Section 6

Why then after all this, do w opprefs ourfelves with ( fuperfluot cares, and weary out our lives i the multiplicity of our own way
withoil
Method of Prayer. 99
■ ithout ever faying, Let us ref in '.ace? God himfelf inviteth us to' eft from all our labours and dif- uiets, and to ftay ourfelves on im : nay, he complaineth in the rophet Ifaiah, chap. lv. 2. with an tconceivable goodnefs, that we mploy the foul’s ftrength, its iches and its treafure, in a thou- ind outward things, feeing that tere is fo very little to be done tat we may enjoy the in- nite good things which we ropofe to ourfelves. Where- )re do ye fpend your money for at which cannot nomifh you ? nd your labour for that which ’mot fatisfy you ? Hearken unto e attentively , feed yourfelves with e good nourifhment which I do give m: and your fouls being made fat erewith , Jhall indeed rejoice.
O that men did but know what happinefs it is to hearken unto I 2 God
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God in this manner, and how ex- ceedingly the foul is thereby ftrengthencd ! All Jlefh mufl needs it filent in the prefence of the Lord , Zac ii. 13. All mud ceafe and be ftil fo footi as he appeareth. Now God, to oblige us yet further tc abandon ourfelves without any re- ferve, alfureth us by his prophet, that we need not be afraid of any- thing in giving up ourfelves tc him ; becaufe he taketh care 0 every one in particular. Can a mother forget her own child, (faith God) and have no companion on thi foil whom fhe hath conceived in her bowels ? But even though fhe Jhoulo forget, yet will not I ever for get you, I fa xlix. 15. O blefled words ! full ol divine confolation ! who will any longer be afraid to furrendei himfelf entirely to the guidance ol God ?
Sect.
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Sect. XXII.
Of Internal Alls.
HE afts of man are either ex-
ternal or internal. The ex- ernal are thofe that appear out- vardly with regard to home fenfible )bjeft, and which have no other noral good or evil, but what they eceivefrom the internal principle vhence they proceed.
I do not intend to fpeak then, >ut of internal afts of the foul, only vhereby it inwardly holds to fome >bjeft, and fo forfakes another. ror inftance, if when any foul is pplied to God , I will do fome aft f another nature, I thereby for- ake God, fo much as the aft of my urning toward created things is
1 3 ftronger
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ftronger or weaker : on the othe hand, if when my foul is turner towar ds the creature, I will retun to God, there muftbe an aft to with draw my foul from the creature and to turn it to God: and by how much the more perfect this aft is by fo much the more entire is thr converfion. But till I am perfeftl) converted, I am continually undei a neceffity of making acts of turn ing to God, (this may be accom- plifhed by fome at once, whicl'jj others do by little and little,) how- ever, in each aft I ought to exert the whole ftrength of my foul to return to God, according to the counfel of the Son of Syrach , Re- unite all the motions of thy heart in the hohnefs of God, chap. xxx. 24. And as David did, I will keep my whoh ftrength for thee ; Pfa. lviii. 10. which is done by entering firongly into ones fdf ; as faith the fcrip-
ture,
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lure, Return to your heart, Ifaiah xlvi. 8. for we have wandered from our heart by fin ; and there- fore God demands but our heart, faying, My f on give me thy heart, and let thine eyes be always fxed upon my ways, Prov. xxiii. 26. To give ones heart to God, is to have at all times the eye, the force and vigor of the foul fixed upon him, and cleaving unto him. that one may perfectly follow his will in all things. Wherefore, when the heart is once applied to God, it aught to continue thus turned to- wards him.
But the mind of man being frail and full of levity, and the foul iccuftomed to roam abroad, is eafily diverted and diffipated ; and therefore fo foon as it per- :eives itfelf wandering abroad imongft outward things, it mull, )y a fimple aft, return towards
God,
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God, and reinftate itfelf in him : then its aft will fubfift fo long as its converfion lafteth, by the pow- erful influence of its Ample and unfeigned return to God. We know aftions often repeated make a cuftom, fo that by this means the foul will be accuftomed to converfion, and this cuftom con- tinued makes the aftion become altogether natural and habitual.
And then the foul ought not to| perplex itfelf in feeking to form this aft, becaufe it is alreadyil formed and fubfifts ; nay, it can- not do it, without finding very great difficulty in it: befides it will find that hereby it is drawn I from its proper ftate, under pre- tence of feeking after it, which is a thing it ffiould never do; efpecially fince the aft fubfifts, and 1 the foul is then in an habitual] converfion and in an habitual love.
Men
Melhod of Prayer. 1 05
Men feek after one aft by feveral other afts, inftead of keeping them- felves fixed by a fimple aft to God alone.
One may obferve, that fome- times he can with great eafe make fuch afts diftinftly, but fimply; which is a fign that he was gone aftray, and that now he enters again into his heart, after he had wandered from it. but let him lake care to remain there in peace, now that he is returned to it. When any one thinks that he ought not to form any afts, he is much miftaken, for he forms always fome afts: but every one ought to form them according to the degree he is advanced to.
To clear up this place fully, which is indeed fome difficulty, (the greateft part of fpiritual perfons, not comprehending it,)
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you mull know that fome afts are tranfient and diftinft, and others are continued ; again, fome afts are direft, and others reflex. All cannot form the fir A, neither are all in the proper; ftate of forming the fecond. The firft fort of afts ought to be made by the perfons yko are gone aliray : they ought., ip turn them- felves again by an aft which they diftinguifh, and which fhould be more or lefs ftrong, according
as the diverfion or turning alkie
was greater or fmaller ; fo that when the ftraying is but little, one of the molt fimple afts is fufli- i cient. j
I call that the continued aB, by which the foul is wholly turned towards its God by a direft aft, which is not renewed by it, unlefs interrupted, becaufe the firft; re- mains entire. The foul, I fay,
being
Method of Prayer. 107
1 being turned after this manner, i is indeed in the love , and dwell- eth therein. And he who dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, 1 John iv. 16. Then the foul hath en- tered as it were into the habit of the aft, in which it repofeth : yet its repofe is not idle ; for ithe firft aft continues all the while, which is a fweet retirement into God, to which God attrafteth . it always moll ftrongly ; and the foul fo readily following this pow- erful attraftion, and abiding in his love, is always more and more ingulfed and fwallowed up in love ; and here its aftion is i infinitely more ftrong, and more vigorous, than the firft aft which ferved for nothing but to bring it home from its wan- dering.
Now the foul in this profound
and
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and flrong a£f, being wholl; turned towards its God, hath no any perception of this aft, becauf it isdireft and not reflex. Whiclj is the reafon that this perfon no explaining himfelf well, faith, tha he does not form any afts : bu it is a miftake, for he never di'j any either better or more afiive Let him rather fay, I do no now diftinguifh any afis: and noi I do not do any afts. ’Tis true he doth not do them by him fell; but he is drawn, and he followed that which draweth him. Loi is the weight which finketh hir down, as a perfon falling into th fea finketh, and would fink eve; to infinity, if the fea were^ inf nite : and without his perceptio; of it, he would defcend into th lowed deep, with an incredibl fwiftnefs.
Therefor
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Therefore to fay, that one" doth id afts, is to fpeak improperly. \11 do ahts, but all do them not ifter the fame manner; and fur- herthemiftake cometh hence, that nany who know they mull do a£ts, vould do them diftinft and fenfi- )le. Which indeed cannot be; for he fenfible ones are for beginners, .nd the others are for advanced ouls. To hop in the firft a6ls, vhich are weak, and advance but ittle, is to deprive ones felf of the aft. So in like manner, to endea- •our to do the laft a£fs without • laving pafled through the firft, ‘Ol.ere another no lefs confiderable tirror.
All things then ought to be done a n their proper l'eafon. Every ftate lath its beginning, its progrefs , and leiij ts end. He would be very wrong hat fhould refolve not to go fur- : (her than the beginning or firft JC ft age.
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ftage, but fix himfelf there. Ther is no art which hath not its progrel At the beginning there muft be labouring with diligence and toil but then there follows an enjoyin the fruit of ones labour. When fhip is in the dock, the marine are forced to take pains to launc hei thence into the main ocean but afterwards they eafily turn h to any coaft they would fleer. 1 like manner, while the foul is y in fin and in the creatures, there much ftruggling and toil requir to draw it out thence; there muft !i an untying or breaking of the cor' which hold it bound ; by means ftrong and vigorous a6ts, with e| deavours to draw the foul inwai removing it by little and little frc its own port, and in removing t from thence, turn it inwards God, which is the haven whereij- to we defire to fail.
W1
Method of Prayer. 1 1 t When the velfel is turned after his manner, proportionably as lie advanceth in the fea, fhe is at iiftance from the land : and the urther file is from the land, the efs need is there of any labour to Iraw her along. At laft they be- 8 [in to fail mod pleafantly, and the ’effel runs fo forcibly that they null quit the oars, which are now
1Jiecome ufelefs. What doth the ilot then ? He contenteth himfelf 5 a fpread the fails, and hold the udder. To fpread the fails, is to lake the prayer of limply expos- ig or laying ones felf open before iod, in order to be moved by his air it. To hold the rudder, is to eep our heart from wandering out f f the right path, recalling it gent- f and guiding it according to the lotion of the fpirit of God, which y degrees getteth poffefiion of the eart, even as the wind cometh by K 2 little
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little and little to fill the fails anc drive on the Veffel. So long a: the fiiip hath the wind fair, the pi I lot and mariners ceafe from theii labour, and repofe themfelves what a progrefs do they now make withoutfatiguing themfelves ? The) make more way in one hour in rejl pofing themfelves after this man ner, and leaving the veffel to th conduci of the wind, than the)! could do in a great deal of time bj1 all their firft utmoft efforts ; and i they would then row, befides greath fatiguing themfelves, their labou would be quite ufelefs, and thej would retard the veffel.
|
This is the very condufl; whicl wje ought to obferve in the fpiritua life, and by afting in this manner wre fhall advance more in a little; time by being moved by the divim fpirit, than we can any other way by a great many of ourownftrugl
ins
Method of Prayer. 1 i 3
ings and efforts. Would people but take this method, they fhould find it the eafieft in the world.
When the wind is contrary and :he ftorm great, the anchor muft je cafl into the fea, to flop the vef- el. This anchor is nothing elfe )ut confidence in God, and hope n his goodnefs, waiting in patience or the calm, and for fair weather, ind till the wind prove favourable : igain ; as did David: I have waited faith he) Pf. 40. 1 .for the Lord uith great patience, and he hath at lajl
tumbled himfelf even to me. We mull herefore give up and refign our- dves to the fpiritofGod, leaving urfelves to be guided by his mo-
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\lA
Sect. XXIII.
An admonition to Pajlors and Preachers.
IF ail thofe that labour to gain fouls, did endeavour to win them by the heart, putting therm immediately upon prayer, and inm the inward life, they would make numberlefs and lafting converfions. But fo long as they go the other way to work, namely, by that which is external ; and that inftead of drawing fouls to Jefus Chrift, by the occupation of the heart in him, they do only load them with a thou- fand precepts for outward exer- cifes ; there comes but very little fruit thereof, and even that little does not endure.
If minifters would zealoufiy
inftruft
Method of Prayer. 1*5
inftrudt their parilhoners after this manner, the very fhepherds in keeping their flocks, might have the fpirit of the primitive Chrif- tians ; and the ploughmen in guid- ing their plough-fhare, might en- tertain themfelves in a bleffed in- tercourfe with God : the tradef- aien and labourers that are fpend- ng themfelves with toil, might ga- her from hence everlafling fruits :
• vickednefs might be banilhed in a ittle time, and the- whole parilh )ecome fpiritual.
For when once the heart is won, ill the reft is eafdv corre&ed. Thence it is that God principally lemands the heart. By this me- hod alone, drunkennefs, blafphe- ny, uncleannefs, animofity, theft, nd the whole train of evils, which o fo univerfally prevail, might^be uite deftroyed. Chrift might eign peaceably over all, and the appearance
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appearance of his church might be feen once again in every place. Errors in the fundamentals of Chriftianity, are entered into the world, through the lofs of the life of God in the foul : if this were ef- tablilhed again, thofe errors would foon be deftroyed. That error gets the polfeffion of fouls, ’tis
through want of faith and of prayer ; 1
if we taught our wandering breth- ren to believe Amply, and to pray, inftead of much difputing with them, we might bring them back gently to God.
O what ineftimable Ioffes are fuftained by the negleft of this fimi] pie inftru&ion ! O what account have thofe perfons that have the charge of fouls to give to God, for not having difcovered this hidden treafure, to all them whom they ferve by the miniftry of the word !
They excufe themfelves under
the
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the pretence, that there is danger in this way, or that common peo- ple are incapable of the things of the fpirit. But the oracle of truth allures ps of the contrary, faying, Prov. xii. 22, The Lord placeth his ajfc Elion on thofe who walk in Jimpli- . city. And what danger can there be to walk in the one only way, which is Jefus Chrifl , giving our- felves entirely to him, beholding him continually, putting our whole confidence in his grace, and tend- ing with all our ftrength and might .0 his pure love ?
So far is it from being true, that he fimple, the plain and the ig- rorant, are incapable of this ef- ential accomplifhment, that they me indeed the more fit for it ; be- :aufe they are more teachable, more tumble, and more innocent ; and tecaufe not being ufed to reafon- ng, they do not fo much adhere
to
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fo their own judgments : being moreover without knowledge, they let themfelvesbe moved and a&eci more eafily by the fpirit of God; whereas others, who are tied down and blinded by their own felf-fuf- ficiency, do refift a great deal more the divine infpiration. Thus God declareth to us, that ’tis to the lit- tle ones that he gives the under- ftanding of his law: The entrance 0/ thy word (faith David) Pf cxix. 130, giveth light , it giveth underjlanding tc, thejimple. He a flu re th us 1 ikewi fe, Prov. iii. 32. that he loveth to con-j verfe familiarly with the fimple ones. The Lord prejerveth the fimple ; I way reduced to extremity, and he faved me. Pf. cxvi. 6. Let paftors and teach- ers then take heed, not to hin.j der the little children from com- ing to Chrijl. Suffer thefe little chil- dren (faid he to his apoftles) Mat. xix. 14. to come unto me-, for it is