
 thee, and what ufe he will make of thee forever: Speak with 
 Rejoycing of the glory of his works, and the righteoufnefs of 
 his judgements, and the holinefs and evennefs of his wayes : 
 fing forth his praifes with a joyful heart, and pleafant and tri- 
 umphing voice-, and frown away all flavifh tears, all impor- 
 tune malicious fuggeftions or doubts, all peevidi hurdull nip- 
 ping griefs, that would mar or interrupt the melody • and 
 would untune or unftnng a i aifed we 11 corrpofed foul. Thy 
 Father loveth thy very moans and tears : but how much more 
 doth he love thy Thanks and praife ? Or if indeed it be a win- 
 ter time, a ftormy day with thee, and he feem to chide or hide 
 his face becaufe thou haft offended him, lee the cloud that is 
 gathered by thy folly come down in tears, and tell him, Thou 
 haft finned againft Heaven and before him, and art no more 
 
 worthy 
 
3 6 S Of Conwrfing with God in Solitude, Part 1 1 I. 
 
 worthy to be called his Son •, butyet fly not from him, but 
 beg his pardon and the priviledges of a fervant : And chou 
 wile find embracements, when thou feareft condemnation : 
 and find that he is merciful and ready to forgive : Only re- 
 turn, and. keep clofer to him for the time to come. If the 
 breach through thy neglect be gone fo far, as that thou feemeft 
 to have loft thy God, and to be caft off, and left forfaken^ de- 
 f pair not yet •, for he doth but hide his face till thou repent: 
 He doth not forfake thee, but only tell thee what it is to walk 
 fo carekfly as if thou wouldft forfake him : Thou art fader 
 and furer in his Love and Covenant then thou canft believe or 
 apprehend. Thy Lord was as dear as ever to his Father when 
 he cryed out, M) Qod, why haft thou forfaken me* But yet 
 negled: him not, and be not regardlefs of his withdrawing* 
 and of thy lofs : Life up thy voyce and cry but [Father •, ] m 
 defpigbt of unbelief, cry out [My Father, rr.j Saviour, my 
 6od~] and thou fhak hear him anfwer ihee at laft [My Childi\ 
 Cry out [O why doH thou hide thy face ? and why haft thou for- 
 faken we I Owhat Jhall 1 ho here without thee ! O leave me not, 
 lofe me not in this howling Vvildcrnefs ! Let me not be a prey to 
 any ravening beaft I to my fin, to Satan^ to my foes and thine I ~\ 
 Lift up thy voyce and weep, and tell him, they are the tears 
 and lamentations of his Child : O beg of him, that thy wan- 
 derings and childtfh folly , may not be taken as ads of enmity, 
 or at leaft that they may be pardoned • and though he correct 
 thee, that he will return and not forfake thee, but ftiil rake 
 thee and ufe thee as his child. Or if thou haft not words to 
 pour out before him, at lead fmite upon thy brealt, and 
 though thou beafhamed or afraid to look up toward heaven, 
 look down and fay, [O Lord be merciful to me a ftnner,~] and 
 he will take it for an acceptable fuit, that tendech to chy par*, 
 don and juftification, and will number fuch a fentencc with the 
 prayers which he cannot deny. Or if thou cry and canft not 
 hear of him, andKaft long called out upon thy Fathers Name, 
 andheareftnot his voyce and haft no return ; enquire after 
 him of thofjethou meeteft : Ask for him of them that know 
 Mm and are acquainted with his way ! Make thy moan unto 
 the watchmen ■ and ask them, where thou maift find thy 
 Lord. And at lajit he will appear to thee,, and find thee firft 
 
 that 
 
Pdrt.IlI* OfCiwtrfittg with Ccdin Solitude. 169 
 
 that thou maift find him, and (hew thee where it was that thou 
 didft lofe him, by lofingthy felf and turning from him ! feek 
 him and thou (halt rind hini : wait and he will appear in kind- 
 nefs : For he never failech orforfaketh thole that wait up- 
 on him. 
 
 This kind cf Converfe, O my foul, thou haft to profeciKe 
 with thy Gcd. Thou haft alfo the concernments of all his 
 fervants^ h.s ajflitled ones, his broken hearted ones , his difeafed 
 enes, his perfecxtedones, to tell him of: Tell himalfpof the 
 concernments of hisKingdome, the fury of his.enemies, the 
 diflionour they caft upon his Name, the matters of his Gofpel, 
 caufe and intereft in the world : But ftill lee his Righteous 
 Judgement be remembered, and all be terminated in the glo- 
 rious evcrlafting Kingdom. 
 
 Is it not much better tEus to converfe with him that I muft 
 be with for ever, about the place, and the company ,and work, 
 and concernments of my perpetual abode, then to be taken u;> 
 with ftrangers in my way , and detained by thej^irnpem- 
 nencies? 
 
 I have form'd my felf fo long in thefe meditations, that 
 I will but name the reft and tell you what I had further to 
 have treated on , and leave the enlargement to your own 
 meditation?. 
 
 8. I have no reafon to be weary of converfe with God, 
 feeing it is that for which all humane converfe is regardable* 
 Converfe with man is only fo far defirable as it tendeth to our 
 Converfe with God: And therefore the end muft be preferred 
 before the means. 
 
 9. It is the office of Chrift , and the wor^ cf the Holy Ghofi, 
 and the ufe of all the means of Grace, and ot all creatures , mer- 
 cies and tffl'clions, to reduce our ftraying fouls to God, that we 
 may converfe with him anderj>yhim. 
 
 10. Converfe W'ith God u mofi fmtable to thofe that are fo 
 near to death \ It beft prepareth for it: Ic islikelt to the work 
 that we are next to do. We had rather when death co^zs, 
 be found converting with (7^ then with Man : It is tW that 
 a dying man hath principally to do with : It is hi* judgement 
 that he is going to • and his mercy that he hath to truii upon : 
 And therefore it concerned us to draw near him now, and 
 
 Bbb be 
 
370 Of Cwverfwg with Cod in Solitude. Part III. 
 
 be no Grangers to him , left Arangenefs then fhould be our 
 terrour. 
 
 l'r. How wonderful a condefcenfion is it that godfbouldbe 
 willing to converfe with we I with fuch a worm and finful 
 wrecch : And therefore how uncxcufabie is my crime, if I 
 reftife his company, and fo great a mercy / 
 
 12. Laflly, Heaven it felf is but our Converfe with God 
 and his Glorified ones, (chough in a more perfect manner then 
 we can here conceive.) And therefore our holy converfe with 
 him here is the ftace that is likcfl .Heaven, and that prepareth 
 for it, and all the Heaven that is on earth. 
 
 IT rcmainech now that I briefly te44 you, what you fhould 
 do to actiin and manage this Converfe with God, in the 
 improvement of your folitodf. (For Directions in general 
 for Walking withGod,lvekrve for another place.) At prefcnc 
 let theie few Cuffice. 
 
 Dired. i. If you would comfortably Converfe with God, 
 wake fure that you are Reconciled to him in Chrifl % and that he is 
 indeed jour friend and Father. Can two walk together except 
 they be agreed ? Can you take pleafure in dwelling with the 
 confuming fire ? or converfing with the mod dreadful enemy? 
 Yet this 1 mull add, that every doubting or felf-accuftng[oul 
 may not find a pretence to fly from God. i. That God 
 ceafeth not to be a Father when ever a fearful foul is drawn 
 ro queftion it or deny it. 2. That in the Univerfal Love and 
 Grace of God to miferable finners, and in the univerfal ad: of 
 conditional pardon and oblivion, and in the offers of Grace, 
 and the readinefs of God to receive the penitent, there is 
 Glad tidings that fhotrid exceedingly rejoyce a finner • and 
 there is fufficient encouragement to draw the moft guilty 
 miferable finner to feek to God, and fue for mercy. But yet 
 thefweeteft converfe is for children, and for thofe that have 
 fome fiffarancc that they are children. 
 
 But perhaps you will fay, that this u not eajily attained ; How 
 fhallweknvW that he is our friend f 
 
 In brief, I anfwer, If jou are unfeignedlj friends to God, it 
 is becaufe he firfi loved you. Prefer him before all other 
 
 friends s 
 
Part 1 1 1. Of Convtrfing with Coiin SolitzAe. 3 ? f 
 
 friends , and all the weaKh and vanity of che wotld ., Provoke 
 him not by wilfulnefs or negled : ufe him as your beft friend, 
 and abuie him noc by difobedience or ingratitude-, own him 
 before all, at the deareft races, whenever you are called to 
 it: Defire his prcfence : Lament his abfence : Love him from 
 the bottom of your hear:s : Think no: hardly of him : Sufpect 
 him not: Mifunderftand him not ; Hearken roc to his ene- 
 mies : Receive not any falfe reports a gain ft him .- Take him 
 to be really Better for you than all the world : Do chefe, and 
 doubt not but you are friends with God, and God with you : 
 In a word, Be but heartily -willing to be friends to God y And that 
 Godjhauld be jour chief tft friend, and you may be fure that it 
 is fo indeed, and that you are and have what you defire. And 
 then how delightfully may you converfe with God / 
 
 Direct. 2. Wholly defend on the Mediation of Chrift , the 
 great Reconciler : Without him there is no coming near to God : 
 But in his Beloved you fhall be accepted. Whatever fear of his 
 difpleafure fhall furprize you, fly prefendy for fafety unto 
 Chrift : Whatever guilt fhall look you in the face, commit 
 your felf and caufe to Chrift, and defire him to anfwer for you t 
 When the doors of mercy feem to be (hut up again ft you, fly 
 to him that bears the keyes, and can at any time open to you 
 and let you in : Defire him to anfwer for you to God, to your 
 confciences,and againft all accufers: By him aioneyoumay 
 boldly and comfortably converfe with God; Due God will 
 roc know you out of him. 
 
 Direct. 3. Take heed of bringing particular Guilt into the 
 fre fence of God, if jou would have jweet communion with him ; 
 Chrift hi m felf never reconciled G-d to fin: And the /inner 
 and fin are (o nearly related, that for ail the death of Chnit, 
 you (hall/*?*/ that iniquity dwelle-h not with God. but he h 1- 
 teth the works ox it, and che ibohfh fhall not Hand in his 
 fighc ; and chat if you wiil prefume to fin becaufe you are hij 
 Children, be fure jour fin will findjonoxt. O what fear?, what 
 fhame, what fell- abhorrence and feif-revenge will guiit raife 
 in a penitenc foul, when ic comes into the light of che prefenee 
 or che Lord I ic will unavoidably abate your boldnefs and your 
 comforts; When you fhould be fweetly delighting in his plea., 
 
 Bbb z fed 
 
37* OfConvtrftng with Gcdin Selitude. Part III. 
 fed face, and promifed Glory, you will be befooling your 
 f elves for your former fin, and ready even to tear your flefh, 
 to think that ever you fhould do as you have done, and ufe 
 him as you would not- have ufed a common friend, and call 
 your felves upon his wrath. But aninnocent foul, or pacified 
 conscience, doth walk with Cod in quietnefs and delight , 
 without thofe frowns and fears which area tafte of Heil to 
 others. 
 
 Direct. 4. If you would comfortably converfe with God, 
 he fur e that you bring not Idols in y oar hearts: Take heed of 
 inordinate .fftttion to any Creature. Let all things elfe be no- 
 thing ro you ,that you may have none to take up your thoughts 
 but G d. Ler yonr Minds be further feparate from them 
 than ) our 'Bodies : Bring not into folirude or to contempla- 
 tion, a proud, or luftful, or covetous mind; It much more 
 concernevh (hee, what Heart thou bringeft, that what *P /ace 
 thou art in, or what work^ thou art upon.- A mind that is 
 drowntd in ambition, fenfuality or paflion, will fcarce find 
 God any fooner in a wildernefs than in a croud (unlefs he 
 be there returning from thofe fins to God) whereever he feeth 
 him, God will Eot own and be familiar with fo foul a foul. 
 Seneca could fay [ £)uid p rode ft tot im region is filentium, ft af- 
 fetltu fremuntf] What good deth the ftlence of all the Country do 
 thee, if thou have the ncije of raging affetlions within .*] And 
 Gregory faith [J^vi corpore remottu vivit, ejre. He that in body 
 is far enough from the tumult of humane converfation, is not in 
 folitude, if he bu fie himjelf with earthly cogitations and de fires : 
 ^ind he is not in the City that is not troubled Vrith the tumult $f 
 worldly cares or fears , though he be prtjfed with the popular 
 eroudj.'] Bring not thy houie, or land, or credit, or carnal 
 friend along wiih thee in thy heart, if thoudefire and exped 
 to walk in Heaven, and to converfe with God. 
 
 Direct. 5. Live ftill by Faith: Let Faith lay Heaven and 
 Earth as it were together : Look not at God as if he were far 
 eff : fet him alwaies as before you, even as at your right 
 hand^ Pfal. 16. 8. Be ftill with him when you awake, Ffal. 
 1 39. 18. In the morning thank him for your reft ^ and deliver 
 lip your felf to his conduct and fervice for that day. Go forth 
 
Part III. OfCenvtrfwg with Gedin Solitude. 573 
 as with him, and to do his work : Do every action, with the 
 Command of God, and the Prcmife of Heaven before your 
 eyes, andupon your hearts : Live as thofe that have incom- 
 parably more to do with God and Heaven , than with all this 
 world^ That you may fay with David, Plal. 37. 25,26. (as 
 aforecited) Whom have 1 in Heaven but the e\ and there isnene 
 en Earth that 1 deftre be fides thee : ] And with Paul, Phil, i, 2 1 . 
 {To me to Live is Chrift, and to 'Dje is gain} You mud (hut up 
 theeye of fenfe (fave as fubordinace to Faith,) and live by 
 Faith upon a God, a Chrift, and a World that is unfeen, if 
 you would know by experience what it is to be above the bru- 
 tifh life of fenfualifts, and toconverfc with God. O Chri- 
 ftian, if thou hadft rightly learned this blefTtd life, what a high 
 and noble foul-converfation wouldft thou have / How eafiiy 
 wouldft thou (pare, and how little wouldft thou mifs the fa- 
 vour of the greateft, theprefence of any worldly comfort / 
 City or Solitude would be much alike to thee, faying chat the 
 place and (late would be beft to thee, where thou haft the 
 greateft help and freedome to converfe with God. Thou 
 wouldft fay of humane fociecy as Seneca [Vntts pro populo mihi 
 eft, & populus pro uno : Mihi fat is eft unpu> fat is eft nullus ] 
 {One is inftead of all the people to nte 3 and the people as one : One 
 is enough for me, and none is enough^] Thus being taken up with 
 God, thou mighteft live in prifon as at liberty, and in a wil- 
 dernefs as in a City, and in a place of banifhmenc as in thy 
 naciveLand : For the Earth is theLords,and the fulnefs there- 
 of: and everywhere thou mayeft find him, and converfe with 
 him, and lift up pure hands unto him ; In every place thou arc 
 within the fight of home h and Heaven is in thine eye, and 
 thou art converfing with that God, in whofc converfe che 
 higheft Angels do place their higheft felicity and delight. 
 
 How little caufe then have all che Churches enemies to tri- 
 umph, that can never (hut up a true believer from the prefence 
 of his God ? nor banifh him into fuch a place where he cannot 
 have his converfation in Heaven ? The (tones that were caft at 
 holy Stephen, could not hinder him from feeing the Heavens 
 opened, and Chrift fitting at the right hand of God. A Patmos 
 allowed holy John Communion with Chrift, being there in the 
 Bbb3 Spirit 
 
374 °f Ccnvnfwg with Ccdln Sclitudf. Part III. 
 
 Spirit on the Lords dsy, Rev. 1.9,10. Chrift never fo fpee- 
 dily and comfortably ownetb hisfer^ants, as when the world 
 difowneth them, and abufeth them for his fake, and hurls them 
 upand down asthefcorn andoff-fcouring of all. He quickly 
 found the blind man that he had cured, when once the Jews 
 had cait him out, fob. 9. 35. Perfecutors do but promote the 
 bleffednefs and exceeding joy of fufferers for Chrift, Afat. 5, 
 11,12. 
 
 And how little Reafon then have Chriftians, to (hun fuch 
 furTcrings,by unlawful means, which turn to their fo great 
 advantage? and to give fo dear as the hazard of their fouls by 
 wilful fin, to efcape the honour, and fafcty, and commodity of 
 Martyrdome? 
 
 And indeed we judge not, we Love nor, we Live not as 
 fan&ified ones mult do, if we judge not that the trueft Liberty, 
 and Love it not as the Bed Condition, in which we may Btft 
 converfe with God. And O how much harder is it to walk 
 with God, in a Court, in the midit of fenfual delights, than 
 in a prifon or wildernefs where we have none to interrupt us, 
 and nothing elfe to take us up? It is our prepoiTcfTed minds, 
 our earthly hearts,oui carnal affections and concupifcence,and 
 the p'eafures of a profperous flare that are the prifon and the 
 jaylors of our fouk Were it not for th:fe, how free fliould 
 we be, though our bodies were confined to the ftraighttfl 
 room / He is at Libeny that can walk in Heaven, and have 
 accefs to God, and makeufeof all the Creatures in the world, 
 to .he promoting of this hs Heavenly converfation. And he 
 is thepnloner whofe kul is chained to fleflh and earth, and 
 confined to his lands ar.d houfes, and fecdeth on rhe dult of 
 worldly riches or walloweth in thedung and filth of glutto- 
 ny, drunkennefs and luft : that are far from God, and defire 
 rot to be near him-, but fay to him, Depart from us, we 
 wculdnot have the knowiedgeof thy waies : that Love their 
 prifon and chains fo well, that they would not be fee free, but 
 hate thofe with the cruelleft hatred that endeavour their deli- 
 verance. Thofe are the poor prifoners of Satan, that have 
 not liberty to believe, nor to Love God, nor converfe in Hea- 
 ven , nor fertoufly to mind or feek the things that are high 
 
 and 
 
Part III. Of Ctnvtrfwg with Godin Sohtufc 375 
 
 and honourable : that have not liberty to meditate or pray, or 
 ferioufly to fpeak of ho!y things, nor to love and converfe 
 with thofethatdofo ; that are tyed To hard to the drudgery 
 of fin, that they have not liberty one month, or week, or day, 
 to have it, and walk with God fomuch as for a recreation / 
 But he that liveth in the family of God, and is employed in at- 
 tending him, and doth converfe with Chrift, and the Hoft of 
 Holy ones above, in reafon fhould not much complain of his 
 want of friends, or company or accommodations, nor yet be 
 too impatient of any corporal confinement. 
 
 Laftly, be fure then moil narrowly to watch your hearts, 
 that nothing have entertainment there, which is again ft your 
 Liberty of converfe with God. Fill not thofe Hearts with 
 worldly trafti, which are made and new-made to be the 
 dwelling place of God. Defire not the company which 
 would diminifh your heavenly acquaintance and correfpon- 
 dency. Be not unfriendly, nor conceited of a felf-fufficien- 
 cy; but yet beware left under the honeft ingenuous title of 
 a friend, a fpccial, faithful, prudent, faithful friend , you 
 fhould en.ertain an Idol , or an enemy to your Love of 
 God , or a corrival and competitor with your higheft friend : 
 For if you do , it is not the fpecious title of a friend 
 that will fave you from the thorns and bryars of difquiet- 
 ment, and from greater troubles than ever you found from 
 open enemies. 
 
 O blefTed be that H gh and everlafting friend , who is 
 every way fuited to the upright fouls / To their Minds, 
 their Memories, their Delight, their Love, &c. by fureft 
 Truth, by fulleft Goodnefs, by cleareft Light , by deareft 
 
 Love, by firmeft Conftancy, &c. 'O why hath my 
 
 drowfie and dark-lighted foul been fo feldome with him / 
 why hath itfo often, fo ftrangely, and founthankfullypaf- 
 fed by, and notobfervedhim, nor hearkened to his kindeft 
 calls / O what is all this trafh and trouble .that hath filled 
 my memory, and employed my mind, and cheated and 
 corrupted my affections, while my deareft Lord hath been 
 daies and nights fo unworthily forgotten, fo contenaptu- 
 oiifly negle&ed anddifregarded, and loved as if I loved him 
 
 poci 
 
37* OfConvirfingtvHh Cod In SeUtude. Part III. 
 
 not/ O that thefe drowfte and thofe waking nights, thofe 
 loitered, loft, and empty hours had been (pent in the hum- 
 bled converfc with him, which have been dreamed and do- 
 ted away upon now I know not what / O my God, 
 
 how much wifer and happier had I been, had I rather chofen 
 to mourn with thee, \\\m to rejoyce and fport with any 
 other / Othat I had rather wept with thee, than laughed 
 with the creature / For the time to come let that be my 
 friend, that moft befriendeth my dark, and dull, and back- 
 ward foul, in its undertaken progrefs, and heavenly conver- 
 fation / Or if there be none fuch upon earth, let me here 
 take no one for my friend / O blot out every Name from 
 my corrupted heart, which hindereth the deeper engraving 
 of thy Name / Ah Lord, what a ftone, what a blind un- 
 grateful thing, is a Heart not touched with celeltial Love / 
 yet (hall I not run to thee, when I have none clfe that will 
 know me I (hall I not draw near thee r when all fly from 
 me / When daily experience cryeth out fo loud [NONE 
 BUT CHRIST: GOD OR NOTHING.] Ah 
 fooli(h Heart , that haft thought of it [Where is that p. f ace, 
 that Cave or Defert, where I might fooneft find thee, and 
 fulleft enjoy thee? is it in the wiidernefs that thou walkeft, 
 or in the croud : in the Clofet, or in the Church ? where is 
 it that I might fooneft meet with God ?] But alas, I now 
 perceive, that I have a Heart to find, before I am like to find 
 my Lord ! O Lovelefs, Lifelefs, ftony heart / that's dead to 
 him that gave it Life / and to none but him / Could I not 
 Love, ovThinkjOv Feel at all, methinks I were iefs dead than 
 now ? Lefs dead, if dead, than now I am alive? t hadalmoft: 
 faid [Lord, let me never Love more till I can Love thee ? 
 Nor think more on any thing till I can more willingly think 
 of thee?] But I muft fupprefs that wi(h ; for Life vriW atf: 
 And the mercies and motions of Nature are necejfarj to thofe 
 of Grace. And therefore in the life of Nature, and in the glim- 
 merings of thy Light, I will wait for more of the Celeltial 
 life / My God, thou haft my confent / Itishereattefted under 
 my hand ; Separate me from \\>hat and whom thou Vvilt fo 1 may 
 but be nearer thee \ LetmeLove thee more, and feel more of 
 
 thy 
 
Part III. ofConverfing with Cod in Solitude. 377 
 
 thy Love,and then let me Love or be beloved of the world, as 
 
 little as thou wilt. 
 
 I thought felf-love had been a more predominant thing : 
 But now I find that Repentance hath its Anger, its Hatred 
 and its Revenge / I am truly Angry with that Heart that 
 hath fo oft and foolifhly offended thee / Methinks I bate that 
 Heart that is fo cold and backward in thy love , and al- 
 raoft grudge it a dwelling in my bread / Alas when 
 Love fhould be the life of Prayer, the life of holy meditation, 
 the life of Sermons and of holy conference, and my foul in 
 thefe fhould long to meet thee, and delight to mention thee , 
 I draggle Lord, I know not whither 1 or I fit dill and wifh, 
 but do not rife and run and follow thee, yea I do not what I 
 feem to do. AU'j> dead, all's dead, for want of Love ! I often 
 cry, O where is that place, where the quickening beams of 
 Heaven are warmed, that my frozen foul might leek it out ! 
 But whither ever I go, to City or to Solitude, alas, I find it 
 is not Place that makes the difference. I know that 
 Chrid is perfectly replenifhed with Life and Light and Love 
 Divine : And I hear him as our Head and Treafure pro- 
 claimed and offered to us in the Gofpel ! This is thy Re- 
 cord, that he that hath the Son hath Life / O why then is 
 my barren foul fo empcy ! I thought I had long ago con- 
 fented to thy offer-, and then according to thy Covenant, 
 both He and Life in him are mine I And yet mud I dill be dark 
 and dead / 
 
 Ah deared Lord, I fay not that I have coo long waited / 
 but if I continue thus to wait, wilt thou never find the time of 
 Love? and come and own thy gafping worm ? wilt thou ne- 
 ver diffipate thefe clouds , and fhine upon this dead and 
 darkened foul ? Hath my Night no Day ? Thrud me not from 
 thee O my God / For that's a Hell, to be thrud from God. But 
 fure the caufe is all at home, could I find it out, or rather 
 could I cure it / It is fure mj face that's turned from God y 
 when I fay, His face is turned from me. But if my Life mult 
 here be out of light, and hidden in the Root (wich Chrid in 
 God,) and if ail the red be referved for thac better world, 
 and I mud here have but, thefe fmall beginnings, O make me 
 
 C c c morfc 
 
378 Of Converfitigwith God in Sditude, Part III, 
 
 more to Love and long for the bleffed day of thine appearing, 
 and not to fear the tim> of my deliverance, nor unbelievingly 
 to linger in this Sodom, as one thac had rather day with fin, 
 then come to thee I Though fin haih made me backward to 
 the fight y let it not make me backward to receive the Crown ; 
 Though it hath made me a loiterer in thy work, let it not 
 make me backward to receive that wages, which thy Love 
 will give to our pardoned, poor, accepted fervices. Though 
 I have too oft drawn back, when I fhould have come un- 
 to thee, and walked with thee in thy waies of Grace, 
 yet heal thac unbelief, and difarTe&ion, which would make 
 me to draw back, when thou called me to poflefs thy Glo- 
 ry ? Though the ficknefs and lamcnefs of my foul have 
 hindered me in my Journey , yet let their painfulnefs help 
 me to defire to be delivered from them and to be ac 
 home, where (without the interpofing nights of thy dif- 
 pleafurc) I (hall fully feel thy fulled Love, and walk with 
 thy Glorified ones in the Light of thy Glory, triumphing in 
 thy Praife for evermore, Amen. 
 
 BUT now I have given you thefe few Directions for the 
 improvement of your folitude for cenvcrfe with God, left I 
 fhould occafion the hurt of thofe that are unfit for the 
 LefTon I have given , I mud conclude with this Caution 
 (which I have formerly alfo publifhed,) That it is not me- 
 lancholly or weak-headed perfons, who are notable to bear 
 fuch cxercifes , for whom I have written thefe Directions. 
 Thofe that are not able to be much in ferious folitary 
 thoughtfulnefs, without confufions and didra&ing fuggedi- 
 ons, and hurrying vexatious thoughts , mud kt themfelves 
 for the mod part to thofe duties which are to be done in 
 company by the help of others ; and mud be very little in 
 folitary duties: For to them whofe natural faculties are fo 
 difeafed or weak, it is no duty, as being no means to do them 
 the defired good j but while they drive to do that which 
 
 they 
 
Part III. of Convtrfng with GbcI in Solitude. 3 79 
 
 they are naturally unable to endure, they will buc confound 
 and diftracT: themfelves, and make themfelves unable for 
 thofe ocher duties which yec they are not utterly unfit for. 
 To fuch perfons therefore inftead of ordered, well-digefted 
 Meditations, and much time fpent in fecret thoughtfulnefs 
 it muft fuffice that they be brief in fecret Prayer, and take 
 up with fuch occafional abrupter Meditations as they are 
 capable of, and that they be the more in reading, hearing 
 conference, and praying and praifing God with others; 
 untill their melancholly diftempers are fo far overcome , as 
 that (by the direction of their Spiritual Guides) they 
 may judge themfelves fit for this improvement of their 
 Solitude. 
 
 FI^CIS. 
 

J 
 
JM I ■'. • , •