Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
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A16327
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Helpes to humiliation. By R.B.
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Bolton, Robert, 1572-1631.; I. S., fl. 1631-1638.
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1631
(1631)
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STC 3235; ESTC S115297
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19,071
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176
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1 His Iustice 2 His mercy His Iustice to terrifie sinners His mercy to allure vs to him His Iudgements His Promises Thirdly from logicall places See Rogers on meditations and in each particular consider of thy sinne As 1 The definitiō As 2 The division As 3 The causes As 4 The effects As 5 The subject As 6 The adjunct As 7 The comparison As 8 The contrary Fourthly from places of Scripture From examples in Scripture How shall I do this so sin against God saith Ioseph From your former estate Yee were darknesse but now yee are light c. From the end of all things Seeing all things must be dissolved what manner of men ought wee to be Fiftly from thy selfe Thy soule is immortall all the Devils in hell cannot kill it Thy body is fraile all helps cannot long vphold it Sixtly from Christ Looke vpon him weeping nay bleeding on the crosse and saying thus Sinne brought mee from the bosome of my Father to dye for it Seaventhly from the incomprehensible excellencie of God against whom thou sinnest Ninth Act. Get a sincere opposition in thy life to sinne Helpes thereto Helpe 1 When any bait of Sathan or old companions would allure thee to sin take this dilemma Either I must repent and then it will bring more sorrow than the pleasure did good or not repent and then it 's the damnation of my soule Helpe 2 Consider thy madnesse which layest most desperately in one scale of the ballance heaven the favour of God the blood of Christ and thine owne soule in the other a little dung pelfe base lust c. And lettest this oversway which bringeth rottennesse to thy bones perhaps losse of thy good name c. Helpe 3 And that thou maist yet be further armed to withstand the assaults of thy three grand enemies the world the flesh and the devill which dayly seeke the destructiō of thy soule cōsider these twelue Antidotes Consider the shortnes of the pleasure of sin with the length of the punishment the one for a moment the other everlasting Consider the companions of sinne for one sinne never goes alone but being once entertained it sets all the faculties of the soule also in a combustion and so procures a spirituall judgement if not temporall vpon estate and person Consider thy life is but a span a breath a blast soone gone now if wee had all the pleasure in the world yet being so soone to loose it it 's not worth esteeming Consider sin causeth vs to lose a greater good than that can be as the favour of God interest in Christ guard of Angels right to the creatures c. Consider the vncertainty of repentance thou maist never haue motion to repent after thou hast sinned and so art damned Consider the nearnesse of death to thee some haue liued out aboue halfe their time others almost all of it young and old dye suddenly many times Consider one moment in hell will be worse then all the pleasure in the world did good though it should haue lasted a thousand yeares twice told So on the contrary one moment in heaven doth more good than all the hardnesse and paines in good duties or persecution for them did hurt Consider the dignity of thy soule it 's more worth then a world Lose it not then for any sinne Consider the preciousnesse of a good conscience which is a continuall feast This thou losest by sinne Consider thou sinnest against a world of mercies which God hath sent to thee as to soule body good name estate others that belong to thee Consider nothing can wash away any sinne but the blood of Christ And wilt thou now pollute thy selfe againe as it were to haue him kill'd afresh to wash away thy sinne Consider the ancient Martyrs and Worthies chose rather to burne at a stake than they would sin and wilt thou soe easily be drawne to it or rather runne to it Anselme sayd if the flames of hell were on the one side and sinne on the other side I would rather lye in those flames than sinne And others would rather be torne in pieces with wild horses Wee haue as precious meanes as they and if our hearts were as good wee should haue the like affections Tenth Act. Get a sincere grieving that thou canst do these things no better as considering Though thou hadst a thousand eyes and could weepe them all out and shed rivers of teares and a thousand hearts to burst yet all were not sufficient for the least sinne or vanity either of the eye or heart How much more when our hearts are barren and dry had wee neede to labour for this sorrow Considering when thou hast made the best praier or watched most diligently over thy selfe for the right and due sanctification of the Sabbaoth or spent thy selfe in a day of humiliation thou hadst neede to crye and burst thy heart againe for the imperfections and failings thereof In this sorrow that thou canst performe good duties no better Weaue vp the web what 's lacking in any of the rest here make it vp and to incourage thee thou hast this happinesse joyned with it that though thy griefe be small if it be true to cause thee to sell all that is to part from every sinne for Christ and take him as a husband and a Lord both for protection and government Then by the consent of all Divines it it godly sorrow and certainly accepted in Christ ₠FINIS
HELPES TO HVMILIATION By R. B. IAMES 4.10 Humble your selues in the sight of the Lord and hee shall lift you vp OXFORD Printed by William Turner for Michael Sparke dwelling in Greene Arbor 1631. To the Reader I Here commend vnto thee Christian Reader a table of Repentance now put into a little Tract collected from that graue learned godly Divine Mr Robert Bolton I could haue beene content to haue stayed the publishing thereof vntill such time in which the Author might haue beene prevailed with to print it for there cannot but want much beauty and lustre which it might haue had if it had been set forth or perused to be fitted for the Presse by him that first gaue life vnto it but being inforced to it by the importunity of many well affected both farre and neere I vnwilling to haue such a pretious fountaine sealed vp considering the good that might redound to many in the meane time by it I resolued by the Authors leaue no longer to ingrosse the same to a private vse but to impart it to a publike good especially considering first how few are acquainted with the right nature of Humiliation and Repentance no more than Nicodemus was with regeneration that though many boast of it few haue it when alas it 's plaine without true Repentance there is no salvation Now this table having so perspicuously vnsolded the nature of this grace those that haue a beginning of it may from hence adde an increase to their store and they that want it may here see the way and meanes of obtaining it Secondly the extraordinary exercise of fasting and prayer a duty of pretious account amongst Gods Children which hath alwayes beene wonderfully blest with a happy successe in so much as albeit their ordinary prayers returne not empty without a blessing yet respectiuely to those prayers which are joyned with fasting they seeme barren and blasted which otherwise are fruitfull and full eared How then could I withhold this which by experience and the judgement of judicious Christians cannot but bee of speciall vse and helpe vnto such a blessed and successefull ordinance Thirdly these times call for it to fast and pray and cry mightily vnto God by our prayers that wee may stand in the gappe and make vp the breach and from this little Tract wee may receiue much helpe in this particular VVherefore I hope I shall neede no further perswasion for thy gracious acceptance than that hereby if the fault be not thine owne thou mayest receiue much good and comfort to thy soule which if thou findest giue God the glory the Author thy thankes and mee thy prayers â‚ I.S. HELPES TO HVMILIATION Actes 2.37 Now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said vnto Peter c. IN THESE words here is First a compunction and a thorow wounding their hearts Secondly a consultation what to doe Thirdly Peters holy counsell Amend your liues and be baptized From the first in that these men when they had heard of the greatnes of their sinne were thus wounded at the heart obserue Point That contrition in a new creature ordinarily is answerable to his former vanity Instan Manasse 2. Chron. 33.6 Mary Magdalen Luke 7. Augustine a great sinner wrote 12 bookes of Repentance Reas 1 To whom much is forgiuen they loue much and this is a fountaine of Evangelicall Repentance As a traitor condemned to dye receiuing a pardon would wonderfully breake his heart to thinke hee should be so villanous to so gratious a Prince so it is with a Christian that beholds Gods mercy to him Reas 2 Christians after their conversion desire to see their sinnes to the vtmost with all the circumstances that make them hatefull as the object nature person time age c. in which or how they were done that so they may be more humbled for them If it be not so as it may be otherwise for God is a free agent and is not tyed to any proportion of sorrow then such troubles as these vsually seaze on them First they are often afflicted with this that their conversion is not through and sound and so do not with such heartines and chearefulnesse performe the duties of Godlinesse Secondly they are many times haunted with listlessenesse coldnesse in their progresse of Christianity Thirdly they are visited with some crosse or other that stickes by them to make them lay a greater Load vpon sinne Fourthly they are more subject to be overtaken with their sweete sin because they haue no more sorrowed for it For the lesse it is sorrowed for the more it insnares men Fiftly some of them haue beene assaulted vpon their bed of death with sorrowfull and strong temptations Not that men should conceiue this is alwayes the reason of it for God hath ends in all his workes knowne only to himselfe but thus I haue knowne some haue beene troubled and this may be in great mercy to make a weake conversion more strong Lest any Christian should be troubled at it take notice in Contrition There must be sorrow of heart because of sinne There must bee a dislike of it in the will There must be a transmentation or strong reasoning in the minde out of the word of God against sinne This is the Sinew of Repentance as Austin had against Playes that all men could not draw him to them There must be a resolution and striving and watching against it as Iob with his eye Iob 31.1 There must be a grieuing that hee is not excellent in all these and herein hee must make vp what hee wanteth in the former These be in some measure in all Christians some are more eminent in one part some in another as Ioseph had little sorrow but a strong Resolution because hee had soe strong a temptation and withstood it hee had strong reasons beyond nature to resist sinne and resolue against it so that it is not so much the measure as the truth of every part that is required But if they be not in an excellency in great sinners they are to mourne for the want of them To helpe herein obserue these tenne degrees or Acts of repentance or rather helpes to Humiliation Act. 1 Get a sight and survey and full apprehension of all thy vilenesse iniquities transgressions and sinne the number and nature of them Act. 2 Get a right apprehension of GODS wrath and fiery indignation and the pure eye of God against sinne Act. 3 Get a sense of the vnspeakeable misery thou art lyable to by reason of sinne Act. 3 Get a base esteeme of thy selfe Act. 5 Get an inward sorrow of heart and bleeding of soule Act. 6 Get an outward bewailing with heart-peircing confession Act. 7 Get an hatred and aversion in thy will from sinne Act. 8 Get a strong reasoning in thy minde against sinne Act. 9 Get a sincere opposition in thy life to sinne Act. 10 Get a sincere grieving that thou canst doe these things no better Now for