get thy forrow, say the former; ease thyself of it by us, fay the latter; the foul refufeth both, as physicians of no value, and to God alone makes its application: He hath wounded, and he alone can heal. And until any one that is fenfible of the guilt of fin, will come off from all referves to deal immediately with God, it is in vain for him to expect relief.

SECONDLY, Herein it is intenfe, earnest and urgent, which was the fecond thing obferved. It is no time now to be flothful; the fouls all, its greateft concern-. ments are at the ftake. Dull, cold, formal, customary applications to God, will not ferve the turn: Ordinary actings of faith, love, fervency, ufual feafons, opportunities, duties, anfwer not this condition. To do no more than ordinary now, is to do nothing at all. He that puts forth no more ftrength and activity for his deliver nce when he is in depths, ready to perifh, than he doth, or hath need to do, when he is at liberty in plain and smooth paths, is fcarcely like to efcape. Some in fuch conditions, are carelefs and negligent; they think in ordinary courfe, to wear off their diftempers; and that although at prefent they are fenfible of their danger, they fhall yet have peace at laft; in which frame there is much contempt of God: Some defpond and languish away under their preffures. Spiritual floth influenceth both these forts of perfons. Let us fee the frame under confideration exemplified in another. We have an instance in the fpoufe, Cant, iii. 1, 2, 3. She had loft the prefence of Chrift, and fo was in the very ftate and condition before defcribed, ver. 1. It was night with her, a time of darkness and difconfolation; and fhe feeks for her beloved By night on my bed I fought him whom my foul loveth. Chrift was abfent from her, and fhe was left unto depths and darkness upon that account. Wherefore, fhe feeks for him; but as the most are apt to do in the like ftate and condition, fhe mends not her pace, goes not out of, or beyond her course of ordinary duties; or the frame fhe was ufually in at other

E

times.

times. But what is the iffue? Saith fhe, 1 found him not. This is not the way to recover a sense of loft love; nor to get out of her entanglements. And this puts her on another courfe, fhe begins to think, that if things continue in this eftate, the fhall be undone; I go on indeed with the performance of duties ftill, but I have not the prefence of my beloved; I meet not with Chrift in them: My darkness and troubles abide ftill; if I take not fome other courfe, I fhall be loft. Well, faith fhe, I will rife now, ver. 2. 1 will fhake off all that eafe and floth, and cuftomarinefs, that cleave to me; fome more lively vigorous course must be fixed on. Refoluti

ons for new, extraordinary, vigorous, conftant application unto God, are the firft general ftep or degree, of a fin-intangled foul acting towards a recovery, I will rife now. And what will the do when he is thus refolved? I will, faith fhe, go about the streets, and broad ways, and feek him whom my foul, loveth. I will leave no way or means unattempted, whereby I may poffibly come to a fresh enjoyment of him, If a man feek for a friend, he can look for him only in the streets and in the broad ways; that is, either in towns, or in the fields. So will I do faith the spouse; in what way, ordinance, or institution foever, in or by what duty foever, public or private, of communion with others, or folitary retirednefs, Chrift ever was, or may be found, or peace obtained, I will feek him, and not give over till I come to an enjoyment of him. And this frame, this refolution, a foul in depths must come unto, if ever it expect deliverance. For the most part, mens wounds ftink, and are corrupt because of their foolishness, as the pfalmift complains, Pfal. xxxviii. 5. they are wounded by fin; and through fpiritual floth they neglect their cure; this weakens them, and difquiets them day by day; yet they endure all, rather than they will come out of their carnal eafe to deal effectually with God in an extraordinary manner. It was otherwife with David, Pfal. xxii. 1, 2. Why, faith he, art thou fo far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my

God,

God, I cry in the day-time, and in the night-feafon, and am not filent. What ails the man? Can he not be quiet night nor day? never filent, never hold his peace? and if he be fomewhat difquiered, can he not contain himself, but that he muft roar, and cry out? yea, he must roar thus all the day long, as he fpeaks, Pfal. xxxii. 3. and groan all the night, as Pfal. vi. 6. what is the matter with all this roaring, fighing, tears, roaring all the day, all night long? Ah! let him alone, his foul is bitter in him; he is fallen into depths; the Lord is withdrawn from him, trouble is hard at hand, yea, he is full of anxiety on the account of fin; there is no quietness and foundnefs in him; and he must thus earnestly and reftlefly apply himself for relief. Alas! What ftrangers for the most part are men now-a-days to this frame? How little of the workings of this fpirit is found amongst us? And is not the reafon of it, that we value the world more, and heaven and heavenly things lefs than he did? that we can live at a better rate without a fense of the love of God in Chrift, than he could do? and is it not hence that we every day fee fo many withering profeffors, that have in a manner loft all.communion with God, beyond a little lip-labour, or talking? the filthy favour of whofe wounds are offenfive to all but themfelves; and fo they will go on ready to die and perifh, rather than with this holy man thus ftir up themselves to meet the Lord. Henian was alfo like unto him, Pfal. lxxxviii. 11, 12. What fenfe he had of his depths, he declares, ver. 3. My foul, faith he, is full of troubles, and my life draweth nigh to the grave. And what courfe doth he fteer in this heavy, forrowful, and difconfolate condition? Why, faith he, O Lord God of falvation, I have cried day and night unto thee, let my prayer come before thee, incline thine ear unto my cry, ver. 1,2. Day and night he cries to God of his falvation, and that with earnestnefs and importunity. This was his bufinefs, thus was he exercifed all his days.

This is that which is aimed at; if a gracious foul be brought into the depths before-mentioned and defcribed,

by reafou of fin, when the Lord is pleased to lead him forth towards a recovery, he causeth him to be vigorous and restlefs in all the duties whereby he may make application to him for deliverance, Now, wherein this incenfenefs and earneftnefs of the foul in its applications unto God doth principally confift, I fhall briefly declare, when I have touched a little upon fome confiderations and grounds that ftir it up thereunto.

First. The greatest of mens concernments may well put them on this earneftnefs. Men do not ufe to deal with dull and flothful fpirits about their greatest concerns. David tells us, that he was more concerned in the light of God's countenance, than the men of the world could be in their corn and wine, Pfal. iv. 6, 7. Suppose a man of the world fhould have his house, wherein all his stock and riches are laid up, fet on fire, and fo the whole be in danger under his eye to be confumed; would he be calm and quiet in the confideration of it? Would he not beftir himself with all his might, and call in all the help he could obtain? And that becaufe his portion, his all, his great concernments lies at ftake? And thall the foul be flothful, carelefs, dull, fecure, when fire is put to its eternal concernments? when the light of God's countenance, which is of more efteem unto him than the greateft increase of corn and wine can be to the men of the world, is removed from him? It was an argument of prodigious fecurity in Jonab, that he was faft afleep when the fhip wherein he was, was ready to be caft away for his fake. And will it be thought lefs in any foul, who being in a ftorm of wrath and displeasure from God, fent out into the deep after him, shall neglect it, and fleep, as Solomon fays, on the top of a maft in the midst of the fea? How did that poor creature, whofe heart was mad on his idols, Judges xviii 24. cry out, when he was deprived of them? You have taken away my gods, faith he, and what have I more? And fhall a gracious foul lofe his God, through his own folly, the fenfe of his love, the

confolation

confolation of his prefence, and not with all his might follow hard after him; peace with God, joy in believing, fuch fouls have formerly obtained; can they live without them now, in their ordinary walking? Can they chooie but cry out with Job, O that it were with us, as in former days, when the candle of the Lord was upon our tabernacle, chap. xxix. 2, 3, 4. and with David, O Lord, restore unto me the joy of thy falvation, Pfal. li. 12. For, Oh! my God, I remember former e joyments, and my foul is caft down within me, Pfal. xlii. 6. They cannot live without it. But fuppofe they might make a forry fhift to pafs on in their pilgrimage, whilst all is smooth about them; what will they do in the time of outward trials and diftreffes, when deep calleth unto deep, and one trouble excites and sharpens another? Nothing then will fupport them, they know, but that which is wanting to them, as Hab. iii. 17, 18. Pfal. xxiii. 4. fo that the greatnefs of their concernment, provokes them to the earneftnefs mentioned.

Secondly, They have a deep fense of these their great concernments. All men are equally concerned in the love of God, and pardon of fin. Every one hath a foul of the fame immortal conftitution, equally capable of blifs and wo; but yet we fee that moft men are so ftupidly fottifh, that they take little notice of these things. Neither the guilt of fin, nor the wrath of God, nor death, nor hell, are thought on, or esteemed by them; they are their concernments, but they are not fenfible of them. But gracious fouls have a quick living fense of fpiritual things. For,

it, They having a faving fpiritual light, whereby they are able to difcern the true nature of fin, and the terror of the Lord. For though they are now fuppofed to have loft the comforting light of the Spirit, yet they never lose the sanctifying light of the Spirit, the light whereby they are enabled to difcern spiritual things in a fpiritual manner, this never utterly departs from them: By this they fee fin to be exceeding finful, Rom. vii. 13. by this they know the terror of the Lord, 2 Cor.