courteous behaviour requiting evil with good comforting the afflicted releeving the needy peace-making and by doing all other offices of love which might tend to my neighbours safetie or comfort Or have I not wished my selfe dead or neglected the meanes of my health Have I not impeached it by surfeits by excessive labour or sports by fretting and over-grieving or by any other meanes And have I not had thoughts of doing my selfe harme Have I not beene angry unadvisedly malicious and revengefull shewing surly gesture and behaviour as sowre lookes shaking the head or hand gnashing the teeth stamping staring mocking railing cursing quarrelling smiting poisoning hurting or taking away the life of man any way without Gods allowance Have I not been a sower of discord or some way or other been an occasion of the discomfort if not of the death of others The seventh Commandement concerneth Chastitie whereby God provideth for a pure propagation and conservation of mankinde forbidding all bodily pollution under the name of Adultery Have I beene modest sober shamefast possessing my body in chastitie shutting mine eyes and stopping mine eares and restraining my other senses from al objects and occasions of lust bridling my tongue from lustful motions and lascivious speeches forbearing all manner of daliance and wantonnes abstaining from selfe-pollution fornication or any other naturall or unnaturall defilement of my body either in deede or desire And being married was I wise in my choise and haue I kept the marriage-bed undefiled through a sanctified sober and seasonable use thereof Or Am I not guilty of manifold acts of uncleannesse at least of vncleane thoughts immodest eyes eares touches embraces of wanton speeches gesture apparrell and behaviour Have I not run into the manifold occasions of adultery uncleannes as by idlenes gluttony drunkennes choise of such meats drinkes perfumes or any other thing that will provoke lust effeminate dancing frequeÌ„ting wanton company or places of uncleane provocations and of unseasonable conversing with the other sex alone The eight Commandement concerneth the preseruation of mans Goods the meanes of his comfortable maintenance in this life forbidding all wrong thereabout under the name of stealing Have I a good Title to the things which I possesse as by lawfull inheritance gift reward coÌ„tract or any other way which God alloweth Have I beene industrious and faithful in my Calling frugall provident Have I done that for which I have receiued pay or maintenance from others and have I given to every man his owne whether tribute wages debts or any other dues Or have I not got my living by an unlawfull Calling or have I not impoverished my selfe and mine by idlenesse luxurious and unnecessary expences by gaming unadvised suretiship or otherwise Have I not with-held from my selfe or others through niggardice that which should have beene expended Have I not gotten or kept my neighbours goods by fraud oppression falshood or by force and made no restitution Have I not some way or other impaired my neighbours estate The ninth Commandement concerneth Truth of speech the meanes of entercourse betweene man and man and of preserving mens rights and of redressing of all disorder in humane societie forbidding all falshood of speech under the name of bearing false witnesse Have I at all times in all things spoken the truth from my heart giving testimony in publike or private by word or writing of things concerning mine owne or neighbours Name and credit life chastitie goods or in any other thing that hath beene matter of speech betweene me or others whether in affirming denying with oath or without oath or in bare reports or in promises or any other way Or am I not guiltie of telling lies jestingly officiously or perniciously Have I not raysed spread or received false reports of my neigbour Have I not spoken falsly in buying and selling also in commending by word or writing of unworthy persons and in dispraysing the good in boasting of my selfe or flattering of others Have I not given false evidence used equivocations or concealed the truth which I should have spoken or perverted it when I did speake it The tenth Commandement concerneth Contentation with a mans owne condition the foundation of all order and iustice amongst men forbidding the contrary namely Coveting that which is not his Am I contented with mine owne â—oÌ„dition as with my place which â— hold in Family Church or â—ommon-wealth with mine â—wne yoke-fellow and estate Can I reioyce in it and also that â—t should bee well with others â—ay better than it is with my â—elfe Or have I not beene full of disâ—ontent with my condition coveâ—ing after some thing or other which was my neighbours at â—ast by actuall concupiscence in multitude of evill thoughts ariâ—ing from the law of my memâ—ers though my deliberate will â—ath gone against them Thus having by the Law found out your sinnes you must araigne and accuse your selfe as it were at the barre of Gods Tribunall representing your sinnes to your minde as they are in their hainousnesse and mischievousnesse according to their severall aggravations First consider sinne in it's nature it is a morall evill an anomy and irregularity in the soule and actions an enmitie to God the chiefe good It is the worst evill worse than the Devill and Satan he had not beene a Devill but for doing evill worse than Hell which as it is a torment is caused by Sinne but is onely contrary to the good of the Creature whereas sinne it selfe is contrary to the good of the Creator It is such a disteÌ„per of the soule that the Scripture calleth it wickednes of folly even foolishnes of madnesse Secondly consider from whence sinne in man had his originall even from the Devill who is the father of it It came and commeth from Hell therefore is earthly sensuall divelish Whensoever you sinne you doe the lusts of the Devill Thirdly consider the nature of the Law whereof sinne is a transgression A Law most perfect most holy equall and good which would have given eternall life to the doers of it had it not beene for this cursed Sinne. Fourthly consider the person against whom sinne is committed whom it highly offendeth and provoketh It is God to whom you owe your selfe and all that you have who made and doth preserve you and yours who albeit you have sinned desireth not your death nor afflicteth you willingly but had rather that you should humble your selfe Repent and live who that you might be saved gave his onely begotten sonne to death to ransome you who by us his Ministers maketh knowne his Word and good will towards you making Proclamation that if you will repent and beleeve you shall be saved yea by us he intreateth you to bee reconciled to him It is that GOD who is rich in goodnes forbearance and long-suffering waiting when you will turne that you may live who on the other side if you despise this his
strength and meanes be fully imployed in some lawfull businesse 5. Out of the fit the party thus affected must not oppresse his heart with feare of falling into it againe any more then to quicken him to prayer and to cause him to cast himselfe upon God 6. Out of the fits and in them also if the partie distempered be capable spirituall counsell is to be given out of GODS Word wisely according as the partie is fit for it whether to humble him if he hath not beene sufficiently humbled or to build him up and comfâ—â—â— him if he be already humbled 7. Lastly remember alwayes that when the troubled person is himselfe that he be moved to prayer and that others then pray much with him and at all times pray much for him When these troubles are mixt comming partly from naturall distemper and partly from spirituall temptation then the remedie must be mixt of helpes naturall and spirituall What the natural helps are hath bin shewne also what the spirituall in generall and shall be shewed more particularly in removing false feares rising from spirituall temptations The feares which rise for the most part from distemper of body may be knowne from those which for the most part or onely rise from the spirituall temptation thus When the first fort are clearely resolved of their doubts and brought unto some good degree of chearefulnesse and coÌ„fort they will yet it may be within a day or two sometimes within an houre or two upon every slight occasion and discouragement returne to their old complaints and will need the same meanes to recover them againe But those whose trouble is meerly out of spirituall temptation and trouble of conscience although for the time it is very grievous and hardly removed and sometimes long before they receive a satisfying answer to their doubts yet wheÌ„ once they receive satisfaction and comfort it doth hold and last untill there fall out some new temptation and new matter of feare This is because their Phantasies and memories are not disturbed in such sort as the others were The seeming grounds of feares that a man is not in state of grace when yet he is are for varietie almost infinite I have reduced them into this order and unto these heads First they who are taken with false feares will say their sinnes be greater than can be pardoned Secondly when they are driven from that they say then that they feare GOD will not pardon When they are driven from this by causing them to take notice of the signes of Gods actual love to them which give proofe that he will save them Then Thirdly they will question the truth of Gods love and favour But being put upon the ttyall whether God hath not already justified them and given them faith in Christ which are sufficient proofes of his love then Fourthly they will seeme to have grounds to doubt whether they have faith from which they are driven by putting them to the tryall of their Sanctification then Fifthly they doubt and will obiect strongly that they are not sanctified which being undeniably proved then Sixthly and lastly they feare they shall fall away and not persevere to the end Which feare being taken away also and all is come to this good issue they shall have no cause of disquiet feare This is the easiest most familiar and the most naturall method so farre as I can conceive both in propounding and in removing false feares SECTION 2. Removing false feare rising from thoughts of the greatnesse of punishment and sinne FIrst some in their fits of despaire speake almost in Cains words saying that their punishment which they partly feele and which they most of all feare is greater than they can beare or than can be forgiven I answer such If sense and feare of wrath and punishment be your trouble I would have you not to busie your thoughts about the punishment but divert them and pitch them upon your sinnes which are the onely cause of punishment for get your sinnes off and in one the same worke you get off and free your selfe from the punishment Labour therefore that your heart may bleed with godly sorrow for sin cry out as David did against his sinne so doe you against yours confesse them to GOD strike at the root of sinne at the sinne of your nature wherein you were conceived aggravate your actuall sinnes hide none spare none finde out arraigne accuse condemne your sinnes and your selfe for them grow first into utter detestation of your sinnes which have brought present punishment and a sense and feare of the eternall vengeance of hell fire then likewise grow into a dislike with your selfe for sinne loath your selfe in your owne sight for your iniquities and for your abominations Now when you are as a prisonerat the barre who hath received sentence of condemnation when you are in your owne apprehension a damned wretch fearing every day to be executed Oh then it concerneth you and it is your part and duty to runne to GOD the King of Kings whose name and nature is to forgive iniquity transgression and sinnes and that you may be accepted goe to him by Iesus Christ whose Office is to take away your sinnes and to present you without sinne to his father whose Office is also to procure and sue out your pardon Wherefore in Christs name pray and aske pardon of God for his Sonne Iesus Christs sake and withall bee as earnest in asking grace and power against your sinne that you may serve him in all well-pleasing Doe this as for your life with all truth and earnestnesse then you may nay must beleeve that God for Christs sake hath pardoned your sinne and hath done away the punishment of your sinne For this is according to the Word of Truth even as true as God is who hath Commanded you to doe thus and to beleeve in him But some will Reply this putting me unto a consideration of my sinnes breedes all my woe and feare for I finde them greater and more than can be pardoned Oh Say not so for you can hardly commit a greater sinne than indeed to thinke and to say so It is blasphemy against GOD yet this sinne if you will follow GODS Counsell and all other may and shall be pardoned I intend not to extenuate and lessen your sinne but you must give me leave to magnifie Gods truth and mercy and to extoll Christs love and merit Howsoever it is true that because sinne is a transgression of a law of infinite holinesse and equity in respect of the evil disposition of the heart is of infinite intention would perpetuate it selfe infinitely if it had time and meanes and because God the object and Person against whom sinne is committed is infinite therefore sinne must needes contract an infinite guilt and deserve infinite punishment which the very least sinne doth yet because the subiect of sinne the man that sinneth is
from the marriage-bed and the like Thirdly Abstaine from all worldly labour as upon a Sabbath day for worldly busines the cares thereof doe as well as worldly delights distract the thoughts and hinder humble devotion and a ceasing there-from giveth a full opportunitie to holy imployments the whole day Therfore the Iewes were commanded to sanctifie a fast And that yearely Fast called the day of Atonement was upon perill of their lives to be kept by a forbearance of all manner of worke Now albeit the Ceremonials of that day are abolished in Christ yet forbearing worke as well as meate and drinke being of the substance of a Fast doth remaine to bee observed in all such as may properly be called Religious Fasts Thus much for the outward fast you must be as strict in observing the inward Begin the day with prayer according as I directed you to doe every day but with more than ordinary preparation with fervency and faith praying for Gods special grace to enable you to sanctifie a fast that day according to the Commandement Then apply your selfe to the maine worke of the day which hath these parts 1 unfained Humiliation 2 Reformation together with Reconciliation and 3 earnest Invocation The soule is then humbled the heart rent and truly afflicted when a man is become vile in his owne eyes through conscience of his owne unworthinesse and when his heart is full of compunction and anguish through feare of Gods displeasure with godly sorrow and holy shame in himselfe and anger against himselfe for sinne These affections stirred doe much afflict the heart To attaine this deepe humiliation know that it is to be wrought partly by awakening your Conscience through a sight of the Law and apprehension of Gods just judgements due to you for the breach of it which wil break your heart and partly by the Gospell raising up your heart to an apprehension and admiration of the love of God to you in Christ which will melt your heart and cause you the more kindely to grieve and to loath your selfe for sin and withall to conceive hope of mercy whence wil follow reconciliation reformation and holy calling upon God by prayer To worke this Humiliation there must be First Examination to find out your sinne Secondly a Accusation of your selfe with due aggravation of your sinne Thirdly Iudging and passing sentence against your selfe for sinne Sinne is the transgression of the Law and revealed will of God Wherefore for the better search and finding out of your sinne you must set before youthe glasse of the Law for your Light and Rule And if you have not learned or cannot beare in minde the heads of the manifold duties commanded or vices forbidden then get some Catalogue or Table wherein the same are set downe to your hand which you may reade with pausing and due consideration staying your thoughts most upon those particular sinnes whereof you finde your selfe most guiltie If of those many that are you doe not meete with one more fit for this purpose or which you shall like better then use this Examinatorie Table in manner as Followeth But expect not herein an enumeration of all particular sinnes which is beyond my skill nor yet of all the heads of duties or kindes of sinnes which would require a volumne but of those which are principall and most common yet hereby if your Conscience be awake it will be occasioned to bring to your thoughts those other not mentioned in the Table if you bee thereof guiltie The first Table of the Law concerneth duties of love and pietie to God the performance whereof tendeth immediately to the glory of God and mediately to the salvation and good of man The first Commandement concerneth the setting up of the onely true God to your selfe to bee your God Examining your selfe by this and so in the other Commandements thinke thus with your selfe Doe I know and acknowledge the onely true GOD to be such a one as hee hath revealed himselfe in his Word works namely One onely Infinite Immateriall Immutable Incomprehensible Spirit and Everlasting Lord God having beeing and All-sufficiencie in and from himselfe One who is simply full of all perfections and uncapable of the least defect being Wisedome Goodnesse Omnipotencie Love Truth Mercy Iustice Holinesse and whatsoever is originally and of it selfe Excellent The only Potentate King of Kings Lord of Lords of whom through whom and to whom are all things The Father Sonne and holy Ghost God blessed for ever Amen Doe I Beleeve his Word in all things related commanded promised and threatned therein and that his holy and wise Providence is in all things Have I Him and his Word in continuall remembrance Doe I esteeme and exalt God in my heart above all so that it doth humbly adore him at the very mention and thought of him making my selfe to be nothing in mine owne eyes yea esteeming all creatures to bee nothing in comparison of him Have I given religious worship to him onely Have I beleeved in him and in him onely Have I sworne by him as there hath beene cause and by him alone Have I prayed onely unto him and have I sought to him and to obtaine helpe of him only by such meanes as he hath appointed giving the glory and thanks of my being and well-being and of al other things which are good unto him Is my Conscience so convinced of the truth Authority of God that it holdeth it selfe absolutely bound to obey him in all things that it doth incite to that which is good restrain from that which is evill encourage me in well-doing and check me when I doe ill Is my will resolved upon absolute and unfained obedience to doe whatsoever God commandeth to forbeare whatsoeuer hee forbiddeth to subscribe to whatsoever he doth as well done and have I borne patiently all which either by himselfe or by any of his creatures hee hath inflicted upon me Have mine affections beene so for God that I have loved him with al my heart loving nothing more than him nothing equally to him Doe I hate every thing that is contrary to him Hath my Confidence beene onely in him and my expectation of good from him Have my desires beene to him and for him longing above all things to have communion with him Hath it beene my greatest feare to offend him or to be severed from him Hath it beene my greatest griefe and shame that I have sinned against him Have I reioyced in God as in my chiefe Good Hath mine anger risen against whatsoever I saw crosse to his glory Have I beene zealous for God And have I made him the utmost end of all mine actions Hath my whole outward man as tongue senses and all other active powers of my body been readie to professe the true God and to yeeld obedience to his will Or contrariwise Am I not guilty of denying of God in word in workes or at least in heart
goodnesse and shal continue in your sinne thereby provoking the eyes of his glory is a terrible and revengefull God who if you still erre in heart and will not walke in his waies hath sworne in his wrath that you shall not enter into his Rest who in his wrath is a consuming fire and is ready and able to destroy body and soule in the eternall vengeance of Hell fire Fistly Consider sinne in the evill effects of it namely it brought a curse upon the whole Creation for mans sake whereby the â—…reatures are become defective â—nd unserviceable nay hurtfull 〈…〉 you from your sinnes come 〈…〉 manner of diseases and crosses â—â—at ever befell you This your â—…ne untill it be repented and â—…rdoned maketh you hatefull 〈…〉 God separateth between you â—…d God causing him to withâ—â—ld good things from you and 〈…〉 inflict evill upon you even in â—is life It defileth the whole â—…an and every renewed act of â—…ne doth strengthen the body 〈…〉 sinne and worketh a decay of â—…ace in you though you be reâ—â—nerate And if it be grosse if it 〈…〉 not benumme and feare your â—â—nscience yet it will wound it â—â—d break the peace thereof if it â—…ender vexing it as motes do â—…ur eye or thornes your feet â—…sing terrors and doubtings of â—…vation God withdrawing his â—our and loving countenance â—…m you And if you be nor in Christ it will in the end bring upon you everlasting damnation Sixtly Consider the ransome 〈…〉 sinne who paid it and what waâ— paid consider Christ Iesus who he was and what he did and suffered to take away your sinne He the onely sonne of God very God did lay downe and veile 〈…〉 glory for â—rime yea came dowâ— and left heaven to dwell in the Tabernacle of humane flesh taking upon him the estate of servant was poore despised 〈…〉 men persecuted from the cratâ— to the crosse made to shed teaâ— abundantly yea so tormenteâ— with the sense of Gods wrath foâ— your sinne that for very anguiâ— he did sweat as it were dropâ— bloud He was accused condemned spit upon mockt buffetteâ— and scourged by wicked meâ— made to beare his owne crosse till oh oppressed and afflicted soule for very faintnes he could beaâ— it no longer Then he was hanged amongst theeves dying the most accursed death And which to him was more then all the rest hee in his humane apprehension was forsaken of God crying out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Now you may be assured that if the iustice of God could have beene satisfied and your sinne expiated and done away by a lesser price Iesus Christ his onely Son should never have beene caused â—o poure out his soule a sacrifice for your sinne This looking by the eyes of your faith upon Christ whom you have pierced will at once shew you the greatnes and hatefulnes of your sin which required such â—n infinite ransome and the infinite love of God and Christ to you-ward euen when you were his enemie in providing for you a sure remedie which will free you from both guilt and power of this sinne The thoughts hereof will if any thing will even melt the heart into godly sorrow for sinne and withall give hope in the use of the means of mercy and forgiuenesse That the former Aggravations may bee more pressing observe these directions You must consider sinne in the particulars one after another for generalls leave no impressions Therefore David cryeth out of his bloudy sinne in particular You must iudge the least sinne to be damnable untill it bee pardoned and repented in particular if knowne unto you at least in generall if not knowne The greater any sinne is the greater you must judge the guilt and punishment to be Sinnes committed long since unrepented and the punishments deserved but deferred are to bee judged to bee as neare lying at the doore dogging you at the heeles as if committed at the present so that you may looke for Gods hand to be upon you this present moment they like the bloud of Abell or sinnes of Sodom cry as loud to God for vengeance now as the first day they were committed nay louder because they are aggravated by * impenitencie and by the abuse of Gods long suffering Your humiliation must in your endevour proportion your guilt of sinne the greater guilt the greater humiliation Know therefore that sinnes against God of the first Table considered in equal comparison are greater than those of the second The more grace hath beene offered by the Gospell and the more meanes any have had to know God and his will the greater is their sinne if they be ignorant and disobedient The number of sinnes according as they are multiplied doe increase the guilt and punishment The more bonds are broken in sinning as committing it against the Law of God of Nature and Nations against Conscience promises and vowes the greater the sinne and punishment All these things knowne and considered now iudge your selfe passe a condemnatorie sentence against your selfe whence will through the grace of God follow affliction of soule Now you will see that you are base and vile and that you may justly feare Gods iudgements Now you will see cause to be grieved ashamed yea even confounded in your selfe and to conceive an holy indignation against your selfe You will now thinke thus Ah that I should be so foolish so brutish so mad to coÌ„mit this to commit these sinnes think of particulars to breake so holy a Law to offend grieve and provoke so good and so great a Maiestie so ill to requite him so little to feare him vile wretch that I am that I should commit not onely sinnes of common frailty but grosse sinnes many and oft against knowledge conscience c. but still minde particulars Iesus Christ my Sauiour shed his precious bloud for me to redeeme mee from my vaine conversation and doe I yet againe and againe transgresse oh miserable man that I am What am I in my selfe at best but a lumpe of sinne and durt not worthy to be loved worthy to be destroyed one that may justly look to have mine heart hardned or my coÌ„science terrified and that if God be not infinitely merciful he should powre upon me all his plagues Wherfore remembring my doings that they are not good but abhominably evill I doe loath my selfe for mine abhominations and doe abhorre my selfe and repent as in sackcloth and ashes Now set upon the worke of Reformation and of Reconciliation Generall if you finde there be neede Particular as you finde there is neede It is not enough to search out and consider your wayes nor yet to lament them if withall you doe not turne againe unto the Lord and turne your feet unto his Testimonies and withall seeke grace and forgivenesse The Gospell openeth a
finite his sinne being the erring act of a creature cannot every way be infinite Wherefore such an act or transgression cannot in it selfe be unpardonable by a Creator a God who is every way infinite SecoÌ„ndly Consider that the price to satisfie GODS justice namely the death of CHRIST even the precious bloud of God the onely begotten Sonne of God doth exceed all sinne in infinitenesse of satisfaction of GODS justice and wrath due for sinne For if Christs death be a sufficient ransome for the sinnes of all Gods Elect in generall then much more of thine in particular whosoever thou be and how great and how many sins soever thou hast committed Thirdly Know that the mercy of God the forgiver of sinnes is absolutely and every way infinite For mercy in God is not a qualitie but is his very nature as is cleare by the description of his Name proclaimed Exod. 34. Which rightly understood and beleeved taketh away all the objections which a fearefull heart can make against himselfe from the consideration of his sinnes First He is mercifull that is he is compassionate and to speake after the manner of man is one that hath bowels of pittie which yerne within him at the beholding of thy miseries not willing to punish and put thee to paine but ready to succor and doe thee good But I am so vile and so ill deserving that there is nothing in mee to move him to pittie mee and doe me good 2. Hee is Gracious whom he loveth hee loveth freely of his owne gracious disposition who saith I even I am hee that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes And when God saith hee would sprinkle cleare water upon sinners and that hee would give them a new heart c. hee saith not for your sakes doe I this saith the Lord God That you should be sensible of your owne misery and then in the sense thereof that God may be enquired after and sought unto for mercy is al which he looketh for in you to move him to pitty and mercy and such is his graciousnes that he will worke this sense and this desire in you that he may have mercy But I have a long time prouoked him 3. He is long-suffering to you-wards nÌ„ot willing that you should perish but that you should come to repentance but waiteth still for your repentance and reformation that you may be saved Yea But I am destitute of all goodnesse and grace to turne unto him or doe any thing that may please him 4. He is abundant in goodnesse and kindnesse he that hath beene abundant towards others heretofore in giving them grace and making them good his store is no whit diminished but he hath all grace and goodnesse to communicate to you also to make you good Yea but I feare though God can yet God will not forgive me and give me grace 5. Hee is abundant in truth not onely the goodnesse of his gracious disposition maketh him willing but the abundance of his truth bindeth him to bee willing and doth give proofe unto you that he is willing He hath made sure promises to take away your sinne and to forgive it and not yours onely but reserveth mercie for thousands Beleeve therefore that God both can and will forgive you Yea but my sinnes are such and such and such bred at the bone â—â—numerable hainous and most â—â—ominable I am guilty of sins 〈…〉 all sorts 6. He forgiveth iniquity transâ—ession and sinne He is the God â—hat will subdue all your iniâ—uities and cast all your sinnes â—â—to the bottome of the Sea Yea but I renew my sins daily 7. I answer out of the Psalm His mercy is an everlasting mercie his mercy endureth for ever He biddeth you to aske forgivenesse of sinne daily therefore hâ— can and will forgive sinne daily yea if you sinne Seventie time seven in a day and shall confess it to God with a penitent heart he will forgive for he that biddeth you be so mercifull to you brother will himselfe forgive much more when you seeke unto him I But I have not onely committed open and grosse sinnes both before since I had knowledge of GOD but I have been a very Hypocrite making profession of GOD and yet daily commit grievous sinnes against him 8. What then Will you say your sinnes are unpardonable God forbid But say I will follow the Counsell which GOD gave to such abominable Hypocrites I will wash mee and make me cleane I will by Gods grace wash my heart from iniquitie and my hands from wickednesse by washing my selfe in the Laver of regeneration bathing myselfe in Christs bloud and in the pure water of the Word of truth applying my selfe to them and them to me by faith Say in this case I will heare what God will speake And know that if you will follow his counsell Isa 1 18. If you wil hearken to his reasoning and embrace his gracious offer made to you in Christ Iesus the issue will be this though your sins have beene most grosse reiterated double dyed even as crimson and sear let they shall be as wooll even as white as snow God will then speak peace unto you as unto other his Saints onely he will forbid you to returne to folly For not onely those which committed grosse sins through ignorance before their conversion as did Abraham in Idolatry and S. Paul in persecuting noâ— yet onely those which committed grosse sinnes through infirmitie after their conversion as did Noah by drunkennesse and Lot by incest also and Peter by denying and forswearing his Master Christ Iesus obtained mercy because they sinned ignorantly and of infirmity But also those that sinned against Knowledge and Conscience both before after conversion sinning with an high hand as Manasses before and in the matter of Vriah David after conversion they obtained like mercy and had all their sinnes forgiven Why are these examples recorded in Scripture but for patterns to sinners yea to most notorious sinners of all sorts Which should in after times beleeve in Christ Iesus unto eternall life Be willing therfore to be beholholding to God for forgivenes beleeve in Christ for forgivenes which when you doe you may be assured that you never yet committed any sin which is not and which shal not be forgiven For was it not the end why Christ came into the world that he might save sinners yea chiefe of sinners as well as others Was he not wounded for transgressions viz. of all sorts Is it not the end of his comming in his Gospell to call sinners to repentance What sinners doth hee meane there but such as you are who are laden and burdened with your sinne Doth hee not say if any man sinne marke if any man we have an advocate
God which is Invocation and earnest prayer to God in the Name of Christ through the holy Ghost in particular large harty confessions and complaints against your selfe for your sinnes asking forgivenes making known your holy resolutioÌ„s asking grace and giuing thankes for that he is at one with you having giveÌ„ Christ for you and to you and for that he hath given you a minde to know him and the power of his resurrection with other the first fruits of the Spirit which is the earnest of your inheritance Let this solemn and more then ordinary seeking of GOD by prayer alone by your selfe be twise at least in the day of your Fast besides your ordinary prayers in the Morning Evening having thus made your peace with God you may nay ought to pray for the good or against the evill which was the occasion of the Fast But in praying you must in ferrency of spirit cry mightily striving and wrastling in prayer The extraordinary burnt offerings sinne offerings meate and drinke offerings besides the finâ—ffering of the Attonement and the continuall burnt offering meate and drinke offering to be offered the solemne day of the Fast under the Law which in the substance of it is the standard of religious Fasts doth shew that a Fast must be kept in manner as hath beene said For hereby we prepare sanctifie our selves and seeke to God in Christ hereby we by faith lay hold on Christ the onely true sacrifice for sin hereby we doe by him draw nigh to God and in token of thankfulnes doe giue our selves to be an whole and living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God which is our reasonable serving of God For your greater and more thorough humbling of your self and further exercise of your faith in God and love to your brethren and Church of God something yet is to be added You must represent to your thoughts also the sinnes and evils that are already upon or hanging over the head of your familie and neerest friends and of your towne Country or Kingdome where you live together with their severall aggravations lay them to heart considering that they by sinning doe also dishonour God your Father and doe bring evill of soule and body upon those whom you should love as well as your selfe And it is a thousand to one but that you are involved in their sinnes and become accessary if not by comand example counsell permission conniving not punishing familiarity with sinners or concealement yet in not grieving for them in not hating them and in not confessing and disclaiming them before God These also bring common Iudgements upon Church and State which you should prefer before your own particular wherin you may look to have your part You must therfore affect your heart with these thoughts and mourne not onely for your owne first but then for the abhominations of your family town country and Kingdome For the sins of Princes and Nobles for the sins of Ministers and People And not onely for the present sinnes of the Land but for the sinnes long since committed whereof it hath not yet repented Rivers of waters should runne downe from your eyes at least sighs and grones should rise from your heart because others as well as your selfe have forgotten Gods Law and have exposed themselves to his destroying Iudgements Doe all this so that you may poure out your heartlike water to the Lord in their behalfe This is to stand in the Breach the prayer of a righteous man availeth much if it be servent though he have infirmities If it should not take good effect for others yet your teares and sighs shall doe good to your selfe it causeth you to have Gods seal in yourforehead you are marked for mercy God will take you from the evill to come or will make a way for you-to escape or will pturne the hearts of your enemies to you as it was with Ieremie or if you should be carried captive he will be a little Sanctuarie to you in the land of your captivitie or if you smart under the commoâ— judgement it shall be sanctified to you and if you perish bodily yet when others that cannot live and are afraid to die are aâ— their wits end you shall be able in the conscience of your mourning and of disclaiming your own others sins to welcome death as a messenger of good tidings and as a â—ortall to everlasting happines If it be a publike Fast all these things before mentioned are to â—e done alone both before and after the publike exercises which amongst the Iewes tooke up two â—ourth parts of the artificiall day â—t which time you must joine in publike hearing the Word read and preached and in praier with more than ordinary intention and fervency If you fast with your Family or with some few let convenient times bee spent in reading the Word or some good Booke or Sermons which may be fit to direct and quicken you for the present worke also in feruent prayer The other time alone let it be spent as I have shewed before If some publike or necessary occasion such as you could not well foresee or prevent when you made choice of your day of private fast happeÌ„ to interrupt you I doe judge that you may attend those occasions not withstanding your Fast but doe it thus if they may be dispatched with little adoe then dispatch them and after continue your fast but if you cannot I thinke that you had better be humbled that you were hindred breake off your fast and set some other day apart in stead thereof even as when a man is necessarily hindred in his vow The Benefit that will accrew to you by religious Fasting will be motive enough to an often use of it as there shall be cause It was never read or heard of that a fast was kept in truth according to the former directions from the Word but either obtained the particular thing for which it was kept or a better to him at least that tasted And besides that it will if any thing will obtaine the thing intended thus fasting will put the soule into such good plight and tune into such an habit of spiritualnesse that like as when against some speciall entertainment a day hath been spent in searching every sluts corner in a house and in rubbing and washing it it will be kept cleane with ordinary sweeping a quarter of a yeare or long time after I doe acknowledge that some have fasted and God hath not regardedit yea hee telleth some before-hand that if they fast he will not heare their cry But these were such who fasted not to God they onely sought themselves they would not hearken to his Word there was no putting away of sinne as loosing the bands of wickednesse c. No mortification of sinne no renewing
your selfe in Covetous Adulterous Revengefull Ambitious or other wicked thoughts you act that in your minde and phantasie which either for feare or shame you dare not or for want of opportunity or meanes you cannot act otherwise 4. When you are alone be sure that you ordinarily be well and fully exercised about something that is good either in the works of your calling or in reading or in holy meditation or prayer For whensoever Satan doth find you idle and out of imployment in some or other of those works which God hath appointed he will â—ake that as an opportunity to garnish you for himselfe and to imploy you in some of his works But if you keepe alwaies in your place and â—o some or other good worke of your place you are under Gods speciall protection as the Bird in the Law was while she face upon heregs or yong ones keeping her owne nest in which case no man might hurt her I have already shewed how you should behave your selfe as in Gods sight both in prayer and in the works of your calling I wil write some thing for your direction touching reading and Meditation SECTION 2. Of Reading BEsides your set-times of reading the holy Scriptures you shall doe well to gaine some time from you vacant houres that you may read in GODS Booke and in the good bookes of men First when you read any part of the word of God you must put a difference betweene it and the best writings of men preferring it farre before them To this end 1 Consider it in its properties and excellencies No word is of like absolute authority holinesse equity truth wisedome true elegancie power and eternity 2 Consider this Word in its ends and good effects No booke that aimeth at Gods glory and the salvation of mans soule like this none that concerneth you like to this It discovereth your misery by sinne together with the perfect remedie It propoundeth perfect happinesse unto you affordeth means to worke it out in you for you It is mighty through GOD to prepare you for grace It is the immortall seed to beget you unto Christ It is the milke and stronger meate to nourish you up in Christ It is the onely soulephysicke to recover you and to rid you of all spirituall evils By it Christ giveth spiritual sight to the blind hearing to the deafe speech to the dumbe strength to the weake health to the sicke yea by it he doth cast out Divels and raise men from the death of sinne they beleeving it as certainly as he did all those for the bodies of men by the word of his power while he lived on the earth This Book of Goâ— doth containe those many rich Legacies be queathed to you in that last Will and Testament of God sealed with the bloud of Iesus Christ our Lord. It is the Magna Charta and Statute-booke of the Kingdome of heaven It is the booke of Priviledges and Immunities of Gods children It is the word of grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance amongst all them that are sanctified For it will make you wise to salvation through Faith in Christ â—esus making you perfect throughly furnished unto all good workes Wherefore as when you heare this Word preached so when at any time you read it you must receive it not as the word of man but as it is in truth the Word of God then it wil worke effectually in you that beleeve Secondly when you read this Word lift up the heart in prayer to God for the Spirit of understanding wisedome that your minde may be more and more enlightned and your heart more more strengthned with grace by it For this Word is spiritual containing the secrets hidden things of GOD in a mysterie which as the bare letter doth signifie is as a booke sealed up in respect of discovery of the things of God in it to al that have not the helpe of Gods Spirit so that none can know the inward and spirituall meaning thereof powerfully and savingly but by the Spirit of God Thirdly read the Word with an hunger and thirst after knowledge and growth of grace by it with a reverent humble teachable and honest heart beleeving all that you reade trembling at the threats judgements against sinners reioycing in the promises made unto and the favours bestowed upon the penitent and vpon the godly willing and resolving to obey al the Commandements Thus if you read blessed shall you be in your reading and blessed shall you be in your deede The holy Scriptures are thus to be read of all of every sort and condition and of each sex for all are commanded to search the Scriptures as well the Laytie as the Cleargie women as well as men yong as well as old all sorts of all Nations For though the Spirit of GOD is able to worke conversion and holinesse immediately without the Word as he doth in all those infants that are saved yet in men of yeares the holy Ghost will not where the Word may be had worke without it as his instrument using it as the hammer plow seed fire water sword or as any other instrument to pull downe build up plant purge cleanse For it is by the Word both read and preached that Christ doth sanctifie all that are his that he may present them to himselfe and so to his Father without spot or wrinkle a Church most glorious And whereas it is most true that those which are unlearned and unstable doe wrest not onely hard Scriptures but all other also to their destruction Yet let not this as Papists would inferre cause you to forbeare to read no more then because many surfeit and are drunke by the best meats and drinkes you doe forbeare to eate and drinke But to prevent misse-understanding and wresting of Scriptures to your hurt doe thus 1 Get and cherish an humble and honest heart resolved to obey when you know Gods will If any man will doe his will saith Christ he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God 2 Get a cleare knowledge of the first Principles of Christian Religion beleeve them stedfastly And indevor to frame your life according â—nto those more easie known â—criptures where on these prinâ—iples and first Oracles of God â—â—e grounded For these give â—ight even by the first entrance â—nto the very simple This doe â—â—d you shall never be unlearned 〈…〉 the mysteries of Christ nor â—et unstable in his wayes 3 Be â—uch in hearing the Word inâ—â—preted by learned and faithfull â—inisters 4 If you meet with place of Scripture too hard for 〈…〉 presume not to frame a sense it of your owne head but take â—tice of yourignorance admire â—e depth of Gods wisdome susâ—nd your opinion
he What is that all no but he proceedeth to this last act of meditation and saith I will have respect unto thy wayes Gods holy nature attributes Word workes also what is dutie what is a fault what you should be and doe what you are and what you have done what be the miseries of the wicked what is the happinesse and what are the privileges of the godly are fit matter of meditating by the direct act of the understanding That which must settle your judgement and be the rule to direct your judgement what to hold for true and good must be the Canon of Gods Word rightly understood and not your owne reason or opinion nor yet the opinions or conceits of men for these are false and crooked Rules In seeking to know the secrets and mysteries of God and godlinesse you must not pry into them farther than God hath revealed for if you wade therein farther than you have sure footing in the Word you will presently lose your selfe and be swallowed up in a maze and whirlepoole of errors heresies These deepe things of god must bee understood with sobrietie according to that measure of cleare light which God hath given you by his Word When Sinne happeneth to bee the matter of your meditation take heed lest while your thoughts dwell upon it though your intention be to bring your selfe out of love with it it steale into your affections and worke in you some tickling motions to it and so circumvent you For the cunning devices of sinne are undiscoverable and you know that your heart is deceitfull above all things Wherefore to prevent this mischiefe 1 As Sinne is not to bee named but when there is just cause so is it not to be thought upon but upon speciall cause namely when it sheweth it selfe in its motions and evill effects and when it concernes you to try and finde out the wickednes of your heart and life 2 When there is cause to thinke of sinne represent it to your mind as an evill the greatest evill most lothsome most abominable to GOD and as a thing most hatefull and hurtfull to you Whereupon you must worke your heart to a detestation of it and resolution against it 3 Never stand reasoning or disputing with it as Eve did with Satan but without any plodding thereupon you must doe present execution upon it by sheathing the Word the Sword of the Spirit into the heart of it and by the deeds of the Spirit kill it And if you would insist long in meditating upon any subject make choise of matter more pleasant and lesse infectious It is needfull that you be skilfull in this first part of meditation for hereby you finde out and lay downe propositions Whence you may conclude who is to be adored who not what is to be done what not what you should be what not But the life of meditation lyeth in the reflect acts of the soule whereby that knowledge which was gotten by the former act of meditation doth reflect returne upon the heart causing you to assume and apply to your selfe what was propounded whence also you are induced to endevour to worke your heart unto that which you have learned it ought to be This though it be most profitable yet because it is tedious to the flesh is most neglected Wherefore it concerneth you which are well instructed in the points of faith and holinesse to be most conversant in this when you are alone whether of set purpose or in your journyings or otherwise You should therefore be well read in the booke of your conscience as well as in the Bible Commune oft with it and it wil fully acquaint you with your selfe and with your estate It will tell you what you were and what you now are what you most delighted in in former times what now It will tell you what streights and feares you have beene in and how graciously God delivered you what temptations you have had and how it came to passe that sometimes you were overcome by them how and by what meanes sometimes you overcame them It will shew what conflicts you have had betwixt flesh spirit what side you tooke what was the issue of the conflict whether you were grieved and humbled when sinne got the better whether you rejoyced were thankfull in any sort when Gods grace in you held his owne or got the better Your conscience being set aworke will call to remembrance your over-sight and advantages which you gave to Satan and to the lusts of your flesh that you may not doe the like another time It will remember you by what helpes and meanes through Gods grace you prevailed got a good conquest over some sinne that you may flye to the like another time If you shal thus take observation of the passages and conflicts in this your Christian race and warfare your knowledge will be an experimentall knowledge which because it is a knowledge arising from the often proofe of that whereof you were taught in the Word it becommeth a more grounded a more perfect and a more fruitfull knowledge than that of meere contemplation It is onely this experimentall knowledge that will make you expert in the trade and warfare of Christianitie Take me a man that hath onely read much of Husbandry Physicke Merchandise Policie and martiall affaires who hath gotten into his head the notions of all these and maketh himselfe beleeve that he hath great skill in them yet one that hath not read halfe so much but hath beene of long practice and of great experience in these goeth as farre beyond him in Husbandry in giving Physick in Trading in Policie in true feats of Armes as he goeth beyond one that is a meere novice in them Such difference there is betweene one that hath onely notions brain-knowledge of Christianitie and in may be some practice withal but severed from experimentall observation and him that taketh notice of his owne experiences and is oft looking into the Records of his owne Conscience throughly to peruse them The experiments which by this meanes you shall take of Gods love truth and power of your enemies falshood wiles and methods of your owne weaknesse without God of your strength by God to withstand the greatest lusts and strongest Divell yea of an abilitie to doe all things through him that strengthneth you will beget in you faith and confidence in God and love to him watchfulnesse and circumspection lest you be overtaken with sinne yea such humilitie wisedome and Christian courage that no opposition shall daunt you neither shall any drive you from the hold you have in Christ Iesus Where reade you of two such Champions as David and Paul and where doe you reade of two that recorded and made use of their experiences like these Wherefore next to Gods booke which giveth light and rule to your Conscience reade oft the
things and according to the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh A man must have the heart of the wise before the tongue can be taught to speake wisely Secondly You must resolve before-hand as David did to take heed to your wayes that you sinne not with your tongue And that you will keepe your mouth as with a bridle And before your speech and actions be well advised weigh and ponder in the ballance of discretion all your actions and words before you vent them Thirdly Let no passion of joy griefe feare anger c. get the head and exceed their limits For wise and good men as well as bad when they have beene in any of these passions have spoken unadvisedly with their lips And experience will teach you that your tongue doth never runne before your wit so soone as when you are over-feared over-grieved over-angry or over-ioyed Fourthly You must be much in prayer unto God before you come into company that you may be able to order your conversation aright Let your heart also be lifted up oft to God when your are in company that he would set a watch before your mouth and keepe the doore of your lips and that your heart may not incline to any evill thing to practise wicked workes with men that worke iniquity and that he would open your lippes that your mouth may shew forth his prayse and that you may speake as you ought to speake knowing how to answer every man for the tongue is such an unruly evill that no man onely God can tame and governe it SECTION 2. Of ordering a mans selfe well in ill Company VVHen Company is sinfull and naught if you may choose come not into it at all For keeping evill company wil 1 blemish your Name 2 It wil expose you oft-times to many hazards of your life state And 3 you are alwayes in danger to be corrupted by the contagious infection of it By bad company I doe not onely understand seducers and such as are openly prophane or riotous but also such civill men who yet remaine meere worldlings and all luke-warme professours who are neither hot nor cold For although the sinnes of these latter doe not carrie such a manifest appearance of grosse impietie and dishonestie as doe the sinnes of open Blasphemers Drunkards whore-Masters and the like yet they are not lesse dangerous your hart wil quickly rise against these manifest enormous evils but the other by reason of their unsuspected danger through that tolerable good opinion which in comparison is had of them though in truth they be as dangerous and as hatefull will sooner insnare infect you by an insensible chilling of your spirits by taking off the edge of your zeale which you had to the power of godlinesse And so by little and little draw you to a remissenesse and indifferencie in Religion and to a love of the world If you shall thinke that by keeping evill company you may convert them and draw them to goodnesse be not deceived It is presumption so to think Hath not God expresly forbidden you such company If you be not necessarily called to be in sinfull company you may justly feare that you shall be sooner perverted and made naught by their wickednes than that they should be converted and made good by your holinesse Secondly when by reason of common occasions in respect of the affaires of your calling generall or particular in Church Common-wealth and Familie you cannot shunne ill company Looke 1 that in speciall sort your conversation be honest unblameable harmelesse even with a Dove-like innocency that by your good example they may without the Word be brought to the Word and to a love of the power and sinceritie of that true Religion which you professe Howsoever give no advantage to the adversary to speake evill either of you or of your Religion but by a holy life stop the mouths of ignorant and foolish men or if they will notwithstanding speake against you this your holy life shall shame all that blame your good conversation in Christ Iesus 2 Be wise as serpents Walke warily lest they bring you into trouble and doe harme you but especially lest they infect you with their sinne for a little leaven will quickly sowre the whole lumpe That you may not be infected by that ill company which you cannot avoid use these preservatives 1 Be not high minded but feare lest you doe commit the same or the like sinne for you are of the same nature and are subject to the same and like temptations He that seeth his neighbour slip and fall before him had need to taâ—â— heed lâ—st he himselfe fall 2 Your soule like the riotous soule of Lot must be vixed daily with seeing and hearing their unlawfull deeds 3 Raise your heart to a sensible loathing of their sinne yet have compassion on the sinner and so farre as you have calling admonish him as a brother 4 When you see or heare any wickednes lift up your heart to GOD and before him confesse it and disclaime all liking of it pray unto God to keepe you from it and that he would forgive your companion his sinne and give unto him grace to repent of it Lastly though you may converse with sinnefull companie when your calling is to be with them in a common and â—older kinde of fellowship by a common love whereby you do wish well to all and would doe good to all yet you must not converse with them with such speciall and intimate Christian familiaritie and delight as you doe with the Saints that are excellent Thus doe and the Lord can and will keepe you in the midst of Aegypt and Babel as hee did Ioseph and Daniel if hee call you â—o it Thirdly As soone as possibly you can depart out of their company when you finde not in them the â—…ppes of knowledge or when they â—…ny way declare that they have onely a forme but deny the power of godlinesse From such turne away â—aith the Apostle And so use the preservatives prescribed or any other whereof you have proofe that you depart not more evill or lesse good then when you â—ame together SECTION 3. How a man should carry himselfe towards good company NOw touching good company First highly esteeme of it and much desire it For you should love the brotherhood howsoever the world scoffe at it and forsake not the fellowship or consorting with the godly as the manner of some is But with David as much as may be be a companion with them that feare God Secondly when you are in good company you must expresse all brotherly love improving your time together for your mutuall good chiefly in the increase of each others faith and holinesse provoking one another to love and to good workes Then you love
spite all good company and good conference he will cast in matters of jarres difference and discord And because the best men differ in opinion though not in fundamentals yet in Ceremonies and lesse necessary points of Religion and for that they all have infirmities and while the reliques of corrupt nature are in them are subject and apt to mistake and misconstrue one anothers actions and speeches as also the ends of their actions and speeches you will need that this bond of love be strong that it be not broke asunder by any of these or any other meanes but that you remain fast and sweetly knit together in the unitie of the Spirit through this bond of peace I commend this Christian society in brotherly love the rather because 1. there is nothing giveth a more sensible evidence of your conversion and translation from death to life than this 2. Nothing doth more further the increase and power of godlinesse in any place or person then this For let it be observed though there be never such an excellent Ministrie in any place you shall see little thriving in grace amongst the people untill many of them become of one heart shewing it by consorting together in brotherly fellowship in the Communion of Saints 3. Nothing bringeth more feeling joy comfort and delight next the communion with God iâ— Christ then the actuall communion of Saints and the love of brethren It is the beginning of that our happinesse on earth which shal be perfected in Heaven It is for kind the same that onely differeth in degrees And to conciude this subject after that you have beene in company good or bad it will be worth your while to examine how far forth you have hindred any evill in other have preserved your selfe from evill how farre you have endevoured to doe good to others and how much you haue bettered your selfe in knowledge good affection zeale or any other good grace by your company and according as you find let your heart checke or cheare you CHAP. X How a man should carry himselfe as in Gods sight when things goe well with him SECTIONI VVHen at any time you prosper in any thing and have good successe that you may therein walke according to God First Take heed of committing those sinnes whereto man is most apt when his heart is fatted with prosperity Secondly be carefull to produce those good effects which are the principal ends why God giveth good successe The sinnes especially to bee shunned are 1 Denying of God by forgetting him and his wayes departing from him when you are fat like Iesurun taking the more licence to sin by how much you shall prosper more in the world 2 Ascribing the prayse of successe to your selfe or to secondarie causes sacrificing to your owne net 3 High mindednesse thinking too well of your selfe because you have that which others have not and despising and thinking too meanly of those which have not as you have 4 If riches increase or if you thrive in any other earthly thing set not your heart thereon either in taking too much delight therein or intrusting thereupon Holy Iob and good David were in some particulars over-taken with this latter When Iob was warm in his nest he did hatch this secure conceit that he should dye in his nest and multiply his dayes as the sand And David in his prosperity said he should never bee moved But the LORD by afflictions taught them both to know by experience how vaine all earthly things are to trust unto and ingeniously to confesse their error I reduce the good effects which are the principall ends why God giveth good successe unto these two heads 1 professed prayse and thankes to God 2 Reall proofes of the said thanks in well using and imploying this good successe for God First prayse and thanke God For 1 it is the chiefe and most lasting service worship which God hath required of you 2 It is most due and due to him onely he onely is worthy for of him are all things and he is called the God of prayses 3 It is the end why God doth declare his excellency and goodnesse both in his Word and Workes that it may be matter of prayse and thankes also why he hath given man an hart to understand and a tongue to speake that for them and with them as by apt instruments they might acknowledge his goodnesse and excellencie thinking and speaking to his prayse and glory wherfore David speaking to his heart or tongue or both when hee would give thankes saith Awake my glory and I will give praysâ— 4 There is not any service of God more beneficiall to man than to bee thankefull For it maketh those gifts of God which are good in themselves to be good to you and they are the best continuers of good things to you yea Thanks are reall requests and the best security you can have for God will not withdraw his goodnesse from the thankefull This Prayse and Thankes is a religious service wherein a man maketh knowne to God that hee acknowledgeth every good thing to come from him and that he is worthy of all prayse and glory for the infinite excellencie of his Wisedome Power Goodnesse and of all his other holy and blessed Attributes manifest in his Word and Workes and that he for his part standeth wholly beholding to God for all that he hath had now hath and which hereafter hee hopeth to have Prayse and Thankes goe together and doe differ only in some respect The superabundant excellency in God shewed by his Titles and Workes is the obiect of prayse The abundant goodnesse of God shewed in those his Titles and Workes to his Church to you or to any person nothing to which you have reference is the obiect and matter of your thankes These things concerning praise and thankes are needfull to be knowne and observed First Who must give prayse and thankes Namely you and all that have understanding and breath must praise the Lord. Secondly To whom praise and thanks are due Only to God Not to us not to us saith the Church but to thy Name give glory Thirdly By whom must this Sacrifice of thankes be offered Even by Christ onely the onely high Priest of our Profession out of whose golden Censer our prayers and praises ascend and are sweet-smelling to GOD as Incense Fourthly For what must wee praise God and give him thanks Wee must praise him in all his workes be they for us or against us we must thanke him for all things spirituall and temporall wherein he is any way good unto us Fifthly With what must wee prayse and thanke him Even with our soules and all that is within us and with all that we have We must praise and thanke GOD with the inward man praise him with the
for joy before ever they have made a legge and shewn any signe of thankfulnes you will easily be overtaken in this kinde and neglect God that gave it The furtherances of thankfulnesse are most of them directly contrary to the former hindrances of many take these First Get sound knowledge of God and of his infinite excellencies and absolutenesse every way of his independency on man or any other creature whence it is that he needeth not any thing that man hath or can doe neither can he be beholding to man But know that you stand in need of God and must be beholding to him for al things Know also that whatsoever God doth by whatsoever meanes it be hee doth it from himselfe induced by nothing out of himselfe being free in all that he doth Know likewise that whatsoever was the instrument of your good God was the Author both of the good and of the instrument Next Fill your selfe with a due knowledge of the full worth and excellent use of Gods gifts both common and speciall Wealth honour libertie health life senses limmes wit and reason c. considered in themselves and in their use wil be held to be great benefits but if you coÌ„sider them in their absence when you are sensible of poverty sicknesse and the rest or if you be so blessed that you know not the want of them then if you shall advisedly and humbly looke vpon the poore base imprisoned captives sicke deafe blind dumbe distracted c. Putting your selfe in their case you will â—ay that you are unspeakeably beholding to God for these corporal and temporall blessings But chiefely learne to know aâ—d consider well the worth of spirituall blessings One of them the peace of God passeth all understanding To enjoy the Gospell upon any tearmes to have â—â—â—vation such a salvation offered by Christ to have faith hope love and other the manifold saving graces of the Spirit though but in the least measure in the very first seed of the Spirit though no bigger then a grain of Mustard-seed with never so much outward affliction is of such value and consequent that it is more then eye hath seene eare hath heard or ever entred into the heart of man For besides that the least grace is invaluable in it selfe it doth give proof of better gifts namely that God hath given his Spirit hath given Christ and in him hath given himselfe a propitious and gracious God hath given all things also When you know God aright his gifts aright knowing all things in God and God in all things then you will be full of praises and thankes Secondly Be low and base in your owne eyes Let all things be base in your eyes in comparison of God account them worthlesse and helpelesse things without him Iudge your selfe to be as indeed you are lesse then the least of Gods mercies For what are you of your selfe but a compound of dust and sinne unworthy any good worthy of all misery You stand in need of God â—he not of you It is his mercy that you are not consumed When you can be thus sensible of your owne neede and that helpe can come onely from God and that you are worthy of no good thing then you will be glad and thankefull at heart to God for any thing An humble man will be more thankfull for a peny then a proud man will for a pound Thirdly Call all the forementioned knowledge of God and of his gifts into fresh memory Commune with your soule and cause it to represeÌ„t lively to your thoughts what God is in himselfe what to his Church and to you how precious his thoughts are to you-ward Tell your selfe oft what God hath done and what he will doe for your soule Call to minde with what varietie of good gifts he doth store his Church blesse you you will find that they will passe all account and number When withal you call to minde that God is free in all his gifts to you who are unworthy the least of them If you would cause your selfe to dwell upon these and the like thoughts they would worke in you an holy rapture and admiration out of which you shall with David break out into these or the like prayses Oh Lord our Lord how excellent is thy name in all the earth I thanke thee I praise thee I devote my selfe as my best sacrifice to thee I will blesse thy Name for ever and ever Fourthly Be perswaded of Gods love to you in these good things which he giveth unto you First he loveth you as his creature and if onely in that regard he doth preserve you and doe you good you are bound to thanke him Secondly you cannot know but that he loveth you with a speciall love to Salvation Gods revealed will professeth as much you must not meddle with that which is secret I am sure he maketh proffer of his love and you daily receive tokens of his love both in means of this life and that which is to come Did not he love you when out of his free and everlasting good will towards you He gave his Sonne to die for you that you beleeving in him should not dye but have everlasting life What though yet you be in your sinnes Doth hee not bid you turne and hath hee not said â—hee will love you freely What though you cannot turn to him nor love him as you would yet endevour these in the use of all good meanes to be and doe as God will have you then doubt noâ— but that GOD doth love you and you must wait till you see it in the performance of his gracious promises unto you But if you would consider things aright you may know certainly that the good things you have received of God are bestowed in love to you I will onely aske these Questions Hath Gods mercie made you to bethinke your selfe of your dutie and obedience to God have you had a will to be thankefull upon the thoughts thereof or if you finde a defect and barrennesse herein hath not this unfruitfull and unthankefull receiving of good things from God beene a great burden and griefe of heart to you If yea this is an evident signe that God gave those good things to you in love because this holy and good effect is wrought in you by them Againe Dâ—â— you love God would you love God and his wayes and Ordinances yet more This provetâ— that God loveth you for 〈…〉 man can love God till God have first loved him Likewise doe you love the children of God Theâ— certainly you are Gods childe and are loved of God By these you have proofe of your calling and election how that you are now translated from death to life after which time though God may give you many things in anger as a father giveth correction yet he never giveth any thing
should bee patient taken 1 from GOD that sent it 2 from your selfe on whom it â—eth 3 from the nature and â—â—e of the affliction it selfe 4 by considering the evils of impatience 5 by comparing the blessings you have and are assured that you shall have with the crosses you have especially if patiently endured You shall from all these considerations see reason why your heart should be quiet under the greatest afflictions First consider well that whatsoever the trouble and crosse be and whatsoever bee the instrument of it either in the sense of evill or in the want of good promised God your Father 1 who doth all things according to the wisedome and counsell of his will 2 who doth afflict with most tender affection 3 who correcteth and afflicteth in measure 4 who hath alwayes holy purposes and ends in all afflictions and that for your good hath sent it First consider that it was God that did it There is no evil 〈…〉 of punishment in a City whicâ— the Lord hath not done saith Amos It is the Lord let him doe what seemeth him good saith El. I opened not my mouth saith David because thou Lord didst it The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away blessed bee the Name of the Lord saith Iob. 2. All this GOD doth to his children with a fatherly affection in much love and pitty He hath your soule still in remembrance while you are in adversitie Yea he beareth some part of the burden with you for speaking after the manner of man hee saith that in all the afflictions of his children he is afflicted He delighteth not in afflicting the children of men much lesse his owne children If you aske Why then doth hee afflict or why doth he not ease you speedily I aske you Why a tender-harted father being a Chirurgion who is grieved and troubled at the paine and anguish which he himselfe caused his childe to feele with corrosives or hot irons would notwithstanding apply the burning irons and suffer those plaisters to vexe him for a long time You will say Sure the wound or malady of the childe required it and that else it could not be cured This is the case betwixt God and you Gods heart is tender and yerneth towards you when his hand is upon you therefore beare it patiently 3. God afflicteth you in measure fitting your affliction for kinde time and weight according to your need and according to the strength of grace which he hath already given you or which certainely he will give you He doth never lay more upon you then what you shall be able to beare and will alwayes with the crosse and temptation make a way to escape The husbandman will not alwayes bee plowing and harrowing of his ground but onely giveth it so many earths and so many tynes to some more to some lesse as the ground hath need and as it can beare them So likewise he thresheth his divers sorts of graine with divers Instruments according as the graine can endure them the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument neither is the cart wheele turned about upon the cummin bread-corne is bruised because hee will not ever be threshing it nor breake it with the wheele of his cart nor bruise it with his horsemen If the husbandman doe all this by the discretion wherewith God hath instructed him can you think that God who is wonderfull in counsell and excellent in working will plow and harrow any of his ground or thresh any of his corne above that which is fit and more than his ground and corne can beare Should not you his ground and corne bee patient at such tillage and at such threshing 4. Gods end in afflicting is alwayes his owne glory in your good as to humble you and to bring you to a sight of your sinne to breake up the fallow ground of your heart that you may sow in righteousnesse and reape in mercy to harrow you that the seed of grace may take root in you All Gods afflictions are either to remove impediments of grace By this saith Esay shall the inequity of Iacob bee purged and this is all the fruit to take away his sin All the plowing is but to kill weeds and to fit the ground for seed all the threshing and winnowing is but to sever the chaffe from the corne and all the grinding and boulting by afflictions is but to sever the bran from the flowre that Gods people may be a pure meate-offering acceptable to him Or else he afflicts that his children might have experience of his love power in preserving and delivering them or that they might have the exercise proofe and increase of faith hope love and other principall graces scil to worke patience and experience by them which serve for the beautifying perfecting of a Christian God doth iudge his children here that they may repent and be reformed that they may not bee condemned with the world Gods end in chastising you shall be found to be alwayes for your good that you shall be able to say It was good for mee to be afflicted For it is that you may be partaker of his holinesse and accordingly of his glory and happinesse Beare therefore all afflictions patiently for they are for your good If this be your crosse and trouble that you want many of the graces and good gifts of GOD which he hath promised Know also that this deferring to give graces and comforts is of God not out of neglect or forget fulnesse of you but of set wise and good purpose even to you-ward As to inkindle your desires more and more after them and it may be that you should seek them in a better manner It is likewise to try your faith and hope whether you will doe him that honour as to wait and rest upon his bare word When you are fit for them you shall have them You must therefore worke your heart yet to wait patiently for them considering the faithfulnesse power of God that promised and how that all the promises of God are Yea and Amen in Christ He is wise true and able to fulfill them in the due time and in the best manner for faithfull is he that hath promised and will fulfill it and yet a little while and hee that shall come will come and will not tarry Secondly when the Soule beginneth to be disquieted consider your selfe how unworthy you are of any blessing how worthy you are of all Gods curses yea of eternall damnation in Hell and that justly because of the sin of your nature and wicked actions of your life When you shall doe thus your heart will be quiet and content you wil say with the Church whatsoever your trouble be I will beare the indignation of the Lord for I have sinned against him He that doth acknowledge that he hath deserved to be hanged
drawne and quartered for an offence against the King if the King will be so mercifull that he shall escape only with a severe whipping to remember him of his disloyaltie though he smart terribly with those lashes yet in his mind he can beare them patiently and gladly If you can thinke thus I deserve more punishment in this kinde nay in any other together with this inal other with this one or with these few my punishment is lesse than mine iniquities deserve for I might have beene frying in Hell long since and have beene past all meanes and hope of salvation but I live and have time and meanes to make a good use of my afflictions These thoughts will cause you to say Why am I Why is living man sorrowfull that is impatiently sorrowfull or why doth he complaine saith the Prophet what shall man who is punished for his sinne but not fully to his desert yet complaine for he yet liveth to search his wayes and turne to the Lord and seeke mercy Say with the Church in all your distresses Its Gods mercy it is not worse It is Gods mercy I am not utterly consumed Thirdly When your soule beginneth to bussle and bee out of quiet under afflictions whether inward in soule or outward in body or state consider the nature use of them to you-ward To the eye and touch of sense they are evill and as poyson things hurtfull and dangerous but to the eye and touch of faith they are good as good physicke most healthful to the soule and saving God the skilfull Physician hath quite altered the nature of crosses to his children he that bringeth light out of darknesse so tempers afflictions that they become good antidotes and preservatives against sinne and good purgatives of sinne The core sting and curse of the crosse which remaineth to a wicked man is by Christs patient suffering and Gods mercy taken quite away out of the afflictions of beleevers Afflictions to the godly are not properly punishments serving to pacifie GODS wrath for sinne but are onely chastisements to remove sinne and are exercises of graces and meanes of holinesse For they serve either to prevent evil or to reforme it either to make way for grace or to quicken and increase grace or to discover and give proofe of it God is as a wise and skilful Gold-smith he knowes how to purge his Gold by casting it into the fire of affliction which fire is not the same to the drosse which it is to the gold it consumes the drosse but refineth the gold that it may be fit to be made a vessell of Honour Fire serveth to trie gold as Well as to purge it for pure gold though it remain in the fire manie daies the fire cannot waste it when it is once pure it will hold its waight still for all the burning Hence it is that the Psalmist saith It is good for me that I have beene afflicted that I might learne thy statutes and the Apostle saith All things worke together for good to them that love God He is a froward foolish person who being sicke of a deadly disease doth not patiently and gladly endure the gripings extreame sicknes of stomacke and bowels when he knoweth that this his sicknesse caused by bitter physicke is for his health You will say If you could finde that your afflictions did you any good you should not onely be patient but glad under any afflictions I answer Whatsoever you feele faith in Gods Word will tell you that they both now doe you good and hereafter you shall feele the benefit of it The benefit of Physicke is not alwaies felt the day you take it but chiefly when the Physicke hath done working The chiefe end why GOD tryeth and purgeth you by afflictions is that he may humble you and prove you to doe you good at your latter end Reade Deut. 8. 15 16. You should therefore be patient in the meane time Fourthly If yet your heart begin to be disquieted because of such or such an affliction Consider with your selfe what harme impatience will doe you compared with the good that will follow a patient enduring of it For besides that it depriveth you of your right understanding and maketh you to forget your selfe as I have said even to forget your dutie both to God and man it is the readiest meanes to double and lengthen the affliction not to abate it and take it off That parent which intended to give a childe but light correction if this childe be impatient and catch at the rod and struggleth to get the rod or to get away by force from him is hereby more incensed and doth punish him more severely But if in any affliction you doe patiently submit your selfe under GODS mightie hand besides that ease and quiet it giveth to the soule and experience and hope which it worketh in you it is the readiest meanes of seasonable deliverance out of it for then GOD will exalt you in due time GOD is wise and too strong to be overcome by any meanes but by strong prayer and humble yeeldance to his will Fifthly If yet your soule be disquieted within you at anie crosses that you may quiet your soule you must not as most doe take onely into the one skale of your consideration the waight and number of your crosses together with such and such aggravations but withall put into the other skale the manifold mercies and favours of God both in the evils you have escaped and in the benefits which heretofore you have received and doe now enjoy and which you beleeving have cause to hope to receive hereafter But amongst all his mercies forget not this one which you have alreadie GOD hath given Christ unto you whereby he himselfe is yours is your portion Now if you have Christ you have with him all things also which are worth the having When you have thus weighed unpartially blessings mercies against crosses you will tell me that for one crosse you have an hundred blessings yea a blessing in your crosses and you will say that this one mercie of being in Christ it alone weigheth up all crosses and maketh them as light as nothing giving you so much matter of joy thankes even in the midst of affliction that you can neither have cause not time to be impatient or to repine at anie affliction but to reioyce even in your tribulations And as for the time to come when you thinke thereof you wil with the Apostle Paul when you have cast up all your crosses and sufferings of this presēt time yet reckon that they are not worthy to be compared with the Glorie that shall be revealed in you For they are but short for time and light for weight being compared with the everlasting weight of glorie which they will cause to you if you endure them patiently I will say nothing of
doe not others that they doe not when yet they doe The first if they to the sluggards longing and wishing doe joyne an outward conformity to the meanes of being made good as to heare the Word pray now and then and receive the Sacraments and if they doe some things which may be done with little labour and difficultie and if to these they adde some slight and overt assaies to abstaine from sin and to doe well they thinke they indevour much whereas if they doe no more all is to little purpose For to indevour is to exercise the head with study how and the heart with will and desire and the hand and tongue and the whole outward man to doe their utmost putting to their whole strength their whole wit their whole skill their whole will to subdue sinné and to bee strengthened in grace and to be edified and built up more and more moving every stone removing or breaking thorow every let shunning al occasions of evill or whatsoever may strengthen sinne seeking after and embracing all opportunities and meanes to be strengthned in the inward man If one meanes will not be sufficient if there be others to be used they will finde out and use them also If they cannot attain their good purposes at once they will try againe and againe They who indevour indeed they doe not onely seeke to obtaine their ends but they strive in seeking As hard Students as good Warriours and Wrestlers and as those who run in a race doe so that they may obtaine that which they studie fight wrastle and runne for It is not a bare wishing and woulding for a fit or an ordinary seeking but an earnest striving to enter in at the streight gate that giveth admittaÌ„ce into the way of holinesse and into the kingdome of heaven It is a studying and exercising a mans selfe as in a matter of life and death and as a wise man would doe for a kingdome where there is possibility and hope of obtaining it Others who indeed indevour to keepe a good conscience toward God and man yet because they cannot bring into act alwayes that which they labour for or because they see oversights neglects or some faintings in their indevours they thinke that they indevor to no purpose Whereas if they doe what they can according to the strength of Grace received or according to the condition or state wherein they are which is sometimes better sometimes worse If they see their failings in their indevors bewaile them do aske pardon resolving by Gods grace to strive to do better this is true indevour this is that which God for Christs sake doth accept of For sith that indevour is a part of our holines you must not thinke that it will be perfect in this life if it be true you must thank God for he will accept of that A mans indevour may be as true and as much when yet hee cannot performe what he indevours to doe as it is at some other times when with the indevour hee hath also abilitie to performe As you may see in naturall indevours The same man being well and in health if hee fall and breake not his armes or legges he doth both indevour to get up and doth readily get up but if he be weake or if falling breaketh his armes and legges hee also hath a will and desire to rise and assayeth to helpe himselfe with one hand but it will not do he tryeth with the other that also will not do it he in that caâ—e is faine to lye untill hee see hâ—â—pe comming then he wil call and intreate helpe when one giveth him the hand though he cannot rise of himselfe yet hee will lift up himselfe as well as he can and will hang as light upon him that helpeth him as he can possibly yea say a stronger then he detaineth him that he cannot doe as he would or keepe him downe if he as soone as he can have helpe will aske it Doth not this same man in his latter condition as truely endevour as he did in his former So it is with a spirituall man in his spirituall endevors If he assay to do what he can and call to GOD for his helpe and when he hath it is glad and willing to improve it this is the true indevour which concurring with the two former acts purpose and desire giveth proofe of uprightnesse There is a twofold uprightnesse the one of the heart and person the other of the action I have described the uprightnes of the person Then an action is upright when a man doth not dissemble but doth meane as he saith and as the outside of the action doth import intending as much as is pretended whether it be in actions toward God or man The first is when the heart of man agreeth with and in the intention thereof is according to the will of God The second is when the outward act agreeth with is according to the heart of him that doth it That you may rightly judge whether you be upright or no First take certaine rules for direction to rectifie your judgement Then observe the markes of uprightnesse First uprightnesse being part of Sanctification is not fully perfect in any man in this life but is mixt with much hypocrisie conflicting one against the other It hath its degrees somtimes more sometimes lesse in some things more in some things lesse according as either part prevaileth in the opposition and according as a man groweth or decayeth in other principall and fundamentall graces 2. Secondly a man is not to bee called an upright man or an hypocrite because of some few actions wherein hee may shew uprightnesse or hypocrisie For an hypocrite may doe some upright actions in which hee doth not dissemble though he cannot be said to doe them in uprightnesse as Iehu and many others have done for Iehu destroied the house of Ahab and the Priests of Baal with all his heart And the best man may doe some hypocriticall and guilefull actions as in the matter of Vriaâ— David did It is not the having of hypocrisie that denominate than hypocrite but the reigning of it which is when it is not seene not confessed bewailed and opposed A man should judge of his uprightnes rather by his wil bent and inclination of his soule and good desires and true indevours to wel-doing in the whole course of his life then by this or that particular act or by his power to doe David was thus esteemed a man according to GODS owne heart no otherwise rather by the goodnesse of his generall course of his life c. then by particular actions for in many things he offended God and polluted his â—oule and blemished his reputation Thirdly Albeit uprightnesse â—s to bee judged by the upright â—tanding of the heart to Godâ—aâ—d yet wheresoever uprightâ—esse is it will shew it selfe in mens actions in the
course of their lives only observe this that in judging â—…our actions you must not judge â—â—em so much by the muchnesse â—ad greatnesse of the quantitie as â—…y the soundnesse ripenesse and goodnesse of the quality If it bee good in truth according to the measure of grace received God accepteth it in Christ She hath done what shee could faith our Saviour A little sound and true fruit though weake in comparison is farre better than many blades and blossomes yea then plenty of grapes if they be wild and sowre SECTION 2. Of the markes of uprightnesse THat you may coÌ„ceive more distinctly may better remember the signes of uprightnesse I reduce them to these heads They are taken 1. from universalitie of respect to all Gods will 2. From specialtie and prioritis of respect to such things as God requireth specially 3. From a will and desire to please God in one place as well as another in secret as well as open 4. From a constancie of will to please GOD at one time as well as another 5. From the true causes efficient and finall 6. From the effects that follow well-doing 7. From the effects that follow evil-doing 8. From the conflict which shall be found betweene uprightnesse and hypocrisie First the upright man is universall in his respect to the whole will of God For first he unfainedly desireth and indevoureth to know what manner of man hee ought to be what he ought to do He would know beleeve any one part of Gods will so farre as it may concerne himselfe as well as another Threats as well as promises Commandements as well as either and that not some but all the threats all the promises and all the Commandement Comming to the light readily that his deeds may be made manifest He is willing to know and beleeve what he should doe as well as what he should have and hope for But the hypocrite not so hee winketh with his eyes and is willingly ignorant of that sinne which he would not leave and of that dutie which hee would not doe and of that judgement which he would not feele He is willing to know the promises of the Gospell but willingly ignorant of the precepts of the Gospell and of the conditionâ— annexed to the promises 2. Secondly His universall respect to Gods wil is not onely to know but todoe and to submit unto it in all things willing to leave and shun everie sin willing to doe everie thing which he knoweth to be his dutie willing to beare patiently thankfully fruitfully everie correction wherwith the Lord doth exercise him He disliketh sinne in all Hee loveth grace and goodnesse in all Hee would keepe a good conscience in all acts of Religion towards God and in all acts of righteousnesse and sobrietie towards and amongst men Hee would forbeare not onely those sinnes to which his nature is not so much inclined or to which his condition of life affoordeth not so manie temptations but those to which his nature and condition of life doth most carrie him he will crossâ— himselfe in his dearest iust namely his darling and beloved sinnes his * owne sinne as David calleth it Neither doth he indevour to abstaine from those vices which may bring losse and are out of credit which some men punish all men cry shame on but such as through the iniquitie of the times are in countenance with the greatest and practised by most the forbearance whereof may threaten and procure danger and discredit the doing whereof may promise and performe much worldly gaine and honour Moreover the upright man doth not only strive to doe those holy and vertuous actions which are in credit and for his advantage in the world but those also which may expose him to disgrace and losse even of his life and livelihood He would abstaine as well from lesse evils even from appearance of evils as from grosse sinnes And would so doe the greater things of the Law as not to leave the other undone But the hypocrite not so there is some sin he wil not leave some dutie he will not doe c. Follow the opposition 2. Secondly an upright man is knowne by this Where GOD hath laid a speciall charge there he will have a first and speciall respect to it As to seeke the kingdome of God and his righteousnesse that one thing necessary and to shew a specialty of love to the houshold of saith To be first and most at home reforming himselfe and his pulling out the beame out of his owne eye To be most zealous for matter of substance in religion and lesse in matter of ceremony and circumstance Lastly his chiefe care will bee to apply himselfe to a â— conscionable discharge of the duties â—f his particular calling knowing â—hat a man hath no more conscience nor goodnesse in truth then â—e hath will and desire to shew â—â— in the workes of his particular â—…ace and calling The hypocrite â—â— contrary in all these Thirdly the upright man indeâ—oureth to approve himselfe to God â— well in secret as openly as well â—â— the inward man as in the outward as well in thought as in â—ord and deed But it is quite â—therwise with the hypocrite if â—â— may seeme good to men it is â—â— he careth for Fourthly the upright man is constant his will is that he might alwayes please God He doth as well bethinke himselfe how to doe well in prosperity as in adversity and even then studieth how to be able to hold out before God if his state should alter I do not meane such a constancy as admitteth of no intermissions or stoppages in the open course of his life A constant running spring may betweene two hils be stayed in his course for a time by damming it up yet the spring will approve it selfe to run constantly for it wil be stil thrusting to get thorow or get under or if it can doe none of these it will raise it selfe in time according to its strength and get over all lets and will beare down all before it and will run with a more full streame afterwards by as much as it was before interrupted so it is with an upright maâ— But the hypocrite is but by fiâ—â— and starts as he calleth not on Goâ— at all times so it is with all other his goodnes it is but as the corne in stony ground and amongst thornes and as a morning dew it endureth but for a season Fifthly An upright man is known by the causes from which all his good actions spring and to which they tend for these two the efficient and the end denominate the action 1. That which causeth the upright man to endevour to keepe a good conscience alway is an inward principle and power of grace causing him through faith in Christ in and from whom as from the roote of all grace he bringeth forth
fruit and from love and feare of God and from conscience of the Commandement to doe the will of GOD. Not onely feare of wrath and hope of reward causeth him to abstaine from evill and doe good but chiefly love of God and conscience of duty Now if you would know when you obey out of conscience of the Commandement and from love of Christ consider 1. whether your heart and minde stand ready prest to obey every of Gods Cōmandements which you know as well as any and that because the same God which hath given one hath given all If yea then you obey out of Conscience 2. Consider what you doe or would doe when Christ and his true Religion and his Commandements goe alone and are severed from all outward credit pleasure and profit Doe you or will you then cleave to Christ and to the Commandement Then love of Christ feare of God and conscience of the commandement was and is the true cause of your wel-doing especially if you will and indev our all this when that all these are by the world cloathed with perill contempt 3. Consider whether you can goe on in the strict course of godlinesse alone and whether you resolve todoe it though you shall have no company but all or most goe in the way of sinne and withall perswade thereunto When you wil walke with God alone without ether company this sheweth that your walking with God is for his sake So walked Noah and Eliah as he thought But the cause of an hypocrites well-doing is onely goodnesse of nature or good education or meere civility or some common gifts of the spirit also selfe-love slavish feare onely or the like See this in Ahabs repentance in Iehu his zeale and Ioash his goodnesse Ahabs humiliation was only from a slavish feare of punishment The zeale of Iehu was only from earthly ioy and carnall policy for had it beene in zeale for God he would as well have put downe the Calves at Dan and Bethel as to stay the Priests of Baal And the goodnes of Ioash it was chiefly for Iehoiada's sake whom he reverenced and to whom he held himselfe beholding for his kingdome and not for Gods sake For the Scripture saith that after Iehoiadans death his Princes sollicited him and hee yeelded and fell to Idolatry and added this also he commanded Zechariah the High Priest Iehoiada's sonne to be slaine because hee in the name of the Lord reproved him for his sinne Secondly the upright mans actions as they come from a good beginning so they are directed to a good end he propoundeth the pleasing of God and the glory of his Name as the direct chiefe and utmost end not as if a man might not have respect to himselfe and to his neighbour also propounding to himselfe his owne and his neighbours good as one end of his actions somtimes but these must not bee propounded either onely or chiefly or as the farthest and utmost marke but onely as they are subordinate to these chiefe ends and doe lye directly in the way to procure Gods glory For so farre forth as a mans health and well-fare both of body and soule lyeth directly in the way to glorifie God hee may in that respect ayme at them in his actions Our Saviour Christ in an inferiour and secondary respect aymed at his owne glory and at the salvation of man in the worke of mans redemption When he said Glorifie thy Son and prayed that his Church might be glorified here he had respect unto himselfe and unto man But when he said that thy Sonne may glorifie thee here he made Gods glory his utmost end and the only marke which for it selfe hee aymed at The upright mans ayme at his owne and at his neighbours goods is not for themselves as if his desire ended there but in reference to GOD the chiefe Good and the highest end of all things Indeed such is GODS wisedome and goodnes that he hath set before man evill and good Evill that followeth upon displeasing and dishonouring him by sinne that man might feare and avoyd sinne Good and recompēce of reward that followeth upon faith and indevour to obey that he might hope and be better induced to beleeve and obey This GOD did knowing that man hath need of all reasonable helps to affright him from evill and to allure him to good Now God having set these before man man may and ought for these good purposes to set them before himselfe Yet the upright man standeth so straight and onely to God that so farre as he knoweth his owne heart he thus resolved that if there were no feare of punishment nor hope of reward if there were neither Heaven or Hell he would indevour to please and glorifie GOD even out of that duty hee oweth to him and out of that high and awful estimation which he hath of Gods Soveraigntie and from that entire love which hee beareth unto him He that ordinarily in doing of common and earthly businesse though they concerne his owne good hath a will to doe them with an heavenly mind and to an heavenly end principally certainly hee standeth well and uprightly resolved albeit intemptations and feares he doth not alwayes feele the said resolution But the hypocrite not so hee onely or chiefly aymeth at himselfe and in his aime serveth himselfe in all that he doth If he looke to GODS will and glory as sometimes he wil pretend he maketh that but the by and not the main he seeketh Gods will and glory not for it selfe but for himselfe not for Gods sake but for his owne Thus did Iehu Sixthly An upright man may know hee is upright by the effects that follow upon his well-doing First his chiefe inquiry is and hee doth observe what good commeth by it and what glory God hath had or may have rather then what earthly credit and benefit hee hath gotten to himselfe Or if this latter thrust in it selfe before the other as it will oft-times in the best he is greatly displeased with himselfe for it The hypocrit not so all that he harkeneth after is pleased with after hee hath done a good deed is what applause it hath amongst men c. Secondly when an upright man hath done a prayse-worthy action he is not puft up with pride and high conceit of his owne worth glorying in himselfe but hee is humbly thankefull unto God Thankefull that God hath enabled him to doe any thing with which he will be wel-pleased and accept as well done Humble and low in his eyes because of the manifold failings in that good worke and because he hath done it no better and because whatsoever good hee did it was by the grace and power of God not by any power of his own Thus David shewed his uprightnesse in that solemne thanksgiving when hee said But who am I and what is my people that wee should bee able to offer
exercises of Religion and the company of those that be religious ignorantly judging all of that Religion to be such Besides Hypocrisie is high treason against God for it is a guilding over and setting the Kings stampe upon base mettall It is tempting and mocking of God to his face A sinne so abominable that his holy justice cannot indure it Fourthly Gods judgements on such hypocrites are manifold For this cause God giveth them over to beleeve lyes even Popery or any other damnable error or heresie Hence it is that God giveth them over many times to fall from good in seeming to evill in profession and thence from evill to worse even unto finall Apostasie And at last when God taketh away an Hypocrites soule he is sure not onely to lose his Hope which addeth much to his Hell but to be made to feele that which he would not feare being ranked with those Sinners which shal be punished with the greatest severity in the eternall vengeance of Hell-five For after that an hypocrite hath played the civill and religious man for a while upon the Stage of this World his last Act when his life is ended is to be in deed and to act to the life the part of an incarnate and tormented Devill He shall have his portion with the Divell and his Angels When feare hath surprised the Hypocrites who shall dwell with devouring fire Who shall dwell with everlasting burning Saith the Prophet Happy were it for them if this warning might fright them out of this their sinne Consider likewise that Hypocrisie doth much harme even there where it doth not raigne and that more or lesse according as it is more or lesse mortified For first it bringeth the soule into a generall consumption of grace no sinne more Secondly it blindeth the minde and insensibly hardeneth the heart no sinne more Thirdly it maketh a man slight and overt in the best actions Fourthly it causeth fearefull declinations and falling backe Fifthly it deprives a man of peace of Conscience in such sort that a spirituall Physician can hardly fasten any hope or comfort upon him on whose Conscience doth lye the guilt of hypocrisie yea hardly upon him that doth but feare he is guilty For he putteth off al the remembrances of his good affections and actions saying all that I did was but in hypocrisie Sixthly and lastly Besides that it bringeth many temporall iudgements it causeth that a man loseth many of his good workes done in Hypocrisie though through Gods mercie hee lose not himselfe which not losing himselfe is because he is found in Christ Christs Spirit of uprightnesse raigning in him Now to induce you to love Vprightnesse and to labour to be upright Consider the good which accompanieth uprightnesse First temporall and outward but secondly and chiefly that which is spirituall eternall and inward Vprightnesse hath the promises of this life It is a meanes to keepe off Iudgements or in due time to remove them If affliction like a darke night overspread the upright for their correction and tryall for a time yet light is sowne for them and in due time will arise unto them The upright caÌ„not want health wealth friends or any thing that can be good for them Moreover this uprightnesse doth not onely provide well for a mans selfe but if any thing can leave a blessing and a good portion to his Children and to his Childrens Children Vprightnes will The holy Ghost saith the generation of the upright shall be blessed The spirituall blessings which belong to the upright are manifold The upright man is Gods faverite even his delight Hee is hereby assured of his Salvation For although an upright man may fall into many grievous sinnes yet presumptuous sinnes shall not reigne over him he shall be kept from the great transgression he shal never sinne the sinne unto death Yea hee shall be kept from the dominion of every sinne By uprightnes a man is strengthened in the inward man it being that Girdle that buckleth and holdeth together the maine peeces of the complete armor Nay it is that which giveth proofe to every piece of that armour it strengthneth the backe and loynes yea the very heart of him that is begirt with it Hee that is upright is sure to haue his prayers heard and to be made able to profit by the Word of God and by all his holy Ordinances Doe not my words saith God doe good to him that walketh uprightly The upright mans services to God in prayer hearing receiving Sacraments c. though performed with much weakenesse and imperfections shal through Christ bee accepted of God Nay where there is not power the will of an upright man is taken for the deed and where there is power and deed both even there the uprightnesse and readines of the will is taken for more than the deed according to that commendation of them who were said not onely to doe but to be willing a yeare agoe For many do good things which yet doe them not with an upright will and ready minde 6 The upright man hath alwayes matter â—f boldnesse before men He can make an Apologie and Defence for himselfe against the slanders of wicked men and against the accusations of Satan who are ready upon every slight occasion to hiâ— him in the teeth and say he is an hypocrite and that all which he doth is but in hypocrisie but hee can gave all them thelyâ— that charge him with dissimulation or hypocrisie He knoweth more of his hypocrisie than they can tell him he findeth fault with it and accuseth himselfe for it more than they can doe yet this he can say hee alloweth it not he hateth it and his hart is upright towards God He careth not though adversariâ—t write a booke against him Iob 19. 2â— 24 25. He hath his defence if men will receive it they may if not he dareth to appeale to Heaven For his Record is on high Hee hath alwayes a witnesse both within him and in Heaven for him 7. Vprightnesse is an excellent Preventer and Curer of despaire arising from accusations of Conscience even of a wounded Spirit of which Salomon saith Who can beare it For either it keepeth it off Iob 27 5 6. Or if it be wounded this Vprightnesse in beleeving and in willing to reforme and obey is a most soveraigne meanes to cure and quiet it or at least it will allay the extremitie of it Not but that an upright man may have trouble of minde and that in some extremitie but he may thanke himselfe for it because he will not see acknowledge that Vprightnesse which he hath and doth not apply it nor cherish it which if he wold doe there is nothing would answer the accusations of his accusing Conscience nor bring more feeling comfort to the soule soo ner or better than this will 8
The Vpright man hath an Holy boldnesse with God When Abimelech could say In the integritie of my heart and innocencie of my hands I have done this he had boldnesse to expostulate and reason his case with God An uprigh man in his sicknesse or in any other calamity yea at all times when he needeth GODS helpe can bee bold to come before GOD notwithstanding his sinne that hangeth so fast on his originall sinne and his many great actuall transgressions So did Hezekiah upon his death-bed as he thought saying Remember O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done good in thy sight So did Nehemiah saying Remember mee O my GOD concerning this and spare mee according to the greatnesse of thy mercy This Vprightnesse giveth boldnesse with God but without all Presumption of merit as you see in good Nehemiah 9 Lastly Whatsoever the upright mans beginning was and whatsoever his changes have bin in the times that have gone over him both in the outward and inward man in his progresse of Christianity mark this his end shall be peace The last and everlasting part which he shall act indeed and to the life is everlasting happinesse And to contract all these motives into a short but ful summe The Lord is a Sunne and Shield The Lord will give grace and glory No good thing will hee withhold from them that walke uprightly SECTION 4. Touching meanes to subdue Hypocrisie and to nourish uprightnesse IT remaineth now that you should know by what meanes you may abate and subdue hypocrisie and may get keepe and increase this grace of uprightnesse First you must by a due and serious consideration of the disswasives from hypocrisie and motives to uprightnesse worke your heart to a loathing and detestation of the one and to an admiration love and hungring desire of the other And withall by this means you must worke your heart to a resolution by the grace of God to be upright This must first be wrought for untill a man stand thus affected resolved against hypocrisie and for uprightnesse he will take no paines to be rid of the one nor yet to get the other Secondly you must be sensible of that Hypocrisie which yet is in you and of the want of uprightnesse though not altogether yet in great part For no man will boat cost and paines to remoove that disease wherof he thinketh he is sufficiently cured though indeed he did judge it to be never so dangerous nor yet for to obtain that good of which he thinketh that hee hath enough already though hee esteeme it never so excellent Hitherto both in the motives and meanes I have indevoured to gaine the will to will and resolve to bee upright and to be willing to use all good meanes to be upright Now those meanes that will effect it follow Thirdly doe your best to root out those vices that beget and nourish Hypocrisie Then plant in their râ—ome those graces which will breed and feed uprightnesse The chiefe vices are Ignorance and unbeleefe selfe-love pride and an irresolved unsetled heart unstable and not firmely resolved what to chuse whereby it wavers and is divided between two objects dividing the heart between God and something else whether it be false gods a mans selfe or the world whence it is that the Scriptures call an hypocrite a man that hath an heart and an heart one that is double minded The graces which breed and nourish uprightnesse are a right knowledge of GOD and of his will and faith in him Selfe-deny all Humility and lowly mindednesse Stability and â—nenesse of heart and that to God-ward For the more cleare light you can get into your minde the more truth you shall have in your will And when you can so deny your selfe that you can â—uite goe out of your selfe and first give your selfe to Christ and unto God then there will follow readinesse of minde and heartinesse of will to doe whatsoever may please God Also the more humilitie you have in your minde the more uprightnesse you shall have in your heart For while the soule is lifted up that mans heart is not upright in him saith the Spirit Lastly when your eye is single and your heart one and undivided you wil not allow your selfe to be in part for God and in part for Mammon in part for GOD and in part for your lusts whether of the flesh or of the world or of pride of life you will not give your name and lips to God and reserve your heart for the world the flesh or the Divell But by your will God shall be all in all unto you Fourthly if you would be in earnest and in truth against sin and for goodnesse you must represent sinne to your thought as the most hurtfull hatefull and most loathsome thing in the world and must represent the obeying and doing of Gods will unto your mind as the best and most profitable most amiable most sweet and most excellent thing in the world Hereby you may affect your heart with a through vexation and loathing of sinne and with an hearty love and delight in Gods Commandements If you doe thus you cannot choose but shunne sin and follow after that which is good not in seeming onely but indeed and in truth with all your heart For a man is alwaies hearty against what he deadly hateth and for what he dearely loveth Fiftly if you would be sincere and doe all your actions for Gods glory and for his sake you must by the light of Gods Word and Workes fully informe and perswade your selfe of GODS Soveraignty and absolutenesse and that because he is the first absolute and chiefe good he must needs be the last the absolute and chiefe end of all ends For he that is Alpha must needs be the Omega of all things Sith all things are of God and sith hee made all things for himselfe therefore you should in all things you doe be upright intending GODS glory as your principall and utmost end in all things Sixthly Consider oft and seriously that how close and secret soever hypocrisie may lurke yet it cannot be hid from the 〈…〉 of God with whom you haâ—… and before whom you wâ—… who will bring every secret 〈…〉 to Iudgement Wherefore take continuall notice that you are in the eye of God that made your heart who requireth truth of heart who perfectly knoweth the guilâ—or truth of your heart This will much further your uprightnesse for who can dare to double and dissemble in the presence of his Lord and Iudge who knoweth his hollownesse and dissimulation better than himselfe Seventhly Vnite your selfe more and more strongly unto your head Christ Iesus by all good meanes Goe so out of your selfe that you may every day be more and more in him Wherefore grow dayly in faith
to destroy the Iewes nor like the carefulnesse of Darius Princes how to entrap Daniel Neither is it like the carefulnesse of those of whom Salomon speaketh who cannot sleepe unlesse they doe mischiefe Thirdly This holy provident care maketh choyce onely of lawfull meanes to obtaine that lawfull thing which is cared for David had care of his owne life therefore he gat intelligence from â—onathan of Sauls evill purposes towards him He did slie and hide himselfe from Saul but would by no meanes lay violent hanâ— upon his annointed Lord and King though he had faire opportunities and strong solicitations to kil him he falling twice into his power and was earnestly called upon by his servants to dispatch him Observe likewise Iacobs care to save himselfe and all that he had from the fury of his brother Esau he used onely apt and lawfull meanes For though a mans intention be never so good and the thing cared for be good yet if the means to get it be unlawful that care is naught To care how to provide for yourselfe and for yours is in it selfe good needfull but so to care that you run to unjust and indirect meanes it maketh it evill To care how to be saved is an excellent care but when you shall seeke to attaine it by wayes of your owne or of other mens inventions as by Idolatrous worship and voluntary Religion or looking to be saved by your owne workes by Purgatorie Popes Pardons and Indulgences as the Papists doe this is a most sinfull carefulnesse To care how to bring glory to God is the best care but if any man for to procure it use lying for GOD or any other unlawfull meanes it is an unholy care Fourthly This provident holy care is a full and impartiall care even of all things belonging to a mans care It is not such a care of the body and state as causeth neglect of the soule Neither is it such a care of the soule as it with neglect of the body life state or name It is not such a care of the privat as to neglect the publike good or of the publike so as to neglect the private It extendeth it selfe to whatsoever God hath committed to our care both for ourselves and others Those who care only for theÌ„selves for the things of this life sinne in their care Likewise those who seem to care onely how to please God and to save their soules yet wittingly or carelesly neglecting their bodies and affaires of their families belonging to their place or the comon good of others in Church or Common-wealth all these are partiall and doe sinne in their care All worldlings and selfe-loving men offend in the first kinde All superstitious indiâ—creetly devout men offend in the second kinde As not onely Papists in their Popish cloystering up men and women and in their whipping and cruell macerating their bodies and in their penitentiary Pilgrimages and in other acts doe not sparing the body but also all such who for devotion sake neglect the necessary duties of their particular calling Fifthly Care of providence is a discreet and well-ordered care It putteth difference betweene things more or lesse good and between things necessary or not necessary between things more necessary and lesse necessary In all things it would keepe first due order then due measure First caring most for GODS glory as Moses and Paul did who cared more for the glory of GOD than for their own lives and honours yea if they had beene put to it than for their owne salvation Next it careth for that one thing needfull how the soule may be saved in the day of the LORD As any thing is best or more needfull for the present that is cared first and chiefly for If all cannot bee cared for the lesse worthy things the lesse necessary for the present those things to which a man is least bound shall be omitted Secondly As provident care doth through discretion keepe due order for it is an ordinate care so it keepeth due measure seeking Spirituall and Heavenly things with more diligence and zeale than those that â—â—e temporall and earthly caring for the things of this life with great moderation without eagernesse and greedinesse of desire alwaies proportioning the care to the goodnes and worth of that which is to be cared for Now because the world is to be loved and used as if we loved and used it not it being of little worth in comparison therefore the cares about it in comparison of the best and most necessary things must bee as if you cared not Then cares of the things of this life are inordinate and immoderate when they will not give men leave to take the comforts and naturall refreshings of this life as sleepe meate and drinke and other needfull and lawfull recreations but especially when they hinder them from exercise profitable use or due performance of religious duties 2. Secondly when they are first and chiefe in amans thoughts the minde alwayes running upon them 3. When they cause a man out of his over-much haste to be rich and to enjoy the world to use unlawfull and indirect meanes or to enter upon dealing and trading beyond his skill stocke and meanes well to manage the same 4. When they cause a man so to minde his worldly businesse that he thinketh nothing wel done or safe if his eye or hand be not in it and if it be not in his owne custody albeit there is cause why others should be used and intrusted with it Sixthly this holy provident care knoweth as about what and how so how farre to care It knoweth its limits how farre to goe and where to stay Namely when it hath chosen a lawful object to bee conversant about and hath found out and used lawfull meanes and applyeth it selfe to one thing as well as another in due order and measure it stayeth there caring no further but waiteth patiently GODS pleasure for good successe casting all care of event and successe upon God by prayer and supplication with thanks giving SECTION 2. Of Carefulnesse and taking thought BY all that hath been written in the former Section you may see that although you may and must care for many things according to the directions there givâ—â— yet you must as the Apostle saith Be carefull in nothing This is now the point to be insisted on God would have none of his servants and children to care inordinately about any thing noâ— yet when in obedience to his Commandement and due observance of his providence they have diligeÌ„tly used lawful means for things lawfull and have able that they should care at all about the issue or successe Hee would not that they should suffer their minds to hang in doubtfull suspence and feare there-about but would that they should roule themselves and their affaires upon him whether it be in
agreement of the powers faculties of man within themselves and of freedome from assaults and molestations either of Sathan from without or from lusts within is not absolute but admitteth of severall degrâ—… the life to come this latter 〈…〉 shall be perfect for then all beleevers shall be perfectly freed from all trouble of Conscience from all molestation of temptations their victory shall be compleat But in this life their Peace is but imperfect It is true for Substance but is more or lesse â—s the light they have received is more cleare or more dimme and as grace in them is more strong or more weake For although mans Iustification is absolute and admitteth not of more or lesse yet the assurance of it whereby a man hath peace of Conscience is more or lesse according to the measure of his â—leare sight and evidence of his â—aith Hence it is that the deare children of God have interruptions and intermissions in their peace having some times much peace some times little or no peace according as they have in â—…ssions in their assurance oâ— Gods favour Thus it was with David and Asaph sometimes his heart was quiet and his soule was glad in assurance that his soule should rest in Hope at other times his soule was cast down and disquieted in him thinking that he was cast out of God sight fearing that God would shew no more fauour Yea he was so perplexed that hee did almost faint and his eyes failed with waiting for God For sith the best assurance of beleevers is exercised with Combating against doubting their truest and best peace must needes be assaulted with disquiet And as it is with a Ship at anchor so is the most stable peace of a Christian in this life who hath his Hope as an anchor of his soule sure and stedfast who though he cannot make utter Ship wracke yet hee may be grievously tossed and affrighted with the waves and billowes of manifold temptations feares Likewise though peace of Sanctification be true yet it must needs be more or lesse according as any man groweth or decreaseth in holinesse and as God shall please to give restraint tospirituall enemies or power to subdue them more or lesse Now the whole peace of God both in him to man from him manifested and wrought in man doth passe all understanding and serveth to keep the heart minde of him that walketh with GOD and resteth on him through Christ This Peace is it which you must seeke for and imbrace in beleeving and if you would have true comfort and tranquillity in your minde laborespecially to get and keepe the peace of a good Conscience which seemeth to be the peace that is chiefly though not onely intended in this Text. SECTION 2. Concerning the excellencie of the Peace of God THat you may be induced to doe your best to obtain this Peace Consider the excellency of it you may conceive much of it by that which hath beene said in the opening of that Scripture and by shewing the nature of the Peace considering likewise the object author and use of it But that you may better perceive that this Peace of God for worth and use passeth all understanding Take these reasons in particular First That must needs be an excellent Peace which GOD will please to take into his holy Title calling himselfe God of Peace calling Christ the Prince of Peace Secondly That peace must needes bee of infinite value passing all understanding for which Christ gave himselfe paying the price of his owne most precious bloud for it 3. Thirdly This peace cannot but passe all Understanding because the cause from whence it commeth namely Christs love and the effect which it worketh namely ioy in the holy Ghost doe as the Apostles affirme passe knowledge and are unspeakeable 4. Fourthly This peace was that first congratulation wherewith the holy Angels saluted the Church at Christs birth giving her joy in her new borne Husband and Saviour And it was that speciall legacy which Christ â—esus did bequeath to his Church â—aving that as the best token of his love to it a little before his Death Saying My peace I â—ave with you 5. Fifthly This peace is one of the principall parts of the kingdome of GOD which consisteth as the Apostle saith of Righteousnesse Peace and Ioy in the holy Ghost 6. Sixthly By as much as the evils and mischiefes that come to a man by having God to be his enemie which draweth upon him Gods Wrath iustice Power and all Gods creatures to be against him And by as much as the â—â—â— vousnesse and intollerable anguish of a wounded Spirit passeth Vnderstanding by so much the Peace of GOD which freeth him from all these must of necessity passe all Vnderstanding Now that it is a fearefull thing to have God to be an Enemie it is said He is a consuming fire and it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God It appeares likewise by Christs compassion and griefe for Ierusalem who neglected the time of making and accepting of peace with God for he Wept over it and said If thou hadst knowne even thou atleast in this thy day the things which belong to thy Peace but now they are hid from thine eies But what it is to have GOD to be an Enemy is seene most fully by Christs trouble and griefe in his Passion and Agony in the garden and in the Extremitie of his conflict with Gods wrath on the Crosse when God shewed himselfe to be an Enemie and did for mans sin powre on him the fiercenesse of his wrath It made him though he was God being man to sweat for very anguish as it were drops of bloud and to cry If it be possible let this cup passe and My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Moreover If you doe observe the complaints of such distressed soules that have had terrour of Conscience if you have not had experience thereof in your selfe how that they were at their wits end pricked at heart as it were with the point of a speare oâ— sting of a Serpent pained like men whose bones are broken and out of ioynt making them to rore and to consume their spirits for very heavinesse then you will say that peace of conscience doth passe all understanding Seventhly When God and a mans owne conscience is for him and Gods grace in some good measure hath subdued sinne and Satan in him this draweth with it assurance that all other things whose peace are worth having are also at peace with him For if God be for us who can be against us This peace must of necessitie bring with it all things which will make us happie even all things which pertain to life godlinesse and glory Lastly adde this that as the worth and sense of peace of God is unutterable and
unconceivable so the time of it is indeterminable it is everlasting and hath no end Consider this with the former and it cannot be denyed but that the peace of God doth every way passe understanding CHAP. XV. Touching the removing of presumption an impediment to Peace IF you would enjoy this happy Peace you must first remove and avoyd the impediments Secondly you must use all helps and furtherances which serve to procure and keepe it I reduce the impediments unto two heads First A false opinion and hope that all is well with a man and that all shall be well with him in point of his Salvation when yet indeed God is not reconciled to him Hence will follow a quietnesse of heart somewhat like to peace of Conscience which yet is but a false peace Secondly Causelesse doubting and false feare that a mans estate touching his salvation is not good albeit God be indeed at peace with him Hence followeth trouble and anguish of heart some-what like unto that of Hellish despaire disturbing his true peace Either of these doe hinder peace The first hindereth the having The second hindereth the feeling and comfortable enioying of peace It hath beene an old device of Satan when he would keepe any man from that which is true to obtrude upon him that which shall seeme to be true but is false Thus he did in the first calling of the Iewes and to mee is more than probable will doe at their second calling When hee saw they had an expectation of the true Christ he to divert and seduce them from the true Christ setteth up false Christs Even so in the matter of peace If he can so delude men that they shall content themselves with a false Peace hee knoweth that they will never seeke for that which is true It is a common practice with the Devill to endevour to make all that are not in state of grace to presume that they are Also such is his cunning and malice that when any man is in the state of grace he will cast all the doubts and perils hee can to make that estate doubtfull and discomfortable to vexe and to wearie him if hee cannot drive him to despaire knowing that if he could drive him into hold him in utter despaire he were as certainly in his power as if hee did presume Now the Heart of man so farre as it is Vnsanctified being deceitfull above all things is most apt to yeeld to Satan in both these cases Whence it is that there are very many which bragge of much peace and yet have least of it And many feare they have no peace who yet have much of it Wherfore the Rule is Beleeve not either your deceitfull heart or the Devill when they tel you either that you are in state of salvation or in state of damnation But beleeve the Scripture what it saith in either You may know when these perswasions come from your deceitfull heart or from the Devil thus First If the meanes to perswade you to either be from false grounds or from misapplication of true grounds Secondly If the conclusions inferred from either perswasion be to keep you in a sinful course and to keep you or to drive you from God as to make you think that you need not be so strict in godlinesse or that now it is in vaine or to late too turne seek unto GOD then it is from Satan and from a deceived heart and you must not beleeve them But if these perswasions be from a right applicatioÌ„ of true grounds and doe produce these good effects to drive you to God in prayse or prayer and unto a care to please God they are from his gracious Spirit The false Peace and evill quiet Conscience doth arise from these three causes First from Grosse ignorance of the danger wherein a man lyeth because of sinne whence followeth a blind Conscience Secondly from Groundlesse security and presumption that all shall be well with him not withstanding that hee knoweth hee hath sinned and knoweth that sinne is damnable whence hee hath a deluded Conscience Thirdly from Obstinacy through delight and custome in sin whence commeth senslesnesse of Conscience which is a seared Conscience Wheresoever any of these evils raigne albeit God hath said there is no peace to the wicked that is no true peace yet such feare no evill but promise to themselves peace and safetie like those of whom the Prophet spake who had made a covenant with death and with Hell were at an agreement Yea though they heare all the Curses against Sinners which are in Gods booke denounced against them yet will blesse themselves in their owne heart and say they shall have peace though they walke in the stubbornnesse of their hearts But whosoever is thus quiet in himselfe through a false peace it is a signe that the strong man keepeth the house and that he continuing in this fooles Paradise is not farre from sodaine and fearefull destruction from the Almighty Whosoever therefore would have true peace of GOD must beware of these three impediments First Hee must know and be throughly convinced that by nature by reason of Adams first transgression which is justly imputed to him and because of his owne inherent wickednesse of concupiscence and of actuall sinnes of omission and commission both inthought word and deed he is in state of sinne and condemnation having God for his enemie yea is an heire of wrath and of eternall vengeance of Hâ—lâ— fire According to that of the Apostle All have sinned and are become guiltie before GOD and have come short of the glorie of God Ignorance of danger may give quiet to the mind for a time but it can give no safetie Is not he foolishly secure that maketh himselfe merry in a ruinous house not knowing his danger untill it fall upon him Whereas if he had known it he should have had more feare and disquiet but should haue beene in lesse perill Secondly let no man presume upon weake and false grounds that he shal escape the vengeance of hell or attaine to the joyes of heaven Now how weakely and vainely many doe ground their hopes and from thence their peace shall appeare by that which followeth 1. Some thinke that because God made them surely hee will not damne them True if they should have continued good as hee made them God made the Devil good yea an excellent creature yet who knoweth not that he shall be damned If God spared not his holy Angels after that they became sinfull shall man thinke that hee will spare him A sinfull man shall be judged at the last day not according to what he was by Gods first making but as hee shall bee found marred and made naught by the Devill and by his owne lusts When Iudah became a people of no understanding it is said He that made them will shew
them no mercie and he that formed them will shew them no favour Thus it is spoken to every sinner remaining in his sin notwithstanding that GOD made him 2. Some say their afflictions have beene so many so great and so long-lasting that they hope they have had their Hell in this life whence it is that their hearts are quiet in respect of any feare of wrath and judgement at the last day I would aske such Whether they being thus afflicted have returned to God that smote them whether their afflictions have made them better or whether like Salomons foole brayed in a morter their sinne and folly is not departed from them if so they must know the more they have beene and now are afflicted if they be not reformed by it this doth presage that there is the more worse behinde as it was in the case of Iudah Many have beene oft and extreamely whipt by their Parents and at the house of Correction yet they remaining incorrigible were at last executed on the Gallowes 3. Some though their wayes be never so grievous yet because to them Gods Iudgements are farre above out of their sight and because they have no changes God forbearing to execute his judgements upon them speedily they perswade themselves that God seeth not or that hee is not angry with them or that hee regardeth not and that hee will neither doe good nor bad thinking that God hath forgotten or that hee is like them well enough pleased with them Hereby they lay their Consciences asleepe promising unto themselves immunity from punishment and that they shall never be mooved Know yee that Gods for bearance of his wrath is not because he seeth not or because hee hath forgotten or regardeth not your wickednesse but because hee would give you time and means of repentance it is because hee would not have you perish but come to repentance that you may be saved Which if you doe not this his bounty and long-suffering maketh way for his justice and serveth to leave you without excuse and to heape up wrath for you against the day of Iudgement the day of the revelation of the iust iudgement of God who shall render to every man according to his workes For God knoweth how to reserue the wicked to the day of Iudgement to be punished He will take his time to heare and afflict you When hee shall set all the sins of you that forget him in order before you then if your speedy repentance doe not now prevent it he will teare you in peeces when there shall be none to deliver The longer he was in fetching his blow the more deadly will his stroke be when it commeth Many malefactors are not so much as called at a quarter Sessions when lesse offenders are both called and punished yet have they no cause to promise safety to themselves for they are reserved for a more solemne try all and execution at the grand Assises So wicked men that are not afflicted here are reserved for the last Iudgement at the great and terrible day of the Lord. 4. There are some which hope that God doth love them and that hee doth intend to save them for they prosper in every thing and are not in trouble and distresse as other men hereupon their Consciences are quiet and without feare Let mee tell you who thus thinke that alas this is a poore foundation to build your hope upon What are you the better for your prosperitie are you more thankefull and more obedient Doe you the more good by as much as you doe prosper more If so well if not know Salomon by the Spirit of truth telleth you that â—o man can know Gods love or haâ—red by all that is before him be it prosperity or adversity In these things there may be one and the same event to the righteous and â—o the wicked Know moreover that the wicked for the most â—art thrive most in this world God giving them their portion in this life wherewith they fat theÌ„selves against the day of slaughâ—er making their owne table their snare and their prosperitie their ruine 5. There are many who comparing themselves with themselves passing by their own many sins looking onely upon their owne Hypocriticall and civill good purposes and deeds comparing also their sinnes with the notorious sinnes of Gods people committed before their Conversion and with the grosse sinnes of Noah Abraham Lot Peter and other godly men after Conversion hence conclude that sith such are saved they conceive a good opinion of themselves and hope they shall be saved they thinke that all is well with them being such of whom our Saviour speaketh that need no repentance I would have these to know that they that compare themselves with themselves are not wise and they that thinke well of themselves and commend themselves are not approved but those onely whom the LORD commendeth Moreover the slips and fals of the Elect both before and after Conversion did serve for their owne humbling and for a warning to all that should heare thereof God knoweth how to reproove and chasten his owne that offend giving them repentance to life and Salvation and yet justly will condemn all those that shall wittingly stumble at their fals and wilfully lye in their sinnes being fallen It is not safe following the best men in all their actions for in many things they sinne all not onely before but after conversion And as the cloud that guided the Israelites had two sides the one bright and shining the other blacke and darke such is the cloud of Examples of godly men Those which will be directed by the light side thereof shall with the children of Israel passe safely towards the heavenly Canaan but those that will follow the dark side of it shal all perish with the Egyptians in the Red sea of destructioÌ„ Whatsoever any were before coÌ„version or whatsoever grosse sinne they fall into after conversion if they be humble and truely penitent none of them are laid to their charge because they are done away by Christ Iesus These are in better state than those who for matter never committed so great sins if Pharisie-like they repent not of their lesser sinnes as they esteeme them and are proud of their supposed goodnesse and wel-doing For God in justifying the humble Publican rather than the proud Pharisie sheweth that proud innocencie is alwayes worse than humble guiltinesse 6. There are likewise some others who are guilty to themselves of damnable sins yet hope to be saved by the goodnesse of other men by pardons from the Pope by absolutions of Priests and by certaine satisfactory penitentiall externall acts of their owne and by good workes such as almes c. These are Papists who if they may have hope of the Popes Indulgences if they can get his pardon and a Priests absolution if they
hath not said that all men without exception shal be saved by Christs death albeit he saith Christ died for all but Salvation is promised to all onely under the Condition of Repenting and Beleeving in Christ that dyed I call them conditions not for which GOD ordained men to life but conditions to which they were ordained by which as by the fittest way man being a reasonable and voluntary agent God might glorifie himselfe in bringing them to eternall life Wherefore notwithstanding Christs infinite merit whereby he satisfied for mankinde and notwithstanding the universalitie of the offer of salvation to all to whom the Gospell is preached both Scripture and experience shew that not all nor yet the most shall be saved and that because the number of them which repent and unfainedly beleeve whereby they make particular and actuall application of Christ and his merits to themselves are fewest For of those many that are called few are chosen Wherfore let none ignorantly dreame of an absolute universall redemption as many simple people do Not yet let any think that because of the large extent of Christs Redēption they may be saved when they wil. For thogh Christ bee said to suffer to take away the sinnes of the whole world yet the Scripture saith that the whole world of unbeleevers and of ungodly men shall perish eternally Many wil yeeld that they must have faith and repentance and that they must be ingrafted into Christ and become new creatures else they cannot looke to be saved but they thinke they are all this already whence followeth quiet of Conscience Whereas when it commeth to the tryall their faith and repentance are sound not to be sound As shall thus appeare They thinke they have faith nay more they presume further that they have true faith and that they are truly religious and in state of grace It is not enough for a man to seeme to himselfe to bee religious for he may deceive his owne heart a close hypocrite may thinke himselfe to be something when yet he is nothing deceiving himselfe as no doubt the foolish Virgins did But many will think that they have good reason to judge that they have true faith c. and that 1 Because they beleeve the whole Scripture to bee the good Word of God 2 They beleeve not onely that there is a GOD but that Iesus Christis the Sonne of God and Saviour of the world yea according to the letter they beleeve all the Articles of the Christian faith 3 They thinke they are beleevers because they have beene Baptized and have given their names unto Christ they professe the onely true Religion they have the very true forme of godlinesse in all the externall exercises of Religion so that it may be said of many of them as it was said of the lewes They seeke God daily and delight to know his waies as a Nation that did righteousnesse c. Whereas if they beleeve no more nor no better they may know that their faith is onely an historicall and generall faith or onely a temporary faith at the best necessary indeed to Salvation but not sufficient to save The Devils beleeve as much as the first and very hypocrites may and doe professe and doe as much as the second and third The Apostle Paul having to doe with hypocriticall Iewes who because of the Sacraments and forme of knowledge and profession though without practice did nourish in themselves a vaine perswasion that they should be saved he removeth this false ground of their hope thus saying He is not a Iew which is one outwardly but he is a Iew which is one inwardly neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh but that which is of the heart in the Spirit and not in the letter whose prayse is not of men but of God In like manner Saint Peter doth give all Christians to know that that Baptisme which is only a putting away of the filth of the flesh doth not save but that Baptisme which giveth proofe that the heart is sprinkled from an evill conscience as well as the body washed with pure water shewing it selfe by the answer which a good conscience maketh in beleeving in truth consenting unto and imbracing the new Covenant whereof Baptisme is a seale of which anciently men of yeares made profession when they were Baptized Neither is it any thing worth to have the forme of godlinesse in profession when the power thereof is denyed by an evill conversation as you may see by the exceptions which God taketh against the Iewes albeit they seemed to love Sacrifices and Sacraments Prayers Fastings and Sermons For howsoever such as these are most apt to claime an interest in Christ yet so long as their faith is not a particular faith drawing with it affiance sole reliance on Christ for Saluation declaring its truth and life by indevouring to performe the new Covenant on their part by new obedience in an endeavour unto all manner of good workes Our Saviour professeth that hee knoweth them not but biddeth them depart from him because they were workers of iniquity But secondly many of these presume that their faith is a lively saving faith that because as they thinke they have repented and are become new creatures And all because they have had such an inlightning as by nature man cannot attaine unto nay the Word hath affected them much and somwhat altered them from what they were namely 1 when they were hearing a Sermon or when Gods rod was over them they have mourned wept and shewed some kinde of humiliation 2 At the hearing of Gods precious promises in the Gospel in the glad tydings of Salvation they have felt a taste of the heavenly gift and of the good Word of God and of the powers of the world to come And 3 they finde that they doe not commit many of those sinnes which they were wont to commit and that they doe many good duties towards GOD and man which they were wont not to doe 4 They desire that Gods people should pray for them 5 They desire to dye the death of the righteous and to goe to heaven when they dye And 6 which is more some can say that sometimes they have wished that they could leave sinne and that they had grace to doe well Besides 7 They see that the best of them that truly feare God both Ministers and others are well perswaded of them But what of all this These men as neere as they come yet going no farther are farre from Salvation For the Common gifts of Gods Spirit given unto men in the Ministery of the Gospell may elevate a man higher and carry him farther towards heaven than nature art or meere humane industry can doe and yet if the saving graces of the same Spirit be not added hee will be left farre short of
heaven Meere Oratory in some patheticall Preachers when they speake of matters dolefull and terrible will move the affection and draw teares from some hearers Likewise a plaine powerfull downright conviction of the certainty of Gods wrath denounced and sense of some just judgement of God may wring forth some teares some humiliation yea some kind of reformation Did not Felix tremble when Saint Paul reasoned of Righteousnesse Temperance and Iudgement to come Did not Ahab humble himselfe when the Prophet denounced Gods iudgements against him and against his house Did not the Israelites oft when they were in distresse and when God did not onely warne them with his Word but smote them also with his rod returne and seeke earely after God And whereas they say they tasted of the heavenly gift of the good Word of God and of the powers of the world to come they may know that such is the sweetnesse of Gods promises and such is the evidence and goodnesse of Gods truth in the glad tydings of Salvation that the common gift of the Spirit going with it all the forementioned feelings may be wrought in men altogether destitute of saving grace For did not the seede sowen in stony and thoâ—nie ground goe thus far Did not those mentioned in the Hebrewes who notwithstanding all this might fall away irrecoverably attaine to thus much Now if men not in state of grace may goe so farre as hath been proved then it must not be marvelled that even such with Herod may also reforme many things For an hypocrite may have not onely a kinde of illumination but a kinde of sanctification which may for the time worke a kinde of change in him so that hee may leave many evils and may doe many good things hee may forsake bad company and keepe good yet this man may be in no better estate then hee out of whom the evill spirit did goe which returned with seven other more wicked than himselfe or then the Sow that was washed A Pharaoh also and a Simon Magus in their feare may desire a Moses and a Peter to blesse them and pray for them That cursed Balaam could wish that hee might dye the death of the righteous he would seeme not to transgresse for an house full of gold and though faintly telleth God that if it did seeme evill in his eyes hee would goe backe againe Yea further it is possible for a man without saving grace even out of meere selfe-love either when hee smarts or is ashamed for some foule sinnes or is afraid of Hell or when by the sweete allurements of the Gospell hee is affected with an admiration of heauen and heavenly things I say it is possible for him not onely to wish freedome from punishment and enjoyment of eternall glory as the end but may desire power against sinne and grace to doe well as the meanes but how onely as from a flash of lightning suddenly come and as suddenly gone like the sluggards longing but when he commeth to be taught the mystery of godlinesse and is put upon the spirituall workes of holinesse as the cutting off the right hand and the denying himselfe for Christ then he will none of it he conceiveth like those Discipies in Iohn that they are hard sayings Who can heare them For their good wishes were not from a setled deliberate will out of true hatred of sinne and out of love to God and goodnesse therefore they were but slight and unconstant Moreover the best men yea the best Ministers may have a very good opinion of an hypocrite David esteemed highly of Achitophel the Disciples never suspected Iudas For they seeing a good outside being also charitable and not able to see the heart doe alwayes judge the best and thinke men to be changed renewed when sometimes it proveth otherwise They mistake when they say they are changed and reformed if still they retaine any bosome and beloved sinne as Herod did To change-sinnes one sinne into another is no change of the man for hee that changeth the prodigality of his youth into Covetousnesse in old age remaineth a notorious sinner before God as well now as then conceive the like of all other likewise to forbeare the act of any sinne because they have not the like power occasions temptations or meanes to commit sinne as in former time this is no change sin in these respects hath left them not they it For true conversion and repentance doth consist of a true and through change of the whole man as well in one part as another whereby not onely some actions are changed but first and chiefly the whole frame and disposition of the heart is changed and set straight to God ward from evill to good as well as from darknesse to light And whereas naturally a man is earthly minded and maketh himselfe his utmost end so that either he onely mindeth earthly things or if hee mind heavenly things it is in an earthly manner and to an earthly end as did Iehu if this man have truely repented and is indeede converted he becommeth heavenly minded he maketh GOD and his glory his chiefe and furthest end in so much that when he hath cause to minde earthly things his will and desire is to minde them in an heavenly manner and to an heavenly end If you would judge more fully and clearely of this true change See at large the description and signes of uprightnesse before delivered Chap. 12. Last of all there are many presume that although as yet they have no saving faith in Christ nor sound repentance that God will give them space and grace to repent and beleeve before they dye Whence it is they have peace for the present These must give mee leave to tell them that they put themselvs upon a desperate hazard and adventure First who can promise unto himself one minute of time more than the present sith every mans breath is in his nostrils ready to expire every moment Besides the Spirit saith God doth bring wicked men to desolation as in a moment And againe Hee that being often warned hardeneth his necke shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy 2 Suppose they may have time yet whether they shall have grace to beleeve and repent is much to be doubted For the longer repentance is deferred the heart is more hardned and more indisposed to repentance through the deceitfulnesse of sinne And it is a just judgement of God upon such as are not led to repentance by the riches of Gods goodnesse forbearance and long-suffering that he should leave them to their impenitent hearts that cannot repent so treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath Custome in sinne doth so root and habituate it in man that it will be as hard for him by his owne will and power to repent hereafter hee neglecting GODS present call and
Conscience by laying the heart and Conscience open to the light and touchstone of the Word Thus I have shewed you what is a first and maine impediment to be remoued viz. presumption and false hope if you would have true peace for false hopes breed onely false peace CHAP. XVI Touching false feares SECTION 1. THe second head to which I reduced impedimēts to true peace is false feare for if you doubt feare or despaire of your estate without cause it wil much disturbe and hinder your peace There is an holy feare and despaire wrought in man when GOD first convineeth his heart and conscience of sinne whereupon through sense of GODS wrath and heavy displeasure together with a sense of his owne disabilitie in himselfe to satisfie and appease Gods wrath he is in great perplexity being out of all hope to obtaine GODS favoua or to escape the vengeance of Hell by any thing which he of himselfe can doe or procure This is wrought more or lesse in every man of yeares before conversion as in those which were pricked at heart at Peters Sermon and in Saint Paul himselfe and in the Iaylor This is a good necessary feare serving to prepare a man to his conversion For in Gods order of working he first sendeth the Spirit of bondage to feare before he sendeth the Spirit of Adoption to enable a man to cry Abba Father This feare and trouble of Conscience rising from it is good and as the Needle to the thred maketh way unto true peace Moreover after that a man is converted though he have no cause to feare damnation yet he hath much matter of feare by as much as hee is yet subject unto many evils both of sinne and paine as lest hee offend GOD and cause his angry countenance and his judgements also lest he should fall backe from some degrees of grace received and lest he fall into some dangerous sin and so lose his evidence of heaven and comforts of the Spirit Wherefore we are commanded to worke out our Salvation with feare and trembling and to passe the whole time of our soiourning here in feare This feare while it keepeth due measure causeth a man to bee circumspect and watchfull lest he fall it spurreth him on forward to repent and quickens him to aske pardon and grace to recover when he is fallen yea an excellent means to prevent trouble and to procure peace of Conscience But the feare of which I am to speake and which because it disturbeth true peace is to be removed is a groundlesse and causelesse feare that a man is not in state of grace albeit hee hath given his name to Christ and hath not onely given good hope to others but if he would see it hath cause to conceive good hope that hee is indeed in the state of Grace This feare may rise either from Naturall distempers Satan joyning with them Or from Spirituall temptations rising from causelesse doubts By natural distempers I meane a disposition to frenfie or height of Melancholy in which states of body the spirits are corrupted through superabundance of choler and melancholy whereby first the braine where all notions and conceits of things to be understood are framed is distempered and the power of Imagination corrupted whence arise strange fancies doubts and fearfull thonghts Then secondly by reason of the intercourse of the spirits between the head and the heart the heart is distempered and filled with griefe despaire and horror through manifold feares of danger yea of damnation especially when Satan doth convey himselfe into those humours which as hee easily can so he readily will doe if GOD permit Where there is trouble of this sort it usually bringeth forth strange and violent effects both in body and minde and that in him that is regonerate as well as in him that is unregenerate Yea so farre that which is fearefull to thinke even those who when they were fully themselves did truly feare God have in the fits of their distemper through impotency of their use of reason through the Devils forcible instigation had thoughts and attempts of laying violent hands upon themselves and others whom they have dearely loved And when they have not well known what they have done or said have beene heard to breake out into oathes cursing and blasphemous speeches against GOD and his Word who were never heard to doe the like before These troubles may be knowne from true trouble of Conscience by the strangenesse unreasonablenesse absurditie and senselesnesse of their conceits in other things as to think they have no heart and to say they cannot doe that which indeed they doe and a thousand other odde conceits which standers by see to be most false Whereby any man may see that the root of this disturbance is in the Phantasie and not in the heart Albeit both the regenerate and unregenerate according as they are in a like degree distempered are in most things alike yet in this they differ Some beames of holinesse will glance forth now and then in the regenerate which doth not in the unregenerate especially in the intermissions of their fits Their desires will be found to be different and if they both recover the one returneth to his wonted course of holines with increase the other except God worke with the affliction to conversion continueth in his accustomed wickednesse It pleaseth God that for the most part his owne children who are thus distempered have the strength of their Melancholy worne out and subdued before they dye at which time they have somesense of Gods favor to their comfort But if their disease continue it is possible that they may die raving and in seeming if you judge by their speeches despairing which is not to be imputed unto them but to their disease or unto Satan working by the disease if they gave good testimony of holinesse in former times When these troubles are meerly from bodily distempers though they be not troubles of conscience yet they make a man uncapable of the sense of peace of conscience Therfore whosoever would enjoy the benefit of the peace of his conscience must doe what in him lyeth to preuent or remove these distempers And because they grow for the most part from naturall causes therefore naturall as well as spirituall remedies must be used 1. Take heed of all such things as feed those humors of Choler and Melancholy which must be learned of experienced men and of skilfull Physicians and when need is take Physicke 2. Avoyd all unnecessary solitarinesse and as much as may be keep company with such as truly feare God especially with those who are wise full of chearefulnesse and of joy in the Lord. 3. Forbeare all such things as stirre up these humours as over-carefull study and musing too much upon any thing likewise all sudden and violent passions of anger immoderate griefe c. 4. Shun Idlenesse and according to
with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous Who by being made a curse for you hath redeemed you from the curse of the whole Law Therfore from the curse due unto you for your greatest sinne Consider this againe can the sinne of a finite creature goe beyond the pardon of an infinite Creator Can a sinne in some sense finite deserve beyond the satisfaction of a price for value every way infinite Howsoever it is impossible for a notorious sinner yea for any sinner by his owne power or worth to enter into the kingdome of Heaven Yet know what is impossible with man is possible with God Is any thing too hard for the Lord Hee can alter and renew you and give you faith and repentance he can make these things possible to you that beleeve yea all things are possible to him that beleeveth I you will say if I did beleeve Why what if yet you doe not beleeve It is not hard with him you comming to his meanes of faith you harkening to the precepts and promises of the Word considering that the God of truth speaketh in them I say it is not hard for him in the use of these meanes to cause you to beleeve Wherefore neither greatnesse of sinne nor multitude of sinnes should because of their greatnes and multitude make you utterly despaire of salvation or feare Damnation When once you can beleeve or but will and desire to obey beleeve the greatest matter of feare is past I know if you never had sinned you would not feare damnation Now to a man whose sinnes are remitted his sinnes though sin dwell in him are as if they were not or never had beene For they are blotted out of Gods remembrance I even I am he saith God that blot out thy transgressions for my names sake and will not remember thy sinnes And who is like thee saith the Prophet that pardoneth iniquitie c. hee will have compassion upon us he will subdue our iniquities and will cast all our sinnes into the bottome of the Sea A debt when it is paid by the Surety putteth the principall out of debt though he payd never a peny of it The holy Ghost speaketh most comfortably saying that God doth finde no sinne in them whose sinnes are pardoned In those dayes and at that time saith the Lord the iniquitie of Israel shall be sought for and there shall be none and the sinnes of Iudah and they shall not be found but how may this be he giveth the reason for I will pardon them whom I reserve If you beleeve that God can pardon any sinne even the least you have like reason to beleeve that God can pardon all yea the greatest for if God can doe any thing he can doe every thing because he is infinite He can as easily say thy sinnes are forgiven thee all thy sinnes are forgiven thee as to say Rise and walke He can as wel save one that hath beene long dead rotten and stinking in his sinne as one newly fallen into sinne For he can as easily say Lazarus come forth as to say Damsell I say to thee Arise Lastly to make an end of removing this fear I ask thee who art troubled with the greatnesse of thy sinnes past and with feare that they can never be pardoned how stand you affected to present sinnes Doe you hate and loath them Doe you use what meanes you can to be rid of them Are you out of love with your selfe and humbled because you have harboured them to GODS dishonour and your owne hurt And doe you resolve to returne from your evill wayes and to enter upon an holy course of life if God shall please to enable you and is it your heartie desire to have this grace to be able And are you afraid and have you now a care lest you fall wittingly into sinne then let Satan and a fearefull heart object what they can you may say though my sinnes have beene great and hainous for which I loath my selfe and am ashamed yet now I see that they were not onely pardonable but are already through the rich mercy of God pardoned For these are signes of a new heart and a new minde Now to whomsoever GOD giveth the least measure of saving grace to them hath he first given pardon of sinne and will yet abundantly pardon For he saith Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him returne to the LORD and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon SECTION 3. Removing the feare that riseth from doubts that God will not pardon THere are others who make no doubt of Gods power they beleeve hee can forgive them but they feare yea peremptorily conclude that hee will not pardon them and that because they be Reprobates as they say for they see no signes of Election but all to the contrary I answer these thus When your Consciences are first wounded with a sense of Gods wrath for sinne it is very like that before you have beleeved and repented you cannot discern any signes of Gods favour but of his wrath for as yet you are not actually in state of grace and in his favour And oft-times after a man doth beleeve though there be alwaies matter enough to give proofe of his Election yet hee cannot alwayes see it If you be in either of these estates conceive the worst yet you have no reason to conclude that you are Reprobates It is true that God before the foundation of the world fully determined with himselfe whom to choose to Salvation by grace to which also hee ordained them and whom to passe by and leave in their sinnes for which he determined in his just wrath to condemne them But who these be is a secret which even in point of Election the Elect theÌ„selves cannot know untill they be effectualâ—y called nay nor being called untill by some experience and proofes of their faith holines they do understand the witnesse of the Spirit which testifieth to their spirits that they are the children of God and doe make their Calling Election which was alwayes sure in God sure to themselves But in point of reprobation namely that God hath passed them by to perish everlastingly in their wickednesse no man living can know it except he know that he hath sinned the sinne against the holy Ghost that unpardonable sinne For God calleth men at all ages and times some in their youth some in their middle age some in their old age yea some have beene called at their last houre Now let it be granted that you cannot by search into your selves finde the signes of effectuall calling which yet may bee in you though your dimme eies cannot perceive them Nay suppose that you are not yet effectually called here is no cause for you utterly to despaire and say you are Reprobates How know you
that God will not call you before you dye It were a farre wiser and better course for you that will bee thus hasty in judging your selves to be Reprobates to busie your selves first with other things Acquaint your selves with Gods revealed will in his Word Learne to know what God hath commanded you to doe and do that also what he hath threatned and feare that and what hee hath promised and beleeve and rest on that After you haue done this you may looke into your selves and you shall reade your Election written in golden and great Letters For God never intended that the first lesson which a Christian should learne should be the hardest and highest lesson that can be learned taken out of the book of his eternall counsell decree and so to descend to the A. B. C. of Christianity Which were a course most perplexed and preposterous But his wil is that his schollers children should learn out of his written Word here on earth first that God made all things and that hee made man good and how that man hearkening to Sathan they found out evill devices and so fell from grace and from God and so both they and the whole world that came of their loynes became guilty of eternal dānation Next God would have you to learne that hee in is infinite wisdome goodnesse and mercy thought of and concluded a new covenant of Grace for the effecting whereof hee found out and appointed a way and meanes to pacifie his wrath by satisfying his justice punishing sin in mans nature by which he opened away unto his mercie to shew it to whom he would namely Hee gave his onely Sonne very God to become very man and being made a common person and surety in mans stead dyed and endured the punishment due to the sinne of man and rose againe and was exalted to sit at Gods right hand to raigne having all authority committed vnto him Thus he made the new covenant of grace established in his Sonne Iesus Christ the tenour and condition whereof required on mans part is that man accept of enter into this covenant beleeving in Christ in whom it is established then whosoever beleeveth in him shall not dye but have everlasting life This God did in his wisedome justice mercy and love to man that hee himselfe might be inst and yet a iustifier of him that is of the faith of Iesus And hath therefore given his Word and Sacraments and hath called and hath given gifts to his Ministers thereby to beget and increase faith in men by publishing this good newes and by commanding them as in Christs stead in Gods name to beleeve and to be reconciled to God and to live no longer according to the will of their old Masters the Divell the World and the Flesh under whom they were in cursed bondage but according to the will of him that redeemed them in holinesse and righteousnesse whose service is a perfect blessed freedome Now when you have learned these lessons first and by looking into your selves can finde faith and new obedience then by this your effectuall calling you may as by safe stayres ascend to that high point of your Predestination which will give you comfort through assurance that you shall never fall away When you observe this order in learning your Election to life it will not minister vnto you matter of curious and dangerous dispute either with God or man thereabout but of high admiration thankesgiving and unspeakeable comfort causing you to cry out with the Apostle O the depth of the riches both of the wisedome and knowledge of God c. And Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that wee should bee holy and without blame before him in love having Predestinated us unto the Adoption of children by Iesus Christ to himselfe according to the good pleasure of his will to the prayse of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in his well-beloved c. There are yet some who having heard that there is a sinne against the holy Ghost and that it is unpardonable are full of feares that they have committed that sinne thence conclude that they are Reprobates for they say that they have sinned willingly against knowledge conscience since they received the knowledge of the truth and tasted of the heavenly gift and of the good Word of God If you who thus object have sinned against knowledge and conscience you have much cause of griefe complaint against your selfe and have much cause of humbling your selfe before God confessing it to him asking pardon of him and grace to beleeve and repent both which you must endevour by all means Yet I see no cause why you should conclude so desperately that you have sinned against the holy Ghost and are a Reprobate For as few in comparison though too many commit this sinne so few know what it is All sinne against knowledge and conscience is not this sinne Nor yet all wilfull sinning It is not any one sinne against the law nor yet the direct breach of the whole law nor every malicious opposing of the Gospell if it be of ignorance neither is it every blasphemie or persecution of the Gospell and of those that professe the truth if these be done out of ignorance or passion Nor yet is it every Apostacie and falling into grosse sinnes of diverssorts though done against knowledge and conscience yet this sinne against the holy Ghost containeth all these and more It is a sinne against the Gospell and free offer and dispensation of grace and salvation by CHRIST through the Spirit Yet it is not any particular sinne against the Gospell nor yet a rejecting of the whole Gospell if in ignorance nor yet every denying of Christ or sudden revolting from the outward profession of the Gospell when it is of infirmitie through feare such like temptation Neither is it called the sinne against the holy Ghost and is unpardonable because it is committed against the Essence or Person of the holy Ghost for the essence of the three persons in Trinitie is all one And the person of the holy Ghost is not more excellent than the person of the Father and the Sonne but it is called the sinne against the holy Ghost and becommeth unpardonable because it is against the Office of the holy Ghost and against the gracious operations of the holy Ghost and therein against the whole blessed Trinitie all whose works out of themselves are consummate and perfected in the worke of the holy Ghost Moreover know that it is unpardonable not in respect of GODS power but in respect of his will Hee having in his holy wisedome determined never to pardon it And good reason why he should will not to pardon it in respect of the
and strive to be obedient to his will as well as to beleeve his promises to hope for happinesse this iâ— to strive Now never any did thus strive in seeking to enter though it were but the last day of their life that was put backe and not received Wherefore say not it is to late But say the more time I have lost the more cause there is why now I should presently set to Religion in earnest not loose time in questioning whether I shal be accepted or no. And whereas you said you are afraid to use the meanes of Salvation for the reasons before objected hereby you may see that all this is but the malice and craft of the Divell by keeping you from the meanes to keepe you from Salvation For it is most false to say that to pray heare the Word c. is to increase your sin because you cannot performe these as you should and as you would I am sure it is a greateâ— sinne in you to for beare these necessary duties out of despaire that they shall ever profit you or that you shall be accepted oâ— God You should thinke thus if â—â— doe not use the meanes of salvation I shal certainly perish everlastingly but if I do pray heare c. I may be saved therefore in obedience to God I will doe as well as I can But little doth a man know how well hee may doe if he would indevour neither can a man conceive how acceptable a little indevour shall be if he doe but desire to be true in his indevour For as GODS power is seene in mans weakenesse so is Gods grace seene in manâ—insufficiencie When wee are weake then God in us can be strong And when wee in humilty like our services worst then through Christ God may be best pleased with them But whatsoever you doe Doe not neglect nor absent your selves from exercises of Religion for weakest observances where is truth are farre more acceptable than whole emissions Wherefore if as you say you would not increase your sinne and thereby your damnation be willing to use and to joyne with others in the use of all good meanes of Salvation then if you be not saved yet you shall have the lesse punishment But you may be assured that if in obedience to Gods Commandement you shall pray heare the Word receive the Sacrament and have communion and conversation with those that feare God you shall be saved in the end What if you doe not yet feele benefit and comfort when you use these meanes of salvation according to your desire yet you must waile the good houre both of grace and comfort even as the impotent folke did who lay waiting for the Angels comming to move the waters that they might be healed of their diseases at the â—oole of Bethesda For if when God hideth his face you will waite and looke for him then God will waite his time to be gracious and blessed shall you be that waite for him It may be it commeth justly upon you that God should make you waite his leasure and cause you to buy wisdome wise deare experience because you did once account it an easier matter to beleeve and repent and therefore you did not take the first offers but made God wait If it were thus yet despaire not of grace onely be humbled For God doth not deale with us after our sinnes nor reward us after our iniquities but according to his rich mercie and promise made to us in Christ Iesus SECTION 4. A removall of feares rising from doubts of Gods love THere are very many who have true proofes that they are the Elect of God and have reason to thinke that God not onely can but will doe them good yet because they will deny that to bee bestowed upon them and to be in them which indeed is therefore they feare and are causelesly disquieted I would have such to consider first whether they have not in them already evident proofes and sigues of GODS effectuall love towards them in Christ These will acknowledge that it is most true that if they were sure that GOD did love them they should not feare but this is all their doubt that GOD doth not love them Some give this reason of their doubt God hath afflicted them and still doth Plague them yea albeit they have professed the name of Christ they are in some thing or other chastened daily in so much that they seeme to bee in the condition of those whom GOD hath threatned to curse in every thing they put their handes unto Therefore say they GOD doth not love them Such weake and inconsiderate reasonings are incident to those whom GOD truely loveth Did not the holy men of GOD reason and conclude thus But when doe Gods Children thus It is in their haste before they be well advised what they think or say And whence is it Is it not from their ignorance and brutishnesse being carried away by sense So foolish was I and ignorant saith the Prophet c. But when they come to themselves and doe come to learne what is truth by the Word then they learn that it is not outward prosperitie will make wicked men happie neither is it outward affliction that can make a good man miserable Then they will neither applaud nor envie the prosperity of the wicked nor yet misconstrue nor repine at their own afflictions For they learne that no man can know Gods love or hatred by any outward thing that doth befall the sonnes of men in this life They learne that God doth oft smile on his enemies and that he doth oft frowne upon is angry with and doth correct those whom he dearely loveth even as a Father doth his Children They learne by the Word likewise that GOD hath excellent ends in all this even in respect of them and all for their good namely for tryall of their graces for prevention of sinne for to remove sinne bringing them to repenrance and that they might be made partakers of his Holinesse Besides herein he doth much glorifie himselfe shewing that he is wonderfull in Counsell excellent in Working causing the affliction to worke for his glory in his peoples good Yea you may learne by the Word and by your owne experience that although the childe of God in his infirmitie and passion when he is under the rod may let goe his hold of God yet that God in his love and compassion towards his childe will hold him fast by his right hand and will not leave him but will guide him with his Counsell that he may afterward receive him unto Glorie This is the way of GOD with his Children wherefore none from hence hath cause to question GODS love but to conclude it rather But I have brought afflictions upon my selfe by mine owne sin and folly I am impatient under them and am little or no whit better for
was felt witnesse your owne experience for before the hammer and fire of the Word was applyed to your hearts you had no sense of it and never complained thereof You must not call a heavie heart a hard heart you must not call a heart wherein is a sense of an indisposition to good a hard heart except onely in â—omparison of that softnesse which is in it sometimes and which it shall attaine unto when it shall bee perfectly sanctified in which respect it may bee called hard Whosoever hath his will so wrought upon by the Word that it is bent to obey GODS will if he knew how and if he had power this man whatsoever hardâ—esse hee feeleth his heart is soft not hard The Apostle had a heart held in and clogged with the flesh and the law of his members that it made him to thinke himselfe wretched because hee could not bee fully deliverd from it yet wee know his heart was not an hard heart Amongst those that are sanctified there remaineth more hardnesse in the heart of some than in others and what with the committing of grosse sinnes and a cursorie and slight doing of good duties and through neglect of meanes to soften it the same mens hearts are harder at one time than at another of which they have cause to complaine and for which they have cause to bee humbled and to use all meanes to soften it But it is false and dangerous hence to conclude that such are not in state of grace because of such hardnesse in the heart For as GODS perfectest Children on earth know but in part and beleeve but in part So their hearts are softened but in part SECTION 7. Removall of feares rising from doubts about falling from Grace THere yet remaine many who though they be driven up into so narrow a corner that they cannot reply to the answers given to take away their false feares and doubts but they are inforced to yeeld that they find that they now are or at least have beene in state of grace they now see they have beleeved and have beene and it may bee now are sanctified yet this they feare that they either are already fallen or shall not persevere but shall fall away before they dye Touching falling away from grace first know that of those that give their names to Christ in outward profession there are two sorts The first sort are such who have received onely the common gifts of the Spirit as first illumination of the mind to know the mystery of Salvation by Christ and truâ—y to assent unto it Secondly Together with this knowledge is wrought in them by the same spirit a â—â—â—hter impression upon the affections which the Scripture calleth a taste of the heavenly gift and of the good Word of GOD and of the powers of the world to come By these gifts of the Spirit the souâ—es of these men are raised to an abilitie to doe more than nature and meere education can helpe them unto carrying them further then nature or art can doe by working in them a kinde of spirituall change in their affections and a kinde of reformation of their lives But yet all this while they are not ingrafted into Christ neither are deepely rooted as the Corne in good grouÌ„d nor yet are throughly changed and renewed in the inward man they have at best only a formâ— of godlinesse but have not the power thereof Now these men may and oft doe fall away not onely into some particular grosse sinnes of which they were sometimes after a sort washed but into a course of sinning falling from the very forme of godlinesse and may so utterly loose thoâ—e gifts received that they may turne Papists Anabaptists or may fall into any oâ—her Heresie and in the end become very Apostates yet this is not properly a falling from grace It is onely a falling away from the common graces or gifts of the Sâ—irit and from those graces which they did seeme to have and which the Church out of her charitie did judge them to have but they fall not from true saving grace for they neuer had any For if ever they had beene indeed incorporated into Christ Iesus and had beene sound members of his body and in this sense had ever beene of us as the Apostle Iohn speaketh then they should never have departed from us but should no doubt have continued with us The second sort of such as have given their names to Christ are such as are indued with true iustifying faith and saving knowledge and are renewed in the spirit of their minde whereby through the gracious and powerful working of the sanctifying Spirit the Word maketh a deeper impression upon the will and the affections causing them not onely to taste but which is much more to feed and to drinke deepe of the heavenly gift and of the good word of GOD and of the powers of the world to come so as to digest them unto the very changing and transforming them by the renewing of their mindes and unto the sanctifying of them throughout in their whole man both in spirit soule and bodie so that CHRIST is indeed formed in them and they are become new creatures being made partakers of the divine nature Now concerning these It is not possible that any of them should fall away either wholly or for ever Yet it must bee granted that they may decline and fall backe so farre as to grieve the good spirit of GOD and to offend and provoke God very much against them and to make themselves guiltie of eternall death They may fall so farre as to interrupt the exercise of their faith wound their Conscience and may loose for a time the sense of Gods favour and may cause him like a wise and good father in his iust anger to chide correct threaten them making them beleeve hee will turne them out of doores never to receive them into his heavenly Kingdome untill by renewing their faith and repentance they returne into the right way and doe recover GODS lo-ving countenance towards them againe That you may understand and beleeve this the better consider what grace God giveth unto his elect and how and from what they may fill also you must observe well the difference that is betweene the sinning of the regenerate and unregenerate together with their different condition wherin they stand while they are in their sinnes In the first act of Conversion I speake of men of yeeres and discretion GOD by his Word through his holy Spirit doth infuse an habit of holinesse namely an habit of Faith and all other saving graces this every childe of GOD receiveth when he receiveth that holy annointing of the spirit that which the Scripture calieth the Seede remaining in him Secondly God by his gracious meanes and ordinances of the Gospell doth increase this habit and these graces Now because every man
that is truely regenerate doth carry about with him the body of sin and corruption and lyeth open daily unto the temptations of the world and the divell a truely regenerate man may be drawne not onely into sinnes of ignorance and common frailty but into grosse sinnes whereby the light and warmth of Gods spirit may be so much chilled and darkned that he may breake out into presumptuous sinnes Yea upon his negligent use or omission of the means of spirituall life and strength God may justly give him over to a fearefull declination in grace and backesliding Yet the truely regenerate fal onely from some degrees of holinesse and from certaine Acts of holinesse but not from the first infused habit of holinesse that blessed seede ever remaineth in him His falling is either onely into particular sinnes and into much failing in particular good duties or if it be towards a more generall defection yet it is never universall from the generall purpose of well-doing into a generall course of evill For the regenerate man doth never so sinne as the unregenerate man doth although for matter their sinnes may be all alike yea sometime those of the regenerate greater There is great difference in their sinnes and manner of sinning 1. Regenerate men may sinne of ignorance but they are not willingly and wilfully ignorant as are the unregenerate in some things or other 2. Regenerate men may commit not onely the common sinnes of infirmitie into which by reason of the remains of the lusts of the flesh they fall often such as rash anger discontent doubts feares dulnesse and deadnesse of heart in spirituall exercises and inward evill thoughts and motions of all sorts but they may also commit grosse sinnes such as are an open and direct breach of GODS Commandements yet those are done against their generall purpose as David did for hee had said hee would looke to his wayes and hee had determined to keepe Gods righteous iudgements Yea many times they are doneagainst their particular purposes as Peters denyall of his Master They are not usually plotted or thought on before but fallen into by occasion or are haled and enforced therunto by the violent corruption of the affections or sensuall appetites Moreover they doe not make a trade and custome of sinne These kindes of sinnes doe not passe them any long time unobserved but are seene bewailed confessed to GOD and prayed against and are bâ—rthenous and irkesome to them making them to thinke worse of themselves and to become base in their own eyes because of them But it is directly otherwise usually with the unregenerate in all these particulars 3. The regenerate may not onely commit sinnes grosse for matter but presumptuous for manner namely they may commit them not onely against knowledge but with a premeditated deâ—â—eration and determination of will as David did in the murther of Urâ—aâ— But itis seldome that a childe of GOD doth commit presumptuous sinnes His generall determination and Prayer is against them It is with much strife reluctation of will and with little delight and content in comparison He never sinnes presumptuously but when he is drawne thereunto or forced thereupon by some over-strong corruption and violent temptation for the time as David was being over-eagerly bent to hide his sinne and to save his credit For if he could by any means have gotten Vriah home to his wife hee would never have caused him to be slâ—ine And although presumptuous sinnes cast him into a deadnesse benummednesse of heart and spirit in which he may â—â—e for a time speechlesse and prâ—yerlesse as it was with David yet he feeleth that all is not well with him untill he have againe made his peace with God And when he hath the ministery of GODS powerfull word to make him plainly see his sinne then he will humble himselfe reforme it The unregenerate nothing so 4. Lastly a regenerate man may fall one degree further namely He may so loose his first love that he may though I cannot say fall into utter Apostacy yet decline from good very far even to a coldnesse and remissenesse in good duties even in the exercises of Religion if not to an utter omission for a time The life and vigor of his graces may suffer sensible Eclipses and decay Asa a good King yet went apace this way as appeareth by his imprisoning the good Prophet and in oppressing the people in his latter dayes and in trusting to the Physicians and not seeking to God to be cured of his disease And Salomon the truly beloved of GOD in his youth went further back giving himselfe to all manner of vanities and in his old age did so dote upon his many wives that he fell to Idolatry or at least became accessory by building them Idoll Temples and accompanying them to Idolatrous services in so much that it is said they turned away his heart after other gods and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God as was the heart of Divid his Father Yet there is a wide difference betweene these backe-slidings and the Apostaâ—ies of men unregenerate For these doe not approve nor applaud themselves in those evil courses into which they are back slidden when out of the heat of temptation they doe thinke of them neither have the regenerate full content in them but finde vanity and vexation in them as Salomon did even in the dayes of his vanitie They doe not in this their declined estate hate the good generally which once they loved but looke backe upon it with approbation and their heart secretly inclineth unto a liking of it and of them that are as they once were so that in the midst of their bad estate they have a mind to returne but that they are yet so hampered and entangled with the snares of sinne that they cannot get out Lastly they in Gods good time by his grace doe breake forth out of this Eclipse of grace by the light whereof they â—â—e their nakednesse and folly and are ashamed of their back-slâ—ding and revolting and they againe aoe their first workes And with much adoe recover their wonted joyes comforts thogh it may be never with that life lustre and beautie as in former times and that as a just correction of their sinne that they may be kept humble and be made to looke better to their standing all the dayes of their life by it It is not so with hypocriticall professours who never were truly regenerate but quite contrary as you may observe in the Apostacies of Saul and of King Ioash and Simon Magus others Thâ—se differences rise hence because that the common graces of the unregenerate are but as flashes of lightning or as the fading light of Meteors which blaze but for a while and are like the water of Lana-flâ—nds which because they have no spring to feede
which also doth minister unto you matter of assured hope and comfort Another will say I doe even faint in my troubles and in my feares and I am ready to give over all what shall I doe What would you have me to doe Your case is not singular many other have beene and are in this case It is no otherwise with you than it was with the Psalmist and Ionah Doe as they in that their fainting did First give not over but remember God call upon him give him no rest Secondly trust on him and wait untill you have comfort That holy man of GOD said My flesh and my heart faileth but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever Likewise Ionah â— said I am â—ast out of thy sight yet I will looke againe toward thine holy Temple And againe when my soule fainted within mee I remembred the Lord and my prayer came up unto thee into thine holy Temple that is as if he had said unto God I prayed unto thee in the name of Christ and thou didst heare me When you walke in the darkenesse of affliction and inward discomfort Hee to whom God gave the tongue of the learned to speake a word in due season to him that is wearie giveth you counsell and whose wil you in this state of yours follow if not his his counsel is this saying Who is among you that feare the Lord and obey the voyce of his servant that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God Marke it He that feareth and obeyeth yet may bee in darkenesse and have no light what darknesse is this but that spoken of vers 4. viz. an afflicted wearie soule without light of comfort And men thus distressed must trust in the Lord and stay on their God Yet these poore soules who whether they should be sharply reproved or pitied more is hard to say I am sure they deserve both will yet object strongly It is true they that feare God and obey him may trust in the Lord and stay upon God And he hath made most rich promises to theÌ„ that know him that doe feare and obey him See here is promise with condition saith one I must feare the Lord I must obey him I know God will doe his part if I could doe mine but these I doe not what warrant then or ground have I to looke for comfort or any thing at Gods hand for his promises belong not to me I know well that with this doubt the Devill doth much perplexe the afflicted soules of many of Gods dearest children and by it keepeth off all the remedies which Gods Word can afford so that they cannot fasten and doe them good For the propositions of the Word are easily assented unto but all the matter lyeth in the application of them to the wound It is still put off and keepe his Commandements there he promiseth with Condition here he absolutely promiseth those on whom hee intendeth to bestow these blessings that he will put his feare in their heart that they may be capable of them And which is more to the end that men might repent beleeve and live godly which is the Condition to which the promise of forgivenesse and Salvation is made God declareth that he hath raised Christ and exalted him to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give this faith and repentance that their sinnes may be forgiven and their soules saved by him I pray consider well whether al these promises of this sort be not made absolutely on GODS part and without any Condition on mans part Wherefore whereas God hath made many excellent promises of free and great rewards as to heare the prayers and to fulfill the desire of them that feare him and to give life and glory to them that beleeve obey him and that do hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing to the end you see that here are promises of the first sort made with a kinde of Condition But that GOD will give his people both to will and to doe these things required in the condition he hath absolutely promised as hath beene clearely proved If you yet reply and say are not these latter promises made under condition of our well using the outward meanes thereof such as hearing of the Word prayer c. GOD indeede commandeth these meanes to be used and if we performe them aright God will not faile to blesse the good use of these meanes but this well using them is not in our owne power neither is it a Condition for which God is necessarily bound to give Faith and to plant his feare in our harts any otherwise than by his promise but it is a Condition by which he hath ordained ordinarily to give these graces to al which in the use of them shall waite upon him for them For both the giving of his word and the giving us minds to heare the Word and the opening of the heart to attend and the convincing and alluring the heart to obey hang all upon those absolute promises They shall be all taught of God and the rest before mentioned Wherefore let none of yeares thinke that without hearing praying and the right using of Gods ordinances they shall ever have faith and the feare of God wrought in them or shall ever come to Heaven For wee are commanded to pray heare c. and that in Faith or else we can never looke to receive any thing of the LORD And doing what lieth in manspower in the right using the meanes of Saluation is of great consequence although it be not a sufficient cause to move GOD necessarily to give grace For I am perswaded that the best should have more grace if they would doe what in them lay continually to make good use of the outward meanes of grace and the worst should be guilty of lesse sinne if they would doe what in them lay to profit by the good use of the said meanes And the neglect or abusing of the means is sufficient cause why God should not onely withhold grace but condemn men for refusing it But some will yet say let all which hath beene said be granted I finde that God hath not fulfilled these his absolute promises to me for I doe not yet feare God and obey How can I hope How can I choose but feare my estate Let this for the time be granted that God hath not planted his feare in your heart c. as yet May hee not doe it hereafter Sith hee hath made unto you such excellent promises to fulfil them without condition on your part but that you should onely use the meanes and waite Will you not give him leave to fulfill them in his owne time And will you not waite and be glad if they may be fulfilled at any time Times and seasons of Gods communicating his graces are reserved
to be at his owne disposing not at ours It should be your care onely to be present at GODS Ordinances and when you reade or heare the Word or will of God to indevour to beleeve and obey it As when hee saith Thou shalt love the Lord thy GOD with all thy heart Thou shalt beleeve in the name of the Lord thy God and trust in his Name Thou shalt obey the voyce of the Lord thy God and serve him and such like Attend to the Word heedfully and because this Word is infallibly true and excellently good bring your thoughts and heart to beleeve and to approve it and say within your selves these are true these are good this I ought to doe this I would beleeve and doe Lord helpe mee and I will doe it O that my wayes were directed to keepe thy statutes In such like agitations and reasonings of the reasonable soule it pleaseth GOD to give his grace both to will and to doe his Commandements But secondly doe not say that you have not faith and the feare of God and love to him all which God of his free grace promised as you heard to you absolutely which graces are indeed the conditions fore-going the reward promised when as in truth you have them For what kinde of duties be these thinke you Are they Legall which require perfect exact and full degrees of faith feare and love Or are they not Evangelicall Such as doe require truth in all these and doe not exact ful perfection in degrees If you have desire if you can desire to feare him which is the scantling of the feare of Gods people as Nehemiah calleth it so if you desire to beleeve and will to obey in the inmost longing of your soul according to the measure and strength of grace in you this according to the Tenour of the blessed Gospell of our Lord Iesus Christ is true and acceptable through Christ for whose sake GOD doth accept the will for the deede in all such cases wherein there is truth of will and endevour but not power to doe Furthermore if you thinke that it is your well doing that must make you acceptable to God you are in a proud and dangerous errour Indeede God will not accept of you if you doe not indevour to doe his will but you must propound to your selfe another end than to be accepted for your well-doing You must doe your dutie to shew your obedience to God and to shew your thankfulnes that God hath pleased and doth please to accept you in his Sonne Christ and that it is your desire to be accepted through him But I would have you which are pressed with the load of your sinnes looke neerely judiciously and impartially into your selfe it may be you have more faith feare of God and obedience then you are aware of or then you will be knowne of Can you grieve and doth it trouble you that you have so little faith so little feare of GOD and that you doe shew so little obedience and is it your desire and indevor to have more and to doe as well as you can though you cannot doe so well as you should then you have much faith feare and â—bedience For to grieve for little â—aith feare and obedience is an â—videntsigne of much faith feare â—nd obedience For whence is â—his trouble and griefe but from Gods saving graces And to â—rieve for little sheweth that you â—ong for and would have much Let this suffice to be a full answer to the principall doubts whereof fearefull hearts will â—ake no answer Never yeeld to your feares waite on God still â—or resolution of your doubts in â—is best time For it is not man that can but it is God that both â—an and will speake peace to his people not onely outward but inward peace In the meane time though you can have no feeling comfort in any of GODS promises yet consider God in the Lord and that Christ is Lord of all you are his creature you owe to him all obedience wherefore you will as much as you can keepe your selfe from iniquity and you will strive to doe his will let him do with you as hee pleaseth yea though he kill you or though he give you no comfort till death you will trust in him and will obey him and it is your desire to rest and hope in him as in your Redeemer then whether you know that God is yours or no I am sure he knoweth you to be his this is an argument of strong faith And you are upon a sure ground The foundation of God remaineth sure The Lord knoweth his and who be they Even all that professing his name depart from iniquitie And whosoever in his heart would he in truth doth depart from iniquity Something remaineth yet to be answered Many say that doe what they can they are assaulted still so thicke with temptations that they cannot have one houres quiet What of that Doth this hinder your peace with God that the Devill the World and your lusts Gods sworne enemies are not at peace with you So long as you have peace of Sanctification in this degree that the faculties of soule and body doe not mutinie one against the other but hold a good correspondencie in joyning together against their fleshly lusts which fight against the soule you are in good case I meane when the Vnderstanding Conscience Will and Affections are all willing to doe their part against sinne their common enemy Not but that you shall find a sensible warring opposition in all these while you live here even when you have most peace in this kinde but how The unsanctified part of the understanding is against the sanctified part of the understanding and unsanctified will against the sanctified will and so in all other faculties of the soule flesh in every part lusteth against spirit in every part spirit in every part lusteth against flesh in every part For as every sanctified part hath the spirit so it hath likewise the remaines of the flesh fighting one against the other Now if that your faculties and powers be ruled all by one spirit you have a good agreement and good peace within you notwithstaÌ„ding that the flesh doth so violently warre against this spirit For this warring of sinne in your members against the spirit the warring of the spirit against sinne argueth clearely that you have peace with God and this warre continued will in time beget perfect peace But let no man ever looke to have peace of sanctification perfect in this life For the best are sanctified but in part Wherefore let no man professing Chrisâ— think that he shal be freed from temptations and assaults risinâ— from within or comming from without so long as he liveth in this world Are not Christians called to be Souldiers Wherefore wee must arme our selves that we may stand by the power of Gods might and quit our selves like
men against the assaults of our spirituall enemies Is it any other than the common case of all Gods Children Was not Christ himselfe teÌ„pted that he might succor those that are tempted Have you not a promise not to bee tempted above that you are able It is but resisting and enduring a while yet a little while Is there any temptation out of which God will not give a good issue Hath not Christ prayed that your faith faile not Let us therefore keepe peace in our selves that the whole man may be at agreement and let us keepe peace one with another fighting against the common enemy And the God of peace shall tread Satan and all enemies under-foot shortly and then through Christ you shall be more than Conquerours you shall not onely hold what you have kept from losing but shall possesse all that Christ hath wonne for you And the more battels you have fought and in them through Christ have overcome the greater triumph you shall have in glory Now as a surplussage to all that hath beene said against groundlesse feares which deprive poore soules of heavenly comfort If any yet cannot be satisfied but feare still that GOD is not at peace with them I will propound a few Questions to which if any soule can answer affirmatively he may be assured of Gods peace and love and of his owne Salvation whatsoever his feares or feelings may happen for to be 1. How stand you affected to sinne Are you afraid to offend God thereby Is it so that you dare not wittingly sinne Is it your griefe and burden that you cannot abstaine from sinne nor get out of it so soone as you would when you are fallen into it 2. How stand you affected towards holinesse and goodnesse and unto the power of godlinesse Is it your heartie desire to know Gods will that you may doe it Doe you desire to feare him and please him in all things And is it your griefe and trouble when you faile in well-doing And is it any joy to you to doe well in any true measure 3. Thirdly How stand you affected to the Church and Religion of God Are you glad when things goe well in the Church though it goe ill with you in your owne particular And are you grieved when things goe ill in the Church when it may happen to be with you as it was with good Nehemiah or Ichabodâ— mother that all things goe very well or at least tolerably well for your owne particular 4. Fourthly How stand you affected to men Is it so that you cannot delight in wicked men because of their wickednesse but dislike them Whereas otherwise their parts and conditions are such that you could much desire their company Doe you love those that feare the Lord and that delight in goodnesse therefore because you thinke they are good and are beloved of God 5. Fifthly Can you endure to have your soule ript up and your beloved sinne smitten at and let out by a searching Ministery approving that Ministery and liking that Minister the rather And doe you with David desire that the righteous should reproove you And would you have an obedient eare to a wise Reprover 6. Lastly Though you cannot alwayes have that feeling proofe of your good estate which is the certainty of Evidence Nay say you have it but seldome or it may be you can scarce tell whether you have it at all Doe you yet resolve or is it your desire and will you as you are able resolve to cleave to God and hang upon Christ and upon Gods mercifull promises made to you in him seeking salvation in Christ by faith and by none other nor by any other meanes If you can answer yea to all or to any one of these you may assure your selves that you are in Gods favor and in state of grace What though you cannot feele in your selves that you have this so sure as you would by a full certaintie of Evidence but it is your fault that you have it not so yet you have it sure by the best certainety namely by a true certainety of Adâ—erence and cleaving unto God For when you are resolved not to sinne wittingly and allowedly against GOD and not to depart from him whatsoever become of you and it is your longing desire to please him When I say you stand thus resolved and thus affected as hath beene said then certainely God and you are knit together by an inseparable bond When you hate what God hateth and love what God loveth and will what God willeth are not God and you at one and at peace Are you not neerely and firmely linked one to another What though this bond be some what secret and unseene to your selves yet it is certaine God knoweth you to be actually his and will for this owne you when you seeme to doubt of it and will alwayes hold you by your right hand whether you feele it or no. But why should you thinke that you are without Evidence when you cannot but feele that in truth you cleave thus to GOD and stand thus affected to him from hence if you were not wanting to your selves you might gaine a most peaceable and ioyous assurance that you are in Gods favour and shall be saved Thus much of removing of impediments to true peace CHAP. XVII Touching furtherances and meanes of peace of God IT yet remaineth that I should shew furtherances meanes to get and keepe this true peace of God which passeth all understanding Men doe erre in judging of their owne estates and in like manner in concluding that they have true peace or not from two causes Either by erring in the Proposition which they lay down as a rule to judge by Or else by erring in the Assumption and Application of their actions or persons to the rule propounded Now if you erre either in the Proposition or in the Assumption and application you of necessitie will erre in your Conclusion Wherefore if you would judge rightly of your actions and person take heed first that you doe not faile in your Proposition and Rule which that you may not doe you must know what is necessary to the very being of a Christian what not and this is to be learned onely by the onely Canon of truth to us the word of GOD. For many erre herein because they thinke that such and such things are necessary to the being in state of grace which are not and that such and such things are sufficient to the being of a Christian which are not Now you shall finde that it is truth of faith and other saving graces not the great degree and quantitie of them that maketh a Christian And that it is not the most forward profession and forme of godlinesse without this power and truth therefore that will doe it Secondly Take heed that you faile not in your assumption and application of your selfe and of
spirit of spirituall ioy Where it doth testifie that you are Gods children there it will give you new harts causing you to desire and endevour to live like Gods children in reverent feare and love leading you in the right way checking you and calling you backe out of the way of sinne stirring you up to prayer with sighes desires and inward groanes at least making you to coÌ„fesse your sinnes and to aske and hope for pardon in the name of CHRIST And will still be putting you on to live like obedient children giving you no quietif you doe not Thus much of the first and principall meanes of getting true peace and comfort Secondly If you would have the invaluable Iewell of pâ—ace then abstaine as much as is possible from the act of all grosse and from all presumptuous sins and from the allowance of any sinne For the more sin the more guilt and the lesse sin the lesse guilt Now the lesse guilt lyeth upon the Conscience the more peace of Conscience the more guilt the lesse peace Thirdly When you fall into sinne for who liveth and sinneth not then with all speed affect your heart with godly sorrow for it cause it to be a burden and a load and wearinesse to the Conscience but withall affect your heart wiâ—h hope of mercy forgivenes and grace through Christ. Then with all humble submission you must seeke unto GOD the God of peace but come to him by Christ Iesus the Prince of peace upon whom lay the chastisement of your peace Aske mercy and forgivenesse Aske repentance grace and new obedience Beleeve in Christ If you doe all this then you come unto Christ and unto God by Christ according to his Commandement and you have his sure promise that you shall have rest to your soules This doe for in Christ onely can you have peace This true application of CHRISTS bloud and satisfaction will so sprinkle the Conscience from the guilt of sinne that there shall remaine no more Conscience for sinne that is no more guilt which shall draw upon you the wrath of God and eternall punishment for sinne whence must needs follow peace of Conscience because the Conscience hath nothing to accuse you of guiltinesse being washed off by Christs bloud As soone as David after his foule sinnes could come thus to God his heart had ease But when you have thus gotten a good and cleare Conscience take heede of defiling it againe or giving it any matter of unrest Be as tender in keeping your Conscience unspotted and unwounded as you are of the apple of your eye Sin not against knowledge and Conscience and in any case smother not the good checks and watchwards of your Conscience For if being washed you doe againe defile it this will cause new trouble of heart and you must againe apply your selves to this last prescribed remedy In the fourth place CHRIST having taken upon him the burden of your sinnes which was intollerable you must take upon you and submit unto the yoke of Christs service which is light and easie You must indevour to doe whatsoever hee hath commanded in his Word and Gospell following his steppes in all his imitable actions in all humility and meekenesse in all spirituall and heavenly mindednesse When you can thus subject your selves to Christ in holinesse you shall have peace For the holy Ghost saith the worke of righteousnesse is peace and againe saith To be spiritually minded is peace that is bringeth with it peace I comprehend CHRISTS yoke of the Gospell in these three Faith Hope and Love As these three be in you and abound in the same degrees shall peace be in you and shall abound Having Faith in Christ saith the Apostle we have peace with God It is God that justifieth who shall lay any thing to your charge For justifying Faith is the ground and spring from which onely sound and true comfort doth flow Hope will make you wait and expect with patience for the accomplishment of GODS sure promises whereby it will hold you as steady and as sure from wracke of soule as any Anchor can hold a ship God doth therefore give hope that it may be as an Anchor sure and stedfast Though while you are in the Sea of this world it doth not keepe you so quiet but that you may bee in part tossed and disquieted with the waves and billowes of feare and doubt to try the goodnesse of your vessell and strength of your Anchor and tacklings Yet you shall be sure not to make shipwracke of Faith and a good Conscience if you shall lay hold upon this hope set before you And as for Love They that love the Lord shall have peace you must therefore love God love his ordinances and his people Love God with all your heart Love your neighbours as your selves love Gods Commandements For great peace shall they have saith the Prophet that love Gods Law and nothing shall offend them Whosoever doe thus take up Christs yoke and follow him shall find rest to their soules and peace shall be upon them as upon the Israel of God Fiftly If you would have peace use all good meanes whereby you may bee oft put in remembrance of the exhortations and consolations of God They in the Hebrewes were therefore out of quiet and readie to faint in their minds both because they forgat the exhortation which said My sonne despise not the chastening of the Lord c. And because they forgat the consolation which saith Whom the LORD loveth he chasteneth The principall meanes of being put in minde of GODS consolations are these following 1. You must be much Conversant in Scriptures by reading hearing and meditating thereon For they were all written to that end that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures you might have hope The Scriptures of God they are the very Wells and Breasts of consolation and Salvation The Law discovers sinne and by its threats against you and by relating judgements executed upon others doth drive you to Christ The promises of the Gospell made to you and the signification of the accomplishment thereof to others doe settle and confirme you in Christ whereby your heart is filled with joy and consolations The Gospell is called the Gospell of peace and the Ministers of the Gospell are said to bring glad tydings of this peace â—t is the bright shining light in the Gospel which will guide your feet in the way of peace 2. Be much in good Company especially in theirs who are full of ioy and peace in beleeving whose example and counsell will mind you of joy and comfort and will be of excellent use unto you to establish you in peace Sixtly and lastly Acquaint your selfe with God touching the course he useth to take with his children in bringing them to glory Acquaint your selfe with God
also in praying much for peace unto him who is the God of peace the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation then shall you have peace and much good shall be unto you For it is GOD that speaketh peace to his people wherefore assuredly his answer to him that asketh peace will be an answer of peace even this peace which passeth all understanding GOD shall give you peace and with it glory even a glorious peace Thus having directed my Pen not onely to you in particular in this tract of peace but sith it is judged fit to be publike both in this and the other directions to a daily walke unto all other that need and desire it you may see the excellency of peace together with the impediments furtherances and meanes of peace Shâ—nne the Impediments improve the furtherances and I dare assure you that albeit in this life you may still feele a conflict betweene faith and doubting betweene hope and feare and betweene peace and trouble of minde yet in the end you shall have perfect peace and in the meane time though I cannot promise you to have alwaies that peace which will afford you sense of ioy yet God hath promised that you shal have that which shall keepe your hearts and mindes in Christ And what would you have more Thus I have endevoured to satisfie your godly desire I have of purpose written much in as few words as the points in hand would well beare I did it the rather not onely because writing is tedious to mee but because I know that you are established already in these truths wherefore these may be sufficient to helpe you unto distinct notions of the most necessarie things that belong to a Christian life and to put you in remembrance I have omitted many allegations of Scriptures and have forborne to write out most that are alleaged It was partly for haste partly for mine owne ease and partly because it would have made this Booke to be too big for a vade mecum to carry about with you but I considered that you are much conversant and well read in the Scriptures and you may turne to the places both in the line and in the marâ—ent for you will finde that for the most part the life of each point in hand lyeth hid in the Text of the Scripture alledged I thanke God I have reaped much benefit to my self in studying and Penning these directions I pray God that â—ou may reap much good in reading of them Now the God of hope fill you with all ioy and peace in beleeving And the God of peace that brought againe from the dead our Lord Iesus that great Shepheard of the Sheepe by the bloud of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good worke to doe his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen A Table of the chiefe things observable in this BOOKE A DOubts of Gods love because of grievous Afflictions removed 554 In what cases God usually doth not Afflict his children 559 The ends why God doth grievously Afflict his children 563 A Caution in becomming All things to all men 215 How to walke with God Alone 184 Fit meditations when we Apparell our selves 21 Rules how to Apparell our selves 22 Cautious to the directions about Arising and apparelling 27 How to Awake with God 19 Fit meditations when wee Awake and arise 21 22 B Fit meditations at going to Bed before sleepe 180 When a man loveth Brotherly 234 Benefits of Brotherly love 233 How Brotherly love is expressed 235 Meanes to live and love Brotherly 239 Motives to Brotherly love and communion of Saints 242 C How a man should carry himselfe as before God in his particular Calling 55 Difference betweene Care and Carefulnesse 384 Adescription of lawfull Care ib. A description of Carefulnesse ib. True properties of provident care whereby it is differenced from Carefulnesse 387 c. When Cares of this life are inordinate 393 Gods children should not take thought or be carefull about any thing 396 Disswasives from carefulnesse 399 Why no man should be Carefull about earthly things ibid Why no man must care about successe in any thing 401 The evill effects of Caring about successe in any thing 405 Meanes to be free from Carefulnesse 409 The condition of a true Christian even when he hath sinned differeth from that of a formal Christian when he sinneth 688 How a man should be have himselfe in all Company 213 How a man should make good use to himselfe by all Company 218 Meanes of good speech and carriage in all Company 225 Rules wherby a man may well order himselfe in evil Company 228 How to be kept from infection of sin by bad Company 231 How to demeane a mans selfe in good Company 234 What is to be done after a man hath beene in Company 244 Motives to Brotherly love and Communion of Saints 242 How a man may know that he hath beene sufficiently humbled and prepared for Conversion 630 None can know that the time of his Conversion is past 542 None must bee troubled though they know not when nor by whom they were Converted 631 What grace God giveth in the first Conversion 686 What Conversion and true repentance is 474 Men over-gone with trouble of Conscience are most unfit to iudge of their owne estate 767 An excellent helpe to peace of Conscience in the former câ—se 765 c. When the Conscience is troubled it is good to lay it open to some faithfull and skilfull Christian ibid Rules touching opening a mans state to others when the Conscience is troubled ibid How to keepe the Conscience tender 480. 679 How to walke as in Gods sight under Crosses in all adversity 273 Rules how to passe by or beare lighter Crosses 274 Rules how to beare all Crosses 275 Of bearing Crosses thankefully 313 Of bearing Crosses fruitfully ib D How to begin the Day well 28 29 How to walke in the sequell of the Day after it is well begun 53 How to end the Day well 179 Reasons why naturally all are unwilling to Dye 585 Reasons why some are more fearefull to Die than others ibid Causes why Christians are too unwilling to Dye 587 Helpes against feare of Death 588 Difference betweene the sinning of the regenerate and unregenerate 688 E Rules for Eating and drinking 64 In what order a man should ascend to the knowledge of his Election 518 Whence it is that the Elect may backeslide aud how farre 685 The Elect never fall from the first infused grace 688 Some thinke they Endevour to doe well yet doe not 324 What Endevour is in generall ibid Some thinke they Endevour not when yet they doe 326 What is true Endevour ibid A mans Endevour in some caseâ— may be as true when yet he cannot performe it as in some other cases when he can performe it to the full 327 The
kinde of the sinne if you wel observe it it being a wilfull and malicious refusing of pardon upon such tearmes as the Gospell doth offer it scorning to be beholding unto God for it You may perceive what it is by this description The sinne against the holy Ghost is an utter wilfull and spitefull reiecting of the Gospell of Salvation by Christ together with an advised and absolute falling away from the profession of it so farre that against former knowledge and conscience a man doth maliciously oppose and blaspheme the Spirit of Christ in the Word and Ordinances of the Gospel and motions of the Spirit in them having resisted reiected and utterly quenched all those common and more inward gifts and motions wrought upon their hearts and affections which sometimes were intertained by them in so much that out of hatred of the Spirit of life in Christ they crucifie to themselves a-fresh the Sonne of God and doe put him both in his Ordinances of Religion and in his members to open shame â—reading underfoot the Sonne of God counting the bloud of the Covenant wherewith they were sanctified an unholy thing doing despight to the spirit of grace If you shall heedfu'ly looke into these places of the Scripture which speake of this sinne and withall doe observe the opposition which the Apostle maketh betweene sinning against the Law and sinning against the Gospell you shall clearely finde out the nature of this sinne But to resolve you of this doubt if you be not overcome with Melancholy for then you will answer you know not what which is to be pittied rather than regarded I would aske you that thinke you have committed the sinne against the holy Ghost these Questions Doth it grieve you that you have committed it Could you wish that you had not committed it If it were to be committed would you not forbeare if you could choose Would you take your selfe beholding to God if hee would make you partakers of the bloud and Spirit of his Sonne thereby to pardon and purge your sinne and to give you grace to repent Nay are you troubled that you cannot bring your heart unto a sense of desire of pardon and grace If you can say yea then albeit the sinne or sinnes which trouble you may be some fearefull sinne of which you must be exhorted speedily to repent yet certainly it is not the sinne against the holy Ghost It is not that unpardonable sinne it is not that sinne unto death For he that committeth this sinne cannot relent neither will he be beholding to GOD for pardon and grace by Christs bloud and spirit he cannot desire to repent But he is given over in Gods just judgement unto such a reprobacy of minde pollution and deadnesse of conscience perversnesse and rebellion of will and to such an height of hatred and malice that he is so blasphemously despitâ—fully bent against the Spirit of holinesse that â—t much pleaseth him rather than any way troubles him that hee hath so maliciously and blasphemously rejected or fallen from persecuted and spoken blasphemously against the good way of Salvation by Christ and against â—he gracious operations of the Spirit and against the members â—f Christ although he was once convinced clearly that this is the â—nely way of Salvation and that those graces and gifts were from God that they were the deare children of God whom he doth â—â—w despight Others if not the same object â—â—us God will certainely conâ—â—mne them because S. Iohn â—â—th said if their hearts condemne â—em God is greater than their â—arts hence they in ferre God will condemn them much more For they say their hearts doe condemne them There is a double judgement by the heart and conscience It â—â—â—gâ—â—h a mans state or person â—â—â—theâ—â—e be in state of grace â—â—â—â—â—â—o Also it judgeth a mans â—…lar actions whether they be good oâ— no. I take it that thâ—i place of Iohn is not to be understood of judging or condemning the person For God in his finall judgement doth not judge according to what a mans weaâ— and erroneous conscience judgeth for so it cannot choose buâ— be more or lesse in this life making it the square of his judgement to condemne or absolve any For many a man in his presumption iustifieth himselfe iâ— this life when yet God will condemne him in the world to comâ— and many a distressed soule liâ—â— the Prodigall and humble Puâ—â— liâ—an coÌ„demneth himselfe wheâ— yet God will absolve him For a man may have peace with God yet God for reasons best known to his wisedome doth not presently speake peace to his conscience as it was with David in which case man doth judge otherwise of his estate than God doth This place is to be understood of iudging of particular actions namely whether a man love his brother not in word and tongue onely but in deed and truth according to the exhortation ver 18. Which if his Conscience could testifie for him then it might assure his heart before God and give it boldnesse to pray unto him in confidence to receive whatsoever hee did aske according to his will But if his owne conscience could condemne him of not loving his brother in deed and truth then God who is greater thaÌ„ his hart but wherein greater greater in knowing mans heart and the truth of his love knowing all things must needs condemn him therein much more Even as Peter in the question whether hee loveth Christ or no he appeales to Christs omniscience whereby he proveth his love towards him saying Thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee This is the full scope of the place Yet this I must needs say that the holy Ghost hath instanced in such an act namely of hearty loving the brethren which is an infallible signe of being in state of grace whereby except in case of extreame melancholy or phrensie and in the brunt of a violent temptation a man may judge whether at that present he be translated from death to life yea or â—o If any shall think the place to be understood of judging the person he must distinguish between that judgement which the heart doth give rightly and de iure and that which it giveth erroneously But suppose that you trying your selves by this your hearts doe condemne you of not loving the brethren can you conclude hence that you shall be finally damned God forbid All that you can inferre is this you cannot have boldnesse to pray unto him untill you love them nor can you assure your selves that you shal have your petitioÌ„s granted And the worst you can conclude is that now for the present you are not in state of grace or at the least you want proofe of being in state of grace You must then use all Gods meanes of being ingrafted into Christ and must love the children of GOD that you may have proofe thereof Did Paul love