A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

114 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGNow, when we shall see and find in some measure thehearts of our hearers and spiritual patients thus prepared,both by legal dejections and terrors from the spirit of bondage,and also possessed with such melting and eager affections,wrought by the light of the gospel and offer of Christ ;when their souls once begin to feel ail sins, even their bestbeloved one, heavy and burthensome ; to prize Jesus Christfar before all the world ; to thirst for him infinitely morethan for riches, pleasures, honours, or any earthly thing.;to resolve to take him as their husband, and to obey him astheir Lord for ever, and all this in truth —; 1 say, then andin this case we may have reason to minister comfort ; thenupon good ground we may go about our Master's command,which man-pleasers many times pitifully abuse, " Comfortye, comfort ye my people ": I mean in respect of spiritualbondage. "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cryunto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquityis pardoned " (Isa. xl, 1, 2). We may tell them with whata compassionate and tender address God himself labours torefresh them. " O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, andnot comforted, behold, 1 will lay thy stones with faircolours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires" (Isa. liv,11). We may assure them in the word of life and truth,that Jesus Christ is theirs, and they are his ; and compelthem, as it were, by a holy violence, not without a greatdeal of just indignation against their loathness to believeand holding off in this case, to take his person, his merit,his blood, all his spiritual riches, privileges, excellencies,and with him possession of all things, even of the mostglorious Deity itself, blessed for ever. See 1 Cor. iii, 21, 22,23; Johnxvii,21.But now in the mean time, until sense of spiritual miseryand poverty raise an hunger and thirst after Jesus Christ,before such like preparations and precedent affections ashave been spoken of be wrought in the hearts of men bypressing the law and proclaiming the gospel, and that insinceiity (for the degree and measure we leave it to God,as a most free agent, in some they may be stronger, in someweaker), the preaching or promising of mercy, as alreadybelonging unto them, is far more unseasonable and unseemlythan snow in summer, rain in harvest, or honour for a fool.It is, in short, the very sealing them up with the spirit ofdelusion, that they may never so much as think of takingthe right course to be converted. What sottish and sacrilegiousaudaciousness then is it in any dauber to thrust hisprofane hand into the treasury of God's mercy, and therecarelessly, without any allowance from his highest ]-,ord, to