The saints everlasting rest, or, A treatise of the blessed state of the saints in their enjoyment of God in glory wherein is shewed its excellency and certainty, the misery of those that lose it, the way to attain it, and assurance of it, and how to live in the continual delightful forecasts of it and now published by Richard Baxter ...

SECT. XIII.

* 1.14. ANd yet further is the trouble of these poor Souls increased, in that They know not the ordinary way of Gods con∣veying these expected Comforts.* 1.2 When they hear that they are the free gifts of the Spirit, they presently conceive themselves to be meerly passive therein, and that they have nothing to do but to wait when God will bestow them: Not understanding, that though these Comforts are Spiritual, yet are they Rational; raised upon the Understandings apprehension of the Excellency of God our Happiness, and of our Interest in him; and by the rolling of this blessed Object in our frequent Meditations. The Spirit doth advance and not destroy our Reason: It doth rectifie it, and then use it as its ordinary instrument for the conveyance of things to our Affections, and exciting them accordingly; and not lay it aside, and Affect us without it. Therefore our Joys are raised discour∣sively; and the Spirit first revealeth our Cause of Joy, and then helpeth us to Rejoyce upon those revealed grounds: So that he who Rejoyceth groundedly, knoweth why he Rejoyceth ordina∣rily.

Now these mistaken Christians lie waiting when the Spi∣rit doth cast in these Comforts into their hearts, while they sit still and labour not to excite their own Affections;

Nay while they Reason against the Comforts which they wait for.* 1.3 These men must be taught to know, that the matter of their Comfort is in the Promises, and thence they must fetch it as oft as they expect it: And that if they set themselves dayly and diligently to Meditate of the Truth of those Promises, and of the rare excellency contained in them, and of their own title thereto, in this way they may expect the Spirits assistance for the raising of holy Comfort in their Souls. But if they lie still bewailing their want of Joy, while the full and free Promises lie by them, and never take them, and rip them up, and look into them, and apply them to their hearts by Serious Me∣ditation, They may complain for want of Comfort long enough before they have it, in Gods ordinary way of conveyance. God worketh upon Men as Men, as Reasonable Creatures: The Joy of the Promises, and the Joy of the Holy Ghost, are one Joy.

And those Seducers who in their Ignorance mis-guide poor Souls in this point, do exceedingly wrong them: while they perswade them so to expect their comforts from the Spirit, as not to be any authors of them themselves, nor to raise up their own hearts by Argumentative means, telling them, that such Comforts are but hammered by themselves, and not the genuine Comforts of the Spirit. How contrary is this to the doctrine of Christ?

Notes

• * 1.1

  §. 13.
• * 1.2

  In watchful∣ness and d••li∣gence we sooner meet with comfort then in idle complaining; Our Care therefore should be to get sound E∣vidence of a good estate, & then to keep those Eviden∣ces clear. D•• Sibbs Preface to Souls Con∣flict.
• * 1.3

  As if a poor man should complain for want of money, when a chest full stands by him, and he may take what he wil: Is it not bet∣ter take it out, then lie complaining for want?