Christian Observations and Resolutions, Observations · Observation 54 – Observation 64
54. The louelove of good and hatred of euill.
SOme things there be which I cannot louelove, and some thinges which I cannot hate: I cannot louelove Sathan, for he is Gods enemie: Nor Hell, for it is his House: Nor Sinne, for it is his worke: And the more neere that Sinne is to mee, the more I hate it: In the godlie more than in the wicked: And in my selfe more than in any.
These againe I cānot hate; God, because he is Goodnes it selfe: Nor the Heauen, because it is his dwelling and reward: Nor his Grace, because it is his Image, both the causes of that louelove, and the work of it is from himselfe: I louelove them, because I louelove him, and it is his will and worke in mee, to louelove them.
I thanke God, I cannot hate them, who hauehave true Grace: I mislike their faults and shall disgest their injuries, but my Soule cannot hate them, who louelove God, and are beloued of him: His Image and Grace, where euer I see it (though in my professed enemie) commandeth my dearest affection; all their injuries cannot so grieue mee, as the conscience of my sincere louelove to them comforteth mee: By this I know, that I am translated from death to life, because I louelove the Brethren. 1. Iohn. 3. 14.
But there can bee none assurance of his LoueLove and Grace, where the Sainctes are hated. His louelove is shed abroad in our heart, not to remaine there, but to run out to embrace them whom hee loueth, neither am I beloued of him, nor hauehave parte of that in shed louelove, if I hate them: who so are beloued of him, & are inclosed in his heart, & agree in Iesus Christ, as they are such, cannot hate one another. This is our victorie, ouer their corruptiō & our own, that notwithstanding of their injuries, we louelove them deerelie.
God loued and choosed vsus, when he saw vsus his enemies in the masse of lost mankynde: And now loueth vsus, when wee offend him daylie: How then can the heart, sensible of this louelove, hate anie that is so loued of God: If wee doe so, wee hate Gods Image, and louelove in the Sainctes, in our selfe, and in God & may justly doubt, if we be the Lords beloued.
55. The best Lotte hath some want.
EVerie mans Lot is mixed with some want: And GOD hath so wiselie temperated all estates, that no man hath all blessings, and no man lacketh all crosses: If we hauehave some blessings, we lacke other: Yea, our miscontentment can make wants, where none is, and augmenteth these which possiblie are: Wee take on vsus a creating power, and that in euill: How oft doe wee compleane of that Lotte, which is good in it selfe, and better than wee are, either worthie to receiue, or wise to use aright.
Many hauehave so large a Lotte, that if it were diuided in an hundreth partes, it would content some hundreth persons, and euerie one of them possiblie, is more worthie, and would bee more thankfull, than he who hath it all alone, with miscontentment. The smallest Lot with God (if there can be any small with him) is a large Lotte: And the greatest Lot without him (if there can bee any great without him) is extreame lacke. Hee lacketh nothing, who hath God for his portion, and he hath nothing, who lacketh him: God carueth not sparingly to that Soule, to whom hee giueth himselfe, and in that case, it lacketh nothing, but to know that Lotte, and enjoye it.
God hath indeede wisely tempered our Lottes, but the error of our desires, and miscontentment is our owne, and yet hee bringeth good out of that error. His care is to keepe vsus euer loose from the earth: If wee found all our desires contented heere, wee would forget to seeke a better Lotte in heauen.
Let eueryevery lacke chase vsus, to seeke a supplie: It is a daylie and hourely earand to God by prayer: Wee cannot finde it in this life, let vsus seeke it where it is: Our Lot on earth satisfieth vsus not, but our Lot in heauen, shall fill vsus with contentment: It is perfect in it selfe, and craueth that wee bee perfect for it. If in the midst of so manie lackes, wee seeke perfection in the earth, wee proue the lacke of wit, more than of a sufficient Lot, all lackes tell vsus, and command vsus to seek supply in God, who onelyonly is All-sufficient.
56. Danger of corruption daylie.
THere is none houre, wherein we can say that wee are free of danger, and yet not so much of outward accidents, as of inward surprysing of our Corruption: The more aduanced in Grace, the more is that danger, both in it selfe, and to our feeling: Other see our infirmities, and they are more grieuous to our selfe, than of before.
This is a bitter Experience, that when wee hauehave lamented our slippes, renewed our vowes, and chastened our selfe in an holy griefe for them, they breake out vnderunder our hand: Scarcelie is our heart calmed from a former griefe, when it is conceiuing either the same, or a greater infirmitie. These Canaanites liue still in vsus, they are left as a mater of our Exercise, the whetstone of grace, and a Spurre of Prayer: Wee cannot cast thē out, but we should put them vnderunder tribute. It is best to hold our eye cō tinually on our corruption, that it break not out: or bee grieued for that out-breaking.
Daylie danger, is a lesson of the necessitie of a daylie guarde: And since that danger is most from within, our best Guarde must bee from without: Nature in vsus, that worketh our woe, cannot prouid our safetie: God by his Spirit is our best Guarde: When he keepeth our heartes in his hand, then wee are secured from all dangers.
It is not good to sleepe securely, whē a Serpent is in the house, or to be carelesse, whē a mad dog is tyed with a loose roppe: Such carelesnesse is an infalible precedent of some grosse fall: Dauid at rest in his owne place, fell worse, than when hee was chased as a Patridge in the Wildernesse.
If we cannot escape Sathans supprysings, we should turne them against himselfe: God maketh these out-breakings in his Saintes, as a staffe to breake the heade of Sathan in their corruption. They are as the borrowing of a Baire, hee houndeth out our corruption, to foyle vsus, but God sendeth it home, as a carcase to him againe. Beside the former exercises, it entertaineth Humilitie, and the sense of Gods merciemercy, who beareth with our faults. Pride as a Page, attendeth excellent Spirit: But the slippes and buffets of our corruption, layeth these feathers. Pride goeth before a fall, and an hautie heart before destruction.
57. Gods best Gifts.
THere is no mā, who receiueth not of Gods Liberalitie, but not all of that same kinde, and that measure. Some as Keturahs sonnes, get common gifts, and goe away from him: Other as his Isaac, get the Inheritance, and abide with him: Some hauehave the giftes of body and minde, and Fortune (as they call them) gifts in themselues, but no sure pledge of his sauing louelove: But to the godly, with his gifts he giueth himselfe, a spirituall beeing by Renouation, a spirituall life by his Sonne, a spirituall mouing by his Spirit.
Our disposition will tell vsus his affection: If wee take his gifts, runne away with them, and use them without and against him, then wee hauehave gotten his gift, but not himselfe: But if they lead vsus to him, and make vsus seeke him aboue them all, then wee hauehave himselfe with his gifts.
These are best giftes, which are most excellent in their kinde: Greatest in measure, and most profitable for use: What is better, than GOD Himselfe? And amongst his gifts, none is better, thā sauing Graces. They bring with thē the Image and warming power of a speciall louelove, and stamppe the heart of the receiuer, with a re-louing of him. For measure, they are sufficient to our greatest necessitie of Saluation. For use, they leade vsus through the Valley of this life; through the foorde of Death: And exalt vsus aboue all use, euen to the fruitiō of God: And so in this life are the immediate matter of our contentment.
Common gifts come out naked, but sauing Graces are guarded? that same choosing louelove of God, where from they flow, sendeth out a secrete vertue with them, to pull that heart to God, that receiueth them. Though they come out from him, yet they are not separate from him, neither suffer they vsus to stand abacke from him: That his louelove in Christ, that giueth them, quickneth vsus with the sense of it selfe, that as by him wee liue, so wee cannot liue, but in him.
This is a sweet intercourse botweene God & vsus, in his sauing blessings in Christ, I count more of his smallest grace with himselfe, than of all the world without him.
58. Discerning of Flesh and Spirit.
HOw profitable were it for vsus, to discerne betweene the flesh and Spirite. But this discerning hath a great difficultie; and that because both parties are within vsus: And both of them in eueryevery parte and power of vsus: Their likenes also one to another, and the readinesse of our mistaking, and most of all, because wee incline more to the flesh, which is natiue to vsus, than to Grace, which is a stranger.
Flesh is first in vsus by Nature, and soonest at worke: And so forestalling our mindes, purchaseth our allowence to it selfe. Confusion of our minde maketh them as Rebekahs twinnes, wee finde them stirring within vsus, but cannot discerne them: Passions and Selfe-louelove make vsus judge wrong, wee take that for Spirit which is Flesh, and cherish it: And that for Flesh, which is Spirit, and neglect it: That coueting one against another, is sensible, but we know them not particularlie: And more easilie can we discerne them in another, than in our selfe: The worke is then manifest, and wee are not prejudged by our selfe-louelove.
It is a great part of the worke of conscience, to marke this difference: The Apostle excelleth in this, who said, I finde another Law in my members. The best way to try them, is not to leaue them to the event, but to bring them to the rule. The true knowledge of Gods Law will tell vsus, That is Spirit, which agreeth with it, and that is Flesh, which agreeth not with it: At diuerse times wee hauehave contrarie thoughts of one thing, the one must bee flesh, and the other Spirit, what sauoureth of pride and vanitie, is flesh: What sauoureth of Humilitie and feare, is Spirit.
As the descerning of them argueth a great degree of Grace, so to doe according to that discerning, proueth a greater degree of it: When the motions of the flesh are broken as a Cockatrice egges before they bee hatched, and the motions of that Spirit are intertained: Both these workes are noysome to the flesh, but they are more profitable in that they grieue it. He hath a painefull task, who pondereth all his thoughtes in the ballance of the Sanctuarie, but the fruite of that labour in puritie, and holinesse is greater than all the paines.
Iustice is painted with a ballance in her hand, and the practice of a good Conscience in this discerning, is a continuall pondering. Where this discerning is exact & particular, it is a singular preseruatiue, to keepe vsus from yeelding to temptation, & a spurre to Repentance, when we are fallen: He who is so exercised, shall either not fall in sinne, or come soone out of it.
59. Gods mercifull presence.
GODS Presence in merciemercy, is aboue all things in this life, to bee sought and keeped. But eueryevery one knoweth not what it is, or how to keepe it: As Creator, hee is with eueryevery one, sustaining, maintaining, and directing them in their wayes. The greatest A thiest cannot shift himselfe of that sort of presence. But wee seeke his presence as Redeemer in Christ.
In this hee seeth vsus, and maketh vsus see him: Hee sheddeth abroad his louelove in our heart, and maketh vsus to louelove him, and by his working in louelove, maketh vsus both sensible and conscious of him, and carefull to walk worthie of that his presence: His coūtenance both humbleth vsus in our peace, and comforteth vsus in aduersitie: Our well and woe are judged by his smyling and frowning: If hee lift vp the light of it aboue vsus, nothing can g…ieue vsus: If hee hide it from vsus, wee are swallowed vp.
It hath both a changing and augmenting power: Thereby aduersitie is changed in prosperitie, and prosperitie is doubled by that Blessing of blessings, euen as the lacke of it changeth prosperitie in aduersitie, and doubleth aduersitie by that crosse of crosses.
His eye is more to vsus, than all the world, to see vsus, direct vsus, witnesse to vsus, in approuing or reprouing. In the darknesse of the night, it shineth in our Soule, in our reteardnesse from men, it is powerfull to keepe vsus in order, yea, all mankynde gathered in one, are but a solitude compared to his on-looking. This is both a tryall of true Grace, and our proficience in it.
I see not how wee can count our selues Christians, except in some measure, wee know and walke vnderunder the reuerence of a present God: Without this, all wee doe, is but by guesse and custome. Heereby wee know whom we worship, and are sensible of our spirituall estate, wee measure his assistance and desertion, our strength and weaknesse, and by these, our joy and griefe of them all. It is the earnest of our Inheritance, the first Fruites of the Spirit, our acquaintance with his Face in this life, and our Heauen on Earth. To bee conscious of it, and carefull to keepe it, assureth vsus, that wee hauehave it now, and shall enjoye it for euer heereafter.
60. GOD and Sathan contrare to their ends and wayes.
GOD and Sathan draw vsus to contrare ends by contrare wayes: GOD, his end is true happinesse in Grace in this life, and glorie in Heauen: Sathans end is miserie in sinne in this life, and damnation in Hell: The proceeding is as contrare: God beginneth his worke at light in the minde: Hee reuealeth the goodnesse of grace & glo…ie, & the vilenesse of our sinne and miserie: by the mind enlightned, and his holy Spirit, he boweth the will sweetelie to encline to the knowne Good, and decline the knowne euill: By these, hee moueth the affections to seeke the desired Good, and flee the refused euill.
But Sathan taketh a contrare course; hee first moueth the Humours, by them, the Affections, and by these, the VVill, and by it, hee carrieth the Minde headlong: As his on-sets are on our weaker partes, so are they preposterous: GOD leadeth vsus vp ward, and fordward, as he made vsus: Sathan draweth vsus backward, and downward, blindeth the minde, that hee may surpryse it by our corruption.
The forme of these proceedings tell vsus both the Nature of the Authors, and their ends: When the Minde is solidlie enlightned, and moueth the other powers, that is an orderlie proceeding: But where Humours lead the ringe, & the Minde is both last moued, and violentlie carried, there can bee no good. If there were that much light in it, as to discerne their proceeding, wee might eschew the many temptations, which surprysse vsus, and obtaine many blessings, which wee neglect.
Humorous courses are both violent and dangerous; they beginne with violence, and end in darknesse, the more stirring of humour the lesse life of Grace: But the worke that beginneth, and goeth on with…light, endeth in life and happinesse. In all our businesse, wee are guided by one of these two.
It is good to dispose of our affaires, with due consideration, that wee may know who is our Guide, what is the Nature of our proceeding, and what shall bee our end. Hee beateth the aire, and thresheth the water, who walketh without these considerations, as he soweth the winde, hee shall reape the whi…le winde. Many abhorre Sathan in word, who render themselues to his guiding: And many honour GOD in word, who pull their shoulders from his obedience.
61. Tryall of Trueth.
OUr speach in praise, and dispraise, arise of Estimation, and Estimation commeth of Discerning, and Discerning of Knowledge▪ A cleare particular and distinct Knowledge, maketh good discerning, due Estimation, and a true Speach: But Ignorance maketh bad discerning, wrong estimation, and a false testimonie, wee cannot pry in the heart of man immediatelie, but the worldes affection is seene in their praise, or dispraise: For the most part, gold is called drosse, & drosse gold, good is called euil, and euill good, vertue is called vyce, & vyce vertue. And eueryevery man perswaded of his owne wisedome, is both peremptorie to pronounce of things themselues as hee conceiueth them, and credulous to beleeue other reports of them. There is no just testimonie, but from a sound Minde enlightned of God, and that as it is such; a moate may trouble the eye that is otherwayes inlightned, so will passion or prejudice an vnderstanding Minde.
I pittie posterior Ages, who hauehave no further of former times, than historicall report, which carrie as much of the affection and disposition of the writer, as veritie of the matter: Except the sacred Historie, there is none that hath infalible trueth; it is a vexation to finde out the Trueth in the multitude of diuerse, yea, contrare reports. A blind man eateth many flies, and a credulous mind manie vntruths.
I reuerence eueryevery man as God hath gifted him, but I keepe obsequious credulitie to God alone in his word: I find nothing therein, but Truth: as for other reports, I hauehave often found by diligent search, that to be drosse which was called gold, and that to be gold which was rejected.
62. Politicks secrecie is open.
VVOrldlie Politicks affect nothing more in their businesse than secrecie, but they are not so close as they beleeue: They are as the fish which thrusting the head vnderunder a stone, thinketh all is hid, but the Fisher pulleth it out of that supposed secret: They laugh all the world to scorne, and seeth not that they are seene by these whome they would blinde: Conuoy as they will, yet they are perceiued, and more justly mocked, both for their crooked doings and conceate of secrecie.
They delight to deceiue man, but indeede they deceiue themselues: As they glose man, they cast a vaile betweene God and them, thinking that hee seeth them not, because they winke. and will not see him. But all that is seene of him, and shall bee manifested to him all at the last day: Since men enlightned of God, doe now see through these vailes, shall not his face at the last day, more clearely discouer their supposed secrecie and wickednesse lurking vnderunder it.
If they worke directlie their mids, tell both their grounds and end: If indirectlie (as now many doe, affecting Gods prerogatiue to worke by contrars) yet are they seene: They who can inferre a like of like, can also inferre a contrare of a contrare.
The truelie wise in God seeth him throughlie, smyleth at his opinion of secrecie, and sorroweth for his crooked policie: Hee out-seeth him in a better sight, and foreseeth his disapointment and repentance: Hee could as well minde and counter-minde him, if hee pleased, but hee will not. It is not lacke of witte, but of will, and of corruption of witte, that stayeth him from playing the politicke: Hee knoweth God hath giuen him witte for a better end to honour God, doe good to his neighbour, and saue himselfe, but not to abuse it in weauing the spider webbe, or hatching the Cockatrice egges. Isa. 59.
The troubler of mankinde furnisheth Politicks with a quicke VVitte, and hard heart, and harder face, the first for plotting euill against Conscience: The second for affecting it against God: The third for effecting it with man. The first is both a corrupted and corrupting mind, the next, a senslesse heart, the third, a shamelesse face: Such Furniture is neither to bee enuyed nor coueted.
It is a witlesse Witte, that is wittie to warppe a mischiefe to it selfe. Achitophe…s policie, put his house in order, and himselfe out of order: Hee gained by it nothing, but a roppe to his necke, and confusion to himselfe, and his estate.
This is true Wisedome, to feare God▪ and to depart from sinne, is good vnderstanding.
63. The life of the Soule.
THe Soule is the life of the bodie, but it selfe must liue by some other life, and that not from within, but from without: EueryEvery one seeketh not that same thing for the life of it. It is a second life in time, but should bee better than the first, because it is the life of the first, euen of the Soule it selfe; and should as farre excell the Soule, as the Soule doeth the body: But the multitude chooseth a worse and a baser life to their Soule: Some liue by their riches, some by their fame, others by their pleasures, and others by their conceates. This is not an exalting, but a debasing of their Soule, not a quickening, but a killing of it. It is Gods worke to quicken our earthlie lumppe by an heauenlie substance, but to destroy that Soule by a lumppe of earth and vanitie, is Sathans destroying worke.
It were extreame senslesnesse to liue a day or an houre, and not know if our Soule were in vsus; and yet many put off long time, and neuer try if they hauehave this spirituall life. They lacke it who know it not, a speciall worke of it, is to reueale it selfe to them who hauehave it: It is a vigorous life, all in action and cannot lurke: Holie Motions Operations, and assiduous Care to keepe it, are euidencies that wee hauehave it.
I will seeke nothing for the life of my Soule, but that which is infinitelie better than it, and that is God himselfe: When hee dwelleth in the Soule, hee maketh both Soule & body liue in him, and exciteth them to an higher degree than they had before. There is no food so sweete to the mouth, as the sense of Gods louelove to the heart; when it is warmed by that heauenly sweetnesse, then the body is refreshed by a wondefull presence.
The life that is of God, and is himselfe, liuing in mee, both giueth mee life, and telleth mee what that life is, and by the sense and conscience of it selfe, redoubleth that life in the aboundance of peace and joye.
Hencefoorth I liue not, but Christ liueth in mee, and the life that I liue, I liue by the Faith of the Sonne of God, who hath loued mee, and giuen himselfe for me: yea, hath giuen himselfe to mee, and taken mee to himselfe. Galat. 2. 20.
64. Sense of weaknesse.
IT is absolutely necessar to bee keeped vnderunder the sense of our weaknesse, but all meanes for it are not alike: Some learne it by falling in great temptations, as Dauid in his sin, other find it in smaller and trifling ouersights, as rashnesse in words, or out-breaking in passions: Both grieuous falls and small ouer-sights discouereth our weakenesse, but this last hath neither such guiltines before God, nor such slander before man, nor such a wound to our conscience as the first.
It is a great merciemercy of God, to bee schooled by lesser infirmities; and it is the blessing of that merciemercy to make use of it: This is a point of heauenly wisedome to bee made as conscious of our weakenesse, by small slippes as by grieuous sinnes; if it worke in vsus a distrust of our selues, a constant adherence to God, wee are brought to a guarde for our weaknesse.
It is extreame weakenesse, or rather death, to bee ignorant of our weaknes, And it is both strength restored, & increased to feele it. Death feeleth no disease, but life & the integritie of it maketh vsus sensible of any thing that hurteth vsus.
The tryall of it, is to enterpryse nothing, without earnest incalling of God for wisedome and direction: Neuer to proceede in any thing, without imploring his assistance and blessing, and that not in greater businesse onelyonly, but in our smallest adoes: The watch-man of Israel will then preserue our going out, and comming in. When we absolutelie relye on him in eueryevery thing.
Hee is most secure and safe from his weaknes, who by many proofes is made conscious of it, and by that conscience doeth euer depend on GOD; he shall ouercome great difficulties to his owne, & others, admiration. But he who presumeth in his owne strength, is ouerthrowne of smaller businesse: Humilitie in the one, grippeth God, to be led of him: But Presumption in the other, is Sathans snare to entrappe him, Humilitie, is both a degree of Gods present assistance, and a presage of his accomplishing presence: But Presumption in the other, is both a just desertion of God, and a surrendring of the presumptuous man, to fearefull inconuenients. Conscience of weaknesse findeth want within, and seeketh supplie in God: But Conceate of strength holdeth them within: The first is blessed with helpe of God, the other is cōvinced by grieuous losses.