of that comfortable provision and gracious strength which should support it in the day of sorrow and leaves it at last to the tempestuous winter-night of death and all those desperate terrours that attend it like a scorched heath-ground without so much as any drop of comfort either from Heaven or earth 2. A second sort worse then the former are such as are so farre from treasuring up in this time of light and mercifull visitation soundnesse of knowledge strength of saith purity of heart clearnesse of coÌ„science holinesse of life assurance of Gods favour contempt of the world many sanctified Sabbaths fervent prayers holy conferences heavenly meditations dayes of humiliation righteous dealings with their Brethren compassionate contributions to the necessities of the Saints workes of iustice mercy and truth a sincere respect to all Gods Commandements a carefull performance of all spirituall Duties a conscionable partaking of all Gods Ordinances a seasonable exercise of every grace hatred of all false wayes an hearty and invincible loue unto God and all things that He loues or any wayes belong unto Him His Word Sacraments Sabbaths Ministers Services Children Presence Corrections Comming c. which are the ordinary provision of Gods people against the evill Day I say they are so farre from prizing and preparing such spirituall store that they hoard up stings scourges and scorpions for their naked soules and guilty consciences against the Day of the Lords visitation I meane lies oathes blasphemies Adulteries whoredomes selfe-pollutions variety of strange fashions gaming 's revellings drunken matches good-fellow meetings wanton dancings usuries falshoods hypocrisies plurality of ill gotten goods Benefices Offices honours filthy iests much idle talke flanderous â—â—les scoffs raylings oppositions to the Holy way c. And that with a cursed greedinesse and delight For they cry One unto another out of a boysterous combination of good fellowship with much eagernesse and roaring Come on therefore Let us fill our selves with costly wine and ointments and let no flower of the Spring passe by us Let us crowne our selves with Rose buds before they be withered Let none of us goe without his part of our voluptuousnesse Let us leave tokens of our pleasure in every place For this is our portion and our lot is this Let us lie in waite for the righteous because hee is not for our turne and be is cleane contrary to our doings c. But alas what will bee the conclusion of all this or rather the horrible confusion Even all their ioviall revellings roaring Outrages and sinfull pleasures which are so sweete in their mouthes and they swallow downe so insatiably shall turne to gravell and the gall of Aspes in their bowels and to fiery enraged scorpions in their consciences Where lurking in the meane time in the mudde of sensuality and lust breede such a never dying worme which if God thinke fit to awake upon their last Bed is able to put them into Hell upon earth to damne them above ground to knaw upon their Soule and flesh with that unheard-of horrour which seizde upon Spir'as woefull heart Who protested being fully in his right minde that Hee would rather be in Cain's or Iudas his place in Hell then endure the present unspeakeable torment of His afflicted spirit To beate them from this bedlam desperate course of greedy hoarding up such horrible things unto themselves against their ending houre Let them consider 1. Besides the eternity of ioyes for the one and of torments to the other hereafter the vast and unvaluable difference in the meane time in respect of true sweetenesse and sound contentment betweene the life of a Saint and a Sensualist a Puritan as the World calls Him and a goodfellow as hee termes Himselfe Let us for the purpose peruse the different passages of one day as Chrysostome excellently delineats them and represents to the life Let us produce two men saith He the one drown'd in carnall loosenesse sensualities and riotous excesse the other crucified and starke dead to such sinfull courses and worldly delights Let us goe to their houses and behold their behaviour We shall find the One reading Scriptures and other good Bookes taking times for holy Duties and the service of God sober temperate abstemious diligent also in the necessary duties of His Calling having holy conference with God discoursing of Heavenly things bearing himselfe liker an Angell then a Man The other joviall a vassall of luxury and ease swaggering up and downe Ale-houses Tavernes or other such conventicles of good fellowship hunting after all the wayes meanes and men to passe the time merrily plying his pleasures with what variety hee can possibly all the day long rayling and roaring as tho He were enraged with a Devill tho He be starke dead while He is alive c. Which is accompanied with murmuring of the family discontent of the wife chiding of friends laughing to scorne of enemies c. Whether of these courses now doe you thinke were the more comfortable I know full well the former would bee cried downe by the greatest part as too precise and the latter would carry it by a world of men but heare the Puritane Fathers impartiall holy censure quite crosse to the common conceite and humour of flesh and blood It is excellent and emphaticall arguing His resolute abomination of the wayes of goodfellowship and infinite love and admiration of the holy Path. Having given to the Goodfellow His hearts desire all the day long in all kindes of voluptuousnesse and delight yet for all this Who is he saith He that is in his right minde and hath His braines in His head that would not chuse rather to die a thousand deaths then spend but one day so This peremptory passage would bee holden a strange Paradoxe from the mouth of any moderne Minister and so appeares to the carnall apprehension of all those miserable men who are blindfolded and baffled by the Devill to the eternal losse of their Soules But besides that it might bee made good many other wayes it is more then manifest by comparing that threefold sting that dogs every sinfull delight at the heeles c. See my Booke of Walking with God pag. 17â— with the comfortable contentment and secret sweetenesse which might and should attend all well-doing and every holy duty done with uprightnesse of heart The very Philosophers doe tell us of a congratulation a pleasing contentednesse and satisfaction in doing vertuously according to their morall Rules What true solid and singular comfort then doe you thinke may bee found in those godly actions which spring from faith are guided by Gods Word directed to his glory and whose bewailed defects and failings are most certainely pardoned by the bloud of his Son Now what an extreme madnesse is this for a Man to sell His salvation for a life of pleasures abhorring the wayes of Gods Childe as too precise and painefull whereas besides Hell for the one and Heaven for the
materia gaudij unde Augustinus Semper dolcat Poenitens de dolore gaudeat Aquin. pag. 3. quaest 84. Art 9. Ad secundum As in prophane joy even in laughing the heart is sorrowfull So in godly sorrow even in weeping the heart is light and chearefull Though sinne grieve us yet our grieving for sinne pleaseth us As when wee see a good man wronged wee grieve at his wrong but rejoyce in His goodnes Dyke of Repentance cap. 4. c Concedo quidem illud in ipso mâ—â—rore dolore piorum plus gaudij inesse verae laetitiae quà m in risuhuius mundi Nam cum suspirijs inenarrabilibus coniunctum est gâ—udium ineffabile Rolloc in Ioan. cap. 11. p. 610. * Quid tristitiâ molestius Sed quando secundum Deum sit mundi gaudio melior est In 2. Cor. 7. Hom. 15. Sicut mundi gaudium tristitiae consortio câ—pulatur ita etiam secundum Dominuâ— lachryma iugem pariunt certámque laetitiam In Matth. 2. Hom. 6. Iamqueâ—ste talis ea quae videntur cuncta despiciens in compunctione continuá perseverat largo assiduè fluâ—â—s fonte lacbrymarum multámque hinc capiens voluptatem Ibid. d Hinc semper â—â—leat de dolore gaudeat Tom. 4. pag. 2. De verâ falsa poenitentiâ Cap. 13. s Beware thou become not a Papist in thinking to merit meerely by thy contritioÌ„ c. it is not thy contrition if it had been an hundred times more could merit pardon of the least of thy sinnes If the Lord Iesus had not suffered infinite sorrow and griefe in Soule and Body for them it is not all our grieving could satisfie Gods justice for the smallest offence no not tho wee should weepe out our eyes and mourne to death Therefore tho God hath appointed all to whom hee will shew mercy to bee contrite-hearted yet not to come to mercy thereby as by a meritorious meanes but as by a convenient and meet disposition to prepare us to seeke and receive mercy with thankfulnesse Rogers of Deaâ—aâ— Of Faith pag. 152. Nonin flatibus nostris non in actions nostris sedin Advocati nostri 〈◊〉 â—â—â—tione confidamus Gregor in Ezech. Hom. 7. t Ad recipiendam gratiam remissionis necessaria est ex nostrâ parte contritio fidei poenitentiae verae sed quod addit Bellarminus sc. Neminem scire an suae fides poenitentia sit talis tanta quantae à Deo requiritur falsissimum est Non enim ex gradu aut mensurâ fidei vel poenitentiae depeÌ„det iustificatio sed exveritate Davenant Expos. Epist. ad Colos pag. â—1 u Si dixisti Sufficit Perâ—sti August x And therefore will the Lord waite that Hee may be gracious unto you c. Isa 30.18 Oh thou afflicted tossed with tempest and not comforted Behold I will lay thy sâ—oues with faire colours and lay thy foundations with Saphires Cap. 54.11 Hee retaineth not his anger for euer because Hee delighteth in mercy Hos. 7.18 1. Pet. 1.8 Phil. 4.7 1. Cor. 2.9 y Resipiscentia illa non est vera ac solida quae non virtualiter continuatur actu renovatur subinde à tempore conversionis ad finem usque vitae Amesius Medulla Theol. Lib. 1. cap. 26. * Damus qui hypocriticâ temporariá fide credunt eos falli dum putant se veâ—è credere et non verè credunt Sunt enim illorum instar qui somniant se Reges esse cum sint pauperrimi At negamus illos qui verâ fide credunt ignorare an verè credant falti quum affirmant sentiunt se verè credere Sunt eium instar illorum qui gemmaâ— mâ—nu tractantâ—s quiâ— sâ—nsu praediti sunt sciunt aiunt se illam habere Quod si nemo posset certò nâ—sse an verè credat necuâ— cur ait Apostolus explorate vosmetipsos an sit is in fide As â— quis fidem adhibens alicuius verbis certò novit se verè illi credere quantò magis id is nâ—vit qui fide verâ donatus d Spiritu Sanctâ— credit Evangelio Zanch. de Naturâ Dei lib. 5. cap. 2. Matth. â—0 22 a Wee beeing taken out of the coâ—uytiâ—es of Adam and ingrâ—fâ—ted in Christâ— death and Passion can no lâ—ngâ—r live the life of the World but the life of Christ and must now looke upon the World 〈◊〉 as the World looâ—â—d 〈…〉 upon us 〈…〉 shall follow his steps toâ— it as upon â—o many abominable and crucified carcasses Bishop of Lincolne In H. Serâ—mon before the Higher House of Parliament pag 21.22 Hee doth not meane here to wit Galâ—l 6.26 the Heavens or the Earth saith Saint Chrysostome nor the World in the â— but the things of the World Glory Port Riches Greatnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all that make a shining and glitteriâ—g in the World These are all but so many carcasses and a very abomination to a truly regenerate Man Idem Ibid. pag. 16.17 If wee begin to breathe the life of righteousnesse when the world fawnes upon us with Honours Riches greatnesse Favours or frownes upon us with Hatred Malice Persecutions Oppressions and the like wee must turne our head aside another way with a godly kind of pride as Picus Mirandula was wont to call it and no more regard her then a carcasse crucified pag. 23. b Et Ego mundo Non tamen Deo mundi Mundum enim quantum ad conversationem eius posuit cui renunciando mutuò transfigimur invicèm morimur Tertul. Adversus Marcion Lib. 5. 〈◊〉 concupiscit Apostolus mundi nihil agnoscit Mundus Apostoli Ambros. in Loc. Sunt sicut duo mortui ex quibus nullus tangit vel diligit alterum Remig. Doctissimo citante Episcopo Isai. 54.5 Psal. 103.13 Psal. 16.3 Colloss 3.11 * Dicimus creaturaâ—in Deo videri quialicèt in se ipsis secundum suum esse propriuÌ„ videantur videntur tameÌ„ ut quidame effectus Dei at que ut aliquid pertinens ad Deum Ãdque eadem visione quâ Deus Gregor de Val. Tom. 1. Col. 250. Res naturales veriùs Esse habent in mente divinâ quà m in seipsis Aqu. p. 1. q 18. Sicut domus nobilius Esse habet in mente Artificis quà m in materiâ Ibid. 1. Cor 3.22.23 c See Forbes upon cap. 14 of the Revel v. 2. 2. Cor. 5.17 a There are some will say They have felt terrour of their estate but they have out-growne it it is past yea What have you done with it Have you broke Prison or did God let you out If you have broke Prison you must even in againe and that worse then before c. All the counsell I can give thee in such a case is to call after these terrours againe which thou hast sought to drive away and call aloud ere they bee gone past call and call quickly ere thy heart bee hardened quite and then it will cost double labour And pray God to worke them upon thy heart againe Rogers
INSTRVCTIONS FOR A RIGHT COMFORTING AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES with speciall Antidotes against some grievous temptations DELIVERED FOR THE MOST PART IN THE LECTVRE AT Kettering in North-hamptonshire By Robert Bolton Batchelor in Divinity and Preacher of Gods Word at Broughton in the same Countie LONDON Imprinted by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Weaver and are to be sold at his shop at the great North-dore of Saint Pauls Church 1631. TO THE HONOVRABLE AND WORTHY KNIGHT SIR ROBERT CARRE Gentleman of the Kings Bed-Chamber c. all holy Wisedome to walke in the Way to eternall Blisse SIR YOur extraordinary approbation and acceptance of my Directions for walking with God falling into your hands by Gods good providence I know not how accompanied with such noble circumstances and expressions of much undeserved respect to the Authour but especially of your affectionate love to the glorious Gospell of the blessed God farre dearer to every gracious heart which truely tastes the mysterie and mercies of Christ in it then it 's dearest blood or whatsoever is most deâ—â—re-able under the Sunne or admired most amongst the Sonnes of men hath encouraged me at this time to take the boldnesse to present this present Treatise more immediately and by speciall interest into your owne hand And I am the farre better pleased with my choise because I hold it a matter of singular comfort and speciall consequence to have an hand in diverting the eie of any that attends upon earthly Majesty from too much gazing upon the outward illustrious splendour which is woont to glister in the Courts of great Princes to the admiration and embracement of the glorious and ever-lasting beauty of the Lord Iesus In respect whereof all the fairest beames of felicity and joy which shine from the most orient Imperiall Diadems that crowne the face of the Earth are but a Moate of darkenesse and Lumpe of vanity And that for divers reasons 1. First Such as stand in the presence of mighty Kings are or ever should be men of greatest parts deepest understandings and most eminent abilities every Way Which being happily sanctifyed by a fruitfull influence from Heaven and by the helpe of the holy Ghost bent to the right end and spent upon the Objects they ought become gloriously serviceable to the King of Kings proportionably to their native excellency above ordinary gifts and the vulgar sort of sufficiencies Great endowments in what kinde soever gvided by a divine hand in their exercise and agitations doe ever a great deale of good To give Instance and not stirre from the Court The Lord of Heaven vouchsafed to King Iames of famous memory and One of the learnedest Princes that ever wore a Crowne upon Earth such a strong and enlarged understanding that wee should have magnified it as admirable even in a private man The same good hand of providence in great mercy directed it upon the right Object even the defense of the holy Truth of our blessedly reformed religion and destruction of Antichristianisme that accursed Hydra of all heresies and notoriously infamous both to this and the other World for horrible Massacres and murthering of Kings Whereupon besides that Hee hath by his Princely Pen given such a deadly wound to that Beast of Rome that Hee is never like to stand upon His foure legs againe Hee hath also left in His learned Labours such an immortall monument of Demonstrative light invincible Remonstrance against that bloody superstition that I am perswaded it will proove a most soveraigne preservative and a mighty Motive far stronger then a mountaine of Brasse to keepe all His Royall Posterity which shall hereafter successively sit upon His Regall Throne to the worlds end in a thorow universall and everlasting detestation of Popery Chamier that great glory of France and the whole Christian World was bountifully enriched from Heaven with singularity of learning and Polemicall Parts which being turned the right way have happily produced a Panstratia such victorious Volumes and so unanswerably triumphant over all Popish Sophistry that not all the Iesuites in Christendom tho they should rake Hell afresh for some new rotten distinctions to uphold their tottering Babell shall ever bee able to reply to any purpose Gnash the teeth they may with griefe and shame enough raile like the vassals of the great Whore impressioned with the impudency of her forehead and lie against Him voluminously But for any possibility of a sound Answer they must all let that alone for ever As on the contrary great parts empoisoned and mis-imploied plague extraordinarily The greater sufficiency without grace is but a sharper sword in a madder hand Hatred to goodnesse and height of Place attended with capacity and cunning worke a world of mischiefe Iulian the Apostate being an Emperour of admirable eloquence and exact learning What horrible worke What hurt and havocke did he make in the Primitive times amongst the people of God! The Iesuites at this day brought up in variety of literature and Machivellian mysteries become the grand Impostours and Impoisoners of innumerable Soules the most notorious Incendiaries and Assasins that ever the earth bore such murtherers of Princes Butcherers of people Firers of States and Blowers-up of Parliaments as former Histories never heard of Thus when men of Place and imploiment mighty and remarkeable in the World improove the utmost possibilites of their Wit and Art of all their naturall and acquired Parts to serve their own turnes and attaine their private ends to rise revenge grow rich or more immediately by some speciall service to advance the Kingdome of darknesse and dominion of Antichrist O the Luciferian pride the injustice the cruelty the Machiavellisme the putting of faire pretences upon pestilent plots the drowning of innocency in the Depths of State the crafty and mercilesse pressures of Gods people and those over whom they domineere It is then a work of great Waight and Worthinesse to winne a great man to the waies of God Hereby the common state of goodnesse is mightily strengthned and which is an equall happinesse the Divels side goes downe and Belials hang the head For according to the eminency of his Gifts and greatnesse of Place is the excellency of good or excesse of ill that Hee doth It were to bee wished therefore if God so pleased that all the incurable and implacable enemies to the grace of God good men and power of godlinesse were Dunces and Fooles that they might not bee able to manage their malice and power with such Depths and dexterity to the more dangerous under-mining of the kingdome of Christ and their owne more desperate ruine and greater damnation 2. Secondly Great men are subject to great temptations And therefore it is the harder Taske and more honorable triumph to turne them on Gods side Had not an All-mighty hand mastered the temptation steeled his Faith and represented to his eie the matchlesse glory of an immortall Crowne Moses had never been able to
ever the Obiect Now what a miraculous mercy was this that passing by such an un-numbred variety of incomparably inferiour creatures He should make Thee an everlasting Soule like an Angell of God capable of grace and immortality of incorporation into Christ and fruition of Iehova Himselfe blessed for ever Nay and yet further tho thou wast to haue the Being of a reasonable creature yet there was not an houre from the first moment of time unto the worlds end but God might have allotted that to Thee for thy comming into this world And therefore Thy time might have bin within the compasse of all those foure thousand yeares or there abouts from the Creation untill the Comming of Christ in the flesh when as all without the Pale and Partition-wall were without the Oracles and Ordinances of God and all ordinary meanes of salvation Or since the Gospell revealed under the raigne of Anti-Christ And then a thousand to One thou hadst beene choakt and for ever perisht in the damned mists of his Devillish Doctrines What an high honour was this to have thy birth and abode here upon earth appointed from all eternity in the very best and blesseddest time upon the fairest Day of peace and which is infinitely more in the most glorious Light of Grace that ever shone from Heaven upon the Children of men And so of the place Bee it so that Thou must needes bee in this golden Age of the Gospell and gracious Day yet thy lot of living in the world at this time might have lited for any part of the earth might have received Thee where Thou couldest have set but thy two feete amongst Turkes Pagans Infidels a whole world to Christendome Or if thine appearing upon Earth must necessarily bee within the confines of Christendome yet Thou mightest have sprung up in the Popish parts of it or in the scismaticall or persecuted Places of the true Church in it It was a very singular favour That thou shouldest be borne and bred and brought up in this little neglected Nooke of the world yet very illustrious by the presence of Christ in a mighty Ministry where Thou hast or mightest have enioyed in many Parts thereof the glorious Gospell of our blessed God and all saving Truth with much purity and power Now put all these together and tell me in cold bloud and after a sensible and serious ponderation thereupon Doest thou thinke that all this adoe was about Thee all this honour done unto Thee and when all is done Thou art to doe nothing but seeke Thy selfe serve Thine owne turne and live sensually Camest Thou out of Nothing into this world to doe iust nothing but eate and drinke and sleepe to game goe in the fashion and play the good fellow to laugh and be merry to grow rich and leave tokens of thy pleasure in every place c. If any after so much illightning bee so prodigiously mad as to continue in such a conceite I have nothing to say to Him but leave Him as an everlasting Bedlam abandon'd to that folly which wants a name to expresse it Turne then thy course for shame nay as Thou hast any care to be saved and to see the glory of the new Ierusalem as Thou desirest to looke the Lord Iesus in the face with comfort at that great Day as Thou fearest to receive thy portion in Hell-fire with the Devill and His Angells even most intolerable and bitter torments for ever and ever at least in this thy day in this heate and height of Thy spirituall Harvest awake out of thy sensuall sleepe come to thy selfe with the Prodigall strik◠upon thy thigh and for the poore remainder of a few and evill dayes addresse thy selfe with resolution and constancy to pursue the One necessary Thing and to treasure up much heavenly strength and store against thine ending houre Get thee under conscionable Meanes and quickning Ministery and there gather grace as greedily as the most gryping Vsurer graspeth gould contend with an holy ambition as earnestly for the keeping of Gods favour and an humble familiarity with His heavenly Highnesse by keeping faith and a good conscience as the proudest Haman for an high Place and pleased face of an earthly Prince And why not infinitely more This was the end for which thou wast sent into this World This onely is the way to endlesse blisse And this alone will helpe us and hold out in the Euill day 2. That upon the little ynch of time in this life depends the length and breadth of all eternity in the World to come As we behave our selves here we shall fare everlastingly hereafter And therefore how ought we to ply this moment and prize that eternity To decline all entanglement in those inordinate affections to the possessions and pleasures of the Present which hinder a fruitfull improovement of it to the best advantage for the spirituall good of our Soules Let us be mooved with such reasons as these which may be collected from the words of a worthy Writer which run thus with very little variation 1. If we could afford our selues but so much leasure as to consider That he which hath most in the world hath in respect of the world nothing in it and that he which hath the longest time lent him to live in it hath yet no proportion at all therein setting it either by that which is past when we were not or by that time in which we shall abide for ever I say if both to wit our proportion in the world and our time in the world differ not much from that which is nothing it is not out of any excellency of understanding saith Hee but out of depth of folly say I that we so much prize the one which hath in effect no being and so much neglect the other which hath no ending coveting the mortall things of the world as if our Soules were therein immortall and neglecting those things which are immortall as if our selues after the world were but mortall 2. Let adversity seeme what it will to happy men ridiculous who make themselves merry with other mens miseries and to those under the crosse grievous yet this is true That for all that is past to the very instant the portions remaining are equall to either For be it that we have lived many yeeres and according to Salomon in thē all we have reioyced or be it that we have measured the same length of time and therein have ever-more sorrowed yet looking backe from our present being we finde both the one and the other to wit the joy and the woe sayled out of sight and death which doth pursue us and hold us in chace from our infancy hath gathered it Whatsoever of our age is past death holds it So as whosoever he be to whom Prosperitie hath bin a servant and the Time a friend let him but take the accompt of his memory for we haue no other keeper of our pleasures past
groaning most pitifully Oh mee Wretch Oh mine heart is miserable Oh Oh miserable and wofull The burthen of my sinne lyeth so heavy upon mee I doubt it will breake my heart Oh how wofull and miserable is my state that thus must converse with Hell-hounds When By-standers asked if Hee would pray Hee answered I cannot Suffer us say they to pray for you Take not replyed Hee the Name of God in vaine by praying for a Reprobate What grievous pangs what sorrowfull torments what boyling heates of the fire of Hell that blessed Saint of God Iohn Glover felt inwardly in his spirit saith Fox no speech outwardly is able to expresse Being young saith Hee I remember I was once or twice with Him whom partly by His talke I perceived and partly by mine owne eyes saw to bee so worne and consumed by the space of five yeeres that neither almost any brooking of meat quietnes of sleep pleasure of life yea and almost no kind of senses was left in Him Vpon apprehension of some back-sliding Hee was so perplexed that if Hee had been in the deepest Pit of Hell Hee could almost have despaired no more of His salvation saith the same Author In which intolerable griefes of minde saith Hee although Hee neither had nor could have any ioy of his meate yet was Hee compelled to eate against his appetite to the end to differre the time of His damnation so long as Hee might thinking with Himselfe no lesse but that Hee must needs bee throwne into Hell the breath beeing once out of his Body I dare not passe out of this Point lest some Childe of God should bee here discouraged before I tell you that every One of these three last named was at length blessedly recovered and did rise most gloriously out of their severall Depths of extremest spirituall misery before their end Heare therefore also Mistris Bretterghs triumphant Songs and ravishments of spirit after the returne of Her Welbeloved O Lord Iesu doest Thou pray for mee O blessed and sweete Saviour How wonderfull How wonderfull How wonderfull are thy mercies Oh thy love is unspeakeable that hast dealt so graciously with mee O my Lord and my God blessed bee thy Name for evermore which hast sâ—â—wed mee the Path of life Thou didst O Lord hide thy face from mee for a little season but with everlasting mercy thou hast had compassion on mee And now blessed Lord thy comfortable presence is come yea Lord thou hast had respect unto thine hand-maide and art come with fulnesse of ioy and abundance of consolations O blessed bee thy Name my Lord and my God O the ioyes the ioyes the ioyes that I feele in my Soule Oh they bee wonderfull They bee wonderfull They bee wonderfull O Father how mercifull and marveilous gracious art thou unto mee yea Lord I feele thy mercy and I am assured of thy love and so certaine am I thereof as Thou art the God of truth even so sure doe I know my Selfe to bee thine O Lord my God and this my Soule knoweth right well and this my Soule knoweth right well O blessed bee the Lord O blessed bee the Lord that hath thus comforted mee and hath brought mee now to a place more sweet unto mee then the Garden of Eden Oh the ioy the ioy the delightsome ioy that I feele O praise the Lord for his mercies and for this ioy which my Soule feeleth full well prayse His Name for evermore Heare with what heavenly calmenesse and sweete comforts Master Peacocks heart was refresht and ravisht when the storme was over Truly my heart and Soule saith Hee when the tempest was something alayed have been farre led and deepely troubled with temptations and stings of conscience but I thanke God they are eased in good measure Wherefore I desire that I bee not branded with the note of a cast-away or reprobate Such questions oppositions and all tending thereto I renounce Concerning mine inconsiderate speeches in my temptation I humbly and heartily aske mercy of God for them all Afterward by little and little more light did arise in His heart and Hee brake out into such speeches as these I doe God bee praised feele such comfort from that what shall I call it Agony said One that stood by Nay quoth Hee that is too little That had I five hundred worlds I could not make satisfaction for such an issue Oh the Sea is not more full of water nor the Sunne of light then the Lord of mercy yea His mercies are ten thousand times more What great cause have I to magnifie the great goodnesse of God that hath humbled â—ay rather exalted such a wretched Miscreant and of so base condition to an estate so glorious and stately The Lord hath honoured me with His goodnesse I am sure Hee hath provided a glorious Kingdome for me The ioy that I feele in mine heart is incredible For the third heare M. Fox Tho this good Servant of God suffered many yeares so sharp temptations and strong buffetings of Satan yet the Lord who graciously preserved Him all the while not onely at last did rid him out of all discomfort but also framed him thereby to such mortification of life as the like lightly hath not been seene in such sort as Hee bâ—eing like one placed in Heaven already and dâ—ad in this world both in word and meditation led a life altogether celestiall abhorring in His mind all prophane doâ—ngs 7. No arme of flesh or Art of man no earthly comfort or created power can possibly heale or helpe in this heaviest case and extreamest horrour Heaven and earth Men and Angels friends and Physicke gold and silver pleasures and preferments fauour of Princes nay the utmost possibility of the whole creation must let this alone for ever An Almighty hand and infinite skill must take this in hand or else never any cure or recovery in this world or the world to come Bodily diseases may be eased and mollified by medicines Surgery as they say hath a salve for every sore Poverty may be repaired and releived by friends There is no imprisonment without some hope of enlargement Sute and favour may helpe home out of banishment Innocency and neglect may weare-out disgrace Griefe for losse of a wife a Child or other dearest friend if not by reasons from Reason that death is un-avoidable necessary an end of all earthly miseries the common way of all Mankinde c. yet at last is lessened and utterly lost by length of time Cordialls of Pearle Saphyres and Rubies with such like may recomfort the heart possest with Melancholy and drown'd in the darkenesse of that sad and irkesome humour c. But now not the most exquisite concurrence of all these nor all the united abilities which lie within the strength and sinewes of the Arme of flesh can helpe any whit at all in this Case Not the exactest quintessence extracted from all the joyes glory and pleasures that ever the world
with the Divels painting and false luster carries away captive all carnall men and detaines in a Fooles-Paradise indeed an hellish prison a world of deluded Ones Yet those few illightened Soules whose eyes have been happily opened by spirituâ—ll Eye-salve to turne from darkenesse to light and from the power of Satan unto God behold a double deformity and ouglines in so foule a monster deceitfully dressâ—d in the Divels counterfeite colours and guilded over garishly in His personated Angelical glory 3. It is most filthy Farre filthier then the most stinking confluence of all the most filthy fulsome nasty loathsome things in the world And it must needs bee so For whatsoever a Man can conceive to bee most contrary distant and opposite to the infinite clearenes purity sweetnesse beauty and goodnesse of God all that and much more is sinne in the highest degree Hence it is that in the Scriptures it is compared to the filthiest myre in which a Sow will lie downe to coole and cover her selfe To the loathsome vomite not of a man but of a Dog To the unsavoury poysonfull dampe which rotten Carkases exhale out of opened graves To menstruous filth To the dirt under the nailes or the stinking sweat of the Body or the putrified matter of some pestilent ulcer To the very excrements which Nature having severed froÌ„ the purer part of the meate thrusts out of the stomack casts into the draught To the filthinesse pollutions and impurities of the world so called by a singularity for sin is the transcendent filth of the world To all the uncleannesses for which the Purifications cleansings washings and sprinklings were appointed in the Leviticall Law To abomination it selfe c. Nay and yet further which makes for the further detestation of sinne Whereas all outward filth defiles onely the Body this of sinne by the strength and contagion of it's insinuating poyson soakes thorow the flesh and the bone and enters and eates into the very minde and conscience Tit. 1.15 defiles the pure and immortall Soule of Man How long might wee cast dirt into the Aire before wee were able to infect the bright shining beames of the Sunne Yet so filthy is sinne that at once with a touch it infects the Soule a clearer and purer essence then it and that with such a crimsin and double-â—â—ed staine that the Flood of Noah when all the World was water could not wash it off Neither at that last and dreadfull Day when this great Vniversall shall bee turned into a Ball of fire for the purifying and renewing of the Heaven and the Earth yet shall it have no power to purge or cleanse the least sinne out of the impenitent Soule Nay the fire of Hell which burnes night and day even thorow all eternity shall never bee able to raze it out 4 It is most infectious Spits venome on all sides farre and wide corrupts every thing it comes neare By reason whereof it is fitly resembled to Leaven to a Gangreene to the Leprosie which filthy disease quickly over spreads the whole Body Numb 12.10 Infects the clothes the very Walles of the House Levit. 14.37 c. Posterity 2 King 5.27 The first sinne that eveâ— the Sunne saw was so pregnant with Soule-killing poyson that it hath already damnably polluted all the Sonnes and Daughters of Adam that were ever since and will still by the un-resistable strength of the same contagion empoysâ—n all their natures to the Worlds end Nay at the very first breaking out it suddenly blasted as it were both Heaven and Earth And so stained the beauty of the one the brightnesse of the other and the originall orient newly burnisht glory of the whole Creation that from that houre it hath groaned under the burden of that vanity and deformity to which this first sinne hath made it subject and will travaile in paine under the bondage of the same corruption untill it bee purged by fire in the great Day of the Lord. It but one sinne bee doted upon delightfully and impenitently like a lumpe of Leaven it soures all the Soule defiles the whole Man and every thing that proceeds from Him His thoughts desires affections words actions and that of all sorts naturall civill recreative religious It doth not onely unhallow his meate drinke carriage His buying selling giving lending and all His other dealings in the world even His plowing The plowing of the wicked is sinne Prov. 21.4 But also turnes all his spirituall services and divinest duties His prayer hearing reading receiving the Sacrament c. into abomination If but one raging corruption in a Minister Magistrate Master of a Family as lying swearing filthy-talking scoffing at Religion opposition to godlinesse Sabbath-breaking an humour of Good-fellowship or the like represent it selfe to the eye of the World in His ordinary carriage and hang out as a rotten fruite in the sight of the Sunne it is woont fearefully to infect or offend by a contagious insinuation and ill example all about Him to diffuse it's venome to His Family amongst His Sonnes and Servants over the Parish where Hee lives all companies where hee comes the whole Country round about especially if Hee bee a Man of eminency and Place 5. It is extremely ill A farre greater ill then the eternall damnation of a Man For when Hee hath Ilen many millions of yeeres in the Lake of fire and under the dominion of the second death He is never the nearer to satisfaction for sinne Not all those Hellish â—lames thorow all eternitie can possibly expiate the staine or extingvish the sting of the least sinne Nay the very destruction of all the creatures in the world of Men and Angels Heaven and Earth is a great deale lesse ill then to offend God with the least transgression of His lawes For all the creatures of ten thousand worlds were they all extant come infinitely short in excellency of worth of the Hearts-blood of Iesus Christ. And yet without the effusion of it no sinne could ever have been pardoned nor any Soule saved A man would thinke it a lesser ill to tell a lie then to lie in Hell But heare Chrysostome Altho many thinke Hell to bee the supreame and sorest of all evils yet I thinke thus and thus wil I daily preach That it is farre bitterer and more grievous to offend Christ then to bee tormented with the paines of Hell 6. It is full of most fearefull effects 1. It deprives every Impenitent 1. Of the fauour and love of God the onely Fountaine of all comfort peace and happinesse which is incomparably the most invalue-able losse that can be imagined 2. Of his portion in Christs blood of which tho the drops waight and quantity bee numbred finite and measurable yet the Person that shed it hath stampt upon it such height of price excellency of merit un-value-ablenes of worth that hee had infinitely better have his portion
in that sweetest well-spring of life and immortality then enjoy the riches pleasures and glory of the whole World everlastingly For a bitter-sweet taste of which for an ynch of time Hee villanously trampleth under-foote as it were that blessed blood by wilfully cleaving to His owne wayes and furious following the swinge of His owne sensuall heart even against the check and contradiction of His grumbling conscience 3. Of the most blissefull presence freedome and communication of the Holy Ghost and all those divine illuminations spirituall feastings sudden and secret glimpses and glances of heavenly light sweeter then sweetnesse it selfe wherewith that good Spirit is woont to visit and refresh the humbled hearts of holy men 4. Of the fatherly providence and protection of the blessed Trinity the glorious guard of Angels the comfortable communion with the people of God and all the happy consequents of safety deliverance and delight that floweth thence 5. Of the unknowne pleasures of an appeased conscience a Iewell of dearest price to which all humane glory is but dust in the balance Not the most exquisite extraction of all manner of Musicke Sets or Consorts vocall or Instrumentall can possibly conveigh so delicious a touch and taste to the outward eare of a Man as the sound and sense of a Certificate brought from the Throne of mercy by the blessed Spirit seal'd with Christs blood to the eare of the Soule even amidst the most desperate confusions in the evill Day when Comfort will bee worth a World and a good Conscience ten thousand earthly Crownes 6. Of all true contentment in this life of all Christian right and religious interest to any of the Creatures For never was any sound ioy or sanctified enjoyment of any thing in the world found in that Mans heart which gives allowance to any lust or lyes delightfully in any sinne 7. Of an immortall Crowne the un-speakeable ioyes of Heaven that immeasurable and endlesse comfort which there shall be fully and for ever enioyed with all the children of God Patriarkes Prophets Apostles Martyrs Christian friends yea with the Lord Himselfe and all His Angels with Christ our Saviour that Lambe slaine for us the Prince of glory the glory of Heaven and Earth the brightnesse of the everlasting Light c. In a word of all those inexplicable nay unconceiveable excellencies pleasures perfections felicities sweetnesses beauties glories eternities above 2. It doth every houre expose Him to all those evils which a Man destitute of grace divine may commit and unprotected from above endure It brings all plagues 1. Internall Blindnesse of minde Hardnesse of heart deadnesse of affection searednesse of conscience a reprobate sense strong delusions the spirit of slumber slavery to lust estrangednesse from God bondage under the Divell desperate thoughts horrour of heart confusion of spirit c. And spirituall mischiefes in this kind moe and more dreadfull then either Tongue can tell or heart can thinke Least of which is farre worse then all the plagues of Egypt 2. Externall See Deut. 28.15 c. 3. Eternall See my Sermon of the foure last things 3. By it 's pestilent damning Property and poyson it turnes Heaven into Hell Angels into Divels Life into death Light into darknesse sight into blindnesse Faith into distrust hope into despaire Loue into hate humility into pride mercy into cruelty security into feare liberty into bondage health into sicknesse plenty into scarcenesse a Garden of Eden into a desolate Wildernesse a fruitfull Land into barrennesse Peace into war quietnesse into contention Obedience into rebellion Order into confusion vertues into vices blessings into curses c. In a word all kind of temporall and eternall felicities and blisse into all kinds of miseries and woe 7. What heart except it bee all Adamant and turn'd into a Rocke of flint but possessing it selfe with feeling thoughts and a sensible apprehension of the incomprehensible greatnesse excellency and dreadfulnesse of the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth would not tremble and bee strangely confounded to transgresse and breake any one branch of His blessed Lawes especially purposely and with pleasure or to sinne against Him willingly but in the least ungodly thought For alas Who art thou that liftest up thy proud heart or whettest thy prophane tongue or bendest thy rebellious course against such a Majesty Thou art the vilest wretch that ever God made next unto the Divell and His damned Angels A base and an unworthy Worme of the Earth not worthy to licke the dust that lyeth under His feete A most weake and fraile creature Earth ashes or any thing that is naught the dreame of a shadow the very Picture of change worse then vanity lesse then nothing Who when thy breath is gone which may fall out many times in a moment thou turnest into dust nay rottennesse and filth much more loathsome then the Dung of the Earth and all thy thoughts perish But now on the other side if thou cast thine eyes seriously and with intention upon that thrice glorious and highest Majesty the eyes of whose glory thou so provokest with thy filth and folly thou mayest most justly upon the commission of every sinne cry out with the Prophet O Heavens bee astonished at this bee afraid and utterly confounded Nay thou mightest marvaile and it is Gods unspeakeable mercy that the whole frame of Heauen and Earth is not for one sinne fearefully finally dissolued and brought to nought For He against whom thou sinnest inhabiteth eternity and unapprochable light The Heauen is His Throne and the earth his footstoole Hee is the euerlasting God mighty and terrible the Creatour of the ends of the earth â—c The infinite splendour of his glory and maiesty so dazles the eyes of the most glorious Seraphims that they are glad to adore Him with couered faces The Diuell and all the damned spirits those stubborne Feinds tremble at the terrour of His countenance All the Nations before Him are but as the drop of a bucket but as the small dust of the balance nay they are nothing to Him saith the Prophet yea lesse then nothing Hee fitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers The Iudges and Princes when Hee blowes upon them are but as stubble before the Whirle-winde And Hee taketh vp the Iles as a very litle thing At His rebuke the Pillars of Heauen doe shake the Earth trembleth and the foundations of the hills are mooued His presence melts the mountaines His voice teares the Rocks in pieces The blast of the breath of His nostrils discouers the chanells of waters and foundations of the world when Hee is angry His Arrowes drinke bloud His sword deuoures flesh and the fire of his wrath burnes unto the lowest Hell The Heauen is but His span The Sea His handfull The wings of the wind His walke His garments are light His Pauilion darknes His way in the whirlewind and in the storme and
whole world and all the creatures in Heaven and Earth have offered themselves to bee annihilated before His angry face Had all the blessed Angels prostrated themselves at the foote of their Creator yet in the Point of redemption of Mankind and purgation of sin not any nor all of these could have done any good at all Nay if the Sonne of God Himselfe which lay in His bosome should have supplicated and solicited I meane without suffering and shedding His blood the Father of all mercies Hee could not have been heard in this case Either the Sonne of God must die or all Mankind be eternally damned Even then when thou art provoked to sinne thinke seriously and sensibly of the price that upon necessity must bee paied for it before it bee pardoned 11. Sinfull pleasures are attended with a threefold bitter sting Whereof see my Directions for walking with God pa. 171. Which though the Divell hides from them in the heate of temptation yet in His seasons to serve his owne turne Hee sets them on with a vengeance 12. Compare the vast and unvalu-able difference betweene yeelding to the entisement and conquering the temptation to sinne For which purpose looke upon Ioseph and David two of Gods dearest servants And consider the consequents what a deale of honour and comfort did afterward crowne the head and the heart of the one And what horrible mischiefes and miseries fell upon the family and grisly horrours upon the conscience of the other Survay also the distinct Stories of Galeacius Caracciolus and Franciscus Spira then which in their severall kinds there is nothing left to the memory of the latter times more remarkeable And you shall find in them as great a difference as betweene an Heaven and Hell upon earth The one withstanding unconquerably variety of mighty entisements to renounce the Gospell of Iesus Christ and returne to Popery besides the sweet peace of His Soule attained that honour in the Church of God that Hee is in some measure paralleld even with Moses and recommended to the admiration of Posterity by the Pen of that great and incomparable glory of the Christian World blessed Calvin The other conquered by an unhappy temptation to turne from the Truth of God and our true Religion to the Synagogue of Satan and abominations of the scarlet Whore besides the raging and desperate confusion hee brought upon His owne spirit became such a spectacle to the eye of Christendome as hath been hardly heard of 13. Compare the poore short vanishing delight of the choisest sensuall worldly contentment if thou wilt of thy sweetest sinne with the exquisitnesse and eternity of Hellish torments Out of which might an impenitent reprobate wretch bee assured of enlargement after Hee had endured them so many thousand thousand yeeres as there are sands on the Sea-shore haires upon His head starres in the firmament grasse piles upon the ground Creatures both in Heaven and Earth Hee would thinke Himselfe happy and as it were in Heaven already See before pag. 39. But when all that time is past and infinite millions of yeeres besides they are no neerer end then when they begun nor Hee neerer out then when Hee came in The torments of Hell are most horrible yet I know not whether this incessant desperate cry in the conscience of a damned Soule I must never come out doth not outgoe them all in horrour What an height of madnesse is it then to purchase a moment of fugitive follies and fading pleasures with extremity of never ending paines 14. When thou art stepping ouer the threshold towards any vile act lewd House dissolute company or to do the Divel service in any kinde which God forbid suppose thou seest Iesus Christ comming towards Thee as Hee lay in the armes of Ioseph of Arimathea newly taken downe from the Crosse wofully wounded wanne and pale His Body all gore-blood the beauty of His blessed and heavenly face darkned and disfigured by the stroke of death speaking thus unto Thee Oh! Goe not forward upon any termes Commit not this sinne by any meanes It was this and the like that drew mee downe out of the armes of my Father from the fulnesse of joy and Fountaine of all blisse to put on this corruptible and miserable flesh to hunger and thirst to watch and pray to groane and sigh to offer up strong cries and teares to the Father in the dayes of my flesh To drinke off the dregs of the bitter cup of His feirce wrath to wrastle with all the forces of infernall powers to lay downe my life in the gates of Hell with intolerable and saue by my selfe vnconquerable paine and thus now to lie in the armes of this mortall Man all torne and rent in peices with cruelty and spite as thou seest What an heart hast thou that darest goe on against this deare entreaty of Iesus Christ 15. When thou art unhappily mooued to breake any branch of Gods blessed Law let the excellency and variety of His incomparable mercies come presently into thy minde a most ingenuous sweet and mighty motive to hinder and hold off all gracious hearts from sin How is it possible but a serious survay of the riches of Gods goodnes forbearance long-suffering leading thee to repentance to more forwardnes and fruitfulnes in the good Way The publike miracles of mercy which God hath done in our daies for the preservatioÌ„ of the Gospel this kingdome ourselves and our posterity especially drowning the Spanish invincible Armado discouering and defeating the Powder-plot sheilding Q. Elizabeth the most glorious Princesse of the world from a world of Anti-christian cruelties saving us from the Papists bloudy expectations at Her death c. The particular and private Catalogve of thine owne personall favours from Gods bountifull hand which thine owne conscience can easily leade Thee unto and readily run over from thine infancy to the present wonderfull protections in thine unregenerate time that miracle of mercies thy conversion if thou be already in that happy state all the motions of Gods holy Spirit in thine heart many checks of conscience fatherly corrections excellent meanes of sanctification as worthy a ministry in many Places as ever the world enjoyde Sermon upon sermon Sabbath after Sabbath bearing with thee after so many times breaking thy covenants Oportunities to atâ—aine the highest degree of godlinesse that ever was c. I say how can it bee but that the reuise of these and innumerable mercies moe should so mollify thy heart that thou shouldest haue no heart at all nay infinitely abhorre to displease or any way dishonour that High and dreadfull Majesty whose free grace was the well-Head and first Fountaine of them all Let this meditation of Gods mercies to keepe from sinne bee quickned by considering 1. That thou art farre worthier to bee now burning with the most abominable Sodomite in the bottome of Hell then to bee crowned with any of these loving kindnesses That if
judgement Nay why not more Proportionably to that which Divines hold That the privation and losse of heavenly joyes and beatificall presence of God is far bitterer then the torments of sense and positive paines of Hell But to tell you their true meaning and their very hearts Their aime in so complaining and calling for mercy from our Ministry is to have it so and in such a manner proposed and preached that they may thence collect and conceive that they are in state good enough to goe to Heaven as they are though in truth they bee meere strangers to the life of God and holy strictnesse of the Saints were never truly humbled with sight of sinne and sense of wrath nor experimentally acquainted at all with the Mysterie of the New birth That they may conclude and say within themselves Howsoever some Ministers of the purer and preciser streine fright us continually with nothing but judgement terrour damnation and will not suffer us to bee quiet no not so much as in One sinne yet it is our good hap sometimes to meet with some mercifull men who will help us to Heaven without so much adoe and upon easier termes c. In a word they would upon the matter have just so much mercy as might assure and warrant them to carry securely their sinnes in their bosome to Heaven with them to live as they list in this life and to dye the death of the righteous Which is a conceit most ridiculous absurd and more then utterly impossible What a hatefull tricke then is this and horrible imposture which they suffer Sathan to put them upon In proposing of Christ Let the Man of God set out as much as Hee can possibly the excellency of His Person the unvaluable pretiousnesse of His blood the riches of His heavenly purchases the gracious sweetnesse of His invitations the generality and freenesse of His offers the glorious Priviledges Hee brings with Him reconciliation to God Adoption forgivenesse of sins justification righteousnesse wisedome sanctification redemption c. Possession of all things For all things are yours Whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come All are yours And yee are Christs and Christ is Gods 1. Cor. 3.22.23 Let Him tell His Hearers that the blood of Christ is called the blood of God Act. 20.28 and therfore of infinite merit and unvaluable price It sprang out of His humane nature and therefore finite in it's owne nature and lost upon the ground But the Person that shed it being the Sonne of God did set upon it such an excellency and eternity of vertue and value that the infinitenesse of its merit and inestimablenesse of its worth lasts everlastingly It will bee as fresh orient and effectuall to wash away the sinnes of the last man that shall bee called upon earth as it was those of the Penitent Thiefe who saw it with His bodily eies gushing out of his blessed side upon the crosse or the first man who did first savingly apprehend that first Promise The seed of the woman shall bruise the Serpents head Let him assure them it is so soveraigne That in a truly broken humbled and thirsty soule it turneth the most Scarlet and Crimson sinnes into snow and wooll That upon compunction and comming in it washed away that horrible and bloody guilt from the soules of them that spilt it Act. 2. Let them know also in how high a degree and hainously they offend from time to time who refuse to take Iesus Christ offered most freely without exception of any person every Sabbath every sermon either in plaine and direct termes or implyedly at the least Oh! Litle doe people thinke who sit under our Ministry unwrought upon by the word what a grievous and fearefull sinne they commit and carry home from the House of God day after day in neglecting so great salvation in forsaking their owne mercy and in judging themselves unworthy of everlasting life I meane by chusing upon a free Offer of his Soule-saving blood to cleave rather to a Lust Horrible indignity then to Iesus Christ blessed for ever rather to wallow in the mire and mudde of earthly pelfe in the filth and froth of swinish pleasures In idlenesse pride worldlinesse whoredome drunkennesse strange fashions scorning Professours contempt of the power of godlinesse railing against religion revelling Selfe-uncleannesse c. then abandoning these filthy harlots to take the Sonne of God for their deare and everlasting Husband This not Beleeving This refusing Christ This not taking Him in the manner and sense as I have said is such a sinne though not so thought upon and taken to heart that Divines speake of it as of a most transcendent sinne the greatest sinne the sinne of sinnes the onely sinne as it were from such Places as these But when the King heard thereof Hee was wroth and Hee sent foorth His armies and destroyed those murderers and burnt up their City Mat. 22.7 Hee meanes those who were invited to the Sons marriage and made light of it Hee that beleeveth not is condemned already because hee hath not beleeved in the Name of the onely begotten Sonne of God Ioh. 3.18 When the Comforter is come Hee will convince the world of sinne because they beleeve not on mee Hee meanes this sinne alone saith Austin As though not beleeving on the Sonne of God were the onely sinne It is indeed the maine and master sinne because as the same Father speakes truly This remaining the guilt of all other sinnes abides upon the soule this removed all other sinnes are remitted Nay and besides the horriblenes and hainousnes of the sin what height and perfection of madnesse is it That whereas a Man but renouncing his base rotten transitory sinfull pleasures dogged continually at the heeles with vengeance and horror And only taking Iesus Christ in whom are hidden and heaped up the fulnes of grace and treasures of all perfection might have therevpon to say nothing of the excellency of his person purchases of his passion and possessiō of the most blessed Deity a full free discharge thereby at the hands of so happy an Husband from every moment of the everlastingnesse of Hellish torments and a Deed presently sealed with His owne hearts-blood for an undoubted right to every minute of the eternity of heavenly joyes yet should in cold blood most wickedly and willingly after so many intreaties invitations importunity onely for the good of His poore immortall Soule refuse the change Heaven and earth may be astonished Angels and all Creatures may justly stand amazed at this prodigious sottishnes and monstrous madnesse of such miserable men The world is wont to call Gods people precise fooles because they are willing to sell all they have for that One pearle of great price to part with profits pleasures preferments their right hand their right eye every thing any thing rather then to leave
the spirit of a man saith Salomon will sustaine all His other infirmities but a wounded spiâ—rit who can beare Yet His soule though Hee was the Prince of glory and Lord of Heaven and earth upon the Crosse was even as a scorched Heath without so much as any drop of comfort either from heaven or earth The grievous weight of all the sinnes of all his Children the least of which had bin enough to have pressed them downe into the bottome of Hell lay now heavy upon him The powers of darkenesse were let loose to afflict Him Hee wrastled even with the fierce wrath of His Father and all the forces of the infernall kingdome with such anguish of heart that in the Garden it wrung out of his pretious Body a Sweat as it were great drops of blood falling downe to the ground with such agony of spirit that upon the Crosse Hee cryed My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee And the measure of all these sufferings and sorrowes were so past all measure that all the creatures save sinfull Men onely both in heaven and earth seemed to bee amazed and moved with them The Sun in the heavens drew in his beames unwilling as it were to see the spotlesse blood of the Son of God spilt as water upon the ground The Earth it selfe shrunk and trembled under it The very Rocks rent asunder as if they had sense and feeling of His intolerable and save by Himselfe vnconquerable paines The whole frame of Nature seemed astonished at the mournefull Complaint of the Lord of the Whole World These and farre more then these or then can bee exprest our blessed Saviour being Son of the most high God endured for no other end but to ransome us from the bondage of Sathan and of Hell in a thirsting desire of saving all Penitent sinners And to offer himselfe freely a most glorious and everlasting Husband to all those who with broken and beleeving hearts cast themselves into His bosome Such admirable and unutterable perfections beauties indowments sufferings and inflamed affections as these in the heavenly Suter unto our sinnefull Soules doth mightily aggravate the hainous and horrible sinne of refusing Him Thus and in this manner would I have the Men of God to magnifie inlarge and represent to the hearts of their Hearers all the excellencies of Iesus Christ with the worth merit and efficacy of His blood To set out to the utmost they can possibly the glory of the Gospell with all the riches of mercy goodnesse and free grace revealed and offered therein c. So that they tell them withall That Iesus Christ takes none but such as are willing to take upon them His yoke That hee gives himselâ—e to none but such as are ready to sell all in the sense I have said that they may enjoy his blessed selfe That the glorious grace of the Gospell shines savingly to none but such as deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and live soberly righteously and godlily in this present World That those whose Soules are cleansed by the blood of Iesus Christ from all sinne are onely such as walke in the light as God is in the light who make conscience of detesting and declining all sins and workes of darkenesse discovered to them by the light of Gods holy Booke and sincerely set their hearts and hands with love and carefull endeavour to every duty injoyned therein In a word That as that Fountaine opened to the house of David for sinne and for uncleanesse I meane the blood of that immaculate Lambe Iesus Christ the holy and the righteous doth turne all the sinnes even the very scarlet and crimson of a truly broken heart and every true Mourner in Zion into snow and wooll so it will never wash away the least sinfull staine from the proud heart of any unhumbled Pharisee That hereby no strangers unto the love and life of godlinesse may bee deceived by appropriating unto themselves any of these glorious things which are onely proper to the sealed Fountaine but onely conceive of them as excellent motives to cause them to come in I would have the Preaching of Christ fill the soule of every true harted Nathanael every time with unspeakeable and glorious joy with all those Euangelical pleasures which neither eye hath seene nor eare heard neither have entred into the heart of man But I would have it onely make every unregenerate Man sensible of what infinite blessednesse Hee bereaves Himselfe by continuing a Rebell that thereupon Hee may bee moved to make hast out of His present Hell into this new heaven so fairely opened and freely offered unto Him Besides pressing the law promising mercy proposing Christ c. to stirre men in their naturall states to make them entertaine thoughts of comming in to humble them in the sight of the Lord under the heavy burden of all their sinnes assure them also of pardon in case they will leave Sathans service and so prepare them for Christ Let Gods Ministers lay hold upon all warrantable wayes which they shall find and feele out of their Ministeriall experience and holy wisedome to be availeable and prevaile for that purpose So that the worke bee done in truth And that they doe not like the Divels dawbers deceive them to the eternall ruine and damnation of their Soules by telling them that they have Christ already and are safe enough for salvation whereas indeed as yet there is no such matter Such points as these are woont to make attentive naturall men to startle in their seates to looke about them something more then ordinarily To wit to divide the precious from the vile To distinguish that One true happy state of grace from all states of unregeneratnesse and all kinds of Hypocrisie to tell them out of the Booke of God How farre a Man may goe in generall graces and doing many things c. and yet come short of Heaven To deliver Markes of sincere Professours of a saving Faith of true repentance of a sound conversion c. But I would have this done with a great deale of spirituall wisedome and heavenly understanding with much godly discretion and caution least thereby either the formall Professour may bee incouraged or the weakest Christian disheartned To discourse of the fewnesse and scarcity of those which shall bee saved and that even under the light and within the sound of the Gospell See Math. 20.16 Many are called but few chosen Consider the Parable of the Sower Mat. 13. There is but one good soile upon which the seed of the word falls prosperously but three reprobate grounds as it were upon which it is lost as water upon the ground See my first Doctr. upon Gen. 6.8 c. Thus let the Men of God acquaint themselves with such Points as they conceive the likeliest and most pregnant to pierce their Hearers hearts and come closest to their Consciences that so by the helpe of God they may pull them out of Hell And there are some
and yelling They shall never more bee heard tho with much violence they throw their serikings into the Aire and cry with sighes and groanes as piercing as a sword Not but that the Gates of Heaven and armes of mercy may stand wide open untill their last breath But alas They have already so hardened their hearts that they cannot repent After thine hardnesse saith Paul and heart that cannot repent They now but howle upon their Beds they doe not cry unto God with their heart as the Prophet speakes Hos. 7.14 Their earnest and early crying in this last extremity is onely because Their feare is come upon them as desolution and their destruction as a whirlewinde When they cast out their considerations for comfort It is not the whole Creation can possibly help them for they must stand or fall to the Tribunall of the everlasting God mighty and terrible the Creator of the ends of the Earth If they looke up to God the Father that Prov. 1.24.26 comes presently into their heads with much horrour and quite kills their hearts Because Hee hath called all our life long and all that goodly time wee refused Hee will laugh now at our calamity and mocke when our feare is come Iesus Christ as they strongly conceive and un-mooveably conclude against themselves hath now to them for ever closed up His wounds as it were and will not afford them one drop of His blood because they have so often by comming unworthily spilt it in the Sacrament persecuted Him in His members and despised Him in the Ministry The blessed Spirit because in the Day of visitation they repelled all his inward warnings and holy motions preferring Satans impure suggestions before His sacred inspirations doth now in their own acknowledgement by the equity of a just proportion in this Day of vexation leave them to eat the fruit of their former wilfulnesse and reape the reward of their owne wayes Thus these forlorne wretches are disclaimed forsaken and abandoned of Heaven and Earth God and Man of all the comforts in this life and blessings of the World to come And so by finall despairing of Gods mercy the greatest of sinnes they most unhappily and cursedly follow Iudas the worst of men into the darkest and most damned nooke in Hell 2. Others die senselesly and blockishly They demeane themselues upon their dying Beds as tho there were no immortality of the Soule no Tribunall aboue no strict account to bee given up there for all things done in the flesh no everlasting estate in the world to come wherein every one must either lie in unspeakeable paines or live in un-utterable pleasures In their life time they were never woont to tremble at Gods judgments or rejoyce in his promises or much trouble themselves with the ministry of the Word or about the state of their soules All was one to them what Minister they had whether a Man taught to the kingdome of Christ or a generall Teacher or an ignorant Mangler of the word or a dissolute fellow or a Dawber with untempered morter or a dumbe Dog If they were neither Whores nor Thieves but well accounted of amongst their neighbours thriued in the world prospered in their outward state prouided for posterity slept in a whole skinne were not vexed on the Lords day with any of these precise Trouble-townes They were well enough and had all they looked for either in this world or in the world to come Wherefore at their death by reason of their former disacquaintance with spirituall things and God not opening their eies they are neither afflicted with any feare of Hell or affected with any hope of Heaven they are both un-apprehensive of their present danger and fearelesse of the fiery lake into which they are ready to fall In these regards they are utterly untouched die most quietly and without any trouble at all And it is their ordinary Answere when they are questioned about their spirituall state and How it stands with them betweene God and their owne Consciences I thanke God nothing troubles me Which tho they thinke it makes much for their owne credit yet alas It is small comfort to judicious By-standers and such as wish well to their Soules But rather a fearefull confirmation that they are finally giuen ouer to the spirit of slumber and sealed up by divine justice in the sottishnesse and security of their owne senselesse hearts for most deserved condemnation Thus these men as One speakes live like stocks and die like blocks And yet the ignorant people saith Greeneham will still commend such fearefull deaths saying He departed as meekely as a Lambe Hee went away as a bird in a shell when they might as well say but for their featherbed and their pillow hee dyed like a beast and perished like an Oxe in a ditch 3. Others die formally I meane they make very goodly shewes and representations of much confidence and comfort Having formerly beene formall Professours and so furnished with many formes of godly speeches and outward Christian behaviours And the spirit of delusion and spirituall Selfe-cousenage wich in their life time detained them in constancy of security and selfe-conceitednesse about the spirituall safty of their soules without any such doubts troubles feares temptations which are woont to haunt those who are true of heart for ordinarily such is the peace of unsound Professors continuing their imaginary groundlesse persvasion and presumption in the height and strength unto the end for their very last breath may bee spent in saying Lord Lord open unto us as wee see in the foolish Virgines and those Mat. 7. I say such men as these thus wofully deluded and fearefully deceiving others may cast out upon their last beds many glorious speeches intimating much seeming confidence of a good estate to God-ward contempt of the world willingnesse to die readinesse to forgiue all the world hope to bee saved desire to bee dissolved and goe to Heaven c. They may cry aloud with a great deale of formall confidence Lord Lord Mercy Mercy in the name of Christ Lord Iesus receive our spirits c. And yet all these goodly hopes and earnest eiaculations growing onely from a forme not from the power of godlines are but as I said somewhere before as so many catchings and scrablings of a Man over-head in water He strugles and strives for hold to save Himself but he graspes nothing but water it is still water which He catches and therefore sinkes and drownes They are all but as a spiders web Iob. 8. 14.15 Vpon which One falling from the top of an house laies hold by the way for stay and support Hee shall leaâ—e upon his house but it shall not stand Hâ—e shall hold it fast but it shall not endure O how many descend faitlâ— an ancient Father with this hope to eternall trauailes and torment How many saith an other worthy Doctour goe to Hell with a vaine hope of Heaven whose chiefest
and soulelesse earth upon which wee tread may teach us to rest and depend upon God in such a Case It is a mighty and massy body planted in the middest of the thinne aire and hangs upon just nothing in the world but only upon Gods Word By that alone it is there established unmooveably keepes his place most steadily never stirs an ynch from it It hath no props or pillars to uphold it no barres or beames to fasten it nothing to stay and support it but the bare Word of God alone Hee upholdeth all things by the Word of his power saith the Apostle Heb. 1.3 And yet not all the creatures in the world can shake it or make it tremble Bee it so then that thy Faith hath lost it's hold-fast that for the present thou findest no feeling no encouragements of joy and peace in beleeving no sensible pawnes and pledges of Gods wonted favour c. Yet for all this cast thy selfe upon the sure Word of that mighty God who hath established all the ends of the earth and reared such a great and goodly building where there was no foundation and questionlesse thou shalt bee more then infinitely everlastingly safe and setled like mount Zion which cannot bee removed but abideth for ever 3. In failings of new-obedience Thou puts thy sonne into imploiment sets him about thy businesses He improves the utmost of his skil strength and indeavour to doe thee the best service hee can and please thee if it were possible to perfection But yet comes short of what thou desires and failes in many particulars and therefore he weepes and takes-on and is much troubled that hee can give no better contentment Now tell mee thou whose heart is warmed with the tendernesse of a Fathers affection whether thou wouldest not bee most ready and willing to pardon and passe-by all defects and failings in this kinde Nay I know thou wouldest rejoyce and blesse God that hee had given thee a Child so obedient willing and affectionate Proportionably thy heavenly Father sets thee on worke To beleeve repent pray read the Scriptures heare the Word conferre meditate love the Brethren sanctifie his Sabbaths humble thy selfe in daies of fasting and praier poure out thy soule day and night as the times require in compassion fellow-feeling and strong cries for the Afflictions of Ioseph the destruction of the Churches and those Bretheren of thine which have so long laine in blood and teares to bee industrious and serious in all workes of justice mercy truth c. And thou goest about these blessed businesses with an upright heart and in obedience unto God but the several performances comes far short of what his Word requires and thy heart desires and thereupon thou mournes and grieves and afflicts thy soule in secret because thou canst not come-off with more power and life nor bring that glory unto God in thy Christian walking which so many mercies meanes and such a ministery may exact at thy hands In this case now of these involuntary failings and humble disposition of thy heart therefore bee most assured thy All-sufficient Father will spare thee as a man spareth his owne sonne that serveth him Nay and with so much more kindnesse and love as the heavens are higher then the earth and God greater then man 4. In case of a spirituall Desertion A Father solacing himselfe with his little Child and delighting in it's pretty and pleasing behaviour is woont sometimes to step aside into a corner or behind a dore upon purpose to quicken yet more it 's love and longing after him and try the impatiency and eagernesse of it's affection In the meane time hee heares it cry run about and call upon him and yet hee stirres not but forbeares to appeare not for want of compassion and kindnesse which the more it takes-on the more abounds but that it may dearelier prize the Fathers presence that they may meete more merrily and rejoyce in the enjoyment of each other more heartily Conceive then and consider to thine owne exceeding comfort that thy heavenly Father deales just so with thee in a spiritual desertion He sometimes hides his face from thee and withdrawes his quickning and refreshing presence for a time not for want of loue for hee loves thee freely He loves thee with an everlasting love hee loves thee with the very same love with which He loves Iesus Christ And that deare Son of his loves thee with the same love his Father loves him But to put more heate and life into thine affections towards him and heavenly things To cause thee to relish communion with Iesus Christ when thou enjoyest it more sweetely to preserve it more carefully to joy in it more thankefully and to shunne more watchfully whatsoever might rob thee of it To stirre up all the powers of thy soule and all the graces of God in thee to seeke his face and favour againe with more extraordinary and universall seriousnesse and industry For we finde with pleasure possesse with singular contentment and keepe with speciall care what we have sought with paine Wee may see this in the Spouse Cantic 3.1 c. under the pressure of a grievous Desertion Ponder every particular By night on my bed I sought him whom my soule loveth I sought him but I found him not I will rise now and goe about the Citty in the streetes and in the broad wayes I will seeke him whom my soule loveth I sought him but I found him not The Watchmen that goe about the city found mee to whom I said Saw yee him whom my soule loveth It was but a little that I passed from them but I found him whom my soule loveth I held him and would not let him goe untill I had brought him to my mothers house and into the chamber of her that conceived mee I charge yee O yee daughters of Ierusalem by the Roes and by the Hindes of the field that yee stirre not up nor awake my Love till hee please And lastly that when the comfortable beames of Gods lightsome countenance shall break out againe upon thy soule and thy Beloved is returned thou maist sing that triumphant song of Faith most joyfully I am my Beloveds my Beloved is mine Desertions then delaies of this nature are fruites of thy heavenly Fathers love and ought to bee no discouragements unto thee at all holding thy integrity His love thereby is intended towards thee by the restraint of the influence as it were and sense of it from thy soule as a Brooke growes big by damming it up for a while And thy love is more enflamed towards him when thou now feeles by the want of it what an heaven upon earth it is to have his face shine upon thee with it's quickning refreshing presence and that a sensible embracement of Iesus Christ in the armes of thy Faith is the very life of the soule as the Soule is the life of the Body the Crowne of all sweet
Abraham as you know Gen. 22. did not indeede when it came to the Point sacrifice his Son An Angell from Heaven stayed his hand Onely Hee had a will purpose and resolution if the Lord would so have it even to shed the blood of his onely Childe Now this desire to please God was graciously accepted at his hands as tho the thing had been done and thereupon crowned with as many blessings as there are starres in Heaven and sands upon the Sea-shore By my selfe have I sworne saith the Lord because Thou hast done this thing and hast not spared thine onely Sonne and yet Hee spilt not a drop of his blood save onely in purpose and preparednesse to doe Gods will Therefore will I surely blesse thee and greatly multiply thy seede as the starres of the Heaven and as the sand which is upon the Sea-shore vers 16.17 Rich men Marke 12. cast into the Treasury large Doles and royall offerings no doubt For it is there said Many that were rich cast in much vers 41. And yet the poore Widowes two mites receiving worth and waight from her holy and hearty affection in Christs esteeme did out-valew and over-weigh them all Verely saith Christ I say unto you that this poore widow hath cast more in then all they which have cast into the Treasury Reasons 1. One argument may bee taken from the blessed noblenesse of Gods nature and the incomparable sweetnesse of his divine disposition Which by infinite distance without all degree of comparison and measure of proportion doth surpasse and transcend the ingenuousnesse of the noblest spirit upon earth Now men of ingenuous breeding and generous dispositions are wont to receive sweetest contentment and rest best satisfied in prevailing over and winning the hearts good wills and affections of those who attend or depend upon them Outward performances gratifications and visible effects are often beyond our strength and meanes many times mingled and quite mard with Hypocrisies disguisements famed accommodations and flatteries with selfe-advantages by-respects and private ends But inward reverence and love kind and affectionate stirrings of the heart are ever and alone in our power and ever by an uncontrole-able freedome exempted from enforcement dissembling and formality No marvaile then tho the most royall and Heroicall spirits prize most and bee best pleased with possession of Mens hearts and beeing assured of them can more easily pardon the want of those outward Acts of sufficiency and service most minded by basest men which they see to be above the reach of their ability and power Now if it be so that even ingenuous and noble natures accept with speciall respect and esteeme the affectionatenesse and hearty well-willing of their followers and Favourits tho thâ—y want dexterity and meanes to expresse iâ— actually in visible effects and executions answerable to their affection How much more are spirituall longings holy affections thirsty desires graciously accepted of that God in respect of whose compassions the bowels of the most mercifull man upon earth are cruelty In respect of whose immeasurably amiable melting sweetest disposition the ingenuousnesse of the noblest spirit is doggednesse and disdaine Especially sith Mens good Turnes and Offices of love turne many times to our good and benefit to our advancement profit preferment But our well-doing extendeth not unto God That infinite essentiall glory with which the highest Lord alone to bee blessed adored and honoured by all for ever was is and shall bee everlastingly crowned can neither bee empaired by the most desperate rebellions or enlarged by the most glorious good deeds Can a man saith Eliphaz to Iob bee profitable unto God As Hee that is wise may bee profitable unto himselfe Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous Or is it gaine to Him that thou makest thy waies perfit And Cap. 35.6 7 8. If thou sinnest what doest thou against Him Or if thy transgressions bee multiplyed what doest thou unto Him If thou bee righteous what givest thou to Him Or what receiveth he of thine hand Thy wickednesse may hurt a man as thou art and thy righâ—eousnesse may profit the Sonne of Man Were all the wicked men upon earth turned into humane beasts desperate Belials nay incarnate Divels and the whole world full of those out-ragious Giants of Babell and those also of the oâ—â— World And all with combined force and fury should bend and band themselves against Heaven yet they could not hurt God The Lord is King be the people never so impatient Hee sitteth between the Cherubins be the earth never so unquiet Or Were all the Sonnes of men Abrahams or Angels and as many in number as the Starres in Heaven and as shining both with inward graces and outward good deeds as they are in visible glory yet could they make no addition unto that incomprehensible Majesty above They could not conferre so much as one drop to that boundlesse and bottomlesse Sea of goodnesse or the least glimpse unto that Almighty Sunne of glory All nations before Him are as nothing and they are counted to Him lesse then nothing and vanity Our sinnes hurt Him not Our holinesse helpes Him not It is onely for our good that God would have us good No good no gaine accrewes unto Him by our goodnesse For what good can come by our imperfect goodnesse to that which is already infinitely good What glory can bee added by our dimnesse to Him which is already incomprehensibly glorious Every infinite Thing is naturally and necessarily uncapable of addition Possibility of which suppos'd implies contradiction and destroyes the nature of Infinity If it bee so then that good turnes doe good unto Men and yet out of their ingenuousnesse they most esteeme good wills true heartednesse kind affections And can well find in their hearts to passe-by failings where there is heart and good will as they say To pardon easily want of exactnesse in performance where there are unfained purposes How much more will our gracious God who gaines nothing by all the good workes in the world out of the depth of His dearest compassions kindly interpret and accept in good part the holy longings and hungry desires of a panting and bleeding Soule How dearely will Hee love the love of a true-hearted Nathanael How willingly will Hee take the will for the deede the groanings of the Heart before the greatest Sacrifice But lest you mistake take notice here of a two-fold Glory 1. Essentiall infinite everlasting It is impossible that this should either receive disparagement and diminution or addition and encreasement by any created power And this I meant in the precedent Passage 2. The other I may call Accidentall finite temporary This ebbs or slowes shines or is over-shadowed as Goodnesse or Gracelesnesse prevailes in the world As the kingdom of Christ or powers of darknes get the upper hand amonst the Sonnes of Men. In this regard indeede Rebellious wretches dishonour God upon Earth I confesse And Godly men
and loathnesse to believe adds in an other Place to ordinary invitation a stirring compassionate and quickning compellation or rather exclamation Ho saith Hee Isa. 55.1 Every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. And lest any thinke Hee shall come to His cost or should bring any thing in His hand Hee calls upon Him that hath no money and thus doubles His cry Come yee buy and eate yea come buy wine and milke without money and without price O most blessed and sweetest lines So full of love and longing to draw us to the Well of life that besides that holy pang of compassion and excitation Ho Hee cries thrice Come Come Come Yea but mayst thou say Alas I am so farre from bringing any thing in my hand that I bring a world of wickednesse upon my heart and that above ordinary both in notoriousnesse and number and therfore I am afraid the hainousnesse of my sinnes will hinder my acceptation tho the invitation bee most sweet and pretious Be it so yet the Spirit of God in the same Chapter doth purposely meet with and remoove that very scruple Let the wicked saith He forsake His way and the unrighteous man His thoughts And this is thy Case Thou art unfainedly set against all sinne both inward and outward and let him returne unto the Lord and Hee will have mercy upon Him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon verse 7. Hee will not onely have mercy upon thee but Hee will also abundantly pardon Hee will multiply His pardons according to thy provocations and that with super-abundance Rom. 5.20 4. If all this will not yet doe Hee descends out of the infinite riches of his grace to a miracle of further mercy For the mighty Lord of Heaven and earth sends Ambassadours unto us dust and ashes wormes and no men to beseech us to bee reconciled unto Him Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us wee pray you in Christs stâ—ad be ye reconciled unto God 2. Cor. 5 20. What man can possibly ponder seriously upon this Place but must bee transported with extraordinary admiration nay adoration of the bottomlesse depth and infinite height of Gods incomprehensible everlasting and free love We most abhorred vile wretches are the Offenders Traitors Rebels enimies and ought to seek and sue unto Him first upon the knees of our soules trembling in the dust and if it were possible with teares of blood and yet He begins unto us intreating us by His owne Son and His servants the Ministers to come in accept His favour and grace enter into the wise and good way which is pretious profitable honorable and pleasant that He may hereafter set upon our heads everlasting Crownes of glory and blisse An earthly Prince would disdaine and hold it in foule scorne to send unto His inferiour for reconcilement especially who had behaved Himself basely unworthily towards Him and justly provoked His royall indignation Would not the King of Spaine thinke you so great a Monarch hold it an inexpiable dishonour and indignity to send Embassadours now and sue unto the Hollanders so farre below Him for reconcilement and peace promising and assuring them of an entire restitution and exercise of all their ancient rights priviledges liberties and fundamentall Lawes that they should not need to feare that greatest tyranny and severest kind of persecution under heaven the Spanish Inquisition that He would resume His former Oath the Popes dispensation for which begun all the trouble c. Rather then He would do it He hath paid already a good while since above an hundred millions and the lives of above foure hundred thousand men And is still spending abundance of gold and blood It is thus indeede with wormes of the earth in whom there is no helpe and whose breath is in their nostrills But it is otherwise with the King of Kings who sitteth upon the Circle of the Earth and the inhabitants thereof are as Grashoppers and the Nations as the drop of a Bucket who bringeth the Princes to Nothing and maketh the Iudges of the Earth as vanitie Hee is content to put up at our hands this indignity and affront if I may so speake He is glad to sue unto us first and send His Ambassadours day after day beseeching us to bee reconciled unto Him O incomprehensible Depth of unspeakeable mercy and Encouragement to come in and trust in his mercy in case of spirituall misery able to trample under foot triumphantly all Oppositions of the most raging Hell or distrustfull heart 5. Nay Hee commands us And this is his Commandement that wee should beleeve on the Name of his Sonne Iesus Christ 1. Ioh. 3.23 This command alone of rhe All-powerfull God should infinitely out-weigh and prevaile against all other counter-maunds of Heaven or Earth flesh and blood Satan nature reason sense the whole Creation all the World It should swallow up all scruples doubts feares despaires Comming to Iesus Christ with broken hearts according to this Commandement It will beare us out against all oppositions accusations weaknesses of faith in the evill times in the houre of temptation upon our beds of death at that last and greatest day It will be a plea at such times utterly above all exception against all allegations terrours and temptations to the contrary to say I was humbled under the burden of sinne and sense of my spirituall misery God in mercy offered mee His Sonne Iesus Christ freely in the Mysterie of the Gospell by the Ministry of the Word I thereupon thirsted infinitely for His Person and pretious blood that I might thereby obtaine pardon and power against my sinnes Hee called upon mee and commanded mee to drinke my fill of the Water of life freely I accepted His gracious Offer and according to His Commandement cast my selfe upon the Lord Christ against all the contradictions of carnall reason and Sophistry of Satan and since that time Hee hath given mee power to serve Him in syncerity of heart This is my ground and warrant even the Commandement of my blessed God Thus to drinke when I was thirsty Against which the gates of Hell can never possibly prevaile In thy Case then who thirsts extremely and upon free Offer yet refusest to drink consider how unworthily thou dishonours God and wrongs thine owne Soule by suffering the Divels cavils and the groundlesse exceptions of thine owne distrustfull heart to prevaile with thee against the direct Command of Al-mighty God which thou oughtest to obey against all reason sense feares doubts despaires and Hellish suggestions Abraham the Father of the Faithfull did readily and willingly submit to Gods Commandement even to kill His owne onely deare Sonne with His owne hand naturally matter of as great griefe as could possibly pierce the heart of a mortall man And wilt thou beeing broken-hearted stand off from believing and refuse when Hee commands Thee
to take His own only deere Son especially sith thou takes with Him the excellency and variety of all blessings both of Heaven Earth a Discharge from every moment of the everlasting paines of Hell Deeds sealed with His own blood of thy Right to the glorious Inheritance of the Saints in light In a word even all things the most glorious Deity it self blessed for ever to bee enjoyed thorow Him with unspeakeable and endlesse pleasure thorow all eternity Prodigious madnesse cruelty to thine owne Soule or something at which Heaven and Earth Man and Angell and all Creatures may stand amazed That thou shouldest so wickedly and willfully forsake thine owne mercy and neglect so great salvation 6. Lastly lest He should let passe any meanes or be any waies wanting on His part to drive us to Christ and settle our Soules upon Him with sure and everlasting confidence He also o threatneth And to whom sware Hee that they should not enter into His rest but to them that believed not Heb. 3.18 Wherein Hee expresseth extremest anger unquenchable and implacable indignation Hee sweares in his wrath that no unbeleever shall ever enter into His rest In the Threats of the Morall Law there is no such Oath but a secret reservation of mercy upon the satisfaction of divine justice some other way But herein the Lord is peremptory and a third way shall never bee found or afforded to the Sonnes of Men. Neglect of such a gracious Offer of so great salvation must needes provoke and incense so great a God extraordinarily For with prodigious ingratitude folly it flings as it were Gods free grace in His face againe and sinnes against His mercy Suppose a mighty Prince passing by all the royall and noble blood in Christendome many brave and honorable Ladies should send to a poore maide bred in a base Cottage borne both of beggerly and wicked Parents offer her marriage to make Her a Princesse and shee then should foolishly refuse and reject so infinitely undeserved and unexpected advancement As shee might thereupon bee justly branded for a notorious Bedlam so would not so great a Prince thinke you bee mightily enraged at such a dunghill indignity and peevish affront The Prince of peace upon whosâ— thigh is written King of Kingâ— and Lord of Lords passing by more excellent and noble creatures sends unto Thee whose Father is corruption and the worme thy mother and thy sister and who in respect of thy spirituall state lies polluted in thine owne blood c. And offers to betroth Thee unto Himselfe in righteousnesse and in iudgement and in loving kindenesse and in mercies To Crowne Thee with all the riches both of His kingdome of grace and glory c. Now if thou shouldest stand off which God forbid as thereupon out of perfection of madnesse thou forsakest thine owne salvation so thou most justly enforcest that blessed Lord to sweare in his wrath that thou shalt never bee saved Thus thou hast heard how First Hee keepes open house to all such hungry and thirsty soules Rev. 22.17 Secondly Hee invites Mat. 11.28 Thirdly Invites with an awakening and rouzing compellation Isa. 55.1 Fourthly Intreats 2. Cor. 5 20. Fifthly Commands 1. Ioh. 3.23 Sixthly And threats Heb. 3.18 How cruell then iâ— that Man to His owne wounded conscience who in his extreme spirituall thirst will not bee drawne by this sixfold mercifull Cord to drinke His fill of the Fountaine of the water of life to cast Himselfe with confidence and comfort into the armes of the Lord Iesus Which is more then infinitely able to tie the most trembling heart and that which hangs-off most by reason of pretended doubts scruples and distrusts to that blessed Saviour of His with all full assurance and perfect peace How is it possible but that all or some of these should bring in every broken heart to believe and cause every one that is weary of his sinnes to relie upon the Lord of life for everlasting Wellfare But that which I desire principally to presse for my purpose in the Pâ—int at this time is this Thy conscience is now awaked terrifyed and troubled and therefore as I suppose tender and very sensible at least for a time of the least sinne â—very sinne lies now upon thy Soule as heavy as a mountaine of leade and therefore thou wouldest not willingly adde unto thy already insupportable burden any more waight All thy youthfull lusts and abominations stare in the face of thy conscience with griesly and horrible lookes and therefore for the present especially thou art notably scared from a willing provocation of Gods anger and wounding it afresh with any new sinne Well it beeing thus then If it appeare unto Thee that by thy standing off in the Case I have supposed thee from taking Christ as thine owne applying the promises as most certainely belonging unto â—hee and so putting to thy seale that God is true Thou dishonours Him extraordinarily in many respects Mee thinkes then thou shouldest bee mightily mooved without any more adoe to cast thy selfe presently upon the Lord Iesus with comfort and much assurance Especially sith thy so yeelding to the Law of faith is for thy infinite good And assure thy Selfe thou offendest in the meane time many waies 1. By a sowre and selfe-will'd unmanerlinesse towards Christ in not comming when Hee calls theo Mat. 11.28 It is pride and high pride saith a worthy Divine not to come when thou art called It is rudenesse and not good manners not to doe as thou art bidden to doe yea so often and earnestly charged to doe It would be a foule fault and unmannerly disobedience for any subject in this kingdom tho never so ragged tatter'd or pretending never so much His unfitnesse and unfinenesse to presse into so great a presence not to come unto the King if Hee should please earnestly to call upon Him Disobedience to the Law of faith and reiecting Gods gracious Offer of his Sonne freely is the greatest and an inexpiable sinne He hath sworne in his wrath that such a Refusant shall never enter into His rest 2. By a saucy prescribing unto Him upon what termes Hee shall take thee Ho sayes Hee every One that thirsteth come yee to the waters and Hee that hath no money Come yee buy and eate yea come buy wine and milke without money and without price Nay saist Thou I will either bring something in mine hand or I will none Whereas it appeares in the cited Place that Christ calls not onely those that are thirsty but also such as have no money 3. By undervalewing the unvalewable worth of his pretious blood As tho thy sinnes had exceeded the price that hath been paid for them Whereas it is called Act 20.28 Gods owne blood And therefore no want in it to wash away any sinne and for ever 4. By offering disparagement to all the promises in Gods blessed Booke Every one whereof doth now sweetly
and upon good ground invite thee as it were to repose upon it as upon a sure Word of God with everlasting rest and safty But thou giving too much way to the Divels lies and the dictates of thine owne distrustfull heart keepes off and retires as tho they were too weak to support thy now troubled and trembling Soule especially loaden with so many and hainous sinnes Whereby consider how great indignity thou offers to such pretious promises and Places as these Isa. 1.18 Ezek. 36.25 Isa. 55.7.8.9 And 57.15 Especially beeing so strongly backt by Gods blessed Oath God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heires of promise the immutability of His counsell confirmed it by an Oath That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie wee might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Heb. 6.17.18 What a mighty strength may that most glorious speech of our all-mercifull God infuse into our Faith Ezek. 36.11 As I live c. As if Hee should have said As sure as I am the True Eternall Living and Omnipotent God c. so certainely I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked But I have pleasure that Hee should come in take my Sonne and bee my servant Vnderstand the same proportionably of every promise As sure as I have an eternall Essence and Beeing of a God-head c. So certainely will I give freely to every One that is truly weary of all His sins and thirsts unfainedly for mercy and grace eternal rest and refreshing in the ever-springing Fountaine of all spirituall and heavenly pleasures And so of the rest In a word what an unworthy thing is this That all the pretious promises in the Booke of God confirmed with his owne Oath and sealed with His Sonnes blood should suffer dishonour and disparagement as it were by thy distrust As tho so many mighty Rocks of mercy and truth were not able to susteine a poore bruised Reede 5. By disabling and dis-honouring 1. Gods free love See Hos. 14.4 Ier. 31.3 Ezech. 16. Deut. 7.7.8 Ioh. 3.16 Eph. 1.5 If God would not give us Christ without some matter and motives in us without something done by our selves first it were something to stand out in such a case But he gives him most freely without any respect or expectation at all of any precedent worke or worth on our part Onely there is required a predisposition in the Partie to take Christ legall dejection sight sense and burden of sinne we must bee truly wounded sensible of the Divels yoke feele our owne misery wee must prize Him above and thirst for Him more then the whole world c. A man will not seriously seeke after a Physition before Hee feele Himselfe to be sicke for ease before Hee bee prest with the waight of His burden for a plaister before Hee bee wounded for heavenly riches before Hee bee sensible of His spirituall beggery for enlargement and pardon before Hee finde himselfe in prison for mercy before Hee smart with sense of His misery Such dispositions then as these serve onely to drive us unto Christ and to let us see and feele a necessity of Him But they are infinitely with more then an utter impossibility disabled by any worthinesse to draw on Christ. Hee is a Gift Rom. 5.16 Ioh. 3.16 And what is freer then Gift Nothing is required at our hands for receiving Him but emptie-handednesse and sensiblenesse of our owne nothingnesse Our Heavenly Father never did or ever will fell His Sonne unto any Iustitiarie or any that will needes bee something in Himselfe Hee ever did and ever will give Him to every poore Soule thas is vile in His owne eyes nothing in himselfe labours and is heavy laden and willing to take Him as a Saviour and a Lord. A full hand can hold nothing Either it must bee empty or wee cannot receive Christ. First thirst and then buy without money and without price Isa. 55.1 Mee thinkes Chrysostome doth somewhere set out sweetly the admirable and adored frankenesse of this divine bounty b If thou wilt be adorned with my comlinesse or bee armed with my weapons or put on my garments or bee fed with my dainties or finish my iourney or come into that City whose Builder and Maker I am or build an House in my Countrey Thou maist so doe all these things that I will not onely not exact of thee any price or paiment for any of these things but I my selfe would bee a Debtour unto thee of a great Reward so that thou wouldest not disdaine to use my things my strength gifts graces What can be ever found equall to this bounty If God then bee so infinitely good as to offer His Sonne so freely And thou so fitted to receive Him by sensiblenesse of thy spirituall miserie thirsting for his blood resolving upon His service for the time to come c. How unad-visedly cruell art thou to thine owne conscience and unmannerlily proud that wilt needs stand off still from taking the Lord Iesus and suffer still thy poore trembling Soule to lie unnecessarily upon the Racke of terrour Sith thou gets and gaines nothing thereby but first Gods dishonour secondly Thine owne willfull torture thirdly Gratification of Satans malicious cruelty Obiect 1. But were it not fitter for mee maist thou say first to amend my life to doe some good workes to have experience of the Change of my conversation to grieve legally longer c. Before I bee so bold as to lay hold upon Christ and apply the Promises Answ. Thou must first bee alive before thou canst worke Thou must have spirituall ability inspired before thou canst walke in the good way Thou must be justified before thou bee sanctified Now spirituall life is onely then and never before or by any other meanes infused but when wee reach out an empty hand and take Iesus Christ into our humbled Soules When a 〈…〉 wearie of all sinne according to His Call Commandement and counsell roles itself as it were and â—â—anes upon the Lord Iesus then is spirituall life first breaâ—hed into it The vitall operations of grace in â—ll holy duties good deeds amendment of life holy walking universall obedience c. must appeare afterward Zacheus received Iesus Christ first into His heart and house before Hee was able to restore and distribute Casting ouâ— selves upon that Lord of life with truth of heart as our onely Iewell and Ioy we have in heaven or in earth 〈◊〉 whom we are resolved to live and die drawes frâ—m Him into our soules that heavenly vertue and vigour whereby we are afterward inabled to exercise all the functions of spirituall life and to die to the world and all wordly pleasures for ever Herein is thy fault and failing thou conceives not a right of Gods free grace but thinkes thou shalt not bee welcome except thou
in the nearest and most immediate passive disposition if I may so speake to receive the whole Sunne of righteousnesse Reach but out thy hand in this Case to Iesus Christ offering Himselfe freely unto Thee as a Saviour and Lord and thou shalt presently take possession of the Kingdome of Grace and undoubted Right to the everlasting Kingdome of Glory The Prophet Amos 5.8 presseth this Argument of power for some such purpose And it may serve excellently against all pretences and counter-pleaes for a supposed impossibilitie of being illightened and refreshed in the depth of spirituall darkenesse and distresse It may bee Thou mayest say unto Mee You advise mee indeed to seeke Gods face and favour c. But alas Mine is not an ordinary heart it is so full of guilty sadnesse and horror for sin that I have little hope c. Yea but consider He that I counsell Thee to seek made the seven Starres and Orion and turneth the shadow of death into the Morning and will doe fargreater wonders for thy Soule if thou wilt believe the Prophets that thou mayest prosper If thou will trust in Him He will quickly turne the tumultuous roarings of thy conscience into perfect peace Thou wilt keepe Him in perfect peace whose minde is stayed on thee because Hee trusteth in Thee Isai. 26. 3. The Prophet therefore to prevent all scruples and exceptions in this kinde calles upon them thus Seeke him that maketh the seven Starres and Orion c. 2. Secondly lay these two together To bring hony out of the Rocke and oyle out of the flinty Rocke Deut. 32.13 And to mollifie thine heart even to thine owne hearts desire in which there is already some softnesse else thou couldest not sensibly and syncorely complaine of it's hardnesse And thou must needs acknowledge that they are both equally easie to the same Almightie arme 3. Thirdly thou mayst well consider that it is a farre greater worke to make Heaven and Earth then to put spirituall life and lightsomnesse into thy truly humbled and thirsty Soule to which so many pretious Promises are made And Hee with whom Thou hast to doe and from whom thou expectest helpe is He that made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that therein is which keepeth truth for ever Which openeth the eyes of the blind and raiseth them that are bowed downe Psal. 146.6 Which healâ—th the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds Who taketh pleasure in them that feare Him in those that hope in His mercy Psal. 147.3.11 4. In such an extremity of helpe-lesnesse and hope-lesnesse In this trembling and terrour of thy heart thou shouldest call to minde for thy comfort That Hee who establisheth all the Ends of the Earth Prov. 30 4. and hath hung that mighty and massie Body upon Nothing Iob 26.7 can most easily stay and stablish the most forlorne and forsaken Soule even sinking into the mouth of despaire Hee that said at first to the Earth Stand still upon Nothing and it never stirr'd out of it's place since the Creation can easily uphold fortifie and refresh thine heart in the depth of the most grievous spirituall misery Even when in the bitternesse of thy spirit thou cries My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord Lament 3.18 4. Even his Iustice. Christs blood is already payed as a price for the pardon of the sinnes of thine humbled Soule and thou wilt needs pay it over againe or else thou wilt not enter upon the Purchase As tho God did expect and exact the discharge of the same debt twice which to imagine were a monstrous intolerable indignity to the most just God You know full well what conceit wee should hold of that Man who having a debt fully discharged by the Surety should presse upon the Principall for the payment of the same againe Wee should indeed thinke HIm to bee a very cruell hard-hearted and mercilesse Man wee should call Him a Turke a Cut-throate a Canniball farre fitter to lodge in a Den of Tygers then to live in the society of men What a fearefull dishonour then is iâ— to the mercifull and mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth To the righteous Iudge of all the World to conceive that having received an exact and full satisfaction for all our sinnes by the hearts-blood of His owne deare Sonne should ever require them againe at our hands Farre bee it then from every One who would not offer extraordinary disparagement even to Gods glorious Iustice to entertaine any such thought Especially sâ—th wee have His Word His Oath and the Seale of His Sonnes blood for security And assuredly wee may build upon it as upon a Rocke of eternall truth that when wee come unto Christ weary of all our sinnes thirsting syncerely for Him and throwing our selves upon Him as Salvation it selfe resolved to take upon us His sweet and easie yoke for the time to come Hee doth presently as Hee hath promised take off the burden and free us everlastingly from the guilt and staine damnation and reigne of all our sinnes But now if thou wilt cast thy self upon Iesus Christ role thy selfe upon the Promises beeing so humbled spiritually thirsty and resolved as thou hast said and I supposed at the first For wee who are Gods Messengers comfort and assure of pardon in such Cases onely upon supposition that the heart and speeches all the Promises and protestations of the Party and Patient we deale with bee syncere every way I say if thou thus cast thy selfe upon the Lord Iesus and the promises of life having a well-grounded strong and seasonable calling thereunto beeing as appeares before invited intreated commanded c. The Case will be blessedly altered Thou shalt then doe as God would have Thee and mightily honour the un-valew-able and infinite dignity of His Sonnes Passion and blood the pretious freenesse of all the Promises His free love sweet Name Truth Mercy Power Iustice c. Thou shalt also cut off and defeate the Divels present fiery darts and Projects of further cruelty dis-intangle and unwinde thy selfe out of the irkesome Maze of restlesse terrours and trouble of minde crowne thine owne soule in the meane time with peace that passeth all understanding with ioy unspeakeable and full of glory with Evangelicall pleasures such as neither eye hath seene eare heard or have entred into the heart of Man and hereafter be most certainely received by that sweetest Redeemer of thine into those glorious Mansions above where nothing but light and blessed immortalitie no shaddow for matter of teares discontentments griefes and uncomfortable passions to worke upon but all ioy tranquillity and peace even for ever and ever doth dwell 2. Yea but may an other say I in the Case proposed have cast my selfe according to your counsell upon Iesus Christ and there by the mercy of God am I resolved to sticke come what come will and yet no comfort comes What doe you thinke should I thinke of my selfe in this Case
un-avoidablenes and terrible pangs of a womans travaile and is more skilfull ready and forward to relieve in such distresse And so also all others who have been most afflicted either with outward troubles or inward terrours or both are ever most fit and feeling to speake unto the heart to put to their helping hand and make much of comfortlesse and miserable men troubled and tempted as they have been And such was the Case of our blessed Saviour in his sufferings for our sakes Hee was exercised all his life long with variety and extremitie of cruelties indignities and all manner of vexations beyond measure grievous bitter and intolerable Hee drunke full deepe of the Worlds disgrace the Divels malice the rage of great Ones the contempt and contumelies of the vilest the scornefull insultations of his enemies sorest sufferings from all things in Heaven Earth and Hell Of those pinching passions hunger thirst wearinesse of bodily tortures hideous temptations agonies of Spirit even of the full Cup of his Fathers fiery wrath and horrors of soule for our sinnes to the very last drop which went as farre beyond his other outward extremities as the Soule goes beyond the body Gods utmost anger the malice of men Whereby hee is now blessedly fitted and enabled excellently to succour them that are tempted Consciousnesse of his owne Case in the daies of his flesh is a keene incentive to his holy and heavenly soule more sensibly and soone to take pitty upon and ease the severall necessities troubles sorrowes and soule-afflictions of all his Children 3. Thirdly As this ever-blessed Redeemer of ours was in himselfe more then infinitely free and more then farre enough from all sinne so by consequent from any inherent cause of the least crosse or any shadow in the World of his dearest Fathers displeased countenance For originally He was of a most pure harmelesse and holy nature all his life long kinde sweet and gracious to every Creature offending none doing good unto all In his death incomparably patient brought as an innocent Lambe to that bloody slaughter not opening his mouth for all those base and barbarous provocations of the cruell and mercilesse Miscreants about him swimming in blood burning in zeale wrastling in prayer even for the salvation of his enemies So that his guiltlesse and unspotted soule had no neede at all of any passion or expiation All his sorrowes and sufferings were voluntarily under-gone onely for our sakes and sinnes Had not the pretious hearts-blood of the only deare naturall eternall Sonne of God been poured out as water upon the ground where at the whole Creation was astonished the Earth trembled and shooke her Rocks clave asunder her Graves opened the Heavens with-drew their light as not daring to behold this sad and fearefull spectacle never had the soule of any sonne or daughter of Adam been saved It was not the glory and treasures of the whole Earth not any streaming sacrifices of purest Gold not the life of Men and Angels no not the power and prostration of all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth or of ten thousand Worlds besides could have prevail'd satisfied and served the turne in this Case Either the Heire of all things must die or we had all been damned Is the heart then of any Mourner in Zion heavy and ready to breake for sorrow because hee hath lost the light of Gods face feeling of his love and consolations of grace So that the darknesse of his Spirit thereupon frights him with re-possession of his pardoned sinnes temptations to despaire and feares lest hee bee forsaken O then let him hie and have speedy recourse unto this heavenly Cordiall when our Lord and our Love felt the curse of our sinnes and his Fathers hottest wrath comming upon him in the Garden without any outward violence at all onely out of the paine of his owne thoughts bled thorow the flesh and skinne not some faint deaw but even solid drops of blood and afterwards in the bitternesse of his soule cried out upon the crosse My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee And none of all this for himselfe For no staine at all did cleave to his sacred soule But all this the least of which wee can no more expresse then wee could undergoe for thy sake and salvation alone who loves our Lord Iesus Christ in syncerity And therefore ground upon it as upon the surest Rocke even in the height of thy heavie-heartednesse and depth of a spirituall desertion that those depths of sorrow whereof our conceits can finde no bottome thorow which hee waded in his bloody sweat cry upon the Crosse and painfull sufferings in soule did most certainly free thee everlastingly from the guilt venome and endlesse vengeance of all terrours of conscience Agonies of Spirit temptations to despaire and damnations of Hell The righteous Iudge of all the World will never expect or exact at the hands of any of his Creatures double paiment a double punishment Our dearest Saviour hath satisfied to the utmost with his owne blood the rigour and extremity of his Fathers Iustice in thy behalfe and therefore it is utterly impossible that thou shouldest ever finally perish Inward Afflictions and troubles of minde may for a time presse thee so sore that thou maist bee ready to sinke for 1 chastisement 2 triall 3 prevention of sinne 4 perfecting the pangs of the New-birth 5 example to others c. But in despite of the united rage and policy of all infernall Powers Thou shalt in due time be raised again by that victorious and triumphant hand which bruised the Serpents head and burst the heart of Hell even out of an horrible pit bee set upon a Rocke farre above the reach of all hellish hurt or sting of horrour In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment but with everlasting kindnesse wil I have mercy upon thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer Isa. 54.8 5. There is another terrible fierie dart dipt full deep in the very rankest poyson of the infernall pit which though it bee not much talked of abroad nor taken notice of by the World yet is secretly suggested and managed with extremest malice and cruelty in the silent bosomes of Gods blessed Ones The most holy hearts are many times most haunted with this foulest fiend Strangers to the wayes of God bee not much troubled in this kinde nor ordinarily vexed with such horrours Satan as I said before makes as much of his in this World as hee can possibly knowing that hee hath time enough even eternity to torment them in the World to come And therefore hee is not woont to weld this terrifying weapon against them save only at some dead lift or upon some speciall advantage as under some extraordinary misery or in excesse of melancholy to drive them thereby to distraction selfe-destruction or despaire Or it may bee God may suffer him to afflict thus hideously some grievous sinner which hee is
he watchfully apprehending and plying industriously workes a world of mischiefe upon afflicted soules in their spirituall miseries Idlenesse laies a man open to all hellish snares and temptations makes the heart like unmanured ground fit for nothing but the wildest and rankest weedes of lust luxury lewd company the universall inordinatenes of Originall corruption to domineere rage and doe what it will Like standing Pooles naturally prepared and pregnant to breed and feed the vermine and venome of vilest thoughts and un-naturall filth Like Thorow-faires for Satans most hideous and horrible injections to wander and walke up and downe in without restraint or remedy Solitarinesse besides it's native propertie and power to make sad increase melancholy and aggravate feares doth in this Case more then any bring an heavie Woe Woe to him that is alone For if the weake Christian fall hee hath not another to help him up He may there be surprised yeeld and foil'd before he get into such company which might happily have prevented it or supported him in the temptation Too much secrecy and concealement may cause the wound of a terrified conscience to bleed inward rankle fester and grow desperate whereas seasonable discovery might have cured and comforted it Horrour arising from the apprehension of such uncouth and monstrous thoughts kept close and dam'd up in the mans owne brest may swell so high that the poore soule may bee in great danger to bee wofully drowned and over-whelmed by it which had it had vent be time eased and emptied it selfe into some holy and faithfull bosome might by divine and discreete counsell by little and little dried up quite I have knowne him who did bite in and keepe close in his bosome this temptation of blasphemie the space of about twenty yeares All which while the Divell did tyrannize extremely and keep him almost in continuall terrour Hee thought there was never man had such vile and prodigious thoughts as hee And if the World knew what they were hee should bee abhorr'd as a monster of men and the loathsommest creature upon earth most worthy to bee utterly exterminated and rooted out of the society and confines of Mankinde And hereupon many and many a time when hee apprehended any opportunity or had any meanes offered to make himself a way he was tempted there unto principally upon this ground that it was pitty such an horrible Blasphemer for so he supposed should any longer breathe But at last hearing the nature manner and remedy of these hideous injections discovered by the Ministery afterward privately informing himselfe further and more fully from Gods Messenger was happily taken of the racke for the time to come and most wonderfully refreshed And therefore take heede of keeping the Divels counsell The tempted in this kinde may doe well to bee still conversant in religious duties honest workes of their lawfull Callings company of skillfull experienced Soule physitions or one or other comfortable imploiment 7. Settle in thy heart a peremptory impregnable resolution never to entertaine any conceit of that great Majesâ—y and glory above of the most holy and ever-blessed Trinity or any thing there-about but such onely as is revealed and represented unto thee in Gods Booke Whatsoever is objected by carnall reason to the contrary or injected by the Divell any wayes to deprave the divinenesse of that glorious Truth ought to bee rejected as cursed false and execrable And therefore when that hellish Nimrod shall at any time hunt and chase thine affrighted soule with these blasphemous Hell-hounds bee sure ever to take Sanctuary in the Oracles of God and keepe thee close and safe under this Covert Whatsoever is not comprehended within the Confines of that sacred Pale warranted by holy Writ the soveraigne Touch-stone of all heavenly Truth let it bee abhorred and retorted as dung upon the face of the Tempter That sense and apprehension of the Deity and divine things which is not suckt from the brests of the two Testaments is in this regard to bee reputed ranke poyson repelled and abominated with infinite indignation and disdaine And for further helpe herein when thou findest thy selfe thus followed with the violent and incessant incursions of this furious folly call often and seriously to minde that accursed brand which the Booke of God hath set upon the Adversary that hee is the Father of lies and let that still continue a more resolute rejection and contempt of whatsoever comes from him Suppose a raging Bedlam should follow thee up and downe all the day long and tell thee that thy father or speciall friend were a Stone a Bird a Tree a Toade or whatsoever is viler or more absurd would'st thou hereupon entertaine and harbour in thy minde any mis impression or monstrous perswasion of the party I trow not onely his senselesse clamour and restlesse raving would be very â—â—kesome troublesome and un-welcome especially sith thou art furnished with a cleare demonstrative light out of naturall Philosophy that hee is a reasonable Creature and thy selfe sees in him the face and favour the shape and proportion of a Man Proportionably Satan that bloody Bedlam of Hell out of that madnes at which Heaven and Earth may stand amazed solicites thee to admit such and such horrible and hideous conceits of thy dearest Lord his Sonne and sacred Word Ah cursed Fiend that ever thou shouldest discover such prodigious malice against thy glorious Maker Now God infinitely forbid that this should cause the least alteration or any diminution at all of thy lowliest most reverent adoring and divinest thoughts of so great a God For have but recourse to the holy Records of all sound supernaturall and saving knowledge I meane the Word of life with which thou oughtest to consult and to which onely thou art confind in this Case and thou shalt finde him to bee Onely one living and true God everlasting without body parts or passions of infinite power wisdome and goodnâ—sse the maker and preserver of all things both visible and invisible And in unitie of this Godhead there to bee three persons of one substance power and eternity the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost And besides thou mayst graspe as it were and feele betweene thy fingers as they say even in every Creature His greatnesse and goodnesse Majesty and might power and providence In the glorious Lights of heaven saith a noble Writer wee perceive a shaddow of his divine countenance in his provision for all that live his manifold goodnesse And lastly in creating and making existent the World universall by the absolute Art of his owne Word his power and Almightinessâ— which Power Light Vertue Wisdome and Goodnesse being alâ— but Attributes of one simple Essence and one God wee in all admire and in part discerne per speculum creaturarum that is in the disposition order and variety of Celestiall and Terrestriall bodies Terrestriall in their strange and manifold diversities Celestiall in
have parted with the magnificent state and pompe of Pharaohs Court where Hee might have wallowed in varietie of all worldly delights and to take part with His afflicted Brethren of a world of miseries in a vast and roaring Wildernesse There was never carnall man since the Creation but in such a Case would have followed the Court and forsaken Gods people Hester a weake Woman could never possibly have holden out against the fury of so mighty a Favourite the hazarding of Her high Place the favour of so great a King and even life it selfe had She not been upholden by an extraordinary strength from Heaven No great Woman in the World wanting Grace would ever have runne such an hazard but have suffered the servants of God to sinke or swimme so that She might swimme downe the Current of the times without crossing and enjoy the present without perill It was a 〈◊〉 temptation 〈◊〉 â—â—nathan and a very 〈…〉 Dilemma Either leave to adhere to David or resolve to lose a Kingdome But the hope of an earthly Crowne could not hire Him to hold His peace and betray the innocency of His heavenly Friend And Ionathan answered Saul his Father and said unto Him Wherefore shall Hee bee slaine What hath Hee done The dread of dis-countenance from two angry Kings whose indignation is as the roaring of a Lyon was a terrible Motive to have made Michajah temporize not a Server of the Times and His owne turne in the World but would in this Case have tuned His Pipe to Ahabs pleasure especially encouraged by the flattering concurrence of so many false prophets But the sight of the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth sitting upon His Throne and all the Host of Heaven standing by Him infused such an holy fortitude into the spirit of this Man of God that no greatnesse terrour or Majesty of any crowned Potentate could possibly daunt His courage or dash Him out of countenance And therefore Hee answeres with a resolution as high as Heaven and out of a sacred pang of seraphicall zeale As the Lord liveth whatsoever the Lord saith unto mee that will I speake So that Hee may discharge a good conscience and doe as God would have Him Hee is at a Point That Message which thâ—â—lmighty had put into His mouth must 〈…〉 Him to a centur◠〈…〉 from so 〈…〉 owne Coate to a suspicion of dis-loyalty for crossing so peremptorily the Kings Plot to smiting both with the fist of wickednesse and taunts of the tongue from His fellow Seers Nay tho His faithfull dealing throw Him into a Dungeon there to bee fed with the Bread of affliction and Water of affliction untill the full wrath of an enraged prophane King fall upon Him to the uttermost Thus let the World say what it will whatever flesh and blood suggest to the contrary Howsoever unsanctified great Ones storme and disdaine yet assuredly every true Friend to Iesus Christ must bee content farre rather to bee dis-courted then desert a good cause or not to defend the innocency of a gracious Man tho in disgrace and to speake for Gods people tho Haman rage to roote them out quite as a company of singular exorbitant fellowes who serve God as they list and keepe not the Kings Lawes As is unanswerably evident by the precedency of these newly named noble and holy Saints I confesse this may seeme precise Doctrine and a divine Paradox to all the great Masters of pleasure and Minions of luxury and pride whose blood runnes fresh in their veines and marrow is yet strong in their bones Nay who having attained the height of their ambitious aimes sit now aloft in the very top of their un-blessed bravery and greatnesse drunke with the pleasant wine of worldly prosperitie and holding in scorne the holy preaching of the good way the syncerity of the servants of Christ and society of the Brotherhood Yet I can assure them in the Word of Life and Truth the now embracement and practise of precise walking will incomparably more comfort them upon their Dying-Beds in that great and last encounter with all infernall powers about the immortality blisse and glory or the endlesse and unsupportable paines and misery of their Soules then if they had been the sole and soveraigne Commanders of all the Kingdoms of the Earth all their life long But no marvell in the meane time that as the Spirit of truth tells us and punctually to my purpose Not many Wise men after the flesh nor many Mighty not many Noble are called Not for any impossibility For the irresistable might of the Spirit worketh upon whom it will and some Great Men are good but by reason of the difficulty Being beset with such variety and strength of temptations they are rarelier and hardlier wrought upon by the Word and woone out of Satans en-snarements High roomes temporary happines abilities above ordinary so puffe them up and transport them beyond themselves with such a deale of Selfe-love Selfe-opinion Self-prizing that their proud and obstinated spirits will by no meanes stoope to the simplicity of the Gospell â—â—gularitie of the Saints and the foolishnesse of preaching But if at any time they heare of a Nathan Ieremy Amos Chrysostome Latimer c. They are very loth to lend their attention lest thereby they should bee made Melancholike put in mind of the Evill day tormented before their time But if they have the patience They are ready to startle in their seates and whisper One to an Other You see now these preciser Fellowes would damne us all to Hell Let us breake their bonds asunder and cast away their Cordes from us Such adoe there is and a world of worke to bring such noble Bedlams into their right minds and to fright such Idolizers of their owne sufficiencies and wilfull graspers of their gilded Fetters from their admired follies and honorable servitude 3. Thirdly a gracious Man about a Royall Person is a goodly Sight full well worth even a Kings Ransome For never any except himself truly feare the great God of Heaven can possibly bee cordially and conscionably serviceable to any of our earthly Gods A Principle so cleare and unquestionable that no Man of understanding and Master of his owne Wits except himselfe be notoriously obnoxious can have the face to deny it Please they may bee politically plausible flatter extremely and represent themselves to ordinary observation as the onely Men for loyalty and love But if wee could search and see their hearts wee should find them then most laborious to serue themselves and advance their owne ends when they seeme most zealous for their Soveraignes service Ahitophel in the Sunne-shine of peace and calmenesse of the Kingdomes time did accommodate himselfe to the present both in Consultations of State and religious conformitie But no sooner had this hollow-hearted man espied a dangerous tempest raysed by Absoloms un-naturall treachery but Hee turned Traytor to his naturall Lord when Hee
observed the Winde to blow another way He followed the blast and set his sailes according to the weather Which made David after complaine But it was thou O Man even my Companion my Guide and Familiar We tooke sweet counsell together and walked unto the House of God in company Wherefore let Great Men without grace professe and pretend what they will and protest the impossibility of any such thing as Hazael did in an other Case yet ordinarily I know not what some One morall Puritan amongst a million might doe in such tumultuous times and of universall confusion for the securing of their temporall happinesse which without timely turning on Gods side is all the heaven they are like to have in this World or the World to come I say upon a Point of great advantage and advancement with safety they would flie from the declining State and downe-fall of their old Master tho formerly the mightiest Monarch upon earth as from the ruines of a falling house And it can bee no otherwise for they have no internall Principle or super-naturall power to illighten and enable them to set their shoulders against the Torrent of the times and to bee overflowne with it But now Hee that truly feares God would rather lose His high Place Nay his posterity As much hearts-blood if He had it as would animate a whole Kingdome then leave His lawfull Soveraigne Lord in such a Case upon any termes tho Hee might have even the Imperiall Crowne set upon His owne Head For conscience that poore neglected Thing Nay in these last and looser times even laughed at by men of the World yet a stronger tie of Subjects hearts unto their Soveraignes then Man or Divell is able to dissolve ever holds up his Royall heart erect and unshaken when all Shebnaes Hamans and Ahitophels would hide their heads and shrink in the wetting Which conscience of his if upon such occasion Hee should unhappily wound Hee knowes full well it would follow Him with guilty cries for his so base temporizing and traiterous slinking all the daies of his life Whereas gracelesse and selfe-seeking greatnesse can well enough in the meane time conquer such clamorous accusations of an ill conscience with the boisterous excesse of carnall contentments even as the Sacrificers of their Sonnes to Mâ—loch in the fire drowned their lamentable cries with the louder sound of Tabrets and Drummes Ambitious Nimrods are able by the inordinate heate after humane greatnesse to digest and drive away the after-stings of bribery basenesse if not close bloodshed their ordinary meanes of mounting with their delight in domineering and beeing adored above others It is a fit Passage therefore in our Common Prayer-Booke That it may please Thee to endue the Lords of the Counsell and all the Nobility with grace wisedome and understanding Grace is fitly put in the first place For understanding and wisdome without this heavenly Iewell doe but prepare their Owners to doe the greater mischiefe To oppresse innocency with finer tricks and more unobservedly to plague Opposites more plausibly to compasse their owne ends more exactly and at last for the abuse and mis-imploiment of their great Parts and Places in serving themselves and not seeking Gods glory to be damned more horribly Without sanctification by speciall grace the rarest endowments degenerate Wisedome into craft Power into private reuenge Valour into violence Prudence into plotting their owne ends Courage into foole-hardinesse to uphold a faction Policy into plastering over soule-businesses with faire colours All of them are basely and unworthily made subordinate and serviceable onely to the setting forward and safe-garding their owne outward felicity Without this celestiall Load-starre to steere aright in all affaires there will ever be some warping A great man a Friend an enemy feare cowardlinesse affection faction partiality covetousnesse malice or something will certainly sway and transport away But now a godly Man besides his presence exemplary precedency in piety and prayers which are ever pleasing and prevailing with God the discharge of his Place with integrity and truth improving industriously all opportunities high favours interest in great Ones and utmost possibility every way to advance Gods glory promote good causes protect good Men Hee may also by observing the calmnesse of a Royall countenance and openesse of a Princely eare unto Him wisely and humbly suggest some things and speake those words for the publike Good and good of religion wherby not only a Kingdome but the whole Christian World may fare the better Vpon these and the like grounds I hold it an high happinesse and great honor to have an hand in working spirituall good upon those excellent spirits which hold high Roomes or stand in neare attendance unto mighty Princes And by this time you easily discerne my drift and rightly apprehend the top of my ambition in this Dedication even to doe your Soule good Which is much more Worth then the Whole World and must never die To which I conceived a doore opened when it pleased you in more then ordinary manner to manifest your liking and allowance of my last Booke And therefore Sir I beseech you out of the generousnesse of your noble disposition to doe me that fâ—vour Nay that right Nay that honour for so I shall account it As not to conceive the least thought that hereby I goe about to seeke great things to my selfe or ever to come nearer the Court then by the continuance of my daylie heartiest praiers for the salvation and life of King Charles my dread and dearest Soveraigne I am drawing apace towards my long Home and must shortly appeare before that high and everlasting Iudge and therefore I desire to lose no time but to ply all I can the businesse God hath set me about for the short remainder of these few and evill daies that by the mercies of God I may finish my course with joy and give up that last and great account with favour and comfort in the Name of Iesus Christ. Mee thinkes besides many other and mighty divine Motives that one speech of Chrysostome who Himselfe many times preached every Day and gave a precept for it and yet professeth that the dreadfulnesse of those words Heb. 13.17 For they watch for your soules as they that must give account did strike a great terrour into his heart should make all Gods Ministers resolve to doe nothing else almost but reade meditate preach and pray Wherefore noble Sir I shall have my full desire and utmost end if you be but pleased to make me the happy Instrument of helping you towards Heaven and give me leave to gaine this advantage for your spirituall good by your love unto my Ministeriall Labours that they my thereby leave a more kindly and deeper impression in your apprehensions of heavenly things and worke with more life and power for a sound erection and sure settling of the Kingdome of Iesus Christ in your owne Soule You stand in a
this World or the World to come But here bee tossed continually and torne in peeces like the raging Sea with restlesse distractions carking discontent And hereafter roare everlastingly in Hell with unknowne horrours and for the irrevocable exclusion from the supreme and soveraign Good the ever-springing Fountaine of all peace and pleasure and His glorious presence even for ever ever If the Soule of man saith Hooker did serve onely to give Him Beeing in this life then things appertaining unto this life would content Him as wee see they doe other Creatures Which Creatures inioying what they live by seeke no further but in this contentation doe shew a kinde of acknowledgement that there is no higher Good which doe any way belong unto them With us it is otherwise For altho the beauties riches honours sciences vertues and perfections of all men living were in the present possession of One yet somewhat beyond and above all this would still bee sought and earnestly thirsted for It is no marvell saith Greenâ—ham if riches fill not the Soule for they were all made for man His Soule for God Whatsoever is capable of God that can never bee satisfied with any thing else All riches all preferments can not satisfie one soule But when God is come it is full whatsoever is added more it runneth over These and the like are the mighty Works of Faith And even so let this Princely and victorious Grace attended with all Her heavenly traine tread down triumphantly before you still the painted Bables and Babels of al transitory glory and ungodly greatnesse hold still fresh and flourishing in your â—ie the immortality and blisse of a never-fading Crowne and shine faire and fruitfully in your Soule untill it set you downe safe in the midst of the most glorious and ever-during Kingdome of Heaven and having there finished her blessed Task resigne you up and leave you for ever to the Beatificall vision and full fruition of Iehovah everlastingly blessed and to the endlesse enioyment of fulnesse of ioy and pleasures at His right hand even thorow all eternity Your servant for the salvation of your Soule ROBERT BOLTON SOME INSTRVCTIONS FOR A RIGHT COMFORTING AFFLICTED Consciences with Antidotes against some speciall temptations PROV 18.14 The spirit of a man will sustaine his infirmitie but a wounded spirit who can beare MY Text lies as you see in a sacred Cabinet of richest Iewels I meane the most selected and wisest Aphorismes or Proverbs that ever issued out of mortall braine Every one of them for the most part especially from the tenth Chapter independant entire and absolute in themselues cleare and manifest by their owne native brightnesse not needing such reciprocall light and lustre for each others mutuall discouery and interpretation And therefore they are naturally not capable of any coherent Logicall Analysis and other circumstantiall expositions ordinarily incident to other parts of Scripture Whence it is that this Booke of Proverbs is compared to a great heape of gold rings rich and orient severally and every one shining with a distinct sense by it selfe but other contexts of holy Writ to gould chaines so interwoven and enlinked together that they must upon necessity for the rendring unto us aright and fully their severall senses be illightened and receive mutuall illustration one from another This present Proverbe doth represent unto us the extremest Hell upon earth the greatest misery and most un-supportable that can possibly befall a Man in this life I meane the horror of a guilty and enraged conscience Which is set out First by the excellency of it's opposite the invincible ability and mighty strength of that truly stoute and heroicall heart which is happily upholden with the heavenly refreshing influence of grace Gods favour and a good conscience The spirit of a man will sustaine his â—firmity Whence take this first note Doctr. The spirit of a man furnished with grace and fortified with the sense of Gods favour is able to passe thorow the pikes and conquer all commers Reas. 1. For what and why should that man feare or faint on whose side the mighty Lord of heaven and earth doth stand If God be for us who can be against us Whose mercy to his is without all stint and limit like himselfe infinite so immeasurable that it reacheth from everlasting to everlasting so tender that it suâ—passeth incomprehensibly the compassionate meltings of the lovingest mother and spared not the dearest blood of his onely Sonne Who hath ever in a readinesse for the recovery of his children out of the most desperate danger and to rescue them out of the hands of the deadliest enemy besides his owne omnipotent arme the least finger whereof can beate the greatest mountaine to powder and â—end the hardest rocke in peeces innumerable hosts of Angels one of which killed an hundred foure score and five thousand in one night charets of fire even a thousand charets in the whirlewind that faire glorious Giant which with incredible sâ—iftnesse runs post as it were thorow the skye to stand still or râ—tore the impetuous current of the raging Sea to recoyle the merciles slames of the hungry fire to become a soft and refreshing aire the â—â—placable fury of the most enraged Lions to couch at first word for his servants sake and safety Nay if need bee hee hath Caterpillers and Frogges Wormes and Lice even the most impotent and vilest vermiâ—e to fetch blood and take downe the heart of the proudest Tyrant upon earth carry he his head neveâ— so high to eate out the bowels of the bloodiest Nimâ—od or mightiest Monarch that weares a crowne upon his head if hee oppose his people He hath the very hands and consciences of all that rise up against them to bring their owne blood upon theâ—r owne heads and even Hell and extreamest horror upon their hearts in this life What then so dreadfull a face of present confusions or fore-imagined formes of future troubles aâ—e able or ought slavishly to deâ—ect and terrifie that holy heart which with a sweet and safe repose is happily and everlastingly hid under the wings of that mighty God who for the deliverance of his can worke 1. By weake meanes See Iud. 7. 1. Sam. 14. Genes 14. 1. Sam. 17. Iud. 4.21 and 9.53 2. Without meanes See 2. Chron. 20. Exod. 14. Iosu. 6. 2. Kings 19. 2. Chron. 14. 3. Contrary to meanes See Dan. 6.22 Ios. 3.16 Dan. 3.25.26 Ionah 2.6 Iosu. 10.12 13 14. 2. When the heavenly beames of Gods pleased countenance begin to breake out upon a man thorow the darke and Hellish mist of his manifold and hainous sinnes the unquenchable heate of His everlasting love thorow Christ dissolving them into nothing and fairely shine with a comfortable aspect upon His humbled Soule ipso facto as they say Heaven and Earth and all the Hosts of both are everlastingly reconciled unto him and become his friends the stormes and
tempests raised by all the powers of Hell are presently calmed for ever doing him any deadly hurt All the creatures then pull in their hornes retire their stings bite in their poyson sâ—ib'd and awed by those divine impressions of their Creators blessed image stamped upon them by the Spirit of grace and dare no more offer any violence or vexation to him except upon particular dispensation for his spirituall good and quickening then to the Apple of Gods owne eye Heare the promise from Gods owne mouth And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of Heaven and with thâ— creeping things of the ground and I will breake the bow and the sword and the battell out of the earth and will make them to lye downe safely Hos. 2.18 Nay they are so farre from charging their seuerall stings upon the Saints that they will change their very natures to doe them service They will rather become an astonishment and horror to the whole Creation then they be hurt How often have they suspended and put off their native power and properties for the protection and good of Gods people The very Sea that most raging and roaring creature must stay his course and current to give passage and preservation to a true Israelite The Starres must fight and the Sunne stand still for the ayde and advantage of Gods armies The Lions must leave their savage rage and trade of blood and become Lambes and loving unto a Daniel The Crowes will feed an Elijah The flames of fire must hold in their heate from burning a Shadrach Meshach or Abednego The devouring belly of a dreadfull fish must be turned into a Sanctuary of safty to a Ionah A popish Furnace heated with the very malice of Hell shall become a bed of doune and Roses to a Martyr of Iesus The very dead lines of an ordinary Letter must represent to a Royall conceite a meaning quite contrary to the naturall sense and all Grammaticall construction before a blessed Parliament be blowne up with Popish Gun-Powder A brittle Glasse must rebound unbroken from the hardest stone to helpe to bind up a broken heart bleeding with griefe for absence of her Spouse and wanâ— of the assurance of his love c. Nay the divell himselfe though hee walkes about like a roaring Lion seeking with restlesse rage and desiring infinitely to devoure the Lords inheritance yet cannot possibly adde one linke to the chaine in which by the mercifull and mighty hand of God he is hampered nor goe an haires bredth beyond his commission Though it bee utterly impossible that that damned Angell should so farre change his divellish nature as to doe any of Gods chosen directly any true good yet he is everlastingly musled by an Almighty arme from ever doing them any deadly hurt He may be suffered sometimes to shake his chaine at them and roare upon them hideously to drive them nearer unto God and fright them from sinne But he shall never either in this world or the world to come have his full swinge at them or fasten his hellish fangs upon their redeemed soules 3. Besides all that other excellent compleate impenetrable armour of proofe mentioned Ephes. 6. which is able to beate backe victoriously all earthly oppositions and the very Ordnance of Hell every one of Gods Favourites is also blessedly furnished with a mighty spirituall Engine which is able to batter downe all the Bulwarkes of the Divell to shake the whole kingdome of darkenesse and all hellish powers nay to offer an holy violence to the very Throne of God himselfe witnesse His most mercifull intreating Moses To let him alone Exod. 32.10 As though the mediation of a man could binde as it were I speake it with lowliest reverence to that highest Maiestie the hands of his Omnipotency from doing his people any hurt and were able to extingvish that unquenchable wrath in the conception which once on foote would burne unto the lowest Hell and set on fire the foundations of the Mountainâ—s I meane that most pretious and almost if not altogether omnipotent Grace of Prayer This great Master of miracles hath wrought from time to time many and very remarkeable wonders both in Heaven and Earth It made the Sun that mighty creature the Prince of all the Lights in Heaven to stay and stand still upon the suddaine in the heat of his swiftest course It landed Ionah safely upon the shore out of the bellie of the Whale and bowels of the Sea It drew refreshing streames out of a dry bone for the saving of Samsons life It turned the Heaven into brasse for three yeeres and a halfe and afterward turned the selfe-same brasse into fruitefull clouds and fountaines of raine It killed an hundred fourescore and five thousand of the enemies of Gods people in one night For the freeing of Elisha from a straite and dangerous siege It filled a mountaine in a moment as it were full of Horsâ—s and Charets of â—ire It turned the swords of a mighty Army into the Bowells of one another when Iehoshaphat knew not which way to turne himselfe but was so helpelesse and hopelesse that he cryed unto the Lord wee know not what to doe only our eyes are upon thee It loosed Peter out of prison shoke his chaines off from his hands and made an Iron gate to open of its owne accord It eâ—raged and inlarged the English Seas to swallow up the Spanish invincible Armado And which is none of the least wonders It brought Prince Charles out of Spaine But you instance may some say in extraordinary examples of extraordinary men endowed with an extraordinary spirit Yet sure I am they are registred by the holy Ghost to represent unto us and to all generations of the Church to the Worlds end the Almighty and wonder-working power of Prayer And I am as sure that the Petitioners were men subiect to like passions as we are Perhaps if thou be a true-hearted Nathanael since thy new birth thou wast never so extraordinarily passionate as Ionah was when out of a pang of strange distemper hee thus answered the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth I doe well to bee angry even unto death Fourthly Gods Favourite is further furnished with an other spirituall weapon of impregnable temper and incredible might I meane Faith the very Power and Arme of God for all true ioy sound comfort and light somnesse at the heart-roote in this life This crowned Emperesse of all those Heavenly graces that dwell in the Soule of a sanctified man and which in a right sense may be said vertually to comprehend all the beautie strength excellency and power of Christ himselfe is truely victorious and triumphant over all the World over the very gates of Hell and all the powers of darkenesse over the Divels fieriest darts over the devouring
the Lord Iesus so sweetly offering himselfe in that pretious promise Matth. 11.28 resoluing to take him for an everlasting husband and ipso facto as they say it might be put into a very Heaven upon Earth For this glorious grace of Faith the Prince of all spirituall light and lightsomnesse in the truely humbled Soule thus shed into such a darke and grieved spirit doth enkindle and set on shining all those gracious heavenly Starres that are woont to beautifie the hearts of holy men hope love zeale son-like feare humility patience selfe-deniall vniversall obedience fruitfulnesse in all good workes c. Which make them light it selfe to walke in the light towards the infinite and unapproachable light And therefore they never neede to want lightsomnesse but have perpetuall pregnant matter of spirituall mirth and mightinesse of spirit The point appeares and is further prooved by manifest and manifold experience David having bin formerly wofully wasted with great varietie and extremitie of dangers and distresses was at last plunged into a most desperate perplexity 1. Sam. 30 6. Which had bin able to have swallowed up into despaire the manliest vigour of the greatest spirit upon earth not supported with grace The like or a lesse caused King Saul to fall upon his owne sword yet He blessed man by the power of his spirituall peace and the beames of Gods pleased face-shining upon his Soule did patiently and sweetly comfort Himselfe in the Lord His God and stood like an impregnable Rocke unshaken with the raging assaults of any tempestuous sourges He was at this time hunted by Saul like a Parâ—ridge in the Mountaines cashierd by the Princes of the Philistines as a fâ—llow of suspected fidelity robd by the Amalekites of His wiues His sonnes and His daughters The Towne to which He returned for safety was burnt with fire And to make his calamity compleate and most cutting even His owne men were ready to stone Him Now in this great distresse upon the first apprehension whereof He wept as the story saith untill He had no more power to weepe yet comming to Himselfe and recollecting His spirituall forces His heavy heart ready to sinke and fall asunder in His bosome did fetch by the hand of faith comfortably fortified by sense and experience of former fauours such heavenly strength from Iehova whom He had made His portion that thereupon His courage was revived and raised to that height that He presently pursued his enemies with extraordinary valour and resolution cut them off quite and recovered all And David saith the text was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning Him because the Soule of all the people was grieued every man for His sonnes and for His daughters but David encouraged Himselfe in the Lord his God c. What a bitter Sea of unmatched miseries did breake out upon blessed Iob which with a sudden unexpected violence bearing downe that Hedge of protection which God had set about Him the raines purposely let loose by divine dispensation to Sathans malice in the meane time did fearefully overflow him to that height and horrour that He stands registred in Gods Booke as an unparalled Instance of extraordinary sufferings and sorrowes calamities and conflicts to all succeeding ages no story being able to afford the like The naturall death of one deare childe strikes sometimes so heavy to a mans heart that for griefe he growes into a consumption but all Iobs children were suddenly taken away at once by a violent stroke some petty crosse upon his outward state and cutting off but part of his goods causes sometimes a couetous worldling to cut his oÌ„wne throate But Iob was robd of all so that it is a prove be to this day As poore as Iob Many wives are passionate and peevish in time of prosperity whose hâ—arts notwithstanding will melt in compassion and kindenesse over their husbands in any kinde of misery but Iobs wife tho dearely intreated by Her most distressed Husband even for their childrens sake the mutuall common pledges of sweetest loue yet would not come neare Him My breath saith He is strange to my wife though I entreated for the childrens sake of mine owne body Chap. 19.17 Satan I confesse is woont to roare and rage fiercely enough about Gods blessed Oâ—es to doe them all the mischiefe Hee can possibly but rarely hath hee so large a reach and his chaine so lengthned as he had against Iob. The painefull anguish of some one part would not onely deprive a Man of the pleasure of the worlds Monarchy if he had it in possession but also make Him weary of His life In what a taking then was Iob who from the sole of his foote unto his Crowne had no part free from â—ore bâ—les and horribly iâ—flâ—med ulcers exasperated and enraged with the stiâ—ging smart of Satans extremest malice who had power given Him to inflict them God himself frownes many times and withdrawes beames of His pleased face from the soules of His seruants to their great griefe tho for their spirituall good But seldome doth he set them up for His Marke hunt them as a fierce Lion set His terrours in array against them and command the poyson of his arrowes to drinke up their spirit as Iob complaines It is no strange thing neither should it much moove but only make us walke more watchfully to heare men of the world and drunken Belialls to belch out from their rotten hearts upon the Ale-bench such base slanders as these These Professors for all their faire shewes are certainely all of them notorious Hypocrites Tho they looke never so demurely they are not the men they are taken for c. But to have a Mans nearest familiar understanding Christian friends to charge Him with Hypocrisie is a most cruell cut to a troubled conscience And this was Iob. case So thus as â—ob was singular in the universality of His afflictions so there was a singularity of bitternesse above ordinary in eâ—very particular aâ—fliction And what of all this And yet for all this this holy man by the helpe of that pretious hoard of grace which his heavenly heart had treasured up in the time of prosperitie out of that spirituall strength which He had gotten into His soule by his former humble acquaintance and conversation with His God and knowing full well that tho all was gone yet He still possessed Iesus Christ as fully if not more feeliâ—gly as ever before He becomes hereupon as rare and admirâ—ble a Patterne of Patience to all posterity as He was an extraordinary astonishing speâ—â—acle of adversitie and woe Consciousnesse of His fore-spent righteous life which he peruseth Chap. 31. The clearenesse of a good conscience Chap. 16 19 Behold my witnesse 〈◊〉 in heaven and my record is on high And his invincible faith Chap. 19.23 24 25 Oh that mâ— words were now written Oh that they were priâ—ted in a hunke That they were graven with an Iron pen
an heavenly hoard of grace good conscience Gods favour c. happily treasured up while it is called Today hath the sole and sacred property and priviledge to hold up our hearts In times of horrour inabling us in the meane time patiently and profitably to master all miseries passe thorow all persecutions conquer all Commers and at length by the helpe of God to pull the very heart as it were out of Hell with confidence and triumph to looke even death and the Divell in the face and to stand with boldnesse before the terrour of the last Day like an unmooveable Rock when the Sonnes and daughters of confusion who have slept in harvest and mispent the gratious Day of their visitation shall intreate the mountaines and Rockes to fall upon them I say it being thus let every one of us like Sonnes and daughters of wisedome in this short Sommers Day of our abode upon earth and in this glorious Sun-shine of the Gospell and pretious seasons of grace imploy all meanes improove all oportunities to gather in with all holy greedinesse and treasure up abundantly much spirituall strength and lasting comfort against the evill Day To which let us be quickned by such considerations as these 1. This wise and happy treasuring up of heavenly hoards and comforts of holinesse afore hand will sweetely mollisie and allay the bitternesse and smart of that heavinesse and sorrow of those fearefull amazements and oppressions of spirit naturally incident to times of trouble and feare which ordinarily doe very grievously sting and strike thorow the hearts of carnall and secure Worldlings with full rage and the very slashes and fore-tastes of Hell Of all other passions of the Soule sadnesse and griefe grates most upon the vitall spirits dries up soonest the freshest marrow in the bones and most sensibly suckes out the purest and refinedst bloud in the heart All the Obiects of lightsomnesse and ioy are drowned in an heauy heart even as the beauty of a Pearle is dissolved in vineger Now the onely Cordiall and Counter-poyson against this dampe of light-heartednesse and Cut-throate of life is the secret sweetenesse and shining pleasure of that One pearls of great price three orient raies whereof are righteousnesse and peace and ioy in the holy Ghost treasur'd up in the Cabinet of a good conscience The glory pretiousnesse and power of which hidden treasure purchased with the sale of all sinne doth many times shine faireliest upon the Soule in the saddest times inspires for the most part into the hearts of the owners the greatest courage and constancy of spirit even in the dayes of adversity and vexation inables them to digest and beare without any great wound or passion those crosses and cruelties which would breake the backe and crush the heart of the stoutest Temporizer Was there not a great deale of difference thinke you betwixt the heart of Hezekiah who had walked before God in truth and with a perfect heart when He heard the newes of death from the mouth of the Prophet and the heart of Belshazzar when he saw the hand-writing upon the wall Giue me a great man who carries a way the credit and current of the times with all bravery and triumph wallowes and tumbles himselfe in the glory and pleasures of the present Throw Him from the transitory top of His heaven upon earth upon His last bed present unto His eye at once the terrible paÌ„gs of approaching death the ragefull malice of the powers of Hell the crying wounds of His bleding conscience the griesely fourmes of His innumerable sinnes His finall farewell with all worldly delights the pit of fire and brimstone into which He is ready to fall And I tell you true I would not endure an houres horrour of His wofull heart for His present Paradise to the worlds end But on the other side let me be the man whom the corruptions of the time confine to obscuritie who mournes in secret for the horrible abominations and crying sinnes that raigne amongst us who thinkes that day best spent wherein Hee hath gathered most spirituall strength against that last and sorest combate and by the mercies of God and humble dependance upon His omnipotent arme I will looke in the face the cruellest concurrence of all those former terrors with â—â—â—fidence and peace 2. Secondly By this spirituall hoarding of comfortable provision against the Evill day we may prevent a great deale of impatiency dependance upon the Arme of flesh base feares sinkings of heart un-manly deiections of spirit desperate resolutions and many passionate distempers of such raging and distracted nature which are woont to seize upon and surprise unholy and unprepared hearts when the Hand of God is heavy upon them How bravely and Heroically did patient Iob beare and breake thorow a matchlesse variety and extremity of calamities and conflicts The softest of whose sufferings would have strucke full cold to the heart of many a Carnalist and made it to dye within Him like a stone as Nabals did One of the least the losse of His goods I am perswaded would have caused many covetous worldlings to have laid violent and bloudy hands upon themselues For instance Ahitophel onely because the glory of his state-wisedome was obscur'd and overtopt at the counsell-Bord sadled His Asse gate Him Home put His houshold in order and hanged Himselfe The onely cause of His fainting in the day of disgrace and dis-acceptation was His false and rotten heart in matters of religion While the Crowne sate with security and safety upon Davids head He walked with Him as a companion unto the House of God But when the winde begun to blow a little another way and upon Absoloms side like a true Temporizer He followes the blast and turnes his sailes according to the weather And therefore His hollow heart having made the Arme of flesh His Anchor and a vanishing Blase of honour His chiefest blessednesse shrinkes at the very first sight and suspition of a tempest and sinkes this miserable Man into a Sea of horrour But now on the contrary what was the cause that Iobs heart was not crusht into pieces under the bitter concurrence of such a world of crosses of which any one severally was sufficient to have made a Man extreamely miserable The true reason of His patient resolution amid so many pressures was the spirituall riches He had hoarded up in the time of His happines Amongst which the divinest and dearest Iewel lay nearest unto His heart as a counterpoyson to the venome and sting of the Divels deadliest malice I meane a sound and strong faith in Iesus Christ the Lambe slaine from the beginning of the world which now began to shine the fairest in the darkest Midnight of His miseries and sweetly to dart out many heavenly sparkles of comfort and such glorious eiaculations as these Though he slay me yet will I trust in Him Cap. 13.15 And that cap. 19 23 c. Oh that my words were
That Heathenish Religion did inspire Her Worthies of Old with invincible victorious spirits But Christian Religion begets effeminatâ—nesse deiections and seare He speakes to this purpose which to me seemes strange That such a profound Professour of the depths or rather diuelishnesse of policy should dote so sottishly And yet it is no such strange thing for many times we may observe that deepest Policy by the curse of God upon it for opposition to goodnesse turnes into extremest folly And all counsels and politicke constitutions against Christ are but the brainelesse infatuations of Ahitophel For that which this fellow holds there holds strong contradiction both to common sense and a thousand experiences to the contrary For the first and in a word Let the great Master of mischiefe and of most abhorred atheisticall Principles of State tell me whether a reall assurance of a Crowne of life and endlesse ioyes in another world be not more powerfull to raise a Mans spirit to the highest pitch of undaunted noblenesse of spirit and unconquerable resolution then a vaine breath of immortall fame amongst miserable men after this life And in this lies the sinew of His proofe For the second Let the Acts of the ancient Iews be indiffereÌ„tly wayed from whose magnanimity in causes of most extreme hazard those strange and unwonted resolutions have growne which for all circumstances saith a great Divine no people under the roofe of heaven did ever hitherto match And that which did alwaies animate them was their meere Religion And let the Chronicles also say I of later times be searched and wee shall find from time to time many renowned Worthies to have for ever ennobled the matchlesse and incomparable courage of Christianity with in imitable impressions of valour and visible transcendency above all humane boldnesse and affected audacities of the most valiant Pagans To begin with great Constantine the first mighty Commander of a Christian Army with what victorious glory did He confound cut off many potent Heads of Paganisme Thrice was the whole world most famously fought for betweene Alexander and Zerxes Caesar and Pompey Constantine Licinius This last was most illustrious wherein Constantine the Great did mightily conquer and triumphantly carry all before him the heroicall and royall spirit of Christianity trampling victoriously upon the desperate rage of the most furious foole-hardy Pagan Tyrants I might here passe on to Theodosius and his miraculous conquests and so along but the disgression would bee too unseasonable Therefore I leave you for the prosecution of this point to Anti-Machiavel Even in later times wofully plagued under the reigne of Antichrist with a vast degeneration from primitive purity and power Christian Religion tho empoysoned with Popish superstition yet did so farre inspire it 's Warlike Professors with extraordinary spirits that in point of manhood they did wonders to the astonishment of the whole world and all succeeding Ages Godfrey of Bulloigne that famous Warriour with his followers conquered in lesse then foure yeeres all the goodliest Provinces of Asia and drave out the Turkes In that dreadfull and cruell conflict in Solomons Temple as himselfe reports in a letter to Bohâ—mund King of Antioch their men by the great slaughter of the enemy stood in blood above the ancles At that terrible and bloody battell at Ascalon as most report they slew an hundred thousand Infidels c. The valour and victories of Hunniades whose mighty spirit and incredible courage for any thing I know have no parallell in any precedent Story were so great and did like a violent tempest and impetuous torrent so batter and beate downe the enemies of Christ that Hee was rightly reputed the Bulwarke of Europe and thundring terrour of the Turkes amongst whom His name became so dreadfull that as the story reports they used the same to feare their crying children withall Hee fought five times with the Turkes upon one day and five times foyled and put them to flight with the losse of three thousand He killed that valiant Viceâ—oy of Asia Mesites Bassa with His sonne and twenty thousand Turkes moe at that famous battell of Vascape wherein he got the greatest victory that ever any Christian Prince before that time obtained against the Turkish Kings with fifteene thousand souldiers He overthrew Abedin Bassa sent against Him most ragingly by reason of a late shamefull losse according to Amuraths instructions by the slaughter of the Hungarians to sacrifice unto the Ghosts of their dead friends and companions with an Army of fourescore thousand fighting men Scanderbeg also was such a Mirrour of Manhood so terrible to the Turkes that nine yeares after His death passing thorow Lyssa where His Body lay buried they digged up His bones with great devotion reckoning it in some part of their happines if they might but see or touch the same and such as could get any part thereof were it never so little caused the same to be set some in silver some in gold to hang about their necks or weare upon their bodies thinking the very dead bones of that late invincible Champion would animate their spirits with strange and extraordinary elevation and vigour Besides an admirable variety of other rare exploits at one time with the losse of sixty Christians He slew Amesa with thirty as some say but at least twenty thousand Turks He kild with His owne hand above two thousand enimies When He entered into sight the Spirit of valour did so work within Him and the fiercenes of His courage so boyled in His brest that it was woont to make bloud burst out at His lips and did so steele His Arme that He cut off many overthwart by the middle But take notice by the way aâ— profession of Christian religion inspired these renowned Worthies with a marchles height of courage and might of spirit so the mixture with Popish Idolatry did then and doth to this day unhappily hinder all thorow successe and constant prevailing against that most mighty bloud-thirsty Turkish Tyrant the terrour of Christendome who drunke with the wine of perpetuall felicity holds all the rest of the world in scorne and is the greatest and cruellest scourge of it that ever the Earth bore And besides that the Idolatry of the Romish Church most principally and with speciall curse blasts and brings to naught all undertakings of the Christian world against that wicked Empire the practise also of some pestilent Principles proper to that Man of sin hath plagued the most hopefull enterprises in this kinde For instance The king of Hungary by the helpe of Hunmades was in a faire course and forwardnes to have tamed and taken downe nay to have for ever crusht and confounded the insolency and usurpations of that raging Nimrod but then comes in the Pope with a beastly tricke and utterly dashes and undoes all For He out of His Luciferian pride by the power or rather poison
and truely examine what it hath reserved either of beauty and youth or fore-gone delights what it hath saved that it might last of his dearest affections or of whatever else the joviall Spring-time gave his thoughts contentment then unvaluable and he shall finde that all the art which his elder yeeres have can draw no other vapour out of these dissolutions then heavy secret and sad sighs He shall finde nothing remaining but those sorrowes which grow up after our fast-springing youth â—vertake it when it is at a stand and overtop it utterly when it begins to wither in so much as looking backe from the very instant time and from our now being the poore diseased and captive creature hath as little sense of all his former miseries and paines as he that is most blest in common opinion hath of his forepassed pleasures and delights For whatsoever is cast behind us is just nothing To ponder also profitably upon eternity that we may apply our hearts unto wisedome and so improove this short moment upon earth that it may goe well with us for ever let us take notice of and sensibly to heart this one quickning passage confidently averred by a great Writer If God saith He should speake thus to a damned Soule Let the whole world be filled with sand from the earth to the Empyrean heauen and then let an Angell come euery thousandth yeere and fetch only one graine from that mighty sandy mountaine when that immeasurable Heape is so spent and so many thousand yeeres expired I will deliver Thee out of Hell and those extreamest horrours that most miserable forlorne wretch notwithstanding that he were to lie thorow that unconceiveable length of time in those intollerable Hellish torments yet upon such a promise would infinitely rejoyce and deeme himselfe not to be damned But alas when all those yeeres are gone there are thousands upon thousands moe to be endured euen thorow all eternitie and beyond How heavy and horrible is the waight of everlastingnesse in that burning Lake and those tormenting flames when a damned man would thinke himselfe in Heaven in the meane time if he might have but hope of comming out of them after so many infinite millions of yeeres in them 3. That it would not profit a man tho he should gaine the whole world if he lose his owne Soule and that a man can give nothing in exchange for his Soule Christ himselfe said so Suppose thy selfe crowned with the confluence of all worldly felicities to have purchased a Monopoly of all pleasures honours and riches upon the whole earth to be attended with all the pompe and state thy heart could desire Yet what were this momentany golden dreame to a reall glorious eternitie How stinging would the most exquisite delight be curiously extracted out of them all accompanied with this one conceite the Soule is lost everlastingly All these painted vanities might seeme perhaps a gaudy Paradise to a spirituall Foole who hath his portion in this life But what true pleasure can a Man in his right wits but morally and illightned no further then with Philosophy take in them sith setting other respects aside they are so fading and He so fraile For the first God hath purposely put a transitory and mortall nature into all things here below They spring and flourish and die Even the greatest kingdomes and strongest Monarchies that ever were haue had as it were their infancy youthfull strength Mans state old age and at last their grave See the end of the mightiest states that ever the Sun saw shadowed by Nebuchadnâ—zzars great Image Dan. 2. 35. There was never Empire upon earth were it never so flourishing or great was ever yet so assured but that in revolution of time after the manner of other worldly things it hath as a sicke body bin subject to many innovations and changes and at length come to nothing Much more then the pride and pompe of all other inferiour earthly glory hath fallen at last into the dust and lies now buried in the grave of endlesse forgetfulnesse For the second Imagine there were constancy and eternity in the forenamed earthly bables yet what Man of braine would prize them worth a button sith His life is but a bubble and the very next houre or day to come He may utterly be cut off from them all for ever To day hee is set up and to morrow he shall not be found for he is turned into dust and his purpose perisheth Take them both together thus Set upon the head of the Worthiest Man that the earth beares yet wanting grace in His Soule all the most orient imperiall Crownes that ever highest ambition aimed at or attain'd unto put upon Him the royallest roabes that ever enclosed the body of the proudest Lucifer fill Him with all the wisedome and largest comprehensions which fall within the wide compasse and capacitie of any depths of policy or mysteries of state furnish Him to the full with the exactnesse and excellency of all naturall morall and metaphysicall learning put Him into the sole possession and command of this and the other golden world In a word crowne Him with the concurrence of all created earthly excellencies to the utmost and highest straine And lay this Man thus qualifyed and endowed upon the one scale of the ballance and vanity upon the other and vanity will overweigh Him quite Men of high degree are a lye to be laid in the ballance they are altogether lighter then vanitie Psal. 62.9 The rich Foole in the Gospell teacheth us that there is no man so assured of his honour of his riches health or life but that he may be deprived of either or all the very next night Besides by a thousand other causes meanes and wayes He may also be suddainely snatched away from the face of the earth in anger for setting his heart and rest upon such rotten staves of reede transitory shadowes and indeed that which is nothing Wilt thou cast thine eyes upon it which is nothing for riches conceive the same of all other worldly comforts taketh her to her wings as an Eagle and flieth into the heaven Prov. 23.5 How truely then is that mad and miserable Man a Sonne of confusion who spends the short Span of his mortall life in wooing the world who was never true to those that trusted in her ever false-hearted to all Her Favorites and at length most certainely undoes spiritually and everlastingly every Wretch that is wedded unto Her who passeth thorow a few and evill daies in this vale of teares in following feathers pursuing shadowes raising bubbles and balls like those which Boies out of spittle and sope in their pastimes blowing up with their quills ere they be tossed three times burst of themselues I meane worldly vanities but in the meane time suffers His immortall Soule more worth then many mateâ—â—all worlds and for which He can give nothing in exchange to abide all naked destitute and empty utterly unfurnished
of voluptuousnesse shalt most certainely very shortly lie upon thy Bed of death like a wilde bull in a net full of the fury of the Lord either sealing thee up finally in the desperate senselessenesse of thine owne dead heart with the spirit of slumber for everlasting vengeance even at the doore or else exemplarily enraging thy guilty conscience upon that thy last bed with hellish horrour even before hand For ordinarily the more notorious servants of Satan and Slaves of lust depart this life either like Nabal or Iudas Tho more by many thousands die like hard-hearted sots in security then in despaire of conscience If it bee so with thee then that thine heart when thou shalt have received the sentence of death against thy selfe die within thee as Naballs And most commonly saith a worthy Devine Conscience in many is secure at the time of death God in his iustice so plaguing an affected security in life with an inflicted security at death I say then thou wilt become as a stone most prodigiously blockish as tho there were no immortalitie of the Soule no losse of eternall blisse no Tribunall in Heaven no account to bee made after this life no burning in Hell for ever Which will make the never-dying fire more scorching and the ever-living worme more stinging by how much thou wast more senselesse and fearelesse of that fiery lake into which thou wast ready to fall Death it selfe saith the same Man cannot awaken some consciences but no sooner come they into hell but conscience is awakened to the full never to sleepe more and then she teareth with implacable fury and teacheth forlorne wretches to know that forbearance was no payment But if it please God to take the other course with thee and to let loose the cord of thy conscience upon thy dying Bed thou wilt be strangled even with Hellish horrour upon earth and damned above ground That Worme of Hell which is a continuall remorse and furious reflexion of the Soule upon its owne willfull folly whereby it hath lost everlasting ioyes and must now lie in endlesse easelesse and remedilesse torments is set on worke whilest thou art yet alive and with desperate rage and unspeakeable anguish will feede upon thy Soule and flesh The least twitch whereof not all the pleasures of ten thousand Worlds would ever bee able to countervaile For as the peace of a good so the pangs of a guilty conscience are unspeakable So that at that time thou maist iustly take unto thy selfe Pashur's terrible name Magor-Missabib Feare round about Thou wilt be a terrour to thy selfe and to all thy friends And that which in this wofull case will sting extremely No friends nor Physicke no gould nor silver no height of place nor favour of Prince not the glory and pleasures of the whole World not the crownes and command of all earthly kingdomes c. can possibly give any comfort deliverance or ease For when that time and terrour hath overtaken thee which is threatned Prou. 1.24 Et seq Because I have called and yee refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded But yee have set aâ— naught all my counsell and would none of my reproofe I also will laugh at your calamity and will mocke when your feare commeth When your feare commeth as desolation and your destruction commeth as a Whirlewinde when distresse and anguish commeth upon you Then shall they call upon Me but I will not answere they shall seeke mee earely but they shall not finde mee for that they hated knowledge and did not chuse the feare of the Lord. They would none of my counsell they despised all my reproofe Therefore shall they eate the fruitâ— of their owne way and be filled with their owne devises I say when this terrible time is come upon thee then will the mighty Lord of Heaven and earth come against thee as a Beare that is bereaved of her whelpes and will rent the caule of thy heart and will devoure thee like a Lion He will come with fire and with His charets like a Whirle-winde to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire All his terrours at that houre will fight against Thee and that unâ—quenchable anger that burnes to the very bottome of Hell and sets on fire the foundations of the mountaines The empoysoned arrowes of His fiercest indignation shall be drunke with the bloud of thy Soule and sticke fast in it for ever In a word the fearefull armies of all the plagues and curses sorrowes and un-sufferable paines denounc'd in Gods Booke against finall Impenitents shall with un-resistable violence take hold upon thee at once and pursue thee with that fury which thou shalt never bee able either to avoide or abide And who is able to stand before this holy Lord God who can abide in His sight when He is angry who can deliver out of His hand what man or Angell what arme of flesh or force of Armes what creature or created power what Cherub or which of the Seraphins is able to free a guilty conscience from the ever-knawing Worme and an impenitent wretch from eternal flames Oh Me thinkes a sensible fore-thought of these horrible things even at hand should make the hardest heart of the most abominable Behall to tremble at the roote and fall asunder in His brest like drops of water To haue his end in his eye and seriously to remember the tribulation and anguish that shall shortly come upon His Soule the affliction the Worme wood and the gall should fright and fire Him out of all His filthy gracelesse good-fellow courses 3. Thirdly Let them consider what horrour it will bee in evill times I meane not onely at death and the last Day which are the most terrible of all but also In times of disgrace and contempt of common feare and confusions of the state of sickenesse crosses restraint banishment temptations or any other dayes of sorrow I say at such times to finde in stead of peace fiery scorpions in their consciences innumerable sins graven there with an iron pen un-repented of Heare how excellently Austin foretels forewarnes them into what a forlorne and fearefull state they shall most certainely fall when after a short gleame of worldly glory they fall into tempestuous and troublesome times Of all afflictions incident to the Soule of man there is none more grievous and transcendent then to have the Conscience enraged with the guilt of sinne If there bee no wound there if all bee safe and sound within if that bird of the bosome sing sweetely in a Mâ—â—s brest it is no matter what miseries be abroad in the World what stormes or 〈◊〉 be raised against Him What arme of flesh or rage of foes beset Him rouâ—d For Hee in this are hath presently recourse unto His conscience the safest Sanctuary and Paradise of sweetest repose and finding that sprinkled with the bloud of the Lambe filled with abundance of peace
and God Himselfe there reconcil'd unto Him in the face of Christ He is couragiously fearelesse of all both mortall and immortall adversaries and oppositions Tho the earth be remooved and the mountaines carried into the middest of the Sea tho all the creatures in the world should bee turned into Beares or Devils about Him yet His conscience being comfortable hee is undaunted and confideâ—t and more then conquerour over the whole world and ten thousand Hells But on the other side if by reason of the raigne of sinne there be no rest there if God be not there because of the abounding of iniquity what shall a man doe then Whither shall hee flye when the hand of God hath found Him out and the swift Arrow of the Almighty stickes fast in his side Hee will flie saith that auncient Father out of the Countrey into the Citie out of the streets into his House out of his House into His chamber horrour still dogging Him at the heeles And from His chamber whither will hee goe but into the inmost Cabinet in his bosome where his Conscience dwelleth And if hee finde there nothing but tumult and terrour but guiltinesse confusion and cries of despaire which way will hee then turne himselfe Or whither will hee fly then He must then either flie from Himselfe which is utterly impossible or else abide that torment which is beyond all compasse of conceite or expression of tongue For all the racks saith another wheeles wilde horses hot pincers scalding lead poured into the most tender and sensible parts of the body yea all the mercilesse barbarous and inhumane cruelties of the holy house are but flea-bitings meere toyes and May-games compared with the torment that an evill conscience will put a man to when it is awakened 3. A third sort the worst of all and most pestilent are those who doe not onely not labour in the time of harvest to treasure up comfortable provision against dayes of dread and mispend the Day of their visitation wickedly but also out of a transcendent straine of impiety labour might and maine to put out and utterly extinguish the heavenly Sunne that creates this blessed day and makes the season of our spirituall harvest most glorious and incomparable I meane to suppresse and quench the saving light of a powerfull Ministry wheresoever planted and prevailing under the sacred influence and soveraigne heate whereof all Gods hidden Ones are woont to gather that heavenly stocke of grace Comforts of godlinesse and good conscience which is able to hold up their heads invincibly in heavy times These are the vilest of men and of the most forlorne hope for they are unhappily transported with extremest malice and storme against the very meanes which should sanctifie them and Men which should save them They doe not onely make their owne soules sure for damnation but also hinder the power of the Word all they can lest others should bee saved Whatsoever thou doest doe not become one of this damned crue who heartily desire that the Sun of sincere preaching were quencht and put out tho it were with the bloud of Godâ— faithfullest Messengers as did the Mâ—n of Anathoth in Ieremies time Ier. 11.19 21. Herodias in Iohn Baptist time and that other Herodias improperly called Eudoxia in Iohn Chrysostomes time and many thousands even within the Pale of the Church at all times Above all I say Beware of that crying sinne of persecuting the power of godlinesse without which never any heart knew what true comfort meant Profession of the truth without which Christ will not owne us at the last day conscionable Ministers under Whose painefull labours we gather our spirituall and heavenly Store against evill times in this harvest of grace And that either with thine heart by hatred malice heart-burning with thy tongue by slanders scoffs rash censures with thine hand by supplanting oppression wrong with thy purse policy power mis-informing or any other way of vexing or violence If thou wilt needes bee wicked bee so more moderately If there be no helpe but thou Wilt to Hell post not so furiously If nothing will-worke but thou art wilfully bent to bee damned bee damned more tolerably For Persecutours are transcendents in sinne and shall hereafter bee paid home proportionably Be none of them for such reasons as these 1. All their malice and rancour all their bitter words and scornefull iests all their bloudy mercilesse mischiefes and machinations against the power of preaching and Gods people strike immediately at the face of Iesus Christ. Acts. 9.5 Saul Saul why persecutest thou me And at the pretious Ball and Apple of Gods owne eye Zech. 2 8. For he that toucheth you toucheth the Apple of His eye God is our Shield Psal. 84.11 Now the Shield takes all the blowes 2. They are hunted many times with furies of conscience and extreame horrour even in this life Pashur put blessed Ieremie in the stockes but thereupon He had a new name given Him Magor-Missabib Feare round about Hee became a terrour to Himselfe and to all his friends Zedechiah smote faithfull Micaiah upon the face but afterward according to that Propheticall commination Hee was faine to run from chamber to chamber to hide himselfe Iohn Baptists head which Herod cut off sate in the eye of the Tyrants conscience with such griesly formes of guiltinesse and bloud that when hee heard of the great things done by Christ hee was perplexed and no doubt afraid that Iohn Baptist was risen from the dead to bee revenged upon Him I have heard of a Man who for a time did furiously and desperately set Himselfe against a Minister of God labour'd might and maine by all meanes to disgrace and vexe him both by power and policy by slanders oppressions malice contempt But at length the Word so got within Him and hamperd Him and the terrours of the Almighty tooke hold upon Him with such un-resistable rage that he came trembling and quaking unto that man of God whom he had so wickedly wrong'd and durst not steere a foote from him for feare the Devill should take him away alive or the earth open her mouth and swallow him up quicke or some other strange remarkeable iudgement seize upon Him suddenly and brand Him for a notorious Beast cursed Cast-away So or to such sense hee spoke 3. Many of them come to very horrible exemplaâ—y and wofull ends Pharaoh long since by a dreadfull confusion at the red Sea was as it were hangd up in chaines a spectacle of terrour for Persecutors to all posterity Antiochus swelling with anger and breathing out fire in his rage against the people of God did proudly protest that He would come to Ierusalem and make it a common Burying place of the Iewes But the Lord Almighty the God of Israel smotâ— him with an incurable and invisible Plague for as soone as hee had spoken these words a paine of the bowels that was remedilesse came upon
humorist an Hypocrite and all that naught is even as bad as the false tongues of the Devils Limbes can make a blessed Man He was a good-fellow will they say but hee is now quite gone a proper man and of good parts but his Puritanisme hath mar'd all While Paul humour'd the Pharises in persecuting and plaguing the disciples of the Lord Hee was a principall and much honoured Man amongst them but when hee turned on Christ's side He was holden a pestilent-fellow the very plague So that it is plaine and palpable whatsoever may bee pretended to the contrary that those cursed Cains dogged Doegs and scoffing â—â—maels that set themselues and spend their malice against the Ministers and people of God hare slander and persecute the very workes of Grace and graces of Gods Spirit in them Even their zâ—ale holinesse hatred of sinne reformation c. are an Eye-sore and heart-sore to such hatefull wretches and Owles of Hell â—ho cannot endure any heavenly light 8. As stigmaticall Rogues burnt in the hand curtal'd of their eares branded in the fore-head are in the Common wealth so are Persecutors in the Church By mutuall intelligence and information of Gods people or some more publike lasting record and Monunument of the Church they have many times such a Marke set upon them that they carry it to their graves yea to the iudgement Seate of God that it may bee knowne a sore-hand to that glorious Tribunall and all the triumphant Church what beastly men stinging Scorpions and pricking thorn's they have beene amongâ—t Gods Children and in the sides of the Saints Such a brand had Alexander the Copper smith set upon him by Paul 2. Tim. 4.14.15 And such a Brand was set upon Diotrephes that mâ—litious prating companion by Saint Iohn 3. Ioh 10. So are those bloud thirsty Tygers Gardiner Bonner and the rest of that cruell litter and persecuting packe branded that their names shall rot and their memories be hatefull to the Worlds end So too many in these times though they be very iolly fellowes in their owne conceits ador'd as Idols by their flattering Dependants applauded generally as the principall Patrones of revelling good-fellowship â—et in the censure of the Saints and by the doome of divine wisedome they are clearely knowne and iustly reputed enemies of all righteousnesse and Satans speciall Agents to doe mischiefe against the Ministery 9. And it is to be feared they will finde no mercy upon their Beds of death and in their last extremity cry they never so loude or promise they never so faire God in iust indignation is woont to deale so with those who drinke up iniquity like Water withâ—ut all sense or feare of a glorious dreadâ—ull Majesty above See Ezek 8.18 with those who refuse to stoupe to Gods Ordinance and submit to the Scepter of Christ when they are fairely invited by the Ministery See Prov. 1.24.28 Ier. 7.13.16 and 11.11 With great Ones who grinde the faces of the poore See Micah 3 4. with abusers of the riches of His goodnesse and long suffering See Rom. 2.4 5. How much more doe you thinke shall impenitent Persecutors bee paide home in this kinde See 2. Macchab. 9.13.17 There that great and cruell persecutor Antiochus being seizd upon by an horrible sickenesse promiseth very gloriously upon that his last Bed Besides many other strange reformations even that he also would become a Iew himselfe and goe thorough all the World that was inhabited and declare the power of God But for all this heare what the Writer of that story saith of his spirituall state and of Gods resolution towards Him vers 13. This wicked person prayed also unto the Lord who would now have no mercy on him 10 All their spitefull speeches scurrill scoâ—fes pestilent lyes insolent insultations c. are as so many Crownes of Glory and ioy unto the heads and hearts of all persecuted patient Professours 1. Pet. 4.14 Act. 5.41 Iob. 3.36 So that they infinitely misse the malicious Marke their revengefull humours would gladly hit the hurt and heart-breaking of those they so cruelly and cunningly hunt with much rancour and hate And not onely so but most certainely hereafter if they die not like drunken Nabal and their hearts become as stones in their brests upon their Beds of death they will all tho now passing from them with much bitternesse of Spirit and without all remorse turne into so many envenomed stings and byting scorpions unto their owne consciences and knaw upon their hearts with extreamest horrour 11. The whole body of the militant Church ioyne all as one man with a strong concurrent importunitie at the Throne of grace and with one heart and spirit constantly continue there such piercing prayers against all stubborne impenitent scorners all incurable implacable persecutours as the people of God have bin wont to poure out in such cases as Lament 3.59 c. O Lord thou hast seen my wrong judge thou my cause Thou hast seene all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me Thou hast heard their reproach O Lord and all their imaginations against me The lips of those that rose up against me their devise against me all the day Behold their sitting downe and their rising up I am their musicke Render unto them a recompence O Lord according to the worke of their hands Give them sorrow of heart thy curse unto them Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord. Now I would not be in that Mans case against whom Gods people complaine upon good ground at that iust and highest Tribunal one halfe houre for the imperiall crowne and command of all the kingdomes of the earth for who knowes whether iust at that time the righteous Lord for his children's sake and safety may raine upon such a mans head snares fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest 12. And the prayers of the Saints poured out in the bitternesse of their soules vexed continually with their malicious cruelties and cruell mockes are meanes many times to bring Persecutours to an untimely end to knocke them downe before their time Doe not you thinke that the faithfull Iewes at Ierusalem hearing of Antiochus marching towards them like an evening Wolfe to drinke up their bloud had presently recourse unto Gods righteous Throne with strong cries to stay his rage And doe you not thinke that those very praiers drew downe upon him that horrible and incurable plague whereupon Hee died a miserable death in a strange Countrey in the Mountaines Herod for any thing wee know might have lived many a faire Day longer if hee had dealt fairely with the Apostles of Christ. But putting One to the sword Act. 12.2 And another in prison vers 4. Hee put the Church to their prayers vers 5. Which prayers for there is a certaine omnipotency of prayer as Luther was woâ—t to say did create full soone those vermine that eate him up horribly in the height
us mercy mercy in the name of Christ Lord Iesus receive our spirits c. which last eiaculations did they spring from a truly broken penitent and heavenly heart and were they the periods and conclusions of a well-spent life might blessedly breake open with unresistable power the gates of Heaven unlocke the rich treasures of immortality and fill the departing Soule with the shining beames of Gods glorious presence but unto them such goodly and glorious speeches are but as so many catchings and scrablings of a Man over head in water Hee struggles and strives for hold to save Himselfe but Hee graspes nothing but water it is still water which Hee catches and therefore sinkes and drownes 6. In others from a mis-guided head-strong Zeale in will-worship an impotent peremptory conceit that they suffer in the cause of God and for the glory of Religion This unhallowed fury possessed many Hereretikes of old Vpon this false ground the Donatists in the fourth Century after Christ offered themselues willingly and suffered death most couragiously And so did the Euphemites who for the multitude of their supposed Martyrs would needs be called Martyrians Stories also tell us that Turkes Tartars and Mores both fight and dye most bravely and resolutely for the blasphemous opinions of Mahomet And that the Assasins a company of bloody Villaines and desperate Cut-throates who would without all scruple or feare undertake to dispatch any Man whom their Generall commanded them to murther dyed oftentimes with great constancy and un-dismaiednesse And this they accounted a speciall point of Religion But especially at this Day the Popish Pseudo-martyrs indeed true Traytors are starke mad with this superstitious rage First they drinke full deepe of the golden cup of abominable fornication in the hand of the great Whore Immediately whereupon they grow into an unsatiable and outragious thirst after the blood of Soules empoysoning them with the doctrine of Divels And also after the blood of whomsoever withstands their accursed superstitions even tho they weare Imperiall Crownes upon their Heads by plotting and practising treasons parricides assasinates empoysonings ruines of whole Nations barbarous Massacres blowing up of Parliaments and a world of bloody mischiefes which cast an inexpiable staine and obloquy upon the innocency of Christian Religion At last they come to Tyburne or some other Place of iust execution and then they will needes beare the world in hand that they are going towards Heaven to receive a Crowne of Martyrdome They seeme there already to triumph extraordinarily and to contemne tortures with an affected bravery they trample upon the Tribunals of Iustice kisse the instruments of death in signe of happinesse at hand and throw many resolute and reioycing speeches amongst the people as tho they had one foote in Heaven already When alas poore blind mis-guided Soules while they thus wilfully and desperately abandon their lives upon a groundlesse and gracelesse conceite that they shall become crowned Martyrs they are like a Man who lying asleepe upon an high and steepe Rock dreames that Hee is created a King guarded with a goodly traine of ancient Nobles furnished with many princely Houses and stately Palaces enriched with the Revenewes Majesty and Magnificence of a mighty Kingdome attended with all the pleasures His heart could desire c. But starting up upon the sudden and leaping for ioy falls headlong and irrecoverably into the raging Sea and so in liew of that imaginary happinesse Hee vainely grasped in a dreame Hee destroies Himselfe and looseth that little reall comfort Hee had in this miserable life That damned paire of incarnate Divels the English Fawkes and French Ravillac the one after that in the Popes cause Hee had embrued His hands in the Royall blood of a mighty King and the greatest Warriour upon Earth The other having done His utmost to blow up at once the glory power wisedome the Religion peace and posterity of the most renowned State under the Heavens were both prodigiously bold confident peremptory But was this courage thinke you inspired into them by the Lyon of the Tribe of Iudah already triumphant in the Heavens or by that roaring Dragon of the bottomlesse Pit A man of an understanding impartiall discerning spirit would scarcely wish a clearer demonstration of the Truth and Orthodoxnes of our Religion then to marke the different Ends of our blessed Martyrs in Q. Maries time those Popish Traytors which are sometimes executed amongst us They both ordinarily at their Ends expresse a great deale of confidence But in the Pseudo-Catholicks Antichristian Martyrs it is so enforced artificiall ambitious affected Their speeches so cunning and composed upon purpose to seduce the simple Their last behaviour â—o plotted before-hand and formally acted Their prayers so unhearty plodding and perfunctory Their whole carriage so unspirituall and unlike the Saints of God discovering neither former acquaintances with the mysteries of true sanctification nor those present feeling elevations of spirit which are woont to fill the Soules which are ready to enter into the Ioyes of Heaven that to a spirituall eye to a man verst in the purity and power of godlinesse it is most cleare that their comfort in such cases is of no higher straine nor stronger temper then the morall resolution of an Heathen and head-strong conceit of Heresie can represent or reach unto It is otherwise with the true Martyrs of Iesus slaine most cruelly by that great Whore the MOTHER of HARLOTS drunken with a world of innocent blood as with sweet Wine As we may see and feele in that glorious Martyriology of our Saints in the mercilesse times of Queene Mary The constant profession and power of our most true and ever-blessed Religion did create such an holy and humble Maiesty in their carriages such a deale of Heaven and sober undantednesse in their countenances such ioyfull springings and spirituall ravishments in their hearts such grace and powerfull peircings in their speeches such zeale and hearty meltings in their prayers such triumphant and heavenly exultations amid the flames that it was more then manifest both to Heaven and Earth to Men and Angels that their Cause was the Cause of God their Murtherer that Man of sinne their blood the seede of the Church their Soules the Iewels of Heaven and their present passage the right and ready way to that unfading and most glorious Crowne of Martyrdome That which in fiction was fathered upon Father Campion was most true of every one of our true Martyrs That every one might say with heavy heart that stood Here speakes a Saint here dies a Lambe here flowes the guiltlesse blood Thus you haue heard upon what weake props and sandy foundations that confidence stands and is built which carnall men seeme to lay hold upon with great bravery in times of trouble and distresse But the comfort which sweetely springs from that spirit I speake of supported out of speciall favour and interest by the hand of God All-sufficient and the unconquerable
calmnesse of a good conscience is grounded upon a Rocke upon which tho the raine descends the floods come the windes blow the tempests beate yet it stands like Mount Zion sure sober strong lasting impregnable Nay it is of that heavenly metall and divine temper that it ordinarily gathers vigour and puissance from the worlds rage and growes in strength and resolution together with the encrease of all iniust oppositions Persecutions and resistance serue as a provocation and seasoning to it's sweetnesse It is not enforced formall artificiall affected furious desperate misgrounded ambitious upon an humour in the face onely onely in hot blood out of a vaine-glorious pang c. Such may bee found in Aliens and resolute reprobates It were nothing worthy if strangers might meddle with it If Men or Divels or the whole World could take it from us If it were sustained onely by any created power or arme of flesh This Pearle that I praise and perswade unto is of an higher price and more transcendent power then any unregenerate Man can possibly compasse or comprehend It hath for it's seate a sanctified Soule for the Fountaine of it's refreshing the Spirit of all comfort for it's foundation the favour of God for it's Warrant the promises of Amen the faithfull and true Witnesse for it's object an immortall Crowne for it's continuance the prayers of all the Saints for it's companions inward peace invincible courage an holy security of minde for it's end and perfection fulnesse of ioy and pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore In a word this couragious comfort and true noblenesse of spirit which dwells in the heart of the true-hearted Christian doth differ as much from and as farre surpasses all the groundlesse confidences of what carnall men or religious counterfeits soever as the reall possession of gold an imaginary dreame of gold as the true naturall lively Grape which glads the heart a painted juycelesse Grape which onely feedes the eye as a strong and mighty Oake rooted deepely in the earth which no storme or tempest can displant or overthrow a Stake in a dead hedge or Staffe stucke lightly into the ground which every hand may snatch away or blast of winde supplant and overthrow Secondly the trouble of a wounded conscience is further amplified by it's Attribute intolerablenesse But a wounded Spirit who can beare Whence note Doctr. That the torture of a troubled Conscience is intolerable Reas. 1. In all other afflictions onely the Arme of flesh is our adversary wee contend but with Creatures at most wee have to doe but with Man or at worst with Divels but in this transcendent misery wee conflict immediately with God Himselfe Fraile Man with Almighty God sinfull Man with that most holy God Whose eyes are purer then to behold evill and who cannot looke upon iniquity Who then can stand before his indignation Who can abide in the fiercenesse of his anger When his fury is powred out like fire and the Rocks are throwne downe by Him When hee comes against a man as a Beare that is bereaved of her Whelpes torent the very caule of His heart and to devoure him like a Lion No more then the driest stubble can resist the fierest flame the ripe Corne the Mowers sharpest sythe or a garment the Moath no more nay infinitely lesse can any power of Man or Angell withstand the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth when Hee is angry for Sinne. When thou saith David with rebukes correctest man for iniquity thou as a Moath makest his beauty to consume Alas when a poore polluted wretch upon some speciall illumination by the Word or extraordinary stroke from the rod doth once begin to behold Gods frowning face against Him in the pure Glasse of His most holy Law and to feele divine iustice by an invisible hand taking secret vengeance upon his conscience His heavy heart immediately melts away in his brest and becomes as water Hee faints and failes both in the strength of his body and stoutnesse of his minde His bones the pillars and Master-timber of his earthly Tabernacle are presently broken in pieces and turn'd into rottennesse His spirit the eye and excellency of his Soule which should illighten and make lightsome the whole Man is quite put out and utterly overwhelm'd with excesse of horrour and flashes of despaire O this is it which would not onely crush the courage of the stoutest sonne of Adam that ever breath'd upon earth but even breake the backe of the most glorious Angell that did ever shine in Heaven should Hee lift up but one rebellious thought against his Creatour This alone is able to make the tallest Cedar in Lâ—banon the strongest Oake in Basan I meane the highest looke and the proudest heart the most boisterous Nimrod or swaggering Belshazzar to bow and bend to stoope and tremble as the leaves of the forrest that are shâ—ken with the winde 2. In all other adversities a man is still a friend unto himselfe favours himselfe and reaches out his best considerations to bring in comfort to his heavy heart But in this Hee is a scourge to Himselfe at warre with Himselfe an enemy to Himselfe Hee doth greedily and industriously fetch in as much matter as hee can possibly both imaginary and true to enlarge the rent and aggravate his horrour Hee gazes willingly in that false glasse which Satan is woont in such Cases to set before Him wherein by his Hellish malice Hee makes an infinite addition both to the already un-numbred multitude and to the too true hainousnesse of his sinnes and would faine if Hee will be lead by his lying cruelty mis-represent to his affrighted imagination every Gnat as a Camell every Moate as a Mole-hill every Mole-hill as a Mountaine every lustfull thought as a Sodomiticall villany every idle word as a desperate blasphemy every angry looke as an actuall bloody murder every intemperate passion as an inexpiable provocation every distraction in holy duties as a damnable rebellion every transgression against light of conscience as a sinne against the holy Ghost c. Nay in this amazednesse of spirit and disposition to despaire Hee is apt even of his owne accord and with great eagernesse to arme every severall sinne as it comes into his minde with a particular bloody sting that it may strike deepe enough and sticke fast enough in His already grieved Soule Hee imployes and improoves the excellency and utmost of His learning understanding wit memory to argue with all subtilty with much Sophistry against the pardonablenes of his sins and possibilitie of salvation Hee wounds even his wounds with a conceit they are incurable and vexes his very vexations with refusing to bee comforted Not onely crosses afflictions temptations and all matter of discontentment but even the most desirable things also in this life and those which minister most outward comfort Wife Children Friends Gold Goods Great mens favours Preferments Honours Offices even Pleasures themselves every
the clouds are the dust of His feete c. The Lord of hostes is his name whose power and punishments are so infinitely vnresistable that Hee is able with one word to turne all the creatures in the world into Hell nay even with the breath of His mouth to turne Heaven and Hell and Earth and all things into nothing How darest thou then so base and vile a wretch prouoke so great a God 8. Let the consideration and compassion upon the immortality and dearenesse of that pretious Soule that lies in thy bosome curbe thy corruptions at the very first sight of sinne and make thee step backe as though thou wert ready to treade upon a Serpent Not all the bloudy men upon earth or desperate Devils in Hell can possibly kill and extingvish the Soule of any man it must needs live as long as God Himself and run parallell with the longest line of eternity Onely sinne wounds mortally that immortal spirit brings it into that cursed case that it had infinitely better never have bin then be for ever For by this meanes going on impenitently to that last Tribunall it becomes immortally mortall and mortally immortall as one of the Ancients speakes It lives to death and dies to life never in state of life or death yet ever in the paines of death the perpetuity of life It 's death is ever-living it's end is ever in beginning Death without death End without end Ever in the pangs of death never dead not able to dye nor endure the paine Paine exceeding not only all patience but all resistance No strength to sustaine nor ability to beare that which heareafter whilst God is God for ever must bee borne What a prodigious Bedlam cruelty is it then for a maÌ„ by listning to the Syren-songs of this false world the lewd motions of His own treacherous heart or the Divels desperate counsel to embrew His hands in the bloud of His own everlasting soule to make it die eternally For a little paltry pleasure of some base rotten lust sleeting vanity which passeth away in the act as the tast of pleasant drink dieth in the draught to bring upon it in the other world torments whithout end and beyond all compasse of conceit And his madnesse is the more because besides it's immortality His Soule is incoÌ„parably more worth then the whole world The very sensitive Soule of a little slie saith Austin truly is more excellent then the Sun How ought wee then to prize and preserve from sinne our vnderstanding reasonable Soules which make us in that respect like unto the Angels of God 9. Ninthly What an horrible thing is sinne whose waight an Omnipotent strength which doth sustaine the whole Frame of the world is not able to beare Almighty God complaines Isa. 1.14 even of the Sacrifices and other services of his owne people when they were performed with polluted hearts and professes that He was weary to beare them And how vile is it that stirs up in the dearest and most compassionate bowells of the All-mercifull God such implacable anger that threw downe so many glorious Angelicall spirits who might have done Him so high honour for ever in the highest Heauens into the bottome of Hell there most iustly to continue Devils and in extremest torment everlastingly Cast all mankinde out of His fauour and from all felicity for Adams sin caused Him who delighteth in mercy to create all the afflicting miseries in Hell eternal flames streames of brimstone chaines of darknesse gnashing of teeth a Lake of fire the bottomlesse Pit and all those horrible torments there And that which doth argue and yet further amplifie the implacablenes and depth of divine indignation the infinitenesse of sinnes prouocation and desert Tophet is said to bee ordeined of old Everlasting fire to be prepared for the Devill and His Angells As if the All-powerfull wisedome did deliberate and as it were sit downe and devise all stâ—â—ging terrible ingredients a temper of greatest torture to make that dreadfull fiâ—e hellish paines most fierce and raging and a fit instrument for the iustice of so great and mighty a God to torment eternally all impenitent reprobate Rebels God is the Father of Spirits our Soules are the immediate Creation of His Almighty Hand and yet to every one that goeth on impenitently in his trespasses Hee hath appointed as it were a threefold Hell There are three things considerable in sinne 1. Aversion from an infinite soveraigne unchangeable good 2. Conversion to a finite mutable momentany good 3. Continuance in the same To these three severall things in sinne there are answering three singular stings of extremest punishment To aversion from the chiefest Good which is objectively infinite there answereth Paine of losse as they call it Privation of Gods glorious presence and separation from those endlesse joyes above which is an infinite losse To the inordinate conversion to transitory things there answereth Paine of sense which is intensively finite as is the pleasure of sinne And yet so extreme that none can conceive the bitternesse thereof but the Soule that suffers it nor that neither except it could comprehend the Almighty wisedome of Him that did create it To the eternity of sinne remaining for ever in staine and guilt answereth the eternity of punishment For wee must know that every impenitent sinner would sinne ever if he might live ever and casteth himselfe by sinning into an impossibility of ever ceasing to sinne of Himselfe as a Man that casteth himselfe into a deepe Pit can never of Himselâ—e rise out of it againe And therefore naturally eternity of punishment is due to sinne How prodigious a thing then is sinne and how infinitely to bee abhorred and avoided that by a malignant meritorious poyson and provocation doth violently wrest out of the hands of the Father of mercies and God of all comfort the full vials of that unquenchable wrath which brings caselesse endlesse and remedilesse torments upon His owne creatures and those originally most excellent 10. Tenthly The height and inestimablenesse of the price that was paid for the expiation of it doth clearely manifest nay infinitely aggravate the execrable misery of sinne and extreame madnesse of all that meddle with it I meane the hearts-blood of Iesus Christ blessed for ever which was of such pretiousnesse and power that beeing let out by a Speare it amazed the whole Frame of Nature darkened the Sunne miraculously for at that time it stood in direct opposition to the Moone shooke the Earth which shrunke and trembled under it opened the Graves clave the Stones rent the Vaile of the Temple from the bottome to the top c. Now it was this alone and nothing but this could possibly cleanse the filth of sinne Had all the dust of the earth been turned into silver and the stones into pearles Should the maine and boundlesse Ocean have streamed nothing but purest gold would the
thou wert able to doe Him all the honour service and worship which all the Saints both militant and triumphant doe it would come infinitely short of the merit of the least of all His mercies unto Thee in Iesus Christ. 2. How unkindelylie God takes the neglect of His extraordinary kindenesses unto vs. 2. Sam. 12.7 c. 1. Sam. 27.28.31 Ezech. 16. 16. Marke well and be amaz'd of thine owne fearefull and desperate folly when thou fallest deliberately into any sinne Thou lajest as it were in the one scale of the Balance the glory of Almighty God the endles ioies of Heaven the losse of thine immortall Soule the pretious blood of Christ c. And in the other some rotten pleasure earthly pelf worldly preferment fleshly lust sensuall vanity And suffers this prodigious madnes Bee astonished O yee Heavens at this and bee horribly afraid to out-weigh all those 17. Vpon the first assault of every sinne say thus unto thy self If I now yeeld and commit this sin I shall either repent or not repent If I doe not repent I am vndone If I doe repent it will cost mee incomparably more hearts-greife then the pleasure of the sinne is worth 18. Consider that for that very sinne to which thou art now tempted suppose lying lust ouer-reaching thy Brother c. many millions are already damned and even now burning in Hell And when thy foote is upon the brinke stay and thinke upon the wages And know for a truth that if thou falelst into that sinne thou art fallen into Hell if God helpe not out 19. Never bee the bolder to giue way unto any wickednes to exercise thine heart with covetousnesse cruelty ambition revenge adulterjes speculative wantonnesse selfe-uncleannesse or any other solitary sinfulnesse because thou art alone and no mortall eie lookes upon Thee For if thine heart condemne thee God is greater then thine heart and knoweth all things and will condemne thee much more If thy conscience bee as a thousand witnesses God who is the Lord of thy conscience will be more then a million of witnesses And thou mayst bee assured Howsoever thou blessest thy selfe in thy secrecy that what sin soever is now acted in the very retyredst corner of thine heart or any waies most solitarily by thy Selfe tho in the meane time it bee concealed and lie hid in as great darknesse as it was committed untill that last and great Day yet then it must most certainly out with a witnesse and bee as a legible on thy forehead as if it were writ with the brightest Sun-beame upon a Wall of Christall Thou shalt then in the face of Heaven and Earth bee laide out in thy colours and without confessing and forsaking while it is called to Day bee before Angels Men and Diuels vtterly universally and everlastingly shamed and confounded 20. Consider the resolute resistance and mortifyed resolutions against sinne and all entisements thereunto of many upon whom the Sun of the Gospell did not shine with such beauty and fullnesse as it doth upon vs neither were so many heavenly discoveries in the kingdome of Christ made knowne unto them as our daies have seene For vpon our times which makes our sins a great deale more sinfull hath happily fallen an admirable Confluence of the saving light and learning experience and excellency of all former Ages besides the extraordinary additions of the present which with a glorious Noonetide of united illuminations doth abundantly serve our turne for a continued further and fuller illustration of the great mystery of godlinesse and Secrets of sanctification Heare Chrysostome But I thinke thus and this will I ever preach that it is much bitterer to offend Christ then to bee tormented in the paines of Hell Hee that writes the life of Anselme saith thus of Him Hee feared nothing in the world more then to sinne My conscience bearing mee witnesse I lie not For we haue often heard Him professe That if on the onâ— hand He should see corporally the horrour of sinne on the other the paines of Hell and might necessarily bee plunged into the one Hee would chuse Hell rather then sinne And an other thing also no lesse perhaps wonderfull to some Hee was woont to say To wit That Hee would rather haue Hell beeing innocent and free from sinne then polluted with the filth thereof possesse the kingdome of Heaven It is reported of an other ancient holy Man that He was woont to say Hee would rather bee torne in peeces with wilde horses then wittingly and willingly commit any sin Ierome also in one of His Epistles tells a story of a young Man of most invincible courage and constancy in the Profession of Christ under some of the bloody Persecuting Emperours to this sense They had little hope as it seemes to conqver Him by torture and therfore they take this course with Him They brought Him into most fragrant Gardens flowing with all pleasure and delight there they laid Him upon a Bed of Downe softly enwrapped in a net of silke amongst the Lillies and the Roses the delicious murmure of the streames and the sweet whistling of the leaves they all depart and in comes a beautifull strumpet and vseth all the abominable tricks of Her impure Art and whoâ—sh villanies to draw Him to her desire Whereupon the yong Man fearing that Hee should now bee conqvered by folly who was Conqverer over fury out of an infinite detestation of sinne bites off a peece of His Tong with His owne teeth and spits it in the face of the whore And so hinders the hurt of sinne by the smart of his wound I might haue begun with Ioseph who did so bravely and blessedly beate backe and trample under His feete the sensuall solicitations of His wanton and wicked Mistris Hee had pleasure and preferment in His eye which were strongly offered in the temptation but Hee well knew that not all the offices and honours in Egypt could take off the guilt of that filth and therefore Hee resolved rather to lie in the dust then rise by sinne How can I doe this great wickednesse and sinne against God I might passe along to the Mothâ—â— and seven brethren 2. Mac. 7. who chose rather to passe thorow horrible tortures and a most cruell death then to eate swines â—lesh against the Law And so come downe along to that noble Army of Martyrs in Q. Maries time who were contented with much patience and resolution to part with all wife children liberty livelihood life it selfe even to lay it downe in the flames rather then to submit to that Man of sinne or to subscribe to any one Point of His Devillish Doctrine Thus as you haue heard I haue tendred many reasons to restraine from sinne which by the helpe of God may serve to take off the edge of the most eager temptation to coole the heat of the most furious entisement to embitter the sweetest baite that drawes to any sensuall delight Now my most
Iesus Christ c. But who doe you thinke now are the true and great fooles of the world And who are likeliest one day to groane for anguish of Spirit and say within themselves This was hee whom wee had sometimes in derision and a Proverbe of reproch Wee fooles accounted His life madnesse and His end to bee without honour Now is hee numbred among the Children of God and His Lot is among the Saints Therefore haue we erred from the way of truth and the light of righteousnesse hath not shined unto us and the Sun of righteousnesse hath not rose upon us wee wearied our selves in the way of wickednesse and destruction yea wee have gone through deserts where there lay no way But as for the way of the Lord wee have not knowne it What hath pride profited us Or what good hath riches with our vanting brought us All those things are passed away like a shadow and as a post that hasted by c. Nay and yet further besides the extraordinarinesse of the iniquity folly in refusing Christ freely offered it shall most certainely bee hereafter plagued with extremest tormenting fury and most desperate gnashing of teeth For with what infinite horrour and restlesse anguish will this conceit rent a Mans heart in pieces and gnaw upon His Conscience when Hee considers in Hell that Hee hath lost Heaven for a lust and whereas Hee might at every sermon had even the Son of God His husband for the very taking and have lived with Him for ever in unspeakeable Blisse yet neglecting so great salvation must now crying out therefore continually against Himselfe as the most raging Bedlam that ever breathed lie in unquenchable flames without remedy ease or end It is the highest honour that can be imagined and a Mystery of greatest amazement that ever was that the Sonne of God should make sute unto sinfull Soules to be their Husband And yet so it is Hee stands at the doore and knocks if you will give Him entrance Hee will bring Himselfe and Heaven into your hearts We are Christs Ambassadours as though God did beseech you by us Wee pray you in Christs stead to be reconciled to God Wee are Christs spokes-men that I may so speake to Wooe and Winne you unto Him Now what can you say for your selves that you stand out Why come you not in If the Divell would give you leave to speake out and in plaine termes One would say I had rather bee damned then leave my drunkennesse Another I love the world better then Iesus Christ A third I will not part with my easie and gainefull trade of Vsury for the treasure hid in the field And so on So that upon the matter you must needs all confesse that you hereby judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life that you are wilfull bloody Murderers of your owne Soules that you commit such a wickednesse that all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth cry shame upon you for it Nay and if you go on without repentance you may expect that the Hellish gnawing of Conscience for this one sinne of refusing Christ may perhaps hold scale with the Vnited horrors of all the rest What is the matter I marvell that you will not entertaine the Match If wee stand upon honour and noble family Hee that makes love and sute unto our soules hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords If upon beauty Heare how hee is described Cant. 5. My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest of ten thousand His head is as the most fine gold his lockes are bushie and blacke as a Raven His eyes are as the eyes of Doves by the rivers of water washed with milke and fitly set His cheekes are as a bed of Spices as sweet flowers His lips like Lillies dropping sweet smelling myrrhe His hands are as the gold rings set with the Berill His belly is as bright Ivory overlaid with Saphires His legs are as pillars of marble set upon Sockets of fine gold His countenance is as Lebanon excellent as the Cedars His mouth is most sweet yea hee is altogether lovely Now you must understand that the Spirit of God by these outward beauties and braveries labours in some measure to shadow out and represent unto us the incomparable excellency of inward graces the dignity the glory the spirituall fairenesse of Iesus Christ that wee may know that Hee is wholly and altogether lovely delectable and precious If upoâ— ease and contentment Hee can lead us to fulnesse of joy and pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore If wee desire honorable Alliance Hee will bring us to an innumerable company of Angels to the generall assembly and Church of the first borne which are written in heaven and to God the Iudge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect If we stand upon wealth we shall haue all things with him which is a large Possession If we respect love Greater love hath no Man then this that a Man lay downe His life for his friends And hee being the brightnesse of His Fathers glory and the expresse image of his person came downe from his bosome the well-spring of immortality and blisse the fulnesse of joy and that unapprocheable light into an House of flesh upon this base and miserable earth Hee passed thorow a life full of all manner vexations miseries persecutions indignities slanders speaking against of Sinners c. He was so prodigiously slandered that they said Hee had a divell Whereas the fulnesse of the Godhead dwelled in him bodily Hee was cunningly hunted long and at last violently haled by a Packe of Hell-hounds to a cruell and bloody death which for the extremity and variety of paines for the enraged spight of the executioners for the innocency and excellency of the Person suffering the like never was shall or can bee endured His passions were such so bitter and unsupportable that they would have made any meere creature to have sunke downe under the burden of them to the bottome of Hell Hee was tortured extremely and suffered grievous things both in Body and Soule from Heaven Earth and Hell His blessed Body was given up as an Anvile to bee beaten upon by the violent and villanous hands of wretched Miscreants without all measure or mercy untill they had left no one part free from some particular and speciall torment His skin and flesh were â—ent with scourges His hands and feet pierced with nailes His head with thornes His very heart with the speare point All His senses all his parts indeed His whole sacred body was made a rufull spectacle to Angels and to Men of all the most base and barbarous vsage which malice could devise and cruelty execute But all this yet was but a shadow of His suffering the substance of His suffering was the Agony of His Soule Give mee any affliction save the affliction of the mind For
empoysoner of mens soules which beeing the glorious issue of thine owne infinite understanding was purposely created as a most pretious Panacea an universall medicinall store-house for the cure of all spirituall maladies an inexhausted treasury of all sound comfort true joy peace and refreshing Now the Lord rebuke thee Satan and returne as dung upon thine owne face this villanous base and wicked slaunder which by thy gracelesse instruments thou labourest to cast upon the glorious face of Christianity the incomparable sweetnesse of the wayes of grace and that One necessary thing I have knowne when the onely wise God hath suffered for ends seene and seeming good to his heavenly wisedome the hideous and raging humour of melancholie to darken the native clearenes of the animall spirits in the braine requisite to a due discretion of things apprehended and to blunder and disorder the objects and operations of the phantasie in his dearest child even to distraction and breaking out into that inordinate passion against reason I say then the concurrent cry and clamour of the enemies to the power of Godlines to bee This it is now to bee so bookish to follow preachers so much to be more holy then their neighbours never to have done in serving of God Her so much reading the scriptures and such poring upon precise bookes so they call those which most pierce the conscience and guide the cleerliest in the holy path hath made her starke mad The Puritan is now besides her selfe c. Now I say againe the Lord rebuke thee Satan who sits with such extreme malice and soule-killing folly in the hearts heads of such miserable men whom thou so sottishly hood-winkes and hardens to the height for a most desperate downefal and horrible confusion at last Were now the glorified soule of that blessed Saint consulted with and asked Diddest thou ever receive hurt by reading Gods blessed book by searching sweetly into the great mystery of Christ crucified by meditation upon heavenly things Did the sacred sense of those divine Oracles dissettle thy noble faculties or ever make sad thy heart c. Oh! with what infinite indignation would it sly in the face of such cursed Cavillers and wranglers against the truth Is it possible for the sole and soveraigne Antidote sent from heaven by God himselfe against the sting and venome of all heart-griefe and horror the sacred Sun of saving truth which is onely able to ennoble and glorifie our understandings with wisedome from the brest of the everlasting counsell of Iesus Christ should become the cause of discomfort and dissettlement of the soule No no. There is such a quickening healing and mighty efficacy and vigour shed into it from the Father of lights and shining in it from the face of Christ that by the helpe of the blessed spirit it can turne darkenes into light death into life hell into heaven the deepest horrour into height of joy Tell mee of any misery upon the body soule outward state or good name any calamity felt or feared in this life or the life to come and if thou wilt bee converted and counselled I can send thee to some both Promise and Precedent in this book of God which may upon good ground fill thine heart as full with sound comfort as the Sun is of Light and the Sea of Waters Nay give mee a wounded spirit with all it 's inexplicable terrors and bitternesse which is the greatest misery extremest affliction of which an understanding Soule is capable in this life And let first all the physitians in the world even the Rose-knights as they call themselves lay all their heads skill and experience together for the cure Let all the highest Monarchs upon earth shine upon it with their Imperiall favours for comfort Let the depth of all humane wisedome and the height of the most excellent oratory bee improoued to perswade it peace Let all the creatures in heaven and earth contribute their severall abilities and utmost to still it 's rage And when all these have done and have done just nothing I will fetch a cordiall out of Gods owne booke which shall mollifie the anguish expell the venome and bind it up with everlasting peace which passeth all understanding that the broken bones may rejoyce and the poore soule groaning most grievously under the guilty horrour of many foule abominations and ready to sink into the gulph of despaire bee sweetly bathed and refreshed in the fountaine opened by the hand of mercy for sinne and for uncleannesse Christs dearest bloud the glorious wel-spring of all lightsomnesse and joy Heare how precisely for this purpose and how punctually against such pestilent cauillers some of the ancient Fathers doe Puritanize There is no malady saith Chrysostome either of body or soule but may receive a medicine out of Gods booke One comes oppressed with sadnesse and anxiety of businesses overwhelmed with griefe But presently hearing the Prophet saying Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou so disquieted within mee Hope thou in God for I will yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God Hee receives abundance of comfort and abandons all heavines of heart Another is pinched with extreme poverty takes it heavily and grieves seeing others flowing in riches swelling with pride attended with great pompe and state But hee also heares the same Prophet saying Cast thy burden upon the Lord and hee shall sustaine thee And againe Be not afraide when one is made rich when the glory of his house is increased For when hee dieth hee shall carry nothing away His glory shall not descend after him There is another which assaulted with insidiations and calumnies is much troubled thinkes his life uncomfortable finding no helpe in man Hee is also taught by the same prophet that in such perplexities wee must not resort to the arme of flesh Heare what hee saies They slandered and I prayed The mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitfull are opened against mee They have spoken against mee with a lying tongue They compassed mee about also with words of hatred and fought against mee without a cause For my love they are my adversaries But I give my selfe to prayer Another is slighted and contemned by some base contemptible underlings and forsaken of his friends And that is it which most troubles his mind goes nearest to his heart But hee also if hee will come hither doth heare that blessed man saying My Lovers and my freinds stand aloofe from my sore and my kinsmen stand afarre off They also that seeke after my life lay snares for mee and they that seeke my hurt speake mischeivous things and imagine deceipts all the day long But I as a deafe man heard not and I was as a dumbe man that openeth not his mouth Thus I was as a man that heareth not and in whose mouth are no reproofes for in thee O Lord do I hope thou
at last with everlasting kindnesse will Hee have mercy on Him And that Hee will never utterly and finally forsake any of His. Thus died those blessed Servants of God Mistris Bretergh Master Peacock c. Mistris Bretergh in the heate of temptatioÌ„ wished that she had never bin borne or that she had bin made any other creature rather then a woman But when that Hellish storme was over-blowne by the returne of the glorious beames of the Sun of righteousnesse into Her Soule She turnd her tune and triumphed thus Oh happy am I that ever I was borne to see this blessed Day I confesse before the Lord his loving kindnesse and his wonderfull workes before the sons of men For hee hath satisfied my Soule and filled my hungry Soule with goodnesse Master Peacocke in the height of His dreadfull Desertion told those about Him that hee converst with Hell-â—ounds That the Lord had cursed him That Hee had no grace That it was against the course of Gods proceeding to save Him c. But when that horrible tempest of spirituall terrours was happily disperst and the light of Gods comfortable countenance begun to shine againe upon His most heavy and afflicted spirit Hee dis-avowed all inconsiderate speeches as hee called them in his temptation and did humbly and heartily aske mercy of God for them all And did thus triumph What should I extoll the magnificence of God which is unspeakeable and more then any heart can conceive Nay rather let us with humble reverence acknowledge His great mercy What great cause have I to magnifie the great goodnesse of God that hath humbled Nay rather exalted such a wretched miscreant of so base condition to an estate so glorious and stately The Lord hath honored mee with his goodnesse I am sure hee hath provided a glorious Kingdome for mee The joy which I feele in my heart is uncredible 4. Some of Gods worthiest Champions and most zealous servants doe not answere the unreprooveable sanctity of their life and unspotted current of their former conversation with those proportionable extraordinary comforts and glorious Passages upon their beds of death which in ordinary congruity might be expected as a conuenient conclusion to the rare and remarkeable Christian cariages of such blessed Saints So bottomlesse and infinitely un-fathomable by the utmost of all created vnderstandings are the depths of Gods most holy waies and His inscrutable Counsells quite contrary many times to the probable conclusions of Man's best wisdome But every one of His sith he certainly passes thorow those pangs into pleasures and joyes endlesse and unspeakeable must be content to glorifie God to be seruiceable to His secret ends with what kinde of death Hee please whether it bee glorious and untempted or discomfortable because of Bodily distempers and consequently interpretable by undiscerning spirits or mingled of temptations and Triumphs or ordinary and without any great shew or remarkeable speeches after extraordinary singularities of an holy life which promised an end of speciall note and admiration Why may not some worthy heavenly-minded Christians sometimes by strong mortifying meditations and many conquering fore-conceits of death in their life time make it before-hand so familiar and easie unto them an by continuall conversing above and constant peace of conscience taste so deepely of spirituall ioyes that that dreadfull Passage out of this life as it may breede no great sense of alteration in themselves so no extraordinary matter of speciall observation to others Of the wicked and those who were ever strangers to the mystery of Christ and truth of godlinesse Some die desperately Tho thousands perish by presumption to One of these who despaire yet some there are to whom upon their beds of death all their sins are set in order before them and represented to the eie of their awaked consciences in such griesly formes and so terribly that at the very first and fearefull sight they are presently struck starke dead in soule and spirit utterly over-whelmed and quite swallowed up with guilty and desperate horrour So that afterward No counsell or comfort no consideration of the immeasurablenesse of Gods mercy of the unvaluablenesse and omnipotency that I may so speak of Christs bloud shed of the variety excellency of gracious promises of the losse of their owne immortall soules can possibly drive and divert from that infinitely false conceite and cursed Cry My sinnes are greater then can bee pardoned Whereupon most miserable and forlorne wretches they very wickedly and willfully throw themselves into Hell as it were upon earth and are damned above ground Thus the Lord sometimes for the terror of others glorifying his owne iustice bringing exemplary confusion upon impenitent obstinacy in sinne and willfull opposition to grace doth in greatest indignation by the hand of divine vengeance unclaspe unto them the Booke of their owne Conscience and of His owne holy Law In one of which they find now at length all their innumerable iniquities transgressions and sinnes engraven with the Point of a diamond enraged with Gods implacable wrath aggravated with the utmost malice of Satan And never to bee razed out or remitted but by the bloud of the Son of God in which they peremptorily professe themselves to have no part In the other they see the fiercenes and fulnesse of all the curses plagues and torments denounced there and due unto all impenitent sinners ready to bee poured upon their bodies and soules for ever And no possibility to prevent them no waies to decline them but by Gods infinite bounty thorow Iesus Christ in which they also utterly disclaime all right and interest And therefore they are now finally and desperately resolved to looke for no mercy But in their owne judgement and by their owne confession stand reprobates from Gods covenant and voide of all hope of His inheritance expecting with unspeakeable terrour and amazement of spirit the consummation of their miserie and fearefull sentence of eternall damnation They are commonly such as have been grosse Hypocrites like Iudas and lien in some secret abomination against the knowledge of their hearts all their life long that have followed still their owne sensuall wayes and course of the world against the light of the Ministry standing like an armed man in their consciences to the contrary who have been Scorners and Persecutours of the power of godlinesse and the good way who have abjured the Gospell of Iesus Christ and forsaken the Truth for honour wealth or worldly happinesse To whom the Lord in their life-time vouchsafed many mercies much prosperity great meanes of salvation long forbearance c. And yet they stood out still they still hated to bee reformed set as naught all His counsell and would 〈◊〉 of His â—â— proofe Wherefore the Day of gratious visitation beeing once expired a thousand Worlds will not purchase it againe Heaven and Earth cannot recall it No mercy no comfort no blessing can then bee had tho they seeke it with teares
mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth to have Hee offers to us in the Ministry His owne blessed Sonne to be our deare and everlasting Husband His Person with all the rich and royall endowments thereof the glory and endlesse felicities above His owne thrice glorious and ever-blessed Selfe to bee enjoyed thorow all eternity which is the very soule of heavenly Blisse and life of eternall life c. Doe you thinke it then reasonable or likely that Hee will ever accept at our hands an heartlesse formall outwardnesse a cold rotten carcasse of religion That wee should serve our selves in the first Place and Him in the second That wee should spend the prime and flower of our loues ioyes services upon some abominable bosome-sinne and then proportion-out to the everlasting God mighty and terrible Creator and Commander of Heaven and Earth only some outward religious formes and conformities and those also so farre onely as they hurt not our temporall happinesse but may consist with the entier enjoyment of some inordinate lust pleasure profit or preferment Prodigious folly nay fury to their owne soules This very one most base and unworthy conceit of so great a God and His due attributions meriteth justly exclusion from the Kingdome of Heaven with the foolish Virgins for ever My Counsell therefore is when the spirituall Patient hath passed the tempestuous Sea of a troubled conscience and is now upon termes of taking a new course That by all meanes Hee take heed that Hee runne not upon this Rocke It is better to bee key-cold then luke-warme and that the milke boile over then bee raw 7. Tho it bee an ordinary yet it is a dangerous and utterly un-doing errour and deceite To conceive that all is ended when the afflicted Party is mended and hath received ease and enlargement from the terrible pressures of his troubled conscience To thinke that after the tempest of present terrour and rage of guiltinesse bee allayed and over-blowne there needes no more to bee done As tho the New-birth were not ever infallibly and inseparably attended with new-obedience As tho when once the soule is soundly and savingly strucke thorow humbled and prepared for Christ by the terrifying power of the Law revealing the foulenesse of sinne and fiercenesse of divine wrath which set on by the spirit of bondage is able like a mighty thunder to breake and teare in pieces the iron synewes of the most stubborne and stony-heart there followed not hearty shewers of repentant teares never to bee dried up untill our ending houre as I taught before when all teares shall bee everlastingly wiped away with Gods mercifull hand And that the Sunne of righteousnesse did not presently breake forth upon that happy Soule to dispell the Hellish clouds of sensuality lust lying in sinne c. and to illighten inflame and fill it with the serenity and cleare sky as it were of sanctification and purity a kindly fervour of Zeale for Gods glory good causes good men keeping a good conscience and fruitfull influence of sobriety righteousnesse and holinesse for ever after And therefore if upon recovery out of trouble of conscience there follow not a continued exercise of Repentance both for sinnes past present and to come as you heard before an universall change in every power and part both of Soule and Body tho not in perfection of degrees as the Schooles speake yet of Parts an heart-rising hatred and opposition against all sinne a shaking-off old companions brethren in iniquity all Satans good-fellow Reuellers a delight in the word waies services Sabbaths and Saints of God a conscionable and constant endeavour to expresse the truth of protestations and promises made in time of terrour as I told you before c. In a Word if there follow not a new life if all things doe not become new there is no New-birth in truth all is naught and to no purpose in the Point of salvation They are then miserable Comforters Physicions of no value nay of notorious spirituall blood-shed who having neither acquaintance with nor much caring for the manner meanes methode any heavenly wisedome spirituall discretion or experimentall skill in managing aright such an important businesse if any waies they can asswage the rage and still the cries of a vexed guilty Conscience they thinke they have done a worthy worke Tho after their dawbing there bee nothing left behind in it but a senselesse skarre Nay and perhaps more brawnednesse benummednesse brought upon it because it was not kindlily wrought-upon in the furnace of spirituall affliction and rightly cured I feare mee many poore soules are fearefully deluded who beeing recovered out of terrours of Conscience too suddenly unseasonably or one way or other unsoundly conceive presently they are truly converted tho afterward they bee the very same men of the same company and conditions they were before or at best blesse themselves in the seeming happinesse of an halfe conversion For a more full discovery of this mischiefe and prevention of those miseries which may ensue upon this last miscarriage Let mee acquaint you with foure or five Passages out of Pangs of Conscience which still leade amisse and leave a man the Divel 's still And for all his faire warning by the smart of a wounded spirit drowne Him in the workes of darkenesse and waies of death 1. Some when by the piercing power and application of the Law their consciences are prest with the terrible and intolerable waight of their sinnes and the worme that neuer dies which hath been all this while dead-drunke with sensuall pleasures is now awaked by the hand of divine justice and begins to sting They presently with unspeakeable rage and horrour fall into the most abhorred and irrecoverable Dungeon of despaire The flames of eternall fire seize upon them even in this life They are in Hell upon Earth and damned as it were above ground Such they are commonly who all their life long have been contemners of the conscionable Ministry Scorners of the good way Quenchers of the Spirit Revolters from good beginnings and Profession of grace Harbourers of some secret vile abominable lusts in their hearts against the light of their conscience close Agents for Popery and Prophanenesse plausible Tyrants against the power of godlinesse and such other like notorious Champions of the Divell infamous Rebels to the highest Majestie Whom sith they have bin such and have so desperately and so long despised the riches of His goodnes and forbearance and long-suffering leading them to Repentance God most justly leaves now in the evill day when once the hot transitory gleame of worldly pleasures is past and His judgements begin to grow upō their thoughts like a tempestuous storme and death to stand before them unresistable like an armed Man and sinne to lie at the doore like a Bloodhound and the guilty conscience to gnaw upon the heart like a Vulture c. I say then Hee leaves them in His righteous iudgement
life come death come Heaven come Hell come what come can here will I sticke for ever And if ever I perish they shall plucke mee out of the hands and rent mee from betweene the armes of this mighty glorious and dearest Redeemer of mine 6. And having now taken Christ as a Saviour to free him from the miseries of sinne hee is willing also to take him as a Lord Husband and King to serve love and obey him For every one that is truly Christs doth as well thirst heartily and syncerely indeavour after mortification conquest over corruptions sanctification purity new-obedience ability to do or suffer any thing for Christ as for pardon of sinne and salvation from hell And therefore he willingly takes upon him his yoake which tho so called yet is easie and light enters in earnest into the narrow way which tho it bee every where spoken against as it was in Pauls time Act. 28.22 yet in truth and upon triall is most pretious profitable and pleasant See Prov. 3. Happy is the man that findeth wisedome to wit in the word to walke in the wayes of God Shee is more pretious then rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her Length of dayes is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour Her wayes are wayes of pleasantnesse and all her pathes are peace Hee now for the short remainder of his abode in this vale of teares vowes and gives up the flower and prime of all his abilities loves joyes endeavours performances in any kinde to the highest Majesty and consecrates all the powers and possibilities of body and soule to doe him the best and utmost service hee can any wayes devise unto his dying day And still grieves and walkes more humbly because hee can doe no better For then hee casts his eyes upon God the Fathers free love and Christs deare passion hee thinks with himselfe and so hee well may that if hee were able to doe him as much service as all the Saints doe both in this and the Church above with addition of all Angelicall obedience it were all infinitely lesse then nothing towards the discharge of his debt and incomprehensible everlasting obligation 7. And being thus incorporated into Christ he presently associates himself to the brotherhood to the Sect that is every where spoken against For so is profession accounted Act. 28.22 After that Peters hearers were pricked in their hearts they were counselled to repent believe be baptised c. and to save themselves from that untoward generation He now beginnes to delight himselfe in them whom hee heartily hated before I meane the people of God Professours of the truth and power of religion and that as the most excellent of the earth the only true Noble Worthies of the World worthy for ever the flower fervency and dearenesse of his most melting affections and intimate love And hee labours also might and maine to ingratiate himselfe into their blessed communion by all ingagements and obligations of a comfortable fruitfull and constant fellowship in the Gospell By an humble mutuall entercourse and communication of holy conference heavenly counsell spirituall encouragements consideration one of another confirmation in grace and in assurance of meeting in heaven c. resolved to live and die with these neglected happy Ones in all faire and faithfull correspondence sweetest offices of Christianity and constant cleaving to the Lord Iesus and his glorious cause Nay assured to raigne with them hereafter everlastingly in fullnesse and height of all glory joy and blisse For if once this divine flame of brotherly love bee kindled by the Holy-ghost in the hearts of true hearted Christians one towards another it hath this propertie and priviledge above all other loves that it is never after put out or quenched but burnes in their brests with much affectionate fervor with mutuall warmth of dearest sweetenes here upon earth and shall blaze eternaly with Seraphicall heate in the highest heavens hereafter In the meane time he makes cōscience of sympathizing both with their felicities and miseries His heart is enlarged with lightsomenesse or eclipsed with griefe as hee heares of the prosperity or oppression of Gods people I the rather here mention this marke of the true convert because it is so much required nay infinitely exacted at our hands in these heavy times of the Church And therefore may bee to every one of us an evident Touch-stone to try whether our profession bee vitall or formall If those terrours which I have heretofore many times threatned out of Gods Booke against all those pittilesse and hard-hearted Caniballs which take not the present troubles of the Church to heart upon purpose to breake in pieces those flinty Rockes which dwel in some mens brests and to drive us all to compassionatenesse prayer dayes of humiliation and parting from our evill wayes I say if they have beene thought by any to have been pressed too precisely and peremptorily heare what I have since seene in Austin and what a peremptory censure hee doth passe upon those who want a fellow-feeling in such a case If thou hast this fellow-feeling thou art of that blessed body and brotherhood if not thou art not And here can I hardly hold but were it incident I should desire to cry out with a voice lifted vp like a trumpet against all those prophane Esaus swinish Gadarens senselesse Earth-wormes who all this while that so many noble limbes of that great blessed body of the Reformed Churches have laine in teares and bloud did never take to heart to any purpose or trouble themselves at all with their grievous troubles but have sottishly and securely laine at ease in Zion liable to that horrible curse denounced against Meroz Curse yee Meroz sayd the Angell of the Lord curse yee bitterly the Inhabitants thereof because they came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty Iudg. 5.23 They have not helped the people of God so much as with any hearty fellow-feeling wrastling with God in praier set daies to seeke the returne of Gods face and favour c. Men they are of the World which have their portiō in this life who feele nothing but worldly losses know nothing but earthly sorrowes rellish nothing but things of sense If they be stung with a deare yeare rot of cattel losse by surety-ship ship-wrack robbery fire c. they houle and take-on immoderately But let Ioseph bee afflicted Gods people in disgrace the Ministry hazarded Christ spouse sit in the dust the Daughter of Zion weepe bitterly and have none to comfort her c. And these mercilesse mē are no whit moved They have not a teare a groane or sigh to spend in such a ruful case Whereby they infallibly remonstrate unto their owne consciences that they are no living members of Christs mysticall body have no part in the holy fellowship of the Saints no spark of spiritual
life no acquaintance at all with the waies of God but continue cursedly carelesse what becomes of the Gospell or Gods children so that they may rise grow rich and sleepe in a whole skinne 8. By this time now is he become the drunkards song table-talke to those that sit in the gate Musicke to great men at their feasts a By-word to the children of fooles and the children of villaines men viler then the earth whose fathers hee would have disdained to have set with the doggs of his flocke And what then Even thus they dealt with David Iob Ieremie Nay they told the Sonne of God himselfe in whom the Godhead dwelt bodily that he was a Samaritane and had a Devill What man of braine then that gives his name to Christ and lookes to bee saved will looke for exemption Especially sith all the contumelies and contemptes all those nick-names of Puritan Precisian Hypocrite Humorist Factionist c. with which lewd tongues are woont to load the Saints of God are so many honourable badges of their worthy deportment in the holy path and resolute standing on the Lords side Some noble Romans having done some singular service to the state and after troubled and handled violently in some privat Cases were woont to bare their bodies and to shew in open court the scars and impressions of those woundes which they had received in their Countries cause as characters of speciall honour and strongest motives to commiseration So many lying imputations unworthy usages and persecutions in any kinde for profession of godlinesse which the faithfull Christian shall bring to the Iudgement seate of Christ so many glorious and roiall representations of excellency of spirit and height of courage in Christian causes shall they bee accounted in the sight and censure of almighty God and the blessed Angels and make him more amiable and admirable in the face of heaven and earth Thus much of the Theorie as it were I come now to the Practicke part To a particular application of some speciall soveraigne Antidotes to the most grievous ordinary maladies incident to the soules of the Saints But first give mee leave to premise some generall well-heads out of which do spring abundance of comfort and overflowing rivers of refreshing for all intents and effects in point of temptation and trouble of minde 1. And first take a fruitfull cluster and heavenly heape of them together those twelve heads of extraordinary immeasurable comfortable matter for spirituall medicines which I have heretofore erected as so many invincible bulwarkes against all assaults of despaire oppositions of Satan exceptions of distrust 1. The infinitenesse of Gods mercy sweetely intimated Isa. 55.6.7.8 The mercy of God is like himselfe infinite All our sinnes are finite both in number and nature Now betweene finite and infinite there is no proportion and so no possibility of resistance And therefore bee thy sinnes never so notorious and numberlesse yet in a truly broken heart thirsting for and throwing it selfe upon Christ unfainedly resolving upon new-obedience and his glorious service for the time to come can no more withstand or stand before Gods mercies then a little sparke the boundlesse and mighty Ocean throwne into the midst of it nay infinitely lesse If all the sinnes that all the Sonnes and daughters of Adam have committed since the Creation to this time were all upon one soule yet so affected as I have sayd and put into such a new penitent gracious temper it should be most certainly upon good ground and everlastingly safe I speake not thus to make any secure for any one sinne pleasing and raigning will ruine a soule for ever But to assure of mercy enough how great or many so ever the sinnes haue been if the heart bee now truly humbled for them all and wholly turned heaven-ward 2. The unvaluablenesse of Christs meritorious blood Which is call'd the blood of God and therefore of inestimable price Vnderstand mee aright It was the blood of God not of the God-head but of him who was both God and man For the man-hood of Christ was received into the union of the second person And so it may bee called the blood of God for so speakes S. Paul Act. 20.28 God purchased his Church with his owne blood that is Christ God incarnate Our Devines expresse it thus It was the Sonne of God and Lord of life that died for us upon the Crosse but it was the nature of man not of God wherein he died and it was the nature of God and infinite excellency of the same whence the price valew and worth of his passion grew This blessed blood then is of infinite efficacie and therefore if thou be now turning to the Lord assure thy selfe whatsoever thy sinnes have beene they have not out-gone the price that hath been payd for them This blood upon repentance did take off the transcendent scarlet guilt from the soules even of those that shed it Act. 2. c. 3. The riches of the Word in affording precedents of the Saints and of the Sonne of God himselfe who have surpassed thee and that perhaps very farre in any kinde of miserie thou canst name Thou art perhaps consulting with the Prodigall to come-in but there comes terribly into thy minde the extraordinary hainousnesse of thy former sinnes and that hinders Cast thine eie then upon Manasses a man of prodigious impiety and matchlesse villany Hee shed innocent blood very much till hee had filled Ierusalem from one end to another Hee did that which was evill in the sight of the Lord like unto the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel Hee caused his children to passe through the firâ—â— in the valley of the sonne of Hinnom also Hee observed times and used inchantments and used witch-craft and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizzards Hee wrought much evill in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger c. And yet this great sinner humbling himselfe greatly before the God of his Fathers was received to mercy Suppose which yet were a horrible thing that after conversion by extraordinary violence of temptation strong in-snarement of some sudden sensuall offer and opportunity treacherous insinuation of thy owne false heart and furious re-assault of thy former bosome-sin Thou shouldest be overtaken grossely with some grievous sin and scandalous fal and then upon illumination remorse and meditation of returne reason thus within thy selfe Alas what shall I doe now I have undone all I have wofully againe defiled my soule so fairely washed in my Saviours blood with that dis-avowed sinne of my unregenerate time I have shamed my profession disgraced religion for ever I have broke my vowes lost my peace and my woonted blessed communion with my God c. And therefore what hope can I have of any acceptation againe at the Throne of grace I say in this case to keepe thee
Mercifull and 2 Gracious 3 Long-suffering and abundant in 4 Goodnesse and 5 Truth 6 Keeping mercy for thousands 7 Forgiving iniquity transgression and sinne In which there are implyed un-answerable replies to all the scruples doubts exceptions objections which may arise in a troubled soule 1. Thou sayest perhaps that thou art plunged into the depth of extremest spirituall misery both in respect of sâ—â—fulnesse and cursednesse The present sense whereof is ready to sinke thee into despaire Be it so Then take my counsell in this Case Cast thine eye upon the first and fairest flowre in this heavenly-glorious Garland of divine goodnesse And thou shalt finde a fame greater depth of mercy ready to swallow up thy depth of misery The mercy of God and misery in this kind are relatives No misery no mercy much misery much mercy transcendent misery transcendent mercy the onely difference is the mercy of God is infinite thy misery finite And therefore how much spirituall misery soever thou bringest in a broken heart to the Throne of grace Gods bountifull hand will weigh out to thee a proportionable measure of mercy nay a measure without measure super-abundant running-over For where misery in a truly humbled soule aboundeth there mercy doth much more abound 2. Or suppose that at thy first turning unto God tho truly humbled yet thou art tempted not to take Christ out of this ccoÌ„eit because thou art but euen now come out of hell and horrible courses and as yet hast no good thing in thee at all Or after some progresse in Christianity reflecting in time of temptation upon thy whole carriage since conversion and finding it to have been so fruitlesse and full of failings Thou concludest thy selfe in thy present feeling to be extremely vile of a very doubtfull state for thy soule if not stark naught That no Professour upon earth walkes so unworthily and if Ministers knew thy heart and weake performance of holy duties they would not bee so forward to presse comfort upon thee c. I say in these two cases and the like it is a great happinesse and sweetest comfort that the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth hath proclaimed himselfe to bee Gracious which imports thus much to poure out abundance of extraordinary bounty upon a most undeserving partie To place dearest affection and desire of doing good there where there is no desert at all As if a King to make his royall favours more illustrious should raise a worthlesse Wretch a most contemptible Vassal to be his worthiâ—â—â— Favorite highest in his love And therefore bring 〈◊〉 to the Throne of Grace but a true sense of thy misery a syncere thirst for mercy an humble acknowledgement of thine unworthinesse and God hereupon for his Christs sake will thinke thee worthy of the riches of his grace the righteousnesse of his Son all the promises in his Booke all the comforts of his Spirit a Crowne of immortality and blisse For hee is gracious and an universall glorious confluence of blessednesse in all kinds is promised to poverty in spirit and shal most certainely to the vtmost bee made good unto it for ever 3. But alas I saith an other have most wretchedly mis-spent the flower and strength of mine age in vanity and pleasure in lewdnesse and lust The best of my time hath been wofully wasted in Satans notorious service and sensuall serving my selfe c. And therefore tho I bee now weary of my former waies and looke backe upon them with a trembling heart and grieved spirit yet I am affraid that God hath given over looking after mee that His patience towards mee is expired and my day of visitation out-stood And that he will not vouchsafe to cast his eye of compassion upon such a Blackamore Leopard as I am so overgrowne with corruption and growne old in sinne especially having so long neglected so great salvation forsaken mine owne mercy so long and so unthankefully despised the riches of his goodnesse and forbearance leading mee to repentance I confesse it is something rare to see men gone-on so long and growne old in sinne to returne and give way to any saving worke of the Ministry because too often in the meane time they so harden their hearts that they cannot repent yet notwithstanding bee thou assured in the Word of life and truth if now at length thou be truly touched indeed and will come-in in earnest the Father of mercies will receive thee freely to mercy and embrace thy bleeding soule in the armes of his everlasting love through Christ. For it is a title of highest honour unto him to be long-suffering Hee all this while waited that hee might bee gracious unto thee And now undoubtedly upon thy first resolution to returne in truth hee will meete thee with infinitely more compassionate affectionatenesse then the Father in the Gospell his Prodigall who when hee was a great way off his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neckâ— and kissed him c. 4. Yea but saith an other Though I have been a Professour long yet many times my heart is full heavy and more loth to beleive when I seriously and sensibly call to minde the hainousnesse of my unregenerate time and see in my selfe besides since I was illightned and should have behaved my selfe in forwardnesse and fruitfullnesse for God answerably to my former folly and furiousnesse in evill so many defects and imperfections every day and such weake distracted discharging of commanded duties both to God and man Take then counsell and comfort in this Case by casting thine eye upon Gods kindnesse He is abundant in kindnesse which hath these foure pretious properties First To bee easily intreated Secondly To be intreated for the greatest Thirdly to passe by involuntary infirmities Fourthly to accept gratiously weake services Even â— fraile man if of a more noble generous and kind disposition will bee easily appeased for the unpurposed offences errours and over-sights and well pleased with the good will syncere indeavours and utmost especially of those who hee knowes to bee true-hearted unto him and desire heartily if they were able to doe all hee desires even to the height of exactnesse and expectation How much more then will our heavenly Father deale so with his children who is in himselfe essentially kinde and infinitely 5. Yea but saist thou many times when I reach 〈◊〉 the hand of my faith to fetch some speciall promise into my soule for refreshing and comfort and weighing them well and comparing advisedly my owne nothingnesse worthlesnesse vilenesse with the riches of mercy grace and glory shining in it and marking the dis-proportion I am overwhelmed with admiration and astonishment and to tell you true say sometimes to my selfe Is it possible that this should be so That so glorious things should belong to such a wretch and worme as I am But turning thine eye from a distrustfull and too much dejected dwelling upon thine owne
by their holy Duties good workes and gracious behaviour make his Name more illustrious in the world But what is this to that essentiall infinite everlasting glory which was as great and full in all that former eternity before the world was When God blessed for ever enjoyed onely His glorious Selfe Angels Men and this great Vniverse lying all hid as yet in the darke abhorred Dungeon of Nothing as now it is or ere shall bee 2. A second reason may bee taken from Gods proportionable proceeding in his courses of justice and mercy In his executions of Iustice and inflictions of punishment He interprets and censures desires for the deeds affections for Actions Thoughts for the things done Whosoever saith Christ looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart In Gods interpretation in the search and censure of divine justice Hee that lusts after a Woman in his heart is an adulterer and without true and timely repentance in the meane time shall bee so taken and proceeded against at that great and last Day Whosoever hateth his Brother saith Iohn is a man-slayer An hateful thought of our Brother murthers Him and spils his blood by the verdict of the blessed Spirit And a malicious man at the Barre of God goes for a Man-slaier If this then bee Gods property and proceeding in justice wee may much more confidently expect Nay with reverent humility challenge way beeing made by the mediation of Christ the same proportionable measure in those His most sweet and lovely inclinations and expressions of mercy Shall a lewde desire after a woman fall under the Axe of Gods justice as if it were the grosse Actâ— of lust And shall not a longing desire after grace bee graciously embraced in the armes of mercy as the grace it selfe Shall an angry thought invisible immaterial hurtfull only to the heart which harbours it be charged with actuall bloodshed And shall not a panting thirst of a broken and bleeding Soule after Christs saving and sanctifying blood bee bath'd and refresht in his pretious blood Yes certainely and much rather For Gods tender mercies are over all his workes Psal. 145.9 And mercy with an holy exultation triumpheth and reioyceth against iudgement Iam. 2.13 His mercy is great unto the Heavens Psal. 57.10 Hee doth with much sweet contentment and as it were naturall propension encline to the gracious effusions of mercy Hee delighteth in mercy saith Micah Cap. 7.18 Hee is passingly pleaâ—ed and exalted most gloriously when Hee is pardoning of sinnes purging of Soules pulling out of the Divels Paw pouring in of grace shining into sad and uncomfortable hearts saving from Hell c. This makes Him so passionate in an holy sense when Hee hath no Passage for his love Deus 5.29 Psal. 81.13 Isa. 48.18 Mat. 23.37 Luk. 19.41.42 But now on the other side Hee is hardly drawne not without much reluctancy delaies forbearance and as it were some kinde of violence offered by excesse of multiplyed rebellious provocations to exercise His justice and to punish for sinne See 2. Chron. 36.16 Hos. 6.4 c. It appeares Zeph. 2.2 by the emphasis of the Original that in this respect in a right and sober sense God is like a woman with Childe When the cry of our sinnes comes first to Heaven Hee doth not presently poure upon our heads fire and Brimstone according to our desert But as loth to enter into judgement with us Hee then but begins to conceive as it were wrath which Hee beares or rather forbeares full many and many a moneth still waiting when upon our repentance Hee might bee gracious unto us untill it come to that ripenesse by the fullnesse and intolerable waight of our sinnes that Hee can possibly beare no longer And then also when Hee is about to bee delivered of his justly conceived and long-forborne vengeance Marke how Hee goes about it Ah! saies Hee c. Isa. 1.24 This aspiration argues a compassionate Pang of griefe speaking after the manner of men to proceede against His owne people tho they had provoked Him as enemies How shall I give thee up Ephrâ—im How shall I deliver thee Israel How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zebâ—im Mine heart is turned within mee my repentings are kindled together Hos. 11.9 When Hee came against Sodome and Gomorrah the most prodigiously wicked people that ever the Earth bore What a miracle of mercy was it that He should be brought so low as to say I will not destroy it for tennes sake Gen. 18.32 So it is then that mercy flowes naturally and easily from God and he is most forward and free-hearted in granting Pardons and receiving into grace and favour But justice is ever as it were violently with cart-ropes of iniquity pul'd from Him He is pressed with our sinnes as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaues before wee wring from Him the vials of just wrath and wrest out of His hands the Arrowes of deserved indignation That you erre not in this Point conceive that both Gods mercy and iustice are originally and fundamentally as God Himselfe infinite Both of the same length height bredth and depth that is equally endlesse boundlesse botomlesse unsearchable Yet if wee consider the exercise and execution of them amongst the creatures and abroad in the world Mercy that sweetest Attribute and most pretious baulme to all bruised hearts doth farre surpasse and out-shine the other tho incomparable excellencies of His divine nature and all the perfections which accompany the greatnesse of God As appeares Exod. 20.5.6 Gen. 18.32 Ioel. 2.43 Ionah 4.2 Psal. 36. and 103. 2. Chron. 21.13 His influences and beames of mercy are fairely and plentifully shed into the bosome of every Creature and shine gloriously over all the earth even from one end of Heaven to the other The whole world is thicke set and richly embroidered as it were with wonderfull variety of impressions and Passages of his goodnesse and bounty In this great Volume of Nature round about us wee may runne and reade the deepe Prints and large Characters of kindnesse and love which His mercifull and munificent hand hath left in all Places in every leafe and Page and line of it If mercy then bee so graciously magnified over all his workes we may more strongly build upon it That if the hand of Iustice seize upon an hatefull thought as a murtherer and stained with blood and arraigne a lustfull conceite as guilty of adultery and actuall pollution His armes of mercy will most certainely embrace and accept of a syncere desire for the deed done of hearty affections for the Actions and of a grieved spirit for the grace it groanes for Yea but may some say If mercy bee so faire a flower in the garland of Gods incomprehensible greatnesse if it so farre excell his other Attributes in amiablenesse amongst His creatures How comes it to passe That the
confidence as it was woont So that for a time Thou mayst lie under the torture of an heavy heart uncheerfullnesse in all thy waies and some degree of horrour because thou canst get no better hold-fast But more is thy fault For never did dearest Father so lovingly entertaine into His greedy armes a penitent Sonne returning from going astray then our mercifull God upon thy renewed humiliation is willing to shine upon thee againe with the refreshing beames and blessings of his woonted favour Yet tell mee true deare Heart Tho for the present that precious and happy prayer of Paul for the Romanes The God of hope fill you with all ioy and peace in beleeving be not fulfilled upon thy Soule Tho thy former joyfull feelings bee turned into distrustfull feares yet doth not that heavy heart of thine desire farre more to bee re-comforted with the presence and pleased face of thy Beloved then crowned with the glory and pleasures of many worlds Wouldest thou not much rather feele the hand of thy Faith fastned againe with peace and full perswasion upon the Person Passion and promises of the Lord Iesus then graspe in thy bodily hand the richest Imperiall Crowne that ever sate upon any Caesars head If Satans spitefull craft taking a cruell advantage of thy present dejection of spirit doe not hinder thy trembling heart from telling the truth I know thou canst not deny this And then I must tell Thee These hearty longings and longing desires in the meane time untill God give more strength be right deare to that tender-hearted Father of thine which doth infinitely more esteeme one groane or sigh from a broken spirit then a thousand rammes or tenne thousand rivers of oyle and are most pretious and piercing to that compassionate heart that poured out it's warmest and dearest blood to purchase the salvation and refresh the sadnesse of every truly-humbled Soule Ground upon it then and bee of good cheere If thy troubled spirit fild with the sense of the want of it's former sweet and joyfull feelings finde in it selfe a true and hearty longing after the supply of that want a constant and conscionable pursuite of all holy meanes for the procurement of that supply I can assure Thee in the Word of life and truth in Gods season Thou shalt bee satisfyed Hee will fullfill the desires of them that feare Him Hee also will heare their cry and will save them And this blessed promise for the accomplishment of thy desire is as surely thine as the breath in thy Body Hee must sooner cease to bee God and deny Himselfe which is more then infinitely impossible and prodigious blasphemy to imagine then faile in the least circumstance or syllable of all His love and promises of life to any One that heartily loves Him All the sacred Sayings in His holy Booke and all those promises of salvation are signed with the hand of Truth it selfe and sealed with the blood of His beloved Sonne And so are farre surer then the Pillars of the Earth or Poles of Heaven For Heaven and Earth must passe away before any title of His Word fall unto the ground And therefore as Hee will most certainly poure upon the hairy Pate of every One which hates to bee reformed all the plagues and curses threatned there even to the least sparke of the flames of Hell and the last drop of the full vials of His infinite endlesse unquenchable wrath so will Hee abundantly make good to every upright Soule syncerely thirsting after Iesus Christ in the best time all the promised good in His blessed Booke and that aboue all expectation expression conceit 4. Fourthly Thou mayst bee diversly distressed upon thy Bed of death 1. Casting thine eye backe upon thy whole life all thy sinnes from Adam to that houre and willing as thou must now take thy farewell so to take thy fill of repentance They appeare to the eie of thy conscience farre moe in number and more ougly then ever before And no marvaile for beeing now sequestred for ever from all worldly comforts and company distractions and diversions and the cloudes of naturall feare raised by the dreadfull circumstances of approaching dissolution uniting as it were and collecting the sight of thy Soule which imploiments in the world commerce amongst men and Sunne-shine of outward prosperity did before too much disperse dazle and divert they are represented farre more to the life and in their true colours Whereupon comparing the poore weake nothingnesse as thou now apprehends of thy godly sorrow hatred and opposition against them with thy present apprehension of their hainousnesse hatefulnesse and horrible number Thou begins to bee dejected and knowest not well what to thinke of thy Selfe I say then for thy comfort consult with thy sanctified heart and thou shalt finde and feele an infinite hearty desire that thy repentance for them detestatiō of them and heart-rising against them had been and now were as thorow sound and resolute as ever was in any penitent Soule that breathed the life of grace upon earth 2. Secondly Revising now thy whole Christian conversation spending of Sabbaths pouring out prayers reading Scriptures hearing the Word love of the Brethren dayes of humiliation workes of mercy receiving the Sacrament godly conference living by Faith in all estates c. Thou mayst see them in this last impartiall cleare retired examination of thy conscience to have been pestered with so many failings imperfections deadnesse of spirit distractions distempers that thou begins to feare and conceive As well never a whit as never the better as they say c. In this case also reflect upon the holy habituall disposition of thy heart and thou shalt feele it thirsting and longing unfainedly that all the holy duties and good deeds that ever passed thorow thy heart and hands had been done in answerable exactnesse to the rules of divine Truth and if it had so pleased God with absolute freedome from all infirmities 3. Thirdly Thou mayst bee troubled at that time because beeing perhaps as yet but of little standing in Profession thou hast done God so little service and in that short time hast not stood on Gods side with that courage and life nor walked in his holy wayes with that watchfulnesse and Zeale as thou mightest And it cuts thy heart the more because thou spent so much of thy time in serving thy selfe and Satan and expectest now to enjoy immortall joyes and a Crowne of endlesse blisse But here is thy comfort It is the unfained desire and resolution of thine heart If the Lord would bee pleased to allow Thee a longer time in this life and adde many moe yeeres unto it Thou wouldest double thy diligence and improove all oportunities to doe thy God every way farre more glorious service then heretofore all the daies of thine appointed time Oh! then thou wouldest doe so and so c. Assure now thy selfe in these three cases and troubles upon thy last Bed this syncere desire of thine
comest with thy cost Whereas God ever gives His Sonne freely and bids thee come and welcome and buy without money and without price Obiect 2. But will it not bee presumption in mee having no good thing in mee at all to bring with mee but comming now as it were fresh out of Hell from a most wicked impure abominable life to take Christ as mine owne and all those rich and pretious promises sealed with his blood Answ. Enough hath been already said to meete with this objection It is not presumption but good manners to come when thou art called How can Hee bee said to presume who is both invited and intreated commanded and threatned to come in c. Of which see before Thou must now in this extreme spirituall thirst of thine drinke of the water of life so freely offered that thou mayst receive some heavenly strength to bee good and power to become the Sonne of God Thou must throw thy sinfull Soule upon Iesus Christ bleeding and breathing out his last upon the Crosse as the Body of the Shunamites Childe was applyed to the Prophet stretching himselfe upon it That thou mayst thereby bee quickened with desired fruitfulnesse filled by little and little with all the fulnesse of God receiving grace for grace I am the resurrection and the life saith Christ Hee that believeth in me tho He were dead yet shall Hee live It were execrable presumption for any Man who purposeth to goe on in the willing practise or allowance of any one knowne sinne to believe that Christ is His righteousnesse and sanctification But where all sin is a Burden every promise as a world of gold and the heart syncere for a new way there a Man may be bold For thee to have pretended part in Christ wallowing yet in thy sinnes had been horrible presumption indeed and for mee to have applyed the Promises and preached peace unto thy remorselesse conscience before the Pangs of the New-birth had seazed upon thee had been damnable dawbing But in the Case I now suppose Thee to bee it is both seasonable and surely grounded for mee to assure thee of acceptation and pardon and for thee to receive Iesus Christ without any more adoe into the armes of thy humbled Soule 2. His sweet Name Exod. 34.6.7 Wherein is prevented whatsoever may any wayes bee pretended for standing out in this Case as appeares fully before pag. 415. line 25. 3. His glorious Attributes 1. His Truth Hee that believeth hath set to His Seale that God is true Ioh. 3.33 He that labours and is heavy laden with the burden of sin comes to Christ for case when Hee is called takes Him for his Saviour and His Lord and thereupon grounds a resolute unshaken and everlasting confidence that hee is His for ever puts to his Seale that Christ is true that His pretious promise Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Mat. 11.28 is inviolable Whereby Christ Iesus blessed for ever is mightily honoured His truth glorified and thine owne soule with extraordinary blessednesse everlastingly enlived But Hee now that retires in this Case and holds off makes Him who is Truth it selfe a lyar Hee that believeth not God hath made Him a Lyar 1. Ioh. 5.10 Now what a fearefull indignity is this against the Lord God of Truth Wee see too often how miserable mortall men wormes of the earth take such an affront at the hands one of another For many times for the Lie given them they throw themselves desperately upon the irrecoverable ruine of their lives states soules and posterity by chalenging the field and killing each other Which dishonour to the mighty Lord of heaven and earth is the greater and is much aggravated by the infinite infallibility of the promises For besides His Word which were more then immeasurably sufficient Hee hath added a most solemne Oath for our sakes that wee might have greater assurance and stronger consolation 2. His Mercy most directly and specially And to say nothing of the freenesse of His mercy which springs onely out of the riches of his infinite bounty and the good pleasure of His will of his readinesse to forgive otherwise the death of Christ should bee of none effect His blood shed in vaine the greatest worke lost that ever was done of His delight in mercy Mich. 7.18 Mercy in man is a quality in God it is His nature and essence Now what wee doe naturally wee doe willingly readily unweariedly As the eye is not weary of seeing the eare with hearing c. A Bee gives honey naturally never stings but provoked When God is angry it is but as it were by accident upon occasion drawne unto it by the violent importunity of our multiplied provocations but Hee delights in mercy c. I say to say nothing of these this one consideration may convince us of extreme folly in refusing mercy in such a Case for all the hainousnesse or number of our sinnes to wit That no sinnes either for number or notoriousnesse in a truly broken heart can make so much resistance to Gods infinite mercies as the least sparke of fire to the whole Sea and that is little enough Nay as infinitely lesse as an infinite thing exceedes a finite Betweene which there is no proportion 3. His Power For thou art very like thus or in the like manner to reason within thy selfe and cavill cruelly against thine owne Soule Alas what talke you of taking Christ the promises of life and heavenly lightsomnesse my poore heart is as darke as the very middle of Hell much harder then a Rocke of Adamant as cold and dead as the senselesse Center of the earth as uncomfortable and restlesse almost as desperation it selfe c. It is more then infinitely impossible that such a darke hard dead comfortlesse Thing should ever bee enlightened softened quickened and established with joy c. But marke how herein thou unadvisedly under-valewes and unworthily sets bounds to the unlimited power of God Whereas thou shouldest imitate Abraham the Father of all them that believe who staggered not at the Promise of God through unbeliefe but was strong in faith giving glory to God And beeing fully perswaded that what Hee had promised Hee was able also to performe Rom. 4.20.21 Bee advised in this Case 1. To compare these two things together The making of the seven Starres and Orion and turning the shadow of death into the morning And the infusion of heavenly light into thy darke and heavy heart And doest thou not think that the second is as easie as the first to the same Omnipotent hand Nay it is easier in our conceit to the Divine Majesty nothing is difficult or un-easie For those glorious shining Constellations were created of nothing and nothing hath no disposition to any Beeing at all much lesse to any particular existence But a Soule sensible and weary of it's spirituall darknesse is
I think in such a Case it may be convenient and that such an One hath thereupon some cause and Calling seriously and impartially to search and trie His spirituall state For which purpose ponder seriously upon such considerations as these some of which may discover unsoundnesse Others His unadvisednesse 1. It may bee the Party is not yet come in truth to that sound humiliation contrition spirituall thirsting resolution to sell all c. required by the reverend Author in that most profitable and piercing Doctrine of Faith quoted before but onely hath passed over them overly not soundly superficially not syncerely and then no marvell tho no true and reall comfort come Informe thy selfe further in this Point and that thou mayst more fully know my meaning in it and be guided aright in a marter of so great waight Ibid. Cap. 2. Of the Author and meanes of Faith And Cap. 5. Of the difficulty of Faith pag. 284 c. 2. Or it may bee howsoever Hee protest otherwise and for all His partiall Legall terrour and trouble of minde His deceitfull heart may still secretly harbour and hanker after some sweet sinne as Pride Revenge strange Fashions Worldlinesse Lust Playes Gaming Good-fellowship as it is call'd c. From which it doth not heartily yeeld resolve and endeavour to make an utter and finall cessation and divorce And assuredly that false heart which regards and allowes any wickednesse in it selfe howsoever it may be deluded with some Anabaptisticall flashes yet shall never bee truly refreshed with ioy in the holy Ghost 3. It may bee tho there was some probable and plausible shewes that the Party was principally cast downe and affected with the heavy waight of sin and horrour of Gods wrath for it yet the true predominant cause of His heavinesse harts-griefe and bitterest complaint was some secret earthly discontentment the restlesse biting of some worldly sting And in such Cases remove this and you remove His paine Comfort Him about his Crosse and you set Him where Hee was And therefore as in all this He continues a meere stranger in affection to the sweetnesse amiablenesse and excellency of Iesus Christ so it is impossible that Hee should bee acquainted with any sound spirituall comfort But I will suppose all to bee syncere and as it should bee Let mee advise Thee then to take notice of thine unadvisednesse 1. Thou art perhaps so full of the want of feeling such a stranger to so much expected and desired ioy and peace in believing and by consequent so drowned in the unnecessary distractions and distempers of a sad heart that thou utterly forgets to give thankes and magnifie Gods singular and incomprehensible mercy for illightening convincing and terrifying thy conscience offering his Sonne raising in thine heart an insatiable thirst after Him and giving Thee spirituall abilitie to rest thy weary Soule upon Him And who knowes not that unthankfulnesse keepes many good things from us and is an unhappy blocke in the way to intercept and hinder the comfortable influence and current of God favours and mercies from being showred downe so frankly and plentifully upon His people And Hee is more likely to bee the more provoked in this Case because thou suffers thine heart to bee lockt up and thy Tongue tied by Satans cunning and cruell malice from praysing the glory of Gods free grace for such a worke of wonder I meane that mighty Change of thine from nature to grace in extolling of which were all the hearts and tongues of all the Men and Angels in Heaven and Earth set on worke industriously thorow all eternitie they would still come infinitely short of that which is due and deserved 2. Or it may be when some One of a thousand upon thy complaint that no comfort comes doth seriously labour to settle thine heart in peace pressing upon Thee for that purpose invincible and unanswer-able Arguments out of the Word of Truth to open it wide that over-flowing Rivers of Evangelicall joyes which may spring to Him that is advised and believes the Prophets abundantly even from the weakest Faith to refresh and comfort it Telling thee that as thine humbled Soule learning upon Christ drawes much heavenly vertue mortifying power and sanctifying grace from him so it may and ought also to draw abundance of spirituall lightsomnesse from that ever-springing Fountaine of life c. Yet notwithstanding all this thou suffers some malicious counter-blasts and contrary suggestions of the Divell to disperse and frustrate all these well-grounded and glorious Messages And therefore it is just with God that thou fare the worse at his hands and fall short of thine expectation because thou gives more credit to the Father of Lyes then the Lord of Truth Sith thou spills all the Cordials that are tendered unto thee in the Name of Christ by His faithfull Physicions thou art deservedly destitute of comfort still Many in such Cases while Gods Messenger who can rightly declare His wayes unto them stands by opening and applying the rich treasures of Gods free mercy in the mysterie of the Gospell and with present replies repelling Satans cavils are reasonably well cheared and revived But when Hee is gone they very weakely and unworthily give way againe to that foule lying Fiend to cast a dis-comfortable mist over the tender eye of their weake Faith and to domineere as Hee did before Tell mee true If thou wert in doubt and distresse about thy temporall state Tenure of thy Lands soundnesse of thy evidence Wouldest thou advise with and take counsell from a Foole a Knaue and an enemy or wouldest Thou make choise of an honest wise understanding Friend I doubt not of thine Answer And wilt thou then so farre disparage divne truth gratifie Hell and hurt thine owne heart as in that waightiest Point of thy spirituall state to consult and resolve with the Divell a Liar a Murtherer and sworne enemy to Gods glory and thy Soules good And neglect God Himselfe blessed for ever speaking unto Thee out of His Word by that Minister which in such a Case durst not falsify or flatter Thee for a World of gold Shall many thousands of worldly-wise men give credit very readily and roundly to Dawbers with untempered morter upon a false and rotten foundation to the most certaine and eternall ruine of their Soules And shall not an humble and upright-hearted Man believe the Prophet upon good ground that the bones which the heavy burden of sinne hath broken may reioyce God forbid 3. Nay but suppose the Party bee truly humbled very thankefull resolute against all sinne labour to believe the Prophets c. And yet no comfort come I say then there is an other Duty expected at thy hands right pretious and pleasing unto God And that is waiting By which God would 1. Set yet a sharper edge and eagernesse more hungring and thirsting greater longing and panting after the ravishing sweetnesse of His comfortable presence with which melting earnest crying dispositions Hee
stampt upon His Soule by an Almighty hand A worke for wonder and power answerable if not transcendent to the Creation of the World To the production whereof the infinite mercies of the Father of all mercy the warmest hearts-blood of His onely Sonne the mightiest Moouing of the blessed Spirit were required Now what an indignity and disparagement is offered unto so glorious a Workeman and blessed a worke to assent and subscribe unto the Divell a knowne Liar that there is no such Thing 4. To double and aggravate upon the Christian the grievous sinne of unbeliefe Not to believe the Promises as they lie in His Booke is an unworthy and wicked wrong unto the Truth of God But for a Man to draw backe and deny when they are all made good upon His Soule makes Him worse then Thomas the Apostle For when He had thrust His hand into Christs side Hee believed But in the present Case a Man is ready to renounce and disclaime Tho Hee have already graspt in the armes of His Faith the crucified bleeding Body of His blessed Redeemer The sacred and saving vertue whereof hath inspired into the whole Man a new spirituall sanctifying life and a sensible un-deniable change from what it was 5. To discontinue or detaine the heart lock't up as it were in a perpetuall barrennes from giving of thanks which is one of the noblest and most acceptable Sacrifice and service that is offered unto God Now what a mischiefe is this that an upright heart should bee laced up and His Tong tied by the Divels temptation from magnifying heartily the glory of Gods free grace for such a worke I meane the New-Creation at which Heaven and Earth Angels and Men and all Creatures may stand everlastingly amazed So sweet it is and admirable and makes an immortall Soule for ever But to keepe my selfe to the Point Those who complaine as I have said That because the pangs of their New-birth were not in that proportion they desire answerable to the hainousnesse of their former pestilent courses and abominablenesse of their beastly life before many times suspect themselves and are much troubled about the truth of their conversion may have their doubts and scruples encreased by taking notice of such propositions as these which Divines both ancient and moderne let fall sometimes in their Penitentiall Discourses Ordinarily men are wounded in their Consciences at their conversion answerably to the wickednesse of their former conversation Contrition in true Converts is for the most part proportionable to the hainousnesse of Their former courses The more wicked that thy former life hath been the more fervent and earnest let thy Repentance or returning bee Sorrow must bee proportionable to our sinnes The greater our sinne the fuller must bee our sorrow According to the waight of sinne upon the conscience ought penitent sorrow to bee waighty He that hath exceeded in sinne let Him exceede also in sorrow Looke how great our sinnes are let us so greatly lament them Let the minde of every One drinke up so much of the teares of penitent compunction as Hee remembers Himselfe to have withered from God by wickednesse Grievous sinnes require most grievous lamentations The measure of your mourning must bee agreeable and proportionable to the sinne And wee may see these rules represented unto us in the practise of Manasses who beeing a most grievous sinner 2. Chron. 33.6 Humbled Himselfe greatly before the God of His Fathers vers 12. In the Woman who is called a Sinner Luk. 7.37 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they say by a kinde of singularity and therefore takes on extraordinarily vers 38. So that she wipes Christs feete with teares In the idolatrous Israelites upon their turning unto the Lord 1. Sam. 7.4.6 who drew water and poured it out before the Lord. In the Hearers of Peter who having their consciences all bloody with the horrible guilt of crucifying the Lord of life Act 2.33.36 were pricked in their hearts vers 37. with such horrour and raging angvish as tho so many empoisoned daggers and Scorpions stings stucke and were fastned in them punctually In Paul who having been an hainous offender a grievous Persecuter Act. 9. whereas the other Apostles as One sayes had been honest and sober fisher-men tasted deeper of this cup then they For Hee tells us Rom. 7.11 That the Law slew Him Hee was strangely amazed with a voyce from Heaven strucke downe to the earth and starke blinde He trembled and was astonished For three daies Hee did neither eate nor drink c. Act. 9. And there is good reason for it For ordinarily the newly-illightened eye of a fresh-bleeding Conscience is very sharpe and cleare piercing and sightfull greedy to discover every staine and spot of the Soule To dive even to the heart-roote to the blackest bottome and ougliest nooke of a Mans former Hellish courses to looke backe with a curious survay thorow the pure Perspective of Gods righteous Law over his whole life to His very Birth-sinne and Adams rebellion And in this sad and heavy search it is very inquisitive after and apprehensive of all circumstances which may adde to the hainousnesse of sin and horrour to his heart It is quick-sighted into all aggravating considerations and quickly learnes and lookes upon all those wayes degrees and circumstances by which sins are made more notorious and hatefull And what the spirit of bondage in a fearefull heart may inferre hereupon you may easily iudge Now to the Case proposed I say first 1. That betweene sinne and sorrow wee cannot expect a precise adequation not an Arithmeticall but a Geometricall proportion Great sinnes should bee greatly lamented yet no sinne can bee sufficiently sorrowed for Tho it may bee savingly When wee say the pangs of the New-birth must bee answerable to our former sinnefull provocations wee meane not that wee can mourne for sinne according to it's merit that is impossible But great sinnes require a great deale of sorrow Wee must not thinke that wee have sorrowed enough for any sinne tho wee can never sorrow sufficiently Before I proceede to a further and fuller satisfaction in the Point let mee tell you by the way how discomfortable and doubtfull the Popish doctrine is here about that the truth of our Tenet may appeare the more pretious and taste more sweet Their Attrition and Contrition as I take it differ as our Legall and Evangelicall repentance 1. In respect of the object Contrition as they say is sorrow for sinne as an offence to God Attrition is a griefe for sinne as liable to punishment 2. In respect of the cause Contrition ariseth from sonne-like Attrition from servile feare See Valent. Disp. 7. Q. 8. De contrit punct 2. This Contrition is the cause of the remission of sinnes Bellar. lib. 2. de poenit cap. 12. Arb. At Catholici alij passim Well then thou art a Papist and troubled inconscience Thou knowest well that without
like Iehu in the pursuite of earthly pleasures and now creepe but slowly forward in the waies of God or if they begin to looke backe againe with some un-controled glances after disavowed delights and abandoned company c. I say in such Cases the Lord may withdraw Himself in displeasure leave them for a time to the terrours of their owne hearts all their old sinnes may returne to the eie of their consciences as unremitted c. That so their regeneration may be as it were regenerated their New-birth New-borne their sinnes new sorrowed for the hatefulnesse and horrour of their youthfull pollutions more hated and abhorred And in conclusion For all the worke and waies of God with His chosen are ever in love and for their good that the storme being disperst the comfortable beames of divine favour may shine more amiably upon them then ever before and by the effectuall stirring againe and stronger influence of the Spirit Spirituall life that was hid in the heart for a season may sprout out fresh spring and spread abroade more flourishingly and fruitfully for ever afterward 3. Thirdly For triall quickening and exercise of spirituall graces that they may put forth themselves with more power improovement and illustriousnesse The cold comfort of a desertion in this Case beeing unto them as water cast upon the Smiths Forge to make some of them especially to burne inwardly as it were in the meane time with more intention and heate and all afterward to breake out and flame more gloriously There are many gracious dispositions and endowments in the Christians heart which would never see the light at least with such eminency were it not for this darkenesse The brightnesse of lampes langvish in the light but they shine cleare in the darke the splendour and beavty of the Starres would never appeare were there no night You have heard of the patience of Iob saith Iames And wee reade also of his excellent Faith when Hee said Though Hee slay mee yet will I trust in Him But wee had neither heard of or admired the one or the other had He not been afflicted both with outward troubles and inward terrours It is the highest and most Heroicall Act of Faith and it is improov'd to the utmost and prooved steele to the backe as they say Then to trust in the Name of the Lord and to stay upon our God when wee walke in darkenesse and have no light God is best pleased and most honoured when wee rest upon Him without any sensible comfort I make no doubt but that admirable ejaculation of Iob Tho Hee slay mee c. did hold scale in Gods acceptation with all those innocencies integrities and gratious conformities to His holy Law blessed fruits I confesse of His invincible Faith enumerated Chap. 31. Nay did incomparably ouer-weigh them Abrahams believing against hope was far aboue and of infinite more worth with God then the sacrifice of His Sonne or all His other glorious services It is no such great matter or maistery to bee confident when wee are encouraged and hired as it were with ioy peace in believing but then to sticke to Christ and His sure Word when wee have against us sense and reason flesh and bloud feares and feeling Heaven and Earth and all Creatures That is the Faith indeed there is it's excellency there is the true and orient sparkling and splendour of that heavenly Iewell That prayer is truly fervent fullest of Spirit and enforced with most unutterable groanes which is poured out for the recovery of Gods pleased countenance after it hath been turned away from us for a time That love is most industrious and mighty groweth strong as death and into a most vehement â—lame which is enkindled in the upright soule when Her dearest Love is departed in respect of feeling and fruition Oh! then shee prizeth and praiseth His spirituall beauty and excellency as one exceedingly sicke of loue and takes on extremely As you may see Cant. 5.10 c. I opened to my Beloved but my Beloved had withdrawne Himselfe and was gone My soule failed when Hee spake I sought Him but I could not finde Him I called Him but Hee gave mee no Answer The Watchmen that went about the Citty found mee they smote mee they wounded mee The Keepers of the walls tooke away my vaile from me I charge you O Daughters of Ierusalem if yee finde my Beloved that yee tell Him that I am sicke of love What is thy beloved O thou fairest among Women What is thy Beloved more then another beloved that thou doest so charge us My Beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousands His head is as the most fine gold c. That thankefulnesse which springs from a sensible re-enjoyment of Iesus Christ and returne of the sense of the savour of His good ointments into the soule hath farre more heart and life then the free and full possession of all the visible glory and outward comfort of the whole world could possibly put into it That joy which makes our hearts leape within us upon the re-gaining of the woonted workings of grace and our heavenly feelings is much more joyfull then either that which followed the first taste or the after free enjoyment of them Excellent and extraordinary good things tasted and lost doe beget a farre greater sense of their sweetenesse and comfort upon their recovery then if they had been either never tasted or never lost That Sun-shine is most faire and amiable which breakes out after some boisterous storme or great Eclipse Restitution to sense of grace after some despairefull sadnesse for Gods departure may produce a deeper impression of spirituall pleasure in the recovered Patient then the first plantation of it Thus doth our gracious God who when Hee please can bring light out of darknesse life out of death something out of nothing Heaven out of Hell even come nearer unto us by departing from us By the dead winter-time of a spirituall desertion He may bring by His blessed hand of mercy and quickening influence more strength activenesse lively exercise and excellency into our graces and sweetest fruits thereof 4. Fourthly The ChristiaÌ„ as he growes in knowledge grace spirituall abilities forwardnes fruitfulnes further from His New-birth except Hee bee very watchfull over his heart much practised in the exercises of humiliation often exercised in the schoole of afflictions terrified sometimes with hideous injections and walke humbly with his God shall have by a slie and insensible insinuation privy pride to grow upon Him confidence in His owne strength too much attribution to the meanes a Selfe-conceit of an independant standing upon his owne Bottome as it were and by the power of his present graces And therefore our wise God doth sometimes take a course to take downe his selfe-confidence by with-drawing His countenance and to humble His spirituall presumption with a spirituall desertion I meane by taking from Him the sense of grace
other affrighting and stinging temptations Hee deales with them in this Case as Absalom with Ioab when Hee would not come at Him by sending once and againe Hee causes his servants to set His field of barley on fire and then there was no neede to bid him hie When inferiour miseries and other meanes will not doe it God sets as it were their Soules on fire with slames of horrour in one kinde or other and then they looke about them indeede with much care and feare searching and syncerity They seeke Him then with a Witnesse earnestly and early For afflictions of Soule are very soveraigne and have singular efficacy to stirre and quicken extraordinarily to weane quite from the world and keepe a Man close and clinging unto God How many tho perhaps they thinke not so would grow proud worldly Luke-warme cold in the use of the Ordinances Selfe-confident or something that they should not bee if they were not sometimes exercised with iniections of terrible thoughts By this fiery dart the Divell desires and endeavours to destroy and undoe them quite But by the mercy of God it is turned to their greater spirituall good It is in this Case as it was with Him who thrusting his enemy into the Body with â—ull purpose to have killed Him lanceâ— the ulcer which no Physition was able to 〈◊〉 and let out that corrupt mâ—tter that would have cost Him his life By representation of such horrour out of Satans cruellest malice they are happily kept more humble watchfull earnest in praier eager after the Meanes weaned froÌ„ the World compassionate to others c. Hiding of Gods face from Him and leaving Him to the darknesse of His owne spirit did put and preserve Master Iohn Glover in a most zealous holy and heavenly life for ever after Heare the story This gentleman being called by the light of the holy Spirit to the knowledge of the Gospell and having received a wondrous sweet feeling of Christs heavenly Kingdome His minde after that falling a little to some cogitation of his former affaires belonging to His vocation began by and by to misdoubt himself upoÌ„ occasion of those words Heb. 7.4 For it is impossible c. Vpon considerations of which words Hee was so farre deserted as to bee perswaded that Hee had sinned against the holy Ghost even so much that if Hee had been in the deepest Pit of Hell Hee could almost have despaired no more of His salvation Beeing young saith Foxe I remember I was once or twice with Him whom partly by his talkâ— I perceived and partly by mine owne eies saw to be so wornâ— and consumed by the space of five yeares that neither almost any brooking of meate quietnesse of sleepe pleasure of life yea and almost no kinde of senses was left in Him Who in such intolerable griefes of minde altho Hee neither had nor could have any ioy of His meate yet was hee compelled to eate against His appetite to the end to deferre the time of his damnation so long as Hee might thinking with Himselfe no lesse but that Hee must needs bee throwne into Hell the breath being once out of the Body Albeit Christ hee thought did pitty his case and was sorry for Him yet hee could not as Hee imagined helpe because of the verity of the word which said It is impossible c. But what was the happy issue and effect of these extraordinary spirituall terrours and terrible desertion The same blessed Man of God who writes the Story and was himselfe with the Party tells us Albeit Hee suffered many yeares so sharpe temptations and strong buffetings of Satan yet the Lord who graciously preserved Him all the while not onely at last did rid Him out of all discomfort but also framed Him thereby to such mortification of life as the like lightly hath not been seene In such sort as Hee beeing like one placed in Heaven already and dead in this World both in word and meditation led a life altogether celestiall abhorâ—ing in His minde all prophane doings Thus a spirituall desertion or some other affliction of spirit doth that alone many times which variety and a long continued succession of ordinary outward crosses one upon the Necke of an other is not able to effect For troubles of Soule sooner take and are of a quicker and stronger operation then those which afflict the Body The spirit of a man will sustaine his infirmity But a wounded spirit who can â—eare Prov. 18.14 All other afflictions are nothing to this They are but flea-bitings to this fiery Scorpion The stoutnesse of a Mans spirit will stand under a world of outward miseries many times But if the eie which is the light of the Body bee in darkenesse how great is that darkenesse If the spirit it selfe bee crusht which should support the whole man how great is the confusion Hence it was that faithfull David waded thorow a world of troubles yet all that time no malice of Saul no hatred of the Philistines no rebellion of Absalom no treachery of Ahitophel no grapling with a Lion no fighting with a Beare no threatning of a vaunting Goliah could so much discourage Him But when at any time Hee suffered immediately in His soule under the wrath of God O! then his very bones the master-timber of His Body are broken in peeces Hee roares all the day and His moysture is turned into the drought of Summer Then Hee speakes thus unto God When thou with rebukes doest correct man for iniquity thou makest his beauty to consume away like a Moath Thus having discovered the Cases and Causes of spirituall Desertion I come now to the comforts and the Cure 1. And let us first take notice of a double desertion first Passiue when God withdrawes Himselfe from us secondly Active when wee with-draw our selves from God And they are both two-fold first Temporary and secondly Finall 1. Passive desertion temporary As in David Psal. 77. Heman the Ezrahite Psal. 88. Iob. Both the Glovers See their story Acts and Monuments 1885. 1891. Mistris Brettergh Master Peacocke And many moe of Gods Children 2. Finall In many after a wofull and willfull abuse of many mercies meanes of salvation and generall graces As Saul Iudas c. Such as have out-stood all opportunities and seasons of grace and all those Prov. 1.24 1. Active desertion temporary As in Solomon c. 2. Finall as in those Heb. 10. Now in the present Point I understand onely a Passive temporary Desertion And therefore in that Man which is truly ingraffed into Christ by a justifying Faith and regenerated who can never possibly either forsake finally or be finally forsaken of God Of whom Hooker thus speakes Blessed for ever and ever be that Mothers Childe whose Faith hath made Him the Child of God The earth may shake the Pillars of the World may tremble under us The countenance of the Heaven may be appaled the Sunne may loose his light the Stars their glory But
concerning the Man that trusteth in God if the fire hath proclaimed it selfe unable as much as to singe an haire of His head If Lyons beasts ravenous by nature and keene with hunger beeing set to devoure have as it were religiously adored the very flesh of the faithfull Man what is there in the World that shall change His heart overthrow His faith alter his affection towards God or the affection of God to Him Nay and besides sith I onely understand a temporary passive Desertion I must suppose it in Him also who sees full well and doth acknowledge from whence Hee is fallen is very sensible of His spirituall losse afflicted much with the absence of the quickning and comforting influence of grace and grieved at the heart-roote that Hee cannot doe His God service and performe holy duties with that life power and lightsomnesse as Hee was woont and thereupon resolves to give no rest unto His discontented Soule from cries complaints and groanes untill Gods face and favour bee turned towards Him againe and bring with it former feelings and fruitfulnesse now so highly prized and heartily praied for Which blessed behaviour doth clearely difference Him from the Back-slider a truly miserable and right wofull Creature indeede who insensibly falles from his forwardnesse first love intimate fellowship with the Saints and all lively use and exercise of the ordinances and divine duties and yet is never troubled to any purpose neither doth chalenge or judge Himselfe for it at all For wee are to know that the presence of spirituall weakenesses decaies and wants and absence of due dispositions accustomed feelings and former abilities of grace onely then argue a Backslider and are evill signes of a dangerously declining Soule when they are willingly carried without remorse or taking much to heart without any eager desire or earnest endeavour after more heate and heavenly mindednesse A Christian may be without Gods gratious presence and comfortable exercise of grace in present feeling and yet no Forsaker of God but rather left of Him for a time His heavenly wisedome for some secret holy ends so disposing while by grieving striving strong desires Hee unfainedly thirsts after and seriously pursues his former acceptation and forwardnesse Here then is comfort God hath hid his face from thee for a season and thou art left to the darknesse and discomforts of thine owne spirit and thereupon art grievously dejected thinkes thy Selfe utterly undone yet take notice that In a spirituall Desertion properly so called thou doest not willingly forsake God but God forsakes Thee or rather as Divines truly speake seemes to forsake Thee For Hee dealeâ— with Thee in this Case as a Father with His Childe who sometimes upon purpose still loving Him extremely hides Himself from Him as tho He were quite gone to make it discover and manifest it's love unto Him by longing seeking and crying after Him And that for excellent ends and ever for thy endlesse comfort first To trie whether Thou wilt trust in Him tho He slay Thee as Iob did Every Cock-boate can swim in a River every Sculler saile in a Calme In ordinary gusts any man of meaner skill and lesser patience can steere aright and hold up the head But when the blacke tempest comes a tenth wave flowes One deepe calls an other when the tumultuous darkenesse of the sky the roaring of that restlesse Creature represents terrible things and Heaven and earth are blundered together as it were with horrible confusions when nature yeelds spirits faint hearts faile then to stand upright and unshaken then to say with David I will not feare tho the earth bee removed and tho the mountaines bee carried into the middest of the Sea Tho the waters thereof roare and bee troubled tho the Mountaiâ—es shake with the swelling thereof Selah I say thatâ—s the Man which is found at the heart-roote indeede and steele to the backe and then is the invincible might and incomparable valour of Faith made knowne with a witnesse who ever hath Gods sure Word for the Compasse and the Lord Iesus at the Helme Then doth this glorious grace shine and triumph above nature sense reason worldly wisedome the arme of flesh and the whole Creation In such desperate extremities and sorest trials it shewes it selfe like the Adamant that nothing will breake the Palme tree that yeelds not to the waightiest burden the Shoote-Anchor that holds when other tacklings breake the oile that ever over-swims the greatest quantity of water we can poure upon it And with this improovement of the extraordinary power of faith God is exceedingly well-pleased and highly honoured Secondly To en-ure thee to patience obedience and submission to His blessed Will in every thing even extremest sufferings if Hee so please Thirdly To worke in Thee a deeper detestation of sinne and further divorce from the world Fourthly To quicken improove and exercise some speciall graces extraordinarily Thou didst hide thy face saith David and I was troubled Then I cried unto Thee O Lord c. Then was the spirit of praier put to it indeede and so was the grace of patience waiting and the like Fifthly To cause thee to prize more dearely and to keepe more carefully when it comes againe Gods glorious presence and the quickning influence of His grace and comfort Wee never apprehend the worth and excellency of any thing so well as by the want of it The un-interrupted secure enjoyment of the best things and even those that please us best without vicissitude and enter change is woont to breed such cheapnes and satiety and so dulls the Soules appetite that it is neither so affected with their pretious sweetnesse nor thankfully â—â—vished with the present possession of them as it ought Health is then highly valewed when sicknesse hath made us sensible of such a Iewell wee then rellish our food extraordinarily when wee have fasted longer then ordinary Rest doth then refresh us most when our bodies have been tired and over-travelled Sixthly To make thee conformable in some measure to Christs immeasurable spirituall sufferings Seventhly To manifest and make illustrious His mightinesse and mercy in thy deliverance and the power of Christs resurrection Wilt thou shew wonders to the Dead saith Heman Shall the dead arise and praise thee Selah Those whom the mercifull hand of God hath lifted up out of the depth of a spirituall desertion will easily acknowledge it as omnipotent a worke and wonder as to pull out of the mouth of Hell and raise a dead man out of the grave Eighthly To represent unto thee the difference of thy condition in this life and that which is to come This is our time of nurture not of Inheritance Here wee walke by faith not by sight Wee live by faith not by feeling In this vale of teares wee are killed all the day long But heavenly glimpses of unspeakeable and glorious ioy and spirituall ravishments of Soule are seldome and short Their
fullnesse and constant fruition is reserved for the next life Here wee are trained as it were in a spirituall warfare against the World the Flesh and the Divell wee are exercised unto New-obedience by manifold crosses troubles and temptations Satan is sometimes set upon us to afflict us with His owne immediate Hellish suggestions Sometimes our owne sinnes grievously affright us with renewed representations of horrour Sometimes our owne God frownes upon us Himselfe with His displeased and angry countenance and in love leaves us a while to the terrours of a spirituall desertion Hee sometimes laies His visiting 〈◊〉 upon our Bodies and casteth us downe 〈…〉 of sicknesse Sometimes Hee sends heavy crosses upon our outward States and breakes the Staffe of our prosperity Continually almost Hee suffers many malicious Currs to barke at us with slanders lies disgracefull imputations and all the enemies of grace to pursue us bitterly with much malice and disdaine Thus are wee trained and entertained in this world Our Crowning comes in the World to come Ninthly To cause thee to have recourse with more reverence thirst and thankfull acknowledgement to the Well-head of refreshings if God once withdraw the light of His countenance and comfortable quickning of His Spirit wee shall find no comfort at all in any Creature no life in the Ordinances no feeling of our spirituall life and therefore wee must needs to the ever-springing Fountaine of All-sufficiency c. Which blessed ends and effects when the good hand of our God hath wrought Hee will as certainly returne as ever the Sunne did after the darkest Mid-night and that with abundance of glory and sweetnesse proportionable to the former dejection and darknesse of our spirits The lowest ebbe of a spirituall desertion brings the highest tide of spirituall exultation As wee may see before in Mistris Brettergh and Master Peacocke pag. 84. 2. What is the reason thou art so sad and sore afflicted for the absence of thy Beloved and with want of the woonted gracious and comfortable workings of the Spirit It is because Thou hast formerly grasped the Lord Iesus sweetly and savingly in the armes of thy Soule been sensibly refreshed with the savour of His good ointments ravished extraordinarily with the beauty of His Person dearenesse of His blood riches of His purchase and glory of his kingdome And hast heretofore holden Him as the very life of thy Soule and chiefest and onely treasure ejaculating with David unfainedly from the heart-roote Whom have I in Heaven but Thee And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides Thee Earth is an Hell and Heaven no Heaven without Iesus Christ I say the present griefe that thy well-beloved is now gone argues evidently this former enjoyment of His gracious presence And then build upon 't as upon the surest Rocke Once Christs and His for ever The gifts and calling of God are without repentance Whom Hee loveth once Hee loveth unto the end Hee is no changeling in his love I am the Lord faith Hee I change not therefore yee sonnes of Iacob are not consumed Once elected ever beloved Once New-borne and borne to eternity If once the sanctifying Spirit hath seizd upon Thee for Iesus Christ thou art made sure and lockt fast for ever in the armes of his love with everlasting barres of mercy and might from any mortall hurt and adversary power Thou maist then cast downe the gauntlet of defiance against the Devill and the whole world and take up with Paul that victorious chalenge unto all created things I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other Creature shall bee able to separate mee from the love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord Hee may hide His face from Thee for a while but thou hast His owne sure and inviolable Word from His owne mouth That Hee will returne and with everlasting kindnesse have mercy on thee Hee may frowne upon Thee I confesse for a season and so fright thee with his terrours as tho in thy present apprehension thou wert a lost Man But Hee never will Hee cannot possibly forsake thee finally I have sworne once by my holinesse that I will not faile David Psal. 89.35 And in the meane time thy former feelings of the motions of the Spirit and grace doe give cleare evidence and assurance that spirituall life is still resident in thy Soule tho runne as it were into the roote and tho it 's more lively operations and effects bee suspended for a time The Woman that hath once felt the Child stir in Her wombe is most assured that shee is with-Child that an immortall Soule and naturall life is infused into it by the omnipotent hand of God though at other times shee perceive no motion at all It is so in the present Point And thy grieving also groaning and panting after Christ is an unanswerable argument that thou art alive spiritually Lay the waight of the whole world upon a man that is starke dead and Hee can neither stirre cry or complaine 3. Consider that some graces are more substantiall in themselves more profitable to us and of greater necessitie for salvation as Faith repentance love New-obedience active and passive Selfe-deniall vilenesse in our owne eyes humble walking with God c. Others are not so or absolutely necessary but accompany a saving state as separable accidents as ioy and peace in believing sensible comfort in the holy Ghost comfortable feelings of Gods favour rejoycing in hope a lively freedome in prayer assurance of evidence c. And from hence mayest thou take comfort in two respects First Desertion deprives thee only of these comfortable accessarâ—es but thou art still possest of the Principall and substantialls of salvation Of which not the utmost concurrence of all hellish and earthly rage can possibly rob thee And therefore thou art well enough in the meane time and as safe as safety it selfe can make thee 2. Secondly Losse of these lesse principall graces which by accident is a singular advantage and gaine drives thee nearer unto Iesus Christ at least by many unutterable groanes every one whereof is a strong cry in the eares of God and causeth thee better to prise and plie to exercise and improove more fruitfully those other more necessary graces without which thou canst not bee saved It is a wise and honest passage in Mistris Iuxons Monument pag 60. Shee continued faithfull to the ende in the most substantiall graces For howsoever shee mourned for the want of that degree of ioy which shee had felt in former times yet she continued in repentance in the practise of holinesse and righteousnesse in a tender love of God and to his Word and Children in holy zeale and fruitfulnesse even to the last period of her daies And indeede her want of full ioy was so
with the wrath of God and left to the horrour of some hideous temptation 4. Heare Master Hooker a man of great learning and very sound in this point I varie some words but keepe the sense entire Happier a great deale is that mans Case whose soule by inward desolation is humbled then hee whose heart is through abundance of spirituall delight lifted up and exalted above measure Better is it sometimes to goe downe into the pit with him who beholding darknes and bewailing the losse of inward ioy and consolation crieth from the bottome of the lowest hell My God My God why hast thou forsaken mee Then continually to walke arme in arme with Angels to sit as it were in Abrahams bosome and to have no thought or cogitation but of peace and blessing himselfe in the singularity of assurance above other men to say I desire no other blisse but only duration of my present comfortable feelings and fruition of God I want nothing but even thrusting into heaven and the like For in the height of spirituall ravishments thou art in great hazard of being exalted above measure and so may bee justly exposed to a Thorne in the flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet thee which is a very heavie case But now on the other side the lowest degree of humiliation under Gods mighty hand is the nearest step to rising and extraordinary exultation of spirit The extremest darknesse of a spirituall desertion is wont to go immediately before the glorious Sun-rise of heavenly light and un-utterable lightsomnes in the soule David securely pleasing and applauding himselfe in his present stability and strong conceit of the continuance of his peace brake out thus I shal never be moved Lord by thy favour thou hast made my mountaine to stand strong But hee was quickly throwne downe from the top of his supposed unmoveable hill taken off from the height of his confidence and lay trembling in the dust Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled But now that sweetest rapture of incredible joy for so he spake The ioy which I feele in my conscience is incredible did arise in Master Peacocks heart when hee was newly come as it were out of the mouth of Hell Mistris Bretterghs wonderfull reioycing followed immediately upon her returne out of a roaring wildernesse as she called it What large effusions of the Spirit and overflowing rivers of heavenly peace were plentifully showred downe upon Robert Glovers troubled spirit after the heaviest night in all likelyhood that ever he had in this world by reason of a greivous Desertion 5. Nay heare the Spirit of all truth and comfort Himselfe immediately Who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voyce of his servant that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God Whence wee may draw a double comfort in time of Desertion first Because in thy present apprehension thou finds and feeles thy selfe in darkenesse and to have no light thou art ready therupon to conceive and conclude un-necessarily against thy owne soule that Gods favour Iesus Christ grace salvation and all are gone for ever And this is the most cutting sting sorest pang which grievously afflicts and rents the heart in pieces with restlesse angvish in such Cases Out of what depth of horrour doe you thinke did these heavie groanes and almost if not altogether for the time despairing speeches spring in those blessed Saints mentioned before Will the Lord cast off for ever And will hee be favourable no more Is his mercy cleane gone for ever Doth his promise faile for evermore While I suffer thy terrours I am distracted I am amazed confounded and almost mad with feare least my soule should bee swallowed up with the horrours of eternall death I am afraid lest the Lord hath utterly withdrawne his wonted favour from me Woe woe woe c. A weake a wofull a wretched a forsaken woman I have no more sense of grace then these curtaines Oh! how wofull and miserable is my estate that must thus converse with hell-hounds It is against the course of Gods proceedings to save mee c. But now herein the deserted in the sense I have said are much deceived and extremely wrong their owne soules in such extremities not considering that their walking in darkenesse and having no light may most certainely consist with a saving estate and a Beeing in Gods favour tho for the present not perceived Which appeares plainely by the quoted place Wherein Hee that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light is such an one as feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant Now the feare of God and obedience to the Ministery are evident markes of a gracious man Hence it is that when the servants of God are something come againe unto themselves they see and censure their owne unadvisednesse in that respect disavow and disclaime all termes tending that way which they let hastily fall from them in heate of temptation And I said faith David this is my infirmity but I will remember the yeeres of the right hand of the most High Truly said Master Peacocke my heart and soule have been far led and deepely troubled with temptations and stings of conscience but I thanke God they are eased in good measure Wherefore I desire that I bee not branded with the note of a forlorne reprobate Such questions Oppositions and all tending thereto I renounce Here then is a great deale of comfort in the greatest darkenesse of a spirituall desertion for wee may assure our selves that God by his blessed Spirit hath a secret influence and saving worke upon the soule of his Child when there is no light or feeling of his favour at all The Sun we know tho hee leaves his light upon the face of the earth yet notwithstanding descends by a reall effectual influence into the bosome and darkest bowels thereof and there exerciseth a most excellent work in begetting mettals Gold Silver and other pretious things It is proportionably so in the present Point A poore soule may lie groveling in the dust afflicted tossed with tempest and in present apprehension have no comfort and yet blessedly partake still of the sweet influence of Gods everlasting love of a secret saving worke of grace and almighty support of the sanctifying Spirit Let us looke upon the Lord Iesus himselfe His holy soule though hee was Lord of Heaven and Earth upon the Crosse was even as a scorched heath-ground without so much as any drop of deaw of comfort either from Heaven or Earth and yet at the same time hee was gloriously sustained by an omnipotent influence And God was never nearer unto Him than then neither Hee ever so obedient unto God And I make no doubt but that the judicious eye of the well-experienced Physition may many times easily observe it in those troubled tempted and deserted soules which they
perswaded Gods bowels of compassionate tender-heartednesse and love did yearne within him towards Iob with more dearenesse and delight at that cry Tho he slay mee yet will I trust in him then at any time else even in the Spring of his spirituall prosperity or fullest tide of most heavenly feelings Here then is comfort more then thy heart can hold if thou wilt bee counselled by the Prophets that thou maist prosper For when thou thinkest that all is gone that thou art a lost man and utterly forsaken even in the depth of thy spirituall darkenesse thou being so spiritually disposed as I have said and which thou canst not deny I say even then and thou oughtest so to apprehend and believe the love of God is as it were doubled towards thee much more endeared by reason of thy distresse and cannot hold but breakes out many times into extraordinary pangs and expressions thereof As wee may see Isa. 54.11 Oh! thou afflicted tossed with tempest and not comforted c. And into profession of resolution and waiting to do us good which he will super-abundantly performe in the best time Behold I will lay thy stones with faire colours and lay thy foundations with Saphires Ibid. And therefore will the Lord waite that hee may bee gracious unto you and therefore will hee bee exalted that he may have mercy upon you For the LORD is a God of iudgment Blessed are all they that wait for him Isa. 30.18 Retiring the effects and exercise of our love from him whom wee love dearely makes it returne with redoubled fervour into our owne bosomes and there growes into a more vehement flame which never rests untill it breake out againe with dearer pangs upon the beloved Party Even as when the Sunne suffers an Eclipse and it's beames are driven backe and reflected from the face of the Moone interposed directly betweene it and our sight so that they shine not upon us then is the heate and light thereof multiplied and much intended toward the Fountaine which afterwards is shed downe upon us againe more amiably and acceptably when the darkenesse is done And let us further take notice that Christ our eldest Brother blessed for ever deales with us in such Cases as Ioseph a type of him in many respects dealt with his brethren hee frown'd upon them handled them roughly and frighted them extremely onely to humble them thorowly but in the meane time and midst of his menacing carriage his heart was so full of naturall affection that hee was enforced by the excesse thereof to turne aside and weepe and so returne to them againe And hee turned himselfe about from them and wept and returned to them again Gen. 42.24 So the Sonne of God as well as God the Father thorow him tho sometimes in a little wrath hee hide his face from us yet as hee will certainely after a small moment gather us with great mercies so in the meane time Hee is afflicted and most tenderly affected towards us in all our afflictions See Isa. 63.9 7. Seventhly Thinke it not strange that thou art fallen into this kinde of spirituall affliction as tho some strange thing or that which doth or may not befall the dearest servants of God had happened unto thee For herein thou becomes conformable to as holy Men as ever the world had Iob David Heman Luther c. Nay to the Sonne of God himselfe From whose example and precedency let the Christian even in the darkest horror of a spirituall desertion when hee is afraid lest God hath forsaken him fetch abundance of comfort and support out of such considerations as these 1. Christ himselfe was in the same Case Besides a numberlesse variety of most barbarous cruelties inflicted upon his blessed body by the mercilesse and implacable malice of the Iewes and by consequent sympathy upon his glorious soule Hee suffered also in soule immediately intolerable and save by himselfe unconquerable torments and paine Hee grapled with the fiercest wrath of his Father for our sins and sweat blood under the sense of his angry countenance Nay this Crosse upon his soule infinitely more waighty then that which hee carried upon his shoulders toward Calvarie did not onely cause streames of great bloody drops to fall downe to the ground but also prest from him that heavy groane Mat. 26.38 My soule is exceeding sorrowfull even unto death and that last rufull bitter cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee cap. 27.46 If Christ Iesus himselfe then blessed for ever the Son of the Fathers love the Prince of glory Nay the glory of heaven and earth the brightnesse of everlasting light c. In whom hee professeth himselfe to bee well-pleased and for whose sake onely hee loves all the sonnes of Men which shall be saved was thus plunged into a matchlesse Depth of unknowne sorrowes and most grievous desertion Let no Christian cry out in the like spirituall desolation but ever immeasurably short of his and in his feare of being forsaken that his Case is singular desperate irrecoverable For the onely deare innocent Sonne of God was farre worse in this respect and in greater extremity then hee is can or ever shall bee 2. Secondly Amongst other ends for which the Lord Iesus drunke so deepe and the very dregs of that bitterest Cup of his dearest Fathers heaviest indignation this was one That by a particular and personall passing thorow that infinite Sea those extremest dreadfull horrours of divine wrath for our sinnes which we all most justly deserved and would have caused any meere Creature to have sunke downe under it into the bottome of hell and by an experimentall feare and feeling of that bitter and bloody Agony which melted as it were his blessed soule into that mournefull Cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee The comfortable influence of the Deity being for the time in some sort restrained and retired from the humane nature that it might bee capable and sensible of that anger and angvish which would have holden both Men and Angels and all created Natures under everlasting calamity and woe I say that by his owne sense and experience of such painefull passages hee might learne and know with a more fellow-feeling and pittifull heart to commiserate his poore afflicted Ones in their spirituall desertions and with a softer and more compassionate hand to bind up their bleeding soules with his sweetest Balme of tender-heartednesse and love when in such horrible depths they shall thirst and long and gaspe for drops of mercy and his Fathers pleased face For in that hee himselfe hath suffered being tempted hee is able to succour them that are tempted Heb. 2.18 A woman which hath her selfe with extraordinary torture tasted the exquisite paines of Childe-birth is woont to bee a great deale more tenderly and mercifully affected to an other in like case then she that never tried what it is to be terrified with the suddennesse
pith and marrow of some Scripture-text at another time wraflle with the difficulties and knotty distinctions of some Popish or Neo-pelagian controversie At another discusse and drive unto a resolution some perplexed and intricate Case of Conscience c. Well then for my purpose this supposed Vpon the very first Proposall of these monstrous and hideous thoughts presently divert and resort to the hardest of all those irons thou hast in the fire if I may so speake and that which hath neede of most hammering I meane to the most difficult and waighty Points of all those severall spirituall businesses thou hadst last in thy braine and single out that particular which did most puzzle and put thy understanding to it Where-abouts when the strength heat and intension of thy whole soule is spent and improoved not onely other impertinent wandrings and vagaries but these idle and irkesome injections also will more easily vanish and bee gone Let others also proportionably upon such occasions besides other helpes have recourse to the most troublesome and over-mastering part of their honest imploiments to the chiefest and needefullest affaire of their lawfull Callings 5. In temptations of this nature never set thy selfe to dispute with the Divell hee is an old Sophister of above five thousand yeares standing in the Schoole of hideous temptations and hellish policies and thou art but a Novice Hee hath many Methods Devices and Depths which thy shallow fore-cast cannot possibly fathome Direct opposition by reasons and replies stirreth up the out-ragious Blasphemour to grow more furious And hereby we give him greater advantage more matter of molestation and mischiefe and may so plunge our selves further into an intricate maze of horrour and confused distractions Our blessed Captaine Christ Iesus may bee a patterne for us in this Point When hee was tempted to fall downe and worship Satan hee reasoneth not the Case but repells him with vehement extraordinary detestation and disdaine Avoid Satan It will therefore bee our best wisedome at such a time to turne from him and as Hezekiah spread his blasphemous letter so to lay open his fury before the Lord crying mightily unto him and intreating him even for his owne honours sake to vindicate the purity of his great Majesty and excellency of his unspotted glory from this hellish filth and horrible villany of his damned vilest Creature That he would cast it as dung upon the Tempters face and in the Passion and Blood of Christ free fully and for ever our poore soules trembling under the hideousnesse of his malice and cruelty from the guilt staine terrour and assault of all such abhorred and pâ—â—odigeous blasphemie In that other terrible temptation also to Selfe-murther many much wrong themselves this way In managing this fierie dart the Adversary deales by way of argument too and presses reasons such as they are upon the temted sometimes extremely absurd especially if the party bee something more simple and ignorant sometimes exceedingly suttle if hee bee of better understanding and capacity As thus It is soone done and the paine quickely past Thou art like thus to languish and lie in misery all thy life long The longer thou livest the larger will bee the score of thy sinnes and so thy torments in hell more horrible hereafter If it be once done it will appeare to have bin Gods decree and I hope thou wilt not oppose the accomplishment of that Do what thou canst thou wilt bee damned when all is done c. Now in this Case if thou debate the matter with the Divell and begin to confer thou art like enough to be more and more confounded and intangled with inextricable astonishments and danger to bee utterly undone and suddenly blowne up by the mine of his soule-murdering sophistry But if according to the precedency and practise of thy Lord Master who hath begun unto thee in this bitter Cup is afflicted in all thy afflictions and ever stands by thee as a victorious commander and conquerour in all such assaults first abominate and beate backe this base and bloody motion with infinite indignation and loathing Avant Satan And then immediately lay hold on the sword of the Spirit and keepe him at the point of it and then assuredly all the Divells in Hell cannot hurt thee Tell him that against his vile and villanous suggestion and all the subtilties and sophistry with which hee seconds it this is thy onely answere even the precise holy and everlasting countermand of his and thy Creatour the mighty Lord of heaven and earth Thou shalt not kill Now if it bee a crimson and crying sinne the most deadly opposite and desperate cut-throate of charity to kill an other and fastneth such a deepe and inexpiable staine upon the face of a whole Kingdome that it cannot bee razed out but by the blood of him that shed it How execrable and hainous then is this and what depth of Hell and height of horrour doth that abhorred Miscreant deserve and may expect who makes away himselfe For the Rule of charity whereby wee love one another is proportioned by that charity whereby a man loues himselfe If the Divell bee able to dissolve and disanull the most absolute perfect and just Law of the most High who tho all other things besides are something in possibilitie which as yet they are not in act yet himselfe is actually and everlastingly whatsoever hee may bee and cannot hereafter be that which now hee is not and so by consequent is with out all variablenesse or shadow of turning I say if the Prince of darkenesse can reverse this Law of the Father of Lights Thou shalt not murder thou maist well say thou wilt then thinke of an other answer But till that bee which is more then infinitely impossible ever to come to passe thou wilt rather lie in the miseries of Hell upon earth which indeed were incomparably better then breaking Gods blessed Law goe downe into the grave in a bloody coffin made by thy owne hands onely at the Divels bidding Can this madnesse ever bee matched for a man besides Selfe-severing the soule from his body before the time by a more hainous and un-naturall villany then murthering of his owne father for every man is naturally next unto himself and sending it suddenly all goare-blood by becomming his owne Butcher and hangman unto the dreadfull Tribunall of the all-powerfull God the most certaine and severe Revenger of all bloodshed to bring also abundance of unnecessary shame griefe and hopelesse mourning upon Friends Kindred Husband ChildreÌ„ Parents a reproachfull staine and brand upon House Name Buriall Posterity c. And that meerely at the instance and upon the most absurd ridiculous and senselesse suggestion of the Arch-murtherer thy mortall and immortall enemy against sense reason nature religion Scripture Gods direct command to the contrary even Heathen Philosophy Heaven and Earth 6. Avoid idlenesse solitarinesse and too much secrecy three maine advantages for the adversary which
their beauty and magnitude which in their continuall and contrary motions are neither repugnant intermixt or confounded By these potent effects wee approach to the knowledge of the Omnipotent cause and by these motions their Almighty mover Whensoever therefore that most implacable and everlasting enemy to Gods glory and the good of his Children shal go about to pervert and crosse by his blasphemous injections these sober and sacred conceptions of the thrice glorious ever-blessed Deity planted in thy minde by his owne Word and this visible World bid him by the example of thy Lord and Master avoide and avant trample upon his hellish spite appeale unto Gods righteous Throne with protestation of thine innocency damning them unto the Pit of Hell in thy Iudgement and hating them not without horrour from the very heart-roote and so truly resisting them crying mightily unto God for pardon wherein soever thou shalt faile about them and for power against them and then possesse thy humble soule in patience and peace 8. Being humbled by them making an holy use of them perusing and applying the considerations and counsels in hand for comfort in them and conquest over them doe not by any meanes continue to afflict and torture thy spirit about them Let them now passe away and bee packing abandon them with an holy detestation contempt and slighting without any such dismayednesse and terrour as most unworthy of any longer taking to heart or notice of much lesse of that carking and trouble as to terrifie in-dispose dis-able thee for a chearefull discharge of either of thy Callings particular or generall Divines hold even godly sorrow unseasonable when it unfitteth the body or minde to good duties or to a good and chearefull manner of doing them how much more would they not have these hellish distractions and intrusions to dishearten thee in this kinde But least of all of that pestilent prevailing as to fill thine heart with extraordinary astonishment horrour and doubting whether such monstrous injections bee incident to sanctified soules a saving state and habitation of the holy-Ghost and so to put thee into a habit of heavy walking and secret sadnesse by reason of continuall questioning the soundnesse of thy conversion the constancy of Gods love unto thee former assurance of an immortall Crowne and whether it bee possible that Iesus Christ should dwell in a soule hanted with such horrible thoughts Procurement of which miseries molestations is the Adversaries only aime For so immesurably malicious is He that if he cannot plunge thee into the pit of hell and everlasting flames in the World to come yet will be labour might and maine to keep thee upon the Rack and in as much terrour as hee can possibly all thy life long in this vale of teares Suffer then this advise to sinke seriously into thy heart Being illightned rightly informed and directed about them let them no longer astonish thy spirit detaine thee in horrour hurt thy heart or hinder thee in any duty to God or man or in an humble comfortable and confident walking with thy God as thou art woont or of thy former sweet communion with Iesus Christ. And the rather because First It is the Tempters earnest end only out of pure spite to put this imposture and unnecessary vexing perplexities upon thee Secondly The more thou art troubled with them and takes them to heart for that is it hee would have the more violently and villanously will he presse them upon thee and terrifie Thirdly They are not thine but his fearefull sinnes Hee alone must answer for them at that great and last Day and thou goe free It is his malicious madnesse of such a prodigious nature and notoriousnesse as is beyond conceit and above all admiration onely fit for a Divell That Hee may trouble thee temporally Hee mightily aggravates his owne eternall torment In a second place let mee tender unto thee an Antidote which hath been found soveraigne and succesfull this way The summe of it is this Let the tempted Christian labour to worke and extract by the blessings of God some spirituall good out of the horrible hell of these most hatefull abominable blasphemous suggestions And if Satan once see that thou sâ—cks honey out of his poyson comfort out of his cruelty medicine out of his malice hee will have no heart or hope to goe on no courage or contentment to continue the temptation Take it in the sense if not in the same wordes without any variation or enlargement as it was applied and prosper'd Spitefull and malicious Fiend cursed enemie to heaven and earth by the mercies of God hough thy purpose be most pestilent yet thou shalt not hurt or have any advantage against mee hereby Thy base and dunghill injections tending to the dishonour of my God and my Christ c. shall make mee 1. More hate thine infinitely hatefull and revengefull malice against that thrice-glorious and ever-blessed Majesty above 2. With more feeling and dearenesse to adore and love the glory and sweetnesse of my God and my Redeemer For the more excessive and endlesse I feele thy spite against Him the more I know is his incomprehensible excellency and worth 3. To pray oftner and more fervently that my God would rebuke thee and cast this extreme malice of thine as dung upon thine owne face 4. To bee still more humbled under the hand of my mighty Lord because I cannot bee more humbled and with more resolution and abhorrence abominate and abandon such prodigiously-senselesse and hellish blasphemies of His for I am sure they are none of mine into the bottomlesse bottome of that darkest Dungeon In the blackest horrour whereof they were most maliciously and monstrously hatched 5. To take up a strong argument and answer against an other of thy cursed injections tending to Atheisme and the not Being of those endlesse joies above Because I most plainely and palpably feele thee an invisible spirit casting into my imagination such horrid absurd and ridiculously impious thoughts which cannot possibly spring ordinarily or naturally from any power or possibilitie of mine own soule I know thereby and assure my self that there is also an infinite most wise and glorious Spirit which created both me and thee And will in due time chaine Thee up for ever in the Pit of Hell and bring mee at length by the blessed merit of his only dearest Sonnes bloodshed into the bosome of his owne glory and everlasting blisse 6. To confirme mine owne heart with stronger assurance which is no meane benefit that I undoubtedly belong unto God and am in a gracious state For thou well knowest and so doth mine owne Soule that thou never troubledst me to any purpose with these ougly blasphemous thoughts while I yet lay starke dead in sinnes and trespasses and drown'd full deepe in vanity and lust in carnall loosenesse and sensuall courses Then thou being the strong Man possessedst mee wholly and all was quiet because all was
pendas sed propter hoc saltem maxime gemas quoniam peccatoruÌ„ dolorem non sent is Non enim hoc provenit quòd peccatum noÌ„ mordeat sed quòd anima peccans sâ—t insensata Peccantes non dolere magis eum indignari facit irasci quà m peccare Chrysost. ad pop Antioch Hom. 46. Quòd si quis existet qui Diaboli plag is non persentiat nimirùmillius norbus ex illâ indolentiâ ingravesett Quemcunque enim plaga una inflicta non mordet neque attristat is certè facile alteram excipit itemque hac acceptâ tertiam neque enim intermitit ad extremum usque spiritum feriens â—efarius ille quoties invenit animam supinam prioresque plagas contemnenten Idem de Sacerdotio lib. 6. Isti quisanos seputabant multò periculosius desperatiùs aegrotahant August de verbis Apost Serm. 9. But Satan is not willing to deale so roughly with the unregenerate if Hee could chuse for Hee stands ever in most danger of losing them when Hee carries Himselfe towards them in so hard a fashion wherefore Hee rather flatters and faunes endeavouring to rocke them asleepe still if hee can in the Cradle of securitie and presumption Neither will Hee storme thus to wit labour to pull them by the strength of utter despaire as it were quicke into Hell and to make them kill themselves or doe some other most grosse and unnaturall crime but when hee sees his advantage in regard of some bodily crosse or distemper or that hee sees the Lord will needs awaken their sleepy consciences Whately New-birth Cap. 5. Qui jugum suscipiunt Diaboli Diabolus eos delectat decipit ne discedant à malo impij usque ad mortem suam Incertus Author In Mat. Cap. 11. Hom. 28. Galat. 5.21 Prov. 14.14 a Quin hinc est â—ur malus non libenter sit solus nec libenter vivat secum sed semper consortia quaerat sodalitia bominum voluptuariorum cum quibus possit tempus fallere Est enim solitaria vita eipermolesta partim propter recordationâ—m sceleru partim propter met um poenarum partim denique quia scit quòd secum non consentiat quòd conscientia evigilatura ingentem eì moestitiam allatura sit Kecker n. Syst. â—th lib. 1. cap. 3. Can 6. Quisquis incorde premitur malâ conscientiâ quomode quisquis abstillicidon exit de demo suâ out d fume nonibi sepatitur babitare sic qui non baber quietumcor habit arâ— incorde suo libentèr non potest Talesfords exeunt à seâ—psis aniâ—â— intentione de hiâ— quae foris sunâ— circa corpus delectantur quietemin nugis inspectaculis in luxirijs in omnibus mal squaerunt Quare for is volueruni sib benè esse Quia non est illâ—â— iniâ—s bene unde gaudeans inconscientiâ— suâ— August in Psal. 101. page 288. b Beati qui gaudent quando merant in corsâ—um nihil mali ibi inventunt Attendat sancticas vestra quomo to noline intrare domus suas quâ— babent malas axores quomodâ— exeâ—â—nt ad forum gaudent caepu hora esse quâ intraturi sunt in domum suam contristantur Intraturi sunâ— enim ad taedia ad murmura ad amaritudines ad eversiones quta non est domus composita abi intervirum uxorem pax nud a est Et melius illi est furis circumire Si ergò miseâ—i sunt qui cum redeunt ad parietes suos timen ne aliquibus sunrum perturbationibus coertantur quantò sunt â—â—sertores qui ad conscientiam suam redire nolunt ne ibi litibus pecâ—atâ—rum evertantur Ergo ut possis libens rediâ—e ad cor tuum munda illud Auser inde cupiditatumsordes auser labem avaritiae auser trabe superstitionum aufer sacrilegia malas cogitationes odia non dicâ— adverâ—â—â— amitum sed etiam adversus inimicum Auser ista omnia intra cor tuum gaudebis c. August in Psal. 34. c Those Christians have this heaven upon Earth who are come from under the storme and tempest of temptation and 〈◊〉 in the sweet 〈…〉 and feeling 〈…〉 mercies of their 〈…〉 in Christ Iesus sealed unto them by the testimony of the Spirit of God Yates d In the broken 〈◊〉 contrite spirit 〈◊〉 the Lord will 〈◊〉 despise A 〈…〉 have his 〈…〉 uprightly 〈…〉 is painefuâ—ly 〈◊〉 a good 〈…〉 may be◠〈…〉 and troubled 〈…〉 e Hujusmodi 〈◊〉 est instarferae alicujus quae quamdiu dormit videtur esse cicur neminem lâ—dit sed excitata in hominem involat dilâ—cerare conâ—â—â—â— Diligenter itaque cavenda est â—alie conscientia quâ—ppequae nâ—nnunquam per totum vitae curriculum quieta manet alto lethargo oppressa jacet seâ— aegritudine aliquâ— graviore veletiam mâ—rte appropinquante excitatura Deo truculentâ suâ immanitate hominem terret Alst. Theol. Casuum Cap. 2. In peace there is a totall dâ—position both of Armes and Enmity all hostile affections are put off In a truce there is but a suspension and a cessation of Armes for a season so as duriâ—â— the same there is stilâ— provision of more foâ—â—ces and a preparation of greater strength 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Cor. 1.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iam. 2.19 d Voluptas perpetui vermis nutrix ad tempus admodùm breve possidentem demulcet Postremò verò acâ—â—bioris exitum tristitiae sortitur Basil. Exhort Ad. Baptisâ—um e Grave siquidem grave inquam onerosum est peccatum omni plumbo ponderosius Chrysost. Ad. Pop. Antioch Hom. 31. f Mortuus est autem peccator maximè ille quem moles consuetudinis premit quasi sepultus Lazarus Parùm enim erat quiâ— mortuus etiam sepultus August de temp Serm. 48. Ephes. 2.1 g Neque negari potest non minoris esse virtutis immò aliquantò majoris è morte animas mortuas excitare ac corpora mortua Musc. In Evang. Ioan. cap. 5. Ier. 13.23 h Primum enim divini amoris objectum est ipsa Deitas ac Filius ille dilectus 2. Res creatae in genere 3. Angeli 4 Genus humanum 5. Electi Til. p. 1. Syntag The. 40. pag 113. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Coloss. 1.13 i Deo nihil est in odio nisi malum hoc est nihil est ei invisum o â—iosum excerabile nisi malum Hoc autem est peccatum ipsum praetereà nihil Zanch. De naturâ Dei Lib. 4. Cap 7. * Ephes. 5.4 Gal. 5.21 Matth. 5 28. k 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aâ—â—st Posterio Anal. Lib. 1. Text. 15. l Illud quod maximè videtur Deus odissi scilâ—ceâ— Diabolum non odit nisi ratione peccati eum amaret si peccatum non esset tanquam creaturam suam Vâ—de Sap 11. Nihil odisti eorum quae feâ—isti Quod intelligendum est nisi propter peccatum adjunctum quod ipse non secit Peral m Quae
suaviter moriuntur ut vixerant Ad felicitatem emmetiam mortis conditio requiritur Sic de illis diâ—it Psalm 73. Neque enim sunt vincula morti â—orum c. Merc. in Iob cap. 21. * Iob 21. f Id simpliciter hoc loco significat non quod alij volunt momento ad inferna descendunt quasi in locum supplicij Nihilenim de futurâ vitâ hîc Iob dicere voluit sed omni ex parte felicitatem impiorum adversum socios ostendere quibus ad cumulum solicitatis quâ vitam totam transegerunt hoc insuper accedit quòd suavissimè moriuntur Idem Ibid. Interim improbi exultant robusti sunt pleni vigoris quando verò ad mortem veniunt quasi ex votâ— videntur illam obire tum quasi cubitumire Calvin in Loc. * Heb. 12.6 g Deus unicum habet silium sine peccato nullum sine flagello Aug. Symbolum fidelibus datum Sivis regnare mecúm crucem meam porta tecum Gers. * Pag. 1886. e And yet I know some horribly afflicted in this kinde and yet in some respects as outwardly miserable as can bee imagined but then know that the mercifull power of God is mightily improoved for extraordinary support f Onerosas cogitationes in animá iusti ill as accipe quibus resistere vult tamen non potest sed velit nolit irruit in oculos mentis muscarum Aegyptipestilentia prestrepâ—nt ranâ—e in penetralibus cordis eius Bern. lib. de Consc. de multip variet cogit g Let none take this terme ill For our Church hath set this brand upon such Ale-house haunting companions in these words If wee lacke Christ that is to say the Saviour of our soules and bodies wee shall not finde him in the Market-place or in the Guild-hall much lesse in the Ale-house or Taverne amongst Good-fellowes as they call them c. Hom. Of the right use of the Church p. 1. pag. uli * 1. Cor. 9.16 h Vitâ verò deâ—unâ—iis quemnam quaeso in modumea à nobis forentur quae tum ferenda erunt quum nos videlicèt proâ—ijs sigillatìm omnibus qui nobis concrediti fuerint rationem reddere cogemur Neque enim dedecoris tantùm atque ignominiae poena sed etiam aeterni supplicij mulâ—ta nos illic expectat Illud enim parete ijs qui praesunt vobis concedite nam illi vigilant pro animis vestris tameâ—si priùs iam à me dictum est tamen ne nunc quidem reticebo Huius enim comminationis terror animum mihi concutit De Sacerdotio Lib. 6. princ i Rogatus quoque à nonnullis in corum temporalibus causis epistolas ad diversos dabat Sed hanc suam occupatio nem tanquam angariam deputabat svavem semper habens de ijs quae Dei sunt vel allocutionem vel collocutionem fraternae domesticae familiaritatis Possidonius de vitâ Augustini k Tentatio illa gravis turpis blasphemiae seu quaecunque alia quae in solà cogitatione adhuc versatur vincitur ut communiter meliùs eam contemnendo oblivioni tradendo se de eâ excutiendo et ad alia sortiter meâ—â—tem retrahendo quà m multùm cum ipsâ litigando repugnando disputando Gers. de modo hab contr Mal. immiss l Ratio efficax est huius De quanto enim nititur quis suffiando fortitèr extinguere magnum ignem ampliâ—ùs De tanto ignis instam mescit vehementiùs augetur citius c. Nihil ergò consultius nisi ut transeatur sacilitèr in his non nimis immobilâ—tèr quasi ex directo eis repugnotur sed quasi ex adversoper indirecturm alia videlicèt in cogitatu fortiter apprehendeâ—do Idem Ibid m Here if thou answer Yea but in the meane time it is better to spend the remainder of my few and evill dayes upon earth then in Hell he will reply But so thou shalt increase thy sinnes here and by consequent thy hellish paines hereafter to which if thou rejoyne But the hainousnesse of selfe-murder and horriblenesse of despaire may appeare more vile and execrable in the eyes of God then all the other sinnes I may commit to the last period of my naturall course He may then hideously roare But so thou mayst both go on to increase thy sinnes and make away thy selfe at last and where art thou then c. I know him to have thus throwne his fiery darts into trembling hearts one after another with extreme subtilnesse and cruelty And therefore in these Cases doe not admit of any dispute or conference with him But upon the very first assault for who would heare him talke that will tell never a true word and is thy sworne bloody enemy bee ever sure presently to lay hold upon the Word of God that weapon of proofe which serves like a sword not only for defence as all the other pieces of armour but also for offence Beate backe with undaunted resolution and confidence this Divelish daâ—t and stop for ever the mouth of the Tempter with the contrary charge of the most holy and all-powerfull God Thou shalt not kill Numb 35.33 o Non est aliqua cogitatio tam turpis tam abominabilis mala execranda quam non inveniat otiositas Nam cor vacantis otio est ad instâ—r Molendini quod cum non habet ad molendum bonum frumenâ—u quiaâ—n continuo motu est molit consumit seipsum etiam ad totalem sui consumptionem destructionem nisi prohibeatur alicuius diligentiâ Et aequè citò molit advolantes foedas muscas sicut granorum electorum adipes praesertì◠cum suum sit continuo molere non quiâ—scere nequaquam verò quod molat sive bonum sive malum discernere eligore potest nisi regentis providentia alitèr curet disponere Gers. De modo habendi se contrà mal immiss * Eccles. 4.10 Ioh. 8.44 a Articles of Religion Art 1. b Exod. 2â— 3 Deut. 6.4 Psal. 18 3â— Mal. 2.10 1. Cor. 8.4 c Psalm 84.2 2. Cor. 6.16 d 2. Chro. 15.3 Ier. 10 10. Ioh. 17.3 1. Thes. 1.9 e Psalm 102.24.26.27 Daâ— 6 26. f Psal. 104.1 c. Ioh. 4.24 2. Cor. 3.17 1. Sam. 15.29 Hos. 11.9 g Ezeck 10.5 2. Cor. 6.18 Revel 11.17 h 1. Tim. 1.17 Rom. 16.27 Psal. 147 5. i Psal. 106.1 107.1 k By his owne Word and by this visible World is God perceived of men which is also the vnderstood langvage of the Allmighty vouchsafed to all his Creatures whose Hieroglyphicall Characters are the un-numbred Starres the Sun and Moone written on these large Volumes of the Firmament written also on the Earth and the Seas by the letters of all those living Creatures and Plants which inhabit and â—eside therein Raw Hist. of the World Lib. 1. cap. 1. a Intendant quoque pusillanimes scrupulosi quòd inimicus humani generis cùm impugnat hominem stercoribus