with ioy saying Lord euen the deuils are subiect to vs through thy name And he said vnto them I saw Satan like lightning fall downe from heauen The preaching of the Gospel is a ministerie of power it is the strong arme of God to destroy the kingdome of Satan Where it is preached truely and diligently the walles of Satans kingdome are vndermined and when the people hearken vnto it the deuill is cast out of them and he falleth with violence from his soueraignty ouer them euen sodainly as the lightning which breaking forth in the East is sodainely seene in the Weast Therefore if Satan had that full power ouer thee that thou fearest thy diligent attendance to the Gospel preached will surely worke thy freedome Let Iesus Christ therefore find thee a diligent hearer in the Temple and thou shalt find him a mercifull Sauiour in thy heart and thou shalt bee freed from all power of that aduersary And though he trouble thee with many wicked thoughts yet thou shalt be as a prey plucked out of his pawes And it pertaineth to the casting of this burthen vpon God that thou do attend to the preaching of his word And thereto ioyne thy humble and heartie prayer vnto God and in due time hee will giue rest to thy soule from these euill thoughts CHAP. XXIIII YEt hath not our troubled sinner any constāt peace◅ but hauing his eies fixed vpon the Law of God and hauing no power to looke vp to the Gospel of peace out of his feare he makes a new obiection crying saying Doth not the Law of God accurse euery transgressor that abideth not in all that is written in that Booke to do it And haue not I broken all the commandements of the law Yes I haue broken them in thought word deed and not onely out of ignorance weakenesse or vnaduisednesse but I haue broken them boldely prowdly contemptuously therefore sure I am that Gods curse lyeth vpon me I feele the weight and furie of it and I am no heire of blessednesse Indeede here appeares the great malice and subtilty of Satan which it behooueth all men to looke vnto with great care and to take heede of it in the dayes of our peace and securitie he suffereth vs not to looke into the Law of God lest from thence we might take any direction for the well ordering of our liues but then hee driueth vs forward after the line of our owne lusts And then if we haue any remembrance of God he onely suffereth vs to thinke vpon his mercy and goodnes and beareth vs in hand that we cannot do that euill which hee will not forgiue and therefore wee neede not greatly care what we doe we shall repent in time and all shall be passed ouer in mercie so maketh vs to abuse by contempt the riches of the bountie and patience and long-suffering of God And if wee haue any occasion to thinke vpon the word of God he turnes vs away from the Law and presently thrusteth into our mouths the promises of the gospel and driues vs vpon that rocke of destruction that the Apostle Paul speaketh of in these words What shal we say then shall we continue in sinne that grace may abound The Gospel preacheth the mercy of God in Christ to teach that where sinne did abound deseruing damnation there the grace of God in Iesus Christ aboundeth more by the forgiuenesse of that sinne vnto saluation Heereuppon manie that abuse the grace of God vnto wantonnesse doe resolue to commit sinne more abundantly that so grace in the forgiuenesse of their sinne might more abound This wicked resolution of contemptuous sinners hee reciteth with words of detestation saying God forbid how shall wee that are dead to sinne liue yet therein The true condition of a Christian man that shall find grace to the forgiuenesse of his sinnes is to bee dead to sinne and no more to hearken to and to obey the commandement of sinne then a dead seruant can hearken vnto and obey the commandement of his master but to bee aliue vnto God that is readily to hearken vnto and diligently to obey Gods cōmandements as a liuing seruant hearkneth vnto and obeyeth the voyce of his master And if this be the condition of Christians then how shall they that by their profession are dead to sinne liue in sinne presuming that super abounding grace shal deliuer him from all danger But vpon this rocke in the time of our peace and securitie doth the diuell seeke to throw vs keeping vs from all view and consideration of the Law when wee haue most need to be brideled by it and making vs with the wrong hand to take holde of the Gospel when we haue no need of it nor skill how to make anie right and holy vse of it and by this meanes he doth in those dayes of securitie intangle vs in many sinnes And after when he hath vs fast in his bands hauing made vs guiltie of infinit transgressions then hee seeketh leaue to set our sinnes in order against vs and to raise vp stormes of feare and terrour in our soules And this leaue obtained and these stormes raised then hee withdraweth the Gospell from before our eies and suffereth vs onely to gaze in the glasse of the Law that by sight of our owne deformities hee might altogether confound vs and then he suffereth vs to haue no other remembrance of God but of his iustice and seueritie Then hee presents him vnto vs such a one as Moses describes him saying The Lord thy God is a consuming fire and aiealous God And such a one as the hypocrites in Sion in the day of their feare conceiue him to be when they say Who among vs shall dwell with the deuouring fire who among vs shall dwell with euerlasting burnings And then he suffereth vs not to think vpon any word of God but the condemning Law the accu◅sing Law the killing letter then he remoueth from vs all remembrance of the gracious Gospel of the free liberall faithfull promises and of the mercifull mediator and sweet Sauior Iesus Christ. Then he telles vs we haue no right to any of those things they belong to the Saints to the righteous to penitent sinners not to such bold contemners as wee are And then he maketh vs obiect against our owne soules as the troubled sinner heere doth that the Law without fauour accurseth transgressors that wee without measure haue transgressed the Law and that therefore without remedy we are accursed creatures But let vs see how wee may relieue the affrighted soule of this sinner and against this obiection teach him with comfort to cast his burden vpon the Lord. Thine eie is vpon the Law I mislike it not The Law shall make thee a full amends for al this feare that it puts thee into Paul writing to the Galathians speaketh thus of the Law The Law was ◅r Schoolemaister to bring vs to Christ that we might
Chapter we shall finde it to be not any particular transgression of any or of all the precepts of the law but a wil-full opposition of our heart against as I may call it the body of religion first rightly vnderstoode and certainely knowne to be the true religion of God and vpon no other cause but out of meere enuie The Pharises heard the doctrine of our Lord Iesus Christ and saw his miracles and knew him to bee that sonne of Dauid that Messias that was promised they knew his doctrine to be holy and heauenly and his workes to bee wrought by the finger of God Yet because the people honoured him and vpon the sight of his miracle when hee healed the man that was possessed of a diuell and was both blind and dumbe because they then cryed out saying Is not this that sonne of Dauid They therefore out of enuy and mallice without any other cause gaue it out concerning him saying He casteth out Diuels no otherwise but by Belzebub the prince of Diuels Indeuoring by these wordes to perswade the people that he was a wicked man risen vp out of Hell set vp by the Prince of diuels and assisted with his power to publish the doctrine of diuels and to vphold his kingdome so slaundering the person of Christ the workes of Christ and the doctrine of Christ all which many of them knew to be heauenly and of God If they had not knowne him to bee thee sonne of God they had not beene guilty of that great sinne As the Lord said vnto them If ye were blind ye should not haue sinne your ignorance would haue cleered you from this wiâ—…full mallice But they knew his person to be sent of God his workes to be done by the finger of God and in his doctrine that he taught truely the will of God The Lord himselfe said vnto them Yee both know me and know whence I am Yet did they out of enuy detract from the glory of his workes that they might by that meanes bring both his person and heauenly doctrine into contempt And they ceased not this course of slandering his person of disgracing his workes and obscuring the truth of his doctrine laying wait also for his life for God giueth not repentance for this sinne till they had bought him with money of the traytor iudged him to be worthy of death vpon the knowne false testimonie of suborned witnesses extorted with their clamours his condemnation from an vnwilling Iudge pronouncing him iust whom he condemned for their pleasure added vnto his vniust death what reproch they could and after his resurrection corrupted the souldiers with money so causing it to be by them divulged that his disciples stole away his body out of the graue and that he did not rise againe from the dead by that course labouring out of enuy to suppresse the Gospell and doctrine of Iesus Christ which yet they knew by the illumination of the holy Ghost to be the very truth of God This malitious opposition of theirs against religion knowne to be the religion of God was their vnpardonable sinne It was not their vncharitabe proceeding against an innocent man their hiering of a seruant to betray his master their suborning of false witnesses against a iust person their corrupting of a Iudge to giue sentence to their liking though vniust nor the hyâ—…ing of bold men to spred a lie among the credulious multitude nor yet the cruell and vniust murdering of the Lord of life Though all these were grieuous sinnes for many were pardoned both of the people and of their gouerners that had their handes in all this iniustice though they had not so deepe a reaâ—… so enuious a purpose of ouerthrowing by his ouerthrow the religion which they knew to be of God as most of the Priestes and Pharises had many I say were pardoned that had their handes in the iniustice done to our sauiour for he praied for them saying Father forgiue them for they know not what they doe and that praier of his could not be in vaine But in the cunning fellowes both among the people and their goueruors that knew him and whence he was and how he wrought and what he taught and that all was of God this was their vupardonable sin that they vsed al that falshood corruption and cruelty both during his life and in his death only to this end to hinder the course of his doctrine as they say plainely in their councell If we let him thus alone all men will beleeue in him When they knew that doctrine taught by him wherein they would not haue the people to beleeue to be the very truth of God This is the vnpardonable sinne called blasphemie against the Holy Gost because it flaundereth and disgraceth the truth of God which was made knowen vnto them so made to shine in their hearts by the Holy Ghost called the spirit of truth because it leadeth into all truth This sinne is a common sinne of diuels that know God and maliciously seeke his dishonor that know the groundes of true and holy religion and enuiously seeke to depraâ—…e them to corrupt them and if they could to abolish them out of the world desiring nothing more then to disgrace the truth of God among men This sin is sometime but rarely found amongst men and in examination thy sinne will bee found not to be this sinne and therefore not to be vnpardonable which is a great ground of hope to build vpon First the sinne of him that is pressed with the generall and confused accusation of an euill and hypocriticall heart cannot be this sinne that being naturally the estate of all men that come into the world they are borne with a heart deceitfull and wicked aboue all things But no man can be borne guilty of blasphemy against the holy-ghost because no man is in his birth enlightned with the knowledge of true religion which knowledge must necessarily goe before this fearefull opposition Neither can this sinne bee found in them that are distinctly charged with a particular sinne or sins that were committed in the days of ignorance it cannot be those sinnes For he that may fall into this vnpardonable sinne must first haue a full cleere knowledge of true religion with perswasion that it is the trueth But the ignorant man wanteth that cleere knowledge And hee is far enough from this sinne Neither can it be found in them that sinne against knowledge but out of weakenesse either surprised with a sudden temptation or led captiue with a strong and violent temptation for when these men are at libertie to consider what they haue done they haue no pleasure in it But that vnpardonable sinne is a voluntary wilfull and malicious opposition against the knowne truth out of their enuy not induring the glory of Christ in his Gospel Neither can any particular breach of any one Commandement nor all the breaches of all the
true and God often lets his wrath fall heauily vpon his elect for their sinnes To that end heare the words of Gods Church speaking to the malignant company of her enemies that reioice at her trouble I will look vnto the Lord I will wait for God my Sauiour my God will heare me Reioice not against me O mine enemie though I fall I shall arise when I shall sit in darknes the Lord shall be alight vnto me I will beare the wrath of the Lord because I haue sinned against him vntill he plead my cause and execute iudgment for mee then will hee bring mee forth vnto the light I shall see his righteousnes The Church confesseth that she bare the wrath of God shee confesseth that that wrath fell vpon her for her sinnes and therefore promiseth to beare it patiently because she bare it iustly and she takes not that wrath of God for any euidence of reprobation neither ceaseth to esteeme her selfe the chosen of the Lord that shall inherit his fauour And therefore she exerciseth her faith in looking vp vnto the Lord and out of faith promiseth her selfe all gratious respect with God in her praiers shewes her selfe rich in hope that God himselfe will in due time plead her cause and bring her out of the darknes of her trouble into the light of ioy and so magnifie his loue and fauour to her that her aduersarie the malignant congregation shal be ashamed Therefore certainly God doeth often let his wrath fall vpon the elect for their sinnes and the manifest strokes of Gods wrath cannot bee said to be infallible euidences and signes of reprobation as our afflicted sinner affirmeth to his owne great hurt And if hapily vpon hearing of these things thus spoken his diseased mind should begin to cauill and to say that if other iudgements and strokes of Gods wrath be not euidences of reprobation yet that iudgement and stroke of wrath that is fallen vpon him is a plaine euidence of reprobation his iudgement being accusing thoughts a wounded conseience the most heauie of all Gods iudgements whereof Salomon saith A wounded spirit who can beare it For that stroke is the beginning of intolerable punishment it is the very gate of hâ—…ll iâ—… is that worme that shall liue euer in the bosome of the damned it is euen no other then hell vpon earth And why shold God set a mans sinnes against him in so terrible a manner as hee doeth in this temptation but because his meaning is to condemne vs for our sinnes aforehand to let vs see that hee shall doe it most iustly our sinnes being so many and solothsome against this cauill and for the remouing of this offence from his heart I will adde this vnto that that hath been already spoken that God doeth lay euen this particular stroke of his wrath namely a wounded conscience in the sight of sinnes vpon his elect and therefore that wrath is no euidence of reprobation The prophet Dauid bore this stroke of Gods wrath whereof he speaketh thus Thine arrowes haue light vpon 〈◊〉 and thine handlyeth vpon me there is nothing sound in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there rest in my bones by reason of my sinnes for mine iniquities are gone ouer my head and as a weighty burden they are too heauie for me Here was a stroke of the wrath of God fot he complaineth that Gods hand was heauie vpon him and that Gods arrowes had pierced him and it was not a weake stroke or slight touch but forcible and fearefull so that it made the whole man languish and for the anguish of his soule his body also was consumed and oppressed with paine and feeblenes so that neither in his flesh nor in his bones remained any soundnes And what stroke of Gods wrath was it but euen this particular stroke of accusing thoughts and of a wounded conscience by reason of sinnes that were so heauie a burdthen that the vexation of them was his consumption and was Dauid vpon whom this stroke of wrath fell was hee a reprobate if he were he was such a reprobate as the Lord Iesus Christ was and no other nor otherwise whom the builders refused cast aside as vnfit for the building but God made him the cheefe corner stone as Peter saith This is the stone cast aside of you builders which is become the head of the corner So in the kingdome of Israel Saul Doeg and other busie doers despised and cast aside the sonne os Ishai but God did chuse him to build the kingdome of Israel This therefore is most certaine that euen this stroke of Gods wrath when hee setteth our sinnes in order against vs is no more a signe of reprobation then any other stroke of Gods wrath whatsoeuer This part therefore of his obiection when he calleth himselfe a reprobate is a bold and desperate speech wherein he shews himselfe presumptuous against GOD and vncharitable against himselfe and whether he be a reprobate or not hee ought not to pronounce himselfe to be one the name of reprobation hauing reference vnto the vnknowne and secret counsell of God not vnto the knowne and manifest sinne of man And though our sinnes deserue reprobation Gods wrath falleth vpon them that are reprobate yet neither the sinne that wee are guiltie of nor the wrath that is fallen vpon vs for that sinne though it be this particular stroke of a wounded conscience can be said to be arguments of reprobation And whereas he saith that we deuise answers to his obiections that cary shew of strength among men but those his obictions are vnanswerable before God and our deuised answers before him will be of no vertue Let him know that the answers which wee haue made to his obiections are all grounded vpon the word of God by which word hee shall iudge all men and all the causes of all men As the Lord Iesus saith The word that I haue spoken it shall iudge in the last day And therefore our answers being grounded vpon that word shall stand as rules of trueth before the iudgement seat of God when all the obiections that he hath made growing onely from feare and from a weake heart distempered with a temptation of vnbeleefe shal be found to bee of no force And with this assurance of the sufficiencie of our answers wee waite to heare what he can further obiect why he may not hope for the forgiuenes of pardonable sins seeing Iesus Christ by his commandement hath giuen him leaue to aske forgiuenes of sinnes and God the father of our Lord Iesus hath promised to grant forgiuenes of sinnes as hath before out of the word of God beene truely declared CHAP. XXVII A Fresh assault this afflicted sinner maketh vpon vs and against himselfe for this fierie dart is not easily quenched And againe he obiecteth most vnkindly saying My sinne deserueth death and I must die I haue wronged the Lord of life