A Scripture-Map of the Wilderness of Sin, Title page – Dedication
A SCRIPTURE-MAP OF THE Wilderneſſe of SIN, And VVay to CANAAN.
OR THE SINNERS Way to the SAINTS REST.
WHEREIN The cloſe Bewildring ſleights of Sin, wiles of the Devill, and windings of the Heart, AS ALSO The various Bewildrings of Loſt Sinners, yea, even of Saints, Before, In, and After Converſion; the neceſſity of LEANING upon Chriſt ALONE for SALVATION, with directions therein: As alſo, the Evident and Eminent Danger of Falſe Guides, Falſe Wayes, Falſe Leaning-ſtocks, are plainly, and practically Diſcovered.
Being the Summe of LXIV Lecture SERMONS Preached at Sudbury in Suffolk, on CANTIC. 8.5.
By FAITHFƲL TEATE, M. A. Miniſter of the Goſpel.
They wandred in a Wilderneſſe in a ſolitary way, they found no City to dwell in. Pſal. 107.4.
(Therefore) the Son of Man came to ſeek and to ſave that which was loſt. Luk. 16.10.
He led them forth by a Right Way, that they might go to a City of Habitation. Pſal. 107.7.
By a New and a living Way. Heb. 10.20.
(even) The Way, the Truth, and the Life. Joh. 14.6.
Therefore there remaineth a Reſt for the People of God. Heb. 4 9.
London Printed for G. Sawbridge at the Bible on Ludgate Hill. 1655.
Aprilis 25. 1654.
I allow theſe 64 Sermons on Cant. 8.5. preached by Mr. Faithful Teate, for the Preſſe.
Thomas Gataker.
TO My Dear Friends of the Burrough and Town of SƲDBƲRY; Together with all Chriſtian Auditors of the enſuing Lectures.
THough the Intricacy of the Text, the Importance of the Subject, with the ſenſe of mine Inſufficiency for theſe things, have ſometimes overcaſt mee with a Cloud of Diſcouragement, yet durſt I not but follow that bright Pillar of truth, which (like their Starre in the Eaſt) paſſed on before mee. I have beleeved and therefore have I ſpoken; knowing that Gods Truth never needed my Lye (and from whom ſhould I look for thanks, ſhould I lye for God?) I can ſay in ſimplicity, ſo farre as I have known my wretched heart, that I have feared to ſtrain, but hated to pervert the holy Scriptures, whereof I reckon the CANTICLES a portion ſo tranſcendently ſpiritual, that I accord with thoſe that judge it to be underſtood moſt rightly (if the ſenſe be fair and ſcriptural) when moſt ſpiritually.
I know the difficulty of demonſtrating, that one, and not another, is the ſenſe of the abſtruſe paſſages thereof, hath occaſioned the giving and taking of much Liberty (that I ſay not latitude) by Interpreters; whereby Satan hath gotten advantage of us, who as hee is a known enemy to the Scriptures in general, ſo hath ever been a profeſſed Adverſary to this Book in particular (which confirms mee the more, that the weapons thereof are not carnal but ſpiritual; and mighty through God to the pulling down his ſtrong holds, and therefore to be made uſe of by every good ſouldier of Jeſus Chriſt) I am not ignorant of his old Device, which prevailed on the people to whom this ſcripture firſt came, and by whom it was taken to be an Oracle of God, who excluded all under 30 years of Age, from the reading thereof, ſo favouring ſhamefacedneſſe, but not fearing ſacrilege: At this day hee ſhews his inveterate hatred, by a new wile, viz. whileſt one underſtands it groſly and carnally, another Hiſtorically, a third Prophetically, though the moſt and Beſt underſtand it Myſtically of Chriſt and his people. Saith Satan, you cannot demonſtrate, adventure not to interpret; and ſo ſhould it lye by as a Book that is ſealed: And as for mee, my feet were almoſt gone, and my ſteps had wel nigh ſlipped whilſt. I was thus tempted, untill I went into the Sanctuary, then underſtood I that this Scripture was profitable for Doctrin, for Reproof, for Correction, for Inſtruction in righteouſneſſe; being led of the Lord (as I hoped, and you beleeved) to underſtand by being in [the Wilderneſſe] the loſt eſtate of ſinners, by [comming up] Converſion, by [leaning] ſaving faith, by the [Beloved] the only Lord Redeemer Jeſus Chriſt.
Yet little thought I of divulging my thoughts on this Text further then your Pulpit would carry them; There is nothing that more nauſeats my Natural genius than to ſee a ſurfit-ſick preſs diſgorging crudities into the lap of a nice and criticall Generation; But and if I had judged my cluſters to be ripe for the preſſe, (who on the contrary am very conſcious to their immaturity) it would have been ſmall inducement to mee to appear in Print at ſuch a time when one may eaſily diſcern the evill of the Age, by the Appetite of the Preſſe, which (almoſt profeſſedly diſguſting the ſimplicity of the Goſpell of peace) craveth only what is curious or contentious; to the former, all may ſee that I am a ſtranger; and (if I miſtake not in my ſelf) I am more than ſo to the later.
Yet have I choſen to diſpleaſe, if not to diſadvantage, my ſelf, and to incur the cenſure of ſtrangers in the impreſſion, rather than to grieve ſome poor hearts of you, in the ſuppreſſion of the following diſcourſe; wherefore whileſt I do what I durſt not deny, I would have all men know, that though I ever thought obſcureſt Oblivion a winding ſheet good enough for the beſt of my papers, yet I never judged any Age or Eye too good to view the plaineſt of Gods Truths.
And now I come at your call, in my plain Pulpit-dreſs, upon your Affections the ſecond time, with thoſe truths that were right welcome to them at the firſt; wherefore, as I had great joy, to find many of you out in the Wilderneſſe of your ſins, (who can eaſily remember the wormwood and gall, the thorns, and the ſtings, the bruiſes, the runing ſores of your deſtitute, diſconſolate, and deſolate ſouls in that day when the chief Shepheard both ſearched you and ſought you out) I ſhall now have no greater (when ever I leave you) than to leave you walking in the faith, and ſuch as I found loſt, to leave leaning; and ſuch of you as I found ſcattering your waies unto ſtrangers, to leave you eſpouſed to one husband, even Chriſt. And now bleſſed be God who hath ſo proſpered my journey to you whilſt I came to wooe a wife for the ſon of my Lord.
My ſpeech hath indeed been as rude as my perſon contemptible, but my errand into this Wilderneſſe was to look for loſt ſheep, not to loyter about flowers; and 'twas my happineſſe to meet with ſuch Travailers as craved plain guidance rather than quaint eloquence, and would willingly ſtoop for their manna to the plain ground, being long loſt, and throughly hunger-bitten in this ſpiritual Wilderneſſe.
Yet knowing that I have prophecied but in part, I would willingly lead you through this plain Porch of the ſinners Wilderneſſe, to that excellent Diſcourſe of Mr. Richard Baxters of the Saints Reſt. It is moſt certain wee are all Pilgrims (as were our Fathers) and have begunne our Travailes in the SINNERS WILDERNESSE, oh! that our end after all may bee THE SAINTS EVERLASTING REST.
In order whereunto, I beſeech you ſuffer a word of EXHORTATION.
Firſt, As for the publick and precious intereſt, ſpiritual and civil, let my Text teach you to ceaſe from (Mere) Man whoſe breath is in his noſtrils, for wherein is hee to be accounted of? It cannot bee that God ſhould do much by any of us for one another, whilſt wee make Idols one of another, the Lord is God, and it is his glory to have all your dependencies upon himſelf, and hee will not give his glory to another. There is not one way for a ſoul, and another way for the Church, or for a people, but one way for both to come up from their Wilderneſſe; and that one and only way is by leaning upon the Beloved.
Secondly, Unto you as living in this quarter of the Country, I have more to ſay than unto others. I ſeriouſly tell you, the Lord looketh, and they that labour for the Lord among you, and the holy Angels of God that have pitched their Tents about you, and all the Saints that have heard of you, and of the way of the Holy one in the midſt of you, may juſtly expect from you, that you ſhould become a peculiar people, excelling in holineſſe the Attainments of others, being much more zealous of good works. The Lord hath expreſſed more favour upon you, than upon moſt of your Neighbours. 1 In your Immunity from the ſword of your Adverſaries. 2 The Community of the word of his grace. O the many Chariots and horſemen of Iſrael, faithfull, skilfull and powerfull even unto eminency, burning and ſhining lights (with whom I profeſſe my ſelf unworthy to be numbred) Meſſengers of Peace ſent unto you, from time to time by the God of Peace! The ſame is the Lord of Hoſts, who gave you a protection, and made you (as Salem) a peaceable habitation in times of Warre; you have been as a Goſhen of light, when the Day of the Lord hath been darkneſſe round about. Light hath been in your Houſes even from the dawning of the day, after the dark night of National Popery, when Darkneſſe hath continued in ſome Neighbouring places: But fire hath been on your Neighbours houſes on each ſide of you, both Norfolk and Eſſex, and when it was making towards, yea and in the very ſight of Sudbury, your ſelves are my witneſſes, your ſelves have told me (and to write the ſame thing to mee is not grievous, but for you it is profitable,) The wind, that bloweth where it liſteth, blew thoſe flames to your Neighbouring-County and town of Colcheſter, ſo that the goodneſſe of the Lord to you-ward, and ſeverity to them, may be read in black letters in that poor place even to this day. I will not ſay that the Lord hath dealt thus by you, rather than others, becauſe you are, but that you might bee, better than others, even as hee dealt by Iſrael of old: and therefore if hee ſhould now find you, like them, a ſtiffnecked and gainſaying people, running from the Shepheard that hath ſo followed you with care, and watched over you for Your good; if you ſhould yet make warre with the Lamb, who hath been ſo ſtudious of your Peace, and unwilling to fight with you when hee ſmote your neighbours round about you, if you ſhould bee ſo fooliſh a people and unwiſe, as thus to requite the Lord; O Suffolk! O Sudbury! what ſhould hee then do unto you? Wherefore be you not unwiſe, but underſtanding what the will of the Lord is concerning you, that you may bee blameleſſe and harmeleſſe, the ſons of God, without rebuke in the midſt of a crooked and perverſe Nation, among whom, the Lord looks, you ſhould ſhine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life, that wee may rejoyce in the day of Chriſt that we have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. For ſo is the will of God, if any ſpeak evil of you in the things they know not, that with wel doing you put to ſilence the ignorance of fooliſh men. Finally my Brethren, bee perfect, bee of one mind, live in peace, holding faſt the form of ſound words, and the profeſſion of the faith without wavering, conſidering one another to provoke unto love and good works. Not forſaking the aſſembling of your ſelves together as the manner of ſome is: But rather, Brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, ſupport the weak, bee patient towards all men: Pray without ceaſing, in every thing, Give thanks. Brethren pray for us: And the very God of P…ace ſanctify you wholly: and I pray God, your whole ſpirit and ſoul and body bee preſerved blameleſſe unto the comming of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, So Prayeth
Your Servant by love, FAITHFUL TEATE.