must not forestall the following Discourse I hope it will cause the good amongstvs to pitie their Mother and to mourne for her that they themselues may reioyce with her in the fruite of their mourning Now I commit thee to the following leaues and them to thee I would thou wouldest reade them I would thou wouldest consider them I would thou wouldest practise them and so wishing thee a much good sorrow as in other cases thou couldst wish thy selfe ioy I leaue thee to his blessing who will accept thy sorrow and remaine A desirer of thy teares William Whately Feb. 19. 1622. CHARITABLE TEARES c. Psal 119.136 Riuers of water runne downe mine eyes because they keepe not thy Testimonies CHAP. I. Opening the Text and shewing and prouing the doctrine viz. that we ought to lay to heat the sinnes of others THE Prophet of God the Author of this most heauenly Psalem inthis part of it proceedeth in his meditations after this order First he makes way to his petitions by professing his diligent care of Gods Law Vers 129 130 131. Secondly he propounds his petitions for mercy Vers 132. direction 133 deliuerance 134. feeling of Gods fauour 135. Lastly hee concludes his petitions with professing his sorrow for other mens sins in these words And this he puts also for a confirmation of his faith to assure himselfe and as one may say to perswade the Lord that hee should speed inhis suites For it is great reason that God should mercifully guide deliuer and comfort him that doth take so hainously the dishonour done to God by other people Wee haue here then to make the griefe of Dauid set out by the quantitie and cause of it The quantitie is expressed in that hyperbolicall phrase Riuers of waters runne downe mine eyes Whereby is meant that his sorrow was very great and withall comstant in that it did shew it selfe by continuall and abundant streames of teares The cause is in these words Because they keepe not thy Law Not wrongs and persecutions against himselfe but sinne and wickednesse against God did procure his great sorrow or if he wept for the molestations and iniuries offered vnto himselfe yet not so much considered in the nature of iniuries as of sinnes Let me therefore at this time be bold to presse vpon you a most needfull and excellent dutie from the example of this holy man we ought to lay to heart the sins of other men viz. Doct. To lay to heart the sins of other men All the seruants of God should imitate this one seruant of God in the cause course quantitie constancy of his sorrowes and set themselues to mourne heartily earnestly daily for the transgressions of others which their eyes doe see and their eares doe heare It should bee a corroziue to our soules and an anguish to our spirlts to behold and know the dishonour that is done vnto our Maker by the offences of our neighbours Euerie good subiect is troubled to see his fellow subiects prooue Rebels neither can any good and dutifull sonne or daughter behold without sorrow the rudenesse or vndutifulnesse of their brethren or sisters nay a seruant that is louing and obedient to his Master is also sorrie at the heart if his fellow-seruants shew themselues stubburne carelesse and disobedient so should it be with the faithfull subiects dutifull children and obedient seruants of the liuing God their very soules should be filled with anguish and their countenances with sadnesse for the rebellion disobedience wickednes of those amongst whom they liue Not alone our owne offences but those of our brethren also should be as a loade and burden vpon our soules Thus it is reported of Lot 2. Pet. 2.8 that hee vexed his righteous soule from day to day with seeing and hearing their vnlawfull deeds speaking of his behauiour when hee dwelt in Sodom The impurities and vncleannesses of those brutish creatures were euen as a racke vnto his soule and he could not looke vpon their foule and lathsome and yet common and vsuall abominations but that it did euen torture and torment his hart no lesse then a racke would hjaue done his body So when Ezra was informed of the sinne of them Ezra 9.2 3 5 6 c. that had returned out of captiuitie hee sits downe confounded and fasts and weepes and mournes and in the agonie of his soule puls off the haire of his owne beard for griefe and at last breakes foorth into a most lamentable and mournefull confession of that sinne This Prophet also had professed before in the 53. verse of this Psalme saying Horror hath taken hold vpon me because of the wicked which forsake thy Law And Ieremiah professeth to the people that if they would not hearken vnto him to amend their liues according to the Word of God which hee should speake and had spoken then his soule should weepe in secret places for their pride Ier. 13.17 yea his eye should weepe sore and run downe with teares The Apostle Paul likewise hearing of the incestuous Corinths abominable crime and the great conniuency of the Church of Corinth towards him did write a letter vnto them about this matter as himselfe saith 2. Cor. 2.4 out of much affliction and angish of heart and with many teares Lo how bitter to the soule of the holy Apostle the tidings of the Corinthian disorders were He that for scourging stocking imprisonment stoneing and all heau persecutions was scarce euer filled with anguish but rather reioyced in the same and seemed to gather new life by the comming on of new miseries is now exceedingly cast downe and put into bitter weeping and lamentation for the wickednesse committed by one of that Church and by the rest tolerated Yea our Sauiour Christ himselfe the best patterne of all holinesse and obedience did looke vpon the Pharises as the Gospell tels vs angerly indeed Mark 3.5 as their peruersenes and wilfulnesse did well deserue but withall mourning for the hardnes of their hearts And it is also obserued of him that comming to Ierusalem he did euen weepe ouer it in great compassion Luk. 19.41 because they had carelestly neglected the day of their visitation You see proofe enough of the point let vs further make it good vnto your soules by cleere and euident reasons to be taken from foure heads First from the graces that ought to be in euery Christian heart which cannot but procure this sorrow Secondly from the nature of sinne which is to be sorrowed for Thirdly from the good effects that will grow from this sorrow And lastly from the euill effects that will follow vpon the want of this sorrow CHAP. II. Containing one reason of the point from the graces which ought to be found in euerie godly man and being found cannot but work this sorrow these are three Loue to God Loue to men Hatred of sinne IT is agreed vpon by all Reasons first from our loue to God that the hearts of Gods
and sensible sorrow that Dauid here speaketh of And hee that accustometh himselfe to that habituall griefe of the will taking displeasure against an euill thing making it selfe auerse from it and wishing that it had neuer been shall in due season bee blessed by God with the spirit of tendernesse which shall most kindly and gently soften his heart and cause his soule to be so mellow and easie to be wrought vpon that he shall euen sweetely and freely powre forth this his Drinke-offering before the Lord and most sweetely water his soule with these Aprill showres of teares which shall make it fertill not alone in he flowres of presently insuing comforts but also in the rich haruest of vertue and godlinesse and the plentifull rewards thereof Wherefore carry this short sentence home in your minds and giue not ouer striuing by times and turnes till you haue made your selues in case to ioyne Dauids request with Dauids reason and to say Lord make thy face to shine vpon thy seruant and teach me thy Statutes Riuers of teares do drop downe mine eyes because they keepe not thy Law CHAP. VIII Containing the third and last vse of comfort to them that haue done or shall begin and continue to doe this seruice Vse 3 ANd lastly if there be any that haue performed Comfort to them that do mourne and continue to performe or shal now begin and proceede to performe this excellent dutie we must also speake peace to their soules and preach vnto them the glad tidings of good things to comfort them withall O it is a great happinesse to tread in the steps of those concerning whom wee are perfectly assured that they are now in Heauen well may we assure our selues that we shall be where they are after our death if wee haue walked in the wayes wherein they walked during their liues Thou knowest Dauid was a child of God a true regenerate man a man after Gods owne heart thou knowest hee had all his sinnes pardoned dyed an happy death now reigneth in Heauen and hath attained eternall saluation It would doe thine heart good to haue an infallible token that thou also art such an one as Dauid that thou hast interest into the same good things which he enioyeth and shalt haue possession of them at last as sure as he hath Then compare thy behauiour and carriage with Dauids when he saw men wickedly to breake the Statutes of God when he saw wickednesse committed in euery place and knew not how to helpe it what did he doe He wept and sighed and lamented and cryed and tooke on very pitifully euen as if some great crosse had befalne himselfe and as if his owne person had receiued harme Canst thou likewise affirme before the Lord that the same cause hath produced in thee the same effects Doth the breach of Gods Law breake thine heart Doth the sinfulnesse of others make thy soule sorrowfull Dost thou sigh and groane and bewaile and mourne for those things which it is not in thy power to redresse Loe then thou art a Dauid a man after Gods heart also a sound and sincere Christian an Israelite within before God a louer of God a louer of thy Brethren an hater of sin and thou also shalt be saued with Dauid and reioyce with the same heauenly Ioy wherewith hee now reioyceth Those that are like the Saints of God in dutie shall be also like them in glorie those that haue followed them in holines shal follow them in happinesse The same Spirit worketh in them the same Christ dwelleth in them and the same Crowne shall be set vpon them Blessed therefore are these mourners for they shall be comforted Whatsoeuer thing Dauid did aske in the former verses and now in this verse doth lay as it were the foundation of his hopes to attaine the same vpon the remembrance of these his teares before God that are we bold in Gods name to promise assuredly to euery one that can speake the same thing of himselfe Dost thou mourne for the sinnes of other men Then will God looke vpon thee and bee mercifull vnto thee as he vseth to doe to them that loue his name for thou also louest his name Doth thine eye drop downe teares because men keepe not Gods Law Then will he order thy steps in his Word neither shall any iniquitie haue dominion ouer thee Doth thy soule lament bitterly the common sinnes Then will he deliuer thee from the oppression of men that thou mayest keepe his precepts Doth thine heart mourne for the publike offences of those with whom thou liuest Then will God make his face to shine vpon thee his seruant and will teach thee his Statutes In a word Striuest thou to performe this seruice of which Dauid maketh profession in this verse Then shalt thou certainely obtaine al those benefits for which he made his humble petition in the former verses Wherfore let these Riuers of teares become streames of comfort wherein thy soule may bathe it selfe with much content Godly sorrow is the mother of sound Ioy these teares are the proper seeds of heauenly comfort whereas carnal ioy doth end in sorrow and that crackling mirth of sinners being extinguished shall leaue them frozen in horror and amazement Wherefore reape you the comfort of the seed you haue sowne and as the seed was precious so let the crop be and as the seed was abundant so let the haruest From this dutie mayest thou infallibly collect that thy charitie was sound and plentifull This dutie will prooue certainly that thine hatred of sinne was heartie and earnest and I suppose it may goe in the reckoning of one of the most infallible notes of Gods child To mourne for the generall calamities of the Church Two sure signes of sanctity when ones selfe is at peace and to mourne for the generall sinnes of the Church though himselfe bee free these are two most happy signes of true holinesse and this latter I thinke to be the surer of the twaine as more sensibly and manifestly testifying true zeale of Gods glory Yea whosoeuer sorrowes heartily for the common sinnes may in some respect take more sure hold of that mourning to confirme his faith and assure himself of his vprightnesse then of his sorrowing for his owne particular faults We haue examples of damned hypocrites that haue been sad and heauy for their owne sinnes in some cases as Ahab Iudas Saul and he rest but we haue neuer any example of any that lamented the publike and common wickednesse of the Church or Nation where he liued and of the persons amongst whom hee conuersed vnlesse accidentally wen the sinnes haue falne out to be iniurious and troublesome to themselues or to their friends but of those which wee are well assured to haue been truly sanctified and now to be eternally glorified Is not Lot in Heauen Is not Dauid in Heauen Is not Ezra in Heauen Ae not Ieremiah Baruch Ebedmelech and the rest of these mourners all in
with troubles and afflictions then the vnmarried The man and woman that ioyne themselues in matrimony shall commonly meete with more aduersitie outward then whilest they continued without Matrimonie The Apostles words are euident hee doth in manner ingage his word affirming and foretelling prophetically Such shall haue trouble in the flesh You must conceiue him to write as a reasonable man to such as were also reasonable and therefore to meane comparatiuely else it were easie to reiect his argument in this wise Paul you dehort vs from marrying not because it is sinne but because we shall find trouble in it why doe you not know that the single life hath also its thornes and briers I doe would Paul answere but my meaning was that this estate doth outwardly bring more trouble for else I had vsed an vnforcible argument and spoken little to the purpose You must therefore conceiue the Apostles meaning to be as hath been said if the state of marriage and of single life be compared together in such respect the former is the more troublous Proofes are needlesse in a manifest and expresse truth but I will shew you the cause why it is so and after stand a little ore largely in describing vnto you the chiefe troubles of marraige Reas The cause then is sinne sinne I say the make-bate betwixt God and man which with-drawing the creature from his loyaltie to the Creator causeth the Creator in iustice to with-draw his fauour from the creature and in stead thereof to pursue him with his curse This curse as it made the frutifull earth to bring forth briers and thornes which else should neuer haue afforded such vnprofitable and hurtfull increase so hath also filled all estates with stirres and confusions as it were brambles Wherefore as any estate doth occasion any person to intermeddle with more businesses and with more persons so is it also molested with more troubles through the vnhappie working of the actuall corruptions of all parties to the annoyance of each other vnreasonably discouering themselues If man had continued in his due loyaltie towards his King and Maker neither Matrimonie nor any other condition of life should haue disquieted him with any the least touch of miserie But justice requireth that Rebels and rebellion bee punished Sinne is the sore sawce that distasteth all our comforts this is like the Colloquintida in the pot of pottage which the Prophets seruants had made that caused the eaters to crie out Death is in the pot This is that stinking weed which dissauours all our sweete flowres This is the imbitterer of all estates bringing forth such and so many disorders in men and women as make them to bring forth trouble each to other In marriage a man is ingaged to more businesses and duties then before occasioned to deale with more humours then before and to stand in need of more things then before so will sinne and corruption shew it selfe more then before and so must he meete with more affliction then before This I speake to free both God the Author of Marriage as also Marriage his ordinance from all manner of blame and accusations For if all the hardnesse wherewith we be molested doe grow from our sinne and our sinne arise from Satans temptation and the abuse of our owne free will as all these things are most vndoubted and certaine why should God be faulted for our miserie seeing hee made vs not miserable til we had made ourselues sinfull And why should any estate of life be blamed for our miserie seeing if wee were not sinners in it we should not reape any miserie from it Take notice then of the true cause of all the cumbers An explication to the point which incumber married people and secondly let mee informe you also at least of some and the chiefe troubles of marriage which you must know that you may expect them and expect them that you may prepare for them and prepare for them that you may not be made impatient by them and by impatiencie make them much more cumbrous then else they need to be These doe all arise from foure maine heads The persons married their children their seruants and their estates of all which a man might spend more then foure dayes in speaking it taking counsell of experience he would borrow a little help of Rhetorick to set out the matters to the full but I will alone touch them and away Euerie man and woman haue their faults those will breede trouble they may bee sicke and that is another trouble one of the two die first and leaue the other behind and that is to some the worst of all troubles In the soules of men there breed vices in their bodies diseases and at last death and the fruit of all these must needs be griefe and sorrow each to other Some men are churlish sowre vnkind some wrathfull passionate and furious some hard miserable and niggardly some wastefull riotous and vnthriftie some vncleane vnsatiable and ranging after other women some suspiciious mistrustfull and iealous of their owne wiues some rash and hare-brain'd some fond and giddie some simple some subtill some idle some toylesome some carking some carelesse yea twentie and twice twentie sinfull and offending dispositions shew themselues in all the sonnes of Adam and what woman can meete with a man in all the world in whom some or other of these disorders doe not dwell Nature and education may hide them out of the way that they shall not bee seene Grace and sanctification may in part subdue them that they shall not reigne but neither nature nor grace shall quite and cleane abolish them that they shall not bee and to obtaine an husband free from all of them yea not subiect to more then one two or three of them it is altogether impossible and as impossible to liue with one that hath them though neuer so much mortified as the state of men on earth can reach and not be troubled exceedingly troubled with them as to go bare-foot vpon a ricke of thornes or furres and not bee pricked and pained with them In like sort some women are proud arrogant and scornefull some violent head-strong and masterfull some sullen and dogged some scolding and snappish some talkatiue some tongue-tied some light some coy some finish some sluttish some ouer-spending some ouer-sparing some lewd and vnchaste some raging and iealous yea an hundred and a thousand faults doe lie hid in the painted box of the bosome of euerie of Euahs daughters Good bringing vp may conceale them good instructions may diminish and good nature for a while may keep them vnder and keepe them secret yea the worke of grace may mortifie quell and ouer-master them but nothing can altogether roote them out so long as flesh and spirit do striue together in one soule that is so long as soule and bodie doe liue together in this life A woman void of some yea diuers of these faults and follies no care
bee riotous and wastefull haue a sweete tooth and will haue their good cheare of their Masters cost but without his priuitie some bee stragglers licentious out-lyers that lodge not in their Masters families on nights but frequent their meetings in the time of sleep and take their sleepe in the time of working some he surly and sawcie and will deserue reproofes oft enough but will neuer recerue them with patience Some are soft and slow and though they seeme to be willing yet are able to dispatch little some be simple and indiscreete and will bee doing but without fore-sight and wisdome and so doe little to the purpose some bee quarrelsome and snarling and alwaies making brawles with their fellow seruants which needs must end in their masters losse on both sides Now let all that affect marriage aske themselues What shift should I make to beare with a slow drumbling lazie seruant whose worke is not worth his meate but he goes about his businesse euen iust like as a tyred horse faire and softly Or how should I breake a seruant as nimble of his tongue as of his hands that will bee my master and haue his owne way in all things or else hee will dispatch nothing that wil be as lowd as my selfe if I begin to reproue and tell me plainely that he will not mend for chiding and I see plainely that he wil not mend without it How should I liue with an vnprouident heedlesse seruant that will lose more on a day then his labour is worth in a moneth and le ts all things goe to wreck and ruine vnder his hands onely for want of paines and care that is euer grumbling at his work and disliking of his diet and still thinks that his labour is too painefull and his fare too hard that will prig steale and lie and cares not how hee coozens me so that he can either impudently out-face or craftily beguile me In a word How could I beare slothfulnes sullennes wastefulnes carelesnes whereof some are in all and all in most seruants How could I suffer this affliction in the flesh which those that are married can hardly escape And now leauing the persons in the family let vs consider the things thereof euen the whole estate of men and see what burdens may thence bee cast vpon the shoulders of the married couple Who doth not know how troublesome a thing it is to want necessaries and withall how common of those which when they liued in single life abounded in all things and neuer knew nor thought they should know what it was to neede a penny but haue fared abundantly and been attired comelily and had still something to spare for the satisfying of their owne desires Very many after marriage be put into the close stocks of miserie want and necessitie not hauing wherewithall to prouide conuenient foode and rayment for themselves and for their charge which vnawares and without fore-sight is now growne heauie vpon them It is an easie thing to fill one belly and cloath one backe and keepe something in the purse when but one hand must fetch out of it but to prouide diet and attire for a wife for many small children for some seruants to pay for house-rent and fewell and candle to disburse the compelled charges of the weaknesse of a wife of children of seruants and to bring vp many with the fruite of one mans labour and industrie this doth oftentimes prooue farre lesse easie then men in imagination can deeme it to be Neither doth this necessitie attend alone vpon persons of lower ranke that must get their liuing by their fingers ends and liue vpon their hard and toylesome labour but many a man also that flourisheth at first with a good stocke of his owne and a good portion of his wiues at last by meanes of crosses and losses in diuers kinds doth runne thorow all and prouing banquerupt ends his dayes in a prison and leaueth his wife and children to be poorely prouided for by the cold bountie of friends or the common stocke of the Towne or Parish yea many a man that hath house and land of his owne in good quantitie and promiseth himselfe a liberall maintenance doth yet meete with so many hindrances by losse of cattaile ill bargaines ill debtors ill seruants or his owne fore-sightlesnesse that before hee thinkes of it euen on a sudden he runs into debt and danger and stickes so fast in the Vsurers Waxe that he cannot winde himselfe out againe vntill his dying day How often is it seene in the world that riches proue like wilde-fowle to him on whose bushes they sate for a little time and taking the aduantage of his carelesnesse or other inauoydeable crosses doe flie quite from him and neuer returne againe yea euen of those which are not absolute beggers yet many runne so farre in debt and are so intangled with borrowing and lending that their intangled estate doth become extremely troublesome because they want things necessarie to maintaine themselues according to their owne ranke though for a man of another condition of life the things they possesse would euen more then suffice Runne thorow an whole Towne and Countrie enquire into all the housholds and search into all the estates of the greater number and you shall find them broken incumbred low deiected and euen sticking fast in the mud and mire of want and penurie Need then fighteth against the sonnes of men with eagernesse and like an harnessed man doth vse violence will not be repelled but by great labor great care and continuall diligence in which strife though a man get the better and saue himself frō falling into the hands of pouertie yet as it were a bloudy victorie it giues him little cause to reioyce in the conquest Married men must care for the things of this world how to please their yoke-fellowes how to maintaine their families how to liue amongst their neighbours how to pay euerie man his owne how to get something for their children in which care though they prosper so much as to bring to passe the thing cared for yet is the labour great and the burthen heauie and the trouble much vnto the flesh Wherefore the single person must vse his eyes to look before hee leape and muse thus with himselfe Now I am a child or seruant I haue all things in store and plentie I haue none to care for but my selfe or scarce my selfe to care for being maintained rather by the care of others then of my selfe when euer I shall marrie the case will be much altered I must take paines and vse forecast for my selfe and for many others besides my selfe I must get food for children and wages for seruants I must looke that nothing bee lost but that something may be gotten mine head must guide all mine eyes must see all mine hand must be set to euery chare and nothing will goe well forward vnlesse my selfe doe put a finger or rather a shoulder to it What
of his grace resting abundantly assured of his loue and satisfied in it and finding him euer and anon sending messages of kindnesse vnto our soules as a Generall that comes amongst his souldiers when they fight valiantly and hartens them vp with his presence and his speech but if the Lord find vs dealing falsely and treacherously with him entring parley as it were with that Enemie that he doth irreconcileably hate and detest and ready to make a truce with that foe with whom hee would haue no truce taken no not for a moment then doth he cease to speake friendly vnto vs as there is great cause and begins euen to chide and reproue and threaten and send vs tidings of great displeasure And ah what soule can conceiue a more grieuous losse in this world then the losse of the light of his countenance 6. Committing of grosse sinnes But sometimes there followes a farre greater mischiefe namely that he which gaue sinne leaue to get head through carelesnesse is at last so foyled by the wicked lusts of his heart that he falles to commit some grosse and grieuous sinnes very foule very loathsome very disgracefull For you must not thinke that the man regenerate is out of the danger of being ouertaken with hainous offences Indeed whilest hee is earnest in beating downe his vnruly passions though he find trouble yet he enioyes safetie and though his lusts struggle and annoy him yet they cannot breake forth in extremitie but if he once become heedlesse and thinke it too much to be at the paines of continually mortifying them then they raise vp themselues and carrie him captiue and cause him to giue his members as weapons of vnrighteousnesse preuailing so farre at length that if God himselfe did not out of his vnchangeable loue come in to his rescue he would be brought backe againe into Egypt as it were his soule would be quite slaine the life of Grace would bee quite extinguished and hee would returne the second time to bee dead in sinnes And ah what wise man would suffer his sinnes to become so violent as to carrie him into such enormous deeds as Dauid and Salomon and Asa and Vzziah fell into and all for want of mortifying these members A man once sanctified may assure himselfe vpon his faithfull and constant endeauours in mortification that he shall escape such foules but if he grow slacke in this dutie he can expect nothing but to haue his conscience thus wounded Is it not more then needfull for vs to looke to our selues 7. For lastly Sore afflictions to the preuenting of farre greater euils our not-sufficiently mortified lusts will bring vpon vs exceeding sore afflictions because the goodnesse of God is such that he wil not see vs perish by them as we should perish if he did not apply such corosiues to cure them If afflictions come not betwixt neglect of the dutie of mortification will produce the euill effect I last named viz. the perpetrating of some vile and notorious wickednesse sometimes the Lord makes haste to strike vs for the preuenting of such falles but if we be once falne then is there no way of recouerie but by some bitter crosse either inward or outward or most times both wayes So we doe inforce the Lord of necessitie to afflict vs vnlesse we would haue him lose vs quite when we waxe carelesse of seeking to preuaile more and more against sinne A crazie bodie hauing disordered himselfe in diet must needs haue very sicke fits and some sicke-making physicke he must needs take or else death would follow his intemperancie So our weake and crazie soules being brought to strange distempers by our folly in not resisting the sinfull and inordinate dispositions of our soules could neuer be brought again to any tolerable soundnesse if God did not by heauie calamities helpe to purge out those euill humours which we had suffered to pester vp our soules as we may see in Dauid and Asa after their sinnes And certainly the farre greater number of crosses which befall the people of God doe come from hence that their heauenly Father is faine vnlesse hee would see them damned which he will neuer doe by miserie to keepe downe lusts which they might but will not without misery keepe downe by the careful exercise of mortification and to draw them to repentance for those loathsome sinnes which for lacke of mortifying their earthly members they haue falne into and would neuer repent of otherwise so that if we will not bee content to put our selues to the labour of working out our saluation by crucifying the flesh God will put vs to the paines of bearing heauie crosses that shall helpe to crucifie them in a manner whether we will or no. And doe we not see a necessitie of mortification CHAP. III. Shewing the profit of the dutie NOw because necessitie going alone 2. From the good will follow if we doeit doth drag rather then leade and so as an hard and rigorous commander is obeyed indeed but backwardly and against the haire therefore let vs discourse a little of the fruit that will arise from our labour in the worke of Mortification that seeing profit as well as need the difficultie may not hinder vs from doing it euen with chearefulnesse Now the mortifying of the deeds of the flesh will ring with it foure exceeding great and desireable benefits 2. The first is Great peace vnspeakeable peace and quietnesse of soule The heart will be at one with God it selfe and all men so long as it holdeth variance with sinne Hee that is at warre with his lusts shall not be at warre with his Maker If we fight his battailes against our corruptions he will not fight against vs. Nothing causeth the God of Heauen to frowne vpon man but sinne while the World was free from sinne it was also free from all tokens of Gods displeasure therefore it must needs follow that the surest way to keepe our selues in euen termes with God is to be diligent in resisting sinne He is not of so ill a nature as to picke quarrels against vs without a cause himselfe tels vs that he corrects not willingly Lament 3.33 nor of his own accord Sin then being the sole cause of mouing him against vs wee shall bee sure to find him so farre louing towards vs as wee are carefull to preserue our selues from sinning against him which is best and most attained by the studie of mortification so all will bee well aboue our heads in Heauen if we follow Pauls direction Now the conscience is Gods officer and deputie and that that will make him gentle and quiet to vs will make it also quiet and gentle The conscience neuer should and seldome doth rise vp in armes against a man but when he hath giuen leaue to some corruption to grow head-strong for want of opposing it in due season and order As there is no distempered motion in the body till the humours be immoderately stirred by
some inward or outward occasions so neither is there likely terror amazement disquietment in the conscience till the lusts of the soule haue disordered it for want of holding them vnder so that as warre abroad is found to be a present remedie against ciuill dissentions of subiects so warre with sinne is the cause of our tranquillitie with our selues When clouds are dispelled the beames of the Sunne will shine comfortably vpon the earth and then the earth is richly garnished with pleasant and profitable herbes so when sinne is chased away the warme beames of Gods fauour doe sweetely refresh the conscience and the conscience so refreshed doth bring forth the sweet and wholesome flowres of vnspeakable consolatiō The Spirit of God wil tell our spirits and our spirits will tell vs that God is our Friend and Father that he loues vs and delights in vs so long as we be haue our selues to sinne as to an enemy hating loathing and resisting it Thus are we most friends to our selues when wee bee most foes with our corruptions And this fighting with sinne will make vs liue quietly also with our neighbours Hee that is busie in finding out and subduing his home-bred corruptions shall haue little or no leasure to take causelesse vnkindnesses to picke needlesse quarrels and to prouoke others against him by iniurious behauiour so shall hee shun the greatest company of iarres and brawles that vse to set men together by the eares Saint Iames saith Iames 4.1 That warres and fightings amongst men doe come from their lusts which war in their members We may if we will deceiue our selues and attribute things to false causes but the Spirit of God that vnderstandeth all things aright and cannot be deceiued points to lust fighting in the members as the most true proper and immediate cause of contentions stirres betwixt man and man Therefore the more any man doth quell subdue vanquish weaken and beate downe these lusts the more calmely shal he passe thorow the sea of the world and the fewer stormes of discord and enmitie shall hee meete withall When souldiers lye idle and are not imployed in marching against the common foe then they mutinie and fall out with each other so when men set not their griefe and hatred and other affections ou worke to make war vpon sin then they quickly take occasion to grieue at each other to sigh one against another to hate one another and to vexe and gawle each other and trouble themselues most of all But souldiers agree among themselues whilest they lend their powers against a common foe so when we haue strongest and hottest warre with the deuill and sinne then doe we nourish most concord with one another Thus shall the soule enioy vnutterable quietnesse euery way within and without from God and from man and one weekes life led in such comfortable and happie concord and amitie with a mans owne soule and all about him is more worth then the lasting of a whole twelue-moneth torne and rent asunder with the ciuill broyles and commotions of a grudging froward and distempered heart Who would not doe that that will make his soule to dwell at rest 3. Againe the studie of mortification Patience and loy in affliction wil inable a man with inconceiueable patience yea and chearefulnesse to beare any affliction that God shal lay vpon him yea to look death it self in the face though it come clothed in neuer so terrible attire and with neuer so terrible weapons for the sting of death and consequently of all crosses is sinne now pull the sting from out of the Serpents mouth or tayle and then there is little feare or danger in incountring her What was the cause that the Apostle Paul was so exceeding quiet and ioyfull in all his calamities but because he had in great measure subdued and was more and more busie in subduing the corrupt lusts of his body knocking it downe 1. Cor. 9. last and bringing it in subiection as himselfe speaketh Hee that holdeth strong fight against the euils of his owne heart out of that peace with God and his owne soule which we said before that he should enioy hath freedome of Spirit to pray vnto God in his afflictions hee can runne boldly to the Throne of grace as hauing allowed nothing within him that should grieue the Spirit of Grace hee can flie to the towre of Gods name as hauing kept himselfe in the pathes of righteousnesse whic those that do know themselues to haue all good allowance to come thither and when a man can freely powre forth his hart before God in crosses then doth he also comfortably enioy God and then the sharpenes of the crosse is gone The thing that makes crosses intolerably bitter so that the soule cannot endure the bitternesse of them is the admixture of the gawle of Gods displeasure so farre as wee are intire and resolute in fighting against sinne our crosses are pure from this admixture and so they be not to himselfe that beares them howsoeuer they may seeme to the lookers on by the hundreth part so tedious and troublesome as that composition would make them So the mortified man gaines this by his trouble in mortification that the Lord will suffer him to escape many troubles and those that he must for his owne good suffer he shall be able to goe vnder with ten times more quietnesse and gladnesse and contentednesse as an whole shoulder beares the same burden with more ease then a sore or swolne shoulder It is therefore a very profitable labour that wee bestow in mortifying the members on earth that is to say in healing the sores and diseases of our soules 4. Thirdly Certaine freedome from grosse sinnes the man that applies the worke of mortification aright shall attaine certaine freedome from foule grosse and scandalous sinnes A sanctified man may assuredly promise to himselfe vpon his constant and diligent endeauours to abate and hold vnder his sinfull affections and dispositions to bee for his whole life long so kept and sustained by God that hee shall not rush into any lothsome palpable disgracefull soule-wasting wickednesse Wee are neuer ouertaken with those kind of euils but vpon our very palpable carelesnesse of mortifying the deeds of our flesh Whilest we do that that God bidsvs to slay sin he holds it vnder according to his promise and it hath not dominion ouer vs neither doth raigne in our mortall bodies so that we are sure enough that sinne shall not bring forth the fruits of shame and reproach vnto vs vntill we begin to be remisse in following Gods directions to purge out the old leauen And Oh what a benefit is this to escape those blemishes and staines wherewith many of Gods children perhaps also of greater strength then ones selfe doe defile and disgrace themselues What a priuiledge is it to be so supported that neuer in all his life he shall runne into any witting enormous presumptuous crime after God hath