that may fall vpon vs as for example Ioseph was sould vnto strangers and imprisoned in Aegypt the men of Zeklag were spoiled of all that they had in their absence with Dauid Abiathar of the house of Eli was cast out by Salomon from being Priest vnto the Lord warre and famine and the anger of Princes yea many inferior causes breed many calamities the only sure way of casting our burden vpon God is to acknowledge the worke of God in our calamity patiently to beare what he laieth vpon vs and heartily to pray vnto him for succour That wee ought to acknowledge Gods worke in our calamity and patiently to beare his pleasure Iob doth teach vs saying Shall we receiue good things at the hand of God and not receiue euill Surely we doe neuer deserue any good at the hand of God and wee doe continually deserue euill what reason then haue we to desire euer to receiue good that we neuer deserue and neuer to receiue euill that we euer deserue Patience therefore in bearing the calamity that God laieth vpon vs doth well become the sonnes of men And that in our calamity wee ought to pray vnto God if wee would haue him to ease vs of our burden is so cleare that wee neede no proofe for it What man is hee religious or profane beleuer or vnbeleuer that doth not in his calamity remember God looke vp to heauen and pray to God the Mariners in the ship whereinto Ionas was entered when he fled from God when the storme vpon the sea was sore and the tempest proued a calamity vnto them so that they threw the wares out of the ship into the sea to lighten the ship for safty of their liues without instruction they could then according to their knowledge of God fall to praier For so it is written The Mariners were affraid and cried euery man vnto his God Though it be not generall with all men being in calamity and misery to beare it patiently yet it is generall with all men in calamity and misery to pray for ease So that a religious man being burdened with any calamity needeth not so much to be taught that it is fit for him to pray as hee needeth to be comforted by being put in hope that God will in due time answer his praier as surely he will if he be called vpon in the name of his beloued sonne For so hath the Lord Iesus assured vs saying Verely verely I say vnto you whatsoeuer yee shall aske the father in my name he will giue it you Let him pray therefore vnto God the father in the name of the Lord Iesus and patiently attend the Lords leisure and in due time he wil haue mercy vpon him This is when any calamity is fallen vpon vs to cast our burden vpon the Lord for our ease If it be the feare of death that is thy burden and perhaps with regard vnto others that shall be in some danger by thy death as wife children seruants and others that haue their education and maintenance vnder thee First the burden of feare of death is made easie to a godly man by many considerations in al which he casâ—…eth his burden vpon the Lord. First hee will consider that it is common to all Adams posteritie Aâ—… Dauid being ready to die saith vnto his sonne Salomon I goe the way of all the earth therefore death ought not to seeme fearefull to thee that is common to all Secondly hee will consider that hee cannot die before the time appoynted of God that gaue him life and assigned from euerlasting the certaine length of it as Iob saith Is there not an appoynted time to man vppon earth And shall any desire longer life then the giuer of life alloweth Or shall any be grieued to resigne his life into the handes of him that gaue it Thirdly hee will consider that the end of life shall bee the end of trouble vnto him that his death shall bring him rest from all troubles as the Spirit of God from heauen hath proclaimed saying ' Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for they rest from their labor Rest and ease from weary labour is obtained by our death and departure out of this life Fourthly hee will consider that the sting and danger and all bitternesse of death is taken away by the death of Iesus Christ and death vnto the Saints is made the gate of life the Apostle saying O death where is thy sting O graue where is thy victorie The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the law But thankes be vnto God which hath giuen vs victorie through our Lord Iesus Christ. Lastly for his ease of feare in the approach of death yea for the filling of his heart with all true comfort in death that he may rather desire and long for then any way feare the houre of his death he will consider that his death shal be the gathering of him vnto Christ his redeemer as the Apostle saith Desiring to bee loosed and to bee with Christ which is best of all For while we liue in the world we are absent from the Lord and we walke by faith and not by sight But when we depart this world wee are gathered vnto him to dwel for euer with him And that is performed which hee promised saying Though I goe to prepare a place for you I will come againe aud receiue you vnto my selfe that where I am there may ye be also By these considerations is the burden of the feare of death made easie to a beleeuer and in all these considerations doth hee cast his burden vpon the Lord for his ease If hee therefore feare his owne death because others shall want him his wife shal be a widow his children shal be fatherlesse his seruants shal be orphanes and many shall misse him that now haue a helper of him and for their sakes rather then for himselfe hee is afraid to die This burthen is to bee cast vppon God by commending them vnto his prouidence who giueth food to al flesh because his mercy indureth for euer and who is the keeper of Israel that neither slumbereth nor sleepeth And that hee may doe this the more comfortably for the ease of his heart let him remember that the Lord saith All soules are mine both the soule of the father and also the soule of the sonne are mine He that created thee and had a care of thee as the worke of his handes to maintaine thee created also thy wife thy children thy seruants and thy poore friends and therefore hath also a care of them as the worke of his hands to maintaine them And hee that gaue his Sonne for thee to redeeme thee and therefore had a fatherly care for thee to doe all things for thy preseruation and saluation did also giue his Sonne for them to redeeme them and therefore also hath a fatherly care of them to doe all
So did the Apostle Paul wish vnto himselfe when hee expressed his minde in these words Desiring to be loosed and to bee with Christ which is best of all And the same Apostle speaking of the death of all the faithfull saith in this wise Wee know that if our earthly house of this Tubernacle be destroied wee haue a building giuen of God that is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens Here is the change of the soules dwelling from a ruinous house on earth to an eternall house in heauen Afterward the same Apostle saith Wee are bold and loue rather to reâ—…one out of the body and to dwell with the Lord. Here is the change of the soules company on earth it conuerseth with mortall men in heauen it dwelleth euer with the immortall God This is all the hurt that death can doe vnto vs if this were to be called hurt it bringeth the body to rest in the graue and it bringeth the soule to present glorie with God and all the dangerous deadly and killing power that originally it had by any confederacie with sinne all that is taken away by the death of Iesus Christ. And if it were sometime to be feared as a poisoned serpent of the olde serpents brood yet it is so spoiled by that serpent that was lifted vp vpon the crosse that it hath neither tooth nor sting nor any poison left to hurt any beleeuer Heare to this purpose the words of Saint Paul O death where is thy sting O graue where is thy victorie the sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the law but thankes be vnto God which hath giuen vs victorie through our Lord Iesus Christ. Death therefore cannot be hurtfull to the beleeuer And if while he liue he take such order and find such fauour that God will be pleased in Iesus Christ to send him a discharge of his sinnes by faith in his sonne he hath no cause after death to feare the reuiuing of his accusation though the legions of lying diuels whose malice makes them accusers of the Saints before God should altogecrie out against him as Saint Paul teacheth vs saying Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen it is God that iustifieth who shall condemne it is Christ which is dead yea or rather which is risen againe who is also at the right hand of God and maketh request also for vs. Thou hast no cause to feare death or any thing that followeth death if while thou liue thou returne to God and recouer his fauour in Iesus Christ for there is full discharge against accusation condemnation both in this life and after this life in the free loue of God and most meritorious intercession of our Lord Iesus Christ. CHAP. XXXI THE storme is ouer our afflicted sinner by this time seeth no cause any longer to dreame of terrifiing death and were it not that one dâ—…am of bitternes disseasoneth the comforts of life that God hath lent vnto him he should grow to some reasonable temper But one thing hee hath cause to complaine of and let vs heare him that we may vnderstanding his griefe be the better able to helpe him Hee telleth vs of a heauie case his sleepe he saith is not quiet but mixt with fearefull dreames at his table his minde taketh in more sad thoughts then his mouth doeth bits of meate the voice and face of his old acquaintance and former friends doeth now reuiue his greefe so oft as he doeth either see them or heare them the fairest roomes of his house which he had trimmed vp for his delight if hee come into them doe strike him with grieuous terrour and all those things that hee delighted in before are new matter of sorrow and heauines vnto him and it is his onely content though without to sit alone in darknesse This hee taketh to be some curse of God folowing him and an euident signe of Gods iust and fearefull anger following him for what should make Gods good creatures other mens comforts to be discomforts to him but the onely displeasure of God To this I answer that it is very likely that it is so and will continue to bee so with him so long as this burden of accusing thoughts lies heauy remaining vpon his wounded conscience It is a very kindly effect of it that hath growen out of it and wil vanish with it Thou sleepest catest with a wounded heart and hence it is that while thou sleepest and eatest thou still feelest the smart of thy wounded heart Thy ancient friends and former woonted delights appeare vnto thee now when thou art not fit to take pleasure in them as before time thou didst and that maketh thee at the present to be the more troubled thinking vpon thine old liberty now lost And the things prepared for thy pleasure while thou wert capable of pleasure in the contrary disposition of thine heart bent altogether to feare and sorrow doe now bring â—…orth a contrary effect vnto thee euen increase of sorrow And a desire of shaddow and solitarienesse though they be hurtfull doth follow a grieued minde as Ieremy saith of the man that beareth the yoke in his youth Hee sitteth alone and keepeth silence because he hath borne it vpon him And this desire of darknesse and solitarinesse either is an effect of mortification in him that is crucified to the world seeing the world crucified to him or else it groweth partly out of shame and partly out of anger that things are in no better tune and vpon the recouering of thy peace and ceasing of thy temptation this trouble will certainly vanish away In the meane time giue place to this griefe as little as thou canst and striue to reioyce in the Lord and in the good blessings hee hath bestowed vpon thee pray him that bestowed good things vpon thee to giue thee a free heart to take comfort in his guiftes that thou maiest be prouoked to praise his name And withall craue and vse the counsell and helpe of some learned and skilfull Physician for there is somthing in this griefe that hath neede of his iudgement and diligence And the God of hope fill thee withal ioy and peace in beleeuing that thou maiest abound in hope thorow the power of the holy Ghost Amen And now after some delay in answering such obiections as the vnquiet soule hath made out of his grieuous feare let vs grow vnto a conclusion concerning this burden of accusing thoughts and let vs gather together briefly orderly the scatterd grounds of hope that this burden may be cast off when God shall be pleased to giue his blessing and the scattered rules of aduice that teach how to cast it vpon God And for grounds of hope that this burden of accusing thoughts may bee cast off vpon God for the sinners â—…ase it hath beene shewed and proued First that his sinne not being that
all societies hee knitteth mens hearts together in loue and maketh them to keepe the vnitie of the Spirit in the band of peace It is he that hath promised in the Church of Christ and kingdome of the Messias the rod of the stocke of Ishai to do this The wolfe shall dwell with the Lambe and the leopard shall lie with the kidde and the calfe and the lion and the fat beast together and alittle childe shall leade them and the cowe and the beare shall feed their yoong ones shall lie together and the lion shall eate straw like the bullocke and the sucking child shall play vppon the hole of the aspe and the weaned child shall put his hand vppon the cockatrice hole By the wolfe the leopard the lion the beare the aspe the cockatrice he vnderstandeth men of prowd cruell minds apt to do al hurt bicause they are void of al loue by the lamb the kid the calfe the fat beast the cow the bullocke the sucking child the new weaned child he vnderstādeth men of an humble mild heart apt to do good vnwilling to doe hurt because they are full of loue by the harmelesse society of these so vnlike people he giueth vs to vnderstand that he wil take away from men their pride their fiercenesse their cruelty their vnmercifulnesse and in place thereof he will giue them humilitie mildenes loue and mercie This is a worke that hee doth and this hee will doe pray therfore vnto God who is loue it selfe and he wil giue thee a heart to loue thy brother Faith likewise is his gift and hee himselfe is a most faithfull God worthy to be trusted the God of truth that neither can nor will deceiue them that according to his couenant and promise of mercy doe trust in him The Apostle telleth vs that faith is his gift saying By grace are yee saued through faith and that not of your selues it is the gift of God Euery good gift and euery perfect giuing commeth from him who is the Father of lights pray him therefore to giue a beleeuing heart vnto thee and hee will not faile thee So that if thou haue neither repentance charitie nor faith which are the conditions vppon which God giueth forgiuenesse of sins yet thou maiest haue them for GOD doth giue them pray then vnto God and thou shalt in due time obtain them For the want of this triple grace thou hast a triple commandement to call for grace with a triple promise to obtaine all grace The Lord Iesus saying Aske and it shall be giuen you seeke and ye shal finde knocke and it shall be opened vnto you Then aske repentance and it shall be giuen thee seeke for charitie and a mercifull heart and thou shalt find it and knocke at the gate of heauen for faith and it shall be set wide open vnto thee Wherefore is it that God at this time doth make thee see thy want but because he would haue thee to call for his help CHAP. XXIII BVt still obiections arise in a trobled conscience and the poore burdened sinner complaineth that his estate must needs be desperate For saith he I feele a continuall swarme of euill thoughts in extreame disorder stirring in my heart Thoughts against the maiesty of the most glorious Trinitie thoughts against the veritie of the diuine and humane natures personally vnited in the Lord Iesus Christ thoughts against all the Articles of the Christian saith thoughts rebellious against authoritie and seditious against peace thought malicious against my neighbour and vnnaturall against my selfe thoughts vnchristian vnciuill inhumane thoughts monstrous and fearefull I tremble to thinke that I haue such thoughts And these must either spring and arise out of mine owne heart and then wo vnto so wicked heart It is like vnto the Inne vnto which the virgine Mary came with the Lord Iesus in her wombe there was no roome for her in the Inne all the Chambers were filled with other guests she was glad to creep into the stable and there shee brought forth her first begotten So if any come to bring Christ or any christian thoght into my heart there is no roome in the Inne all the corners of my heart are taken vp with other thoughts they must seeke a resting place else-where and not with mee Or if they spring not from mine owne heart then are they thrust into my heart by Satan who did thrust the thought of treason against his master into the heart of Iudas then surely the diuell hath alreadie possession of my heart and either hee sendeth these thoughts as new inhabitants to dwell there and to keepe possession of my heart to his vse as the king of Ashur sent new inhabitants into Samari◅ to keepe the Citie and Countrie to his vse or else he sendeth them as so many hagges and furies what should I call them so may executioners with firebrandes to torment me and being so fully in his power it is too late to thinke of deliuerance Now the Lord of hosts help thee poore afflicted soule and case thee of this burden that presseth downe so heauily And for thy comfort vnderstand that if these thoughts arise out of thine owne heart as they are in thy heart and grow in the field in which they spring they are yet but as the first graffe of sinne and haue neither blade nor eare nor fruit to poison and kill withall if wee take not liking of them nor suffer our iudgement to be corrupted by them taking them for rules of truth and intertaining them as imbraced opinions nor suffer our will to be seduced by them interpreting them as rules and directions to leade vs into action Iames the Apostle hath an excellent saying to this purpose Euery man is tempted when hee is drawne away by his owne concupisence and is intised then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death By concupisence he vnderstandeth the first flattering thoughts the first euill motions that stir in our hearts that make the first proposition to our iudgement and will to trie whether they will take holde or no and howsoeuer the feeblest euill thought be sinfull in Gods sight who loueth trueth in our inward affections and it is an euidence of that sinfull nature that wee bring into the world with vs deserued vnto vs from our first parents through all the interceding generations and howsoeuer the same euill thought being sinfull deserueth in the iustice of God eternall death yet the Apostle Iames looking vnto rules of mercy and speaking according to those rules telleth vs that it is not dangerous vnto vs neither bringeth forth sinne vnto death except a man be inticed and drawne away by it For when the iudgement yeeldeth and is corrupted by it approuing as good that that is euill and approuing as true that that is false and when the will yeeldeth and is seduced by it intertaining the
motion with assent and liking then from the first thought there is a progresse made vnto some sinfull action and in that action men continue sometime impenitent vnto death This is indeed a dangerous course and if thou giue such way vnto these euill thoughts and first sinfull motions that thou allowest their appearance without checke and sufferest their daily returne without controuling thē and harknest vnto them with pleasure or at least with patience then thou art as Iames saith inticed and drawne away and then it is likely that those thoughts will conceiue by the company of thy will and bring forth some monstrous birth of sinne whereunto when thou art once entred it is dangerous and doubtfull whether thou shalt finde grace to returne by repentance or no. And this first deformed birth of sin bringeth forth another deformed and fearefull birth namely death The first of these foule births namely sinne is thy shame and the second of them namely death is thy snare and destruction as the Apostle Saint Paul saith What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed for the end of those things is death But if at the first apparance of these thoughts and euill motions thou checke them and shew thy iust dislike of them if thou arme thy iudgement and thy will against them with-holding thy Iudgement from approuing them by shewing how false and vngodly they bee and with-holding thy will from assenting vnto them by shewing how sinfull and abominable they be if thou vse all diligence to expell them out of thine heart as thou art able and callest in better thoughts to occupie their places falling into some holy meditation of the glory the greatnesse the holines the riches the bountie the iustice power of God or into some meditatiō of the right worship of god of thy duty to him as thou art a christian by generall calling or as thou art bound by any other particular calling among christians or into some other meditation of the glory of heauen of the purchase of it for beleeuers by the death of Iesus Christ of the meanes by which we may come to the fruition of it and what manner persons in their conuersation they ought to bee that take themselues to bee coheires with Iesus Christ of that glory If thou fall into such meditations when thou art at leisure or set thy minde vpon thy worke ◅nd busines if thou then haue any in hand that by this good imploiment of thy minde and bodie there may be neither roome nor libertie for those euill thoughts to abide and wander in thy heart Certainly those thoughts though very busie with thee shall not be able to hurt thee they shall no more be imputed vnto thee for sinne vnto death then the motions of P◅tiphars wise were vnto Ioseph when shee said vnto him come lie with me was imputed vnto him And this course last remembred is the onely way in such a case of casting thy burden vpon God if thou bee carefull withall to pray vnto God for his grace to help thee to ouercome these swarmes of euill thoughts as he helped the Israelites to ouercome the swarmes of the Amalekites Philistims other enimies and that also thou take heed of idlenes and chiefely idlenes ioined with solitarines Idlenes is the sinne to be shunned solitarines doth but make the ◅dlenes to be more dangerous But certainely they that are troubled with the assault of such thoughts to them nothing is more dangerous then idlenes and want of imploiment for their mindes Then are they at leisure for the diuell then are they like the house spoken of in the Gospell whereunto the diuell entred As it is written When the vncleane spirit is gone out of a man he walketh throughout drie places seeking rest and findeth none then he saith I will returne into mine house whence I came and when hee is come hee findeth it emptie swept and garnished then he goeth and taketh vnto him seauen other spirits worse then himselfe and they enter in and dwell there and the end of that man is worse then the beginning Marke well this saying Hee found it emptie swept and garnished that is hee found it idle vnimploied God was not there with good thoughts becomming his presence and therefore the diuell entred with wicked thoughts becomming his presence Where the heart is not carefully manured by the owner thereof to bring forth good thoughts it will of it selfe to an idle owner bring forth euill thoughts It will be like to the field of the slouthfull that Salomon passed by And lo it was all growne ouer with thorne◅ and nettles hard couered the face of it and the stone wall thereof was broken downe as it was in this ground because the owner through sloth did not sowe good seeds in it euill weeds ouercame the same So will it be in thy heart if through idlene◅ thou haue no good thoughts tending to Gods glory the seruice of his Church thy heart of it selfe will abound with euill thoughts But if these thoughts rise not out of thine own heart through thy idlenes euil studies but be the suggestions of Sathan thrusting them into thine heart as he did thrust that thought of treasō into the heart of Iudas ◅f thou doe not open thy heart by thy sloth and other sinnes vnto those thoughts and be prepared for the intertainment of them as a man waiting at the dore of his house to open it to those guests whose entrance hee desireth or is pleased withall for so did Iudas hee did open his heart to the diuels suggestion by his enuie and couetousnes for when the woman powred the precious ointment vpon the head of Iesus and Iudas murmured at the waste saying it might haue beene solde for much and giuen to the poore and Iesus had defended her fact saying she did it to prepare him to his buriall then presently Iudas who caried the purse receiued the almes giuen to his master now missed this prey out of couetousnesse and enuy hereupon went presently to the high priests offring to betray him for a reward and was as ready to entertaine that thought as the diuell was to offer it vnto him and his enuie and couetousnes held open his heart vnto it if thou by thine idlenes and other sinnes doest not set open thy heart to such thoughts the offer of them in thy heart is the diuels sinne and not thine And if thou repell them as before hath beene shewed they shall no more hurt thee then the suggestions of Sathan in the wildernes offred to the Lord Iesus did hurt him What those suggestions were the Euangelists doe shew and that the diuell audaciously like a tempter did offer them to the Lord Iesus they also shew but in what manner they were offred to him they speake not as whether the diuell spake them audiblie to his eare or which is more agreeable to the nature of the diuell
I haue prouoked him to anger and by his iust sentence I must not liue Also I haue spent the daies of my life on earth so wickedly that I must liue no longer There the earth is ouer-loaden with my transgressions and refuseth to beare the burden of them And as for the life of heauen it were folly and madnes in mee yea it were shameles presumption in me to hope for any fruition of iâ—… I know no other place of life but these two earth where life is mortall and heauen where life is immortall and heauen will not admit me to liue there and the earth hath indured my life too long Therefore I must die This is the sentence of God The Prophet Ezekiel saith The soule that sinneth it shall die And the Apostle Saint Paul saith The wages of sinne is death Who can controule this iudgement of God who shall open his mouth against it I doe my selfe approue it And therefore I am become my selfe an enemie to mine owne life yea heauen doeth abhor it the earth doeth loath it it must not continue to the offence of God and his Angels to the greefe of the Church and all true members of it And therefore I â—…hat heitherto haue had no care to serue and glorifie God wiâ—…h the continuance of my life will yet at the least and at the last serue and glorifie God with the end of my life intending to be the executioner of Gods holy sentence vpon my selfe So shall I cease to sinne any longer against God As the dead cannot praise him so the dead can not blaspheme him and as they haue no place to doe well so I thinke they haue no place to doe euill and by such course I shall deliuer my selfe from this violent temptation I shall obtaine an end of my feare Doth not Iob say of death and of the graue The prisoners rest together and heare not the voice of the oppressor there are small and great and the seruant is free from his master There shall Ireâ—… hauing put off this heauy burden What greater oppressour can there be then an accusing and condemning conscience And there he saith I shall not heare the voice of the oppressor O place to be desired O sweet graue I long to be laied vp in thee and am I not a seruant and a slaue to sinne is it not now a most cruell and tyrannous master to me and there I shall be freed from his tormenting power This being so iust in regard of God so full of aduantage and ease vnto my selfe it must be done it shall be done and I must doâ—… it yea I wil doe it disswade mee not from so iust and so gainefull a course wherein I am resolued O malice of Satan this is thy voice this is thy counsell in all the former obiections wherein thou hast beene a medler thou hast shewed thy selfe but in this thou exceedest thy selfe Hee that knew thee not before by this obiection may know thee to be as saint Peter calls thee A roaring lion that walketh about seeking whom hee may deuoure Heereby thou maiest be knowne to be as S. Iohn calls thee the great dungeon that olde serpent called the diuell and Satan which deceiueth all the world In this temptation thou seekest to deuoure but the prey shall be plucked out of thy iawes in this thou thinkest to deceiue but thy dangerous falshood shall be discouered and auoyded The victorious Lion of the tribe of Iudah the roote of Dauid shall rescue and deliuer his seely sheepe The Serpent that was lifted vp vpon the crosse shall bâ—…uise thine head and heale the wound that thou like a fiery serpent hast made The Lord rebuke thee Satan The Lord tread thee downe vnder the feete of this afflicted sinner and that shortly But thou O sorrowfull sinner hearken to the councell of God let not the serpent that deceiued our first parents deceiue thee stoppe thine eare against his lying words and be ready to heare what shall be taught thee in the name of God God saith by the Prophet Heare your soule shal liue Heare that thy soul may liue Thou art vrged to desire deser ued death thou art vrged yeldest with thine owne hands to hasten his death Thy resolution to hasten it seemeth to be grounded vpon these reasons First thou hast wronged and prouoked to anger the Lord of life and therefore deseruest in his iustice to die Secondly thou hast burdened the earth the place of mortall life with thy sinnes and art not worthy to liue any longer vpon the face thereof and then to thinke that thou maiest liue in heauen the place of immortal life thou holdest to be shamlesse presumption Thirdly thou holdest thy life to be loathsome it is so to thy selfe because it is offensiue to God and to his Angels to the church and members thereof Fourthly because thou hast not serued and glorified God by the continuance of thy life thou wilt serue and glorifie him by hastening the end of it Fistly thou hast multiplied sinne all the daies of thy life and thou thinkest that thou shalt cease to sin if once thou be dead Lastly whereas thy life is full of feare sorrow and bitternesse thou thinkest by death to be freede at once from all These are the reasons vpon which thou groundest thy resolution to hasten thy death with thine owne hands they may preuaile as reasons with them whom God hath left in the power of him whom the Lord Iesus calleth a murtherer from the beginning But whosoeuer remaineth in the protection of the Lord and giuer of life to him these allegations cary not the estimation of perswading reasons oâ—… if they beare any such estimation with them yet God wil nâ—…uer suffer them so to preuaile that they shal take effect but he will preuent their execution as â—…e did with the affrited Gaoler of Philippiâ—…â—…hom â—…hom being ready to fall vpâ—… his sword when he perceiued the effects of the earth-quake and feared that his prisoners were â—…led the mercifull GOD preserued him by the voice of Paul My heart trembleth to thinke of this obiection and it breaketh out beyond the bounds of my conceit that thought the precedent obiection to haue beene the height of Sathans malice and of this poore afflicted sinners danger But this exceedeth all height heere is extremity of malice in the tempter heere is extremity of danger in the tempted If the Deuill preuaile in this temptation hee xedeth not to vse any other And if the â—…ner giue place to this temptation it is â—…othing worth to 〈◊〉 and ouer come â—…lother In answering this temptation â—…il first examine the point that he saith â—…is resolued vpon and then the reaâ—…ons vpon which hee groundeth his resolution The thing that he is resolued vpon is â—…o cut the threed of his own life in plain â—…ords he intendeth to kill himselfe In the whole history of the Bible that conâ—…neth the
euen the best regenerate man that feareth God and loueth righteousnesse that hath both his vnderstaÌ„ding enlightned his will sanctified so that he wanteth neither knowledge zeale nor humility yet can neither doe the good that gladly he would nor leaue vndone the euill that his soule abhorreth This is no smal burden to the man that wold please God and doe his dutie that hee becomes his owne troubler against his owne will and crosseth himselfe by corruption in that wherein he taketh pleasure by sanctification This made Paul the Apostle to crie out in these words O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this body of death It was death to him that such corruption was so preualent in his fraile body And in another place he calleth the same law of sinne a pricke in the flesh the messenger of satan to buffet him because it was euer seruiceable to satan and armed his hand against the holy feruant of God so that whensoeuer the Apostle did set his heart to doe well the diuell did beat him with the weapons of his owne corruption This is no small burden to an honest minded man The second ranke of these spirituall burdens are accusing thoughts checkes and terrors of conscience the worme in thy bosome gnawing thine heart This burden often followeth the former as Zophar speaketh When wickednesse was sweet in his mouth he hid it vnder his tongue and fauoured it and would not forsake it but kept it close in his mouth then his meat in his bowels was turned the gal of aspes was in the middest of him That is at first sinne in the committing of it is sweet as ratsbane poison often is goeth downe merrily and is meate and drinke to the sinner and he can not bee wonne from it because it is his delight but at last the time commeth according to the saying of God in the Psalme I wil reprooue thee and set them that is thy sinnes in order before thee According to this saying God mustereth his sinnes together and presenteth a view of them before the soule of the sinner where the diuell as a great officer in that campe setteth them forth in their colours that al the contempt of God and of his commandements all their vnthankfulnesse and forgetfulnesse of their duty all the violence filthinesse fury and disorder that accompanied their sinnes appeareth fresh to the sinners vnderstanding and what wrathin heauen what shame on earth and fire in hell he hath made himselfe worthy of and must now looke for And this turneth the meat in his stomack into 〈◊〉 this is more deadly then the poison of aspes can be then feare increaseth nope decreaseth then the wicked are confounded and could wish â—…illes and mountaines to fall vpon them to couer them from the face of God and thinking to flie deserued destruction they oft times cast themselues into eternall destruction and with Saul Achitâ—…phel and Iudas kil themselues Yea the best seruants of God when it pleaseth him to lay this burden in any tollerâ—…ble measure vpon them are exceedingly affrighted for a time Dauids words being pressed with this burden shew the heauy load of it There is nothing sound in my slesh because of thine anger neither is there rest in my bones because of my sinne For mine iniquities are gone ouer my head and as a waighty burden they are too heauy for me His affliction was great when the griefe of his minde changed the health of his body and left no soundnesâ—…e either in flesh or bones And so was it with the Prophet and the only cause of this so great disease was the remembrance of his sinnes and the feare of Gods angeâ—… by those sinnes deserued Another time laden with this burden as he was before he complained of his load as he had done before saying Innumerable troubles haue compassed me my sinnes haue taken such hold vpon me that I am not able to looke vp yea they are more in number then the haires of my head therefore my heart hath failed me Needes must the assault of innumerable troubles follow the remembrance of innumerable sinnes and these troubles where they lay hold doe depresse the heart that the ouercharged waight cannot looke vp to the mercy feat of God Yea where faith wageth battaile against fear and keepeth the field well strengthened with many promises and in the end preuaileth restoring peace to the conscience yet there for a time vntil the houre and power of darknesse passe ouer terrors are great when the charge of sinne lieth vpon the soule See it in him that had the greatest assurance of all the sonnes of men when the glorious sonne of God our blessed Sauiour Iesus Christ for our redemption was to take vp and beare the burden of our sinnes it did put him to vnspeakable paine and was vpon his mighty shoulders a mighty burden Hence came that tripled praier O my father if it be possible let this cup passe from me neuertheles not as I wil but as thou wilt Thence came that agony that Saint Luke speaketh of that being in an open garden and kneeling on the bare ground about the middest of night in a cold season of the yeere he fell into a great sweat and his sweat was like drops of blood trickling downe to the ground Thence came that crie vpon the crosse which was not the singing of a Psalme but the true dittie of sorrow and of a depressed soule speaking as was before prophecied of him My God my God why hast thou forsaken me All these grew from the burden of our sinnes laid vpon him that he bearing our sinnes in his body vpon the tree we might be deliuered from sinne to liue in righteousnesse The burden therefore of sinne when accusing thoughts once presse and charge the conscience citing vs to appeare and answer before God for our offences is a most heauy burden the burden of the humble and broken hearted man these are the two rankes of spirituall burdens Now vnder these six rankes fower of secular burdens two of spirituall I suppose all those burdens may be comprehended which lie heauy vpon vs in this world and cause feare care and griefe vnto vs first care of the world secondly domesticall troubles thirdly troubles more remote fourthly the difficulties that follow the duties of our callings fiftly the sinfull lusts of our flesh fighting against our soules lastly accusing thoughts breeding terrors of conscience CHAP. V. YOu haue heard what the burden is now let vs consider what it is to cast this burden vpoÌ„ the Lord. And hereof I will speake first generally without relation to any particular sort of these burdens and then particularly with relation to the particular sorts of burdens before named and in such order as they were named but first generally What it is to cast our burden vpon the Lord we may see by the words of Saint Peter repeating this
and said vnto me Goe prophecie to my people Israel That is I haue in those sermons which you call Conspiracie faithfully followed the commandement of the God of Israel So also did Ieremy when the Priestes and false Prophets and the multitude of the people had laid hands vpon him in the Temple and went about to kill him for his preaching he protested his innocencie saying The Lord hath sent me to prophecie against this house against this Citie all the things that you haue heard And thine innocency being thus protested made knowne then secondly turne thee vnto God appeale to his iudgemē◅ rest vpon him He is the true discerner of all mens doings to whō it is manifest both what things are done and with what mind they are done and he is the iudge of all men and of their doings and he will reward them that truly serue him therefore taking no discomfort at the vniustice and vnthankfulnes of men pray God to iustifie thy well doing against misreporters Thou hast a promise of such mercie made by the Prophet saying He shall bring forth thy righteousnes as the light and thy iudgement as the noone day and pray him to remember thee and giue thee thy reward in heauen because on earth good seruices are not worthily valowed and in expectation of that reward at Gods hands comfort thy soule in this case And thus haue we spoken of the fower secular burdens wherein immediately we haue to doe with men in matters concerning this life and shewed how the burdens may be ought to be cast vpon God for the ◅ase of our soules CHAP. XII THere are diuers troubles wherein the man that is troubled hath to doe immediatly and at the next hand with God and the things wherin he hath to doe with God and looketh directly vpon him do concerne our soule and inward man and the good estate therof for holinesse and happinesse both now and hereafter And in regard hereof those troubles I call spirituall troubles And those I reduce to two heads The first of these spirituall burdens is the powerful lusts of the flesh enemies to the holinesse of the soule The second is the feareful accusing thoughts that are enemies to the happinesse of the soule The first is the burden of the lusts of the flesh fighting against the soule The multitude of our corruptions and the law of sinne in our members so potent and strong that we cannot doe the good we would in doing whereof God should be serued and the euil we would not that we doe by doing whereof the diuell is serued This is a grieuous burden to an honest minded man that is desirous to please God and keepe a good conscience Hee considereth who made him and desireth to glorifie his creator He considereth the manifold mercies of God towards him and desireth to approue himselfe a thankfull man He respecteth the end both of his creation and of his regeneration and desireth to come neare vnto God and to haue fellowship with his redeemer and to resemble him in holinesse and righteousnesse hee seriously thinketh vpon the end of vertue and reward of vice the first to be eternall life the other to be eternall destruction and with his whole heart and soule he desireth and striueth to auoid euill which hee abhorreth and to do good which he loueth And while he striueth to goe on in this course nothing hindereth him more then the root of sin that is deeply fastened in his owne flesh The Diuell offereth a temptation and his false flesh yeeldeth presently vnto it The flattering world presenteth showes of vanity and the flesh greedily imbraceth them Occasions are offered and presented to our eies and our traiterous flesh suddenly apprehendeth them and our actions fall out to be sinfull and euill sometime at vnawares before wee haue leisure to consider what we ought to doe Sometime against fore-fight yea against repugning will For that corruption that is in our flesh which for the authority that it vsurpeth and for the power that it exerciseth in vs the Apostle calleth the law in our members that corruption rebelleth against the law of our minde and leadeth vs captiue into all actuall sinne And wee are compelled in the campe of our enemies to serue against our beloued Lord. And this is no small griefe vnto a sanctified soule that desireth to serue and worship God in spirit and truth How heauy this burden is the Apostles words doe teach vs crying out by reason of it in this manner O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer mee from this body of death It was vnto him more bitter then death that sinne was of such power in his mortall body Vpon men groaning vnder this burden compassion ◅is to be taken both in regard of God whom it grieueth them to offend and dishonour and also in regard of themselues so intangled and indangered not by any fo◅aine malice but by their owne inbred sinfulnesse Therefore for the case of such ouercharged soules to giue them some comfort notwithstanding the continuance of their burden these things are to be considered First that where God hath giuen an heart grieued for these infirmities he neuer imputeth vnto them the sinnes that they so vnwillingly and grieuedly commit their broken and displeased hearts being a pleasing sacrifice to him According to the saying of the Prophet The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit a contrite a broken heart O God thou wilt not despise So that God taketh more pleasure to see them sorrow for their committing sinne then he doth displeasure for the sinne that they commit for to commit sinne is common to all mankinde and we cannot chuse but to doe amisse while we liue in this flesh but to mourne and to be grieued for sin to striue against it and not to commit it but with dislike offence taken for it is proper onely to them that truely loue the Lord. Secondly though they cannot attaine vnto such perfect holinesse vppon earth as they desire nor vnto such an absolute conquest ouer their corruptions and such a full measure of mortification that sin shal haue no life nor power of mou◅ng in them yet their good wil being true and vnfained and their holy desire beeing sound and not dissembled is before God as well accepted as if they were altogether without sinne Therefore is it that God requireth the heart saying My sonne giue me thine heart and let thine eies delight in my wayes He that can by the mercie of God attayne vnto this to delight in in the wayes of God and to haue a sound heart within his weake bodie he hath attained vnto as great perfection of holinesse as this present life is capable of if that desire and delight of his be ioyned with knowledge and vnderstanding so that hee be free from their errour whom the Apostle speaketh of saying They being ignorant of the righteousnesse
whether he did speake them spiritually and inwardly to his vnderstanding hereof they speake nothing Onely Saint Luke saith that the diuell did shew vnto Iesus the glorie of the kingdomes of the earth In the twinkling of an eie Which sure was a spirituall manner of presenting and why may we not aswell thinke that he vsed a spirituall manner of speaking but howsoeuer it was the diuels worke in thrusting those vngodly thoughts into th◅e heart is like that diuels worke that offred those sinfull motions vnto the Lord Iesus The diuell sinned therein as a tempter that would haue drawne another to wickednesse but the Lord Iesus sinned not in them while hee gaue no place vnto them neither was drawne by them to doe euill but confuted them by the scriptures those suggestions were no hurt vnto him Euen so in those thoughts thrust into thine heart the diuell sinneth in them as a tempter that would draw thee to cōmit wickednes but thou sinnest not in them if thou giue no place vnto them and suffer not thy selfe to be drawne by them to doe euill but confutest them by the scriptures Surely those thoughts if thou carry thy selfe thus shall doe no hurt to thee Againe let me remember thee to call vpon God for the assistance of his grace against those euill thoughts And to take heede of idlenes and solitarines remembring Salomons Vae soli woe vnto him that is alone And here I will also aduise the sinner which is troubled with these swarmes of euill thoughts to confer with some godly and learned Phisition and to vse his counsell for there is oft in the assault of such thoughts some mixture of some distemper in the body which he that is wise in God desireth true rest vnto his soule will not yea must not be carelesse of And whereas in the frame of thy obiection thou saist that if those thoughts be the suggestions of Sathan in thine heart then the diuell hath alreadie possession of thy heart and thou art fully in his power it is too late to thinke of deliuering thee on t of his hand This is but a false phantasie the fruit of thine owne feare without any truth in it for the diuell hath often leaue to tempt when he hath no power to ouercome Thou heardst euen now how hee had leaue to tempt the Lord Iesus in the wildernesse but he had no power to ouercome him And thou knowest the historie of Iob. The diuell had leaue to tempt him and and that was limited leaue hee was not able to touch a sheepes taile of Iobs till God permitted him and hee could not passe a step further then God allowed him and whatsoeuer he did to Iob either in his possessions or in his owne bodie yet had he no power ouer his mind to make him to blaspheme God which was the d◅uels cheefest desire whereof he had accused Iob before And thou knowest what Iesus saith of the Apostles that the diuell made suite to winnow them as wheat but hee interposed his praier for them that their faith might not faile in the most hote and violent temptation So that the diuell hath no power at all either to trouble by tempting or to hurt whom he troubleth But as God in his holy wisdome giueth him leaue Malice and desire to hurt aboundeth in that enemy but power he must obtaine at Gods hands And in thy selfe thou maiest see it plain by the very maner of thy trouble that though he haue leaue by these thoughts to tempt thee yet thou art not wholly in his power for if hee had power to hurt thee with deedes hee would not trifle the time with thee to trouble thee with thoughts for the diuell euer goeth as farre as ◅is commission extendeth in doing hurt to the sonnes of men he◅ hath no mercie and charitie to spare where he may do a mischiefe And if he had as ful possession of thee as euer hee had of any child of disobedience yet were it not therefore too late to thinke vppon and to seeke deliuerance out of his power For the Apostle saith that hee himselfe and the Ephesians to whom he writeth walked sometime according to the course of this world and after the prince that ruleth i◅ the aire euen the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience He sometime preuailed in Paul and the Ephesians further then to molest them with vngodly thoughts for they walked in their deedes after his course and yet they were deliuered out of his power and made the faithful seruants and obedient sonnes of God Indeed the Deuil is a strong man armed that to his vttermost power keepeth those things that hee possesseth in peace But the Lord Iesus saith in the Gospel When a stronger then hee commeth vppon him and ouercommeth him hee taketh from him al his armour wherein hee trusted and diuideth his spoiles And this stronger then Satan is our Lord Iesus Christ wholeadeth euen captiuity captiue and by suffering death in his flesh hath destroyed death as the Prophet speaketh O death I will be thy death O graue I will bee thy destruction And him also that had power of death to hurt vs withall as the Apostle saith That hee might destroy through death him that had the power of death that is the deuill And to what end hath he subdued this enemy but that hee might diuide his spoiles and set at liberty those whom he held captiue as it followeth in the same place That he might deliuer all them which for feare of death were all their life time subiect to bondage Where wee see deliuerance granted to them that the deuill had possession of and held in peace as the spoils that he had taken And the same may be seene by an other saying of the Apostle writing to Timothy Instruct them with meekenesse that are contrarie minded proning if God at any time will giue them repentance that they may know the trueth and that they may come to amendment out of the snares of the deuill which are taken of him at his will Marke it and make vse of it those whom the deuill hath taken at his pleasure are not such men in his power and whom he hath ins◅ared with the cords of ignorance and of wickednesse in the blindnesse and stubbornenesse of their hearts those God deliuereth and setteth free bringing them to the knowledge of the truth and to amendment of life And doth it by the milde instruction of Timothie that is by the word of the Gospel vnder the free ministerie whereof thou liuest happily in the bosome of the Church The power of which word if thou hearken vnto it in ouerthrowing the power of Satan and diuiding his spoiles we may yet further see by that that is written in the Gospell The Lord Iesus sent forth seuenty Disciples to preach the Gospel sending them two and two together and after their ministerie was fulfilled the Seauentie returned
honest calling when we haue serued out our time here we may stay no longer and till we haue serued out our time we must serue so long Thou wilt therefore be found to bee a fugitiue seruant from God if thou depart his seruic before thy time be full out And that belongeth to God and not to thee to set downe The Prophet Dauid saith of God in one of the Psalmes To the Lord God belong the issues of death To God it belongeth and not to man to set downe and determine who shall die when he shall die and by what meanes he shall die he vseth sometime the hand of the magistrate sometime the hand of the violent and so endeth one mans life as we thinke by counsell and worke of another man but neuer did he giue licence to any man to kill himselfe Hee hath forbidden murder by his commandement Thou shalt not kill He condemned it in C◅ine from the beginning of the world to whom hauing slaine Abel his brother he said What hast thou done the voice of thy brothers bloud cries vnto me from the ground Now therefore thou art cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receiue thy brothers bloud from thine hand And after the floud when hee began againe to replenish the earth with inhabitantes he made a law against murder to restraine both man and beast from committing it saying Surely I will require your bloud wherein your liues are at the hand of euery beast will I require it and at the hand of man euen at the hands of a mans brother will I require the life of man Who so sheddeth mans bloud by man shall his bloud be shed for in the image of God hath hee made man So oftensiue vnto God it is for a man without warrant and authoritie to kill any because man was made in the image of God a creature of vnderstanding indued with excellent vertues of knowledge and righteousnes with resemblance in these vertues to God himselfe in the making of whom it pleased God to shew his excellent power his wisedome and his mercy No man no beast can destroy this creature and bee innocent before God It belongeth onely to him that gaue life to take it away where he takes it away who can giue it and where he◅ hath giuen it who shall take it away So that the whole rule of life must remaine in the hands of the Lord of life who of himself saith I kill and giue life Except thou canst doe both attempt to doe neither First make a liuing man if thou canst and then kill him whom thou gauest life vnto thou shalt hurt no worke therein but the worke of thine owne hands But if thou canst not giue life presume not to take away life thou shalt therein violate the worke of another and if thou maist not kill any other thou maiest not kill thy selfe one God made thee and them and if thou shalt be guiltle of bloud in killing thy neighbour thou shalt be guiltie of bloud in killing thy selfe if thou maiest not touch the life of thy neighbour thou maiest not touch the life of thy selfe When Elias was weary of his life being persecuted by Iezabel hee said vnto God It is inough O Lord take my soule for I am no better then my fathers Hee desired to be out of this present euill world hee was wearie of the trauels and dangers of it did he therefore kill himselfe did he lay violent hands vpon his body let out his soule before his time No such thoughts were far from him he remembred that God had placed his soule in that earthly Tabernacle and he intreateth God to set his soule at libertie Hee held his hands howsoeuer his heart was affected So doe thou hold thy hands from any fact of violence and lift them vp with thy heart vnto God in heauen and desire him to take thy soule when hee thinkes good When the Apostle Paul was in a streight betwene two and wist not whether he should desire life to continue in the world or death to goe out of the world because his life should be profitable to the Church but his death gainefull to himselfe he expressed the inclining of his heart to death for his owne aduantage in these words Desiring to be loosed and to bee with Christ which is best of all His reward was in heauen he desired to obtaine it his redeemer was in heauen hee desired to be with him and because hee could not come to inioy his reward and to be with his redeemer except by death he should passe out of the world therefore he was willing to depart and to that end to be loosed and set at libertie from his flesh But did hee incline to set himselfe at libertie to loose the bands of his owne life by which his soule was tied and fast bound to the fellowship of his body no he desired to bee a patient not an agent to be a sufferer not a doer in this business his words are Desiring to be loosed Not desiring to loose my selfe This he longed and this he waited for and in time obtained it In these men behold and see how to craue and demeane thy selfe learne of Elias Paul learne of them that feare God learne not of Saul and Iudas learne not of wicked men mē that went astray intheir doings And tell mee if at any time thy life was so vile in thy sight and the pleasure and glory of God so deare vnto thee that thou wert content and desirous to giue thy life vnto God to put it in hazard for his name and for his trueths sake Where hast thou despised the threatning of tyrants where hast thou contemned the sword the fire the halter or any other death hast thou beene cast into the fierie furnace with Ananias Azarias and Misael rather then thou wouldest commit idolatrie and worship any God but the Lord Hast thou at any time with Daniel bin cast into the Lions den for a prey to their teeth rather then thou wouldest giue ouer and cease to pray vnto thy God Hast thou beene whipped with Peter and Iohn hast thou beene imprisoned with Paul and Silas hast thou been stoned with Steuen or hath thy necke beene vnder the stroke of the sword with Iames the brother of Iohn hast thou suffred rebuke or any losse of goods or any linnen for the name of Iesus thy Sauiour In these cases if thy life had beene vile in thy fight it had beene a commendable thing in thee to prefer the pleasure honor of God the trueth and glory of Iesus Christ before the safety of thy life for in this course thou seruest with thy life him that is the God of thy life thou yeeldest it vp being called for into the hands of him that gaue it And thou hast the examples of the Prophets of God and the Apostles of Iesus Christ to be thy patterne who were euer ready and
and dangerous Thy third and last reason grounded vpon supposed aduantage is this thou thinkest that thy death shall bring with it an end of all thy troubles of all thy paine and of all thy feare And I verely beleeue that all the former reasons were but idlely pleaded by thee that thou wert nothing at all mooued with them and that thou didst onely alledge them to make shew of doing that with reason for which indeede thou canst haue no reason and this last alleadged reason though as weake as vaine and as deceitfull as all the other was the onely thing that carried thy resolution For all they that resolue vpon such desperate courses doe it out of a conceit to ridde and free themselues from shame and troubles But verily this act if thou shouldest doe it which God defend thee from can not deliuer thee from trouble from danger or from shame It is one of Satans lies as truely as hee tolde our first parents that by breaking Gods commaundement they should be as gods so truely doth he tell thee that by this act which is a manifest and violent breach of Gods commandement thou shalt free thy self from troubles There is not a more readie way to throw thy selfe into endlesse troubles And let vs consider seriously of this point that thou maiest see thy errour There are troubles dangers and shames that belong to this world and to the life of man in this world this world is their proper place and thy life heere is their proper time Some other there are that belong to an other world and to the time that followeth our departure out of this world Hell that receiueth the wicked is their proper place and the time that succeedeth this life their proper time Of the first sort are pouertie and vnexpert losses wearines weaknesse and sickenesse in our bodie disquietnesse in our house slaunders and disgraces banishment imprisonment publique shame displeasure of Princes persecution and such like Of these the Prophet speaketh saying Great are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord deliuereth him out of them all Of the other sort are the worme that dieth not and the fire that neuer goeth out which Esay speaketh of shame and perpetuall contempt which Daniel speaketh of outward darkenesse where is weeping and gnashing of teeth which our Sauiour speaketh of euerlasting fire prepared for the diuell and his Angells tormenting flame abiection from God the second death and the bottomlesse pit whose smoake ascendeth for euer Of these speaketh Iohn the Euangelist saying Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire this is the second death and whosoeuer was not found written in the booke of life was cast into the lake of fire The first sort belonging to this life are short tollerable and mixed with many comforts the second sort belonging to the time after this life are eternall intolerable and no comfort is mixed with them not so much as one drop of water to coole the scorched tongue The first sort is common both to good and bad men and may be borne yea ouercome with patience the second sort is prepared onely for the wicked euen for the appointed vessels of wrath and they giue no place to patience And among all these troubles one I finde that seemeth to be common to both these places and that is accusing thoughts thy present burden but with this difference that in this life it is but a matter of feare though a tormenting feare and after this life it is matter of torment euen a most fearefull torment in this life both good and bad are affrighted with this tormenting feare after this life onely the wicked and the reprobate are tormented with this fearefull torment Now from which of these troubles doth death free vs and in what estate doth it leaue vs when it hath freed vs These are materiall considerations for a man in thy condition and therefore hearke diligently that thou maiest not be deceiued in thy account and fall into endlesse and intolerable troubles while thou striuest to free thy selfe from short and easie troubles Death doeth put an end vnto the troubles of this life not because it taketh away troubles but because it taketh away life and with the end of life needes must there be an end of the trouble that is proper to life For death doth not help our paine aâ—… Physician but as an executioner the Physician cureth the griefe and preserueth life the executioner cureth the griefe by taking away the life for by cutting off the head hee frees the patient from euer complaining of the tooth-ach And Imtreate thee to regard this manner of deaths cure If thou wert sicke of the gowt or palsiâ—… or other disease wouldst thou send for the common hangman to cure thee with a sword or with a halter This is not to take away the disease but to assist the disease too weake of it selfe to destroy thee speedily and therefore thou callest for helpe not to assist thee against the disease to ouercome it but to assist the disease against thee to ouercome thee I perswade my selfe thou wouldst not send for the hangman but wouldest send for the Physician to cure thy disease with safety of thy self whose knowledge and fidelitie might oppose against the danger of thy disease and comfort thee to ouercome thy disease and weaken the disease that it might not ouercome thee so deale with thy selfe in the time of thy Spirituall disease Send not for death the hangman death came into the world by the Iustice of God as a punishment of our sinne but send vnto God the Physician that is able to remoue thy disease and preserue thy life God healeth by preseruation not by destruction deaths act in this maner required if it may be called a healing healeth by destruction not by preseruation though I must confesse that with death there comes an end of all present troubles from sence and feeling whereof he is deliuered that is dead But in what case doeth death leaue them that are thus deliuered from present short and sufferable troubles surely it leaueth not all in like case the difference is great betweene the dead When death commeth by the ordinary worke of Gods hand to whom the issues of death belong and the partie that dieth is well prepared by faith in Christ to leaue this world at the will of his GOD that he may be gathered to his Redeemer which is best of all Death leaueth this man in a blessed estate it is the period of his present troubles and then begins his eternall rest Vnto this man death hath left his sting and is made vnto him the way and bridge by which he passeth ouer to enter into true life And this comes to passe not by any secret vertue of death it selfe but by the vertue of the death of Christ making that by his grace to bee our medicine that sinne had made to bee our poison Augustine intreating of
cheerefull seruice of them that are about thee vse thy bed thy clothes thy meate prepared for thy ease thy couering thy nourishment vse all the creatures of God in their kinds and praise God that thou maiest haue them S. Paul saith Euery creature of God is good and nothing ought to be refused if it be receiued with thanksgiuing for it is sanctified by the word of God and praier It ought not saith he to be refused it ought to be receiued with giuing of thankes And if we vse praier vnto God that it will please him to blesse vnto vs his owne gift which the word of God alloweth vs to vse he will sanctifie it for our good For God that giueth these things is good the things themselues that God doth giue are good therefore the effect of them being Christianly vsed cannot but bee good Continue the opinion of thine owne vnworthinesse but reiect thy vnwise purpose of refusing to vse Gods creatures for thine vnworthinesse CHAP. XXX OVR poore distressed sinner reclaymed from the conrses that in his last obiections hee remembred the first being a quicke violent and apparent purpose of ending his owne life the second being a slow dangerous and close purpose of wasting his life is not yet so freed from the troubled thoughts of death that he can with a quiet hope of life looke to the God of life and thus further out of remayning feare obiecteth to the disquieting of his owne heart though I may not hurt my life with violent hands as first I thought to doe and must nourish my life with seruiceable hands which in the second place I thought not to haue done yet my life must come 'to an end by the condition that all Adams children are subiect vnto God said to Adam in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou returne to the earth for out of it wast thou taken because thou art dust and to dust shalt thou returne This was the condition of the first man this is the condition of all men and among all it is also my condition I must die if I cherish life neuer so carefully And this remembrance of death considering my present woefull estate is fearefull vnto mee two manner of waies First I feare lest death should take mee away before I be deliuered from this temptation as it may well doe for I may die to day or to morrow yea I may die presently And if I should so hastily die while this feare directly contrary to faith lieth yet vpon my conscience I should die in my infidelity I should die without faith in Christ and so to die without faith in the sonne of God is the high-way to eternall damnation for the Lord Iesus saith he that beleeueth not is condemned already because he beleeueth not in the name of the only begotten sonne of God Secondly if there should be any ceasing and intermission of these accusing thoughts before my death yet I feare death because after death this accusation may bee renewed and the precedent ceasing proue no doing away for euer but onely a deferring for a time of this plague And I haue cause to feare such a thing because the right time of preferring accusations against sinners is the time after death when men must come to iudgement as the Apostle saith it is appointed vnto men that they shal once die and after that commeth the iudgement After death the soule commeth to iudgement the book of conscience must then be opened and accusations then or neuer must be heard and if these accusations now be so grieuous vnto mee now while iudgement is far off while there is place for repentance and hope of forgiuenesse surely they will then be much more fearefull woefull miserable horrible therefore the remembrance of death come it sooner or come it later come it before or after the stay of this temptation is fearfull vnto me This obiection is not hard to bee answered thou fearest death two manner of waies First lest it come before thou haue ouercome this temptation and recouered peace with God by faith in our Lord Iesus And thou fearest this hasty comming of death for two causes one is because it is possible that it may so come for we may and must if God cal die presently another because it is dangerous so to die thou takest thy temptation to bee directly opposit to faith therefore if thou die before it bee ouercome thou diest without faith and to die without faith is sure damnation Thus thou fearest deathes hasty comming and to thy feare of death this way growing we will first make answer Against thy feare of death comming before thy temptation be ouercome God giueth comfortable hope that death shall not come before thy temptation be ouercome And it comes not at all but by the appointment of God neither sooner nor later then he appointed it For hee sent vs with life into the world he hath appointed the length of our life in the world and the time and manner of our dying and departing out of the world lieth onely in his pleasure of whom the Prophet saith To the Lord God belongeth the issues of death The set time for the produceing of all his appointed workes resteth in his owne counsell when the Apostles questioned the Lord Christ after his resurrection for the restoring of the kingdome to Israel he made them answer It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father hath put in his owne power And if the time of all his workes be put and placed only in his power then the time of thy death which is one of this workes is put only in his power But his God that hath the sole disposing of thy death hath as I said giuen thee comfortable hope that death shall not come before this thy temptation be ouercome For this we haue his gracious promise deliuered by the pen of the blessed Apostle Paul saying God is faithfull that will not suffer you to be tempted aboue that you be able but will giue the issue with the temtation that ye may be able to beare it Here he promiseth an issue of euery temptation and also that the man burdened there with shal be able to beare it and ouercome it And hitherto though this temptation hath beene grieuous vnto thee and in bearing of it thou hast felt and found thine owne weaknesse yet God hath supported thee and thou hast beene inabled to indure weary daies and comfortlesse nights And in the meane time while this temptation hath lasted for thy further strengthening thou hast inioyed many mercies of God both in thy soule and body and estate and friends for hee hath not smitten thy soule with the stroke that fell vpon Nebuchadnezzar thou hast had and stil hast thine vnderstanding free to inquire after God and harken after his mercy and he hath not smitten thy body with the bile of Aegypt
were lost giuing repentance vnto Israel and remission of sinnes so lifting vp them that were fallen downe by any inward iudgement of God any way punishing them in their soules for their first fall into sinne This was the inward miserie vpon the inward man whereunto men fall that haue fallen into sinne There is another miserie into which men fal for their sins God in his iust iudgement thrusting them forward which I call outward misery because it is not the stroke of the heart though the heart afterward be grieued for it This kinde of outward misery into which men fall is full of varietie vnder one head there are diuers branches contained for some of these fall vpon vs by the good worke of God to trie vs to exercise our faith to correct and humble vs and some doe fall vpon vs by the malice and in iustice of men and Angels to ouerthrow vs in our faith or our pietie as the diuell hoped by Iobes losses to make him blaspheme God or at the least to vexe and grieue vs and to make vs murmur so differing in regard of the author from whom they come and of the end for which they come They differ also in regard of the subiect matter of them for some of these outward miseries happen to vs in our name and credit wounded and impaired by lying standering and the spite of euill tongues or they happen to vs in our bodies reach euen to the danger of our liues by sores and sickenesses by blowes and bruises by maimes and woundes on they happen to vs in our estate goodes when we are deceiued robbed spoiled deposed from offices of profit and worship or they happen to vs in our libertie when we are banished from our natiue countrie or confined to some restrained boundes which wee must not passe as Salomon confined Shemei to his house in Ierusalem or we are committed to some prison or they happen to vs in our friends by death taken away from vs that were our maintenance our countenance our credite and safegarde and they being remoued we are left naked and Orphans in a pittiles world By which outward miseries of so great and greater varietie we fall from estimation and lone of the people from health strength and beautie from riches and plentie from freedome and libertie from comfort and refuge into suspicion and an euill name into weakenes and leanenes into pouertie thraldome and much contempt and aduantage is giuen vnto our aduersaries to insult and glory ouer vs and many men haue beene dangerously bruised with such falles of this kinde But yet such is the mercy and goodnes of God that hee will not suffer the righteous fallen into these miseries to fall for euer but in due time he will raise them vp and deliuer them The slander of Susanna was wiped away and shee was discharged of the fowle imputation laied vpon her by the wicked Elders with honorable repaire of her credit The imprisonment and affliction of Ioseph after some yeares was done away and he was brought forth and made a great commander in the land of Egipt Iob was spoiled of his goodes robbed of his children miserably afflicted in his body and brought most low for hee could not fall more low and liue but God did graciously restore Iob in all his losses and he ended his daies in honor and peace Mordechai and the Iewes by the wicked deuise of Haman were fallen deepely into contempt and danger of death yet by the meanes of Hester it pleaseth God to cast downe their enemies into destruction and to raise vp the Iewes both to repaired credit and to secured life Saint Paul confesseth writing to the Corinthians that being in Asia hee was with afflictions and sicknes Pressed out of measurâ—… passing strength so that he altogether doubled euen of life yea he receiued the sentence of death in himselfe But when he was fallen and brought so low God raised him vp by restoring health and would not suffer the righteous Apostle to lie foreuer as also he confesseth in the next words saying God which raiseth the dead deliuered me from so great a death and doeth deliuer me in whom I trust that he will yet deliuer mee I might easily fill many leaues with examples of the rightsous seruants of God whom being fallen into these outward miseries hee mercifully raised vp but I will forbeare and remember only a testimonie or two that manifestly shew how God in these as in other kindes of falles though hee suffer the righteous to fall yet he doeth not suffer them to fall for euer but will raise them vp and reduce them to a better estate Heereto pertaine the words of Eliphaz speaking of the almighty He maketh the wound and bindeth it vp hee smiteth and his hands make whole hee shall deliuer thee in six troubles and in the seuenth the euill shall not touch thee in famine he shall deliuer thee from death and in battell from the power of the sword Thou shalt be hid from the snare of the tongue and thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it commeth but thou shalt laugh at destruction and death c. If God send the euill he will send the remedie if he send danger he will send deliuerance if hee affright with feare hee will comfort with saluation if he cast downe he will raise vp againe and will not suffer the righteous to fall for euer And he will doe this not at one time alone but at all times not in one manner of miserie alone but in all kindes of miseries The Prophet Dauid saith of this mercifull worke of Gods hands raising vp out of miseries Great are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord deliuereth him out of them all And if happily this be not effected in this world and during this life yet most certainely God doth raise vp the righteous that were falne and frees them from all both outward and inward miseries in an other world and after this life The Prophet Esay doth tell vs that when the righteous perish for so the world censureth their death and when mercifull men are taken away then the righteous is taken away from the euills to come râ—… their death is a full deliuering of them from al troubles and therefore a lifting of them vp from all the miseries into which they were fallen And for proofe hereof it is most cleere that the Lord Iesus reporteth of the poore Lazarus in the gospel of Saint Luke that man was fallen lowe into the pit of pouertie so that hee was compelled to begge for his maintenance at other mens doores and he was fallen as deepe into the gaping gulfe of sickenesse and diseases for hee was full of sores and the dogges licking him were his best leeches his pouertie could not purchase the helpe of any other to cure him in this world And during this life he was neuer raised vp from this fall and yet