A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

238 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGstretched out his hand in mercy, but I refused ; and therelorenow, though I call upon him he will not answer ; thoughI seek him early I shall not find him. Whereupon was hisheart filled with much grief, terror, and slavish fear. Butthe Spirit of God leading him at length to that place,Luke xvii, 4, *If thy brother trespass against thee seventimes in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee,saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him.' He thence happilyargued thus for himself: — Must I, a silly,, sinful man, forgivemy brother as often as he repents ; and will not thenthe Father of mercies and the God of all comfort entertainme, seeking again in truth his face and favour? God forbid.From which he blessedly drew such divine sweetness andsecret sense of God's love, that his trembling heart at firstreceived some good satisfaction, and afterward was settledin a sure and glorious peace." Another godiy man passing through his last sicknesswith such extraordinary calmness of conscience, and absolutefreedom from temptation, that some of his Christianfriends observing and admiring the smgularity of his soul'squiet, at that time especially, questioned him :— about it heanswered, that he had stedfastly fixed his heart upon thatsweetest promise, Isa. xxvi, 3, Thou ' wilt keep him in perfectpeace whose mind is stayed on thee ; because hetrusteth in thee.' And his God had graciously made itfully good unto his soul."And so must every saint do who would sound the sweetnessof a promise to the bottom ; and make it the arm of Godunto him for sound and thorough comfort ; even settle hisheart fixedly upon it, and set his faith on work to brood it,as it v/ere, with its spiritual heat, that quickness and lifemay thence come into the soul indeed. For God is wontto make good his promises unto his children proportionallyto their trust in them, and dependence upon his truthand goodness for a seasonable performance of them.Now all these promises in God's blessed book (whichadds infinitely to their sweetness and certainty) are sealedwith the blood of Jesus Christ (Heb. ix, IG) and confirmedwith the oath of Almighty God, Heb. vi, 17, 18; " God,willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promisethe immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath :that by two immutable things, in which it was impossiblefor God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who havefled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Owhat a mighty and precious invitation is this, to believeperfectly ! The special aim of God's oath, whereas his promisehad been more than infinitely suflficient, was to