the poor." Stay then: suppose his estate was a thousand pounds, he would have but five hundred pounds left; and "Lord," says he, "if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." Suppose he had wronged men to the value of a hundred pounds, there is four hundred pounds more gone, so there is but a hundred What an hard work is this! pounds left of a thousand. Yet mark how easily he comes off to this hard work, "Behold Lord;" why he had drunk deep of preventing love. "Zaccheus, come down," says Christ, "for to day I must abide at thine house." Christ doth not come and Zaccheus, give half thy goods to the poor, and if thou hast wronged any man, restore him fourfold, and then I will come to thy house; no, but: "Zaccheus, come down, for this day I must abide at thy house," preventing him with his love, and then this hard work comes off easily. There is nothing will correct difficulty and sweeten duty more than preventing love, therefore preventing love must needs be sweet. And thus now you see what there is in preventing love, that is so sweet to a gracious soul. That is the fifth.

say,

Sixthly, But now lastly. You will say, Suppose I have tasted of preventing love and mercy, suppose I have had experience of it, for I must needs say, this is my case; for I was going on in the way of my sin, and God prevented I have been me many a time with his preventing grace.

backward to, and dull in duty, and God hath many a time prevented me with assisting grace. I have been full of unbelief, and said: I am cast off, and shall never see the face of God again, but the Lord hath prevented me with his comforting grace, and with the shines of his face. I was galloping to hell as fast as I could, but God hath prevented me with his saving grace. And as for my outward estate in the world, I was low and knew not what to do, and God prevented me with such a gift, such a house and land; what hath my life been but a bundle of preventing mercy; if any have drank deep of this preventing grace, I may say, I have much more. Now what is my duty that doth flow from hence?

if If you have tasted of God's preventing love and mercy, God hath indeed prevented you with the "blessings of his goodness," why then should not your hearts be filled with

the sense thereof; why should not your thoughts be much thereupon? How God hath prevented you at such a time, in such a thing. The more sense you have of God's preventing love and mercy, the more humbly you will walk with God, and the more closely, especially considering that God will not upbraid you. If a man takes a beggar from the dunghill, and makes her his wife, prevents her with his love and kindness, the sense of his preventing love, will make her walk humbly all her days, unless the man upbraid her with it; if he upbraids her with it, it will not make her walk humbly; but unless he upbraids her with it, the sense of it will make her walk humbly all her days. Friends, God doth prevent us with his love, and will not upbraid us with his preventions; and therefore why should we not walk humbly, and why should we not think much thereon, and have our hearts filled with the sense thereof. The more necessary and useful any mercy is, the more we are engaged to think thereon. Some mercies are more necessary, and some less necessary. Those mercies and blessings we put God upon the giving of with our own desires, we may suspect are less necessary; but those that God gives us in a way of preventing love, we may think them most necessary. This is the way of preventing love, surely therefore we are engaged to think much thereon; thus ye become God's darlings by his preventing love. The world hath its darlings; such a one lies long in bed, takes little pains, yet the world flows in upon him, the world prevents him, he is the world's darling; another man is up early and late, takes a great deal of pains, and yet is poor; but here is a man do what he will, yet he grows rich, for he is the world's darling. So now you have blessing upon blessing, and in a way of prevention, what doth this argue, but that you are God's darlings? And will you not think much of this? Oh, think much thereon. If you have tasted of this preventing love and mercy, go away and be very thankful to God upon this account. Shall David be thankful to the Lord for preventing him, taking him from the sheep-fold, and will not you be thankful for preventing mercy? Shall Ruth be thankful to Boaz for preventing her with his kindness, spreading his skirt over her, and will not you be thankful to the Lord for his preventing love to you? Why should ye not all say with

VOL. III.

David here: "He hath prevented me with the blessings of his goodness." Indeed I was a great sinner, but he hath prevented me with his justifying mercy; and I was a wandering creature, as a lost sheep, but he hath prevented me with his redeeming mercy; God spake once, and twice unto me, and I heard it not, but in the deep sleep of my soul, then did he open mine ears, and seal instruction on me before I was aware; therefore all that is within me bless the Lord. Oh, you that are thus prevented, bless the Lord for this his preventing mercy, his sweet mercy.

But if you have tasted of God's preventing mercy, and have indeed been prevented with the blessings of his goodness, even your very prayers have been prevented with the blessings of his goodness; why then should ye not be early up, and sooner at your prayers, that if it may be, you may prevent God's mercy with your prayers, as God hath prevented your prayers with his mercy. When a master comes into the chamber where his servant lies, and finds him in bed, what says the servant if he be ingenuous? This my master's coming into my bed-chamber before I was up, is a plain rebuke to my sloth, I will be up the sooner hereafter. So says a gracious, ingenuous soul, God's preventing my prayer with his mercy, is a plain rebuke to my prayer; wherefore awake prayer, up prayer, through the grace of God I will never be so tardy again with my prayer and duty, but as God hath prevented my prayer with his mercy, so through grace I will prevent his mercy with my prayer for the time to come.

ness.

If you have tasted of God's preventing mercy, and God hath indeed prevented you with the blessings of his goodness, why then should ye not all labour to be like unto God in your dealings with men, preventing them with your loving kindYou think it a great matter to forgive a man that hath injured you upon acknowledging of his fault, but God prevents us with his forgiveness before we acknowledge and be humbled; therefore why should you not labour to be like to God therein? If a man hath done you a wrong or injury, do not stand upon it to have his acknowledgment, but say, I will be like to God; God prevents me with his love before my acknowledgment, therefore through grace I will prevent this man with my kindness before his acknowledgment, I will

forgive him. Thus labour to be like unto God in all dealings with men.

your

But, If you have tasted of this preventing love, and God hath indeed prevented you with the blessings of his goodness, why, then, why should ye not trust in the Lord for ever? Whatsoever your condition be, trust in the Lord, and believe for ever now, for your souls, for your bodies. Some there are that doubt of their salvation, of the salvation of their souls. Ah, says one, I am afraid I shall not be saved because my prayer cannot be accepted. But will the Lord be found of those that seek him not, and will he not be found of you that seek him, though your prayers are poor prayers? Ah, says another, I am afraid the Lord will not receive me when I come to him, he will not receive me. No; but if the Lord comes to us first, and makes a tender and offer of his grace to us; if he seeks us, will he not receive them, think you, that seek him? Surely he will. Some there are that doubt in reference to their outward condition, and say they shall want provision, shall want estates to maintain them; but hath the Lord prevented you with his mercy in the great turns of your life, why, then, should you not trust in the Lord though you see no means at all how you should be supplied? Heretofore God hath prevented you with his mercies; and why should you not say, God hath prevented me heretofore, therefore now I will trust in him though I see no means of supply? Whatsoever your condition be, trust in the Lord now upon this account; believe, believe. Let me say this to you, Would you believe? Do you desire to believe? Yes, I desire to believe. Do ye? then let your eye be fixed on God's preventing love. What is the reason that men do not believe? but because their eyes are fixed no more steadily upon preventing love. The more you know God is willing to help you, the more you will believe; I believe that, you will say. Now I pray then, tell me, suppose a man comes to a beggar, and before the beggar asks, the man gives him money; will not the beggar conclude that the man was willing to relieve him? Yes. Thus now it is, we beg and we beg, but it is as no begging, then comes the Lord and prevents us with his mercy; will you not say the Lord is willing to shew mercy? surely he is. Now, therefore, seeing God is thus willing to shew mercy, oh, then, believe; you that have gone

doubting and fearing and trembling all your days, for shame now believe. Have you tasted of God's preventing mercy time after time, in the matter of your justification, in the matter of your sanctification, in the matter of your consolation, and in reference to our outward concernments? Oh, trust in the Lord for ever upon this account, and magnify the riches of his grace. Now go away, and say, through free grace, I will doubt no more. Upon all occasions trust in the Lord, O you that have been made partakers of preventing mercy.