I do not know any Soul that is more exposed to Temptations to Sin nor oftner falleth into them nor that is more exposed to Temptations for Sin than the Proud Soul Pride is a corruption that swelleth a man in the opinion of a mans own merit worth and excellency and consequently breedeth in him an impatience of any thing that should lessen his estimation in the sight of others Ahithophel was a proud Man and not able to bear his disgrace at Court but chuseth rather to hang himself Whensoever any present shame or fear of future shame any degradation or loss of honour and repute in the World gives a rise to such motions as these in our hearts to destroy our selves or gives the Devil any advantage to enforce such impressions upon us Pride is the bottom of it It is therefore highly advisable for Christians To be cloathed with Humility to put on Humbleness of Mind as the Apostle exhorteth An humble Soul is hardly taken in this Snare of the Devil Two or three things will much contribute to this humbleness of Mind 1 The consideration of what we are what we brought with us into the World and from whom we had it 2. The Consideration of what we deserve 3. The Consideration how little a thing it is to be great in the World I say 1. The Consideration of what we are what we brought with us into the world and from whom we had our all that we have Lord what is Man that he should be lifted up He is made up of two essential parts The Soul and the Body Our Philosophy teacheth us That all reasonable Souls are equal nor indeed is there any pretence in reason for any inequality originally in them And are not our Bodies so also are they not all Dust and such as must return to Dust Are they not all made of Clay Have some Bodies a more beautiful colour more symmetrical and proportionable parts than others Do some Souls discover more excellent Parts and Endowments through the better Constitution and Complexion of Bodies Have some of us more Credit and Reputation in the World more Riches and a greater portion of this Worlds Goods than others Is any thing of this from our selves Have we then built our own Bodies Have we given them their Beauty or Symmetry Have we so much as made one Hair of our Heads White or Black Or added so much as one Cubit to our Stature in the World in respect of Honour Riches and Reputation Did we bring any of these things into the World with us Can we carry them out of the World with us If we have received them why do we glory why are we proud of them as if we had not received them Let others honour and admire us for them we have no reason to admire our selves nor to think highly of our selves let us look to the Rock from which we were hewen and to the hole of the Pit out of which we were digged 2. But then Secondly let us consider what we have deserved The things upon which we value our selves as thinking they make us to stand upon the higher ground were neither hereditary to us nor have they been purchased by us by any Merit of him who hath been our Benefactor as to them The Apostle putteth them together Proud knowing nothing 1 Tim. 6. 4. and truly so it is the Man or Woman that is proud is one that knoweth nothing Knoweth nothing How can that be when ordinarily a Mans Knowledge is that which puffeth him up it being indeed of any common and indistinguishing mercy the noblest thing wherein a Man or Woman can differ from another the Apostle in another place expoundeth this when he telleth us That he who thinketh that he knoweth any thing knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know it 1 Cor. 8. 2. But this is certainly true that the Proud Man or Woman knoweth nothing in things that are Spiritual Or if he or she have some Notions of Spiritual Things they know nothing of them as they ought to know them they have not digested that knowledge by any serious Meditations they do not believe it Is it possible that any one should be lifted up in an Opinion of himself above others who looks to the Rock from which he is hewed and to the hole of the pit out of which he is digged that he is the same Clay the same Dust with another though it hath pleased the Potter to order him to be a Vessel of more External Honour and his Neighbour a Vessel of more Dishonour in the World Or that any one should exalt himself above what is the Will of God concerning him thinking that God doth not deal by him as he hath deserved who knoweth That he was a Child of wrath by Nature That he hath made himself much more so by his actual Disobediences That he is punished seven times less than he hath deserved 3. Then consider How little a thing it is to be great in the World It signifieth nothing as to our better part but mischief for the most part The Soul of Man is not bettered by Riches or Honour or any of those good things which affect us as to our outward Man It signifieth nothing as to the Eternal State either of Soul or Body and as to the outward Man in this Life which alone hath any concern in these things They are so incertain we are set in such slippery places while we stand upon these Mountains of Ice and Glass that no considerate Soul can justly value himself upon them but pray O pray for an humble low Spirit There is indeed a natural lowness and demission of Mind and that is a great happiness where God doth give it unto any A naturally high and haughty Spirit is exposed to greater Temptations than another that is naturally of a low and mean Spirit as the tall Cedar and Oak is more exposed to boisterous Winds than the poor Shrub There is also a Moral Humility a lowness of Mind and Spirit caused from Education and the due Digestion of Moral Principles and this also doth something But there is also an Habit of Humility into which the Soul is wrought by the Holy Spirit of God making the Word of God to take hold of the Heart when the Will of God is that which maketh the Heart to stoop and brings it to a submission to its portion This is of all other the more excellent the most Divine the most Effectual Now there is nothing more effectual to arm a Soul against this Temptation than this lowliness of Mind nothing more exposing the Soul to this Temptation than that habit which is contrary to it Pride and height of Spirit is the great Mother of Discontent when it ceaseth to be with us as it formerly was Hence it is that Men and Women conclude they had better not be than be poor and in misery it is better for them to put an end to their own days than
died fâ—r all a sad Doctrine which gives Judas as much comfort as Peter Others think he purchased a certainty of Salvation for the Elect but a possibility for all Others believe he died onely for the Elect. But admitting the last to be true which some think to make Redemption conform to the Decree of Election and not understand how Christ should purchase an impossible possibility which must be as to some if there were any that were passed over in the Eternal Purpose or any to whom God resolved not to give those effectual Aids of his special Grace necessary in order to those Exercises of Faith and Holiness by which Salvation must be obtained But what Market can the Devil make of this He can tell them they are not Elected and so Christ died not fâ—r them But the Soul can reply He was a Lier from the Beginning and none of Gods Privy Counsellors and that its Non-election can onely appear from its prodigious sinnings continued in to the end without Repentance and Faith in Christ And the others telling them Christ died for all will not relieve them for Judas notwithstanding that proved a Son of Perdition and went to his own place when he had hang'd himself It is also true that many great Divines do think none can be saved without the special Grace of God working together with the Word in their Hearts and effectually renewing turning changing and sanctifying and that this is not in a Man 's own Power but the work of God What advantage now can the Devil make of this Doctrine to perswâ—â—e the Soul to cast away all hopes of the Mercy of God through Christ for the pardon of its Sins and for the obtaining of Eternal Life and Salvation He can suggest to the Soul That God never bestowed upon it this effectual Grace nor ever will If he doth not add the later he saith nothing for what Ground have I to cast away all hope if yet there be hope that although I have not yet repented and believed yet God will give me his Grace though at the Eleventh hour that I shall repent believe and be saved Now suppose him to suggest so How shall he evidence this to me but from the guilt of my sin or my abiding in it It is therefore that whatever bluster some Sciclists make in the World to load the Opinions of some great and eminent Divines with Envy and Obloquy yet in very deed the Devil can urge Despair of the Pardon of Sin and obtaining Eternal Life with any colourable reason upon no Soul but from Sin nor indeed do we in our Experience find any thing else stick with Souls in an hour of Temptation Now here he must either say Thy Sins are so many they cannot be forgiven or Thou hast sinned so long a time that thou canst not be forgiven Thy hour is over thy time is past or Thou hast sinned some particular sins which are of so hainous a nature or so deep a dy that God will never forgive them What the Soul may answer to all these we shall God willing by and by consider CHAP. III. Means to prevent Despair Clear and distinct Knowledge Taking heed of inveterate Sinnings Prodigious Sinnings All Sinnings against Light Such Sins especially as come nearest the unpardonable Sin YOu have heard the Nature of this Temptation you have also heard from whence Temptations of this nature come what seeming good enticeth the Soul to listen to them and also what Arguments the Tempters have alone to use to inforce them Let me now come to shew you what is to be done by Christians in order to the repelling and resisting of them And because as I told you in my Discourse referring to the former Prevention is the best way let me first advise what is proper to all of us upon whom this hour of Temptation is not come that we may never fall into this snare of the Devil 1. And here let me first commend to you all a sound and distinct Knowledge of the Truths of God The Devil in an hour of Temptation hath a great advantage upon an ignorant Person above what he hath upon a knowing Christian Solomon tells us true That a Soul should be without Knowledge is not good He that hath a sound and distinct Knowledge of the Nature of God the Doctrine of Faith the Covenant of Grace and the Promises of the Word of God seldom falls into or lieth long under this Temptation How easie a thing it is for the Devil to fright ignorant Souls with telling them They are not Elected that Christ did not die for them that their Sins are too many or too great or have been too long continued in to be pardoned or that they have not truly repented or believed or that they have sinned the unpardonable Sin or an hundred such things O do not slight Knowledge no not a notional Knowledge of the things of God You are not able to prophecy of what use it will be to your Souls in an hour of Temptation A knowing Christian may be tempted and it may be some time before he can get his Hand upon the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God to draw it out for his purpose but if he hath it by his side if he be mighty in the Scriptures he will have no long work with an Enemy of this kind I pity such as cannot read or if they can yet have lost their time and not improved it to learn the Scriptures be acquainted with Catechisms which should ground them in the Doctrine of Faith Thou that despisest Knowledge neglectest yea despisest thy own Soul and all its Peace and Comfort and seemest to presume upon a Miracle to be shewed for thee in an hour of Temptation 2. Secondly Take heed of going on in a course of Sinning especially against thy Light and Checks of Conscience Inveterate Sinning and prodigious Sinnings and Sinnings against Light and Checks of Conscience and particularly some Sins and such especially as come nearest to the Sin unto Death give the Devil very high and great advantages as to this Temptation 1. I say first Inveterate Sinning When Sin hath grown up with a Man from his youth he hath lived and walked and wallowed in it many years it makes the Devil a great Market We find it hard to believe that God who can have from us but the homage of a few days or hours will forgive us the Sins of so many years It is rare that old Sinners are brought to Repentance and Converted you shall most generally observe that if God changeth a Man or Womans Heart it is either in their Youth or middle Age seldom in Child-hood and seldom in Old Age and if in Old Age they are ordinarily infested with great Temptations Take heed of Sin growing Old in thy Soul An old habit is hardly put off How can you that are accustomed to do Evil do Well An old Ulcer is hardly Cured beware of growing
Ministers or knowing and experienced Christians who are able to speak a word in season for the Relief of Souls that are weary and heavy laden with the sense of their Sins 3. A third Work to be done for the Relief of Souls under this fore Temptation is with the Persons themselves that are Tempted and that is to perswade them or for such poor Souls to perswade themselves of the unreasonableness of those conclusions which they make against themselves Now upon this suffer me to inlarge a little in an endeavour to demonstrate the little force that can be in any Argument that such a Soul can bring against it self in this Case and in shew-you the exceeding sinfulness of this Sining of Despair in the first place let me desire such a Soul to Consider 1. That there is no Argument sufficient to warrant it to cast away all Hope in God as to the pardon of its Sin and the obtaining Eternal Life and Salvation through Christ The one of these dependeth upon the other For if there be no Argument sufficient to convince such a Soul that its Sins shall never be forgiven there can be no Argument sufficient to convince it that it shall certainly be Damned or that it is a Reprobate for Psal 32. 1. Blessed is he whose Iniquities are forgiven and whose Sins are covered and to whom the Lord imputeth not Transgression A Pardoned Sinner cannot Perish that is certain If therefore no Reason can be brought sufficient to prove that God will never Pardon me none can be brought sufficient for me to conclude from it That God will not Save me 1. Sometimes Souls under these Circumstances will plead no Argument at all onely they have such a fixed Impression and Perswasion upon their Hearts they know it they are sure of it c. and this is all you can get from it But as the Apostle saith in another Case Gal 5. 8. This perswasion cometh not from him that calleth you Impressions upon our Spirits are no Oracles nor must be taken for Arguments Impressions or Perswasions are either from the Holy Spirit of God or Perswasions hatcht up in our Souls by their own Powers or they are from the Evil Spirit Impressions indeed from the Spirit of God cannot deceive they are infallible but so are not these Can think you this Perswasion be from him that every where in his Word calleth upon Men to Sinners to all sorts and degrees of Sinners to Repent and Beleeve to wash themselves and make themselves Clean telling them that if their Sins were as Scarlet they shall be as Snow if as Crimson they shall be as white as Wooll that he will have Mercy upon them and abundantly Pardon them Jsaiah 55. 6 7. Can he that calleth Sinners all Sinners that are weary and heavy laden to come unto him Promising them Rest for their Souls I say can they possibly think that he hath perswaded them that they shall never obtain Pardon It must therefore remain that these Perswasions in whatsoever Souls they are found must either be bred in the Soul from its own Corruption or brought into the Soul by Satan Let them be from which of these two Causes they will they are very far from being certain and infallible The Heart of Man is deceitful above all things and the Devil was a Liar from the Beginning Time was it is possible when the Devil drove a quite contrary Design and sang a quite other Song to incourage the Soul in a course of Sin suggesting to it that Pardon was an easie thing and might be obtained without difficulty however he hath changed his Note now he is pursuing but the same Design that is the Ruin of the Soul though it be by a quite contrary Method But it is not always that a Soul under this Temptation talketh at this irrational rate ordinarily it hath something to say though nothing sufficient to build such a Conclusion upon and as I hinted to you before all that the Devil or a Man 's own Heart can say in the case is either 1. That our Sins are too many to be forgiven Or 2. That they have been aggravated with some circumstances to that degree that they cannot be forgiven Or 3. That the time is past we have gone on in them too long to be forgiven Or 4. That we have committed some particular Sins of too deep a dy to be washed out If we can but drive out the Devil from these Refuges we shall leave him nothing to say to a Soul to advantage this Temptation 1. As to the First That our Sins are too many to be forgiven This Suggestion either hath no bottom at all or if it hath any it must be this That the Promises of Grace and the Forgiveness of Sins are limited to a certain number of Sins for if they be not upon what colourable pretence doth the Devil endeavour to baffle the Hope of any Soul by whispering to it That its Sins are too many to be forgiven if God hath no where said he will not pardon a multitude of Sins to what purpose or upon what pretence shall a Soul Despair because of the multitude of its Iniquities But where in the whole Book of God shall a troubled Soul find any line to this purpose A Souls hope for Pardon dependeth upon the Word of God and in reason must not the Limitations if any be of that hope be found in the Word of God too or are they not in all reason to be rejected as the Fictions of our own Hearts or Figments of our grand Adversary the Devil Where the Word of God limiteth not the Will of God upon what grounds do we limit it Methinks in this case the whole Trinity speaketh unto us in the Language that St. Paul spake to the Corinthians in another Cause 2 Cor. 6. 11 12. Oye Corinthians saith he our Mouth is opened unto you our Heart is inlarged You are not straitned in us you are straitned in your own Bowels Some thinks the Holy Trinity speaketh to us in the whole tenor of the Sacred Writing O you troubled Sinners you Despairing Souls our Mouth is opened to you to call those that have abundantly sinned to our abounding Mercies Our Heart is enlarged you are not straitned in me saith the Father of Mercies I have infinite Mercies Mercies as the Sands which is on the Sea-shore You are not straitned in me saith the Son I have an infinite Value and Vertue in my Blood it is sufficient in it self for the Expiation of the Sins of the whole World and every individual Man and Woman in the World You are not straitned in me saith the Holy Spirit I after a multitude of Sinnings stand yet at the door of your Hearts and knock and cry if any Man will open he shall come in and sâ—p with me yea let them do what in them lieth I am ready to add my Efficacy to give Faith and to give Repentance and this after a multitude
l. 2 r. the Grave and Hell p. 176 l. 6 r. who cannot understand p. 177 l. 24 r. therefore plain that p. 188 l. 7 r. the Soul p. 210 l. 5 r. so me thinks p. 228 l. 23 r. such Souls p. 234 l. 19 â— our sins p. 241 l. 14 r. violate them p. 261 l. 11 r. as to p 306 l. 26 r. in his heart Concerning TEMPTATIONS TO Atheistical and Blasphemous THOUGHTS CHAP. I. The true Notion of Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts Blasphemy committed three ways Atheistical Thoughts Transient and Volatile or more Fixed and Permanent Those more Fixed either studied by us embraced and improved or else such as are the Souls Burthen Trouble and great Affliction The Discourse restrained to the last DAvid telleth us The Fool hath said in his heart There 's no God Psal 14. v. 1. By the Fool is to be understood not the Natural Fool hindered in the exercise of his Reason but the Spiritual Fool the Wicked Man nor is there any to whom the Notion of a Fool more properly agreeth than to the Presumptuous bold Sinner whether you by Fool understand one that wanteth knowledge and wit or him that wanteth wisdom to guide his knowledge in exercise to the best ends of Humane Life to discern chuse and judge of things according to truth and reality and for the best advantage This Fool saith the Psalmist saith in his heart that is he thinks and believeth there is no God whatsoever he professeth with his lipps these are his inward thoughts The Philosopher distinguisheth betwixt our inward and more external Speech we speak nothing with our lipps but what we have first said in our hearts though we say much in our hearts which Shame or Moral Prudence restraineth us from speaking with our lipps Every wicked man doth not speak it with his lipps but he saith in his heart he thinketh there is no God and he speaketh it in his life his actions speak it he lives without a God in the World Now this being the Character of a wicked man one that is a spiritual Fool the impressions of them upon honest souls often proves a sad temptation to them ushering in temptations to Self-murther and Despair This hath made me resolve shortly to handle this Argument that I may by it give some relief to Souls thus tormented and likewise help others with something to say to Souls under these miserable circumstances I shall reduce the whole of my Discourse to these few Heads 1. I shall shew you what I understand by Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts and discourse shortly of the kinds and differences of them 2. We will inquire what Tempters a Soul may have to them 3. What Bait or seeming good the Tempter can imaginably propound to the Soul to intice it to them 4. What Arguments Tempters may use with any colourable reason to bring over a Soul to such a perswasion 5. We will inquire Whether all such kind of Thoughts be the Souls guilt or no or what are what are not 6. Lastly I shall offer my best advice both for Souls not as yet under these circumstances for the Prevention of them and for Souls under this great pressure for the Arming and Supporting of them against and under them and procuring them Liberty from them 1. Qu. What are those thoughts that deserve the name of Atheistical and Blasphemous The term Atheisme is taken sometimes more strictly for a denyal of God sometimes more largely for a denyal of any of the Perfections of God In the first Sense for a man to think That there is no God or that the Father the Son or the Holy Ghost is not God is Atheisme when it is onely a denial in the Heart it is an Atheistical Thought when we deny it with our Lipps they are Athestical words more largely for a man to deny Gods Wisdom Power Knowledg Mercy or any other of his Perfections is Atheism Blasphemy is committed three ways 1. By denial of the Perfections that are in God If any shall deny God to be one in Essence or the three Persons in the God-head or that God is a Spirit Omnipotent Omnisufficient c. is Blasphemy It is an evil and injurious speaking of God 2. When the Divine Perfections are attributed to the Creature such I mean as belong to God onely as to think any Creature Infinite Omnipotent Eternal Omnisufficient c. 3. When the Imporfections of Creatures are ascribed to God as if any thinketh in his heart That God is mortal that he is the Author or Countenancer of Sin or any thing of like nature which agrees to the Creature onely in regard of the imperfection of it Thus you see there may be a great variety of Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts according to the variety of the Object which may be the Being of God or the Perfections of God c. Again Such kind of Thoughts when they are fixed and permanent are either studied up by us bugg'd and imbraced and inlarged upon so as the Soul studies to feed them and maintain them which are hardly found in any but Atheistical Souls that find it their interest to secure their lusts by such principles Or else they are the Souls trouble and burthen and great Afflictions like a Viper sticking to their hands and there 't will stick They cry out and roar and endeavour to shake these thoughts off but they recurr and are like an ill sounding noise in their ears and inconceivably afflict them They say Get thee behind me Satan but he will not be gone They cry to God but he is pleased not to take the thorn out of their souls These are Temptations and they are Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts thus circumstanced that I now design to speak something to So that I exclude out of my Discourse 1. More transient and volatile Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts The wise the spiritually wise and good man may have some of these God is a Spiritual Being and so removed from the cognizance of our Senses Who hath seen his shape at any time And the Infiniteness of his Being and Perfections is so much beyond the span or fathom of our Reason that the best of men have their doubts sometimes about the Divine Being and Perfections which indeed taking their Notions of God from Scripture they chide away are humbled for them suffer them not to abide with them and endeavour to establish their souls against them by testimonies of Scripture which they firmly believe and make the only Rule of their Faith and Director of their apprehensions concerning God 2. I also exclude from my Discourse such permanent fixed thoughts of Atheism and Blasphemy as breed in the Soul and the Soul delighteth in is well pleased with studies to fortifie and make good by Argument For these are only found in Atheists who are either such avowedly and professedly and are not ashamed by the words of their lips to declare that superfluity of vileness that is in their
Reading and Hearing the Word 4. Avoiding the Company of Blasphemers and Atheists or reading their Books 5. To take all lawful Diversions 6. To be much in the company of good Christians 7. To give such Thoughts no entertainment 8. To be much in Fasting and Prayer HEre are two things 1. What may be done for Prevention 2. What for a present Support and Relief but they may both be spoken to with the same breath for the same Directions which are proper for the prevention of them when remote from us will also be found useful for the Support and Consolation of a Christian groaning under the burthen of them 1. The first thing to be done is for to perswade the Soul or for the Soul to prepossess or perswade it self That these impressions lay it under no guilt before God and do not render it unlovely in the sight of God Luther was an eminent Servant of God much himself exercised with temptations and much conversing with those who were so exercised It is said of him that he was wont to say That the three things which made a Divine were Temptation Meditation and Prayer In his Commentary upon Psal 90. he takes special notice of this Tenptation to Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts I cannot direct you better than in the words of that great Man of God It often hapeneth Luth. c. 4. p. 4. 34. Jen. in Psal 90. 1. saith he and I have seen it in many that when they have discerned themselves exercised with these thoughts they have been as men without life There is therefore a necessity they should be governed and the True Government of them is this Ut statuas te non ideo esse a Deo abjectum quod ista sentis for you to determine that you are not rejected of God because of them for altho there be some cause of them in us and they are the fruits of Original Sin yet they are much promoted and augmented by the Tempter the Devil For it often happeneth that the Soul sincerely and passionately desires to be delivered from them but it cannot there saith he this advice is to be followed That the Soul do not because of them despair 2. That it oppose such thoughts what it can possibly and not approve nor indulge them For saith he these thoughts are not therefore sent for you to judge your self from them but that you may oppose and withstand them When saith he the Devil hath Tempted us with these Blasphemous Thoughts he goes on See saith he what an Heart you have Are you not now a grievous Sinner This the Soul cannot deny He groweth upon this God is therefore saith he very angry with thee How can God but be angry with such a Blasphemer Here saith he do but yield a little and he sinketh you and I have known many thus undone You must therefore govern these Thoughts you must oppose the Adversary and fix your self upon this That God is not displeased with you for these Impressions and Thoughts if you do not entertain and indulge them Thus far that great man And indeed this is the first and great thing to be learned by the Soul The Sin of Atheism and Blasphemy will in an Hour of Temptation especially appear so great so hainous unto the Soul that unless you can deliver such a Soul from the apprehensions of such a guilt all that you can say to it will be of little avail Ministers and private Christians dealing and treating with Souls in these paroxysmes ought to lay the great Stress here and to make this the Alpha and Omega of their Discourses What may be said to evince this to the Soul I have largely shewed you in the former Chapter Let the thus troubled Soul meditate of those things and let Experienced Ministers and Christians add what they can of that nature and lay the great Stress here and they will find all little enough to induce a Soul thus circumstanced to be thus perswaded and on the other side if this be done the Cure is wrought the Soul will then quickly understand that Faith and Patience are its work The more wee can shew the Soul of the Devil in the Impression the more it will be frighted from hearkening to or complying with him and the more Valiant will the Christian be in this Spiritual Combate Mind therefore Christians under these circumstances that Christ himself was not without such kind of Sinful Impressions yet without Sin That our first Parents in Innocency had them That it is contrary to what our Saviour hath Taught us to think that any thing That is from without and entereth into a Man defileth a Man That there is no Law prohibits them That there being nothing of our own will in them it is Impossible they should be our guilt c. But these things I have further opened and enlarged upon in the former Chapter Secondly Indeavour to possess your selves with the truest apprehensions of God you can This is good before the hour of Temptation it will prepare you for the Spiritual Combate and if you have neglected this before yet do not neglect it in the hour of Temptation Here I shall onely give you this caution Take heed of taking your Notions of God from Sense or meerly from Reason 1. Not from Sense Spiritual Beings fall under no cognisance of the External Senses None ever saw Gods Shape none ever saw his Similitude and here let me caution you against any Pictures of God or any Person in the God-head We are ready in our minds to form Idea's in our minds of any Beings according to the representations which Pictures and Images make of them It is Impossible but all Pictures Images or External representations of the Divine Being must be Teachers of Lyes It is impossible that a Limner should draw the true representation of a man whom he never saw How is it possible he should draw any representation of an Invisible God a Being which he neither ever saw nor can see The fairest pretence is for the Picture of our Saviour who assumed our nature and was a man in all things But all those Pictures must be Teachers of lies too For Christ was God-Man and the representation of a Man is no representation of the Person of the Mediatour Doth any say that upon the same Argument there should be no Pictures drawn for a Picture doth but represent our Fleshly Part the Soul cannot be expressed I answer there yet are these differences 1. The Picture of our friend is the representation of a being that we know is or was informed with a reasonable Soul so as the other essential part of the man is on course understood but it is not so as to Christ Tho the Picture of an humane Shape hath this advantage that we may understand under it a reasonable Soul of which every man is possessed yet we cannot under any such Shape understand the Divine Nature personally united to the Humane Nature 2. Again Even
to be exposed to shame contempt and obloquy It is therefore of very high concernment to all of us that would be out of the danger of these Fiery Darts to study humility while we are in health while we are in the highest circumstances of prosperity to be thinking of a lower state and condition and meditating of the vanity of the high things of the World the incertainty and slipperiness of them the littleness of them under their greatest appearances to be thinking what poor Creatures we are how little we brought into this world with us how little any of us have deserved at the hands of God to feed our selves continually with Meditationâ— which may keep us in a low opinion of our selves CHAP. VII A Third Direction for the preventing of this Temptation The possessing of our Souls with Patience under and arming of our Souls against all manner of Discontent The Mischief of Discontent the Excellency of Contentment and the usefulness of it 3. IF we would keep our selves from the Assaults of this Temptation we must make it our business to learn in all estates to be content To possess our selves with Patience and arm our selves against all manner of Discontent No Soul satisfied and contented with his or her state and condition falleth into this Snare of the Devil it is always the effect of Discontent Now Discontent is ordinarily bottomed in Pride but possibly not always St. Paul telleth us Phil. 4. 11. I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both how to abound and suffer need There is no such Antidote as this against the Poison of this Fiery Dart The Temptation lyeth here Better be out of the World any way then endure this Misery then be exposed to this Shame then come into the hands of such Enemies But the Soul that hath possessed it self with Patience that hath learned in every Estate to be Content and hath brought it self into a willingness that God should chuse its Lot and carve its Portion for it is Armed as with a Coat of Male no Dart of this Nature can possibly penetrate such a a Soul And suffer me to tell you this will be a Lesson hardly learned if once the Evil be come upon you when the Sense of the present Evil naturally stirreth up Passion in us of so unspeakable a Consequence is it to have our Wills subdued to the Will of God to that degree that it shall perfectly rule over us In matters of Action we sometimes may be at loss doubting what the will of God is and what we ought to do but now in any Case of Suffering the Will of God is clear there can be no dispute about it There can be no Evil of Punishment in a City or in a Family but God must be the Author of it it must be the Will of God that such or such a Person should come to Poverty come into Disgrace be exposed to Shame and Contempt that this or that Man or Woman should be Racked and Tormented with such a Disease Now our Business must be to bring our Wills to the Will of God nor must this be studied with reference to a particular Case for who can tell what shall befall him but to learn with Saint Paul in all things to be content to have an Heart ready in all Essaies in all Contingences of this Life to comply with the Divine Will Not that it is possible for a Christian so far to subdue himself that it shall not at all reluct nor wish it it self to be in a better Condition but so far that the Spirit shall get the Victory and Conquer the Motions of the Flesh and the Heart shall prefer the Will of God to its own Will and this is a great business to bring the Soul of a Man to this pass And in order to this there is nothing so much to be studied as Humility and the Mortification of Pride For as Solomon saith Onely by Pride comes Contention So give me leave to tell you Onely from Pride cometh a Discontent at the Condition wherein God hath set us For why is the Man or Woman discontented But because he or she thinketh he or she is unworthily dealt with and hath not according to what they have merited It would be a far too great undertaking for me in a branch of Application to direct means in order to this Contentment and propound Rational or Spiritual Considerations which duly digested with the Blessing of God upon them may work the heart into this frame there have been whole Volumns that have been written upon it by Divines of all sorts I should onely commend one to you written in our own Language It is Mr. Borroughs his Book called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment where enough is said upon this Argument upon the due digestion of which there will be found nothing wanting but Prayer on our side for the great Work must be the Lords who alone can bow and change the Will of Man and work it into a compliance with the Will of God Our Passions since Man in the Fall lost the Reins and Government of them are grown too hard for our Reason I shall onely tell you That a Discontented Spirit is the Devils great Advantage in the forcing of this Dreadful Temptation No Man can possibly be under the power of this Impression but that Man onely who is perswaded That it is better not to be then to be so Miserable as he is in his present State and Condition And hence it is that although Godly Men and Women may often fall under the molestations of this Temptation yet they seldom fall under it I will not say never but I say seldom because although their Wills are not fully subdued to the Will of God yet they are generally so far subdued to the Divine will that the Devil seldom getteth this Advantage against them so as they shall commit such a Sin CHAP. VIII A Fourth Direction for the preventing of this Temptation The Increase of Faith and Mortifying Vnbelief As to the Being of God his Providence his Promises What Vnbelief advantageth this Temptation What Faith prepareth the Soul against it Three particulars instanced in An Explication of them and of the Forces of this Direction 4. FOurthly Endeavour to promove the habit and work of Faith in your Souls and to subdue Unbelief It is the Apostles Exhortation Heb. 3. 12. Take heed Brethren least there be in any of you an Evil Heart of Unbelief in departing from the Living God To depart from the Living God is to depart from the Law of God from the Rule which he hath set us to guide our Conversation Thou shalt do no Murther or Thou shalt not Kill is a part of that Rule you know Now it is Unbelief which gives a Man
this counsel may come too late the Enemy may be upon them What shall be done in this Case I shall conclude my Discourse referring to this Temptation with some Advice of this Nature 1. And here my first Direction must be of the same Nature as before The Evacuating of those Peccant Natural Humours of which the Devil takes advantage and this at the first Physicians will tell you That there is a Melancholick Deliration Melancholy may so far prevail as to put a Man or Woman out of the Conduct and Guidance of his Reason and who knoweth what a Man in those Circumstances may do and although it be true that Acts done in Distractions are not Humane Acts and possibly shall not be imputed to us yet let me tell you that these are sad issues of our Lives and oftentimes Men and Women are so rational by Times and in some Acts that it is a very hard judgment to be made by standers by whether such Miserable Creatures doing such an Act do it under the Conduct of their Reason for the avoiding of a great Misery as they suppose which they feel or fear yea or no. This therefore is the first thing to be done in this Case for the Removal of those Rises and Advantages which the Devil takes from this Temperature of Body When this is done 2. The next thing to be attended Is a just Enquiry into the Motive which the Devil urgeth to us to induce us to such an Act that ordinarily is the removing of our selves from the sense of some great Evil which either is upon us or like some black cloud hangeth over our heads and we apprehend is not avoidable for although we read of some amongst the Heathens that had got some imperfect Notions of the Immortality of the Soul and an happy Estate into which it should enter after Death out of hast to be there put an end to their Lives yet there are no Christians but are better instructed and know that although the Souls of Men and Women be indeed Immortal and that there is a Blessed Eternity into which the Souls of some Men and Women shall enter yet there is also a Miserable Eternity into which the Souls of others shall go And for the Blessed Eternity into which some shall enter the way to it is directed by Gods Word and not by our own Fancy and that it is no way to do it to die in a sinful Act which leaveth hardly any room for Repentance and speaketh the greatest Unbelief imaginable So that I say the general Motive prevailing with any to the least hearkening to this Temptation is the removal of our selves from the fear or present sense of some evils which either press or threaten us This being found out certainly there can be nothing imagined more effectual to deliver us from the dint of this Temptation then seriously to consider with our selves 1. Whether the destroying our selves will effect that end indeed delivering the Soul from such Evils 2. Whether supposing that it would deliverance might not be hoped for another way far more certain and more advantagious As to the First A Man or Woman must be more certain of his or her happy state after this Life then it is possible a Soul should be that doth entertain such thoughts or he can never be assured that the doing of such an Act should deliver him from the Misery under which he groaneth It is indeed very possible that a Soul should be under the assurance of Eternal Life whatever the Papists say but it is impossible that a Soul should be under this Assurance at the same time having it in his Heart and resolving to do that Act as to which the Scripture hath said That he that doth it shall not inherit Everlasting Life or hath not Eternal Life Now admit the Soul not to enter into Life he certainly goes into the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone where the Worm never dies the Fire never goeth out For a Man or Woman to leap out of the Miseries of this Life into the Pit of Hell to deliver himself from any degree of Misery either felt or feared is so wild and irrational an Undertaking as no Soul under the guidance of Reason can do it but one that believeth no Hell so that it is an Act agreeing onely to an Unbeliever or a Mad-man an Atheist or a Man Distracted 2. But Secondly Admit now that a Man or Woman destroying him or her self would bring him or her a deliverance from Misery in the Grave Job saith The wicked cease from troubling the weary be at rest The Prisoners rest and hear not the Voice of the Oppressor the Servant is free from his Master So then if Mens Souls expired with their Bodies Death would deliver them it freeth the Beast of the Field and all sensitive Creatures admit it would so free a Man or Woman which it will not yet certainly it is by no means elegible unless we can be freed no other way and to no better advantage Suppose a Man or Woman under a painful fit of the Gout or under an extremity of Pain in some particular Member or Joynt so as the cutting off an Hand or a Leg or a Joynt will certainly cure him yet who almost if it be but as to the pulling out of a Tooth will purchase his freedom from pain at that rate till he or she seeth that no other way will do Thou art under a great degree of Misery great bodily Pains or Torments or in danger of some great Shame Misery or Reproach Thou hast a Temptation to free thy self from the pressure of it by destroying thy self and which is the best thou canst fancy if thou beest an Atheist annihilating thy Being But is there no other way than this for thy Relief Is there not a waiting upon God an exercising of hope and confidence in him Is he not able to support and to bear thee up under these pressures To make thy burthen light unto thee and to take it off thy Shoulders when he shall think good Hath he not promised that he will not lay upon us more than he will inable us to bear that he will be with us in the Fires and in the Waters that the Waters shall not drown us nor the Flames kindle upon us If I can be delivered from an Evil of which I am afraid or which I feel a more certain and easie way than that which I am pressed to use which is both incertain and of greater disadvantage doth not all imaginable Reason dictate to me the use of it And certainly to a Soul possessed of the truth of what God hath revealed in his Word and under the conduct of Reason nothing need be added to repel so unnatural a Temptation as this is whereas therefore some are shy that persons under the prevailing of Melancholy should read Books of â—â—rrible Arguments or hear Sermons of the Wrath of God against Sinners of Hell and Judgement
I do not think any Books opening the Scriptures or any portions of Scriptures fitter to be read or any Sermons fitter to be heard by persons under these circumstances then such Books such Sermons such Portions of Holy Writ as most express the Wrath of God against Sinners most livelily express the miserable estate of Souls in another World under the Wrath of God Together with such as contain or explain the Promises of God for Support and Strength and Help under and Deliverance from the greatest Pressures of Affliction and Misery By the reading and hearing of the one the Grace of God concurring which is always requisite to make the Soul believe what it reads and hears a Soul shall be deterred from such an undertaking from the rational consideration That there is no way for it to get out of its Misery and by the other it shall be perswaded that there is a far nearer and more certain way of Relief for it if it can but exercise a little Patience from the good hand of God who is able to relieve it and who hath promised and is faithful Which two points are of very great import for a Soul to be perswaded of that it may stand against this fiery Dart and of that Nature that it is impossible that any Soul in the full possession and belief of them should ever listen to this Temptation so long as it pleaseth God to keep it in the exercise of its Reason Let therefore every Soul under this Temptation make it its business to give it self the fullest possession of these Truths for it is the Unbelief or faint Belief of these things that gives the least advantage to the roaring Lion thus seeking about to devour Souls The more rooted a Soul is in the Doctrine of Eternity both that which relateth to damned Souls and that which relateth to such as shall be saved the more remote and difficult it will be as to listning to any Temptation of this nature CHAP. XI Further Directions for Souls thus tempted The avoiding of Solitude The Study and Meditation of the Nature of the Covenant of Grace in the Matter of it the freeness of it the sureness of it the well ordering of it in all things 3. Dir. AVoid Solitudes and Solitary Places I mentioned this before as a means to prevent prevailings of Melancholy but let me a little farther inlarge upon that Argument Indeed excesses of Solitude are by no means to be affected by Christians under the greatest freedom of Body and Mind tho nothing more conduceth to a Souls Health and Freedom in communion with God then some just Measures and Proportions of it yet nothing is more dangerous in this hour of Temptation I observe Elijah was alone when he prayed God in a fit of Discontent to take away his Life and Jonah ch 4. 5 8. was in a Booth alone out of the City when he said It is better for me to die than to live And our blessed Lord was alone when Matth. 4. 6. the Tempter said unto him set upon the Pinacle of the Temple If thou be the Son of God cast thy self down Of Souls under these circumstances it is eminently true that Solomon saith Ecc. 4. 11. Two are better than one and woe to him that is alone when he falleth for he hath none other to help him up These Acts are committed usually by Persons that are alone It is therefore highly advisable to Persons under these Impressions to avoid giving this advantage to the Adversary and to those who are nearly concerned in and about Persons under these Temptations to be watchful as to this thing especially when they discern the Impressions are most strong upon them But having touched upon this before I shall add no more to it now 4. Dir. Fourthly There is nothing more proper for Souls under these circumstances Than to be much in the Study and Meditation of the Nature of the Covenant of Grace I told you before that supposing a Man or Woman under the conduct and government of Reason it is very hard to imagine what Motive should possibly prevail upon them to put an end unto their Lives but the freeing of themselves from so eminent Evils which they suffer to that degree that they conclude it is better for them to die than to live Now these Evils I told you were either External Afflictions and Crosses or such as are Internals Horrors of Mind Terrors of Conscience If the Motive be a freedom from Evils of the first sort I advised before what I judged proper viz. The Consideration whether the determination of our Lives in that manner would indeed free us or rather make our Condition much worse And Secondly Whether there be not an easier and safer way to procure our selves such an Immunity But now Suppose the Evils be of the second sort viz. The Horrors and Terrors of Conscience from the guilt of sin If this be the Motive the force of it lieth in our Ignorance or Mistake about the Covenant of Grace and look as under a Temptation to which External Misery is the great Motive There is nothing more proper than a just understanding of the state of the Damned and the misery of Impenitent and Unpardoned Souls in the World to come So supposing the Motive to be Horrors and Terrors of Conscience upon our Reflections upon Sin there is nothing more proper for a Soul than rightly to understand the Covenant of Grace and the reading of such Books and whetting upon our Hearts such Portions of Gods revealed Will in his Word as are most fully expressive of it Truly to understand this That there is no Sinner run into such an arrear with Gods Justice no Soul so guilty but by vertue of a gracious Covenant of Redemption and Grace which God the Father hath from Eternity contracted with the Son of his Love the Redeemers part in which Covenant is also fulfilled by Jesus Christ may find Mercy with God repenting of his Sin and casting it self upon the free Mercy and Grace of God in and through the Merits and Satisfaction of Christ Such is this Covenant of Grace that the most guilty Soul fulfilling his part in it and accepting of it may be assured that although its past sins cannot be made never to have been yet they shall be as if they never had been That is they shall no more condemn the Soul then if they never had been they shall not be mentioned they shall be sought for and not found the Righteousness of Christ shall be reckoned unto the Soul as if it were its Righteousness It is impossible that a Soul knowing and believing this and living in the view of this gracious Covenant should ever be frighted out of its Life from the Horrors of Conscience by its Reflections upon its guilt of Sin Though an ignorant Person that knoweth not this or an unbelieving Soul which though it may have received the Notion of it yet cannot believe it may from this Motive
may be forgiven This Pareus thinks the most proper Reading That which favoureth our Translation is what followeth in the next Words Behold thou hast driven me this day from the Face of the Earth c. where he complaineth onely of his Punishment Either Reading is what the Original will bear either of them makes the words the Complaint of Cain after he had kill'd his Brother Abel and God had come down and doomed him for it telling him He was Cursed from the Earth which had epened her Mouth to receive his Brothers Blood When he tilled the ground it should not yield unto him her strength A Fugitive and a Vagabond shalt thou be in the Earth To which Cain replyeth either thus My Punishment is greater then I can bear Or Mine Iniquity is greater then that it can be forgiven Whether he complaineth of his Sin or of his Punishment That 's the onely Question nor needs it any Decision Both Readings express the Genius of a Reprobate who either complaineth of his Punishment but not of his Sin or if at any time he complains of Sin it is despairing and without hope of Mercy Onely I cannot agree with Chrysostome and others who Interpret these Words into a full Confession of Sin onely they say it was too late but true Repentance is never too late I shall in my Discourse consider the Words as you have them in the Margents of your Bibles designing onely to make use of them to discourse as to the great Temptation to Despair In my Discourse upon which I shall first Consider 1. The Nature of the Temptation in it self 2. The Tempters inforcing it 3. The means ordinarily made use of in the inforcing of it 4. The most probable means to be used for getting a victory over it As to the first I have already told you That every Evil Temptation is a Motion or Solicitation of the Soul to Sin which when it is more Importune and Impetuous we usually call a Temptation but let us more particularly inquire into the Nature of this Sin of Desperation Despair in the general Notion of it signifieth a casting away of all hope as to the obtaining of some good which we desire and so the Object of it may be any good thing of which we are not possest but may be the Object of our Desires or Hope Thus we may Despair of Life as St. Paul did 2. Cor. 1. 8. of Health of Success in Business c. but in the Notion I am now speaking to it must he limited to the greatest Spiritual Good such as Pardon of Sin Living with God in Glory another day c. And here again we must distinguish betwixt Fear and Despair for although there be no Despair without high degrees of Fear yet there may be Fears great degrees of Fear which may produce some Phrases of Despair or Fits or Passions of it where yet there is no fixed Despair Despair in the Notion of it to which I am now speaking Is a Souls total fixed permanent Want and Rejection of all Hope as to the Pardon of Sins in this Life or any happy Estate in the Life to come When as the Apostle speaks there remaineth nothing in the Soul but a certain dreadful locking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation to devour them as the Adversaries of God Heb. 10. 27. It is an Hell began in the Soul in this Life It is often attended with Dâ—sperate Impressions Blasphemy against God always with intollerable Horrour and Terrour of Conscience But we are not at present so much Considering it in the Effects and Issue of it as in the Nature and first Rise and Beginning of it The next thing we have to consider is the Efficient Causes in this great Temptation I have shewed you that every Temptation to Sin is from our own Lust the Devil or the World The Men of the World have rarely any considerable Efficiciency in this Temptation it is not often we hear them telling us That we have sinned beyond hope of Mercy They rather err on the other hand The two ordinary Efficient Causes in this Temptation are our own Lust and our grand Adversary the Devil 1. Our own Lust Our depraved hearts are enough under some circumstances which we may be under to suggest to us very unworthy thoughts of God and highly derogatory to his Honour and Glory For though in a quiet calm state our Lust suggests ordinarily other things to us yet all the Lust that is in our Hearts doth not discover it self at the same hour We shall find Lusts stirring in us in an hour of Prosperity of which we shall hear nothing in an hour of great Tribulation and Adversity And so on the other side we shall find those Lusts stirring in us in a time of great Affliction and Adversity which we diseerned little of in the halcyon days of our Prosperity When Men come to be under great pressures of Afflictions then those who in Health could think of nothing but their Sensual Satisfactions or Worldly Business begin to be at leisure to think of Dying and of the Eternal State of Souls and tho ordinarily our Lust enclineth us rather to presume and groundlesly to prophecy Good rather than Evil to our selves yet I do not know but under some circumstances our Hearts that of themselves are no better disposed to give God the Glory of his Mercy then of his Justice may though the Devil stand by suggest to us black and hard thoughts of God which may produce Desperation 2. But where the Impressions are fixed strong and abiding and the Soul though out-reasoned refuseth to be comforted or to entertain any better thoughts of God but rather is more stubborn and pertinacious and blasphemeth God I should suspect a great praedominance of a Praeternatural Cause and the Soul under the Violence of Satan for we are naturally inclined to hope well for our selves and to lay hold of every good word that looketh that way 3. Possibly The Devil may also in this Temptation joyn with our own Lusts and the Temptation may be mixt from one or both these Causes are these Temptations and this sinful Habit is begun and perfected in our Souls CHAP. II. What seeming Good is the bait in this Temptation To speak the truth of it self Possibly the serving our Malice upon God An Examination Whether the Doctrines of Election of Persons particularly Redemption and Special Grace conduce to Despair The contrary evinced THe greatest difficulty is to resolve with what Bait it is possible such an Hook as this is should be baited for whereas the Apostle telleth us as I have formerly opened to you That every one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own Lust and inticed it might justly pose an ordinary Reason to imagine what seeming Good should entice a Soul to cast away all hopes of Happiness from the Mercy of God all hopes of Eternal Life and Salvation To conclude it shall go to Hell and there
not continuing they are as quickly down So it is with these Men a little thing raiseth their hopes and a little thing again sinketh them Thus it is in the great business of Hope as to the Pardon of Sin and obtaining Eternal Salvation Some Persons build up Hopes upon very light and unjustifiable Grounds their Hope is indeed but a Presumption like the Grass that groweth upon the House Tops which a little Heat of the Sun killeth But other Souls build up their Hopes upon more sure and wary Foundations which are not so soon shaked We use to say that we are certain of nothing more than what we have sometimes been uncertain of We are commanded to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling and to rejoyce with trembling Those Souls that have gained their Hope by the Conquest of many Doubts and Fears and Jealousies do not easily lose it whereas those who have hatched it up with more ease seldom keep it in an hour of Temptation 5. I know not what more to advise besides Frequent Self-Examination closâ— walking with God and diligent and constant Prayer Let me inlarge a little upon these I say First Frequent Self-Examination It is the Apostles Precepts Examine your selves prove your selves whether you be in the Faith or no 2 Cor. 13. 5. Whether we live by Hope or Sight I mean Assurance this is highly necessary for that Soul that would maintain the one or the other Two things I would have Christians much Examine themselves upon 1. The Grounds and Reasons of their Hope 2. The Abatements and Discouragements of them 1. As to the Grounds of their Hope which if good must always be bottomed in some Piece of Divine Revelation for Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life being both of them the free Gift of God it is unreasonable to hope for either but upon the Revelation of the will of him in whose Gift they are In examining therefore the Truth and Ground of your Hope trust to nothing but some portions of the Word of God which though it doth not tell you by name whose Sins are pardoned and whose are not who shall be saved and who shall perish it doth tell you what must be wrought in the Hearts of those whose Sins are Pardoned and how they must live that shall ever see the Face of God in Heaven there 's no trusting to your Interest in God as he that made you nor yet to Christ dying for all Men no nor yet to any Merits or Works of your own God hath no where said that he will save all those whom he hath Created nor all those who believe Christ died for all Men no nor yet all those that do some things that are as to the Matter of them good and such as if Men do not they cannot see God I shall not here run into particulars but in the general I shall tell you that there is nothing but the Revelation of the Will of God in his Word and the experimental finding that God hath wrought those things in your Souls which he in his Word hath made necessary in order to obtaining Pardon and Eternal Salvation that is in this Case to be trusted to Often therefore examine your selves upon these Points 1. What God in his Word hath made necessary to the obtaining of Pardon and Salvation 2. The Work of God upon your Hearts Creating and Working and Maintaining these Habits and Exercises in your Souls Nay do not onely this but examine your selves also about the holding or abating of your Hopes the Increase or Decrease and Discouragements of them in your Souls A faint decaying weakening Hope if not lookt to will grow more and more faint and weak every day than other till it putrisieth into Despair Now the force of this lies here The decays and abatements of our Hope are caused either from some Relapses into Sin or from some eminent with-drawings of the Holy Spirit of God which uphold and maintaineth it in a Soul And a daily examination or frequent examination of our selves how it is with us as to our Spiritual hope will put the Soul both upon frequent Acts of Repentance as it discerneth that its hope is abated by the prevailings of its Lusts and also upon frequent Prayers begging the revivings and upholdings of it from the Spirit of God 2. Live in close Communion with God I propounded to you before the avoiding of Sin all Sin but some especially to prevent Temptations to Despair But this is something more we are at first begotten to a lively Hope by the Word upon fervent Prayer c. and this Hope is maintained in the Soul by the same means by which it is first begotten and bred in the Soul I told you before that we must find the ground and bottom of our Hope in the Word of God Now Preaching where it is done sincerely and faithfully is nothing else but an Explication and Application of the Word of God an Interpretation of the Word to our Souls and a whetting of it upon our Souls and therefore in reason a consciencious Attendance upon it must necessarily be a means to confirm and strengthen our Hopes and to antidote Despair Nor certainly can often Communion in the Lords Supper be useless but contrariwise of very great use for the Lord in that Ordinance having added a Sign to his Word for the confirmation of our Faith it must needs be a proper means to strengthen and increase our Hope In short All Communion with God whether it be more Internal by Meditation and the secret Exercises of the Power of our Souls upon God or more External in such Duties as God hath prescribed us to perform an Homage to him by must be of great use to our Souls in this case For the more Freedom and Acquaintance we have with God the more we be with him the truer and more just Apprehensions we shall have of him and the more we shall understand the loving Kindness of God Now all Despair floweth from unjust and unkind Apprehensions and Impressions of God and from a too great an estrangement from him It is true those that know the Lords Name will trust in him and hope in his Mercy But above all be much in Prayer that obtaineth all Grace all Mercy from God the beginnings of it the growth and encrease of it c. But I shall add no more upon this Subject directing you to what I judge most proper to prevent in the Soul Fits or more settled Habits of Despair and certainly it is most advisable to keep Satan at a distance and more easie to oppose the first Assaults or avoid giving him advantages to it than to grapple with it CHAP. IV. What Despairing Souls should do They ought to consult the Physician if no Bodily Distemper gives a rise to such dark Thoughts What Business they have with God No Argument sufficient to warrant Despair Sometimes none pleaded The usual Arguments pleaded From our many Sins The greatness
Soul think of these great instances and of those who Crucified the Lord Jesus Christ Acts 2. 36 37 38. yet at Peters Sermon were pricked at the Heart encouraged by the great Apostle to Repent and be Baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the Remission of their Sins and had the Promise of receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost 4. O let no such Soul neglect the Reading or Hearing of the Word of God that is the Proximate Object of our Hope God is indeed the primary and proper Object none can give Remission of Sin or Eternal Life but God but by the Word and from the Revelation of the good will of God in his Word we come to Hope in God I look therefore upon that as a great Conquest which the Devil hath gotten over a Soul Despairing when he hath perswaded it not to hear not to read the Word that is indeed to omit the Means by which its Darkness should be dispelled and a true and lively Hope should be begotten in it 5. To all these should be added Fasting and Prayer the Efficacy of which depends on this That it is Gods Work to beget the Soul to a lively Hope through the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1. 3. It is true a Soul in these Fits is not very fit for Prayer how shall it Pray in Faith But yet I would not have it wholly to neglect Prayer But let it call in the Help of godly Ministers and Christians let it send for the Elders of the Church and let them pray for it 6. I should have added before I shall now close this Discourse with it Let such a Soul be often whetting upon it self and let others be suggesting to it the most liberal Promises of Free Grace and Pardon and the greatest Presidents of Forgiving Mercy which the Scripture affordeth And let there be frequent Repetitions of them upon and to the Soul possibly though at the first or second offer they may not stick to the Soul nor the Soul take any Comfort from them yet at last they may But so much shall serve to have spoken to this Black and exceeding Dangerous Temptation FINIS Concerning TEMPTATIONS TO Presumption CHAP. I. The Text Deut. 29. 18 19 20. opened The fitness of it to the intended Discourse The Proposition founded in it The Method of handling it proposed What it is to presume The Nature of Presumption opened MOses the Servant of God when he had a second time repeated the Law of God to the Israelites as you shall find in that Book which from that Second Repetition hath its Name Deuteronomy commandeth the People that having passed over Jordan into the Land of Canaan they should set up Stones and Plaister them with Plaister and write the Law upon them and set up these Stones in Mount Ebal Deut. 27. 4. and six of the Tribes were to stand upon Mount Ebal six upon Mount Gerizzim v. 12 13. who were to say Amen to the Levites pronouncing the Blessings or Cursings following after Chap. 27. 28. promised to those that observed the Laws or denounced against those that presumed to violate it after this Moses exhorteth them to Obedience from the great Works of God which they had seen him doing for them Chap. 29. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. and from thence to the 15 verse he ingageth them in a Covenant with God for the observation of his Law And v. 16 17. shortly again mindeth them of what God had done for them both in bringing them out of Egypt and through the Nations of their Enemies After all this that great Man of God from the general Corruption of Humane Nature fore-saw there would be some bâ—ld prâ—fane Persons that would venture obsequiousness to their Sensual Appetite to break this Holy Law and notwithstanding all the Blessings annexed to the Observation of it and all the Curses entailed to the Violation of it would adventure upon their Sensual Satisfactions and yet promise to themselves not onely Impunity and Freedom from the threatned Evils but also the obtaining those good Things for the obtaining of which the Observation of the Divine Law was made a Condition he therefore adds v. 18 19 20 21. Lâ—st there should be amongst you Man or Woman or Family or Tribe whose Heart turneth away from the Lord his God to go and serve the Gods of these Nations lest there should be amongst you a Root that beareth Gall and Wormwood v. 19. and when he heareth the words of this Curse that he blesseth himself in his Heart saying I shall have Peace though I walk in the Imagination of mine Heart and add Drunkenness to Thirst v. 20. The Lord will not spare him but then the Anger of the Lord and his Jealousie shall smoke against that Man and all the Curses of this Book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his Name from under Heaven v. 21. And the Lord shall seperate him to Evil out of all the Tribes of Israel according to all the Curses of the Covenant that are written in this Book of the Law It is true these Words are in the Old Testament but Augustine said true That the Old Testament is Occultatio Novi The New Testament in a Mystery the New Testament Revelatio Veteris the Old Testament explained both of them the Revealed Will of God the later onely the more clear Revelation of it And it is as true That as Face answereth Face in a Glass so the Hearts of Men in one Age and Period in the World answer the Hearts of Men in another Period of it Moses in the Text afore-mentioned describeth to you 1. A Sinner one who turneth away his Heart from the Lord his God that walketh according to the imagination of his own Heart that addeth Drunkenness to Thirst and all this after he hath heard the Words of the Law and the Blessing to them that keep the Law and the Curse to them that violate this Law 2. The bold Presumption of this Sinner when he hath heard the Law the Blâ—ssings promised to them that observe it and the Curses denounced against them that violate it yet he will flatter himself he shall have Peace though he walks according to the imagination of his Heart and addeth Sin to Sin Drunkenness to Thirst 3. The Fate of such a Sinner or the Issue of that Presumption The Lord will not spare him but the Anger of the Lord and his Jealousie shall smoke against that Man and all the Curses in Scripture shall lie upon bim and the Lord shall blot out his Name from under Heaven The Lord shall seperate him to Evil out of all the Tribes of Israel according to all the Curses of the Covenant that are written in the Book of the Law God hath also made a Covenant with People under the New Testament even the same for Substance as with the Jews He then gave them a Law A Law for Worship called the Ceremonial Law A
born again of Water and the Spirit he can never enter into the Kingdom of God they are the indisputable words of our Saviour John 3. 3. And St. Paul plainly saith that Neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but a new Creature Our Saviour saith He that believeth not is condemned already he shall never see Life c. The Apostle saith without Faith and Holiness no Man shall see the Lord No considering Man therefore can possibly raise up to himself any hopes of the Pardon of Sin or Eternal Life but he must satisfy himself that he is Regenerated that he doth Believe and that he doth so far Obey as God will accept it To this purpose nothing can serve the Devils turn so effectually as for the Soul to be deceived in the Notions of Faith and Holiness Nothing can be more the concernment of the Soul than to take care it be not deceived There have been several Notions of Faith that have striven for Mastery in the World 1. The first is the Popish Notion who make Faith to be the Souls Assent to the Proposition of the Word which may be without any Practical Obedience for many a Man assenteth to the truth of the Proposition which yet he alloweth not an influence upon his Life and indeed this is such a Faith as the Apostle tells us the Devils are possessed of They Believe and Tremble 2. The Second is their Notion who make Justifying Faith to be what our Saviour tells us it is John 1. 12. A Receiving of the Lord Jesus Christ a closing an hearty closing with him as offered in the Gospel hoping trusting in him and him alone for Salvation No Soul can possibly do this that doth not first Assent to the Proposition of the Gospel and agree to what that Revealeth concerning Christ both as to his Person and as to his willingness to Save But it is possible that a Soul may Assent to those Propositions and yet not Receive Christ upon the Terms he propoundeth This Receiving Christ and Trusting in him as their Saviour they say necessarily draws on Holiness and Obedience though Faith and Love are two things for the rational Nature of Man will not suffer him to hope or trust in another for any kindness which he hath promised upon Terms without the fulfilling of those Terms upon which it is promised but this they say may be without any certain Assurance of the Souls Acceptation which a man cannot have until he be Justified 3. A Third is the Notion of them who make it a full Assurance of the Love of God but yet such a one as obligeth the Soul to all manner of Duty and this seems to have been the Notion of some Eminent Divines upon our first Reformation but is rejected by latter Divines as it being not possible that that should be an Instrument in our Justification which it is not possible that any Soul should have till it be Justified besides that many a Pious Devout Soul hath not arrived at this 4. Others make it to be a confident Perswasion that Christ died for them whether they find themselves obliged to Live to him yea or no. 5. Others make it to be a Practical Assent to the Gospel The danger of a Souls Presuming is from the first and the fourth of these principally If Men and Women think they do Believe because they do agree to the Proposition of the Gospel they may easily run away with a vain Imagination that all the Promises of the Gospel are their Portion when indeed not one of them belongs to them because this Believing is not that Believing which the Scriptures make necessary to Salvation for the evidence of which suffer me to offer these few things to your Consideration 1. Because this Assent may be without any Holiness or Conformity to the Will of God Murtherers Traytors Thieves do agree to the Proposition of Humane Laws though they prodigiously violate them There may be an Assent of the Understanding to a Proposition to which Mens Lusts and Passions suffer them not to live up to but we know that without Holiness none can see God and therefore this cannot be that Believing to which the Promises of seeing God and living with him are annexed 2. Because as I said before the Devils thus Believe yea I believe better than the most of Men do For our Assent to a Doctrine according to the workings of our Reasonable Natures is more or less according to our Evidence of it Now the Devils have seen the Propositions of the Gospel That Christ is the Eternal Son of God That he was made Man and died for our Sins These are Propositions which the Devils having been in the World ever since the Creation must needs see in a better Light than any Man can do who onely seeth the truth of them by the light of Reason or the Revelation of Scripture not imprinted upon his Soul by the Demonstration of the Spirit Revealing perticularly to the Soul what is generally Revealed in the Word 3. Thirdly Consider That every where in Scripture A Person the Person of Christ is made the object of that Faith to which the Promises of Life are made It is made a believing in Christ on his Name a Receiving of him a comeing to him Now a Proposition not a Person is the object of Assent We indeed sometimes say We Assent to such or such a Person But the meaning is we agree to such a Proposition which he hath delivered by word of Mouth or by Writing The Object of Justifying Faith the Scripture makes to be the Person of the Mediator I therefore begg of you to take heed that you deceive not your Souls by this Notion of Faith And take as much heed of their wild Notion who make Faith to be nothing else but an assumed confidence that Christ died for them let them live as they list This separateth Faith and Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord and is indeed nothing better in it self than a most bold and unwarrantable presumption exclusive of that fear and trembling with which we are commanded to work out our Salvation Their Notion is far better who make Faith to be a practical Assent but still I pray observe the Act of the Soul is made to be Assent and the Object of Assent can be no other than a Proposition and for my own part I cannot think this the Act of that Faith that Justifieth for the Object of that Act as I said before is in Scripture constantly made the Mediator himself not a meer Proposition I am afraid of this Notion as calculated to justle Christ out of the place of a Mediator wherein God hath set him which was not onely to treat with his Father about the Terms of Mans Salvation but to stand as the middle Person between God and Man to merit Salvation for us by his Active and Passive Obedience by a gracious Act of God to be reckoned to us upon
and yet not eying the Command of God be carried out to it from other Motives Now this is no Obedience no keeping of the Commandements of God 4. That no Obedience is true but what is Universal I do not say perfect for who liveth and sinneth not but Universal There is an equal respect to the whole Law of God Psal 119. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed saith David when I have respect to all thy Commandements The Reason is plain because who so doth or avoideth an Action purely upon this Reason because God hath commanded or God hath forbidden it will find himself under the same Obligation to do whatever God hath commanded and to avoid whatsoever God hath forbidden yet is not a Christian to measure his Obedience from his performance but from the regard which he hath in his Heart to the whole Law of God conjoyned with a proportionable endeavour tho our Corruption will sometimes be too hard for us 5. If a Man or Woman hath built up his Hopes as to the remission of Sins of which he as yet hath no Assurance and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eternal Life upon this that God having in the Gospel made a Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ as he upon whom he hath laid the Salvation of Men and having wrought in his Heart a firm and steady Assent to what God hath there revealed and inabled him to accept of this Salvation and to close with Gods way of Salvation casting all the Concerns of his Soul for Pardon and Salvation upon Jesus Christ and that he hath by his Spirit made a change in his Heart that he now hateth all Sin and loveth God and the Commandments of God and hath a regard to them all desiring to do whatsoever God hath commanded and to avoid whatsoover he hath forbidden and that because he hath commanded the one and forbidden the other and accordingly endeavoureth in his whole Conversation though he be many times over born with Temptations and finds a Law in his Members rebelling against and prevailing against the Law of his Mind and bringing him into Captivity to the Law of Sin This Man now builds his Hopes not presumptuously but upon the clear Revelation of the Will of God in his Word But less than this is no better than Presumption from false Notions taken up of Regeneration Conversion Repentance Saving Faith and True Holiness Yet further In order to the avoiding of this Temptation take heed of taking up scanty and narrow Notions of the Law of God It is indeed a snare unto a Soul so to interpret the Divine Law so as to doubt and fear Actions that are lawful as if they were forbidden But it is a more dangerous Rock for a Man to dash upon so to interpret Gods Law as to make those things lawful which God hath forbidden or to undeestand those things as unlawful or at least indifferent which God hath commandeded but I hinted it before to you and I now tell it you again There is none that is but moderately acquainted with the Srriptnres and with the Writings of the Popish Casuists but will plainly see that it hath been the great Design of their Divines for a long time to interterpret the Law of God so as Men might keep their Lusts and yet keep the Commandments of God according to the sense they have put upon them In short Obedience to the Church is almost with them The whole Duty of Man There are some others that came too near them making strange loose Interpretations of the Law of God The precept for not taking Gods Name in vain they say is onely to be understood against Perjury The 4th Commandement onely commandeth the keeping such days holy as the Church appoints These and such like Interpretations serve for nothing but to help a Soul to presume And indeed this loose Interpretation of the Law of God is necessary to all such as maintain the Justification of the Soul not by the Righteousness of Christ but by a Righteousness of our own And that Man hath a Power in himself to do all that God requireth of him I say it is necessary for those Men to interpret Gods Law into a consistancy with Mans Power But let all good Christians that value their Souls take heed of those Interpretations Let them but Interpret the Commandements so as by them shall be commanded and forbidden whatsoever is commanded and forbidden in the Word of God and then they will easily discern these fallacies and so they must interpret them or they cannot conclude that the Ten Commandements contain the sum of all that God hath commanded us to do and avoid for it is most certain that the whole Scripture is as much the Revealed Will of God as the Ten Commandments and hath equal Authority with us Be acquainted therefore with the Scriptures and call that Obedience and Holiness which that calleth so and be assured that let Men tell you what they will without that Holiness that Obedience no Man shall see God I have dwelt a little the longer upon this head because indeed the great mistakes of Men are upon these points that Men fancy that their case is good that they believe enough and are holy enough to go to Heaven nay to plead their Holiness as a Righteousness in which they shall adventure to appear before God 6. A Sixth Notion which I instanced in of this mischievous tendency Is the Power of a Priest or Minister to give Absolution So as if while they live the Minister hath absolved them or if when they come to die they can but Receive the Sacrement be absolved they conclude their Case is good enough The Opinion is in its Original perfectly Popish but founded on that Text Whose Sins soever you remit they are remitted and whose Sins soever you retain they are retained John 20. 23. The words are spoken to Christs Disciples upon whom he breathed v. 22. and said Receive you the Holy Ghost then he adds Whose Sins soever you remit they are remitted and whose Sins soever you retain they are retained And this Power saith the Papist every Priest hath he deriveth from the Apostles and hath the same Power given to him which Christ gave them And there is a Tincture of this Doctrine upon the Spirits of some that are no professed Papists and I perswade my self that many less knowing People peniciously rest upon it I shall therefore a little inlarge upon it 1. In the first place That God onely can forgive Sins is a Principle so consonant to Reason and so abundantly Confirmed in Holy Writ that certainly none can make the least doubt of it Sin is a debt a debt to the Justice of God Christ hath taught us to pray with Reference to it Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors Now Reason tells us that none can discharge a debt but he onely to whom it is owing it is an injury done to God and who can forgive it but
Defensative Armour Against Four of SATHAN'S MOST Fiery Darts VIZ. TEMPTATIONS TO Atheistical and Blasphemous Impressions and Thoughts Self-Murther Despair and Presumption WHEREIN Is Discoursed the Nature of these Temptations the several Tempters to these Sins the Arguments ordinarily used by the Tempters in the inforcing of them and some proper Advice is offered to those who are exercised with them By J. C. D. D. Maxima pars fallitur quod non credunt has cogitationes esse tentationes Sathanae Illae ipsae sunt tela ista iguita nequissimarum nequitiarum spiritualium in coelestibus Luther LONDON Printed for Benjamin Alsop at the Angel and Bible over against the Stocks-market and Ewderd Giles Bookseller in Norwich 1680. TO THE Christian Reader Reader IT is my Experience after more than thirty years service of God in the work of the Ministry that hath brought forth these meditations to thy view in which time I have been sent for to and conversed with many who have laboured under the three first of these horrid temptations as to which this Discourse offers something of Instruction and Counsel upon some of which they have had as sad issues as can well be imaginable and to all the first of them at least hath been the most intollerable burthen and affliction that a reasonable Soul is capable of bearing This hath put me upon frequent studies what to say or do for their relief Who would not do his utmost to lend an helping hand to a soul crying out That it feeleth an Hell upon Earth to help a poor creature whose sleep departeth from him in the night and in the day time he can find no place to rest but is uneasie in his or her greatest circumstances of ease whom he seeth trembling that he is not able to speak and continue a sentence to him to its period This I have seen and mine Ears have heard I have known some lying under one or other of these Temptations months and years and for a great part of the time under such a burthen that they have passionately said They would heartily forgive any that would take away their lives and which is most tremendous for want of such an executioner I have known some do it with their own hands Under the greatest circumstance for content imaginably blessed with a competent estate acceptable relations and wanting nothing but a quiet mind O that it might be a warning to the Athiests and Blasphemers of this Generation They know not how soon those Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts and Expressions with which their hearts are filled and which they make now the Ornaments of their Speech may reflect to this degree upon them I have observed in these distresses persons nearly concerned in such as have been thus afflicted at loss for some Discourse purposely wrote upon these Arguments which if they could not perswade their friends in these paroxismes to read yet they might read to them or at least from which they might be furnished with matter of proper discourse or counsel to them This hath made me spend some few hours upon this Argument which tho it be not the general concern of Christians they being through the Goodness of God but few of many that are incumbred with the three first of the Temptations here spoken to yet in another sense are the general concern of all none of us knowing which of us may not fall into these Temptations common to men nor what friend or neighbour of ours may next stand in need of our help and the most being at too great a loss how properly to apply themselves to Christians under these circumstances Indeed the last Temptation is of more general concern we are all apt enough to receive temptations to Presumption These considerations together with my observation that in these late years in which Atheism and Blasphemy have been so rampant and profanely triumphing almost at the end of every loose and ungoverned Tongue these Temptations have also been more frequent hath made me willing to let these Meditations pass into a publick view that they may be of more than a private use I shall think my self abundantly rewarded for my pains if but one Soul may be fore-warned or relieved by them or any thing be said in these sheets which any private Christians may make use of for a word in season to any one Soul thus wearied I weigh not the scoffs of those who mock at these things experience lets all that mind Religion know these Temptations are no Chimaera's and those who judge them meer Melancholick Delirations and the Effects of them know not what they say but must say something tho it be to discover their ignorance of the ways of Divine Providence and no acquaintance with the Methods of Sathan Such as these Meditations are they are not intended for such as are scoffers at wounded and troubled spirits but for a relief for those who feel such wounds and in whose hearts the infernal Plow-man hath made such deep furrows and for those who know no Temptation of this nature hath befallen others but such as are common to men and wherewith they also may be Tempted Having told thee my design good Reader I commend thee to God and these Sheets and thee to the Blessing of his Grace Thy faithful Servant in the Gospel of our Lord J. C. AN Alphabetical Table OF THE Principal Matters contained in this BOOK A Asolution by Priests as held by Papists a great means of Presumption The differing Notions of Papists and Protestants about it a p. 297 ad p. 304. What power Ministers have to pardon sin Ibid. Acquaintance with the Covenant of Grace how useful against Despair p. 191 192. Right Apprehensions of the Divine Being how to be obtained 41 42. Not to be gained from Sense or Reason working on Natural Principles but from Scripture Revelations 44 45. Advantages from them 46. Great means to prevent Temptations to Atheistical Thoughts 41 Arguments used by the Devil to perswade the Entertainment of Blasphemous Thoughts p. 14. No Arguments conclusive for Despair 206 207. Assent not the justifying Act of Faith 284 285 Attending on Ordinances useful against Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts 48 Atheism what how committed the variety of Atheistical Thoughts distinctions of them p. 4 5. What kind of Atheistical Thoughts are here spoken to and whence they proceed p. 6 Whether the Souls guilt or no the Negative proved 19 20 21 22 23 24 37 38. What may be done to prevent or to repent them and to support the Soul under the burden of them 37 38 39 40 41 to p. 55. They are not to be entertained for a moment 49. Atheistical Persons or Books to be avoided p. 49 c. B. BAptism the supposed efficacy of it various Opinions 262 It is no ground alone to presume Salvation on proved 271 272 273. It s true efficacy 275 Blasphemy what it is committed 3 ways p. 4. C. CAuses of violent Atheistical Thoughts hard to
Actions we are only the Objects of them not the Agents in them When God forbiddeth us Sin he forbiddeth us not to omit something which he hath Commanded us to do or to forbear something which he requireth us not to avoid He doth not forbid us the Actions of others which we cannot prevent Suggestions and Impressions of this Nature are the meer Actions of others to which we no way concurr What are not our Acts cannot be our Sins 3. Thirdly I argue from the Words of our Saviour Matth. 15. 11. Not that which goeth into a Man dâ—fileth a Man but that which cometh out of a Man that defileth a Man and to the same purpose Mar. 7. 20. Are you so without Understanding also Do you not perceive that whatsoever from without entreth into a Man it cannot defile him because it entreth not into his Heart v. 20. And he said that which cometh out of the Man that defileth the Man for from within out of the Heart of Man proceed Evil Thoughts Adulteries Fornications Murthers Thefts Covetousâ—ess Wickedness Deceit Lasâ—â—viousness an Evil Eye Blasphemy Pride Foâ—lishness all these Evil things come from within and defile the Man I know our Saviour is there discoursing relating to the Pharisaical Supersticious Conceit of Mens being Defiled by Eating with unwashen hands But this Discourse led him to lay down some General Maxims of unquestionable Truth 1. That that which meerly entreth into a Man from without cannot defile him 2. That what defileth a Man must be something of his own something which cometh out of himself His Destruction must be from himself 3. That amongst these things may be Evil Thoughts for they proceed from the Heart v. 21. 4. That what proceedeth not from the Heart cannot Defile Let me now a little Apply this to the present purpose Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts thus Circumstanced do meerly Enter into us from without we suppose the Soul not to contrive and breed them not to study and delight in them They are in a Sense within a Man the Soul hears the Noise feels the Impression of them but they Enter from without from an Agent that is without the Man Secondly They are not a Man 's own he doth not Hugg or Imbrace them or Feed upon them they are but as Bastards laid at his Door not born in his House not bred of his own Soul Thirdly Though they be Evil Thoughts yet they proceed not from the Heart A Mans Imaginative Power relates to his Sensitive Part his Understanding is but the Out-room of his Soul Thus far indeed these Evil Thoughts enter into a Man they make some Impressions upon his Power of Imagination that is an Open Faculty to which a Man hath no Lock or Barr so long as there are Sensible Objects or Sinful Agents in the World they will have some Passage into this Entry of the Soul of Man The Understanding which is the Porter to the Heart takes some Cognizance of all Passengers into it so as a Man may have some Notions and take some Cognizance and make some Judgment of these Evil Thoughts but yet they are not come into the Heart which is the Will of Man here they come not out of this they proceed not they are not willed nor chosen they are not loved nor delighted in the Soul melts not in any imbraces of them but is scared at the sight of them abominateth rejecteth and abhorreth them So as these things proceed not out of the Heart nor indeed were ever admitted into the Heart 4. Fourthly If these were the Souls Guilt how shall we excuse our Saviour from Guilt or Eve before she yielded to the Tempter or Joseph though he resisted the Motion of his Mistriss Our Saviour was made like unto us in all things Sin only excepted but how shall he be excused from Guilt if Satans troublesome Motions to him were a Guilt The Devil tempted him though not to things of this Nature yet to sinful Acts to distrust the Providence of God to destroy himself c. He received his Suggestions with detestation and abhorrence he said to him Get thee behind me Satan The Devil was Guilty by his Motions but no Guilt clave to our Saviour rejecting and abominating his Motions It is true he did not receive them with that Passion that Horrour and Trembling which Pious Men oft do but that only speaks him freed from that Passion and Weakness under which we labour Again Who will say that Eve our First Parent sinned by hearing the Serpent speak to her before she saw the Tree was Good for Food and that it was Pleasant to the Eyes and a Tree to be desired to make one Wise And took of the Fruit thereof and did Eat Who will say That Joseph's Mistriss soliciting him to lie with her was his Guilt She cast her Eyes upon him she said Lie with me But he refused as you read he said How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God Neither was this a single but repeated Motion She was Importunate with him The Text saith Gen. 39. 10. That she spake to him day by day but the Text also saith That he hearkned not unto her to lie by her or to be with her and not doing this Joseph doubtless was not Guilty The case is much the same with thee the Tempter hath said unto thee Do not believe there is a God or a Christ or that he ever was made Man or died for the sins of man or that God is such a one so Just so Omniscient c. And thus he talks to thee day by day but thou hearkenest not to the Tempter thou wilt not so much as parly with or deliberate upon them much less give credit unto them how art thou in this more Guilty than Joseph Tho thy Tempter dealeth with thee more secretly by Impressions on thy Spirit his more externally by Audible Words and thy Temptation be to a more Spiritual his to a more Fleshly Wickedness yet this Act is not more if so much as his 5. Lasty I argue from that known Maxime in Divinity Omne peccatum est voluntarium All sin must be voluntary It is most certainly true of Actual Sin It is also true of Original Sin The Sin of Adam which was Peccatum Originans was voluntary and we all in him voluntarily hearkened to the Serpent and had our Hands all our Hands in Eves Hand which she reached up to pluck of the Fruit of that Tree And for the Original Corruption and depravation of our Natures it was but consequent to that and so contracted voluntarily But Actual Sin must apparently be voluntary for an involuntary Action is no humane Action Now in this case here is nothing of the Will the poor Creature cries Get thee behind me Satan It would not hear such a Noise nor entertain such a Thought it trembleth at the fears of the returns of them I have seen one my self in such an Agony at but the fears of
the Picture of a man if it hath no similitude of the man is but a Teacher of a lie and doth but help our thoughts with false notions and conceptions And what Limner ever saw the Lord in his Humane Shape to draw a representation of him What need any Pictures of Christ when every man we see is as true a representation of him as any Limner can make who never saw him in the flesh nor a true Copy to draw him by I am apt to believe that this was one Reason of Gods so severe prohibition of Images and the Likeness of any thing to represent God because he knew that those things would be of this pernicious use to give us false notions and Idea's of God for you shall observe when you have seen the pretended Picture or resemblance of a Man you will fancy him according to that Representation whether the Picture be any thing like the Person for whom it is made yea or no. 3. To which I might add That admitting a Picture of a Man or a Friend be not like the Person and give our Fancies a false Notion of him yet in this there is no Sin no Defilement no Guilt upon the Soul by it but to Conceive amiss of God is a thing quite of another Nature and of further danger to the Soul This hath made me sometimes wonder that Luther tho he abhorred Images and shewed as great a detestation of them as any other as they are used in Popery as they are means or objects of Adoration yet allowed the use and standing of them in Churches Certainly it is a thing of very dangerous consequence whether in Churches or our own private Houses for we shall find a great proneness in us to form out Notions of God according to such representations and if those representations be lies and false such will our Notions be and if this be not a fair way to fill the Soul with Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts concerning God and Christ I do not know what is 2. Secondly Take heed of taking your Notions of God from Reason Reason is a power within us by which we make Conclusions from some Principles Now these Principles are either Connatural to us and bred in and with us or such as we have from Revelation Reason working upon Connate Natural Principles will much convince us that there is a God and shew us also something what manner of Being God must be Nature will tell us that nothing is the cause of it self and will lead us to a Primum Mobile a first Being a first Cause a first Mover and will teach us That whosoever is the Cause of any Excellency or Perfection in another by his Communication of it if he loseth nothing by that Communication must needs have that Perfection and Excellency in a more Eminent Degree in himself But alas the Divine Being is Infinitely above the Fathom and Comprehension of Humane Reason concluding only from Connate and Natural Principles There is an Excellent use of Reason to give us the true Notion of God That is by setting it on Work to conclude from Principles of Revelation First firmly Believing whatever is revealed in Holy Writ then using our Reason both to compare Scripture with Scripture to find out the true Revelation the true sense and meaning of Holy Writ and to shew us that what the Scripture revealeth concerning God is but what Reason will allow may be 3. But the Surest Way for Persons to come to a true Notion of God is to attend to what the Scripture saith to Believe concerning God whatsoever we find there No man hath seen God at any time no Reason is able to Comprehend an Infinite Being and the Perfections of it but the Son of God and the Holy Spirit of God They have Revealed God and thence we must take those Measures of the Knowledg of God which we are capable of till we come to see him as he is and to know him as we are known Let it be therefore the Care of every Christian from those Sacred Writings to posess himself of due Notions and just Apprehensions of the Divine Being A Christian shall find these three Eminent Advantages of this Knowledge according to the Measure we are Capable of 1. There is no such Director of our Internal and External Homage to God as a just Notion of the Divine Being According to our Apprehensions of his Majesty Power Greatness and Justice so shall we Adore Revere and Fear him According to our Apprehensions of his Goodness and Mercy so we shall Love him Breath after him and Delight in him According to our Apprehensions of his Truth and Fidelity so shall we Confide and Trust in him If we truly Apprehend him as a Spirit we shall Conclude he must be Worshipped with our Spirits and that all Noises and Exteriour pretended Homages if not expresly commanded by him are indeed no Homage to him but some foolish Acts of Voluntary Humility and that all Lip Labour all Bodily Homage seperated from the Internal Homage Attention and Intention of the Soul and its Stooping before him are of no avail being no preportionable Homage to a Spiritual Being in the Eye of Reason nor required by him at all 2. Secondly There is no such Antidote as this against the Pâ—â—sâ—â— of Erroneous Doctrines and Opinions We have abroad many Erroneous Doctrines relating to the great Truths of God if they be searched to the bottom you will find them springing up out of a false Apprehension and Conception of the Nature of God It were easie to shew you how a due Knowledg and Conception of God will fortify the Soul against many Errors But 3. Lastly There is no such Weapon to repel these Fiery Darts of which I am speaking A Soul is not soon dispossest of such Notions of God as it is once well rooted in and especially when it is rooted in them upon the Authority the Infallible Authority of a Divine Revelation It is good therefore for Christians before any such Temptations come upon them to be well Instructed concerning the Nature and Attributes of God and to entertain no Notions but such as shall be confirmed unto him from Scriptures nor is any thing of more Advantage to a Soul in an hour of such great Temptations than to Read and have Read to him Discourses of this nature such especialy as are most Scriptural and indeavour to Establish the Faith of Christians not in or by the wisdom of men but the Power of God Let this be a Second Direction 3. Thirdly Let no Soul under these Temptations forbear Reading the Scriptures and waiting upon God in the hearing of his Word I have often observed and lamented the great Conquest which the Devil ordinarily getteth over Souls under this as well as other great Temptations in perswading them to forbear Reading and Hearing the Word of God Luther tells us That it is the Devils great Art Ut nos abducat ab oratione et verbo
of his Birth and Job 6. 8 9. Oh that I might have my Request and that God would grant me the thing that I long for even that it would please God to destroy me that he would let loose his Hand and cut me off So Elijah c. 3. Sometimes the Lust of Servile slavish fear when men and women have a Prospect of some great Evils that are like to come upon them and are not able to bear the thoughts of them nor to live in the view of them In this case we shall find Temptations also have prevailed upon Gods own People to desire Death though not to be the instruments of their own Death This was the Case of Elijah 1 Kings 19. 4. Jezebel sending a message to him had sworn by her Gods that by the next day she would kill Elijah as he had done by Baals Priests v. 3. v. 4. he goes into the Wilderness he goeth into the Wilderness and sits under a Juniper Tree and requesteth for himself that he might die and saith It is enough now O Lord take away my life for I am not better than my Fathers Now where any of these Lusts predominate at any time the Devil doth very ordinarily join his strength with it and makes frequent and violent impressions upon the Spirits of Christians putting them upon the murthering of themselves and where he meets with men or women that are ignorant or of base Atheistical hearts who do not believe there is a God or that there is such a thing as Eternity either an Heaven or Hell a place of Eternal happiness or Eternal torment or misery or an Immortal State of a Soul it is not at all to be wondered that he doth very often prevail For if they can but look upon death coming upon them any way as a freedom from misery and the grave as a place where the wicked cease from troubling where the weary be at rest where the prisoners rest together and hear not the voice of the oppressor it is but natural to them to cry out Wherefore is Light given unto him that is in Misery and Life to the bitter in Soul which long for death but it cometh not and dig for it as for hid Treasures and rejoyce exceedingly and are glad when they can find the Grave But now it being impossible that a Believer that knoweth the Scriptures and believeth them and agreeth to the Immortality of the Soul and the torments of Hell the truth of the Worm never dying and the Fire that never goeth out and that all Murderers shall have their portion in the Lake where this Worm this Fire is should ever look upon Death and the Grave in this dull notion Satan can never prevail with him So that no such Soul while he is possessed of any Liberty to use his Reason and to conclude from Principles can possibly be prevailed upon 2. Sometimes it may be The Motion may be first from the Devil who seeing a Man or Woman in great pain or misery or in great fears and expectations of misery may come to it and say as Job's Wife said to him Doest thou still retain thy Integrity Curse God and die I mean make some such Impressions upon a Man or Womans Spirit This possibly Men and Women at first discern and receive with great abhorrence cry Get thee behind me Satan tell their Friends and Neighbours of it beg of them to pray to God for them but the Devil reneweth his Motions and Impressions with great frequency violence and importunity until at length their own Lusts incline them to hearken either their over-eager desire to be out of their fears or out of their pain and at some more rest and quiet than they can possible arrive at and come to so as they yield CHAP. IV. By what Seeming Good the Soul tempted to Self-Murther may be drawn away and inticed What good greater than Life Eternal Life a greater good This can bait no Believer to such an Act why Immunity from some great Evil felt or imminent the onely appearing Good in the Case A Case arising from a Souls being possest of the Doctrine of Election Whether that can give this Temptation advantage It is denied BUt it may possibly be worthy of our Inquiry What can be a Bait fitting for such a Trap He who is tempted saith the Apostle is drawn away by his own lust and enticed No Man is enticed but by some appearing Good None can be drawn away from a Good nor enticed out of the possession of it but upon the view of a greater Good possible or probable to be obtained by parting with that which is lesser Now Life being in the Eye of Nature the greatest Good Skin for Skin saith the Devil and all a man hath for his Life One would think the Devil could not shew a Man or Woman any thing for the obtaining of which he should deliberately and voluntarily part with his Life To this I Answer two things 1 Though Natural Life in Pleasing Circumstances be the greatest Natural Good yet Life Eternal is a more Excellent Good So that if it be possible that a man should be cheated by his own heart or by the Devil so as to believe that the dispossession of himself of his Natural Life shall bring him into the possession of an Eternal Life he may upon that account be rationally perswaded to determine his own Life Thus the Devil imposed upon some of the Heathens who had by the Light of Nature but a dim Prospect of that Life and Immortality which the Apostle telleth us is brought to Light by the Gospel Dreaming that an happy State of the Soul in another Life was the common portion of all men or at least of all that lived up in any degree to the Rules of Moral Vertue and not understanding that the Wages of Sin was Death nor the right way to Eternal Life nor that of the Apostle That no Murtherer hath Eternal Life abiding for him no more than abiding in him they might easily be so cheated as Cleombrotus and others But it is not possible that a Believer one I mean who believeth the Scriptures should be thus enticed for by Faith he knows That the Law is Thou shalt do no Murther That no Murtherer hath Eternal Life That the Murtherer is one of those Sinners that have their portion in the Second Death Rev. 21. 8. and therefore not in the Second Life 2. Secondly Though Natural Life in pleasing Circumstances may be the greatest Natural Good yet this Natural Life as to particular persons may be so ill circumstanced that a present freedom from some Evil may to a Natural Eye appear a much greater Good in comparison of which even Life it self may be an Evil undesirable and abhorred Life is much rated by the happy or less happy Circumstances of it Even Nature it self would not desire a Life of Continual and Extream pain And indeed This Ease and Immunity from Evils which either at
present oppress us or hang over our heads so that we have or think we have them in a certain Prospect not probable to be avoided is the onely appearing good that can entice us to determine our own Lives For Death depriving us of all Positive Sensible Good Things such as Riches Pleasures Profits Honours Relations all kind of Sensual Satisfactions And this Death being no way or means and such a thing as cannot possibly appear to any but Heathens and Infidels as any means to bring us to any Eternal Good there remaineth nothing of any umbrage or Colour of Good in it by which it is possible we should be cheated but onely a Supersedeas from or Determination of those Evils which we either think we have in a near and certain Prospect hardly avoidable or under the pressure of which we groan being burthened and seek a Release from And if as I shall have occasion enough hereafter to shew you Death thus brought upon our selves by our own hands will not be a productive of this Effect but so far as we can possibly judge bring us into a far deeper Gulf of Misery than what we are already in and make our Case a thousand times more sad than it is already We must conclude it is onely an Appearence of Good by which we are cheated Obj. But I hear some say upon the Hypothesis of some That there is an Election of Grace and that those who are chosen unto Eternal Life cannot perish why may not Men and Women destroy themselves that they may be in Heaven for if they be Elected they shall he Saved And if they be not Elected let them live as long as they can they shall be damned Sol. This may be ignorantly spoken by such as know not the Scriptures nor what they who assert from the Scriptures the Doctrine of Election do maintain but it cannot be said by any understanding persons who knoweth any thing of the Mind and Will of God in the Scriptures or what they reveal as to the Doctrine of Election 1. For I beseech you to consider 1. That nothing can be a Temptation to any to deprive himself of the greatest natural good but an apprehension of a certain enjoyment of a greater good though it be granted that Eternal Life be certainly a greater good than a Natural Life yet if I do not apprehend that by departing out of this present Life I shall certainly be put into the possession of that better Life and by no other way so adequate I shall never be perswaded upon that Speculation to part with this Life for good as good doth not move our appetite but as so apprehended by us 2. Secondly that it is impossible that any one should apprehend that by depriving himself of his Natural Life he should be possessed of an Eternal Life for I pray observe me such an apprehension must be bottomed upon one of these things 1. Either that Eternal Life shall be the common Portion of all Men after this Life which indeed might be the apprehension of some Heathens but cannot possibly be fancied by any Intelligent Christian for besides that the Notices we have of a State of Eternal Happiness are very Imperfect besides such as we have from the Gospel which the Apostle saith have brought Life and Immortality to Light I say besides this the Scriptures plainly reveals that there is an Hell as well as an Heaven a State of Misery as well as Happiness that some shall rise to Shame and Contempt as others to Life and Glory 2. Or else Secondly It must be founded upon this That they know that they are elected unto Life For I appeal to the Reason of any person Suppose that I know and am assured that God hath chosen some from before the Foundation of the World to whom he will give Eternal Life and admit again that I am equally assured that no person so chosen of God unto Eternal Life can Eternally Perish yet what pretence is here for me unless I have also an assurance or perswasion that I am one of those whom God hath from Eternity so chosen and therefore cannot perish to throw away the greatest temporal good I have viz. my Life to obtain that greater supernatural good of Life Eternal whilest I am in the certain possession of the former and have no assurance of the latter Now it is impossible that any one that hath deliberations in his heart to commit so great an Evil and so ripened as to resolve to do it should have any Assurance or any certain apprehensions that he is one of the Elect of God or that he was ever born of God The Reason is this because all such Assurance must be from the Word of God and the Spirit of God setting home the Word of God upon the Soul and conforming the Soul to the Image of God Now the Word of God saith No Murtherer hath Eternal Life it saith Murtherers shall have their Portion in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the second Death So far is it from saying that any persons that deliberate and do such things are the Elect of God and shall certainly have Everlasting Life So as the Notion of Election and its certainty and of Effectual Grace and its abiding in the Soul cannot possibly give any reasonable advantage to this Temptation proposing to the Soul that deliberateth and is about to do any such thing any such Supereminent Good as Eternal Life to be obtained by parting with this Life without any direction from God who is the Lord of it Nay it rather giveth the greatest discouragement imaginable by threatning Eternal Death to those who do such things and barring the Gates of Heaven against them 3. Nay Thirdly admitting that Proposition to be true That if a Man be Elected he shall certainly be Saved let him die when and how he will and if he be not elected he shall certainly Perish Yet neither can this give the least incouragement to so vile an Act for so long as his heart is full of so great a Wickedness he can have no grounded Apprehension that he is elected and so cannot be allured to the Action by the apprehension of enjoying Eternal Life which is a far greater good than the life he parteth with So neither can any be certain that he is not chosen unto Life and if he could be certain of that yet no mans reason can dictate to him that infinite Torments and Misery are a lesser Evil than any of the Evils of this Life which in obedience to this Temptation he would flee from by putting a period to his days Or that it is eligible for him to throw himself into those Torments before the time So that it is impossible That the Notions of Election and Pretension or the certain Determination of Man as to his Eternal Estate should give the least aid and assistance unto this Temptation But the onely appearing good that can entice any to
any Incouragement to a departure from God in any thing much more in this Unbelief signifies a not agreement to the Propositions of the Word Revealing the Will of God Or a Distrust in God for the fulfilling of his Promises whether relating to special Providence or special Grace or Eternal Life Study therfore to be Rooted and Grounded in the Faith that you may firmly Believe these things 1. That there is a God whose Right it is to Rule and Govern us to Order us and our Affairs and Conditions and to dispose of us and who will one day Judg us and deal with us according to what we have done Whosoever it is that liveth not under this Conviction must needs think himself in his own Power and that he may do with himself what he pleaseth his Tongue is his own and he may speak his Hands are his own and he may do what he list and his Life is his own and he may deny himself in it and throw it away as he pleaseth for to whom should he be accountable for it O therefore set God always before your Eyes possess your selves that you are not your own but Persons under Authority and upon whom a Superiour Being hath a Superintendancy you will fay Are we dead Doggs that we should think any thing contrary to this Thus we think But the Truth is we profess an assent and agreement to many Propositions which are not so fastned upon our Hearts so rivetted in our Souls as they ought to be For it must be a mighty inordinate Act and contrary to the Dictate of all Reason for a Man to undertake the disposal of that over which he hath no Dominion and for the disposal of which he must be accountable unto a Superiour Indeed there is something of Atheism in every Sin but there must be abundance of Atheism in this Sin It is impossible that while a Man entertaineth Thoughts to destroy himself he should fixedly believe that he is not at his own disposal as to this Life but at the disposal of God and he such a God as is to be his Judge and whom will one day call him to Account as well for what he hath done with the Life which he gave him as with the Estate Parts c. which he gave him I would therefore never have a man think that he sufficiently believeth this first Principle of all Duty and Religion but be ever whetting it upon his Heart That God is and what a God he is 2. That every Man and Woman hath a Spiritual Part an Immortal Soul that can no more be extinguished with the Body then Eat or Drink or Sleep with it but goeth to an Eternal Existence when it is seperated from the Body Where the Body raised up from the dust shall one day meet it and be united to it and with it either suffer Eternal Torment or enjoy Eternal Happiness according to what it hath done in this Life Certainly no Rational Being no Man could possibly entertain a Thought to Kill himself if he were firmly perswaded That it is a thing impossible for him to determine his own Being We cannot desire nor attempt to go about what we are fully perswaded is an impossible atchievement A thing impossible to be obtained our Reason will not suffer our Mind to run upon or our Hearts to run out after things which we clearly apprehend are not possible in Nature Now admitting these Principles That Man is something more then Flesh and Blood animated That he hath a Spiritual Part that this it is Immortal and cannot Perish with the Body but when it parteth from the Body goeth into Eternal Mansions either in Happiness or in Misery That the Body after Death shall revive again in the Resurrection and there both the Soul and Body of every Man and Woman shall be again united and make one Person and shall both together enter an happy or miserable Eternity I say admitting this it is impossible for a Man to determine his Being all he can possibly do is to determine his Being in this World He can neither by such Act determine his Being nor yet his Misery he may determine indeed his Misery as to this Life but his Soul will then but enter into a state of Ten thousand times more Misery in another World and there will be a time after the revolution of a few years when his Body shall return to Ten thousand times more Misery than it ever felt in this World Now certainly no Person under any command or conduct of Reason can possibly be induced to attempt a thing impossible to deliver himself from any Evil Nor yet throw himself into an infinitly worse state to deliver himself from a present bad estate All the Entertainment therefore which such Temptations have in our Hearts must be advantaged from Unbelief of these great Principles which indeed are the Foundations and Principles of all Religion Labour therefore for as much as in you lies to Root your selves in the belief of these things that you may not have the least doubt or haesitation of in your Hearts with relation to them Live in the daily Meditation of them suffer not your Souls to call them in Question be acquainted with those Portions of Holy Writ where the Revelation of these things is clearest to you Take heed of Unbelief as to these things 3. A Third thing as to which the Soul should be fully perswaded that will avoid the dint of this Temptation is as to the Truth of the Holy Scriptures in the general so of those Portions of them in particular which reveals the Will of God as to the preservation of our own Lives and the Lives of others and the Wrath of God against such as commit Sins of this Nature Such as those Gen. 9. 6. Num. 35. 32. Thou shalt not Kill No Murtherer hath Eternal Life and all such as express the greatness of the Sin of Murther for it is but an easie Conclusion of Reason from these Principles If I ought not to Kill another I ought much less to Kill my self If I ought to preserve the Life of my Neighbour surely I ought to preserve my own Life If I ought to preserve my Chastity to preserve my Vessel in Honour surely I ought not to dash it in pieces If I ought not to maime or dismember my self surely I ought not to destroy my self The truth is no Soul can possibly be guilty of this Sin who either doth not in whole disbelieve the Scriptures or in whose Heart the disbelief of them doth not prevail to a very high degree at that time when he is prevailed with by any Temptation to do such a thing But there is also another Unbelief which must be predominant in the Soul at that time when it is prevailed upon by this Temptation and that is a Distrust in God for the fulfilling of his Promises either with relation to special Providence or special Grace or Eternal Life Those who
lay hold on make application of and improve the Covenant of Grace and often to repeat to it self that of St. Paul Rom. 8. 34 35. Who is he that condemneth Or what sin is that which can condemn me It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us who shall separate us from the Love of Christ But this is enough to have spoken upon this Argument CHAP. XII Further Directions Not keeping the Devils Counsel not deliberating or parlying with Satan Giving their Thoughts what lawful Diversions they can Whether they should shun Precipices coming near Wells or Ponds and keeping close to all Means of Grace whether more publick or Private 5. FIthly Let Christians under the Impetus of these Suggestions take heed of keeping the Devils Counsel or admitting any Parley or Deliberation with him about this point of hearkening to the Motion May it be the lot of any of our Souls at any time to come under such Impressions Oh let us never conceal them from our Faithful Ministers nor from our Christian Friends nor from our nearest Relations Not from the first and second because they are the Ordinance of God unto us to give us Spiritual Counsel and Assistance to shew us the unreasonableness of the Motion the danger of the Temptation it is their work to Pray with us and to Pray for us It is the work of the Minister to Interpret and Declare to us the Mind and Will of God A Brother a Spiritual Friend is born for an hour of Adversity The Temptation while discovered will press us harder and we shall the less know what to say to the Tempter and how to Resist our great Adversary nor should we conceal our selves from our nearest Relations for though they should not be so able as an Intelligent Godly Divine or Knowing Christians to fortify us with Reasons and Arguments yet they will be concerned to Watch us especially when they discern the Impressions more violent for sometimes Impressions of this nature are so violent and strong that they hurry poor Creatures to a present destroying of themselves and the Wicked Action is done in a Moment And again Christian If thou wouldest be able to stand against this Fiery Dart never admitt a Parly or Deliberation with the Tempter about it That Soul is in a great degree Conquered that is prevailed with to deliberate upon an Action so apparently contrary to the Revealed Will of God Get thee behind me Satan was Christs Answer to the Tempter Luke 4. 8. When he Tempted him to Worship him He would not so much as once think upon the Motion 6. Sixthly Let Christians under these Assaults give their Thoughts as much lawful Diversion as they can I say lawful for we must take heed of casting out one Devil by another but there is lawful Diversions enough such are visitings of good People diligent Attendance upon our honest Labours in our Callings giving our selves any honest Imployment by our Exercise in which our Thoughts may be taken off from fixing upon the Impressions made upon them I have often seen it that Persons under these Circumstances have been very hardly perswaded to this but it is Men and Womens duty in these Cases in a thing which as this is is within their power and onely contrary to their humour to force themselves and if in this they be wanting it is a Presumptuous Sinning 7. Seventhly I know not what I should say to that piece of Advice which some give Souls under these Assaults Not to shun the sight or handling or coming near any Instruments or Means which they may make use of to destroy themselves as Knives Ropes Wells Precipices c. It is true it is good for us to go on in our ordinary way trusting in God and not fearing the Tempter but in an hour when the Impression is very strong upon the Tempted Soul Whether it be advisable or no I cannot tell for Christians thus Tempted to come too nigh Pricipices or Places of deep Waters or such Instruments as they may make a sudden use of to do himself or herself Evil at least not without a close and narrow Watch upon them for the truth is in the heat and violence of such Impressions Men and Women oft times have little use of their Reason As to this thing therefore I think Christians ought to Rule themselves by the Circumstances of the present hour and this cannot be fixt for a general Direction I will add but one thing more and with that shut up this Discourse 8. Let such Christians above all others keep close to the use of all Means of Grace whether more Publick or more Private The Means of Grace are the Word the Sacraments and Prayer The Word is to be Read and Heard We Read the pure Word of God without any thing of Mans Invention This hath been mightily Powerful The Story of Agustine I have told you of who under great Distress and Terrour of Conscience was Relieved by Obeying a Voice he thought he heard out of the adjoyning Room Tolle Lege Take up the Book and Read upon which he took up a Bible by him and Read what God Blessed to his Relief The Word Preached hath something of Mans Mixture but if faithfully opened and applied is Gods Ordinance for the Staying and Comforting of People The Minister is Gods Interpreter and he should be one of a Thousand I look upon it as the great Misery of Souls under these Temptations they can seldom be perswaded to Read or to hear the Word and verily where it is thus the Devil hath prevailed a great way I would that such Christians would seriously think what they do in neglecting Means of Grace in their power to use if they expect any help from God Nor would I have such a Christian neglect a Sacrament if he be one that hath formerly declared his Right These Temptations while yeilded to are our Misery not our Sin who knows whether God may not Bless the Sign and Seal of a Dying Crucified Christ for them to let them know there is no Reason they should Kill or Crucifie themselves But above all let them not omit Constant Fervent Prayer and that both Ordinarily and more Solemnly Great is the force of Prayer it calls in the help of the Almighty both for a Deliverance from the Tempter in his own time and for his Assistance and upholding the Soul while it pleaseth him to keep the Soul in this Spiritual Combate FINIS Concerning TEMPTATIONS TO Despair CHAP. I. The Text Gen. 4. 13. considered The Nature of Despair The Efficient Causes in Temptations to Despair Our own Lusts the Devil The Devil and our own Lusts working jointly c. OUr Translation Readeth the Text Gen. 4. 13. My Punishment is greater then I can bear In your larger Bibles you will find in the Margent it is Read Mine Iniquity is greater then that it
is no hope for it to the contrary Can there be so much as the least umbrage and appearance of Good that should have preference to these hopes in a Soul under the least conduct of Reason Iâ— it true for a Sensual Despair there may for that is rooted in Aâ—hâ—isme and Unbelief of any such thing as the need of a Pardon for its Sins or a future happy State the obtaining of which the Sensual Man seeing limited to the hard Condition as he thinks of denying himself in all his Sensual Pleasures he may jocularly conclude There is no hope for him believing no reality in the pretended Objects for his hope that he may the more securely cry out with the Epicures Let us eat and drink for to morrrow we shall die or like them Jer. 2. 25. When God said to them With-hold thy Foot from being unshod and thy Throat from thirst said There is no hope no for I have loved Strangers and after them I will go But now for a Sorrowful Despair for a Soul having this Grace and Hell in Prospect it may look for a great Riddle What appearing Good should be a Motive to him to conclude there is no Mercy in God for him no possibility of Eternal Salvation 1. What if we should say That the appearing Good that enticeth him to these thoughts is To speak the truth of himself and not to flatter himself with idle and vain hopes as he now thinks he hath done too long You know we are naturally desirous to know our own Fate or Fortunes as we call them What shall become of us or betide us in the latter end And though we are willing enough sometimes to flatter our selves yet there is a time when we desire the contrary 2. Secondly Is not the appearing Good in some a rooted Malice and Hatred against God and the Satisfaction of that by deregating from his Goodness and Mercy This is indeed of all the most dreadful Account that can be given That Soul is in the Suburbs of Hell it self to whom it is a satisfaction when it can do no more to Blaspheme and speak Evil of God I had rather assign the former as the most ordinary appearance of Good seducing the Soul into this Guilt It now pleaseth the Soul that thinks it hath deceived the World so long by walking in a vain shew to know and speak the truth of it self as it thinketh in its Heart through the Seduction of Sathan but still it must be enquired what the Devil can possibly suggest to a Soul to debauch it into such a misapprehension of God and sad Opinion of it self Now there being nothing in Nature that can alienate God from the Soul but Sin the guilt of the Soul and its state before God by reason of Sin must needs be that and that onely which the Devil can mount this great Gun upon and this is that which Cain saith Mine Iniquity is greater then it can be forgiven But before I come to speak of that let me a little take notice of some other Propositions which many grave Divines take to be most certain truths and others think serve the Devil in great stead in order to his inforcing this great Temptation Let me digress a little to judge whether indeed the guilt of those Propositions be according to the cry by which they are accused They are those concerning the Doctrine of Predestination Redemption and the necessity of Special Grace in order to Salvation I intend not to argue the truth of the Propositions on either side that were too large a Work but onely to consider whether the Devil can use what by some eminent Divines as to them is asserted as advantages for this fiery Dart. I remember Scultetus in his Annals tells us a Story of an honest studious Young Man in Cambridge whom 't is believed the Papists made away That he was found hang'd in his Study with his Finger laid upon a Bible opened before him upon a Text usually brought to confirm Predestination But the Fiction obtained not that credit for which it was devised to induce the World to believe that his imbracing the Doctrine of Predestination put him upon that desperate Practice But to the Matter 1. It is true many great and eminent Divines have thought That God hath passed an Eternal Decree concerning the future state of all Men and Women chusing some to Eternal Life passing by others Suppose we should put it to the highest pitch Determining others to Eternal Death I intend not as I said before to dispute what is truth in this certain it is God from oll Eternity fore-knew the Eternal Issues of all if some can conceive how God should fore-know this without willing it or be willing not to determine how he fore-knew it and what that was or could be but the Will of God which should make a Futurity certain And others cannot conceive any first cause but God nor any way of Divine Fore-knowledge but from his Will and Purpose It is not my Business to intermingle my self in their Quarrel but suppose the one Opinion or the other I would gladly understand what advantage the Devil can take from the one or the other as to this Temptation Some Divines indeed do say That God ordained some to Eternal Life out of his own good pleasure in and through Christ without any consideration of their Faith and good Works fore-seen as moving him so to predestinate them but with all he predestinated them to obtain this Eternal Salvation in the Exercises of Faith and Holiness without which they were never to see the Lord. But do any Divines say That God ordained any to Eternal Death or passed over any in his Eternal Counsel who should be damned otherwise then upon the just demerits of their preceding sins Yes it may be will some ignorant Persons say they that hold an absolute Decree hold Election of Persons and Reprobation of Persons They do indeed hold an Election of Persons in the sense I before opened that the foreseen Faith and Holiness of none moved God to ordain them to Life They do also believe that God hath a Jus Absolutum a Soveraign Power over his Creatures as the Potter over the Clay But they say that God doth not in the Condemnation of any Sinner use this but onely useth a Jus Ordinatum and proceedeth according to his Law The Soul that sinneth shall Die Which now being supposed I would gladly know what Argument Satan draws from hence to perswade any to Despair He can Suggest to the Soul That it is a Reprobate and cannot the Soul Answer That it is more then the Devil knows That there is no Soul but that which sinneth shall Die so that notwithstanding all said upon rhis Argument The Guilt of Sin is all that remaineth to the Devil to object to drive unto Despair It is true that concerning the Extent of the Death of Christ as to Persons there are various Opinions some think he equally
Old in any Sin Secondly Take heed of any kind of prodigious Sinning There are degrees in Sin all Sin is not of the same dy or magnitude There are some Sins that more waste Conscience than others now observe this The greater Violence is done to our Conscience by any Sins the more Advantage the Devil hath from the guilt of them to raise a Temptation to Despair For although it is as easie with God to Pardon the greatest Sins as the smallest yet we shall not find it so easie to believe that God will forgive the greatest Sins as the smallest and so the Devil hath the greater advantage from the Reflection upon them to run us out of a Hope of the Divine Mercy Fear all Sin but above all take heed of notorious Acts of Impiety against God or Unrighteousness toward Men. 3. Thirdly Take heed of all Sinning against Light indeed against any Light whether it be that of Nature or Revelation Take heed of Sinning against those common Notions of Piety and Righteousness which are Planted in all by Nature against the Common Illuminations of the Holy Spirit by the Preaching of the Word of God against the Admonitions of Parents or Governours against the reflex Light of your own Conscience Sins against the direct or reflex Light of Conscience do often Cause a very great Darkness which is felt in the Soul for though in the heat and madness of our Pasnons in our Youth we sometimes run down Conscience and it keepeth silence a while yet it often recoileth and reproveth the Sense and setteth its Sins in order before it and shews them to it to a very great disadvantage and these are a kind of Sins which the Tempter often hangs much upon in order to promove Despair and putting the Soul out of Hope of Mercy 4. Particularly take heed of such Sinnings as border nearest upon the Sin unto Death you know that Christ hath told us That all Sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven onely the Sin against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven And the Apostle hath told us That there is a Sin unto Death for which he did not direct the Christians to Pray that it might be forgiven their Brethren Now Divines have much exercised themselves in the finding out what this Unpardonable Sin is nor is it to this day well determined nor shall I undertake to determine what it is or whether it be any single Sin yea or no. We find in experience that the Tempter often maketh use of this Suggestion to drive a Soul to Despair telling it that it hath sinned this Sin and therefore there is no hope for it The vanity of which appears from the Souls thus tempted usual Ignorance What the Sin against the Holy Ghost is as to which indeed the most Judicious Divines have been much at loâ—s to determine or what comes nearest to it upon the Light we have from Scripture to help us to make a determination of it but though we cannot punctually determine in the Case and it be much more easie to determine what it is not then what it is yet we have Light enough from Scripture to shew us what sinning comes nearest to it and it is ill treading upon the brink of such a Pit That Text Heb. 6. v. 4 5 6. instructeth us thus far That it must be the Sin of an Enlightened Soul one upon whom the Light of the Gospel hath Shined and who hath tasted something of the Heavenly Gift and been in some Measure made Partaker of the Holy Ghost and Tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come and after this falleth away From whence these things follow That Heathens who never heard of God nor Christ cannot be Guilty of this Sin no nor titular Christians who never made any profession of Religion or Godliness nor had any degrees of Godliness They must be such as have been Enlightened Tasted of the good Word the Heavenly Gift and the Powers of the World to come and after this shall fall away Yet it is plain that all sinning against Gospel Light and Spiritual Illumination all degrees of falling away from the profession of this Truth is not this Sin The Apostle Heb. 10. 26. and 29. v. seemeth as to this Sin to instruct us further for he is there speaking of some for whom there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adversaries Now who are these v. 26. Such as Sin wilfully after they have received the Knowledge of the Truth v. 29. Such as tread under foot the Son of God and count the Blood of the Covenant wherewith he was Sanctified an unholy thing and do despite to the Spirit of Grace And this also agreeth with that Phrase Heb. 6. v. 6. Where the Apostle giving a Reason why they cannot be renewed by Repentance assigneth this Seeing they Crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame so that it should seem that to make up this Sin to Apostacy after Illumination or at least having received sufficient Means of Illumiation and making some Profession there must be added some eminent Affront done to or Abuse of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of Grace either by Word or Deed and therefore our Saviour calleth it Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost Consonant to this is what the Gospel tells us of this Sin you have the first mention of it Matth. 12. 31. If you look into v. 24. you shall find That Christ having healed one that was possessed with the Devil who was both Blind and Dumb and People upon that recognizing him as the true Messias saying v. 23. Is not this the Son of David the Pharises said This Fellow doth cast out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince of Devils Christ confuteth them and vindicateth himself by this Argument easily to be diserned and made up from v. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30. I either cast out Devils as you say by the Prince of Devils or by the Power of God I will make it out that I do it not by the Prince of Devils 1. For this were a Ruin to Satans Kingdom if one Devil could be employed or would be employed in casting out another the Devils Kingdome would be quickly at an end it could not stand 2. Again saith he not I onely but your Children in my name cast them out for there were some Exorcists amongst the Jews who were the Children that is the Disciples of the Pharises who though they followed not Christ yet used his Name to cast out Devils as you shall find Mar. 9. 38. where John telleth Christ Master we saw one casting out Devils in thy Name and he followeth not us and we forbade him because he followeth not us and as you shall read v. 39. Christ allowed it the like you find Luk. 9. 48 49. So did the Sons of Sceva Acts 19. 12. Now the Jews did
of Sins You are not straitned in me where then are Sinners straitned Oh they are straitned in their own Bowels They cannot find in their Hearts to consider their ways to humble their Soul for their sins to leave them and to turn unto God Thus are they straitned in their own Bowels and they will not come to Christ that they might have Life 2. Secondly To this Suggestion doubtless we are to oppose what the Scripture speaketh of the multitude and abundance of Divine Mercies Psal 134. 18. If I should count them saith Holy David they are more in number than the Sand. So Isaiah 55. v. 6 7. Let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him unto his God for he will abundantly pardon Thus you often read in Scripture of a multitude of Mercies tender Mercies in God Psal 5. 7. I will come into thy House in the multitude of thy Mercies So Psal 51. 1. Have Mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender Mercies blot out my Transgressions So Psal 69. 13. Mercy in God is but one thing it is the Goodness of God looking upon one in Misery and helping and relieving him what do we read of a multitude of Mercies certainly it either signifies Gods multiplied Acts of Goodness which are several Branches springing out of the same Root of Goodness and Mercy or else the term is used to signifie unto us that there is a Goodness in God proportionated to the multitudes of Sin and Misery that are in us To what end do we read of multitudes of Mercies in God if it were not to relieve us groaning under multitudes of Sins 3. Again consider It is the same thing with God to pardon multitudes of Sins as few yea he never pardoneth the Sins of any one Soul but he pardons a multitude God must vail his Justice and deny himself in his Vindicative Justice to pardon one Sin There is no one Sin but hath a kind of infiniteness in it or rather contracts an infinite Guilt for every Sin which we commit is against an infinite God against infinite Justice and Goodness and nothing but infinite Goodness can remit it and pass it by And an infinite Remission as easily extendeth to a multitude of Sins as to a few so that as that good Prince said unto God in the recognition of his Power It is easie with thee to save by many as by few So we may say in the case before us It is as easie with God to save from many from the guilt of many many thousands of Sins as from the guilt of a few especially which I should have put in considering there is also an infiniteness in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Redemption Price that is paid if indeed that had been scant something might have been colourably objected but that is commensurate to the Goodness that is in God The Person that died for our Sins was God-man an infinite Person his Blood was of infinite Vertue as to Satisfaction Indeed the Papists strain a great deal too far to say That the least Drop of Christs Blood was sufficient to ransome a World That is an idle Monkish Hyberbole for there must be a powring out of his Life so much of his Blood shed as should have determined his Life But that there is a Nuda Sufficientia we are not speaking now of the Sufficientia Ordinata how far Christ ordained it to be sufficient but that I say there was a bare and naked Sufficiency in the Death of Christ for more than it shall ever be applied to This must be granted by all who will acknowledge an infiniteness in Christs Person Nor yet shall the Papists from hence augment their Churches Treasury to the value of a Farthing Christ never left the Redundancy of the Vertue of his Death to humane Disposal the Vertue of his Blood as to all those who shall by it have any Benefit was ordered and disposed of from before the Foundation of the World even from the time that the Lâ—mb was first slain in Gods Eternal Counsels Let them look to answer the Papists in this Point who maintain Universal Redemption in the latitude of it But I add farther under this Head That God never pardoneth Sin to any Soul but he pardoneth a multitude It is true there is not a parity in Men and Womens Sins either as to the quality or quantity but I say God never pardons any but multitudes of Sins The Righteous falleth seven times in a day Sin is in every Soul and it may say Our Name is Lâ—gion for we are many If multitudes of Sins could not be pardoned no Sinner could be pardoned 2. Temptation But then saith the Tempter or the tempted Soul if you will Ah but my Sins have received very high and great Aggravations I have sinned against Light against Love I knew I ought not to do what I did I was warned by Ministers checkt by my own Conscience otherwise moved by the Spirit of God I had Mercies above thousands of others I sinned against all c. To which I answer 1. This is indeed a very sad circumstance a load of this nature doth often lie very heavy upon the Conscience and a guilt of this nature requireth a further and deeper Humiliation Confession Contrition but the Question is Whether such Sins be capable of a Pardon yea or no If they be capable of Forgiveness from a gracious God all this is no ground for thee to Despair and cast away Hope refusing to be comforted 2. If they be not capable of Pardon it must be so determined in Scripture Now the Revelation of God in his Holy Word hath no where determined that no Person that hath sinned against his Light shall be forgiven and we ought not to conclude to our own Prejudice and Discouragement as to an Act of God what he hath no where in his Word revealed 3. Thirdly There is no Sinner pardoned but hath sinned against his Light and against Love so that the Question seemeth not to be about the Thing but about the Degree not whether one who hath sinned against Light and Love can be Pardoned but whether one who hath sinned against so much Light and so much Love can be forgiven and it will be very hard for thee to asâ—ign Sinnings against such Degrees of Light and Love as none ever sinned against and were saved There are in Scripture great instances of Pardoned Sinners who yet sinned against great Degrees of Light and Love too Take but the instances of David and Peter David was a Man of much Light he was you know one of the Pen-men of Holy Writ he was a Man much beloved of God he is stiled The Man according to Gods own Heart God mindeth him of how much he had done for him taking him from the Sheep-folds and making him King over Israel and Judah giving his Masters Crowns Houses and Wives yea and
as he tells him was ready to have done greater things for him against all this he sinned in the matter of Bathsheba and in the matter of Uriah It is true this cost him many Tears many Prayers yet he obtained Mercy Peter was a Man of great Light and had been made the Object of great Love Christ had said to him Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church yet this Peter cursed and sware and denied his Master and after this when he had gone out and wept betterly Christ remembred him and I doubt not but you believe Peter is in Heaven Thou canst not say that thou hast sinned against greater Light or greater Love than these two eminent Saints in Glory sinned against To have sinned out our Light indeed that is to such a degree as we have no more Checks no more Rebukes of Conscience this is very sad and the Interpretations of it be to the Enemies of God To be past Feeling that is sad but by thy Trouble and Complaining it appeareth that is not thy Case but it is plain that many have sinned against Light much Light and against much Love too whom God hath from the infiniteness of his Mercy forgiven and rereceived up to Glory 3. Temptation But will such a Soul say It is true had I in time turned unto God there might have been hope but alas time is past time is past with me had I turned to God in my Youth but I am in the declining part of my Life God hath said His Spirit shall not always strive with Man The Fig-tree was Cursed after Three years in vain expecting Fruit. God hath a long time been looking for Fruit of my Soul and hath found none I have sinned wilfully after I had received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth now I fear no more Sacrifice of Sin but a certain fearful looking for of Judgement and fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adversaries Heb. 10. 26 27. To which I say 1. This is indeed a very sad and bitter Reflection and I desire that such Complaints as these when we hear them may be sanctified to all that have time before them to take heed how they mispend it and trifle it away but where this Counsel is too late the Question that we have in hand is Whether there be a sufficient Warrant for a Souls Despair 2. The sadness Secondly of this Case is aggravated from the appearances of Scripture for this Temptation It is generally held by Divines That as Countries and Nations have their Periods of Grace so particular Persons have their Days of Grace too and Periods beyond which Gods Spirit shall not strive with them and it appeareth by that Text Heb. 10. That there is a wilful Sinning after the Knowledge of the Truth after which there will remain no Sacrifice for Sin But what that degree of wilful Sinning is and how it must be circumstanced that is another Question But to speak more directly to the Temptation 1. In the first place I would have thee scriously consider Whether the Freeness of Divine Grace in the Remission of Sins be duly thought of by thee who objectest thus against thy self Take heed thou hast not some Thoughts within thee that thou shouldest recompence God by thy future Holiness for thy past Provocations and whether that which discourageth thy hoping in God and looking up unto him for Mercy be not a prospect that thou art not like to have time enough to make this Recompence If thou hast any such Thoughts as these thou dost not well attend to the Promise of Pardon which runs thus I will blot out thy Transgressions for mine own Name sake and we have Redemption even Forgiveness of Sins through his Blood The end which God aimeth at in the Forgiveness of any Souls Sin is his own Glory the glorifying of the riches of his Grace not receiving the Homage of an Holy Life though that be thy Duty and what God requireth of thee yet I say that is not Gods great and ultimate end He will have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy and extend Compassion to whom he will extend Compassion The Consideration upon which God doth it is the Price paid and Satisfaction given by the Blood of his Son It is not for our sake nor for our future Works sake but for his own Name sake and for his dear Sâ—n's sake that he granteth unto any Pardon and Forgiveness of Sin Now although the time of thy Life yet to come in probability will not be commensurate to the time of Life which is past and spent in Sinning and Dishonouring God yet why may not the great God glorifie the Riches of his Grace in the free Forgiveness of thee Why may he not exalt the Blood of his Son in washing thy Soul 2. Secondly It is not for us to know times and seasons which are in Gods Power onely It is true God seemeth to have revealed that every Soul hath a set time beyond which be will shew it no favour and that this is not onely the end of our Life but may be sometime before our dying day but we know not what time that is and therefore it is rashness for any Soul to conclude my time is past Where have we any Directions from the Word of God to fix any such time or to conclude it as to any period of time We know the Master of the Vineyard called to some to come and Work in his Vineyard at the 11th hour and we know also that the Thief upon the Cross was told in the last hour of his Life that he should that Night be with Christ in Paradise Secret things belong unto God Revealed things onely to us and to our Children Unless we had some certain Rule to determine the Time to us we have no Reason to determine it our selves to discourage us from what his Word commandeth us as our certain Duty 3. Thirdly Supposing there be an heart found in us to be sorry for our Sins humbled for them and to turn from them to God and to accept of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Salvation tendred unto us in the Gospel it is certain our time is not yet past The Reason is because the promise of Pardon and Salvation is made unto such So that no Soul hath reason to conclude there is no hope for him in God but that Soul that laboureth under impenitency and hardness of heart and findeth in it self a resolution yet to go on in its sinful courses And therefore you shall observe in that dreadful Text Heb. 6. the Apostle saith of them that have been once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly Gift and the Powers of the World to come and have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost c. if they fall away it is impossible they should be renewed again by Repentance if they could Repent it were not impossible they should be Pardoned or obtain Eternal Life and Salvation but
it pleaseth not God to renew them by Repentance if thou findest an heart to Repent to bleed for Sin and turn from it there is no Reason for thee to Despair or to conclude it is too late for thee It is a true saying That True Repentance is never too late for it always hath the Promise of Pardon and Forgiveness annext 4. Fourthly as to that Text Heb. 10. 26. If we sin wilfully after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sins It is not to be understood strictly as the words seem to sound as if it concerned all Persons that sin against their Light and Knowledge but onely of some degrees of wilful sinning for all the Sons and Daughters of Men would be in a sad state if there were no Sacrifice for sin remaining for any that after the receiving and owning of the Truth did in any degrees knowingly and wilfully sin against God But this also appeareth by the Conâ—ext and the Text Heb. 6. to which this is apparently paralel 1. It speaketh of Adversaries v. 27. 2. Of such as trod under foot the Son of God and counted the Blood of the Covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing It is apparent he spake of Christians that made a total open Defection from the Doctrine of the Gospel to Judaism This is that which v. 26. He called the forsaking the assembling themselves together forsaking the Communion of all Christians and a malicious contempt and despising of Christ and of his Blood counting it an unholy thing The Truth which he here speaketh of is undoubtedly the Truth which he had before opened in this Epistle wherein he had enlarged in a Discourse to prove that Christ was truly God and truly Man and the true Messias shadowed out by the Jewish High Priest Now saith he if a man sin wilfully that is having owned and acknowledged and professed this Truth afterwards reject it deny it apostatise from the profession of it leaving the Assemblies of Christians shall joyn himself to the Assemblies of those who are the Adversaries of Christ and continue and maliciously go on in that apostacy and defection What ever Remedy he may dream of finding in the Jewish Sacrifices he will indeed find that there is none of their Sacrifices will do him good nor will Christ expiate for him so there will be no Sacrifice for his Sin This I take to be much of the sense and import of that Text according to which it will not much concern one in thy Circumstances 4. Temptation But will some Soul say There is a Sin that shall never be forgiven our Saviour hath told us so Math. 12. 31. Mar. 3. 28. Saint John calls it a Sin unto death The Apostle admiting those two Texts Heb. 6. 6 7. and Heb. 10. 26 27 28. be to be restrained to that saith of it that those who are guilty of it cannot be renewed by Repentance and that there remaineth no more Sacrifice for it I have committed that Sin and therefore I know there is no hope for me I have nothing to do but to look for that fiery Indignation which is to devour the Adversaries Thus speaks the Tempter Thus after him doth the poor Soul speak that is Tempted To which I Answer 1. It is very unreasonable for thee to conclude that thou hast sinned the Sin against the Holy Ghost the unpardonable Sin till thou canst tell what the Sin against the Holy Ghost is if thou canst not tell what it is how canst thou tell that thou hast committed it Now it is not like that thou shouldest be able to determine a Question which hath exercised so long the greatest Divines and yet remains not determined by them at least not agreed in by any considerable consent Some make it a Sin of which we are not now capable the dâ—nial of the Divine Nature of Christ after they had seen his miraculous Operations which God alone could do and Reviling Reproaching and Persecuting him notwithstanding all they had seen in him or heard from him And it is plain this is that which Christ in those Texts of the Gospel doth primarily and immediately speak of But those Texts in the Epistle to the Hebrews cannot be thus interpreted yet what this specifical sin is is not agreed amongst the best Divines 2. Secondly Many of those from whom we hear these complaints apparently have not Light enough I mean not knowledge enough to be under the guilt of this Sin for that is apparent from Heb. 6. that whatever this sin be it must be the sin of knowing enlightened Persons such as have been once enlightened as have tasted of the Heavenly Gift So that ignorant Persons cannot be under this Guilt they must be knowing Persons and such as have made a Profession 3. Thirdly It is also thus far agreed That there must be a Total and Final Falling away from the Profession of Faith which Men have made and this must â—e conjoyned with Malice expressed in Words or Deeds or both such as may â—e interpreted a doing despight to the â—pirit of Grace a trampling under-foot the â—lood of the Covenant an accounting it an unholy thing a Crucifying Christ a-fresh 4. Fourthly There must be a Perseverance in this Apostacy and Blasphemy to the end without Repentance or it cannot be this Sin for the Apostle saith of such as commit this Sin that it is impossible they should be renewed again by Repentance and Christ saith That it shall never be forgiven Now it is certain any Sin that is repented of may and shall be forgiven I must confess when I consider what woful Apostacies some in the days wherein we live have made from the Doctrine of Godliness and what Blasphemies come from their Tongues and Pens against the Operations of the Spirit imputing that to Melancholick Fancies and Dreams and to Impressions from the Devil which are from the Holy Spirit of God and its Impressions Teachings and Operations and when I also consider with what an heat and passion of Madness many are carried out iâ— Persecuting the Servants of God and thâ—â— in an age so ferrtile of means that they either have known do know or may know other things My Heart akes and trembleth for many poor Souls and I cannot but fear many more than we are aware of are under this tremenduoâ— Guilt nor know I how they can evince the contrary but by a timely sense of their Sins Repentance and Sorrow of Heart for them and taking a new course but yet I say final Impenitency must go to make up this Sin which unless thou findest thou hast no Reason as to it peremptorily to conclude against thy self The Evidence of this truth often puts the Tempter to his last shift and we hear often the poor Tempted Soul saying thus 5. Temptation Ah! This this is my case I know I have not so sinned but if I could Repent if I could Believe in Christ I might
be Pardoned I might be Saved but I have not Repented I do not Repent my Heart is harder than the neather Milstone I weep and howl indeed for my Plagues I see I am a poor undone Creature that makes me complain and wring my hands but I see nothing of the evil of my Sin I shed not a tear upon that account nor cannot therefore there is no hope 1. It must be acknowledged that both Repentance and Faith is the Gift of God and naturally no Man hath a Power to the one or to the other Acts 11. 18. 2 Tim. 2. 25. and Faith is not of our selves it is the Gift of God Eph. 2. 8. Phil. 1. 29. The Question is not therefore taking Repentance in a full and proPer sense whether thou canst Repent or Believe but whether God hath wrought or will yet work in thee a power truly to Repent and Believe And how doest thou know that God will not do that For thou canst not conclude supposing God hath not done it yet that he will not do it before thy dying hour 2. Possibly thou mayest be mistaken in thy determining that God hath not done it from a mistake concerning the true Nature of Repentance a sense and sorrow for Sin are but the out-works of it True Repentance lies in the Souls displicence to Sin and hatred of it and readiness to take a Revenge upon it self for it and Resolution and endeavour against it for the time to come I know it is not impossible that a Soul under such Horrours as these may not have any true sense of Sin or Hatred of it but even Blaspheme God because of its Horrours Terrours and Affrightments but let me tell you the Instances of Souls are very rare that are under great Terrours and Affrightments for Sin so aâ— to conclude there is no hope and yet at the same time Love Delight in such Sins take pleasure in them and desire but occasions to commit them I would ask thee seriously under these Terrours for some Sins thou hast committed doest thou not from thine heart wish thou hadst not committed them Couldst thou not even tear thy flesh that ever thou shouldest be so far betrayed by the Lusts and Passions of thy depraved Heart Wouldest thou now do the like again What doth this speak but Repentance so far as it can be judged of under thy present Circumstances Indeed it is possible all this may be and yet a Soul recovered out of these sad Circumstances may again return with the Dog to its vomit and the Swine to the wallowing in the mire again but this is not what at present thou canst conclude to hinder thy Souls Hope and Confidence in the Mercy and Free-grace of God 3. But admit thou canst not satisfie thy self that thou hast Repented or Believed yet may not God yet give thee an Heart to Repent and Believe What hindreth Or if he may what hindreth thy hope in the Mercy of God Nay if thou doest what in thee lyeth I dare assure thee that God will not be wanting in the Aids and Assistances of his Grace But I have said enough to evince the first thing that I propoâ—ed That there is no sufficient Reason considering the Covenant of Grace and Gods Revelation of his Mind in the Gospel for any Soul to Despair The Issue of which is this That a Soul thus sinning Transgresseth without a Cause and a Reasonable Soul in this acteth not according to Principles of Reason or any just Conclusion drawn from Gospel Promises or Principles This is the first thing 2. A Second thing which I would offer to such a Souls Reflection is the greatness of the Sin of Despair Presumption is a Sin but yet Despair seemeth to be a far greater Sin To Evidence which I shall desire you to consider 1. What it Implieth 2. What must Accompany it 3. What better Consequents it hath 1. It Implieth and carrieth along with it a denial either of the Power of God Or of the Goodness and Mercy of God or thirdly of his Truth and Faithfulness 1. Of the Power of God It was laid to the charge of the Israelites That they limited the Holy One of Israel Psal 78. 41. They said Can God bring us Water out of the Rock And Can God give us Meat in the Wilderness Thou sayest Can God Pardon such a Sinner as I have been Can God give Repentance Can God give me Faith in Jesus Christ What is this but to limit the Almighty The unbelieving Noble Man of whom you read in the Book of Kings when the Prophet fore-told that Food should by the next day be at so cheap a Rate said If God would make Windows in Heaven the thing could not be The Prophet told him it should be he should see it but he should not Eat of it and the Chapter telleth you he saw it verified he saw it the next day but he was trodden to Death by the Multitude Sarah laughed it was a laughter of unbelief when the Angel told her she should have a Son God punished it gently in her but more severely in Zachary that would not believe that his barren Wife should have a Son he was struck Dumb What doest thou do less than Question the Power of God If God can forgive Sins why mayest thou not hope If he can even in the last hour give Repentance unto Life why should a living Man not hope Ah! but saith this Soul No no I do not doubt but God can do it but he will not do it 2. Secondly Is not this to deny the Lords Goodness and Mercy God hath exalted his Mercy above all his Name when God proclaimed his Name to Moses Exo. 34. you shall find there 8 or 9 Expressions all but one which will by no means clear the Guilty signifying the Goodness and Mercy of God which hath made a very Learned Interpreter v. De Dieu ad Loc. doubt whether we have truly Translated that Phrase God triumpheth more in this than in any other part of his Name he hath chosen to be exalted in his Arttribute of Mercy he hath exalted it above all his Name Now this is that Artribute the Glory of which Despair Robbeth God of Presumption denieth him the honour of his Truth of his Justice and Judgment which indeed he stileth his Work but his strange Work as that which floweth not from himself but is as it were forced from him by a meritorious Cause in the Creature Mercy is the proper and natural Work of God flowing meerly from himself without any Cause in the Creature This is that the Honour of which Despair denieth unto God nor is it to be freed from a questioning the Power of God also for although as thou pretendest thou doest not Universally question the Prerogative and Power of God to Forgive Sins yet thou deniest his Power to Forgive thy Sins yea the Sins of any who are in the like Circumstances of sinning with thee for unless thou canst charge
him with whom there is no respect of Persons with a particular Malice or Ill Will to thee in saying God cannot nor will not Pardon thy Sins or there is no hope for thee thou deniest not onely the Power of God as to the Pardon of thy Sins but the Sins also of any other whose Circumstances of sinning are as great as thine are Now seemeth it to thee a light thing O Christian to deny the Divine Goodness and to set Limits to Infinite Mercy 3. Thirdly This Sin always carries with it also A denial of Gods Truth and Faithfulness He hath told thee Mat. 12. 31. That all Sin and Blasphemy wherewith any shall Blaspheme the Son of Man shall be Forgiven That if thy Sins were as Scarlet they shall be as Wooll if as Crimson they shall be as White as Snow No sayest thou I have Sinned I have Blasphemed and it shall not be Forgiven I have Scarlet Sins and God will not make them as Snow I have Crimson Sins and God will not make them as Wooll What is this but to put the lie upon God to deny his Truth and Faithfulness to say he hath said it and he will not do it he hath spoken it but it shall not come to pass But some will say it to me after this rate of Arguing God should save all Men and Women breathing These words are nomore spoken to me than to any other I Answer I do not urge these great and precious Revelations of the Divine Will as grounds for Sinners to conclude that they shall be Saved Pardoned and Saved without any more a-do but onely as general grounds of Hope that there may perhaps be Mercy found with God for us and as Assurances on the part of a gracious God that if we miss of Pardon and Eternal Life and Salvation the fault shall not be justly charged on God he is ready to forgive but in our selves who will not Repent nor leave our Sins and turn unto God who will not come unto Christ that we might have Life still it remaineth the duty of us that would obtain this Pardon to confess its Sins and forsake them and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ but the Despairing Soul throws all the blame of its miscarriage upon God and ordinarily doth not say I do not Repent I cannot Repent therefore there is no hope but there is no Mercy in God God cannot or God will not Pardon me now I say This is an Impeachment as of the Power of God to forgive to the utmost and of Christ to save to the utmost so of that Goodness and Grace and Mercy of God yea and of the Truth and Faithfulness of God Besides What a Comparison doth the Soul make here betwixt finite and infinite betwixt which two there is no proportion Let thy Sins be what they will or can they can be but finite The Mercies of God are infinite The Sea is but a finite Creature yet what can you imagine so great that the Sea will not swallow up and cover that it shall not be seen any more It is a Similitude which God himself doth sometimes make use of by it to express the plenty of his Forgiving Mercy See that excellent Text Micah 7. 18 19. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth Iniquity and passeth by the Transgression of the Remnant of his Heritage he retaineth not his Anger for ever because he delighteth in Mercy He will turn again he will have Compassion upon us he will subdue our Iniquities and thou wilt cast all their Sins into the depths of the Sea Now Despairing Conclusions That there is no Hope in God that our Iniquities are too many or too great to be forgiven give God the Lie as to this It is no more than the Scripture saith 1 John 5. 10. He that believeth not God maketh God a Liar because he believeth not the Record that God gave of his Son and this is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son 2. Secondly This Sin as it implieth these things so it is always attended with Unbelief in Gods Promises and with very hard and unworthy Thoughts of God By Unbelief here I understand the Negation of a Trust and Confidence in God and the Promises he hath made of those good things concerning which the Soul Despaireth So that what ever can be said in aggravation of the Sin of Unbelief is highly applicable in the aggravation of this Sin for Despair speaketh the highest degree of Unbelief imaginable It is one thing for a Soul not to trust in God another thing to conclude That he is not to be trusted in as to my Soul that there is no hope for me in God This speaketh the highest degree of Unbelief that we can imagine 2. Besides it necessarily carrieth along with it very hard and unworthy Thoughts of God The Soul cannot think reverently and worthily of God when it is rooted in such Thoughts as these that although he be a God that Pardoneth Iniquities Transgressions and Sins yea abundantly Pardoneth yet he will shew it no Favour but adjudge it to an Everlasting Misery and Torment nay it is hard to conceive how such a Soul should forbear wishing that there were no God that the Being of God were annihilated 3. Then in the last place The Effects of this Sin of Despair must needs be very sad for as a Lively Hope of obtaining any Good quickeneth the Soul to the use of all those Means which Reason dictateth as probable Means for the obtaining what we desire so the Despair of obtaining any such Good quite deadneth the Heart and taketh it off all Thoughts of using Means to obtain that which it concludeth with it self impossible to be obtained This is manifest upon the Experience of all such Souls as at any time are under any Fits of Despair They cannot be perswaded to hear Sermons to Pray to Read in short not to use any Means of Grace and Salvation So that a greater Sin can hardly be imagined than this Sin of Despair is Oh that those would think of this who find in their Souls any Motions Temptations or Inclinations towards it That they would think how much Dishonour God hath from this Sin above others 3. Again Certainly it must be advantage to such a Soul to reflect upon those great Presidents of Free Grace which we have upon Record in Holy Writ Let them remember the instance of St. Paul who saith of himself That he was a Persecutor he was a Blasphemer and Injurious but yet he obtained Mercy 1 Tim. 1. 13. The instance of David restored again to the joy of Gods Salvation after the guilt of Adultery and Murther Of Peter who received kind Looks from Christ after he had thrice denied his Master and that with the addition of Cursing and Swearing that he did not know him Of Mary Magdalen out of whom the Lord had cast out Seven Devils Let such a
was made perfect through Sufferings And in the Greek there is no more than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for every the Substantive is either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and then the sense is he tasted of every Death or which it may be is more probable it must be supplied from the next verse for every Son who was to be brought unto Glory But not to enter into that Discourse onely to caution you from laying too great stress upon Particles in Scripture 2. Consider what I before hinted That none of those who hold the utmost Extension of the Death of Christ as to the Objects ever said That all those for whom Christ died should be saved Those indeed who believe Christ died only for the Elect assert this but those who hold Christ died equally for all no more for Judas than for Peter and those that say Christ by his Death purchased a certainty of Salvation for some and a possibility of Salvation for all yet neither of them will say That all shall be saved for whom Christ died which hath made me often admire at Mens heats for these Opinions which if they could prove to be true have no more Significancy Indeed they seem to be calculated for nothing but the Assertion of a Power in the will of Man to chuse and do what God requireth in order to Salvation and so to be his own Saviour Now if this be all that any understanding Man pretends to in his asserting that Christ died for all how is it possible that any particular Soul can from his Belief of it conclude he shall be saved 3. Besides this Notion is pressed with the same absurdities as that which I first mentioned for he that believeth That Christ died for all and every Man and therefore for him must needs hold Universal Salvation though not upon the account of Creation yet upon the account of Christs Redemption and this is not onely to hold what God no where hath revealed in his Word but that which is directly contrary to the Revelation of the Word and that which is contrary to a multitude of Promises and Threatnings and will make them to be meerly superfluous and insignificant The conclusion is That thou hast no ground from any such Notion be it true or false to conclude any such thing as that thou art actually reconciled to God and shall be saved nor did ever any judicious Person so conclude but I fear thousands of ignorant ordinary Persons build their Hopes here and my self have by some been told so 3. A third Notion upon which some may be tempted to presume is The Vertue and Efficacy of Baptism The Jews you know rested much upon their Circumcision and I fear too many amongst Christians rest as much upon their Baptism and their being in it Regenerated and Born again To arm you against this Temptation I shall as to the other offer you some few things to be considered 1. None can be confident upon this account but they must consider Baptism either as it is the Door into the Church From thence it must follow That all those that are Members of the Church of God shall be saved Or Secondly As an Ordinance of God with which God doth constantly concur in washing away the guilt of Sin by Vertue of the Blood of Christ I shall shortly shew you that which of these two ways soever Men look upon their Baptism they can make no such conclusion from it 1. There is nothing in Scripture to justifie such a Conceit That all those who are by Baptism admitted into the Catholick visible Church shall be saved for I pray observe in this Notion of Baptism 1. It doth no more than Circumcision did under the Old Testament to which it succeeded Circumcision was the Door into the Church of the Jews as Baptism is the Door into the Gospel Church Now there is nothing clearer in all the Scripture than that all those that were Circumcised were not saved Judas was Circumcised yet a Devil a Son of Perdition The Scribes and Pharises Lawyers and Hypocrites against whom our Saviour in the Gospel denounced so many Woes they were all Circumcised The Apostle expresly tells us that Circumcision availeth nothing nor yet Uncircumcision but a New Creature That Circumcision verily profiteth Persons if they keep the Law but if they were Breakers of the Law their Circumcision is made Uncircumcision Rom. 2. 25. That he is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the Flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the Heart and the Spirit and not in the Letter whose Praise is of God not of Men v. 28. 29. What is more plain than that of our Saviour Publicans and Harlots shall enter into the Kingdom of God and the Children of the Kingdom shall be cast out Luke 13. 26 27 28. v. 25. he is speaking to the Jews who were all circumcised all Members of the onely Church God at that day had in the World When once the Master of the House is risen up and hath shut the Door and you begin to stand without and to knock at the Door saying Lord Lord open unto us and he shall answer unto them I know you not whence you are◠Then shall you begin to say We have Eaten and Drank in thy Name and thou hast taught in our Streets I hope all these were Sons of the Church and no ordinary Members of it but v. 27. He shall say I know you not whence you are depart from me all ye workers of Iniquity there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and you your selves thrust out And they shall come from the East and the West and the North and the South and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God And behold there are last which shall be first and first which shall be last So as this alone is no ground of Hope or Confidence to any Soul 2. This appeareth further from hence That many Persons be Baptized and Members of Churches in whom Faith and Repentance which the Word of God every where makes necessary to Salvation are most certainly wanting Many Persons are Members of the Church by Baptism who yet are Drunkards Whoremongers Lyars Unbelievers such as the Scripture hath expresly said shall have their Portion in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone Baptism therefore in this Notion affordeth not the least ground of Confidence to any thinking and considerate Soul 2. Suppose we take Baptism in the Second Notion as it is an Ordinance of God instituted for something It is true the effect of Baptism what it is and how far it extendeth hath been a great Question amongst Divines Some ascribing to it the Justification of the Soul and the Remission of Sins to all but then they restrain it to Original Sin and so it onely as
I before said gives us Comfort as to Children dying in their Infancy others maintain The Regeneration of Elect Infants by Baptism I shall freely tell you what I judge is all in this Cause The most of those Baptized in the time of the Apostles were Persons grown up who had first made a visible Profession of their Repentance and Faith in Christ to these Baptism was a Seal of the Forgiveness of Sins and an Engagement to an Holy Conversation as you read Rom. 6. 4 c. To Infants it is a Seal of the Covenant of Grace as exhibited to Mankind That in case they do Repent and Believe their Sins shall be washed away with the Blood of Christ To these it is an Ordinance of Admission into the Church To these it is an Engagement to be the Lords an Avouchment of God for their God and Christ for their Saviour To these if when they grow up they shall Repent and Believe it shall be as a Fountain of Living Water springing up in the Soul to Eternal Life they shall as the Apostle instructeth the Romans Rom. 6. 4 5 6. fetch Arguments obliging them to die unto Sin and to live unto God Whether it hath any such immediate Effect as to all to justifie them from the guilt of Original Sin or to Regenerate them that is to make a change in their Heart I shall not dispute but cannot prove it nor do understand how possibly it should have any further effect of this Nature than Circumcision had to the Jews I am sure the Holy Scripture makes Pardon of Sin and Justification not the necessary or ordinary Effect of Baptism but of Confession of Sin True Repentance and forsaking of Sin and True Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ Flatter not your selves therefore if there be any Soul that liveth in any known course of Sin that never confessed his Sins and forsook them nor knew what godly Sorrow for Sin meant nor what it was to receive the Lord Jesus Christ and to believe in him onely knoweth he was Baptized and he liveth in the Church and is called a Christian and here he resteth not doubting but being confident that he shall be saved Let me tell him or her he presumeth and trusts his Soul upon a Lie and that which no weighed Divine of any Perswasion would ever say was a sufficient bottom to rest his Soul upon None ever said that Baptism washed away Sins past and to come and those that do ascribe Justification to Baptism make it such a state as may be lost and is lost by a course of Actual Sinning CHAP. V. The Notion of a Power in Man to Repent and Believe agreed by few if true no ground of hopes for Eternal Life Why Mistakes about the Nature of Regeneration Conversion Saving Repentance Faith Holiness great Occasions of Presumption The Truth as to those Notions enquired and proved What Regeneration Repentance Conversion Faith Holiness is necessary to Salvation and to the raising any Hopes in us with Relation to it 4. A Fourth Notion which I instanced in as a cause of Presumption was this That every Man and Woman hath his Life in his hands I mean a power in and of himself supposing the Common Grace of God denied to none to do all that God requireth of him in order to Salvation is a power to Repent to Believe to Love God c. Hence many think that there is no haste for Men to deny themselves or to take up the Cross or to follow Christ they may stay till they are old and their Eyes can be no longer pleased with Seeing nor their Ears with Hearing if then they do but Repent and Believe all is well enough As to which give me leave to speak two or three things 1. As brisk as this Opinion seemeth to be in the World I could never yet meet with any so hardy as to affirm That these things were within the Power of Man without the Assistance of Special Grace I have met with many that have talked high for the Power of Mans Will but when they have been brought to a close Discourse they would assert it no farther than either as to Moral Actions or Acts of Moral Discipline They would affirm indeed that a Man hath a power to go to Church instead of going to the Tavern to turn away his Foot from the House of an Harlot to do Justly and an hundred such things to read to hear the Word to pray to consider his Sins Now these are things which none denieth onely we say his power as to these is much weakened by the fall So as we doubt whether by Common Grace and all the Natural Power Man hath he can do these materially good Actions when he is pressed with a vehement Temptation But I say I could never yet meet with any that would say It is in the power of Man to Believe to Repent savingly to Love God c. 2. If any doth say so He saith what is contradicted by a multitude of Scriptures But it is not my work to enlarge here on that Discourse 3. In the next place Those Divines that do hold the greatest Natural Power in the Will of Man yet do say Time may be past that a Man may have sinned away this Natural Power and have his Heart so hardened in a Course of Sinning that he may have lost this Power and so be concluded to an Eternal Misery which alone to considerate Souls is enough to spoil its Presumption from this Head For how shall I who go on in a Course of Sin knowingly presume because I have a power in my self to turn when I will if it be possible that I may by a Course of Sinning have so provoked God as he may have given me up to a judicial blindness of Mind and hardness of Heart 4. Admitting thou hast such a Power if it still remaineth established that this Power must be produced into Act and that before thou canst enter into Heaven thou must actually Repent and Believe how dost thou know thou shalt have time for it May not God take away thy Soul with a stroke May he not come upon thee on the sudden and say This Night thy Soul shall be taken from thee and then what doth thy Power signifie Doest thou not see Men and Women die suddenly So that a pretence of such a Power in thee signifies nothing but that thou art more inexcusable by it if indeed thou hadst such a Power that thou didst not use it for the end for which thou hadst it 5. I proceed now to the great grounds of Mens Presumption viz. Mistakes as to the Nature of Regeneration Faith and Holiness The Scripture makes all these so necessary to Salvation that altho some ignorant Persons may build up to themselves idle and presumptuous Hopes because God made them and Christ died for all Men and they are Christians and Baptized c. yet considerate Persons plainly must see That unless a Man be
our Acceptance of him and trusting the Weight of our Souls upon him which cannot be without our Assent to the Propositions of the Word for upon the Credit of that onely it is that the Soul applies it self to Christ and goes to him and receiveth him Nor can it possibly be without practicial Holiness and a Regard to all Gods Commandments and a sincere indeavour to observe them for as I said before he must talk like a mad-man that should pretend to hope in or trust to another for a great benefit which that other hath promised upon such or such Conditions whilest in the mean time he neither doth nor regard to perform those Conditions and let him talk what he will he cannot heartily and truly hope for such benefits But yet Believing is not a meer Assent nor is it practicial Holiness but a closing with and receiving of Christ as the Mediator and Saviour of Man upon the Terms of his Revealed Will. And I do very much fear that he who hopeth for Pardon of Sin or Eternal Lise and Salvation without this believing will never see the Face of God 2. But as false Notions of Faith are to be taken heed of as exceeding contributory to Presumption So must false Notions of Repentance and Holiness be equally taken heed of The Popish Divines have infinitly contributed to deceive the World here Repentance in its true Notion is an hearty sorrow for Sin bringing forth an hatred and detestation of it and utmost indeavours for the forsaking of it The Papists make it to ly in some Attrition Auricular Confession Satisfaction doing some good Works or some Acts of External Discipline and Penance and saying they are sorry c. It is manifest that the Will of God makes Repentance necessary to Remission of Sins and Eternal Life Acts 2. 38. Repent every of you in the Name of Christ for the Remission of Sins 3. 19. Repent therefore and be converted that your Sins may be blotted out God commandeth all Men to Repent Acts 17. 30. We must Repent and turn to God Acts 26. 20. Now admitting that Repentance comprehends not onely a sense of Sin and sorrow for it but an hatred of it and a turning from all Sin to God and Men be possessed that it is no more than to own our selves Siners to confess our Sins let it be in the Ears of the Priest or in the Congregation and profess a sorrow for them whether we forsake them or no It is an easy thing for Men and Women upon these slighty and little performances to presume and promise to themselves Remission of Sins and Eternal Life for Repentance hath the promise of both annexed to it But Christians do not mistake to your own destruction Men may go to God a thousand times and own to him and that with Tears that they have Sinned they may reckon all particular Sins they may confess them as Papists do in the Ears of the Priest they may confess them as Protestants do in their Closets in their Families in the Congregation if this be all it is far enough from Repentance Judas repented and went and hanged himself Mat. 27. 3. He that confesseth his Sins and forsaketh them shall have Mercy Pro. 28. 13. And whoso hopeth for Mercy and Forgiveness from God and Eternal Life upon any other Repentance will find he doth but Presume and this Repentance must proceed from and is a part of Regeneration which is a change of the Heart and of the whole Man Repentance signifieth no less it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a change of the Mind and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a change of Mans Counsels and Designs it doth not lie in the dropping of a few Tears nor in a little formal acknowledgment of Guilt but in such a sense of Sin as produceth an hatred and detestatian of it and a leaving and forsaking of it Now if Men take Baptisme for Regeneration and Confession and some Acts of Discipline for Repentance and turning from some particular flagitious courses for Conversion it is an easy thing for them to deceive their own Souls by Presumption and to snatch at the promises and take up hasty and groundless hopes of the Pardon of Sin and of Eterâ—al Life and Salvation Nor is there any Armour of proof against this Fiery Dart but the possessing your Souls with the true Notion of these things Consult the Holy Scriptures see in what they make true Repentance Saving Faith Regeneration and Conversation to lie The Holy Scriptures alone can make you wise in these things and whatsoever Notions of these things you take up if they be not justified from holy Writt there is no truth in them Faith in Christ Repentance for Sin against God Regeneration Conversion are things we should never have thought of at least not as things necessary to Eternal Life and Salvation if the Scripture had not revealed them to us as such and from the Holy Scriptures alone we must take the measures of them That alone is saving Faith that alone is Regeneration Repentance unto Life Conversion which the Scripture makes so Let who will give you their Notions of these things bring them to the Light to the Holy Word of God and withal remember to compare Scripture with Scripture for in the Scriptures all these Terms are taken in several Senses St. James saith the Devils Believe Simon Magus Believed and was Baptized Judas Repented yet none of thess were saved Consult therefore the Scriptures where they speak of these things as the Conditions of Pardon and Eternal Life and Salvation to which the Promises are annexed But yet again there are also false Notions of other parts of Holiness taken up as conducive as any other to this Presumption The Scripture you know makes Holiness necessary to Salvation It tells us that without it we shall never see God Take heed of false Notions of this that Holiness lyeth in an Obedience to Gods Commands none can deny and that as well in the avoiding and taking heed of whatever the Law of God forbids as doing what the Law of God commandeth onely let me mind you 1. That the Law of God doth not onely respect the outward but the inward Man Jer. 31. 33. Psal 51. 6. Psal 5. 9. Math. 5. Ro. 2. 29. This our Saviour sufficiently justifieth in that better Interpretation of the Law which he gave than that which was given by the Scribes and Pharises who made the violation or observation of the Law to be onely in the External over Acts The Law forbidding Men to Kill forbiddeth them any inward Motions of their Hearts any Passions tending thereunto 2. That the Law of God Commanding the end or forbidding the end doth also command or forbid all means tendent to such an end 3. That the performance or forbearance of these things commanded in the Law of God is not Holiness unless it be out of a Principle of Love and Obedience to God A man may do what God hath commanded
upon which account they all have their Confessors depends upon this Doctrine of the Priests Absolution all the pretended necessity of it is in order to the receiving that benefit Then they further say That God doth onely Pardon the Eternal guilt of Sin and Christ hath onely satisfied for that So that for the removal of Temporary Punishments there must be also Satisfaction Hence their Priests have power to appoint People Pilgrimages Building of Churches Paying sums of Money for Satisfaction This Penance being undergone they do declare that any Priest being appointed thereto by the Church may in ordinary Causes not onely Declaratively but Judicially Pardon and Absolve the Sinner but if an higher Priest a Bishop or the Pope hath reserved some Cases in which he or they alone will have power to Absolve and to appoint to Penances and Satisfactions in those they onely can do it the more private Priests cannot This is their Doctrine Protestants now say that God alone can forgive Sins but by his Ministers in the Preaching of the Gospel he doth declare a Mans Sins are forgiven who have a true Contrition who truly repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ fully forgive them so that he expecteth no further Satisfaction for the Sinner than that which was long since given by the Blood of Christ who hath Trod the Wine-press of his Fathers Wrath alone and finished all that Work They say indeed that Confession of Sins in most causes is sufficient to God alone It is he alone that can forgive them In some Causes indeed a more open Confession is necessary 1. When the Church hath been publikely Scandilized not that this is necessary in order to Gods Pardon but as an Act of Obedience to Gods Will and for a more Comfortable Brotherly Communion and the Churches Satisfaction that the Person ought not to be longer kept out of its Communion 2. They say further That in the case of great Horrors of Conscience and Terrors upon Peoples Spirits it may be of great advantage to particular Christians under such Terrors to confess some particular Sins unto their Judicious Brethren or unto their Faithful Ministers but not in order to their Pardon of them but in order to their Prayer to God for them and offering words in season unto them that are weary and being more knowing and mighty in the Scriptures than they are from the Scriptures declaring the Will of God in their case comforting them if their case will bear comfort from the Word of God or otherwise advising them what to do according to the Will of God that they may receive true and solid comfort and Peace They do also further say that Satisfaction where any hath wronged another is necessary if in our Power as in Cases of Theft c. but for any necessity of any other Confession or Satissaction in order to Gods Forgiveness of the Sin they do not understand it nor believe it And for Judicial Absolution they say it is Gods alone Act and that all that the Minister can do is to declare the Will of God to People in case they do truly Repent and Believe that God hath doth and will forgive them freely for Christs sake In the mean time they do not deny but God may concurr with the Minister as his Ordinance giving a sense of the Remission of Sins which Remission was before given them upon their Repentance and believing in Truth to them while the Minister faithfully declareth the Will of God for the pardoning such as truly Repent and Believe but if any person be Absolved by a Minister hath cheated him and pretended Repentance and true Faith having no such thing his heart Or if any Minister hath either through Ignorance or Passion declared a Persons Sins forgiven whose Sins while he is in those Circumstances God hath said he will not forgive he may have cheated his own Soul or the Minister may have cheated him but God is not mockt his sins remain notwithstanding his pretended Absolution God dispenseth out the Grace of forgiveness not according to the Ignorance and Passions of Men but according to the Rules of Holy Scripture which is the Revelation of his Divine Will 2. Trust not therefore to any such vain Imaginations no nor to the Receiving of the Sacrament either in thy life time or at thy death That the Lords Supper is an Ordinance of God by which God doth signify and seal the Remission of Sins and Eternal Life by the commemoration of Christs death to such as truly repent and believe is out of question but that God in that Ordinance doth give Remission of Sins or hath appointed it so signifie seal or convey the pardon of Sin to any unbelieving Impenitent Soul is a very great Errour Such Persons may Eat and Drink there but it can be nothing but Judgment and Condemnation This hath made me frequently admire at some persons fondness of that Holy Ordinance when they apprehend themselves in danger of Death who never made Conscience of it in the time of their Health and Life especially considering that it cannot be administred in a right order viz. In the Communion of the Church where many who are joyned in one body eat of that one bread Upon which all Protestant Churches reject private Administrations of that Institution and upon just grounds Christ first gave it to the 12 at least to 11 of them we never read the Apostles Examples or Directions to or of any such Administrations upon this Account unless some particular Persons that have had long and lingring Sicknesses and of that nature as have not influenced their head nor so indisposed them but their minds could attend to the Action some of which I have known desiring a competent number of the Church with them privately to partake in the Ordinance from the publick Participation of which they have been long hindred I do not know that I ever knew any judicious Christian so much as desire such an Administration but many others I have which makes me think some more Ignorant People rest upon it and trust to it We know the Popish Notion of it and what a stir they make with the Host carrying it about in great state to dying Persons And I fear a tang of their Doctrine yet sticks in the minds of many who are professed Protestants We know what a trade the Papist make of their Doctrines of Auricular Confession Satisfactions and Private Masses Celebrated for the living and the dead and were it not for the gain came into their Purses by them they could not be so fond of such absurd Opinions and Practices But Christians take heed of these Notions which tend to nothing but to nourish Presumptions in your Souls and that you may take heed of them let me mind you of 2 Passages of our Saviours Mark 4. 24. Take heed what you hear and Luk. 8. 18. Take heed how you hear Take heed how you hear hear as those noble Bereans Acts 17.
parts of it 1. I say first be much in Examining the grounds of your hopes Indeed I should have first said Be much in whetting upon your Souls the belief of your Eternal Existence It is our want of belief of this or attendance to the thoughts of this which makes Men and Women so careless as to the looking after it We had need have it rung in our Ears every Morning and Evening Sir Remember you are going to Eternity If Men and Women could be brought to that pass that like that Ancient we read of where-ever they are whatever they are doing they should think they hear the Sound of the Last Trumpet and the Voice Arise you dead and come to Judgment they would be oftner entring into and communing with their own Hearts about the Grounds and Reason of their Hopes to live with God in a Blessed Eternity when they shall no longer live in the World But O we do not think of Eternity we do not believe Eternity so fixedly and steadily as we should God commanded under the Law by Moses Deut. 6. 6 7. That the words which the Lord did command them should be in their hearts that they should diligently teath them to their Children that they should talk of them when they sate in the house and when they walked by the way when they lay down and when they rose up that they should bind them as a sign upon their hand and they should be as frontlets betwixt their eyes and they should be written upon their Posts and upon their Gates What God commanded as to his Law I would have done as to every one of our Eternal State I would have it written upon our Hearts that we are going to Eternity I would have you teach it to your Children talk of it when you sit by your Fire-sides when you go out when you come in when you lie down when you rise up I would have Remember Eternity wrote upon the walls of your Parlours and of your Bed-Chambers I would have it always before your eyes surely then your hearts would be often saying To what Eternity am I going Am I going to Eternnal Happiness or to Eternal Torments To the place where I shall Weep and grieve and vex no more or to the place where will be nothing else but Weeping and Wailing and gnashing of Teeth and that for evermore And you would not rest in every slighty return your deceitful hearts should make flattering you with hopes of Heaven but you would say My Soul do not thou deceive me upon what grounds doest thou tell me it shall be well with me for ever We never think that we are sure enough of a Debt or a little Estate why should we trust in slighty seeming security for an Eternal Interest And be assured of this no grounds of Hope are worth any thing but such as plain Scripture justifieth Eternal Life is the Gift of God the Scripture tells so and we should never have thought of Eternity but for the Revelation of it in Scripture it is therefore given according to Scripture Revelation and no otherwise It is given by Christ to those that the Father hath given him Joh. 17. 2. We cannot search the Book of God to see the Names of those the Father hath given him but he hath told us who are given him John 10. 27. My Sheep hear my voice and follow me and I give unto them Eternal Life and they shall never perish Thou hast no ground to hope for Eternal Life but from thy bearing hearing and obeying the voice of Christ and thy following of him but so many are our failings such are our short and imperfect walkings that here a good Christian may have his doubts and fears whether he heareth Christs voice and so followeth him that he may cherish hopes in himself that he is one to whom Christ will give Eternal Life To guide you therefore I say 1. Do not take up your hopes from single Actions but from a continued Course of Actions The Philosopher tells us That single Acts will never denominate a Man Vertuous nor yet Vicious He is not a Drunkard that is once overtaken with drink but he that makes a trade of it he is not a just Man that now and then doth a just Action but he that in his whole Course giveth to every one his due nor is he an holy Man that sometimes doth good Actions Hears Prayeth but that Man that hath Regard to all Gods Commandements and that at all times in all Places Companies c. There is none so good but doth some things ill who liveth and sinneth not Nor are there many to be found so bad but do somthings good Herod heard John the Baptist gladly and he did many things Mark 6. 20. That is the holy Man that in the whole Course of his Life applyeth himself to the Pleasing of God enquiring what the good Will of God is and setting himself to do it and not turning aside there-from though by some Passions Corruptions Temptations c. he may sometimes be turned out of his way 2. Secondly Lay more stress upon your Affections than upon your Actions indeed they must Justifie and Legitimate your Actions Ends and Affections make up the form of Holiness and distinguish it from the good Works of the Heathens which Augustine rightly called Gay and Splendid Sinnings The Law is Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart Let a Man do what he will if it be not out of love to God out of a desire to please him and a fear to offend him it is no holiness it is but Ostentation or Self-seeking or meer Moral Vertue Let a Man fail in his Action whether through Infirmity or Temptation yet if his desire hath been towards God if his Hearts Affections have been right he is accepted of God do not therefore in your Examination of this ground of your Hope so much trust to what you find you have done for God and in Obedience to his Will as from what Principle it hath been done to what end with what Affection c. Say to your Souls I have been an Hearer of Sermons one that has used to Read to Pray but what hath been my Principle in it Hath it been the fear of God The love of God Obeying the Will of God Hath my end in it been the glorifying of God This will â—â—y your Hopes from your Holiness whether they be well grounded or no. 3. I added Thirdly When you have done all you will see reason to lay more stress upon the Covenant of Redemption and Grace than either upon your Affâ—â—tions or Actions yet not seperated from the one or the other but in conjunction with them I will put the Case that you or I were in secret examining our selves What hope we have that God had Pardoned our Sins and that when we die we should go to Heaven We reflect upon our lives suppose the better part of our lives and
we find that although in many things we have failed yet in the general course of our Actions we have endeavoured to do in all Circumstances what God hath commanded us well but yet our Hearts tells us nay the Scriptures tells us that if what we have done hath not been done out of love to God out of a desire to obey him it is all nothing It may be we have asked our hearts this question and they reply to us that it hath been the command of God and a will and a desire to please God that hath carrie dus out generally to our Actions but yet we shall find so much mixture of self-seeking so much want of Affection at sometimes that when we have done all if it were not for a Covenant of Grace and Redemption we were undone I can never enough mind you of the last words of David 2 Sam. 23. 4 5. v. 3. he tells you what God had said to him The God of Israel said the Rock of Israel spake unto me He that Ruleth over Men must be just Ruling in the Fear of God as the light of the Morning when the Sun riseth a Morning without Clouds as the tender Grass springing out of the Earth by clear shining after Rain So far he considereth now his Rule now he reflects on himself and findeth that he had come short of this he had not been just in the matters of Uriah and Bathsheba nor in many other things Where is then this good Mans hope mark v. 5. Although my House be not so with God yet he hath made me an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is all my Salvation and all my desire although he maketh it not to grow The God of Heaven hath said to every one of us the Rock of our Salvation He that believeth is not condemned he hath said My Sheep hear my Voice and follow me and I give them Eternal Life But I have been full of unbelief I have been deaf to many a voice of Christ in many things I have sinned and come short of the Glory of God I have troden many a step a-wry I hope my general aim hath been right but I have halted and trodon short and come infinitely short of my Rule My Heart my ways have not bin so with God Where 's a good Christians hope then but in this The Lord hath made with the Son of his love an Everlasting Covenant well ordered and sure in all things a Covenant that in consideration of the Satisfaction which he hath paid to his Fathers Justice the price which he hath paid his Righteousness shall be reckoned for Righteousness to every Soul that upon the offer of the Gospel shall receive him close with him accept him and in sincerity of Heart shall give up himself to the Obedience of his Will for this is every good Mans Salvation and when we have done all here the stress of our Hopes must lie Yet here is no ground for Hope without Action true Affections towards God conjoined with sincere Actions The Covenant of Grace will not relieve one ill principled and loose walking Christian tho it be the onely relief for a Sincere Christian that is sensible of his imperfect walking with God 5. Fifthly If you would take heed of Presumption you must take heed of wilful sinning against Light doing any thing which your Conscience telleth you you ought not to do The Nature of Man is biassed to prophesie and promise good to himself none but an Atheistical Sleepy Secure Soul that never thinks of Heaven or Hell or what shall become of him after this Life but maintaineth some secret hopes in one degree or another that he is in the Favour of God that his sins are Pardoned and that he shall be Eternally Saved Now these hopes in the heart of a wilful sinner that goeth on in a course of known Sin can be but Presumptions and therefore every Soul that thus liveth and walketh must either be a Presumptuous Person or one that despaireth for he must either have some Hope or no Hope if he hath no Hope at all it is either because he is under Despair or because he is an Athist and never mindeth and regardeth any thing but what he should Eat or Drink and Put on and how his Posterity shall live when he is dead If he hath any Hope it can be no other then a Presumptuous Hope for he hath not one line in Scripture to justify it There is no peace to the Wicked saith God so that without cleansing our ways and taking heed thereto according to the Word of God there is no avoiding the guilt of Atheism Despair or Presumption and this is a very dreadful Meditation but such as nothing can be truer We see there are but few very few that despair so that as Solomon saith Prosperity slayeth the Fool so it is either Atheism and a Carelesness as to any consideration of another life or else Presumption that slayeth the most of those poor Souls which go down into the Pit 6. Sixthly Be much in Prayer to God to guide you in the examining of your state and to keep you from taking up with vain Confidences take the Example of the Man according to Gods own Heart Psal 129. 23. Search me O God and know mine Heart try me and know my Thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting Beg of God to give you that good hope through grace which he mentioneth to beget you to a lively hope and not to suffer you to please your selves with a Presumptuous Hope that as to your hopes for Eternity it may not be to you as the Prophet speaketh Isaiah 29. 8. As when an hungry Man dreameth and behold he eateth but he awakes and his Soul is empty and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint and his Soul hath Appetite 7. Finally Be in the Fear of the Lord all the day long the wise Man saith Blessed is he that feareth always Prov. 28. 14. and we are you know commanded to work out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling Phil. 2. 12. It is true there is a state of Love that casteth out Fear perfect Love casts our Fear saith the Apostle and Paul tells us Rom. 8. We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but a fear least we should offend God a fear least we should deceive our own Souls is an excellent guard and protection to a Soul if it riseth indeed to cause a distrust in God or a despair of his Goodness then it is putrified then it dishonoureth God and such a fear ought not to be endured in a believers Soul but there is a Cautious Wary Ingenious Well-regulated Fear that well becometh even the best Souls while they are in their state of Corruption and Mortality and where they are daily incompassed with Temptations FINIS
the return of them that I have thought every Limb of him shaked and trembled I have heard another that had recovered once from these violences hearing me Discourse of them say O Sir it is an Hell upon the Earth And these are but two Instances of diverse I could name so that apparently here is nothing of the Will imbracing and chusing these things nothing of the Affections desiring loving delighting in such Thoughts so as they cannot be the Souls defilement and guilt tho they indeed be its most insupportable Burthen and Affliction This is to me so plain that I can hardly conceive upon what mistake a Soul under this intollerable Burden should charge it self with Guilt with reference to these Thoughts Yet two things it may possibly say 1. That it is hard to conceive that the Tempter following this poor Soul from day to day but that it should have so far deliberated upon or consented unto such Thoughts as to be rendred Guilty before God 2. That by giving Ear to some Atheistical Discourses or by Reading some Blasphemous and Atheistical Books or it may be Entertaining some such Atheistical Thoughts formerly and Arguing within it self for them it is become Guilty and now God doth but Righteously punish it with them To both which I shall oppose but two things 1. That as to the first it must be determined by the Soul that is under these Impressions they troubling it from day to day month to month and it may be year to year whether it hath not at all in any degree deliberated upon them consented and agreed so far to them as to make it Guilty in some degree and indeed it is hard to conceive that in this thing the Soul should be wholly and intirely Innocent but admit it be not yet surely these are no other Spots then what may be found in the Faces of Gods dearest Children no other then Sins of Infirmity and Humane Frailty and such as in other cases the best of Men and Women daily incurr the Guilt of which upon our daily Confession and Repentance of a Soul may warrantably expect Gods Pardon for through the Blood of Jesus Christ and so ought not to ly so heavy upon the Soul 2. Secondly Admit that the Soul before its turning unto God may have given too much occasion and advantage to the Tempter to offer those Impressions and that these are but youthful vanities repeated to us by the Tempter yet certainly the Souls present abhorrence and detestation of them its present trembling and trouble at the repetition of them ought to be a far greater comfort and relief to the Soul than the repetition of them ought to be trouble or disturbance Thou heretofore had'st such Thoughts but then they did not trouble thee thou didst entertain and cherish them now the repetition of them makes thee weary of thy Life are the greatest burden that thou didd'st ever feel What is here to disturb thee If thou indeed didd'st delight to roll over those Follies former Follies in thy Thoughts if thy Soul allowed them its close embraces and pleasure this were something formidable but while thy Soul abhorreth detesteth them while with all thy might thou repellest them it is a sign God hath both pardoned thy former Guilt as to them and also renewed and changed thy Heart then which nothing can speak better for thee So that if we wistly consider it we shall find That admit a Christian under these disturbances can justly check himself for too free an Admission of such Thoughts formerly yet his present Affliction for them abhorrence and detestation of them speaks comfort not trouble to him and from this Discourse it may easily be concluded That the great Torments and Disturbances of Souls upon this account are generally groundless The Souls which shall Account unto God another day for Atheistical and Blasphemous Thoughts are generally such as never made any complaint of them A Man never feels the Eternal Wrath of God in another Life for those sins the burden of which he hath felt in this Life and the Guilt of which he hath been truly afraid of and trembled at and studied to avoid Much less for the sinful acts of another to which he hath not consented This is a thing so obvious that one would wonder that any thing of this nature should stick with an Intelligent Christian or with any Soul that is but indifferently acquainted with the Covenant of Grace and the Promises of the Gospel Hast thou formerly been Guilty of some Atheistical Blasphemous Thoughts which for a time thou entertainedst without any just regret Or hast thou not made so quick and ready an Opposition to them as thou oughtest yet thou hast a Promise Matth. 12. 31. All Sin and Blasphemy wherewith a man shall blaspheme shall be forgiven unto Men. To what men thinkest thou What to them that persist in them and study to maintain them or to those that repent of them Thou wilt certainly say to the later not to the former Why are thou then thus unreasonably disturbed Thou hearest that even for this Guilt there is a Balm in Gilead there is a Physician there Doest thou say Ah but I do not repent What doest thou understand by Repentance Is it not an hearty Trouble for them an hearty Loathing and Detestation of them a Trembling at the very remote Thoughts of them an hearty desire to be rid of them and to entertain them no more Repentance What is Repentance then With what Imaginable colour of Reason or Pretence of Scripture canst thou charge thy self with the Guilt of that Sin which thou truly Loathest Abhorrest Tremblest at Studiest to avoid And indeed this Temptation hath apeared to me sometimes conversing with Souls in their Distress one of the most Inaccountable Things in the World as to the causes of it especially when this Disturbance hath fallen upon Intelligent Souls acquainted with the Gospel and the Terms of the Covenant of Grace For whereas the Devil useth this ordinarily but as a praevious Temptation to enforce another to Self Murther or habituated Despair one would wonder that any such Suggestions as these no better entertained could possibly induce the Soul to those other Sins but so it is upon Experience we find it that these are oft times most unspeakable disturbances It will be therefore worth our while in the last place to consider what may be done by or for our Souls yet at Liberty to prevent these great incumbrances of our Peace as also for the Relief of those Souls who through the permission of a Wise God are fallen under such a tremendous Providence as this is and this is my last Work CHAP. V. Christians under these Temptations advised To fix upon this That they are not the Souls guilt Luther's Advice in the Case 2. To possess it self with true Notions of God from Scripture avoiding the taking such Notions from Sense or Reason Three advantages from that This one 3. Not to forbear