that which he doth not feele For there be a great many mo as greatly tormented as he but he thinkes not so because he dâ—th not feele it so Thus do you deale you are greatly troubled with the weaknes of your own faith which you feele therfore according to your feeling you complaine Many deere seruants of God are greatly greeued for the weaknes of their faith that none hath so weake a faith as you haue not withstanding there be a great number besides your selfe who are as much troubled this way as you But I will take your own words You say your faith is weake Yea then you grant you haue faith And therefore say I or rather the Lord himself for your comfort you cannot possiblie perish For God so loued the world Iohn 3.16 that he gaue his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him might not perish but haue euerlasting life But your faith as you say is so weake that you cannot thinke it to be anie faith at all A weake faith is a good faith therefore make much of it and labour to strengthen it And I againe doe answer you with a better warrant than your thought that a weake faith is a faith yea a good and a sound faith The weakenes of faith doth not take away the nature and beeing of faith that because there is weaknesse in it therefore it should cease to be a faith Will you say a weake man is no man because of his weakenesse No A weake man is a man for he is a man though neuer so weake as long as there is any life and breath in him Neither doeth his weakenesse take away his goodnes for he may be a verie good man although he be verie weake So say I of your faith the weakenesse thereof takes not away the goodnes It is a good a sound and a liuely faith although it be weake I neuer yet heard of anie beleeuing man or woman Weaknesse of faith a generall complaint of all the godlie but haue complained of the weaknesse of their faith Nay for my part I haue marked it in sundrie examples that the more godly and beleeuing the more they haue complained I coulde from mine owne experience name diuerse to proue this paint and some of them well knowne vnto your selfe But I wil name some one or two out of the Scriptures and leaue the rest to your owne good consideration You reade in the Gospell of Marke the ninth chapter and foure twentieh verse of so good and faithfull a man marke 9.24 Example of a weake faith in a verie good man as you wil your selfe confesse hee had a true and sincere faith because hee saide vnto Iesus Christ Lord I beleeue Neuerthelesse this good man was sicke of your disease and felt his faith to be weake yea verie weake and therfore he intreates the Lord Iesus very earnestly yea crying out with tears saith Lord help my vnbeleef c. Again you reade in Saint Lukes Gospel the seuenteenth chapter and fift verse of the holie Apostles The Apostles weake in saith whom our Sauiour Christ had chosen to preach and by their preaching to beget faith in others yet euen these men doe in like maner find and feele great want and weaknesse in their owne faith For which cause they put vp their humble supplication vnto their Lord and master Iesus Christ that he would increase their faith So that now you see verie plainly Weakenesse and wants will waite vpon vs to our graue there is no cause why you should too much discourage your selfe with the consideration of the weakenesse of your faith Because the best and most faithfull seruants of God doe halt of this sore as well as you and shall doe as long as they liue in this world For there is no perfection of any good grace in this life 1. Cor. 13.9 We see and know in part and therefore must needes also beleeue and practise in part Perfection is no where to bee found but in heauen Weakenesse of faith a speciall meanes to humble vs. that that we may long to be there and so bee fully perfect God vseth this as a holie and good meanes rightly to humble you and many of his deare children for your good that by the true feeling of this weakenesse and many other infirmities you may see how much neede you haue to runne continually for strength and succor at the handes of your sweete Sauiour who hath throughlie supplied all your wants and who will so strengthen you that your faith though neuer so weake to your owne feeling may neuer faile you For which purpose I would haue youe to lay sure holde of these wordes full of sweete comfort deliuered vnto Peter by out Sauiour Christ for the strengthening of all the faithfull Simon Simon Luke 22.31 Sathan hath desired to winnow you as wheate All the faithfull are as deare to Christ as Peter but I haue prayed for thee that thy faith faile not Marke I pray you how Iesus Christ promiseth to pray for Peter and not for him onely but for all the faithfull For is hee onelie Peters Sauiour He prayeth for all the faithful as wel as for Peter and for you is he not also the Sauiour of all the faithfull in the world Is hee not your Sauiour as well as Peters yes truly Then he will pray for you also For so he sayth in that most sweete prayer which hee makes to his heauenly father for all the faithfull which shall beleeue in him to the worlds ende Ioh. 17.20 I pray not for these alone but for them also which shal beleeue in mee through their worde And if hee in whom onelie the father is wholie and altogither well pleased Math. 3.17 and for whose sake hee can not bee displeased with you doe praie for you shall not hee bee heard and his prayer fullie graunted Yes it can not be denied But yet you say hee speakes to Peter Christ in Petes speâ—kes to al the faithfull by name and promiseth to pray for him by name Yea and that is as much as if he should call you by your name and say that he will pray for you and for so manie as Satan hath any desire to winow But satan hath a great desire not onely to winow Peter but all the rest of the faithfull also For so are Christs words saying Sathan desires to winow not thee Sathans malice in deadly against all the faithfull but you as if hee should say his malice is not against one alone but against all Therefore as all must looke to themselues so Christ promiseth to praie for so many as are windowed and particularlie for you because you can tell that you are winnowed And whereas it pleaseth the Lord thus to winow and sift your faith you may be sure not to loose but to gaine thereby For this you know the more the good corne is fanned and winowed
Iesus Christ that gladlie you would come but that your sinnes doe so clogge and loade your heart with sorrow then heare how againe he replies vpon you saying The tired sinner may boldely come to Christ If the case stand so with thee then come in any wise yea therefore the rather come For if thy sinnes doe put thee to paine and be as a heauie burden to bigge for thee to beare come thy way and say them all vpon my shoulders for my backe is broade inough to beare them all were they neuer so many I am well content to beare the whole loade of them mine owne selfe that thou mayest be fully and for euer discharged Matth. 11.28 Marke well that Christ will saue humbled sinners and none other For such sinners doe I call and such sinners onelie will I saue as are in paine and throughlie tyred with their sinnes As for such sinners as haue store of sinnes hanging vpon them and either doe not feele them or care for no helpe I haue nothing to do with them neither will I be any Sauiour vnto them For the whole neede not the physition but the sicke Matth. 9.12 13. I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance Thus farre I haue endeuoured to satiâ—tie your first and maine obiection and to my power aimed at this marke namely to pacifie your troubled conscience with this comfortable and sound persuasion Rom. 5.1 that beeing iustified by faith you haue peace toward God through our Lorde Iesus Christ by whome you haue boldnesse and entraunce vnto God the Father Ephes 3.12 and that by the powerfull working of Gods spirite which is the spirite of adoption which you haue receiued Ro. 9.15 16 18. whereby you crie Abba Father The same spirite beareth witnesse with your spirit that you are the childe of God And if you bee a childe then are you also an heire of God and a ioynt heire with Christ And therefore not I but Gods holie spirite in the Epistle to the Hebrewes whose wordes you ought both to regard and reuerence saieth vnto you in this wise Hebr. 4.17 Let vs goe boldely vnto the throne of grace that wee may receiue mercie and finde grace to helpe in time of neede I beseech you marke aduisedly that the author of the epistle calleth vpon you to goe and to goe boldely Labour to cast off feare when God would haue you bolde But whither would hee haue you goe forsooth to the throne And to what throne You are louingly called to come to a louely throne hanged all ouer with hangings of grace and mercie Not to a throne of iustice of wrath and condemnation but to a throne of grace and mercie It is indeede a throne of iustice of wrath and condemnation but not to you nor anie such as you are The throne against your comming is couered and hanged all ouer from end to end both wide and side with most rich costly cloth of grace and mercy TheÌ„ hangings are al of grace and throughout embrodered with nothing but mercie View them your selfe looke vpon them throughly and you shal finde all mercie and nothing els but mercie Therfore you are willed to come to this throne boldly because it is a throne of grace and mercie And that you may knowe before hand what you shall gaine by your comming thither Mercie welcomes you you are told plainly truely you shall find that which your soul most longeth after store of grace and you shall receaue so much mercy as may helpe you when you shall stand in most neede of mercie Thus must is needs be you must needes be welcome for the Iudge is your great frend and otherwise it cannot be because the iudge himselfe who sits vpon the throne is a iudge ful of mercie clad altogether with rich robes of mercy and your great frend who wil shew you all that fauoâ— that may be For why he is Iesus your Sauiour Matth. 1.21 who will in no case suffer you to miscarie Here is good occasion offered to answere a second obiection of yours The second obiection and answer which is that you beleeue that Iesus Christ is a perfect and an able Sauiour but not your Sauiour The troubled minde cannot apply Christ to it selfe that he saith come but he saith not come to you But I will prooue he speaketh to you as wel as to any other and that as particularly and as plainly as if he shuld call you by your name and say come M. P. E. I speake vnto thee by name First Aduise your selfe well that he that knowes you calls you Esa 43.1 Feare not for I haue redeemed thee I haue called thee by thy name thou are mine you will grant that in those wordes which you finde thus written in Mathew chap. 11. verse 28. Come vnto me all you that are weary and laden Christ Iesus calleth al sinners generally you are one among the rest Therefore he cals you For he saith he came to cal sinners to repentance Secondly in the forenamed wordes he cals such sinners onely particularlie and by name as are wearie and laden with their sinnes Iudge you whether you be called Are your sinnes pleasant to your palat and sweete vnto your taste Doeth the remembrance of your sinnes make you laugh as though ye were tickled when you thinke vpon them Is it the ioy and pleasure of your sinnes which drawes so great store of falt teares from your eies and fetcheth so many deepe sighes from your heart Doe your sinnes lie vpon your conscience like some little light feather or rather do they not presse and holde you downe as a woonderfull weightie burthen If you be in this case then may you know if you will know that which shall doe you good that he speakes to you by name and saith vnto you come boldly and feare not I will ease thee of all those thy sinnes which are so great a burthen to thy conscience and will giue thee a gracious generall pardon in my death and passion Moreouer I will from top to toe couer and cloath thee with the rich robes of mine owne righteousnesse vnto the full assurance of euerlasting life The third obiection followeth The third obiection answer The troubled mind complaines of the weaknesse of faith that your faith is weake and so weake as you are fully perswaded there is no childe of God hath so weake a faith as you haue I perceiue it fareth with you as it doth with one that is greatly troubled with that tooth-ach gout stone or some such strong disease who being in verie great paine in the extremitie thereof cries out that there was neuer any creature in the world so cruellie tormented And why saith he so forsooth because he feeles his own paine and no other mans beside Enery man complaines of his owne paine therefore he speakes of that which himself feeleth and not of
of the holie apostle Saint Iames who counselleth vs Iames 5.16 to confesse our sinnes one to an other and to pray for one an other But alas say you how should I pray for you True praier is not a set order of fine wordes when I can not pray for my selfe If you cannot pray in set wordes and in fine order can you not therefore pray at all can you not sigh and groane inwardly in the true feeling of your soul as one that is so greatly oppressed with griefe that he hath not a tongue to vtter that which he hath within his minde If you can sigh and grone after this maner be of good comfort For you haue learned long since from some of your faithful teachers who haue many times soundlie taught this point from the word of God and that of purpose for the relief of weake consciences that you pray verie effectuallie Your sighes are prayers which the spirite from whom they proceed vnderstandeth right well yea although there is not so much as anie one worde vttered to expresse them Wordes are for our vnderstanding that we may thereby knowe one anothers meaning But the hoke spirite which is our comfortable schoolemaister and searcheth the deepe things of God knowes our meaning and thoughts before we speake yea although we speake not at all For as the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 139.2 He knowes our thoughts long before And the Apostle saith the spirite helpeth our infirmities for we knowe not what to pray as wee ought but the spirite it selfe maketh request for vs with sighes which cannot be expressed These sighes breaking out violentlie from the consciences of the godlie The sighes of the Godlie are acceptable prayers are prayers and loude cryes acceptable tâ— the Lord and pearcing deepelie into his eares as appeares in Exodus 14.15 Where the Lorde demaundeth of Moses why hee cryed so vnto him whereas the wordes of the Text make no mention of anie one worde hee spake or vttered I pray you tell mee this one thing A similie if the childe of your owne bodie whom you loue dearelie and which is vnto you as your owne soule shall be sicke and being full of paine shall moane him selfe vnto you tell you howe sicke hee is where his paine doth holde him and shall entreate you euen as you loue him to doe what you can to ease him will you not doe it both willinglie and readilie yea will you not doe whatsoeuer you are able euerie kinde of way for the ease of your deare dearling But if his paine shall encrease and grewe so great that it takes awaie his speech so as bee is not able to speake a worde but to fetch deepe sighes and to moane himselfe vnto you by most greeuous groanes will not these groanes pearce your heart more deepelie and cause the bowels of compassion to yerne in you more stronglie to straine your selfe euen to the vttermost of all your power to affoorde him as much comfort as is possible both by your selfe by others shall the groning of your child worke great pitie in you and shall not the the mightie groanes of your poore sicke soul moue the Lord your God to greater compassion The Lord exceedeth al men in goodnesse and compassion and therefore will heare and helpe you readily If in such a case you will be so readie to heare and helpe know you for certentie the Lord will be more readie to heare and helpe whensoeuer you shall in the anguish of your soule groane vnto him For looke how farre he exceeds you and all other in goodnesse so farre also doth he exceede you and all other in mercie and compassion Beside all this there is no sacrifice more acceptable in the sight of God then the sighes and groanes of a troubled minde Psalm 51.17 The sighes of the spirit aâ—e to be regarded For so saith the Prophet The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit a contrite and broken heart O God thou wilt not despise Therefore make as good account of the groanes and sighes of the spirit as of any prayer you can make euen in the best words you can deuise And for a farewell of this matter remember that the godlie and good king Ezekias Ezekias could not pray but chatter could not in smooth and fine wordes poure out his prayers before the Lord in his great sicknesse but chatter like a swallow or a â—rane as hee confesseth of himselfe Esa 38.14 Consider also that the poore Publican being ashamed of himselfe The Publican prayed feruently but saide little by reason of his sinnes and feareing to lift his eies toward heauen could not deliuer his minde at large in fit and choise words but with much paine Lu. 18.9 10 c. at the last he breakes forth after this manner O God be mercifull to me a sinner Neuerthelesse our Sauiour Christ giueth sentence on his side that he went home more iustified then the proud Pharisie who had both words and winde at will Your fist obiection doth thus offer it selfe That you cannot leaue sinne The fist obiection and answere of leauing sinne And that which doth more trouble you you cannot leaue those sinnes which you haue vowed to leaue but you fall againe into them First you reason thus against your selfe that you can not leaue sinne No maruell Sinne cleapes too fast to our nature to part with it in haâ—â—e for although you be one of Godes saintes and haue receiued the spirit of sanctification in measure to fight the Lords battels against sinne and hell yet are you no Angell in this world so as you can altogether ceasse to sinne because you carrie and shall carrie vnto your graue a bodie and soule subiect to sinne Therfore you must fight this battel euen so long as you haue breath and life This enemie of yours is so strong No perfect conquest ouer sinne vntill death that he will neuer be fullie ouercome vntill you haue ouermastred him by death And then you shall haue a full and perfect conquest ouer him and all your enemies In the meane time plucke vp a good heart gird you fast with all your Christian armour Christian coâ—â—age and armor put on your complete harnesse and euerie part thereof as you finde it set down in the sirâ— chap. of the Epistle written to the Ephesians Ephe. 6.13 14 c. take your weapon in one hand I meane the sworde of the spirite and your buckler in the other that is to say the shield of faith Lay about you lustily with all the strength and cunning you haue Yea bee strong in the Lord and in the power of his might And fear not the issue Be carefull to fight Christ his â—attell and feare not the issue although you latch and catch many a sore blowe no though you be foiled and wounded because you haue a valiant captaine Christ Iesus your Samour who hath alreadie himselfe gotten
the victorie for you and who will not shrinke one foote from you vntil such time as you also haue gotten the victorie For in all these things wee are more then conquerours through him that loued vs. Rom. 8.37 And that you may haue the more courage to fight this field without fainting vnderstand thus much All the faithfull doe fight one and the same battell that all the faithfull doe ioyne hands with you to fight out this battell The holie Apostle Paule had receyued a great measure of sanctification aboue manie thousandes of Gods children yet could not hee get the full mastrie ouer sinne but that full sore against his will to his hearts griefe hee fell into it Therefore with sorrow of soule hee complaines in the seuenth Chapter to the Râ—mames Rom. 7.19 That the good which he would he did not Paule fought a bloâ—die field with sinne but the euill which hee would not that did hee And that it may be well vnderstoode that this was not onelie a sharpe hote skirmish for a short fit but a set battle to continue to the ende of his life you may reade howe after sundrie and diuerse greeuous complaints of his owne weakenesse and of the strength of sinne as a man that is wearie of his life for no cause but this onely that he could not leaue sinne hee breakes out into these wordes of great passion Vâ—â—se 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer mee from the bodie of this death Poul could not â—eaue sinne as he desired In which speech he doth bewray two things First that hee could not leaue sinning although it was his whole studie and the onelie thing among manie which he most earnestlie desired Therefore he calles himselfe a wretched man because he carries about a bodie of sinne and death Secondly that hee had as longing a desire to cease from sin as any man could haue And therefore hee asketh this question Who shall deliuer me Nowe tell me I beseech you is it not thus with you The godly would saine leaue sinne and so would you with all your heart Would you not faine leaue sinne if you could and that with all your heart are you not wearie of it and sore grieued for it Must it not needes bee thus because you complaine so greatly you can not leaue sinne You sinne in deede but not willingly nor of set purpose â—say 5.18 you drawe not sinne vnto you with cart ropes as the wicked doe but you are violentlie drawne by the furie and violence of sinne The godly sinne 〈◊〉 willingly as the wicked You hunt not after iniquitie to pursue and followe after it with the intisements thereof But sinne hunts and pursues you till you haue lost both winde and strength and so it may bee you are manie times taken prisoner In which case you are no more to bee blamed then a Souldiour who in battell is full sore agaynst his will taken prisoner of his enemie which thing is most manifest to your owne conscience because when you are taken and you perceiue it you behaue your selfe as a man which is fallen into his enemies hande For your heart is greeued â—â—d your soule wonderfully troubled your sâ—eepe departeth from you you can eate no meate that doeth you good you take no pleasure in anie worldlie thing there is no mirth in you but you are all heauie and sad If you bee in companie where you are prouoked to bee merrie you laugh but for companie for it is but from the teeth forwarde To bee short so long as you are holden captiue of anie sinne you are wearie of your life Therefore all your studie is howe you maie breake off the fetters of sinne The godly study how to breake off the fetters of sinne and bee deliuered whereto you applie all your wit power cunning and skill And if through the great goodnesse of God you get anie aduauntage to escape there was neuer anie fowle more glad of a faire day or bird that hath broken out of the fowlers net more ioyfuil then you are of so happie deliuerance And when you are deliuered you are euer afterwards more carefull a great deale that you fall not againe into your enimies hand Againe you make not a trade of sinne The wicked do trade in sinne to follow it dayly and houreâ—â—e as the workers of imquitie Mat. 7.23 who follow it as carefully and continually as any man followes his occupation whereby hee must liue Ps 1.2.3 But the trade which you follow and the way wherein you walke with delight is the continuall meditation of the lawe of God with an earnest desire to practise it in your whose conuersation Coloss 3.2 Your minde and affections are not set vpon the earth but vppon heauen and vpon those things which may bring you to heauen It is better with you then you thinke for and therefore be thankfull and â—heere vp your heart in the Lord. Therefore in the true acknowledgement of Gods great mercy towards you you may with peace to your soule saie with the Apostle Paul in the seuenth chapter to the Romans and the fiue and twentieth verse I thanke God through our Lord Iesus Christ because in my mind I serue the lawe of God although in the flesh that is in that part which is vnregenerate I serue the lawe of sinne Touching that other point namely that you fall often and againe into that sin which you haue vowed neuer to coÌ„mit againe It is no wonder in this corruption to sinne often in the same sinne for as much as the same is against your wil through great infirmitie and not of anie set purpose although I wish you in anie wise to be as carefull as may be therein and to vse all good and holie meanes of watching ouer your affections and auoiding all those occasions All good meanes must be vsed against euerie sinne whereby you may bee drawen forward into aâ—e the least sinne by praying fasting and such like holie exercises whereby you may be better strengthened against all assaultes of sinne yet would I not haue you to discourage your selfe too much with the consideration thereof Consider wisellâ— and apply with reuerence For this you knowe that one which walketh in a supperie way or vpon ice may against his will yea though hee looke neuer so well to his feete not onelie take the first but the second and the third fall yea manie falles notwithstanding that he thinketh to set his foote maruelous sure Abraham although hee was the father of the faithfull Abraham fell more than once into one sinne and for his godlinesse highlie commended in the Scripture yet through great weakenesse lyed first in Egypt to Pharao in denying Sarah to be his wife These examples are to comfort such as woulde leaue sinne and not to encourage any to liue in sinne Genesis the twelfth chapter and thirteenth verse Againe hee