for his soule untill his last sicknes should for that sin alone bee snatcht out of the world in great anger even suddenly so that there bee scarce a moment betwixt the height of His temporall happinesse and depth of his spirituall misery That His foolish hope may bee frustrated and His vaine purpose come to nothing Hee may bee cut off as the Top of an care of corne and put out like a candle when hee least thinkes of death and dreames of nothing lesse then departure from His earthly Paradise They are exalted for a little while saith Iob but are gone and brought low they are taken out of the way as all other and cut off as the tops of the eares of corne Fifthly a long continued custome is not woont to bee shaken off in an instant Is it like that a Blackamore should change his skinne and a Leopard his spots in three or foure dayes which they have contracted in forty or threescore yeeres Therefore I marvell that any should bee so blindfolded and baffeld by the Divell as to embolden Himselfe to drive off untill the last by that Place before Confession At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sinne from the bottome of his heart I will put all his wicked out of my remembrance saith the Lord Especially if Hee looke upon the Text from whence it is taken which Mee-thinkes beeing rightly understood and the conditions well considered is most punctuall and precise to fright any from that desperate folly The words runne thus Ezech. 18.21.22 But if the wicked will turne from all his sinnes which hee hath committed and keepe all my Statutes and doe that which is lawfull and right hee shall surely live hee shall not die All his transgressions c. Hence it appeares that if any man expect upon good ground any portion in this pretious promise of mercy and grace Hee must leave all his sinnes and keepe all Gods Statutes Now how performest thou the condition of leaving all thy sinnes when as in this last extremity having received the sentence of death against thy selfe Thy sinnes leave Thee and not Thou thy sinnes that I may speake in the Phrase of an ancient Father And what space is left to come to comfort by keeping all Gods Statutes when thou art presently to passe to that highest and dreadfull Tribunall to give an exact and strickt account for the continual breach of all Gods Lawes all thy life long Sixthly many seeme to bee passingly penitent and promise exceeding faire in the evill day and upon their sicke Beds who beeing recovered and restored to their former state are the very same they were before if not worse I never knew nor heard of any un-wrought upon under conscionable meanes who after recovery performed the vowes and promises of a new life which Hee made in his sicknesse and times of extremity For if Hee will not bee mooved with the Ministry God will never give that honour unto a crosse to doe the deede Nay Father Abraham saith the rich Glutton but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And hee said unto him If they heare not Moses and the Prophets neither will they bee perswaded the one rose from the dead Luke 16.30.31 It would amaze thee much if one of thy good-fellow companions should now rise from the dead and tell thee that Hee who was thy Brother in iniquity is now in Hell and if thou follow the same sensuall courses still thou must shortly most certainely follow Him to the Place of torment And yet even this would not worke at all if thou bee a despiser of the Word It may bee while the dead Man stood by Thee Thou wouldst be extraordinarily mooved and promise much but no sooner should He bee in His Grave but thou wouldst bee as gracelesse as thou wast before Seventhly what wise man seeing a fellow who never gave his name to religion in his life time now only troubled about sinne when hee is sure Hee must die will not suspect it to be wholly slavish and extorted for feare of Hell My sentence is saith Greenham that a man lying now at the Point of death having the snares of death upon him in that straite of feare and paine may have a sorrow for His life past but because the weakenesse of flesh and the bitternesse of death doth most commonly procure it wee ought to suspect c. Eighthly painefull distempers of body are wont to weaken much and hinder the activenes and freedome of the Soules operations nay sometimes to distract and utterly over-throw them Many even of much knowledge grace and good life by reason of the damp and deadnesse which at that time the extremity and anguish of their disease brings upon their spirits are able to doe no great matter if anything at all either in meditation or expression How then doest thou thinke to passe thorow the incomparably greatest worke that ever the Soule of Man was acquainted with in this life I meane the new-birth at the Point of death It is a wofull thing to have much worke to doe when the power of working is almost done When wee are come to the very last cast our strength is gone our spirits cleane spent our senses appalled and the powers of our Soules as numbe as our senses when there is a generall prostration of all our powers and the shadow of death upon our eyes then something wee would say or doe which should doe our Soules good But alas How should it then bee 3. When the spirituall Physition powres the baulme of mercy and oyle of comfort into a wounded conscience 1. Too soone The Surgeon that heales up a dangerous Sore and drawes a skinne over it before His corrosives have consumed the dead flesh before Hee hath opened it with his Tents ransackt it to the roote and rent out the Core is so farre from pleasuring that hee procures a great deale of misery to His Patient For the rotten matter that remaines behind will in the meane time rankle and fester underneath and at length breake out againe perhaps both with more extremity of anguish and difficulty of cure They are but Mountebankes as they call them Smatterers in Physicke and Surgery upon the matter but plaine Cheaters and Couseners who are so ready and resolute for extemporary and palliate Cures Sudden recoveries from rooted and old distempers are rarely sound If it be thus in bodily Cures what a deale doe you thinke of extraordinary discretion heavenly wisedome precise and punctuall ponderation of circumstances well-advised and seasonable leasure both speculative and experimentall skill heartiest ejaculations wrastlings with God by Prayer for a blessing is very convenient and needfull for a true and right methode in healing a wounded conscience Which doth passe immeasurably all other maladies both in exquisitenesse of paine tendernesse of touch deceitfulnesse of Depth and in highest and greatest consequence either for the
tempests raised by all the powers of Hell are presently calmed for ever doing him any deadly hurt All the creatures then pull in their hornes retire their stings bite in their poyson sâ—ib'd and awed by those divine impressions of their Creators blessed image stamped upon them by the Spirit of grace and dare no more offer any violence or vexation to him except upon particular dispensation for his spirituall good and quickening then to the Apple of Gods owne eye Heare the promise from Gods owne mouth And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of Heaven and with thâ— creeping things of the ground and I will breake the bow and the sword and the battell out of the earth and will make them to lye downe safely Hos. 2.18 Nay they are so farre from charging their seuerall stings upon the Saints that they will change their very natures to doe them service They will rather become an astonishment and horror to the whole Creation then they be hurt How often have they suspended and put off their native power and properties for the protection and good of Gods people The very Sea that most raging and roaring creature must stay his course and current to give passage and preservation to a true Israelite The Starres must fight and the Sunne stand still for the ayde and advantage of Gods armies The Lions must leave their savage rage and trade of blood and become Lambes and loving unto a Daniel The Crowes will feed an Elijah The flames of fire must hold in their heate from burning a Shadrach Meshach or Abednego The devouring belly of a dreadfull fish must be turned into a Sanctuary of safty to a Ionah A popish Furnace heated with the very malice of Hell shall become a bed of doune and Roses to a Martyr of Iesus The very dead lines of an ordinary Letter must represent to a Royall conceite a meaning quite contrary to the naturall sense and all Grammaticall construction before a blessed Parliament be blowne up with Popish Gun-Powder A brittle Glasse must rebound unbroken from the hardest stone to helpe to bind up a broken heart bleeding with griefe for absence of her Spouse and wanâ— of the assurance of his love c. Nay the divell himselfe though hee walkes about like a roaring Lion seeking with restlesse rage and desiring infinitely to devoure the Lords inheritance yet cannot possibly adde one linke to the chaine in which by the mercifull and mighty hand of God he is hampered nor goe an haires bredth beyond his commission Though it bee utterly impossible that that damned Angell should so farre change his divellish nature as to doe any of Gods chosen directly any true good yet he is everlastingly musled by an Almighty arme from ever doing them any deadly hurt He may be suffered sometimes to shake his chaine at them and roare upon them hideously to drive them nearer unto God and fright them from sinne But he shall never either in this world or the world to come have his full swinge at them or fasten his hellish fangs upon their redeemed soules 3. Besides all that other excellent compleate impenetrable armour of proofe mentioned Ephes. 6. which is able to beate backe victoriously all earthly oppositions and the very Ordnance of Hell every one of Gods Favourites is also blessedly furnished with a mighty spirituall Engine which is able to batter downe all the Bulwarkes of the Divell to shake the whole kingdome of darkenesse and all hellish powers nay to offer an holy violence to the very Throne of God himselfe witnesse His most mercifull intreating Moses To let him alone Exod. 32.10 As though the mediation of a man could binde as it were I speake it with lowliest reverence to that highest Maiestie the hands of his Omnipotency from doing his people any hurt and were able to extingvish that unquenchable wrath in the conception which once on foote would burne unto the lowest Hell and set on fire the foundations of the Mountainâ—s I meane that most pretious and almost if not altogether omnipotent Grace of Prayer This great Master of miracles hath wrought from time to time many and very remarkeable wonders both in Heaven and Earth It made the Sun that mighty creature the Prince of all the Lights in Heaven to stay and stand still upon the suddaine in the heat of his swiftest course It landed Ionah safely upon the shore out of the bellie of the Whale and bowels of the Sea It drew refreshing streames out of a dry bone for the saving of Samsons life It turned the Heaven into brasse for three yeeres and a halfe and afterward turned the selfe-same brasse into fruitefull clouds and fountaines of raine It killed an hundred fourescore and five thousand of the enemies of Gods people in one night For the freeing of Elisha from a straite and dangerous siege It filled a mountaine in a moment as it were full of Horsâ—s and Charets of â—ire It turned the swords of a mighty Army into the Bowells of one another when Iehoshaphat knew not which way to turne himselfe but was so helpelesse and hopelesse that he cryed unto the Lord wee know not what to doe only our eyes are upon thee It loosed Peter out of prison shoke his chaines off from his hands and made an Iron gate to open of its owne accord It eâ—raged and inlarged the English Seas to swallow up the Spanish invincible Armado And which is none of the least wonders It brought Prince Charles out of Spaine But you instance may some say in extraordinary examples of extraordinary men endowed with an extraordinary spirit Yet sure I am they are registred by the holy Ghost to represent unto us and to all generations of the Church to the Worlds end the Almighty and wonder-working power of Prayer And I am as sure that the Petitioners were men subiect to like passions as we are Perhaps if thou be a true-hearted Nathanael since thy new birth thou wast never so extraordinarily passionate as Ionah was when out of a pang of strange distemper hee thus answered the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth I doe well to bee angry even unto death Fourthly Gods Favourite is further furnished with an other spirituall weapon of impregnable temper and incredible might I meane Faith the very Power and Arme of God for all true ioy sound comfort and light somnesse at the heart-roote in this life This crowned Emperesse of all those Heavenly graces that dwell in the Soule of a sanctified man and which in a right sense may be said vertually to comprehend all the beautie strength excellency and power of Christ himselfe is truely victorious and triumphant over all the World over the very gates of Hell and all the powers of darkenesse over the Divels fieriest darts over the devouring
the damnation of Hell In a true Penitent there ought to bee an utter cessation from all grosse abandonable sinnes and at least dis-allowance dis-affection and all possible opposition even to un-avoidable infirmities and inseparable frailties of the flesh 5. Fiftly when the Physition of the Soule promiseth mercy and pardon hand over head without that spirituall discretion which is convenient for a matter of so great consequence and requiring such a deale of dexterity in discerning to a man upon His Bed of death who hath formerly bin notorious or onely civill howsoever a meere stranger to the power of godlines and the truth of Profession because now in the evill Day He takes on extremely by reason of His extremity cries out of his sins O I am an hainous horrible and grievous sinner If I were to live againe what would not I doe A World for comfort now and to die the death of the righteous because Hee Howles vpon His bed as the Prophet speaketh and breakes out oftentimes into a roaring complaint of sinne and cry for pardon by reason Hee now begins to feare and feele the revenging hand of God ready to seize upon Him for his former rebellions c. Or when Hee assures Him having been a formall Professour onely and foolish Virgine of blisse and glory because out of a former habituated spirituall Selfe-deceite Hee cries Lord Lord seemes to by-standers very confident that He shal presently receive a Crowne of life thankes God that nothing troubles Him Professes to every one that comes to visite Him that Hee believes and repents with all His heart forgives all the world makes no doubt of Heaven c. Here by the way wee must take notice that many having out-stood the day of their gratious visitation having neglected so great salvation forsaken their owne mercy and iudged themselues unworthy of everlasting life all their life long by standing out against the Ministry of the Word in respect of any saving worke upon their soules and now at length beeing overtaken after the short gleame of worldly prosperity with the boysterous winter-night of death and darkenesse of the evill day may keepe a great stirre upon their dying-Beds or in some great extremity with grievous complaints of their present intolerable misery and former sinfull courses procuring it with incessant cries for ease and deliverance being now caught like wilde Bulls in a Nâ—t full of the wrath of God with earnest and eager â—uing and seeking for pardon and salvation now when worldly pleasures are past and yet bee not truly penitent not soundly and savingly humbled not rightly fitted for Christ and comfort Consider for this purpose Prov. 1.24.28 In the day of visitation God called upon them and stretched out His hands but they refused did not regard set at naught all His counsell and would none of His reproofe And therefore in the Day of vexation when extremity and anguish shall come upon them like a Thiefe in the night a whirle-winde travaile upon a woman suddenly extremely un-avoidably Hee professeth before-hand that then they shall call upon Him but Hee will not answer They shall seeke Him early but they shall not find Him Psal. 78.34.35.36.37 When Gods hand was upon them then they sought him and they returned and enquired early after God c. Neverthelesse they did flatter him with their mouth and they lyed unto Him with their tongues For their heart was not right with Him c. Hos. 7.14 They howled upon their Beds Will not a Dog or a Beast or any unreasonable creature when they are pinched when they are in extremity will they not cry will they not mourne for helpe c. Their cries in the evill Day were not hearty prayers but Howlings upon their Beds Their earnestnesse in such a case is ordinarily like the teares prayers and cryes of a malefactour newly condemned Hee is very earnest with the Iudge to spare Him Hee roares out sometimes and takes on extremely yet not heartily for his former lewdnesse but horribly because Hee must now loose His life Hee seemes now when Hee sees His misery to relent and to bee toucht with remorse but it is onely because hee is like to bee hanged Againe many there are who satisfying themselves and others with a goodly shew of a Forme onely of godlines may upon their last Bed discover and represent to By-standers a great deale of fearelesnesse about their spirituall state much confidence many ostentations of Faith and full assurance and behave themselves as tho they were most certainely going to everlasting blisse when as God knowes their Answer at His just Tribunall must bee I know you not And in truth and triall they have no more part in Christ nor other portion in Heaven then the foolish Virgins and those Luk. 13.26.27 They are so confident not because they have escaped the danger but because they never saw the danger And hence it is that many of them die with as much confidence as the best Christians they have no more trouble then holy men To bee sure I am free from danger and not to know it may beget equall confidence Now concerning the present Case I must tell you that for my part I would not much alter my censure and conceite of a Man's spirituall state whom I have thorowly knowne before for the manner of His death The end of Gods dearest servant after an holy life and unblame-able conversation may not appeare in the eye of man so calme and comfortable as was expected by reason of much tendernesse of conscience some strong temptation spirituall desertion violent distemper of Body or because God would have the manner of His death serue the glory of His justice in hardning those about him who were so farre from being won by His godly life that they heartily hated it or for some other secret and sacred end seene and seeming good to Divine wisedome who ever disposeth every circumstance even of the least affaire most sweetly and wisely And yet this as it doth not prejudice His salvation neither should it His Christian reputation Heare that great Doctor in the Art of rightly comforting afflicted consciences But what if you should die in this discomfort For my part as I my selfe looke for no great things in my death I would not thinke more hardly of you neither would I wish any to iudge otherwise of Gods Childe in that state of death For wee shall not bee iudged according to that particular instant of death but according to our generall course of life not according to our deede in that present but according to the desire of our hearts ever before And therefore wee are not to mistrust Gods mercy in death bee wee never so uncomfortable if so bee it hath been before sealed in our vocation and sanctification On the otherside a notorious wretch which hath swumme downe the current of the times and wallowed in worldly pleasures all his life long may seeme to die
penitently and resoluedly to bee reformed if Hee recover and yet His sorrow of minde but such onely as the terrours of an awaked guilty conscience produce and His resolution to cast away His sinnes onely such as a man hath in a storme to cast away His goods not because hee doth not love them but because hee feareth to loose his life if hee part not with them Or a meere civill Man or formall Professour may upon His Bed of death bee very confident and seeme to bee full of comfort and yet that confidence no other then the strong imaginary ioyfull conceit of a covetous man grasping a great deale of gold in his dreame but when Hee awaketh behold his hands are empty For a more full and cleare apprehension of my meaning and iudgement in the Point let us take a survay of the different and severall kinds of death which ordinarily befall the Godly and the wicked The death of Gods Children are divers 1. Some of their holy and zealous lives doe determine and expire sweetly fairely and gloriously even like a cleare Sunne in a Summers evening without any storme or cloud of temptation and discomfort The darkesome and painefull passages and pangs of death are illightened and sweetned with the shining beames of Gods glorious presence and fast embracement of Iesus Christ in the armes of their Faith So that to them the very ioyes of Heaven and exultations of everlasting rest mingle themselues with those last agonies and expirations of death Their heads are as it were crowned with immortality and endlesse peace upon their beds of death Luther that blessed Man of God died sweetly and triumphantly over Hell the Pope and the Divell My heavenly Father said Hee at his death eternall and mercifull God thou hast manifested unto me thy deare Son our Lord Iesus Christ. I have taught him I have knowne him I love him as my life my health and my redemption whom the wicked have persecâ—â—ed maligned and with iniury afflicted Draw my Soule to Thee After this Hee said as insued thrice I commend my spirit into thine hands thou hast redeemed mee O God of truth God so loved the world that hee gave his onely Sonne that all that beleeve in Him should have life everlasting Ioh. 3. Heare how another blessed Saint of God ended his dayes Having the day before hee died continued his meditation and exposition vpon Rom. 8. for the space of two houres or more on the sudden Hee said O stay your reading What brightnesse is this I see Have you light up any candles To which I answered No It is the Sun-shine for it was about five a clocke in a cleare Summers evening Sun-shine saith Hee nay my Saviour-shine Now farewell world welcome heaven The Day-starre from on high hath visited my heart O speake it when I am gone and preach it at my Funerall God dealeth familiarly with man I feele his mercy I see his Maiesty whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell God hee knoweth but I see things that are un-utterable So ravished in spirit Hee roamed toward heaven with a chearefull looke and soft sweete voyce but what Hee said wee could not conceive With the Sunne in the morning following raising himselfe as Iacob did upon his staffe hee shut up his blessed life with these blessed words O what an happy change shall I make From night to day From darkenesse to light From death to life From sorrow to solace From a factious world to an heavenly beeing O my deare brethren sisters and friends It pittieth mee to leave you behind yet remember my death when I am gone and what I now feele I hope you shall finde ere you die that God doth and will deale familiarly with men And now thou fiery Chariot that came downe to feth up Eliah carry mee to my happy Hold And all yee blessed Angels who attended the Soule of Lazarus to bring it up to heaven beare mee O beare mee into the bosome of my Best beloved Amen Amen come Lord Iesus come quickly And so hee fell asleepe That this is true the reporter and By-stander that ancient learned reverend Minister of God Master Leygh addeth I say the truth my Brethren I lie not my conscience bearing mee witnesse in the holy Ghost c. 2. Others may end their dayes very uncomfortably in ravings impatiencies and other strange behaviours Nay the fiery distempers of their hot diseases may sometimes even in the Saints of God produce furlous carriages fearefull distractions and some despairefull speeches But these being the naturall effects and issues of melancholike excesses Phrensies and burning Fevers are sins of infirmity in sanctified men For which if they come againe to themselves they actually repent if not they are all undoubtedly by a generall habituall repentance and Gods gratious acceptation thereof pardoned by the Passion of Christ and buried for ever in his bloody death That last and unreversable doome at the dreadfull Tribunall of the ever-living God must passe upon us not according to the violent and unvoluntary distempers at our last houre but according to the former Passages of our life the sinfull or sanctified expense of the daies of health Heare that other great Artist in the Mysterie of dealing with trouble consciences The common opinion is that if a man die quietly and goe away like a Lambe which in some diseases as consumptions and such like any Man may doe then hee goes straight to heaven but if the violence of the disease stirre up impatience and cause franticke behaviours then men use to say there is a judgement of God serving either to discover an Hypocrite or to plague a wicked man But the truth is otherwise For indeede a man may die like a lambe and yet goe to Hell and one dying in exceeding torments and strange behauiours of the body may goe to heaven 3. The death of some others is mixt to wit of fearefull tempestuous stormes and almost if not altogether despairefull agonies in the beginning of their last sicknesse and a faire refreshing glorious calme and ioyfull triumphs over temptations and feare towards the conclusion of their life For some secret end and holy purpose seeming good to his heavenly wisedome God suffers sometimes even his dearest servants to taste as it were of the fire of Hell and for a while to feele in their consciences those damned flames as a preparative to drinke more sweetly of the Well of life and Rivers of endlesse pleasures So himselfe is most honoured by helping when all hope is past The heart of his Child more ravisht with the first sight of those un-utterable joyes beeing suddenly rais'd to the height of happinesse from the depth of horrour The enemies to the narrow way dasht and confounded by observing his deliverance whom out of prophane blindnesse they deemed an Hypocrite Godly Christians gratiously reviv'd when they see That tho the Lord hide His face from his Childe for a moment yet
bee tho I hope better things of Thee The truth as I said both of thy heart and these affectionate promises will appeare when the storme is over and this dismall tempest which hath over-cast and shaken thy spirit with extraordinary feare and astonishment is overblowne Thy course of life to come will proove a true Touch-stone to try whether this bee the kindly travaile of the New-birth or onely a temporary taking-on during the fit by reason of the uncouthnesse and exquisitenesse of this invisible spirituall torture without true turning to Iesus Christ. If when the now-troubled powers of thy soule which the wound of thy conscience hath cast into much distracted and uncomfortable confusion shall recover their wonted calmenes and quiet thou turne unto thine old bias humour company and conversation it will then bee more then manifest that this Furnace of terrour and temptation wherein thou now lies and languishes was so far from working thine heart to heavenlinesse and grace that it hath hammered it to more hardnesse and ungraciousnesse from purging and refining that it hath occasioned more earthlinesse epicurisme and raging affections in sensuality and sinfull pleasures But if when thou art up againe and raised by Gods mercifull hand out of the Depth of this spirituall distresse into which the horrible sight and heavy waight of thy sinnes have sunke thee if then thou expresse and testifie thy true-heartednesse in these present solemne protestations made now as it were in thy hot blood I meane of thy hatred against sinne by an earnest opposition watchfulnesse and striving against all especially that which in thine unregenerate time stucke closest to thy bosome of thine hunger and thirst after a comfortable fruition of Gods face and favour by a conscionable and constant pursuit and exercise of all good meanes and opportunities of all his blessed ordinances appointed and sanctified for groath in grace and bringing us nearer unto Him of thy future New-obedience and Christian walking by plying industriously and fruitfully with thy best endeavour and utmost ability those three glorious workes of Christianity Preservation of purity in thine owne Soule and Body righteous dealing with all thou hast to doe-with Holy carriage towards God in all religious duties In a word by denying ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and living soberly righteously and godlily in this present world of which the grace of God teacheth every true Convert to make Conscience I say if upon thy recovery this bee thy course Thou art certainely New-created Such blessed behaviour as this will infallibly evidence these present terrours to have been the Pangs of thy New-birth and thy happy translation from death to life from the vanity and folly of sin into the light and liberty of Gods Children 2. Secondly say unto Him When once that blessed Fountaine of Soule-saving blood is opened upon thy Soule in the side of the Sonne of God by the hand of Faith for sinne and for uncleannesse then also must a Counter-spring as it were of repentant teares bee opened in thine humbled heart which must not be dried up untill thy dying Day This is my meaning for every Christian hath not teares at command the heart sometimes may bleed when the eyes are dry Thou must bee content to continue the current of thy godly sorrow upon that abominable Sinke and Sodom of all the lusts vanities and villanies of thy darke and damned time and also upon those frailties infirmities imperfections defects relapses back-slidings which may accompany thy regenerate state even untill that body of sinne which thou carries about Thee bee dissolved by the stroke of death As concerning thine old sinnes and those that are past it is not enough that now the fresh horrour of them and those grissely affrighting formes wherein they have appeared to the eye of thy wounded conscience have wrought upon thy heart by Gods blessing some softnesse heart-rising remorse and hatred But thou must many and many a time hereafter in the extraordinary exercises of renued repentance presse thy penitent spirit to bleede afresh within thee and draw water againe out of the bottome of thy broken heart with those Israelites and poure it out before the Lord in abundāce of bitter teares for thy never sufficiently sorrowed-for abominations and rebellions against so blessed and bountifull a God Now the solemne times and occasions when wee are called to this renued Repentance are such as these 1. When wee are to performe some speciall services unto God because then out of a godly jealousie wee may feare lest the face and favour of God the love and light of His countenance may not lie so open unto us by reason of the cloudy interposition of our former sinnes 2. When wee seeke for any speciall blessing at Gods mercifull hands because then out of a gracious feare we may suspect that our old sinnes may intrude and labour to intercept and divert from our longing Soules the sweet and comfortable influences of the Throne of grace It may seeme that David in the current of his prayer saw His old sinnes charge upon Him and therefore cries out by the way Remember not the sinnes of my youth 3. In the time of some great affliction and remarkeable Crosse when upon a new search and strict examination of our hearts and lives we humbling our selves more solemnely againe in the sight of the Lord and mourning afresh over Him whom wee have pierced with our youthly pollutions and provoke daily with many wofull failings are wont to seeke Gods pleased face and our former peace sanctification of it unto us in the meane time and the remoovall of it from us in due time in the name of Iesus Christ. 4. After relapse into some old secret lust or fall into some new scandalous sinne Davids remorse for adultery and murder brought his heart to bleede over his birth-sinne Psal. 51.5 Above all upon all those mighty Dayes of humiliation by prayer and fasting publike private or secret wherein Gods people wrastle with God by the omnipotency of prayer and worke so many wonders from time to time 6. Some there are also who setting apart some speciall times to conferre with God in secret lay together before Him the glorious Catalogue of the riches of His mercy reaching from everlasting to everlasting all his favours preservations deliverances protections c. from their first beeing to that time and the abhorred Catalogue of all their sinnes from Adam to that houre Originall both imputed and inherent actuall both before and since their calling and this they doe with hearty desire of such different affections as they severally require A serious and sensible comparing of which two together makes sinne a great deale more loathsome and the mercies of God more illustrious and so prooves effectuall many times by the helpe of the Holy Ghost to soften their hearts extraordinarily to make them weepe heartily and fils their Soules with much joyfull sorrow and humble thankefulnesse 7. Vpon our Beds
materia gaudij unde Augustinus Semper dolcat Poenitens de dolore gaudeat Aquin. pag. 3. quaest 84. Art 9. Ad secundum As in prophane joy even in laughing the heart is sorrowfull So in godly sorrow even in weeping the heart is light and chearefull Though sinne grieve us yet our grieving for sinne pleaseth us As when wee see a good man wronged wee grieve at his wrong but rejoyce in His goodnes Dyke of Repentance cap. 4. c Concedo quidem illud in ipso mâ—â—rore dolore piorum plus gaudij inesse verae laetitiae quà m in risuhuius mundi Nam cum suspirijs inenarrabilibus coniunctum est gâ—udium ineffabile Rolloc in Ioan. cap. 11. p. 610. * Quid tristitiâ molestius Sed quando secundum Deum sit mundi gaudio melior est In 2. Cor. 7. Hom. 15. Sicut mundi gaudium tristitiae consortio câ—pulatur ita etiam secundum Dominuâ— lachryma iugem pariunt certámque laetitiam In Matth. 2. Hom. 6. Iamqueâ—ste talis ea quae videntur cuncta despiciens in compunctione continuá perseverat largo assiduè fluâ—â—s fonte lacbrymarum multámque hinc capiens voluptatem Ibid. d Hinc semper â—â—leat de dolore gaudeat Tom. 4. pag. 2. De verâ falsa poenitentiâ Cap. 13. s Beware thou become not a Papist in thinking to merit meerely by thy contritioÌ„ c. it is not thy contrition if it had been an hundred times more could merit pardon of the least of thy sinnes If the Lord Iesus had not suffered infinite sorrow and griefe in Soule and Body for them it is not all our grieving could satisfie Gods justice for the smallest offence no not tho wee should weepe out our eyes and mourne to death Therefore tho God hath appointed all to whom hee will shew mercy to bee contrite-hearted yet not to come to mercy thereby as by a meritorious meanes but as by a convenient and meet disposition to prepare us to seeke and receive mercy with thankfulnesse Rogers of Deaâ—aâ— Of Faith pag. 152. Nonin flatibus nostris non in actions nostris sedin Advocati nostri 〈◊〉 â—â—â—tione confidamus Gregor in Ezech. Hom. 7. t Ad recipiendam gratiam remissionis necessaria est ex nostrâ parte contritio fidei poenitentiae verae sed quod addit Bellarminus sc. Neminem scire an suae fides poenitentia sit talis tanta quantae à Deo requiritur falsissimum est Non enim ex gradu aut mensurâ fidei vel poenitentiae depeÌ„det iustificatio sed exveritate Davenant Expos. Epist. ad Colos pag. â—1 u Si dixisti Sufficit Perâ—sti August x And therefore will the Lord waite that Hee may be gracious unto you c. Isa 30.18 Oh thou afflicted tossed with tempest and not comforted Behold I will lay thy sâ—oues with faire colours and lay thy foundations with Saphires Cap. 54.11 Hee retaineth not his anger for euer because Hee delighteth in mercy Hos. 7.18 1. Pet. 1.8 Phil. 4.7 1. Cor. 2.9 y Resipiscentia illa non est vera ac solida quae non virtualiter continuatur actu renovatur subinde à tempore conversionis ad finem usque vitae Amesius Medulla Theol. Lib. 1. cap. 26. * Damus qui hypocriticâ temporariá fide credunt eos falli dum putant se veâ—è credere et non verè credunt Sunt enim illorum instar qui somniant se Reges esse cum sint pauperrimi At negamus illos qui verâ fide credunt ignorare an verè credant falti quum affirmant sentiunt se verè credere Sunt eium instar illorum qui gemmaâ— mâ—nu tractantâ—s quiâ— sâ—nsu praediti sunt sciunt aiunt se illam habere Quod si nemo posset certò nâ—sse an verè credat necuâ— cur ait Apostolus explorate vosmetipsos an sit is in fide As â— quis fidem adhibens alicuius verbis certò novit se verè illi credere quantò magis id is nâ—vit qui fide verâ donatus d Spiritu Sanctâ— credit Evangelio Zanch. de Naturâ Dei lib. 5. cap. 2. Matth. â—0 22 a Wee beeing taken out of the coâ—uytiâ—es of Adam and ingrâ—fâ—ted in Christâ— death and Passion can no lâ—ngâ—r live the life of the World but the life of Christ and must now looke upon the World 〈◊〉 as the World looâ—â—d 〈…〉 upon us 〈…〉 shall follow his steps toâ— it as upon â—o many abominable and crucified carcasses Bishop of Lincolne In H. Serâ—mon before the Higher House of Parliament pag 21.22 Hee doth not meane here to wit Galâ—l 6.26 the Heavens or the Earth saith Saint Chrysostome nor the World in the â— but the things of the World Glory Port Riches Greatnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all that make a shining and glitteriâ—g in the World These are all but so many carcasses and a very abomination to a truly regenerate Man Idem Ibid. pag. 16.17 If wee begin to breathe the life of righteousnesse when the world fawnes upon us with Honours Riches greatnesse Favours or frownes upon us with Hatred Malice Persecutions Oppressions and the like wee must turne our head aside another way with a godly kind of pride as Picus Mirandula was wont to call it and no more regard her then a carcasse crucified pag. 23. b Et Ego mundo Non tamen Deo mundi Mundum enim quantum ad conversationem eius posuit cui renunciando mutuò transfigimur invicèm morimur Tertul. Adversus Marcion Lib. 5. 〈◊〉 concupiscit Apostolus mundi nihil agnoscit Mundus Apostoli Ambros. in Loc. Sunt sicut duo mortui ex quibus nullus tangit vel diligit alterum Remig. Doctissimo citante Episcopo Isai. 54.5 Psal. 103.13 Psal. 16.3 Colloss 3.11 * Dicimus creaturaâ—in Deo videri quialicèt in se ipsis secundum suum esse propriuÌ„ videantur videntur tameÌ„ ut quidame effectus Dei at que ut aliquid pertinens ad Deum Ãdque eadem visione quâ Deus Gregor de Val. Tom. 1. Col. 250. Res naturales veriùs Esse habent in mente divinâ quà m in seipsis Aqu. p. 1. q 18. Sicut domus nobilius Esse habet in mente Artificis quà m in materiâ Ibid. 1. Cor 3.22.23 c See Forbes upon cap. 14 of the Revel v. 2. 2. Cor. 5.17 a There are some will say They have felt terrour of their estate but they have out-growne it it is past yea What have you done with it Have you broke Prison or did God let you out If you have broke Prison you must even in againe and that worse then before c. All the counsell I can give thee in such a case is to call after these terrours againe which thou hast sought to drive away and call aloud ere they bee gone past call and call quickly ere thy heart bee hardened quite and then it will cost double labour And pray God to worke them upon thy heart againe Rogers
of voluptuousnesse shalt most certainely very shortly lie upon thy Bed of death like a wilde bull in a net full of the fury of the Lord either sealing thee up finally in the desperate senselessenesse of thine owne dead heart with the spirit of slumber for everlasting vengeance even at the doore or else exemplarily enraging thy guilty conscience upon that thy last bed with hellish horrour even before hand For ordinarily the more notorious servants of Satan and Slaves of lust depart this life either like Nabal or Iudas Tho more by many thousands die like hard-hearted sots in security then in despaire of conscience If it bee so with thee then that thine heart when thou shalt have received the sentence of death against thy selfe die within thee as Naballs And most commonly saith a worthy Devine Conscience in many is secure at the time of death God in his iustice so plaguing an affected security in life with an inflicted security at death I say then thou wilt become as a stone most prodigiously blockish as tho there were no immortalitie of the Soule no losse of eternall blisse no Tribunall in Heaven no account to bee made after this life no burning in Hell for ever Which will make the never-dying fire more scorching and the ever-living worme more stinging by how much thou wast more senselesse and fearelesse of that fiery lake into which thou wast ready to fall Death it selfe saith the same Man cannot awaken some consciences but no sooner come they into hell but conscience is awakened to the full never to sleepe more and then she teareth with implacable fury and teacheth forlorne wretches to know that forbearance was no payment But if it please God to take the other course with thee and to let loose the cord of thy conscience upon thy dying Bed thou wilt be strangled even with Hellish horrour upon earth and damned above ground That Worme of Hell which is a continuall remorse and furious reflexion of the Soule upon its owne willfull folly whereby it hath lost everlasting ioyes and must now lie in endlesse easelesse and remedilesse torments is set on worke whilest thou art yet alive and with desperate rage and unspeakeable anguish will feede upon thy Soule and flesh The least twitch whereof not all the pleasures of ten thousand Worlds would ever bee able to countervaile For as the peace of a good so the pangs of a guilty conscience are unspeakable So that at that time thou maist iustly take unto thy selfe Pashur's terrible name Magor-Missabib Feare round about Thou wilt be a terrour to thy selfe and to all thy friends And that which in this wofull case will sting extremely No friends nor Physicke no gould nor silver no height of place nor favour of Prince not the glory and pleasures of the whole World not the crownes and command of all earthly kingdomes c. can possibly give any comfort deliverance or ease For when that time and terrour hath overtaken thee which is threatned Prou. 1.24 Et seq Because I have called and yee refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded But yee have set aâ— naught all my counsell and would none of my reproofe I also will laugh at your calamity and will mocke when your feare commeth When your feare commeth as desolation and your destruction commeth as a Whirlewinde when distresse and anguish commeth upon you Then shall they call upon Me but I will not answere they shall seeke mee earely but they shall not finde mee for that they hated knowledge and did not chuse the feare of the Lord. They would none of my counsell they despised all my reproofe Therefore shall they eate the fruitâ— of their owne way and be filled with their owne devises I say when this terrible time is come upon thee then will the mighty Lord of Heaven and earth come against thee as a Beare that is bereaved of her whelpes and will rent the caule of thy heart and will devoure thee like a Lion He will come with fire and with His charets like a Whirle-winde to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire All his terrours at that houre will fight against Thee and that unâ—quenchable anger that burnes to the very bottome of Hell and sets on fire the foundations of the mountaines The empoysoned arrowes of His fiercest indignation shall be drunke with the bloud of thy Soule and sticke fast in it for ever In a word the fearefull armies of all the plagues and curses sorrowes and un-sufferable paines denounc'd in Gods Booke against finall Impenitents shall with un-resistable violence take hold upon thee at once and pursue thee with that fury which thou shalt never bee able either to avoide or abide And who is able to stand before this holy Lord God who can abide in His sight when He is angry who can deliver out of His hand what man or Angell what arme of flesh or force of Armes what creature or created power what Cherub or which of the Seraphins is able to free a guilty conscience from the ever-knawing Worme and an impenitent wretch from eternal flames Oh Me thinkes a sensible fore-thought of these horrible things even at hand should make the hardest heart of the most abominable Behall to tremble at the roote and fall asunder in His brest like drops of water To haue his end in his eye and seriously to remember the tribulation and anguish that shall shortly come upon His Soule the affliction the Worme wood and the gall should fright and fire Him out of all His filthy gracelesse good-fellow courses 3. Thirdly Let them consider what horrour it will bee in evill times I meane not onely at death and the last Day which are the most terrible of all but also In times of disgrace and contempt of common feare and confusions of the state of sickenesse crosses restraint banishment temptations or any other dayes of sorrow I say at such times to finde in stead of peace fiery scorpions in their consciences innumerable sins graven there with an iron pen un-repented of Heare how excellently Austin foretels forewarnes them into what a forlorne and fearefull state they shall most certainely fall when after a short gleame of worldly glory they fall into tempestuous and troublesome times Of all afflictions incident to the Soule of man there is none more grievous and transcendent then to have the Conscience enraged with the guilt of sinne If there bee no wound there if all bee safe and sound within if that bird of the bosome sing sweetely in a Mâ—â—s brest it is no matter what miseries be abroad in the World what stormes or 〈◊〉 be raised against Him What arme of flesh or rage of foes beset Him rouâ—d For Hee in this are hath presently recourse unto His conscience the safest Sanctuary and Paradise of sweetest repose and finding that sprinkled with the bloud of the Lambe filled with abundance of peace
us mercy mercy in the name of Christ Lord Iesus receive our spirits c. which last eiaculations did they spring from a truly broken penitent and heavenly heart and were they the periods and conclusions of a well-spent life might blessedly breake open with unresistable power the gates of Heaven unlocke the rich treasures of immortality and fill the departing Soule with the shining beames of Gods glorious presence but unto them such goodly and glorious speeches are but as so many catchings and scrablings of a Man over head in water Hee struggles and strives for hold to save Himselfe but Hee graspes nothing but water it is still water which Hee catches and therefore sinkes and drownes 6. In others from a mis-guided head-strong Zeale in will-worship an impotent peremptory conceit that they suffer in the cause of God and for the glory of Religion This unhallowed fury possessed many Hereretikes of old Vpon this false ground the Donatists in the fourth Century after Christ offered themselues willingly and suffered death most couragiously And so did the Euphemites who for the multitude of their supposed Martyrs would needs be called Martyrians Stories also tell us that Turkes Tartars and Mores both fight and dye most bravely and resolutely for the blasphemous opinions of Mahomet And that the Assasins a company of bloody Villaines and desperate Cut-throates who would without all scruple or feare undertake to dispatch any Man whom their Generall commanded them to murther dyed oftentimes with great constancy and un-dismaiednesse And this they accounted a speciall point of Religion But especially at this Day the Popish Pseudo-martyrs indeed true Traytors are starke mad with this superstitious rage First they drinke full deepe of the golden cup of abominable fornication in the hand of the great Whore Immediately whereupon they grow into an unsatiable and outragious thirst after the blood of Soules empoysoning them with the doctrine of Divels And also after the blood of whomsoever withstands their accursed superstitions even tho they weare Imperiall Crownes upon their Heads by plotting and practising treasons parricides assasinates empoysonings ruines of whole Nations barbarous Massacres blowing up of Parliaments and a world of bloody mischiefes which cast an inexpiable staine and obloquy upon the innocency of Christian Religion At last they come to Tyburne or some other Place of iust execution and then they will needes beare the world in hand that they are going towards Heaven to receive a Crowne of Martyrdome They seeme there already to triumph extraordinarily and to contemne tortures with an affected bravery they trample upon the Tribunals of Iustice kisse the instruments of death in signe of happinesse at hand and throw many resolute and reioycing speeches amongst the people as tho they had one foote in Heaven already When alas poore blind mis-guided Soules while they thus wilfully and desperately abandon their lives upon a groundlesse and gracelesse conceite that they shall become crowned Martyrs they are like a Man who lying asleepe upon an high and steepe Rock dreames that Hee is created a King guarded with a goodly traine of ancient Nobles furnished with many princely Houses and stately Palaces enriched with the Revenewes Majesty and Magnificence of a mighty Kingdome attended with all the pleasures His heart could desire c. But starting up upon the sudden and leaping for ioy falls headlong and irrecoverably into the raging Sea and so in liew of that imaginary happinesse Hee vainely grasped in a dreame Hee destroies Himselfe and looseth that little reall comfort Hee had in this miserable life That damned paire of incarnate Divels the English Fawkes and French Ravillac the one after that in the Popes cause Hee had embrued His hands in the Royall blood of a mighty King and the greatest Warriour upon Earth The other having done His utmost to blow up at once the glory power wisedome the Religion peace and posterity of the most renowned State under the Heavens were both prodigiously bold confident peremptory But was this courage thinke you inspired into them by the Lyon of the Tribe of Iudah already triumphant in the Heavens or by that roaring Dragon of the bottomlesse Pit A man of an understanding impartiall discerning spirit would scarcely wish a clearer demonstration of the Truth and Orthodoxnes of our Religion then to marke the different Ends of our blessed Martyrs in Q. Maries time those Popish Traytors which are sometimes executed amongst us They both ordinarily at their Ends expresse a great deale of confidence But in the Pseudo-Catholicks Antichristian Martyrs it is so enforced artificiall ambitious affected Their speeches so cunning and composed upon purpose to seduce the simple Their last behaviour â—o plotted before-hand and formally acted Their prayers so unhearty plodding and perfunctory Their whole carriage so unspirituall and unlike the Saints of God discovering neither former acquaintances with the mysteries of true sanctification nor those present feeling elevations of spirit which are woont to fill the Soules which are ready to enter into the Ioyes of Heaven that to a spirituall eye to a man verst in the purity and power of godlinesse it is most cleare that their comfort in such cases is of no higher straine nor stronger temper then the morall resolution of an Heathen and head-strong conceit of Heresie can represent or reach unto It is otherwise with the true Martyrs of Iesus slaine most cruelly by that great Whore the MOTHER of HARLOTS drunken with a world of innocent blood as with sweet Wine As we may see and feele in that glorious Martyriology of our Saints in the mercilesse times of Queene Mary The constant profession and power of our most true and ever-blessed Religion did create such an holy and humble Maiesty in their carriages such a deale of Heaven and sober undantednesse in their countenances such ioyfull springings and spirituall ravishments in their hearts such grace and powerfull peircings in their speeches such zeale and hearty meltings in their prayers such triumphant and heavenly exultations amid the flames that it was more then manifest both to Heaven and Earth to Men and Angels that their Cause was the Cause of God their Murtherer that Man of sinne their blood the seede of the Church their Soules the Iewels of Heaven and their present passage the right and ready way to that unfading and most glorious Crowne of Martyrdome That which in fiction was fathered upon Father Campion was most true of every one of our true Martyrs That every one might say with heavy heart that stood Here speakes a Saint here dies a Lambe here flowes the guiltlesse blood Thus you haue heard upon what weake props and sandy foundations that confidence stands and is built which carnall men seeme to lay hold upon with great bravery in times of trouble and distresse But the comfort which sweetely springs from that spirit I speake of supported out of speciall favour and interest by the hand of God All-sufficient and the unconquerable
thing whatsoever is within Him or without Him or about Him whatsoever He thinkes upon remembers heares sees turne all to his torment No marvaile then tho the terrour of a wounded conscience bee so intolerable 3. As the exultations of the Soule and spirituall refreshments doe incomparably surpasse both in excellency of Object and sweetnesse of apprehension all pleasures of seâ—se and bodily delights so afflictions of the Soule and spirituall pangs doe infinitely exceede both in bitternesse of sense and intension of sorrow the most exquisite tortures can possibly bee inflicted upon the Body For the Soule is a spirit very subtile quicke active stirring all life motion sense feeling and therefore farre more capable and apprehensive of all kinds of impressions whether passions of pleasure or inflictions of paâ—â—e 4. This extremest of miseries a wounded spirit is tempered with such strong and strange ingredients of extraordinary feares that it makes a man a terrour to himselfe and to all his friends To flee when none pursues at the sound of a shaken leafe To tremble at his owne shadow to bee in great feare where no feare is Besides the insupportable burthen of too many true and causefull terrours it fills His darke and dreadfull Fancy with a world of fained horrours gastly apparitions and imaginary Hells which notwithstanding have reall stings and impresse true tortures upon his trembling and wofull heart It is empoysoned with such restlesse anguish and desperate paine that tho life bee most sweete and Hell most horrible yet it makes a man wilfully to abandon the one and willingly to embrace the other that Hee may bee rid of it's rage Hence it was that Iudas preferred an Halter and Hell before his present horrour That Spira said often what heart quakes not to heare it that Hee envied Cain Saul and Iudas wishing rather any of their roomes in the Dungeon of the damned then to have his poore heart so rent in pieces with such raging terrors fiery desperations upon his Bed of death Whereupon at another time beeing asked Whether Hee feared more fearefull torments after this life Yes said Hee But I desire nothing more then to bee in that place where I shall expect no more Expectation as it seemes of future did infinitely aggravate and enrage His already intolerable torture 5. The Heathens who had no fuller sight of the foulenesse of sinne or more smarting sense of divine vengeance for it then the light of naturall conscience was able to afford and represent unto them yet were woont in fiction to shadow out in some sort and intimate unto us the insufferable extremities of a minde troubled in this kinde by hellish furies following malefactors with burning fire-brands and flames of torture What understanding then is able to conceive or tongue to report in what case that sinfull conscience must needs bee when it is once awakened which besides the notions of naturall light hath also the full Sun of Gods sacred Word and that pure Eye which is ten thousand times brighter then the Sunne and cannot looke upon iniquity to irradiate and enrage it to the height of guiltinesse and depth of horrour Both heart and tongue Man and Angell must let that alone for ever For none can take the true estimate of this immesurable spirituall misery but hee that can comprehend the length and breadth of that infinite unresistable wrath which once implacably enkindled in the bosome of God burnes to the very bottome of Hell and there creates the extremity and endlesnesse of all those un-expressable torments and fiery plagues which afflict the Diuels and damned Soules in that horrible Pit 6. Not onely the desperate cries of Cain Iudas Latomus and many other such miserable men of forlorne hope but also the wofull complaints even of Gods owne deare Children discover the truth of this Point to wit the terrours and intolerablenesse of a wounded Conscience Heare how rufully three ancient Worthies in their times wrastled with the wrath of God in this kinde I reckoned till morning saith Hezekiah that as a Lion so will hee breake all my bones Even as the weake and trembling limbes of some lesser neglected Beast are crusht and torne in pieces by the unresistable Paw of an unconquerable Lion so was His troubled Soule terrified and broken with the anger of the Almighty Hee could not speake for bitternesse of griefe and anguish of heart but chattered like a Crane or a Swallow and mourned like a Dove Thou writest bitter things against mee saith Iob and makest mee to possesse the iniquities of my youth The arrowes of the Almighty are within mee the poyson thereof drinketh up my spirit the terrours of God doe set themselves in aray against mee O that I might have my request And that God would grant mee the thing that I long for Even that it would please God to destroy mee that Hee would let loose his hand and cut mee off Nay yet worse Thou scarest mee with dreames and terrifiest mee through visious So that my Soule chuseth strangling and death rather then my life Tho God in mercy preserves his servants from the monstrous and most abhorred Act of selfe-murder yet in some melancholike moode horrour of minde and bitternesse of spirit they are not quite freed from all impatient wishes that way and sudden suggestions thereunto My bones waxed old saith David through my roaring all the day long Day and night thy hand was heavy upon mee my moysture is turned into the drought of Summer Thine arrowes sticke fast in mee and thy hand presseth mee sore There is no soundnesse in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sinne For mine iniquities are gone over my head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for mee I am troubled I am bowed downe greatly I goe mourning all the day long I am feeble and sore broken I have roared by reason of the disqujâ—tnesse of my heart Heare also into what a depth of spirituall distresse three worthy servants of God in these later times were plung'd and pressed downe under the sense of Gods anger for sinne Blessed Mistris Brettergh upon Her last Bed was horribly hemmed in with the sorrowes of death the very griefe of Hell laid hold upon Her Soule a roaring Wildernesse of woe was within Her as She confessed of Her selfe She said her sinnes had made Her a prey to Satan And wished that she had never been borne or that shee had been made any other creature rather then a Woman Shee cryed out many times Woe woe woe c. A weake a wofull a wretched a forsaken woman with teares continually trickling from her eyes Master Peacock that man of God in that His dreadfull visitation and desertion recounting some smaller sinnes burst out into these words And for these saith Hee I feele now an Hell in my conscience Vpon other occasions Hee cryed out
the clouds are the dust of His feete c. The Lord of hostes is his name whose power and punishments are so infinitely vnresistable that Hee is able with one word to turne all the creatures in the world into Hell nay even with the breath of His mouth to turne Heaven and Hell and Earth and all things into nothing How darest thou then so base and vile a wretch prouoke so great a God 8. Let the consideration and compassion upon the immortality and dearenesse of that pretious Soule that lies in thy bosome curbe thy corruptions at the very first sight of sinne and make thee step backe as though thou wert ready to treade upon a Serpent Not all the bloudy men upon earth or desperate Devils in Hell can possibly kill and extingvish the Soule of any man it must needs live as long as God Himself and run parallell with the longest line of eternity Onely sinne wounds mortally that immortal spirit brings it into that cursed case that it had infinitely better never have bin then be for ever For by this meanes going on impenitently to that last Tribunall it becomes immortally mortall and mortally immortall as one of the Ancients speakes It lives to death and dies to life never in state of life or death yet ever in the paines of death the perpetuity of life It 's death is ever-living it's end is ever in beginning Death without death End without end Ever in the pangs of death never dead not able to dye nor endure the paine Paine exceeding not only all patience but all resistance No strength to sustaine nor ability to beare that which heareafter whilst God is God for ever must bee borne What a prodigious Bedlam cruelty is it then for a maÌ„ by listning to the Syren-songs of this false world the lewd motions of His own treacherous heart or the Divels desperate counsel to embrew His hands in the bloud of His own everlasting soule to make it die eternally For a little paltry pleasure of some base rotten lust sleeting vanity which passeth away in the act as the tast of pleasant drink dieth in the draught to bring upon it in the other world torments whithout end and beyond all compasse of conceit And his madnesse is the more because besides it's immortality His Soule is incoÌ„parably more worth then the whole world The very sensitive Soule of a little slie saith Austin truly is more excellent then the Sun How ought wee then to prize and preserve from sinne our vnderstanding reasonable Soules which make us in that respect like unto the Angels of God 9. Ninthly What an horrible thing is sinne whose waight an Omnipotent strength which doth sustaine the whole Frame of the world is not able to beare Almighty God complaines Isa. 1.14 even of the Sacrifices and other services of his owne people when they were performed with polluted hearts and professes that He was weary to beare them And how vile is it that stirs up in the dearest and most compassionate bowells of the All-mercifull God such implacable anger that threw downe so many glorious Angelicall spirits who might have done Him so high honour for ever in the highest Heauens into the bottome of Hell there most iustly to continue Devils and in extremest torment everlastingly Cast all mankinde out of His fauour and from all felicity for Adams sin caused Him who delighteth in mercy to create all the afflicting miseries in Hell eternal flames streames of brimstone chaines of darknesse gnashing of teeth a Lake of fire the bottomlesse Pit and all those horrible torments there And that which doth argue and yet further amplifie the implacablenes and depth of divine indignation the infinitenesse of sinnes prouocation and desert Tophet is said to bee ordeined of old Everlasting fire to be prepared for the Devill and His Angells As if the All-powerfull wisedome did deliberate and as it were sit downe and devise all stâ—â—ging terrible ingredients a temper of greatest torture to make that dreadfull fiâ—e hellish paines most fierce and raging and a fit instrument for the iustice of so great and mighty a God to torment eternally all impenitent reprobate Rebels God is the Father of Spirits our Soules are the immediate Creation of His Almighty Hand and yet to every one that goeth on impenitently in his trespasses Hee hath appointed as it were a threefold Hell There are three things considerable in sinne 1. Aversion from an infinite soveraigne unchangeable good 2. Conversion to a finite mutable momentany good 3. Continuance in the same To these three severall things in sinne there are answering three singular stings of extremest punishment To aversion from the chiefest Good which is objectively infinite there answereth Paine of losse as they call it Privation of Gods glorious presence and separation from those endlesse joyes above which is an infinite losse To the inordinate conversion to transitory things there answereth Paine of sense which is intensively finite as is the pleasure of sinne And yet so extreme that none can conceive the bitternesse thereof but the Soule that suffers it nor that neither except it could comprehend the Almighty wisedome of Him that did create it To the eternity of sinne remaining for ever in staine and guilt answereth the eternity of punishment For wee must know that every impenitent sinner would sinne ever if he might live ever and casteth himselfe by sinning into an impossibility of ever ceasing to sinne of Himselfe as a Man that casteth himselfe into a deepe Pit can never of Himselâ—e rise out of it againe And therefore naturally eternity of punishment is due to sinne How prodigious a thing then is sinne and how infinitely to bee abhorred and avoided that by a malignant meritorious poyson and provocation doth violently wrest out of the hands of the Father of mercies and God of all comfort the full vials of that unquenchable wrath which brings caselesse endlesse and remedilesse torments upon His owne creatures and those originally most excellent 10. Tenthly The height and inestimablenesse of the price that was paid for the expiation of it doth clearely manifest nay infinitely aggravate the execrable misery of sinne and extreame madnesse of all that meddle with it I meane the hearts-blood of Iesus Christ blessed for ever which was of such pretiousnesse and power that beeing let out by a Speare it amazed the whole Frame of Nature darkened the Sunne miraculously for at that time it stood in direct opposition to the Moone shooke the Earth which shrunke and trembled under it opened the Graves clave the Stones rent the Vaile of the Temple from the bottome to the top c. Now it was this alone and nothing but this could possibly cleanse the filth of sinne Had all the dust of the earth been turned into silver and the stones into pearles Should the maine and boundlesse Ocean have streamed nothing but purest gold would the
whole world and all the creatures in Heaven and Earth have offered themselves to bee annihilated before His angry face Had all the blessed Angels prostrated themselves at the foote of their Creator yet in the Point of redemption of Mankind and purgation of sin not any nor all of these could have done any good at all Nay if the Sonne of God Himselfe which lay in His bosome should have supplicated and solicited I meane without suffering and shedding His blood the Father of all mercies Hee could not have been heard in this case Either the Sonne of God must die or all Mankind be eternally damned Even then when thou art provoked to sinne thinke seriously and sensibly of the price that upon necessity must bee paied for it before it bee pardoned 11. Sinfull pleasures are attended with a threefold bitter sting Whereof see my Directions for walking with God pa. 171. Which though the Divell hides from them in the heate of temptation yet in His seasons to serve his owne turne Hee sets them on with a vengeance 12. Compare the vast and unvalu-able difference betweene yeelding to the entisement and conquering the temptation to sinne For which purpose looke upon Ioseph and David two of Gods dearest servants And consider the consequents what a deale of honour and comfort did afterward crowne the head and the heart of the one And what horrible mischiefes and miseries fell upon the family and grisly horrours upon the conscience of the other Survay also the distinct Stories of Galeacius Caracciolus and Franciscus Spira then which in their severall kinds there is nothing left to the memory of the latter times more remarkeable And you shall find in them as great a difference as betweene an Heaven and Hell upon earth The one withstanding unconquerably variety of mighty entisements to renounce the Gospell of Iesus Christ and returne to Popery besides the sweet peace of His Soule attained that honour in the Church of God that Hee is in some measure paralleld even with Moses and recommended to the admiration of Posterity by the Pen of that great and incomparable glory of the Christian World blessed Calvin The other conquered by an unhappy temptation to turne from the Truth of God and our true Religion to the Synagogue of Satan and abominations of the scarlet Whore besides the raging and desperate confusion hee brought upon His owne spirit became such a spectacle to the eye of Christendome as hath been hardly heard of 13. Compare the poore short vanishing delight of the choisest sensuall worldly contentment if thou wilt of thy sweetest sinne with the exquisitnesse and eternity of Hellish torments Out of which might an impenitent reprobate wretch bee assured of enlargement after Hee had endured them so many thousand thousand yeeres as there are sands on the Sea-shore haires upon His head starres in the firmament grasse piles upon the ground Creatures both in Heaven and Earth Hee would thinke Himselfe happy and as it were in Heaven already See before pag. 39. But when all that time is past and infinite millions of yeeres besides they are no neerer end then when they begun nor Hee neerer out then when Hee came in The torments of Hell are most horrible yet I know not whether this incessant desperate cry in the conscience of a damned Soule I must never come out doth not outgoe them all in horrour What an height of madnesse is it then to purchase a moment of fugitive follies and fading pleasures with extremity of never ending paines 14. When thou art stepping ouer the threshold towards any vile act lewd House dissolute company or to do the Divel service in any kinde which God forbid suppose thou seest Iesus Christ comming towards Thee as Hee lay in the armes of Ioseph of Arimathea newly taken downe from the Crosse wofully wounded wanne and pale His Body all gore-blood the beauty of His blessed and heavenly face darkned and disfigured by the stroke of death speaking thus unto Thee Oh! Goe not forward upon any termes Commit not this sinne by any meanes It was this and the like that drew mee downe out of the armes of my Father from the fulnesse of joy and Fountaine of all blisse to put on this corruptible and miserable flesh to hunger and thirst to watch and pray to groane and sigh to offer up strong cries and teares to the Father in the dayes of my flesh To drinke off the dregs of the bitter cup of His feirce wrath to wrastle with all the forces of infernall powers to lay downe my life in the gates of Hell with intolerable and saue by my selfe vnconquerable paine and thus now to lie in the armes of this mortall Man all torne and rent in peices with cruelty and spite as thou seest What an heart hast thou that darest goe on against this deare entreaty of Iesus Christ 15. When thou art unhappily mooued to breake any branch of Gods blessed Law let the excellency and variety of His incomparable mercies come presently into thy minde a most ingenuous sweet and mighty motive to hinder and hold off all gracious hearts from sin How is it possible but a serious survay of the riches of Gods goodnes forbearance long-suffering leading thee to repentance to more forwardnes and fruitfulnes in the good Way The publike miracles of mercy which God hath done in our daies for the preservatioÌ„ of the Gospel this kingdome ourselves and our posterity especially drowning the Spanish invincible Armado discouering and defeating the Powder-plot sheilding Q. Elizabeth the most glorious Princesse of the world from a world of Anti-christian cruelties saving us from the Papists bloudy expectations at Her death c. The particular and private Catalogve of thine owne personall favours from Gods bountifull hand which thine owne conscience can easily leade Thee unto and readily run over from thine infancy to the present wonderfull protections in thine unregenerate time that miracle of mercies thy conversion if thou be already in that happy state all the motions of Gods holy Spirit in thine heart many checks of conscience fatherly corrections excellent meanes of sanctification as worthy a ministry in many Places as ever the world enjoyde Sermon upon sermon Sabbath after Sabbath bearing with thee after so many times breaking thy covenants Oportunities to atâ—aine the highest degree of godlinesse that ever was c. I say how can it bee but that the reuise of these and innumerable mercies moe should so mollify thy heart that thou shouldest haue no heart at all nay infinitely abhorre to displease or any way dishonour that High and dreadfull Majesty whose free grace was the well-Head and first Fountaine of them all Let this meditation of Gods mercies to keepe from sinne bee quickned by considering 1. That thou art farre worthier to bee now burning with the most abominable Sodomite in the bottome of Hell then to bee crowned with any of these loving kindnesses That if
thou wert able to doe Him all the honour service and worship which all the Saints both militant and triumphant doe it would come infinitely short of the merit of the least of all His mercies unto Thee in Iesus Christ. 2. How unkindelylie God takes the neglect of His extraordinary kindenesses unto vs. 2. Sam. 12.7 c. 1. Sam. 27.28.31 Ezech. 16. 16. Marke well and be amaz'd of thine owne fearefull and desperate folly when thou fallest deliberately into any sinne Thou lajest as it were in the one scale of the Balance the glory of Almighty God the endles ioies of Heaven the losse of thine immortall Soule the pretious blood of Christ c. And in the other some rotten pleasure earthly pelf worldly preferment fleshly lust sensuall vanity And suffers this prodigious madnes Bee astonished O yee Heavens at this and bee horribly afraid to out-weigh all those 17. Vpon the first assault of every sinne say thus unto thy self If I now yeeld and commit this sin I shall either repent or not repent If I doe not repent I am vndone If I doe repent it will cost mee incomparably more hearts-greife then the pleasure of the sinne is worth 18. Consider that for that very sinne to which thou art now tempted suppose lying lust ouer-reaching thy Brother c. many millions are already damned and even now burning in Hell And when thy foote is upon the brinke stay and thinke upon the wages And know for a truth that if thou falelst into that sinne thou art fallen into Hell if God helpe not out 19. Never bee the bolder to giue way unto any wickednes to exercise thine heart with covetousnesse cruelty ambition revenge adulterjes speculative wantonnesse selfe-uncleannesse or any other solitary sinfulnesse because thou art alone and no mortall eie lookes upon Thee For if thine heart condemne thee God is greater then thine heart and knoweth all things and will condemne thee much more If thy conscience bee as a thousand witnesses God who is the Lord of thy conscience will be more then a million of witnesses And thou mayst bee assured Howsoever thou blessest thy selfe in thy secrecy that what sin soever is now acted in the very retyredst corner of thine heart or any waies most solitarily by thy Selfe tho in the meane time it bee concealed and lie hid in as great darknesse as it was committed untill that last and great Day yet then it must most certainly out with a witnesse and bee as a legible on thy forehead as if it were writ with the brightest Sun-beame upon a Wall of Christall Thou shalt then in the face of Heaven and Earth bee laide out in thy colours and without confessing and forsaking while it is called to Day bee before Angels Men and Diuels vtterly universally and everlastingly shamed and confounded 20. Consider the resolute resistance and mortifyed resolutions against sinne and all entisements thereunto of many upon whom the Sun of the Gospell did not shine with such beauty and fullnesse as it doth upon vs neither were so many heavenly discoveries in the kingdome of Christ made knowne unto them as our daies have seene For vpon our times which makes our sins a great deale more sinfull hath happily fallen an admirable Confluence of the saving light and learning experience and excellency of all former Ages besides the extraordinary additions of the present which with a glorious Noonetide of united illuminations doth abundantly serve our turne for a continued further and fuller illustration of the great mystery of godlinesse and Secrets of sanctification Heare Chrysostome But I thinke thus and this will I ever preach that it is much bitterer to offend Christ then to bee tormented in the paines of Hell Hee that writes the life of Anselme saith thus of Him Hee feared nothing in the world more then to sinne My conscience bearing mee witnesse I lie not For we haue often heard Him professe That if on the onâ— hand He should see corporally the horrour of sinne on the other the paines of Hell and might necessarily bee plunged into the one Hee would chuse Hell rather then sinne And an other thing also no lesse perhaps wonderfull to some Hee was woont to say To wit That Hee would rather haue Hell beeing innocent and free from sinne then polluted with the filth thereof possesse the kingdome of Heaven It is reported of an other ancient holy Man that He was woont to say Hee would rather bee torne in peeces with wilde horses then wittingly and willingly commit any sin Ierome also in one of His Epistles tells a story of a young Man of most invincible courage and constancy in the Profession of Christ under some of the bloody Persecuting Emperours to this sense They had little hope as it seemes to conqver Him by torture and therfore they take this course with Him They brought Him into most fragrant Gardens flowing with all pleasure and delight there they laid Him upon a Bed of Downe softly enwrapped in a net of silke amongst the Lillies and the Roses the delicious murmure of the streames and the sweet whistling of the leaves they all depart and in comes a beautifull strumpet and vseth all the abominable tricks of Her impure Art and whoâ—sh villanies to draw Him to her desire Whereupon the yong Man fearing that Hee should now bee conqvered by folly who was Conqverer over fury out of an infinite detestation of sinne bites off a peece of His Tong with His owne teeth and spits it in the face of the whore And so hinders the hurt of sinne by the smart of his wound I might haue begun with Ioseph who did so bravely and blessedly beate backe and trample under His feete the sensuall solicitations of His wanton and wicked Mistris Hee had pleasure and preferment in His eye which were strongly offered in the temptation but Hee well knew that not all the offices and honours in Egypt could take off the guilt of that filth and therefore Hee resolved rather to lie in the dust then rise by sinne How can I doe this great wickednesse and sinne against God I might passe along to the Mothâ—â— and seven brethren 2. Mac. 7. who chose rather to passe thorow horrible tortures and a most cruell death then to eate swines â—lesh against the Law And so come downe along to that noble Army of Martyrs in Q. Maries time who were contented with much patience and resolution to part with all wife children liberty livelihood life it selfe even to lay it downe in the flames rather then to submit to that Man of sinne or to subscribe to any one Point of His Devillish Doctrine Thus as you haue heard I haue tendred many reasons to restraine from sinne which by the helpe of God may serve to take off the edge of the most eager temptation to coole the heat of the most furious entisement to embitter the sweetest baite that drawes to any sensuall delight Now my most
places also in the Book of God which being rightly handled and powerfully applied seeme to have a speciall keennesse to strike at and cut asunder the iron sinewes of the most obstinate heart And of more aptnesse to serve for the rowsing and awaking of meere civill men formall Professours Pharisies and foolish Virgins out of their desperat slumber of spirituall Selfe-deceit Such as these Deut. 29.19.20 And it come to passe when hee heareth the words of this curse that hee blesse Himselfe in His heart saying I shall have peace though I walke in the imagination of mine heart to adde drunkennesse to thirst The Lord will not spare Him but then the anger of the Lord and His jealousie shall smoke against that man and all the curses that are written in this Book shall lie upon Him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under Heaven Ps. 78.21 God shall wound the hairy Scalpe of such a One as goeth on still in his trespasses Pro. 1.24.28 Because I have called and yee refused I have stretched foorth my hand and no Man regarded c. Then shall they call upon mee but I will not answer they shall seeke me early but they shall not find mee Pro. 29.1 He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy Ezek. 24.13 In thy filthinesse is lewdnesse because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged thou shalt not bee purged from thy filthinesse any more till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee 1. Pet. 4.18 If the righteous scarcely bee saved Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appeare 1. Ioh. 3.9 Whosoever is borne of God doth not commit sinne 1. Pet. 2.17 Love the brotherhood Heb. 12.14 Without holinesse no man shall see the Lord. Iam. 2.19 The Divels also beleeue and tremble Luke 13.24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate for many I say unto you will seeke to enter in and shall not bee able Math. 10.14.15 And whosoever shall not receive you c. Veriâ—y I say unto you it shall bee more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of judgement then for that city And. 11.12 And from the dayes of Iohn the Baptist untill now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force And 5.46 And if you salute your brethren onely what doe you more then others and vers 20. I say unto you That except your righteousnes shall exceed the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdome of heaven These fellowes represented to the eye of the World a goodly and glorious shew of freedome from grosse sinnes I am not saith the Pharisee Luke 18. as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers c. Of workes First Of righteousnesse I give tithes of all that I possesse Secondly Of Piety Hee went up to pray Thirdly Of mercy Besides fasting and prayer they gave almes Mat. 6. c. And yet Christ speakes thus peremptorily to his hearers Except your righteousnesse exceede the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees c. ye shall in no case enter into the kingdome of heaven Hee saith not simply yee shall not enter But yee shall in no case enter And yet how many who come short of these will bee very angry if the ministers tell them that they shall certainely come short of the kingdome of heaven I have done with dawbing and plaistering over rotten hearts with plausible perswasions that they shall not bee damned I meane that most cruell and accursed trade of strengthening with lies the hands of the wicked that hee should not returne from his wicked way by promising him life Ezek. 13.22 Whereby thousands are sent hood-winckt to hell more is the pitty even in this blessed time of the Gospell And I come now to another errour about comforting afflicted Consciences Which is this 2. When the spirituall Physition promiseth comfort applies the promises assures of mercy acceptation and pardon 1. When the ground of griefe is not in truth trouble for sinne but some outward trouble Some in such a case may cast out by the way some faint and formall complaints of their sinnes and seeme to seeke direction and satisfaction about the state of their Soules when as the true root and principall Spring of their present heavinesse and hearts-griefe is some secret earthly discontentment the biâ—â—ng and bitternesse of some worldly sting It may bee the losse or desperate course of some over-loved child decay and going backward in their estate feare of falling into beggery some unexpected discontents and disappointments after marriage Some great disgrace and shame fallen upon them in the eye of the world Some long and tedious sicknesse pinching them extremely for want of peace with God and patience to passe thorow it Or the like In this case after the man of God by his best wisedome and searching experimentall tryals and Interrogatories fitted for that purpose whereby he may give a strong conjecture if not a peremptory censure hath discovered the Imposture Let his desire and endeavour be to turne the torrent of worldly teares and taking on for transitory things upon sinne When a veine is broken and bleeds inward or a man bleeds excessively at the Nose the physition is wont to open a veine in the arme so to divert the current of the blood that it may bee carried the right way for the safety and preservation of the party Doe proportionably in this point Let such know First That sorrow of the world worketh death It dries the bones consumes the marrow chils the blood wastes the Spirits eates up the heart shortneth life and cutteth off too soone from the day of gracious visitation It is a base thing for an immortall Soule to bee put thus out of tune and temper with mortall things most unworthy it 's heavenly birth breeding under the ministery and everlasting abode Secondly That sorrow spent upon the world is like a perfum'd precious water throwne into the channell or sinke-hole which would make a sweet sent in an humbled soule and helpe excellently against the noisome savour of sinne Fire put into the thatch would turne all into combustion Dung placed in your parlour would impoison all But lay the one upon the hearth and it would warme and comfort the other upon the land and it fatneth and makes fruitfull So sorrow misplaced upon earthly things fills a man with swarmes of carking confusions and brings many devouring Harpies into the heart but being turned upon sin and former sinfull courses which is the onely right proper profitable vse thereof it may procure a great deale of ease and enlargement to the heavy Spirit and helpe to bring foorth fruits meet for repentance Thirdly That the tithe perhaps of taking on trouble of mind vexation of Spirit sadnesse and sorrow about worldly things in respect of the bulke and quantity if sincere and
empoysoner of mens soules which beeing the glorious issue of thine owne infinite understanding was purposely created as a most pretious Panacea an universall medicinall store-house for the cure of all spirituall maladies an inexhausted treasury of all sound comfort true joy peace and refreshing Now the Lord rebuke thee Satan and returne as dung upon thine owne face this villanous base and wicked slaunder which by thy gracelesse instruments thou labourest to cast upon the glorious face of Christianity the incomparable sweetnesse of the wayes of grace and that One necessary thing I have knowne when the onely wise God hath suffered for ends seene and seeming good to his heavenly wisedome the hideous and raging humour of melancholie to darken the native clearenes of the animall spirits in the braine requisite to a due discretion of things apprehended and to blunder and disorder the objects and operations of the phantasie in his dearest child even to distraction and breaking out into that inordinate passion against reason I say then the concurrent cry and clamour of the enemies to the power of Godlines to bee This it is now to bee so bookish to follow preachers so much to be more holy then their neighbours never to have done in serving of God Her so much reading the scriptures and such poring upon precise bookes so they call those which most pierce the conscience and guide the cleerliest in the holy path hath made her starke mad The Puritan is now besides her selfe c. Now I say againe the Lord rebuke thee Satan who sits with such extreme malice and soule-killing folly in the hearts heads of such miserable men whom thou so sottishly hood-winkes and hardens to the height for a most desperate downefal and horrible confusion at last Were now the glorified soule of that blessed Saint consulted with and asked Diddest thou ever receive hurt by reading Gods blessed book by searching sweetly into the great mystery of Christ crucified by meditation upon heavenly things Did the sacred sense of those divine Oracles dissettle thy noble faculties or ever make sad thy heart c. Oh! with what infinite indignation would it sly in the face of such cursed Cavillers and wranglers against the truth Is it possible for the sole and soveraigne Antidote sent from heaven by God himselfe against the sting and venome of all heart-griefe and horror the sacred Sun of saving truth which is onely able to ennoble and glorifie our understandings with wisedome from the brest of the everlasting counsell of Iesus Christ should become the cause of discomfort and dissettlement of the soule No no. There is such a quickening healing and mighty efficacy and vigour shed into it from the Father of lights and shining in it from the face of Christ that by the helpe of the blessed spirit it can turne darkenes into light death into life hell into heaven the deepest horrour into height of joy Tell mee of any misery upon the body soule outward state or good name any calamity felt or feared in this life or the life to come and if thou wilt bee converted and counselled I can send thee to some both Promise and Precedent in this book of God which may upon good ground fill thine heart as full with sound comfort as the Sun is of Light and the Sea of Waters Nay give mee a wounded spirit with all it 's inexplicable terrors and bitternesse which is the greatest misery extremest affliction of which an understanding Soule is capable in this life And let first all the physitians in the world even the Rose-knights as they call themselves lay all their heads skill and experience together for the cure Let all the highest Monarchs upon earth shine upon it with their Imperiall favours for comfort Let the depth of all humane wisedome and the height of the most excellent oratory bee improoued to perswade it peace Let all the creatures in heaven and earth contribute their severall abilities and utmost to still it 's rage And when all these have done and have done just nothing I will fetch a cordiall out of Gods owne booke which shall mollifie the anguish expell the venome and bind it up with everlasting peace which passeth all understanding that the broken bones may rejoyce and the poore soule groaning most grievously under the guilty horrour of many foule abominations and ready to sink into the gulph of despaire bee sweetly bathed and refreshed in the fountaine opened by the hand of mercy for sinne and for uncleannesse Christs dearest bloud the glorious wel-spring of all lightsomnesse and joy Heare how precisely for this purpose and how punctually against such pestilent cauillers some of the ancient Fathers doe Puritanize There is no malady saith Chrysostome either of body or soule but may receive a medicine out of Gods booke One comes oppressed with sadnesse and anxiety of businesses overwhelmed with griefe But presently hearing the Prophet saying Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou so disquieted within mee Hope thou in God for I will yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God Hee receives abundance of comfort and abandons all heavines of heart Another is pinched with extreme poverty takes it heavily and grieves seeing others flowing in riches swelling with pride attended with great pompe and state But hee also heares the same Prophet saying Cast thy burden upon the Lord and hee shall sustaine thee And againe Be not afraide when one is made rich when the glory of his house is increased For when hee dieth hee shall carry nothing away His glory shall not descend after him There is another which assaulted with insidiations and calumnies is much troubled thinkes his life uncomfortable finding no helpe in man Hee is also taught by the same prophet that in such perplexities wee must not resort to the arme of flesh Heare what hee saies They slandered and I prayed The mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitfull are opened against mee They have spoken against mee with a lying tongue They compassed mee about also with words of hatred and fought against mee without a cause For my love they are my adversaries But I give my selfe to prayer Another is slighted and contemned by some base contemptible underlings and forsaken of his friends And that is it which most troubles his mind goes nearest to his heart But hee also if hee will come hither doth heare that blessed man saying My Lovers and my freinds stand aloofe from my sore and my kinsmen stand afarre off They also that seeke after my life lay snares for mee and they that seeke my hurt speake mischeivous things and imagine deceipts all the day long But I as a deafe man heard not and I was as a dumbe man that openeth not his mouth Thus I was as a man that heareth not and in whose mouth are no reproofes for in thee O Lord do I hope thou
them truely that the true way to comfort is to Repent and Beleeve But for the first by reason of the sottish disacquaintance with themselves with their miserable sinfull naturall state and their grosse ignorance in the Law and Word of God they onely cry out in the generall they are very grievous sinners but to descend to any competent examination of the conscience search of their soules by the sight of the law particular survay of their sinnes and so to speciall repentance because of their spirituall blindenesse they are vtterly unable Nay many in this case are so destitute of matter of humiliation for sinne that they can scarce tell you what sinne is At the most they have not learned or thinke that there is any other breach of the seventh commandement but the grosse acts of uncleannesse that there is any sinne against the ninth but giuing in false witnes against their neighbours in open Court They looke no further into the sixth commandement but unto the actuall bloody murder of the hand into the third but to blasphemy and swearing And so proportionably in the other commandements For the other also although they have heard much of Iesus Christ and if hee bee talkt of pretend a very foolish and false presumption of having part in him yet to the knowledge of his person offices excellency sweetnesse effectuall ministry and of his whole mysterie they are meere strangers And so when they should now upon this occasion of trouble of mind bee brought by knowledge and application of the Law and Gospell through the pangs of the new-birth into the holy Path they are to begin to learne the very first principles of religion in which they have not so much skill I speake a reprochfull thing as I could teach a child of five or sixe yeares old in few daies Now when the old red Dragon hath drawne them into the Lists armed with all the power and policy of hell and furnished with all his fiery darts they are so farre from ability to put on and manage the whole spirituall armour with dexterity and wisedome that they are starke Ideots and Infants in the very speculative knowledge of the nature and vse of every piece thereof They have no skill at all at that excellent invincible weapon the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God by which Iesus Christ foyled that foule Fiend in the most hideous and horrible temptations that were ever suggested to the mind of man And therefore hee doth bring them too often thus blindfolded and baffled to perish themselves as they say in a most bloody and desperatâ— manner both temporally and eternally The Pharisies Papists and our ordinary Ignorants are all fouly faulty this way They love and labour to enquire and looke no further into Gods Law then to the grosse acts and greatest transgressions onely If they find themselves free from these they out of a most absurd and sottish selfe-conceitednesse justifie and applaud themselves as no such dangerous and damnable Delinquents Hence it was that Christ teaches and tells the Pharisies that not onely the grosse act of adultery was to be taken notice of but also that even a lascivious and lustfull looke after a woman was a transgression of that Law and to be taken to heart as adultery before God That not onely killing a man with a bloody hand but also rash anger in the heart railing and reviling speeches Nay even a frowning face a contemptuous gesture discovering inward rancour and rage kill the soule and cast into hell c. Hence it was that Bellarmine as the grand Impostor and Impoisoner so the great Pharisie of Christendome upon his bed of death could hardly finde what to confesse or any matter of absolution Prodigious Pharisaisme Of which heare some passages from the reporter of his death Such was the innocency of the man to wit Bellarmine that albeit hee was in his perfect sense yet could hee hardly finde what to confesse Insomuch as his ghostly Father was in some perplexity as wanting matter of absolution till by recourse to his life past hee found some small defects of which hee absolved him Now nothing troubles my conscience For God his goodnesse bee still thanked therefore hath so preserved mee hitherto as I doe not remember in the whole course of my life ever to have committed any scandalous action Pag. 355. How holy was his life not stained with mortal sinne How secure a conscience that had at his death no scruple But for the exchange of one good worke for another c. pag. 367. This holy man began his Prayers said the Pater noster and Aue Maria and began againe the Pater noster which beeing ended hee said distinctly the Psalme Miserere to the end and beeing warned to say also the Creed c. said it all through and with the end of the Creed ended his speech His last words were vitam aeternam Amen pag. 387. Hence it is that carnall men are well enough content to heare the Commandements read and perhaps will bee angry if at any time they bee omitted Would you know the reason They goe along with the Minister and applaud themselves pharisaically all the while saying secretly and securely to their owne soules Wee thanke God wee are no image-worshippers no murderers no adulterers c. And so depart home from time to time as highly conceited of themselves and yet more damnably deceived then that Pharisie Luk. 18.11.12 Of whose outward religious charitable and righteous performances they come farre short But they cannot possibly with any patience endure a particular unfolding and powerfull application of Gods Law after Christs manner Matth. 5. a punctuall survay of their sinfull states and speciall search into their lives and hearts This cutting yet conscionable course stirres up and raises in them the ill spirits of murmuring cavilling reviling and perhaps persecuting the faithfull Messengers of God as a generation of terrible Teachers To expositions exercises and considerations of this nature they are drawne with very ill will and much adoe even as a bankrout to his counting-booke a foule face to the looking-glasse and a Traytour to the racke By reason of this affected ignorance in the Law of God and lothnesse to descend to particulars it comes to passe that many in trouble of minde complaine in generall of sinne onely and confusedly And thereupon as though they were competently cast downe expect comfort and perhaps many draw it from some Dawbers Whereas particularizing of our sinnes is a necesary precedent and preparative to a sound humiliation And therefore in this case wee must deale with such as Surgeons are wont to doe with a tumour or swelling in the body Who first apply to the affected place drawing and ripening plaisters to bring the sore to an head that the corruption may have issue and then heale So a generall complaint of sinne and confused griefe must bee reduced to
at last with everlasting kindnesse will Hee have mercy on Him And that Hee will never utterly and finally forsake any of His. Thus died those blessed Servants of God Mistris Bretergh Master Peacock c. Mistris Bretergh in the heate of temptatioÌ„ wished that she had never bin borne or that she had bin made any other creature rather then a woman But when that Hellish storme was over-blowne by the returne of the glorious beames of the Sun of righteousnesse into Her Soule She turnd her tune and triumphed thus Oh happy am I that ever I was borne to see this blessed Day I confesse before the Lord his loving kindnesse and his wonderfull workes before the sons of men For hee hath satisfied my Soule and filled my hungry Soule with goodnesse Master Peacocke in the height of His dreadfull Desertion told those about Him that hee converst with Hell-â—ounds That the Lord had cursed him That Hee had no grace That it was against the course of Gods proceeding to save Him c. But when that horrible tempest of spirituall terrours was happily disperst and the light of Gods comfortable countenance begun to shine againe upon His most heavy and afflicted spirit Hee dis-avowed all inconsiderate speeches as hee called them in his temptation and did humbly and heartily aske mercy of God for them all And did thus triumph What should I extoll the magnificence of God which is unspeakeable and more then any heart can conceive Nay rather let us with humble reverence acknowledge His great mercy What great cause have I to magnifie the great goodnesse of God that hath humbled Nay rather exalted such a wretched miscreant of so base condition to an estate so glorious and stately The Lord hath honored mee with his goodnesse I am sure hee hath provided a glorious Kingdome for mee The joy which I feele in my heart is uncredible 4. Some of Gods worthiest Champions and most zealous servants doe not answere the unreprooveable sanctity of their life and unspotted current of their former conversation with those proportionable extraordinary comforts and glorious Passages upon their beds of death which in ordinary congruity might be expected as a conuenient conclusion to the rare and remarkeable Christian cariages of such blessed Saints So bottomlesse and infinitely un-fathomable by the utmost of all created vnderstandings are the depths of Gods most holy waies and His inscrutable Counsells quite contrary many times to the probable conclusions of Man's best wisdome But every one of His sith he certainly passes thorow those pangs into pleasures and joyes endlesse and unspeakeable must be content to glorifie God to be seruiceable to His secret ends with what kinde of death Hee please whether it bee glorious and untempted or discomfortable because of Bodily distempers and consequently interpretable by undiscerning spirits or mingled of temptations and Triumphs or ordinary and without any great shew or remarkeable speeches after extraordinary singularities of an holy life which promised an end of speciall note and admiration Why may not some worthy heavenly-minded Christians sometimes by strong mortifying meditations and many conquering fore-conceits of death in their life time make it before-hand so familiar and easie unto them an by continuall conversing above and constant peace of conscience taste so deepely of spirituall ioyes that that dreadfull Passage out of this life as it may breede no great sense of alteration in themselves so no extraordinary matter of speciall observation to others Of the wicked and those who were ever strangers to the mystery of Christ and truth of godlinesse Some die desperately Tho thousands perish by presumption to One of these who despaire yet some there are to whom upon their beds of death all their sins are set in order before them and represented to the eie of their awaked consciences in such griesly formes and so terribly that at the very first and fearefull sight they are presently struck starke dead in soule and spirit utterly over-whelmed and quite swallowed up with guilty and desperate horrour So that afterward No counsell or comfort no consideration of the immeasurablenesse of Gods mercy of the unvaluablenesse and omnipotency that I may so speak of Christs bloud shed of the variety excellency of gracious promises of the losse of their owne immortall soules can possibly drive and divert from that infinitely false conceite and cursed Cry My sinnes are greater then can bee pardoned Whereupon most miserable and forlorne wretches they very wickedly and willfully throw themselves into Hell as it were upon earth and are damned above ground Thus the Lord sometimes for the terror of others glorifying his owne iustice bringing exemplary confusion upon impenitent obstinacy in sinne and willfull opposition to grace doth in greatest indignation by the hand of divine vengeance unclaspe unto them the Booke of their owne Conscience and of His owne holy Law In one of which they find now at length all their innumerable iniquities transgressions and sinnes engraven with the Point of a diamond enraged with Gods implacable wrath aggravated with the utmost malice of Satan And never to bee razed out or remitted but by the bloud of the Son of God in which they peremptorily professe themselves to have no part In the other they see the fiercenes and fulnesse of all the curses plagues and torments denounced there and due unto all impenitent sinners ready to bee poured upon their bodies and soules for ever And no possibility to prevent them no waies to decline them but by Gods infinite bounty thorow Iesus Christ in which they also utterly disclaime all right and interest And therefore they are now finally and desperately resolved to looke for no mercy But in their owne judgement and by their owne confession stand reprobates from Gods covenant and voide of all hope of His inheritance expecting with unspeakeable terrour and amazement of spirit the consummation of their miserie and fearefull sentence of eternall damnation They are commonly such as have been grosse Hypocrites like Iudas and lien in some secret abomination against the knowledge of their hearts all their life long that have followed still their owne sensuall wayes and course of the world against the light of the Ministry standing like an armed man in their consciences to the contrary who have been Scorners and Persecutours of the power of godlinesse and the good way who have abjured the Gospell of Iesus Christ and forsaken the Truth for honour wealth or worldly happinesse To whom the Lord in their life-time vouchsafed many mercies much prosperity great meanes of salvation long forbearance c. And yet they stood out still they still hated to bee reformed set as naught all His counsell and would 〈◊〉 of His â—â— proofe Wherefore the Day of gratious visitation beeing once expired a thousand Worlds will not purchase it againe Heaven and Earth cannot recall it No mercy no comfort no blessing can then bee had tho they seeke it with teares
cause of damnation is their false persuasion and groundlesse presumption of salvation Of all the foure kindes of death which ordinarily befall such as are not saved this is the fairest in shew but yet of greatest imposture to those about them and of most pestilent consequence to harden especially all of the same humour that heare of it 4. Some die Penitently But I meane seemingly so not savingly Many having served their appetites all their lives and lived in pleasure now when the Sun of their sensuall delights begins to set and the darke midnight of misery and horrour to seize upon them would very gladly bee saved And I blame them not If they might first live the life of the wicked and then die the death of the righteous If they might have the earthly Heaven of the worlds Favourites here and the Heauen of Christs Martyrs in the world to come These Men are woont in this last extremity to take on extremely But it is but like their Howling upon their Beds Hos. 7.14 Because they are pinched with some sense of present horror and expectation of dreadful things They cry out mightily for mercy But it is no other then their early seeking Prov. 1.28 Because distresse and anguish is come upon them They enquire eagerly after God and would now bee gladly acquainted with Him But just like them Psal. 78. When Hee slew them then they sought Him and they returned and enquired early after God And they remembred that God was their Rocke and the high God their Redeemer Neverthelesse they did flatter Him with their mouth And they lyed unto Him with their Tongs For their heart was not right with Him They promise very faire and protest gloriously what mended men they will bee if the Lord restore them But all these goodly promises are but as a morning cloud and as the early dew They are like those of a Thiefe or murtherer at the Barre which beeing now cast and seeing there is now no way but one O what a reformed man would Hee bee if Hee might bee reprieved Antiochus as the Apocryphall Booke of the Maccabees reports when the hand of God was upon Him horribly vowed excellent things O what Hee would doe so and so extraordinarily for the people of God! yea and that He Himselfe also would become a Iew and goe through all the world that was inhabited and declare the power of God But what was it thinke you that made this raging Tyrant to relent and thus seemingly repent A paine of the bowells that was remedilesse came upon Him and sore torments of the inner parts So that no man could endure to carry him for His intolerable stinke And He himselfe could not abide His owne smell Many may thus behaue themselves upon their Beds of death with very strong shewes and many boisterous representations of true turning unto God whereas in truth and triall they are as yet rotten at heart roote And as yet no more comfort upon good ground belongs unto them then to those in the fore-cited Places And if any spirituall Physition in such a case doe presse it hand over head or such a Patient presume to apply it it is utterly misgrounded mis-applied Heare what One of the worthiest Divines in Christendome saith Now put case One commeth to His ghostly Father with such sorrow of minde as the terrours of a guilty conscience usually doe produce and with such a resolution to cast away His sinnes as a Man hath in a storme to cast away his goods not because Hee doth not love them but because Hee feareth to lose His life if Hee part not with them doth not hee betray this mans soule who putteeh into His head that such an extorted repentance as this which hath not one graine of love to season it withall will qualifie Him sufficiently for the receiving of an absolution c. And another excellently instructed unto the Kingdome of Heaven Repentance at death is seldome sound For it may seeme rather to arise from feare of iudgement and an horrour of Hell then for any griefe for sinne And many seeming to repent affectionately in dangerous sicknesse when they have recovered have been rather worse then before It is true that true Repentance is never too late but late Repentance is seldome true For here our sinnes rather leave us then wee them as Ambrose sayes And as Hee addes Woe bee unto them whose sinne and life end together This received Principle among the ancient Fathers That late Repentance is rarely true implyes that it is often false and unsound and so by consequent confirmes the present Point Too manifold experience also makes it good Amongst many for my part I have taken speciall notice of two The one beeing laboured-with in prison was seemingly so extraordinarily humbled that a reverend Man of God was mooved thereby to bee a meanes for his reprive whereupon a Pardon was procured And yet this so extraordinary a Penitent while death was in his eye having the terror removed returned to His vomit and some two yeeres after to the same Place againe as notorious a Belial as Hee was before Another having upon His Bed of sicknesse received in His owne conceite the sentence of death against Himselfe and beeing pressed to humiliation and broken-heartednesse for Hee had formerly been a stranger and enemy to purity and the power of godlinesse answered thus My heart is broken and so broke out into an earnest confession of particular sinnes Hee named uncleannesse stubbornnesse obstinacy vaine-glory hypocrisie dissimulation uncharitablenesse covetousnesse luke-warmenesse c. He compared himselfe to the Thiefe upon the Crosse. And if God saith Hee restore mee to health againe the world shall see what an altered man I will bee When hee was prest to syncerity and true-heartednesse in what hee said Hee protested that hee repented with all his heart and Soule and minde and Bowels c. And desired a Minister that stood by to bee a witnesse of these things betweene the world and Him And yet this Man upon His recovery became the very same if not worse then Hee was before Now sith upon this Perusall of the different deaths incident to the godly and the wicked it appeares that some men never soundly converted may in respect of all outward representations die as confidently and comfortably in the conceite of the most as Gods dearest Children and that Christs best servant sometimes may depart this life uncomfortably to the eye and in the opinion of the greatest part And wee heard before that our last and everlasting Doome must passe upon us according to the syncerity or sensuality the zealous forwardnes or formality of our former courses and not according to the seeming of our last carriage upon Bed of death and enforced behaviour in that time of extremity I say these things beeing so I hold my conclusion still and resolution not much to alter my censure and conceit of a mans spirituall state for
advise with any that is able or likely to leade him by a wise and discreet hand to a well-grounded comfort and refreshment And resolveth greedily what-ever the prescription and direction bee to give way unto it most willingly in his performance and practise And the people asked him saying What shall wee doe then Then came also Publicans to be baptized and said unto Him Master what shall wee doe And the Souldiers likewise demanded of him saying And what shall wee doe Thus were Iohns hearers affected Luk. 3.10 12 14. beeing afflicted with the piercing passages of Iohns thundring Sermon Men and brethren what shall wee doe say the Penitent Iewes pricked in their hearts Acts. 2.37 The Iaylour Acts 16.30 came trembling and fell downe before Paul and Silas and said Sirs what must I doe to bee saved As if they had said Prescribe and enioyne what you will bee it never so harsh and distastefull to flesh and blood never so crosse and contrary to carnall reason profit pleasure preferment acceptation with the world ease liberty life c. having warrant out of the Word wee are resolved and ready to doe it Onely informe us first how to partake and bee assured of the person and passion of Iesus Christ how to have the angry face of our blessed God to whom wee have continued Rebels so long turned into calmnesse and favour unto us But now a Cast-away and Alien thus legally terrified and under wrath for sinne is never wont to come to this earnestnesse of care eagernesse of resolution stedfastnesse of endeavour willingnesse upon any termes to abandon utterly all His old wayes and to embrace new strict and holy courses These things appeare unto Him terrible Puritanicall and intolerable He commonly in such cases hath recourse for ease and remedy to worldly comforts and the arme of flesh He labours to relieve his heavy heart by a strong and serious casting his minde and nestling his conceit upon his riches gold greatnesse great friends credit amongst Men and such other transitory delights and fading flowers of His fooles Paradise For Hee is at a Point and resolute with a sensuall impenitent obstinacy not to passe forward thorow the Pangs of the New-birth by repentance and sanctification into the holy Trade of new-obedience lest Hee should as out of a foolish and phranticke basenesse Hee is apt to feare bee engaged and enchained as it were to too much stricknesse precisenesse holinesse of life communion with Gods people and opposition to good fellowship 2. Hee that is savingly-wounded with Legall terrour is wont in cold blood and being something come to Himselfe to entertaine the very same conceit or rather mingled with a great deale more reverence affectionatenesse and love as farre as the life of an immortall Soule doth surpasse in dearenesse and excellency the cure of a fraile and earthy body of that Man of God which by a right managing the edge of his spirituall sword hath pierced his heart scorched his conscience and bruised his spirit I say the same in proportion which a wise and thankefull Patient would have of that faithfull Surgeon which hath seasonably and thorowly launced some deepe and dangerous Sore which otherwise would have been his death Vpon the search and discovery Hee clearely sees and acknowledgeth that had not that holy incision been made into his rotten and ulcerous heart it had cost him the eternall life of his Soule But now the Alien put out of his sensuall humour with horrour of conscience is ordinarily transported with much ragefull discontentment against the powerfull Ministery of Gods paineful Messengers who put Him to such torture by troubling Him for sinne and frighting Him with Hell And thereupon cries out against them at least with secret indignation and fretting as the Divels did against Christ Why doe you thus torment us before the time 3. Aliens in such cases entertaine no other thought and cast about for no other comfort at all but onely how they may recover their former quietnesse of mind carnall ease and freedome from present terrour But hee that is fitting by the spirit of bondage for Faith and the fellowship of the Saints will never by any meanes whatsoever come of Him relapse to his wouted sensuall security Nay of the two Hee will rather lie still upon the Racke waiting for the Lord Iesus all the dayes of his life then to returne any more unto foolishnesse or hunt againe after any contentment in the miserable pleasures of good fellowship 4. That Messenger an Interpreter One among a thousand who in such a case can seasonably and soundly declare unto a savingly-wounded Soule His righteousnesse assure Him it was Christ Iesus onely businesse in comming from Heaven to disburden all that labour and are heavy laden and ease such trembling hearts c. I say such a blessed Man of God to such a broken heart is for ever after most deare and welcome His secte are beautifull in his eye every time Hee comes neere Him Comfort of so high a nature in extremity of such horrible consequence doth infinitely and endlesly endeare the delivered Soule to such an heavenly Doctour But Aliens commonly make no great account of godly Ministers any longer then they have present need of them and that trouble of minde makes them Melancholike and without mirth They seeme to reverence them while from their generall discourses of mercy and Gods free grace of mercifull invitations to Christ and certainty of acceptation if they will come in c. They sucke into their false hearts before the time and truth of humiliation some superficiall glimmerings and flashes of comfort and cooling But if once the heate of their guilty rage begin to asswage and they find againe some ease from their former terrours and wonted rellish in earthly delights they turne such holy men out of their hearts cast them out of their consciences and hold no higher or further conceit of them then of other and ordinary men if they forbeare to persecute them with thoughts of disdaine and contempt 5. The true Penitent having smarted under the sense of divine wrath and frighted with the flames of horrour for sinne doth grow fearefull for ever after to offend and with much gracious care dreads that consuming fire But the Alien while hee is upon the Râ—cke indeede and hath the hainousnesse of his sinnes and Hell freshly in His eie will easily make many glorious protestations and promises what a rare and resolute Convert Hee will become upon his recovery But if once the storme bee over-blowne Gods hand withdrawne and his painefull conscience cast againe into a deade sleepe by the power or rather poison of some sensuall receit Hee performes just nothing But like a filthy swine wallowes againe in the mire and mud of earthlinesse and carnality and againe with the beastly dog returnes unto and resumes his vomit 6. Hee that hath savingly passed thorow the Pangs of such spirituall afflictions is wont to bee very kindlily affected
of death Then because wee take our farewell of Repentance we should take our fill of it because it is the last time wee shall looke upon our sinnes for that purpose we should dismisse them with utmost and extremest loathing At such times and upon such occasions as these and the like when thou art called to a more solemne strict and severe search and review of thy old sinnes and former life Thou must renue this present repentance of thy New-birth make thine heart breake againe and bleed afresh with the sight of thy heretofore much doted-upon but now most abhorred abominable courses And so often also as thou lookes backe upon them Thou must labour to abominate and abandon them with more resolute aversion and new degrees of detestation Thoâ—e may bee by the mercies of God they shall never bee able to â—â—ng thee againe with the same slavishnesse of guilty horrour yet thou mâ—st still endeavour in thy cold blood to strangle utterly thy former delight in them with more hearty additions of deadly hatred and to bee more and more humbled for them untill thy ending houre It is a very high happinesse and blessing above ordinary to bee able to looke backe upon thy choisest youthfull pleasures and pollutions without either sensuall delight or slavish horrour with syncere hatred holy indignation and hearty mourning Now for the time to come and those sinnes which hereafter the rebelliousnesse of thy naughty nature and violence of the Divels temptations may force upon thee if thy heart bee now truly toucht and conscience savingly illightned Thou shalt find much matter necessity and use of continuing thy Repentance so long as thy life lasts In a leaking ship there must bee continuall pumping A ruinous house must be still in repairing These bodies of death wee beare about us are naturally liable to so many batteries and breaches by the assaults of originall sinne and other implacable enemies to our soules that there is extreme need of perpetuall watch and ward repenting and repairing lest the Newman bee too much opprest and too often surprized by the many and cunning encounters of the old Adam When thou art in company solitary busied about thy particular Calling there may suddenly arise in thine heart some greedy wish some grosse conceite some vaine uncleane ambitious revengefull thought ejaculate presently a penitent â—igh and â—ervent prayer for pardon of it in the Passion of Christ. In thy family perhaps amongst thy children and servants by reason of some crosse-accident thou mayst breake out into some unadvised passionate speech and disgrace thy selfe and Profession by over hasty intemperate heate not without some danger of hurting and hardening those about thee thereby Get thee presently upon it into thy Closer or some place for that purpose Throw thy selfe downe with a truly-grieved and humbled Soule before the Trone of grace and rise not untill thou bee reconciled unto thy God If at any time which God forbid Thou bee over-taken with some more publike scandalous sinne or dangerously haunted with some enormous secret lust appoint for thy selfe a solemne Day of humiliation and then cry unto the Lord like a woman in travaile and give him no rest untill Hee returne unto Thee with the wonted favour and calmnesse of His pleased countenance If Christians would constantly take to heart and ply this blessed businesse of immediately rising by repentance after every relapse and fall into sinne they should find a further Paradise and pleasure in the wayes of God then they ever yet tasted This course continued with present feeling and after-watchfulnesse would helpe excellently by the blessing of God and excercise of Faith the onely Conduit of all spirituall comfort to keepe in their bosomes that which they much desire and often bewaile the want of a chearefull bold and heavenly spirit Neither let any here bee troubled because I presse the exercise and use both of renewed and continued Repentance all our life long as tho thereupon the Christians life might seeme more uncomfortable For wee are to know that sorrow according to God Evangelicall mourning is mingled with abundance of spirituall joy which doth infinitely surpasse in sweetnesse and worth all worldly pleasures and delights of sense Nay whereas all the Ioviall good-fellow-mirth of carnall men is but a flash of Hellish folly This is a very glimpse of heavenly glory Let mee tell you againe how sweetly and truly that excellent Divine of Scotland speakes of it There is saith He more lightnesse of heart and true delight in the sorrow of the Saints then in the Worlds loudest laughter For unspeakeable ioy is mingled with un-utterable groanes The ancient Fathers are of the same minde with this Man of God Godly sorrow saith Chrysostome is better then the ioy of the World Even as The ioy of the World is ever accompanied with sorrow so teares according to God beget continuall and certaine delight Againe Such a man as this now meaning Him whose heart is inflamed with an heavenly heate despising all things here below doth presevere in continuall compunction pouring out abundance of teares every day and taking thence a great deale of pleasure Let the Repentant saith Austin be alwaies sorrowfull for sinne and alwaies reioyce for that sorrow 3. Beware of two dangerous errours 1. Either to conceive that thou mayst not admit of any comfort or apply the promises comfortably because Thou still finds in thy selfe more matter of mourning and further humiliation 2. Or to thinke When Thou hast onâ—â— laid hold upon Christs Person and pretious sufferings for the pardon of thy sinnes and quieting of thy Soule that then Thou must mourne no more 1. For the first know That were our heads Seaes and our eyes Fountaines of teares and poured out abundantly every moment of our life Should our hearts fall asunder into drops of blood in our breast for anguish and indignation against our selves for our transgressions yet should wee come infinitely short of the sorrow and hearts-griefe which our many and hainous lusts and pollutions justly merit and exact at our hands Therefore wee cannot expect from our selves any such sufficiency of sorrow or worthinesse of weeping for our sinnes as by the perfection and power thereof to win Gods favour and draw his mercy upon us Such a conceit were most absurd senselesse and sinfull and would rather discover and taste of naturall pride then true humility as they perhaps mistake tend unhappily to the disgrace of Gods mercies and gracing our owne merits True it is Had wee a thousand eyes it were too little to weep them all out for the very vanity of that one sinfull sense Had we a thousand hearts and they should all burst with penitent griefe and bleed to death for the sinnes of our soules it were more then immeasurably unconceiveably insufficient For were al this so yet were it not this but the hearte-blood of Iesus Christ could make the Fathers heart to yerne
compassionately over us or purchase pardon and acceptation at his hands Tender therefore unto that poore troubled soule who beeing sorely crushed and languishing under the burden of his sinnes refuses to bee raised and refreshed endlesly pleading and disputing against himselfe out of a strong fearefull apprehension of his owne vilenesse and unworthinesse putting off all comfort by this mis-conceit that no Seaes of sorrow no measure of mourning will serve the turne to come comfortably unto Iesus Christ I say presse upon such an One this true Principle in the high and heavenly Art of rightly comforting afflicted consciences So soone as a Man is truly and heartily humbled for all his sinnes and weary of their waight tho the degree of his sorrow bee not answerable to his owne desire yet Hee shall most certainely bee welcome unto Iesus Christ. It is not so much the muchnesse and measure of our sorrow as the truth and heartinesse which fits us for the promises and comforts of mercy Tho I must say this also Hee that thinkes Hee hath sorrowed enough for His sinnes never sorrowed savingly 2. For the second which is more properly and specially pertinent to our purpose Take notice That the blood of Christ beeing seasonably and savingly applyed to thine humbled Soule for the pardon and purgation of sinne must by no meanes damne and dry up thy well-spring of weeping but onely asswage and heale thy wound of horrour That pretious Balme hath this heavenly property and power that it rather melts softneth and makes the heart a great deale more weeping-ripe If these bee truly the pangs of the New-birth wherewith thou art now afflicted Thou shalt find that thy now cleaving with assurance of acceptation unto the Lord Iesus will not so much lessen hinder or cease thy sorrow as rectifie season and sweeten it If thy right unto that Soule-saving Passion bee reall and thou cast thine eye with a beleeving hopefull heart upon Him whom thou hast therein pierced with thy sins and those sinnes alone are said properly to have pierced Christ which at length are pardoned by his blood Thou canst not possibly containe but excesse of love unto thy crucified Lord and sense of Gods mercy shed into thy Soule thorow his merits will make thee weepe againe and faâ—ely force thine heart to burst out abundantly into fresh and filiall teares See how freshly Davids heart bled with repentant sorrow upon His assurance by Nathan of the pardon of His sinne Psal. 51 Thou canst not chuse but mourne more heartily Evangelically and that which should passingly please Thee and sweetely perpetuate the spring of thy godly sorrow more pleasingly unto God Take therefore speciall notice and heede of these two depths of the Divell that I have now disclosed unto thee 1. When thou art truly wrought upon by the Ministry of the Word and now fitted for comfort Beleeve the Prophets those Ones of a thousand learned in the right handling of afflicted consciences and thou shalt prosper As soone as thy Soule is soundly humbled for sinne open and enlarge it joyfully like the thirsty ground that the refreshing dew and Doctrine of the Gospell may drop and distill upon it as the small raine upon the parched grasse Otherwise 1. Thou offers dishonour and disparagement as it were to the dearenesse and tendernesse of Gods mercy who is ever infinitely more ready and forward to bind up a broken heart then it to bleed before Him Consider for this purpose the Parable of the prodigall Sonne Luk. 15. Hee is there said to goe but the Father ran 2. Thou maist by the unsettlednesse of thy heavy heart unnecessarily unsit and dis-able thy selfe for the duties and discharge of both thy Callings 3. Thou shalt gratifie the Divell who will labour mightily by his lying suggestions if thou wilt not bee counselled and comforted when there is cause to detaine thee in perpetuall horrour here and in an eternall Hell hereafter Some find him 〈◊〉 furiously and maliâ—iously busie to keepe them from comfort when they are fitted as from fitnesse for comfort 4. Thou art extremely un-advised nay very cruell to thine owne Soule For whereas it might now be filled with unspeakable and glorious ioy with peace that passeth all understanding with Evangelicall pleasures which are such as neither eye hath seene nor eare heard neither have entred into the heart of Man by taking Christ To which thou hast a strong and manifold Calling Isai. 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. Matth. 11.28 Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Ioh. 7.37 If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke Revel 22.17 And let him that is a thirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Yea a Commandement 1. Ioh. 3.23 And this is his commandement that wee should beleeve on the Name of his Sonne Iesus Christ And yet for all this Thou as it were wilfully stand'st out wilt not beleeve the Prophets forsak'st thine owne comfort and liest still upon the Racke of thy unreconcilement unto God 2. On the other hand when the angvish of thy guilted Conscience is upon sure ground something allayed and suppled with the oyle of comfort and thy â—â—unded heart warrantably revived with the sweetnesse of the Promises as with marrow and fatnesse Thou must not then either shut up thine eyes from further search into thy sins or dry them up from any more mourning But comfort of remission must serve as a pretious Eye-salve both to cleare their sight that they may see moe and with more detestation and to enlarge their Sluces as it were to poure out repentant teares more plentifully Thou must continue ripping up and ransacking that hellish Heape of thy former rebellions and pollutions of youth still dive and digge into that Body of death thou bearest about thee for the finding out and furnishing thy selfe with as much matter of sound humiliation as may bee that thou mayst still grow viler and viler in thine owne eyes and bee more and more humble untill thy dying Day But yet so That as thou holdest out in the one hand the cleare Cristall of Gods pure Law to discover the vilenesse and variety of thy sinnes all the spots and staines of thy Soule so thou hold out in the other hand or rather with the hand of Faith lay hold upon the Lord Iesus hanging bleeding and dying upon the Crosse for thy sake The one is soveraigne to save from flavish stings of conscience bitternesse of horrour and venome of despaire The other mingled with faith will serve as a quickning preservative to keepe in thy bosome aâ— humble soft and lowly spirit which doth ever excellently fit to live by Faith more chearefully to enjoy God more neerely to apply Iesus Christ more feelingly and to long for his comming more earnestly In a word to climbe up more merrily those staires of joy which are
confidence as it was woont So that for a time Thou mayst lie under the torture of an heavy heart uncheerfullnesse in all thy waies and some degree of horrour because thou canst get no better hold-fast But more is thy fault For never did dearest Father so lovingly entertaine into His greedy armes a penitent Sonne returning from going astray then our mercifull God upon thy renewed humiliation is willing to shine upon thee againe with the refreshing beames and blessings of his woonted favour Yet tell mee true deare Heart Tho for the present that precious and happy prayer of Paul for the Romanes The God of hope fill you with all ioy and peace in beleeving be not fulfilled upon thy Soule Tho thy former joyfull feelings bee turned into distrustfull feares yet doth not that heavy heart of thine desire farre more to bee re-comforted with the presence and pleased face of thy Beloved then crowned with the glory and pleasures of many worlds Wouldest thou not much rather feele the hand of thy Faith fastned againe with peace and full perswasion upon the Person Passion and promises of the Lord Iesus then graspe in thy bodily hand the richest Imperiall Crowne that ever sate upon any Caesars head If Satans spitefull craft taking a cruell advantage of thy present dejection of spirit doe not hinder thy trembling heart from telling the truth I know thou canst not deny this And then I must tell Thee These hearty longings and longing desires in the meane time untill God give more strength be right deare to that tender-hearted Father of thine which doth infinitely more esteeme one groane or sigh from a broken spirit then a thousand rammes or tenne thousand rivers of oyle and are most pretious and piercing to that compassionate heart that poured out it's warmest and dearest blood to purchase the salvation and refresh the sadnesse of every truly-humbled Soule Ground upon it then and bee of good cheere If thy troubled spirit fild with the sense of the want of it's former sweet and joyfull feelings finde in it selfe a true and hearty longing after the supply of that want a constant and conscionable pursuite of all holy meanes for the procurement of that supply I can assure Thee in the Word of life and truth in Gods season Thou shalt bee satisfyed Hee will fullfill the desires of them that feare Him Hee also will heare their cry and will save them And this blessed promise for the accomplishment of thy desire is as surely thine as the breath in thy Body Hee must sooner cease to bee God and deny Himselfe which is more then infinitely impossible and prodigious blasphemy to imagine then faile in the least circumstance or syllable of all His love and promises of life to any One that heartily loves Him All the sacred Sayings in His holy Booke and all those promises of salvation are signed with the hand of Truth it selfe and sealed with the blood of His beloved Sonne And so are farre surer then the Pillars of the Earth or Poles of Heaven For Heaven and Earth must passe away before any title of His Word fall unto the ground And therefore as Hee will most certainly poure upon the hairy Pate of every One which hates to bee reformed all the plagues and curses threatned there even to the least sparke of the flames of Hell and the last drop of the full vials of His infinite endlesse unquenchable wrath so will Hee abundantly make good to every upright Soule syncerely thirsting after Iesus Christ in the best time all the promised good in His blessed Booke and that aboue all expectation expression conceit 4. Fourthly Thou mayst bee diversly distressed upon thy Bed of death 1. Casting thine eye backe upon thy whole life all thy sinnes from Adam to that houre and willing as thou must now take thy farewell so to take thy fill of repentance They appeare to the eie of thy conscience farre moe in number and more ougly then ever before And no marvaile for beeing now sequestred for ever from all worldly comforts and company distractions and diversions and the cloudes of naturall feare raised by the dreadfull circumstances of approaching dissolution uniting as it were and collecting the sight of thy Soule which imploiments in the world commerce amongst men and Sunne-shine of outward prosperity did before too much disperse dazle and divert they are represented farre more to the life and in their true colours Whereupon comparing the poore weake nothingnesse as thou now apprehends of thy godly sorrow hatred and opposition against them with thy present apprehension of their hainousnesse hatefulnesse and horrible number Thou begins to bee dejected and knowest not well what to thinke of thy Selfe I say then for thy comfort consult with thy sanctified heart and thou shalt finde and feele an infinite hearty desire that thy repentance for them detestatiō of them and heart-rising against them had been and now were as thorow sound and resolute as ever was in any penitent Soule that breathed the life of grace upon earth 2. Secondly Revising now thy whole Christian conversation spending of Sabbaths pouring out prayers reading Scriptures hearing the Word love of the Brethren dayes of humiliation workes of mercy receiving the Sacrament godly conference living by Faith in all estates c. Thou mayst see them in this last impartiall cleare retired examination of thy conscience to have been pestered with so many failings imperfections deadnesse of spirit distractions distempers that thou begins to feare and conceive As well never a whit as never the better as they say c. In this case also reflect upon the holy habituall disposition of thy heart and thou shalt feele it thirsting and longing unfainedly that all the holy duties and good deeds that ever passed thorow thy heart and hands had been done in answerable exactnesse to the rules of divine Truth and if it had so pleased God with absolute freedome from all infirmities 3. Thirdly Thou mayst bee troubled at that time because beeing perhaps as yet but of little standing in Profession thou hast done God so little service and in that short time hast not stood on Gods side with that courage and life nor walked in his holy wayes with that watchfulnesse and Zeale as thou mightest And it cuts thy heart the more because thou spent so much of thy time in serving thy selfe and Satan and expectest now to enjoy immortall joyes and a Crowne of endlesse blisse But here is thy comfort It is the unfained desire and resolution of thine heart If the Lord would bee pleased to allow Thee a longer time in this life and adde many moe yeeres unto it Thou wouldest double thy diligence and improove all oportunities to doe thy God every way farre more glorious service then heretofore all the daies of thine appointed time Oh! then thou wouldest doe so and so c. Assure now thy selfe in these three cases and troubles upon thy last Bed this syncere desire of thine
as in a royall Throne Hee hath as it were two Thrones One in the Empyrean Heaven the other in a broken heart Isa. 57.15 But my heart lies groveling in the dust humbled under the mighty hand of God and trembling at his feete c. Therefore it is the mansion of Iehova blessed for ever Whosoever confesseth and forsaketh his sinnes shall have mercy Prov. 28.13 But I confesse and abominate all sinne resolved never to turne againe to folly Therefore mercy is most certainely mine Hee in whose heart the holy Ghost hath enkindled a kindly heate of affection to the Brethren hath passed from death to life 1. Ioh. 3.14 But by the mercy of God my heart is wholy set upon the Brother-hood which I heartily hated heeretofore Therefore I have passed from death to life These and the like Conclusions are in themselves as full of sound joy and true comfort as the Sunne of light or Sea of waters Open but the eye of thine humbled soule and thou maist see many glorious things in them Crush them but a little with the hand of Faith and much delicious sweetnesse of spirituall peace may distill upon thy Soule Lastly such considerations as these may contribute some matter of comfort and support to Him of weakest apprehension in this Case 1. If Hee consult with His owne Conscience Hee shall happily finde in His present syncere resolution an impossibility to turne backe againe to His former sinnefull life pleasures goodfellow-ship sensuall courses company Hee sayes and thinkes it that Hee will rather die then lie sweare prophane the Sabbaths put to usury doe wrong keepe any ill-gotten goods in his hands Haunt Ale-houses Play-houses Gaming-houses or willingly put His heart or hand to any kind of iniquity as Hee was formerly wont And doth nature thinke you keepe Him backe or grace and Gods Spirit 2. If Hee should now heare and have his eares fill'd with oathes blasphemies ribald talke rotten speeches filthy songs railing at Gods people scoffing at religion jesting out of Scriptures c. His heart would rise Hee would either reproove them or bee rid of them as soone as Hee could whereas heretofore Hee hath been perhaps a delightfull Hearer of them if not a notorious Actour Himselfe And whence doe you thinke doth this arise but from the seede of God remaining in Him 3. Thirdly If when you heare Him complaine That howsoever Hee hath cast Himselfe upon Christ as the Prophets have counselled Him yet sith thereupon Hee feeles no such comfort and peace in Believing as other Christians doe Hee begins to doubt whether Hee hath done well or no and to conceive that Hee hath layd hold upon the Promises too soone Nay and it may bee upon this discontent doth thus further enlarge His complaint Alas my sinnes have formerly been so great my heart is at this present so hard my sorrow so scant my failings so many c. that I know not what to say to my Selfe Mee thinkes I can neither pray conferre love the Brethren sanctifie the Sabbath rejoyce in the Lord c. as I see other of Gods Children doe And therefore I am affraid all is naught What heart can I have to hold on I say if to such a speech thou shouldest for triall give this reply Well then if it bee so even give over all strive no more against the streame trouble thy selfe no longer with reading prayer following sermons forbearing good fellowship and thine old companions And sith no comfort comes by casting thy selfe upon Christ cast thy selfe againe into the current of the times course of the world and merry company For there yet is there some little poore pleasure to bee had at least Oh! No No No would Hee say That will I never doe whatsoever comes of mee I will trust in my Christ tho Hee should kill mee for all these discouragements I will by no meanes cast away my confidence I have been so freshly stung with their guilt that I will rather be pull'd in peeces with wild horses then plunge againe into carnall pleasures I will put my hand to all holy duties in obedience to God tho I performe them never so weakely I will by the mercy of God keepe my face towards Heaven and backe to Sodome so long as I breath come what come will c. And whence doe you thinke springs this resolution but from a secret saving power supporting Him in the most desperate temptations and assaults of distrust Now this first secret saving power by which an humble Soule leaning upon Christ is supported when it is at the lowest secondly The seed of God and thirdly presence of grace doe every one of them argue a blessed state in which thou shalt bee certainely saved and therefore thou mayst lift up thine heart and head with comfort unspeakeable and glorious 3. Thirdly Many there are who much complaine of the great disproportion betweene the notorious wickednesse of their former life and their lamentable weakenesse of an answerable be wailing it Betweene the number of their sinnes and fewnesse of their teares the hainousnesse of their rebellions and little measure of their humiliation And thereupon because they did not finde and feele those terrours and extraordinary troubles of mind in their turning unto God those violent passions and pangs in their New-birth which they have seene heard or read of or knowne in others perhaps farre lesse sinners then themselves they are much troubled with distractions and doubts about the truth and soundnesse of their conversion Whereby they receive a great deale of hurt and hindrance in their spirituall state For Satan gaines very much by such a suggestion and grounds many times a manifold mischiefe upon it For by keeping this temptation on foot these doubts and troubles in their mindes whether they bee truly converted or no Hee labours and too often prevailes 1. To hinder the Christian in His spirituall Building With what heart can Hee hold on who doubts of the soundnesse and sure-laying of the foundation What progresse is Hee like to make in Christianity who continually terrifies Himselfe with fearefull exceptions and oppositions about the truth of His conversion A man in a long journey would jogge on but very heavily if Hee doubted whether Hee were in the right way or no. 2. To abate lessen and abridge His courage in standing on Gods side patience under the Crosse spirituall mirth in good company To keepe Him in dulnesse of heart deadnesse of affections distractions at holy exercises and under the raigne of almost a continuall sadnesse and uncomfortable walking To make Him quite neglect and never looke towards those sweete commands of the blessed Spirit Reioyce evermore Reioyce and I say againe Reioyce Bee glad in the Lord reioyce and shout for ioy all yee that are upright in heart 3. To fasten a great deale of dishonour upon God when He can make the Christian dis-avow as it were and nullifie in conceit so great a worke of mercy and grace
alwayes observed for a speciall difference betwixt good and bad men that the one hated sinne for the love of vertue the other only for the feare of punishment The like difference doe our Adversaries make betwixt Contrition and Attrition That the hatred of sin in the one proceedeth from the love of God and of righteousnesse in the other from the feare of punishment And yet teach for all this that Attrition which they confesse would not otherwise suffice to iustifie a man being ioyned with the Priests absolution is sufficient for that purpose Hee that was attâ—ite being by vertue of this Absolution made contrite and iustified that is to say hee that was led only by a servile feare and consequently was to bee ranked among disordered and evill persons being by this meanes put in as good a Case for the matter of the forgivenesse of his sinnes as hee that loveth God syncerely For they themselves doe grant that such as have this servile feare from whence Attrition issueth are to bee accounted evill and disordered men c. But leaving these blind Pharisies in the endlesse Maze of their inextricable errours untill it please the Lord to illighten them and by a strong hand pull them out which I heartily desire and will ever pray I come to prosecute mine owne Point 2. Secondly If you aske mee when trouble for sinne is saving I would answer when it is true If you further demand when it is true I would say when it drives Thee utterly out of thy Selfe and to sell all in the sense I have said before and brings thee with a syncere thirst and setled resolution to Iesus Christ to live and die with Him as a Saviour and a Lord and is accompanied with an universall change in Body Soule and Spirit 3. Thirdly take notice of such considerations as these 1. God beeing a most free Agent doth not tie Himself constantly unvariably to ordinary expected set and the same formes measures times proportions of his waies and workings upon his Children For Hee is wise without limit and above measure and therfore hath many secret and glorious ends and aimes which according to His good pleasure much diversifie the meanes serviceable and subordinate thereunto From whence may spring these three Conclusions 1. Hee may for the most part create in the heart of the true Convert terrours and troubles of Conscience amazements and mourning answerable in some good measure to the varietie vanity and villany of His former wicked waies and lewd life As appeares before in Manasses the sinnefull Woman Idolatrous Israelites Hearers of Peter and many in these dayes if it were convenient to name them For the most part saith a great Divine the violence of humiliation in the Calling of a sinner is according to the continuance and greatnesse of His actuall transgressions According to the same is the rent in the conscience and Soule Therefore if there bee any who hath been a great and grievous sinner and hath not with violence been pulled from his sinne Hee may doe well to suspect and search Himselfe soundly 2. Hee may sometimes suffer a notorious sinner â—â— passe something more easily and unterribly thorow thâ— Pangs of the New-birth But then such a One is woont to walke more humbly before God all His life after for that Hee was not humbled with more remarkeablenesse of penitent remorse and spirituall angvish in His conversion And so extension and continuance of Godly griefe that Hee was not more grieved makes up as it were that desired intension and extremity of pangs which might justly have pained Him in His passing from death to life Every hearty and sensible complaint that the Pangs of the New-birth were not more painefull and proportionable to the pollutions of His youth is as it were and in the sense I have said a Pang of the New-birth Or else upon some occasion afterward in His Christian course Hee may bee revisited and vexed afresh with more terrour and trouble of conscience then in His first change As in such Cases as these first If Hee should which God forbid by some volent enticement and snaring opportunity bee entangled againe and re-infected with any former sensuall pleasure of His unregenerate time or by neglect of His care and watchfulnesse over His waies bee suddenly surprised with some new scandalous sin Secondly upoÌ„ the assault of some extraordinary frighting temptation or pressing of hideous thoughts upon his melancholick imagination Thirdly when some heavy crosse or sicknesse after many prosperous daies shall seize upon Him which may lye sore and long Fourthly upon His Bed of death especially if Hee fall upon it immediately after some relapse backsliding or new wound of Conscience There is a kinde of naturall power besides Gods speciall hand in sicknesse sorrow darknesse melancholy the night extraordinary crosses the Bed of death to represent the true number and hainousnesse of sinnes with greater horror and more unto the life Whereas prosperity health and daies of peace doe rather delude the eyes of the conscience and like false and flattering glasses make those foule Fiends seeme fairer then they are indeede And therefore the christian especially that I speake of beeing outwardly distressed cast upon His Bed of death or any waies extraordinarily visited by Gods hand seeing his sinnes upon the sudden marshalled and marching against Him moe in number and more fiercely then heretofore may for the while bee surprised and exercised with unexpected terrour untill by meditation upon Gods former speciall mercy unto Him in spirituall things upon the markes and effects of His Change upon the uprightnesse of His heart towards God in the daies of health upon those testimonies and assurances which His ChristiaÌ„ friends can give Him of His beeing in a gracious state with such like holy helpes And so in cold blood and above all resolving to sack so ever fast to the Lord Iesus tho He kill Him Hee bee raised againe from such dejections of spirit to the â—oonteâ— confidence and comfort of His interest in Christ and salvation of His Soule Here by the way let none think it strange that even the dearest servants of Christ may bee re-visited with more horrour of conscience afterward then at their first turning on Gods side As appeares in Iob Ezechiah David in Miâ—â— Brettergh Mr. Peacock c. See before pag. 84. l 21. 31. Besides the proposed Cases this revisitation may befall them also Fifthly For their owne triall This was the end as it may seeme why Iob was set up as a marke for the envenomed Arrowes of the Almighty to aime at and whole armies of terrours to fight against Hee approoved Himselfe to be steele to the backe as they say by that victorious ejaculation Cap. 13.15 Though He slay mee yet will I trust in Him Whereby God was mightily honoured Satan utterly confounded that controversie whether Iob feared God for nought or no gloriously ended on Gods
the disease is dangerously upon us for recovery There was given unto Paul a Thorne in the flesh c. If wee will take the interpretation of some learned Divines A wound in the spirit the sting of Conscience pressing Him downe to the nethermost Hell in His sense that was erst taken up to the highest Heaven upon purpose lest Hee should swell with spirituall pride bee puft up and exalted aboue measure with the abundance of revelations If wee well weigh the admirable story of that gracious and holy servant of Christ Mistris Bretâ—ergh wee may probably conceive that a principall end why those most grievous spirituall afflictions of Soule upon Her last Bed were laide upon Her was in Gods just judgement to blind yet more those bloody Papists about Her and because they wilfully shut their eies against that glorious Light of true religion which shee so blessedly and fruitfully exprest in her godly life to let them thereby sincke yet deepelier into strong delusion that they might sticke still more stiffely to Popish lies According to that Prophecy of the Antichristians a Thess. 2.10.11.12 Because they received not the love of the truth that they might bee saved For this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie That they all might bee damned who believed not the truth c. Which wee see at this day verified with a witnesse in Popish Doctours even their greatest Schollers as Bellarmine and other Polemicall Writers And therefore let us never marvaile that tho they bee loaden with much learning yet that they should lie â—gregiously and defend with infinite obstinacy and clamour the Doctrine of Divels that accursed Hydra of Heresies in their voluminous Dunghils Now Gods judgement in hardning them hereby as I have said was the more iust because they were so farre from beeing wrought upon and wonne by Her heavenly conversation that they were extraordinarily enraged against Her goodnesse and Profession of the Gospell As appeares in that besides their continuall rayling and roaring against Her as an eminent Light like so many furious Bedlams they barbarously wreckt their malice and spite upon the dumbe and innocent creatures by killing at two severall times Her Husbands Horses and Cattell in the night That her fiery Triall thorow which shee passed as purest gold into Abrahams bosome did thus harden them is manifest by the Event For as the reverent Pen-man of that story reports Those of the Romish faction bragged as though an Oracle had come from Heaven to proove them Catholicks and us Hereticks Prodigious folly Damnable delusion It is so then that God in His inflicting of afflictions doth not ever aime at sinne as at the principall end And yet doe not mistake Tho Hee punishes sometimes and not for sinne yet never without sinne either inherent or imputed There is ever matter enough in our sinnefull Soules and Bodies and lives to afflict us infinitely The best of us brought with us into this world that corruption which might bring upon us all the plagues of this and the other life Every man hath in Himselfe sufficient fewell for the fire of Gods wrath to worke upon still if it pleased Him in justice to set it on flame As in the present Point of spirituall terrours and troubles of minde if God should out of His just and causefull indignation put the full sting but into the least sinne it were able to put a man into the very mouth of Hell But I speake of Gods more ordinary wayes and dealings with the Sonnes of men And so I say God may sometimes for some hidden and holy ends seene and seeming good to His heavenly wisedome bring a lesse hainous sinner thorow extraordinary horrour out of his naturall state into the good way 2. Aggravation of horrour is occasioned terrours and troubles may bee multiplyed and enlarged in our enlargement from the state of darkenesse and Chaines of the Divell by 1. Some precedents and preparatives which God sometimes in His unsearchable wisedome doth immediately premise or suffer to fall out As 1. Some heavy crosse and grievous affliction to make the power of the Law more passable and fall more heavily upon our stubborne and stony hearts This wee see in Manasses who was as it were fired out of His bloody and abomiable courses by the heavinesse and horrour of His chaines And so was humbled greatly before the God of His Fathers Gods extraordinary angry visitations make men many times cry with troubled and grieved hearts Come Let us turne unto the Lord Hee hath wounded us c. a. Strange terrours sometimes arising from externall Accidents yea hidden naturall causes uncouth visions and apparitions full of amazement and feare Bodily distempers horrible injections hideous thoughts c. Whereby they are mightily affrighted before hand and prepared to passe thorow the Pangs of the New-birth more terribly 3. Some hainous and crying sinne which He suffers some to fall into and immediately upon it awakes the Conscience That Almighty Physition who is able to bring health out of poison death out of life Light out of darkenesse Heaven out of Hell may by accident as they say prepare One to conversion by giving Him over to the height of some One or moe abhorred abominations and crimson sinnes As wee may see in Peters Hearers Act. 2. Paul Manasses the sinnefull Woman Publicans and Harlots left to the killing of Christ spilling the blood of the Saints those horrible out-rages extreme filth extorsions pollutions Physitions by ripening diseases make way to heale them For sicke matter is never more easily removed then when it exceedeth in ripenesse and quantity 4. Lying long in ignorance sensuality dissolute life without profitable and powerfull meanes In this Case upon the first awaking and affrighting the Conscience for sinne it may bee exposed to many terrible perplexities and longer continued terrours For the light of Naturall Conscience bred with them in their owne bosomes may in the meane time serve to enrage and torture as wee see in many guilty Heathens but there is no naturall light to leade us to Christ and Evangelicall comforts The commandements have ground in nature but the mysterie of the Gospell is wholly supernaturall Wee finde it by manifold experience what an hard and heavy Taske it is to undertake a poore ignorant Soule troubled in minde The Cure is many times very difficult dangerous and long The darkenesse of their ignorance beeing now distressed in Conscience is very fit and fearefull matter for Satan to worke in hideously and to play his pestilent prankes of most grosse impostures and much Hellish cruelty His malicious maine Plot against such ordinarily is and His utmost endeavour to drive them to Selfe-destruction if it bee possible before they get understanding in the waies of God of wee can get any competent light and comfort into their consciences 2. Some concurrent circumstances As 1. The melancholike and sad constitution of the Party That
fullnesse and constant fruition is reserved for the next life Here wee are trained as it were in a spirituall warfare against the World the Flesh and the Divell wee are exercised unto New-obedience by manifold crosses troubles and temptations Satan is sometimes set upon us to afflict us with His owne immediate Hellish suggestions Sometimes our owne sinnes grievously affright us with renewed representations of horrour Sometimes our owne God frownes upon us Himselfe with His displeased and angry countenance and in love leaves us a while to the terrours of a spirituall desertion Hee sometimes laies His visiting 〈◊〉 upon our Bodies and casteth us downe 〈…〉 of sicknesse Sometimes Hee sends heavy crosses upon our outward States and breakes the Staffe of our prosperity Continually almost Hee suffers many malicious Currs to barke at us with slanders lies disgracefull imputations and all the enemies of grace to pursue us bitterly with much malice and disdaine Thus are wee trained and entertained in this world Our Crowning comes in the World to come Ninthly To cause thee to have recourse with more reverence thirst and thankfull acknowledgement to the Well-head of refreshings if God once withdraw the light of His countenance and comfortable quickning of His Spirit wee shall find no comfort at all in any Creature no life in the Ordinances no feeling of our spirituall life and therefore wee must needs to the ever-springing Fountaine of All-sufficiency c. Which blessed ends and effects when the good hand of our God hath wrought Hee will as certainly returne as ever the Sunne did after the darkest Mid-night and that with abundance of glory and sweetnesse proportionable to the former dejection and darknesse of our spirits The lowest ebbe of a spirituall desertion brings the highest tide of spirituall exultation As wee may see before in Mistris Brettergh and Master Peacocke pag. 84. 2. What is the reason thou art so sad and sore afflicted for the absence of thy Beloved and with want of the woonted gracious and comfortable workings of the Spirit It is because Thou hast formerly grasped the Lord Iesus sweetly and savingly in the armes of thy Soule been sensibly refreshed with the savour of His good ointments ravished extraordinarily with the beauty of His Person dearenesse of His blood riches of His purchase and glory of his kingdome And hast heretofore holden Him as the very life of thy Soule and chiefest and onely treasure ejaculating with David unfainedly from the heart-roote Whom have I in Heaven but Thee And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides Thee Earth is an Hell and Heaven no Heaven without Iesus Christ I say the present griefe that thy well-beloved is now gone argues evidently this former enjoyment of His gracious presence And then build upon 't as upon the surest Rocke Once Christs and His for ever The gifts and calling of God are without repentance Whom Hee loveth once Hee loveth unto the end Hee is no changeling in his love I am the Lord faith Hee I change not therefore yee sonnes of Iacob are not consumed Once elected ever beloved Once New-borne and borne to eternity If once the sanctifying Spirit hath seizd upon Thee for Iesus Christ thou art made sure and lockt fast for ever in the armes of his love with everlasting barres of mercy and might from any mortall hurt and adversary power Thou maist then cast downe the gauntlet of defiance against the Devill and the whole world and take up with Paul that victorious chalenge unto all created things I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other Creature shall bee able to separate mee from the love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord Hee may hide His face from Thee for a while but thou hast His owne sure and inviolable Word from His owne mouth That Hee will returne and with everlasting kindnesse have mercy on thee Hee may frowne upon Thee I confesse for a season and so fright thee with his terrours as tho in thy present apprehension thou wert a lost Man But Hee never will Hee cannot possibly forsake thee finally I have sworne once by my holinesse that I will not faile David Psal. 89.35 And in the meane time thy former feelings of the motions of the Spirit and grace doe give cleare evidence and assurance that spirituall life is still resident in thy Soule tho runne as it were into the roote and tho it 's more lively operations and effects bee suspended for a time The Woman that hath once felt the Child stir in Her wombe is most assured that shee is with-Child that an immortall Soule and naturall life is infused into it by the omnipotent hand of God though at other times shee perceive no motion at all It is so in the present Point And thy grieving also groaning and panting after Christ is an unanswerable argument that thou art alive spiritually Lay the waight of the whole world upon a man that is starke dead and Hee can neither stirre cry or complaine 3. Consider that some graces are more substantiall in themselves more profitable to us and of greater necessitie for salvation as Faith repentance love New-obedience active and passive Selfe-deniall vilenesse in our owne eyes humble walking with God c. Others are not so or absolutely necessary but accompany a saving state as separable accidents as ioy and peace in believing sensible comfort in the holy Ghost comfortable feelings of Gods favour rejoycing in hope a lively freedome in prayer assurance of evidence c. And from hence mayest thou take comfort in two respects First Desertion deprives thee only of these comfortable accessarâ—es but thou art still possest of the Principall and substantialls of salvation Of which not the utmost concurrence of all hellish and earthly rage can possibly rob thee And therefore thou art well enough in the meane time and as safe as safety it selfe can make thee 2. Secondly Losse of these lesse principall graces which by accident is a singular advantage and gaine drives thee nearer unto Iesus Christ at least by many unutterable groanes every one whereof is a strong cry in the eares of God and causeth thee better to prise and plie to exercise and improove more fruitfully those other more necessary graces without which thou canst not bee saved It is a wise and honest passage in Mistris Iuxons Monument pag 60. Shee continued faithfull to the ende in the most substantiall graces For howsoever shee mourned for the want of that degree of ioy which shee had felt in former times yet she continued in repentance in the practise of holinesse and righteousnesse in a tender love of God and to his Word and Children in holy zeale and fruitfulnesse even to the last period of her daies And indeede her want of full ioy was so
feriunt 〈◊〉 verberant Ergo tanquam â—â—elerum malitia suâ—â—tesâ—es extirpare funditùs nituntur tollere grauesque sibi putant tanquam vita eorum coarguatur Lactant. Lib. 5. cap 9. d Iob 20. a Caeterum vultu facie satis valens mente intellectu constantissimus memorià potentissimus nunquam eadem verba bis repetit venientes omnes ad se recipit sermones doctos graves ac maturos profert se iusto Dei judicio damnaâ—â—â— se jam in inferno esse inde inenter cruciari Optare se in loco Iudae Caini esse Gribaldi epist. de tremendo divini judicij exemplo c. pag. 38. Immisit Deus ex illà horâ in cor ejus vermem corrodentem ignâ—m inextinguibilem ut horrore Confusione desperatione subitò repleretur Qui vermis ignis nunquam exinde illum dereliquerunt ut se longè deteriâ—ri in statu testetur quà m si separatâ à corpore animà cum iuda Cain caeteris damnatis esset desiderans se loco cujusvis mortui damnati esse pottus quà m si in corpore vivere Ibid pag. 43. b Tom. 5. Serm. contra Gulam caeteras corporis volupt Producamuâ— homines duos in medium quorum alier lasciviae sit voluptatibus deditus alter verò prorsus sit his rebus demortuus c. Adeamus istorum domos Inveniemus certe alterum libris incumbentem vacantem rei divinae abstinentiae vel rebus necessarus incumbentem habentemque cum Deoser â—onemâ— de rebâ—s coelestibus dissâ—rentem Angelum potiùs agentem quà m hominem Alterum verâ— madentem mero-dantem operam lasciviae-debacchantem delicijs incumbentem non solùm vivendo 〈◊〉 mortem sed esse mortuis longè inferiorem perniciosioremque Daemone agitato furijs Vbi verò dies illuxit amâ—ttit omnem quam ex lasciviâ ceperat voluptatem si â—â—dem Familiam ob muâ—murantem insectantem se â—urgio conjugem objurgantes amicos â—â—â—micos ludibrio se habentes recognoscit * Quis igitur qui mentis sit compos non potiùs optet mille obire mortes quà m diem unum hanc vitam degere * I say Ordinarily 1. First because Sometimes 〈◊〉 notorious Ones and yet without all 〈…〉 may represent to the eye of un-judicious By-standers whereby they are 〈…〉 fearefully hardened a notable shew of dying well In my time saith the French Aâ—thor of Essaies Three of the â—ost exercrâ—ble persons that ever I knew in all 〈…〉 and the most infamous have been seene to die very orderly and quietly c. I have also my selfe oâ—served some of higher place notorioâ—sly wicked who by their cariage in their last sicknesse have suggested conceits especially to those who were willing to be hardned by their deaths that they made a good end as they say whereas they had no true touch in Conscience at all or feeling remorse for their former extreamely sinfull life Which is occasioned sometimes by the un-skilfulnesse of some spirituall Physitions about them who are ready to dawbe and draw a skin only over their un-searched sinfull sores now at their death as they were to play the Men-pleasers and Sow-pillowes under 〈…〉 in their life time Fellowes as excellent in palliate Cures as utterly un-acqâ—ainted with the mystery of comforting afflicted Consciences aright and speaking seasonably to such as lie upon their last Bed Heare Master Marburies censure of such Mountebaâ—ks This intolerable defect saith He meaning of experimentall knowledge in Ministers 〈…〉 it selfe more shamefully or with greater hurt then when Men have 〈…〉 death or in time of great affliction for at such times 〈…〉 want shall to helpe their poore sheepe out of the ditch are 〈…〉 and to take some other indirect course as many use to 〈…〉 in time to make him Mans meate lest it should be said He 〈…〉 2. Secondly because Some One of them perhaps I know not amongst how many thousands may be â—â—ke the Thiefe upoÌ„ the Crosse. 3. Thirdly because Tho meete civil 〈◊〉 utterly estranged from the life of godlinesse all their life long for the most part may make a calme quiet and peaceable end in the eye and estimate of the world which was never able to distinguish a secure blockishnesse from an holy security Observation whereof hardeneth a world of people in their unsaving state Heare Greenâ—ams doome of such a death They dye saith He like blockes And yet the ignorant 〈…〉 such fearefull deaths sayâ—â—â— he departed as meekely as a Lambe he went 〈…〉 shall when they might as well say but for their fether-bed and their 〈…〉 and perâ—shed like an Oxe in a ditch I say tho this sort of Men for the most part die so yet I have knowne some such upon the very first thought they should certainely die to have fallen into desperation and could never be recovered And altho many fâ—rmaâ—l Professours may goe to Hell with many gâ—od speeches and Lord Lord in them 〈…〉 appeares in the fâ—â—lâ—sh Virgins and those in the seuenth of Mattheww yet I â—ave â—nowne of some of them who have died very fearefully indeede and full of cruely desperate horrour Hos. 13.8 Isa. 66.15 Deut. 32.22 * Inter omnes tribulationes humanae animae nulla est major tribulatio quà m conscientia delictorum Namque si ibi vulnus non sit sanumqâ—e sit intus hominis quod conscientia vocatur ubicunque alâ—bi passus fuerit tribulationes illuc confugiet ibi inveniet Deum Si autem ibi requies non est propter abundantiam iniquitatum quoniam ibi Deus non est quid facturus est homo Quò confâ—giet cum caeperit patitribulationes Fugiet â—bâ—gro ad civitatem à publico ad domum à domo ad cubiculum sequitur tribulatio A cubiculo jam quò fugiet non habet nisi interius ad cubile suum Porrò si ibi tumultus est si fumus iniquitatis si sâ—aâ—nmasceleris non illuc potest confugâ—re Pellitur enimâ—nâ—e cum inde pellitur à seipso pellitur Et ecce hostem suum invenâ—â— quò confugerat seipsum quò fugiturus est Quocunque fugerit se talem trohit post se quocunque talem traxerit se cruciat se. In Psalm 46. p. 502. Poena autem vehemenâ— multò saevior illis Quaâ— Coeaitius gravis invenit Roadamanthus Nocte â—iâ—que suum gestare in pecture teâ—â—em * Let us not bee Scotners lesters and Deriders for that is the uttermost token and shew of a Reprobate of a plaine enemy to God in his wisedome Hom. Of some places of Scriptures by which some take offence P. 2. ** 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Thâ—ssal 2.16 a Shee prefer'd Iohn Baptâ—stâ— head before the halfe of Herod's kingdome Mark 6 2. b 〈…〉 rursâ—s haec in seâ—psam trâ—nssert â—llius verba quasi ad ejus ignominâ—am â—lâ—ta exissimans aliud conetlium Episcoporum contra eum cogendum curat Quâ re intellectâ
God himselfe answers them Nay their owne hearts answere themselves Go whom you haue spent your life in seeking seeke to them now Let them save you at this whom yee sought at all other times As for mee it shall come to passe as I cryed and you would not heare So you shall cry and seek and shall not find or bee heard saith the Lord Yes they found Him but with a dore shut betweene Him them But what found they The Parable of the ten Virgins tells us a Nescio vos Hoe knoweth them not they tooke too short a time to breede acquaintance in Nescio vos they find that so seeke Profectò ad hoc tonitru c. At this clap Hee that waketh not is not asleepe but dead Winchesters Sermons pag. 181. I demand Will any time serue to seeke God Is God at all times to bee found It is certain Not The very limitation of Dum inveniri potest sheweth plainely that other times there bee wherein Seeke Him you may but find him you shall not Idem Ibid. pag. 178. d Quanquam Deus ipsos mundavit hoc est tum verbo suo praecepit ut se mundarent toties ac tamdiu per prophetas imperavit 2. Cro. 36.15 Iesa 1.16 tum aquâ sapone afflictionum abluere baculo calamitatum sordes excutere studio habuit tamen impuri manserunt Iesa 1.5 sequentibus Polan in Locum e 2. Cor. 7.10 f Quid autem est seclidiâ—m mundum Quandò contristaris propter divitias propter gloriam propter mortuum omnia haec secundum munduâ— idâ—ò mortem faâ—â—t Nam qui propter gloriam contristatur inviâ—et saepe perire cogitur Qualis erat tristitia Cain Esau hanc tristitiam voâ—at secundum mundum quae trisiibus perniciosa Chrysost. in 2. Cor. cap. 7. Sicut tinea comedit vestimentum sicut vermis rodit lignum ita tristitia nocet cordi Bern. de modo benè vivendi cap. 11. It pierceth even to the marrow of the bone it maketh bitter our whole life and poysoneth all our actions Char. lib. 1. cap. 31. Worldly sorrow worketh a change in the body it brings gray haires on the head and furrowes and wrinkles in the face It turnes youth into old age and strength into weakenesse and so causeth death Dike of repentance cap. 1. g Tristitia enim sic est quomodo stercus Stercus non loco suo positum immunditia est Stercus non loco suo positum immundam facit domum loco suo positum fertilem facit agrum Inveni nescio quem tristem stercus video locum quaero Dic amice unde tristis es Perdidi inquit pecuniam Locus immundus fructus nullus Audiat Aposiolum Tristitia mundi mortem operatur Non solum fructus nullus sed magna pernicies Sic de caeteris rebus ad gaudia secularia pertinentibus quas res longum est enumerare Video alium tristantem gementem flentem multum stercorâ—s video ibi locum quaero Et cum viderem tristem flentem inspexi orautem Orans nescio quid mibibonae significationis ingessit Sed adhuc locum quaero Quid enim si iste oraus gemens magno fletu mortem roget inimicis suis. Etiam sic jam plorat jam rogat jam orat Locus immundus fructus nullum Inspexialium rursus gementem flentem orantem stercus agnosco locum quaero Intenâ—di autem orationi ejus audito dicentem ego dixi domine miserere mei sana animam meam quia peccavi tibi Geâ—it peccatum agnosco agrum expecto fructum Deo gratias Bono loco est stercus non ibi vacat fructum parturit August de temp Serm. 151. h Tristitia illa solùm ad peccata utilis est quod hinc manifestatur Qui pro amissis divitijs contristatur damnum non solvit Qui pro mortuo contristatur jacentem non excitat Qui propter morbum contristatur non solùm non curatur sed etiam auget morbum Qui verò in peccatis contristatur hîc solùm utilitatis aliquid ampliùs à tristitiâ accepit absumit enim evanescere facit peccata Chrysost. in 2. Cor. cap. 7. Mortem lugere omittens luge peccata ut ipsa deleas propter hoc enim tristitia facta est non ut in morte nec in vllâ aliâ re tali doleamus sed ut ipsâ ad delenda ut amur peccata Et quòd hoc verum sit exemplosacio manifestum Remedia medicinalia propter illos tantùm morbos facta sunt quos tollerâ— possunt non propter illos quos nihil ad juvare possunt c. Mulctatus est quispiam pecunijs tristatus est mulctam non emendavit silium amisit doluit mortuum non resuscitavit nec defuncto prâ—fuit Flagellatus est quis alapis caesus contumelijs affectus doluit non revocavit contumcliam c. Vides horum nulli prodesse tristitiam Peccavit quis tristatus est peccatum delevit Idem ad Popul Antiochenum Hom. 5. i I meane both repentances Legall which is bred by beleeving the threats of the Law and by accident leades unto Christ. Evangelicall which springs from Faith in the promises of the Gospell after wee have taken Christ. For Faith must goe before this repentance as the ground and roote thereof In time Faith and Evangelicall repentance are both together but in the order of nature Faith is first k Quid enim quispiam sacere possit quo genero sum virum cogat contristari Auseret pecunias Sed habet in Coelis divitias Patriâ eijciet Sed in coelestem civitatem mittet Vincula inijciet Sed habet Conscientiam solutam exteriorem non sentiet catenam Sed interficiet corpus At iterum resurget Et sicut cum umbrâ pugnans aërem verberans perculere poterit neminem Sic cum justo pugnans cumumbrâ tantùm pugnat vires suas dissolvit nullam illi plagam valens infligere Itaque da mihi de Coelorum râ—gno confidere sâ—vis me hodie jugula caedis gratias tibi habeo quòd me celeriter ad illa hona transmattis Chrysost. ad Pop. Antioch hom 5. l Igitur postquà m manifestè oratio demonstravit quòd neque pecuniarum mulctam neque contumeliam neque calumniam neque flagella neque valetudinem neque mortem neque aliud quid talium inducta tristitia iastaurare posset sed solùm delere peccatum bujus est destructiva certum quò à propter hanc solam causam facta est Ne amplius igitur pecuniarum jacturam doleamus sed cum peccamus tantùm doleamus multa enum hic exâ—riâ—â—â—iâ utilitas Mulâ—laâ—us es ne doleas neque enim proderit Peâ—cuâ—â—â— Dole utile namque est Ibid. m 2. Sam. 17.23 Achitophel ita ratiocinatur Absolom aut vincet auâ— non sinoâ— vincat incidam in manus Davidis Si vicerit adhuc ego inglorius vivam Chusat consilio
coelo errare constat qui putant omnes eos servatos esse qui moribundi Deum invocant Ex hoc enim loco satis liquet multos quibus in ore est Domine miserere nostri ad inferos descendere Ergo dicet aliquis quo modo constat promissionis illius veritas salvum fore qui Dei nomen invocaverit Ioel 2. Resp. Illud de ijs intelligitur qui Deum verè synecrè invocant 1. Fide quod isti nequeunt qui fidem non habent sapiusculè quid sit nesciunt 2. Cum affectu Deum glorificandi Isti verò in clamoribus suis propriam solummodò respiciunt salutem 3. Diâ—cedendo ab iniquitate 2. Tim. 2.19 Quod isti non faciunt Cartw. in Locum * Non est â—ecâ—atum quarere Deum in calamitatibus ab eo opeus auxilium petere imò mandatuÌ„ divinuÌ„ est ut in aerumnis periculis ad DeuÌ„ consugâ—amus sicut dicitur Invoca me in die tribulationis Psal 50. Sed tantum petere ut sensus mali tollatur ut nos molestijs periculis eximamur atque intereà perseverare in peccandi proposito id verò est irridere Deum atque iram ipsius provocare Moller in Locum f O quà m multi saith a reverend Father cum hac spe ad aeternos labores bella descendunt g Greeneham in His grave Counsell and godly Observation Pag. 9. Non potest male mori qui benè vixerit Prorsùs consirmo audeo dicere credidi propter quod loquutus sum Non potest male mori qui bene vixerit August lib. de Disciplina Christ. cap. 2. h Decimo septimo Februarij die Lutherus coepit aegrotare gravitis ex pectore quanquam erat imbecillior prandit tamen cum filijs familiaribus suâ—â— atque coenavit Inter coenandum argumentis assèruit sore ut in alterâ vitâ illâ beatâ alter alierum recognoscat Post caenam sumpto unicornu ex vino pro medicamento ad quietem se componens salutatis amicis qui aderant Orate inquit Deum ut Evangelij doctrinam nobis conservet Pontisex enim Concilium Tridentinum dira moliuntur Haec ubi dixit facto silentio dormit aliquamdiu sed urgente vi morbi post mediam noctem excitatus queritur de pectoris angustiâ praesenticus iam instare sinem his verbis Deum ardenter invocat Pater mi coelestis Deus Pater Domini Iesu Christi Deus omnis consolationis ago tibi gratias quòd filium tuum Iesum Christum mihi revelâsti cui credidi quem sum professus quem amavi quem celebravi quem Pontifex Romanus reliqua impiorum turba persequitur afficit contumeliâ Rogo te mi Domine Iesu Christe suscipe animulam meam Mi Pater coelestis etiamsi divellor ex hac vit á licèt corpus hoc mihi sit iam deponendum certò tamen scio me tecum esse permansurum in sempiternum neque possè me tuis ex manibus à quoquam avelli Non multò post eam precationem ubi spiritum suum in manus Dei semel iterùm commendâsset tanquam dormiturus paulatimâ— vitâ decedit nullo cum corporis qui quidem animad verti posset cruciatu Osiand Hist. Eccles. Cent. 16. Lib. 1. cap. 56. i Acts and Monum vol. 2. pag. 994. I no more weigh Cochlaeus his cursed lyes to the contrary or of any his fellow stigmaticall Knights of the Post as Bolsec c. then I would doe the barking of a Dog the braying of an Asse or bellowing of a Divell k Master Iohn Holland a faithfull Minister of Gods Word l In His Sermon intituled The Soules Solace against sorrow pag 17. c. o Perkins in his Salve for a sicke Man m Of one Reprobate that dyes in this despaire and torment of conscience there bee millions that dye in presumption of mercy without sense of sinne or punishment The reason whereof is because Satan who knowes Hee hath time little enough in this life to draw men to sinne and long enough after this life to torment them for it doth therefore ordinarily reserue the tormenting of sinners to the Day of iudgement and till they be in Hell left if Hee shuld deale so roughly with all sinners in this world they might being so pincht with terrours seeke after the meanes of salvation as did the Iayloâ—r and the â—ewes Act. 16.30 and 2.37 c. Chibald Triall of Faith lib. 1. cap. 5. p. 70. n Wee should never bee in such a forlorne condition wherein there should bee ground of despaire considering our sinnes bee the sinnes of Man His mercy the mercy of an infinite God Doctor Sibbes Brused Reede Preface to the Reader o Out of the cursed Nurcery of such sorts of sinners as these God doth now and then single out some and hang them up as it were in chaines as wofull Spectacles of despaiâ—e for warning to others Rom. 2.5 o In what sense despaire is the greatest sinne for it is not simply so Ever the more excellent the vertue is the more pestilent is the opposite vice Hatred of God in it selfe is a greater sinne then desperation because the Love of God is a more excellent grace then Hope See 2â— q. 2. art 3. Though Aquâ—nâ—â— His Summes bee a vast dunghill of much rotten superstitâ—oÌ„ and false Divinity yet about vertues vices lawes and other Philosophicall Points He lets â—all some Truths Desperatâ—o mâ—tor est 〈…〉 â—eâ—p ratio peior est omni peccato Bern. Perpetrare stagitium aliquod 〈…〉 est Seâ— disperara est â—escendere in infernum Isid. Iudas mag â—ex hoc offendit Dominum qâ—a se suâ—pendâ—t â—uduâ— quòd Dominum prodidit Hieron in â—sal 108. Iudam traditoâ—em 〈…〉 misit quà m indulgentiae desperatio fecit penitùs interire August deâ—â—lit Pâ—nit Quid aliud est desperare quà m Deum sibi comparare Qui 〈…〉 comparat â—inem â—mponit divine virtuli dans sinem ixfiâ—uto 〈…〉 ause â—nsâ—â—o cui nihil deest quodetiam cogitar i non potest Idem de 〈…〉 cap. 5. But doe not mistake the good Father or upon His word presume but heare what Hee addes Sunt alij inimici desperationis qui adâ—ò pâ—aesemâ—â—â— â—â— Deo confidâ—â—â— quòd quandam sibi licentiam acquirunt peccandi sine poeâ—temiâ—â—xpâ—llant ventam qui credunt quoniam Christiani sunt non posse damnari adulantes siâ—â— eà quòd scriptum est omnis quicunque invoâ—averit nomen Domini salvus eâ—it â—utanâ—enâ—â— noâ—â—cu Dominita vocare quoâ—aâ—possunt Christum credere Sacramem a Ecclesiae samere non verentes multos esse vocasos sed paucos electos Ibid. cap. 6. q Indeed sometimes and most commonly conscience in many is secure at the time of death God in his justice plaguing an affected security in this life with an inflicted security at death And the Lord seemes to say as once to the Prophet Goe
make their consciences asleepe at their death as they have made it asleepe all their life lest conscience should see and speake and they heare and bee saved Therefore they die tho not desperate as Saul and Ahitophel yet sottishly without comfort and feeling of Gods love as Naâ—al Dyke of Conscience cap. 12. p Whom Satan seeth 〈◊〉 of Gods favour whom Hâ—e knoweth 〈…〉 and 〈◊〉 to bee cast into Hâ—ll fire those doth Hee â—alsely perswade that they are out of all danger and never suffer them so much as to perceive their lamentable estate But whom â—ee seeth God doth favour whom Hee knoweth to bee Christs brethren and fellow-heires of the Kingdome of heaven those will Hee tempt very often to seate to doubt yea sometimes even to despaire of their salvation Touchstone for a Christian. pag. 81. q Ex hoc lâ—co satis liquet multos quibus in ore est Domine miserere nostri ad inferos descendere Cartw. in cap. 1. Proverb Sunt quicredunt quoniâ—m Christiani sunt non posse damnari adulantes sibi eò quòd scriptum est Omnis quiâ—â—nque â—nvocaâ—â—rit nomen Domini salvus erit Putant enim se nomen Domini invocare quoniam possunt Christum credere sacramenta Ecclesiae sumere non verentes multos esse vocaâ—ot sed paucoâ— electos August De verâ falsâ Poenit. cap. 6. O quà ◠multi cum hac spe ad aeternos labores bella descenduntâ— How many goe to Hell with this hope * Doctor Featly Audi dominum Mors peccatoris pessima Quae tibi videtur hona pessima est si intùs videaâ— Vides forâ—s â—aceâ—em in let to nunquid vides intùs â—aptum ad gebeâ—nam August in Ps. 33. r Ostenditur nobis per haec verba quòd illo in tempore inter angustias diversorum terrorum videntes se peccatores anxiabuntur current huc illuc ad sacerdotes doctrinam poenitentiam sibi quaerentes Alij autem interrogantes quid eos oporteat facere sed festinante judicio necessitatibus alijs super alias venientibus cum non sit docendi licentia nec tempâ—â—s faciendae justitiae aut agendae poenitentiae festinatio eorum vacua erit Hoc enim in quotidiano usu videmus fieri Quotidie enim sacerdotes clamant in Ecclesiâ Qui peccavit poenitentiam agat Neque seducant vos honores devitiae temporales quia tempus vestrum prope est Et si consummatio vestra tardaverit mors vestra non tardat nemo credit nemo obâ—â—â—dit cum autem venerit super illos mors festinant anxiantur vocant sacerdotes poenitentiam volunt agere quando jam poenitentiae locus non est Itaque dum expoâ—unt peccata sua capitur anima eorum vadunt vacui magis autem ligaci justo jâ—dicio Dei quta non propter odium peccatorum displicentes sibi volâ—ham poenitentiam agere sed propter mortis timorem Adhuc enim si vivere poâ—uissent non sibi displicuissent Ineâ—â—â—tus author Hom. 52. in cap. Mat. 25. Vlulant quidem in cubilibus id verò doloris impatientiâ faciunt queÌ„ expoenis concipiunt non quòd peccata sua deplorent Gualt in cap. 7 Hos. Fuiâ—â—â—eâ— est is seâ—sus ea conscientia peccati miseriae praesertim verò conscientia tanti contemplus oblâ—tae lâ—cis idque ex judicijs quibus exercebuntur ut tum quidem seriò crucâ—andi sint deâ—ideâ— in Christi Non quidem quòd id desiderium sit â—uturum Christi propter ipsum Christum aut propter odium Peccati sed propter sensum miseriae quem ferre non poterunt Rolloc in cap. 8. Iohan. s And to seeke Him then is not to seeke Him Non quaerebant Eum. No they seeke Him not they dissemble with Him saith Asaph in the next verse For when God to trie them reprived them never so little time they fell to their old byas and when as Hee ceased killing their seeking was at an end So are all forced seekings like to a Bow-string brought to his full bent but remit you never so little it starteth backe againe Nay it is not quaerebant no kindly seeking but a base ignoble creeping to without all ingenuity when wee must either die or doe it Winchesters Sermons pag. 181. t 2. Maccab. 9. u Doctor Vsher in His Answer to a Iesuites Challenge pag. 152. x Dyke of Repentance cap. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 13 52. Poenitentia nunquam sera si seria Sed sera rarò vera Agens poenitentiam reconciliatus cum sanus est posteà benè vivens securus hinc exit Agenâ— poenitentiam ad ultimum reconciliatus si securus hinc exit Ego non sum securus August Hom. 41. ex 50. Ambros. Exhort ad poenitent Quomodo agit poenitentiam in extremis vitae fiâ—â—bus constitutus Poenitentia quae ab inâ—irâ—o petitur â—nsirma est Poenitentia quae à moriente tantùm petitur timeo ne ipsa moriatur August de temp Serm. 57. Câ—m venerit super illos mors â—estinant anxiantur vocant sacerdotes Poenitentiam volunt agere quando iam Poenitentiae locus non est Quâ—a non propter odium peccatorum displicentes sibi volebant poenitentiam agere sed propter mortis timorem Incert Author in Mat. Hom. 52. y And thus many deare servants of God are oftentimes grievously perplexed troubled in spirit gauled in mind long seeking and labouring for release and finding none condemning themselves that they are the very firebrands of Hell and cannot bee saved Nay many times they doe even die with speeches in their mouthes which much savour of despaire Hieron in His Caveat and Comfort for Beleevers pag. 41. z Sed ne fortès charissimi aliquem nimis securum saciat aut remissum tam nova felicitas credulitatis Ne sortè dicat aliquis in corde suo Non me usque adeò conturbet cruciet rea conscientia Non me usque adeò contristet culpabilis vita video sub momento video sub exiguo spacio latroni crimina sua donata Deterreant quaeso nos ab hâc persuasione innumerabiles populi sub tali securitate nudi vacui bonis malis pleni ex hac luce praeâ—epti Immittit Diabolus securitatem ut inferaâ— perditionem neque dinumerari possiâ—â— quantos haec inanis spei umbra deceperit Deinde stulâ—isâ—â—mum est ut causa quae de necessâ—â—atibus agitur aeternis inutilitatibus vitae deficientis committatur extremis O dibile est apud Deum quando homo sub siduciâ poenitentiae in senectatem reservatae liberius peccat August De Temp. Serm. 120. a Greenham pag. 2. cap. 32. Edit 3. b Legi inquit Augustinus perlâ—gi Scripturam neminem inveni in duobus millibus annorum salâ—atum in sine nisi Lâ—tron mincruce Nicolaus Laurentius adversus desperationem pag 371. c That that may bee said is this and it is nothing True
since the houre it enioyed Him In His Preface pag. 3. Tho thousands were debters to Him as touching Divine knowledge yet hee to none but onely to God the Author of that most blessed Fountaine the Booke of life and of the admirable dexterity of wit together with the helpes of other learning which were his guides Ibid. Wee should bee iniurious unto vertue it selfe if wee did derogate from them whom their industry hath made Great Two things of principall moment there are which have deservedly procured Him honour throughout the World the one His exceeding paines in composing the Institutions of Christian Religion the other His no lesse industrious travailes for exposition of holy Scripture In which two things whosoever they were that after Him bestowed their labour Hee gained the advantage of preiudice against them if they gaine-said and of glory above them if they consented Ibid. pag. 9. The more learned and holy any Divine is the more heartily Hee subscribes to Paulus Thurias his true censure of His Institution Praeter Apostolicas post Christi tempora chartas Huic peperereliâ—râ—saeculae nulla parem Besides the holy Writ No booke is like to it Or No Age since Christ brought forth A booke of so great worth No marvaile then that a learned Bishop of London in Queene Elizabeths time begun His Speech thus against a lewd fellow which had railed against Calvinâ— Quod dixisti in virâ—m Dei Calvinum tuo sanguine non potet redimere c. s Sit igitur hic primus poenitâ—tiae gradus dum homines sentiunt quà m gravitèr deliquerint illic non statim curandus est doler quemadmodum impostoâ—es deliniunt conscientias ita ut sihi indulgeant se â—allant inaâ—iâ—us blanditijs Medicus enim non statim lâ—niet dolorem sed videbit quid magis expediat fortè magis augebit quia necessaria erit acrior purgatio Sic etiam faciunt Prophetae Dei quum vident trepidas conscientias non statìm adhibeÌ„t blandas consoâ—â—â—tones sed potiùs ostendunt non esse ludendum cum Deo solicitant sponte currentes ut sibi proponant terribile Dei iudicium quò magis ac magis humilientur Calvin in Ioel cap. 2. t Master Rogers of Dedham Doctrine of Faith pag. 108.109.110.111 u In his Expos. upon Psal. 32. pag. 5. x As in the worke of Creation so in the worke of Redemption God would have the praise of all his attributes Hee is much honoured when they are acknowledged to bee in Him in highest perfection and their infinitenesse and excellency admired and magnified In the former there appeareth gloriously His infinite Wisedome Goodnes Power Iustice Mercy c. â—nd yet in the worke of Redemption which was the greater they seeme â—o shine with more â—â—eetnesse amiableâ—â—sse and excellency 〈◊〉 in it appeared all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge c. And in conveying it to the Church first His Wisedome there appeareth infinite wisedome in finding out such a meanes for the redemption of MaÌ„kind as no â—â—eated understanding could possible imagine or 〈◊〉 of Secondly 〈◊〉 immeasurably sweet and admirable in not sparing His owne Sonne the Sonne of His loue that Hee might spare us who had so grievously transgressed against Him Thirdly His Iustice in it's highest excellency in spaâ—ing us not to spare His owne onely Sonne laying as it were His head upon the blocke and chopping it off renting and â—eaâ—ing that blessed Body even as the Vaile of the Temple was rent and making His Soule an Offering for sinne c. This was the perfection of Iustice. y A man who otherwise would not cry nor shed a teare for any thing despiseth death and would not feare to meete an host of men I say such an One now having at the last instant a pardon brought from the King it worketh wonderfully upon him and will cause softnesse of heart and teares to come many times where nothing else could Hee is so strucke with admiration of so great mercy so sweet and seasonable in such an extremity that Mee stands amazed and knowes not what to say but many times falles a weeping partly for ioy of His deliverance and partly also out of indignation against Himselfe for His barbarous behaviour towards so pittiful a Prince This was to bee seene in some great men at the beginning of King Iames His Reigne condemned for treason and pardoned at the Blocke z Exaudime Domine quoniam suaviâ— est misericordia tua tantundem valet ac si dixisset I am noli differre exauditionem in taâ—t â tribulatiâ—ne sun ut suavis mihi sit misericordia tua Ad hoc enim subvenire differebas ut mibi dulce esset quòd subveniebas August Concione 2. in Psal. 68. Luke 8.43 a Christus â—oâ—ine instatâ—m terret comminatioue exclusionis è regnâ— coelorum Nam qui nondùm conversi sunt ad inferos iam priuiâ—â— detrudendi sunt ad hoc ut inspectâ poenâ peccati discant ab co abhorrere quo tempore naturâ sese oblectaâ—â— Rolloc in Iohan. cap. 3. pag. 133. b Dike of Repentance cap. 2. c Quando peccati quod divinae legis est violatio conseâ—â—ntia stimulamur atque convincimur intelligimusque nos per peccatum in execrationem acerbissimum odium gravissiâ—â—amque Divini numinis offensiontem atque indignationem incurrisse mercedemque atque stipendium quod peccatum meretur esse ut non solùm omnibus calamitatibus atque miserijs â—uins vitae morbisque morte corporis afficâ—amur verum etiam ut damnatiâ—â—e atque interitu sempiterno mulitemur simul atque ex lege agnoscimus nos per peccatum in â—unc condemnatorâ—m statum quo nibiltetrius cogitari potest pervenisse toto pectore totâ mente toto corde animo que cohorremus contremiscimus atque ita ut casum nostrum salutariter doleamus ut nosmet nostri poeniâ—eat Lex efficit impellÃtque ut peccatorum veniam iustitiam vitam sempiternam quae ex lege adipisci non possumus a Christo servatore tantùm per Christum expetamus expectemus Alex. Nowellus Inst. Christian. Pietatis De Legis usu Hoc loco docent Poenitentiam esse quae ex peccatorum irae divinae agnitione nascitur quae per legem Dei primum dolores terrorem conscientiae incutiat Scilicet cum verbo Dei intâ—s argu untor peccata redditur mens malè conscia sibi inquieta praetristâ—s desperabunda cor anxium confractum pavidum ut homo per se nullâre prorsùs erigi possit aut consolationem nancisci sed totus afflictissimus est spiritu deiecto ac trepidante ingenti â—orrore concussus à conspectuirae Dei c. Súnt que sic affectis divinae promissiones 〈◊〉 c. Harmon Confess p. 2. Bohaemica Confess Art 5. pag. 240. d I grant the Lord who is the most free Agent takes liberty and workes as it pleaseth him and there is ods and
priviledges and of the chiefest that were executed of the Nobilitie none was in the whole Countrey more affected to that Religion then was the most noble and valiant Count of Egmond the very glory of that Countrey who neither for His singular Victories in the service of the King of Spaine can bee forgotten in the true Histories nor yet for the cruelty used for His destruction to bee but for ever lamented in the hearts of the naturall people of that Countrey See a Booke intituled A Declaration of the causes mooving the Queene of England to give aide to the defence of the people afflicted and oppressed in the Low-Countries pag. 5.6 l Phalaris and His fellow tyrants come far short of these Blood-hounds Heylyn p. 52. m Philip the second of Spaine after many preceding vastations and pressures did lastly by strong hand and maine force attempt not onely to make himselfe an absolute Monarch over the Hollanders but Turke-like to tread under His feete all their Nationall and fundamentall Lawes Priviledges and ancient Rites To effect which after Hee had easily obtained from the Pope a dispensation of His former oathes which dispensation was the true cause of the warres and blood-shed since then c. S.W.R. in his Preface n The King of Spaine hath paid above an hundred Millions and the lives of above foure hundred thousand Christians for the losse of all those Countries which for beauty gave place to none and for revenew did equall His West Indies for the losse of a Nation which most willingly obeyed Him and who at this day after forty yeares warre are in despight of all his forces become free Estates and farre more rich and powerfull then they were when Hee first begun to impoverish and oppresse them Idem Ibid. o Obey the commandement which commands thee to believe against all unbeliefe and above all beliefe and to hope above hope that is in infinite doubtings to believe in all despaires to hope and when all reasons grounds meanes and hopes are wanting yet to believe onely because God commands thee so to doe Tho nature reason sense and thy owne heart and faithlesse feares and all creatures forbid thee so to doe saying That thy strength and hope is perished from the Lord Lam. 3. Yet obey and believe none of these but Gods Commandement commanding thee to believe his promise against them all and so to honour Him as God above them all in power mercy truth and faithfulnesse Throgmorton of Faith pag. 194. p 1. Cor. 3 22. q Nullum genus insipientiae infidelitate ut sic loquar insipientâ—us Bern. de consid o Dicitur inquit Deus etiam iurâssè hoc est iureiurando interminatus esse non ingressuros esse in suam requiem Quibusnam verò Non sanè omnibus sed solis illis contumacibus Cogitate igitur vobis iuratam hanc Dei interminationem incumbere si non obediat is Deo per Evangelium vos hodiè vocanti Par. in Loc. s The state of Mankinde is happy in respect of the Angels which fell for none of them are or shall over bee restored to their former state As He who falleth from a steepe and high Rocke into a deepe Pit or Gulfe cannot possibly escape death whereas one whose fall is lesse may have hope of life so it is with these wicked Angels whose sin we may truly call that unpardonable sin coÌ„mitted against the holy Ghost If it 's objected that the Angels may repent and so obtaine salvation We answer First that it is impossible by reason of the nature of their sinne being the sinne against the Holy Ghost that they should ever truly repent and secondly that if they could after some sort â—epent yet they are altogether uncapable of salvation because God hath not taken unto Himselfe the nature of Angels as Hee hath done the nature of Man and so joyning it to Himselfe who is life it selfe made it a living and holy nature Morton Of the threefold state of Man cap. 1. Sect 3. t Hos. 2.19 u Isai. 6. â— * Ward in His Life of Faith Isai. 55.1 x Vivo ego dixit Dominus Ienova c. Iurans per vitam suam id est Deitatis suae aeternam essentiam omnipotentiam divinam Maiestatem ac naturam Quasidicat quà m certum immotuÌ„ hoc est quod vivam ego sim verus aeternus vivus omnipotens Deus tam infallibili támque irrefragabili certitudinis argumento nititur haec promissio Laurent Adversus desperationem y Vt vivo dictum Domini Iehovae non delector morte improbi sed delector quum revertitur c. Iun. Piscat Si quaeritur genuinus Prophetae sensus tantùm spem veniae vitae resipiscentibus facit sic ut illis non sit dubitandum quin Deus paratus sit ignoscere c. Polan in loc z Matth. 11.28 a Revel 21.6 b Beati sumus quorum causâ Deus iurat sed miseri detestabiles si ne iuranti quidem oredimus Tertull. * See Luke 4.18 a Sicut illi qui morbum nec agnoscunt nec sentiunt medicinam nec curant nec quaerunt nec applicant ita gratuâ—am misericordiam Dei quae in Christo proponitur nemo satis curat nemâ— seriò rectâ— quaerit amplectitur nisi qui agnitione sen su pavore peccatorum iâ—ae Dei adversus peccata contritus perterrefactus est Lex enim paedagogus est urgens impellens ad quaerendam gratiam Dei in Christo. Et ordo divinus est quòd vult quidem Evangâ—lizare sed pauperibus vulâ— sanare sed contritos vâ—lt praedicare dimissionem sed 〈◊〉 vult educere liberare sed â—â—nctos hoc est sub pecâ—atis conclusos vult consolari sed contriâ—aâ—os lâ—gentes vult respicere sed ad contritum spiritu Beâ—e plâ—citum est Domino sed super timentes â—um in eis qui sperant super misericordiâ eius vult resâ—ceâ—e sed laborantâ—â— â—nâ—ratos â—â—lt coronare misericordiâ miserationibus sed caput humiliatum non turgidum vult inâ—undere oleum misericordiae sed vulneratis c. Chemnit Exam. p. 2. De contrit b Sive meo volueris expolâ—ri ornatu sive armis meis armari 〈◊〉 mea 〈…〉 meis delitiari sive iter meum peragere sive in 〈…〉 art sex condâ—tor ipse sum sive in regione meà domum aedificare 〈◊〉 omnia facere potes ut non modò 〈◊〉 abs te harum rerum omnium mercedem exigam sed ipse tibi magnae velim esse mercedis debitor dummodò uti rebus meis non abomineris Quid huic liberalitati aequale unquam inveniri potest In cap. Matth. 24. Homil 77. c As for thy doings thou must have that power from God after thy Believing Therefore Believe first and thou shalt doe after Rogers Dedham Doctrine of Faith pag. 150. They may not for any thing they see in themselves put these promises from