----------- ---·---------.---- --· Chap. 6.Sect+ QC~pericnce.s. Former comforts are as a bill obligatory under Gods hand, to alfure us that he ':·ill not forfake us: 11- hom God loves,he Loves unto the ~nd.-Becmife than. lutftbccrt my hetp,thcdfore i" the jb.<dow ofthy wings wilt I rejoyce, . . , z. When Faith is more and more lhengthened, Expmmw fhould be turned mto Corfidences: Thu§Davtd Improved hts Expcnences, The Lord that dchvered me om of. the paw of the Lym, and om of the paw ofthe Bear, he tvtll deliver me out ofthe hand of this Phi!iftirt: In like manner fhould we take notice of Gods dealmgs, a~dafter we have once trycd him and hts truth, let us trufl: hnn for the future; Tryed Truth, and tryed Fairh unto it, fweetly a~~ree, ~nd anfwer one another. He~cc it is th~t Expe~~ence ?f Gods love, fhould rcfrefh our Fatth upon any frcfh onfet ; So let all thme enem.e:pcrijh (faid D eborah, the heart of that blelfedwoman was enlarged, as it were ProphetiCally) when one f all.<, they jhall allfall; there IS the hl~c reafun, So let all thine enemus perijh, 0 L ord. Experience in our felves or others, Wtll tnlarge ourfaith to look for greater matters f1:ill from our gracious powerful God: Hath the Lord g iwn us a wctory owr the Philijfins? then Atvalzt;, awakf Deborah, awakf, and be enlar;ged, 0 my f aith! Every new Experience is a new knowledge of God, and fhould fit us tor new encounters: I deny not but we ought to tru[r God upon other grounds ; though we had never tryed him . but when he helps our faith by former E xperiences, this fhould ll:rengthen our . confidence, and Chore up our fpirits, and put us on to go more chearfully to God, as to a tryed friend. It was the fpecch of one eminent in holinclfc, upon occafion of the ac– complifhment of a great requef1: made to G od by htm, I ha'Ve tryed God often, now I wz/1 truft him indeed, If we were read m the ll:ory of our own ltvcs ,. we mighthave a Divinity of our own., drawn out of the obfervatton of Gods parttcular dealmgs to– wards us: we might fay, This and this truth I dare vem11re upon, I have fozmd it trite, 1 dare build all my happineffe upon it; as Paul, I k§ow whonz I havctmfted, and I am perjivaded he is able to kfep that which I haw committed unto him trgainj/' that day; q. d. 1have trycd him,he never yet failed me,I am not now to fcek how faithful he is to all thofe that a.re his. · , 3 . When fcruplcs and doubts are removed. 0 (cryes the foul) how may I know that my Experiences of Gods goodnefs are true E.~perienccs .< 1. If thy Experiences be but the counterpares to promifes, it is a figne they are true Experiences. As we have heard, fo have we fecn in the City of our God. Experiences arc falfc when they do not anfwer promifes, tU f ace anfivers face in a glaJ!e ; whofoever hath an Experience of •Gods goodnelfc, hatli alfo anExperience of Gods truth : Experiences of this fort, are ·but the fulfi\lings of promifes ; it is an ill thing, very ill hearing, to hear wretches talkc of Experiences, how much of God they have found in this or that woy, fince they left ordinances, and gaped for revelations, c~>-c. \Vhcn as poffibly the perfons are .fo notorioully vile and licentious, that they plainly evidence , never did any promife belong to them :and ag promifes were never made to fuch perfons, fo they were never made to fuch wayes ; . but now if thy Experiences anfwer thy promifes; if thou hafl: found after long feektng and waiting, that God isgood to thofe thatfec/z.him, this now i~ a fwcct, and probably a true Experience, otherwife not. 2. Soul-experiences 111anifef1:ed in inward difpcnfations, are rather to be trull:ed to, -and bmldcd upon for true Experiences, than outward E xperiences manifefl:ed in external provtdcn~es; the reafon is plaine, becanfc outward mercies may come, and ordinarily do come m a way of common providence, and there mull: be many notable circum– fiances t? evmce a fpccial love in the difpenfation of them. Solomon after a diligent obfervatton of It, faw, that .u it happened to the foole, fo it happened to him in this life , and therefore determines that from outward events here , there could be no judgment made what the man was; therefore I fay, inward difpenfations, and Soul-experiences "re more to \le trufl:cd eo, than outward providences, for Experiences ofGods good– nelfc; yet ·even In thefe there may be cheats ; the Devil , and our owne bafe hearts Which arc deceuf~tl above a//things, may crypeace, peace, when there is no peace, and fo lJ?Utoffthe foul Wtth a cheat and delufion, in ftead of a true peace. True Experiences ~f G~ds goodnelfe are ll:rong foundations, they arc rare things, and ofvery rare ufe, ut t cy are rarely found: yet thou may(i know further whether thy Experiences be tndie clfitt~r by confidcring the way how tho·u gottefl: them, or by confidering the fruit an e eu of them, Fonhe firfl: obfcrve. r. tf by the application offome word to thy foul thou rtt any tnne procured{\ to thy felf peace, this was a true £xperimce, Pfal, 119. 18. Jere!TY, 1)9 )>flfl. 13 I l'tal. 63· '/' Judges. :S· :i·• Pfal. 48. a Eccl<f, 2. IS
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