The dejected souls cure tending to support poor drooping sinners. With rules, comforts, and…The dejected soules cure tending to support poor drooping sinners. With rules, comforts, and…

Fifthly, That thereby he might bring the hearts of his people to a more clear sight, and sensible and lively feeling of pardoning grace and mercy: the deeper God is pleased to cast his people under the sense and sight of sin, and the lower he layeth them under humiliation; the higher will they exalt God in his pardoning grace and mercy. After men are tossed at Sea in a tempest, they prize the harbour. God doth take that course with his people as tis reported Astronomers do take: they do not lie on the tops of high mountains when they would take a view of the sky; but they lie in the lowest valleys; not in places which are nearest the heavens, but in low places most remote from the heavens. So God he doth not lift up his people at all times as upon mountains; but layeth them low in the valley of humiliation, and casts them low under the sight and sense of sin, that thereby their hearts by faith might take a more clear view of, and sensibly and lively feel the free mercy and pardoning grace of God. God doth cast you into low pits of humiliation, that by that you ⟨p. 34⟩may see the more clearly Gods mercy and grace. God plungeth his people under humiliation, as you may read in Psal. 44. 25. Our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth to the earth. And in verse 26. Arise O Lord for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies sake. Here you see the Church complains ¹of the deepness of her sorrow, the greatness of her humiliation; their soul was bowed down even to the dust: a great degree of casting down. But what was Gods end in this greatly humbling of them? it was to put them upon a more sensible feeling of Gods pardoning mercy and grace; as it appears in these words, Redeem us for thy mercies sake. Mercy was precious, and pardoning grace was precious when that they lay low under affliction and were deeply humbled; sense and sight of sin and misery under which they lay, made them to prize and highly esteem pardoning grace and mercy: and this is an other reason why God doth lay his people low under the sight and sense of sin, that they might esteem pardoning grace.

Fifthly, That thereby he might bring the hearts of his people to a more cleer sight, and sensible and lively feeling of pardoning grace and mercy: the deeper God is pleased to cast his people under the sense and sight of sin, and the lower he layeth them under humiliation; the higher will they exalt God in his pardoning grace and mercy. After men are tossed at Sea in a tempest, they prize the harbour. God doth take that course with his people as tis reported Astronomers do take: they do not lie on the tops of high mountains when they would take a view of the skie; but they lie in the lowest vallies; not in places which are nearest the heavens, but in low places most remote from the heavens. So God he doth not lift up his people at all times as upon mountains; but layeth them low in the valley of humiliation, and casts them low under the sight and sense of sin, that thereby their hearts by faith might take a more cleere view of, and sensibly and lively feel the free mercy and pardoning grace of God. God doth cast you into low pits of humiliation, that by that you