yet this in parte insinuates the greatnes of Gods mercie namely that it is as great as himselfe and that no marâ— vaile sith it is himselfe But first let vs heare what himselfe testifieth of himselfe that way that only is able perfectly to know himselfe 2 The Lord a Psal 113. ver 8. seq saith David is mercifull and gratious of long suffering and pienteous with goodnes hee chideth not for ever nor keepeth his anger alwaies hee dealeth not with vs according to our sinnes nor rewardeth vs according to our iniquities but as high as the heavens are aboue the earth so much doth his mercie gue beyond them that feare him as far as the East is from the wâ—st so far doth he remoue our sinnes from vs as a father hath pitty on his children so hath the Lord pitty on them that feare him for he knoweth whereof we are made hee remembreth that we are but dust Here we haue not only a profession of the greatnes of Gods mercy in expresse words but also a liuely resemblance thereof by most proper comparisons yea most forcible arguments also and reasons for proofe thereof as God vvilling shall hereafter be observed b Esai 49. vers 15. Againe saith the Lord Can the mother forget her young childe and not haue pitty of the son of her wombe but be it that a mother may forget yet will not I forget thee saith the Lord. And c Esay 55. v 7. â—9 in the same Prophet to weete Esay Let the wicked forsake his evill waies the vngodly his imaginations returâ—e vnto the Lorde and hee will haue mercie on him and to our God for he is full of compassioÌ„ For my thoughts are not as your thoughts nor my waies as your waies but as high at the heavens are aboue the earth so high are my waies aboue your waies and my thoughts aboue your thoughts And so d ser 3. â— in Ieremie If a man bee divorced from his wife shee departing from him shall bee marryed to an other shall he take her againe should not the land be defiled thereby But thou hast plaide the whore with many lovers yâ—t returne to me â—aith the Lord. And in e Ezech 18. ver 23 31. Ezechiell hee even mourneth for the follie and obstinacie of his people that woulde not returne vnto him and liue Am I delighted with the death of a sinner saith the Lorde and not rather with this that hee should returne from his waies and liue Why will yee die ô house of Israell Out of these Scriptures the like we may gather many consolations wherby to be perswaded of the forgiuenesse of our sins And first let vs coÌ„sider that Gods loue infinitely exceedeth any loue that is to be found in the creatures being as farre aboue it as the heavens are aboue the earth or the vtmost endes of the worlde are distant one from an other And yet wee see that the loue which is in the creatures is of greate force and produceth very strange effects and speciallie that loue wherewith God here compareth his namely that of parents towards their children who loue theÌ„ yea tenderly loue them even when they are vnworthy of their loue and gladly embrace any submission from them f Teren. Andrâ—a Act. 5. scen 3. Propeccato magno paulum â—upplicii satis est patri Even nature hath taught men to plead this * That a father is satis fied with a little punishment for a great offence Nay we see that fathers caÌ„not but loue their stubborne children that refuse to submit themselues yea that stand at open defiance with them whereof the Scripture affordeth vs a notable example g 2. Sam. 15 ver 1.2 c. Absalon most vnnaturally rebelled against his father king David after that hee had pardoned him for a cruell and odious murther and sought to depriue him both of crowne and life For â—in kings these both goe togither vvho leaue to bee men when they leaue to be kings can no longer hold their liues than they hold their soveraignety Hee I say vnnaturally rebelled against so kinde a father and was vp in armes against him And yet see howe his father was affected towards him Having raised an armie to suppresse him h Chap. 18.5 12. hee chargeth his two principall captaines that they should deale gently with Absalon for his sake i Vers 31.32 33. And when afterwarde he had newes that he was slaine he made most pitifull lameÌ„tatioÌ„ for him crying out My son Absalon my son my son Absalon woulde God I had dyed for thee would God I were in thy steed ô Absalon my sonne my sonne Thus nature forced him to loue even a rebellious sonne But most memorable is that which happened in our age at Castillion vpon Loing in France k Bodin de repub lib. 1. cap. 4. A father offering to giue his son a blow for some misdemeanor the sonne ran him through with his sword Here the miserable father perceiving himselfe wouÌ„ded to death never left crying after his son as long as he coulde crie that hee should flie and shift for himselfe least iustice shoulde take hold on him O admirable force of fatherly loue that the father shoulde tender the sonnes life that deprived the father of life But God doth not only coÌ„pare his loue to a fathers loue but also to a mothers loue vvhich commonly is the more tender of the two that sex being passion arely indulgent And of what force a mothers loue is even towards wicked and vngratious children the same author in the same place specifieth by the example of a womaÌ„ of the same natioÌ„ who having a sonne that vsed her most outragiously reviled her beare her threw her at his feete and amongst many other indignities committed one against her which I thinke vnmeet to be mentioned in particular yet would never complaine to authority of him and when the magistrates of their owne accord tooke notice thereof and holding the example into lerable convented him before theÌ„ gaue sentence of death against him the mother came crying and howling in most pitifull sort denying all the wrongs and outrage he had done vnto her And no marvell that the parents loue of their children is so tender and vehement sith wee see howe strong and strange the affection of very beastes is towardes their young ones The loue of their young ones l Sen ep 75 saith Seneca forceth wild beasts to runne vppon the hunters iavelin or speare m Nat. Comes de venat lib. 2. and they vsually either recover them or die in attempting to recover them Nowe these strong instincts of loue in the creatures are derived from God and infused into them by him I speake of the substance and soundnesse thereof For as for the irregularitie of it specially in men it proceedes not from creation but from corruption depravation But I say this loue yea this fervency of loue
not see them he wil not examin theÌ„ if he will not examine them he will not punish them x August in Psal 119. According to the groundes of our Christian faith they are accounted for no sinners to whome their sinnes are not imputed y Idem de nuptiis concupise cap 26 not to be held guilty of sinne is not to haue sinne or to bee without sinne Do we fail in our obedieÌ„ce to the law of God many times break his coÌ„maÌ„demeÌ„ts Why z Idem retract lib 11 cap. 19. all the commaÌ„dements are theÌ„ held to be kept wheÌ„ all is pardoned that is not kept a Bernard in Cantic serm 33 in Annunciat Mariae serm It is theÌ„ a sufficient righteousnesse to haue our vnrighteousnes forgiven and to haue him only favorable to vs whome only wee haue offended True it is that that which is done cannot but be done and yet not being imputed it is all one as if it had not beene done 7 This plea must needs confouÌ„d the Devil and put him to silence For b Bernard if Adams sinne could make vs guilty shall not Christs righteousnes much more make vs innocent Shall there be more vertue in the seed of the first Adam then in the bloud of the secoÌ„d Adam Doubtlesse the greatest force and efficacy is ever in the greater and stronger agent and therefore Christ is fat more able to saue then Adam to condemne and why should not wee haue righteousnes from another as well as wee had guiltinesse from another 1. Corinth vers 1. specially sith c p. 190. Christ was made righteousnesse vnto vs by God the father and shall not that righteousnesse be ours which was made over to vs and made over by God himselfe Carnall generation from Adam shall never be of such force to damne vs as spirituall regeneration in Christ to saue vs. And if Sathan say vnto vs that a bad father soulde vs wee may presently answere that a good brother hath ransomed vs. 8 Finally what could wee wish more d Anâ—elm cur Deus homo lib 2 Being miserable creatures and not able to free our selues from the bondage of sinne and Satan God the father saies vnto every one of vs take my sonne and giue him for thee and the sonne himselfe saith take me redeeme thy selfe with me e Idem in meditat What sweeter entreatie can there bee then to intreate the father in the sonnes name yea for his only begotten and most dearely beloued sonnes sake By this kind of mediation many captiues haue been set free many malefactors haue obtained their pardon many that every houre looked for the stroak of death haue had their liues given them O happy and thrice happy are they that are allowed this favorable and gratious accesse vnto the father in the name of his sonne caÌ„ plead thus O Lord remember what a good sonne hath suffered and forget what a bad seruant hath done 9 There remaineth yet another singular consolation against so great an evill to wit sinne and that is that God in his infinite wisdome turneth our very sinnes themselues to our benefit and advantage so farre of is it that they shall condemne vs. f Rom 8. vers 28. The Apostle saith that all things worke togither for the good of those that loue God g Bernard serm de falac praesentis vitae in Psal 15. serm 2. which is so true that eveÌ„ the things which properly are not thinges but the corruptions of thinges as griefe sicknesse death and finally sinne it selfe doe so The latter may seeme strange and yet it is true namely that even sinne worketh for the good of the faithfull yea sinne is made a medicine for sinne We know how foule a sinne pride is and how deepely it is rooted in our corrupt nature or rather incorporated into it h Hier. ep 30 wee had rather bee without golde it selfe then without pride and selfe liking i Bernard â—pist 143 To doe greate workes and haue humble thoughts is far a harder matter then much fasting long watching and other the like corporal afflictions Nay to doe any good worke be it never so meane and not to glory in it is a vertue that is found but in few and yet to be proud of well doing is little better then ill doing And k August de tempor serm 49. some haue ventured to affirme that an humble sinner is better theÌ„ one that is proud for doing good and that God is more pleased with humilitie in ill doing then with pride in wel doing At least this we may be bold to say l Gregor Moral lib. 19 c 12. 13. that pride marres the luster grace of our best actions and makes them meerely vnprofitable vnto vs and they that overcome their vices by being prowd of it are overcoÌ„e by that which they had overcome foiled by their own victorie We see then of what necessity humilitie is without which all vertues are no vertues and how abominable pride is that in a maner turneth all vertues into vices Whence m Aug. ep 52 S. Augustin professeth that if he were demanded what were the first point of Christianitie he would answer humility if what were the second he would likewise say humility if what the third his answer also should be humilitie n Cie de orat lib. 3. even as the Orator being asked what was the first second and third point of eloquence answered still vtterance Now there is nothing so effectuall to kill that monster of pride and to breed this excellent vertue of humilitie as sinne it selfe when God giues vs grace to bee humbled with the consideratioÌ„ thereof o August â—e Civ Dei lib. 11. c. 14. We may then be bold to say that it is profitable even for good men to fall into some manifest sin that they might be displeased with themselues who fell by pleasing themselues In a word the sinne of pride cannot be cured but by other sinnes which makes vs ashamed of our selues p Ezech. 6. vers 9. 20. vers 43. 36 vers 31. yea and even to loath our selues and to blush to our selues when sometimes others commend and extoll vs that are not privie to our faults So by this means we are preserved both from flattering our selues and also from applauding to others when they flatter vs yea froÌ„ taking pleasure in their iust praises q Hieron ep 32. Aug. ep 64. which is exceedingly dangerous yet almost impossible to bee avoided saving by this meanes And as our sinnes and slippes keepe vs in humilitie so doe they also teach vs feare care and circumspection that afterwards we will not so easily bee overtaken againe so that we may well coÌ„clude with r Bern. quo supra lit marg g. S. Bernard Doe not his sinnes turne to his good that riseth from his sinnes more humble more fearefull more carefull and
warie then he was before Doubtlesse his very fall is happy that is taken vp by humilitie This is the vnsearchable wisedome and inestimable goodnesse of God to cure sinne by sinne and to turne poyson it selfe into a medicine CHAP. 9 Consolations against certaine circumstances of sinne namely long continuance therein before our conversion and relapse into it after our conversion 1 Thus we haue heard what remedies Christian religion affordeth against sin in respect of the substance thereof But now there are certaine circumstances of sin which doe not a little aggravate the same and wherwith the conscience many times is much terrified Which are principally two late repentance for sin and relapse into sin after repentance 2 Touching the former to weete late repeÌ„tance there is no cause why we should be dismaide therewith For first we are to consider that although we liue an hundred yeares yea many hundred yeares if it could bee which without extraordinary priviledge never to be hoped for cannot possibly be yet the distance of time betweene the day of our birth the day of our death is nothing vnto God a Psal 90. v. 4. 2. Pet. 3. v. 8. For as the Prophet saies the Apostle froÌ„ him repeates it a thousand yeares with the Lord are but as one day Howsoever then to vs things are said to bee done early or late yet in respect of God nothing is sooner or later no time is long or shorte nay no time is either past or to come but al time is present vnto him Let our care be that our repentance be vnfaigned it shall never be too late Againe for our farther comfort herein let vs obserue b Mat. 20. v. 1.3 c. that most divine parable of our Saviour Christ touching the laborours hyred by an owner of a vineyarde to worke therein some of them early in the morning some at the third howre of the day some at the ninth some at the eleventh yet wheÌ„ they came to receiue their wages they that were taken vp last had as much as they that were intertained first which insinuats that so wee be brought to serue God truly faithfully our late coÌ„ming to his service shal no way preiudice our coÌ„fort but that we shall be as well accepted as they that begaÌ„ long hefore vs. c Epieur apud Laert The very heatheÌ„ could say that no maÌ„ was too old to learne those things which concerned the health of the minde much more should we resolue that no maÌ„ is too olde to learne and practise those things which pertaine to his eternall happines welfare d Ioh. 11. vers 32. Christ raised Lazirus our of his graue eveÌ„ after he had laine so long there that hee stunke therefore can raise vs out of the graue of sin although we haue laine so long therein that we seeme past recoverie as the sisters of Lazarus imagined of their brother Let vs therefore assure our selues o that while wee bee yet in this world e Cyp. cont DemetrianuÌ„ our repentance can never be too late but that there is a passage from our mortal stroake to immortality f Hier. ep 7. And that we should not despaire in this regard God hath left vs a notable example g Luc. 23. v. 40.41 4â— 43 in holy Scripture where we read that the peniteÌ„t theefe fouÌ„d present passage from the gibbet to heaven Nay where God vouchsafeth the grace to repent truely there may be a benefit in repenting lately yea a double benefit namely fervencie and constancie in the worship and service of God Fervency because having lost so much time we should labour to fetch it vp and recover it by diligence and industrie thinke wee can never serue God enough because it was so long before we begaÌ„ to serue him whom wee should haue served ever h Seneca Nat quaest l. 3. in praef And herein we are to imitate travailers which by reason of some impediments and lets haue staide behinde their fellows the later they set out the faster they travaile and by haste speed make amendes for their slownesse and slacknes So late conversion shoulde not discourage vs froÌ„ serving of God but encourage vs to serue him more fervently The secoÌ„d advantage that may bee made of late repentance is constancie And indeed this benefit doth ordinarily follow it Many seeme to repent for sinne be fore they know what sin is or at least effectually apprehende the daunger thereof and therefore commonly are soone drawne into sinne againe so drawne againe into it as they wil never after be dravvne out of it therefore never attaining to sound repentance because their repentaunce was too young not repenting when they should because they repented before they truely could But coÌ„trarily they most loath sin that see their folly and madnes in serving it so long i Luc. 7.47 and the more greater the woundes of a sinfull soule are the more greater will her loue bee to Christ her heavenly Physitian In a word k Sen. ibid. as the very heathen hath well observed The surest passage from vice to vertue is by the bridge of repentance and we then most constantly cleaue to that which is good when we haue beene oftenest and deep liest stung by evill Thus vvhen God giveth spirituall wisdome to the sinner his late repentaunce shall rather be advaÌ„tageous than daÌ„nable to him 3 The second circumstance which maketh sin to terrible in our appreheÌ„sion indeed so dangerous in it selfe is relapse into the same sinnes after repentance How great an evill this is * Chapt. 2. Sect. 9. hath already in part been declared But we may further consider that this is a step degree to the feareful state of those of whom l 2. Pet. â— â—2 S. Peter speaketh the same is happened vnto them which is vsed to bee spoken in the true proverbe The dogge is turned to his own vomit againe the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire We should with feare and trembling thinke vpon that m Mat 13 43. c. which our Saviour Christ delivereth in the Gospell that when the vncleane spirit is gone out of a man if he returne enter into him againe he bringeth seaven other spirits with him worse thaÌ„ himselfe taketh stroÌ„ger possessioÌ„ in him thaÌ„ he had before so that the last state of that maÌ„ is worse thaÌ„ the first 4 But yet if through frailty we be overtaken even thus far also as to relapse into the same offenses yet must we not despaire by by but there are some comforts remedies left vs against this so dangerous a temptatioÌ„ 5 And first let vs consider that the worthiest servaÌ„ts of God were not all togither free froÌ„ this relapse into the selfe same sinnes n Gen. 1â— 8 c. 20.2 â— Abraham twice denied disclaimed his own wife there by greatly engaging
in the creatures comes from divine instinct Now if God himselfe infuse so much loue into his creatures how great is the loue that is in himselfe Doubtlesse here that principle in Philosophie must needs be verified that that which makes another thing to be so or so must needes bee more so it selfe And therefore sith God makes the creatures to loue so strongly doubtlesse hee himselfe doth loue more strongly as wee herd before out of Esay that the teÌ„drest humane loue was inferiour to his even the loue of a mother towards her child and that although a mother might forget her childe yet hee would not forget his people And no marvell that his loue is so greate he being loue it selfe For so wee finde in Scripture not onely that God is loving n 1. Ioh. 4. â— 16. but also that God is loue God saith not that hee is power or iustice although hee might truely say so but when hee would define himselfe and tell what he is hee makes choice of this attribute of loue and saith he is loue which notably argueth how greate and strong his loue is 3 Furthermore we see by the former testimonies of Scripture that his loue is transcendent and aboue rule He hath limited mans loue mercie and there are many cases wherein men may not shewe mercy The husband as we heard out of Ieremie might not take his wife againe that had plaid the whore and departing from him had coupled her selfe to another man o 1 Sam. 2. v. 37. c. Elie the high Priest was severely punished for being too mercifull to his prophane sonnes Saul Ahab both lost their kingdoms for shewing mercy to their prisoners contrary to Gods minde p 1. Sam. 15. the former to Agag q 1 King â—0 the later to Benhadad yea r Deut 13. 〈◊〉 6 7 8. God made a generall law in expresse tearmes that parents should not pitty nor spare their owne naturall children if they became Idolaters and worshipped strange Gods nor brother the brother nor husband the wife no not his tenderly beloved wife that their eie shoulde not spare them but their hands should bee vpon them first to stone them to death In these and many other cases meÌ„ might not shew mercy and if they notwithstanding would be merciful to others they became cruell to themselues pulling down Gods vengance vpoÌ„ their own heads Thus mans mercy is bounded but Gods is boundles and transcendent so that he can and doth shewe mercy even in the cases that meÌ„ may not As appeares by that before alleaged out of Ieremie that although the husband might not take againe his wife that had gone a who ring froÌ„ him yet God was ready to receaue his people although they had committed spirituall whoredome that with many lovers that is had defiled themselues with many sorts of Idolatry And by this priviledge of vnlimited mercie God comforteth his Church and people Å¿ Esay 55. v. v. 7 8 9. in Esaie as we haue heard chiding them for their infidelitie that reasoned thus We haue so grievously sinned against the Lord that there is no returning vnto him or hope of pardon What Saith God Will you measure my mercy by your mercy Why there is as great oddes betweene my waies and your waies my thoughts and your thoughts that it between my mercy and your conceipts of my mercy as there is distance between heaven and earth O comforte more worth theÌ„ a thousand worlds if there were so many The Lorde doth not say that his waies and thoughts of knowledge and wisdome but his waies and thoughts of mercy are as far aboue ours as the heavens are aboue the earth And why then should we doubt whether a mercy of such extent either could not or would not relieue our miserie 4 Besides this let vs waigh how the Lord inviteth vs to returne vnto him speaking thus in effect to the sin full soule I knowe thou hast shamefully straied from mee I knowe thou hast given mee too too many occasions vtterly to cast thee off and to accept of no submission but yet returne to mee and thou shalt bee welcome Thou hast monstrously defiled deformed thy selfe yet wash and purifie thy selfe nay suffer mee to wash purifie thee t Esa 1.18 and if thy sinnes were as purple they shall be made as white as snowe and if they were as redde as scarlet they shall be as wooll Nether doth God desire only that wee should returne to him but pittieth our obstinacy when wee will not returne as he saith in Ezekiel O house of Israel why will yee die u Luk. 19. vers 41.42 And so Christ in the Gospell bemoaneth the incorrigible perversnesse and frowardnesse of the Iewes that would not imbrace mercy when it was offered vnto them even weeping for the same x Matth 23. vers 13. and breaking out into an affectionate complaint saying O Ierusalem Ierusalem how often would I haue gathered thy children even as a hen gathereth her chickeÌ„ vnder her wings but yee would not Now hee that inviteth vs to returne vnto him yea that lamenteth our folly and frowardnes that we will not returne will he not receiue vs when we doe returne Yes doubtlesse For sure y Tertul. de poenit c. 8. as an ancient Divine pithilie comfortably saith God would not threaten him that repenteth not except hee would pardon him that doth repent 5 Moreover let vs out of the same places of Scripture obserue that God doth not only promise to bee mercifull but also sheweth reasons why he wil be mercifull nay in a sort he must be mercifull Besides that which hath beene spoken hereof incidentally as it were by the way namely that his mercy is not a quality in him but his very essence and that there is no proportion betweene mans tendrest mercy and his it is more specially to be considered that he duly waigheth our case and fraile state namely that wee cannot but offend that if he should deale extreamely with vs wee must needes be destroyed but he graciously beareth with our frailtie knowing of what brittle mettle wee are made and promiseth z Esay 57. v. 15 16. that although hee bee most high and inhabit eternitie yet hee will vouchsafe to dwell with the humble and coÌ„trite that he will not alwaies striue nor bee angry for ever because if he should every spirit should be overwhelmed and the soules which he had made Thus he counteth vs no match for him and thinks it no conquest to destroy vs nay rather rekons this to be his honour and glorie to pardon and forgiue and to saue where he hath iust cause to condemn In a word as a man disdaines to shew his strength vpon a child so God disdaines to shewe his strength vpon man Which speeches and the like plainely testifie howe easily God will accept of our submission and what wrong we doe not only to our selues but also