The Soul's Preparation for Christ

The Second means whereby meditation may get power upon the soul, is this, we must cry & crave, and call for the spirit of humiliation and contrition, that God by that blessed spirit of his which in Scripture is called the spirit of bondage would set to his helping hand & assist conscience his officer, & take the matter into his own hand, and because there are many rebellious corruptions that oppose Gods truth, we must call to heaven for help, that God would seize upon the heart, and break it: A perverse heart will linde the Judgement, and say, I will have my sins, though I be damned for them, and when conscience comes, and saith, I will bear witness against you for your pride, and covetousness, and profaneness. They resist conscience: Look as it is if a Sergeant arrest a man, he may escape his hands, ⟨p. 125⟩or kill the Sergeant, but if the Sheriff or the King himself come, & take the prisoner in hand, then he must go to prison whether he will or no; so it is here, though a corrupt heart can stop conscience, stay conscience, yet there is a commanding power of Gods spirit; the spirit of humiliation: And when God comes from heaven to aide his officer, the heart must stoop, and be governed. Look as it is with a child that is under government, his father perhaps bids the servant correct him, now it is admirable to see how the child will taunt with the servant, and struggle with him mightily, now when the father heareth this, he saith, Give me the rod, and he tells the child, you would not be whipped, but I will scourge you, and he will set it home, and plague him so much the more; because he resisted the servant: So it is here, the Lord hath revealed his will and sent his ministers to discover your sins, and verify your hearts, it is strange to see what resistance we find; one scorns to hear, and rebels against the minister. Well, however the voice of the minister, or the word, cannot make the blow fall heavy enough for the time, yet if the Lord take the rod into his own hand, he will make the stoutest stomach stoop, and the hardest heart come in: when the father takes the rod into his hand, and lets in hell fire, he will set it home, take it off who will or can; the Apostle calls it the spirit of bondage: and observe the place,¹ When the spirit of bondage cometh then cometh fear:

The Second meanes whereby meditation may get power upon the soule, is this, we must cry & crave, and call for the spirit of humiliation and contrition, that God by that blessed spirit of his which in Scripture is called the spirit of bondage would set to his helping hand & assist conscience his officer, & take the matter into his owne hand, and because there are many rebellious corruptions that oppose Gods truth, we must call to heaven for helpe, that God would seise upon the heart, and breake it: A perverse heart will linde the Judgement, and say, I will have my sinnes, though I be damned for them, and when conscience comes, and saith, I will beare witnes against you for your pride, and covetousnesse, and prophanesse. They resist conscience: Looke as it is if a Sergeant arrest a man, he may escape his hands,