thou art mercilesse vnto for thy sin addes to their misery which they groane vnder and thou yet addest to their burden by thy sinne Thou art lyable to all the ill a man vnconverted may indure or to any sin that a man destitute of divine grace may commit as To spirituall hardnesse of heart blindnesse of minde slavery vnder thy lusts searednesse of conscience or committing the sinne against the Holy Ghost To temporall any thing that may befall any man For time to come as to be possessed of the divell c. I wish every naturall man seriously to consider this for thou dying in thy naturall estate art certainely damned and for any thing thou knowest thou mayest dye the next moment and then all things are thine enimies death which is certaine but how when or where thou knowest not Calvin sayth A man may dye a thousand wayes in one houre Some Physitians say there are three hundred diseases in the body all mortall Besides new sins haue begotten new diseases thou mayest die suddenly by an impostume thy house may be fiered and thou consumed by it thy horse may stumble and soe destroy thee a tile may fall as thou art walking and so kill thee an Adder vnder the grasse or hearbes may sting thee Canst thou promise thy selfe to see the Sun againe when it 's once sette though now thou be in perfect strength But however nature will end at length Sathan then is ready to come with his vtmost malice when thou art faint and loath to depart then hee will lay open all thy sinnes and then the very next step is The Iudgement seat of Gods tribunall where God will declare what mercy hee offered thee and the Divell will pleade to haue thee Then comes the internall separation from God and possession of those torments which are easelesse endlesse remedilesse Oh the tearing of the heart and the gnashing of the teeth that this will produce especially when you consider God every Sabbaoth stretched out his armes to imbrace you and you would not Christ offered to make a plaster of his hearts blood to cure you but you trampled it vnder your feete The holy Ghost put good motions into your heart but you rejected them the Minister hee pressed hard to haue you yeeld hut you withstood him Oh the hellish cryes that these will fetch from such an heart Fourth Act. Wherefore let this betimes begette in thee a base esteeme of thy selfe consider Helpe 1 Thou art worse then a Toad nay a Toade is a faire amiable creature in comparison of thee For first a Toad following the instinct of nature serues the Creator in its kinde it suckes vp the venome of the earth which otherwise would poysō vs but thou art a degenerate creature Traitor who drinkest poyson out of Gods mercy to sin more against him Thou art a sworne friend to his most deadly enemy and breakest all his commandements Secondly the venome of a Toad kills but the body the poyson of sinne kills both body and soule Thirdly When a Toad dyes its misery is ended but then thy woe begins then thou wilt wish thou hadst beene any thing but a man Helpe 2 If thou hadst looked vpon that man in Math. 8. possessed with a Devill who dwelt among the Tombes went naked chaines would not hold him the Devill was soe powerfull in him thou wouldst haue thought him a dreadfull spectacle of extreame misery to haue a legion of devils by computation sixe thousand sixe hundred sixtie sixe but I tell thee thou hadst better haue a thousand Legions then one vnrepented sinne for The devill he can haue power but over the body and so he may over a Saint and had over Christ to carry him to the top of a Pinnacle but never sin like thine of obstinate and finall impenitencie was found in a sanctified man Sinne made the divell so vgly as hee is being else of an Angelicall nature onely sinne makes him odious therfore it is worse than a thousand divels yea worse than either the tongue of men and Angells can expresse All the divels in hell in thy body cannot doe the one pinnesworth of hurt for the salvation of thy soule but one sinne wilfully vnrepented of and so vnpardoned will damne it so that it were better to be possessed with a thousand devills then one sinne vnrepented of vnpardoned Fifth Act. Get an inward wounding of thine heart and bleeding of soule Where take these helpes Helpe 1 First thy heart that hath beene the fountaine or rather sinke from whence haue issued many foule streames where all ill hath beene forged all evill words raging passions wicked thoughts Now then by the rule of proportion let thy heart be a fountaine of sorrow for sinne If Christ open a fountaine of mercy for mourners let not vs be excluded for want of sorrow Helpe 2 Consider the heart of Christ he had not taken vpō himselfe a heart of flesh but for sinne which for thy sake was tilled with that singular depth of sorrow griefe that if all the godly sorrow of all the Christian soules frō the beginning of the world to the end thereof in heauen or in earth dead or aliue were collected into one heart they could not countervaile the depth of his anguish Shall then his blessed soule fall asunder in his blessed breast assaulted with al the wrath of God and the second death Shall his soule be like a scorched hearth so pressed with the flames of Gods revenging wrath which wrūg from him those bloody drops and ruefull cryes My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee The wrath of God was so fierce on him that I say droppes of blood fell from him and shall thy heart be as a stone within thy breast and never be moued Oh prodigious hardnesse and worse then heathenish ingratitude Helpe 3 If thy heart be not wounded here in some measure truly it shall hereafter be filled with such endlesse horrour that would grieue and breake ten thousand hearts to thinke on it Is it not better then to mourne a little here for sinne than to haue our hearts inlarged to indure vnto all eternity the horrour of hell Is any man so senselesse to thinke he shall goe to heaven as in a bed of downe and never be touched for his sinne which is as impossible as for thee to reach heaven with thy hand Whē Hezekiah a man perfect in all his wayes Esa 38.14 complained chattered like a Crane David roared all the day long Psal 32.3 Iob complained Iob. 6.4 The arrowes of the Almighty are within mee the venom whereof doth drinke vp my spirit Nay Christ himselfe cryed out in the Agony of his Spirit Helpe 4 If thou get this broken heart into thy breast thou shalt bring downe the glorious majesty of heauen GOD Almighty with his chaire of State to sit in thy soule for hee hath two habitations Esay 57.15 1 In heaven 2 In an
humble heart Helpe 5 Get this and get all Thou gettest true title and interest vnto the passion of Christ and all the cōforts in the booke of God the promises both of this life and of that to come Sixt Act. Get an outward bewayling with heart-pearcing confession where Helpe 1 Consider first the practice of the Saints of God They powred out teares as men water out of Buckets 1. Sam. 7. Mary washed Christs feete with her teares The Publican strucke on his breast with a sorrowfull acknowledgemēt of his sinnes Helpe 2 Consider secondly thy hands eies and tongue and heart haue beene instruments of Gods dishonour therefore by rule of proportion thou shouldst haue the workes of thy hands instrumentall demonstrations of repentance thy eyes fountaines of teares thy tongue should vtter and heart suffer griefe Helpe 3 Consider that for outward things men will weepe teares as for dejection from high places losses crosses in wife or children as David for Absolon so it is with many what wringing their hands tearing their haire bitter crying c. Then the losse of Christ who is infinitely better than husband wife child or any thing in the world this this how should it breake thy heart If all Iobs troubles were on thee and could wring one teare from thee then one sinne should wring blood from thy heart Seventh Act. Get a hatred and aversion in thy will from sin considering these three helpes What sinne is in it selfe How God is provoked with it How thou art hurt by it Helpe 1 What sinne is Sinne in it selfe is fouler than any fiend in hell because it made that so as fire is hotter then water that is heat It 's extreamely ill nothing comes neare it I consider of sinne here in the abstract so it s a greater ill than the damnation of a mans soule for when two ills fight together that which cōquers must needes be the greater now when a man hath lyen in hell ten thousand yeares hee is as farre from comming out as ever for the eternall duration in hell cannot expiate sinne It s most infectious It 's compared to a Leprosie for The first sinne that peeped into the world stayned the beauty of it no sooner sinne was committed by Adam but the Stars seemed impure in Gods sight the beasts were at variance the earth full of brambles and all things cursed Secondly it sowred all natural religious and civill actions Thirdly if a man in authority be sinfull all vnder him will be infected Sin is most filthy compared to the most vile things that can be named to menstruous ragges the vomite of doggs c. Nay not any dirt or filthy thing can staine a Sunne-beame but sin staines a more glorious creature which is the soule of man Sin is of that hellish nature that it drawes out takes in to it selfe the wrath of God Sin is full of cursed consequences Privatiue Positiue Privatiue losse of Gods favour the blood of Christ the guard of Angels peace of conscience c. Positiue it brings all misery spirituall hardnesse of heart blindnesse of minde horrour of conscience despaire c. with all temporall losses and crosses here and hereafter eternall torments of soule and body Helpe 2 God is provoked with it Each sinne is the only object of Gods infinite hatred His loue is diversified to himselfe his Sonne the Angels the creatures but his hatred is confined onely to sinne What infinite of infinites of hatred hast thou on thy soule with all thy sinnes when each sinne hath the infinite hatred of God vpon it Each sin is against the Majesty of that dreadfull Lord of Heaven and earth who can turne all things into hell nay heavē hell into nothing by his word Now against this God thou sinnest what art thou but dust and ashes a bagge of filth and flegme and all that 's naught And what is thy life but a span a bubble a dreame a shadow of a dreame And shall such a thing offend such a God Every sin strikes at the glory of Gods pure eye Sin is that which killed his Sonne the least sinne could not be pardoned but by Christs carrying his heart blood to his Father and offering it for sinne Each sinne is an offence to all his mercies This aggravated the sinne vpon Eli 1. Sam. 2.29 David 2. Sam. 12.8.9 c. Mercy is the most eminent attribute of God and therefore the sinne against it is the greater What therefore are our sins in the time of the Gospell Helpe 3 Consider how thou art hurt by it for Each sin kills thy soule which it better then the world Mat. 16.29 Each sinne bring it never soe much pleasure in the committing leaues a threefold sting Naturall Temporall Immortall Naturall after worldly pleasure comes melancholly properly either because it lasted no longer or they had no more delight in it c. That as all waters end in the salt sea so all worldly joyes are swallowed vp in sorrowes bottomlesse gulfe Temporall ther 's labour in getting care in keeping and sorrow in parting with worldly goods Immortall God will call thee to judgment for it Each sin robbes thee of abundance of comfort What a vast difference do we see in conquering sin and being conquered by sinne as for instance in Ioseph and David the one raised after his cōquest to much honour the other scarce enjoyed one good day after hee was conquered but as Ezekias walked heavily in the bitternesse of his soule all his dayes As some Divines haue said of Guliacius and Spira the one is honour'd in Calvins Epistles for ever the other after his backsliding liued a while in exquisite horror and after dyed in despaire Thy owne conscience will accuse thee one day for every sinne though now it seemes hid to thee and thy conscience is more then a thousand witnesses therefore thou wilt certainely be overthrowne For the sins which peradventure thou liuest now in and accountest but petty and veniall many poore soules are at this instant burning in hell for What misery and hurt then attends on thee for the same Eight Act. Get a strong reasoning in thy minde against sinne as first these three grand reasons Reas 1 The horrour of hell Therefore Christians wrong themselues that will not vse this as a motiue the vnquenchable wrath of God shall feede vpon thy soule if thou committest this sinne Reas 2 The joyes of heavē I shall dwell with God for ever if beleeving I make conscience of every sin as an evidence and fruit of saving faith Reas 3 And aboue all the glory of God if Gods glory and the damnation of our soules were in a ballance his glory should preponderate and prevaile while wee preferre Gods glory aboue our owne salvation Moses and Paul would haue done that although wee cannot seeke it but in and by our salvation as the meanes is subordinate to the end Secondly from every line in Gods booke His attributes as
1 His Iustice 2 His mercy His Iustice to terrifie sinners His mercy to allure vs to him His Iudgements His Promises Thirdly from logicall places See Rogers on meditations and in each particular consider of thy sinne As 1 The definitiō As 2 The division As 3 The causes As 4 The effects As 5 The subject As 6 The adjunct As 7 The comparison As 8 The contrary Fourthly from places of Scripture From examples in Scripture How shall I do this so sin against God saith Ioseph From your former estate Yee were darknesse but now yee are light c. From the end of all things Seeing all things must be dissolved what manner of men ought wee to be Fiftly from thy selfe Thy soule is immortall all the Devils in hell cannot kill it Thy body is fraile all helps cannot long vphold it Sixtly from Christ Looke vpon him weeping nay bleeding on the crosse and saying thus Sinne brought mee from the bosome of my Father to dye for it Seaventhly from the incomprehensible excellencie of God against whom thou sinnest Ninth Act. Get a sincere opposition in thy life to sinne Helpes thereto Helpe 1 When any bait of Sathan or old companions would allure thee to sin take this dilemma Either I must repent and then it will bring more sorrow than the pleasure did good or not repent and then it 's the damnation of my soule Helpe 2 Consider thy madnesse which layest most desperately in one scale of the ballance heaven the favour of God the blood of Christ and thine owne soule in the other a little dung pelfe base lust c. And lettest this oversway which bringeth rottennesse to thy bones perhaps losse of thy good name c. Helpe 3 And that thou maist yet be further armed to withstand the assaults of thy three grand enemies the world the flesh and the devill which dayly seeke the destructiō of thy soule cōsider these twelue Antidotes Consider the shortnes of the pleasure of sin with the length of the punishment the one for a moment the other everlasting Consider the companions of sinne for one sinne never goes alone but being once entertained it sets all the faculties of the soule also in a combustion and so procures a spirituall judgement if not temporall vpon estate and person Consider thy life is but a span a breath a blast soone gone now if wee had all the pleasure in the world yet being so soone to loose it it 's not worth esteeming Consider sin causeth vs to lose a greater good than that can be as the favour of God interest in Christ guard of Angels right to the creatures c. Consider the vncertainty of repentance thou maist never haue motion to repent after thou hast sinned and so art damned Consider the nearnesse of death to thee some haue liued out aboue halfe their time others almost all of it young and old dye suddenly many times Consider one moment in hell will be worse then all the pleasure in the world did good though it should haue lasted a thousand yeares twice told So on the contrary one moment in heaven doth more good than all the hardnesse and paines in good duties or persecution for them did hurt Consider the dignity of thy soule it 's more worth then a world Lose it not then for any sinne Consider the preciousnesse of a good conscience which is a continuall feast This thou losest by sinne Consider thou sinnest against a world of mercies which God hath sent to thee as to soule body good name estate others that belong to thee Consider nothing can wash away any sinne but the blood of Christ And wilt thou now pollute thy selfe againe as it were to haue him kill'd afresh to wash away thy sinne Consider the ancient Martyrs and Worthies chose rather to burne at a stake than they would sin and wilt thou soe easily be drawne to it or rather runne to it Anselme sayd if the flames of hell were on the one side and sinne on the other side I would rather lye in those flames than sinne And others would rather be torne in pieces with wild horses Wee haue as precious meanes as they and if our hearts were as good wee should haue the like affections Tenth Act. Get a sincere grieving that thou canst do these things no better as considering Though thou hadst a thousand eyes and could weepe them all out and shed rivers of teares and a thousand hearts to burst yet all were not sufficient for the least sinne or vanity either of the eye or heart How much more when our hearts are barren and dry had wee neede to labour for this sorrow Considering when thou hast made the best praier or watched most diligently over thy selfe for the right and due sanctification of the Sabbaoth or spent thy selfe in a day of humiliation thou hadst neede to crye and burst thy heart againe for the imperfections and failings thereof In this sorrow that thou canst performe good duties no better Weaue vp the web what 's lacking in any of the rest here make it vp and to incourage thee thou hast this happinesse joyned with it that though thy griefe be small if it be true to cause thee to sell all that is to part from every sinne for Christ and take him as a husband and a Lord both for protection and government Then by the consent of all Divines it it godly sorrow and certainly accepted in Christ ₠FINIS