judgment are already upon a people, as harbingers and forerunners of more at hand. Luke iii. 30, 31. 1 Sam. ii. 12. Or what is the universal note and cry of God's minifters, who are his watchmen to foresee danger, Ezek. iii. 17. and his trumpeters to discover it, | Numb. x. 8. And when these have one mouth given them, certainly there is much in it, Luke i. 70. Or, lastly, by pondering those fcripture-prophecies that yet remain to be fulfilled. They must all go out their times, and accomplish their full number of years and months; but certainly they shall be fulfilled in their seasons.

By attending to these things, a Christian may give a near guess at the judgments that are approaching a nation, and so order himself accordingly. Ecclef. viii. 5. "A wife man's heart discerns both time " and judgment." And this is (even in the judgment of God) a choice point of wisdom; whereas, on the contrary, heedless and careless ones, that regard not these things, are branded for fools, and upbraided with more brutishness than the beasts of the field, or fowls of the air. Matth. xvi. 3. Jer. viii. 7. "The stork in the heavens, the " swallow, turtle, and crane," observe their seasons of departing, and returning upon the approach of the winter and spring, and that by a natural inftinct, whereby they prolong their lives, which else must perish. But though God hath made man wifer than the fowls of the air, and beasts of the earth, which by instinct will quit colder climates, or run to the hedges when winter, or storms approach; yet the heavens may be aftonished at this, to fee nature cast by sin so far below itself; and that in reasonable creatures.

But now, if this be foreseen, then there is a fingular advantage in a man's hand, either to use the means of preventing those approaching calamities, Zeph. ii. 3. or if it cannot be prevented, yet to take fanctuary in Christ, Mic. v. 5. to run to the promises and attributes, Isa, xxiv. 21. and so have a good roof over his head while the storm falls and the weather is tempestuous abroad. And therefore certainly this preparation is an excellent thing. Whatever the Spirit of God speaks in the commendation of foreseeing evils, is with respect to this duty of preparing for them; for forefight of evils without preparation, rather increases than diminishes the misery.

6. A fixth excellency of preparation lies in the influence that it hath into a Christian's flability in the evil day. You cannot but know that your tability in that critical hour of temptation, is a choice and fingular mercy, inasmuch as all you are worth in the other world depends upon your standing then, Rev. xxi. 7, 8. Rom. ii. 6, 7. Luke xxii. 27. neither can you be ignorant how much you are 1. like to be tried, and put to it then, whether you respect the enemy that engages you, Eph. vi. 12. or your own weakness, who have been so often foiled in leffer trials, Jer. xii. 5. All the grace you have will be little enough to keep the field and bear you up from finking; and therefore it cannot but be a blessed thing, to be able to stand and cope with the greatest difficulties in such a time of trial as that will be.

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"Now he that expects to do this must put on the whole armour of "God." See Ephef. vi. 12, 13. 14. There is no expectation of ftanding in the evil day, except your foot be food, that is, your wills prepared with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

It is true, that our ability to stand is not from our own inherent grace; " For by his strength shall no man prevail," : Sam. ii. g. And yet it is as true, that without grace, both inherent in us, and excited and prepared for a storm, we cannot expect to stand: For these two, grace inherent in us, and grace exciting and assisting without are not opposed, but co-ordinated. Grace in us, is the which our enemy falls; but then that weapon must be managed by the hand of the Spirit. Well then, look upon this as a choice mercy, which tends so much to your stability.

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7. A feventh excellency of a prepared heart, is that it is a very high teftification of our love to Jesus Christ, when we thus shew our willingness to take our lot with him, and follow him wherever he goes. What an high expreffion of love was that of Ruth to her mother Naomi? "I will not go back, but where thou lodgest I will " lodge, and where thou goest I will go." It is excellent when a foul can fay to Chrift, as Ittai to David, 2 Sam. xv. 21. "Surely in "what place my Lord the king shall be, whether in death or in life, " even there also will thy servant be." This is love indeed, to cleave to him in a time of such distresses and dangers. This is "love which "the waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown," Cant. viii. 7. Probatio amoris, eft exhibitio operis: If you love Christ indeed, shew your love by fome fruits of it; and surely this is a very choice fruit, and proof of it. There are many that profess a great deal of love to Chrift, but when it comes to this touch-stone, it appears false and counterfeit; but a mere flourish when no danger is near. But that foul which buckles on the shoe of preparation, to follow him through thorns and briers, and over the rocks and mountains of difficulties and troubles, loves him indeed, Jer. ii. 2, 3. Beloved, it is one of the choiceft discoveries of your love to your master Chrift, yea, it is such a testification of love to him, as angels are not capable of. They shew their love by their readiness to do his will, in the execution of which they fly as with wings, Ezek. i. 24. but you only have the happiness of testifying your love by your readiness to fuffer for him, and is not this excellent?

8. When the heart is prepared for the worst sufferings, it is an argument that your will is fubdued to the will of God; for till this be done, in a good measure, you cannot stand ready to fuffer for him. But now, to have the will fubdued by grace to the will of God, is a very choice and excellent frame indeed; for in this the main power of grace lieth: Look in what faculty the chief refidence and strength of fin was, in the fame chief refidence the power of grace, after converfion, is also: Now it is in the will that the strength and power of fin (before converfion) lay. See John v. 40. Pfalm lxxxi. 11. Jer.

xliv. 16, 17. And indeed it was the devil's strong hold, which, in the day of Chrift's power, he storms and reduces to his obedience, Pfal. cx. 3. O what a blessed thing is this! The will rules the man, it hath the empire of the whole man, it commands the faculties of the foul, imperio politico; and it commands the members of the body, imperio despotico. Now to have Christ and grace rule that which rules and commands your inner and outer man too, is no small mercy; and a better evidence that it is so cannot be given than this, that you stand ready, or do seriously prepare yourselves to fuffer the hardest things for Chrift: If your will can like that work, it is an argument grace hath conquered and subdued your wills indeed.

9. This preparation of heart to fufferings, is an excellent thing, because God is so abundantly pleased with it, that he often excuses them from fufferings in whom he finds it, and accepts it, as if the fervice had been actually done. So Abraham, Gen. xxii. 12. he was ready to offer up his Ifaac's life to God; but God seeing his servant's heart really prepared, and ready for that difficult service, and high point of felf-denial, provided himself another facrifice instead of Ifaac. Abraham shall have his fon Ifaac back again, and that with advantage; for he hath with him not only a choice experiment of his love to God, but God's high approbation of him, and acceptation of his offering. It was all one in respect of divine acceptance, as if he had been flain; and so the fcripture represents it, Jam. ii. 21. And in this fenfe that promife is often made good to God's people who stand ready to give up their Ifaacs, their lives, liberties, and dearest enjoyments to the Lord: "He that will lofe his life for my name's fake, " shall fave it," Luke ix. 24.

Now what a blessed thing is this! you may this way have the crown of martyrdom, and yet not shed one drop of blood for Chrift actually. Ah! how kindly doth God accept it at his poor creatures hands, when he fees how willing they are to ferve him with their best enjoyments! " It is well (faith he to David) that it was in thy heart." 1 Kings viii. 18.

10. And then, lally, to add no more, it is beyond controverfy an excellent and blessed thing; because should fuch a Christian, after all his pains and preparations, be over-borne, and fall by temptation; yet this preparation of his heart excuses his fall, from those aggravations that are upon the falls of others, and will give him both fupport under fuch a condition, and encouragement to hope for a speedy recovery out of it. Ah! it is no small comfort when a poor foul that hath been over-borne by temptation, can come to God and fay, • Lord, thou knowest that this was not a wilful departure from my • duty, but contrary to the bent and refolutions of my heart; thou • faweft my diligence before-hand to prepare for it; thou fawest my • fears and tremblings of heart about it: O Lord, forgive, O Lord, • recover thy fervant, wash away this spot, it is one of the spots of thy

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children, an infirmity, not a rebellion:' This may much stay the foul.

Surely, in this cafe, thou hast many grounds of comfort that another wants; for thy fin being but an infirmity, (1.) It is that which is common to all faints, Pfal. ciii. 11, 12, 13, 14. (2.) God hath mercy and pardons for such fins as these, elfe woe to the holiest soul, Pfal. cxxx. 3. 4. Solomon, upon this ground, pleads for mercy for them that prepared their hearts, 2 Chron. xxx. 18, 19. And God hath laid in sweet grounds of encouragement for fuch fouls, Numb. xv. 27, 28. Heb. v. 2. How tenderly doth Chrift deal with his difciples under this kind of fin, Matth. xxvi. 41. and though they forfook him for a time, yet he received them again; though they fled from him, yet they all returned again and appeared boldly for Chrift afterwards, and fealed their confeffion of him with their blood. And that which recovered them again was this, that their fall and departure was contrary to the resolution, and standing frame, and bent of their hearts; for they resolved all to cleave to him to the death, Mat. xxvi. 35. whereas those that engaged in a profeffion of him inconfiderately, and never refolved, nor prepared for the worst, fell off from him, and never returned any more, John vi. 66. So then, upon the whole, you cannot but grant, that it is a very blessed and excellent thing, to prepare thus for the greatest fuffering that can befal us for Chrift. We come next to thew wherein it lies.

CHAP. V.

Evincing the neceffity of a found and real work of grace upon the heart, to fit a man for fuffering for Chrift.

AVING shewed you that God doth fometimes put his deareit people upon very hard services for him, and what an excellent thing it is to prepare ourselves to obey the call of God to them: In the next place I come to shew you, wherein this preparation, or readinefs for fuffering confifts, and how many things concur and contribute their affistance to this work.

Now there is a twofold preparation or readiness for fuffering; the one is habitual, the other actual: That habitual readiness is nothing else but the inclination of a foul to fuffer any thing for Chrift: which inclination arifeth from the principles of grace infused into the foul: But then as fire, though it have a natural inclination to afcend, yet may be violently depreffed and hindered, that it cannot afcend actually, fo may it be in this cafe; and therefore, before a man can be fitted for fufferings as Paul was, there muft, to this habitual, be superadded an actual readiness, which is nothing else but the rouzing of grace out of the fleepy and dull habits, and awakening it to its work VOL. VI.

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in a time of need: as the lion is faid to lash himself with his tail, to rouze up his courage before he fight. The former is a remote power, the latter a proxim and immediate power. I muft handle the former in this chapter, and you are to know that it consisteth in a found and real work of grace or converfion wrought upon the foul; without which, I shall make it evidently appear to you, that no man can be fit or rea✓ dy to fuffer as a Christian.

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Whatever flock of natural courage, moral principles, or common gifts of the Spirit be lodged in any man's breast, yet all this (without special grace) can never fit him to fuffer for Chrift. And had not this work been really and foundly wrought upon the heart of this blessed man, as indeed it was, Acts ix. 3, 4, 5. he had quickly fainted under his fufferings and fo will every foul fooner or later do, that fuffers not upon the fame principles that he did

1. For first, No man can fuffer for Chrift until he be able to deny himself. See Matth. xvi. 24. Self-denial goes in order of nature before fufferings. Beloved, in a fuffering hour the intereft of Chrift and felf meet like two men upon a narrow bridge, one must of neceffity go back, or the other cannot pass on: If you cannot now deny felf you must deny Christ. The yoke and dominion of felf must be caft off, or elfe Christ's yoke and burden cannot be taken on.

It is confeffed that felf may not only confift with, but be a motive to fome kind of fufferings: Ambition and applaufe may carry a man far this way: pride is a falamander that it seems can live in the flames of martyrdom, I Cor. xiii. 3. But to be a fervant to self and a true fufferer for Chrift is incompatible. Self may make you the devil's martyrs, but grace only can make you Chrifl's martyrs. So that let a man be feemingly carried for a while with never so high a tide of zeal for Chrift, yet if felf be the spring that feeds, those self-ends, like fo many little ditches joined to the brink of a river, will fo fuck and draw away the water into themselves, that the lofty stream will fink and come to nothing ere it have ran far: So then, of neceffity, felf must be dethroned in the hearts of Christ's fuffering servants.

But now it is real grace only that disposes self, and subjects its intereft to Christ's; for fanctification is nothing else but the dethroning of exalted felf, and the fetting up of Chrift's interest above it in the foul. This is it that alters the property of all a man hath, and superscribes them with a new title, Holiness to the Lord, Ifa. xxiii. 18. Zech. xiv. 20, 21. Thenceforth a man looks at himself as none of his own, but paft into another's right, 1 Cor. vi. 19; and that he must neither live, nor act ultimately for himself, but for Christ, Rom. xiv. 7. Heb. xiii. 7, 8. Phil. i. 20. He is no more as a proprietor, but a steward of all he hath; and fo holds upon thefe terms, to lay it out as may best serve his Master's ends and glory.

All that he is or hath, is by grace fubordinated to Chrift; and if once fuborbinated, then no more opposed to him, fubordinata non pugnant. This is it that makes him fay, I care not what becomes of me or mine,