be vpright BVt now some I doubt not in this tryall The true Christian must inioy the comfort of his truth will bee found to haue no guile that is no predominant hypocrisie in their spirits There be in the Churches true-hearted Christians good ground sheep and good corne and those amongst you that in trying doe finde your selues such and by this infallible proofe can cleare it to your selues because you haue often heeretofore found out discouered and bewayled those effects of hypocrisie which haue beene deliuered doe you I pray you enioy the comfort of your vprightnesse and let God that wrought it haue the glory Notwithstanding his fearefulnesse The good Christian is almost as fearefull to settle himselfe in a good opinion of himselfe as the false vnwilling to be driuen from it But there is no reason wherefore the innocent should be condemned A man may bee wrongfull and iniurious to God and to himselfe in being ouer fearefull to confesse the good worke of God in himselfe Christ hath liuing members in his body if thou beest one of them acknowledge it and be glad of it that thou mayest with all due care proceede in the wayes of godlinesse now that thou knowest thou hast set in to some purpose If Satan cannot keepe a man from truth yet hee will endeauour to hinder him from taking the comfort of it And Satans tentations but let not his lies beguile thee any longer Say vnto him I find mine owne faults more burdensome to me than others I find my selfe carefull of mine inward man as well as of mine outward I find my selfe humbled euen by my freedome from grosse sinnes and if at any time any fruit of hypocrisie doe shew it selfe as alacke too too often it doth I make haste to bring it before God and there I condemne it there I humble my selfe for it wherefore I am sure I am true-hearted O Lord I blesse thy name that hast made me true and I pray thee make mee more and more true Surely beloued it will be a great hinderance to your thankefulnesse if you doe not labour against those cauils by which Satan would faine couer your comforts from your eies He will tell thee of thy censoriousnesse of thy falling againe and againe and againe into such a fault perhaps grosse of thy deadnesse in priuate exercises of religion and of thy many vaine-glorious fancies and of thy much selfe-conceitednesse and many other things and he will labour to make thee thinke that it is not possible that heart should haue any truth in which so many fruits of hypocrisie may be found Thou must answer him that thou confessest thy selfe to be very full of these effects of dissimulation and that therefore also thou acknowledgest the roote from which they grow to be too too strong and bigge within thee But thou mayest say withall I haue been taught and I know it is true that not the man in whom hypocrisie is but he in whom it ruleth must be called an hypocrite and for thy selfe though it abide in thee yet thou knowest it raigneth not because thou fightest against it and against the euill brood of it with sighes and groanes with confession and griefe with requests and prayers and with daily renewed supplications Say vnto thy selfe I know and God knoweth that my censoriousnesse my dulnesse in priuate duties mine often carelesnes of mine heart and loosenesse of the inward man my vaine-gloriousnesse my slipping againe and againe into the same sinne and other fruites of dissembling within me that these and all these are too rife but withall that they are felt that they are marked that they are confessed that they are lamented and that they doe daily driue mee to my knees and make me come vnto God with humble intreaty for mercy through his onely Sonne and therefore I am sure that hypocrisie raigneth not but that truth preuaileth and therefore I am a true Christian and so I will take my selfe to be and will with all my soule praise him that hath made mee such continuing still to striue to grow in sincerity and truth that when these graces are become stronger they may become also more comfortable vnto me O all yee whose feeble spirits are shaken with feare and to whom nothing is more troublesome than this thought that sure you be but hypocrites and yet you doe bitterly lament the effects of hypocrisie in your selues and desire nothing in all the world so much as to be found vpright with your God I pray you confirme your soules in peace and accept the consolation that the Lord doth offer you Take your portion of comfort be knowne to your selues to be what you are vnderstand and see how great things God hath done for you in creating a right spirit in you Doe no longer ioyne with Satan in belying your selues as you haue a ready too much often done to the great hinderance of your soules Weak Christians apt to accuse themselues too much Your custome hath been whensoeuer your corruptions haue been any thing strongly wrought vpon when any bad motion hath been violent especially if your passions in any kinde haue broken foorth to some actuall euill then to fall vpon your selues with grieuous accusations and to take part with the diuell in slaundring your selues then you haue cryed out and exclaymed against your selues and sayd Sure I am but an hypocrite and a dissembler that haue yet still within me such euill thoughts am still disquieted with such passions and still drawne to such wicked deedes But I say vnto you this is no true inference as the hypocrite in a fit confesseth his sinne and is sorry for it but yet returneth againe to follow it so the true hearted in a fit doth commit sinne but againe returneth to abhorre it and to renew his couenant with God of amending it As the hollow heart is good in a passion so the true hearted may be bad in a passion but looke to the course of thy life to the setled purpose of thy soule to the established desires of thy mind and so long as there is a constant striuing against all sinne by spirituall weapons so long thou art good before God and for Gods sake and must take thy selfe to be vpright The true Christian shall neuer gaine any thing by calling himselfe an hypocrite But this gets them nothing to see his hypocrisie to lament it to shame himselfe before God for it this shall much aduantage his soule but to deny the worke of Gods grace in him and to ranke himselfe amongst dissemblers from whom he alwaies differs as much as a man that is sicke of any sicknesse from him that is dead of that sicknesse this doth no good to him but interrupts his prayers hinders his humiliation estrangeth him from God and turneth godly sorrow for his sinne into desperate sorrow for the punishment of sinne Remember therefore that there be true Christians in the Church who yet are not free
of vprightnesse We cannot ouercome the smallest corruptions of our hart in our owne strength but it must be a diuine power which must inable vs to preuaile against sinfull dispositions Now this strength the Lord of heauen the strong God the author of all strength is ready and willing to bestow vpon all that humbly sue vnto him for it for he giueth to all liberally and hitteth no man in the teeth Beg then for the spirit of power and of a right mind and beg heartily and confidently because thou beggest of him that is able to giue and much more willing then thou art to receiue He that hath made others of weake to become strong and of false to become true can and will performe the same grace to thee according to his promise For hee commandeth all to aske and shuts vp his mercies from none that truly and heartily beseech the same at his hands Perhaps the diuell may seeke to turne thee from this exercise of prayer by casting in a cauill against thee to this purpose that the prayers of Hypocrites cannot be accepted and thou hauing been hitherto but an Hypocrite how should thy prayers preuaile in heauen For the settling of thy soule against this doubt know that the prayer of an Hypocrite that doth not see and lament his hypocrisie cannot indeed bee bidden welcome in heauen but all that are heauy laden with sinne haue a command to come vnto Christ Iesus and a promise that they shall be refreshed wherefore now thou hauing begun to see and detest and bee burthened and grieued with thy guile good warrant hast thou to aske helpe and good assurance that thine asking shall not be in vaine Therefore I say againe lift vp thine heart and voyce and cry mightily to God for the powerfull worke of his Spirit to make thee sincere before him O Lord say thou which art onely able to forme the soule of man anew within create thou in me a new heart and forme a right spirit within me make me sound in thy precepts and let not iniquity haue dominion ouer me Make me Lord a true Israelite in whose spirit there is no guile Make mee truly good good for thy sake and because thou wouldest haue me good that I may please thee and not onely or chiefly that I may serue mine owne turne yea or saue mine owne soule yea generally and vniuersally good good in all things with such a goodnes as thou accountest perfect in thy Son Christs perfection because he in whom it is doth striue labour after perfection Follow this suit most closely and earnestly and giue not ouer till thou findest it granted if thou canst not go on in variety of words yet repeat ouer the same petition often and often and be not weary for so they be hearty feruent the Lord of heauen will neuer be weary of such repetitions Our Sauiour hath spokē a Parable to the intent that we shuld pray alwayes and not waxe faint Thou knowest I presume what the parable is A poore Widdow by importunity forced an vnrighteous Iudge to do her iustice against her aduersary How much more shall the righteous God auenge the cause of his seruants that cry day and night vnto him And if his compassion be such towards them that he will auenge them of their externall enemies which onely seeke to make their liues tedious by persecutions shall hee not much rather assist them against their inward corruptions which tend to bring their soules to destruction wherefore resolue thy selfe to be importunate and to take no nay nor euer to giue ouer till thou hast sped in thy suit wherin nothing can hinder thee from speeding but thine owne too soone giuing ouer the suit through wearinesse Men are troubled with earnestnesse and importunity and amongst them many times a stout begger hath a stoutnay because they condemne it as a matter of impudency to be a stout begger but to God nothing is more pleasing then this stirring vp our selues to take hold vpon his name and this giuing him no rest day nor night till hee heare our prayers and with him onely faint suitors that will take a repulse easily and bee soone put backe doe goe away empty of the thing they sued for Know then that thy saluation dependeth vpon this matter and therefore as in a case of the greatest importance in the world make thy desires feruent and resolue neuer to cease asking till thou shalt receiue the Spirit of truth and vprightnesse And know that God doth not deny to heare thy prayers at first because he is not able or willing to grant them or because hee counts it a matter too troublesome for him but alone to indeare the benefit obtained to make thee see the worth of it and become the more thankfull Pray therefore and pray feruently and pray continually O Lord create a right spirit in me and make me sound in thy precepts And to prayers 4. To meditate often on the excellent nature of God ioyne in the fourth place holy meditations of the nature of God for hee that knowes God thorowly and is to any purpose acquainted with the excellency of his nature in himselfe and sees the beauty of his grace in the face of Christ cannot but be so farre in loue with him as euen to be good for his sake and to make him the beginning and ending of all his desires and indeuours It is alone ignorance of God that makes vs set our selues in Gods roome and aime at our owne benefit in stead of his glory But he that will take paines to cleere vp his owne eyes and to behold the glory of God as he hath reuealed it in his Word and in his Gospell shall be so affected with the splendor thereof as that now he will account nothing worth any thing but that surpassing glorious Maiesty that infinitely excels all things and so hypocrisie must needs vanish The knowledge of God will make a man to perceiue how little it shall auaile him to disguize himselfe The knowledge of God will make him to see how worthy the Lord is of all the seruice of all creatures The knowledge of God will make his heart to become in loue with God and no man will dissemble with him whom he loueth wherefore labour to get and to grow in this knowledge by a frequent pondering and musing vpon the nature of God and beholding in his Temple the beauty of his Maiesty as Dauid speaketh Tell thy selfe often of his infinitenesse and eternity and that all things are from him and by him and for him and hee alone is from and of himselfe Say vnto thy soule hee is the owner of all things and the ruler of all things All the good properties of all creatures be but drops of his sea and sparkes of his flame and there is infinitely more of all good things in him alone then in all them and whatsoeuer is in them it is more his then theirs and their
griefe in his heart and no doubt also in his face mainely crying out of himselfe and saying Matth. 27.4 I haue sinned in betraying innocent bloud Yea you know that Ahab did put on sack-cloth and went softly and fasted for his sinne and that so as God did note it in him and forbeare him for it somwhat which hee would not haue done if hee had not seene him inwardly sorrowfull for it and if hee had not euen secretly confessed it vnto him 1. Kings 21.27 So farre may a dissembler goe for the best of these was but a dissembler in being humbled But yet he doth much differ from the humiliation of the true godly man in these things The hypocrites confession and sorrow reacheth alone to some grosser sinnes not to the lesser corruptions as that of the true hearted doth Psal 51.5 Psal 19.12 Rom. 7.13.14 First the hypocrite is sorry for some one or two grosse externall faults that are more than ordinarily notorious and foule as is to be seene in Iudas and Ahab and Saul murder shedding innocent blood and seeking to slay the innocent These crimes you see touched these dissemblers but you neuer heard an hypocrite crying out as Dauid In sinne was I conceiued and againe Lord who can know his errours purge me from secret faults nor with the Apostle vexed with the law of his members drawing him captiue to sinne and crossing the law of the spirit within him The corruptions of the heart the secret and vnknowne and esteemed little disorders of heart and life especially the fountaine of all mischiefes the filthy stinking guzzle of Originall sinne the hypocrite laments not bewaileth not confesseth not with sorrow and anguish of heart to God or man but alone if hee fall into some grosse notable crime hee is much troubled and grieued for it and sometimes very sorrowfull in confessing it But the Christian man can find out more hidden corruptions and acknowledge and bewaile them and feele the burden of lesse grieuous crimes yea of things by the most esteemed no sinnes and for them can shame and blame and condemne himselfe before God So the one washeth his heart as I said before the other his hands only The hypocrites sorrow and confession comes but by fits the true Christians is ordinary and vsuall at the best Againe the confession of the hypocrite and his sorrow comes but by fits and starts sometimes now and then once or twice and vse it not Seldome haue you Pharaoh and Saul saying We haue sinned they are not often in this tune It is a rare and vnusuall thing to see Ahab going softly to heare him sighing for his sinne For indeed it ariseth not from any such ground in them as may make it lasting or perpetuall namely a true hatred of sinne or loue of God but alone from a fearefull expectation of punishment or a wearines of crosses and afflictions But now the true Christian is very constant in his confessing and at least striuing to lament sinne It is his vsuall and constant course to blame himselfe before God for his daily and particular transgressions and hee is not well almost any day vnlesse he doe take some time to accuse and iudge himselfe before his Maker For indeede he walketh with God and seeketh to approue his heart vnto him and therefore cannot but be frequent in laying open his heart vnto him and powring out his soule before him His heart will often so smite him as to driue him into Gods presence and make him say O Lord I haue sinned greatly and done exceeding foolishly but Lord doe away the sinnes of thy seruant Yea he neuer almost committeth any sinne which he knowes to be a sinne but hee will confesse it taking daily notice of his daily slips that he may the better confesse them So the sorrow and confession of hypocrites is in a quaume when the good moode comes vpon them as a drie hole that is full of water vpon a great shower but the confessing and mourning of the true Christian is daily constant perpetuall in a settled and vsuall course as the running of water in a fluent streame that hath issue from some liuing Fountaine or Well-head Againe The hypocrits confession and griefe is by force put vpon them the true Christians by themselues willingly laboured for the sorrow and confession of hypocrites is likely put vpon them by a kind of violence they be euen forced to it by some accident so pressing them for the time that they can neither will nor chuse as the common saying hath This is euident in the fore-named examples What made Ahab walke in sack-cloth with a soft pace but because he was threatned the ruine of all his household and the vtter subuersion of all his posteritie a tidings that could scarce chuse but make the heart of any Grand-father to ake and melt within him When did Pharaoh say The Lord is righteous I and my people are sinners but when the plague lay so heauie vpon him and stucke so close vnto him that he knew not which way in the world to turne himselfe And what made Saul breake forth with teares and say I haue sinned but that Dauid had then euen gone beyond all his expectations quite and cleane and had vtterly ouercome him with kindnesse by requiting his euill with good So Iudas confessed not his treason till the very sparkes of hell fier were all on a light flame within his soule I meane till the hideousnesse of a bitter and exasperated conscience did euen furiously pursue him and driue him to this too-late and bootelesse remedy So the confession of hypocrites is wrested and extorted from them euen as that of a traytor by the torture of the racke and his griefe for his finne is a compelled griefe as that of a slaue vnder the whip but the true godly man and faithfull seruant of Christ doth voluntarily and of his owne accord bring himselfe before the Lord in humble and sorrowfull confessions though no such violence be offered vnto him euen out of a kindly worke of grace mouing and inclining him still to desire to bee at one with God The child of God doth euen long to be sorrowfull for his sinnes and when no crosse affliction or tentation lies vpon him nor no other meanes of working him to griefe is vsed then hee takes paines to rend his owne heart and out of a good will to God and in a kind of comfortable and sweete sence of reconciliation with him doth acknowledge his wickednesse In very truth Gods child sometimes hauing almost kild himselfe with a presumptuous sinne is put to roaring and crying through the weight of Gods hand lying heauy vpon him day and night as Dauid saith of himselfe Psal 32.3 afore he can come to confesse his sinne against himselfe But this is a rare case with a Christian hart that it should need compulsion to bring it downe in confession before God 1. Chron. 21.8 vsually he
of ceremony and could scarce abide them that could abide those petty things which I haue disliked and yet I neuer lamented but rather applauded my selfe in this bitternesse and I my selfe haue beene very carelesse of greater things when profit pleaded for them that haue seemed so very strict in formes and shaddowes and externall rites and yet I pleased my selfe well enough in this largenesse of conscience O Lord thy Word hath found me out thy Word hath discouered vnto mee the secrets of mine heart it hath iudged me it hath condemned me I desire to giue glory to thee and no longer to hide my sinnes this sinne this vpholder of all sinnes this damnable hypocrisie I see it hath ruled in me and I for want of care haue neuer yet perceiued it but now I perceiue it and now I confesse it O Lord to thee that knowest it already to thee from whom it cannot be hidden I humbly acknowledge I haue all this while beene but an hypocrite Brethren will yee thus pleade guilty A man shall be loath thus to confesse his hypocrisie if you bee guilty before the Lord I know it is maruellous hard to bring the guilty soule to plaine confession selfe-loue raigneth in our hearts naturally and that can hardly endure to speake any euill against it selfe though vpon neuer so iust cause Hee that hath long fed himselfe and made himselfe if not peaceable yet secure with telling himselfe he was a good Christian will be very loath now perhaps after many yeares abiding in this false opinion to acknowledge himselfe to haue been deceiued We see it is very hard to draw men out of those errours wherin they haue been long trained vp Euery man hath been euen trained vp in a conceit that he was a good Christian It is conceit hath long possessed him and this errour hath become a very preiudice within him he hath euer taken it for granted and beene angry that it should be once called into question It is therefore no wonder if men finde themselues loath to recant their owne good conceits of themselues and to goe from all that they haue formerly esteemed vndenyable But for all this But he must for all that confesse I pray you be perswaded to see your selues to haue been dissemblers if you haue been such for all your vnnaturall vnwillingnesse The theefe indeed hath cause as he thinketh to be impudent in denying himselfe to haue committed felony though he know full well that he hath committed it because confession is required of him as an helpe to his conuiction and so to his condemning But the Lord of heauen doth not desire thee to confesse thy selfe to haue been but an hypocrite because he wanteth other meanes to conuict thee or because hee may the more easily proceede to condemne thee For that is the onely way to get it pardoned nay therefore onely he would haue thee confesse that thou mayest be capable of pardon because it is an ouer-ruled case in heauen and a thing peremptorily concluded of by the Diuine iustice that no sinner shall euer be pardoned till he deale plainely and freely confesse that he is such a sinner as he is Thy confession is called for onely to sit thee for pardon not to vrge against thee to any worse purpose Wherefore forbeare no longer winke no longer be ignorant of thy selfe no longer hide thy guile no longer but in thy very soule now in the thoughts of it and heereafter in more words twixt God and thy selfe in secret say vnto the Lord and deny not but acknowledge O Lord I see plainely that yet I haue been but an bypocrite Brethren And if he doe it not he is no whit safer ignorance of ones ill estate cannot helpe it Is a man one iot the better if he be an hypocrite because hee refuseth to acknowledge it Shall he scape better because he can make himselfe blinde and not see it Doubtlesse the Lord will discouer the secrets of euery soule at the last day and at the day of death to euery mans soule first and after to all the world and then a man shall be discouered to himselfe fearefully and horribly without all hope without all possibilitie of being pardoned Suffer the Word of God wherein hee comes to exercise iudgement in a mercifull manner to draw you to a plaine and sauing acknowledgement that you may not be forced by the last sentence to see and feele your hypocrisie when there will be neither leasure nor meanes to redresse it Now thou mayest be helped now thou mayest be changed from an hypocrite to a true Christian from a dissembler to soundnesse of spirit Now therefore whilest vpon confession mercy and healing may be procured bring thy soule to it and suffer the Word of God to ouer-rule all thine vnwillingnesse and fall to a free confession and as I haue often said tell the God of heauen O Lord It is true too true too plaine I cannot deny it vnlesse I will deny it wilfully and against my conscience I am but an hypocrite as yet Brethren wee therefore labour about this point so much because we doe well know the necessitie of it If we cannot attaine thus much from you But shall for euer remain so you will alwayes remaine hypocrites and the Word of God through your opposing it will prooue but a meanes of hardening you in your hypocrisie but if we draw you to acknowledgement it will not be impossible to direct you to amendment I know that your hearts may possibly hold off from confession by thinking to this effect That if you haue beene but hypocrites all this while it will neuer bee better with you and you shall neuer attaine to be vpright But this is a false suggestion of Satan If you will not see your selues to haue but dissembled you shall in very deede neuer be better but rather worse and worse and more and more sold vnder the power of hypocrisie Only by confessing and lamenting hee may be made true but if you will see it and lament it before God and oppose it by striuing to cast out the beloued sinne and to step that one step which hitherto you haue not stepped of falling out with that one sinne whatsoeuer which hitherto you haue harboured and constant praying against that one fault which hitherto you haue been content to winke at and let passe with a priuiledge of Seene and allowed you shall bee true you shall bee vpright you shal be sincere and of fruitlesse barren become fruitfull and profitable branches A man may weep out hypocrisie aswel as other vices confessing and lamenting guile will surely free a man from the power of guile and hee shall cease to be an hypocrite that will now begin hereafter daily continue to see acknowledge and bewayle his hypocrisie before the Lord who sees and hates it where it is not cōfessed sees pities it where it is CHAP. XII Containing a third vse for them that
not make vs reiect the loue of godlinesse and account all rotten branches because some are so Hath not Christ told vs before-hand that so it will be that when we finde it so to be we may not be offended as he tells his Disciples in another case The foolish worldling stumbleth exceedingly at the slips faults and imperfections of Gods true-hearted children and because hee sees faults in them that beare before them a forwardnesse in religion he condemnes them all for grosse dissemblers and cannot away with these smooth-faced hypocrites But if at any time some prooue ranke hypocrites he takes that as a warrant for his tongue to out-lash against all saying that surely the best of them is no better But how could they be so foolish but that they delight in folly and are glad to make themselues obstinate in euill and to confirme their inbred hatred of pietie by turning all occurrents to that purpose were it not I say for this malitious blindnesse of theirs how could they be so foolish as not to haue learned of our Sauiours most plaine words that in him there will be fruitlesse branches that must bee cut off and cast out as well as fruitfull that will continue and encrease in fruitfulnesse Would any but a very blocke or a blind man stumble at a blocke that is plainely shewed vnto him and warning hath often beene giuen him that it will surely bee cast in his way would any but a man voyd of all vnderstanding abhorre all the Apostles because Iudas turned traytor I pray you therefore so many of you as shall liue to see such miserable examples that you draw good and not euill conclusions from the falls reuolts and back-slidings of other men and of hypocrites Say thou I am sure Christ hath good sheepe as well as goates and though such and such haue manifested their guilefulnesse by forsaking the former pathes of righteousnesse wherein they appeared to walke yet I will not be hardly conceited of any body else for their sakes In this case the prouerbe ought to be hearkened vnto that tels vs Euery Horse must carry his owne burden In truth hee that stands so slenderly affected either to goodnes and piety it selfe or to the seruants and followers of so noble a misstresse as piety is that because of the wickednesse and out-strayings and finall reuolts of some of those that seemed once to attend vpon her and to be admitted into her traine therefore he cares not for pietie it selfe nor will euer thinke well of any of those that weare here cloath hereafter he I say that stands so slenderly affected to Wisdome and her retinue shall be sure neuer to want occasion of imboldening himselfe in sinne and of being more and more estranged from that the entertaining of which is the onely way to make him happie Yea verily hee whom the back-sliding of seeming Christians doth driue to so much madnesse as that he can turne so lamentable a spectacle to no better a purpose then to triumph and exult ouer all and barke against al and vpbrade all with such euill examples discouereth himselfe plainely not to hate the sinne of the back-slider which hee lately fell into but the very shewes of goodnesse wherein once he walked and from which he is faine In a word he that scornes pietie and religion and those that follow after it because diuers turne taile and prooue notably wicked at end shewes himselfe plainely to be voyd of all religion all piety When the true seruants of God doe see and heare such tidings it grieueth their soules it maketh them mourne in secret and pray in secret and fall a fresh to examine and trie themselues lest they also should be in like manner ouertaken But he that fleereth and iesteth and exulteth and scorneth and casts the dung of one in the face of others and would faine blemish all religiousnesse by the staines and faults of those that once seemed religious hath nothing in him but malice and bitternesse and the very spirit of the diuell Beware therefore of making thy selfe appeare starke naught by so stumbling at the breaking out of some other mans long hidden naughtinesse CHAP. XIIII Shewing that fruitfulnesse is the true distictniue note of those that professe to be Christians AND so much bee spoken of the distribution of branches into two kinds Wee proceede now to consider the difference of the branches for in that they bee branches they both concurre but herein they differ manifestly that the one is the other is not fruitfull Obserue then from these words of our Sauiour another point that fruitfulnesse is the true note of difference betwixt the true Christian and the hypocrite As a man differs from a beast by reason a beast from a plant by sence a plant from a stone by life or vegetation so a good Christian from an hypocrite by fruitfulnesse This is the most plaine sure sensible infallible and as they call it the very specifical marke of distinction betwixt the sound professor and the false that the one beareth fruit the other doth not beare fruit in the Vine Where the holy ordinances of God haue such power as to work obedience in the whole couersation this is fruitefulnesse and here is truth where they doe not bring forth this effect this is fruitlesnesse and here is guile In a word all true Christians are fruitfull and none but they all dissemblers are fruitlesse and none but they This point is abundantly confirmed in the parable of the sower in which of foure grounds one alone was good and that fruitfull as for the bad grounds the first did not beare so much as a blade Mat. 13.1 c. the other two did indeed put out a little greenenes but it was like the corne vpon the house top which withereth or euer it be ripe and of which the mower filleth not his lap onely the good ground did requite the labour of the husbandman with a liberall haruest of some thirtie some sixtie some hundred fold So in the words of the Apostle Heb. 6.7.8 the ground that bringeth forth fruite meete for the dresser is blessed but that that bringeth forth briars and thornes is neere vnto cursing whose end is burning Mat. 7.24 And in more plaine termes our Sauiour saith that hee which heareth his words and doth them this is fruitfulnesse doth build vpon a rocke this is an effect of truth but he that heareth and doth them not that is to bee vnfruitfull doth build vpon the sand that is is but an hypocrite and shall haue his building tumbling downe The truth of this point will further appeare if we consider the causes and effects of fruitfulnesse The causes of it are the sactifying Spirit of God dwelling in the soule and the Word of God receiued into an honest heart No man bringeth forth fruit but he vpon whom the holy Ghost hath come downe to beget him againe and to make him a new creature in Christ Iesus for
to imagine vnlesse one doe take experience of his owne practice how much the renewing of this holy anger against a mans selfe for sinnes past will strengthen him against the same and abate the power of those corruptions of his heart which brake foorth into such rebellion Wherefore doe thus often many times many score times in a day put thy selfe in mind as occasion shall offer it selfe of thy former sinnes with a rising of thy soule against thy selfe and with an holy kind of sharpnesse and tartnesse being euen out of loue and conceit with thy selfe saying Ah vile creature how could I finde in mine heart to do such things would any man haue thought it possible for any creature from whom all piety and reason both were not banished to runne out into such words such deeds and what is wanting to the length and largenesse of these cogitations throughout the day in regard of the interruptions of other affaires that labour to supply by their oftennesse and by their earnest working within thee closing still with a turning away of thy liking from them and a wishing that thou hadst neuer so offended God Secondly 2. Renew often in thy selfe a resolution of no more committing thy most pleasing sinnes let a good man hold alwayes fast within himselfe a resolution of not committing such and such sinnes as he is most apt to commit and in regard of his condition calling place bodily temper or the like is most in danger to commit and let him often reuiue in himselfe also thoughts and motions to that end saying within himselfe Wel through Gods gracious assistance what euer come of mee I will no more transgresse the Law of God and displease him in such and such offences Should the creature wrong the Creator and the child doe iniury to the father Nothing is more vnreasonable then that I should for any thing sinne against my strength and my Redeemer of my selfe I cannot cease to sinne but God will worke in mee both the will and the deed and doubtlesse by his help I will not sinne in such kind measure manner any more I will no more bee so bitterly wrathfull nor vse such vndecent gestures and speeches in my passion I will no more bee so foolishly wanton nor vse such euill and defiling speeches and behauiours I will neuer be so impatient and discontented againe The Apostle Peter prescribeth this remedy against sin and vseth the phrase of being arm'd with it because a Christian soule so long as it remaineth peremptory in this resolution is like a souldier clad in strong harnesse who though he bee smitten at and receiueth a blow yet through the faithfulnesse of his armour is defended from the piercing of the weapon and from the wound If Satan or the flesh suggest a motion or present an occasion of doing such euils as a man hath often said within himselfe Well by Gods grace nothing shall euer make me doe it the will hauing bent it selfe fully against such things in generall flings away from this particular motion and reiecteth it with disdaine Wherefore Saint Peter as I was in saying commendeth this matter vnto vs in these words For as much as Christ hath suffered for vs in the flesh arme your selues with the same minde that he who hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sinne that hee no longer should liue the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men but to the will of God You see how a Christian should goe fenced well I will no longer follow sin nor doe after the corrupt lusts of men but the holy will of God And you see also by what argument pressed vpon himselfe a Christian should fortifie this settled determination in himselfe namely because Christ hath suffered for vs. And this determination must not alone bee prosecuted more plentifully and earnestly in our settled and solemne meditations but perpetually also renewed and confirmed euen as wee goe about our other affaires for a mans hand may be working in his calling and his heart drawing it selfe to the maine worke of his calling of Christianity by lifting vp it selfe with such thoughts as occasion may offer it selfe Surely that sinne that slew Christ Iesus our Lord is too vile a thing in it selfe too hatefull to God too hurtfull to the committer for a Christian man to liue in or once to practise and therefore what-euer may befall I will not commit such and such and such a sinne naming that that the present occasion shall giue him most cause to name or that his heart hath most reason to be most carefull of shunning And this a good man should doe not once twice or thrice in a weeke but euer and anon twenty and twice twenty times in a day in halfe a day For though we liue in the world yet our maine businesse is to trauell towards heauen and therefore the soule must take all occasions of furnishing it selfe with thoughts that tend to further it in that iourney Thirdly 3. Obserue and resolutely and speedily resist euill or idle motions a Christian ought euer to keepe a most wakefull eye ouer the motions that stirre in his minde that so soone as euer any sinfull or friuolous fancies begin to steale or breake in vpon him he may make speedy and resolute resistance by raising vp some holy affection of loathing the fault griefe for it anger against it or else reuerence of Gods holy presence feare of his fierce anger trembling at his iust threats or else by sending vp some present and short request vnto God for the assistance of his Spirit saying Lord helpe me with thy grace should I euer doe so vile or fruitlesse things nay should I suffer the cogitations of them to dwell in my soule God forbid Lord strengthen me by thy Spirit that I may not dishonour and offend thee by such words such actions Thus the Spirit by lusting against the flesh shall mortifie the deeds of the flesh Yea and if it so fall out that these shorter eiaculations or briefe petitions of the soule will not serue the turne but that the motions grow more thicke or vehement and the heart begins almost to consent vnto them and so we find our selues on the losing hand for when once the will hath giuen ground by either thinking Why should I not doe it or by making but a faint refusall a mans soule is foyled and if occasion bee not for the present committing of it yet the next time occasion doth come vnlesse he haue gotten more strength and armed his will more strongly he will soone bee drawne to commit it I say when wee thus perceiue corruption strong and grace weake we must take so much care of our soules as if it bee possible to lay all other things aside and in the solemnest manner fall on praying to God for strength against that corruption but if other occasions stand so auerse that we cannot haue time or place to make a solemne prayer yet we
the reasons of it are as cleere as can be not onely from the truth and power of God who is able abundantly to mortifie our sinnes and hath told vs that hee is faithfull and true to forgiue vs our sinnes and to cleanse vs from all vnrighteousnesse but also from two other pertinent considerations namely first that their need requireth it secondly that it standeth vpon his honour to performe it For first Reason 1 if the Lord their God should not vndertake the purging and cleansing of them Because else they should perish by the preuailing of sinne their sinnes would totally and finally preuaile against them and they could not possibly but perish If a Garden be not timely weeded it will quickly be so ouer-runne with weeds that there will bee no place left for good and wholesome herbes and flowers to grow therein If a dangerous fote bee not plaistered with conuenient salues it will fester and rankle and rot the ioynt and bring death to the body wherein it bred euen so would sinne also preuaile against the best of Gods seruants to their vtter destruction if hee himselfe did not ioyne to helpe them against it For in truth all their power without the perpetuall assistance of his speciall grace would bee to little purpose for the subduing thereof Either therefore the Lord must purge his people or see them dye for euer for want of purging This latter his tender pity and fatherly compassion his eternall infinite vnspeakable free and vnchangeable loue can neuer indure to see wherefore his wisedome power and goodnesse will set themselues on worke to effect the former euen to purge them that they may be saued And that the rather because in the second place Reason 2 it much importeth his owne honour so to doe It is for Gods honour to perfect the worke be hath begun in them For this is one of those wayes whereby hee is made glorious in all his Saints for that his working in them is so miraculously effectuall as to change blindnesse into sight lamenesse into soundnesse weaknesse into strength and death into life For as a Physiciā hauing vndertaken the cure of some desperat disease wil not for his credit leaue it off bunglingly in the middest halfe whole halfe ill but must perfectly consummate accōplish it to the totall strength of the member ill-affected and person diseased because the glory of a Physiciā doth stand in the multitude of those whom he hath perfectly healed of grieuous maladies So the Lord of heauen and earth hauing begun to heale the sicke yea desperately sicke soules of his poore afflicted and sinfull seruants must euen goe thorow with that hard worke for his glory sake that it may not be said he laid the foundation and was either so weak that he could not or so vnconstant that he would not set vp the roofe and he must winne to himselfe the glory of infinite power and skill in making them euery whit sound as our Sauiour speaketh of one whom himselfe had restored to bodily health It is his honour to shew himselfe strong in their weaknesse true in their falshood wise in their folly good in their badnesse and fuller of excellent ability to redresse their euils then they can be of euils that may need redressing and the glory of glories that hee affecteth to haue in his Church is this that hee turneth Lions into Lambs Woolues into Sheepe and Beares into Kine and Serpents into Sucklings fooles into wise men and sinners into Saints so taking away the most mischieuous violent ouerbearing and but by his strength vnsubduable corruptions of their nature whom he sanctifieth by grace as that he worketh the quite contrary vertuous qualities in them CHAP. XII Shewing the meanes and manner of the Lords pruning NOw hauing sufficiently manifested the present poynt to be true let vs for the better cleering thereof and to make it more easily and plentifully vsefull acquaint you with two necessary poynts about this pruning First The meanes of this pruning by what meanes it is effected and then in what manner For the first the meanes of purging are of two sorts proper Some proper that are fit to bring forth that effect of their owne nature and accidentall that doe not of their owne nature serue for so good a purpose but by Gods wisedome and power are ouer-ruled to the helping forward thereof The proper meanes are also of two kinds principall and instrumentall The principall is the blessed Spirit of God 1. The chiefe Gods holy Spirit for that reason tearmed a Spirit of burning because it serueth to consume the corruptions out of our soules as fire doth the drosse out of the metall The holy Ghost is giuen vnto them that beleeue that they may mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit which bestoweth his efficacie vpon them in those spirituall ordinances of his that he hath appoynted they are then said to crucifie their lusts by the Spirit when they doe carefully vse those spirituall weapons wherewith the holy Ghost will neuer faile to cooperate And if there were not a supernaturall operation of the Spirit of Christ Iesus in vs to heale and helpe vs against these euils neuer should we by all our owne indeuours attaine any sound and thorow purging but alone a slight and superficiall washing of the outside And it is of great importance for vs to vnderstand that the holy Ghost is the chiefe worker in this worke without whom it would neuer succeed happily though we should labour therein with all our might both that we may be able with a more abundant thankfulnesse to acknowledge his care of vs and loue to vs in so great and beneficiall a seruice giuing away the whole praise from our selues to him and also that wee may bee ready with more humble carefulnesse to receiue and yeeld our selues vp vnto this heauenly worke of his which can by no meanes be hindred or interrupted but by our not regarding or not submitting our soules vnto it Wee must be strong in Christ Iesus and in the power of his might His Spirit must cloath vs and come vpon vs through him we must doe valiantly in this spirituall warfare and he must tread downe those lusts that rise vp against vs But this Spirit worketh in 2. The instrumentall the Word of God and by an excellent instrument the Word of God the Law and Gospell read preached heard meditated vpon which therfore we tearme an instrumentall cause of our purging For when as a Christian man doth exercise himselfe in the Word as for example by comming to heare it preached the Spirit of God doth then worke withall to make those speeches effectuall stirring vp and inclining his heart to marke and obserue the corruptions that are discouered vnto him and so to heed the words as to be moued by them So we reade that God cleansed Dauid from his impenitent continuance in his foule sinnes by the wholesome reproofe
of Nathan the Prophet And now are you clean saith our Sauiour anon after the text by the word that I haue spoken vnto you And as all the exhortations and admonitions of the Word of God doe serue to rub off the rust from the soules of his people so chiefly the doctrine of the Gospell by vertue of the blood of Christ which it offereth and giueth vnto them is a most cleansing doctrine This leaueth in the will of the truly iustified man such a deepe impression of the bitter death of Christ for sinne as worketh in it a loathing detestation of sinne and maketh it to turne it selfe away from a thing so abominably euill And this is to crucifie our sinnes vpon the Crosse of Christ when the consideration of the extreme foulenesse and vnvtterable odiousnesse of sinne which is cleerly manifested in the sufferings of our Lord for it and of the most excellent beauty and brightnesse of the tender mercy and kindnesse of God shining forth in the same passion is so seriously receiued and doth so deeply sinke into the very heart-root of a man that it mightily draweth him to set downe and inact this conclusion in himselfe of sinning no more In this meaning it is said that faith purifieth the heart and that hauing this hope wee purge our selues as Christ is pure and therefore the Word of God chiefly the Gospell being applyed to the working and increasing of our faith and hope becomes a blessed instrument of our purging And with these proper and naturall meanes Some accidentall are vsed also certaine accidentall meanes that are made so beyond their owne nature These are chiefly three Afflictions Tentations and falls into sinne for euen by poyson oftentimes is poyson cured and by iron is iron driuen out For the first 1. Chastisements the seruants of God are and must often be chastised that they may be whited These corrections are fit to stirre vp sorrow in those to whom they befall which sorrow by grace is turned into godly sorrow the most effectuall corrosiue to eate out the dead flesh of the soule and so the fruit of them is as the Prophet speaketh the taking away of sinne Afflictions make vs to feele the dangerousnesse of sinne they testifie Gods dislike of wickednesse they manifest our owne frailty and basenesse they conuince vs of the vanity of the world they pull downe the pride of our stomacke so eating out the proud flesh that growes within vs that the medicine of the Word may come neere the sore they quicken vs to prayer they driue vs to examine our selues and inforce vs to consider of our wayes that at last wee may be able to professe with the Prophet Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keepe thy righteous iudgements There is scarce any thing more needfull for Gods children then these Fatherly chastisements they doe breake open the heart to make a free passage for the Spirit of God to enter in at They doe plough vp the heart to make it capable of the seed of life the holy doctrine of the Word of God that is spoken to them In prosperity many times the soule is dull of hearing and scorneth to bee reproued It is sated with outward contents and takes no delight in remembring the death and blood-shedding of Iesus Christ It taketh pleasure in vanity and cannot haue while to thinke of things spirituall and most profitable But afflictions awaken the heart out of the deepe sleepe of security they distaste the sweet meates of the world and bore the eare and couer the pride of heart and make a man in whom the Spirit of God is to hearken and attend vnto the motions of the Word and of the Spirit The truth is that afflictions of themselues and in their owne nature as being fruits of sinne and euill are not of this force to purge the heart but through the wisedome of him that is able to turne all things to the best and by the working of the Spirit which taketh aduantage of all seasons and opportunities they doe become most happy instruments of our cleansing and there is scarce any one of all the Saints of God but may from his owne experience affirme that it hath been a great part of his happinesse to take and drinke these potions from the hand of his wise and louing Father for they haue purged out of his soule those noysome and euill humours which would otherwise haue made him little lesse then deadly and desperately sicke But moreouer 2. Satans bitter tentations the Lord doth make the diuell himselfe an vnwilling instrument of pruning his seruants by meanes of those fierce tentations wherewith hee doth mightily assault them Euen Satans violent buffettings are by Gods goodnesse turned into most excellent purgations When the diuell is let loose vpon a Christian man as the shepheards dog vpon the sheepe and with fury and craft striues to bring him to vtter despaire making him beleeue that the very pit of hell it selfe stands gaping before him ready to swallow him vp or when he doth worke mightily vpon his sinfull affections with a kind of excessiue violence haling him to the practice of those detestable sinnes which his soule hateth and making none end to lye at him with vncessant and vehement sollicitations to commit such and such foule deeds Oh this cuts this woundeth this vexeth and tormenteth this sets them on praying on weeping on crying on bleeding this doth so shame him and disgrace him to himselfe this makes him so farre out of loue and conceit with himselfe and so extremely vile and odious in his owne eyes that he thinkes no name nor vsage bad enough for himselfe this also maketh him with a blushing and confounded face and with a most deiected and a broken spirit to runne and cry vnto the Lord his God for helpe and strength Thus the more Satan striueth to stirre corruption the better it is purged for stirred it must bee before it can bee purged and by his tentations being brought to see and feele a number of corruptions which else we would neuer see and feele wee finde his sinfull malice by Gods goodnesse made an excellent furtherance to our cleansing of our selues And not onely so 3. Their owne slips and faults but in the third and last place our owne sinnes faults and slips doe become instruments of our making cleane from sinne euen as a man doth better scowre his foule hands hauing first smeared them with some foule thing that helpeth more to rub off the foulenes that cleaueth fast vnto the skinne not that the Children doe or may at any time of purpose commit sinne to this end for it is quite besides and against the nature of them to bring forth this effect yea euery sinne is apt to leaue as a filthy spot behind the committing of it a greater pronenesse to commit it then before but that the Lord doth please diuers times to giue them ouer to be foyled of
vaine glorious and in other things as much disordered as euer they were The Lord hath come neere them in his Word it hath not purged them he hath come neere them in afflictions and loe their drosse will not bee melted from them nay their sinnes seeme to waxe stronger and stronger and their corruptions grow euery day more heady and violent then other and yet they see not this impairing of their soules with griefe and shame of heart but rest themselues well satisfied in so miserable an estate Brethren there are not a few people inhabiting vnder the roofe of Gods House the Church with whom it fareth directly in this manner that I haue described to whom wee haue a dismall tidings to deliuer and that is this that they bee not fruitfull branches in Christ because they want that which our Sauiour Christ affirmes that euery true branch obtaineth Whatsoeuer person he is that liueth a reputed member of the Church frequenteth the ordinances of God meeteth with diuers sorrowes and calamities and thus hath a long while continued and yet seeth no more sinne in himselfe then before is no more troubled at his sinne then at first gets no more power against his sinne then at the beginning but goes along still in a kind of settled ciuility of liuing to men-ward and there resteth himselfe neither perceiuing nor greatly caring to perceiue any healing of priuie pride of secret guile of deadnesse and coldnesse of spirit of vnbeliefe of the loue of earthly things of wrath of reuengefulnesse of other naughty lusts of his euill heart let this man come hither and out of this text of Scripture truly interpreted truly applyed collect and gather a most fearefull conclusion against his owne soule in this wise Euery fruitfull branch in the Vine that is euery true member of Christ euery sound-hearted Christian is purged that is healed and cleansed of the sinfulnesse and corruptions of his heart and life but I though I haue beene trained vp in the bosome of the Church and inioyed all Gods ordinances and haue also tasted of some sowrenesse too in my dayes which should haue helped to my reformation haue found no purging nor cleansing am no whit helped against my sinnes of all sorts wherefore I am not a fruitfull branch I am not a true member of Christ I am no sound-hearted Christian Is not this a sound certaine and infallible conclusion that is so directly plainly and truly inferred out of the words of our Sauiour And how then can you flatter your selues in vaine O all yee that are not cleansed of your iniquities How can you make your selues beleeue you are good Christians how can you promise to your selues remission of sinnes and saluation and all other priuiledges of true Christians and inioy a kind of false content in a false hope of finding fauour with God Doubtlesse it is true that Salomon saith There is a generation that are cleane in their owne eyes and yet are not purged from their filthinesse These persons that haue no pruning feele no need of pruning and are most apt to brag of cleannesse by how much they are more vnclensed But miserable is that man whose best remedy against misery is this that he will not see it I pray you therefore if you bee branches destitute of pruning that you would not suffer your selfe-loue to hinder you from taking notice of your vncleansednesse nor from a serious consideration of your misery following thence in that it is most certainly concluded from this Scripture that you be but Hypocrites at the best And yet let not my weak Christian misconceiue this poynt to his owne needlesse and causelesse vexation concluding against himselfe that if that be no true branch which wanteth pruning then himselfe is doubtlesse in an hard case for alacke diuers of his corruptions are so far from being purged from him that they doe rather gather strength and preuaile more and more within him For doubtlesse it may befall euen a true sanctified man Some one or other corruption may grow more strong in a true Christian to haue some sinnes more violent and headstrong in him after that hee hath a long time continued in the profession of Christian Religion then they were at the first and the corruptions of his heart in some kind may discouer themselues by much and often breaking foorth which informer time he was better able to keep as wee know it by record of holy writ to haue falne out to Dauid Asa and other of Gods faithfull children Farre be it therefore from the heart of a Christian to conclude he hath no soundnesse because hee findes some one or other disorder rather grow more mighty in him This may be and yet he inioy the benefit of pruning which God performeth to all true branches if hee see and feele the working of this corruption whatsoeuer if he lament it if he continue to striue against and become vile in his owne eyes because of it this sin doth not rule in him and this is the very pruning promised which shall at length so far preuaile till that he himselfe doe perceiue a very sensible conquest ouer this lust So long then as sinnes in generall doe decay But sinne in generall doth decay and that sinne is seene and lamented and becomes matter of humiliation and that one sinne that lifteth vp it selfe more then before is seene lamented resisted a man may and must account himselfe a liuing branch But the men whom I condemned as Hypocrites and dry branches are those which satisfying themselues in a formall performance of outward exercises of piety are quite destitute of the efficacy of them for the subduing of sinne so that further then credit and naturall respects do sway with them they follow any sinfull lust of their hearts and yet feele not their misery in that behalfe but applaud themselues in their estate all the while that they are free from such grosse practices as would cast them into reproch and obloquie amongst men A man professing Religion and being thus vncleansed of his filthinesse is sure no better then a withering branch which yet these kind of men will scarce euer be made to confesse Wherefore leauing them wee will make a second vse of the poynt to comfort all Gods Saints that if they will not deny the good worke of Gods grace in them must needs confesse that the Lord hath mercifully vouchsafed to prune them CHAP. XIIII The second vse of the poynt to comfort them that are pruned HEarken therefore Vse 2 all ye seruants of God Comfort to them that finde pruning whom hee hath pleased to purge and cleanse and whiten whose corruptions hee hath much abated and subdued hearken you I say and accept of that portion of comfort which the Lord doth allot you Doe you not finde in your selues that selfe-same operation of God which our Sauiour heere doth appropriate to liuing branches why then collect a ioyfull assurance to your selues that you are
indeed true members of Christ seeing that the Lord hath pleased to make you knowne for such by doing that for you which hee doth performe for all true Christians and onely for them I confesse that there is a kinde of cleansing A kind of cleansing may befall an vnsanctified man which is not from Gods sanctifying Spirit such as hath bin found euen in Heathen men without the Church and without Christ This is such a leauing of some one or other outward grosse sin as ariseth from age or misery or other like naturall causes the heart in the generall disposition still remaining the same for a mans owne rod may so beate him as the common Prouerbe speaketh that he may be forced from those euill practices which once he followed as the vnthrifty man after he hath wasted his estate almost to the bottome and perceiueth penury comming against him may so farre returne to himselfe as to cease to bee riotous and the theese that hath beene frighted once or twice with the narrow escape of hanging may cease to giue himselfe ouer to theeuery and the man whose age and bodily decay doth not serue the turne to performe his vnchaste pleasures may cease to follow harlots and so in other like particulars This departing from a few outward acts of euill the heart remaining still impoysoned with the wonted inward disorders or other as bad is not the cleansing which the Lord doth afford to the true branches of the Vine neither may any man intitle himselfe to the comfort wee haue in hand from such a maimed kind of reformation But if any man doe finde himselfe cleansed in soule from the loue and liking of all known euils proportionably that what by the Word what by afflictions or such like meanes hee hath been made to take notice of more corruptions in himselfe then euer before he thought to haue beene there and seeing the same to detest them and abhorre himselfe for them before God crauing his strength and power to reforme them and by crauing strength hath obtained at Gods hands though not a totall release from these corruptions yet a great decay of them and a farre greater ability to leaue them then in former time Let these men reioyce in the liuing God and take this worke of his Spirit in them for an assured proofe of their being truly ingraffed into the body of Christ Those that doe mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit they shall liue those that are crucified together with Christ shall raigne with him and hauing beene made conformable to his death shall also be made conformable to his glory Wherefore as Samson fed on the honey which he found in the carkase of the Lion that hee had slaine so let all Gods people feede vpon the comfort which growes vnto them from the sinnes that they haue ouercome For doubtlesse nothing is more auailable to increase the worke of mortification then with ioy to looke vpon the good beginnings thereof and comfortably to behold the dying of sinne that a man may say to himselfe Loe now mine inward and spirituall enemies are smitten downe before me and become like foes that are put to flight and many of them slaine in the chase When a man lookes into himselfe and comparing himselfe with himselfe findes that by Gods grace such and such euils doe lesse preuaile within him then they were wont yea that now the least motions of them are more hatefull to him then formerly some grosse outward faultings therein and that the inclinations of that kind which hee feeleth in himselfe are either fewer or weaker or both that hee sooner spyeth more heartily and inwardly lamenteth and condemneth more carefully and diligently resisteth and opposeth them at least is much more humbled and abased to himselfe by meanes of them then formerly This is to be pruned and this is a true signe of a liuely branch in the true Vine Christ Iesus Neither let the people of God take lesse comfort in this pruning because it is not totall nor all at once but if they finde it to goe forward though slowly and by small degrees and to haue been attained by their spirituall industry in the vse of spirituall meanes now let them clap their hands and triumph in God saying Through God I haue done valiantly for he hath troden downe mine enemies that rose vp against me We must not suffer our selues to be so much vexed with the remainders of our corruptions as to depriue the Lord of the glory and our owne soules of the comfort which wee might reape from the beginning of their ouerthrow but must make our selues exceeding glad of this their first falling before vs that so we may more assuredly conclude as they doe concerning Haman when he began to fall before Mordecai that he should not preuaile but should surely fall quite before him When wee obserue the fruits of our faith as meanes to confirme our faith and the good workes of Gods grace as arguments to assure vs that wee are receiued into the state of grace this is an excellent meanes to make these fruits of faith and workes of grace to grow stronger and stronger in vs. An heart cheered vp in beholding and acknowledging the goodnesse of God that hath in some measure blessed his indeuour against sinne shall bee greatly furthered in this spirituall combate It animates souldiers to fight when as Ionathan speaketh concerning Sauls souldiers they eate the spoyle of their enemies but when they doe keepe themselues fasting as it were like as Saul did his souldiers pretending thereby to make them more eager in following the chase this makes them to be faint and weary and so doth very much hinder the slaughter of the foe Wherefore ye Christian souldiers that haue fought manfully vnder Christ your Lord with the weapons of the Word and Prayer and the like and haue found that your holy meditations and prayers haue diminished the force of your corruptions in some good measure eate you the spoyle of your spirituall enemies comfort your selues in the sence of this good worke and with great contentment of spirit conclude for your selues that you are true branches because the Husbandman doth bestow the paynes of pruning vpon you CHAP. XV. Containing the third vse of the poynt to incourage the Saints in striuing against sinne because the Lord will helpe them in this labour and they shall surely preuaile BVt this poynt doth yeeld likewise a third vse Vse 3 Incouragement to proceed in resisting of sinne to animate the people of God to a resolute opposing of all their corruptions because loe the God of heauen is ready at hand to cut off those euils which they are hewing at A man is sure of successe in the worke of mortification if he want not diligence to labour in that worke The flesh must downe corruptions shall tumble the Spirit shall bee victorious stronger is he that is in vs then he which is in the world and certainly the grace