CHAP. XIII. (1)

The Ninth Direction. When the heart is disquieted by Sin, speak no peace to it, untill God speak it. Peace without detestation of Sin, unsound; So is Peace measured out unto our selves. How we may know when we measure our peace unto our selves. Directions as to that Enquiry. The vanity of speaking peace slightly. Also of doing it on one singular account, not universally.

IN case God disquiet the Heart about the Guilt of its Distempers either in respect of its Root and indwelling, or in respect of any Eruptions of it, take heed thou speakest not peace to thy self before God speaks it; but hearken what he sayes to thy Soul: This is our next Direction, without the Observation whereof, the Heart will be exceedingly exposed to the deceitfulness of Sin.

This is a business of great importance. It is a sad thing for a man to deceive his own Soul herein. All the warnings God gives us in

tenderness to our Souls, to trye and examine our selves, do tend to the preventing of this great Evil of speaking peace groundlesly to our selves, which is upon the issue to bless our selves in an opposition to God. It is not my business to insi[gap]t upon the danger of it, but to help Believers to prevent it, and to let them know when they do so.

To mannage this Direction aright, observe,

(1) That as it is the great Prerogative and Sovereignty of God to give grace to whom he pleases, (he hath mercy on whom he will, Rom. 9.16. and among all the Sons of men, He calls whom he will, and sanctifies whom he will,) so among those so called and justified, and whom he will save, He yet reserves this Priviledge to himself, to speak Peace to whom he pleaseth, and in what Degree he pleaseth, even amongst them on whom he hath bestowed Grace. He is the God of all Consolation, in an especial manner in his dealing with Believers: That is, of the good things that he keeps locked up in his Family, and gives out of it to all his Children at his pleasure. This the Lord insists on, Isa. 57.16, 17, 18. It is the case under Consideration that is there insisted on. When God sayes he will heal their Breaches and Disconsolations, he assumes this Priviledge to

himself in an especial manner. I create it, vers. 19. Even in respect of these poor wounded Creatures, I create it, and according to my soveraignty make it out as I please.

Hence as it is with the collation of Grace in reference to them that are in the state of Nature; God doth it in great Curiosity, and his proceedings therein, in taking and leaving, as to outward Appearances, quite besides, and contrary oft-times to all probable Expectations; so is it in his Communication of Peace and Joy in reference unto them that are in the state of Grace; he gives them out oft times quite besides our expectation, as to any appearing Grounds of his Dispensations.

(2) As God creates it for whom he pleaseth, so it is the Prerogative of Christ, to speak it home to the Conscience: Speaking to the Church of Laodicea, who had healed her wounds falsly, and spoke peace to her self when she ought not, He takes to himself that Title, I am the Amen; the faithfull witness, Revel. 3.14. He bears testimony concerning our Condition as it is indeed; we may possibly mistake, and trouble our selves in vain, or flatter our selves upon false Grounds, but he is the Amen, the faithfull witness, and what he speaks of our State and Condition, that it is indeed, Isa. 11.3. He is said not to judge according to the sight of the eye, not according

to any outward appearance, or any thing that may be subject to a mistake, as we are apt to do; but He shall judge and determine every cause as it is indeed.

Take these two previous Observations, and I shall give some Rules whereby men may know whether God speaks peace to them, or whether they speak peace to themselves onely.

(1) Men certainly speak peace to themselves, when their so doing is not attended with the greatest detestation imaginable of that sin in reference whereunto they do speak Peace to themselves, and abhorrency of themselves for it. When men are wounded by sin, disquieted and perplexed, and knowing that there is no remedy for them, but onely in the mercyes of God through the blood of Christ, do therefore look to him, and to the Promises of the Covenant in him, and thereupon quiet their hearts that it shall be well with them, and that God will be exalted that he may be gracious to them, and yet their Souls are not wrought to the greatest detestation of the sin or sins upon the Account whereof they are disquieted; this is to heal themselves, and not to be healed of God. This is but a great and strong wind, that the Lord is nigh unto, but the Lord is not in the wind. When men do truely look upon Christ whom they have

pierced, (without which there is no Healing or Peace,) they will mourn, Zech. 12.10. they will mourn for him even upon this account, and detest the sin that pierced him. When we go to Christ for healing, Faith eyes him peculiarly as one pierced. Faith takes several views of Christ according to the Occasions of Address to him, and communion with him that it hath. Sometimes it views his Holiness, sometimes his power, sometimes his love, his favour with his Father. And when it goes for healing and peace, it looks especially on the blood of the Covenant, on his Sufferings; for by his stripes are we healed, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, Isa. 53.5. when we look for Healing, his stripes are to be eyed; not in the outward story of them, which is the course of Popish Devotionists, but in the Love, Kindness, Mystery and design of the Cross. And when we look for peace, his Chastisements must be in our eye: Now this I say, if it be done according to the mind of God, and in the strength of that Spirit which is poured out on Believers, it will beget a detestation of that sin or sins, for which healing and peace is sought. So Ezek. 16.60, 61. nevertheless I will remember my Covenant with thee in the dayes of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting Covenant, and what then? then thou shalt remember thy

wayes and be ashamed. When God comes home to speak peace in a sure Covenant of it, it fills the Soul with shame for all the wayes whereby it hath been alienated from him. And one of the things that the Apostle mentions as attending that godly sorrow which is accompanyed with Repentance unto Salvation never to be repented of, is revenge, yea what revenge, 2 Cor. 7.11. They reflected on their miscarriages with Indignation and Revenge for their Folly in them. When Job comes up to a through healing, he cryes, Now I abhorre my self, Job 42.6. and untill he did so, he had no abiding peace. He might perhaps have made up himself with that Doctrine of free Grace which was so excellently preached by Elihu; Chap. 33. from v. 14. unto the 29th, but he had then but skinned his wounds, he must come to self-abhorrency, if he come to healing. So was it with those in Psal. 78.33, 35. in their great trouble and perplexity for and upon the Account of Sin; I doubt not but upon the Address they made to God in Christ, (for that so they did, is evident from the titles they gave him, they call him their Rock and their Redeemer, two words every where pointing out the Lord Christ) they spake peace to themselves; but was it sound and abiding? No, it passed away as the early dew: God speaks not one word of peace to their

Souls. But why had they not peace? Why, because in their Address to God they flattered him: But how doth that appear? vers. 37. Their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast. They had not a detestation nor relinquishment of that sin, in reference whereunto they spake peace to themselves: Let a man make what application he will for healing and peace, let him do it to the true Physitian, let him do it the right way, let him quiet his Heart in the Promises of the Covenant; yet when Peace is spoken, if it be not attended with the detestation and Abhorrency of that Sin which was the wound, and caused the Disquietment, this is no Peace of Gods creating, but of our own purchasing. It is but a skinning over the wound, whilest the core lyes at the bottom, which will putrifie and corrupt, and corrode, untill it break out again with noysomness, vexation and danger. Let not poor Souls that walk in such a path as this, (they are more sensible of the trouble of Sin, than of the pollution or uncleanness that attends it; they address themselves for mercy, yea to the Lord in Christ they address themselves for mercy, but yet will keep the sweet Morsel of their Sin under their Tongue,) let them (I say) never think to have true and solid peace. For instance, Thou findest thy Heart running out after the World, and it disturbs thee in thy

communion with God; the Spirit speaks expressely to thee, He that loveth the World, the love of the Father is not in him, 1 Joh. 2.15. This puts thee on dealing with God in Christ for the healing of thy Soul, the quieting of thy Conscience; but yet withall a through detestation of the evil it self abides not upon thee; yea perhaps that is liked well enough, but onely in respect of the Consequences of it; perhaps thou mayst be saved, yet as through fire; and God will have some work with thee before he hath done, but thou wilt have little Peace in this Life; thou wilt be sick and fainting all thy dayes, Isa. 57.17. This is a Deceit that lyes at the root of the Peace of many Professors, and wa[gap]ts it; they deal with all their strength about Mercy and Pardon; and seem to have great Communion with God in their so doing: they lye before him, bewail their Sins and Follies, that any one would think (yea they think themselves) that surely they and their Sins are now parted, and so receive in Mercy that satisfies their Hearts for a little season; but when a through search comes to be made, there hath been some secret reserve for the Folly or Follyes treated about; at least there hath not been that through Abhorrency of it which is necessary; and their whole peace is quickly discovered to be weak [gap]nd rotten; scarce abiding any

longer than the words of begging it are in their mouths.

(2) When men measure out peace to themselves upon the conclusions that their convictions and Rational Principles will carry them out unto; This is a false peace, and will not abide. I shall a little explain what I mean hereby. A man hath got a wound by sin, he hath a Conviction of some Sin upon his Conscience, he hath not walked uprightly as becometh the Gospel; all is not well and right between God and his Soul: He considers now what is to be done; Light he hath, and knows what Path he must take, and how his Soul hath been formerly healed. Considering that the Promises of God are the outward Means of Application for the healing of his sores, and quieting of his Heart, he goes to them, searches them out, finds out some one or more of them, whose literal Expressions are directly suited to his condition: Sayes he to himself, God speaks in this Promise, here I will take my self a plaister as long and broad as my wound, and so brings the word of the promise to his Condition, and sets him down in peace. This is another appearance upon the mount, the Lord is neer, but the Lord is not in it. It hath not been the work of the Spirit, (who alone can convince us of Sin and

Righteousness and Judgement,) but the mere Actings of the intelligent rational Soul. As there are three sorts of Lives (we say,) the vegetative, the sensitive and the rational or intelligent. Some things have onely the vegetative; some the sensitive also, and that includes the former; some have the rational, which takes in and supposes both the other. Now he that hath the rational, he doth not onely act suitably to that principle, but also to both the others, he growes and is sensible. It is so with men in the things of God; some are meer natural and rational men; some have a superadded Conviction with Illumination; and some are truely regenerate. Now he that hath the latter, hath also both the former; and therefore he acts sometimes upon the Principles of the rational, sometimes upon the Principles of the enlightened man. His true spiritual life is not the principle of all his motions; He acts not alwayes in the strength thereof, neither are all his fruits from that Root. In this case that I speak of, he acts merely upon the Principle of Conviction and Illumination, whereby his first naturals are heightened; but the Spirit breaths not at all upon all these waters. Take an Instance; suppose the wound and disquiet of the Soul to be upon the account of Relapses, which whatever the evil or Folly be, though

for the matter of it, never so small, yet there are no wounds deeper than those that are given the Soul on that account, nor disquietments greater. In the perturbation of his Mind, he finds out that Promise, Isa. 55.7. The Lord will have mercy, and our God will abundantly pardon; He will multiply or adde to pardon; He will do it again and again; or that in Hos. 14.4. I will heal their back sliding, I will love them freely; This the man considers, and thereupon concludes Peace to himself; whether the Spirit of God make the Application or no, whether that gives life and power to the letter or no, that he regards not. He doth not hearken whether God the Lord speak peace. He doth not wait upon God, who perhaps yet hides his face, and sees the poor Creature stealing Peace and running away with it, knowing that the time will come when he will deal with him again, and call him to a new reckoning; Hos. 11.3. when he shall see that it is in vain to goe one step where God doth not take him by the hand.

I see here indeed sundry other questions upon this arising and interposing themselves: I cannot apply my self to them all: one I shall a little speak to.

It may be said then, seeing that this seems to be the path that the Holy Spirit leads us in, for the healing of our wounds, and quieting

of our hearts, how shall we know when we go alone our selves, and when the Spirit also doth accompany us?

Ans. 1. If any of you are out of the way upon this account, God will speedily let you know it; for b[gap]side[gap] that you have his Promise, that the meek he will guide [gap]n [gap]udg[gap]ment, and teach them his way, Psal. 25.9. he will not let you alwayes erre. He will (I say) not suffer your nakedness to be covered with Fig-leaves, but take them away, and all the peace you have in them, and will not suffer you to settle on such lees; you shall quickly know your wound is not healed. That is, you shall speedily know whether or no it be thus with you by the event; the peace you thus get and obtain, will not abide. Whilest the Mind is overpowered by its own Convictions, there is no hold for disquietments to fix upon. Stay a little and all th[gap]se reasonings will grow cold, and vanish before the face of the first Temptation that arises. But,

2. This course is commonly taken without waiting; which is the Grace, and that peculiar acting of Faith which God calls for to be exercised in such a Condition. I know God doth sometimes come in upon the Soul instantly, in a moment as it were, wounding and healing it; as I am perswaded it was in the Case of David when he cut off the lap of

Sauls Garment: But ordinarily in such a case God calls for waiting and labouring, attending as the eye of a Servant upon his Master: Sayes the Prophet Isaiah, ch. 8.17. I will wait upon the Lord, who hideth his face from Jacob. God will have his Children lye a while at his door, when they have run from his House, and not instantly rush in upon him; unless he take them by the hand, and pluck them in, when they are so ashamed that they dare not come to him. Now self-healers, or men that speak peace to themselves, do commonly make haste, they will not tarry; They do not hearken what God speaks, Isa. 28.16. but on they will goe to be healed.