golden cup and hide the poison to present the sweet the pleasure and the profit that may flow in upon the soule by yielding to sin and by hiding from the soule the wrath and misery that will certainly follow the committings of sin By this Device he took our first Parents Genesis 3. 4 5. And the Serpent said unto the woman yee shall not surely die For God doth So to reduce D. Taylor Martyr they promised him not onely his pardon but a Bishoprick Act. and Mon. folio 1386. Inest peccatum cum delectaris regnat si consenâ— serâ— August in Psal 50. know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evill Your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods here is the baite the sweet the pleasure the profit Oh! but he hides the hook the shame the wrath and the losse that would certainly follow There is an opening of the eyes of the mind to contemplation and joy and there is an opening of the eyes of the body to shame and confusion He promiseth them the former but intends the latter and so cheats them giving them an Apple in exchange for Paradise as he deales by thousands now adayes Satan with ease puts fallacies upon us and then by his golden baites leads us and leaves us in a fools Paradise he promises the soule honour pleasure and profit c. but paye's the soule with the greatest contempt shame and losse that can be by a golden bait he laboured to catch Christ This world at last shall be burnt for a witch sayeth one Multi amando res noxias sunt miseri habendo miseriores August in Psa 26. Many are miserable by loving hurtfull things but they are more miserable by having them Men had need pray with Bernard Da domine ut sic possideamus tempora lia ut non perdamus aeterna Grant us Lord that wee may so partake of temporall felicity that we may not loose eternall in the 4 of Mat. 8. 9. he shewes him the beauty and the bravery of a bewitching world which doubtlesse would have taken many a carnall heart but here the devils fire fell upon wet tinder therefore took not these tempting objects did not at all win upon his affections nor dazle his eyes though many have eternally died of the wound of the eye and fallen for ever by this vile Strumpet the world who by laying forth her two faire breasts of profit and pleasure hath wounded their soules and cast them downe into utter perdition she hath by the glistering of her pomp and preferment slaine millions as the Sâ—rpent Scytale which when she cannot overtake the fleeing passengers doth with her beautifull colours astonish and amaze them so that they have no power to passe away till she have stung them to death Adversity hath slain her thousand but prosperity her ten thousand Now the Remedies against this Device of the Devil are these FIrst keep at the greatest distance from 1 Remedy sin and from playing with the golden bait that Satan holds forth to catch you for this you have the 12 Rom. 9. v. Abhor that which is evill cleave to that which is good when we meet with any thing extreamly evill and contrary to us nature abhors it and retires as far as it can 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The simple verb imports extreame detestation which is aggravated by the composition Chrysost from it The Greek word that is there rendred abhor is very significant it signifies to hate it as Hell it selfe to hate it with horror Anselm used to say that if he should see the shame of sin on the one hand and the pains of hell on the other and must of necessity chuse one he would rather be thrust into Hell without sin then goe into Heaven with sin so great was his hatred and detestation of sin 'T is our wisest and our safest Prov. 5. 8. 1 Thess 5. 22. course to stand at the furthest distance from sin not to goe neer the house of the Harlot but to flie from all appearance of evill the best course to prevent falling into the pit is to keep at the It was a divine saying of a Heathen that if there were no God to punish him no Devil to torment him no Hell to burne him no man to see him yet would he not sin ser the ugliness and filthiness of sin and the griefe of his owne Conscience Seneca greatest distance he that will be so bold as to attempt to dance upon the brink of the pit may find by wofull experience that 't is a righteous thing with God that he should fall into the pit Joseph keeps at a distance from sin and from playing with Satans golden baites and stands David drawes near and playes with the bait and falls and swallowes bait and hook with a witnes David comes neer the snare and is taken in it to the breaking of his bones the wounding of his conscience and the losse of his God Sin is a plague yea the greatest and the most infectious plague in the world and yet ah how few are there that tremble at it that keep at a distance from it 1 Cor. 5. 6. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump As soon as one sin had seised upon Adams heart all sin entred into his soul and over-spread Sinne is like those Diseases that are called by Physitians Corruptio totius substantiae it How hath Adams one sin spread over all mankinde 5. Rom. 12. ver Wherefore as by one man sin entred into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned Ah! how doth the Fathers sin infect the child the Husbands infect the Wife the Masters the Servant The sin that is in one mans heart is able to infect a whole world 't is of such a spreading and infectious nature The story of the Italian who first made his enemy deny God and then stab'd him and so at once murthered both body and soule declares the perfect malignity of sin and Oh! that what hath been spoken upon this head may prevaile with you to stand at a distance from sin The second Remedy is to consider 2 Remedy When the golden bait is cast forth to catch us wee must say as Demosthenes the Oratour did of the beautiâ—ull Lais when he was asked an excessive sum of money to behold her I will not buy repentance so dear I am not so ill a merchant as to seleternals for temporals that sin is but a bitter-sweet that seeming sweet that is in sin will quickly vanish and lasting shame sorrow horrour and terrour will come in the room thereof 20. Job 12 13 14. Though wickednesse be sweet in his mouth though he bide it under his tongue though he spare it and forsake it not but keep it still within his mouth yet his meat in
his bowels is turned it is the gall of Asps within him Forbidden profits and pleasures are most pleasing to vaine men who count madnesse mirth c. Many long to be medling with the murthering morsels of sin which nourish not but rent and consume the belly the soule that receives them Many eat that on earth that they digest in hell sins murthering morsels will deceive those that devoure them Adams If intemperance couâ—d afford more pleasure then temperance Heliogobalus should have been more happy then Adam in Paradise Apple was a bitter-sweet Escu's messe was a bitter-sweet the Israelites quails a bitter-sweet Jonathans honey a bitter-sweet and Adonijahs dainties a bitter-sweet after the meale is ended comes the reckoning Men must not think to dance and dine with the Devil and then to sup with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdome of Heaven to feed upon the poison of Asps and yet that the Vipers tongue shall not slay them when the Aspe stings a man it doth first tickle him so as it makes him laugh till the poison by little and Plutark little gets to the heart and then it pains him more then ever it delighted him so doth sin it may please a little at first but it will paine the soule with a witnesse at last yea if there were the least reall delight in sin there could be no perfect Hell where men shall most perfectly be tormented with their sin The third Remedy against this Device 3 Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider that sin will usher in the greatest and the Isa 59. 2. Psal 51. 12. Isa 59. 8. 2 Chron. 15. 3 4. Jer. 17. 18. saddest losses that can be upon our souls it will usher in the losse of that Divine favour that is better then life and the losse of that joy that is unspeakable and full of glory and the losse of that peace that passeth understanding and the losse of those Divine influences by which the soule hath beene refreshed quickned Jer. 5. 25. raised strengthned and gladded and the losse of many outward desirable mercies which otherwise the soule might have injoyed It was a sound and savory reply of an English Captain at the losse of Callice when a proud French-man scornfully demanded when will you fetch Callice again replied * Quando peccata vestra erunt nostris graviera When your sinnes shall weigh downe ours ah England my constant Prayer for thee is that thou mayest not sin away thy mercies into their hands that cannot call mercy mercy and that would joy in nothing more then to see thy sorrow and misery and to see that hand to make thee naked that hath cloath'd thee with much mercy and glory The fourth Remedy against this Device 4 Remedy In Sardis there grew an herb called Appium Sardis that would ' make a man lye laughing when he was deadly sick-such is the operation of sin of Satan is seriously to consider that sin is of a very deceitfull and bewitching nature sin is from the greatest deceiver 't is a child of his owne begetting 't is the ground of all the deceit in the world and 't is in its own nature exceeding deceitfull Heb. 3. 13. But exhort one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardned through the deceitfullnesse of sinne it will kisse the soul and pretend fair to the soul and yet betray the soul for ever it will with Dalilah smile upon us that it may betray us into the hands of the Devil as she did Sampson into the hands of the Pro. 5. 22 23. Philistimes sin gives Satan a power over us and an advantage to accuse us and to lay claime to us as those that weare his badge 't is of a very bewitching nature it bewitches the soule where 't is upon the throne that the soule cannot leave it though it perish eternally by it Sin so bewitches the soul that it makes Which occasioned Chrysostâ—me to say when Eudoxia the Empress threatned him Goe tell her Nil nisi prâ—â—atum ti 〈…〉 I feare nothing but sin the soul call evill good and good evill bitter sweet and sweet bitter light darknesse and darknesse light and a soul thus bewitcht with sin will stand it out to the death at the swords point with God Let God strike and wound and cut to the very bone yet the bewitched soul cares not fears not but will still hold on in a course of wickednesse as you may see in Pharaoh Balaam and Judas tell the bewitched soul that sin is a Viper that will certainly kill when 't is not killed that sin often kils secretly insensibly eternally yet the bewitched soul cannot nor will not cease from sin When the Physitians told 〈…〉 nen 〈◊〉 Ambrose Ambrose Theotimus that except he did abstain from drunkennesse and uncleannesse c. he would loose his eyes his heart was so bewitch't to his sins that he answers Then farewell sweet light he had rather loose his eyes then leave his sins So a man bewitcht with sin had rather loose God Christ Heaven and his own soul then part with his sin O therefore for ever take heed of playing or nibling at Satans golden baits The second Device of Satan to draw 2 Device the soule to sin is by painting sin with vertues colours Satan knowes that if hâ— should present sin in its own nature and dresse the soul would rather fly from it then yield to it and therefore he presents it unto us not in its owne proper colours but painted and guilded over with the name and shew of vertue that we may the more easily be overcome by it and take the more pleasure in committing of it Pride he presents to the soul under the name and notion of neatnesse and cleanlinesse and covetousnesse which the Apostle condemns for idolatry to be but good husbandry and drunkennes to be good fellowship and riotousnesse under the name and notion of liberality and wantonnesse as a trick of youth c. Now the Remedies against this Device of Satan are these FIrst Consider that sin is never a whit 1 Remedy the lesse filthy vilde and abominable by its being coloured and painted with vertues colours A poysonous Pill is never a whit the lesse poysonous because 't is gilded over with gold nor a Wolf is never a whit the lesse a Wolfe because he hath put on a sheeps-skin nor the Devil is never a whit the lesse a Devil because he appears somtimes like an Angel of light so neither is sin any whit the lesse filthy and abominable by its being painted over with vertues colours The second Remedy is this That the 2 Remedy more sin is painted forth under the colour Turpiora sunt vitia quae virtutum specie celantur Jerome Thus the Illuminates as they called themselves a pestilent Sect in Arragon professing and affecting in themselves a kind of Angelicall purity fell suddenly to
Will not these rise in judgement against many Professors in these dayes who make nothing of over-reaching one another fiery furnace such was their tendernesse of the honour and glory of God and their hatred and indignation against sin that they would rather burn then sin they knew that it was far better to burne for their not sinning then that God and conscience should raise a hell a fire in their bosomes for sin I have read of that noble servant of God Marcus Arethusius Minister of a Church in the time of Constantine who in Constantines time had been the cause of overthrowing an Idols Temple afterwards when Julian came to be Emperour he would force the people of that place to build it up again they were ready to doe it but he refused whereupon those that were his owne people to whom he preached took him and stript him of all his cloaths and abused his naked body and gave it up to the Children to lance it with their pen-knives and then caused him to be put in a basket and anointed his naked body with Honey and set him in the Sun to be stung with Wasps and all this cruelty they shewed because he would not doe any thing toward the building up of this Idol-Temple nay they came to this that if he would doe but the least towards it if he would give but a halfe-penny to it they would save him but he refused all though the giving of a half-penny might have saved his life and in doing this he did but live up to that principle that most Christians talk of and all professe but few come up to it viz. That we must choose rather to suffer the worst of Torments that men and Devils can invent and inflict then to commit the least sin whereby God should be dishonoured our consciences wounded Religion reproached and our own souls endangered The sixt Remedy against this Device 6 Remedy of Satan is seriously to consider that the soule is never able to stand under the guilt and weight of the least sin when God shall set it home upon the soul the least sin will presse and sink the stoutest sinner as low as hell when God shall open the eyes of a sinner and make him see the horrid filthinesse and abominable vildnesse that is in sin What so little base and vile creatures as lice or gnats and yet by these little poor creatures God so plagued stout-hearted Pharaoh and all Aegypt that â—ainting under it they were forced to cry out This is the finger of God When little Exod. 8. 16 17 18 19. Creatures yea the least Creatures shall be armed with a power from God they shall presse and 〈◊〉 down the greatest proudest and stoutesâ— Tyrants that breath so when God shall put a sword The Tyrant Maximinus who had set forth his Proclamation ingraven in brasse for the utter abolishing of Christ and his Religion was eaten of Lice into the hand of a little sin and arm it against the soule the soule will faint and fall under it Some who have but projected adultery without any actuall acting it and others having found a trifle and made no conscience to restore it knowing by the light of naturall Conscience that they did not doe as they would be done by and others that have had some unworthy thought of God have been so frighted amazed Vna guttula malae conscienâ—iae totum mare mundani gaudii absorbet i. e. One drop of an evill conscience swallows up the whole sea of worldly joy How great a pain not to be borne comes from the prick of this small thorne said one and terrified for these sins which are small in mens account that they have wisht they had never been that they could take no delight in any earthly comfort that they have been put to their wits end ready to make away themselves wishing themselves annihilated Mr Perkins mentions a good man but very poor who being ready to starve stole a Lamb and being about to eat it with his poor children and as his manner was afore meat to crave a blessing durst not doe it but fell into a great perplexity of Conscience acknowledged his fault to the owner promising payment if ever he should be able The seventh Remedy against this Device 7 Remedy is solemnly to consider That there is more evill in the least sin then in the greatest affliction and this appears as clear as the Sun by the severe dealing of God the Father with his beloved Son who let all the vials of his fiercest wrath upon him and that for the least sin as well as for the greatest The wages Death is the hire of the least sin the best wages that the least sin gives his souldiers is death of all sorts in a strict sence there is no sin little because no little God to sin against of sin is death of sin indefinitely whether great or small Oh! how should this make us tremble as much at the least spark of lust as at hell it selfe Considering that God the Father would not spare his bosome Son no not for the least sin but would make him drink the dregs of his wrath And so much for the Remedies that may fence and preserve our souls from being drawn to sin by this third Device of Satan The fourth Device that Satan hath 4 Device to draw the soul to sin is by presenting to the soul the best mens sins and by hiding from the soul their virtues by shewing the soul their sins and by hiding from the soul their sorrowâ— and â—epâ—ntance as by setting before the soul the Adultery of David the Pride of Hezekiaâ— the Impatience of Job the Drunkennesse of Noah the Blasphemy of Peter c. and by hiding from the soul the tears the sighes the groans the meltings humblings and repentings of these precious souls Now the Remedies against this Device of the Devil are these that follow THe first Remedy against this Device 1 Remedy of Satan is seriously to consider that the Spirit of the Lord hath been as carefull to note the Saints rising by repentance out of sin as he hath to note their falling into sin David falls fearfully but by repentance he rises sweetly Blot out my transgressions wash mee throughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me Purge me with Hysop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter then snow deliver me from blood-guiltinesse O God thou God of my salvation 'T is true Hezekiaâ—'s heart was lifted up under the abundance of mercy that God had cast in upon him and 't is as true that Hezekiaâ— 2 Chron. 32. 25 26. humbled himselfe for the pride of his heart so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon him nor upon Jerusalem in the dayes of Hezekiah 'T is true Job curses the day of his Birth and 't is â—â— true
that he rises by repentance Behold I am vile saith he what shall I answer thee Job 40. 4 5. ch 42. 5 6. I will lay my hand upon my mouth once have I spoken but I will not answer yea twice but I will proceed no further I have heard of thee by the hearing of the â—are but now mine eye seeth thee Wherefore I abhor my Tertullian saith that he was Nalli rei natus nisi penitentiae borne for no other purpose but to repent selfe and repent in dust and ashes Peter fals dreadfully but rises by repentance sweetly a look of love from Christ melts him into tears he knew that repentance was the key to the Kingdome of Grace As once his Faith was so great that he leapt as it were into a sea of waters to come to Christ so now his repentance was so great that he leapt as it were into a sea of tears for Luther confesses that before his conversion he met not with a more displeasing word in allhis study of Divinity then Repent but afterward he took delight in the work poenitens de peccaio dolet de dolore gâ—udet to sorrow for his sin and then to rejoyce in his sorrow that he had gone from Christ Some say that after his sad fall he was ever and anon weeping and that his face was even furrowed with continual tears he had no sooner took in poyson but he vomited it up again ere it got to the vitals he had no sooner handled this Serpent but he turned it into a rod to scourge his soule with remorse for sining against such clear light and strong love and sweet discoveries of the heart of Christ to him Clement notes that Peter so repented that all his life after every night when he heard the Cock crow he would fall upon his knees and weeping bitterly would beg pardon of this sin Ah soules you can easily sin as the Saints but can you repent with the Saints Many can sin with David and Peter that cannot repent with David and Peter and so must perish for ever Theodosius the Emperour pressing that he might receive the Lords Supper excuses Theodorit hist l. 4. c. 17. his own foul fact by Davids doing the like to which Ambrose replies Thou hast followed David transgressing follow David repenting and then think thou of the Table of the Lord. The second Remedy against this Device 2 Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider that these Saints did not make a trade of sin they fell once or twice and rose by Repentance that they might The Saints cannot sin voluntate plenâ sed semiplena with a whole will but as it were with an halfe will an unwilling willingnes not with a full consent but with a dissenting consent keep the closer to Christ for ever they fell accidentally occasionally and with much reluctancy and thou sinnest presumptuously obstinately readily delightfully and customarily thou hast by thy making a trade of sin contracted upon thy soul a kind of cursed necessity of sinning that thou canst as well cease to be or cease to live as thou canst cease to sin sin is by custome become as another nature to thee which thou canst not which thou wilt not lay aside though thou knowest that if thou dost not lay sin aside God will lay thy soul aside for ever though thou knowest that if sin and thy soul doe not part Christ and thy soul can never meet if thou wilt make a trade of sin and cry out did not David sin thus and Noah 2 Pet. 2. 14. Pro. 4 14. 16. Though sin doe habitare dwell in the regenerate as Austin notes yet it doth not regnare reign over the regenerate they rise by repentance sin thus and Peter sin thus c. No their hearts turn'd aside to folly one day but thy heart turns aside to folly every day and when they were fallen they rise by repentance and by the actings of Faith upon a crucified Christ but thou fallest and hast no strength nor will to rise but wallowest in sin and wilt eternally dye in thy sins unlesse the Lord be the more mercifull to thy soul Dost thou think oh soule this is good reasoning Such a one tasted poyson but once and yet narrowly escapt but I doe daily drink poyson yet I shall escape yet such is the mad reasoning of vaine soules David and Peter c. sinned once foully and fearfully they tasted poyson but once and were sick to death but I tast it daily and yet shall not tast of eternall death Remember oh souls that the day is at hand when self-flatterers will be found self-deceivers yea self-murtherers The third Remedy against this Device 3 Remedy of Satan is seriously to consider that though God doth not nor never will disinherit his people for their sins yet he hath severely punished his people for their sins David sins and God breaks his bones for his sin Make me to Psalm 51. 8. Josephus reports that not long after the Jews had crucified Christ on the crosse so many of them were condemned to be crucified that there were not places enough for crosses nor crosses enough for the bodies that were to be hung thereon hear joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce And because thou host doâ—e this the Sword shall not depart from thy house to the day of thy death Though God will not utterly take from them his loving kindnesse nor suffer his faithfullnesse to faile nor breake his Covenant nor alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth yet will he visit their transgressions with a rod and their iniquity with stripes Psal 89. 30. 35. The Scripture abounds with instances of this kind this is so known a truth among all that know any thing of truth that to cite more Scriptures to prove it would be to light a Candle to see the Sun at noon The Jewes have a Proverb that There is no punishment comes upon Israel in which there is not one ounce of the Golden Calfe Meaning that that was so great a sin as that in every plague God remembred it that had an influence into every trouble that befell them Every mans heart may say to him in his sufferings as the heart of Apollodorus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the kettle I have been the cause of this God is most angry when he shewes no anger God keep me from this mercy this kind of mercy is worse then Qui non est crucianus non est christianus saith Luther there is not a Christian that carries not his crosse all other misery One writing to a sick friend hath this expression I account it a part of unhappinesse not to know adversity I judge you to be miserable because you have not been miserable 'T is mercy that our affliction is not an execution but a correction he that hath deserved hanging may be glad if he scape with a
thy sin God will pardon thee and yet send thee to Hell there 's a pardon with a contradiction Negative goodnesse serves no mans turn to save him from the axe It is said of Ithacus that the hatred of the Priscillian Heresie was all the vertue that he had The evill servant did not riot out his Talent Those Reprobates Mat. 25. robbed not the Saints but relieved them not for this they must eternally perish sense for godly sorrow sometimes Repentance is taken in a large sense for Amendment of Life Repentance hath in it three things viz. the Act the Subject and the Termes 1. The formall Act of Repentance is a changing and converting 't is often set forth in Scripture by Turning Turne thou me and I shall be turned saith Ephraim after that I was turned I repented saith he 't is a turning from darknesse to light 2. The Subject changed and converted is the whole man 't is both the sinners heart and life first his heart then his life first his person then his practice and conversation Wash yee make you cleane there 's the change of their persons put away the evill of your doings from before mine eyes cease to doe evill learne to do well there 's the change of their practises So Cast away saith Ezekiel all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed there 's the change of the life and make you a new heart and a new spirit there 's the change of the 3. The Tearmes of this change and conversion from which and to which both heart and life must be changed from all sin to God the heart must be changed from the state and power of sin the life from the acts of sin but both unto God the heart to be under his power in a state of grace the life to be under his rule in all new obedience as the Apostle speaks To open their eyes and to turn them from darknesse to light and from the power of satan unto God so the Prophet Isaiah saith Let the wicked forsake their wayes and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him returne unto the Lord. Thus much of the nature of Evangelicall Repentance Now soules tell me whither it be such an easie thing to repent as Satan doth suggest besides what hath been spoken I desire that you will take notice that Repentance doth include a turning from the most darling sin Ephraim shall say What have I to doe any more with Idols Yea it 's a turning from all sin to God Ezek. 18. 30. Therefore I will judge you O House of Israel every one according to his wayes saith the Lord God repent and turne your selves from all your transgressions so iniquity shall not be your ruine Herod turn'd from many but turn'd not from his Herodias which was his ruine Judas turn'd from all visible wickednes yet he would not cast out that golden Devil Covetousnesse and therefore was cast into the hottest place in Hell He that turnes not from every sin turnes not aright from any one sin every sin strikes at the Honour of God the Being of God the Glory of God the Heart of Christ the Joy of the Spirit and the Peace of a mans Conscience and therefore a soul truly penitent strikes at all hates all conflicts with all and will labour to draw strength from a crucified Christ to crucifiâ— all a true penitent knowes neither father nor mother neither right eye nor right hand but will pluck out the one and cut off the other Saul spared but one Agâ—g and that cost him his soul and his Kingdome besides Repentance is not onely a turning from all sin but also a turning to all good to a love of all good to a prizing of all good and to a following after all good Ezek. 18. 21. But if the wicked will turne from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all my Statutes and doe that which is lawfull and right he shall surely live be shall not die that is onely negative righteousnesse and holinesse is no righteousnesse nor holinesse David fulfilled all the wills of God and had respect unto all his Commandements and so had Zacharias and Elizabeth 'T is not enough that the Tree bears not ill fruit but it must bring forth good fruit else it must be cut downe and east into the fire So 't is not enough that you are not thus and thus wicked but you must be thus and thus gracious and good else Divine Justice will put the Axe of Divine Vengeance to the root of your souls and cut you off for ever Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn downe and cast into the fire besides Repentance doth include a sensiblenesse of sins sinfulnesse how opposite and contrary 't is to the blessed God God is light sin is darknesse God is life sin is death God is Heaven sin is hell God is beauty sin is deformity Also true Repentance includes a sensiblenes of sins mischievousnesse how it cast Angels out of Heaven and Adam out of Paradise how it laid the first corner-stone in hell and brought in all the curses crosses and miseries that be in the world and how it makes men liable to all temporall spirituall and eternall wrath how it hath made men Godlesse Christlesse hopelesse and heavenlesse in this world further true repentance doth include sorrow for sin contrition of heart it breaks the heart with sighes and sobs and groans for that a loving God and Father is by sin offended a blessed Saviour a fresh crucified and the sweet Comforter the Spirit True repentance is a sorrowing for sin as it is offensivum Dei aversivum à Deo this both comes from God drives a man to God as it did the Church in the Canticles and the Prodigall Ezek. 20. 22 23. grieved and vexed Again Repentance doth include not onely a loathing of sin but also a loathing of our selves for sin as a man doth not onely loath poyson but he loaths the very dish or vessel that hath the smell of the poyson so a true Penitent doth not onely loath his sin but he loaths himselfe the vessel that still smels of sin So Ezek. 20. 43. And there shall ye remember your wayes and all your doings wherein yee have been defiled and ye shall loath your selves in your owne sight for all your evills that ye have committed true Repentance will work your hearts not onely to loath your sins but also to loath your selves Againe true Repentance doth not onely work a man to loath himself for his sins but it makes him asham'd of his sin also What fruit have ye of those things whereof ye are now ashamed saith the Apostle so Ezekiel And thou shalt be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord God When a penâ—tentiall soul sees his sins pardoned the anger of God pacified and Divine Justice satisfied then
would be mighty in believing and in wrestling with God that he would hasten the day of his glory that the reproach that is now upon his people and wayes may cease The sixth Device that Satan 6 Device hath to keepe soules off from religious services is BY presenting before them the examples Iohn 4. 12. 7. Chap. 48 49. 1 Cor. 1. 26 27. Mica 7. 2 3 4. of the greatest part of the world that walk in the wayes of their owne hearts and that make light and slight of the wayes of the Lord why saith Satan do not you see that the great and the rich the noble and the honourable the learned and the wise even the greatest number of men never trouble themselves about such and such wayes and why then should you be singular and nice you were far better doe as the most doe c. Now the remedies against this Device of Satan are these that follow THe first Remedie against this device 1 Remedie of Satan is solemnly to consider of those Scriptures that make directly against following the sinfull examples of men as that in Exodus Thou shalt not The way to hell is broad and well beaten the way to be undone for ever is to do as the most do argumentum turpissimum est turba the multitude is the weakest and worst argument saith Seneca follow a multitude to doe evill neither shalt thou speake in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgement The multitude generally are ignorant and know not the way of the Lord therefore they speake evill of that they know not they are envious and maliciously bent against the service and way of God and therefore they cannot speak well of the wayes of God This way is every where spoken against said they so in that Numb 16. Seperate from them and come out from among them So the Apostle Have no fellowship with the unfruitfull works of darkenesse So Solomon Enter not into the way Prov. 4. 14. ch 9. v. 6. of the wicked for sake the foolish and live They that walke with the most shall pâ—rish with the most They that do as the most shall ere long suffer with the most they that live as the most must dye with the most and to hell with the most The second Remedie against this device 2 Remedie of Satan is seriously to consider that if you will sin with the multitude all the Angells in heaven and men on earth cannot keep you from suffering Sin and punishment are linked together with chains of adamant of sinn we may say as Isidore doth of the serpent Tot dolores quot colores so many colours so many dolours with the multitude if you wil be wicked with them you must unavoidably be miserable with them say to thy soule oh my soul if thou wilt sin with the multitude thou must be shut out of heaven with the multitude thou must be cast downe to hell with the multitude c. And I heard another voyce from Heaven saying come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues Come out in affection in action and in habitation for else the infection of sin will bring upon you the infliction of punishment So saith the wise man He that walketh with wise men shall be wise but a companion of fooles shall be destroyed or as the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Ieroange from ruange to be naught hath it shall be broken in pieces Multitudes may help thee into sin yea one may draw thee into sin but 't is not multitudes that can help thee to escape punishments As you may see in Moses and Aaron that were provoked to sinne by the multitude but were shut out of the pleasant Land and fell by a hand of Justice as well as others The third Remedie against this device 3. Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider the worth and excellency of thy immortall soule Thy soul is a jewell more worth What wise man would fetch gold out of a fieâ—y crucible hazard his immortall soule to gain the world by following a multitude in those steps that lead to the chambers of death and darknesse then heaven and earth The losse of thy soule is incomparable irreparable and irrecoverable if that be lost all is lost and thou art undone for ever Is it madnesse and folly in a man to kill himselfe for company and is it not greater madnesse or folly to break the neck of thy soule and to damn it for company Suspect that way wherein thou seest multitudes to walk the multitude being a stream that thou must row hard against or thou wilt be carried into that gulfe out of which Angells cannot deliver thee Is it not better to walke in a strait way alone then to wander into crooked wayes with company sure 't is better to goe to Heaven alone then to Hell with company I might adde other things but these may suffice for the present and I am afraid if these arguments do not stir you other arguments will work but little upon you The seventh Device that Satan 7 Device hath to keepe soules from holy and heavenly services is BY casting in a multitude of vaine thoughts whilst the soule is in seeking of God or in waiting on God and by this device he hath cooled some mens spirits in heavenly services and taken off at least for a time many precious Vellem servire Domine sed cogitationes non patiuntur Lord now how fain would I serve thee vaine thoughts will not suffer me soules from religious performances I have no heart to heare nor no heart to pray nor no delight in reading nor in the society of the Saints c. Satan doth so dog and follow my soule and is still a casting in such a multitude of vaine thoughts concerning God the world and my own soule c. that I even tremble to think of waiting upon God in any religious service oh the vaine thoughts that Satan casts in do so distast my soule and so grieve vex perplex and distract my soule that they even make me weary of holy duties yea of mâ— very life oh I cannot be so raised and ravished so heated and melted so quickned and enlarged so comforted and refreshed as I should be as I might be and as I would be in religious services by reason of that multitude of vain thoughts that Satan is injecting or casting into my soule c. Now the Remedies against this device of Satan are these that follow THe first Remedie against this device 1 Remedie When Pompey could not keep his souldiers in the camp by perswasion he cast himselfe all along in the narrow passage that lead out of it and then bid them goe if you will but you shall first trample upon your Generall and the thoughts of this overcame them you are wise know how to apply it to
Christ hath given sinne its deaths wound by his power spirit death and resurrection yet it will die but a lingring death As a man that is mortally wounded dies by little and little so doth sin in the heart of a Saint The death of Christ on the Crosse was a lingring death so the death of sin in the soule is a lingering death now it dies a little and anon it dies a little c. as the Psalmist speaks Slay them not least my people forget scatter them by thy power and bring them downe oh Lord our shield He would not have them utterly destroyed but some reliques preserved as a memoriall so God dealeth in respect of sin 't is wounded and brought downe but not wholly slaine something is still left as a monument of the Divine grace and to keep us humble wakefull and watchfull and that our armour may be still kept on and our weapons alwayes in our hands The best mens soules in this life hangs between the flesh and the spirit as it were like Mahomets Tomb at Aleppo between two load-stones like Erasmus as the Papists paint him betwixt The Romanes lost many a battel â—nd yet in the issue were Conquerors in all their wars 't is just so with the Saints Heaven and Hell like the Tribe of Manasseh halfe on this side Jordan in the Land of the Amorites and halfe on that side in the Holy Land yet in the issue they shall overcome the flesh and trample upon the necks of their spirituall enemies The Sixth Device that Satan hath to keep a poor soule in a sad doubting and questioning condition is BY suggesting to the soule that surely 6 Device his estate is not good because he cannot joy and rejoyce in Christ as once he could because he hath lost that comfort and joy that once was in his spirit Saith Satan thou knowest the time was when thy heart was much carried out to joying and rejoycing in Christ thou doest not forget the time when thy heart used to be full of joy and comfort but now how art thou fallen in thy joyes and comforts Therefore thy estate is not good thou doest but deceive thy selfe to think that ever it was good for surely if it had thy joy and comfort would have continued And hereupon the soule is apt to take part with Satan and say 't is even so I see all is naught and I have but deceived my owne soule c. Now the Remedies against this device of Satan are these that follow THe first Remedy against this Device 1 Remedie of Satan is to consider that the losse of comfort is a separable adjunct from grace the soul may be fâ—ll of holy affections when 't is empty of Divine consolations There may be and often Ps 63. 1 2 8. Isa 50. 10. 7. Mic. 7. 8 9. Psal 42. 5 is true grace yea much grace where there is not a drop of comfort nor a dram of joy Comfort is not of the being but of the wel-being of a Christian God hath not so linked these 2 choice lovers together but that they may be Spirituall joy is a Sun that is often clouded though it be as precious a flower as most Paradise affords yeâ— 't is subject to side and wâ—â—ther put asunder That wisdome that is from above will never work a man to reason thus I have no comfort therefore I have no grace I have lost that joy that once I had therefore my condition is not good was never good c. but 't will inable a man to reason thus tho my comfort is gone yet the God of my comfort abides though my joy is lost yet the seeds of grace remaine The best mens joyes are as glasse bright and brittle and evermore in danger of breaking The second Remedy against this Device 2 Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider that the precious things that thou still injoyest are far better then the joyes and comforts that thou hast lost Thy union with Christ thy communion with Christ thy son-ship thy saint-ship thy heir-ship thou still injoyest by Christ is far better then the comforts thou hast lost by sin what though thy comforts be gone yet thy union and communion with Christ remaines though thy comforts be gone yet thou art a Son tho Jer. 31. 18 19 20. a comfortlesse Son an heir though a comfortlesse heir a Saint though a comfortlesse Saint Though the bag of silver thy comforts be lost yet the When one objected to Faninus his chearfullnesse to Christs Agony and sadnesse he answered Christ was sad that I might bemerry he had my sins and I have his righteousnesse box of Jewels thy union with Christ thy communion with Christ thy Sonship thy Saint-ship thy Heir-ship which thou still injoyest is far better then the bag of silver thou hast lost yea the least of those precious Jewels is more worth then all the comforts in the world well let this be a cordiall to comfort thee a star to lead thee and a staffe to support thee that thy box of Jewels are safe though thy bag of silver be lost The third Remedie against this Device 3 Remedy of Satan is to consider that thy condition is no other then what hath been the condition of those precious Psal 51. 12. Psal 30. 6 7. Job 23. 6 8 9. 30. 31. Lam. 1. 16. Mat. 27. 46. soules whose names were written upon the heart of Christ and who are now at rest in the bosome of Christ One day you shall have them praising and rejoycing the next day a mourning weeping one day you shall have them a singing Psal 42. 5. The Lord is our portion the next day a sighing and expostulating with themselves Lam. 5. 15. Why are yee cast downe oh our souls Why is our Harp turned to mourning And our Organ into the voice of them that weep c. The fourth Remedy against this Device 4 Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider that the causes of joy and comfort are not alwayes the same Happily thy former joy and comfort did spring from The spirit doth not every day make a feast in the soul he doth not make every day to be a day of wearing the wedding robes the witnesse of the spirit he bearing witnesse to thy soule that thy nature was changed thy sins pardoned thy soule reconciled c. Now the Spirit may upon some speciall occasion bear witnesse to the soul that the heart of God is dearly set upon him that he loves him with an everlasting love c. and yet the soule may never injoy such a testimony all the dayes of his life again Though the spirit be a witnessing spirit it 's not his office every day to witnesse to believers their interest in God Christ Heaven c. Or happily thy former joy and comfort did spring from the newnesse and suddennesse of the change of thy condition for a man in one
the justifying of beastiality as many have done in these dayes of vertue the more dangerous 't is to the souls of men this we see evident in these days by those very many souls that are turned out of the way that is holy and in which their souls have had sweet and glorious communion with God into wayes of highest vanity and folly by Satans neat colouring over of sin and painting forth vice under the name and colour of vertue this is so notoriously knowne that I need but name it the most dangerous vermine is too often to be found under the fairest and sweetest Flowers and the fairest glove is often drawn upon the foulest hand and the richest robes are often put upon the filthiest bodies so are the fairest and the sweetest names upon the greatest and the most horriblest vices and etrors that be in the world ah that we had not too many sad proofs of this amongst us The third Remedy against this Device 3 Remedy is to look on sin with that eye Tacitus speaks of Tiberius â—hat when his sins did appâ—ar in their own colours they did so terrifie and torment him that he protested to the Senate that he suffered death daily which within a few hours we shall see it ah souls when you shall lye upon a dying bed and stand before a judgement seat sin shall be unmaskt and its dresse and robes shall then be taken off and then it shall appear more vile filthy and terrible then Hell it self then that which formerly appear'd most sweet will appear most bitter and that which appear'd most beautifull will appear most ugly and that which appear'd most delightful will then appear most dreadfull to the soul ah the shame the paine the gall the bitternes the horrour the hell that the fight of sin when its dress is taken off will raise in poor souls Sin will surely prove evill and bitter to the soul when its robes are taken off A man may have the Stone who feels no fit of it Conscience will work at last though for the present one may feele no fit of accusation Laban Satan that now allures thee to sin will ere long make thee see that Peccatum est deicidium sin is a murthering of God and this will make thee murther two at once thy soule and thy body unlesse the Lord in mercy holds thy hand shewed himself at parting sin will be bitternes in the latter end when it shall appear to the soul in its own filthy nature The Devil deals with men as the Panther doth with Beasts he hides his deformed head till his sweet sent hath drawn them into his danger till we have sinned Satan is a Parasite when we have sinned he is a Tyrant Ah souls the day is at hand when the Devil will pull off the paint and garnish that he hath put upon sin and present that monster sin in such a monstrous shape to your soules that will cause your thoughts to be be troubled your countenance to be changed the joynts of your loines to be loosed and your knees to be dashed one against another and your hearts to be so terrified that you will be ready with Achitophel and Judas to strangle and hang your bodies on earth and your soules in Hell if the Lord hath not more mercy on you then he had on them oh therefore looke upon sin now as you must look upon it to all eternity and as God Conscience and Satan will present it to you another day The fourth Remedie against this device 4. Remedie of Satan is solemnly to consider that even these very sins that Satan paints and puts new names and colours Vâ—a guttula plus valet quam coelum terra Luther i. e. one little drop speaking of the blood of Christ is more worth then Heaven and Earth upon cost the best blood the noblest blood the life-blood the heart-blood of the Lord Jesus that Christ should come from the eternall bosome of his Father to a Region of sorrow and death that God should be manifested in the flesh the Creator made a Creature that he that was cloathed with glory should be wrapped with raggs of flesh he that filled heaven and earth with his glory should be cradled in a manger that the power of God should flie from weak man the God of Israel into Aegypt that the God of the Law should be subject to the Law One of the Rabbins when he read what bitter torments the Messias should suffer when he came into the world cryed out Veniat Messias at ego non videam i. e. Let the Messias come but let not me see him Dionysius being in Aegypt at the time of Christs suffering and seeing an Eclipse of the Sun and knowing it to be contrary to nature cryed out aut Deus naturae patitur aut mundi machina dissolvitur Either the God of Nature suffered or the frame of the world will be dlssolved the God of Circumcision circumcised the God that made the Heavens working at Josephs homely trade that he that bindes the Devills in chaines should be tempted that he whose is the world and the fulnesse thereof should hunger and thirst that the God of strength should be weary the Judge of all flesh condemned the God of life put to death that he that is one with his Father should cry out of misery my God my God why hast thou forsaken mee that he that had the keyes of Hell and death at his girdle should lie imprison'd in the sepulcher of another having in his life time no where to lay his head nor after death to lay his body that that head before which the Angels doe cast down their Crowns should be crowned with thornes and those eyes purer then the Sun put out by the darknesse of death those eares which hear nothing but Hallelujahs of Saints and Angels to hear the blasphemies of the multitude that face that was fairer then the Sons of men to be spit on by those beastly wretched Jewes that mouth and tongue that spake as never man spake accused for blasphemy those hands that freely swayed the Scepter of Heaven nailed to the Crosse those feet like unto fine brasse nailed to the Crosse for mans sins each sense annoyed his feeling or touching with a speare and nailes 'T is an excellent saying of Bernard quanto pro nobis vilior tanto nobis charior the more vilde Christ made himself for us the more dear he ought to be to us his smell with stinking savour being crucified about Golgatha the place of Skulls his taste with vinegar and gall his hearing with reproaches and sight with his mother and Disciples bemoaning him his soule comfortlesse and forsaken and all this for those very sins that Satan paints and puts fine colours upon oh how should the consideration of this stir up the soule against it and worke the soule to flie from it and to use all holy meanes whereby sin may be
subdued and destroyed After Julius Caesar was murdered Antonius brought forth his coat all bloody and cut and laid it before the people saying look here you have your Emperours coat thus bloody and torne whereupon the people were presently in an uproar and cryed out to slay those murderers and they tooke their tables and stooles that were in the place and set them on fire and ran to the houses of them that had slam Caesar and burnt them so when we consider that sin hath slaine our Lord Jesus ah how should it provoke our hearts to be revenged on sin that hath murdered the Lord of Glory and Nolo vivere sine vulnere cum te video vulneratum Oh my God! as long as I see thy wounds I will never live without wound saith Bonaventure hath done that mischief that all the Devills in Hell could never have done 'T was good counsell one gave never let goe out of your mindes the thoughts of a crucified Christ let these be meat and drinke unto you let them be your sweetnesse and consolation your honey and your desire your reading and your meditation your life death and resurrection The third device that Satan hath to 3. Device draw the soul to sin is by extenuating and lessening of sin ah saith Satan 't is but a little pride a little worldlinesse a little uncleanness a little drunkennesse c. As Lot said of Zoar Gen. 19. 20. it is but a little one and my soule shall live ahlas saith Satan 't is but a very little sin that you stick so at you may commit it without any danger to your soule 't is but a little one you may commit it and yet your soul shall live Now the Remedies against this device of Satan are these FIrst solemnly consider that those 1. Remedy sins which we are apt to account small hath brought upon men the greatest wrath of God as the eating of an Apple gathering a few sticks on the Sabbaoth day and touching of the Ark oh the dreadfull wrath that these sinnes brought down upon the Draco the Rigid Law-giver being asked why when sins were not equall he appointed death to all Answered he knew that sins were not all equall but he knew the least deserved death So though the sins of men he not all equall yet the least of them deserves eternall death heads and hearts of men the least sin is contrary to the Law of God the nature of God the being of God and the glory of God and therefore t is often punished severely by God and doe not we see daily the vengeance of the Almighty falling upon the bodies names estates Families and soules of men for those sins that are but little ones in their eyes Surely if we are not utterly left of God and blinded by Satan we cannot but see it Oh! therefore when Satan saies t is but a little one doe thou say oh but those sins that thou callest little are such that will cause God to raine Hell out of Heaven upon sinners as he did upon the Sodomites The second Remedy against this device 2. Remedy of Satan is seriously to consider that the giving way to a lesse sin makes way for the committing of a greater he that to avoide a greater sin will yeild to a lesser ten thousand to one but God in Justice will leave that soule to fall into a greater if we commit one sin to avoid another 't is just we should avoid neither we having not law nor power in our own hands to keep off sin as we pleas and we by yeilding to the Psal 137. ver 9. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones Hugho's Glosse is pious c. Sit nihil in te Babylonicum Let there be nothing in thee of Babylon noâ— onely the grown men but the little ones must be dashed against the stones not onely great sins but little sins must be killed or they will kill the soul for ever lesser doe tempt the tempter to tempt us to the greater Sin is of an incroaching nature it creeps on the soule by degrees step by step till it hath the soule to the very height of sin David gives way to his wandring eye and this led him to those foule sins that caused God to breake his bones and to turne his day into night and to leave his soule in great darknesse Jocab and Peter and other Saints have found this true by wofull experience that the yeelding to a lesser sin hath been the ushering in of a greater the little thief will open the doore and make way for the greater and the little wedge knock't in will make way for the greater Satan will first draw thee to sit with the drunkard and then to sip with the drunkard and then at last to be drunke with the drunkard he will first draw thee to be unclean in thy thoughts and then to be unclean in thy looks and then to be unclean in thy words and at last to be unclean in thy practises he will fiâ—st draw thee to looke on the golden wedge and then to like the golden wedge and then to handle the golden wedge and then at last by wicked wayes to gaine the golden wedge though thou runnest the hazard of loosing God and thy soul An Italian having found his enemy at an advantage promised him if he would deny his faith he would save his life he to save his life denyed his faith which having done he stab'd him rejoycing that by this he had at one time taken revenge both on soule and body for ever as you may see in Gehazi Achan and Judas and many in these our dayes Sinne is never at a stand Psal 1. v. 1. First ungodly then sinners then scorners here they goe on from sin to sin till they come to the top of sin viz. to sit in the seat of scorners or as ris in the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to affect the honour of the chair of Pestilence Austin writing upon John tells a story of a certaine man that was of an opinion that the Devill did make the flye and not God saith one to him if the Devill made flies then the Devill made wormes and God did not make them for they are living creatures as well as flies true said he the Devil did make wormes but said the other if the Devil did make wormes then he made birds beasts and man he granted all thus saith Austin by denying God in the fly he came to deny God in man and to deny the whole Creation by all this we see that the yeelding to lesser sins drawes the soul to the committing of greater Ah! how many in these dayes have fallen first to have low thoughts of Scripture and Ordinances and then to slight Scripture and Ordinances and then to make a nose of wax of Scripture and Ordinances and then to cast off Scripture and Ordinances and then at
he sits down and blushes as the Hebrew hath it as one ashamed yea true Repentance doth Quantum displicet Deo immunditia peccaâ—â— in tantum placet deo eruhiscentia poenitentis Ber. i. e. So much the more God hath been displeased with the blacknesse of sin the more will he be pleased with the blushing of the sinner They that do not burn now in zeale against sin must ere long burne in Hell for sin work a man to crosse his sinfull self and to walk contrary to sinfull selfe to take a holy revenge upon sin as you may see in Paul the Jaylor Mary Magdalen and Manasses this the Apostle shewes in that 2 Cor. 7. 10 11. For godly sorrow worketh repentance never to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death for behold the selfesame thing that ye sorrowed after a Godly sort what carefullnesse it wrought in you yea what clearing of your selves yea what indignation yea what feare yea what vehement desire yea what zeale yea what revenge Now souls sum up all these things together and tell me whether it be such an easie thing to repent as Satan would make the soul to beleeve and I am confident your hearts will answer that 't is as hard a thing to repent as 't is to make a world or to raise the dead I shall conclude this second Remedy with a worthy saying of a precious holy man Repentance saith he strips us stark naked of all the garments of the old Adam and leaves not so much as the shirt behind in this rotten building it leaves not a stone upon a stone As the Flood drowned Noa'hs own friends and servants so must the flood of repenting tears drown our sweetest and most profitable sins The third Remedy against this Device 3 Remedy of Satan is seriously to consider that Repentance is a continued act the word Repent implies the continuation of it True Repentance inclines a mans Anselme in his Meditations confesseth that all his life was either damnable for sin committed or unprofitable for good omitted and at last concludes Quid restat o peccatâ—r nisi ut in tota vita tua deplores totam vitam tuam Oh what then remaines but in our whole life to lament the sins of our whole life heart to perform Gods Statutes always even unto the end a true Penitent must goe on from Faith to Faith from strength to strength he must never stand still nor turne back Repentance is a grace and must have its daily operation as well as other graces true Repentance is a continued spring where the waters of godly sorrow are alwayes flowing My sins are ever before me a true penitent is often casting his eyes back to the dayes of his former vanity and this makes him morning and evening to water his couch with his tears Remember not against me the sins of my youth saith one blessed Penitent and I was a blasphemer and a persecuter and injurious saith another Penitent Repentance is a continued act of turning a Repentance never to be repented of a turning never to turne again to folly a true penitent hath ever something within him to turn from he can never get near enough to God no not so near him as once he was and therefore he is still turning and turning that he may get nearer and nearer to him that is his chiefest good and his onely happinesse optimum 'T is truly said of God that he is omnia super omnia maximum the best and the greatest they are every day a crying out O wretched men that we are who shall deliver us from this body of death They are still sensible of sin and still conflicting with sin and still sorrowing for sin and still loathing of themselves for sin Repentance is no transient act but a continued act of the soul and tell me oh tempted soule whether it be such an easie thing as Satan would make thee believe to be every day a turning more and more from sin and a turning nearer and nearer to God thy choicest blessednesse A true Penitent can as easily content himselfe with one act of faith or one act of love as he can content himselfe with one act of Repentance A Jewish Rabbie pressing the practice of Repentance upon his Disciples exhorting them to be sure to Repent the day before they dyed one of them replyed that the day of any mans death was very uncertaine Repent therefore every day said the Rabbin and then you shall be sure to repent the day before you dye you are wise and know how to apply it to your own advantage The fourth Remedy against this Device 4 Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider that if the work of Repentance were such an easie work as Satan would If thou be backward in the thoughts of Repentance be forward in the thoughts of Hell the flames whereof onely the streams of the penitent eye can extinguish Tertul. make it to be then certainly so many would not lye roaring and crying out of wrath and eternall ruine under the horrours and terrours of conscience for not repenting yea doubtlesse so many millions would not goe to hell for not Repenting if 't were such an easie thing to repent Ah! doe not poor souls under horrours of conscience cry out and say were all this world a lump of gold and in our hand to dispose of we would give it for the least dram of true Repentance and wilt thou say it is an easie thing to repent When a poor sinner whose Conscience is awakened shall judge the exchange of all the world for the least dram of Repentance to be the happiest exchange that ever sinner made tell me oh soul is it Oh how shalt thou â—ear and rend thy self how shalt thou lament fruitlesse repenting what wilt thou say woe is me that I have not cast off the burden of sin woe is me that I have not washed away my spots but aâ— now pierced with mine iniquities now have I lost the surpassing joy of Angels Basil good going to hell is it good dwelling with the devouring fire with everlasting burnings Is it good to be for ever seperated from the blessed and glorious presence of God Angels and Saints And to be for ever shut out from those good things of eternall life which are so many that they exceed number so great that they exceed measure so precious that they exceed all estimation we know 't is the greatest misery that can befall the sons of men and would they not prevent this by Repentance if it were such an easie thing to repent as Satan would make it well then doe not run the hazard of loosing God Christ Heaven and thy soul for ever by hearkening to this Device of Satan viz. That it is an easie thing to Repent c. If it be so easie why then doe wicked mens hearts so rise against them that presse the Doctrine of repentance in the sweetest way
that other precious Saints that were once glorious on earth and are now triumphing in heaven have turned from the occasions of sin as Hell it selfe as you may see in Joseph Gen. 39. 10. And it came to passe as she spake to Joseph day by day that he hearkned not unto her to lye by her or to be with her Joseph was famous for all the four Cardinall vertues if ever any were in this one temptation you may see his Fortitude Justice Temperance There are stories of Heathens that would not look upon excellent beauties lest they should be insnared and Prudence in that he shuns the occasion for he would not so much as be with her and that a man is indeed that he is in a temptation which is but a tap to give vent to corruption The Nazarite might not only not drink wine but not taste a grape or the husk of a grape The Leaper was to shave his haire and paire his nailes The Devill counts a fit occasion halfe a conquest for he knowes that corrupt nature hath Democritus pluck't out his own eyes to avoid the danger of uncleannesse a seed-plot of all sin which being drawn forth and watered by some sinfull occasion is soon set a work to the producing of death and destruction God will not remove the temptation till we remove the occasion A Bird whiles a loft is safe but she comes not near the snare without danger the shunning the occasions of sin renders a man most like the best of men a soul eminently gracious dares not come near the traine though he be far off the blow So Job 31. 1. I made a Covenant with mine eyes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I cut a Covenant In making Covenants it was a custome among the Jewes to cut some beast or other in pieces and to walk between the pieces to signifie that they desired God to destroy them that should break the Covenant why then should I think upon a maid I set a watch at the entrance of my senses that my foul might not by them be infected and endangered the eye is the window of the soule and if that should be alwayes open the soul might smart for it A man may not look intently upon that that he may nat love intirely The Disciples were set a gogg by beholding the beauty of the Temple 't is best and safest to have the eye alwayes fixt upon the highest and noblest objects as the Marriners eye is fixt on the star when their hand is on the sterne so David when he was himself he shuns the occasion of sin Psal 26. 4 5. I have not sat with vaine persons neither will I goe in with dissemblers I have hated the Congregation of evill doers and will not sit with the wicked Stories speak of some that could not sleep when they thought of the Trophies of other Worthies that went before them the highest and choycest examples are to some and should be to all very quickning and provoking and oh that the examples of those worthy Saints David Joseph and Job might prevaile with all your souls to shun and avoid the occasions of sin every one should strive to be like to them in grace that they desire to be equall with in glory He that shooteth at the Sun though he come far short will shoot higher then he that aimeth at a shrub 't is best and it speaks out much of Christ within to eye the highest and the worthiest examples The fourth Remedy against this Device 4 Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider that the avoiding the occasions of sin is an evidence of grace and that which lifts up a man above most other men in the world that a man is indeed which he is in temptation and when sinfull occasions doe present themselves before the soul this speaks out both the truth Plutarch saith of Demosthenes that he was excellent at praising the worthy acts of his Ancestors but not so at imitating them oh that this were not applicable to many professors in our times and the strength of grace when with Lot a man can be chast in Sodome and with Timothy can live temperately in Asia among the luxurious Ephesians and with Job can walk uprightly in the land of Vz where the people were prophane in their lives and superstitious in their worship and with Daniel be holy in Babylon and with Abraham righteous in Chaldea and with Nehemiah zealous in Damasco c. Many a wicked man is big and full of sinful corruption but shews it not for want of occasion but that man is surely good who in his course will not be bad though tempted by occasions a Christlesse soul is so far from refusing occasions when they come in his way that he looks and longs after them and rather then he will go without them he will buy them not onely with love or money but also with the losse of his soul nothing but grace can fence a man against the occasions of sin when he is strongly tempted thereunto therefore as you would cherrish a precious evidence in your own bosomes of the truth and strength of your graces shun all sinfull occasions The eight Device that Satan hath to 8 Device draw the soule to sin is by presenting 'T was a weighty saying of Seneca Nihil est infelicius eo cui nil nunquā contigit advers◠there is nothing more unhappy then he who never felt adversity to the soule the outward mercies that vaine men inioy and the outward miseries that they are freed from whil'st they have walked in the wayes of sin Saith Satan do'st thou not see oh soule the many mercies that such and such inioy that walk in those very wayes that thy soul startles to think of and the many crosses that they are delivered from even such as makes other men that say they dare not walke in such wayes to spend their dayes in sighing weeping groaning and mourning and therefore saith Satan if ever thou wouldest be freed from the dark night of adversity and injoy the sun-shine of prosperity thou must walk in their wayes by this stratagem the Devil took those in the 44 Jeremiah 16 17 18. As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee but we will certainly doe whatsoever thing goeth forth of our mouth to burne Incense unto the Queen of Heaven and to pour Some of the Heathens would be wicked as their Gods were counting it a dishonour to their God to be unlike to him Lactan tius out drink-offrings unto her as we have done we and our Fathers our Kings and our Princes in the Cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem for then had we plenty of victualls and were well and saw no evill But since we left off to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink-offerings unto her we have wanted all things and have
thousand worlds Ah! if the vailes be thus sweet and glorious before pay-day comes what will be that glory that Christ will crown his Saints with for cleaving to his service in the face of all difficulties When he shall say to his father Loe here am I and the children which thou hast given me if there be so much to be had in a wildernesse what then shall be had in Paradise c. The fourth Device that Satan 4 Device hath to keep soules off from holy exercises from religious services is BY working them to make false inferences from those blessed and glorious things that Christ hath done As that Jesus Christ hath done all for us therefore there is nothing for us to doe but to joy and rejoyce he hath perfectly justified us and fulfilled the Law and satisfied divine Justice and pacified his Fathers wrath and is gone to Heaven to prepare a place for us and in the mean time to intercede for us and therefore away with praying and mourning and hearing c. Ah! what a world of Professors hath Satan drawn in these dayes from religious services by working them to make such sad wilde and strange inferences from the sweet and excellent things that the Lord Jesus hath done for his beloved ones Now the Remedies against this device of Satan are these that follow THe first Remedie against this device 1. Remedie of Satan is to dwell as much on those Scriptures that shew you the duties and services that Christ requires of you as upon those Scriptures that declare Tertullian hath this expression of the fulnesse of the Scriptures Adoro plenitudinem Scripturarum I adore the fulnesse of the Scripture Gregory calls the Scripture cor animam Dei the heart soule of God and who will not then dwell on it to you the precious and glorious things that Christ hath done for you 'T is a sad and a dangerous thing to have two eyes to behold our dignity and priviledges and not one eye to see our duties and services I should look with one eye upon the choise and excellent things that Christ hath done for me to raise up my heart to love Christ with the purest love and to joy in Christ with the strongest joy and to lift up Christ above all who hath made himself to be my all And I should look with the other eye upon those services and duties that the Scriptures require of those for whom Christ hath done such blessed things as upon that of the Apostle What know yee not that your body 1 Cor. 6. 19 20. is the Temple of the holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your owne For ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods And that 1 Cor. 15. 58. therefore my beloved brethren be yee stedfast unmoveable alwayes abounding in the worke of the Lord knowing that your labour is not in vaine in the Lord. And that And let us not be weary in well doing for in due Gal. 6. 9. 2. season we shall reape if we faint not And that of the Apostle rejoyce alwayes and pray without ceasing and that in the Philippians Worke out your salvation with Phil. 2 12 13 1 Cor. 11. 26. Heb 10. 24 25. feare and trembling and that This doe till I come and that Let us consider one another to provoke one another to love and to good workes not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the mannor of some The Jews were much in turning over the leaves of the Scripture but they did not weigh the matter of them John 5. 39. You search the Scripture Gr. there seemeth to be indicative rather then imperative is but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching Now a soule that would not be drawn away by this device of Satan hee must not look with a squint eye upon these blessed Scriptures and abundance more of like import but he must dwell upon them he must make these Scriptures to be his chiefest and his choisest companions and this will be a happy meanes to keep him close to Christ and his service in these times wherein many turn their backs upon Christ under pretence of being highly interested in the great and glorious things that have been acted by Christ c. The second Remedie against this Device 2. Remedie of Satan is to consider that the great and glorious things that Jesus Christ hath done and is a doing for us should be so far from taking us off from religious services and pious performances that they should be the greatest motives and encouragements to the performance of them that may be as the Scriptures do abundantly evidence I 1 Pet. 2. 9. Luke 1. 74 75. This I am sure of that all mans happines here is his holinesse and his holinesse shall hereafter be his happiness Christ hath therefore broke the Devils yoke from off our necks that his Father might have better service from our hearts 2 Cor. 6. 6. 17 18. ch 7. 1. compared will only instance in some as that That we being delivered out of the hands of our Enemies might serve him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of our lives Christ hath freed you from all your Enemies from the curse of the Law the predominant damnatory power of sin the wrath of God the sting of death and the torments of hell but what is the end and design of Christ in doing these great and marvellous things for his people 't is not that they should throw off duties of righteousnesse and holinesse but that their hearts may be the more free and sweet in all holy duties and heavenly services So the Apostle I will be their God and they shall be my people And I will be a Father unto you and yee shall be my sonnes and daughters saith the Lord Almighty mark what follows Having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirit perfecting holinesse in the feare of the Lord. And againe The grace of God that Yit 2. 11 12 13 14. bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men Teaching us that denying all ungodlinsse and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious Tace lingua loquere vita talk not of a good life but let thy life speak Your actions in passiâ—g pass not away for every good work is a grain of seed for eternall life appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave him selfe for us that he might redeeme us from all iniquity and purifie unto himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good workes Ah soules I know no such arguments to worke you to a lively and constant performance of all heavenly services like
they are these partly to keep them humble and low in their owne eyes and partly to put them upon the use of all divine helps whereby sin may be subdued and mortified And partly that they may live upon Christ for the perfecting the work of Sanctification Lilmod lelammed we therefore learn that wee may teach is a proverb among the Rabbins After the Trojans had been wandering tossing up and down the Mediterranean Sea as soon as they espied Italy they cried out with exulting joy Italy Italy so will Saints when they come to Heaven and partly to weane them from things below and to make them heart-sick of their absence from Christ and to maintain in them bowels of compassion towards others that are subject to the same infirmities with them and that they may distinguish between a state of grace and a state of glory and that Heaven may be more sweet to them in the close Now doth the Lord upon these weighty reasons suffer his people to be exercised and molested with the operations of sinfull corruptions oh then let no beleever speak write or conclude bitter things against his owne soule and comforts because that sinne troubles and vexes his righteous soule c. but lay his hand upon his mouth and be silent because the Lord will have it so upon such weighty grounds as the soule is not able to withstand The sixth Remedy against this Device 6. Remedy of Satan is solemnly to consider that Beleevers must repent for their being God never gâ—ve a Beleever a new hâ—art that it should always liâ— a bleeding and that it should always be rent and torn in pieces with discouragements discouraged by their sins Their being discouraged by their sins will cost them many a prayer many a teare and many a groane And that because their discouragements under sin flowes from ignorance and unbeliefe it springs from their ignorance of the riches freenesse fulnesse and everlastingnesse of Gods love and from their ignorance of the power glory sufficiency and efficacy of the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ And from their ignorance of the worth glory fulnesse largenesse and compleatnesse of the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ And from their ignorance of that reall close spiritual glorious and inseparable union that is betwixt Christ and their precious soule Ah! did precious souls know and beleeve the truth of these things as they should they would not sit down dejected and over-whelmed under the sense and operations of sin c. The second Device that Satan 2 Device hath to keep souls in a sad doubting and questioning condition is BY working them to make false definitions of their graces Satan knows that as false definitions of sinne wrong the soule one way so false definitions of grace wrong the soule another way I will instance only in faith oh how doth Satan labour might and main to work men to make false definitions of faith Some he works to define faith too high as that it is a full assurance of the love of God to a mans soule in particular or a full perswasion of the pardon and remission of a mans owne sins in particular saith Satan what dost thou talk of faith faith is an assurance of the love of God and of the pardon of sin and this thou hast not thou knowest thou art far off from this therefore thou hast no faith and by drawing men to make such a false definition of faith he keeps them in a sad doubting and questioning condition and makes them spend their days in sorrow and sighing so that teares are their drink and sorrow is their meate and sighing is their work all the day long c. The Philosophers say there are eight dâ—grees of heat we discern three now iâ— a mâ—n should define heat only by the highest degree then all other degrees will be cast out from being heat so if men shall define faiâ—h only by the highest degrees by assurance of the love of God and of the pardon of his sins in particular what will become of lesser degrees of faith If a man should define a man to be a living man onely by the highest and stâ—ongest demonstrations of life as laughing leaping running working walking c. would not many thousands that groan under internal and externall weaknesses and that cannot laugh nor leap nor run nor work nor walk be found dead men by such a definition that yet wee know to be alive 't is so here and you know how to apply it c. Now the Remedies against this device of Satan are these that follow THe first Remedie against this Device 1. Remedy of Satan is solemnly â—o consider that there may be true faith yea gâ—eat measures of faith where there is no assurance The Canaanite woman in the Gospel had strong faith yet no assurance that we read of These things have I written unto you saith John that believe on the name of the Son of God that yee may know that ye have eternall life and that ye may beleeve on the name of the Son of God In these words you see that they did believe and had eternall life in respect of the purpose and promise of God and in respect of the seeds and beginnings of it in their souls and in respect of Christ their head who sits in Heaven as a publique person representing all his chosen ones Who hath raised us up together Ephes 2. 6. and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus and yet they did not know that they had eternall life 'T is one thing to have a right to heaven and another thing to know it 'T is one thing to be beloved and another thing for a man to know that he is beloved 'T is one thing for God to write a mans name in the book of life and another thing for God to tell a man that his name is written in the book of life and to say to him rejoyce because thy name is written in heaven So Paul In whom yee also trusted after Ephes 1. 13. So those in â—haâ— Isa 50. 10 had faith though they had no assurance Mica 7. 8 9. yee heard the word of truth the Gospell of your salvation in whom also after that yee believed yee were sealed with that holy spirit of promise So Micha Rejoyce not against me oh my enemie when I shall fall I shall rise when I shall sit in darknesse the Lord shall be a light unto me I will beare the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned c. or the sad countenance of God as the Hebrew hath it This soul had no assurance for he sits in darknesse and was under the sad countenance of God and yet had strong faith As appears in those words when I fall I shall arise when I sit in darknesse the Lord shall be a light unto me He will bring me forth to the light and I shall behold his
good with such and such outward contents I must have Christ and the world or else with the young man in the Gospel in soight of my soule I shall forsake Christ to follow the world Ah! how many shining Professors be there in the world that cannot sit down satisfied and contented under the want of this or that outward comfort and content but are like Bedlams fretting and vexing raging and madding as if there were no God no Heaven no Hell nor no Christ to make up all such outward wants to soules I but a soule truly gracious can Content is the deputy of outward felicity supplies the place where its absent As the Jews throw the book of Hester to the ground before they read it because the name of God is not in it as the Rabbins have observed So do Saints in some sense those mercies wherein they do not read Christs name see Christs heart Luther said he had rather be in hell with Christ then in heaven without him say In having nothing I have all things because I have Christ having therefore all things in him I seek no other reward for hee is the universall reward such a soule can say nothing is sweet to me without the enjoyment of Christ in it honours nor riches nor the smiles of creatures are not sweet to me no further then I see Christ and tast Christ in them the confluence of all outward good cannot make a Heaven of glory in my soule if Christ who is the top of my glory be absent As Absolom said What is all this to mee so long as I cannot see the Kings face so saith the soule what do you tell me of this and that outward comfort when I cannot see his face whom my soul loves why my honour is not my Christ nor riches is not Christ nor the favour of the creature is not Christ let me have him and let the men of this world take the world divide it amongst themselves I prize my Christ above all I would injoy my Christ before all other things in the world his presence will make up the absence of all other comforts and his absence will darken and embitter all my comforts so that my comforts will neither taste like comforts nor look like comforts nor warm like comforts c. when hee that should Lam. 1. 16. comfort my soule stands a far off c. Christ is all and in all to soules truly gracious we have all things in Christ and Christ is all things to a Christian Coloss 3. 11. None but Christ none but Christ said Lambers listing up his hands and his singers ends flaming if we be sick he is a Physician if wee thirst he is a fountaine if our sinnes trouble us he is righteousnesse if wee stand in need of help he is mighty to save if we feare death he is life if we be in darknesse he is light if we be weake he is strength if we be in poverty he is plenty if we desire Heaven he is the way The soule cannot say this I would have and that I would have but saith Christ 't is in me 't is in me eminently perfectly eternally The fifth Device that Satan 5 Device hath to keepe soules in a sad doubting and questioning condition is BY suggesting to them that that condict Iohn 8. 44. The Devill is a lyar and â—he Father of it The Devils breasts saith Luther â—re very fruitfull with lies that is in them is not a conflict that is onely in Saints but such a conflict that is to be found in hypocrites and prophane soules when the truth is there is as much difference betwixt the conflict that is in them and that which is in wicked men as there is betwixt light and darknesse betwixt Heaven and Hâ—ll And the truth of this I shall evidence to you in the following particulars 1. The whole frame of a Bâ—leevers soul is against sin understanding will and affections all the powers and faculties 'T was a good prayer of him that said Domine libera me a malo homine meipso Lord deliver mee from an ill man my selfe Austine complains that men doe not tame the beasts in their own bosomes Rom. 2. 21 22 23. of the soule are in armes against sin A covetous man may condemne covetousnesse and yet the frame and bent of his heart may be to it a proud person may condemn pride and yet the frame of his spirit may be to it the drunkard may condemne drunkennesse and yet the frame of his spirit may be to it a man may condemn stealing and lying and yet the frame of his heart may be to it Thou that preachest a man should not steale dost thou steale Thou that sayest a man should not commit Adultery dost thou commit Adultery Thou that abâ—orrest idols dost thou commit sacriledg Thou that makest thy boast of the Law through breaking the law dishonourest thou God But a Saints will is against it The evill that I would not doe I doe and his affections are against Rom. 7. 19. 17. it what I hate I doe 2. A Saint conflicts against sin universally Psal 119. 104. I hate every false way Sanethi from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to hate with a deadlyly and irreconciliable hatred the least as well as the greatest the most profitable and the most pleasing sin as well as against â—hose that are lesse pleasing and profitable he will combate with all though he cannot conquer one as he should and as he would he knowes that all sin strikes at Gods holiness as well as his own happiness at Gods glory as well as at his soules comfort and peace He knows that all sinne is hatefull to God and that all sinns are Traytors to the Crown and dignity of the Lord Jesus He looks upon one sin and sees He knows that all the parts of the old man hath and doth play the part of a treacherous friend and a friendly traytor therefore his heart strikes at all The greater the combat is the greater shall be the following rewards saith Tertullian that that threw down Noah the most righteous man in the world and hee looks upon another sinne and sees that that cast down Abraham the greatest beleever in the world and he looks upon another sinne and sees that that threw down David the best King in the world and he looks upon another sin and sees that that cast down Paul the greatest Apostle in the world He sees that one sinne threw down Sampson the strongest man in the world another cast down Solomon the wisest man in the world and another Moses the meekest man in the world and another sinn cast downe Job the patientest man in the world and this raises a holy indignation in his soule against all so that nothing can satisfie and content True hatred is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against the whole kind Plutarch reports of one who would not
be resolved of his doubts because he would not loose the pleasure in seeking for resolution So wicked men will not be rid of some sins because they would not loose the seeming pleasure of sinning his soule but a destruction of all those lusts and vermine that vex and rack his righteous heart it will not satisfie a gracious soul to see Justice done upon one sin but he cries out for Justice upon all he would not have some crucified and others spared but cries out Lord crucifie them all crucifie them all Oh! but now the conflict that is in wicked men is partiall they frown upon one fin and smile upon another they strike at some sins but stroake others they thrust some out of doors but keep others close in their bosomes as you may see in Iehu Herod Iudas Simon Magus and Demas Wicked men strike at gtosse sins such as are not only against the law of God but against the Laws of nature and Nations but make nothing of lesse sinnes as vaine thoughts idle words sinfull motions John 3. 20. petty oathes c. They fight against those sins that fight against their honor profits pleasures c. but make truce with those that are as right hands and as right eyes to them c. 3. The conflict that is in a Saint against sin is maintained by spirituall Arguments by arguments drawn from Though to be kept from sin brings comfort to us yet for us to oppose sin from spirituall and heavenly arguments and God to pardon sin that brings most glory to God 2. Cor. 12. 7 8 9. the love of God the honour of God the sweetness of communion with God and from the spirituall and heavenly blessings and priviledges that are conferred upon them by God and from Arguments drawn from the blood of Christ the glory of Christ the eye of Christ the kisses of Christ and the intercession of Christ And from Arguments drawn from the earnest of the Spirit the seale of the Spirit the witnesse of the Spirit the comforts of the Spirit Oh! but the conflict that is in wicked men is from low earnall and legall Arguments drawn from the eye eare or hand of the creature or drawn from shame hell curses of the Law c 4. The conflict that is in Saints is a 'T was an excellent saying of Eusebius Emesenus Our father 's overcome the torments of the flames let us overcome the fiery darts of vices Consider that the pleasure and sweetness that follows victory over sin is a thousand times beyond that seeming sweetnesse that is in sinne constant conflict though sin and grace were not born in the heart of a St. together and though they shall not die together yet whilst a Beeleever lives they must conflict together Paul had been about fourteen years converted when he cryed out I have a law in my members rebelling against the law of my minde and leading mee captive to the law of sinne Pietro Candiano one of the Dukes of Venice died fighting against the Nauratines with the weapons in his hands so a Saint lives fighting and dies fighting he stands fighting and falls fighting with his spirituall weapons in his hands But the conflict that is in wicked men is inconstant now they fal out with sin and anon they fall in with sin now 't is bitter anon 't is sweet now the sinner turns from his sin and anon he turns to the wallowing in sin as the swine doth to the wallowing in the mire one hour you shall have him 2 Pet. 2. 19 20. praying against sin as if he feared it more then hell and the next houre you shall have him pursuing after sin as if there were no God to punish him no justice to damne him no hell to torment him The conflict that is in the Saints is in the same faculties there is the judgement against the judgement the minde against the minde the will against the will the affections against the affections A Heathen could say their soule is in a mutiny a wicked man is not friends with himself he and his conscience are at difference Arist that is the regenerate part against the unregenerate part in all the parts of the soule but now in wicked men the conflict is not in the same faculties but between the conscience and the will the will of a sinner is bent strongly to such and such sins but conscience puts in and tels the sinner God hath made me his Deputy he hath given me a power to hang and draw to examine scourge judge and condemn and if thou doest such and such wickednesse I shall be thy Jayâ—or and thy tormentor I doe not beare the rod nor the sword in vaine saith Conscience if thou sinnest I shall doe my office and then thy life will be a hell and this raises a tumult in the soule 6. The conflict that is in the Saints is a more blessed successefull and prevailing conflict a Saint by his conflict with sin gaines ground upon his sin They that are Christs saith the Apostle have These two Grace and Sin are like two Buckets at a wel when one is up the other is down they are like the two Lawrels at Rome when one flourishes the other withers The more grace thrives in the soule the more fin dies in the soule 2 Tim. 3. 13. From naught they groâ— to be very naught and from very naught to be stark naught Lactantius saith of Lucian Nec diis nec hominibus pepercit hespared neither God nor man Mortification is a continued act 't is a daily dying to sin I dye daily A crucified man will strive and struggle yet in the eyes of the Law and in the account of all that see him he is dead 't is just so with sin Psal 58. 11. There is no such pleasure saith Cyprian as to have overcome an offered pleasure neither is there any greater conquest then that that is gotten over a mans corruptions crucified the world with the affections and lusts Christ puts to his hand and helps them to lead captivity captive and to set their feet upon the necks of those lusts that have formerly trampled upon their souls and their comforts As the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker and the house of David grew stronger and stronger so the Lord by the discoveries of his love and by the influences of his spirit he causes grace the noble part of a Saint to grow stronger and stronger and corruption like the house of Saul to grow weaker and weaker But sin in a wicked heart gets ground and growes stronger and stronger notwithstanding all his conflicts his heart is more encouraged emboldened and hardened in a way of sin as you may see in the Israelites Pharoah Jehu and Judas who doubtlesse found many strange conflicts â—umults and mutinies in their souls when God spake such bitter things against them and did such justice upon them But remember this by way of Caution though
13. he doth God service And these things will they doe unto you because they have not known the Father nor me Paul thankes his ignorance for all his cruelties to Christians I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious but I obtained mercie because I did it ignorantly 't was ignorance that put the Jewes upon crucifying Christ Eather forgive them saith Christ of his murtherers for they know 1 Co◠2. 8. not what they doe for if the Princes of this world had known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory Sinne at the first was the cause of ignorance but now ignorance is the cause of all sin swearing They did like Oedipus who killed his father Laius K. of Thebes and thought he killed his enemy and lying and killing and stealing whoring abound saith the Prophet because there is no knowledg of God in the Land There are none so frequent and so impudent in the wayes of sin as ignorant soules they care not nor mind not what they do nor what they say against God Christ Heaven holinesse and their own soules Our tongues Hosea 4. 1 2. Psal 73. 8 9. are our owne who shall controule us They are corrupt and speake wickedly concerning oppression they speake loftily They set their mouth against the Heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth Have all the Psal 14. 4. workers of iniquity no knowledge who eate up my people as they eate bread and call not upon the Lord. And now to prevent Objections I shall lay down some Propositions or Conclusions concerning Satan and his Devices and then give you the Reasons of the Point and so come to make some Use and Application of the whole to our selves The first Proposition or Conclusion I shall lay downe is this THat though Satan hath his Devices 1 Proposition to draw soules to sin yet we must be carefull that we do not lay all our temptations upon Satan that we doe not wrong the Devill and father that upon him that is to be fathered upon our own base hearts I thinke that oftentimes men charge that upon the Devill that is to be charged upon their own hearts And the Lord said unto the Gen. 3. 13. woman VVhat is this that thou hast done and the woman said the Serpent beguiled me and I did eate Sin and shifting came into the world together This is no small basenesse of our hearts that they will be naught I very naught and yet will father that naughtinesse upon Satan Man hath an evill root within him that were there no Devil to tempt him nor no wicked men in the world to entice him yet that root of bitternesse that cursed sinfull nature that is in him would draw him to sin though he knows before hand that the wages of sinne is eternall death For out of the heart proceed evill thoughts murders adulteries Rom. 6. ult Mat. 5. 19. fornications thefts false witnesses blasphemies The whole frame of man is Cum primum nascimur in omnt continuo pravitate versamur we are no sooner borne then buried in a bog of wickednesse Tully out of frame the understanding is dark the will crosse the memory slippery the affections crooked the conscience corrupted the tongue poisoned and the heart wholly evill only evill and continually evill Should God chaine vp Satan and give him no liberty to tempt or entice the sons of men to vanity and folly yet they would not yet they could not but sin against him by reason of that cursed nature that is in them that will still be a provoking Iude 15 16. them to those sins that will provoke and stir up the anger and wrath of God against them Satan hath only a perswading sleight not an enforcing might he may tempt us but without our selves he cannot conquer us hee Iames 1. 4. may entice us but without our selves he cannot hurt us our hearts carries the greatest stroak in every sin Satan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The fire is our wood though it be the Devills flame Nazianzen can never undoe a man without himselfe but a man may easily undo himselfe without Satan Satan can onely present the golden cup but he hath no power to force us to drinke the poyson that is in the cup he can only present to us the glory of the world he cannot force us to fall down and worship him to enjoy the world he can only spread his snares he hath no power to force us to walke in the mid'd of his snares therefore do the Devill so much right as not to excuse your selves by your accusing him and laying that load upon him that you should lay upon your owne hearts The second Proposition is this 2 Proposition That Satan hath a great hand and stroak in most sinnes 'T was Satan that Gen. 3. 1. 4 5. tempted our first Parents to Rebellion 'T was Satan that provoked David to 1 Chron. 21. 1. number the people 'T was Satan that put Peter upon rebuking Christ therefore saith Christ Get thee behind me Satan Mat. 16. 22 23. 'T was Satan that put Cain upon murdering of righteous Abel therefore 't is that he is called a murderer from Iohn 8. 44. the beginning 'T was Satan that put treason into the heart of Judas against Christ And supper being ended the Devill Iohn 13. 2. having put it into the heart of Iudas Iscatiot Simons son to betray him 'T was Satan that pu◠Ananias upon lying Peter said Acts 5. 3. Ananias why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the holy Ghost As the hand of Ioab was in the tale of the woman of Tekoah so Satans hand is usually in all the sins that men commit such is Satans malice against God and his envy Diaholus tendat deus orobat Tertul. against man that he will have a hand one way or another in all their finnes though ke knows that all the sins that he provokes others to shall be charged upon him to his greater woe and eternall torment Ambrose brings in the Devill boasting against Christ and chalenging Judas as his owne hee is not thine Lord Jesus hee is mine his thoughts beat for me he eats with thee but is fed by me he takes bread from thee but money from me he drinks wine with thee and sells thy blood to me such is his malice against Christ and his wrath and rage against man that he wil take all advantages to draw men to that that may give him advantage to triumph over Christ and mens soules for ever The third Proposition is this That Satan must have a double leave 3 Proposition before he can do any thing against us he must have leave from God and leave from our selves before he can act any thing against our happinesse he must have his commission from God as you may see in the example of Iob though Iob 1. 11 12. Chap. 2 v