the body thorough some extraordinary repletion hath gotten some great surfet not so much to the weakening of nature as to the threatning of imminent death and therfore requireth rather some strong purgation than comfortable and cordiall medecines then the soule also being brought to some extraordinary sinne is rather to bee boared and pierced with the denouncing of Gods iudgement thā otherwise But because wee woulde deale more plainely lesse confusedly it is good in our accesse to the afflicted consciences to lay these two grounds First we must perswade the persons humbled that their sins are pardonable their soules curable And after that this visitation is not so much a signe of Gods wrath and anger as a seale of his loue and fauour in that it is not either blind or barren but plentiful in good effects and fruitefull in Godly issues The former howe needefull it is the experience of so many as haue beene throwne downe is a sufficient witnes who haue had this as a tagge tyed in their tentations The Lord wil surely make an end of them in some strange and vnknown tentation Wherein they are not vnlike vnto men fallen into some dangerous disease who thinking to bee without the fadome of the Phisitians skill and not to bee within the compasse of thinges recouerable adde a second and sorer griefe vnto their former Wherefore as these men seeme to bee halfe healed when any man of knowledg can bee brought who by experience hath cured the like malladie in like degrees in others So then the fearefull soules are not a little by hope refreshed and strengthned to looke for some ease when they see none other tentation hath ouertaken them thā such as hauing fallen into the nature of man haue found mercie at the handes of God that hee might bee feared This ground worke framed it is good to build vp and repaire the decayed ioy of the minde partly by the Law to make a preparatiue for these ioyes if the minde not truly humbled is not fit truly to be comforted and partly by the gospel if the conscience kindly throwen down is become a fit subiect to apply the promises of Iesus Christ vnto it And here againe to answere thē that denie the law wholly or at all to bee vsed when we wold breed comfort in one I demand whether if it be necessary to maintaine the righteousnes of Christ it bee not also as necessarie to preserue the righteousnes of the Law Seing the righteousnes of the Law of vs not fulfilled wyll drawe vs vnto the righteousnes of Christ to vs imputed And sith the righteousnes of Christ to vs imputed is neuer throughly and truly esteemed vntil we see the righteousnes of the law of vs to be vnperformed Again if our Sauior Christ did fore shew his Disciples that the first worke of the holy Ghost at his comming should bee to conuict the world of sinne to make men know that without Iesus Christ ther is nothing but sinne and then that he shuld rebuke the World of righteousnes that they might see Christ died not for his owne but the sins of others I see not why it should not be very conuenient first to lay opē the righteousnes of the law that men maye see their sins and then the righteousnes of Christ that men may see their sinnes discharged in him Besides wher the Lord saith by his Prophet At vvhat time soeuer a sinner dooth repent of his sins from the bottom of his hart I vvill put all his vvickednes out of my remembrance that it may well be gathered there must be a sound sorrow for sin going before and then the true ioy of sinnes pardoned may the more frely be looked for afterward Moreouer seeing al the promises of God in the gospel are cōmended vnto vs vnder the title tenor of restoring sight to the blind hearing to the deafe strength to the lame health to the sicke and life to the dead it is manifest not onely that there is no disease of the soule that Christ cannot heale but also that wee must first finde our selues blinde deafe dumbe lame sicke dead before he wil meddle with vs because they that are whole need not the Phisition and he came to call sinners not the Righteous to repentance Now to doo this in wisedome by neither pressing the conscience too seuerely nor releasing the conscience more vnaduisedly it shalbe the safe way to vse the wel tempered speech of the Apostle to the sorcerer Repent if it be possible thy sinnes may bee forgiuen thee Where hee dooth not wholly discourage him because it may bee his sins may be pardoned neither yet too boldly incourage him that without repentance he sheweth it altogether impossible to be pardoned And that we be not too preposterous in our consolations let vs bee warned by the blasphemous speeches of the detestable Arrian who of late yeares was put to deth at Norwich This hellish heretique a little before he shuld be executed afforded a few whorish tears asking whether he might bee saued in Christ or no When one told him that if he truely repented he shuld surely not perrish hee brake out most monstrously into this speech Nay is your Christ so easily to be intreated indeede as you say Then I defie him care not for him Oh howe good a thing had it been not to haue cast this pretious stone to this swine Oh how safe had it bin to haue dealt more bitterly and dwelt more vehemently on the conscience of this caytise Now to attaine some discretion in curing this wounded spirite wee must learne wisely to iudge both of the person afflicted and of the nature of his affliction First we must note whether it be a man or a woman becaus we may vrge more carefully the vse of the law to a man as hauing the stronger vessell And as Sathan knew the woman to be most easie and frameable to be wrought vppon at his first temptation so is hee not ignoraunt that shee is the weaker partie to susteine an accusation Then let vs consider whether they that are thus humbled haue knowledge or no Because if they haue none they thinke trouble of minde to be so strange a thing as neuer any before it if they haue knowledge then Sathan is readie to accuse them of sins agaynst the holye Ghost as though anie sin done against knowledge were a sinne of presumption Farther we are to enquire how strong or weake they are that if they be not sufficiently wounded to touch thē with some deep sense of sinne Also we must be circumspect to finde out whether by nature they are more fearfull or melancholy or no As also whether they be vsuall sinners or haue faln once of infirmitie that so vppon their disposition and inclination we may builde our speech the better To these it is good to adde this consideration of the persons age estate and ability as if the partie bee troubled for worldlinesse whether hee bee not a
wee think that Dauid or Iob wer giuen to notorious wickednes in their youth No they knewe they were subiect to youthful wantonnes and vnstaiednes of their affections which thogh it did not burst out yet it made them lesse carefull to glorifie GOD which loosenes is the way to leaudnes which weakenes the waye to strange vanities which wantonnes the waye to open wickednes is euen in the best of Gods children in the dayes of their youth which beeing afterwards in the time of their regeneration brought as it were to iudgement and layde before their consciences doth cause them to repent But here is a thing to bee blushed at which maketh mens eares to tingle when they heare that manie men farre no doubt from thys true repentance can largely indeed discourse of theyr sinnes done in theyr youth but in such a brauerie with such boastings and pleasing themselues in the remembraunce of them as besides that they prouoke others to sinne they likewise set them selues a flatter backe-byas against Repentaunce and in stead of this Christian examination they seeme to renue the decayed colours of their olde sinnes with the fresh suite of their second plesures conceiued in them But alas what pleasure haue they in those things whereof they haue no profit what profit haue they in those thinges whereof they should bee ashamed neither in this strein can we forget the madnes of them who may seeme to step one degree farther towardes this examination of sin than did the former by thinking that the leauing of sinne and repenting of sinne is all one Against this both daily experience and the word of God doth sufficiently declare Iosephs bretheren Iacob hys sonnes who deuised euill against their brother put him into the pit and sold him vnto strangers did cease from this crueltie but yet are not read to haue remembered their sins with anie remorce vntil thirteene yeres after the sinne was committed as we may see in the processe of the Historie Dauid had left hys sinnes of murther and adulterie as thinking all quiet and well the space of a whole yere after which time being admonished by the Prophet Nathan hee repented of it And experience hath tried in manie that though they left their sinnes manie yeares agoe hauing had some working of God in them yet because they repented not truly for them they haue rebounded on them with terrible sights and fearfull visions to humble them to bring them to serious examination of them being done and left long since Examples whereof wee need not fetch from farre seeing so manie preachers which are acquainted with fearfull spirits will giue witnes hereof The frute of which amazed mindes for sinnes alreadie left is ours to beware of sinnes which are to come And that other mens harmes might teach vs blessed wisdome let vs labor not onely to leaue sin which one may doo for profite for feare for prayers or for werisomnes but also to repent of it for conscience sake This Examination of sins past must bee partly of those that wee committed before our calling partly of those which were done after our calling Euerie man especially hauing his reason reformed by the Word of God wil grant an examination of the life before our true knowledge of God in Christ to be most needfull But it may be some will thinke that wee need not be so precise in the searching of those sins which were after our knowledge but seeing of all other sinnes these byte sorest and pierce deepest for that they are aggrauated with all the menaces of God going before and after sinne Sinne is then most sinfull when after we know the truth after we haue ben deliuered from sin after we haue been inlightened wyth the grace of God wee haue falne into it I thinke that examinatiō most specialy ought to be had of those sins Wherfore to it erate our former examples in a new matter as we maye see the former kinde of examining first for sinnes before our calling in the sonnes of Iacob so wee haue a patterne of the latter in the practise of the Prophet Dauid who at the hearing of his sin was so troubled in spirit that he could not rest though the Prophet tolde him his sinnes were forgiuen him but still he was disquieted as though hee found no comfort in hys spirite For as it fareth with sores it commeth to pas with sinnes we are loath to haue our wounds often grated vpon we cannot so well away to haue our sores rifled seared lanced but to be fed with healing salue so we are hardly brought to haue our Consciences grownd or our sins ransacked sifted searched ripped vp but could stil haue them playstered with sweete promises and bathed in the mercies of God whereas it is farre safer before incarnatiue and healing Medicines to vse corrosiue and mundifying waters without which though some sores may seem to cloase and skin vp apace yet they proue worse and be rotten still at the coare they haue aboue a thin skin vnderneath rotten flesh In like manner wee would cloake we wold hide and couer our sinnes as it were with a curtaine but it is more sound Chirurgerie to pricke and pierce our Consciences with the burning yron of the law and to cleanse the wound of the Soule by sharpe threatenings least that skinne being pulled ouer the Conscience for a while wee lament the rotten corruption which remaines vncured vnderneath and so we be constrained to crie out of our sinnes openly As it is a follye then to dissemble our soares whilst they be curable and after to make them knowen when they be vncurable so it is a great follye to dissemble our sinnes whilest they may be remedied and so after be constrained to blaze them all abroade when they are remedilesse But of this by the waye because wee shall more largely touch it in the last part to come It is sufficient to commit sinne before knowledge but after some good light of the spirit to sin breedeth eyther hardnes of heart or a troubled spirite both which wee shall auoyd if in truth we be careful to watch ouer our affections and beware least after our deliuerie we fall into sinne againe Seuerall men subiect to seuerall sinnes haue their seueral checkes in their consciences some are ouercom with wrath and yet after theyr moodie fit they can tell that the wrath of man dooth not accomplish the righteousnes of God some are subiect to lust and after they saye that mans life hath another ende some slip deeply into worldlines and yet they bee often weakened with most terrible checkes of conscience Wel blessed are they whose hearts be truly grieued let them beware that make a daliance with sinne for either hardnesse of heart will ouertake them or a troubled conscience will quite confound them Whereby it comes to pas that many spending their bodyes on lust lament that euer they haue so abused then strēgth many giu'n too much to the pleasures
been assaulted ouerthrowen as also how some Countries too much negligent in the meanes thorough an excessiue fearefulnes haue incouraged theyr Enemies with more greedie violence to pray vpon them With such kinde of stratagems our aduersarie the diuell beeing well acquainted doth often practise this pollicie If hee see vs without all fear too quietly to rest in our selues he thinketh his assault must needes be the stronger because our assistaunce is the weaker Againe if he descrieth in vs a cowardly fear and fainting of heart before wee once begin to ioyne battaile with him hee will set vppon our immoderate feare and as villainously as sodenly stab vs to the heart make a present spoyle of vs. Common practise dooth farther teach vs that when we can heare the word without all trembling at God hys iudgements when wee can pray without all feare before the Maiestie of God when wee can come to the Discipline of the Church without all reuerence of the ordinance of the Lorde all is in vaine Againe let vs heare with too much trembling wee shall learne nothing let vs pray with too seruil a fear our worshipping of God will be without all comfort vnchearfull Thus if we neither lessen sinne that is sinne indeed neither make sinne of that which is not sinne in â—â—uth it is good to proceed to this threefolde examination and to laye the edge of this doctrin nere our affections because manie will be found in this ripenes of knowledge and hardnes of conscience to speake dispute and declare of all these things very skilfully with flickring in the circumference of the brain and not sitting at the ground of the hart doo seale vp a more iust sentence of condemnation against them To help this euil we must meditate deeply of the Law the Gospell together with the appurtenances of theÌ„ both that finding our selues farre from Gods blessings by the law seing our selues ouer to the curses due to the breakers of the Lawe wee maye raise vp some sense of sin in our selues Yet herein we must not stay our foote but goe a farther stryde for whereas manie by a diligent view of the lawe haue come to the sense of sinne in themselues and saw plainly their own condemnation yet because they labored not to see their guiltinesse acquited by the remission in Christ they plunged themselues into a bottomles sea of sorrowes Others haue passed these degrees and hithertoo haue made these steppes to auoyd this wound of Conscience and yet haue come also too short and missed of the marke who because of the sence of sinnes pardoned by the death of Christ they felt not also the vertue of his passion crucifiyng sinne in them but sawe that with the remission of sinne was not ioyned the mortification of sin and feared that there was no forgiuenes for them but still languishing with sorow they thought them-selues to stand charged with their former guiltines Yea that which is more for that such men haue not beene instructed nor surely haue beene grounded in the Doctrine of Christes death and resurrection it is for that they sawe not as well power flowing from his death to slay sinne in them as vertue to pardon sin in them for that they felt not as well strength to Sanctification streaming from the rising againe of Christ as they were perswaded of iustification righteousnes therein They haue lyne still bleeding at the heart in such sort as the wound of griefs could hardlye or neuer bee staunched Wherefore let vs strengthen our weake soules wyth thys seuen-fold coard of consolation agaynst these bitter assaultes let vs first labour to know sinne then to sorrowe for sinne after to feele our sinnes in Christ forgiuen further to looke for power to crucifie the same then to lay holde on iustification by his resurrection and lastly hope for strength to proceed from thence to further vs in sanctification and holines of life euen vnto the end And thus much briefly for the second thing which wee matched in companie with the examination of sinne euen the tryall of faith both which rightly vsed shall in some measure sauegard vs from the trouble of an afflicted minde Now let vs hasten to the third part of our Deuision to shew how Gods children being fallen into this wound of spirit may be holpe out of it which God willing wee will also performe after we haue aunswered a necessarie obiection which in the former part might seeme to encounter against vs. There is no man but will graunt that Dauid Iob and others of the Saints of God had a sight of their sinnes a sorow for their sinnes a taste of the remission of their sinnes and yet how commeth it to pas that these men were so troubled in minde To this I answere that their trouble so befell theÌ„ either for falling in some of these former things or els they were rather afflicted for tryall of their faith than for persecuting of sinne in them And therefore be it alwayes prouided that wee thinke not euerie conflict of Conscience continually or chiefely to bee for the pursuing of our sinnes but sometimes and principally that it commeth for the trial of our faith and yet secondarily or lesse principally for the scorging of sinne as wee may see in Iob. Whereuppon let all men bee admonished when they see good men thus humbled and throwen down in mind to laye their handes on theyr mouthes from saying Surely these men are but hipocrites doubtles these men be great sinners the Lord hath found out their iniquitie the Lord hath discouered their hypocrisie For good reason there is that such silence should be vsed for the Lorde maye as well make triall of their faith as take punishment of theyr sinnes For if such affliction should alwaies and chieflye be sent for sinne then it shuld follow that all others as they exceeded them in sin should also exceed them in the punnishment of sinne But now comming to the saluing of this soare I shall seeme verie straunge in my cure and so much the more to bee wondered at by how much in manner of proceeding I discent from the most sort of men herein I am not ignoraunt that manie visiting afflicted Consciences crye still Oh comfort them oh speake ioyfull and comfortable things vnto them Yea there bee some and those most excellently learned who in such cases are full of these and such lyke speeches Why art thou so heauie my brother Why art thou so cast downe my sister Bee of good cheere take it not so greeuously What is there that you should feare God is mercifull Christ is a Sauiour These bee speeches of good comfort indeed but they often doo the poore soules as much good herein as if they should powre cold water into their bosomes when as without farther searching of their soares they may as well minister a maladie as a medicine for as nutritiue and cordiall medicines are not good for euerie sicke person especially