Revf.3.

Reaf.4.

Again, Thirdly, It is fit that all Beleevers fhould be con· formable to Jefus Chrift. It was thus with Christ. We read in that fecond of the Philippians, of our Lord and Savior, Tha God highly exalted him, and gave him a name above every name. But fee first of all, a fentence of death paffes upon his name, He was made of no reputation (verle the feventh) he was made of no name firft: And being of no reputation, took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of man: wherefore God bath bighly exalted, and given him a name which is above every name. He brought falvation, life to light; he fpoil'd Satan,but firft of al he was fpoil'd himself, and a fentence of death paffes upon him before he brought things un to life,and he gives you to understand thus much himself, and here he holds forth himself for our example; in the 12. chapter of John faies he, at the 23. verfe, The time is come that the Son of man should be glorified. Well, but how? Ve rily, verily, 1 fay unto you, except a corn of Wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Thus he comes to his glory, he must die first, and fo he must come to glory. If any man ferve me, (faies he at the twenty fix:h verfe) Let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my fervant be. This is the way that Christ went, and this way God took with Chrift. Love loves to be like unto Jefus Chrift: and Faith loves to go in the gar ment of Jefns Chrift; as with him, fo with the Saints.

And then again fourthly, God is pleafed thus to order things in the difpenfations of his grace, and mercy,That the comforts of his people may be the more fure and steadfast. Ifour comforts hang at the girdle of the creature,they are moft uncertain but if they be laid up in God,in his promife, upon his power; then they are cettain. He that is engag'd in the crowd, must be carried to & fro in the crowd: And he that is in a fhip,must be carried as the ship is. If a man ftand upon a bank of Ice, he is apt to flide; but if he stand upon dry ground,he ftands more fure: Al the second causes,they make but a bank of Ice; and when a man ftands on them; and his comforts on them, he is apt to flide: the only dry ground

is Gods Power, and Gods Faithfulness, and His Promife. That a mans comforts therfore may not flide, but may be more fure, and ftedfaft; God takes this courfe with His People, putting a fentence of death upon the mercy, and upon all the means that do lead unto it, before he gives it out unto the foul.

Ibut you will fay, This shakes the very foundation of all Object. my comfort: for if this be true, That when God intends any special mercy to the Children of Abraham, he does firft pnt the fentence of death upon it, and upon all the means that do lead unto it: then furely, I am none of the Children of Abraham, I never had any fpecial mercy yet given unto me; I do not find that it hath been fo with me.

No, what then? Because your experience don't fpeak it, Anfw. is it not therfore true? Some would have the Sun fet by their Watch, and not their Watch fet by the Sun: fome measure the truth of all the Doctrines that they hear by their own experience, and if their own experience fpeak them true, then they are true; otherwife not. But Ifay, what then? It may be thou art a man, or woman, that the Lord never gave out a Promife to thee, not a Promife to thy foul: fome there are in prayer, that by the ftrength of their memory can reach in a Promife; and when Art, and Memory reaches in a Promife into prayer, the fentence of death, does not then pafs indeed: but when the Lord gives out a Promife to the foul, then the fentence of death paffes upon the bufinefs, upon the mercy, and upon the means that do lead unto it. I appeal unto all the Saints here: Whether ever had ye any great mercy in all your life, but firft of all, there was a fentence of death paft upon it, and apon all the means that did lead unto it? And therefore, though thou faieft, this fhakes the foundation of thy comfort, truly, better a rotten foundation fhould be fhaken, than ftand.

But you will fay, Is it fo with the Saints in regard of all Quest. their Spiritual bleffings too?

Yes, When ever did the Lord give an Ordinance to his Anfw.

X

People!

I.

people in the way of a special mercy, but ficft of all the fentence of death came upon the bufinefs, and upon all the means that did lead unto it?

When did the Lord ever give any grace to his people, but first of all the fentence of death palt? when ever did the Lord give any incouragement in duty to any of his children, but first a sentence of death paft? When ever did the Lord give any great injoyment of himself to any of his children, but firft a sentence of death paft? When ever was a poor foul made fruitful, but first a sentence of death past? Oh! never any more barren than I, never any more dead than ]; Our Lord and Savior Chrift, he promises his Difciples, that he would fend them the Holy Ghost,the Comforter: but before the Comforter came, he goes away himself from them, and they were left, and never in fuch a fad condition as immedi ately before the Comforter came. And if you mind it here, though Abraham had many acts of Faith, yet this act of faith is fingled out from all the reft of the a&tings of Abra bams faith; wherein Abraham is held forth as a pattern for all Belcevers. The grace of a godly man, is his fouls Refurrection, We are rifen, being rifen with Chrift, by grace we rife: Now faies the Apostle, 'tis in regard of the Refur rection, as with feed that is fown: it first dies, and then it rifes. The Saints, and People of God, they have all their graces, and all their comforts in a way of Refurre&tion. This is the way therfore God takes with his People. Ooly, take along with you, these three or four cautional Confide rations.

First, This is to be understood concerning the great and the fpecial bleffings and mercies which Beleevers have. There are fome bleffings and mercies that are more common and or dinary; fome that are more fpecial and greater. I do not fay, that this is true concerning every common and ordinary bleffing that a Beleever hath, that he hath no bleffing, no mercy; but first of all a sentence of death is put upon it, and upon all the means that do lead unto it, but (I fay) it's true concerning the great, and the special blessings and

mercies

mercies. We reade of Abraham that he had other children,
it was not fo in regard of them, but Ifaac was the great blef-
fing; it was fo in regard of Ifaac. The children of Ifrael,they
had their daily bread, and their water; their daily provifi-
ons, we do not find it in regard of them: but they had Man-
na from Heaven, and they had water out of the Rock, they
had special water, fpecial bread, fo in regard of thefe. And
therefore if you look into Exod. 15. you fhal find there at
the laft verfe. They came to Elim, where were twelve Wells of
water, (according to the twelve Tribes, every Tribe had
twelve) and three score and ten palm trees, (according to the
number of those that went down to Egypt) But now before
they had thefe twelve Wells of water, ye reade at the 22.
verfe, that they went three daies in the Wilderness, and found no
water, at the 25. verfe, you reade of waters they had that
were very sweet but before that, the water was bitter, it
was called Marah, And when they came to Marah, they could.
not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore
the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured a-
gainst Mofes, Jaying, what shall we drink? and he cried unto
the Lord, and the Lord fhewed him a Tree, which when
be bad caft into the waters, the waters were made sweet. The
special waters and bleffings of Gods People come to them

thus.

Again, The fentence of death may be put upon your
mercy in another mans band.
It was a great mercy, even to
Ifaac, that by him all the Nations of the world should be
bleft; but the fentence of death was put upon this mercy
in Abrahams hand, as well as in his own; Thou comeft it
may be to the preaching of the Word, and thou art conver-
ted by fuch a Sermon;thou does not fee how the fentence of
death was put upon this mercy before thou hadst it: may be
the fentence of death was put upon it in the Minifiers hand,
in the Preachers hand, may be he had laid aside thofe Do-
&rines, and those Truths, and thought to preach upon ano-
ther matter; may be the fentence of deach was put upon
thy mercy in his hand: fo fomtimes it is in another mans
hand.
X 2

3. A

2.

3.

Quest.

Again, though the fentence of death be put upon a mercy, before a Beleever comes to it; yet it is much according to the life of the mercy that is afterward. If the life be great, the death is great; If the life be fmall, the death is fmal. And fomtimes the fentence of death talls moftly upon the apprehenfion as it was with Hagar; fhe was in the Wilderness, and the thought the fhould die for want of water: only (faid the) I won't fee my child die, and there was a Well by. So that now, here the fentence of death lay moftly upon her own apprehenfion. And thus you have it alfo with Joshua of whom you reade in the firft of Joshua; the Lord makes him a great Promife: new therefore arife (laies he at the fecond verfe) go over this Jordan, thon and all this people; every place the fole of your foot fall tread upon; that have I given unto you. And at the latter end of the fift verfe, I will be with thee, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Now if you look into the feventh Chapter, you find that Joshua bad rent his clothes (in the fixt verfe) and fell to the earth upon bis face, before the Ark of the Lord until even-tide, and Joshua faid, alas, O Lord God, wherefore baft thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the band of the Amorites, to defiroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other fide Jordan, why? what's the matter? you read there went up three thousand men of the Ifraelites, and thirty fix men of them were fmote by the men of Ai. Here was caufe now of fear, but no caufe of fuch expreffions as did fall from Joshua: a fentence of death paffes upon the mercy, but it lay moftly upon the apprehenfion of Jofbua. Somtimes it falls more upon the apprehenfion, and lefs upon the thing, fomtimes it fals more upon the thing, and lefs upon the apprehenfion: but alwaies more or lefs, when God intends any great or fpecial mercy to his People, to the Children of Abrabam, be does firft caufe the fentence of death to pafs upon it, and upon all the means that do lead unto it.

You will fay then, Why does God give the promife? I confefs this is true, 1 feldom had any great mercy in all my daies, but first of all, the fentence of death came upon