in which there may bee occasion either of doing good or of offending in some speciall manner Thus Iob (a) Iob. 1.4 5. when his sonnes had beene feasting because great cheere and much merriment are most times occasions of some sinne therefore at their returne home he called them together and sanctified them and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all For Iob said It may be my sonnes haue sinned and cursed God in their heart Thus did Iob continually And thus Christians should doe when they returne from making purchases or striking of bargaines or following of Law-suites or feasting with their friends or debating of controuersies or any other the like workes and imployments of moment they should call together their thoughts and examine their hearts concerning all the former passages and sanctifie their soules by lamenting their sinne and purposing a better life 5. It is a fit time also to examine our consciences when we haue some speciall occasion to prepare our selues for God or to intreate his fauour in some speciall sort Thus the Church of Israel when thy were in distresse and sighed to God for reliefe Lam. 3.40 they encourage each other Let vs search and try our wayes and turne againe to the Lord. And S. Paul when the Lords Supper was to be administred because it was a matter of great weight and might breede much harme to the vnworthy Receiuer therefore prescribeth this rule of preparation to all that mind to partake of that Sacrament 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man examine himselfe and so let him eate of this bread and drinke of this cup. And so in like maner if we be in any distresse or danger by reason of our sinnes that is a fit time to examine our selues that by serious repentance wee may goe to begge pardon And if wee bee to receiue the blessed Supper of our Lord then wee should examine also lest being vnprepared for so holy a worke we proue vnworthy partakers of Christs body And if we keepe a fasting day for the humiliation of our soules that is a fit time that by taking a view of our sinnes we may bee the more deiected with sorrow And if we keepe a Sabbath day or some great day of festiuity vnto the Lord that also is a fit time that our soules hauing by examination beene purged from our sinnes wee may bee prepared to heare and pray and praise God with attention and zeale But especially if we be cast vpon our sicke beds in danger of death and in expectation of our dissolution then is a most vrgent time to take accounts of our soules that our reckonings may be made euen before we be called to account at Gods Tribunall seat For as the tree falleth so it lyeth and if we dye vnprepared we shall be vnable to answere him who is the Iudge of quicke and dead In these therefore and all other cases of like moment and consequence there is great cause to vse this worke Lastly besides those daily and casuall times it is a conuenient time also after some good space passed in this manner to examine our selues ouer againe as for example after a moneth or after a yeere to consider our selues for the moneth or yeere last passed that thereby we may see how wee haue profited or how wee haue decayed for that space of time For (a) Sicut non sentimus quo modo crescunt membra proficit corpus mutatur species nigredo capillorum albescit in canis Haec quippe omnia nobis nesciētibus aguntur in nobis ita mens nostra per momenta viuendi ipso curarā vsu à semetipsa permutatur c. Greg. Moral lib. 25. cap. 6. as our members grow and our shape euery day changeth and our blacke haires turne gray while wee perceiue it not nor can tell when and how these changes come yet after some space of time we may casily discerne that so we are changed so it is in the state of our soules besides the manifest changes of it which doe appeare while they are in doing there are certaine insensible alterations which are not to be discerned but after some continuance of time And for the rectifying of these it is necessary to take a more generall view of our soules then in euery daies examination we can doe that wee may see wherein we are better or worse or how our zeale is increased or decayed ouer that which it was a moneth or halfe a yeere or a yeere or longer time before For by this meanes we shall not only see our grosser and more apparent faults but euen our decay of feruor and religion which creepeth vpon vs vnawares and so learne to blow the coales of zeale and to stirre vp the grace of God that is in vs that we may (b) Apoc. 3.2 strengthen the things which remayne and are ready to dye For which purpose the Ancients haue beene accustomed to vse the time of Lent as I haue shewed in an (a) Treatise of Fasting chap. 10. pag. 129 131. other place more fully CHAP. VI. Of the benefits of this worke or what good vse it may serue a Christian for HAuing hitherto in some measure declared the nature of Examination with the adjuncts appertaining thereto I come now in the last place to consider the benefits that we may reape by it the consideration whereof may animate vs to abound in this worke of the Lord when we shall know that our labour is not in vaine in the Lord. And for that purpose I haue gathered and obserued these vses following I. Examination is a good meanes for Repentance 1. Reason It will be a good meanes to fit and leade vs to repentance and amendment and that in two respects 1. Because it will serue to discouer vnto vs our sinnes and make vs see our wretched and miserable condition For we such is our frailety and corruption doe daily yea hourely commit many sinnes which through heedlessenes or vnskilfulnes or strength of passion or because wee are intent vpon some other businesse which then taketh vp all our thoughts wee obserue not or discerne not for the present But businesses ended and the occasions and tentations passed when we are more free both from distraction and passion if then wee take a time to bethinke our selues and to recall all that is past then our thoughts will be our owne and we shall in cold blood be able to see many things which before went vnespied Then for example we shall bee able to tell our owne soules Such a time I met with a bon-companion and ouer-shot my selfe with excesse of drinke and such a time I met with a wanton Minion who inueigled mee with her lookes and I was ensnared with her loue and such a time I met with a crosse-neighbour and my heart did rise against him at the very sight of him and at such a time I met with some merry mates and in our idle chatt I disgraced my neighbour
certaine it is that the practice of this exercise in those daies was very frequent and vsuall with all them that made any profession of Religion insomuch as that (f) Debet vniuscuiusque mens caute penfare vel quae ab eo Domino bona perceperit vel quae mala bonis illius peruersè viuendo responderit Quod electi quotidie facere non cessant Et paulo post Reproborum esse proprium solei semper praue agere et nunquam quae egerint retractare At contrà electorum est actas suos quotidie ab ipso cogitationis fonte discutere et omâ—e quod turbidum profluit ab intimis exsiccare Gregor Moral lib. 25. cap. 6. S. Gregory saith That the Elect do by no meanes cease euery day heedfully to weigh either what good things they haue receiued from God or what euill things they haue returned him for his good by their naughty liuing He addeth further that it is vsually a property of reprobates alwaies to doe euill and neuer to recount what they haue done and contrariewise that it is the property of the Elect to discusse their deedes euery day from the very thought which is the spring of all and whatsoeuer they finde to be myrie or muddy to dry that vp to the very bottome And hereby we may see what the practice opinioÌ„ of the ancient Doctors of the Church and other religious men of those daies was concerning this dutie of Examination I proceede further to consider what wise and vertuous men among the Heathen haue thought and said of it Thirdly then we may reade in good Authors among the Heathens that their best and wisest men were woont euery day to take an account of themselues Sextius the Romane Philosopher a Faciebat hoc Sextius vt consummato die quum se ad nocturnam quietem recepisset interrogaret animum suum Quod hodie malum tuum sanasti Cui vitio obstitisti Qua parte melâ—ores Senec. de Ira. l. 3. cap 36. pag. â—98 Gyrald de Histor Poetarum Dialog 4. pag 156. had this custome that at the end of the day when hee betooke himselfe to his nights rest hee would question his soule What maladie of thine hast thou this day cured What vice hast thou stood out against In what respect art thou better then thou wast before And Seneca who reporteth this of Sextius did practise the like himselfe b Quotidie apud me causam dico Quum sublatum e conspectu lumeÌ„ est et conticuit vxer moris iam mei conscia totuÌ„ diem mecum scrutor facta acdicta mea remetior Nihil mihi ipse abscondo nihil transco Quare enim quicquam ex erroribus meis timeam quum possum dicere Vide ne istuc amplius facias â—unc tibi ignosco Senec. de Ira l. 3. c. 36. pag. 199. Euery day saith he I pleade my cause with my selfe When the candle is remoued from mine eyes and my wife who is priuy to my custome keepeth silence I examine the whole day with my selfe I goe ouer againe and weigh my deedes and my words I hide nothing from my selfe I passe nothing ouer vntouched For what need I to bee afraid of my scapes seeing I may say to my selfe See thou doe it no more hereafter for this time I forgiue thee c. The like was the practice of Pythagoras and his scholars (a) Fer tur discipules admonere solitus vt ista quotidie quum domum ingrederentur dicerent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diogen Laert in vita Pythagorae pa. 581. who had this rule giuen them from their Master that enery day when they came home they should demand each man of himselfe Wherein haue I transgressed What good haue I done and what duty haue I left vndone And (b) De Curiositate p. 515. f. Plutarch commendeth the same rule to them that would busie themselues in that which may auaile them Nor was the custome of Plato much different from this practice (c) Plato quoties interfuisset hominibus contra decorum agentibus digressus solebat it a seipsuÌ„ alloqui 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plut. de vtilit capiend ex hostib pag. 88. D. who as often as hee was among men that mis-behaued themselues was accustomed in priuate to question with himselfe AND AM NOT I SVCH A ONE or Haue not I done the like And in a word so generall and common is this practice among all men to examine or take accounts of their state in all businesses of moment whether temporall or spirituall as that our Sauiour asketh of the multitudes about him (d) Luk. 14.28 29 30 31 32 33. Which of you intending to build a Towre sitteth not downe first counteth the cost whether he haue sufficient to finish it c. or what King going to make warre against another King sitteth not downe first consulteth whether he bee able with ten thousand to meete him that coÌ„meth against him with twenty thousand Or else while the other is yet a great way off hee sendeth an Ambassage and desireth conditions of peace He meaneth that there is no man of any ordinary capacitie and wit but if he bee to build will first take account of his abilitie to perfect the worke or if he be to make warre will first take a view of his strength to goe thorow with the victory that either he may prouide that which is sufficient for the successe or else he may leaue off his intention on And then he applyeth this practice in matters of the world to a like care in matters of a mans soule So saith he whosoeuer he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot bee my Disciple The meaning is as if he should say So euery one of you that meaneth to be my Disciple should first sit you downe and cast with your selues what it will cost you to bee a Christian and that is the renouncing of all the world and the forsaking of all that you haue in the world And therefore you should resolue in the beginning either to leaue all if neede be for Christs sake or else neuer vndertake to be Christians And these things laid together that al wise men whether Christian or Heathen haue thought this course of Examination to bee necessary both in things of the world and in things of God yea and that our blessed Sauiour and the holy Ghost speaking in the Scriptures haue commended this practice vnto vs these I say may be strong inducements to make vs well-affected to the worke before we know in particular what is required in the vndertaking of it or what may bee expected by the performing of it CHAP. II. Wherein the performance of this worke doth consist and what actions or performances it doth require HAuing hitherto prepared the Readers minde to haue a good opinion of this worke I now go on to consider wherein it doth consilt And for conceiuing hereof we must consider that
Lord when as God censured it for vniust shedding of blood (d) Hos 1.4 Yet a little while saith God and I will auenge the blood of Iezreel vpon the house of Iehu And so wee are too apt to ouerweene our selues and our owne workes and thinke that we are zealous for God when we are enuious against men or ambitious for our selues And for discerning of this corruption examination is necessary to bee vsed about those workes which wee esteeme to bee righteous and holy lest wee deceiue our selues by ouer-partiall iudgement 2. Because in the very workes which are truly good wee doe many times intermingle corruptions of our owne As sometimes there are ill ends in our good deedes as (a) 1 King 21.9 Iezebel proclaimed a fast to cloke her murder withall and (b) Mat. 6.2 5 16. the Pharises fasted and prayed and gaue almes for gaining of vaine praises And sometimes our good duties are performed in an euill manner as the (c) Exod. 1.17 19. Midwiues saued the childrens liues by telling of a lye and (d) Exod. 4.25 Zipporah circumcised her sonne in a pettish humour and (e) 1 Chron. 13.9 compared with cap. 15.12 13. Vzzah stayed the Arke from falling without sufficient warrant for such a worke But most times there are distractions and worldly or perhaps wicked thoughts in the midst of our best deuotions and alwayes there are defects and imperfections and failings when we are most feruent and best affected And for discerning of these our best workes deserue a strict account that we may learne to separate the precious from the vile and neither be too highly conceited of our weake performances nor too little affected with our corruptions and infirmities 3. Our good workes are to bee considered in our ExaminatioÌ„s that by those things which are able to abide the touchstone we may gaine courage against oppositions of men and comfort against the tentations of Satan and a settled resolution to proceede and goe on in a daily practice of good workes alwaies praising God for these mercies because it is hee that worketh in vs both the will and the deede And in these respects the consideration of our good workes is not without good vse And this may suffice for the adequate obiect or the matter of Examination in generall and in the largenesse of it II. Secondly for the principall Obiect or the speciall matter which is to come into Examination it is euery such sinne as is likely to breede vs some especiall danger For if a Citie be besieged wise Gouernours will take care of euery posterne doore and of euery part of the Walls to repaire what is decayed and to keepe all safe from the Enemie but if one Gate be more likely to bee entred than other or if any part of the Wall be weaker or more easily to be broken downe men will there set the watch the surest where the danger is the greatest And if a man be distempered with sundry diseases a wise Physician will take care of all to ease the Patient as much as may be of euery one of them but if some speciall disease be more dangerous to the sicke man than others are the Physician will bend his cure that way especially where the life of his Patient is most endangered And so it is or should be with vs in respect of our soules Wee haue heere a Fort to keepe which is euery day assaulted by our Enemies and we haue a diseased foule of our owne distempered with many spirituall maladies but some maladies are worse then other and some parts of this Fort are weaker or more in danger then others are I meane there are some sinnes by which the Diuell may more easily surprize and captiuate our soules And therefore as wee should keepe diligent watch against them all so wee should especially bend our forces against those that doe or may more especially breede vs harme and hinder our saluation And consequently Examination being an approued means for grubbing vp of sinne wee should apply this exercise against all sinnes in generall but more especially against those from which wee may in reason feare the greatest danger And these are either such sinnes as are easily contracted or such as are hardly recouered For into the one sort men fall often and out of other they doe seldomer recouer if they once fall into them and so the one sort will endanger vs by the frequencie of our falls and the other by the difficultie of our rising after wee bee downe But for better and more distinct vnderstanding of this point wee may in a more particular manner consider the seuerall sorts of sinne which in either of these two respects may breede some especiall danger And of this kinde I take these sinnes following to bee 1. Those that be great and reigning sins such as the Apostle saith doe exclude a man out of Gods Kingdome And in this kind he reckoneth (a) 1 Cor. 6.9 Galat. 5.19 20 21. fornication idolatrie adultery effeminatenesse sodomie theft couetousnes drunkennes reuilings extortion Of which sinnes and such like he saith that they that are guilty of them shall not inherit the Kingdome of God And he meaneth that while they are such or till by repentance and forsaking of them they haue obtained pardon they shall neuer come into Gods Kingdome Against these Dauid prayeth (a) Psal 19.13 Keepe backe thy seruant from presumptuous sins let them not haue dominion ouer me then shall I be vpright and I shall bee innocent from the great transgression And against these wee should watch and pray that we may auoyd them or if we haue falne into them wee should by examination learne to conceiue the danger that by repentance we may gaine pardon For whereas lesser sinnes such as Dauid calleth (b) Psal 19.12 errors and secret faults .i. sinnes which in regard of their finenesse and our frailety doe escape vs through ignorance vnwarines or common and humane infirmitie 1 Ioh. 1.8 whereas I say these sins are in the best of Gods children for euen they say If we say that we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs one of these other grosse sinnes being such as cannot be committed but with conscience and purpose of sinne in the offender doth bereaue men for the present of grace and all title and interest to the Kingdome of Heauen And therefore we should haue an especiall care to examine our soules concerning these grosser sinnes that we doe not suffer our selues to liue and lye in any of them 2. Sinnes of recidiâ—ation and relapse when we fall backe into the former sinne after our repentance and vowes of a better life For relapses into sicknesse are dangerous for the body and relapses into sinne are no lesse dangerous for the soule And therefore our Sauiour said to the man whom hee had cured of his lamenesse Ioh. 5.14 Sinne no more lest a worse thing come vnto thee