A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

when Belshazzar saw the hand-writing upon the wall, his countenance was changed,¹ and his thoughts troubled, and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another; but what was all this to an everlasting separation from God, and to those endless, easeless, and remediless torments that such must endure,² who when they are weighed in the balance, shall be found too light? A man ⟨p. 71⟩that would weigh gold to a grain,³ must weigh it in a quiet still place: And so a man that would make an exact trial of his spiritual estate, he must take his Soul when tis most serious, quiet, still, and composed; he must take his heart when it is in the best frame, and most disposed to solemn and weighty work. There are some times which are very unapt for a gracious person to sit as Judg upon his Spiritual estate, and to pass sentence upon his own Soul. The best Christians under Heaven do meet with divers inward and outward changes, sometimes the light shines so clear that they can see things as they are, but at other times all is dark and cloudy, and tempestuous, and then they are apt to judg themselves by feeling and new representations, and not according to the truth. O Sirs, remember this once for all, that times of inward or outward distresses are best for Praying, and worst for judging. If a man will at such times pass sentence on himself, or his estate as a Judg, he will certainly judg unrighteous judgment, for then the Soul is not it self, and is very apt and prone to take Satan's work for his own, and to side with him against it self, yea, and then usually it will see nothing, it will think of nothing, it will dwell upon nothing but what makes against it self. 4. When God exercises a man with some exceeding severe and unusual Providences, when God steps out of his ordinary way of Dispensations in his dealings with a man: When God sets a man up before all the world as a mark to shoot at, as he did Job. Now a poor Christian is ready to doubt and conclude,⁴ Surely the Lord has no regard of me, he has no entire love for me, his heart is not certainly towards me, seeing all these sore trials make so much against me; but here the poor Christian is mistaken, as Jacob once was, Gen 42.36. And Jacob their Father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children, Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away, all these things are against me.