grievously vext and disquieted under the guilt of sin I beseech you follow me a while There are six Consolatory rules to be laid down for to comfort a godly man that is disquieted in soul under the guilt of sin First Take this Rule for to comfort thee if the power of thy sin do not prevail over thee thou maiest be sure the guilt of thy sin shall never damn thee why then think if sin hath not a domineering power in the filth of it shall never have a damning power in the guilt of it O thou mortified Christian it may be thou art troubled at what thou hast doâ—e when thou wast a child but hast thou mortified those sins then my soul for thine those sins thou hast destroyed shall never damn thee it may be thou art troubled about the guilt when thou hast destroyed the power O lift up thy head the guilt shall never damn thee when the power doth not prevail over thee Secondly It is better for a Christian to have a soul troubled too much for sin then too little or nothing at all for sin It is better to have a troubled and a terrified conscience then to have a stupified conscience better to have a sore then a seared conscience better to have the conscience raw and gauled then to have it benumbed and no way sensible of the evil of sin Why beloved there is more hope of a soul in a spiritual Feaver that is in disquiet that is raging by reason of the accusation of conscience that is lying under trouble and disquietness of his own apprehension then of him that lies under a spiritual Lethargy sleeping and snorting in his sins which doth never trouble him a wound that hath raw and quick flesh in it it will easier be heal'd then a wound that hath proud and dead flesh in it if thy Conscience be dead flesh thou art not so neer healing as when thy Conscience is raw and gauled flesh it was one mark of Leprosie that was unclean if there was dead flesh in the sore noting a benumbed and a stupified Conscience argues an unclean Leper one in a state of nature It is better to have God's Officer conscience to be over busie to be too much checking and curbing thee then to have no office of Conscience stirring in thee This is another consideration for the comforting of an afflicted soul Thirdly Observe this Rule for the comforting of thy soul under trouble of mind consider that God's mercy and Christ's merits in the pardoning the guilt of thy sin thou hast committed is far greater then the greatnesse of thine own guilt Rom. 5. 15. But not as the offence so is the free gift for if through the offence of one many be dead much more the grace of God and the gift by grace by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded to many The meaning is That that gift Jesus Christ the value and worth of man did far exceed the guilt and evil of sin it is expressed in Psal 32. he that trusteth on the Lord mercy shall compasse him round about My own fault is very great but God's grace and mercy is far greater God when he is said to pardon sin in Micah 7. 18. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgressions of his people he retaineth not anger because be delighteth in mercy He is said to throw them into the bottom of the Sea the red Sea could as easily drown Pharaoh and his host as well as one single man Beloved the red Sea of Christ's blood can as well cover an Army an Host of sins as well as one single sin the Sea can as well cover the Whale as lesser fishes the Sea of Christ's blood can cover great sins as well as small David makes it an argument Psal 25. 11. For thy name sake O Lord pardon mine iniquity for it is great Pardon my sin for it is great That is although it is great and so you have often the particle used in Scripture the Lord would not punish man for the imaginations of his heart is evil that is though his heart be evil It is observed that the Ark wherein the moral Law was kept the mercy seat covered the whole Ark wherein the Law was kept to note Beloved that Jesus Christ the mercy of God and merits of Christ it provides a propitiation a covering of all the breach of the Law the mercy seat is broad and large enough to cover all therefore let this be of great comfort Fourthly Observe this That the more trouble of mind thou dost lie under for the present in the sense of sin the lesse trouble thou shalt have in the future God doth with his People as Land-Lords do with their Tenants if a Land-Lord take a great Fine at the first coming into the house he doth take the less yearly rent for the future God takes of you a great Fine at the first he maketh sin cost thee many a tear many a nights trouble many a days disquiet the greater Fine God taketh of thee the less yearly rent he expects of thee the more thou art troubled for the present the less fear and torment shall be thy portion hereafter am I troubled now it is that I might have more peace when I come to die that in the residue of my days I might have joy and peace in believing O think then if God upon thy first coming into Christ maketh thee pay dear for thy sin and maketh thee smart for it why there is less sorrow and trouble for thee in the time to come Fifthly Art thou troubled in soul for sin take this comfort that the more thou art troubled for sin why thou art the neerer getting out from the Divel when the Divel maketh Conscience howl it is an argument the Divel is thrown out sin is thrown out When the Divel had a long continuance in the Child the Divel did not trouble the Child so much Marke 9. 26. And the spirit cryed and rent him sore and came out of him and he was as one dead insomuch that many said He is dead It is said that when the Divel came out of the Child then the Divel rent him sore and laid him down for dead O Beloved when the Divel is in a man when the strong man hath a full possession of a man the Divel doth not trouble him then As Stella saith The Divel would not have him suffer one touch of Conscience then but when the Divel is going out and sin is thrown out then the Divel rends a man and lays a man for dead this is the property of the Divel Gregory in his Comment upon the Book of Job hath a notable saying saith he Therefore the Divel doth more vehemently stir up fears and doubts in the heart because sin is thrown out of the heart O let this comfort thee Doth the Divel trouble thee more then ordinarily doth thy Conscience terrifie thee that thou
Now come to give you some practical instructions by way of Rules My work for this morning shall be to prescribe some Theological rules to those who are greatly troubled and disquieted in soul under the guilt of sin rules of two sorts there are Directory rules and Consolatory rules rules by way of Direction and rules by way of Consolation I begin with the first directory Rules there are eight Rules what they might doe to allay trouble and disquiet of Conscience when it is excessive and inordinate First When thou art excessively troubled under the guilt of sin take this Rule what troubled thoughts thou hast about the guilt of sin spend them upon the power of sin within thee this is a holy diversion to be always conversant about the power of sin it is an evangelical and a gracious temper if Christians were more troubled about the power of sin they would be lesse troubled about the guil of sin the Divel doth not care if Professors of Religion be terrified Christians so they be not mortified Christians Secondly Keep conscience clear that thou do not add guilt to guilt adding guilt to guilt is the way to add horror to horror and terror to terror upon the conscience guilt in the conscience doth contract dismal fear amazement and consternation of soul if conscience doth not shut sin out of doors why sin will shut peace of conscience out of doors It is a rule that Bernard gives Conscience is to be comforted but first it is to be purified and made clean this rule is laid down by Eliphaz if I mistake not Job 11. 14. If iniquity be in thine hand put it far away and let not wickedness dwell in thy Tabernacles Beloved that is the way to keep cut fear to keep out guilt if conscience be not a swept and a cleansed room it will gaul disquiet and vex thy soul to have conscience pacified when it is not purified is but to skin over an old sore which before it be healed will break out again peace saith Bernard in many men is worse then a spiritual conflict such a peace for a man to have peace in his conscience when he indulgeth guilt in his conscience expect not trouble of conscience to be allayed if thy conscience be not purified Prov. 29. 6. In the transgression of an evill man there is a snare but the righteous doth sing and rejoyce By snare Solomon there means horror of conscience it appears by the opposition Interpreters give this rule that in the Proverbs of Solomon that one opposition doth explain the other why here the righteous shall sing and rejoyce in his grace but the wicked shall have a snare in his sin he shall have horror and dread of conscience in the sight of sin Prov. 15. 15. A good and a clear conscience doth keep holy day every day of his life though he hath hardly any thing else to feed upon guilt on the conscience is the way to cause a resurrection of thy fears and doubts and to bring all thy spiritual hopes to the grave A third Rule is this Take heed thou dost not go about to allay the disquiet of thy soul for sin by sin that is a third Rule to run to vain pleasures and to sensual delights to stop and quell the voice of conscience what is this but to go to the Divel for a plaister to heal the wounds of thy soul Beloved these men that go to allay trouble of mind for sin by sin they go the way to make conscience recoyl and turn upon them with more fiercenesse and more savage cruelty It is just as a man that is a thirst he will drink a draught of poyson to quench his thirst O! when thou art scorcht with God's wrath and to allay this dost drink a draught of sin what dost thou but drink so much poyson Many men when they are under trouble of mind they will go to sin for a shelter and there a Serpent puts them to more pain A fourth Rule is this Fix your thoughts on the evidences of your graces when your hearts are overmuch disquieted in the sight of sin as trouble of conscience in the sight of sin will keep a man that he shall not be proud in the sight of his grace so the evidence or sight of grace will keep a man that he shall not be excessively troubled in the sight of sin Fifthly Ponder in your meditations the comfortable promises of the Gospel rather then the threats of the Law if I were to speak to a secure sinner I would give him a quite contrary rule that he should rather ponder on the threats of the Law then the promises of the Gospel but to a sinner greatly prest under the weight of God's wrath he must take this word rather to ponder on the promising part of the word then on the threatning part of the word Prov. 25. 12. As an ear-ring of gold and as an ornament of fine gold so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear The good word of a promise makes glad a poor soul that stoops in heavinesse under the guilt of sin A Pot when it boyls over the fire and boyls too fast cast a handful of Salt and it will allay the boyling of the Pot when thy soul boyls and is restlesse in disquiet for trouble of sin and boyling too fast cast in a handful of Salt a handful of the Promises of the Gospel this will allay the excessive trouble and disquiet of thy soul The Promises are called by one the Instruments of a Christan's peace they are called God's proclamations of pardon to a poor creature they are the character wherein he may read all his Priviledges O study them well A sixth Rule Compare the guilt of you sins with the merits of Christ's righteousnesse and you will find that there is more in Christ's righteousnesse to save then is in sin to damn Christ's righteousnesse is imputed to a believer that the guilt of sin might not be charged on him as Christ's Person is above thy person so Christ's righteousnesse is above thy righteousnesse this the Apostle layeth down Rom. 5. 15. The gift by grace hath abounded to many The gift doth exceed the sin exceed the offence compare but them in thy thoughts and that will be a means to alâ—ay the trouble oâ— thy heart Seventhly Disclose and reveal that sin the guilt whereof doth so much disquiet thy soul unto some judicious compassionate and experienced Christian giving vent to your own sorrows by complaints is a great way to ease the mind If in Innocency God thought fit that Adam should not be alone but should have a helper much more now in a state of defection since the fall do we need others help as well as our own if Jesus Christ when in an agony God thought fit to send an Angel to comfort him O then do not believers need much more when they are in their spiritual agony and conflicts and
a faithful God a merciful God a pittiful Father and then you can see those blessings that God bestoweth upon you and blesse and glorifie God but when you throw your selves on the ground by a faithful sorrow and lie on your faces for sin to be too much humbled under the sight and sense of it in this case God hath neither glory nor you have no comfort But Ninthly When your sins do discourage your souls from laying hold on Jesus Christ then art thou cast down too much for sin that man surely is sick to death when his disease will not let him send for a Physitian Troubled ones often say doubtingly what the wicked say scoffingly there is no help for me in God this is sinful sorrow Whereas true sorrow and Gospel humiliation for sin it is such a measure and degree of sorrow that instead of discouraging the soul to goe away from Christ it doth encourage the soul to come to Christ and to lay hold on Christ and to prize Jesus Christ above all the world But that is a sinful sorrow when it drives the soul off from Christ and discourageth the soul from comming to him and from setting a high estimation and price upon him nor can the soul in such a condition venture it self upon him As we must not with the Antinomist so fix our eyes upon free grace and mercy that â—e have â—o eye to look upon sin So should we not with doubting and despairing Christians so look upon sin as never to cast an eye upon Jesus Christ And thus I have laid doâ—n â—n these Nine particulars when it may be said that a man may be too much cast down for sin First What sort of men God doth cast down for sin And then Secondly When Gods people may be said to be cast down for sin too much I now come to the Use and that is 1. For Comfort and 2. For Caution Use 1 First of all it may be for comfort if it be so that Gods people may be cast down too much for sin under the sense sight of sin then the first comfortable observation to the people of God is this That God will never cast off his people although he doth and may many times cast down his people though thou be cast down yet comfort thy self Thou shalt never be cast off Ps 94 14 The Lord will not cast off his people neither will he forsake his inheritance Cast down he will his people for sin but cast off his people he will not This made the Apostle come with a God forbid hath God cast off his people God forbid God hath not cast off his people whom he foreknew Rom. 11. 1 2. Secondly It is true Gods people may be cast off seemingly when they are not cast off really it is with them as it was with Christ when he met the two Disciples in the last of Luke he seemed to go away from them as though he would have gone further but Jesus Christ did not intend to goe from them So may God doe to thy soul he may seem to goe from thy soul but God will never leave thy soul he may seem to withdraw his face but he will never really withdraw from thy soul So in Psal 74. 1. O God why hast thou cast us off for ever why doth thine anger smoak against the sheep of thy pasture So Psalm 7. 7. Will the Lord cast us off for ever Psal 89. 38. Levit. 26. 44. Now this was not really so but it was only seemingly so God did not cast his people off though he cast them down the Church apprehended that God had cast them off but God did not so really Augustin hath a good observation on Job 14 45 Whither I go ye know and the way ye know But Thomas said we know not whither thou goest and how can we know the way Here is a seeming contradiction between Christ and Thomas Now Augustin hath a good note on these words They said they did not know and Christ said they did know Now how shall this be reconciled Now the meaning is this The Disciples and Thomas did not know their own knowledge and they had more grace and knowledge then they knew of themselves It may be so with thee God may cast thee of seemingly when thou maist think it really but God doth not really cast off his people therefore let this comfort thee Thirdly It is not the measure of humiliations for sin but the truth of humiliation for sin to which grace is annexed the promises are made to grace not as strong grace but as true grace not to humiliation as to the measure of it and the length of it but to the truth of it the Scripture doth not entaile a promise to faith as strong faith but to weak faith to little faith to faith that is small if true though it be but as a grain of mustard seed and the greatest promises is entailed to the least measure of faith It may be O Christian thou hast not a great measure of faith but hast thou little faith not strong faith hast thou weak faith O comfort thy self all the promises are entailed to that beginnings of faith it may be thou hast not faith like to an ear of where but is it like to a grain of mastard seed there is promises for that It may be thou hast not rivers of tears but hast thou any tears for sin any sorrow for sin God accepts of that God doth hold open his bottle to those whose eyes distilâ—e few drops of tears as well as to those that make their heads fountains of water and their eyes rivers of tears Though that be false of Libertiues and Antinomist that say promises are made to sinners as sinners so it is false too to hold that they are made only to sinners just so far and thus deeply troubled For total want of grace many a soal hath perished but never was any man damned for want of degrees Promises are made to grace to its truth and not to such a degree of grace grace true though it be weak is looked upon by God as having Interest in the promises therefore this should comfort thee Fourthly Let this comfort thee that God hath made promises not only to humiliation but also for humiliation hast thou a hard heart God hath made promises that he will break thy hard heart God hath promised to take away thy heart of stone and give thee a heart of flesh God hath promised to take away thy old heart and give thee a new heart both these you have laid down Ezek. 11. 19. I will give them one heart and I will put a new Spirit within you and I will take their stony heart out of their flesh and I will give them a heart of flesh And thus much for comfort I now come to the Use of Caution In the treating on this doctrine that Gods people may be cast down under the sight and
thy cry he will hear it he will answer thee Here is Gods promise upon their humiliation then in ver 22. Ye shall defile also the covering of the graven Images of silver and the ornament of thy molten Images of gold thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth thou shalt say unto it Get thee hence God maketh his people to mourn for sin and to cast them down for sin and to humble them under the sight and sense of sin and to make them to have indignation against sin and then to cast sin from them as a menstruous cloth And as it is with nurses when they would wean their children they will put some bitter thing upon the brest as Wormwood or Gall thereby to make the child to forsake the brest So God he puts bitter things upon those things which we account sweet he puts bitter potions upon the brest of our sinful delights that so he might wean his people from sucking any more at those poysonous brests which we so highly esteem in our corrupt nature You read of the prodigal son in Luk. 15. 16. when he was brought to those great straights and trouble that he desired to feed of the husks with the swine after he came to himself he desired to eat bread and be as one of the hired servants in his fathers house When God doth make his people smart for sin as the prodigal did in his absence from his fathers house when they are laid low for sin under the sense and sight of their sins as the prodigal was when they come to themselves again then they would be glad with the prodigal to prize their fathers house So the soul when he comes to be brought very low for sin then they come to set a high esteem on Jesus Christ It is very observable where humiliation for sin is mentioned there it is joyned with a detestation and segregation from sin Jam. 4 8. Joel 2. 12. Thirdly God puts sinners under the sight and sense of sin because it puts the soul to cast themselves and to rely upon Jesus Christ it is our necessity that puts us first upon the persuit after and relying upon Jesus Christ because we see that we are undone without Jesus Christ It is with us as it was with the Leprous persons that we read of in 2 Kings 7. 3. And there were four Leprous persons at the entring in of the gate and they said one to another Why sit we here untill we die If we say We will enter into the City then the famine is in the City and we shall die there and if we sit still here we die also Now therefore come and let us fall into the hâ—st of the Syrians if they save us alive we shall live and if they kill us we can but die I apply this here to this case here is the case If I die in a Christless state I am gone forever and undone to eternity and if I rest in confidence in the world that can afford no safety I wil therefore run to Jesus Christ that there I may have relief and that there I may ease me of my burden by resting upon Jesus Christ in his promise Fourthly God doth cast his people down under the sense of sin That so he might suppresse the lifting up the pride of our own hearts in the sight and apprehension of our own gifs when the Lord doth see a man to be lifted up within himself with pride with his gifts then God will hide his gifts and shew him his sin and lay him low and make him humble So was it with Paul he was a man of exceeding great parts and great gifts above other men even above all other men but only Jesus Christ and yet for all that he was apt to be proud and to be too much lifted up within himself in the apprehension of his own gifts and for this he had a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble lest he should be exalted above measure 2 Cor. 12. 7. So you read likewise in Psal 9 20. Put them in fear O Lord that the nations may know themselves to be but men Men of the greatest gifts have the greatest fears to keep down pride The Swan that hath white feathers hath black feet So those that have the greatest excellency shall have some manifest infirmity to keep them down as Heman was a man of excellent gifts 1 Kings 4. 31. yet see how God humbled him Psal 88. 7 15. ver Now God to cure his people of this distemper of spiritual pride he layeth them low and casteth them down under the sight and sense of sin Fifthly That thereby he might bring the hearts of his people to a more cleer sight and sensible and lively feeling of pardoning grace and mercy the deeper God is pleased to cast his people under the sense and sight of sin and the lower he layeth them under humiliation the higher will they exalt God in his pardoning grace and mercy After men are tossed at Sea in a tempest they prize the harbour God doth take that course with his people as t is reported Astronomers do take they do not lie on the tops of high mountains when they would take a view of the skie but they lie in the lowest vallies not in places which are nearest the heavens but in low places most remote from the heavens So God he doth not lift up his people at all times as upon mountains but layeth them low in the valley of humiliation and casts them low under the sight and sense of sin that thereby their hearts by faith might take a more cleere view of and sensibly and lively feel the free mercy and pardoning grace of God God doth cast you into low pits of humiliation that by that you may see the more cleerly Gods mercy and grace God plungeth his people under humiliation as you may read in Psal 44. 25. Our soul is bowed down to the dust our belly cleaveth to the earth And in verse 26. Arise O Lord for our help and redeem us for thy mercies sake Here you see the Church complains of the deepness of her sorrow the greatness of her humiliation their soul was bowed down even to the dust a great degree of casting down But what was Gods end in this greatly humbling of them it was to put them upon a more sensible feeling of Gods pardoning mercy and grace as it appears in these words Redeem us for thy mercies sake Mercy was precious and pardoning grace was precious when that they lay low under affliction and were deeply humbled sense and sight of sin and misery under which they lay made them to prize and highly esteem pardoning grace and mercy and this is an other reason why God doth lay his people low under the sight and sense of sin that they might esteem pardoning grace Sixthly To make them confess that there is more evil in sin then ever there was
down his life for me voluntarily and meritoriously and laid himself down very low to be my Saviour therefore why O my soul shouldst thou be cast down excessively for sin It is true O my soul if thou hadst been to die and to have purchased thy own redemption to have been thy own Saviour and if the waight and the extreme burden of thy sins had been to be laid upon thy own shoulders and if thou hadst been to have made perfect satisfaction to divine justice in thy own person if thou hadst been obliged to have kept the whole Law perfectly and if thou hadst been for to make a full recompence for the wrong and evil that thou hast done and thou wast to offer the fruit of thy body for the sin of thy soul yet this would not doe nor procure the least satifaction nor make the least compensation and recompence for the evil thou hast done Now if this were thy case to be thy own mediator and thy own intercessor and to have thy blood spilt for thy sins if this was thy case thou hadst cause to be excessively cast down for sin A finite creature can never make satisfaction to infinite justice Could I give a thousand Rams ten thousand Rivers of Oyl yet I could not make an attonement or give a sufficient ransome for my redemption But it is far otherwise the quite contrary is thy portion not thy case Here O my soul is thy case which may abundantly administer thee comfort the blood the precious blood of Jesus Christ is laid down for sin that thou maist not excessively be cast down for sin and thou maist draw abundance of comfort satisfaction from this consideration First Consider with thy self O my soul Jesus Christ did not shed his precious blood for himself but for me he did like a good shepherd lay down his life for his sheep Joh. 10. 15. Secondly Consider that God the Father did accept of the laying down of his life in this behalf Joh. 10 17. The Father loves him because he laid down his life Thirdly Consider and reason with thy self O my soul What though there are great arguments to greaten sin and to heighten sin so there are many great arguments to greaten the mercy of God in Christ Are thy sins great the mercies of God are greater Doe thy sins deserve great punishments even eternal death the death of Jesus Christ and the merit of Christ are of infinite value to merit life even eternal life Are thy sins the sins of a man I but the satisfactions of Jesus Christ are the satisfactions of a God do thy sins merit the frowns of God O but Christs death doth merit and purchase the favour of God In a word as Christs Person doth excell thy person so doth his obedience infinitely exceed thy disobedience therefore said the Apostle Paul Rom. 5. 16. c. But the free gift is of many offences unto justification Here the Apostle intimates that though there is great guilt in sin yet there is greater mercy and merits in Christ for as by Adam there came sin and death so by Jesus Christ there came righteousness and life for as the wages of sin is death so the gift of God is eternall life through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6. 23. There is not so much guilt in sin as there is merit in Christ there is not so much guilt in sin to condemn as there is merit in Jesus Christ to save Therefore why shouldest thou be cast down O my soul Jesus Christ hath laid down his life for me and in laying down his life he hath made full satisfaction for sin unto his Father and though there are required more tears for sin by way of humiliation yet there wanteth no more blood for sin by way of satisfaction therefore be not thou excessively cast down for sin Thirdly Reason thus with thy own soul that thou maist not be too excessively cast down for sin O my soul consider excessive casting down may hinder thy soul from holy endeavours in suppressing and mortifying of sin It is the policy and subtilty of the Devil to draw men to run into extreams sometimes the Devil draweth men to possess them so with the reigning power of sin as that they shall never so much as think of the guilt of sin and sometimes to possess them so with the power of sin as not to be able so much as to look at the pardon of sin I may say to thee as God to Joshua chap. 7. 10. Get thee up why liest thou on thy face it was fit Joshua should be cast down at the disaster but not be taken off from pursuing the enemy Therefore reason and say O my soul it doth not become thee to be cast down excessively under the guilt of sin but to lift up thy self against it by resting upon God Fourthly Reason thus with thy soul O my soul consider are not these dejections of minde are not these excessive castings down for sin exceeding great disparagement to Gods free grace and mercy and to Christs merits if a man that is a thirsty shall come to the Sea the mighty Ocean to seek water and when he comes there to be cast down with the thoughts that all the water in the Sea cannot quench his thirst this would render the Sea to be but an empty thing so thou to be troubled and to be exceedingly and excessively cast down for sin and to think that the mercy in God and the merits of Christ cannot comfort and bear up thy dejected soul this doth exceedingly disparage the mighty Ocean of Gods mercies and Christs merits for thee to think that thy sins do out-vye mercy and out-strip free grace In the time of the Law the Mercy-seat did wholly cover the Ark where the Law was kept to shew that if a man doth violate not only one command but every command of the Law yet all that might be covered over with mercy and notwithstanding the violation of the Law they had a Mercy-Seat to go to though we do violate all the Law all the commands of God yet this Law is covered all over with mercy the mercy of God is far above thy dejections The red Sea did dround Pharaoh and all his Host with as much ease as it could dround one man so can the red Sea of Christs blood drown every sin though they were mountains of transgressions as well as the least sin In Psal 25. 11. For thy Name sake O Lord pardon my iniquity for it is great it is a word in the Hebrew emphaticall we reade it for it is great but it may be rèad though it be great for the sake of thy Name O Lord pardon thou my iniquities because they or although they are multiplied or therefore thou wilt pardon them because they are great Fifthly Reason thus with thy soul why wilt thou cast thy self down O my soul especially considering that the casting down of the soul doth cast down
the other Now what reason can those Christians give that make conscience of all their ways and labour to live usefull in all their relations and to live in the use of Ordinances and to walk close with God in all their ways what reason have they to be too much cast down for sin Therefore as you will reason for believing and comfort so also you must reason against excessive casting down for sin for to do this you have no reason you must shew reasons of your dejections as well as of your assurance and perswasions Wicked men come and ask them concerning Heaven they will tell you that they are sure of Heaven and then ask their reason wherefore they think so they can give you no reason at all therefore that is presumption So good men are apt under too much dejection of spirit to say that they shall goe to hell and be cast off from Heaven but ask them a good reason they can give none at all And this is a sin on the other side I would ask such doubting Christians upon serious thoughts because you are apt to think you shall goe to hell can you say that you have no more reason in you then wicked reprobates have And can you say that you are guilty of those actual sins that are impossible to stand with a principle of true grace and that there is that in you raigning that no child of God can have these are indeed some reasons but if these be not found you have no cause to be cast down Though you must check your own hearts for too much casting down for sin yet you must not cast off all dejection for sin for to be cast down for sin is a duty but to be overmuch and excessively cast down for sin that is a sin There is such duties that you are to put your hearts upon but not to deject your hearts excessively under And if you ask me how I shall know that these are duties I Answer in these Four particulars First You are not to check your hearts for dejection under sin when the measure of your dejection is subservient to the ends of dejection Now the end of dejection it is two-fold First It is to imbitter sin And Secondly To endear Jesus Christ And when thy dejection hath these two ends namely to make sin to be bitter to thy soul and to make Jesus Christ to be precious to thy soul then is thy dejection right thou not to check thy heart for it but to cherish it embrace it But when thy dejection doth not make sin bitter nor make Christ to be precious but trouble thy mind and cast down thy soul and drive thee away from Christ this is excessive and not subservient to those two ends and so becomes sinful Secondly You are to cherish this dejection when with this humiliation dejection for sin you do joyn with itthe sense of Gods love favour when thy heart is brought into this frame as to see sin with one eye and Gods love and free grace and pardoning mercy with an other but those that do so pore upon their corruptions and sinful miscariages as never to be able to see Gods love and free grace and pardoning mercy in the promises of the Gospel this is a sin and this you should check your hearts for Thirdly Thy dejections are not excessive when thy dejections are more for the evil of fact then for the danger of punishment when your dejection is more for sin committed then thy state thou hast endangered that is not excessive But when thy dejections are more in mourning for the state you have endangered then the sin you have committed that is excessive When a man shall commit a sin and he shall be dejected and say I shall goe to hell and lose my happy estate in Heaven and fear hell as punishment more then to mourn for sin as a sin this is excessive sorrow for sin When thou shalt mourn more for the fear of punishment of sin then for sin as it is a dishonour to God and that thou hast committed and aggravated evil it is excessive But when thy sorrow shall be more for sin and Gods dishonour then for fear of punishment if this be the trouble of thy soul thou art not to check thy heart for it Fourthly Those dejections and castings down for sin are to be entertained when they have this effect for to make thee to justifie God and to condemn thy self to justifie God in all this proceedings But when under dejections of mind thou shalt entertain hard thoughts of God to murmur and to repine and to be disquieted these thoughts are not to be cherished but thou art to check thy heart for them But when thou canst justifie God in all his dispensations towards thee these workings of spirit are not to be checked but cherished Job 40. 4 5. Behold I am vile what shall I answer thee I will lay my band upon my mouth And verse 5. Once have I spoken but I will not answer yea twice but I will proceed no further As if Job had said In my trouble of mind I have spoken often against God once and a second time against God but I will lay my hand upon my mouth and justifie God and condemn my self and acknowledge my self vile in my own eyes thus did Job learn to doe And so when you can under your casting down for sin justifie God and condemn your selves and acknowledge God to be just in all his dispensations and to acknowledge your selves vile in your own eyes then is your casting down for sin not excessive and you are to cherish it and not to check your hearts for it And thus I have finished the first ground why Gods people are cast down for sin SERMON V. Psal 42. 11. Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him The health of my Countenance and my God Question 2 THe second Question is For what are the people of God cast down and that is for the want of the apprehension of Gods love and favour and in the handling of this case I shall take this way First To shew you why God doth suffer his people to be cast down under the apprehensions of the want of Gods love and favour Secondly To shew you that though this be your condition yet there is no great cause of your dejection and trouble and casting down of soul under this condition Thirdly To lay down some Theological rules what a Christian is to doe what course to take that so he may gain the love and favour of God And Fourthly I shall lay down the use and application First Then I shall shew you why God doth suffer his people to be cast down under the apprehensions of the want of Gods love and favour that though God may love them yet they may not know that love and favour that