Balm for Bleeding England and Ireland, Sermon 13
USEFULL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THESE Evill Times.
COLOSS. 1.11, 12.
—Long ſuffering with joyfulneſſe.—
Giving thankes to the Father, &c.
Doct. STand at the end of one Verſe, and looke to the beginning of another, and you wil ſee what is the property of divine joy: It ſets out the ſoule for Heaven; It makes a very aſcending frame of heart: it tunes and winds up every ſtring to praiſe God — with joyfulneſſe, — Giving thankes to the Father, &c.
As the Soule has its Divine advantages, ſo it mounts: as the body hath its advantages, ſo (you know) with facility it vaults and leapes. Joy is a ſoule lifted up by God, 'tis the ſoule upon Eagles winges; the ſoule eaſily mounts Heaven-ward, when God lifts it. As ſorrow is Gods caſting downe the ſoule—Why art thou caſt downe O my ſoule? &c. And then the ſoule is fit for no duty, diſadvantage is ſo ſtrong upon it; ſo joy, 'tis Gods lifting up the ſoule; upon this advantage it can doe any thing, goe up hil with eaſe, mount to heaven facilly. Joy, 'tis Gods giving winges to the ſoule, to fly after him. A ſoule winged by God, will mount as high as God, as high as the higheſt Heaven, where God is: 'twill after God from favour to favour; from buſh to buſh, as young Birds doe after the old one, when they are by the warmth of the old one fledg'd and can flee; as ſoone as the old one hath featherd and winged them by warmth, they after him from twig to twig, from Tree to Tree and hang about him: So doth the ſoule as ſoone as warm'd and winged with joy from God, make after him to Heaven with praiſe, let diſadvantages bee what they will. You cannot keepe young ones in the neſt, when once feather'd and winged; no more can you keepe the ſoule from aſcending to Heaven, when warm'd by God with Joy.
As the ſoule is in divine ſtrength, ſo it aſcends. Smoaking flax goes up to the lower region, flameing flax goes higher, and is far more mounting: joy 'tis flameing flax, 'tis the ſoule in a blaze; a great blaze aſcends very ſtrong, and very high, as high as Heaven, into the very preſence Chamber of the King. Things mount as they are in ſpirits: joy, 'tis a ſoule full of the holy Ghoſt, one ſpirit in the boſome of another; a ſoule captivated in Chriſt, cannot but goe where 'tis carried: every heart Chriſt takes, hee carries home to his Father with joy, magnifying love revealed— with joy giving thankes to the father &c.
As the ſoule gets o… …od, ſo it aſcen… to him: when it gets moſt of him, it aſcends moſt and beſt to him. Joy 'tis Gods comming downe and filling the houſe: as you reade of the Devils comming downe, that expreſſion notes his extraordinary working, in and by the children of diſobedience; ſo notoriouſly, as if he were in perſon preſent here, and had no other reſidence but in their hearts, no dwelling but here, as if he had removed his ſhop above in the Aire, and brought all his tooles and black family downe upon Earth: ſo joy 'tis Gods comming downe, I cannot borrow a fuller expreſſion; 'tis God extraordinarily preſent, and working in the hearts of his people, as if he did make Heaven it ſelfe deſcend, and bring down all the glory that is above, and ſet it in the midſt of man. God thus working in man, ſuch workes worke out, work up very high; Ordinary workes may be vail'd and hid, extraordinary, cannot; they will breake out, aſcend and publiſh themſelves in the Eares of the Author: theſe are workes ſo wrought, as made alive, and with Legs to goe home again, and acknowledge their Father; ſo are all graces when divine joy takes them, made alive and aſcending home, to acknowledge their Father—with joyfulneſſe —giving thankes to the Father, &c.
I have ſaid ſomething for the ſoule, I wil ſay ſomething for graces, to hold out the truth of this point to you, That joy makes a very aſcending frame of heart. As graces grow to maturity, ſo they make home. Joy, 'tis grace growen up, grace growne tall, to mans eſtate, to maturity of knowledge, to maturity of expreſſion: Joy knowes her father, which no child elſe in the ſoule doth; can owne her father: Joy is ſtrong, ſhe can, ſhe doth neceſſarily extoll and lift up her Father—With joy—giving thankes to the Father, &c.
Finally, for I will name no more things of this nature: As things are in pu…ty ſo they aſcend. Nothing ſo pure as divine joy; 'tis the meere reflection of Sun beames, the reſplendency of Gods ſmiling Face. Sun rayes and beames goe forth, and then reflect backe againe, warme the Earth and then back to Heaven againe: ſo doe the beames of Gods Countenance, warme the cold heart of man with joy, and then theſe and the ſoule too back to, God againe.—with joyfulneſſe—giving thankes to the Father, &c.
Vſe. You ſee the nature of divine joy: it makes a very aſcending frame of heart, it ſets the ſoule upon wing for Heaven, it makes Cripples leape and praiſe God. What is the nature of your joy? Doth it make you flee up, or flee out? Does your joy make you wantons, or Puritans? 'Tis a paſtime to fooles to doe wickedly: many are worſt, when merry'ſt. Ah Lord! what baſeneſſe doe many belch forth, when their hearts are upon a merry pin! how proudly! how uncleanly! how looſely doe they ſpeake and doe! If there be any joy in Hell, 'tis this certainly; the divel liftes up that heart that thus joyes, that in joying lifts up it ſelfe againſt God. Curſed is that joy, that makes God ſad: Curſed is that joy, that leades to weeping and wailing and gnaſhing of teeth: in a time of joy (as you make it) I am come to ſpeake of joy; 'tis a good hand of providence ſo to order our way: I wiſh I could ſo handle this point of joy, in this time of joy, as to make you all to looke wel to your joy.
Time wil not ſuffer me to ſay much:It fell-out to be an eclipſe, that day this Sermon was preached: Chriſtmaſſe eclipſed Sunday; 'twas very ſad to behold, to tender hearts. I can onelyonly ſay this, watch your hearts, a looſe time is come, 'twil ſuite wel with looſe ſoules: you wil ſee many damnably merry. Carnall creatures wil leape out of their skin, out of their ſoules into Hell, when their bellies be ful. Belly-gods, ſet a knife to your throates, have a care of your ſoules, as you love your ſoules looke to your joy; eate and drinke and riſe up to play, and not riſe up to pray and praiſe God, and your Table wil be your ſnare, your death. Your brethren have too little, wil you eate too much? your brethren faſt, will yee feaſt? your brethren bleed, wil yee wantonly ſport? they are kill'd with griefe, wil yee kil your ſelves with joy? What a ſtrange Kingdome ſhal we render our ſelves to be, in the ſight of God? ſome bleeding and groaning, and ſome ſurfetting and chambering; ſome reeling and falling, with deady bullets in their ſides, and others reeling and falling, with too much drinke in their bellies; ſome wallowing in the field in bloud, and others wallowing in the ſtreets in vomit: Ah Lord! will not this make vengeance ſmoake againſt England?
Chriſtians and ſinners, I am affraid of theſe prophane dayes: Jobs feare reſpecting his children, when they were going a feaſting, is ſtrongly ſeiſ'd upon me, leſt you pull your houſes about your eares, by carnall and unſeaſonable joy. I charge you al, by the dreadfull comming of the Lord Jeſus, whoſe bloudy ſword is drawne in the Land, and ſet at your breaſts, that you looke to your joy, in this ſenſuall ſeaſon, and make it divine. Let your laughter be turned into weeping, as the Apoſtle ſpeakes, if ever that were ſeaſonable, 'tis now. Some can ſmile and weepe, 'tis a comly countenance now: if you can ſo joy now, doe. Remember God when your hearts are cheer'd; remember the afflictions of Joſeph in your bowles: what a wonder is it that this cup of beere, is not a cup of bloud! thus lay your hand on your breaſt. In your chiefe joy forget not your ſelves, forget not your brethren, Forget not God, leſt God write up your wickedneſſe on the walles, in your conſciences, as hee did belluine Beltſhazzars, and make your ſoules ring of your unſeaſonable joy, to the day of your death. Germani'es wicked feaſting, 'tis deadly cured; their great drinking, is turned into great bleeding; their great feaſting, into famine. Be inſtructed England, be inſtructed: ſo elſe wil be the deadly cure of thy exceſſe.
You obſerve dayes and good times (as you call them.) I am affraid of you, obſerve your ſoules: obſerve your joy, how holy it keepes theſe holy dayes. Theſe holy dayes are betraying dayes, they are the divels ſnare to thouſands; how many thouſands have more wrong'd their ſoules, in theſe few dayes then in al the dayes of the yeare beſides? and yet this ſoule-undoing time, muſt be call'd a bleſſed time. Our wickedneſſe upon this bleſſed time, hath brought many a curſe; our evil joy, much griefe: if we ſhal yet continue it, when ſhall our griefe end? The devil hath many ſnares for the poore ſoule of man, but they are worſt, which are wrapt up in joy; leaſt diſcerned, but catch moſt and kil deadlieſt. Slips in mirth and in joy are pleaded for, the divel hath enough now; the man does the divels worke, the divel may keepe Chriſtmas, holy-day too now, if he wil, his work is done for him. I am led to brand a bad joy: I am commanded by this point in hand, to ſtigmatize al joy that is not divine, that makes not an aſcending frame of heart: I will doe this in three or foure things briefly.
Bad joy hath this grand evil in it, It ſtrips God of all. No evil carries the heart ſo totally from God, as evil joy: it carries away the heart, and every heart ſtring; The ſoule and all that is within, as that ful expreſſion of Davids is; the ſoule and all within, the body and al without, every ſinew and nerve, are ſet intenſely awry, when joy is awry. A man is very heartily wicked, very totally wicked, every faculty, every ſinew ſtretch themſelves to ſinne, when ſinfull in joy. There be many ſacrificers to the divel, but none ſacrifices ſo bountifully to the divel as joy doth, when corrupt: ſhe ſacrifices totum univerſale, totum particulare, al in generall, al in particular, al the man, al the joints nerves and ſinews of the man, to the utmoſt; All the bloud, all the ſpirits in the bloud, al the ſpirits generaly throughout the whole ſtate, doth bad joy ſet a dancing after the devill, ſo that God hath nothing left him in this man. A merry divel joſtles Chriſt out of all.
Bad joy hath this ground evill in it, 'tis ſtiffnecked; hardeſt of any to returne, to be reclaimed. A mans joy commands all, and is all, and wil be all, to the heart. A man is moſt hardely brought to part with his joy. What is ſo deare to a man as his joy, let it be what it wil? 'tis his Heaven; the ſoule and Heaven are inſeparable, they are ſo identified, ſo one in another above al other things. Joy and the ſoule are more identified, more one in another; then the ſoule and any other paſſion or thing whatſoever. 'Tis almoſt impoſſible to ſeparate things which are ſo neere, onelyonly the power of a God, which can doe any thing, can doe it. Hence 'tis, that t'is ſo hard to bring a man to leave ſinne, when his ſoule hath found out joy in it, when the ſinner can make muſicke to himſelfe in his ſinnes, when the ſinner by art hath made an inſtrument of his ſinne, a Lute to play upon, and delight his ſenſes withall; Joy, 'tis a fragrancy made from many flowers, with much picking, chooſing, and compoſing of flowers; tis honey gather'd with much art, from much variety: the ſoule is not eaſily brought to put that by, which it hath ſo ſpent it ſelfe for, and ſo laid out its utmoſt art and skil after. Bad joy, 'tis the ſoule in the armes of the divell, hee holds faſt: 'tis the ſoule in the boſom of the devil, two evil ſpirits deare each to other, making their felicity in and of each other; evil ſpirits endear'd are harder to part then evil bodies.
Bad joy, 't'as this grand evil in it; 'Tis the completion of evill: 'tis wickedneſſe, ful: ſinne growne old, out liv'd al vertue, yea, out liv'd all conſcience; for till conſcience was quite dead, bad joy could not live. Bad joy is an evil that hath conquer'd vertue, truth, conſcience, God; and triumphs in this victory: all the tone now is, hang ſorrow, and yet hell now gapes for the man, and never ſo wide as now. Sinne may be growne old when the man is young, 'tis many a young mans caſe, the Lord knowes; nothing mature in them, but ſinne, as you may ſee by their joy and triumph in it; fit for hel, ere they come to age, to be fit for their patrimony.
Bad joy, hath this grand evil in it: It ſets the Soule very neere wrath; at the gates of hel, knocking to goe in. Evil joy 'tis a Malefactor upon the gallowes, there is but a ſtep betweene him and turning off: The triumphing of the wicked is ſhort, Job. 20.5.when once a ſinner beginnes to triumph, he has but a little time to live. Seeſt thou a ſinner laughing? ſtay a little, the next change of countenance, will be weeping and wailing and gnaſhing of Teeth. You ſay of ſome notorious perſons, that the gallowes groanes for them: when you ſee a man notoriouſly wicked, joying and triumphing in ſinne, Ah Lord! hel groanes for this man, hel opens for this man, in a moment he will goe down to the pit. We leave him there, and conclude.
FINIS.