256 An humble Address to GOD, 3 Chap. 257 "Evil (q); to Thee, Lord, who at Thy Pleasure, canst "exchange the one for the other, canst turn the brighest "Noon into Midnight, and the darkest Midnight into « Noon. "O Thou wise and merciful Governor of the World! "I have often said, Thy Will be done : And now, Thy "Will is painful to me. But shall I upon that Account unsay what I have so often said? God forbid! I come "rather to lay myself down at Thy Feet, and to declare 66 my full and free Submission to all Thy Sacred Pleasure. O Lord, Thou art Just and Righteous in all! "I acknowledge in Thy venerable and awful Presence, that I have deserved this, and Ten Thousand Times more (r); I acknowledge, that it is of Thy Mercy "that I am not utterly consumed (s), and that any the least Degree of Comfort yet remains. O Lord, "I most readily confess that the Sins of one Day of my Life have merited all these Chastisements; and that every Day of my Life hath been more or less sinful, "Smite therefore, O Thou Righteous Judge! and I will still adore Thee, that instead of the Scourge, Thou hast not given a Commission to the Sword, to do all "the dreadful Work of Justice, and to pour out my "Blood in Thy Presence. 66 "But shall I speak unto Thee, only as my Judge ? O Lord, Thou hast taught me a tender Name; Thou condescendest to call Thyself my Father, and to speak of Correction as the Effects of Thy Love. O welcome, welcome, those Afflictions, which are the "Tokens of Thy Parental Affection, the Marks of my "Adoption into Thy Family! Thou knowest what Dis«cipline I need. Thou seest, O Lord, that Bundle of Folly, which there is in the Heart of Thy poor fro ward and thoughtless Child; and knowest what Rods, and what Strokes are needful to drive it away. I' would therefore be in humble Subjection to the Father "of Spirits, who chasteneth me for my Profit; would be in Subjection to Him and live (t). I would bear Thy "Strokes, not merely because I cannot resist them, but. because I love and trust in Thee. I would sweetly -acquiesce (q) Isai, xlv.7. (r) Ezra ix. 13. (s) Lam. iii. 22. Chap. 25, under the Pressure of heavy Affliction. 257 acquiesce and rest in Thy Will, as well as stoop to it: "and would say, Good is the Word of the Lord (u): And I desire that not only my Lips, but my Soul may acquiesce. Yea, Lord, I would praise Thee, that Thou wilt shew so much Regard to me, as to apply such "Remedies as these to the Diseases of my Mind, and art thus kindly careful to train me up for Glory. I "have no Objection against being afflicted, against being "afflicted in this particular Way. The Cup which my "Father puts into mine Hand, shall I not drink it (x)! By Thine Assistance and Support I will. Only be "pleased, O Lord, to stand by me, and sometimes to 46 grant me a favourable Look in the Midst of my Suffer ings! Support my Soul I beseech Thee, by Thy Con"solations mingled with my Tribulations; and I shall "glory in those Tribulations, that are thus allayed! It has been the Experience of many, who have reflected "on afflicted Days with Pleasure, and have acknowledged that their Comforts have swallowed up their Sorrows. And after all that Thou hast done, are Thy "Mercies restrained (y)? Is Thy Hand waxed short (z)? or caust Thou not still do the same for me? "If my Heart be less tender, less sensible, Thou canst cure that Disorder, and canst make this Affliction the "Means of curing it, Thus let it be; and at length in "Thine own due Time, and in the Way which Thou shalt chuse, work out Deliverance for me; and shew me Thy marvellous Loving-kindness, O Thou that savest << by Thy Right Hand them that put their Trust in Thee (a)! For Iwell know, that how dark soever this Night "of Affliction seem, if Thou sayest, Let there be Light, there shall be Light. But I would urge nothing, before the Time Thy Wisdom and Goodness shall appoint. I am much more concerned that my "Afflictions may be sanctified than that they may be removed. Number me, O Gon, among the happy Persons, whom whilst Thou chasteneth, Thou teachest "out of Thy Law (b)! Shew me, I beseech Thee, where "fore Thou contendest with me (c); and purify me by the (a) 2 Kings xx. 19. (y) Isai. Ixíii, 15. (a) Psal. xvii. 7. 258 An humble Address to GOD, &c. Chap. 25. "the Fire which is so painful to me, while I am passing "through it! Dost Thou not chasten Thy Children for this very End, that they may be partakers of Thy "Holiness (d)! Thou knowest, O God, it is this my "Soul is breathing after. I am partaker of Thy Bounty, "every Day and Moment of my Life: I am Partaker ❝of Thy Gospel, and I hope in some Measure too, a "Partaker of the Grace of it operating on my Heart: "Oh may it operate more and more, that I may largely ઠંડ partake of Thy Holiness too; that I may come nearer "and nearer in the Temper of my Mind to Thee, O "blessed Gon, the supreme Model of Perfection! Let "my Soul be (as it were) melted, though with the intensest Heat of the Furnace, if I may but thereby be "made fit for being delivered into the Mould of Thy "Gospel, and bearing Thy bright and amiable Image ! "O Lord, my Soul longeth for Thee; it crieth out for "the Living GOD (e)! In Thy Presence, and under the "Support of Thy Love, I can bear any Thing; and am "willing to bear it, if I may grow more lovely in Thine Eyes, and more meet for Thy Kingdom. The Days "of my Affliction will have an End; the Hour will at "length come, when Thou wilt wipe away all my Tears "(f). Though it tarry, I would wait for it (g). My "foolish Heart, in the Midst of all its Trials, is ready "to grow fond of this Earth, disappointing and grievous as it is And graciously, O GOD, dost Thou deal with me, in breaking these Bonds that would tie me faster ❝ to it. O let my Soul be girding itself up, and (as it "were) stretching its Wings in Expectation of that "blessed Hour, when it shall drop all its Sorrows and "Incumbrances at once, and soar away to expatiate ❝ with infinite Delight in the Regions of Liberty, Peace, and Joy! Amen." 66 (d) Heb. xii. 10, (e) Psal. ixxxiv. 2. (f) Rev. xxi. 4. (g) Heb. ii, 3. CHAP. Chap. 26. The Christian will desire Growth in Grace. 259 CHAP. XXVL The CHRISTIAN assisted in examining into his Growth in Grace. The Examination important. §. 1. False Marks of Growth to be avoided: §. 2. True Marks proposed; such as, (1.) Increasing Love to GOD, §. 3. (2.) Benevolence to Men, §. 4. (3.) Candour of Disposition, §. 5. (4.) Meekness under Injuries, §. 6. (5.) Serenity amidst the Uncertainties of Life, §. 7. (6.) Humility, §. 8. especially as expressed in Evangelical Exercises of Mind towards Christ and the Spirit, §. 9. (7.) Zeal for the Divine Honour, §. 10. (8.) Habitual and cheerful Willingness to exchange Worlds, whenever GOD shall appoint it: §. 11. Conclusion. §. 12. The Christian breathing after Growth in Grace. §. 1. TF by Divine Grace you have been born again not of corruptible Seed, but of incorruptible (a), even by that Word of GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever, not only in the World and the Church, but in particular Souls in which it is sown; you will, as newborn Babes desire the sincere Milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby (b). And though in the most advanced State of Religion on Earth we are but Infants, in Comparison of what we hope to be, when in the Heavenly World, we arrive unto a perfect Man, unto the Measure of the Stature of Fulness of Christ (c), yet as we have some Exercise of a sanctified Reason, we shall be solicitous that we may be growing and thriving Infants. And you, my Reader, if so be you have tasted that the Lord (a) 1 Pet. i. 23. (b) 1 Pet. ii. 2. (c) Eph. iv. 13. 260 - Caution against false Marks of Growth, Chap. 26. Lord is gracious (d), will, I doubt not, feel this Solicitude. I would therefore endeavour to assist you in making the Enquiry, whether Religion be on the Advance in your Soul. And here, I shall warn you against some false Marks of Growth; and then, shall endeavour to lay down others on which you may depend as more solid.In this View I would observe, that you are not to mcasure your Growth in Grace, only or chiefly by your Ad. vances in Knowledge, or in Zeal, or any other passionate Impression of the Mind; no, nor by the Fervour of Devotion alone; but by the habitual Determination of the Will for GOD, and by your prevailing Disposition to obey His Commands, to submit to His Disposals, and to subserve His Schemes in the World. §. 2. It must be allowed, that Knowledge and Affec tion in Religion, are indeed desirable. Without some Degree of the former, Religion cannot be rational; and it is very reasonable to believe, that without some Degree of the latter, that it cannot be sincere, in Creatures whose Natures are constituted like ours. Yet there may be a great deal of speculative Knowledge, and a great deal of rapturous Affection, where there is no true Religion at all; and therefore much more, where there is no advanced State in it. The Exercise of our rational Faculties, upon the Evidences of Divine Revelation, and upon the Declaration of it as contained in Scripture, may furnish a very wicked Man with a well-digested Body of orthodox Divinity in his Head, when not one single Doctrine of it has ever reached his Heart. An eloquent Description of the Sufferings of CHRIST, of the Solemni ties of Judgment, of the Joys of the Blessed, and the Miseries of the Damned, might move the Breast even of a Man who did not firmly believe them; as we often find ourselves strongly moved by well-wrought Narra, tions, or Discourses, which at the same Time we know to have their Foundation in Fiction. Natural Constitution, or such accidental Causes as are some of them too low to be here mentioned, may supply the Eyes with a Flood of Tears, which may discharge itself plenteously upon almost any Qccasion that shall first arise. And a proud Impatience of Contradiction, directly opposite (d) 1 Pet. ii. 3. |