THE Bruised Reed, and Smoaking Flax. (8)

one. But what hee prayed for on earth, we shall onely enjoy perfectly in heaven. Let this make the meditation of that time the more sweet unto us.

And further to lay open offenders in this kinde, what spirit shall we think them to be of, that take advantages of the bruisednesse and infirmities of mens spirits, to relieve them with false peace for their owne worldly ends. A wounded spirit will part with any thing. Most of the gainfull points of Popery, as confession, sasatisfaction,

merit, Purgatory, &c. spring from hence, but they are Physitians of no value, or rather tormentors than Physitians at all. It is a greater blessing to bee delivered from the sting of these

Scorpions, then wee are thankfull for. Spirituall tyranny is the greatest tyranny, and then especially when it is where most mercy should be shewed, yet even there some like cruell surgeons, delight in making long cures, to serve themselves upon the misery of others. It bringeth men under a terrible curse: When they will not

remember to shew mercy, but persecute the poore and needy

man, that they might even slay the broken in heart.

Likewise to such as raise temporall advantage to thēselves out of the spirituall misery of others, join such as raise estates by betraying the Church, and are unfaithfull in the trust committed unto them: when the children shall cry for the bread of life, and there is none to give them, bringing thus upon the people of GOD that heavie judgement of a spirituall famine, starving CHRIST in his members. Shall we so requite so

good a Savior, who counteth the love and mercie shewed in feeding his Lambs, as shewed to himselfe.

Last of all, they carie themselves very unkindly towards CHRIST, who [gap]umble at this his low stooping unto us in his government and ordinances, that are ashamed of the simplicity of the Gospell, that count Preaching foolishness. They out of the pride of their heart thinke they may do well enough without the helpe of the Word and Sacraments; and think CHRIST tooke not state enough upon him, and

therefore they will mend the matter with their own devises, whereby they may give the better content to flesh and blood, as in Popery. What greater unthankfulnesse can there bee, then to dispise any helpe that CHRIST in mercy hath provided for us. In the dayes of his flesh, the proud Pharisees tooke offence at his familiar conversing with sinfull men, who onely did so, as a Physitian to heale their soules. What defences was Saint Paul driven to make for himselfe, for his plainnesse in unfolding the Gospell? The more

CHRIST in himselfe, and in his servants shall descēd to exalt us, the more we should with all humility and readinesse entertaine that love, and magnifie the goodnesse of GOD that hath put the great worke of our salvation, and laid the government upon so gentle a Saviour, that will carry himselfe so mildely in all things wherein hee is to deale betwixt GOD and us, and us and GOD; The lower CHRIST comes downe to us, the higher let us lift him up in our harts: so will all those doe that have ever found the experience

of CHRISTS work in their heart.

We come to the third part, the constant progress of CHRISTS gracious power, untill hee hath set up such an absolute government in us, which shal prevaile over all corruption. It is said here, he will cherish his Beginnings of Grace in us, untill he bring forth judgement unto victorie. By judgement here is meant the Kingdome of Grace in us; that Government, whereby CHRIST sets up a Throne in our hearts. Governors among

the Iewes were first called Iudges, then Kings, whence this inward rule is called Iudgement: as likewise, because it agrees unto the judgement of the word, which the Psalmi[gap]ft calleth judgement, because it agreeth to Gods judgement: Men may read their doome in GODS: word, what it judgeth of them, GOD judgeth of them. By this judgement set up in us, good is discerned, allowed, and performed; sinne is judged, condemned and e[gap]ecuted. O[gap] spirit being under the Spirit of CHRIST, is governed by him, and so far

as it is governed by Christ it governes us graciously. CHRIST and wee are of one judgement, and of one will, he hath his will in us, and his judgmēts are so invested into us, as that they are turned into our judgement, we carrying his Law in our hearts, written by his Spirit: and the law in the inner man, and the law written answer as counter pa[gap]es each other.

The meaning then is, that the gracious frame of holines set up in our hearts by the Spirit of CHRIST shall goe forward untill all contrary power [gap]ee brought under. The spirit

of judgement will be a spirit of burning, to consume whatsoever opposed corruption like rust eats into the soule. If GODS builders fall into errors and build stubble upon a good foundation, GODS Spirit as a spirituall fire will reveale this in time, and wast it: they shall by a spirit of judgement condemne their owne errours and courses.

The whole worke of grace in us is set out under the name of judgement, and somtimes wisedome, because judgement is the chiefe and leading part in grace; whereupon that

gracious worke of repentance is called a change of the minde, and an after▪ wisedome. As on the other side in the learned languages, the words that expresse wisdome, implie likewise the generall relish and savour of the whole soule: and rather more the judgement of taste, then of [gap]ight, or any other sense, because Taste is the most necessary sense, and requireth the neerest application of the obiect of all other▪ senses. So in spirituall life, it is most necessary that the spirit should alter the taste of the soule, so as that it

might savour the things of the spirit so deepely, that all other things shold be out of rellish.

And as it is true of every particular Christian, that CHRISTS judgement in him shall be victorious, so likewise of the whole body of Christians, the Church. The government of CHRIST and his truth whereby hee ruleth as by a Scepter, shall at length bee victorious in spight of Satan, Antichrist, and all Enemies. CHRIST ryding on his white horse, hath a Bow and goeth forth conquering in the ministery, that

hee may overcome either to conversion or to confusion. But yet I take Iudgement, for CHRISTS Kingdome and governement within us, principallie. 1, Because GOD especially requireth the subjection of the soule and conscience as his proper Throne. 2, Because if judgment should prevaile in all others about us, and not in our owne hearts it would not yeeld comfort to us; hereupon, it is the first thing that wee desire when we pray, Thy Kingdome come, that CHRIST would come and rule in our hearts: The Kingdome of CHRIST in his ordinances

serve but to bring CHRIST home into his owne place, our hearts.

The words being thus explained, that judgement here includeth the governmēt of both mind, will, and affections, there are divers conclusions that naturally doe spring from them.

First, that CHRISTS government in his Church and in his children, is a wise and well ordered government, because it is called Iudgement, and Iudgment is the life and soule of wisedome. Of this Conclusion there are two branches; 1, that the spirituall

government of CHRIST in us is joyned with judgement and wisedome. 2, Wheresoever true [gap]spirituall wisedome and judgment is, there likewise the Spirit of CHRIST bringeth in his gracious government. For the first, a well guided life by the rules of CHRIST, standeth with the strongest and highest reason of all; and therfore holy men are called the children of wisedome, and are able to justifie both by reason and experience all the wayes of wisedome. Opposite courses are solly and madnesse. Hereupon Saint Paul saith, that a spiritual

man judgeth all things that appertaine to him, & i[gap] judged of none that are of an inferiour ranke, because they want spirituall light and sight to judge; yet this sort of men will bee judging, and speaking ill of what they know not, they steppe from ignorance to prejudice and rash censure, without taking right judgement in their way, and therefore their judgement comes to nothing. But the judgement of a spirituall man, so far forth as he is spirituall shal stād, because it is agreeable to the nature of things: as things are in themselves,

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so they are in his judgement. As GOD is in himselfe infinite in goodnesse and majesty, &c. so he is to him, he ascribes to GOD in his heart his divinity and all his excellencies. As CHRIST is in himselfe the onely mediatour, and All in All in the Church, so he is to him, by making CHRIST so in his heart. As all things are dung

in comparison of CHRIST, so they are to Paul a sanctified man. As the very worst thing in religion, the reproch of Christ is better

then the pleasure of sin for a season, so it is to Moses a man of a right esteeme, A[gap]

one day in the Courts of God is better then a thousand elsewhere, so it is to David a man of a reformed judgement. There is a conformity of a good mans judgment to things as they are in themselves, and according to the difference, or agreement put by GOD in things, so doth his judgment differ or agree.

Truth is truth, and error error, and that which is unlawfull, is unlawfull whether men thinke so or no. GOD hath put an eternall difference betwixt light and darknesse, good and ill, which no creatures conceipt can alter, and

therefore no mans judgement is the measure of things further then it agrees to truth stamped upon things themselves by GOD. Hereupon because a wise mans judgement agrees to the truth of things, a wise man may in some sense bee said to bee the measure of things; and the judgement of one holy wise man, to bee preferred before a thousand others. Such men usually are immoveable as the Sun in its course, because they thinke, and speake, and live by rule. A Iosuah and his house will serve God whatsoever others doe,

and will run a course contrary to the world, because their judgements leads them a contrary way. Hence it is that Sathan hath a spite at the eye of the soule, the judgement, to put out that by ignorance and false reason, for he cannot rule in any, untill either hee hath taken away or perverted judgement: he is a Prince of darknesse, and ruleth in darkeness of the understanding. Therefore he must first be cast out of the understanding by the prevailing of truth, and planting it in the soule. Those therefore [gap] [gap] ledge,

helpe Sathan and Antichrist (whose Kingdome like Satans is a kingdome of darkness) to erect their throne. Hence it is promised by CHRIST that the holy Ghost shall convince the world of judgment, that is, that he is resolved to set up a Throne of governmēt, because the great lord of misrule Sathan the Prince of the world is judged by the Gospel, and the Spirit accompanying it, his impostures are discovered, his enterprizes layd open; therefore when the Gospel was spred, the Oracles ceased. Sathan fell fr[gap]m heaven like lig[gap]g,

men were translated out of his Kingdome into Christs. Where prevailing is by lyes, there discovery is victory: they shall proceed no further, for their [gap]lly shall

be manifest to all. So that manifestation of error giveth a stop to it, for none wil willingly be deceived▪ Let truth have full soope without check or restraint, and let sathan & his instruments do their worst, they shall not prevaile; as Ierom saith of the Pelagians in his time, The discovery of your opinions is the vanquishing of them, your basphemies appeare at the first blush.

Hence we learne the necessity that the understanding bee principled with supernaturall knowledge for the well managing of a Christian conversation.

There must bee light to discover a further end then nature, for which wee are Christians, and a rule sutable directing to that end, which is the will of GOD in CHRIST, discovering his good pleasure towards us, and our duty towards him, and in vertue of this discovery, we doe all that we doe that any way may further our reckoning: the eye must first be single, and then the whole body and

frame of our conversation will bee light: otherwise both we and our course of life are nothing but darknesse; The whole conversation of a Christian is nothing else but knowledge digested into will, affection, and practice. If the first [gap] in the stomach be not good, that in the liver cannot be good: so if there bee errour in the judgement it marres the whole practice, as an error in the foundation doth the building: GOD will have no blind sacrifices, no unreasonable services, but will have us to love him with all our minde, that is, with our

understanding part, as well as with all our hearts, that is, the affecting part of the soule.

This order of Christs government by judgment, is agreeable unto the soule, and GOD delighteth to preserve the manner of working peculiar unto man, that is, to doe what he doth out of judgemente as grace supposeth nature as founded upon it, so the frame of grace preserveth the frame of nature in man. And therfore Christ bringeth all that is good in the soule through judgment, and that so sweetly that many out of a dangerous

error thinke, that that good which is in them and issueth from them, is from thēselves, & not from the powerfull worke of grace. As in evill the devill so subtlely leadeth us according to the streame of our owne nature, that men thinke that Sathan had no hand in their sinne: but here a mistake is with little perill, because wee are il of ourselves, & the devil doth but promote what ill he findeth in us. But there are no seeds of supernaturall goodnesse at all in us, GOD findeth nothing in us but enmity, onely hee hath ingraven this in our

nature to incline in generall to that which we judge to be good. Now when he shall cleerly discover what is good in particular, wee are caried to it, and when convincingly he shal discover that which is ill, we abhorre it as freely as we imbraced it before.

From whence we may know when we worke as we should doe or no, that is, when we doe what we doe, out of inward principles, when we fall not upon that which is good only because we are so bred, or because such; or such whom we respect doe so; or because wee will maintaine

a side, so making religion a faction: but out of judgement, when what wee doe that is good, wee first judge it in our selves so to be: and what wee abstaine from that is ill, we first judge it to bee ill from an inward judgement. A sound Christian as hee injoyeth the better part, so hath first made choice of it with Mary, he establisheth all his thoughts by counsell. GOD indeed useth carnall men to very good service, but wthout a thorow altering, & conviction of their judgements. He worketh by them, but not in them, therefore

they doe neither approve the good they doe, nor hate the evill they abstaine from.

The 2 branch, is that wheresoever true wisdom and judgement is, there Christ sets up his government, because where wisedome is, it directs us not only to understand, but to order our waies aright; where Christ by his Spirit as a Prophet teacheth, he like wise as a King by his Spirit subdueth the heart to obedience of what is taught. This is that teaching which is promised of GOD, when not onely the braine, but the heart it

selfe is taught. When men doe not onely know what they should doe, but are taught the very doing of it, they are not only taught that they should love, feare, and obey, but they are taught, love it selfe, and feare, and obedience it selfe. CHRIST sets up his chaire in the very heart and alters the frame of that, and makes his subjects good, together with teaching of them to bee good. Other Princes can make good Lawes, but they cannot write them in their peoples hearts. This is CHRISTS Prerogative; He infuseth into his subjects

his owne Spirit, upon him there doth not onely rest the spirit of wisedome and