A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

n36INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGenjoyment of Jesus Christ, and return of the sense of thesavour of his good ointments into the soul, hath far moreheart and life than the free and full possession of all thevisible glory and outward comfort of the whole world couldpossibly put into it. That joy which makes our hearts leapwithin us upon the regaining of the wonted workings ofgrace, and our heavenly feelings, is much more joyful thaneither that which followed the first taste, or the after -freeenjoyment of them. Excellent and extraordinary goodthings tasted and lost, beget a far greater sense of theirsweetness and comfort upon their recovery than if they hadbeen either never tasted or never Ipst. That sun- shine ismost fair and amiable which breaks out after some boisterousstorm, or great eclipse. Restitution to sense of grace aftersome despairful sadness for God's departure, may producea deeper impression of spiritual pleasure in the recoveredpatient, than the first plantation of it. Thus doth ourgracious God, who when he pleases can bring light out ofdarkness, life out of death, something out of nothing,heaven out of hell, even come nearer unto us by departingfrom us. By the dead winter-time of a spiritual desertionhe may bring, by his blessed hand of mercy and quickeninginfluence, more strength, activeness, lively exercise, andexcellency into our graces and sweetest fruits thereof.4. The Christian as he grows in knowledge, grace, spiritualabilities, forwardness, fruitfulness, and further from hisnew birth, except he be very watchful over his heart, muchpractised in the exercises of humiliation, often exercisedin the school of afflictions, terrified sometimes with hideousinjections, and v/alk humbly with his God, shall have, bya sly and insensible insinuation, privy pride to grov/ uponhim, confidence in his own strength, too much attributionto the means, a self-conceit of an independent standingupon his own bottom, as it were, and by the power of hispresent graces ; and therefore our wise God doth sometiir.estake a course to take down his self-confidence by withdrawinghis countenance, and to humble his spiritual presumptionwith a spiritual desertion ; I mean, by taking from him thesense of grace and feeling of his favour, by cutting off,as it were, for a time those streams of comfort which werewont to distil upon his soul by use and ordinary influence ofthe means, meditation, prayer, conference, public ministry,sabbaths, sacraments, days of humiliation and such like,doth mercifully force him to have recourse unto at length,with much longing and thirst, and to repose upon with njorereverence and acknowledgment, the everlasting fountainand founder of all graces, comforts, compassions, and life ;