of faith then also he iustifies the sinner and withall beginnes the worke of sanctification VII Then so soone as faith is put into the heart there is presently a combate for it fighteth with doubting dispaire and distrust And in this combate faith shews it selfe by seruent constant and earnest inuocation for pardon and after inuocation followes a strength preuailing of this desire VIII Furthermore God in mercie quiets and setles the Conscience as touching the saluation of the soule and the promise of life whereupon it resteth and staieth it selfe IX Next after this setled assurance perswasion of mercie followes a stirring vp of the heart to Euangelicall sorrow according to God that is a griefe for sinne because it is sinne and because God is offended and then the Lord workes repentance whereby the sanctified heart turnes it selfe vnto him And though this repentance be one of the last in order yet it shewes it selfe first as when a candle is brought into a roome we first see the light before wee see the candle and yet the candle must needes be before light can be X. Lastly God giues a man grace to endeauour to obey his commandements by a newe obedience And by these degrees doeth the Lord giue the first grace The second worke of God tending to saluation is to giue the second grace which is nothing else but the continuance of the first worke begun that a man may perseuere in grace to the ende Now then to come the Answer the holy Ghost hath propounded to vs this Question of conscience together with the resolution thereof in these examples following The men that were at Peters sermon beeing touched with the sense of their owne miserie vpon the doctrine which had beene deliuered as the Holy Ghost saies were pricked in their hearts and cried one to another Men and brethren what shall we doe Peter mooued by the spirit of God answers them Repent and bee baptized for the remission of your sinnes The like was the case of the Iayler who after that the stubbernnesse of his heart was beaten downe by feare of the departure of the prisoners he came trembling and fell downe before Paul and Silas and mooued this question vnto them Sirs vvhat must I doe to bee saued To whome they gaue answere Beleeue in the Lord Iesus and thou shalt be saued and thine houshold The young man in the Gospell sues to Christ and askes him What shall I doe to be saued Christ answers him Keepe the Commandements When he replied that he had kept them from his youth Christ tells him that he must goe yet further and sell all that he hath and giue to the poore And Iohn tells the Scribes and Pharises who came vnto his Baptisme and confessed their sinnes that if they would flie from the wrath to come they must repent and bring forth fruits worthie a mendement of life I answer then out of all these places that he that would stand in the fauour of God and be saued must doe foure things first humble himselfe before God secondly beleeue in Christ thirdly repent of his sinnes fourthly performe newe obedience vnto God For the first Humiliation is indeede a fruite of faith yet I put it in place before faith because in practise it is first Faith lieth hid in the heart and the first effect wherein it appeares is the abasing and humbling of our selues And here we are further to consider three points first wherein stands humiliation secondly the excellencie of it thirdly the Questions of conscience that concerne it Touching the first point Humiliation stands in the practise of three things The first is a sorrow of heart whereby the sinner is displeased with himselfe and ashamed in respect of his sins The second is a confession to God wherein also three things are to be done first to acknowledge all our maine sinnes originall and actuall secondly to acknowledge our guiltinesse before God thirdly to acknowledge our iust damnation for sinne The third thing in Humiliation is supplication made to God for mercie as earnestly as in a matter of life and death and of these three things we haue in scripture the examples of Ezra Daniel and the Prodigall sonne Ezra 9. Dan. 9. Luk. 15. The second point is the excellencie of Humiliation which stands in this that it hath the promises of life eternall annexed to it Esa. 57. 15. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to reuiue the spirit of the humble and to giue life to them that are of a contrite heart Psal. 51. 17. A contrite and a broken heart O God thou wilt not despise Prou. 28. 13. He that hideth his sinnes shall not prosper but he that confesseth and forsaketh them shall finde mercie 1. Ioh. 1. 9. If we acknowledge our sinnes he is faithfull and iust to forgiue vs our sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrighteousnesse By all these and many other places it is manifest that in the very instant wheÌ„ a sinner begins truly in heart and conscience to humble himselfe he is then entred into the state of saluation So soone as Dauid said I haue sinned Nathan pronounceth in the name of the Lord that his sinnes were put away And Dauid himselfe saith alluding to the former place I said I will confesse my sinne and loe thou forgaâ—est the wickednesse of my sinne When the Prodigall sonne had but said I will goe to my father c. euen then before he humbled himselfe his father meetes him and receiues him The third point is touching the Questions of conscience concerning HumiliatioÌ„ all which may be reduced to foure principall Cases I. Case What if it fall out that a man in humbling himselfe cannot call to minde either all or the most of his sinnes I answer A particular humiliation indeed is required for maine and known sins but yet there are two cases wherein generall repentance will be accepted of God for vnknown sinnes One is when a man hath searched himselfe diligently and by a serious examination passed through all the commandements of God and yet after such examination and search made cannot call to remembrance his particular offences then the generall repentance is accepted For this is answerable to the practise of Dauid who after long search when he could not attaine to the knowledge of his parâ—icular slippes then he addresseth himselfe to a generall humiliation saying Who knoweth the errours of this life Clense me Lord from my secret faults and vpon this he was no doubt accepted Againe when a man humbleth himselfe and yet is preuented by the time so as he cannot search his heart and life as he would his generall repentance will be taken and accepted of God The truth hereof appeares in the theife vpon the crosse who hauing no time to search himselfe made no speciall humiliation yet vpon his generall confession he was accepted Now the ground of
discouraged though after long labour and paines taking there follow small comfort and ease to the partie distressed For vsually it is long before comfort can be receiued and why surely because God hath the greatest stroke in these distresses of minde and brings men thorough all the temptations that he hath appointed before he opens the heart to receiue comfort The Church in the Canticles seekes for her beleeued but before shee can finde him shee goes about in the citie through the streets and by open places passing by the Watchmen theÌ„selues and after shee hath vsed all meanes without helpe or hope at length shee finds her beloued him in whome her soule delighteth Thus much for the generall remedie of all distresses nowe I come to the particular distresses themselues The first distresse ariseth of a diuine Temptation which is a combate with God himselfe immediately And this distresse is when the conscience speaks some fearefull things of God and withall the partie distressed feeles some euident tokens of Gods wrath Examples hereof we shall finde many in the word of God One is the example of righteous Iob who hauing beene long in outward afflictions was withall exercised with the apprehension of the anger of God and in that state he saith that the arrows of the Almightie were in him that the venime thereof did drinke vp his spirit that the terrors of God did fight against him Yea further he addeth that God was his enemie and writ bitter things against him and made him to possesse the sinnes of his youth And at another time he complaineth that Gods wrath had torne him that he hated him gâ—ashed vpon him with his teeth and had sharpened his eies against him In all which and diuers other places it appeares that his conscience was exercised with the sense of the wrath of God which had nowe euen seazed vpon his soule Another example we haue in Dauid who also was exercised with this temptation and trouble of minde as the first wordes of the 6 Psalme and the whole tenour thereof doe euidently shewe For first he desires the Lord not to rebuke him in his wrath and afterward complaineth that his griefe was so great that his very flesh consumed his bones were vexed and his bodie brought to such a state as no sicknesse could haue brought him vnto And it is not vnlike that the same Prophet did often fall into the like kind of distresse of minde as may be gathered out of Psalme 77 and sundrie other places Now as it fared with these and diuers other seruants of God in ancient times so are we not without some instances thereof in our daies Amongest many that worthy man Master Luther writes of himselfe that he was in this particular temptation and that he learned in it the doctrine of the Iustification of a sinner by the meere mercie of God without any merit of workes and vpon the sense and experience of the nature and properties of this distresse he wâ—oteâ— notable exposition of the 6. Psalme of Dauid â—â—e scope and intent whereof he writeth to be nothing else but a soueraigne remedie of this and the like distresses of the minde and conscience If it be demanded what is the occasion of this kinde of temptation I answer that it ariseth some times vpon the commission of some notorious sinne which doth wound the conscience as in Cain Iudas and Saul who for their great and capit all sinnes that stinged and wounded their consciences grew to a fearefull state and consequently perished in this temptation Sometimes againe it comes when there is no sinne committed but obedience to God performed and then there cannot be rendred any reason of it either in man or out of man saue this that God will haue it so to be And the trueth hereof is plaine by the examples of Iob and Dauid before remembred The Effects of this Temptation are many and very strange For outwardly it works vpon the bodie as it were a burning ague it causeth the entralls to rise the liuer to rowle in the bodie it sets a great heat in the bones consumes the flesh more then any sicknes can doe And that it is so as I say beside experience it is cleare in the word of God Dauid in this distresse affirmeth that his eyes were eaten as it were with wormes and sunke into his head Psal. 6. 7. that his moisture became as the drought in sommer Psal. 32. 4. and Iob saies that his skinne was blacke vpon him his bones were burnt with heat yea that by meanes of this distresse he was now full of wrinkles and his leanenes did rise vpon him It is a principle which Physitians doe hold that The minde follows the temperature of the bodie and is affected according to the good or euill constitution thereof which though it be true yet withall it is as manifest on the other side that the bodie doth often follow the state and condition of the minde For a distressed heart must of necessitie make a fainting and a languishing bodie But the principall thing to be sought for in this temptation is the Remedie thereof whereunto there be fiue things required which are to be practised as occasion shall be offered First choise must be made of the most fit and present remedie and that must be vsed in the first place Now the most fit and present remedie is to bring the partie troubled to the personall exercises of faith and repentance by and in him selfe For this ende he must examine his conscience most straigthly and narrowly of all the sinnes of his heart and life Secondly he must humbly confesse against himselfe all his knowne sinnes and withall acknowledge the due condemnation that he thereby hath deserued Thirdly he must crie to heauen for mercie intreating the Lord most instantly for pardon and for the restraint of his wrath due vnto him for his sinne Dauid beeing in this distresse performed all these duties as we may read in the 6. Psalme and he saith further of himselfe that whilst he concealed his sinnes the hand of God was heauie vpon him but vpon his earnest confession and deprecation he receiued mercie And if we read the booke of Iob we shall finde that the principall scope thereof is this namely to shew vnto vs that Iob was throughly exercised with this temptation and that in the ende hauing beene rebuked both by his friends and by God himselfe his recouerie was made by humbling himselfe when he saith Behold I am vile againe now I abhorre my selfe and repent in dust and ashes Some may here demand If it fall out that the person himselfe cannot performe any good dutie of himselfe by reason of his distraction in soule and bodie what must then be done Ans. If the partie can but sigh and sobbe vnto God for mercie and comfort it is no doubt a worke of Gods spirit and a practise both of faith and repentance We
hearts therefore in afflictions we are patient Now whilst we patiently beare the crosse we haue experience of the mercie and loue of God towardes vs and hauing once in some notable deliuerance tried and tasted the mercie of God we doe by hope as it were promise to our selues the said fauour and mercy for time to come VII The last fruit is obedience This the holy Ghost teacheth to haue beene the fruit of the suffering of Christ when he saith Though he were the sonne yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered In the next place Afflictions are good in regard of their qualitie and condition which is that they are tokens and pledges of our adoption when we make the best vse of them If ye indure chastening saith the holy Ghost God offereth himselfe vnto you as vnto sonnes that is he comes to you in the crosse not as a iudge and reuenger but as a kind and louing father and the crosse imposed is as it were his fatherly hād where with he chastiseth vs and therefore Iob praiseth God for his affliction saying God hath giuen and God hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. The fifth Ground of comfort is that the partie distressed hath partners in the crosse For first he hath Christ to be his partner because he hath fellowship with him in that he is afflicted and is willing to obey God therein Paul accounteth it happines to know the fellowshippe of Christs afflictions and to be made conformable vnto his death Phil. 3. 10. Secondly if the partie afflicted repent Christ communicateth with him in all his Crosses and accounts them as his owne The Apostle in this regard would haue no man thinke it strange no not when he is in the fierie triall but rather to reioyce because he is partaker of Christs sufferings Phil. 4. 31. And Christ saith to Saul persecuting his Church Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Thirdly he that is afflicted hath other seruants of God partakers with him in all his afflictions The Apostle Peter wisheth the Church of God to resist Sathan by faith knowing saith he that the same afflictions are accōplished in your brethren that are in the world 1. Pet. 5. 9. Thus much generally of Afflictions and of Comfort in them It were a long and tedious worke to set all downe in particular together with their proper and distinct Comforts therfore I will passe them ouer and speake onely of three kinds of Afflictions with their Remedies The first is the Deferring of deliuerance a great affliction if it be considered And touching it I propound one Question namely How the minde of the partie distressed may be staied when as the Lord deferres deliuerance For the answer hereof three especiall points are to be considered I. First that God hath in his wisdome set downe certen and vnchangeable times for the accomplishment and issue of all things that are There is a time appointed to euery thing vnder the sunne Eccles. 3. 1. The speech of Salomon is generall and the meaning of it is this Whatsoeuer there is in the world either done or suffered or enioyed by man whether it be of the number of naturall things or of those which are voluntarily vndertaken or necessarily endured God hath in his prouidence sorted vnto them a set time and season whereof dependeth the successe of thē all And this time himself most freely ordereth and ruleth at his owne good pleasure which as no man can hinder or stay so is it not in the power of any to hasten or preuēt This point the holy Ghost in Scripture prooueth by two instances of the threatnings and promises of God which himselfe accomplisheth at some certaine and vnchangeable times When the old world in the daies of Noah had growne to much impietie and wickednes the Lord appointed a certaine space of 120 yeares for their repentance and conuersion at the very ende and tearme whereof he brought the flood vpon them and not before For if we compare the particular circumstances of time noted in the 7. of Genesis with that which S. Peter writeth 1. Pet. 3. 20. we shall find that the inundation of waters came vpon the earth at the very point of time before determined Againe God threatned by Ieremie that the Iewes for their sinnes should be led captiue and serue the king of Babel 70 yeares Now if we take the iust computation of time it will appeare that so soone as euer those yeares were expired the foresaid threat was accomplished And therefore Daniel alluding to Ieremies prophecie exactly setteth it downe when he saith The same night was Belshazzer king of the Chaldeans slaine that is the very night wherein those 70 yeares came to their full period And as there are set times allotted by God for the execution of his threatning sentences so also hath he determined certenly the accomplishment of all and euery of his promises An example hereof we haue in the Israelites of whome the Lord said to Abraham that they should be in afflictiō in a strange land 430 yeres then be deliuered This promise of God was expressely fulfilled as we may read in the booke of Exodus For before the ende and tearme of these yeares they had no deliuerance at all but when that time was expired euen that selfe same day departed all the hosts of Israel out of the land of Egypt And though Moses fourtie yeares before this time tooke in hand the worke of their deliuerance yet he did it without successe and vpon a certaine accident beeing himselfe constrained to flie into Madian he liued there as a stranger with Iethro his father in law till the saide time of foure hundred and thirtie yeares was accomplished toward the end whereof being called of God to that office he prospered and not before And in the same manner hath God set downe a certen period of time within which he will exercise his children more or lesse and at the end whereof and not before he will releeue and comfort them againe Now as the certentie of the accomplishment of Gods threatning word serues to terrifie all wicked liuers from sinne so the vnchangeable performance of his promises at the very time prefixed and not before teacheth the children of God sundrie things First that when they are in any distresse and haue not present or speedie deliuerance according to their desire they should wait the Lords leisure and expect with patience till the time come which is appointed by him for their case and releefe and in the meane while stay their hearts by hope and affiance in his mercie Reason is plaine God is sure in his word therefore though heauines may indure for a night yet ioy will returne in the morning Psal. 30. 5. Thus the Lord comforteth the Iewes in a particular distresse as we may read in the prophecie of Habbakuk where the Prophet in the name of the Iewes complaineth and expostulateth
word when we know meditate vpon the commandements and promises of God This rule is of speciall vse For therfore doe men hatch breed euill thoughts in their hearts because they are not takeÌ„ vp with holy meditations hence it is that the heart of man is made euen a pray vnto the deuill because the word of God is not lodged therein ExcelleÌ„t was the practise of Dauid in this case who kept the word of God in his heart that he mighe not sinne against him The second rule of the keeping of the heart is to establish our thoughts by counsell It is the wisemans aduise in so many words Prou. 20. 18. wherin he would teach vs that it is the property of a worldly wise man in matters of waight not to trust to his own wit but to follow the direction and counsel of wise and skilful men And if this be a sound course in matters of the world much more ought it to be taken in the maine matters of religion and conscience concerning the heart and soule of man And therfore by the law of proportioÌ„ it giues vs direction not once to thinke or conceiue so much as a thought but vpon aduice and direction taken at God and his word Thy testimonies saith Dauid are my delight and my counsellers And what benefit had he by taking such a course surely by the word of God which was his continuall meditation he gat vnderstaÌ„ding he became wiser theÌ„ the ancient it made him to hate al the waies of falshood it kept him from declining from God either to the right hand or to the left The same rule must be practized of vs in the vse of our senses our speeches and actions and then shall the heart be kept cleane and free from these temptations And seeing this temptation is so dangerous fearefull as hath beene said and doeth ostâ—â— befall men our dutie is to make conscience of practising the foresaid rules continually And thus much concerning the third kinde of distresse of conscience The Fourth Distresse of mind is that which ariseth from a mans owne sinnes or rather from some one special sinne committed And this kind of tentation is twofold For either it is more violent and lesse common or lesse violent and more common The violent Distresse of minde shewes it selfe by feares and terrors of the conscience by doubtings of the mercie of God by lamentable and fearefull complaints made to others Nowe Question is mooued Howe this violent distresse of minde arising from our owne sinnes is to be cured Answ. That it may be cured by the blessing of God three things must be done First that particular sinne must be knowne which is the cause of this violent distresse And here we are to know by the way that it is an vsuall thing with the parties thus distressed to dissemble and cloake their sinnes and therefore they will alleadge that their trouble ariseth froÌ„ some euill thoughts from wicked affections and from the corruption of nature whereas commonly men are not distressed in violent manner for euill thoughts affections c but the violent distresse commeth from some actuall and odious sinne or sins done which wound the conscience and are the causes of great distraction of minde and they are many which hauing bin vpon occasion before rehearsed I will not now repeat them Onely this must be remembred that the greater sinnes against the third sixt and seauenth commandements are the maine and proper causes of violent distresses and the more secret these sinnes are the more horrour goeth with them Secondly the particular sinne being known Inquiry must be made as much as possibly may be by signes whether the partie distressed repenteth yea or no. For except he hath repented he cannot be fitted to receiue comfort and vnlesse he be first fitted to receiue comfort he cannot be releiued in Conscience Now if it be found that the partie hath repented then care must be had in the next place that his repentance may be renued for the particular sinne committed Thirdly hauing thus done the comfort must be ministred for the moderating or taking away of the distresse And here remember by the way that the comforts ministred vsually ordinarily must not go alone but be mingled teÌ„pered with some terrors of the Law that being thereby feared with the consideration of sinne and of the wrath of God due vnto the same the comfort may appeare to be the sweeter The ministring whereof in case of this distresse would not be direct and present but by certaine steppes and degrees except onely in the point of death for then a directer course must be vsed These degrees are two First the partie is to be informed of a possibilitie of pardon that is that his sinnes are pardonable and though in themselues they be great and hainous yet by the mercie of God in Christ they may be remitted Nowe put the case that the afflicted apprenhendeth onely the odiousnesse of his sinnes and the wrath of god due to the same and in this fit puts off the pardon from himselfe and cannot be perswaded that his sinne may be forgiuen what then is to be done Ans. Then for the effecting of this first degree certaine grounds are to be laid downe whereupon assurance in that case may be built vp in his heart The first grouÌ„d of possibilitie of pardoÌ„ is That the mercy of god is infinite yea ouer al his works Psal. 145. 9. That the death of Christis of infinite price merit and value before God That God is muchin sparing Isa. 55. 7. That with the Lord is mercie and with him is plenteous redemption Psal. 130. 7. That Christs satisfaction is not only a price but a couÌ„terprice 1. Tim. 2. 6. able to satisfie for the sinnes of all men yea for them that haue sinned against the Holy Ghost for that sinne is not therefore vnpardonable because the offence thereof is greater then the merit of Christ but because the partie offending neither doth nor can apply the merit of Christ vnto himselfe An ancient father vpon Cains words My punishment is greater then I can beare saith Thou liest Cain for Gods mercie is greater then thy sinnes The mercie of God was very great to Manasses and to Salomon and to many others though they were great offenders The second ground Men of yeares liuing in the Church of God and knowing the doctrine of saluation shall not be condemned simply for their sinnes but for lying in their sinnes Vpon this ground I say that men distressed must be grieued not so much for committing of sinne as for lying and continuing in sinnes committed A third ground It pleaseth God many times to leaue men to themselues and to suffer them to commit some sinne that woundeth consceence It is true and cannot be denied But we must withall remember that sinnes committed doe not vtterly take away grace but rather make it the more to shine and shew it selfe
litle water at once that by degrees drop by droppe according to the widenesse of the mouth And hence it is that though the giftes of God without vs which are ours by imputation be perfect yet all such graces as are put into vs are weake and imperfect Secondly if any seruant of God should be perfectly regenerate and made absolutely holy in this life then he should fulfill the morall lawe and so become a Sauiour to himselfe and by the tenour of the law haue life so should not Christ be a Sauiour properly but only an instrumēt to dispose vs to the keeping of the law whereby we might saue our selues But there is one only al-sufficiēt Sauiour Christ Iesus the beginning the middle the accōplishment of our saluation is to be ascribed to him alone Thirdly it is the will of God that his owne children with whome he is well pleased in Christ should bee brought to nothing in themselues that they might be all in all out of themselues in Christ beeing as it were emptied of selfe-loue and of all confidence in their owne goodnesse But if sanctification should be perfect at the first then a man should not goe out of himselfe but would rather stay as he is and rest contented in his own goodnesse For this cause Paul after his exaltation was buffered by Satans temptations that he might not be exalted out of measure 2. Cor. 12. but should content himselfe with this that he was in the loue and fauour of God in Christ. II. Ground is To consider what makes a man professing Christ accepted of God and howe much he himselfe must doe for this ende The substance of all things to be done of vs for this ende that we may become the children of God may be reduced to three heads First of all we must heartily bewaile our sinnefull liues past and seriously humble our selues in regard of our owne sins both of heart and life and if by occasion wee fall into any sinne we must not lie therein but by speedie repentance recouer our former estate Secondly in regard of the sinnefulnesse of our hearts and liues in times past we must rest our selues on Gods mercie alone flying to the throne of mercie for the pardon of them all Thirdly we must indeauour in the course of our liues afterward to performe obedience to God in all his commandements that thereby we may shew our selues thankefull to him for his mercie Consider the examples of this practise in Gods children All that Dauid that worthy seruant of God could doe after his sinnes committed to bring himselfe againe into the fauour of God whome he had offended consisted of these very heads which haue beene named Repentance Confidence and Affiance in Gods mercie and Performance of new obedience And this his practise was verified amongst many other places specially in the 119. Psalme and in all the Psalmes commonly called penitentiall Againe the Prophet Daniel was accepted of God onely for the doing of these things Dan. 9. And in like manner was Paul and the rest of the Apostles Yet here remaines a great difficultie Many a good seruant of God may and doth truly say of himselfe I bewaile my sinnes and doe in some sort rest on Gods mercie and withall I endeauour to performe new obedience but alas here is my griefe I cannot doe these things as I would In matter of sorrow and griefe I am troubled with hardnes of heart in occasions of boldnes and confidence with doubting in indeauour to obey with many sinnes and sundrie faults For the staying and moderating of this griefe these rules may further be remembred The first Rule If there be in the minde a purpose not to sinne in the wil a desire to please God and in the whole man an indeauour to performe the purpose of the minde and the desire of the will marke what follows vpon this God in mercie accepteth the purpose and will to obey for obedience it selfe yea though a man faile in the very act and doe not so well as he should This is a great mercie of God and we can neuer be sufficiently thankfull for the same But yet that we may not here delude our hearts with conceits and blesse our selues in vaine we must know that God doth not alwaies accept the will for the deede vnlesse there be a constant purpose in heart a true desire in will and some resolued endeauour sutable in the life Malach. 3. 17. Goa spares them that feare him as a father spares his owne child How is that though the childe beeing commanded some busines goeth about it very vnhandsomly and so the deede be done to small purpose yet the father accepts it as well done if he see the childe yeelde vnto his commandement and doe his indeauour to the vttermost of his power Euen so will God deale with those that be his children But how will some say can God accept a worke of ours that is imperfect Ans. So farre forth as the obedience is done in truth so farre forth God accepts it because it is his own work in vs and as it is ours he pardons it vnto vs because we are in Christ. A second Rule is laide downe Rom. 7. 19. where Paul saith to this purpose the good which I would doe I doe not and the euill which I would not that doe I. In these words is set downe the state of all regenerate men in this life and the meaning is this The good things which God hath commaunded I doe them but not as I would and the euill forbidden I auoid but not as I would This we shall see to be true by comparing the voyces of three kindes of men together The carnall man saith I do not that which is good neither will I do it and that which is euill I do and I will do it Contrariwise the man glorified he saith That which is good I do and will do it and that which is euill I do not neither will I do it The regenerate man in a midle betweene them both he saith The good things commanded I do but not as I would the euill things forbidden I auoid but not as I would And this is the estate of the child of God in this life who in this regard is like vnto a diseased man who loues his health and therefore obserues both diet and physicke and yet he often falls into his fit againe though he be neuer so carefull to obserue the rules of the Physitian by reason of the distemperature of his bodie and hereupon is faine to goe to the Physitian the second time for new counsell In like manner Gods children haue indeede in their hearts a care to please and obey God but by reason of sinne that dwelleth in them they faile often and so are faine to humble themselues againe before him by new repentance Againe the seruants of God are like to a man by some suddaine accident cast into the sea who in striuing to
serueth to no other purpose in the time of temptation but to plunge the heart of man into the pitte of despaire it being vncapable of comfort for want of knowledge and vnderstanding of the word and promise of God II. That euery man ought to stand in feare and doubt of the pardon of his sinnes and that no man can be assured by the certentie of faith either of the present fauour of God or of his owne saluation True it is that in respect of our owne vnworthines and indisposition we haue iust cause not onely to doubt and feare but to despaire and be confounded before the iudgement seat of God Yet that a man should not be certainely resolued by faith of the mercie of God in and for the merit of Christ is a comfortlesse doctrine to a distressed soule and contrarie vnto the sauing word of the Gospel which teacheth that certentie floweth from the nature of faith and not doubting III. That every man is bound in conscience vpon paine of damnation to make speciall confession of his mortall sinnes with all the particular circumstances thereof once euery yeare to his Priest This doctrine and practise besides that it hath no warrant of sacred writte nor yet any ground of Orthodoxe antiquitie for 800 yeares more or lesse after Christ iâ— maketh notably to the disturbing of the peace of conscience in time of extremitie considering that it is impossible either to vnderstand or remember all many beeing vnknowne and hidden and the minde beeing informed that forgiuenesse dependeth vpon such an enumeration may thus be brought into doubt and distrust and will not be able to rest by faith in the sole mercie of God the onely soueraigne medicine of the soule Againe the griefe of the minde doth not alwaies arise from all the sinnes that a man hath committed neither doth the Lord seâ— before the sinners eies whatsoeuer euill hath bin done by him but some one or more particulars and these are they that doe lie heauie vpon the heart and to be eased of them will be worke enough though â—e doth not exhibite vnto the Confessour a Catalogue of all the rest IV. That some sinnes are veniall because they are only besides the lawe of God not against it and because they â—inâ—â—â—uer the sinner onely to temporal and not to eternall punishments This conclusion first is false For though it be graunted that some offences are greater some lesser some in an higher degree others in a lower againe that sinnes in regard of the euent beeing repented of or in respect of the person sinning beeing in Christ and therfore accounted iust are pardonable because they are not imputed to condemnation yet there is no sin of what degree soeuer which is not simply and of it selfe mortall whether we respect the nature of the sinne or the measure proportion of diuine iustice For in nature it is an anomie that is to say an aberration from the perfect rule of righteousnesse and therefore is subiect to the curse both of temporary and eternall death It is an offence against the highest Maiestie and consequently man standeth by it ingaged to euerlasting torment Secondly it is a weake and insufficient ground of resolution vnto a troubled conscience For whereas true and sauing ioy is the daughter of sorrowe and the heart of man cannot be lifted vp in assurance of Gods fauour to the apprehension and conceipt of heauenly comforts vnlesse it be first abased by true humiliatioÌ„ brought to nothing in it self The remembrance of this that the offence committed is veniall may in some cases too much inlarge the heart and giue occasion to presume when haply there will be reason to the contrary And if not that yet in the case of falling by infirmitie after grace receiued the mind beeing forestalled with this erronious conceipt that the sin is lesse then it is indeede because veniall may in the issue be lesse quieted and more perplexed V. That a man may satisfie the iustice of the God for the temporall punishment of his sinnes committed To omit the vntrueth of this position howe it maketh to the easing of the heart or the asswaging of the griefe of minde in temptation I appeale to common experience For when a man beeing assured of the pardon of his sinnes shall yet coÌ„sider that there is something more behind to be done on his part how can he in probabilitie rely himselfe wholly vpon Christs satisfaction How can he reape vnto himselfe froÌ„ thence any assurance of reconciliation to God whome he formerly offended If we may and must doe something in our own persons whereby to appease the wrath of God why hath our Sauiour taught vs for our hearts releife wholly and onely to make the plea of pardon for our sinnes True it is indeede that Popish Confessors doe teach their Penitents when they feele the wrath of god vpon them for sin to stop the mouth of Conscience by performance of a formall humiliation and repentance yea to offer vnto God some ceremoniall duties in way of satisfaction But when sorrow seazeth vpon the soule and the man falls into temptation then it will appeare that these directions were not currant for notwithstanding them he may want sound comfort in Gods mercy and run into despaire without recouerie And for this cause vpon experience it hath bin prooued that euen Papists themselues in the houre of death haue bin content to renounce their owne workes yea the whole body of humane satifactions and to cleaue onely to the mercie of God in Christ for their saluation By these instances and many more that might be alleadged to this purpose it is apparent vpon how weake and vnstable grounds the Case-diuinitie of the Popish Church standeth and how indirect a course they take for the resolution and direction of the troubled Conscience Now by the benefit abuse of this Doctrine we see how necessary it is that in Churches which professe Christian religion it should be more taught further inlarged then it is And to this purpose it were to be wished that men of knowledge in the Ministerie that haue by the grace of God attained vnto the Tongue of the learned would imploy their paines this way not onely in searching into the depth of such points as stand in bare speculation but in annexing thereunto the grounds and conclusions of practise whereby they might both informe the iudgement and rectifie the conscience of the hearers By this meanes it would come to passe that the poore distressed soule might be releeued pietie and deuotion more practized the kingdome of Sinne Satan and Antichrist weakened impayred the contrarie kingdome of Christ Iesus more more established What the Author coÌ„triuer of the discourse ensuing hath done in this behalfe it is euident by the whole course of his writings that he hath left behinde him all which as they doe openly shew vnto the world howe great a measure of knowledge
doing of that which is vnlawfull to be done and that this is equall in all men that sinne and therfore by consequent offences are equall I answer that in euery sinne men must not consider the vnlawfulnesse thereof onely but the reason why it should be vnlawfull and that is properly because it a breach of Gods law and repugnant to his will reuealed in his word Nowe there is no breach of a diuine Law but it is more or lesse repugnant vnto the will of the Lawgiuer God himselfe And many transgressions are more repugnant thereunto then fewer for the more sin is increased the more is the wrath of God inflamed against the sinner vpon his due desert If it be said again that the nature of Sinne stands onely in this that the sinner makes an aberration from the scope or marke that is set before him and doth no more then passe the bondes of duty prescribed by God and that all are alike in this respect The answer is that it is a falshood to affirme that he which makes the lesse aberration from the dutie commanded is equall in offence to him that makes the greater For the same sinne for substance hath sundrie steppes and degrees in respect whereof one man becommeth a more heinous offender then another for example in the seauenth commandement when God forbiddes the committing of Adulterie he forbiddeth three degrees of the same sinne to wit adulterie of the heart consisting of inordinate and vncleane affections adulterie of the tongue in corrupt dishonest and vnseemely speeches and the very act of vncleannesse and filthinesse committed by the bodie Nowe it cannot be said that he which breakes this commandement onely in the first degree is as great a transgressour as he that hath proceeded to the second and so to the third And therefore it remaines for an vndoubred trueth that Sinnes committed against the Law of God are not equall but some lesser some greater The second way to aggrauate sinne is by addition of sinne to sinne and that is done sundry waies first by committing one sinne in the necke of another as Dauid sinned when he added murther to adulterie Secondly by doubling and multiplying of sinne that is by falling often into the same sinne Thirdly by lying in sinne without repentance And here it must be remembred that men of yeares liuing in the Church are not simply condemned for their particular sinnes but for their continuance and residence in them Sinnes committed make men worthie of damnation but liuing and abiding in them without repentance is the thing that brings damnation For as in the militant Church men are excommunicate not so much for their offence as for their obstinacie so shall it be in the Church triumphant the kingdome of heauen shall be barred against men not so much for their sinne committed as for their lying therein without repentance And this is the manner of Gods dealing with those that haue liued within the precincts of the Church they shall be condemned for the very want of true faith and repentance This should admonish euery one of vs to take heed least we lie in any sinâ— and that beeing any way ouertaken we should speedily repent least we aggrauate our sinne by continuance therein and so bring vpon our selues swift damnation Thirdly the same sinne is made greater or lesser 4. waies according to the number of degrees in the committing of a sinne noted by S. Iames Temptation Conception Birth and Perfection Actuall sinne in the first degree of tentation is when the minde vpon some sudden motion is drawne away to thinke euill and withall is tick led with some delight therein For a bad motioÌ„ cast into the minde by the flesh and the deuill is like vnto the baite cast into the water that allureth and delighteth the fish and causeth it to bite Sinne in conception is when with the delight of the minde there goes consent of will to doe the euill thought on Sinne in birth is when it comes forth into action or execution Sinne in perfection when men are growne to a custome and habit in sinne vpon long practise For the often committing of one and the same sinne leaues an euill impression in the heart that is a strong or violent inclination to that or any other euill as hath bin taught before And sinne thus made perfect brings forth death for custome in sinning brings hardnes of heart hardnes of heart impenitencie and impenitencie coÌ„demnation Now of these degrees the first is the least and the last is the greatest One and the same sinne is lesser in tentation then in conception and lesâ—e in conception then in birth and greater in perfection then in all the former Sundry other Distinctions there are of sinnes as namely That the maine sinnes of the first Table are greater then the maine sinnes of the second Table And yet the maine sinnes of the second are greater then the breach of ceremoniall duties against the first table But this which hath beene said shall suffice The vse of this doctrine is manifold First by it we learne what the heart of man is by nature namely a corrupt and vncleane fountaine out of which issueth in the course of this life the streams of corruptions infinite in number noysome in qualities hainous in degrees daÌ„gerous in effects For from thence doe flow all the differences of sins before named with their seuerall branches and infinit many more that cannot be rehearsed This must mooue vs humbly to sue vnto God earnestly to intreat him to wash vs throughly from our wickednes clense vs froÌ„ our sins yea to purge and to rinse the fountaine thereof our vncleane and polluted hearts And when by Gods mercy in Christ appreheÌ„ded by faith our hearts shal be purified then to set watch ward ouer them and to keep them with all diligence Secondly it teacheth vs that miserable mortall man is not guiltie of one or more sins but of many sundrie corruptions both of heart and life Who can vnderstaÌ„d his faults saith Dauid Now the alowaÌ„ce of sin being death by gods ordinaÌ„ce God being iustice it selfe answerably to the number of our offences must we needs be lyable to many punishments yea to death it selfe both of the bodie and of the soule This beeing our wofull estate litle cause is there that any man should thinke himselfe to be in good case or presume of Gods mercie in regard of the small number of his sinnes And much lesse cause hath he falsely to imagine with the Popish sort that he can merit the fauour of God by any worke done by him aboue that which the Law requireth considering that it is impossible for him to knowe either the number or the nature or the measure of his sinnes Lastly the consideration of this point must be a barre to keepe vs in that we be not too secure or presumptuous of our owne estate for as much as we learne out of
knovv not saith Saint Paul what to pray as we ought namely in our distresses but the Spirit it selfe maketh request for vs with sighs that cannot be expressed and therein lies our comfort Thus Moses at the redde sea beeing in great distresse not knowing what to say or doe sighed and groned inwardly in his soule vnto the Lord for helpe and protection and his very desire was in stead of a loud crie in the eares of the Lord. The second thing is that triall must be made whether the partie hath in him any tokens of grace or not These tokens are the small beginnings of grace which before I haue declared As for example a griefe because we cannot grieue for sinne as we should a serious will and desire to beleeue and repent a purpose to sinne no more and such like If these be found in the partie then by them as by sure pledges he may bee assured of the fauour of God towardes him and where any of these be found the saying of God to Saint Paul must be vrged My grace is sufficient for thee and therewith must the distressed partie stay his minde Yea we are to be content with any condition in this life be it neuer so miserabie so long as we are in the fauour of god though he should lay vpon vs euen the paines of hell till the time of our death So did Dauid who when he was pursued by his owne sonne vttered these words vnto God Behold if I please thee not doe with me what thou wilt And the like was the minde of Paul who beeing assured of the fauour of God was content for his glorie and the saluation of the Israelites if it had beene possible to be separated from Christ and to indure the very pangs of hell The third thing in this cure is to Applie to the said distressed partie such promises of God made vnto afflicted persons as are most large and comfortable For example that The Lord is neere to them that are of a contrite heart and vvill saue such as be afflicted in spirit Psal. 34. 18. Againe I came not saith our Sauiour Christ but to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel Matth. 15. 24. He saies not to the straying sheepe but to such as ate now in the pit readie to be drowned or in the Lyons mouth readie to be deuoured Againe The Spirit of the Lord is vpon me therefore he hath annointed me that I should preach the Gospel to the poore that is to such as are distressed in conscience and poore in spirit he hath sent me that I should heale the broken hearted that I should preach deliuerance to the captiues These and many other such like promises are in this case to be vrged and the partie mooued to indeauour to beleeue them and to rest himselfe vpon them though he loose all things els Fourthly the partie must be brought to a serious consideration of his life past and of Gods mercifull dealing with him in former times and therewith is he to be comforted for the time present For if aforehand he hath receiued any tokens of the fauour and loue of God by them he is now to stay and â—o settle his minde The reason is plaine the gifts of God are without repentance whome he loueth once he loueth to the ende and whome he chooseth he calleth iustifieth and sanctifieth and will also in time glorifie Dauid beeing in such affliction that he could hardly thinke vpon God yet he tooke this course praied to the Lord for comfort communed with his owne heart and called to remembrance how God had formerly dealt with him and with this meditation of the continuall course of Gods mercie in his preseruation he confirmed his faith and staied his heart in his greatest troubles The fifth and last thing to be done is the remooueall of such reasons and doubts as the partie distressed vsually makes against himselfe for his owne ouerthrow For it is the manner of those that are troubled in minde to dispute against themselues and commonly they are woont to alleadge three things First beeing instructed how to humble themselues and to depend on Gods mercie they will graunt that all these indeede are good things but they belong not to them for they neither doe nor can feele any thing but the tokens of Gods anger and that they are alreadie entred into some degrees of condemnation This obiection may be taken away by informing them of the manner of Gods dealing in all his workes For commonly he workes all things in his creatures in and by Contraries if we could know the whole frame of them Thus in the Creation euery creature had his beeing of that which had no beeing and something was made not of something but of nothing After the flood the signe of Gods couenant for the preseruation of the world from destruction by raine is the Raine-bow which indeede is a naturall signe of raine When Elias was to prooue the Lord to be the onely true God against the idolatrous priests of Baal and that by burnt offerings he powred water vpon the sacrifice and fills a trench with water round about and in this contrarie meanes was the sacrifice burnt vp Christ for the curing of a blind man teÌ„pers spittle clay together which in all reason is a fitter means to put out the eyes theÌ„ to cause the blind to see Thus in the worke of our Redemption Christ giues life not by life but by death and he sendes men to heauen by the gates and suburbes of hell He will not build vpon an olde foundation but he pulls downe and destroies all that Man may haue no hope at all in himselfe but that all the hope he hath may be in God First he kills and then he makes aliue as Anna speaketh first he woundeth and then he healeth He makes man to sowe in teares that afterward he may reape in ioy And he that knoweth Gods dealing to be this must herewith rest content and satisfied because in wrath God vseth to remember his mercie yea his mercie is neuer sweete vnto the palate of the soule vntill it be seasoned with some tast of his wrath The Paschall Lambe was eaten with sowre hearbs to signifie that we can feele no sweetnes in the blood of Christ till we first feele the smart of our owne sinnes corruptions Secondly these persons vse to alleadge against themselues that if they could feele any coÌ„fort at all then they would stay their minds and yeild to good perswasions exhortations To this the answer is That there is a Rule of grace which we must follow gathered out of the word of God and the experience of Gods children contrarie to the rule of nature and aboue the light of reason and it is this that in case of affliction we must not liue by feeling but by faith This Rule is grounded vpon the speech of the Lord by the Prophet The iust man shall
liue by his faith When we haue neither sight nor sense nor any tast of Gods mercie but onely apprehend his wrath euen then we must labour to lay hold of mercie in his word and promise Sense and feeling are not alwaies fit directions for the time of this life For he may be the deare child of God that in prsent feeleth nothing but his wrath and indignation This indeede is the true triall of our faith when euen aboue and against reason we relie on the mercie of God in the apprehension of his anger So did Dauid Out of the deepe saith he that is beeing nowe deepely plunged into the pangs of a distressed conscience haue I called vpon thee O Lord and Iob in the like case Lord though though thou kill me yet will I trust in thee Abraham is commended by the holy Ghost amongest other things for this that he beleeued in God aboue hope that is against all matter of hope that might possibly be conceiued vpon the consideration of the strength of naturall causes The theife vpon the crosse feeling nothing but woe and seeing nothing in Christ but misery contempt yet he beleeued in Christ and was saued In a word Christ himselfe when he was forsaken of all men and voide of all worldly comfort and felt nothing but the depth of the wrath of God in his agonie and passion yet by the faith of his manhood he staied himselfe and said My God my God Thirdly they vse to plead that their case is desperate that neuer any was in such a state as they are neuer any touched with the like distresse of minde Answ. It is false For the holy Ghost hath penned three notable places of Scripture the booke of Iob two Psalmes of Dauid wherein are propounded vnto vs the examples of Iob and Dauid Gods owne deare seruants who were in as great distresse as euer they or any other haue beene And they may not thinke that they euer could be able to indure greater paines then Christ who notwithstanding in the anguish of his soule vpon the Crosse cried out My God my God why hast thou for saken me And thus much touching the first kind of trouble of conscience called the diuine temptation The second kind of Distresse is that which ariseth from outward afflictions By Afflictions I vnderstand all manner of miseries and calamities in this life from the least to the greatest from the paine of the little finger to the very pangs of death Nowe the Question is howe the Trouble of minde arising by Afflictions may be remedied For the answer of which question two things are required of the partie distressed Practise and Meditation The Practise is that which is to be vsed in all distresses of minde whatsoeuer And it is a diligent examination of the conscience in regard of sinne an earnest and heartie confession thereof vnto God deprecation that is earnest praier vnto him for the pardon of the same These three things beeing done truely and vnfainedly from the heart are a present remedie against this trouble and bring with them much comfort Manasses the king of Iudah that had committed much wickednesse when he was carried captiue to Babel and there put in chaines he humbled himselfe acknowledged his sinnes and praied earnestly vnto the Lord and the issue was good for God was intreated of him gaue him deliuerance Iob beeing long in outward affliction humbled himselfe in like manner and at length receiued comfort Daniel humbled himselfe before God for his owne sinnes and for the sinnes of Gods people making request vnto God earnestly for them and euen when he was in the acte of praying the Lord sent his angel Gabriel to giue him notice of deliuerance Lastly the Church of God vnder the crosse performed the like dutie Let vs search and trie our waies and turne to the Lord and God in mercie gaue an eare vnto her mourning and lamentation By all these places it is apparent that there is no better remedie in the world for the minde of man grieued by meanes of outward afflictions then the practise of the duties before named The next thing vnto Practise is the Meditation of the comfortable doctrines that are set downe in the word of God touching afflictions All which doctrines may be reduced to fiue principall and maine grounds of comfort shall be laid down in their order The first Ground is that All afflictions from the least to the greatest doe come to passe not by accident chance or fortune but by the speciall prouidence of God I explaine it thus In euery particular crosse and affliction there is the hand of Gods particular prouidence and that in three regards First because God decreeth and foreappointeth euery particular crosse Marke the wordes of Paul Whome God hath foreknowne them he hath predestinate to be made like vnto the image of his sonne and what is this image nothing else but a conformitie vnto Christ in afflictions for this life and in glorie for the life to come Nowe if God hath decreed that those whome he foreknewe should be conformable vnto his sonne in these respects then hath he also decreed the afflictions themselues Secondly God doeth not onely barely permit afflictions to be but also he effecteth them and brings them into execution as they are crosses corrections trialls and punishments I make peace saith the Lord and I create euill that is not the euill of sinne but of punishment which is euill in our sense and feeling For things are tearmed euill two waies some are euill indeed some are euill not indeed but in regard of our sense apprehension and estimation and of this latter sort are afflictions which God is said to create And to this purpose is the saying of the Prophet Amos Shall there be euill in the citie and the Lord hath not done it Thirdly as God causeth afflictions so he ordereth and disposeth them that is he limiteth appointeth the beginning the end the measure or quantitie and the continuance thereof Yea he also ordereth them to their right endes namely his owne glorie the good of his seruants and the benefit of his Church Thus God is said to correct his people in iudgement that is so as he will haue the whole ordering of the correction in his owne hand Ioseph tells his brethren that when they intended euill against him in selling him to the Ishmaelites for siluer God disposed it for good When Shemei cursed Dauid he forbade his seruants so much as to meddle with him and why because saith he the Lord bade him to curse and who then dare say vnto him why hast thou done so And to this purpose the Prophet Dauid saith I held my peace and said nothing why because thou Lord hast done it Psal. 39. 9. Here some will say if Afflictions did come onely from God it were somewhat but oftentimes they come from men that beare vs no good
will and therefore no maruell though we be impatient Answ. When crosses doe come from men God vseth them as instruments to execute his iudgements vpon vs and in this worke God is the cheife doer and they are as tooles in the hand of the workeman And the Lord inflicteth them vpon vs by men to trie our patience vnder the crosse Ioseph though he knewe well the badde dealing of his brethren towards him yet he looked not to them alone but to an higher cause namely the Lord himselfe who executed his owne good will by them God saith he disposed it to good And againe God did send me before you into Egypt for your preseruation The Second ground is the commandement of God touching the crosse and obedience vnto him therein This commandement is expressed Luk. 9. 23. where we are commanded to take vp our crosse euery day and follow Christ. Abraham was commanded with his own hands to sacrifice his onely sonne Isaac and to this coÌ„mandement though otherwise a great crosse vnto him he addresseth himselfe to yeeld obedience And in the prophecie of Micah the Church saith Shee will beare the wrath of the Lord that is shee will performe obedience to him in the crosse because shee had sinned against him And S. Peter saith that God resisteth the proud and giueth grace to the humble therefore humble your selues vnder the mightie hand of God And this beeing the commandement of God that we should yeild obedience to him in euery affliction we ought to be no lesse carefull to obey it then any one commandement of the morall lawe The Third ground is that God will be present with his seruants in their afflictions Vpon this ground Dauid comforts himselfe because God had promised to heare him to be with him in trouble and to deliuer him And in another place though I should walke in the shaddowe of death I would feare none ill for thou art with me c. Nowe that we may the better vnderstand this doctrine we are to consider what be the Ends or Effects of Gods beeing with vs in aâ—fliction whereby he testifieth his presence and they are three The first is to worke our deliuerance from the crosse Call vpon me saith the Lord in the day of thy trouble and I will deliuer thee This promise must not be vnderstood simply but with an exception so farre forth as it shall be for our good For all promises of temporall deliuerance are conditionall and must be conceiued with this limitation of the crosse and chastisement if God please to impose it Some may say how if God will not deliuer vs but leaue vs in the affliction what comfort shall we then haue Answ. In the second place therefore we must remember that God will temper and moderate our afflictions so as we may be able to beare them Habbakuk praieth vnto God in the behalfe of the Church that he would in wrath remember mercie And Paul saith that the Lord will not suffer vs to be tempted aboue that we are able to beare but will giue an issue with the temptation Thirdly put the case that God doeth not moderate our afflictions but suffer them to remaine vpon vs not onely for some time of our life but to the very death yet then will be testifie his holy presence another way namely by giuing the partie distressed power and strength to beare his affliction Vnto you it is giuen saith Paul for Christ that not onely ye should beleeue in him but also suffer for his sake The Fourth ground of comfort in affliction is that euery affliction vpon the seruants of God hath some speciall goodnesse in it Rom. 8. 28. We know that all things worke together for good vnto them that loue God And in regard hereof the crosses which are indured by Gods children are so farre from beeing preiudiciall to their saluation that they are rather helpes and furtherances of the same Now this Goodnes is perceiued two waies First by the fruit and effect of it and then by the qualitie and condition thereof In both which respects afflictions are good Touching the fruits of Afflictions because they are manifold I will reduce them to seauen principall heads I. Afflictions doe make men to see consider their sinnes Iosephs brethren for twentie yeares together were little or not at all troubled for their wickednes in selling their brother yet vpon their affliction in Egypt they beganne to consider what they had done We haue say they verily sinned against our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soule when he be sought vs and we would not heare him therefore is this trouble come vpon vs. Manasses in the time of his peace gaue himselfe to witchcraft and the worshipping of strange gods but when he was captiue in Babylon then was he brought to the sight of his sinnes and mooued to humble himselfe before God for them II. Afflictions serue to humble men in their soules before God The young vnthrift in the Gospel called the Prodigall child while his portion lasted he spent liberally and was grieued for nothing but when he came to be pinched with hunger and that through his owne follie then he humbled himselfe before his father and returned home vnto him Dauid saith of himselfe that in his prosperitie he thought he should neuer be mooued because the Lord of his goodnes had made his mountaine to stand strong but saith he thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled then cried I vnto the Lord. III. They serue to worke amendement of life No chastising saith the Author to the Hebrewes for the present seemeth to be ioyous but aftervvard it bringeth the quiet fruit of righteousnes to them that are thereby exercised that is afflictions and chastisments that seaze vpon Gods children doe leaue after them amendment of life as the needle passeth through the cloath and leaueth the threed behinde it When we are iudged saith the Apostle vve are nurtered of the Lord that we might not be condemned with the world And Dauid confesseth Psal. 119. It is good for me that I haue beene afflicted that I might learne thy statutes And the good husbandman purgeth and pruneth the vine that it may bring forth more and better fruit IIII. They cause men to denie themselues and to rely wholy on the mercy of God Thus Paul receiued the sentence of death in himselfe that he should not trust in himselfe but in God that raiseth the dead V. The fiâ—t is Inuocation For afflictions make vs to crie hartelie and feruently vnto god to bringe our selues into his presence and there to abase our selues before him Thus the Lord saith of his children that in their affliction they will seeke him diligently VI. The sixth is Patience Affliction bringeth forth patience patience experience c. As if he should say because the loue of God is shed in our
still he kept himselfe to the promise In the molestation and annoiance of houses by spirits two things are to be remembred First men must not consort together and abide there where it is certenly knowne that the Lord hath giuen the Deuill power and libertie least in so doing they tempt the Lord. Our Sauiour Christ did not of his owne priuate motion and will betake himselfe into the wildernes but by the direction of the holy Ghost Math. 4. 1. Paul in like manner did not of his owne head goe to Ierusalem but vpon the motion of the Spirit Act. 20. 22. In the light of these examples men are taught not to cast themselues into any places of apparent danger much lesse to frequēt those which God hath deliuered vp into the power of Satan And this condemneth the rash and headie conceits of some persons who vpon confidence of their owne strength doe put thē selues into needlesse dangers hauing neither extraordinarie calling from God nor any sufficient warrant out of his word If it be asked what mē are to doe in this case I answer First that they ought rather to flie to God by praier and to draw neere vnto him in their hearts and he in mercle will draw neere vnto them Secondarily that which we doe in meates and drinkes is also to be done in the houses and places where we dwell And what is that we must sanctifie them to our vse by the word and praier Noah at Gods commandement went into the Arke abode in it and came out againe and when he came forth of it into the earth afterward it is said of him that he built an Altar gaue thankes to God for his deliuerance and praied the Lord to vouchsafe him the vse of the earth as he had before Though Abraham had a promise of the land of Canaan to him and his posteritie for euer yet he went not out of his countrey toward it till the Lord commanded him and when he was come thither he built an Altar for the worship and seruice of God The like he did afterward at Bethel And many yeres after did Iacob offer sacrifice vnto God in the same Bethel when he came to dwell there And for this very ende in the law by a speciall ordinance the first frutes of the haruest were offered to sanctifie the rest of the corne And somuch touching the second distresse The Third kind of trouble of mind is that which ariseth of the Tentation of Blasphemie which in regard of the vilenes and vglinesse thereof is not amisse tearmed by some the foule Tentation And it is when a man is troubled in his minde with blasphemous cogitations and thoughts directly against the Maiestie of God the father the sonne and the holy Ghost As for example to thinke that God is not iust mercifull that he accepteth mens persons that he hath not knowledge of things that are done here below or at least that he doth not regard them that God cannot doe this or that that he is iniurious to some men and partiall to others c. These and such like blasphemous thoughts there be which are not fit to be vttered amōgst men forasmuch as they are most horrible and execrable as any can be conceiued That we may the better know this Temptation let it be considered what are the forerunners thereof and by what meanes it takes place in the heart possessed of it Sometimes it commeth meerely and onely of the suggestion of the Deuill which troubleth the phantasie euen of those which are in that regard innocent and casteth into their hearts impure and vngodly thoughts Sometimes againe it comes vpon men by an euill custome when as they willingly lend their eares to leude and cursed speeches that immediatly tend to the dishonour of God or the wilfull abuse of his word his iudgements and mercies and vpon the hearing either giue their applause and approbation though not expressely or doe not hinder or stay them as much as in them lieth Otherwhiles it creepes into the heart of man by degrees when he beginnes to waxe cold in Gods seruice to make little conscience of those duties that immediatly concerne his worship consequently inures himselfe to the taking of the name of God in vaine by often and eauselesse swearing for swearing cursing c. By these and such like meanes is this foule and horrible tentation conuaied into the minde of man Now the danger of it whether it ariseth frō these or any other causes is exceeding grieuous specially to those that haue begun to chuse the way of truth and to applie their hearts to serue God and to feare his name For it bringeth forth strange and fearefull effects as namely desperation manifold horrors troubles of mind yea diuers persons haue hereupon bin astonished in such sort that they haue bin mooued to make dispatch of thēselues being in their own iudgement no better then the very firebrands of hell Now for the Curing of this wōderfull trouble distraction of Conscience two things are to be done to wit Inquirie must be made into the next causes whence this Tentation should arise and after that the Remedie is to be applied For the first Inquitie must be made whether the present distresse had his beginning from the thoughts of a mans owne minde or from the suggestion of the Deuill For this is in all likelyhood the next way to minister Comfort to the afflicted partie It may be saide How shall a man discerne the thoughts that are from the Deuill from his owne thoughts Ans. He shall know them by sundrie notes First by the entrance of them into the mind For those that come from the Deuill come speedily as lightning into a house and they are after a sort forced into the minde by violence so as the partie cannot auoid them and they come into the minde againe and againe yea a thousand times in a day so as by their often comming they weaken the memorie dull the senses wearie and confound the braine These are thoughts that come from the Deuill and by him are conuaied from without into the minde of man And if such cogitations were from a mans owne selfe they would not come with so great vehemencie and celeritie but with leisure and they would rise with more moderation and lesse violence Yea further the frequent vse of them would not produce so many and so fearefull effects as it doth Secondly such thoughts may be discerned to come from the Deuil by this signe because they are against the very light of nature against naturall knowledge reason cōscience For they are most wicked and deuillish fastning vpon God things that are most vile and monstrous whereas commonly the thoughts that arise frō our owne corrupt nature are not against the light of nature though they be most corrupt The third signe is that at the first conceiuing of them the partie is smitten with an extraordinarie feare his flesh is
reason Hence followes the first effect strange imaginations conceits and opinions framed in the minde which are the first worke of this humor not properly but because it corrupteth the instrument and the instrument beeing corrupted the facultie cannot bring forth good but corrupt actions For example That which they call the beastâ— like Melancholie is when a man thinkes himselfe to be a beast of this or that kind and carries himselfe accordingly Of this sort are those that thinke themselues to be wolues and practise wolvish behauiour Thus we read Dan. 4. 30. that Nebuchad-nezzar liued behaued himselfe and fed as a beast Some say that he loss his soule and had the soule of a beast But they erâ—e For there is no such transportation of soules into bodies either of men or beasts Others thinke that Nebuchadnezzar was smitten in the brain with this disease and in a beastly imagination carried himselfe as a beast And this interpretation is not against the text for in the 31. verse of that chapter it is said that his minde came to him againe and therefore in the disease his vnderstanding the right vse of his reason was lost And the like is true in historie by diuers examples though it were not true in Nebuchadnezzar Againe take another example that is common and ordinarie Let a Melancholike person vpon the sudden see some fearefull thing the strength of his imagination presently fasteneth the thing vpon himselfe As if he see or heare that a man is hanged or possessed with a Deuill it presently comes to his minde that he must be hanged that he is or shall be possessed Likewise vpon relation of fearefull things presently his phantasi workes and he imagineth that the thing is alreadie or shall befall him And this imagination when it enters once takes place it brings forth horrible and fearefull effects The second effect or worke of Melancholie is vpon the heart When the mind hath conceiued and framed fearefull things there is a concord and consent between heart affection then comes affection and is answerable to imagination Hence doe proceede exceeding horrors feares and despaires and yet the CoÌ„science for all this vntouched and not troubled or disquieted Thirdly it may be demanded whether there be any difference betweene the trouble of CoÌ„science and Melancholie for many hold that they are all one Ans. They are not all one but differ much Affliction of Conscience is one thing trouble by Melancholie is another and they are plainly distinguished thus First when the Conscience is troubled the affliction it selfe is in the Conscience and so in the whole man But in Melancholie the imagination is disturbed not the Conscience Secondly the Conscience afflicted hath a true and certen cause wherby it is troubled namely the sight of sinne but in Melancholie the imagination conceiueth a thing to be so which is not so for it makes a man to feare and despaire vpon supposed and fained causes Thirdly the man afflicted in Conscience hath courage in many things but the Melancholike maÌ„ feares euery man euery creature yea himselfe and hath no courage when there is no cause of feare he feares Fourthly imaginations in the braine caused by Melancholie may be cured taken away and cut off by meanes of Physicke but the distresse of Conscience cannot be cured by any thing in the world but one and that is the blood of Christ and the assurance of Gods fauour Fourthly the way to cure Melancholy is this First the person troubled must be brought to this that he will content himselfe to be aduertised and ruled not by his owne but by the iudgement of others touching his owne estate and by this shall be reape much quiet and contentation Secondly search triall must be made whether he hath in him any beginnings of faith and repentance or no. If he want knowledge of his estate then meanes must be vsed to bring him to some sight and sorrow for his sinnes that his melancholy sorrow may be turned into a godly sorrow If he want faith and true repentance some good beginnings thereof must be wrought in his heart Thirdly when he is brought to faith in Gods mercie and an honest purpose not to sinne any more then certaine mercifull promises of God are to be laid before his eies and he must be exhorrâ—d to rest vpon these promises and at no time to admit any imagination or thought that may crosse the said promises Now the promises are these and such like Psal. 34. 9. No good thing shall be wanting to them that feare God Psal. 91. 10 No euill shall come neere the godly man 2. Chron. 15. The Lord is with you while you are with him and if you seeke him he will be found of you Iam. 4. 8. Drawe nere to God and he will draw neere to you And the best meanes to cause any man thus diseased to be at peace with himselfe is to hold beleeue know the truth of these promises and not to suffer any bythought to enter into his heart that may crosse them Moreouer though the former promises may stay the minde yet will they not take away the humour except further helpe be vsed Therefore the fourth and last helpe is the arte of Physicke which serues to correct and abate the humour because it is a meanes by the blessing of God to restore the health and to cure the distemper of the bodie And thus much touching the trouble of minde caused by Melancholy The second meanes whereby the bodie annoies the minde is when it occasions trouble to the minde by strange alterations incident to the bodie When a man beginnes to enter into a Phrensie if the braine admit neuer so little alteration presently the minde is troubled Thus by the trembling of the heart many fearefull imaginations are caused when a man knowes not the cause The same is procured by the swelling of the splene by the rising of the entralls by strange convulsions and such like The remedie hereof is this First it is still to be considered whether the partie thus troubled hath true faith and repentance or no. If he hath it is so much the better If he hath not the first dutie is to vse all meanes to stir vp in him some godly sorrow for his sinnes Secondly this beeing done meanes must be vsed to take away the opinion conceiued and to giue information of the alteration of the bodie and of the true cause thereof This beeing knowne the griefe or feare conceiued will easily be staid For take away the false opinion and informe iudgement and the whole man will be the better Thirdly the opinion beeing altered and reformed it may be the alteration in the bodie will remaine the partie therefore in that case must be taught that it is a correction of God and that God doth not barely suffer the correction to be inflicted but is the very author of it and therefore the partie is to be well pleased and
because he wil not leaue sinne which he loueth nor forsake the euill trade of life wherein he delighteth This is the sinne of those whereof Iob speaketh who say vnto God Depart from vs for we desire not the knowledge of thy waies And of whome Dauid complaineth that they flatter them selues in their owne eyes and haue left off to vnderstand and to doe good This ignorance is damnable and deuillish it excuseth no man but doth rather aggrauate and increase his sinne yea it is the mother of many grieuous enormities Againe Ignorance is twofold of the Law or of the thing the Law requireth Ignorance of the Law is when a man knowes not the law of God written nor the law of nature This ignorance may somewhat lessen the sinne but it excuseth no man because it is naturall and euery man is bound to know the Law Ignorance of the thing the law requireth is the ignorance of the fact and that is either with the fault of the doer or without the fault Faultie ignorance is the ignorance of a fact which he might haue preuented As wheÌ„ a man in his drunkennes killeth another in this fact not knowing what he doth he also knoweth not that he hath offended and yet because he might haue preuented his drunkennes therefore he is faultie and sinneth Faultlesse ignorance is when a fact is done which could not be either knowne or auoided before hand For example if a man be lopping a tree and his axe head fall from the helue out of his hand and kills another passing by here is indeede manslaughter but no voluntarie murther because it was a thing that could not be auoided and did not fall out through his default And this ignorance is excusable The second fountaine of sinne is the Will from whence arise these three differences of sinnes some are from the will immediatly some besides the will and some are mixt partly with the will and partly against the will Sinnes proceeding from the will are properly tearmed voluntarie such as the doer mooued by his owne will commits though he know them to be euill And here the more free the will is the greater is the sinne for wil added to knowledge makes the sinne the greater Vnder voluntarie sinnes are comprehended all such as proceede from stirred affections as when a man tells a lie for feare or striketh another in anger and the reason is because these offences though they are not done vpon deliberation but arise from the violence of affection yet they doe not exclude Consent Hither also we may referre sinnes coÌ„mitted by compulsion as when a man is forced to denie his religion his offence in deede and in truth is voluntarie though some otherwise thinke it to be a mixt action For compulsion doth not reach to the will but to the outward man and serues to draw forth a consent and when consent is yeelded he denies his religion voluntarily for the will cannot be constrained In the next place sinnes beside the will are such as are neither directly from the will nor against it Of this sort are the first sudden motions vnto sinne conceiued in the heart with some inward pleasure and delight and these are truly sinnes though in respect little sinnes condemned in the last commandement And they are not from the will because they go without and before consent neither yet are they against the will because then the heart would not take delight in them Here by the way we are to note against the doctrine of the Papists that all sinnes are not voluntarie for whatsoeuer wanteth conformitie to the law of God it is sinne whether it be with consent of will or no. But many such desires and delights arise suddenly in the heart of man which are not according to the law of God and haue no consent or approbation of will In like manner when one man kills another thinking that he killeth a wild beast if the same man remembreth after wards what he hath done and is not grieued for the fact in this case he hath sinned because his not grieuing is offensiue vnto God though the fact were meerely besides his will Mixt Sinnes are partly from the will partly against it Of this sort are the workes of the man regenerate which are done partly with his will and partly against his will beeing partly good and partly euill The reason hereof is this There are in man after regeneration two contrarie grounds or beginnings of actions to wit naturall corruption or the inclination of the minde will and affections to that which is against the Law called the Flesh and a created qualitie of holines wrought in the said faculties by the holy Ghost tearmed the Spirit And these two are not seuered but ioyned and mingled together in all the faculties and powers of the soule Now betweene these there is a continuall combate corruption fighting against grace grace against corruption Hence it is that there beeing eueÌ„ in one the same will coÌ„trarie inclinations there must necessarily flow from the man regenerate contrary actions the flesh in euery action willing that which is euill and the Spirit on the otherside that which is good This Paul confessed and acknowledged vpon his owne experience after his conuersion when he said To will is present with me but I find no meanes perfectly to doe that which is good Again I delight in the law of God concerning the inner man but I see another law in my members rebelling against the law of my minde and leading me captiue to the law of sinne which is in my members The third Ground or fountaine of sinne in man is Affection froÌ„ whence doe proceede two kinds namely sinnes of Infirmitie and sinnes of Presumption Sinnes of Infirmitie are such as proceede from the sudden passions of the mind and the strong affections of the heart as from hatred griefe anger sorrow and such like These sinnes are coÌ„monly thought to be in all men but the truth is they are properly incident to the regenerate For infirmitie cannot be said properly to be in them in whome sinne hath firmitie or strength and where is no power of grace at all Againe the man that is regenerate sinneth not either when he would because he is restrained by the grace of God that is in him or in what manner he would partly because he sinneth not with all his heart the strength of his flesh beeing abated by the Spirit and partly for that beeing fallen he lies not stil but recouers himselfe by speedy repentaÌ„ce An euident argument that the sins whereinto he falleth are not presumptuous but arise ordinarily of weaknes and infirmitie Sinnes of Presumption are such as proceede froÌ„ pride arrogancy wilfulnes and hauâ—nes of mans heart Against these Dauid praieth saying Let not presumptuous sinnes haue dominion ouer me And of them there be three degrees The first is when a man wilfully goeth on in his sinnes
vpon an erronious perswasion of Gods mercie and of his owne future repentance this is the sinne of most men The second is when a man sinneth wilfully in contempt of the law of God this is called by Moses a sinne with a high hand the punishment thereof was by present death to be cut off from among the people The third when a man sinneth not onely wilfully and contemptuously but of set malice spight against God himselfe and Christ Iesus And by this we may conceiue what is the sinne against the holy Ghost which is not euery sinne of presumption or against knowledge and conscience but such a kind of presumptuous offence in which true religion is renounced and that of set purpose and resolued malice against the very Maiestie of God himselfe and Christ. Heb. 10. 29. Now follow other differences of sinne in regard of the obiect thereof which is the Law In respect of the Law sinne is twofold either of commission or of omission I say in respect of the Law because God hath reuealed in his Law two sorts of precepts the one wherein some good thing is commanded to be done as to loue God with all our hearts and our neighbour as our selues the other wherein some euill is forbidden to be done as the making of a grauen Image the taking of the name of God in vaine c. Now a sinne of commission is when a man doth any thing that is flatly forbidden in the Law and word of God as when one man kills another contrarie to the Law which saith Thou shalt not kill A sinne of Omission is when a man leaueth vnperformed some dutie which the Law requireth as for example the preseruing of his neighbours life or good estate when it lieth in his power so to doe These also are truly sinnes and by them as well as by the other men shall be tried in the last iudgement Sinnes of Omission haue three degrees First when a man doth nothing at all but omits the dutie commanded both in whole and in part as when hauing opportunitie and abilitie he doth not mooue so much as one finger for the sauing of his neighbours life Secondly when a man performes the dutie inioyned but failes both in the manner and measure thereof Thus the heathen men failed in doing good workes in that the things which they did for substance and matter were good and commendable beeing done vpon ciuill and honest respects and referred to common good yet in truth their actions were no better then sinnes of omission in as much as they issued from corrupted fountaines hearts void of faith and aimed not at the maine end and scope of all humane actions the honour and glorie of God Thirdly when a man doth things in a right manner but faileth in the measure thereof And thus the children of God doe sinne in all the duties of the law For they doe the good things the law commandeth as loue God and their neighbour but they cannot attaine to that measure of loue which the law requireth And thus the best men liuing doe sinne in euery good worke they doe so as if God should enter into iudgement deale with them in the rigour of his iustice and examine them by the strict rule of the Law he might iustly condemne them euen for their best actions And in this regard when we pray daily for the pardon of our sinnes the best workes we doe must come in the number of them because we faile if not in substance and manner yet at the least in the measure of goodnes that ought to be in the doing of them We must also haue care to repent vs euen of these our sinnes of Omission as well as of the other of Commission because by leauing vndone our dutie we doe ofter offend then by sinnes committed and the least omission is enough to condemne vs i◠it should be exacted at our hands The next differēce of Sinnes may be this Some are Crying sinnes some are sinnes of Toleration Crying sinnes I call those which are so hainous and in their kind so grieuous that they hasten Gods iudgements and call downe for speedie vēgeance vpon the sinner Of this kind there are sundrie exāples in the Scriptures principally foure First Cains sinne in murthering his innocent brother Abel whereof it was saide The voice of thy brothers blood crieth vnto me from the earth The next is the sinne of Sodome and Gomorrha which was pride fulnes of bread abundance of idlenesse vnmercifull dealing with the poore and all manner of vncleannesse Ezech 16. and of this the Lord said that the crie of Sodome and Gomorrha was great and their sinnes exceeding grieuous The third is the sinne of Oppressiō indured by the Israelites in Egypt at the hand of Pharao and his task-masters The fourth is mercilesse Iniustice in wrongful withholding and detaining the labourers hire Now they are called Crying sinnes for these causes First because they are now come to their full measure height beyond which God will not suffer them to passe without due punishment Againe the Lord takes more notice and inquires further into them thē into others by reason that they exceede and are most eminent where they be committed Thirdly they call for present helpe to the afflicted and wronged and consequently for speedie exequution of vengeance vpon the authors and committers of them And lastly because God is wont to giue eare vn to the cries of those that endure so heauie measure at the hands of others and accordingly to helpe them and reward the other with deserued punishment Next vnto these are sinnes of Toleration lesser then the former which though in themselues they deserue death yet God in his mercie shewes his patience and long sufferance vpon the committers thereof either deferring the temporall punishment or pardoning both temporall and eternall to his Elect. Such a sinne was the ignorance of the Gentiles before Christs comming which God deferred to punnish and as we may say winked at it More especially there be three sorts of sinnes of Toleration the first is Originall sinne or concupiscence in the regenerate after regeneration for it is not in our conuersion quite abolished but remaines more or lesse molesting and tempting vs till death And yet if we carrie a constant purpose not to sinne and indeauour our selues to resist all tentations this concupiscence of ours shall not be imputed vnto vs nor we condemned for it And to this purpose the holy Apostle saith There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ. Yet saith he not There is nothing worthie condemnation in them for Originall sinne remaines till death truly deseruing damnation though it be not imputed The second kind of sinnes of Toleration are vnknowne and hidden sinnes in the regenerate For who can tell how of the offendeth saith Dauid When a man that is the child of God shall examine his heart and humble himselfe euen for