Christ, but I pray tell me, can ye be humbled and not see your sin? and where can ye have such a prospect of sin, as in the death of Christ? is there any thing in the world, that can shew you the misery, ugliness, and damning nature of sin, as the death of Christ? If you begin with Christ, then you will certainly come down to your sin and be humbled for it: but if you begin with sin, you will not certainly come up to Christ. There is many a poor soul that hath said, I will be first humbled for my sin, and then I will go to Christ; but he hath stuck so long in the legal work, that he hath never come at Christ. And if you be humbled before you do come to Christ, you will have no great peace and comfort in your humiliation but if you first come to Christ, and then carry Christ along with you to your humiliation, then you will have much comfort and peace therein, would you therefore be so humbled as you may have peace thereby; be sure of this, that you carry Christ with you unto that work, do not begin always with sin to go up to Christ, but rather begin at Christ, and so fall down upon sin.

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Labour to mortify your affections, and to get your will melted into the will of God: as the winds are to the sea, so are the affections to the soul of man: so long as the sea is hurried with the wind, it hath no rest or quiet; and what is the reason that our hearts are no more calmed and quieted, but because we have not yet resigned up our wills to the will of God?* It is our own will that troubles our peace; get but your will mortified into the will of God, and you will say, Lord, I would fain have peace; yet not my will, but thy will be done: I would have peace presently, yet I have no will but thine; therefore, Lord, when thou wilt, and as thou wilt, not my will, but thine own will be done. Thus do, and you are at rest presently.

Dost thou want peace and comfort and quietude of soul? Take heed how you walk with doubting company; take heed how you walk with those that are full of fears and doubtings. As one drunkard doth make another, and one swearer doth beget another, and one opposer of godliness doth draw on another, and one adulterer doth make another; so one doubting christian doth make another. You that are weak,

* Propria voluntas turbat pacem.

and full of doubtings, should go and lean upon those that are strong and have full assurance; and you that have assurance, should give the shoulder to those that are weak, and say, Come, and lean upon me, and I will be an help unto you. You know how it is with the ivy and the vine; the ivy leans upon the oak, and the vine upon the posts or the house-side; the ivy and the vine do not lean one upon another; if the ivy and the vine should come and lean upon one another, what twisting would there be; and both would fall to the ground: but the ivy leans upon the oak, and the vine upon the posts or the house-side. So a weak christian should go and lean upon a strong christian: but if one doubter leans upon another doubter, both will fall to the ground. I have read of a woman that was under great temptations, and meeting with another in the same condition, said to her, I am afraid I shall be damned; So am I to, said the other; Oh, but said she again, I do not only fear, but I am sure of it; certainly I shall be damned: Aye, but said the other, yet my condition is worse, for I am damned already. Here was damned and damned: Oh, said one, I shall certainly be damned; Oh, said the other, I am damned already. Oh, what communion is here! is this to build up one another? Do you therefore want comfort and peace? You that are weak, go and lean upon those that are strong, and have full assurance; and you that have assurance, be not unwilling to give forth your shoulder unto those that are weak, and are full of doubtings.

And to end all. Dost thou want peace and inward quietude of soul? Whensoever the Lord then doth but begin to speak the least peace unto thine heart, take heed that you do not refuse it, but rather improve it, and stir up yourselves then in a way of believing; praise God for every smile, and rejoice in the least: if a bowed sixpence, as it were, be sent you from heaven, lay it up, even every love-token. Peace is a tender thing. Doth the Lord begin to speak peace to any of your souls? now stir up yourselves in a way of believing, and then Christ will give you more.

Ye know how it was with Nathaniel: when Nathaniel believed upon what Christ had spoken, says Christ unto him, "Believest thou, because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree? I will shew thee greater things; thou shalt see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the

Son of Man." So will the Lord Christ say to a poor soul, I have spoken a word unto thee, and I gave thee a little peace, and dost thou believe because of the word I have spoken unto thee? thou shalt see greater things, and I will give thee abundance of peace. Look into Isaiah xlviii. 18, and there you shall find the Lord speaking thus: "Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments; then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." When the Lord speaks, and calls upon people to believe, if then they do hearken to him, then shall their peace be like a river. And when does the Lord call in a special manner upon people to believe? When he gives out a word, and when he gives them a little peace, then he is calling upon them to believe; now return, and now believe, says the Lord. Ye know how it was with Elijah: when they wanted rain, and had wanted rain for a long time, Elijah sends his servant towards the sea, to see if he could perceive any rain coming, and Elijah falls down upon his face in prayer; his servant goes, but no sign of rain: he goes again, and no sign of rain; and the seventh time Elijah's servant perceives a cloud, of the bigness of an hand, and he comes down unto his master, and tells him he had seen a cloud, the bigness of a man's hand: whereupon Elijah concludes and says, “Come, let us up, I hear the noise of many waters." So say I, you have been upon your face, and have been much discouraged, yet if you have been at prayer, and a little refreshment comes, though it be but the bigness of an hand, yet conclude and say, Surely, there is more rain a coming; Come, O my soul, why art thou cast down? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God, and wait on him, I hear abundance of rain coming. When our Saviour Christ sometimes speaks peace, he doth at the first speak by a small word, and if that be improved, then he speaks more. Ye know how it was with Mary; she was at the sepulchre, and had been inquiring after her Lord, and says she to the angels, They have taken away my Lord; and the angels talked to her, but could not comfort her. But at last comes our Saviour Christ, and he speaks to her, and then she was comforted. But what does he say to her? Only one word; Mary: so when a man is in trouble, the Lord comes sometimes and speaks but a word, he takes a promise it may be,

and sets on a word thereof upon the soul, and the heart answers, Rabboni, my Lord. Doth the Lord therefore speak but one word unto thee, yet stir up thyself in believing, and hearken unto him, for he will speak yet more fully and plainly; only when he speaks, listen: hearken diligently unto him and improve what he saith, so shall your peace be as a river, and your righteousness as the ocean.

And thus I have done with the first argument.

SERMON II.

TRUE PEACE MAY BE INTERRUPTED.

'Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me, &c"-Psalm xlii. 11.

It is possible that the saints and people of God, may be much discouraged, and cast down: though there be an inward peace and quietness of soul, which they are ordinarily endued with, yet possibly this peace may be interrupted, and themselves much discouraged and cast down.

Here are two words in the text speak as much; cast-down, disquieted. And three times in this Psalm, the Psalmist saith, his soul was cast down within him; yet this David was a man of great peace and comfort ordinarily.

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And as with David, so it was, is, and will be with other saints. This is so ordinary a case, that the Holy Ghost hath provided a standing psalm, or prayer, on purpose for such as are in this condition: Psalm cii., the title, "A prayer, or psalm, of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord." In Psalm cxix. 25, he saith, "My belly cleaves to the dust ;" and that is low indeed. And verse 28, "My soul melteth for heaviness:" I am not only sad and heavy, but my soul melteth for heaviness. Canticles v., the Spouse saith, "Her heart was gone;" or, "My soul failed within me." And if we look into Psalm cxliii., we find, at the 4th verse, that the Psalmist saith, "My spirit is overwhelmed, and my heart within me is desolate." What do all these expressions

high, great and many, speak, but this truth that is now before us ?

For the more full clearing and opening of it, I shall labour to show

First, How far it is possible for a good man to be discouraged, or cast down.

Secondly, How it doth come to pass that he is so discouraged.

Thirdly, How those discouragements can stand with his grace and goodness.

Fourthly, How they may be healed and cured.

And first. If you ask, How far the discouragements of saints may reach? For, will some say, I know it is possible that the most gracious, holy man, may be much discouraged, but not with such discouragements as mine are.

1. I answer. What are yours? Are you so far disquieted, discouraged, cast down, as to refuse the word, promise, or consolation that is brought unto you? So far may the discouragements of the saints extend: Psalm lxxvii., verse 3, "I remembered God, and was troubled." He doth not say, I remembered my sin, and was troubled, but God; Yea, I was not only troubled, but "I did complain, and my spirit was overwhelmed within me." But when the promise came, and mercy came, and comfort came, did he refuse that too? Yes: verse 2, "My soul refuseth to be comforted."

2. Are you so far discouraged, disquieted, cast down, that your very body feeleth the smart of your discouragements? that you do not only refuse the promise, and all comfort for your soul, but even for your body? Then look into Psalm cii., and see if your case may not be paralleled, verse 4, "My heart is smitten and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread: verse 5, "By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin :" verse 6, "I am like a pelican of the wilderness, and I am like an owl of the desert:" verse 9, "I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping :" verse 10, "Because of thine indignation and thy wrath; for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down:" verse 11, "My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass." Oh, but I am not only so far discouraged, as to refuse comfort for