Riches of mercy to men in misery, or, Certain excellent treatises concerning the dignity…

First, To be hungering after the mercies of God, to prize them and esteem them much, to desire them much, as ¹you thirst more, so you shall have more of them; and this you will never do without the sense of misery, that very much endears the mercy of God, and the love of Christ, therefore labour to be sensible of your misery, that you may hunger after the mercies of God, and then according to your desires, you shall partake of those mercies; This I observe out of the place of Luke. 1. 53. He filleth the hungry with good things, &c, If you ask the way to have a full portion of the mercies of God, that place showeth you, he filleth the hungry with good things: look what kind of mercies men are hungry after, I speak of spiritual mercies, other mercies we are forward enough to hunger after, If we hunger after spiritual mercies, it is the way to be filled with them, and indeed God will not bestow them without this, for they will not be Sweet to you, you would not acknowledge Gods hand to you in them, you would do nothing for them, when you have got them, therefore he will have them much prized, this you cannot do without the sense of your misery without them. If you did but see the depth of your misery it would make you see the height of his mercy, he that knoweth the mercies of God out of a feeling of his misery, ⟨p. 7⟩he knoweth them experimentally, and sensibly. An intellectual contemplation of the mercies of God is one thing, and an experimental knowledge of them is another thing, this latter you cannot have without the sense of misery.

First, To be hungring after the mercies of God, to prize them and esteem them much, to desire them much, as ¹you thirst more, so you shall have more of them; and this you will never do without the sense of misery, that very much endears the mercy of God, and the love of Christ, therefore labour to be sensible of your misery, that you may hunger after the mercies of God, and then according to your desires, you shall partake of those mercies; This I observe out of the place of Luke. 1. 53. He filleth the hungry with good things, &c, If you ask the way to have a full portion of the mercies of God, that place sheweth you, he filleth the hungry with good things: look what kind of mercies men are hungry after, I speak of spiritual mercies, other mercies we are forward enough to hunger after, If we hunger after spiritual mercies, it is the way to be filled with them, and indeed God will not bestow them without this, for they will not be Sweet to you, you would not acknowledge Gods hand to you in them, you would do nothing for them, when you have got them, therefore he will have them much prized, this you cannot do without the sence of your misery without them. If you did but see the depth of your misery it would make you see the height of his mercy, he that knoweth the mercies of God out of a feeling of his misery,