of reuenge from him that contemneth that at one time or other he may offer his grace of remission to him that repenteth The Lord deferreth his comming if hee would hee had beene already come but yet he putteth off his comming lest hee should finde that in thee that hee must punish If hee would thy damnation whilest thou wert in thy sinnes he could haue cast thy soule into hell it is the mercie of the Lord that thou art not consumed For whereas thou fearest not God and yet liuest thou ceasest not to sinne and yet prosperest what is it else but that the mercifull God is willing by long expectation to correct thee whom by seeing thy sinne hee will not instantly destroy whose goodnesse that it may ouercome thy malice and patience mollifie the obstinacie of thy heart like a good mother by flatterie hee allureth thee vnto him whom he can not recall by threatnings in that hee draweth not from thee his blessings he suffereth the sun to shine vpon thee as well as vpon others and prouideth all things necessarie for thee as wel as for others O the vnspeakable mercy of God! we sin and he spareth we offend and he pardoneth we haue offended him in manie things hee withdraweth his blessings from vs in nothing whereby hee sheweth how good a God he is toward the iust who is so mercifull towards sinners In the Gospell euen with teares hee followeth Ierusalem which by her pertinacy in sinning had procured her owne damnation How often sayth hee would I haue gathered thy children together as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings and thou wouldest not Our mercifull Father weepeth that he might not saue those that were desperately wicked and doest thou doubt hee will not be mercifull to thee turning vnto him There are two arguments in him of his naturall goodnes and clemencie his longanimitie in expecting and his facilitie in pardoning because hee both patiently expecteth sinners and louingly receiueth penitent sinners he both by his patience tolerateth the sinnes of men and by their repentance releaseth them that they may returne though late and be ashamed that they should be expected Whensoeuer they are conuerted hee forgetteth sinnes past and he promiseth future amendment Oh the great patience of God! hee spareth contempts pardoneth denials he seeth thee to sinne and yet hee suffereth thee first he forbiddeth thee to sinne and when thou hast sinned he attendeth thy repentance to pardon thee If thy seruant should speake proudly vnto thee and turne his backe towards thee thou wouldest no doubt seuerely correct his contempt but thou turnest thy backe to God and he turneth towards thee thou fliest from him and he followeth after thee hee seeth that his pitie and compassion is despised and yet he yet expecteth thee to pitie thee with al exhortatiō bountie inward inspiration Thou wilt not doe the will of God for thine owne good thine owne commodity how then should hee heare thee in the day of thy tribulation praying vnto him when thou refusest to heare him intreating thee for thine own good For how often hath God said vnto thee Turne vnto mee and yet thou hast not turned If he would not haue mercy on thee thou wouldest intreat mercy at his hands now hee would haue mercy and thou wilt not he inuiteth thee to repentance and thou neglectest it If thou feare not the iustice of God reuenging at the least blush at his goodnesse calling thee vnto him and thou that being stricken couldest haue suffered the punishment due vnto thy sinnes blush at the least being expected lest whom thou now seest calme and peaceable thou bee not able to behold angry and implacable For whilest he seeth those remedies which hee hath ordained for thy saluation turned to the encrease of thy sinne that loue which he hath conferred vpon thee hee turneth to thy greater condemnation that by so much the more he may punish by how much the more he hath expected Wherefore deare brother whilest our mercifull God forbeareth thee whilest hee staieth his hand from reuenge begge his mercie whose law thou hast contemned It is lawfull for him to aske pardon to whom it was not lawfull to offend Aske remission of thy sinnes by praier seeke it with watching and fasting doe what thou canst that thou maiest increase in well doing and by perseuerance thou shalt receiue what thou askest that importunitie is pleasing to a mercifull God which is odious vnto men Let the remission of sinnes bee intreated with instant praier that that God whom thy sinnes hath made angry thy dutifull seruice may pacifie and he that for thy sinnes was offended with thee by repentance may become louing and mercifull vnto thee CHAP. V. That a sinner being changed God changeth his sentence BVT thou wilt say God is not as man is that hee should lie Nu. 23.19 nor as the sonne of man that hee should bee changed And in the 18. of Ezechiel hee saith The soule that sinneth shall die This sentence of God is immutable because God can not bee changed Res It is true my deare brother that that soule that sinneth shall die because by sinne hee deserueth eternall damnation but repentance healeth this death of the soule Repentance restoreth what sinne detracteth by this the life of grace is repaired wherin the soule departing flieth vnto the life of glory neither doe forepassed sinnes more hurt him than forepassed diseases and wounds a sound man Though this soule haue sinned yet it shall not die because by repentance that sin is blotted out by which it was obliged to eternal death The cause ceasing the effect likewise ceaseth and God knoweth how to change his sentence if thou know how to change thy life If thou beleene not me beleeue God The wickednesse of the wicked shall not cause him to fall therein Eze. 33.12 in the day that he returneth from his wickednes And in another place Hier. 18.8 If this nation against whom I haue pronounced turne from their wickednesse I will repent mee of all the plagues that I thought to bring vpen them God who is immutable and impassible can bee affected with no change no passion and yet hee is said to change and to repent not according to the verity of the thing but according to the maner and similitude of man For as a man is saide to change and to repent when hee changeth his counsell and will not doe that euill which he had purposed to doe So God is said to change to repent when he bringeth not vpon a man that euil which he threatned Wherein hee changeth not his counsell for those things which hee appointed from beginning doe immutablie come to passe but that thing which of it selfe is mutable he altereth as it pleaseth him as the goodnesse or wickednesse of men require which argueth no change in God but in the will of man Hezekiah was sicke vnto death 2. King 20.1 and the prophet Isaiah came vnto him
thou complaine and afflict thy selfe that thou hast many times liued well and beene prouided for death when death came not That the remembrance of thy end hath taken often times from thee those pleasures and delights that in themselues are to a man wicked and deceitfull O how happy wert thou and again and again blest of God if in this maner thou diddest alwaies expect death if thou wert euery day such a one as thou wishest to bee at the point of death if from thy youth thou barest the yoke of the Lord if thou didst alwaies watch and stand vpon thy guard because thou knowest not at what houre the Lord will come for blessed wert thou if when hee commeth hee shall finde thee waking God would that the houre of our death should bee hidden from vs The day of death vucertain to the end that wee being vncertaine when wee shall die should bee alwaies found ready for death that whilest the last day is vnknowen wee should obserue all as if all were the last If thou were set at a Table where there are many dishes set before thee to eat among which thou art told that one hath poison in it wouldest thou not abstaine from them all lest thou shouldest happen to light vpon that that is poisoned There is one day of death a dangerous day vnto thy soule which because thou knowest not is it not wisedome in thee to suspect euery day For if thou knewest at what houre thou shouldest depart out of this world thou wouldest diuide thy times some to pleasure some to praier some to repentance and knowing how long thou hast to liue thou woldst likewise know when to abstaine from thy delights and pleasures But forasmuch as a present life is alwaies vncertaine by so much the more whilest it stealingly comes vpon vs it is to bee feared by how much the lesse it may bee foreseene and therfore of all other times the houre of death is most to be feared because it can neuer bee foreseene Matth. 24.43 and woorse auoided If the goodman of the house knew at what watch the theefe would come he would surely watch and not suffer his house to bee digged thorow Therefore be ye also ready for ye know not the houre when the Son of man will come whether in the euening or at midnight at the crowing of the cocke or in the morning lest when he commeth suddenly vpon you hee shall finde you fleeping When hee gaue that commandement to his Disciples saying Watch and pray Luke 12.36 â—ee afterwards added That which I say vnto you I say vnto all Watch. Watch therfore my deare Brother like vnto that man that waiteth for his master when hee will returne from the wedding that when hee commeth and knocketh he may open vnto him immediately Which thou canst not better do than to be prepared at all houres as if euery houre were the houre of thy death If any greeuous sicknesse happen vnto thee A sicke man desires that time of repentance which a sound neglecteth that hath in it any apparent tokens of death thou presently crauest a truce for a time and desirest to liue that thou maist bewaile thy sinnes and thy time mispent and thou promisest repentance and amendment of life which thou hast no sooner obtained but as soone thou forgettest and with the dog thou returnest to thy vomit againe The time of repentance is granted thee and God expecteth a time to pardon thee and yet thou doest not onely not bewaile thy sinnes past but thou takest a greater ioy and comfort in those that are past in those that are to come Esay 30. If thou borrow a thing of another man thou takest a care to vse it whilest thou hast it because thou knowest it shall shortly be taken from thee and yet this corruptible body of â—hine which God hath lent â—hee for the vse of thy soule and for the saluation thereof is not thine but shall shortâ—y be taken from thee thou dâ—est not only not vse to the health of thy soule but thou euery day abusest to the vtter ruine and damnation therof and by how much thy life is longer by so much thy sinnes are greater yea they increase not with the daies but the houres and moments of thy life Yesterday thou mightest haue died Pro lucro tibi pone diem quicâ—nque 〈◊〉 and yet thou art nor dead Inasmuch therfore as thou art aliue to day account it amongst thy gaines Why our daies are prolonged for therfore doth the Lord prolong thy daies of grace that thou maist repent and attaine the greater glory For as the very sleep of the Saints of God is not without goodnesse so thou shouldest not let passe a moment of time without the practise and performance of some good Rich men and such as are able to keepe and maintaine a great family vse neuerthelesse to belong to those that are richer and mightier than themselues in whose seruice they depriue themselues of many benefits and freedomes of nature in hope and expectation only which many times deceiueth them of bettering their fortunes and ioining house vnto house and land â—nto land If then such as aâ—ound in â—â—hes are content with the losse of liberty and so much labour to increase â—heir riches which then increase most when the least commodities are not neglected how much doth it stand â—hee vpon that art the seruant of Christ Iesus to heape vp vnto thy selfe those spiritual riches that must saue thy soule Though thou haue liued well and art rich in good workes yet when thou art dying thou couldest be content thou haddest liued better and for one good worke thou hast done thou wishest thou hadst done a thousand why then doe that now whilest thou liuest that thou wouldest be glad thou hadst done when thou art dying One starre differeth from an other starre in glory 1. Cor. 15.41 there are many mansions in the kingdom of heauen by how much the more good then thou doest vpon earth by so much the greater glory shalt thou haue in heauen As no sinne escapeth vnpunished so no good that thou doest vnrewarded Matth. 10.30 All thy daies are no lesse numbred than the haires of thy head and as a haire of thy head shall not perish so not a moment of time God rewardeth great labours with great bounties which though in appearance they seeme to be small yet in effect and operation they are vnspeakable Thy labours are but short the crowne eternall set that which thou here sufferest Repentance crucifieth Righteousnesse pacifieth Life eternall glorifieth to that that thou there hopest to obtaine The afflictions of this life are not worthie the sinne passed that for them is remitted the present comfort that for them is giuen the future glorie that for them is promised Thou labourest heere for a time that thou maiest not labour for euer with the damned thy labour is momeÌ„tary thy ioy eternall
desireth the more to haue thy companie to death whom thou canst not better obey than if thou daily sinne by his suggestion and being fallen carest not to rise againe Wherein whilest thou yeeldest thy consent thou seemest to haue made a sure bargaine with him and because thou art irrecouerably fallen thou must necessarily be his companion in his fall too To liue to thee that art infected with the dangerous plague of so many sinnes is not to liue but to confound life and to approch neerer and neerer to the gates of hell Thou art aliue in thy bodie but dead in thy minde That life is not to be called life whereby thou liuest only vnto death for it were better for thee that euery day doest die in thy soule that in bodie thou die quickly better that thou liue not at all that thou wert not borne than by sinne to die daily As often as thou sinnest so often thou deseruest eternall death which if for one sinne thou deserue what doest thou for many for millions of sinnes For so manie and so great sinnes how intolerable shall hell be when for one so many and so vnspeakeable torments must be endured For there shall euerie man haue his damnation so much the more intolerable by how much the greater iniquitie he hath heere But to thee that hast no good thing to alleage for thy selfe but whole mountaines of sinne against thy selfe it is not possible to vtter what plagues and punishments do belong I can not woonder sufficiently how thou canst sleepe securely and enioy thy pleasures without feare For if thou wert odious to a King whom thou hast offended and diddest euery houre expect from him the sentence of a cruell death wouldest thou laugh and attend thy pleasures Now then â—ince for thy many and great offences the sentence of eternall death is pronounced against thee and the Lord to the end he may haue mercy on thee still expecting thy conuersion hath deferred his sentence which perhaps to day nay this very houre he will execute vpon thee how canst thou as it were in an assured peace be secure Thou art in greater danger that goest to thy rest with a conscience clogd with one mortall sinne than with seuen of thy deadliest enemies Doubtlesse if thou diddest but see thine owne soule thou wouldest blush at the foulenesse thereof and if thou knewest how great dangers thou runnest into by sinne thou wouldest thinke of nothing more than how to auoid it By sin thou makest God thine enemie the diuell dry lord and thou that wert first by adoption the sonne of God after sinne art made the seruant and slaue of the diuel yea of sinne it selfe and that which is woorst of all of so many lords as of sins Whosoeuer committeth sinne Ioh. 8.34 is the seruant of sinne A wicked man though he reigne is a seruant of sinne a iust man though he serue is a free man nay hee wanteth not kingly power that knoweth how to rule his owne affections God so hateth sinne that for the hatred thereof he destroyed almost all his works the whole world by a generall flood yea to the end he might vtterly kill it he gaue vnto death yea the shamefull death of the crosse his only begotten sonne And is not his hatred great towards his enemie that to be reuenged vpon him will kill his owne sonne God neither in heauen nor vpon earth hath a friend so deare vnto him but if he finde him polluted with mortall sinne he is presently odious vnto him and that vessell of sinne that is that sinner hee throweth downe into hell fire for a wicked man and his wickednesse are alike odious vnto God As if thou haddest rather to cast a vessel ful of corruption yet of great price into the sea than to scoure and clense it of the filth therof must not that filth and corruption be very hatefull vnto thee for which thou art content to lose so precious a vessell And as a louing mother if shee should cast her little infant whom she dearly loueth into a burning furnace there to perish must it not be some great matter very hatefull vnto her that can vrge her to such crueltie against her owne childe Sinne as much as it displeaseth God so much it pleaseth the diuel insomuch that from the creation of the world he hath euer watched without wearinesse how to allure men vnto sinne and though he obtein his purpose with innumerable numbers of men yet he is neuer satisfied After thou hast once sinned thou art so farre foorth in the power of the diuell that presently by his owne right he may challenge thee to be his and cartie thee with him to eternall torments if he were not staied by the great mercie of God expecting thee to repentance It were better for thee to haue a thousand diuels in thy body than one deadly sinne in thy minde And therefore saith Anselme If I should here see the shame of sinne and there the horror of hell and that I must necessarily bee ouerwhelmed by the one I would rather cast my selfe into hell than suffer my selfe to fall into an insensible feeling of my sinnes yea I had rather being purged and purified from sinne to enter into hell than polluted with the contagion of sinne if it were possible it might be so possesse the kingdome of heauen If sinne be more to be detested than hell what can be more detestable than sinne If there were no sinne there were no torment in hel No aduersitie could hurt if no iniquitie did beare rule for it is only sinne that can hurt and bring to passe that no other thing can do good So long as thou continuest in sinne thou canst doe nothing that is good For as a root giueth no moisture to a rotten bough nor the sunne any light to a blinde eye so thou as a rotten and dead member of the Church for who will say thou art liuing that hast no feeling of compunction in thy heart art depriued of al that good that is or can be in the Church and thou art robbed of all that good that euer thou hast done in thy whole life and of all those virtues and graces which at the first thou receiuedst at Gods hands in as much as they stand thee in no stead to the attainment of eternall life as a dead man hath no power either to enioy his owne goods or to get others And besides a thousand other euils that follow sinne the miserable torment of thine owne conscience followeth thee whithersoeuer thou goest For sinne whilest it is committed pleaseth being committed it tormenteth for the worme thereof neuer dieth and in this life the torment thereof is but an entrance to that which is to come Ps 49.20 O man when thou wert in honour thou vnderstoodest not but wert compared to the beasts that perish and art made like vnto them Thou that through the merits of Christ Iesus wert made woorthy of heauen and all
reduceth vnto pardon It belongeth to the iustice of a seuere and rigorous Iudge that there be no end of reuenge giuen vnto them who so long as they were in health would neuer make an end of sinning that there they should neuer want pâ—nishment that heere would neuer want sin who make an end of sinning because they must make an end of liuing whereas if they could they would haue liued without end for they make manifest that they would neuer haue been freed from sinne because they neuer gaue it ouer so long as they liued Againe it is fit and requisit that according to the delight of sinne the bitternesse of their torment should be measured vnto them not onely which the wicked haue had but which they would haue for God doth not only consider the outward actions but hee likewise examineth the inward willes Since therefore out of the corruption of their owne willes they haue giuen no measure to the delight of sinne nor euer could finde so great delight in sinne but that they would haue greater therefore God who considereth the heart not the outward action inflicteth punishment not according to the delight receiued but sought after that the time of their torment for sinne might be infinite who were infinitly delighted therein Againe forasmuch as there is a proportion of greatnesse betweene the offence and the partie offended therefore sinne whereby God infinite in goodnesse and maiestie is offended must necessarily be iudged infinite and deserueth an infinite punishment infinite in continuance not in paine or torment for the finite capacitie of a creature is not capable of what is infinit whom likewise the Lord who deteineth not his mercies when he is angry punisheth not according to their desert for he is mercifull and taketh no delight in their affliction but yet because hee is iust hee is neuer pacified from reuenge For as they that forsake life runne into death so they that feare not to offend and to forsake him that is good in the highest degree deserue in the highest degree to be punished and they are made worthy of eternall euill who destroy in themselues that good that might haue been eternall As wee see that a temporall or transitory punishment brings a death which is perpetuall a temporall treason a yoke of perpetuall seruitude a disease is taken in a short time which a man perhaps shall neuer shake off so the sinnes of the damned haue an end but yet their punishment for sinne is deseruedly endlesse who are sorrie they haue sinned yet cannot but sinne And though God be mercifull and willing to pardon all sinnes whatsoeuer yet when hee punisheth the reprobate for their sinnes hee leaueth not so much as an idle word nay thought vnpunished and they that are debtors for great sinnes being condemned must pay the vttermost farthing And as hee that hath his arme bound can doe nothing with it so out of the bitternesse of the paine not the loue of God they haue a willing will to rise from their sinnes but yet being forsaken of GOD. Which will of theirs though it haue lost the effect of power bee not able yet it hath alwaies the affection to sinne and though they cannot sinne yet they lose not their will to sinne For it is true that death separateth the soule from the flesh but yet it changeth not the purpose of the soule For as with the elect the good will of a man is turned into glory so with the reprobate their ill will is turned into punishment and that shall bee a torment in â—hell that was a sinne in the world As they that haue offended their king are banished their countrie so the damned for their offence committed against God are banished Paradise to whom though all the aforesaid torments are intollerable yet if a thousand helles were added therunto they are nothing to that Paradise that glorie they haue loft For to the damned it is a farre more grieuous thing to bee excluded from glory and to be depriued the grace of God and to endure the hatred of a mercifull Creatour and to haue an omnipotent God their aduersary and enemie which is so vnspeakable a torment vnto them that if no paine at all did outwardly afflict them this onely were sufficient For they see that for a momentarie delight in sinne they endure vnspeakable punishment and for the loue of their temporal goods they haue lost eternall who neuerthelesse by a short repentance might both haue attained these and by not sinning haue auoided the other And if the worme of one sin neuer dying doe so afflict in this life where all hope is not taken away how much more doth the worme of so manie sinnes in that eternall desolation afflict and torment whilest the wicked doe daily behold as in a glasse all the euill they haue committed all the good they haue omitted For as a merchant when the Faire is ended is not only sorrie for that gaine which â—he hath lost but for that also which he might haue gotten but yet neglected it so the damned are not onely sorâ—ie for their sinnes committed but for their good works omitted for all which they then repent though it be an vnprofitable and vnfruitfull repentance because now they finde no mercy that lost the fit time to attaine it But after a hundred thousand thousands of yeres their torments shall still be iterated as if they had neuer suffered any thing and so without end they shall remaine in that place of horror for eueâ— and euer Who can The conclusion relating these things refraine from tearesâ— who can heare them with drie cheekes These are horrible things to thinke vpon terrible to relate and grieuous to behold how hornrible then terrible and greeuous are they to endure For if they bee terrible to heare what will they be to seek 〈◊〉 If the very feare of this punishment doe heere so much afflict thee what will the intollerable suffering of them doe there It is a horrible thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God into a liuing death and a dying life But thou my deare brother thinkest not of these euils but like a man secure thou hastnest vnto them and thou wilt proue them before thou wilt thinke of them But yet to preuent this lest thy beautifull members should be fuell for that vnquenchable fire descend in thought whilest thou art huing into hell lest thou descend thither bodie soule when thou art dead studie therefore both to feare this and fearing it to auoid it For what good will the foreknowledge of these things doe thee if thou auoid them not Now therefore whilest it is possible in a short time if thou turne vnto the Lord to escape all these afflictions and torments and to enioy besides that eternall happinesse which is prepared for his saints why deferrest thou why staiest thou and takest not hold of the mercies of God before thou goe and returne not to a darke land couered
penny And therfore saith S. Paul Rom. 5.10 If when wee were enemies wee were reconciled to GOD by the death of his Sonne much more being reconciled wee shall be saued by his life It is a greater thing to die for sin than to take away sinne To the reparation of the celestiall mansions not to eternall damnation hath the Lord created and redeemed thee For if hee had desired thy damnation when thou sinnedst hee had cast thee into hell Heereby thou maiest gather that he delighteth more in thy reparation than thy damnation that there is greater ioy with him and his Angels for one sinner that conuerteth Luk. 15.7 than for ninetie and nine iust men that need no amendment of life Which the Lord himselfe hath prooued by a threefold example of the lost sheepe which being found the shepheard with ioy laid vpon his shoulders and brought him to his fold of the lost groat which being found she calleth her friends and neighbours saying Reioice with mee for I haue found the piece which was lost and of the prodigall childe for whom being returned to his father the fat calfe was killed which was not done for that sonne which continued with his father By how much the more we are sorry for a thing lost by so much the more do wee reioice when it is found and therefore there is more ioy in heauen for a sinner that repenteth than for a iust man that needeth no amendment For a repentance inflamed with loue after sinne is more acceptable vnto God than an innocency dull carelesse with securitie by grace As a captaine in the warres loues more that souldier that after his flight returneth and valiantly encountreth his enemie than him that did neuer flie and neuer performed anie valorous exploit A husbandman loueth more that ground that after the thorns and brambles be digged vp yeeldes a plentifull increase than that ground which neuer had thornes and neuer gaue any increase If therfore thy teares vpon earth bee so great a ioy to God and his Angels how great a ioy shall thy pleasures in heauen be to them This is the meat they feed vpon the fruites they are delighted with if by a true contrition of heart thou mortifie thy sinnes and by a true and vnfained repentance turne vnto God Wherfore deare brother though thou thinke thy selfe condemned by Gods iustice appeale vnto his mercy for it sometimes commeth to passe that whom iustice accuseth mercy absolueth and that punishment which the Lord may iustly inflict hee doeth mercifully pardon For those whom God freely created and redeemed he wil not willingly oppresse and therefore if thou repent thee of thy sinne hee repenteth him of his sentence The vnchangeable God will change his sentence if thou change thy life So shalt thou conquer the inuincible binde the omnipotent and a fearefull Iudge thou shalt change into a mercifull father CHAP. VI. That euen at the point of death repentance may be profitable to saluation BVT perhaps thou wilt say I come too late I haue spent my whole life in sinne I am now at the brinke of death and therefore it is too late at my last houre to turne vnto God Res Thou art a yoong man my deare brother in the strength of thy yeeres thou maiest yet liue many a yeere and haue time enough to repent But yet because there is no man be hee neuer so yoong that can assâ—redly promise to himselfe to liue till night and a sudden death may euerie houre of the day ouertake thee wherein despairing thou maiest obiect this vnto me therefore I haue thought good to satisfie this obiection though thou haddest neuer obiected it Whilest thou liuest whilest thou yet breathest yea when thou liest in thy bed at the point of death thou maiest repent yea and then especially there is yet hope of mercy time of forgiuenes place of repentance God witnesseth of himselfe Eze. 33. that at what houre soeuer a sinner repenteth him of his sinnes hee will blot out all his wickednesse out of his remembrance He that hath said he will put out all his wickednesse out of his remembrance hath excepted no kinde of sinne Though thou want time to confesse thy sinnes vnto God yet in a moment euen in the twinckling of an cie he can haue time to pardon all thy sinnes Thy will is accounted for thy worke and the gronings of thy heart for thy words If therefore at the houre of death thou cease to bee wicked by repentance thou needest not despaire of pardon because thou art neere thine end For God whoconsidereth the end of all men iudgeth euery man according to his end not his former life neither doeth he respect so much what wee haue beene heeretofore as what we are at the end of our life It is no matter how long but how well a man liueth neither doth the quantitie of the crime nor the enormitie of a mans life nor the breuity of the time nor the extremity of the houre exclude a man from pardon if repentance in the end be true and perfect The great and manifold mercy of God is neither limited by time nor equalled by our great and manifolde offences He that truly repenteth and is loosed from that band of sinne wherewith hee was tied and liueth well after his repentance whensoeuer he dieth he may secure himselfe hee goeth to God he shall not be depriued the kingdome of God hee shall not be separated from the people of God Matt. 20. For as they that went into the Vineyard to labour at the eleuenth houre of the day receiued a penny for their hire as well as they that began their labour the first houre and did beare the burthen and heat of the day so not onely to those that from their childehood doe beare the yoke of the Lord is the reward promised but to the last too who in the end of their life turne vnto God is the earnest pennie of eternall life giuen The innumerable sinnes of the Nineuites a short repentance wiped away and the Publican went presently out of the Temple iustified Marie Magdalen was so great a sinner that the Pharisey disdained to see her and yet in a short time she was iustified and clensed from all her sins The theefe hung vpon the Crosse and being instantly to die despaired not of saluation he confessed the Lord vpon the Crosse and euen with the words of his confession he ended his life and yet the Lord possessed him of Paradise before Peter and lest any man should thinke repentance too late hee turned the punishment of murther into a martyrdome It is true that his repentance was late but yet his pardon came not too late he made speed in turning vnto God and God was as speedie in pardoning These shew thee the fruit of repentance the fountaine of mercy the celeritie thereof for they began late to repent and to do good and yet by doing it truly of the last they are
penurie and miserie depriued from all maner of delight whatsoeuer whether thou wouldest accept this condition I think thou canst not so much forget thy selfe as to thinke of the fruition of pleasures so dearely bought What then can all that time bee that thou hast emploied in the delights and pleasures of this life to that eternall damnation which hath neither end nor torment like vnto it which farre excelleth all the tortures and torments of all the martyrs of Christ Iesus if they were all conferred vpon one What is a moment of pleasure to an eternitie of torment one pleasure to a multitude of punishmeÌ„t Al that time that is spent in the pleasures of this life what is it but the dreame of one night in comparison of eternitie And who is so madde to incurre the danger of eternal punishment for the delight that he taketh in a dreame that lasteth but a night Say then what times of lust and gluttonie and pleasure canst thou compare to such times of torment Adde a hundred yeeres if thou wilt to those times thou hast spent in pleasure adde another hundred yea ten hundred if thou wilt what can all these times bee to eternity Nay suppose the time of pleasure and punishment to be equal the one as long as the other is there any man so foolish so mad that for one daies pleasure will be content to endure one daies torment since the griefe and torment of one houre and euery bodily affliction drawes in obliuion all the delights that he hath formerly enioied Now then if for the momeÌ„tary delight of one day one houre there are reserued the eternal torments of hell canst thou bee so forgetfull of thy selfe as for that to chuse these Wilt thou for the base and momentary delight of sinne vndergoe the bitter paines of hell fire And for the loue of a temporall good lose the eternall and besides that losse suffer eternally too in that fire that shall neuer be quenched If from the first day of the Creation of this World to this present houre thou hadst euer liued 〈◊〉 honor and ease and pleasure what remaineth now of â—ll those houres and pleaâ—ures if now thou must instantly depart out of this life Canst thou say that that time â—is eternall whose end thou seest And what delight can that giue vnto a man that hath an end which end when it commeth the delight departeth With time that passeth that pleaseth and without end that remaineth that diseaseth In this life good and ill know their end and with wings they flie vnto it prosperity and aduersity passe away like a shadow but in the world to come they are both immortall without end Suppose that a bird should but euery thousand yeers eat the hundred part of a barly corne and in proportion to that time deuoure by peece-meale the whole masse and building of the world vpon that condition that being thus consumed the damned in hell should bee freed from their torments yet though the times were infinite there would bee one day an end and the damned would hope that after innumerable yeeres they should be set at liberty but alas if there were tenne hundred hundred thousand Worlds so to bee deuoured yet they are as far from their freedome from their hellish torments as at the beginning for in hell there is no redemption and as there shall be no end of the ioy of the good so shall there bee no end of the punishment of the wicked If thou wert to rest thy selfe for so long a time nay but a few yeeres in respect of thousands and millions vpon a soft delicate bed so as no occasion should any way disquiet thee thou wouldest neuer be able to endure it how then doest thou thinke thou shalt endure the eternall torments of hell fire that shall neuer haue end and yet thou must euer endure If now in this life the least affliction that may bee maketh thee impatient what shall the torments of hell do that haue neither end nor measure How wilt thou beare that punishment if here a short repentance seeme burdensome vnto thee Whilest therefore thou hast time thinke with thy selfe whether is better to liue without end with the Angels in heauen or without end to be tormented with the wicked in the fire of hel whether is better a temporall rest and eternall labour or a temporall labour eternall rest But take away if thou wile the feare of hell The punishment of losse should be sufficient to withdraw vs from sinne and thinke there is no hell at all yet the ioies of that future eternall glory that is to come should be sufficient to withdraw thee from sinne If no miseries followed the present delights of this life and the pleasures therof should neuer be changed into the torments of hell but the wicked of this world were onely to bee punished with the priuation of the presence of God yet for the transitory and fading pleasures of this life thou shouldest not desire to bee depriued of the contemplation of the diuine beauty and the pleasures of heauen But yet thou forgetfull of thy selfe for momentary pleasures doest not onely depriue thy selfe of eâ—ernall ioy but procurest to â—hy selfe eternall punishment Beasts are carried onely with that that they see and is present before their eies and thy minde more brutish than that of a beast is more moued with present delights than future visible than inuisible it rather chuseth those earthly things that are offered to the eie than those heauenly that are promised to the soul it only attendeth this present life and careth not to foresee what is to come And therefore deare Brother it shall bee better for thee in this life to endure a little misery and afterward to attaine to euerlasting happinesse than here to possesse a false adulterate ioy and there eternal punishment The labour of repentance is but little and it lasteth a little time but the reward thereof continueth for euer The labour is light the crown eternall Pleasure pasfeth away with time but punishment for pleasure is permanent For a drop of pleasure there is a sea of bitternesse heere scarcity of hony there abundance of gall Future eternall sorrowes and lamentations doe euer follow present momentary ioies and pleasures CHAP. V. That it is better to repent when we are young than to put it off vntill we be olde BVt be it my deare brother let mee yeeld vnto thee To sinne in hope of repentance that thou certainlie knowest thou shalt liue vntill thou bee old and that thou shalt then haue time to repent thee of thy sins yet thou hast no reason vpoÌ„ this assurande to bee the more bold to sin For in that thou saiest I am yong therfore will follow those delights that are beâ—â—â—ting my youth and afterwards I will repent it is as much as if thou shouldst say I will wound my selfe with a sword and then apply a medicine to my wound Alas miserable
yet forasmuch as he is willing to minister vnto thee an occasion of pity and meeknesse hee considereth thy charity and mercie towards thy neighbour that hee may conferre vpon thee his charity and mercy And therefore hee commandeth When ye shall stand and pray forgiue if ye haue anie thing against anie man that your father also which is in Heauen may forgiue you your trespasses Mark 11.25 For if you will not forgiue your father which is in Heauen will not pardon you your trespasses So that thou seest that to obtaine forgiuenesse at Gods hands thou needest not to passe the Seas to make long iourneies to clime high mountaines to disburse great summes of money but the Lord that desireth rather to finde him that hee may pardon than that hee may punish putteth it as it were in thy own power to auoid the seuerity of his iudgement As long as thou continuest in this life thou canst not be without sinne and therefore it were wisdome in thee to embrace so gentle a condition as by forgiuing another mans sinnes to blot out thy owne being offended by another man to forgiue him if thou desire to be forgiuen of God to pardon a light offence to thy neighbour for whatsoeuer one man can commit against another is but light that God may pardon thee so manie millions of sinnes There is no better meanes after thy sinne to bee reconciled vnto God than that thou being offended with thy brother bee reconciled vnto him If thou seeke after the multitude and magnitude of the mercies of God doe thou likewise multiply and magnifie thy owne mercies towards thy neighbour that shewing mercie thou maiest receiue mercie For though God haue need of no mans helpe and be free from all sin yet he forgiueth his seruant those infinite wrongs hee receiueth how much more then oughtest thou that hast need of remission and art guilty of a thousand sinnes to forgiue the wrong that is offered by thy fellow seruant With what face canst thou looke that God should pardon thee thy sinnes when thou wilt not pardon thy neighbour his Wilt thou haue God to exercise his mercy vpon thee and wilt thou exercise thy seuere iudgement vpon thy neighbour Thou shalt haue no excuse at the day of iudgement because thou shalt be iudged according to thy owne sentence that thou halt done vnto others thou shalt suffer thy selfe Thou shalt haue iudgement without mercie that shewest no mercie vnto thy brother For what punishment art thou not woorthy of who maiest with so great facilitie obtain mercie at Gods hands and yet art content to betray thy owne saluation Our Sauiour Christ Iesus when hee prescribed a forme of praier vnto vs and taught vs to pray promised his fatherly mercy but yet he added a law that we should so begge forgiuenesse for our trespasses as wee forgiue those that trespasse against vs. Yea sorasmuch as hee knew that all men are lyers and that if their sins should bee first forgiuen them they would not afterwards forgiue their trespassers hee commanded we should first forgiue them before we aske forgiuenesse at his hands But thou with what hope canst thou pray that still reseruest rancour in thy heart against another For as thou praying liest when thou saiest I forgiue others their trespaspasses yet forgiuest them not so when thou praiest that thy trespasses may bee forgiuen thee of God they are not forgiuen For it is as much as if thou shouldest say forgiue not mee my trespasses committed against thee because I forgiue not others their trespasses against mee When thou powrest out such praiers vnto God who considereth the heart not the word thou art for a threefold cause made guiltie First because thou art a begger and goest about to deceiue God whilest thou praiest vnto him to forgiue thy debts as thou forgiuest thy debtors and yet thou forgiuest them not thou sparest them in nothing Secondly because though thou madest not this praier vnto God yet thou oughtest to forgiue thy brother his debts Thirdly though it were not thy dutie to doe it yet forasmuch as being warned by thy Iudge thou ceasest not thou exasperatest the anger of the Iudge against thee What hope of forgiuenesle canst thou haue if at that very instant when thou praiest vnto God and beggest mercy at his hands thou minister greater occasion to stirre vp his anger against thee As if a man should fall downe before thee and begge mercie at thy hands and in the middest of his petition should espie his enemie and surceasing to intreat thee should go about to murther him would it not mooue thee to greater anger against him than before Couldest thou possibly think him worthy of mercy thinke it is thus no otherwise with God himselfe But perhaps thou wilt say from this time forward or so long as I am not in charity I wil not say the Lords praier or at leastwise I wil omit that condition As wee forgiue those that trespasse against vs. Resp Except thou praie as Christ hath taught thee thou art not Christs disciple Hee that made this praier is hee that heares it if thou shalt omit this condition Christ will not know that praier that he hath made and as thou hast shut out mercy in thy praiers towards thy neighbour so God wil shut the gate of mercy against thee Wherfore deare brother if thou wilt haue thy sins forgiuen thee of God forgiue thou thy brother not onely with thy outward lippes but thy heart too not with a fained peace but a sincere loue so as by thy actions thou worke no reuenge and in thy heart thou reserue no malice Driue away all hatred from thy minde and loue thy enemie with all thy heart And forasmuch as the proofe of thy loue is the performance thereof in thy actions thou shalt alwaies do him good in thy affections wishing him the blessings of grace and of glorie of nature and of fortune as they may bee helpes and furtherances to saluation And thou shalt doe him good in effect too as time place shall serue especially in those things that appertaine to the health of his soule CHAP. II. That no work that a man doth be it neuer so good can bee acceptable vnto God so long as he is not in charity with his neighbour FOrasmuch as all sins are extinguished and blotted out by subsequent good works proceeding out of a true and liuely faith the sin of discord must bee verie great which if it be not vtterly extinct it suffereth no good worke to follow it For it is written Mat. 5.25 If thou bring thy gist vnto the altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee leaue there thine offering before the altar and goe thy way first be reconciled to thy brother then come and offer thy gift Iudge then how great an euill discord is for which that must bee vndone by which sinnes are released the gift of an vncharitable man
wound hatred for hatred presently added But I say vnto you resist not euill but whosoeuer shall smite thee on thy right cheeke turne to him the other also Which law hee himselfe obseruing was readie for the saluation of vs all not only to turn the other cheek but in his whole bodie to be crucified that being taught by his example thou shouldest rather offer thy other cheeke than being stricken to strike againe for scholars must be followers of their master And yet wilt thou being stricken strike againe when thou art commanded rather to turne thy other cheeke But perhaps thou thinkest that if thou strike him thou hast giuen him cause to feare to strike againe yea thou hast prouoked him the rather to strike again for wrath is not pacified by wrath but more inflamed and an iniurie receiued by reuenge is not taken away but increased For what end can there be of mutuall iniuries if euery man proceed in the reuenge of his owne wrongs Enmitie on both sides increaseth hatreds grow strong reuenge more bloody If therefore he haue wronged thee haue recourse to thy superiours take a lawfull course against him by which meanes thou shalt right thy selfe better and hurt him more If hee haue iustly stricken thee be angry with thy own fault not with him because he persecuteth not thy selfe but thy sinne It is lighted vpon thee for thy owne correction Thou hast sinned but thou hast not yet receiued worthie punishment for thy sinne but thou art lesse hurt than thou deseruest and the reuenge is farre inferiour to thy sault the punishment comes farre short of thy desert It was his purpose perhaps to punish thy sinne it is thy part thankfully to accept of this discipline If thy conscience tell thee thou deseruest as much as he gaue thee why doest thou adde sinne vnto sinne by thy impatiencie Forgiue him therefore lest thou forgiue not thy self for hee could not persecute thee if hee were not permitted by the Lord either to punish some sin that is in thee or thereby to double thy ioy in that being wicked thou art corrected being good exerciseth If a childe had discretion hee would not hate the rod which his mother takes into her hand for his amendment But suppose thy enemie do offend thee vniustly perhaps thou hast as vniustly offended him and yet hee hath taken no indirect course to bee reuenged vpon thee but with patience hath borne thy wrongs or perhaps though he now wrong thee yet in former times hee hath pleasured thee as much and if so it is the part of an ingratefull minde by remembring one wrong to forget many benefits But let vs yeeld vnto thee that thou didst neuer offend him and that thou neuer receiuedst any benefit at his hands yet it is an vnworthy thing to make thy selfe more wicked by reuenging another mans wickednesse and to commit a new sinne by punishing another mans iniquitie Hee hath offended thee but yet such are his offences as they no way equall those for which thou beggest forgiuenesse at Gods hands As often as hee offendeth thee so often doth hee minister occasion to thee of the remission of thy sinnes at Gods hands if thou remit his Whereas if all men were perfect how couldest thou suffer any thing for Gods cause Many times it falleth out that thine enemie doth thee more good than thy friend for he whilest he accuseth thee of thy faults compelleth thee to flie from them ministreth vnto thee matter of patience and occasion to humble thy thoughts touching thy selfe whereas thy friend by flattering thee cheereth thee vp in thy infirmities prouoketh thee to iterate thy sinnes and whilest thou hearest thy selfe commended by him he is an occasion either of vaine glorie or error But perhaps thou wilt say that thy enemy is not worthy to be forgiuen Res Yea my deare brother is not thine enemy worthy to bee forgiuen and is there any worth in thee why God should pardon thee those manifold transgressions committed against him What wert thou when he laid down his life for thee wert thou not his enemie What hadst thou deserued at his hands that he should pardon thee The Creatour forgiueth his creature and shall not one creature forgiue another one sinner another sinner If God as often as thou hast offended him should as often haue reuenged himself vpon thee and entred into a strict examination of thy sinnes thou haddest long since perished and beene damned in hell With how great loue doth the Lord tolerate thee euerie day iterating thy old sinnes â— With how great mercy yea being grieuously offended doth he receiue him that repenteth him of his sinnes and turnes vnto him With how great liberalitie though thou euery day offend doth hee euery day suffer thee to inioy his benefits O euill seruant the Lord forgaue thee all thy debt Matth. 18.32 because thou praiedst him oughtest not thou also to haue pitie on thy fellowes euen as he had pitie on thee If therefore thine enemy be vnworthy to be forgiuen and that thou do good for ill yet there is worth enough in Christ that for his sake thou shouldest doe it with whom thou hast deserued to bee thus punished howsoeuer thou hast not deserued of thine enemie to be thus afflicted The good are scourged by God the Iudge of all by the ministerie and helpe of wicked men whom hee vseth as his torturers and the executioners of his iustice and as a louing father after the chasticement of his childe casteth the rod into the fire so our God the father of vs all those wicked that he vseth in this world for the chastisement of his children when hee hath finished his work he casteth into hell fire and reuengeth himselfe vpon them for the reuenge they haue done vpon his children according to that hee hath premised Rom. 12. Vengeance is mine and I will repay Hath not God sufficiently reuenged thy wrong vpon thy enemie in that for thy cause hee hath withdrawne from him his grace In that hee hath powred forth his wrath vpon him and condemned him to eternall punishment which deseruedly he inflicteth vpon him if without repentance hee depart out of this life And therefore thou hast not so much reason to be angrie with him as to bee mooued with compassion towards him Howsoeuer thine enemie rage against thee better is thy iust sorrow in bearing thy wrong than his vniust ioy in offering it Leaue therefore reuenge vnto God whose it is and when he hath reuenged thy quarrell sufficiently let not thy cruelty euer wound thine enemy and persecute him The seruant is not aboue his lord nor the disciple aboue his master nor man aboue God Thy fellow seruant thy condisciple thy brother the lord in his iustice hath corrected and murmurest thou that art in the same condemnation and contentest thou not thy selfe with his sentence but still thinkest the law is in thy owne hands and thou maiest bee Iudge in thy owne cause Perhaps by
consider how great ioies are promised vnto thee in heauen how great torments are prepared for thee in hell which that thou maiest auoid and attaine the ioies of heauen see how easie a thing it is that is required of thee in this world that is Psal 51.4 onely with a contrite heart and an assured faith in the merits of Christ Iesus to cry out against thee Psal 32.5 O Lord against thee onely haue I sinned and done euill in thy sight I will confesse against my selfe my wickednesse Which if from thy hart thou vtter vnto God he will remit thy sinnes and will remember thy iniquities no more yea before thy mouth can vtter this confession thou shalt feele in thy hart thy remission and with ioy comfort thou shalt assure thy selfe thy sinnes are forgiuen thee God requireth this confession out of a pure heart to no other end but to forgiue The mercy of our redeemer hath tempered the seueritie of the old law wherein it is often written Exod. 19. Hee that doth this or that shall be stoned to death But our Creator who hath turned the rigour of the law into mercy hath appeared in our flesh Leuit. 20. and hath promised mercy not death to as many as shall truely repent and confesse their sinnes O wonderfull compensation strange vicissitude of things That a man should reueale those sinnes vnto God that were neuer hidden from him and yet for so poore a seruice receiue so vnspeakeable a reward as remission of sinnes The prophet Dauid hauing committed that heinous and blooddy sinne against Vriah had no sooner cried out vnto the Lord I haue sinned but presently hee receiued comfort The Lord hath remooued thy sinne from thee The prodigall sonne Luke 15. who departing from his father spent his substance with riotous liuing did only say Father I haue sinned against heauen and before thee and presently his father running out to meet him kissed him O short speech I haue sinned three words that shut the mouth of hell and open the gate of Paradise O pity ô clemency ô the vnspeakable mercie of our God who in many things is grieuously offended and with one word of repentance is presently pleased forgiueth all our sinnes and openeth his bosom of mercy vnto vs There is no offence so grieuous but by repentance it may be pardoned and the Lord knoweth not how to denie him that with an humble contrite heart falleth downe before him for he that before this humble confession was the God of reuenge becommeth afterwards the Father of mercie and of a seuere Iudge hee is made a pitifull Father It changeth the sentence of his diuine iustice and openeth to the bottomlesse depth of thy miserie the bottombles depth of his mercies to the fountaine of thy iniquitie the fountaine of his goodnesse It giueth vnto thee to whom neither the heauens nor the earth are secure refuge and securitie in the bowels of Christ Iesus Christ hath opened his side vnto thee doe thou likewise open thy mouth vnto him and say Loe I will not refraine my lips ô Lord thou knowest And therefore my deare brother why fearest thou to confesse thy sins vnto God since by not confessing thou canst not hide them By confessing thou shalt make God propitious vnto thee whom by denying thy sinnes thou canst not make ignorant of them In his iudgement hee will spare thee if in thy confession thou spare not thy self If we acknowledge our sins 1. Ioh. 1.9 hee is faithfull and iust to forgiue vs our sins and to clense vs from all vnrighteousnesse CHAP. II. That nothing is hidden from God and that at the day of iudgement the secrets of all hearts shall bee reuealed THou slaue of sin whither fliest thou Thou carriest with thee thy selfe whither soeuer thou fliest Thine own conscience flies thee not it hath no place to flie vnto It followeth thee it departs not from thee The sinnes it hath committed are within which do miserably afflict it and whilest the gnawing worme dies not in it euen in this life it feeles the torments of hell The corruption that is in an vlcer greeues not being cast out and sin tormenteth not when by confession it is detected But thou thinkest otherwise and so long as thy sins are secret vnto thy selfe all is well But thou must vnderstand that howsoeuer men are ignorant of thē yet from God they cannot be hid Men look vpon the outside God searcheth the hart God seeth not as man seeth man lookes vpon the face God vpon the heart There is no creature inuisible to his eies but all things are naked and open vnto him He seeth he beholdeth all things neither is there any place hidden from his omnipotencie To him all hearts lie open all wils speake and hee pierceth into the depth of euery mans thoughts he inquireth more exactly into them than the heart it self knoweth them more inwardly And therfore there can bee no place to lying none to dissimulation and it profiteth nothing to include thine own sinnes within thine owne conscience for thy inward parts lie open vnto God and as thy eares are to thy voice so the eares of God are to thy thoughts Canst thou then thinke thy selfe hid from God since the secrets of thy heart lie open vnto him Canst thou thinke hee sees thee not committing vncleannesse that saw thy first thought when thou wentest about it He knowes all things before they are and canst thou thinke he knowes them not when they are Before thou diddest commit these sinnes hee knew them when thou diddest commit them hee was present and canst thou think if thou confesse them not he can be ignorant of them Yea by how much the more thou refusest to confesse thy sinnes by so much the more doest thou lay them open before God Thou hidest not thy selfe from the Lord but the Lord from thee for thou takest a course not to see him that seeth all things not that hee should see thee Thou canst not see him but yet inuisibly hee seeth all that thou doest Doest thou thinke thy sinnes are not seene by him because they are not punished by him Yea hee is so much the more angrie with thee because hee vouchsafeth not euen now to bee angrie with thee Now is the begining of thy damnation because thou abusest the patience and long sufferance of so good and mercifull a God For the Lord hath seene thy sinnes not that he might approoue them but condemne them not to fauour them but to punish them not that hee might alwaies suffer and attend but at the last punish thee with a more heauie reuenge For doest thou thinke that God is like vnto thee That he seeth thy sinnes and will let them passe vnpunished Indeed he were like vnto thy selfe if he would do so but assure thy selfe he doth but deferre the punishment he taketh it not away Thou on the other fide wilt not only not punish them but
castest them behind thy backe lest thou shouldest see them And as a man with a deformed countenance refuseth to look in a glasse lest he should loath himselfe so doest thou turne thine eies from thine ownesinnes lest thou shouldest grow sad with the sight of their pollution and so because thou seest them not thou thinkest that God is blinde too But thou art deceiued my deare brother and much deceiued for God searcheth the very hidden secrets of thy heart and hee knoweth not only thine outward actions but thine inward intentions that God that thou hast now a witnes of thy sinnes thou shalt haue one day a reuenger of them He is a Iudge a iust Iudge and a reuenger of iniquitie How then shall he iudge vniustly Hee hath held his peace shall hee euer hold his peace Hee hath beene silent because he hath proroged his mercy because he hath not presently punished thy sins but hee hath dissembled thy iniquities and giuen a time of repentance but will hee euer bee silent No hee will call thee to an account and in a time of vengeance hee will destroy thee The day will come yea it will come and not stay when with angels and archangels and thrones and dominations and with all the host of heauen the great Iudge will appeare 1. Cor. 4.5 the heauens and earth being on fire and all the elements armed for their Creator against his creatures Then will the Lord lighten things that are hid in darkenesse and make the counsels of the hearts manifest and euery mans actions words and thoughts shall be layd open mens hearts shal speak their tongues shall be silent In that fearefull day shall all the pollutions of sinnes bee discouered in the sight of the whole world Esai 47.3 Then shall thy filthinesse be discouered and thy shame shal be seene of all the angels good and euill of all men elect and reprobates The day will come wherein thy whole life shall bee set downe as in a table and thou shalt stand before the tribunall seat of God where it shal appeare vnto all how thou hast liued Thou shalt carrie the booke of thine own condemnation and shalt shew it open to all the world Consider therefore thine end and in what maner thou shalt stand before so seuere a iudge to whom nothing is hid frō whom thou canst hide nothing by holding thy peace and whom thou canst not deceiue by denying who is not pleased with gifts and taketh no excuses but what is iust that he iudgeth There it shal be impossible to be hid intollerable to appeere Then as a straight Iudge hee shall require what as a kinde and louing father he now commandeth as masters teach children the first elements of their learning with flatterie but if they profit not vse the rodde Now the admonitions of God calling vs are pleasing and flattering but then the iustice of him that iudgeth iustly shall bee strait seuere By how much the more gentle he hath bin dissembling thy sins the more patient in expecting thy cōuersion the more ready to cōfer his grace vpon thee by so much the more cruell will he be in his chasticement the more hard to heare and the more implacable to punish What terrour doest thou thinke there shall then bee when without thou shalt see a seuere Iudge within before thine eies thine owne sinnes What feare when there shall be no remedy in punishment What astonishment to see him angrie whom the mind of man can not conceiue be-being milde and mercifull What confusion when by reason of the guilt of thy owne conscience thou shalt blush and be ashamed in the presence of men and angels Thou art ashamed to see the secret parts both of the soule and bodie much more to see those of another man how much then wilt thou be ashamed that thine owne should be seene of all A modest and chaste matron would blush though shee were neuer so beautifull if to her shame she should be stript naked before as many as can behold her much more if she were deformed in her bodie but most of all if besides all this all the infirmities and corruptions of her heart should bee laid open Heereby gather what thy shame shall be when be-before all men and angels thou shalt appeere naked of good works nay ouerladen with many grieuous and enormous sinnes euen horrible to thy selfe If a man should now aske thee whether in the sinne of pride or auarice or luxurie or any other sin thou be the seruant of the diuell though it be so yet thou wilt blush to confesse it how much more wilt thou bee ashamed at the day of iudgement when thy works shall prooue thee a slaue to the diuell It wil happen vnto thee as to children who being asked of their parents denie their offence and therefore are more grieuously punished for their lie than for their offence and so being compelled with stripes they confesse the trueth whereas if at the first they had confessed and craued pardon they had escaped the rodde Wherfore deare brother set before thine eies thy fearfull Iudge feare hee is coming that when hee is come thou be secure and not fearefull to appeare before him For as here vpon earth when two shall stand before a Iudge the one fearefull by reason of his guiltie conscience the other secure by reason of his innocencie the one to be punished the other rewarded so in that fearefull day the elect and reprobate shall both stand before their Iudge but not both after one maner because hee shall bee a milde and a mercifull God vnto the iust a God of vengeance vnto the wicked they shall receiue the reward of eternall blessednesse these cast out from the presence of God to eternall torment in hel fire Feare therefore now lest thou feare then and let his feare prouoke thee to confesse thy sinne and banish the feare of men By so much the more secure shalt thou be in his presence by how much the more carefull thou art here of thy conscience Look therefore now vpon the foulnesse of thy soule that thou maiest amend it lest heereafter thou see it and be ashamed of it Ascend into the tribunall of thy own soul and set thy selfe before thy selfe bee thine owne impartiall Iudge And so in this iudgement let thine own thoughts be thy accusers and thy conscience thy witnesse Let the feare of God vrge this iudgement reason iudge and repentane mortifie thee For if in the world to come thou wilt flie the iudgement of God in this present world iudge thy selfe for if thou iudge thy selfe thou shalt not bee iudged of God If thou wilt flie from the anger of God flie vnto his mercie by confessing thy sinnes not by concealing thē Thou maiest confesse hide thou canst not Begin therefore with an humble confession of thy sins to enter into the mercy of God and to the end thou maiest be iustified bee thine owne accuser For God is
interposest the barre and partition wall of thy sinnes betwixt God and thee for as a wall makes a separation betwixt the eie and the light so sinne betwixt God and man And as the life of the body is the soule so the life of the soule is God and as the bodie dies if the soule forsake it so the soule dies if God forsake it as the outward death separateth the soule from the bodie so the inward death the soule from God O how great a wretchednesse is it to bee farre from him that is euery where and to bee without him without whom no man can be in safetie And yet he alwayes departed vnwillingly from man and by his will forsaketh no man He is neuer absent if not first expeld whom whilest by sinne thou shuttest out of doores thou excludest thy selfe from thy own saluation but God thou harmest not As if from the root of the vine I am the vine Iohn 15. you the branches sayth the Lord a branch bee not plucked it beareth much fruit and receiueth nourishment from the root which if it be plucked from the vine hurts not the vine because the vine ministreth vitall nourishment to the branches not they to the vine so to those that are in Christ Iesus and Christ in them many gists and graces flow from him which are beneficiall vnto Christians not to Christ One branch being plucked from the vine another springeth from the root thereof but that which is pluckt can not liue without a root but withereth and is gathered vp and cast into the fire And as he that turneth his eyes from the light hurts not the light but himselfe in changing darknesse for light so whilest thou refusest to stick vnto God who is the light of thy soule thou fallest into blindnesse and darkenesse not of thy eyes but of thy maners not of thy outward eyes wherewith thou discernest white from blacke but of thy inward wherewith thou shouldest iudge of that which is iust and vniust For as in that place that is not lightned by the beames of the sunne the motes are not discerned so thou that art fallen from the grace of Gods diuine illumination committest manie things that are sinnes and yet perceiuest it not wheras they that are inlightned with the sunne of righteousnesse doe both diligentlie prie into them and straitly reprehend them Thou that art fallen from the inward grace of Gods diuine illumination but yet not altogether so long as thou art in this life into the inward darknesse blindnesse of thy minde if thou persist in this thy blindnesse to the end and neglectest the receiuing of the grace of his illumination from the Sunne of righteousnesse at the last thou fallest into vtter darknesse and a night of eternall damnation being far remooued from him that dwelleth in that light that is inaccessible Moreouer whils by sinne thou departest from God who is all good onely good without whom nothing is good thou no way damnifiest God who hath no need of thee or thine but being depriued of thy chiefe and greatest good thou fallest into the greatest miseries that may be And this let me tell thee that though of thy selfe and by thy owne will thou haddest power to fall from good to euill yet of thy selfe and by thy onely will thou hast not power to arise from euill to good thou art fallen by thine owne will into the pit of sinne but yet at thine owne will and pleasure thou canst not be freed from thence For the wound is not so easily cured as giuen and no man can so easily get out of the pit as fall into it But as he can hardly get out except some one or other let downe a line vnto him which he taking hold of may dragge him out so except the grace of God descend vpon thee thou canst neuer get out of the pit of sinne but yet thou must know that this grace of God is alwaies ready to help thee and to draw thee foorth of the pit doe thou only take hold of the mercy of God when it is offered and applie thy will vnto his will and all shall be well It is not therefore in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercy who like a carefull nurse directeth and beareth vp her little infant vntill it bee able to goe of it selfe So the Lord who can denie himselfe to none in the beginning of our conuersion beareth with our infirmities and annointeth our wounds with the oile of his mercy lest the danger of our disease and the difficultie of the cure should any way terrifie or amaze vs. And this he doth foure maner of wais For to a man that by repentance turneth vnto him but yet by long custome is entangled in his sinnes sometimes out of his mercie hee sendeth tribulations which possesse the minde of him that repenteth and expell that delight of sin that stealeth vpon him Sometimes he taketh away the opportunitie of falling and suffereth not the weaknesse of a man to bee tempted Sometimes hee giueth strength to resist temptations which manfully resisting he may feele but not yeeld vnto Somtimes he cureth the affections that he doeth not onely not consent but not feel the power therof But to a sinner that neglecteth the grace of God and refuseth to follow the good inspiratiōs of his spirit he giueth not his grace in so great a measure but yet so long as he liueth he doeth not altogether withdraw it but he standeth and knocketh at the doore of his conscience to awakē his drowsy wil dead desires But yet many times he withdraweth some speciall helpes heereunto as infirmities of the body losse of temporall goods the like which are meanes to draw a miserable sinner to repentance For many times hee giueth temporal blessings out of his anger which out of loue hee would not haue giuen and permitteth a sinner to doe that which he should not so much as intertaine into his thought As a Physitian that hath vsed all the Art hee can to cure a disease so soone as he seeth his patient to refuse that Physicke he ministreth vnto him he leaueth him to himselfe as a man that refuseth to liue and because hee despaireth of his health he giueth him leaue to take whatsoeuer hee desireth So God in his iust iudgement suffereth a sinner to be giuen ouer according to the desires and lusts of his owne heart to a reprobate sense as into the hands of a cruell master to doe those things that are not sit Not because God inclineth his affections vnto euill but because hee withdraweth his grace whereby man should bee conuerted Yea and hee sometime permitteth a man to doe wickedly and yet to liue happily not exercising his furie vpon him nor reuenging his sinne with any temporall punishment but reserueth him to eternall damnation than which nothing can be worse for then is the anger of God greatest when hee sheweth not himselfe to bee
angrie with a sinner Againe sometimes the Lord punisheth some things to the end that a sinner yet liuing might learne to flie from future vengeance somethings hee leaueth vnreuenged to the end he may know there remaineth yet a farther iudgement for him Sometimes hee beginneth that punishment heere in this life which hee endeth after this life with eternall damnation For if God should neere reuenge himselfe of all his wrongs to what end should wee looke for the last iudgement By that which hath beene spoken thou maiest gather deare brother that God hateth thee not but before hee forsaketh thee thou hast forsaken him neither is the fault in him that by repentance thou turnest not vnto him but in the obstinacie of thine owne will who refusest to heare his voice or obey his diuine inspirations The Sun shineth vpon the window only doe thou open it and it will enter in Accuse not therefore God but thy selfe for in God who is iust in all his wayes and holy in all his works there is nothing to be reprehended or condemned For as if by reason of the weaknesse of thy body thou art not able to goe another should lend thee his hand to lift thee vp and to hold thee whilest thou walkest thou refusest his helpe and haddest rather lie vpon the ground than be holpon by him the fault is not his but thine if thou rise not euen so the Lord of his owne accord offereth himselfe vnto thee and is alwayes readie to helpe thee beare the burthen of thy sinnes and to direct thy steps into the right way doe thou only apply thy will vnto his will and be willing to receiue that grace and fauour which he offereth vnto thee CHAP. II. A sinner how he falleth from one sinne into another and so is hardned in his sinnes AFter that the God of patience long sufferance hath a long time expected the conuerfion of thee a sinner hee giueth to thee not conuerting but contemning his patience greater stumbling blockes to fall for whilest thou art earelesse to redeeme thy lesser sinnes by little and little thou fallest lower and lower and being insensibly seduced by vse custome thou growest bolde to commit greater sinnes When the tongue hath once liberty to vtter idle speeches it shortly after growes bolde to vtter any wickednesse and whilest thou art giuen to gluttonie thou fallest into drunkennesse yea madnesse it selfe for as for the most part it falleth out that one disease ingendereth another and that hee that is ouerladen with a great burthen doth easily fall so the burthen of sinne which by repentance is not speedily shaken off with the burthen thereof presseth a man to other sinnes and one sinne is the cause of another and the latter a punishment to the first as a righteous man ascendeth from one virtue to another and from one good worke taketh occasion to do another One sinne may be the cause of another three maner of wayes sometimes by reason of the finall cause as murther is committed for couetousnesse sometimes by reason of the materiall cause as when by superfluity of diet gluttony ingendreth luxurie vaine glorie whilest it seeketh the glory of a vaine name lest another should attaine vnto it ingendreth enuie sometimes by reason of an inueterat custom as when the custome of one sinne induceth a man to another By these three meanes a sinner falling from sinne to sinne at the last runneth himselfe into the bottomlesse pit of all sin and God in his iust iudgement hardeneth his heart in such a maner that he that by repentance would not clense his sinne heapeth vp sinne vpon sinne and wallowing in his owne filth groweth more filthy Sinne that by repentance is not taken away is both a sinne and the cause of another sin because thereby the mind of a sinner is farther ingaged but that sinne that ariseth out of another sinne is both a sinne and the punishment of a former sin and sometimes the cause of a following sinne too So that in this life sinnes are reuenged by sinnes and the punishment of sinnes are not torments but increase of sinnes the facilitie likewise of committing sinne is made the punishment of precedent sinnes of all which the last punishment is the fire of hell Neuerthelesse a sinner being hardned in his sinnes by reason of his insensible hardnes knowes not himselfe to bee punished heereby vntill against his will hee feele by a manifest punishment how great that sinne is which hee willingly committed Psal 69.27 And therefore saith the Psalmist Lay iniquity vpon their iniquity and let them not come into thy righteousnesse And the Prophet Hosea Hosea 4.2 By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and whoring they breake out and blood toucheth blood Blood toucheth blood when sinne is added vnto sinne the soule by multiplying of sinnes is wounded before the eyes of God and made a burthen vnto it selfe How strait are thy iudgements O Lord How great a punishment of sinne is the multiplying of sins Farre greater doubtles than any temporall punishment nay than hell it selfe The will which first turneth from God is the first beginning of sinne by sinne the grace of God is neglected by which neglect man is continued in sinne by continuance he is confirmed and by confirmation hardened therein And so being fallen into the depth of sinne hee doth not only grow carelesse in the desire of Gods assistance to rise againe but hee likewise resisteth his diuine inspirations that hee may continue in his sinnes God on the other side resisting him freeth him not from his sin but withdraweth frō him many his gifts of grace suffereth him to fall into greater sins and somtimes inflicteth vpon him temporall punishments and at the last eternal Whereby we may not gather that God who loueth righteousnesse and hateth iniquitie compelleth a sinner to sinne but onely permitteth him to continue in his sinnes For from whom hee withdraweth certaine of his graces for sinnes past to him not willing to repent he yeeldeth not the grace of iustification the effect of which grace being the mollifying of the heart that being withdrawne there must necessarily follow hardnesse of heart as the Lord speaketh of Pharo Exod. 4. I will harden his heart The Lord hardneth not the heart of a sinner but as hee that taketh awaie the prop of an house is said to plucke it downe so God is said to harden a sinner because hee freeth him not from it God hardeneth not by imparting malice or that any thing can come from him whereby a man is made the woorse but onely by not imparting mercy and that nothing comes from him whereby a man is made the better Hee hath mercie on whom hee will haue mercie and though he harden yet he is still iust whilest he permitteth the reprobate heart of a sinner voide of pietie ignorant of compunction free from the dew of all spirituall graces to perseuere in hardnesse and not to be mollified
be Lord ouer all and hath care of all prouiding for all and euery particular person and gouerning al by his prouidence yet so maiest thou see him wholly imploied to the custodie and preseruation of thy selfe if thou stand vpon thy owne guard and apply thy wil vnto his will as if hee entended onely thy selfe and nothing els Onely doe thou depart from euill and doe good repent thee of al thy sinnes that thou hast committed and keepe the commandements of God and thou shalt liue and not die for it is not the will of God thou shouldest die but that thou return from thy wicked waies and liue Contemne not the treasures of the goodnesse and patience of God for the will of God prouoketh thee to repentance and inuiteth thee to amendement of life but thy hardnesse whereby thou obstinately perseuerest in thy sinnes increaseth the seuerity of thy iudgement to the end thou maiest receiue the due reward of thy sinnes Forasmuch therefore as thou art wicked and hast so good a father continue not alwaies wicked lest with Pharaâ— if thou persist in thy obduration thou purchase to thy selfe eternall damnation CHAP. III. That there is no man so great a sinner but by the power of the Creatour he may be conuerted BVT perhaps thou wilt say I haue beene so long accustomed to sinne that I can hardly change my life and turne from mine iniqui-quities According to that in the 22. of the Prou. Teach a child in the trade of his way and when hee is old hee shall not depart from it And in the 13. of Ieremiah Can the blank-more change his skin or the leopard his spots that may yee also doe that are accustomed to doe euill Res I confesse deare brother that it is a hard thing to make him that is old in euill daies yoong in good because the custome of sinning doth so enthrall the minde that it can hardly be set at libertie neuerthelesse faint not nor despaire at all if thou be either ouercome by the concupiscence of thy flesh or deceiued by errour or slipt into the way of iniquitie because there is no impossibilitie but that thou maiest bee reduced into the right waie and freed from thy sinne There haue beene many other grieuous offenders who by the right hand of the most high haue beene changed in their old age from the sinnes of their youth and of the seruants and slaues of sin haue beene made the sonnes of God Of drunkards they haue beene made sober men of cruell mercifull of oppressors liberall of proud humble of incontinent chaste of negligent diligent and whom the concupiscence of the flesh hath made base and vile the grace of God hath made beautifull In as much that they haue been willing to suffer wrong that were wont to offer it to giue their owne that were woont to take away other mens to punish their bodies by abstinence that were woont to pamper them to loue their persecuters that were wont to hate those that loued them Nabuchadnezzar after his great fall from a man to a beast Dan. 4. came to himselfe after innumerable afflictions repented and was restored to that kingdome which he had lost Mary Magdalen after many slips of humane fragilitie by true repentance was so kindled with the loue of Christ that of a proud and vnchaste harlot she was suddenly changed into an humble and chaste matron Matthew of a Publican became an Euangelist and the theefe of a wicked transgressor a true conuertite an inheritor of the kingdom of heauen wheÌ„ Stephen by the consent assistance of Paul was stoned Stephen was good and Paul wicked yet Paul became a more zealous preacher of the Gospell than Stephen and afterwards hee was made the Apostle of the Gentiles and he that before was a blasphemer and a persecuter was made a zealous and humble furtherer of the Gospell of Christ Iesus The beginnings amongst Christians are not looked into but the end these beganne ill but ended well The beginning of Iudas was commendable the end damnable from his Apostleship hee fell into hell the theefe from the crosse ascended into paradise What need I say more The Holy Ghost doth not onely set down the good deeds of the saints of God but their euill too that the fall of the iust may be the hope of the wicked and when thou readest that a righteous man sinned and repented thou mayest not despaire of thine owne saluation Wee often times see men spotted with infamie rise to honor and dignitie and iron eaten with rust recouer his ancient brightnesse gold and siluer purified with the fire and trees cut and lopped adorned with boughs leaues The merchant after his losses at sea returnes to sea againe and repaires his losses he despaireth not hee is not cast down but many times made rich by his new aduentures After a desperate sicknesse many recouer health and after desperate sinnes many recouer the health of their soules That in the Prouerbs Teach a childe in the trade of his way c. is therefore spoken because a vessel doth a long time keep the sent and relish of that liquor that is first put into it and by nature we keepe those things best which we haue learned in our yonger yeers not that it alwayes falleth out so but for the most part whilest the age of a man is vnsetled and the minde easily led it is a happy thing to be led vnto the best to the studie of virtue lest being stricken in yeeres hee hardly shake off those sinnes which hee gaue himselfe vnto in his youth An Ethiopian can hardly change his skinne nor alâ—â—pard his spots neither canst thou that of thy selfe art fallen into sinne of thy selfe rise again except God who raiseth the needie out of the dust Psa 113.7 and lifteth vp the poore out of the mire put forth his right hand to helpe thee by which his helpe thou shalt be able to doe any thing but yet not thou but the grace of God which is in thee For how should he want power to raise thee being fallen that was able of nothing to create all things With him all things are possible that with men are impossible his power is no lesse than his will if hee will hee can make thee cleane who as hee clenseth and healeth so he saueth with his onely word If thou despaire of thy disease presume of the omnipotencie of thy Physitian the power of thy Physitian is greater than thy disease is dangerous the danger of thy disease thou seest but the power of thy Physitian thou seest not his power to conuert thy will vnto God is greater than thy inueterate custome of sinning to inthrall thee to sinne If the diuell were able to plucke thee downe from the highest step of virtue to the nethermost depth of all sinne iniquitie how much more is God able to raise thee to thy former height and perfection and not onely restore thee to
that I had beene of all the shepheards in the field the basest and had had the charge but onely of my selfe for then would not the Lord require at my hands the souls of those my subiects whose saluation I haue neglected O my riches my honours my delights yee cannot free me from death from stench from worms from rottennes yee cannot plucke me out of the hands of the liuing God O death dost thou oppresse mee vnawares How bitter vnto me is the remembrance of thee how fearefull is thy presence Whereas if liuing and in health I had foreseene thee and by liuing well had learnt to die well I had not now feared thee Blessed art thou Arsenus who alwaies haddest this houre before thine eies Three things there are which I now greatly feare First when my soule shall depart out of the prison of this my bodie into a place which it knoweth not Secondly when it is to appeare before the Iudge and to bee presented before his tribunall seat Thirdly when it is to heare that irreuocable sentence either with it or against it But thou my Lord and Sauior Christ Iesus whose propertie it is alwaies to haue mercy and to forgiue who hast said That at what time soeuer a sinner repenteth him of his sinne thou wilt put out all his wickednesse out of thy remembrance though I haue contemned those times of repentance that thou hast affoorded me of all other men haue most offended thee am altogether vnwoorthy to be called thy sonne yet mindefull of thy mercies which haue beene from the beginning giue mee thy assistance to escape this death some small time to my wished repentance Adde some few yeeres to my life some moneths or at least some daies Giue mee leaue a little that I may lament my sinnes and call to minde my forepassed yeeres in the bitternesse of mine owne soule because if I die in this state I am now in my end must needs be eternall damnation But if out of thy meere mercy goodnesse thou shalt pardon mee I will be bold with thy gracious assistance to promiseamendement of life onely in this state let not my soule die lest it bee buried in the bottomlesse pit of hell Now heare how the malignant spirits laugh at thy miseries and with one voice say vnto thee Behold the man that took not God for his strength Psa 52.7 but trusted to the multitude of his riches put his strength in his malice Let vs sing to this miserable caitife a dirge of death because hee is the sonne of death and his mear is vnquenchable fire he is an enemie of the light and a friend of darknesse He hath laboured for vs hath alwaies bound himselfe vnto vs hath gotten vs many followers let vs therefore pay him the due hire of al his labors But what other reward haue we to bestow vpon him but that eternal vnquenchable fire which is prepared for vs and our consorts He is ours because hee was apprehended in our seruice full of sinne and iniquitie Why doe wee staie Why stand wee heere idle Come let vs binde him hand and foot cast him into vtter darknesse where shall bee weping gnashing of teeth Come let vs preferre him to plagues and punishment enough and neuer bee there peace with him For what other end doe we staie but to see his wretched soule seperated from his body that passing out we may receiue it and together draw it to the bottomlesse pit of hell there to remain in vnspeakable torment for euer and euer Now heare how in thy discomforts they comfort thee O wretched poore and miserable man since those pleasures which thou hast folowed in thy whole life haue forsaken thee not thou them since vnwillingly for feare of punishment thou turnest vnto God fearest any longer to serue the world which thou wouldest not doe if yet thou haddest any hope to liue any longer Euery man hath his time appointed to die and this is thy time for thou shalt die and not liue Looke a little vpon the multitude of those sinnes which as yet thou hast neuer confessed vnto God which as yet haue neuer touched thy hart with the least contrition that may bee how dying canst thou for shame confesse them when liuing and in health thou wouldest neuer Looke vpon the small number of thy good works in respect of thy wicked and how mean a proportion thy good deeds carry to the infinite ioies of the elect Looke vpon the seuere iustice of a iust Iudge which requireth a strait account euen of an idle word In the whole race of thy life thou hast persecuted God and now thinkest thou that a momentarie repentance can winne him to mercie No no neuer doubt but that thou art surely ours for in our seruice thou wert apprehended day and night thou hast serued vs yeelded to our suggestions thou hast performed the works of darknesse gotten vs manie soules greatly enlarged our kingdome Come therefore come into that furnace of fire into a land of burning pitch and sulphure where we may giue thee the due reward for all thy labors make thy condition like ours for like lords like seruants O wretched creature that thou art why diddest thou yeeld to our perswasions See he ere the reward that thou hast for it and see the coÌ„pany that thou hast made châ—â—ce of with whom thou must for euer burne in hell fire O thou proudest amongst men Why art thou not now proud Why takest thou not from other men that is not thine owne Why reuengest thou not thy wrongs Why dost thou not giue thy selfe to gluttony drunkennesse Why art thou not sorrie for another mans felicitie Where is thy immoderate appetite to libidinous pleasures Where thy inordinate loue of riches Where are thy precious garments and ornaments where thy daintie fare thy plaies sportings Thy immoderate ioy how it is vanished whether is it departed from thee Luk 16. Remember that thou in thy life time receiuedst thy pleasure thou hast plaied enough thou hast eat and drunke enough there is no rest for thee after death no pleasure Thou art ours let God take thee out of our handes if hee can Come therefore come with vs into the land of miserie and darknesse where is no order but euerlasting horror where thou must remaine for euer and euer Now heare into what despaire of saluation thou fallest by these diuellish insultations saying Truce till to morrow ô truce till to morrow Now at the last I see that I can liue no longer that the last day of my life is come which cannot be past I would stay but I am compelled to goe The way of saluation is shut vp from mee mercie is denied me and all hope is taken away from me Now there is no time of repentance or changing my life for the diuels haue coÌ„passed me about frighting me with strange horrible apparations who as dogges watch a Hare when she is put foorth
sinnes but onely thy lesser heare what he sayth in the three and thirtieth of Ezekiel At what houre soeuer a sinner repenteth him of his sinnes from the bottome of his heart I will put out all his wickednes out of my remembrance Hee excepteth no maner of sinnes neither litle nor great for hee that died for all can pardon all only be thou sorrowfull and turne vnto God and he is ready to forget and to forgiue If thy sinnes are many and great the mercies of the Lord are more in number and greater than they God will bee mercifull vnto thee and according to the multitude and magnitude of his mercies will hee pardon the multitude and magnitude of thy sinnes Whereas thou obiectest vnto me that in the twelfth by S. Matthew Whosoeuer shall sinne against the Holie Ghost it shall not be forgiuen him c. I answer that it is true That the sinne against the Holy Ghost that is that committed out of malice against the goodnes and mercie of God which is properlie attributed to the Holie Ghost is therefore said to be irremissible because it directly oppugneth the goodnesse and mercy of God which is the beginning of the remission of sinnes and so that is excluded whereby sinne should be forgiuen as that disease is said to be incurable which directly taketh away the remedies of the cure This sinne is said to be irremissible not because it can not be forgiuen to him that repenteth but because hee that so sinneth doth either despaire or presume of the mercy of God and so addeth sinne vnto sinne and neuer repenteth and so being obstinate in his wickednesse as seldome or neuer he comes to repentance so seldome or neuer he obteineth remission of his sinnes But yet we are not to despaire of any sinner whatsoeuer so long as he liueth and the long sufferance of God expecteth him to repentance He is a Pagan or a lew to day may he not be a Christian to morrow He is an heretike to day may hee not be a true Professour to morrow He is a Schismatike to day may he not embrace the peace of the Church to morrow We are not therefore to despaire of any man so long as hee remaineth in this life because sometimes that repentance which by the diffidence of our age is deferred by more mature counsel is perfected Whilest we are in this life there is no sinne no iniquitie which may not bee healed by the medicine of repentance if it be pure and sincere What offence can be greater in a man that is sicke than to kâ—â— his Physitian and if this may be forgiuen what may not be pardoned Christ Iesus being fastened to the Crosse prayed for his crucifiers saying Luk. 23. Father forgiue them they know not what they do If there were hope of saluation in those that killed their Sauior who should despaire of saluatioÌ„ The Lord inuited Iudas that betraied him to repentance to beg mercy at his hands when hee forewarned him of his treason when hee washed his feete when hee called him friend when he tooke a kisse at 〈◊〉 hands If then our Sauior diâ— not onely forgiue his crucifers but prayd vnto his father for them if he inuited Iudas to repentance how much more will hee pardon thee if thou do repent thou that art an adorer of his Maiestie not his murtherer a lamenter of his death not a derider of his passion a contempler of his mercies not a contemner of his infirmities Wherfore my deare brother let neither the qualitie nor the quantity of thy sinnes discourage thee from the assurance of thy hope yea though thou wert guiltie of all the sinnes which haue beene committed since the beginning of the world yet â—hou oughtst not to despaire because the goodnes of God farre exceedeth the malice of man If thou couldest sinne as much as God is good thou mayest despaire but since that can not be thoâ— that despairest of thy selfe being wicked trust in God who is better than thy selfe Hast thou sinned repent thee of thy sinnes Hast thou sinned a thousand times repent a thousand times Repent for the kingdome of heauen is at hand GOD would neuer haue exhorted thee to repentance if his purpose were not to pardon thee if thou doe repent Betweene repentance and the kingdome of heauen there is no distance of time but repent thou of thy sinnes and instantly the gate of mercie is set wide open vnto thee Thy sinnes make a separation betweene thee and GOD which obstacles if by repentance thou take away thou shalt sticke vnto God and be one spirit with him Yeeld fruits woorthy repentance contraries redeeme with contraries and thou which before diddest that which was contrary to God doe now that which is opposite to the diuell CHAP. III. Examples of such as haue grienously sinned afterwards haue beene saued by repentance BVt thou wilt obiect that in the 7. by S. Matthew Mat. 7 1â— Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth vnto life and few there be that finde it And that in the 4. of the first by S. Peter If the righteous scarsely be saued where shall the vngodly and the sinner appeare Res It is true my deare brother that few find the way of life but what is the reason Doubtlesse because few there are that seeke it But euery one that seeketh findeth that asketh receiueth and to euery one that knocketh it shall be opened Who is he therefore that findeth it not who receiueth not or to whom is it not opened Certes only to him that seeketh not that asketh not that knocketh not The reason why the righteous shall hardly be saued is this because there is no man found worthy saluation by his own righteousnesse for God will not saue vs by the works of righteousnesse which wee haue done but according to his free mercie in Christ Iesus It is the worke of God not our endeuour that we are saued for that little of goodnesse that is in vs nay which God worketh in vs is nothing if it be compared to that eternall blessednesse in the life to come Heauen belongs to the righteous only by the rigor of Gods instice but to the end that all may be saued it belongeth vnto sinners also by the bountie of Gods grace Christ hath deserued Paradise for vs all and hath restored vnto vs by his death his fathers inheritance Luk. 14. Hee calleth vs to that heauenly banquet hee will haue his house filled with ghests yea hee compelleth the weake and the blinde and the lame to come in that it may appeare that no man is shut out from those celestâ—all and eternall ioyes the number of the saints of God being out of the number of sinners euer supplied But forasmuch as examples moue more than words there is hope that thou that hearkenest not vnto my words wilt be stirred vp by the examples of other men that when thou shalt see many that were sometimes entred