The sure mercies of David: or, a second part of Heart-treasure. Wherein is contained the supream and substance of gospel-mercies purchased by Christ, and promised in the covenant of grace, together with the several ways how they are made and are to be improved for the saints fort and defence, settlement and incouragement in shaking and back-sliding times. Being the fruit of some meditations upon Isa. 55. 3. By O. Heywood an unprofitable minister of the gospel.

CHAP. XI.

VI. THE sixth Use is of Instruction and Direction, to sinners and Saints, wherein I shall (as paper-room permits) ••ay before you four sorts of Directions.

• 1. What is a poor soul to do that he may ob∣tain interest in these mercies?
• 2. How a doubting soul may be assured of these Covenant-mercies?
• 3. In what cases may a Christian improve Covenant-mercies?
• 4. How a good soul that hath interest in these mercies is to behave himself?

For the first, which concerns graceless ••uls; poor unregenerate Creatures, if any ••ch enquire what they must do that they may have a part and portion in these sure ••ercies of David, I shall briefly propound ••ese seven Directions;

1. Make a strict enquiry into your state; ••••ligently examine what title you have to ••e Mercies of the Covenant, practise this ••eat and much neglected duty of self-tryal, whether you have closed with the Cove∣nant, whether Christ be in you, * 1.1 or you be 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Christ; whether faith be in you, or you 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in the faith; self-knowledge is a good ••gree towards saving grace. Authology is ••e first step to Theology; a man cannot,

will not look after mercy till he know his own misery; they that conceit themselves to be something, deceive themselves; there∣fore let every man prove his own work, Gal. 6.3, 4. Oh how many thousands with a•• vain hope do descend into everlasting burn∣ings? how many presume they have as good a title to mercy as any, and fall short of it mistakes in this point are dangerous and damning, therefore soul, try thy title, be 〈◊〉〈◊〉 a point concerning thy state; some a•• Children of wrath, and have not obtained mercy; yea, all are such by nature: that Grace that changeth our title, changeth our spirits, therefore deal faithfully with your own hearts; ask them whether they b•• renewed, changed, soundly converted? ask your selves whether you be new Creatures be not put off with silence or a slight an∣swer; remember life and death depends on the resolution of this important question you must be tryed another day, you canno•• evade Gods impartial search, only consider there's no returning back to mend the matter, as you are found then at the gret day, so must you abide for ever; but here, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 you find a flaw in your title, you may have it well repaired; and this is the first step to mending what's amiss, therefore g•• a distinct knowledge of your state.

2. Work on your hearts the misery of souls being destitute of these sure mercies yea, if upon serious examination you 〈◊〉〈◊〉 that your souls have no interest therein, o••

consider what a dreadful, doleful state your souls are in; you are indeed Lo-ruhamahs, bond-slaves of Satan, enemies to God, destitute of Christ, and have nothing to do with the good things of the Gospel; take your state from the blessed Apostle, or rather from the infallible dictates of the Holy Ghost, Ephes. ••2.12. without Christ, (whatever confident claim you may lay to him, however you may boast of him) Aliens from the Com∣mon-wealth of Israel, (i. e. no members of the true Church, though you may presum∣ptuously call and account your selves the only Sons of the Church; you have no∣thing to do with the spiritual priviledges, and sweet Communion of Saints) you are strangers from the Covenants of Promise, (i. e. you are not in this new Covenant, but under that of works, and have not right to any one promise, and so to no Gospel-mer∣cy) and therefore without hope, yea, with∣out God in the World; 'tis inexpressible, yea inconceivable misery that a graceless soul is in, it is ready every moment to drop into Hell, must be shut out of Hea∣ven; God is angry with him every mo∣ment, Satan hath him in a string, leads him whither he list; and if he dye this moment he is gone for ever. Oh work on your hearts such sad thoughts as these, awake Conscience, rouze up affections, then cry out with the Publican, striking on your breast, God be merciful to me a sinner; Wo is me, * 1.2 wretched Creature that I am, what shall I

do, I am undone, the guilt of sin is upon me, mercy is far from me; I have despised free-grace, and now I may fear mercy is turned into sury; long forbearance will end in just vengeance. Oh is there any hope for a forlorn wretch? have not I worn out my day of grace? is there any hope for me? surely, a little mercy will not serve my turn; I am a great sinner, yea, the chiefest of sin∣ners, there must be a larger dole of mercy to me than others: Oh what shall I do, men and brethren, what must I do to be saved? thus, sirs, bemoan your state, it's not a say∣ing all are sinners, and God is merciful, that will serve the turn, but you must be sin-sick, then you'l desire a Physitian, else you'l slight and scorn both Christ and Co∣venant, * 1.3 and all the mercies thereof.

3. Be thankful for, but be not content with common mercies; they are good in their kind, and for their use and ends, but these are not suitable to, or sufficient for the soul; a Christian should be content with any thing in the World, yet content with nothing in the World; the worst of the World doth please a Child of God with God, the best of it cannot, should not please him without God; you must look on these things as good in the way for a staff or bait, but not good as a Center or end, to terminate your thoughts upon; Re∣member, the worst of men may have the best of these blessings, yet have them with a curse, and may perish with them; therefore

say as David, Psal. 119.132. look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name; * 1.4 and else∣where he desires to be remembred with the favour of Gods people; as if David should say. Lord there are common mercies which fill the belly, cloath the back, supply outward wants, but these thou givest to the bad as well as good; and though these are more than I deserve, yet more than these I desire; these will only serve me the day and date of my temporal life, and will take their leave of me at death; but Lord, thou hast better mercies to bestow than these; even such as will stick by me in life and death; mercies that concern the soul, such as thou bestowest on Children, and on heirs of promise: Oh let me come in for my Childs part of those, and put me not off with any else; none besides will fit or fill my precious soul, or serve my turn: * 1.5 I must say as once the Children of Joseph said to Joshua, why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people; so must I say, if I were a bruit Creature, one lot of provender for this Carcass would serve my turn; but seeing 〈◊〉〈◊〉 am blessed with a noble, never-dying soul, that hath large capacious faculties, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 must have a double portion, a single share ••s not enough; something that will live ••hen this body is laid in the grave, and ••ing is so fit for this immortal soul, as 〈◊〉〈◊〉 sure mercies of David. Oh that I

had my share thereof; more than these I cannot reasonably desire, expect, enjoy, and less than these my soul is not content withal.

4. Cast out and Cashier all sin, break of•• thy sinful league with filthy lusts, these sure mercies will not lodge in a foul breast: where Christ takes up his habitation, sin hath not Dominion; God and sin go con∣trary ways; mercies mount the soul up∣wards, corruption pulls the soul down∣wards; you must be separate, and touch no unclean thing, if you would be received, embraced as Children, and have God for your Father, 2 Cor. 6.17, 18. be you sure the Throne of iniquity hath no fellowship with God, * 1.6 and God will challenge such as hate instruction, and wilfully run into sin, and say, * 1.7 what hast thou to do — to take my Covenant in thy mouth; do not think to yoke Christ and Belial; God will not be merciful to any wicked Transgressour: do not think to divide mercies and faithful∣ness, make account to enjoy mercies only in the way of truth, that you may be able to say as David, Psal. 119 41. let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation according to thy word, q. d. O Lord thou hast mercies to bestow, and thou hast told me, how and to whom thou wilt distribute these mercies, it is to such as fear, and love, and obey thee, and devote themselves to thee; why here I am, I have served sin and Satan too long, now I abhorr the ways in which my soul

hath walked, I abandon works of darkness, I cut off a right-hand sin, and pluck out a right-eye lust, and now I am in the road of mercy, not as though this merited thy fa∣vour, but as a condition absolutely necessary in the souls of such as obtain mercy, * 1.8 accord∣ing to the precepts and promises of the Word; and now though I cannot challenge mercy, yet I humbly plead thy promise for mercy, even Covenant-mercies; I have forsaken my sinful ways and wicked thoughts; * 1.9 oh be merciful to me according to thy word; oh entertain me, and then •• shall not lose but change my pleasures, ••he sensual pleasures of the flesh, for so∣••id, sacred, and soul-satisfying delights in Christ and Grace: thus renounce sin, and you shall have what's infinitely better, but that's not all.

5. Renounce your own Righteousness, and look after these sure mercies only for mercy sake; the wise merchant sold all, * 1.10 not only his worldly enjoyments, but self-conceited thoughts of his own Righteous∣ness, for this pearl of price; deny your selves, then enjoy God, mercy is flighted when you dream of merit; the poor Jews that sought to establish their own righte∣ousness, would not submit to the Righte∣ousness of God, Rom. 10.3. they had something of their own to lean to, they ••corned Gods way of saving sinners; they would not be beholding to Gods mercy, and so went without: the poor Publican

was justified, but the proud Pharisee con∣demned: come as craving Beggars, not as rich Purchasers: say as David, save me for thy mercies sake, Psal. 6.4. q. d. Lord, I am a weak, worthless, wicked Creature, if thou mark iniquity who can stand? I am not worthy of one crumb of kindness, most worthy of thy fiercest displeasure; if thou condemn me thou art righteous, if thou save me thou art infinitely gracious; Lord, when thy wrath is ready to wax hot, and justice lifts up thy hand to strike the fatal blow, then reflect upon thy working bow∣els of tender mercy, and stop thy hand from a righteous executing of thy justly deserved sentence of condemnation, Re∣member thy tender mercies and thy loving-kind∣nesses, for they have been ever of old—Re∣member not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions, according to thy mercy remem∣ber thou me, for thy goodness sake, O Lord: thus that good man pleads with God, Psal. 25.6, 7. and thus do thou, come empty handed, buy wine and milk without money and without price; mercy were not mercy if it were bought at valuable rates; but as that's not possible, so that soul that comes to purchase shall be dealt without, for all the good things of the Gospel are of free and undeserved gift.

6. Close with Jesus Christ the root and spring of these Covenant-mercies; I told you in the doctrinal part, these mercies are made sure in and by Christ to all the heirs

of promise: would you then enjoy the be∣nefit of these mercies, accept of Jesus Christ by a sound and lively faith: you can expect no mercy but through a Medi∣ator, grace and truth comes by Jesus Christ: * 1.11 all mercy is laid up in Christ, as the great Store-house, and is to be fetcht out by faith, those souls are under a dangerous and soul∣damning mistake that imagine God to be any other ways merciful than in Christ: it's even horrible, saith Luther, to think of God out of Christ, this is the only Gospel-way of obtaining mercy; * 1.12 God blesseth us with these spiritual blessings in Christ, and we are accepted in the beloved. Well then, how have poor souls interest in Christ? this is only by faith, which is the souls accepting of him upon his own terms: * 1.13 here I must not digress into the large field of that useful subject of saving faith, but must refer you to the large discourses upon this radical, fundamental grace, and I be∣seech you be not mistaken in this; here lyes the hinge and vitals of Religion, even in an entire, affectionate, voluntary, and universal accepting of Jesus Christ, as our King, Priest, Prophet, to be ruled, guided, saved by him in his own way. Oh sirs, if you do not this you do nothing; if you believe you shall be saved, * 1.14 but if you believe not you shall be damned, that's plain English; and truly, my friends, all men have not faith, this faith of Gods Elect, this preci∣ous faith. Oh therefore look after it, long

for it, come with a broken heart to a bleed∣ing Christ, come weary and heavy laden, and lay your load on the Son of God; come with a troubled, humbled heart, wounded with a sense of sin, and look up to this brazen Serpent for help and heal∣ing; reach out thy trembling hand and get hold of the skirt of his garment, or rather with old Simeon embrace Jesus Christ in the arms of thy faith, and then thou hast these mercies of the Covenant.

7. Enter into a solemn Covenant with the Lord; no way to be interested in the mer∣cies of the Covenant, but by entring into the Covenant; this, this is the work I would perswade your souls unto, this in∣deed is the life of Religion, which is so called [a relegando] from binding, because it binds, (as it were) God and man to∣gether, and joyns their interests in this blessed bond of the Covenant: * 1.15 O there∣fore set your selves to enter a solemn en∣gagement; give up your selves to the Lord, openly profess that you are the Lords, or else subscribe with your hand, and yield up your selves to the Lord, to whom of right you do belong, and take God as your God, * 1.16 say, the Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey, as the people of Israel once; and thus do you make a Covenant this day, lift up your hand to the most high God, as once Jacob did, who made a vow, saying, if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I

go—then shall the Lord be my God, Gen. 28.20, 21. now consider, friends, hath not God done as much or more for you as Ja∣cob here desires? and why should you not take God for your God? say thus, I have heard of the Lords goodness, nay, I have felt and drunk a large share of Gods kind∣ness and compassion; he hath done that for me, that none else could, and hath undertaken to do yet much more, and therefore God forbid, that I should cleave to any other God all my days; as I will be wholly the Lords, so I will have only the Lord, and as he is the God, so he shall be my God; this is that which the Scripture calls avouching the Lord to be our God, and if we avouch him to be our God, he will avouch us to be his people, Deut. 26.17, 18. which imports the mutual conditi∣ons of this blessed Covenant, even a recipro∣cal embracing and accepting each other, the Saints take God to be theirs by the saving Grace of faith, and God entertains them by a gracious act of favour, love and conde∣scention; only be sure you remember that the Articles of Agreement are of Gods own framing, and the soul must come up wholly unto his terms, else no bargain; God will not abate any thing of his appointed con∣ditions, it must be sincere faith, though it be but weak, which empties the soul of sin, and self, and turns wholly to God, and doth resign up it self universally, voluntarily, and perpetually to be the Lords; and in the

same manner takes God to be his: and looks upon this as his mercy, as well as his duty; his highest preferment, as well as his greatest employment, and sweetest enjoy∣ment; Oh, thinks a good soul, that I could be more the Lords than I am; I am too much mine own, * 1.17 but I will enter into the strictest Matrimonial bond to be only for God and not for another, then he would be for me; and oh that I could take the Lord wholly for mine, and only as mine, and joyn no other Lovers with him, I need none but him, he is all sufficient, and my exceeding sweet and great reward: and upon this condition God takes you, and you shall have advantage by him, and the Gospel-Covenant, and all the mercies of it; and if you be not willing to forsake all for him, * 1.18 you are not worthy of him: but I shall spend no more time about this, because so many have writ of a souls Covenanting with God: See Mr. Baxter's Saints Rest, par. 1. p. 176. to 182 — & alibi passim. Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Allen, Mr. Vincent have prescribed dire∣ctions, and a form of words for a solemn Covenanting with God. See also Re∣flect. 8. in the close of this Treatise. p.—

Thus much for the first Classe or rank of Directions.

Notes

• * 1.1

  2 Cor. 13.5.
• * 1.2

  Luk. 18.13.
• * 1.3

  Mat. 9.12, 13.
• * 1.4

  Psal. 106.4.
• * 1.5

  Josh. 17.14.
• * 1.6

  Psal. 94.20.
• * 1.7

  Psal. 50.16, 17, 18.
• * 1.8

  Isa. 1.16, 18. Isa. 55.7.
• * 1.9

  Psal. 119.58.
• * 1.10

  Mat. 13.46.
• * 1.11

  Joh. 1.16.
• * 1.12

  Eph. 13.6.
• * 1.13

  Joh. 1.12.
• * 1.14

  Mark 16.16.
• * 1.15

  2 Cor. 8.5. Isa. 44 5. 2 Chron. 30.8.
• * 1.16

  Josh. 24.24, 25.
• * 1.17

  Hos. 3.3.
• * 1.18

  Mat. 10.37. Luk. 14.28, 29.