with his grace It is a hard thing and onely possibly to the power of God to soften the heart of a man for that which neither by the patience and long sufferance of God is woon to repentance nor is toucht with compunction that which is not broken with feare nor sofrned with loue but is hardned as well with scourges as with benefits lastly that which feareth neither God nor man who can rent in sunder but he that in his passion rent the vaile of the Temple Matt. 27 51. and cloue the stones Who can take away a stonie heart and giue a fleshy heart but hee from whom commeth euerie good and perfect gift euen the Father of light A great sinner hath need of great mercie that where sinue did abound grace may superabound The Lord is faithfull Wisd 1.13 hee hath not made death neither hath hee pleasure in the destruction of the liuing hee will not the death of a sinner but that he conuert and liue For he whose desire it is that sinners doe repent and therby returne vnto God wil not suffer vs to bee tempted aboue our strength but with the temptation will giue vs power to resist and by how much the more fraile we are and in greater necessitie so much the more ready is he to helpe vs if the fault bee not our owne as in the siege of a citie the greatest aide is sent to defend that place that is weakest and where the enemie is strongest The Lord is faithfull and hee that saieth Come vnto mee all yee that labour and are heauie laden and I will refresh you cannot denie himselfe For as a Physician suffereth many wrongs and railing speeches of his lunatike patient and yet is not angry with him but doeth neuerthelesse whatsoeuer the nature of the disease doeth require to the curing thereof wherewith though the sicke man bee afflicted yet on the part of the Physician his affliction is no reuenge of the wrongs receiued from his patient but the cure of his infirmitie in as much as if the sicke man being to recouer health the Physician receiueth ioy and comfort therat with greater alacritie proceedeth in his cure and forgetteth his former iniuries euen so our Lord God whose propertie it is to haue mercy and to forgiue who iudgeth with loue and with great respect disposeth of vs when we are in our greatest madnesse of sinne is neuer moued against vs with any affection of reuenge for those sins we hane committed And forasmuch as he is impassible he punisheth not our sinnes in this life with passible anger but with vnspeakable clemencie with the affection of a Physician not a torturer and that hee doeth not for himselfe as reuenging his wrongs for the nature of God is not capable of any such thing but for our correction and benefit As a louing mother is angry with her sonne that hath offended her reprehendeth him chidech beateth him whom neuerthelesse if she shall see to runne into any danger of his estate or life she presently helpeth him putteth foorth her hand nay endangereth her owne life to saue his and that childe whoÌ„ being angry she did beat as if she had not loued him now she holdeth him vp and saueth him as if she had not been angry when shee beat him Euen so God chastiseth vs for our finnes to protect vs sinners and for the most part out of his mercy he sendeth a temporal punishment lest out of his iustice he should inflict an eternall reuenge And if any man shall persist in his hardnesse and with Pharo grow more whose 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 hath long expected not connerted he adiudgeth to â—ernall damnation As a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his garden or 〈◊〉 planteth a tree not that 〈◊〉 should bee cut downe 〈◊〉 cast into the fire and 〈◊〉 when after a long expestâ—â— on he seeth it to bring 〈◊〉 no fruit he cutteth it down and burnes it So our 〈◊〉 full God cutteth off no 〈◊〉 from the land of the 〈◊〉 that yeeldeth any fruit 〈◊〉 testimonie of a true faith 〈◊〉 in that hee willeth the 〈◊〉 of a sinner it is by 〈…〉 sinne committed not of 〈◊〉 selfe but by his conseqâ—â—â— will as Diuines call it 〈◊〉 by he willeth for some 〈◊〉 alreadie done or before all beginnings foreseene and according to this will he would that all reprobates should bedamned whoÌ„ afterwards by his anteced ent will he would saue by al meanes ministing them occasion to attaine saluation As it is the will of a Law-giuer that all his Citizens should bee good and peaceable farre from committing those offences which vpon paine of death he hath forbidden and yet if his ownsonne bee he neuer so deare vnto him transgresse the law hee must die the death though it bee much against the will of his 〈…〉 by his owne 〈…〉 serued death 〈…〉 ture which in our 〈◊〉 rents was whole and entire by their sinne is wholly corrupted and hath altogether lost both righteousnesse and immortality wherby it could beget no other but corrupt vnrighteous and mortal children who as in Adam sining they haue sinned so in the same Adam dying they are dead And therfore whosoeuer hee bee that hath escaped death let him giue thanks vnto God in that hee hath escaped death that was due vnto him and found life not due vnto him To him that is deliuered mercie is shewen without desert to the end hee may giue thanks vnto God vpon him that his damned iustice is executed with desert to the end hee should reprehend nothing in God that neither he should glory in his owne worth nor this complaine of his owne vnwoorthinesse For how should God iustly be accused in his iudgements when hee iustly condemneth a guiltie offender When a debt is truly demanded how can the creditour be iustly condemned So that neither in requiring nor remitting what is due is God with whom there can be no iniustice vniust There is mercy acceptable where reuenge is iust that thereby it may more plainly appeare to him that is freed from iust punishment freely iustified how great a benefit is conferred vpon him in that another not more guiltie than himselfe without any iniustice in him that punisheth is iustly chastized Ro. 11.33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisedome knowledge of Godâ— how vnsearchable are his iudgements and his waies past finding out For who hath knowen the waies of the Lord or who hath beene his counsellour From that which hath been spoken thou maiest gather deere brother how thou runnest from one sinne into another and by long custom art hardned in them thou working it in thy selfe and God withdrawing hiâ— speciall grace from thee God is patient and of lonâ— sufferance hee tollerateâ— thee for beareth and expecteth thee to repentance being alwaies readie to take from thee thy stonie heart and to giue vnto thee a fleshie hart and to mollifie thy benummed insensible hardnesse with the deaw of his grace And though he
desireth the more to haue thy companie to death whom thou canst not better obey than if thou daily sinne by his suggestion and being fallen carest not to rise againe Wherein whilest thou yeeldest thy consent thou seemest to haue made a sure bargaine with him and because thou art irrecouerably fallen thou must necessarily be his companion in his fall too To liue to thee that art infected with the dangerous plague of so many sinnes is not to liue but to confound life and to approch neerer and neerer to the gates of hell Thou art aliue in thy bodie but dead in thy minde That life is not to be called life whereby thou liuest only vnto death for it were better for thee that euery day doest die in thy soule that in bodie thou die quickly better that thou liue not at all that thou wert not borne than by sinne to die daily As often as thou sinnest so often thou deseruest eternall death which if for one sinne thou deserue what doest thou for many for millions of sinnes For so manie and so great sinnes how intolerable shall hell be when for one so many and so vnspeakeable torments must be endured For there shall euerie man haue his damnation so much the more intolerable by how much the greater iniquitie he hath heere But to thee that hast no good thing to alleage for thy selfe but whole mountaines of sinne against thy selfe it is not possible to vtter what plagues and punishments do belong I can not woonder sufficiently how thou canst sleepe securely and enioy thy pleasures without feare For if thou wert odious to a King whom thou hast offended and diddest euery houre expect from him the sentence of a cruell death wouldest thou laugh and attend thy pleasures Now then â—ince for thy many and great offences the sentence of eternall death is pronounced against thee and the Lord to the end he may haue mercy on thee still expecting thy conuersion hath deferred his sentence which perhaps to day nay this very houre he will execute vpon thee how canst thou as it were in an assured peace be secure Thou art in greater danger that goest to thy rest with a conscience clogd with one mortall sinne than with seuen of thy deadliest enemies Doubtlesse if thou diddest but see thine owne soule thou wouldest blush at the foulenesse thereof and if thou knewest how great dangers thou runnest into by sinne thou wouldest thinke of nothing more than how to auoid it By sin thou makest God thine enemie the diuell dry lord and thou that wert first by adoption the sonne of God after sinne art made the seruant and slaue of the diuel yea of sinne it selfe and that which is woorst of all of so many lords as of sins Whosoeuer committeth sinne Ioh. 8.34 is the seruant of sinne A wicked man though he reigne is a seruant of sinne a iust man though he serue is a free man nay hee wanteth not kingly power that knoweth how to rule his owne affections God so hateth sinne that for the hatred thereof he destroyed almost all his works the whole world by a generall flood yea to the end he might vtterly kill it he gaue vnto death yea the shamefull death of the crosse his only begotten sonne And is not his hatred great towards his enemie that to be reuenged vpon him will kill his owne sonne God neither in heauen nor vpon earth hath a friend so deare vnto him but if he finde him polluted with mortall sinne he is presently odious vnto him and that vessell of sinne that is that sinner hee throweth downe into hell fire for a wicked man and his wickednesse are alike odious vnto God As if thou haddest rather to cast a vessel ful of corruption yet of great price into the sea than to scoure and clense it of the filth therof must not that filth and corruption be very hatefull vnto thee for which thou art content to lose so precious a vessell And as a louing mother if shee should cast her little infant whom she dearly loueth into a burning furnace there to perish must it not be some great matter very hatefull vnto her that can vrge her to such crueltie against her owne childe Sinne as much as it displeaseth God so much it pleaseth the diuel insomuch that from the creation of the world he hath euer watched without wearinesse how to allure men vnto sinne and though he obtein his purpose with innumerable numbers of men yet he is neuer satisfied After thou hast once sinned thou art so farre foorth in the power of the diuell that presently by his owne right he may challenge thee to be his and cartie thee with him to eternall torments if he were not staied by the great mercie of God expecting thee to repentance It were better for thee to haue a thousand diuels in thy body than one deadly sinne in thy minde And therefore saith Anselme If I should here see the shame of sinne and there the horror of hell and that I must necessarily bee ouerwhelmed by the one I would rather cast my selfe into hell than suffer my selfe to fall into an insensible feeling of my sinnes yea I had rather being purged and purified from sinne to enter into hell than polluted with the contagion of sinne if it were possible it might be so possesse the kingdome of heauen If sinne be more to be detested than hell what can be more detestable than sinne If there were no sinne there were no torment in hel No aduersitie could hurt if no iniquitie did beare rule for it is only sinne that can hurt and bring to passe that no other thing can do good So long as thou continuest in sinne thou canst doe nothing that is good For as a root giueth no moisture to a rotten bough nor the sunne any light to a blinde eye so thou as a rotten and dead member of the Church for who will say thou art liuing that hast no feeling of compunction in thy heart art depriued of al that good that is or can be in the Church and thou art robbed of all that good that euer thou hast done in thy whole life and of all those virtues and graces which at the first thou receiuedst at Gods hands in as much as they stand thee in no stead to the attainment of eternall life as a dead man hath no power either to enioy his owne goods or to get others And besides a thousand other euils that follow sinne the miserable torment of thine owne conscience followeth thee whithersoeuer thou goest For sinne whilest it is committed pleaseth being committed it tormenteth for the worme thereof neuer dieth and in this life the torment thereof is but an entrance to that which is to come Ps 49.20 O man when thou wert in honour thou vnderstoodest not but wert compared to the beasts that perish and art made like vnto them Thou that through the merits of Christ Iesus wert made woorthy of heauen and all
reduceth vnto pardon It belongeth to the iustice of a seuere and rigorous Iudge that there be no end of reuenge giuen vnto them who so long as they were in health would neuer make an end of sinning that there they should neuer want pâ—nishment that heere would neuer want sin who make an end of sinning because they must make an end of liuing whereas if they could they would haue liued without end for they make manifest that they would neuer haue been freed from sinne because they neuer gaue it ouer so long as they liued Againe it is fit and requisit that according to the delight of sinne the bitternesse of their torment should be measured vnto them not onely which the wicked haue had but which they would haue for God doth not only consider the outward actions but hee likewise examineth the inward willes Since therefore out of the corruption of their owne willes they haue giuen no measure to the delight of sinne nor euer could finde so great delight in sinne but that they would haue greater therefore God who considereth the heart not the outward action inflicteth punishment not according to the delight receiued but sought after that the time of their torment for sinne might be infinite who were infinitly delighted therein Againe forasmuch as there is a proportion of greatnesse betweene the offence and the partie offended therefore sinne whereby God infinite in goodnesse and maiestie is offended must necessarily be iudged infinite and deserueth an infinite punishment infinite in continuance not in paine or torment for the finite capacitie of a creature is not capable of what is infinit whom likewise the Lord who deteineth not his mercies when he is angry punisheth not according to their desert for he is mercifull and taketh no delight in their affliction but yet because hee is iust hee is neuer pacified from reuenge For as they that forsake life runne into death so they that feare not to offend and to forsake him that is good in the highest degree deserue in the highest degree to be punished and they are made worthy of eternall euill who destroy in themselues that good that might haue been eternall As wee see that a temporall or transitory punishment brings a death which is perpetuall a temporall treason a yoke of perpetuall seruitude a disease is taken in a short time which a man perhaps shall neuer shake off so the sinnes of the damned haue an end but yet their punishment for sinne is deseruedly endlesse who are sorrie they haue sinned yet cannot but sinne And though God be mercifull and willing to pardon all sinnes whatsoeuer yet when hee punisheth the reprobate for their sinnes hee leaueth not so much as an idle word nay thought vnpunished and they that are debtors for great sinnes being condemned must pay the vttermost farthing And as hee that hath his arme bound can doe nothing with it so out of the bitternesse of the paine not the loue of God they haue a willing will to rise from their sinnes but yet being forsaken of GOD. Which will of theirs though it haue lost the effect of power bee not able yet it hath alwaies the affection to sinne and though they cannot sinne yet they lose not their will to sinne For it is true that death separateth the soule from the flesh but yet it changeth not the purpose of the soule For as with the elect the good will of a man is turned into glory so with the reprobate their ill will is turned into punishment and that shall bee a torment in â—hell that was a sinne in the world As they that haue offended their king are banished their countrie so the damned for their offence committed against God are banished Paradise to whom though all the aforesaid torments are intollerable yet if a thousand helles were added therunto they are nothing to that Paradise that glorie they haue loft For to the damned it is a farre more grieuous thing to bee excluded from glory and to be depriued the grace of God and to endure the hatred of a mercifull Creatour and to haue an omnipotent God their aduersary and enemie which is so vnspeakable a torment vnto them that if no paine at all did outwardly afflict them this onely were sufficient For they see that for a momentarie delight in sinne they endure vnspeakable punishment and for the loue of their temporal goods they haue lost eternall who neuerthelesse by a short repentance might both haue attained these and by not sinning haue auoided the other And if the worme of one sin neuer dying doe so afflict in this life where all hope is not taken away how much more doth the worme of so manie sinnes in that eternall desolation afflict and torment whilest the wicked doe daily behold as in a glasse all the euill they haue committed all the good they haue omitted For as a merchant when the Faire is ended is not only sorrie for that gaine which â—he hath lost but for that also which he might haue gotten but yet neglected it so the damned are not onely sorâ—ie for their sinnes committed but for their good works omitted for all which they then repent though it be an vnprofitable and vnfruitfull repentance because now they finde no mercy that lost the fit time to attaine it But after a hundred thousand thousands of yeres their torments shall still be iterated as if they had neuer suffered any thing and so without end they shall remaine in that place of horror for eueâ— and euer Who can The conclusion relating these things refraine from tearesâ— who can heare them with drie cheekes These are horrible things to thinke vpon terrible to relate and grieuous to behold how hornrible then terrible and greeuous are they to endure For if they bee terrible to heare what will they be to seek 〈◊〉 If the very feare of this punishment doe heere so much afflict thee what will the intollerable suffering of them doe there It is a horrible thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God into a liuing death and a dying life But thou my deare brother thinkest not of these euils but like a man secure thou hastnest vnto them and thou wilt proue them before thou wilt thinke of them But yet to preuent this lest thy beautifull members should be fuell for that vnquenchable fire descend in thought whilest thou art huing into hell lest thou descend thither bodie soule when thou art dead studie therefore both to feare this and fearing it to auoid it For what good will the foreknowledge of these things doe thee if thou auoid them not Now therefore whilest it is possible in a short time if thou turne vnto the Lord to escape all these afflictions and torments and to enioy besides that eternall happinesse which is prepared for his saints why deferrest thou why staiest thou and takest not hold of the mercies of God before thou goe and returne not to a darke land couered
of reuenge from him that contemneth that at one time or other he may offer his grace of remission to him that repenteth The Lord deferreth his comming if hee would hee had beene already come but yet he putteth off his comming lest hee should finde that in thee that hee must punish If hee would thy damnation whilest thou wert in thy sinnes he could haue cast thy soule into hell it is the mercie of the Lord that thou art not consumed For whereas thou fearest not God and yet liuest thou ceasest not to sinne and yet prosperest what is it else but that the mercifull God is willing by long expectation to correct thee whom by seeing thy sinne hee will not instantly destroy whose goodnesse that it may ouercome thy malice and patience mollifie the obstinacie of thy heart like a good mother by flatterie hee allureth thee vnto him whom he can not recall by threatnings in that hee draweth not from thee his blessings he suffereth the sun to shine vpon thee as well as vpon others and prouideth all things necessarie for thee as wel as for others O the vnspeakable mercy of God! we sin and he spareth we offend and he pardoneth we haue offended him in manie things hee withdraweth his blessings from vs in nothing whereby hee sheweth how good a God he is toward the iust who is so mercifull towards sinners In the Gospell euen with teares hee followeth Ierusalem which by her pertinacy in sinning had procured her owne damnation How often sayth hee would I haue gathered thy children together as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings and thou wouldest not Our mercifull Father weepeth that he might not saue those that were desperately wicked and doest thou doubt hee will not be mercifull to thee turning vnto him There are two arguments in him of his naturall goodnes and clemencie his longanimitie in expecting and his facilitie in pardoning because hee both patiently expecteth sinners and louingly receiueth penitent sinners he both by his patience tolerateth the sinnes of men and by their repentance releaseth them that they may returne though late and be ashamed that they should be expected Whensoeuer they are conuerted hee forgetteth sinnes past and he promiseth future amendment Oh the great patience of God! hee spareth contempts pardoneth denials he seeth thee to sinne and yet hee suffereth thee first he forbiddeth thee to sinne and when thou hast sinned he attendeth thy repentance to pardon thee If thy seruant should speake proudly vnto thee and turne his backe towards thee thou wouldest no doubt seuerely correct his contempt but thou turnest thy backe to God and he turneth towards thee thou fliest from him and he followeth after thee hee seeth that his pitie and compassion is despised and yet he yet expecteth thee to pitie thee with al exhortatiō bountie inward inspiration Thou wilt not doe the will of God for thine owne good thine owne commodity how then should hee heare thee in the day of thy tribulation praying vnto him when thou refusest to heare him intreating thee for thine own good For how often hath God said vnto thee Turne vnto mee and yet thou hast not turned If he would not haue mercy on thee thou wouldest intreat mercy at his hands now hee would haue mercy and thou wilt not he inuiteth thee to repentance and thou neglectest it If thou feare not the iustice of God reuenging at the least blush at his goodnesse calling thee vnto him and thou that being stricken couldest haue suffered the punishment due vnto thy sinnes blush at the least being expected lest whom thou now seest calme and peaceable thou bee not able to behold angry and implacable For whilest he seeth those remedies which hee hath ordained for thy saluation turned to the encrease of thy sinne that loue which he hath conferred vpon thee hee turneth to thy greater condemnation that by so much the more he may punish by how much the more he hath expected Wherefore deare brother whilest our mercifull God forbeareth thee whilest hee staieth his hand from reuenge begge his mercie whose law thou hast contemned It is lawfull for him to aske pardon to whom it was not lawfull to offend Aske remission of thy sinnes by praier seeke it with watching and fasting doe what thou canst that thou maiest increase in well doing and by perseuerance thou shalt receiue what thou askest that importunitie is pleasing to a mercifull God which is odious vnto men Let the remission of sinnes bee intreated with instant praier that that God whom thy sinnes hath made angry thy dutifull seruice may pacifie and he that for thy sinnes was offended with thee by repentance may become louing and mercifull vnto thee CHAP. V. That a sinner being changed God changeth his sentence BVT thou wilt say God is not as man is that hee should lie Nu. 23.19 nor as the sonne of man that hee should bee changed And in the 18. of Ezechiel hee saith The soule that sinneth shall die This sentence of God is immutable because God can not bee changed Res It is true my deare brother that that soule that sinneth shall die because by sinne hee deserueth eternall damnation but repentance healeth this death of the soule Repentance restoreth what sinne detracteth by this the life of grace is repaired wherin the soule departing flieth vnto the life of glory neither doe forepassed sinnes more hurt him than forepassed diseases and wounds a sound man Though this soule haue sinned yet it shall not die because by repentance that sin is blotted out by which it was obliged to eternal death The cause ceasing the effect likewise ceaseth and God knoweth how to change his sentence if thou know how to change thy life If thou beleene not me beleeue God The wickednesse of the wicked shall not cause him to fall therein Eze. 33.12 in the day that he returneth from his wickednes And in another place Hier. 18.8 If this nation against whom I haue pronounced turne from their wickednesse I will repent mee of all the plagues that I thought to bring vpen them God who is immutable and impassible can bee affected with no change no passion and yet hee is said to change and to repent not according to the verity of the thing but according to the maner and similitude of man For as a man is saide to change and to repent when hee changeth his counsell and will not doe that euill which he had purposed to doe So God is said to change to repent when he bringeth not vpon a man that euil which he threatned Wherein hee changeth not his counsell for those things which hee appointed from beginning doe immutablie come to passe but that thing which of it selfe is mutable he altereth as it pleaseth him as the goodnesse or wickednesse of men require which argueth no change in God but in the will of man Hezekiah was sicke vnto death 2. King 20.1 and the prophet Isaiah came vnto him
ought the disciple to loue them whilest he liueth But thou a base contemptible worme a polluted peece of dung when thou seest the King of glory forgiuing his contumelies pardoning the agonies and torments of his Crosse art yet being prouoked with the least wrong that may be stirred vp to furie and desire of reuenge and offerest greater wrongs than thou hast receiued Thou doest what hurt thou canst and thou threatnest more than thou canst and when thou canst not or darest not openly to reuenge thy wrongs thou inwardly frettest and boilest with malice and in vain thou afflictest thy selfe and not thy enemie For as the good will of a man when there wants ability of performance hath a reward so thy ill will seeking after reuenge scapes not vnpunished because God considereth not so much what thou hast done as what thou wouldst haue done if thou hadst been able Wherfore deare brother incline the obstinacy of thy impatient minde to mercy and following the steps of our lord and master let it not seeme hard vnto thee to forgiue thy enemy as often as thy enemy shall offend thee that euery day those sinnes may bee remitted that thou doest euery day commit that whilest thou pardonest thy neighbor light and small wrongs God may pardon thee great and greeuous For if thou truly repent thou must prepare thy self to endure wrongs and neuer be mooued when thou hearest thy sinnes obiected against thee By this which hath beene spoken thou plainly seest in how damnable a state thou liuest so long as thou harborest malice and rancor in thy heart against thy neighbour To the end therefore thou maiest become a new man The conclusion if thou haue any thing against thy neighbour forgiue it and God will forgiue thee which if thou doe not thinke it is vaine for thee to beg forgiuenesse at Gods hands for such as thou art towards thy fellow seruant thou shalt finde him Thou hast power nay there is a necessity imposed vpon thee to forgiue any man that shall wrong thy selfe for any cause whatsoeuer but if he shall sinne against God or his neighbour it is not in thy power to remit but thou art to vse thy best indeuour to haue him punished by law not out of ill will but out of that will wherewith a father correcteth his childe whom hee cannot hate But thou contrarily in the wrongs of God and thy neighbour art calme and quiet but in thy owne thou art furious and violent wherein thou expressest thy little loue towards God and thy neighbor Neither is it any wonder at all if thou louest not God whom thou canst not see when thou canst not loue thy neighbour whom thou seest knowest whom if thou haue first offended bee first reconciled vnto him if he be thy enemy be friendly to him that thou maiest so win him to bee thy friend and though hee haue first offended thee yet bee thou first reconciled vnto him and so thou shalt winne vnto thy selfe a twofold blessing one because thou hast patiently endured wrong another because thou art the first that inuitest thine enemy to vnity and concord Consider with thy selfe what S. Paul for our instruction saith 2 Cor. 5.20 Now then are we Embassadours for Christ as thogh God did beseech you through vs wee pray you in Christs stead that yee bee reconciled to God So that we see that by sin we haue made an enmitie betwixt God and vs and yet God preuenteth vs and first sendeth his messengers of peace vnto vs that we that haue sinned may bee at peace with God Blush therfore if thou be backward since thy Sauior Christ Iesus is so forward who is blessed for euer and euer The Fourth Part of the exhortation to repentance CHAP. I. That God forgiueth sins when with a true and contrite heart wee confesse them vnto God FOurthly it may be thou wilt saie thou couldest bee content to repēt but that it is necessarie to repentance that thou confesse thy sinnes vnto God that thou art ashamed to do Resp First my deare brother let me propose this example vnto thee A theefe stealeth before the king and is taken in his theft and yet though his theft be manifest hee will not confesse it whereupon hee is condemned to die and being bound hand and foot conueied to his execution His king being moued to compassion saith vnto him my friend thou knowest that I tooke thee with the theft in thy hands but thou fearing least by mee thou shouldest bee thought a theefe obstinately deniest thy offence whereof I am an eie witnesse and for this cause as thou seest art thou condemned Neuerthelesse to the end that my good nesse may ouercome thy wickednesse I wil haue mercy vpon thee and deliuer thee from this shamefull death If thou wilt acknowledge thy offence and say I haue sinned O Lord and done wickedly in thy sight What thinkest thou it is fit this theefe should do vpon so kinde and so mercifull an offer Should hee not confesse his offence and say I haue sinned But if he be so obstinate that hee will rather die than acknowledge his offence hath not this king reason to execute his iudgement vpon him is not the theefe for his obstinacie woorthie to be hanged Thou art this wicked wretch who in the presence of God to whose eies all things are naked and open Heb. 4.13 Psal 118. and in whose sight are all thy wares hast greenously offended and art apprehended in the works of thy hands And because the reward of sinne is death Rom. 6. and the soule which hath sinned shall die therefore the sentence of eternall death is pronounced against thee And whilest thou refusest to foresee those imminent dangers that interrupt thy present ioies thou runnest blindfold to the pit of hell being fast bound in thine iniquities with no other irons than thy iron will The diuel hath captiuated thy will whereby hee hath made an iron chaine wherewith hee draweth thee fast bound to the pit of hel But behold the goodnesse of God hath couered thy wickednes his piety thy impietie hee hath seene thee sinning and yet forbeareth he tollerateth thee resisting him and still calleth thee vnto him by his Prophet Esai 43.25 I euen I am hee that putteth away thine iniquities for my owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes Put mee in remembrance let vs bee iudged together count thou that thou maiest be iustified O vpon how easie a condition doth the Lord promise to forget thy sinnes Onely call thou to remembrance and count them and thou shalt bee iustified Onely forget not thy sinnes and hee forgiues vncouer and he couereth thy shame with righteousnesse open and hee shuteth Preuent the wrath of an angrie Iudge by accusing thy selfe yea be angry with thy selfe and let not thy owne mouth spare thee for then thou beginnest to bee iustified when thou beginnest to be thy owne accuser Open the eies of thy faith and