over they are no such men so is it in this case all this combate is but a meere shew 2 In a true combate there are some scarres some thing that stickes to him after the battell and some booty is carried away as a testimony of his valour so a Christian that hath got some ground against his enemy hee hath got some strength against his lusts as it was said of the house of David and Saul that Davids house did increase and Sauls decrease so is it here grace it gaines something at every combate now after the combate is over the melancholy person is as he was there is no alteration if hee was prophane before so hee is still or if hee was civill before he is civill still 3 They differ in their cure a distempered body is cured with physicke good ayre and temperate diet but who is hee that can cure a sicke and distempered soule not all the Physitians in the world Nay let mee speake a bold word not all the Angels in heaven are able by all their wisdome to helpe a wounded spirit it must be no lesse than the blood of the Lamb of God that takes away sin and heales a sicke distressed destempered soule 2 Againe the seate of this warre is sometimes among the passions Num. 13.32 so as one standeth in opposition to another Nay as the spyes that went to view the land of Canaan said unto Moses that the land they went to search was a land that did eate up the inhabitants of it so it is with our lusts one lust is so predominant that it eates up another as you have an example in Herod who being ambitious did favour Iohn Mark 6. Euseb lib. 8. cap. 17. because hee look't at the applause of the people for all held Iohn as a Prophet yet such was his lust to Herodias Libido potias quam iracundia tenebat imperium paulo post dicit author quod Christiana continentia neque morte neque pecunia expugnari potest that for her sake hee cast him into prison and afterwards cut off his head So it is sayd of Maxontius that as hee was cruell so was he incontinent and sometime his lust of incontinencie prevailed against that of cruelty as instance is given in a Christian Virgin whom hee had attempted to have defiled in which case sayth my Author that his incontinencie got the victory of his fury but now this warre is not a warre amongst them but against them all as they that are Christs doe crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5.24 and the truth is that when as a man doth suffer his lust to rule is as if a man should suffer his feete to guide his head or the handmaid to rule over the mistresse so is it in this case for our passion should be guided by reason and reason rectified by the spirit and then things would goe in a right order therefore our Apostle doth shew that the flesh lusts against the spirit not that the flesh lusts against the flesh for though the lusts of the flesh may be at discord one with another it is but like that which was betweene Pilate and Herod which albeit there was some contention betweene them Luk. 23.12 yet they both joyned together against Christ so that howsoever it be that one lust may in some cases overthrow another yet they will all conspire against Christ CAP. XI Showing certaine other differences that are betweene them in this relactancie of the flesh against the spirit 3 In the time 3 THirdly they differ in the time of their combate the naturall combate oft-times comes as soone as reason can make a difference betweene good and bad and it is that which may be in a very heathen Ro. 2.15 for the Gentiles that had no law to goe by besides that which was written in their hearts yet by that were a law to themselves their consciences either excusing on accusing of them now conscience according to that light that it hath is alway at hand to contend against the workes of sinne and that fleshly appetite that is in us howbeit conscience may trouble us yet it is commonly for greater sinnes and not for lesser as Pharaoh for his great cruelty confesseth I have sinned and so we read did Nero and others but now for lesser them they easily passe over Saint Paul cryes out of the body of sinne that was within him and David of the cutting off Sauls garment his heart smote him for that but in this case the naturall conscience hath little to say because it knowes little therefore Saint Paul saith Rom. 7.7 I had not knowne lust except the Law had said thou shalt not lust that is his naturall conscience did not discover it unto him but it was given him by a higher and a clearer light Our Saviour Christ sheweth that while the strong man keepes the house all that a man possesseth is in peace but when a stronger than hee commeth then hee begins the combate so long as a man is in the state of nature the prince of the aire rules in his heart and hath quiet possession for although there may be a contention as hath beene shewed among the passions and lusts yet so as there is no hinderance to Sathan by that at all for the lesser footing hee hath in one lust the stronger hee is in another as it is among a company of gamesters looke what one loseth another winnes and suppose that they should be all losers yet the house where they game would be a gainer so is it here that as long as there is no other strife but amongst themselves men are still as bad or worse than they were and Sathan that keepes the house gaineâ— by them Againe suppose wee some strange man should come into this gaming house and should take away their money and burne the dice and cause the house to be pulled downe and bind the strong man and lay him in prison would not this breed hot blood and occasion strife So it is in this case for when the spirit comes then it comes with such might as beares downe all before it and overthroweth the strong holds of Sathan and every high thought that doth exalt it selfe against God by what as hath beene said you may easily see how this naturall combate differs from the spirituall in regard of the time 4 In the end 4 They differ in their ends that they have in their combate there are three ends for which a man doth undertake warre namely peace honour and terrour first this warre is undertaken for peace sake both peace of conscience and peace with God now howsoever a wicked man may seeme to humble himselfe for his sinne and to make up his peace with God yet it is but like those truces that are made in the warres for some short time for some private reasons knowne to themselves so is it in this case 1
man could not make any entry for when we are ashamed of our sinnes it wards the gates of our hearts and keeps us in that we rush not into sinne again for when God smites the conscience and reproves it savingly for its sinnes it makes Iob's reply Behold I am vile what shall I answer thee I will lay my hand upon my mouth Iob 40.4.5 once have I spoken but I will not answer yea twice but I will proceed no further 3 Now come wee to the third property of a broken 3 Indignation and bleeding heart that is where there is a hearty 2 Cor. 7.11 and holy indignation against sin The Apostle speaking of godly sorrow Loe saith hee what indignation hath it wrought there is a twofold indignation the former is ira subita a sudden anger that is when men are soone angry and soone pleased as it was with David what a pelting chafe was he in against Nabal what big words doth he breake into while hee is going downe the hill how doth hee upbraid his Churlish behaviour and tels what havocke hee will make amongst them before the next morning yet by by when Abigail meets him with a small guift with a few soft words she turnes away his wrath and all is well agains so is it in this case do you not see many a man that when sinne gauls him O how bitter and boisterous hee is against his lusts But now when as this corrupt heart of ours shall but decke her selfe with some faire and plausible excuse and bring some present in her hand of gaine or pleasure the matter is taken up and the contention is at an end and lust and hee are growne good friends 2 But now there is another indignation that is called ira permanens that doth continue and remaineth with a man so as it is with some men that when they are once out and angry with a man they are never pleased againe This kind is no way good but against sinne and then it is exceeding good we are charged not to let the suune goe downe upon our wrath neither to give place to the devill Eph. 4.26 but in this case wee must suffer the sunne to goe down upon this indignation against this body of sinne or else wee give place to the devill 2 King 13.18 When Elisha bid Joash King of Israel to smite the ground with his arrowes The text saith he smote the ground thrice and stayed which if hee had done five or sixe times hee had utterly consumed his enemies It is so in this case some men will bee angry sometimes with their sinnes it may be twice or thrice in their lives but if they would continue their indignation and smite on they would at last utterly confound their sinnes and subdue them The way to avoid the anger of God is to be angry with our selves for if we judge our selves wee shall not be judged of God at the last and great day this is our comfort that are angry with our lust we can never be angry too much you cannot hate them more than they doe deserve but as the Israelites were never to make pleace with Amalecke so no more must wee with our sinnes 4 Revenge 4 The last property of a broken and a bleeding heart is a holy revenge now a revenge is a dealing in like manner with sinne as it hath dealt with us for as much as lusts are those enemies that warre against our soules we must be couragious to warre against them that thereby we may revenge our selves of our sins and then doe we doe this great worke 1 When wee doe abstaine from the use of those things that are in themselves lawfull 2 Cor. 7.11 when wee have unlawfully abused them as suppose we a man that hath beene an immoderate drinker of wine whereby hee hath not onely abused the creature of God but made himselfe for the time of a reasonable man like unto an unreasonable beast or suppose wee another that hath beene given to immoderate gaming as hunting hawking bouling and hath made these which were for his recreation to become as it were his vocation In such a case as this if it might not tend to the too much losse of his health or danger of his life it were good for a man to abstaine altogether from them at least for some time as a revenge of his former abuse of them Againe if that these or the like immoderate recreations have kept us from the service of God either in the publique assembly or in our private closets it should be our care and endeavour to recompence our slothfulnesse with double diligence A man that would avenge himselfe of his lusts hee must pursue them as the avenger of blood did the man slayer or malefactor that unlesse hee was gotten into the city of refuge hee was surely slaine so must wee doe hunt them out let them not rest in any corner of our hearts for if sinne may but find any little resting place in our soules it will not out and as long as sin rests in us Christ will not rest therefore you must not cease till you have driven it out of your bounds It was a good speech of Sarah Gen. 21.9.10 Cast out saith she the bond woman and her sonne for hee shall not be heire with my sonne so say I to you Esa 2.20 cast away your transgressions for these two Christ and sinne grace and lust will not inhabit together 3 The last thing in revenge is that wee should shew no pitty or compassion on our lusts when a man shall neither spare great nor small sinnes Deut. 33.9 It was the blessing that Moses gave to the Tribe of Levy that he should say to his father and mother I have not seene him neither did he acknowledge his brethren nor knew his owne children so it should be here that wee should regard no lust though it might be so deare as a mans Parents or children to him yet should hee have no pitty Saint Hierome gives the reason why we should be so void of pitty Hier. Ep. ad Heliodor Licet parvulus ex collo pendeat nepos licet sparse crine scisiis vestibus ubera quibus te nutriit mater ostondat licet in limine pater jaceat percalcatum perge PatreÌ„ siccis ocults ad vâ—icillum crucis evola solum pâ—etatis genus in hac re est esse crudelem Hier. ibid. Ecce adversarius in pectore tuo qui Christum conatur occidere behold there is an enemy within you that doth endeavour to slay Christ therefore saith hee neither father nor mother nor kinsman should prevaile with us to keepe us in our sinnes but wee should shake off all and follow Christ though it be to the losse of all things else for this kinde of cruelty is the height top of true piety The righteous shall rejoyce when he seeth the vengeance and wash his feete in the blood
King 21.29 Ahab when hee heard what God had threatned hee rent his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and lay in sackcloth and went softly now here was a truce made betweene God and Ahab but no reconciliation Seest thou not saith God how Ahab humbleth himselfe before mee I will not bring the evill in his daies but in his sonnes dayes will I bring this evill upon his house so that the judgement is not taken away but deferred but now this spirituall warfare doth aime at peace and ends in it there is no affliction that is pleasant for the present but grievous Heb. 12.11 neverthelesse it bringeth forth the peaceable fruite of righteousnesse though this burthen be heavy yet is it the way to ease and as after a toilsome labour comes the quietest rest so after this warre the most settled peace 1 King 19.11 c. as it was in that vision that Eliah saw First came a strong winde that rent the mountaines and brake the rockes in pieces after this an earthquake and after this a fire and after all a still voyce so it is with a Christian that after many tumults and garboiles in the soule between these two enemies the flesh and the spirit comes the still voyce with joy and peace 2 Another end is honour a man that is a good souldier under Christs banner doth endeavour to fight manfully that he may honour his cause and his captaine and good reason the cause is just for it is for the defence of Christs right in our soules and we never had a better Captaine than Christ is Rev. 6.1 who rides on conquering and to conquer who hath led captivity captive and a prince against whom there is no rising but on the other side in that seeming warre that there is to be found in wicked men Mat. 6.16 they chiefly aime at their owne praise as they in their private fasting and workes of mortification disfigured their faces and were of sad countenances and all this is to be seene of men but God knew their hearts to be farre otherwise or at the best the chiefe and that a wicked man hath in any trouble or contention against any sinne it is himselfe either for the preservation of himselfe or for his owne advantage and the reason is because as the man is so are his ends if a man be flesh then his ends cannot but smell of the flesh 3 The last end of this holy warre is terrour and feare a man warres to that end that thee may put the enemy into such a feare that hee will be afraid to offend any more so a man in this spirituall warfare when the heart is once smitten hath true remorse for sinne hee will be afraid to sin againe as you have examples of David and Peter a hundred Bathsheba's would not have allured David to have fallen into that sinne againe the voyce of a silly damsell made Saint Peter to deny his master but after he felt the smart of it and had repented of it hee was not ashamed of his master no not before Princes and Judges of the world on the other side a man that is not sound at the heart though his mind may be at present troubled and tremble in respect of some foule and great sinne that stares him in the face and lyeth heavie upon his conscience yet doth it worke no change in him but after the tempest is over 2 Pet. 2.22 hee turnes with the dogge to his vomit and with the sow to his wallowing in the mire with as fresh Prov 23.34 35. and as free an appetite as ever hee did unto his sinne Solomon compares such a man to one that lyeth on the top of a mast in the midst of the sea and saith they have smitten mee but I felt it not thy have beaten mee but I was not sicke and therefore when I awake I will seeke it againe 5 They differ in their event 5 In the event this warre that is betweene the flesh and the spirit alwaies ends in a victoriour conquest over all the enemies of it as they say of truth Magna est veritas 2 Cor. 12.9 praevalebit so may I say of grace great is the power of it and it will prevaile Paul was not without this buffeting of Satan and behold the grace of God was sufficient for him to enable him to beare out the quarrell against his enemy And further hee saith When I am weake then am I strong it is with a Christian in this case as it was wiâ—h Rebeccah when she had two twinnes strove in her wombe shee comes to the Lord and saith Lord why am J thus the Lord makes this answer two nations are in thy wombe and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels and the one people shall be stronger than the other Gen. 25.22.23 and the elder shall serve the yonger so it is in this case here are two nations that strive within us the old and the new man and they are contrary one to another yet this is your comfort the elder shall serve the yonger the new commer shall cast out the old inhabitant Now who would not take that side on which he is sure to conquer Then must you joyne with the spirit against the flesh though you may be foyled yet you shall never be conquered for if God be with us who shall or can stand against us Hee that is with us is greater than hee that is against us it is reported of Cesar and Antony that they were wont often to wrastle together and though Antony was the stronger man yet Cesar alwaies gave him the fall the reason being demanded why it should be so the answer was made because Cesar was guided by a better Genius so if you demand whence it is that such strong and potent lusts do all fall downe before us and none of them able to stand I answer 1 Joh. 4.4 it is because wee have a better Genius greater is hee that is with us than hee that is in the world on the other side all the warre of a wicked man it never brings any thing to passe they are like the children of Ephraim that went out harnished and carried bowes yet turned againe in the day of battell Psal 78.9 what show soever there may be of goodnesse in us yet if it be not in truth it will not hold in the fiery tryall CAP. XII Shewing further the difference of this combate by the weapons of it which is cleared by two propositions 6 THe next thing wherein they differ in this conflict is in their weapons 2 Cor. 10 4. the weapons of our warfare are not carnall but spirituall so that looke what difference there is betweene a carnall and a spirituall man so much difference is there betweene a carnall and spirituall weapon if yee should see men goe to warres and instead of warlike munition one should carry a
because God hee judgeth of a mans actions according to his heart which if that bee unsound then will all the actions bee no better Thence i◠the complaint made by the Prophet Es 33.31 they come unto thee as the people commeth and they sit before thee as my people they heare my words but they will not doe them for with their mouth they shew much love but their hearts go after their covetousnesse while men deale thus with God and behave themselves no better in his service they may not unfitly bee compared to the Water-man that while he roweth one way he lookes another wash your hands therefore yee sinners and cleanse your hearts Jam. 4.8 yee double minded men wash your hands by reformation and your hearts by true contrition otherwise you are but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 double minded Mat. 12.33 therefore make the tree good and the fruit will be good therefore now if your heart be good so will your actions be for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh the hand worketh the eare hearkneth and the whole man moveth Therefore there must be great need of contrition to the end 4. Of the way that is made for Christ 4. There is a necessity of it in this regard in as much as it makes way for Christ to dwell in our hearts Esa 5.7.15 Luk. 14.15 when our blessed Saviour tels his Disciples whither they should goe and where hee would eate the Passe over you shall finde saith he an upper roome furnished and prepared there make ready for us so it is also in this case into what heart Christ intends to come and to make it his Chamber of presence Eph. 3.17 it must be prepared for him by true humility and contrition of spirit wash you make you cleane c. Esa 1.16.18 and then come saith God and let us reason together till then you are not fit to draw neare unto God When the people of Isreal had committed the great sinne in the making of a Calse the Lord tels them Exod. 3 3. that so long as they kept their ornaments on them it was in vaine to make suite unto him put off therefore saith he your ornaments Eph. 4.22 that I may know what to doe unto you so must we if we expect Christ to come into our hearts put off the old man which is corrupt by deceitfull lusts so long as lust rules and raignes in the heart so long Christ is kept out but now when by true contrition we cast away our transgressions and banish out the old inhabitants then Christ he will enter in and dwell there but first he will cast out buyers and sellers and money changers they shall not neast and rest themselves in his Temple he will cast out and overcome the world and our strong corruption and make us to abhorre and avenge our selves of our sins then he will say this is my house here will I dwell and I will establish it on such a foundation as the gates of hell cannot prevaile against CAP. XVI The third more neere degree of Mortification in the killing of sinne THe last degree of mortification is the slaying of sinne the execution of it whereby wee are said to bee crucified unto the world Gal. 6.14 that is I am not so low and vile in the esteeme of the world Rom. 6.6 but the world is as base and contemptible unto me the same Apostle shewes that the end why Christ was crucified was that the body of sinne might be destroyed What kind of death the death to sin is 1. This destruction and death of sinne is a lingering death a man dieth by degrees as the death of the Crosse was they hung a long while before they died and the more strength the longer so the stronger that sinne is the longer it will be a dying as it is with a man that doth beleager a strong forte and where stout and valiant men are they will suffer much penury and hardship and hardly bee brought to yeeld untill the last man so is it in such a case here is such a strong hold of carnall reasons and corrupt lusts set up within us and be fortified by Sathan and strong and desperate resolutions that it will bee a long time before wee can get the upper hand and the victory over them and when we have gotten the victory yet still they will trouble and disquiet our peace as the Lord would not drive out all those Nations from among the people of Israel Josh 23.13 but they were as thorns in their eyes and scourges in their sides and were not utterly cast out so may I say that these lusts they will be so unto us all that we can doe will be this not to suffer them to raigne and to weaken their strength by degrees 2. It is a painefull death to mortifie and to kill sinne it cannot be done without much paine hence it is called Circumcision Jer. 4.4 circumcise your selves unto the Lord and take away the fore-skinnes of your hearts that this was a sore and painefull thing may appeare in the sorenesse of the men of Sheehem the third day Gen 34.25 and by that speech of Zipporah unto Moses a bloody husband thou art Exod. 4.26 because of the Circumcision and indeed when we consider what prayers what teares what revenge and what wrastling it hath or may cost you you will say that there is need of much faith to defend your selves much skill in Gods word to offend your enemy and much patience that in the midst of this conflict that you may not breake out against God into impatient speeches Pro. 14 10. the heart in this case knows his owne bitternesse no man else can tell it nor is able to expresse it what sightings and feares within and what troubles without as that the poore soule findes such waves and stormes in his conscience that hee is like Noahs Dove knowes not where to rest his foote not where to rest his soule as you may see in the case of Job and Paul and many times strong Christians are not without strong assaults and conflicts the enemy when he is a dying is often the most desperate and sometime good men apt to bee surprized with spirituall pride and to thinke that either he is so good he ought not or so strong hee feareth not to be tempted in such a a case hee hath neede of a temptation that hee may the better know himselfe and seeke out unto Christ as they when they were tossed with the waves say help Master Mat. 8.26 or else we perish 3. Though sinne cannot be utterly subdued yet may it be greatly diminished and the power of it enervated and abated though the Cananites were not utterly subdued yet were they very low brought so sinne may by this worke of mortification be brought very low as it was with the widdow of Zarephta her store