LARGE LETTERS Three in number containing much necessarie matter for the instruction and comfort of such as are distressed in conscience by feeling of sinne and feare of Gods wrath WRITTEN HEERETOfore by T. W. for some deare friends of his and now published and printed for the raising vp of such as labor vnder the heauie burthen of an afflicted Spirite PSAL. 42.11 â—â—y art thou cast downe my soule and why art thou disquieted within me wait on God for I will yet giue him thanks hee is my present hâ—lpe and my God AT LONDON Printed by Roger warde for Thomas Man 1589. TO HIS FAITHFVLL friends and verie deare brethren in Christ Mast Roger Ofield Robert Washborne George Smith Thomas Shipton Iohn Field Robert Iones Iohn Harper Iohn Hounsell and all the rest of his Christian acquaintaunce in London as well as though they were particularlie named together with all those that els where in the land vnfaignedly feare the Lord and looke for the glorious appearing of his sonne and our sauiour T. W. wisheth all spirituall goodnes heauenly comfort in this life and in the end the eternall glorification of their bodies and soules in euerlasting blisse through Christ MY loue in the Lorde and the affectioÌ„s of my hart in him haue bin in some measure of soundnes I humbly thanke God for it in Christ strongly carried generallie tovvardes all the Israell of GOD wheresoeuer and more particularlye tovvardes you my good Breethren vvhereof ouer and besides the assured testimony of mine owne soule I haue for faithful witnesses the Lord himselfe in heauen and many of his saints vppon earth and amongst others you your selues Causes leading me hereto are manye but as in respect of God none more powerfull than his grace and holy spirite shed abroad into my heart and as in regard of you none more effectuall than sundry sincere fruites of your faith and the comfortable feeling of the communion of saints in which holy fellowship standeth not onely the spiritual felicity and good of the whole bodie but the very ioy and contentment also of euerie sounde member therein For outward kindnesses that I haue receiued from you I must will euerie where acknowledge my selfe much beholding vnto you And yet this I may vvith all boldnes professe that as that is not the onâ—ly or principall cause moueing me to affect you so though I haue beene beholding to you all yet not to all alike but to some more than to other some Which also I rehearse not now either to breed anie disdaine or emulation in you one of you towards another for that vvere to breake the bond of charity and vnitie of the spirit or to lessâ—n any fauour though neuer so small that I haue receiued from you for that wer to depriue you of your praise and to declare my selfe ingratfull nor craftilie clavving after the maner of the vvorld to craue newe benefiâ—es for that vvere nothing els but deceit and flatterie to procure mine own good from all vvhich corruptions I haue hitherto as in respect of my selfe and you through Gods goodnesse beene graciouslie freed But to let you vnderstand that your benefits haue not bene bestowed vpon an vnskilfull or an thankefull person but vpon such a one as by the light that he hath receiued from God hath vveighing them in an equal ballance esteemed of them according to the goodnes of the gift and the christian affection of the Partie giuing The thinges indeede which haue most speciallye lincked mee fast in the Lorde vnto you are your precious faith towards God vnfaigned loue to the saints christian consciences amongest your selues and holie praiers in presence and absence one of you for an other and all of you I am assured for the holy causes and faithfull members of the whole Church and amongest the rest euen for me pore and wretched man that I am In which duties of yours as my heart hath greatly reioiced in the lord for the graces that in great mercy he hath bin pleased to vouchsafe vnto you I my selfe haue as in some sort though not to the ful in regard of your spirituall fauours performed to me by reson of weaknesse and wants in my selfe aunswered them again with the like I write not as a vaine glorious boaster so I doubt not but that therby God him selfe hath receiued glorie at your hands his childreÌ„ goten much good and you your selues reaped a gracyous measure and increase of religyous knowledge and dutifull obedience As for the worldly fauours that you haue shewed me and bodily benefites that vvay I confesse my selfe to be far behind hand with you and much indebted in deed though not in affection surely and readinesse of good vvill for so my heart is verie large in humilitie I speake it neyther will I wish better witnesses of it than your selues yet in regard of action vvherein still my griefe groweth great and increaseth daily vpon me as vvell by the feare that I haue of my future wants as by the feeling of my former and present disabilities Hovvbeit sith thys is the Lords doing and that he is pleased thereby to sift me and to sound you mee for my patience and comfortable induring of these necessities and you for your faithfull obedience and vnfaigned loue I can not but vvith some measure of spirituall ioy vndergoe mine owne lacks and againe recomfort my spirites because hauing to deale vvith God and his seruaunts vvho haue learned from his holie example greater than all exception to accept of men according to that they haue and not according to that they haue not I rest resolued my good vvill shall bee accounted as a deed specially sith I am ready euery vvhere vvithout flatterie in my self or favvning vpon you to acknovveledge to the glorie of God and the good of his people the great good turnes that by you I haue receiued euen from the Lords ovvne handes And yet gladly vvould I if I could tell hovve some vvay recompence though not all yet som part peece thereof And in that respect indeede haue I long looked vvished for as some good occasion from you wherin it might haue pleased you all or any of you to haue imployed and vsed me to my pore vttermost So some sufficiencie in my selfe at the leastwise in some mean measure to haue requited that ouerflowing heape of your kindnes and holy loue But hitherto I deliuer it with my griefe of heart as a man sensiblie seeing and feeling gods hand vpon my selfe both that and other waies also my expectation and hope hath bene frustrat and my power very short and skant A small thing the Lorde vvas pleased some years ago to inable me in two or three Letters to performe for the comfort of some of my christian acquaintance whose conflicts in conscience vvere great and many which lying by mee vvith some other simple thinges that I haue done and I beeing earnestly requested to make that coÌ„mon to many which was written for
some particulars lay at it vvere buried in forgetfulnes by me the same also being at the last ouer-viewed by some good breethren whome I much loue and reuerence in the lord I was at the length ouercome could not choose but yeild Wherein though some perhaps may suppose that I labour in publishing an vnnecessarie impertinent matter because these ignorant dayes require Doctrine for building of men vp in knovvledge and iudgement and these carelesse and contemptuous times abounding vvith all manner of loosnes and levvdnes craue rebuke rather and exhortation for care and conscience in the dueties vve knovve as a more fit and meete argument for this dissolute age◠yet being assured of this both by mine owne knovvledge and other mens faithfull reportes that sundrie there are abroad in this land and amongst the rest euen some of you and yours that as in regarde of your spirituall combats and bickerings and the bitter assaultes and temptations you haue found therein had need of holy and heauenly comfort I could not but as in a generall care for all the afflicted ones to vvhome I wishe all the comforts of God as to my ovvn soule so in particular good vvil tovvardes you your selues vvhose invvard comfort and outvvard ioy I vvould bee glad and ready to procure at all times and by all meanes if I could tel hovv but acquaint you and them specially sith it is one principall portion of the svveet Manna that the lord hath prouided for you vvith such pleasaunt and delightfull consolations that out of the word as God by his spirit hath vvrought in mee for the peace of mine ovvne heart and by me though vnvvorthie euery way communicated vnto som others What root they may take or effects they may bring forth I knovv not Sure I am of this my earnest praiers vnto God as in regard of his religion and vvorship and heartie purpose in my selfe as in respect of Christian good vvill is that all that mourne in our Sion might reape some good by the same vvhich if it cannot bee effected either by meanes of my sinne that medle therin or by reason that the svveet things published cannot so seasonablie or for lacke of oportunitie come to their knovvledge or because that through diffidence they fore-close the vvaie and passage of consolation vnto themselues in all and euerye of vvhich desertes I shall surelye mourne muche yet my hope and heartes desire is that all of you my good friendes might receiue some vvorthie fruite thereby as vvell those amongest you that haue not as yet tasted of thys bitter cuppe a matter that you must looke for and make an account of if euer you vvill feele hovve sweete the Lord is indeed vvhile you perceiue GOD sitting you and furnishing you vvith the best armour of proofe that can bee before the day of battaile dravve nigh as those that haue beene or are tried that beeing the verie state and condition of all Gods children God according to your present distresses prouiding for you and reuealing vnto you the present comfortes of his most faithfull vvorde and infallible trueth that so both the one sort and the other hauing the povver of your ovvne sinnes in the sufferinges of his sonne if not vtterlie remooued and cleane taken avvay yet verie much lessened and as it vvere beaten dovvne you might not onelye the more earnestlie oppose your selues agaist satan in his sleights and haue an assured hope of a glorious and ioyfull victorie against him and his assaults but also may be inabled to stand yea to ouercome in the day of euill and to be more than cōquerors thorow him that hath loued you washed you in his bloud vvho I doubt not shall shortly and mightilie also tread him and all his forces whatsoeuer down vnder your feet Now the very god of peace sanctify you and al yours thorowout I pray God that your whole spirite and soule and bodie may bee kept blameles vntill the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ vvhereof I doubt not because he is faithful which hath called you who also wil doe it Good brethren pray for vs that we may be readie in all things with vnfaignednes to do the Lords vvill At London the tenth of of this December 1589. Yours readie and assured euer in Iesus Christ T. W. the Lord his vnworthy seruant GRACE AND PEACE from God c. BEcause I haue not nowe a long time eyther by wryting or by worde of mouth heard from you good Sir I grow into some vncertain imaginations concerning your estate and by meanes thereof I freely confesse it not onely into neglect of some duety towardes your selfe I meane comming to visite you and writing vnto you such simple comfortes as God hath bin pleased to explicate vnto me which I call simple not as of thēselues for so they are high and excellent but as I haue them in my a 2. Cor. 4 7. earthen vessell but also into cold performance at the least of som seruice vnto God I meane my supplications and praiers vnto his maiestie The duti◠of a Christian and faithfull friend towardes hys friend as on your behalfe To pray for you when God hath bene pleased to giue you and in you me for I take the fauours bestowed vpon you to be kindnesse heaped vp vpon my selfe thorow his merciful deliuerance of you a iust and holy occasion to prayse his name should be the sinne of mine owne soule because it were the offring vp of a wrong sacrifice and presenting vnto God a b Malac. 1.8 blind beast as it were As on the other side to striue to yeeld you comfort when you haue receiued a riche aboundance of the same from God himselfe thorowe his holie worde and blessed spirite were as it might be thought to doe a needlesse and vnnecessarie worke for where there is fulnesse and plentie scarsitie and barrennesse will little appeare and doe small good From the former though I would gladly as in regard of the lack of sound knowledge touching your present condition and in respect of the dulnesse and heauinesse of my soule as to other good workes so to that particularlie cease till eyther from your selfe or others that are as your selfe I should be faithfully certified of the state wherein you are that so I might as a feeling member with you eyther vnfeignedly c Rom. 12.15 reioyce in the asswaging of your trobles and trials or else heartily weepe and pitie you and pray with you and for you in the continuance and increase of these distresses yet wil not the doubts that I haue in me touching the continuance of these calamities and the dutie that I owe vnto you as in that behalfe let me vtterly leaue off but needes I must nowe and then according to my poore measure present you before God and that by name in my requestes and prayers though poore and faynt In the other surely I cannot God ayding me but inlarge my selfe to my
vttermost yea beyond it if I could tell how because I know it to be the Lordes assured trueth that I shall deliuer and though not fit perhappes now for your selfe by reason of your present comfort and ioy yet heereafter i may bee of more then necessary vse for your selfe and others also when these darke and glomie daies of assaultes shall againe take holde of you In both which respectes as I rest perswaded that my poore paynes shall not vtterly perish so cannot I but thorowly assure mine own heart that both the one and the other shall be well accepted of you who are woont much to make of euerie thing that commeth from me In consideration whereof I will the more willingly assaie God assisting me the performance of the matter I purpose that is the yeelding of you some such comfortes as d 2. Cor. 1.3.4 the God of all consolation hath giuen vnto me not onely for the staie of mine owne conscience but to the ende also that I might acquaint others that are in tribulation with the same The dealings of God with his dearest saintes and seruantes in this behalfe especially are as we knowe by the light of the world and by experience in our selues and examples of others that haue gone before vs or liue with vs diuers and sundry he throwing vs downe and lifting vs vp and e psal 90.3 turning vs to destruction and yet saying returne you sonnes of Adam whose wayes as euerie maner of way so in this respect especiallie are much more vnsearchable and past finding out than f pro. 30 19 is the way of an Eagle in the ayre the waie of a serpent vpō a stone or the way of a ship going with a right fore winde and full sayle in the midst of the mayne sea till God be pleased in the multitude of his mercies in some measure to discouer the same vnto hys seruantes What God will doe with you good sir after so manifold and long trials is vnknowne to me because neither I nor any other haue g Rom 11 34 bene of his councell in such secret and particular purposes speciallie concerning others whatsoeuer we may feel touching our selues Howbeit I cannot otherwise thinke or be perswaded but that you haue bene are and so shal be for euer h 9.23 Tokens to assure men to be the vessels of mercie a vessell of his mercy wherein I am dayly more and more confirmed not onely by the christian carrying of your selfe in the dayes of your former and present troubles you patiently bearing them and earnestly calling vppon God for heauenly strength to vndergoe and ouercome but euen by the verie afflictions themselues that you felt or feele God by them setting as it were his own marke vpon you the better to knowe you for one of his owne sheepe and sonnes and so conforming you i Rom. 8.29 vnto the image of his best beloued in his sufferinges that in the same you might haue a certaine pledge of glorification with him Manifold and long afflictions a verie grieuous temptation Wherein though I acknowledge that it cannot be but verie greeuous to be long held and much exercised and the rather because it is not one but manifold assaultes and temptations with which you are troubled on euerie side yet doubt I not but that the issue and end that God shall worke of all these An answere to it of the end shal be exceeding good not onely in regard of k 2. Cor. 4.17 a far most excellent weight of eternal glory that I know they pledge vp in you other of Gods children but of the effects also that for the time present they bring forth in you Of the effects as adding an edge vnto your prayers which for the time seemed to be colde or dead rather lessening yea beating backe the force of many other temptations which no doubt might strongly assault and mightily encounter with you conforming you in vnfeigned affection to the obedience of Gods good will a worthy worke doubtlesse and a matter of no small difficultie filling you and that for your selfe and others also with the comfortes and consolations which are from aboue Afflictions to the faithfull not so much a cause of discouragement as to looke to themselues and to cal vpon God for ayd and strength whiche hardly but by such meanes wee taste of or attayne vnto with sundrie such like In my poore iudgement therefore you may yea you ought to be so farre off from beeing discomfited and cast downe in this estate wherein you are that you haue rather iust occasion offered you to l Heb. 12.12 lift vp your handes which hang downe and to strengthen your weake knees yea to raise vp your decaied spirites assuring your selfe that howsoeuer the Lord lead you along in manifolde and manifest afflictions and carry you as it were from one sorrow to another yea howsoeuer hee seeme to bring you to the pits bruicke and make all the surges and m Psal 42.7 waues of his displeasure to rise vp against you and mount ouer your head that yet I will not n 2. Cor. 4 8. destitute you nor o Heb. 13.5 fayle you for euer as well because hee trieth you no otherwise Two reasons nor exerciseth you no further than he hath done those that haue bene deare and precious in his owne eyes as also because he is both faithfull and powerfull to perfourme both in heauen and in earthe whatsoeuer hee hath promised to the sonnes of men much more to his owne seruauntes Two apt similitudes declaring Gods loue towardes his children Wherein also no doubt he dealeth no otherwise with you than earthly parentes doe many times with their owne deare children who to make them the more plainly see and the more strongly to be perswaded of their fatherly loue towardes them and manlike strength for their deliuerance bring their sayd children to the fire side that so they may feele more than a woonted heate thereof and learne to feare it withall The like they practise towards them also in another element namely in water not onely carrying them all along the edge brimme or bancke of some pond or riuer but nowe and then making semblance as if they would throw or thrust them into the same And yet wee knowe they loue them no whit the lesse for all this nay we are assured of this the more nigh they are to daunger whether it arise from the negligence and ignoraunce of the children themselues or seeme to be layd vppon them from the very louing and naturall parentes the more sure and fast hold they take of them And shal not we be much more perswaded I wil not say of the like loue but of farre p Esay 49.15 more exceeding loue in God towards his sonnes and daughters with whose fauour towardes his people and power for his childrens good no affections 〈◊〉 might I dare auouch this not of
their sins This I am sure you cannot be ignorant of that as the wicked want with profite continuance that sting of hart with profit I say because though they haue it it doth theÌ„ no good and with continuance because it is but as a flashe of lightning in them raysed vp for their greater iudgement as soone vanishing as it doth appeare so the godly looking too much vppon themselues The feeling of the godly and their sinnes and secluding both from sight and sense the viewe and memorie of Gods mercies lay to hard and heauie burthens vppon their owne soules Me thinketh this rather woulde be stood vppon that sith euen from that that woundeth them most I meane the continuall charging and accusing of themselues men that haue their minds inlightned from God may reape singular consolations they should labour euen from thence to gather strong comfortes vnto themselues against their temptations which they may doe by this holy consideration that the heart wounded with the dailie sight and sense of sinne that is past is pushed forward thereby to speedy and vnfeigned repentance God to that end setting the same before them that so in the lothsomnesse thereof they might make haste vnto him which otherwise as in the want thereof it could not so much as thinke vpon much lesse performe is strengthned also against sinne that is to come because hardly haue anie bene found to fall into that which they haue with vpright and dayly iudgement misliked in themselues principally and in others secondarily the fear of the former causing them to keepe a good watche ouer themselues in the latter and is prouoked in and by themselues tenderly to pitie earnestly to pray for such whose state that waie foorth they knowe and feel by experience in themselues to be as lamentable and as much to be regarded as their owne All which bringing with them the glory of God their own benefite and other mens good that euen in the least thinges cannot but yeeld them comfort that seriously thinke thereupon vnlesse they will deeme Gods honour light or their owne comfort base or the loue of the faâ—thfull and their welfare a meane yea a vilde thing But we will put the case that your sinnes were as huge and as high as your selfe take them to be yea let vs imagine that they had spread theÌ„selues throughout both heauen and earth and did reach from the one end of the world to the other yet who can will or dare denie but that as God himselfe so his mercies towardes vs in Iesus Christ c Co. 3.20 The mercy of God in this life chiefly appeareth in the forgiuenesse of sinne ouer reacheth them euery way and the rather sith his meanes are no waie in this life more euidently manifested than in the forgiuenesse of the sinnes of his seruantes Concerning which trueth we may and ought to be certainly perswaded not onely by reason A reason taken of Gods nature which is infinite taken from the infinitnesse of Gods owne nature who beeing infinite himselfe can haue nothing in him but that which is infinite and therefore his mercie beeing in him must also be infinite with whom howsoeuer our sins be in numerable as in respect of our selues d Psal 19.12 for who vnderstandeth his iniquitie or is able to account his transgressions yet they are finite and certaine as in regard of himselfe that e 147.4 counteth the number of the stars and calleth them all by their names but also from the large and moste faithfull promises Of Gods promises that in euerie place almost of his word for the vnderpropping of our weake fayth hee hath plainly and plentifully propounded vnto vs amongest which euen these most sweete sayinges seeme not of the least reckoning f 103.12 As farre as the East is from the West so farre hath hee remoued our sinnes from vs. Againe in another place g Isa 1.18 Though our sinnes were as Crimsin they shal be made white as Snow though they were red as Skarlet they shall be as wooll And again h Rom. 5.20 Where sinne hath abounded there grace hath more than abounded with sundrie suche like with which I knowe you are acquainted as hauing laid them vp in your heart for the peace of the same and hauing expressed them with your mouth for the testification of your ioy Hitherto I haue laboured neither vnsoundly as in regard of Gods trueth propounded nor vnprofitably as in respect of you afflicted nor vndutifully as inconsideration of my selfe trauailing generally to deliuer generall comfortes against generall transgressions Now it remaineth that I come to applie particular consolations as if it were speciall medicines and plaisters to those peculiar offences griefes that you saie are in your selfe and it hath pleased you to acquaint me withall to this end as I take it verily that of my poore store and penurie indeede you might yet receiue some spirituall reliefe and comfort What measure of mercie I haue receiued that way hee that hath bene pleased freely to giue the same vnto me best knoweth Howbeit howe small or great soeuer it be this doth not a little incourage me to a liberall vse of the same that I knowe certainly I shall not decrease mine owne by that I bestow vpon others but rather increase the same much it seruing me as the widdowes i 2 King 4 2. c. pitcher of oyle did in the dayes of Elisha being miraculously increased not onely to inable me in some sort to pay my debts though it be but fiue shillinges in the pound as we saie but the rest being sufficient for my selfe and my children to liue vpon But to those thinges which you obiect against your selfe and to that first which you first put downe Obiections answered You saie you are greatly troubled with manifold feares much doubting I beleeue it to be true And who would not be of that minde if they considered you but as a man howe much more then if they behold you as a godly man in whom such things are better seen because naturall blindnesse is somewhat remoued and more felt because hardnesse of hart and benummednesse is in some measure taken away yea I am so farre of from thinking these thinges to be discomfortable to you though as feare doubting are in you I cannot approoue them because they are in vs tainted thorow the corruption of nature that froÌ„ the same as I take it you may reape and receiue singular consolation not onely in this respect that they bring forth in you good and gracious effects of hartie praier to almightie God carefull watching ouer your selfe tender pitie and compassion towards others c. and all these in a greater measure than you feel wil confesse yet herein me thinketh you should do wel to giue glory to God and according to grace receiued yeeld his children a notable portion of comfort but whilest you are herein become
k Iame. 5.11 yee haue heard of the patience of Iob and haue knowne what ende the Lord made for the Lord is verie pitifull and mercifull Where marke I pray you that hee notwithstanding all his frowardnesse against his friends who came no doubt with a minde to visit and comfort him howsoeuer either thorowe his own corruption or their euill he was prouoked to saie l â— b 16.2 miserable comforts are you all the sorte of you notwithstanding his horrible execration of the good creatures of god which neuer did him hurt but manie waiâ—s tended to profite and pleasure hâ—m for ease comfort health and strength notwithstanding all his inward impatience and fretting against God and outward furie and open charging of him to doe him iniurie and wrong is yet set before vs as a worthie paterne of patience and a mirror of a milde and quiet spirite These thinges perhaps maie seeme straunge to you and you in your imagination may suppose that they can hardly agree well together The worke of regeneration oâ— reformation But if you will labour wisely to discerne the worke of reformation and regeneration that God hath in his children from the remaynders of their owne corruption that beeing alwaies good and excellent in it selfe and thâ—s naught and abhominable yea manie times also much darkenening the other and consider that notwithstanding our sinnes God is mercifully pleased in Iesus Christ to cure and to couer them all and to receiue vs vnto himselfe in him not onely as though we had neuer sinned but as if wee had actually and really fulfilled all righteousnesse and haue receiued thorow the holie ministerie of the worde and the gracious working of of the spirite the eie of faith to see and the hand of faith to lay holde of and to apply this particularlie vnto your owne selfe in the state and condition wherein you are you shall easilie knowe in your vnderstanding faithfullie feele in your soule stedfastlie beleeue in your heart and francklie confesse with your mouth this woorthie difference and most comfortable point wherein also for the better instruction or perswasion of you or both I will by your good patience spend a line or two Of ioy and feare in one person and at one time Ioy and feare doubtlesse in humaine iudgement seeme one of them to be set against another and yet in the holy gospell it is reported of the women which went to see Christes sepulchre that vpon the glorious apparition of Gods angell at that place and the declaration of Christes resurrection m Math. 28.8 they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great ioy feare as I take it at the strangenesse of the sight and much ioy for the comfortable and gladsome tidinges that they had heard And what I pray you is indeede more contrarie one vnto another than beliefe and vnbeliefe The like of beliefe and vnbeliefe And yet the father of the sicke childe in the Gospell hauing receiued this comfortable speache from our Sauiour himselfe n Marke 23.24 that all thinges are possible vnto him that beleeueth cryed out with teares and that when he prayed Lorde I beleeue helpe my vnbeliefe calling and counting that beginning of fayth that God had wrought in him beliefe and the doubtfulnesse and distrust of hys owne hart vnbeliefe And if it haue beene so in hym and others and wee stedfastâ—y beleeue the same because wee see it is reuealed vnto vs in the written worde of God why shoulde wee not perswade our selues that the lyke is and may bee in vs because Gods workes are this waie nowe as then all alike But wee are hyndered from the comfortable sight and the ioyfull feeling heereof one while by suffering of oure myndes to bee whollie taken vp with the beholding of our owne sinnes onely forgetting in the meane while the graces and fauours that God hath bene pleased freely to bestow vpon vs for his glorie and our good and an other while by imagining that whilest we haue not perfection of mercie and goodnesse here we haue receiued no acceptable measure of grace and loue the former of these beâ—ing dangerous vtterly to ouerwhelme vs with distrust and the latter prest and readie to cause vs to deface Gods mercies in vs but both of them powerfull to deteyne and withhold vs from yeelding due glorie to God whilest which way soeuer wee looke wee thinke we haue nothing hauing yet receiued something so yeeld him not holie praise and thankes o Psal 50.14.23 69.32 11.16.12.13 the best and onely sacrifice that he requireth at our handes for all his fauours As for that which seemeth heerein most to wound you namely your blasphemie against God as you call it or speaking euill of him I woulde pray you ouer and besides that that hath bin said alreadie to weigh this following and see whether it may not satisfie you concerning that great doubt yea or no. A comparison or similitude Put the case that some one that had borne you singular good will not onely for worldly considerations but in the trueth also and as a sound testimonie thereof had euerie where as occasion had bene offered giuen you a due and iust commendation for the good partes that be in you and yet afterwardes puffed vp in a haughtie imagination of hâ—s owne heart or forgetting your great fauours shewed him or his own former friendship professed and practised or mislead by some lewd and hypocriticall companie as al and euerie one of these thinges are strong and mightie no doubt to carrie men awaie should eyther by himselfe or together with them in companie either thinke or speake euill of you Tell me I pray you howe you would behaue your selfe towardes such a one speciallie if hee should vnfeinedly confesse his offence and protest sincere sorrowfulnesse of heart for his sinne surely I doubt not but the p Rom. 5.5 loue of God shedde abroad into your heart would make you ready willing with a sound affectioÌ„ to forget and to forgiue and to reciue him euen as though he had not fallen And shal or can you which in respect of Gods infinite fauor towardes you haue not so much as a crum of loue towardes men shewe yet notwithstanding such a larges of the same and god q 1. Ioh. 4.8 who is loue it selfe as the Apostle saith be skant and pinching as in this respect for mine own part rather than I would thinke or say so I would hold and affirme that the bottomlesse depths of the huge and great Ocean might be dried vp want water before the ponds and the cesternes that in a parched land men haue digged vnto theÌ„selues or anie thing that is more absurd vnreasonable than this if anie such can be found Doubting of his election to eternal life The last but yet that not of the least importance wherewith your heart is troubled is that you cannot feele your selfe to be one
euen such doubtles is the state and condition of many distressed in conscieÌ„ce and amongst the rest your case particularlie wherein whatsoeuer you say of your selfe or vtter against your selfe yet I â—t many other though not the best phisitions yet your vnfeigned familiars that haue nowe a long time knowne you in God and his trueth haue seene in you since the daie and hower of our firste acquaintaunce vntill this present time and yet still doe beho de such euidencie clearnes of the graces of Gods spirite notwithstanding your long and continuall complaintes as all the smoke â—muther mystes and fogges and whatsoeuer els els that Sathan by him selfe and his suppostes hath or can cast out against you shall neuer bee able to take away the cleare sight of them from vs or mooue vs so much as once to doubt of the comfortable reuiuing of them in you euen vnto eternall lyfe And I hope wee haue the spirit of God and by the grace thereof as also by the light of his Woorde and experience that hee hath giuen vs are able to deserue some thinge in this behalfe though not so well in others as in our selues for that shall wee neuer bee able to doo yet in others also Wherefore to make an end where I began Be of good comfort good sir I beseech you and waite with patience the Lords ioyfull appearing whose you are doubtles and whereof you may be assured because you haue him x Rom. 8.31 on your side therefore not feare who shal or can be against you because also you haue his children standing with you and for you not onely suffering the same afflictions in bodie and soule that you do and so learning by themselues to remeÌ„ber you in bonds as those that are bound with you but with all holie comfort as in respect of your selfe and with all earnest praier as in regard of the Lord ayding you to their vttermost yea because he that z Iames. 1.17 Gracs from God bestowed on his elect is free from shaddowe of tyranny hath bestowed so many excellent graces of his his vpoÌ„ you as sound knowledge stedfast faith vnfained loue christian patience and a notable measure of holie obedience to his blessed trueth although that in some of these many go before you yet in al of them I hardly know any of my godly acquaintance in Christ that goeth beyond you And yet farther you may the more certainely perswade your selfe of the trueth of this point because you haue cast him so dear a peece euen the hart blood of his best beloued sonne whom he hath giuen as for the testification of his singular loue towardes man so to this end also a Iohn 3.16 that euerie one that beleeth in him shall not perish but haue eternal life And if that which men buy dear they esteem precious and cannot abide at any hand to haue it perish surely God will not see that lost that hee loueth so tenderlie and which he hath redeemed to him selfe with so great and high a ransome b 1. Pet. 1.18 yea with such and excellent an most pretious iewell To all which if you wil ad the manifold victories that here to foâ—e he hath giuen you against sinne and sathan and all their cruell and craftâ—e assaultes he euen then as it weâ—e most miraculously deliuering you wâ—en neither you nor any for you could so much as once dreame of a way much lesse beholde it how you mighte scape certainlie you may take it as the voice of God from heauen that hee will not now specially sith hee hath vouchsafed you so many mercifull meanes of a ioifull deliueraunce throwe you off or taste you awaye but deale rather with you as hee dooth with other his seruauntes c Phillip 1.6 make perfâ—ct in you the good thing that he hath begunne in you euen vntill the day of Iesus Christ and cause you d Act. 24.22 thorow manifold tribulations to enter into his owne kingdome e 1. Cor. 9.25 2. Tim 4.8 Iâ—mes 1.12 1. pet 5.4 and crowne you there with eternall glorie And what though you thinke it long before the Lord come in comfort to you yet knowe f 2. pet 3. that the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slacknes but that hee that will come wil come quicklie and wil not tarie His nature is not g psal 103.9 alwaies to bee chiding neither vvill he keepe his anger for euer as the Prophete saith Ioseph woulde not continuallie dissemble his tender affection towards his vnkinde brethren but must of necessitie h Gen. 43 30. breake forth into teaâ—es and weepe vpon Beniamins necke And shall wee thinke that the Lord is lesse compassionate If wee doo so we belie God and dallie with yea deceiue our owne soules I denie not but he maie for a time indeede hâ—de his louing countenance from vs Exâ—d 33 23. and shewe vs after a sorte as it were his darke partes and that the better eyther to prooue our patience in trying howe wee canne for a while forbeare that which wee exceedinglie desire and as it were hunger and thirst after or else to cause vs the more highlie to esteeme of the same For this is naturallie in vs in the continuance of Gods fauours to make little account thereof Howbeit this wee may assure our seâ—â—ues of that though k psal 30 5 vveeping may abide at euening yet ioy shall come in the morning l psal 89 2â— and that his louing kindnesse hee vvill not take from vs for euer nor falsifie the vvoord yea the oath that is gone out off hys mouth And mee thinketh that heereof you not onelye amongest but aboue manye other shoulde bee throughlie perswaded as well by the viewe of your owne estate as by the consideration of his most gracious nature wee beleeue his mercies yea you beleeue them to bee so greate yea so infinite that they cannot bee as a man would say conteyned within himselfe but must of necessitie ere long euen as continuall springing fountaines that will ouerflowe all and make euerie thinge fruitful and pleasaunt where they come breake foorth and shewe themselues not onely generallie to all but in a speciall maner to some chieflie m Esay 66.2 to those that are poor of contrite spirits treÌ„ble at his word n 62.3 and mourn in Sion for to such is it in verie deede that the Lorde vvill looke and haue a speciall regard Amongest the which sith if I knowe any you your selfe may iustlie bee numbred you can not but beleeue that you shall haue a plentifull portion of thys ouerflowing fauour because you bee as certaynelye inrolled in that number as if your name were particulerlye put down And as for your state you and wee together knowe it to bee long tedious and hard where in notwithstanding you ought to comfort your selfe because you are assured of this and that not only by
I confesse we shall see that we haue singular and speciall consolations and that not fewe in number alone and these weake and feeble also but manie and the same verie mightie yea euerie one of them strong and sufficient it selfe to beate backe this assault though it were muche more powerfull and forcible then it is that so being compassed about and as it were backed with such a r Heb. 12.1 cloud of witnesses our hartes might be the more stedfastly vp held not onely in present comfort but in hope of all good thinges to come I say therefore that whether we respect the father himselfe who otherwise s 1 Tim. 6 16 dwelling in light that no man can come vnto hath yet notwithstanding plentifullie and plainely reuealed himselfe vnto vs in his word or by the eye of a stedfast faith looke vppon Iesus Christ his son and our sauior who is also the brightnesse of the glory and the t Hebrew i. 3. ingrauen forme of his person or regard the blessed word of almightie God in all the parts and peeces of it but specially in the promises thereof propounded for our coÌ„fort or consider as we should and are bound The Sacramente 1 Cor. 10.1.2.3 c. Rom 4.11 the holy sacraments that he hath giuen vs in this world as pledges of his goodnes toward vs seales of the faithe that hee hath wrought in vs or might well as wee ought that right order of discipline gouernment Discipline of the Church that he hath established in his Churche for the repressing of euill or maintenance of all well dooing or diligently marke the singular fauors that hee hath plentifullie shedde out vpon those that haue gone before vs in the fleshe and in the faith or see and feele the great graces that hee of his owne good will hath bestowed vppon vs our selues poore and miserable wretches that wee are or behold with a sound iudgement sin it selfe specially as in regard of the good that God maketh to flowe from it howsoeuer it be odious and vglie in it selfe we shall certainely finde that from all and euerie one of these wee may without doubt gather strong argumentes and forcible reasons assured and continuall comfort for the forgiuenesse of all our sins by consequent also for the sound and Christian peace of our own hearts Nowe to the ende that that which hath bene generallie spoken and shortly deliuered may yet appeare to bee as true and certaine so plentiful and large let vs come more particularly and at length as it were yet without tediousnesse to deduct and laie out these poyntes For the first we haue the verie mercifull nature Of the nature of God himselfe and readie inclination of almighty God in himselfe to shew pitie and compassion to those that are humbled who howsoeuer he declare himsâ—lf in word and deede armed and that with iustice against the proud Pharisee or benummed and senselesse professor as he hath good cause indeede for their continuance in sinne and want of a trembling spirite standeth yet notwithstanding in his fatherly compassion and loue moste graciously affected to such as quake and sloupe before him Which that we might be the better perswaded of he hath bene pleased plainly to tel vs and that in his holie worde also that hee hath no desire that u Ezech. 18 23 the wicked shoulde die but rather that hee should liue and againe that hee is the x Exod. 34 6 7 Lord strong mercifull and gracious slowe to anger and aboundant to goodnesse and trueth reseruing mercie for thousandes forgiuing iniquittes and transgressions c. and that he wil giue to such as y Isaiah 61.3 mourne in Sion bewtie for ashes and the oyle of ioy for mourning and the garment of gladnesse for the spirit of heauinesse or as it is in the prophet Ezechiell z Ezek. 9 4 c. a marke by which they shal be known and freed from the common calamitie and destruction of the wicked Of the trueth of all which wee may bee the better assured because it is the worde not of a mortall man who will in the hypocrisie and corruption of hys heart doubt and dissemble but of the eternall God who as he is not deceiued so doth hee not deceiue and who beeing of an vnchaungeable nature remayneth fast and sure and the same with a cleare voyce and in wordes of muche euidencie published and proclaymed not once and awaie for then perhaps in the distrustfulnesse of our owne heartes wee might quickly call it into question a Psal 86 5 â—â— Psal 103.8.9 The sonne of God and mediator but sundrie times and in manie places of his holy word Secondly who seeth not that euen in Iesus Christ wee haue a mercifull measure of spirituall comfort pressed downe and running euer against this sharpe temptation and sore assault and that not onâ—ly because as he is God he is b Math. 9.5 able to forgiue sinnes and as man being c Heb. 2 17 made like vnto his brethren hee is pitifull and readie for that and all other good workes but also because in him dwelleth d Colloss 2 9 al the fulnesse of the godhead bodily we hauing in him e Colloss 1 14 redemption thorowe his bloud that as the forgiuenesse of sinnes in whome likewise f 2 Cor â— 20 all the promises of God are yea and amen hee himselfe being made of God vnto vs g 1 Cor 1 30 wisdom righteousnesse and sanctification redemption who alone was h Isaiah 53 5 wouÌ„ded for our transgressions brokeÌ„ for our iniquitie bearing the chastisment of our peace healing vs thorowe his stripes he himselfe and nowe other 63.3 treading the wine presse of gods wrath agaynst vs for our sinnes whome sith God hath bene pleased to k Rom. 8.32 giue vnto death for vs all howe shall he not together with him giue vs all thinges also If all things why not then the free pardon and ful forgiuenesse of all our sins Shal you imagine that God wil say al giue vs but some that were to make him a lier who is not Rom. 3.4 onely true but truth it selfe Or shall we deeme that for the testification of the largenesse of hys liberality he wil vouchsafe vs some pety fauours and withhold graces of muche greater excellencie that were to make god deale worse with his dear children then earthlie princes do with their dutifull seruants I say therfore againe if all things why not remission of sinnes speciallie sith in him are hidde yet so as they daylie are plainelie and in good time shall bee plentifullie displaied and aboundantlie yea perfectlie communicated vnto his people m Colloss 2 3 all the treasures of wisedome knowledge mercy and whatsoeuer els is excellent in God as in respect of himselfe or comfortable and profitable as in regard of vs. Thirdlie the blessed booke of God it selfe doeth in
effectual pledges vnto vs as of Gods great fauor shed abroad into our harts so of the crowning of those his graces in vs with wondeâ—ful honour and glorious immortality at the last Lastlie it seemeth vnto me Of sin it self that eâ—en from sinne it selfe though not in it owne nature for so it is abhominable in the Lords sight o Haâ—aâ— 1.13 whose pure eies cannot sâ—e euill neither yet in the effects that commonly it bringeth foorth for so is it alwaies bytter making a fearefull p Isaiah 59.2 seperation betweene the Lord and vs hauing for the q Rom. 6 2â— wages of it eternal death and damnation yet euen in the heynousnes and heyght thereof being accompanied with gods fauour in the forgiuenes of the same we should may reap an inuincible argument of much consolation and singular comfort For wherein shal or can the mercy of God in this life so much appear towards his people as in pardoning the sinnes of his seruants To whom had they not offended neither could gods mercie that way foorth haue bin declared nor Christ for theÌ„ haue bin r 1. Tim. 3.16 God manifested in the flesh who therefore came into the world not to call s Math. 9.13 the righteous but sinners to repentaunce and did therefore appeare amongest men not onely that he might t 1 Ioh. 3.5.8 loose the works of the deuil but also that he might take away our sins Outward tokens of Gods fauour All the outward fauours that wee haue in this life if we should reckon theÌ„ vp one by one as for example creation preseruation health wealth c. or binde them all in a bundle together cannot so sensibly set before vs Gods loue because some of them are in some sort commoÌ„ to other creatures with men reach but to the bodie for the most part this time present onely the wicked many times beeing before Gods saintes in some of the same God also v Ps 17.14 filling their bellies with his hid treasure their children hauing inough and leauing inough of their substance for their children Spiritual graces Nay I will say more many of those spirituall graces that God vouchsaseth vnto his Church as h s worde sacraments praier of which the holy ghost saith he x Psal 147.19 sheweth his word vnto Iacob his statutes and his iudgments vnto Israell and he hath not dealt so with euerie nation doe not so plainâ—iy exâ—râ—sse the fauour and loue of the Lorde towardes hys people as the free pardon and full forgiuenesse of their transgressions the reason is because y Math 22.14 manye are called and fewe are chosen and diuers bee in the Churche that bee not of the Church This grace also extending it sâ—â—e not onelye to bodye and soule in says lyfe carrying with it comfort and the peace of a good conscience here but reaching euen vnto the life that is to come eternal saluation and life euerlasting being an inseperable companion to the forgiuenesse of our sinnes And that we might the better be perswaded that this is a verie speciall fauour God himselfe taketh vpon himself as a principall point of his glory this great worke of forgiuing laying z â—saiah 42.25 I euen I am he that putteth away thine iniquities for my owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes And in an other Prophet rehearsing the graces that he will vouchsafe vnto his people in the newe Testament he reckoneth vp this as the last and chiefest a Iere 31 34. I wil forgiue their iniquitie b Rom. 5.20 and remember their sinne no more that beeing true here that the Apostle saieth that where sinne abounded there grace abounded much more To conclude then good Madam out of all that is gone before The coâ—clusion Sâ—â—h in thys poynt of the forgiuenes of sins God who is greater than al is b Rom 8 3 on our side therefore wee neede not care who be agaynst vs Iesus Christ standeth for vs who is c Math 3 17 his dearely beloued sonne in whome onely hee is well pleased and thorow whome he hath d 2 Cor 3 19 reconciled the world vnto himselfe the word generally partâ—cularly the promises in the same which are in Iesus Christ e 2 Cor 1 20 yea and amen speake comfoâ—table things vnto vs the holy sacramentes ordeined by God for the strengthning of our weake faith seale vp that great and gracious fauor vnto vs the disâ—pline and voyce of the Church which is the f 1 Tim 3 16 piller ground of trueth and as it were Gods owne voyce from heauen confirmeth it the particular examples oâ— his saintes hauing in former time found it and felt it true doe ratifie and confirme the same the peculiar fauoâ—s that God hath giuen vs our selues in this life and namely faith g 2 Thess 3 2 which all men haue not with the sound truâ—tes thereof doe pledge it vp and that god that maketh the h Psal 76 10 rage of men to turne to his praise and in the beginning commaâ—nded i 2 Cor. 4 6 the light to shine out of darkenesse now maketh sin to serue for the magnifying and manifesting of his mercie and the comfort and good of his children who is it that can distrust or rather who hath not iust cause with the Apostles and saintes of God to sing and say k 1. Cor. 15.54.55.56.57 death is swallowed vp into victorie O deathe where is thy sting O graue where is thy victorie The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the lawe But thanks be to God which hath giuen vs victorie thorow our Lord Iesus Christ And againe l Rom. 8 38 39. I am perswaded that neyther death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor thinges present nor thinges to come nor height nor depâ—h nor anie other creature shal be able to separate vs froÌ„ the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. Thus good Madame I haue as your honour seeth plainely deliuered my poore iudgement in this worthie point touching the comfortable feeling of the forgiuenesse of sinnes and some such assured seales and pledges of the same as by m Deut. 17 18 19 Ioshua 1 8 Psalm 1.2 Iohn 5 39 dayly reading of the holie scriptures and continuall meditation in the same holie duties that I and all other christians of what qualitie or calling so euer are bound vnto by Gods word to performe and woulde to God all did it as may knowe and confesse it the Lorde in much fauor I freely confesse it hath bene pleased in the dayes of my distresse to manifest to me miserable man that I am and that not onely for instruction and comfort vnto my self alone for God neuer bestoweth anie grace vpon vs much lesse such excellent fauors to that ende onely but for the good and consolation of others who being n 2
Cor. 1 3 4 the father of mercies and God of all comfort doth not onely comfort vs in all our tribulations but also inableth vs to comfort them which are in anie affliction by the comfort wherewith we our selues are comforted of him what it is I will not affirme because the holie Ghost hath taught mee saying o Prouer. 27.2 let an other man prayse thee and not thyne owne mouthe a straunger and not thine owne lips yet sure I am of this that Gods trueth it is and vpon the certaine perswasion that I haue thereof I shal be readie the Lord assisting me not onely to confesse it wholie and in all places and before all persons but Christ Iesus guiding me and assisting me p Iohn 15.5 without whom I cannot do any thing to laie downe my selfe and to seale as if it were with my bloud the certaintie of the same What effect it may bring forth in your honor at whose religious request I was vnfeignedly forward and willing to vndertake these trauailes which also I haue accomplished in the simple measure and maner that you see for the testification of my christian affection or what it may worke in the afflicted party for whose good I doubt not it was and is of vs both in all sinceritie and soundnesse performed q 2. Cor. 2.17 euen as in the sight of God I knowe not This I am sure of wee be vsed as Gods instruments to r Philip. 2.12 plant and to water but it is he alone s 1 Cor. 3.6 who working in vs both the will and the deed according to his good pleasure must also of his singular fauor graunt the increase t 1 Cor 10 13 and with the temptation giue the issue also that wee may be able to beare and ouercome which I beseeche him heartily euen for Iesus Christes sake to vouchsafe as generallie to all his saintes so particularlie to that his distressed seruant that as we haue learned u Rom. 12.15 to weep with him in his affliction so in the effectuall feeling of the communion of saints we may learne to reioyce with him in his spirituall ioy Your Hon. much bounden and readie alwaies in Iesus Christ Tho. Wilcockes the Lordes moste vnworthe seruant GRACE AND PEACE from God c. AS I cannot but reioyce good sir in your godly loue and holie care loue towardes me that it will please you to vse me your poore friend and one that is and will be readie according to my small abilitie for anie dutie you shall enioyne me and care towardes your selfe in seeking for your seke in the middest of your troubles and tâ—â—aâ—les some Christian comforce and instruction both which are plaâ—â—â—e manifested in those two recâ—â—â—rie questions that by you in your letter were prâ—â—ounded vnto me so I 〈◊〉 soâ—â—what Two quâ—stions propounded to â—e answered I must confesse it seized wâ—â—â— sorowe partly for that prouiding for my publike pâ—ace lacke of leysure wâ—â—l 〈◊〉 nowe let me and partlie for that want of abilitie to wade into such weightie causes sufficiently will not suffer me to deale therein as gladly I would in respect of sincere affection towards you and as religiously I ought both in regard of the worthinesse of the causes themselues and of the peace of mine owne heart Howbeit this somewhat recomforteth me that as I rest perswaded that you will accept whatsoeuer I shall deliuer speciallie sith in the same I shoote at your sprituall consolation and good so I hope that God whose cause it is that I deale in and whose glorie I would gladly principallie aime at in the same will by his blessed spirite so guide me that I shall propound nothing but the trueth from imbracing whereof though you may be somewhat hindered because it is deliuered in a simple and meane both manner and meane as I my selfe denie not yet let the glory of the trueth it selfe which needeth no mans colours to adorne and bewtifie the same so farre preuayle with you I beseech you that both for iudgement and feeling it may finde a blessed entertainement in you The first of the difference of the feare of the wicked and the feare of the godly Concerning your first question about the difference that is betwixt the feare of the wicked and the feare of the godly I suppose it shall not be much amisse to knowe this that feare being a passion of the heart and arising not so much from touching Natural feare what it is for that properly respecting the body and outward man rather breedeth paine as from cogitation and thought which directly concerning the minde and inward man doth more liuely strike the same according vnto which also the bodie it selfe by reason of the sympathie or fellow-feeling that the one hath with the other is for the most part affected cannot of it selfe and simply considered be vicious and euill The reason wherof is verie plaine and euident because it being of nature simple the same infused or put or powâ—ed into vs by â—â—ration from God who can not be euill vnlesse we wouâ—d holde that God made some thing euill which were horrible blaâ—phemie and quite cleane contrarie to the fulnesse of goodnesse that is in himself and coÌ„municated vnto all his workes but specially vnto man I further taking it in it selfe to be no more euill to haue feare in the heart than to haue paine in the flesh nor that passion of feare to be no more sin in the soule than appetite in the stomacke to eate and drinke or disposition in the bodie to sleepe c. and such like naturall affections and passions Besides if this and other naturall passions were simply and of themselues faultie then this would ensue thereupon that the creatures speciallie those that we call sensitiue manie of them as effectuallie in their kinde feeling this and other passions also as man himselfe should of themselues carrie about in theÌ„selues a lump of iniquitie which indeed caÌ„not be true both because as in regard of their creation they were good the a Gen. 1.3 scripture affirming it after Gods own view of them whose iudgement cannot be deceiued that they were exceedingly good and also because if they had sinne in themselues and of themselues eyther they must haue a reconciler to passe betweene God and them who also partaking of their nature must in the nature that had sinned satisfie Gods wrath against sinne but it is too too beastly to say eyther that our Sauiour Christ had their nature or that hee dyed for brute beastes or els they must of necessitie perishe vnder condemnation for sinne because the b Rom 6.23 hier of sinne in whomsoeuer without a price to satisfie it is eternall death and there is no meane we are sure betweene these two But which is most notoriously euill absurd and erronious aboue all the rest Our sauiour Iesus Christ himselfe should by this meanes be polluted with same not onely because