2.26.2013 PHILIP HENRY III

philip henry was one of those who feared an oath and said,
'oaths are edged tools and not to be played with.'

in reference to his own improvement, his diary...
'covenants renewed in these particulars.
by the Lord's help, i purpose to be
more substantial in secret worship;
more sparing of precious time;
more constant in reading the scriptures alone,
and meditating upon them;
more careful to improve all opportunities of doing good to souls;
not taking, but seeking them;
less fearful about events when in a way of duty...

'when others are afflicted, we are to conclude
it is for trial,
when ourselves,
for sin.

and here it may be very pertinent to observe,
how industrious mr. henry was at this time,
when he and his friends suffered such
hard things form the government,
to preserve and promote a good affection
to the government notwithstanding.
it was commonly charged at that time
upon the nonconformists in general,
especially from the pulpits,
that they were all a factious and turbulent people,
as was said of old-ezra 4.15-
hurtful to kings and provinces
that their meetings were for the sowing of sedition and discontents..
but how peaceably they carried themselves,
is manifest to God, and in the consciences of many.
for an instance of it, it will not be amiss
to give some account of a sermon,
which mr. henry preached in some very private meetings,
such as were called seditious conventicles,
in the year 1669, when it was a day of treading down,
and of perplexity;
it was on that text, psalm 35.20.
against them that are quiet in the land.
whence (not to curry favour with rulers,
for whatever the sermon was,
the very preaching of it had been known.
must have been severely punished,
but purely out of conscience towards God)
he taught his friends this doctrine,-
that it is the character of the people of God,
that they are a quiet people in the land.
'this quietness he described to be an orderly,
peaceable subjection to governors and government in the Lord.
we must maintain a reverent esteem of them, and of their authority,
in opposition to despising dominion, II peter 2.10;
we must be meek, under severe commands, and burdensome impositions,
not murmuring and complaining, as the israelites against moses and aaron;
but take them up  as our cross in our way,
and bear them as we do foul weather.
we must not speak evil of dignities, jude 8,
nor revile the gods, exodus 22.28.
paul checked himself for this, acts 23.5;
i did not consider it, if i had, i would not have said so.
we must not traduce their government,
as absalom did david's, II samuel 15.3.
great care is to be taken how we
speak of the faults of any, especially of rulers, eccl. 10.20.
(note: Lord, forgive me.)
the people of God do make the word of God their rule,
and by that they are taught.
1. that majesty is God's ordinance,
and magistrates God's ministers;
that by him kings reign,
and the powers that be are ordained of Him.
2. that they, as well as others,
are to have their dues, honour and fear and tribute.
3. that their lawful commands are to be obeyed,
and that readily and cheerfully, titus 3.1.
4. that the penalties inflicted for not obeying unlawful commands,
are patiently to be undergone.
this is the rule, and as many as walk according to this rule,
peace shall be upon them,
and there can be no danger of their unpeaceableness.
they are taught to pray for kings and all in authority, I tim. 2.1-2
and God forbid we should do otherwise;
yea, though they persecute, jeremiah 29.7.
peaceable prayers bespeak a peaceable people, psam 109.4.
if some professing religion have been unquiet,
their unquietness hath given the lie to their profession, jude, 7,11-2.
quietness is our badge, colossians 3.12.
it will be our strength, isaiah, 30.7,15.
our rejoicing in the day of evil, jeremiah, 18.18:
it is pleasing to God, I tim. 2.2-3:
it may work upon others, I peter, 2.12-3.
the means he prescribed for the keeping of us quiet,
were to get our hearts filled with
the knowledge and belief of these two things.
1. that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, job, 18.36;
many have thought otherwise, and it made them unquiet.
2. that the wrath of man
worketh not the righteousness of God, james 1.20;
he needs not our sin to bring to pass His own counsel.
we must mortify unquietness in the causes of it, james 4.1:
we must always remember the oath of God, eccl. 8.2:
the oath of allegiance is an oath of quietness.
and we must beware of the company
and converse of those that are unquiet. proverbs 22.24-5.
though deceitful matters be devised,
yet we must be quiet still;
nay, be so much the more quiet.

..he was..oft successful in persuading people
to recede from their right for peace sake;
and he would for that purpose tell them luther's story
of the two goats,
that met upon a narrow bridge over a deep water;
they could not go back, they durst not fight;
after a short parley,
one of them lay down, and let the other go over him,
and no harm was done.
(foot.. the moral is easy.
be content thy person be trod upon for peace sake.
thy person,k i say, not thy conscience. p.henry)

..his house at broad oak was by the road side,
which, though it had its inconveniencies,
yet, he would say, pleased him well,
because it gave his friends an opportunity of calling on him the oftener.
(foot: one of my dear father's remarks was this,-
that, though it be comfortable to have friends to visit, and comfort in them;
yet it is more to have a comfortable home; such as this world affords.
blessed be God for the remaining rest.
..the learned henry jessey could not 'brook fruitless visits
and wrote his mind concerning it over his studie door accordingly,

directions to all visitors.
no fruitless visits. no, nor speech.
for time is precious: hinder none.
let words be few,-good, then cease.
dispatch:-prepare for death. I'm/we're gone.

..he was very charitable to the poor, and was full of alms deeds,
which he did, not which he said he would do
or which he put others on to do,
but which he did himself,
dispersing abroad and giving to the poor,
seeking and rejoicing in opportunities of that kind.
and whenever he gave an alms for the body,
he usually gave with it a spiritual alms,
some good word of counsel, reproof, instruction, or comfort,
as there was occasion,k 
and in accommodating these to the persons he spoke to,
he had a very great dexterity.

he was very forward to lend money freely

(foot:  this was the practice of dr. hammond. it is said of a renowned nobleman,
that he would often give to labouring men
'good summes of money, making them beleeve
that hee did but lend it them;
and causing some about him to passe their words
for the repayment
when hee never meant to receive it again;
but did that as himself was wont
to tell us in policie to make them
continue their labour and to be good husbands.

to any of his poor neighbours that had occasion,
and would sometimes say,
that in many cases there was more charity
in lending than in giving,
because it obliged the borrower both to honesty and industry.
when one of his neighbours, to whom he had lent three pounds,
failed, so that he was never likely to see a farthing of it,
he writes thus upon it;
-notwithstanding this, yet still i judge it my duty to lend,
nothing despairing;
so dr. hammond reads it, luke 4.35.
though what is lent in charity be not repaid,
yet it is not lost.
when those that had borrowed money of him
paid him again,
he usually gave them back some part,
to encourage honesty.
he judged the taking of moderate interest for money lawful,

(foot: hr. henry has thus recorded the opinion of mr. baxter on this subject.
...'if usury be condemned, 'tis either by law of nature or some positive law.
if the former, then either as an act of impiety, injustice or unmercifulness.
that which can be proved to have any of these i am resolved against,
but there is some usury which i am not able to see any of these in,
nay, i think i could so lend on usury in some cases,
as might be as great an act of bounty or mercy as to give near half the money.
if it be forbidden by a positive law, then either of moses, or of Christ:
not of moses, for the mosaick law is abrogated,
though much of the matte of it be still in force,
-as the law of nature, and of Christ.
not of Christ, for where had Christ any such positive law?
on these grounds i speak against all unjust and unmerciful usury,
but i dare go no further, and yet i will justify none...')

where the borrower was in a way of gaining by it.
but he would advise his friends that had money,
rather to dispose of it otherwise if they could.

it must not be forgotten, how punctual and exact he was
in all his accounts with tenants, workmen, etc.
being always careful to keep such things in black and white,
as he used to say, which is the surest way to prevent mistakes,
and a man's wronging either himself or his neighbour;
such was his prudence, and such his patience and peaceableness,
that all the time he was at broad oak, he never sued any, nor ever was sued,
but was instrumental to prevent many a vexatious law suit among his neighbours.
he used to say,-
there are four rules to be duly observed in going to law;
1. we must not go to law for trifles, as he did who said,
he would rather spend a hundred pounds in law,
than lose a penny worth of his right, matthew 5.39-41.
2. we must not be rash and hasty in it,
but try all other means possible
to compose differences;
wherein he that yields most, as abraham did to lot,
is the better man and there is nothing lost by it in the end.
I corinthians, 6.1-2.
3. we must see that it be without malice, or desire of revenge.
if the undoing of our brother be the end of our going to law,
as it is with many,
it is a certain evil,
and it speeds accordingly.
4. it must be with a disposition to peace,
whenever it may be had,
and an ear open to all overtures of that kind..

he was an enemy to austerity of deportment
and much enjoyed the pleasures of social intercourse.
pest houses, he would say, always stand alone
and yet are full of infectious diseases.
solitariness is no infallible argument of sanctity.

(foot: it is a scandal that is cast upon religion
and the professors of it,
that they are unneighbourly and unsociable.
God Himself loves society,
He loves holy meetings,
Hew loves the communion of saints, the household of faith,
and His delight is to be with the sons of men,
and well approves that the sons of men
should be one with another,
yet so that He may not be excluded. )

it was against the EVILS  of society his watchfulness was directed,
and these he uniformly endeavoured to counteract.
hence four rules he sometimes gave
to be observed in our converse with men.
1. have communion with few.
2. be familiar with one.
3. deal justly with all.
4. speak evil of none.

henry was a lover of good men,
and such always met a cordial welcome under his roof;
so that he would pleasantly say sometimes,
when he had his christian friends about him,
-He had room for 12 of them in his beds,
a hundred of them in his bar,
and a thousand of them in his heart.

nor was he unmindful of others;
for he spoke of it with pleasure,
that the situation of his house also
gave him an opportunity of being kind to strangers,
and such as were any way distressed upon the road,
to whom he was upon all occasions cheerfully ready,
fully answering the apostle's character of a bishop,
that he must be of good behaviour,
decent, affable, and obliging, -and given to hospitality;
I timothy 3.2;
like abraham, sitting at his tent door,
in quest of opportunities to do good.
if he met with any poor near his house,
and gave them alms in money,
yet he would bid them go to his door besides,
for relief there.
he was very tender and compassionate
towards poor strangers and travellers,
though his charity and candour were often
imposed upon by cheats and pretenders,
whom he was not apt to be suspicious of;
but would say, in the most favourable sense,
-thou knowest not the heart of a stranger.
if any asked his charity,
whose representation of their case he did not like,
or who he thought did amiss to take that course,
he would first give them an alms,
and then mildly reprove them;
and labour to convince them that
they were out of the way of duty.
and that they could not expect
that God should bless them in it;
and would not chide them,
but reason with them.
and he would say,
if he should tell them of their faults,
and not give them an alms,
the reproof would look
only like an excused to deny his charity
and would be rejected accordingly.

in a word, his greatest care about the things of this world was,
how to do good with what he had,
and to devise liberal things;
desiring to make no other accession to his estate,
but only that blessing which attends beneficence.
he did firmly believe and it should seem few do.
that what is given to the poor,
is lent to the Lord,
who will pay it again in kind or kindness;
and that religion and piety
are undoubtedly the best friend to outward prosperity,
and he found it so;
for it pleased God abundantly
to bless his habitation
and to make a hedge about him
and about his house.
and about all that he had round about.
and though he did not delight himself in the abundance of wealth;
yet, which is far better,
he delighted himself in the abundance of peace; psalm 37.11
all that he had and did,
observably prospered,
so that the country oftentimes took notice of it;
and called his family a family which the Lord had blessed.

..he used to say, that,
therefore many of the scripture parables and similitudes
are taken from the common actions of this life,
that when our hands are employed about them,
our hearts may the more easily pass through them
to divine and heavenly things.

..in the time of trouble and distress, by the conventicle act, in 1670,
he kept private and stirred little abroad, as loath to offend
those that were in power,
and judging it prudence to gather in his sails,
when the storm was violent.
he then observed, as that which he was troubled at,
'that there was a great deal of precious time lost among professors,
when they came together,
in discoursing on their adventures to meet, and their escapes,
which he feared tended more to set up self,
that to give glory to god.
also in telling how they got together and such a one preached,
but little inquiring what spiritual benefit and advantage
was reaped by it;
and that we are apt to make the circumstances of our religious services,
more a matter of our discourse,
than the substance of them.

...in those things wherein the people of God are agreed,
i will spend my zeal;
and wherein they differ,
i will endeavour to walk according to the light
that God hath given me,
and charitably believe that others do so too.


..in evil times it fares best with them
that are most careful about duty
and least about safety.

..Father, Thy will be done;
it is good for us to be at such uncertainties;
for now we receive our liberty from our father fresh every day,
which is best and sweetest of all.

..he that backbites with his tongue wounds four at once;
1. he wounds the good name of his neighbour,
which is dearer to him than the apple of his eye;
2. he wounds the name of god, religion suffers,
when those who profess it thus backbite each other
3. he wounds his own soul,
brings the guilt of great sin upon his own soul,
which he must certainly answer for;
4. he wounds love in him that hears it,
so that the esteem of his brother is lessened.

..did you gather food in harvest?
if aye, bless God;
if no, reflect with grief and shame and make peace,
and UP  yet, AND BE DOING...

...look, what oyle is to the wheels,
what weights are to the clock,
what wings are to the bird,
what sailes are to the ship, -that FAITH is to all religious duties and services.

let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth,
but let not the thing formed, say to Him that formed it,
-why hast Thou made me thus?
..and as for the improvement of this affliction
(which, i hope, both of you earnestly desire,
for it is a great loss to lose such a providence,
and not to be made better by it,)
i conceive there are four lessons which it should teach you,
and they are good lessons,
and should be well learned,
for the advantage of them is unspeakable.

1. kings 12.18 art thou come to call my sins to remembrance, and to slay my son?
it is sin, sin that is the old kill-friend,
the jonah that hath raise this storm,
the achan that hath troubled your house;
then how should you grow in your hatred of it,
and endeavours against it,
that you may be the death of that which hath been the death of your dear children?
i say the DEATH of it,
for nothing less will satisfy the true penitent,
than the death of such a malefactor.

2.it should be a SPUR to you, to put you on in heaven's way;
it may be you were growing remiss in duty,
beginning to slack your former pace in religion,
and your heavenly Father saw it, and was grieved at it,
and sent this sad providence to be your monitor,
to tell you,
you should remember whence you are fallen,
and do your first works,
and be more humble and holy and heavenly,
self denying and watchful.,
abounding always in the work of the Lord.

3.you must learn by it,
as long as you live,
to keep your affections in due bounds towards creature comforts.
how hard it is to love and not to over love;
to delight in children or yoke fellows and not over delight;
now God is a jealous God
and will not give His glory to any other;
and our excess this way doth often provoke Him
to remove that mercy from us,
which we do thus make an idol of;
and our duty is to labour when He doth so,
to get that matter amended,
and to rejoice in all our enjoyments with trembling,
and as if we rejoiced not.

4. it should be a means of drawing your hearts and thought more upwards and homewards;
i mean your everlasting home,
you should be looking oftener now than before into the other world
i shall go to him, saith david,
when his little son was gone before.
it is yet but a little while ere all the things of time shall be swallowed up in eternity.
and the matter is not great whether we or our's die first,
while we are all dying;
in the midst of life we are in death;
-what manner of persons then ought we to be.
(looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of the Lord..)
now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God, even our Rather,
be your support..
and give you a name better than that of sons and daughters.

...'if i were to die in the pulpit,
i would desire to die preaching repentance;
as if i die out of the pulpit,
i would desire to die practicing repentance.
..he had often this saying concerning repentance.
HE THAT REPENTS EVERY DAY,
FOR THE SINS OF EVERY DAY,
WHEN HE COMES TO DIE,
WILL HAVE THE SINS OF BUT  ONE DAY TO REPENT OF.
even reckonings make good friends.

..(henry had been fined unjustly for something)
it was much pressed upon him to pay the fine,
which might prevent his own loss and the justices trouble.
but he was not willing to do it,
partly, because he would give no encouragement to such prosecutions,
nor voluntarily reward the informers
for that which he thought they should
rather be punished for;
and partly because he though himself wronged in
the doubling of the fine

(in his journal he writes,
this refusal is thought and termed
contempt, stubbornness and what not.
but let God and the world judge.
it is supposed the easier they come by the fines,
the likelier they will be to come again.
besides, as yet, the general practice of
good people throughout the nation is to refuse payment,
and to suffer distress,
though it be found, for the most part,
to inflame the reckoning. )

whereupon his goods were distrained
(constrain by seizing, holding goods) upon,
and carried away;
in the doing of which many passages occurred
which might be worth the noting,
but, that the repetition of them would perhaps  grate
and give offense to some.
let it therefore suffice,
waving the circumstances,
to remember only that their warrant,
not giving them authority to break open doors,
nor their watchfulness getting them an opportunity
to enter the house,
they carried away about 33 cart load of goods
without doors, corn cut upon the ground, hay, coals, etc.
this made a great noise int the country,
and raised the indignation of many against the decrees
which prescribed this grievousness;
while mr. henry bore it with his usual evenness
and serenity of mind,
not at all moved or disturbed by it.
he did not boast of his sufferings,
or make any great matter of them;
but would often say,
-alas, this is nothing to what others suffer,
nor to what we ourselves may suffer before we die!
and yet he rejoiced and blessed God
that it was not for debt or for evil  doing,
that his goods were carried away.
and saith he, while it is for well doing that we suffer,
they cannot harm us.
..in his diary..
'how oft have we said that the changes are at the door;
but blessed by God,
there is no sting in this!
he frequently expressed the assurance he had,
that whatever damage he sustained,
-God is able to make it up again.
and as he used to say,
-though we may be losers for Christ,
yet we shall not be losers by Him in the end.
he had often said,
that his preaching was likely to do the most good,
when it was sealed to by suffering;
and if this be the time, saith he,
welcome the will of  God...

appendix 15..
-the way of doctrinal faith is a good old way...we must try all doctrines by the scripture.
 -the way of divine worship in all the ordinances, is a good old way..sabbath religion...continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
-the way of holiness and close walking is a god old way..enoch..walk with Him..
-the way of heavenly mindedness and contempt of the world, is a good old way...live like pilgrims..here today and gone tomorrow. ..is the world your portion..
-the way of plainness and simplicity is a good old way.
-the way of peaceableness and patience under the cross, is a good old way. ..the old christians took joyfully the spoiling of their goods.
-the way of brokenness and tenderness of heart is a good old way,
-the way of godly sorrow for sin.

(foot: in connection with this, the following observations by dr. doddridge..
some sense of sin and some serious and humbling apprehension of our danger and misery in consequence of it, must indeed be necessary
to dispose us to receive the grace of the gospel,
and the saviour who is there exhibited to our faith.
but God is pleased, sometimes,
to begin the work of His grace in the heart,
almost from the first dawning of reason,
and to carry it on by such gentle and insensible degrees.
that very excellent persons,
who have made the most eminent attainments
ion the divine life,
have been unable to recount any remarkable history of their conversion..
(note: i am certainly no 'excellent person' nor have any 'eminent attainments'
but the poor, wretched sinner before the cross of Christ that i am
takes a real 'bit of encouragement' from this one's assessment and observation.
i keep updating the 'date' of my salvation based upon what i see within and without,
...my hope is in Christ...and that my somewhat confusing experience with Him
is real. if it is not, i have no other hope and no other one i plan to turn to
...i will agonize to enter the narrow door, God helping me, to the moment i die.
thank God i am not without spiritual comfort,
but i'm way too short of fruit and works to rest easy in my 'position' in Christ.
my position, not anything else is my hope, but one day i will stand before Him
and have to answer for what i have DONE
not for what i felt, experienced or anything else.
may i show my love for Christ by my obedience to Him.)

-the way of brotherly kindness and love one to another is a good old way.
the way of unity and unanimity.
see how they LOVE one another was they old remark.
but now..what strangeness and distance....

oh, love this old religion;
strive to excel one another in good ways.
you have a cloud of witnesses.
you have Jesus Christ, who was a traveller in this way.
endeavour to make this new bad world
like the old good one.
there is a promise of a new heaven and a new earth.
be earnest with God to hasten it,
and endeavour, in your own practice to hasten its coming.

it must not be forgotten how ready he was,
nay, how studious and industrious,
to serve and oblige such as had been
in any way instruments of trouble to him,
as far as it lay in his power,
and he had any opportunity to do it;
so well had he learned that great lesson of forgiving and loving enemies...

..it was said of archbishop cranmer,
that the way to make him one's friend,
was to do him an unkindness;
...of another..once, going with some of his sons,
by the house of a gentleman that had been injurious to him,
he gave a charge to his sons to this purpose,
that they should never think of or speak amiss of that gentleman
for the sake of any thing he had done against him;
but whenever they went by his house,
should lift up their hears in prayer to God
for him and his family.

..in advising as to the government of the tongue,
he pressed commencement with the heart
..resolve, to take heed; but resolve in the strength of Christ.
be not hasty in speech.
commit the guidance of your tongue to God in prayer.
He is the maker of the tongue.

(foot:the heart is the scribe that indites matter;
the tongue is the pen that writes it down. psalm 45.1
the heart is as he that rides upon a horse;
the tongue is the horse that is ridden james 3.3
the heart is the pilot in the ship;
the tongue is the ship. james 3.4
the heart is the fountain;
words are as the streams. matthew 12.34
the heart is the treasury;
words are as stuff brought out of it. matthew 12.35
the heart is the root;
words are the fruit. proverbs 15.4

my thoughts of justifying faith and sincere repentance, are,

1. that they are choice gifts of God, ephesians, 2.8; acts 11.18
if He give not to us to believe and to repent,
we can neither believe nor repent;
and therefore, the want of them,
we are to ask them;
and if we ask,
He will give.

2. that they are the fruits of electing love.
those that were, from all eternity, given to Christ,
-to all those and to none but those,
it is in time given to believe, and repent. acts 13.48; john 6.37ohn 6.37; 12.39
if it be said, 'why doth He then find fault?
i should answer,
the decree is secret, which is concerning us,
but that is revealed which is our duty;
and to that we must attend.

3. that they are necessary conditions of pardon.
there may perhaps be such a notion framed of a condition,
as will by no means be applicable to them,
but..they  are so required, that,
if we have them not,
our sin remains upon us. luke 13.3-5; john 3.36
if we have them, it is most certainly done away; I john 1.9; john 3.16;
not for their sake, but for Christ's sake.

4. that they are inseparable companions;
where one is, there is the other also.
he that says, 'i believe' and doth not repent,
presumes;
he that says, 'i repent' and doth not believe,
despairs.
 FAITH IN CHRIST DOTH NOT JUSTIFY FROM SIN,
WHERE THERE IS NOT GODLY SORROW FOR SIN;

(foot: the motives to repentance are
the shortness of life, and uncertainty of the space for repentance rev. 2.21
the misery and danger of impenitency luke 13.3,5
the commands of God, acts 27.30-1
the goodness of God, romans 2.4
His readiness to forgive us upon our repentance. ps 86.5
the gospels gracious invitations of Jesus Christ matthew 3.2)

neither can sorrow for sin obtain pardon of it,
where there in not faith in Jesus Christ,
because His blood, alone,
cleanseth from all sin.

..self-abhorrency is always the companion of true repentance,
and it flows from a sight of god, in His purity and glory.
mine eye seeth Thee,therefore i abhor myself..

..(foot: there are various signs of uprightness of heart. proverbs 14.2
an upright heart fears the Lord 16.17
he departs from evil psalm 19.13
he is kept back from presumptuous sins 18.23
he is kept from his own iniquity and performs all duties luke 1.6-7
 prov. 10.9
he walketh surely matthew 19.21
he is willing to part with any thing for Christ.
he is as good in secret as before others
he keeps a single eye at god's glory II corinthians 1.12
to get an upright heart, walk as always in God's sight I chronicles 38.9, genesis 17.1
it will be a comfort when you lie upon your death bed. isaiah 38.3)

in letter to his only son, matthew..
..it will not be long now ere we shall see you here,
(though multa cadunt inter) and,
i must not say, be filled with your company,
for this is not the world that we must be together in...

(foot: i find my heart inclined to things below,
and am sensible, in some measure,
what a dishonour it is to God, and
what a wrong to myself,
and fain (gladly, willingly) i would that it might be otherwise.

get to know the nature of earthly things,
common things,
such as a man may abound in
and perish everlastingly.
 they are empty things,
that will not satisfy;
vexing things, vexation of spirit.
labour for a serious, practical knowledge of this.
beg of God to give you a sight of their vanity
and emptiness.
look into the word  prov 23.5; isa. 55.2; matt. 6.24; john 6.27; I time. 9.9-10;
ecclesiastes.
observe and improve your own crosses and disappointments
and the crosses and disappointments of others.
the voice of these dispensations (order, system, arrangement) is.
cease from the world, the men of the world, the things of the world.
consult with dying men and see what account they will give you of earthly things.

actuate this knowledge by meditation and DO IT OFTEN.
there is no duty more profitable, -none more neglected.

study the nature and necessities of thy soul.
thou hast a soul that is greatly in want, a poor though precious soul;
it wants pardon of sin, wants peace with God,
wants His image, wants His grace, wants His spirit.
and can the world furnish these? no. mic.6.6-7

look beyond this to another world.
will these things avail there? no
tis not getting more, but making use of
what we have that will then avail. luke 16.9; II cor. 4.18

cast thy care upon the Lord;
if thou art a believer, He careth for thee. I pet. 5.7

be acquainted with the reality and excellence of heavenly things. heb. 11.1; john 4.10
earthly minded men are like moles, they live in the earth,
and so are blind as to spiritual things;
they see no beauty in holiness, no comeliness in Jesus Christ.


learn to spiritualize earthly things.
it is our sin and misery that earthly thoughts
mix themselves when we are employed in spiritual duties;
it were our profit and advantage if heavenly thoughts might as often mix themselves.
and be as welcome when we are employed in worldly affairs.

choose as much as may be to be in heavenly company.
company is of a transforming nature. prov. 22.24-5; I john 1.2-3
be often discoursing of things above.

labour to tread in the steps of those two have gone before us in heaven's way. phil, 3.17..

letter...
your continued kind acceptance is still my encouragement
to perform this monthly service to you,
wishing i could do it better
to your soul's advantage and edification.
the GRACE OF FAITH IS, indeed, THE GRACE OF ALL GRACES.

1. the grace that God hath most honoured in making it,
-whether the condition or the instrument,-
i am sure, the means of our
justification, reconciliation, acceptation, salvation.
of all graces, faith doth most abase the creature,
and lift up God;
it is self emptying and a God advancing grace;
and therefore, of all graces.
God doth most advance and lift
for so is the word that he hath spoken,
those that honour me, I will honour.

2. the grace that of all graces we do live by;
for the just shall live by faith, hab. 2.4;
than which, i think, there is scarce any on passage
in the old testament more often quoted in the new;
and good reason,
for it is the marrow of the gospel.
A. spiritual as to justification, sanctification, consolation;
in which three stands our spiritual life.
we are justified by faith, rom. 5.1; acts 13.39:
justified from the guilt of sin,
the curse of the law and the damnation of hell.
in the want of which justification,
we are but dead men,
that is, under a sentence of death;
so that in that sense, by faith we live;
we live by it as we are made just by it;
the just, by faith, shall live.
we are sanctified by faith, acts 24.18
as, by it we receive the spirit of sanctification,
who finds us dad in trespasses and sins,
as to our spiritual state,
and the breathes into us the breath of spiritual life,
whereby we become living souls,
alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
we are comforted by faith, rom. 15.13
and that comfort is our life, I thess. 3.8.
now we live, that is, now we are comforted,
if ye stand fast in the lord..
faith comforts as it applies the promises,
which promises are our breasts of consolation, 
at which the believing soul sucks and is satisfied.
and there are two of them,
one concerning the things of the life that now is,
the other concerning the things of that which is to come;
for godliness hath both,
and hath need of both,
in order to comfort,
upon one occasion or other,
every day.
they are also called well springs of salvation
and, as such, faith is the bucket by which
we draw water from those wells.
if the well is deep, as good no well as no bucket;
so, as good no promise as no faith.

B. as we live spiritually by faith

(foot: spiritual life is an inward principle in the soul of a believer,
arising from his union with Jesus Christ.
the following are signs of such a life
the knowledge of God and Christ john 17.3
growth in grace and knowledge john 15.2
faith in Jesus Christ john 6.47
heavenly mindedness col. 3.1-2; rom. 6.11
spiritual sense
of sin , the first risings of it rom. 7.24
the sins of others. II pet. 2.7-8
of the withdrawings of God's presence ps. 22.1
of the afflictions of God's people jer 9.1; neh. 1.4; john 3.14
speech
to God in prayer gal. 4.6; acts 9.11; zech. 12.10
for God
appetite I pet. 2.2
care for self preservation job 2.4; comp. I pet. 2.7
desires to communicate, I john 1.1-3
art thou alive?
live at a higher rate than others i cor. 3.3
art thou dead?
make haste to Christ eph. 5.14
He complains
Ye will not come to Me that ye might have life john 5.40
for encouragement to come to Christ,
He raised three to life in the gospel
one in the chamber, secret sinners
another in the street, open sinners,
a third buried, dead four days, aged sinners

in all these three great concernments of our spiritual life,
so we live our life in the flesh
by the faith of the son of God gal. 2.20
He means His life of conversation in the world;
for, that is the life that He lived then in the flesh.
we walk by faith, not by sight,
-not as glorified saints do in heaven by immediate vision,
-nor by carnal sight, as the men of the world,
who look only at the the things that are seen with bodily eyes,
-but by faith.
so that faith is a principle of living
quite different from the one and from the other.
it is far short of living by heavenly vision,
but it is infinitely above and beyond
the live of carnal reason, which men, as men, live.

in the ordinary actions and affairs of life,

1. it is by faith and no otherwise that we
set the Lord always before us,
and see him that is invisible.
and what influence that hath upon the conversation,
to make it what it should be,
they can best tell that have tried.

2. it is by faith and no otherwise,
that we close with the word of God as our rule and square,
by which we regulate and order our conversation.
the commandments are to be believed, ps. 119.66,
as well as the promises.

3. it is by faith that we fetch strength from the lord Jesus,
for the doing of what we have to do every day in every thing,
for without Him we can do nothing

4. it is by faith that we look at the recompense of reward,
which makes us lively and cheerful in our obedience,
both active and passive;
forasmuch as we know our labour shall not be
in vain in the Lord.
and then for life eternal, as we look at it by faith,
so by faith it is that we have title to it;
he that believes shall be saved.
whosoever believes shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
we are all the children of god by faith in Jesus Chris.
and if children then heirs, heirs of god and joint heirs with Christ,
of an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.

(foot: there are evidences of saving faith.
faith, however, is the best evidence of itself I john 5.10
as we know the sun shines by its own light.
the following are evidences.
a new nature acts 26.18
 heart purity 15.9
at least begun and laboured after.
a low esteem of earthly things phil. 3.8
a high esteem of Christ, I pet. 2.7
joy in tribulation, acts 16.25; rom 5.1-2; I pet 1.7; hab 3.17-8

reliance upon god for things of this life, as well as of heaven
how came we by our faith?
did it come by hearing? rom.10.17
did it begin in doubting? what fruit doth it bear? james 2.14; gal. 5.6
self denial luke 7.6,7,9
fear of offending
a true believer reckons it the hardest thing in the world to believe.)

if all this be true of faith,
and not the one half hath been told..
then there is good reason why it should be called precious faith.
it closes with a precious Christ,
and to them only that believe is He precious.
it embraces precious promises,
and it saves precious souls.
is Christ our all in all?
so, in a sense, is faith our all in all...

....letter...
yet further concerning the grace of faith.
besides that it is that by which we live,
as of Christ it is said, who is our life
so we may say of faith, in a different sense,
it is our life.
as paul says, to me to live is Christ;
so we may say, to us to live is to believe.
i say, besides this,
there are four great things said in scripture concerning faith.
which deserve a particular considerations.

1. it purifies the heart;

(foot: means are to be used to get and keep a pure heart.
we must be sensible of our impurity, prov 30.12
pray for a clean heart,  ps 51
it is promised,  ezek. 34.25-6
be frequent in self examination
beware of other men's sins, I tim. 5.22
abstain from all appearance of evil,  i thess. 5.22-3
act faith. this is a heart purifying grace,  acts 15.9
it interests us in the blood of Christ, and that cleanses, I john 1.7; zech 12.1
by it we receive the Spirit;
by it we apply the promises, II pet. 1.3-4
 attend upon the ordinances, john 15.3; 17.17; titus 3.5
improve your baptism, it is a cleansing ordinance
affections, when sanctified, are means of cleansing.
watchfulness,  ps. 119.9
we must take heed where we tread.
we are in the light and must walk as children of the light,
carefully; cleanly.

purifying their hearts by faith.
faith is a hear purifying grace, elsewhere called,
purging the conscience from dead words, heb. 9.14.
it is done by the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit,
offered himself without spot to God,
meritoriously, and by faith, instrumentally.
Christ's blood is the water of purification,
the true and only water,
and faith is as the bunch of hyssop, dipped in it,
and so purging the conscience,
that is, pacifying it in reference to the guilt contracted,
quieting the mind as to the pardon and forgiveness of it
before God,
which nothing else can do.
all the legal purifyings prescribed by the law of moses.
availed nothing as to this;
it is done by faith only, and, therefore,
the gentiles which is the scope of that place,
ought not to be obliged by circumcision to those ceremonial observances,
seeing there was another nearer, and better way
to that blessed end, and that was, by believing.
we may also, by purifying the heart,
understand the work of sanctification,
wherein faith is greatly instrumental;
but, i conceive the other the design of the place.

2. it works by love gal. 5.6
it is a working grace;
if it be idle, and work not,
it is not genuine faith.
and how works it?
by love.
love in the full extent and latitude of it;
the love of God,
and the love of our neighbour,
which two are the fulfilling of the law;
so that to work by love,
is to work by universal obedience,
which obedience is worth nothing further
than love hath a hand in it,
and love stirs not further
than faith acts it.
he that believes the love of Christ
for poor sinners, in dying for them,
with particular application to himself,
cannot but find his heart constrained thereby,
more or less, according as the belief is,
to love Him again and out of love to Him,
to keep His commandments.
do we find love cold?
it is because faith is weak.
do we love little?
our belief is little.
therefore, when a hard duty was enjoined,
which is that of loving and forgiving enemies,
-Lord, say the disciples, increase our faith;
intimating, without more faith, it would not be possible.
the more strongly and steadfastly we believe
that Christ loved us when we were enemies to Him,
the more frequently and freely, readily and cheerfully,
we shall forgive our brother,
who is become an enemy unto us.

3. it overcomes the world, I john 5.4.
this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.;
where, by world, is meant, especially,
its smiles and frowns;
they are both as nothing to us,
have no power or prevalency with us,
so as to draw or drive us from our christian course,
as long as we keep faith alive and active,
-either upon the past great things
that our great redeemer hath done and suffered for us;
or upon the future invisible realities of the other world ,
that crown and kingdom which He hath set before us,
and made over to us.

4. it quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked, ephesians 6.16;
that is, the devil and all his instruments;
all the temptations of what kind soever, wherewith,
as any time, they may assault us, they are quenched by faith,
loose their hurtful keenness, and wound us not.
but then that faith fust be not in habit only,
but in act and exercises;
as a shield, not hanging up,
but in the hand.
oh, that, to us, then, it might be given always to believe!
how much better would it be with us on this four-fold account,
had we more faith!

..to die profitably is a step beyond dying comforably;
i mean, to die so as to do good to those that are about us,
in dying.
to die so as to convince them of sin
and cxonvert them from it;
which is to die lie sampson,
who slew more philistines at his death,
than in all his life before.
we die profitably when our natural death is a means
of spiritual life to any.
he that doubts, droops, desponds, 
calls all into question,
and dies so
rather frightens from, than allures to,
the love of religion and godliness.
what need have we then to pray, and pray again,
-Lord, increase our faith,-
that we may not only have wherewithal to live, while we live,
but wherewithal to die also, when we die!