Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n
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A14008
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The true trial and turning of a sinner. Or, three plaine and profitable sermons teaching the search and triall of our waies, repentance of sinne, and true turning vnto God. The summe whereof was preached at Feuersham in Kent Aug. 3. 1606. By Thomas Tuke.
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Tuke, Thomas, d. 1657.
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1607
(1607)
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STC 24317; ESTC S111515
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67,815
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193
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THE TRVE TRIAL and Turning of a Sinner OR THREE PLAINE AND profitable Sermons teaching the Search and Triall of our waies Repentance of Sinne and true turning vnto God The summe whereof was preached at Feuersham in Kent Aug. 3. 1606. By Thomas Tuke ZACH. 1. 3. Turne yee vnto mee saith the Lord of hostes and I will turne vnto you EZEK 18. 21. If the wicked will returne from all his sinnes that he hath committed c. he shall surely liue and shall not die LONDON Printed by Thomas Creede 1607. TO THE RIGHT Worshipfull and vertuous Ladie Christiana wife to the Right Worshipfull Sir Iohn Leueson Knight grace from God both temporall and etâ—â—nall MAdame rare and admirable are the fauors which we haue receiued of the Lord by his grace enioyed now almost fiftie yeares together He hath giuen vs his Word and Gospel his lawes and statutes hee hath planted a Vineyard amongst vs and sent his Prophets vnto vs. Hee hath brought vs out of captiuitie from vnder Weasterne Babylon and dispelled the Egyptian-like darknesse of Romish superstitions Hee hath not dealt so with euery Nation Moreouer hee hath imparked vs with the pales of Peace and hedged vs about with the Lawrells of Prosperitie He dooâ—h fill our barnes with plentie causeth our cups to runne ouer He hath put the Palmes of victorie into our hands the Garlands of triumphs about our heads and hath made our verie enemies seeke to be at peace with vs. Hee hath turned our speares into spades our swords into sythes and our pikes into pennes yea to make a perfect and plenary demonstration of his loue vnto vs and hatred of our Aduersaries he hath of late vouchsafed to vs both Prince and People a verie wonderfull and great Deliuerance from a most barbarous and vniuersall confusion plotted and almost performed by the children of Babel the Minians of that purple Harlot But how doe we remonstrate our thankfulnesse and loue to him Alas our ingratitude is too-too manifest Our sinnes doe testifie the same to our faces Ignorance Oathes Prophanations of the Lords day Neglect yea and palpable Contempt of the Gospell and of Gods faithfull and honourable Embassadours with many other grieuous and transcendent enormities do so swell abound in the multitude as that if they were not by force held in with the piles of wholesome lawes and the banks of gouernmeÌ„t they would quickly ouerflow beare and beate down all before them So that the Lorde may say of vs as Moses somtimes said of Israel But hee that should haue bene vpright when he waxed fatte spurned with his heele and forsooke God that made him and regarded not the strong God of his saluation not much vnlike wee are for the most to the yong Hindes mentioned in the booke of Iob who when they are waxed fatte and growne vp with corne Goe from their dammes and returne no more vnto them Iosephus writeth that the Riuer Iordan doth carrie the Fishes so long sporting themselues and floting aloft till at length it casts theÌ„ headlong into the Dead Sea where they perish so it seemes our prosperity through the corruption of our heartes hath trained vs on so long that wee haue fallen into a Sea of sinnes and a gulfe of wickednesse What can we now expect of God besides the complement of that dreadfull minace vpon vs with which the declining church of Ephesus was somtimes threatned to wit the remouing of her Candlestick out of his place vnlesse she did repent If we therefore desire the continuance of the Gospell among vs and of all outwarde blessings which attend vpoÌ„ the true professors and embracers of it we must in the feare of God Search trie our waies and turne againe vnto him Amend your waies and your works saith the Lord and I will let you dwell in this place The Lord our God is gracious and mercifull and will not turne away his face from vs if we conuert vnto him Pliny saith that the Riuer-horse feeling himself too fatte ouermuch grown pricketh a veine in his legge with some sharpe reede newly cut and by letting himselfe blood doeth so helpe himselfe and preuent the daunger which he was subiect before to fall into so when wee swell with pride and selfe-loue and when we waxe grosse spirited and fatte at heart and when the corrupt humors of our soules abound our best phisicke is to prick our hearts with true compunction of spirit and remorse of conscience and to let our selues blood of those corrupt humours by true repentance and godlye sorrow If wee neglect the performance of these duties wee may iustly feare that the Lord will remoue his fauours from vs giue them to a people that will bring forth better fruites To helpe forwarde this godly practise I haue compiled penned and now published these sequent exhortations which I dedicate and offer vnto your Ladishippe especially because I knowe you loue this Doctrine the faithfull practisers of the same Thus taking my humble leaue I recommend you to the grace of God Cuxton March 25. 1607. Your Ladiships in all dutie Thomas Tuke The principall Contents 1 An eleuen doctrines are orderly collected and their applications seuerally annexed 2 Sundry reasons to mooue vs to search our selues 3 Many moâ—iues to perswade vs to search narrowly and soundly 4 Diuers reasons to moue Mâ—nisters to ioyne themselues in their exhortations 5 Many reasons why euery man ought to busie himselfe in searching of himselfe principally 6 Sundry causes why wee should try our waies after that by searching we haue found them out 7 The true Touchstone of triall here sundry Iudges are reiected for sundry reasons 8 These points with their reasons are discussed and propounded 1. Who must turne 2. From what 3. To whom 4. Where 5. When. 6. How 9 All these things are illustrated by many fit similitudes and other comparisons or at least the chiefest Many other particulars are taught which the godly Reader may finde if it please him to peruse the Sermons through SERMONS PREAched at Feuersham in Kent Lament 3. 40. Let vs search and try our waies and turne againe vnto the Lord. THis mournefull prophet Ieremy hauing in part described declared the perplexed and lamentable coÌ„dition of his countrymen and both testified and iustified as wel the righteousnes of God in afflicting them for the multitude of their transgressions as his mercie in moderating their misery and preseruing them from a full and finall destruction hee doth in these words propound vnto them a very serious and sober exhortaâ—ion consisting of three branches The first is conteined in the three former words Let vs sâ—arch That is to say let vs diligently inquire after seeke and labour to find out The second is couched in the next wordes And trie our waies That is let vs proue our thoughts our words workes after that by diligent and due searching we haue found them out The third
our soules with her magicall enchantments as the temples of his head were stricken thorough by a naile in her hand and so we die as he did For her house is the way vnto the graue which goeth downe to the chambers of death as the wise man speaketh of the woman of whorish behauiour So then albeit the wicked intisemeÌ„ts of the world bee pleasant in the beginning yet are they bitternesse in the latter ending and like the booke that Iohn was commanded to eate sweete in the mouth but bitter in the mawe and so hurtfull to the stomack of the soule as that if a man doe not cast them vp it is no more possible for him to liue either the life of grace or of glorie then it is for that man to liue the life of naâ—ure who hath swallowed downe pills of poison hee dranke with sugar Let vs therefore take heed of her charmes and turne froÌ„ her Loue not this world saith Iohn nor the things that are in this world If any man loue this world the loue of the Father is not in him No man can serue God and Mammon Wee must leaue the world and the world must leaue vs therefore why should wee fixe our loue vpon the world or bend our loue vnto the world Whereas all other creatures haue but foure muscles to turn their eyes round about God hath giuen man a fist to pull vp his eyes from tâ—e earth to heauen And whereas all other creatures bow downwards to look to the earth from whence they rose and to which they must return God hath fitted man a bodie that hee might behold the heauen the place of happinesse and the Paradice of perpetuall pleasures Wee are redeemed from the worlde let vs therefore so liue in the world as by our liues wee may declare that wee are not of the worlde For as much as our inhearitance is in the heauens let vs haue one foote there fixed where our inheritance is We treade vppon the earth with our feete therefore let not our hearts be interred in it but let vs trample vpon earthly things Though we liue in the world yet let vs not be polluted of the world but as the Swan swims in the water but is not drowned of the water so we must liue in the world as a ship floateth aloft vpon the sea or a bird vpon the water and wee must take heede that the loue of the world doe not leake into our hearts lest wee make shipwracke of our faith and breake in peeces the vessells of our consciences Anâ—â—f any do leake in we must pumpe it out with speeds by true repentance and seeke to stoppe the passage The Mowle liues in the earth and yet receiueth no hurt at all neither to her flesh nor to her coate So wee that liue in the world in the midst of a crooked generation should like pilgrimes so alienate our affections from it as that wee may receiue no damage by it neither in our hearts within nor in our profession and practise without but as a stone being cast into the dirt will still remaine a stone so thogh we which are liuing stones doe liue in the world which is full of the dirt of sinne and puddles of iniquitie yet let vs remaine as wee are made by grace liuing stones of Gods spirituall Temple To this ende let vs turne from the worlde with our heartes let vs beware of her witch-craft and sorcerie let vs not turne in vnto her at her call let vs not drinke of the cuppe of her fornications and finally let vs seeke the kingdome of God the things that are aboue and let vs haue our conuersation in the heauens where our common-wealth and kingdome our head and husband is and will bee vntill the time that all things be restored which God hath spoâ—en by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the world began Thirdly we must turne from the waies of the wicked This the Spirit of wisedome teacheth vs when he saith My sonne walke not thou in the way with sinners refraine thy foote from their path Enter not into the way of the wicked and walke not in the way of euill men Auoyd it goe not by it turne from it and passe by For their Waies are crookeâ— The way of the wicked is as darknesse The way of the wicked shall perish If thou wouldest not walke in a crooked path an obscure and darke lane and in a way that shall come to naught yea in a way that leadeth from heauen to hel and from life to death then thou must decline and turne from the waies of the wicked God dooth command thee to turne from them In the name of God I doe beseech thee to turne from them Be not disobedient vnto his voyce Hee that obeyeth him shall dwell safely and be quiet from feare of euill But those that stoppe their eares at his voyce and will not obey his word in the ministerie of his Prophets do fall vpon the sworde of vengeance As when God cried they would not heare but pulled away their shoulder and made their harts hard as an adamant so they shall crie and he will not heare Wee all know that it is the will of God that wee should forsake the waies of the wicked who are his enemies But that seruant saith Christ that knew his maisters will and prepared not himself neither aid according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes with many moe then hee that knoweth not his will and doth it not Can a man be in a mill and not be mealy Can a man be in a shewer of raine and not be wet Can a man stand long vpon a quag-mire and not sinke And is it possible for a man to walk in the waies of the wicked which are full of the mire of wickednesse and dirt of iniquitie and not to bee polluted Or iâ— it like that he shall not sinke into the pit of perdition if hee shall stand in the way of sinners and refuse to come out No wise man especially no honest man will delight in the courses of slaues and traitours but the wicked are slaues First they are slaues of the diuell for hee That committeth sin is of the Diuell of whom soeuer a man is ouercome euen vnto the same he is in bondage Now what slaues are they that are in slauerie vnder a very slaue Secondly they are the slaues of sinne For Whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruant of sinne But the wicked drinke iniquitie as fishes doe the water Their mouth saith Salomon swalloweth vp iniquitie They cannot sleepe except they haue done euill Wickednesse as Zophar saith is sweete in his mouth hee hides it vnder his tongue and will not forsake it Therefore he cannot but commit sinne and that with greedinesse and with full consent of heart Now he that is the seruant of sinne and a slaue to his owne