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A10737
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The repentance of Peter and Iudas Together with the frailtie of the faithfull, and the fearefull ende of wicked hypocrites.
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Richardson, Charles, fl. 1612-1617.; Topsell, Edward, 1572-1625?
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1612
(1612)
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STC 21016A; ESTC S120149
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271,441
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294
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sponsus incipias contemnere sodales hanc continuam visitationem non iam gratiae attribuas sed naturae Hanc autem gratiam cui vult quando vult sponsus attribuit non iure haereditario possidetur Aug. in scala Paradysi Which treatise some ascribe to Bernard vnder this title descala Claustralium Feare not O Spouse saith he despaire not thinke not that thou art contemned if the bridegrome hide his face from thee for a time for all things shall worke together for thy good and thou shalt gaine both by his comming and by his departing he commeth for thy benefite and he departeth for thy benefit he commeth to comfort thee he departeth to make thee more heedfull least the greatnesse of the consolation should lift thee vp least if hee were alwayes with thee thou shouldest begin to despise thy fellowes and to attribute this continuall visitation not any more to grace but to nature But God giueth this grace to whom hee will and when hee will it is not helde by inheritance Secondly God doth it sometimes to trie vs. Not as if he were ignorant of vs for he knoweth what is in man Ioh 2.26 But that we may better knowe our selues So it is said of Hezâ—kiah that God left him to trie him 2. Chron. 32.31 and to knowe all that was in his heart And for this cause was the Apostle Peter left to himselfe at this time Hee had a great conceit of his owne strength before as though hee could haue done more then all the rest but now the Lord a little withdrawing his assistance he seeth there is no more in him of himselfe then in another man Thirdly God doth it to chasten some secret sinne in vs whereof wee haue not yet repented For it is nothing but iniquitie that separateth betweene God and vs Isa 59.2 and causeth him to hide his face from vs as the Prophet saith But assoone as euer we haue found out that sinne and vnfainedly humbled our selues for it vnder his hand he returneth againe to our comfort Fourthly because we doe not vse Gods graces well when we haue them but waxe proud of them as the Apostle saith he was left to bee buffeted of the messenger of Sathan 2. Cor. 12.7 Vulgare prouerbium est quod nimia familiaritas parit contemptum Rececedit ergo ne forte nimis assiduus contemnatur Aug. vbi supra least he should bee exalted aboue measure through the abundance of reuelations Yea such is our corruption that if we should neuer feele any want of grace we should in time begin to contemne God himselfe It is a common prouerbe Too much familiaritie breedeth contempt And therefore the Lord departeth from vs sometimes least being with vs continually he should be contemned Fiftly because wee desire them no more earnestly For if we could pray earnestly to God for his grace Iam. 1.5 he that giueth to all men liberally and reproacheth no man as Saint Iames saith would bestow it vpon vs. But our negligence and carelessenesse in this case doth euen deserue that God should forsake vs as the same Apostle saith Yee get nothing because yee aske not * Recedit vt ab sens magis desideretur desideratus auidius quaeratur diu quaesitus tandem gratius inueniatur Aug ibid. Quamuis subinde suis dominus in certamine ne desictant adiutorium tribu t permâ—ttituâ— tamen fâ—tigaâ—i propriae infirmitatis onâ—re praegrâ—uata mortalitas sed cum in se ipsa nullum virtutis inuenit firmamentum ad poscendum diuinae pietatis citò recurrat auxilium Fulgent de oret compunct cordis ad Probam Epist 4. Praeterea ne exilium depute mus pro patria arram pro praetij summa venit sponsuâ— recedit vicissim nunc consolationem affereâ—s nunc vniuersum statum nostrum in infirmitatem commutans paulisper nos permitâ—it gustare quà m suauis est antequam plenè sentiamus se subtrahit qâ—asi alijs expansis supra nos volitans prouocat nos ad voâ—andum Augustinus ibidem Cant. 2.9 Quis non remissius tepidiùs aâ—iet eum quem se cogitat necessario deferturum quando ne hominem amicum possit quisquam amare fideliter quem sibi futurum nouit inimicum Augustinus de Ciuitate Dei Lib 12. Cap. 20. 1. Cor. 10.13 Therefore God doth worthily withdraw himselfe from vs that when wee foole the want of his presence wee may more earnestly desire him and desiring may more diligently seeke him and hauing once besought him may at the last finde him to our greater comfort Last of all the Lord doth it to make vs more earnestly to long after that full perfection of grace that shal be in the Kingdome of Heauen If the Lord should neuer denie vs grace in this life nor should be ouer ready to set downe our rest here and should soone growe out of loue with any better estate And therefore that wee may not take the place of our banishment for our countrie as Saint Augustine saith nor the earnest of our inheritance for the full payment the Bridegrome commeth and departeth by course some times ministring comfort and sometimes changing our whole estate into weaknesse He suffereth vs to haue a little tast how sweet he is but before we can fully feele it he with draweth himselfe and as it were flouttereth ouer vs with his winges to prouoke vs to slie vp to heauen But howsoeuer the Lord for these and other causes best knowne to himselfe doth forsake his children for a while yet this is our comfort hee neuer forsaketh vs totally nor finally Yea euen when hee seemeth most of all to forsake vs hee standeth behinde the wall and looketh at vs through the chinckes of the dore as Salomon saith Where he compareth the Lord to a nurse that sometimes hideth herselfe from her child to see what shift it can make without her but still her eye watcheth ouer it that it take no hurt So though the Lord seeme to hide himselfe from vs in some temptations yet his gracious eye still attendeth vs and will not suffer vs to bee tempted aboue our strength Cant. 2.6 but will giue an issue with the temptation And if at any time wee feele our selues in danger of fainting then hee runneth to vs with all speed and putteth his left hand vnder our head and his right hand doth embrace vs. This Doctrine serueth first for admonition For admonition For it admonisheth Vse 1 vs to despaire of our owne power and of all strength of the flesh yea euen to renounce our selues and all confidence in our selues It is the Deuils pollicie to make vs ouerweene of our selues and to presume of that that is not in vs and all to bring vs to confusion For hee knoweth that a man is neuer nearer vnto shame then when his heart is lifted vp with a fond conceit of his owne worth As Salomon saith Pride goeth before destruction Prou.
Vse 1 they care not how Qui rem faciunt quocunque modo Horat. lib. 1. Epist 1. lucri bonus est odor ex re Qualibet Iuuen. sat 14. whether by hooke or crooke by right or wrong that thinke the smell of all gaine to be good which way soeuer it coÌ„meth For eueÌ„ as many times the greedy fish while she hunteth after the bait is caught and choaked with the hook so these gredy Cormorants which with an vnsatiable desire do hunt after riches many times get such a sting in their conscience as tormeÌ„teth their soules with endles woe Vse 2 Secondly it serueth to admonish al men neuer to increase their riches by vnlawfull meanes nor to bring home a pennie that is ill gotten least it proue a canker to wast and consume all the rest of their substance Though a garment bee neuer so costly yet if the plague haue infected it we will not meddle with it So though ill gotten goods doe glister gloriously in the eies of men yet because they are infected with a plague which will not only indanger those riches that are iustly gotten but hazard the soule also therefore we should haue no dealing with them For as our Sauiour Christ saith What wil it profit a maÌ„ to win the whole world lose his soule Mat. 16.26 And thus we haue handled the seuerall parts of Iudas his repentance Let vs in a word apply it to our selues We see what hee performed in his repentance we must be carefull to supply that which he wanted or else our repentance will doe vs no good But I feare me if due examination were had it would appeare that many of vs neuer goe so farre in the worke of repentance as Iudas did How then can we hope to be saued since Iudas did all this that wee haue heard and yet is damned Shall hee bee sorrowfull for his sinne shall he confesse his sinne in particular manner and shall he make restitution of that which he hath gotten vnlawfully and yet goe to hell And shall we doe none of all these things and hope to goe to heauen Oh let vs not deceiue our selues As our Sauiour Christ said to his Disciples Except your righteousnesse exceede the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees Mat. 5.20 yee shall not enter into the Kingdome of heauen So say I in this case Except our repentance goe beyond the repentance of Iudas and all such as Iudas was we shall neuer be saued Shall Kain cry out Gen. 4.13 Exod. 9.27 My sinne is greater then can be forgiuen me Shall Pharaoh confesse his sinne and acknowledge that God is righteous 1. Kings 21.27 Shall Ahab humble himselfe before the Lord in sacke-cloth and ashes Shall Simon Magus be sorie for his sinne Act. 8.24 and desire the Apostle Peter to pray for him Nay to say yet more shall the Deuill himselfe beleeue and tremble Iam. 2.19 and yet be all of them damned And shall we doe nothing at all shall wee neuer be moued and yet hope to be saued Nay rather all these shal be so many witnesses against vs at the great and dreadfull day of iudgement He departed This is the preparation vnto Iudas his wretched end that followed He shunned the sight of men and his conscience tormenting him and driuing him to the gallowes he went aside and sought some secret place If he had conuersed amongst men it is likely hee might haue beene preuented and therefore the Deuill draweth him in to some solitarie place From whence ariseth this instruction Doct. that it is very dangerous for men to liue in solitarinesse Solitarinesse is very dangerous Eccles 4.10 Gen. 2.18 Woe be to him saith that diuine Preacher that is alone The reason is because hee lieth open to tentations and offereth himselfe to the snare of the Deuill Hereupon the Lord said It is not good for man to be himselfe alone If not in Paradise whiles man was innocent much lesse now that he is wholly corrupted And wee see when the Deuill encountred with our Sauiour Christ Mat. 4.1 Gen. 3.1.2 Gen. 34.1.2 2. Sam. 11.2 hee made choise of the wildernesse implying that such places are fittest for his working And therefore wee reade that when Euah was stragling alone from her husband curiously viewing the pleasures of the garden the Deuill set vpon her and caused her to tast the forbidden fruit When Dinah Iacobs daughter was wandring alone from her Fathers Tents idly to see the fashions of the countrie Shechem the sonne of Hamor caught her and defiled her And when Dauid was walking alone on the toppe of his house he was tempted to lust after Bathshebah and to commit adulterie with her So that we see what occasions of sinne are offered vnto vs when wee are alone and how ready we are to yeeld vnto them And therefore a Vnum primò aggrâ—ssus vt lupus ouem secernere à grege vt accipiter columbam ab agmine volantium separare tentauerat Nam cui non est aduersus omnes satis virium circumvenire quaerit solitudinem singulorum Cypr. lib. 1. epist 1. Mich. 2.1 one saith wel that as the Wolfe laboureth to seperate the sheep from the rest of the flocke and the Hawke to seuer the Pidgeon from the rest of the flight So the Deuil laboureth to single out men from the societie of others that so he may the more easily ouercome them For hee that hath not strength enough to set vpon al together seeketh to circumuent them one by one Yea the greatest iniquities and grossest sinnes that haue beene done in the sight of the world were first plotted and purposed warped and contriued by men alone As the Prophet Michah saith of wicked men They worke wickednesse vpon their beds and when the morning is light they practise it And wee haue all experience of this in our selues For we are no sooner from companie but armies of ill thoughts and desires like so many swarmes of Bees about a mans eares are solliciting and offering themselues vnto vs. And this the Heathen man knew also when he said b Nemo est ex imprudentibus qui relinqui sibi debeat Tunc mala confilia agitant tunc aut alijs aut ipsis futura pericula struunt Tunc cupiditates improbas ordinant tunc quicquid aut metu aut pudore animus celabat exponit c. Seneca Epist 10. There is no indiscreet or foolish man that ought to be left to himselfe For then euill counsels doe molest him then hee deuiseth danger either to himselfe or others Then he frameth euill desires then the mind laieth open whatsoeuer either for feare or fauour it concealed before c. And we want not examples of many that being alone haue fallen into fearfull dangers This serueth first of all to reproue the Papists who so Vse 1 highly commend their Eremitical life as though it were the most excellent and the most perfite estate But wee see