the three first thou wilt find this great and glorious truth, viz., 'that a heart trem- bling at God's word is very precious in God's eyes, — Heb. vi. 10 ; Isa. lxii. 6 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 37, — clearly opened, fully proved, and sweetly and faithfully im- proved, so as that, by a blessing from on high, it may contribute greatly to the internal and eternal welfare of thy precious and immortal soul. Concerning the "Word, premise this with me, viz. that in these six following acceptations the word is taken in the blessed Scriptures, (1.) By the Word is sometimes meant the whole Scriptures, Old and New Testament. (2.) By the Word is meant our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the spirit, life, and soul of the word, John i. (3.) By the Word is sometimes meant the commands of the word, Heb. i. (4.) By the Word is sometimes meant the threatenings of God. (5.) By the Word is sometimes meant the precious promises : Ps. cxix. 49, ' Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.' God is not unrighteous to forget, yet we must, as his remembrancers, put his promises in suit. (6.) By the Word is sometimes meant those holy prophecies which are scattered up and down in the Scriptures, Jude 14. The word thus considered occasioned one Baldusgar, a famous minister in Germany, to say, Veniat, venial verbum Domini et submittemus illi sexcenta, si nobis essent, col la, let the word of the Lord come, let it come, saith he ; we will submit to it if we had many hundred necks to put under it. The design of the worthy author in this little piece is, to win and work the reader to submit to the Word, to be guided by the Word, to prize the Word, to lay up the Word, and to live out the Word in a conversation becoming the gospel. The Jewish Rabbins were wont to say, that upon every letter of the law there hangs mountains of profitable matter. I am sure in the following discourse thou wilt find even mountains of heavenly matter hanging upon all the main particulars that this blessed author offers to thy serious consideration in this small treatise. Here you have Homer's Iliads in a nutshell ; much choice matter in a little room. It is said of Cassar, Major fait cura Ccesari libelloram qnam parparce, he had greater care of his books than of his royal robes ; for, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, he carried his books in his hand above the waters, but lost his robes. But what are Caesar's books to God's books ? or to this little book that is now put into thy hand ? Surely the word of the Lord is very sweet to all those gracious souls who make conscience of trembling at it, Ps. xix. 10 ; cxix. 103 ; Job xxiii. 12 ; Cant. ii. 3. Luther said he could not live in para- dise, if he might, without the Word, at cam verbo etiam in inferno facile est vivere, but with the Word he could live in hell itself.1 The philosopher gave thanks that he was born in the time of true philosophy. Ah ! how happy are we that are born in such a time wherein the Lord doth effnndere Spiritum, pour forth his Spirit, not by drops, as in the time of the Law, but showers down of his gifts and graces, as was most evident in the author of this following piece. Not only the day-star, but the Sun of righteousness was risen upon that people that had once the happiness to sit under the author's ministry ; neither is it a small part of this world's happiness that they are blessed with his most excellent labours to this very day. One cannot say of any divine thing, that it is his own properly till in his heart. I can say of a bird, or of this or that, it is my own when in my hand ; but I cannot say God is mine till in my heart, or that Christ is mine till in my heart, or that the Spirit is mine till in my heart, or that grace is mine till in my heart, or that the word is mine till in my heart. ' I have kept thy word in my heart, that I may not sin against thee,' saith David, Ps. cxix. 11 ; and therefore, reader, it highly concerns thee to get that word into
Justus Ionius, that he was the orator; hut of Luther he was omnia in omnibus, all in all. Adam in vit Luther, p. 170. The application is easty.
1 Sacrce Scripturoe tucB sunt sanctce delicice mece. — Augustine. Dolphins, they say, love music ; so do gracious souls love the music of the word.
lxxiv APPENDIX TO MEMOIR.
thy heart that is here presented to thine eye. Ah ! Christians, your hearts are never in so good a frame, so safe a frame, so sweet a frame, so happy a frame, so gospel a frame, as when they are in a tremhling frame ; and therefore make this little piece your delightful companion till your hearts are brought into such a blessed frame, &c.
Obj. But may not reprobates and devils tremble at the word ? did not Bel- shazzar tremble at the handwriting ? did not Felix tremble at the word preached by Paul ? and is it not said that the devils believe and tremble ? Dan. v. 5, 6 ; Acts xxiv. 24, 25 ; James ii. 19.
Am. 1. Wicked men and devils may tremble at the judgments denounced in the word, but they tremble not at the offence committed against the holy com- mandments of God, as sincere Christians do : Ezra x. 3, Shechaniah said, ' We have trespassed against our God ; let us make a covenant with our God accord- ing to the counsel of my Lord, and of those that tremble at the commandments of God.' The commandments discovering their sin, they tremble who before were hardened in their practice of marrying with the Canaanites ; but we hear nothing, we find nothing of this in Belshazzar, or Felix, or the devils. But,
Am. 2. Secondly, I answer, the wicked tremble, but never mend their ways. Pharaoh trembles, but never mends. Saul trembles, but never mends. Bel- shazzar trembles, but never mends. Felix trembles, but never mends ; and devils tremble, but never mend. But Paul trembles, and cries out, ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?' And the jailor trembles, and cries out, ' Sirs, what must I do to be saved ?' Acts ix. 4-6 ; xvi. 29, 30. But,
Am. 3. Thirdly, The trembling of the wicked drives them further and further off from God, and off from duty ; as you see in Saul, who, under his tremblings, runs to a witch ; but gracious tremblings draw the soul nearer and nearer to God, as you see in Jehoshaphat, who feared and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah, 2 Chron. xxiii. 3. The saints, under all their holy tremblings, they follow after God as the people followed after Saul's tremblings, 1 Sam. xiii. 7. But,