hanging drawing and quartering A man walking in his way falles into a deepe dungeon that is full of vggely serpents and noisome beastes in his fall he catches hold of a twigge of a tree that growes at the mouth of the dungeon and hangs by it afterward there comes a beast both leane and hungerbitten which having cropt the whole tree is ever and anon knapping at the twigge on which he hanges Nowe what is the daunger of this man surely he is like to fall into the pit over which he hangeth well this man is every impenitent sinner the pit is hell prepared for the devill and his angels the twig is the brickle and fraile life of man the hungerbitten beast is death that is ready every houre to knap our life asunder the daÌ„ger is fearful for maÌ„ hanging as it were over the mouth of hel wheÌ„ life is ended unlesse he use good meanes before he die he then falleth to the very bottome of it If this be the miserie wherewith the careles man is sieged coÌ„passed about every way that for his sinnes why do men lie in the dead sleepe of security ô it stands them in hand to take up the voice of bitter lamentation for their offences to howle after the manner of dragons If men could weepe nothing but teares of blood for their sins if they could dye a 1000 times in one day for very griefe they could never be grieved ynough for their sins The second motive to draw men to repentance is the consideration of the wretched estate of an impenitent sinner in his death which is nothing but the wages allowance that he receives for his sinne and it is the very suburbs or rather the gates of hel S. Paul compares death to a scorpion who carieth a sting in his taile which is sinne Now then wheÌ„ impenitent prophane persons die then comes this scorpion gripes them with her legs stabs them at the hart with her sting Wherfore the best thing is before death come to use meanes to pull out the sting of death And nothing wil do it but the blood of Christ let meÌ„ therfore breake off their sinnes by repeÌ„taÌ„ce let theÌ„ come to the throne of grace crie yea let them fil heaven earth with cries for mercy oh pray pray pray for the pardoÌ„ of thy sinnes If thou obtaine but one drop of Gods speciall mercie in Christ all danger is past For death hath lost his sting and then a man without danger may put an ougly serpeÌ„t in his bosom The third motive is the consideration of his estate after death When the day of the last judgement shalbe he must be brought and set before the tribunal seat of christ he shal not be able to escape or hide himself then the bookes shalbe brought out all his sins shalbe discovered before Gods saints angels the devil his own conscience shal accuse him none shall be aduocate to plead his cause hee himselfe shall be speechlesse hee shall at length heare the dreadfull sentence of damnation Goe ye cursed into hell prepared for the divell his augels This thing might moove the vilest Athiest in the world to leaue his wicked wayes and come to amendement of life Wee see the strongest theefe that is when he is ledde in the way from the prison to the barre leaves his theeving and behaues himselfe orderly And indeed if hee woulde then cut a purse it were high time that he were hanged All men by nature are traitours and malefactours against God whiles we live in this worlde wee are in the way going to the barre of Gods iudgement The wheele of the heavens turnes one bout every day and winds up somwhat of the threed of our life whether wee sleepe or wake we are alwayes comming neerer our end wherfore let all men daily humble themselues for their sinnes and pray vnto God that he would be reconciled unto them in Christ and let them indeavour themselves in obedience to all Gods commandements both in their lives and callings Againe after the last iudgement there remains death eternal appointed for him which standes in these three things I. A separation from all ioy and comfort of the presence of God II. Eternall fellowship with the divell and all his angels III. The feeling of the horrible wrath of God which shall seaze upon bodie soule and conscience shall feed on them as fire doth on pitch and brimstone and torment them as a worme crawling in the bodie and gnawing on the heart they shall alwaies be dying and never deade alwayes in woe and neuer in ease And this death is the more grievous because it is euerlasting Suppose the whole worlde to be a mountaine of sande and that a birde must carrie from it a mouthfull of sand euerie thousande yeeres many innumerable thousands of yeres will be expired before she will haue caried away the whole mountaine well if a man should stay â—n torment so long and then haue an ende of his woe it were some comfort but when the bird shall haue caried away the mountaine a thousand times alas alas a man shall be as far from the ende of his anguish and torment as ever he was This consideration may serve as an yron scourge to drive men from their wicked lives Chrysostome would have men in their meetings in tavernes and feastes to talke of hel that by often thinking on it they might avoyde it A grave and chaste matrone being mooved to commit folly with a lewd ruffian after long discourse she called for a panne of burning coales requesting him for her sake to holde his finger in them but one houre he answered that it was an unkinde request to whome she replyed that seeing he would not holde so much as one finger in a fewe coales for one small houre she could not yeeld to do the thing for which she should be tormented body soule in hell fire for ever And so shold all men reason against themselves None will be brought to doe a thing that may make so much as their finger or tooth to ake therefore we ought to have great care to leave our sinnes whereby we bring endlesse torment to bodie and soule in hell CAP. VIII Of motives Evangelicall EVangelicall Motives are two especially The first is taken from the consideration of mans redemption He that redeemed mankind is God him selfe As Paul saith that God was in Christ reconciling the world to him selfe Mans sinne is so vile and hainous in the eyes of God that no Angell nor creature was able to appease the wrath of God for the least offence But the Sonne of God himselfe must come downe from heaven and take mans nature on him and not onely that but he must also suffer the most accursed death of the crosse and shed his most pretious heart blood to satisfie the justice of his Father in our behalfe If a Father should be sicke of such a
the preaching of repentance and the preaching of the gospell are put one for another And our Saviour Christ divides the gospell into two partes the preaching of repentance and remission of sinnes in his name IIII. That part of the worde which workes repentance must reveale the nature of it and set out the promise of life which belongs unto it But the law neither reveales faith nor repentance this is a proper worke of the gospell If it bee said that the law is a schoolemaster to bring us to Christ the answere is it brings men to Christ a not by teaching the way or by alluring them but by forcing and urging them Neither do we abolish the law in ascribing the worke of repentance to the gospell only for though it be no cause yet is it an occasion of true repentance Because it represents unto the eye of the soule our damnable estate and smites the conscience with dolefull terrours and feares which though they be no tokens of grace for they are in their owne nature the very gates and the downe-fall to the pit of hell yet they are certen occasions of receiving grace The Phisition is otherwhiles constrained to recover the health of his patient by casting him into some fits of an ague So man because hee is deadly sicke of the disease of sinne he must be cast into some fittes of Legall terrours by the ministerie of the law that he may recover his former estate and come to life everlasting Repentance also is furthered by calamities Iosephs brethren when they were in distresse in Egypt said one to another We have verily sinned against our brother in that we sawe the anguish of his soule when hee be sought vs and we would not heare him therefore is this trouble come upon vs. And the Lorde saith in Oseah I will goe and returne to my place till they acknowledge their fault seeke me in their affliction will they seeke me diligently And The Israelites say my soule had them namely afflictions in remembrance is humbled in me Example of Manasses And when hee was in tribulation hee prayed to the Lord his God and humbled himselfe greatly And David saith It is good for me that I have ben afflicted that I might learne thy statutes CAP. III. Of the partes of Repentance REpentance hath two parts Mortification and Rising to newnesse of life Mortification is the first part of repentance which concernes turning from sinne Men turn from sinne when they do not only abstaine frō actuall sinne but also use all means whereby they may both weaken suppresse the corruption of nature Surgeons whē they must cut of any part of the body use to lay plai sters to it to mortifie it that beeing without sense and feeling it may be cut off with lesse paine In the same maner wee are to use all helpes remedies prescribed in the worde which serue to weaken or kill sinne that in death it may be abolished And it must not seeme strange that I say we must use meanes to mortifie our owne sinnes For howsoever by nature we can not doe ane thing acceptable to God yet ' being quickened and moved by the holy ghost we stirre and moove our selves to doe that which is truly good And therefore repentant sinners haue grace in them whereby they mortifie their owne sinnes Paul saith I be at down my body and bring it in subiection And They which are Christes haue crucified the flesh with the affections and the lustes thereof And Mortifie therefore your earthly members fornication uncleannesse the inordinate affection evill concupiscence and covetousnesse And If any man purge himselfe from these he shall be a vessell unto honour And S. Iohn saith Everyone which hath this hope in him purgeth him-selfe even as hee is pure And He which is begotten of God preserveth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Mortification hath three partes A purpose in minde an inclination in will and an indeavour in life and conversation to leave all sinne Rising to newnesse of life is the second part of repentance concerning sincere obedience to God And it hath also three partes The two first are a resolution in the minde and an inclination or lust in the will to obey God in all things Barnabas exhorts them of Antiochia That with purpose of heart they would cleave vnto the Lord. Examples of both these are many in scriptures Of Ioshua If it seeme evill vnto you to serve the Lord chuse you this day whome yee will serve whether the gods which your fathers served or the gods of the Amorites c. but I and my housholde will serve the Lorde Of David O Lorde thou art my portion I have determined to keepe thy commandements And I have sworne and will perfourme it that I will keepe thy righteous iudgements And When thou saidst Seeke ye my face mine heart answered unto thee O Lord I will seeke thy face And I have applyedmine heart to fulfill thy statutes alwayes even to the end The third parte is an indeavour in life and conversation to obey God Example of Paul And herein I take paines to have alwayes a cleare conscience towardes God towardes men Of David I have respect vnto all thy commandements And I haue chosen the way of truth thy iudgements have I laid before me And I have cleaved to thy testimonies And Direct me in the path of thy commandements for therein is my delight No man must here thinke that a repentant sinner fulfilles the lawe in his obedience for their best workes are faultie before God And whereas the faithfull in scriptures are said to be perfect we must know that there be two degrees of perfection perfection in substance and perfection in the highest degree Perfection in substance is when a man doth sincerely indeavour to perfourme perfect obedience to God not in some but in all his commandements And this is the only perfection that any man can have in this life A Christian mans perfection is to bewaile his imperfection his obediencee more consistes in the goodwill then in the worke and is more to be measured by the affection then by the effect CAP. IIII. Of the degrees of repentance REpentance hath two degrees It is either ordinarie or extraordinary Ordinary repentance is that which every christian is to per forme every day for as men fall daily either more or lesse so the graces of God are proportionally weakened day by day wherefore the continuall reparation therof must be made by a daily renuing of repentance A christian man is the temple house of Gods spirit hee must therfore once a day sweepe it that it may be sit to entertaine so worthy a ghest Extraordinary repentance is the same in nature with the former it differs onely from it in degree and measure of grace And this is to be put
or pawned Levit. 6. 3. That being lustie liues by begging That releeveth such 2. Thess. 3. 10. That for gaine defendes bad causes That layes burden on the people without measure Isa. 1. 23. Ezech. 22. 27. That spends the Church goods in riot 1. Tim. 6. 9. That makes marchandise of Gods word and sacrament Mich. 3. 11. 2. Cor. 2. last That gets goods by gaming That gets his living by casting of figures and by playes Eph. 4. 28. That is rash in surety-ship Prov. 11. 15. 17. 18. That steales mens children to dispose them in mariage 1. Tim. 1. 10. That takes by stealth the least pin though it be for the best end That is a receiver of things stolne and gives consent to the fact any way Rom. 1. 29. That useth deceit in bargaining 1. Thess. 4. 6. That restores not things evill gotten Ezech. 33. 15. That keeps back goods given to the Church Acts 5. 3. That waites for a dearth to sell his things dearer Amos. 8. 5. IX COM. Thou shalt not beare c. He breakes this commandement THat envies at the prosperity of his neighbour 1. Tim. 6. 4. That seekes only his own good report That is suspicious 1. Cor. 13. 5. That gives rash or harde sentence against others Matth. 7. 1. That takes mens sayings doings in worse part Matth. 26. 60. That accuseth one salsly 1. King 21. That maketh or reporteth tales openly or in a whispering manner Levit. 19. 16. That receiveth tales Exod. 23. 1. That speakes the truth of malice Psal. 52. 1 2. That blazeth abroad mens infirmities Matth. 18. 17. That useth quipping and taunting Eph. 5. 4. That useth flattery Prov. 26. 19. That lyeth though it be for neuer so good an end Zach. 13. 3. That defends an euill cause and impugnes the contrary That writes or spreds libels X. COM. Thou shalt not lust He breakes this commandement That thinkes an euill thought against his neighbour though he meane not to doe it That conceives some inward delight in some euill motion though he give not consent to practise it SINNES DIRECTLY Against the Gospell He sinnes against the Gospell That denies either directly or by consequent that Christ is come in the flesh 1. Ioh. 4. 3 8 That treads under foote the blood of Christ. Hebr. 10. 29. That beleeves not the remission of his owne sinnes and acceptation to life everlasting 1. Ioh. 3. 23. That repents not but hardens himselfe in all his bad wayes Rom. 2. 4. 5. Ierem. 8. 6. Thus much of examination now followes the second duty which is confession of sinne unto God which is very necessary For the right way to haue our sinnes covered before God is to uncover and acknowledge them unto him For hee will iustifie vs if we condemne our selues he will pardon us if we as being our owne enemies accuse our selues he forgets our sinnes if wee remember them when we are vile in our owne eyes wee are pretious in his and when we are lost to our selues we are found of him That confession may be rightly performed a notable duety is to be put in practise in it namely the arraignment of a repentant sinner whereby he iudges himselfe that he may not be iudged of the Lord. This arraignment hath three speciall pointes in it For first of all hee must bring himselfe forth to the barre of Gods iudgement which thing hee doeth when he sets himselfe in the presence of God as though even now the day of iudgement were As Saint Hierome did who alwayes thought with himselfe that hee heard this voice sounding in his eares Rise yee dead and come to iudgement Secondly he must put up an inditement against himselfe by accusing him-selfe before God by acknowledging his knowne sinnes particularly and his unknowen generally without any excuse or extenuatiō or defence or hiding of the least of them Example of David I know mine iniquitie and my sinne is ever before me against thee against thee only have I sinned and done this evill in thy sight c. behold I was borne in iniquitie and in sinne hath my mother conceived me And I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing but now I beseech thee remoove the iniquitie of thy servant for I have done very foolishly Of Ezra O my God I am ashamed confounded to lift up mine eyes vnto thee my God for our iniquities are increased over our heads our trespasse is growen vp vnto heaven Thirdly he must with heavinesse of heart give sentence against himselfe acknowledging that hee is worthy of everlasting hell death and damnation As the prodigall child Father I have sinned against heaven against thee am not worthy to be called thy child And Daniel Wee haue sinned and committed iniquitie have done wickedly yea wee have rebelled have departed from thy precepts from thy iudgements c. O Lord righteousnesse belongeth vnto thee vnto vs open shame Of Iob Beholde I am vile what shall I answere thee I will lay my hande upon my mouth And I abhorre my selfe I repent in dust ashes Of the Publicane Who standing a farre off woulde not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven but smote his brest saying Lord be mercifull to me a sinner As for confession of sinne to men it is not to be used but in two cases First when some offence is done to our neighbour secondly when ease and comfort is sought for in trouble of conscience The third dutie in the practise of repentance is Deprecation whereby we pray to God for the pardon of the sinnes which haue bene confessed with contrition of heart with earnestnesse and constancie as for the weightiest matter in the world And here we must remember to behaue our selues to God as the poore prisoner doth at the barre who when the iudge is about to giue sentence cries unto him for favour as for life and death And we must doe as the cripple or lazar man in the way sit downe vnlappe our legges and armes and shew the sores of our sinnes crying to God continually as they doe Looke with your eye and pity with your heart that wee may finde mercy at Gods handes as they get almes at the hands of passengers Thus Oseah instructeth the people O Israel returne unto the Lord thy God for thou hast fallen by thine iniquitie take unto you words and turne vnto the Lord and say unto him Take away all iniquitie and receive vs graciously so wee will render thee the calves of our lips Of Daniel Wee doe not present our supplications before thee for our own righteousnes but for thy great tender mercies O Lord heare O Lord forgive O Lord consider and doe it defer not for thine owne names sake O my God Of David Have mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindnesse according to the multitude of thy compassions put away mine iniquities The last duty is to
pray to God for grace strength whereby wee may be inabled to walke in newnesse of life Of David Behold I desire thy commandements quicken me in thy righteousnesse And Teach me to doe thy will for thou art my God let thy good spirit lead me into the land of righteousnes CAP. VII Of legall motives to repentance MOtives to repentance are either Legall or Evangelicall Legall are such as are borrowed from the law they are 3. especially The first is the misery and cursed estate of euery impenitent sinner in this life by reason of his sinnes His miserie that I may expresse it to the conceit of the simplest is seven-fold 1. within him 2. before him 3. behind him 4. on his right hand 5. on his left hand 6. over his head 7. vnder his feete His miserie within him is twofold The first is a guiltie conscience which is a very hell vnto the ungodly man For hee is like a silly prisoner and the conscience like a Iayler which followes him at the heeles and dogges him whither soever he goes to the end he may see and observe all his sayings and doings It is like a register that sits alwaies with the pen in his hand to record and inrole all his wickednesse for everlasting memory It is a litle iudge that sittes in the middle of a man even in his very heart to arraigne him in this life for his sinnes as he shall be arraigned at the last iudgement Therfore the pangs terrors and feares of all impenitent persons are as it were certaine flashings of the flames of hell fire The guiltie conscience makes a man like him which lies on a bedde that is too strait and the covering too short who would with all his heart sleepe but can not Belshazzar when he was in the middest of his mirth seeing the hand-writing on the wall was smitten with great feare so as his countenance changed his knees smote togither The second evill within man is the fearefull slaverie and bondage vnder the power of Satan the Prince of darkenesse in that his mind will and affections are so knit and glued to the will of the devill that he can doe nothing but obey him rebell against God And hence Satan is called the prince of this world which keepes the hold of the heart as an armed Captaine keepes a sconse or a castle with watch and ward The misery before man is a daungerous snare which the devill layes for the destruction of the soule I say it is dangerous because he is in setting of it twentie or fortie yeres before he strikes when as God knowes men do little thinke of it It is made of three cords with the first he brings men into his snare and that he doeth by covering the miserie and the poyson of sinne and by painting out to the eie of the minde the deceitfull profits pleasures thereof With the second he hopples and insnares them for after that a man is drawen into this or that sinne the devill hath so sugered it over with fine delightes that he can not but needes must live and lye in it By the third he drawes the snare and indevours with all his might to breake the necke of the soule For when he seeth a fitte opportunitie especially in grievous calamities and in the houre of death he takes away the vizar of sinne and she weth the face of it in the true fourme as ouglie as him selfe then withall he beginneth as we say to shewe his hornes then he rageth in terrifying accusing that the soule of man may be swallowed up of the gulfe of finall despaire The miserie behinde him is the sinnes past The Lord saith to Cain If thou doest not well sinne lyeth at the doore Where sinne is compared to a wilde beast which followes a man whither soever he goeth and lyeth lurking at his heels And though for a time it may seeme to be hurtlesse because it lyeth asleepe yet at length unlesse men repent it will rise up sease on them and rent out the very throtes of their soules Iob in his afffliction saith Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me possesse the sinnes of my youth And David prayeth Forgive me the sinnes of my youth If the memorie of sinnes past be a trouble to the godly man oh what a racke what a gibbet wil it be to the heart of him that wants grace The miserie on the right hand is prosperitie and ease which by reason of mans sinne is an occasion of many iudgements In it men practised the horrible sinnes of Sodome it puffes up the heart with divelish pride so as men shall thinke themselves to be as God him selfe as Senacherib Nebuchad-nezzar Antiochus Alexander Herode Domitian did It steales away mans heart froÌ„ God quenches the sparkes of grace As the Lord complaineth of the Israelites I spake unto thee when thou wast in prosperitie but thou saydest I will not heare this hath bene thy manner from thy youth It is like the Ivie that embraces the tree and windes rounde about it but yet drawes out the iuice and life of it Hence is it that many turne it to an occasion of their destruction Salomon saith Prosperitie of fooles destroyeth them When the milt swelles the rest of the body pines away and when the heart is puft with pride the whole man is in danger of destruction The sheepe that goes in the best pasture soonest comes to the slaughter-house and the ungodly man fattes himselfe with continuall prosperity that he may the sooner come to his owne damnation The misery on the left hand is Adversitie which stands in all manner of losses and calamities in goods friends good name and such like Of this read at large Deut. 28. The miserie over his head is the wrath of God which he testifies in all maner of iudgements from heaven in danger of which every impenitent sinner is every houre And the danger is very great The scripture saith It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God He hath store-houses full of all maner of iudgements and they watch for secure sinners that they can not scape Gods wrath is â—s a fire making havocke and bringing to nought whatsoeuer it lights on yea because he is slow to anger therefore more terrible as a man therefore stayes his hand for a time that he may lift it higher and fetch a deeper blowe When the dumb creatures melt as wax and vanish away at his presence when he is angry as the huge mountaines and rockes doe fraile man must never looke to stand If the roaring of a lyon make men afraid and the voice of thunder be terrible oh how exceedingly should all be astonished at the threatnings of God The misery under his feete is Hell fire for every man till he repent is in as great danger of damnation as the traitour apprehended of
disease that nothing would heale but the heart blood of his owne childe he would presently judge his owne case to be dangerous and would also vowe if ever he recovered to use all meanes whereby he might avoid that disease So likewise seeing nothing could cure the deadly wound of our sinne but a plaister made of the heart blood of Christ it must make us acknowledge our pitifull case and the hainousnesse of the least of our sinnes and stirre us up to newnesse of life Againe considering the end of the redemption wrought by Christ was to deliuer us from our euill conuersation in sinne and unrighteousnesse we are not to continue and as it were lie bathing our selues in sinne for that were as if a prisoner after that he had bin ransomed and had his boltes taken of and were put out of the prison to go whither he would should returne againe and desire to lie in the dungeon still The second motive is that God hath made a promise to such as truly repent I. Of remission of sinnes Wash you make you cleane take away the evill of your workes from before mine eyes cease to doe evill c. though your sinnes were as crimsin they shall be made a◠white as snow though they were red like scarlet they shal be as wooll And Seeke the Lorde while he may be found call upon him while he is neere Let the wicked for sake his wayes the vnrighteous his own imaginations returne vnto the Lord and he will have mercie on him for hee is very plentifull in forgiving II. Of life everlasting I will not the death of a sinner but rather that hee repent and live And Thus saith the Lord vnto the house of Israel Seeke yee me ye shall live III. Of mitigating or remooving temporall calamities Stand in the courte of the Lordes house speake vnto all the cities of Iudah c. If so be they will hearken and turne every man from his evill way that I may repent me of the plague which I have determined to bring upon them because of the wickednesse of their workes As God hath made these mercifull promises to penitent sinners so he hath faithfully perfourmed them so soone as they have but begun to repent Exāple of David Then David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David thy sinne is forgiven thee Of Manasses When he was in tribulation he prayed vnto the Lord his God humbled him selfe greatly before the Lord God of his fathers and prayed unto him an◠God was intreated of him heard his prayer Of the Publicane The Publicane c. smot◠his breast saying O God be mercifull to me sinner I tell you this man departed iustified t◠his house rather then the other Of the thiefe He said unto Iesus Lord remember me when thou commest to thy kingdome Then Iesus sai◠unto him verely I say unto thee to day shall thou be with me in paradise Having such notable promises made to Repentance no man is to drawe backe from the practise of it because of the multitude o◠his sinnes but rather to doe it The Pharise◠said to Christs disciples why eates your master with Publicanes and sinners When Iesu◠heard it he said unto them the whole need no◠the Phisition but they that are sicke And I am come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance And Verely I say unto you that Publicanes and harlots shall goe before you into the kingdome of God CAP. IX Of the time of Repentance THe time of repentance is the time present without any delay at all as the holy Ghost saith To day if ye will heare his voyce And Exhort one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfullnesse of sinne Reasons hereof are these I. Life is uncerten for no mā knowes at what houre or moment after what manner he shall goe forth of this world Be ye also prepared therefore for the sonne of man wil come at an houre when ye thinke not This one thing should make a man to hasten his repentance and the rather because many are dead who purposed with them selves to repent in time to come but were prevented by death and shall never repent II. The longer a man lives in any sin the greater danger because by practise sin gets heart strēgth Custome is of such force that that which men use to do in their life time the same they doe and speake when they are dying One had three pounds owing to him to be paid three seuerall yeres when he was dying nothing could be got of him but three yeres three pounds Againe by deferring repentance men treasure up wrath against the day of wrath As if a malefactour for his punishment should be appointed to cary every day a sticke of wood to an heape to burne him twentie yeeres after III. The more the time is prolonged the harder it is to repent the longer a man goes in his sicknesse without phisicke the harder is the recoverie And where the devill dwells long hee will hardly be remooved The best way to kill a serpent is to cruse it in the heade when it is young IIII. It is as meat and drinke to the devill to see men liue in their sinnes deferring repentance as on the contrary there is great ioy among the angels of god in heaven when a sinner doth repent V. Late repentance is seldome or never true repentance For if a man repent when he cannot sinne as in former time as namely in death then hee leaves not sinne but sinne leaves him wherefore the repentance which men frame to them selues when they are dying it is to be feared least it die with them And it is very iust that hee should be contemned of God in his death who contemned God in his life Chrysostome sayeth that the wicked man hath this punishment on him that in dying hee shoulde forget himselfe who when hee was living did forget God VI. We are with Abel to giue unto God in sacrifice even the fatte of our flocke now they which deferre repentance to the end do the contrary Late repenters offer the flower of their youth to the deuill and they bring the lame and broken sacrifice of their old age to God CAP. X. OF CERTAINE CASES in Repentance I. Case of a revolt WHether a man that hath professed Christ and his religion yet afterwarde in persecution denies Christ and forsweares the religion may repent and be saved Answere It is a grievous estate yet a man may come to repentance afterward Manasses fell away to idolatry and witchcraft and yet was received to mercie So did wise Salomon and yet no doubt recovered and is received to life everlasting My reason is because God vouchsafed him to be a pen-man of some parts of holy scripture And the sctiptures were written not by
abolished wheras contrariwise the conscience with a shril voice proclaimes sin to be sin This fight was in Pilat who by the force of his conscience feared to condemne Christ yet was willing and yeelded to condemne him that he might please the people Furthermore this cōbat is in the regenerate but during the time of this life for they which are perfitly sanctified feele no strifte If any shal say that this cōbat was in Christ whē he said Father if it be thy will let this cup passe from me yet not my will but thine be done Indeed here is a cōbat but of another sort namely the fight of two divers desires the one was a desire to do his fathers will in suffering the death of the crosse the other a natural desire which was no sinne but a meere infirmity of humane nature whereby he in his manhood desires as the maner of nature is to seek the preseruation of it selfe to haue the cursed death of the crosse remooued from him The fift point is the effect of this combat which is to make the man regenerate that he can not doe the things which he would and this must be understood in things both good ill And first he can not do the evill which he would for two causes First because he cannot commit sin at what time soeuer he would S. Iohn saith He that is borne of God sinneth not neither can he sin because he is borne of God that is he can not sin at his pleasure or when he will Ioseph when he was assaulted by Putiphars wife to adultery because the grace of God abounded in him wherby he answered her saying Shall I doe this sin against God he could not then sin Lot because his righteous heart was grieved in seeing and hearing the abominations of Sodom could not then sin as they of Sodom did Hence it appeares that such persons as liue in the daily practise of sin against their own consciences though they be professours of the true religion of Christ haue no soundnes of grace in them Secondly the man regenerate can not sin in what manner he would And there be two reasons therof First he can not sinne with full consent of will or with all his heart because the will so far forth as it is regenerate resisteth and draweth back yea even then when a man is caried headlong by the passions of the flesh he feeles some contrary motions of a regenerate cōscience It is a true rule that sin doth not reigne in the regenerate For so much grace as is wrought in the mind will affectiōs so much is abated proportionally of the strength of the flesh wherfore whē he cōmits any sin he doth it partly willingly partly against his wil. As the mariners in the tēpest cast Ionas into the sea willingly for otherwise they had not done it yet against their willes too which appeares because they prayed and cast their goods out of the ship laboured in rowing against the tempest that very long before they cast him out And herein lies the difference betweene tvvo men cōmitting one the same sinne the one of them being regenerate the other unregenerate For the latter sins with all his heart with full consent so doth not the first Secōdly though he fall into any sin yet he doth not lie lōg in it but speedily recouers himself by reason of grace in his hart Hence it is manifest that sinnes of infirmitie are cōmitted only of such as are regenerate As for the man unregenerate he cannot sin of infirmity whatsoeuer some falsly think For he is not weak but stark dead in sinne And sinnes of infirmity are such only as rise of constraint feare hastines such like sudden passions in the regenerate Aed though they sin of weaknes often by reason of this spirituall combat yet they do not alwaies for they may sinne against knowledge cōscience of presumptiō To come to the secōd point the regenerate mā cannot do the good which he would because he cannot do it perfitly soundly according to Gods will as he would Paul saith To will is present with me but I find no means 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perfitly to do that which I would In this point the godly man is like a prisoner that is gotten forth of the gayle that he might escape the hand of the keeper desires striues with all his heart to run an 100 miles in a day but because he hath strait and weighty boults on his legs cannot for his life creep past a mile or twain that with chafing his flesh tormenting himselfe So the servants of God do hartily desire indeavour to obey God in all his commādements as it is said of king Iosias That he turned to God with all his heart with all his soule with all his might according to all the lawes of Moses c. yet because they are clogged with the boltes of the flesh they perfourme obedience both slowly and weakely with divers slips falles Thus much of the combat now let vs see what use may be made of it First of all by it we learn what is the estate of a christian man in this life A christiā is not one that is free frō al evil cogitations frō rebellious inclinations motiōs of will affections frō all maner of slips in his life cōversation for such an one is a mere deuise of mans brain not to be found upō earth But indeed he is the sound christiā that feeling himselfe laden with the corruptions of his vile rebellious nature bewailes them frō his hart with might and main fights against them by the grace of gods spirit Againe here is ouerthrown the popish opinion of merit iustificatiō by workes of grace on this manner Such as the cause of works is such are works thēselves The cause of works in man is the mind will affectiōs sanctified in which the flesh the spirit are mixt togither as hath bin shewed before Therfore works of grace euen the best of them are mixt works partly holy partly sinfull wherby it is euidēt to a man that hath but cōmon sense that they are not answerable to the righteousnes of the law that therfore they can neither merit life or any way iustify a mā before God If any reply that good works are the works of Gods spirit for that cause perfitly righteous I answer it is true indeed they come frō the holy ghost that can not sin but not only or immediatly For they come also from the corrupt mind and will of man and in that respect become sinfull as sweete water issuing out of a pure fountaine is by a filthy channell made corrupt Thirdly we do hēce learn that concupiscēce or originall sin is properly indeed sin after baptism though it please the councel of Trent to decree otherwise For after baptism it is flat