1 Mercifull and 2 Gracious 3 Long-suffering and abundant in 4 Goodnesse and 5 Truth 6 Keeping mercy for thousands 7 Forgiving iniquity transgression and sinne In which there are implyed un-answerable replies to all the scruples doubts exceptions objections which may arise in a troubled soule 1. Thou sayest perhaps that thou art plunged into the depth of extremest spirituall misery both in respect of sâ—â—fulnesse and cursednesse The present sense whereof is ready to sinke thee into despaire Be it so Then take my counsell in this Case Cast thine eye upon the first and fairest flowre in this heavenly-glorious Garland of divine goodnesse And thou shalt finde a fame greater depth of mercy ready to swallow up thy depth of misery The mercy of God and misery in this kind are relatives No misery no mercy much misery much mercy transcendent misery transcendent mercy the onely difference is the mercy of God is infinite thy misery finite And therefore how much spirituall misery soever thou bringest in a broken heart to the Throne of grace Gods bountifull hand will weigh out to thee a proportionable measure of mercy nay a measure without measure super-abundant running-over For where misery in a truly humbled soule aboundeth there mercy doth much more abound 2. Or suppose that at thy first turning unto God tho truly humbled yet thou art tempted not to take Christ out of this ccoÌ„eit because thou art but euen now come out of hell and horrible courses and as yet hast no good thing in thee at all Or after some progresse in Christianity reflecting in time of temptation upon thy whole carriage since conversion and finding it to have been so fruitlesse and full of failings Thou concludest thy selfe in thy present feeling to be extremely vile of a very doubtfull state for thy soule if not stark naught That no Professour upon earth walkes so unworthily and if Ministers knew thy heart and weake performance of holy duties they would not bee so forward to presse comfort upon thee c. I say in these two cases and the like it is a great happinesse and sweetest comfort that the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth hath proclaimed himselfe to bee Gracious which imports thus much to poure out abundance of extraordinary bounty upon a most undeserving partie To place dearest affection and desire of doing good there where there is no desert at all As if a King to make his royall favours more illustrious should raise a worthlesse Wretch a most contemptible Vassal to be his worthiâ—â—â— Favorite highest in his love And therefore bring 〈◊〉 to the Throne of Grace but a true sense of thy misery a syncere thirst for mercy an humble acknowledgement of thine unworthinesse and God hereupon for his Christs sake will thinke thee worthy of the riches of his grace the righteousnesse of his Son all the promises in his Booke all the comforts of his Spirit a Crowne of immortality and blisse For hee is gracious and an universall glorious confluence of blessednesse in all kinds is promised to poverty in spirit and shal most certainely to the vtmost bee made good unto it for ever 3. But alas I saith an other have most wretchedly mis-spent the flower and strength of mine age in vanity and pleasure in lewdnesse and lust The best of my time hath been wofully wasted in Satans notorious service and sensuall serving my selfe c. And therefore tho I bee now weary of my former waies and looke backe upon them with a trembling heart and grieved spirit yet I am affraid that God hath given over looking after mee that His patience towards mee is expired and my day of visitation out-stood And that he will not vouchsafe to cast his eye of compassion upon such a Blackamore Leopard as I am so overgrowne with corruption and growne old in sinne especially having so long neglected so great salvation forsaken mine owne mercy so long and so unthankefully despised the riches of his goodnesse and forbearance leading mee to repentance I confesse it is something rare to see men gone-on so long and growne old in sinne to returne and give way to any saving worke of the Ministry because too often in the meane time they so harden their hearts that they cannot repent yet notwithstanding bee thou assured in the Word of life and truth if now at length thou be truly touched indeed and will come-in in earnest the Father of mercies will receive thee freely to mercy and embrace thy bleeding soule in the armes of his everlasting love through Christ. For it is a title of highest honour unto him to be long-suffering Hee all this while waited that hee might bee gracious unto thee And now undoubtedly upon thy first resolution to returne in truth hee will meete thee with infinitely more compassionate affectionatenesse then the Father in the Gospell his Prodigall who when hee was a great way off his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neckâ— and kissed him c. 4. Yea but saith an other Though I have been a Professour long yet many times my heart is full heavy and more loth to beleive when I seriously and sensibly call to minde the hainousnesse of my unregenerate time and see in my selfe besides since I was illightned and should have behaved my selfe in forwardnesse and fruitfullnesse for God answerably to my former folly and furiousnesse in evill so many defects and imperfections every day and such weake distracted discharging of commanded duties both to God and man Take then counsell and comfort in this Case by casting thine eye upon Gods kindnesse He is abundant in kindnesse which hath these foure pretious properties First To bee easily intreated Secondly To be intreated for the greatest Thirdly to passe by involuntary infirmities Fourthly to accept gratiously weake services Even â— fraile man if of a more noble generous and kind disposition will bee easily appeased for the unpurposed offences errours and over-sights and well pleased with the good will syncere indeavours and utmost especially of those who hee knowes to bee true-hearted unto him and desire heartily if they were able to doe all hee desires even to the height of exactnesse and expectation How much more then will our heavenly Father deale so with his children who is in himselfe essentially kinde and infinitely 5. Yea but saist thou many times when I reach 〈◊〉 the hand of my faith to fetch some speciall promise into my soule for refreshing and comfort and weighing them well and comparing advisedly my owne nothingnesse worthlesnesse vilenesse with the riches of mercy grace and glory shining in it and marking the dis-proportion I am overwhelmed with admiration and astonishment and to tell you true say sometimes to my selfe Is it possible that this should be so That so glorious things should belong to such a wretch and worme as I am But turning thine eye from a distrustfull and too much dejected dwelling upon thine owne
I think in such a Case it may be convenient and that such an One hath thereupon some cause and Calling seriously and impartially to search and trie His spirituall state For which purpose ponder seriously upon such considerations as these some of which may discover unsoundnesse Others His unadvisednesse 1. It may bee the Party is not yet come in truth to that sound humiliation contrition spirituall thirsting resolution to sell all c. required by the reverend Author in that most profitable and piercing Doctrine of Faith quoted before but onely hath passed over them overly not soundly superficially not syncerely and then no marvell tho no true and reall comfort come Informe thy selfe further in this Point and that thou mayst more fully know my meaning in it and be guided aright in a marter of so great waight Ibid. Cap. 2. Of the Author and meanes of Faith And Cap. 5. Of the difficulty of Faith pag. 284 c. 2. Or it may bee howsoever Hee protest otherwise and for all His partiall Legall terrour and trouble of minde His deceitfull heart may still secretly harbour and hanker after some sweet sinne as Pride Revenge strange Fashions Worldlinesse Lust Playes Gaming Good-fellowship as it is call'd c. From which it doth not heartily yeeld resolve and endeavour to make an utter and finall cessation and divorce And assuredly that false heart which regards and allowes any wickednesse in it selfe howsoever it may be deluded with some Anabaptisticall flashes yet shall never bee truly refreshed with ioy in the holy Ghost 3. It may bee tho there was some probable and plausible shewes that the Party was principally cast downe and affected with the heavy waight of sin and horrour of Gods wrath for it yet the true predominant cause of His heavinesse harts-griefe and bitterest complaint was some secret earthly discontentment the restlesse biting of some worldly sting And in such Cases remove this and you remove His paine Comfort Him about his Crosse and you set Him where Hee was And therefore as in all this He continues a meere stranger in affection to the sweetnesse amiablenesse and excellency of Iesus Christ so it is impossible that Hee should bee acquainted with any sound spirituall comfort But I will suppose all to bee syncere and as it should bee Let mee advise Thee then to take notice of thine unadvisednesse 1. Thou art perhaps so full of the want of feeling such a stranger to so much expected and desired ioy and peace in believing and by consequent so drowned in the unnecessary distractions and distempers of a sad heart that thou utterly forgets to give thankes and magnifie Gods singular and incomprehensible mercy for illightening convincing and terrifying thy conscience offering his Sonne raising in thine heart an insatiable thirst after Him and giving Thee spirituall abilitie to rest thy weary Soule upon Him And who knowes not that unthankfulnesse keepes many good things from us and is an unhappy blocke in the way to intercept and hinder the comfortable influence and current of God favours and mercies from being showred downe so frankly and plentifully upon His people And Hee is more likely to bee the more provoked in this Case because thou suffers thine heart to bee lockt up and thy Tongue tied by Satans cunning and cruell malice from praysing the glory of Gods free grace for such a worke of wonder I meane that mighty Change of thine from nature to grace in extolling of which were all the hearts and tongues of all the Men and Angels in Heaven and Earth set on worke industriously thorow all eternitie they would still come infinitely short of that which is due and deserved 2. Or it may be when some One of a thousand upon thy complaint that no comfort comes doth seriously labour to settle thine heart in peace pressing upon Thee for that purpose invincible and unanswer-able Arguments out of the Word of Truth to open it wide that over-flowing Rivers of Evangelicall joyes which may spring to Him that is advised and believes the Prophets abundantly even from the weakest Faith to refresh and comfort it Telling thee that as thine humbled Soule learning upon Christ drawes much heavenly vertue mortifying power and sanctifying grace from him so it may and ought also to draw abundance of spirituall lightsomnesse from that ever-springing Fountaine of life c. Yet notwithstanding all this thou suffers some malicious counter-blasts and contrary suggestions of the Divell to disperse and frustrate all these well-grounded and glorious Messages And therefore it is just with God that thou fare the worse at his hands and fall short of thine expectation because thou gives more credit to the Father of Lyes then the Lord of Truth Sith thou spills all the Cordials that are tendered unto thee in the Name of Christ by His faithfull Physicions thou art deservedly destitute of comfort still Many in such Cases while Gods Messenger who can rightly declare His wayes unto them stands by opening and applying the rich treasures of Gods free mercy in the mysterie of the Gospell and with present replies repelling Satans cavils are reasonably well cheared and revived But when Hee is gone they very weakely and unworthily give way againe to that foule lying Fiend to cast a dis-comfortable mist over the tender eye of their weake Faith and to domineere as Hee did before Tell mee true If thou wert in doubt and distresse about thy temporall state Tenure of thy Lands soundnesse of thy evidence Wouldest thou advise with and take counsell from a Foole a Knaue and an enemy or wouldest Thou make choise of an honest wise understanding Friend I doubt not of thine Answer And wilt thou then so farre disparage divne truth gratifie Hell and hurt thine owne heart as in that waightiest Point of thy spirituall state to consult and resolve with the Divell a Liar a Murtherer and sworne enemy to Gods glory and thy Soules good And neglect God Himselfe blessed for ever speaking unto Thee out of His Word by that Minister which in such a Case durst not falsify or flatter Thee for a World of gold Shall many thousands of worldly-wise men give credit very readily and roundly to Dawbers with untempered morter upon a false and rotten foundation to the most certaine and eternall ruine of their Soules And shall not an humble and upright-hearted Man believe the Prophet upon good ground that the bones which the heavy burden of sinne hath broken may reioyce God forbid 3. Nay but suppose the Party bee truly humbled very thankefull resolute against all sinne labour to believe the Prophets c. And yet no comfort come I say then there is an other Duty expected at thy hands right pretious and pleasing unto God And that is waiting By which God would 1. Set yet a sharper edge and eagernesse more hungring and thirsting greater longing and panting after the ravishing sweetnesse of His comfortable presence with which melting earnest crying dispositions Hee
life freely Revelat. Chap. 21. Vers. 6. And let him that is a thirst come whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Rom. 22.17 Wee must therefore by no meanes conceive of the forenamed preparatiue humiliations and precedent workes of the Law and Gospell as of any meritorious qualifications to draw on Christ for hee is given most freely but as of needfull predispositions to drive us unto Christ. For a Man must feele Himselfe in misery before Hee will goe about to find a remedy bee sicke before Hee will seeke the Physition bee in Prison before Hee will sue for a pardon bee wounded before Hee will prize a Plaster and pretious balsam A sinner must bee weary of His former wicked wayes and tired with legall terrour before Hee will haue recourse to Iesus Christ for refreshing and lay downe His bleeding Soule in his blessed Bosome Hee must bee sensible of His Spirituall poverty beggery and slavery under the Deuill before Hee thirst kindly for heavenly righteousnesse and willingly take up Christs sweet and easy yoke Hee must bee cast downe confounded condemned a cast away and lost in Himselfe before Hee will looke about for a Saviour Hee must cry heartily I am uncleane I am uncleane before Hee will long and labour to wash in that most soveraigne and Soule-saving Fountaine opened to the house of David and to the Inhabitants of Ierusalem for sin and for uncleannesse he must sell all before hee will be willing and eager to buy the Treasure hid in the field Now thus to prepare wound afflict and humble the Soule that it may bee fitted for Iesus Christ and so for comfort upon good ground let ministers or whosoever meddle in matters of this nature publickely or privatly vse all warrantable meanes faire and foule as they say let them presse the law promise mercy propose Christ c. Doe what they will seasonably and wisely Let them improve all their learning wisedome discretion mercifullnesse experience wit eloquence Sanctified unto them for that purpose So that the worke bee done In pressing the law besides other dexterities and directions for managing their ministry in this Point succesfully by Gods Blessing let them take notice of this Particular which may prove very availeable to begin this Legall worke It is a Principle attended upon with many a Probatum est Pressing upon Mens consciences with a zealous discreet powerfullnesse their speciall principall fresh-bleeding Sins is a notable meanes to breake their hearts and bring them to remorse That most hainous and bloudy sinne of killing Iesus Christ in which they had newly imbrued their hands pressed upon the Consciences of Peters hearers breakes and teares their hearts in pieces Act. 2.23.36.37 So Adultery secretly intimated by Christs words unto the woman of Samaria Ioh. 4.18 Seemes to have strucke her to the heart vers 19. So the Iewes having Idolatry pressed upon their consciences by Samuel 1. Sam. 7.6 The sin of asking a king ibid. 12.19 Vsury by Nehemiah 5.12 Strange wives by Ezra cap. 10.9 were therevpon mightily moved and much mollified in their hearts as appeares in the cited Places Consider for this purpose that worke upon Davids heart by Nathans Ministry And Felix trembling when Paul strucke Him on the right veine The reasons why this more particular discovery and denouncing of judgement against a Mans principall sinne is like God assisting with the Spirit of bondage to put such life into the worke of the Law are such as these 1. The Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God being welded by the hand of the holy Ghost and edged as it were with the speciall power of Gods blessing for the cutting asunder of the iron-Sinewes of a stubborne and stony heart doth crush and conquer strike through and breake in pieces with an unresistable puissance proportioned to the insolency or easinesse of resistance My meaning is this As Philosophers say of the Lightning that by reason of the easinesse of the passage weakenesse of resistance porosity of the parts it pierceth through the Purse Scabberd and Barke without any such scorching and visible hurt but melts the mony the sword rents and shivers the tree because their substance and solidity doth more exercise and improve its activenes and ability So this Spirituall Sword tho it strike at every sinne and passeth thorow even to the diuiding asunder of Soule and Spirit and of the joynts and marrow yet the hairy pate of the maine corruption and Master sinne it wounds with a witnesse it there tortures and teares in pieces with extraordinary anguish and smart Searching and sence for that opposeth with the most flinty iron-Sinew to blunt and rebate its edge if it were possible 2. In Consciences regularly and rightly wounded and awaked sinnes are wont to bite and sting proportionably to their hainousnesse and the exorbitancy of their former sensuall impressions Some like a Mastife some like a Scorpion some like a Wolfe in the Evening But vnderstand that spirituall anguish surpasseth immeasurably any corporall paine therefore conceiue of them with a vast dis-proportion Now the Minion delight or Captaine sinne frighting the heart with greatest horrour and stinging with extremity proportionable to its former vastation of Conscience doth by an accidentall power God blessing the businesse give a great stroke to drive a man to deepest detestation of Himselfe to throw Him downe to the lowest step of penitent dejection to eneager His thirsty greedinesse after pardon and grace and at length to fire Him out of His naturall estate 3. A Mans principall and most prevailing sinne is Sathans strongest Hold. When Hee is in danger to be dislodged and driven by the power of the word out of the other parts of the Soule as it were and from Possession of a Man by all other sinnes Hee retires Hither as to His Castle and most impregnable Fort. And therefore if this bee soundly beaten upon by the Hammer and Horrour of the Law and battered about His eares hee will bee quickly enforced to quit the Place quite It may bee good counsell then and often seasonable to say unto those Men of God who desire to drive the Devill out of Others in some sort as the King of Syria said to his Captaines Fight neither with small nor great save onely with the King of Israel My meaning is Let them addresse the sharpest edge of their spirituall Sword yet as well with an holy charitable discretion as with resolute downeright dealing against those sinnes which beare greatest sway in them they have to deale with Bee it their covetousnesse ambition Lust drunkennesse Lukewarmenesse monstrousnesse of the fashion sacriledge oppression vsury Back-sliding murder luxury Opposition to the good way Hatred of the Saints or what other sinne soever they discover in them to minister greatest advantage to Satan to keepe them fastest in his clutches No sinne must bee spared but let the raigning sin be paid home especially For opening of the most rich
bee said Hee died in a Ditch They are Desolators not Consolators as Austin somewhere calls them Not sound Comforters but true Cut-throates Besides that which I have said before of the precedency of the working of the Law and of the spirit of bondage to make way for Christ let mee further tell you upon this occasion that it may appeare that much more is to bee done herein then is ordinarily imagined before comfort may upon good ground and seasonably bee applied to the Conscience awaked what an excellent Divine both for depth of learning and height of holinesse delivered somewhere in this Point to this purpose No man must thinke this strange that God dealeth with men after this strange manner as it were to kill them before Hee make them alive to let them passe through or by as it were the gates of Hell to Heaven to suffer the spirit of bondage to put them into a feare into a shaking and trembling c. For Hee suffers those that are his to bee terrified with this feare 1. First in respect of His owne glory For the magnifying both of His iustice and of His mercy 1. Hee glorifies His iustice when lessening or altogether for the time abstracting all fight of mercy Hee lets the Law Sinne Conscience and Satan loose upon a Man to have their course and severall comminations and sets the spirit of bondage on worke c. Thus as in the great worke of redemption Hee would have the glory of His iustice appeare so would Hee have it also in the application of our redemption that iustice should not bee swallowed up of mercy But even as the Woman 2. King 4. who had nothing to pay was threatned by Creditours to take away her two sonnes and put them in prison so wee having nothing to pay the Law is let loose upon us to threaten imprisonment and damnation to affright and terrifie and all this for the manifesting of His iustice Furthermore the Booke of God is full of terrible threatnings against sinners Now shall all these bee to no purpose The wicked are insensible of them to them therefore in that respect they are in vaine Some there must needs bee upon whom they must worke Shall the Lion roare saith the Prophet and no man bee affraide Sith then they who should will not Some there bee who must tremble This the Prophet excellently setteth â—orth Isai. 66.2 where the Lord sheweth whom Hee will regard But to this man will I looke even to Him that is poore and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my Word Neither is it without good cause that God dealeth thus with his owne in this manner tho it bee sharpe in the experience First wee must feare tremble and bee humbled and then wee shall receive a spirit not to feare againe 2. His mercy also is thereby mightily magnified Which would never bee so sweet nor relish so well nor bee so esteemed of us if the awfull terrour of iustice had not formerly made us smart A King sometimes doth not only suffer the Law to passe upon some grievous malefactor for high treason but also causeth him to bee brought to the place of execution yea and lay downe his head upon the blocke ere Hee pardon and then mercy is mercy indeed and melts the heart abundantly with amazâ—mâ—nt and admiration of it So God dealeth with us many times Le ts the Law loose against us puts us in feare casts us into Prison and threatneth condemnation in Hell for ever so that when mercy commeth to the Soulâ— beeing now lost in it selfe and at the Pits brinke it appeares to bee a wonderfull mercy the riches of exceeding mercy most seasonable most sweet most ravishing Why doe so many find no savour in the Gospell Is it because there is no matter of sweetnesse or delight in it No it is because they have not tasted of not been soundly toucht and terrified by the Law and the spirit of bondage They have not smarted nor as yet been afflicted with a sense of the bitternesse of sinne nor of iust punishment due unto the same God therefore sends into our hearts the spirit of feare and bondage to prepare us to rellish mercy And then the spirit of adoption not to feare againe And thus by this order the one is magnified and highly esteemed by the fore-going sense of the other 2. Secondly for our good and that two waies first in Iustification secondly and in Sanctification 1. For the first wee are such strangers unto God that wee will never come unto Him till wee see no other remedy being at the Pits brinke ready to starue hopelesse c. Wee see it in the prodigall Sonne He would never thinke of any returne unto his Father till all other helpes failed Him money friends acquaintance all sorts of food Nay if Hee might have fed upon huskes with the Swine Hee would not have thought of returning any more to his Father This beeing denied him the Text saith Hee came to Himselfe shewing us that when Men runne on in sinfull courses they are mad men out of themselves even as wee see thâ—se in Bedlam are beaten kept under denâ—ed comforts till they come to themselves And what faith Hee then I will arise and goe to my Father and will say unto Him Father I have sinned against heaven and against Thee c. So it is with us untill the Lord humble and bring us low in our owne eyes show us our misery and spirituall poverty and that in us there is no good thing that wee bee stript of all helpeâ— in and without our selves and see that wee must perish unlesse wee beg His mercy I say untill then wee will not seeke his face and favour nor have recourse to Iesus Christ the rocke of our salvation It is with us in this Case as it was with the Women whom Christ healed of the bloody issue How long was it ere shee came to Christ She had been sicke twelve yeeres She had spent all her living upon Physitions neither could she bee healed of any Now this extremity brought Her to Iesus Christ. This then is the meanes to bring to Christ To bring us upon our knees to drive us out of our selues hopelesse as low as may bee To shew us where helpe is onely to bee found and make us runne unto it The hunted Beast flies unto his Den The Israelites being stung by fiery Serpents made hast to the Brazen Serpent a Type of Christ for helpe The Man-killer under the Law chaced by the avenger of blood ranâ—e a pace to the City of refuge Ioab being pursued for his life fled to the Tabernacle of the Lord and laid fast hold upon the horneâ— of the Altar A wounded man hies unto the Surgeon Proportionably a poore Soule broken and bruised with the insupportable burden of all his abominations bleeding at heart-roote under sense of Divine wrath by the cutting edge of the Sword of the Spirit managed
dead Bodies upon which they tread They are ordinarily such as these First Ignorants of two sorts first Vnskild both in the Rules of reason and religion Such are our extremely sottish and grossely ignorant people which swarme amongst us in many places to the great dishonour of the Gospell by reason of the want of Catechising and other discipline secondly Led by the light of naturall conscience to deale something honestly but Ideots in the great mystery of godlinesse Such are our meerely civil honest men Secondly Those that are wise in their owne conceits Isai. 5.21 Beeing strongly perswaded of their good estate to God-ward whereas as yet they have no part at al in the first resurrection Such as those Matth. 7.22 and 25.11 Thirdly all such as are resolved not to take sinne to heart See Isai. 28.15 These either first make God all of mercy secondly or preserue a secret reservation in their hearts to repent hereafter thirdly or have so prodigiously hardened their hearts that they feare not the iudgement to come fourthly or with execrable villany desire to extinguish the very notions of a Deity by a kind of an affected Atheisme and beeing drowned in sensuality labour not to beleeve the Word of God that they may sinne without all checke or reluctation 2. But if it fall out so by Gods blessing that the Word once begin to get within a Man and to worke terrour and trouble of minde for sinne so that He sees him grow sensible of His slavery weary of His former waies and like enough to breake the Prison and bee gone then doth Hee seriously observe and attend which way the Partie enclines and how hee may bee easiliest diverted that hee may thereafter proportion His Plots and Attempts against Him the more prosperously First if hee find Him to have been an horrible sinner of a sad and Melancholike disposition much afflicted with outward crosses c. Hee then laies load upon His affrighted Soule with all his cunning and cruelty that if it bee possible Hee may drive Him to despaire For this purpose Hee keen's the sting of the guilty conscience it selfe all he can sharpens the empoysoned Points of his owne fierydarts addes more grisselinesse to his many hatefull transgressions more horrour to the already flaming vengeance against sin c. That if God so permit Hee may bee sure to strike desperately home and sinke Him deepe enough into that abhorred Dungeon Secondly But if hee perceive Him not to have been infamous and noted for any notorious sinnes By naturall constitution to bee merrily disposed impatient of heavy-heartednesse and formerly much addicted to good fellowship If hee spie him to strive and struggle for dis-intanglement out of these uncouth terrours and re-injoyment of his former worldly delights and Ioviall companions I say then Hee is most forward to follow and feede His humou◠〈◊〉 way also that so He may stifle and utterly extinâ—â—â—sh the worke of the spirit of bondage in the very beginning And to this end he blunts with all the cunâ—â—â—â— he can the sting of a Man 's owne Conscience and quite remooves his owne Hee procures and offers all occasions of oâ—â—ward contentment Hee furnishes His Fellowes in iniquity and the Divels proctors with pernicious eloquence and store of entisements to bring him backe againe to their bent and beastly courses He ministers his owne delicious 〈◊〉 of carnall pleasure to cast His conscience asleepe 〈◊〉 In briefe He leaves no Policy plot or practise un-assayed un-attempted to make the power of the Law unprofitable unto Him and to drowne all his sorrow for sinne in sensuall drunkennesse This then I make the second pestilent Passage out of pangs of conscience to wit when a man to decline them is driven by the subtilty of Satan and perversenesse of his owne flesh if not to Wisards and Wisemen as they call them and other such Oracles of the Divell yet at best to humane Helpes to worldly wisedome to outward mirth Good-fellowship pleasant company His heapes of gold hoards of wealth riches Pastures variety of choisest Pastimes nay for ease to any thing even to Drinking dancing dicing Masking Mis-rule revelling roaring c. or any other such ribald bedlam and raging fooleries 3. Some there are who passe out of trouble of mind for sinne and Legall terrours into a kind as it were of an artificiall enforced unsound untimely and counterfeit peace of conscience I meane it thus when a Mans carnall heart wounded by the terrifying power of the Word with sight and horrour of his former wicked wayes but weary of the wound impatient of spirituall heavinesse wilfully set and resolved obstinately against the holy severities of the Schoole of Repentance mortification godly stricktnesse walking with God c. And withall meeting with some Dawber with untempered mortar who is very ready to heale his heart with sweet words saying Peace peace when there is no peace I say in this case snatches hold of comfort and applies the Promises of mercy and salvation before they belong unto Him Before Hee bee searched to the quicke sounded to the bottome and soundly humbled Before the spirit of Bondage hath as it were it 's perfect worke and Hee kindlily fitted for Iesus Christ. For this purpose they are wont to wrest abuse and misapply many places in the Booke of God The unskilfull Physicions in application and the deluded Patients in apprehension of them Even such as these Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Matth. 11.28 Yea but they are not weary of all their sinnes but onely troubled with the present terrour nor willing to take upon them the Crosse of Christ Well enough content they are to take Him as a Saviour to preserve them from Hell but not as a Lord a King and an Husband to serve obey and love Him Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall bee saved Rom. 10.13 Yea but they doe not consider that many also shall cry Lord Lord Matth. 7.22 and 25.11 and yet bee excluded from eternall blisse and therefore all that call savingly upon the Name of Christ must depart from iniquity 2. Tim. 2.19 But they upon recovery will by no meanes depart from their darling delight Hee that beleeveth on the Sonne hath everlasting life Ioh. 3.36 Yea but justifying Faith purifies the heart Acts 15.9 fills it with deare affections unto heavenly things deads it to the World and divorces it quite from all former carnall pleasures and companion-ship I will giue to Him that is athirst of the Fountaine of the Water of life freely Reu. 21.6 Yea but they thirst onely for salvation not for sanctification for mercy not for grace for happinesse not for holinesse c. These men as well as the second sort will by no meanes thorow the pangs of the New-birth into the holy Path. They wickedly misconceiue out of the rotten Principles of their owne worldly wisedome
comest with thy cost Whereas God ever gives His Sonne freely and bids thee come and welcome and buy without money and without price Obiect 2. But will it not bee presumption in mee having no good thing in mee at all to bring with mee but comming now as it were fresh out of Hell from a most wicked impure abominable life to take Christ as mine owne and all those rich and pretious promises sealed with his blood Answ. Enough hath been already said to meete with this objection It is not presumption but good manners to come when thou art called How can Hee bee said to presume who is both invited and intreated commanded and threatned to come in c. Of which see before Thou must now in this extreme spirituall thirst of thine drinke of the water of life so freely offered that thou mayst receive some heavenly strength to bee good and power to become the Sonne of God Thou must throw thy sinfull Soule upon Iesus Christ bleeding and breathing out his last upon the Crosse as the Body of the Shunamites Childe was applyed to the Prophet stretching himselfe upon it That thou mayst thereby bee quickened with desired fruitfulnesse filled by little and little with all the fulnesse of God receiving grace for grace I am the resurrection and the life saith Christ Hee that believeth in me tho He were dead yet shall Hee live It were execrable presumption for any Man who purposeth to goe on in the willing practise or allowance of any one knowne sinne to believe that Christ is His righteousnesse and sanctification But where all sin is a Burden every promise as a world of gold and the heart syncere for a new way there a Man may be bold For thee to have pretended part in Christ wallowing yet in thy sinnes had been horrible presumption indeed and for mee to have applyed the Promises and preached peace unto thy remorselesse conscience before the Pangs of the New-birth had seazed upon thee had been damnable dawbing But in the Case I now suppose Thee to bee it is both seasonable and surely grounded for mee to assure thee of acceptation and pardon and for thee to receive Iesus Christ without any more adoe into the armes of thy humbled Soule 2. His sweet Name Exod. 34.6.7 Wherein is prevented whatsoever may any wayes bee pretended for standing out in this Case as appeares fully before pag. 415. line 25. 3. His glorious Attributes 1. His Truth Hee that believeth hath set to His Seale that God is true Ioh. 3.33 He that labours and is heavy laden with the burden of sin comes to Christ for case when Hee is called takes Him for his Saviour and His Lord and thereupon grounds a resolute unshaken and everlasting confidence that hee is His for ever puts to his Seale that Christ is true that His pretious promise Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Mat. 11.28 is inviolable Whereby Christ Iesus blessed for ever is mightily honoured His truth glorified and thine owne soule with extraordinary blessednesse everlastingly enlived But Hee now that retires in this Case and holds off makes Him who is Truth it selfe a lyar Hee that believeth not God hath made Him a Lyar 1. Ioh. 5.10 Now what a fearefull indignity is this against the Lord God of Truth Wee see too often how miserable mortall men wormes of the earth take such an affront at the hands one of another For many times for the Lie given them they throw themselves desperately upon the irrecoverable ruine of their lives states soules and posterity by chalenging the field and killing each other Which dishonour to the mighty Lord of heaven and earth is the greater and is much aggravated by the infinite infallibility of the promises For besides His Word which were more then immeasurably sufficient Hee hath added a most solemne Oath for our sakes that wee might have greater assurance and stronger consolation 2. His Mercy most directly and specially And to say nothing of the freenesse of His mercy which springs onely out of the riches of his infinite bounty and the good pleasure of His will of his readinesse to forgive otherwise the death of Christ should bee of none effect His blood shed in vaine the greatest worke lost that ever was done of His delight in mercy Mich. 7.18 Mercy in man is a quality in God it is His nature and essence Now what wee doe naturally wee doe willingly readily unweariedly As the eye is not weary of seeing the eare with hearing c. A Bee gives honey naturally never stings but provoked When God is angry it is but as it were by accident upon occasion drawne unto it by the violent importunity of our multiplied provocations but Hee delights in mercy c. I say to say nothing of these this one consideration may convince us of extreme folly in refusing mercy in such a Case for all the hainousnesse or number of our sinnes to wit That no sinnes either for number or notoriousnesse in a truly broken heart can make so much resistance to Gods infinite mercies as the least sparke of fire to the whole Sea and that is little enough Nay as infinitely lesse as an infinite thing exceedes a finite Betweene which there is no proportion 3. His Power For thou art very like thus or in the like manner to reason within thy selfe and cavill cruelly against thine owne Soule Alas what talke you of taking Christ the promises of life and heavenly lightsomnesse my poore heart is as darke as the very middle of Hell much harder then a Rocke of Adamant as cold and dead as the senselesse Center of the earth as uncomfortable and restlesse almost as desperation it selfe c. It is more then infinitely impossible that such a darke hard dead comfortlesse Thing should ever bee enlightened softened quickened and established with joy c. But marke how herein thou unadvisedly under-valewes and unworthily sets bounds to the unlimited power of God Whereas thou shouldest imitate Abraham the Father of all them that believe who staggered not at the Promise of God through unbeliefe but was strong in faith giving glory to God And beeing fully perswaded that what Hee had promised Hee was able also to performe Rom. 4.20.21 Bee advised in this Case 1. To compare these two things together The making of the seven Starres and Orion and turning the shadow of death into the morning And the infusion of heavenly light into thy darke and heavy heart And doest thou not think that the second is as easie as the first to the same Omnipotent hand Nay it is easier in our conceit to the Divine Majesty nothing is difficult or un-easie For those glorious shining Constellations were created of nothing and nothing hath no disposition to any Beeing at all much lesse to any particular existence But a Soule sensible and weary of it's spirituall darknesse is
INSTRVCTIONS FOR A RIGHT COMFORTING AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES with speciall Antidotes against some grievous temptations DELIVERED FOR THE MOST PART IN THE LECTVRE AT Kettering in North-hamptonshire By Robert Bolton Batchelor in Divinity and Preacher of Gods Word at Broughton in the same Countie LONDON Imprinted by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Weaver and are to be sold at his shop at the great North-dore of Saint Pauls Church 1631. TO THE HONOVRABLE AND WORTHY KNIGHT SIR ROBERT CARRE Gentleman of the Kings Bed-Chamber c. all holy Wisedome to walke in the Way to eternall Blisse SIR YOur extraordinary approbation and acceptance of my Directions for walking with God falling into your hands by Gods good providence I know not how accompanied with such noble circumstances and expressions of much undeserved respect to the Authour but especially of your affectionate love to the glorious Gospell of the blessed God farre dearer to every gracious heart which truely tastes the mysterie and mercies of Christ in it then it 's dearest blood or whatsoever is most deâ—â—re-able under the Sunne or admired most amongst the Sonnes of men hath encouraged me at this time to take the boldnesse to present this present Treatise more immediately and by speciall interest into your owne hand And I am the farre better pleased with my choise because I hold it a matter of singular comfort and speciall consequence to have an hand in diverting the eie of any that attends upon earthly Majesty from too much gazing upon the outward illustrious splendour which is woont to glister in the Courts of great Princes to the admiration and embracement of the glorious and ever-lasting beauty of the Lord Iesus In respect whereof all the fairest beames of felicity and joy which shine from the most orient Imperiall Diadems that crowne the face of the Earth are but a Moate of darkenesse and Lumpe of vanity And that for divers reasons 1. First Such as stand in the presence of mighty Kings are or ever should be men of greatest parts deepest understandings and most eminent abilities every Way Which being happily sanctifyed by a fruitfull influence from Heaven and by the helpe of the holy Ghost bent to the right end and spent upon the Objects they ought become gloriously serviceable to the King of Kings proportionably to their native excellency above ordinary gifts and the vulgar sort of sufficiencies Great endowments in what kinde soever gvided by a divine hand in their exercise and agitations doe ever a great deale of good To give Instance and not stirre from the Court The Lord of Heaven vouchsafed to King Iames of famous memory and One of the learnedest Princes that ever wore a Crowne upon Earth such a strong and enlarged understanding that wee should have magnified it as admirable even in a private man The same good hand of providence in great mercy directed it upon the right Object even the defense of the holy Truth of our blessedly reformed religion and destruction of Antichristianisme that accursed Hydra of all heresies and notoriously infamous both to this and the other World for horrible Massacres and murthering of Kings Whereupon besides that Hee hath by his Princely Pen given such a deadly wound to that Beast of Rome that Hee is never like to stand upon His foure legs againe Hee hath also left in His learned Labours such an immortall monument of Demonstrative light invincible Remonstrance against that bloody superstition that I am perswaded it will proove a most soveraigne preservative and a mighty Motive far stronger then a mountaine of Brasse to keepe all His Royall Posterity which shall hereafter successively sit upon His Regall Throne to the worlds end in a thorow universall and everlasting detestation of Popery Chamier that great glory of France and the whole Christian World was bountifully enriched from Heaven with singularity of learning and Polemicall Parts which being turned the right way have happily produced a Panstratia such victorious Volumes and so unanswerably triumphant over all Popish Sophistry that not all the Iesuites in Christendom tho they should rake Hell afresh for some new rotten distinctions to uphold their tottering Babell shall ever bee able to reply to any purpose Gnash the teeth they may with griefe and shame enough raile like the vassals of the great Whore impressioned with the impudency of her forehead and lie against Him voluminously But for any possibility of a sound Answer they must all let that alone for ever As on the contrary great parts empoisoned and mis-imploied plague extraordinarily The greater sufficiency without grace is but a sharper sword in a madder hand Hatred to goodnesse and height of Place attended with capacity and cunning worke a world of mischiefe Iulian the Apostate being an Emperour of admirable eloquence and exact learning What horrible worke What hurt and havocke did he make in the Primitive times amongst the people of God! The Iesuites at this day brought up in variety of literature and Machivellian mysteries become the grand Impostours and Impoisoners of innumerable Soules the most notorious Incendiaries and Assasins that ever the earth bore such murtherers of Princes Butcherers of people Firers of States and Blowers-up of Parliaments as former Histories never heard of Thus when men of Place and imploiment mighty and remarkeable in the World improove the utmost possibilites of their Wit and Art of all their naturall and acquired Parts to serve their own turnes and attaine their private ends to rise revenge grow rich or more immediately by some speciall service to advance the Kingdome of darknesse and dominion of Antichrist O the Luciferian pride the injustice the cruelty the Machiavellisme the putting of faire pretences upon pestilent plots the drowning of innocency in the Depths of State the crafty and mercilesse pressures of Gods people and those over whom they domineere It is then a work of great Waight and Worthinesse to winne a great man to the waies of God Hereby the common state of goodnesse is mightily strengthned and which is an equall happinesse the Divels side goes downe and Belials hang the head For according to the eminency of his Gifts and greatnesse of Place is the excellency of good or excesse of ill that Hee doth It were to bee wished therefore if God so pleased that all the incurable and implacable enemies to the grace of God good men and power of godlinesse were Dunces and Fooles that they might not bee able to manage their malice and power with such Depths and dexterity to the more dangerous under-mining of the kingdome of Christ and their owne more desperate ruine and greater damnation 2. Secondly Great men are subject to great temptations And therefore it is the harder Taske and more honorable triumph to turne them on Gods side Had not an All-mighty hand mastered the temptation steeled his Faith and represented to his eie the matchlesse glory of an immortall Crowne Moses had never been able to
of that Antichristian cut-throate Position Of keeping no oath nor faith with Infidells and Hereticks unhappily undertooke to absolve Vladisâ—aus the King the rest whom it did concerne from that solemne oath for confirmation of a concluded peace taken of Him upon the Holy Evangelists and of Amurath by His Ambassadors upon their Turkish Alcaron Whereupon they resolutely breake the league raise a great Army presently and against their oath and promise set upon the Turke with periury and perfidiousnes accompanied with Gods curse exposed the Christian party to a most horrible overthrow in that bloudy battaile of Varna and cast upon the Profession of Christ such an aspersion and shame that not all the bloud of that rope of Popes which constitute Antichrist could ever be able to expiate Looke upon the story and consider what a reproch and inexpiable staine doth rest upon the face of Christian religion by this wicked Stratagemme of Popish treachery and that even upon record to all posterity For Amurath the Turkish Emperour in the heate of the sight pluckt the writing out of His bosome wherein the late league was compris'de and holding it up in his hand with his eyes cast up to Heaven said thus Behold thou crucified Christ this is the league thy Christians in thy Name made with Me which they have without cause violated Now if Thou be a God as they say Thou art and as wee dreame reuenge the wrong now done unto Thy Name and Mee and shew thy power upon Thy periurious people who in their deeds deny Thee their God 2. Secondly Sith a stocke of grace and the comforts of a sound conscience be onely able to crush all crosses out-face all aduersaries take the sting out of all sorrowes and sufferings and serve in the evill Day as a soveraigne Antidote to save the Soule from sinking into the mouth of despaire and extremest horrour then three sorts of people here offer themselves to be censured and are to bee frighted and fir'd out of their damned security and cruell case 1. Those fooles Sonnes and daughters of confusion and sloth who having a price in their hands to get wisedome yet want hearts to lay it out for spirituall provision before hand They enioy by Gods rare and extraordinary indulgence and favour life strength wit health and many other outward happinesses nay the most glorious Day of a gracious visitation that did ever shine upon Earth many golden and goodly oportunities many blessed seasons and sermons to enrich their foules abundantly with all heavenly treasures and yet they are so farre from spending their abilities entertaining those mercifull Offers and apprehending such happy aduantages for their true and eternall good that they most unworthily and unthankfully abuse mispend and dis-imploy all their meanes time and manifold mercies to serve their own turnes attaine their sensuall ends and possesse the Present with all the carnall contentment they can possibly devise These vassals of selfe-love and slaves of lust are so lull'd upon the lap of pleasure by the Syren songs of Satans solicitors and so drunke with worldly prosperity by swimming down the current of these corruptest times with full saile of sensuality and ease that they fall asleepe for all the while of the happy Harvest in this life for Inning grace into the Soule under the Sun-shine of the Gospell wasting their pretious time of gathering spiritual Manna in grasping gold clasping about the Arme of flesh sâ—ruing themselves by all wajes and meanes into high roomes crowning themselves with Rose-buds tumbling voluptuously in the pleasures and glory of this false and flattering world But alas poore soules what will they doe in the evill Day When after the hot gleame of earthly glory and a short calme cut ouer the Sea of this world they are come into the Port of death to which all windes drive them and having there let fall that last Anchor which can never be weighed againe shall be set in the land of darkenes the dust whereof is brimstone and the riuers burning pitch where they shall meete with whole Armies of tempestuous and fiery plagues and the envenomed Arrowes of Gods unquenchable anger shall sticke fast for ever in their Soule flesh where they shall never more see the Light nor the Land of the living but be drowned in everlasting perdition in the Lake even a boyling Sea of fire and brimstone where they can see no banke nor feele no bottome What will these sleepers in Harvest say when they shall be awaked at that dreadfull Houre out of their golden dreames and in their hands shall finde nothing but the iudgement of God growing upon their thoughts as an impetuous storme death standing before them unresistable like an armed Man sin lying at the doore like a bloud-hound and a guilty conscience knawing at the heart like a Vulture When they shall lie upon their last Beds like wild Bulls in a net as the Prophet speakes full of the wrath of God saying in the morning would God it were Even and at Even would God it were morning for the feare of their heart wherewith they shal feare and for the sight of their eyes which they shall see I say in what case will they be then Then But my words doe faile mee here and so doth my conceit For as none knowes the sweetnesse of the Spouses kisse but the Soule that receives it so neither can any one conceive this damned horrour but He that suffers it The Lord of Heaven in mercy awake theÌ„ in the meane time with the peircing thunder of His sacred and saving Word that they may be happily frighted fired out of their amased Soule-murdring sloth before they feele in Hell those fearefull things wee so faithfully forewarne them of To rouse them out of this cruell carnall security let them entertaine into their most serious thoughts such considerations as these Consider 1. Why thou camest into this world There is not so much as one Age past since Thou layest hid in the loathed state of being nothing Above fiue thousand yeeres were gone after the Creation before there was any newes of Thee at all And thou mightst never have bin God had no neede of Thee He gave Thee a Beeing onely out of His owne meere bounty Infinite millions shall never bee which might have bin as well as Thouâ— Gods omnipotency is equally able and active to have prodâ—ced them as Thee And no parts of that vast Abysse of Nothing can possibly make any resistance to Almightinesse And besides being so that Thou must needs have a being there is not any Creature that ever issued out of the hands of God but thou mightest haue bin that either for the kinde or for the particular All is One to Him to make an Angell or an Ant To create the brightest Cherub or the most contemptible Flie For in every creation no lesse then Omnipotency must needes bee the Efficient and no more then Nothing is
out groaning most pitifully Oh mee Wretch Oh mine heart is miserable Oh Oh miserable and wofull The burthen of my sinne lyeth so heavy upon mee I doubt it will breake my heart Oh how wofull and miserable is my state that thus must converse with Hell-hounds When By-standers asked if Hee would pray Hee answered I cannot Suffer us say they to pray for you Take not replyed Hee the Name of God in vaine by praying for a Reprobate What grievous pangs what sorrowfull torments what boyling heates of the fire of Hell that blessed Saint of God Iohn Glover felt inwardly in his spirit saith Fox no speech outwardly is able to expresse Being young saith Hee I remember I was once or twice with Him whom partly by His talke I perceived and partly by mine owne eyes saw to bee so worne and consumed by the space of five yeeres that neither almost any brooking of meat quietnes of sleep pleasure of life yea and almost no kind of senses was left in Him Vpon apprehension of some back-sliding Hee was so perplexed that if Hee had been in the deepest Pit of Hell Hee could almost have despaired no more of His salvation saith the same Author In which intolerable griefes of minde saith Hee although Hee neither had nor could have any ioy of his meate yet was Hee compelled to eate against his appetite to the end to differre the time of His damnation so long as Hee might thinking with Himselfe no lesse but that Hee must needs bee throwne into Hell the breath beeing once out of his Body I dare not passe out of this Point lest some Childe of God should bee here discouraged before I tell you that every One of these three last named was at length blessedly recovered and did rise most gloriously out of their severall Depths of extremest spirituall misery before their end Heare therefore also Mistris Bretterghs triumphant Songs and ravishments of spirit after the returne of Her Welbeloved O Lord Iesu doest Thou pray for mee O blessed and sweete Saviour How wonderfull How wonderfull How wonderfull are thy mercies Oh thy love is unspeakeable that hast dealt so graciously with mee O my Lord and my God blessed bee thy Name for evermore which hast sâ—â—wed mee the Path of life Thou didst O Lord hide thy face from mee for a little season but with everlasting mercy thou hast had compassion on mee And now blessed Lord thy comfortable presence is come yea Lord thou hast had respect unto thine hand-maide and art come with fulnesse of ioy and abundance of consolations O blessed bee thy Name my Lord and my God O the ioyes the ioyes the ioyes that I feele in my Soule Oh they bee wonderfull They bee wonderfull They bee wonderfull O Father how mercifull and marveilous gracious art thou unto mee yea Lord I feele thy mercy and I am assured of thy love and so certaine am I thereof as Thou art the God of truth even so sure doe I know my Selfe to bee thine O Lord my God and this my Soule knoweth right well and this my Soule knoweth right well O blessed bee the Lord O blessed bee the Lord that hath thus comforted mee and hath brought mee now to a place more sweet unto mee then the Garden of Eden Oh the ioy the ioy the delightsome ioy that I feele O praise the Lord for his mercies and for this ioy which my Soule feeleth full well prayse His Name for evermore Heare with what heavenly calmenesse and sweete comforts Master Peacocks heart was refresht and ravisht when the storme was over Truly my heart and Soule saith Hee when the tempest was something alayed have been farre led and deepely troubled with temptations and stings of conscience but I thanke God they are eased in good measure Wherefore I desire that I bee not branded with the note of a cast-away or reprobate Such questions oppositions and all tending thereto I renounce Concerning mine inconsiderate speeches in my temptation I humbly and heartily aske mercy of God for them all Afterward by little and little more light did arise in His heart and Hee brake out into such speeches as these I doe God bee praised feele such comfort from that what shall I call it Agony said One that stood by Nay quoth Hee that is too little That had I five hundred worlds I could not make satisfaction for such an issue Oh the Sea is not more full of water nor the Sunne of light then the Lord of mercy yea His mercies are ten thousand times more What great cause have I to magnifie the great goodnesse of God that hath humbled â—ay rather exalted such a wretched Miscreant and of so base condition to an estate so glorious and stately The Lord hath honoured me with His goodnesse I am sure Hee hath provided a glorious Kingdome for me The ioy that I feele in mine heart is incredible For the third heare M. Fox Tho this good Servant of God suffered many yeares so sharp temptations and strong buffetings of Satan yet the Lord who graciously preserved Him all the while not onely at last did rid him out of all discomfort but also framed him thereby to such mortification of life as the like lightly hath not been seene in such sort as Hee bâ—eing like one placed in Heaven already and dâ—ad in this world both in word and meditation led a life altogether celestiall abhorring in His mind all prophane doâ—ngs 7. No arme of flesh or Art of man no earthly comfort or created power can possibly heale or helpe in this heaviest case and extreamest horrour Heaven and earth Men and Angels friends and Physicke gold and silver pleasures and preferments fauour of Princes nay the utmost possibility of the whole creation must let this alone for ever An Almighty hand and infinite skill must take this in hand or else never any cure or recovery in this world or the world to come Bodily diseases may be eased and mollified by medicines Surgery as they say hath a salve for every sore Poverty may be repaired and releived by friends There is no imprisonment without some hope of enlargement Sute and favour may helpe home out of banishment Innocency and neglect may weare-out disgrace Griefe for losse of a wife a Child or other dearest friend if not by reasons from Reason that death is un-avoidable necessary an end of all earthly miseries the common way of all Mankinde c. yet at last is lessened and utterly lost by length of time Cordialls of Pearle Saphyres and Rubies with such like may recomfort the heart possest with Melancholy and drown'd in the darkenesse of that sad and irkesome humour c. But now not the most exquisite concurrence of all these nor all the united abilities which lie within the strength and sinewes of the Arme of flesh can helpe any whit at all in this Case Not the exactest quintessence extracted from all the joyes glory and pleasures that ever the world
the waters of eternall destruction For the Gods mercy bee of the largest extent yet it is bounded with His Truth And therefore usually in the Scriptures wee find these two coupled together Gods mercy and His Truth Now His Truth tells us that the good tydings of the Gospell belong only to the poore to the broken-hearted to the captives to the blinde to the bruised Luk. 4.18 That Hee onely who confesseth and forsaketh His sinnes shalt have mercy Prou. 28.13 That except wee repent wee shall all perish Luk. 13.3 That except wee bee borne againe wee cannot see the Kingdome of God Ioh. 3.3 That God will wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalpe of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses Psal. 68.21 That if wee regard iniquity in our hearts the Lord will not heare us Psal. 66.18 That no fornicator nor idolater nor adulterer nor effâ—minate nor abuser of Himselfe with man-kind nor theefe nor covetous man nor drunkard nor reviler nor extortioner shall inherit the Kingdome of God 1. Cor. 6.9.10 That without holinesse no man shall see the Lord. Heb. 12.14 That every one that calleth on the Name of Christ savingly must depart from iniquitie 2. Tim. 2.19 c. Compare now these and the like Places with thine heart life and present impenitent state and tell mee in cold blood and impartially whether any mercy at all as yet belongs unto thee upon good ground yet lying in thy sinnes 2. In a second place the Point may serve for warning to those who are already washed from their sins that they defile their Soules no more who having been cured by castiâ—g their eyes upon the brazen Serpent from those many fiery stings that they rebell no more who wounded formerly at the heart-roote with grievous horrour and now healed with the blood of Christ that in the name of Christ they turne not againe to folly Let them call to minde and lay to heart the ensuing considerations when they are first tamper'd with and tempted againe to any sinne which me thinkes should be of power not only to keep Gods blessed Ones from putting their hands to iniquity but also to restraine or at least to coole the courage even of the Divels slaves in the very heate of the most furious entisement to their best-beloved sinne 1. Sinne is most hatefull It is the onely Object of all Gods infinite hatred His Loue is cut as it were into divers streames and carried upon variety of Objects He loves in the first place infinitely ad-equately His owne blessed Selfe His owne Sonne who is called the Sonne of His Love His Angels His Saints His Servants His Creatures All things Hee made Thou lovest all things that are and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made For never wouldest Thou have made any thing if thou had'st hated it But Hee hates nothing at all properly and formally but sinne The whole infinitenesse of all His hatred is spent wholly upon sinne alone which makes it infinitely and extremely hatefull Now what a thing is this that an infinite divine hatred like a mighty undivided Torrent should withall it's united forces and detestations run headlong and rest upon every sinne bee it but an officious lye foolish talking jesting revelling a wanton glance a vaine thought an idle word and such like lighter sinnes in the worlds account which to reprove in some companies nay almost every where would bee holden to bee a sowre and unsufferable precisenesse So desperately impudent are the times both in disgracing of sincerity and dawbing of sinne And what a wofull wretch is every impenitent Sinner who hath such a world of unpardoned sinnes lying upon His Soule and such an immeasurable weight of hatred lying upon every severall sinne And what a prodigious Bedlam is Hee who will wittingly and willingly put His hand to any sinne which once committed is inseparably and individually attended with the infinite hatred of so great a God For which the paines of Hell must upon necessity bee suffered either by the Party Himselfe or his Surety Either it must bee taken off by the blood of Iesus Christ or else the Delinquent must burne in Hell for euer 2. It is most foule Even fouler then the foulest Feind in Hell then the Divell Himselfe And let none stumble at this truth It appeares unanswerably thus Sinne made him a Divell and sunke Him into Hell and therefore sinne is more rancke Divell and horrible Hell it selfe For it is a principle in Philosophy of unquestionable truth Whatsoever maketh such is it selfe much more such The Sunne that lightens all other bodies is much more light The fire which heates all other things is much more hote So that which defiles another thing is much more fulsome Sinne alone brought all hellish misery upon Satan and made him so foule therefore is it farre fouler If any could strip him of his sins hee should re-invest him into the shining roabes of all his former Angelicall excellency and perfection and restore him into height of favour againe with the most High For God hates the Divell for nothing else in the world but for sinne Ob. But if sinne bee so ougly may some say as you have set it out how comes it to passe that it is so amiable in the eyes of the most Why doe all sorts of people pursue and practise it with such eagernesse and delight Why doth the whole world runne a madding after it Answ. Herein observe an universall Soule-swallowing Depth of Satans damned Policy Hee knowes full well that should sin appeare it it 's owne likenes every eye would abhorre it every Mothers Sonne would detest and defie it And therefore Hee takes a course by the exquisitnesse of his colours and excellency of painting to put a seeming fairenesse upon an Hellish face whereby the greatest part dote upon this deformed Hag to their endlesse damnation For wee must know that Satan in this mystery of cousoning by colours incomparably surpasseth the most famous Baudes and noble Strumpets that ever were So that it seemes to bee the conceite of the ancient Fathers that the Divell did immediately reveale unto whorish women this Art of painting at least Hee was most certainely an extraordinary assistant to the first Inventors of it Now for painting sinne to make it more plausible and passable wee may see variety of colours and cousoning tricks ministred unto Satan by our false hearts His Agents for that purpose In that excellent Discovery of their deceitfulnesse But as an old deformed wrinckled whorish Hag setting out Her selfe with false haire a painted face and other meritricious affected dressings entangles and ensnares the hearts of fooles and eyes of vanity whereas understanding men and those that have eyes in their heads discover in her so doing and daubing an addition of a great deale of artificiall loathsomnesse to Her naturall foulnesse So it is in this case The greisly face of sinne beeing dawbed over
whole world and all the creatures in Heaven and Earth have offered themselves to bee annihilated before His angry face Had all the blessed Angels prostrated themselves at the foote of their Creator yet in the Point of redemption of Mankind and purgation of sin not any nor all of these could have done any good at all Nay if the Sonne of God Himselfe which lay in His bosome should have supplicated and solicited I meane without suffering and shedding His blood the Father of all mercies Hee could not have been heard in this case Either the Sonne of God must die or all Mankind be eternally damned Even then when thou art provoked to sinne thinke seriously and sensibly of the price that upon necessity must bee paied for it before it bee pardoned 11. Sinfull pleasures are attended with a threefold bitter sting Whereof see my Directions for walking with God pa. 171. Which though the Divell hides from them in the heate of temptation yet in His seasons to serve his owne turne Hee sets them on with a vengeance 12. Compare the vast and unvalu-able difference betweene yeelding to the entisement and conquering the temptation to sinne For which purpose looke upon Ioseph and David two of Gods dearest servants And consider the consequents what a deale of honour and comfort did afterward crowne the head and the heart of the one And what horrible mischiefes and miseries fell upon the family and grisly horrours upon the conscience of the other Survay also the distinct Stories of Galeacius Caracciolus and Franciscus Spira then which in their severall kinds there is nothing left to the memory of the latter times more remarkeable And you shall find in them as great a difference as betweene an Heaven and Hell upon earth The one withstanding unconquerably variety of mighty entisements to renounce the Gospell of Iesus Christ and returne to Popery besides the sweet peace of His Soule attained that honour in the Church of God that Hee is in some measure paralleld even with Moses and recommended to the admiration of Posterity by the Pen of that great and incomparable glory of the Christian World blessed Calvin The other conquered by an unhappy temptation to turne from the Truth of God and our true Religion to the Synagogue of Satan and abominations of the scarlet Whore besides the raging and desperate confusion hee brought upon His owne spirit became such a spectacle to the eye of Christendome as hath been hardly heard of 13. Compare the poore short vanishing delight of the choisest sensuall worldly contentment if thou wilt of thy sweetest sinne with the exquisitnesse and eternity of Hellish torments Out of which might an impenitent reprobate wretch bee assured of enlargement after Hee had endured them so many thousand thousand yeeres as there are sands on the Sea-shore haires upon His head starres in the firmament grasse piles upon the ground Creatures both in Heaven and Earth Hee would thinke Himselfe happy and as it were in Heaven already See before pag. 39. But when all that time is past and infinite millions of yeeres besides they are no neerer end then when they begun nor Hee neerer out then when Hee came in The torments of Hell are most horrible yet I know not whether this incessant desperate cry in the conscience of a damned Soule I must never come out doth not outgoe them all in horrour What an height of madnesse is it then to purchase a moment of fugitive follies and fading pleasures with extremity of never ending paines 14. When thou art stepping ouer the threshold towards any vile act lewd House dissolute company or to do the Divel service in any kinde which God forbid suppose thou seest Iesus Christ comming towards Thee as Hee lay in the armes of Ioseph of Arimathea newly taken downe from the Crosse wofully wounded wanne and pale His Body all gore-blood the beauty of His blessed and heavenly face darkned and disfigured by the stroke of death speaking thus unto Thee Oh! Goe not forward upon any termes Commit not this sinne by any meanes It was this and the like that drew mee downe out of the armes of my Father from the fulnesse of joy and Fountaine of all blisse to put on this corruptible and miserable flesh to hunger and thirst to watch and pray to groane and sigh to offer up strong cries and teares to the Father in the dayes of my flesh To drinke off the dregs of the bitter cup of His feirce wrath to wrastle with all the forces of infernall powers to lay downe my life in the gates of Hell with intolerable and saue by my selfe vnconquerable paine and thus now to lie in the armes of this mortall Man all torne and rent in peices with cruelty and spite as thou seest What an heart hast thou that darest goe on against this deare entreaty of Iesus Christ 15. When thou art unhappily mooued to breake any branch of Gods blessed Law let the excellency and variety of His incomparable mercies come presently into thy minde a most ingenuous sweet and mighty motive to hinder and hold off all gracious hearts from sin How is it possible but a serious survay of the riches of Gods goodnes forbearance long-suffering leading thee to repentance to more forwardnes and fruitfulnes in the good Way The publike miracles of mercy which God hath done in our daies for the preservatioÌ„ of the Gospel this kingdome ourselves and our posterity especially drowning the Spanish invincible Armado discouering and defeating the Powder-plot sheilding Q. Elizabeth the most glorious Princesse of the world from a world of Anti-christian cruelties saving us from the Papists bloudy expectations at Her death c. The particular and private Catalogve of thine owne personall favours from Gods bountifull hand which thine owne conscience can easily leade Thee unto and readily run over from thine infancy to the present wonderfull protections in thine unregenerate time that miracle of mercies thy conversion if thou be already in that happy state all the motions of Gods holy Spirit in thine heart many checks of conscience fatherly corrections excellent meanes of sanctification as worthy a ministry in many Places as ever the world enjoyde Sermon upon sermon Sabbath after Sabbath bearing with thee after so many times breaking thy covenants Oportunities to atâ—aine the highest degree of godlinesse that ever was c. I say how can it bee but that the reuise of these and innumerable mercies moe should so mollify thy heart that thou shouldest haue no heart at all nay infinitely abhorre to displease or any way dishonour that High and dreadfull Majesty whose free grace was the well-Head and first Fountaine of them all Let this meditation of Gods mercies to keepe from sinne bee quickned by considering 1. That thou art farre worthier to bee now burning with the most abominable Sodomite in the bottome of Hell then to bee crowned with any of these loving kindnesses That if
thirsty desire earnest entreaty is that every one into whose hands by Gods providence this Book of mine shall fall after the perusall of them would pause a while upon purpose that Hee may more solemnly vow and resolve that ever hereafter when he shal bee set upon and assaulted by allurement to any sinne Hee wil first have recourse unto these twenty Considerations I have here recommended unto Him to helpe in such cases and with a punctuall seriousnesse let them sinke into His heart before Hee proceede and pollute Himselfe I could bee content if it were pleasing unto God that these lines which thou now readest were writ with the warmest blood in mine heart to represent unto thine eie the deare affectionatenesse of my Soule for thy spirituall and eternall Good so that thou wouldest be throwly perswaded and now before thou passe any further sincerely promise so to doe 3. Thirdly The point may serve to set out the excellency of that high and heavenly Art of coÌ„forting afflicted consciences The more dangerous and desperate the wound is the more doth it magnifie and make admirable the mysterie and method of the Cure and recovery Which were it wel knowne and wisely practised what a world of vnnecessary slavish torture in troubled minds would it prevent So many thousands of poore abused deluded Soules should not perish by the damning flatteries and cruel mercies of unskillfull Dawbers what an heaven of spirituall light-somnesse and ioy might shine in the hearts and shew it selfe in the faces of Gods people Vntill it please the Lord to mooue the hearts of my learned and holy Brethren in populous Cities and great congregations who must needs have much imploiment and variety of experiments this way or some speciall men extraordinarily endowed and exercised herein put to their hâ—lping hands and furnish the Church with more large and exact discourses in this kinde take in good part this Essay of mine Wherein I first desire to discover and rectify some ordinary aberrations about spirituall Cures Which fall out when the Physition of the Soule 1. Applies unseasonably the Cordials of the Gospell and coÌ„forts of Mercy when the Corrosives of the Law and comminations of Iudgement are convenient and sutable Were it not absurd in Surgery to poure a most soveraigne Balâ—am of exqvisite composition and inestimable price upon a sound part It is farre more unseemely and senselesse of an infinitely more pestilent consequence in any Ministeriall passages to profer the blood of Christ and promises of life to an unwounded conscience as belonging unto it as yet It is the onely right everlasting Method to turne men from darknes to light from the power of Satan unto God and all the Men of God and master-Builders who have ever set themselves sincerely to serve God in their Ministery and to save Soules have followed the same course to wit First to wound by the Law and then to heale by the Gospâ—ll Wee must bee humbled in the sight of the Lord before Hee lift us vp Iam. 4.10 Wee must bee sensible of our spirituall blindnesse captivity poverty before wee can heartily seeke to bee savingly illightned enlarged from the Devils slavery and enriched with grace There must bee sense of misery before shewing of mercy Crying I am uncleane I am uncleane before opening the Fountaine for vncleannesse stinging before curing by the Brasen Serpent smart for sinne before a Plaister of Christs blood Brokennesse of heart before binding up God himselfe opened the eies of our first Parents to make them see and bee sensible of their sinne and misery nakednesse and shame c. Gen. 3.7 Before Hee promised Christ. vers 15. Christ Iesus tells us that Hee was annointed by the Lord to preach good tydings But to whom To the poore To the broken hearted To the captives To the blind To the bruised Isai. 61.1 Luk. 4.18 That the whole neede not the Physition but they that are sicke And Hee came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance Matth. 9.12.13 That is poore Soules sinners with a witnesse even in their owne apprehension and conceit And not selfe-conceited Pharisees who tho they bee meere strangers to any wound of conscience for sinne yet they will not be perswaded that they shall bee damned but in the meane time contemne and condemne all others in respect of themselves sinfull Publicanes are to grosse sincere Professours are too godly Whereas notwithstanding in true iudgemeÌ„t Harlots are in a farre happier case then they Math. 21.31 That Hee will give rest but to whom To those that labour and are heavy laden Matth. 11.28 That the Spirit which Hee would send should convince the world First of sinne and then of righteousnesse to wit of Christ It is ordinary with the Phrophets First to discover the sinnes of their people and to denounce iudgements And then to promise Christ upon their comming in to illighten and make them lightsome with raising their thoughts to a fruitfull contemplation of the glory excellency and sweetnesse of His blessed kingdome Isaiah in his first chapter from the mouth of God doth in the first place behaue Himself like a Son of Thunder pressing vpon the consciences of those to whom Hee was sent many hainous sinnes horrible ingratitude fearefull falling away formality in Gods worship cruelty and the like afterward vers 16.17 He invites to repentance And then followes vers 18. Come now and let us reson together saith the Lord Though your sins bee as scarlet they shal bee as white as snow though they bee red like crimsin they shal bee as wooll Nathan to recover even a regenerate man convinceth Him first soundly of His sin with much aggravation and terrour and then upon remorse assures Him of pardon 2. Sam. 12.13 Consider further for this purpose the Sermons of our blessed Saviour Himselfe who taught as one having authority and not as the Scribes With what power and piercing did our Lord and Master labour to open the eies search the hearts and wound the consciences of His Hearers to fit them for the Gospell and His owne deare Hearts blood See Mat. 5. c. And 23. And 25 c. Of Iohn Baptist who by the mightinesse of His Ministerial spirit accompanied with extraordinary strength from Heaven did strike thorow the hearts of those that heard Him with such astonishment about their spirituall state with such horrour for their former waies and feare of future vengeance that they came unto Him thicke and threefold as they say And the people asked Him saying what shall wee doe then Then came also Publicans to be baptized and said unto Him Master what shall wee doe And the Souldiers likewise demanded of Him saying And what shall wee doe Luk. 3.10.12.14 Of Peter who Act. 2. beeing now freshly inspired and illuminated from aboue with large and extraordinary effusions of the holy Ghost shadowed by cloven fiery tongs in the very prime and flower
is the care of those Ministers which divide Gods Word aright say our great Divines of Great Britaine first fitly and wisely to wound the Consciences of their hearers with the terrours of the Law and after to raise them by the Promises of the Gospell c. The Spirit first terrifies those who are to bee justified with the Law breaking and humbling them with threats scourges and lashes of Conscience that thereby despairing of themselves they may flie unto Christ. Wee cannot learne out of the Gospell saith Chemmitius that wee are to bee blessed in Christ except by an anthithesis as Luther speakes we also acknowledge that wee are accursed by the Law The Doctrine of the Law saith Davenant is to be propounded to the impious and impenitent to strike terrour into their hearts and to demonstrate their just damnation except they repent and she to Iesus Christ. Perkins that great Light of our Church both for soundnesse of learnâ—ng sincerâ—ty of iudgement and insight into the Mystery of Christ teâ—ching How Repentance is wrought telâ— vs That first of all a Man must have knowledge oâ— foure things Of the Law of God Of sinne against the Law Of the guilt of sinne and of the Iudgement of God against sinne which is His eternall wrath In the second Place must follow an application of the former knowledge to a Mans selfe by the worke of the conscience assisted by the holy Ghost which for that cause is called the spirit of bondage in this manner The breaker of the Law is guilty of eternall wrath saith the Minde But I am a breaker of the Law of God saith the Conscience as a Witnesse and an Accuser Therefore I am guilty of eternall death saith the same Conscience as a Iudge Every Law shall have His part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone Reuel 21.8 But I am a Liar Therefore I shall have my part in that everlasting fiery Lake And so of other sinnes Covetousnesse Cruelty Drunkennesse Whoredome Swearing Defrauding Temporizing Vsury Filthinesse Self-uncleannesse Foolish talking â—esting Ephes. 5.4 Revellings Galat. 5.21 Prophaning the Lords Day strange apparell Zeph. 1.8 And innumerable sinnes moe which beeing all severally prest upon the heart by a discourse of the guilty conscience as I have said must needs full sorely crush it with many cutting conclusions from which set on by the spirit of bondage is woont to arise much trouble of minde which saith Hee is commonly called the sting of the conscience or penitence and the compunction of heart And then succeedes seasonably and comfortably the worke of the Gospell The Soule beeing thus sensible of and groaning under the burden of all sinne is happily fitted for all the glorious revelations of the abundant riches of Gods dearest mercies for all the comforts graces and favours which shine from the face of Christ for all the expiations refreshings and exultations which spring out of that blessed Fountaine opened for sinne and for uncleannesse Never any of Gods Children saith Greeneham were comforted thorowly but they were first humbled for their Sinnes The course warranted unto us by the Scriptures saith Hieron is this First to endeavour the softning of our Hearers hearts by bringing them to the sight and sense of their owne wretchednes before we adventure to apply the riches of Gods mercy in Christ Iesus The preaching of the Gospell is coÌ„pared by our Saviour Himself unto the Sowing of seedes as therefore the ground is first torne up with the plâ—â—gh before the seede be committed unto it so the fâ—llow ground of our hearts must first bee broken up with the sharpenesse of the Law and the very terrour of the Lord before wee can bee fit to entertaine the sweete seed of the Gospell I would have a Preacher to preach peace and to aime at nothing more then the comfort of the Soules of Gods people yet I would have Him withall frame his course to the manner of Gods appearing to Elijah The Text saith that first a mighty strong winde rent the Mountaines and brake the rockes then after that came an earthquake and after the earthquake came fire and after all these then came a still and a soft voyce After the same manner I would not have the still and milde voyâ—e of the Gospell come till the strong tempest of the Law hath rent the stoâ—y hearts of men and have made theâ—â— beliâ—es to tremble and rottennesse to enter into their bones Or at least because our Auditories are mixt consisting of men of divers humours it shall bee good for Him to deliver His doctrine with that caution that neither the humbled soules may be affrighted with the severity of Gods judgements nor the prophane and unrepentant grow presumptuous by the abundance of Gods mercy The person that is full despiseth the hony-combe saith Salomon And what doth a proud Pharisie or a churlish Nabal or a Politicke Gallio or a scoffing Ishmael care to heare of the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of God in his Sonne Iesus Except it bee to settle them faster upon their lees The Doctrine of that nature is as unfitting such uncircumcised eares as the snow the Summer and the raine the Harvest Vnto the Horse belongs a whip to the Asse a bridle and a rod to the Fooles backe c. Hee that intendeth to doe any good in this frozen generation had need rather to bee Boanerges one of the sons of thunder then Bar-Ionah the Sonne of a Dove The Word of God saith Forbes hath three degrees of operation in the hearts of men For first it falleth to mens eares as the sound of many waters a mighty great and confused sound and which commonly bringeth neither terrour nor ioy but yet a wondering and acknowledgement of a strange force more then humane power This is that effect which many felt hearing Christ when they were astonished at His Doctrine as teaching with authority What manner doctrine is this Never man spake like this man This effect falleth even to the reprobate which wonder and vanish Haâ—ak 15. Act. 13.41 The next effect is the voice of thundâ—r Which bringeth not onely wonder but feare also not onely filleth the eares with sound and the heart with astonishment but moreover shaketh and terifyeth the conscience And this second effect may also befall a reprobate As Felix Act. 24. The third effect is proper to the elect the sound of harping while the word not onely ravishâ—th with admiration and striketh the Conscience with terrour but also lastly filleth it with sweete peace and ioy c. Now albeit the first two degrees may bee without the last yet none feele the last who have not in some degree felt both the first two God healeth none saith Gouge but such as are first wounded The whole need not a Physitian but they that are sicke Christ
and Orient Mines of all those sweetest mercies folded vp within the Bowells of Gods dearest compassions and of the Mysterie of his free grace and love through the Sonne of his lous vpon purpose to invite and allure those that are without to come in and to stirre vp our Hearers to bring broken hearts bruised Spirits bleeding Soules unto the Throne of grace upon the same ground but infinitely more gracious that incouraged the Seruants of Benhadad to addresse themselves towards the King of Israel And his Servants said unto Him Behold now wee have heard that the Kings of the House of Israel are mercifull Kings Let vs I pray thee put Sackecloth upon our loines and ropes upon our heads and goe out to the King of Israel peradventure hee will save thy life The most desperate Rebels heretofore upon present true remorse for their former rage in sinne resolving sincerely to stand on Gods side for ever hereafter may safely and upon good ground thus reason within themselves Alas wee have done very villanously we have served Satan a long time we walk up downe as condemned men ripe for destruction long agoe Hell it selfe even groanes for us wee may justly look every moment for a Mittimus to cast us headlong into the dungeō of Brimstone and fire and yet we will trie we will goe and throw downe our selves before the Throne of grace in dust and ashes and cry as the Publican did unto the great God of heaven for Hee is a mercifull God gracious long suffering abundant in goodnesse and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sinne And then not onely peradventure but most certainely they shall bee received to mercy and hee will save the life of their Soules I say for this Point of Preaching mercy onely to hearten Men to come in and to nourish in them a hope of pardon in Case of penitency c. See my discourse of true happines p. 173. And I will only adde and advise at this time this one thing of great importance in the Point That after a plentifull magnifying and amplifying the mercy of God by its infinitenesse eternity freenesse and imcomparable excellency every way onely upon purpose to assure the greatest sinners of most certaine acceptation and pardon if they will presently turne with truth of heart from Sathan to the living God from all sinne to his holy Seruice I say that wee then take heed and make sure as much as in us lies that no impenitent unbelieving wretch none that goes on in his trespasses or lies willingly and delightfully in any one sinne receive any comfort by any such discourse as though as yet Hee had any part or interest at all in any one drop of all that boundlesse and bottomlesse Sea of mercy that were a meanes to naile Him fast to His naturall estate for ever But onely thence conceive that if Hee will presently lay downe armes against the Majesty of Heaven and come in with a truly penitent humbled soule thirsting heartily for Iesus Christ and resolve vnfainedly to take His yoke vpon Him there is no number or notoriousnesse of sinne that can possibly hinder his gracious entertainement at Gods mercy-Seate For this end let vs tell all such that though the mercies of God be infinite yet they are dispensed according to His Truth Now the Oracles of Divine Truth tell us that those who shall find mercy are such as confesse and forsake their sinnes Who so confesseth and forsaketh his sinnes shall have mercy Proverb 28.13 Those then who doe not confesse and forsake them shall haue no mercy That the Parties to whom good tidings of mercy and comfort are to bee preached are the poore the broken hearted them that are bruised those that labour and are heavy laden All that mourne c. Luk. 4.18 Mat. 11.28 Isa. 61.2.3 That the man to whom the Lord lookes graciously is even Hee that is poore and of a contrite Spirit and trembleth at his word Isa 66.2 That whosoever by his free mercy through Christ is borne of God doth not commit sin 1. Ioh. 3.9 I meane with allowance purpose perseverance No sinne raignes in such a One c. And yet alas How many miserable men will needs most falsely perswade themselves and others that they have a portion in the mercies of God and hugge with extraordinary applause and embracement the formall flattering messages of Men-pleasers and Time-servers to dawbe over such rotten hopes who yet notwithstanding goe on still in their trespasses who were never yet sensible of the burden of their corruptions and spirituall beggery never wounded in conscience or troubled in minde to any purpose for their sinnes never mourned in secret and sincerely for the abominations of their youth could never yet find in their hearts to sell all for the buying of that one pearle of great price nor ever yet so prized Iesus Christ as to leave their darling pleasures though very base and abominable to enjoy the unspeakeable and glorious pleasures of His gratious kingdome Nay such as heartily serve some Captaine and Commanding sinne in heart or life or calling as their owne consciences if they consult with them impartially in cold blood can easily tell them as Lust the world ambition the times the fashion their pleasures their profits their Passions their ease selfe love pride revenge the dunghill delight of good fellow-ship or the like And here then Let mee discover a notable depth of Sathan whereby hee doth baffle and blind fold His slaves most grossely you know full well and heare often the common Cry of all carnall men especially under any conscionable Ministery against preaching of judgement and for preaching of mercy See the causes why they cannot downe with downeright dealing and powerfull application of the law Disc. of true Happinesse pag. 179 c. But what doe you thinke is the reason that they gape so greedily after Preaching of mercy Not that they can endure the preaching of it as I now have taught and as it onely ought to those that are without To wit To have first the dearenesse the sweetnesse the freenesse the full glory of Gods immeasurable mercy revealed unto them onely as a motive and incouragement to come in but ever at the Close and conclusion to bee made to understand and know certainely that not so much as one drop of all that bottomlesse depth of mercy and bounty in Iesus Christ doth as yet belong unto them lying in any state of unregeneratnes or in any kind of Hypocrisy whilest they regard any wickednesse in their heart and are not willing to plucke out their right eyes and cut off their right hands I meane to make an everlasting divorce from their former dearest sensuall delights and sinnes of their bosome for onely they who confesse and forsake their sinnes shall have mercy Pro. 28.13 This way of preaching mercy would nettle and gall them as much perhaps as pressing of
judgement Nay why not more Proportionably to that which Divines hold That the privation and losse of heavenly joyes and beatificall presence of God is far bitterer then the torments of sense and positive paines of Hell But to tell you their true meaning and their very hearts Their aime in so complaining and calling for mercy from our Ministry is to have it so and in such a manner proposed and preached that they may thence collect and conceive that they are in state good enough to goe to Heaven as they are though in truth they bee meere strangers to the life of God and holy strictnesse of the Saints were never truly humbled with sight of sinne and sense of wrath nor experimentally acquainted at all with the Mysterie of the New birth That they may conclude and say within themselves Howsoever some Ministers of the purer and preciser streine fright us continually with nothing but judgement terrour damnation and will not suffer us to bee quiet no not so much as in One sinne yet it is our good hap sometimes to meet with some mercifull men who will help us to Heaven without so much adoe and upon easier termes c. In a word they would upon the matter have just so much mercy as might assure and warrant them to carry securely their sinnes in their bosome to Heaven with them to live as they list in this life and to dye the death of the righteous Which is a conceit most ridiculous absurd and more then utterly impossible What a hatefull tricke then is this and horrible imposture which they suffer Sathan to put them upon In proposing of Christ Let the Man of God set out as much as Hee can possibly the excellency of His Person the unvaluable pretiousnesse of His blood the riches of His heavenly purchases the gracious sweetnesse of His invitations the generality and freenesse of His offers the glorious Priviledges Hee brings with Him reconciliation to God Adoption forgivenesse of sins justification righteousnesse wisedome sanctification redemption c. Possession of all things For all things are yours Whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come All are yours And yee are Christs and Christ is Gods 1. Cor. 3.22.23 Let Him tell His Hearers that the blood of Christ is called the blood of God Act. 20.28 and therfore of infinite merit and unvaluable price It sprang out of His humane nature and therefore finite in it's owne nature and lost upon the ground But the Person that shed it being the Sonne of God did set upon it such an excellency and eternity of vertue and value that the infinitenesse of its merit and inestimablenesse of its worth lasts everlastingly It will bee as fresh orient and effectuall to wash away the sinnes of the last man that shall bee called upon earth as it was those of the Penitent Thiefe who saw it with His bodily eies gushing out of his blessed side upon the crosse or the first man who did first savingly apprehend that first Promise The seed of the woman shall bruise the Serpents head Let him assure them it is so soveraigne That in a truly broken humbled and thirsty soule it turneth the most Scarlet and Crimson sinnes into snow and wooll That upon compunction and comming in it washed away that horrible and bloody guilt from the soules of them that spilt it Act. 2. Let them know also in how high a degree and hainously they offend from time to time who refuse to take Iesus Christ offered most freely without exception of any person every Sabbath every sermon either in plaine and direct termes or implyedly at the least Oh! Litle doe people thinke who sit under our Ministry unwrought upon by the word what a grievous and fearefull sinne they commit and carry home from the House of God day after day in neglecting so great salvation in forsaking their owne mercy and in judging themselves unworthy of everlasting life I meane by chusing upon a free Offer of his Soule-saving blood to cleave rather to a Lust Horrible indignity then to Iesus Christ blessed for ever rather to wallow in the mire and mudde of earthly pelfe in the filth and froth of swinish pleasures In idlenesse pride worldlinesse whoredome drunkennesse strange fashions scorning Professours contempt of the power of godlinesse railing against religion revelling Selfe-uncleannesse c. then abandoning these filthy harlots to take the Sonne of God for their deare and everlasting Husband This not Beleeving This refusing Christ This not taking Him in the manner and sense as I have said is such a sinne though not so thought upon and taken to heart that Divines speake of it as of a most transcendent sinne the greatest sinne the sinne of sinnes the onely sinne as it were from such Places as these But when the King heard thereof Hee was wroth and Hee sent foorth His armies and destroyed those murderers and burnt up their City Mat. 22.7 Hee meanes those who were invited to the Sons marriage and made light of it Hee that beleeveth not is condemned already because hee hath not beleeved in the Name of the onely begotten Sonne of God Ioh. 3.18 When the Comforter is come Hee will convince the world of sinne because they beleeve not on mee Hee meanes this sinne alone saith Austin As though not beleeving on the Sonne of God were the onely sinne It is indeed the maine and master sinne because as the same Father speakes truly This remaining the guilt of all other sinnes abides upon the soule this removed all other sinnes are remitted Nay and besides the horriblenes and hainousnes of the sin what height and perfection of madnesse is it That whereas a Man but renouncing his base rotten transitory sinfull pleasures dogged continually at the heeles with vengeance and horror And only taking Iesus Christ in whom are hidden and heaped up the fulnes of grace and treasures of all perfection might have therevpon to say nothing of the excellency of his person purchases of his passion and possessiō of the most blessed Deity a full free discharge thereby at the hands of so happy an Husband from every moment of the everlastingnesse of Hellish torments and a Deed presently sealed with His owne hearts-blood for an undoubted right to every minute of the eternity of heavenly joyes yet should in cold blood most wickedly and willingly after so many intreaties invitations importunity onely for the good of His poore immortall Soule refuse the change Heaven and earth may be astonished Angels and all Creatures may justly stand amazed at this prodigious sottishnes and monstrous madnesse of such miserable men The world is wont to call Gods people precise fooles because they are willing to sell all they have for that One pearle of great price to part with profits pleasures preferments their right hand their right eye every thing any thing rather then to leave
the damnation of Hell In a true Penitent there ought to bee an utter cessation from all grosse abandonable sinnes and at least dis-allowance dis-affection and all possible opposition even to un-avoidable infirmities and inseparable frailties of the flesh 5. Fiftly when the Physition of the Soule promiseth mercy and pardon hand over head without that spirituall discretion which is convenient for a matter of so great consequence and requiring such a deale of dexterity in discerning to a man upon His Bed of death who hath formerly bin notorious or onely civill howsoever a meere stranger to the power of godlines and the truth of Profession because now in the evill Day He takes on extremely by reason of His extremity cries out of his sins O I am an hainous horrible and grievous sinner If I were to live againe what would not I doe A World for comfort now and to die the death of the righteous because Hee Howles vpon His bed as the Prophet speaketh and breakes out oftentimes into a roaring complaint of sinne and cry for pardon by reason Hee now begins to feare and feele the revenging hand of God ready to seize upon Him for his former rebellions c. Or when Hee assures Him having been a formall Professour onely and foolish Virgine of blisse and glory because out of a former habituated spirituall Selfe-deceite Hee cries Lord Lord seemes to by-standers very confident that He shal presently receive a Crowne of life thankes God that nothing troubles Him Professes to every one that comes to visite Him that Hee believes and repents with all His heart forgives all the world makes no doubt of Heaven c. Here by the way wee must take notice that many having out-stood the day of their gratious visitation having neglected so great salvation forsaken their owne mercy and iudged themselues unworthy of everlasting life all their life long by standing out against the Ministry of the Word in respect of any saving worke upon their soules and now at length beeing overtaken after the short gleame of worldly prosperity with the boysterous winter-night of death and darkenesse of the evill day may keepe a great stirre upon their dying-Beds or in some great extremity with grievous complaints of their present intolerable misery and former sinfull courses procuring it with incessant cries for ease and deliverance being now caught like wilde Bulls in a Nâ—t full of the wrath of God with earnest and eager â—uing and seeking for pardon and salvation now when worldly pleasures are past and yet bee not truly penitent not soundly and savingly humbled not rightly fitted for Christ and comfort Consider for this purpose Prov. 1.24.28 In the day of visitation God called upon them and stretched out His hands but they refused did not regard set at naught all His counsell and would none of His reproofe And therefore in the Day of vexation when extremity and anguish shall come upon them like a Thiefe in the night a whirle-winde travaile upon a woman suddenly extremely un-avoidably Hee professeth before-hand that then they shall call upon Him but Hee will not answer They shall seeke Him early but they shall not find Him Psal. 78.34.35.36.37 When Gods hand was upon them then they sought him and they returned and enquired early after God c. Neverthelesse they did flatter him with their mouth and they lyed unto Him with their tongues For their heart was not right with Him c. Hos. 7.14 They howled upon their Beds Will not a Dog or a Beast or any unreasonable creature when they are pinched when they are in extremity will they not cry will they not mourne for helpe c. Their cries in the evill Day were not hearty prayers but Howlings upon their Beds Their earnestnesse in such a case is ordinarily like the teares prayers and cryes of a malefactour newly condemned Hee is very earnest with the Iudge to spare Him Hee roares out sometimes and takes on extremely yet not heartily for his former lewdnesse but horribly because Hee must now loose His life Hee seemes now when Hee sees His misery to relent and to bee toucht with remorse but it is onely because hee is like to bee hanged Againe many there are who satisfying themselves and others with a goodly shew of a Forme onely of godlines may upon their last Bed discover and represent to By-standers a great deale of fearelesnesse about their spirituall state much confidence many ostentations of Faith and full assurance and behave themselves as tho they were most certainely going to everlasting blisse when as God knowes their Answer at His just Tribunall must bee I know you not And in truth and triall they have no more part in Christ nor other portion in Heaven then the foolish Virgins and those Luk. 13.26.27 They are so confident not because they have escaped the danger but because they never saw the danger And hence it is that many of them die with as much confidence as the best Christians they have no more trouble then holy men To bee sure I am free from danger and not to know it may beget equall confidence Now concerning the present Case I must tell you that for my part I would not much alter my censure and conceite of a Man's spirituall state whom I have thorowly knowne before for the manner of His death The end of Gods dearest servant after an holy life and unblame-able conversation may not appeare in the eye of man so calme and comfortable as was expected by reason of much tendernesse of conscience some strong temptation spirituall desertion violent distemper of Body or because God would have the manner of His death serue the glory of His justice in hardning those about him who were so farre from being won by His godly life that they heartily hated it or for some other secret and sacred end seene and seeming good to Divine wisedome who ever disposeth every circumstance even of the least affaire most sweetly and wisely And yet this as it doth not prejudice His salvation neither should it His Christian reputation Heare that great Doctor in the Art of rightly comforting afflicted consciences But what if you should die in this discomfort For my part as I my selfe looke for no great things in my death I would not thinke more hardly of you neither would I wish any to iudge otherwise of Gods Childe in that state of death For wee shall not bee iudged according to that particular instant of death but according to our generall course of life not according to our deede in that present but according to the desire of our hearts ever before And therefore wee are not to mistrust Gods mercy in death bee wee never so uncomfortable if so bee it hath been before sealed in our vocation and sanctification On the otherside a notorious wretch which hath swumme downe the current of the times and wallowed in worldly pleasures all his life long may seeme to die
yet at last with everlasting kindnesse will Hee have mercy on Him And that Hee will never utterly and finally forsake any of His. Thus died those blessed Servants of God Mistris Bretergh Master Peacock c. Mistris Bretergh in the heate of temptatioÌ„ wished that she had never bin borne or that she had bin made any other creature rather then a woman But when that Hellish storme was over-blowne by the returne of the glorious beames of the Sun of righteousnesse into Her Soule She turnd her tune and triumphed thus Oh happy am I that ever I was borne to see this blessed Day I confesse before the Lord his loving kindnesse and his wonderfull workes before the sons of men For hee hath satisfied my Soule and filled my hungry Soule with goodnesse Master Peacocke in the height of His dreadfull Desertion told those about Him that hee converst with Hell-â—ounds That the Lord had cursed him That Hee had no grace That it was against the course of Gods proceeding to save Him c. But when that horrible tempest of spirituall terrours was happily disperst and the light of Gods comfortable countenance begun to shine againe upon His most heavy and afflicted spirit Hee dis-avowed all inconsiderate speeches as hee called them in his temptation and did humbly and heartily aske mercy of God for them all And did thus triumph What should I extoll the magnificence of God which is unspeakeable and more then any heart can conceive Nay rather let us with humble reverence acknowledge His great mercy What great cause have I to magnifie the great goodnesse of God that hath humbled Nay rather exalted such a wretched miscreant of so base condition to an estate so glorious and stately The Lord hath honored mee with his goodnesse I am sure hee hath provided a glorious Kingdome for mee The joy which I feele in my heart is uncredible 4. Some of Gods worthiest Champions and most zealous servants doe not answere the unreprooveable sanctity of their life and unspotted current of their former conversation with those proportionable extraordinary comforts and glorious Passages upon their beds of death which in ordinary congruity might be expected as a conuenient conclusion to the rare and remarkeable Christian cariages of such blessed Saints So bottomlesse and infinitely un-fathomable by the utmost of all created vnderstandings are the depths of Gods most holy waies and His inscrutable Counsells quite contrary many times to the probable conclusions of Man's best wisdome But every one of His sith he certainly passes thorow those pangs into pleasures and joyes endlesse and unspeakeable must be content to glorifie God to be seruiceable to His secret ends with what kinde of death Hee please whether it bee glorious and untempted or discomfortable because of Bodily distempers and consequently interpretable by undiscerning spirits or mingled of temptations and Triumphs or ordinary and without any great shew or remarkeable speeches after extraordinary singularities of an holy life which promised an end of speciall note and admiration Why may not some worthy heavenly-minded Christians sometimes by strong mortifying meditations and many conquering fore-conceits of death in their life time make it before-hand so familiar and easie unto them an by continuall conversing above and constant peace of conscience taste so deepely of spirituall ioyes that that dreadfull Passage out of this life as it may breede no great sense of alteration in themselves so no extraordinary matter of speciall observation to others Of the wicked and those who were ever strangers to the mystery of Christ and truth of godlinesse Some die desperately Tho thousands perish by presumption to One of these who despaire yet some there are to whom upon their beds of death all their sins are set in order before them and represented to the eie of their awaked consciences in such griesly formes and so terribly that at the very first and fearefull sight they are presently struck starke dead in soule and spirit utterly over-whelmed and quite swallowed up with guilty and desperate horrour So that afterward No counsell or comfort no consideration of the immeasurablenesse of Gods mercy of the unvaluablenesse and omnipotency that I may so speak of Christs bloud shed of the variety excellency of gracious promises of the losse of their owne immortall soules can possibly drive and divert from that infinitely false conceite and cursed Cry My sinnes are greater then can bee pardoned Whereupon most miserable and forlorne wretches they very wickedly and willfully throw themselves into Hell as it were upon earth and are damned above ground Thus the Lord sometimes for the terror of others glorifying his owne iustice bringing exemplary confusion upon impenitent obstinacy in sinne and willfull opposition to grace doth in greatest indignation by the hand of divine vengeance unclaspe unto them the Booke of their owne Conscience and of His owne holy Law In one of which they find now at length all their innumerable iniquities transgressions and sinnes engraven with the Point of a diamond enraged with Gods implacable wrath aggravated with the utmost malice of Satan And never to bee razed out or remitted but by the bloud of the Son of God in which they peremptorily professe themselves to have no part In the other they see the fiercenes and fulnesse of all the curses plagues and torments denounced there and due unto all impenitent sinners ready to bee poured upon their bodies and soules for ever And no possibility to prevent them no waies to decline them but by Gods infinite bounty thorow Iesus Christ in which they also utterly disclaime all right and interest And therefore they are now finally and desperately resolved to looke for no mercy But in their owne judgement and by their owne confession stand reprobates from Gods covenant and voide of all hope of His inheritance expecting with unspeakeable terrour and amazement of spirit the consummation of their miserie and fearefull sentence of eternall damnation They are commonly such as have been grosse Hypocrites like Iudas and lien in some secret abomination against the knowledge of their hearts all their life long that have followed still their owne sensuall wayes and course of the world against the light of the Ministry standing like an armed man in their consciences to the contrary who have been Scorners and Persecutours of the power of godlinesse and the good way who have abjured the Gospell of Iesus Christ and forsaken the Truth for honour wealth or worldly happinesse To whom the Lord in their life-time vouchsafed many mercies much prosperity great meanes of salvation long forbearance c. And yet they stood out still they still hated to bee reformed set as naught all His counsell and would 〈◊〉 of His â—â— proofe Wherefore the Day of gratious visitation beeing once expired a thousand Worlds will not purchase it againe Heaven and Earth cannot recall it No mercy no comfort no blessing can then bee had tho they seeke it with teares
and yelling They shall never more bee heard tho with much violence they throw their serikings into the Aire and cry with sighes and groanes as piercing as a sword Not but that the Gates of Heaven and armes of mercy may stand wide open untill their last breath But alas They have already so hardened their hearts that they cannot repent After thine hardnesse saith Paul and heart that cannot repent They now but howle upon their Beds they doe not cry unto God with their heart as the Prophet speakes Hos. 7.14 Their earnest and early crying in this last extremity is onely because Their feare is come upon them as desolution and their destruction as a whirlewinde When they cast out their considerations for comfort It is not the whole Creation can possibly help them for they must stand or fall to the Tribunall of the everlasting God mighty and terrible the Creator of the ends of the Earth If they looke up to God the Father that Prov. 1.24.26 comes presently into their heads with much horrour and quite kills their hearts Because Hee hath called all our life long and all that goodly time wee refused Hee will laugh now at our calamity and mocke when our feare is come Iesus Christ as they strongly conceive and un-mooveably conclude against themselves hath now to them for ever closed up His wounds as it were and will not afford them one drop of His blood because they have so often by comming unworthily spilt it in the Sacrament persecuted Him in His members and despised Him in the Ministry The blessed Spirit because in the Day of visitation they repelled all his inward warnings and holy motions preferring Satans impure suggestions before His sacred inspirations doth now in their own acknowledgement by the equity of a just proportion in this Day of vexation leave them to eat the fruit of their former wilfulnesse and reape the reward of their owne wayes Thus these forlorne wretches are disclaimed forsaken and abandoned of Heaven and Earth God and Man of all the comforts in this life and blessings of the World to come And so by finall despairing of Gods mercy the greatest of sinnes they most unhappily and cursedly follow Iudas the worst of men into the darkest and most damned nooke in Hell 2. Others die senselesly and blockishly They demeane themselues upon their dying Beds as tho there were no immortality of the Soule no Tribunall aboue no strict account to bee given up there for all things done in the flesh no everlasting estate in the world to come wherein every one must either lie in unspeakeable paines or live in un-utterable pleasures In their life time they were never woont to tremble at Gods judgments or rejoyce in his promises or much trouble themselves with the ministry of the Word or about the state of their soules All was one to them what Minister they had whether a Man taught to the kingdome of Christ or a generall Teacher or an ignorant Mangler of the word or a dissolute fellow or a Dawber with untempered morter or a dumbe Dog If they were neither Whores nor Thieves but well accounted of amongst their neighbours thriued in the world prospered in their outward state prouided for posterity slept in a whole skinne were not vexed on the Lords day with any of these precise Trouble-townes They were well enough and had all they looked for either in this world or in the world to come Wherefore at their death by reason of their former disacquaintance with spirituall things and God not opening their eies they are neither afflicted with any feare of Hell or affected with any hope of Heaven they are both un-apprehensive of their present danger and fearelesse of the fiery lake into which they are ready to fall In these regards they are utterly untouched die most quietly and without any trouble at all And it is their ordinary Answere when they are questioned about their spirituall state and How it stands with them betweene God and their owne Consciences I thanke God nothing troubles me Which tho they thinke it makes much for their owne credit yet alas It is small comfort to judicious By-standers and such as wish well to their Soules But rather a fearefull confirmation that they are finally giuen ouer to the spirit of slumber and sealed up by divine justice in the sottishnesse and security of their owne senselesse hearts for most deserved condemnation Thus these men as One speakes live like stocks and die like blocks And yet the ignorant people saith Greeneham will still commend such fearefull deaths saying He departed as meekely as a Lambe Hee went away as a bird in a shell when they might as well say but for their featherbed and their pillow hee dyed like a beast and perished like an Oxe in a ditch 3. Others die formally I meane they make very goodly shewes and representations of much confidence and comfort Having formerly beene formall Professours and so furnished with many formes of godly speeches and outward Christian behaviours And the spirit of delusion and spirituall Selfe-cousenage wich in their life time detained them in constancy of security and selfe-conceitednesse about the spirituall safty of their soules without any such doubts troubles feares temptations which are woont to haunt those who are true of heart for ordinarily such is the peace of unsound Professors continuing their imaginary groundlesse persvasion and presumption in the height and strength unto the end for their very last breath may bee spent in saying Lord Lord open unto us as wee see in the foolish Virgines and those Mat. 7. I say such men as these thus wofully deluded and fearefully deceiving others may cast out upon their last beds many glorious speeches intimating much seeming confidence of a good estate to God-ward contempt of the world willingnesse to die readinesse to forgiue all the world hope to bee saved desire to bee dissolved and goe to Heaven c. They may cry aloud with a great deale of formall confidence Lord Lord Mercy Mercy in the name of Christ Lord Iesus receive our spirits c. And yet all these goodly hopes and earnest eiaculations growing onely from a forme not from the power of godlines are but as I said somewhere before as so many catchings and scrablings of a Man over-head in water He strugles and strives for hold to save Himself but he graspes nothing but water it is still water which He catches and therefore sinkes and drownes They are all but as a spiders web Iob. 8. 14.15 Vpon which One falling from the top of an house laies hold by the way for stay and support Hee shall leaâ—e upon his house but it shall not stand Hâ—e shall hold it fast but it shall not endure O how many descend faitlâ— an ancient Father with this hope to eternall trauailes and torment How many saith an other worthy Doctour goe to Hell with a vaine hope of Heaven whose chiefest
provision for his soule untill his last sicknes should for that sin alone bee snatcht out of the world in great anger even suddenly so that there bee scarce a moment betwixt the height of His temporall happinesse and depth of his spirituall misery That His foolish hope may bee frustrated and His vaine purpose come to nothing Hee may bee cut off as the Top of an care of corne and put out like a candle when hee least thinkes of death and dreames of nothing lesse then departure from His earthly Paradise They are exalted for a little while saith Iob but are gone and brought low they are taken out of the way as all other and cut off as the tops of the eares of corne Fifthly a long continued custome is not woont to bee shaken off in an instant Is it like that a Blackamore should change his skinne and a Leopard his spots in three or foure dayes which they have contracted in forty or threescore yeeres Therefore I marvell that any should bee so blindfolded and baffeld by the Divell as to embolden Himselfe to drive off untill the last by that Place before Confession At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sinne from the bottome of his heart I will put all his wicked out of my remembrance saith the Lord Especially if Hee looke upon the Text from whence it is taken which Mee-thinkes beeing rightly understood and the conditions well considered is most punctuall and precise to fright any from that desperate folly The words runne thus Ezech. 18.21.22 But if the wicked will turne from all his sinnes which hee hath committed and keepe all my Statutes and doe that which is lawfull and right hee shall surely live hee shall not die All his transgressions c. Hence it appeares that if any man expect upon good ground any portion in this pretious promise of mercy and grace Hee must leave all his sinnes and keepe all Gods Statutes Now how performest thou the condition of leaving all thy sinnes when as in this last extremity having received the sentence of death against thy selfe Thy sinnes leave Thee and not Thou thy sinnes that I may speake in the Phrase of an ancient Father And what space is left to come to comfort by keeping all Gods Statutes when thou art presently to passe to that highest and dreadfull Tribunall to give an exact and strickt account for the continual breach of all Gods Lawes all thy life long Sixthly many seeme to bee passingly penitent and promise exceeding faire in the evill day and upon their sicke Beds who beeing recovered and restored to their former state are the very same they were before if not worse I never knew nor heard of any un-wrought upon under conscionable meanes who after recovery performed the vowes and promises of a new life which Hee made in his sicknesse and times of extremity For if Hee will not bee mooved with the Ministry God will never give that honour unto a crosse to doe the deede Nay Father Abraham saith the rich Glutton but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And hee said unto him If they heare not Moses and the Prophets neither will they bee perswaded the one rose from the dead Luke 16.30.31 It would amaze thee much if one of thy good-fellow companions should now rise from the dead and tell thee that Hee who was thy Brother in iniquity is now in Hell and if thou follow the same sensuall courses still thou must shortly most certainely follow Him to the Place of torment And yet even this would not worke at all if thou bee a despiser of the Word It may bee while the dead Man stood by Thee Thou wouldst be extraordinarily mooved and promise much but no sooner should He bee in His Grave but thou wouldst bee as gracelesse as thou wast before Seventhly what wise man seeing a fellow who never gave his name to religion in his life time now only troubled about sinne when hee is sure Hee must die will not suspect it to be wholly slavish and extorted for feare of Hell My sentence is saith Greenham that a man lying now at the Point of death having the snares of death upon him in that straite of feare and paine may have a sorrow for His life past but because the weakenesse of flesh and the bitternesse of death doth most commonly procure it wee ought to suspect c. Eighthly painefull distempers of body are wont to weaken much and hinder the activenes and freedome of the Soules operations nay sometimes to distract and utterly over-throw them Many even of much knowledge grace and good life by reason of the damp and deadnesse which at that time the extremity and anguish of their disease brings upon their spirits are able to doe no great matter if anything at all either in meditation or expression How then doest thou thinke to passe thorow the incomparably greatest worke that ever the Soule of Man was acquainted with in this life I meane the new-birth at the Point of death It is a wofull thing to have much worke to doe when the power of working is almost done When wee are come to the very last cast our strength is gone our spirits cleane spent our senses appalled and the powers of our Soules as numbe as our senses when there is a generall prostration of all our powers and the shadow of death upon our eyes then something wee would say or doe which should doe our Soules good But alas How should it then bee 3. When the spirituall Physition powres the baulme of mercy and oyle of comfort into a wounded conscience 1. Too soone The Surgeon that heales up a dangerous Sore and drawes a skinne over it before His corrosives have consumed the dead flesh before Hee hath opened it with his Tents ransackt it to the roote and rent out the Core is so farre from pleasuring that hee procures a great deale of misery to His Patient For the rotten matter that remaines behind will in the meane time rankle and fester underneath and at length breake out againe perhaps both with more extremity of anguish and difficulty of cure They are but Mountebankes as they call them Smatterers in Physicke and Surgery upon the matter but plaine Cheaters and Couseners who are so ready and resolute for extemporary and palliate Cures Sudden recoveries from rooted and old distempers are rarely sound If it be thus in bodily Cures what a deale doe you thinke of extraordinary discretion heavenly wisedome precise and punctuall ponderation of circumstances well-advised and seasonable leasure both speculative and experimentall skill heartiest ejaculations wrastlings with God by Prayer for a blessing is very convenient and needfull for a true and right methode in healing a wounded conscience Which doth passe immeasurably all other maladies both in exquisitenesse of paine tendernesse of touch deceitfulnesse of Depth and in highest and greatest consequence either for the
undiscreet heaping a great deale of comfort there where as yet a good ground-worke of true humiliation is not soundly laid Many and lamentable are the spirituall miseries in those Places where such Dawbers with untempered morter domineere who never passed thorow the Pangs of the New-birth themselves were never feelingly acquainted with the wonderfull dealings of God in that great Miracle of a Mans conversion nor trained up experimentally in the Schoole of temptations painefull exercises of mortification and counter-minings against the Depths Wiles Devises and stratagems of the Divell The blessed Prophet paints them out to the life and denounces a dreadfull woe against such flattering and foolish Prophets Ezech. 13. A Ship-Master skilfull onely in Astronomy and other speculative Passages of the Art of Navigation is no body in conducting Men safely over some dangerous Sea to Him that besides sufficiencies of Art is furnisht also with experimentall skill in those Parts by passing formerly that way Himselfe and having discovered those dangers of ruine and hidden Rockes which the other Man might easily runne upon Give me a Man in whom variety and profoundnesse of best learning doth concurre in the highest degree of excellency yet if his owne heart bee not soundly wrought upon and seasoned with saving grace Himselfe experimentally seene into the Mystery of Christ and Secrets of sanctification as Hee shall bee hardly able to wound other mens consciences and pierce them to the quicke so Hee will bee found very unfit to manage aright the spirituall miseries of a troubled Soule and to transport it savingly thorow the tempestuous terrours and temptations incident to the New-creation into the Port of true peace and Paradise of the blessed Brother-hood A right dreadfull and tender Point it is to deale with distressed consciences so many depths of Satan and deceits of Mans heart mingle themselves with businesse of so great consequence Even a well-meaning Man without much heedfulnesse and good experience both in the Point and the Party may erre dangerously and bee much deceived herein I have heard from a Man of conscience and credit besides many and many in the same kind of a fearefull imposture to this purpose A man who for the world was well enough visited with some trouble of minde for his sinnes sent for a Minister to minister comfort Hee it seemes not sounding Him to the bottome or searching to the quicke heaped upon Him unseasonably and too soone mercies and hopes of spirituall safety Amongst other things Hee asked Him whether formerly Hee had ever felt testimonies and refreshings of Gods favour and love Yea answered the Party and here take notice of a notorious depth of the Divell Once riding alone upon the way in such a Place I grew upon the sudden very lightsome and light-hearted c. This was but a flash of Satans Angelicall glory cunningly to lighten and leade him the way to further confusion Why then replied the Minister you may build upon it God is constant in His favours and whom Hee loves once Hee loves for ever Hereupon the Patient was presently healed of his wounded heart and after fell unto his former courses and grew fully as prophane as Hee was before Amongst the many important Passages of our Ministeriall imployments I feare mee this waighty affaire of visiting the sicke is passed-over also more is the pitty with much ignorance slightnesse and neglect It is incredible to consider how fearefully many offend and what a deale of hurt they doe by observing one plodding generall forme and that a poore one too towards all Patients promiscuously without any judicious discretion in distingvishing the variety of spirituall states the different degrees of unregeneratenesse former courses of life c. Commonly their carriage in such Cases is the same to the notorious sinner the meere civill Man grosse Hypocrite carnall Gospeller formall Professor Back-slider the weake and strong the tempted and untempted Christian. If they but heare from the sicke Man a generall acknowledgement of his sinnes formall cries for mercy and pardon earnest desires to die the death of the righteous c. which may bee easily and ordinarily found in a Pharisie or foolish Virgine as you have heard before they will presently needs threape Him downe that He is as sure a saved Man as if Hee were in Heaven already Herein resembling saith Marbury a foolish Shepheard who wanting skill to helpe his poore sheepe out of the ditch is driven to play the miserable comforter and to take some other indirect course as many use to doe in such case to cut the sheepes throate in time to make him Mans meate left it should bee said Hee died in a ditch Many and many a time doe such fellowes as these empty and discharge their common-Place Bookes of all the Places of mercy and comforte collected curiously and industriously for that purpose upon those Men who were never acquainted with the waies of God in their life-time nor with the truth of humiliation or truly with the great worke of Repentance upon their Beds of death Those formall Church-men who stood about Marshall Biron that great Peere and Pillar of France at his death did in this respect very ill offices of Ghostly Fathers unto Him in his greatest neede and last extremitie For when Hee behaved himselfe more like a furious Divel already amongst the damned spirits in blasphemies impatiencies and most raging passions then a meeke and humble Saint of God ready to passe into everlasting Mansions of peace they notwithstanding out of their Popish divinity gave him this absolution assuring Him that His soule was ready to see God and to bee Partaker of his glory in Heaven When it had been farre fitter to have driven him to the sight of his sinnes sense of that dreadfull houre terrour of that strict Tribunall to which hee was ready to passe and fearefulnesse of that infernall fiery Lake from which no greatnesse can priviledge gracelesse Men. I feare me there are many Trencher-Chaplaines of the true Religion also who are ready to doe proportionable service to ungodly great Ones upon whom they depend by promising them life But many and dreadfull are the mistakings and miseries which fall upon the Soules of Men both Patients and By-standers by these flattering formall visitations and Funerall Panegyricks which ordinarily follow after Happy then and hopefull is that Man who in the troubles of His Soule meetes with that One of a thousand Iob 33.23 with those Sonnes both of Consolation and thunder who are as able ready and willing rightly to binde up a bruised spirit with the Baulme of mercy and promises of life as to breake in pieces a stubborne heart with the terrours of the Law Who as they labour in the first Place to fright and fire men out of their sinfull courses into penitent dejections of Conscience a needfull preparative to a saving conversion so they have learned both speculatively and experimentally to conduct them thorow the Pangs of the
life no acquaintance at all with the waies of God but continue cursedly carelesse what becomes of the Gospell or Gods children so that they may rise grow rich and sleepe in a whole skinne 8. By this time now is he become the drunkards song table-talke to those that sit in the gate Musicke to great men at their feasts a By-word to the children of fooles and the children of villaines men viler then the earth whose fathers hee would have disdained to have set with the doggs of his flocke And what then Even thus they dealt with David Iob Ieremie Nay they told the Sonne of God himselfe in whom the Godhead dwelt bodily that he was a Samaritane and had a Devill What man of braine then that gives his name to Christ and lookes to bee saved will looke for exemption Especially sith all the contumelies and contemptes all those nick-names of Puritan Precisian Hypocrite Humorist Factionist c. with which lewd tongues are woont to load the Saints of God are so many honourable badges of their worthy deportment in the holy path and resolute standing on the Lords side Some noble Romans having done some singular service to the state and after troubled and handled violently in some privat Cases were woont to bare their bodies and to shew in open court the scars and impressions of those woundes which they had received in their Countries cause as characters of speciall honour and strongest motives to commiseration So many lying imputations unworthy usages and persecutions in any kinde for profession of godlinesse which the faithfull Christian shall bring to the Iudgement seate of Christ so many glorious and roiall representations of excellency of spirit and height of courage in Christian causes shall they bee accounted in the sight and censure of almighty God and the blessed Angels and make him more amiable and admirable in the face of heaven and earth Thus much of the Theorie as it were I come now to the Practicke part To a particular application of some speciall soveraigne Antidotes to the most grievous ordinary maladies incident to the soules of the Saints But first give mee leave to premise some generall well-heads out of which do spring abundance of comfort and overflowing rivers of refreshing for all intents and effects in point of temptation and trouble of minde 1. And first take a fruitfull cluster and heavenly heape of them together those twelve heads of extraordinary immeasurable comfortable matter for spirituall medicines which I have heretofore erected as so many invincible bulwarkes against all assaults of despaire oppositions of Satan exceptions of distrust 1. The infinitenesse of Gods mercy sweetely intimated Isa. 55.6.7.8 The mercy of God is like himselfe infinite All our sinnes are finite both in number and nature Now betweene finite and infinite there is no proportion and so no possibility of resistance And therefore bee thy sinnes never so notorious and numberlesse yet in a truly broken heart thirsting for and throwing it selfe upon Christ unfainedly resolving upon new-obedience and his glorious service for the time to come can no more withstand or stand before Gods mercies then a little sparke the boundlesse and mighty Ocean throwne into the midst of it nay infinitely lesse If all the sinnes that all the Sonnes and daughters of Adam have committed since the Creation to this time were all upon one soule yet so affected as I have sayd and put into such a new penitent gracious temper it should be most certainly upon good ground and everlastingly safe I speake not thus to make any secure for any one sinne pleasing and raigning will ruine a soule for ever But to assure of mercy enough how great or many so ever the sinnes haue been if the heart bee now truly humbled for them all and wholly turned heaven-ward 2. The unvaluablenesse of Christs meritorious blood Which is call'd the blood of God and therefore of inestimable price Vnderstand mee aright It was the blood of God not of the God-head but of him who was both God and man For the man-hood of Christ was received into the union of the second person And so it may bee called the blood of God for so speakes S. Paul Act. 20.28 God purchased his Church with his owne blood that is Christ God incarnate Our Devines expresse it thus It was the Sonne of God and Lord of life that died for us upon the Crosse but it was the nature of man not of God wherein he died and it was the nature of God and infinite excellency of the same whence the price valew and worth of his passion grew This blessed blood then is of infinite efficacie and therefore if thou be now turning to the Lord assure thy selfe whatsoever thy sinnes have beene they have not out-gone the price that hath been payd for them This blood upon repentance did take off the transcendent scarlet guilt from the soules even of those that shed it Act. 2. c. 3. The riches of the Word in affording precedents of the Saints and of the Sonne of God himselfe who have surpassed thee and that perhaps very farre in any kinde of miserie thou canst name Thou art perhaps consulting with the Prodigall to come-in but there comes terribly into thy minde the extraordinary hainousnesse of thy former sinnes and that hinders Cast thine eie then upon Manasses a man of prodigious impiety and matchlesse villany Hee shed innocent blood very much till hee had filled Ierusalem from one end to another Hee did that which was evill in the sight of the Lord like unto the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel Hee caused his children to passe through the firâ—â— in the valley of the sonne of Hinnom also Hee observed times and used inchantments and used witch-craft and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizzards Hee wrought much evill in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger c. And yet this great sinner humbling himselfe greatly before the God of his Fathers was received to mercy Suppose which yet were a horrible thing that after conversion by extraordinary violence of temptation strong in-snarement of some sudden sensuall offer and opportunity treacherous insinuation of thy owne false heart and furious re-assault of thy former bosome-sin Thou shouldest be overtaken grossely with some grievous sin and scandalous fal and then upon illumination remorse and meditation of returne reason thus within thy selfe Alas what shall I doe now I have undone all I have wofully againe defiled my soule so fairely washed in my Saviours blood with that dis-avowed sinne of my unregenerate time I have shamed my profession disgraced religion for ever I have broke my vowes lost my peace and my woonted blessed communion with my God c. And therefore what hope can I have of any acceptation againe at the Throne of grace I say in this case to keepe thee
refreshing which sprung out of that promise upon her forlorne and fearefull soule or the excesse of that love which shee bore ever after to those blessed lines to the mercy that made them and to the blood that sealed them An other terrified in conscience for sinne resolves to turne on Gods side but the crie of his good-fellow companions strength of corruption and cunning of Satan carrie him backe to his former courses A good number of yeares after hee was so throughly wounded that whatsoever came of him he would never returne againe unto folly Then comes into his minde the first of the Proverbes whence hee thus reasoned against himselfe So many yeares agoe God called and stretched out his hand in mercy but I refused and therefore now thâ— I call upon him hee will not answer though I seeke him early I shall not finde him Whereupon was his heart filled with much griefe terrour and slavish feare But the Spirit of God leading him at length to that place Luke 17.4 If thy brother trespasse against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turne againe to thee saying I repent thou shalt forgiue him He thence happily argued thus for himselfe Must I a silly sinnefull man forgive my brother as often as hee repents and will not then the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort entertaine mee seeking againe in truth his face and â—avour God forbid From which hee blessedly drew such a deale of divine sweetnesse and secret sense of Gods love that his trembling heart at first received some good satisfaction and afterward was setled in a sure and glorious peace An other godly man passing through his lâ—st sicknesse with such extraordinary calmâ—nesse of conscience and absolute freedome from temptation that some of his Christian friends observing and admiring the singularity of his soules quiet at that time especially questioned him aboue it He answered that he had stedfastly fixed his heart upon that sweetest promise Isa. 26.3 Thou wilt keepe him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because hee trusteth in thee And his God had graciously made it fully good unto his soule And so must every Saint doe who would sound the sweetnesse of a promise to the bottome make it the arme of God unto him for sound thorow-comfort Even settle his heart fixedly upon it and set his Faith on worke to broode it as it were with it's spirituall heate that quickenesse and life may thence come into the soule indeed For God is woont to make good his promises unto his children proportionably to their trust in them and dependance upon his truth and goodnesse for a seasonable performance of them Now all these promises in Gods blessed Booke which addes infinitely to their sweetnesse and certainty are sealed with the blood of Iesus Christ Heb. 9.16 and confirmed with the Oath of Almighty God Heb. 6.17.18 God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heires of promise the immutability of his counsell confirmed it by an oath That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie wee might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Oh what a mighty and pretious invitation is this to beleeve perfectly The speciall Aime of Gods oath whereas his promise had been more then infinitely sufficient was to strengthen our consolation And therefore every heart true unto Christ ought hence to hold fast not a faint wavering inconstant but a strong stedfast and unconquerable comfort Otherwise it sacrilegiously as it were robs God of the glorious end for which hee swore 5. The free love of God Which how rich and glorious how bottomlesse and boundlesse a treasure it is of all gracious sweetnesse abundant comfort and endlesse bounty appeares in this that Iesus Christ blessed for ever that unvalew-able incomparable Iewell came out of it For God so loved the World that hee gave his onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3.16 And therefore every syncere servant of Christ when upon a serious and sad survay of his Christian waies finds himself to come so far short of that which God requires and himselfe desires That his prayers are very faint his sorrow for sinne very scant his love unto the brethren too cold His spending the Sabbaths very unfruitfull His spirituall growth since he gave his name to Christ very poore His profiting by the meanes hee enjoyes most unanswerable to the power and excellency thereof His New-obedience almost nothing c. For so hee is wont to vilifie himselfe Whereupon hee is much cast downe and out of this apprehension of his manifold unworthinesse concludes against himselfe that hee hath little cause to bee confident in the promises of life or to presume of any part and interest in Iesus Christ and so begins to retire the trembling hand of his already very-weake Faith from any more laying-hold of comfort I say in such a Case being true-hearted he may safely and upon sure ground have recourse to this ever-springing Fountaine of immeasurable mercy and raise up his drooping soule against all contrary oppositions with unspeake-able and glorious refreshing from such places as these Hos. 14.4 I will love thee freely Isai. 55. Ho every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters and hee that hath no money come yâ—e buy and eate yea come buy wine and milke without money and without price And Chap. 43.25 I even I am hee that blotteth one thy transgressions for my owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes Revel 21.6 I will give unto him that is athirst of the Fountaine of the water of life freely c. God never set the Promises on sale or will ever sell his Sonne to any Hee never said Iust so much sorrow so much sanctitie so much service or no Christ But Hee ever gives Him freely Every truly humbled heart which will take him at the hands of Gods free love as an Husband to bee saved by him and to serve him in truth may have him for nothing Yet I must adde this there was never any who received the Lord Iesus savingly but hee laboured syncerely to sorrow as much for sinne to bee as holy to doe him as much service as hee could possibly And when hee reflected upon his best hee ever desired it had been infinitely better 6. The sweete Name of the Lord. Which hee proclaimes Exod. 34.6.7 wherein he first expresseth his essence in one word The Lord The Lord. Which doubled is effectuall to stirre up Moses attention Secondly three Attributes first His power in one word Strong Secondly His justice in two formes of speech not making the wicked innocent visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon childrens children unto the third and fourth generation Thirdly but his speciall goodnesse and good affection towards repentant and beleeving sinners in seven
desert to what Christ hath done for thee and to the Almightinesse and All-mercifullnesse of him that promiseth consider with all that God is also abundant in truth Every promise in his Booke is as sure as Himselfe sealed with his Sons Blood and confirmed with his owne Oath Hee must sooner cease to bee God and deny himselfe which is more then infinitely impossible and prodigious blasphemie to imagine then faile in the least circumstance or syllable of his immeasurable love and promises of life to any one that heartily loves him and is true of heart And therefore when thy thirsty soule makes towards the Well of life by vertue of that promise Rev. 21.6 I will give to him that is athirst of the fountaine of the water of life freely And upon survey of the overflowing Rivers of pleasures and blisse which everlastingly spring thence begins to retire from it as too-good newes to bee true I say then steele thy Faith and comfort thy selfe gloriously by consideration of that abundant truth with which hee hath crowned every word of His stronger then a Rocke of brasse far surer then the Pillars of the Earth or Poles of Heaven Nay I speake an admirable thing and of unutterable consolation which cannot bee violated without Destruction of the Deity most blessed and glorious for evermore And let this ever banish and beat backe all scruples doubtes seares which at any time offer themselves and oppose thy unspeakeable joy and peace in believing 6. Well saith an other I easily acknowledge the incomprehensible goodnesse in this Name of God and hold them most blessed who have their part and portion therein But for my part I am affraid I come too late For I have observed the course of the Ministery amongst us and the dispensation of Gods mercy in it At first comming our Towne being full of Ignorance prophanesse and much superstitious follies having never before injoyed the Word with any life or power wee all stood amazed a good whle at the Majesty and Mysterie of this new heavenly Light The first messages of the Ministry sounded in our eares as the voyce of many waters mighty and great but confused not working in us either joy or terrour but onely an extraordinary wonder and secret acknowledgement of a strange force and more then humane power But afterwards when our Watchman was better acquainted with our waies and had more fully discovered the state of our soules the Word was unto us as a voice of a great thunder more distinct and particular breeding not only admiration but feare also not filling our eares onely with an uncouth sound but our hearts also with a terrible searching For the Sermons of every Sabbath came-home to our consciences singling out our severall reigning corruptions beating punctually upon our bosome-sinnes manifesting clearely our spirituall misery and certaine liablenesse to the extremest wrath of God and endlesse woe Whereupon wee were all at our wits end what to doe grew weary of our lives wished with all our hearts that such a Puritane-Preacher had never come amongst us told every man almost wee met that wee had a Fellow at our Towne would drive us all to despaire distraction selfe-destruction or some mischiefe or other That wee heard nothing from him but of damnation and hell and such horrible things c. Now in this second worke of the Word there was a good number even some out of that cursed crue and knot of Good-fellowship wherein I have been insnared so long wonne unto Iesus Christ. For beeing illightned convinced and terrified in conscience for their former sinfull courses the continued piercing of the Word and worke of the spirit of bondage keeping them upon the Racke under the dreadfull sense of divine wrath and their damnable state a good while at last they happily resolved without any more delay diversion by-path or plunging againe into worldly pleasures to passe on directly by the light and guidance of the Gospell into the holy path And so undertooke and hitherto have holden out in Profession and a blessed conformity to the better side But I and the greater part a great deale more was the pitty hating heartily to bee reformed and abhorring that precise way so much spoken against every where into which woe conceived such severe Ministeriall counsell would have conducted us I say wee wickedly wrested out of our vexed consciences those keene arrowes of truth and terrour with great indignation wee unhappily hardned our hearts and foreheads against the power of the Word which particularly pursued us every Sabbath Nay alas we persecuted the very meanes which should sanctifie us and men which would have saved us Here then is my Case and complaint neglecting that blessed season when I was first terrified and troubled in minde when the Angell from Heaven as it were troubled the water and when some even of mine owne Companions in iniquity were converted I am affraid I now come too late that the mercy of God to doe mee spirituall good is already expired and that the Ministry which I have so wretchedly opposed is the very same to mee that it was to the obstinate Iewes Isa. 6.9.10 Nay but yet say not so though it bee with thee as thou hast sayd For our gracious God keepeth mercy for thousands Here you must know that a finite number is put Synecdochecally for an infinite and an infinite indeed And therefore if thou now bee in earnest and willing to come-in in truth and those thine other brethren in Good fellowship and hundreds thousands millions moe or any whosoever to the worlds end God hath mercy in store for you all and being all weary of all your sinnes unfainedly thirsting for the Well of life resolving for the time to come upon new courses company and conversation you shall all be most welcome to Iesus Christ. Even the last man upon earth bringing a truly broken heart to the Throne of grace shall bee crowned as richly and with as large a portion of Gods infinite mercy and Christs un-valew able merit as Adam and Eve or whosoever layd first hold of that first promise The seed of the woman shall bruise the Serpents head 7. Yea but alas I have been no ordinary sinner My corruptions have carried mee beyond the villanies of the vilest you can name Not only variety but the notoriousnesse also and enormity of my wicked waies have set an infamous brand upon mee even in the sight of the world beside those secret pollutions and sinfull practices which no eie but that which is ten thousand times brighter then the Sun ever beheld Had I not been extremely outragious stayned with abominations of deepest die and gone on thus with a high hand I might have had some hope But now I know not what to say Take notice then to the end that nothing at all may possibly hinder or any way discourage any poore soule that syncerely seekes for mercy desires to turne truly on Gods side from assurance of
by their holy Duties good workes and gracious behaviour make his Name more illustrious in the world But what is this to that essentiall infinite everlasting glory which was as great and full in all that former eternity before the world was When God blessed for ever enjoyed onely His glorious Selfe Angels Men and this great Vniverse lying all hid as yet in the darke abhorred Dungeon of Nothing as now it is or ere shall bee 2. A second reason may bee taken from Gods proportionable proceeding in his courses of justice and mercy In his executions of Iustice and inflictions of punishment He interprets and censures desires for the deeds affections for Actions Thoughts for the things done Whosoever saith Christ looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart In Gods interpretation in the search and censure of divine justice Hee that lusts after a Woman in his heart is an adulterer and without true and timely repentance in the meane time shall bee so taken and proceeded against at that great and last Day Whosoever hateth his Brother saith Iohn is a man-slayer An hateful thought of our Brother murthers Him and spils his blood by the verdict of the blessed Spirit And a malicious man at the Barre of God goes for a Man-slaier If this then bee Gods property and proceeding in justice wee may much more confidently expect Nay with reverent humility challenge way beeing made by the mediation of Christ the same proportionable measure in those His most sweet and lovely inclinations and expressions of mercy Shall a lewde desire after a woman fall under the Axe of Gods justice as if it were the grosse Actâ— of lust And shall not a longing desire after grace bee graciously embraced in the armes of mercy as the grace it selfe Shall an angry thought invisible immaterial hurtfull only to the heart which harbours it be charged with actuall bloodshed And shall not a panting thirst of a broken and bleeding Soule after Christs saving and sanctifying blood bee bath'd and refresht in his pretious blood Yes certainely and much rather For Gods tender mercies are over all his workes Psal. 145.9 And mercy with an holy exultation triumpheth and reioyceth against iudgement Iam. 2.13 His mercy is great unto the Heavens Psal. 57.10 Hee doth with much sweet contentment and as it were naturall propension encline to the gracious effusions of mercy Hee delighteth in mercy saith Micah Cap. 7.18 Hee is passingly pleaâ—ed and exalted most gloriously when Hee is pardoning of sinnes purging of Soules pulling out of the Divels Paw pouring in of grace shining into sad and uncomfortable hearts saving from Hell c. This makes Him so passionate in an holy sense when Hee hath no Passage for his love Deus 5.29 Psal. 81.13 Isa. 48.18 Mat. 23.37 Luk. 19.41.42 But now on the other side Hee is hardly drawne not without much reluctancy delaies forbearance and as it were some kinde of violence offered by excesse of multiplyed rebellious provocations to exercise His justice and to punish for sinne See 2. Chron. 36.16 Hos. 6.4 c. It appeares Zeph. 2.2 by the emphasis of the Original that in this respect in a right and sober sense God is like a woman with Childe When the cry of our sinnes comes first to Heaven Hee doth not presently poure upon our heads fire and Brimstone according to our desert But as loth to enter into judgement with us Hee then but begins to conceive as it were wrath which Hee beares or rather forbeares full many and many a moneth still waiting when upon our repentance Hee might bee gracious unto us untill it come to that ripenesse by the fullnesse and intolerable waight of our sinnes that Hee can possibly beare no longer And then also when Hee is about to bee delivered of his justly conceived and long-forborne vengeance Marke how Hee goes about it Ah! saies Hee c. Isa. 1.24 This aspiration argues a compassionate Pang of griefe speaking after the manner of men to proceede against His owne people tho they had provoked Him as enemies How shall I give thee up Ephrâ—im How shall I deliver thee Israel How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zebâ—im Mine heart is turned within mee my repentings are kindled together Hos. 11.9 When Hee came against Sodome and Gomorrah the most prodigiously wicked people that ever the Earth bore What a miracle of mercy was it that He should be brought so low as to say I will not destroy it for tennes sake Gen. 18.32 So it is then that mercy flowes naturally and easily from God and he is most forward and free-hearted in granting Pardons and receiving into grace and favour But justice is ever as it were violently with cart-ropes of iniquity pul'd from Him He is pressed with our sinnes as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaues before wee wring from Him the vials of just wrath and wrest out of His hands the Arrowes of deserved indignation That you erre not in this Point conceive that both Gods mercy and iustice are originally and fundamentally as God Himselfe infinite Both of the same length height bredth and depth that is equally endlesse boundlesse botomlesse unsearchable Yet if wee consider the exercise and execution of them amongst the creatures and abroad in the world Mercy that sweetest Attribute and most pretious baulme to all bruised hearts doth farre surpasse and out-shine the other tho incomparable excellencies of His divine nature and all the perfections which accompany the greatnesse of God As appeares Exod. 20.5.6 Gen. 18.32 Ioel. 2.43 Ionah 4.2 Psal. 36. and 103. 2. Chron. 21.13 His influences and beames of mercy are fairely and plentifully shed into the bosome of every Creature and shine gloriously over all the earth even from one end of Heaven to the other The whole world is thicke set and richly embroidered as it were with wonderfull variety of impressions and Passages of his goodnesse and bounty In this great Volume of Nature round about us wee may runne and reade the deepe Prints and large Characters of kindnesse and love which His mercifull and munificent hand hath left in all Places in every leafe and Page and line of it If mercy then bee so graciously magnified over all his workes we may more strongly build upon it That if the hand of Iustice seize upon an hatefull thought as a murtherer and stained with blood and arraigne a lustfull conceite as guilty of adultery and actuall pollution His armes of mercy will most certainely embrace and accept of a syncere desire for the deed done of hearty affections for the Actions and of a grieved spirit for the grace it groanes for Yea but may some say If mercy bee so faire a flower in the garland of Gods incomprehensible greatnesse if it so farre excell his other Attributes in amiablenesse amongst His creatures How comes it to passe That the
refresht with that pretious blood of His c. 6. It is growing from appetite to endeavour from endeavour to action from action to habite from habite to some comfortable perfection and tallnesse in Christ. If it bee quite quencht and extingvished when the spirituall angvish and agony is over or stand at a stay never transcending the nature of a naked wish it is to bee reputed rootelesse heartlesse gracelesse There are Christians that lie as yet as it were strugling in the wombe of the Church who for a time at the least live spiritually onely by grievings and groanes by hearty desires eager longings affectionate stirrings of spirit c. There are also Babes in Christ young men in Christ strong men in Christ old Christians A perpetuall infancy argues a nullity of sound and saving Christianity The Childe that never passeth the stature and state of an Infant will proove a Monster Hee that growes not by the syncere milke of the Word is a true Changeling not truly changed Hee that rests with contentment upon a desire onely of good things never desired them savingly But here lest any tender conscience bee unnecessarily troubled I must confesse It is not so growing as I have said or not so sensibly at certaine times as while the pangs of the New-birth are upon us in times of desertion temptation c. Tho even then it growes in an holy impatiency restlesnesse longing c. Which is well-pleasing unto the Father of mercies in the meane time and which Hee accepts graciously untill Hee give more strength The Point thus cleared is very sweet and soveraigne but so that no carnall Man must come neere it no stranger meddle with it much lesse Swine trample upon it It is a Iewell for the true-hearted Nathanaels wearing alone Nay the Christian himselfe in the time of his Soules health height of feeling and flourishing of His Faith must hold off His hand Onely let Him keepe it fresh and orient in the Cabinet of His memory as a very rich Pearle against the Day of spirituall distresse As pretious and cordiall waters are to bee given onely in swounings faintings and defection of the spirits so this delicious Manna is to bee ministred specially and to bee made use of in the straits and extremities of the Soule At such times and in such Cases as these In 1. The strugglings of the New-birth 2. Spirituall Desertions 3. Strong temptations 4. Extraordinary troubles upon our last Bed 1. For the first When thou art once come so farre as I intimated before To wit that after a thorow conviction of sinne and sound humiliation under Gods mighty hand upon a timely and seasonable revelation of the glorious Mystery of Christ His excellencies invitations His truth tender-heartednesse c. For the desire I speake of is an effect and affection wrought ever immediately by the Gospell alone I say when in this Case thine heart is filled with vehement longings after the Lord of life If thou bee able to say with David My soule thirsteth after thee as a thirstie Land If thou feele in thy selfe an hearty hunger and thirst after the favour of God that Fountaine opened for sinne and for uncleannesse and fellow-ship with Christ Assuredly then the Well of life is already opened unto thee by the hand of thy faithfull Redeemer and in due time thou shalt drink thy fill He that is Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the End the eternall and unchangeable God hath promised it And amid the sorrowes of thy trembling heart and longings of thy thirsty soule thou mayst even challenge it at His hands with an humble sober and zealous confidence As did that Scottish Penitent a little before his Execution Hee freely confessed his fault to the shame as Hee said of Himselfe and to the shame of the Divell but to the glory of God Hee acknowledged it to bee so hainous and horrible that had hee a thousand lives and could he die ten thousand deaths Hee could not make satisfaction Notwithstanding said hee Lord thou hast left mee this comfort in thy Word that thou hast said Come unto mee all ye that are weary and laden and I will refresh you Lord I am weary Lord I am heavily laden with my sinnes which are innumerable I am ready to sinke Lord even to Hell without thou in thy mercy put to thine hand and deliver mee Lord thou hast promised by thine owne word out of thine owne mouth that thou wilt refresh the weary soule And with that Hee thrusts out one of his hands and reaching as high as Hee could with a louder voyce and a strained cryed I challenge thee Lord by that Word and by that Promise which thou hast made that thou performe and make it good unto mee that call for ease and mercy at thine hands c. Proportionably when heavy-heartednesse for sinne hath so dryed up thy bones and the angry countenance of God so parched thine heart that thy poore soule begins to gaspe for grace as the thirsty Land for drops of raine thou mayst tho dust and ashes with an holy humility thus speake unto thy gracious God O mercifull Lord God thou art Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end Thou sayest It is done of things that are yet to come so faithfull and true are thy decrees and promises And thou hast promised by thine owne word out of thine owne mouth that unto Him that is athirst thou wilt give of the Fountaine of the water of life freely O Lord I thirst I faint I langvish I long for one drop of mercy As the Hart panteth for the water brookes so panteth my soule after thee O God and after the yerning bowels of thy woonted compassions Had I now in possession the glory the wealth and the pleasures of the whole World Nay had I ten thousand lives ioyfully would I lay them all downe and part with them to have this poore trembling soule of mine received into the bleeding armes of my blessed Redeemer O Lord and thou onely knowest it my spirit within me is melted into teares of blood my heart is shivered into peeces Out of the very place of Dragons and shaddow of death doe I lift up my thoughts heavy and sad before Thee the remembrance of my former vanities and pollutions is a very vomite to my soule and it is full sorely wounded with the grievous representation thereof The very flames of Hell Lord the fury of thy just wrath the scorchings of mine owne conscience have so wasted and parched mine heart that my thirst is insatiable My bowels are hot within mee my desire after Iesus Christ pardon and grace is greedy as the grave the coles thereof are coles of fire which hath a most vehement flame And Lord in thy blessed Booke thou calls and cries Ho every One that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. In that great day of the Feast Thou stood'st and cryed'st with thine owne mouth saying
is very much delighted 2. Cause us with peace and patience to submit unto and depend upon His mercifull wisedome in disposing and appointing times and seasons for our deliverances and refreshings For Hee well knowes that very Point and Period of time first when His mercy shall bee most magnifyed secondly His childrens hearts most seasonably comforted and kindlily enlarged to poure out themselves in praisefulnesse thirdly His and our spirituall enemies most gloriously confounded 3. Quicken and set on worke with extraordinary fervency the spirit of prayer fright us further from sinne for the time to come fit us for a more fruitfull improovement of all Offers and opportunities to doe our Soules good to make more of ioy and peace in believing when we enioy it And to declare to others in like extremity Gods dealing with us for their support c. Wee must learne then to expect and bee content with Gods season And hold up our hearts in the meane time with such considerations as these first we performe a very acceptable service and a Christian Duty right pleasing unto and much prevailing with God by waiting See Isa. 40.31 and 64.4 And 49.23 Lam 3.25 Secondly By our patient dependance upon God in this kinde wee may mightily encrease and multiply our comfort when His time is come For He is woont to recompence abundantly at last His longer tarrying with excesse of ioy and over-flowing expressions of His love Thirdly wee must ever remember that all the while Hee exerciseth us with waiting that season is not yet come which in His mercifull wisedome Hee holds the meetest to magnify the glory of His mercy most and wiseliest to advance our spirituall good Fourthly And that which is best of all If the true Convert resting His weary Soule upon the Lord Iesus and Promises of life should bee taken away before Hee attaine His desired comfort Hee shall bee certainely saved and undoubtedly crowned with everlasting blessednesse For Blessed are all they that waite for Him Isa. 30.18 A Man is saved by Believing and not by ioy and peace in Believing Salvation is an inseparable companion of Faith But ioy and peace accompany it as a separable accident As that which may be remooved from it yea there is cause why it should bee remooved The light would never bee so acceptable were it not for that usuall entercourse of darkenesse c. Take here notice upon this occasion That as a truly humbled Soule receiving Christ in the sense I have said hath power given Him thereby to become the Sonne of God so Hee doth draw also from that glorious obiect of Faith so full of all amiablenesse excellency and sweetnesse 1. Sometimes by the mercy of God a very sensible stirring and ravishing ioy unspeakeable and full of glory which tho it be many times very short yet is unutterably sweet 2. If not so yet an habituall calmenesse of conscience if I may so call it Which tho wee doe not marke it so much or magnifie Gods mercy for it as we ought yet it makes us differ as far by a comfortable freedome from many slavish guilty twitches an universall contentednesse in all our courses and Passages thorow this vale of teares from the worlds dearest Minion and most admired Favourite as the highest region of the Aire from the restlesse and raging Sea Especially if that unhappily happie wretch have a waking conscience 3. Or at least ever a secret heavenlie vigour whereby the Soule is savingly supported in what state soever though it be under the continued pressures of most hideous temptations The tyth of the terrour whereof would make many a wordling make away Himselfe because Hee wants this stay And suppose they should last unto the last gaspe even unto thine ending houre Nay entrance into Heaven yet notwithstanding thy spirituall state is not thereby prejudiced but thy salvation is still most sure and thy first taste of those eternall ioyes shal bee the sweeter by how much thy former temptations and trials have been the sorer For wee must ever hold fast this blessed Truth That wee are justified by casting our selves upon Christ not by comfort by Faith not by feeling by trusting the sure Word of God not by assurance But I desire to come yet neerer to thy Conscience and to presse comfort upon thee with such strong and unresistable Arguments which all the subtilety of the infernall powers will never bee able to dissolve Thou sayest and I suppose so That thou art weary of all thy sinnes hungers and thirsts after the righteousnesse of Christ prizes Him before all the world hast cast thy selfe upon His Truth and tender-heartednesse for everlasting safty And yet Thou feeles no speciall sensible joy in thine heart thereupon Bee it so yet upon this occasion Take my counsell and at my request addresse thy Selfe again and have recourse afresh unto the Promises Settle thy Soule upon them seriously with fixed meditation and fervent prayer Set thy selfe purposely with earnestnesse and industry to sucke from them their heavenly sweetnesse And then how is it possible that thine humble upright heart should make resistance to those mighty torrents of spirituall joyes and refreshings which by a natural and necessary consequence spring abundantly from the ensuing comfortable Conclusions grounded upon the sure Word of God and thine owne inward sense and most certaine un-deniable experience Whosoever hungers and thirsts after righteousnesse is blessed from Christs owne mouth Mat. 5.6 And this blessednesse compriseth an absolute and universall confluence of all excellencies perfections pleasures and felicities in this World and in the World to come begun in some measure in the Kingdome of Grace and made compleate in the Kingdome of Glory thorow all eternity But I mayst thou say out of evident feeling and experience finde my selfe to hunger and thirst after righteousnesse Therefore I am most certainely blessed and inter-essed in all the rich purchases of Christs dearest blood and merit which is the full price of the Kingdome of Heaven and all the glory thereof c. Whosoever is athirst hath his Part in the Fountaine of the water of life Rev. 21.6 and 22.17 Ioh. 7.37 Isa. 55.1 But I mayst thou say cannot deny dare not belie my selfe but that my poore heart thirsts unfainedly to bee bathed in the heavenly streames of Gods free favour and Christs soveraigne blood Therefore undoubtedly I have my part in the Well of life everlastingly Whence what delicious streames of dearest joy doe sweetly flow Whosoever labours and is heavy laden may justly chalenge at the hands of Christ rest and refreshing Mat. 11.28 But I feele all my sinnes an intolerable burden upon my wounded Soule and most willingly take Him as a Saviour and a Lord Therefore I have my portion in His spirituall and eternall rest The High and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity whose Name is Holy and who dwells in the High and holy Place dwelleth also in every humble and contrite spirit
as in a royall Throne Hee hath as it were two Thrones One in the Empyrean Heaven the other in a broken heart Isa. 57.15 But my heart lies groveling in the dust humbled under the mighty hand of God and trembling at his feete c. Therefore it is the mansion of Iehova blessed for ever Whosoever confesseth and forsaketh his sinnes shall have mercy Prov. 28.13 But I confesse and abominate all sinne resolved never to turne againe to folly Therefore mercy is most certainely mine Hee in whose heart the holy Ghost hath enkindled a kindly heate of affection to the Brethren hath passed from death to life 1. Ioh. 3.14 But by the mercy of God my heart is wholy set upon the Brother-hood which I heartily hated heeretofore Therefore I have passed from death to life These and the like Conclusions are in themselves as full of sound joy and true comfort as the Sunne of light or Sea of waters Open but the eye of thine humbled soule and thou maist see many glorious things in them Crush them but a little with the hand of Faith and much delicious sweetnesse of spirituall peace may distill upon thy Soule Lastly such considerations as these may contribute some matter of comfort and support to Him of weakest apprehension in this Case 1. If Hee consult with His owne Conscience Hee shall happily finde in His present syncere resolution an impossibility to turne backe againe to His former sinnefull life pleasures goodfellow-ship sensuall courses company Hee sayes and thinkes it that Hee will rather die then lie sweare prophane the Sabbaths put to usury doe wrong keepe any ill-gotten goods in his hands Haunt Ale-houses Play-houses Gaming-houses or willingly put His heart or hand to any kind of iniquity as Hee was formerly wont And doth nature thinke you keepe Him backe or grace and Gods Spirit 2. If Hee should now heare and have his eares fill'd with oathes blasphemies ribald talke rotten speeches filthy songs railing at Gods people scoffing at religion jesting out of Scriptures c. His heart would rise Hee would either reproove them or bee rid of them as soone as Hee could whereas heretofore Hee hath been perhaps a delightfull Hearer of them if not a notorious Actour Himselfe And whence doe you thinke doth this arise but from the seede of God remaining in Him 3. Thirdly If when you heare Him complaine That howsoever Hee hath cast Himselfe upon Christ as the Prophets have counselled Him yet sith thereupon Hee feeles no such comfort and peace in Believing as other Christians doe Hee begins to doubt whether Hee hath done well or no and to conceive that Hee hath layd hold upon the Promises too soone Nay and it may bee upon this discontent doth thus further enlarge His complaint Alas my sinnes have formerly been so great my heart is at this present so hard my sorrow so scant my failings so many c. that I know not what to say to my Selfe Mee thinkes I can neither pray conferre love the Brethren sanctifie the Sabbath rejoyce in the Lord c. as I see other of Gods Children doe And therefore I am affraid all is naught What heart can I have to hold on I say if to such a speech thou shouldest for triall give this reply Well then if it bee so even give over all strive no more against the streame trouble thy selfe no longer with reading prayer following sermons forbearing good fellowship and thine old companions And sith no comfort comes by casting thy selfe upon Christ cast thy selfe againe into the current of the times course of the world and merry company For there yet is there some little poore pleasure to bee had at least Oh! No No No would Hee say That will I never doe whatsoever comes of mee I will trust in my Christ tho Hee should kill mee for all these discouragements I will by no meanes cast away my confidence I have been so freshly stung with their guilt that I will rather be pull'd in peeces with wild horses then plunge againe into carnall pleasures I will put my hand to all holy duties in obedience to God tho I performe them never so weakely I will by the mercy of God keepe my face towards Heaven and backe to Sodome so long as I breath come what come will c. And whence doe you thinke springs this resolution but from a secret saving power supporting Him in the most desperate temptations and assaults of distrust Now this first secret saving power by which an humble Soule leaning upon Christ is supported when it is at the lowest secondly The seed of God and thirdly presence of grace doe every one of them argue a blessed state in which thou shalt bee certainely saved and therefore thou mayst lift up thine heart and head with comfort unspeakeable and glorious 3. Thirdly Many there are who much complaine of the great disproportion betweene the notorious wickednesse of their former life and their lamentable weakenesse of an answerable be wailing it Betweene the number of their sinnes and fewnesse of their teares the hainousnesse of their rebellions and little measure of their humiliation And thereupon because they did not finde and feele those terrours and extraordinary troubles of mind in their turning unto God those violent passions and pangs in their New-birth which they have seene heard or read of or knowne in others perhaps farre lesse sinners then themselves they are much troubled with distractions and doubts about the truth and soundnesse of their conversion Whereby they receive a great deale of hurt and hindrance in their spirituall state For Satan gaines very much by such a suggestion and grounds many times a manifold mischiefe upon it For by keeping this temptation on foot these doubts and troubles in their mindes whether they bee truly converted or no Hee labours and too often prevailes 1. To hinder the Christian in His spirituall Building With what heart can Hee hold on who doubts of the soundnesse and sure-laying of the foundation What progresse is Hee like to make in Christianity who continually terrifies Himselfe with fearefull exceptions and oppositions about the truth of His conversion A man in a long journey would jogge on but very heavily if Hee doubted whether Hee were in the right way or no. 2. To abate lessen and abridge His courage in standing on Gods side patience under the Crosse spirituall mirth in good company To keepe Him in dulnesse of heart deadnesse of affections distractions at holy exercises and under the raigne of almost a continuall sadnesse and uncomfortable walking To make Him quite neglect and never looke towards those sweete commands of the blessed Spirit Reioyce evermore Reioyce and I say againe Reioyce Bee glad in the Lord reioyce and shout for ioy all yee that are upright in heart 3. To fasten a great deale of dishonour upon God when He can make the Christian dis-avow as it were and nullifie in conceit so great a worke of mercy and grace
stampt upon His Soule by an Almighty hand A worke for wonder and power answerable if not transcendent to the Creation of the World To the production whereof the infinite mercies of the Father of all mercy the warmest hearts-blood of His onely Sonne the mightiest Moouing of the blessed Spirit were required Now what an indignity and disparagement is offered unto so glorious a Workeman and blessed a worke to assent and subscribe unto the Divell a knowne Liar that there is no such Thing 4. To double and aggravate upon the Christian the grievous sinne of unbeliefe Not to believe the Promises as they lie in His Booke is an unworthy and wicked wrong unto the Truth of God But for a Man to draw backe and deny when they are all made good upon His Soule makes Him worse then Thomas the Apostle For when He had thrust His hand into Christs side Hee believed But in the present Case a Man is ready to renounce and disclaime Tho Hee have already graspt in the armes of His Faith the crucified bleeding Body of His blessed Redeemer The sacred and saving vertue whereof hath inspired into the whole Man a new spirituall sanctifying life and a sensible un-deniable change from what it was 5. To discontinue or detaine the heart lock't up as it were in a perpetuall barrennes from giving of thanks which is one of the noblest and most acceptable Sacrifice and service that is offered unto God Now what a mischiefe is this that an upright heart should bee laced up and His Tong tied by the Divels temptation from magnifying heartily the glory of Gods free grace for such a worke I meane the New-Creation at which Heaven and Earth Angels and Men and all Creatures may stand everlastingly amazed So sweet it is and admirable and makes an immortall Soule for ever But to keepe my selfe to the Point Those who complaine as I have said That because the pangs of their New-birth were not in that proportion they desire answerable to the hainousnesse of their former pestilent courses and abominablenesse of their beastly life before many times suspect themselves and are much troubled about the truth of their conversion may have their doubts and scruples encreased by taking notice of such propositions as these which Divines both ancient and moderne let fall sometimes in their Penitentiall Discourses Ordinarily men are wounded in their Consciences at their conversion answerably to the wickednesse of their former conversation Contrition in true Converts is for the most part proportionable to the hainousnesse of Their former courses The more wicked that thy former life hath been the more fervent and earnest let thy Repentance or returning bee Sorrow must bee proportionable to our sinnes The greater our sinne the fuller must bee our sorrow According to the waight of sinne upon the conscience ought penitent sorrow to bee waighty He that hath exceeded in sinne let Him exceede also in sorrow Looke how great our sinnes are let us so greatly lament them Let the minde of every One drinke up so much of the teares of penitent compunction as Hee remembers Himselfe to have withered from God by wickednesse Grievous sinnes require most grievous lamentations The measure of your mourning must bee agreeable and proportionable to the sinne And wee may see these rules represented unto us in the practise of Manasses who beeing a most grievous sinner 2. Chron. 33.6 Humbled Himselfe greatly before the God of His Fathers vers 12. In the Woman who is called a Sinner Luk. 7.37 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they say by a kinde of singularity and therefore takes on extraordinarily vers 38. So that she wipes Christs feete with teares In the idolatrous Israelites upon their turning unto the Lord 1. Sam. 7.4.6 who drew water and poured it out before the Lord. In the Hearers of Peter who having their consciences all bloody with the horrible guilt of crucifying the Lord of life Act 2.33.36 were pricked in their hearts vers 37. with such horrour and raging angvish as tho so many empoisoned daggers and Scorpions stings stucke and were fastned in them punctually In Paul who having been an hainous offender a grievous Persecuter Act. 9. whereas the other Apostles as One sayes had been honest and sober fisher-men tasted deeper of this cup then they For Hee tells us Rom. 7.11 That the Law slew Him Hee was strangely amazed with a voyce from Heaven strucke downe to the earth and starke blinde He trembled and was astonished For three daies Hee did neither eate nor drink c. Act. 9. And there is good reason for it For ordinarily the newly-illightened eye of a fresh-bleeding Conscience is very sharpe and cleare piercing and sightfull greedy to discover every staine and spot of the Soule To dive even to the heart-roote to the blackest bottome and ougliest nooke of a Mans former Hellish courses to looke backe with a curious survay thorow the pure Perspective of Gods righteous Law over his whole life to His very Birth-sinne and Adams rebellion And in this sad and heavy search it is very inquisitive after and apprehensive of all circumstances which may adde to the hainousnesse of sin and horrour to his heart It is quick-sighted into all aggravating considerations and quickly learnes and lookes upon all those wayes degrees and circumstances by which sins are made more notorious and hatefull And what the spirit of bondage in a fearefull heart may inferre hereupon you may easily iudge Now to the Case proposed I say first 1. That betweene sinne and sorrow wee cannot expect a precise adequation not an Arithmeticall but a Geometricall proportion Great sinnes should bee greatly lamented yet no sinne can bee sufficiently sorrowed for Tho it may bee savingly When wee say the pangs of the New-birth must bee answerable to our former sinnefull provocations wee meane not that wee can mourne for sinne according to it's merit that is impossible But great sinnes require a great deale of sorrow Wee must not thinke that wee have sorrowed enough for any sinne tho wee can never sorrow sufficiently Before I proceede to a further and fuller satisfaction in the Point let mee tell you by the way how discomfortable and doubtfull the Popish doctrine is here about that the truth of our Tenet may appeare the more pretious and taste more sweet Their Attrition and Contrition as I take it differ as our Legall and Evangelicall repentance 1. In respect of the object Contrition as they say is sorrow for sinne as an offence to God Attrition is a griefe for sinne as liable to punishment 2. In respect of the cause Contrition ariseth from sonne-like Attrition from servile feare See Valent. Disp. 7. Q. 8. De contrit punct 2. This Contrition is the cause of the remission of sinnes Bellar. lib. 2. de poenit cap. 12. Arb. At Catholici alij passim Well then thou art a Papist and troubled inconscience Thou knowest well that without
Dove my undefiled For my head is filled with dew and my lockes with the drops of the night yet for all this full loth they are to leave their Beds of ease and therefore frame many shifts excuses and delaies to passe by and put off those compassionate calls of love and mercifull importunities I have put off my coatâ— how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I deâ—ile them Whereupon their blessed Spouse so unworthily repell'd with such notorious unkindnesse and ingratitude scattering onely in their hearts some sense and glimmerings of his spirituall sweetnesse and beauty to breede the more shame and sorrow for so foule neglect departeth from them for a time withdrawes the life and lightsomnesse of His gratious presence hides as it were in an angry cloud the comfortable beames of His former favour and so leaves them to the darknesse of their owne spirits and in the comfortlesse Dampe of a justly deserved desertion That thereby they may bee schooled to prize Iesus Christ before gold and silver and to preferre as is most meete one glimpse of His pleased face before the splendour of all earthly Imperiall Crownes To listen with more reverence cheerefulnesse profit and holy greedinesse to His heavenly voice in the ministry of the Word and to make more deare account of godly comforts when they shall recover and re-injoy them For the purpose Wee may finde Cant. 5. The christian Soule laid too soft and lazily upon the â—ed of case and earthly mindednesse and slipt into a slumber of security and selfe-love vers 2. Her wellbeloved knocks and calls upon Her Nay be speakes and intreats upon all the termes of dearest love and for his painefull sufferings-sake to rise open unto Him Ibid. But she most unworthily puts him off with some slight excuses and delaies of sloth vers 3. whereupon Hee drops into Her heart some taste of His sweetest ointments to set Her affections on edge and eagernesse after Him vers 4.5 And so departs and leaves Her in Her sad and solitary dumps for driving away Her Dearest by such intolerable unkindnesse and shamefull neglect vers 6. Which perplexity and trouble of spirit for His departure begets in Her a great deale of zeale fervency and patience to follow after Him vers 7.8 An extraordinary admiration of His amiable excellencies and heavenly fairenesse vers 10 c. And no doubt a farre nearer embracement and dearer esteeme of Him upon His returne and enjoyment of a more full blessed coÌ„munion with Him againe Cap. 6.3 6. Sixthly The graces of salvation are the most pretious and worthfull things that ever issued out of the hands of God by creation The dearest of His infinite mercies the hearts-blood of His Sonne the noblest worke of His blessed Spirit doe all sweetly concurre moovingly meritoriously efficiently to the production of them No mervaile then tho it bee right pleasing unto God that such rare and inestimable Iewels should bee rightly prized and holden in highest esteeme by those that have them That they should still appeare and present themselves to those Soules wherein they shine in their true excellency orient fairenesse and native beauty Now privation of excellent things hath speciall power to raise our imaginations to an higher streine of estimation of them and to cause us at their returne to entertaine them with much more longing farre dearer apprehensions and embracement Absence and intermission of the most desirable comforts adde a great deale of life to the love of them and waight of pretiousnesse to their valewation The goodnesse of whatsoever we enioy is better perceived by vicissitude of want then continuall fruition Sleepe is more sweet after the tediousnesse of some wakefull and wearysome nights Liberty and enjoyment of the free aire and faces of men after restraint and imprisonment The glory and fairenesse of the Sunne after a blacke day or boisterous storme c. So Gods favourable aspect is much more acceptable after an angry tempest and hiding his face for a season And the graces of salvation farre more amiable and admirable to the eie of His humbled Childe after the darkenesse of a spirituall desertion Wherefore our gracious God doth many times in great mercy and wisedome deprive His dearest servants for a time of the presence of their Spouse the assurance of His love and sense of those graces that the absence thereof may represent the glory of such an incomparable happinesse and those heavenly Pearles more to the life and discontinuance of their enjoyment may inflame and affect their hearts with more holy greedinesse and eager pursuite after them and stirre up in them that height of esteeme and heate of love which may in some good measure bee answerable to their unvalewable excellency and sweetnesse Such dulnesse of heart deadnesse of affections and declination to the World may grow sometimes upon a good man that Hee may finde little more contentment in communion with Iesus Christ then in the prosperity of His outward affaires which is infinitely unworthy an Heire of Heaven But now in such a Case Let God make Him but to repossesse the iniquities of His Youth and fight against Him with His terrours for a while and the same Man with all His heart will preferre the reconciled face of God and peace of conscience before the Soveraignty and sole command of all the Kingdomes upon Earth While wee have a free and un-interrupted recourse unto the Throne of Grace wee are apt to under-valew and to conceive of that mighty grace of prayer but as of an ordinary gift But if once the Lord please to leave us to that confusion and astonishment of Spirit that our ejaculations doe sadly rebound upon our heavy and un-heated hearts without answer or encouragement from Heaven wee shall easily then acknowledge the Spirit and power of praier to bee one of the fairest flowers in the Garland of all our graces the very arme of God to doe Miracles for us many times and ever to settle our troubled Soules in sweetest peace and patience amidst the greatest pressures and persecutions either of Hellish or earthly enemies 7. Seventhly Iesus Christ Himselfe blessed for ever drunke full deepe of the extremity and variety of sorest sufferings in many kinds not only to deliver His from the vengeance of eternall fire but also lovingly to learne out of the sense of that sympathy and self-feeling to shew Himselfe tender hearted kind and compassionate unto them in all their extremities and never to suffer them to sinke in any trouble or affliction though never so full of desperate representations or apprehensions of impossibility to escape or to bee tempted at any time above their power and patience And many are the meanes and Methods by which Hee is woont to ease and mitigate their many painefull miseries especially that extremest of Martyrdome First Somtimes He rescues them by His own mighty and immediate arme out the mouth of Lyons and pulls them by strong hand
perswaded Gods bowels of compassionate tender-heartednesse and love did yearne within him towards Iob with more dearenesse and delight at that cry Tho he slay mee yet will I trust in him then at any time else even in the Spring of his spirituall prosperity or fullest tide of most heavenly feelings Here then is comfort more then thy heart can hold if thou wilt bee counselled by the Prophets that thou maist prosper For when thou thinkest that all is gone that thou art a lost man and utterly forsaken even in the depth of thy spirituall darkenesse thou being so spiritually disposed as I have said and which thou canst not deny I say even then and thou oughtest so to apprehend and believe the love of God is as it were doubled towards thee much more endeared by reason of thy distresse and cannot hold but breakes out many times into extraordinary pangs and expressions thereof As wee may see Isa. 54.11 Oh! thou afflicted tossed with tempest and not comforted c. And into profession of resolution and waiting to do us good which he will super-abundantly performe in the best time Behold I will lay thy stones with faire colours and lay thy foundations with Saphires Ibid. And therefore will the Lord waite that hee may bee gracious unto you and therefore will hee bee exalted that he may have mercy upon you For the LORD is a God of iudgment Blessed are all they that wait for him Isa. 30.18 Retiring the effects and exercise of our love from him whom wee love dearely makes it returne with redoubled fervour into our owne bosomes and there growes into a more vehement flame which never rests untill it breake out againe with dearer pangs upon the beloved Party Even as when the Sunne suffers an Eclipse and it's beames are driven backe and reflected from the face of the Moone interposed directly betweene it and our sight so that they shine not upon us then is the heate and light thereof multiplied and much intended toward the Fountaine which afterwards is shed downe upon us againe more amiably and acceptably when the darkenesse is done And let us further take notice that Christ our eldest Brother blessed for ever deales with us in such Cases as Ioseph a type of him in many respects dealt with his brethren hee frown'd upon them handled them roughly and frighted them extremely onely to humble them thorowly but in the meane time and midst of his menacing carriage his heart was so full of naturall affection that hee was enforced by the excesse thereof to turne aside and weepe and so returne to them againe And hee turned himselfe about from them and wept and returned to them again Gen. 42.24 So the Sonne of God as well as God the Father thorow him tho sometimes in a little wrath hee hide his face from us yet as hee will certainely after a small moment gather us with great mercies so in the meane time Hee is afflicted and most tenderly affected towards us in all our afflictions See Isa. 63.9 7. Seventhly Thinke it not strange that thou art fallen into this kinde of spirituall affliction as tho some strange thing or that which doth or may not befall the dearest servants of God had happened unto thee For herein thou becomes conformable to as holy Men as ever the world had Iob David Heman Luther c. Nay to the Sonne of God himselfe From whose example and precedency let the Christian even in the darkest horror of a spirituall desertion when hee is afraid lest God hath forsaken him fetch abundance of comfort and support out of such considerations as these 1. Christ himselfe was in the same Case Besides a numberlesse variety of most barbarous cruelties inflicted upon his blessed body by the mercilesse and implacable malice of the Iewes and by consequent sympathy upon his glorious soule Hee suffered also in soule immediately intolerable and save by himselfe unconquerable torments and paine Hee grapled with the fiercest wrath of his Father for our sins and sweat blood under the sense of his angry countenance Nay this Crosse upon his soule infinitely more waighty then that which hee carried upon his shoulders toward Calvarie did not onely cause streames of great bloody drops to fall downe to the ground but also prest from him that heavy groane Mat. 26.38 My soule is exceeding sorrowfull even unto death and that last rufull bitter cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee cap. 27.46 If Christ Iesus himselfe then blessed for ever the Son of the Fathers love the Prince of glory Nay the glory of heaven and earth the brightnesse of everlasting light c. In whom hee professeth himselfe to bee well-pleased and for whose sake onely hee loves all the sonnes of Men which shall be saved was thus plunged into a matchlesse Depth of unknowne sorrowes and most grievous desertion Let no Christian cry out in the like spirituall desolation but ever immeasurably short of his and in his feare of being forsaken that his Case is singular desperate irrecoverable For the onely deare innocent Sonne of God was farre worse in this respect and in greater extremity then hee is can or ever shall bee 2. Secondly Amongst other ends for which the Lord Iesus drunke so deepe and the very dregs of that bitterest Cup of his dearest Fathers heaviest indignation this was one That by a particular and personall passing thorow that infinite Sea those extremest dreadfull horrours of divine wrath for our sinnes which we all most justly deserved and would have caused any meere Creature to have sunke downe under it into the bottome of hell and by an experimentall feare and feeling of that bitter and bloody Agony which melted as it were his blessed soule into that mournefull Cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee The comfortable influence of the Deity being for the time in some sort restrained and retired from the humane nature that it might bee capable and sensible of that anger and angvish which would have holden both Men and Angels and all created Natures under everlasting calamity and woe I say that by his owne sense and experience of such painefull passages hee might learne and know with a more fellow-feeling and pittifull heart to commiserate his poore afflicted Ones in their spirituall desertions and with a softer and more compassionate hand to bind up their bleeding soules with his sweetest Balme of tender-heartednesse and love when in such horrible depths they shall thirst and long and gaspe for drops of mercy and his Fathers pleased face For in that hee himselfe hath suffered being tempted hee is able to succour them that are tempted Heb. 2.18 A woman which hath her selfe with extraordinary torture tasted the exquisite paines of Childe-birth is woont to bee a great deale more tenderly and mercifully affected to an other in like case then she that never tried what it is to be terrified with the suddennesse
effectus carnem sibi parere cogit ac suis legibus obsequi Nutrimenta igitur spiritus sunt divina lectio orationes assiduae sermo doctrinae His alitur cibis his convalescit his victor efficitur Quod quia non facitis nolite conqueri de infirmitate carnis Nolite dicere quia volumus sed non possâ—mus Super Levit. Hom. 9. b Hom. For reading of Scriptures c I meane in respect of terrible representations For I know well from the learnedst Physitions that that humour is originally settled in the spleene But from thence arise cloudes of Melancholike vapours which annoy the heart and passing up to the braine counterfets terrible obiects to the Phantasie and polluting both the substance and the spirits of the braine causeth it without externall occasion or object to forge monstrous fictions and terrible to the conceite which the judgment taking as they are presented by the disordered Instrument delivers to the heart which by reason of the Sympathy betweene the braine and the heart the thoughts and affections and having no judgement of discretion in it selfe but giving credit to the mistaken report of the braine is affected proportionably with terrour sadnesse and feare d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ephes. 6.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Cor. 2.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Revel 2.24 e Haec est ratio cur aliqui timent non timenda cur in suspiciones mirabiles falsissimas cadunt ita ut credant se aliquanâ—o quaeri ad mortem vel ad incarcerationeâ— vel spoliationem inde fugiunt nemine persequente trepidantes timore ubi non est tiâ—or Cognovitalem tempore meo qui ingeniosissimus erat peritus valdè in medicinâ qui tandem fugit in nemora occulta nec ultrà comparuit Gerson de passionibus animae Consid. 20. f Let a melancholy person upon the sudden heare or see some fearefull thing the strength of his imagination is such that hee will presently fasten the thing upon himselfe As if hee see or heare that a man hath hanged himselfe or is possessed of a Divell it presently comes to his minde that hee must doe so to himselfe or that hee is or at least shall bee possessed In like manner upon relation of fearefull things presently his phantasie workes and hee imagineth that the thing is already or shall befall him Perkins Cases of Conscience cap. 12. sect 2. g Sic aliquis existimabat se gallum more galli cantabat Alius murilegum sub lectis mures quaerebat Alius imaginans se habere cornua in fronte verecundabatur quotiescunque videbat se inspici frontem tegebat Alius imaginans se notari de insectione leprae vel de morbo caduco omnes fugiebat trepidabat aspectus sermones Alius imaginans se habere pedes ferreos calcabat validissimè super terram Alius ambulare non audebat phantasians pedes suos esse vitreos Gerson loco suprà citato h Non Siculae dapes c. Not all King Denis dainty fare Can pleasing taste for them prepare No song of Birds no musicks sound Can lullaby to sleepe propound When any comes with a troubled conscience for sinne wee ought wisely to discerne whether they bee meanely grieved with a generall sight of their sinne or whether they be extremely throwne downe with the burthen of particular sinnes if so they bee then it is good at the first to shew that no sinne is so great but in Christ it is pardonable and that there is mercy with God that hee might bee feared so on the otherside shewing the mercy to come from God but so as they are nothing fit to receive mercy unlesse they feele their particular and pricking sinnes But if their sorrow bee more confessed in generall things then it is good to humble them more and more to give them a terrour of Gods justice for particular sinnes for experience doth teach that this is the best way to obtaine sound comfort both to see our sinne and to bee humbled to see our sinne That beeing throughly throwne downe wee may directly seeke Christ and keepe no stay untill we have found comfort in him who then is most ready to free us from our sinne and to comfort us with his spirit when wee are most cast downe with our sins and most feare them Greeneham In his Grave counsels pag. 6. k Id quidem audâ—o dicere clariorem Evangelij Christi doctrinam nulli unquam populo ante propositam esse quam sit ca quam nos quotidiè audimus in Ecclesijs nostris Si profectò non baâ—eremus aliquid aliud â—om sub Coelo exceptá hac tam clará verbâ—lace ea debet nos vel sola consolari Quis est qui non gaudet recreatur cum ex tenebris educit ut in lucemistam solareâ— At nos qui aliquando submersi jacuimus in tenebraâ— longè borribilissimis multò clariorum lucem babemus Solem nimirùm illum Iustitia Rolloc in Iohan. cap. 6. pag. 389. l Per ignorantiae malum à nescientibus innumerabilia perpetrantur mala Aug. Tom. 7. pag. 2. lib. 6. contra sulia Palag m Those that have no minde at all to heare or reade the Word if at any time through the remorse of their conscience which accuseth them they feele any inward griefe sorrow or heavinesse for their sins for so much as they want the salve and comfort of Gods Word which they doe despise it will bee unto them rather a mean to bring them to utter desperation then otherwise Hom. of Repentance pag. 2. n How wisely graciously and necessarily then did King Iames direct for profitable catecheticall teaching in the after-noone upon the Lords Day in all Parish-Churches throughout the Kingdom heare the words So farre are these directions fâ—om abating that his Maiesty dotâ— expect at our hands that it should increase the number of Sermons by renewing upon every Sunday in the ater-noone in all Parish-Churches throughout the Kingdome that primitive and most profitable exposition of the Catechisme wherewith the people yea very children may bee timely seasoned and instructed in all the heads of Christian Religion The which kind of teaching to our amendment bee it spoken is more diligently observed in all the Reformed Churches of Europe then of late it hath been here in England I find his Majesty much moved with this neglect and resolved if wee that are his Bishops doe not see a reformation hereof which Ierust wee shall to recommend it to the care of the Civill Magistrates c. Reasons of the Kings directions for preaching and Preachers As I received them by authority from the hand of a publike Register Is it not strange and lamentable that for all this Princely and pious earnestnesse this soule-murdering neglect should yet every day grow greater and grosser o Cast thy selfe downe Destroy thy selfe Mat. 4.6 Fall downe and worship mee Then which I thinke there was never more abhorred injection v. â— p I
enioy since the houre it enioyed Him In His Preface pag. 3. Tho thousands were debters to Him as touching Divine knowledge yet hee to none but onely to God the Author of that most blessed Fountaine the Booke of life and of the admirable dexterity of wit together with the helpes of other learning which were his guides Ibid. Wee should bee iniurious unto vertue it selfe if wee did derogate from them whom their industry hath made Great Two things of principall moment there are which have deservedly procured Him honour throughout the World the one His exceeding paines in composing the Institutions of Christian Religion the other His no lesse industrious travailes for exposition of holy Scripture In which two things whosoever they were that after Him bestowed their labour Hee gained the advantage of preiudice against them if they gaine-said and of glory above them if they consented Ibid. pag. 9. The more learned and holy any Divine is the more heartily Hee subscribes to Paulus Thurias his true censure of His Institution Praeter Apostolicas post Christi tempora chartas Huic peperereliâ—râ—saeculae nulla parem Besides the holy Writ No booke is like to it Or No Age since Christ brought forth A booke of so great worth No marvaile then that a learned Bishop of London in Queene Elizabeths time begun His Speech thus against a lewd fellow which had railed against Calvinâ— Quod dixisti in virâ—m Dei Calvinum tuo sanguine non potet redimere c. s Sit igitur hic primus poenitâ—tiae gradus dum homines sentiunt quà m gravitèr deliquerint illic non statim curandus est doler quemadmodum impostoâ—es deliniunt conscientias ita ut sihi indulgeant se â—allant inaâ—iâ—us blanditijs Medicus enim non statim lâ—niet dolorem sed videbit quid magis expediat fortè magis augebit quia necessaria erit acrior purgatio Sic etiam faciunt Prophetae Dei quum vident trepidas conscientias non statìm adhibeÌ„t blandas consoâ—â—â—tones sed potiùs ostendunt non esse ludendum cum Deo solicitant sponte currentes ut sibi proponant terribile Dei iudicium quò magis ac magis humilientur Calvin in Ioel cap. 2. t Master Rogers of Dedham Doctrine of Faith pag. 108.109.110.111 u In his Expos. upon Psal. 32. pag. 5. x As in the worke of Creation so in the worke of Redemption God would have the praise of all his attributes Hee is much honoured when they are acknowledged to bee in Him in highest perfection and their infinitenesse and excellency admired and magnified In the former there appeareth gloriously His infinite Wisedome Goodnes Power Iustice Mercy c. â—nd yet in the worke of Redemption which was the greater they seeme â—o shine with more â—â—eetnesse amiableâ—â—sse and excellency 〈◊〉 in it appeared all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge c. And in conveying it to the Church first His Wisedome there appeareth infinite wisedome in finding out such a meanes for the redemption of MaÌ„kind as no â—â—eated understanding could possible imagine or 〈◊〉 of Secondly 〈◊〉 immeasurably sweet and admirable in not sparing His owne Sonne the Sonne of His loue that Hee might spare us who had so grievously transgressed against Him Thirdly His Iustice in it's highest excellency in spaâ—ing us not to spare His owne onely Sonne laying as it were His head upon the blocke and chopping it off renting and â—eaâ—ing that blessed Body even as the Vaile of the Temple was rent and making His Soule an Offering for sinne c. This was the perfection of Iustice. y A man who otherwise would not cry nor shed a teare for any thing despiseth death and would not feare to meete an host of men I say such an One now having at the last instant a pardon brought from the King it worketh wonderfully upon him and will cause softnesse of heart and teares to come many times where nothing else could Hee is so strucke with admiration of so great mercy so sweet and seasonable in such an extremity that Mee stands amazed and knowes not what to say but many times falles a weeping partly for ioy of His deliverance and partly also out of indignation against Himselfe for His barbarous behaviour towards so pittiful a Prince This was to bee seene in some great men at the beginning of King Iames His Reigne condemned for treason and pardoned at the Blocke z Exaudime Domine quoniam suaviâ— est misericordia tua tantundem valet ac si dixisset I am noli differre exauditionem in taâ—t â tribulatiâ—ne sun ut suavis mihi sit misericordia tua Ad hoc enim subvenire differebas ut mibi dulce esset quòd subveniebas August Concione 2. in Psal. 68. Luke 8.43 a Christus â—oâ—ine instatâ—m terret comminatioue exclusionis è regnâ— coelorum Nam qui nondùm conversi sunt ad inferos iam priuiâ—â— detrudendi sunt ad hoc ut inspectâ poenâ peccati discant ab co abhorrere quo tempore naturâ sese oblectaâ—â— Rolloc in Iohan. cap. 3. pag. 133. b Dike of Repentance cap. 2. c Quando peccati quod divinae legis est violatio conseâ—â—ntia stimulamur atque convincimur intelligimusque nos per peccatum in execrationem acerbissimum odium gravissiâ—â—amque Divini numinis offensiontem atque indignationem incurrisse mercedemque atque stipendium quod peccatum meretur esse ut non solùm omnibus calamitatibus atque miserijs â—uins vitae morbisque morte corporis afficâ—amur verum etiam ut damnatiâ—â—e atque interitu sempiterno mulitemur simul atque ex lege agnoscimus nos per peccatum in â—unc condemnatorâ—m statum quo nibiltetrius cogitari potest pervenisse toto pectore totâ mente toto corde animo que cohorremus contremiscimus atque ita ut casum nostrum salutariter doleamus ut nosmet nostri poeniâ—eat Lex efficit impellÃtque ut peccatorum veniam iustitiam vitam sempiternam quae ex lege adipisci non possumus a Christo servatore tantùm per Christum expetamus expectemus Alex. Nowellus Inst. Christian. Pietatis De Legis usu Hoc loco docent Poenitentiam esse quae ex peccatorum irae divinae agnitione nascitur quae per legem Dei primum dolores terrorem conscientiae incutiat Scilicet cum verbo Dei intâ—s argu untor peccata redditur mens malè conscia sibi inquieta praetristâ—s desperabunda cor anxium confractum pavidum ut homo per se nullâre prorsùs erigi possit aut consolationem nancisci sed totus afflictissimus est spiritu deiecto ac trepidante ingenti â—orrore concussus à conspectuirae Dei c. Súnt que sic affectis divinae promissiones 〈◊〉 c. Harmon Confess p. 2. Bohaemica Confess Art 5. pag. 240. d I grant the Lord who is the most free Agent takes liberty and workes as it pleaseth him and there is ods
Rogers of Dedham Doctrine of Faith pag. 104.107 A man may have quietnesse after trouble and yet the House not wonne to wit from the strong Man Hee may also have some kind of reioycing and yet the comforter not there abiding That thou mayst not therefore bee deceived consider the whole course of thy life since that time For the holy Ghost will not governe as the Divell did they are of so contrary a nature Touchstone for a Christian cap. 3. b By this halfe Herodian conversion they may leave many sinnes and doe many things heare the best Ministers gladly respect and countâ—nance them c. And yet for all this in respect of their owne Personall salvation As well never a whit as never the better As well not at all as not thorow-stitch d â—â—fi Assyrius veluti ignis fuit qui suo ardore terram exureret tamen aliquid longè atrocius exprimere voluit Propheta interius videlicèi tormentuÌ„ quo exagitantur impij conscientiae aculeos qui retundi non possunt inextingvibile scelerum incendium quo cruciatus omnes superantur Calv. in Loc. Deut. 28 67. c Some men are pricked and to put away their sorrow they will goe sleepe they will goe sport they will get to merry company and passe away the time and so as they terme it they will purge and drive away the rage of melancholy they never goe to any Preacher to aske of the Lord or at the mouth of his Spirit they never respect prayer nor seeke any comfort in the Word of God But to put away sorrow on this sort is to call it againe and to feele it more freshly either in the houre of death or in Hell Greenham in Sermon of Repentance The reprobates in their sorrow runne away from God even as a Dogge from him that whippeth Him Iudas in his terrours ranne to the high Priests the enemies of Christ and to the Halter Cain to building of Cities Saul to Musicke to a Witch and at last to His Sword Dike of Repentance cap. 3. But alas the franticke dealing of men in this case is too palpable and to bee wondred at when Gods Word strikes upon them when they feele the keene-nesse of it when the threatnings have cut so that they smart for it then they run to dicing carding drinking dancing c. as it were of set purpose to drive away the Spirit of God that was comming towards them to heale their Soule Whately Redemption of time pag. 62. It is the property of ungodly men to remoove the discomforts of their heart by worldly delectations As Saul called for Musicke when he was troubled with an evill spirit And to this purpose men that bee afraid of despaire and love not to be humbled under the mighty hand of God doe use their wives their friends then meat and their drinke with all the Pastime that can bee devised to reioyce themselves withall that they might put themselves out of their dumpes as they call it Marbur in His Sermon upon Psal. 32. f When they sacrificed their sonnes to this Idoll they did beare upon Tabrels and Drummes that the cry of the childe might not bee heard by the father Godwins Moses and Aaron Lib. 4. Cap. 2. g Contra nos eò vehementius incitator quo ex corde nostro quastâ—â— iure propria habitatlonic expellitar Greg. in cap. 33. Iob. col 8â—â— h Multum delectat omnes peccatores amatores buius seculi quia misericors miserator dominus quia longanimis multùm misericors Sed siamas tum multa mitia time ibi ultimum quod ait verax Si enim vibil aliud diceret nisi misericors miserator Dominus longanimis multùm misericors quast iam convertereste ad securitatem impunitatem ad licentiam peccatoruÌ„ faceres quodvelles utereris seculo vel quantuÌ„ tibi permitteretur vel quantum tibi libido iussisset Etsi quis te bâ—ne monendo obiurgaret atque terreret ut cobiberes te ab immoderato luxu eundo post coxcupiscentias tuas deserendo Deum tuum inter medias voces obiurgantis obsisteres impudenti quidem fronte veluti audit â divinâ authoritate legeres de libro Dominico Quid niâ— terres de Deo nostro Ille Nisericers est miserator multùm misericors Ne talia homiâ—â—s dicerent â—â—um verbum addidit in fine quod verax excussit Letitiam malè praesumentium induxit timorem dalentium Gaudeamus ad misericordiam Domini sed timeanâ— us ad iudicium Domini Parcit dum tacet Tacet sed non semper tacebit August Lib. de decem chordis cap. 1. Nòs perversitate nostra sic volumus Deum esse misericordem ut non sit iustus Idem de temp Serm. 109. i Intuetur inimicus generis humani uniuâ—cuiusque mores cul vitio sint propinqui illa opponit ante faciem ad quae cognoscit facililiùs inclinars mentem ut blandes uâ— latis moribus sape luxuriam proponat c. Greg. in cap. 18. Iob. Col. 456. k Ier. 614. l Others have overgrowne them Hee meanes Legall terrors by snatching hold of the promiâ—e of mercy and salvation ere it belonged to them thinking themselves good Christians because they had felt some terrours But the Promise of salvaiton is not straight belonging to one that is onely terrified for his punishment but is contrite-hearted for sinne which is the worke of the Gospell Rogers of Dedham in His Doctrine of Faith pag. 108. m Psal. 45.11 Hos. 2.19 n Quemadmodum fratres si Sponsus seccrit Sponsae suae annulum illa acceptum annulum plus diligeret quà m Sponsum qui illl fecit annulum nonne in ipso dono Sponsi adulterae anima deprehenderetur quamvis hoc amaret quod dedit Sponsus tamen si diceret Sufficit mihi annulus iste iam illius faciem nolo videre qualis esset Quis non detestaretur hanc amentiam Quis non adulterum animum convinceret Amas aurum pro viro amas annulum pro Sponse August in Epist Ioan. Tract 2. Cave ô anima ne quod absit Meretrixdicaris simunera Dantis plus quaÌ„ amantis affectum diligis August Meditat lib. 2. cap. 4. o And let not these be weary of the yoke of God and the Law and make over-much haste out of this state for so may they undoe themselves For as some withstanding their terrour have withstood their salvation so some have by hastening out made waste of all and beeing impatient of beeing in this case and over-willing to catch hold of the promise straight have prooved but loose unsound and unsavory Christians in time which if they had tarried the Lords leysure in it might have come to sound and true comfort which would have continued all their dayes Rogers of Dedham in his Doctr. of Faith pag. 110. p Cùm nunquam graevioribus tentationibus expositi sint hominesquà m dum infirmitati bus exerâ—entur
gracious acceptation and intertainement at his Throne of Grace That it is naturall also to his Name To forgive iniquity transgression and sinne That is sinnes of all sorts kindes and degrees whatsoever There is none so hatefull and hainous whether naturall corruption or ordinary outward transgression or highest presumption but upon repentance God is most able ready and willing to remit it 7. God the Fathers compassionate pangs of infinite affection and forwardnesse to entertaine into his armes of mercy all true Penitents As I live sayth the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turne from his way and live turne yee turne yee from your evill wayes for why will yee die O house of Israell Ezech. 33.11 Woe unto thee O Ierusalem wilt thou not bee made cleane When shall it once be Ier. 13.27 They say if a man put away his wife and shee goe from him and become another mans shall hee returne to her againe Shall not that Land be greatly polluted But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers yet returne againe to mee sayth the Lord Ier. 3.1 Oh that my people had hearkned unto mee and Israel had walked in my waies I would soone have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him but their time should have endured for ever Hee should have fed them also with the finest of the wheate and with honey out of the rocke should I have satisfyed thee Psal. 81. O that thou hadst hearkned to my commandements then had thy peace been as a River and thy righteousnesse as the waves of the Sea Thy seed also had been as the sand and the off-spring of thy howells like the gravell thereof his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before mee Isa. 48.18 8. His mercifull almightinesse in putting life and lightsomnesse into the most dead and darkest heart Seeke him saith the Prophet that maketh the seven Starres and Orion and turneth the shâ—dow of death into the morning Amos 5.8 Suppose thou sâ—ttest thy selfe to seeke Gods face and favour and art presently set upon with this temptation But alas My soule is so blacke with sinne and darke with sorrow that it is to no purpose for mee to proceed c. But now in this case consider who Hee is that thou seekest it is He that made of nothing those beautifull shining glorious constellations Orion and the Pleiades and nothing in the world is darker then nothing Hee is Hee that turneth the darkest midnight into the brightest morning c. 9. Christs sweetest dearest most melting invitations of all truly troubled soules for sinne unto the Well of life and their owne everlasting wellfare Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest Mat. 11.28 O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered thy children together even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings c. Mat. 23.37 And when hee was come neare hee beheld the City and wept over it saying Oh if thou hadst knowne even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace Luke 19.41.42 In the last day the great Day of the Feast Iesus stood and cried saying If any man thirst let him come to mee and drinke 10. Precedents in Gods Booke of many hainous and horrible sinners received to mercy upon their humiliation As Eve Magdalen Paul Zacheus Sodomits 1. Cor. 6.9.11 Crucifiers of Christ. Acts. 2. 11. Experience perhaps of the Comforter converted from a more wicked and desperate course then the Patient himselfe And it doth not a little refresh the heart of him who grievosly wounded in conscience and thereupon sending for a skillfull and faithfull Messenger of God and when he hath opened his Case fully unto him to heare him say when he hath sayd all My Case was farre worse then yours every way Nay but besides those notorious sins I have named unto you I have defiled my selfe with many secret execrable lusts Be it so saith the spirituall Physition yet in the daies of my vanity I have been guilty of moe and more hainous crimes then any you have yet spoken of Yea but even now when I have most need of should most prize reverence and lay hold upon Gods blessed Word Son and Promises I am pestilently pestered with many abhorred villanous and prodigious injections about them Not a man alive replies the Man of God hath had his head troubled with more hideous thoughts of such hellish nature then I c. 12. That pretious Parable Luk. 15. wherein all those loving passages of the Father unto his prodigall Son to wit His beholding him when hee was yet a great way off his compassion running towards him falling upon his necke kissing him putting on him the best Robe and the Ring killing the fatted Calfe c. doe shadow that immeasurable incomprehensible love of God the Father to every one that is willing to come out of the Divels cursed service into the good way But come as farre short of expressing it to the life as the infinite greatnesse of Almighty God surpasseth the finite frailty of a weake man and worme of the earth 2. In a second place Let us take a view of some of those most delicious and sweetest streames of dearest comfort which spring abundantly out of that fruitfull Fountaine of compassion and love Psal. 103.13 Like as a Father pittieth his Children so the Lord pittieth them that feare him See also Deutâ—r 8.5 Malac. 3.17 Hence may wee draw refreshing enough to our thirstie soules in many passages of heavy thoughts and grievous complaints about our spirituall state 1. In the distempers and damps of prayer thus Suppose the dearest Sonne of the loving'st Father to lie grievously sicke and out of the extremity of angvish to cry out and complaine unto him that hee is so full of paine in every part that hee knowes not which way to turne himselfe or what to doe and thereupon intreats him of all loves to touch him tenderly to lay him softly to mollifie all hee may his painefull misery and give him ease How ready thinke you would such a father bee with all tendernesse and care to put to his helping hand in such a ruefull case But yet if hee should grow sicker and weaker so that hee could not speake at all but onely looke his Father in the face with watery eies and moane himselfe unto him with sighes and groanes and other dumbe expressions of his increased paine and desire to speake Would not this yet strike deeper into the Fathers tender heart pierce and melt it with more feeling pangs of compassion and make his bowells yerne within him with an addition of extraordinary dearenesse and care to doe him good Even just so will thy heavenly Father bee
affected and deale with thee in hearing helping and shewing mercy when all thy strength of praier is gone but onely groanes and sighes Nay with incomparably more affectionatenesse For looke how farre God is higher then Man in Majestie and greatnesse which is by an infinite distance and disproportion so far doth he passe him in tender-heartednesse and love See Isai. 55. 8.9 Or be it so That thou art able to speak unto God and in some measure to utter thy mind yet in thy conceit it is so weakly coldly and confusedly that thou thinkes As well never a whit as never the better c. Take notice here that Gods Child is able First sometimes to poure out his soule unto his God with life and power Secondly sometimes to say something but with much coldnesse deadnesse of heart and distractednesse as he complaines without his woonted feeling and freedome of spirit Thirdly At other times he can say just nothing but groane and sigh and only desire hee could pray For this last looke upon the last passage For the second to wit when the Christian is troubled that hee can say something and speake words unto God yet it is without that order efficacy fit phrase and comming-off so comfortably as he thinks is to bee found in other Professours c. I say in this Case consider that as a Father is more delighted with the stammering stuttering as it were with the in-articulate and imperfect talke of his owne little Childe when it first begins to speake then with the exactest eloquence of the most famous Oratour upon earth so assuredly our heavenly Father is infinitely better pleased with the broken interrupted passages and periods of prayer in an upright heart heartily grieved that hee can doe no better nor offer up a more lively hearty and orderly sacrifice then with the excellently-composed fine-phrased and most methodicall petitions of the learned'st Pharisee Nay his soule extremely loathes the one and graciously accepts the other in Iesus Christ. As concerning the complaint of coldnesse bee assured that tho thy prayers proceede out of thy mouth faint and feeble cold and uncomfortable yet springing from a syncere heart purified by Faith truly humbled under Gods mighty hand for sinne seconded with groanes and griefe with an holy anger and selfe-indignation that they be not more fervent and piercing and offered in obedience unto God are most certainely as it were by the way fortified and enlived with the pacifying perfections and intercessory spirit of Iesus Christ sweetly perfumed with the precious Odours of his fresh-bleeding Merits and blessed Mediation so that they strike the eares of the Almighty with farre greater strength and irresistable importunity then is ordinarily imagined And are as sweet-smelling sacrifices in his nostrils The very sight of whose crucified Sonne at his right hand tendering the suite can calme his most angry countenance and convert by a sacred meritorious attonement his displeasures and wrath into compassions and peace Now blessed bee God that the weake prayers and broken sighes of tempted and troubled spirits have this happy promise and prerogative That before they presse as it were into the presence of God the Father they are mingled in the meane time with the soveraigne and satisfactory incense in the golden censer whence evaporating out of the Angels hand I meane the Angel of the Covenant for so the truest Interpreters understand the place they ascend into the sight of our gracious Father incorporated and enwoven as it were into that pretious and pleasing fume And that it pleaseth the blessed Spirit in the needefull time of spirituall extremities to draw the petitions of our sometimes speechlesse heavy and distracted hearts Iesus Christ the great Angell of the Covenant to perfect perfume and present them Hee that by an excellency and title of highest honour is stiled the Hearer of praiers to receive them into his mercifull hand and bosome of compassionate acceptation Goe on then poore soule Thou that sorely â—roopes under the sensible waight of thy manifold weakenesses and unworthinesse this way and thereupon sometimes sinfully drawes back with some thoughts of giving-over quite which is that the Divel desires and would utterly undoe thee forever presse forward in the name of Christ unto the Throne of Grace with a lighter heart then thou art wont Shall the Lord Iesus call and cry for a Pardon for those who put him to death who were so farre from seeking unto him that like so may Evening Wolves they sought and suckt his blood and will hee shut his eares thinkes thou from thy complaints and groanes who values one drop of his blood to quench thy spirituall thirst at an higher price then the worth of many Worlds Comfort thy selfe invincibly It cannot bee 2. In the faintnesse of Faith and want of feeling Thou beholdest sometimes a Father holding a little Childe in his armes now whether dost thou thinke is the Child safe by it's owne or by the Fathers hold It claspes about the Father with it's little weake hands as well as it can but the strength of it's safety is in the Fathers arme Nay and the Father holds the faster when at any time hee perceives the Child to have left it's hold Thou art tied as it were unto Christ by a double bond first of the Spirit and secondly of Faith Thou layest hold on Christ by Faith and hee holds thee by his Spirit Now thy Infant Faith or after some good standing in Christianity weakened and sorely wounded in thy present feeling hath lost it's hold-fast And therefore thou thinkes all is gone and walkes dejectedly and uncomfortably as tho not any promise in Gods Booke or drop of Christs Blood were thine c. But assure thy selfe being sound at the heart roote and walking in the light as God is in the light thy heavenly Father in this Case holds thee so fast by his Spirit that no Man or Divell not all the powers of darkenesse or gates of hell can possibly plucke thee out of his hand Nay the excellency of his power is most gloriously improoved and made more illustrious in thy greatest extremities and extremest spirituall weakenesse And hee holds it his highest honour to hold thee the fastest when thy hold is gone Heere then and upon this ground thou hast a Calling and maâ—st comfortably for hee is ever most loving and tender hearted in times of temptation to all that are true of heart exercise that most excellent act of faith To beleeve without feeling To beleeve when the face of God doth shine upon thee with sensible refreshing and when thou enjoyest plentifull and pregnant proofes of his favour is no great matter no such maistery But then to beleeue when all sense of Gods love is gone and the light of his countenance hid from thee when all goe quite crosse and contrary in the apprehension of carnall reason then is the highest praise this is the perfection of faith The very dull