have it Reason 4 Fourthly God dealeth thus many times with his children o Ad majorem peccati detestationem to work in them a greater hatred and detestation of sin whereof this hiding of his face from them is oft a fruit and an effect p Esa 1.15 When you stretch forth your hands saith God by the Prophet I will hide mine eyes from you and though you make many prayers I will not heare you because your hands are full of blood And saith the same Prophet speaking in the person of Gods people q Esa 64.7 Thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us because of our iniquities Yea in the Lamentations the people of God complaine that r Lament 3.24 43 44. God had overwhelmed them with his wrath aâ—d covered himselfe with a cloud that their prayers might not passe nor have accesse to his Highnesse because they had sinned and rebelled against him and he therefore had not spared them And certainly that is one principall cause the sinnes of Gods Church and Children their rebellious courses their untoward cariage their wickednesse their wantonnesse their evill demeanure towards him that maketh God to turne away his loving countenance from them and that not onely for a time to looke off them till they humble themselves before him but †Multa cogitur homo tolerare etiam remiffis peccatis quamvis ut in eam veniret miseriam primum suerit causa peccatum Productior est enim poena quà m culpa ne parva putaretur culpa si cum illa siniretur poena Ac per hoc vel ad demonstrationem debitae miseriae vel ad emendationem labilis vitae vel ad exercitationem necessariaâ— patientiae temporaliter hominem detinet poena etiam quem jam ad damnationem sempiternam reum non detinet culpa Aug. in Ioan. 124. even for some space of time after also to looke strangely upon them He doth as a wise and discreet Father who when his Sonne hath offended him though upon his submission hee be reconciled unto him and be inwardly as well affected againe towards him as ever yet will make some shew of anger still it may be and lowre and frowne on him for a long time after that he may not suddenly take heart to grace as wee say againe but may by that means be drawne to be both more seriously sory for his offence past and more fearfull for the future of offending his Father So dealeth God with his Children when they have done amisse and runne riot though upon their repentance he be at one againe with them yet he concealeth it long many times neither is his countenance oft the same for a long time after towards them that formerly it had beene Thus dealt DAVID with Absolom and thus God himselfe with DAVID Å¿ 2 Sam. 13.38 39. After that Absolom by a traine had made away his brother Ammon and was fled upon it to Geshur DAVID a Father but too indulgent t 1 King 1.6 2 Sam. 18.5 that was his fault and hee smarted shrewdly for it after some space of time when the sorrow for his sonne Ammon was over began to earne inwardly after Absolom and since that Ammon was gone hee was loth to lose the comfort of his Absolom also whom he loved but too well and farre better than his Absolom loved him And though he strove to conceale it yet u Sed malè dissimulat quis enim celaverit ignem Lumine qui semper proditur ipse suo Ovid. ep 12. Apparet facilè dissimulatus amor Ibid. he could not but discover it x 2 Sam. 14.1 2 3 19 20. Ioab wisely discerned it and used the woman of Tekoa as a Midwife to deliver DAVIDS heart of that that * Ita Christus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicitur Basil Sel. homil 19. it went great with and was full of paine withall and to draw that from him as by constraint or importunity which DAVID was of himselfe over-willing unto already y 2 Sam. 14.21 22. Thus Absolom his exile must be called home at length though with some difficultie and the matter must proceed not as from DAVID but from Ioab DAVIDS affection to Absolom must by all means bee concealed Yea after Absolom was returned though DAVID no doubt longed still after him and in some sort doated on him and was more seriously and sincerely desirous to see Absolom than Absolom was to see DAVID yet z 2 Sam. 14.24 28. Let him turne saith he to his owne house and not see my face And so dwelt Absolom DAVIDS best beloved sonne for he had not yet Solomon for the space of two yeeres in Ierusalem where the Court most was and yet might not all that while so much as see the King his Fathers face or have accesse once to his presence DAVID no doubt was perfectly reconciled in heart to him and counted it no small crosse that he must thus be deprived of him but knowing Absoloms disposition how soone he might be returning to some such like practice if he were suddenly taken into grace again was content to enforce himselfe to this harsh and unpleasing cariage towards him unpleasing I say as well to DAVID himselfe as to Absolom to prevent some such further mischiefe if it might have beene that might otherwise both befall himselfe and Absolom as upon the change of his countenance towards him shortly after ensued Now looke how DAVID dealt with Absolom so dealt God himselfe with DAVID After that foule abuse of Bathsheba and the murther of Vriah albeit a 2 Sam. 12.13 DAVID had to Nathan freely confessed his offence and Nathan from God againe assured him of the free and full forgivenesse of it The Lord hath taken away thy sinne thou shalt not die for it Yet the Lord the more throughly to humble him for it and to make him the more wary for the time to come of shunning that that might produce againe such fearfull effects * Est quidam etiam tranquilli maris tremor aut lacus qui ex tempestate requievit Sen. de tranquill c. 1. did not looke upon him so lovingly for a long time after as before hee had wont to doe Read but the Psalme that hee made after Nathan had beene with him and see how earnestly and instantly he crieth and calleth upon God still b Psal 51.1 8 9 11 12. to turne his face away from his sinne and to looke in mercy upon himselfe not to cast him wholly out of his sight nor to take his good Spirit utterly away from him to restore unto him againe those inward comforts and joyes which c Psal 4.6 7. through the light of Gods countenance he had formerly injoyed but had in a manner cleane lost and was wholly deprived of for the present And in like manner doth God deale with many other of his deare servants after some hainous and notorious crimes by them committed hee
live in When I say the sinnes of a mans Calling it is not so to be understood as if the workes or duties of any lawfull Calling were evill or sinfull in themselves but that a man by occasion of his place and vocation or his course of life and conversation may have more and more frequent occasions of some sinnes than of others greater and stronger inducements and inticements to some sinnes than to others which hee is therefore more specially to keepe watch against Thus the Courtiers sinne is with a 2 King 5.18 Naaman to make a God of his Prince in being content to please the one by displeasing the other The Captaines sinne with b 1 King 2.5 Ioab to bee a man of bloud ready to use or abuse his weapon rather to private revenge c Luk. 3.14 Populatores terrae quam à populationibus vindicare debebant Curt. de gest Alex. lib. 3. The Souldiers sinne to pill and spoyle and make a prey of those whom hee ought to protect d Patronus praevaricatur decipit Cyprian lib. 2. ep 2. The Lawyers sinne to betray or to delay his Clients cause to draw the more fees from him e Esai 1.23 Mica 7.3 The Judges sinne to pervert judgement or to tefuse to doe justice for feare favour or reward f Ezech. 13.16 22. The Ministers sinne to sooth up men in their sinne or g Ier. 1.17 20.9 to forbeare to reprove sinne for feare of mans face The Handy-craftmans sinne to h Ezech. 13.11 doe his worke deceitfully and unfaithfully there especially where he thinketh that he cannot be discovered The Tradesmans sinne i Amos 8.5 6. Sirac 27.1 2. to use lying and fraud in the uttering of his wares k Mica 2.1 2. The sinne of great men to be oppressours of the poore and the sinne of the meaner and poorer sort l Esai 8.21 to be discontent with their estate m Est miserorum ut malevolentes sint atque invideant bonis Plaut cap. 3.4 to envie those that exceed them and to be instruments of evill offices for their owne advantage to others And so upon each course of life and Calling are there some speciall sinnes attending which those therefore that follow it are the more subject unto and more in danger to be surprised by than by many or ordirily by any other Againe when it is said that the sinnes are to be observed of the times and places that men live in it is not so to be conceived as if all sinnes were not in some sort to be found in all places or n Hominum sunt ista non temporum nulla aetas vacabit à culpa Sen. ep 97. as if all sins had not beene more or lesse in all ages but that o ardet vitio gentisque suoque Ovid. de Tereo Metam l. 6. Omnes gentes peculiaria habent mala Gothorum gens perfida est Alanorum impudica Francimendaces Saxones crudeles Salvian de provid l 7. Gens Saxonum fera est Francorum infidelis Gepidarum inhumana Hunnorum impudica omnium vita vitiosa Ibid. 4. Sunt tam civitatum quà m singulorum hominum mores gentesque aliae iracundae aliae audaces quaedam timidae in vinum in Venerem proniores aliae sunt Liv. hist l. 45. some sinnes in some places are rifer than others some sinnes in some ages more in request than some other as some diseases raigne more in some places than in others some infirmities are more frequent at some times than at others which those therefore that live in such times or such places must more specially watch against as being more in danger to be infected and tainted therewith § 25. The second sort of speciall corruptions are the sinnes of a mans nature or of his naturall constitution such as hee is naturally more addicted and inclined unto than unto other For as it is with the bodie so is it also with the soule As in every mans body there is a generall mixture of all the foure humours Bloud Fleame and the two Cholers in some degree more or lesse but there is some one of them predominant in regard whereof a man is said to be of a Sanguine a Flegmatike a Melancholike or a Cholerike Constitution or as in grounds untoiled and untilled there grow evill weeds of all sorts but there is some one commonly that over-toppeth the residue and groweth rifer and rancker usually than the rest So in the soule of man since the fall of our first Parents p 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Empedoclis vocabulum apud Aristot. de gener animal l. 4. c. 3. a generall seed-plot of evill there are spirituall weeds of all sorts a mixture of all vice the seed and spawne of all sin q Ephes 2.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Et cupidiomnes maligni omnes timidi omnes ambitiosi adjice impii omnes Sea de benef l. 5. c. 17. Atheisme it selfe not excepted but there is r Nullum mihi morbi genus ignotum est uni tamen morbâ— quasi assignatus sum Sen. epist 55. some one pestilent Humour or other lightly more predominant than the rest some one maine and master vice that giveth a denomination in regard whereof men are said to be some ambitious some covetous some superstitious some lascivious and the like not as if such persons had no other vice but that that they are so named by for it is most true that the Heathen man saith Å¿ Qui habet unum vitium habet omnia Sen. de benef l. 5. c 15. Malus quisque nullo vitio vacat Ibid. l. 4. c. 27. He that hath any one vice hath all other with it but t Stultus omnia vitia habet sed non in omnia natura pronus est Senec. de benef lib. 4. cap. 27. Omnia in omnibus vitia sunt sed non omnia in singulis extant Ibid. c. 26. Omnia omnibus insunt sed in quibusdam singula eminent Ibid. c. 27. because that beareth the sway though the other be all there too in a lower and a lesse eminent degree This is that which David seemeth to have aimed at when hee saith u Psal 18.23 I was upright also with him and kept my selfe from mine owne sin x Eastie in Ps 51. Every David saith one well hath his Bathsheba and every Bathsheba her David David had no doubt his sinne y Dilecta dâ—licta his beloved his deare his darling sinne that which naturally hee delighted in and was addicted unto And so hath every man ordinarily some one corruption or other that is the delight of his heart and the joy of his eyes that hee is naturally most wedded unto most caried away with Now z Alia in alus vitia principatum obtinent tyrannidem exercent ideoque oportet unumqâ—emque nostrum secundum qualitatem belli quo principaliter infestatur pugnam arripere utque vitia in nobis principatum
Yea but saith the Apostle to such r 1 Cor. 6.12 10.23 Sicut non omne quod libet licet sic non omne quod licet statim etiam expedit Bern ep 25. All things that is all things in their owne nature indifferent are lawfull but all such things are not expedient Things in themselves lawfull in the use of them prove oft inexpedient and then become they in that regard and so farre forth unlawfull to us The use of a thing and the abuse of it are many times so close twined and twisted together that a man cannot lay hold on the one but hee shall be taken with the other he cannot pull the one to him but the other will come with it and accompany it in spight of his heart though hee doe not desire the company of it or to have any dealing at all with it Yea sure it is as one well saith that Å¿ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. paedag l. 2. c. 1. Hee that will needs doe all that ever hee may doe will be soone drawne to doe somewhat also that hee ought not to doe And better it were for a man to forbeare many things that hee might doe there is no hurt in such forbearance t 1 Sam. 25.31 it will never be griefe or offence of heart to him as she said to David in another case that he hath so done than by venturing so far betweene winde and water in what he may doe to be but once overtaken in what he should not doe which may prove a corasive to him as long as he liveth And certainly as u Fac te ambulare ubi à dextra spatiosa est terra nec augustias pateris à laeva locus est praeceps ubi eligas incedere super finem terrae in praecipitii labro an longè inde puto quia longè inde Aug. de verb. Ap. 28. it were but a fond course for a man that is travelling by the way when hee hath a faire broad path to walke in to presse so neere x Verendum est dormienti in ripa ne cadat Autor de singul cleric the brinke or banke of a brooke that runneth along by it and that y Vbi non in praerupto tantum stabis sed in lubrico Senec. epist 84. where the ground is slippery and when the wind is high and bloweth stiffe that z Proximus periculo diu tutus non eris Isidor soliloq lib. 2. nemo se tutò diu Periculis offerre tam crebris potest Senec. Herc. fur 2. ten to one he is in over shooes if not over head and eares ere he goe farre yea that at every step almost he is in danger to slip in So here it is a very unwise and improvident cariage for a man when hee hath the a Psal 119.96 broad rhoad of Gods law giving him scope enough to walke at large without danger in the use of Gods good creatures and in the ordering of his courses yet to presse needlesly so neere upon the borders and confines of sinne that as David saith to Ionathan b 1 Sam. 20.3 as sure as God liveth there is but a step betweene death and mee so there is but a step betweene sinne and them or as hee of men at sea c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Anacharsis apud Laert. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arat. Phaenon 27. i. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theon schol I nunc ventis animam committe dolato Confisus ligno digitis à morte remotus Quatuor aut septem si sit latissima taeda Iuven sat 14. Audax nimium qui freta primus Rate tam fragiliperfida rupit Terrasque suas post terga videns Animam levibus credidit Euris Dubioque secans aequara cursu potuit tenui sidere ligno Inter vitae mortisque vias Nimium gracili limite ducto Senec in Med. act 2. Nam propetam letum quà m prope cernit aquam Ovid. de Pont. lib. 2. but a three inch plancke betweene them and death so but an inch or two betweene them and that that may be their bane and the very break-necke of their soule and that step or inch further may the Devill soone push them or the very swinge and sway of their own corruption may of it selfe easily cary them For d Prov. 15.24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod facilis descensus Averni Sed revocare gradum superasque ascendere ad auras Hic labor hoc opus est Virg. Aen. it is in going to God-ward as in climbing an hill a man shall be inforced to stay and breath himselfe oft ere he would e Omne in praecipiti vitium stetit Iuven sat 1. Facilis in proclivia vitiorum decursus est Senec. de ira lib. 2. cap. 1. Per proclive currentium non ubi visum est gradus sistitur sed incitato corporis â—ondere se rapit longius quà m voluit effertur Idem epist 40. Non gradu sed praecipiti cursu à virtute disciscitur ad vitia transcurritur Vbi semel deerratum est in praeceps pervenitur adeò maturè à rectis in prava à pravis in praecipitia pervenitur Patert hist lib. 2. it is in walking to sin-ward as in running downe an hill a man shall not be able to take up his fierce and disordered affections and to stay himselfe where he would f Mens cùm ad meliora enititur quasi contra ictum flaminis conatur cùm verò ab intentione ascendendi resolvitur sine labore ad imarelabitur Quia enim in ascensu labor est in descensu otium nisi mentis contentio ferveat unda mundi non vincitur per quam animus semper ad ima revocatur Greg. moral lib. 11. c 28. A man is carried with the strong streame of his owne affections in the one hee must strive and struggle against the maine current yea the swift and stiffe torrent of his owne corruptions in the other so that g Non vides quam diversus sit ascendentium habitus descendentium qui per pronum eunt resupinant corpora qui in arduum incumbunt nam si descendas pondus suum in priorem partem dare si ascendat retrò abducere cum vitio consentire est In voluptates descenditur in res asperas duras subeundum est hic impellamus corpora illic refraenemus Sen. ep 123. unlesse he strive and straine hard if hee grow but remisse hee will soone be going amaine backward and when he is once going on toward sinne or never so little gone in sinne it is not easie for him to stop and stay when hee will And how carefull had wee need then to be of keeping aloofe off from that how fearefull of making toward it or pressing neere upon it which if wee doe but approach unto wee shall hardly keepe out of if wee once chance to step into wee shall hardly but goe on in and if wee step but once into
both in Hell fire m Esa 66.24 where the worme never dieth and the fire never decayeth and n Apoc. 14.10 11. Vbi mors sine morte finit sine sine defectus sine defectu quia mors semper vivit finis semper incipit defectus deficere nescit Greg. mor. l. 9. c. 47. the torment consequently is never at an end Now what greater joy can there be to a poore Prisoner a condemned person that lieth in hourely expectation of being drawne forth to execution That through daily feare of death o Heb. 2.15 1 Cor. 15.31 Quotidiè moritur mortem qui assiduè pavet Perit ante vulnus pavore cui spiritum rapuit timor Sen. Herc. fur 4. Si quod ab homine timetur malum eo perinde dum expectatur quast venisset urgetur quicquid ne patiatur timeâ— jam metu patitur Sen. ep 74. dieth daily before he die and p Morte mori potiùs quam vitam ducere mortis Morsque minus poenae quà m mora quà m metus mortis habet Maximin eleg 1. Quid enim hujus vivere est nisi diu mori Sen. epist 101. leadeth by meanes thereof an anxious life little better if not q Insidias semel subire satius est quà m cavere semper Iul. Caesar Suetoâ— c. 86. Incidi semel est satius quâ—m semper premi Nemo tam timidus est ut malit semper pendere quam semel cadere Sen. epist 22. Gravius est aliquem spem mortis expectare quà m tormentum in cruâ—elâ—a sustinere Cassiod epist var. 7.6 more bitter than death What greater Ioy I say can there be to such an one than to have tidings brought him that his Pardon is procured We read in our owne Chronicles of r Vicount Lisle in Hen. 8. Francise Landav in Annal. l. 1. Holinsh in Hen. 8. an 34. some who have beene so surcharged and transported with joy thereupon that they have even surfetted of it as persons that have beene long famished feeding over-greedily upon good victuals when they come at first againe to them and have died with it Their joy hath beene more than they were able Å¿ Quomodo de Tantalo Pindar Olymp. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to digest And what greater joy then can there be to a poore distressed soule especially having lien some space of time under the heavie apprehension of Gods wrath and so having had some kinde of * Quomodo Bern. ad illud Psal 55.15 Descendant in infernum viventes Descendant viventes ut non descendant morientes Ad fratr de mont Dei Sed Anselm in deplor Gers super Magnif 9. Hell here out of Hell than to have t Ephes 1.17 the pardon of his sinnes sealed unto him by God to have u 2 Corin. 5.19 20. Luke 24.47 Act. 13.38 tidings hereof brought him by the ministery of Gods Word and some “ 1 Corin. 2.12 assurance of it given him by the testimony of Gods Spirit To which purpose David having upon his owne experience both of the one estate and the other pronounced them to be in a most happy and x Psal 32.1 blessed estate that have their iniquities forgiven and are cased of their sinnes concludeth his discourse with an incitement of all such to y Psal 32.11 Ioy and to great Ioy as none having better or greater cause than such z Act. 2.38 41 46. 16.31 34. to rejoyce Branch 2 It is matter of much Ioy then for a man to be freed from Gods wrath But the Godly are not so onely They are not freed from Gods wrath alone but they are received into speciall grace and favour with God And if a Prov. 19.12 the favour of a King b Psal 146.3 4. Esa 2.22 a mortall man whose breath is in his nostrills bee it is Salomons comparison as the dew upon the grasse or the green herbs that refresheth and cheereth and maketh all to thrive What a benefit is it then to be in favour with c Psal 30.5 God in whose favour there is life yea d Psal 63.3 whose favour is better than life Since the Godly therefore are e Psal 5.12 32.10 103.4 girt about as the Psalmist speaketh with Gods favour they may well be f Psal 30.11 girt about with Ioy. And the assurance of it alone being better than life may well serve sufficiently to cheere up their hearts even amids those afflictions that are g Eccles 7.26 more bitter than death Ground 2 Secondly the righteous have just cause to rejoyce as in regard of what they have so in regard of what they hope for and expect * Rejoyce in hope saith the Apostle a second Ground of their Ioy. For they live in hope and expectation of h Rom. 12.12 h Iam. 1.12 a Crowne of i Luk. 12 32. a Kingdome of k 1 Cor. 9.25 an incorruptible Crowne of l 1 Pet. 1.4 Apoc. 15.22 Luke 1.33 an everlasting Kingdome of a most happy a most blissefull a most blessed estate m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Antiph de chorent Spes dulcissima oblectamenta Sen. epist 23. Hope we say is the very Heart of the Soule and the very Life of a Mans Life It is that that putteth Spirit into our Spirits and maketh our Life to be Life n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Miserrimum est timere cùm speres nihil Sen. Troad 3. Itaque postquam adempta spes est lassus cura confectus animus stupet Ter. And. 2.1 An hopelesse Life is an heartlesse Life And hee is a most forlorne man that hath no Hopes o 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Electra apud Nonnum Dionys l. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl ep 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greg. Naz. propauper Sola spes hominem in miseriis consolari solet Cic. in Catil 4. Vide Ovidium de Ponto 1.7 It is that that is wont to support mens Soules and not to stay them onely from fainting but to cheere up their hearts and to fill them with joy amids many sore crosses and occasions of much griefe And if worldly hopes can doe so much being so vaine so p Spes incerti boni nemen est Sen. epist 10. Fallitur augurio spes bona saepe suo Ovid. epist 16. Multa quidem praeter spem sciâ— multus bona evenisse At ego etiam qui speraverint spem decepisse multos Plaut Rud. 2.3 uncertaine How much more may a Christian mans hopes for there is q Rom. 8.24 Heb. 11.1 no man that liveth more by hope than hee nor hath any man better or greater or surer hopes than he hath being so great that he cannot possibly hope for so much but he shall receive much more and he shall finde when he commeth to it as the Queene of r 1 King 10.6 7. Saba told Solomon Å¿ Ephes 3.20 Esa 64.4 1 Cor. 3.9 that the one halfe was
Optimus est modulator ut Alfenus vafer omni Abjecto instrumento artis clausaque taberna Sutor erat Horat. serm l. 1. sat 3. a work-man hath either lost or lessened his skill because either he wanteth tooles and therefore hee cannot worke or hath bad tooles and cannot therefore worke so well as he could when he had better than now he hath that a Musitian is not so good or skilfull an Artist as he was because he cannot make so good Musicke with his Viole or Citharne being now cracked and crased or evill-stringed as he could when it was new and sound and well-stringed at first So neither doth it follow that Spirituall Grace is therefore abated or decayed in the soule because it cannot hold out now with that continuance of attention or strength and vigour of intention in meditation invocation or other the like holy exercises c Corpus enim tunc instar organi Musici non jam contemperati rectè dispositi sed quasi confracti inutilis August nomine de spir anim c. 14. the body being by age or sicknesse and feeblenesse accruing from either much decayed and disabled as it could formerly when the parts and functions of it were fresh I say not for I would not herein bee mistaken if the desire of doing what it hath done but cannot now doe what it is now restrained of or disabled unto be not as fervent as formerly For the desire usually rather on such occasions increaseth And it is a shrewd d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plut. de profectus indiciis evill signe as even an Heathen man also could observe when men restrained of the meanes or the use of them or disabled unto their wonted performance of such duties are not at all therewith moved but can well enough endure such want It was by one deemed e Ne nunc quidem vires desidero adolescentis non plus quà m adolescens etiam vires tauri aut elephantis desiderabam Cic. desenect as unequall for an old man to desire the strength he had when hee was young as for a young man to desire the strength that an Oxe hath or an Elephant But for a man here not to desire to doe as he hath done may well minister some suspition of an heart not very sound which they that thus complaine of by this their complaint doe evidently shew themselves not to be free onely but to be farre from f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plut. de profect The very absence and restraint of things loved longed after and delighted in is a great means to incense and inflame much the desire Nor can there be a decay of grace though the worke of it may be restrained or suspended where the desire continueth such Spirituall grace is of the same nature in some sort with the Soule As that is an immortall substance so is this g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 1.23 an incorruptible seed Nor is it therefore any physicall or naturall defect though such may either in whole or in part h Hinc illud Virg. Aen. 6. quantum non noxia corpora tardant Terrenique hebetant artus moribundaque membra restraine the operation that can possibly either destroy or decay either by some naturall defects indeed such as either suspend or abandon the use of reason and understanding and make a man by that meanes uncapable of instruction a man may be i Rom. 10.14 17. disabled in ordinary course for extraordinary workings we leave unto God who as he gave k Num 22.28 2 Pet. 2.16 power of speech and utterance sometime to a dumbe beast and his l Luk. 1.15 In utero priusquam nasceretur renatus Greg. mor. lib. 3. cap. 4. Quod tamen Aug. impossibile censet Nemo inquit ante renatus quam natus Et Renasci nemo potest antequam fit natus Aug. ep 57. de verb. Ap. 14. Verum regenitum si dixisset Gregorius id est propriè loquendo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 contradictionis speciem omnem sustulisset sanctifying Spirit to a Babe yet unborne so m Divina potentia non est mediis alligata August in Gen. ad lit l. 6. c. 13. is able to worke in this kinde as hee will unto the attaining of saving Grace whereas yet it is not But where it is already wrought there cannot any such naturall defect either crase it or wholly raze it out againe It were as absurd to imagine that a fit of the dead Palsie continuing with a man some good space of time and depriving him thereby of ability unto the performance of holy duties should of it selfe therefore make him n Actiones enim corporis animi virtutes vitia Aug. nom de spir anim c. 14. lesse holy than he was when it first seized upon him as to suppose a man well affected to be lesse o Etiam in maximis angustiis liberalis est animus Sen. de benef l. 1. c. 8. liberally minded because being fallen into povertie he cannot now doe that which before hee was wont to doe when he had better means and a more plentifull estate It is not therefore any disabilitie arising from such defects and infirmities that argueth any decay of grace Note 9 A ninth Note of sinceritie may be an endevour to finde out and discover our owne corruptions Diligence in Discoverie of Corruptions and a gladnesse when wee have discovered them by the light of Gods Word or such other good means as God shall offer us This businesse had David beene busie about what time he brake out into that exclamation p Psal 19.12 O who can tell how oft he sinnes or What man is he that understandeth his owne errours q Spinaeus de Iustit Christian Postquam diligenter cubiculum everrimus id nobis perpurgatum videtur At sole per fenestras illucente radios atomorum sordibus infinitis permislos videmus It fared with David saith Spina as with the Houswife that having diligently swept her house and cast the dust out at doores can see nothing amisse now no specke of dust in it whereas if the Sunne doe but a little shine in thorow some cranie in the wall or some broken quarell in the window she may soone see the whole house swimme and swarme with innumerable motes of dust floating to and fro in the aire which for dimnesse of light or sight before shee was not able to discerne And so fared it with David he was a man of no loose life but even from his younger yeares carefull of his courses r 1 Sam. 13.14 Vpright and after Gods owne heart so that little might seeme to bee amisse or to require reformation and amendment with him yet when he came to looke more intentively into Gods Law a little beame of light reflecting upon his soule from it discovered unto him such ſ Psal 40.12 an innumerable company as well of corruptions in