hanging drawing and quartering A man walking in his way falles into a deepe dungeon that is full of vggely serpents and noisome beastes in his fall he catches hold of a twigge of a tree that growes at the mouth of the dungeon and hangs by it afterward there comes a beast both leane and hungerbitten which having cropt the whole tree is ever and anon knapping at the twigge on which he hanges Nowe what is the daunger of this man surely he is like to fall into the pit over which he hangeth well this man is every impenitent sinner the pit is hell prepared for the devill and his angels the twig is the brickle and fraile life of man the hungerbitten beast is death that is ready every houre to knap our life asunder the daÌ„ger is fearful for maÌ„ hanging as it were over the mouth of hel wheÌ„ life is ended unlesse he use good meanes before he die he then falleth to the very bottome of it If this be the miserie wherewith the careles man is sieged coÌ„passed about every way that for his sinnes why do men lie in the dead sleepe of security ô it stands them in hand to take up the voice of bitter lamentation for their offences to howle after the manner of dragons If men could weepe nothing but teares of blood for their sins if they could dye a 1000 times in one day for very griefe they could never be grieved ynough for their sins The second motive to draw men to repentance is the consideration of the wretched estate of an impenitent sinner in his death which is nothing but the wages allowance that he receives for his sinne and it is the very suburbs or rather the gates of hel S. Paul compares death to a scorpion who carieth a sting in his taile which is sinne Now then wheÌ„ impenitent prophane persons die then comes this scorpion gripes them with her legs stabs them at the hart with her sting Wherfore the best thing is before death come to use meanes to pull out the sting of death And nothing wil do it but the blood of Christ let meÌ„ therfore breake off their sinnes by repeÌ„taÌ„ce let theÌ„ come to the throne of grace crie yea let them fil heaven earth with cries for mercy oh pray pray pray for the pardoÌ„ of thy sinnes If thou obtaine but one drop of Gods speciall mercie in Christ all danger is past For death hath lost his sting and then a man without danger may put an ougly serpeÌ„t in his bosom The third motive is the consideration of his estate after death When the day of the last judgement shalbe he must be brought and set before the tribunal seat of christ he shal not be able to escape or hide himself then the bookes shalbe brought out all his sins shalbe discovered before Gods saints angels the devil his own conscience shal accuse him none shall be aduocate to plead his cause hee himselfe shall be speechlesse hee shall at length heare the dreadfull sentence of damnation Goe ye cursed into hell prepared for the divell his augels This thing might moove the vilest Athiest in the world to leaue his wicked wayes and come to amendement of life Wee see the strongest theefe that is when he is ledde in the way from the prison to the barre leaves his theeving and behaues himselfe orderly And indeed if hee woulde then cut a purse it were high time that he were hanged All men by nature are traitours and malefactours against God whiles we live in this worlde wee are in the way going to the barre of Gods iudgement The wheele of the heavens turnes one bout every day and winds up somwhat of the threed of our life whether wee sleepe or wake we are alwayes comming neerer our end wherfore let all men daily humble themselues for their sinnes and pray vnto God that he would be reconciled unto them in Christ and let them indeavour themselves in obedience to all Gods commandements both in their lives and callings Againe after the last iudgement there remains death eternal appointed for him which standes in these three things I. A separation from all ioy and comfort of the presence of God II. Eternall fellowship with the divell and all his angels III. The feeling of the horrible wrath of God which shall seaze upon bodie soule and conscience shall feed on them as fire doth on pitch and brimstone and torment them as a worme crawling in the bodie and gnawing on the heart they shall alwaies be dying and never deade alwayes in woe and neuer in ease And this death is the more grievous because it is euerlasting Suppose the whole worlde to be a mountaine of sande and that a birde must carrie from it a mouthfull of sand euerie thousande yeeres many innumerable thousands of yeres will be expired before she will haue caried away the whole mountaine well if a man should stay â—n torment so long and then haue an ende of his woe it were some comfort but when the bird shall haue caried away the mountaine a thousand times alas alas a man shall be as far from the ende of his anguish and torment as ever he was This consideration may serve as an yron scourge to drive men from their wicked lives Chrysostome would have men in their meetings in tavernes and feastes to talke of hel that by often thinking on it they might avoyde it A grave and chaste matrone being mooved to commit folly with a lewd ruffian after long discourse she called for a panne of burning coales requesting him for her sake to holde his finger in them but one houre he answered that it was an unkinde request to whome she replyed that seeing he would not holde so much as one finger in a fewe coales for one small houre she could not yeeld to do the thing for which she should be tormented body soule in hell fire for ever And so shold all men reason against themselves None will be brought to doe a thing that may make so much as their finger or tooth to ake therefore we ought to have great care to leave our sinnes whereby we bring endlesse torment to bodie and soule in hell CAP. VIII Of motives Evangelicall EVangelicall Motives are two especially The first is taken from the consideration of mans redemption He that redeemed mankind is God him selfe As Paul saith that God was in Christ reconciling the world to him selfe Mans sinne is so vile and hainous in the eyes of God that no Angell nor creature was able to appease the wrath of God for the least offence But the Sonne of God himselfe must come downe from heaven and take mans nature on him and not onely that but he must also suffer the most accursed death of the crosse and shed his most pretious heart blood to satisfie the justice of his Father in our behalfe If a Father should be sicke of such a
the preaching of repentance and the preaching of the gospell are put one for another And our Saviour Christ divides the gospell into two partes the preaching of repentance and remission of sinnes in his name IIII. That part of the worde which workes repentance must reveale the nature of it and set out the promise of life which belongs unto it But the law neither reveales faith nor repentance this is a proper worke of the gospell If it bee said that the law is a schoolemaster to bring us to Christ the answere is it brings men to Christ a not by teaching the way or by alluring them but by forcing and urging them Neither do we abolish the law in ascribing the worke of repentance to the gospell only for though it be no cause yet is it an occasion of true repentance Because it represents unto the eye of the soule our damnable estate and smites the conscience with dolefull terrours and feares which though they be no tokens of grace for they are in their owne nature the very gates and the downe-fall to the pit of hell yet they are certen occasions of receiving grace The Phisition is otherwhiles constrained to recover the health of his patient by casting him into some fits of an ague So man because hee is deadly sicke of the disease of sinne he must be cast into some fittes of Legall terrours by the ministerie of the law that he may recover his former estate and come to life everlasting Repentance also is furthered by calamities Iosephs brethren when they were in distresse in Egypt said one to another We have verily sinned against our brother in that we sawe the anguish of his soule when hee be sought vs and we would not heare him therefore is this trouble come upon vs. And the Lorde saith in Oseah I will goe and returne to my place till they acknowledge their fault seeke me in their affliction will they seeke me diligently And The Israelites say my soule had them namely afflictions in remembrance is humbled in me Example of Manasses And when hee was in tribulation hee prayed to the Lord his God and humbled himselfe greatly And David saith It is good for me that I have ben afflicted that I might learne thy statutes CAP. III. Of the partes of Repentance REpentance hath two parts Mortification and Rising to newnesse of life Mortification is the first part of repentance which concernes turning from sinne Men turn from sinne when they do not only abstaine frō actuall sinne but also use all means whereby they may both weaken suppresse the corruption of nature Surgeons whē they must cut of any part of the body use to lay plai sters to it to mortifie it that beeing without sense and feeling it may be cut off with lesse paine In the same maner wee are to use all helpes remedies prescribed in the worde which serue to weaken or kill sinne that in death it may be abolished And it must not seeme strange that I say we must use meanes to mortifie our owne sinnes For howsoever by nature we can not doe ane thing acceptable to God yet ' being quickened and moved by the holy ghost we stirre and moove our selves to doe that which is truly good And therefore repentant sinners haue grace in them whereby they mortifie their owne sinnes Paul saith I be at down my body and bring it in subiection And They which are Christes haue crucified the flesh with the affections and the lustes thereof And Mortifie therefore your earthly members fornication uncleannesse the inordinate affection evill concupiscence and covetousnesse And If any man purge himselfe from these he shall be a vessell unto honour And S. Iohn saith Everyone which hath this hope in him purgeth him-selfe even as hee is pure And He which is begotten of God preserveth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Mortification hath three partes A purpose in minde an inclination in will and an indeavour in life and conversation to leave all sinne Rising to newnesse of life is the second part of repentance concerning sincere obedience to God And it hath also three partes The two first are a resolution in the minde and an inclination or lust in the will to obey God in all things Barnabas exhorts them of Antiochia That with purpose of heart they would cleave vnto the Lord. Examples of both these are many in scriptures Of Ioshua If it seeme evill vnto you to serve the Lord chuse you this day whome yee will serve whether the gods which your fathers served or the gods of the Amorites c. but I and my housholde will serve the Lorde Of David O Lorde thou art my portion I have determined to keepe thy commandements And I have sworne and will perfourme it that I will keepe thy righteous iudgements And When thou saidst Seeke ye my face mine heart answered unto thee O Lord I will seeke thy face And I have applyedmine heart to fulfill thy statutes alwayes even to the end The third parte is an indeavour in life and conversation to obey God Example of Paul And herein I take paines to have alwayes a cleare conscience towardes God towardes men Of David I have respect vnto all thy commandements And I haue chosen the way of truth thy iudgements have I laid before me And I have cleaved to thy testimonies And Direct me in the path of thy commandements for therein is my delight No man must here thinke that a repentant sinner fulfilles the lawe in his obedience for their best workes are faultie before God And whereas the faithfull in scriptures are said to be perfect we must know that there be two degrees of perfection perfection in substance and perfection in the highest degree Perfection in substance is when a man doth sincerely indeavour to perfourme perfect obedience to God not in some but in all his commandements And this is the only perfection that any man can have in this life A Christian mans perfection is to bewaile his imperfection his obediencee more consistes in the goodwill then in the worke and is more to be measured by the affection then by the effect CAP. IIII. Of the degrees of repentance REpentance hath two degrees It is either ordinarie or extraordinary Ordinary repentance is that which every christian is to per forme every day for as men fall daily either more or lesse so the graces of God are proportionally weakened day by day wherefore the continuall reparation therof must be made by a daily renuing of repentance A christian man is the temple house of Gods spirit hee must therfore once a day sweepe it that it may be sit to entertaine so worthy a ghest Extraordinary repentance is the same in nature with the former it differs onely from it in degree and measure of grace And this is to be put
pray to God for grace strength whereby wee may be inabled to walke in newnesse of life Of David Behold I desire thy commandements quicken me in thy righteousnesse And Teach me to doe thy will for thou art my God let thy good spirit lead me into the land of righteousnes CAP. VII Of legall motives to repentance MOtives to repentance are either Legall or Evangelicall Legall are such as are borrowed from the law they are 3. especially The first is the misery and cursed estate of euery impenitent sinner in this life by reason of his sinnes His miserie that I may expresse it to the conceit of the simplest is seven-fold 1. within him 2. before him 3. behind him 4. on his right hand 5. on his left hand 6. over his head 7. vnder his feete His miserie within him is twofold The first is a guiltie conscience which is a very hell vnto the ungodly man For hee is like a silly prisoner and the conscience like a Iayler which followes him at the heeles and dogges him whither soever he goes to the end he may see and observe all his sayings and doings It is like a register that sits alwaies with the pen in his hand to record and inrole all his wickednesse for everlasting memory It is a litle iudge that sittes in the middle of a man even in his very heart to arraigne him in this life for his sinnes as he shall be arraigned at the last iudgement Therfore the pangs terrors and feares of all impenitent persons are as it were certaine flashings of the flames of hell fire The guiltie conscience makes a man like him which lies on a bedde that is too strait and the covering too short who would with all his heart sleepe but can not Belshazzar when he was in the middest of his mirth seeing the hand-writing on the wall was smitten with great feare so as his countenance changed his knees smote togither The second evill within man is the fearefull slaverie and bondage vnder the power of Satan the Prince of darkenesse in that his mind will and affections are so knit and glued to the will of the devill that he can doe nothing but obey him rebell against God And hence Satan is called the prince of this world which keepes the hold of the heart as an armed Captaine keepes a sconse or a castle with watch and ward The misery before man is a daungerous snare which the devill layes for the destruction of the soule I say it is dangerous because he is in setting of it twentie or fortie yeres before he strikes when as God knowes men do little thinke of it It is made of three cords with the first he brings men into his snare and that he doeth by covering the miserie and the poyson of sinne and by painting out to the eie of the minde the deceitfull profits pleasures thereof With the second he hopples and insnares them for after that a man is drawen into this or that sinne the devill hath so sugered it over with fine delightes that he can not but needes must live and lye in it By the third he drawes the snare and indevours with all his might to breake the necke of the soule For when he seeth a fitte opportunitie especially in grievous calamities and in the houre of death he takes away the vizar of sinne and she weth the face of it in the true fourme as ouglie as him selfe then withall he beginneth as we say to shewe his hornes then he rageth in terrifying accusing that the soule of man may be swallowed up of the gulfe of finall despaire The miserie behinde him is the sinnes past The Lord saith to Cain If thou doest not well sinne lyeth at the doore Where sinne is compared to a wilde beast which followes a man whither soever he goeth and lyeth lurking at his heels And though for a time it may seeme to be hurtlesse because it lyeth asleepe yet at length unlesse men repent it will rise up sease on them and rent out the very throtes of their soules Iob in his afffliction saith Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me possesse the sinnes of my youth And David prayeth Forgive me the sinnes of my youth If the memorie of sinnes past be a trouble to the godly man oh what a racke what a gibbet wil it be to the heart of him that wants grace The miserie on the right hand is prosperitie and ease which by reason of mans sinne is an occasion of many iudgements In it men practised the horrible sinnes of Sodome it puffes up the heart with divelish pride so as men shall thinke themselves to be as God him selfe as Senacherib Nebuchad-nezzar Antiochus Alexander Herode Domitian did It steales away mans heart froÌ„ God quenches the sparkes of grace As the Lord complaineth of the Israelites I spake unto thee when thou wast in prosperitie but thou saydest I will not heare this hath bene thy manner from thy youth It is like the Ivie that embraces the tree and windes rounde about it but yet drawes out the iuice and life of it Hence is it that many turne it to an occasion of their destruction Salomon saith Prosperitie of fooles destroyeth them When the milt swelles the rest of the body pines away and when the heart is puft with pride the whole man is in danger of destruction The sheepe that goes in the best pasture soonest comes to the slaughter-house and the ungodly man fattes himselfe with continuall prosperity that he may the sooner come to his owne damnation The misery on the left hand is Adversitie which stands in all manner of losses and calamities in goods friends good name and such like Of this read at large Deut. 28. The miserie over his head is the wrath of God which he testifies in all maner of iudgements from heaven in danger of which every impenitent sinner is every houre And the danger is very great The scripture saith It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God He hath store-houses full of all maner of iudgements and they watch for secure sinners that they can not scape Gods wrath is â—s a fire making havocke and bringing to nought whatsoeuer it lights on yea because he is slow to anger therefore more terrible as a man therefore stayes his hand for a time that he may lift it higher and fetch a deeper blowe When the dumb creatures melt as wax and vanish away at his presence when he is angry as the huge mountaines and rockes doe fraile man must never looke to stand If the roaring of a lyon make men afraid and the voice of thunder be terrible oh how exceedingly should all be astonished at the threatnings of God The misery under his feete is Hell fire for every man till he repent is in as great danger of damnation as the traitour apprehended of
aud suppresse the bad motions and suggestions of the flesh S. Iohn saith he that is borne of God sinneth not because his seed remaineth in him that is grace wrought in the heart by the holy ghost which resisteth the rebellious desires of the flesh That the manner of this fight may more clearely appeare we must examine it more particularly In the soule of man there be two speciall parts the mind and the will In the mind there is a double combat The first is betweene knowledge of the word of God and naturall ignorance or blindnes For seeing we doe in this life knowe but in part therefore knowledge of the truth must needs be ioyned with ignorance in all that are inlightned one of these being contrary to an other they striue to ouershadow and ouercast ech other Hence we may learn the cause why excelleÌ„t divines do vary in divers points of religioÌ„ and it is because in this coÌ„bat naturall blindnes yet remaining prevailes more or lesse Men that are dim sighted cannot discerne without spectacles if they should be set to discry a thing a far off the most of them would be of divers opinions of it And men inlightened regenerate in this life do but see as in a glasse darkly Again this must teach all studeÌ„ts of divinity often to suspect themselues in their opinions and defences seeing in them that are of soundest iudgemeÌ„t the light of their understanding is mixed with darknes of ignoraÌ„ce And they can in many points see but as the man in the Gospell who when our Saviour Christ had in part opened his eyes saw men walking not as men but in the forme of trees Also this must teach all that read the scriptures to invocate cal upoÌ„ the name of God that he wold inlighten theÌ„ by his spirit abolish the mist of natural blindnes The prophet David was wor thily inlightned with the knowledge of Gods word so as he excelled the ancient and his owne teachers in wisdom yet being privy to himselfe touching his owne blindnes often prayeth in the Psalms Inlighten my eyes that I may vnderstand the wonders of thy law By reason of this fight when naturall blindnes prevailes the child of God truly inlightened with knowledge to life everlasting may erre not only in lighter points but euen in the very foundation of religion as the Corinthians the Galathians did And as one man may erre so an hundred men may also yea a whole particular Church and as one Church may erre so an 100. more may For in respect of this combat the estate and condition of all men is alike Whence it appeares that the Church militant upoÌ„ earth is subiect to error But yet as the diseases of the body be of two sorts some curable and some incurable which are to death so likewise errours are And the Church though it be subiect to sundry fals yet it can not erre in foundation to death the errours of Gods children be curable Some may here say If all men Churches be subiect to errour then it shall not be good to ioyne with any of them but to separate from them all I answer though they may and do erre yet we must not separate from them so long as they do not separate from Christ. The second combat in the mind is between faith unbeliefe For faith is imperfect and mixt with the contrary unbeliefe presuming doubting c. As the man in the Gospell saith Lord I beleeve help mine unbeliefe By reason of this fight when unbeliefe preuailes the very child of God may fal into fits pangs of dispaire as Iob David in their teÌ„ptations did For David once considering the prosperity of the wicked brake out into this speech Certenly I have clensed mine heart in vaine washed mine hands in innocencie yea this dispaire may be so extreme that it shal weakeÌ„ the body consume it more then any sicknes No man is to think this strange in the child of God For though he dispaire of his election saluation in Christ yet his desperatioÌ„ is neither total nor final It is not totall because he doth not dispaire with his whol heart faith euen at that instant lusting against dispaire It is not finall because he shall recouer before the last end of his life To proceed the combat in the will is this The will partly willeth and partly nilleth that which is good at the same instant so likewise it willeth nilleth that which is evill because it is partly regenerate partly unregenerate The affections likewise which are placed in the wil partly imbrace partly eschew their obiects as loue partly loueth and partly doth not loue God and things to be loued feare is mixed not pure as schoolemeÌ„ haue dremed but partly filiâ—l partly servil causing the child of God to staÌ„d in awe of god not only for his mercies but also for his iudgements punishments The will of a man regenerate is like him that hath one leg sound the other lame who in every step which he makes doth not wholly halt or wholly go upright but partly go upright partly halt Or like a man in a boate on the water who goeth upward because he is caried upward by the vessell at the same time goes downward because hee walkes downward in the same vessell at the same instant If any shall say that contraries caÌ„ not be in the same subiect The answer is that they caÌ„ not if one of them be in his full streÌ„gth in the highest degree but if the force of them both be delaied weakned they may be ioyned togither By reason of this coÌ„bat wheÌ„ corruption prevails against grace in the wil affectioÌ„s there ariseth in the godly a certain deadnes or hardnes of heart which is nothing els but a waÌ„t of sense or feeling Some may say that this is a fearfull iudgement but the answer is that there be 2. kinds of hardnes of heart one which possesseth the heart is never felt this is in them who haue their coÌ„sciences seared with an hot iron who by reason of custome in sin are past all feeling who likewise despise the meanes of softning their harts And indeed this is a fearful iudgement There is another hardnes of heart which is felt this is not so dangerous as the former for as we feele our sicknes by contrary life health so hardnes of hart when it is felt argues quicknes of grace softnes of hart Of this Dauid often coÌ„plained in the Psalmes of this the childreÌ„ of Israel speak when they say Why hast thou hardned our harts froÌ„ thy waies Thus much of the maner of the câ—mbate in particular before we proceed any further let us mark the issue of it which is this The spirit prevailes against the flesh at two times in the course of a mans life and at his end but yet with some