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
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
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
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
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
reade the Scriptures 188 None must forbeare reading of Scripture because of the difficulty of it 191 How to read and not wrest or mistake Scripture 190 Motives to read Scripture 194 A caution touching private reading 195 How to read mens writings profitably 194 A Christian must bee well read in the booke of his Conscience 206 207 How to attaine Reconciliation and Reformation 128 What is the best Recreation 64 The Gospell is the meanes of Reconciliation and Reformation 128 A truely regenerate man may fall farre backe though not quite away 685 Great difference betweene the sinnes of the regenerate and unregenerate 688 The regenerate never looseth the first infused habit of grace ibid. No man can know certainly in this life that he is a Reprobate 517 S Doubts of Sanctification from feare of having not repented removed 660 Doubts of Sanctification from being out-gone by others removed 671 Doubts of Sanctification through dulnesse in spirituall duties removed 665 Doubts of Sanctification from sudden dulnesse after comforts removed 670 Doubts of Sanctification through sense of hardnes of heart removed 677 An old devise of Satan to make a man thinke his owne case worse then that of any others 573 How to know that a mans perswasion that he is in state of salvation or damnation is a delusion of Satan oris according to the truth from Gods gracious Spirit 754. 755 778 How Satans evill suggestions may be knowne from mans owne evill thoughts 639 Satans malice and cunning in casting in blasphemous thoughts 632 Rules of Singing unto edification 241 Accusation and aggravation of Sin 118 Reasons proving that Sinne cannot be unpardonable because of the greatnesse of it 501 Sinnes after as well as before conversion pardonable 507 Why the unpardonable Sinne is called the Sinne against the holy Ghost 527 Why the Sinne against the holy Ghost is unpardouable ibid A description of the Sinne against the holy Ghost 526 How to be sure that a man hath not sinned against the holy Ghost 527 Reasons proving infallibly that the Scriptures are the Word of God 651 In what cases a mâ—n may speake of others evils and yet speake not evill 222 Meanes to obtaine and keepe the Spirit of God â—74 Hâ—w Gods Spirit doth â—…o mans Spirit that he is Godâ— child 778 Rules for Sporting 66 A man may Suffer for Christ two wayes 308 Rules for Superiours and Governours 58 Meanes whereby Superiours may containe inferiours in their dutie 59 Meanes to keepe Superiours from abusing their authoritie 61 Tâ— How to be armed against temptations unnaturall and inhumane 653 Why God is to bee Thanked and praysed 247 What prayse and Thankes is and wherein they differ 249 What is requisite in prayse and Thankes 250 Motives to Thankefulnesse 254 Impediments to Thanks 256 257 Furtherance to Thankes 259 How a man is to give proofe of his Thanks 269 Difference betweene Terrors of Conscience that prepare to conversion and those which are the beginning of hellish Torments 631 Reasons why worse thoughts may be cast into a man after then before his Conversion 644 Reasons why God may permit Satan to cast into his Children most vile Thoughts 645 How to be armed against blasphemous Thoughts 646 647 How to be kept from the hurt of Divellish Thoughts 654 655 Difference betweene Trouble rising from bodily distempers and that of Trouble of Conscience 490 Troubles through want of peace of Sanctification removed 744 V Disswasives from Vnthankfulnes 25â— Of Vprightnesse 31â— Reasons why a man should be Vpright 317 A description of Christian Vprightnesse 319 320 Three acts inseparable from Vprightnesse 322 A twofold Vprightnesse 328 Rules directing how to iudge of Vprightnesse 329 Vprightnesse is not perfect in this life 330 A few Vpright or hypocriticall actions doe not prove a man to be Vpright or an hypocrite ibid. Inward Vprightnesse will alwayes shew it selfe in outward righteousnâ—sse 332 Signes of Vprightnes and whence they are taken 332 Questions about iudging of Vprightnesse answered 354 In what cases Vprightnesse is hardly discerned 355 A Caution in iudging of Vprightnesse by many markes 356 Motives to Vprightnesse 367 Meanes against Hypocrisie and for Vprightnesse 373 The graces which breed and nourish Vprightnesse 276 W Christians must Walke with God 4 What it is to Walke with God 4 How many things concurre in walking with God 6 Reasons why wee should Walke with God 9 Mans walking with God must be alwayes 1â— Reasons why a man should walke with God at all times 17 With what manner of wil and consent a man receiveth Christ by Faith 61â— The end of the Contents FINIS Ephe. 4. 18 Gen. 19. 11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act 17 27 Ephe. 1. 18 Heb. 5 1◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sensus eterni Vâ—vita carâ—â—s animaest it a beata â—o niâ—isvita Deus est Aug. 19. de civit Dei tap 26. Ioh. 1. 5. Gen. 1. 31 Gen. 1. 27. 1 Pet. 1. 16 Pro. 16. 4. Mat. 19 17 2 Pet. 1. 4. Eph. 4. 2â— 24. Col. 3. 10 Ioh. 17. 3. Esa 53. 11. Rom 8. 24. 1 Cor. 13. 9 12 Rom. 6. 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ephe. 1. 13 Ier. 31. 32. 2 Cor. 3. 2 3 1 Tim. 6 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal 17. 15 Rom 5. 1. 1 Pet. 5. 8. Rom 8. 35. adfinem In hominibus secundum statum prâ—sentis vitae est ultima perfectio secundum operationem qua homo coniungitur Deo Tho. Aqu 1 2 dâ— qu. 3. Art 2. ad 4 Tristes exitus esse voluntatuâ— quisquis remiâ—â—sci suarum libidinum volet intelâ—get quae â—â— beaâ—os efficere possent nihil causae esset quit peâ—udes queque beaâ—ae esse dicaÌ„tur Boâ—tius de consol 3. pros 7. Ier. 2. 13. Gen. 3. 5. Dan. 4. 29. Lam. 4. 5. Eccl. 10. 7. Iudg. 1. 7. Iudg. 16. Esa 57. 1. Luk. 12. 20 Gen. 3. 10. Est 8. 6 7. 8 Rom. 5. 3. Act. 16. 25. Psal 23. 4. Esa 38. 3. Rom. 8. 38 39. Rom 3. Obiect 1. Answ Luk. 13. 24 Ephe. 5. 15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hob. 12. 13 Obiect 2. Answ Esay 35 8. Gal. 6. 15 16 2 Pet. 5. Rom. 1. 18 Ier. 6 16. Luk. 1. 9 Heb. 13. 19 Gen. 17. 1. Gal. 6. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal 1. 1. Act. 13. 10 Psal 119. 5 Chrys Tom. 5. Ep. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jerom. Tom. 1. from pag 108. to pag 117. Si quid autem vel eum legis vel cum cogitas tibi oritur quaestionis in quo dissolvendo videar necessarius scribe ut rescribam paulò post quod scriptum habetur semyeâ— vaâ—at ad legendam cum vaâ—at legenti nec onerosum fit praesens quod cum voles sumitur cum voles ponitur Aug. Ep ad Volus Obiect 2. Answ Obiect 2. The occasion of these Directions a Luk. 10. 40 41. Luk. 10. 42 The sum of the following Discourse You must walke with God b Gen. 5. 22. 24. c Gen. 6. 9. d Iob 1. 1. e
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
questioning the truth of his being and of his Word denying his Providence Power or some other of his Divine Attributes Have I not been ignorant of God and of his will and erroneous and mis-beleeving if not hereticall in my conceits concerning God the Father Sonne or holy Ghost Have I not beene over-curious in prying into the nature and secret counsels of God beyond the rule of the revealed wil of God Have I not set up false Deities or put my selfe or any other creature in the place of God through pride preferring and resting upon mine owne way and will before Gods or by making my selfe mine utmost end professing God and his Religion onely to serve mine owne ends or by seeking to the creature as to Angell Saint Devill or Witch instead of the Creator Have I not beene forgetfull of God and of his will Is not my Conscience impure blinde deluded or seared and my will perverse obstinate impatient and murmuring against God and ful of dissimulation Have I not set mine affections upon the World rather than upon God loving that which is evill hating that which is good yea God himselfe if not directly yet in his Holines shining in his Ordinances and in his children or as hee is a severe inflicter of punishment Fearing man more than God trusting in the Creature making something besides God my chiefe joy Have I not presumed when I had cause to despaire and despaired after that I had cause to hope Have I not â—empted God many wayes And have I not in the matters of God beene either cold lukewarme or blindely or preposterously zealous Hath there not beene a pronenesse in my whole outward man to rebell against God The second Commandement concerneth all such lawfull worships of God which he onely hath appointed whereby he communicateth himselfe to man and man againe maketh profession of him forbidding under one kinde all such as are not by him ordained Thinke thus Have I worshipped God in spirit and truth in all the kindes and parts of his Worship publike or private ordinary or extraordinary as by hearing reading and meditating of his Word by praying praising and giving thankes to him by a right use of his Sacraments Baptisme and the Lords Supper and by Religious Fasting Religious Feasting and making of vowes according as I have had speciall occasion And have I done what did belong to me for the setting forth and maintaining of Gods true Worship and have I according to my place executed aright or submitted unto the government and discipline of the Church Or besides the omission of the former duties Am I not guilty some way or other of Idoll-worship conceiving of GOD in my mind or representing him to my sense in the likenes of any creture Have I not added to or detracted from any part of Gods Worship Have I not run into the appearances and occasions of Idolatry as by presence at Idoll-service by marriage and needlesse â—amiliarity with Idolatrous persons by reserving undefaced monuments of Idolatry At least is â—ot my heart guilty of not hating but rather lingering after Idolatrous worship Have I not been guilty of superstition or Will-worship c. The third Commandement concerneth the glory of Gods holy Name shining forth in his Titles Attributes Religion Word Ordinances People or any thing that hath in it any print of his holinesse or excellency forbidding the taking of it in vaine and that in all actions religious or common Have I glorified God by answering my holy profession with an holy and unblameable conversation by performing all holy duties with due preparation knowledge and devotion also by thinking and speaking of the Names and holy things of God with holy reverence and in particular by fearing an Oath Or have I not caused the Name Religion and People of God to be ill thought of and dishonoured by my evill course of living or at least by committing some grosse sinâ— Am I not guilty of rash unprepared heedlesse forgetfull and fruitlesse reading hearing receiving the Sacraments or performance of any other the worships of God Have I not thought or spoken blasphemously or contempiuously of God or of any the things of God Have I not used the Name of God needlesly rashly wickedly or falsly in swearing or lightly in my Salutations Admirations or otherwise in my ordinary communication Have I not abused the Name of God his Scriptures his Ordinances and Creatures using them for other purposes then hee alloweth as for sports spels charms or any sorcery luxury or the like Have I not passed by the great workes of Gods power mercy and judgements without due observation and acknowledgement of God therein The fourth Commandement concerneth the ordinary solemne time of the service and worship of God requiring that the seventh day now our Lords day be kept with an holy rest Have I upon the six dayes Remembred the Lords day that I might dispatch all my worldly businesse and prepare my heart that when it came I might keep an holy Sabbath to the Lord according to the Commandement Did I according as my health would permit rise early on that day Have I performed my daily both morning and evening exercises of Religion alone and with my family that day in private Have I caused all under my authority according to my power to rest from all manner of workes and worldly sports also my selfe not onely from the labour of my body but of my mind in all worldly businesse except about the things that concerne common honestie and comelinesse workes of mercy and such workes of necessitie as could not be done before or stay to be done afterwards Have I alwayes prepared my heart before I went into the house and presence of God by meditation of Gods Word and Workes and in particular by examination and reformation of my wayes also by prayer thankesgiving and holy resolution to carry my selfe as in Gods presence and to heare and obey whatsoever I should bee taught out of the Word of God Have I caused my family to goe with me to the Church And did I with them come in due time and being there did stay the whole time of prayer reading and preaching of the Word singing of Psalmes receiving and administring the Sacraments even that of Baptisme when others are Baptised and did attend diligently and joyne with the Minister and the rest of the Congregation in all those holy exercises Did I spend the day after the Morning and Evening Prayers Sermons or Catechisings in meditation and as I had opportunitie in conference and repetition of what I had heard also in visiting the sicke and other workes of mercy and so from the beginning to the end of the day have beene imployed in holy thoughts words and deeds and all this with spirituall delight Or Am I not guiltie of forgetting it before it came and of neglecting and prophaning it when it came as by meere idlenesse or by taking opportunity of leisure from busines of my calling to be
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
forme of your life and conversation according to which you must walke with God The inward truth and life of all this which is doing all in uprightnesse remaineth to bee spoken unto which followeth CHAP. XII Of uprightnesse SECTION 1. ALL which I shall write concerning uprightnesse will meet in this point In your whole walking with GOD you must be upright Both these to walke with God and to be upright are joyned in this precept Walke with mee and bee perfect or upright Hee speaketh not of an absolute perfection of degrees in the fulnesse of al graces which is only aimed at in this life towards which a man by watchfulnesse and diligence may come nearer and nearer but is never attained untill we come to Heaven amongst the spirits of iâ—st men made perfect He speaketh here of the perfection of parts and of truth of grace in every part expressing it selfe in unfainednesse of will and endevour which is uprightnesse That you should bee sincere and upright Reade Ioshâ—a 24. 14. 1 Chro. 28. 9. And the Apostle telleth you that sith Christ Iesus your Passeover is slaine you must keepe the seven dayes feast of unleavened bread which shadoweth forth the whole time of our life here with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth The examples of Noah Iob Nathaniel with many others in the Scripture are therefore written that of them you may learne to be upright There is speciall reason why you should be upright First Your God with whom you walke is perfect and upright hee is truth Hee loueth truth in the inward parts all his workes are done in truth and there was no guile ever found to be either in the mouth hand or heart of your Head Christ Iesus Now you should please GOD and be like your Father and like your head CHRIST IESVS following his steps Secondly it is to no purpose to doe that which is right in Gods sight in respect of the matter of your actions if in the truth and disposition of your soule you bee not upright therein For the best action voyd of uprightnesse is but like a well-proportioned body without life and essential forme And that is counted as not done at all to God which is not done in uprightnesse This exception is taken against Amaziahs good actions It is said Hee did that which was right in the sight of the Lord but hee did it not in uprightnesse he did it not with a perfect heart Thirdly the best actions without uprightnesse doe not onely lose their goodnesse but in Gods account are held to be abominable evils Such were the Prayers and Sacrifices of the hypocriticall Iewes For GOD holdeth such actions and such services to be meere flatterie lying and mocking him to his face Now because there is none so ready to presume and say he is upright as is the hypocrite So Ephraim In all my labours they shall finde no iniquitte in mee that were sinne And because there are none so ready to doubt whether they be upright as are the tender-hearted and sincere So it was with David when he prayed to have a right spirit renewed in him It will be needfull and useful that I shew you what uprightnesse is and by what infallible marks you may know whether you be upright or no. Christian uprightnesse for of that I meane is a saving grace of the holy Ghost wrought in the heart of a man rightly informed in the knowledge of God in Christ whereby his heart standeth so intirely and sincerely right to God-ward that in the true disposition bent and firme determination of his will hee would in every facultie and power of soule and body approue himselfe to be such a one as God would have him to be and would doe whatsoever God would have him to doe and all as God would have him and that for and unto God The Author of this uprightnesse is Gods sanctifying Spirit The common nature of it wherein it agreeth with other graces is it is a saving grace It is peculiar to them that shall be saved for onely they are indued with it but it is common to all and to each of that sort who are effectually called The proper seat of this grace is the will The ground or spring in man from whence through the speciall grace of the holy Ghost it riseth is sound knowledge of God and of his will touching those things which the will should choose and refuse and from faith in Christ Iesus the conduit-pipe through which everybeleever doth of his fulnesse of uprightnesse receive this grace to be upright Herby Christian uprightnes differeth from that uprightnesse which may bee in a meere naturall superstitious and mis-beleeving man yea in an heathen Idolater for even such may be unfained in their actions in their kinde both in actions civill and superstitious doing that which they doe in their ignorance and blindnesse without dissimulation either with GOD or man This S. Paul did before his conversion hee did as hee thought he ought to doe The forme and proper nature of uprightnesse is the good inclination disposition and firme intention of the will to a full conformitie with Gods will and that not in some faculties and powers of man or in some of his actions but universally for subject and object he would be entire and sincere in all his parts and in all things hee would be and doe as GOD would have him to be and doe making Gods will revealed in his Word and Workes to be his will and Gods knowne ends to be his ends This holy uprightnesse expresseth it selfe in three actions two inward the other both inward and outward First it sheweth it selfe in a well-grounded and unfained purpose and resolution to cleave to the Lord and to make Gods will to be his will This is an act of the will guided and concluded from sound judgement The second act is an unfained desire and longing of the heart to attaine that his good purpose and resolution willing or desiring in all things to live honestly and to live worthy the LORD in all well-pleasing longing with David after Gods precepts This is an act of the affection of desire a motion of the wil drawing and thrusting a man forward giving him no rest untill he have obtained at least in some good measure his said purpose Thirdly uprightnesse sheweth it selfe in a true endevour and exercise according to the strength and measure of grace received to be and to doe according to the former resolutions desires Such was the Apostles indeuour to have alwayes a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men This indevour is an act of the whole man All and every active power of soule and body as there shall be use of them are imployed in unfained indevour Now touching indevour know there be many thinke they indevour sufficiently when they
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
but desire he should carry you away out of this vale of misery that mortality might be swallowed up of life If you would doe all this in earnest you would be so farre from feare of death that you would if you were put to your choice with the Apostle choose to hee dissolved and to bee with Christ which is best of all and so farre from fearing the day of Iudgement that you would love and long for Christs appearing waiting with patience and chearfulnesse when your change shall be Indevour to follow these directions then suppose that you cannot keepe downe these fears and conquer them as you would yet be not discouraged for fears and doubts in this kinde doe flow many times from strength of temptation rather than from weakenesse of Faith Moreover what if you cannot attaine to so high a pitch in your Faith as S. Paul had are you so ambitious that no other degrees of Faith shall satisfie you Orare you so foolish as thence to conclude that you have no Faith Thirdly Whereas you say you are without feeling therefore you feare you have no faith I acknowledge that want of feeling and want of sense of Gods favour is that which doth more trouble GODS tender-hearted Children and make them more doubt of Gods love and of their iustification than any thing else whereas I know nothing that giveth them losse cause For first What meane you by feeling If you meane the enioyment of the things promised and hoped for by inward sense This is to overthrow the nature and to put an end to the use of faith and hope For Faith is the ground of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seene And the Apostle faith Hope that is seene is not hope Indeede faith giveth a present being of the thing promised to the beleever but it is a being not in sense but in hope and assured expectation of the thing promised Wherefore the Apostle speaking of our spirituall conversation on earth saith We walke by faith not by sight These two faith and feeling are opposite one to the other in this sense For when wee shall live by sight and feeling then we shall cease to live by faith Secondly If by feeling you meane a ioyous and comfortable assurance that you are in Gods savour and that you shall be saved and therefore because you want this joyous assurance you think you have no Faith you must know this conclusion will not follow For Faith whereby you are saved and set into state of grace and this comfortable assurance that you are in state of grace and shall be saved doe differ and are not the same It is true Assurance is an effect of faith in al that have this assurance yet it is not such a proper and necessary effect which is inseparable from the very being of faith in man at all times For you may have saving Faith yet at sometime be without the comfortable assurance of Salvation To beleeve in Christ to Salvation is one thing and to know assuredly that you shall be saved is another For Faith is a direct act of the reasonable soule receiving Christ and Salvation offered by God with him Assurance riseth from a reflect act of the soule namely when the soule by discourse returneth upon it selfe and can witnesse that it hath the afore-mentioned grace of faith whereby a man can say I know that I beleeve that Christ Iesus is mine and I know that I beleeve that the promises of the Gospell belong unto mee The holy Scriptures are written for both these ends that first Faith and then assurance of faith and hope should be wrought in men These things are written saith S. Iohn in his Gospell that you may beleeve that Iesus is the Christ the Sonne of God and that beleeving you might have life through his name Againe these things have I written saith the same Apostle in his Epistles to you that beleeve on the name of the Sonne of GOD that yee may know that you have eternall life and that you may beleeve that is continue to beleeve and increase in beleeving on the name of the Sonne of God A man is saved by faith but hath comfort in hope of Salvation by Assurance So that the being of spirituall life in respect of us doth subsist in Faith not in Assurance Feeling And that is the strongest and most approved faith which cleaveth to Christ and to his promises and which holdeth his owne without the helpe of feeling For albeit Assurance giveth unto us a more evident certainety of our good estate yet faith even without this will hold us certaine in this good estate whether we be assured or not Wherefore some Divines have well conceived of a double certaintie of things apprehended by mans judgment The first is Certaintie of Adherence and cleaving fast to the thing it beleeveth causing a man from the bare assent and consent to the truth and goodnesse of the promise and from the Commandement of God in his Word which bids him beleeve and rest on his promise for to cleave to the promise and to relie on it and to obey that Commandement which commādeth him to beleeve in Christ Iesus yea though this truth bee not otherwise so evident and cleare to the understanding as to satisfie mans natural reason For though Faith in its minority cannot alwayes comprehend to the full how and by what meanes or why in reason the thing promised should be fulfilled yet because it conceiveth thus much that the things of God are not fully comprehended by humane reason and that the truths of God are infallible whether it comprehend them or not will first beleeve and rest on the promise and then afterward consider how it may be so farre as is fit to be understood by reason Hence it is that albeit reason as it is now corrupt will still be obiecting and will be satisfied with nothing but what it may know by sense and by demonstration from Artificiall Arguments yet Faith even above and against sense and all naturall reasoning will give credit unto and rest upon the bare naked divine witnesse of the Word of truth for his sake that doth speake it Secondly there is a certaintie of Evidence namely when the thing beleeved is not onely said to be true and good but a man doth finde it so to be by sense and experience and is so evident to mans reason convincing it by force of Argument taken from the Causes Effects Properties Signes Contraries and the like that it hath nothing to object against the thing propounded to be beleeved The certaintie of Adherence is the certaintie of Faith The certaintie of Evidence is the certaintie of Assurance The certainty of Assurance and evidence is of excellent use for it maketh a man fruitfull in good workes and doth fill him ful of joy and comfort therefore it must by all meanes be gotten yet it
they renew their griefe and repentance yet they doe not fall into an allowed course of sinne any more Thus much in answer to the first doubt of Sanctification Secondly There are many which doubt they are not sanctified because of those swarmes and multitude of evill thoughts which are in them some whereof which is fearefull for them to thinke or speake are blasphemous unnaturall and inhumane calling Gods being truth power and providence into question doubting whether the Scripture be the word of God and many moe of this nature having also thoughts of laying violent hands upon themselves and others with many moe of that and other sorts such as they never felt at all or not so much in their knowne state of unregeneracy before they made a more strict profession of godlinesse such as they thinke none that are truly sanctified are troubled withall To resolve this doubt know that evill thoughts are either put into men from without as when Satan doth suggest or men doe solicite evill thus Iobs wife Curse God and dye Or they doe arise from within out of the evill concupiscence of a mans owne heart And sometimes they are mixt comming both from within and without Those which come onely from Satan may usually be knowne from them that arise out of mans heart by their sodainenesse and uncessantnesse namely when they are repelled they wil somtimes returne againe an hundred times in a day Also they are unreasonable and unnaturall and withall are strange and violent in their motions taking no nay but by violent resistance Wheras those which altogether or in great part are from mans owne corrupt heart they usually arise by occasion of some externall object or from some naturall cause and are not so sudden and incessant nor are so unnaturall inhumane and violent Now all those evill thoughts or thoughts of evill rather which are from Satan or from mans putting them into you if you consent not unto them but doe abhorre and resist them with detestation they are not your sinnes but Satans and theirs that did put them into you They are your crosses because they are matter of trouble to you but they are not your sinnes because they leave no guilt upon you They are no more your sinnes then these thoughts Cast thy selfe downe headlong and fall downe and worship me viz. the Divell were Christs sinnes if you consent not but resist them as CHRIST did You should heedfully observe this For if the Divell was so malicious and presumptuous as to assault our blessed Saviour with such divellish temptations casting into his head such vile blasphemous notions and thoughts should you thinke it strange that he doth pester you with the like And if for all this you have no cause to doubt whether Christ were the Sonne of GOD or no though the Divell made an if of it and it was the thing the Divel aimed at why then should it be doubted that any of Christs members may be thus assaulted and yet have no cause for this to question whether they be sanctified or in state of grace For these in them are so far from being abhominable evils that being not consented to they as I said are not their sinnes It is a peece of the Divels cunning first to fill a man full of thoughts for matter abhominable and then to be the first that shall put in this accusation and doubt viz. Is it possible for any childe of God for any that is sanctified with Gods holy Spirit to have such thoughts But consider well that an innocent Beniamin may have Iosephs cup put into his sacks mouth without his privity or fault by him who for his owne ends intended to make matter thereof wherby to accuse Beniamin of theft and ingratitude Was Beniamin any whit the more dishonest or ingrateful for all this A malicious Cutpurse having tempted a neighbour to jayn with him in cutting of purses being denyed by him doth craftily plot how to doe him a mischiefe and meeting the said neighbor in a throng of people cutteth another mans purse and closely conveigheth it into his neighbours pocket and presently asketh if none have lost their pâ—â—se which being missed hee poâ—â—â—eth at his neighbour saying that â—e suspecteth him who being taken and searched the purse is found about him yet you will judge this neighbour to be innocent Sathan doth not want malice or craft in this kinde to play his â—â—ates Where he cannot corrupt men yet there he wil veâ— and perplexe them But let it be granted that these blasphemous and abhominable thoughts which trouble you are indeede your sinnes either because they arise from your owne evill heart or because you did consent to them they being cast in by others If so then you have much cause to grieve and to repent but not to despaire or to say you are not Gods childe For it is possible for a sanctified man to be made guilty either by outward act or by consent and approbation or by some meanes or other of any one sinne except that against the holy Ghost yea of any blasphemy except that now albeit a man be guilty of these vile or blasphemous thoughts and doubtings yet if he confesse and bewaile his sinne even his blasphemy if his heart ake at the thoughts thereof if hee repent beleeve and aske mercy it shall be forgiven him For he hath our Saviours word for it And whereas you say you were not troubled with such abominable thoughts before that you made profession of an holy life I answer this is not to be woÌ„dred at For before that time the Devil and you were friends then hee thought it enough to suffer you to be proud of your civill honesty or it may bee to content your selfe with a meere forme of godlinesse suppose that you were free from notorious crimes as adultery lying swearing c. For when hee could by these more plausible wayes lead you captive at his will he saw you were his sure enough already what need was there then that hee should solicite you any further or to disturbe your quiet But now that you have renounced him in earnest and that hee and you bee two you may bee sure that he will attempt by all meanes to reduce you into your old state or if he faile of that yet as long as you live so farre as God shall permit hee will doe what hee can to disturbe your peace by vexing and molesting you Moreover GOD doth permit this for divers holy purposes 1. To discover the Devils malice 2. To chastise his children and to humble them because they were too well conceited of the goodnesse of their nature in their unregeneracy or might be too uncharitable and censorious of others and too presumptuous of their owne strength since they were regenerate 3. God likewise permitteth these buffetings and winnowings of Satan as to prevent pride and other sinnes so to exercise and make
your selves against blasphemous and vile thoughts and temptations In the second place When you are thus armed whensoever these blasphemous and fearefull thoughts rise in you or are cast into you Take heed of two extremities First doe not contemne them so as to set light by them for this giveth strength to sinne and advantage to Satan Secondly Be not discouraged nor yet faint through despaire of being rid of them in due time or of withstanding them in the meane time For then Satan hath his end and his will of you But carry your selves in a middle course Plod not too much on them dispute not too much in your selfe with them presume not of your owne strength but by lifting up of your hearts in prayer call in GOD Sayd to resist and withstand them present some pregnant Scripture to your mind such as is direct against them whereby you may with an holy detestation resist them according to CHRISTS example with It is written Now when you have done all this then if it bee possible thinke on them no more Thirdly Indevour at all times to make Conscience in the whole course of your life of your thoughts even of the least thoughts of euill yea of all thoughts and this will be a good meanes to keepe out all evill thoughts If it cannot prevaile thus farre yet you shall have this benefit by it when your heart can tell you that you would in every thing please God and that you make conscience of lesse sinfull thoughts than those vile ones with which you are troubled then you may be sure that you may be and are Gods children and are sanctified notwithstanding those blasphemous thoughts and Devilish temptations Againe Some doubt they are not sanctified because they have fallen into some of those grosse sinnes yea it may be into worse then those which they committed in their state of unregeneracie I answer such You are in very ill case if you doe not belye your selves and if so you are in ill case because you belye your selves I advise you that have thus sinned in either to repent speedily and to aske forgivenesse God by his Spirit doth as wel cal you to it as he did Israel saying Returne to the Lord thou hast fallen by thine iniquitie take with you words and turne unto the Lord and say unto him take away all our iniquitie and receive us graciously then will God answer I will heale your back-sliding I will love you freely You say that you are backeslidden suppose it were so he saith I will heale your backsliding c. reade Ier. 3. 12. 13. Mic. 7. 18. 19. You must not doubt but that grosse sinnes committed after a man is effectually called are pardonable It is the Devils policie to cast these doubts into your heads wholly to take you up by shutting out all hope of grace and mercie that you might have no thoughts of returning and seeking unto God for mercie But beleeve him not he is a Lyar. For it may befall one that is in state of grace to commit the same grosse sinnes after Conversion which he did before if not greater than the same Did not David by his adultery and murther exceed all the sinnes that ever he committed before his Conversion Did not Salomon worse in his old age then even in his yonger dayes Did Peter commit any sinne before his conversion like that of denying and for swearing his Master Why were the fals of these Worthies written but for examples to us on whom the ends of the earth are come First That every one that standeth should take heede left he fall Secondly That if any be fallen into any sinne by any occasion that he might rise again as they did and that they may not despaire of mercy No man though converted hath any assurance except hee himself be in special sort watch full and except hee have speciall assistance of Gods grace to be preserved from any sinne except that against the holy Ghost But if he be watchful over his waies and doe improove the grace of God in him after Conversion seeking unto God for increase of grace then he as well as the Apostle Paul may be kept from such grosse sinnes as are of the foulest nature otherwise not Indeede they that are borne of God have received the most sweet annointing of the Spirit the seed of grace which ever remaineth in them Whence it is that they sinne otherwise in state of regeneracie then they did in state of unregeneracie in so much that the Scripture of truth notwithstanding the regenerates particular grosse sinnes saith that whosoever is borne of God sinneth not not that they are free from the act and guilt of sinne for in many things wee sinne all saith Saint Iames but because they sinne not with full consent They are not servants to sinne They doe not make a trade of sinne as they did in their unregeneracie Neither doe they sinne the sinne unto death which all unregenerate men may and some do yet for all this it may and oft doth come to passe that partly from Satans malice and power and partly from the remaines of corrupt nature partly from Gods iust iudgements on many because they stood not on their watch or because they were presumptuous of their owne strength or because they were over-censorious and unmercifull to them that had fallen that true converted soules may fall into some particular grosse sinne or sinnes for matter greater then ever before Conversion Others yet complaine and say they feare they have never repented they feele that they cannot repent for they cannot grieve as they ought They can poure out flouds of teares more then enough for crosses but many times they cannot shead one teare for sinne They do nothing as they ought to doe They live in their sinnes still How then can they bee said to have repented and to be sanctified If by doing as you ought you meane perfectly well in every point and circumstance of the Law never any meere man did thus If you could so doe as you ought What need have you of CHRIST to supply your defects and to redeeme you But if by doing as you ought you meane a doing according as God now qualifying the rigour of the Law by the graciousnesse of the Gospell doth require of you and in Christ will accept of you namely to will and endevour in truth to doe the whole will of God then if you will desire and endevour to mourne for sinne to repent and obey as you should you may truly bee said to doe as you ought and as you should And in this case whatsoever is wanting to the perfection of deed Faith in Christ Iesus who kept the lawfully and as he ought for you doth supply the defect thereof For the righteousnesse of the Law is fulfilled in all though not fully by any which walke not after the
them runne not long and in time may quite be dryed up But the saving graces of the regenerate receive their light warmth and life from the Sunne of righteousnesse therefore can never be totally or finally Eclipsed And they doe rise from that Well and Spring of living water which cannot be drawn dry orâ—o dammed up or stopt but that it will runne more or lesse unto eternall life As the regenetate man doth not sinne in such sort as the unregenerate with all his heart so neither is hee when he hath sinned in the same state and condition which the unregenerate is in Hee is in the Condition of a Sonne who notwithstanding his failings abideth in the house for ever but not as the other who being no sonne but a servant is for his misdemeanor turned out and abideth not in the house for ever Although the regenerate as well as the unregenerate doe draw upon themselves by their sinnes the simple guilt of eternall death yet this guilt is not accounted neither doth it redound to the person of the truly regenerate as it doth to the other because Christ Iesus hath so satisfied and doth make intercession for his owne that his death is made effectuall for them but not for the other Their Iustification and Adoption by Christ remaine unaltered although many benefits flowing from thence are for a while justly suspended they remaine children still though under their Fathers anger as Absolom remained a sonne uncast off not dis-inherited by David when yet his Father would not let him come into his presence This spirituall Leprosie of sinne into which Gods Children fall may cause them to bee suspended from the use and comfortable possession of the Kingdome of God and from the enjoyment of the privileges thereof untill they bee cleansed of their sinne by renewed faith and repentance Yet as the Leoper in the Law had still right to his house and goods albeit he was shut out of the City for his Leprosie so the truly regenerate never loose their right to the Kingdome of heaven by their sinnes For every true member of Christ is knit unto Christ by such everlasting bonds whether we respect the relative union of Christ with his members by faith to Iustification which after it is once made by the spirit of Adoption admitteth of no breach or alteration by any meanes oâ— whether we respect the reall union of the Spirit whence floweth Sanctification which though it may suffer decay and admitteth of some alteration of degrees being not so strong at one time as at another yet can never quite be broken off as hath beene proved these bands â— say are so strong and lasting that all the powers of sinne Satan and Hell it selfe cannot sever the weakest true member from Christ or from his love oâ— from Gods love towards him in Christ This strength of grace that keepeth men from falling totally or finally from CHRIST doth not depend upon the strength or will of him that standeth but on the Election and determination of him that calleth And whereas it may bee demanded why a man being at his highest degree of holinesse that ever he attained at which time hee had most strength did yet fall backe more than halfe way may not as well or rather fall quite away I answer It is not in respect of the nature of inherent holinesse in him for Adam had holinesse in perfection yet fell quite from it There is nothing in the nature of this grace and holinesse excepting onely in the root whence it springeth but that a man may now also fall wholly from it But it is because grace is now setled in man upon better termes For the little strength we receive in regeneration is in point of perseverance stronger then the great strength which the first Adam received in his Creation Adam was perfectly but changeably holy Gods children inregeneration are made imperfectly but unchangeably holy This stability of grace now consisteth in this for that all that by faith and by the holy Spirit are ingrafted and incorporated into Christ the second Adam have the spring and root of their grace founded in him and not in themselves as the first Adam had They are stablished with their brethren in Christ Wherefore all that are actuall members of CHRIST cannot fal from grace altogether For as Christ dyed to sinne once and being raised from the dead dyeth no more so every true member of Christ having part with him in the first resurrection dye no more but live for ever with Christ For all that are once begotten againe unto a lively faith and hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible are kept not by their owne power unto Salvation but by the power of God through faith in Christ Iesus Now that a man effectually called can never fall wholly or for ever from state of grace I in few words reason thus If Gods Counsell on which mans Salvation is founded be sure and unchangeable and if his calling be without repentance If Gods love be unchangeable and altereth not but whom God once loveth actually him he loveth to the end If Christs office of Prophet Priest and King in his teaching satisfying and making intercession for and in his governing his people bee after the order of Melchisedecke unchangeable and everlasting he everliving to make intercession for them and if his undertaking in all these respects with his Father not to lose any whom he giveth him cannot be frustrate If the Seale and earnest of the Spirit be a constant Seale which cannot be razed but sealeth all in whom it dwelleth unto the day of Redemption If the Word of truth wherewith the regenerate are begotten be an immortall seed which when once it hath taken a conception and hath taken roote doth live for ever If God be constant and faithfull in his promise and omnipotent in his power to make good this his word and promise saying I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turne away from my people and children to doe them good but I will put my feare in their hearts that they shall not depart from me Then from all and from each of these propositions I conclude that a man once indeede a member of Christ and indeede in state of grace shall never totally or finally fall away The patrons of the doctrine of falling from grace when they cannot answer the invincible arguments which are brought to prove the certainetie of a mans standing in state of Salvation they make a loud cry in casting in certaine popular obiections such as are very apt to take with simple and unstable people They first come with suppositions and aske this and like questiona If David and Peter had dyed in the act of their grosse sinnes whether should they have beene saved
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
it is but you have conceits other wise you have no feeling of comfort and in your sense to you it is otherwise then either the Scripture or the Ministers speake Now when you will preferre your owne opinion and sense such as it is before the iudgement of Gods word of truth and before the iudgement of Gods Ministers iudging according to this word Are you not highly conceited of your owne opinion And are you not strangely proud though it may be you thought otherwise Wherefore if you understand things aright you must have a meane conceit of your owne understanding of your owne opinion and of your owne sense For as you must deny your goodnesse and be poore in respect of conceit of any goodnesse in you if you would ever looke to have any goodnesse from Christ so you must deny your owne opinion knowledge sense and wisedome if you would know spirituall things aright and would become wise through Christ And that it may appeare now that you are not too well conceited of your owne opinion touching your estate make use in this case of Experienced Christians but especially of iudicious and godly Ministers Let not feare either of troubling them nor yet of shaming your selfe hinder you But do it according to these directions First Acquaint such a one with your case betimes keepe it not to your selfe too long For then like a bone long out of joynt and a festred wound it will not be so well nor so easily cured beside the vexation in the meane time Secondly deale plainely truely and fully in setting downe the cause of your trouble not doing as many telling one part of your griefe and not another which hath beene the cause that they have gone away without comfort Either tell all or none in this case If you thinke him not faithfull reveale nothing thereof to him If you judge him a fit man then shew all as you will doe your bodily maladies and diseases to a Surgeon or Physician if you would have them cured Thirdly Beleeve them rather than your selves in this case hearken to them and make use of their judgement and experience and bee not presumptuous of your owne understanding and feeling In times of your feares and doubts be not rash and sudden in judging your selves The Devill is a jugler and your eyes be dazeled and of all men you are the most unfit and incompetent to iudge of your selves in this case For when groundlesse suspition and causelesse feares have like a head-strong Colt got a head and hath caught the bit in his teeth it will like to other passions carry you head long whither it listeth contrary to al right reason and understanding In such suspicion feare of your estate you are like a iealous woman in the fit of her jealousie and feare of her husbands unfaithfulnesse she will picke matter out of every thing he doth though he study to give her no occasion of suspition to increase her suspition of him If hee be somewhat strange and austere then she saith he loveth her not but others better If he be kinde to her then she thinkes that this is but to dazel blind her eyes that hee may without suspition give himselfe to other women Deale now ingenuously and answer whether it is not or whether it hath not beene so with you I pray marke your absurd and contrary reasonings When you prosper thence you inferre sure God doth not love mee for whom he loveth he correcteth When God whips you well for this and doth cast you into grievous afflictions thence you conclude sure God is wroth with mee and doth not love mee If you bee troubled in Conscience Oh then GOD writes bitter things against you you can have no peace And when he giveth you quiet of minde Oh then you feare all riseth from presumption your case is naught and it wasbetter with you when you had trouble in minde Is it not thus Are you not ashamed that you have beene thus senselesse and absurd in your owne reasonings and yet this understanding reason and sense of yours must be harkned unto before the truth of Gods Word and before the iudgement of all men though never so judicious Will any body that is wise trust such a judgement If an excellent Physitian for others is seldome found to be the best Physitian for himselfe in a dangerous sicknesse but will make use of one it may be inferiour in judgement in Physicke to himselfe for his owne wits be not so well his owne in his owne case then me thinkes it should be your wisedome to make use of the judgement of others and not follow your owne sense But you will say shall I thinke otherwise of my selfe than I feele I answer I in some cases or else you will bee counted a wilfull foole as in the case of an Ague you feele your drinke to be of an odde rellish before you had your ague you knew it was well rellished and those which bring it tell you it is the same standers by taste it for you and say it is the same and that it is excellently well relished I hope you are wiser in such a case as this then to conclude according to your feeling and taste every one seeth that the fault was in your palate not in the drinke Even so it is with you when the palate of your understanding is distempered with a shaking fit of groundlesse and faithlesse feare wherefore in this state deny your owne sense and trust not your owne iudgement but hearken unto thâ— judgement of other men And the rather because GOD doth therefore comfort men and give them experience of his consolations that they may comfort other in like case Also hee hath given commandement â—o his more understanding more confirmed children that they should comfort you giving you to understand how it is with you in the matter of yous â—onk better than you can know of your selves Nay more God hath given to his Ministers â—he tongue of the learned to speake a word in due season to the soule that is wearie Should not the judgements of these be regarded But which is most of all God hath not onely given to Ministers skill to discerne your state better than your selves but hath given power and authority when they shall see cause in his name to absolve you and to assure you that if it bee with you according as you doe thus and thus relate your state to be you are in Gods favour and in state of grace I meane not that you should hang your faith upon any mans or any mens judgement but when that men judicious being in better case to judge of you then you are to judge of your selves shall by the Word of God and by authoritie from him give you hope and comforts you ought to comfort your selves by these meanes Thus much I have said that your judgement might be fitted to