will of Chrift, and his Father's do not clash, John xvi. 26, 27 yea, what he prays for, he prays not for gratis, or asks upon any difhonourable terms to the justice of his Father; but they are all mercies purchased and paid for; and therefore fear not the failing of your graces.

5. From the Spirit of Chrift which dwelleth and abideth in thee, and hath begun his faving work upon thee. I fay, faving, for else it would afford no argument. His common works on hypocrites come to nothing, but in thee they cannot fail. For, 1. His honour is pledged and engaged to perfect it. That reproach of the foolish builder shall never lie upon him, that he began to build, but could not finish. Befides, this would make void all that the Father and the Son have done for thee; both their works are complete and perfect in their kinds, and the Spirit is the last efficient in order of working. 2. Besides, the grace he hath already wrought in thee, may give thee yet further and fuller affurance of its prefervation, inafmuch as it, hath the nature of a feal, pledge, and earnest of the whole, Rom. viii 23. 2 Cor. i. 22. So that it cannot fail.

6. From thofe multitudes of affertory, promiffery, and com parative scriptures, the rich veins whereof run through the book of God, as so many streams to refresh thy foul. Of affertory fcriptures, fee John vi. 39. John 10, 28. 1 John ii, 19. Of promiffory fcriptures, fee Ifa. liv. 10. Jer. xxxiv. 40. 1 Cor. i. 8. &c. Óf comparative fcriptures, fee Pfal. i. 3. Pfal. cxxv. 1. John iv. 14. &c. The principal fcope of all which is to fhew the indefectible nature of true grace in the faints.

And now, how fhould this refresh thy drooping foul, make thee gird up the loins of thy mind, fince thou doft "not run "as one uncertain, neither fighteft as one that beats the air," 1 Cor. ix. 26. but art fo fecured from total apoftacy, as thou feeft thou art by all these things. O blefs ye the Lord.

Obj. 2. But the Lord feems to be departed from my foul; God is afar off from me, and troubles are near. I feem to be in fuch a cafe as Saul was when the Philistines made war upon him, and God was departed from him; and therefore I fhall

fall.

Sol. Not fo; for there are two forts of Divine desertions ; the one is abfolute, when the Lord utterly forfakes his crea tures, so that they fhall never behold his face more: The o ther is limited and respective, and fo he forfook his own Son, and often does his own elect: and of this kind, some are only cautional, to prevent fin; fome are merely probational, to

ry grace; and others caftigatory, to chaftife our negligence and careleffness, Now, though I have not a word of comfort to fpeak in the case of total and abfolute defertions; yet of the latter (which doubtless is thy cafe) much may be faid by way of fupport, be it of which of the three forts it will, or in what degree it will, For, 1. This hath been the cafe of many precious fouls, Pfal. xxii. 1, 2. Pfal. lxxvii. 2. Pfal. lxxxviii. 9. Job xiii. 24, 25, 26, This was poor Mr. Glover's cafe, as you will find in his ftory, and it continued till he came within fight of the stake; therefore no new or strange thing hath happened to you.

2. The Lord by this will advantage thee for perfeverance, not orly as they are cautional against fin, but as they make. thee hold Chrift the fafter, and prize his prefence at an higher rate, when he fhall please graciously to manifest himself to thee again.

Cant. iii. 4

3. This shall not abide for ever: it is but a little cloud, and will blow over. It is but for a moment, and that moment's darkness ushers in everlasting light, Ifa. liv. 7.

Yea, laftly, the light of God's countenance fhall not only be restored certainly, but it fhall be restored seasonably; when the darkness is greatest, thy troubles at the highest, and thy hopes lowest. He is a God of judgment, and knows how to time his own mercies, Pfal. cxxxviii. 3.

Obj. 3. But I am a weak woman, or a young perfon, how fhall I be able to confefs Chrift before rulers, and look great ones in the face?

Sol. Chrift delights to make his power known in such, 2 Cor. xii. 9. for he affects not focial glory.

2. "Thou shalt be holden up, for God is able to make thee «ftand," Rom. xiv. 4. Thou that art sensible of thine own infirmity, mayest run to that promise.

3. Such poor weak creatures fhall endure when stronger (if felf-confident) fall, Ifa. xl. 30, 31. "Even the youths fhall "faint, and be weary, and the young men utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord, fhall renew their strength : "they shall mount up with wings as eagles, run and not be 66 weary, walk and not faint."

Youths, and young men, are bold, daring, and confident perfons, that truft to their own ftrength; to whom fuch as wait upon the Lord ftand here opposed; they fhall faint, but these shall renew their ftrength.

Art thou one that waiteft and dependeft upon an all-fuffici

ent God, in the sense of thine own weakness? This promife then is for thee.

4. You may furnish yourselves at pleasure, with examples of the mighty power of God refting upon fuch as you are, out of our own martyrology.

Thomas Drowry, the poor blind boy, Fox, vol. 3. p. 703. What a prefence of spirit was with him, when examined by the Chancellor !

Eulalia, a virgin of about 12 years of age, fee how the was acted above those years, yea, above the power of nature. Fox, vol. 1. p. 120. Tender women, yea, children, act above them. selves, when affifted by a strong God.

And thus you have some help offered you by a weak hand, in your prefent and most important work.

The Lord carry home all with power upon your hearts, that if God call you to fuffer for him, you may fay as Paul did, “I "am now ready to be offered up, and the time of my departure " is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my "course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for "me a crown of righteousness, which God the righteous Judge "shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to them "alfo which love his appearing," 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7, 8. And as you expect fo to finish your course with joy; be diligent in the ufe of all means, to prepare and make yourselves ready to follow the call of God, whether it be to bonds, or to death, for the name of the Lord Jesus.

THE

BALM OF THE COVENANT

Applied to the

BLEEDING WOUNDS

O F

AFFLICTED SAINTS.

To which is added, a Sermon preached for the Funeral of that excellent and religious Gentleman JOHN UPTON of LUPTON, Efq;

To the Virtuous and Much Honoured Madam, URSULA UPTON of LUPTON in DEVON.

MADAM,

IF

'F I find it an hard task to write on fuch a doleful fubject, it cannot be imagined but your part must be abundantly harder, who feel over and over what is here written. Could I tell how to adminifter counfels, and comforts to you, without exafperating your forrows, I would certainly take that way; but feeing the one (in this cafe) cannot be done without the other, it is our duty to fubmit to the method Providence hath prescribed to us.

The defign of the enfuing difcourfe, is to evince the truth of what feems a very great paradox to moft men, namely, that the afflictions of the faints can do them no hurt, and that the wifdom of men and angels cannot lay one circumftance of their condition (how uneafy foever it seems to be) better, or more to their advantage than God hath laid it. I attempt not by a flourish of rhetoric to perfuade you against the demonftrations you can fetch from fenfe and feeling to the contrary, but to overthrow the falfe reasonings of flesh and sense, by the allowed rules of Scripture, and fure principles of religion.

And methinks you, and every Chriftian, fhould gladly enter

tain that comfortable conclufion, when you shall find the foun dation of it as ftrong, as the influences thereof are sweet and comfortable.

Certainly, Madam, the intent of the Redeemer's undertaking was not to purchase for his people riches, ease, and pleafures on earth; but to mortify their lufts, heal their natures, and spiritualize their affections; and thereby to fit them for the eternal fruition of God. Upon this fuppofition the truth of this conclufion (how ftrange foever it feems) is firmly built.

It was not without Divine direction, that the fubject of the enfuing discourse was as pertinently, as feasonably, recommended to me by your dear husband, in the day of your forrows for your only fon. He took, I hope, his portion of comfort out of it before he died, and it is now left as a spring of comfort to you, who then mourned with him, and now for him.

Heavy preffures call for strong fupport, and fainting feafons for rich cordials. Your burden is indeed heavy: yet I muft fay it is much our own fault our burdens are fo heavy as we feel them to be; for according to the measure of our delight in, and expectation from the creature, is our forrow and dif appointment when we part from it. The higheft tides are al ways followed with the lowest ebbs. We find temperance and patience knit together in the fame precept, and intemperance and impatience as infeparably connected in our own experi ence. It may be we did not fufpect ourselves of any finful excefs in the time of their enjoyment; but it now appears the creature was gotten deeper into our hearts than we imagined by the pain we feel at parting: Did we hot lean too hard upon it, there would not be fuch fhakings as we feel when it is flipt from us.

But, Madam, it is high time to recal your thoughts, and bound your forrows, which the following confiderations would greatly affift you in.

1. What is the very ground and reafon of our exceffive forrows for the lofs of earthly comforts? Is it not this, "That' they are perifbing and tranfitory? That is, that you find them to be as God made them. And can we expect that God should alter the laws of nature to please and humour us? It is as na tural to our relations to die, as it is for flowers to wither, or the

mcon to wane.

2. That there is no fuch neceffary connexion betwixt these things and our comfort, that whenever God removes the one,