of ceremony and could scarce abide them that could abide those petty things which I haue disliked and yet I neuer lamented but rather applauded my selfe in this bitternesse and I my selfe haue beene very carelesse of greater things when profit pleaded for them that haue seemed so very strict in formes and shaddowes and externall rites and yet I pleased my selfe well enough in this largenesse of conscience O Lord thy Word hath found me out thy Word hath discouered vnto mee the secrets of mine heart it hath iudged me it hath condemned me I desire to giue glory to thee and no longer to hide my sinnes this sinne this vpholder of all sinnes this damnable hypocrisie I see it hath ruled in me and I for want of care haue neuer yet perceiued it but now I perceiue it and now I confesse it O Lord to thee that knowest it already to thee from whom it cannot be hidden I humbly acknowledge I haue all this while beene but an hypocrite Brethren will yee thus pleade guilty A man shall be loath thus to confesse his hypocrisie if you bee guilty before the Lord I know it is maruellous hard to bring the guilty soule to plaine confession selfe-loue raigneth in our hearts naturally and that can hardly endure to speake any euill against it selfe though vpon neuer so iust cause Hee that hath long fed himselfe and made himselfe if not peaceable yet secure with telling himselfe he was a good Christian will be very loath now perhaps after many yeares abiding in this false opinion to acknowledge himselfe to haue been deceiued We see it is very hard to draw men out of those errours wherin they haue been long trained vp Euery man hath been euen trained vp in a conceit that he was a good Christian It is conceit hath long possessed him and this errour hath become a very preiudice within him he hath euer taken it for granted and beene angry that it should be once called into question It is therefore no wonder if men finde themselues loath to recant their owne good conceits of themselues and to goe from all that they haue formerly esteemed vndenyable But for all this But he must for all that confesse I pray you be perswaded to see your selues to haue been dissemblers if you haue been such for all your vnnaturall vnwillingnesse The theefe indeed hath cause as he thinketh to be impudent in denying himselfe to haue committed felony though he know full well that he hath committed it because confession is required of him as an helpe to his conuiction and so to his condemning But the Lord of heauen doth not desire thee to confesse thy selfe to haue been but an hypocrite because he wanteth other meanes to conuict thee or because hee may the more easily proceede to condemne thee For that is the onely way to get it pardoned nay therefore onely he would haue thee confesse that thou mayest be capable of pardon because it is an ouer-ruled case in heauen and a thing peremptorily concluded of by the Diuine iustice that no sinner shall euer be pardoned till he deale plainely and freely confesse that he is such a sinner as he is Thy confession is called for onely to sit thee for pardon not to vrge against thee to any worse purpose Wherefore forbeare no longer winke no longer be ignorant of thy selfe no longer hide thy guile no longer but in thy very soule now in the thoughts of it and heereafter in more words twixt God and thy selfe in secret say vnto the Lord and deny not but acknowledge O Lord I see plainely that yet I haue been but an bypocrite Brethren And if he doe it not he is no whit safer ignorance of ones ill estate cannot helpe it Is a man one iot the better if he be an hypocrite because hee refuseth to acknowledge it Shall he scape better because he can make himselfe blinde and not see it Doubtlesse the Lord will discouer the secrets of euery soule at the last day and at the day of death to euery mans soule first and after to all the world and then a man shall be discouered to himselfe fearefully and horribly without all hope without all possibilitie of being pardoned Suffer the Word of God wherein hee comes to exercise iudgement in a mercifull manner to draw you to a plaine and sauing acknowledgement that you may not be forced by the last sentence to see and feele your hypocrisie when there will be neither leasure nor meanes to redresse it Now thou mayest be helped now thou mayest be changed from an hypocrite to a true Christian from a dissembler to soundnesse of spirit Now therefore whilest vpon confession mercy and healing may be procured bring thy soule to it and suffer the Word of God to ouer-rule all thine vnwillingnesse and fall to a free confession and as I haue often said tell the God of heauen O Lord It is true too true too plaine I cannot deny it vnlesse I will deny it wilfully and against my conscience I am but an hypocrite as yet Brethren wee therefore labour about this point so much because we doe well know the necessitie of it If we cannot attaine thus much from you But shall for euer remain so you will alwayes remaine hypocrites and the Word of God through your opposing it will prooue but a meanes of hardening you in your hypocrisie but if we draw you to acknowledgement it will not be impossible to direct you to amendment I know that your hearts may possibly hold off from confession by thinking to this effect That if you haue beene but hypocrites all this while it will neuer bee better with you and you shall neuer attaine to be vpright But this is a false suggestion of Satan If you will not see your selues to haue but dissembled you shall in very deede neuer be better but rather worse and worse and more and more sold vnder the power of hypocrisie Only by confessing and lamenting hee may be made true but if you will see it and lament it before God and oppose it by striuing to cast out the beloued sinne and to step that one step which hitherto you haue not stepped of falling out with that one sinne whatsoeuer which hitherto you haue harboured and constant praying against that one fault which hitherto you haue been content to winke at and let passe with a priuiledge of Seene and allowed you shall bee true you shall bee vpright you shal be sincere and of fruitlesse barren become fruitfull and profitable branches A man may weep out hypocrisie aswel as other vices confessing and lamenting guile will surely free a man from the power of guile and hee shall cease to be an hypocrite that will now begin hereafter daily continue to see acknowledge and bewayle his hypocrisie before the Lord who sees and hates it where it is not cōfessed sees pities it where it is CHAP. XII Containing a third vse for them that
but from gracious acceptation of them in that blood by dipping wherein the spots of them are done away For there is I thinke none of vs which denyeth but that God accepting our workes as perfect in Christ doth reward vs for them as if they were perfect but seeing the reward becomes due in Christ and not by the workes themselues wee thinke it a foolish pride to maintaine the stately name of merit of workes when wee are faine to beg the reward for anothers sake and cannot chalenge it simply for the workes sake Thus this truth inforceth them after much turning and winding in effect to confesse it though the truth is they would not haue it seeme so for feare of a sore losse that might follow thence vnto their Clergies kitchin and manger I meane their liuing and pompe But let them passe There is a second errour of heretickes 2. Of perfection of holinesse in this life dreamed of by the ancient Puritans so they may well be called no lesse dangerous yea verily I suppose much more dangerous then the former of old condemned vnder the name of Puritans from a conceited and imaginary purity or absolute freedome from all sinne whereof they boasted and now as the speech goes reuiued in some parts of this Land This is that the Saints of God in this life may attaine to such perfection as not at all to commit any sinne with such gay fancies they please to seed themselues and their seduced followers Now it is most certaine that these men are the most abominable and dissembling hypocrites in all the world or else the most besotted and benummed spirits for their owne whole carriage and continuall experience doth confute them euen to themselues and yet they will not see themselues confuted If euer any of you meet with any foolish Hypocrite offering to tel you a tale of such perfection that he hopes to get or that he hath gottē or that may be gotten by any in this life as neuer to sinne any more neuer any more to need repentance doe no more but turne him to Saint Iohns Epistle and tell him that he that saith he hath no sinne deceiueth himselfe and the truth is not in him Bid him consult with Salomon againe who propoundeth the question as of a thing impossible Who can say his heart is pure and tell him againe that the same Salomon knew what he said when he said that there is a generation which is pure in their owne eyes but are not cleansed from their filthinesse and tell him that those branches in Christ which need no pruning are sure like a branch ouerladen with Grapes through the conceit of their much fruitfulnesse broken off from him for he saith that euery one remaining in him needeth and receiueth pruning which were not needfull if he were faultlesse And so leaue the fond deceiued and selfe-conceited Hypocrite vnto himselfe and haue no more to doe with him For either he speaketh altogether against his owne heart or else his heart is nought worth as Salomon saith of the wicked yea more hope is there of the saluation of the most desperate sinner aliue then of such an one For Christ alwayes 〈◊〉 the full empty away and pronounceth a 〈◊〉 vpon these spiritually rich persons Seest thou a man wise in his owne eyes saith Salomon there is more hope of a foole then of him Surely he is wise in his owne eyes that thinketh he hath no sinne wherefore we can haue little hope of him This errour is so contrary to all the feeling and sense of all Gods Saints who are faine still to say with Dauid Lord who can know his errors as that a man would maruel how any man in whom there was euer any knowledge of the Word and any shew and beginning of goodnesse should bee so farre seduced and drawne away as to entertaine such an opinion But the cause is manifest hypocrisie is alwayes accompanied with pride and the growth of hypocrisie breeds also a growth of pride and pride swels out the eyes that a man cannot see the cleerest truthes And thus haue we briefly discouered vnto you these errours to rectifie your iudgements For if the words of Christ be true these opinions that are directly opposite vnto the truth contained in them must needs be false Now heare some other vses to rectifie your practice also CHAP. VIII Containing a second vse of the poynt stirring vp the seruants of God to an holy longing for death Vse 2 SEE heere 〈◊〉 how great cause wee haue to follow the Apostle Paul We should long for the time of our dissolution when we shall be perfectly freed from sinne and to long that wee were once dissolned and perfectly vnited vnto Christ that as hee prayes for vs being where he is and seeing his glory we might be perfectly like him in a spotlesse purity and holinesse Impatient folkes are many times so tormented with worldly crosses made so troublesome vnto them alone by their owne folly and pride whereby they neglect to see God and to stoope vnto him in crosses that they are euen altogether weary of their liues because of them and our of a kind of stomackfull sullennesse against God as once Ionas or else a feeble sinking vnder the burthen of misery as once Eliah they euen thinke with themselues I would I were dead and are bold to trouble God with that vnsauoury petition of making an end of their daies that they may be rid of their crosses which they haue neither patience enough to beare for the present nor hope enough to looke for a good issue out of for the time to come But my brethren consider Haue you not other and worse things to be weary of then crosses and for which if for any thing to be weary of life also as of a burthen which you long to be remoued from off your shoulders Hast thou not pride passion worldlinesse ambition lust enuie vaine-glory blindnesse hollownesse deadnesse of heart and a thousand more besides these corruptions within thee which giue thee farre iuster cause of panting for the period of thy dayes and wishing that thy life heere might bee but short then the frowardnesse of a yoke fellow the stubbornnesse of a child the meannesse of thine estate the falsenesse of thy friends the power and fury of thine enemies or any other crosse if any be worse then these Ah wee haue not sufficiently informed our selues of the loathsomnesse of sin neither are we sufficiently heauie laden with the sense thereof if the cumbersomnesse of this doe not cause vs euen in the time of our greatest immunity from other miseries to couet our departure hence If sicknesses make men cry for death because they be terrible to the body how should not the sicknesses of the soule make vs much rather to seeke for it seeing wee shall not cease to suffer the fits of this disease till death be sent to seuer our soules from our bodies and both from our
that liueth in the Church out of these naturall desires that are inseparably vnited to his reasonablenesse doth incline himselfe in some things to yeeld to the Doctrine of Religion that so he may serue his owne turne in fulfilling his owne desires this is false goodnesse goodnesse alone to the eye it is called goodnesse as a false shilling is called a shilling because it looketh like a shilling hauing the same stampe and a little filuer at top though in ths middest it be nothing but brasse or some such base and vnworthy matter If a man I say be moued for his owne credit or ease sake yea or for his owne faluation sake to be willing to do some good that God in his word commandeth and to forbeare some euill in the same Word condemned and not to be willing to doe all good commanded and auoyde all euill forbidden this is but guilefull hollow imperfect dissembled goodnesse so esteemed by men and so appearing to them that can looke alone vpon the bark and outer rinde of things not so appearing to the pure eyes of God nor so accounted in his true iudgement that searcheth into the marrow and pith and depth of all things For God himselfe is the chiefe good and in a manner the onely good neither is any thing good but by participation from him and so that goodnesse which is not as it were deriued from him as from the originall of it nor directed to him as to the scope and end of it because it hath nothing to doe with him therefore indeede is not goodnesse whatsoeuer shew it may carrie to the world So that as true goodnesse is will to bee good in all things for Gods sake so is false goodnesse a will to seeme good in some things for ones owne sake Ease may moue a man to doe some good and auoyde some euill so may credit so may profit Now if any of these things doe chiefly and principally worke vpon our wills as the motiues and ends of our actions then is that goodnesse but hypocrisie and seeming goodnesse and that man who liuing in the visible Church suffers this vice of being induced but to some good things not all and withdrawne but from some euill not all for his owne credite profit ease or the like cause not Gods sake onely or principally to sway and beare rule in him he is an hypocrite Hypocrisie ruleth where it is not seene and lamented But when and in whom doth this vice preuaile may some man say I answere euen then and in that man where and in whom it is not seene opposed resisted by the spirituall weapons of frequent confessions hearty petitions earnest lamentations and diligent application of the word of God against it for to beate it downe for all vices must be distinguished into two kindes some are more fleshly and grosse as I may terme them that doe follow the temperature of the body and their strength and weakenesse doth much what depend vpon the constitution thereof such are wrath and choller gluttony and filthinesse and diuers other like Now it is not of necessitie that these vices bee actually in all the corrupt generation of Adam alone they are in euerie one as I may terme it virtually so that if the same soule were put into another body whose temperature would fit the turne of those vices it would be as plentifull in them as any other man is or as it selfe is in any other vice Now there are other vices of a more spirituall nature as I may terme it I meane more immediatly and principally flowing from the corruption of reason and of will and from the natiue defilement of the soule in its chiefe faculties such as are pride vnbeliefe forgetfulnesse of GOD vnconscionablenesse and by name this hypocrisie And these last kind of vices are in all men indifferently since the first sinne of Adam by whom all became dead in sinnes and trespasses though it must not bee denyed that in some they grow more head-strong than in others and doe more manifestly and violently shew themselues according as they are more or lesse nourished with meanes and occasions and as it were soyled with helpes and opportunities fit for them And as for all these vices there doe they preuayle and there they must be called predominant where they are not obserued bewailed acknowledged oppugned and that by spirituall weapons and that constantly For it is most vndeniable that whersoeuer any vice is there it ruleth vnlesse it be mortified and crucified by the spirit that is by spirituall means and ordinances faithfully vsed wherewith Gods Spirit faileth not to worke and it is as certaine that this grand member or lim rather of the body of death which we all bring into the world with vs I mean hypocrisie is in euery man wherefore it hath dominion in him vnlesse it be as was formerly spokē discerned and oppugned And therefore also it is great reason that such one should receiue his name from hypocrisie be intituled an hypocrite And so I would think An hypocrite is a professor of Christianitie that doth not see and resist his hypocrisie an hypocrite maybe fitly called a professor of religion that doth not see bewaile and fight against his owne hypocrisie that is his aptnes to make a shew of goodnes by doing onely some things that are commanded and auoyding onely some things that are forbidden for his owne sake not indeuouring to doe and auoyd all such things for Gods sake Not the hauing but the not oppugning of hypocrisy makes an hypocrite And this thing is worthy to be diligently marked that I spake of the predominancie of vice because it is of maruellous great vse for the true triall of our felues according to those things that afterwards shall be set downe for that purpose For not euery one that feeleth in himselfe some of these signes and effects of hypocrisie that shall be named is by and by an hypocrite but he that hath them in him and takes no care to find them out or if hee must needes find them out continueth not to make warre against them by prayers and teares the sword of the spirit and the like weapons of our Christian warfare And of the description of an hypocrite hitherto I goe forwards to shew you the sorts or kinds of hypocrites for well may wee say that a notable difference in degrees may giue iust occasion of distributing the things so differing into diuers kinds as the Scripture diuideth the heauenly Bodies into the greater light for the day and the lesser light to rule the night CHAP. IIII. Of the diuers sorts of Hypocrites AND of hypocrites within the Church Of hypocrites there are two kinds the grosse hypocrite and the close hypocrite we shal find two kinds the greater hypocrite the lesser hypocrite the grosse hypocrite the close hypocrite both well called hypocrites because in both that vice preuayleth and yet the one distinguished from
busie in labouring to obey and a man that liues with him may euen perceiue in him and he in himselfe a strift this way For in truth as there is a great difference betwixt lusting to be rich and labouring for wealth so betwixt a bare lusting to be good and endeauouring after goodnesse The sluggard would bee content to take wealth if he could find it vnder his foote or if with little adoe hee could entreat it to fall into his lap yea sometimes when hee wants money or cloathes or foode and is pinched with neede hee hath a kind of angry eagernesse after it and hee would as leife as his life haue so good a liuing as his neighbour hath but hee cannot shake off sleepe in a cold morning hee can endure no sweates hee can endure no sweate he loues not to rise betimes and set to worke he cannot trauell he cannot take paines Not so the good husband for he thinkes of his businesse whither he may goe what he may doe what times he must obserue for the getting of a shilling and accordingly takes those times dispatcheth those businesses and goes to such places and neyther heate nor cold nor wet nor dry nor night nor darkenesse shall hinder him but he will goe forward with those things which are requisite for his thriuing Euen so the foolish man sometimes could find in his heart to leaue such a sinne and to doe such good duties O it were very well if he had such vertues and were rid of such vices and what a good turne had hee if he could doe as such and such and in a twinge of his conscience or in a fit when he is told of heauen hee could bee content to leape out of his skin to get heauen and to get out of hell but after his fit is ouer he cannot away with this confessing of his sinnes in secret with this rending of his soule with this earnest contending with God and with this crossing of his owne nature and fighting against the lusts of his flesh euen with this labouring for the righteousnesse of God aboue all things But the Christian stands otherwise affected he museth of the way and meanes of getting grace he thinketh seriously what is to be done for the beating downe of such a vice and building vp of such a vertue hee beateth vpon his owne heart all such reasons as hee can bring to fix his will in a resolution of doing good leauing euill hee taketh paines with calling hard vpon God takes paines in checking and controling in prouoking and stirring vp himselfe in labouring to lament and bewayle to hate and detest his sinne and to worke in himselfe earnest sorrow and sound griefe for sinne and thinkes not much euen to weary and toyle himselfe in these spirituall labours Hee plowes his heart hee sowes in the Word be seekes for showres of grace hee weedes his heart hee breakes the clods of his heart Thus he sets himselfe to taske and is a right husbandman in his owne soule Further the thing about which his desires and endeauours are conuersant About the will of God is the will of God reuealed in his Word not the will of men not the secret and hidden will of GOD nor a supposed imaginary will of God but that selfe-same will of God which is deliuered vnto him in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles for so saith Dauid His delight is in the Law of God Psal 1.2 Psal 119.105 And againe Thy word is a Lanthorne to my feet and a light to my paths He lookes to that which is reuealed and desires to be wise according to that which is written and not aboue it his desires and labours are limited by the manifestation of Gods will In things tendred to the thoughts of his mind hee demaundeth how it is written Reuealed in Scriptures and how doe I reade so farre and no further stooping and yeelding as he findeth diuine authority with Propheticall and Apostolicall testimony to call for yeeldance I haue walked in thy truth Psal 26.3 saith Dauid He knowes that what the Lord hath commended to his Church by those principall Pastours of his Church the Prophets and Apostles that is Gods truth and therefore he subdues his reason and affections vnto it But if any man will bring any thing to him and presse it as necessary to saluation which hath not the stampe of diuine inspiration he knowes not how to submit his conscience to such basenesse as to yeeld it selfe to any other than the royall soueraignty of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings like a right good subiect and withall noble and ingenuous that as he cannot be induced to with-draw his necke from his Princes yoke so can he by no meanes indure the burden of an vsurpers Scepter and therefore he had rather die with the honorable liberty of a subiect of the Lord than liue a slaue inthralled to the tyranny of an vsurping creature Now this will of God he striueth both to know Both to know and doe the same and also to doe Not to know alone nor to doe alone but to know and doe both euen to doe out of know ledge is the marke that his indeuours aime at An hypocrite separates these two things hee would know but regardeth not to practise he admits GODS Word into his head willingly and with applause in most things but into his heart and into his life hee doth not admit it Neyther doth he therefore study to vnderstand that he may bee ruled by the light hee hath gotten but alone that he may make himselfe a teacher of others or a carper at others and a well applauded discourser before others He hath lame feete though hee haue a seeing eye and neuer cares to goe where hee sees his duety leadeth him Thus the forward dissembler and quite contrarily the ordinary formall man he seemeth to be all for doing and doing little caring to know or vnderstand as if a man should talke of dispatching his worke in the darke without a candle doubtlesse this worke would be but bunglingly performed but the Christian desireth to rectifie his life by knowledge to guide his feete by his eye and his eye by the lanthorne of the Word that so hee may neither haue a fruitlesse knowledge nor a blinde practise but may attaine the blessing that our Sauiour pronounceth saying Now you know these things Iohn 13.17 happy are ye if you do them And this is the matter of a good life a setled will and endeauour to know and doe the will of God set downe in Scriptures Let vs acquaint you with the moouing cause thereof The motiue of fruitfulnesse is loue to God Iohn 14.15 which must bee the loue of God in Christ according as our Sauiour himselfe assureth vs saying If yee loue me keepe my commandements In like maner the Apostle telling vs that faith must worke by loue 2. Cor. 5.14 15 and saying of himselfe that the
of those kindes of men to whom any of those things agree that I haue set downe vnto you He should be vntrue and falsifie his word if hee should not bring damnation vpon all each of those that I haue said Princes often threaten meerly to terrifie and pronounce harder sentences in publike then they meane shall be executed as they doe with vs in case of those that are adiudged to bee pressed to death It is not so with the Iudge of all the world not one tittle of a word more is to be found in his sentence then shall be felt in his execution his blowes shall bee as terrible as his threats and his iust menaces as exactly accomplished as his most gracious promises not one tittle of the Word of God shall faile and therfore no part of the misery denounced against Hypocrites till all bee fulfilled Marke then I pray you the precise and punctuall dealing of our Lord in this place hee saith particularly euery branch loe euery one without any partiality and exception and He the God of heauen that hath a strong arme and no question a knife sharpe enough for this businesse and cutteth off taketh quite away vtterly remoueth from the root and all the benefits of the root euen to his endlesse destruction as it must needs be granted for what but damnation can betide him that is separated from Iesus the author of life by whose Name alone saluation is to be found Wherfore take no more paines to flatter thine owne soule and make thy selfe hope to speed better then thou hast heard whosoeuer thou bee whom the forenamed things haue discouered to bee but a dissembler thou shalt surely haue thy portion without amongst the searefull and dogs and inchanters and theeues and whoremongers in that fiery and yet darke Lake that is prouided for the fairest Hypocrites as well as for the blacker and more infamous sinner there is no escaping there is no getting out no one Hypocrite shall bee able to shun the eye and hand of God hee will picke out euery one by himselfe and euery one shall be cut off and vtterly destroyed the Word shall proue an axe affliction shall proue an axe prosperity shall proue an axe and all Gods ordinances and all that thou doest and all that thou seest and hearest and is done to thee shall be but in the nature of a sharpe cutting knife by little and little to take thee off from Christ and ripen thee for vengeance In comming to Church thou hastenest towards hell in preaching thou speedest towards death in giuing almes thou runnest forwards to hell in liuing as thou callest it iustly thou doest but step a step neerer to hell all that thou dost and all that betideth thee helping to increase and further thy damnation O miserable man and beyond all conceit wretched vnlesse thou wilt heare and feare and prepare thy selfe to come out of this misery by feeling it Be thou cut off from the Vine be thou spiritually excommunicated from Christ let thy sinnes bee bound vpon thee as a bundle and be thou bound ouer to the great Day of the vengeance of God Almighty what should we adde to that that wee haue already spoken againe and againe The case of the Hypocrite not alone the grosse hypocrite that knowes himselfe to be such cares not but euen of the close hypocrite that takes himselfe to be far better is most wretched hidious intolerable O that you could beleeue it O that the deceitfulnesse of sin might not harden your hearts that the effectuall working of Satan might no longer blind your eyes but that you may see and feele your selues to be if you be dissemblers and withall to be so vnhappy and sure and certaine of such an vnhappy end I feare brethrē lest in laboring thus mainly to affright the hypocrite out of his guile I may perhaps against my will and purpose scar the trueharted out of the present fruitiō of their comfort as if a shepheard set his dog vpō a Goat feeding amongst a flocke of sheepe all the sheepe will runne and bee afraid But I hope I haue so plainely deciphered this child of hell this sonne of Satan the Hypocrite as that I hope none of Gods true Saints shall catch any harme by hearing them thus prosecuted with feares and terrours and threats from whom they may perceiue themselues to bee thus manifestly differenced I say not euery one in whom much and very much hypocrisie and many very bad effects of very much hypocrisie is to be found shall be damned but euery Hypocrite in whom this sin ruleth and shewes it selfe to beare-rule by not being seene and bewailed and opposed and the other notes before set downe euery such one I say and say it againe vnlesse hee become new shall surely be damned But if the true-hearted out of his weaknesse shall be put into some feare by the hearing of this terrour so that hee doe seasonably returne to inioy comfort it will doe him good and not harme to bee so feared for these causelesse feares of the vpright proceed from the want of vprightnesse though not from the vtter absence of it and from the too much hypocrisie though not ouer-ruling hypocrisie that is in them And so if for a while they bee euen almost out of conceit with themselues as with Hypocrites till these doubts haue made them more bitterly to lament and heartily to confesse and mightily to fight against their hypocrisie they shall receiue none other euil by hauing been so frighted then the being purged from that that was the cause of their feares And if through the smalnesse of the quantity of truth and sincerity they cannot so euidently perceiue it at the first but that they see cause to become suspitious of themselues the grieuing for the want of truth and labouring and praying for increase of it which the holy Ghost will work in them by meanes of such suspitions will bee helpfull though accidentally as the besieging of a City to its fortification to the growth of their vprightnesse But the truth is that this aptnesse to fall into iealousie of ones selfe and when such terrours are deliuered to feare lest they belong to him and so framing ones selfe to be humbled because so many fruits of much hollownesse are seene in him as doe minister matter to such feare this aptnesse I say to feare is euen as sure a signe of one that is not an Hypocrite as can bee named I would not wish a better proofe of ones not being dead then to heare him complaining that sure he is but a dead man neither can one likely finde a truer note of one that is not dead in this sinne of hypocrisie then when the worke of the Word in the reprehensions and menaces thereof doth driue him to complaints and feares of his owne guilefulnesse onely so that he be driuen to prayer and confession heereby and so to seeke strength against the mischiefe feared But on the
other side a worse and more likely signe of a man wholy sold ouer into the hands of guile we can scarce meet with then this to be vnmoued in the hearing of such threats to haue no risings of feare and doubt and suspition nor no troublesome conceits of his owne estate either such man is so abundantly and extraordinarily sanctified as that the ouer-euident proofe of his vprightnesse doth presently secure him from such thoughts or else he is wholly buryed and bound hand and foot in the hollow graue of guile and therefore cannot feele it because hee is altogether vnder the power of it For this is the nature of these darke and hidden vices they are euer the lesse felt by how much they doe more strongly preuaile euen as the pangs of death are least troublesome when they haue quite ouercome the strength of nature Wherfore nothing fearing any danger that may come vnto the true hatred by this earnestnes let me yet once againe settle vnto those that be dissemblers adiure protest and call Angels men and Christ God and their owne soules and all things that are to witnesse against them that vnlesse they wil open their eyes see themselues to be in a damnable estate they shall surely be damned You may perhaps maruel that we should presse the poynt so hard but the cause is we know the Hypocrite to bee the most noysome weed in Gods garden and faine would we make him see his danger that he might escape it Yea we know that hypocrisie doth harden and deadden the hart aboue all other sins that nothing in the world is more difficult then to make him see and feele his perill who will rather thinke any man yea all men Hypocrites then himselfe although by this his ouer-aptnesse to thinke so hardly of others hardnes to be made conceiue so hardly though truly of himselfe he might if he were not blind discerne himselfe to be as hee is But now if thou beest such and so proued by what hath been formerly spoken how good soeuer thou hast been to see to and beest still how full soeuer of knowledge and of zeale blazing outward how glad soeuer to God and heare Sermons how able soeuer to pray and to repeat Sermons how well soeuer accounted of by others and by thy selfe and how strongly soeuer perfwaded and in that perswasion ioyed of thy being Gods child and being saued as all this may befall thee and yet the former notes discouer thee to be but hollow I doe now in Gods name adiudge thee and preiudge thee vnlesse thou repent to cutting off to burning to eternall death lo here is the portion of thy cup At length Gods arme and axe shall fell thee and grub thee vp by the roots if thou wert as tall as the Cedar of Lebanon and as tough as the Oakes of Bashan and as strongly rooted as the tree that groweth neere a rocke CHAP. V. Containing the third vse viz. An exhortation to the Hypocrite to come out of his hypocrisie Vse 3 BVt to what purpose doe we thus earnestly fight against Hypocrites with the sword of Christs mouth Let the Hypocrite bee carefull to come out of hypocrisie which he hath put into our mouthes Onely onely at least chiefly if it may be to conuert him and to make him cease to be an Hypocrite when he sees the lamentable condition of such kind of men It is your conuersion which we wish O all yee that haue been dissemblers and your reformation which wee aime at which we are well assured can neuer bee effected but by shewing you the woe which is comming vpon you Now therefore seeing the case of counterfeit Christians is so bad so hard so intolerably so desperately so ineuitably wretched but by turning wee beseech you suffer your selues to be wrought vpon to be conuerted to become true and to receiue the Spirit of vprightnesse which the Lord of heauen is now ready to powre forth vpon you Be it knowne vnto thee O thou that hast been hither to but an Hypocrite that thy case is not altogether irrecouerable but that thou maist if thou wilt not at this time also refuse Gods gracious offer bee made sincere and so bee receiued into grace For brethren be ye well assured of this truth that when the Lord of heauē sends his seruants vnto you in his owne name to call vpon you to performe any good duty tending to your owne saluation that then he is also present in his ordinance by the gracious cooperation of his good Spirit to inable you with strength from himselfe to performe that duty For Gods ordinances are not idle neither shall his VVord returne in vaine but shall be effectuall for all for which hee sendeth it and he that desireth not the death of the sinner but rather that he may turne and liue will effectually turne him from his euill way if he doe not wilfully harden himselfe therein and euen refuse to be conuerted Be willing therefore to be made vpright that thou maist be so indeed and be it for certaine deliuered vnto thy soule that thou shalt bee made able to become such if thou doe not stiffen thy selfe in the naturall vnwillingnesse of thy corrupted nature I demand therfore of thee in the same question that our Sauiour vsed to the sicke man that lay at the Poole of Bethesda Wilt thou be made whole If thou be willing now the waters are stirred now the Spirit of God is come downe in this ordinance now thou mayest bee put into these waters and now thou shalt bee made whole If thine answere bee that thou art willing then I say vnto thee make it appeare that thou art so in very truth and that thou dost not onely say thou art so for many a mans words and meaning are farre distant each from other many a man affirmeth with loud voyce and open profession of speeches that hee is willing to receiue that grace which hee is not willing to receiue There is a faint motion of the will which is rather an act of the vnderstanding conuinced that one should be willing to get a thing thē any true and earnest working of the will towards that thing and this kind of willingnesse must men take for a true being willing But heerein they doe much deceiue themselues for a man may bee inforced to acknowledge that hee ought to bee willing to get such or such a thing and withall finde in himselfe some slothfull wishes to haue the same and yet be destitute of that stedfast and fixed resolution of the will which is indeed the motion of the will required to be in vs if we will receiue good from the Lord. But how shall it be made manifest whether a mans willingnesse bee settled or ouert well grounded or shallow Surely he that indeed bendeth his will to any thing will be contented to deuoure the paines of seeking and striuing after it as he that would be rich
make him shame thee before the whole world at the last Iudgement or make thee shame thy selfe to no purpose before many on thy death-bed Euery secret thing must be made open euery hidden thing must bee brought to light O now drag this corner-seeking and light-shining vice into the open view by a free and plaine confession as thou hast beene exhorted that it may not at that day remaine to bee laid open to thine eternall confusion If thou tellest me that thou hast bin long time a professour of religion hast long accounted thy self the child of God therfore if the matter be brought to that passe that after all this while thou must be faine to take vpon thee the name of an Hypocrite thou canst not see any hope of euer being true I answere thee that this is a vaine feare with which Satan seekes to hinder thee from doing that that is absolutely needfull to thy saluation for this is one and a principall cause that thou wast neuer yet true because thou wouldest neuer yet be made to see thy felse false But remoue this impediment by the much perswaded confession I call for at thine hands and whatsoeuer thou hast been and how long soeuer thou shalt bee made true for God comes hither now in this his ordinance to make thee true if thou doe not make thy selfe vncapable of truth by refusing to acknowledge thy want of truth wherefore breaking thorow all vnwillingnesse and delayes and laying aside all shifts and defences fall vpon thy knees in thy secret chamber and there say vnto thy selfe and in more words complaine against thy selfe vnto God that thou art as yet an Hypocrite a barren branch that standeth euery houre in perill of being cut off This done 2. A constant lamenting of his hypocrisie in the second place frame thy selfe to mourning and sorrow for thine hypocrisie and ferret out thy guile by lamenting it For there is no sinne or corruption in the heart of man so tyrannous and ouer-ruling but that godly sorrow will fetch it downe and ouer-master it Indeed a little whimpering griefe a sigh or two a teare or two a sad countenance for a Sermon time or so will not preuaile The best medicine that is will not heale a sore if there bee not a sufficient quantity of it applyed if it bee not constantly applyed and followed close He that will be content to grieue a little at Church or so for his guile and out of the present euidence of the Spirit working with the Word will perhaps yeeld to see and to lament his hollownesse but lets the matter passe quickly and takes no more paines about it shall anger the sore as it were and not heale it and by carelesse neglecting of Gods grace in such motions offered hee shall cause his hypocrisie to fester more and grow more incurable for euen this weake worke of the Word will helpe out of his owne erronious disposition to coozen him and to make him too soone thinke himselfe vpright and so he shall neuer become vpright But the sorrow I speake of must be a settled and constant sorrow which a man must let rest vpon his soule and willingly entertaine within himselfe many a day together though not in a violent manner to hinder his other occasions yet in a still quiet maner to make his thoughts in the middest of all other occasions as well they may without offering any wrong vnto such occasions be still running vpon the matter of his guile and in an inward and silent manner continuing to bemone the same within himselfe A spirit of griefe will not change an Hypocrite into a true Christian a constant griefe will This then doe as he that hath a grieuous sore or wound applies the curing of that wound aboue all things vntill it be whole set thy selfe for a good space of time together to make it thy principal worke to obserue the working of thine hypocrisie and to bewaile the same Sometimes be earnest with thy selfe and in thy solemne and secret prayers and confessions labour to rend and breake thine heart with grieuous sorrow and to bee wonderfull vile in thine owne eyes because of thy long continued hypocrisie and striue to doe as Peter did for his denying his Master for a counterfeit following him is little better then a denyall of him euen to get alone and weepe at least grieue which may well be without weeping very bitterly and when thine other occasions call thee from thy chamber yet hold thy thoughts still on worke and let the plaister lye to the sore all the day Be thinking Ah wretched creature I that haue so great a space of time continued an Hypocrite a professor of Religion not changed in heart not washed in the inner man not made a new creature O how great cause hath God to abhorre me haue I to abhorre my selfe that haue so long gone about to coozen God and to mocke mine owne soule And so whatsoeuer thou beest doing let thine heart bee feeding on this bitter herbe of inwardly bemoning thy guile and thine irreformednesse and vnchangednesse of heart Bid these cogitations welcome as thou sittest at meate and count them as the best sawce for thy meat yea as the best dish on thy table In company let these cogitations be thy most esteemed companions and in solitarinesse giue thy selfe ouer to them and so continue to doe till thou find a plaine change of thine heart a manifest alteration and so euident a framing thee to be another then thou wast before that at last thou mayest be able which if thou wilt not be weary of striuing within no long space of time thou shalt be able to say Now I finde and feele that I am made new Brethren if any of you had a very sore leg or arme he would be content to goe to some Chirurgion to dresse the same euery morning and euening and let perhaps a smarting plaister lye vpon it all day long and all night too for three weekes or a moneths space together that he might be healed and not lose his ioynt O why should not he that hath an heart diseased with that grieuous fistula of hypocrisie be contented as it were to dresse it twice a day by some solemne secret and earnest lamenting it before God and to let the plaister of griefe lye at it all day by frequent renewing of his sorrowfull thoughts for it that this foule and festered sore may be healed and he may not lose his soule and body both by it Wilt thou not bestow as much time paines care in healing thy soule as thy leg or arme Doubtlesse this care would goe happily forward for God himselfe would be the Chirurgion and health would follow without faile for the medicine is soueraigne and hath been tryed by many and prescribed by an excellent and skilfull person Saint Iames bids wauering-minded and double-hearted men hee meaneth Hypocrites to turne their laughter into teares and to afflict themselues and
of vprightnesse We cannot ouercome the smallest corruptions of our hart in our owne strength but it must be a diuine power which must inable vs to preuaile against sinfull dispositions Now this strength the Lord of heauen the strong God the author of all strength is ready and willing to bestow vpon all that humbly sue vnto him for it for he giueth to all liberally and hitteth no man in the teeth Beg then for the spirit of power and of a right mind and beg heartily and confidently because thou beggest of him that is able to giue and much more willing then thou art to receiue He that hath made others of weake to become strong and of false to become true can and will performe the same grace to thee according to his promise For hee commandeth all to aske and shuts vp his mercies from none that truly and heartily beseech the same at his hands Perhaps the diuell may seeke to turne thee from this exercise of prayer by casting in a cauill against thee to this purpose that the prayers of Hypocrites cannot be accepted and thou hauing been hitherto but an Hypocrite how should thy prayers preuaile in heauen For the settling of thy soule against this doubt know that the prayer of an Hypocrite that doth not see and lament his hypocrisie cannot indeed bee bidden welcome in heauen but all that are heauy laden with sinne haue a command to come vnto Christ Iesus and a promise that they shall be refreshed wherefore now thou hauing begun to see and detest and bee burthened and grieued with thy guile good warrant hast thou to aske helpe and good assurance that thine asking shall not be in vaine Therefore I say againe lift vp thine heart and voyce and cry mightily to God for the powerfull worke of his Spirit to make thee sincere before him O Lord say thou which art onely able to forme the soule of man anew within create thou in me a new heart and forme a right spirit within me make me sound in thy precepts and let not iniquity haue dominion ouer me Make me Lord a true Israelite in whose spirit there is no guile Make mee truly good good for thy sake and because thou wouldest haue me good that I may please thee and not onely or chiefly that I may serue mine owne turne yea or saue mine owne soule yea generally and vniuersally good good in all things with such a goodnes as thou accountest perfect in thy Son Christs perfection because he in whom it is doth striue labour after perfection Follow this suit most closely and earnestly and giue not ouer till thou findest it granted if thou canst not go on in variety of words yet repeat ouer the same petition often and often and be not weary for so they be hearty feruent the Lord of heauen will neuer be weary of such repetitions Our Sauiour hath spokē a Parable to the intent that we shuld pray alwayes and not waxe faint Thou knowest I presume what the parable is A poore Widdow by importunity forced an vnrighteous Iudge to do her iustice against her aduersary How much more shall the righteous God auenge the cause of his seruants that cry day and night vnto him And if his compassion be such towards them that he will auenge them of their externall enemies which onely seeke to make their liues tedious by persecutions shall hee not much rather assist them against their inward corruptions which tend to bring their soules to destruction wherefore resolue thy selfe to be importunate and to take no nay nor euer to giue ouer till thou hast sped in thy suit wherin nothing can hinder thee from speeding but thine owne too soone giuing ouer the suit through wearinesse Men are troubled with earnestnesse and importunity and amongst them many times a stout begger hath a stoutnay because they condemne it as a matter of impudency to be a stout begger but to God nothing is more pleasing then this stirring vp our selues to take hold vpon his name and this giuing him no rest day nor night till hee heare our prayers and with him onely faint suitors that will take a repulse easily and bee soone put backe doe goe away empty of the thing they sued for Know then that thy saluation dependeth vpon this matter and therefore as in a case of the greatest importance in the world make thy desires feruent and resolue neuer to cease asking till thou shalt receiue the Spirit of truth and vprightnesse And know that God doth not deny to heare thy prayers at first because he is not able or willing to grant them or because hee counts it a matter too troublesome for him but alone to indeare the benefit obtained to make thee see the worth of it and become the more thankfull Pray therefore and pray feruently and pray continually O Lord create a right spirit in me and make me sound in thy precepts And to prayers 4. To meditate often on the excellent nature of God ioyne in the fourth place holy meditations of the nature of God for hee that knowes God thorowly and is to any purpose acquainted with the excellency of his nature in himselfe and sees the beauty of his grace in the face of Christ cannot but be so farre in loue with him as euen to be good for his sake and to make him the beginning and ending of all his desires and indeuours It is alone ignorance of God that makes vs set our selues in Gods roome and aime at our owne benefit in stead of his glory But he that will take paines to cleere vp his owne eyes and to behold the glory of God as he hath reuealed it in his Word and in his Gospell shall be so affected with the splendor thereof as that now he will account nothing worth any thing but that surpassing glorious Maiesty that infinitely excels all things and so hypocrisie must needs vanish The knowledge of God will make a man to perceiue how little it shall auaile him to disguize himselfe The knowledge of God will make him to see how worthy the Lord is of all the seruice of all creatures The knowledge of God will make his heart to become in loue with God and no man will dissemble with him whom he loueth wherefore labour to get and to grow in this knowledge by a frequent pondering and musing vpon the nature of God and beholding in his Temple the beauty of his Maiesty as Dauid speaketh Tell thy selfe often of his infinitenesse and eternity and that all things are from him and by him and for him and hee alone is from and of himselfe Say vnto thy soule hee is the owner of all things and the ruler of all things All the good properties of all creatures be but drops of his sea and sparkes of his flame and there is infinitely more of all good things in him alone then in all them and whatsoeuer is in them it is more his then theirs and their