than any feind in hell because it made that so as fire is hotter then water that is heat It s extreamly ill nothing comes neare it I consider of sin here in the abstract so it s a greater ill than the damnation of a mans soule for when two ills fight together that which conquers must needs bee the greater now when a man hath lyen in hell ten thousand yeares he is as far from comming out as euer for the eternall duration in hell cannot expiate sinne It s most infectious It s compared to a Leprosie for The first sinne that peeped into the world stayned the beuty of it no sooner sinne was committed by Adam but the Stars seemed impure in Gods sight the beasts were at variance the earth full of brambles and all things cursed Secondly it sowred all naturall religions and ciuill actions Thirdly if a man in authority bee sinfull all vnder him will bee infected Sinne is most filthy compared to the most vile things that can be named to menstruous raggs the vomite of doggs c. Nay not any dirt or filthy thing can staine a Sun-beame But sinne staines a more glorieus creature which is the soule of man Sinne is of that hellish nature that it takes in to it selfe the wrath of God Sinne is full of cursed consequences Priuatiue Positiue Priuatiue losse of Gods fauour the blood of Christ the guard of Angels peace of conscience c. Positiue it brings all misery spirituall hardnesse of heart blindnesse of minde horror of conscience despaire c. with all temporall losses and crosses here and hereafter eternall torments of soule and body God is prouoked with it Each sinne is the onely obiect of Gods infinite hatred His loue is diuersified to himselfe his Sonne the Angels the creatures but his hatred is confined onely to sinne What infinite of infinites of hatred hast thou on thy soule with all thy sinnes when each sinne hath the infinite hatred of God vpon it Each sinne is against the Maiesty of that dreadfull Lord of Heauen and earth who can turne all things into hell nay heauen and hell into nothing by his word Now against this God thou sinnest and what art thou but dust and ashes a bagg of filth and flegme and all that 's naught And what is thy life but a span a bubble a dreame a shadow of a dreame And shall such a thing offend such a God Euery sinne strikes at the glory of Gods pure eye Sinne is that which killed his Sonne the least sinne could not bee pardoned but by Christs carrying his hearts blood to his Father and offering it for sinne Each sinne is an offence to all his mercies This aggrauated the sinne vpon Eli 1 Sam 2. 29 Dauid 2 Sam 12. 8. 9 c. Mercy is the most eminent attribute of God and therefore the sinne against it is the greater What therefore are our sinnes in the time of the Gospell Consider how thou art hurt by it for Each sinne kills thy soule which is better then the world Each sinne bring it neuer so much pleasure in the committing leaues a threefold sting Naturall Temporall Immortall Natural after worldly pleasure comes melancholy properly either because it lasted no longer or they had no more delight in it c. That as all waters end in the salt sea so all worldly ioyes are swallowed vp in sorrowes bottomlesse gulfe Temporall Ther 's labour in getting care in keeping sorrow in parting with wolrdly goods Immortall God will call thee to Iudgment for it Each sinne robbs thee of aboundance of comfort What a vast difference do we see in conquering sinne and being conquered by sinne as for instance in Ioseph and Dauid the one raised after his conquest to much honnour the other scarce enioyed one good day after hee was conquered but as Ezekias walked heauily in the bitternesse of his soule all his days As some Diuines haue said of Guliacius Spira the one is honor'd in Caluins Epistles for euer the other after his backsliding liued a while in exquisite horror and after dyed in despaire Thy owne conscience wil accuse thee one day for euery sinne though now it seemes hid to thee and thy conscience is more then a thowsand witnesses therefore thou wilt certainely be ouerthrowne For the sinnes which peraduenture thou liuest now in accountest but petty and veniall many poore soules are at this instant burning in hell for What misery and hurt then attends on thee for the same Get a strong reasoning in thy minde against sinne as first these three grand reasons The horror of hell Therefore Christians wrong themselues that will not vse this as a motiue the vnquenchable wrath of God shall feed vpon thy soule if thou committest this sinne The ioyes of heauen I shall dwell with God for euer if beleeuing I make conscience of euery sinne as an euidence and fruit of sauing faith And aboue all the glory of God if Gods glory and the damnation of our soules were in a ballance his glory should preponderate and preuaile while we preferre Gods glory aboue our owne saluation although we cannot seeke it but in and by our saluation as the meanes is subordinate to the end From euery line in Gods booke His attributes as 1 His Iustice 2 His mercy His Iustice to terrifie sinners Hâ—s Mercy to allure vs to him His Iudgements His Promises Thirdly from logical places See Rogers on meditations As 1 The definition 2 The division 2 The causes 3 The effects 5 The subiect 6 The adiunct 7 The comparison 8 The contrary Fourthly from places of Scripture From examples in Scripture How shall I do this and so sinne against God saith Ioseph From your former estate Ye were darkenesse but now yee are light c. From the end of all things Seeing all things must bee dissolued what manner of men ought wee to bee Fiftly from thy selfe Thy soule is immortall all the diuels in hel cannot kill it Thy body is fraile all helps cannot long vphold it Sixtly from Christ. Looke vpon him weeping nay bleeding on the crosse and saying this Sinne brought me from the bosome of my Father to dye for it Seuenthly from the incomprehensible excellency of God against whom thou sinnest Get a sinceere opposition in thy life of sin Helpes thereto When any bait of Sathan or old companions would allure thee to sinne take this dilemma Either I must repent and then it will bring more sorrow than the pleasure did good or not repent and then it 's the damnation of my soule Consider thy madnesse which layest most desperately in one scale of the ballance heauen the fauor of God the blood of Christ and thine owne soule in the other a little dung pelfe base lust c. And lettest this ouersway which bringeth rottennesse to thy bones perhaps losse of thy good name c. And that thou maist yet be further armed to with stand the assaults
them for which purpose take these three helps First keepe the eye of thy naturall conscience cleare Secondly bee acquainted with all the wayes thou canst possible to anatomize thy sinne Thirdly take notice of the guilt of originall sinne because a Christian may haue his heart locked vp more at one time then at an other For the first of which viz the keeping of the eye of the naturall conscience cleare obserue First the Rules of the heathen that neuer did know Christ. Secondly the indowments of the Heathen Thirdly the common notions of nature which were in the Heathen For the first viz The rules of the Heathen that neuer did knowe Christ as instance in Lying besides the word of God which banisheth it from Heauen by the light of naturall reason Aristotle saith A lye is euill in it selfe and cannot bee dispensed withall and the reason of it is this we haue a tongue giuen vs to expresse the truth now if our tongue tell more or lesse then our mind conceiues it is against nature Ribald talking of which many make a sport and rather then they will lose a Iest they will venter to damne their soules Epictetus saith It s dangerous to digresse into obscenity of speech Cowardize in good causes thinking it good sleeping in a whole skin Aristotle Ethic. 3. cap 1. that in some cases a man had better lose his life then bee cowardly Drunkennesse the daies bee so drowned in impiety that if a man bee drunk euery day yet he will take it in a great disgrace if he be not counted an honest man whereas Seneca saith it is but a raging madnesse and if hee should behaue himselfe so but two or three dayes as hee doth then men would count him mad Mourning immoderatly for losse of wife or children Passions of anger morall Philosophers haue many excellent rules the which if a naturall man would take notice of hee would neuer bee so passionate for they say it ariseth first From a great weaknesse of spirit For were he manly hee would passe by those thinges with scorne whereas hee shews himselfe to bee of an effeminate spirit and impotent affections From selfeloue From an ouer delicacy and too much nicenesse in suffering wrong From a passing proud nature being affraid to bee contemned From too much credulity so that if one or two do whisper hee thinkes they speake somthing hurtfull of him and is ready to breake out into rage for which passions they giue these rules That thou containe thy body and tongue in quiet That thou say ouer the greeke Alphabet before thou say any thing in rage That thou looke thy selfe in a glasse and thou shalt see what an vgly creature thou art in that rage for saith Homer his eyes sparcle like fire his hart swels his pulse beates c. so that if in this moode he should see himselfe in a glasse he would neuer againe be angry Secondly obseruing the endowments of the Heathen For instance Regulus the Romane being taken prisoner of his enemies the Carthaginians vpon promise of returne if he sped not obtaining to go home to Rome to treate with the Senate for a commutation of Captiues Carthaginians for Romanes of whom himselfe was one Comming to the Senate he gaue weighty reasons to dissawde them from commucation so as chusing rather to abide the certaine cruelty of his Enemies then to breake his faith and promise he returned where he was most cruelly vsed of them by whose example Christians might bee ashamed that make no matter of breaking their promises Fabricius attained to that height of excellency that it was said A man may as soone pull the Sunne from its Spheare as that man from his honest and iust dealing Cato was so excellent that it is said hee did not good for feare shame profit c. but because goodnes was so incorporated into him that hee would not do otherwise Cambyses stood so stricktly against bribery that a Iudge being taken in that crime he flayed him and set his skinne in the seat of Iustice and let his son leane thereon that hee might hate that vice Zaleucus King of the Locrians made a law for adultry that whosoeuer was taken in that fact should haue his eyes pulled out now his owne sonne being taken in that fault first because hee would not violate his owne decree pulled out one of his sonnes eyes and one of his owne Thirdly obseruing the common notions of nature which were in the Heathen All good is to bee done All evill is to be avoyded Kinde is to be propagated Doe as wee would be done by God is to be honored from whence ariseth this obiection namely Is not this notion extinguished in them that deny God Not vtterly but it generally dwels in them so farre onely they haue vse of it as to leaue them without excuse Rom. 1. 19. 20. A mans life is to bee preserued Now selfe preseruation is so ingrafted into the blood and veines that therefore the selfe-murderer sinnes Against God the Father Against God the Son Against God the holy Ghost Against the light of nature For the first viz. thou sinnest against God the Father who commandeth Thou shalt not kill and so thou sinnest Against the image of God in that thou destroyest it Against his Soueraignty for Hee hath appointed thee to worke in his vineyard and thou wilt rather dye c. as if he were a hard Master that thou darest stay no longer in his seruice Thou dishonourest him and gratifiest his enemy Hee hath planted thee as a tenant at will in this earthly tabernacle and thou beatest it about thy eares Thou sinnest against God the Sonne for Thou art none of thine owne thou art bought with a price this will helpe thee against the diuels temptations for when hee comes to tempt thee to that sinne say thou art an others and not thine owne Thou maymest Christs body in taking away a member of it Thou sinnest against God the holy Ghost for Thou pollutest thy soule with blood and It is the office of the Spirit to dwel with us and It is the office of the Spirit to inuite vs to taste of the good blessings of God as Esay 51. Oh! but my soule is blacke with sinne c. This is the action of the Spirit to reueale this vnto thee Thou sinnest against the light of nature most cowardly and against fortitude thou sinnest against the Kingdome against thy neighbour thy family and thy selfe and puttest thy selfe among the sorrowes of the diuels which is a Bedlam madnesse Be acquainted with all the wayes thou canst possibly how to anatomize thy sinnes for which purpose take these methods and helps Bee perfect in the Law of God looke thy selfe in the pure Christall glasse thereof Be throughly catechised in the Commandements as in the fourth Commandement wherein consider Preparation Celebration Preparation which consists In praying Publiquely with thy Familly Priuately with thy selfe In examination In
renewing thy repentance In couenanting with thy thoughts to spend that whole day in holy things Celebration It may bee for scandalous sinnes in thy life thou hast beene sorowful but thou hast passed it with many wandrings for which thou hast not beene humbled All these are to bee brought to thy minde with much bleeding An vtter Cessation or abstinence from thoughts words and deeds of calling recreation more then for necessity mercy comlinesse Take suruey of all the wrong which we haue offered to all things in Heauen and Earth all things are the worse for a wicked man so far as his sinne can add hurt vnto them Take a perusal of thy selfe from top to toe The sinnes of thy eies each thing thou lookest on not making a holy vse of them is a sin of omission consider then how many there are euery day and if in one part so many what are there in the whole body Consider all the commissions and omissions as thou standest in seuerall relations As a Creature how thou hast caried thy selfe to thy Creator As an husband to thy wife As a Father to thy Children As a Master to thy Family As a Neighbor to them without or to Gods children As a Subiect c. Take notice of all thy failings in al these and thou shalt finde sufficient matter for a day of humiliation Labour to get as I am perswaded euery Christian hath two Catalogues of thy sins before conuersion and since Of Gods mercies spirituall and temporall Take notice of the guilt of originall sin Now because a Christian may haue his heart locked vp more at one time than at another let them in case of barrennesse consider these sixe quickning points Looke to the seede and sinke and naturall inclination of thy heart to all manner of wickednesse for suppose by the mercy of God thou wert able to say and that truely that thou couldest not possibly finde any actual sin within thee yet looke back to the corrupt fountaine there thou shalt finde that thou and the most holy christian on earth whilst thou liuest in this house of flesh and tabernacle of clay thou hast it in thy nature to sinne against the holy Ghost to kill Iesus Christ to commit sodomy what hindereth but Gods free mercy This then throughly considered is sufficient matter to humble thee to consider with thy selfe what a wretch am I yet that haue this seede still in my bowels Consider throughly weigh the circumstances of all thy sins of thy vnregeneration at what time in what place with what scandall c. As Austin saith of him selfe hee did wonderfully weepe in reading the fourth booke of Virgill when Dido was killed what a damn'd soule had I quoth hee that could weepe for her misery and not for my owne so when he listened to musicke and to the tune in singing of a Psalme in the Church rather then kept his heart to goe along with the matter and for being much addicted to stage plaies many more but especially for robbing an orchard which he aggrauates by many circumstances that great renowned Father left this example to all posterity where as if a young man now adayes should but cry out of robbing an orchard hee would bee thought simple and too precise Looke the second booke of his Confessions where see his sinne aggrauated by these ten circumstances Saith hee this theft which I committed was not onely in the booke of God forbidden but I had it in my heart daily Volui feci I resolued with free will to doe it and I did it Fastidio aequitatis I did not doe it for want but in disdaine of goodnesse and out of an eager desire to doe wrong I had aboundance of the same kinde and better at home I did steale them not so much to inioy the thing as mine owne theft that it might bee said of my old companions that I robd an Orchard There was a num of desperate swaggerers and incarnate Diuels with me Nocte intempestiua at midnight which he aggrauateth with another Circumstance when wee had beene sporting and dancing we did it We carried all away We carried so many away that they were a burden to vs. When wee came home wee gaue them to the swine and then at the conclusion hee cryes Oh my God behold my heart Ecce cor meum Deus If we would looke backe on such a Sabbath breaking how in such a place at such a time so inflamed with lust If drunkards whoremongers vsurers c. would take this course they might finde such aggrauations that by the mercy of God might terrifie them from their euill courses In case of barrennesse consider we had our hands in the sinne of Adam so brought all the sorrow sinne and damnation vpon all that shall bee damned and we are guilty of all the horrors of conscience If we had not hearts of adamant or hewne out of a rocke or had sucked the brest of Wolues or Tigers we would bee moued at this which is able to breake a thousand adamants I speake aduisedly it is able to open a wide gap of penitent teares in the most flinty soule of the most bloody sinner Cut off all sinne both originall and actuall that thou hast taken notice of and doe but consider the imperfections that follow the best actions the innumerable distractions of thy most holy prayer that euer thou madest the sinnes of the last Sabbath thy deadnes fruitlesnesse c. Remoue all personall sins yet consider how many wayes we haue our hands in others sinnes which it may be they haue carried to hell with them Wee haue a world of matter from hence to breake our hearts for we may bee guilty of others sins 13 wayes There is none but are guilty of some of these wayes For the first by incouraging them as those Prophets which cryed Peace peace when there is no peace when they are but formall or ciuill professors those that sow pillowes vnder mens elbowes that heale the wounds of the people with faire words when there is nothing towards but tumbling of garments in blood and vengeance and deuouring with fire Aske all those Ministers that reueale not the whole counsell of God who sent them to incourage it shall all fall to nothing but you of this place are inexcusable for wherin haue I hid any thing from you no I dare not bee guilty of any mans blood that way for the damnation of his soule By prouoking as Iob's wife said to him Curse God and dye so Fathers prouoke not your Children to wrath for they then are guilty of their sinnes By familiarity with sinners with company keeping If thou vouchsafest thy company to Alehouse haunters to prophane persons to Idolaters to Gods enemies looke for that sharpe checke which the Prophet gaue to Iehosaphat for associating himselfe with wicked Ahab saying Shouldest thou countenance the vngodly and loue them that hate
Record and now lye as so many sleeping Lyons gathering strength and vigor against such time as the Lord shall awake the conscience and then they will appeare and rent thy soule in pieces I say let naturall men consider of this point and they shall see themselues miserable for there are some for small sinne put to such frights as they could not bee comforted in a long space as some who hauing an adulterous proiect without any actuall pollution and others who hauing found a trifle and made no conscience to restore it by light of naturall conscience knowing they did not as they would be done by was put into vnspeakable horror and some who hauing an vnworthy thought of God these were put into such amazement that they wisht they had neuer beene If these for such small things in mens account haue come to such a passe that they tooke no delight in any earthly thing but are put to their wits end ready to make away themselues wishing themselues annihilated then what tearing of haire what horror of conscience will seize vpon thee on thy bed of death with what a gashly countenance wilt thou looke vpon that blacke and hellish Catalogue of all thy sinnes as lies oathes railings scoffings at Gods people rotten speeches bedlam passions goods ill gotten time ill spent prophanation of Sabbaths and killing Christ at euery Sacrament as all naturall men doe These shall be summoned before thee and charged vpon thy conscience by the iust God then consider in proportion what horror will bee in thine heart no heart can conceiue it nor tongue of men and Angels vtter it Now then attend and let none blesse themselues and say I neuer felt this misery therefore it shall neuer hurt mee I tell thee it is the perfection of thy misery that thou art insensible of it to be soule-sicke and feele it not is the complement of misery and the reasons why thou canst not see it are these seuen The diuell while thou art his will not trouble thee hee is a Politician of almost sixe thousand yeeres experience knowes if once thou see thy sinnes hee shall loose thee therefore hee blindes thee Thy conscience is lull'd asleepe with carnall pleasure and worldly contentmēts A bucket of water is heauy on earth but in its owne place it is not so When men are meerely naturall sinne is in its owne place and the weight is not felt The conscience of a naturall man is like a wolfe in a mans body while it s fed with carnall friends good fellowship some great busines of the world c. it s quiet but take this away and then it s felt A naturall man is spiritually dead and a dead man feeles no weight you know He lookes on sinne through false glasses as vpon couetousnesse and vsury through the glasses of good husbandry so prodigality through the glasse of liberality For want of consideration If we would by our selues consider when the Minister presseth Sabbath breaking or any other sin and say this is my case but now by the mercy of God I will be humbled this would much helpe vs to see our misery Thou hast had thy hand in murthering many a soule all thy drunken companions thy brethren in iniquity many peraduenture with whom thou hast cōuersed are dead and in hell long agoe thou art guilty of the damnation of their soules Cain was a cursed man and had a brand vpon him for killing but a man then how will the murthering of so many soules affright thee if thou hast beene a meanes to set them to hell as 1. For thy wife thou shouldst haue liued with her as a man of knowledge For thy Children thou shouldst haue catechized them and brought them vp in religion For thy seruants it may bee thy example hath made them swear lye c. How will this soule curse thee in the pitt of hell and curse that time that euer they first saw thee but no carnall man will beleeue this till they feele it Thou hast beene the slaue of Sathan worse then a Turkish Gally-slaue all thy life for when thou mightest haue bene Gods Freeman wouldest not the diuill hath bid thee lye sweare breake Gods sabbaths c. and thou hast obeyed him and beene the diuels drudge The Turkish fetters are but cold yron at the worst but thine bee inuisible chaines of eternall damnation He scourgeth thy naked soule with inuisible scorpions feeds thee euery day with fire brimstone When thou art out of the Turkish slauery thou mayest bee a man againe but here Sathan scourgeth thee and thou seest it not hee feedeth thee with poyson and thou tastest it not And shortly hee will locke thee vp in perpetuall torments where thou shalt neuer bee freede from diuels First now thou art in health thou thinkest all is well but know to the contrary whilst thou art but naturall and vnconuerted Thou dishonorest God in a high degree thou prouokest the glory of his pure eye euery day by euery sinne thou committest Thou tramplest vnder foote the blood of Christ in euery Sacrament if thou beest not a conuert The Spirit puts good motions into thy heart as at this time it may be thou resoluest by the mercy of God to leaue all thy former waies and bee Gods seruant but presently thou triflest it away by worldly talke and thy old companions The Angells offer to guarde thee but thou refusest their attendance and denyest to be vnder their protection while thou wandrest out of thy wayes To Gods children thou art as a goade in their sides Thou drawest wife and children neighbors and all thou canst to hell by thy ill example c The creatures thou art mercilesse vnto for thy sinne adds to their misery which they groane vnder and thou yet addest to their burden by thy siune Thou art liable to all the ill that a man vnconuerted may indure or to any sinne that a man destitute of diuine grace may commit as To spirituall hardnesse of heart blindnesse of minde slauery vnder thy lusts searednesse of conscience or committing the sin against the Holy Ghost To temporall any thing that may befall any man as to be possessed of the diuell c. I wish euery naturall man seriously to consider this for thou dying in thy naturall estate art certainly damned and for any thing thou knowest thou mayest dye the next moment and then all things are thine enemies death which is certaine but how when or where thou knowest not Caluin saith A man may dye a thousand wayes in one houre Some Physitians say there are three hundred diseases in the body all mortall Besides new sinnes haue begotten new diseases and thou mayest dye suddenly by an impostume thy house may be fiered thou consumed by it thy horse may stumble and so destroy thee a tile may fall as thou art walking and so kill thee an Adder vnder the grasse or hearbes may sting thee
HELPES TO HVMILIATION IAMES 4. 10. Humble your selues in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you vp Printed at London by T. Cotes for Peter Whaly dwelling in North-Hampton 1630. To the Reader I Here commend vnto thee Christian Reader a table of Repentance now put into a little Tract collected from that graue learned and godly Diuine Mr. Robert Bolton I could haue beene content to haue stayed the publishing thereof vntill such time in which the Author might haue beene preuailed with to print it for there cannot but want much beauty and lustre which it might haue had if it had beene set forth or perused to be fitted for the Presse by him that first gaue life vnto it but being inforced to it by the importunity of many well affected both farre and neere and I vnwilling to haue such a pretious fountaine sealed vp considering the good that might redownd to many in the meane time by it I resolued by the Authors leaue no longer to ingrosse the same to a priuate vse but to impart it to a publike good especially considering first how few are acquainted with the right nature of Humiliation no more than Nicodemus was with regeneration that though many boast of it few haue it when alasse it 's plaine without true Repentance there is no saluation Now this table hauing so perspicuously vnfolded the nature of this grace those that haue a beginning of it may from hence adde an increase to their store and they that want it may here see the way and meanes of obtaining it Secondly the extraordinary exercise of fasting and prayer a duty of pretious account amongst Gods Children which hath alwayes beene wonderfully blest with a happy successe in so much as albeit their ordinary prayers returne not empty without a blessing yet respectiuely to those prayers which are ioyned with fasting they seeme barren and blasted which otherwise are fruitfull and full eared How then could I withhold this which by experience and the iudgement of iudicious Christians cannot but bee of speciall vse and helpe vnto such a blessed and successefull ordinance Thirdly these times call for it to fast and pray and cry mightily vnto God by our prayers that wee may stand in the gapp and make vp the breach and from this table wee may receiue much helpe in this particular Wherefore I hope I shall neede no further perswasion for thy gracious acceptance than that hereby if the fault bee not thine owne thou maiest receiue much good and comfort to thy soule which if thou findest giue God the glory the Author thy thankes and me thy prayers I. S. HELPS TO HVMILIATION Acts 2. 37. Now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said vnto Peter c. IN these words here is First a compunction and a thorow wounding their hearts Secondly a consultation what to doe Thirdly Peters holy counsell Amend your liues and be baptized From the first in that these men when they had heard of the greatnesse of their sin were thus wounded at the heart obserue That contrition in a new creature ordinarily is answerable to his former vanity Manasse 2 Chron. 33. 6. Mary Magdalen Luke 7. Augustine a great sinner wrote 12. bookes of Repentance To whom much is forgiuen they loue much and this is a fountaine of Euangelicall Repentance As a traitor condemned to dye would wonderfully breake his heart to thinke hee should bee so villanous to so gracious a Prince so is it with a Christian that beholds Gods mercy to him Christians after their conuersion desire to see their sinnes to the vtmost with all the circumstances that make them hatefull as the obiect nature person time and age c. In which or how they were done that so they may bee more humbled for them If it be not so as it may be otherwise for God is a free agent and is not tyed to any proportion of sorrow then such troubles as these vsually seaze on them First they are often afflicted with this that their conuersion is not through and sound and so do not with such heartinesse and chearefulnesse performe the duty of Godlynesse Secondly they are many times haunted with listlessnesse and coldnesse in their progresse of Christianity Thirdly they are visited with some crosse or other that sticks by them to make them lay a greater Load vpon sin Fourthly they are more subiect to bee ouertaken with their sweete sinne because because they haue no more sorrowed for it For the lesse it is sorrowed for the more it insnares men Fiftly some of them haue beene assaulted vpon their bed of death with sorrowfull and strong temptations Not that men should conceiue this is alwayes the reason of it for God hath ends in all his workes knowne onely to himselfe but this I haue knowne some haue beene troubled and this may bee in great mercy to make a weake conuersiō more strong Least any Christian should bee troubled at it take notice in Contrition There must bee sorrow of heart because of sinne There must bee a dislike of it in the will There must bee a transmutatiō or strong reasoning in the mind out of the word of God against sin This is the Sinew of Repentance as Austin had against Playes that all men could not draw him to it There must bee a resolution and striuing and watching against it as Iob with his eye Iob. 31. 1. There must bee a greiuing that hee is not excellent in all these and herein make vp what thou wantest in the former These bee in some measure in all Christians some are more eminent in one part some in another as Ioseph had little sorrow but a strong Resolution because hee had so strong a temptation and withstood it hee had strong reasons beyond nature to resist sin and resolue against it so that it is not so much the measure as the truth of euery part that is required But if they bee not in an excellency in great sinners they are to mourne for the want of them To help herein obserue these tenne degrees or Acts of repentance or rather helps to humilation Get sight and suruey and full apprehension of all thy vilenesse iniquities transgressions and sinnes the number and nature of them Get a right apprehension of Gods wrath and fiery indignation and the pure eye of God against sinne Get a sense of the vnspeakable misery thou art lyable to by reason of sinne Get a base esteeme of thy selfe Get an inward sorrow of heart and bleeding of soule Get an outward bewailing with hart-peircing confession Get an hatred and auersion in thy will from sinne Get a strong reasoning in thy minde against sinne Get a sincere opposition in thy life of sinne Get a sincere greiuing that thou canst do these things no better Now for the first act viz. Get a sight suruey and full apprehension of all thy vilenes iniquities transgressions and sinnes the number and nature of
Canst thou promise thy selfe to see the Sun againe when it s once sett though now thou bee in perfect strength But howeuer nature will end at length Sathan then is ready to come with his vtmost malice when thou art faint and loath to depart then he will lay open all thy sinnes and then the very next step is The Iudgement seat of Gods tribunall where God will declare what mercy hee offered thee and the Diuill will pleade to haue thee Then comes the eternall separation from God and possession of those torments which are easelesse endlesse and remedilesse Oh the tearing of the heart and the gnashing of the teeth that this will produce especially when you consider God euery Sabbath stretched out his armes to imbrace you and you would not Christ offered to make a plaster of his hearts blood to cure you but you trampled it vnder your feete The holy Ghost put good motions into your heart but you reiected them the Minister he pressed hard to haue you yeild but you withstoode him Oh the hellish cries that these will fetch from such an heart Wherefore let this betimes beget in thee a base esteeme of thy selfe consider Thou art worse then a Toad nay a Toad is a faire amiable creature in comparison of thee For a Toad following the instinct of nature serues the Creator in its kinde it suckes vp the venom of the earth which otherwise would poison vs but thou art a degenerate creature and Traitor who drinkest poyson out of Gods mercy to sin more against him Thou art a sworne friend to his most deadly enemy and breakest all his commandements Secondly the venom of a Toad kills but the body the poyson of thy sinne kils both body and soule When a Toade dyes its misery is ended but then thy woe begins then thou wilt wish thou hadst beene any thing but a man If thou hadst looked vpon that man in Mat. 8. possessed with a Diuill who dwelt among the Tombes went naked chaines would not hold him the diuell was so powerfull in him thou wouldst haue thought him a dreadfull spectacle of most extreame misery to haue a legion of deuils by computation 6666. but I tell thee thou hadst better haue a thousand Legions then one vnrepented sinne for The deuill hee can haue power but ouer the body and foe hee may ouer a Saint and had ouer Christ to carry him to the top of a Pinnacle but neuer sinne like thine of obstinate finall impenitency was found in a sanctified man Sinne made the diuell so vgly as he is being else of an Angelicall nature onely sin makes him odious therefore it is worse than a thousand diuels yea worse than either the tongue of men and Angels can expresse All the diuels in hel in thy body cannot doe thee one pinnesworth of hurt for the saluation of thy soule but one sinne wilfully vnrepented and so vnpardoned will damne it so that it were better to bee possessed with a thousand diuels then one sinne vnrepented of and vnpardoned Get an inward wounding of thine heart and bleeding of soule Where take these helpes First thy heart that hath beene the fountaine or rather sincke from whence haue issued many foule streames where all ill hath beene forged all euill words rageing passions and wicked thoughts Now then by the rule of proportion let thy heart bee a fountaine of sorrow for sinne If Christ open a fountaine of mercy for mourners let not vs be excluded for want of sorrow Consider the heart of Christ hee had no heart of flesh but for sinne which for thy sake was killed with that singular depth of sorrow and griefe that if all the godly sorrow of all the Christian soules from the beginning of the world to the end thereof in heauen or in earth dead or aliue were collected into one heart they could not counteruaile the depth of his anguish Shall then his blessed soule fall asunder in his blessed brest assaulted with all the wrath of God and the second death Shall his soule bee like a scorched heath and so pressed with the flames of Gods reuenging wrath which wrung from him those bloody droops and ruefull cryes My God my God why hast thou forsaken me The wrath of God so fierce on him that I say dropps of blood fell from him and shall thy heart bee as stone within thy brest and neuer bee moued Oh prodigious hardnesse and worse then the heathenish ingratitude If thy heart be not wounded in some measure truely it shall hereafter be filled with such endlesse horror that would grieue and breake 10000 hearts to thinke on it Is it not better then to mourne a little here for sinne than to haue our hearts inlarged to indure vnto all eternity the horror of hell Is any man so senselesse to thinke he shall goe to heauen as in a bed of downe and neuer bee touched for his sinne which is as impossible as for thee to reach heauen with thy hand When Hezekiah a man perfect in all his wayes complained chattered like a Crane Dauid roared al the day long Psal 32. 3. Iob complayned The arrowes of the Almighty are within me the venom whereof doth drinke vp my spirit Nay Christ himselfe cryed out in the Agony of the Spirit If thou get this broken heart into thy breast thou shalt bring downe the glorious maiesty of heauen God Almighty with his chayre of State to sit in thy soule for he hath two habitations 1. In heauen 2. In an humble heart Get this and get all Thou gettest true title and interest vnto the passion of Christ and all the comforts in the booke of God the promises both of this life and of that to come Get an outward bewayling with heart-piercing confession where Consider first the practise of the Saints of God They powred out teares as men water out of Buckets Mary washed Christs feete with her teares The Publican struck on his brest with a sorrowfull acknowledgement of his sinnes Consider secondly thy hands and eyes and tongue and heart haue beene instruments of Gods dishonour therefore by rule of proportion thou shouldst haue the workes of thy hands instrumentall demonstrations of repentance thy eyes fountaines of teares thy tongue should vtter and the heart suffer griefe Consider that for outward things men will weepe teares as for deiection from high places losses crosses in wife or children as Dauid for Absolon so it is with many what wringing their hands tearing their haire bitter crying c. Then the losse of Christ who is infinitely better than husband wife child or any thing in the world this this how should it breake thy heart If all Iobs troubles were on thee and could wring one teare from thee then one sinne should wring blood from thy heart Get a hatred and auersion in thy wil from sinne considering What sinne is in it selfe How God is prouoked with it Sinne in it selfe is fouler
of thy three grand enemies the world the flesh and the Diuell which daily seeke the destruction of thy soule consider these twelue Antidotes Consider the shortnesse of the pleasure of sinne length of the punishment the one for a moment the other euerlasting Consider the companions of sinne for one sinne neuer goes alone but being once entertained it sets all the faculties of the soule also in a combustion and so procures a spirituall iudgment if not temporall vpon estate and person Consider thy life is but a span a breath a blast soone gone now if we had all the pleasure in the world yet being so soone to lose it it s not worth esteeming Consider sin causeth vs to lose a greater good than that can be as the fauour of God interest in Christ a guard of Angells right to the creatures c. Consider the vncertainety of repentance thou maist neuer haue motion to repent after thou hast sinned and so art damned Consider the nearnesse of death to thee some haue liued out aboue halfe their time others almost all of it young and old dye suddenly many times Consider one moment in hell will bee worse then all the pleasure in the world did good though it should haue lasted a thousand yeares twice told So on the contrary one moment in heauen doth more good than all the hardnesse and paines in good duties or persecution for them did hurt Consider the dignity of thy soule it 's more worth then a world Lose it not then for any sinne Consider the preciousnesse of a good conscience which is a continuall feast This thou losest by sinne Consider thou sinnest against a world of mercyes which God hath sent to thee as to soule body good name Estate and others that belong to thee Consider nothing can wash away any sinne but the blood of Christ. And wilt thou now pollute thy selfe againe as it were to haue him kill'd afresh to wash away thy sinne Consider the ancient Martyrs and Worthies chose rather to burne at a stake than they would sinne and thou so easily bee drawne to it or rather run to it Anselme said if the flames of hell were on the one side and sinne on the other side I would rather lye in those flames than sinne And others would rather be torne in pieces with wilde horses Wee haue as precious meanes as they and if our hearts were as good wee should haue the like affections Get a sinceere grieuing that thou canst do these things no better as considering Though thou hadst a thousand eyes and could weepe them all out and shed riuers of teares and a thousand hearts to burst yet all were not sufficient for the least sinne or vanity either of the eyes or heart How much more when our hearts are barren dry had we neede to labour for this sorrow Considering when thou hast made the best prayer or watched most diligently ouer thy selfe for the right and due sanctification of the Sabbath or spent thy selfe in a day of humiliatiō thou hadst need to cry and burst thy heart againe for the imperfections and failings thereof In this sorrow that thou canst performe good duties no better And thus to weaue vp the web what 's lacking in any of the rest here make it vp and to incourage thee thou hast this happinesse ioyned with it that though thy griefe bee small if it bee true to cause thee to sell all how much more in the first place to part from euery sinne for Christ and to take him as a husband and a Lord both for protection gouernment Then by the consent of all Diuines it is godly sorrow and certainly accepted in Christ. FINIS Luke 13. 3. 5. Point Instan Reas. 1. Reas. 2. 1 Act. Reuel 22. 21. Quest. Ans. 2 Helpe 1 Quic point 2 Quic point Chap. 4. 3 Quic point 4 Quic point 5 Quic. point Esa 9. 5. Eze. 13. 10. Ier. 14. 14. Iob 2. 9. Ephe. 6. 4 2 Chron. 20. 37. Esay 1. 23 Esay 5. 20. Wis. 2 9. 2 Sam. 11. 15. Act. 12 22. Acts 22. 20. Psal. 119. 136. Psal. 25. 13. Mar. 3. 5 6 Quic. point 2 Act. 1 Helpe Gen. 7. Eze. 16 49. 2 Helpe Mic. 6 7. 3 Helpe 4 Helpe 3 Act. 1. Reas. 2. Reas. 3. Reas. 4. Reas. 5. Reas. Eph. 2. 1. 6. Reas. 7. Reas. For present time 4 Act. 5 Act. Esa. 38. 14. Iob 6. 4. Esay 57. 15. 6 Act. 1 1. Sam. 7. 7 Act. 1 Mat. 16. 29. 8 Act. 1 Reas. 2 Reas 9 Act. 1 Helpe 2 Helpe 3 Helpe 10 Act.