When obtained, carefully

to be kept.

this way, let him drow nigh to God, and God will draw nigh to him, Jam. 4. 8.

XX. No lefs diligent care is neceffary to preferve the peace thus obtained, and daily to encrease in intimacy with the divine favour and friendship. For this, there is required. ft, A daily exciting of his love to God by devout meditation, both on the divine perl fections, on account of which he is most highly amiable in himself, and on his infinite love, wherewith he first loved us, and the inestimable benefits flowing from that infinite love. For God cannot poffibly fuffer himself to be exceeded in love by man, John 14. 21, be that loveth me, shall be loved of my father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 2dly. Frequent intercourfe with God; fo that worldly cares being for a little laid afide, and a pleafant retirement fought out, you may, by frequent and repeated exercifes of reading, meditation, and prayer, with a modest boldness, obtain familiarity with God, Job 22. 21, acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace, thereby good fhall come unto thee. It was a fine advice of Jerome to Eustachius, de custodia virginitatis: Let the privacy of thy chamber always keep thee; let thy bridegroom always delight himself with. in thee: when thou prayest, thou Speckest to thy bridegroom: when thou readeft, he fpeaketh to thee: let foolish virgins wander abroad, be thou within with thy bridegroom because, if thou fbuttest thy door, and according to the precept of the Gospel, prayest to thy father in se cret, be will come, and knock and fay: behold, I stand at the door and knock. 3dly, The practice of in offenfive and strict godliness, with an attentive watch fulness against the fins that fo easily befet us. Thete things flow from the love of God, and without them none can have familiar converse with him, John (14: 23, if a man love me, be will keep my words, and my father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. The exercise of christian vir tues, or graces, is that chain of the fpoufe, with which the heart of the Lord is ravished, Cantic. 4.

1

།ཡ,

9. The work of righteoufnefs fhall be peace, and the effects of righteoufnefs, quietnefs and affurance for ever, Ifa. 32. 17. compare Ifa. 64. 5.14thly, Becaufe, in ord this imperfect ftate of our fanctification, it cannot altogether be avoided, but at times, the godly may fall, and turn a little either to the right hand, or to the left they are, in that cafe, prefently to rife from their fall, and return to their God, unless they would greatly impair their familiarity with him. When he calls us, return, ye backfliding children, and I will beat your backflidings we are directly to answer: bebold we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God, Fer. 3.22.5thly, It alio contributes very much to prev ferve the fenfe of the divine friendship, if, in all things, you commit yourfelf to the conduct of his providence, always approving his will towards theey to be juft, holy, wife and good; and faying with Job 34. 12, yea furely, God will not do wickedly: Im whatever befals thee, give him thanks, and denying all thy own defires, give up thy will to be fwallowed up in his. Be careful for nothing and the peace of God, which paffeth all understanding, fhall keep your bearts and minds through Chrift Jefus. Phil. 4. 6, 7.

often in

terrupted.

XXI. Altho' it is not poffible, that any who is ad-The fenfe mitted into peace and friendship with God, fhould thereof altogether fall from it, (for the covenant of divine peace, which. ftands firmer than the mountains and hills, fhall never be removed, Isa. 54. 10.) yet the fenfe and relish thereof are often interrupted. For, ft, God doth not always fhew his pleasant counte nance to his friends; fometimes be hides himself, Ifa. 8. 17 standeth a far off, Pf. 10. 1; admits them not into familiarity with him, nor fills them with the abundance of his confolations: he hears not when they call, Pf. 22. 2, 3, as if he regarded them not. 2dly, Nay, he thruits them from him with a kind of contempt, as if a father had disdainfully fpit in the face of his daughter, Numb. 12. 14, and is angry againft their prayer, Pf. 80. 4. 3dly, He terrifies them with many forrows; not only by hiding his face, without

i

The rea

fons of

this, on

which there is no joy, Pf. 30. 7, but by his fierce anger! ~ going over them, Pf. 88. 16, 17, 18, Isa. 57. 17¶d 4thly, He feems to deal with them as an adversary, d and boldeth them for his enemics, and pursues them, though become like the dry ftubble, writes bitter things against them, putteth their feet in the stocks, and fetteth a print upon the heels of their feet, Job 13. 24, 25, 26, 27. 5thly, Gives them up fometimes to be vexed and buffeted by the devil, Job 2. 6. After that the light of the divine countenance is fet, immediately the beasts of the forest come forth against the foul, the young lyons roaring after their prey. Pfa

104. 20, 21.

ཐ

rak

XXII. The reafons of this conduct of God towards his friends are various: fome refpect God; the part others, the friends of God. God thus deals with his of God. people, 1ft, In order to fhew, that he is the fove reign Lord, and most free difpenfer of his own grace, Mat. 20. 15. Thus himself owns, that he afflicted Fob 2. 3, without caufe. Not, that Job had done nothing, to deferve thefe, or even greater afflic tions: but that God had found nothing in him, for which to treat him with greater feverity, than his other friends. This was an act of mere fovereignty, that the works of God fhould be made manifest in him, as is faid in a fimilar cafe. John 9. 3. 2dly, Like, wife, to fhew the difference between heaven and earth. For here he will have all things fubject to various viciffitudes, and accuftom his people to the alternate changes of a rough winter and an agreeable forings because, in heaven they are to exult in a conftant uninterrupted joy in his friendship and love, Rev. 7. 17. 3dly, That he may the more endear unto them the fweetnefs of his grace, which, when tafted at intervals, especially after a draught of a cup of bitterness, must be most delicious to the pious foul. 4thly, That he may give a demonftration of the exceeding greatnefs of his power and goodness, when he preferves the foul in its fpiritual life, tho' oppreffed with fo many forrows, reftores him to his former

vigour,

vigour, makes him triumph over Satan, and gives him the more abundant comfort, the more diftant he was from all the fenfe of his favour. This is to fbew. wonders to the dead, Pf. 88. 10; and to revive the wounded fpirit, which Solomon Prov. 18. 14, declares, exceeds any created power.

a

as to the

XXIII. The reafons with refpect to the friends of On the God, are two fold: for, either they regard the time part of past, or the future. As to the time paft, God man, both ufually reftrains the beams of his favour, ift. time paft, When his friends have been guilty of fome grievous fin: for, in that cafe, his holiness is concerned, that they feel the rod of his paternal displeasure, and not be fuffered to have then familiarity with him, Pf. 51. 9, 11, 12. If they be bound in fetters, and be bolden in cords of affliction: then be fheweth them their work, Job. 36. 8, 9: and really, as it were, calls out to them; know therefore and fee, that it is an evil thing, and bitter that thou haft forfaken the Lord thy God, Jer. 2. 19. When they rebelled and vexed bis boly Spirit, therefore be was turned to be their enemy, Ifa. 63. 10. 2dly. When abufing the goodnefs of God, they worship his majefty with lefs reverence and begin to flag in the exercife of devotion. gdly. When carnal confidence, and vain glorying have feized upon them, Pf. 30. 6, 7, and in my profperity I faid: I fhall never be moved: thou didst bide thy face, and I was troubled. 4thly. When the offer of divine grace is unworthily entertained through a kind of indolence and droufinefs Song. 5. 3.

4, 5.

XXIV. The following reafons refer to the time And the to come, ift. That God may try and exercife time to their faith, 1 Pet. 1. 6, 7 which ought to be in come. exercife, even when nothing is to be feen; and their love, by which they are bound to love God for himself, tho' they are not fenfible, that they themfelves are loved, and the fincerity of their worship, which is not to proceed from a mere relish of the

8

reward,

How to

ed friend

ship of God.

reward, but from an acknowledgment of the divine dignity or authority; and the conftancy of their religion, by which they must keep clofe to God, even when he appears as a ftranger to them. 2dly That he may ftir them up to the practice of prayer, in which Heman was fervent at fuch a time, Pf. 88. 15 O Lord God of my falvation, I have cried day and night before thee; fee alfo verfes 9 and 13. 3dly. That he may inftruct and bring his people to true wifdom 2. for this diftrefs gives excellent understanding tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience, Rom. 5. 3. 4. Heman was early introduced into this fchool, and fuch hard exercifes were put upon) him, that he was almoft diftracted: yet at length he made fo great a proficiency, as to be reckoned among the wifeft in his day, 1 Kings 4. 31. 4thly That they may, for the future, more carefully preferve the divine favour, when they have once recovered it. When the fpoufe at laft found her beloved, who had withdrawn himself, she held him, kept him faft, and would not let him go, until he had brought him into her mother's boufe, into the chamber of ber that conceived her. Cant. 3. 4.

XXV. But what courfe is the foul now to take, renew the in order to renew the interrupted friendship of God? interrupt- For we are not to think, that God will be angry with his people for ever: for, I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the fpirit.) fhould fail before me, and the fouls which I have made, fays the Lord, Ifa. 57. 16: fee Ifa. 54. 8. And ift. We are, in order to this, carefully to enquire into the caufe of this eftrangement, that it may be. removed for, generally we have provoked God, to deal thus with us, either by fome fin, or by our careleffness, Lament. 3. 40, let us fearch and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. And fhould it be, that a perfon cannot find out the cause of that eftrangement (which is rarely the cafe with the ferious and careful enquirer), he is then to confule

the