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<DATE>2010-11-30</DATE>
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<NAME>Lauren Proux</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A20752">
<STC T="S">7133</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">20211895</BIBNO>
<VID>23802</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>THE CHRISTIAN WARFARE.</P>
<P>WHEREIN IS FIRST GENERALLY SHEWED THE MALICE, POWER AND politike &s;tratagems of the &s;pirituall enemies of our &s;aluation, Sathan and his a&s;&s;i&s;tants the world and the fle&s;h; with the meanes al&s;o whereby the Chri&s;tian may vvithstand and defeate them.</P>
<P>AND AFTERWARDS MORE SPE|CIALLIE THEIR PARTICVLAR TEMPTATI|ons, again&s;t the &s;euerall cau&s;es and meanes of our &s;aluation, whereby on the one &s;ide they allure vs to &s;ecurity and pre&s;umption, and on the other &s;ide, draw vs to doubting and de&s;peration, are expre&s;|&s;ed and an&s;wered.</P>
<P>WRITTEN ESPECIALLY FOR THEIR SAKES who are exerci&s;ed in the &s;pirituall conflict of temptations, and are afflicted in con&s;cience in the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of their &s;innes.</P>
<P>By I. DOVVNAME Preacher of Gods word.</P>
<Q><P><HI>Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to &s;tand against the a&s;&s;aults of the Diuell.</HI></P>
<BIBL><HI>Ephe&s;. 6.11.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>AT LONDON</HI> printed by FELIX KYNGSTON, for <HI>Cuthbert Burby,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop in Paules Church-yard at the &s;igne of the Swan. 1604.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE GODLY, ZEALOVS, AND SIN|CERE PROFESSORS OF GODS TRVE RELIGION, SIR IOHN SCOT, Sir THOMAS SMITH, and their Ladies; Mai&s;ter RO|BERT CHAMBERLAINE E&s;quire, and Mi&s;tris ANNE CHAMBERLAINE his wife, his welbeloued and mo&s;t re&s;pected friends: I. D. wi&s;heth the fruiti|on of all the true comforts of this life, and eternall happine&s;&s;e in the life to come.</HEAD>
<P>_MAnifold (right Wor&s;hipfull) and mo&s;t daungerous are the temptations and a&s;&s;aults of our &s;pirituall enemies, where|by they labour to hinder the &s;aluation of Gods elect, and to increa&s;e the greatne&s;&s;e of their helli&s;h dominions, by with|drawing (if it were po&s;&s;ible) Gods &s;eruants from their &s;ubiection and alleageance, and making them their &s;laues and perpetuall va&s;&s;als. To this end they take in|defatigable paines, going continually about &s;eeking whom they may deuour; &s;ometimes like roaring Lions, compelling by violent force, and &s;ometimes
<PB REF="3">like old Serpents, alluring and deceiuing with trea|cherous policies. Neither doe they re&s;t in the time of our re&s;t, but waking and &s;leeping they &s;et vpon vs, one while inticing vs to &s;wallow the poy&s;on of &s;inne, with the &s;ugred baites of worldly vanities, and another while driuing vs into their &s;nares of per|dition, with the &s;harpe pricking goades of mi&s;e|rie and affliction. Before vs they &s;et carnall plea&s;ures, deceiuing riches, and vaine honours, to allure vs to come into the broad way that leadeth to de&s;tructi|on: and behind vs they hold the three-&s;tringed whip of lo&s;&s;e, &s;hame, and puni&s;hment, to keepe vs from go|ing backe, and to ha&s;ten vs with winged &s;peede to run forward in this helli&s;h iourney. Neither do they greatly care what path we chu&s;e in this common way of perdition; whether the &s;patious way of &s;ecu|ritie and pre&s;umption, or the &s;trait path of horror and de&s;peration, whether the toyling way of vn&s;ati|able couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, or the &s;oft faire way of bewitch|ing plea&s;ures, whether the open way of worldline&s;&s;e and athei&s;me, or through the hidden thickets of hy|pocri&s;ie and di&s;&s;imulation: in a word they regard not in what way we walke, &s;o we goe forward in the waies of &s;inne, for though they &s;eeme diuers and contrarie one to another, yet they haue all the &s;ame end, meeting together in hell and de&s;truction. And how&s;oeuer they cannot with all their malice, power and policies attaine vnto their de&s;ires, by bringing Gods elect and faithfull ones to perdition and end|le&s;&s;e mi&s;erie; becau&s;e God their heauenly father who hath taken vpon him their protection, fru&s;tra|teth all their &s;ubtill policies with his all-&s;eeing wife|dome, and with&s;tandeth all their might with his al|mightie
<PB REF="3">power, yet doe they exceedingly with their a&s;&s;aults and temptations, foyle, vexe and trouble them; by working in &s;ome, forgetfulne&s;&s;e of God and of them&s;elues, &s;ecuritie, and carele&s;&s;e retchle&s;|ne&s;&s;e; and turmoyling others with horrible feares, de&s;perat doubting, and bitter agonies. Whereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e, that the one &s;ort &s;ecurely goe on in &s;inne, forgetting the end of their creation, re|demption, and holy vocation, vnto which God hath called them, vntill with <HI>Salomon</HI> they haue found in the end of their worldly delights, nothing but vani|tie and vexation of &s;pirit: and the other are &s;o af|frighted, a&s;toni&s;hed, and continually tormented with doubtings, feares, and the continuall a&s;&s;aults of their &s;pirituall enemies, that they goe mourning all the day long, pining away in griefe and angui&s;h of mind, till at la&s;t they grow wearie of their liues, thinking their &s;oules an intollerable burthen to their bodies, and their bodies to the earth. The con&s;ideration of which lamentable and too too mi&s;erable effects, as it &s;hall moue all chri&s;tians to &s;tand vpon their guard, and to arme them&s;elues with the &s;pirituall armour, that they may not be ouercome of their temptations, and fall into the&s;e great mi&s;chiefes: &s;o &s;hould it moue Gods faithfull mini&s;ters (who&s;e dutie it is, not onely them&s;elues to walke in the waies of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but al&s;o as &s;pirituall guides to leade others with them) in di&s;charge of their con&s;cience before God, and in chri&s;tian commi&s;eration and compa&s;&s;ion to|wards their brethren, to v&s;e all good meanes both by &s;peaking and writing, whereby they may bee pre|&s;erued and freed from the&s;e &s;nares which their &s;pi|rituall enemies doe lay to intrap them; by beating
<PB REF="4">downe with the cannon-&s;hot of Gods threatnings, the high forts of their proud pre&s;umption, and rou|zing them out of the deepe &s;lumber of retchle&s;&s;e &s;ecuritie; as al&s;o by rai&s;ing vp and comforting tho&s;e that mourne in Syon, &s;tooping, yea lying groueling vnder the heauie burthen of their &s;innes. The which how&s;oeuer it is performed by many, in re&s;pect of their &s;euerall charges committed to them; and &s;ome al&s;o haue briefely touched &s;ome poynts in writing, which concerned the comforting and rai&s;ing vp of their priuate friends: yet not any (that I know of) haue in our language largely and generally handled the&s;e controuer&s;ies, and &s;pirituall conflicts betweene the chri&s;tian and the enemies of his &s;aluation, for the common good of the whole Church. And there|fore hauing with <HI>Elihu</HI> long waited to &s;ee if tho&s;e who were more auncient, better experienced, and more richly furni&s;hed with Gods gifts and graces than my &s;elfe, would vndertake this worke, which is to God mo&s;t acceptable, and to his &s;aints and chil|dren &s;o profitable and nece&s;&s;arie: at length after others long &s;ilence, I re&s;olued to &s;peake, and no lon|ger to conceale &s;uch true comforts as God hath re|uealed vnto me; to the end that hereby I might re|leeue and comfort tho&s;e who are poore in &s;pirit, and humbled in the &s;ight of &s;inne; or at lea&s;t by offering willingly to this v&s;e my &s;mall mite, I might giue an occa&s;ion vnto others better able, to vnlocke and open their rich trea&s;uries, that they may be&s;tow vpon their poore brethren their great talents and gifts of better valew. The which my labors as I did not ra&s;hly vn|dertake them, &s;o I haue not &s;uddenly fini&s;hed them; for almo&s;t three yeeres &s;ince I purpo&s;ed to take this
<PB REF="4">worke in hand, which I haue now by Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance fini&s;hed; but at the fir&s;t (I confe&s;&s;e) I intended not that it &s;hould come in to publike view; but onely (as others before me) propounded as the end of my labours, the comforting and rai&s;ing vp of a mo&s;t faithfull &s;eruant of God, and my mo&s;t deare friend, who hath bound me with many benefits to the per|formance of all chri&s;tian duties. But afterwards fin|ding it to grow to &s;uch a volume that it was too great to pa&s;&s;e in a written coppie, and hoping that that which was profitable for one might bee be|neficiall vnto many, at length I re&s;olued to make my labours publike by committing them to the pre&s;&s;e. The principall things that I propounded to my &s;elfe in this treati&s;e are the&s;e; fir&s;t and e&s;peci|ally I indeauour to comfort tho&s;e who are afflicted in con&s;cience, in the &s;ight and &s;ence of their &s;innes, by offering vnto them certaine a&s;&s;urance, that their &s;innes are remitted, and that them&s;elues are elected to eternall life, in the &s;tate of grace, reconciled vnto God in Chri&s;t and receiued in his loue and fauour. Secondly, I labour to leade the chri&s;tian in an euen cour&s;e, vnto the hauen of eternall happine&s;&s;e; that he may not runne a&s;ide, neither on the right hand, and &s;o falling vpon the rockes of pre&s;umption make &s;hipwracke of his &s;oule, nor yet on the left hand, and &s;o plunge him&s;elfe into the gulfe of de&s;peration. Wherein I haue purpo&s;ely and adui&s;edly auoyded their practi&s;e, who &s;catter their con&s;olations they know not where, to bee applyed they care not by whom; whereof it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that tho&s;e that are mo&s;t &s;ecure and pre&s;umptuous arrogate them, to whom they doe not appertaine; and tho&s;e that
<PB REF="5">are afflicted and humbled dare not appropriate them to them&s;elues, becau&s;e they are deliuered indefinitly to all, without all caution or any condition, where|by they might bee re&s;trai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ed rather to them than any other in whom &s;inne yet liueth and raigneth. Wherein they re&s;emble negligent phy&s;itions, who hauing made a good medicine for a &s;icke man, doe not giue it vnto him, but ca&s;t it carele&s;ly into &s;ome corner, whether the &s;icke patient in re&s;pect of his faintne&s;&s;e and weakene&s;&s;e is likely neuer to come: which being found and greedily drunken vp by tho&s;e who haue no neede of it, in &s;tead of doing them good doth turne to their baine and vtter de|&s;truction. La&s;tly, I haue de&s;ired to giue &s;olid and &s;ub&s;tantiall con&s;olations, which are firmely groun|ded vpon Gods vndoubted truth, and &s;uch infallible rea&s;ons as cannot bee gain&s;aid; and haue withall deliuered the conditions, vpon which they are to be receiued, and the vndoubted &s;ignes and markes of tho&s;e, to whom of right they appertaine; to the end that tho&s;e who finde the&s;e things in them&s;elues, may not doubt to apply them to their wounded con&s;ci|ences, whereby they may bee &s;oundly cured and throughly comforted; and that tho&s;e who finde no &s;uch condition ob&s;erued by them, nor any &s;uch &s;igne or marke in them, may be debarred from participa|ting of the&s;e con&s;olations, which would nouri&s;h in them &s;ecuritie and pre&s;umption: and contrariwi&s;e examining them&s;elues according to the&s;e rules, and finding no corre&s;pondencie betweene them&s;elues and them, may hereby be awakened out of their le|thargie of &s;ecuritie, and attaining vnto a &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of their mi&s;erable e&s;tate may neuer be at re&s;t,
<PB REF="5">till by v&s;ing all good meanes for this purpo&s;e, they may finde the&s;e markes and &s;ignes of their election, vocation, iu&s;tification, and &s;anctification in them, that &s;o they may boldly and fitly apply vnto them&s;elues the&s;e comforts and con&s;olations as rightly and truly appertaining vnto them. All which my labours I thought good to dedicate vnto your wor&s;hips, part|ly becau&s;e I de&s;ired to giue this te&s;timonie of my true thankefulne&s;&s;e, for tho&s;e manifold benefits which from &s;ome of you I haue receiued, and of mine vnfained loue which I beare to you all, for your vertues and approued godline&s;&s;e; and partly be|cau&s;e I thought none fitter to whom I might com|mend this di&s;cour&s;e of the <HI>Chri&s;tian Warfare,</HI> than your &s;elues who are olde experienced &s;ouldiars in fighting the&s;e &s;pirituall battailes, and therefore haue iudiciall feeling and &s;en&s;ible apprehen&s;ion, of tho&s;e things which I haue written and commended to your patronage. Now the Lord our God who is the fountaine of all goodne&s;&s;e, and the &s;ole giuer of all true con&s;olation, increa&s;e in you more and more the gifts and graces of his &s;anctifying &s;pirit, and &s;o fill your hearts with all &s;ound &s;pirituall comfort, and the ioy in the holy Gho&s;t, that you may through the cour&s;e of your whole liues, chearefully goe forward in the profe&s;&s;ion and &s;incere practi&s;e of his religion and true godline&s;&s;e, and after this life may receiue that crowne of righteoun&s;ne&s;&s;e, which is prepared and laid vp for you in his kingdome of eternall glorie. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Wor&s;hips in the Lord mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured. <HI>IOHN DOVVNAME.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="355">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOKE.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="book">
<HEAD>THE CHIEFE POINTS HANDLED in the fir&s;t Booke.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<ITEM>THat all Gods &s;eruants are a&s;&s;aulted with the &s;pirituall ene|mies of their &s;aluation. pag. <HI>1</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That the &s;trong faith whereof worldlings boa&s;t, is nothing els but &s;ecuritie and vaine pre&s;umption. pag. <HI>3.4</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That Gods &s;eruants may rather be comforted than di&s;maied by the a&s;&s;aults of their &s;pirituall enemies. pag. <HI>6</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. II.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Why God &s;uffreth his &s;eruants to be exerci&s;ed in the &s;pirituall conflict of temptations, namely for his owne glorie, and their euerlasting good. pag. <HI>7</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. III.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Arguments to encourage the weake Chri&s;tian to enter into this &s;pirituall conflict. pag. <HI>10</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. IIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the malice of our &s;pirituall enemie Sathan, ioyned with vio|lence and fal&s;hood, and how we may withstand it. pag. <HI>16</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. V.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of his &s;trength, courage, and audaciou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and how wee may withstand them. pag. <HI>23</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of Sathans aides; and fir&s;t of the world. pag. <HI>31</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How the world tempteth by pro&s;peritie, and how wee may re&s;ist the&s;e temptations. pag. <HI>32</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How it tempteth by aduer&s;itie, and of the meanes whereby wee
<PB REF="356">may re&s;i&s;t the&s;e temptations. <HI>34</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the fle&s;h what it is, and how we may &s;ubdue it. <HI>39</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of Sathans policie, and how we may defeate it. <HI>40</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. IX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the &s;pirituall armour de&s;cribed <HI>Eph. 6.44</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. X.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the particular parts of the Chri&s;tian armour; and fir&s;t of the girdle of veritie. <HI>48</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the breastplate of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. <HI>51</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the preparation of the Go&s;pell of peace. <HI>54</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the &s;hield of faith, and what is meant by quenching Sathans darts. <HI>55</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XIIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the helmet of &s;aluation. <HI>57</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XV.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the &s;word of the &s;pirit, and how we mu&s;t v&s;e it in the conflict of temptations. <HI>59</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XVI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of prayer, and the nece&s;&s;itie thereof in the &s;pirituall conflict. <HI>64</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the properties required in prayer. <HI>65</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of watchfulnes in prayer. <HI>67</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of per&s;euerance in prayer. Where is al&s;o &s;hewed why the Lord delaieth to grant the petitions of his children. <HI>69</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XVII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of Sathans &s;tratagems. Fir&s;t how he fitteth his temptations ac|cording to our affections and naturall inclinations, and how we may defeate this policie. <HI>72</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XVIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>How Sathan fitteth his temptations according to our &s;tate and condition. And how we may with&s;tand the&s;e temptations. <HI>78</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How Sathan tempteth profe&s;&s;ors of religion who&s;e profe&s;&s;ion is only in &s;hew. <HI>82</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How he tempteth the &s;incere profe&s;&s;or who is weake in grace. <HI>84</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="356">
<ITEM>How Sathan tempteth the &s;trong Chri&s;tian. <HI>86</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XIX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>How Sathan allureth vs into hainous &s;innes by degrees, and how we may with&s;tand his temptations. <HI>87</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How hee laboureth to draw men out of one extreme into ano|ther. <HI>88</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>How Sathan moueth vs to propound bad ends to good actions. <HI>90</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How he mooueth vs to v&s;e euill meanes for the effecting of good ends. <HI>91</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How he tempteth vs to be proud of our vertues. <HI>92</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the manner of Sathans fight. And how he taketh all aduan|tages again&s;t vs. <HI>93.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How hee tempteth vs mo&s;t dangerou&s;ly when wee are mo&s;t &s;e|cure. <HI>94</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That he is neuer wearie in a&s;&s;aulting vs. <HI>94</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How hee often chaungeth his temptations for his better aduan|tage; and that this is a probable &s;igne he doth not preuaile. <HI>95</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How Sathan a&s;&s;aulteth vs immediately him&s;elfe. <HI>97</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How he transformeth him&s;elfe into an angell of light. ibid.</ITEM>
<ITEM>That he is mo&s;t to be feared when he mo&s;t flattereth. <HI>98</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How Sathan v&s;eth the world as his instrument to intice vs to &s;inne. <HI>100</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How he v&s;eth our owne fle&s;h as his instrument, and of the mani|fold aduantages that he taketh hereby. <HI>101</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How we may auoide danger, though we cannot di&s;cerne Sathans temptations from our owne lusts. <HI>103</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How Sathans &s;uggestions may bee di&s;cerned from our owne lu&s;ts. <HI>104</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the common affections of this &s;pirituall conflict: namely, the Chri&s;tians &s;tanding in temptation and manfull re&s;i&s;tance; and his falling in the time of triall. <HI>106</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the generall meanes whereby the Christian may be enabled to withstand the temptations of his &s;pirituall enemies. <HI>106</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> To meditate on Gods commandement encouraging him to this fight. <HI>106</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="357">
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> A&s;&s;ured hope of victorie. <HI>106</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> To be alwaies in readine&s;&s;e. <HI>107</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4.</HI> To take occa&s;ion of Sathans temptations vnto &s;inne, of doing the contrary vertue. <HI>107</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5.</HI> To re&s;i&s;t the temptation when it is fir&s;t &s;ugge&s;ted. <HI>108</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6.</HI> To prepare him&s;elfe for another temptation when one is pa&s;t: where al&s;o &s;uch rea&s;ons are &s;et downe as may per&s;wade him to per&s;euere in this fight. <HI>109</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7.</HI> Not to beleeue Sathans &s;ugge&s;tions. <HI>112</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8.</HI> Neither to de&s;pi&s;e Sathans temptations, nor too deeply to ap|prehend them. <HI>113</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9.</HI> To obiect Chri&s;t again&s;t all temptations. <HI>114</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10.</HI> To leaue disputing with Sathan, and to &s;end him to our ad|uocate Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>115</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>11.</HI> To bu&s;ie our &s;elues continually in holy &amp; hone&s;t exerci&s;es. <HI>116</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>12.</HI> Not to reuolue Sathans temptations, but to meditate on the contrary pre&s;eruatiues. <HI>117</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the Chri&s;tians falling in temptation, and of the means where|by being foiled he may be rai&s;ed againe: namely, faith and repentance. <HI>118</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Con&s;olations for tho&s;e that bewaile their want of faith and re|pentance. Fir&s;t they are to know that the de&s;ire of Gods gra|ces is accepted for the graces which they de&s;ire. <HI>120</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> That Sathan preuaileth again&s;t vs, not by his ab&s;olute power but by Gods permi&s;&s;ion, who would not &s;uffer this but onely for his owne glorie and our &s;pirituall good. <HI>131</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That horrour, feare and despaire following our falles, argue our diffidence in God and &s;elfe-confidence. <HI>135</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> The la&s;t con&s;olation taken from experience which wee haue had of the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance. <HI>135</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="book">
<HEAD>THE CHIEFE POINTS HANDLED in the &s;econd Booke.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<ITEM>An&s;wers to tho&s;e temptatiens of Sathan, whereby he per&s;wadeth carnall men of Gods loue. <HI>138</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="6">
<PB REF="6">
<ITEM>Temporall benefits no infallible &s;ignes of Gods loue. <HI>140</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he per&s;wadeth weake Chri&s;tians that they are not beloued of God, an&s;wered. <HI>141</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That carnall men haue no a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue though they boa&s;t thereof. <HI>143</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That euery particular Chri&s;tia~ may be a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue. <HI>144</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That doubting of Gods loue is iniurious vnto him, and pernicious to our &s;elues. <HI>145</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The euils that accompanie doubting of Gods loue, and the bene|fits which follow our per&s;wa&s;ion thereof. <HI>147</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. II.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That our &s;innes and vnworthine&s;&s;e &s;hould not make vs doubt of Gods loue. <HI>148</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That we are neither beloued of God, elected, redeemed, called, iu|&s;tified, &s;anctified nor &s;aued for any re&s;pect of our owne worthi|ne&s;&s;e. <HI>149</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That being vnworthie in our &s;elues, we are loued, elected, and &s;a|ued in Chri&s;t. <HI>156</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. III.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That temporall afflictions are rather &s;ignes of Gods loue, than of his hatred. <HI>157</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That &s;pirituall afflictions are no &s;ignes of Gods hatred. <HI>160</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Examples of Gods deare&s;t &s;eruants who haue bin exerci&s;ed with &s;pirituall afflictions. <HI>162</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A dangerous temptation grounded vpon our not profiting by afflictions, an&s;wered. <HI>166</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That it is no fit time to iudge of our &s;pirituall graces in the con|flict of temptations. <HI>167</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That Gods dearest children in the time of temptation haue &s;he|wed impatiencie, and vttred incon&s;iderate &s;peeches. <HI>168</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The obiection out of <HI>Eccle&s;. 9.1.</HI> an&s;wered, and the place expoun|ded. <HI>171</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. IIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of Gods election, the cau&s;es, &s;ubiect, obiect, and properties there|of. <HI>175</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. V.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations where with he a&s;&s;aulteth worldlings, an&s;we|red: and fir&s;t that whereby he per&s;wadeth worldlings that all
<PB REF="7">in the end &s;hall be &s;aued. <HI>178</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation grounded vpon the vnchangeablene&s;&s;e of Gods predestination, whereby he per&s;wadeth them de&s;peratly to goe on in &s;in, proued to be fooli&s;h fal&s;e and impious. <HI>180</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he moueth the weake Chri&s;tian to doubt of his election, an&s;wered. <HI>185</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The cau&s;es which moue Sathan and his instruments to per&s;wade the weake Christian to doubt of his election. <HI>185</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;tate of this question between Sathan &amp; the Chri&s;tian. <HI>187</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That we may be certainly a&s;&s;ured of our election, proued by testi|monies of &s;criptures. <HI>189</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An obiection grounded vpon the indefinitene&s;&s;e of Gods promi|&s;es, an&s;wered. <HI>192</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are the faithfull vnto whom the promi&s;es of the Gospell are made. <HI>193</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A temptation grounded vpon our want of a&s;&s;urance that wee haue faith, an&s;wered. <HI>195</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election, proued by many &s;trong ar|guments. <HI>197</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That our a&s;&s;urance &s;hould not be mixt with doubting: and that doubting is not a commendable propertie of faith, but a fruite of vnbeleefe. <HI>199</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That faith is a certaine and particular per&s;wa&s;ion, and not a doubtfull opinion or generall notion. <HI>201</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election by the testimonie of Gods &s;pirit. <HI>211</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How we may know that Gods &s;pirit dwelleth in vs. <HI>215</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How we may di&s;cerne the testimonie of Gods &s;pirit from our own pre&s;umption. <HI>217</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. IX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the meanes whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election. <HI>221</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The fir&s;t meanes, the te&s;timony of the holy Gho&s;t. <HI>221</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Diuers differences betweene the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit and pre|&s;umptuous &s;ecuritie. <HI>221</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;econd meanes, the hearing of the word. <HI>224</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="7">
<ITEM>Thirdly, by the v&s;e of the Sacraments. <HI>225</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Fourthly, by the effects of our election, vocation, iu&s;tification, &s;an|ctification. <HI>225</HI> &amp;c.</ITEM>
<ITEM>That our &s;anctification is the touchstone of all the re&s;t. <HI>229</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That tho&s;e who will be a&s;&s;ured of their election mu&s;t begin at their &s;anctification. <HI>231</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of diuers kindes of counterfeit holine&s;&s;e which giue no a&s;&s;urance of election. <HI>232</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the fruits and properties of true &s;anctification. <HI>233</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. X.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of tenne &s;ignes and infallible notes whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election. <HI>235</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The obiections alledged again&s;t the a&s;&s;urance of our election, an|&s;wered: and fir&s;t tho&s;e which are grounded vpon te&s;timonies of &s;criptwre. <HI>248</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That feare and di&s;tru&s;t in our owne weakne&s;&s;e, and a&s;&s;urance of our election may well &s;tand together. <HI>253</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The rea&s;ons alledged again&s;t the a&s;&s;urance of our election, an|&s;wered. <HI>261</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That not a&s;&s;urance but doubting of our election proceedeth from pride and pre&s;umption. <HI>261</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Our vnworthines no cau&s;e why we &s;hould doubt of our electio~. <HI>263</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That weakne&s;&s;e of faith and certaintie of a&s;&s;urance may well &s;tand together. <HI>264</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That a weake faith doth as truly a&s;&s;ure vs of our election as a &s;tronger. <HI>265</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How our faith though a&s;&s;aulted with doubting may bee cer|taine. <HI>266</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That the &s;ight of our imperfections is no cau&s;e why wee &s;hould doubt of our election. <HI>272</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That this doctrine openeth no way to &s;ecurity &amp; pre&s;umptio~. <HI>272</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of our redemption, what it is, by whom, from what, with what price, and to what end we are redeemed. <HI>274</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XIIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations concerning our redemption, whereby he mo|ueth
<PB REF="8">the worlding to pre&s;umption an&s;wered. <HI>278</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation grounded vpon the doctrine of vniuer&s;all re|demption, an&s;wered. <HI>279</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That Chri&s;ts redemption is not vniuer&s;all, but only of Gods elect, proued by te&s;timonies of Scripture. <HI>279</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;ame point proued by diuers rea&s;ons. <HI>281</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Obiections alledged again&s;t the former doctrine an&s;wered. <HI>283</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>In what &s;en&s;e Chri&s;t is &s;aid to haue died for all men. <HI>283</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XV.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That al who are redeemed by Chri&s;t are al&s;o by him &s;anctified. <HI>287</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation per&s;wading worldlings to liue licenciou&s;ly becau&s;e they are redeemed and &s;hall therefore be &s;aued, an|&s;wered. <HI>288</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the three degrees of our redemption wrought by Chri&s;t, and how the follow one another. <HI>292</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XVI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of tho&s;e temptations which Sathan v&s;eth again&s;t the faithfull concerning their redemption, and how they may an&s;were them. <HI>295</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That it is not repugna~t to Gods iu&s;tice to puni&s;h Chri&s;t for vs. <HI>296</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That Chri&s;t hath offered an all-&s;ufficient price for our redemp|tion. <HI>297</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations again&s;t the particular applicatio~ of Chri&s;ts merits an&s;wered. <HI>299</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Our falling into &s;inne, no rea&s;on to proue that we are not redee|med. <HI>299</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That God is not angry with the faithful though he &s;eemeth &s;o. <HI>301</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans a&s;&s;aulting vs, no rea&s;on to proue that we are not redee|med from his power. <HI>302</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That though we die, yet we are redeemed from death. <HI>304</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That tho&s;e who are once redeemed cannot againe be brought into bondage. <HI>307</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XVII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of our vocation what it is, and the kindes thereof. <HI>308</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the parts of our effectuall calling, and fir&s;t of our &s;eparation from the world. <HI>310</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the &s;econd part of our effectuall calling, namely the reciprocall donation of Chri&s;t to vs, and vs to Chri&s;t. <HI>312</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="8">
<ITEM>Of the third part, namely our vnion with Chri&s;t. <HI>312</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XVIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he &s;eeketh to make our calling vn|effectuall an&s;wered. <HI>314</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the nece&s;&s;itie of our effectuall calling. <HI>314</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations, whereby hee moueth vs to neglect the meanes of our effectuall calling. <HI>316</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Motiues to per&s;wade vs to the diligent hearing of Gods word. <HI>316</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XIX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation, whereby he per&s;wadeth men that the Scrip|tures are not Gods word, an&s;wered. <HI>323</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Seuen rea&s;ons to proue that the Scriptures were indited by Gods &s;pirit. <HI>324</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Foure other rea&s;ons to proue that the Scriptures are the word of Gods. Where al&s;o diuers obiections are an&s;wered. <HI>330</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The la&s;t argument to proue the former point, taken from the te|&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit. <HI>342</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations &s;ugge&s;ted again&s;t the tran&s;lations of the the holy Scriptures, an&s;wered. <HI>346</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations taken from the euill liues of the mini&s;ters of the word, an&s;wered. <HI>348</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That the wicked liues of the Mini&s;ters &s;hould not make vs neg|lect their mini&s;terie. <HI>353</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXIIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations taken from &s;undrie opinions, &s;ects, and re|ligions, an&s;wered. <HI>354</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How the vnlearned may di&s;cerne the true religion from that which is fal&s;e. <HI>356</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXV.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations taken from our vnworthine&s;&s;e and vnfitnes to beare Gods word, an&s;wered. <HI>360</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXVI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>How we mu&s;t arme our &s;elues again&s;t Sathans temptations, whereby he laboreth to make the word of God fruitles. <HI>363</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="9">
<ITEM>How we mu&s;t prepare our &s;elues before we heare Gods word. <HI>363</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the duties which we mu&s;t performe in hearing. <HI>371</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the duties which we mu&s;t performe after we haue heard the word. <HI>373</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXVII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he per&s;wadeth men to delay their repentance, an&s;wered. <HI>375</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of three motiues whereby we may be per&s;waded to ha&s;ten our re|pentance. <HI>376</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXVIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the fourth motiue taken from the difficultie of repenting, cau|&s;ed by delayes. <HI>383</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That the time of &s;icknes, and the hower of death is mo&s;t vnfit for repentance. <HI>390</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXIX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of fiue other motiues to inforce the former point. <HI>393</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Two lets which cau&s;e worldlings to deferre their repentance re|moued. <HI>402</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The fir&s;t taken from an abu&s;e of Gods mercie. <HI>403</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The other grounded on the example of the conuerted theefe. <HI>405</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations mouing men to re&s;t in a counterfait repen|tance, an&s;wered. <HI>408</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of diuers things required vnto true repentance. <HI>409</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> Knowledge and &s;ight of &s;inne. <HI>410</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the meanes whereby we may attaine to a true &s;ight of &s;in. <HI>414</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> That our &s;innes be irke&s;ome and grieuous vnto vs. <HI>416</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> An earne&s;t de&s;ire to be freed from &s;inne. <HI>417</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4.</HI> That we come to Chri&s;t for this purpo&s;e. <HI>418</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations which he u&s;eth again&s;t tho&s;e which are cal|led to bring them to de&s;paire, an&s;wered. <HI>421</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;ons to per&s;wade the weake chri&s;tian of the forgiuenes of his &s;ins. The fir&s;t whereof are grounded on Gods owne nature. <HI>424</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The fir&s;t argument grounded vpon Gods infinit mercie. ibid.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP XXXIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the &s;econd rea&s;on to per&s;wade the weake chri&s;tian of the for|giuenes
<PB REF="9">of his &s;innes grounded vpon Gods iu&s;tice. <HI>434</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXIIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the third rea&s;on grounded vpon Gods truth. <HI>437</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXV.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of other rea&s;ons to proue the forgiuenes of &s;inne, taken from the fir&s;t Per&s;on in Trinitie. <HI>445</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of other rea&s;ons to proue the former point, taken from the &s;econd Per&s;on in Trinitie. <HI>446</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;ons take~ fro~ the office of Chri&s;t to proue forgiuenes of &s;in. <HI>451</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;ons taken from the third Per&s;on in Trinitie, to proue the &s;ame point. <HI>459</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXVI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Diuers other rea&s;ons produced to the &s;ame purpo&s;e. <HI>460</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> Becau&s;e it is an article of our Creed. <HI>460</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> Taken from the te&s;timonie of Gods faithfull Mini&s;ters <HI>461</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> From the contrarie te&s;timonie of Sathan. <HI>462</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4,</HI> From the experience of Gods mercie in pardoning others. <HI>464</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXVII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation whereby he &s;ugge&s;teth that the chri&s;tian is not effectually called, an&s;wered. <HI>470</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How we may know whether we be effectually called; and of the meanes of effectuall calling. <HI>471</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation an&s;wered, whereby he per&s;wadeth the chri|&s;tian that he loueth the world, and the world him. <HI>475</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXVIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations obiecting to the weake chri&s;tian vnrepen|tancie and hardnes of hart, an&s;wered. <HI>482</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the diuers &s;orts of hardnes of hart, and fir&s;t of that which is in&s;en&s;ible. <HI>483</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XXXIX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of that hardnes of hart which is ioyned with &s;en&s;e and feeling thereof. <HI>487</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Con&s;olations for &s;uch as bewaile their imperfections in hearing the word. <HI>491</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XL.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Con&s;olations for &s;uch as bewaile their wants in prayer. <HI>495</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the infallible &s;ignes of true repentance. <HI>504</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="10">
<ITEM>That the a&s;&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes dependeth not on the dignitie of repentance. <HI>511</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>How wee may proue again&s;t Sathans temptations that wee haue true faith. <HI>513</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the diuers degrees of faith. <HI>515</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations grounded vpon our want of &s;en&s;e and fee|ling of faith an&s;wered. <HI>525</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLIIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>How the weake Chri&s;tian is to comfort him&s;elfe when he is depri|ued of the &s;en&s;e of faith and other graces, and &s;en&s;ibly feeleth the contrary corruptions. <HI>529</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLV.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the meanes whereby our faith may be &s;trengthened and in|crea&s;ed. <HI>537</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of the meanes whereby we may be pre&s;erued from doubting and de&s;peration. <HI>541</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLVI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations concerning &s;malne&s;&s;e and weaknes of faith, an&s;wered. <HI>549</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That a weake and &s;mall faith may be a true and liuely faith. <HI>550</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That all the power of hell cannot preuaile against the &s;malle&s;t mea&s;ure of faith. <HI>551</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLVII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation concerning the certaintie and constancie of faith, an&s;wered. <HI>554</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Sathans temptation grounded on the &s;trong faith of other of Gods children, an&s;wered. <HI>555</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That God both can and will vphold the weake&s;t beleeuer. <HI>559</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLVIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of our iustification what it is, and the cau&s;es &amp; parts therof. <HI>563</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XLIX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That we are not iustified by our workes and merits, prooued fir&s;t by the &s;criptures. <HI>570</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Secondly, by diuers arguments. <HI>576</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. L.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That faith alone iustifietth; &amp; how this is to be vnder&s;tood. <HI>577</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="10">
<ITEM>That faith alone iustifieth, proued both by testimonies and rea|&s;ons. <HI>579</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That not our owne but Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is the matter of our iu&s;tification. <HI>581</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. LI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations mouing the weake Chri&s;tian to doubt of his iustification, an&s;wered. <HI>586</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="book">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS OF THE third Booke.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of &s;anctification what it is, and the cau&s;es thereof. <HI>592</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. II.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the effects, &s;ubiect, obiect, and time of our &s;anctification. <HI>598</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. III.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the parts of &s;anctification, mortification and viuification, and how they are wrought in vs. <HI>602</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. IIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he inticeth vs to commit &s;inne, an|&s;wered. <HI>608</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Many rea&s;ons &s;eruing as pre&s;eruatiues to keepe vs from the con|tagion of &s;inne. <HI>610</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP V.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of the two &s;orts of pre&s;eruatiues to keepe vs from falling into &s;inne. <HI>616</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Of &s;ome &s;peciall meanes whereby we may be pre&s;erued from com|mitting &s;inne. <HI>621</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby hee di&s;courageth the Chri&s;tian in the worke of &s;anctification, an&s;wered. <HI>624</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That in the mo&s;t &s;anctified remaine &s;ome reliques of &s;inne, and the cau&s;es thereof. <HI>624</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That our wants and corruptions &s;hould not di&s;courage vs, but redouble our care and diligence. <HI>627</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Con&s;olations to keepe vs from being di&s;couraged when we &s;ee and feele our wants and corruptions. <HI>628</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="11">
<ITEM>The cau&s;es wherefore God doth not perfectly &s;anctifie vs in this life. <HI>631</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations drawne from our &s;low going forward in &s;anctification, an&s;wered. <HI>636</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. IX.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he aggrauateth our &s;innes in ge|nerall, an&s;wered. <HI>640</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>What it is to walke after the fle&s;h and after the &s;pirit. <HI>642</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The differences betweene the &s;innes of the regenerate and the vnregenerate. <HI>643</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. X.</HEAD>
<ITEM>That &s;innes committed after repentance are pardonable. <HI>645</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That all &s;innes of knowledge are not pre&s;umptuous. <HI>647</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That &s;innes committed again&s;t knowledge are pardonable. <HI>648</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of &s;innes often committed. <HI>651</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XI.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he per&s;wadeth the Chri&s;tian that he hath &s;inned again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, an&s;wered. <HI>653</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>What the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t is, and how it may be di|&s;tingui&s;hed from other &s;innes. <HI>654</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>CHAP. XII.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Sathans temptations whereby he impugneth the certaintie of our per&s;euerance, an&s;wered. <HI>656</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Diuers arguments to prooue the certaintie of our per&s;eue|rance. <HI>659</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="book">
<PB N="1" REF="11">
<HEAD>THE FIRST BOOKE INTREATING OF THE POWER and policies of our &s;pirituall enemies, and of the meanes how we may with&s;tand the one and defeate the other.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. I.</HI> That all the godly are a&s;&s;aulted with the &s;pirituall enemies of their &s;aluation.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THE Apo&s;tle hauing &s;hewed the my&s;terie of our &s;aluation and the cau&s;es thereof for the confirmation of our faith in the three fir&s;t chapters of his Epi&s;tle to the Ephe&s;ians, and afterwards in the other chapters hauing &s;et downe diuers duties both generally belonging to all Chri|&s;tians, and al&s;o particularly appertaining to men of &s;undrie conditions, that he might moue them to repentance and a|mendment of life; in the next place like the Lords Centinell doth di&s;couer and giue vs warning of the approch of mighty enemies, willing vs to arme our &s;elues at all points in our owne defence, and couragiou&s;ly to &s;tand vnder the &s;tanderd of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, that we may be continually in readines to en|dure the encounter, chap. 6.10, 11, &amp;c.<NOTE PLACE="marg">All that will liue like Gods &s;eruants mu&s;t prepare them|&s;elues for the &s;pirituall com|bat.</NOTE> Whereby he giueth vs to vnder&s;tand, that as &s;oone as we &s;eeke for a&s;&s;urance of &s;al|uation in Chri&s;t, and endeuour to &s;erue the Lord in a holie and a Chri&s;tian life, wee are to prepare our &s;elues for a com|bat, vnle&s;&s;e we would &s;uddenly be &s;urpri&s;ed; for the &s;piritual enemies of our &s;aluation bandie them&s;elues again&s;t vs as
<PB N="2" REF="12">&s;oone as we haue giuen our names vnto God, and taken vp|on vs the profe&s;&s;ion and practi&s;e of Chri&s;tianitie, which are the liuerie and cogni&s;ance of our heauenly Lord and Ma&s;ter. And this is manife&s;t by the example of Gods children from time to tim<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> though they liued in peace and &s;ecuritie before th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">tained into Gods familie, yet no &s;oo|ner were <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">itted to be of Gods hou&s;ehold &s;eruants, but Sathan and the world haue raged again&s;t them, laboring both by inward temptations and outward furie, either to withdraw them from Gods &s;eruice by flattring inticements, or vtterly to de&s;troy and ouerthrow them by open violence. No &s;ooner had <HI>Abel</HI> offered a &s;acrifice of &s;weete &s;melling &s;auour vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 4.</NOTE> but Sathan &s;tirreth vp <HI>Cain</HI> to become his butcher: while&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was contented to be reputed the &s;onne of <HI>Pharaohs</HI> daughter he enioyed all pro&s;peritie, but as &s;oone as hee ioyned him&s;elfe to Gods people and Church, <HI>Pharaoh</HI> &s;eeketh his life: as long as the I&s;raelites wor&s;hipped the Egyptian Idols, they &s;ate by their fle&s;h-pots in peace, and quietly enioyed the fruites of the land; but as &s;oone as they made but a motion of &s;eruing the Lord, the King &s;tirred vp by the diuell, doth rage again&s;t them with more then barba|rous crueltie: while&s;t <HI>Paul</HI> per&s;ecuted the Church of God, Sathan did not &s;o much trouble him either outwardly in bo|die or inwardly in minde; but no &s;ooner was he truly con|uerted to the faith and preached the Go&s;pell, but pre&s;ently he &s;etteth his wicked impes on worke to take away his life, which the Lord not permitting, he mooueth them to per&s;e|cute him by impri&s;oning, whipping, and &s;toning him; and not content with the&s;e outward afflictions, he &s;endeth his me&s;&s;enger to buffet him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 12.</NOTE> that he might be no le&s;&s;e vexed in|wardly in minde then outwardly in bodie. Yea he &s;pared not our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, but as &s;oone as he began to &s;hew him&s;elfe to be the &s;onne of God and redeemer of mankinde, in perfourming the duties of his calling, then e&s;pecially hee bendeth all his force again&s;t him, he tempteth and a&s;&s;aulteth him fortie daies together,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 4.</NOTE> and taking the foyle him&s;elfe, hee &s;tirreth vp his wicked in&s;truments to per&s;ecute him, and at length to take away his life.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="12">
<P>Who&s;oeuer therefore re&s;olue to be Gods &s;eruants, mu&s;t make account to be his &s;ouldiers al&s;o; and while&s;t with <HI>Ne|hemias</HI> followers, with one hand they perfourme the workes of their callings and Chri&s;tianitie, they mu&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">th the other hand hold their weapons to repell th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">ll enemies, who continually labour to hinder the L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">ings: for no &s;ooner doe we become friends to God, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">ently Sa|than a&s;&s;aulteth vs as his enemies; no &s;ooner doe we receiue the Lords pre&s;&s;e money and &s;et foote into his campe, but Sa|than aduanceth again&s;t vs his flagges of defiance, labouring both by &s;ecret treacherie, and outward force, to &s;upplant and ouercome vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Here therefore is in&s;truction for &s;ecure worldlings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The two fold v&s;e of this doc|trine.</NOTE> and con&s;olation and incouragement for Gods children. Worldly men in &s;teed of fighting the Lords battailes, &s;pend their time in chambering and wantonnes, in lu&s;ts and vncleannes, in Mu&s;icke and daliance, in &s;urfetting and all voluptuou&s;nes, in couetou&s;nes and idlenes, as though there were no enemie to a&s;&s;ault them, and as if Sathan were &s;ome meeke lambe and not a roring lion readie to deuoure them; &s;o that good <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> comming neere them cannot heare the noi&s;e of them that haue the victorie, nor the noi&s;e of them that are ouercome, but the noi&s;e of &s;inging and meriment,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 32.</NOTE> for they are not figh|ting the battailes of the Lord of hoa&s;ts, but &s;olemni&s;ing a Sabbath to the golden Calfe, &s;itting downe to eate and drink and ri&s;ing vp to play. The &s;pirituall Cananites are quite for|gotten, and they remember not the ble&s;&s;ed land of promi&s;e, whereunto like pilgrimes they &s;hould bee trauailing, but make this world, this wildernes of &s;in, the place of their ioy and delight. In a word, they flouri&s;h in their outward &s;tates, and neuer in their mindes feele any vexation of Sathans tem|tations. And what is the cau&s;e of all this? If you aske them they will &s;ay, that they haue &s;uch a &s;trong faith and peace of con&s;cience,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the world|lings peace pro|ceedeth not from &s;trength, but carnall &s;e|curitie.</NOTE> that Sathans temptations haue no power ouer them; neither were they euer troubled with any of his en|counters. And not content with the&s;e bragges of their owne happie e&s;tate, they cen&s;ure and condemne Gods children, accounting their &s;tate mo&s;t de&s;perate who are mole&s;ted with
<PB N="4" REF="13">Sathans temptations, and goe mourning vnder the burthen of &s;inne all the day long; &s;uppo&s;ing either that they are in Sathans power, and haue more grieuou&s;ly &s;inned then other men, or that they are mad and frantick &s;o to vexe them&s;elues with &s;uch needle&s;&s;e &s;orrow. But let &s;uch men know that of all others their &s;tate is mo&s;t daungerous, for they are grie|uou&s;ly &s;icke, and haue no &s;en&s;e of their di&s;ea&s;e, their wounds are &s;o mortall that they depriue them of all feeling; they are a&s;&s;aulted, yea taken pri&s;oners while&s;t they &s;leepe &s;oundly in &s;ecuritie, and di&s;cerne not the approch of the enemie. <HI>Non ergo repugnant quia &s;e impugnari ignorant:</HI> They make no re|&s;i&s;tance becau&s;e they are ignorant of the a&s;&s;ault. And what can be more daungerous then to haue the enemie approch and lay hands on vs before we be aware? But this is the &s;tate of tho&s;e men:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hierom.</NOTE> for as one &s;aith, <HI>Tum maxim&egrave; impugnantur cum &s;e impugnari ne&s;ciant:</HI> They are mo&s;t a&s;&s;aulted when they feele no a&s;&s;ault. Let them know, that they are not the Lords &s;oul|diers but the diuels reuellers, and therefore he fighteth not a|gain&s;t them becau&s;e they are his friends. For there was neuer any of Chri&s;ts &s;ouldiers in the Militant Church which haue not been exerci&s;ed in this warfare; there was neuer any &s;o &s;trong in faith but Sathan dur&s;t encounter him, euen the A|po&s;tles, yea <HI>Adam</HI> in the &s;tate of innocencie, yea our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe; there were neuer any &s;o con&s;tant in the cour&s;e of Chri&s;tianitie, but the world hath &s;ought to draw them out of the right way by her baites of pro&s;peritie, or to force them to &s;inne by threatning aduer&s;itie; there were ne|uer any that haue had in them one &s;parke of Gods &s;pirit (Chri&s;t excepted) who haue not felt it a&s;&s;aulted and often foi|led by the fle&s;h. For <HI>the fle&s;h lusteth again&s;t the &s;pirit, and the &s;pirit again&s;t the fle&s;h, and they are contrarie the one to the other,</HI> as it is Galath. 5.17. Yea the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elfe when he was mo&s;t &s;anctified,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 5.17. Rom. 7.23.</NOTE> <HI>&s;aw another law in his members rebelling a|gain&s;t the law of his minde, leading him captiue to the law of &s;in,</HI> as appeareth Rom. 7.23.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> It is not therefore their &s;trength of faith, but their carnall &s;ecuritie which &s;o lulleth them a&s;leepe in the cradle of world|ly vanities that they cannot di&s;cerne this fight; it is not their
<PB N="5" REF="13">peace with God nor the peace of con&s;cience which makes them thus quiet, for <HI>there is no</HI> (&s;uch) <HI>peace, &s;aith my God, to the wicked,</HI> E&s;a. 57.21.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 57.21.</NOTE> but it is a peace which they haue made with Sathan, <HI>a couenant with death and an agreement with hell,</HI> as the Prophet &s;peaketh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 28.15.</NOTE> E&s;a. 28.15. <HI>When the &s;trong armed man</HI> Sathan (quietly) <HI>keepes the hou&s;e, the things that he po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;eth are in peace; but when a &s;tronger then he commeth</HI> to di&s;|po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e him, he will neuer lo&s;e his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion without a fight; and we cannot chu&s;e but feele the blowes in &s;o &s;harpe an in|counter. Luk. 11.21.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 11.21.</NOTE> If a man neuer enter the field to fight a|gain&s;t Sathan, or if at the fir&s;t encounter he yeeld him&s;elfe pri&s;oner, and be content to be tied in the plea&s;ing fetters of &s;inne, it is no marueile that hee doth not rage in his con&s;ci|ence, when as alreadie hee is in his captiuitie readie to per|fourme all tho&s;e workes of darknes wherein he employeth him; but if when Chri&s;t the redeemer is preached vnto them by his Amba&s;&s;adours, they would &s;hew any de&s;ire of com|ming out of his thraldome, &s;urely this &s;pirituall <HI>Pharaoh</HI> would neuer lo&s;e their &s;eruice but by force and compul&s;ion, neither can &s;o &s;trong a man be forced but wee mu&s;t needes feele the conflict. While the pri&s;oner lieth in the dungeon, loaded with bolts and tied in chaines, the keeper &s;leepeth &s;e|curely, becau&s;e he knoweth he is &s;afe; but if his bolts being filed off and his chaines loo&s;ed, he haue e&s;caped out of pri|&s;on, then the Iaylor beginneth to bu&s;tle and pur&s;ueth him &s;peedely with Huean crye: &s;o while&s;t Sathan holdeth vs im|pri&s;oned in the darke dungeon of ignorance, loaded and tied with the heauie bolts and chaines of &s;inne, hee is retchle&s;&s;e and &s;ecure; but if our Sauiour by his Amba&s;&s;adours in the preaching of the word, loo&s;e and vnburthen vs of the&s;e chaines and bolts, and by the light of his &s;pirit &s;o illuminate the eyes of our vnder&s;tanding, that we &s;ee the way out of Sa|thans dungeon of ignorance, and &s;o e&s;cape out of his capti|uitie, then he rageth again&s;t and pur&s;ueth vs as <HI>Pharaoh</HI> did the I&s;raelites, that either he may bring vs backe againe into his bondage, or els de&s;troy vs, if we make re&s;i&s;tance. La&s;tly they feele not any fight betweene the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit, be|cau&s;e the fle&s;h wholie ruleth them, and like a flood which
<PB N="6" REF="14">hath a cleere current carrieth them wholie into a &s;ea of &s;inne without any &s;top or re&s;i&s;tance, and therfore no marueile they feele not this fight, when the &s;pirit which is one of the com|batants hath no force nor re&s;idence in them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, <NOTE PLACE="marg">That the true Christian may receiue comfort by feeling the &s;pirituall con|flict.</NOTE> Gods children who continually feele the a&s;|&s;aults of their &s;pirituall enemies, and &s;ee the breaches which are made in their &s;oules with the continuall batterie of their temptations, may receiue no &s;mall con&s;olation hereby, when as they con&s;ider that all who profe&s;&s;e them&s;elues Gods &s;er|uants, and re&s;olue to &s;erue the Lord in holines and righteou&s;|nes are thus tempted and tried.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 12.17.</NOTE> <HI>For the Dragon is wroth with the woman</HI> (that is Gods Church) <HI>and her &s;eede which keepe the commandements of God, and haue the testimonie of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> as is Reuel. 12.17. and like a roring lion &s;eeketh their de&s;truc|tion, becau&s;e they haue renounced him, and fight vnder the &s;tandard of the Lord of hoa&s;ts whom hee maligneth: and hence it is that while&s;t we liue without &s;en&s;e of &s;inne, we eate and drinke and take our ea&s;e without di&s;turbance, but after we make any con&s;cience of our waies and endeuour to &s;erue the Lord, then Sathan ca&s;teth again&s;t vs the firie darts of his temptations, and we feele many conflicts betweene the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit, with which the worldly man is neuer trou|bled. So that when we are thus tempted and a&s;&s;aulted by Sa|than, the world, and our corrupt fle&s;h, it is a &s;trong argument to per&s;wade vs that wee are intertained for Gods &s;ouldiers, and haue receiued the pre&s;&s;e money of his &s;pirit; for Sathans kingdome is not diuided, neither doth he fight again&s;t tho&s;e who are his friends and &s;eruants, but again&s;t tho&s;e who wage warre again&s;t him and fight vnder the Lords &s;tanderd. True it is, that when his &s;eruants haue committed &s;uch abomi|nable and grieuous &s;innes, as haue made deepe wounds in their &s;eared con&s;ciences, whereby they are awakened out of their &s;leepie lethargie of &s;ecuritie, then Sathan filleth them with horrour and de&s;paire, that hee may keepe them from true repentance, when he can hide from them their &s;innes no longer; and the Lord in his iu&s;t iudgement, and for the ex|ample of others, doth &s;uffer Sathan to begin in them the tor|ments of hell in this life; but if hee can by any meanes hide
<PB N="7" REF="14">their &s;innes and keepe them quietly in his kingdome, he will neuer vexe them. And hence it is that whereas one peri&s;heth through de&s;paire, many thou&s;ands peri&s;h through pre&s;ump|tion and &s;ecuritie. Let all tho&s;e therefore who feele the bur|then of their &s;innes, and are vexed with the continuall a&s;&s;aults of their &s;pirituall enemies comfort them&s;elues; for hereby they haue a&s;&s;urance that they are members of the Church militant, into which none but &s;ouldiers are intertained, and that now they begin to be Gods friends and &s;eruants when as Sathan oppo&s;eth him&s;elfe again&s;t them.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. II.</HI> Why God &s;uffereth his &s;eruants to be exerci&s;ed in the &s;pirituall conflict of tentations.</HEAD>
<P>_BVt here it may be demaunded, why the Lord will &s;uffer his &s;eruants to be thus tempted and a&s;&s;aulted, whereas the wicked are free from &s;uch conflicts. I an&s;were, fir&s;t for his owne glorie, for whereas our enemies are &s;trong and mighty and we weake and feeble, hereby is the Lords omnipotent power manife&s;ted to all the world, by who&s;e a&s;&s;i&s;tance &s;uch impotent wretches conquer and &s;ubdue &s;uch furious and pui&s;&s;ant enemies.</P>
<P>Secondly, God &s;uffereth his children to be tempted, that &s;o tho&s;e &s;pirituall graces which he hath be&s;towed vpon them may the more cleerely &s;hine to his glorie. For who can know whether they be Gods golden ve&s;&s;els before they be brought to the touch&s;tone of temptation? Who could know the faith, patience and valour of Gods &s;ouldiers, if they alwaies lay quietly in garri&s;on and neuer came to the skirmi&s;h? Who could feele the odoriferous &s;mell of the&s;e aromaticall &s;pices, if they were not punned and bru&s;ed in the morter of afflic|tions? For example, who would haue di&s;cerned <HI>Abrahams</HI> faith, <HI>Dauids</HI> pietie, <HI>Iobs</HI> patience, <HI>Pauls</HI> courage and con|&s;tancie, if they had been neuer tempted, which now to the glorie of God &s;hine to all the world?</P>
<PB N="8" REF="15">
<P>And as the Lord &s;uffereth Sathan and his impes to trie his children for his owne glorie, &s;o al&s;o for their &s;pirituall and euerla&s;ting good: for fir&s;t hereby he cha&s;tizeth them for their &s;innes pa&s;t, and recalleth them to their remembrance, that &s;o they may truly repent of them. And this cau&s;e <HI>Iob</HI> &s;peaketh of:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 13.26.</NOTE> Iob. 13.26. <HI>Thou write&s;t</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>bitter things again&s;t me, and make&s;t me to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the iniquities of my youth.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, hereby hee manife&s;teth vnto vs our &s;ecret and hidden &s;innes, which the blind eyes of our iudgement would not di&s;cerne, if their &s;ight were not quickned with this &s;harp water of temptation. For &s;o long as wee liue in peace, our &s;e|cure con&s;ciences neuer &s;ummon vs to the barre of Gods iudgement; but when wee are rou&s;ed vp by temptation, wee enter into a more &s;traight examination of our &s;elues, and &s;earch what &s;ecret &s;innes lie lurking in the hidden corners of our hearts, that &s;o wee may repent of them and make our peace with God, without who&s;e a&s;&s;i&s;tance wee can haue no hope to &s;tand in any temptation.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the Lord hereby preuenteth our &s;innes to come: for when we haue experience, that the mo&s;t &s;harp weapons, which Sathan v&s;eth to inflict deepe wounds in our con&s;cien|ces, are our &s;innes; this will make vs mo&s;t carefull to ab&s;taine from them, lea&s;t thereby we &s;trengthen him for our owne o|uerthrow. And as the&s;e temptations of Sathan are in this re|gard &s;o many bridles to re&s;traine vs from &s;inne; &s;o al&s;o they are &s;o many prickes to let out the winde of vaine glorie, wherewith like bladders we be puffed vp, as wee may &s;ee in the example of <HI>Paul, who le&s;t he &s;hould be exalted out of mea|&s;ure through the abundance of reuelations, receiued a pricke in the fle&s;h, the me&s;&s;enger of Sathan to buffet him.</HI> 2. Cor. 12.7.</P>
<P>Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor&punc; 12.7.</NOTE> the Lord &s;uffereth Sathan to a&s;&s;ault vs, that wee may hereby come to the fight of our owne weakne&s;&s;e and in|firmities, when wee haue receiued many foiles; and learne to relie vpon his helpe and a&s;&s;i&s;tance in all our dangers; for &s;o proud we are by nature, that before we come to the fight we think that we can repell the &s;tronge&s;t a&s;&s;aults, and ouercome all enemies which oppo&s;e them&s;elues again&s;t vs by our owne power; but when wee &s;ee our &s;elues vanqui&s;hed and foiled
<PB N="9" REF="15">with euery &s;mall temptation, wee learne to haue a more humble conceit of our owne abilitie, and to depend wholy vpon the Lord. And this end is &s;et downe, Deut. 8.2. and 13.3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 8.2. and 13.3.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fiftly, the Lord permitteth Sathan continually to a&s;&s;aile vs with his temptations, to the end we may continually buckle vnto vs the whole armour of God, that we may be readie for the battaile. For as tho&s;e who haue no enemies to encounter them, ca&s;t their armour a&s;ide and let it ru&s;t, becau&s;e they are &s;ecure from daunger; but when the enemies are at hand and &s;ound the alarum, they both wake and &s;leepe in their armour readie for the a&s;&s;ault: &s;o, if we &s;hould not continually skir|mi&s;h with our &s;pirituall enemies, we would lay a&s;ide the &s;pi|rituall armour; but when wee haue continuall v&s;e of it, both day and night we keepe it fa&s;t buckled vnto vs, that being ar|med at all points, we may be able to make re&s;i&s;tance that we be not &s;urpri&s;ed at vnawares.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, by this conflict the Lord &s;trengthneth and increa|&s;eth all his graces in vs: for as by exerci&s;e the &s;trength of the body is pre&s;erued and augmented, and in &s;hort time decaieth through idlene&s;&s;e and &s;loth; &s;o the gifts of Gods &s;pirit, faith, affiance, hope, patience and the re&s;t langui&s;h in vs, if they bee not exerci&s;ed with temptations.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.3.4.</NOTE> <HI>For tribulation bringeth forth patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not a&s;hamed,</HI> as it is Rom. 5.3, 4, 5. For when once wee haue been tempted and tried, and the Lord hath mercifullie deliuered vs from the temptation, afterwards being &s;o a&s;&s;aul|ted wee patiently endure it, hoping for the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Sam. 17.37. P&s;al. 27.9.</NOTE> beleeuing and a&s;&s;uring our &s;elues that the Lord who hath de|liuered vs will againe deliuer vs, as it is P&s;al. 27.9. Moreouer, when wee &s;ee the great neede of the graces of Gods &s;pirit, this will be a &s;trong motiue to intice vs to a carefull v&s;e of all good meanes whereby we may attaine vnto them, whereas if we were free from this &s;pirituall conflict, we &s;hould not &s;o cleerely &s;ee nor apprehend the v&s;e and nece&s;&s;itie of them.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="10" REF="16">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. III.</HI> Arguments whereby we may be encouraged to enter into this &s;pirituall conflict.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I &s;hewed that al that will be Gods &s;eruants mu&s;t fight his battailes again&s;t his and our &s;pirituall enemies, and the cau&s;es why the Lord pre&s;&s;eth vs to this &s;eruice; now that wee may goe couragiou&s;ly into the field, let vs con|&s;ider of &s;ome rea&s;ons and motiues which may make vs re&s;o|lute and valiant. The fir&s;t is the iu&s;tne&s;&s;e of our cau&s;e. For though &s;ouldiers be neuer &s;o &s;trong and well furni&s;hed, yet if their con&s;ciences tell them that they fight in a bad quarrell, it will much abate their courage, and make them cowardly and timorous. But our cau&s;e is mo&s;t iu&s;t, and our warre mo&s;t lawfull, for God who is iu&s;tice it &s;elfe hath proclaimed it by his Heraulds the Apo&s;tles.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.10.</NOTE> So Ephe. 6.10. <HI>Finally my brethren be &s;trong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.</HI> 11. <HI>Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to &s;tand against the a&s;&s;aults of the diuell,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.7. 1. Pet. 5.8.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And Iam. 4.7. <HI>Re&s;i&s;t the diuell and he will flie from you.</HI> And 1. Pet. 5.8. <HI>Be &s;ober and watch, for your ad|uer&s;arie the diuell as a roring lion walketh about &s;eeking whom he may deuoure: 9. Whom re&s;i&s;t &s;tedfa&s;t in the faith.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The cau&s;e of our &s;pirituall warre of great importance.</NOTE>Secondly, the cau&s;e of our warre is of great waight, as namely for the glory of God and our owne &s;aluation; for in all &s;athans skirmi&s;hes, he &s;eeketh to impeach Gods glory with fal&s;e imputations, and to bring vs to vtter de&s;truction. And this may appeare by his fir&s;t conflict with our mother <HI>Eue,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.4.5.</NOTE> Gen. 3.4.5. where he accu&s;eth God of a lye, who is truth it &s;elfe; and of impotencie and enuious di&s;daine, &s;aying, that the cau&s;e why he did forbid them to cate of the fruite of the tree of the knowledge of good and euill, was not (as he had &s;aid) becau&s;e they &s;hould die, but becau&s;e he knew that when they &s;hould eate thereof, their eyes &s;hould be opened, and they &s;hould be as Gods knowing good and euill. Where fir&s;t he &s;eeketh to dimme the beames of Gods glorie by accu&s;ing
<PB N="11" REF="16">him of a lie, and to per&s;wade them that he was not omnipo|tent, &s;eeing that he was not able to hinder them from being Gods, if they ta&s;ted of this fruite: la&s;tly, that he therefore for|bad them to eate thereof, becau&s;e he enuied them &s;o glorious an e&s;tate. And &s;econdly he laboureth to de&s;troy our fir&s;t pa|rents both bodie and &s;oule, by tempting them to di&s;obe|dience and the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of Gods commandement: and therefore our Sauiour Chri&s;t Ioh. 8.44. doth very fitly ioyne the&s;e two together, &s;aying,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8.44.</NOTE> that he was a liar and a man&s;laier from the beginning. A liar, in that he fal&s;ely accu&s;ed God of lying; a man&s;laier, becau&s;e he did it to this end, that he might murther our fir&s;t parents and all their po&s;teritie both bodie and &s;oule. So that you &s;ee that the end of Sathans fight is to di&s;honour God and de&s;troy vs, and therefore if wee haue any regard of Gods glorie (which &s;hould be more deare vnto vs then our owne &s;oules) or any re&s;pect of our owne &s;aluation, if we would not treacherou&s;ly betray them both by our &s;loth|fulnes or cowardize into the hands of Gods and our enemie; let vs valiantly enter the field, and neuer cea&s;e our couragious fight till we haue obtained a full victorie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd rea&s;on to moue vs to vndertake this fight is the profit which will accrew vnto vs thereby: <NOTE PLACE="marg">The profit of this &s;pirituall fight.</NOTE> for if the get|ting of &s;ome bootie and prize, or the receiuing of &s;ome trife|ling pay will moue the &s;ouldiers of earthly Princes to vnder|goe all daungers, and with wonderfull perill of life to fight euen at the Cannons mouth; how much more &s;hould the &s;tipend of our heauenly king moue vs to fight this combat how terrible &s;oeuer it &s;eemeth to fle&s;h and bloud? For fir&s;t that is truly here verified, <HI>Pax belli filia,</HI> Peace is the daughter of warre, neither can we &s;ooner enter the field to fight again&s;t the&s;e enemies, but pre&s;ently we &s;hall haue peace with God, and &s;oone after the fruite thereof the peace of con&s;cience. Whereas if we betray Gods cau&s;e to Sathan and our &s;oules to &s;inne, well may wee be lulled a&s;leepe in carnall &s;ecuritie, but we &s;hall neuer enioy this peace with God and peace of con|&s;cience: for <HI>there is no peace, &s;aith my God, to the wicked.</HI> E&s;a. 57. And who&s;oeuer haue taken this treacherous truce with Sa|than,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 37.21.</NOTE> &s;hall finde that he will breake it for his be&s;t aduantage,
<PB N="12" REF="17">if not in the whole cour&s;e of their liues, yet at the houre of death when as they &s;hall be able to make no re&s;i&s;tance.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Promi&s;es made to tho&s;e that fight. <HI>Apoc. 2. &amp; 3.</HI></NOTE>Secondly, if wee fight again&s;t the&s;e enemies and valiantly ouercome, the Lord hath promi&s;ed to giue vs to eate of the tree of life which is in Paradice, and the Manna that is hid, and that he will write our names in the booke of life, Apoc. 2 and 3. that is, he will in this life be&s;tow on vs all his &s;pirituall graces, and in the life to come repleni&s;h vs with &s;uch <HI>ioyes as neither eye hath &s;eene,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.9.</NOTE> <HI>nor eare heard, nor heart of man conceiued,</HI> 1. Cor. 2.9. Let vs therefore &s;triue that wee may ouercome, <HI>Nam breuis e&s;t labor, praemium ver&ograve; aeternum:</HI> Our labour is but &s;hort, but our reward &s;hall be eternall. On the other &s;ide, if wee con&s;ider Sathans pay which he giueth vnto his &s;oul|diers, we &s;hall finde that it is nothing but the plea&s;ures of &s;in for a &s;ea&s;on, and in the end euerla&s;ting death and de&s;truction of bodie and &s;oule: <HI>For the wages of &s;inne is death,</HI> as it is Rom. 6.23. Who therefore is &s;o &s;lothfull and cowardly that would not be encouraged,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.23.</NOTE> to fight the Lords battailes a|gain&s;t our &s;pirituall enemies, with &s;uch promi&s;es made by him who is truth it &s;elfe and cannot deceiue vs? Who is &s;o de&s;perate and foole-hardie as to fight vnder Sathans banner, &s;eeing the pay which he giueth is euerla&s;ting death, and vtter confu&s;ion?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third rea&s;on to moue vs to this fight, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The honor that will accompany our victorie.</NOTE> is the honour which will accompanie this victorie: for if earthly &s;ouldiers will purcha&s;e honour with the lo&s;&s;e of life, which is nothing els but the commendation of the Prince, or applau&s;e of the vaine people; what hazard &s;hould we not vndergo in fighting the &s;pirituall combat, &s;eeing our grand Captaine the Lord of hoa&s;ts, &amp; infinite multitudes of ble&s;&s;ed Angels look vpon vs and behold our combat, who&s;e prai&s;e and approbation is our chiefe felicitie? What peril &s;hould we feare, to obtaine a crowne of glorie which is promi&s;ed to all that ouercome, and to become heires apparant of Gods kingdome? On the other &s;ide, the &s;hame and confu&s;ion of face which &s;hall ouer|take them who cowardly for&s;ake the Lords &s;tanderd and yeeld vnto Sathan, when as they &s;hall not dare to looke the Lord in the face who&s;e cau&s;e they haue betrayed, &s;hould
<PB N="13" REF="17">&s;erue as a &s;trong motiue to encourage vs to the fight.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fourth rea&s;on to per&s;wade vs, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The nece&s;&s;itie of vnderta|king this war|fare.</NOTE> is the nece&s;&s;itie of vn|dertaking this combat. There is no man &s;o cowardly that wil not fight when there is no hope in flight, no mercie to be ex|pected in the enemie, no outrage and crueltie which will not be committed. But &s;uch is our enemie that we cannot po&s;&s;i|blie flee from him, his malice is vnreconcilable, his crueltie outragious, for hee fighteth not again&s;t vs to the end that hee may obtaine &s;oueraigntie alone, abridge vs of our libertie, &s;poyle vs of our goods; but he aimeth at our death and de|&s;truction of bodie and &s;oule: if therefore wee &s;o carefully arme our &s;elues again&s;t carthly enemies, who when they haue done their vttermo&s;t rage can but &s;horten a mi&s;erable life, how much more carefully &s;hould we re&s;i&s;t this enemie, who &s;eeketh to depriue vs of euerla&s;ting life, and to plunge vs in|to an euerdying death?</P>
<P>Secondly, this fight is nece&s;&s;arie, becau&s;e in our Bapti&s;me we haue taken a militarie &s;acrament, and promi&s;ed faithfullie vnto the Lord, that wee will continue his faithfull &s;ouldiers vnto the end, fighting his battailes again&s;t the fle&s;h, the world and the diuell. There wee haue giuen our names vnto Chri&s;t, to whom wee owe our &s;elues and liues by a double right, both becau&s;e he hath giuen them vnto vs, and al&s;o re|&s;tored them the &s;econd time when wee had lo&s;t them. There wee are put in minde of his bloud&s;hed for our redemption, which &s;hould encourage vs to fight couragiou&s;ly, that wee may be pre&s;erued from falling againe into the cruell &s;lauerie of &s;inne and Sathan.</P>
<P>Thirdly, vnle&s;&s;e wee fight this &s;pirituall combat, and in fighting ouercome, wee &s;hall neuer be crowned with the crown of glory: for it is not giuen vnto any to triumph, who haue not fought valiantly and &s;ubdued their enemies. The euerla&s;ting peace of Gods kingdome is not promi&s;ed to &s;uch cowards as neuer entred the field, or being entred haue pre&s;ently yeelded them&s;elues to be the captiues of Sathan: but vnto tho&s;e that fight couragiou&s;ly and gloriou&s;ly ouer|come. <HI>If any man</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>&s;triue for a maisterie, he is not crowned except he &s;triue as he ought to doe,</HI> 2. Tim. 2.5. So
<PB N="14" REF="18">the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> chap. 1. ver&s;. 12. pronounceth the man <HI>ble&s;|&s;ed that endureth tentation; for when he is tried</HI> (or rather as the words are, when by triall he &s;hall be found approued) <HI>he &s;hall receiue a crowne of life, which the Lord hath promi&s;ed to them that loue him.</HI> Whereby it appeareth, that none are crowned vnle&s;&s;e they &s;triue as they ought, and therefore much le&s;&s;e they which &s;triue not at all; that none are ble&s;&s;ed but tho&s;e who are tempted, and being tempted endure the tempta|tion; that fir&s;t we mu&s;t be tried, and by triall approoued, be|fore were we can receiue the crowne of life.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tho&s;e that will fight against our &s;pirituall enemies are &s;ure of victorie.</NOTE> wee may be encouraged to this fight by certaine hope of victorie, for we fight vnder the &s;tanderd oof Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us, who alone is mightier then all our enemies that a&s;&s;ault vs. If wee did indeede regard our enemies &s;trength and our owne weaknes onely, wee might well be di&s;couraged from vndertaking this combat, but if wee looke vpon our grand Captaine Chri&s;t, who&s;e loue towards vs is no le&s;&s;e then his power, and both infinite, there is no cau&s;e of doubting, for he that exhorteth vs to the fight, will &s;o helpe vs that we may ouercome;<NOTE PLACE="marg">August.</NOTE> <HI>Deficientes &s;ubleuat &amp; vincentes coronat:</HI> When wee faint he &s;u&s;taineth vs, and crowneth vs when wee ouer|come. He hath alreadie ouercome our enemies to our hand, and hath cooled their courage and abated their force. He hath bru&s;ed the &s;erpents head, &s;o that he &s;hall not be able to ouercome the lea&s;t of his followers, well may he hi&s;&s;e again&s;t them, but he cannot hurt them, for his &s;ting is taken away. Sathan was the &s;trong man who po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed all in peace, but our Sauiour Chri&s;t who was a &s;tronger then he, comming vp|on him hath ouercome him, and taken from him all his ar|mour wherein he tru&s;ted and diuided his &s;poiles, Luk. 11.21, 22. We fought again&s;t mightie enemies and great poten|tates, Eph. 66.12. but our Sauiour hath <HI>&s;poiled principalities and powers, and hath made a &s;hew of them openly, and hath triumphed ouer them vpon the cro&s;&s;e,</HI> Col. 2.15. <HI>and &s;o through death hath de&s;troyed him that had the power of death, that is the diuell, that he might deliuer all them which for feare of death were all their life &s;ubiect to bondage,</HI> as it is Heb. 2.14, 15. He was indeede a mightie prince of this worldly Canaan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Io&s;h. 10.24.25</NOTE> but our good <HI>Io&s;hua</HI>
<PB N="15" REF="18">hath &s;ubdued him, and hath left nothing for vs to doe who are his &s;ouldiers and followers, but to tread in his necke in token of victorie. But we alas are faint-harted, like vnto <HI>Ie|ther</HI> the fir&s;t borne of <HI>Gedeon,</HI> Iudg. 8.20, 21. for though our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath conquered the&s;e our &s;pirituall enemies, and hath put the &s;word of his &s;pirit into our hands, where|with we might al&s;o vanqui&s;h them, yet we are afraid to draw the &s;word, becau&s;e we are but fre&s;h water &s;ouldiers and white liuered; and therefore we had need to encourage our &s;elues, not onely by looking on the victorie of our chiefe Captaine, but al&s;o on the conque&s;t of our fellow &s;ouldiers, who were weake and fraile like our &s;elues. So likewi&s;e Chri&s;t hath ouer|come the world, and willeth vs to be of good comfort, &s;eeing we &s;hall be partakers with him in his triumph, if we wil ioyne with him in his fight, Ioh. 16.33.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16.33.</NOTE> And though our fle&s;h be a treacherous enemie and &s;tronger to vs then the &s;pirit, yet &s;o we will fight again&s;t the lu&s;ts thereof we &s;hall be &s;ure of vic|torie, for he will a&s;&s;i&s;t vs with his holie &s;pirit, and therewith enable vs more and more to mortifie this old man and bodie of &s;inne. Well may we take a foyle in this &s;pirituall combat, but the Lord wil rai&s;e vs vp againe; <HI>For though we fall, yet &s;hall we not be ca&s;t off, becau&s;e the Lord putteth vnder his hand,</HI> as it is P&s;al. 37.24. And the Lord hath promi&s;ed, that he will not &s;uf|fer <HI>vs to be tempted aboue our power, but will giue the i&s;&s;ue with the tentation that we may be able to beare it,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 10.13. and he that hath promi&s;ed is faithfull and true, yea truth it &s;elfe, and therefore he will be as good as his word. Though therefore Sathan incounter vs with all furie, let vs not be faint-harted, but couragiou&s;ly endure his a&s;&s;aults, and &s;o in the end the victorie will be ours: for if wee <HI>re&s;i&s;t the diuell he will flie from vs,</HI> Iam. 4.7. if we fight the Lords battailes valiant|ly, <HI>the God of peace &s;hall tread Sathan vnder our feete &s;hortly,</HI> as it is Rom. 16.20. For the promi&s;e of bru&s;ing the &s;erpents head made by the Lord, Gen. 3.15. doth belong not onely to Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our head, but al&s;o to all tho&s;e who are members of his bodie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Let vs not therefore feare to fight again&s;t beaten and con|quered enemies, &s;lothfully pretending our weaknes to with|&s;tand
<PB N="16" REF="19">the&s;e &s;onnes of <HI>Anakim,</HI> for as one &s;aith: <HI>Nemo hic non vincet ni&s;i qui vincere noluit:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Era&s;m. in En|chir. milit. Chri&s;t.</NOTE> Euery one &s;hall be a conqueror who de&s;ireth the conque&s;t. For if we will be the Lords &s;oul|diers, he will not &s;uffer him&s;elfe to be &s;o much di&s;graced, as to let vs be ouercome by his mortall enemies. He hath ar|med vs him&s;elfe with his owne armour, and &s;ent vs out to fight his battailes, and therefore he will not haue vs vanqui|&s;hed, being fortified with his &s;trength, for &s;o &s;hould him&s;elfe be ouercome in vs, and his weapons would be e&s;teemed weake and in&s;ufficient. Yea he hath ingrafted vs into his own bodie, and we are liuely members thereof, and therefore let vs neuer think that all the power of hell &s;hall be able to ouer|come vs: for what head can with patience &s;uffer his &s;ound members to be pulled from his bodie, if he be able to defend them?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IIII.</HI> Of the malice of our &s;pirituall enemie Sathan.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the rea&s;ons which may encourage vs to vndertake this combat; now we are to &s;peake of the &s;pirituall warfare it &s;elf, wherein (as in all other warres) we are to con&s;i|der of our preparation to the conflict, and the conflict it &s;elfe. In our preparation we are fir&s;t to con&s;ider of the &s;tate, qualitie, and condition of our enemies, and of our meanes how we may with&s;tand and ouercome them.</P>
<P>Concerning the fir&s;t, in an enemie who proclaimeth warre again&s;t vs we are to con&s;ider two things: fir&s;t of his will, and &s;econdly of his power. For if he haue will to hurt vs and no power, he is not to be greatly regarded; if power and no ma|litious and vnreconcilable will, he is not &s;o much to be fea|red, but if his power be great and pui&s;&s;ant, and his will mali|tious, then is it time to looke about vs, and to mu&s;ter all our forces, that we may be readie to endure the incounter.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t therefore concerning the will of our grand and arch enemie Sathan, if wee con&s;ider thereof aright, wee &s;hall finde
<PB N="17" REF="19">that it is mo&s;t malitiou&s;ly bent again&s;t vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans will mo&s;t malicious.</NOTE> &s;o that there is no hope of truce or reconciliation with him, though wee could finde in our cowardly hearts to labour and &s;ue for a di&s;hono|rable peace with Gods and our enemie. For his malice is not newly conceiued but inueterate, euen as ancient within a few daies as the world it &s;elfe, and much more durable; for the world &s;hall haue an end, but Sathans malice to mankinde is endle&s;&s;e, becau&s;e the cau&s;e thereof, namely the loue and fa|uour of God toward the faithfull (who&s;e e&s;tate he doth enuie and maligne, him&s;elfe being eternally reprobated) &s;hall be endle&s;&s;e and eternall. And this appeareth in the example of our fir&s;t parents, who were no &s;ooner placed in the garden of plea&s;ure, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of Paradi&s;e, but Sathan being almo&s;t bur&s;t with enuie to &s;ee their happie e&s;tate, neuer re&s;ted till he had di&s;gorged his malice, and di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed them of that hap|pine&s;&s;e which they enioyed. Neither doth he le&s;&s;e maligne and hate tho&s;e who being fallen in <HI>Adam</HI> are rai&s;ed vp in Chri&s;t, and haue the fee &s;imple of euerla&s;ting glorie, purcha|&s;ed by Chri&s;ts merit, a&s;&s;ured vnto them by the &s;pirit of God and a liuely faith. And hence it is that the Lord knowing Sa|thans malice towards his children, and that whether he faw|neth or frowneth, he alwaies &s;eeketh their de&s;truction, hath proclaimed open warres betweene vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.15.</NOTE> Gen. 3.15. that we may alwaies &s;tand vpon our guard, and not be &s;urpri&s;ed at vna|wares; that al&s;o wee may not entertaine a thought of peace, though Sathan offer it on what&s;oeuer conditions: for what peace can there be betweene the children of God and the children of Belial, betweene the &s;eede of the woman and the &s;eede of the &s;erpent, &s;eeing God him&s;elfe from the begin|ning hath put enmitie betweene them?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But as the malice of Sathan is inueterate, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans malice ioyned with violence.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o it is mor|tall and deadly, not to be &s;atisfied by offering a &s;mall iniurie, by taking away our goods and good name, or afflicting vs with &s;ickne&s;&s;e, no not by taking away our liues; for nothing will &s;atisfie him but our finall de&s;truction of body and &s;oule. And this his malice is liuely deciphered vnto vs by diuers names which are giuen him in the Scriptures. For he is called Sathan, that is an aduer&s;arie, &s;till readie to cro&s;&s;e vs in all our
<PB N="18" REF="20">&s;uites which we make vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zach. 3.1. Matth. 13.39.</NOTE> as he did <HI>Ieho&s;hua</HI> the high Prie&s;t, Zach. 3.1. He is called an enemie, Matth. 13.39. and that a malitious one; for where Chri&s;t the good husbandman &s;oweth wheate, there hee &s;oweth tares, that is, hypocrites a|mong&s;t true profe&s;&s;ors; to the di&s;honour of God, the di&s;cre|dit of the Go&s;pell, and the reproch of the true profe&s;&s;ours thereof.</P>
<P>And lea&s;t we &s;hould thinke that he is &s;ome milde natured enemie who will be &s;atisfied with &s;ome &s;mall reuenge, he is called a murtherer and a man&s;layer, as though this were his profe&s;&s;ion and occupation. And lea&s;t we &s;hould imagine him to be one lately fallen to this trade, our Sauiour telleth vs that he hath been &s;o from the beginning,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8.44.</NOTE> &s;o that like an old hang|man he is fle&s;ht in bloud and crueltie; and therefore &s;eeing wee can hope for no mercie at his hands, let vs &s;o much the more couragiou&s;ly oppo&s;e our &s;elues again&s;t him.</P>
<P>But for as much as the mo&s;t &s;auage man hath &s;ome re|liques of humanitie left in him, therefore the holie Gho&s;t compareth him to bea&s;ts, that wee may expect nothing from him but bruti&s;h crueltie; as fir&s;t to a lion, yea a lion roring after his pray, who is &s;o hungrie and rauenous, that he de&s;i|reth nothing more then to &s;eaze vpon that which he pur&s;u|eth, 1. Pet. 5.8.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.8.</NOTE> Now who would not be mo&s;t carefull to keepe him&s;elfe out of the pawes of &s;uch a rauenous bea&s;t? or if hee were incountred by him, who would not re&s;i&s;t him if hee had any hope of victorie?</P>
<P>But in truth Sathan is farre more cruell then the roring lion, who (if wee may giue credit to hi&s;tories) &s;pareth tho&s;e that fall downe flat before him; whereas if he &s;hould get vs at &s;uch aduantage, he would proudly trample vs vnder foot, and make vs &s;ure for euer ri&s;ing; and therefore lea&s;t we &s;hould looke for any mercie at his hands by &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, the holie Gho&s;t calleth him the <HI>great red dragon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 12.3.</NOTE> Apoc. 12.3. which bea&s;t beareth &s;uch naturall malice to mankinde, that he de|uoureth them not onely for hunger; but al&s;o for &s;port or ha|tred, in &s;atisfying whereof hee taketh great delight; &s;uch a bea&s;t is our enemie, who is &s;o fle&s;ht in bloud and crueltie, and &s;o ouerca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">ed with malice and hatred, that he e&s;teemeth
<PB N="19" REF="20">it his chiefe &s;port and pa&s;time to de&s;troy vs. Yea he is far more daungerous, for the other rageth but again&s;t the bodie, this again&s;t both body and &s;oule; that bea&s;t we may ea&s;ily auoid, but it is impo&s;&s;ible to flee from this winged Dragon, and therefore there is no other meanes to e&s;cape his furie, but by arming our &s;elues &s;trongly, and fighting valiantly til we haue put him to flight.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus you &s;ee Sathans malice ioyned with crueltie and raging violence, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans malice ioyned with treacherous fal&s;ehood.</NOTE> which he v&s;eth when hee hath any hope of &s;urpri&s;ing vs by a&s;&s;ault; but if hee finde vs &s;trongly fortified with Gods graces, and at all points armed with the com|pleate armour of a Chri&s;tian, if he perceiue that we are hed|ged in and fenced on all &s;ides (as he &s;peaketh of <HI>Iob</HI> chap. 1.10) that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 1.10.</NOTE> guarded and protected by Gods almightie and al|ruling prouidence, &s;o that he hath no hope of ouercomming vs by a&s;&s;ault and force, then he &s;heweth no le&s;&s;e malice and more &s;ubtiltie in &s;eeking our de&s;truction, by fauning vpon vs, and alluring vs to &s;inne, by offering the baites of honour, plea&s;ure and commoditie, that &s;o he may make entrance as it were by a po&s;terne gate, and &s;ubdue vs while we are aban|doned of the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and di&s;armed of our &s;pirituall weapons, whereby we &s;hould make re&s;i&s;tance. And thus hee dealt with our fir&s;t parents, who being inticed to &s;inne, and al&s;o yeelding to the inticement, and &s;o being depriued of Gods protection and the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, were laid open to tho&s;e deadly wounds which he inflicted on them. For a&s;&s;oone as they had ta&s;ted of the forbidden fruite, they perceiued their nakednes, and therefore couered them|&s;elues with figge leaues, too weake an armour to repell the firie darts of Sathan. Thus he di&s;armed the I&s;raelites, by temp|ting them to wor&s;hip the golden Calfe, &s;o that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aw that they were naked, that is, di&s;armed of Gods fauour and protection, Exod. 32.25.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 32.25.</NOTE> And this his policie hee taught his &s;eruant <HI>Balaam,</HI> who when he could not cur&s;e them whom God had ble&s;&s;ed, gaue this cur&s;ed coun&s;aile to <HI>Balaak,</HI> that the Moabiti&s;h women &s;hould intice the I&s;raelites to commit with them fir&s;t carnall and then &s;pirituall whoredome, know|ing that to be the onely meanes to bring Gods cur&s;e vpon
<PB N="20" REF="21">them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 25.1.2. and 31.16. Apoc. 2.14.</NOTE> As wee may &s;ee if we compare Numb. 25.1, 2. with the 31. chapter and 16. ver&s;e, and Apoc. 2.14. And thus al&s;o this wilde boare would haue broken downe the hedge which de|fended <HI>Iob,</HI> by tempting him to bla&s;pheme God. And thus our fubtill enemie <HI>Sinon</HI>-like inticeth vs with deceiuing al|lurements, euen with our owne hands to breake downe the wall of our defence, and to make an open pa&s;&s;age for whole troupes of &s;innes to enter and furprize vs, while&s;t we (ouer|come with a fal&s;e ioy) glut and make our &s;elues drunke with the cup of voluptuous plea&s;ures, and lie &s;norting in the dead &s;leepe of carnall &s;ecuritie, not &s;o much as once dreaming of our approching ruine and de&s;truction.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And hereof he hath the name of tempter giuen him, yea he is not onely called a tempter,, <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>the tempter,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 4.2. 1. The&s;&s;. 3.5.</NOTE> becau&s;e he is a tempter of tempters, and as it were a tempter by profe&s;&s;ion, Matth. 4.2. 1. The&s;&s;. 3.5.</P>
<P>The con&s;ideration whereof &s;hould make vs mo&s;t carefull to with&s;tand all his temptations, whereby he allureth vs vnto &s;inne. For if we yeeld vnto them, he will &s;urely di&s;arme vs of Gods fauour and protection, and &s;o deadly wound our &s;oules when he hath made them naked. There is no wi&s;e man will put off his armour and ca&s;t away his weapons in the pre&s;ence of his cruell enemie, though hee per&s;wade him thereto with many flattring &s;peeches and faire promi&s;es; and &s;hall we let Sathan di&s;arme vs, becau&s;e he allureth vs thereto, by promi|&s;ing &s;ome vnlawfull profit or vaine plea&s;ure, e&s;pecially &s;eeing we know him to be an enemie no le&s;&s;e treacherous then ma|litious?</P>
<P>But as he is a tempter to intice vs vnto &s;inne, &s;o al&s;o he is our accu&s;er after that we haue &s;inned, requiring of God that he will execute his iu&s;tice vpon the offenders who haue de|&s;erued puni&s;hment. Of this there nee de no further proofe then his owne te&s;timonie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 1.7.</NOTE> Iob. 1.7. where hee profe&s;&s;eth that he had been compa&s;&s;ing the earth about; like a promoter to &s;pie out faults, that he might informe again&s;t the offenders. But becau&s;e wee will not re&s;t in his te&s;timonie, who is the fa|ther of lies, wee will adde thereunto another of vndoubted authoritie:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 12.10.</NOTE> for Apoc. 12.10. it is &s;aid, that the Saints <HI>reioyce, be|cau&s;e
<PB N="21" REF="21">Sathan, who was the accu&s;er of their brethren, was ca&s;t downe, which accu&s;ed them before God day and night.</HI> So that Sa|than can &s;pare no time, from accu&s;ing vs for &s;inne, but that which hee imployeth in tempting vs thereunto, or in inflic|ting tho&s;e puni&s;hments which God permitteth him to lay vpon vs. Whereby we may perceiue the malice and treachery of our enemie, who though he be the chiefe cau&s;e which mo|ueth vs to &s;inne, yet him&s;elfe is the fir&s;t that accu&s;eth vs for it, and that vnce&s;&s;antly. Which may &s;erue as a &s;trong argument to make vs warie of our waies, lea&s;t falling into &s;inne, we giue Sathan occa&s;ion to in&s;ult ouer vs, and to preferre bils of in|ditement before our heauenly Iudge, who&s;e exact iu&s;tice will not let &s;inne goe vnpuni&s;hed. If there were a promoter con|tinually prying into all our actions, who were mo&s;t mali|tiou&s;ly di&s;po&s;ed again&s;t vs, and readie to infourme of all our mi&s;demeanour vnto the Magi&s;trate, how fearefull would wee be to doe any thing which would bring vs within the com|pa&s;&s;e of the law? But &s;uch an informer continually ob&s;erueth all our behauiour, euen in our &s;ecret chambers; who will not faile to accu&s;e vs euen of tho&s;e &s;innes which he him&s;elfe hath tempted vs vnto: and therefore &s;eeing this malitious blab &s;till prieth into our actions, this &s;hould be of more force to with|hold vs from all &s;inne, then if all the world did look vpon vs.</P>
<P>But he is not onely an accu&s;er, but a &s;launderer al&s;o, and thereof he hath his name <GAP DESC="foreign">. If therefore he can &s;pie but an apparance of euill in vs, he will not &s;ticke to &s;ay, that wee haue or will commit that euill which he &s;u&s;pecteth vs of, for he will wre&s;t and mi&s;con&s;ter all we do to the wor&s;t &s;en&s;e, and make of euery molehill an huge mountaine. Thus wrongful|ly did he &s;launder <HI>Iob,</HI> that hee &s;erued God for that end for which <HI>Demetrius</HI> &s;eru'd his Godde&s;&s;e, namely for aduantage, becau&s;e he pre&s;erued him and ble&s;&s;ed all he had; affirming that if he would take away his goods, and a little afflict his bodie, he would bla&s;pheme him to his face, Iob. 1.10. And this al&s;o teacheth vs to look warily to our actions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 1.10.</NOTE> ab&s;taining not onely from euill, but al&s;o from all apparance thereof, as the Apo&s;tle exhorteth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;&s;. 5.22.</NOTE> that &s;o wee giue not to our malitious enemie the lea&s;t aduantage.</P>
<PB N="22" REF="22">
<P>Neither is Sathan onely an accu&s;er and &s;launderer, but al&s;o an executioner or hangman, readie with all alacritie and &s;a|uage crueltie to inflict that puni&s;hment the which the Lord adiudgeth vs vnto, as wee may &s;ee in the hi&s;torie of <HI>Iob;</HI> and this al&s;o &s;heweth vnto vs the extreame malice of our enemy, which maketh him to forget that glorious &s;tate wherein hee was created, &amp; with al willingnes to execute &s;o ba&s;e an office.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> By all which appeareth that our enemie Sathan is mo&s;t malitious, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.12.</NOTE> yea <HI>malitiou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> it &s;elfe, as he is called Eph. 6.12. that is, the father and author of all malice and enuie, who la|boureth might and maine to di&s;honour God and worke our de&s;truction. The con&s;ideration whereof &s;hould rouze vs out of our carnall &s;ecuritie (whereby men behaue them&s;elues, as though either they had no enemie at all, or els &s;uch a gentle natured one, that they may haue peace with him at their own plea&s;ure) &s;eeing there is no hope of peace and truce, vnle&s;&s;e we can be content to liue in his thraldome to our vtter de|&s;truction: for whom&s;oeuer he keepeth as his pri&s;oners in this life, he will at the houre of death and iudgment bring out to execution.</P>
<P>Let vs therefore oppo&s;e again&s;t Sathans malice, Chri&s;tian re&s;olution; &s;tedfa&s;tly purpo&s;ing and endeuouring to continue our fight in re&s;i&s;ting Sathan to our liues end, how trouble|&s;ome &s;oeuer it &s;eemeth to fle&s;h and bloud. For &s;eeing there is no truce to be hoped for, nor to be de&s;ired if it were offered, by rea&s;on of the enmitie which is betweene vs and our ene|mie; &s;eeing his malice is &s;o inueterate and mortall, that there is no mercie to be expected, but all barbarous and raging crueltie; &s;eeing al&s;o wee fight the Lords battailes, who hath a&s;&s;ured vs of victorie in the end: This &s;hould make vs &s;o re&s;o|lute, that though we be foyled, wounded, and as it were bea|ten downe on our knees, yet wee &s;hould neuer yeeld, but make re&s;i&s;tance euen to the la&s;t ga&s;pe. For what more hono|rable death then to dye in fighting the Lords battailes? What death more profitable, &s;eeing by dying we &s;hall ouer|come and obtaine a finall victoric ouer all our enemies, and receiue the crowne of glory, euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, promi&s;ed to all tho&s;e who fight valiantly in this combat vnto the end?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="23" REF="22">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. V.</HI> Of the &s;trength of our &s;pirituall enemie Sathan.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I &s;hewed the malitious will of our enemie; let vs now con&s;ider of his power. For though he be mo&s;t malitious, yet if hee wanted power to execute his malice, wee might well contemne him, and re&s;t &s;ecure, making no great preparation to re&s;i&s;t his weake a&s;&s;ault.</P>
<P>But with our enemie it is farre otherwi&s;e: for as his will is mo&s;t malitiou&s;ly bent to hurt, &s;o is he &s;trong and mightie to effect his will. And this his power and abilitie to execute his will, con&s;i&s;teth partly in his &s;trength, and partly in his skill and warlike policie, whereby he imployeth all his &s;trength to his be&s;t aduantage. His &s;trength may be con&s;idered both in him&s;elfe and in his aides.</P>
<P>In re&s;pect of his owne &s;trength he is very mightie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of Sathans &s;trength con&s;i|dered in him|&s;elfe.</NOTE> &s;o that if the Lord permitteth him he is able to rai&s;e the winds, &s;tirre vp tempe&s;ts, bring downe fire from heauen, and vtterly de|&s;troy vs in a moment. And this his &s;trength the holie Gho&s;t expre&s;&s;eth, by comparing him to things mo&s;t &s;trong, either in the &s;ea or on the land, that &s;o we may be more carefull to arme our &s;elues again&s;t him. He is compared to the great <HI>Le|uiathan</HI> or Whale, E&s;a. 27.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a 27.1. Iob. 41.</NOTE> who&s;e inuincible force is de&s;cri|bed by the Lord him&s;elfe, Iob. 41.</P>
<P>He is compared to a lion, yea to a <HI>roring lion.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.8.</NOTE> 1. Pet. 5.8. which rauenou&s;ly hunting after his pray hath his force re|doubled with his hunger. And al&s;o to a <HI>great red Dragon,</HI> ha|uing &s;euen heads and tenne hornes, who&s;e &s;trength is &s;o great, that with his very taile hee drew the third part of the &s;tarres of heauen, and ca&s;t them to the earth, Apoc. 12.4.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 12.4.</NOTE> that is, he vanqui&s;heth and &s;ubdueth many in the vi&s;ible Church which make &s;ome profe&s;&s;ion of religion, but in their liues denie the power thereof. And this his &s;trength is &s;o much the more dangerous, by rea&s;on of his mortall malice and deadly poy&s;on which he ca&s;teth out of his mouth in great abunda~ce.</P>
<PB N="24" REF="23">
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And lea&s;t we &s;hould contemne this bruti&s;h might, which a weake man may with policie defeate, therefore he is compa|red to <HI>a &s;trong armed man,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 11.21.</NOTE> Luk. 11.21. who keepeth in peace all that he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth. And lea&s;t wee &s;hould de&s;pi&s;e him be|cau&s;e hee is but one, the holie Gho&s;t telleth vs that hee is a mightie prince, not of one land or countrie, but of the whole world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 12.31.</NOTE> Ioh. 12.31. who therefore hath infinite multitudes at his commaundement, neither is there one of the&s;e princes a|lone, but huge multitudes of them; and therefore the holie Gho&s;t &s;peaking of them v&s;eth the plurall number, &s;aying, that we <HI>fight again&s;t principalities,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.12.</NOTE> <HI>again&s;t powers, and again&s;t the worldly gouernours, &amp;c.</HI> Whereas therefore the holie Gho&s;t doth call him the &s;trong man, Sathan, and the diuel in the &s;in|gular number; he would not haue vs to conceiue that there is onely one, but it is partly to note the chiefe of the kingdome of darknes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.41.</NOTE> according to that Matth. 25.41. <HI>Depart from me ye accur&s;ed into euerla&s;ting fire, which is prepared for the diuell and his angels.</HI> And in this &s;en&s;e he is called Beelzebub the prince of diuels,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12.24.</NOTE> Matth. 12.24. And partly to intimate vnto vs their great con&s;ent and agreement in &s;eeking the de&s;truction of mankinde; for though they be an huge multitude, yet they combine them&s;elues together, as if they were but one, in &s;ee|king our de&s;truction.</P>
<P>Otherwi&s;e the Scriptures euidently &s;hew vs, that there is not one alone,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12.45.</NOTE> but many to a&s;&s;ault vs. Matth. 12.45. One &s;pirit taketh vnto him &s;euen more, and they al enter into one man. Mark. 16.9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 16.9. Luk. 8.30.</NOTE> It is &s;aid that Chri&s;t had ca&s;t out of <HI>Mary dalen</HI> &s;euen, that is, many diuels. So Luk. 8.30. there is men|tion made of a man po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with an whole legion, that is, with an huge multitude. So that as our enemies are powerfull in &s;trength, &s;o are they in numbers numberle&s;&s;e, enow to be|&s;et vs all, on all &s;ides and in all places, and therefore our fight mu&s;t needes be daungerous: which daunger the Apo&s;tle ag|grauateth, by telling vs that they are the princes of darknes, and therefore as well able to a&s;&s;ault vs in the night as in the day,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.12.</NOTE> which &s;ight of all other is mo&s;t terrible, when we cannot &s;ee our enemies, and therefore cannot tell on which &s;ide to defend our &s;elues.</P>
<PB N="25" REF="23">
<P>Secondly, he telleth vs that wee wra&s;tle not with enemies of fle&s;h and bloud like vnto our &s;elues, but with &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es, which are mo&s;t daungerous; becau&s;e being &s;pi|rits they can with incredible &s;wiftnes pa&s;&s;e from place to place which are farre di&s;tant, and therfore the more fitly take all aduantages, either in a&s;&s;aulting vs at their plea&s;ure, or withdrawing them&s;elues when they finde re&s;i&s;tance; being &s;pirits they can lie &s;ecretly in ambu&s;hment, euen in our bed|chambers, and &s;o &s;urprize vs when they finde vs mo&s;t retch|le&s;&s;e and &s;ecure, for we cannot di&s;couer them before we feele their a&s;&s;aults.</P>
<P>Thirdly, he telleth vs that they are in high places, to note vnto vs that they haue gotten the aduantage of the vpper ground; and therefore the fight mu&s;t be daungerous, when our enemie fighteth again&s;t vs from an high place or fort, we &s;tanding &s;o low that we are &s;carce able to reach him. But be|cau&s;e earthly things cannot &s;ufficiently &s;hew the power of our enemie Sathan, therefore he is called <HI>the god of this world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 4.4.</NOTE> 2. Cor. 4.4. to note vnto vs, that in re&s;pect of worldly &s;trength and humane re&s;i&s;tance, hee is after a &s;ort omnipotent, that is, able to doe what he li&s;t, if he were not re&s;trained by Gods di|uine power, who alone is omnipotent, and ouerruled by no &s;uperiour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus you &s;ee the pui&s;&s;ant power of this our &s;pirituall enemie; but though he were &s;trong, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the courage and audaciou&s;|nes of Sathan.</NOTE> yet if withall he were a da&s;tard and voide of courage, he were the le&s;&s;e to be feared; but as he is very &s;trong, &s;o al&s;o he is exceeding de&s;perate and audacious, for there was neuer man that liued, who~ he dur&s;t not encounter, yea and that after (by Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance) he had taken many ouerthrowes. Though <HI>Dauid</HI> were a mo&s;t holie man and according to Gods owne hart, yet he a&s;&s;aulted him, and gaue him diuers foyles, by tempting him to adulterie, murther, and in pride of heart to number the people. Though <HI>Iob</HI> was by Gods owne te&s;timonie the iu&s;te&s;t man on earth, and therefore the be&s;t armed with the brea&s;t-plate of righ|teou&s;nes, yet Sathan dur&s;t encounter him as long as God would &s;uffer him. He re&s;i&s;ted <HI>Ieho&s;hua</HI> the good high Prie&s;t, Zach. 3.1. He buffeted <HI>Paul</HI> the cho&s;en ve&s;&s;ell of the Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zach. 3.1.</NOTE>
<PB N="26" REF="24">2. Cor. 12.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 12.7.</NOTE> Yea &s;o ventrous hee is, that he a&s;&s;aulted our fir&s;t parents in the &s;tate of innocencie, when they were armed with free will, and might if they would haue re&s;i&s;ted his temptations. Nay, &s;o de&s;perately audacious is this our ene|mie, that he dur&s;t encounter our grand Captaine Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, who was God and man able to de&s;troy him with a word of his mouth; and that not once but many times, after he was &s;hamefully foyled and ouerthrowne: yea &s;o in&s;olent and foole-hardie he is, that he did not onely a&s;&s;ault him here on earth when he was in the &s;hape of a &s;eruant, and whereas in re&s;pect of his outward &s;tate he might haue &s;ome hope of pre|uailing; but al&s;o he wageth warre again&s;t him in heauen, &s;it|ting at the right hand of his father in all glorie, power and maic&s;tie, when as he hath no appearance of hope to preuaile, but is mo&s;t &s;ure that he &s;hall haue the ouerthrow. And this appeareth Apoc. 12.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 12.7.</NOTE> <HI>And there was a battaile in heauen: Mi|chael and his angels fought again&s;t the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, but they preuailed not, &amp;c.</HI> Where by <HI>Mi|chael</HI> we are to vnder&s;tand Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, for he onely is the prince of Angels; and this name &s;ignifying &s;uch an one as is equall with God almightie, can agree to no other but vnto Chri&s;t alone. And by the Dragon wee are to vnder&s;tand Sa|than, as appeareth ver&s;. 9. who fought again&s;t our Sauiour, though he preuailed not.</P>
<P>If therefore hee dur&s;t encounter the mo&s;t valiant &s;ouldiers that euer fought the Lords battailes, yea if hee dur&s;t &s;et vpon our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe; then &s;urely there is no doubt but that he hath courage enough to &s;et vpon vs who are weake and feeble, altogether vnable in our &s;elues to make re&s;i&s;tance.</P>
<P>Seeing therefore our enemies are &s;o pui&s;&s;ant in &s;trength, &s;o innumerable in multitude, &s;o dangerous and &s;o audacious, let vs &s;hake off all &s;ecuritie, and continually &s;tand in readines to endure the encounter: for what follie is it for vs with &s;e|cure worldlings to contemne, and make no reckoning of &s;uch enemies? Seeing euery one of vs mu&s;t re&s;i&s;t a huge mul|titude; &s;eeing wee which are weake and feeble are to with|&s;tand tho&s;e which are &s;trong and mightie; &s;eeing wee which are fle&s;h and bloud mu&s;t enter combat with tho&s;e which are
<PB N="27" REF="24">&s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es, principalities, powers, and princes of darknes; &s;eeing wee who are cowardly and fearefull mu&s;t &s;u|&s;taine the encounter of tho&s;e who are de&s;perate and auda|cious; la&s;tly, &s;eeing wee haue in our &s;elues no aduantages a|gain&s;t them, and they want no aduantages again&s;t vs: let vs not therefore fooli&s;hly contemne &s;uch pui&s;&s;ant enemies, but with all care and diligence let vs arme our &s;elues again&s;t them, and <HI>worke out our &s;aluation with feare and trembling,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.12.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle exhorteth, Phil. 2.12.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But as we are not &s;ecurely to contemne the&s;e enemies: &s;o we are not faintly to yeeld vnto them, nor cowardly to de&s;|paire of victorie. For as all tho&s;e which &s;ecurely contemning them neuer &s;tand vpon their guard, are mo&s;t &s;ure to be &s;ur|pri&s;ed and ouerthrowne; &s;o who&s;oeuer arme them&s;elues a|gain&s;t them, and enter into the &s;pirituall combat with a de|&s;ire to ouercome, &s;hall mo&s;t certainly obtaine victorie: for though their power be great, yet it is not infinite, and that which they haue, it is not from them&s;elues but from the Lord, who &s;o curbeth them with his all-ruling prouidence, that they are not able to goe one iot further then he loo&s;eth out the raines; as it plainly appeareth both by examples and te&s;timonies of Scripture. Though Sathan were mo&s;t mali|tiou&s;ly di&s;po&s;ed again&s;t <HI>Iob,</HI> &s;o that he did with all extremi|tie execute that which God &s;uffered him to doe, yet he could not goe one iot further then his commi&s;&s;ion, he could not touch his &s;ub&s;tance till the Lord had &s;aid, <HI>All that he hath is in thy hand,</HI> Iob. 1.12. And therefore not preuailing again&s;t him by depriuing him of his goods and &s;ub&s;tance, he com|meth againe to the Lord to haue his commi&s;&s;ion inlarged, Iob. 2.1. and then hauing gotten authoritie to afflict his bo|die, yet could he not touch his life, becau&s;e the Lord had not giuen him &s;o much liberty. Though <HI>Saul</HI> were a wicked man, yet Sathan could not hurt or vexe him, till the Lord &s;ent him, 1. Sam. 16.14. And hence it is that he is called the <HI>&s;pirit of God,</HI> ver&s;. 15. and chap. 18.10. becau&s;e he is Gods &s;laue and wholie at his appointment. So hee could not deceiue the fal&s;e pro|phets of <HI>Ahab,</HI> till he had gotten licence of the Lord, 1. King. 22.22. Nay, &s;o farre is Sathan from hauing ab&s;olute authori|tie
<PB N="28" REF="25">and power ouer the faithfull, that it is limited and re&s;trai|ned in re&s;pect of the meane&s;t creatures; for a whole legion of diuels could not &s;o much as enter into one heard of &s;wine, till by earne&s;t intreatie they had obtained leaue of our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t, Luk. 8.31, 32. And therefore much le&s;&s;e can they preuaile again&s;t any of Gods children, &s;eeing the very haires of their head are numbred, Matth. 10.29. Well may Sathan maligne vs and earne&s;tly de&s;ire our de&s;truction; well may he &s;ecke to &s;ift vs like wheate, as hee did <HI>Peter;</HI> but our Sauiour Chri&s;t maketh interce&s;&s;ion for vs, &s;o that our faith &s;hall neuer faile, Luk. 22.31.</P>
<P>This al&s;o is manife&s;t by plaine te&s;timonies. <HI>Iude</HI> 6. it is &s;aid, that the Lord hath <HI>re&s;erued the wicked angels in euerla|&s;ting chaines vnder darknes, vnto the iudgement of the great day.</HI> 2. Pet. 2.4. <HI>God &s;pared not the Angels that had &s;inned, but cast them downe into hell, and deliuered them into chaines of darknes to be kept vnto damnation.</HI> So Apoc. 20.2. Sathan is &s;aid to haue been bound by the Angell of the Lord for a thou&s;and yeres, &s;o that hee could not &s;tirre till the Lord &s;uffered him to be loo&s;ed. By all which the holie Gho&s;t noteth vnto vs, that Sa|than is no more able to doe vs hurt, then a malefactor who being bound hand and foote is ca&s;t into a deepe dungeon, or then a band-dog which is fa&s;t tied vp in &s;trong chaines, till the Lord loo&s;eth him and giueth him leaue.</P>
<P>But here &s;ome man may obiect, that Sathan is &s;aid in the Scriptures, to re&s;i&s;t God and to oppo&s;e him&s;elfe again&s;t him, and euen to fight a battaile again&s;t our Sauiour Chri&s;t him|&s;elfe and his ble&s;&s;ed Angels, Apoc. 12.7. I an&s;were, that this re&s;i&s;tance and fight dependeth on Gods permi&s;&s;iue proui|dence, neither could hee &s;o much as &s;tirre again&s;t God, if hee did not &s;uffer him. He is indeede mo&s;t malitiou&s;ly di&s;po&s;ed again&s;t the Lord, and by this his malice is &s;tirred vp to doe tho&s;e things which hee thinketh mo&s;t di&s;plea&s;ant in Gods eyes: but becau&s;e the Lord chaineth and curbeth him in with his omnipotent power, he is onely able to doe tho&s;e things that God permitteth him, and, will he nill he, he is con&s;trai|ned to obey his Creator and to be at his commandement.</P>
<P>Seeing therefore Sathans power is re&s;trained by the om|nipotent
<PB N="29" REF="25">power of God, this may &s;erue as a &s;trong rea&s;on to &s;trengthen our faith in the a&s;&s;urance of victorie; e&s;pecially con&s;idering that the Lord is not only omnipotent in power, but al&s;o in re&s;pect of his will mo&s;t readie to aide and &s;upport vs in all our conflicts. For he hath promi&s;ed vs, that wee &s;hall not <HI>be tempted aboue our power,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.13.</NOTE> <HI>for he will giue a good i&s;&s;ue to the temptation,</HI> though the beginning and middle are dangerous and trouble&s;ome, 1. Cor. 10.13. He hath promi&s;ed, that if wee will but re&s;i&s;t the diuell, wee &s;hall put him to flight,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.7.</NOTE> Iam. 4.7. Though therefore in our &s;elues wee are very weake, yet God will a&s;&s;i&s;t vs in this combat, which as well concerneth his owne glorie as our good, and being armed with his power, the gates of hell cannot preuaile again&s;t vs. Well may the Lord &s;uffer vs to take a foyle, that thereby learning to know our owne weakenes, wee may the more carefully re&s;t on his power, and more earne&s;tly craue his a&s;&s;i&s;tance, but then hee will rai&s;e vs vp though wee be neuer &s;o feeble; for the more apparant our infirmities are, the more cleerely will the om|nipotent power of the Lord &s;hine vnto all the world, when by his helpe we haue obtained victorie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">If we will o|uercome we mu&s;t wholy re|lie on the Lord. <HI>Col. 1.11.</HI></NOTE> Would we therefore re&s;i&s;t Sathans force and &s;trength? then let vs not goe armed in our owne power, for we are &s;o weak|ned with &s;inne and corruption, that wee are not able to with|&s;tand his lea&s;t a&s;&s;ault; but de&s;pairing in our owne abilitie, let vs relie our &s;elues wholie on the Lord: <HI>for we are &s;trengthened with all might through his glorious power,</HI> as it is Col. 1.11. and though in our &s;elues wee are able to doe nothing, <HI>yet wee are able to doe all things, through the helpe of Chri&s;t which &s;trengthe|neth vs,</HI> as it is Phil. 4.13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 4.13.</NOTE> Of our &s;elues we are not able to en|dure the lea&s;t incounter of our &s;pirituall enemies, but yet if wee tru&s;t in the Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 15.57.</NOTE> he <HI>will giue vs victorie through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 1. Cor. 15.57. And hence it is that the Apo&s;tle prepa|ring vs for this &s;pirituall combat, doth exhort vs to <HI>be &s;trong in the Lord, and in the power of his might;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.37.</NOTE> <HI>and to put on the whole armour of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.10.11.</NOTE> <HI>that we may be able to &s;tand again&s;t the a&s;&s;aults of the diuell,</HI> Ephe&s;. 6.10, 11. If therefore wee would be &s;afely protected from the furie of Sathans power, let vs not oppo&s;e again&s;t it our owne &s;trength, for then &s;urely we &s;hall be ouer|come, <GAP DESC="missing" EXTENT="1 span">
<PB N="30" REF="26">but let vs relie our &s;elues on the almightie power of God, profe&s;&s;ing with the Prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> P&s;al. 18.2. that the <HI>Lord is our rocke and fortre&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 18.2.</NOTE> <HI>and he that deliuereth vs, our God and our &s;trength, in him will we tru&s;t, our &s;hield, the horne of our &s;aluation and our refuge.</HI> Let vs with him call vpon <HI>God which is worthie to be prai&s;ed,</HI> and &s;o &s;hal we be &s;afe from al our enemies, ver. 3.</P>
<P>In like manner, when wee con&s;ider of the infinite number of our enemies, which daily a&s;&s;ault euery one of vs, let vs thereby be awakened out of the &s;lumber of carele&s;&s;e retch|le&s;nes, and be &s;tirred vp to &s;tand vpon our guard more care|fully: but yet let not this di&s;courage vs from the fight, be|cau&s;e there are many to one, <HI>for the Lord is with vs</HI> while&s;t we fight his battailes, and therefore <HI>what mattreth it who oppo&s;e them&s;elues again&s;t vs?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8 31. Exod. 14.14.</NOTE> Rom. 8.31. <HI>The Lord will fight for vs, therefore let vs hold our peace,</HI> Exod. 14.14. <HI>The battell is not ours but Gods, and therefore let vs not be afraid of this great multitude,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Chro. 20.15.</NOTE> as it is 2. Chro. 20.15. for the greater the number is which fighteth again&s;t vs, the more will the Lord glorifie him&s;elfe in our victorie, the greatnes of his power &s;hining &s;o much the more cleerely in the weakenes of the meanes, and our infirmities &s;eruing as a foile, to make the riches of his omnipotencie and glorie appeare more glorious. So that the Lord &s;tanding on our &s;ide, it is not materiall how many wic|ked &s;pirits a&s;&s;aults vs; if he take vpon him our pre&s;eruation, we neede not care though the whole power of hell &s;eeke our de&s;truction. But if &s;uch be the frailtie of our faith, that wee would oppo&s;e number again&s;t number, let vs con&s;ider that if we will fight the Lords battailes, he wil &s;end as many ble&s;&s;ed Angels to our aid &amp; re&s;cue, as there are wicked &s;pirits which a&s;&s;ault vs; <HI>for the Angels of the Lord pitch their tents round about them that feare him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 34.7.</NOTE> <HI>and deliuer them,</HI> as it is P&s;al. 34.7. So that if the Lord open our eyes, as hee did the eyes of <HI>Eli&s;haes</HI> &s;eruant, we &s;hall plainly perceiue that there are more with vs then again&s;t vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>King.</HI> 6.16.</NOTE> 2. King. 6.16, 17.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect;."> So when we con&s;ider that we wre&s;tle not again&s;t fle&s;h and bloud, but again&s;t &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es, this &s;hould make vs labour that our care and diligence may counteruaile the di&s;aduantage which we haue in the fight. But wee are not to
<PB N="31" REF="26">be di&s;couraged hereby from entring the combat: for though we be but fle&s;h and bloud, yet the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs, can ea&s;ily di&s;cerne and defeate all Sathans ambu&s;hments; for light and darknes are to him alike. And whereas Sathan can with great agilitie giue the a&s;&s;ault and retire back for his be&s;t aduantage, Gods &s;pirit farre excelleth him, for he is pre|&s;ent in all places at all times; &s;o that Sathan can no &s;ooner of|fer to &s;trike, but Gods &s;pirit is readie to defend; no &s;ooner can the diuell tempt, then the Lord enableth vs to endure the temptation. And though Sathan fighteth from high places, and &s;o taketh the aduantage of the vpper ground, yet let not this di&s;may vs in our fight, for there is one higher then hee who laugheth him to &s;corne, and maketh fru&s;trate all his en|terpri&s;es.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, when we con&s;ider that our enemie is de&s;perate and audacious, wee are not to ca&s;t away our &s;pirituall weapons and for&s;ake the field, but let it rather &s;erue as a &s;trong mo|tiue to make vs arme our &s;elues with Chri&s;tian re&s;olution: for &s;eeing &s;athan is &s;o audacious and venterous in the a&s;&s;ault, &s;urely we &s;hould be as valiant and bold in giuing him the re|pul&s;e; if he be de&s;perate in &s;eeking our de&s;truction, it behoo|ueth vs to be re&s;olute in &s;eeking our pre&s;eruation, &s;eeing this much more concerneth vs then the other him; e&s;peciallie con&s;idering that though wee take many foyles, and be often beaten downe with the violent blowes of his temptations, yet in the end we &s;hall haue a&s;&s;ured victorie. And why there|fore &s;hould Sathan &s;hew more re&s;olution when he is &s;ure to be vanqui&s;hed, then we who are &s;ure of the victorie, if we doe not cowardly yeeld?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VI.</HI> Of Sathans aides: and fir&s;t of the world.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> ANd &s;o much concerning Sathans &s;trength, being con|&s;idered in him&s;elf. But be&s;ides him&s;elf he hath the aide of other enemies to &s;upplant vs, who though they doe not make &s;o terrible a &s;hew, yet they are no le&s;&s;e dangerous,
<PB N="32" REF="27">and all the&s;e are led vnder the conduct of two Captaine Ge|nerals, the World and the Fle&s;h.</P>
<P>By the world I vnder&s;tand impious carnall and vnbelee|uing men, with all their baites and inticements vnto vanitie, and all their di&s;couragements, afflictions and mi&s;eries where|with they hinder Gods children in trauailing the path of righteou&s;nes which leadeth to Gods kingdome. This wicked world, the diuels darling and chief champion, doth a&s;&s;ault vs on both &s;ides; on the right hand it encountreth vs with pro|&s;peritie, offering vs the baite of plea&s;ure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How the world tempteth by pro&s;peritie.</NOTE> that thereby it may allure vs to &s;wallow the hooke of &s;inne; it ca&s;teth before vs the golden apples of riches, that by &s;tooping down to gather them, we may be hindred in running the Chri&s;tian race, and &s;o lo&s;e the goale and garland of euerla&s;ting glorie; it temp|teth vs with the honours and glorie thereof to di&s;honour God, and to fall before Sathan, wor&s;hipping him by our &s;ins; in a word, it promi&s;eth what&s;oeuer our corrupt mindes de|&s;ire, if we will liue in &s;inne, and turne a&s;ide out of the narrow path into the broad way, which leadeth to de&s;truction. And how prone wee are to li&s;ten to the&s;e Syrens &s;ongs, it is but too manife&s;t by lamentable experience: for doth not our fir&s;t loue waxe cold, and our former zeale of Gods glorie freeze as &s;oone as the world fauneth vpon vs, and quencheth in vs the heate of Gods &s;pirit, by ca&s;ting on vs the watri&s;h vanities of plea&s;ures, honours and riches? Doe not hereby re|ligious &s;eruants become irreligious ma&s;ters? and yong &s;aints in &s;hew, old diuels in truth? Doe we not &s;ee that as &s;oone as <HI>Demas</HI> hath imbraced the world, he for&s;aketh Chri&s;t? yea that <HI>Peter</HI> him&s;elfe denieth his Ma&s;ter, when he hath ba&s;ted him&s;elfe by the fire of this wicked <HI>Caiphas?</HI> Are there not many who haue been forward profe&s;&s;ors in the time of their aduer&s;itie and want, which ca&s;t off the cloake of their profe&s;|&s;ion as &s;oone as the warme &s;unne of pro&s;peritie hath &s;hined vpon them? Is there not many among&s;t vs who in the time of affliction could not be inforced by torments to prophane Gods name, by &s;wearing an idle oath; or his Sabbaoths by following their plea&s;ures, or by doing the workes of their callings; and yet the &s;ame men after they haue fallen into
<PB N="33" REF="27">wicked companie, who haue inticed them by their words and euil examples to ta&s;te of the world and the vanities ther|of, will not &s;ticke to &s;weare with the &s;wearer, and follow their plea&s;ures on the Lords Sabbaoth with the mo&s;t prophane? &s;o hard a thing it is to re&s;i&s;t the world when it fauneth on vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> But how hard &s;oeuer it &s;eemeth to fle&s;h and bloud, <NOTE PLACE="marg">How we mu&s;t re&s;ist the temp|tations of pro|&s;peritie.</NOTE> yet mu&s;t wee oppo&s;e our &s;elues again&s;t this enemie al&s;o: for without a fight wee can neuer obtaine victorie, and without victorie we &s;hall neuer receiue the crowne of glorie. And to the end that we may be prouoked to fight again&s;t the world and the vanities thereof, we are to know, that though it faune vpon vs, yet it is our mortall enemie; though it flatteringly profe&s;&s;e it &s;elfe our friend, yet in truth it fighteth again&s;t our &s;oules vnder Sathans banner, for hee is the prince thereof, Ioh. 12.31. though it haue hony in the mouth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 12.31.</NOTE> yet there is deadly poy&s;on in the taile, for the end thereof bringeth de|&s;truction; though it offer vs many plea&s;ing things to allure vs, yet they are but baites which intice vs to come within the compa&s;&s;e of Sathans nets of perdition. Let vs con&s;ider, that though it maketh a &s;hew, and &s;eemeth a plea&s;ant place like the paradi&s;e of God, yet it is a Sodome of &s;inne, which one day the Lord will de&s;troy with fire and brim&s;tone:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 13.10.</NOTE> and ther|fore let vs with righteous <HI>Lot</HI> ha&s;te out of it, neuer turning back with a de&s;ire to enioy the vanities thereof, for <HI>the world wholy lieth in wickedne&s;&s;e,</HI> as it is 1. Ioh. 5.19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 5.19.</NOTE> Let vs remember that it is impo&s;&s;ible <HI>to &s;erue God and this Mammon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 6.24. 1. Ioh. 2.15.</NOTE> Mat. 6.24. to loue the world and God al&s;o: <HI>For if any man loue the world, the loue of the father is not in him,</HI> 1. Ioh. 2.15. and as the A|po&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> telleth vs, <HI>The amitie of the world is enmitie with God: and who&s;oeuer will be a friend of the world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.4.</NOTE> <HI>maketh him&s;elfe the enemie of God,</HI> Iam. 4.4. Neither let vs de&s;ire the loue of the world, for it <HI>loueth tho&s;e onely which are her owne, as for tho&s;e whom Chri&s;t hath cho&s;en out of it,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.19.</NOTE> <HI>tho&s;e the world hateth:</HI> nay therefore hateth them becau&s;e Chri&s;t hath cho&s;en them, as it is Ioh. 15.19.</P>
<P>Let vs remember y^t it wil be to &s;mal purpo&s;e to enioy the&s;e worldly plea&s;ures of &s;inne for a &s;ea&s;on, and in the end plunge our &s;elues into euerla&s;ting death; that the worlds mu&s;icke is
<PB N="34" REF="28">but the Syrens &s;ong, which allureth vs to make &s;hipwrack of our &s;oules on the rockes of &s;inne, and while it tickleth the eare it woundeth vs to the very heart; that though the cup which it offereth be of gold, and the drinke &s;weete in ta&s;te, yet it is deadly poy&s;on in operation; for they that drinke thereof are &s;o lulled a&s;leepe in plea&s;ures and &s;ecuritie, that they neuer awake out of their &s;pirituall lethargic; or if they doe, yet like <HI>Samp&s;on,</HI> without &s;trength to re&s;i&s;t the &s;pirituall Phili&s;tines, after the world (like <HI>Dalila</HI>) hath lulled them a while in her lap of carnall plea&s;ures. Let vs remember, that they who drinke of this cup of voluptuous vanities, mu&s;t af|terwards drinke of that cup &s;poken of P&s;al. 75.8. that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 75.8.</NOTE> that is, the cup of Gods wrath; and &s;hall be tormented in fire and brim|&s;tone for euermore,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 14.10.</NOTE> as it is expounded Apoc. 14.10. Let vs re|member that the worlds chiefe good is vncertaine in getting, and momentanie and mutable in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, it being eue|ry day readie to leaue vs, or wee to leaue it. La&s;tly, let vs re|member that for this &s;hort, incon&s;tant, and vaine ioy, we lo&s;e an eternall waight of vn&s;peakable glorie, and plunge our &s;elues into grieuous and endle&s;&s;e mi&s;erie. What therefore <HI>will it profit vs to gaine the whole world, and lo&s;e our owne &s;oules,</HI> as our Sauiour &s;peaketh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 8.36.</NOTE> Mark. 8.36.</P>
<P>And if wee haue the&s;e meditations continually running in our mindes, then &s;hall we ea&s;ily &s;top our eares at the fir&s;t hea|ring of this Syrens &s;ong; then &s;hall we con&s;tantly go forward in our pilgrimage towards our heauenly home: and though honours &s;tand before vs, riches on the one hand, plea&s;ures on the other, alluring vs to enter into the broad way which lea|deth to de&s;truction; yet &s;hall we not for&s;ake the &s;traight path which leadeth vnto life euerla&s;ting, how vnplea&s;ant &s;oeuer it &s;eemeth to fle&s;h and bloud.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> But if the world cannot thus preuaile, then doth &s;he turne her, &s;miles into frowns, <NOTE PLACE="marg">How the world tempteth by ad|uer&s;itie.</NOTE> her allurements into threats, her beds of plea&s;ures, into mi&s;eries and afflictions, her glorious offers of honours and riches, to proude menacings of pouertie and ignominie; all which being terrible in the eyes of fle&s;h and bloud &s;o farre preuaile with &s;ome, that they moue them to make &s;hipwracke of faith and a good con&s;cience; and being
<PB N="35" REF="28">wearie in trauailing through this de&s;art and vnplea&s;ant wil|derne&s;&s;e vnto the land of promi&s;e, they de&s;ire to returne back into the bondage of the &s;pirituall <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> that they may quietly &s;it by the fle&s;h-pots of Egypt,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 11.5.</NOTE> and glut them&s;elues with the cucumbers and pepons of carnall plea&s;ures: that is, they chu&s;e rather to walke in the broad way which leadeth to de&s;truction, becau&s;e it is delightfull, than in the narrow way which leadeth to euerla&s;ting life, becau&s;e they mu&s;t pa&s;&s;e through the briars of affliction and thornes of tribula|tion, before they can receiue the crowne of glorie; they pre|ferre the plea&s;ures of &s;in for a &s;ea&s;on, before the recompence of reward, which God hath promi&s;ed, euen the eternall ioyes of the kingdome of glorie. So vnplea&s;ant a thing it is for fle&s;h and bloud to denie it &s;elfe, and to take vp the cro&s;&s;e and fol|low Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But though the world be farre more terrible to looke vpon when it frowneth, then when it fawneth, yet is it farre le&s;&s;e dangerous. For oftentimes this poy&s;on of aduer&s;itie is &s;o tempered and corrected with tho&s;e hole&s;ome pre&s;eruatiues of faith, hope, patience and humilitie, that in &s;teed of killing vs, it doth but purge away our corrupt humours of &s;inne; though the world whip vs, yet thereby it correcteth vs, and makes vs better; though it burne vs in the fire of afflictions, yet it doth not con&s;ume, but rather refine vs from our dro&s;&s;e; though like a &s;tormie winde it &s;haketh vs, yet in &s;teed of blowing vs downe, it cau&s;eth vs to take more deepe roote in all vertue and goodnes: in a word, as it plaieth the &s;chool|ma&s;ter in &s;courging vs, &s;o al&s;o in in&s;tructing &amp; teaching vs to know God, and to know our &s;elues; to know the vanitie of the world, and to labour after a more permanent felicitie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Notwith&s;tanding, <NOTE PLACE="marg">How we are to arme our &s;elues again&s;t aduer|&s;itie.</NOTE> how&s;oeuer by the grace and ble&s;&s;ing of God, aduer&s;itie (the worlds churli&s;h &s;onne) oftentimes wor|keth the&s;e good effects; yet in it &s;elfe it is a temptation, and that a &s;trong one, to draw vs from God, by cau&s;ing vs to murmure and repine: yea as Sathan &s;aid of <HI>Iob,</HI> to cur&s;e God to his face, to enuie all who &s;eeme vnto vs more happie then our &s;elues, to de&s;paire of Gods mercie, and to v&s;e vnlawfull meanes, that thereby we may better our e&s;tate. And therefore
<PB N="36" REF="29">it behoueth vs to arme our &s;elues again&s;t the violence of this enemie al&s;o, lea&s;t building our hou&s;es vpon the &s;ands of &s;e|curitie they be ouerturned, when the winds of afflictions and floods of aduer&s;itie and per&s;ecution blow and beate again&s;t vs. And to this end we are to remember, fir&s;t, that the&s;e father|ly corrections are euident te&s;timonies to a&s;&s;ure vs that we are not ba&s;tards, but Gods deare children, whom he gently cha|&s;ti&s;eth, that wee may not be de&s;troyed with the world;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.6, 7, 8.</NOTE> that now Chri&s;t hath cho&s;en vs out of the world, &s;eeing the world hateth vs;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.19.</NOTE> that now wee are the friends of God, when the world (Sathans elde&s;t &s;onne) becommeth our enemie: for &s;o long as we are of the world the world loueth vs, for it loueth her owne. Secondly, let vs continually remember the recom|pence of reward, &amp; then &s;hal we with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> volu~tarily chu&s;e <HI>rather to &s;uffer aduer&s;itie with the people of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.25.26.</NOTE> <HI>than to enioy the plea&s;ures of &s;in for a &s;ea&s;on; e&s;teeming the rebuke of Chri&s;t grea|ter riches, than the trea&s;ures of Egypt,</HI> as it is Heb. 11.25, 26. The~ &s;hall we endure to be tried and purified in the fornace of af|flictions, if we know that after we are found to be pure gold, the Lord will lay vs vp in his trea&s;urie of euerla&s;ting happi|nes. La&s;tly, let vs remember, that eternall ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e is pro|mi&s;ed to tho&s;e that mourne with a godly &s;orrow, and eternal woe denounced again&s;t tho&s;e who pamper them&s;elues with worldly delights.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.4.10.</NOTE> Matth. 5.4. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that mourne, for they &s;hall be comforted.</HI> So ver&s;. 10. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they which &s;uffer per&s;ecution for righteou&s;nes &s;ake, for theirs is the kingdome of heauen.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 6.21.25.</NOTE> Luk. 6.21. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are ye which hunger now, for ye &s;hall be &s;atisfied: ble&s;&s;ed are ye that weepe now, for ye &s;hall laugh.</HI> And ver&s;. 25. <HI>Woe be vnto you that are full, for ye &s;hall hunger: woe vn|to you that now laugh, for ye &s;hall waile and weepe.</HI> And lea&s;t the tediou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our troubles &s;hould di&s;courage vs, or the waight of them pre&s;&s;e vs downe, the Apo&s;tle telleth vs, that they are but light and momentanie, cau&s;ing notwith&s;tanding vnto vs a farre mo&s;t excellent and eternall waight of glorie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 4.17.</NOTE> 2. Cor. 4.17. Why therefore &s;hould this little &s;pot of foule way, cau&s;e vs to &s;tand &s;till, or goe out of our cour&s;e, which leadeth to euerla&s;ting happines?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="37" REF="29">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VII.</HI> Of the fle&s;h, and the &s;trength thereof.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the world. The &s;econd enemie which a&s;&s;i&s;teth Sathan again&s;t vs is the fle&s;h, which is that inborne traytor which wee nouri&s;hing in our &s;elues, doth ope~ a gate in our &s;oules, into which Sathan and the world may ea&s;ily &s;end whole troupes of temptations to enter and &s;ur|prize vs. By the fle&s;h we are not to vnder&s;tand the bodie a|lone and the fle&s;h thereof,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat the fle&s;h is.</NOTE> but that corruption of nature which hath defiled both bodie and &s;oule, being &s;pread and mixed with euery part of both, euen as the light is mingled with darknes in the twilight or dawning of the day; where|by wee are made prone to all &s;inne, and readie to entertaine all temptations, which promi&s;e the &s;atisfying of any of the lu&s;ts thereof. This &s;ecret traytor con&s;piring with Sathan and the world to worke our de&s;truction, doth entertaine and fur|ther all their temptations; it fighteth and lu&s;teth again&s;t the &s;pirit, it rebelleth again&s;t the law of our mindes, and leadeth vs captiue to the law of &s;inne, it hindreth vs from doing the good we would, and maketh vs commit the euill which wee hate, as it is notably &s;et downe Rom. 7. So Gal. 5.17.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7. Galat. 5.17.</NOTE> <HI>The fle&s;h lusteth again&s;t the &s;pirit, and the &s;pirit again&s;t the fle&s;h, and the&s;e are contrarie the one to the other, &s;o that ye cannot doe the &s;ame things that ye would.</HI></P>
<P>This enemie the holy Gho&s;t in the Scriptures deciphereth by diuers names; for it is called the old man, the old <HI>Adam,</HI> the earthly, carnall, and naturall man, the &s;inne which is inhe|rent and dwelleth in vs, the adioyning euill, the law of the members, the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h which fight again&s;t the &s;oule; by all which is &s;ignified our corruption of nature, which is deriued from our fir&s;t parents, whereby wee are made back|ward vnto all good, and prone vnto all euill, vnapt to enter|taine any good motions of Gods &s;pirit, but mo&s;t readie to receiue and imbrace all the &s;ugge&s;tions and temptations of
<PB N="38" REF="30">the world and the diuell, as the waxe the print of the &s;eale, or the tindar fire. And this the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> &s;heweth chap. 1.14 <HI>Euery man is tempted when he is drawne away by his owne concu|pi&s;cence and is enticed:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.14.15.</NOTE> 15. <HI>Then when lu&s;t hath conceiued, it bringeth foorth &s;inne, and &s;inne when it is fini&s;hed bringeth foorth death.</HI> So that as Sathan is the father, &s;o the fle&s;h is the mo|ther of &s;inne, which receiuing Sathans temptations as it were into a fruitfull wombe, doth conceiue, nouri&s;h, and bring forth &s;inne, which no &s;ooner is borne, but like a deadly &s;ting|ing &s;erpent, it bringeth death to bodie and &s;oule, vnle&s;&s;e the poy&s;on thereof be ouercome and taken away by the precious bloud of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus you &s;ee what the fle&s;h is, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The treacherie of the fle&s;h.</NOTE> and how it con&s;pireth with Sathan in &s;eeking our de&s;truction, whereby appeareth the treacherie and dangerou&s;nes of this our enemie. The trea|cherie thereof is hereby manife&s;t, in that being in outward &s;hew a deare friend, and more neere than an <HI>alter idem,</HI> ano|ther &s;elfe, it notwith&s;tanding aideth Sathan to our owne o|uorthrow. So as wee may complaine with <HI>Dauid,</HI> P&s;al 41.9. <HI>My familiar friend whom I tru&s;ted,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 41&punc; 9.</NOTE> <HI>which did eate my bread, hath lift vp the heele again&s;t me.</HI> For this <HI>Iudas</HI> which daily follow|eth vs, and eateth, drinketh and &s;leepeth with vs, doth betray vs into the hands of tho&s;e enemies who &s;eeke our life; and that, when it &s;eemeth louingly and kindly to ki&s;&s;e vs.</P>
<P>And as it is mo&s;t treacherous, &s;o al&s;o mo&s;t dangerous, and hard to be ouercome, for as much as it is in our &s;elf, and the greate&s;t part of our &s;elfe, and therefore we cannot for&s;ake it, vnle&s;&s;e we for&s;ake our &s;elues;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mark. 8.34.</HI> That the fle&s;h is a mo&s;t dan|gerous enemie.</NOTE> we cannot fight again&s;t it, vn|le&s;&s;e we rai&s;e inte&s;tine and ciuill warres in our owne bowels; we cannot vanqui&s;h it, vnle&s;&s;e wee &s;ubdue our &s;elues; and if we &s;eeke to runne away from it, wee might as ea&s;ily flee from our owne &s;hadowes, yea from our &s;elues, for wee carrie it in our owne bo&s;omes. How hard therefore is this enemie to be ouercome? how dangerous and irk&s;ome mu&s;t this fight needs be, wherein our &s;elues mu&s;t be enemie to our &s;elues? So that we cannot obtaine the victorie, vnle&s;&s;e we be ouercome; we cannot be &s;ure of life, vnle&s;&s;e we mortifie and kill our greate&s;t part; we cannot &s;u&s;taine our &s;elues, but we nouri&s;h our ene|mie;
<PB N="39" REF="30">we cannot fami&s;h our enemie, but we our &s;elues &s;hall pine with hunger. Who would not thinke the e&s;tate of tho&s;e citizens to be mo&s;t dangerous, who being be&s;ieged by for|raine forces, harbour among&s;t them more traytors which are hourely in readines to open the gates and betray the citie in|to their enemies hands, than true &s;ubiects and loyall citizens to &s;tand in their defence? But this is our ca&s;e, we are be&s;ieged with forraine forces, the world and the diuell; and we nouri&s;h in vs &s;ecret traytors, euen the fle&s;h, with whole legions of the lu&s;ts thereof, which are continually readie to open the gates of our &s;oules, euen our &s;en&s;es of &s;eeing, hearing, touching, ta|&s;ting, &s;melling, whereby whole troupes of temptations enter and &s;urprize vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">How the fle&s;h is to be weakned.</NOTE>The con&s;ideration whereof &s;hould make vs mo&s;t watch|fully to &s;tand vpon our guard, and to v&s;e &s;uch Chri&s;tian poli|cie to with&s;tand our enemies, and preuent their treacherous attempts, as true-hearted citizens would v&s;e in the like ca&s;e; who if they were be&s;ieged with forraine forces, and knew that they harboured traytors, who &s;ought all opportunities of betraying their citie into their enemies hand, they would if they were &s;trong enough lay hand on them, draw them to the place of iudgement, condemne and put them to death; but if they found them too great and &s;trong a partie, then they would v&s;e all good policie to make them weaker, by de|priuing them of their foode and proui&s;ion, weapons, armour and munition, and all other meanes wherein con&s;i&s;ted their chiefe &s;trength; and then they would &s;et vpon them being thus di&s;abled, and proceede in the cour&s;e of iu&s;tice before mentioned: &s;o we being in continuall danger to haue the ci|tie of our &s;oules &s;acked through the treacherou&s;nes of our fle&s;h, mu&s;t, if wee be &s;trong enough and powerfull through Gods &s;pirit, mortifie, kill, and aboli&s;h the fle&s;h, and the lu&s;ts thereof; but if we finde the &s;pirit weake and the fle&s;h &s;trong, we are to di&s;able it by fa&s;ting and watchfulnes in prayer, by withdrawing from it the foode with which it is nouri&s;hed, that is, voluptuous plea&s;ures and worldly delights, but e&s;pe|cially being weake in our &s;elues, wee are to implore the aide and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Gods &s;pirit, whereby we may be &s;trengthe|ned
<PB N="40" REF="31">and enabled to &s;ubdue and mortifie the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 2.11.</NOTE> which rebell and fight again&s;t our &s;oules, being a&s;&s;ured by Gods mercifull promi&s;e, that if we aske and de&s;ire his &s;pirit, he will giue it vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 11.13.</NOTE> Luk. 11.13. and hauing the &s;pirit of God to a&s;&s;i&s;t vs, we &s;hall be &s;ure of victorie.</P>
<P>But if in &s;teede of mortifying and taming the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof, wee pamper them like Epicures with all volup|tuous delights;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 24.21.</NOTE> wee &s;hall but &s;trengthen our enemies to cut our owne throtes: if wee delicately bring vp this &s;eruant, which we &s;hould v&s;e as a &s;laue, at length it will be not onely as our &s;onne, but a tyrannous Lord and ma&s;ter, which will binde vs hand and foote in the fetters of &s;inne, and ca&s;t vs in|to the pri&s;on of hell. What follie therefore is it to nouri&s;h and arme our enemie to our owne de&s;truction?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VIII.</HI> Of Sathans policie.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _ANd thus much of the fle&s;h, which is the &s;econd enemie that ioyneth with Sathan in working our de&s;truction; and thus much al&s;o concerning the fir&s;t part of our enemies power, which con|&s;i&s;teth in the &s;trength either of him&s;elf or of his aides: now we are to con&s;ider of the &s;econd part, which con|&s;i&s;teth in his warlike policie and skill, in imploying this his &s;trength to his be&s;t aduantage.</P>
<P>If our enemie had great &s;trength, and yet wanted policie, he might the more ea&s;ily be re&s;i&s;ted, and the &s;ooner vanqui|&s;hed; for &s;trength without wit is like a giant without eyes. But as our enemie is exceeding &s;trong, &s;o is hee al&s;o no le&s;&s;e &s;ubtill and politike, in imploying all his &s;trength to his be&s;t aduantage; and therefore as in regard of his &s;trength he is called in the Scriptures a lion, and a mightie dragon; &s;o in re&s;pect of his &s;ubtiltie and wilines he is called a &s;erpent, yea an old &s;erpent, which being the &s;ubtille&s;t of bea&s;ts, hath his craft redoubled by his age and experience,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 12.9.</NOTE> Apoc. 12.9. and hereof he is called in the Scriptures, <GAP DESC="foreign">, to &s;ignifie vnto vs his great knowledge.</P>
<PB N="41" REF="31">
<P>No marueile therefore though Sathan &s;hould be an expert &s;ouldier, &s;eeing he is not onely of wonderfull &s;trength, but al|&s;o of great knowledge by creation; which though in re&s;pect of good things it was much decrea&s;ed by his fall, yet in &s;leights and &s;tratagems it is much increa&s;ed by his long ex|perience from the beginning of the world, euen almo&s;t &s;ixe thou&s;and yeeres; which is &s;ufficient to make one wi&s;e that is by nature fooli&s;h and &s;imple, and therefore much more Sa|than, who is by nature very politike; being al&s;o a &s;pirit, and hereby fit to diue as it were into the &s;ecrets of nature, and with incredible &s;wiftnes to pa&s;&s;e from place to place, readie to intrude him&s;elfe into all companies &s;ecretly, and to learne the nature, qualities and di&s;po&s;itions of al men, again&s;t whom he fighteth. And though he cannot know our thoughts dire|ctly and certainly, for this is proper to God alone to bee the &s;earcher of hearts, yet he hath &s;uch intelligence from our af|fections, lu&s;ts, inclinations and outward actions, that hee can &s;hrewdly ge&s;&s;e at them, if he doe but a while keepe vs com|panie, and &s;ee our di&s;po&s;ition and conuer&s;ation. So that wee cannot giue Sathan the lea&s;t aduantage, but he is readie to take it and make v&s;e thereof to our ouerthrow; we can lay no plot again&s;t him but he di&s;cerneth it, and is readie to pre|uent it. And therefore in this re&s;pect our &s;tate is like the king of Arams, 2. King. 6.12.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. King. 6.12.</NOTE> for Sathan our enemie knoweth all our coun&s;ailes and con&s;ultations which wee take and hold in our mo&s;t &s;ecret chambers.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">And thus you &s;ee what Sathans policie is: How we may defeate Sa|thans policie.</NOTE> again&s;t which we mu&s;t oppo&s;e no le&s;&s;e wi&s;edome and skill, if wee will haue the victorie. Whereas therefore wee are fooli&s;h by nature, or wilie to beguile our &s;elues; that wi&s;edome which we haue na|turally being worldly and carnall, which is enmitie again&s;t God, Rom. 8.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.7.</NOTE> and therefore more fit to betray vs into the hands of our enemie, than to defend vs from him; it behoo|ueth vs to goe out of our &s;elues into the Lords trea&s;urie of wi&s;edome, and there to furni&s;h vs with &s;uch &s;pirituall &s;auing wi&s;edome, as &s;hall be fit to oppo&s;e again&s;t the &s;ubtill policie of our &s;pirituall enemie. That is, wee mu&s;t continually heare and meditate in Gods word, which will make vs wi&s;e and
<PB N="42" REF="32">skilfull in de&s;crying all Sathans &s;tratagems, and al&s;o in pre|uenting them being di&s;couered. For how&s;oeuer in the darke night of ignorance and error we may ea&s;ily fall into his am|bu&s;hments, yet the light of Gods word &s;hining vnto vs, will plainly di&s;clo&s;e them to the eyes of the mo&s;t &s;imple.</P>
<P>But be&s;ides this theoreticall wi&s;edome &s;eated in the vnder|&s;tanding, there is al&s;o a practicall or operatiue wi&s;edome re|quired in Gods word, which &s;heweth it &s;elfe in our affections and actions. And it con&s;i&s;teth in the feare of the Lord, that is, true godline&s;&s;e and &s;inceritie of heart. Of this <HI>Iob</HI> &s;peaketh, chap. 28. verf. 28.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 28.28. P&s;al. 111.10.</NOTE> <HI>The feare of the Lord is wi&s;edome, and to depart from euill is vnder&s;tanding.</HI> So P&s;alm. 111.10. <HI>The feare of the Lord is the head or beginning of wi&s;edome.</HI> And Pro. 28.7. he is called <HI>a wi&s;e &s;onne which keepeth the law.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 28.7.</NOTE> So that our chiefe wi&s;edome con&s;i&s;teth in the feare of the Lord, and in a godlie endeuour of performing obedience to the Lords comman|dements.</P>
<P>If therefore we would attaine vnto &s;uch &s;pirituall wi&s;edom that we may re&s;i&s;t our &s;pirituall enemie, wee mu&s;t be conuer|&s;ant in hearing and reading the word of God, meditating therein with the Prophet <HI>Dauid both day and night;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 1.2.</NOTE> and withall we mu&s;t by all meanes &s;eeke the feare of the Lord, la|bouring to leade our liues in a con&s;tant cour&s;e of true godli|nes. And though wee are full of infirmities, yet at lea&s;t let vs haue an holie endeuour to perfourme &s;eruice vnto God, in truth, vprightnes, and integritie of heart. And &s;o wee may a&s;|&s;ure our &s;elues that though we be neuer &s;o &s;imple and fooli&s;h by nature, yet &s;hall wee be wi&s;e enough to with&s;tand and o|uercome our &s;pirituall enemies: for the Lord who is wi&s;e|dome it &s;elfe will direct vs in our waies, and he al&s;o will &s;o in|fatuate this cur&s;ed <HI>Achitophel,</HI> and turne his wi&s;edome into fooli&s;hnes, that wee &s;hall neuer thereby be hurt or circum|uented.</P>
<P>But on the other &s;ide, though wee be neuer &s;o wi&s;e in car|nall wi&s;edome, and though our heads be a &s;torehou&s;e of po|litike &s;tratagems, yet if wee neglect Gods word, and volunta|rily giue our &s;elues ouer vnto &s;inne and di&s;obedience, we &s;hal be &s;o be&s;otted with follie, that Sathan will ea&s;ily deceiue and
<PB N="43" REF="32">circumuent vs. An example whereof wee haue in our fir&s;t pa|rents, who though they were more wi&s;e by creation than e|uer were any liuing (Chri&s;t excepted) yet when they ca&s;t the word of God behinde their backe, giuing more credit to Sa|thans &s;ugge&s;tions, and withall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed Gods comman|dement; their wi&s;edome was turned into ignorance and fol|lie, and they became an ea&s;ie pray to their malitious enemie. And whereas they thought by that meanes to haue gone be|yond the Lord in policie, and to haue obtained a farre grea|ter mea&s;ure of knowledge and glorie, they were in &s;teed ther|of be&s;otted with follie, and ouerwhelmed with ignominie and &s;hame, by being made the bond&s;laues of &s;inne and Sa|than. And thus al&s;o the heathen neglecting the true wor&s;hip of God, and giuing them&s;elues to idolatrie, became fooles, while&s;t they profe&s;&s;ed them&s;elues very wi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.22.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth, Rom. 1.22. for the <HI>Lord de&s;troyeth the wi&s;edome of the wi&s;e, and ca&s;teth away the vnder&s;tanding of the prudent,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.19.</NOTE> as it is 1. Cor. 1.19.</P>
<P>Seeing then our chiefe wi&s;edome con&s;i&s;teth in the &s;tudie of Gods word, and in vprightnes of hart, integritie, Chri&s;tian &s;inceritie and &s;implicitie, and in a holie care of perfourming obedience to Gods will, let vs therefore continually medi|tate in Gods word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.</NOTE> and with the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> make it our coun&s;ellor, P&s;al. 119. And when&s;oeuer Sathan doth a&s;&s;ault and tempt vs to &s;inne, let vs haue recour&s;e to this our coun|&s;ellor the word of God, there inquiring whether that where|unto we are tempted be lawfull or no; and if it tell vs that it is a &s;inne, let vs with all care and con&s;cience auoide it: for though Sathan lay ouer it neuer &s;o faire a glo&s;&s;e, and in|tice vs to the committing thereof, by offering vnto vs the greate&s;t plea&s;ures, riches and honours of the world, yet let vs a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that he thereby &s;eeketh to circumuent vs; and to purcha&s;e worldly vanities, he inticeth vs to &s;ell our &s;oules; and therefore in Chri&s;tian wi&s;edome let vs auoide his &s;trata|gems.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="44" REF="33">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IX.</HI> Of the &s;pirituall armour de&s;cribed, <HI>Eph. 6.</HI></HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _ANd thus haue I &s;hewed the nature and qualitie of our enemie again&s;t whom wee mu&s;t fight; both in re&s;pect of his wil, and al&s;o his power, con&s;i&s;ting in his &s;trength and policie; and al&s;o I haue &s;hewed &s;ome meanes which in our preparation again&s;t him we mu&s;t v&s;e carefully, that wee may with&s;tand him; namely, by oppo|&s;ing again&s;t his malitious will, chri&s;tian re&s;olution; again&s;t his &s;trength, the omnipotent power of Gods might; again&s;t his &s;ubtil policie, chri&s;tian wi&s;edom, con&s;i&s;ting in the knowledge of Gods word, and true integritie and &s;implicitie of heart.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the wea|pons of our Chri&s;tian war|fare mu&s;t be &s;pirituall.</NOTE>Now wee are to &s;peake of the la&s;t meanes which we are to v&s;e in our preparation immediatly before our combat; that is, we are to arme our &s;elues again&s;t the encounter: and to this end (becau&s;e we are but fre&s;h-water-&s;ouldiers &amp; of &s;mall ex|perience) let vs take the coun&s;aile and aduice of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> one of Gods chiefe champions and expert &s;ouldiers, as he &s;etteth it downe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.11. &amp;c.</NOTE> Eph. 6.11, 12, 13, 14, &amp;c. where fir&s;t he de|&s;cribeth the quality, and as it were the mettall of our armour; in which re&s;pect hee telleth vs, that wee mu&s;t put on the ar|mour of God which is &s;pirituall, and that our weapons and armour mu&s;t not be carnall.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 10.4.</NOTE> For being of this nature, though they were neuer &s;o &s;tro~g, they were to no purpo&s;e, &s;eeing our enemie is &s;piritual; neither do we <HI>wrestle again&s;t fle&s;h &amp; blood, but again&s;t principalities,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.12.</NOTE> <HI>powers and &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es,</HI> as it is Eph. 6.12. In vaine therfore it were with the Papi&s;ts to &s;eeke to defend our &s;elues with holy water, or Crucifixes, or ragges and reliques of Saints, from the violent a&s;&s;aults of this our enemie; or els with de&s;perate hack&s;ters to tru&s;t in our &s;word, buckler and &s;peare: for well is that verified of this &s;pirituall Leuiathan, which the Lord &s;peaketh of the earthly Leuia|than, Iob. 41.17.20. <HI>When the &s;word doth touch him, he will not ri&s;e vp,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 41.17.20.</NOTE> <HI>and he laugheth at the &s;haking of the &s;peare.</HI> And there|fore when we are to encounter this great Goliah, we are to
<PB N="45" REF="33">lay a&s;ide the carnall weapons of <HI>Saul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Sam. 17.39.44.</NOTE> which are altogether vnfit for a Chri&s;tian, &s;eruing rather to burthen and &s;o hinder him, than to defend and further him in this &s;piritual combat; and we are to go again&s;t him in the name of the Lord, &s;treng|thened in the power of his might, putting on vs the armour of God, that is, &s;uch diuine and &s;pirituall armour as the Lord hath giuen and appointed vs to v&s;e. For it is not &s;ufficient that we prepare vs this armour, if we let it lie by vs, or &s;uffer it (as it were) to hang vpon the walles, there to ru&s;t without v&s;e; but we are to put it on, and keepe it fa&s;t buckled vnto vs both night and day, that wee may be alwaies in readines to endure the a&s;&s;ault of our enemies.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Neither is it enough that wee put on one peece of the ar|mour, <NOTE PLACE="marg">That we must put on the whole armour of God.</NOTE> and like young &s;ouldiers leaue off the re&s;t for lightnes &s;ake, or els through foole-hardines to &s;hew needle&s;&s;e valour; we mu&s;t not put on the helmet of &s;aluation, and leaue off the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes; nor take vnto vs the girdle of veritie and the &s;hield of faith, and ca&s;t away from vs the &s;word of the &s;pirit, but we are to put on the whole armour of God, and like valiant &s;ouldiers, who meane indeede to &s;tand to it, wee are to arme our &s;elues at all points in compleat ar|mour of proofe, which will keepe vs from fleeing, and our e|nemie from ouercomming. For if we take none of the Chri|&s;tian armour, or but &s;ome of the lighte&s;t parts, if wee take the &s;hield of faith, and leaue behinde vs the brea&s;t-plate of righ|teou&s;nes, we &s;hal either de&s;peratly fight and be ouerthrowne in the battaile, or els cowardly runne away and for&s;ake the field. But on the other &s;ide, if we buckle vnto vs the whole ar|mour of God, we &s;hall not neede to flee away for feare, being &s;o well defended; nor to doubt of victorie, for we &s;hall &s;urely ouercome; the Lord hauing hauing giuen, and we hauing re|ceiued this armour to this end, as the Apo&s;tle noteth vnto vs in the&s;e words; <HI>that you may be able to &s;tand again&s;t the a&s;&s;aults of the diuell,</HI> or his treacherous ambu&s;hments, as the word here v&s;ed, &s;ignifieth. So that the Lord hath giuen vs this ar|mour, and we put it on, to the end that we may be enabled to re&s;i&s;t Sathan; and therefore &s;eeing it is armour of Gods own making and be&s;towing, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that he will
<PB N="46" REF="34">not &s;uffer his workman&s;hip and gift to be &s;o much di&s;graced, as that &s;athan &s;hould pearce thorow it and wound vs. For the Lord knoweth the force of Sathans darts, &amp; bullets of temp|tation; and he hath made his armour high proofe; and there|fore &s;trong enough to repell all the batterie of Sathans &s;ug|ge&s;tions.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The nece&s;&s;itie of the &s;pirituall armour.</NOTE>And that we may be the rather &s;tirred vp with all care and diligence to prouide and buckle fa&s;t to vs the armour which he after de&s;cribeth, he &s;heweth the nece&s;&s;itie thereof, by de|&s;cribing the daungerou&s;nes of our enemies, who being not fle&s;h and blood, but principalities, powers, worldly gouer|nours, princes of the darknes of this world, and &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es, which are in high places, cannot po&s;&s;ibly be re|&s;i&s;ted by our owne &s;trength and meanes. And (therefore) for this cau&s;e he willeth vs to take vnto vs the whole armour of God, that we may be able to re&s;i&s;t in the euill day, that is, the time of temptation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat is meant by the euill day.</NOTE> which is therefore called the euill day, partly becau&s;e therein Sathan tempteth vs vnto euill, and partly becau&s;e it is a time of trouble, aduer&s;itie and affliction, when Sathan &s;ifteth vs with his temptations. And thus the euill day is taken P&s;al. 41.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 41.1.</NOTE> <HI>The Lord will deliuer him in the euill day,</HI> that is, (as our tran&s;lation al&s;o reades it) in the time of trouble.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.16.</NOTE> And thus al&s;o it is v&s;ed Eph. 5.16. <HI>Redeeming the time, becau&s;e the daies are euill,</HI> that is, full of troubles and af|flictions. And therefore <HI>Beza</HI> doth tran&s;late in this place <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>tempore aduer&s;o,</HI> the time of aduer&s;itie.</P>
<P>By which we learne not to e&s;teeme our &s;pirituall fight as a May-game, but as a time of trouble and aduer&s;itie, wherein wee are a&s;&s;aulted by mightie enemies, and oftentimes foyled and wounded; and therefore we mu&s;t not voluntarily runne into temptations, &s;eeing the time of them is euill and full of trouble; but rather feruently pray vnto the Lord that hee will not leade vs into temptation, con&s;idering our owne weaknes and our enemies power; or if it plea&s;e him to make triall of vs, that he will not &s;uffer vs to fall therein, but that he will de|liuer vs from euill, for as much as the kingdome and power and glorie is his alone, and therefore he is of power &s;ufficient to &s;aue and deliuer vs.</P>
<PB N="47" REF="34">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That we mu&s;t not cowardly flee in the &s;pi|rituall conflict.</NOTE>But as we are not &s;ecurely to ru&s;h into the field of tempta|tion again&s;t our &s;pirituall enemies, &s;o wee are not when our enemies &s;ound the alarum to battaile and a&s;&s;ault vs, coward|ly to ca&s;t downe our weapons and to runne away: for the A|po&s;tle would not take away from vs true valour and Chri|&s;tian fortitude, but carnall &s;ecuritie and retchle&s;nes; and ther|fore though our enemies be mightie, and the time of temp|tation full of trouble, yet he biddeth vs not to ca&s;t off our ar|mour and to runne away, wholie de&s;pairing of victorie, but he exhorteth vs for this cau&s;e, to take vnto vs the whole ar|mour of God, that wee may be able to re&s;i&s;t in the euill day, and hauing fini&s;hed all things may &s;tand fa&s;t; that is, hauing put our enemies to flight and obtained the victorie, we may like conquerors &s;tand la&s;t in the field, as it were triumphant|ly in&s;ulting ouer them; whereby hee intimateth thus much, that if wee will take vnto vs the whole armour of God, how weake &s;oeuer wee be in our &s;elues, yet &s;hall wee be enabled to re&s;i&s;t our &s;pirituall enemies in the euill day; and not onely &s;o, but al&s;o obtaine victorie and triumph ouer them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> And therefore hee willeth vs not to be di&s;maied, <NOTE PLACE="marg">That euery one mu&s;t abide in his vocation.</NOTE> neither with our enemies power, nor our owne trouble, but to &s;tand to it, &s;aying, ver&s;. 14. <HI>Stand therefore:</HI> by which word hee inti|mateth vnto vs diuers duties: fir&s;t, as in the campe euery man hath his place appointed him, and his proper colours vnder which he is to keep him; &s;o all Chri&s;tian &s;ouldiers haue their &s;tations, that is, their vocations whereunto they are called of God, within the limits whereof they are to containe them|&s;elues: and the&s;e are fir&s;t their generall calling whereby they are intertained into the Church militant, which is Gods campe or armie, where they are to fight vnder the &s;tanderd of their captaine Chri&s;t: and &s;econdly their &s;peciall callings, whereby there is appointed to euery member of the militant Church, a certaine &s;tanding, and particular and proper duties and functions which he is to execute, as it is in the armies of earthly princes. Fir&s;t therefore wee mu&s;t containe our &s;elues within our generall vocation and &s;tation, that is, wee mu&s;t keepe vs in Gods armie and campe, the Church militant: for as tho&s;e &s;tragling &s;ouldiers who depart from the armie and
<PB N="48" REF="35">raunge abroad to forrage, or get &s;ome bootie, are ea&s;ily van|qui&s;hed by their enemies; &s;o tho&s;e who depart and make an apo&s;ta&s;ie from Gods Church, to gaine or retaine their plea|&s;ures and worldly preferments, are ea&s;ily ouerthrowne, fal|ling into Sathans ambu&s;hments. And &s;econdly, euery one is to containe him&s;elfe within the limits of his &s;peciall voca|tion, and to keepe his peculiar &s;tanding appointed him by God: for as there is nothing more pernitious to an armie than di&s;order, when as &s;ome intrude them&s;elues into others place, as when the common &s;ouldier will be an officer, the Lieutenant Captaine, and the Captaine, Generall of the ar|mie; &s;o nothing is more hurtfull to the Church militant, than when di&s;orderly one v&s;urpes another place and office, as when the Mini&s;ters will be Magi&s;trates, and the Magi&s;trates Mini&s;ters, and when the common people v&s;urpe the office of them both.</P>
<P>Secondly, when as he biddeth vs &s;tand in our places, he re|&s;traineth vs from two extreames: the one, that wee doe not wilfully thru&s;t our &s;elues into the combat of temptations be|fore we be a&s;&s;aulted, and &s;o as it were runne out of our &s;tan|dings to &s;eeke an enemie: and &s;econdly, that when wee are a&s;&s;aulted we doe not flee away, but &s;tand to it valiantly and endure the violence of the a&s;&s;ailants. La&s;tly, he exhorteth vs to watchfulnes and painfull diligence, for we mu&s;t not drow|&s;ily and &s;ecurely lay vs downe and giue our &s;elues to &s;leepe, nor yet &s;it idlely as though wee had nothing to doe; but wee are to &s;tand vpon our guard, and to watch continually, that wee may alwaies be in readines to with&s;tand the a&s;&s;aults of our enemies; otherwi&s;e if wee &s;leepe in &s;ecuritie, they will &s;uddenly &s;et vpon vs and &s;urprize vs at vnawares.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. X.</HI> Of the particular parts of the Christian armour: and fir&s;t of the girdle of veritie.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> ANd thus the Apo&s;tle hauing taken away all retchle&s;&s;e &s;ecuritie and foole-hardines, and al&s;o &s;trengthened vs
<PB N="49" REF="35">with true valour and Chri&s;tian fortitude,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the girdle of veritie.</NOTE> in the next place he de&s;cribeth the armour of God which wee are to buckle vnto vs. Where fir&s;t wee are generally to ob&s;erue, that wee are not curiou&s;ly and &s;crupulou&s;ly to &s;earch out the rea&s;on why &s;uch and &s;uch vertues are likened to the&s;e or tho&s;e peeces of ar|mour: as for example, why he calleth truth a girdle, righte|ou&s;nes a brea&s;t-plate, faith a &s;hield, &amp;c. for it was not the A|po&s;tles purpo&s;e &s;o exactly to fit the &s;imilitudes, as may ap|peare 1. The&s;&s;. 5.8. where he indifferently a&s;cribeth the name of brea&s;t-plate both to faith and charitie, by which here hee vnder&s;tandeth righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; but onely briefly and gene|rally to &s;hew what vertues and graces of Gods &s;pirit are mo&s;t nece&s;&s;arie for a Chri&s;tian, wherewith hee may be enabled to re&s;i&s;t his &s;pirituall enemies, continuing his former allegorie taken from warres.</P>
<P>But let vs come to the armour it &s;elfe, which is both de|fen&s;iue and offen&s;iue: the fir&s;t part is the girdle of veritie. The word here v&s;ed &s;ignifieth a broad &s;tudded belt v&s;ed in warres in ancient times, wherewith the ioynts of the brea&s;t-plate, and that armour which defended the bellie, loynes and thighes were couered. And by this, truth is re&s;embled: where|by &s;ome vnder&s;tand the truth of religion and of the doctrine which we profe&s;&s;e, others vnder&s;tand hereby truth and vp|rightnes of heart, or the integritie of a good con&s;cience, whereby wee perfourme all duties of religion belonging to God and our neighbour in &s;implicitie, without all hypocri&s;ie and di&s;&s;imulation. But becau&s;e both are notable and nece&s;&s;a|rie parts of our Chri&s;tian armour; I &s;ee no rea&s;on why wee may not take it in both &s;en&s;es,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat we are to vnderstand by the girdle of veritie.</NOTE> &s;eeing the Apo&s;tle doth of purpo&s;e &s;et downe vnder the&s;e metaphoricall words, the chiefe vertues and graces wherewith wee are to arme our &s;elues again&s;t our &s;pirituall enemies. Fir&s;t therfore here is re|quired truth of our religion which we profe&s;&s;e: and &s;econdly, that we profe&s;&s;e it truly, that is, with vpright &amp; &s;imple hearts.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> For the fir&s;t: <NOTE PLACE="marg">That our reli|gion mu&s;t be grounded on Gods truth.</NOTE> it is the foundation vpon which all other du|ties to God or man are to be built; for if they be not groun|ded on Gods truth, but deui&s;ed by mans braine, they are but humane dotages which the Lord will not accept; neither is
<PB N="50" REF="36">it to any purpo&s;e that wee &s;hew our &s;elues earne&s;t and for|ward in religion, vnle&s;&s;e it be true and con&s;onant to Gods word. For as the fa&s;ter that tho&s;e trauaile which are out of the way, the further they are from their iourneys end; &s;o the more earne&s;t and forward that wee are in trauailing the by|paths of error, the further we are from Gods kingdome: and therefore Sathan careth not greatly whether we be of no re|ligion or of a fal&s;e religion, whether wee wor&s;hip no God at all, or a fal&s;e God, or at lea&s;t the true God after a fal&s;e man|ner, whether wee perfourme no dueties vnto God, or &s;uch as being not agreeable to Gods truth are abominable vnto him. Fir&s;t then wee mu&s;t containe all our actions within the compa&s;&s;e of Gods word, and what&s;oeuer wee profe&s;&s;e and practi&s;e, it mu&s;t haue his ground and warrant from this truth, if wee will be accounted true members of Gods militant Church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim 3.15.</NOTE> which is therefore called <HI>the pillar of truth,</HI> 1. Tim. 3.15. becau&s;e contemning all errours and doctrines of men, it faithfully keepeth the truth of Gods word. And as &s;ouldiers were girt about with that &s;trong and broad &s;tudded belt, wherewith their loynes were &s;trengthened, and &s;o enabled to &s;u&s;taine the fight without wearines; &s;o wee are to compa&s;&s;e our &s;elues about with truth, whereby wee may be &s;trengthe|ned when as we know that we fight in a iu&s;t quarrell; neither &s;hall wee ea&s;ily be deceiued with Sathans temptations and fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions, if we be girt about with the girdle of verity. And hereby appeareth the nece&s;&s;itie of this peece of armour: for &s;eeing Sathan is a liar from the beginning, it behooueth vs to be compa&s;&s;ed about with truth, that the bright beames thereof may di&s;couer and di&s;per&s;e all the foggie mi&s;ts of Sa|thans errors and lies.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> But it is not &s;ufficient that wee profe&s;&s;e the truth, <NOTE PLACE="marg">That we mu&s;t profe&s;&s;e the truth, in truth and &s;implicitie of heart.</NOTE> vnle&s;&s;e it be in truth, that is, in integritie and &s;implicitie of heart, with|out all hypocri&s;ie and di&s;&s;imulation. For how glorious &s;oeuer our profe&s;&s;ion euen of the true religion be before men, yet it is abominable in the eyes of God, if it be not in truth and from an vpright heart, but counterfeite and hypocriticall. What&s;oeuer duties and good workes we perfourme, though neuer &s;o excellent in the~&s;elues, yet are they not acceptable in
<PB N="51" REF="36">Gods &s;ight, if they be not ioyned with integritie and &s;impli|citie. For example, prayer is a notable part of Gods wor&s;hip; but if we doe not call vpon God in truth, but with fained and deceitfull lips, that we may haue the prai&s;e of men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 6.</NOTE> our praiers are odious and Phari&s;aicall, Matth. 6. Thank&s;giuing is an ex|cellent dutie, but if with the Phari&s;ie wee giue thankes rather to boa&s;t of our gifts, then to &s;hew true thankfulnes to the gi|uer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 18.</NOTE> we &s;hall not be approoued of God. Giuing of almes is a worke acceptable vnto God, for it is a &s;acrifice wherewith he is well plea&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13.16.</NOTE> Heb. 13.16. but if they be not giuen in &s;impli|citie of heart, but in hypocri&s;ie, that we may be &s;eene of men, it &s;hall haue the hypocrites reward, Matth. 6. In a word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 6.</NOTE> this truth and &s;implicitie of heart is &s;o nece&s;&s;arie, that without it, what&s;oeuer we doe it is not regarded; for <HI>God is a &s;pirit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 4 24.</NOTE> <HI>and he will be wor&s;hipped in &s;pirit and in truth,</HI> Ioh. 4.24. According to that, Io&s;h. 24.14. <HI>Feare the Lord,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Io&s;h. 24.14.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;erue him in vprightnes and in truth.</HI> Which if wee perfourme, our &s;eruice of God will be acceptable in his &s;ight, though perfourmed in great weak|nes, and mingled with many imperfections: otherwi&s;e, though wee offer thou&s;ands of rammes, and whole riuers of oyle, that is, omit no outward co&s;t and labour in Gods wor|&s;hip,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mich. 6.7.8.</NOTE> yet will it be abominable in his eyes, Mich. 6.7.8. Let vs therefore with our Sauiour pray vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 17.17.</NOTE> that wee may bee &s;anctified with his truth, that not onely what&s;oeuer wee doe may be grounded on Gods truth, but that woe may doe it in truth and vprightnes of heart.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XI.</HI> Of the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, and Go&s;pell of peace.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe &s;econd part of our armour is the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes; whereby we are to vnder&s;tand a good con&s;cience, true &s;anctification and a god|ly life, which al&s;o we are to put on according to the example of our grand Captaine Chri&s;t. E&s;a. 59.17. <HI>He put on righteou&s;nes as an habergeon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 59.17.</NOTE> <HI>and an helmet of &s;aluation vpon
<PB N="52" REF="37">his head.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The excellencie of this breast-plate of righ|teou&s;nes.</NOTE> And then &s;hall not Sathans darts pearce vs, &s;o long as we are armed with a good con&s;cience, and a godly and in|nocent life. Yea as long as our brea&s;ts and hearts are armed with righteou&s;nes, though our other members fall into &s;inne, our wounds &s;hall not be mortall: for as the brea&s;t-plate doth defend the brea&s;t and vitall parts of a &s;ouldier, &s;o the &s;tudie and holie endeuour of a Chri&s;tian to liue in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and true &s;anctification, doth &s;o arme his minde, that Sathan cannot deadly wound the heart with any of his temptations. True it is that the Saints doe receiue wounds and foyles, when as Sathan hath drawne them to commit &s;inne, but they are not wounded at the heart, becau&s;e they doe not &s;inne with full con&s;ent of will; for they allow not that which they doe, neither doe they what they would, but what they hate, and they delight in the law of God concerning the inner man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.15.22.</NOTE> when the fle&s;h leadeth them captiue to the law of &s;in. And hence it is that <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith he did not tran&s;gre&s;&s;e Gods law,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.17. 1. Ioh. 3.9. and ver&s;. 6.8.</NOTE> but &s;inne that dwelled in him, Rom. 7.17. And the A|po&s;tle <HI>Iohn</HI> affirmeth, that <HI>they who are borne of God &s;inne not,</HI> 1. Ioh. 3.9. and that <HI>they who are in Chri&s;t &s;inne not:</HI> and that <HI>who&s;oeuer &s;inneth is of the diuell,</HI> ver&s;. 6.8. Not that Gods chil|dren are exempted from all &s;inne, but becau&s;e they &s;inne not with the full con&s;ent and &s;winge of their will; and when they doe fall, their hearts are defended with the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, that is, with an holie endeuour and de&s;ire of &s;eruing God. <HI>Dauid,</HI> a man according to Gods owne heart, may be a notable example hereof: for euen after he was in|dued with the knowledge of the truth, and had this godlie endeuour of &s;eruing God, he notwith&s;tanding fell grieuou&s;|ly many times, and was wounded often with Sathans darts; but his wounds were not mortall, neither did they pearce the heart, becau&s;e he was armed with the brea&s;t-plate of righte|ou&s;nes; for he kept Gods law in his heart, and it was &s;weeter than honey vnto his mouth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.</NOTE> he meditated therein, and &s;ought after it continually, as appeareth P&s;al. 119. Would we there|fore be pre&s;erued from the deadly wounds of Sathans darts of temptation? then let vs &s;tudie and labour after true holi|nes, let vs keepe a good con&s;cience; and how&s;oeuer wee fall
<PB N="53" REF="37">often through infirmitie, yet let the heart alwaies be armed with the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, that is, with an earne&s;t de&s;ire and holie endeuour of &s;eruing God; and &s;o &s;hall Sa|than neuer mortally wound vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But on the other &s;ide,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the lacke of this armour is most perni|cious.</NOTE> if we once lay a&s;ide the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, not &s;o much as endeuouring to &s;erue the Lord in holines of life, but imbrace &s;inne with full con&s;ent of will, we &s;hall lay our brea&s;ts open and naked to all Sathans thru&s;ts, yea and as it were put &s;words in his hands wherewith hee may wound and murther vs: for vntill wee di&s;arme our &s;elues, and put weapons into the hands of Sathan by our &s;innes, he cannot hurt vs; as wee may &s;ee in the example of our fir&s;t parents, who while&s;t they continued in their righ|teou&s;nes and integritie, Sathan could not offer them any vio|lence by a&s;&s;ault and force, and therefore he allured them to entertaine a treacherous parley, wherein hauing inticed them to di&s;arme them&s;elues of this brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, by wilfull tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing Gods commandement, hee inflicted on them deadly wounds, pearcing them through to the verie heart, and &s;o like <HI>Ioab</HI> while&s;t he &s;eemed louingly to imbrace them, he did mo&s;t treacherou&s;ly &s;tab them.</P>
<P>The con&s;ideration whereof &s;hould make vs repell mo&s;t carefully all Sathans temptations, whereby he inticeth vs to &s;inne; but e&s;pecially let vs neuer bee allured to put off the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, and then though Sathan wound our &s;oules with &s;inne, yet his wounds will not be mortall &s;o long as wee doe not fall into &s;inne with full con&s;ent of will, but through infirmitie; in the meane time loathing the &s;inne which wee commit, and delighting our &s;elues in the law of God, in re&s;pect of the inner man: for though we fall, yet the Lord will rai&s;e vs vp by vnfained repentance, &s;o that though &s;inne dwell in vs, yet &s;hall it neuer raigne in vs.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="54" REF="38">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XII.</HI> Of the preparation of the Gospell of peace.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe third part of our Chri&s;tian armour is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat the Go&s;pell of peace is.</NOTE> that wee haue our feete &s;hod with the preparation of the Go&s;pel of peace; where he alludeth to the cu&s;tome of &s;ouldiers in former times, who going into the field, &s;trong|ly armed their legges and feete with legge-harne&s;&s;e, war|greaues or buskins, to pre&s;erue them from the iniurie of the weather, the pearcing of briars, thornes, and &s;uch other things as might hurt them in their way as they marched, and from the violence al&s;o of their enemies blowes when they were incountred; for all which v&s;es the Go&s;pell &s;erueth in our &s;pi|rituall warfare: for they who are armed with the true know|ledge thereof, and are a&s;&s;ured of the merciful promi&s;es there|in contained, they will walke and march valiantly in the waies of godline&s;&s;e and Chri&s;tianitie, though they are full of the briars and thornes of afflictions and per&s;ecution; prefer|ring the rebuke of Chri&s;t before the riches of Egypt, becau&s;e they haue an eye to the recompence of reward, which they &s;hall receiue at the end of their iourney. And this maketh them little to regard the foulenes and vnplea&s;antnes of the way; and though Sathan trouble them in their march, &s;et|ting vpon and a&s;&s;aulting them, yet they ea&s;ily re&s;i&s;t the furie of his temptations, and goe on forward in the profe&s;&s;ion and practi&s;e of Chri&s;tianitie, if they be armed with the know|ledge of the Go&s;pell of peace; for it is therefore called the Go&s;pell of peace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 10.5.</NOTE> becau&s;e it bringeth peace to our &s;oules, not onely as it is the amba&s;&s;age of God, whereby wee being reconciled vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.15. Luk. 1.7.9.</NOTE> haue peace with him, from the a&s;&s;u|rance whereof we haue the peace of con&s;cience, but al&s;o be|cau&s;e if we be armed therewith, we &s;hall obtaine a finall vic|torie ouer our &s;pirituall enemies, after which &s;hall follow euerla&s;ting peace, which &s;hall not &s;o much as be di&s;turbed with the attempts of any enemies.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But it is not &s;ufficient that we know and beleeue this Go&s;|pell
<PB N="55" REF="38">of peace, vnle&s;&s;e we be alwaies prepared to make confe&s;|&s;ion and profe&s;&s;ion therof, though thereby we incurre world|ly &s;hame, lo&s;&s;es, afflictions and per&s;ecution. And this the A|po&s;tle &s;ignifieth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat it is to be prepared with this Go&s;|pell.</NOTE> by telling vs that our feete mu&s;t be &s;hod with the preparation of the Go&s;pell of peace; that is, as tho&s;e who are well &s;hod are in readines to goe through rough and vnplea&s;ant waies: &s;o tho&s;e that are indued with the know|ledge of the Go&s;pell, mu&s;t alwaies be in readines to make profe&s;&s;ion thereof in the midde&s;t of affliction and per&s;ecu|tion. <HI>For as with the heart man beleeueth vnto righteou&s;nes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.10.</NOTE> <HI>&s;o with the mouth he mu&s;t confe&s;&s;e vnto &s;aluation,</HI> Rom. 10.10. And this is that which the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> requireth of vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 3.15.</NOTE> 1. Epi&s;t. 3.15. That we doe not onely &s;anctifie the Lord in our hearts, but al&s;o that <HI>we be readie alwaies to giue an an&s;were to euery man that asketh vs a rea&s;on of the hope that is in vs.</HI></P>
<P>But if we lay a&s;ide this armour, we &s;hal be as vnfit to trauell in the afflicted way which leadeth to Gods kingdome, as tho&s;e &s;ouldiers who are barefoote be vnfit to march through waies which are full of briars and thornes; neither &s;hall wee be readie to make confe&s;&s;ion and profe&s;&s;ion of our faith in the time of per&s;ecution and trouble, but rather to &s;lide backe into a generall apo&s;ta&s;ie from all religion, vnle&s;&s;e we be con|firmed and comforted with the &s;weete promi&s;es of the Go&s;|pell, made to tho&s;e who &s;uffer affliction for Chri&s;ts &s;ake, namely, that <HI>if we confe&s;&s;e him before men,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 10.32. Mark. 8.35.</NOTE> <HI>he will confe&s;&s;e vs be|fore his father in heauen,</HI> Matth. 10.32. That <HI>who&s;oeuer &s;hall lo&s;e his life for Chri&s;ts &s;ake and the Go&s;pels, &s;hall &s;aue it,</HI> Mark. 8.35. <HI>That who&s;oeuer &s;hall for&s;ake hou&s;es, or brethren, or &s;i&s;ters,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 19.29.</NOTE> <HI>or fa|ther or mother, or wife and children, or lands for his names &s;ake, &s;hall receiue an hundred fold more, and &s;hall inherit euerlasting life,</HI> Matth. 19.29.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIII.</HI> Of the &s;hield of faith.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> THe fourth peece of the Chri&s;tian armour which the A|po&s;tle exhorteth vs aboue all to put on, is the &s;hield of faith, which of all other parts is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;arie, becau&s;e how
<PB N="56" REF="39">weake &s;oeuer it be in it &s;elfe, yet it doth defend and protect vs again&s;t all the temptations of Sathan; for he that putteth on faith, doth put on Ie&s;us Chri&s;t al&s;o, it being a propertie in|&s;eparable of faith, to applie vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his benefits, that is, his merits and righteou&s;nes, and euerla&s;ting life it &s;elfe. And this will be not onely a glorious garment to couer our deformitie out of Gods &s;ight, to pre&s;erue vs from the heate of Gods wrath, and to obtaine the euerla&s;ting ble&s;|&s;ing of our heauenly father, but al&s;o it is armour of proofe to defend vs from the violent a&s;&s;aults of our &s;pirituall enemies. Let vs therefore take vnto vs the &s;hield of faith, that wee may al&s;o <HI>put on the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.14.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle exhorteth vs, Rom. 13.14. for hauing him wee &s;hall want nothing, which may either defend our &s;elues or offend our enemies; the Lord him&s;elfe will be our &s;hield and buckler, and therefore it will be impo&s;&s;ible for our foes to preuaile again&s;t vs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">What is meant by quenching Sathans firie darts.</NOTE>But let vs con&s;ider further of the excellencie and nece&s;&s;itie of this &s;hield of faith, which appeareth by the vertue there|of, in repelling all the firie darts of Sathan. The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>that thereby wee may quench his firie darts,</HI> alluding to the cu&s;tome of &s;ouldiers in ancient time, who malitiou&s;ly poy|&s;oned their darts, whereby the bodies of tho&s;e who were wounded were &s;o inflamed, that they could hardly be cured, or ea&s;ed of their raging and burning paine. And &s;uch darts are all Sathans temptations, whereby wee are wounded with &s;inne; for if they bee not repelled and quenched with the &s;hield of faith, they will inflame our lu&s;ts to &s;inne, and one &s;inne will inflame our hearts to another, till there be kindled in vs a world of wickedne&s;&s;e. And this wee may &s;ee in the ex|ample of <HI>Dauid,</HI> who after that he gaue him&s;elfe to idlene&s;&s;e and &s;loth, and &s;o was pearced with one of Sathans firie darts, it pre&s;ently inflamed his heart to commit adulterie, and ha|uing giuen place to that, hee was prouoked to murther; &s;o that if wee admit one of the&s;e firie darts, they will inflame vs to receiue another, and &s;o our burning wounds will torment our con&s;ciences, and mo&s;t hardly admit of any cure.</P>
<P>And therefore it behooueth vs to take vnto vs the &s;hield of faith, whereby we may quench the&s;e firie darts. But why
<PB N="57" REF="39">doth the Apo&s;tle v&s;e this improper &s;peech, &s;eeing the &s;hield doth not quench, but repell the darts that beate vpon it? I an&s;were, partly to &s;hew the nature of our enemies tempta|tions, namely, that they are firie, mortall, raging, and perni|tious (as before I &s;aid) and partly to &s;et foorth a double ver|tue of faith; for fir&s;t thereby wee repell and beate backe his temptations, and &s;o <HI>re&s;i&s;t him &s;tedfastly in the faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.9.</NOTE> as the A|po&s;tle &s;peaketh, 1. Pet. 5.9. And &s;econdly, if Sathans darts haue pearced and wounded vs, faith al&s;o doth coole the &s;corching heate of &s;inne, by applying vnto vs the precious baulme of Chri&s;ts blood, &s;o that our wounds are not mortall vnto vs, though mortall in them&s;elues, if they were not cured by this &s;oueraigne &s;alue of &s;inne, which being applied by faith, doth ea&s;e the burning torments of our euill con&s;ciences, and pre|&s;erueth vs from all danger of death. The fir&s;t of the&s;e vertues is &s;ignified hereby, in that he calleth faith a &s;hield, which re|pelleth Sathans temptations, as the &s;hield doth the darts that are ca&s;t again&s;t it: the &s;econd by the word (quenching) name|ly, that as water quencheth the fire, &s;o faith quencheth the firie darts of Sathans temptations, as is afore&s;aid.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhy Sathan is called the wicked one.</NOTE>La&s;tly, wee are to note that he calleth Sathan the wicked one, to &s;hew vnto vs that hee is the father and author of all wickedne&s;&s;e and &s;inne, both by &s;inning him&s;elfe, and prouo|king others to &s;inne by his temptations. And therefore he is called the wicked or euill one both here and Matth. 6.13. <HI>But deliuer vs from the euill one.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 6.13. and 13.38. Ioh. 8.44.</NOTE> So Matth. 13.38. <HI>The tares are the children of the wicked one,</HI> as al&s;o Ioh. 8.44.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIIII.</HI> Of the helmet of &s;aluation.</HEAD>
<P>_THe fift peece of our Chri&s;tian armour is the hel|met of &s;aluation, which is &s;o called by a meto|nymie of the effect, becau&s;e it bringeth &s;alua|tion to them that weare it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 59.17. Rom. 8.24. 1. The&s;&s;. 5.8.</NOTE> for we are &s;aued by hope, as it is Rom. 8.24. which we are to vnder|&s;tand by the helmet of &s;aluation, as appeareth 1. The&s;&s;. 5.8.
<PB N="58" REF="40">where he exhorteth vs to put on the hope of &s;aluation for an helmet.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hope, the hel|met of &s;alua|tion.</NOTE> As therefore &s;ouldiers when they goe into the field put on their helmet, that thereby they may defend their head, which is their chiefe part, from the cruell blowes of the enemie; &s;o we being to fight the &s;pirituall battaile, mu&s;t put on hope both of victorie, and the glorious crowne belong|ing thereunto, and &s;o &s;hall wee neuer turne our backes when wee are a&s;&s;aulted, &s;eeing by the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance we doe a&s;&s;u|redly hope for victorie, and through his mercie and the me|rits of Chri&s;t do expect after our combat is fini&s;hed, the gar|land of euerla&s;ting happines, promi&s;ed to all that ouercome. For though Sathan a&s;&s;ault vs on the one &s;ide, by offering vn|to vs the riches, honours and plea&s;ures of the world, that thereby he may intice vs to &s;inne, and &s;o yeeld our &s;elues his captiues, he &s;hall not preuaile again&s;t vs, if we be armed with this helmet of &s;aluation: for as no man in his right wits would &s;ell his certaine intere&s;t vnto a goodly inheritance for a bright &s;hining counter; &s;o much le&s;&s;e will any man, who is not &s;tarke mad, &s;ell his a&s;&s;ured hope of the eternall kingdom of glorie, by yeelding him&s;elfe the &s;laue of &s;inne and Sathan, to purcha&s;e for the pre&s;ent the worlds counterfaite &s;hining excellencies, which are in truth but mutable, or at lea&s;t mo|mentanie vanities. And though he a&s;&s;ault vs on the other &s;ide with afflictions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 28.20.</NOTE> cro&s;&s;es and per&s;ecutions as he did <HI>Paul,</HI> yet wee will with him, for the hope of I&s;rael, be content to bee bound in the chaines of mi&s;erie and affliction. For the hea|uie&s;t cro&s;&s;e will &s;eeme tolerable, yea an ea&s;ie yoke and a light burthen,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4.17.</NOTE> to tho&s;e who doe expect and hope for a farre mo&s;t excellent and an eternall waight of glorie; neither can the &s;traight way and the narrow gate di&s;courage tho&s;e, that in the end of their iourney a&s;&s;uredly expect a palace of plea&s;ure and neuer fading felicitie. But on the other &s;ide, if we doe not put on this helmet, wee &s;hall not dare to lift vp our heads in the day of battaile: for as tho&s;e who are encouraged with hope of victorie and the &s;poyle en&s;uing, doe fight valiantly; &s;o tho&s;e who are quite for&s;aken of hope, doe for&s;ake al&s;o the field, and ca&s;ting downe their armour and weapons, doe ei|ther runne away, or cowardly yeeld vnto the enemie.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="59" REF="40">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XV.</HI> Of the &s;word of the &s;pirit.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the &s;word of the &s;pirit.</NOTE>_ANd &s;o much for the defen&s;iue armour which wee mu&s;t put on; that which followeth is both de|fen&s;iue and offen&s;iue, fit to defend our &s;elues, and repell and foyle the enemie. The fir&s;t is <HI>the &s;word of the &s;pirit, the word of God.</HI> This the Apo&s;tle calleth the &s;word of the &s;pirit, becau&s;e it is a &s;pirituall and not a carnall weapon, which the &s;pirit of God him&s;elf hath as it were tem|pered, made, &s;harpened, and put into our hands, to repell our &s;pirituall enemies when&s;oeuer they a&s;&s;ault vs. If therefore we would defend our &s;elues and driue backe Sathan, wee mu&s;t not onely buckle vnto vs the defen&s;iue armour before &s;po|ken of (for he that &s;tandeth altogether vpon defence, &s;tan|deth vpon no defence) but wee mu&s;t take vnto vs the &s;word of the &s;pirit, wherewith we may repell and deadly wound our &s;pirituall enemies. Wherein we are to imitate the example of our chiefe Captaine Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who though he was able to haue confuted Sathan by other arguments, or to haue con|founded him by the omnipotent power of his deitie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 4.</NOTE> yet as he &s;uffered him&s;elfe to be tempted in all things like vnto vs, &s;o he v&s;ed al&s;o the &s;ame weapons, which he hath appointed vs to v&s;e in this &s;pirituall combat of temptations, to the end that we might be taught how to handle them, hauing his ex|ample for our imitation, and al&s;o may conceiue a&s;&s;ured hope of victorie, con&s;idering that our Captaine &s;ubdued Sathan with the &s;elfe&s;ame weapons.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> When&s;oeuer therefore wee are a&s;&s;aulted by Sathan, let vs draw out the &s;word of the &s;pirit, <NOTE PLACE="marg">That the &s;word of the &s;pirit is a mo&s;t fit wea|pon to repell Sathans temp|tations.</NOTE> that wee may defend our &s;elues, and giue him the foyle, as being the mo&s;t fit weapon for this purpo&s;e: for if Sathan &s;eeke to blind the eyes of our vnder&s;tanding with ignorance, that thereby hee may leade vs as it were hoodwinkt into &s;inne, the word of God is a lanthorne to our feete, and a light vnto our pathes to di&s;co|uer Sathans darke illu&s;ions and &s;ecret ambu&s;hments, and to
<PB N="60" REF="41">guide our feete in the way of peace. If he &s;eeke to deceiue vs with his lies, and to &s;educe vs into errors; the word of God is the touch&s;tone of truth, by which wee di&s;cerne the pure golden veritie from the dro&s;&s;ie conceits of humane inuen|tions; and the &s;ubtill delu&s;ions of Sathans probable fal&s;e|hoods, from the vndoubted certaintie of Gods infallible truth. If he tran&s;forme him&s;elfe into an angell of light, Gods word doth pull off his vizard, and maketh him appeare in his owne likenes: if he come vpon vs like a roring lion to de|uoure vs, it protecteth vs from danger, and maketh vs &s;trong enough to with&s;tand his violence. Seeing therefore this wea|pon is &s;o excellent, let vs mo&s;t highly e&s;teeme it, and manful|ly v&s;e it when&s;oeuer Sathan doth a&s;&s;ault vs and tempt vs vnto &s;inne.<NOTE PLACE="marg">How we are to v&s;e the &s;word of the &s;pirit in the conflict of temptations.</NOTE> For example, when he inticing vs to commit &s;inne, doth extenuate and mince it as though it were but a May-game and a tricke of youth which God regardeth not; let vs draw out the &s;word of the &s;pirit, &s;aying, it is written, that all they are accur&s;ed who continue not in all that is written in the booke of the law to doe it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 3 10. Rom. 8.8.</NOTE> Gal. 3.10. that they who liue ac|cording to the fle&s;h, cannot plea&s;e God, Rom. 8.8. that the burthen of &s;inne cannot be light, &s;eeing it pre&s;&s;ed out of Chri&s;t him&s;elfe a bloudie &s;weate, &amp;c.</P>
<P>On the other &s;ide, if hee aggrauate the hainou&s;nes of our &s;ins, to the end hee may draw vs into de&s;paire of Gods mer|cie; let vs &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezec. 18.23.32</NOTE> it is written, <HI>I will not the death of a &s;inner</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>but that he repent and liue,</HI> Ezech. 18.23.32. And, <HI>that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t came into the world to &s;aue &s;inners,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 1.15. Matth. 9.13.</NOTE> 1. Tim. 1.15. And <HI>that he came not to call the righteous, but &s;inners to repentance,</HI> Matth. 9.13. Ioh. 3.16. If he tempt vs to the loue of the world, and to the &s;eruice of this vnrighteous Mammon; let vs an&s;wer him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 6.24.</NOTE> that it is impo&s;&s;ible to <HI>&s;erue two masters</HI> of &s;uch contrarie di&s;po&s;ition, as it is written Matth. 6.24. <HI>That if wee loue the world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.15. Iam. 4.4.</NOTE> <HI>the loue of the father abideth not in vs,</HI> 1. Ioh. 2.15. That <HI>the amitie of the world is enmitie again&s;t God,</HI> Iam. 4.4.</P>
<P>Contrariwi&s;e, if renouncing the world, and endeuouring to &s;erue the Lord in vprightnes and in truth, hee &s;eeke to draw vs from our integritie, by threatning afflictions and per&s;ecution; wee are to &s;trengthen our &s;elues and re&s;i&s;t him
<PB N="61" REF="41">with the &s;word of the &s;pirit, remembring that they are <HI>ble&s;&s;ed which &s;uffer per&s;ecution for righteou&s;nes &s;ake,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.10. 1. Tim. 3.12.</NOTE> <HI>for theirs is the kingdo~ of heauen,</HI> Mat. 5.10. That <HI>all that will liue godly in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us &s;hall &s;uffer per&s;ecutio~,</HI> 1. Tim. 3.12. That <HI>who&s;oeuer lo&s;eth a|ny thing for Chri&s;ts &s;ake,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 19.29.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall receiue in recompence an hundreth fold more, and haue euerla&s;ting life</HI> to boote, Matth. 19.29.</P>
<P>If he tempt vs to the neglect of Gods word, wee are to tell him, that all Chri&s;ts <HI>&s;heepe heare his voyce and follow him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.27. Ioh. 8.47.</NOTE> Ioh. 10.27. That <HI>who&s;oeuer is of God heareth Gods words,</HI> Ioh. 8.47. that they who know God heare his mini&s;ters, whereas he that is not of God heareth them not, 1. Ioh. 4.6. And if he ob|iect that wee cannot heare it without great labour and co&s;t, wee are to remember, that who&s;oeuer is a wi&s;e Merchant fit for the kingdome of God, will rather &s;ell all he hath to buy this precious pearle, than be without it, Matth. 13.44, 45, 46.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 13.44.45.</NOTE></P>
<P>On the other &s;ide, if he tempt vs to content our &s;elues with the bare hearing thereof, neglecting obedience thereunto, we are to tell him that <HI>not the hearers of the word,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.13.</NOTE> <HI>but the doers thereof &s;hall be iustified,</HI> Rom. 2.13. that they who are hearers of the word and not doers al&s;o, doe deceiue them&s;elues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.22.</NOTE> if they thinke hereby to haue any a&s;&s;urance of eternall life, Iam. 1.22. That <HI>not euery one who &s;aith Lord, Lord,</HI> (that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.21.</NOTE> maketh a goodly profe&s;&s;ion of religion) <HI>&s;hall enter into the kingdome of heauen, but he that doth the will of the father who is in heauen.</HI> Matth. 7.21.</P>
<P>So when he tempteth vs to pride, wee are to &s;ay vnto him, Sathan I may not yeeld vnto thy temptation, for it is writ|ten; <HI>God re&s;i&s;teth the proude, but giueth his grace to the humble,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.5.</NOTE> 1. Pet. 5.5. If he tempt vs to couetou&s;nes, we are to re&s;i&s;t him, &s;aying, it is written,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 6.10.</NOTE> that <HI>the de&s;ire of money is the roote of all euill,</HI> 1. Tim. 6.10. If to carking care, wee are to tell him, that the Apo&s;tle exhorteth vs to <HI>ca&s;t all our care on the Lord, for he careth for vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.7.</NOTE> 1. Pet. 5.7. If to vnthriftie mi&s;pending of Gods gifts, and carele&s;&s;e con&s;uming of our e&s;tates, wee are to tell him, that he <HI>that prouideth not for his familie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 5.8.</NOTE> <HI>is wor&s;e than an Infidell,</HI> 1. Tim. 5.8.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus may we repell the violence of all Sathans temp|tations and giue him the &s;oyle, if wee will take vnto vs the
<PB N="62" REF="42">&s;word of the &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That it behoo|ueth vs to be skilfull in handling the &s;word of the &s;pirit.</NOTE> and skilfully v&s;e the &s;ame in the fight; for it is not &s;ufficient that we haue this &s;word lying by vs, nor to be able to &s;hew the goodnes thereof in di&s;cour&s;e, if in the meane time we neuer draw it out to fight the &s;pirituall com|bat, but let it ru&s;t in the &s;cabberd; but we mu&s;t alwaies haue it readie for the combat, and (as it were) naked in our hands, that wee may &s;trike home, and cut off all the temptations of Sathan, and the lu&s;ts of our owne fle&s;h when they doe a&s;&s;ault vs. And to this end we mu&s;t be skilfull in the v&s;e thereof: for though a man haue an excellent weapon, yet if he know not how to v&s;e it, it will little helpe him either to defend him&s;elfe or offend his enemie: &s;o if a man haue this two edged &s;word of Gods word, and haue no skill to rule it, he will &s;trike flat|long and not cut, and &s;ometime wound him&s;elfe in &s;tead of hurting his enemie; yea &s;o politike a warriour is Sathan, a|gain&s;t whom we fight, that if wee be not skilfull in the v&s;e of this &s;word, he will turne the edge and point thereof again&s;t our &s;elues, and &s;o in &s;tead of defending vs, it will, like the &s;word of <HI>Goliah,</HI> be readie for the enemie to cut off our owne head. And therefore it behooueth vs to come into Gods &s;choole continually, that there we may learne how to v&s;e and handle this &s;word of Gods word &s;o cunningly, that wee may re&s;i&s;t Sathan in all his a&s;&s;aults, and giue him no aduantage in the fight. Otherwi&s;e he will v&s;e it to our own ouerthrow; for if hee dur&s;t fight again&s;t our Sauiour Chri&s;t with his owne weapon the word of God, who&s;e knowledge was exqui&s;ite and without mea&s;ure, &s;aying, It is written; how much more bu&s;ie will he be in v&s;ing it again&s;t vs, who haue not attained vnto the lea&s;t part of his skill?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The folly of tho&s;e who neg|lect this &s;piri|tuall weapon.</NOTE>Whereby appeareth fir&s;t the carnall retchle&s;ne&s;&s;e of many men, who, as though there were no enemie to a&s;&s;ault them, haue not this weapon in their hou&s;es at all, or if they haue, yet they be&s;tow more time in prophane exerci&s;es, than in &s;tudie how to v&s;e the &s;word of the &s;pirit for their owne de|fence; or at lea&s;t tru&s;ting to their owne skill as &s;ufficient in it &s;elfe, they &s;eldome come to the Lords &s;choole, where they might learne to v&s;e the weapon of Gods word for their be&s;t aduantage.</P>
<PB N="63" REF="42">
<P>Secondly, hereby appeareth the wicked practi&s;e of the enemies of Gods truth, who take from Gods people this &s;word of the &s;pirit, which the Lord hath giuen vnto all for their defence. Neither doth the Apo&s;tle in this place exhort onely the Clergie to take this weapon, but all Chri&s;tians what&s;oeuer, who are a&s;&s;aulted with their &s;pirituall enemies: but they notwith&s;tanding con&s;piring with Sathan to worke the ouerthrow of Gods Church, depriue them of the v&s;e of the &s;word of the &s;pirit, the word of God, and &s;o betray them into the power of Sathan, being able to make no re&s;i&s;tance, when their chiefe weapon is taken from them.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVI. <HI>Of Prayer.</HI></HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe la&s;t and chiefe meanes wherby we may both defend our &s;elues and offend our enemie,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Eph. 6.18.</HI> That prayer is the meanes of obtaining Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and the re&s;t of the &s;pirituall ar|mour.</NOTE> is feruent and effectual prayer, which the Apo&s;tle exhorteth vs to v&s;e, Eph. 6.18. <HI>And pray alwaies with &amp;c.</HI> The nece&s;&s;itie and profit of which ex|erci&s;e is exceeding great in this &s;pirituall combat, becau&s;e thereby we doe obtaine all our &s;trength to fight, and victorie al&s;o ouer our enemies. For fir&s;t wee cannot endure the lea&s;t a&s;&s;ault of Sathan by our owne &s;trength, vnle&s;&s;e wee be armed with the power of Gods might, as before I haue &s;hewed. And the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, whereby onely we can ouercome, is ob|tained by earne&s;t and effectuall prayer, according to that P&s;al. 50.15. <HI>Call vpon me in the day of trouble;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 50.15.</NOTE> <HI>&s;o will I deliuer thee, and thou &s;halt glorifie me.</HI> And our Sauiour pre&s;cribeth vs this meanes to free our &s;elues from temptation, or at lea&s;t from being ouercome by them, by crauing the Lords a&s;&s;i|&s;tance, &s;aying, <HI>Leade vs not into temptation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 6.13.</NOTE> <HI>but deliuer vs from euill,</HI> Matth. 6.13. So hee exhorteth his di&s;ciples vnto <HI>prayer, lea&s;t they &s;hould enter into temptation.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 22.40.</NOTE> Luk. 22.40, 46.</P>
<P>Secondly, we cannot obtaine the &s;pirituall armour (before de&s;cribed) by any meanes of our owne, but tho&s;e graces of Gods &s;pirit are his gifts, from whom euery good and perfect
<PB N="64" REF="43">gift de&s;cendeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.17.</NOTE> Iam. 1.17. and therefore are to be begged at his hands by earne&s;t and effectuall prayer, we hauing his gra|cious promi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.7.</NOTE> that if we aske we &s;hall receiue, Math. 7.7. And our Sauiour hath a&s;&s;ured vs, that what&s;oeuer wee aske the fa|ther in his name,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16.23.</NOTE> he will giue it vs, Ioh. 16.23. And to this his promi&s;e he addeth his commandement in the ver&s;e follow|ing, &s;aying,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 24. Luk. 11.13.</NOTE> <HI>Aske and you &s;hall receiue.</HI> Yea, if we doe but tru|ly de&s;ire the holy Gho&s;t, the Father will giue him vnto vs, Luk. 11.13. And hee commeth not alone, but bringeth with him our &s;pirituall armour, euen all his graces fit for to arme vs in the &s;pirituall combat, again&s;t all the a&s;&s;aults of Sathan and his a&s;&s;i&s;tants.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But whereas the&s;e graces are in this life but weake and im|perfect in vs;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The re&s;t of the &s;pirituall ar|mour is not &s;uf|ficient without prayer.</NOTE> our truth being mixt with will-wor&s;hip and hy|pocri&s;ie, the puritie of our con&s;cience being &s;tained with our corruption; our knowledge of the Go&s;pell but in part, and &s;hadowed with the vaile of ignorance; our faith mixt with doubting, and weakened with incredulitie; our hope &s;haken from our anker-hold, when the promi&s;es of God are delaied; and whereas we al&s;o are vnskilfull to v&s;e this &s;piritual armour for our be&s;t aduantage; therefore it behooueth vs after wee haue armed our &s;elues at all points, not to tru&s;t altogether in our armour, but to haue our recour&s;e vnto our grand Cap|taine Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, acknowledging our owne weakene&s;&s;e, and de&s;iring his aide and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, that being armed with his power, we may obtaine a glorious victorie ouer our &s;pirituall enemies. And as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> ioyned with <HI>Io&s;uahs</HI> &s;word his owne effectual prayer, which was of farre greater efficacie; for when he held vp his hands in prayer, I&s;rael preuailed; but when he fainted, <HI>Amaleck</HI> had the vpper hand: &s;o wee being to fight again&s;t the &s;pirituall Amalekites, are not wholie to tru&s;t in our &s;pirituall weapons, but we are to implore continually the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance by heartie prayer, a&s;&s;uring our &s;elues that if we lift vp our hands and hearts vnto God, we &s;hal in the end obtaine a full victorie; but if we faint, the &s;pirituall <HI>Amaleck</HI> will preuaile again&s;t vs. While&s;t our mindes lie groueling on the earth, it is an ea&s;ie matter for the&s;e &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es to ouercome vs, &s;eeing they fight again&s;t vs from high pla|ces;
<PB N="65" REF="43">but if wee lift vp our hearts in prayer vnto God, our mindes and &s;oules &s;hall be as it were tran&s;ported into hea|uen, which is a tower of &s;trength, into which our &s;pirituall e|nemies cannot approch. When&s;oeuer therefore wee are a&s;|&s;aulted by Sathan, let vs lift vp our &s;oules into heauen by effectuall prayer, and &s;o we &s;hall be out of his reach.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now that our prayers may bee effectuall, there are diuers conditions and properties required in them by the Apo&s;tle in this place. Fir&s;t, that wee pray continually,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 18.1. 1. The&s;&s;. 5.17. <HI>The properties required in prayer.</HI></NOTE> which al&s;o our Sauiour Chri&s;t enioyneth vs, Luk. 18.1. And <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o 1. The&s;&s;. 5.17. not that wee mu&s;t neglect all other exerci&s;es and doe nothing but pray; for there is a time to heare the word, to do the workes of mercie and of our callings; but his meaning is that we be alwaies readie to pray vpon all good occa&s;ions: e&s;pecially in the time of temptation this dutie is required, according to that P&s;al. 50.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 50.15.</NOTE> And therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith not, that wee mu&s;t pray <GAP DESC="foreign">, in euery particular time and &s;ea&s;on, but <GAP DESC="foreign">, in euery fit time when iu&s;t occa|&s;ion and opportunitie is offered. Seeing therefore in the time of temptation we doe e&s;pecially need the Lords helpe; ther|fore, that aboue al other is the opportune and conuenient time wherein we are to implore the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance. Where by the way the &s;tinted prayers of the popi&s;h rabble, which they re&s;traine to &s;et houres is confuted, for the Apo&s;tle wil|leth vs alwaies to be in readines when any fit occa&s;ion is of|fered.</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing required, is, that wee pray with all man|ner of prayers and &s;upplication. The former word here v&s;ed is <GAP DESC="foreign">, which &s;ignifieth the earne&s;t de&s;iring of any good thing: the other is <GAP DESC="foreign">, which is the deprecation of &s;ome euill; &s;o that whether wee want any thing that is good, or would be deliuered from any thing which is euill, wee mu&s;t haue recour&s;e vnto God by prayer, that we may obtaine the one and auoide the other; but more e&s;pecially when we feele the want or weaknes of any part of the &s;pirituall armour, the graces of Gods &s;pirit, wee are to begge them at Gods hand, that &s;o wee may be enabled to &s;tand in the encounter; and when wee apprehend the extreame malice, ioyned with the
<PB N="66" REF="44">great power and cunning policie of our &s;pirituall enemies, wee are earne&s;tly to pray that the Lord will not leade vs into temptation; or if he doe, yet that he will not &s;uffer vs to fall therein and to be ouerthrowne. And the&s;e our prayers mu&s;t not onely be publike in the Church, but al&s;o priuate in our chambers; neither mu&s;t wee be alwaies begging the&s;e bene|fits at Gods hand, but hauing obtained them, we mu&s;t be as readie to giue him thankes, and to a&s;cribe the glorie of all vnto him, who is the author and be&s;tower of all vertue and grace which is in vs; and &s;o calling vpon God with all man|ner of prayer, he will be continually readie to a&s;&s;i&s;t vs in our &s;pirituall combat.</P>
<P>The third thing required, is, that we pray in or by the &s;pi|rit, for the word here v&s;ed may &s;ignifie both. Fir&s;t therefore we mu&s;t pray in the &s;pirit; to which is required fir&s;t that we pray with vnder&s;tanding; in which re&s;pect the ignorant Papi&s;ts offend, who pray in an vnknowne tongue; and the ignorant Prote&s;tants al&s;o, who though they pray in their owne lan|guage, yet know not the &s;en&s;e and meaning of that they &s;peake.</P>
<P>Secondly, that we pray with attentiue mindes, ioyning our hearts with our tongues, and thoughts with words, to which is oppo&s;ed the prayer of the lippes alone, when as wee draw neere vnto God with our mouthes, our hearts in the meane time being farre from him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 29.13.</NOTE> as it is E&s;a. 29.13. Which kinde of prayer is odious and abominable vnto God: for what more gro&s;&s;e di&s;cord than when the tongue and heart di&s;agree from one another, which &s;hould be tuned in vni&s;one? And as the carca&s;&s;e being &s;euered from the &s;oule is pre&s;ently corrupt and &s;tinketh; &s;o the prayer of the lips being &s;euered from the prayer of the heart, which is the life and &s;oule of it, is but a dead carca&s;&s;e of prayer, and &s;tinketh in Gods no&s;trels.</P>
<P>Thirdly, that we pray with a pure con&s;cience and faith vn|fained, <HI>lifting vp pure hands to God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 2.8.</NOTE> <HI>without wrath or doubting,</HI> as it is 1. Tim. 2.8. to which is oppo&s;ed prayer proceeding from a polluted con&s;cience, when as men liue in their &s;innes without any true &s;orrow for tho&s;e which are pa&s;t, or any &s;in|cere purpo&s;e to for&s;ake them in the time to come; which
<PB N="67" REF="44">prayers mu&s;t needes proceede from an heart full of incredu|litie, &s;eeing they haue no promi&s;e in the word whereupon they may ground their faith: nay, contrariwi&s;e it is &s;aid, that <HI>God heareth not &s;inners,</HI> Ioh. 9.31. that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 9.31.</NOTE> &s;uch as go on in their &s;innes without repentance, hauing no purpo&s;e of heart to leaue and for&s;ake them.</P>
<P>And thus you &s;ee what it is to pray in the &s;pirit, which wee cannot perfourme, vnle&s;&s;e we pray through and by the &s;pirit of God, which helpeth our infirmities, and teacheth vs to pray as wee ought, yea it &s;elfe maketh reque&s;t for vs with &s;ighes which cannot be expre&s;&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8 26. &sect;. <HI>Sect.</HI> 4. <HI>Of watchfulnes</HI> Matth. 26.</NOTE> as it is Rom. 8.26.</P>
<P>The fourth thing required is watchfulnes; which dutie is required ioyntly with prayer in many places. Our Sauiour three times ioyneth them together, &s;aying, <HI>Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation,</HI> Matth. 26. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> 1. Epi&s;t 4.7. &s;aith, <HI>Now the end of all things is at hand:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 4.7.</NOTE> <HI>Be ye therefore &s;ober and watching vnto prayer.</HI> As though hee &s;hould &s;ay, your enemie the diuell as a roring lion walketh about, &s;eeking whom he may deuoure, and therefore it be|hooueth you at all times like valiant and carefull &s;ouldiers, who are &s;till in daunger to be a&s;&s;aulted by their enemies, to be &s;ober and watch,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet 5.8.</NOTE> as it is 1. Pet. 5.8. but now more e&s;pecial|ly &s;eeing the end of all things is at hand, for Sathan knowing that his time is but &s;hort, will redouble all his forces to work our de&s;truction, euen as &s;ouldiers will mo&s;t fiercely a&s;&s;ault a town, when as they cannot long lie at the &s;iege, either by rea|&s;on of winter drawing on, or the approching of new forces to relieue the towne or rai&s;e the &s;iege. Seeing therefore Sathan redoubleth his force and care in working our de&s;truction, let vs redouble our care and watchfulnes in &s;eeking to preuent his force and malice. For if Sathan watch continually that he may murther vs, &s;hall not wee be watchfull in with&s;tanding his a&s;&s;aults? He is continually in armes to ouerthrow vs, and &s;hall not wee watch night and day in our Chri&s;tian armour, that we may defeate his forces and obtaine victorie?</P>
<P>Now this our watchfulnes is partly of the bodie, and part|ly of the &s;oule. The bodily watching is the ab&s;taining from naturall &s;leepe, to the end that wee may giue our &s;elues vnto
<PB N="68" REF="45">prayer;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 6.6. P&s;al. 88.1.</NOTE> when as with <HI>Dauid</HI> we water our couch with teares, P&s;al. 6.6. and call vpon God not onely in the day, but in the night al&s;o, as it is P&s;al. 88.1. And whe~ as euen at midnight we rouze vp our &s;elues to giue thankes vnto God for his mercie and benefits,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.62.</NOTE> as it is P&s;al. 119.62. The watchfulnes of the &s;oule is when as wee doe not &s;leepe in our &s;innes, being rocked in the cradle of carnall &s;ecuritie, but &s;hake off our drow&s;ines by vnfained repentance, ri&s;ing vp to newnes of life. And to this watchfulnes the Apo&s;tle exhorteth vs Eph. 5.14. <HI>Awake thou that &s;leepe&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.14.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;tand vp from the dead, and Chri&s;t &s;hall giue thee light, &amp;c.</HI> for wee are dead in our &s;innes, till Chri&s;t by his &s;pirit mortifie them and reuiue vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.1.</NOTE> rai&s;ing vs vp to newnes of life, as it is Eph. 2.1. Though therefore wee take our re&s;t and &s;leepe in that mea&s;ure which nature requireth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;&s;. 5.6.</NOTE> yet <HI>let vs not &s;leepe as doe other,</HI> (to wit, in carnall &s;ecuritie) <HI>but let vs watch and be &s;ober,</HI> as it is 1. The&s;&s;. 5.6. becau&s;e in this re&s;pect it is time that we &s;hould ari&s;e from &s;leepe, for the darke night of ignorance is pa&s;t; and the bright &s;un-&s;hine day of the Go&s;pel is come,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.12. &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>let vs therefore ca&s;t away the workes of darknes, and let vs put on the armour of light: So that we walke hone&s;tly as in the day: not in gluttony and drunkennes, neither in chambering and wantonne&s;&s;e, nor in &s;trife and enuying: but putting on the Lord Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t, taking no thought for the fle&s;h, to fulfill the lusts there|of,</HI> as it is Rom. 13.12, 13, 14.</P>
<P>And this is the Chri&s;tian watch which we are to ioyne with prayer: but as I would not haue vs put our whole confidence in the &s;pirituall armour, &s;o much le&s;&s;e in our owne care and watchfulnes; for wee mu&s;t relie our &s;elues vpon God onely, de&s;iring him to watch ouer vs while we &s;leepe; but yet with the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance wee mu&s;t ioyne our endeuour, and not drow&s;ily and &s;leepely receiue his aide: and as the godly hu&s;|bandman expecteth the fruites of the earth from the ble&s;&s;ing of God, and yet notwith&s;tanding v&s;eth all paines, care and diligence in plowing, harrowing and &s;owing his ground; &s;o we are to &s;eeke deliuerance from the force and malice of our &s;pirituall enemies of God alone, but yet wee are to ioyne our good endeuour carefully and diligently, v&s;ing all the good meanes which are ordained of God for this purpo&s;e.</P>
<PB N="69" REF="45">
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fift thing required is per&s;euerance in prayer:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of per&s;eue|rance in praier.</NOTE> for it is not &s;ufficient to pray earne&s;tly and feruently for a &s;pirt, but we mu&s;t continue therein, expecting the Lords lei&s;ure. And vnto this we are exhorted Rom. 12.12. <HI>continuing in prayer.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12.12.</NOTE> So the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> per&s;wadeth to expect and waite for the Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 27.14.</NOTE> and to bee &s;trong in continuing con&s;tantlie in our cour&s;e, and then in the end God will comfort our hearts, P&s;al. 27.14. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> willeth vs to pray ince&s;&s;ant|ly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;&s;. 5.17.</NOTE> like importunate &s;uiters who will haue no nay, though they receiue many denials. To this dutie our Sauiour encou|rageth vs by the parable of the vnrighteous Iudge, who though hee neither cared for man nor feared God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 18.1.</NOTE> yet was moued through importunitie to do the poore widow iu&s;tice; and therefore our heauenly father will much more graunt the importunate &s;uites of his elect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhy the Lord delaieth to graunt the pe|titions of his children.</NOTE> e&s;pecially hauing bound him&s;elfe thereunto by his mo&s;t gracious promi&s;es. True it is that the Lord doth many times deferre to graunt the prayers of his children, as though he heard or regarded them not; when as in truth he neuer delayeth any of their lawfull &s;uites, vnle&s;&s;e it be to this end that hee may thereby either conuay vnto them greater benefits than they de&s;ire, as when hee giueth &s;pirituall graces in &s;tead of earthly benefits; or els that thereby he may moue them to pray more feruently, and &s;o exerci&s;e and increa&s;e their faith, hope and patience; or that he may &s;hew the&s;e his graces to the prai&s;e of his glorie who hath be&s;towed them, both to others and the parties them|&s;elues; or that hee may moue vs more thankfully to receiue and highly to e&s;teeme his benefits, after by long &s;uite wee haue obtained them, which wee would not &s;o greatly regard if he be&s;towed them at the fir&s;t motion. A notable example hereof we haue in the Canaaniti&s;h woman, both for our com|fort and imitation, Matth. 15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 15.</NOTE> To who&s;e prayers our Sauiour Chri&s;t gaue (as it &s;eemed) no eare; and when he did take no|tice of her &s;uite he giueth her a double repul&s;e, fir&s;t by telling her that he was &s;ent onely to the lo&s;t &s;heepe of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael; and when this would not moue her to &s;urcea&s;e her &s;uite, he v&s;eth a more bitter deniall, telling her that it was not fit to take the childrens bread and to ca&s;t it to whelpes: but
<PB N="70" REF="46">when &s;he was not hereby di&s;couraged, nor her faith extin|gui&s;hed, but rather of a &s;parke increa&s;ed to a great flame, at the la&s;t &s;he doth not onely receiue what &s;he de&s;ired, but al&s;o was &s;ent away with great commendation. But wherefore did not our Sauiour graunt her petition at the fir&s;t hearing? Sure|ly not that he grudged her her &s;uite, or was loth to entertaine it, but to the end that he might make her more earne&s;tly im|plore his helpe, and manife&s;t to all the world her &s;ingular faith; and la&s;tly, that &s;he might be an example to vs for our imitation, both to encourage vs in asking of God the &s;upplie of our wants, and al&s;o to per&s;euere in prayer, though at the fir&s;t God &s;eemeth not to regard vs, yea though wee receiue diuers repul&s;es and many di&s;couragements: which if we per|fourme wee &s;hall haue a notable te&s;timonie of a true faith, when as we can patiently abide the Lords lei&s;ure, though hee doe deferre his helpe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 28.16.</NOTE> for <HI>he that beleeueth, will not make haste,</HI> as it is E&s;a. 28.16. and in the end wee &s;hall be &s;ure to obtaine our godly and hone&s;t de&s;ires, if not as we would, yet as it &s;hal be mo&s;t for our good, and withall eternall ble&s;&s;ednes. <HI>For the Lord is the God of iudgement; and ble&s;&s;ed are all they that waite for him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 30.18.</NOTE> as it is E&s;a. 30.18.</P>
<P>When therefore we are a&s;&s;aulted by our &s;piritual enemies, and readie to faint in the combat of temptations, let vs call vpon the Lord for his a&s;&s;i&s;tance, that wee may be freed from danger and deliuered from them; and if the Lord doe &s;eeme to deferre his helpe, and &s;uffer vs &s;till to beare the brunt of the battaile, after wee haue many times implored his a&s;&s;i|&s;tance, yet let vs not be di&s;couraged, but con&s;tantly per&s;euere in prayer, a&s;&s;uring our &s;elues that the Lord will either free vs from the temptation, or els giue vs &s;trength to endure and ouercome it: for hee hath promi&s;ed that he will not &s;uffer vs to be tempted aboue our power, but that he will giue a good i&s;&s;ue to the temptation that wee may be able to beare it, and he is faithfull and true of his word:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.13.</NOTE> as it is 1. Cor. 10.13. It may be that the Lord wil not quite free vs from the skirmi&s;h of temptation, though we haue often de&s;ired it of him, either becau&s;e he would further trie our Chri&s;tian valour, and exer|ci&s;e our faith, or re&s;traine vs from &s;inne, e&s;pecially &s;pirituall
<PB N="71" REF="46">pride, to which wee are too too &s;ubiect; as wee may &s;ee in the example of <HI>Paul,</HI> who being buffeted by the me&s;&s;enger of Sathan, be&s;ought the Lord thrice that he might depart from him: but the Lord an&s;wered, that his grace which he be&s;tow|ed on him was &s;ufficient, and that his power was made mani|fe&s;t in the Apo&s;tles weaknes, as appeareth 2. Cor. 12.8, 9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 12.8.9.</NOTE> Now the cau&s;e why the Lord would not altogether relea&s;e him, was, that he might be humbled hereby, the pricke of the fle&s;h letting out the winde of vaine glorie, which would haue puf|fed him vp, by rea&s;on of the multitude of reuelations which hee had receiued. Let vs not therefore &s;end for the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance (as it were) by po&s;te; and pre&s;cribe the Lord a time with the Bethulians, wherein if we be not relieued we will faint and cowardly yeeld: for that which the Prophet &s;peaketh from the Lord concerning the vi&s;ion, may fitly bee &s;poken of the Lords aide and helpe; <HI>Though it tarie, watch;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hab. 2.3.</NOTE> <HI>for it &s;hall &s;urely come and not &s;tay,</HI> Habac. 2.3.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The la&s;t thing required in our prayers, is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prayer to be made for all the Saints.</NOTE> that wee doe not onely pray for our &s;elues, but al&s;o for all the Saints. For wee are fellow members of the &s;ame bodie, wee are fellow &s;oul|diers which fight vnder the &s;ame Captaine Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and con&s;equently their victorie is our victorie, and their foyles are our foyles. As therefore &s;ouldiers do not only &s;tand vpon their &s;euerall guards, but ioyne their forces together, where|by it commeth to pa&s;&s;e, that they who being &s;cattered might ea&s;ily be ouercome, hauing vnited their forces are vnre&s;i&s;t|able; &s;o wee are not onely to &s;tand vpon our owne defence, but to ioyne in prayer with the whole Church militant, and then &s;hall not our &s;pirituall enemies &s;tand again&s;t vs: for of the praier of one righteous man auaileth much,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 5.16.</NOTE> being feruent and effectuall; of what efficacie and power are the prayers of all the righteous ioyned together?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">No armour ap|pointed for the backe.</NOTE>And thus haue I de&s;cribed the Chri&s;tian armour, which e|uery man is to put on before hee enter into the combat with our &s;pirituall enemies: among&s;t all which there is not any peece appointed for the backe, to note vnto vs that wee mu&s;t neuer retire, but manfully &s;tand to it euen in the face of our enemie. For if wee re&s;i&s;t Sathan, he will flee from vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.7.</NOTE> Iam. 4.7.
<PB N="72" REF="47">but if we giue ground and betake our &s;elues to flight, he will pur&s;ue vs &s;wiftly and deadly wound vs; for wee haue no ar|mour on the backe to defend vs from the violence of his blowes, neither will the Lord protect &s;uch faint-hearted co|wards as runne away from his &s;tanderd, not daring to tru&s;t and relie vpon his almightie power and neuer failing a&s;&s;i&s;|tance, which he hath promi&s;ed to all that fight his battailes. Seeing therefore there is no &s;afetie in flight, and a&s;&s;ured vic|torie to tho&s;e that faint not but endure the brunt of the skir|mi&s;h vnto the end, let vs manfully &s;tand vpon our guard, nei|ther fleeing nor yeelding to our &s;pirituall enemies; for where can wee be more &s;afe, than vnder the Lords &s;tanderd? where can we be more honourably imployed, than in fighting his battailes? how can our &s;tate be more dangerous, than when we flee and Sathan pur&s;ueth vs? how can it be more de&s;pe|rate, than when wee yeeld our &s;elues captiue to Sathan to be bound in the fetters of &s;inne, vntill the &s;entence of condem|nation be pronounced on vs in the general &s;e&s;&s;ions at the day of Chri&s;ts appearing?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVII.</HI> Of Sathans &s;tratagems.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning our &s;pirituall armour, as al&s;o our preparation to the &s;pirituall warfare; now we are to &s;peake of the battaile it &s;elfe: where fir&s;t we are to con&s;ider of Sathans &s;tratagems, and the manner of his fight; and &s;econdly, of the &s;peciall conflicts or temptations wherewith he a&s;&s;aileth vs. Concerning Sathans &s;tratagems, wee are to know that they are many and dange|rous; with which he will ea&s;ily circumuent and ouerthrow vs, if wee doe not carefully preuent or cunningly auoide them. For fir&s;t he dealeth not with all alike, neither v&s;eth the &s;ame weapons to foyle euery one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathan wor|keth vpon our owne corrupt affections.</NOTE> but he ob&s;erueth the qualitie and di&s;po&s;ition of his enemies, and accordingly he fitteth his temptations, &s;o as they may be mo&s;t forcible to preuaile a|gain&s;t them. And to this end he ob&s;erueth to what &s;innes wee
<PB N="73" REF="47">are mo&s;t inclined, either by nature, or by pre&s;ent occa&s;ion, and to tho&s;e he inciteth vs, thru&s;ting vs as it were downe the hill, where we are apt to runne headlong of our owne accord; and &s;econding his a&s;&s;ault with the aide of our corrupt fle&s;h, which intertaineth willingly his &s;ugge&s;tions, and vrgeth vs violently to yeeld to his temptations. So that Sathan neuer &s;triueth again&s;t the &s;treame, but v&s;eth the tide of our affec|tions to carrie vs &s;wiftly into a &s;ea of &s;inne.</P>
<P>For example, if he finde a man ambitiou&s;ly affected, then he couereth his hooke with the baite of honours: and thus he tempted <HI>Abimelech</HI> to murther all his worthie brethren,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iudg. 9.</NOTE> that hee might obtaine the &s;oueraigntie: thus hee tempted <HI>Ioab</HI> to &s;tab traiterou&s;ly <HI>Abner</HI> and <HI>Ama&s;a,</HI> that hee might &s;till be Captaine Generall: thus he tempted <HI>Ab&s;alon</HI> to v&s;urp the kingdome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Sam. 14.</NOTE> though it were by the vtter de&s;truction of his owne father. And thus he tempted our Sauiour Chri&s;t to wor|&s;hip him, by offering him all the kingdomes of the world, thinking belike that he was inclined to ambition, &s;eeing hee profe&s;&s;ed him&s;elfe a great King, and had no worldly king|dome in his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. So in our daies he tempteth the am|bitious &s;ubiect to a&s;pire, without iu&s;t title, to the Crowne of their lawfull Princes; and tho&s;e who are Kings alreadie to affect a Monarchie, by v&s;urping wrongfully their neighbour kingdomes: &s;o hee tempteth the Spiritualtie to come by Church-preferments, rather commended by the gifts of the pur&s;e than of the minde; and the Laytie to buy great offices at &s;o high a rate that they cannot liue of them, vnle&s;&s;e they &s;ell iu&s;tice by taking bribes to betray the innocent, and their hone&s;tie al&s;o by v&s;ing all extor&s;ion.</P>
<P>If he find that men are addicted to voluptuou&s;nes, then he tempteth them to &s;inne by offering carnall plea&s;ures; and thus hee tempted <HI>Noah</HI> to drunkennes, <HI>Dauid</HI> to adulterie, <HI>Salomon</HI> to idolatrie and all wickedne&s;&s;e. And thus now hee tempteth &s;ome to good fellow&s;hip, that is, to &s;pend their whole time in drunkennes, belly-cheare, and all riotous ex|ce&s;&s;e and Epicuri&s;me; &s;ome to lu&s;t, incontinencie, and all vo|luptuous plea&s;ures of the fle&s;h. Or if he cannot bring them to &s;uch carnall gro&s;&s;nes, hee will intice them to v&s;e lawfull re|creations
<PB N="74" REF="48">vnlawfully, and immoderatly &s;pending all their time in plea&s;ure, which they &s;hould be&s;tow in the &s;eruice of God, by imploying them&s;elues in the generall duties of Chri&s;tianitie, and in the &s;peciall duties of their callings.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But if he finde that men are giuen to couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, then hath hee matter enough to worke vpon: for as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, 1. Tim. 6.9, 10. <HI>They that will be rich fall into temptations and &s;nares,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1. Tim. 6.9.10</HI> How Sathan worketh vpon mens couetou&s;|nes.</NOTE> <HI>and into many fooli&s;h and noi&s;ome lusts, which drowne men in perdition and de&s;truction: for the de&s;ire of money is the roote of all euill.</HI> With this baite hee allured <HI>Laban</HI> to deale churli&s;hly and vniu&s;tly with <HI>Iacob,</HI> and his owne children; and to inrich him&s;elfe by impoueri&s;hing them, for who&s;e &s;ake he &s;hould haue gathered his riches. He inticed <HI>Balaam</HI> to cur&s;e the people whom God had ble&s;&s;ed, by offring him money the wages of wickedne&s;&s;e. He tempted <HI>Gehazi</HI> to take the talent and chaunge of raiment of <HI>Naaman,</HI> &s;elling for this &s;mall trifle Gods honour and his ma&s;ters credit. He allured <HI>Achab</HI> to murther <HI>Naboth,</HI> that he might purloyne his vine|yard, and &s;o purcha&s;e the iuyce of the grape with the blood of his faithfull &s;ubiect. With this baite he inticed <HI>Iudas</HI> to be|tray his ma&s;ter, &s;elling him for thirtie peeces of &s;iluer, who&s;e worth could not be valued with many worlds. And hereby al&s;o hee prouoked <HI>Demetrius</HI> to oppo&s;e him&s;elfe to the preaching of the Go&s;pell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 19.25.</NOTE> becau&s;e hee would not lo&s;e his gaine in making &s;iluer &s;hrines to the Idoll, Act. 19.25. Neither was this argument drawne from profit forcible onely in for|mer times, but now al&s;o it doth no le&s;&s;e per&s;wade to &s;inne. For whom almo&s;t doth not Sathan catch, or at lea&s;t intangle in this golden net? Doth he not in&s;nare as well profe&s;&s;ors of religion, as profe&s;&s;ed worldlings, &s;o that in greedie &s;eeking of gaine it is not ea&s;ie to di&s;cerne the one from the other? Doth hee not ouercome all &s;orts and conditions of men, as well tho&s;e who abound in al things, as tho&s;e that enioy little, by proportionating his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">ers of riches, according to their &s;euerall e&s;tates; much to tho&s;e that haue much, and little to tho&s;e that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e little? For hee commeth to Princes, and promi&s;eth them huge &s;ummes of money, if they will lay in|tollerable taxations on their &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters">cts, or rob the Church of
<PB N="75" REF="48">her liuings, that is, God him&s;elfe of his right. He commeth to Magi&s;trates and Iudges, and offreth vnto them great bribes, if they will peruert iu&s;tice, and &s;o purteth out their eyes that they cannot &s;ee right from wrong; for,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 16.19.</NOTE> <HI>reward blindeth the eyes of the wi&s;e, and peruerteth the words of the iu&s;t,</HI> as it is Deut. 16.19. If he &s;ee one in office couetous, he promi&s;eth great re|uenewes and &s;tately hou&s;es, if hee will deceiue the Prince of their right, and oppre&s;&s;e the &s;ubiect with grieuous extortion: and the like offers he maketh to couetous gentlemen, if they will build their hou&s;es with the blood of their tenants, and by grinding the faces of the poore, and by inhaun&s;ing their rents, and increa&s;ing their fines to &s;uch vnrea&s;onable rates, that the poore tenant can &s;carce with the &s;weate of his face earne his bread.</P>
<P>Neither doth hee angle with this baite in the Court and countrie onely, but he thinketh it fit for the citie al&s;o: for he commeth to the couetous Merchant, and promi&s;eth him that in &s;uch a countrie he &s;hall haue good trafficke, if hee will di&s;|&s;emble his religion, that is, denie Chri&s;t before men: he offe|reth to the &s;hop-keeper increa&s;e of wealth, if hee will v&s;e fal&s;e waights &amp; mea&s;ures, and fal&s;e lights, or els &s;ell &s;uch wares as are neither profitable for the Church nor Common-wealth; or adulterate and fal&s;ifie his &s;tuffe by mixing bad with good; or aske double the price, &s;wearing that it co&s;t him more than afterwards him&s;elfe is contented to take: in a word, if in buy|ing and &s;elling he will v&s;e fraud, lying, &s;wearing and for&s;wea|ring, hee promi&s;eth to make him a rich man, though often|times hee de~ceiueth him, for in &s;tead of increa&s;ing in wealth by the&s;e vngodly practi&s;es, oftentimes he becomes banke|rupt, the Lord laying his cur&s;e on tho&s;e wicked meanes, with|out who&s;e ble&s;&s;ing the builder buildeth and the labourer la|boureth but in vaine, as it is P&s;al. 127. 1.2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 127.1.2.</NOTE> So al&s;o he commeth to the Artificer, and telleth him that if he will be rich, he mu&s;t make &s;ale ware: and what is that? &s;uch as is &s;leight and alto|gether vnfit for v&s;e; as though that were mo&s;t fit for &s;ale which is &s;leight and altogether vnprofitable. And &s;o com|mon nowadaies is this fault, that no greater di&s;prai&s;e can be giuen, than to &s;ay it is &s;ale ware, as though now nothing
<PB N="76" REF="49">which is good and &s;ub&s;tantiall were fit to be &s;old. And with the&s;e and &s;uch like &s;nares doth Sathan intangle tho&s;e that are couetous, and haue &s;et their hearts vpon the earthly Mam|mon; which I haue the longer &s;tood vpon, becau&s;e it is a temptation mo&s;t dangerous; neither doth Sathan by any meanes more ea&s;ily &s;acke our &s;oules, and &s;poile vs of Gods graces, than when hee a&s;cendeth by the&s;e golden ladders, or maketh a breach in our hearts with the&s;e rich bullets.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> If Sathan &s;ee men proud and vaine-glorious,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan tempteth the vaine-glorious to &s;inne.</NOTE> then he inti|ceth them to &s;inne, by offring them gorgeous attire farre vn|fitting their &s;tate and callings, and &s;o cau&s;eth them to com|mit a great ab&s;urditie: for whereas our Sauiour Chri&s;t &s;aith, that the bodie is of more worth than raiment, they make their raiment of more worth than their bodies, in other mens iudgement, and preferre gay apparell before the health of their &s;oules, in their owne e&s;timation; for that they may iet it out in rich attire, they v&s;e vnlawful meanes, either by iniu|ring and oppre&s;&s;ing their inferiours, or at lea&s;t by keeping the poore from their right: (for their &s;uperfluitie of wealth was not giuen them to &s;pend in &s;uch exce&s;&s;e, but that they &s;hould like the Lords Almners relieue the poore with their &s;urplu&s;&s;age) and by both, they wound their &s;oules with &s;inne, and without repentance plunge them into euerla&s;ting death.</P>
<P>So al&s;o Sathan taketh aduantage of our complexion and temperature; by tempting the Sanguine to plea&s;ure and lu&s;t; the Flegmaticke to idlenes and &s;loth; the Melancholicke to enuie and malice; the Cholericke man he prouoketh to quar|rels and braules, and inticeth him to take reuenge by aggra|uating the iniurie, and &s;ugge&s;ting that it will be great di&s;pa|ragement to put vp &s;uch a wrong. In a word, Sathan carefully ob&s;erueth to what &s;inne we are mo&s;t prone by nature, cu&s;tom or occa&s;ion; and to that he eggeth vs forward vnto which our owne lu&s;ts leade vs, changing his temptations as we change our affection. And therefore the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> telleth vs, that who&s;oeuer is tempted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.14.</NOTE> is drawne away by his owne concu|pi&s;cence, becau&s;e Sathan neuer a&s;&s;aulteth vs, but he is &s;ure that the fle&s;h will further him in his temptations.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I di&s;couered Sathans fir&s;t &s;tratagem, which
<PB N="77" REF="49">he v&s;eth in tempting vs to &s;inne;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the meanes to defeate Sa|thans former policies.</NOTE> which if wee would with|&s;tand and defeate, we are as carefully to ob&s;erue our own na|ture and di&s;po&s;ition, that wee may finde to what vices we are mo&s;t prone, and &s;o with greater watchfulnes we may auoide them. For as when a citie is be&s;ieged, the inhabitants will mo&s;t &s;trongly man that place, which by nature is mo&s;t weake and a&s;&s;aultable, becau&s;e they know that the enemie will giue the on&s;et there where he is like to finde the ea&s;ie&s;t entrance: &s;o wee being be&s;ieged with our &s;pirituall enemies, are mo&s;t carefully to ob&s;erue where our &s;oules are weake&s;t to make re&s;i&s;tance, and ouer that part wee are to watch with greate&s;t diligence, a&s;&s;uring our &s;elues that there Sathan will plant all his engines of batterie, that hauing made a breach hee may enter and &s;urprize vs.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierem. 17.9.</NOTE> And becau&s;e the heart of man is deceit|full aboue all things, and none but God know it, let vs &s;um|mon it often before the throne of Gods iudgement, and ex|amine it by his law, that thereby wee may &s;ee our &s;ecret cor|ruptions, and after labour to kill and mortifie them.</P>
<P>If we finde that wee be ambitiou&s;ly affected, wee are to v&s;e all good meanes that true humilitie may bee wrought in our hearts, and when&s;oeuer (honours being offred) we are tickled with ambitious and a&s;piring thoughts, let vs &s;u&s;pect that vn|der honour Sathan hath hid a hooke to catch vs. And there|fore before wee accept it, wee are to examine our &s;elues whe|ther we be fit for &s;o high a place, and whether we can attaine thereto by hone&s;t and lawfull meanes, and whether the place it &s;elfe be &s;uch, that therein we may glorifie God, benefit his Church, and keepe a good con&s;cience.</P>
<P>So if we finde that we are addicted vnto plea&s;ures, wee are with all care to &s;tudie and practi&s;e true mortification; and when any plea&s;ures are offred vs, wee are to looke narrowly into them, that we may di&s;cerne if Sathan hath not laid vnder them a &s;nare to intrap vs, either by tempting vs to plea&s;ures which are vnlawfull, or to the immoderate v&s;e of tho&s;e which be lawfull; and as we loue the &s;aluation of our &s;oules, let vs auoide the baite when we &s;ee the &s;nare.</P>
<P>In like manner if wee finde that we are prone to couetou&s;|nes, let vs carefully labour to weane our &s;elues from this vice,
<PB N="78" REF="50">by con&s;idering that it is idolatrie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 6.9.10. Eph. 5.5. Col. 3.5. Matth. 19.24.</NOTE> and the roote of all euill; that the rich (that is, &s;uch as &s;et their hearts vpon riches) &s;hall as hardly enter into Gods kingdome as a Camell thorow an needels eyes; that riches are momentanie and mutable, and wee mortall,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 12.20.</NOTE> and therefore haue no a&s;&s;urance of them for the &s;pace of one day. And when any commoditie is offred vs, we are to looke twice on it before we accept thereof, examining whether wee may compa&s;&s;e it by hone&s;t and good meanes, and without the hurt of our brethren, and then wee may take it as &s;ent from God; otherwi&s;e we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues, that how plea&s;antly &s;oeuer the baite looketh, yet Sathan hath hid vnder it a deadly hooke, and therfore if we &s;wallow the baite the hooke will choake vs.</P>
<P>And thus al&s;o are we to behaue our &s;elues in re&s;pect of all other &s;innes, to which we finde after due examination we are addicted, if wee will be &s;afe from the diuels malice and cun|ning furie, knowing that where we are mo&s;t weake, there he will giue the mo&s;t violent a&s;&s;aults.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="18" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVIII.</HI> How Sathan fitteth his temptations to our &s;tate and conditions.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _BVt as Sathan fitteth his temptations to our na|ture and di&s;po&s;ition, &s;o al&s;o to our &s;tate and condition: for this al&s;o he ob&s;erueth, and ac|cording to the qualitie thereof he tempteth vs to &s;uch &s;innes, as by rea&s;on thereof wee are mo&s;t inclinable: and this he doth both in re|&s;pect of our worldly and al&s;o our &s;pirituall e&s;tate. In regard of our worldly e&s;tate, he ob&s;erueth whether we are in pro&s;pe|ritie or aduer&s;itie.<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan fit|teth his temp|tations to our worldly e&s;tate.</NOTE> If we be in pro&s;peritie, then he tempteth vs to tho&s;e &s;innes whereunto that e&s;tate is mo&s;t &s;ubiect, namely to pride and forgetfulnes of God, to contempt of our poore brethren, to the loue of the world, to coldnes in religion, and carnall &s;ecuritie; for he will per&s;wade vs, how wickedly &s;oe|uer we liue, that we are highly in Gods fauour, otherwi&s;e he
<PB N="79" REF="50">would not be&s;tow &s;o great and manifold benefits vpon vs, as pawnes and pledges of his loue.</P>
<P>If we be in aduer&s;itie, then he will labour to per&s;wade vs to v&s;e vnlawfull meanes for the repairing of our e&s;tates, di&s;tru|&s;ting in Gods al-ruling prouidence and neuer deceiuing pro|mi&s;es. If we be poore, he inticeth vs to &s;teale, defraud and op|pre&s;&s;e our brethren, that &s;o wee may become rich by others &s;poyles. If wee haue lo&s;t any thing by theeues or other ca|&s;ualtie, he tempteth vs to goe to witches and wizards, that &s;o we may hazard our &s;oules, which are of more value than the whole world, for the recouerie of &s;ome earthly trifle. If wee &s;uffer any great cro&s;&s;e or affliction, hee will per&s;wade vs that God hath for&s;aken and hateth vs, or els he would not &s;o grie|uou&s;ly afflict vs; and hereby hee moueth vs to de&s;paire, mur|muring and repining again&s;t God. Which temptation he fin|deth &s;o forcible, that he confidently pre&s;umed that he could thereby haue cau&s;ed <HI>Iob</HI> to haue bla&s;phemed God to his face. Yea hee thought it a fit weapon to v&s;e again&s;t our Sauiour Chri&s;t; for, wanting ordinarie meanes to &s;u&s;taine his hunger, Sathan tempteth him to di&s;tru&s;t Gods prouidence, and to &s;hift for him&s;elfe, by turning &s;tones into bread,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Matth. 4.</HI> &sect;. Sect. <HI>2.</HI> How we are to defeat Sathans former policie.</NOTE> Matth. 4.</P>
<P>Now if wee would with&s;tand Sathan in this his cunning practi&s;e, wee al&s;o are carefully to ob&s;erue our e&s;tates, and to arme our &s;elues again&s;t tho&s;e temptations, to which that e|&s;tate wherein we liue is mo&s;t &s;ubiect. In the time of pro&s;peri|tie we are continually to meditate, that what&s;oeuer wee haue it is the gift of God, be&s;towed on vs not for our de&s;arts, but of his free mercie and goodne&s;&s;e, that by the con&s;ideration hereof we may be &s;tirred vp to true thankfulnes, and as often as wee looke vpon the gifts may thinke vpon the giuer, and prai&s;e his name for his benefits, and imploy them to his glo|rie, and the good of our brethren the poore members of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. Let vs remember that wee are but &s;tewards of the&s;e earthly trea&s;ures, and therefore mu&s;t one day be called to an account, and con&s;equently the greater our receipts be, the greater will be our reckoning; that the&s;e earthly things are momentanie and mutable, and we al&s;o mortall, and therfore there is no rea&s;on that wee &s;hould be proud of them, or con|temne
<PB N="80" REF="51">our brethren who want them, &s;eeing in an in&s;tant they may abound, and we may be &s;tripped of all we po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>So if we be in aduer&s;itie, wee are to relie our &s;elues on the Lords prouidence, who hath promi&s;ed to all that depend vp|on him all things nece&s;&s;arie, &s;o farre foorth as they tend to the &s;aluation of our &s;oules: neither are we to beleeue Sathan when he telleth vs that afflictions are &s;ignes of Gods hatred, &s;eeing there are innumerable examples of Gods deare chil|dren grieuou&s;ly afflicted, and plaine te&s;timonies of Scriptures which proue the contrarie, as &s;hall appeare hereafter.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> In re&s;pect of our &s;pirituall e&s;tate Sathan ob&s;erueth whe|ther wee be meere worldlings or profe&s;&s;ors.<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan frameth his temptations in re&s;pect of our &s;piritual e&s;tate.</NOTE> If worldlings, then whether we be notoriou&s;ly wicked, or ciuil hone&s;t men; tho&s;e that be notoriou&s;ly wicked he plungeth headlong into a gulfe of all wickedne&s;&s;e and outragious rebellion again&s;t God, hee tempteth them to Athei&s;me, and to contempt of Gods wor&s;hip and &s;eruice, to &s;wearing and bla&s;pheming, to the prophaning of the Sabbaoth, and &s;corning of all religion, to murthers, adulterie, drunkennes, theft, and all diuelli&s;h practi&s;es, becau&s;e they are his &s;laues readie at his appoint|ment to execute all tho&s;e workes of darknes wherein he will imploy them. For &s;uch men it is but lo&s;t labour to &s;hew them how they may re&s;i&s;t Sathan, &s;eeing they take their whole de|light in &s;eruing and obeying him; and therefore before they be taught how to re&s;i&s;t him, they mu&s;t be per&s;waded to a de|&s;ire of comming out of his thraldome, of whom they are ta|ken pri&s;oners to doe his will, as it is 2. Tim. 2.26.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. The&s;&s;. 2.26.</NOTE></P>
<P>If they be ciuill hone&s;t men, he per&s;wadeth them that it is &s;ufficient if they deale iu&s;tly and vprightly with their neigh|bours both in their words and actions; and for Gods &s;eruice con&s;i&s;ting in the duties of pietie, which is commanded in the fir&s;t table, that it is enough if they haue a good meaning, though they be vtterly ignorant of the principles of religion, and that it is onely required of preachers and tho&s;e that be book-learned, to be able to render an account of their faith; as for them God will haue them excu&s;ed, &s;o they leade an ho|ne&s;t life among&s;t their neighbours, and be not tainted with gro&s;&s;e and outragious &s;innes.</P>
<PB N="81" REF="51">
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But beloued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How we may re&s;i&s;t the former temptations.</NOTE> if we would not be &s;ubdued by Sathan, let vs be mo&s;t carefull in with&s;tanding this dangerous a&s;&s;ault: for there is not any one temptation wherewith Sathan preuaileth more, than by per&s;wading men to content them&s;elues with a ciuill kinde of hone&s;tie, which is de&s;titute of religion and the true feare of God. And to this end let vs con&s;ider, that ciuill hone&s;tie &s;euered from true pietie is but glorious iniquitie: for when wee haue attained to as great a mea&s;ure thereof, as po&s;&s;ibly we can in this age of corruption, we &s;hall come &s;hort in diuers duties of many of the Heathens, who haue excelled in the&s;e morall and ciuill vertues: and con&s;equently when we are at the be&s;t we &s;hall be but hone&s;t Infidels and good natu|red worldlings, if wee doe not ioyne thereunto the duties of pietie. And how goodly a &s;hew &s;oeuer our workes make in the eyes of men, yet are they odious in Gods &s;ight, if they be not done in knowledge, and grounded on Gods word and commandement, but in ignorance and according to our own inuentions and the fond conceit of our blind vnder&s;tanding; if they proceede not from the true loue of God, which is the onely fountaine of all acceptable obedience, but from the loue of our &s;elues and other carnall re&s;pects; if they bee not the fruites of a liuely faith, but done in ignorance and infide|litie; for, <HI>what &s;oeuer is not done in faith, is &s;inne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.23. Heb. 11.6.</NOTE> as it is Rom. 14.23. and therefore cannot plea&s;e God, Heb. 11.6. By which we are not to vnder&s;tand an hi&s;toricall faith, whereby wee know and are a&s;&s;ured that tho&s;e workes wee doe are commanded in Gods word; but a true iu&s;tifying faith which doth applie vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and all Gods mercifull promi&s;es made in him. For, that our workes may be acceptable before God, there is required fir&s;t that our per&s;ons bee acceptable vnto him, neither can any thing we doe plea&s;e him, &s;o long as we remaine his enemies, in which &s;tate we are by nature, till wee are reconciled in Chri&s;t our Mediatour, as appeareth Rom. 5.10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.10. Col. 1.20.</NOTE> Now vnle&s;&s;e we haue faith, we cannot apply vnto vs Chri&s;t nor his merits and righteou&s;nes, by whom onely wee are re|conciled vnto God, and con&s;equently we remaine Gods ene|mies, who can doe nothing plea&s;ing in his &s;ight.</P>
<P>Secondly, the be&s;t of our workes are imperfect, and ming|led
<PB N="82" REF="52">with many corruptions, and therefore cannot abide the examination of Gods exact iu&s;tice, till their imperfections be couered by Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and their corruption wa&s;hed away with his mo&s;t precious bloud; now Chri&s;t and his merits cannot by any other meanes be applied vnto vs, but by the hand of a liuely faith.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, if all our works and hone&s;t dealing be not done in zeale of Gods glorie, &amp; referred to this end that Gods name may be magnified, they are not acceptable before God: for, the cau&s;e why he would haue our light &s;hine before men, is, that he our heauenly father may be glorified,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 3.16.</NOTE> as it is Matth 5. 16. and the maine and wherefore wee &s;hould haue our con|uer&s;ation hone&s;t among&s;t the Gentiles and vnbeleeuers, is, that they which &s;peake euill of vs, as of euill doers, may, by our good works which they &s;hall &s;ee, glorifie God in the day of their vi&s;itation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 2.12.</NOTE> as it is 1. Pet. 2.12.</P>
<P>And therefore let not Sathan deceiue vs, in per&s;wading vs to re&s;t in ciuill hone&s;tie; for if it be &s;euered from true pietie, from &s;auing knowledge, from &s;incere loue of God, iu&s;tifying faith, and a zeale of Gods glorie, it will not be acceptable in Gods &s;ight; as proceeding from the loue of our &s;elues, and other carnall re&s;pects, namely to obtaine prai&s;e or profit thereby.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus Sathan dealeth with ciuil worldlings. But if tho&s;e which he incountreth be profe&s;&s;ors of religion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan dealeth with profe&s;&s;ors of re|ligion.</NOTE> then hee &s;ee|keth to per&s;wade them, that if they outwardly perfourme the duties of pietie, as the hearing of Gods word, the publike and priuate calling vpon Gods name, the frequent receiuing of the Sacraments; if they attaine to the knowledge and pro|fe&s;&s;ion of religion, and can tip their tongues with godline&s;&s;e; then they may liue how they li&s;t among&s;t their brethren, neglecting all the duties of the &s;econd table, &s;o they out|wardly ob&s;erue the fir&s;t; for though they be barraine of good workes, de&s;titute of charitie, filled with pride, addicted to co|uetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, oppre&s;&s;ion, and all deceitfull dealing, yet they &s;hall be iu&s;tified by their faith, and approoued of God for their outward profe&s;&s;ion &s;ake. But let &s;uch men know that this is a notable &s;tratagem of Sathan, to cau&s;e vs to fall into
<PB N="83" REF="52">his &s;ecret ambu&s;hments to our de&s;truction,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That pietie and honestie are in|&s;eparable.</NOTE> which if they would preuent and auoide, let them con&s;ider that pietie and charitable hone&s;tie are two &s;uch twinnes as are borne, liue, and dye both together, that they are the life and &s;oule of a Chri&s;tian which cannot po&s;&s;iblie be &s;euered; that it is as po&s;|&s;ible for the good tree to bring foorth bad fruite, for the fire to be without heate, and the Sunne without light, as it is for a liuely faith to be voide of good workes, true profe&s;&s;ion to be &s;euered from holie practi&s;e, and iu&s;tification before God from &s;anctification and holine&s;&s;e of life before men; that who&s;oeuer braggeth of his loue to God and loueth not his brethren is a liar, and there is no truth in him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 4.20.</NOTE> 1. Ioh. 4.20. that though they profe&s;&s;e them&s;elues the children of God, yet if they doe not the workes of righteou&s;nes as well as the workes of pietie, and loue their brethren, they are in truth the children of the diuell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.10. Rom. 2.13.</NOTE> as appeareth 1. Ioh. 3.10. that not the hearers of the word, but the doers thereof are iu&s;tified, Rom. 2.13. that <HI>not euery one who &s;aith Lord, Lord, &s;hall enter into the kingdome of heauen,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.21.</NOTE> <HI>but they who doe the will of the father which is in heauen,</HI> Matth. 7.21. that they deceiue them&s;elues who looke to be &s;aued by hearing the word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.22.</NOTE> if they practi&s;e not that which they heare, Iam. 1.22. for in &s;tead thereof they &s;hall plunge them&s;elues into deeper condemnation: <HI>For the &s;eruant that knoweth his masters will and doth it not,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 12.47.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall be beaten with many &s;tripes,</HI> Luk. 12.47. And it &s;hall be more ea&s;ie for Tyre and Sidon, Sodome and Gomorrah,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.21.</NOTE> who had not the Go&s;pell preached among&s;t them, nor &s;aw Chri&s;ts mi|racles, than for Corazin and Beth&s;aida which enioyed both, Matth. 11.21. for there as he giueth great meanes of know|ledge, there hee expecteth great fruites in practi&s;e, and as hee will be honoured in all, &s;o e&s;pecially in tho&s;e that come nigh vnto him; as it is Leuit. 10.3. La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Leu. 10.3.</NOTE> that the &s;entence of &s;al|uation and damnation &s;hall not be giuen according to our words and profe&s;&s;ion, but according to our deedes and the holie practi&s;e of the workes of mercie and Chri&s;tianitie, which are the in&s;eparable fruites and vndoubted &s;ignes of true faith. And therefore let not Sathan delude vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.</NOTE> by per|&s;wading
<PB N="84" REF="53">&s;wading vs that pietie without hone&s;tie, profe&s;&s;ion without practi&s;e, faith without workes are &s;ufficient for our &s;aluation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But if they be &s;incere profe&s;&s;ors,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan dealeth with &s;incere profe&s;|&s;ors, and fir&s;t with the weake Chri&s;tian.</NOTE> then hee ob&s;erueth whe|ther they be babes or &s;trong men in Chri&s;t; if he finde them babes, then he &s;eeketh to abu&s;e their &s;implicitie, by drawing them either into errours and here&s;ies, or at lea&s;t into blinde zeale and &s;uper&s;tition. If he cannot &s;o preuaile, by rea&s;on that the bright beames of the Go&s;pell &s;hining in the preaching of the word doe di&s;couer his errours and lies, giuing light to tho&s;e that &s;it in the darknes of ignorance, and in the &s;hadow of death, whereby their feete are guided into the way of peace, then he laboureth to ouerwhelme them with the bur|then of their &s;innes, and to plunge them into the bottomle&s;&s;e gulfe of horrour and de&s;paire, by aggrauating the odiou&s;nes of their rebellion, and huge multitudes of their outragious tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, by &s;etting before them the cur&s;e of the law, the vengeance of God due vnto them, his infinite and exact iu&s;tice which mu&s;t be &s;atisfied, and the vn&s;peakable and end|le&s;&s;e torments prepared for the damned. But if he cannot ag|grauate their &s;ins, which in truth they haue committed, and make of them &s;uch an huge mountaine as may &s;erue to ouer|whelme them, he addeth vnto them his owne &s;innes, by ca|&s;ting into their minds outragious bla&s;phemies again&s;t God, and &s;uch horrible &s;ugge&s;tions of impietie, as it will make their haires to &s;tand on end when they do but think of them, per&s;wading them that they are their owne thoughts, and therefore horrible &s;innes, whereas in truth they are but his &s;ugge&s;tions, and therefore if wee doe repell and reiect them, they are not our &s;innes but the &s;innes of the tempter: for as it is not our fault if a theefe intice vs to &s;teale, &s;o wee doe not intertaine his motion, but &s;hew our dete&s;tation of his &s;inne; &s;o it is not a &s;inne to be tempted, if wee pre&s;ently doe repell the &s;ugge&s;tion, and doe not yeeld vnto the temptation. And this may appeare by our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, who though he were free from &s;inne, yet hee was tempted in all things like vnto vs, and &s;o not free from Sathans &s;ugge&s;tions, for he was tempted to diffidence, to tempting God, yea to the wor&s;hipping of the diuell him&s;elfe; but re&s;i&s;ting Sathans
<PB N="85" REF="53">&s;ugge&s;tions, he was not guiltie of &s;inne. Who&s;e example if we imitate, Sathans bla&s;phemous temptations &s;hal neuer be laid to our charge; neither is it po&s;&s;ible to be free from tempta|tions, although it be po&s;&s;ible by Gods grace to re&s;i&s;t them. But more of this hereafter.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> If by this meanes he cannot ouerthrow their faith &amp; bring them to de&s;paire,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan in|ticeth the weake Chri&s;tian to commit &s;innes of ignorance.</NOTE> then hee taketh aduantage of their &s;impli|citie, by inticing them to commit &s;innes of ignorance. For example, he will tell them that it is lawfull, nay expedient to v&s;e their Chri&s;tian libertie, when he tempteth them to licen|tiou&s;ne&s;&s;e; and to the end he may more ea&s;ily deceiue them, he will &s;et a faire glo&s;&s;e vpon foule &s;innes, and &s;eeke to iu&s;tifie them by Gods word, apparelling vices in the habite of tho&s;e vertues which mo&s;t re&s;emble them. He will tempt to coue|tou&s;nes, vnder &s;hew of frugalitie, telling them that they who prouide not for their familie are wor&s;e than Infidels; and to prodigalitie, vnder the pretence of liberalitie, alleaging that they who &s;ow plentifully &s;hall reape plentifully. He will al|lure them to tempt God, by neglecting tho&s;e meanes which he hath graunted them, vnder the colour of affiance in God; and to tru&s;t in the meanes, vnder the vizard of carefull proui|dence. He will tempt them to propound this end of their good workes, that they may be &s;aued by them, becau&s;e God hath promi&s;ed to reward them; or to neglect good workes, as vnnece&s;&s;arie to &s;aluation, becau&s;e faith alone iu&s;tifieth. Which temptations if wee would with&s;tand, wee mu&s;t labour after true &s;auing knowledge that we may di&s;cerne betweene vertue and vice, truth and error, that which God hath forbid|den as vnlawfull, from that which hee hath commanded as lawfull; to this end v&s;ing diligently all good meanes which tend to this purpo&s;e, as hearing, reading, meditating, and con|ferring of Gods word, that &s;o the clowdes of ignorance be|ing di&s;pelled with the light of knowledge, wee may di&s;couer Sathans delu&s;ions and deceits. Otherwi&s;e if he depriue vs of knowledge, which is the eye of the &s;oule, he may ea&s;ily &s;e|duce vs out of the right way into the gulfe of perdition.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus Sathan dealeth with the weake Chri&s;tian: but if he finde tho&s;e whom he a&s;&s;aulteth &s;trong men in Chri&s;t, &s;o
<PB N="86" REF="54">that he cannot take any aduantage of their ignorance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan dealeth with the &s;trong Chri|&s;tian.</NOTE> nor o|uerthrow their faith, then he laboureth to make them wound their con&s;cience, by committing &s;ins of pre&s;umption again&s;t their knowledge, v&s;ing the violence of their affections, to a|bu&s;e their rea&s;on and mi&s;leade their iudgement; the daunger of which temptation <HI>Dauid</HI> well di&s;cerning by his owne wo|full experience, doth earne&s;tly intreat the Lord to pre&s;erue him from pre&s;umptuous &s;ins,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 19.13.</NOTE> P&s;al. 19.13. And thus hath Sathan preuailed with &s;o many of Gods owne children, that he dur&s;t therewith a&s;&s;ault our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, by offring him the whole world and the glory thereof, if he would fall down and wor&s;hip him; that his affections tickled with ambition, might moue him to commit this &s;in for the &s;atisfying his de|&s;ires. But if he cannot thus preuaile,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 11.14.</NOTE> he wil transforme him&s;elf into an angell of light, and tempt them to the doing of a le&s;&s;e good, that they may neglect a greater; or that which is in it &s;elfe lawfull and commanded in his due time &amp; place, he will tempt them to performe it vn&s;ea&s;onably, whe~ as other duties in re&s;pect of pre&s;ent occa&s;ion are more nece&s;&s;ary; and &s;o v&s;eth one vertue or dutie to &s;houlder another, &amp; thru&s;t it di&s;orderly out of it own place and &s;tanding. For example, in the hearing of the word he will ca&s;t into their minds meditations, in their owne nature good and acceptable to God in their due time and place, to the end hee may di&s;tract their mindes and make them heare without profit: in the time of prayer hee will not &s;tick to recall to their memories &s;ome profitable in&s;tructions which they haue heard at the &s;ermon, to the end he may di|&s;turbe them in that holy exerci&s;e, and keep them from lifting vp their hearts wholy vnto God. Moreouer, in all his tempta|tions he will alleage &s;cripture; but then either hee depraueth the place by adding or di&s;tracting, as when he alleageth &s;crip|ture to our Sauiour Chri&s;t, Matth. 4: 6. <HI>It is written he will giue his angels charge ouer thee, &amp;c.</HI> and leaueth out <HI>to keepe thee in all thy waies,</HI> which is expre&s;&s;ed in the place he quoteth, P&s;al. 90.11. becau&s;e that made quite again&s;t him; or if hee recite them right, he will wre&s;t the words vnto another &s;en&s;e, than the holie Gho&s;t hath written them, that &s;o he may deceiue vs and leade vs into error.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="19" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="87" REF="54">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIX.</HI> How Sathan allureth vs into &s;inne by degrees, and draweth vs from one extreme to another.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I &s;hewed at large Sathans fir&s;t pol|liticke &s;tratagem, which he v&s;eth to circumuent vs by fitting his temptations according to our nature and di&s;po&s;ition, or our &s;tate and condi|tion. A &s;econd pollicie which Sathan v&s;eth to circumuent vs, is this; if he cannot at the fir&s;t intice vs to fall into outragious wickednes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathan labo|reth to draw vs into outra|gious &s;innes by degrees.</NOTE> he will &s;eeke to draw vs thereun|to by degrees, beginning at the lea&s;t, and &s;o bringing vs from that to a greater, till at la&s;t we come to the highe&s;t &s;tep of wickednes: whereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e, that as tho&s;e who walke to the top of an high hill, who&s;e a&s;cent ari&s;eth by little and little, come to the top without wearines, before they well perceiued that they did a&s;cend; &s;o they who goe forward in the waies of wickednes by degrees, do without any controul|ment or checke of con&s;cience clime vp to the highe&s;t top thereof, whence Sathan ca&s;teth them down headlong into the pit of de&s;truction. For example, if he &s;ee a profe&s;&s;or of religi|on which maketh con&s;cience of his waies, he doth not v&s;ual|ly &s;eeke at fir&s;t to draw him into heinous &s;innes, vnle&s;&s;e the cordes of his temptations be exceeding &s;trong; but fir&s;t he al|lureth him to come into the companie of wicked men, by of|fering &s;ome plea&s;ure or profit, or by occa&s;ion of affinitie and marriage, ioyning him if he can with &s;uch a yokefellow as wil draw him fa&s;ter backe than he can draw her forward in the cour&s;e of godlines. If he thus farre preuaile, then he tempteth him to winke at their &s;ins which in con&s;cience he condem|neth, that he may &s;till inioy his plea&s;ure and profit, or conti|nue in their loue and fauour; then in the next place he mo|ueth him to thinke them tollerable &s;innes which they com|mit, and nothing &s;o outragious as others fall into; and when he hath made this progre&s;&s;e, then he inticeth him to ta&s;te of &s;inne, which he &s;o &s;weetneth with the &s;ugred delights of this
<PB N="88" REF="55">vaine world that he &s;walloweth it downe without all loath|&s;omne&s;&s;e, and neuer ta&s;teth the bitterne&s;&s;e thereof till the heat of Gods &s;pirit doe cau&s;e it worke in his con&s;cience, &s;o as he is neuer at re&s;t till he haue ca&s;t it vp againe by vnfained re|pentance. Otherwi&s;e if he be not preuented thus by Gods &s;pi|rit, Sathan will by this meanes cau&s;e his con&s;cience to &s;wal|low and to dige&s;t &s;uch loath&s;ome &s;innes, which in former times he abhorred to &s;ee others commit. And as tho&s;e who from their infancie are accu&s;tomed to take poy&s;ons in &s;mall quantities doe enable their &s;tomackes to dige&s;t more, till by long cu&s;tome and increa&s;ing the quantitie by degrees, it be|commeth &s;o familiar to their &s;tomackes, that in&s;tead of poy|&s;oning them they are nouri&s;hed thereby, as hi&s;tories doe re|cord of &s;ome of the Indian Kings: &s;o Sathan inticeth vs to &s;wallow downe the poy&s;on of &s;inne at the fir&s;t in &s;uch &s;mall quantitie, that our con&s;ciences may not be &s;icke thereof: but hauing well dige&s;ted the lea&s;t, he increa&s;eth the mea&s;ure till by long cu&s;tome he hath made it &s;o familiar to our con&s;cien|ces, that tho&s;e &s;innes are euen meate and drinke vnto vs, which at the fir&s;t we loathed as deadly poy&s;ons.</P>
<P>Now if we would defeate this pollicie of Sathan, we mu&s;t continually watch ouer our owne hearts and pull them backe when wee &s;ee that they but incline vnto any &s;inne; we mu&s;t not lightly e&s;teeme of any &s;inne, nor willingly giue entertainment to the lea&s;t wicked thought, for though in it &s;elfe it be not &s;o hainous, yet it will inlarge our con&s;ciences and make roome for a greater, til at la&s;t we keepe open hou&s;e, readie to receiue all wickednes which offereth it &s;elfe vnto vs; and as we are carefull to auoyde the &s;innes them&s;elues, &s;o with as much diligence we are to &s;hunne the occa&s;ions and meanes by which we might be drawne, or inticed thereunto. But of this point more hereafter.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> A third pollicie which Sathan v&s;eth to circumuent vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans third pollicie in drawing men out of one ex|treme into another.</NOTE> is to bring vs from one extreme to another. For example, when we &s;ee the vilene&s;&s;e of prodigalitie, &s;o as we will no longer be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of that vice, then will Sathan make it as odious as he can, and indeauour to bring vs into extreame hatred thereof, that &s;o he may the more ea&s;ily draw vs into the contrarie vice
<PB N="89" REF="55">of couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e. If he cannot any longer keepe vs a&s;leepe in &s;inne, by rocking vs in the cradell of carnall &s;ecuritie, and &s;ing|ing vnto vs the &s;weete tunes of Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts me|rits, the~ will he labour to plunge vs in de&s;paire, by &s;etting be|fore our eyes the heynou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our &s;innes, and &s;ounding in our eares the thundring threatnings of the law. If he cannot any longer nuzzle vs in &s;uper&s;tition, and cau&s;e vs to place all our religion in ceremonies, and in re&s;trayning our &s;elues of the v&s;e of things indifferent, he will draw vs to the other ex|treame by mouing vs to thinke all ceremonies vnlawfull, and to practi&s;e all licenciou&s;nes vnder pretence of chri&s;tian liber|tie. If he can no longer per&s;wade vs to &s;eeke for iu&s;tification by the workes of the law to the end wee may not rely on Chri&s;ts merits and righteou&s;nes, he will bring vs into vtter di&s;like of this doctrine, by &s;hewing vs the ab&s;urdities thereof, that he may draw vs to the other extreme, namely to neglect good workes, as altogether vnnece&s;&s;arie to &s;aluation becau&s;e faith alone iu&s;tifieth. If he cannot hide out of our &s;ight the &s;hining graces of Gods &s;pirit by ca&s;ting before our eyes the cloude of our &s;innes and corruptions, then he will cau&s;e vs to looke on them through the &s;pectacles of &s;elfe loue and affe|ction to the end we may imagine them much greater than in truth they are, and &s;o be puffed vp in pride, and too &s;ecurely re&s;t in tho&s;e gifts we haue, not &s;eeking for increa&s;e. If he can|not per&s;wade vs to diffidence and di&s;tru&s;t, he will moue vs to tempt God vpon no nece&s;&s;arie occa&s;ions: and thus he dealt with our Sauiour Chri&s;t, for fir&s;t he tempted him to di&s;tru&s;t Gods prouidence, and to prouide for him&s;elfe by turning &s;tones into bread; but when he could not &s;o preuaile, he mo|ued him to make an vnnece&s;&s;arie experiment of his proui|dence and care, by ca&s;ting him&s;elfe downe headlong from the pinacle of the temple, whereas there were ordinarie meanes whereby he might de&s;cend.</P>
<P>Now the end why Sathan v&s;eth this pollicie is, more vio|lently to ca&s;t vs into one extreame of &s;inne, when with full &s;winge of will we do auoyde the other: as al&s;o to make vs be|leeue that the latter temptation is the motion of Gods &s;pirit, &s;eeing it is cleane contrarie to the former &s;ugge&s;tion of Sa|than,
<PB N="90" REF="56">whereas in truth they are but vnlike children of the &s;ame father.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The daunger of which tentations if we would auoyde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we are to auoyde the for|mer temptati|on by keeping vs in the gol|den meane.</NOTE> we mu&s;t keepe vs in the golden meane auoyding both ex|treames; and becau&s;e we are ignorant and vnskilfull in trauay|ling the &s;traight path which leadeth to Gods kingdome, and euery hower readie to take the bywaies of errour which leade to de&s;truction, let vs v&s;e the word of God for our guide: and as the I&s;raelites trauayling towards the land of promi&s;e, were directed by the cloud and piller of fire, going forward when that went before them, and pitching their tents where that &s;tayed; &s;o let vs con&s;tantly and boldly trauaile in our chri|&s;tian pilgrimage &s;o long as we haue the word of God for our direction, not &s;taying where it biddeth goe, nor going when it &s;tayeth. Let this be the touch&s;tone to di&s;cerne the golden truth from the dro&s;&s;ie extreames on either &s;ide; let it be the line to leade vs out of this laborinth of errours; let it be the &s;tarre of <HI>Bethlehem</HI> to conduct vs in our tedious iourney vnto the place where our Sauiour Chri&s;t is, not now lying in the armes of his mother, but &s;itting at the right hand of his father in all glorie power and maie&s;tie. And becau&s;e we are vnskil|full pilots in failing the daungerous &s;ea of this tempe&s;tuous world, readid to fall vpon the rockes while we auoyde the &s;ands; lot Gods word be our card, to direct vs to the holy land: otherwi&s;e Sathan will rai&s;e again&s;t vs &s;uch &s;tormie tem|pe&s;ts, and contrarie bla&s;ts of temptations, that our &s;oules will &s;uffer &s;hipwracke vpon the rockes of &s;inne, and be drowned in a &s;ea of de&s;truction.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="20" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XX.</HI> Of three other &s;tratagems which Sathan v&s;eth.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _A Fourth pollicie which Sathan v&s;eth to entrap vs in his &s;ecret ambu&s;hments is this.<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan moueth vs to propound bad ends to good actions.</NOTE> When by the violence of his tentations he cannot altogether re&s;traine vs from doing that which is good: then he will tempt vs to doe good actions to bad ends. In giuing
<PB N="91" REF="56">of almes he will moue men to propound this end that they may be &s;eene of men; in doing of good workes, he will tempt them to forget Gods glorie, and to &s;et before them as their maine end of all their good actions, the meriting of heauen; and if men will needes appeare vertuous and religious, he will intice them to v&s;e outward vertues as a cloake to hide their inward vices, and religion as a faire vizard to couer their foule impietie. And thus he tempteth men to v&s;e all outward &s;hewes of humilitie, to the end they may the better di&s;gui&s;e their hidden pride and ambition, as we may &s;ee in the exam|ple of <HI>Ab&s;olon;</HI> and all complements of curte&s;ie and loue, as a maske to hide their enuie and malice. And thus he allu|reth men to profe&s;&s;e religion, heare &s;ermons, and v&s;e glorious &s;peeches, that they may (&s;eeming religious and men of good con&s;ciences) haue their &s;hoppes the better cu&s;tomed, and their words credited, and &s;o haue the fitter opportunitie of deceiuing them who for their profe&s;&s;ion repo&s;e tru&s;t in them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> A fift pollicie whereby hee &s;eeketh to &s;urpri&s;e vs is by tempting men to v&s;e wicked meanes for the accompli&s;hing of good ends, and to doe euill th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> good may come thereof;<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan moueth vs to v&s;e euill meanes for the effecting good ends.</NOTE> and thus he tempted <HI>Saul</HI> to tran&s;gre&s;&s;e Gods commaunde|ment in re&s;eruing the fat of the cattell to the end he might &s;acrifice therewith vnto the Lord; and <HI>I&s;aac</HI> to &s;ay that <HI>Re|becca</HI> was his &s;i&s;ter to &s;aue his life; and <HI>Peter</HI> to v&s;e di&s;&s;imu|lation that he might not offend the Iewes.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 2.</NOTE> And thus he temp|teth men to tell officious and profitable lies for the auoyding of greater euils; he moueth &s;eruants to giue their mai&s;ters goods to the poore without their priuitie or liking, and &s;o to commit theft that they may giue almes; he tempteth non|re&s;idents to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e many liuings that they may keepe good ho&s;pitalitie, and &s;o &s;tarue the foule to feede the body; and citizens to v&s;e all fraud and deceite that they may prouide for their familie. Which pollicies of Sathan are exceeding daungerous; for hardly can we e&s;cape them both, namely doing good things to bad ends, or v&s;ing of euill meanes for the atchieuing of good purpo&s;es: but the more difficult the thing is, the greater mu&s;t be our care; the more &s;ecret and daungerous Sathans ambu&s;hments are, the more diligent and
<PB N="92" REF="57">watchfulnes mu&s;t we v&s;e in auoyding them. In all our actions therefore let vs be carefull to propound vnto our &s;elues good ends, and v&s;e good meanes for the accompli&s;hing of our ho|ne&s;t and godly purpo&s;es; for if we neglect the fir&s;t, we &s;hall bewray our hypocri&s;ie and impietie, if the latter we &s;hall pol|lute a faire worke with filthie tooles, and &s;hew our diffidence in God in not dairing to v&s;e tho&s;e godly and hone&s;t meanes which he hath commaunded and commended vs, vnle&s;&s;e we boul&s;ter and prop them vp by our owne fooli&s;h inuentions, and wicked practi&s;es. And when&s;oeuer wee are moued to propound euill ends of our good actions, or to v&s;e euill meanes for the accompli&s;hing of good ends, let vs a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues, that they are not the motions of Gods &s;pirit, but the &s;ugge&s;tions of Sathan, at lea&s;t &s;o farre forth as we are temp|ted to the euill of the end or meanes; and therefore we are to purge the wheate from the chaffe, the pure gold from the dro&s;&s;e, and to doe the workes of God for tho&s;e ends, and by tho&s;e meanes, which he hath appointed.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> A &s;ixt pollicie which Sathan v&s;eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan tempteth vs to be proud of our vertues.</NOTE> is to take aduantage of our vertues to plunge vs headlong into vice; for example when we haue mortified our &s;innes, and are plentifull in all good workes, he taketh occa&s;ion thereby to puffe vs vp with pride, and a phari&s;aicall conceite that wee are not as other men are; yea if we be &s;o humble that hee cannot make vs proud of any thing el&s;e, he will labour to make vs proud of our humilitie. Let vs not therefore be retchle&s;&s;e and &s;ecure, but haue an eye to our hearts, euen in our good actions: and when we entertaine any excellent vertue, let vs take heede lea&s;t pride thru&s;t in with it, &s;eeing mo&s;t commonly it atten|deth vpon vertue, and taketh vp his &s;tanding where it lodg|eth, for we are not quite at libertie, and out of the daunger of Sathans thraldome, &s;o long as pride like a iaylour attendeth on vs.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="21" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="93" REF="57">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXI.</HI> Of the manner of Sathans fight.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning Sathans &s;tratagems and warlike policies: now let vs con&s;ider of the manner of his fight. In which we are fir&s;t to ob|&s;erue that it is mo&s;t cruell and cowardly, for he ob&s;erueth no complements of true valour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan ob&s;erueth no complements of true valour.</NOTE> but then mo&s;t violently a&s;&s;aulteth vs when we are lea&s;t prouided; if he cannot preuaile when we are waking, he will &s;et vpon vs while we are &s;leeping; if he cannot hurt vs when we are rea|die in the field armed with the compleat armour of a Chri|&s;tian, the girdle of veritie, the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, the &s;hield of faith, the &s;word of the &s;pirit, &amp;c. he wil watch a time when he can &s;pie vs vnarmed, and then he will a&s;&s;aile vs; if he cannot ouercome vs in the time of pro&s;peritie, when God hath hedged vs in with his ble&s;&s;ings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 1.10.</NOTE> as it is Iob. 1.10. then he will watch till wee be ca&s;t downe with &s;ome aduer&s;itie, and then he will lay load on vs while&s;t wee are vnder foote; and whereas all our hope of victorie is in the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, he will per&s;wade vs to yeeld vnto him, for as much as the Lord is become our enemie.</P>
<P>Now if wee would re&s;i&s;t Sathan, wee mu&s;t &s;o prepare our &s;elues that he doe not hurt vs by this his da&s;tardly fight. See|ing therefore he v&s;eth to &s;et vpon vs on all aduantages, wee are alwaies to be &s;o prouided as that we giue him no aduan|tage; being awake, wee are alwaies to &s;tand vpon our guard, readie armed with the graces of Gods &s;pirit; being to &s;leepe, we are to de&s;ire the Lord to watch ouer vs, and to commaund his angels to pitch their tents about vs, that &s;o we may be de|fended from Sathans furie; &s;eeing he is readie to a&s;&s;ault vs when he &s;eeth vs di&s;armed, we are alwaies to keepe the coate|armour of a Chri&s;tian buckled vnto vs: la&s;tly, &s;eeing in the time of pro&s;peritie he is readie to puffe vs vp with pride, and in the time of aduer&s;itie to plunge vs into de&s;paire, let vs humble our &s;elues when God exalts vs, by thinking of our
<PB N="94" REF="58">vnworthines to receiue the lea&s;t of Gods mercies; and com|fort our &s;elues in the time of our affliction, by remembring that it is the portion of all that will liue godly in Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us, and that <HI>who&s;oeuer &s;uffer with Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2. Tim. 3.12. and 2.12.</HI> &sect;. Sect. <HI>2.</HI> Sathan a&s;&s;aul|teth vs when we are mo&s;t &s;e|cure.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall al&s;o raigne with him,</HI> 2. Tim. 3.12. and 2.12.</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing to be ob&s;erued in his manner of fight, is, that he &s;etteth vpon vs when wee are mo&s;t &s;ecure, and then &s;oundeth the alarum to battaile, when wee mo&s;t flatter our &s;elues with hope of peace, and that not drow&s;ily and faintly, but with all celeritie and &s;peede, whereby hee ouercommeth oftentimes, or at lea&s;t foyleth vs, before we can arme or pre|pare our &s;elues to make any re&s;i&s;tance. And thus he a&s;&s;aulted our fir&s;t parents in paradi&s;e, when they &s;ecurely promi&s;ed vn|to them&s;elues the continuance and increa&s;e of their happi|nes; and <HI>Dauid</HI> al&s;o after all his troubles when he was retch|le&s;&s;e and idle, &s;leeping in the day, and after walking on his hou&s;e top, letting his eyes wander after plea&s;ures.</P>
<P>If therefore we would with&s;tand Sathan, let vs &s;hake off all drow&s;ie and carnall &s;ecuritie, and continually watch, &s;tanding on our guard to re&s;i&s;t his encounters when&s;oeuer he &s;etteth vpon vs: and as in calme weather the carefull Mariner pro|uideth all things again&s;t a tempe&s;t, and the valiant &s;ouldier doth arme and furni&s;h him&s;elfe with al nece&s;&s;aries before the a&s;&s;ault; &s;o when Sathan &s;eemeth to offer vs a time of truce, let vs therein prepare our &s;elues more &s;trongly again&s;t the day of battaile; for when this raging lion &s;eemeth to &s;leepe as though he did not regard vs, then if through retchle&s;ne&s;&s;e we giue him the lea&s;t aduantage, hee will &s;uddenly runne vp|on vs and deuoure vs, if he get vs within his cruell pawes.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third thing to be ob&s;erued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathan neuer wearie in a&s;|&s;aulting vs. <HI>1. Pet. 5.8. Iob. 1.7.</HI></NOTE> is his indefatigable paines in tempting and a&s;&s;aulting vs, for he neuer taketh re&s;t, but &s;till goeth about like a roring lion &s;eeking whom hee may de|uoure; and this is euident by his owne confe&s;&s;ion, Iob. 1.7. where he profe&s;&s;eth that he had been compa&s;&s;ing the earth to and fro, and walked from place to place. So that he omit|teth no paine nor labour in &s;eeking our de&s;truction. And though he ouercome vs not at the fir&s;t, but retire foyled, yet he will gather his forces againe and againe, and ince&s;&s;antlie
<PB N="95" REF="58">&s;et vpon vs. And therefore if we would obtaine victorie, wee mu&s;t not thinke much of our labour, but v&s;e all paines, dili|gence and watchfulnes in repelling his a&s;&s;aults. And &s;eeing Sathan is &s;o vigilant and painfull in &s;eeking our de&s;truction, let vs thinke no paines too great in &s;eeking our pre&s;eruation; and con&s;idering that Sathan after one, or two, or twentie foyles is as readie to &s;et vpon vs againe as at the fir&s;t, let vs neuer faint, but like valiant fouldiers alwaies &s;tand readie in the field to endure his incounters. But alas, the practi&s;e of mo&s;t is farre otherwi&s;e, for they watch and drudge night and day to attaine vnto riches and preferment, and in the meane time little regard this dangerous foe, but to the end they may attaine vnto their worldly de&s;ires, they intangle them|&s;elues in the &s;nares which hee hath laid to intrap them to their vtter de&s;truction.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fourth thing to be ob&s;erued in Sathans fight, is his of|ten changing of his temptations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan often changeth his temptations for his better aduantage.</NOTE> and taking as it were into his hand another weapon, when he perceiueth the fir&s;t woun|deth not. For example, he will tempt vs to the contempt of Gods word; if he cannot &s;o preuaile, he will intice vs at lea&s;t to neglect it; and if thus he cannot hurt vs, he will, if he can, choake the &s;eede of Gods word with the thornie cares of the world, and &s;o make it vnfruitfull. He will moue vs to thinke that Chri&s;t was no Sauiour; if he cannot per&s;wade vs to this, then he will tell vs he is not our Sauiour. Yea &s;o &s;hamele&s;&s;e is this tempter, that he will now tempt vs to beleeue one lie of his coyning, and pre&s;ently after when hee &s;eeth wee giue no credit to that, he wil tell vs the cleane contrarie. For example, he will &s;ometimes tell vs that wee are &s;uch grieuous &s;inners that there is no way but damnation: and if we with&s;tand this a&s;&s;ault, hee will &s;oone after per&s;wade vs to an ouerweening conceit of our owne excellencie, and to a phari&s;aicall opinion that wee are not as other men are. Sometimes he will moue vs to doubt of our election, and if he cannot thus preuaile, he will pre&s;ently per&s;wade vs to thinke our election &s;o &s;ure, that though wee follow our owne lu&s;ts, and giue our &s;elues ouer to all outragious wickedne&s;&s;e, yet in the end wee &s;hall be &s;a|ued. In a word, this wicked <HI>Protheus</HI> will transforme him&s;elfe
<PB N="96" REF="59">into a thou&s;and diuers &s;hapes, and in a &s;hort &s;pace will varie many waies his temptations, that if hee cannot preuaile by one meanes, he may ouercome vs by another. And therefore it behooueth vs, if we will with&s;tand him, to arme our &s;elues, not on one &s;ide alone, nor to bee prepared again&s;t two or three a&s;&s;aults of our &s;pirituall enemie, but wee mu&s;t be readie to an&s;were all obiections, and not &s;o wholie incline to one &s;ide and to the defending one part, as that in the meane time wee leaue the other naked to bee wounded with Sathans blowes. And to the end we may the rather be encouraged to &s;tand con&s;tantly in our defence, wee are to know that when Sathan doth &s;o often &s;hift his temptations, and in a &s;hort di|&s;tance of time doth &s;eeke to bring vs into quite contrary vi|ces,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The oft chang|ing of Sathans temptations a probable &s;igne that he doth not preuaile.</NOTE> it is a manife&s;t &s;igne that he doth not yet preuaile: for as no enemie is &s;o fooli&s;h as will after that hee hath made one &s;ufficient breach for entrie, or forced one gate of the citie, go from that to another, but rather enter where the way is made; &s;o Sathan laying &s;iege to our &s;oules, would not &s;eeke to make a new battrie with his temptations, if the former had made way for him to enter and &s;urprize vs; he would not tempt vs to pride and pre&s;umption, if he had ouercome our faith and plunged vs into de&s;paire; hee would neuer tran&s;|forme him&s;elfe into an angell of light, if he could haue ouer|come vs in his owne likenes; he would neuer tell vs of Gods mercie, if hee had alreadie ouerwhelmed vs with the &s;ight of our &s;ins, and con&s;ideration of Gods iu&s;tice; nor yet of Gods iu&s;tice, if he could keepe vs in carnall &s;ecuritie, by &s;etting be|fore vs his mercie: but that way whereby he perceiues he a|ny whit preuailes, he will follow and continue earne&s;t in the &s;ame pur&s;uite, till he perceiue he cannot catch vs. As there|fore when the fit of the ague &s;hifteth from time to time, it is a good &s;igne that our nature waxing &s;trong doth preuaile a|gain&s;t the di&s;ea&s;e; &s;o when Sathans temptations in a &s;hort time often change, and that from one contrarie to another, it is a &s;igne that Gods &s;pirit being &s;trong in vs, doth re&s;i&s;t Sa|than and putteth him to the&s;e &s;hifts, whereas he would hold on a con&s;tant cour&s;e if he preuailed again&s;t vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fift thing to be ob&s;erued in the maner of Sathans fight,
<PB N="97" REF="59">is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan a&s;&s;aulteth vs &s;ometime him|&s;elfe, and &s;ome|time by his in|&s;truments.</NOTE> that &s;ometimes he &s;etteth vpon vs immediatly in his owne per&s;on, &amp; &s;ometimes mediatly v&s;ing for his in&s;truments the world &amp; the fle&s;h. Of the fir&s;t we haue an example 1. Chr. 21.1. where it is &s;aid that Sathan prouoked <HI>Dauid</HI> to number I&s;|rael. So Ioh. 13.2. the Euangeli&s;t &s;heweth that the diuell did put in the heart of <HI>Iudas I&s;cariot</HI> to betray Chri&s;t. And the A|po&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> Act. 5.3. telleth <HI>Ananias</HI> that Sathan had filled his heart with his &s;ugge&s;tions that he &s;hould lie vnto the ho|lie Gho&s;t. And thus al&s;o he tempted our Sauiour Chri&s;t im|mediatly fortie daies together in the wildernes, Mat. 4. When he thus fighteth again&s;t vs in his owne per&s;on, he giueth the a&s;&s;ault either in his own likenes, or els tran&s;formeth him&s;elf into an angell of light. When he incountreth vs in his owne likenes and like a diuell indeede, then he doth as it were pro|claime open warres, tempting vs not onely to tho&s;e &s;innes which, hauing &s;ome apparance of good in them, our corrupt con&s;cience doth approue of, or at lea&s;t can without any great terrour winke at, but al&s;o to all outragious wickedne&s;&s;e and helli&s;h impietie, which euen a ciuil worldling would abhorre to thinke of; namely, to Athei&s;me, Idolatrie, contempt of all religion, bla&s;phemies again&s;t God, periurie, &s;acriledge, per&s;e|cuting the knowne truth, here&s;ie, murther, adulterie, and &s;uch like: all which at the fir&s;t &s;ight may ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned to be the &s;ugge&s;tions of Sathan, becau&s;e this helli&s;h broode do re|&s;emble their wicked father in their very countenance and outward appearance. And therefore Sathan who &s;ubdueth more with the &s;erpents wiles than with the lions force, doth &s;eldome v&s;e this fight again&s;t any which haue but the ciuill re&s;training grace of God, vnle&s;&s;e he intice them thereunto by degrees (as before I haue &s;hewed) or except hee finde them exceeding ignorant, to the end he may make them beleeue that his &s;ugge&s;tions are their owne thoughts; but hee practi|&s;eth the&s;e temptations, for the mo&s;t part, again&s;t tho&s;e who haue euen &s;old them&s;elues to worke wickednes, hauing their hearts hardened and con&s;ciences &s;eared with their cu&s;to|mable &s;inning.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And therefore mo&s;t commonly hee tran&s;formeth him&s;elfe into an angell of light tempting vs to &s;inne, by v&s;ing friendly
<PB N="98" REF="60">per&s;wa&s;ions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan transformeth him&s;elfe into an angell of light.</NOTE> and making liberall offers of plea&s;ure, profit or preferment, or els min&s;ing tho&s;e &s;innes to which he tempteth vs as though they were nothing, or masking them vnder the vizard of vertue. Neither doth hee often moue vs to commit tho&s;e &s;ins which nature (re&s;trained by Gods common grace, or &s;anctified by his &s;pirit) doth abhorre and tremble to think of; vnle&s;&s;e it be either to vexe Gods children with &s;uch &s;ug|ge&s;tions, rather than for any hope of ouercomming them; or els that while&s;t their mindes are wholy intent in with&s;tan|ding his outward violence, hee may more cunningly intrap them in his &s;ecret ambu&s;hments, which they regard not: but otherwi&s;e hee v&s;ually tempts vs to commit &s;uch &s;innes, as through our corruption wee are prone vnto, as not thinking them to be &s;innes, or but &s;mall, or rather neuer entring into any con&s;ideration of them at all; as namely, carnall &s;ecuritie, hardne&s;&s;e of heart, infidelitie, impenitencie, neglect of Gods word, prophaning of his Sabbaoths, couetou&s;nes, ambition, pride, neglect of the generall duties of Chri&s;tianitie and &s;pe|ciall duties of our callings; all which are not much le&s;&s;e hai|nous in the &s;ight of the Lord than the other gro&s;&s;e outward &s;innes, and much more dangerous vnto vs, as being Sathans &s;ecret &s;nares which hee laieth to intrap vs at vnawares; in which when we are caught wee are content to lie bound, be|cau&s;e they do not &s;o much pinch and torment the con&s;cience as the other outward &s;innes, they being not &s;eene, or not re|garded. As therefore tho&s;e di&s;ea&s;es which by di&s;turbing the braine doe take away all &s;en&s;e of paine, are of all others mo&s;t de&s;perate, namely, the dead paul&s;ie, the falling &s;ickne&s;&s;e, and &s;leepie lethargie, and in other di&s;ea&s;es the patient is mo&s;t dangerou&s;ly &s;icke when he hath no feeling thereof; &s;o there is no &s;icknes of the &s;oule &s;o de&s;perat and dangerous, as tho&s;e that afflict not our con&s;ciences with any &s;en&s;e of paine, to wit, carnall &s;ecuritie, hardne&s;&s;e of heart, and the re&s;t aboue named.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;hewed Sathans di&s;gui&s;ed and &s;ubtill manner of fight,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan is mo&s;t to be fea|red when he mo&s;t flattreth.</NOTE> wherein like a Pirate he hangeth out flags of truce, to &s;ignifie peace and friend&s;hip, till hee haue gotten vs within his reach and commaund: and then he grapleth with
<PB N="99" REF="60">vs, and ran&s;acketh vs of all Gods graces, and ca&s;teth vs ouer boord into the &s;ea of de&s;truction. And therefore it behooueth vs with no le&s;&s;e care to with&s;tand Sathan when he fawneth, than when hee frowneth; when hee fighteth by ambu&s;h|ment, than when he a&s;&s;aulteth vs by open violence; when he offreth to &s;tab vs to the heart, than when hee doth but (as it were) pricke a vaine, letting vs blood to death without &s;en&s;e of paine; when hee tempteth vs to outragious &s;innes, than when he inticeth vs to &s;ecret and hidden &s;innes; when he al|lureth vs like a friend to commit &s;inne, by offring plea&s;ure, riches, or honours, than when like an enemie a roring lion, or cruell dragon he raungeth about and rageth again&s;t vs; <HI>Nam cum delectabile proponit, molestum &s;upponit, &amp; dum vngit pungit;</HI> He propoundeth things delightfull to bring vs to griefe and mi&s;erie, he fawneth on vs that he may bemire vs, and killeth while he embraceth vs. <HI>Neither doth man know his time, but as the fi&s;hes which are taken in an euill net,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;s. 9.12.</NOTE> <HI>and as the birds which are caught in the &s;nare, &s;o are the children of men &s;nared in the euill time, when it falleth vpon them &s;uddenly,</HI> as it is Eccle&s;. 9.12. Nay, &s;eeing this fight is farre more dangerous, becau&s;e hee couereth his hooke with an alluring baite; and tho&s;e &s;nares of &s;inne more pernicious which lie hidden, than tho&s;e which lie in open view;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Temptations vnto &s;ecret &s;ins mo&s;t dange|rous.</NOTE> &s;eeing wee are more ea&s;ily tempted to tho&s;e &s;innes which are &s;ecret and di&s;gui&s;ed in the habite of vertue, than vnto tho&s;e gro&s;&s;e &s;innes which haue their names as it were branded in their foreheads; &s;eeing al|&s;o we can more hardly repent of them, both becau&s;e they do not appeare &s;o horrible and grieuous vnto vs, as the other o|pen and outward &s;innes, and al&s;o becau&s;e they worke in vs no &s;hame after we entertaine and liue in them, neither can a|ny of our chri&s;tian brethren admoni&s;h or rebuke vs for them, they being &s;ecret &amp; vnknown: therfore is Sathan made more audacious to tempt vs, and wee more bold to admit of his temptation, and after we are fallen wee lacke meanes to rai&s;e vs vp againe by vnfained repentance, for our &s;elues doe ap|prooue our &s;innes, and our brethren know them not: which <HI>Bernard</HI> well di&s;cerning, vttereth this &s;peech fit for this pur|po&s;e: <HI>Extime&s;co magis occulta peccata quae clam committo
<PB N="100" REF="61">quam manife&s;ta quae perpetro palam, clam enim &s;i pecco nemo me redarguit. Vbi autem reprehen&s;io non metuenda e&s;t, ibi tentatori patet aditus liberrimus, &amp; peccatum cum voluptate admittitur.</HI> I am more affraid (&s;aith he) of my &s;ecret, then of my open &s;innes; for if I &s;inne &s;ecretly there is no man to reproue me; and where reprehen&s;ion is not feared, there the tempter hath mo&s;t free acce&s;&s;e and the &s;inne is entertained with plea&s;ing delight. In a word, &s;eeing we are more ea&s;ily drawne into the&s;e &s;innes; and after we are enthralled with them, make no ha&s;t to get out of our captiuitie: therefore let vs be much more warie and heedfull in di&s;couering and auoyding the&s;e hidden &s;nares and &s;ecret &s;innes, into which we doe mo&s;t com|monly fall vnwittingly, and being fallen, doe mo&s;t willingly continue in them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan a&s;|&s;aulteth vs by his in&s;truments the world and the fle&s;h.</NOTE> Sathan a&s;&s;aulteth vs &s;ometimes by his deputies and in&s;truments; e&s;pecially he employeth in the&s;e &s;eruices, the world and the fle&s;h. In the world he doth not onely make choy&s;e of our enemies and prophane irreligious men, which he &s;tirreth vp to afflict and per&s;ecute vs, to the end we may be di&s;couraged from the profe&s;&s;ion and practi&s;e of true godline&s;&s;e; but al&s;o of our deare friends and acquaintance and our neere kindred: &s;ometime our brother or &s;i&s;ter, our parents and children, yea &s;ometimes a mans wife which lieth in his boo &s;ome, playeth the part of the tempter. As we may &s;ee in the example of <HI>Iob,</HI> who was not &s;o much vexed by all his outward afflictions, as by the temptation of his wife, and three friends. The &s;ame is euident in the example of <HI>Eue,</HI> whom Sathan v&s;ed as his in&s;trument to intice <HI>Adam</HI> to the breach of Gods commaundement: and <HI>Ie&s;abel</HI> who was the diuels deputie, in prouoking her husband to oppre&s;&s;ion and horrible murther. Neither doth he onely v&s;e to the&s;e ends our carnall friends, but al&s;o our &s;pirituall kindred in Chri&s;t, who are of the &s;ame religion, and make the &s;ame profe&s;&s;ion with vs; and thus by the old Prophet, he inticed the young Prophet to tran&s;gre&s;&s;e Gods commaundement.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 13.</NOTE> 1. King. 13. And thus hee tempted our Sauiour Chri&s;t to neglect the worke of our redemption, v&s;ing the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> as his in|&s;trument; and therefore becau&s;e he &s;upplied the diuels place,
<PB N="101" REF="61">our Sauiour calleth him by his name &s;aying,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 16.23.</NOTE> <HI>Get thee behinde me Sathan, thou art an offence to me,</HI> Matth. 16.23. And thus nowadaies he v&s;eth profe&s;&s;ors, yea preachers of the Go&s;pell, as meanes to tempt men to &s;inne, both by their words and euill examples: which temptation is farre more daungerous and of greater force, then if all worldlings &s;hould combine them&s;elues together, and labour both by per&s;wa&s;ion and example to &s;educe them; for when they can &s;ay I am a profe&s;&s;or as well as thou,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 13.18.</NOTE> I am a &s;eruant of God who make con&s;cience of my waies as well as thou, I am a Prophet as well as thou, and therefore thou neede&s;t not to make any doubt or &s;cruple in following my councell or example; it is a mo&s;t &s;trong temptation to intice vs to &s;inne: for like &s;heepe we are mo&s;t apt to follow after when any of our owne com|panie leade vs the way. And therefore if we would re&s;i&s;t this temptation, we mu&s;t labour after true knowledge, that we may not depend vpon others for our direction, but vpon the word of God alone, and not liue by example, but by precept; for the &s;traighte&s;t rule that euer was of the mo&s;t holy mans life (our Sauiour Chri&s;t excepted) is often and in many places crooked (for who is it that hath not erred and gone a&s;tray?) and therefore if we alwaies follow their examples in all par|ticulars, we &s;hall erre with them be&s;ides all our owne errors.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> So al&s;o he v&s;eth the helpe of our owne fle&s;h to betray the &s;pirit, and leade vs captiue into &s;inne; and that &s;o cunningly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan v&s;eth the helpe of our owne fle&s;h in temp|ting vs to &s;in.</NOTE> that we can hardly di&s;cerne between Sathans &s;ugge&s;tions and our owne corrupt motions and de&s;ires: for being a &s;pi|rit, he doth not appeare in a corporall &s;hape and per&s;wade vs to &s;inne with reall words, which are conuayed to the heart by the eare, but he commeth to vs after a &s;pirituall manner, and &s;ugge&s;teth &s;ecretly his temptations into the heart and minde directly and immediatly, &s;o as wee can &s;eldome di|&s;tingui&s;h his motions from our owne thoughts. For as the &s;pirit of God doth &s;o moue vs to all vertuous and holy acti|ons, as that in the meane time we would thinke his motions to be our owne godly cogitations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 3.9.</NOTE> but that we are &s;ufficiently in&s;tructed out of Gods word, that we cannot of our &s;elues &s;o much as thinke a good thought vnle&s;&s;e it proceede from
<PB N="102" REF="62">God; &s;o much le&s;&s;e can we di&s;cerne betweene the &s;ugge&s;ti|ons of Sathan and our owne fle&s;hly thoughts, becau&s;e they are both corrupt and alike wicked. By rea&s;on whereof it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that Sathan wanteth no opportunitie of circumuenting vs, becau&s;e we can put no difference betweene his temptations and our owne carnall de&s;ires: and therefore he hauing gotten (as it were) our owne watchword, we are readie to open the gates of our &s;oules when he offereth to enter, and to yeeld to his temptations as &s;oone as he a&s;&s;aul|teth vs; where as no man almo&s;t is &s;o outragiou&s;ly de&s;perat that would wittingly and willingly entertaine Sathans &s;ug|ge&s;tions, whom he knoweth to be a common enemie to man|kinde, continually &s;eeking their de&s;truction, though hee &s;hould intice him hereunto by offering much riches and great preferments. Yea hence it is that after Sathan hath ma|ny times deceiued and circumuented vs, yet cannot we be|ware of him, nor auoyde his deceits. For whereas if a man doe giue vs euill coun&s;ell, or any way cou&s;in vs, yet after once or twice he come vnto vs, we can take heede of him, and though he make faire &s;hewes of hone&s;tie and friend&s;hip, we will notwith&s;tanding be very iealous and &s;u&s;picious lea&s;t againe hee ouerreach vs; when Sathan commeth to vs this day and tempteth vs to &s;uch gro&s;&s;e wickednes, that we can|not chu&s;e but di&s;cerne them to be his &s;ugge&s;tions, yet this is no impediment to him but that he may come againe to mor|row, and deceiue vs with &s;ome more &s;ubtill pollicie, becau&s;e we cannot di&s;cerne betweene his &s;ugge&s;tions and our owne thoughts, and therefore doe acknowledge no other author of his temptations but our &s;elues.</P>
<P>Hence al&s;o it is that he will not &s;ticke to tempt the mo&s;t godly vnto the gro&s;&s;e&s;t impietie, and the mo&s;t learned and &s;ound in iudgement, to entertaine the ab&s;urde&s;t here&s;ie or error. For if he preuaile (which &s;ometime he doth as we may &s;ee in the example of <HI>Dauid</HI> whom he tempted to adulterie and murther, though hee were a man according to Gods owne heart; and of <HI>Peter</HI> whom, hee tempted to deny and for&s;weare Chri&s;t, though hee were a mo&s;t worthie Apo|&s;tle) then he getteth a great victorie, and giueth them a &s;in|gular
<PB N="103" REF="62">foyle; but if he be repul&s;ed, yet this is no hinderance vnto him, why he may not entrap them in &s;ome more &s;ecret ambu&s;hment. Hence it is that though he begin his fight with cunning pollicie, taking vpon him the per&s;on of a friend, and tran&s;forming him&s;elfe into an Angell of light, yet this is no impediment but that he may afterwards againe appeare and violently a&s;&s;ault vs in his owne likenes; as he a&s;&s;aulted our Sauiour, fir&s;t with &s;ubtill and &s;ecret temptations, like a friend and welwiller; and when he could not &s;o preuaile, he doth not &s;ticke to appeare like him&s;elfe, tempting him to outra|gious gro&s;&s;e idolatrie, &s;aying, all this will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and wor&s;hip me. And contrariwi&s;e though he begin his a&s;&s;ault like a diuell and profe&s;&s;ed enemie, this is no hinderance but that he may end it like an Angell of light, and a flattering treacherous friend. So when he hath inticed vs to one extreme and preuaileth not, this is no impediment but that &s;oone after he may allure vs to the cleane contrarie; becau&s;e though we thinke the fir&s;t motion to be his &s;ugge|&s;tion, yet we may imagine the other to be our owne thought, or (as I &s;aid) the motion of Gods &s;pirit, becau&s;e it is quite con|trarie to the former.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seeing therefore the matter &s;tandeth thus;<NOTE PLACE="marg">How we may auoide danger, though we can|not di&s;cerne Sathans temp|tations from our owne lu&s;ts.</NOTE> how may we re&s;i&s;t Sathan, con&s;idering that we cannot di&s;cerne his &s;ugge|&s;tions from our owne cogitations? I an&s;were; wee mu&s;t be skilful in Gods word, and thereby able to iudge what is good and what is euill, to di&s;cerne what is vertue and what is vice, what God hath commaunded and what he hath forbidden, which be the motions of Gods &s;pirit, and which the &s;ugge|&s;tions of Sathan, and the thoughts of our corrupt fle&s;h; and then are we carefully to imbrace that which our con&s;cience approoueth as good, being enformed by Gods word, and to auoyde and reiect tho&s;e motions which we know to be euill, whether they doe proceede from Sathan or from our &s;elues; for it is not greatly materiall to know who is the au|thor of them, &s;o we are a&s;&s;ured that they are euill and wicked; neither is it any dangerous error to a&s;cribe Sathans &s;ugge|&s;tions to our corrupt fle&s;h; or to attribute the wicked thought of our owne fle&s;h vnto Sathan: for though he be not the next
<PB N="104" REF="63">and immediat cau&s;e, yet he is the fir&s;t and principall cau&s;e of all &s;inne and wickednes. And hence it is that in the Scrip|tures the &s;ame wicked motion and action is &s;ometimes a&s;|cribed to man, and &s;ometimes to Sathan indifferently as ap|peareth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 5.3.5.</NOTE> Act. 5.3.5 where fir&s;t <HI>Peter</HI> affirmeth Sathan to be the author of <HI>Ananias</HI> &s;inne, by filling his heart with his &s;ugge&s;tions, whereby he was tempted to lie vnto the holy Gho&s;t, and after he &s;aith that <HI>Ananias</HI> had conceiued this lie in his owne heart.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But though mo&s;t commonly it be very hard to di&s;cerne betweene the &s;ugge&s;tions of Sathan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathans &s;ugge&s;tions may be di&s;cerned from our owne fle&s;hly lu&s;ts.</NOTE> and of our corrupt fle&s;h, yet &s;ometimes they may be di&s;tingui&s;hed by apparant dif|ferences; as fir&s;t when the temptations are &s;o cunning and exceeding &s;ubtill, that it is not po&s;&s;ible they &s;hould be the thoughts of a &s;eely ignorant man, but the apparant &s;ugge|&s;tions of the old wily &s;erpent.</P>
<P>Secondly, when as the &s;ugge&s;tion is vrged with great force and violence, and leaueth behind it a deepe impre&s;&s;ion, which &s;eemeth to bring a nece&s;&s;itie of doing that which is euen contrarie to naturall rea&s;on, whereas the &s;ugge&s;tions of the fle&s;h doe rather leade and intice vs then draw and in|force vs vnto &s;inne.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the temptations of Sathan moue vs oftentimes to &s;uch outragious wickednes, and helli&s;h impietie, that euen nature corrupted doth condemne as abhominable, and euen trembleth with feare and horror, when they are fir&s;t &s;ug|ge&s;ted.</P>
<P>Fourthly, rhe fle&s;h taketh occa&s;ion of things pre&s;ent and &s;ubiect to the &s;en&s;es to intice vs vnto &s;inne; but Sathans &s;ug|ge&s;tions &s;ometimes are farre fetcht and &s;o &s;trange vnto vs, that before the in&s;tant they are &s;ugge&s;ted we neuer thought or &s;o much as dreamed of them.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the things whereunto we are tempted by the fle&s;h, are alwaies delightfull and plea&s;ing vnto vs; but &s;athan temp|teth vs al&s;o to tho&s;e things which are irk&s;ome and grie|uous: as namely to &s;uper&s;titious ab&s;tinence whereby the body is almo&s;t &s;tarued; to puni&s;hing of our owne bodies, as he tempted the Baaliti&s;h prie&s;ts, to cut and launce them&s;elues
<PB N="105" REF="63">before their idol; and the &s;uper&s;ttious papi&s;ts to whip them|&s;elues before their images, and to take vpon them tedious and daungerous pilgrimages to idols and reliques of Saints; and the idolatrous heathen to burne in &s;acrifice their deare children. So al&s;o he tempteth &s;ome to de&s;paire of Gods mer|cie and &s;o torment them&s;elues with horror and feare; yea &s;ometimes to lay violent hands vpon them&s;elues, murthe|ring and taking away their owne life, which by nature is &s;o deere and precious vnto them. All which being contrarie to our naturall inclinations and the de&s;ires of the fle&s;h, mani|fe&s;tly appeare to be the &s;ugge&s;tions of Sathan.</P>
<P>And the&s;e are the chiefe differences betweene the temp|tations of Sathan and the fle&s;h; otherwi&s;e they are commonly &s;o like one to the other that they can hardly be di&s;cerned: and therefore let vs not be &s;o carefull, curiou&s;ly to di&s;tingui&s;h them, as to auoyde or re&s;i&s;t them; knowing that Sathan is the captaine generall, and the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof Sathans chiefe aides and a&s;&s;i&s;tants, which continually fight again&s;t the &s;pirit and labour to plunge both bodie and &s;oule into euer|la&s;ting de&s;truction.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="22" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXII.</HI> Of the generall meanes whereby we may be inabled to with|&s;tand our &s;pirituall enemies.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the manner of Sathans fight:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The circum|&s;tances to be con&s;idered in this &s;pirituall conflict.</NOTE> now we are to &s;peake of the conflict it &s;elfe; wherein (as I haue &s;hewed) the parties a&s;&s;aulting and oppugning are the diuell and his a&s;&s;i&s;tants the world and the fle&s;h; the partie defending and re&s;i&s;ting is the chri&s;tian &s;ouldier. The cau&s;e of the fight is not for lands and dominions, nor for riches and mines of gold; for the&s;e would Sathan be content to giue if he had them in his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, if we would renounce Gods &s;eruice, and fall downe and wor&s;hip him; but for the euer|la&s;ting &s;aluation of our &s;oules which Sathan laboreth by all meanes po&s;&s;ible to hinder, and to plunge vs into endle&s;&s;e
<PB N="106" REF="64">de&s;truction. The weapons which the a&s;&s;ailants v&s;e in this fight are not the &s;word &amp; &s;peare, or any other carnall furniture, but &s;pirituall temptations, whereby they &s;eek to intice, draw, and prouoke man to &s;in, that con&s;eque~tly he may receiue the wa|ges therof euerla&s;ting death. The weapons which the Chri&s;tia~ &s;ouldier v&s;eth to defend him&s;elf and repell his enemies, is the &s;piritual armour before &s;poke~ of, namely, the girdle of veritie the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, the knowledge &amp; profe&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pel of peace, the &s;hield of faith, the helmet of &s;alua|tion, the &s;word of the &s;pirit, and feruent and effectuall prayer.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now in this conflict of temptations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of two com|mon affections to be con&s;idered of in this &s;piri|tuall conflict.</NOTE> there are fir&s;t two common affections or generall properties to be con&s;idered of; the Chri&s;tian &s;ouldiers manfull re&s;i&s;tance, or els his fain|ting and receiuing the foile; for either he couragiou&s;ly &s;tan|deth vpon his defence, armed with the graces of Gods &s;pirit, and putteth Sathan to flight by with&s;tanding his tempta|tions; or els being &s;urprized at vnawares, while&s;t he is di&s;ar|med of the&s;e &s;pirituall weapons and Chri&s;tian armour, hee is &s;oiled by his &s;pirituall enemies, yeelding vnto their tempta|tions and falling into &s;inne.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the fir&s;t meanes to withstand our &s;pirituall ene|mies, to wit, Gods comman|dement.</NOTE>That we may with&s;tand our &s;pirituall enemie valiantly in all his temptations, and obtaine a finall victorie, there are certaine general means to be v&s;ed; which may &s;erue as &s;trong forts and bulworkes, vnto which we may retire our &s;elues as often as we faint, and be readie to receiue any di&s;aduantage in the fight. Fir&s;t, we are continually to haue in memorie the commandement of our chiefe captaine Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, whereby he inciteth vs to a continuall fight without fainting or yeel|ding. So Eph.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.10.11.</NOTE> 6.10.11. <HI>Be &s;trong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to &s;tand again&s;t all the a&s;&s;aults of the diuell.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.8.</NOTE> And 1. Pet. 5.8. <HI>Your ad|uer&s;arie the diuell as a roring lion walketh about &s;eeking whom he may deuoure. Whom re&s;i&s;t &s;tedfa&s;t in the faith.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd meanes, hope of victorie.</NOTE>Secondly, let vs be incouraged to with&s;tand our &s;pirituall enemies with a&s;&s;ured hope of victorie; for we fight the Lords battailes vnder the &s;tanderd of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who&s;e power is omnipotent, and therefore able to defend vs, &amp; to ouerthrow our enemies with a word of his mouth; who al&s;o is our head
<PB N="107" REF="64">and we his members, and therefore we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that he hath no le&s;&s;e will than power to &s;uccour vs. As al&s;o let vs alwaies haue in minde the crowne of victorie promi&s;ed to all that ouercome, euen a crowne of glorie and euerla&s;ting happines in Gods kingdom, Apoc. 2.7. &amp; 3.5.12.21. And this will make vs re&s;olue neuer to faint in the battell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 2.7. and 3.5.12.21.</NOTE> nor coward|ly yeeld vnto Sathans temptations, though he &s;hould intice vs to &s;inne by offring vs the whole world, becau&s;e we would not thereby hazard the lo&s;&s;e of this eternall waight of glorie.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The third meanes, to be alwaies in rea|dines.</NOTE>Thirdly, we are alwaies to &s;tand in readines armed with the chri&s;tian armour, the graces of Gods &s;pirit, and to v&s;e al good means that we may be more and more &s;trengthened &amp; con|firmed in them: but yet when we are at the &s;tronge&s;t, we are not to pre&s;ume vpon our own &s;trength, but to relie our &s;elues wholy vpon the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and when wee are tempted and a&s;&s;aulted, we mu&s;t continually implore his help, that be|ing armed with the power of his might, wee may with&s;tand the temptation and obtaine victorie.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth meanes, to take occa&s;ion of Sa|thans tempta|tion vnto &s;inne of doing the co~trary vertue.</NOTE>Fourthly, when we are a&s;&s;aulted by our &s;pirituall enemies and tempted vnto any &s;inne, we mu&s;t not only ab&s;taine from committing thereof, but al&s;o take occa&s;ion thereby of doing the contrary vertue. For example, whe~ we are tempted to vn|lawful plea&s;ures, we mu&s;t not only ab&s;taine from the~, but al&s;o we are &s;omewhat to abridge our &s;elues of tho&s;e that be law|full, and the more feriou&s;ly and painfully to follow the works of our lawfull callings; when we are tempted to couetou&s;nes, we mu&s;t the more carne&s;tly exerci&s;e the works of mercie and chri&s;tian liberalitie; when we are te~pted to ambition, we mu&s;t not only refraine fro~ vainglorie, but we mu&s;t labour after true humilitie and mortification, refu&s;ing not only vnlawfull ho|nours, but tho&s;e al&s;o which are lawfull, &s;o oft as we haue iu&s;t cau&s;e to feare that Sathan wil (taking occa&s;ion of our corrup|tion) hereby cau&s;e vs to forget God; when we are tempted to neglect the hearing of Gods word on the Lords Sabbaoth, wee are the more diligently to heare it, not only then, being bound hereunto by Gods commandement, as being one of the chief means of &s;anctifying this day con&s;ecrated to Gods &s;eruice; but al&s;o on the weeke daies, if the Lord giue vs fit
<PB N="108" REF="65">opportunitie, when as we might lawfully be exerci&s;ed in the duties of our callings. In a word, when we are tempted to any vice, wee are to take occa&s;ion thereby of doing the contrarie vertue; in the meane time carefully auoiding the policie of Sathan, before &s;poken of, whereby hee laboureth to draw vs from one vice to his contrarie extreame. And &s;o like valiant &s;ouldiers we &s;hall not onely auoide the daunger and violence of Sathans &s;trokes, but al&s;o wee &s;hall giue Sathan the foyle with his owne weapon, yea and make him afraide to a&s;&s;ault vs againe with his temptations, lea&s;t when hee prouoketh vs vnto &s;inne, we take occa&s;ion thereby to &s;erue God, and more con&s;tantly to imbrace vertue.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fiftly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fift meanes to with&s;tand temptations when they are fir&s;t &s;ugge&s;ted.</NOTE> we are mo&s;t carefully to with&s;tand Sathans tempta|tions when they are fir&s;t &s;ugge&s;ted; and to giue him the re|pul&s;e as &s;oone as wee perceiue that he is but beginning to make an entrance. For this gliding &s;erpent if he can but thru&s;t in his head, will ea&s;ily make roome for his whole bodie: and therefore we mu&s;t nip and bru&s;e him in the head, and v&s;e his temptations like the &s;erpents broode, which if men de&s;ire to kill, they doe not tread vpon their tailes, for &s;o they would turne againe and &s;ting them, but vpon their heads, and then they haue no power to hurt them. So wee are not fondly to thinke that we can without hurt vanqui&s;h Sathans tempta|tions in the end when wee haue long entertained them: for vnle&s;&s;e they be nipped in the head, and with&s;tood in the be|ginning, they will mortally poy&s;on vs with the &s;ting of &s;inne. For as theeues comming to breake into a hou&s;e, if they can but finde roome for the point of their wrench to enter, will ea&s;ily by turning and winding about the vice make the doores, though very &s;trong, flie open and giue them en|trance; &s;o if this cunning theefe Sathan can finde any en|trance for his fir&s;t temptations, &s;o as wee can be content to thinke vpon them, and reuolue them in our mindes with any liking, hee will ea&s;ily bur&s;t open the gates of our &s;oules, and entring further will rob vs of all Gods graces. Let vs there|fore if wee would re&s;i&s;t Sathan, follow the aduice of the hea|then Poet in a farre different matter: <HI>Principijs ob&s;ta: &s;er&ograve; me|dicina paratur, Cum mala per longas conualu&ecirc;re moras.</HI> Or ra|ther
<PB N="109" REF="65">the coun&s;ell of the Apo&s;tle giuen vs in this &s;elfe&s;ame re|&s;pect, Eph. 4.27. <HI>Giue no place to the diuell.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.27.</NOTE> And as wi&s;e citizens being be&s;ieged, doe not let their enemies &s;cale their walles and enter the towne, with a purpo&s;e then to repell and beate them backe againe; but they with&s;tand them as &s;oone as they giue the fir&s;t a&s;&s;ault, and keepe them, if they can, from ap|proching neere their walles with &s;conces and bulwarkes: &s;o we are not to &s;uffer Sathan our enemie and the troupes of his temptations to enter into our hearts, but to giue them the repul&s;e at their fir&s;t approching, lea&s;t it be too late after|wards when they haue &s;urprized and wounded vs with &s;inne. Ble&s;&s;ed are they therefore who take this Babyloni&s;h brood of Sathans temptations and da&s;h them euen while&s;t they are young again&s;t the &s;tones,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 137.9.</NOTE> lea&s;t waxing old and &s;trong they furiou&s;ly fight again&s;t vs, and leading vs captiue in the chains of &s;inne, grieuou&s;ly afflict and vex vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Sixtly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ixt means is after one temptation is pa&s;t to prepare: our &s;elues for another.</NOTE> if we would not be &s;urprized and foiled by Sathan, we mu&s;t after we haue re&s;i&s;ted him in one temptation, be rea|die prepared to with&s;tand another, and after we haue once or twice giuen Sathan the repul&s;e, wee are not &s;ecurely to giue our &s;elues to re&s;t, as though the warre were at an end: but we mu&s;t continually expect his returne with fre&s;h &s;upplies, and prepare our &s;elues for a new a&s;&s;ault, v&s;ing the time of Sathans intermi&s;&s;ion, as a breathing time to recouer &s;trength again&s;t the next encounter. And as &s;ouldiers be&s;ieged after they haue &s;u&s;tained one a&s;&s;ault, and giuen their enemies the re|pul&s;e, doe not &s;ecurely giue them&s;elues to idlenes and &s;leepe, but prepare all things readie for the next conflict, mending the breaches, and repairing tho&s;e places which in the time of fight they found to be mo&s;t weake; &s;o when wee haue with|&s;tood &s;ome of Sathans temptations, and giuen him the re|pul&s;e, we are not to giue our &s;elues to re&s;t, &s;leeping in retch|le&s;&s;e &s;ecuritie, as though our enemies were quite ouercome, but rather in the intermi&s;&s;ion of the &s;pirituall combat, we are to prepare our &s;elues for the next a&s;&s;ault, v&s;ing all meanes to confirme our &s;elues, where wee di&s;cerned in the time of fight that wee were mo&s;t weake, and more &s;trongly to arme our felues with the &s;hield of faith and the &s;word of the &s;pirit,
<PB N="110" REF="66">again&s;t tho&s;e temptations which wee found mo&s;t forcible to preuaile again&s;t vs.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.8.</NOTE> For our enemie like a roring lion conti|nually raungeth about &s;eeking whom hee may deuoure; his malice will neuer let him re&s;t, but euen then when he &s;eemeth to entertaine a truce, hee is mo&s;t bu&s;ie in plotting meanes whereby he may worke our finall de&s;truction: and therefore wee are neuer more carefully to &s;tand vpon our guard, than when this enemie &s;eemeth to proclaime a peace, or when he fleeth away as though he were vanqui&s;hed; for when he tal|keth of peace, he maketh him&s;elfe readie for the battaile, and this wicked Parthian doth more hurt in flying than in figh|ting. Here therefore the Chri&s;tian &s;ouldier mu&s;t auoide two dangerous euils: the one, that hee doe not faint or yeeld in the time of the fight; the other, that he doe not after one vic|torie waxe in&s;olent and &s;ecure: but when he hath once ouer|come, he is &s;o to behaue him&s;elfe as though he were pre&s;ent|ly againe to be a&s;&s;aulted. For, Sathans temptations like the waues of the &s;ea doe follow one in the necke of the other, and when one is pa&s;t, another is readie to ouerwhelme vs, if like skilfull Pilots we be not readie as well to breake the vio|lence of that which followeth, as of that which went before. Neither mu&s;t we look for any &s;ound truce or firme peace, till we haue the euerla&s;ting peace in Gods kingdom; for as long as wee continue in this life our &s;pirituall enemies will conti|nually a&s;&s;ault vs: and therefore let vs neuer be &s;ecure, vntill by death we haue obtained a finall victorie.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons to per&s;wade vs to per&s;euere in fighting this &s;pirituall bat|taile.</NOTE>And to the end that wee may the rather be per&s;waded to continuall care and Chri&s;tian per&s;euerance in this &s;pirituall fight vnto the end of our liues; let vs con&s;ider that Gods pro|mi&s;es and the crowne of victorie are not promi&s;ed to tho&s;e that enter into this &s;pirituall fight, but vnto tho&s;e that conti|nue fighting, till they haue obtained a full victorie ouer their enemies. <HI>To him that ouercommeth will I giue to eate of the tree of life,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 2.7.10.11.17. and 3.5.21.</NOTE> Reu. 2.7. <HI>Be thou faithfull vnto the death, and I will giue thee the crowne of life.</HI> Ver&s;. 10. <HI>He that ouercommeth &s;hall not be hurt of the &s;econd death.</HI> Ver&s;. 11. <HI>To him that ouercommeth will I giue to eate of the Manna that is hid, &amp;c.</HI> Ver&s;. 17. <HI>He that ouercommeth &s;hall be clothed in white aray, and I will not put out
<PB N="111" REF="66">his name out of the booke of life. cap.</HI> 3.5. <HI>To him that ouercom|meth will I graunt to &s;it with me in my throne, euen as I ouercame and &s;it with my father in his throne.</HI> As it is ver&s;. 21. So that it is not &s;ufficient that we enter the li&s;ts and &s;u&s;taine the fir&s;t and &s;econd encounter, if afterwards we &s;hamefully for&s;ake the &s;tandard of Chri&s;t and cowardly runne away, or el&s;e tray|terou&s;ly yeeld vnto &s;inne and Sathan: but if we would be made partakers of Gods promi&s;es, we mu&s;t ouercome, that is, obtaine a full victorie ouer the fle&s;h, the world, and the diuell. There is none triumpheth for making his enemies once or twice to retire, or for getting the better in &s;ome skir|mi&s;h; becau&s;e they may gather their di&s;per&s;ed forces, and ioyne with them new &s;upplies, and &s;o giuing a fre&s;h a&s;&s;ault, obtaine victorie: but tho&s;e onely triumph who obtaine a full victorie; neither &s;hall any triumph in the kingdome of glorie, who re&s;i&s;t Sathan in one temptation onely or bridle one lu&s;t of the fle&s;h, but they who &s;ubdue them finally and wholy not once alone, but vnto the end of their liues; for as it falleth out in worldly warres, oftentime the enemie doth retire backe, and counterfeiteth a flight, to the end the other may pur&s;ue him &s;ecurely and di&s;orderly with full a&s;&s;urance of victorie; and then he makes a &s;tand and reuniting all his forces doth ouercome his retchle&s;&s;e enemie: &s;o oftentimes Sathan faineth him&s;elfe to be put to flight, to the end we may conceiue an opinion of his great weakenes, and our owne inuincible &s;trength, and &s;o be brought to negligence and &s;e|curitie; and then he knits together all his force, and ouer|throweth vs when we are retchle&s;ly &s;ecure fearing no dan|ger. Yea &s;ometimes he is in truth foiled, but yet not &s;o as that he will &s;urcea&s;e his fight; for if he cannot preuaile one way, he will try another, &s;o long as our continuance in this earthly weake tabernacle giueth him any hope of ouercomming or foyling vs: and therefore we are alwaies to &s;tand vpon our guarde, and to keepe our &s;tanding continually, watching and preparing our &s;elues again&s;t the fre&s;h a&s;&s;aults of our &s;pirituall enemies. If <HI>Iob</HI> had been &s;ecure after he had re&s;i&s;ted Sathans fir&s;t temptation, in taking away his oxen, a&s;&s;es and &s;heepe, &s;urely tho&s;e which followed would haue made him bla&s;|pheme
<PB N="112" REF="67">God as Sathan imagined, but like a good &s;ouldier after that he had receiued one blow, he did not ca&s;t away his &s;heild of faith and patience, as though hee had no further neede of it, but &s;till held it vp expecting more, till the com|bate was ended; who&s;e example wee mu&s;t imitate, if we would obtaine victorie, and inioy the crowne of victorie e|uerla&s;ting happines in Gods kingdome. Otherwi&s;e if we &s;leep in &s;ecuritie after we haue giuen Sathan one ouerthrow, wee &s;hall be &s;ure to be a&s;&s;aulted and &s;urpri&s;ed before we be aware; for as one &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioan. Riu. At|thend. de luct. Chri&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>Diabolus victus quoque vincit,</HI> euen while&s;t the diuell is vanqui&s;hed, he obtaineth victorie; and therefore <HI>non victor magis qu&agrave;m victus e&s;t extime&s;cendus. Nam &s;aepo &s;e pro&s;tratum afflictumque &s;imulat, vt acri&ugrave;s in&s;urgat; fugit vt in in&s;idias pertrahat &amp; incautos adoriatur; palam cedit vt clam vincat:</HI> he is no more to be feared when he ouercommeth, than when he is ouercome; for oftentimes he faineth him|&s;elfe to be foyled that he may the more fearcely renew the a&s;&s;ault, he flyeth that he may draw vs into his ambu&s;hments, and a&s;&s;aile vs at vnawares; he retireth openly that he may &s;ecretly ouercome.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seauenthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;eauenth meanes not to beleeue Sa|thans &s;ugge|&s;tions. <HI>Ioh. 8.44.</HI></NOTE> if we would not be circumuented by Sathan, we mu&s;t not giue any credit vnto him whether he lyeth or &s;peaketh true, whether he accu&s;eth or flattereth, whether he indeauoreth to puffe vs vp with pride and &s;elfe conceite, or whether he laboreth by aggrauating our &s;innes to plunge vs into the gulfe of helli&s;h de&s;paire; <HI>for he abode not in the truth becau&s;e there is no truth in him. When he &s;peaketh a lie he &s;peak|eth of his owne, for he is a lyer and the father thereof,</HI> as it is, Ioh. 8.44. And if at any time he &s;peake the truth, it is to the end he may be the better credited when he lyeth, <HI>Nam verum dicit vt fallat, blanditur vt noceat, bona promittit vt malum tribuat, vitam pollicetur vt perimat,</HI> he &s;peaketh the truth that he may deceiue, he flattereth that he may hurt vs, he promi|&s;eth good things that he may giue vs euill, he promi&s;eth life that he may kill vs. And therefore we are not to beleeue the truth it &s;elfe, becau&s;e he &s;peakes it, but becau&s;e it is grounded on Gods word; nor to receiue it from his mouth as his a&s;&s;er|tion, but from the mouth of God, and his holy Prophets and
<PB N="113" REF="67">Apo&s;tles, guided and in&s;pired with his &s;pirit; for either he &s;peaketh the truth to gaine credit vnto his lies, or propoun|deth true promi&s;es that he may &s;ophi&s;tically gather out of them fal&s;e conclu&s;ions. And hence it is that our Sauiour Chri&s;t did reiect his te&s;timonie though true, and inioyned him &s;ilence when he confe&s;&s;ed him to bee the holy one of God, Mark. 1.24.25.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 1.24.25</NOTE> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> would not &s;uffer the diuining maide to giue them her approbation though &s;he &s;pake truth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 16.17.18.</NOTE> in confe&s;&s;ing them the &s;eruants of the mo&s;t high God, which did &s;hew vnto vs the way of &s;aluation. Act. 16.17.18. becau&s;e Sathan did it, either to this end, that by his te&s;timonie and approbation he might cau&s;e them the rather to be &s;u&s;pected and reputed impo&s;ters and deceiuers, who did their miracles by telling this truth, be the rather cre|dited when he did bely and &s;launder them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Eightly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The eight meanes, neither to de&s;pi&s;e Sa|thans tempta|tions, nor too deepely to ap|prehend them.</NOTE> if we would with&s;tand al Sathans temptations, we mu&s;t auoyde two extreames, the one to de&s;pi&s;e them, the other too deepely to apprehend and too greatly to feare them. For if we &s;ecurely contemne Sathans temptations, we will neuer arme and prepare our &s;elues to make re&s;i&s;tance, and &s;o he will ouercome vs before we be aware; if we take them too much to hart continually meditating vpon their &s;trength and violence, and vpon our owne infirmitie and weakne&s;&s;e, they will fill vs with feare, and plunge vs into de|&s;paire; if we de&s;pi&s;e the temptation, Sathan will ea&s;ily &s;ub|due vs: for there is no enemie &s;o weake and feeble which will not preuaile again&s;t tho&s;e who &s;ecurely contemne them, though exceeding mightie; becau&s;e they neglect all meanes of their pre&s;eruation, and neuer &s;tand vpon their guard for their defence; and therefore much more will Sathan pre|uaile again&s;t vs, if wee regard not his temptations, hee be|ing &s;trong and mightie, and we feeble and weake. On the o|ther &s;ide if we &s;o feare his temptations as that we de&s;paire of victorie, Sathan &s;hall not neede to fight again&s;t vs, for we will ouercome our &s;elues, fainting before the fight, and ca&s;ting away our weapons as &s;oone as Sathan doth but mu&s;ter his forces and march again&s;t vs. And therefore let vs &s;o much
<PB N="114" REF="68">feare the temptations, as that we doe not &s;ecurely contemne them; and not &s;o much feare them as that we &s;hould de&s;paire of victorie: let vs feare them &s;o much as that thereby we be &s;tirred vp with more care &amp; diligence to re&s;i&s;t and ouercome them; but not &s;omuch as that we &s;hould cowardly faint, di|&s;tru&s;ting Gods helpe: let vs feare them in re&s;pect of our weak|nes and their violence, but let vs boldly &s;triue again&s;t them, tru&s;ting in Gods almightie power &amp; merciful promi&s;es of his aide and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, being hereby a&s;&s;ured of certaine victorie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The ninth meanes, to ob|iect Chri&s;t a|gain&s;t all temp|tations. <HI>Matth. 9.13. E&s;a. 53.5.</HI></NOTE> if we would with&s;tand Satha~, we mu&s;t obiect our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t again&s;t al his temptations: for if we apply him vn|to vs by a liuely faith, he will be our &s;heeld and buckler to de|fend vs from all Sathans blowes. For example, if Sathan tell vs that we are mi&s;erable &s;inners, and therfore in the &s;tate of dam|nation: we are to an&s;were that our <HI>Sauiour Chri&s;t came into the world to &s;aue &s;inners, &amp; that he was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions &amp; broken for our iniquities &amp;c. and with his &s;tripes we are healed, and &s;o he which knew no &s;in,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.21.</NOTE> <HI>was made &s;in for vs, that we might be made the righteou&s;nes of God in him.</HI> If he &s;ay that we are &s;ubiect to the cur&s;e of the law;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 3.13.</NOTE> we are to an&s;were that <HI>Chri&s;t hath re|deemed vs fro~ the cur&s;e of the law when he was made a cur&s;e for vs.</HI> If he obiect that we are &s;ubiect to Gods wrath, we are to tell him that Chri&s;t did beare his fathers di&s;plea&s;ure, that he might make our peace:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.21.22.</NOTE> and whereas <HI>we were &s;trangers and enemies, be|cau&s;e our minds were &s;et on euill works, he hath now reconciled vs in the body of his fle&s;h through death.</HI> If he tell vs that we are his bond&s;laues, we are to an&s;were, that we were &s;o indeede in time pa&s;t, but our Sauiour chri&s;t hath paied vnto his father the price of our redemption,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.30.</NOTE> &amp; hath &s;et vs free. If he affirme that we are vniu&s;t and therefore &s;hall be condemned before Gods iudg|ment &s;eate; we are to an&s;were that Chri&s;t who was innocent was condemned, that we who are guiltie might be acquitted; that though we are wicked in our &s;elues, yet we are mo&s;t iu&s;t being clothed with his righteou&s;nes; that he that came to &s;aue vs &s;hall come to iudge vs, and therefore we neede not doubt of mercie, if wee pleade his merits for&s;aking the plea of our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and renouncing all &s;elfe confidence. If he &s;ay that we &s;hall be held captiue of death and neuer ri&s;e
<PB N="115" REF="68">to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of our heauenly inheritance, we are to an|&s;were that our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath broken the bonds of death and led captiuitie captiue; that he is ri&s;en againe, be|ing the fir&s;t fruites of them that &s;lept,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 14.2.</NOTE> and is a&s;cended into heauen, to prepare vs a place there. If he obiect that Chri&s;t and all his benefits doe not appertaine vnto vs, for euery man &s;hall liue by his owne righteou&s;nes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 18.</NOTE> and the &s;oule that &s;inneth &s;hall die the death; we are to an&s;were that by the &s;pirit of God and a liuely faith, Chri&s;t is become our head and we his members, &s;o that he is ours and we his, and our &s;ins he hath taken vpon him, &amp; be&s;towed on vs his righteou&s;nes, he is become our husband and we his &s;pou&s;e, and therfore as he hath co~municated him&s;elf vnto vs, &s;o likewi&s;e al his benefits, his merits, righteou&s;nes, &s;anctificatio~, &amp; euerla&s;ting happines.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But if Sathan will not thus be an&s;wered, we are not to en|tertaine any further di&s;putation with him, but to &s;end him to our Sauiour Chri&s;t who hath taken vpon him to be not onely our redeemer and our mediator and interce&s;&s;or vnto God his father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That to auoyde Sathans impor|tunitie, we mu&s;t leaue to di&s;pute with him and &s;end him to our aduocate. <HI>1. Ioh. 2.1.</HI></NOTE> but al&s;o our aduocate to pleade our cau&s;e and to an&s;were all &s;uites made again&s;t vs both by Gods iu&s;tice and the handwriting of the law, and al&s;o by Sathan and all his adherents. as it is, 1. Ioh. 2.1. Seeing therefore our Sauiour Chri&s;t who is the wi&s;edome of his father hath taken vpon him the defence of our cau&s;e in all our &s;uites, let not vs our &s;elues be ouer bu&s;ie in di&s;puting with this wrangling &s;ophi|&s;ter, but &s;end him for an an&s;were to our Sauiour Chri&s;t who hath fully &s;ati&s;fied his fathers iu&s;tice, in all, which it had a|gain&s;t vs, and cancelled the handwriting of the law, whereby we were obliged and bound, and therefore much more able is he to an&s;were al accu&s;ations which this cauelling accu&s;er hath again&s;t vs. Neither are we to doubt but that our Sauiour will be our aduocate to pleade our cau&s;e, e&s;pecially con&s;idering that it doth principally concerne him&s;elfe, and his owne glo|rie and &s;ufficiencie. For the que&s;tions and cau&s;es controuer|&s;all betweene vs and Sathan, are not about our owne worthi|ne&s;&s;e, merits, righteou&s;nes, and &s;ati&s;&s;actions, all which we renounce and ca&s;t away from vs as polluted cloutes, in re|&s;pect of being any cau&s;es of our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation:
<PB N="116" REF="69">but concerning Chri&s;ts righteou&s;nes, merit, and the &s;ufficien|cie and efficacie of his death and obedience, for the &s;aluation of al repentant &s;inners which do apply them vnto them&s;elues by a liuely faith: and therefore we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues he wil defend his owne cau&s;e again&s;t all Sathans obiections and imputations.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But if Sathan continue his importunitie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">If we will a|uoide Sathans importunitie, we mu&s;t imploy our &s;elues in holy exerci&s;es.</NOTE> and will admit of no an&s;were, we are as much as in vs lieth to bani&s;h his temp|tations out of our mindes, and not to thinke and meditate on them: and to this end we are continually to exerci&s;e our &s;elues in feruent prayer, de&s;iring the Lords gracious a&s;&s;i&s;tance whereby wee may be enabled to with&s;tand all the a&s;&s;aults of our enemie, as al&s;o to heare reade and meditate in Gods word, and diligently to v&s;e holy conferences with our chri|&s;tian brethren, and painfully to imploy our &s;elues in the workes of our callings, that &s;o we may haue no lea&s;ure to en|tertaine Sathans temptations. For as a ve&s;&s;ell which is alrea|die full can receiue no more, and what&s;oeuer is powred there|into &s;pilleth vpon the ground: &s;o when our mindes are re|pleni&s;hed with holy thoughts, and occupied in godly and hone&s;t exerci&s;es, there is no roome left for Sathans &s;ugge|&s;tions and therefore as &s;oone as they offer to enter, we pre|&s;ently reiect them. Whereas on the other &s;ide if we &s;pend our times in idlenes, and doe not diligently exerci&s;e our &s;elues in the duties of chri&s;tianitie, and of our &s;euerall callings; then are our mindes fit groundes to receiue the &s;eedes of Sathans temptations, and to nouri&s;h them till they bring forth the fruites of &s;inne: and if Sathan finde vs like emptie hou&s;es cleane &s;wept and voyde of all holy meditations and godly exerci&s;es, he will ea&s;ily enter, and if him&s;elfe be not &s;trong enough he will take vnto him &s;euen other &s;pirits wor&s;e than him&s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12.45.</NOTE> that &s;o he may be more &s;trong to keepe po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. If therefore we would not be ouercome by Sathans tempta|tions, let vs beware of idlenes; for when the minde is emptie of that which is good, it is mo&s;t fit to receiue that which is euill.</P>
<P>But if Sathans temptations be at any time entertained into our mindes, let vs mo&s;t carefully take heede that we doe not
<PB N="117" REF="69">&s;uffer them (as it were) to take vp their lodging,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we mu&s;t not reuolue in our mindes Sa|thans tempta|tions, but ra|ther meditate on the contra|rie pre&s;erua|tiues.</NOTE> by reuol|uing them in our thoughts, not to meditate too earne&s;tly on them, but rather on the pre&s;eruatiues which may &s;trengthen vs again&s;t their violence; neither are we &s;o &s;eriou&s;ly to thinke on Sathans obiections, as that in the meane time we forget how to an&s;were them. For example, when he &s;etteth before our eyes the haynou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our &s;innes, we are not to bend all our thoughts to meditate and call to minde all our &s;innes both new and old, both which we haue fallen into through infirmitie, and which we haue willingly committed, for &s;o the huge cloude of our &s;innes being neere our eyes, will hide from our &s;ight the &s;hyning beames of Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merit, though they are without compari&s;on greater: but as &s;oone as we ca&s;t one eye vpon our &s;innes for our hu|miliation, let vs ca&s;t the other pre&s;ently vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us who hath payed the price of our redemption, and &s;uffered all the puni&s;hment which we by our &s;innes had de&s;erued. For if when this fierie &s;erpent Sathan hath &s;tung vs with the &s;ting of &s;inne, we &s;pend our time in looking vpon the wound, and neuer thinke vpon the remedie, euen the true bra&s;en &s;er|pent Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hanging on the cro&s;&s;e: the poy&s;on of &s;inne will &s;o inflame our con&s;ciences, that the wound will proue mortall, which at the fir&s;t might ea&s;ily haue been cured if we would haue applied thereunto the precious balme of our Sauiours blood. So when Sathan &s;etteth before our eyes our owne wickednes and infirmities, to the end we may de&s;paire of victorie, as being neuer able to with&s;tand &s;uch &s;trong temptations, we are not to &s;pend our time in thinking here|upon, but pre&s;ently to call to minde the almightie power of God who hath promi&s;ed vs his a&s;&s;i&s;tance in this &s;pirituall fight. So when he obiecteth vnto vs the iu&s;tice and wrath of God, in puni&s;hning of &s;inne, and the cur&s;e of the law and tor|ments of hell prepared for the damned; we are not ouer &s;eriou&s;ly to reuolue the&s;e things in our mindes; but pre|&s;ently to call to minde Gods infinit mercie and Chri&s;ts me|rits, whereby Gods iu&s;tice is fully &s;ati&s;fied, his wrath appea|&s;ed, the cur&s;e of the law cancelled, and we made of fire brands of hell heires of heauen. And thus if as &s;oone as Sathan in|flicteth
<PB N="118" REF="70">the wound we apply the cure, it will neuer be mortall vnto vs; but if we let the poy&s;on of his temptations runne in our mindes and neuer thinke of any remedie, though at the fir&s;t it &s;eemed but a &s;mall &s;cratch, it will &s;o inflame our con|&s;ciences with &s;corching heate that they will afterwards very hardly admit of any cure. When therefore Sathan doth ca&s;t into our mindes his temptations, let vs repell them, and in|deuour to quench them while&s;t they be but &s;mall &s;parkes: for our corrupt mindes are like vnto tinder, and Sathans temp|tations like the fire, and therefore if in &s;tead of putting them out we blow vpon them, though they be but as a &s;mall &s;parke at the fir&s;t, within a while they will increa&s;e to an vnquench|able flame which will torment our con&s;ciences with &s;corch|ing heate: neither is there any thing but the blood of Chri&s;t, and the water of the &s;pirit which will extingui&s;h this wilde|fire when once it hath taken deepe hold on vs.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="23" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXIII.</HI> How the chri&s;tian being foyled by Sathans temptations may be rai&s;ed againe.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd the&s;e are the meanes whereby the chri&s;tian &s;ouldier may be &s;trengthened and encouraged to &s;tand in the combate of temptations. But &s;ometimes it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that by rea&s;on they neglect the&s;e meanes, or el&s;e doe not &s;o carefully v&s;e them as they &s;hould, they are foyled by Sathan, ouercome by his temptations, and led captiue vnto &s;inne. How therefore mu&s;t the chri&s;tian thus ouertaken behaue him&s;elfe? &s;urely he is not de&s;peratly to ca&s;t away all hope of victorie and cowardly to yeelde him&s;elfe to be the &s;laue of Sathan, lying contentedly in the chaines of &s;inne, without any de&s;ire or indeauour of comming out of his captiuitie: but being fallen he is to labour and &s;triue that he may ri&s;e againe, and being taken pri&s;oner by &s;inne and Sathan, he is not willingly to remaine in their bonds but earne&s;tly to de|&s;ire his freedome and libertie.</P>
<PB N="119" REF="70">
<P>Now the meanes whereby being fallen he may ri&s;e againe, is by vnfained repentance, when as he is hartily &s;orie for his &s;inne, becau&s;e thereby hee hath di&s;plea&s;ed his louing and gracious father, and &s;tedfa&s;tly purpo&s;eth for the time to come to leaue and for&s;ake tho&s;e &s;innes, into which by the malice of Sathan and his owne infirmitie he is fallen; and by a liuely faith, when as he doth apply vnto him&s;elfe all the mercifull promi&s;es made vnto all repentant &s;inners. For though faith in nature goe before repentance, yet the act and frute of faith, whereby we are a&s;&s;ured of Gods mercie in the free forgiue|nes of our &s;innes, alwaies commeth after.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A difference betweene the child of God and the wic|ked.</NOTE>Where by the way we may note a difference betweene the &s;tate of Gods children and the wicked: both fall into &s;inne very often, both al&s;o commit heynous and grieuous &s;innes; yea &s;ometimes the child of God falleth into more fearefull and horrible &s;innes, than a meere worldling; but herein the chiefe difference betweene them con&s;i&s;teth, that the child of God after his fall is vexed and grieued, and laboreth to ri&s;e againe by leauing and for&s;aking the &s;inne which is odious vnto him; but the wicked man after his fall neuer &s;oroweth nor grieueth, but rather re&s;olueth to liue &s;till in his &s;inne, and to commit it againe and againe with greedines and delight when he hath any occa&s;ion offered.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the weake chri&s;tian who&s;e &s;oule is oppre&s;&s;ed with the heauie waight of &s;inne will &s;ay vnto me;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The complaint of the weake chri&s;tian.</NOTE> alas this is &s;mall comfort vnto me which you &s;peake, neither can I hereby haue any a&s;&s;urance that I am the childe of God; for after I am fallen into &s;inne, &s;uch is the hardnes of my heart that I cannot bewaile nor be &s;orie for it; and whereas euery &s;mall worldly lo&s;&s;e or cro&s;&s;e maketh me mourne, weepe and waile, when by my &s;inne I haue offended God, I cannot &s;hed a teare nor &s;hew any true &s;igne of hartie &s;orrow; and &s;uch is mine vntowardnes and corruption that in &s;tead of for|&s;aking my &s;inne, I am readie to fall againe vpon the next occa&s;ion. And therefore I cannot haue any faith or full a&s;|&s;urance of Gods promi&s;es made in Chri&s;t, &s;eeing they are all limited and re&s;trained to tho&s;e &s;inners which repent and amend.</P>
<PB N="120" REF="71">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the de&s;ire of Gods graces is accepted for the graces which we de|&s;ire.</NOTE>That therefore the&s;e mourning &s;oules may receiue &s;ome comfort, let them know fir&s;t, that if they haue an earne&s;t de|&s;ire of repentance, faith, and the re&s;t of Gods graces; if they haue a good purpo&s;e to leaue and for&s;ake their &s;innes, and to &s;pend their liues in the &s;eruice and wor&s;hip of God: if they are di&s;plea&s;ed with their corruptions, and according to the mea&s;ure of grace giuen, pray vnto God, de&s;iring the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his holy &s;pirit, whereby they may more and more mortifie the old man, and crucifie the fle&s;h, and the lu&s;ts thereof: if they hate the &s;inne they commit, and loue the good which they cannot doe: if they can grieue be|cau&s;e they are no more grieued for their &s;innes, and be di&s;|plea&s;ed with them&s;elues, becau&s;e their &s;innes doe no more di&s;plea&s;e them: then may they be a&s;&s;ured that they are Gods children, who are acceptable vnto him in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. For he re&s;pecteth not &s;o much our actions as our affections; nor our workes, as our de&s;ires and indeuours: &s;o that he who de|&s;ires to be righteous is righteous; he that would repent, doth repent; hee that &s;triueth to leaue and for&s;ake his &s;innes, hee rep<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">teth of him, as if he had left and for&s;aken them; they that would neuer fall, nor bee foiled by their &s;pirituall e|nemies, God e&s;teemeth as his inuincible &s;ouldiers, and va|liant worthies, who were neuer vanqui&s;hed. For the Lord accepteth the de&s;ire for the deede; and <HI>if there be fir&s;t a wil|ling minde,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 8.12.</NOTE> <HI>it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that a man hath not,</HI> as it is. 2. Cor. 8.12. So he is accounted ble&s;&s;ed, not who hath attained vnto perfect in|herent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e indeede,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.6.</NOTE> but he who hungreth after righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, Matth. 5.6. that is, who hath a &s;ence and fee|ling of his wants and imperfections, and withall an earne&s;t de&s;ire to haue his wants &s;upplied.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But yet we mu&s;t not imagine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The conditions required vnto that de&s;ire which is ac|ceptable.</NOTE> that euery flickering and vn|con&s;tant de&s;ire, proceeding from &s;uddaine pa&s;&s;ion, and &s;ome extraordinary occa&s;ion, is plea&s;ing vnto God; for &s;o euery worldling might imagine him&s;elfe to be in the &s;tate of grace: but vnto this de&s;ire I &s;peake of, there are diuers things re|quired. As fir&s;t, that this de&s;ire be ioyned with an holy inde|uour, and earne&s;t &s;triuing and labouring in the v&s;e of the
<PB N="121" REF="71">meanes, whereby wee may attaine vnto tho&s;e graces which we doe de&s;ire: for it is not &s;ufficient that wee wi&s;h for faith, repentance, and other graces, vnle&s;&s;e we indeuour to attaine vnto them, and to this end carefully v&s;e all good meanes or|dained of God for the obtaining our de&s;ires.</P>
<P>Secondly, this de&s;ire mu&s;t not be &s;uddaine like a fla&s;h of lightening, vani&s;hing away as &s;oone as it entreth into vs, but we mu&s;t con&s;tantly per&s;euere in it, till it be &s;atisfied.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it mu&s;t not bee a &s;light, and indifferent de&s;ire, as though we would haue the&s;e graces, if we could ea&s;ily attaine vnto them, otherwi&s;e wee doe not greatly care whether wee haue them or no: but it mu&s;t bee very earne&s;t, at lea&s;t &s;ome|time, though not alwayes: So as we may &s;ay with <HI>Dauid: My &s;oule longeth after thee, O Lord, as the thir&s;tie land.</HI> P&s;al. 63.1. And, <HI>As the Hart brayeth for the riuers of water, &s;o pan|teth my &s;oule after thee, O God:</HI> as it is P&s;al. 42.1.</P>
<P>Fourthly, this de&s;ire is true, and plea&s;ing vnto God, when as it proceedeth from a &s;en&s;e of our owne want and penurie, in regard whereof we are truely humbled. And hereof it is compared to hungering and thir&s;ting; in which two things concurre, fir&s;t, a &s;ence of want which afficteth vs, and, a de|&s;ire to haue it &s;upplied.</P>
<P>Fiftly, it is not &s;ufficient that we haue a continuall and ear|ne&s;t de&s;ire of our &s;aluation, vnle&s;&s;e wee de&s;ire as earne&s;tly the &s;ubordinate cau&s;es and meanes tending thereunto; namely, vocation, iu&s;tification, &s;anctification, faith, repentance, and the re&s;t of the graces of Gods &s;pirit: for euen <HI>Balaam</HI> him|&s;elfe did wi&s;h that he might die the death of the righteous, but his de&s;ire was not acceptable to God, becau&s;e he wi&s;hed not al&s;o to liue their life: he de&s;ired to die like them, that he might be &s;aued; but hee de&s;ired not to &s;erue the Lord in ho|line&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life, whereby he might haue been a&s;&s;u|red of &s;aluation.</P>
<P>If therefore wee would haue our de&s;ires acceptable to God, they mu&s;t be ioyned with an holy indeuour to obtaine tho&s;e &s;pirituall graces which we doe de&s;ire, they mu&s;t be con|&s;tant, earne&s;t, and proceede from a true &s;ence and feeling of our owne want, and be referred as well to the meanes, as to
<PB N="122" REF="72">the ende, and then the de&s;ire of grace is the grace it &s;elfe; the de&s;ire of faith is faith; the de&s;ire of repentance is repentance; not in it owne nature, but in Gods acceptation, who accep|teth the will for the deede.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> And in truth this is the chiefe perfection of our righteou&s;|nes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Christians perfection con|&s;i&s;teth in de&s;i|ring and labou|ring after per|fection.</NOTE> when as we feele our imperfections, and labour earne&s;tly after more perfection: for, <HI>Chri&s;tiani &s;umus potius affectu qu&agrave;m effectu:</HI> We are Chri&s;tians rather in our affections and de&s;ires, than in our workes and abilities: neither doth the Lord be|&s;tow vpon his children the full mea&s;ure of his &s;pirit and the graces thereof in this life, but onely the fir&s;t fruites, which are as it were but an handfull of corne in re&s;pect of the whole field; and the earne&s;t to a&s;&s;ure vs of the re&s;t, which is but as a peny in re&s;pect of many thou&s;ands, which are confirmed vn|to vs thereby,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.23.2. Cor. 1.22. and 5.5.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Rom. 8.23.2. Cor. 1.22. and 5.5.</P>
<P>True it is indeede that God be&s;toweth his &s;pirit and the graces thereof vpon &s;ome of his children in greater mea&s;ure, and vpon &s;ome in le&s;&s;e, euen as the fir&s;t fruites may be a grea|ter or le&s;&s;er handfull, and the earne&s;t is &s;ometimes a peny, and &s;ometimes a &s;hilling, &s;ometimes more and &s;ometimes le&s;&s;e; but yet the greate&s;t mea&s;ure which any receiue, is but as an handfull of the fir&s;t fruites, and an earne&s;t peny in re&s;pect of the maine &s;umme and full mea&s;ure, which the Lord hath hereby a&s;&s;ured vs that he wil be&s;tow vpon vs in his kingdom: and hee that hath receiued the lea&s;t earne&s;t, hath as full and perfect a&s;&s;urance of the whole bargaine, which God hath co|uenanted to make good vnto vs, as he who hath receiued the greate&s;t, according to the nature of an earne&s;t, to which the mea&s;ure of grace here receiued is compared.</P>
<P>But wherein doth this mea&s;ure of grace and chiefe perfec|tion of a Chri&s;tian con&s;i&s;t in this life? Surely, not in their workes, for they are all imperfect, and &s;o full of corruptions that they are odious in Gods &s;ight, being con&s;idered in them|&s;elues, and examined by the rule of his exact iu&s;tice; neither in their inherent righteou&s;nes, and begun &s;anctification, for when they are at the holie&s;t they are polluted with the re|liques of originall corruption, which bring foorth the fruites
<PB N="123" REF="72">of actuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and make vs vnable to doe the good we would, in that manner and mea&s;ure which we &s;hould, and therefore tho&s;e which are mo&s;t righteous are not in this re|&s;pect acceptable to God: but herein the perfection of a chri|&s;tian con&s;i&s;teth, when as &s;eeing his imperfections, wants and &s;innes, he is grieued and truly humbled with the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of his owne mi&s;erie and wretchedne&s;&s;e, and di&s;claiming and reiecting his owne righteou&s;nes and good workes, doth flee vnto our Sauiour Chri&s;t, hungring after his righteou&s;nes, and by a liuely faith applying vnto his wounded &s;oule his merit and obedience, doth looke for &s;aluation in him alone; and la&s;tly, when as in obedience to his commandement, and in true thankfulnes for his infinite mercies he hath an earne&s;t de&s;ire to glorifie his name, by a godly and Chri&s;tian life, &s;tri|uing and endeuouring continually to for&s;ake his &s;innes, to mortifie his corruption, and to attaine vnto more and more perfection in righteou&s;nes and holines. For, <HI>Maxima pars Christiani&s;mi e&s;t toto pectore velle fieri Chri&s;tianum;</HI> It is the greate&s;t part of Chri&s;tianitie to de&s;ire with the whole heart to become a Chri&s;tian.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> If therefore we doe keepe the couenant of the Lord, nay, if we but thinke vpon his commandements, to the end we may doe them, the louing kindnes of the Lord &s;hall endure for euer vpon vs, as it is P&s;al. 103.17.18; if we can from our harts &s;ay with good <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> Nehem. 1.11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nehem. 1.12.</NOTE> <HI>O Lord I be&s;eech thee let thine eare now hearken to the prayer of thy &s;eruant, and to the prayer of thy &s;eruants who de&s;ire to feare thy name,</HI> the Lord will heare vs indeed and graunt our reque&s;ts. If with the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> we haue but a re&s;pect to Gods commandements, with a care to fulfill them, we &s;hal not be confounded,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.6.</NOTE> as it is P&s;al. 119.6. If wee but de&s;ire to obey Gods commandement, the Lord will accompli&s;h our de&s;ire, and quicken vs in his righ|teou&s;nes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">40.</NOTE> though we be dull, yea dead vnto all goodne&s;&s;e, as it is ver&s;. 40.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.</NOTE> If with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> wee doe the euill which we would not, and con&s;ent to the law that it is good, deligh|ting therein in the inner man; then though we are with him led captiue vnto &s;inne, yet it is not wee that offend, but &s;inne that dwelleth in vs, that is, our old man, our corrupt and vnre|generate
<PB N="124" REF="73">part,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That neither the name, nor actions of the fle&s;h, can pro|perly be a&s;cri|bed to the &s;piri|tuall man.</NOTE> which cannot fitly be called by our name, be|cau&s;e it is mortified alreadie in &s;ome mea&s;ure, and &s;hall be fully aboli&s;hed by the &s;pirit of God; neither doth it liue the &s;ame &s;pirituall life with vs, &s;eeing it is not quickened by the &s;ame &s;pirit: and therefore as tho&s;e who haue diuers &s;oules, which giue vnto them life and motion, are them&s;elues diuers and al&s;o called by diuers names; &s;o the new and old man li|uing as it were by diuers &s;oules, the one being quickned with Gods &s;pirit, the other by Sathan (whereof it commeth to pa&s;&s;e, that the more the one liueth the other dieth, the more &s;trong the &s;pirit is, the weaker is the fle&s;h; and the actions of both are quite contrarie) therefore they may fitly be called by diuers names: neither can the actions of the fle&s;h bee a&s;cribed to the &s;pirit properly, &s;eeing they are contrarie the one to the other. For as if a &s;cience of a crab tree, and another of a pepin tree being grafted into the &s;ame &s;tocke doe both bring foorth their &s;euerall fruites, the one crabs, the other pe|pins, it may fitly be &s;aid this tree bringeth foorth either pe|pins or crabs, becau&s;e they grow in the &s;ame &s;tocke; but yet it cannot bee truly &s;aid that the crab tree &s;cience bringeth foorth pepins, or the pepin &s;cience crabs: &s;o becau&s;e the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit are ioyned together in the &s;ame bodie and &s;oule, we may in this re&s;pect &s;ay that this man &s;inneth, or doth that which is good; but yet whe~ we &s;peak of the regenerate or carnall man properly and &s;euerally, as we cannot truly &s;ay that the fle&s;h doth any good, &s;o neither can we truly affirme that the &s;pirit and regenerate man doth commit that which is euill, but (as y^e Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh) &s;in which dwelleth with him. And though the fle&s;h be the farre greater part, yet doth it not denominate &amp; giue the name to the chri&s;tian &amp; his actions, becau&s;e it is partly mortified, partly in mortifying, and part|ly to be mortified, that is, deputed and de&s;tinated to death and de&s;truction; and al&s;o becau&s;e it is the wor&s;e and more vn|worthie part without compare, and con&s;equently not to giue the name: for as wine mixt with water is called &s;till wine, though the water exceede the wine in quantitie, becau&s;e it is the more excellent &s;ub&s;tance; &s;o the fle&s;h being mixt with the &s;pirit, though it be in greater quantitie, it doth not giue
<PB N="125" REF="73">the name to vs and our actions, but the &s;pirit, as being our mo&s;t excellent and worthie part; and of it wee are called &s;pi|rituall, regenerate and new men, though the lea&s;t part be &s;pi|rituall, regenerate and renewed.</P>
<P>If therefore we are regenerate, and haue in vs the &s;pirit of God, and the graces thereof in the lea&s;t mea&s;ure, wee may boldly &s;ay with <HI>Paul,</HI> that it is no more we y^t do offend God, but &s;inne that dwelleth in vs, neither &s;hall we receiue puni&s;h|ment but the fle&s;h, that is, our vnregenerate and corrupt part, which &s;hall be mortified and fully aboli&s;hed by the &s;pirit of God; as for the &s;pirituall and regenerate part, it &s;hall daily bee more and more &s;trengthened and confirmed in the &s;piri|tuall life, and the more puni&s;hments, afflictions and torments the fle&s;h hath inflicted on it, the more &s;hall the &s;pirituall man grow vp in grace and goodnes, till our corruption being by little and little mortified, and in the end fully aboli&s;hed by death, we &s;hall be perfect men in Chri&s;t, liuing a &s;pirituall and euerla&s;ting life in all glorie and happines in his kingdome. When therefore the Lord &s;uffreth Sathan to afflict vs in our goods, bodies, and in our &s;oules and con&s;ciences as hee did <HI>Iob,</HI> it is not becau&s;e hee hath for&s;aken vs and giuen ouer his whole intere&s;t hee hath in vs to this wicked &s;pirit, but, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh in another matter, he deliuereth vs <HI>vnto Sa|than</HI> (to be afflicted) <HI>for the destruction of the fle&s;h,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 5.5.</NOTE> <HI>that the &s;pi|rit may be &s;aued in the day of the Lord Ie&s;us,</HI> 1. Cor. 5.5.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> It may be that the worke of mortification and regenera|tion doth goe &s;lowly forward,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Though our &s;pi|rituall growth be &s;how, yet it is certaine.</NOTE> and the Lord may for a time let our corruptions beare great &s;way in vs, to the end he may hereby truly humble vs with the &s;ight of our infirmities, and take away from vs all &s;elfe-confidence, pre&s;umption and cau&s;e of boa&s;ting, and cau&s;e vs wholy to relie vpon his mer|cie and Chri&s;ts merits: but though it go on &s;lowly, yet it &s;hall goe &s;urely, becau&s;e it is not begun and continued by our &s;elues, for we cannot &s;o much as thinke a good thought; but all our &s;ufficiencie is of God, as it is 2. Cor. 3.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 3.5.</NOTE> neither can we &s;o much as will and de&s;ire that which is acceptable in Gods &s;ight, for it is he that worketh in vs the will and the deed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.13.</NOTE> euen of his good plea&s;ure, as it is Phil. 2.13. And therefore the&s;e
<PB N="126" REF="74">holie de&s;ires, which are the beginnings and fir&s;t fruites of re|generation, being the worke of Gods &s;pirit; he will fini&s;h and perfect that which he hath begun, till at la&s;t we be fully freed from our corruption, and indued with vn&s;potted holines and &s;anctification.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE> According to that Phil. 1.6. <HI>I am per&s;waded of this &s;ame thing, that he who hath begun this good worke in you, will performe it vntill the day of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> For as with the Lord him&s;elfe <HI>there is neither change nor &s;hadow of change,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.17. Mal. 3.6. Rom. 11.29.</NOTE> Iam. 1.17. Mal. 3.6. &s;o al&s;o <HI>are his gifts and calling without re|pentance:</HI> as it is Rom. 11.29.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> If therefore we haue but a de&s;ire to for&s;ake our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">If we earne&s;tly de&s;ire perfectio~, the Lord will perfect vs, and in the meane time pardon our imperfe|ctions.</NOTE> and to attaine vnto true &s;anctification, this de&s;ire is Gods worke, which he wil fini&s;h &amp; accompli&s;h, according to that P&s;al. 145 19. <HI>He wil fulfill the de&s;ire of them that feare him.</HI> For if the Lord doe euen pre&s;&s;e vpon vs while&s;t we doe not de&s;ire his compa|nie; if hee &s;tand waiting and knocking at the doore of our hearts, calling and crying vnto vs that we will open and giue him entrance: when his holie &s;pirit hath inflamed vs with true loue of him, and opened our hearts with an earne&s;t de&s;ire to haue him enter, will he now thinke you goe away and re|fu&s;e to come in when wee inuite him? Nay a&s;&s;uredly, for he hath promi&s;ed the contrarie, Reuel. 3.20. <HI>Behold</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>I &s;tand at the doore and knocke: if any man heare my voice and o|pen the doore, I will come in vnto him and &s;up with him, and he with me;</HI> that is, I will make him a rich banquet of my hea|uenly graces, and <HI>giue him to drinke the water of life, of which who&s;oeuer drinketh &s;hall neuer be more a thir&s;t, but it &s;hall be in him a well of water &s;pringing vp into euerlasting life,</HI> as our Sa|uiour &s;peaketh Ioh. 4.14. So our Sauiour Chri&s;t calleth &s;uch as thir&s;t vnto him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 7.38. Reu. 21.6.</NOTE> <HI>If any man thir&s;t, let him come to me and drink:</HI> And, <HI>I will giue to him that is a thir&s;t of the well of the water of life freely.</HI> If therefore we haue a thir&s;ting de&s;ire after Gods &s;pirit and the graces thereof, we &s;hall in Gods good time be &s;atisfied, and filled with the full mea&s;ure of them. And in the meane time though our infirmities be neuer &s;o great and manifold, yet in Chri&s;t God wil be well plea&s;ed with vs, when as our corruptions do di&s;plea&s;e our &s;elues, &s;o that we earne&s;t|ly de&s;ire to be freed from them, and to &s;erue the Lord in righ|teou&s;nes
<PB N="127" REF="74">and holines of life. For the Lord e&s;teemeth more of our will than of our deedes, and of our holie endeuour, than of our be&s;t workes, becau&s;e this is the &s;eruice and &s;acrifice of our hearts, wherewith aboue all other things hee is mo&s;t de|lighted: and therefore, <HI>Da cordi Deo &amp; &s;ufficit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 23.26.</NOTE> Giue thy hart to God and it &s;ufficeth, Prou. 23.26.</P>
<P>For the Lord is our mo&s;t gracious father, who&s;e loue farre exceedeth the loue euen of tender mothers, E&s;a. 49.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 49 15. and 66.13.</NOTE> Looke therefore what affection the tender father or mother beareth and &s;heweth towards their childe: and &s;uch, nay infinit more will the Lord &s;hew towards vs, as him&s;elfe profe&s;&s;eth Mal. 3.17. <HI>And I will &s;pare them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.17.</NOTE> <HI>as a man &s;pares his owne &s;onne that &s;erueth him.</HI> Now we know that if a child endeuour to to his dutie, and &s;triue to doe his be&s;t, though through want of po|wer or skill hee is not able to doe as he would, tho&s;e things which his father inioyned him; there is no louing father but will winke at his imperfections, and accept his wil; commen|ding his obedience and dutifull endeuour, though the worke in it &s;elf de&s;erue no commendations: how much more there|fore will our heauenly father, who&s;e loue is infinite and with|out all compare, be wel plea&s;ed with vs in the midde&s;t of our infirmities, if we haue a de&s;ire and care to &s;erue him?</P>
<P>The Lord is our &s;hepheard,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 23.1. Ioh. 10.</NOTE> and we his flock and the &s;heep of his pa&s;ture; as it is P&s;al. 23.1. and Ioh. 10. Now if a &s;heepe be intangled in the briars, &s;o as hee cannot follow the &s;hep|heard, though he heare his voyce calling vnto him, yet if hee &s;truggle and &s;triue to come out to the vttermo&s;t of his po|wer, and bleat for the &s;hepheards helpe, when he cannot help him&s;elfe, hereby it appeareth that hee is one of his flocke, which the good &s;hepheard will not &s;uffer to be lo&s;t; whereas indeed if he want not power alone, but will al&s;o to be freed and to follow after, it is cleere that he belongeth to another &s;heepfold: &s;o if when wee are intangled in the briars of our corruptions, and &s;o hindred with our imperfections, that wee cannot follow the great &s;hepheard of our &s;oules Ie&s;us Chri&s;t in the path of righteou&s;nes, which leadeth to the &s;heepfold of euerla&s;ting happines, though wee heare his voyce calling vnto vs; yet if with the &s;illie &s;heepe we &s;truggle and &s;triue to
<PB N="128" REF="75">be freed from the &s;nares of &s;inne, and when wee cannot free our &s;elues by our power, doe as it were bleate, and after our &s;heepi&s;h manner implore the help of our carefull &s;hepheard; crying out with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> (that ble&s;&s;ed &s;heepe of Chri&s;t) <HI>Wretched man that I am,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.24.</NOTE> <HI>who &s;hall deliuer me from the bodie of this death,</HI> as it is Rom. 7.24. then will our louing &s;hepheard Ie&s;us Chri&s;t in his good time come and loo&s;e vs, and if with &s;trugling in the briars of &s;inne we are &s;o di&s;abled that we cannot goe, he will take vs like the &s;traied &s;heepe vp|on his &s;houlders, and carrie vs by the waies of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e into his &s;heepfold of euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e. Neither can it po&s;&s;ibly be that our heauenly &s;hepheard, who of purpo&s;e came into the world to &s;eeke vs while&s;t wee were lo&s;t, and &s;pent three and thirtie yeeres in following and finding vs, who were wandring and &s;traied &s;heepe, crying and calling vnto vs euen till he became hoarce with lowd cries, and pa&s;|&s;ing thorow the thornie waies of troubles and per&s;ecution, till he had &s;hed his precious blood, and finally laid down his life for our &s;akes; &s;hould now turne away his eyes and &s;top his eares when his &s;heepe de&s;ire to follow him, and earne&s;tly implore his helpe, finding their owne weakne&s;&s;e and vnabili|tie to come &s;o &s;wiftly to him as they &s;hould.</P>
<P>The Lord is our Sauiour and Redeemer, who hath not &s;pa|red his owne precious blood, but hath giuen it to his father as the price of our redemption, that wee might bee deliuered out of the captiuitie of the diuell, in which we were detained, as it is 1. Tim. 2.6.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 2.6.</NOTE> If therefore we haue a &s;en&s;e of our captiui|tie, and a de&s;ire to be &s;et at libertie, being wearie of our mi&s;e|rie, and vnwilling to &s;tay any longer in this cruell bondage; our Sauiour Chri&s;t will redeeme vs, for to this end hee came into the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 4.18.</NOTE> as appeareth Luk. 4.18. And though like vnto poore captiues who (hauing long time been clogged with heauie bolts, and galled with &s;trong chaines) haue their lims &s;o benummed and &s;ore, that they cannot goe after they are freed out of pri&s;on; &s;o we after we haue long been detained in Sathans captiuitie, fettred with chaines of &s;inne, and clog|ged with the heauie bolts of our corruptions, be &s;o galled and benummed, that wee cannot &s;wiftly follow Chri&s;t our
<PB N="129" REF="75">Redeemer in the waies of righteou&s;nes vnto his kingdome of glory, but halt and &s;tumble euery &s;tep through our infirmitie and weaknes; yet if we haue an earne&s;t de&s;ire of co~ming after him, then &s;urely he that hath giuen this ine&s;timable price for our redemption, will not now leaue vs in the hands of his and our enemies; but will feede vs with the foode of his word and Sacraments, &amp; &s;trengthen and &s;upport vs with his holy &s;pirit, inabling vs with the graces thereof to follow his &s;teps, till hauing obtained full libertie wee arriue at his kingdome of euerla&s;ting glorie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the&s;e are Christs &s;oul|diers who haue a de&s;ire of ouer|comming their &s;pirituall ene|mies.</NOTE> that I may fit the &s;imilitude to the &s;pirituall con|flict whereof we &s;peake. If we haue an earne&s;t de&s;ire of ouer|comming our &s;pirituall enemies, and with&s;tanding their temptations, whereby they labour to draw vs to &s;inne: wee may be a&s;&s;ured wee are Chri&s;ts &s;ouldiers, how weakly &s;oeuer we fight when we come to the encounter. For though a &s;oul|dier through &s;icknes be &s;o infeebled that he cannot weld his weapon again&s;t the enemie: yet if hee march forward, and &s;hew a couragious heart and earne&s;t de&s;ire to ouercome, it will hereby plainly appeare that hee is faithfull to his Cap|taine, and therefore hee &s;hall receiue his pay, though at the fir&s;t on&s;et his lims &s;hould faint vnder him. And &s;o if through &s;inne we haue our &s;pirituall man &s;o weakned, that he is ready to faint at the fir&s;t encounter with our &s;pirituall enemies, yet if we march vnder Chri&s;ts &s;tanderd, and fight the battailes of the Lord of hoa&s;ts, hauing an earne&s;t de&s;ire euen aboue our &s;trength to ouercome our enemies, &s;urely Chri&s;t our grand Captaine will acknowledge vs for his &s;ouldiers, and will giue vs our pay, euen a crowne of victorie: and &s;eeing his power is omnipotent and his loue incomprehen&s;ible, we may make &s;ure account that if in the fight wee receiue a foile, hee will &s;tand ouer vs to defend vs with the &s;hield of his prouidence and rai&s;e vs vp againe; yea if we be taken pri&s;oners and led a|way captiue by &s;inne and Sathan, hee will re&s;cue and deliuer vs. There is no di&s;credit accreweth to a &s;ouldier by receiuing wounds, or by being by vnre&s;i&s;table violence taken pri&s;oner; nay rather it argueth his valour, and &s;heweth that the inuin|cible courage of his minde doth farre &s;urpa&s;&s;e the weak force
<PB N="130" REF="76">of his bodie; but rather hereby is a &s;ouldier di&s;graced, if ei|ther he dare not march into the field, or being entred the bat|taile doth &s;hamefully flee away, or cowardly yeeld vnto the enemie: &s;o in this &s;pirituall warfare it is no di&s;honour to re|ceiue foiles and wounds of our &s;pirituall enemies, for the mo&s;t valiant &s;ouldiers that euer fought the Lords battailes, haue &s;u&s;tained the like: nay if in the fight they be taken pri&s;o|ners, yet &s;o they re&s;i&s;t to the vttermo&s;t of their power, and &s;hew an earne&s;t de&s;ire to be out of the captiuitie of &s;inne and Sathan, this is acceptable to their captaine Chri&s;t, and he will in pitie and compa&s;&s;ion re&s;tore them to libertie. But if rather than they would endure the danger of the fight, they profe&s;&s;e them&s;elues friends to &s;inne and Sathan; or if hauing profe&s;&s;ed them&s;elues Chri&s;ts &s;ouldiers, they at the fir&s;t encounter of their &s;pirituall enemies tempting them to any &s;inne, doe for|&s;ake Chri&s;ts &s;tanderd &s;hamefully, or cowardly yeeld to &s;inne and Sathan, voluntarily liuing in their &s;lauerie without de&s;ire of liberty: then either they &s;hew them&s;elues notable co|wards, worthie to be ca&s;&s;ered out of Gods campe: or traite|rous rebels, who though outwardly they made a profe&s;&s;ion that they were Chri&s;ts &s;ouldiers, yet in heart they de&s;ired to &s;erue Sathan.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Here therefore is incouragement for the weake Chri&s;tian, who is di&s;couraged and a&s;hamed to looke his Redeemer Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t in the face, becau&s;e of the manifold foiles which he receiueth in this &s;pirituall combat; for how&s;oeuer before the fight of temptations he re&s;olueth manfully to make re&s;i&s;tance and to ouercome, yet when the diuell &s;trongly a&s;&s;aulteth, the world flattreth or frowneth, and the fle&s;h trecherou&s;ly be|traieth him, fighting &s;ecretly with whole legions of vnlawful lu&s;ts again&s;t the &s;pirit, then is hee foiled and often taken cap|tiue of &s;inne: But let &s;uch to their comfort know, that if they continue their earne&s;t de&s;ire of fighting &s;till the Lords bat|tailes, and ouercomming their &s;pirituall enemies, they are ac|cepted of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and in the end hee will giue them &s;trength to obtaine a finall victorie.</P>
<P>And that their manifold foyles and grie&s;ly wounds which they receiue of &s;inne and Sathan may not di&s;courage them;
<PB N="131" REF="76">let them con&s;ider that neuer any entred the battaile (our chiefe captaine Chri&s;t excepted) but they haue beene &s;ub|iect to the like.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods mo&s;t valiant &s;ouldi|ars haue recei|ued &s;oyles.</NOTE> <HI>Adam</HI> who was the &s;tronge&s;t champion in his owne &s;trength that euer entered the li&s;ts, was ouer|throwne at the fir&s;t encounter, and taken captiue of &s;inne: in which bondage he &s;hould euer haue remained, had not Chri&s;t redeemed him. <HI>Noah</HI> was ouercome with drunkennes; and <HI>Lot</HI> added thereunto ince&s;t. <HI>Dauid</HI> a notable &s;ouldier in figh|ting the Lords battailes, was made a &s;laue to his owne lu&s;ts. <HI>Peter</HI> a &s;tout champion, ranne away and for&s;ooke his mai|&s;ter. In a word there was neuer any that liued, who haue not been foyled by Sathan, and wounded with &s;inne. One per|haps receiueth more and deeper wounds, or is longer held captiue in the chaines of &s;inne than another; but none haue e&s;caped altogether. And tho&s;e who haue receiued the mo&s;t grieuous hurts, &s;o they haue an earne&s;t de&s;ire to haue tho&s;e wounds healed which &s;inne hath made in their con&s;ciences, to the end they may be enabled to renew the fight again&s;t their &s;pirituall enemies; may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that Chri&s;t the good Samaritane and their mo&s;t carefull captaine, will power the oyle of his grace and mercie, and the precious balme of his blood into their woundes, which will as ea&s;ily cure them, though they be many and grei&s;ly, as if they were but few, and (as it were) but &s;mall &s;cratches.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And &s;o much concerning the fir&s;t con&s;olation which may &s;erue for the comforting and rai&s;ing vp of tho&s;e who are fallen.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan preuaileth a|gain&s;t vs not by his ab&s;olute power, but by Gods permi&s;|&s;ion.</NOTE> In the &s;econd place wee are to con&s;ider that Sathan foyleth vs and cau&s;eth vs to fall into &s;inne, not at his plea&s;ure nor by his owne ab&s;olute power, but becau&s;e the Lord hath &s;aid, thou &s;halt thus preuaile, for the further manife&s;tation of my glorie: for therefore the Lord doth leaue his children &s;ometimes to them&s;elues, &s;o that being a&s;&s;aulted by Sathan they fall into &s;inne, and bewray their infirmities and corrup|tion; to the end he may &s;hew hereby and declare the riches of his power, mercie, and goodnes, which otherwi&s;e would not &s;o manife&s;tly appeare. And this the Apo&s;tle plainly &s;hew|eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 12.8.9.</NOTE> 2. Cor. 12.8.9.10. where he &s;aith that he be&s;ought the Lord thrice that he might be deliuered from the pricke in
<PB N="132" REF="77">the fle&s;h and the me&s;&s;enger of Sathan, which did buffet him: but the Lord returned him this an&s;were, my grace is &s;uffici|ent for thee, for my power is made perfect through weake|ne&s;&s;e; after which an&s;were receiued, the Apo&s;tle quieteth him&s;elfe, notwith&s;tanding his infirmities, nay glorieth in them, rather than in his reuelations, as he profe&s;&s;eth &s;aying, Very gladly therefore will I reioyce rather in mine infirmi|ties, that the power of Chri&s;t may dwell in me.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Lord &s;uffereth vs to fall for the ma|nife&s;tation of of his owne po|wer, mercy and goodne&s;&s;e, and for our humi|liation.</NOTE>Though then our infirmities be great and our falles many, yet are we not to be altogether di&s;couraged thereby, &s;eeing it is the will of God that we &s;hould thus bewray our infir|mities and corruptions, to the end his power mercie and goodne&s;&s;e, may be made the more manife&s;t, and that both vnto our &s;elues, and vnto others. For &s;uch is our &s;pirituall blindnes and &s;ecret pride, that if we &s;hould alwaies alike with&s;tand the temptations of Sathan, without receiuing any foyle, and neuer fall into any &s;inne, we would be readie to thinke that we &s;toode by our owne &s;trength, and &s;o a&s;cribe the prai&s;e of victorie to our &s;elues, thereby robbing God of the honour due vnto him: and al&s;o for the time to come, we would rely vpon our &s;elues rather than on the Lords a&s;&s;i|&s;tance; than the which nothing could bee more di&s;honora|ble vnto God, nor pernicious vnto our owne &s;oules. But when as in the &s;pirituall combate of temptations, we &s;ome|times &s;tand and &s;ometimes fall, &s;ometimes re&s;i&s;t tho&s;e a&s;&s;aults which are &s;trong and violent, and another time faint and yeeld in the lighte&s;t trials: this maketh it apparant that it is not our owne power, which in it &s;elfe is not much vnlike at all times; but the power of God, which &s;u&s;taineth vs &s;ome|times, that we may not be wholy di&s;couraged; and &s;ome|times withdraweth it &s;elfe, that we may by receiuing foyles learne to know our infirmities, and wholy to rely our &s;elues on the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, returning all the prai&s;e of victorie to the Lord, who onely hath &s;u&s;tained vs. As therefore our in|firmities in re&s;pect of our &s;elues, &s;hould &s;erue to abate our pride, and to worke in vs true humiliation and vtter de&s;pare in our owne &s;trength: &s;o in re&s;pect that they &s;hew vnto vs the Lords power &s;upporting vs, they &s;hould the rather incou|rage
<PB N="133" REF="77">vs to fight the &s;pirituall combate, with a&s;&s;ured hope of victorie, &s;eeing it is manife&s;t that we &s;tand not by our owne power, which like a broken &s;taffe or crackt weapon would faile vs when we did mo&s;t tru&s;t and rely vpon it, but by the almightie power of God, again&s;t which neither Sathan nor the gates of hell can any iot preuaile. And in this regarde wee may well reioyce in our infirmities with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> becau&s;e by rea&s;on of them it more manife&s;tly appea|reth that the power of Chri&s;t dwelleth in vs, which is able to defend vs from Sathans malice and violent rage, not onely when we &s;tand manfully in the encounter, but al&s;o when we are foyled and put to the wor&s;t.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Yea in this re&s;pect the more weake and full of infirmities the poore chri&s;tian is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods power mo&s;t cleerely appeareth in our weakenes.</NOTE> the more is the prai&s;e of Gods glorious might manife&s;ted and magnified; for when Sathan, who is &s;o malitious pui&s;&s;ant and pollitike an enemie, hath long time a&s;&s;aulted a &s;eely weake man or owman, and yet cannot wholy preuaile, but returneth away foyled and ouercome; it mu&s;t needes be confe&s;&s;ed that they are a&s;&s;i&s;ted and &s;treng|thened by &s;ome &s;uperior power which farre excelleth Sa|than in &s;trength and pollicie: whereas it &s;eemeth no &s;uch wonder when as the &s;trong chri&s;tian, who hath obtained a great mea&s;ure of knowledge, faith, and other graces, giueth Sathan the repul&s;e; neither are men &s;o readie to a&s;cribe the prai&s;e of victorie to the Lord, becau&s;e his immediate power and helping hand doth not &s;o manife&s;tly appeare; although in truth their victorie al&s;o commeth wholy from him, for without his gifts and graces, they were as feeble and vnable to &s;tand as the weake&s;t; but yet the weaker and &s;maller the meanes are, the more manife&s;t is the Lords power and wi&s;e|dome, who hereby doth accompli&s;h things which are aboue the power of men and Angels. For example; the power and goodne&s;&s;e of God appeareth great, when as he prouideth for vs foode conuenient, and giueth &s;trength thereto to nouri&s;h and &s;u&s;taine vs; and yet it is more manife&s;t, when as he &s;o &s;trentheneth vs by vertue of one meale that we neede no more in fortie daies, as he did <HI>Elias;</HI> but then it &s;hineth as it were in his full &s;trength, when as he &s;u&s;taineth vs without
<PB N="134" REF="78">any foode at all, as he did <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and our Sauiour Chri&s;t. So it is made manife&s;t when as he giueth vs victorie ouer our enemies, though there be &s;ome equalitie in the numbers, and other preparations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 144.1.</NOTE> for it is he that <HI>teacheth our hands to warre and our fingers to fight:</HI> but it is more euident when as our number is &s;mall, as when he deliuered the I&s;raelites by <HI>Gedeon</HI> and his three hundred men, from an innumerable armie; and ouercame the whole ho&s;t of the Phili&s;times, by the weake meanes of <HI>Ionathan</HI> and his armour-bearer: but then it is mo&s;t cleere and manife&s;t, when as he ourcommeth our enemies by his owne immediate power, as he did the Aegyp|tians in the red &s;ea, and the ho&s;t of <HI>Senacherib</HI> at the &s;iege of <HI>Ieru&s;alem.</HI> And &s;o when he giueth the &s;trong chri&s;tian who is full of grace, victorie ouer Sathan, his power appeareth; for vnle&s;&s;e he were &s;trengthned with his graces, he could not &s;tand: but when one who &s;eemeth in his owne eyes de&s;titute of grace, and full of &s;inne and corruption (&s;o, that he plainely &s;eeth that he is altogether vnable to with&s;tand the lea&s;t a&s;|&s;ault) is notwith&s;tanding &s;o &s;upported by Gods almightie hand, and immediate power, that he doth not onely &s;tand in the battaile, but in the end obtaineth victorie; hereby the power and goodne&s;&s;e of God mo&s;t cleerely appeares to them&s;elues and all the world. Seeing then our &s;innes and falles do &s;hew vnto vs our owne infirmities &amp; weakenes, and the&s;e doe declare Gods vnre&s;i&s;table power and might, which notwith&s;tanding our feeblene&s;&s;e doth vphold vs: therefore let vs &s;o de&s;paire in our &s;elues, as that thereby we may be mooued to rely wholy vpon the Lord, hauing &s;o much more hope of victorie, as the &s;trength of God excelleth the &s;trength of man; let vs be &s;o humbled with a true &s;en&s;e, and &s;orrow for our owne infirmities and corruption, as that in the meane time we may receiue more &s;ound con&s;olation and true ioy, becau&s;e we &s;tand not by our owne &s;trength, which euery hower would faile vs, but by the power of Gods might: and therefore though Sathan and all the power of hell con&s;pire and bande them&s;elues again&s;t vs, yet &s;hall they not preuaile; and though they foyle vs, yet &s;hall they neuer finally ouer|come; for he that is with vs is &s;tronger than all they who are
<PB N="135" REF="78">again&s;t vs; and the greater our weakne&s;&s;e is, the fitter occa&s;ion &s;hall the Lord haue of &s;hewing his omnipotent power in giuing vs victorie.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Horror, feare and de&s;paire, following our falles, argue our diffidence in God, and &s;elfe-confi|dence.</NOTE>But if hauing bewrayed thine infirmities, and gotten a foyle in the &s;pirituall conflict, thou pre&s;ently be di&s;couraged and de&s;paire of victorie, &s;urely it is a manife&s;t &s;igne that thou didde&s;t tru&s;t too little in Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and too much in thine owne &s;trength, which becau&s;e it hath failed, thou ha&s;t ca&s;t away all hope: and the greater thy horror and de&s;paire is which followeth thy fall, the greater was thy &s;elfe-confi|dence, and the le&s;&s;e thy affiance in God. For he that altoge|ther relieth vpon the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and wholy di&s;tru&s;teth his owne &s;trength, when he falleth in the time of temptation, is not much a&s;toni&s;hed with any great wonder, knowing that through his owne infirmitie and weakenes, he is mo&s;t apt to fall when God leaueth him to him&s;elfe; neither is he vtterly di&s;couraged and ouerwhelmed with de&s;paire, as though now there were no meanes to &s;tand in the &s;pirituall combate, and to obtaine victorie; but hating and with a peaceable and quiet &s;orrow mourning for his &s;inne, becau&s;e thereby he hath di&s;honored his God, and offended his diuine maie&s;tie, he doth not abate his hope; but with le&s;&s;e confidence in him&s;elfe and more confidence in God, he renewes the fight again&s;t his &s;pirituall enemies, with vndanted courage; knowing that the Lord in whom he tru&s;teth and wholy relieth will neuer faile him. And therefore let vs no more re&s;t in our &s;elues, if euer we would inioy the peace of con&s;cience, or would haue any a&s;&s;urance of the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance; for he will be all in all, nei|ther can he abide any &s;haring in the glorie of the victorie: and therefore &s;o long as we tru&s;t in our owne &s;trength, and fight with our owne forces, he will withdraw his helpe, till our of|ten falles and foyles haue taught vs to know our owne infir|mities and corruptions, that &s;o de&s;pairing wholy in our owne &s;trength, we may peaceably re&s;t wholy vpon his almightie power, and promi&s;ed a&s;&s;i&s;tance.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="12" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The last con&s;o|lation, taken from the ex|perience which we haue had of the Lords a&s;|&s;i&s;tance.</NOTE> let tho&s;e who are truely humbled in regarded of tho&s;e foyles which they receiue in the &s;pirituall conflict, com|fort them&s;elues by the experience of Gods loue, care, and
<PB N="136" REF="79">goodne&s;&s;e, both in others and in them&s;elues; for how many haue been ca&s;t downe as well as they, and yet haue in the end been rai&s;ed vp? how many haue &s;orrowed and mourned, that now reioyce and haue receiued comfort? how many haue taken notable foyles and grieuous falles in the &s;pirituall conflict, and yet in the end haue obtained victorie? In a word, who hath depended vpon the Lord, and hath been reiected? who hath been truely humbled, and hath not been comfor|ted? who hath fought again&s;t their &s;pirituall enemies, and hath not by the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance ouercome? And is the Lords arme now &s;hortned, or are his mercies come to an end? hath he forgotten to be gracious, or hath he &s;hut vp his louing kindnes in di&s;plea&s;ure? Nay rather &s;ay it is thine owne infir|mitie, for the Lord is the &s;ame he was, without change or &s;hadow of change, and therefore as he hath comforted and &s;trengthened and giuen victorie vnto others, &s;o will he com|fort and &s;trengthen and giue vnto thee a famous victorie ouer thy &s;pirituall enemies, if thou wilt depend vpon him and waite his lea&s;ure.</P>
<P>But if this will not comfort thee when thou heare&s;t of Gods mercie and a&s;&s;i&s;tance in &s;upporting others, yet at lea&s;t let thine owne experience confirme thee in the a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and &s;uccor: for, ha&s;t thou not indured many a&s;|&s;aults of thy &s;pirituall enemies, and yet thou &s;tande&s;t in the incounter? but I pray thee by who&s;e &s;trength? &s;urely not thine owne, for thou art weake and feeble, and thine enemies &s;trong and mightie, and therefore able to de&s;troy thee euery minute, if the Lord did not &s;upport thee by his almightie power. Ha&s;t thou not al&s;o receiued many foyles, and bewray|ed notable corruptions, and yet thou art not quite ouer|throwne nor &s;wallowed vp by thy &s;innes? And who hath pre|&s;erued thee? &s;urely not thy &s;elfe; for if thou can&s;t not &s;tand again&s;t Sathan while&s;t thou art fighting, much le&s;&s;e coulde&s;t thou ri&s;e vp againe when thou art ca&s;t downe; but it is the &s;pirit of the Lord who hath rai&s;ed thee vp by vnfained repen|tance, and hath renewed thy &s;trength, &s;o that againe thou art readie to with&s;tand and re&s;i&s;t Sathan and his temptations. Why therefore &s;houlde&s;t thou feare lea&s;t Sathan will in the
<PB N="137" REF="79">end ouercome and de&s;troy thee? why &s;houlde&s;t thou doubt of the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance in the time to come, of which thou ha&s;t had &s;ufficient experience in times pa&s;t? &s;eeing him&s;elfe is vn|changeable and his gifts without repentance, and therefore tho&s;e whom he hath defended he will defend, tho&s;e that he hath once rai&s;ed vp, he will euer rai&s;e vp, and to whom&s;oeuer he hath giuen grace to with&s;tand their &s;pirituall enemies, to tho&s;e he will continue and increa&s;e his grace, till in the end they haue a finall victorie, and the crowne of victorie, euer|la&s;ting glorie.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>The end of the fir&s;t booke.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="book">
<PB N="138" REF="80">
<HEAD>THE SECOND BOOKE, INTREATING OF SATHANS &s;peciall and particular temptations, which he &s;ugge&s;teth again&s;t the &s;euerall cau&s;es of our &s;al|uation; and of the an&s;wers whereby they are to be refuted and repelled.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. I.</HI> An&s;weres to tho&s;e temptations of Sathan, whereby he per&s;wa|deth carnall men of Gods loue.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the common af|fections of the Chri&s;tian conflict,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathans temptations impugne all the cau&s;es and meanes of our &s;aluation.</NOTE> namely his manfull with&s;tanding Sathans en|counters, and al&s;o his fainting and falling into &s;inne. Now we are to &s;peake of the &s;peciall temptations them&s;elues, and the meanes whereby wee may be &s;trengthe|ned again&s;t them. Where fir&s;t wee are to con&s;ider that Sa|thans temptations are not alwaies one and the &s;ame, neither impugne one or two points onely of our faith and religion; but as the cau&s;es and the meanes of our &s;aluation are mani|fold, &s;o al&s;o doth he gather manifold obiections again&s;t eue|rie one of them, if they truly appertaine vnto vs, that &s;o hee may impugne and race our faith; or els doth fill vs with vaine pre&s;umption, per&s;wading vs that all the cau&s;es and meanes of &s;aluation concurre together in vs, when as in truth wee are voide and de&s;titute of them all.</P>
<P>Let vs therefore con&s;ider of the &s;euerall cau&s;es of our &s;al|uation, and ob&s;erue what temptations Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth in
<PB N="139" REF="80">our minds again&s;t euery one of them. The fir&s;t and principall cau&s;e of our &s;aluation is Gods eternall loue and immutable goodwill, wherewith he hath loued his creatures from before the foundations of the world were laid; the which loue and goodwill in him&s;elfe did moue him to elect them to &s;alua|tion, whom he &s;o loued without any de&s;erts in them&s;elues: for how could they de&s;erue any thing at Gods hath before they were? or what good could the Lord fore&s;ee in them, but that which in his eternall coun&s;aile hee purpo&s;ed to be|&s;tow and impart vnto them?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation whereby he per&s;wadeth carnall men, that they are beloued of God.</NOTE>Fir&s;t therefore we will &s;peake of tho&s;e temptations which concerne the loue of God toward vs, which are of two &s;orts; the fir&s;t leading vs to vaine pre&s;umption and carnall &s;ecuri|tie; the other, to horrour and de&s;peration. For if Sathan &s;ee men liuing in carnall &s;ecuritie, frozen in the dregges of their &s;innes, &s;o as in truth there is no &s;igne that they are beloued of God; he will per&s;wade them that they are highly in his fa|uour and loue, and therefore though they runne on in their wicked cour&s;es, yet they &s;hall be &s;aued. Doe&s;t thou not per|ceiue (will he &s;ay) that God dearely loueth thee? Why, con|&s;ider that hee hath made thee one of his chiefe&s;t creatures, whereas otherwi&s;e hee would haue made thee a toade or &s;er|pent; he hath al&s;o like a tender father pre&s;erued and nouri|&s;hed thee from thy infancie, and which is more, he hath &s;ent his dearely beloued &s;onne to die for thee, and hee hath made choi&s;e of thee among&s;t many others to be a member of his Church, where thou inioye&s;t the preaching of the Go&s;pell, and the v&s;e of the Sacraments, to the end thou mai&s;t be a&s;&s;u|red of thy &s;aluation without all que&s;tion or doubting. Neuer therefore take care nor trouble thy &s;elfe concerning thy &s;al|uation, v&s;e not &s;uch &s;trictnes and preci&s;enes of life, but take thy plea&s;ure, and follow tho&s;e delights which the Lord hath be&s;towed vpon thee as pledges of his loue; for thou art not now a &s;laue but a &s;onne, and therefore mai&s;t more freely fol|low thine owne de&s;ire, and v&s;e thy libertie: ca&s;t away all &s;er|uile feare, which maketh thee take &s;uch paines in v&s;ing all meanes whereby thou mai&s;t be a&s;&s;ured of &s;aluation; for thou art a&s;&s;ured of the principall, namely of Gods loue, and there|fore
<PB N="140" REF="81">thou neede&s;t not to doubt of the re&s;t, nor to debarre thy &s;elfe of thy plea&s;ures, &s;pending thy time in feare and care, to the end thou mai&s;t get the a&s;&s;urance of that which thou nee|de&s;t not to call into que&s;tion.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The an&s;were to the former temptation.</NOTE>And thus doth the diuell fill men with pre&s;umption, and lull them a&s;leepe in carnal &s;ecuritie to their vtter de&s;truction; and therefore it behooueth vs to arme our &s;elues again&s;t him, that we be not circumuented. And to this end let vs con&s;ider that Gods loue goeth not alone, neither is it idle in tho&s;e whom he loueth: but as the fir&s;t linke of a chaine draweth all the re&s;t of the chaine with it, &s;o the loue of God, which is the fir&s;t cau&s;e of our &s;aluation, is accompanied with all the other cau&s;es which are &s;ubordinate thereunto; for whom God lo|ueth, them he electeth; whom he electeth, tho&s;e in his good time he calleth; whom hee effectually calleth, them he iu&s;ti|fieth; and whom he iu&s;tifieth, tho&s;e hee &s;anctifieth: if there|fore we be not &s;anctified, we are not iu&s;tified; if wee are not iu&s;tified, we are not called; if we are not called, we can haue no a&s;&s;urance that wee are elected, nor yet of Gods loue and fauour; and con&s;equently who&s;oeuer liue in their blind ig|norance, in their infidelitie, and wallow them&s;elues in the fil|thie puddle of their &s;innes, without any true &s;orrow for tho&s;e which are pa&s;t, or any good purpo&s;e of heart to for&s;ake them in the time to come; they can haue no a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue, but are rather iu&s;tly to feare lea&s;t they are in the number of tho&s;e whom the Lord hath eternally reiected, if they con|tinue in this their mi&s;erable and de&s;perate e&s;tate.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Neither let Sathan bewitch them with that vaine opinion of Gods loue towards them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Temporall be|nefits no infal|lible &s;ignes of Gods loue.</NOTE> becau&s;e of tho&s;e generall bene|fits, which like the raine and Sunne-&s;hine are be&s;towed both vpon the good and bad; for what in this re&s;pect can they promi&s;e more to them&s;elues than <HI>E&s;au,</HI> and <HI>Saul?</HI> Were not they created men according to Gods own likenes? were they not pre&s;eured and nouri&s;hed by God, and that more liberal|ly than many Gods owne children? For <HI>E&s;au</HI> had &s;o much the he profe&s;&s;ed to his brother <HI>Iacob</HI> that he had enough, and was attended vpon by foure hundred men. And was not <HI>Saul</HI> a mightie King, who had all at commaund? Were not all
<PB N="141" REF="81">the&s;e in the Church of God, and outwardly enioyed the word and Sacraments as well as any other; and yet God him&s;elf &s;aith that he hated <HI>E&s;au,</HI> and had reiected <HI>Saul.</HI> And therefore let vs neuer bragge of our a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue, becau&s;e of the&s;e outward and common benefits which he indifferently be&s;toweth both vpon the elect and reprobate; but if we would be a&s;&s;ured indeed of Gods loue, let vs looke into our &s;elues, and con&s;ider if he haue be&s;towed vpon vs his &s;pirituall graces, faith, hope, patience, loue of him and our brethren, true repentance for our &s;innes, and holine&s;&s;e of life and the re&s;t; and then by the fruites of &s;anctification we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are &s;anctified, and con&s;equently iu&s;tified, called, elected, and eternally loued of God.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus doth Sathan fal&s;ely per&s;wade the carnall man that he is highly in the loue and fauour of God:<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan per&s;wadeth weake chri|&s;tians that th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">y are not belou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> of God.</NOTE> but contra|riwi&s;e when he a&s;&s;aulteth the weake Chri&s;tian, hee changeth his copie, and goeth about to per&s;wade him that he is not beloued of God, but &s;ubiect to his wrath and heauie di&s;plea|&s;ure. And this he inforceth by two &s;orts of arguments: the one drawne from his manifold corruptions, whereby hee is vnworthie of Gods loue; the other from tho&s;e grieuous af|flictions and cro&s;&s;es which the Lord in this life inflicteth on him; both which he thus vrgeth again&s;t him. Can&s;t thou vild wretch conceiue the lea&s;t hope that thou art beloued of God? Why, doe but take a view of thy &s;elfe, and thou &s;halt &s;ee that originall corruption hath ouer&s;pread both thy bodie and &s;oule like a filthy lepro&s;ie; vnto which thou ha&s;t added actuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions more in number than the haires of thy head, or the &s;tarres of heauen; for daily, nay hourely thou omitte&s;t &s;ome dutie which thy God hath commanded thee, and com|mitte&s;t &s;ome &s;inne which hee hath forbidden. Can therefore the Lord, who abhorreth wickedne&s;&s;e, loue the wicked? can&s;t thou obtaine his fauour, and yet doe&s;t nothing but di&s;plea&s;e him? He that loueth God keepeth his commandements; but thou by tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing them all, doe&s;t &s;hew that thou loue&s;t him not: and will the Lord loue them who hate and rebell a|gain&s;t him? Can iu&s;tice it &s;elfe loue wickednes, and perfect holine&s;&s;e impure corruption? No verely; for in his word hee
<PB N="142" REF="82">hath threatned his wrath again&s;t all &s;uch notorious &s;inners, and hee is no le&s;&s;e true in his threatnings than in his pro|mi&s;es.</P>
<P>But if all this will not per&s;wade thee that the Lord abhor|reth thee, yet at lea&s;t bee per&s;waded by thine owne expe|rienc. For, hath not thy iu&s;t God begunne already to make thee ta&s;te the cuppe of his wrath, of which hereafter thou &s;halt drinke in full mea&s;ure; hath hee not &s;poyled thee of thy goods, taken away thy good name, made thee an abiect a|mong&s;t men, afflicted thee in body with grieuous and conti|nuall &s;ickne&s;&s;e, and filled thy &s;oule full of horror and de|&s;payre? Is not thy con&s;cience &s;tung with &s;inne, and hath not the poy&s;on thereof drunke vp thy &s;pirit? Doe&s;t thou not plainely apprehend his wrath, and is not thy &s;oule as it were &s;et vpon the racke, &s;o that there is not one part of thee, either of body and &s;oule which is not full of mi&s;ery and wretchedne&s;&s;e. Doe not therefore fondly flatter thy &s;elfe with a vaine opinion of Gods loue, but beleeue, if not my words, yet at lea&s;t thine owne &s;en&s;es; and &s;eeing thou ha&s;t no hope of Gods loue, if thou bee&s;t wi&s;e loue thy &s;elfe, follow thy plea&s;ures, eate and drinke and cheere vp thine heart, and doe not vainely macerate and turmoyle thy &s;elfe in labou|ring after impo&s;&s;ibilities, and in &s;triuing for the a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue, of which, when thou ha&s;t done what thou can&s;t, yet &s;halt thou neuer be a&s;&s;ured.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus you &s;ee the manner of Sathans temptations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How we may an&s;were the former temp|tation.</NOTE> whereby he laboureth to per&s;wade vs that we are out of the loue and fauour of God; again&s;t which we mu&s;t mo&s;t care|fully arme our &s;elues, as being mo&s;t odious and iniurious vnto God, and mo&s;t pernicious vnto our owne &s;oules. It is mo&s;t iniurious vnto God, if we doubt of his loue towards vs, &s;eeing he hath giuen vs innumerable pledges and mo&s;t cer|taine te&s;timonies thereof, and omitted nothing which might doe vs good. He hath created vs after his owne image, he hath continually pre&s;erued and &s;u&s;tained vs, giuing vs our meate in due &s;ea&s;on, and oft time hath &s;uccoured and de|fended vs before we craued his helpe; but which is more, he hath giuen his dearely beloued &s;onne to dye a bitter death,
<PB N="143" REF="82">to redeeme vs out of the hands of our &s;pirituall enemies: and to the end we &s;hould be made partakers of Chri&s;t and all his benefits, he hath giuen vs his word, and made his co|uenant with vs, that in Chri&s;t he will be our God, and we his people, he our father, and we his children: And lea&s;t yet there &s;hould be any place left to doubting, he hath added to his word, his &s;acraments, which like &s;eales may a&s;&s;ure vs of his loue and fauour. What iniurie therefore &s;hall we offer vnto God, if notwith&s;tanding all this we doubt of his good will, of which he hath a&s;&s;ured vs by &s;o many pledges, te&s;timonies and &s;eales? We know that a kinde friend will take it mo&s;t vnkindely, if after he hath heaped vpon a man innumerable benefits, and &s;hewed all te&s;timonies of true loue, hee not|with&s;tanding doubt of his good will, and &s;u&s;pect his friend|&s;hip: and &s;o &s;urely the Lord will take it ill at our hands; and thinke him&s;elfe much abu&s;ed, if after he hath be&s;towed &s;uch infinite benefits, euen his dearely beloued &s;onne to dye for vs, we now &s;u&s;pect his good will, and growe iealous of his loue; if we doubt of his loue, who is loue it &s;elfe, as the Apo|&s;tle &s;peaketh, 1. Iohn 4.8.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But again&s;t this which I haue &s;aid, there are two obiections,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That carnall men haue no a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue though they boa&s;t thereof.</NOTE> the fir&s;t is made by the worldling, the other by Sathan. The worldly man will &s;ay, that the Lord hath made him al&s;o par|taker of all the&s;e benefits, and therefore there is no cau&s;e why he &s;hould doubt of his loue; nor any rea&s;on why he &s;hould be cen&s;ured or condemned for his faith. I an&s;were, that he is not reprehended for his per&s;wa&s;ion of Gods loue, nor for his a&s;&s;urance of Gods promi&s;es in Chri&s;t; but for his boa&s;ting of this faith, per&s;wa&s;ion, and a&s;&s;urance, whereas there is no|thing in him in truth but a dead carca&s;e of faith, carnall &s;ecu|rity, and vaine pre&s;umption. For true faith purifieth the heart, Acts 15.9. and worketh by loue, Gal. 5.6. it is plentifull in good workes, and prouoketh vs to performe all good duties to God and our neighbours: and it is impo&s;&s;ible that wee &s;hould be truely per&s;waded of Gods loue, and not loue him againe: it cannot be that we loue God, if we &s;hew no care in glorifying his name, by letting our lights &s;hine before men, nor any de&s;ire to performe obedience to his will. For as our
<PB N="144" REF="83">Sauiour &s;aith, <HI>He that loueth me keepeth my Commaundements, and he that loueth me not, keepeth not my words,</HI> as it is Iohn 14.23, 24. If therefore we liue in our &s;innes without repentance, if we make no con&s;cience of our waies, and &s;hew no zeale in glorifying Gods name; if our faith be de&s;titute of the fruites of good workes, then is our per&s;wa&s;ion but fond pre&s;ump|tion; our a&s;&s;urance, carnall &s;ecuritie; our faith dead, and like a carca&s;e which breatheth not, as <HI>Iames</HI> &s;peaketh, chap. 2.26. Wee doe not then reprehend any for being per&s;waded of Gods loue, gathering his a&s;&s;urance out of Gods manifolde mercies, and innumerable benefits be&s;towed on his Church: nay, contrariwi&s;e wee affirme that notwith&s;tanding all our &s;innes and vnworthine&s;&s;e, we are to be per&s;waded of Gods loue in Chri&s;t, yea, and to beleeue again&s;t beleefe, and to hope again&s;t hope, when as there is no ground or rea&s;on of either in our &s;elues: but this we maintaine, that who&s;oeuer hath this a&s;&s;urance and faith, in the lea&s;t mea&s;ure begunne in him, doth truly loue God againe, and earne&s;tly laboureth af|ter mortification and newne&s;&s;e of life; and who&s;oeuer is de|&s;titute of Gods loue, and liueth in his &s;innes, without any &s;orrowe for tho&s;e which are pa&s;t, or purpo&s;e to leaue them for the time to come, he may well brag of his faith and a&s;&s;u|rance of Gods loue, but in very trueth there is as yet no|thing in him but carnall &s;ecuritie and vaine pre&s;umption.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That euery particular chri&s;tian may a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe of Gods loue.</NOTE> the tempter will obiect that the Lord hath gi|uen all the&s;e te&s;timonies and pledges of his loue vnto his Church, and that it therefore may well be a&s;&s;ured thereof; but as for particular men, they notwith&s;tanding may iu&s;tly doubt of his loue, &s;eeing they haue no &s;peciall rea&s;ons to per&s;wade them that the&s;e te&s;timonies and pledges were gi|uen vnto them. But I an&s;were that this is a fond of obiection. For what is the Church, but the whole company of Gods &s;aints? What is it but a body con&s;i&s;ting of many members, which are particular chri&s;tians? how therefore can the whole Church be per&s;waded of Gods loue, if all the &s;euerall members doubt thereof? How can any thing belong to the whole, which belongeth not to the particular parts? as though a whole citie could be a&s;&s;ured of the Princes fauour,
<PB N="145" REF="83">and yet all the particular men in the citie &s;hould thinke them&s;elues in his di&s;plea&s;ure. Saint <HI>Paul</HI> teacheth vs ano|ther le&s;&s;on in his owne per&s;on, &s;aying;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.20.</NOTE> Gal. 2.20. <HI>Who hath loued me and giuen his life for me:</HI> he &s;aith not, who hath loued and giuen his life for the Church, but for him&s;elfe. Neither doth the Apo&s;tle here &s;peake this by reuelation, whereby he might extraordinarily be a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue: but he v&s;eth for his argument a rea&s;on common to all Chri&s;tians; name|ly, that God loued him, becau&s;e hee had giuen him&s;elfe to death for him: who&s;oeuer therefore beleeueth with <HI>Paul</HI> that Chri&s;t dyed for him, may bee a&s;&s;ured al&s;o with him of Gods loue.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, if we doe not beleeue that God loueth vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That doubting of Gods loue, is iniurious vnto him.</NOTE> wee make him a lyar, for he hath profe&s;&s;ed his loue, and giuen vs many te&s;timonies thereof in his word, neither doth he re|quire any condition at our hands but that we beleeue him. For his mercifull promi&s;es doe not exclude any for their vn|worthine&s;&s;e, but for their vnbeleefe: according to that, Iohn 3.16. <HI>So God loued the world, that hee gaue his onely begotten &s;onne, that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in him, &s;hould not peri&s;h,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>but haue euerla&s;ting life.</HI> Seeing then there is no other condition re|quired but faith, for the a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and euerla|&s;ting life; &s;urely mo&s;t de&s;perately doe we &s;inne again&s;t our owne &s;oules, and mo&s;t bla&s;phemou&s;ly again&s;t God, if we will not beleeue his word confirmed by his &s;eale, no not his oath whereby he hath ratified his couenant betweene him and vs, but make him, who is truth it &s;elfe, a liar, a couenant breaker, yea, a periured per&s;on. For &s;o the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, 1. Iohn 5.10. <HI>He that beleeueth not God, hath made him a lyar,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 5.10.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e hee beleeued not the record, that God witne&s;&s;ed of his Sonne.</HI> Though therefore we &s;inne, yet let vs not thus bla&s;pheme; though we be grieuous &s;inners, and vnworthy Gods loue, yet let vs not adde this to all our other &s;innes and vnworthi|ne&s;&s;e, to di&s;tru&s;t Gods trueth in his gracious promi&s;es: for if we put all our other &s;innes into the one &s;cole, and this a|lone into the other, yet will it weigh downe all the re&s;t; nei|ther are we damned for our other &s;innes, if we doe not adde vnto them infidelitie. For whereas the precious baulme of
<PB N="146" REF="84">our Sauiours blood is a &s;oueraigne &s;alue to cure all other &s;ores of &s;inne; yet this it cannot helpe, becau&s;e it doth refu&s;e the cure, and as it were pulleth off this precious plai&s;ter when it is laid on it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But as this di&s;tru&s;ting and doubting of Gods loue is iniu|rious vnto him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Doubting of Gods loue, pernicious vn|to our &s;elues.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o it is pernitious vnto our owne &s;oules. For fir&s;t, it tormenteth our mindes, and &s;etteth our con&s;cien|ces vpon the racke, when as we haue no other a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue, but onely &s;o farre foorth as we finde our &s;elues worthy of it: for &s;o often as wee fall, and the &s;ight of our &s;innes commeth before our eyes, hauing no other ground of Gods loue but our owne de&s;erts, wee doubt and &s;tagger like a &s;hip to&s;&s;ed with the billowes of the &s;ea, and in the end &s;inke into the gulfe of de&s;paire, being ouer balanced and too heauily laden with the vn&s;upportable waight of our &s;innes; whereas if we were throughly per&s;waded of Gods free loue and goodwill, grounded on his owne good plea&s;ure, and not on our worthine&s;&s;e, if we did fall we would be grieued in deede euen at the very heart, becau&s;e wee had di&s;plea&s;ed our gracious God and louing Father; but yet our &s;innes would not make vs de&s;paire or doubt of his loue towards vs, becau&s;e it hath not it ground on our worthine&s;&s;e, but vpon Gods owne free mercie, grace, and good will.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That we can|not loue God, if we haue no a&s;&s;urance of his loue to|wards vs.</NOTE>Secondly, if we doubt and di&s;tru&s;t of Gods loue towards vs, we &s;hall neuer loue him from our hearts: for who loueth him intirely, of who&s;e loue he is not per&s;waded? or who can performe the dueties of loue to &s;uch an one as hateth and abhorreth him? <HI>Cos amoris amor,</HI> Loue is the whet&s;tone of loue. And if this be true among&s;t men, then much more be|tweene God and vs:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 4.19.</NOTE> for <HI>we loue him becau&s;e he loued vs fir&s;t,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;ayth, 1. Ioh. 4.19. As therefore the cold &s;tone can of it &s;elfe ca&s;t foorth no heate, till it be fir&s;t warmed by the Sunne beames, and then it reflectsth againe &s;ome of the heate which it receiued: &s;o no more can our cold hearts ca&s;t any beames of hearty loue towards God, till they be war|med with the apprehen&s;ion of his loue towards vs, and then they begin to returne &s;ome &s;parkes of loue towards God, after they are inflamed with the beames of his loue cleerely
<PB N="147" REF="84">&s;hining in them. Vnle&s;&s;e therefore wee be a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue we cannot loue him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.8.</NOTE> and con&s;equently cannot per|forme any duetie of loue in obedience to his will: for as loue is the fulfilling of the Law, as it is, Rom. 13.8. &s;o the want of loue is the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing of all the commandements: for all con&s;i&s;t in the loue of God, which is the fountaine of all true obedience; and in the loue of our neighbour, which as a &s;pring i&s;&s;ueth from it. Nay, when we di&s;paire of Gods loue, then doe we de&s;paire of our &s;aluation, and therefore hauing no hope of happine&s;&s;e in the life to come, wee are ready to &s;eeke al the plea&s;ures and delights which this life wil affoord vnto vs, giuing our &s;elues ouer to the &s;atisfying of all the fil|thy lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, and &s;pending our times in all Epicu|ri&s;me and fen&s;uality.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The manifold euils which ac|companie, our doubting of Gods loue, and the benefits which follow our per&s;wa&s;ion thereof.</NOTE> our doubting and di&s;tru&s;ting of Gods loue doeth ouerthrow our patience in the time of affliction, and cau&s;eth vs to murmure and repine again&s;t God, bla&s;pheming him to his face; it hindereth all Chri&s;tian re&s;olution in &s;uffering any thing for the Name of Chri&s;t; for how &s;hould we &s;uffer any thing patiently for his &s;ake of who&s;e loue we are not a&s;&s;ured? It maketh the day of death horrible, when as we are not per|&s;waded that we &s;hall render vp our &s;oules into the hands of a gracious father, but into the hands of a &s;euere iudge: where|as on the other &s;ide, when we are throughly per&s;waded of Gods loue, then may we patiently, yea, ioyfully &s;uffer all af|flictions, becau&s;e wee know that they are but gentle trials, and fatherly cha&s;ti&s;ements, which our gracious God doth in|flict on vs for our euerla&s;ting good: when we are per&s;ecuted for our profe&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pel, we will triumph with ioy, becau&s;e we are thought worthy to &s;uffer any mi&s;erie for the Name of Chri&s;t, who hath laid downe his life for our &s;ake:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 5.14.</NOTE> when the day of our departing approacheth we reioice, be|cau&s;e we de&s;ire nothing more than to be di&s;&s;olued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.23.</NOTE> and to be with Chri&s;t, who &s;o tenderly loueth vs. In a word, come pro|&s;peritie, come aduer&s;itie, come affliction, come per&s;ecution, come fire, come &s;word, come life, come death, nothing can come ami&s;&s;e, nothing can di&s;may or di&s;courage vs, if wee be once fully a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue in Chri&s;t, both becau&s;e our
<PB N="148" REF="85">loue of God, which by his loue is wrought in vs, will make the heauie&s;t and mo&s;t tedious burthen &s;eeme light and mo|mentanie, which it &s;hall plea&s;e our heauenly father to lay vp|on vs:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.28.</NOTE> and al&s;o becau&s;e <HI>we know that all things</HI> (euen mi&s;eries, afflictions, per&s;ecutions, yea death it &s;elfe) <HI>worke together for the be&s;t vnto them that loue God. As it is Rom. 8.28.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. II.</HI> That our &s;innes and vnworthine&s;&s;e &s;hould not make vs doubt of Gods loue.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _SEeing therefore that our doubting and di&s;tru|&s;ting of Gods loue towards vs, is both iniurious vnto God and pernicious vnto our &s;elues; let vs in no ca&s;e admit of Sathans temptations whereby he laboureth to per&s;wade vs that the Lord hateth vs. But fora&s;much as there is no per&s;wa&s;io~ with|out knowledge and faith, neither can we know and beleeue that we are in Gods fauour, vnle&s;&s;e we haue &s;ome ground and warrant out of Gods word, whereupon we may ca&s;t our wa|uering mindes, and confirme our fainting faith again&s;t the boy&s;terous bla&s;ts of Sathans temptations: therefore let vs examine Sathans rea&s;ons, whereby he goeth about to per|&s;wade vs that we are not beloued of God, by the touch&s;tone of Gods word; and waigh his obiections in the &s;coles of the &s;anctuarie, to &s;ee if they be of any waight or &s;ub&s;tance, or els but frauthie, light, and of no &s;ound con&s;equence.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;were to Sathans temp|tations groun|ded vpon our vnworthines.</NOTE>Fir&s;t therefore whereas Sathan obiecteth that we are mi|&s;erable &s;inners, vnworthie altogether of Gods loue, and mo&s;t worthie of his wrath and heauie di&s;plea&s;ure; that God is in|finitly iu&s;t, and therefore cannot nor will not loue vs being notoriou&s;ly wicked: we are to an&s;were, that indeede we are in our &s;elues vnworthie the lea&s;t dram of Gods loue, by rea|&s;on of our originall corruption, and actuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion; and therefore if our a&s;&s;urance of Gods fauour, had no other foundation but our owne de&s;erts, we had great rea&s;on not onely to doubt, but al&s;o vtterly to de&s;paire of Gods loue
<PB N="149" REF="85">towards vs. But the loue of God is not grounded vpon our worthines which is nothing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods loue not grounded on our worthines.</NOTE> but vpon his owne good will and plea&s;ure, which is infinit as him&s;elfe is infinit; and there|fore though in our &s;elues we are mo&s;t mi&s;erable and wretch|ed, yet this is no rea&s;on why we &s;hould di&s;tru&s;t or in the lea&s;t degree doubt of Gods loue, &s;eeing it ari&s;eth not from any thing in vs, but from him&s;elfe who is vnchangeable.</P>
<P>The truth hereof manife&s;tly appeareth by the &s;criptures, where it is &s;aid that the Lord hath loued vs not for our excel|lencie and worthine&s;&s;e, but of his free grace and louing kind|ne&s;&s;e. So Ho&s;. 14.5. <HI>I will heale their rebellion;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 14.5.</NOTE> <HI>I will loue them freely, &amp;c.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn</HI> telleth vs that herein Gods loue appeareth, in that when we loued not him, he &s;o deerely loued vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 4.10.</NOTE> that he &s;ent his &s;onne to be a reconciliation for our &s;innes; 1. Ioh. 4.10. And <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, that hereby <HI>God &s;etteth out his loue towards vs, &s;eeing that while&s;t we were yet &s;inners,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.8.10.</NOTE> Chri&s;t died for vs, and when we were enemies God reconciled vs vnto him&s;elfe by the death of his &s;onne.</HI> Rom. 5.8.10. If there|fore the Lord loued vs when we were enemies vnto him and dead in our &s;innes; how much more will he loue vs now be|ing reconciled in Chri&s;t, and in &s;ome mea&s;ure purged from our corruption, and quickned by his &s;pirit to newne&s;&s;e of life? If when we were mo&s;t vnworthie, he freely &s;hewed &s;uch exceeding fauour towards vs: how much more hauing by his &s;pirit and the graces thereof made vs more worthie, will he continue his loue vnto vs? If he hath hetherto loued vs not for any de&s;erts of ours, but of his free mercie, becau&s;e he is loue it &s;elfe, as <HI>Iohn</HI> calleth him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 4.8. 1. Pet. 5.10.</NOTE> 1. Ioh. 4.8. and the God of grace, as <HI>Peter</HI> maketh him, 1. Pet. 5.10: why &s;hould we doubt of Gods loue in re&s;pect of our vnworthine&s;&s;e, &s;eeing his loue hath not his ground vpon our worthine&s;&s;e, but vpon his owne nature which is immutable, and therefore whom he once loueth, he loueth them vnto the end, though in them|&s;elues they are mi&s;erable and wretched. Ioh. 13.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 13.1.</NOTE></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But as the Scriptures &s;hew that God hath loued vs freely from all eternitie; &s;o al&s;o doe they as plainely declare, that God hath manife&s;ted this loue in the worke of our &s;aluation freely, and without any re&s;pect of our worthines: as may ap|peare
<PB N="150" REF="86">in the &s;euerall cau&s;es thereof.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods election not grounded on our works and worthines. <HI>Rom. 11.5, 6.</HI></NOTE> As fir&s;t he hath elected vs of his owne free loue and good will, and not for any of our de&s;erts; and therefore it is called the election not of ver|tue and works but of grace. Rom. 11.5. Nay it is flatly op|po&s;ed to workes in the ver&s;e following. <HI>And if</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>it be of grace it is no more of works, or els were grace no more grace: but if it be of works it is no more grace, or els were worke no more worke.</HI> So that our election is not grounded vp|on our worthine&s;&s;e, but on Gods grace and goodwill: and therefore it cannot be ouerthrowne by our vnworthine&s;&s;e, &s;o we wholy rely vpon Gods free mercie in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Our worthi|ne&s;&s;e is not the condition of Gods coue|nant.</NOTE>Secondly the couenant betweene God and vs, wherein he profe&s;&s;eth him&s;elfe our God, and taketh vs for his people and heires of his promi&s;es, is not the couenant of workes, but the couenant of grace: in which hee offereth freely in Chri&s;t, his grace and mercy to all who will receiue it, by the hand of a liuely faith. And this the Lord him&s;elfe expre&s;|&s;eth Ierem. 31.31. <HI>Beholde the dayes come &s;aith the Lord, that I will make a new couenant with the hou&s;e of I&s;rael</HI> (that is, my Church.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierem. 31.31.</NOTE>) 32. <HI>Not according to the couenant which I made with their fathers</HI> (that is, the couenant of workes) <HI>the which my couenant they breake, &amp;c. but this &s;hall be my couenant that I will make with the hou&s;e of I&s;rael, after tho&s;e daies &s;aith the Lord; I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they &s;hall be my people.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, that the promi&s;e made to <HI>Abraham</HI> and his &s;eede, <HI>was not giuen through the lawe, but through the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.13.</NOTE> Rom. 4.13. <HI>and that it was therefore by faith that it might come by grace, and the promi&s;e might be &s;ure to all the &s;eede.</HI> For if the couenant were of workes and not of faith, of de&s;erts and not of grace, we &s;hould continually di&s;anull and make it of no effect.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Our redempti|on not cau&s;ed by our worthi|ne&s;&s;e. <HI>Eph. 1.7, 8.</HI></NOTE> as we are elected before all times, &s;o were we in time redeemed freely, and without re&s;pect of our owne wor|thine&s;&s;e, of the meere mercy and loue of God; although our Sauiour Chri&s;t payed the full price of our redemption vnto God his father for vs: and this appeareth, Ephe&s;. 1.7. <HI>By whom we haue redemption through his blood, euen the forgiuene&s;&s;e of
<PB N="151" REF="86">&s;innes, according to his rich grace.</HI> 8. <HI>Whereby he hath been abun|dant towards vs in all wi&s;edome and vnderstanding.</HI> So that our redemption was not free vnto our Sauiour Chri&s;t, for it co&s;t him the ine&s;timable price of his mo&s;t precious bloud; but it was free vnto vs, without any re&s;pect of our workes and wor|thine&s;&s;e. For we were like de&s;perate debters, deeply ingaged vnto God, and not able to pay the lea&s;t farthing; and there|fore were ca&s;t into the pri&s;on of euerla&s;ting death, there to be detained till we had di&s;charged the whole debt: which being impo&s;&s;ible vnto vs, it plea&s;ed our Sauiour Chri&s;t of his meere pitie and free goodwill to become our &s;uretie, and to make full &s;atisfaction to his father, euen to the lea&s;t mite, that &s;o we might be relea&s;ed and &s;et free. We were all of vs mi&s;erable captiues, held in the thraldome of &s;inne, Sathan and death, vnable to de&s;erue in any mea&s;ure to be &s;et at libertie; for wee were the children of wrath, who were not &s;ick only, but euen dead in our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.1.5.</NOTE> as it is Eph. 2.1.5 But our Sauiour Chri&s;t of his vnde&s;erued loue did pay the price of our redemption, and &s;et vs out of our captiuitie, quickning and rai&s;ing vs vp from &s;inne to newne&s;&s;e of life; as the Apo&s;tle &s;etteth it downe Eph. 2.3. <HI>And you were by nature the children of wrath as well as o|thers.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.3.4</NOTE> 4. <HI>But God which is rich in mercie, through his great loue wherewith he loued vs,</HI> 5. <HI>Euen when we were dead by &s;innes, hath quickened vs together in Chri&s;t, by who&s;e grace ye are &s;aued,</HI> 6. <HI>And hath rai&s;ed vs vp together in heauenly places in Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us.</HI> 7. <HI>That he might &s;hew in ages to come the exceeding riches of his grace, through his kindne&s;&s;e towards vs in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI> So that there is no worthine&s;&s;e in our &s;elues which the Lord re|&s;pected, for we were all alike the children of wrath, and dead in our &s;innes; but onely of his free mercie and great loue, he hath redeemed vs by Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Our worthines no cau&s;e of our calling.</NOTE> as the Lord hath freely redeemed vs, &s;o al&s;o hee hath freely called vs to the knowledge of the my&s;terie of our redemption wrought by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and cho&s;en vs among&s;t all nations to be his Church and peculiar people, and that of his meere grace and free goodwill, without any re&s;pect of our worthines, as appeareth 2. Tim. 1.9. <HI>Who hath &s;aued vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.9.</NOTE> <HI>and called vs with an holy calling, not according to our workes, but ac|cording
<PB N="152" REF="87">to his owne purpo&s;e of grace which was giuen vs through Chri&s;t Ie&s;us before the world was.</HI> So <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> telleth the chil|dren of I&s;rael, that the Lord had called and made choi&s;e of them aboue all other nations to bee his Church and people, not for any re&s;pect of them&s;elues, or their owne worthine&s;&s;e, but of his free loue and vnde&s;erued mercie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 7.7.8.</NOTE> as it is Deut. 7.7.8. P&s;al. 44.3.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Our works and worthine&s;&s;e no cau&s;es of our iu&s;tification.</NOTE>Fiftly, as the Lord hath freely called vs, &s;o being called he hath freely iu&s;tified vs: not for any inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in our &s;elues, but of his owne grace and goodwill, through the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t which he impu|teth vnto vs. And this is euident Rom. 3.24. where it is &s;aid, that <HI>we are iu&s;tified freely by Gods grace,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.24.</NOTE> <HI>through the redemption which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI> And Tit. 3.7. where the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>that we are iu&s;tified by his grace.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3.7.</NOTE> And lea&s;t wee &s;hould ioyne with Gods grace our owne workes and worthines, he telleth vs that <HI>Abraham</HI> him&s;elfe, though a mo&s;t righteous and holy man in re&s;pect of his &s;inceritie and integritie of heart, was notwith&s;tanding not iu&s;tified by his workes, <HI>but Abraham beleeued God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.3.5.</NOTE> <HI>and that was imputed vnto him for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> Rom. 4.3: &amp; ver. 5. he flatly excludeth works from being any cau&s;es of our iu&s;tification; <HI>To him</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that worketh not, but beleeueth in him that iu&s;tifieth the vngodly, his faith is coun|ted for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> So that wee are freely iu&s;tified of Gods grace and goodwill, without any re&s;pect of our owne works and worthine&s;&s;e, as being any cau&s;es of our iu&s;tification, al|though they are nece&s;&s;arie and in&s;eparable fruites thereof. For the &s;ame death and bloud&s;hed of Chri&s;t, whereby we are freed from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne and euerla&s;ting death, doth free vs al&s;o from the death of &s;in to newne&s;&s;e of life, and doth not onely iu&s;tifie but al&s;o &s;anctifie vs, as the A|po&s;tle plainly &s;heweth, Tit. 2.14. <HI>Who gaue him&s;elfe for vs, that he might redeeme vs from all iniquitie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.14.</NOTE> (that is, free vs from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne to which we were &s;ubiect) <HI>and purge vs to be a peculiar people vnto him&s;elfe, zealous of good workes.</HI></P>
<P>Sixtly, our &s;anctification and inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e it &s;elfe, what is it els but the free gift of God, begun, increa&s;ed,
<PB N="153" REF="87">and fini&s;hed by his gracious &s;pirit?<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our &s;ancti|fication is the free gift of God.</NOTE> what are the graces in vs but Gods free and vnde&s;erued gifts? what are our be&s;t works but the fruites of his &s;pirit working in vs? for by nature wee are dead in our &s;innes, and the children of wrath as well as the vnbeleeuing heathen or mo&s;t prophane worldling,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.1.3.</NOTE> Eph. 2.1.3. By nature we are not able &s;o much as to thinke a good thought, or to will that which is good, no more than tho&s;e who remaine in the &s;tate of condemnation, as appeareth 2. Cor. 3.5. Phil. 2.13. but it is our Sauiour Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 3.5. Phil. 2.13. Eph. 3.25.26.</NOTE> <HI>who &s;o loued his Church, that he gaue him&s;elfe for it, that he might &s;anctifie it and clean&s;e it, by the wa&s;hing of water through the word, &amp;c.</HI> as it is Eph. 5.25.26. So that when we haue attained to the highe&s;t mea&s;ure of &s;anctification that wee can po&s;&s;ibly attaine vnto, we mu&s;t in all humilitie confe&s;&s;e with <HI>Paul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 15.10.</NOTE> that by the grace of God we are that we are, as it is 1. Cor. 15.10. Neither mu&s;t wee attribute any thing in the worke of our &s;aluation, vnto our &s;anctification and good workes, but a&s;cribe all to the free grace and vnde&s;erued loue of God in Chri&s;t, whereby we are &s;anctified and &s;tirred vp to new obedience, who were altoge|ther polluted, yea dead in our &s;innes; &s;o that our &s;anctifica|tion and worthine&s;&s;e is not the cau&s;e of Gods loue and mer|cie towards vs, but his loue and free goodwill is the cau&s;e of our &s;anctification, and maketh vs, who were vnworthie in our &s;elues, worthie in Chri&s;t of his loue and fauour. And therefore we mu&s;t not mea&s;ure Gods loue by our worthines and abun|dance of grace as being a cau&s;e thereof; nor de&s;paire of his fauour and mercie, when wee &s;ee our vnworthines and weak|nes in &s;anctifying graces; for the&s;e are no cau&s;es of his loue but effects, and con&s;equently when wee want them altoge|ther, though there be no cau&s;e of hope while&s;t we remaine in this &s;tate, yet wee are not vtterly to de&s;paire for the time to come, &s;eeing the Lord in his good time may begin his good worke in vs; and when it is begun, and we haue receiued the lea&s;t mea&s;ure of &s;anctification, euen a de&s;ire and holie ende|uour to liue in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, wee may be a&s;&s;u|red that it is Gods worke, which he hauing begun will fini&s;h and accompli&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE> according to that Phil. 1.6. In the meane time let vs po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e our &s;oules with patience, and with a quiet
<PB N="154" REF="88">and peaceable minde labour after the increa&s;e of grace, v&s;ing all good meanes ordained of God for this purpo&s;e, &s;ubmit|ting our &s;elues, in regard of the mea&s;ure of grace which wee doe de&s;ire, to his good will and plea&s;ure, who will di&s;po&s;e of all &s;o, as &s;hall be mo&s;t for his glory and our good. And in any ca&s;e let vs beware that wee doe not &s;o impatiently and vio|lently de&s;ire encrea&s;e of more grace, as that in the meane time we forget to be thankfull to God for that wee haue, tur|ning our &s;ongs of prai&s;e for Gods great benefits, into mur|muring and repining. Let vs not be like vnto rich mi&s;ers, who haue their mindes &s;o intent vpon the getting of that riches they haue not, as that they forget to enioy and take comfort of that they haue; let vs not re&s;emble tho&s;e vnthankful men, who when they haue receiued many benefits, doe &s;till de&s;ire more, and when their de&s;ires are not pre&s;ently &s;atisfied, vn|gratefully murmure again&s;t their benefactors, as though they had receiued nothing: but let vs make v&s;e of tho&s;e graces which we haue receiued, to Gods glory &amp; our comfort; let vs de&s;ire more, y^t we may more glorifie him with his own gifts; and though our de&s;ires be not pre&s;ently &s;atisfied, let vs not fall into impatiencie, but &s;ubmit our &s;elues vnto his goodwill and plea&s;ure, and be truly thankfull for that portion of grace, which it hath plea&s;ed him of his abundant mercie to be&s;tow vpon vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Our owne wor|thine&s;&s;e no cau&s;e of our &s;aluation.</HI> Rom. 6.23. Eph 2.8. Tit. 2.11.</NOTE> our &s;aluation it &s;elfe dependeth not vpon our owne worthine&s;&s;e, but vpon Gods free mercy and vnde&s;erued loue; for &s;aluation is the free gift of God, and not the wages of our owne worthine&s;&s;e, as death is the wages of &s;inne, as appea|reth Rom. 6.23. And <HI>wee are &s;aued by grace through faith, and that not of our &s;elues; it is the gift of God,</HI> as it is Eph. 2.8. And the Apo&s;tle telleth vs, Tit. 2.11. that <HI>the grace of God bringeth &s;aluation, and teacheth vs to denie vngodline&s;&s;e and worldly lu&s;ts, and that wee &s;hould liue &s;oberly and righteou&s;ly and godly in this pre&s;ent world:</HI> &s;o that our for&s;aking &s;inne and imbracing ho|line&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is not the cau&s;e of our &s;aluation, but the grace of God, by which all the&s;e effects are al&s;o wrought in vs. But mo&s;t plaine is that of the Apo&s;tle 2. Tim. 1.9. where he excludeth our owne workes and worthine&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.9.</NOTE> to
<PB N="155" REF="88">the end he might a&s;cribe the whole worke of our &s;aluation to Gods grace and goodwill. <HI>Who hath &s;aued vs</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>not ac|cording to our workes, but according to his own purpo&s;e and grace.</HI> So Tit. 3.5. <HI>Not by the works of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which we had done,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3.5.</NOTE> <HI>but according to his mercie he &s;aued vs, by the wa&s;hing of the new birth, and renuing of the holy Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Seeing therefore Gods loue is not grounded vpon our owne worthine&s;&s;e, &s;eeing he electeth, redeemeth, calleth, iu&s;ti|fieth, &s;anctifieth, and finally &s;aueth vs of his meere mercie and free goodwill, without any re&s;pect of our owne merits or good workes, let vs not re&s;traine the infinite loue of God to our de&s;erts, nor mea&s;ure his vnmea&s;urable goodwill by the &s;hort ell of our owne merits; but as the Lord hath freely lo|ued vs, &s;o let vs acknowledge his free and vnde&s;erued loue, and relie wholy thereupon, notwith&s;tanding our vnworthi|ne&s;&s;e, &s;eeing our worthine&s;&s;e is no cau&s;e of his loue, but it is his loue which maketh vs, and will &s;urely make vs worthie to be beloued, if we re&s;t wholy vpon him in Chri&s;t by a true and liuely faith. For, &s;o much as we de&s;paire in re&s;pect of our own vnworthine&s;&s;e, &s;o much would wee a&s;cribe to our owne wor|thine&s;&s;e; and looke how much we attribute vnto our &s;elues in the worke of our &s;aluation, &s;o much wee detract from Gods free mercie and Chri&s;ts merit: and therefore let vs humbly acknowledge our owne vnworthine&s;&s;e, and become nothing in our own eyes, that we may wholy rely vpon God, that hee may bee all in all. For well worthie are we to thir&s;t if wee leaue the fountaine of liuing waters, and dig vnto our &s;elues broken ce&s;ternes which will hold no water;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 2.13.</NOTE> well wor|thie are we to fall into the gulfe of de&s;paire, if we for&s;ake the firme pillar of our &s;aluation Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merit, relying and re&s;ting vpon the broken &s;taffe of our owne righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e; well worthie are we to be damned, if wee enuie the Lord the prai&s;e and glorie of our &s;aluation, de&s;iring ra|ther to a&s;cribe it vnto our &s;elues.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> But here the tempter wil obiect that God is iu&s;t,and ther|fore in his iu&s;tice cannot loue, elect, iu&s;tifie and &s;aue vs who are vnworthie his loue, polluted with &s;inne, and de&s;titute of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. I an&s;were, that God doth not loue, elect, iu&s;ti|fie
<PB N="156" REF="89">and &s;aue vs in our &s;elues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That being vn|worthie in our &s;elues, we are loued, elected, and &s;aued in Chri&s;t.</NOTE> but in our &s;auiour Chri&s;t, in whom being vnworthie of our &s;elues wee are made worthie; being vniu&s;t in our &s;elues, wee are made iu&s;t, after wee are adorned with the rich robe of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; being in our &s;elues the children of wrath and firebrands of hell, wee are made children of God and heires of heuaen. For <HI>he is made vnto vs of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.30.31</NOTE> <HI>wi&s;edome, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;anctification and redemption, that he who reioyceth might reioyce in the Lord,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 1.30.31. And therefore the Apo&s;tle teacheth vs, that God hath giuen his grace, not &s;imply vnto vs, who were altogether vn|worthie thereof, but in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, 1. Cor. 1.1.4. <HI>and that in all things we are made rich in him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.4. ver&s;. 5. Rom. 5.21.</NOTE> as it is ver&s;. 5. So he telleth vs, that <HI>grace doth raigne by righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnto eternall life, through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord,</HI> Rom. 5.21. And <HI>that he hath &s;hewed the exceeding riches of his grace, through his kindne&s;&s;e towards vs in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.7.</NOTE> Eph. 2.7. And as God is gracious to vs in Chri&s;t, &s;o hath he declared this his loue towards vs in Chri&s;t onely, as may appeare in the &s;euerall cau&s;es and meanes of our &s;alua|tion. For in him God hath elected vs to &s;aluation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.5.</NOTE> as appea|reth Eph. 1.5. In him is made the couenant of grace, as being that &s;eede of <HI>Abraham</HI> in whom all the nations of the earth are ble&s;&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 3.16. Eph. 1.9.10. 2. Tim. 1.9. Rom. 5.18.19. E&s;a. 53&punc; 5. 1. Cor. 1.30. Col. 1.20.21. Eph. 1 6. and 2.12.13. &amp;c. Gal. 4.4.5. &amp;c. Eph. 1.5. 1. Cor. 1.30. 1. Ioh. 5.11.</NOTE> and to whom all the promi&s;es were made, as it is Gal. 3.16. In him are wee called and gathered together into one bodie, whereof he is the head, as it is Eph. 1.9.10. 2. Tim. 1.9. In him are wee iu&s;tified, as appeareth Rom. 5.18.19. E&s;a. 53.5. 1. Cor. 1.30. In him we are reconciled vnto God, Col. 1.20.21. Eph. 1.6. and 2.12.13.14. &amp;c. In him we are adopted to be the &s;onnes of God, Gal. 4.4.5.6.7. Eph. 1.5. In him we are &s;anctified, 1. Cor. 1.30. In a word, in him wee are &s;aued, as ap|peareth 1. Ioh. 5.11. <HI>God hath giuen vs eternall life, and this life is in his &s;onne.</HI> Though therefore the Lord could not in his iu|&s;tice be&s;tow vpon vs the&s;e his benefits, becau&s;e wee were vn|worthie of the lea&s;t of them, and mo&s;t worthie of al his iudg|ments and puni&s;hments: yet in Chri&s;t wee haue fully &s;atisfied his iu&s;tice, &amp; performed perfect obedience, and therfore euen in his iu&s;tice he could not but be&s;tow the&s;e his mercies and graces vpon vs, becau&s;e in him wee de&s;erued his loue, though in our &s;elues we haue de&s;erued eternall &s;hame and confu&s;ion.</P>
<PB N="157" REF="89">
<P>And therefore not tru&s;ting in our owne worthine&s;&s;e, nor yet di&s;tru&s;ting in Gods mercie and free loue in regard of our vnworthine&s;&s;e, let vs ca&s;t off all &s;elfe-conceit and opinion of our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;o that wee may put on the righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t; and acknowledging our owne weakne&s;&s;e, yea our nothing, let vs neuerthele&s;&s;e be &s;trong in the grace which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 2.1.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle exhorteth 2. Tim. 2.1. In his name let vs goe boldly vnto the throne of grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.16.</NOTE> that we may receiue mercie, and finde helpe in time of neede: for though in our &s;elues we are the childre of wrath, <HI>yet are we re|conciled and accepted of God, as his beloued in his be&s;t beloued,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.6.</NOTE> as it is Eph. 1.6.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. III.</HI> That temporall afflictions are rather &s;ignes of Gods loue, than of his hatred.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe &s;econd argument whereby Sathan &s;eeketh to per&s;wade vs that we are out of the fauour of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Afflictions markes rather of our adop|tion than of our reproba|tion.</NOTE> is taken from the manifold afflictions which are laid vpon many of Gods children, while&s;t they remaine in this vale of mi&s;erie. But it is ea&s;ie to an&s;were this obiection, if we be but a little co~uer&s;ant in the book of God; for there we may learne that afflictions and cro&s;&s;es are rather &s;ignes of Gods loue than of his hatred; and markes rather of our elec|tion and adoption, than of reprobation and eternall damna|tion. For the Lord hath fore&s;hewed vs that his childre~ &s;hould mourne when the world &s;hall reioyce; that they &s;hould be hated and per&s;ecuted for his name &s;ake;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 3.12.</NOTE> that <HI>all who will liue godly in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, &s;hall &s;uffer per&s;ecution and affliction,</HI> 2. Tim. 3.12. That they who will be conformable to him in glorie, mu&s;t al&s;o be conformable vnto him in his &s;uffrings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.29.</NOTE> Rom. 8.29. That <HI>this &s;hort and momentanie affliction, &s;hall cau&s;e vnto vs a farre mo&s;t excellent and eternall waight of glorie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 4.17.</NOTE> 2. Cor. 4.17. That <HI>if we &s;uffer with Chri&s;t, we &s;hall al&s;o raigne with him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 2.12.</NOTE> 2. Tim. 2.12. That <HI>whom the Lord loueth he chasteneth: and &s;courgeth euery &s;on that he receiueth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.6.8.</NOTE> as it is Heb. 12.6. That tho&s;e whom
<PB N="158" REF="90">he doth not thus correct, <HI>are bastards and no &s;onnes,</HI> ver&s;. 8. And to the&s;e wee may adde the examples of Gods children from time to time, as of <HI>Abraham, Iacob, Io&s;eph, Mo&s;es, Dauid, Iob,</HI> the Apo&s;tles, but e&s;pecially our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, who was hungrie, harbourle&s;&s;e, de&s;pi&s;ed, &s;coffed, reuiled, buf|feted, &s;pit vpon, crowned with thorne, and la&s;tly crucified; and yet euen while&s;t he &s;uffered al the&s;e afflictions, he was the on|ly begotten and be&s;t beloued &s;onne of his heauenly father.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> So that both by te&s;timonies and examples it is manife&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That afflicti|ons, though in their owne na|ture euill, turne to the good of Gods children.</NOTE> that afflictions are &s;ignes rather of Gods loue, than of his ha|tred; and markes of the children of God, rather than of the children of wrath. But here the tempter will demaund how this can be, con&s;idering that the Lord promi&s;eth to his chil|dren all good things; whereas afflictions are euils, and pu|ni&s;hments inflicted on the wicked. To this we may an&s;were, that though in their owne nature they be euill, yet through the wi&s;edome and gracious prouidence of our God, they turne to the good of his children; and though to the wicked they are plagues and puni&s;hments, yet to the godly they are but trials and fatherly cha&s;ti&s;ements; for all their &s;innes are puni&s;hed in Chri&s;t, neither will it &s;tand with Gods iu&s;tice to puni&s;h them againe in the faithful: and therfore there is no other end of them but the manife&s;tation of Gods glory, and our &s;piritual good and euerla&s;ting &s;aluation. For as they are trials they &s;erue to &s;hew vnto all the world, and e&s;pecially to our &s;elues, our faith, hope, patience, obedience, con&s;tancie, and the re&s;t of the graces of Gods &s;pirit, to the prai&s;e of his glory who hath be&s;towed them, and to the comfort of our owne &s;oules who haue receiued them. And as they are cha|&s;ti&s;ements they &s;erue for &s;harpe eye-&s;alues to cleere our dimme &s;ight, &s;o as we may &s;ee our &s;innes, and truely repent of them. They &s;erue for &s;owre &s;auces, to bring vs out of loue with our &s;weete &s;innes, and for fire and files, whereby wee are purged and &s;coured from the dro&s;&s;e and ru&s;t of our corrupti|ons. They are &s;harpe pruning kniues, to lop and trimme vs, that we may bring forth plentifull fruits in godline&s;&s;e. They are &s;purres to pricke vs forward in the Chri&s;tian race, and hedges to keepe vs from wandering out of the way. They
<PB N="159" REF="90">are &s;harp &s;alues to draw out our &s;ecret corruptions, and bitter potions to cure our de&s;perate di&s;ea&s;es. They are that worme|wood, wherby the Lord weaneth vs fro~ the loue of the world, who&s;e plea&s;ing delights we would euer &s;ucke without weari|ne&s;&s;e, if our mouthes were not di&s;ta&s;ted with &s;ome afflictions. They are roddes, wherewith being &s;courged, wee are made more circum&s;pect in our wayes, and more carefull to per|forme obedience vnto all the commandements of our hea|uenly Father. In a word, they are the &s;traight path which lea|deth to euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, and a bridle to re&s;traine vs from running headlong in the broade way, which leadeth to endle&s;&s;e wo and mi&s;erie. And therfore &s;eeing our momentany afflictions do &s;erue for the manife&s;ting of Gods glorie, for the increa&s;ing of &s;pirituall graces, and the furthering of our eter|nall &s;aluation, let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that wee are out of Gods loue and fauour becau&s;e of our afflictions, but rather let vs repute them as they are indeede &s;ignes of his gracious prouidence and fatherly care which he hath ouer vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the tempter will obiect that this I &s;peake is true of the outward afflictions of the bodie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tations groun|ded vpon our &s;pirituall afflic|tions.</NOTE> for thereby the fle&s;h is mortified and &s;ubdued, and the &s;pirituall graces of Gods &s;pirit exerci&s;ed and increa&s;ed in vs; but thy afflictions (will he &s;ay) are farre different, for thy &s;oule is filled with horrour and feare, thy con&s;cience is mortally &s;tung with &s;inne, and the waight thereof ouerwhelmeth thee; thou &s;ee&s;t thy &s;elfe &s;ubiect to the cur&s;e of the law, and art alreadie tormented with the paines of hell; thy God who looketh vpon his chil|dren with an amiable countenance, frowneth vpon thee like a &s;euere Iudge, and thou ta&s;te&s;t of nothing but of his heauie wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure; in a word, thou ha&s;t not one &s;parke of true con&s;olation wrought in thee by Gods &s;pirit, with which tho&s;e that are Gods children are fully repleni&s;hed, and wher|by they are incouraged patiently to abide all afflictions, but thy inward vexations are the torments of an euill con&s;cience, and the fla&s;hings of hell fire wherewith hereafter thou &s;halt eternally be burned.</P>
<P>To this temptation we mu&s;t an&s;were, that it cannot be de|nied but that the afflictions of the minde are farre more grie|uous
<PB N="160" REF="91">than the afflictions of the bodie;<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our &s;piri|tuall afflictions are no &s;ignes of Gods hatred.</NOTE> and that the torments of con&s;cience cau&s;ed by the waight of &s;inne, and the appre|hen&s;ion of Gods fearefull wrath, are as it were Gods three-&s;tringed whip, in re&s;pect of the gentle rod of outward afflic|tions; for <HI>a &s;orrowfull mind drieth vp the bones,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 17.12. Pro. 18.14.</NOTE> as it is Pro. 17.12. and <HI>the &s;pirit of a man may &s;u&s;taine his</HI> other <HI>infirmities, but a wounded &s;pirit who can beare,</HI> as the wi&s;e man &s;peaketh, Prou. 18.14. Neuerthele&s;&s;e, though the&s;e corrections are more &s;harp and grieuous, than the outward afflictions of the bodie, yet it cannot be denied but that the&s;e al&s;o are the cha&s;ti&s;ements which our heauenly Father inflicteth vpon his children: &s;om|times for his owne glorie, and &s;ometime for their triall or cha&s;ti&s;ement, when more light correction will not reclaime them. For fir&s;t tho&s;e places of &s;cripture before quoted, are &s;poken generally of all afflictions what&s;oeuer, and therefore are not to be re&s;trained to the outward afflictions of the bo|die, &s;eeing they extend them&s;elues al&s;o to the afflictions of the minde; neither doth our heauenly Father correct all a|like, but &s;ome he rebuketh onely by his word, and goeth no further when as this reclaimeth them; but if this will not preuaile, hee goeth a &s;tep further, and cha&s;tizeth them with gentle correction, as with outward cro&s;&s;es and afflictions; but if this will not reforme them, he taketh his whippe into his hand, wherewith hee grieuou&s;ly &s;courgeth them, to the end they may more &s;en&s;ibly ta&s;te of his di&s;plea&s;ure, and amend that which is ami&s;&s;e; and this he doth by making them feele the waight of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reu. 3.19. Heb. 12.6.</NOTE> and appehend his wrath and heauie di&s;|plea&s;ure, which by their &s;innes they haue iu&s;tly incurred; and yet notwith&s;tanding all this he &s;till remaineth their gracious Father, who &s;eeketh not their de&s;truction but their reforma|tion. Neither need this dealing of our heauenly Father &s;eeme &s;trange vnto vs, &s;eeing earthly parents take the &s;ame cour&s;es with their children whom they tenderly loue; for when they offen them, they fir&s;t &s;eeke their amendment by words and fatherly admonitions; and when this will doe no good they proceed to blowes, and in a gentle manner do correct them; and if this preuaile not with them, then they v&s;e more &s;harpe and &s;euere cha&s;tizement; but if all this be to no purpo&s;e,
<PB N="161" REF="91">then will they di&s;gui&s;e their fatherly affection vnder the vi|zard of wrath and heauie di&s;plea&s;ure; they bani&s;h out of their countenance all &s;ignes of loue, and a&s;&s;ume terrible looks and bitter frownes; yea they will &s;ometimes thru&s;t them out of doores, and reiect them a while, leauing them to &s;hift for them&s;elues, and to endure all mi&s;erie. And whence procee|deth all this? &s;urely not from hatred, but from loue and ten|der care which they haue ouer them for their good. And this maketh them v&s;e the bridle of correction, to re&s;traine them from running into all licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e; this cau&s;eth them to pretend wrath in the countenance, that they be not by their lewdne&s;&s;e forced to entertaine it into their hearts; this moo|ueth them to reiect them for a time, that they may reclaime and retaine them for euer. Neither doth our heauenly Father, who is infinite in loue, deale otherwi&s;e with his di&s;obedient children; hee v&s;eth but his word if his word will &s;uffice; hee goeth no further then gentle cha&s;tizement if that be inough; but if hee &s;harply &s;courge vs, yea if hee looke vpon vs with a frowning countenance, and &s;hew nothing in outward appea|rance but his wrath and heauie di&s;plea&s;ure; if he &s;eeme to re|iect vs for a time, and to giue vs ouer to be tormented by Sa|than: yet vndoubtedly all this proceedeth from his loue and that fatherly care hee hath ouer vs, for our euerla&s;ting good and &s;aluation; hee &s;eeketh not our de&s;truction, but amend|ment; he frowneth on vs for a time, that hee may looke gra|ciou&s;ly on vs for euer; he &s;eemeth to reiect vs for a while, that like the prodigall &s;onne we may returne againe, and be recei|ued into his euerla&s;ting loue and fauour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That &s;pirituall afflictions tend to our mortifi|cation.</NOTE> the Lord &s;endeth afflictions to mortifie in vs the old man, the fle&s;h and vnregenerate part: now the fle&s;h is not onely in our bodie, but al&s;o in our &s;oule and euery part and facultie thereof, and therefore the Lord doth not afflict the bodie alone with outward calamities, but euen the &s;oule al&s;o with griefe of minde and horrour of con&s;cience, with the waight of &s;inne and &s;en&s;e of his wrath, to the end that our corruptions both in bodie and &s;oule may be mortified, the old man with the lu&s;ts thereof crucified, and in the end fullie aboli&s;hed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 4.4.</NOTE> And therefore doth the Lord breake our hard and
<PB N="162" REF="92">&s;tonie hearts, therefore doth he plowe and teare them vp like fallow ground, to the end that the &s;eede of his grace be|ing &s;owne in them may take roote, fructifie and bring forth a plentifull harue&s;t of godline&s;&s;e, to his glorie and our com|fort. It is not therefore for want of loue, that our heauenly father doth thus bru&s;e vs and euen cru&s;h vs in peeces; it is not becau&s;e he will reiect vs and ca&s;t vs of: but when we are truely humbled, when our hard hearts are &s;oftned, and our &s;pirits broken and made contrite, then will he regard vs and &s;hew his tender loue and mercifull kindne&s;&s;e vnto vs as he hath graciou&s;ly promi&s;ed. Matth. 12.20. <HI>The bru&s;ed reede will he not breake,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12.20. P&s;a. 51.17.</NOTE> <HI>and &s;moking flax &s;hall he not quench.</HI> So P&s;al. 51.17. <HI>The &s;acrifices of God are a contrite &s;pirit, a contrite and broken heart O God thou wilt not de&s;pi&s;e.</HI> And the Prophet telleth vs that our Sauiour Chri&s;t was &s;ent into the world <HI>to preach glad tidings vnto the poore, to binde vp the broken harted, &amp;c. to comfort all that mourne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 61.1, 2, 3.</NOTE> <HI>to giue them beautie for a&s;hes, the oyle of ioy for mourning, the garment of gladnes for the &s;pirit of heauines &amp;c.</HI> as it is E&s;a. 61.1.2.3. Luk. 4.18.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods dearest children &s;ub|iect to &s;piritu|all affliction.</NOTE> that the afflictions of the minde, the apprehen&s;ion of Gods wrath, the &s;ting of &s;inne, and torments of con&s;ci|ence, are not any true and certaine &s;ignes of Gods hatred, hereby it plainely appeareth: in that the mo&s;t deare children of God haue been &s;ubiect to them, and that in great mea&s;ure. For example, <HI>Iob</HI> who by Gods own te&s;timony was the iu&s;te&s;t man that liued on the earth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 1.8.</NOTE> Iob. 1.8. notwith&s;tanding was &s;o grieuou&s;ly afflicted both in body and minde, that he bur|&s;teth out into the&s;e grieuous complaints,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 6.4. &amp; 9.17, 18. &amp; 13.24.26. &amp; 16.9. &amp; 19.11.</NOTE> Iob. 6.4. <HI>The arrowes of the almightie are in me, the venime whereof doth drinke vp my &s;pirit, and the terrors of God fight again&s;t me.</HI> And chap. 9. ver&s;. 17. <HI>He de&s;troyeth me with a tempe&s;t and woundeth me with|out cau&s;e.</HI> 18. <HI>He will not &s;uffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterne&s;&s;e.</HI> So, c. 13.24. <HI>Wherefore hide&s;t thou thy face and take&s;t me for thine enemie?</HI> And v. 26. <HI>Thou write&s;t bitter things again&s;t me, and make&s;t me to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the iniquities of my youth.</HI> And c. 16.9. <HI>His wrath hath torne me, and he hateth me and gna&s;heth vpon me with his teeth; mine enemie hath &s;harpned his eyes again&s;t me.</HI> And. c. 19.11. <HI>He hath kindled his wrath
<PB N="163" REF="92">again&s;t mee and counteth mee as one of his enemies.</HI></P>
<P>Looke al&s;o vpon the example of the Prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> who though he were a man according to Gods own heart, yet was he made to drinke a deep draught in this cup of inward afflic|tions, and was vexed not only outwardly in his e&s;tate, goods, and body, but al&s;o in his &s;oule, with the &s;en&s;e of Gods wrath, with the waight of &s;inne, and the terrors and torments of con|&s;cience, which make him to vtter the&s;e and &s;uch like pittifull complaints in the booke of the P&s;almes. P&s;al. 6.3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 6.3.</NOTE> <HI>My &s;oule is al&s;o &s;ore troubled: but Lord how long wilt thou delay?</HI> And v. 6. <HI>I fainted in my mourning: I cau&s;e my bed euery night to &s;wim, and water my couch with my teares.</HI> So P&s;al. 38.2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 38.2.3.</NOTE> <HI>Thine arrowes haue light vpon me, and thine hand lieth vpon me.</HI> 3. <HI>There is nothing &s;ound in my fle&s;h, becau&s;e of thine anger: neither is there any re&s;t in my bones becau&s;e of my &s;inne.</HI> 4. <HI>For mine iniquities are gone ouer mine head, and as a waightie burthen they are too hea|uie for me. &amp;c.</HI> And P&s;al. 88.7. <HI>Thine indignation lieth vpon me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 88.7.14, 15, 16.</NOTE> <HI>and thou ha&s;t vexed me with all thy waues.</HI> And v. 14. <HI>Lord, why do&s;t thou reiect my &s;oule, and hide&s;t thy face from me?</HI> 15. <HI>I am afflicted and at the point of death: from my youth I &s;uffer thy ter|rors, doubting of my life.</HI> 16. <HI>Thine indignations goe ouer me, and thy feare hath cut me off.</HI> So in the 77 P&s;alme he taketh vp this lamentable complaint. ver&s;. 7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 77.7, 8, 9, 10.</NOTE> <HI>Will the Lord ab&s;ent him|&s;elfe for euer? and will he &s;hew no more fauour?</HI> 8. <HI>Is his mercie cleane gone for euer? doth his promi&s;e faile for euermore?</HI> 9. <HI>Hath God forgotten to be mercifull? hath he &s;hut vp his tender mer|cies in di&s;plea&s;ure?</HI> 10. <HI>And I &s;aid, this is my death.</HI> Looke al&s;o vpon the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> who though he were a cho&s;en ve&s;&s;el, whom God had &s;eperated from his mothers wombe to carrie his name before the Gentils, and is is Act. 9.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 9.15. Gal. 1.15. 2. Cor. 6.4, 5, 6, 7, 8.</NOTE> Gallat. 1.15; yet was hee afflicted grieuou&s;ly, not onely outwardly in body, as hee profe&s;&s;eth 2. Corinth. 6.4.5.6.7.8. &amp;c. but al&s;o in minde; for the me&s;&s;enger of Sathan was &s;ent to buffet him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 12.7, 8.</NOTE> and hee had a long time a pricke in the fle&s;h, from which hee could not be freed, though he often begged this fauour at Gods hand, as appeareth, 2. Cor. 12.7.8. And the burthen of &s;inne grieuou&s;ly afflicting his con&s;cience, forced him to cry out Rom. 7.24,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.24.</NOTE> <HI>O wretched
<PB N="164" REF="93">man that I am, who &s;hall deliuer me from the body of his death?</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> So that by the&s;e and many &s;uch like examples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Chri&s;t him&s;elfe indu|red the&s;e &s;piri|tuall afflicti|ons. <HI>1. Cor. 10.13. 1. Pet. 5.9. E&s;a. 53.3.</HI></NOTE> that is ma|nife&s;t vnto our comforts which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, 1. Cor. 10.13. <HI>There hath no temptation taken you but &s;uch as apper|taineth to man; for the &s;ame afflictions (which we &s;uffer) are accompli&s;hed in our brethren which are in the world,</HI> as it is, 1. Pet. 5.9. Yea the &s;ame and farre greater were indured by our head Ie&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, who receiued deepe and gri&s;ly woundes, in re&s;pect of tho&s;e &s;mall &s;cratches which we &s;uffer, and drunke the full cupe of Gods heauie di&s;plea&s;ure, of which we onely &s;ip or ta&s;te; for he was not onely in his out|ward &s;tate deiected and reputed as an abiect among&s;t men, nor per&s;ecuted by his cruell enemies alone, euen to the take|ing away of his precious life, by a cruell and &s;hamefull death; but al&s;o inwardly in his &s;oule he &s;u&s;tained farre more heauie cro&s;&s;es the~ that which he outwardly carried on his &s;houlders, though the waight thereof cau&s;ed him to faint for wearines. for to &s;ay nothing of Sathans temptations and the power of hell which was &s;et again&s;t him, let vs con&s;ider of that bit|ter agonie which he &s;u&s;tained in the garden, where the bur|then of Gods anger, for our &s;innes was &s;o heauie vpon him, that it pre&s;&s;ed out of his ble&s;&s;ed body a &s;weate of water and blood; neither was he pre&s;ently ca&s;ed of this vn&s;upportable waight, but he was faine to beare it euen vnto his cro&s;&s;e; nei|ther was he comforted in minde when the panges of death had taken hold of his body, but euen then he was &s;o vexed with the &s;en&s;e of his fathers di&s;plea&s;ure, that in bitterne&s;&s;e of &s;oule he crieth out my God, My God why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me: Not that he de&s;paired vtterly of Gods loue and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, or thought him&s;elfe a reprobate and ca&s;taway, for he calleth him &s;til his God: but the deitie hauing for a time withdrawne it &s;elfe, to the end the humane nature might &s;uffer that pu|ni&s;hment which we had de&s;erued euen vnto death it &s;elfe, which otherwi&s;e it could not haue been &s;ubiect vnto, he vttereth this &s;peech truely according to his pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e and apprehen&s;ion. Now if we con&s;ider who it is that was thus grieuou&s;ly afflicted both in body and minde, we &s;hall finde that it was not one hated of God, but his onely begotten
<PB N="165" REF="93">and be&s;t beloued &s;onne, in whom he profe&s;&s;eth him&s;elfe to be well plea&s;ed. Matth. 3.17.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 3.17.</NOTE> Seeing therefore our Sauiour Chri&s;t who was the natural &s;onne and heyre of God, and &s;o tenderly beloued of his heauenly father that in him hee loueth all his children, did notwith&s;tanding indure not only grieuous afflic|tions of body, but the intollerable burthen of his fathers di&s;|plea&s;ure in his &s;oule al&s;o. Why &s;hould we imagine y^t either our outward or inward afflictions are any &s;ignes or argume~ts that God hateth or hath reiected vs? e&s;pecially con&s;idering that he <HI>hath prede&s;tinated vs to be made like to the image of his &s;onne, not only in his glory, but al&s;o in his afflictio~s; &s;o that fir&s;t we mu&s;t &s;uffer with him, &amp; after raigne with him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.29. 2. Tim. 2.12. <HI>Obiection.</HI> 1. Pet. 2.22.</NOTE> as it is Ro. 8.29. 2. Tim. 2.12.</P>
<P>But it may be obiected that our Sauiour Chri&s;t &s;uffered all this not for any &s;inne that was in him&s;elfe, for he <HI>did no &s;inne, neither was their guile found in his mouth.</HI> 1. Pet. 2.22. <HI>but he was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, he was broken for our iniqui|ties,</HI> as it is E&s;a. 53.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a 53.5.</NOTE> And therefore con&s;idering that the Lord did thus hate &s;inne, euen when his dearely beloued &s;onne did take it vpon him; how much more will he hate it in vs?<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>An&s;were.</HI> 1. Pet. 3.18.</NOTE> if he &s;o &s;euerely puni&s;hed his deare darling when he had taken the &s;innes of others vpon him, how fearefull puni&s;h|ments are prepared for the &s;inners them&s;elues? I an&s;were, that indeede <HI>Chri&s;t who was iu&s;t did &s;uffer for vs who were vn|iu&s;t,</HI> as it is 1. Pet. 3.18. and that &s;inne is &s;o odious to Gods eyes that rather then it &s;hould not be puni&s;hed, he would puni&s;h it in his deerely beloued &s;onne; the con&s;ideration whereof &s;hould make vs al&s;o to hate and fly from it as the greate&s;t euill: but yet this &s;hould be &s;o farre of from di&s;cou|raging vs, or from making vs doubt of Gods loue, that no|thing in the world doth more a&s;&s;ure vs thereof, no con&s;olati|on can be imagined more comfortable, for what greater te&s;ti|monie of Gods loue can be imagined, then that whe~ we were &s;trangers yea enemies to God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.10.</NOTE> he &s;hould &s;end his deare belo|ued &s;on to die for vs, to the end that by this meanes his iu&s;tice might be &s;ati&s;fied, his wrath appea&s;ed, and we being receiued into grace &amp; fauour, might be made heires of euerla&s;ting life? what greater a&s;&s;urance can we haue that our &s;ins are forgiuen vs then that they are alreadie puni&s;hed in Chri&s;t? it being a|gain&s;t
<PB N="166" REF="94">the iu&s;tice of God to puni&s;h the &s;ame &s;innes twice? What &s;tronger argument can be brought, to proue that we &s;hall neuer be &s;ubiect to Gods wrath, nor be ca&s;t away in his heauie di&s;plea&s;ure; than that our Sauiour hath borne his fa|thers anger, to the end hee might reconcile vs vnto him? and therefore though our Sauiour &s;uffered the&s;e outward and inward afflictions, not as he was the dearely beloued &s;onne of God who was free from &s;inne, but as he was our mediator, who had taken vpon him our &s;innes, to the end he might &s;ati&s;fie his fathers iu&s;tice; yet &s;eeing he indured the&s;e things in our &s;tead, to the end we might be freed from them, hence ari&s;eth vnto every true chri&s;tian &s;ound comfort, and certaine a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and goodnes towards him.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&para;.</HI> Sect. <HI>7.</HI> A daungerous temptation grounded vpon our not-profi|ting by afflicti|on.</NOTE>But the tempter will further vrge his obiection after this manner: let it be graunted (will he &s;ay) that God doth cha|&s;ti&s;e &s;ometime his children whom he loueth, both with out|ward and inward afflictions, and that they &s;uffer euen the &s;ame mi&s;eries which thou indure&s;t; yet &s;eeing they are &s;ome|times puni&s;hments al&s;o which he inflicteth vpon the wick|ed, hence thou can&s;t not gather that they are fatherly cha|&s;ti&s;ements and &s;ignes of his loue to thee: nay contrariwi&s;e thou maie&s;t a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elfe, that they are fearefull puni&s;h|ments and &s;ignes of Gods hatred, which God in iu&s;tice in|flicteth on thee for thy &s;innes, that others may bee warned by thine example. For if they were cha&s;ti&s;ements and fa|therly corrections, then would they indeede correct thee, that is, reforme and amend thee; for this is the end why God inflicteth them on his children, and his end cannot be fru&s;trate: but in thee there is no reformation wrought, nor any increa&s;e of patience; whereas in the faithfull, <HI>tribulation bringeth forth patience,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.3.</NOTE> as euen by the Scriptures it is mani|fe&s;t. Nay contrariwi&s;e when the hand of God is vpon thee, thou bewraie&s;t great impatiencie, and vttere&s;t incon&s;iderate &s;peeches, which tend to Gods di&s;honor, giue offence to the world and wounde thine owne con&s;cience. And therefore how&s;oeuer to other the&s;e are fatherly cha&s;tizements, yet to thee they are &s;euere puni&s;hments, which mooue thee rather to de&s;pare, than a&s;&s;ure thee of Gods loue.</P>
<PB N="167" REF="94">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That it is no fit time to iudge of our &s;pirituall gra|ces in the con|&s;lict of temp|tations.</NOTE>To this we an&s;wer, that it cannot be denied, but that Gods corrections doe correct and amend his children, and that afflictions &s;erue to the encrea&s;ing of their patience, faith and other graces; but yet let vs know that Sathan playeth the fal&s;e deceauer, when he moueth vs to looke for the a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue, and for our amendment &amp; increa&s;e of Gods grace, in the very time when the hand of God is vpon vs, while&s;t the conflict la&s;teth, and the temptation grieuou&s;ly &s;haketh and battereth vs: as if he &s;hould come to a man who hath endured much and tedious &s;ickne&s;&s;e and &s;hould &s;ay vnto him, thou didde&s;t imagine thy &s;elfe awhile agoe very beautifull and exceeding &s;trong, but thou wa&s;t much decei|ued, for if thou looke&s;t in a gla&s;&s;e thou &s;halt pre&s;ently per|ceaue that thou art leane, pale, and deformed, and if thou make&s;t triall of thy &s;trength, thou &s;halt finde that it is &s;carce &s;ufficient to &s;u&s;taine the waight of thine owne body. Now who would not deride &s;uch fond rea&s;oning? who could not ea&s;ily an&s;were, that iudgement is not to be taken of the beautie and &s;trength of the bodie in the time of &s;icknes, but in the time of health? but this is the very like ca&s;e, and thus &s;otti&s;hly doth Sathan conclude, or rather delude Gods chil|dren in the time of temptation; for he &s;ayeth thus vnto them, thou didde&s;t per&s;wade thy &s;elfe that thou art the childe of God, and in his loue and fauour, that thou art indued with faith, patience, and other graces, and daily increa&s;e&s;t in them; but now thou art come to the triall it proueth farre otherwi&s;e; for thy faith is turned into doubting or infidelitie, and thy patience to impatiencie, and therefore there is no likely|hoode that thou art beloued of God, for then thou woulde&s;t profit by afflictions, and increa&s;e in grace and &s;trength, where|as thou bewraye&s;t nothing but thy manifould corruptions. But we are to know that we are not to iudge of our grace and &s;trength, in the time of temptation, and of the &s;pirituall con|flict, when as our &s;oules are grieuou&s;ly &s;icke with the &s;en&s;e of &s;inne and apprehen&s;ion of Gods heauie di&s;plea&s;ure in|curred thereby, when as the fire of Gods &s;pirit is couered with the a&s;hes of our corruptions, and the fruites and graces thereof nipped with the coulde winter and boy&s;terous bla&s;ts
<PB N="168" REF="95">of temptations, but we are to looke into our &s;elues when the fit is pa&s;t and the conflict ended, and then &s;hall we finde our patience by experience of Gods loue confirmed, our faith renewed, all other graces &s;trengthened and increa&s;ed: and then &s;hall we clear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">y di&s;cerne the bright beames of Gods loue and fauour, &s;hining vpon vs, when the cloudes of temp|tation are pa&s;t away which did hide them from vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods dea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> children in g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">eiuous temptations &s;hew impati|encie, and vtter &s;ome<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="4 letters"> in|con&s;iderate &s;peeches.</NOTE>But if in the time of triall and temptation we iudge accor|ding to our pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e and feeling, we mu&s;t needes be de|ceiued: for it cannot be denied but that euen the deare chil|dren of God who haue receiued a great mea&s;ure of grace, when the hand of God is vpon them doe doubt of his loue and fauour, and when they are grieuou&s;ly afflicted doe be|wray their corruption, and &s;hew their impatience by vtte|ring incon&s;iderate &s;peeches; for while we continue in this life, we haue the reliques of &s;inne hanging on vs, and we are partly fle&s;h and partly &s;pirit, yea the fle&s;h is the &s;tronger part, and therefore it is no maruaile if the fle&s;h being pinched in the time of temptation doth complaine, and being launced deepely with the ra&s;or of &s;harpe afflictions doth cry out for paine, complaining of the Surgeon that he dealeth too rigo|rou&s;ly with him. And if men through bodily &s;icknes haue their iudgements blinded, their vnder&s;tanding da&s;led and mi&s;led, their memorie ouerthrowne, &s;o that they can put no difference betweene their friends and their enemies, but euen raile vpon tho&s;e whom in the time of their health they dearely loued, and thinke none &s;o much their enemie as their phy&s;ition, rauing and incon&s;iderately &s;peaking they know not what; what wonder is it if the like effects follow the &s;ickne&s;&s;e of the &s;oule, when it is as it were &s;et vpon the racke, pre&s;&s;ed with the burthen of &s;inne, and tormented with the apprehen&s;ion of Gods anger, con&s;idering that the&s;e kinde of afflictions are faire more grieous and without compa|ri&s;on more intollerable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 28.14.</NOTE> <HI>for a man may &s;u&s;taine his infirmities, but a wounded &s;pirit who can beare?</HI> as it is Pro. 28.14. What meruaile then is it if they take God for their enemie, when they feele his &s;harpe medicines, though in truth he be their louing Phi&s;ition, who by this meanes cureth them of their
<PB N="169" REF="95">di&s;ea&s;es of &s;inne and corruption? what wonder is it if they vtter rauing &s;peeches when the &s;en&s;e of paine pre&s;&s;eth them &s;o &s;ore? how is it po&s;&s;ible but that they &s;hould doubt of Gods gracious loue and fauour, when as they pre&s;ently ta&s;te of nothing but his rigor and iu&s;tice?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Example to cleere the for|mer point. <HI>Iam. 5.11.</HI></NOTE>We mu&s;t not therefore iudge of our &s;tate while the cro&s;&s;e is vpon vs, for &s;o &s;hould we condemne the generation of the iu&s;t to be mo&s;t wicked, then &s;hould we imagine tho&s;e who haue excelled in patience to be mo&s;t wayward and impati|ence. Looke vpon <HI>Job</HI> who is renowned for patience, and you &s;hall &s;inde that while the hand of God was vpon him, he be|wrayeth the corruption of the fle&s;h and &s;heweth notable im|patiencie, cu&s;&s;ing the day of his natiuitie, and wi&s;hing that he had neuer been borne, or el&s;e that he had pre&s;ently after his birth been &s;wallowed vp in the lawes of death,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 3 &amp; 6.8.9.10.</NOTE> Iob. 3. So chap. 6.8.9. he thus crieth out like a man vtterly de&s;perat. <HI>O that I might haue my de&s;ire, and that God would graunt me the thing that I lung for</HI> 9. <HI>That is, that God would de&s;troy me: that he would let his hand goe and cut me off.</HI> 10. <HI>Then &s;hould I yet haue &s;ome comfort, though I burne with &s;orrow, let him not &s;pare &amp;c.</HI> Where <HI>Iob</HI> &s;eemeth to deale with God as a condemned male|factor with a iu&s;t &amp; &s;euere iudge, who &s;eeing the anger of the iudge incen&s;ed again&s;t him for his crime, hath no hope that he can by intreatie and per&s;wa&s;ions mooue him to reuoke his &s;entence of death, and therefore onely de&s;ireth a mitiga|tion of the tortures, and that he may quickly be di&s;patched and ridde out of his paine; <HI>nam mi&s;ericordae genus e&s;t cit&ograve; occidere,</HI> it is a kinde of mercie to be &s;peedie in execution. So <HI>Iob</HI> hauing no hope to be freed from his mi&s;eries, de&s;ireth onely this fauour at Gods hands, that he would not (as it were) corment him peece meale, but make a quicke di&s;patch of him by laying on a greater waight of afflictions, till by their vn&s;upportable burthen the breath were pre&s;&s;ed out of his body. And chap. 10.18.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 10.18.</NOTE> <HI>Wherefore ha&s;t thou brought me out of the wombe? Oh that I had peri&s;hed, and that none eye had &s;eene me!</HI> 19. <HI>And that I were as I had not been, but brought from the wombe to the graue.</HI> Looke vpon the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> who was a man according to Gods owne heart, endued
<PB N="170" REF="96">with a &s;tedfa&s;t faith and con&s;tant patience; and you &s;hall per|ceiue that Gods loue, and the graces of Gods &s;pirit in him, were &s;o &s;hadowed with the grieuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his pre&s;ent af|flictions, that he could not di&s;cerne them. For he complaineth like a man vtterly ca&s;t off and reiected of God. P&s;al. 88.14. <HI>Lord why do&s;t thou reiect my &s;oule,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 88.14.</NOTE> <HI>and hide&s;t thy face from me? 16. Thine indignation is gone ouer me, and thy feare hath cut me off.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">&amp; 77.8.9.</NOTE> The like complaint he taketh vp. P&s;al. 77.8.9.10. Neither had the Prophet in the&s;e times alwaies the &s;pirit of &s;upplica|tion and prayer, but &s;ometime the grieuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his paine did &s;hut his mouth &s;o as he could not confe&s;&s;e his &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32.3.4.</NOTE> nor humble him&s;elfe before his God; though through the waight of affliction, his bones were con&s;umed, and he roared for griefe all the day long, as appeareth P&s;alm. 32.3.4. So <HI>Ieremie</HI> &s;eeing the word of God contemned,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierem. 20.14.15.18.</NOTE> and him&s;elfe who was Gods amba&s;&s;ador de&s;pi&s;ed, could not beare it but bur&s;teth out into great impaciencie, cur&s;ing the day of his birth, and euen the man that brought newes thereof to his father, becau&s;e he was borne to &s;ee labour and &s;orrow, and that his daies &s;hould be con&s;umed with &s;hame. Ierem. 20.14, 15.18. If therefore we iudge of <HI>Iob, Dauid,</HI> and <HI>Ieremie,</HI> a|cording to their outward behauiour, and their owne inward feeling in the time of afflictions, and in the combate of temp|tations; we &s;hould thinke them voyde of faith, impatience, and de&s;titute of all a&s;&s;urance and hope of Gods loue and fa|uour: but the Scriptures teach vs otherwi&s;e, propounding them vnto vs as patternes of patience and true godline&s;&s;e; and them&s;elues al&s;o at other times doe &s;hew their &s;ingular faith, patience, and the re&s;t of the graces of Gods &s;pirit. See|ing then this is not our ca&s;e alone, but the &s;tate of Gods dea|re&s;t children, let vs not beleeue the tempter telling vs that we are not Gods children becau&s;e we &s;ee not Gods graces &s;o plainely in the time of temptation and triall, but contra|riwi&s;e bewray our impatiencie and other corruptions: but let vs be truely humbled in the &s;ight of our infirmities, laboring and &s;triuing to reforme them; and iudge of our &s;tate, not as we finde it in the time of the conflict, but as it was or is be|fore or after the combate is ended.</P>
<PB N="171" REF="96">
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly, the tempter obiecteth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The obiection out of Eccle&s;. <HI>9.1.</HI> an&s;wered.</NOTE> and hath &s;tirred vp his wic|ked in&s;truments the enemies of Gods truth to defend, that though wee are not wholy to de&s;paire of Gods loue, yet wee mu&s;t doubt thereof: and to this purpo&s;e they alleadge that &s;aying Eccle&s;. 9.1. which they reade thus: <HI>I haue handled all the&s;e things in my heart that I might curiou&s;ly vnderstand: Iu&s;t and wi&s;e men and their workes are in the hand of God; and not|with&s;tanding, a man knoweth not whether he be worthie of loue or hatred, but all things are kept vncertain for the time to come &amp;c.</HI> I an&s;were, that if Gods loue or hatred did depend vpon our owne vnworthine&s;&s;e, wee might well doubt; nay I will &s;ay more, wee might iu&s;tly de&s;paire of his grace and goodwill, and certainly a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that we were hated and abhor|red of God; for this, if any thing, wee haue de&s;erued. But the truth is, that as Sathan tempting our Sauiour, and quoting &s;cripture for his purpo&s;e, left out that which made again&s;t him; &s;o here by his in&s;truments a&s;&s;aulting his members, he addeth to the &s;criptures that which maketh for him: for nei|ther in the Hebrew, which is the originall, nor in the Greeke tran&s;lation is there any one word of our worthine&s;&s;e or vn|worthine&s;&s;e; but thus it is in the text as it is truly tran&s;lated in our Bibles; <HI>No man knoweth either loue or hatred of all that is before them:</HI> and whereas they reade the words following thus; <HI>But all things are kept vncertain for the time to come,</HI> they mo&s;t gro&s;ly depraue the text, which is thus to be read as wee haue it tran&s;lated; <HI>All things come alike to all, and the &s;ame con|dition is to the iu&s;t and the wicked;</HI> and thus al&s;o doth <HI>Arias Montanus</HI> one of the mo&s;t learned among&s;t them&s;elues tran&s;late it.</P>
<P>Neither wil their corrupt tran&s;latio~ &s;tand with the &s;en&s;e and truth of the place: for, as he &s;aith, no man knoweth whether he be worthie of loue, &s;o al&s;o, that no man knoweth whether he be worthie of hatred: but this is vtterly fal&s;e; for &s;o &s;hould wee &s;ay that wee could not know whether the Sodomites for their filthine&s;&s;e, the Canaanites for their idolatrie, <HI>Iulian</HI> for his apo&s;ta&s;ie were worthie to be hated of God; whereas the &s;criptures witne&s;&s;e the cleane contrarie, and euen they them&s;elues doe confe&s;&s;e, that they who de&s;peratly giue ouer
<PB N="172" REF="97">them&s;elues into all &s;inne and wickedne&s;&s;e, are not to doubt but that they are worthie of Gods anger and heauie di&s;plea|&s;ure; why therefore on the other &s;ide may not tho&s;e who are truly conuerted vnto God, and indued with a liuely faith which worketh by loue, be a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue and fauour, &s;eeing he hath a&s;&s;ured them hereof in his word? Nay in the &s;ame chapter ver&s;. 7. their corrupt expo&s;ition is ouerthrowne; for there he biddeth vs to <HI>eate our bread with ioy, and to drinke our wine with a cheereful heart, for God now accepteth our works.</HI> Now, though God did indeede accept ourworkes, yet wee could not be moued to ioy and cheerefulne&s;&s;e of heart here|by, vnle&s;&s;e al&s;o we might be a&s;&s;ured of his acceptation.</P>
<P>But let vs examine the&s;e words and &s;hew the true &s;en&s;e of them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The expo&s;ition of Eccle&s;. <HI>9.1.</HI></NOTE> There are two expo&s;itions giuen, which may &s;tand with the analogie of faith and the circum&s;tances of the text. For &s;ome vnder&s;tand the&s;e words not of Gods loue or hatred, but of mans loue towards tho&s;e things he de&s;ires, and of his hatred towards tho&s;e things he flieth; and then this is the &s;en&s;e of the place; A man knoweth not whether tho&s;e things which he loueth, as plea&s;ures, honours and riches, or tho&s;e things which hee hateth, namely cro&s;&s;es and afflictions &s;hall happen vnto him, becau&s;e they are not di&s;po&s;ed by his owne power, but by the prouidence of God who giueth the&s;e out|ward things indifferently to all both iu&s;t and vniu&s;t. So that if the words are thus to be vnder&s;tood, there is no &s;hew of rea|&s;on in the Papi&s;ts expo&s;ition.</P>
<P>Secondly, let it be granted that it is to be vnder&s;tood of Gods loue towards vs, yet it will make nothing for their pur|po&s;e: for then this is the plaine &s;en&s;e of the words; no man can know whether hee bee loued or hated of God by the&s;e common outward things which happen alike to al, and in re|&s;pect whereof there is the &s;ame condition to the iu&s;t and the wicked, and to the pure and polluted, to tho&s;e that wor&s;hip God and tho&s;e that wor&s;hip him not: there is no iudge|ment that can bee giuen, either of our &s;elues or others in re|&s;pect of our outward &s;tate, for &s;ometime the iu&s;t are poore, the vniu&s;trich, the wicked aduanced to honour, and the god|ly afflicted and per&s;ecuted. For example, <HI>E&s;au</HI> enioyed his
<PB N="173" REF="97">delights and plentie of all things, <HI>Iacob</HI> like a poore pilgrime went into a &s;trange countrie, hauing no other riches but his clothes on his backe and his &s;taffe in his hand, &amp; when he was come among&s;t his friends he endured tedious labours, &amp; ma|ny mi&s;eries; and &s;o <HI>Dauid</HI> was per&s;ecuted, while&s;t <HI>Saul</HI> did &s;it on the throne; yea our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe was arraigned at the barre and condemned, while&s;t <HI>Pilate</HI> and the chiefe Prie&s;ts and Phari&s;ies &s;ate in the &s;eate of iu&s;tice, ouer&s;waying all at their owne plea&s;ures: and yet at the &s;ame time, <HI>Iacob</HI> was beloued, <HI>E&s;au</HI> hated; <HI>Dauid</HI> cho&s;en of God, <HI>Saul</HI> reiec|ted; our Sauiour Chri&s;t the deare &s;onne of his heauenly fa|ther, and his enemies the in&s;truments and limmes of Sathan. So that it is mo&s;t true that <HI>Salomon</HI> &s;peaketh, namely, no man can haue a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and fauour by the&s;e outward benefits be&s;towed both vpon the godly and wicked; neither by his aduer&s;ities and afflictions can gather that the Lord ha|teth him: for the&s;e befall all indifferently, as it plea&s;eth God to puni&s;h the reprobate, or to cha&s;tize his owne children.</P>
<P>But though we can gather no &s;ound argument from the&s;e outward things of Gods loue, yet it followeth not that there is no other meanes to a&s;&s;ure vs hereof: for by the &s;ame rea&s;on wee may conclude that man is no better than brute bea&s;ts, and that there is no immortalitie of the &s;oule,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 3.19.</NOTE> becau&s;e it is &s;aid, Eccle&s;. 3.19. that the condition of the children of men and the condition of bea&s;ts is the &s;ame. But as the Wi&s;eman &s;peaketh there of their outward mortalitie alone, and not ab|&s;olutely in all re&s;pects; and therefore he &s;aith that they are a|like to &s;ee to, that is, in outward appearance, ver&s;. 18. and ex|plaineth him&s;elfe in the words following; for (&s;aith hee) as one dieth &s;o dieth the other: &s;o he doth not meane here &s;im|ply that there is no a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue, but onely in re|&s;pect of the&s;e outward things, and therefore he addeth, that in the&s;e outward re&s;pects all things come alike to all, and the &s;ame condition is to the iu&s;t and the wicked.</P>
<P>Though then there is no a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue to be ga|thered out of our worldly e&s;tate, yet it cannot hence be con|cluded that therefore there is no meanes whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured hereof: for the Lord hath giuen vnto vs his word and
<PB N="174" REF="98">mercifull promi&s;es, he hath giuen vnto vs his holy &s;pirit <HI>cry|ing in our harts Abba father, and witne&s;&s;ing to our &s;pirits that we are the &s;onnes of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.</NOTE> Rom. 8. He hath manife&s;ted his loue by giuing vs his onely &s;onne, and begetting in vs by his word and &s;pirit a liuely faith, whereby wee may apply him and all his benefits vnto vs. Who&s;oeuer therefore beleeueth truly in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, he may be a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue and euerla&s;ting life, according to that Ioh. 3.16. <HI>So God loued the world, that he gaue his onely begotten &s;onne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in him &s;hould not peri&s;h, but haue euerlasting life.</HI></P>
<P>If therefore we beleeue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, we need not to de|&s;paire, no nor to doubt of Gods loue and fauour towards vs; notwith&s;tanding our vnworthine&s;&s;e, nor yet in regard of the manifold afflictions which God inflicteth on vs, neither in re&s;pect of tho&s;e manifold infirmities which we bewray whi|le&s;t the hand of God is vpon vs: but wee may &s;oundly and a&s;|&s;uredly conclude with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> Rom. 8.38. <HI>I am per|&s;waded that neither death nor life,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.38.</NOTE> <HI>nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre&s;ent, nor things to come,</HI> 39. <HI>Nor height nor depth, nor any other creature &s;hall be able to &s;eparate vs from the loue of God which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;o much concerning the fir&s;t cau&s;e of our &s;aluation, namely Gods loue and goodwill, and al&s;o the temptations of Sathan, whereby hee laboureth to impugne our a&s;&s;urance thereof: the &s;econd cau&s;e is Gods free election, which pro|ceedeth from the other; for whom he loueth, tho&s;e hee elec|teth vnto euerla&s;ting life and happine&s;&s;e, it being an in&s;epa|rable fruite of loue to &s;eeke the good and felicitie of the par|tie beloued.</P>
<P>Election therefore is that part of Gods eternal and immu|table decree, whereby of his free loue and vnde&s;erued grace he hath preordained &s;ome in Chri&s;t vnto &s;aluation, and to the v&s;e of the meanes tending thereunto, for the prai&s;e of the glorie of his grace.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="175" REF="98">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IIII.</HI> Of Gods election, the cau&s;es, &s;ubiect, obiect, and properties thereof.</HEAD>
<P>_IN this definition is &s;et downe fir&s;t the efficient cau&s;e or author of our election, namely God him&s;elfe, the Father, the Sonne and the holy Gho&s;t; and this appeareth Eph. 1.4. <HI>He hath cho&s;en vs in him before the founda|tion of the world, that we &s;hould be holy &amp;c.</HI> And Ioh. 15.16. <HI>Ye haue not cho&s;en me, but I haue cho&s;en you, and ordained you that ye goe and bring foorth fruite, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, the motiue or impul&s;iue cau&s;e of Gods election is expre&s;&s;ed, namely, Gods free loue, meere goodwill and vn|de&s;erued grace. And this al&s;o is manife&s;t Luk. 12.32. <HI>Feare not little flocke, for it is your fathers plea&s;ure to giue you a kingdome.</HI> And Eph. 1.5. who <HI>hath prede&s;tinated vs to be adopted through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t vnto him&s;elfe, according to the good plea&s;ure of his will.</HI></P>
<P>Here therefore are excluded all other cau&s;es, wherewith di|uers haue imagined God was moued to elect vs; as namely our owne will, the fore&s;eeing of our workes worthine&s;&s;e or faith, and the merits of our Sauiour Chri&s;t. And that the&s;e were not the cau&s;es which mooued the Lord to elect vs, it may be prooued by manife&s;t te&s;timonies of &s;cripture. Fir&s;t, our owne will is expre&s;&s;ely excluded, Rom. 9.16. <HI>It is not in him that willeth or runneth, but in God that &s;heweth mercie.</HI> Se|condly, not the fore&s;ight of our owne workes, for the Apo&s;tle plainly affirmeth Rom. 9.11.12. that <HI>before the children were borne, and when they had neither done good or euill, that the pur|po&s;e of God might remaine according to election, not by workes, but by him that calleth.</HI> 12. <HI>It was &s;aid vnto her, the elder &s;hall &s;erue the younger,</HI> 13. <HI>As it is written, I haue loued Iacob and hated E&s;au.</HI> And chap. 11.5.6. he &s;aith, that <HI>Gods election is of grace, and if it be of grace it is no more of workes, or els were grace no more grace.</HI> Thirdly, not the fore&s;ight of any worthine&s;&s;e in vs more than in others; <HI>For there is no difference, for all haue
<PB N="176" REF="99">&s;inned and are depriued of the glorie of God:</HI> as it is Rom. 3.23. And the Apo&s;tle affirmeth both of him&s;elfe and others, <HI>that they were all dead in their &s;innes, and by nature the children of wrath as well as others,</HI> Eph. 2.1.3. Fourthly, the Lord re&s;pec|ted not our faith as an impul&s;iue cau&s;e mouing him to elect vs, but only as an effect of our election; neither was the Lord mercifull vnto vs in making choi&s;e of vs to bee partakers of euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, becau&s;e we were faithfull, but, that we might be faithfull, as <HI>Paul</HI> profe&s;&s;eth of him&s;elfe 1. Cor. 7.25. And the holy Gho&s;t affirmeth, Act. 13.46. that as many of the <HI>Gentiles as were ordained vnto eternall life beleeued.</HI> La&s;tly, al|though the merit of Chri&s;t was the onely meritorious cau&s;e of our &s;aluation, yet it was not the cau&s;e of Gods election, for Gods election was from all eternitie, and the cau&s;e of Chri&s;ts merits, which were in time and the effects of Gods election, and therefore that which came after could not be the cau&s;e of that which was from all eternitie, neither can the effect produce the cau&s;e, but the cau&s;e the effect. Moreouer, we are not &s;aid in the &s;criptures to be cho&s;en for Chri&s;t, but in Chri&s;t, Eph. 1.4. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn</HI> affirmeth, that Gods eternall loue was the cau&s;e which moued the Lord to &s;end his &s;onne to redeeme vs by his death, and not that his death was the cau&s;e of his loue, Ioh. 3.16. And &s;o much concerning the ef|ficient cau&s;e of our election. The materiall cau&s;e thereof was the purpo&s;e or coun&s;aile of God him&s;elfe, whereby hee de|termined to elect vs.</P>
<P>The formall cau&s;e was the &s;euering and &s;etting apart of certaine men which were to bee &s;aued,<MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> &s;elected from the re&s;t who were reiected.</P>
<P>The end of Gods election was two-fold: the fir&s;t and chief end was the glorie of God, &s;et forth by manife&s;ting his grace and mercie in the &s;aluation of the faithfull. And this the A|po&s;tle plainly expre&s;&s;eth Rom. 9.23. namely, that the end of Gods election is, <HI>that he might declare the riches of his glorie in the ve&s;&s;els of mercie, which he hath prepared vnto glorie.</HI> And Eph. 1.4, 5, 6. he &s;aith, that <HI>he hath cho&s;en vs in Chri&s;t, and prede|&s;tinated vs, to the prai&s;e of the glorie of his grace.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd end which is inferiour and &s;ubordinate to the
<PB N="177" REF="99">other, is the &s;aluation of the elect, and this al&s;o is expre&s;&s;ed by the Apo&s;tle Rom. 9.23. where hee &s;aith, that the elect <HI>are prepared vnto glorie.</HI> And Act. 13.48. the holy Gho&s;t &s;aith, <HI>as many as were ordained to eternall life:</HI> thereby implying that the &s;aluation of the elect is the end of Gods election. And the&s;e are the cau&s;es of Gods election. The effects which in&s;epa|rably follow-hereupon, are Chri&s;t the Mediatour, and the whole worke of his mediation and our redemption wrought by him, our adoption, effectuall calling, iu&s;tification, &s;anctifi|cation, and glorification; and the&s;e are the degrees and meanes of our election, which are as well contained in Gods decree as our &s;aluation it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>The &s;ubiect in which we are elected, is Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Me|diatour and head; not in regard of his deitie alone, for &s;o he is the efficient cau&s;e; nor in re&s;pect of his humanitie alone, but as he is God and man. And wee are therefore elected in him, both becau&s;e in our &s;elues we were not capable of &s;uch glo|rious dignitie, as al&s;o becau&s;e hee alone is a fit Mediatour in whom we &s;hould be elected, &s;eeing with our election there is an vnion &amp; coniunction of vs with God who hath elected vs.</P>
<P>The obiect of Gods election are all tho&s;e who are preor|dained vnto euerla&s;ting life, and whom the Lord will eternal|ly &s;aue; which being con&s;idered in them&s;elues are a great number, but yet in re&s;pect of the number of the reprobates but a &s;mall and little flocke; for <HI>though many be called, yet few are cho&s;en,</HI> as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe affirmeth, Matth. 22.14.</P>
<P>The la&s;t thing, which al&s;o is expre&s;&s;ed in the definition, are certaine properties attributed to Gods election; namely, that it is eternall, free and immutable. That this decree is eternall, it appeareth Eph. 1.4. <HI>He hath cho&s;en vs in him before the foun|dation of the world.</HI> So Rom. 9.11.</P>
<P>Secondly, that it is free and of his meere grace, it is mani|fe&s;t Rom. 9.18. <HI>He hath mercie on whom he will, and whom he will he hardneth.</HI> So Eph. 1.11. <HI>In whom we are cho&s;en when wee were prede&s;tinate, according to the purpo&s;e of him which worketh all things after the coun&s;aile of his owne will.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, that it is immutable and mo&s;t firme and certaine, it plainly appeareth 2. Tim. 2.19. <HI>The foundation of God remai|neth
<PB N="178" REF="100">&s;ure; and hath this &s;eale, the Lord knoweth who are his.</HI> Where we may ob&s;erue, that this immutabilitie and certain|tie of Gods decree, doth not depend vpon vs or our per&s;eue|rance, but vpon Gods good plea&s;ure and foreknowledge, for it is a foundation in it &s;elfe firme and &s;table, and hath not the &s;eale of our worthine&s;&s;e or per&s;euerance in grace, but of Gods foreknowledge whereby he knoweth who are his.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. V.</HI> Sathans temptations concerning Gods election an&s;wered, and fir&s;t tho&s;e wherewith he a&s;&s;aulteth carnall worldlings.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation whereby he per&s;wadeth worldlings that all in the end &s;hall be &s;aued, an&s;wered.</NOTE>_NOw concerning this decree of election and the a&s;|&s;urance thereof, there are two &s;orts of Sathans temptations: the fir&s;t he &s;ugge&s;teth into the minds of carnall worldlings, to nouri&s;h in them fond pre&s;umption and carnall &s;ecuritie: the other, into the minds of weak chri|&s;tians, whereby he moueth them to doubt &amp; de&s;paire of their electio~ to euerla&s;ting life. The worldly man he a&s;&s;aulteth with two principal temptations: fir&s;t, he per&s;wadeth him that there is no election at al or reprobation, but that all in the end &s;hall be &s;aued. Which gro&s;&s;e ab&s;urditie that hee may make more plau&s;ible and probable, hee &s;etteth before them the infinite mercie of God, and the generall promi&s;es and con&s;olations in the Go&s;pell:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 13. and 18. 1. Tim. 2.4.</NOTE> as, <HI>that he will not the death of a &s;inner,</HI> and that he will <HI>that all men &s;hall be &s;aued,</HI> in both places cunningly di&s;|&s;embling that which followeth; for to the fir&s;t place is ad|ded, but <HI>that he repent,</HI> and in the latter, that they <HI>who &s;hall be &s;aued mu&s;t al&s;o come to the knowledge of the truth.</HI></P>
<P>But this temptation is &s;o palpably ab&s;urd, that it becom|meth not Sathans policie to v&s;e it to any, but tho&s;e onely who&s;e hearts are hardned, their eyes blinded, their con&s;cien|ces &s;eared, and who hauing not beleeued and loued the truth, are giuen ouer of God to beleeue &s;trong delu&s;ions; and ther|fore I will not &s;pend much time in an&s;wering this tempta|tion: onely let &s;uch men as are &s;educed with Sathans lyes know thus much, that Gods mercie is a iu&s;t mercie, as his iu|&s;tice
<PB N="179" REF="100">is a mercifull iu&s;tice; that God is infinite in both, and no le&s;&s;e glorified in the manife&s;tation of the one than of the o|ther. Let them know that there are no promi&s;es of the Go&s;|pell &s;o generall, which are not limited with the condition of faith, and the fruite thereof vnfained repentance. Let them know, that God who is not onely mercifull but al&s;o true, yea truth it &s;elfe, hath in his word reuealed his will, as well con|cerning the eternall death and de&s;truction of the wicked, as the &s;aluation of the godly: he hath &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 22.14. and 7.13.</NOTE> that <HI>many are called and few cho&s;en;</HI> that the gate of heauen is &s;o &s;traight, that there are few who finde it; that he will &s;ay to the workers of iniquitie, <HI>Goe your waies I know you not;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">23.</NOTE> that hee will make a &s;eparation betweene the &s;heepe and the goates, and as hee &s;aith to the one, <HI>Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my father, inherit ye the king|dome prepared for you from the foundations of the world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.34.41&punc;</NOTE> &s;o hee will &s;ay to the other, <HI>Depart from me ye cur&s;ed into euerla&s;ting fire, which is prepared for the diuell and his angels.</HI> Let them know that neither <HI>fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wantons, nor buggerers, not theeues, nor couetous,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.9.10.</NOTE> <HI>nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners,</HI> nor any that liue in the like &s;innes, without repentance, <HI>&s;hall inherit the kingdome of God,</HI> for truth it &s;elfe hath &s;poken it, 1. Cor. 6.9.10. but they &s;hall haue <HI>their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Reu. 21.8.</NOTE> <HI>which is the &s;econd death,</HI> as it is Reuel. 21.8. And therefore let not Sa|than bewitch them, by &s;etting before their eyes Gods mer|cie; for as &s;ure as God is iu&s;t and true of his word, &s;o &s;urely &s;hall &s;uch as continue in their &s;innes, without repentance, bee eternally condemned; neither is it any impeachment to Gods mercie, if hee exerci&s;e his iu&s;tice in inflicting due pu|ni&s;hment vpon ob&s;tinate and rebellious &s;inners, &s;eeing it is &s;ufficiently manife&s;ted in the &s;aluation of tho&s;e who repent and beleeue.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd temptation which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth into the minds of carnall men, to the end they may runne on in their de&s;perate cour&s;es, and wallow &s;till in the plea&s;ing filth of their corruptions, hee thus frameth; Why enioye&s;t thou not (&s;aith he) thy plea&s;ures? why art thou afraid to &s;atisfie all thy de&s;ires? what neede&s;t thou to take any paines in perfour|ming
<PB N="180" REF="101">Gods wor&s;hip and &s;eruice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation, groun|ded vpon the vnchangeable|ne&s;&s;e of Gods prede&s;tination.</NOTE> and to what purpo&s;e &s;houlde&s;t thou for&s;ake thy plea&s;ing &s;innes, &s;tudying and &s;triuing after mortification and newne&s;&s;e of life, which is &s;o bitter and vnplea&s;ant vnto thee? for Gods decree of prede|&s;tination is &s;ure and mo&s;t vnchangeable as him&s;elfe is with|out change, and therefore if thou art elected of God thou maie&s;t follow thy delights, goe on in thy &s;innes, liue as thou li&s;t, yet &s;urely thou &s;halt be &s;aued, and he will giue thee re|pentance, though it be deferred to the la&s;t ga&s;pe. But if on the other &s;ide thou art a reprobate, reiected of God in his eternall councell, then take what paines thou wilt, make thy throte horce with praying, and thy bagges emptie with gi|uing almes, be neuer &s;o diligent in Gods &s;eruice, neuer &s;o care|full in mortifying thy &s;ins, yet all is in vaine, for tho&s;e whom he hath reprobated &s;hall be condemned. And therefore much better were it to take thy plea&s;ure and to follow thine owne de&s;ires while&s;t thou art in this life: for the puni&s;hments of the life to come will be enough, though thou adde&s;t no torments of this life vnto them.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the for|mer temptation is both fooli&s;h and ridicu|lous fal&s;e and impious.</NOTE>And thus doth Sathan rea&s;on in the minde of a carnall man, partly to continue and increa&s;e his &s;ecuritie in the cour&s;e of &s;inne, and partly to di&s;credit the holy doctrine of Gods eternall prede&s;tination, as though it opened a dore to all licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e. But if we con&s;ider of this temptation aright, and &s;ound it to the bottome, we &s;hall finde fir&s;t that it is mo&s;t fooli&s;h and ridiculous, &s;econdly that it is mo&s;t fal&s;e and impious. That it is mo&s;t fooli&s;h it will ea&s;ily appeare, if we v&s;e the like manner of rea&s;oning in worldly matters; for it is all one as if a man &s;hould thus &s;ay: thy time is appointed, and the Lord in his coun&s;aile hath &s;et downe how long thou &s;halt liue; if therefore it be ordained that thy time &s;hall be &s;hort, v&s;e what meanes thou wilt of phi&s;icke and good diet, yet &s;halt thou not prolong it one day; but if God hath de|creed that thou &s;halt liue to olde age, take what cour&s;es thou wilt, runne into all de&s;perate daungers, v&s;e &s;urfetting and all di&s;order of diet, nay eate no meate at all, and yet thou &s;halt liue till thou art an old man. Or as if he &s;hould &s;ay; God hath decreed alreadie whether thou &s;halt be rich or poore, and if
<PB N="181" REF="101">he hath appointed thee to be poore, take neuer &s;o much paines, follow thy calling as diligently as thou wilt, ab&s;taine from all wa&s;tfulne&s;&s;e and prodigalitie, yet &s;halt thou neuer get any wealth: but if thou art preordained to be rich, &s;ell all thou ha&s;t and &s;catter it abroade in the &s;treetes, &s;pend thy time in gaming, drinking and whoring, neuer troubling thy head with care, nor thy hands with worke, yet &s;halt thou be a welthie man. Now who would not laugh at &s;uch ab&s;urd manner of rea&s;oning if any &s;hould v&s;e it? becau&s;e euery man knoweth, that as God hath decreed the time of our life, &s;o he hath decreed al&s;o that we &s;hould v&s;e the meanes, where|by our liues may be pre&s;erued &s;o long as he hath ordained that we &s;hould liue, namely auoyding of daungers, good diet, and phi&s;icke; and as he hath decreed that a man &s;hould be rich, &s;o he hath decreed al&s;o that he &s;hould v&s;e all good meanes of attaining vnto riches, namely prouidence and paines in getting, and care and frugalitie in keeping that he hath gotten; and who&s;oeuer v&s;e not the meanes, doe make it manife&s;t that they were not ordained vnto the end. Al|though indeede, becau&s;e the Lord would &s;hew his ab&s;olute and almightie power, he doth not alwaies tie him&s;elfe vnto meanes, but &s;ometimes cro&s;&s;eth and maketh them vneffectu|all to their ends, and &s;ometime he effecteth what he will, without or contrarie to all meanes; and hence it is that &s;ome quickly die who v&s;e all meanes to pre&s;erue health, and &s;ome become poore who v&s;e al meanes of obtaining riches, where|as others being depriued of the meanes attaine vnto long life and riches by the immediate ble&s;&s;ing of God. But ordinarily the meanes and end goe together, and therefore it is fond pre&s;umption to imagine or hope, without the v&s;e of the meanes, to attaine vnto the end. And thus it is al&s;o in &s;piri|tuall matters appertaining to euerla&s;ting life; tho&s;e whom God hath elected, he hath ordained al&s;o that they &s;hould at|taine vnto and v&s;e all good meanes tending thereunto, name|ly faith, repentance, &s;anctification, and newne&s;&s;e of life: and therefore it is as ab&s;urd for any to imagine, that they &s;hall be &s;aued continuing in their ignorance, infidelitie, vnrepen|tancie, and filthie corruptions, as it is for a man to thinke that
<PB N="182" REF="102">he &s;hall liue to be old, and yet runneth into all daungers, for|&s;aketh phi&s;icke yea and foode al&s;o whereby his life &s;hould be &s;u&s;tained. For the &s;pirituall meanes of &s;aluation are as well (nay much more) contained in Gods decree, as the corpo|rall meanes of pre&s;eruing life: for it hath been heard-of, that &s;ome haue liued in the midde&s;t of daungers, and in the ab|&s;ence of meate, for a long time; but it was neuer heard that any haue attained vnto euerla&s;ting life without faith, repen|tance, and &s;anctification: for euen the thiefe vpon the cro&s;&s;e beleeued in Chri&s;t, and &s;hewed the fruites of his faith in ac|knowledging his owne &s;inne reproouing his fellow, in con|fe&s;&s;ing our Sauiour Chri&s;t euen then when his Apo&s;tles de|nied and for&s;ooke him, in calling vpon his name and de&s;iring by his meanes euerla&s;ting life.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But as this temptation is fooli&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation groun|ded vpon the vnchangeable|ne&s;&s;e of Gods decree fal&s;e and impious.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o it is fal&s;e; for whereas he &s;aith that though we liue in our &s;innes without repentance, yet we may be elected and therefore &s;hall be &s;aued; and though we take neuer &s;o great paines in Gods &s;eruice, and mo&s;t carefully indeauour to &s;pend our liues in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, yet we may be reprobates and therefore &s;hall bee condemned; this is vtterly vntrue: for, whom&s;oeuer the Lord hath ordained to euerla&s;ting life, tho&s;e al&s;o he hath ordained to v&s;e the meanes whereby they may be &s;aued, and con&s;equently who&s;oeuer carefully v&s;e the&s;e meanes may be a&s;&s;ured of their &s;aluation, who&s;oeuer neglect and de&s;pi&s;e the&s;e meanes they manife&s;tly declare that they are not in the number of the elect, &s;o long as they continue in their neglect and contempt: for the end and the meanes tending to the end, are in&s;eparably ioyned in Gods decree; &s;o that they who v&s;e the one &s;hall obtaine the other, they who neglect and contemne the meanes &s;hall neuer attaine vnto the end.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The end of Gods election two fold. <HI>Eph. 1.5.6.</HI></NOTE>Now the end of Gods election is two fould. The chiefe and principall is his owne glorie, as appeareth Ephe&s;. 1.5.6. <HI>Who hath prede&s;tinate vs to bee adopted through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t vnto him&s;elfe, according to the good plea&s;ure of his will; to the prai&s;e of the glorie of his grace.</HI> And this end the Lord will not &s;uffer to be fru&s;trate: for his glorie &s;hall &s;hine in all his elect, and
<PB N="183" REF="102">therefore we al&s;o are mo&s;t carefully to labour that we may further this end; for the more that the prai&s;e of Gods mercie doth &s;hine in vs, the better a&s;&s;urance we haue of our election. And &s;eeing God is mo&s;t glorified when as our lights &s;hine brighte&s;t before men in a godly and chri&s;tian life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.16. 1. Pet. 2.21.</NOTE> therefore let vs be mo&s;t carefull to &s;pend our time in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that thereby we may glorifie our heauenly father, and al&s;o make our owne election &s;ure;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.4.</NOTE> for he hath cho&s;en vs that we &s;hould be holy, and therefore if we be holy it is a mo&s;t certaine &s;igne that he hath cho&s;en vs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd end of Gods electi|on.</NOTE>The &s;econd end of Gods election is the &s;aluation of his elect; for the iu&s;t accompli&s;hing whereof, he hath preordai|ned diuers &s;ubordinate cau&s;es or meanes, which are the in|&s;eparable effects and fruites of his election; all which are &s;o linked one with another, as that the precedent meanes is the cau&s;e of that which next in order followeth, and Gods decree the cau&s;e of all. The effects of Gods election, which are the &s;ubordinate cau&s;es or meanes of our &s;aluation, are principally three; Vocation, Iu&s;tification, and Sanctification. By vocation we are &s;eparated from the world, made mem|bers of the Church, &amp; ingrafted in to the body of Chri&s;t; and this is ordinarily done by the preaching of the word being made effectual by the inward operation of Gods &s;pirit, or ex|traordinarily by &s;ome other meanes, or immdiately by the il|lumination of the holy Gho&s;t. In our iu&s;tification we haue the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of all our &s;innes by vertue of Chri&s;ts merit, and are adorned with his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e imputed vn|to vs: and this is done, principally by God him&s;elfe, &amp; in&s;tru|mentally by a liuely faith. Our &s;anctification con&s;i&s;teth in our dying to &s;in, and ri&s;ing vp to newnes of life; which is be|gun, increa&s;ed, and fini&s;hed in vs by Gods &s;pirit. Who&s;oeuer therefore are prede&s;tinate to &s;aluation, they al&s;o are effectual|ly called, that is &s;eparate from the world&punc; and ingrafted into the body of Chri&s;t; and this they attaine vnto by diligent and attentiue hearing of the word. Who&s;oeuer are effectually called, are al&s;o iu&s;tified; and therefore haue obtained a true and liuely faith. Who&s;oeuer are iu&s;tified are al&s;o &s;anctified, that is, die vnto their &s;innes, and ri&s;e againe to newnes of life,
<PB N="184" REF="103">and con&s;equently who&s;oeuer are &s;till meere worldlings and no true members of Chri&s;ts bodie (as all tho&s;e are who make no con&s;cience of hearing Gods word diligently, reuerently, and attentiuely, nor of trea&s;uring it vp in their hearts) they are not truly called; who&s;oeuer haue not Chri&s;ts righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e and obedience imputed and applied vnto them (which none haue that are de&s;titute of a true and fruitfull faith) are not iu&s;tified; who&s;oeuer liue in their &s;innes, without repen|tance, without any earne&s;t de&s;ire and hartie endeuour of &s;er|uing the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of life are not &s;anctified; and who&s;oeuer are not called, iu&s;tified and &s;ancti|fied, &s;hall neuer be &s;aued; for the end and the meanes ten|ding thereunto are ioyned together in Gods prede&s;tination. So that where the one is, there the other is; where the one neuer is, there the other &s;hall euer be wanting. And therefore as by our &s;anctification, iu&s;tification, and vocation, wee may certainly conclude that we are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued; &s;o if we be without the&s;e, wee may as certainly inferre that wee are reiected, and &s;hall be condemned if wee liue and die in this &s;tate.</P>
<P>Seeing then this is Gods truth, let not Sathan lull vs in &s;e|curitie with that &s;ophi&s;ticall cauill; if wee be elected we &s;hall be &s;aued liue how wee li&s;t; if we be reprobates wee &s;hall be condemned, be we neuer &s;o earne&s;t in labouring after godli|ne&s;&s;e: for the&s;e principles may well &s;tand together, it is im|po&s;&s;ible that the elect &s;hould peri&s;h, and as impo&s;&s;ible al&s;o that any who beleeue not in Chri&s;t, and bring not foorth the fruites of their faith in a godly and Chri&s;tian life &s;hould bee &s;aued; it cannot bee that the reprobate &s;hould attaine vnto euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, and that any &s;hould not attaine there|unto, who de&s;ireth and endeuoureth to &s;erue and feare the Lord: becau&s;e prede&s;tination and &s;aluation are &s;o coupled together with the meanes that come betweene them, that they cannot po&s;&s;ibly be &s;euered from one another, nor the meanes from either of them, nor yet among&s;t them&s;elues; euen as the fir&s;t lincke of a chaine is ioyned with the la&s;t by tho&s;e which are betweene them, and the&s;e which are in the middle one with another.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="185" REF="103">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VI.</HI> Sathans temptations whereby he moueth the weake Christian to doubt of his election, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd the&s;e are the temptations where with Sathan a&s;&s;aulteth the worldling:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The cau&s;es which moue Sa|than and his instruments to per&s;wade the weake Chri&s;tian to doubt of his election.</NOTE> but if he haue to deale with a true Chri&s;tian, who is indeede elected of God, and &s;heweth the fruites of his election, by de&s;iring and endeuouring to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;nes, then he per&s;wadeth him to doubt of his election, and to hang as it were wauering in the ayre, &s;ometime lifted vp with hope, &s;ometime deiected and ca&s;t downe with feare, till at la&s;t he being wearie and tired with his doubtful thoughts, and hauing no where to re&s;t him&s;elfe, is &s;wallowed vp of de&s;peration: like vnto a &s;illie bird which flieth ouer the maine Ocean, and one while hopeth to attaine vnto the land, another while feareth &s;eeing no place where to light, till at la&s;t being &s;o weary that &s;he can flie no further, &s;he falleth downe and is drowned in the &s;ea. So the&s;e one while hope, and &s;oone after finding their owne infirmities, and not &s;eeing where they may re&s;t their wauering minds, doubt and feare, till at la&s;t through wearine&s;&s;e they &s;inke downe and are &s;wallowed vp in the gulfe of de&s;peration, where they are drowned and de&s;troyed, if it doe not plea&s;e the Lord to lift them vp again, and to &s;hew them the firme Rock Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, whereupon they may re&s;t their wearie mindes and refre&s;h their fainting &s;oules; which hee alwaies doth perfourme to tho&s;e that belong to his election; for it is impo&s;&s;ible that any of them &s;hould peri&s;h, though Sathan and all the power of hell &s;eeke their ruine and de&s;truction.</P>
<P>But at this marke Sathan aimeth though hee neuer hitteth it, and though he neuer finally preuaile, yet to this doubting, and in the end de&s;pairing, he laboureth to per&s;wade the true Chri&s;tian; neither doth hee content him&s;elfe with the forces of his owne temptations, but he ioyneth with him the world, which is as readie as Sathan him&s;elfe to oppugne the certain|tie
<PB N="186" REF="104">of our election, and our owne trayterous fle&s;h which is ea&s;ily moued to doubting and de&s;paire, when as it &s;eeth no|thing in it &s;elfe whereupon it may re&s;t. In the world he ma|keth his choi&s;e not of &s;illie ignorant men, but of the mo&s;t &s;ubtill Sophi&s;ters and learned Doctors, the true &s;ucce&s;&s;ors of the Scribes and Phari&s;ies, euen the whole rabble of the Po|pi&s;h clergie; who &s;tand on Sathans part &s;toutly fighting his battailes, being per&s;waded and ouercome by that tempta|tion which our Sauiour Chri&s;t with&s;tood, <HI>All this will I giue thee.</HI> For to what end (I pray you) doe the&s;e great Doctors &s;o &s;tifly &s;tand in the defence of Sathans cau&s;e, per&s;wading men might and maine to doubt of their election, and con|&s;equently of their &s;aluation? Surely that by emptying mens minds of all true comfort, they may fill their own che&s;ts, and get the trea&s;ures of the earth into their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions. For when the weake con&s;cience wauereth and doubteth of his election, and not finding any true con&s;olation whereupon it may re&s;t, commeth vnto them for &s;ome comfort and better a&s;&s;urance; they behaue them&s;elues like vnto vngracious Surgeons, who intending to make a pray of their patients, and to get their gains out of their pains and tortures, do one day heale, and the next day hinder the cure, making the wound wor&s;e than it was whe~ they took it in hand, til at la&s;t they haue &s;o poy&s;o|ned the &s;ore that it is pa&s;t their cure, whereas they could ea&s;i|ly haue healed it, if they had not regarded their profit more than their own credit, or their patients health: or like vnto de|ceitfull Lawyers, who &s;omtimes &s;peake in their clients cau&s;e, and &s;ometimes betray it, going about in a tedious circuit, whereas the direct way lieth open before them, that &s;o their clients cau&s;e being made more doubtfull &amp; tedious, &amp; them|&s;elues impatient of delaies, are faine to double and trebble their fees, and yet oftentimes to no purpo&s;e, becau&s;e the more they receiue, the fitter they thinke them to be their per|petuall Clients. So doe the&s;e Popi&s;h Chirurgeons and Ro|mi&s;h coun&s;ailers deale with their Pacient and Client; for &s;he|wing his wounded con&s;cience, and de&s;iring &s;ome comfort at their hands, they will not make any &s;oueraigne &s;alue of the &s;imples which they might gather out of Gods word, whereby
<PB N="187" REF="104">he might &s;oone be healed, for then their cure, and con&s;e|quently their gaines were at an ende: but they holde him in &s;u&s;pen&s;e, and increa&s;e his di&s;ea&s;e of doubting, applying thereunto poy&s;ons in &s;tead of &s;alues, whereby at la&s;t his wound is made de&s;perate. Thou can&s;t not (will they &s;ay) at|taine vnto any certaine a&s;&s;urance of thine election, for that were fond pre&s;umption; but thou art to hope well: and that thou mai&s;t confirme thy hope, thou mu&s;t make vowes and goe on pilgrimage, to inuocate and offer vnto the&s;e and the&s;e &s;aints, thou mu&s;t doe the&s;e workes of &s;upererogation, build &s;uch a Mona&s;tery, repaire &s;uch a Church, giue &s;o much money to &s;uch a Cloi&s;ter, buie the&s;e Indulgences, whereby thou mai&s;t receiue pardon for thy &s;innes; and for more &s;urety &s;ake, thou &s;halt at thy death bequeath &s;o much money to the Prie&s;ts, for Ma&s;&s;es, Trentals and Dirges, that if it happen thou goe in|to Purgatorie, thou mai&s;t &s;peedely be deliuered: but all this while they &s;peake not a word of Gods vnde&s;erued grace and free election, not a &s;yllable of Chri&s;ts death and &s;atisfaction for our &s;innes; no, this were too &s;oueraigne a &s;alue, and would too &s;oone heale the wounded con&s;cience, and &s;o marre the market of the&s;e mount-bankes, making their Vowes, Pilgri|mages, Ma&s;&s;es, Dirges, Indulgences, and other trumpery-ware not worth the cheapning.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But let vs con&s;ider the &s;tate of the que&s;tion betweene vs and Sathan, with his Doctors and Proctors,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;tate of this question be|tweene the Christian and Sathan with his a&s;&s;istants.</NOTE> whom he feeth with worldly riches to pleade his cau&s;e. We hold that a man truly conuerted, indued with a liuely faith and &s;anctified, may ordinarily be a&s;&s;ured that he is the child of God, elected to &s;aluation: but they affirme that it is pre&s;umption for &s;uch to haue any certaine a&s;&s;urance hereof, vnle&s;&s;e it be by extraordi|nary reuelation; he may hope indeede that he is elected and &s;hall be &s;aued, but this hope mu&s;t he tempered with feare, and mixt with doubting; and this doubting they call humi|litie, which they doe not account an infirmitie, but rather a vertue which doth commend their faith, e&s;teeming firme a&s;|&s;urance to be but hereticall confidence and damnable pre|&s;umption, and pronouncing him accur&s;ed in their councell of <HI>Trent,</HI> who affimeth that we are to beleeue without doubting
<PB N="188" REF="105">the remi&s;&s;ion of our owne &s;inne and euerla&s;ting life in par|ticular.</P>
<P>And becau&s;e they cannot but confe&s;&s;e, that doubting and beleeuing, in them&s;elues are oppo&s;ed one again&s;t another; they teach, that their faith is a&s;&s;ured of Gods mercy and Chri&s;ts merits, as in them&s;elues infinite and &s;ufficient; but it doubteth (in re&s;pect of our vnworthine&s;&s;e and manifold im|perfections) to apply them particularly vnto our &s;elues: &s;o that when we looke vpon God and Chri&s;t, there is cau&s;e of firme a&s;&s;urance, but when we looke vpon our &s;elues, there is nothing but matter of doubting, there is in deed &s;ome place left to their &s;taggering hope, but none to a&s;&s;urance of faith: as though our faith were grounded on our owne worthine&s;&s;e, and not vpon Gods free mercy and Chri&s;ts merits; and as though re&s;ting vpon the&s;e alone, it could not haue certaine a&s;&s;urance of our election and &s;aluation, notwith&s;tanding our vnworthine&s;&s;e and corruptions. But let vs arme our &s;elues a|gain&s;t this their doctrine, which containeth nothing el&s;e but principles whereupon &s;athan may ground his temptations, whereby he per&s;wadeth vs fir&s;t to doubting, and afterwards to de&s;pairing of our election and &s;aluation; for when the troubled con&s;cience hath no other a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and his owne election, but that which is gathered from his owne worthine&s;&s;e and workes, he &s;till doubteth whether yet he be worthy, or haue fulfilled the mea&s;ure of workes requi|red; and then further examining him&s;elfe to cleare his doubt, and finding his be&s;t workes exceeding imperfect, and that his &s;innes and corruptions are innumerable, then is his con&s;cience &s;et vpon the racke, and his &s;oule plunged into deepe de&s;paire, hauing no other &s;tay but the broken &s;taffe of his owne righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which mo&s;t deceiueth him when he mo&s;t tru&s;teth to it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And that we may be confirmed again&s;t &s;athans tempta|tions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The points to be con&s;idered of in this con|trouer&s;ie.</NOTE> and the &s;ubtill &s;ophi&s;trie of the&s;e his Doctors, I will handle this poynt at large, and will plainely proue, fir&s;t, that the childe of God being conuerted, iu&s;tified and &s;anctified, may be certainely a&s;&s;ured of his particular election, and that without any &s;peciall reuelation after an ordinarie manner.
<PB N="189" REF="105">Secondly, I will &s;hew the meanes whereby we may attaine vnto this a&s;&s;urance; and the infallible &s;ignes of our election. La&s;tly, I will an&s;were &s;uch obiections as are made again&s;t it by &s;athan and his adherents.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may be certainly a&s;&s;ured of our election, proued by the testimo|nies of the Scriptures.</NOTE>Concerning the fir&s;t, namely, that we may be certainely a&s;|&s;ured of our election and &s;aluation, it may be proued by te|&s;timonies of Scriptures, and al&s;o by infallible rea&s;ons groun|ded vpon them. For we mu&s;t not thinke that we can haue this a&s;&s;urance, by a&s;cending into heauen, and there &s;earching into Gods &s;ecret decree, but we mu&s;t gather it out of Gods word, wherein the Lord hath reuealed his will vnto vs: and in regard hereof, though Gods will in it &s;elfe be &s;ecret, &s;o that we may aske <HI>who hath knowne the will of the Lord?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.16.</NOTE> yet &s;eeing the Lord hath reuealed his hidden will in his word, we may &s;ay with <HI>Paul, that we haue knowne the minde of Christ.</HI> Now this know|ledge of Gods will concerning our election, is not to be ga|thered out of the lawe, as the Papi&s;ts would haue it; for by rea&s;on of the condition annexed to the promi&s;e of euerla|&s;ting life <HI>(Doe this and liue)</HI> it leaueth our con&s;ciences in per|petuall doubting, nay, rather in vtter de&s;peration, becau&s;e we knowe that we are farre from the exact obedience thereof: but out of the gracious promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The couenant of grace made to a&s;&s;ure vs of our election.</NOTE> freely made to euery one who beleeueth, without any condition of our owne workes and worthine&s;&s;e. And therefore if wee beleeue the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell made in Chri&s;t, we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election and &s;aluation, though in our &s;elues we are mi&s;e|rable &s;inners, who haue tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed all Gods commaunde|ments: for the couenant and promi&s;es of God made to <HI>Abra|ham</HI> and his &s;eede, was not <HI>through the lawe, but through the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of faith,</HI> as it is Rom 4.13. and therefore it is by faith, that it might come by grace, and the promi&s;e might be &s;ure, not in &s;elfe onely, and in re&s;pect of the &s;ufficiencie of Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merits, as the Papi&s;ts dreame; but to all the &s;eede, that is, to all that beleeue, and be the children of <HI>Abraham,</HI> who was the father of the faithfull both Iew and Gentill. For otherwi&s;e we &s;hould haue no better a&s;&s;urance of &s;aluation by the Go&s;pell than by the Law; for euen the pro|mi&s;e of the Law was mo&s;t &s;ure in it &s;elfe and on Gods part,
<PB N="190" REF="106">yet not &s;ure to vs who could not perfourme the condition: and therefore the Lord made a new couenant, not of workes but of grace, onely on the condition of faith; that &s;o the pro|mi&s;e might be &s;ure, not onely in it &s;elfe and on Gods behalf, but al&s;o vnto vs who are <HI>Abrahams</HI> &s;eede, that is, true belee|uers, as appeareth Rom. 4.16. And this al&s;o notably appeareth Heb. 6.17.18. where the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.16. Heb. 6.17.18.</NOTE> that God <HI>willing more abundantly to &s;hew vnto the heires of promi&s;e the &s;tablenes of his coun&s;aile, bound him&s;elfe by an oath,</HI> 18. <HI>That by two immutable things wherein it is impo&s;&s;ible that God &s;hould lie, wee might haue &s;trong con&s;olation, which haue our refuge to hold fa&s;t the hope that is &s;et before vs,</HI> 19. <HI>Which we haue as an anchor of the &s;oule both &s;ure and &s;tedfa&s;t.</HI> In which words the Apo&s;tle plainly &s;heweth, that the Lord hath added his oath to his promi&s;e, not to the end that in it &s;elf it &s;hould be confirmed, or needed any con|firmation on Gods part (for his bare word is yea and Amen, &s;o infallible and &s;ure, that though <HI>heauen and earth pa&s;&s;e away and peri&s;h, yet not one iot or title of his word &s;hall faile till all things be fulfilled</HI>) but to the end that we to whom the promi&s;es are made,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.18.</NOTE> might be a&s;&s;ured of the &s;tablene&s;&s;e of his coun&s;aile, and thereby receiue &s;trong con&s;olation, and might re&s;t our &s;oules in the tempe&s;ts of temptations vpon firme hope, as it were vpon a &s;tedfa&s;t and &s;ure anchor. Now what &s;tabilitie, what &s;trong con&s;olation, what &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e of hope, if wee are &s;till vncertaine of our election, &s;ometimes hoping, as when wee looke vpon Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merits, and &s;ometimes doubting, as when wee looke vpon our owne &s;innes and vn|worthine&s;&s;e? For what is this but to be &s;haken from our an|chor hold, and to be to&s;&s;ed vp and downe with the waues of doubting, till at la&s;t wee da&s;h again&s;t the rockes of de&s;paire, and &s;o make &s;hipwrack of our &s;oules?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus you &s;ee that the couenant of grace was there|fore made with vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Particular te|&s;timonies pro|uing this point.</NOTE> that wee might be a&s;&s;ured of our election, and that the whole Go&s;pell is nothing els but Gods amba&s;|&s;age, whereby he certifieth vs of his free and vnde&s;erued loue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t: but let vs further con&s;ider of &s;ome &s;peciall te&s;timonies whereby this a&s;&s;urance is confirmed. Rom. 5.1. it is &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.1.</NOTE> that being <HI>iustified by faith, wee haue peace towards God
<PB N="191" REF="106">through our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> But what peace can we haue, if wee be not a&s;&s;ured of our election, but haue our mindes di|&s;tracted and racked betweene faith and doubting, hope and de&s;paire? Rom. 8.38. the Apo&s;tle profe&s;&s;eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.38.</NOTE> that <HI>he is per&s;wa|ded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, &amp;c. nor any other creature &s;hould be able to &s;eparate vs from the loue of God which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord.</HI> It is true (wil the temp|ter &s;ay) that <HI>Paul</HI> had this a&s;&s;urance of his election and &s;alua|tion, but it was by &s;ome &s;peciall reuelation, and nor ordina|rily; and therefore it followeth not hereof that euery particu|lar Chri&s;tian can haue this a&s;&s;urance. I an&s;were, that the A|po&s;tle groundeth not his faith on reuelations in that place, but on a foundation common to him with all true Chri&s;tians, namely on the death of Chri&s;t, ver&s;. 32.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 23.33.34.</NOTE> on Gods free iu&s;tifi|cation, ver. 33. and vpon Chri&s;ts interce&s;&s;ion, ver. 34. and from hence hee confirmeth his and our re&s;olution, that nothing &s;hould &s;eparate vs from the loue of Chri&s;t, ver&s;. 35. from the loue of God in him. Who&s;oeuer therefore with <HI>Paul</HI> belee|ueth that Chri&s;t died for him, that God freely iu&s;tifieth him through Chri&s;ts merits, and that our Sauiour fitteth at the right hand of his Father to make interce&s;&s;ion for him, he may be a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue, and con&s;equently of his election. Secondly, <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaketh this not of him&s;elfe alone, but al&s;o of all the faithfull, and therefore he v&s;eth the plurall number, <HI>I am per&s;waded that nothing &s;hall be able to &s;eparate vs.</HI> So Eph. 3.12. the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that wee haue through Chri&s;t <HI>boldne&s;&s;e and entrance with confidence by faith in him.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 3.12. Heb. 4.16. and 10.22.</NOTE> And Heb. 4.16. he <HI>exhorteth vs to goe boldly vnto the throne of grace, that wee may receiue mercie &amp;c.</HI> And chap. 10.22. <HI>Let vs draw neere with a true heart in a&s;&s;urance of faith, &amp;c.</HI> But I would faine know what entrance with confidence, what boldne&s;&s;e and a&s;&s;urance of faith, when we draw neere vnto God, and pre&s;ent our &s;elues before his throne of maie&s;tie, if we remaine doubtfull of his loue and our election? So Heb. 6.19. he &s;aith that <HI>our hope is a &s;ure and &s;tedfa&s;t anchor of the &s;oule;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 6.19.</NOTE> but what certain|tie or &s;tedfa&s;tnes is there in it, if it wauer and &s;tagger through doubtfulnes, &s;o often as wee looke vpon our &s;innes and vn|worthine&s;&s;e? The Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> al&s;o doth tell vs, that the
<PB N="192" REF="107">tru&s;t which we haue through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t mu&s;t <HI>be perfect,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.13.</NOTE> that is, <HI>entire and perpetuall, till we enioy the thing which we hope for,</HI> 1. Pet. 1.13. And 2. Pet. 1.10, he exhorteth vs <HI>to v&s;e all diligence that we may make our calling and election &s;ure:</HI> which if we could not doe, he &s;hould per&s;wade vs to the vndertaking of a needele&s;&s;e labour. Nay he plainely a&s;&s;ureth vs, that <HI>if we doe the&s;e things (to wit if we ioyne vertue with our faith, and with vertue knowledge, and with knowledge temperance, and with temperance patience, and with patience godline&s;&s;e, and with godli|ne&s;&s;e brotherly kindne&s;&s;e, and with brotherly kindne&s;&s;e loue) we &s;hall neuer fall;</HI> becau&s;e the&s;e are effects and vndoubted &s;ignes of our election. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn</HI> would not haue it a mat|ter doubtfull, whether we are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued or no; but certainely knowne and vndoubtedly beleeued: and therefore he aimeth principally at this marke, and propoun|deth this as the chiefe end of his epi&s;tle, namely to &s;hew how we might know ordinarily, and be fully a&s;&s;ured that we are beloued of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.14.</NOTE> elected, and &s;hall be &s;aued. So 1. Ioh. 3.14. <HI>We know that we are tran&s;lated from death to life becau&s;e we loue the brethren.</HI> And therefore in the latter end of his epi&s;tle he &s;aith, that he had written it to this end, that <HI>we might know that we haue eternall life.</HI> chap. 5.13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">and 5.13.</NOTE> Seeing then the Scriptures doe commend vnto vs a &s;tedfa&s;t and a&s;&s;ured faith, whereby we particularly are a&s;&s;ured and per&s;waded of our election and &s;aluation, notwith&s;tanding our &s;innes and vnworthine&s;&s;e: therefore let not the tempter per&s;wade vs to ca&s;t away this certaine per&s;wa&s;ion, and to wauer in doubting; but let vs &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> 2. Tim. 1.12,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.12.</NOTE> Though I am vn|worthie <HI>yet I know whom I haue beleeued, and I am per&s;waded that he is able to keepe that which I haue committed to him.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But again&s;t that which hath been &s;aid the tempter obiect|eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An obiection grounded vpon the indefinit|ne&s;&s;e of Gods promi&s;es an|&s;wered.</NOTE> that the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell are generall and indefi|nit, and therefore no man can gather out of them any cer|taine a&s;&s;urance of his particular election. I an&s;were that this con&s;equence is fal&s;e: for out of a generall and indefinit pro|po&s;ition, we may truely and by the lawes of rea&s;on gather and inferre a particular conclu&s;ion, though not contrariwi&s;e. For example, if I thus conclude; all men are rea&s;onable crea|tures:
<PB N="193" REF="107">but I am a man; therefore I am a rea&s;onable creature: it is rightly and truely inferred. Though therefore the pro|mi&s;es of the Go&s;pell be contained in generall propo&s;itions, yet may euery faithfull man as certainely conclude, that they belong vnto him, as if they were particularly applied vnto him by name.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.16.</NOTE> For when the Lord by his amba&s;&s;adors maketh this generall propo&s;ition in the preaching of the word; who|&s;oeuer truely beleeue in Chri&s;t, they are all elected vnto e|uerla&s;ting life; the faithfull hearer maketh this a&s;&s;umption in his minde, but I by the grace of God, and by the preaching of his word made effectuall by his &s;pirit, haue a true faith begotten in me, whereby I beleeue in Chri&s;t my Sauiour; and therefore Gods promi&s;e of life and &s;aluation belongeth vnto me. And thus al&s;o doth the con&s;cience of man out of the generall cur&s;es of the law conclude that he is accur&s;ed; for when the law deliuereth this propo&s;ition in generall, <HI>Cur&s;ed is euery one who abideth not in all things which are writ|ten in the booke of the law to doe them;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 27.26. Gal. 3.10.</NOTE> euery particular man maketh this a&s;&s;umption in his owne con&s;cience, but I haue not continued in all to doe it, nay in &s;tead of doing all, I haue neglected all, in &s;ted of continuing in obedience, I haue been continually di&s;obedient, in &s;ted of doing the duties commaunded, I haue committed the &s;innes forbidden, and therefore by the &s;entence of the law I am accur&s;ed. So that though both the threatnings of the law, and the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell be generall and indefinit, yet doth euery mans con&s;cience truely informed by Gods word, gather out of them mo&s;t certaine particular conclu&s;ions.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the tempter will obiect further;<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are the faithfull, vnto whom the pro|mi&s;es of the Go&s;pell are made.</NOTE> it is true indeede that euery faithfull man, may apply the generall promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell vnto him&s;elfe, but all the que&s;tion is whether thou can&s;t know that thou ha&s;t faith or no, &s;eeing many who continue in their infidelitie, bragge mo&s;t of their faith. I an|&s;were that it cannot be denied but that many are deceiued, by contenting them&s;elues with their carnall &s;ecuritie, in &s;tead of a liuely faith; but hence it followeth not, that becau&s;e many are deceiued with an opinion of faith, therefore tho&s;e that beleeue indeede cannot be a&s;&s;ured that they haue faith;
<PB N="194" REF="108">no more then this followeth, &s;ome men dreame that they are rich, and are not &s;o indeede when they awake, therefore no man knoweth whether he be rich or no; for what is their &s;ecure opinion, but an idle dreame of their owne braines, which hath no warrant out of Gods word? where as faith cer|tainely and euidently per&s;wadeth, and like a candle doth not only manife&s;t other things, but al&s;o it &s;elfe appeareth by his owne light. So that as a man who &s;eeth and feeleth the fier and the heate thereof, doth certainly know that hee &s;eeth and feeleth it, &s;o he that beleeueth in Chri&s;t doth know that he beleeueth indeede: yea as much more certaine is this knowledge, as the knowledge of faith grounded vpon Gods word which is infallible, is more certaine than the know|ledge of the &s;en&s;es, which are often deceiued. Furthermore if we could not be a&s;&s;ured that we haue faith, then to what pur|po&s;e &s;erues the admonition of the Apo&s;tle 2. Cor. 13.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 13.5.</NOTE> <HI>Try your &s;elues whether you are in the faith, examine your &s;elues: know you not your owne &s;elues, how that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is in you except ye be reprobates?</HI> In which words the Apo&s;tle plainely implieth, that we may know that we haue a true and liuely faith, or els this triall and examination were vaine: nay hee plainely &s;aith that we may know that Chri&s;t is in vs, except we be reprobates, and con&s;equently that we haue faith; for this onely is the hand whereby we apply Chri&s;t vnto vs and all his benefits.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.28.</NOTE> So 1. Cor. 11.28. the Apo&s;tle willeth vs to examine our &s;elues before we come to the Lords table, that &s;o we be not vnworthie gue&s;ts; in which examination the chiefe thing which we are to re&s;pect, is whether we haue a true faith; for this is the mouth of the &s;oule, whereby we feede vpon the body and blood of our Sauiour Chri&s;t; and therefore vnle&s;&s;e we can know whether we haue faith when we are truely indued therewith, this admonition of the Apo|&s;tle were to no purpo&s;e; neither can we haue any a&s;&s;urance to our owne &s;oules, that we are worthie gue&s;ts of the Lords table, and con&s;equently we re&s;t doubtfull whether we re|ceiue the Sacrament to our &s;pirituall good and &s;aluation, or to our iudgement and condemnation. Thirdly, we are a&s;|&s;ured of this by Gods word that <HI>what&s;oeuer is not done of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.23.</NOTE>
<PB N="195" REF="108"><HI>faith is &s;inne.</HI> Rom. 14.23.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.6.</NOTE> And <HI>without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God</HI> Heb. 11.6. If therefore we cannot be a&s;&s;ured that we haue faith, we can haue no a&s;&s;urance that our be&s;t actions, our calling vpon Gods name, our hearing of his word, and all other duties of pietie and iu&s;tice, are any better than &s;innes and odious in Gods &s;ight: whereof it mu&s;t needes fol|low that the&s;e actions, how good &s;o euer in them&s;elues, will be done of vs in doubting, becau&s;e we know not whether they be done in faith; and being done doubtingly they be|come &s;innes indeede, and therefore di&s;plea&s;ing in Gods &s;ight. La&s;tly, if I can know whether I beleeue a man vpon his word, and whether I tru&s;t and rely my &s;elfe vpon his promi&s;e or no; why may I not much more know whether I beleeue Gods gracious promi&s;es made vnto all repentant &s;inners, and among&s;t the re&s;t vnto my &s;elfe, namely, that for the obe|dience and merits of Chri&s;t, I &s;hall haue remi&s;&s;ion of my &s;innes and euerla&s;ting life? &s;eeing this faith is not out of our &s;elues, but a gift of God wrought in vs by his holy &s;pirit, which is not idle in vs, for it pu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ifieth the heart, and worketh by loue; it mooueth vs to hate and flie from tho&s;e &s;innes we haue loued, and to imbrace and loue that holine&s;&s;e and righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e of life which heretofore hath been loath&s;ome vnto vs. As therefore the fier is knowne by his heate, the &s;unne by the light, the good tree by his fruites, &s;o when our cold hearts are inflamed with the loue of God, and a feruent zeale of his glorie, when our blinde vnder&s;tandings are inlightned with the knowledge of God, and of the true religion, when we bring forth the fruites of our profe&s;&s;ion in a godly and chri&s;tian life, then may we certainely know that we are in|dued with a true and liuely faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the tempter will take occa&s;ion to per&s;wade the weake chri&s;tian and the troubled con&s;cience,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A temptation grounded vpon our a&s;&s;urance of faith, an&s;we|red.</NOTE> that he hath no faith, &s;eeing he doth not certainely know that he hath it, nor di&s;cerneth the&s;e &s;ignes and fruites of faith in him&s;elfe. To this &s;ugge&s;tion we are to an&s;were, that we doe not &s;ay that the weake chri&s;tian may be a&s;&s;ured at all times, that he hath faith by his pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e; for fir&s;t when we are newly con|uerted, and the &s;eedes of faith are &s;owne in our hearts, we doe
<PB N="196" REF="109">not pre&s;ently di&s;cerne it; but as the corne which is ca&s;t into the ground, is for a time couered and after &s;pringeth vp the blade, and then the eare; &s;o faith being &s;owen in our hearts, which fir&s;t like fallow grounds are plowed vp, and as it were harrowed and broken with the threatnings of the law, and apprehen&s;ion of Gods anger due vnto our &s;innes, doth in the time of our humiliation and contrition, lie couered &s;o as we cannot di&s;cerne it, till being more and more watered with the water of the &s;pirit, and the heauenly promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, which in the preaching of the word, like &s;weete dewes and plea&s;ant &s;howers di&s;till vpon it, it &s;endeth forth the blade, namely an holy de&s;ire and earne&s;t indeauour to &s;erue God, and afterwards the fruite, euen a plentifull har|ue&s;t in godline&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of life.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, &s;ometime after that faith is begun in vs, and we haue &s;eene the frutes thereof to our comfort, it is after hid from vs againe, as when either we wounde our con&s;ci|ence by committing &s;ome grieuous &s;inne again&s;t knowledge wittingly and willingly, or when it plea&s;eth the Lord to exerci&s;e vs in the &s;pirituall conflict of temptations; for then &s;ometimes it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that our faith for a time lieth hid vnder the a&s;hes of our corruptions; and the cloude of our &s;innes, and the apprehen&s;ion of Gods anger, doth &s;o ouer&s;hadow the eyes of our vnder&s;tanding that we cannot di&s;cerne the beames of Gods loue and fauour &s;hining vp|on vs; although when the conflict is ended, our faith againe flameth out in the loue of God, and zeale of his glorie, and the louing countenance of the Lord &s;hineth graciou&s;ly vp|on vs when the&s;e cloudes of temptations are ouerpa&s;t. And therefore though we do not certainely know our faith by the fruites therof, either &s;oone after our conuer&s;ion, or in the time of temptation, yet this mu&s;t not di&s;courage vs, becau&s;e the&s;e are no fit times to iudge thereof: onely when we want this knowledge and full a&s;&s;urance, let vs v&s;e all good meanes or|dained of God that we may attaine thereunto if we neuer had it; or recouer and againe renew it, if after we haue once had it, we lo&s;e the &s;en&s;e and feeling thereof, either by falling into hainous &s;innes, or by the violence of Sathans temptations.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="197" REF="109">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VII.</HI> That we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election, prooued by diuers argu|ments.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I &s;hewed by plaine te&s;timonies of &s;criptures,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fir&s;t, becau&s;e the Go&s;pell ma|nife&s;tly &s;heweth that we are ele|cted.</NOTE> that we may infallibly be a&s;&s;ured of our election; now I will al&s;o prooue the &s;ame by &s;trong arguments, drawne from the &s;ame fountaine. Fir&s;t therefore we may thus rea&s;on; What&s;oeuer is manife&s;tly &s;hewed vnto vs in the Go&s;pel, that we are bound to beleeue, and of that we may be a&s;&s;ured: but it is manife&s;tly declared in the Go&s;pel, that wee are elected vnto euerla&s;ting life: and therefore we are bound to beleeue it, and may be a&s;&s;ured that we are elected. The propo&s;ition or fir&s;t part of this rea&s;on containeth two branches: the fir&s;t is, that we are bound to beleeue what&s;oeuer the Go&s;pell reuea|leth; the &s;econd, that we may be a&s;&s;ured of it; both which are euident truths. For that which Chri&s;t commandeth, that wee are bound to perfourme: but he commandeth vs to beleeue the Go&s;pell, Mar. 1.15. <HI>Repent and beleeue the Go&s;pell.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 1.15. 1. Ioh. 3.23.</NOTE> So <HI>this is his commandement that we beleeue &amp;c.</HI> 1. Ioh. 3.23. The breach of which commandement is puni&s;hed with euerla&s;ting death. <HI>For he that will not beleeue &s;hall be damned,</HI> as it is Mar.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 16.16.</NOTE> 16.16. And as we are bound to beleeue it, &s;o wee may al&s;o come to be a&s;&s;ured thereof; &s;eeing the Go&s;pell commandeth vs no|thing, which it doth not al&s;o by the inward and ordinarie cooperation of Gods &s;pirit enable vs to perfourme. For this difference is betweene the commandements of the Law and the commandements of the Go&s;pell: the Law &s;heweth vs the duties which we &s;hould perfourme, but mini&s;ters vnto vs no power whereby wee may be enabled to perfourme them; but the Go&s;pell being a&s;&s;i&s;ted with the operation of Gods &s;pirit, doth command and withall giueth vs abilitie to per|fourme the commandement, for the words of the Go&s;pell <HI>are &s;pirit and life,</HI> as our Sauiour &s;peaketh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.63.</NOTE> 6.63. and with the preaching thereof the &s;pirit inwardly worketh, quickning
<PB N="198" REF="110">and &s;trengthening vs to perfourme that which it enioyneth. The a&s;&s;umption or &s;econd part of the rea&s;on is al&s;o cleere, namely, that the Go&s;pell manife&s;teth vnto vs our election; for what els is the whole Go&s;pell but a declaration of Gods loue, and of our election and redemption in and by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t? what is it els but the amba&s;&s;age whereby God recon|cileth vs vnto him&s;elfe? what els is contained therein, but Gods mercifull promi&s;es of life and &s;aluation, made on no other condition but on the condition of faith, which we need not feare to perfourme, &s;eeing it is commanded vs of God? and therefore though we had no other rea&s;on to beleeue, yet wee &s;hould beleeue in obedience to Gods commandement, &s;eeing, he commandeth nothing which is not good in it &s;elfe, tending to his owne glorie and our &s;aluation; and if we doe beleeue, though our vnworthine&s;&s;e bee neuer &s;o great, yea though our faith bee neuer &s;o weake and &s;mall, yet may wee thereby be a&s;&s;ured of our election and &s;aluation; for this is Gods <HI>will,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.40. and 3.36.</NOTE> <HI>that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in his &s;onne &s;hall haue euer|lasting life,</HI> as it is Ioh. 6.40. So Ioh. 3.36. <HI>He that beleeueth in the &s;onne hath euerla&s;ting life.</HI> But mo&s;t notable is that place 1. Ioh.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 5.10.</NOTE> 5.10. <HI>He that beleeueth in the &s;onne of God, hath the wit|ne&s;&s;e in him&s;elfe:</HI> that is, they neede no other rea&s;ons to per|&s;wade them, that the te&s;timonie which God hath giuen of his &s;onne (namely, that who&s;oeuer beleeue in him &s;hall haue euerla&s;ting life) is true; for they haue full and &s;ufficient a&s;&s;u|rance hereof by their faith. Who&s;oeuer therefore can be a&s;&s;u|red that they beleeue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t (as all may who bring forth the fruits of faith in &s;anctification and holines of life, or at lea&s;t de&s;ire and endeuour to &s;erue the Lord in the duties of pietie and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e) they may be a&s;&s;ured, nay they are bound by Gods expre&s;&s;e commandement, vndoubtedly to beleeue they are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued, becau&s;e all the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell are made vnto them without any other condition.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, who&s;oeuer are bound to beleeue that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is their Sauiour and Redeemer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Secondly, we are a&s;&s;ured that we are redee|med, and con&s;e|quently that we are elected.</NOTE> they are al&s;o vndoub|tedly to beleeue and may al&s;o be a&s;&s;ured of their election; but euery Chri&s;tian is bound by Gods expre&s;&s;e commande|ment
<PB N="199" REF="110">to beleeue that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is their Sauiour and Redee|mer, as appeareth 1. Ioh. 3.23. and therefore they are vndoub|tedly to beleeue and may bee a&s;&s;ured of their election. The propo&s;ition is manife&s;t, &s;eeing all tho&s;e and tho&s;e onely are &s;aued and redeemed by Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.30. Matth. 25.34. Act. 13.48.</NOTE> who are elected to &s;aluation in Gods eternall decree. The a&s;&s;umption is mo&s;t certaine, for whereas God commaunds vs to beleeue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, hee doth not onely enioyne vs to beleeue that he is a Sauiour of his Church in generall, or of the Patriarchs, Prophets, and A|po&s;tles alone, for this al&s;o the diuels beleeue as well as wee; but wee are to beleeue that he is our Sauiour and Redeemer, and to applie all the promi&s;es of life and &s;aluation made in him, particularly vnto our &s;elues; for otherwi&s;e how &s;hould wee haue that a&s;&s;urance of faith and that bold confidence when we approach vnto the throne of grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.16. and 10.22.</NOTE> which the A|po&s;tle requireth of vs, Heb. 4.16. and 10.22. if wee cannot be a&s;&s;ured that he is our Sauiour and Redeemer, in whom God loueth and hath elected vs?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Neither mu&s;t this faith and a&s;&s;urance of our election and &s;aluation be mixt with doubting,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our a&s;&s;u|rance &s;hould not be mixt with doubting.</NOTE> as the Papi&s;ts would beare vs in hand, who make doubting not an infirmitie, but a com|mendable vertue of their faith: for faith &amp; doubting though they are often mixt in Gods children, yet in re&s;pect of their owne natures they are oppo&s;ed in the &s;criptures one again&s;t the other. So it is &s;aid of <HI>Abraham,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.20.</NOTE> <HI>that he doubted not of Gods promi&s;e through vnbeleefe, but was &s;trengthened in the faith,</HI> Rom. 4.20. where the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth, that doubting is a fruite of vnbeleefe and not a commendable vertue; nay, hee oppo&s;eth it to faith, &s;aying, that hee doubted not of the pro|mi&s;e, but was &s;trengthened in the faith. So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> chap. 1.5. &s;aith, <HI>If any man lacke wi&s;edome,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.5.</NOTE> <HI>let him aske in faith and wauer not;</HI> where he oppo&s;eth faith to wauering or doub|ting. And our Sauiour Chri&s;t al&s;o maketh this oppo&s;ition, Matth, 21.21. &s;aying, <HI>If ye haue faith and doubt not.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 21.21.</NOTE> So that though faith and doubting are not oppo&s;ed in re&s;pect of the &s;ubiect wherein they are, for euen the mo&s;t deare children of God haue their faith often mixt with doubting, they being partly fle&s;h and partly &s;pirit; yet the&s;e two in their owne na|tures
<PB N="200" REF="111">are oppo&s;ed one again&s;t the other; and euen in re&s;pect of their &s;ubiect they thus far di&s;agree, that though they haue their &s;ub&s;i&s;tance in the &s;ame &s;ubiect, yet not in the &s;ame part; that is, though they be in the &s;ame man, yet not in the &s;ame part, for faith is in the regenerate and &s;pirituall part, doub|ting in the vnregenerate or fle&s;hly part.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Doubting a fruite of vnbe|leefe oppo&s;ed vnto faith.</NOTE>Doubting then is no vertue of faith, but oppo&s;ed thereun|to as a fruite of vnbeleefe; it proceedeth not from the &s;pirit but from the fle&s;h, and as a fruite of the fle&s;h it is condemned in Gods word, though the Papi&s;ts highly commend it. So Matth. 14.31. our Sauiour reprehendeth <HI>Peter</HI> for his doub|ting; <HI>O thou of little faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 14.31.</NOTE> <HI>wherefore didde&s;t thou doubt?</HI> And Luk. 12.29. he telleth vs that wee mu&s;t not &s;tand in doubt, or (as the word <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignifieth) <HI>be not like vnto meteors</HI> which are carried about in the ayre with euery winde.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 12.29.</NOTE> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> chap.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.7.</NOTE> 1.7. compareth him that wauereth or doubteth, to a waue of the &s;ea to&s;t of the winde and carried a|way. And <HI>Paul</HI> is &s;o farre from commending doubting for a vertue, that hee doth not onely condemne it as a &s;inne in it &s;elfe, but al&s;o as a cau&s;e which maketh our actions which are indifferent or good in them&s;elues to become &s;innes. So the eating of this or that meate is a thing indifferent and lawfull if it be recciued with prayer and thank&s;giuing, but yet the A|po&s;tle telleth vs Rom. 14.23. that he <HI>who doubteth is condemned if he eate;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.23.</NOTE> and he rendreth this rea&s;on, <HI>becau&s;e he eateth not of faith, and what&s;oeuer is not of faith is &s;inne.</HI> So that by this hee &s;heweth, that he who doubteth, eateth not of faith; and that what&s;oeuer is not done of faith is &s;inne. Seeing therefore doubting is oppo&s;ed vnto faith, and is in it &s;elfe not onely a &s;inne, but al&s;o a cau&s;e of &s;inne; let vs not intertaine it though it bring letters commendatorie from the Pope and all his &s;hauelings; but labour to bani&s;h it out of our harts, and &s;triue after faith and full a&s;&s;urance of our election and &s;aluation in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us; and though we finde our great vnworthine&s;&s;e of the lea&s;t of Gods mercies, and cannot &s;ee any rea&s;on in our &s;elues why we &s;hould beleeue that wee are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued, yet let vs hope again&s;t hope, and beleeue again&s;t beleefe, for it is not a thing left to our choi&s;e but inioyned vs
<PB N="201" REF="111">by God, as the chiefe and maine dutie required in the Go&s;|pell: and therefore laying a&s;ide all rea&s;oning and di&s;puting, let vs re&s;olue to beleeue in obedience to Gods commande|ment; and then though we are neuer &s;o full of corruptions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 15.9.</NOTE> yet will this faith purifie vs; though wee are mo&s;t backward in perfourming any good worke, yet will it be fruitfull in vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 5 6.</NOTE> and will worke by loue; though wee be mo&s;t vnworthie, it will make vs more worthie, by applying vnto vs the righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t and the merits of his death and bloud&s;hed, which will not onely free vs from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne, but wil al&s;o purge vs from the vices and corruptions them&s;elues.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly, the certaintie of our election may be prooued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Thirdly, faith is a certaine and particular per&s;wa&s;ion, and not a doubtfull opinion or ge|nerall notion.</NOTE> by an argument drawne from the nature of faith: which is not a doubtfull opinion, but a certaine per&s;wa&s;ion; not a generall notion, but a particular a&s;&s;urance, whereby we do applie and appropriate vnto our &s;elues tho&s;e things which wee doe be|leeue. Who&s;oeuer therefore hath true faith, he doth certainly beleeue and is particularly a&s;&s;ured of his election, iu&s;tification and &s;aluation. That faith is a certaine per&s;wa&s;ion, it may ap|peare fir&s;t by tho&s;e properties and names which are giuen vn|to it in the word. Heb. 11.1. faith is &s;aid to be <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.1.</NOTE> a &s;ub&s;i&s;tance or pre&s;ent being of things hoped for; &s;o that hope waiteth for them in time to come, but faith enioyeth them as being pre&s;ent, namely in re&s;pect of the certaine a&s;&s;urance and particular application of the promi&s;es vnto our&s;elues: and therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 5.13.</NOTE> that <HI>hereby we may know</HI> (not that wee &s;hall haue, but) <HI>that we haue eternall life,</HI> 1. Ioh.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.1.</NOTE> 5.13. not in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion but in a&s;&s;urance of faith. It is called <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the &s;ame place, which word is quite contrarie to doubting, as &s;ignifying a manife&s;t demon&s;tration which doth not only &s;hew a thing probably, but al&s;o doth conuince with &s;trong arguments, and make that truth cleere and manife&s;t, which was otherwi&s;e ob&s;cure and &s;ecret, and therefore in the text it is called a demon&s;tration of things not &s;eene. So there is a|&s;cribed vnto it fulne&s;&s;e of per&s;wa&s;ion, Heb.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.22.</NOTE> 10.22. <HI>Let vs draw neere with a true heart,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>in full a&s;&s;urance of faith:</HI> and al&s;o boldne&s;&s;e with confident tru&s;t, Eph.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 3.12.</NOTE> 3.12. by whom
<PB N="202" REF="112">we haue boldne&s;&s;e and entrance with confidence (not by ex|traordinarie reuelations, but) by faith in Chri&s;t: which full a&s;|&s;urance, boldne&s;&s;e and confidence wee could not haue, if wee were not a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue and our election, but remai|ned doubtfull whether we were beloued of God and elected or no.</P>
<P>To the&s;e names and properties of faith, we may adde &s;ome plaine te&s;timonies of Scriptures, which cleerely &s;hew that faith is not a doubtfull hope, but a certaine per&s;wa&s;ion. 1. Iohn 3.14.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.14.</NOTE> The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that <HI>we knowe that we are tran|&s;lated from death to life</HI> (not by reuelation but) <HI>becau&s;e we loue the brethren;</HI> he doth not &s;ay that we knowe that we &s;hall be, but that we are tran&s;lated from death to life, to note the cer|tainty of this knowledge and per&s;wa&s;ion. Rom. 3.2. the A|po&s;tle &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.2.</NOTE> that <HI>by Christ we haue acce&s;&s;e through faith vnto Gods grace, wherein we &s;tand and reioyce vnder hope,</HI> or, as the word &s;ignifieth, glory and triumph with ioy: &s;o that we doe not wauer and &s;tagger, but &s;tand firmely through faith, we doe not feare and timorou&s;ly hope, but euen glory and tri|umphe in our reioycing: &s;aying with the Apo&s;tle, Rom. 8.33. <HI>Who &s;hall lay any thing to the charge of Gods cho&s;en?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.33, 34.35, 38.</NOTE> <HI>it is God that iustifieth.</HI> 34. <HI>Who &s;hall condemne? it is Christ which is dead: yea, or rather which is ri&s;en againe, who is al&s;o at the right hand of God, and maketh request al&s;o for vs.</HI> 35. <HI>Who &s;hall &s;eparate vs from the loue of Christ, &amp;c.</HI> So, that though our &s;innes be ma|nifold, our vnworthine&s;&s;e great, and our faith weake; yet if it be true, it may al&s;o be certaine in the a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and our election: becau&s;e it is not grounded on our worthi|ne&s;&s;e, but vpon Gods free iu&s;tifying and accepting of vs, as righteous in Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 6.18.</NOTE> and vpon Chri&s;ts death, re&s;urrection, and interce&s;&s;ion for vs vnto God his father; which is a mo&s;t &s;ure foundation that cannot faile. In deede if our faith and the anchor of our hope, did pitch, re&s;t, and fa&s;ten it &s;elfe, vpon the light and hollow &s;ands of our owne merits and worthine&s;&s;e; the &s;urging waues and boy&s;terous bla&s;ts of Sathans tempta|tions, would di&s;anchor and to&s;&s;e vs too and fro, till at length we &s;hould make &s;hipwracke of our faith, again&s;t the rockes of de&s;paire: but &s;eeing we take holde and re&s;t vpon the firme and
<PB N="203" REF="112">&s;ure anchor-hold Chri&s;t Ie&s;us his merits and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; well may the tempe&s;ts of Sathans temptations &s;hake vs, but they &s;hall neuer remoue vs from our firme hold and certaine a&s;&s;urance which wee haue in Chri&s;t; becau&s;e wee apprehend him, nay rather, <HI>are apprehended or taken hold of by him,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Phil. 3.12.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.12.</NOTE> <HI>And no man</HI> (no not the whole power of hell) <HI>is able to plucke vs out of his hands,</HI> as our Saui|our &s;peaketh, Iohn 10.28. For though they be mighty to de|&s;troy, <HI>yet Christ is almightie to &s;aue,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh 10.28. E&s;a. 63.1.</NOTE> as it is E&s;a. 63.1. and there|fore let vs not &s;uffer our &s;oules to be racked betweene hope and feare;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.13.</NOTE> but let vs <HI>trust perfectly on the grace that is brought vnto vs by the reuelation of Ie&s;us Christ,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle exhor|teth, 1. Pet. 1.13.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The certainty of faith pro|ued by the ex|amples of belee|uers.</NOTE> that we may be mo&s;t certaine of this certainty of faith, we will adde to the&s;e te&s;timonies, &s;ome examples of be|leeuers mentioned in Gods word. And fir&s;t let vs con&s;ider the faith of <HI>Abraham:</HI> which was not wauering and doubtfull, but mo&s;t certaine and a&s;&s;ured; for aboue hope he beleeued vnder hope, and hee was not weake in faith, neither did hee doubt of the promi&s;e of God through vnbeleefe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.</NOTE> but was &s;trengthened in the faith, and gaue glory vnto God, being fully a&s;&s;ured that hee which had promi&s;ed was able to per|forme it; and therefore it was imputed vnto him for righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e; as the Apo&s;tle &s;etteth it downe, Rom. 4.18, 19, 20, 21, 22. Now, <HI>Abraham</HI> was not onely a bare beleeuer, but the father of the faithfull; neither was his faith propounded vnto vs as a wonder to admire at, but as an example for all his &s;onnes to imitate. And therefore it is &s;aid, ver&s;. 23. <HI>That this is not written for him onely that</HI> his faith <HI>was imputed to him for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> 24. <HI>But al&s;o for vs to whom it &s;hall be imputed for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which beleeue in him, who hath rai&s;ed vp Ie&s;us our Lord from the dead.</HI> But it may be obiected, that <HI>Abraham</HI> is not &s;aid here to beleeue thus certainely his owne election or &s;aluation, but that he &s;hould haue a &s;onne, and become a fa|ther of many nations: I an&s;were, though this were the next and immediat obiect of his faith, yet this was not the chiefe and principall; but the promi&s;e of ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e and happi|ne&s;&s;e, which was made to him and all the nations of the earth,
<PB N="204" REF="113">in his &s;eede Chri&s;t. For <HI>Abraham</HI> could not bee iu&s;tified by beleeuing that he &s;hould haue a &s;onne, but by beleeuing in the Me&s;&s;ias which &s;hould come out of his loynes, by who&s;e righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience he &s;hould be &s;aued. And there|fore the Apo&s;tle Gal. 3.16. doth appropriate that promi&s;e made vnto <HI>Abraham,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.16. Gen. 22.18.</NOTE> Gen. 22.18. <HI>In thy &s;eede &s;hall all the na|tions of the earth bee ble&s;&s;ed,</HI> vnto the promi&s;ed &s;eede Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Looke al&s;o vpon the prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> and you &s;hall &s;ee, that though his faith was often &s;haken with doubting, yet in it &s;elfe it remayned certaine: like a tree &s;haken with the windes, which is not ouerthrowne, but taketh more firme and deepe roote:<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 23.4.</NOTE> P&s;alm. 23.4 <HI>Though I walke through the valley of the &s;hadow of death, I will feare no euill, for thou art with mee.</HI> So P&s;alm. 27.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 27.1.</NOTE> <HI>The Lord is my light and my &s;aluation, whom &s;hall I feare? The Lord is the &s;trength of my life, of whom &s;hall I be a|fraide?</HI> Neither had he onely this a&s;&s;urance in him&s;elfe, but &s;heweth that it is al&s;o the &s;tate of all the faithfull, P&s;al. 125.1. <HI>They that trust in the Lord &s;hall be as mount Sion,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 125.1.</NOTE> <HI>which cannot be remoued, but remaineth for euer.</HI> So <HI>Iob</HI> in the midde&s;t of his afflictions &s;heweth his certaine a&s;&s;urance and faith, &s;aying, Iob. 13.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 13.15. and 19.25, 26.</NOTE> <HI>Loe, though hee &s;lay mee yet will I trust in him:</HI> And chap. 19.25. <HI>I am &s;ure that my redeemer liueth, and he &s;hall &s;tand the last on the earth.</HI> 26. <HI>And though after this skinne, wormes destroy this body, yet &s;hall I &s;ee God in my fle&s;h, &amp;c.</HI> And <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaking not onely of his owne a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue, and euerla&s;ting life, but of all the faithfull, &s;aith, that he is per&s;wa|ded <HI>that nothing in the world &s;hould be able to &s;eparate vs from Gods loue in Christ,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.38.</NOTE> Rom. 8.38.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;hewed, that faith is a certaine a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and fauour in Chri&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That faith par|ticularly per|&s;wadeth vs of our election.</NOTE> Now I will al&s;o proue that it particularly per&s;wadeth vs of our owne election and life euerla&s;ting. For fir&s;t; &s;uch a faith is begot now in our hearts, by the Preaching of the word, as was begot in the hearts of men, by our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe; for as there is but one God, &s;o there is but one true and iu&s;tifying faith, Ephe&s;. 4.5:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4.5.</NOTE> but by that faith they were particularly per&s;wa|ded of the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes, and con&s;equently of
<PB N="205" REF="113">their iu&s;tification and &s;aluation, as appeareth Luke. 7.42.50. where our Sauiour &s;aith thus to the woman:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk.7.48.50.</NOTE> <HI>Thy &s;innes are for|giuen thee, thy faith hath &s;aued thee, goe in peace.</HI> So Matth. 9.2. he &s;aith to the &s;icke of the Paul&s;ie, <HI>Be of good comfort,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 9.2.</NOTE> <HI>thy &s;innes are forgiuen thee.</HI> And therefore the faith which is now begot in vs by the Preaching of the word, doth al&s;o particularly per&s;wade vs of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes and eternall &s;al|uation. For as our Sauiour Chri&s;t by his owne ab&s;olute au|thoritie, did remit the &s;innes of tho&s;e that did beleeue; &s;o he hath left this authoritie to his mini&s;ters (not ab&s;olutely by their owne power to remit &s;innes, which the man of &s;inne doth chalenge vnto him&s;elfe, but) to declare and pronounce their &s;innes forgiuen who truly beleeue in the &s;onne of God, and repent them of their &s;innes: the which their &s;entence is ratified in Heauen, according to that Matth. 16.19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 16.19.</NOTE> <HI>I will giue vnto thee the keyes of the kingdome of Heauen, and what&s;oeuer thou &s;halt binde in earth &s;hall be bound in Heauen, and what&s;oeuer thou &s;halt loo&s;e in earth &s;hall be loo&s;ed in Heauen;</HI> which autho|ritie is not giuen to <HI>Peter</HI> alone and his &s;ucce&s;&s;ors, as the Pa|pi&s;ts dreame; but as <HI>Peter</HI> an&s;wered, not onely for him&s;elfe, but al&s;o in the behalfe of all the re&s;t, &s;o he receiueth this po|wer both for him&s;elfe and for all the Apo&s;tles; yea, for all Gods true Mini&s;ters, the vndoubted &s;ucce&s;&s;ors of the Apo|&s;tles, as our Sauiour expoundeth him&s;elfe, Iohn 20.23. where hee giueth this authoritie to all the Apo&s;tles; &s;aying, <HI>Who&s;e &s;innes &s;o euer yee remit, they are remitted vnto them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 20.23.</NOTE> <HI>and who&s;e &s;innes &s;o euer yee retaine, they are retained.</HI> So that, the Mini&s;ters of Gods word, by the Preaching thereof, may a&s;&s;ure men par|ticularly of the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes: for when he ma|keth this generall propo&s;ition, who&s;oeuer beleeueth and re|penteth him of his &s;innes &s;hall haue them remitted, and bee made an heyre of euerla&s;ting life; and the particular hearer doth truely a&s;&s;ume that he beleeueth and repenteth, the Mini|&s;ter hath authoritie giuen him of God to make this conclu&s;i|on: therefore bee thou a&s;&s;ured that thy &s;innes are forgiuen thee in Chri&s;t, and that thou art an vndoubted heyre of euer|la&s;ting life.</P>
<P>Secondly, as the Lord doth offer vnto vs his gracious pro|mi&s;es
<PB N="206" REF="114">of life and &s;aluation, &s;o doe we receiue them by faith; but the Lord doth not only generally in the word offer the&s;e his gratious promi&s;es to all that will receiue them, but al&s;o particularly in the right v&s;e of the Sacraments to euery faith|full receiuer: for in the Sacraments wee mu&s;t con&s;ider a rela|tion and corre&s;pondencie betweene the outward &s;ignes and things &s;ignified: as therfore the Mini&s;ter doth offer and giue, and I receiue and eate the outward &s;ignes of bread and wine; &s;o am I as certainly to beleeue that God doth offer and giue, and that I doe receiue and feede vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his benefits, with the hand and mouth of faith, vnto the nouri&s;h|ing of my particular &s;oule to euerla&s;ting life, as my bodie is nouri&s;hed with the&s;e outward elements of bread and wine.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that through faith wee <HI>haue en|trance vnto God with boldne&s;&s;e and confidence,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 3.12.</NOTE> and therefore by faith the beleeuer is particularly per&s;waded of the remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes and of his reconciliation with God: for with what boldne&s;&s;e or confidence can the poore &s;inner come be|fore God, who is terrified with the threatnings of the Law, with the temptations of Sathan, and with the confideration of his owne vnworthine&s;&s;e and &s;elfe-guiltine&s;&s;e; if hee bee not particularly a&s;&s;ured that his cur&s;e is borne by Chri&s;t, that hee is forgiuen the whole debt of his &s;ins, and reconciled vnto God? What a&s;&s;ured comfort can hee receiue, if hee beleeue that God hath elected <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> and all his Church, if hee be not al&s;o a&s;&s;ured that he is in this number? If a whole Citie &s;hould rebel and commit high trea&s;on again&s;t a Prince, and the Prince &s;hould &s;end out a proclamatio~, declaring that vpon &s;ome conditions he would receiue them to mercie; with what boldne&s;&s;e or confidence can any in this citie come be|fore him, if he be not a&s;&s;ured that he hath perfourmed the&s;e conditions? But this is our ca&s;e, wee haue rebelled again&s;t God, and hee hath proclaimed in his Go&s;pell the pardon of our &s;innes, &s;o wee lay hold vpon Chri&s;t by a true and liuely faith, and repent vs of our &s;innes: If therefore we could not be a&s;&s;ured that wee haue a liuely faith and true repentance, and con&s;equently that Gods mercifull promi&s;es belong particu|larly vnto vs; with what boldne&s;&s;e or confidence can we come
<PB N="207" REF="114">before him? But the Apo&s;tle faith, that by faith we haue this boldne&s;&s;e and confidence, and therefore it followeth that we may be a&s;&s;ured that we haue faith and repentance, and there|by may certainly be per&s;waded of Gods loue and our par|ticular election.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly, that we may certainly be a&s;&s;ured of our election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth ar|gument, drawne from the doc|trine and v&s;e of the Sacra|ments.</NOTE> it may be proued by an argument drawne from the doctrine and v&s;e of the Sacraments; for the Lord hath added to the couenant of grace, his Sacraments as &s;eales, not to confirme Gods promi&s;es in them&s;elues, which are &s;o vndoubtedly true that they neede no confirmation, but to &s;trengthen our faith in this full a&s;&s;urance that they belong particularly vnto vs. For whereas in the word the promi&s;es of grace and &s;alua|tion are generally propounded to all beleeuers; in the v&s;e of the Sacraments, they are particularly applied to euery wor|thie receiuer; to the end that all doubting being remooued, they may certainly bee a&s;&s;ured that all the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell doe belong particularly vnto them&s;elues. Now if the Lord would haue vs doubt of our election and &s;aluation, and if this doubting were a vertue of faith, as the Papi&s;ts teach, then &s;urely there were no v&s;e of the Sacraments; for the word is &s;ufficient to beget that generall faith which is mixt with doubting, and the Sacraments which doe further a&s;&s;ure vs and applie vnto vs Gods promi&s;es, would be rather hurtfull than profitable, becau&s;e they take away doubting, which is a vertue of their faith. But we are otherwi&s;e in&s;tructed by Gods truth, namely, that the Lord would not haue vs doubt of his promi&s;es: and therefore he hath not onely written his coue|nant, but al&s;o hath confirmed it by his &s;eale, and hath thereby particularly applied it to the v&s;e and benefit of euery one who receiueth it by the hand of a liuely faith, that there may be no place left to doubting. And hence it is that the Sacra|ment of Circumci&s;ion is called <HI>the &s;eale of the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.11.</NOTE> Rom. 4.11. becau&s;e thereby as by a &s;eale <HI>Abraham</HI> was confirmed in the trueth of Gods promi&s;es, and a&s;&s;ured that the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of faith, that is, the righteou&s;nes of Chri&s;t, who was the promi&s;ed &s;eede, did belong vnto him. And an|&s;werable to this Sacrament is Bapti&s;me, wherein Chri&s;t and
<PB N="208" REF="115">all the gratious promi&s;es of life and &s;aluation made in him, are particularly applied to the partie baptized; and therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that all that are baptized into Chri&s;t haue put on Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.27.</NOTE> Gal. 3.27. where the Apo&s;tle compareth Chri&s;t to a garment, which by the hand of faith is put on by euery particular beleeuer. So in the admini&s;tration of the Lords Supper, the bread and wine is particularly deliuered vnto all the communicants, to &s;ignifie vnto them, that euery one who &s;tretcheth foorth the hand of faith doth receiue Chri&s;t and all his benefits, whereby his &s;oule is nouri&s;hed vnto euerla|&s;ting life. Who&s;oeuer therefore hath faith, he may be a&s;&s;ured that he receiueth Chri&s;t; and who&s;oeuer receiueth Chri&s;t, he may be a&s;&s;ured of his election and &s;aluation; for <HI>to as many as receiue him, to them he giueth power to be the &s;onnes of God:</HI> and who are tho&s;e?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1.12.</NOTE> <HI>euen tho&s;e that beleeue in his name,</HI> as it is Ioh. 1.12. <HI>And who&s;oeuer eates his fle&s;h and drinkes his bloud hath eternall life,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.54.47.</NOTE> as our Sauiour &s;aith Ioh. 6.54. Now if wee would know how we feede vpon him, it is by the mouth of faith, as he expoundeth him&s;elfe ver&s;. 47.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Fiftly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fift argu|ment taken from prayer. <HI>1. Ioh. 5.14.15.</HI></NOTE> what&s;oeuer we are bound to pray for; that wee may be a&s;&s;ured of, 0198 0153 nay we ought &s;tedfa&s;tly to beleeue that we &s;hall receiue it: and this is euident 1. Ioh. 5.14. <HI>This is the a&s;&s;urance that wee haue in him, that if wee aske any thing according to his will he heareth vs.</HI> 15. <HI>And if we know that he heareth vs what|&s;oeuer we aske, we know that wee haue the petitions that wee haue de&s;ired of him.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> would haue vs to <HI>aske in faith without wauering,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.5. Mat. 6.12.</NOTE> that is, not doubting <HI>to receiue that we aske.</HI> But we are taught to pray for the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins: and therefore we are certainly to beleeue that our &s;innes are remitted, and con&s;equently that we are iu&s;tified, called, elec|ted, and &s;hall be &s;aued; for <HI>whom he did prede&s;tinate, them al&s;o he called,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.30.</NOTE> <HI>and whom he called, them al&s;o he iu&s;tified, and whom he iu&s;tified, them al&s;o he glorified,</HI> as it is Rom. 8.30.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Sixtly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ixt argu|ment taken from the con|fe&s;&s;ion of our &s;aith.</NOTE> what&s;oeuer we profe&s;&s;e in the Articles of our faith, that we &s;hould beleeue, and of that we may and ought parti|cularly to be a&s;&s;ured: but euery man profe&s;&s;eth that he belee|ueth the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes and life euerla&s;ting, that is, that the Lord doth not onely forgiue &s;inne, and granteth vnto
<PB N="209" REF="115">&s;ome the fruition of euerla&s;ting life, for this the diuels be|leeue as well as we, but al&s;o that he doth particularly forgiue me my &s;innes, and that he will make me an heire of eternall happine&s;&s;e: for this is the nature of faith, to a&s;&s;ure vs certain|lie and particularlie of that which wee beleeue, as wee haue &s;hewed; and therefore we ought particularly to be a&s;&s;ured of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and that wee &s;hall attaine vnto e|uerla&s;ting life, and con&s;equently that wee are elected, &s;eeing none enioy it but Gods cho&s;en. But it may be obiected, that if euery one be bound to beleeue as an article of his faith that his &s;innes are forgiuen, and that hee is an heire of euerla|&s;ting life, then &s;ome are bound to beleeue that which is fal&s;e, for tho&s;e who liue and die in their &s;innes without repentance, &s;hall neuer obtaine either the one or the other. I an&s;were, that wee are not bound to beleeue, being de&s;titute of a true and a liuely faith, for this were rather fondly to pre&s;ume, than &s;urely to bee per&s;waded of the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, but wee are fir&s;t bound to haue a true liuely and iu&s;tifying faith, and &s;o to beleeue and applie vnto our &s;elues the promi|&s;es of the Go&s;pell; but tho&s;e that liue in their &s;innes without repentance, they are altogether de&s;titute of true faith, which where&s;oeuer it is purifieth the heart, and worketh by loue, moouing the beleeuer to endeuour and &s;triue to mortifie his corruptions, and to ri&s;e from the death of &s;inne to newne&s;&s;e of life: and therefore well may they &s;ecurely pre&s;ume, but it is impo&s;&s;ible that they &s;hould truly beleeue, becau&s;e they are vtterly de&s;titute of a liuely faith, and where the cau&s;e is not the effect cannot follow: and con&s;equently for their infideli|tie they are &s;ubiect to eternall plagues and puni&s;hments, be|cau&s;e they doe not that which they are bound to perfourme. Neither mu&s;t we thinke that euery kind of faith, or rather eue|ry fond per&s;wa&s;ion of faith is enioyned vs, but &s;uch a faith as is grounded vpon Gods word; but the word of God doth teach vs, that <HI>who&s;oeuer liue in the fle&s;h cannot plea&s;e God, and if we liue after the fle&s;h we &s;hall dye,</HI> Rom. 8.8.13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.8.13. 1. Cor. 6.9.</NOTE> <HI>That the vnrigh|teous &s;hall not inherit the kingdome of God,</HI> 1. Cor. 6.9. That the <HI>workers of iniquitie &s;hall be reiected of Chri&s;t,</HI> Matth. 7.23. And that <HI>no vncleane thing,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7.23. Reuel. 21.27.</NOTE> <HI>nor what&s;oeuer worketh abomination and
<PB N="210" REF="116">lies &s;hall enter into the kingdome of heauen,</HI> Reuel. 21.27. And therefore tho&s;e who liue in the fle&s;h, tho&s;e who are workers of iniquitie, vnrighteous and vncleane, in which ranke are all tho&s;e who liue in their &s;ins without repentance, fulfilling the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, and falling continually into &s;inne with plea|&s;ure and delight, are not bound &s;imply and ab&s;olutely to be|leeue, &s;o long as they re&s;olue to continue in this &s;tate, for &s;o &s;hould they be bound to beleeue that which is fal&s;e and re|pugnant to Gods word; but they are bound to haue a true faith, which being wrought in their hearts will moue them to for&s;ake their &s;innes by vnfained repentance, to hunger after righteou&s;nes, to endeuour to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life, and &s;o to beleeue in Chri&s;t as their Sauiour and Redeemer, which fruites if our faith bring not foorth, we cannot be a&s;&s;ured that we haue true faith, or do truly beleeue. For though in nature faith be before repentance, yet in our &s;en&s;e and feeling it alwaies followeth it: neither doth faith euer &s;oundly and truly per&s;wade vs of Gods loue, till we haue &s;orrowed for our &s;innes, and at lea&s;t in purpo&s;e of heart haue for&s;aken them. So that who&s;oeuer liueth &s;till in his &s;ins with plea&s;ure and delight, and yet beleeueth that he is elected to &s;aluation, and that he is in Gods fauour, and &s;hall continuing in this &s;tate be made an heire of eternall life, he is not indued with true faith, but with fond pre&s;umption and carnall &s;ecu|ritie, which maketh him to beleeue that which is fal&s;e and re|pugnant to Gods word. Though then all men, euen carnall worldlings and reprobates are bound to beleeue, and becau&s;e they doe not, are &s;ubiect to condemnation, as committing a great and fearefull &s;inne; as appeareth Ioh. 3.18. and 16.8.9. where our Sauiour &s;aith, that the holy Gho&s;t <HI>&s;hould reproue the world of &s;inne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.18. and 16.8.9.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e they beleeue not in him:</HI> yet they are not bound to beleeue continuing in their worldline&s;&s;e, and re&s;ol|uing to goe on in their &s;innes, for &s;uch a faith were but fond pre&s;umption; but they are bound &s;o to beleeue as that their faith may be grounded vpon Gods word, which it can neuer po&s;&s;ibly be if it be &s;euered from true repentance, and for want of this faith they are condemned.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="211" REF="116">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VIII.</HI> The la&s;t argument grounded vpon the te&s;timo|nie of Gods &s;pirit.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _LA&s;tly,what&s;oeuer the &s;pirit of God doth te&s;tifie in the heart and con&s;cience of a man, and doth fully a&s;&s;ure him thereof, that he is to beleeue, and of that he ought vndoubtedly to be a&s;&s;ured: but the &s;pirit of God doth te&s;tifie to the faithfull, and doth fully a&s;&s;ure them that they are the &s;onnes of God by adoption and grace, and con|&s;equently that they are elected; for none are the &s;onnes of God but tho&s;e who are prede&s;tinate to be adopted through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, as it is Ephe&s;. 1.5:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.5.</NOTE> and therefore the faithfull are to beleeue, and ought vndoubtedly to be a&s;&s;ured that they are the &s;onnes of God elected to euerla&s;ting life. The pro|&s;ition is manife&s;t; for, what more certaine truth can be ima|gined, than that which the &s;pirit of God witne&s;&s;eth vnto our &s;pirits, and confirmeth vnto vs, &s;eeing all the properties re|quired in a true witne&s;&s;e, doe concurre in him in the highe&s;t degree, namely knowledge, truth, and faithfulne&s;&s;e? for knowledge, he is infinit and knoweth all things, euen the e|ternall councell, and decree of God concerning our election, as appeareth 1. Cor. 2.10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.10.12.</NOTE> <HI>The &s;pirit &s;earcheth all things euen the deepe things of God; and this &s;pirit doe we receiue that we may know the things that are giuen to vs of God.</HI> As it is ver&s;. 12. What fitter witne&s;&s;e therefore can be imagined in this re|&s;pect than Gods &s;pirit, who wholy and onely knoweth all his &s;ecret coun&s;ailes? In re&s;pect of truth hee is mo&s;t true, yea truth it &s;elfe, and in regarde hereof hee is called <HI>the &s;pirit of truth which leadeth vs into all truth.</HI> Ioh. 16.13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16.13.</NOTE> And there|fore as in re&s;pect of his knowledge he cannot bee decei|ued, &s;o in re&s;pect of his truth he cannot deceiue. In re&s;pect of faithfulne&s;&s;e he is mo&s;t <HI>faithfull and iu&s;t in all his waies</HI> P&s;al. 145.17. 1. Cor. 1.9. e&s;pecially in his word;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.17.</NOTE> for <HI>his te&s;timonie is &s;ure</HI> as it is, P&s;al. 19.7. and therefore he cannot lie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.9. P&s;al. 19.7.</NOTE> neither will he conceale the truth for any re&s;pect of per&s;ons; and
<PB N="212" REF="117">con&s;equently what&s;oeuer this al-knowing true and faithfull witne&s;&s;e te&s;tifieth, we are vndoubtedly to beleeue as being mo&s;t &s;ure and certaine. If an Angell &s;ent from heauen &s;hould a&s;&s;ure vs from God that wee are elected, euen the Papi&s;ts them&s;elues could not deny, but that we might be a&s;&s;ured thereof by &s;uch a reuelation without any manner of doubt|ing: but the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit witne&s;&s;ing to our &s;pi|rits that we are the &s;onnes of God, is &s;o much more certaine and without exception than the te&s;timonie of Angels, as the &s;pirit of God better knoweth the coun&s;els of God than An|gels, as it excelleth them in truth and faith, as the te&s;timo|nie which is imprinted in the heart is more firme then that which is &s;poken in the eare, which may ea&s;ily be forgotten. And therefore if by their doctrine we might be a&s;&s;ured of our election by the extraordinarie reuelation of an Angell; then much more certainely may wee be a&s;&s;ured hereof by the or|dinarie te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit which he witne&s;&s;eth in the hearts and con&s;ciences of the faithfull.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The propo&s;ition being manife&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods &s;pi|rit te&s;tifieth that we are the &s;onnes of God.</NOTE> let vs proue the a&s;&s;ump|tion; which containeth two branches, fir&s;t that the &s;pirit of God te&s;tifieth to our &s;pirits, that we are the &s;onnes of God; and &s;econdly doth fully a&s;&s;ure vs of this te&s;timonie that it is mo&s;t vndoubted true; both which are manife&s;t by Gods word. Fir&s;t that Gods &s;pirit giueth this te&s;timonie in the hearts of the faithfull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.15.16.</NOTE> it is euident Rom. 8.15.16. <HI>For ye haue not receiued the &s;pirit of bondage to feare againe; but ye haue re|ceiued the &s;pirit of adoption whereby we crie abba father: the &s;ame &s;pirit beareth witne&s;&s;e with our &s;pirit, that we are the children of God.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 4.6.</NOTE> So Gal. 4.6. <HI>Becau&s;e ye are &s;onnes, God hath &s;ent forth the &s;pirit of his &s;on into your hearts which crieth abba father.</HI> Which places doe &s;o euidently proue this point, that there needes no more rea&s;ons or allegations; for fir&s;t he excludeth the &s;pirit of bondage, which like the Papi&s;ts faith cau&s;eth vs to feare and doubte of our election and &s;aluation; and then hee tel|leth vs that wee haue receiued the &s;pirit of adoption which beareth witne&s;&s;e vnto our &s;pirit that wee are the children of God.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,becau&s;e we are exceeding weake and the graces
<PB N="213" REF="117">in vs &s;hadowed with imperfections and our faith mixt with doubting, becau&s;e <HI>we are &s;aued as yet but by hope,</HI> as it is Rom. 8.24. And <HI>we walke by faith and not by &s;ight,</HI> as it is 2. Cor. 5.7. and this our faith is continually &s;haken with manifold temptations, therefore lea&s;t we &s;hould doubt of Gods loue and our election adoption and &s;aluation, the Lord hath giuen vs his &s;pirit to &s;eale, and further to confirme this a&s;&s;u|rance in our hearts; and that it might be an earne&s;t and a &s;ure pledge vnto vs, whereby he might &s;ecure vs concerning the couenant which he hath made with vs. The truth hereof ap|peareth in many places of the Scripture. 2. Cor. 1.22.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 1.22.</NOTE> <HI>Who hath &s;ealed vs and hath giuen the earne&s;t of the &s;pirit in our hearts.</HI> So Ephe&s;. 1.13. <HI>In whom al&s;o ye haue tru&s;ted,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.13.</NOTE> <HI>after that ye heard the word of truth, euen the Go&s;pel of our &s;aluation, where|in al&s;o after that ye beleeued, ye were &s;ealed with the holy &s;pirit of promi&s;e.</HI> 14. <HI>Which is the earne&s;t of our inheritance, vntill the re|demption of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion purcha&s;ed vnto the prai&s;e of his glorie.</HI> And Ephe&s;. 4.30.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.30.</NOTE> The Apo&s;tle exhorteth vs not to <HI>grieue the holy &s;pirit of God, by whom we are &s;ealed vnto the day of our re|demption.</HI> And 2. Cor. 5.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.5.</NOTE> he &s;aith that <HI>God hath giuen vnto vs the earne&s;t of his &s;pirit.</HI></P>
<P>Which wordes doe mini&s;ter vnto euery faithfull man no &s;mall con&s;olation, if they bee rightly waied; for fir&s;t wee v&s;e to &s;eale tho&s;e things which we would haue mo&s;t certaine and out of all controuer&s;ie; as when a man hath made a pro|mi&s;e or couenant with another, for his better &s;ecuritie he doth commit it to writing, and lea&s;t yet there &s;hould any &s;cruple or doubt re&s;t in his minde, he doth confirme it by adding his &s;eale, to put the matter out of all que&s;tion; &s;o the Lord hath added to the written couenant of his word, where|by he hath a&s;&s;ured vs of our election adoption and &s;alua|tion, the outward &s;eale of the &s;acraments, and the inward &s;eale of his &s;pirit, whereby he hath ratified it, not in it &s;elfe, but in our hearts, that &s;o all cau&s;e of doubting being taken away, we might certainely be a&s;&s;ured of his promi&s;es, that they belong vnto vs not after a generall manner as the Pa|pi&s;ts teach, but particularly euen as this a&s;&s;urance is par|ticularly &s;ealed by Gods &s;pirit in the heart of euery true be|leeuer,
<PB N="214" REF="118">Rom. 4.11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.11.</NOTE> The end therefore why we are &s;ealed to &s;aluation by Gods &s;pirit, is not that we &s;hould doubt there|of, but that it might be out of all que&s;tion fully ratified and confirmed vnto vs: for this is &s;ignified by this metaphor here v&s;ed of &s;ealing, as may appeare not onely by the ordinarie cu&s;tome among&s;t vs, but al&s;o by the v&s;e thereof in former times. So when <HI>Aha&s;huero&s;h</HI> would haue letters written in the Kings name, which no man might reuoke, he commaundeth that they &s;hould be &s;ealed with the Kings ring.<NOTE PLACE="marg">He&s;t. 8.8. Ioh. 6.27.</NOTE> He&s;t. 8.8. And Ioh. 6.27. it is &s;aid that God the <HI>father had &s;ealed our Sauiour Chri&s;t,</HI> that is, confirmed him in his office of mediation, by giuing euident te&s;timonies and manife&s;t &s;ignes that the peo|ple might not doubt of his calling and anoynting. Matth. 3. 17. and 17.5. and Ioh. 1.32.</P>
<P>So, whereas the holy Gho&s;t in the faithfull is called the earne&s;t of our inheritance, this mini&s;treth vnto euery true beleeuer no &s;mall con&s;olation, nor doubtfull a&s;&s;urance of their &s;aluation; for we know that an earne&s;t is giuen among&s;t men to ratifie and binde a bargaine, &s;o as they cannot goe from their agreement after earne&s;t is giuen and receiued. The word <HI>arrhabo</HI> which is here tran&s;lated earne&s;t, hath al&s;o other &s;ignifications which mini&s;ter vnto. Gods faithfull, the &s;ame a&s;&s;urance and the like true comfort.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 38.17.18</NOTE> Gene&s;. 38.17.18. this word is v&s;ed to &s;ignifie a pledge or pawne, than the which there can bee no better a&s;&s;urance of performing promi&s;e: and 2. King. 14.14.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. King. 14.14.</NOTE> it &s;ignifieth a ho&s;tage giuen in warres which is giuen for a&s;&s;urance to confirme couenants agreed vpon. Whereas therefore Gods &s;pirit in the faithfull is called <HI>arrhabo,</HI> which &s;ignifieth an earne&s;t pawne and ho&s;tage: we are hereby a&s;&s;ured that the Lord will performe his couenant betweene vs and him; that he will not mi&s;&s;e a day in the per|forming of his promi&s;e; that how&s;oeuer we were enemies, yet now being reconciled by the death of his &s;onne, he hath giuen vs an ho&s;tage to a&s;&s;ure vs of eternall peace, euen his holy &s;pirit. And therefore let not Sathan nor all his a&s;&s;i&s;tants cau&s;e vs to doubt of Gods couenant, wherein he hath a&s;&s;ured vs of our election, adoption, and &s;aluation; &s;eeing he hath &s;ealed this couenant with his &s;pirit, and hath giuen vnto vs
<PB N="215" REF="118">this earne&s;t and pawne, to a&s;&s;ure vs that he will performe his promi&s;e and bargaine.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the tempter obiecteth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may di&s;cerne Gods &s;pirit by the ef|fects thereof.</NOTE> that we cannot know and di&s;cerne whether we haue the &s;pirit of God, vnle&s;&s;e it &s;hould bring forth in vs &s;ome extraordinarie effects: and though it &s;hould be granted that we were indued therewith, yet we cannot di&s;cerne the te&s;timonie thereof from our owne thoughts, vnle&s;&s;e it be by &s;ome &s;peciall reuelation. To the fir&s;t I an&s;were, that though many lulled a&s;leepe with carnall &s;ecu|ritie, doe vainely dreame that they haue Gods &s;pirit, and &s;o are deluded with their owne phanta&s;ies; yet this hindereth not, but that he who hath the &s;pirit of God indeede, may certainely be a&s;&s;ured that it dwelleth in him; for it &s;ealeth in vs the a&s;&s;urance of Gods couenant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 1.22.</NOTE> and who can receiue this &s;eale and not feele the impre&s;&s;ion? it is an earne&s;t, and who receiuing an earne&s;t cannot know whether he hath re|ceiued it? for otherwi&s;e how can it a&s;&s;ure vs of our bargaine, if of it &s;elfe we haue no a&s;&s;urance? it is a pawne of Gods loue and our &s;aluation, and who hauing a pawne in his cu&s;todie cannot know that he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth it? it is a heauenly light which doth illuminate our vnder&s;tandings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.17.18.</NOTE> which were blinde and ignorant in the knowledge of Gods truth, and who cannot di&s;cerne betweene blindne&s;&s;e and &s;ight, light and darkne&s;&s;e? it is a water which purgeth vs from our corruption,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 44.3. Ezech. 16.9.</NOTE> and who that is thus wa&s;hed and clen&s;ed, can doubt that this water hath touched him?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 3.11. Act. 2.3.</NOTE> it is a &s;ire which inflameth our cold fro|&s;en hearts with a zeale of Gods glorie, and loue of our bre|thren, and how can fire which is caried in our bre&s;ts be hid|den from vs?<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.20.27</NOTE> it is a precious oyle which mollifieth our hard &s;tonie hearts, and maketh them flexible and pliable able to Gods will, which before were &s;o &s;tiffe and obdurate that they would rather haue broken then bowed to obedi|ence; it &s;uppleth al&s;o our &s;tiffe ioynts and maketh them actiue and nimble in the workes of holine&s;&s;e, and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and who finding tho&s;e &s;trange alterations in him&s;elfe, may not be a&s;&s;ured that he is annoynted with this oyle? it is the Lords champion fighting in vs again&s;t the fle&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.17.</NOTE> and &s;ub|duing the lu&s;ts thereof, and who feeling this inte&s;tine warre
<PB N="216" REF="119">in his owne bowels can doubt that the combatants haue their re&s;idence in him? in a word it is onely this &s;pirit which re&s;trained vs from the euill, which naturally we loue, and prouoketh vs to imbrace that good, which through naturall corruption we loth and abhorre: if therefore &s;inne growe vn|plea&s;ant vnto vs, and vertue and true godline&s;&s;e delightfull, we may be a&s;&s;ured that this is the worke of Gods &s;pirit dwel|ling in vs. Would we then be a&s;&s;ured that we are indued with the &s;pirit of God? why then let vs con&s;ider if our eyes blin|ded with ignorance are inlightned in any good mea&s;ure, with the knowledge of Gods truth; if our &s;oules polluted with the filth of &s;inne, are purged in &s;ome &s;ort from our cor|ruptions; if our cold hearts are inflamed with the zeale of Gods glorie and the loue of our brethren; if our hearts more hard than adamant, and more inflexible than &s;teele, are &s;of|tened and made ob&s;equious to Gods will; and if the other members of our body, which were benummed and as it were taken with a dead paul&s;ie, be made nimble and actiue in the workes of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; if we feele a fight and combate betweene the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit, the one &s;triuing to leade vs captiue vnto &s;inne, the other re&s;i&s;ting and drawing vs out of this captiuitie; if the &s;ins which heretofore we haue loued, be now loth&s;ome vnto vs, and the vertues&punc; which we haue abhorred be delightfull and plea&s;ant; and then we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that it is the light of Gods &s;pirit which hath &s;hined vpon vs, it is this heauenly water which hath wa&s;hed vs, it is this diuine fire which hath inflamed vs, it is this pre|cious oyle that hath mollified and foftned vs, it is this cham|pion of the Lord of ho&s;ts which maketh warre again&s;t our trayterous fle&s;h, and &s;ubdueth the lu&s;ts thereof; in a word it can be nothing but Gods &s;pirit, which makes vs hate that &s;inne which naturally we &s;o dearely loue, and to loue vertue and godline&s;&s;e which by nature is loth&s;ome and bitter vn|to vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus it is manife&s;t that wee may be a&s;&s;ured that we haue Gods &s;pirit, by the ordinarie fruites thereof in euery faithfull man. Now let vs con&s;ider how we may know the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit, witne&s;&s;ing in our hearts that we are
<PB N="217" REF="119">elected adopted and &s;hall be &s;aued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How we may di&s;cerne the te|&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit from our owne pre&s;umption. <HI>2. Cor. 3.6. 1. Cor. 3.5.</HI></NOTE> from our owne phanta|&s;ies cau&s;ed through carnall &s;ecuritie and vaine pre&s;umption. And to this end we are to know, that the preaching of the Go&s;pell is <HI>the mini&s;terie of the &s;pirit,</HI> whereby wee are &s;ealed and confirmed in the a&s;&s;urance of our &s;aluation, as appeareth 2. Cor. 3.6. And hence it is that the preachers of the Go&s;pell are called <HI>the mini&s;ters by whom the people beleeue,</HI> 1. Cor. 3.5. And the words of the Go&s;pell are called by our Sauiour Chri&s;t <HI>&s;pirit and life,</HI> becau&s;e it is the mini&s;tery of the &s;pirit which quickneth vs, as it is Ioh. 6.63. And Gal. 3.2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.63. Gal. 3.2.</NOTE> the Apo|&s;tle &s;aith that we haue receiued the &s;pirit by the hearing of faith, that is, the doctrine of faith preached in the mini&s;tery of the Go&s;pell. If therefore the te&s;timonie of &s;aluation in the mindes of the faithfull, be conceiued by the preaching of the Go&s;pell applied vnto them by faith, then is it mo&s;t certainly the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit; for the inward te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit is not different from the outward te&s;timonie of the word: but if this per&s;wa&s;ion be not grounded vpon Gods word, as theirs is not who per&s;wade them&s;elues that they are elected, adopted, and &s;hall be &s;aued, notwith&s;tanding that they liue in their &s;innes without repentance, making no con|&s;cience of their waies, nor indeauoring to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of life; then is it not the te&s;ti|monie of Gods &s;pirit, but a pre&s;umptuous phanta&s;ie, and a &s;ecure and carnall imagination: for the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit in the con&s;cience, is the &s;ame with the te&s;timonie of the word, and therefore it doth not beare witne&s;&s;e nor giue any a&s;&s;urance that they are &s;aued, which Gods word pronounceth to bee in the &s;tate of damnation. When therefore this te&s;timonie is giuen in a faithfull man and, agreeable to Gods word; it is the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit which &s;ealeth vs in the full a&s;&s;urance of that wee beleeue: according to that Ephe&s;ians. 1.13. where the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.13.</NOTE> that after the faithfull <HI>had receiued the word of truth, euen the Go&s;pell of their &s;aluation, and beleeued therein, they were &s;ea|led with the holy &s;pirit of promi&s;e.</HI> But tho&s;e who make no con|&s;cience of hearing the Go&s;pell preached, and when they heare it, doe not beleeue it, nor apply it to them&s;elues by a
<PB N="218" REF="120">true and liuely faith, nor bring foorth any fruites thereof in a holie and Chri&s;tian life, they haue neither faith nor Gods &s;pi|rit: and therefore if they haue any per&s;wa&s;ion of their elec|tion and &s;aluation, it is not the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit, but their owne phanta&s;ie, and a vaine opinion ari&s;ing from car|nall &s;ecuritie and pre&s;umption.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Another means to di&s;cerne the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit.</NOTE> the te&s;timony of Gods &s;pirit may hereby bee knowne: fir&s;t, in that it throughly per&s;wadeth the faithfull of their election and &s;aluation; &s;econdly, by the manner of per|&s;wading them; thirdly, by the effects of this te&s;timonie and per&s;wa&s;ion. For the fir&s;t, the &s;pirit of God doth not only giue this bare te&s;timonie that wee are elected, adopted, and &s;hall be &s;aued: but al&s;o doth fully per&s;wade vs hereof, as being a thing mo&s;t certaine and without que&s;tion. So 1. Cor. 2.12. the Apo&s;tle &s;aith that <HI>wee haue receiued the &s;pirit of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.12.</NOTE> <HI>that wee might know the things that are giuen to vs of God.</HI> And Eph. 1. 17, 18. Gods &s;pirit is called <HI>the &s;pirit of wi&s;edom and reuelation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.17.18.</NOTE> <HI>which doth inlighten the eyes of our vnder&s;tanding, that we might know what the hope is of his calling, and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is in the Saints; and what is the exceeding greatne&s;&s;e of his power,</HI> particularly <HI>towards vs that beleeue, ac|cording to the working of his mightie power.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.24.</NOTE> <HI>hereby we know that Christ abideth in vs, euen by the &s;pirit which he hath giuen vs,</HI> 1. Ioh. 3.24. So that wee may be a&s;&s;ured that we haue Gods &s;pirit, &amp; therby be throughly per&s;waded that Chri&s;t dwelleth in vs, and con&s;equently that wee are ele|cted and &s;hall be &s;aued. And chap. 4.13. <HI>Hereby know wee that we dwell in him and he in vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">and 4.13.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e he hath giuen vs of his &s;pirit.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> by the &s;pirit of God was &s;o &s;tedfa&s;tly a&s;|&s;ured of Gods loue, that he profe&s;&s;eth that he was firmely per|&s;waded that nothing could &s;eparate him from it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.38, 39.</NOTE> Rom. 8.38, 39. So that the &s;pirit of God throughly per&s;wadeth the faith|full that they are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued; whereas the wicked who are de&s;titute of Gods &s;pirit, may wel haue a fond opinion and a fooli&s;h conceit, that they are highly in Gods loue and elected to &s;aluation, through carnall &s;ecuritie and vaine pre&s;umption; but they are neuer throughly per&s;waded hereof: for when any affliction of bodie or minde is inflicted
<PB N="219" REF="120">on them, their vaine per&s;wa&s;ion vani&s;heth away, and nothing remaineth but doubting, which in the end bringeth them to vtter de&s;peration.</P>
<P>But here the tempter will take occa&s;ion to di&s;courage the weake Chri&s;tian, and to per&s;wade him that he hath not Gods &s;pirit, &s;eeing he doth not feele in him&s;elfe this firme per&s;wa|&s;ion of Gods loue and his election and &s;aluation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The per&s;wa&s;ion of the &s;pirit not alwaies di&s;cer|ned in our &s;en&s;e and feeling.</NOTE> To which we are to an&s;were, that Gods &s;pirit doth throughly per&s;wade, although not at all times, neither in our pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e and feeling; for immediatly after our conuer&s;ion when wee are newly regenerate, and like new borne babes in Chri&s;t, the motions of the &s;pirit are but weake in vs, and we are not skil|full in vnder&s;tanding this heauenly language of the &s;pirit, wherewith we haue been altogether vnacquainted; but the &s;pirit waxing &s;tronger in vs, and we growing to a ripe age in Chri&s;t, doth crie in our hearts, Abba father, and te&s;tifieth to our &s;pirits that we are the &s;onnes of God; which we then be|ing better acquainted with this heauenly &s;peech, do well vn|der&s;tand, and are throughly per&s;waded thereby. And &s;econd|ly, when the poore Chri&s;tian who hath receiued a great mea|&s;ure of the &s;pirit is exerci&s;ed in the &s;pirituall conflict, the hi|deous noi&s;e of Sathans temptations which like Cannon-&s;hot &s;ound in his eares, and the tumultuous outcries of his owne pa&s;&s;ions doe &s;o di&s;turbe and wholie po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e him, that he can not heare the voyce of the &s;pirit per&s;wading him that hee is the child of God; till the skirmi&s;h bee pa&s;t and the noi&s;e of temptations cea&s;ed, and then againe as in former times hee heareth to his comfort the &s;pirit of God per&s;wading him of Gods loue, and hereby hee is againe a&s;&s;ured thereof. So that wee are not to iudge of the hauing of Gods &s;pirit in the time of our Chri&s;tian infancie and &s;pirituall nonage, nor yet ac|cording to our pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e in the time of temptation, but when wee are come to perfect age, and when the conflict of temptations is cea&s;ed.</P>
<P>Secondly, the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit per&s;wading vs of his loue and our election, is knowne by the manner whereby it per&s;wadeth vs: namely, it per&s;wadeth vs hereof with argu|ments grounded vpon Gods word, and drawne not from
<PB N="220" REF="121">any worthine&s;&s;e in our &s;elues, but from Gods free grace and vnder&s;erued mercie, and from the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and merits of Chri&s;t; whereas Sathan and our owne fle&s;h neuer v&s;e &s;uch rea&s;ons, but either mooue vs to a bare and vaine opinion which hath no ground at all but &s;elfe-loue, which maketh men ea&s;ily beleeue that which they de&s;ire; or els with &s;ome arguments drawne from &s;ome outward common benefits, be&s;towed indifferently vpon the good and bad; or la&s;tly from a phari&s;aicall conceit and fal&s;e opinion of our owne worthi|ne&s;&s;e and de&s;erts.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> meanes to di&s;cerne the &s;pirit, namely by the fruites thereof.</NOTE> the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit is knowne and di&s;|cerned by the effects thereof; for after that it hath effectual|ly per&s;waded vs, that we are elected and the deare children of God, we are mooued thereby to tru&s;t wholie in God, and to loue him as our gratious father: from which loue proceedeth a zeale of his glorie, and a true hatred of &s;inne, becau&s;e there|by our heauenlie father is di&s;honored &amp; di&s;plea&s;ed with vs; and a true loue and heartie endeuour of imbracing holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, becau&s;e thereby our gratious father is glorified and well plea&s;ed with vs. If therefore the&s;e effects and fruites follow this per&s;wa&s;ion of Gods loue and our ele|ction, wee may bee a&s;&s;ured that it is the &s;pirit of God which doth per&s;wade vs; but if wee haue no &s;uch tru&s;t and affiance, no &s;uch loue of God, no zeale of his glorie, no hatred of &s;inne, no loue nor de&s;ire of embracing righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but remaine as carnall, worldly, and prophane as euer we were, then let vs bragge as much as wee will of our per&s;wa&s;ion of Gods loue and our election, yet it is mo&s;t certaine that this per&s;wa&s;ion is not wrought in vs by Gods &s;pirit, but that it is a vaine conceit and fond opinion which proceedeth from &s;elfe-loue, carnall &s;ecuritie, and fond pre&s;umption, which in the end vani&s;hing away will leaue vs in de&s;paire.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="221" REF="121">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IX.</HI> Of the meanes whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I proued that tho&s;e who are conuer|ted vnto God, iu&s;tified,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t means the te&s;timonie of the holie Gho&s;t.</NOTE> and in &s;ome mea&s;ure &s;an|ctified, may ordinarily attaine vnto the a&s;&s;urance of their election: Now I will &s;hew the meanes and &s;ignes whereby wee may bee thus a&s;&s;ured. The fir&s;t and principall meanes which a&s;&s;ureth vs of our election, is the in|ward te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit which <HI>crieth in our hearts Ab|ba father,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.15, 16.</NOTE> <HI>and witne&s;&s;eth vnto our &s;pirits that we are the children of God,</HI> as it is Rom. 8.15, 16. Which te&s;timonie it doth not giue by extraordinarie reuelation, but by a &s;ecret application of the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell vnto vs, and by an inward co|operation whereby it maketh the outward mini&s;terie of the word effectuall for the begetting of faith in vs, whereby as with an hand wee doe appropriate the generall promi&s;es of the word vnto our owne &s;elues. And when the Mini&s;ters v&s;e rea&s;ons to per&s;wade vs of Gods loue in Chri&s;t, the holy gho&s;t openeth our deafe cares, and inlighteneth our blinde vnder|&s;tandings, and powerfully inclineth our wils, &s;o that we may attentiuely heare, truly vnder&s;tand, and bee fully a&s;&s;ured of that truth which is deliuered, not only in re&s;pect of the whole Church, but al&s;o in re&s;pect of our &s;elues particularly, &s;o as we can &s;ay, I beleeue that the&s;e promi&s;es of God are true, and that they belong to all the faithfull, and con&s;equently vnto me who doe beleeue and am a&s;&s;ured of them, &s;eeing they are promi&s;ed on no other condition.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Diuers diffe|rences between the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit and pre&s;ump|tuous &s;ecuritie.</NOTE>But the tempter will obiect, that many through carnall pre&s;umption doe per&s;wade them&s;elues, that al the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell doe belong vnto them, and therefore we may ea&s;ily be deceiued, not being able to di&s;cerne betweene the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit and pre&s;umptuous &s;ecuritie. I an&s;wer, that tho&s;e who are indued with Gods &s;pirit, may ea&s;ily di&s;|cerne the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit from the carnall language
<PB N="222" REF="122">of pre&s;umption, as is euident by that which before I haue deliuered, and al&s;o may more plainly appeare by manife&s;t differences, if the one bee compared with the other. For pre|&s;umption is a fruite of originall corruption which accompa|nieth vs from our mothers wombe, till it bee beaten downe with Gods &s;anctifying &s;pirit; but the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit is a thing &s;upernaturall, which no man euer feeleth before his conuer&s;ion vnto God, when as by the preaching of the word he is humbled vnder the burthen of &s;inne, &s;orrowing and grieuing for his &s;innes pa&s;t, and dete&s;ting them from his hart, and purpo&s;ing to leaue and for&s;ake them in the time to come. If therefore wee haue had alwaies this te&s;timonie in our mindes that wee are in Gods fauour and elected, and ne|uer felt our conuer&s;ion, nor di&s;cerned any fruites thereof; then doth this te&s;timonie proceede from carnall pre&s;ump|tion and not from Gods &s;pirit. Secondly, tho&s;e who haue the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit, make con&s;cience of the diligent and carefull v&s;e of the outward meanes of &s;aluation, as the hea|ring and reading of the word, the receiuing of the Sacra|ments, and other holie duties of Gods &s;eruice, becau&s;e they know that the inward te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit is not ordina|rily &s;euered from the outward te&s;timonie of the word; and the a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and our election is not wrought immediatly in vs by reuelation of the &s;pirit, but by the prea|ing of the word and v&s;e of the Sacraments, made effectuall by the inward cooperation of the holy Gho&s;t. But pre&s;umption as it ari&s;eth not from the v&s;e of the&s;e meanes made thus effe|ctuall, but from carnall &s;ecuritie, &s;o is it not confirmed there|by: for the le&s;&s;e that the pre&s;umptuous man heareth the word and perfourmeth the duties of pietie and Gods &s;eruice, the more confidently doth he boa&s;t of his faith and full a&s;&s;u|rance, and therefore hee maketh no con&s;cience of v&s;ing the&s;e meanes ordained of God; nay contrariwi&s;e he will not &s;ticke to affirme, that the hearing of the word too often is the cau&s;e that troubleth mens mindes and afflicteth their con&s;ciences, moouing them to doubt of Gods mercie, which before they neuer called into que&s;tion: and why is this, but becau&s;e here|by men are rouzed out of their &s;leepe of &s;ecuritie, and haue
<PB N="223" REF="122">their confident pre&s;umption beaten downe. If then wee are carefull to v&s;e all holie meanes ordained of God to a&s;&s;ure vs of our &s;aluation; that a&s;&s;urance and te&s;timonie which follow|eth is the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit: otherwi&s;e it is nothing els but fond pre&s;umption. Thirdly, pre&s;umption is mo&s;t con|fident, and neuer doubteth nor maketh any que&s;tion of his election &amp; &s;aluation who thus pre&s;umeth; but this te&s;timony of the &s;pirit is much a&s;&s;aulted with doubting, and oftentimes thereby &s;o exceedingly weakened that wee cannot heare the voyce thereof: as wee may &s;ee in the example of <HI>Iob, Dauid,</HI> the father of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed child, the two Di&s;ciples who iour|neyed to Emaus, and in all Gods children who haue not yet attained vnto fulne&s;&s;e of per&s;wa&s;ion, vnto which none can come but by degrees. And therefore if wee can bragge with &s;ecure worldlings, and &s;ay with the proud Phari&s;ie, I neuer was troubled I thanke God with any doubting of mine ele|ction &amp; &s;aluation, as many are; but alwaies haue had a &s;trong beleefe that I am in Gods loue and &s;hall vndoubtedly be &s;a|ued: wee may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that this is the voyce of pre|&s;umption, and not the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit. Fourthly, pre&s;umption is ioyned with worldline&s;&s;e and prophane&s;&s;e, but the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit is neuer &s;euered from &s;an|ctification, or at lea&s;t from an earne&s;t de&s;ire and holie ende|uour of &s;eruing the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: for (as I &s;aid) the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit in the con&s;cience is ne|uer contrarie to the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit in the word, nei|ther doth it beare witne&s;&s;e that tho&s;e are in Gods loue and elected to &s;aluation, which the Scriptures witne&s;&s;e to bee in Gods di&s;plea&s;ure and in the &s;tate of condemnation, namely, all vnrepentant &s;inners continuing in their vnrepentancie: and therefore if the a&s;&s;urance which we haue of our election and &s;aluation be not ioyned with a de&s;ire to leaue our &s;innes, and with an earne&s;t endeuour of &s;eruing God in the duties of holines and righteou&s;nes, then it doth not proceed from the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit, but from carnall &s;ecuritie and fond pre&s;umption. La&s;tly, pre&s;umption no longer per&s;wadeth men of Gods loue and fauour, than they enioy the outward benefits of this life; but when the Lord laieth vpon them any
<PB N="224" REF="123">grieuous affliction, either outwardly in bodie and &s;tate, or in|wardly in mind; then this per&s;wa&s;ion vani&s;heth, and nothing remaineth but doubting, which commonly endeth in vtter de&s;paire: but the te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit is con&s;tant and per|manent; and how&s;oeuer wee cannot by rea&s;on of the grie|uou&s;ne&s;&s;e of afflictions, and the violent noi&s;e of our own pa&s;|&s;ions heare the voyce thereof at &s;ome times, yet afterwards a|gaine it crieth alowd in our hearts Abba father, and witne&s;|&s;eth vnto our &s;pirits that we are the &s;onnes of God: So that the chiefe meanes whereby wee are a&s;&s;ured of our election is the &s;pirit of God. But &s;eeing we haue it not naturally in our &s;elues, how may we attaine vnto it? Surely we are to haue our recour&s;e vnto the Father of lights by earne&s;t prayer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.17. Matth. 7.7. Luk. 11.13.</NOTE> <HI>from whom de&s;cendeth euery good and perfect gift,</HI> hauing our faith grounded vpon Gods gracious promi&s;e, namely, that if we aske we &s;hall receiue, and more e&s;pecially, that hee will giue his holie &s;pirit to them that aske it, as it is Luk. 11.13.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd meanes whereby wee may attaine to the cer|taintie of our election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd meanes, the hearing of the word.</NOTE> is the hearing of the word, wherein the Lord manife&s;teth his grace and goodwill to all beleeuing and repentant &s;inners, and whereby al&s;o he ordinarily beget|teth this faith and repentance in all his children. For how&s;o|euer <HI>Paul</HI> may plant and <HI>Apollos</HI> may water, but God alone giueth the encrea&s;e; yet Gods ble&s;&s;ing ordinarily accompa|nieth his owne ordinance, making it effectuall by the inward operation of his &s;pirit for tho&s;e ends for which he hath or|dained it. And though the word may long &s;ound in our eares before it pearce the heart, or beget any &s;auing grace in vs, vn|le&s;&s;e the Lord open our hearts and make the &s;eed of his word fruitfull: yet tho&s;e who make con&s;cience of hearing the word, with diligence reuerence and attention, and pray for the a&s;|&s;i&s;tance of Gods &s;pirit, whereby it may become profitable to their &s;aluation, may con&s;tantly expect the ble&s;&s;ing of God vpon his owne ordinance, which they carefully v&s;e in obe|dience to his will; whereas tho&s;e who neglect and contemne Gods word haue no &s;uch a&s;&s;urance, becau&s;e it is the meanes and in&s;trument which is ordained of God for this purpo&s;e, without which the &s;pirit of God doth not ordinarily beget
<PB N="225" REF="123">faith or any &s;auing grace in vs. Though therefore we doe not after long hearing of the word, feele this a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and our election, yet let vs not giue it ouer but expect Gods ble&s;&s;ing vpon it, and waite his lea&s;ure a&s;&s;uring our &s;elues that in the end, hee will make this his owne ordinance effectuall for tho&s;e ends, for which he hath ordained it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third meanes whereby we may attaine to the a&s;&s;urance of our election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third meanes, the v&s;e of the Sa|craments.</NOTE> is the frequent and religious v&s;e of the Sacra|ment of the Lords &s;upper, whereby our faith is more and more confirmed the in truth of Gods promi&s;es. For the Lord to the preaching of his word which is the couenant of grace, hath added the&s;e &s;eales that we might be the more throughly a&s;|&s;ured of his loue and fauour; and therefore if we con&s;cionably frequent this holy Sacrament, the Lord will ble&s;&s;e al&s;o this his owne ordinance. Moreouer they who worthily receiue the&s;e holy mi&s;teries, doe receiue Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and haue the vnion and communion which is betweene him and them, more and more &s;trengthned and confirmed, for <HI>hee that eateth his fle&s;h and drinketh his blood, dwelleth in Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t in him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.56.</NOTE> As it is Ioh. 6.56. <HI>Now there is no condemnation to tho&s;e that are in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us</HI> Rom 8.1;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.1.</NOTE> and therefore they neede not doubt of their election and &s;aluation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fourth meanes whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured of our elec|tion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth meanes, the ef|fects of our e|lection. <HI>Zanch. de At|trib. l. 5. c. 2.</HI></NOTE> are the effects of Gods prede&s;tination, which are the vn|doubted &s;ignes thereof; for the effects argue the cau&s;e, as the cau&s;e the effects, and that not onely in naturall things, but al&s;o in tho&s;e which are &s;upernaturall and &s;pirituall: and therefore as certainely as we know that there is fire becau&s;e it ca&s;teth forth heate, and the &s;onne by his ca&s;ting forth of bright raies whereby the world is lightned, and that a tree is good by the good fruits which it bringeth forth, &s;o al&s;o may wee as certainely be a&s;&s;ured that we are elected of God, when wee finde in our &s;elues the effects and vndoubted &s;ignes of our e|lection.</P>
<P>Neither are the&s;e effects bare &s;ignes onely of our election, but al&s;o manife&s;t &s;eales which by their plaine impre&s;&s;ion, doe euidently a&s;&s;ure vs thereof: &s;o that though we doe not directly and immediatly know Gods election, prede&s;tination, and eter|nall decree of our &s;aluation in God him&s;elfe, electing prede|&s;tinating,
<PB N="226" REF="124">and decreeing that we &s;hall be &s;aued, yet we may plainely &s;ee apparant &s;eales and impre&s;&s;ions hereof in our &s;elues, liuely re&s;embling that which is &s;ecret in Gods hidden councell; and as we not &s;eeing the &s;eale which maketh the im|pre&s;&s;ion, doe ea&s;ily di&s;cerne the forme, fa&s;hion, and quantitie thereof by the print which it hath made; &s;o wee not &s;eeing Gods &s;ecret decree of prede&s;tination, may notwith&s;tanding attaine to the euedent knowledge thereof, by that impre&s;&s;ion which it maketh in vs.</P>
<P>This al&s;o may further be illu&s;trated by a familiar &s;imilitude; namely, as the &s;unne &s;hining vpon vs with his bright beames, doth imprint as it were in our eyes the image of his light, whereby we &s;ee the &s;unne and the light thereof (the beames of the &s;unne which are ca&s;t vpon vs, being reflected backe a|gaine to the &s;unne it &s;elfe;) &s;o the foreknowledge of God whereby he hath decreed that we &s;hall be &s;aued before all e|ternitie, is &s;ecret in it &s;elfe, &s;o that we cannot &s;ee not vnder&s;tand it directly, but yet while&s;t God doth acknowledge vs for his elect, he doth expre&s;&s;e the image and forme of this his fore|knowledge in tho&s;e whom he hath elected, whereby we doe al&s;o acknowledge him our gracious God who hath elected vs; and &s;o it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that by the true knowledge of God, which is communicated vnto vs, whereby we acknow|ledge him for our God and father, wee al&s;o know his fore|knowledge, whereby he knoweth and acknowledgeth vs for his &s;onnes and children. For fir&s;t God knoweth vs, and then by the light of this knowledge communicated vnto vs, he in|lightneth our hearts with the true knowledge of him&s;elfe, as the &s;unne fir&s;t inlightneth our eyes, and by this light we &s;ee the &s;unne it &s;elfe. And this our Sauiour Chri&s;t intimateth, Ioh. 10.14. where fir&s;t he &s;aith he <HI>knoweth his &s;heepe,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.14.</NOTE> and then he addeth that he <HI>is al&s;o knowne of them.</HI> As though he &s;hould &s;ay, while&s;t I know and acknowledge them for my &s;heepe, hereby I bring to pa&s;&s;e that they in like manner by the participatio~ of this my light and knowledge, doe acknowledge me for their true pa|&s;tor. If therefore we know and acknowledge God, for our gra|cious God &amp; louing father in Chri&s;t, it is a mo&s;t certaine &s;igne, that he al&s;o by his foreknowledge, doth know and acknow|ledge vs for his people and children. But if we remaine in our
<PB N="227" REF="124">ignorance, without the knowledge of God, and his &s;onne Chri&s;t, we can gather no a&s;&s;urance vnto our &s;elues of our elec|tion; for if the foreknowledge of God had &s;hined vpon vs, the beames thereof would haue illuminated our hearts, &s;o as wee &s;hould by their light haue knowne God al&s;o.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods loue cau&s;e of our loue.</NOTE>The like may be &s;aid of Gods eternall loue, wherewith he hath loued vs in Chri&s;t; for God louing vs, hath imprinted the image of his loue in our hearts, whereby wee loue him a|gaine: and when this heauenly heate of Gods loue hath de|&s;cended on vs, and warmeth our cold hearts, frozen in the dregges of &s;inne, then doe we reflect &s;ome of tho&s;e beames of Gods loue towards him againe. And this the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn</HI> plainely &s;heweth 1. Ioh. 4.19. where he &s;aith <HI>that we loue God becau&s;e he loued vs fir&s;t;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 4.19.</NOTE> that is, by that eternall loue where|with God loued vs in Chri&s;t, there is imprinted in our hearts the loue of God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 7.</NOTE> And hence it is that he &s;aith ver&s;. 7. that loue commeth from God: becau&s;e we can neither loue God, nor our neighbours aright, till his loue towards vs hauing &s;hined vpon vs, hath inflamed our hearts. So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, Rom 5.5. that <HI>the loue of God is &s;hed abrode in our hearts,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.8.</NOTE> <HI>by the holy Gho&s;t which is giuen vnto vs,</HI> whereby loue towards God is begotten in vs. If therefore the loue of God be in our hearts, we may be a&s;&s;ured that it is but an impre&s;&s;ion which is made in vs, by the &s;eale of his loue towards vs, but a little &s;parke kindled by this heauenly flame, and a &s;mall modell or little counterfaite re&s;embling the infinit loue of God, wherewith from all eternitie he hath loued vs in Chri&s;t. Thus al&s;o Gods eternall election, whereby before all worlds he hath cho&s;en vs in Chri&s;t, doth make an impre&s;&s;ion, and &s;ealeth in our hearts the form or image thereof, whereby we make choy&s;e of the true God Iehouah, among&s;t all the Gods of the nations to be our onely God, whom we will &s;erue and wor&s;hip. And there|fore if we haue made this election, and dedicated our &s;elues wholy to Gods wor&s;hip and &s;eruice alone, it is a mo&s;t cer|taine &s;igne of our election, whereby God hath cho&s;en vs: fot our choo&s;ing of God is an effect of his choo&s;ing of vs, and an impre&s;&s;ion or print wherewith by his election hee hath &s;ea|led vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus it appeareth that the effects of Gods election doe
<PB N="228" REF="125">not onely as &s;ignes &s;ignifie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t effect of our election is our &s;auiour Chri&s;t, by whom we are a&s;&s;ured that we are e|lected.</NOTE> but al&s;o as &s;eales confirme vnto vs the a&s;&s;urance thereof: but let vs further con&s;ider the &s;pe|cial effects of our election, whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are cho&s;en of God. The fir&s;t effect, is our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elf, &s;et apart of God to be the mediator to reconcile all Gods elect vnto him, dwelling in vs by his &s;pirit; who may iu&s;tly be called the fir&s;t effect of Gods election, becau&s;e all the other, namely our vocation, iu&s;tification, &s;anctification, and &s;aluation, are by him and through him alone. Who&s;oeuer therefore are a&s;|&s;ured that Chri&s;t dwelleth in them and they in him, they haue a mo&s;t vndoubted &s;igne of their election: and who&s;oeuer haue not Chri&s;t dwelling in them by his &s;pirit, can haue no a&s;&s;urance that they are cho&s;en, as the Apo&s;tle plainely &s;heweth 2. Cor. 13.5. <HI>know you not</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is in you except you be reprobates?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 13.5.</NOTE> but how &s;hall we know whether Chri&s;t dwel|leth thus in vs and we in him? the Apo&s;tle telleth vs Rom. 8.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.1.</NOTE> <HI>that tho&s;e who are in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us walke not after the fle&s;h but after the &s;pirit,</HI> that is, tho&s;e who doe not willingly &s;ubmit them&s;elues to be ruled and led by the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, but labour and &s;triue to re&s;i&s;t and &s;ubdue them, &s;tudying and in|deauoring to liue a &s;pirituall life, in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e. For in whom&s;oeuer Chri&s;t dwelleth by his &s;pirit, tho&s;e he regenerateth and rai&s;eth from the death of &s;inne, to new|ne&s;&s;e of life; and his blood is effectuall, not only to purge them from the guilt of &s;inne, but al&s;o to clean&s;e them in &s;ome mea|&s;ure from the corruptions them&s;elues.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd effect of our election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd ef|fect of our e|lection, is our effectuall cal|ling.</NOTE> is our effectuall calling; whereby we are &s;eparated from the world, and ingrafted into Chri&s;t, and made liuely members of his body: and this is done ordinarily by the diligent and attentiue hearing of the word, ioyned with the inward operation of Gods &s;pirit. If therefore we haue heard Gods word preached, diligently and attentiue|ly; if thereby wee haue attained vnto the knowledge of the worke of our redemption wrought by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and are delighted therewith; if by this meanes wee haue our hearts &s;omewhat weaned from the world, and fixed vpon our Saui|our and heauenly things; and thinking it &s;ufficient to haue &s;pent the re&s;t of our liues pa&s;t in the lu&s;ts of the Gentiles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 4.2.3.</NOTE> doe liue hence forward after the wil of God: then are we truely and
<PB N="229" REF="125">effectually called, for tho&s;e are Chri&s;ts &s;heepe that heare his voyce and follow him Ioh. 10.4. Tho&s;e are ingrafted into his body, who bring forth the fruites of godline&s;&s;e:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.4.</NOTE> for as the branch can bring forth no fruite except it abide in the vine, &s;o neither can we bring forth any fruites of pietie and righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e except wee abide in Chri&s;t; and therefore if we doe bring forth the&s;e fruites, it manife&s;tly appeareth that we are in Chri&s;t, and con&s;equently truely called and elected, <HI>for without him we could doe nothing,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.4.5.</NOTE> as it is Ioh. 15.4.5.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third effect of Gods election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third effect is our iu&s;tifica|tion.</NOTE> is our iu&s;tification, con|&s;i&s;ting in the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and the imputation of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: and to this is required a true and liuely faith, which a&s;&s;ureth vs of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and ap|plieth vnto vs Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. If therefore we beleeue that our &s;innes are forgiuen, if we doe by faith apply vnto vs Chri&s;t and his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are iu&s;tified, and con&s;equently elected: now this per&s;wa&s;ion and liuely faith, is di&s;cerned by the fruites thereof; for it purifieth our hearts, and worketh by loue; and it worketh in vs an ha|tred of &s;inne, and loue of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which is our &s;anctifi|cation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> So that our &s;anctification which is the la&s;t effect of Gods election wrought in vs in this life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth ef|fect is our &s;an|ctification, which is the touch&s;tone of all the re&s;t.</NOTE> is the true touch&s;tone of all the re&s;t: whereby wee may certainely know whether we be effectually called, that is, &s;eparated from the world, and in|grafted as liuely members into the body of Chri&s;t; and whe|ther we be truely iu&s;tified, that is, purged from the guilt and puni&s;hment of our &s;innes by Chri&s;ts blood, and adorned with his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e imputed vnto vs. For if we be &s;eparated from the world, then doe we not &s;et our mindes vpon world|ly things, but haue <HI>our conuer&s;ation in heauen from whence we looke for a &s;auiour, euen the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.20.</NOTE> if we are ingrafted into the body of Chri&s;t who is the true vine, then doe we bring forth the &s;weete grapes of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in our liues and conuer&s;ations, as it is Ioh. 15.5;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.5.</NOTE> if we haue by a true faith the a&s;&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, then will we loue God who hath forgiuen vs &s;o great a debt, and labour to expre&s;&s;e our loue by glorifying his name, in cau&s;ing our light to &s;hine before men; and if the blood of Chri&s;t be effectuall
<PB N="230" REF="126">vnto vs for the purging away of the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne, then will it al&s;o in &s;ome mea&s;ure purge away the corrup|tions them&s;elues. For <HI>we are gra&s;ted with him into the &s;imilitude of his death and re&s;urrection,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.56.</NOTE> <HI>and our olde man is crucified with him and the body of &s;inne de&s;troyed, that from henceforth we &s;hould not &s;erue &s;inne,</HI> as it is Rom. 6.5.6. And as our &s;anctification is the onely vndoubted &s;igne of our vocation and iu&s;tification; &s;o al&s;o of our election; for the Lord hath cho&s;en vs that wee &s;hould bee holy, Ephe&s;. 1.4. And therefore if wee be holy wee haue a manife&s;t effect and in&s;eparable fruite of our election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.4.</NOTE> if we be not holy nor make con&s;cience of &s;eruing the Lord in the duties of pietie and chri&s;tianitie, we haue no a&s;&s;urance that we are elected: for though the foundation of God remaineth &s;ure on Gods part being &s;ealed and confirmed in his eternall coun&s;ell, yet it is not &s;ealed in our hearts vntill we depart from iniquitie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 2.19.</NOTE> as it is, 2. Tim. 2.19.</P>
<P>Though then there be no place vnto our &s;anctification in Gods decree, as being any cau&s;e thereof; and therefore when the que&s;tion is asked why we are elected, we mu&s;t an&s;were not for any de&s;erts or holine&s;&s;e in our &s;elues, but becau&s;e of Gods good plea&s;ure and vnde&s;erued grace; and when it is demaun|ded in whom we are elected, wee mu&s;t reply in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us only: yet there is chiefe place vnto our &s;anctification in the a&s;|&s;urance of our election, &s;o that when the que&s;tion is asked who are elected, an&s;were is to be made, tho&s;e onely who are al&s;o &s;anctified in Gods good time by his gracious &s;pirit;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.14.</NOTE> for <HI>with|out this holine&s;&s;e no man &s;hall euer &s;ee God,</HI> as it is, Heb. 12.14.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now our &s;anctification doth principally con&s;i&s;t in a loue of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Wherein our &s;anctification con&s;i&s;teth.</NOTE> and a true hatred of &s;inne; from whence pro|ceedeth an earne&s;t de&s;ire, and hartie indeauour of for&s;aking that which is euill, and of cleauing vnto that which is good: and for the better effecting hereof, a carefull &s;tudie of morti|fying the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof, and painefull diligence in v&s;ing all good meanes whereby the &s;pirit may be &s;trengthe|ned, and the gifts and graces thereof encrea&s;ed, that &s;o wee may not be &s;o prone to fall into that &s;inne which we hate, nor &s;o backward in imbracing and following that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e which wee loue. And this is the &s;anctification which is an in&s;eparable fruite and effect of Gods election in
<PB N="231" REF="126">all his children,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That tho&s;e who will be a&s;&s;ured of their electi|on mu&s;t begin their a&s;&s;urance at their &s;ancti|fication.</NOTE> which though it be the la&s;t in nature and next vnto &s;aluation it &s;elfe, for fir&s;t God electeth, and tho&s;e whom he hath elected, in his good time he calleth, and whom he cal|leth tho&s;e he iu&s;tifieth, and la&s;tly, whom he iu&s;tifieth tho&s;e he &s;anctifieth and &s;aueth; yet when we are to gather a&s;&s;urance of our election, we are not to ob&s;erue this order, but to begin where the Lord endeth, and &s;o a&s;cend from the lowe&s;t degree till we come to the highe&s;t. For as it is a fooli&s;h thing for a man, to thinke that he can leap to the top of an high ladder at the fir&s;t &s;tep, and therefore euery one beginneth with the low|e&s;t, and &s;o a&s;cendeth &s;tep by &s;tep till he come to the highe&s;t: &s;o it is a fooli&s;h thing for a man to imagine, that he can leape into heauen, and there &s;earch the vn&s;earchable councels of God, and &s;o know whether he is elected or no; but we mu&s;t begin at the lowe&s;t &s;tep, namely our &s;anctification which being at|tained vnto, we may a&s;cend a &s;tep higher in our a&s;&s;urance, namely that we are iu&s;tified, and &s;o to the next, that we are effectually called, and la&s;tly to the highe&s;t that we are elected. Otherwi&s;e if we curiou&s;ly diue into the bottomle&s;&s;e &s;ecrets of Gods councels, we &s;hall be drowned and ouerwhelmed; if we approach vnto this vnapproachable light, the eye of our under&s;tanding will be dazled, yea &s;tarke blinded; if we pre&s;ume to vnder&s;tand beyond &s;obrietie, we &s;hall by the iu&s;t iudge|ment of God be infatuated, and thru&s;t our &s;elues into an end|le&s;&s;e laborinth, out of which we &s;hall neuer finde way, wanting the line of Gods word to guide vs. And therefore if we would haue any true a&s;&s;urance of our election, we mu&s;t examine our &s;elues whether we be &s;anctified; and if we finde in our &s;elues &s;anctification by the fruites thereof, wee may vndoubtedly conclude that we are iu&s;tified, called, elected, and &s;hall be &s;a|ued. If we walke not after the fle&s;h but after the &s;pirit, we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and therefore there is no condemnation belonging vnto vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.1.</NOTE> Rom. 8.1. If we bring forth the fruites of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e, we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are good trees of Gods owne planting,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.17.</NOTE> Matth. 7.17. If we be fruitfull braunches we may a&s;&s;uredly know, that we are ingrafted into the true vine Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.4.5.</NOTE> Ioh. 15.4.5.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seeing then our &s;anctification a&s;&s;ureth vs of our election and &s;aluation, and without it there is no a&s;&s;urance; what &s;tron|ger
<PB N="232" REF="127">argument can be imagined to make vs flee &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The v&s;e of the former do|ctrine.</NOTE> and la|bour after mortification and newne&s;&s;e of life; what keener knife can be v&s;ed to cut in&s;under the cordes of vanitie, where|in naturally we are fettered and intangled; what &s;harper &s;pur to pricke vs forward in the cour&s;e of godline&s;&s;e; than to know and con&s;ider that by our &s;anctification and holine&s;&s;e of life, we are certainely a&s;&s;ured that God hath elected vs, to be heires of the vn&s;peakable ioyes of his kingdome, and that by our wickedne&s;&s;e and profane&s;&s;e wee haue no le&s;&s;e certaine a&s;&s;u|rance that we &s;hall haue our portion for euer in the lake that burneth with fire and brim&s;tone? for if wee liue holily like true chri&s;tians on earth, we &s;hall liue happily like glorious Angels in heauen; but if here we lie forzen in the dregges of our &s;ins, without any &s;en&s;e of &s;orrow for tho&s;e which are pa&s;t, or any de&s;ire and purpo&s;e of heart to for&s;ake them in the time to come, we &s;hall be thru&s;t from the Lord among&s;t the wor|kers of iniquitie, and the wrath of God &s;hall pur&s;ue, ouertake and con&s;ume vs. What &s;inne therefore can be &s;o plea&s;ant to our ta&s;te, which this con&s;ideration will not make more bitter than wormewood? what dutie of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;o di&s;plea&s;ant and grieuous, which this will not make &s;weete and delightfull?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now that we may not deceiue our &s;elues with a counterfait holine&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Diuers kinds of counter &s;ait ho|line&s;&s;e which giue no a&s;&s;u|rance of our e|lection.</NOTE> in &s;ted of true &s;anctification, we are to know that this a&s;&s;urance of &s;aluation, doth not proceede from euery kinde of holine&s;&s;e, but from that which is true and vnfained: for there is an holine&s;&s;e of the tongue, &s;euered from the holine&s;&s;e of the heart, in &s;hew but not in deede, in profe&s;&s;io~ but not in practi&s;e; there is an holine&s;&s;e in performing outward duties of Gods &s;eruice, &s;euered fro~ righteou&s;nes towards our brethere~; there is an holines in leauing &s;ome or y^e mo&s;t &s;ins, without any de&s;ire or purpo&s;e to for&s;ake &s;ome one or two &s;ins by which we receiue greate&s;t plea&s;ure or profit; there is an holines in tything mint and cummin, which neglecteth the waightie things of the law, and which maketh cleane the out&s;ide of the platter &amp; cup, lea|uing the in&s;ide full of rapine and exce&s;&s;e; and outwardly mak|eth a glorious golden &s;hew, when as within there is nothing but putrefaction and rottennes: there is an holines which con|&s;i&s;teth in the phari&s;aicall cen&s;uring of poore publicanes, and
<PB N="233" REF="127">in extolling our owne vertues. The fir&s;t kinde is of tho&s;e whom the prophet reproueth E&s;a. 29.13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 29.13.</NOTE> who drew neere vnto God with their lips when as their hearts were farre from him: and of tho&s;e whom the Apo&s;tle brandeth 2. Tim. 3.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 3.5.</NOTE> who <HI>make a &s;hew of godline&s;&s;e, but in their liues deny the power thereof:</HI> in which ranke many profe&s;&s;ors al&s;o in the&s;e daies may fitly march. The &s;econd kinde is of tho&s;e who are content to &s;erue God in the outward duties of his wor&s;hip, becau&s;e they finde them good cheape, yea often gainefull; but cannot away with righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, becau&s;e that is &s;ometimes painefull and &s;ome|times requireth co&s;t. And the&s;e men in &s;tead of making god|line&s;&s;e their gaine, make a gaine of godline&s;&s;e. The third kinde is <HI>Herods</HI> holine&s;&s;e, who heard <HI>Iohn</HI> gladly and did many things, yet could not abide to leaue his ince&s;t: and &s;uch holi|ne&s;&s;e is in &s;ome now adaies, who will be content to leaue all gro&s;&s;e outward &s;innes, &s;o they may continue in their couetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e or voluptuou&s;ne&s;&s;e. The fourth is the holine&s;&s;e of tho&s;e phari&s;ies which are mo&s;t zealou&s;e in ceremonies and their owne traditions, but key colde in tho&s;e duties which mo&s;t con|cerne Gods glorie and their neighbours good. The la&s;t kinde was the holine&s;&s;e of the auncient phari&s;ies, and is the holine&s;&s;e of our new browni&s;ts, who place the mo&s;t of their religion in cen&s;uring and condemning the corruptions of the Church, and mi&s;demeanors of priuate men, not looking into their owne &s;innes of helli&s;h pride, bitterne&s;&s;e, enuie, and want of charitie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="12" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> But none of the&s;e, no nor yet all the&s;e ioyned together, will euer giue vnto vs any &s;ound a&s;&s;urance of our election;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fruites and properties of true &s;ancti|fication.</NOTE> but it is that true &s;anctification indeede, which beginneth not in the mouth but in the heart, and &s;anctifieth our will and affecti|ons, making vs to loue and to imbrace to our vttermo&s;t power vertue and godline&s;&s;e, and to abhorre and flee from &s;inne and iniquitie: and from the heart it proceedeth to the tongue and hands, making the word of God and all holy conferences honie in the mouth, and inciting vs to the practi&s;e of that which we profe&s;&s;e. It alwaies approueth golden pietie to be pure, and without mixture of the dro&s;&s;e of hipocrifie, by the touch &s;tone of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; it is as carefull in approuing the heart and &s;ecret actions vnto God, as the outward actions vnto
<PB N="234" REF="128">men; it cau&s;eth vs to hate as well one &s;inne as another, and that &s;inne mo&s;t of all into which we are mo&s;t prone by nature to fall, though it bring neuer &s;o much plea&s;ure and profit; it embraceth afflicted godline&s;&s;e when it is attended with lo&s;&s;e pouertie and &s;hame, as well as when it is waited vpon with gaine, plea&s;ure, and the prai&s;e of men; it is very charitable in cen&s;uring the faults of others, but mo&s;t &s;euere and &s;trict in iudging and condemning the &s;innes which our &s;elues haue committed. And therefore if our &s;anctification haue the&s;e pro|perties, we may mo&s;t certainly be a&s;&s;ured thereby that wee are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued; but if the&s;e be wanting, it is but a counterfeit holine&s;&s;e which affoordeth no &s;uch a&s;&s;urance.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The mi&s;erable estate of tho&s;e who haue not &s;o much as a &s;hew of godli|ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE>Now if this be true, what hope can they haue who haue not &s;o much as a &s;hew of godline&s;&s;e? how de&s;perate is their &s;tate, who euen in outward apparance &s;hew nothing but wicked|ne&s;&s;e and prophane&s;&s;e? If the figge tree which beareth faire greene leaues be accur&s;ed, what cur&s;es, what mi&s;crie and wret|chedne&s;&s;e are they to beare and &s;uffer, who haue not &s;o much as leaues, that is, an outward profe&s;&s;ion of godline&s;&s;e? If <HI>Herod</HI> be a damned wretch in hell, who heard <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t wil|lingly, and did many things according to his doctrine, becau&s;e he nouri&s;hed one &s;inne in his bo&s;ome; what fearefull condem|nation are they to expect, who contemne and neglect Gods word, not thinking it worth the hearing, and cannot finde in their hearts to &s;ubmit them&s;elues to the obedience of any part thereof, neither will be brought to for&s;ake any one &s;in where|with they are delighted, till it leaue them? And yet &s;uch is the blind ignorance, carnall &s;ecuritie, and vaine pre&s;umption of &s;uch men, that they will not &s;ticke to bragge that they are &s;ure of Gods loue, and that they are elected to &s;aluation, though there bee no &s;hew of rea&s;on whereupon they may probably ground their fooli&s;h per&s;wa&s;ion. But the truth is, that while&s;t they continue in this damnable e&s;tate, con&s;olation it &s;elfe can not giue vnto them any true comfort, for without &s;anctifica|tion there is no hope of election or &s;aluation: and &s;eeing the Lord hath elected vs that wee &s;hould be holie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4.14.</NOTE> therefore with|out holine&s;&s;e there is no a&s;&s;urance that we are elected: &s;eeing he hath &s;worne that all tho&s;e whom he hath redeemed and &s;a|ued, out of the hands of their &s;piritual enemies hell, death and
<PB N="235" REF="128">the diuell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 1.74 75.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall wor&s;hip him in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e all the daies of their life;</HI> what hope of redemption and &s;aluation can they conceiue, who liue in impietie and vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;ee|ing by Gods oath they are excluded from both, while&s;t they continue in this &s;tate?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. X.</HI> Of the &s;ignes and infallible notes of our election.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I &s;et down the meanes whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t &s;igne, an earnest de|&s;ire after the meanes of our &s;aluation.</NOTE> now let vs con|&s;ider of &s;ome &s;peciall &s;ignes which are infallible notes of tho&s;e that are elected. The fir&s;t &s;igne is an earne&s;t de&s;ire after the meanes of our &s;alua|tion, and a con&s;cionable endeuour in v&s;ing them after we en|ioy them. For the end and the meanes are neuer &s;eparated in Gods decree, and therefore tho&s;e that carefully v&s;e the meanes may be a&s;&s;ured that they &s;hall attaine vnto the end. For ex|ample, the hearing of Gods word is the chiefe meanes of our conuer&s;ion, being made effectuall by the inward operation of Gods &s;pirit; and as thereby we are begotten vnto God, &s;o al|&s;o it is that bread of life, wherewith our &s;oules are nouri&s;hed and &s;trengthened in all &s;pirituall graces. So that whom&s;oeuer God hath elected, tho&s;e he hath decreed to call ordinarily by the&s;e meanes; and by the &s;ame al&s;o to furni&s;h with his graces being called. Who&s;oeuer therefore labour to purcha&s;e this precious pearle, who&s;oeuer hunger after this heauenly Man|na, and are content to enioy it not only when it is good cheap, but al&s;o when it is very chargeable, who&s;oeuer enioying it do attentiuely and diligently heare it and receiue it with delight, they v&s;e the meanes of their &s;aluation, and therefore may bee a&s;&s;ured that they are elected, for the meanes &amp; the end go to|gether. And that this is a note of Gods child, it appeareth Ioh. 10.3, 4. where our Sauiour &s;aith that his &s;heep heare his voyce.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.3.4.</NOTE> And Matth. 13.45. he compareth the true member of the king|dome of grace to a Merchant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13.45.</NOTE> who rather then he would want the precious pearle of Gods word, &s;elleth all he hath to buy it. Tho&s;e therefore who make this precious account of Gods
<PB N="236" REF="129">word, and carefully diligently and attentiuely heare it when they enioy it, may to their comfort a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that they haue an vndoubted &s;igne of their election. And on the other &s;ide, tho&s;e who had rather bee without it than enioy it, tho&s;e who wil be&s;tow no co&s;t to obtaine it, nor forgoe any plea&s;ure or commoditie that they may heare it, nor when they do heare it are affected with any delight, but are glutted with loathing &s;atietic, hearing no part of the &s;ermon with any plea&s;ure but the conclu&s;ion onely; they can haue no a&s;&s;urance of their ele|ction, becau&s;e they neglect the means of their &s;aluation, which are ioyned with the end in Gods eternall decree. The like al&s;o may bee &s;aid of other meanes, as the receiuing of the Sacra|ments, meditating in Gods word, the workes of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and the re&s;t.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd &s;igne of tho&s;e that are elected,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd &s;igne, the &s;pirit of &s;upplication.</NOTE> is the &s;pirit of &s;upplication, when as they can powre foorth their &s;oules in feruent and effectuall prayer vnto the Lord, confe&s;&s;ing their &s;innes, and imploring his grace and mercie: for this is a notable fruit of Gods &s;pirit working in vs, which we cannot by any na|turall meanes attaine vnto; <HI>for of our &s;elues wee know not what to pray as we ought,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.26.</NOTE> <HI>but the &s;pirit helpeth our infirmities, and maketh reque&s;t for vs with &s;ighes which cannot be expre&s;&s;ed,</HI> as it is Rom. 8.26. Prayer therefore is a mo&s;t in&s;eparable fruite and vndoub|ted &s;igne of Gods &s;pirit, and Gods &s;pirit certainly a&s;&s;ureth vs of our election and adoption, for <HI>it beareth witne&s;&s;e with our &s;pirits that we are the &s;onnes of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 16.</NOTE> as it is ver&s;. 16. So Rom. 10.13. it is &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.13.</NOTE> that <HI>who&s;oeuer call vpon the name of the Lord &s;hall be &s;aued.</HI> But this prayer mu&s;t proceede from faith; for, as it fol|loweth, <HI>How &s;hall they call on him in whom they haue not beleeued?</HI> and mu&s;t be perfourmed in &s;pirit and truth, and not with de|ceitfull lips; for it is to no purpo&s;e to draw neere vnto God with our mouthes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 29.13.</NOTE> if our hearts be farre from him, E&s;a. 29.13.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third &s;igne of tho&s;e who are elected and adopted to be the children of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third &s;igne is, when we are weaned from the loue of the world, and minde heauen|ly things.</NOTE> is, when as their hearts are &s;omwhat wea|ned from the world, and &s;eated in heauen minding the things that are aboue; and when their tongues being &s;et a worke by the heart, doe gladly entertaine godly and religious confe|rences; for there as the trea&s;ure is, there will the heart be al&s;o, and with what&s;oeuer the heart is affected, the tongue is de|lighted.
<PB N="237" REF="129">Now that the&s;e holie meditations and religious di&s;|cour&s;es are &s;ignes of the child of God, hereby it plainly appea|reth; in that they cannot po&s;&s;ibly proceede from our corrupt nature, to which they are irk&s;ome and tedious, but from the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs, and guiding and directing vs in our thoughts and words; and who&s;oeuer are thus <HI>led with the &s;pirit of God, they are the &s;onnes of God,</HI> as it is Rom. 8.14.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.14.</NOTE> He that is right heire to a roiall kingdome and not yet po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed there|of, is neuer wearie of thinking on it, nor glutted with &s;uch di&s;|cour&s;es as tend to the extolling the riches and glorie which there attend him, or &s;hew the meanes whereby he may be a&s;&s;u|red to come into &s;peedie and peaceable po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of his right: and &s;o tho&s;e who are elected by God, and adopted to bee the heires of his euerla&s;ting kingdome of glorie, are neuer &s;ati&s;|fied in meditating and &s;peaking of the riches and ioyes of this heauenly inheritance, or of the meanes whereby they may bee a&s;&s;ured vndoubtedly to obtaine it; whereas tho&s;e who haue no &s;uch intere&s;t nor hopes, thinke and talke of the&s;e things with loath&s;ome wearine&s;&s;e, as being matters not concerning them; and therefore when &s;uch thoughts come into their mindes, they vani&s;h as &s;uddenly as a fla&s;h of lightning, and when they are pre&s;ent at any &s;pirituall di&s;cour&s;es the time &s;eemeth long, and they &s;it vpon thornes vntill they bee ended; and they re|maine dumbe as though they were tongue-tyed, vnle&s;&s;e they take occa&s;ion to interrupt &s;uch holie conferences, and to di|uert them to &s;ome worldly affaires.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fourth &s;igne of the childe of God who is elected to &s;al|uation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth &s;igne, is the &s;ight of &s;inne: and &s;orrow for it.</NOTE> is, when he &s;eeth his &s;innes and imperfections, and tru|ly repenteth of them, that is, bewaileth tho&s;e which are pa&s;t, and endeuoureth to for&s;ake them in the time to come. For na|turally we are blinde, and yet doe not perceiue our blindne&s;&s;e, we are mo&s;t &s;infull and mi&s;erable, and yet doe not &s;ee our &s;ins and mi&s;erie, but with the proud Phari&s;ie and iu&s;ticiarie Papi&s;t wee thinke our &s;elues righteous, and with the Church of the Laodiceans we imagine that we are rich and haue need of no|thing, not knowing that wee are wretched, mi&s;erable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 3.17.</NOTE> pour-blind, and naked, vntill it plea&s;e the Lord to annoynt our eyes with the eye-&s;alue of his &s;pirit, whereby we are enabled to di&s;|cerne the pure gold of Chri&s;ts merits, which only maketh rich,
<PB N="238" REF="130">from the dro&s;&s;e of our owne workes, and the white raiment of Chri&s;ts obedience from the polluted ragges of our owne righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e. And though wee &s;ee our &s;innes, yet naturally wee are not &s;orie for them, nay we delight our &s;elues with their re|membrance; or if we &s;u&s;taine any griefe, it is not for the &s;inne, but for the puni&s;hment which either wee feele pre&s;ently infli|cted, or feare as being hereafter threatned, vntill it plea&s;e the Lord to adopt vs for his &s;onnes, and to giue vs the &s;pirit of ad|option, which mooueth vs to grieue and &s;orrow for our &s;innes, not &s;o much for feare of puni&s;hment, as for &s;on-like affection, becau&s;e by our &s;innes we haue di&s;honoured and di&s;plea&s;ed our gratious and louing father: and becau&s;e wee cannot wholie mortifie them &s;o long as wee continue in this life, we lamenta|bly crie out with <HI>Paul, Wretched man that I am who &s;hall deliuer me from this bodie of death?</HI> And becau&s;e we know that we &s;hal be neuer freed from it altogether &s;o long as wee liue, wee wi&s;h earne&s;tly with the Apo&s;tle that we may be &s;peedily di&s;&s;olued, being contented to part with our liues, becau&s;e wee can no o|therwi&s;e part with our &s;innes. Who&s;oeuer therefore hath this &s;orrow for &s;inne; hee may be a&s;&s;ured of his election and &s;alua|tion: for,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 7.10.</NOTE> as it is 2. Cor. 7.10. <HI>this godly &s;orrow cau&s;eth repentance vnto &s;aluation not to be repented of, whereas worldly &s;orrow cau&s;eth death;</HI> and all the promi&s;es of life and eternall happine&s;&s;e, are made onely to &s;uch repentant &s;inners, and to them onely they appertaine. And as Gods children are grieued for their &s;innes pa&s;t, &s;o doe they hate and dete&s;t them, as in all others &s;o e&s;pe|cially in them&s;elues, which hatred cau&s;eth them to flee from them, and auoide all occa&s;ions which might cau&s;e them to fall into the like wickednes, &s;triuing and endeuouring to mortifie their lu&s;ts and euill concupi&s;cences, and to leade their liues in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, becau&s;e herewith their heauenly father is well plea&s;ed. Whereas the wicked man, if hee bee not re&s;trained with a &s;eruile feare of Gods iudgements, or of tem|porarie puni&s;hments, goeth on in his &s;innes with plea&s;ure and delight, adding drunkenne&s;&s;e vnto thir&s;t, and drawing iniqui|tie vnto him with the cords of vanitie. Who&s;oeuer therefore haue this &s;on-like care, and holie endeuour of for&s;aking their &s;innes, and betaking them&s;elues to &s;erue the Lord in the du|ties of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, they may bee a&s;&s;ured that
<PB N="239" REF="130">they are elected and adopted to be the &s;onnes of God; but tho&s;e who haue no &s;uch purpo&s;e can neuer haue this a&s;&s;urance; for if they were the &s;onnes of God, they would be affected like louing children to &s;uch a gratious father.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fift &s;igne of the childe of God elected to &s;aluation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fift &s;igno, is an hungring de&s;ire after Christs righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e. <HI>Ioh. 7.37. Reuel. 21.6.</HI></NOTE> is, when as feeling his owne mi&s;erie and wretchedne&s;&s;e, he ear|ne&s;tly de&s;ireth and euen as it were hungreth and thir&s;teth after Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, looking for life and &s;aluation in him a|lone; for &s;uch as the&s;e our Sauiour Chri&s;t calleth vnto him: Ioh. 7.37. <HI>If any man thir&s;t let him come vnto me and drinke;</HI> and to &s;uch he promi&s;eth euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e. Reuel. 21.6. <HI>I will giue to him that is a thir&s;t, of the well of the water of life freely, of which who&s;oeuer drinketh &s;hall neuer be more a thir&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 4.</NOTE> <HI>but it &s;hall be in him a well of water &s;pringing vp vnto euerla&s;ting life.</HI> And to this we may adde al&s;o, an high and incomparable e&s;timation of Chri&s;t and his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, after that wee are a&s;&s;ured of them, whereby wee pri&s;e and value them &s;o much aboue all worldly things, that with <HI>Paul</HI> we e&s;teeme them all but dro&s;&s;e and dung in re&s;pect of gaining Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.8.</NOTE> Phil. 3.8. and are content not onely with the Merchant to &s;ell all wee haue that we may buy the&s;e precious pearles, but al&s;o to &s;uffer tribulation, an|gui&s;h, per&s;ecution, famine, nakedne&s;&s;e, perill, &s;word, yea death it &s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.35.</NOTE> rather than wee would be &s;eparated from the loue of Chri&s;t, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Rom. 8.35.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;ixt &s;igne of the childe of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ixt &s;igne, is the inward fight betweene the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit.</NOTE> is the inward combat which they feele, betweene the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit, whereby on the one &s;ide they are drawne vnto &s;inne, and on the other &s;ide incited vnto holy obedience; now delighted in the lawe of God, and yet &s;oone after led captiue vnto &s;inne; one while rowing again&s;t the tide of their carnall affections, and another while carried violently downe the &s;treame, by rea&s;on of their weakene&s;&s;e, and the &s;trength of their in-bred corruption. For naturally we goe al one way, without any &s;top, oppo&s;ition or re&s;i&s;tance, euen the broad way which leadeth to hell and de|&s;truction: naturally we &s;erue &s;inne, and willingly &s;ubiect our &s;elues to liue in the bondage of our &s;piritual enemies, vntil the Lord doe with his holy &s;pirit renew our will, and &s;anctifie our affections, working in vs an earne&s;t de&s;ire to come out of this mi&s;erable captiuitie, that we may attaine vnto the glorious li|berty
<PB N="240" REF="131">of the &s;onnes of God: which renewing and &s;anctificati|on, becau&s;e it is done but in part, therefore is it oppo&s;ed by the contrary corruption which wee haue by nature, &s;o that what the &s;pirit loueth the fle&s;h hateth, what the &s;pirit imbra|ceth the fle&s;h abhorreth, what the &s;pirit would haue vs doe, the fle&s;h hindreth and inforceth vs to leaue vndone, with what&s;oeuer the &s;pirit is delighted, with that the fle&s;h is vexed and di&s;plea&s;ed; and this &s;pirituall fight is in all Gods children as appeareth Rom. 7.23. Gal. 5.17. which &s;hould bee &s;o farre from di&s;couraging vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.23. Gal. 5.17.</NOTE> that nothing more can a&s;&s;ure vs of our election; for naturally we are all fle&s;h, wholy &s;ubmitting our &s;elues to be ruled by Sathan, neither is there any fight or op|po&s;ition in vs, for Sathans kingdome is not deuided again&s;t it &s;elfe, and while&s;t the &s;trong man wholy keepeth the hou&s;e, all that he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth is in peace, vntill our Sauiour Chri&s;t, by the operation of his &s;pirit, thru&s;teth him out of his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and &s;eeketh to rule in vs by the &s;cepter of his word; and then the diuell rageth and &s;triueth to keepe his hold, and the fle&s;h &s;tor|meth, de&s;iring &s;till to &s;erue his old mai&s;ter. When therefore we feele this inward fight within our &s;elues, we may be a&s;&s;ured that Chri&s;t is come to dwell in our hearts by his holy &s;pirit, and con&s;equently, that we are the children of God, and heires of euerla&s;ting life, for <HI>as many as receiue him, to them he giues power to be the &s;onnes of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1.12.</NOTE> <HI>euen to them that beleeue in his name,</HI> as it is Iohn 1.12.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;euenth &s;igne of the childe of God is new obedience,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;euenth &s;igne, is new obedience. <HI>1. Ioh. 2.5.</HI></NOTE> when as he applies his heart to the keeping of Gods comman|maundements, de&s;iring and indeauouring to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life; for <HI>if any man keepeth Gods word, in him is the loue of God perfect in deede, and hereby we know that we are in him,</HI> as it is 1. Iohn 2.5. <HI>And who&s;oeuer abideth in him &s;inneth not, who&s;oeuer &s;inneth hath not &s;eene him, neither hath knowne him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">chap. 3. v. 6.10</NOTE> as it is chap. 3. ver. 6. So ver&s;. 10. <HI>In this are the chil|dren of God knowne and the children of the diuell, who&s;oeuer doth not righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is not of God, &amp;c.</HI> So that our new obedience is a &s;igne of the child of God, and the neglect thereof a marke of the child of darkne&s;&s;e. But wee are not to vnder&s;tand this of that exact obedience which is required in the Law; for there|by none liuing can haue any a&s;&s;urance of their election and
<PB N="241" REF="131">&s;aluation, but rather of reprobation and damnation; but it is to be vnder&s;tood of an euangelicall obedience, which con&s;i|&s;teth in an holie de&s;ire and earne&s;t endeuour of keeping all Gods commandements; with which the children of God are &s;o wholy po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, that after their true conuer&s;ion it is impo&s;|&s;ible that they &s;hould fall into any knowne &s;inne, with full con&s;ent of will and with their whole hearts. And this is the o|bedience which the Go&s;pell requireth, and of which the A|po&s;tle &s;peaketh, and thus wee neuer &s;inne but keepe all Gods commandements, namely, in re&s;pect of our de&s;ire and earne&s;t endeuour. This is that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is accepted, as though it were perfect before God, who &s;pareth vs as a man &s;pares his &s;onne whom hee tenderly loueth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.17.</NOTE> as hee profe&s;&s;eth Mal. 3.17. and therefore mea&s;ureth our obedience not accor|ding to our actions, but according to our offections, and accep|teth of the will for the deed, as before I haue &s;hewed.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But yet that we may not deceiue our &s;elues with a counter|feite &s;hew,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The properties of true obedi|ence: fir&s;t, that it must be to|tall and entire.</NOTE> wee are to know that this euangelicall obedience hath the&s;e properties; fir&s;t, it mu&s;t be totall, and that both in re&s;pect of the &s;ubiect and of the obiect; that is, wee mu&s;t not &s;hare our &s;elues betweene God and the world, giuing one the tongue, the other the heart; one our outward actions, and the other our inward affections; but we mu&s;t perfourme our obe|dience with our whole hearts, yea with the whole man bodie &s;oule and &s;pirit: for though wee be regenerated and &s;anctified but in part, yet is there no part of the whole man vnregenerate and vn&s;anctified, how&s;oeuer the fle&s;h and the corruption of nature be &s;pread likewi&s;e and mixed therewith throughout the whole bodie &amp; &s;oule. And therfore though all our obedience &s;auour of the fle&s;h, and is mingled with manifold imperfe|ctions, yet it doth proceede from the whole man bodie and &s;oule, becau&s;e regeneration from which it proceedeth is not of any part alone, but of the whole man. So al&s;o it mu&s;t be totall in re&s;pect of the obiect; for it is not &s;ufficient that with <HI>Herod</HI> we ob&s;erue many things, if we nouri&s;h willingly any one &s;inne taking therein plea&s;ure and delight, but wee mu&s;t de&s;ire and endeuour to for&s;ake all our &s;innes, and to performe obedience vnto all Gods commandements; for if we nouri&s;h one &s;inne in our hearts, it will open a doore to let in more when wee are
<PB N="242" REF="132">tempted vnto them; as wee may &s;ee in the example of <HI>Herod</HI> and <HI>Iudas,</HI> the one harbouring ince&s;t, the other couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e; if we neglect willingly, obedience to one precept of Gods law, it wil &s;o harden our harts and &s;eare our con&s;ciences, that &s;oone after we &s;hall neglect all. If therefore we would haue our obe|dience acceptable vnto God, we mu&s;t with the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> P&s;al. 119.6. haue <HI>re&s;pect vnto all Gods commandements;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al. 119.6. Iam. 2.10.</HI> The &s;econd propertie, that it mu&s;t be per|petuall and constant.</NOTE> for, <HI>he that faileth in one, is guiltie of all,</HI> as it is Iam. 2.10.</P>
<P>Secondly, this obedience mu&s;t be perpetuall, continuing in a con&s;tant cour&s;e from the time of our conuer&s;ion to the end of our liues; for we are not to iudge of our &s;elues or others, by one or two or many actions whether they be good or euil, but by the whole tenour and cour&s;e of our liues, &s;o that he who in this re&s;pect is holie and righteous, hee is &s;o accepted before God, notwith&s;tanding his many falles and great infirmities; he that in the cour&s;e of his life is wicked and prophane, is &s;o e&s;teemed of God, although hee &s;eeme to him&s;elfe and others religious by fits, and perfourmeth many excellent duties and good workes. It is therefore not &s;ufficient that we begin in the &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 3.3.</NOTE> if we end in the fle&s;h, Gal. 3.3. It is not &s;ufficient to pro|fe&s;&s;e and practi&s;e godline&s;&s;e in our youth, if wee breake off in our age; it is not enough that we enter into the Chri&s;tian race and runne well in the beginning, if wee &s;tand &s;till in the mid&s;t, or before we come to the goale;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 24.13 Luk. 9.62.</NOTE> <HI>for he only that endureth to the end &s;hall be &s;aued,</HI> as it is Matth. 24.13. As for him <HI>that laieth his hand on the plough and looketh backe, hee is not fit for Gods king|dome,</HI> as our Sauiour affirmeth Luk. 9.62.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The third pro|pertie, that it must be groun|ded on Gods word, and re|ferred to his glorie.</NOTE>La&s;tly, our obedience mu&s;t be grounded vpon Gods word, and therefore perfourmed becau&s;e the Lord hath enioyned &s;uch duties vnto vs; it mu&s;t proceed from faith, which fir&s;t pu|rifieth the heart, and then worketh by loue; it mu&s;t not bee done for any worldly re&s;pect; but of a con&s;cionable care of perfourming our duties, and in a feruent zeale of Gods glorie, which is magnified when as our lights &s;hine before men; which zeale will make vs goe forward in our cour&s;e of godli|ne&s;&s;e, <HI>through euill report,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 6.8.</NOTE> <HI>and good report, honour and di&s;honour.</HI> And if our obedience &s;pring from the&s;e fountaines, and be re|ferred to this end that God thereby may bee glorified; then will we make no le&s;&s;e con&s;cience of &s;ecret, than of open &s;innes;
<PB N="243" REF="132">then will wee be no le&s;&s;e readie to &s;erue God in the duties of pietie and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e when there is no witne&s;&s;e of our ac|tions, than if all the world &s;hould looke vpon vs; then will we be as fearefull to offend God in the breach of any of his com|mandements in our &s;ecret chambers in the darke night, as in the Church or market place at noone day.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The eight &s;igne of the childe of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The eight &s;igne, is the loue of our brethren, becau&s;e God hath comman|ded vs.</NOTE> is the loue of our bre|thren in obedience to Gods commandement; when as a man loues intirely a Chri&s;tian, becau&s;e he is a Chri&s;tian, and ingraf|ted into the &s;ame bodie of Chri&s;t whereof he is a member: for as it is impo&s;&s;ible that one member of the bodie &s;hould not loue, cheri&s;h, and defend another, becau&s;e they are quickened by the &s;ame &s;oule and gouerned by the &s;ame head; &s;o it is not po&s;&s;ible but that one true Chri&s;tian &s;hould loue, cheri&s;h, and defend another, becau&s;e they are quickned by the &s;ame &s;pirit, and ruled by the &s;ame head Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. And this is made a marke of Gods child by the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn,</HI> 1. Ioh. 3.14.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.14.</NOTE> <HI>We know that we are tran&s;lated from death to life, becau&s;e wee loue the bre|thren:</HI> as the want of this loue is a &s;ure note of the childe of wrath, for as it followeth in the &s;ame ver&s;e, <HI>he that loueth not his brother abideth in death.</HI></P>
<P>Now the vndoubted &s;ignes of loue and chri&s;tian charitie are two; giuing to tho&s;e that want,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ignes of true loue. <HI>1. Cor. 13.4</HI></NOTE> and forgiuing tho&s;e that of|fend: for it is a propertie of true loue to bee bountifull, 1. Cor. 13.4. as to all, &s;o e&s;pecially to tho&s;e that are of the hou&s;ehold of faith, as it is Gal. 6.10; and on the other &s;ide,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 6.10.</NOTE> <HI>He that hath this worlds good, and &s;eeth his brother haue neede, and &s;hutteth vp his compa&s;&s;ion from him, he is destitute of the loue of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.17.</NOTE> and con|&s;equently of the loue of his brethren, which is but a &s;treame i&s;&s;uing from this fountaine, 1. Ioh. 3.17. And this Chri&s;tian libe|ralitie as it is a &s;igne of true loue, &s;o al&s;o of our election and &s;aluation; for our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath &s;hewed vs, that accor|ding to the&s;e fruites of charity, and actions of Chri&s;tian libera|litie, hee will pronounce the &s;entence of euerla&s;ting ioy and happine&s;&s;e at the day of iudgement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.34, 35, &amp;c.</NOTE> Matth. 25.34, 35, 36. and on the other &s;ide, that he will pronounce the &s;entence of con|demnation again&s;t the neglectors of the&s;e duties of Chri&s;tian charitie, ver&s;. 41, 42, 43.</P>
<P>The &s;econd &s;igne of true loue is forgiuing, when as wee are
<PB N="244" REF="133">readie for Gods &s;ake and in obedience to his commandement to remit and pardon tho&s;e iniuries which are offered vs; for, <HI>loue is not prouoked to anger,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 13.5.7</NOTE> and therefore much le&s;&s;e to re|uenge; <HI>it &s;uffreth all things, it indureth all things,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 13.5, 7. Nay, it doth not onely not render euill for euill, but it ouercommeth euill with goodnes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12.19.21.</NOTE> leauing reuenge vnto God, and to his deputies and vicegerents the Magi&s;trates, as we may &s;ee in the example of our Sauiour Chri&s;t, and the ble&s;&s;ed Mar|tyr <HI>Steuen,</HI> who prayed for their per&s;ecutors; who&s;e example wee are to imitate, as the Apo&s;tle exhorteth Rom. 12.14. <HI>Ble&s;&s;e them that per&s;ecute you;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12.14.</NOTE> <HI>ble&s;&s;e I &s;ay and cur&s;e not.</HI> And &s;o &s;hall wee haue a certaine &s;igne of true loue, and an vndoubted note of Gods &s;pirit dwelling in vs, of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and con&s;equently of our election and &s;aluation. For naturallie we are Wolues, Leopards, Lions, yea Cockatrices who kil with their lookes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 11.6.8.</NOTE> as the Prophet &s;peaketh E&s;a. 11.6, 8. and like bruit and &s;auage bea&s;ts willing to offer all iniuries, but impatient of &s;uffring any: and therefore when our &s;auage crueltie is turned into charitie, and wee become as meeke and harmele&s;&s;e, as the lambe, calfe, or little childe, it is a manife&s;t &s;igne that our &s;toute courages are abated and beaten downe with the rod of Chri&s;ts mouth, that wee are borne anew and quickened by his &s;pirit, and that now wee are &s;eated in the mountaine of his holine&s;&s;e, and &s;hall be heires of his kingdome of glorie. So al&s;o hereby we are a&s;&s;ured of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, when we find our &s;elues readie and willing to forgiue our neighbours; for our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath promi&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 6.14.</NOTE> that if we <HI>doe forgiue men their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, our heauenly father will al&s;o forgiue vs,</HI> Matth. 6.14. and con&s;equently wee may a&s;&s;uredly gather, that wee are iu&s;tified, called, elected, and &s;hal be glorified.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The ninth &s;igne of the child of God elected to &s;aluation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The ninth &s;igne, is the loue of Gods ministers.</NOTE> is, the loue of Gods true Mini&s;ters and amba&s;&s;adours, not onely becau&s;e they are Chri&s;tians, but al&s;o becau&s;e they are &s;ent of God to execute the&s;e holie functions, for the gathering toge|ther of Gods elect. And this our Sauiour Chri&s;t declareth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 10.41.</NOTE> Matth. 10.41. <HI>He that receiueth a Prophet in the name of a Pr&ograve;|phet, &s;hall haue a Prophets reward;</HI> that is, euerla&s;ting ioy and vn&s;peakable happine&s;&s;e in Gods kingdom; for, <HI>they that turne many vnto righteou&s;nes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 12.3.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall &s;hine as the &s;tarres for euer and euer.</HI>
<PB N="245" REF="133">And becau&s;e none &s;hould pretend that by rea&s;on of their po|uertie they cannot &s;hew their loue to Gods Mini&s;ters, there|fore the Lord encourageth euen the poore&s;t, to &s;hew their goodwill and affection vnto them, Matth. 10.43. &s;aying,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 10.43.</NOTE> <HI>Who|&s;oeuer &s;hall giue to any of the&s;e little ones to drinke, a cup of cold wa|ter onely, in the name of a di&s;ciple, verely I &s;ay vnto you he &s;hall not lo&s;e his reward,</HI> namely in Gods kingdome. Moreouer, tho&s;e that loue Gods amba&s;&s;adours, doe prooue vnto them&s;elues and &s;hew vnto the world, that they haue receiued good by their amba&s;&s;age, euen reconciliation with God, peace of con|&s;cience and a&s;&s;urance of &s;aluation, which maketh them to thinke no worldly benefit &s;ufficient to requite the&s;e &s;pirituall graces, which by their meanes and mini&s;terie they haue recei|ued: and therefore with the Galatians they could bee content, if it were po&s;&s;ible to doe them good hereby,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 4.15.</NOTE> to pull out their owne eyes and to giue them vnto them, &s;eeing by their means the blind eyes of their vnder&s;tandings, are inlightened with the knowledge of God and Chri&s;t their Sauiour. And becau&s;e they haue receiued from them to their comfort, the glad ti|dings of peace and good things; therefore their feet, that is, their approaching and comming vnto them, &s;eeme beautiful and delightfull, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Rom. 10.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.15.</NOTE> If an am|ba&s;&s;adour were &s;ent from a mightie Prince, who was our ene|mie in time pa&s;t, and able at his plea&s;ure to de&s;troy vs and our countrey, to the end he might conclude a peace; and not only &s;o, but to offer vs the free v&s;e of al the riches and commodities of his kingdome; who would not receiue him with ioy, and giue him royall entertainment, if they were per&s;waded of the truth of his amba&s;&s;age? But wee by our &s;innes had made the glorious King of heauen and earth our enemie, who is able e|uery minute to de&s;troy vs with the breath of his no&s;trels; and it hath plea&s;ed the Lord to &s;end his amba&s;&s;adours, not only to offer peace, but al&s;o to be&s;eech vs that wee would be reconci|led vnto him, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh 2. Cor. 5.20;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.20.</NOTE> and vpon this reconciliation, hee a&s;&s;ureth vs of the riches of his king|dome: who therefore receiuing and beleeuing this amba&s;&s;age, will not loue the Amba&s;&s;adours that bring the&s;e ble&s;&s;ed ti|dings vnto them? Who can bee a&s;&s;ured of &s;uch ine&s;timable benefits, and yet &s;hew no token of thankfulnes towards them,
<PB N="246" REF="134">who are the meanes whereby they are deriued vnto them.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The great con|tempt of Gods mini&s;terie, a &s;igne that few pro&s;it by their mini&s;terie.</NOTE>Where by the way we may note, how few the number is in the&s;e daies, who receiue the Lords amba&s;&s;age to their &s;piritual comfort; how few they are to whome it is effectuall for the be|getting in them the graces of Gods &s;pirit; how few hereby come to the true a&s;&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes and euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e: &s;eeing the number is &s;o exceeding &s;mall who loue and re&s;pect the Lords amba&s;&s;adors in regarde of their amba&s;&s;age. Nay rather the mo&s;t, euen for their mini|&s;terie &s;ake doe contemne tho&s;e, whom otherwi&s;e in re&s;pect of their learning, wi&s;edome, and other excellent gifts of bodie and minde, they would re&s;pect and highly e&s;teeme if they were not of the mini&s;terie. So that their honorable calling, which aboue al things &s;hould commend them, doth aboue all things make them ba&s;e &amp; contemptible: and no maruell, &s;ee|ing the mo&s;t are fle&s;h and not &s;pirit, the children of <HI>Mammon</HI> and not the children of God: and therefore, &s;auoring onely the things of the fle&s;h &amp; not perceauing the things of the &s;pirit of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.14.</NOTE> they &s;eeme fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e vnto them, and the preachers of them fooles, and men of &s;hallow conceites. But let &s;uch know, that <HI>God hath cho&s;en the fooli&s;h things of the world to confound the wi&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.27.28</NOTE> <HI>and weake things to confound mightie things; &amp; vile things of the world, and things that are de&s;pi&s;ed hath God cho&s;en, and things that are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no fle&s;h &s;hould reioyce in his pre&s;ence,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 1.27.28. Let them know that this their contempt, or at lea&s;t &s;mall regarde of Gods amba&s;&s;adors, is a mo&s;t manife&s;t &s;igne that they neuer recei|ued good by their amba&s;&s;age: for had they receiued from them &s;pirituall things, they would neuer grudge to be&s;towe vpon them their worldly things, which in the true chri&s;tians e&s;ti|mation are not to be compared with them; and much le&s;&s;e would they again&s;t their owne con&s;cience defraud them of their owne right, which by the lawes of God and man is due vnto them, whereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that whereas all men being indu&s;trious and frugall, may liue plentifully e|uen of their meane&s;t trades, onely the Lord amba&s;&s;adors, though neuer &s;o painefull in their callings, liue in want and mi&s;erie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The la&s;t &s;igne of Gods childe elected to &s;aluation, which I
<PB N="247" REF="134">will &s;peake of,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The tenth &s;igne an earne&s;t de|&s;ire of Chri&s;ts comming to iudgement. <HI>Reuel. 22.20. Matth. 6.10.</HI></NOTE> is their earne&s;t de&s;ire that our Sauiour Chri&s;t &s;hould come to iudgement: whence proceedeth that patheti|call prayer, <HI>Come Lord Ie&s;us come quicklie,</HI> Reuel. 22.20; and that prayer which our Sauiour hath taught all the faithfull to pray daily, <HI>let thy kingdome come,</HI> Matth. 6.10. Now that this is a note of tho&s;e that are elected to &s;aluation, it appeareth plainely 2. Tim 4.8. Where the Apo&s;tle &s;aith that <HI>a crowne of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is laide vp for all tho&s;e that loue his appearing.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 4.8. Rom. 8.23.</NOTE> And Rom. 8.23, he telleth vs, that tho&s;e who haue the fir&s;t fruites of the &s;pirit, doe euen &s;igh in them&s;elues, waiting for the adop|tion euen the redemption of their body, when as their cor|ruption &s;hall put on incorruption, and the mortall body im|mortalitie, as he &s;peaketh 1. Cor. 15.53.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 15.53.</NOTE> So our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath tolde vs, that his faithfull children &s;hould at his com|ming, <HI>looke vp and lift vp their heads,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 21.28.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e their redemption draweth neere,</HI> Luk. 21.28; and on the other&s;ide <HI>that the king|dome of the earth &s;hall mourne,</HI> and that the prophane world|lings and reprobates <HI>&s;hall &s;ay to the mountaines and rockes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 24.30. Reuel. 6.16.</NOTE> <HI>fall on vs and hide vs from the pre&s;ence of him that &s;itteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lambe;</HI> Reuel. 6.16. So that by the&s;e places it is manife&s;t, that if we loue the appearing of the Lord Ie&s;us, and de&s;ire his comming to iudgement; we are the children of God indued with his &s;pirit, which a&s;&s;ureth vs of our &s;aluation. For naturally we abhorre to thinke of this feare|full day, and tremble with feare when mention is made of the appearing of our iudge, becau&s;e by our &s;innes we haue de&s;er|ued euerla&s;ting damnation: but when the &s;pirit of God by the mini&s;terie of the word, hath begot faith in vs, whereby we ap|ply vnto our &s;elues Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and all his merits, by whom we are reconciled vnto God and made friends who before were enemies, and &s;onnes of God and heyres of euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e who before were the children of wrath and fire|brands of hell, then doe we earne&s;tly de&s;ire the companie of our heauenly father; when we are a&s;&s;ured that our iudge &s;hall be our Sauiour, then can wee goe boldly to his iudgement &s;eate without feare of condemnation; when we are a&s;&s;ured that we are the beloued &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t, then we long for nothing more then for the comming of our bridegroome; when we are certainely per&s;waded that by Gods &s;pirit we are ingrafted
<PB N="248" REF="135">into the bodie of Chri&s;t, and are become liuely members of his body; then doe we hartily wi&s;h with the Apo&s;tle to be di&s;|&s;olued, that we may be with Chri&s;t our head in his kingdome of glorie, where together with him wee &s;hall receiue, and be fully &s;atisfied with &s;uch incomparable ioyes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.9.</NOTE> as <HI>neither eye hath &s;eene nor eare heard nor the heart of man conceiued.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XI.</HI> The obiections alleadged again&s;t the a&s;&s;urance of our election, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus much concerning the &s;ignes whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured of our election:<NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;wers vnto te&s;timonies al|ledged.</NOTE> now I will an|&s;were &s;uch obiections as are brought again&s;t this doctrine by the enemies of Gods truth. And the&s;e are of two &s;ortes, fir&s;t te&s;timonies of Gods word, and &s;econdly rea&s;ons. The te&s;timonies of &s;criptures are diuers:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.12. Pro. 28.14. Rom. 11.20.</NOTE> fir&s;t they obiect &s;uch places as the&s;e; 1. Cor. 10.12. <HI>Let him that thinketh he &s;tandeth, take heede lea&s;t he fall.</HI> Pro. 28.14. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man that feareth alwaies,</HI> Rom. 11.20. <HI>Be not high minded but feare.</HI> Phil. 2.12. <HI>Make an end of your &s;aluation with feare and trembling.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.12. 1 Pet. 1.17.</NOTE> 1. Pet. 1.17. <HI>Pa&s;&s;e the time of your dwelling here in feare:</HI> to all which and many other &s;uch like places, we may an&s;were generally, that the holy Gho&s;t would not here|by take away our certaintie of faith, but carnall &s;ecuritie; he would not depriue vs of the a&s;&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes and our election, but rather by the&s;e admonitions as with a bridle he curbeth in our vnrulie affections, and re&s;trai|neth vs from running into all licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnder this pre|tence that we are a&s;&s;ured of our election; he would not haue vs doubt of Gods grace, but he would not haue vs too much tru&s;t and rely on tho&s;e graces which wee haue receiued; and therefore he putteth vs in minde of our owne weakene&s;&s;e and infirmitie, not to the end we &s;hould doubt of our election, and de&s;paire or feare our per&s;euerance, but to the end that di|&s;tru&s;ting our owne &s;trength wee may wholy rely vpon the power loue and promi&s;es of God, and thereby gather &s;o much more certaine a&s;&s;urance of our election and per&s;euerance, as
<PB N="249" REF="135">the power of God is aboue the power of man; la&s;tly he giueth vs not the&s;e admonitions to bring vs into doubting, but would hereby &s;tirre vp our faith vnto the exerci&s;e of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that it may not through idlene&s;&s;e faint and waxe &s;tiffe and benummed, and vnable to performe the&s;e ho|ly actions, whereby this a&s;&s;urance and certaintie of our electi|on, would bee infeebled and not &s;o &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerned: and therefore the&s;e and &s;uch like &s;peeches tend not to this end that wee &s;hould doubt of our election, but rather that wee &s;hould be pre&s;erued from doubting; to which, carnall &s;ecuritie, &s;elfe confidence, negligence in the duties of holine&s;&s;e and righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and continuance in &s;inne would in the end bring vs; all which the &s;pirit of God by the&s;e admonitions and ex|hortations preuenteth.</P>
<P>Secondly, I an&s;were that the&s;e. and &s;uch like admonitions, are not directed onely to the faithfull, who may and ought to be a&s;&s;ured of their election, but in generall to the whole Church, wherein there are many hypocrites who content them&s;elues with a bare &s;hew of godline&s;&s;e, and many worldly men who plea&s;e them&s;elues with carnall &s;ecuritie, and a car|ca&s;e of faith, which neuer &s;o much as breatheth, and muchle&s;&s;e performeth any actions of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: and therefore as it was nece&s;&s;arie that the faithfull &s;hould be more and more confirmed with the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, &s;o was it requi&s;it that hypocrits and &s;ecure worldlings &s;hould be rou|zed out of their &s;ecuritie, with the&s;e and &s;uch like admonitions and comminations.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Neither were they nece&s;&s;arie for hypocrits and worldlings alone,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Admonitions and commina|tions profitable for Gods chil|dren.</NOTE> but euen for the deere children of God: who becau&s;e they are partly fle&s;h and partly &s;pirit, therefore as they haue neede that the &s;pirituall man &s;hould be comforted and their faith confirmed again&s;t diffidence and doubting, with the &s;weete promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell; &s;o had they neede to haue their vnruly fle&s;h curbed in, and re&s;trained from falling into retchle&s;&s;e &s;ecuritie, by the&s;e admonitions and comminations. And becau&s;e by rea&s;on of this diui&s;ion which is in our &s;elues, we are readie as it were to mutinie, one part of our forces be|ing readie to march cheerefully to the land of promi&s;e, the other to for&s;ake the way, &s;ometimes on the one &s;ide being
<PB N="250" REF="136">readie to turne backe againe, as vtterly de&s;pairing of attaining to the end of our iorney, when wee con&s;ider the &s;onnes of <HI>Anakim</HI> our &s;pirituall enemies, in re&s;pect of who&s;e &s;tature and &s;trength we are but as gra&s;hoppers, and the mightie op|po&s;itions which are made again&s;t our weake force; and &s;ome|times to goe on in a way which God hath not appointed, pre&s;uming vpon our owne &s;trength and abilities. Therefore that wee may keepe the &s;traight way without declining on either hand, God doth as it were hedge vs in on both &s;ides, to re&s;traine vs from wandring; on the one &s;ide with &s;weete pro|mi&s;es, that we may not de&s;paire, but rely our &s;elues on his &s;trength and a&s;&s;i&s;tance; on the other&s;ide with &s;weete admoni|tions and fearefull comminations, that we may not tru&s;t too much vnto our owne power, nor pre&s;ume vpon our owne a|bilities: and by the meanes of the one, he doth as it were pricke vs forward in our iourney, keeping vs from once thinking of &s;tanding &s;till, or returning againe into Aegypt; and by the other as with an hand he doth vphold vs, when we are wearie and readie to faint, hauing an eye to the crowne of glorie, and the garland of happine&s;&s;e, which is prepared for vs at the end of our cour&s;e, and race of chri&s;tianitie. And as a skilfull pilot, when his &s;hip is in a tempe&s;tuous and &s;traite &s;ea, in daunger to runne on the rockes or to &s;inke in the &s;andes, doth ca&s;t our ancor on both &s;ides, or mo&s;t care&s;ully looke vnto the &s;terne to keepe it in an euen cour&s;e; &s;o we &s;ailing in the tempe&s;tuous &s;ea of this mi&s;erable world, are in daunger on the one &s;ide to da&s;h vpon the rockes of pre&s;umptuous &s;ecuritie, and on the other&s;ide to &s;inke in the &s;ands and to plunge into the gulfe of de&s;peration: and therefore the Lord doth &s;tay vs from both, as it were with two &s;trong cables; the fir&s;t is legall commina|tions and &s;trict admonitions, to keepe vs from carnall &s;ecuri|tie and hypocriticall pre&s;umption, the other is &s;weete promi|&s;es whereby he keepeth vs from falling into doubting and de&s;peration; neither doth one of the&s;e hinder another, but both &s;tay vs from falling into the&s;e extremes.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> So that the&s;e admonitions are not giuen to make vs doubt|full of our election,<NOTE PLACE="marg">True true mea|ning of the &s;e|uerall places obiected.</NOTE> but partly to take away the pre&s;umption and &s;ecuritie of hypocrites and carnall worldlings, and partly to bridle and re&s;traine the fle&s;h from running headlong into
<PB N="251" REF="136">&s;inne, and from growing in&s;olent ouer the &s;pirit euen in Gods children, whereby in deede their a&s;&s;urance of &s;aluation would be abated and langui&s;h. The truth whereof appeareth if wee examine the &s;euerall places. For fir&s;t, whereas the Apo&s;tle, 1. Cor. 10.12. &s;aith, <HI>Let him that thinketh he &s;tandeth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.12.</NOTE> <HI>take heede least he fall;</HI> he doth not moue tho&s;e that are faithfull, to doubt of their per&s;euerance, but tho&s;e that want true faith, not to de|ceiue them&s;elues with vaine pre&s;umption, and with an opinion of faith in &s;tead of true faith in deede: and therefore hee &s;aith not &s;imply, let him that &s;tandeth, but let him that thinketh he &s;tandeth, that is, he that doth not &s;tand in deede but in his owne found opinion. Neither can it nece&s;&s;arily be proued, that this falling is to bee vnder&s;tood of finall falling away from God; but rather as the coherence of the text &s;heweth, of falling into tho&s;e &s;innes which the I&s;raelites fell into: and though it were, yet is it but an admonition to take away carnall &s;ecurity, not giuen to make vs doubt of our &s;tanding, but to pre&s;erue vs from falling.</P>
<P>Secondly, whereas the wi&s;e man &s;aith, Pro. 28.14,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pron. 28.14.</NOTE> <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man that feareth allwaies:</HI> he doth not vnder&s;tand thereby a doubtfull feare of our election, but a feare to &s;inne, and a con&s;cionable care of auoiding tho&s;e things which are di&s;plea|&s;ing in Gods &s;ight; which feare is oppo&s;ed to carnall &s;ecuritie and hardne&s;&s;e of heart, as appeareth in the &s;ame place where this is added, <HI>'But he that hardneth his heart &s;hall fall into euill:</HI> as though hee &s;hould &s;ay, that man is ble&s;&s;ed which feareth the Lord, for this will worke in him a con&s;cionable care of a|uoiding &s;inne, which is odious in the eyes of God, and of im|bracing holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which being acceptable vnto God, hee will reward with eternall ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e; but hee that hardneth his heart and continueth in carnall &s;ecuritie, run|neth headlong into the euill of &s;inne, and con&s;equently the euill of puni&s;hment, euen euerla&s;ting condemnation.</P>
<P>Thirdly, whereas the Apo&s;tle, Rom. 11.20,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.20.</NOTE> exhorteth, vs <HI>not to bee high minded but feare;</HI> hee doth not meane that wee &s;hould doubt of our election and &s;aluation, but doth hereby beate downe our &s;pirituall pride, and opinion of our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e, whereby we are ready to in&s;ult ouer the Iewes, as though we were cho&s;en and preferred be|fore
<PB N="252" REF="137">them, for &s;ome excellencie or worthine&s;&s;e in our &s;elues, and &s;o derogate from the free grace and goodne&s;&s;e of God, whereby he hath cho&s;en vs without any re&s;pect of our de&s;erts. And that this is the meaning of the&s;e words, appeareth in the eighteenth ver&s;e, where he willeth the Gentiles not to boa&s;t them&s;elues again&s;t the Iewes who were the naturall branches. Neither doth the Apo&s;tle write this to the faithfull onely, but to the whole Church of the Gentiles, in which were many hy|pocrites and carnall men, who contenting them&s;elues with a bare name of Chri&s;tians, would in&s;ult ouer the Iewes, whom God had ca&s;t off from being his Church and people; whom he warneth, not to be puft vp in pride, as though in this re&s;pect their &s;tate were mo&s;t &s;ecure and out of all danger; for as (&s;aith he) they were ca&s;t off for their infidelitie, euen when they were naturall branches, &s;o &s;hall you much more be reiected, who being wilde branches were grafted in their places (that is, cal|led to be the members of the vi&s;ible Church) if you continue in the like infidelity, contenting your &s;elues with vame confi|dence and fond pre&s;umption, in &s;tead of a liuely faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.12.</NOTE> whereas the Apo&s;tle, Phil. 2.12. doth exhort vs to worke out <HI>our &s;aluation with feare and trembling;</HI> he doth not hereby take away from vs a&s;&s;urance of our election and &s;alua|tion, but carnall &s;ecuritie and &s;elfe confidence; that &s;o de&s;pai|ring of our owne &s;trength, as being vnable of our &s;elues to thinke a good thought, or to will that which is good, we may in all humilitie re&s;t and rely our &s;elues, wholy vpon the Lord. And that this is his meaning, appeareth by the rea&s;on which he adioyneth in the ver&s;e following: for &s;aith hee, <HI>it is God which worketh in you both the will and the deede.</HI> As though hee &s;hould &s;ay, there is no rea&s;on why you &s;hould bee &s;ecure, as though you were able to &s;tand by your owne &s;trength; there is no cau&s;e why you &s;hould be lifted vp with fond pre&s;umpti|on, or be carried away with &s;elfe confidence, for of your &s;elues, you are not able &s;o much as to will that which is good, or to performe it though you &s;hould will it, vnle&s;&s;e it plea&s;e the Lord of his owne good plea&s;ure and free will to worke both in you, and therefore re&s;pecting your owne infirmities and im|perfections, you &s;hould bee &s;o farre from carnall &s;ecuritie or &s;elfe confidence, that contrariwi&s;e you &s;hould continually
<PB N="253" REF="137">feare, lea&s;t through your corruption you &s;hould be ouertaken of &s;inne, and &s;o di&s;plea&s;e the Lord which is your &s;oueraigne King and gracious Father. So that the Apo&s;tle doth not here exhort vs to doubt of our election and &s;aluation, but to a godly feare that we doe not fall into &s;inne: he would not haue vs to doubt of Gods grace and free promi&s;es, but of our own &s;trength, by which wee are altogether vnable to &s;tand if hee leaue vs to our &s;elues: hee would not haue vs feare lea&s;t wee &s;hould be reiected and damned, after we are truely conuerted vnto God, but lea&s;t we fall into &s;inne, and neglect that duety which we owe to our heauenly father.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Feare and di|&s;truct in our owne weake|ne&s;&s;e, and a&s;&s;u|rance of our e|lection, may well &s;tand to|gether.</NOTE>The&s;e two therefore may well &s;tand together: for the more we di&s;tru&s;t our owne weakene&s;&s;e, the more firmely we re&s;t vp|on the power and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of God, and the more we rely vp|on him, the more &s;ure we are of &s;tanding vnto the end: the &s;u|rer we are of Gods loue and fauour, the more we loue him a|gaine; and the more we loue him, the more fearefull we are to di&s;plea&s;e him: the more we &s;ee our pronene&s;&s;e to &s;inne, the more we feare lea&s;t we &s;hould fall into it; and the more we &s;u&s;|pect our &s;elues, the more earne&s;tly we implore the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Gods &s;pirit, whereby wee are inabled to with&s;tand temptati|ons. And therefore <HI>Dauid</HI> ioyneth the&s;e together, P&s;al. 2.11. <HI>Serue the Lord in feare, and reioyce in trembling;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2.11.</NOTE> noting thereby that Gods children feare, yea, euen tremble in regard of their owne infirmities and corruptions, and yet at the &s;ame time they reioyce and are filled with con&s;olation, in re&s;pect of that full a&s;&s;urance which they haue of Gods loue and fauour, and their election and &s;aluation. And as he ioyneth them in pre|cept, &s;o al&s;o in his owne practi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 5.7.</NOTE> P&s;alm. 5.7. <HI>I will</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>come into thine hou&s;e in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy feare will I wor&s;hip towards thy holy temple:</HI> &s;o that at the &s;ame time, when as hee was incouraged by the con&s;ideration of Gods great mercy, to goe boldly and with a liuely faith vnto the throne of grace; he was al&s;o touched with a godly feare in regard of his vnworthine&s;&s;e and imperfections; not that he doubted lea&s;t hee &s;hould not bee accepted of God, but lea&s;t in wor&s;hipping of God hee &s;hould bewray his corruption, and not doe it in that manner and mea&s;ure which God re|quireth.</P>
<PB N="254" REF="138">
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But again&s;t this it may be obiected that <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Obiection.</HI> 1. Ioh. 4.18. <HI>An&s;were.</HI></NOTE> 1. Epi&s;t. 4.18. <HI>There is no feare in loue, but perfect loue ca&s;teth out feare, &amp;c.</HI> I an&s;were, that there is a twofold feare mentioned in the &s;crip|tures; the fir&s;t is a &s;eruile feare proceeding from incredulitie, whereby men feare God as a &s;cuere iudge, who is ready to in|flict on them tho&s;e iu&s;t puni&s;hments which by their &s;innes they haue de&s;erued, which feare is expelled when as we are a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue and loue him againe. The other is a &s;onne-like feare, which is a fruite of faith, whereby we doe not feare God as an enemy or an angry iudge, but as a gracious Father, who&s;e di&s;plea&s;ure we would by no meanes incurre; not that we feare his wrath and vengeance, as though it were ready to fall vpon vs, but becau&s;e we would not thus abu&s;e his mercy and goodne&s;&s;e towards vs, nor doe any thing which might cau&s;e him to looke vpon vs with a frowning countenance: or if we doe feare Gods iudgements, it is as they are inflicted on another &s;ubiect, and not as being ready to fall vpon vs: for this difference is betweene the feare of the wicked and Gods children, they like malefactors which are led out to puni&s;h|ment, are filled with horror and feare when they thinke of the torments which they are to indure, but yet did neuer feare to commit &s;uch crimes as de&s;crued the puni&s;hments, and though they &s;hould e&s;cape, yet this would be no warning for the time to come; but Gods children &s;eeing the iudgements which are exerci&s;ed vpon the wicked, doe feare, not lea&s;t they &s;hould be inflicted vpon them pre&s;ently, but lea&s;t they &s;hould &s;o offend and de&s;erue the like puni&s;hments, fir&s;t auoyding &s;inne, that they may not receiue the wages thereof. And this &s;onne-like feare is commended vnto vs in the &s;criptures, as being a part of the honour and &s;eruice which we owe vnto God, as appeareth Mal. 1.6.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 1.6.</NOTE> <HI>A &s;onne honoureth his father, and a &s;eruant his mai|&s;ter, if I be a father where is mine honour, if I be a maister where is my feare &s;aith the Lord?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 34.9. and 112.1.</NOTE> So P&s;alm. 34.9. <HI>Feare the Lord yee his &s;aints, for nothing wanteth to them that feare him.</HI> And P&s;alme 112.1. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man that feareth the Lord and delighteth greatly in his commaundements.</HI> In which places we are not to vnder&s;tand a &s;eruile and &s;laui&s;h feare, but an ingenuous and &s;onne-like feare, which drawes vs backe from falling into &s;inne, and incites vs to performe all good duties of holine&s;&s;e
<PB N="255" REF="138">and righteou&s;nes to God and our brethren, becau&s;e we would not incurre the di&s;plea&s;ure of our heauenly father, but do tho&s;e things which are acceptable in his &s;ight.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, whereas the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> 1. epi&s;t. 1.17. exhorteth vs <HI>to pa&s;&s;e the time of our dwelling here in feare,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.17.</NOTE> hee doth not vnder|&s;tand &s;uch a feare as maketh vs to doubt of our election and &s;aluation, but &s;uch an one as prouoketh vs to obey Gods com|mandements, and re&s;traineth vs from wallowing and defiling our &s;elues in &s;inne: for with this feare in the ver&s;e following he ioyneth certaine knowledge of our redemption, and con&s;e|quently of our election and &s;aluation, <HI>knowing</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as &s;iluer and gold from your vaine conuer&s;ation, &amp;c. but with the pretious bloud of Christ.</HI> So that this feare doth not take away the certaine knowledge of our election and redemption, but this knowledge cau&s;eth vs to feare lea&s;t we fall into &s;inne after we are a&s;&s;ured of this great benefit of our redemption, and thereby di&s;plea&s;e our gracious God, and defile our &s;oules after they are purged with the pre|tious bloud of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Be&s;ides the&s;e places, there are others al&s;o obiected,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Other places obiected an|&s;wered. <HI>Iob. 9.21.</HI></NOTE> as that Iob. 9.21. <HI>Though I were perfect, yet I know not my &s;oule; therefore I abhorre my life.</HI> To which I an&s;were, that <HI>Iobs</HI> &s;cope and drift in this place is to &s;hew, that euen the mo&s;t iu&s;t and holie man cannot &s;tand before Gods iudgement &s;eate in his owne righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e, which is polluted and imperfect, and that therefore it behooueth euery one to de&s;paire in him&s;elfe and his legall righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, as not being able to iu&s;tifie him in Gods &s;ight, in re&s;pect of who&s;e puritie euen the very hea|uens are vncleane, that &s;o he may wholy rely vpo~ Gods mercy and Chri&s;ts merits; and this appeareth ver&s;. 2.3. I know verely (&s;aith he) that it is &s;o (that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 9.2.</NOTE> that God is iu&s;t and all men are &s;inners, who are righteou&s;ly puni&s;hed for their demerits, as <HI>Bildad</HI> had rea&s;oned in the former chapter) and therefore how &s;hould man compared vnto God be iu&s;tified? 3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 3.</NOTE> If he would di&s;pute with him, hee could not an&s;were him one thing of a thou&s;and. And ver&s;. 20. If I would iu&s;tifie my &s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 20.</NOTE> mine owne mouth &s;hould condemne me; if I would bee perfect, hee &s;hall iudge me wicked. 21. And though I were innocent or perfect, (that is, though I &s;eemed iu&s;t in mine own eyes, and knew no|thing
<PB N="256" REF="139">by my &s;elfe) yet I know not mine owne &s;oule, nor what &s;ecret corruptions may lurke in it, and therfore I will not here|by looke to be iu&s;tified, nay in this re&s;pect I abhorre my life, and ca&s;t mine owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e from me as a polluted cloute. By which manner of rea&s;oning hee confuteth <HI>Bildads</HI> obiection, who affirmed that <HI>Iob</HI> and his &s;onnes were puni&s;hed of God for their &s;innes and that iu&s;tly, and therefore they were not &s;o iu&s;t and innocent as they had &s;eemed: to this <HI>Iob</HI> an|&s;wereth, that it is true indeede he could not iu&s;tifie him&s;elfe in re&s;pect of his owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, if hee compared him&s;elfe with Gods exact iu&s;tice, but mu&s;t needes condemne him&s;elfe for a wretched &s;inner; yet hence it followed not that therfore God thus afflicted him, &s;eeing this was the &s;tate not of him onely but of all men what&s;oeuer: and therefore this could not be the onely cau&s;e of his extraordinarie afflictions. So that this place makes nothing again&s;t the a&s;&s;urance of our &s;aluation, which is grounded vpon Gods free mercy and Chri&s;ts merits; but again&s;t that pre&s;umption which relieth it &s;elfe in whole or in part, vpon our owne legall righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The like place to this is that &s;aying of <HI>Paul</HI> which they ob|iect, 1. Cor. 4.3, 4.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 4.3 4.</NOTE> <HI>I iudge not mine own &s;elfe, for I know nothing by my &s;elfe, yet am I not thereby iu&s;tified, but he that iudgeth me is the Lord.</HI> For an&s;wering whereof, we are to know, that there were diuers in the Church of Corinth, who cen&s;ured <HI>Pauls</HI> mini&s;te|rie and di&s;graced his gifts; a gain&s;t which detractations he ben|deth his &s;peech and maketh an apologie for him&s;elfe, &s;aying, that hee would not take vpon him to iudge him&s;elfe, concer|ning the excellencie and worth of his mini&s;terie and gifts, but would leaue the iudgement and approbation thereof vnto God, who&s;e amba&s;&s;adour hee was; and though he knew no|thing which might bee obiected again&s;t him in regard of his mini&s;terie, yet hereby hee would not looke to bee iu&s;tified in Gods pre&s;ence: So that if this be the &s;en&s;e of the words, as ap|peareth by the coherence and the drift of the place, it maketh nothing for popi&s;h doubting. But let it bee granted that <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peakes not of his mini&s;terie, but of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and o|bedience to the law, yet this maketh nothing again&s;t the cer|taintie of our election; for the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of his owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and innocencie, doth di&s;claime it from being
<PB N="257" REF="139">any cau&s;e of his iu&s;tification: neither doth he &s;ay that in regard therof he doubteth, as the Papi&s;ts would expound him, but he affirmeth directly that he is not thereby iu&s;tified, and rendreth this as a rea&s;on, that it is God who iudgeth him: and therfore though he were vnblameable before men, yea though he knew nothing by him&s;elfe; yet hee could not hereby be iu&s;tified be|fore the iu&s;t iudgement &s;eate of God, who requires &s;uch perfe|ction and exact obedience as can be found in no man liuing; for he that but once breaketh but one commandement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 2.10.</NOTE> is guil|tie of all, as it is Iam. 2.10. And therefore it behooued the A|po&s;tle and al others, not to &s;eeke for iu&s;tification in them&s;elues and their owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but in the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience of Chri&s;t, which wee may boldly pre&s;ent before Gods exact iudgement &s;eate, and there bee accepted as righ|teous. And of this iu&s;tificatio~ the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, not doubt|fully or timorou&s;ly, but boldly and certainly, Rom. 5.1. <HI>Being iustified by faith, we haue peace towards God through our Lord Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> 2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.1.2.</NOTE> <HI>By whom al&s;o we haue acce&s;&s;e through faith vnto his grace wherein we &s;tand, and reioyce vnder the hope of the glorie of God.</HI> So Rom. 8.33. <HI>Who &s;hall lay any thing to the charge of Gods cho&s;en? it is God that iustifieth.</HI> 34.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.33.</NOTE> <HI>Who &s;hall condemne? it is Chri&s;t who is dead, yea rather which is ri&s;en againe, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Moreouer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioel 2.14. Amos 5.15.</NOTE> they obiect the&s;e places to moue vs to doubt of our election and &s;aluation. Ioel 2.14. <HI>Who knoweth if he will re|turne and repent;</HI> and Amos 5.15. <HI>It may be that the Lord God of hoa&s;ts will be mercifull vnto the remnant of Io&s;eph.</HI> And Ion. 3.9. <HI>Who can tell if God will turne and repent,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ionas 3.9.</NOTE> <HI>and turne away from his fearce wrath that wee peri&s;h not?</HI> To which I an&s;were, that the Prophets in the&s;e places doe not &s;peake of the election or e|ternall &s;aluation of tho&s;e that truly repent, but of their deliue|rie from outward afflictions, and temporarie calamities threat|ned again&s;t them for their &s;innes: which &s;ometimes the Lord doth inflict on his children after their true repentance, either for their cha&s;tizement, that they may therby hate &s;inne for the time to come, when they feele the &s;mart of it; or els for their triall: and &s;ometimes al&s;o the Lord after hee hath threatned them again&s;t the wicked, doth notwith&s;tanding hold backe his hand, and as it were put vp his &s;word of iu&s;tice againe into the &s;cabberd, which he had drawne out to puni&s;h their &s;innes, vp|pon
<PB N="258" REF="140">on their outward humiliation and fained repentance, that hee may &s;hew hereby how highly hee e&s;teemeth the true repen|tance of his children, as appeareth in the example of the Ni|neuits and of <HI>Ahab,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 21.29.</NOTE> 1. King. 21.29. And therefore &s;eeing the Lord keepeth no certaine cour&s;e in the&s;e temporarie cha&s;tize|ments, but &s;ometimes inflicteth them vpon the repentant whom hee dearely loueth, and &s;ometime &s;pareth the wicked when they but outwardly humble them&s;elues before him; ther|fore the Prophets &s;peak doubtfully and exhort to repentance, referring the euent to Gods wi&s;e and gracious prouidence. And thus doubtfully doth <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;peake in this re&s;pect 2. Sam. 12.22.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Sam. 12.22. and 16.12.</NOTE> <HI>Who can tell</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>whether God will haue mercie on me that the child may liue?</HI> and chap. 16.12. <HI>It may be the Lord will looke vpon mine affliction;</HI> and yet though hee were doubtfull whether hee &s;hould be freed from the&s;e temporall cro&s;&s;es, hee was notwith&s;tanding certainly per&s;waded of his election and &s;aluation;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.11.</NOTE> as hee profe&s;&s;eth P&s;al. 16.11. So that the&s;e places &s;peaking of temporarie cha&s;tizements, make nothing again&s;t the certaintie of our election.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And like vnto the&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 8.22.</NOTE> is that which they alledge to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, Act. 8.22. where <HI>Peter</HI> exhorteth <HI>Simon Magus to repent of his wickedne&s;&s;e, and to pray vnto God, that if peraduen|ture the wicked thought of his heart might be forgiuen him.</HI> To which I an&s;were, fir&s;t, that the originall word <GAP DESC="foreign">, which is tran&s;lated, <HI>if peraduenture,</HI> and in our Bibles, <HI>if it be po&s;&s;ible,</HI> &s;om|times al&s;o &s;ignifieth, <HI>that truly,</HI> and in this &s;en&s;e it maketh no|thing for doubting. Secondly, though wee vnder&s;tand it as a &s;peech of doubting, yet it maketh not for their purpo&s;e; for it is not to bee referred vnto God, as though it were doubtfull whether he would forgiue the &s;innes of the Magician, if he did truly repent and call vpon him; for hee hath certainly a&s;&s;ured vs by his gracious promi&s;e, that who&s;oeuer truly repenteth him of his wicked waies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 33.11.</NOTE> he will receiue him to mercie, Ezech. 33.11. But it is to be referred to <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> of who&s;e repen|tance and liuely faith <HI>Peter</HI> might well doubt, lea&s;t either they would be none at all, or els fained and hypocriticall, &s;ee|ing his heart was not right in the &s;ight of God, but in the gall of bitterne&s;&s;e and bond of iniquitie. La&s;tly, though it &s;hould be a doubtfull &s;peech and bee referred al&s;o to God, yet it ma|keth
<PB N="259" REF="140">nothing again&s;t the certaintie of faith; for the Apo&s;tle &s;eeing him in the gall of bitterne&s;&s;e and bond of iniquitie, thought it not fit to rai&s;e him vp &s;uddenly, by applying vnto him the &s;weete promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, nor to ca&s;t tho&s;e pre|tious pearles before &s;uch a filthie &s;wine, vnle&s;&s;e fir&s;t hee pre&s;er|ued them as it were in the casket of a doubt&s;ull and perplexed &s;peech, from being trampled vnder his bemired feete, till hee had wa&s;hed them in the teares of vnfained repentance. Moreo|uer, he thus doubtfully &s;peaketh to giue him a more cleere in|&s;ight of the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his &s;inne, as though it might bee well doubted of, whether the Lord would forgiue it or no, that &s;o his minde hereby being lea&s;t perplexed, might by the con|&s;ideration of his horrible &s;inne bee beaten downe and truly humbled; and becau&s;e tho&s;e things which are hardly obtai|ned are more earne&s;tly &s;ought, therefore <HI>Peter</HI> intimateth vn|to him by this doubtfull &s;peech, that it was no ea&s;ie matter to obtaine forgiuene&s;&s;e for &s;uch outragious wickedne&s;&s;e, that hee might hereby work in the Magician more earne&s;t &amp; hearty re|pentance, &amp; incite him to call vpon the Lord for mercie with more vehemencie and feruencie of &s;pirit. It is not therfore the Apo&s;tles meaning to ouerthrow the certaintie of faith, or to call into que&s;tion Gods mercie, whether hee will extend it or no to hainous offenders who truly repent of their &s;innes and beleeue, for this were contrary to the whole cour&s;e of the Go&s;|pell; but he v&s;eth this doubtfull &s;peech to this de&s;perate &s;in|ner, that he might not make the &s;oueraigne &s;alue of Gods gra|tious promi&s;es ba&s;e and contemptible, by applying it to the fe&s;tred &s;ores of a filthy dogge, which were neuer clean&s;ed with the &s;harpe corra&s;iues of the law; and al&s;o for the good of this malitious &s;inner, for he doth not ab&s;olutely a&s;&s;ure him of mer|cie and forgiuenes, that hee might be &s;tirred vp with more ear|ne&s;tne&s;&s;e and care to &s;eeke it; for the ea&s;ine&s;&s;e of obtaining maketh the &s;uiter carele&s;&s;e and negligent in &s;eeking and &s;uing; neither doth hee ab&s;olutely exclude him fro~ all hope of grace, lea&s;t hee &s;hould neuer labour after it, but de&s;perately run on in his wickednes; for when hope is cut off, the de&s;ire al&s;o fainteth, and therefore he v&s;eth a perplexed and wi&s;e tempered &s;peech, which on the one &s;ide might pre&s;erue him fro~ &s;ecure pre&s;ump|tion, and on the other &s;ide from falling into helli&s;h de&s;peratio~.</P>
<PB N="260" REF="141">
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 5.5.</NOTE> they obiect that &s;aying Eccle&s;. 5.5. which they thus reade: <HI>De propitiato peccato noli e&s;&s;e &s;ine metu, neque adijcias pec|catum &s;uper peccatum.</HI> That is, be not without feare concerning &s;innes forgiuen, neither adde &s;inne vnto &s;inne. To which, fir&s;t I an&s;wer, that this book is not canonicall &s;cripture, and therfore not to bee alledged for the determining of que&s;tions in con|trouer&s;ie, nor for the confirming of doctrines of faith. Second|ly, I an&s;were that they haue corruptly tran&s;lated the originall text, for hee willeth vs not to feare concerning our &s;innes for|giuen, but concerning the forgiuene&s;&s;e of them before they are remitted, lea&s;t wee &s;hould &s;ecurely adde &s;inne vnto &s;inne, becau&s;e forgiuene&s;&s;e is promi&s;ed when&s;oeuer wee repent, and &s;o abu&s;e the mercie and long &s;uffring of God to our iu&s;t con|demnation. So that he forbiddeth not to beleeue certainly, that our &s;innes are remitted when God hath pardoned them, but he forbiddeth vs to runne on in &s;inne &s;ecurely, pre&s;uming vp|on forgiuenes, as plainly appeareth by the originall text and the whole drift and &s;cope of the place. For in the ver&s;e going before he v&s;eth this &s;peech: <HI>Say not I haue &s;inned, and what euill hath happened vnto me, for the Lord is long &s;uffring, but yet he will not di&s;mi&s;&s;e or acquit thee;</HI> and in this ver&s;e hee biddeth vs not to be without feare concerning the forgiuene&s;&s;e of &s;inne, ad|ding &s;inne vnto &s;inne, that is, we mu&s;t not goe on in &s;inne pre|&s;uming vpon forgiuene&s;&s;e: and ver&s;. 6. <HI>Doe not &s;ay that his mer|cie is great, he will forgiue my manifold &s;innes: 7. For mercie and wrath are &s;wift with him; but vpon &s;inners his indignation &s;hall re&s;t.</HI> 8. <HI>Doe not deferre to turne vnto the Lord, neither put it off from day to day; for &s;uddenly the wrath of the Lord &s;hall breake foorth, and in thy &s;ecuritie thou &s;halt be de&s;troyed, and thou &s;halt peri&s;h in the time of vengeance.</HI> In all which words hee doth not take away the a&s;&s;urance of the forgiuene&s;&s;e of our &s;innes after we haue truly repented of them, but carnall &s;ecuritie and vaine pre&s;umption, whereby men deferre their repentance vpon hope of mercie and forgiuenes when&s;oeuer they repent. La&s;t|ly, though this place were to be vnder&s;tood concerning &s;innes forgiuen, yet the &s;cope thereof is not to hinder our a&s;&s;urance of forgiuene&s;&s;e when we haue truly repented, but only that we doe not after wee haue obtained remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, take occa&s;ion thereby of falling into &s;inne againe, and &s;o abu&s;e the
<PB N="261" REF="141">mercie and goodne&s;&s;e of God, v&s;ing it as an argument to mooue vs to goe on in &s;inne, becau&s;e the Lord vpon our re|pentance is alwaies readie to receiue vs to mercie.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XII.</HI> The rea&s;ons alledged again&s;t the a&s;&s;urance ofour &s;aluation, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the te&s;timonies of &s;crip|ture,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That it is not arrogancie or pre&s;umption to be a&s;&s;ured of our &s;aluation.</NOTE> which are alledged again&s;t the certaintie of faith: now let vs con&s;ider their rea&s;ons. Fir&s;t, they obiect that it is proud arrogancie and he|reticall pre&s;umption for a mi&s;erable &s;inner, without all doubting to a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe that he is elected and &s;hall be &s;aued. To which I an&s;were, that if with the phari&s;aicall papi&s;ts and proud iu&s;ticiaries, we did build our a&s;&s;urance vpon our owne merits and worthine&s;&s;e, it were indeede intollera|ble arragancie and proud pre&s;umption, not onely certainely to beleeue, but euen to doubt whether we are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued (for where as doubting is there is &s;ome hope al&s;o) whereas the &s;criptures peremptorily conclude, that they who <HI>looke for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and &s;aluation by the law, are vnder the cur&s;e,</HI> Gal. 3.10;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. 3.10. Rom. 3.20.</NOTE> and that <HI>by the workes of the law &s;hall no fle&s;h be iu&s;tified in Gods &s;ight,</HI> Rom. 3.20; and that <HI>we are iu&s;tified not by our de&s;erts,</HI> in whole or in part, <HI>but freely by Gods grace through the redemption which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us,</HI> as it is, ver&s;. 24. But &s;eeing we wholy di&s;claime our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and humbly acknowledging our owne mi&s;erie and wretchedne&s;&s;e, doe wholy rely our &s;elues vpon the gracious promi&s;es of God, and the merits of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, &s;eeing we become nothing in our &s;elues in the worke of our &s;aluation that God may be all in all, &s;eeing we ca&s;t away all glorie from our &s;elues, that we may wholy glorie in the Lord according to that Ierem. 9.24. <HI>Let him that glorieth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 9.24.</NOTE> <HI>glorie in this that hee vnder&s;tandeth and knoweth me:</HI> This is not proud arrogancie nor hereticall pre|&s;umption, but chri&s;tian humilitie which giueth all glorie vnto God, leauing nothing to our &s;elues but the comfort which is wrought in our hearts, by the a&s;&s;urance we haue of Gods pro|mi&s;es. Nay the more vndoubtedly we tru&s;t in Gods promi&s;es,
<PB N="262" REF="142">the greater is our humilitie; for the more wretched we are in our owne eyes, the more we &s;ee our imperfections, yea our nothing in Gods &s;ight; and hereby we are moued to goe out of our &s;elues, to &s;eeke for &s;aluation onely in Gods free grace and Chri&s;ts merits, and to re&s;t in them with full a&s;&s;urance, as being in them&s;elues all &s;ufficient without our workes and wor|thine&s;&s;e. On the other&s;ide the more we doubt of our &s;aluation, in re&s;pect of our vnworthine&s;&s;e, the more is our pride and ar|rogancie; for we would not doubt in regarde of our vnwor|thine&s;&s;e, vnle&s;&s;e we looked for &s;aluation by our worthine&s;&s;e, and therefore we come &s;o farre &s;hort in faith and hope, as we finde our &s;elues &s;hort in merits; and whence can this proceede but from arrogancie and pride, which maketh men to looke for &s;aluation in them&s;elues, and to doubt of Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merits, vnle&s;&s;e they finde that they haue de&s;erued them by their owne workes and worthine&s;&s;e? Let vs therefore ab|horre this proud humilitie of the papi&s;ts which maketh them doubt of Gods mercifull promi&s;es, and con&s;equently of his truth;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 5.10.</NOTE> for as it is 1. Ioh. 5.10. <HI>He that beleeueth not God, hath made him a lyer;</HI> and al&s;o of the &s;ufficiencie and valew of that ine&s;timable price which Chri&s;t Ie&s;us hath giuen for our re|demption, as though it were imperfect in it &s;elfe, vnle&s;&s;e it be eitched and patched vp with our owne merits and worthine&s;&s;e: and though we are mo&s;t abiect, wretched, and in a de&s;perate ca&s;e in re&s;pect of our &s;elues, yet let vs haue a&s;&s;ured tru&s;t and confident bouldne&s;&s;e, yea a triumphant boa&s;ting and glory|ing in re&s;pect of our Sauiour Chri&s;t, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Ephe&s;. 3.12. Rom. 5.2. Notable is the &s;aying of <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> to this purpo&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 3.12. Rom. 5.2. Serm. 28. de|uerbis domini. Omnia tibi peccata tua dimi&s;&s;a &s;unt.</NOTE> <HI>Ideo prae&s;ume non de operatione tua &s;ed de chri&s;ti gratia,</HI> pre&s;ume therefore (&s;aith he) not of thine owne wor|king but of Chri&s;ts grace, for ye are &s;aued by grace &s;aith the Apo&s;tle; therefore here is no arrogancie but faith, to &s;hew what thou ha&s;t receiued; it is not pride but deuotion. So in an|other place,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In P&s;al. 88.</NOTE> <HI>Hoc dixit deus, hoc promi&s;it, &s;i parum e&s;t hoc, iurauit.</HI> The Lord hath &s;aid this, he hath promi&s;ed it, and if this be not enough he hath &s;worne it. Becau&s;e therefore the promi&s;e is &s;ure and confirmed, not according to our merits but accor|ding to his mercie, let no man profe&s;&s;e that with feare, of which he cannot doubt.</P>
<PB N="263" REF="142">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Doubting pro|ceedeth from pride and arro|gancie.</NOTE>But they further vrge, that humble doubting is better than pre&s;umptuous a&s;&s;urance; I an&s;were, fir&s;t that their doubting is full of pride, which maketh them looke for &s;aluation in their owne worthine&s;&s;e, rather than in Gods free mercie and Chri&s;ts merits: &s;econdly that our faith and certaine a&s;&s;urance is full of humilitie; for wee freely confe&s;&s;e our owne vnworthine&s;&s;e, and dare not offer before the &s;eate of Gods iu&s;tice any righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e that is in vs, as de&s;iring in whole or in part to be iu&s;tified thereby; nay rather we pray with the Prophet P&s;al. 143.2. <HI>Enter not into iudgement with thy &s;eruant, for in thy &s;ight &s;hall none that liueth be iu&s;tified;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 143.2.</NOTE> and <HI>though we know nothing by our &s;elues</HI> yet doe we plain<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ly affirme with the Apo&s;tle, that <HI>we are not hereby iu&s;tified.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 4.4.</NOTE> 1. Cor. 4.4. But this humilitie doth not abate our faith and certaine a&s;&s;urance, nay rather it doth confirme and increa&s;e it, for it maketh vs to goe out of our &s;elues, as finding no hope of &s;aluation whereupon we may re&s;t, and moueth vs to &s;eeke for &s;aluation in Chri&s;t, who is &s;uch a &s;ure ancorhold that who&s;oeuer pitch the ancor of their hope on him, &s;hall finde it &s;ure and &s;teadfa&s;t, and who&s;oeuer build their faith on this foundation and corner &s;tone, the power of hell &s;hall neuer preuaile again&s;t them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, they obiect that we are vnworthie of Gods loue,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Our vnworthi|ne&s;&s;e no cau&s;e why we &s;hould doubt of our e|lection.</NOTE> or to be elected, and therefore we cannot be a&s;&s;ured thereof. I an&s;were, this were true if Gods election depended vpon our worthine&s;&s;e and de&s;erts; but &s;eeing the Lord re&s;pecteth not any thing in vs, but elected vs freely of his vnde&s;erued grace and meere goodwill; our vnworthine&s;&s;e in our &s;elues may well &s;tand with the a&s;&s;urance of our election: for tho&s;e who are mo&s;t vnworthie neede not to doubt of Gods loue and their election and &s;aluation, &s;o that they wholy rely vpon Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merits by a true and liuely faith; fora&s;much as they are not grounded vpon their worthine&s;&s;e, and therefore cannot be ouerthrowne by their vnworthine&s;&s;e. Notable is the &s;aying of <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> to this purpo&s;e. <HI>Tria (inquit) &s;unt quae &s;ic roborant &amp; confirmant cor meum, vt nulla me penuriae meritorum &amp;c.</HI> There are three things (&s;aith he) which &s;o &s;trengthen and confirme my heart, that no want of merits, no con&s;ideration of mine owne vilene&s;&s;e, no e&s;timation of the heauenly ble&s;&s;ed|ne&s;&s;e, can deiect me from the height of my hope: vpon them
<PB N="264" REF="143">my &s;oule is &s;urely &s;etled. Wilt thou know what they are? I con|&s;ider three things vpon which my hope wholy relieth, to wit, the loue of adoption,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. Manual. cap. 23.</NOTE> the truth of the promi&s;e, the abilitie of performance. Let now my fooli&s;h cogitation murmur as much as it will, &s;aying, but who art thou, or how great is that glorie; or with what merits doe&s;t thou hope to obtaine it? And I will boldly an&s;were, I know whom I haue beleeued, and I am a&s;&s;ured, becau&s;e God hath adopted me in great loue, becau&s;e he is true in his promi&s;e, becau&s;e hee is powerfull in performance, for he may doe what he will.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Weakenes of faith and cer|taintie may well &s;tand to|gether.</NOTE> they obiect that our faith is weake and feeble, and by rea&s;on thereof the faithfull (a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters">peareth by continuall ex|perience) are a&s;&s;aulted with doubting, and grieuou&s;ly &s;haken with Sathans temptations, &s;o as there can be no &s;uch certaintie of faith as we &s;peake of. To which I an&s;were, that weakene&s;&s;e of faith is not oppo&s;ed as contrarie to certaintie, but to &s;trong|ne&s;&s;e and full per&s;wa&s;ion, and therefore weakene&s;&s;e and cer|taintie may well &s;tand together. Neither doe we imagine &s;uch a certaintie of faith which is neuer &s;haken with doubting, nor a&s;&s;aulted with temptations; nay rather we teach that tho&s;e whom God indueth with mo&s;t faith, he mo&s;t exerci&s;eth in the conflict of temptations, like a wi&s;e captaine who &s;etteth that &s;ouldier which is be&s;t armed and &s;tronge&s;t, to beare the brunt in the forefront of the battaile: and the diuell is mo&s;t readie to a&s;&s;ault tho&s;e who mo&s;t re&s;i&s;t him, and mo&s;t violently to &s;trike where he &s;eeth the &s;hield of faith held vp to defend; and therefore our Sauiour hath taught all his faithfull children to pray, leade vs not into temptation, but deliuer vs from euill. But withall we affirme that though this weake faith be a&s;&s;aul|ted with Sathans temptations, yet is it neuer ouercome; though it bee oppo&s;ed with doubting yet it neuer falleth from a&s;&s;u|rance and certaine per&s;wa&s;ion; though it bee &s;ometimes &s;ha|dowed, and the &s;hining light thereof dimmed, yea though it be for a time hid and couered, yet in it owne nature it remaineth firme and &s;tedfa&s;t; like the &s;unne which alwaies &s;hineth, though oftentimes by rea&s;on of the interpo&s;ition of the cloudes or the earth, we cannot di&s;cerne the beames thereof; or like vnto the fire which being hid vnder the a&s;hes doth retaine his naturall heate, although we feele it not: So our faith retaineth in it &s;elfe
<PB N="265" REF="143">his certaintie and a&s;&s;urance as it were his light and heate, when as it is &s;hadowed with the cloudes of doubting, and couered vnder the a&s;hes of Sathans temptations.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A weake faith doth as truely a&s;&s;ure vs of our election as a &s;tronger.</NOTE>But it may be demaunded how a weake faith a&s;&s;aulted with Sathans temptations can co~tinue certaine, &s;eeing the &s;tronge&s;t 0 faith can doe no more but certainely per&s;wade? I an&s;were, that our certaintie re&s;pecteth not our faith it &s;elfe but the obiect thereof, namely Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merits: and therefore &s;eeing a weake faith doth as well apply vnto vs the mercies of God &amp; merits of Chri&s;t as a &s;tronger, therefore al&s;o it certaine|ly per&s;wadeth vs as well &amp; truely, though not &s;o &s;trongly and fully of our election and &s;aluation, as a &s;tronger doth. So that when we haue the lea&s;t &s;parke of faith, it doth illuminate our mindes, &s;o as we can truely di&s;cerne the louing countenance of the Lord &s;hining vpon vs though &s;omewhat dimly, and as it were a farre of; euen as he that is pore-blind doth as certaine|ly &s;ee the &s;unne, as he who is mo&s;t &s;harpe &s;ighted, though not &s;o cleerely; and as he who is in a darke dungeon doth di&s;cerne the light as &s;urely at a little hole, though he be compa&s;&s;ed a|bout with blacke darkene&s;&s;e, as he who is in the open fieldes; &s;o when we are as it were pore-blind, and compa&s;&s;ed about with the darke mi&s;te&punc; of ignorance, yet by the dimme &s;ight of faith we certainely di&s;cerne Gods loue and fauour &s;hining vp|on vs, though the more we encrea&s;e in knowledge and faith, the more cleerely we perceiue it, till at la&s;t hauing attained vn|to fulne&s;&s;e of faith, we &s;ee him neere at hand and as it were face to face.</P>
<P>True it is that our faith which is in it &s;elfe weake and feeble, and compa&s;&s;ed about with the darkene&s;&s;e of ignorance, is mixt and turmoyled with much feare and doubting, by rea&s;on of our naturall inclination vnto diffidence and incredulitie, the manifold temptations of Sathan, and the burthen of our &s;innes lying heauie vpon our con&s;ciences: which maketh Gods deere children to grone and complaine, yea &s;ometime to murmur and repine again&s;t God him&s;elfe, as though he were their ene|mie, becau&s;e he &s;uffereth them thus to be vexed; but &s;till it ri|&s;eth after it hath receiued a foyle, and gathereth new &s;trength again&s;t all new a&s;&s;aults, vntill in the end it obtaineth full victo|rie, &s;o as all the faithfull may &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle 2. Cor. 4.8.
<PB N="266" REF="144"><HI>We are afflicted on euery &s;ide,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 4.8.9.</NOTE> <HI>yet are we not in di&s;tre&s;&s;e; in pouer|tie but not ouercome of pouertie.</HI> 9. <HI>We are per&s;ecuted but not for|&s;aken, ca&s;t downe but we peri&s;h not.</HI> For though their faith be weake, and their temptations vehement and violent, yet this bru&s;ed reede is not broken, this &s;moking flax is not quenched; for as the reede in a boy&s;terous tempe&s;t is blowne downe euen to the ground, but when the tempe&s;t is pa&s;t ri&s;eth vp againe to his former e&s;tate; &s;o though the boy&s;terous bla&s;ts of Sa|thans temptations beate vs downe euen to earth, yet by faith we ri&s;e againe when the &s;torme is ouerblowne.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How our faith though a&s;&s;alted with doubting may be cer|taine.</NOTE> it may bee demaunded how the faith of Gods children can be &s;aid to be certaine, &s;eeing it is continually a&s;|&s;aulted and often foyled with doubting, which is oppo&s;ed to the certaintie of faith. To which we may ea&s;ily an&s;were, if we know and remember that euery chri&s;tian is divided into two parts, the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit, which continually fight and &s;triue the one again&s;t the other; and as they them&s;elues are thus op|po&s;ed, &s;o are their qualities and fruites, for in the &s;pirit is faith, loue, hope, zeale, ioy in the holy Gho&s;t, and &s;uch other &s;ancti|fying graces; in the fle&s;h is doubting, and infidelitie, hatred of God, pre&s;umption and de&s;peration, coldne&s;&s;e, dulne&s;&s;e, yea deadne&s;&s;e in religion, feare, horror, and &s;uch like corruptions, &s;o as we may &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I know that in my fle&s;h,</HI> that is, in my vnregenerate part <HI>dwelleth no good thing,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.18.</NOTE> Rom. 7.18. Now as there is a continuall warre betweene the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit, &s;o al&s;o betweene their qualities and fruites; for faith is con|tinually a&s;&s;aulted with doubting and infidelitie, loue of God with the hatred of God, hope with pre&s;umption and de&s;pera|tion, zeale with coldne&s;&s;e and dulnes in religion, the ioy in the holy Gho&s;t with horror and feare of Gods anger, the cur&s;e of the law and condemnation; and &s;ometimes the one &s;ometimes the other hath the vpper hand, both in the meane time retai|ning their nature and properties, although (as we &s;ay) <HI>remi&s;|&s;is gradibus,</HI> not exerci&s;ing them in that mea&s;ure and degree, as they doe when they haue victorie and giue the other the foyle. For example, when in &s;ome grieuous affliction, the hatred of God doth a&s;&s;ault the loue of God in our hearts, and doth &s;o foyle and wound it, that wee can &s;carce di&s;cerne that it breatheth or retaineth life, yet notwith&s;tanding the loue of
<PB N="267" REF="144">God euen at that in&s;tant is not turned into hatred, nor recei|ueth any properties thereof, but &s;till retaineth his owne na|ture and properties, which againe cleerely appeare and &s;hew them&s;elues when the conflict is ended. The like may be &s;aid of our hope, zeale, ioy in the holy Gho&s;t, and other graces, when they are mo&s;t foyled by the corruption of the fle&s;h which fight again&s;t them, &s;o as they cannot po&s;&s;ibly exerci&s;e their owne actions and functions, yet doe they not receiue any carnall properties, nor loo&s;e any of their owne, but retaine &s;till their owne nature, which againe manife&s;teth it &s;elfe when the a&s;&s;ault is ended. Euen as fire couered ouer with a&s;hes re|taineth &s;till his owne nature of light and heate, though then by rea&s;on of the a&s;hes the light be not &s;eene, nor the heate felt; but when the a&s;hes are remooued and new matter added vnto it, then it &s;hineth and burneth and heateth as much as it did before: &s;o when the graces of Gods &s;pirit are couered (as it were) vnder the a&s;hes of our corruption, they are not di&s;cerned by their properties and effects; but when the corruptions are remooued by vertue of Gods &s;pirit, and the graces nouri&s;hed with hearing of the word, prayer, holy conferences, and &s;uch like &s;pirituall exerci&s;es, as it were with new matter added vnto them, then doe they againe &s;hine in their brightne&s;&s;e, and exerci&s;e their wonted &s;trength in all good duties to God and our neighbour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And as it is with all other graces,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Faith a&s;&s;alted with doubting, retaineth his owne nature and properties.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o with faith, which is often a&s;&s;aulted with doubting and infidelitie, and &s;ometimes al&s;o &s;o foyled that we can hardly di&s;cerne any breath or life in it; but yet euen then it retaineth it owne nature and proper|ties, and doth not receiue the nature and properties of doubt|ing; but as the tree which is &s;haken with boy&s;terous bla&s;ts of winde and is not ouerthrowne, doth in the midde&s;t of the tempe&s;t liue and &s;ucke nouri&s;hment out of the earth, and &s;till retaines his owne nature and properties; &s;o when our faith is &s;haken with the boy&s;terous bla&s;ts of Sathans temptations, and with our owne naturall doubting and infidelitie, yet it &s;till liueth and &s;ucketh nouri&s;hment out of Gods gracious pro|mi&s;es, and &s;till it retaineth his owne propertie of certaine per|&s;wa&s;ion, though then it doe not exerci&s;e it in action, &s;o mani|&s;e&s;tly as before and after the conflict of temptations, and as
<PB N="268" REF="145">the &s;haking of the tree is not of the nature thereof, for of it &s;elfe it &s;tandeth firme and &s;teadie, but by outward accident, namely the winde blowing vpon it: &s;o is not vncertaine waue|ring and vncon&s;tant doubting of the nature of faith, for of it &s;elfe it is firme and certaine; but it commeth by outward acci|dent from the boy&s;terous bla&s;ts of infidelitie, and the temp|tations of Sathan which (as it were) violently blow vpon it, which being pa&s;t, it remaineth like the tree firme and con&s;tant. And as the graces of Gods &s;pirit, and the fle&s;h and the corrup|tions thereof doe &s;till retaine in them&s;elues their owne nature and properties, &s;o al&s;o doe they mo&s;t commonly &s;hew them|&s;elues in their diuers fruites and effects, and that oftentimes in the conflict and time of temptation, &s;o that the regenerate man may at the &s;ame time feele in him&s;elfe contrarie affections and actions; for the &s;pirit acknowledging Gods goodnes mercie and truth in his promi&s;es, is repleni&s;hed with joy, being in hope to inioy them, on the other&s;ide the fle&s;h feeling pre&s;ent mi&s;erie, and the &s;harpnes of afflictions, &s;orroweth and grieueth. The &s;pirit apprehending and applying vnto it the &s;weete pro|mi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, doth quietly re&s;t vpon them; the fle&s;h &s;ee|ing it owne corruption, and the huge waight of &s;inne that pre&s;|&s;eth it downe, feareth and doubteth: the &s;pirit being a&s;&s;ured of euerla&s;ting happines, triumpheth with ioy, de&s;iring nothing more than to be di&s;&s;olued and to be with Chri&s;t; the fle&s;h fin|ding it &s;elfe guiltie of &s;inne, and in this re&s;pect &s;ubiect to the anger of God and condemnation, feareth and trembleth to thinke vpon death: The &s;pirit conceiueth of God as of a mer|cifull father in Chri&s;t, and in all nece&s;&s;ities flyeth vnto him by heartie prayer; the fle&s;h conceiueth of him as of an angrie and &s;euere iudge, and therefore flyeth from him, de&s;iring rather to &s;eeke for helpe any where el&s;e than of the Lord: &s;o that the chri&s;tian by rea&s;on hereof, at the &s;ame time findeth in him&s;elfe oppo&s;ition betweene action and action, affection and affection. For at the &s;ame in&s;tant, while the fle&s;h, hauing in it the con&s;ci|ence of &s;inne and &s;en&s;e of guiltine&s;&s;e, doth murmur repine and complaine vpon God, as an enemie which is readie to de&s;troy vs; the &s;pirit doth flie vnto God by a liuely faith, and commit|teth it &s;elfe to his prouidence, will and protection, expecting &s;aluation from him onely; which it could neuer doe, if it were
<PB N="269" REF="145">not a&s;&s;ured that we were in his loue and fauour. And in this the chri&s;tian may not vnfitly be compared to a childe, who hauing been &s;harpely corrected by his father, doth auoyde his pre|&s;ence as though hee were his enemie; but if at the &s;ame time &s;ome &s;uddaine danger affright him, before al other he runneth to his father for &s;afegard and protection: &s;o when our heauenly father hath &s;harpely corrected vs, either with &s;ome outward or inward afflictions, we flee from his pre&s;ence as though he were our enemy; but when an imminent danger ouertaketh vs, and we be in perill to be &s;upplanted with &s;athan and his a&s;&s;i&s;tants, who are our enemies in deed, then the &s;onne-like affection which is wrought in our hearts by Gods &s;pirit, doth moue vs to runne vnto him before all other, de&s;iring and crauing his ayde and a&s;&s;i&s;tance.</P>
<P>And thus it appeareth, that though the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit be mixt together, yet they retaine their owne natures, properties and effects; and though faith which is a grace of the &s;pirit, be mingled with doubting, yet this doubting is not of the nature of faith, which in it &s;elfe is certaine and a&s;&s;ured, nay, it is not an infirmity of faith, as lamene&s;&s;e is an infirmity of the ioynts, and dimne&s;&s;e of the &s;ight, for it is not any way incident to the na|ture thereof: and therefore much le&s;&s;e is it a commendable vir|tue of faith, as the Papi&s;ts teach, but it is a fruite of vnbeleefe, which is in the part vnregenerate, and is oppo&s;ed vnto faith, as appeareth Rom. 4.20. and con&s;equently,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.20.</NOTE> though faith be a&s;|&s;aulted with doubting, yet in it owne nature it may and doth remaine certaine and a&s;&s;ured.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That it is no pre&s;umption to labour for the a&s;&s;urance of our election. <HI>1. Cor. 2.16.</HI></NOTE> they obiect that it is ra&s;h pre&s;umption, and proud boldne&s;&s;e for any man to &s;earch into the my&s;tery of Gods &s;e|cret coun&s;ailes, or to take vpon him peremptorily to deter|mine that hee is one whom God hath elected. <HI>For who hath knowne the minde of the Lord?</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 2.16. I an&s;were that it is true indeede, who&s;oeuer prieth into Gods hidden coun|&s;ailes and &s;ecret decree of prede&s;tination, is proude and pre|&s;umptious, and &s;hall in the end receiue the puni&s;hment of both, being giuen ouer of God to fall into many errors, and in the end vtter de&s;peration: and therefore it is very dange|rous, yea, pernicious to our &s;oules, if we labour after the a&s;&s;u|rance of our election by v&s;ing the&s;e meanes, and iudge of Gods
<PB N="270" REF="146">decree, according to the conceite of our own rea&s;on &amp; doubt|full &s;peculations. But yet though the will of God be in it &s;elfe &s;ecret and not to be &s;earched into; this mu&s;t not hinder vs from looking into his will reuealed, though we can gather no cer|tainty of our election by &s;earching into his &s;ecret decree, yet this is no impediment why wee may not gather it out of his word, where hee hath reuealed his decree and the execution thereof: though we can haue no a&s;&s;urance by our owne &s;pecu|lations, yet we may attaine vnto it by the te&s;timony of Gods &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.16.</NOTE> <HI>which witne&s;&s;eth to our &s;pirits that we are the &s;onnes of God, which al&s;o &s;earcheth all things, euen the deepe things of God, and is giuen vnto vs that we al&s;o might know the things which God hath giuen vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.10.12</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle teacheth vs, 1. Cor. 2.10.12. and there|fore it is no pride or pre&s;umption to be certaine and a&s;&s;ured of that which the Lord hath reuealed in his word, to this end that we might be certainely a&s;&s;ured thereof. But it may be deman|ded how this certainty can be gathered out of the Scriptures. I an&s;were, that if we would attaine vnto it, we mu&s;t not &s;eeke it in the law, where the promi&s;es of life and &s;aluation are made vpon the condition of our own works and worthine&s;&s;e, which condition we can neuer performe, and therefore can neuer be a&s;&s;ured of the promi&s;e: But out of the Go&s;pell, which doth not only &s;hew that &s;ome are prede&s;tinated to life, and &s;ome reiec|ted, neither doth it only &s;peake of our election, as it was ordai|ned in Gods &s;ecret decree in it &s;elfe, or reuealed in his word, but al&s;o it &s;etteth out vnto vs the execution of the decree, with the cau&s;es, meanes, &s;ignes and effects of our election, and how it is accompli&s;hed for the bringing vs to tho&s;e ioyes to which God hath cho&s;en vs. Fir&s;t therefore it &s;heweth the decree of God concerning our election. Secondly, Gods decree concer|ning our redemption by the death and obedience of Chri&s;t our mediator. Thirdly, the decree of God concerning the calling of his Church by the mini&s;tery of the word, that they may be ingrafted into the body of Chri&s;t, and &s;o participate with him in all his benefits to their &s;aluation. Fourthly, the decree con|cerning the &s;ending of his &s;pirit into the hearts of his cho&s;en, by the inward operation whereof the word is made effectuall for the begetting of faith and repentance. Fiftly and la&s;tly, his decree concerning the iu&s;tifying and &s;auing of tho&s;e who re|pent
<PB N="271" REF="146">truely of their &s;ins, and apprehending and applying vnto them&s;elues by a liuely faith, Chri&s;t and his merits &amp; obedience, doe approach vnto the throne of grace to receiue mercy and forgiuene&s;&s;e. And all the&s;e are &s;o linked together that they can neuer po&s;&s;ibly be &s;euered, &s;o that he who is a&s;&s;ured of one, may be a&s;&s;ured of all; who&s;oeuer is certaine that he hath faith and repentance, may be certaine al&s;o of his election, though he neuer pre&s;umptuou&s;ly &s;earch into Gods &s;ecret coun&s;aile.</P>
<P>Fiftly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>7.</HI> That the Lord particularly a&s;&s;ureth vs of our election.</NOTE> they obiect that there is no certainty of faith, which is not grounded vpon Gods word: but there is no place of Gods word which a&s;&s;ureth vs of our particular election and &s;aluati|on: and therefore we can haue no certainty of faith concerning our particular election &amp; &s;aluation. I an&s;wer; though the Lord giue vs no particular promi&s;e in his word, yet he giueth vs that which is equally effectuall, and of like force; namely his gene|rall promi&s;e without any limitation, exception or condition, but the condition of faith and repentance, with a commaunde|ment to applie the &s;ame. And becau&s;e naturally we are vnable in our &s;elues to performe this, therefore he hath ordained the mini&s;tery of the word, and the v&s;e of the &s;acraments, which he maketh effectuall by the inward operation of his &s;pirit, for the begetting and confirming of our faith, and &s;tirring vs vp to re|pentance; which being wrought in vs, we may as certainely be per&s;waded that the generall promi&s;es belong vnto vs, as if they were made vnto vs particularly and by name.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>8.</HI> That our a&s;&s;u|rance of electi|on dependeth not vpon the &s;ufficiency of our faith and repentance.</NOTE>Sixtly, they obiect that we cannot be a&s;&s;ured of the &s;ufficien|cie of our faith and repentance, and therefore we can haue no certaine a&s;&s;urance of our election and &s;aluation. I an&s;were; this rea&s;on were good if our election and &s;aluation depended vpon the worthines or mea&s;ure of our faith and repentance; but &s;ee|ing that they depend not thereupon, but vpon Gods free mer|cy, and the worthine&s;&s;e and &s;ufficiency of Chri&s;ts merits and o|bedience, therfore though our faith be neuer &s;o weake, and our repentance but in &s;mall mea&s;ure, yet &s;o they be true and vnfai|ned, not di&s;&s;embled and hypocritical, we may certainely be a&s;|&s;ured of our election and &s;aluation, for a weake faith doth ap|ply Chri&s;t &amp; all his benefits vnto vs as well as a &s;trong, though not in &s;o &s;trong and perfect a manner, as &s;hal appeare hereaf|ter. But yet we mu&s;t not content our &s;elues with a &s;mall and
<PB N="272" REF="147">weake mea&s;ure, but labour to growe vp from faith to faith, till we become perfect men in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Seuenthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>9.</HI> The &s;ight of our imperfections no cau&s;e why we &s;hould doubt of our election.</NOTE> they obiect that though there were no cau&s;e of doubting, &s;o long as we looke vpon Gods mercy and truth in his promi&s;es, and Chri&s;ts obedience and merits, yet at lea&s;t there is cau&s;e of doubting when we looke vpon our &s;elues, and finde our great indi&s;po&s;ition to perfourme the condition of faith and repentance, which God requireth of all who &s;hall be partakers of his promi&s;es, and our manifolde imperfections and great vnworthines of the lea&s;t of Gods mercies. And thus the&s;e iugglers play fa&s;t and loo&s;e, making their faith like vnto the <HI>ignis fatuus,</HI> or going fire, which interchangeably &s;ome|times &s;hineth cleerely, and &s;ometimes vani&s;heth and leaueth behind it nothing but blacke darkne&s;&s;e. But let vs con&s;tantly oppo&s;e our &s;elues again&s;t &s;uch incon&s;tancie, and in no wi&s;e ad|mit of &s;uch mutable variety in our faith, which maketh it more changeable than the Moone, which one while &s;hineth with full bringhtne&s;&s;e, and in &s;mall di&s;tance of time cannot be di&s;cerned; and to this end let vs know, fir&s;t, that though in our &s;elues wee be not worthy of the lea&s;t of Gods mercies, yet our vnworthi|nes maketh vs not vncapable of the greate&s;t, for al Gods bene|fits are his free gifts, which he promi&s;eth and be&s;toweth with|out any re&s;pect of our worthines or de&s;erts, of his meere grace and vnde&s;erued loue: and therfore as when we are mo&s;t worthy in our own conceit, there is no rea&s;on why we &s;hould pre&s;ume the more; &s;o when wee finde our &s;elues vnworthie, there is no cau&s;e why wee &s;hould hope the le&s;&s;e, or be more weakly a&s;&s;u|red of Gods promi&s;es; for as they are not made vpon the con|dition of our worthine&s;&s;e, &s;o they are not di&s;anulled and made voide by our vnworthine&s;&s;e, otherwi&s;e no man liuing could haue a&s;&s;urance of them, &s;eeing all men liuing are vnworthie of them. But the Lord hath made al his promi&s;es vnto vs in Chri&s;t, who was &s;ent to bee our Mediatour, to the end that wee who were altogether vnworthie in our &s;elues, might be made wor|thie in him of all Gods mercies and benefits. And therefore who&s;oeuer lay hold vpon Chri&s;t, with a true though a weake faith, and bring foorth the fruites thereof in repentance, they may certainly bee a&s;&s;ured of their election and &s;aluation, not|with&s;tanding their vnworthine&s;&s;e. Secondly, wee are to know
<PB N="271" REF="147">that our faith doth not re&s;pect our &s;elues in our &s;elues, neither are wee the obiect thereof, but Chri&s;t and his merits and obe|dience; whom our faith doth not behold &s;tanding aloofe of (as the Papi&s;ts dreame) but as hee is vnited vnto vs, and become our head and we his members; &s;o as now we cannot look vp|on our &s;elues but we mu&s;t looke vpon Chri&s;t, becau&s;e hee is in vs and we in him. And therefore when wee con&s;ider the great|ne&s;&s;e of our &s;innes we de&s;paire not, becau&s;e now we look vpon them as they are tran&s;lated from vs and laid vpon Chri&s;t, who hath fully &s;atisfied his fathers iu&s;tice by his alone and al-&s;uffi|cient &s;acrifice vpon the cro&s;&s;e; when we con&s;ider our imperfe|ctions we doubt not of Gods promi&s;es, becau&s;e they are coue|red with his perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; when we con&s;ider our vn|worthine&s;&s;e wee are not di&s;couraged, &s;eeing by communica|ting of Chri&s;ts worthine&s;&s;e wee are made worthie; when wee con&s;ider that in our &s;elues wee are &s;ubiect to the cur&s;e of the law, the anger of God and eternall condemnation, wee are ne|uerthele&s;&s;e a&s;&s;ured of euerla&s;ting life and &s;aluation, becau&s;e we are vnited to Chri&s;t our head, who hath taken away our cur&s;e and nailed it to his cro&s;&s;e, borne his fathers di&s;plea&s;ure to re|concile vs vnto him, and was condemned and &s;uffred death to free vs from death and condemnation, and to make vs heires of life and &s;aluation. So that now we behold the huge debt of our &s;innes, as it is di&s;charged and cancelled with his merits and full &s;atisfaction; we behold our imperfections, but as per|fected by his perfections; wee looke vpon our vnworthine&s;&s;e, but as it is ennobled with his worthine&s;&s;e; when we &s;et before vs the cur&s;e of the law, the anger of God and &s;entence of con|demnation, wee con&s;ider them as taken away and &s;wallowed vp of Chri&s;ts death and full obedience; becau&s;e now wee are vnited vnto Chri&s;t, and hee is become ours that wee might be|come his; hee hath taken vpon him our &s;innes and vnworthi|ne&s;&s;e, that hee might make vs partakers of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and worthine&s;&s;e. And therefore that which God hath wi&s;ely ioyned together let not our faith fondly &s;eparate; for if it bee vnlawfull in carnall mariages, then much more in the &s;pirituall mariage betweene Chri&s;t and his Church. But let vs looke vp|on our &s;elues, not in our &s;elues, but as wee are vnited vnto Chri&s;t, and then our &s;elfe-worthine&s;&s;e of hell and de&s;truction
<PB N="272" REF="148">will not abate our a&s;&s;urance of life and &s;aluation.</P>
<P>Eightly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>10.</HI> Heretikes and worldlings boa|&s;ting of faith, no cau&s;e why tho&s;e &s;hould doubt who tru|ly beleeue.</NOTE> they obiect that euery heretike, epicure and world|ling, continuing in their &s;innes and wickedne&s;&s;e, may faine vn|to them&s;elues &s;uch a per&s;wa&s;ion of the certaintie of election: but this is nothing to the purpo&s;e; for the que&s;tion is not of epicures and worldlings, who haue no faith or a dead faith, but of true beleeuers, who bring foorth the fruites of their faith, at lea&s;t in an holie de&s;ire and endeuour of &s;eruing the Lord in ho|line&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. For they that cannot be a&s;&s;ured that they haue faith, cannot haue any certaintie of their election; but none can haue any a&s;&s;urance of faith, vnle&s;&s;e they bring foorth the fruites of their faith in dying to &s;inne and ri&s;ing a|gaine to newne&s;&s;e of life, for faith purifieth the heart and wor|keth by loue: and therefore &s;uch as liue in their &s;innes without repentance hauing no faith, can haue no certaintie of their ele|ction, though they may delude them&s;elues with a fond per|&s;wa&s;ion which hath no other ground but carnall &s;ecuritie and fond pre&s;umption: but hence it followeth not, that becau&s;e a dead faith affoordeth no true certaintie, therefore a liuely faith doth it not; becau&s;e a prophane epicure or carnal worldling, deceiueth him&s;elfe with a vaine opinion, therefore tho&s;e that are truly conuerted, mortified vnto &s;inne and rai&s;ed vp to new|ne&s;&s;e of life, can haue no certaintie of their election and &s;alua|tion. For what &s;imilitude is there betweene light and darknes, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, the children of God and the children of Belial, the repentant and vnrepentant, faith and no faith?</P>
<P>La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>11.</HI> That this doc|trine openeth no way to &s;ecu|ritie and pre|&s;umption.</NOTE> they obiect that if we teach this doctrine of the cer|taintie of election, men will abu&s;e it to nouri&s;h in them carnall &s;ecuritie and pre&s;umption. To which I an&s;were, that wicked men abu&s;e the whole doctrine of the Go&s;pell to their de&s;truc|tion; for when they are taught that God is mo&s;t gratious and mercifull, that Chri&s;t hath died for vs, and giuen him&s;elfe as a &s;ufficient price to redeeme vs out of the power of &s;inne, Sa|than, death and damnation, and maketh interce&s;&s;ion for vs to God his father; that the Lord is &s;low to wrath and ready to forgiue, they take occa&s;ion hereby of continuing in their &s;ins, and deferring their repentance, till God take them away and con&s;ume them in his heauie di&s;plea&s;ure: but hence it follow|eth
<PB N="273" REF="148">not that the Go&s;pell mu&s;t not bee taught, becau&s;e carnall men abu&s;e it to their iu&s;t condemnation; for though to the&s;e it be the &s;auour of death vnto death, yet to tho&s;e who are &s;a|ued it is the &s;auour of life vnto life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 2.16. 1. Cor. 1.18.</NOTE> as it is 2. Cor. 2.16. Though it be fooli&s;hnes to tho&s;e that peri&s;h, yet it is the power of God to tho&s;e whom God hath ordained to &s;aluation, and God is no le&s;&s;e glorified in the one by &s;hewing his mercie, than in the other by &s;hewing his iu&s;tice. Though worldly men abu&s;e it to carnall &s;ecuritie, yet the godly are the more incited thereby to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life: for like louing children, the more they are a&s;&s;ured of the loue of their heauen|ly father, and &s;ecured of his mercie and bountifull benefits, the more they loue him againe, the more they loue him the more zealous they are of his glorie, and the greater their zeale is, the greater is their care in making the light of their godly and Chri&s;tian liues to &s;hine before men, that their heauenly father may bee glorified. So that it is not the fault of this precious &s;eede, but the barrenne&s;&s;e of the ground which maketh it fruit|le&s;&s;e, or els for good wheate &s;endeth tares cockle and darnell; it is not any defect or ill di&s;po&s;ition in this &s;weet &s;melling flo|wer, but the venemous nature of the&s;e &s;piders which turne ho|ney into poy&s;on: and therefore the &s;eed mu&s;t be ca&s;t vpon the earth, though there bee &s;tones with the good ground which will neuer bring foorth fruite; the flowers of &s;weete con&s;ola|tion mu&s;t not be pulled vp by the rootes and ca&s;t away. For though the &s;pider gathereth poy&s;on, yet the profitable Bee wil gather honey out of them. Secondly, when wee teach the cer|taintie of election, wee doe not teach that men mu&s;t gather it out of Gods &s;ecret coun&s;aile, but from their owne &s;anctifica|tion, by which they may be a&s;&s;ured that they are iu&s;tified, cal|led and elected: and therefore who&s;oeuer are not &s;anctified but continue in their &s;innes without repentance, can haue no a&s;&s;urance by our doctrine that they are elected or &s;hall be &s;a|ued; nay contrariwi&s;e, we teach out of Gods word, that <HI>who&s;o|euer line in the fle&s;h &s;hal die,</HI> Rom. 8.13. that they which performe <HI>the lu&s;ts thereof &s;hall neuer inherit the kingdome of God,</HI> Gal. 5.19.20, 21. that none who continue in their vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and vncleanne&s;&s;e &s;hall enter into the heauenly Ieru&s;alem, 1. Cor. 6.9.10. Reu. 21.27; but &s;hall haue their portion in the lake which
<PB N="274" REF="149">burneth with fire and brim&s;tone; as it is ver&s;. 8. Now what &s;tronger bridle to curbe in our vnruly fle&s;h when it is ready to runne into &s;inne, than to be a&s;&s;ured that if wee liue in &s;inne and fulfill our carnall lu&s;ts, wee are in the &s;tate of condemnation? what &s;harper &s;purre to pricke vs forward when wee are readie to faint, or &s;lacke our pace in the Chri&s;tian race of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, than to con&s;ider that our &s;anctification and newne&s;&s;e of life, is the onely meanes whereby wee may come to the a&s;&s;urance of our election and &s;aluation?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIII.</HI> Of our Redemption.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus much concerning our election and the certaintie thereof. The next cau&s;e of our &s;alua|tion is our redemption by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t: for as the Lord hath from all eternitie elected vs to &s;alua|tion, of his meere mercie without any re&s;pect of our works or worthines; &s;o he hath ordained in this his eternal decree, our Sauiour Chri&s;t to bee the Mediatour who &s;hould worke the worke of our &s;aluation, and as it were the conduit whereby hee would conuey his grace, mercie and euerla&s;ting &s;aluation vnto vs; and hath &s;et him apart to be our Sauiour and Redeemer, who &s;hould &s;aue and deliuer vs out of the captiui|tie and bondage of our &s;pirituall enemies, and re&s;tore vs to the glorious libertie of the &s;onnes of God.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Redemption what it is.</NOTE>This our redemption is an effect of Gods election, whereby our Sauiour Chri&s;t (being &s;et apart of his father for this pur|po&s;e) hath freed and deliuered all Gods elect out of the capti|uitie of their &s;pirituall enemies, &s;inne death and the diuell; by offring him&s;elfe for the price of their redemption, and a &s;uffi|cient &s;acrifice for &s;inne, for the appea&s;ing of his fathers di&s;plea|&s;ure and &s;atisfying of his iu&s;tice; to the end that being deliue|red, they may &s;erue him in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e all the daies of this life, and afterwards may inherit the kingdome of glorie, and the crowne of eternall happine&s;&s;e which is purcha|&s;ed for them.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The definition explaned.</NOTE>Fir&s;t I &s;ay, that it is an effect of Gods election; for whom he had cho&s;en to euerla&s;ting life in Chri&s;t, tho&s;e by Chri&s;t he hath
<PB N="275" REF="149">&s;aued and redeemed, and tho&s;e only as we &s;hall &s;ee afterwards.</P>
<P>Secondly, I &s;hew who is our Sauiour and Redeemer, namely Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, who only &s;aueth vs from our &s;innes, as it is Matth. 1.21; <HI>Neither is there &s;aluation in any other,</HI> as it is Act. 4.12.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 1.21. Act. 4.12.</NOTE> For <HI>as there is but one God, &s;o there is but one Mediatour between God and man, which is the man Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> as it is 1. Tim. 2.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 2.5.</NOTE> <HI>And by him alone we haue redemption through his bloud, euen the forgiue|ne&s;&s;e of &s;innes,</HI> and that without any re&s;pect of our worthine&s;&s;e, but <HI>according to his rich grace,</HI> Eph. 1.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.7. Luk. 1.68.</NOTE> And though we do not exclude God the Father, from the worke of our redemption, for he is the author and fir&s;t cau&s;e, who hath &s;o loued vs that hee &s;ent his &s;onne to &s;aue and redeeme vs; nor the holy Gho&s;t who applieth vnto vs the merits and efficacie of Chri&s;ts death, ma|king them effectuall for our &s;aluation; yet if we &s;peake proper|ly, our Sauiour Chri&s;t onely can be called our Redeemer, and that in the&s;e re&s;pects; fir&s;t, becau&s;e he alone was ordained and deputed to perfect the worke of our redemption; &s;econdly, becau&s;e he onely was God and man, both which were nece&s;&s;a|rily required in our Mediatour and Redeemer, that hee might haue full right and abilitie to redeeme vs; thirdly, becau&s;e hee alone gaue him&s;elfe to bee the price of our redemption; and la&s;tly, becau&s;e in him onely there is perfect redemption as be|ing our head, who not only hath &s;aluation in him&s;elfe, but al&s;o deriueth it to all the members of his bodie.</P>
<P>Thirdly, I &s;et downe the captiuitie it &s;elfe out of which wee were redeemed; namely, not the captiuitie of Egypt or Baby|lon, nor out of the &s;lauerie of the Turke, Spaniard, or any other earthly Tyrant, who&s;e thraldome might well be bitter but not long, becau&s;e our liues are &s;hort; and grieuous to the bodie, but extendeth not to the &s;oule: but Chri&s;t hath deliuered vs out of the bondage of &s;inne, Sathan, hell and death, in which we &s;hould haue been enthralled and fearefully tormented for euer and euer, not in bodie alone but in &s;oule al&s;o.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1. Pet. 1.18.</HI> How Chri&s;t is &s;aid to haue bought vs with a price.</NOTE> I &s;hew the price which hee hath giuen for our re|demption, namely, not &s;iluer and gold, or any corruptible thing, but him&s;elf; euen his bodie to be crucified and his bloud to bee &s;hed, that &s;o his fathers iu&s;tice being &s;atisfied and his wrath appea&s;ed, wee might be &s;et free out of the thraldome of our &s;pirituall enemies. But it may be demaunded, how it can
<PB N="276" REF="150">truly be &s;aid that Chri&s;t hath redeemed vs by paying the price of our redemption, &s;eeing the &s;criptures te&s;tifie that by his power hee hath forcibly deliuered vs out of the hands of our &s;pirituall enemies. So Heb. 2.14. it is &s;aid, <HI>that Chri&s;t destroyed him who had the power of death, that is the diuell.</HI> And Col. 2.15. the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth, that hee <HI>hath &s;poyled principalities and po|wers, and hath led them openly and triumphed ouer them.</HI> And Luk. 11.22. hee is compared to a valiant champion who hath thru&s;t the &s;trong man Sathan out of his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion: by which it may appeare, that our Sauiour hath not redeemed vs by gi|uing a price after a legall manner, but by force, and as it were by conque&s;t. I an&s;were, that Chri&s;t hath both paid the price of our redemption, and al&s;o hath deliuered vs forcibly by his power; for hee paid the price vnto God to whom hee offe|red the &s;acrifice of him&s;elfe, that it might be a full &s;atisfaction for &s;inne, and a &s;ufficient price to redeeme vs out of the capti|uitie of our &s;pirituall enemies, and to purcha&s;e the fauour of God, and our heauenlie inheritance in his kingdome: and therefore in re&s;pect of God the Father, to whom our Sauiour offred him&s;elfe, hee is &s;aid to haue redeemed vs by giuing a ran&s;ome for vs. But when Gods iu&s;tice was fully &s;atisfied, Chri&s;t dealt not with our &s;pirituall enemies by intreatie (much le&s;&s;e offred hee this price of our redemption to Sathan; for if no &s;acrifice might lawfully bee offered vnto any &s;aue God a|lone, much more vnlawfull was it that this &s;acrifice of Chri&s;ts bodie, &s;hould be offred vnto the diuell) but by his almightie power hee ouercame the power of darkne&s;&s;e, vanqui&s;hed Sa|than, &s;ubdued death, and broke open the pri&s;on of the graue, and &s;o by &s;trong hand &s;et all Gods elect at libertie. For after that the debt of our &s;innes was di&s;charged, our ran&s;ome paid, and the handwriting of ordinances cancelled and nailed vnto the cro&s;&s;e, the&s;e our &s;pirituall enemies had no iu&s;t intere&s;t vnto vs, nor any thing to alledge why they &s;hould longer hold vs in their captiuitie; but yet the &s;trong man who had taken po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion would not willingly lo&s;e it, vnle&s;&s;e hee were ouercome with a greater &s;trength: and therefore our Sauiour Chri&s;t ha|uing bought vs of his father, and &s;o become our true owner, buckled with our &s;pirituall enemies, ouercame the&s;e principa|lities and powers, triumphed gloriou&s;ly ouer them, and freed
<PB N="277" REF="150">vs out of their tyrannicall iuri&s;diction.</P>
<P>But it may bee obiected that wee were captiues vnto Sa|than, and therefore the price of redemption was to be paied vnto him, and not vnto God the father who held vs not in his captiuitie. I an&s;were that though Sathan held vs in his captiuitie, yet not in his owne right, for wee had not &s;inned again&s;t him to whom we were not bound to performe obe|dience, nor were indebted vnto him; but wee had &s;inned a|gain&s;t God, who&s;e &s;eruants wee were by right of creation, and had infinitly runne into his debt, which we were altoge|ther vnable to pay; and therefore like a iu&s;t iudge he condem|ned vs to the perpetuall pri&s;on of death, and committed vs to the cu&s;todie of Sathan, as vnto a iaylor, to be kept in his bon|dage, till we had &s;atiffied for our &s;innes and di&s;charged our debt: which being impo&s;&s;ible to vs, our Sauiour Chri&s;t hauing a&s;&s;umed our nature and become our &s;uretie and mediator, payed that we owed, and &s;uffered that which we had de&s;crued, and &s;o fully &s;ati&s;fying his fathers iu&s;tice, hath purcha&s;ed our redemption; &s;o as now Sathan had no more anthoritie to re|taine vs in his captiuitie, then the iaylor hath of holding him in pri&s;on who by the iudge is relea&s;ed, or the executioner of hanging him whom the iudge hath acquitted or pardoned. And therefore tyrannically exerci&s;ing &s;till his iuri&s;diction, our Sauiour by &s;trong hand ouercame him and all the power of hell, that &s;o he might &s;et vs at libertie whom his fathers iu&s;t &s;entence had acquitted and his mercie pardoned.</P>
<P>The la&s;t thing to be con&s;idered is the end of our redempti|on, namely that we &s;hould no longer &s;erue &s;inne and Sathan, out of who&s;e bondage wee are relea&s;ed; but become the &s;er|uants of Chri&s;t, who hath redeemed vs, &s;eruing him in holines and righteou&s;nes all the daies of our liues; that &s;o glorifying him here on earth, he may glorifie vs in heauen, and make vs partakers of tho&s;e euerla&s;ting ioyes, which by his death and blood&s;hed he hath purcha&s;ed for vs.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="278" REF="151">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIIII.</HI> Sathans temptations concerning our redemption, wherewith he moueth the worldling to pre&s;umption, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I &s;hewed what our redemption is:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The temptati|on.</NOTE> now let vs con&s;ider of tho&s;e temptations of Sathan which he &s;ugge&s;teth into the minds of men, where|by he laboreth to depriue them of this great bene|fit, and to keepe them &s;till in his captiuitie, or to pul them back againe when they are e&s;caped. And the&s;e are of two &s;ortes, the fir&s;t leading to &s;ecuritie and pre&s;umption, the other to doubt|ing and de&s;peration. For if he haue to deale with worldlie men; who were neuer truely conuerted vnto God, hee laboreth to per&s;wade them that they are redeemed by Chri&s;t, and therfore though they liue in their &s;innes, yet they &s;hall bee &s;aued, for Chri&s;t came into the world to &s;aue &s;inners: but when he a&s;&s;aul|teth the true chri&s;tian, who is indeede the redeemed of the Lord; then he moueth him to doubt and de&s;paire, either of the &s;ufficiencie or of the efficacie, of the worke of our redemption wrought by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>That he may continue the worldly man in his carnall &s;ecu|ritie, and fond pre&s;umption, he v&s;eth two principall rea&s;ons; the fir&s;t, that the redemption wrought by Chri&s;t is vniuer&s;all, and effectuall for the &s;aluation of al the world; out of which he frameth this temptation. Chri&s;t hath &s;hed his precious blood, and &s;uffered death for all the world; and hath redeemed all mankinde which were lo&s;t in <HI>Adam,</HI> out of the bondage of Sa|than death and hell; why therefore &s;houlde&s;t thou be &s;o &s;trict in flying &s;inne, with which thou art &s;o much delighted? why do&s;t thou &s;triue again&s;t the &s;treame of thy corruptions? and wherefore &s;houlde&s;t thou take any great paines in the workes of holines and righteou&s;nes, which are &s;o bitter and vnplea&s;ant to thy ta&s;te and appetite? for Chri&s;t came into the world to &s;aue all men, and not tho&s;e onely who are &s;o &s;trict in their waies; he came to redeeme the whole world, &amp; gaue him&s;elfe as a &s;uffi|cient ran&s;ome for all men: and therefore doubtle&s;&s;e he will not lo&s;e his labour, nor &s;pill his blood in vaine; he wil not willingly let any peri&s;h, whom he hath purcha&s;ed at &s;o high a rate, and
<PB N="279" REF="151">redeemed with &s;o deare a price: he is al&s;o &s;o powrefull that no|thing &s;hall be able to pull them out of his hand,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.28.</NOTE> as him&s;elfe af|firmeth, Ioh. 10.28; and &s;o wi&s;e that hee would not &s;hed his blood, for tho&s;e whom he would not &s;aue. And who can ima|gine that God who is mo&s;t iu&s;t, will impute tho&s;e &s;innes vnto thee for which Chri&s;t hath &s;uffered, inflict death on thee for whom Chri&s;t died, and require that debt againe which is alrea|die di&s;charged? Or who can imagine that God, who is immuta|ble, &s;hould &s;hew &s;uch incon&s;tancie as to &s;end his &s;onne into the world, to &s;uffer death for the redemption of tho&s;e whom hee now will not &s;aue; for if he would who could re&s;i&s;t his will or with&s;tand his power? And therefore if he hath redeemed all, &s;urely he will &s;aue all, and con&s;equently thee among&s;t the re&s;t, though thou liue as thou li&s;t and follow the lu&s;ts of thine owne heart: for thy &s;innes and vnbeliefe cannot make his purpo&s;e voyde, nor annihilate the worke of thy redemption; nay the more thy &s;innes abound, the more his grace will abound al&s;o.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> For the an&s;wering of which temptation, we are to know,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The an&s;were to the former temptation.</NOTE> that vniuer&s;all redemption which is the ground and foundation thereof, is an idle dreame of mans braine, which cannot be iu|&s;tified by the word of God which is the touch&s;tone of al truth; neither hath our Sauiour Chri&s;t redeemed any other, than tho&s;e whom hee effectually calleth vnto the &s;auing knowledge of their redemption, indueth with true faith and vnfained repen|tance, iu&s;tifieth, &s;anctifieth, and la&s;tly &s;aueth, if we re&s;pect the purpo&s;e of God, and the will of our ble&s;&s;ed Sauiour; although indeede the price he gaue for our redemption, was of &s;ufficient value for the &s;innes of all the world, if it were applied by a liue|ly faith.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e this doctrine hath many enemies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Te&s;timonies of Scripture al|ledged again&s;t vniuer&s;all re|demption.</NOTE> it is not &s;uf|ficient to propound it vnle&s;&s;e I proue it: and therefore I will &s;hew fir&s;t by te&s;timonies of &s;criptures, and after by &s;trong rea|&s;ons, that our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath died for, and by his death re|deemed, tho&s;e onely whom hee indueth with true faith and vnfained repentance, and not for al the world as they imagine. Matth. 20.28. it is &s;aid, that <HI>he came into the world to giue his life a ran&s;ome for many.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 20.2 and 26.28.</NOTE> and 26.28. that his blood <HI>was &s;hed for many for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes.</HI> And E&s;a. 53.11. that Chri&s;t <HI>&s;hould iu|&s;tifie many by bearing their iniquities.</HI> So that he hath not gi|uen
<PB N="280" REF="152">his life a ran&s;ome and &s;hed his blood, and by bearing their iniquities iu&s;tified all, but many, that is, part of all. Luk. 2.34. <HI>Simeon</HI> &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 2.34.</NOTE> that Chri&s;t <HI>was appointed by Gods decree, for the fall and ri&s;ing againe of many,</HI> that is for the fall of many reprobates, and the ri&s;ing againe of many who are elected, and therefore not for the redemptio~ of all. So Chri&s;t &s;aith that <HI>he layeth downe his life for his &s;heepe,</HI> Ioh. 10.15. and therfore not for wolues and goates,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.15. and 15.14.</NOTE> <HI>for his friends,</HI> Ioh. 15.14. &amp; therfore not for his wicked enemies; <HI>for vs,</HI> that is, for the companie of the faithfull be|leeuers, Rom. 8.32.33. and therefore not for the &s;inagogue of Sathan and wicked vnbeleeuers.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.32.33. Matth. 1.21.</NOTE> So Matth. 1.21. he is &s;aid to be the Sauiour of <HI>his people,</HI> and not of aliants and &s;trangers; and to haue giuen him&s;elfe for <HI>his Church,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.25.</NOTE> Eph. 5.25, and not for tho&s;e who haue no fellow&s;hip in the communion of &s;aints; that he <HI>&s;hould die for the nation,</HI> that is as <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith for al Gods childre~ Iewes and Gentils,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 11.52. Rom. 3.22.25.26.</NOTE> Ioh. 11.52. and therfore not for the wicked, and the children of Sathan. So that Apo&s;tle Rom. 3.22. &s;aith that <HI>the righteou&s;nes of God</HI> (that is, the righteou&s;nes of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t imputed vnto vs by God, or the righteou&s;nes of Chri&s;t God and man) <HI>is manife&s;ted vpon all and vnto all that beleeue;</HI> and ver&s;. 23. that God hath &s;et <HI>forth Chri&s;t to be a reconciliation through faith in his blood,</HI> and ver&s;e 26. <HI>That he is the iu&s;tifier of him, which is of the faith of Ie&s;us.</HI> Where the imputation of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, reconciliation with God, and iu&s;tifica|tion, is re&s;trained to the beleeuers onely. And to the &s;ame pur|po&s;e is that of the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 5.9.</NOTE> Heb. 5.9. where Chri&s;t is &s;aid <HI>to be the author of eternall &s;aluation vnto all that obey him,</HI> and there|fore not vnto them who continue in their rebellion not ob&s;er|uing his will, nor &s;ubmitting them&s;elues to bee ruled by the &s;cepter of his word.</P>
<P>And as by the&s;e places it is apparant, that Chri&s;t and his be|nefits are re&s;trained to the faithfull, &s;o al&s;o in other places the vnbeleeuers and &s;uch as continue in their wickednes, are flatly excluded from the participation of them. Ioh. 3.18. <HI>He that be|leeueth in him &s;hall not be condemned,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.18.</NOTE> <HI>but he that beleeueth not is condemned alreadie.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 36.</NOTE> And ver&s;. 36. <HI>He that beleeueth in the &s;onne hath euerla&s;ting life, and he that obeyeth not the &s;onne &s;hall not &s;ee life,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.9.</NOTE> <HI>but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI> So Rom. 8.9. <HI>If any man haue not the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, the &s;ame is not his;</HI> and con&s;equent|ly
<PB N="281" REF="152">it followeth that if he be not Chri&s;ts, then Chri&s;t and his be|nefits belong not vnto him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.8.</NOTE> And the Apo&s;tle 1. Ioh. 3.8. plaine|ly affirmeth <HI>that he who committeth &s;inne</HI> (that is, he who liueth in &s;inne without repentance) <HI>is of the diuell, and that he who is borne of God</HI> (that is, regenerate by his &s;pirit) <HI>&s;inneth not,</HI> that is, liueth not in his &s;ins, neither committeth them with full con|&s;ent of will. And <HI>Paul</HI> willeth <HI>Timothie</HI> to in&s;truct his hearers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 2.26.</NOTE> that they <HI>might come to amendment out of the &s;nare of the diuell;</HI> whereby it is manife&s;t that tho&s;e in whom &s;inne raineth, are not of Chri&s;t but of Sathan, and that notwith&s;tanding Chri&s;ts death they are &s;till in the &s;nare of the diuell til they come to a|mendment of life; becau&s;e the blood of Chri&s;t is not effectual to free any out of their &s;pirituall bondage, till it be applied vn|to them by a liuely faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus it appeareth by plaine te&s;timonies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons to proue that re|demption is not vniuer&s;all.</NOTE> that the re|demption wrought by Chri&s;t belongeth onely to the faithfull; which al&s;o by vertue of Chri&s;ts death &amp; blood&s;hed, haue their &s;innes and corruptions in &s;ome mea&s;ure mortified; and not vn|to the wicked, who liue and die in their &s;innes without repen|tance. Now I will al&s;o confirme this truth by &s;trong rea&s;ons. Fir&s;t, tho&s;e who were neuer knowne of Chri&s;t (that, is acknow|ledged for his) were neuer redeemed by his precious blood|&s;hed; neither is it probable that the father would giue his wel|beloued &s;onne, and that the &s;onne would giue him&s;elfe for the redemption of tho&s;e, whom in his eternall councell he had de|creed to reiect, or (as all confe&s;&s;e) whom he fore&s;aw &s;hould pe|ri&s;h: but our Sauiour will <HI>profe&s;&s;e to the workers of iniquitie that he neuer knew them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.23.</NOTE> Matth. 7.23: and therefore he neuer gaue him&s;elfe for their redemption.</P>
<P>Secondly, for whom&s;eouer Chri&s;t hath offered a &s;acrifice vnto his father, for them al&s;o he maketh interce&s;&s;ion and is become their aduocate; neither is it probable that Chri&s;t would die for tho&s;e for whome he will not intreate, and that he would offer the &s;acrifice of his body for tho&s;e for whom he would not offer the &s;acrifice of his lips. Be&s;ides it was the office of the &s;ame high prie&s;t to offer &s;acrifice and to pray for the people, and con&s;equently of our Sauiour Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.1.2.</NOTE> as appeareth 1. Ioh. 2.1.2. where he is &s;aid as well to be our aduocate, as the propiciatory &s;acrifice for our &s;innes: and the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> Rom. 8.35. &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.35.</NOTE>
<PB N="282" REF="153">that as Chri&s;t died for vs, &s;o he maketh interce&s;&s;ion for vs; but our Sauiour Chri&s;t flatly excludeth, from all participation of the fruite of his interce&s;&s;ion, all tho&s;e who are of the world, that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 17.9.</NOTE> all meere worldlings. Ioh. 17.9. <HI>I pray not for the world but for them which thou ha&s;t giuen me;</HI> and the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that as he perfectly &s;aueth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.25.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o he maketh interce&s;&s;ion for tho&s;e who come vnto God by him, that is, true beleeuers onely: and therefore for them alone he hath offered him&s;elfe, a &s;acrifice vnto his father.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Chri&s;t hath died for tho&s;e alone in whom he hath attained vnto the end of his death; for what&s;oeuer attaineth not his end is done in vaine, which argueth want of wi&s;edome, or power, in the agent and efficient, neither of which without bla&s;phemie can be a&s;cribed vnto Chri&s;t, who is in both infinit: but the end of Chri&s;ts death (that is, the eternall &s;aluation of tho&s;e for whom he died) is attained vnto onely in the elect and faithfull;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 16.16. Ioh. 3.36.</NOTE> for as it is Mark. 16.16. <HI>He that &s;hall beleeue, &s;hall be &s;a|ued; but he that will not beleeue, &s;hall be damned.</HI> And Ioh. 3.36. <HI>He that beleeueth in the &s;onne hath euerla&s;ting life, and he that obeyeth not the &s;onne &s;hall not &s;ee life, but the wrath of God abideth on him:</HI> And therefore, Chri&s;t hath died for tho&s;e alone, who beleeue and bring forth the fruites of their faith in obedience, and not for the vnbeleeuers and di&s;obedient.</P>
<P>Forthly, if all were redeemed by the death of Chri&s;t, then &s;hould they al&s;o be &s;aued: for what &s;hould hinder them from &s;aluation, who are redeemed, &s;eeing they haue receiued the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes, as appeareth Ephe&s;. 1.7. <HI>In whom we haue redemption through his blood,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.7. Col. 1.14.</NOTE> <HI>euen the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes.</HI> Col. 1.14. And con&s;equently who&s;oeuer are re|deemed are iu&s;tified, and al&s;o heires of eternall ble&s;&s;ednes; for <HI>ble&s;&s;ed are tho&s;e who&s;e iniquitie is forgiuen,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32.1.</NOTE> <HI>and who&s;e &s;inne is couered,</HI> as it is P&s;al. 32.1. Seeing al&s;o Chri&s;t who hath redeemed vs, is &s;tronger than Sathan and all the power of hell, and there|fore al their &s;piritual enemies conioyned together, ca~not pluck tho&s;e whom he hath redeemed out of his hand violently and again&s;t his will, neither can we with any probable &s;hew of rea&s;on imagine that he would willingly lo&s;e tho&s;e whom he hath redeemed with the ine&s;timable price of him&s;elfe, neither will it &s;tand with the iu&s;tice of God to impute the &s;innes of
<PB N="283" REF="153">any to their condemnation, for which Chri&s;t hath fully &s;ati&s;|fied, nor to exact that debt againe which hee hath paid: and therefore if Chri&s;t had died for all, God in his iu&s;tice could not chu&s;e but &s;aue all: and Chri&s;t might well &s;ay to his father, to what purpo&s;e haue I died if thou de&s;troye&s;t tho&s;e whom I haue &s;aued? what profit is in my bloud, if thou condemne&s;t tho&s;e whom I haue redeemed?</P>
<P>La&s;tly, if hee died and by his death redeemed all; then al&s;o he died for and redeemed the Pagans, Turkes, Athei&s;ts and E|picures, who were out of the Church and couenant of grace; and &s;o iu&s;tification, redemption and &s;aluation &s;hould be out of the Church, and be extended to tho&s;e whom God neuer recei|ued into his couenant; which is quite contrarie to the whole cour&s;e of the &s;criptures, where it is &s;aid, that all who are &s;aued are al&s;o added vnto the Church, Act. 2.47. and that Chri&s;t <HI>hath giuen him&s;elfe onely for his Church,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 2.47. Eph. 5.25.</NOTE> Eph. 5.25. Yea if Chri&s;t died for all, and by his death redeemed them, then it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;a|rily follow that hee had redeemed euen tho&s;e damned &s;oules who were in hell before his comming, which is mo&s;t ab&s;urd to be imagined; for if they were redeemed, how did they againe fall into condemnation, &s;eeing they being once become Chri&s;ts can neuer peri&s;h, neither is any able to pull them out of his hands, as it is Ioh. 10.28.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But again&s;t this it is obiected,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In what &s;en&s;e Chri&s;t is &s;aid to haue died for all men. <HI>1. Tim. 2.6. Heb. 2.9. 1. Ioh. 2, 2.</HI></NOTE> that in the &s;criptures Chri&s;t is &s;aid to haue died and to haue giuen him&s;elfe a ran&s;ome for all men. 1. Tim. 2.6. <HI>Who gaue him&s;elfe a ran&s;ome for all men.</HI> And Heb. 2.9. he is &s;aid to haue <HI>tasted death for all men;</HI> and 1. Ioh. 2.2. he is &s;aid to be a reconciliation for the &s;innes of the whole world. To which I an&s;were; fir&s;t, that the&s;e &s;peeches are not to be vnder&s;tood of all and &s;ingular men, but of all the faithfull which are gathered out of the whole world; for the drift of the Apo&s;tles is to &s;hew that our Sauiour Chri&s;t died not onely for the beleeuing Iewes, but for the Gentils al&s;o, of what coun|trie, nation or condition &s;oeuer they were. And &s;o the&s;e gene|rall &s;peeches are expounded Ioh. 11.52. where our Sauiour Chri&s;t is &s;aid to haue died, not onely for the Iewi&s;h nation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 11.52.</NOTE> but that al&s;o he might gather together in one, the children of God which were &s;cattered. So al&s;o hee is &s;aid Reu. 5.9,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 5.9.</NOTE> to <HI>haue redee|med vs</HI> (that is all the faithfull) <HI>vnto God by his bloud, out of euery
<PB N="284" REF="154">Sathans temptations grounded vpon the doctrine of &amp;c. kinred, tongue, people and nation:</HI> and Galat. 3.26. that <HI>all are the &s;onnes of God by faith in Christ Ie&s;us;</HI> and ver&s;. 28.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.26.28.</NOTE> <HI>That there is neither Iew nor Grecian, bond, nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI> So that the&s;e places are not to be vnder|&s;tood of all and &s;ingular men, but of al beleeuers, of what na|tion or condition &s;oeuer they be. For all the promi&s;es and be|nefits promi&s;ed in the Go&s;pel, which is the couenant of grace, are to be re&s;trained to the condition of the couenant, be they neuer &s;o generall and vniuer&s;all; and this condition is &s;ome|times expre&s;&s;ed and &s;ometimes vnder&s;tood, but neuer exclu|ded. So Ioh. 3.16.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>So God loued the world, that he hath giuen his onely begotten &s;onne, that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in him &s;hould not pe|ri&s;h, but haue life euerla&s;ting.</HI> Rom. 3.22. it is &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.22.</NOTE> that <HI>the righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God by faith in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, is giuen to all that beleeue.</HI> So Gal. 3.22.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.22.</NOTE> <HI>The &s;cripture hath concluded all vnder &s;in, that the promi&s;e by the faith of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould, be giuen to them that beleeue.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 10.43.</NOTE> As al&s;o Act. 10.43.</P>
<P>Secondly I an&s;were, that Chri&s;t in &s;ome &s;en&s;e may be truly &s;aid to haue died for all the world, namely in re&s;pect of the &s;ufficiencie of his death, though not in re&s;pect of the efficacie; for by his death hee paid a &s;ufficient price for the &s;innes of all the world, and a full ran&s;ome for all mankinde, if all would or could applie his merits and obedience vnto them&s;elues by a liuely faith; but in re&s;pect of Gods coun&s;aile, Chri&s;ts wil, and the euent, his death was not effectuall for the redemption of all, but the faithful only. Euen as a &s;oueraigne &s;alue, may haue &s;ufficient vertue in it &s;elfe to cure innumerable wounds and &s;ores, but yet it is effectuall for the healing of tho&s;e onely to which it is applied; &s;o the precious baulme of Chri&s;ts bloud, is of &s;ufficient vertue to heale the wounds of all &s;inners what&s;oe|uer, but notwith&s;tanding it is effectuall to tho&s;e only, to whom it is applied by a true and liuely faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But it is further vrged that it is plainly &s;aid in the &s;criptures,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The former ob|iection vrged and an&s;wered. <HI>Mar. 1.5.</HI></NOTE> that hee died for all without exception. I an&s;were, that it is an v&s;uall thing in Gods word, to put this word (all) for many, or for all tho&s;e which are of one kinde. So it is &s;aid Mar. 1.5. that <HI>all the countrey of Iudea and they of Ieru&s;alem, went out vnto Iohn the Bapti&s;t and were baptized of him;</HI> that is, not euery man without exception, but great multitudes. So it is &s;aid Mat. 4.23.
<PB N="285" REF="154">that our Sauiour <HI>Chri&s;t healed euery di&s;ea&s;e and &s;ickne&s;&s;e amongst the people,</HI> that is, many that were di&s;ea&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 4.23.</NOTE> or di&s;ea&s;es of all kindes. And Act. 10.38. it is &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 10.38.</NOTE> that <HI>Chri&s;t healed all that were oppre&s;&s;ed by the diuell,</HI> that is, very many, for otherwi&s;e great numbers oppre&s;&s;ed of the diuell neuer came into our Sauiours pre&s;ence. Thus al&s;o it is &s;aid ver. 12. that there was in the &s;heete which <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aw in his vi&s;ion (<GAP DESC="foreign">) <HI>all fourefooted bea&s;ts,</HI> that is, bea&s;ts of all kinds. And thus &s;omtimes, by all, we are to vnder&s;tand all the elect and them onely, and &s;ometimes all the reprobate and them alone. In the fir&s;t &s;en&s;e are the&s;e places to bee vnder&s;tood. Ioh. 12.32. our Sauiour &s;aith, that af|ter he <HI>is crucified he will draw all men vnto him,</HI> that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 12.32.</NOTE> all the faithfull and elect, for they only are conuerted vnto God and drawne vnto Chri&s;t. So it is &s;aid E&s;a. 54.13. <HI>that al &s;hall be taught of God.</HI> And Iere. 31.34.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 54.13. Iere. 31.34. Ioel. 2.28.</NOTE> that <HI>all &s;hall know him from the lea&s;t to the greate&s;t.</HI> And Ioel 2.28. the Lord &s;aith, that in <HI>the latter times he will powre out his &s;pirit vpon all fle&s;h;</HI> which places cannot be vn|der&s;tood of the reprobates and wicked, but of all Gods elect and faithfull. Sometimes al&s;o we are hereby to vnder&s;tand all the reprobate and wicked. So Phil. 2.21. the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>that all &s;eeke their owne, and not that which is Ie&s;us Chri&s;ts,</HI> that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.21.</NOTE> all worldlings and wicked men. And Ioh. 3.32. the Bapti&s;t &s;aith, <HI>that no man hath receiued Christs testimonie,</HI> that is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.32.</NOTE> none of the wicked and reprobate, for all the faithfull and elect receiue it and beleeue. By all which places it is euident that this word (all) &s;ometime &s;ignifieth many, and &s;ometime all of one kind; and therefore in tho&s;e places where it is &s;aid that Chri&s;t hath died for al men, we may vnder&s;tand it of many, as it is expoun|ded Matth. 26.28. or of all the faithfull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 26.28.</NOTE> as in many places it is re&s;trained.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is obiected that Chri&s;t died euen for the wicked and damned; for it is &s;aid that &s;ome &s;hall denie the Lord who hath bought them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Pet. 2.1. chap. 1.2.9.</NOTE> 2. Pet. 2.1. that &s;ome who are purged after|wards become blind and forgetfull, 2. Pet. 1.9. that he may be de&s;troyed for whom Chri&s;t died, Rom. 14.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.15. Heb. 10.29.</NOTE> that they who are &s;anctified may count the bloud of the Te&s;tament an vnholie thing and tread it vnder their feete, Heb. 10.29. To which I an|&s;were, that the&s;e and &s;uch like places are to be vnder&s;tood of men, not as they are in truth and in Gods &s;ight, but as they are
<PB N="286" REF="155">in outward &s;hew, profe&s;&s;ion, and in the e&s;timation of men, who according to the rule of charitie iudge the be&s;t, when they &s;ee not euident rea&s;on to the contrarie; or it may bee vnder&s;tood of hypocrites as they are in their owne opinion, or according to their vaine boa&s;ting; and &s;o tho&s;e that are in &s;hew, or in their owne opinion redeemed by Chri&s;ts death, may bee re|probates and condemned, but not any who are redeemed in truth. Secondly, tho&s;e hypocrites that are in the outward vi|&s;ible Church are &s;aid to be redeemed, in re&s;pect that they are numbred for a time among&s;t the faithfull, till they bewray their hypocri&s;ie, and depart from the communion and fellow|&s;hip which they haue outwardly with the Saints, though they are not in truth redeemed, vnle&s;&s;e they be of the Church and members of Chri&s;ts bodie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly, it is obiected that <HI>as in Adam all die, euen &s;o in Chri&s;t &s;hall all be made aliue,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">That al are not redeemed by Chri&s;t, who pe|ri&s;hed in A|dam. <HI>1. Cor. 15.22.</HI></NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh 1. Cor. 15.22. but all died in <HI>Adam,</HI> and therefore all are made aliue in Chri&s;t. I an&s;were, that the Apo&s;tle here vnder&s;tandeth all the faithfull, of who&s;e re&s;urrection he here di&s;puteth; and it is as much as if he had &s;aid, as al the faithfull died in <HI>Adam,</HI> &s;o al &s;hall be made aliue in Chri&s;t: or though it bee vnder&s;tood of all, that they died in <HI>Adam,</HI> yet it prooueth not that all are redeemed by Chri&s;t, for then the &s;en&s;e is thus much; as <HI>Adam</HI> deriued death vnto all his, by natural propagation, &s;o Chri&s;t hath deriued life to all his by grace: and this appeareth in the ver&s;e following, where hee &s;aith, that fir&s;t Chri&s;t ro&s;e, and afterwards they that are of Chri&s;t &s;hall ri&s;e at his comming: now they onely are Chri&s;ts who are led by his &s;pirit, and therefore they who haue not their part in the fir&s;t re&s;urrection, whereby being &s;anctified they ri&s;e againe, from the death of &s;inne to newne&s;&s;e of life, &s;hall not haue their part of the &s;econd re&s;urrection, whereby they ri&s;e to inherite tho&s;e ioyes which Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed for them.</P>
<P>But it may bee further vrged, that if all doe not liue in Chri&s;t who died in <HI>Adam, Adams</HI> &s;inne &s;hall bee of more force than Chri&s;ts death and &s;atisfaction, and <HI>Adam</HI> &s;hall be more &s;trong to de&s;troy than Chri&s;t to &s;aue. I an&s;were, that their power and &s;trength is not to bee mea&s;ured by the number of tho&s;e who are de&s;troyed and &s;aued; but according to the manner where|by
<PB N="287" REF="155">they were de&s;troyed and &s;aued, or according to the vertue and force required to &s;auing and de&s;troying; for it is far more ea&s;ie to hurt many than to helpe a few, to kil a multitude than to re&s;tore one to life; for euen bruite bea&s;ts can kill and de|&s;troy, but neither man, angel, nor other creature can giue life &s;aue God alone; and &s;o it was no hard matter for <HI>Adam</HI> to plunge al mankind into the gulfe of perdition, but to &s;aue and deliuer vs out of this wretched e&s;tate, neither he nor any other could perfourme &s;aue Chri&s;t alone: and therefore though our Sauiour had freed and re&s;tored to life but only one, and <HI>Adam</HI> by his &s;inne de&s;troyed all, yet Chri&s;ts death was &s;tronger and of more vertue in &s;auing, than <HI>Adams</HI> &s;inne in de&s;troying. Se|condly I an&s;were, that Chri&s;ts death is as &s;ufficient for the re|demption of all the world, as <HI>Adams</HI> &s;inne for their condem|nation, in re&s;pect of the infinite value and price thereof; if, as <HI>Adams</HI> &s;inne was deriued vnto all by naturall propagation, &s;o Chri&s;ts death and merits were applied vnto them by faith; for there is no want of vertue in this precious &s;alue to heale, but the cau&s;e why it healeth not, is becau&s;e it is reiected and ca&s;t a|way through incredulitie. Thirdly, Chri&s;ts death is of far more vertue and force than <HI>Adams</HI> &s;inne, in that it bringeth vnto vs farre better things than we lo&s;t in <HI>Adam;</HI> for we lo&s;t by <HI>Adam</HI> but earthly benefits, but wee haue deriued vnto vs by Chri&s;t heauenly glorie and euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e; <HI>Adam</HI> ca&s;t vs out of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the earthly paradize, but Chri&s;t giues vs po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the heauenly Ieru&s;alem; <HI>Adam</HI> made vs of the &s;eruants of God the bond&s;laues of Sathan, but Chri&s;t made vs of the bond&s;laues of Sathan, the &s;onnes of God and heires of his kingdome.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XV.</HI> That all who are redeemed are al&s;o &s;anctified.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus I haue taken away the ground of Sathans fir&s;t temptations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation to per|&s;wade men to all licentiou&s;|ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> whereby hee mooueth carnall men &s;ecurely to continue in their &s;innes, becau&s;e Chri&s;t hath redeemed and will &s;aue the wicked as well as the godly, by prouing that Chri&s;t hath redeemed the faithfull onely.</P>
<PB N="288" REF="156">
<P>The &s;econd temptation which he v&s;eth to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, he thus frameth; Chri&s;t hath redeemed all, at lea&s;t who be|leeue in him, be their &s;innes neuer &s;o many and grieuous: and therefore thou mai&s;t continue in thy &s;innes with plea&s;ure and delight, and &s;atisfie the lu&s;ts of thine owne fle&s;h; only beleeue and thou &s;halt be &s;aued, for Chri&s;t requireth no other condi|tion. Neither is there any other end of Chri&s;ts comming, but that he &s;hould by his &s;uffring take away thy &s;innes; and there|fore why &s;houlde&s;t thou vexe and torment thy &s;elfe, in embra|cing bitter mortification and newne&s;&s;e of life, and in &s;hunning thy &s;weete and plea&s;ing &s;innes, &s;eeing Chri&s;t redeemeth the greate&s;t &s;inners as well as the lea&s;t?</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="The an&s;were."> To this we are to an&s;were, that there are no &s;ins &s;o innume|rable in multitude, and &s;o hainous in their qualitie and nature, which will exclude vs from the benefit of our redemption wrought by Chri&s;t, &s;o we applie his death and merits vnto vs, by a true and liuely faith: but yet notwith&s;tanding, this can be no encouragement for any to continue in their &s;innes; for fir&s;t, we are to know, that none haue part in this rede~ption wrought by Chri&s;t, but tho&s;e onely who are made partakers thereof by a true and liuely faith; which is neuer &s;eparated from the fruites thereof, true repentance and holine&s;&s;e of life; neither is it po&s;|&s;ible that any &s;hould bee a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue, but this a&s;&s;u|rance will make them to loue God againe, and this loue will worke in their hearts a zeale of his glorie, and a care to glorifie his name, by cau&s;ing the light of their godly liues to &s;hine be|fore men; it is not po&s;&s;ible that any who truly beleeue that that they are redeemed with the precious bloud of Chri&s;t, &s;hould not highly e&s;teeme and bee exceedingly thankfull to Chri&s;t for this ine&s;timable benefit, which none can doe who tread the bloud of Chri&s;t vnder their feete, and voluntarily ca&s;t them&s;elues into the bondage of &s;inne, out of which we are re|deemed with &s;o precious a price, and &s;o &s;corne this benefit and de&s;pite our Sauiour who hath be&s;towed it; it cannot bee that any &s;hould bee &s;o fooli&s;h as to &s;ell their &s;oules vnto &s;inne for euery vaine plea&s;ure and trifling commoditie, if they bee a&s;&s;ured that Chri&s;t redeemed them with the price of his pre|cious bloud, which was of more value than many worlds; and therefore who&s;oeuer make no con&s;cience of &s;inne haue no
<PB N="289" REF="156">true faith, and con&s;equently the worke of our redemption wrought by Chri&s;t, doth not appertaine vnto them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That whom Chri&s;t redee|meth tho&s;e he &s;anctifieth.</NOTE> whom&s;oeuer Chri&s;t redeemeth with his bloud, tho&s;e hee &s;anctifieth with his &s;pirit; and in whom&s;oeuer his death is effectuall for the taking away of the guilt and puni&s;h|ment of &s;inne, in them it is effectuall for the mortifying of their corruptions and the &s;inne it &s;elfe; for, being the members of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.5.6.</NOTE> <HI>we are grafted with him into the &s;imilitude of his death and re&s;urrection,</HI> and our old man is crucified with him, that the body of &s;inne might be de&s;troyed, that hencefoorth we &s;hould not &s;erue &s;in, as it is Rom. 6.5.6. And as our Sauiour Chri&s;t <HI>is our wi&s;edom, righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e and redemption,</HI> &s;o hee is our <HI>&s;anctification al&s;o,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.30.</NOTE> as it is 1. Cor. 1.30. So that whom&s;oeuer he redeemeth and iu&s;tifieth, tho&s;e al&s;o he &s;anctifieth, as it may further appeare by many &amp; euident te&s;timonies. Tit. 2.14. he is &s;aid to haue giuen <HI>him&s;elfe for vs, that he might redeeme vs from all iniquitie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.14.</NOTE> <HI>and purge vs to be a peculiar people vnto him&s;elfe zealous of good workes.</HI> Luk. 1.74.75. the Lord bindeth it with an oath,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 1.74.75.</NOTE> that <HI>whom&s;oeuer hee re|deemeth out of the hands of their &s;pirituall enemies, they &s;hall wor|&s;hip him in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e all the daies of their life.</HI> 1. Pet. 2.24. the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 2.24.</NOTE> that our Sauiour <HI>bare our &s;innes in his bodie on the tree, that we being deliuered from &s;inne &s;hould liue in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.18.</NOTE> And <HI>Paul</HI> &s;heweth Rom. 6.18. that as &s;oone as we are freed from the bondage of <HI>&s;inne, we are made the &s;ernants of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> So Heb. 9.14. it is &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.14.</NOTE> that the <HI>bloud of Christ doth purge our con&s;ciences from dead workes, that we may &s;erue the liuing God;</HI> neither are we onely iu&s;tified, but al&s;o &s;anctified by the offring of the bodie of Chri&s;t once made,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.10.14&punc;</NOTE> as it is chap. 10. ver. 10.14. and as hee is appointed of God to be a prince and Sauiour to giue remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, &s;o al&s;o to giue repentance, as appeareth Act. 5.31. So the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 5.31.</NOTE> that Chri&s;t gaue him&s;elfe for his Church, not that it might continue &s;till in pol|lution and the filthine&s;&s;e of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.25.26.</NOTE> but that he might &s;anctifie it and clean&s;e it by the wa&s;hing of water through the word, Eph. 5.25.26. If therefore wee walke in the light as hee is in the light, then his bloud purgeth vs from all our &s;innes, 1. Ioh. 1.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 1.7.</NOTE> If we are &s;prinkled in our hearts from an euill con&s;cience, then we may draw neere with a true heart in a&s;&s;urance of faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.22.</NOTE> Heb. 10.22. But if wee continue in our &s;innes without repentance,
<PB N="290" REF="157">and commit them with delight and greedine&s;&s;e, then let vs brag as much as we will that wee are redeemed by Chri&s;t, yet wee are &s;till in the bondage of the diuell;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.8.</NOTE> for <HI>Chri&s;t appeared</HI> not onely to free vs out of his captiuitie, but al&s;o <HI>that he might loo&s;e the workes of the diuell,</HI> as appeareth 1. Ioh. 3.8. He hath re|deemed vs out of the thraldome of Sathan, that wee might be|come his owne &s;eruants, whom he wil rule and gouerne by his word and &s;pirit; and therfore if we haue not this &s;pirit to leade vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.9.</NOTE> we are none of his, as it is Rom. 8.9. if we wil not &s;ubmit our &s;elues to the &s;cepter of his word, we are none of his &s;ubiects, but continue &s;till the &s;eruants of &s;inne and Sathan. Seeing then it is manife&s;t by Gods word, that who&s;oeuer are redeemed are al&s;o &s;anctified, and whom&s;oeuer Chri&s;t hath wa&s;hed with his bloud, from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne, he doth al&s;o purge and clean&s;e them by vertue of the &s;ame bloud, from the &s;innes and corruptions them&s;elues; and &s;eeing he hath redee|med vs out of the hands of our &s;pirituall enemies, to the end we &s;hould become his &s;eruants, wor&s;hipping him in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e all the daies of our life: let vs neuer bee per|&s;waded by Sathans temptations, fooli&s;hly to imagine that wee may the more &s;ecurely liue in our &s;innes, becau&s;e Chri&s;t Ie&s;us hath paid a &s;ufficient price of our redemption: for, fir&s;t, what horrible ingratitude is this vnto God, to take occa&s;ion by this ine&s;timable benefit the more to offend him? what a bla&s;phe|mous imagination is this again&s;t Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, to thinke that he came into the world, to be a bol&s;ter whereupon we may more &s;ecurely &s;leepe in &s;inne; and that he &s;hed his precious bloud to purcha&s;e libertie for vs, that we may liue in all wickednes; that hee reconciled vs vnto his father by his death that wee might the more freely offend him; that hee hath redeemed vs out of the bondage of Sathan, that wee may more diligently &s;erue him; that hee hath with his bloud wa&s;hed vs from the filth of &s;in, that we may more &s;ecurely wallow in this &s;tinking puddle againe? for, what were this but to make Chri&s;t another <HI>Si&s;iphus,</HI> who a&s;&s;oone as he hath ended his labor is new to begin again? what is it but euery day to crucifie the Lord of life afre&s;h, and to tread his precious bloud vnder our feet as an vnholy thing? what is it but to contemne and ba&s;ely to e&s;teeme of, the ine&s;ti|mable price of our redemption, if wee will not &s;ticke to &s;ell
<PB N="291" REF="157">againe our &s;oules vnto &s;in, for euery bea&s;tly plea&s;ure and ba&s;e commoditie, which Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed at &s;o high a rate? Secondly as hereby we &s;hall &s;hew horrible ingratitude again&s;t God &amp; our Sauiour Chri&s;t, &s;o al&s;o &s;hall we be mo&s;t iniurious to our own &s;oules, &s;eeing we can neuer attaine vnto any true a&s;&s;u|rance of our redemption, till we finde our &s;elues freed in &s;ome mea&s;ure from the power of &s;in, &amp; &s;anctified by Gods &s;pirit, for the Lord who is truth it &s;elf hath &s;aid it, &amp; if this be not enough he hath &s;olemnly &s;worne it, y^t all <HI>tho&s;e who~ he hath redeemed out of the hands of their &s;pirituall enemies, &s;hall wor&s;hip and &s;erue him in holines and righteou&s;nes all the daies of their life;</HI> and therefore as well may God &s;peake, nay &s;weare an vntruth, as tho&s;e may be redeemed who liue in their &s;innes, de&s;titute of all holines towards God, and righteou&s;nes towards their neighbour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A twofold end of our redemp|tion, Gods glory and our happi|ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> we are to con&s;ider that the Lord hath redeemed vs to a twofold end: the fir&s;t and principall is his owne glorie, the &s;econd which is &s;ubordinate vnto the other, is our &s;aluation and euerla&s;ting happines: both which concurre in all tho&s;e, to whom the redemption of Chri&s;t is made effectuall. Now God is not glorified by redeeming &s;uch as continue in their rebel|lion towards him, and will not by any meanes leaue the &s;eruice of &s;in and Sathan, but rather in &s;hewing his iu&s;tice and power, in puni&s;hing their &s;innes which they commit with greedines: but he is glorified when hee mercifully deliuereth repentant &s;inners, out of the bondage of &s;inne and Sathan, who are wea|rie of their captiuitie, and de&s;ire nothing more then freedome, that they may in the re&s;t of their liues &s;erue him their redeemer in the duties of holines and righteou&s;nes. And therefore they who liue in their &s;innes without repentance, continuing &s;till traytors to God &amp; &s;eruants of Sathan, can haue no a&s;&s;urance of their redemption; for the Lord hath therefore bought vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.20.</NOTE> <HI>with a price that we &s;hould glorifie him both in our bodies and &s;oules:</HI> and therfore tho&s;e who in &s;ted of letting their lights of holines and righteou&s;nes &s;hine cleerly before men, y^t their heauenly father may be glorified, doe nothing els but di&s;honor him by their &s;ins and wicked conuer&s;ation, &s;hew plainely that the redemp|tion wrought by Chri&s;t doth not as yet appertaine vnto them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Three degrees of our redemp|tion which al|waies concurre.</NOTE> we are to know that the worke of our redemption wrought by Chri&s;t, con&s;i&s;teth of three parts or degrees; for
<PB N="292" REF="158">fir&s;t Chri&s;t redeemed vs by paying the price of our redemp|tion, and thus he is &s;aid in the Scriptures to haue redeemed vs with his blood. Secondly, he redeemeth vs when as he appli|eth this benefit of our redemption vnto vs in particular, and doth thereby free and deliuer vs from the diuell &s;in and death, &s;o as we are no longer in their bondage &s;ubiect to their power and gouernment, although we be continually a&s;&s;aulted and often foyled by them; thirdly, he redeemeth vs when as he perfectly freeth vs, not onely from the power and gouernment, but al&s;o from the a&s;&s;aults and mole&s;tations of all our &s;pirituall enemies, and giueth vs eternall peace in his kingdome. The fir&s;t was wrought immediatly by him&s;elfe, when as he paied a &s;ufficient price for our redemption, and thereby fully &s;ati&s;fied his fathers iu&s;tice; the &s;econd he worketh by his owne &s;pirit, whereby he doth di&s;pell out of our minds and hearts the darke mi&s;ts of ignorance and infidelitie, and by the glorious light thereof doth illuminate our vnder&s;tandings, with the beames of true knowledge and a liuely faith, &s;o that we know acknow|ledge and beleeue that Chri&s;t is our &s;auiour and redeemer, and are a&s;&s;ured that he hath freed vs from the bondage of our &s;pi|rituall enemies: after which a&s;&s;urance hee begetteth in vs an earne&s;t de&s;ire, of beeing more and more freed from them actu|ally, and an holy indeauour of with&s;tanding all their a&s;&s;aults and temptations, whereby they labour againe to bring vs into their captiuitie, and withall enableth vs with &s;ome mea&s;ure of &s;trength, to with&s;tand and ouercome them; and reneweth and confirmeth this &s;trength receiued, when in the conflict of temptation we are weakned, and haue receiued the foyle, that we may ri&s;e vp againe and afre&s;h maintaine the fight. La&s;tly, our Sauiour Chri&s;t redeemeth vs, when as he perfectly freeth and deliuereth vs from our &s;pirituall enemies at his &s;econd comming, when as we &s;hall not onely not be ouercome nor foyled of them, but al&s;o not &s;o much as once a&s;&s;aulted. And of this redemption our Sauiour &s;peaketh Luk. 21.28.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 21.28.</NOTE> <HI>When</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>the&s;e things begin to come to pa&s;&s;e, then looke vp &amp; lift vp your heads; for your redemption draweth neere.</HI> And the&s;e are the three degrees of our redemptio~, which alwaies follow one another, for, for whom&s;oeuer Chri&s;t hath giuen him&s;elfe as the price of their redemption, to tho&s;e al&s;o hee giueth his holy &s;pirit,
<PB N="293" REF="158">which doth illuminate the eyes of their vnder&s;tanding blinded with ignorance, and &s;anctifieth their will and affections, wor|king in them a de&s;ire and holy indeauour of &s;eruing the Lord in holines and righteou&s;nes, and of with&s;tanding the tempta|tions of the fle&s;h, the world and the diuell. And whom&s;oeuer he thus redeemeth out of the power and gouernment of their &s;pirituall enemies, tho&s;e he will perfectly redeeme and deliuer from all their malicious attempts, and giue them the eternall peace of his kingdome. But tho&s;e who haue not their part in the &s;econd degree, that is, tho&s;e who continue in their blind ig|norance, and in the naturall pollution of their will and affecti|ons, willingly &s;ubiecting them&s;elues to the &s;eruice of &s;inne and Sathan, and &s;tubbornly withdrawing their &s;tiffe neckes out of the yoke of holy obedience vnto Gods commaundements; they can neuer haue any a&s;&s;urance that Chri&s;t hath redeemed them by paying the price of his blood, nor will deliuer them at his &s;econd comming out of the bondage of Sathan, in which they haue liued all their life time, with plea&s;ure and delight; for, whom&s;oeuer hee ran&s;ometh with the price of his blood, tho&s;e he freeth out of the gouernment of their &s;pirituall ene|mies, &s;inne, death, and the diuell; and therefore they that &s;till liue in &s;inne, as our Sauiour &s;aith Ioh. 8.34,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8.34. 1. Ioh. 3.8. Rom. 6.16.</NOTE> yea the &s;eruants of Sathan al&s;o, as the Apo&s;tle teacheth, 1. Ioh. 3.8. <HI>For their &s;er|uants we are to whom we obey, whether it be of &s;inne vnto death, or of obedience vnto righteou&s;nes,</HI> as it is Rom. 6.16: and tho&s;e who &s;till remaine in the &s;eruice and &s;lauerie of &s;inne and &s;athan, haue no part in the fir&s;t redemption, wrought by the &s;hedding of his blood, nor &s;hall haue any part in the la&s;t redemption, at his &s;econd comming to iudgement.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Chri&s;t hath redeemed the whole man.</NOTE> we are to know that Chri&s;t hath redeemed the whole man, body, and &s;oule, and hath freed and deliuered euery part and facultie of them, out of the bondage of our &s;pirituall ene|mies, that all and euery of them may performe &s;eruice vnto God. For example, our vnder&s;tandings were captiued in the darke pri&s;on of ignorance and blindnes, and appeareth Ephe&s;. 4.17.18: but our Sauiour Chri&s;t redeemed vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.17.18.</NOTE> and hath di&s;pel|led the&s;e mi&s;ts of darkenes with the preaching of the Go&s;pell, which like a glorious &s;un&s;hine hath appeared vnto vs, and by
<PB N="294" REF="159">the operation of his holy &s;pirit, he hath cau&s;ed the &s;cales of ig|norance to fall from the eyes of our vnder&s;tanding, &s;o that we can &s;ee the mi&s;terie of our redemption, and worke of our &s;alua|tion wrought by him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 1.77.78.</NOTE> as it is Luk. 1.77.78.79. Our wils which were &s;o inthralled that wee could not &s;o much as de&s;ire any thing plea&s;ing and acceptable vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.13.</NOTE> hath our Sauiour redeemed and freed out of this &s;pirituall bondage, and by the good motions of his holy &s;pirit doth &s;o rule and incline them, that to will is pre&s;ent with vs, and we are delighted in the law of God concerning the innerman; as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh of him&s;elfe Rom. 7.18.22.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.18.22.</NOTE> And though the law of our members and corruptions of the fle&s;h, doe rebell again&s;t the law of our minde, leading vs captiue to the law of &s;inne, yet doe we abhorre this &s;inne, and earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be freed from it, and to &s;erue the Lord in holines and righteou&s;|nes, indeauoring and &s;triuing to mortifie the fle&s;h and the cor|ruptions thereof, and to ri&s;e againe to newnes of life. Our af|fections al&s;o were wholy corrupted and di&s;ordered, &s;o that we hated God, and loued the world, feared man, and not the Lord, tru&s;ted vpon the inferior meanes, neuer regarding the foun|taine of all goodnes; in a word wee were giuen ouer to our owne harts lu&s;ts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.24.26.</NOTE> and vnto vile affections, as it is Rom. 1.24.26: but by the redemption wrought by Chri&s;t becomming his, and being quickned and &s;trengthened by his holy &s;pirit, wee haue crucified the fle&s;h with the affections and lu&s;ts thereof,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.24.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Gal. 5.24. La&s;tly, the members of our bo|die were <HI>&s;eruants to vncleanes and iniquitie, to commit iniquitie,</HI> Rom. 6.19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.19.</NOTE> our eyes full of adulterie, our tongues forges of lies, our feete &s;wift to &s;hed blood: but our Sauiour Chri&s;t re|deeming vs hath deliuered our bodies al&s;o from the thraldome of &s;inne and Sathan, &s;o as though &s;inne dwell, yet it &s;hall no longer raigne in our mortall bodies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.12.</NOTE> that we &s;hould obey the lu&s;ts thereof, as appeareth Rom. 6.12. In a word, both body and &s;oule were in mi&s;erable captiuitie to our &s;pirituall enemies: but our <HI>Sauiour hath bought vs with a price,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.20.</NOTE> <HI>to the end we may glorifie God in our bodies and in our &s;pirits, for they are Gods,</HI> as it is 1. Cor 6.20. And <HI>hath redeemed vs not with corruptible things, as &s;iluer and gold, from our vaine couer&s;ation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.18.19.</NOTE> <HI>but with his owne mo&s;t pre|cious blood,</HI> as <HI>Peter</HI> teacheth vs 1. Pet. 1.18.19.</P>
<PB N="295" REF="159">
<P>If therefore we are redeemed by Chri&s;t, then our blind vn|der&s;tandings are inlightened by the preaching of the Go&s;pell, and we freed from our former ignorance: our willes which were rebellious are inclined to obedience, &s;o as we earne&s;tly de&s;ire to leaue our &s;innes, and to &s;erue the Lord in the duties of &s;anctification, and haue an endeauor of mortifying our &s;ins, and ri&s;ing againe to newnes of life; our affections al&s;o are pur|ged from their corruptions, &s;o that we loue, feare, tru&s;t in, hope, and expect all good from him, who is the fountaine of all goodnes; our bodies <HI>which were giuen as &s;eruants vnto &s;inne, are now become the &s;eruants of righteou&s;nes vnto holines;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.29. ver&s;. 22.</NOTE> In a word both in bodie and &s;oule we are freed from &s;inne, and made &s;er|uants vnto God. But if our vnder&s;tandings are &s;till blinde and ignorant, our willes backward to imbrace any goodnes, and mo&s;t prone vnto all euill, our affections as corrupt as euer they were, and our bodies the readie in&s;truments to act all &s;inne and wickednes, then haue we as yet no fruite of the redemption wrought by Chri&s;t, for it is not a titularie but a powerfull re|demption, which indeed and truth deliuereth vs, euen in this life, from our &s;pirituall enemies: &s;o that though they may a&s;|&s;ault, and grieuou&s;ly vexe vs, yet they &s;hall neuer gouerne and raigne ouer vs; and therefore who&s;oeuer feele not the redemp|tion wrought by Chri&s;t, powerfull in this life to free them in &s;ome mea&s;ure, from the rule and iuri&s;diction of &s;inne, Sathan, the world and the fle&s;h, &s;hall neuer finde it fruitfull and effectu|all to free and deliuer them, from condemnation hell and de|&s;truction in the life to come.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVI.</HI> Of tho&s;e temptations which Sathan v&s;eth again&s;t the faithfull concerning their redemption.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus much concerning tho&s;e temptations which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth into mens mindes to nouri&s;h in them carnall &s;ecuritie:<NOTE PLACE="marg">That it is not repugnant to Gods iu&s;tice to puni&s;h Chri&s;t for vs.</NOTE> now we are to con&s;ider of tho&s;e which he v&s;eth to moue men to doubting and de&s;peration. Fir&s;t therefore he ob|iecteth that it is a thing vnrea&s;onable, and vtterly repugnant to Gods iu&s;tice, that Chri&s;t who was innocent &s;hould be puni|&s;hed
<PB N="296" REF="160">for vs who are guiltie, that we &s;hould de&s;erue the blame, and he &s;uffereth the &s;tripes, that the righteous &s;hould be con|demned, and the wicked acquitted, that wee who like <HI>bar|rabas</HI> were cruell murtherers and wicked &s;inners &s;hould be let lo&s;e, and the immaculate lambe of God in whom there was no fault &s;hould be deliuered vp to be crucified; for what were this but to make the iu&s;t God like vniu&s;t <HI>Pilate?</HI> what were this but to deny his owne word, hauing &s;aid that the righteous &s;hould liue in his righteou&s;nes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 18.20.</NOTE> and the &s;inner die in his iniqui|tie? To which I an&s;were, fir&s;t, that it would not indeede haue &s;toode with Gods iu&s;tice, to haue puni&s;hed Chri&s;t as he was innocent and righteous, nor to haue acquitted and ab&s;olued vs who were vnrighteous and wicked; but he puni&s;hed Chri&s;t in re&s;pect that he had taken vpon him the &s;ins of all the faithfull, and ab&s;olueth vs as we are freed from our &s;ins, &amp; clothed with his righteou&s;nes and obedience. He puni&s;hed Chri&s;t, not as he was mo&s;t iu&s;t and free from &s;in, but as he was our &s;uretie who had taken vpon him to di&s;charge our debt, and to &s;atiffie for our &s;innes; and thus the creditor may iu&s;tly require his debt of the &s;uretie though in re&s;pect of him&s;elfe he owed him no|thing, and thus he may, nay ought to relea&s;e the principall, when the &s;uretie hath allreadie di&s;charged the debt. Secondly I an&s;were that it had bin iniu&s;tice in God, if he had forced our Sauiour Chri&s;t, who was iu&s;t and innocent, to vndergoe the pu|ni&s;hments which were due vnto vs, who were malefactors and offenders; for this were to condemne the righteous, and to iu&s;tifie the wicked: but our Sauiour Chri&s;t of his owne free accord, did voluntarily offer him&s;elfe to &s;tand in our place, and to di&s;charge that debt which we owed, and to make &s;ati&s;&s;acti|on to his father, by &s;uffering that puni&s;hment which wee had de&s;erued.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.18.</NOTE> And this apeareth, Ioh. 10.18. where our Sauiour &s;aith, that <HI>no man tooke his life from him, but that hee laied it downe of him&s;elfe.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle telleth vs that <HI>he humbled him&s;elfe,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.8.</NOTE> <HI>and became obedient vnto death,</HI> Phil. 2.8. In which re|&s;pect, his death is called a &s;acrifice or free oblation, which he voluntarily offered vnto his father, Heb. 9.14:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.14.</NOTE> and therefore the Lord might iu&s;tly take that which Chri&s;t freely gaue, nay it had been crueltie and iniu&s;tice if he &s;hould haue refu&s;ed, the paiment of &s;uch a &s;ufficient &s;uretie, when he voluntarily offered
<PB N="297" REF="160">it for our di&s;charge, choo&s;ing rather &s;till to haue kept vs in pri|&s;on, bound in the chaines of euerla&s;ting death. La&s;tly, there might haue been &s;ome &s;hew of rigor and iniu&s;tice, if Chri&s;t the innocent had been ouerwhelmed, in &s;uffering the puni&s;hments which were due vnto vs, who were the offendors; but being not onely man which &s;uffered but God al&s;o, and therefore of infinit power and maie&s;tie, he was able to pay our great debt, and yet is neuer the poorer; to &s;uffer death and ouercome it by &s;uffering: and by yeelding a while to the malice of our &s;pi|rituall enemies, he finally vanqui&s;hed and gloriou&s;ly triumph|ed ouer them all; and therefore it was not iniu&s;tice in God to &s;uffer our Sauiour Chri&s;t, to vndergoe that which he was &s;ure to ouercome; but vn&s;peakable mercie towards vs, in &s;ending his &s;onne to pay that debt which we could neuer haue di&s;charged, and to &s;uffer puni&s;hments for a time, which otherwi&s;e wee &s;hould haue endured for euer.</P>
<P>By this then it appeareth, that God might iu&s;tly receiue the price of our redemption, which Chri&s;t freely offered. But &s;ee|ing by the lawes of redemption there is required, not onely that the redeemer pay a price or ran&s;ome, but al&s;o that he haue right to that which he doth redeeme, it may be demaunded what right our Sauiour had ouer vs, that hee &s;hould pay this price for vs. I an&s;were, that as our Sauiour Chri&s;t con&s;i&s;teth of two natures, &s;o al&s;o he had a twofold right vnto vs; for as he was God, he had the right of proprietie, &amp; was our true owner; he was our Lord and therefore had right to redeeme his owne &s;eruants; he was our King, and therefore had right to redeeme vs who were his &s;ubiects; yea he was our creator, and therefore he had more right then any Lord or King to redeeme vs who were his creaturs; as he was a man he was our kin&s;eman, fle&s;h of our fle&s;h, and bone of our bone; yea he was our brother, as it is Heb. 2.11.12. and Ioh. 20.17;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 2.11 12. Ioh. 20.17. Leuit. 25.25.</NOTE> and therefore had al&s;o the right of propinquitie, which was required by the law of re|demption. Leuit. 25.25.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Chri&s;t hath offered a &s;ufficient price for our redemp|tion.</NOTE> Sathan may obiect that the death of Chri&s;t is not a &s;ufficient price for our redemption; for how could the death of one, be a &s;ufficient &s;atisfaction for the &s;inne of al the faithful, &s;eeing euery one by their innumerable &s;innes, had de&s;erued in|numerable deaths? and how could the temporary and &s;hort
<PB N="298" REF="161">puni&s;hment which Chri&s;t indured,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 20.28.</NOTE> free vs all that beleeue from the euerla&s;ting puni&s;hments of hell fire, &s;eeing the iu&s;tice of God requireth that there &s;hould be &s;ome proportio~, between the puni&s;hment which we de&s;erued, and the &s;atisfaction which Chri&s;t made and offred? I an&s;were, that Chri&s;t who &s;uffered for vs, was not man only but God al&s;o; in which re&s;pect it is &s;aid, that God purcha&s;ed his Church with his blood; not that God hath blood, but becau&s;e he that &s;hed his blood, was not onely man but al&s;o God; and therefore his &s;hort &s;ufferings were of more worth, vertue and valew, than the euerla&s;ting &s;uffrings of al the world; for they &s;hould euer haue &s;uffred, but could therby neuer haue &s;atisfied, becau&s;e our &s;ins de&s;erued infinite puni&s;h|ments, in that we had by them offended the infinit iu&s;tice and maie&s;ty of God; which becau&s;e finit creatures could not beare, Gods iu&s;tice required that they &s;hould be infinit in time and euerla&s;ting, &s;eeing they could not be infinite in mea&s;ure; but the &s;uffrings of Chri&s;t, though &s;hort in time, yet were they infi|nit in valew, worth and merit, becau&s;e he was not man alone, but God al&s;o, and therfore at once he put away &s;in by the &s;acri|fice of him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.26.</NOTE> &amp; <HI>by his one oblation he took away the &s;ins of many,</HI> as it is Heb. 9.26, 28. As therefore: <HI>Adams</HI> &s;inne, which in it &s;elfe was finit, as proceeding from a finit creature, notwith&s;tanding de&s;erued infinit puni&s;hment, becau&s;e God whom by his &s;in he offended was infinit; &s;o contrariwi&s;e Chri&s;ts &s;uffrings were but of &s;hort continuance in re&s;pect of time, but yet of infinit merit and worth, becau&s;e he that &s;uffered was not man alone, but al|&s;o God, and therefore infinite.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Christs death and me|rits belong to euery particu|lar beleeuer.</NOTE> the tempter will obiect that Chri&s;ts death and me|rits, though they be in them&s;elues a &s;ufficient price for our re|demption, yet they do not belong vnto vs, neither wil be effec|tuall for our &s;aluation. Let it be graunted (will he &s;ay) that the death and merits of Chri&s;t are &s;ufficient for the &s;aluation of all: yet what comfort can&s;t thou receiue hereby, &s;eeing thou can&s;t haue no a&s;&s;urance that they belong vnto thee, or will be effec|tuall for thy redemption? for either he hath redeemed all or but &s;ome only; if all, then &s;ome who are redeemed may peri&s;h notwith&s;tanding, &s;eeing the &s;criptures &s;hew that the greater part of the world are the children of de&s;truction, and it is not vnlikely but that thou art in the greate&s;t number. But if he haue
<PB N="299" REF="161">redeemed &s;ome only, how can&s;t thou conclude that thou art one of the&s;e whom he hath redeemed, &s;eeing out of mere par|ticular propo&s;itions thou can&s;t not inferre any &s;ound con&s;e|quence? For example, if thou do&s;t thus conclude, &s;ome men are redeemed by Chri&s;t, but I am a man, therefore I am redeemed: thou mighte&s;t as wel rea&s;on thus, &s;ome men are kings, but I am a man, therefore I am a king. To this wee mu&s;t an&s;were, that though Chri&s;t hath only redeemed &s;ome, yet wee may after a more &s;ound manner conclude that we are in this number, not v&s;ing the helpe of &s;athans ab&s;urd fallacions; but inferring our conclu&s;ion out of generall propo&s;itions grounded vpon Gods word after this manner; who&s;oeuer beleeue in Chri&s;t, tho&s;e he hath redeemed and will &s;aue; for this is the voyce and promi&s;e of Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pell: but I (may euery faithfull man &s;ay) doe truely beleeue in Chri&s;t: and therefore I am redeemed and &s;hall eternally be &s;aued.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> But again&s;t this particular application of Chri&s;t &amp; his merits vnto vs, the tempter vrgeth diuers obiections; fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tations against the particular application of Christs merits, an&s;wered. <HI>Eph. 5.25.27.</HI></NOTE> that Chri&s;t only &s;aueth and redeemeth his own body which is his Church, and that this his Church is glorious without &s;pot or wrinkle, holy and vnblameable, as it is Ephe&s;. 5.25.27. and therfore (wil he &s;ay) what hope of redemption or &s;aluation can&s;t thou haue, who art defiled not onely with originall corruption, but al&s;o with innumerable actuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions? To this we mu&s;t an|&s;were that the Apo&s;tle &s;aith not, that the Church which Chri&s;t redeemeth and &s;aueth, is now already without &s;pot or wrinkle; but y^t he hath by giuing him&s;elf for it, redeemed it, that hereby he might wa&s;h and clen&s;e it from all &s;pots, and might make it holy and without blame; either by his merits and righteou&s;nes imputed vnto it which is done in this life; or by freeing it alto|gether from corruptions and the filthy &s;pots of &s;inne, where|with naturally it is defiled, which is begunne in this life, but &s;hall not be perfected vntill the life to come.</P>
<P>Secondly, he obiecteth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Our falling in|to &s;inne, no rea|&s;on to proue that we are not redeemed. <HI>Col. 1.14.</HI></NOTE> that if Chri&s;t had redeemed vs out of the thraldome of &s;inne, then wee &s;hould not &s;till be ouercome therby, nor &s;o often, will we nill we, tran&s;gres Gods comman|dements. To which we are to an&s;were, that our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath deliuered vs from our &s;ins, fir&s;t in regard that for his merits and &s;atisfaction &s;ake, the Lord hath pardoned and remitted
<PB N="300" REF="162">them, &s;o as they &s;hall neuer be imputed vnto vs, nor ari&s;e vp in iudgement to our condemnation, neither in this world nor the world to come: &s;econdly, he doth deliuer vs from our &s;innes, while&s;t he doth giue vnto vs his holy &s;pirit, whereby our &s;innes are in &s;ome mea&s;ure mortified, &amp; the &s;trength of them abated, &s;o that they do not raigne and rule in vs as in former times, al|though we cannot wholy expell them from dwelling in vs, ac|cording to that Rom. 6.12,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.12.</NOTE> <HI>Sinne &s;hall not raigne in your mortall bodie that you &s;hould obey it in the lu&s;ts thereof.</HI> And though we cannot vtterly &s;ubdue this Cananiti&s;h brood of our corrupti|ons, but that &s;till while&s;t we continue in this life, they are as thornes in our &s;ides, alwaies vexing and grieuing vs: yet by the helpe of Gods &s;pirit a&s;&s;i&s;ting vs, we weaken their force, abate their courage, and make them become tributaries; and if at any time they rebel, we curbe them in, &amp; giue them the ouerthrow; yea, though &s;ometimes they gaine ground, &amp; giue vs the foile, yet wee ri&s;e againe by vnfained repentance, and recouer our &s;elues, being a&s;&s;i&s;ted with the fre&s;h &s;upply of Gods &s;pirit, till at la&s;t by death we obtaine a finall victory.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our obe|dience to the Lawe, proueth not that we are not redeemed. <HI>Gal. 3.13.</HI></NOTE> he obiecteth that we are &s;till vnder the law, and tied to the obedience thereof, and therefore Chri&s;t hath not freed vs from it: I an&s;wer, that though Chri&s;t hath not freed vs from the obedience of the lawe, yet he hath freed vs from the cur&s;e and malediction, as it is Gal. 3.13. &s;o as though we do not performe it in that exact manner and mea&s;ure which God requireth, yet our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion &s;hall not be imputed vnto vs; for he hath per|fectly fulfilled the law for vs, that his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e might be|come our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and he hath &s;uffred death, that by his blood he might wa&s;h away our &s;ins.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.3.4.</NOTE> And thus <HI>when the law was impo&s;&s;ible to be performed, by rea&s;on of the weaknes and corruptions of our fle&s;h, the Lord &s;ent his Son in the &s;imilitude of &s;infull fle&s;h, and for &s;in condemned &s;in in the fle&s;h, that the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the lawe might be fulfilled in vs,</HI> as it is Rom. 8.3, 4. Moreouer, we are not now tied to performe obedience to the lawe, to the end that thereby we may be iu&s;tified, nor yet &s;hall we for the imperfec|tions of this our obedience be in danger of condemnation, but now onely it is a meanes before our conuer&s;ion to bring vs to Chri&s;t, by &s;hewing vnto vs our &s;innes and in&s;ufficiency in our &s;elues, and after our conuer&s;ion it &s;erueth for a rule or &s;quare,
<PB N="301" REF="162">according to which we are to frame our liues in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that &s;o we may &s;hew our thankfulnes vnto our heauenly father for his ine&s;timable benefits, by glorifying his name in a godly life. And becau&s;e this al&s;o is bitter and vnplea|&s;ant to fle&s;h and blood, therefore the Lord hath al&s;o granted and giuen vnto vs his holy &s;pirit, which mortifieth our corrup|tions, whereby we are made le&s;&s;e prone vnto &s;inne; and quick|neth vs in the inner man, inabling vs to performe obedience in &s;ome mea&s;ure to the law of God, with alacrity and cheereful|nes, &s;o that now <HI>his commandements are not grieuous vnto vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Iohn 5.3.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, 1. Ioh. 5.3, but his yoke which &s;o much galled vs while we were rebellious, and like vntamed oxen, is now become ea&s;ie, and his burthen which heretofore was &s;o heauy and irke&s;ome, is now become light,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 11.30.</NOTE> as our Sauiour tel|leth vs, Matth. 11.30.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That God is not angry vvith the faithfull, though he &s;ee|meth to frowne vpon them.</NOTE> the tempter may obiect to the weake con&s;cience which laboureth vnder the burthen of &s;inne, that our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath not redeemed vs from the anger of God due for &s;in, &s;eeing we &s;til &s;ee his frowning countenance, and apprehend the &s;corching heate of his wrath inflamed again&s;t vs: but let all know, that if they truly beleeue in Chri&s;t, and onely rely them|&s;elues vpon this their mediator, if their &s;ins pa&s;t grieue them, and they purpo&s;e for the time to come, to labor that they may for&s;ake them; then they are reconciled vnto God by Chri&s;t, and in him hee is become their louing and gracious father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.20.21.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle telleth vs, Col. 1.20.21. Let not &s;uch therefore be di&s;|couraged, if God &s;eeme to frowne vpon them for a time, for hee will not frowne for euer, nor alwaies retaine his anger, as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;peaketh, P&s;alm. 103.9. Nay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 103.9.</NOTE> in truth he is not angry with vs at all as a Iudge to puni&s;h, but as a Father to correct and amend vs: and if we will &s;peake properly, he al|waies loueth and delighteth in vs; for as hee is well plea&s;ed with Chri&s;t our head, &s;o is he alwaies well plea&s;ed with vs in him, as being members of his body: notwith&s;tanding as a tender Father when his Sonne offendeth, maketh &s;emblance as though his wrath were kindled, to the ende that hee may bee carefull in the time to come, to auoyde the like fault, and to amend; &s;o the Lord who is our gracious Fa|ther, &s;eemeth oftentimes to bee grieuou&s;ly di&s;plea&s;ed with
<PB N="302" REF="163">his children when they haue &s;inned again&s;t him, hiding from them his amiable louing countenance, and &s;hewing nothing but &s;ignes of wrath, not that hee hath in truth ca&s;t them out of his loue and fauour; for he neuer falleth out with tho&s;e whom Chri&s;t hath reconciled vnto him, neither can hee cea&s;e to loue the members of Chri&s;t, nor Chri&s;ts members cea&s;e to bee his members after they are once ingrafted into his bodie by his holie &s;pirit and a liuely faith: onely like a wi&s;e father he frow|neth vpon them and &s;eemeth angrie, to make them in the time to come for&s;ake their &s;innes, whereby they haue incurred his di&s;plea&s;ure.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fiftly, the tempter will obiect that we are not freed and de|liuered out of his power and iuri&s;diction,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That though Sathan tempt vs, yet we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are redee|med. <HI>Heb. 2.14.</HI></NOTE> &s;eeing he doth often a&s;&s;ault and ouercome vs with his temptations, and leadeth vs captiue fa&s;t bound in the fetters of &s;inne. To which wee mu&s;t an&s;were, that our Sauiour Chri&s;t by his <HI>death hath de&s;troyed him that had the power of death, that is the diuell; that he might deli|uer all them which for feare of death were all their life time &s;ubiect to bondage,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth Heb. 2.14.15. That God <HI>hath deliuered vs from the power of darkne&s;&s;e, and hath tran&s;lated vs into the kingdome of his deare &s;onne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.13.</NOTE> as it is Col. 1.13. That our re|deemer Ie&s;us <HI>Chri&s;t hath &s;poiled the principalities and powers, and hath made a &s;hew of them openly, and hath triumphed ouer them vpon his cro&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2.15.</NOTE> <HI>and that not onely for him&s;elfe, but for all his mem|bers,</HI> Col. 2.15. That hee hath now broken the Serpents head, &s;o that well may hee hi&s;&s;e again&s;t vs, but yet hee cannot &s;ting vs. And whereas heretofore hee was the prince of the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 12.31.</NOTE> who did rule and gouerne vs at his plea&s;ure and according to his will, now he is ca&s;t out by the prince of princes, as it is Ioh. 12.31. and our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath e&s;tabli&s;hed his kingdom in vs, ruling and gouerning vs with the &s;cepter of his word and holy &s;pirit. Whereas hee was the &s;trong man who quietly kept his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion in vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 11.21.</NOTE> Luk. 11.21; our Sauiour Chri&s;t who is &s;tronger than he, hath &s;poyled him of his armour wherein hee tru&s;ted, and hath thru&s;t him out of his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. Whereas hee was a cruell tyrant who held vs fa&s;t bound in his captiuitie, our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t hath redeemed vs out of his thraldome, &s;o as now he cannot hurt vs though hee neuer cea&s;eth to a&s;&s;ault vs; and though hee goeth about like a roring lion &s;eeking whom hee<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.9.</NOTE>
<PB N="303" REF="163">may deuoure, yet now we are enabled by Gods &s;pirit to re&s;i&s;t him &s;tedfa&s;tly in the faith, and &s;o armed with the coat-armour of Gods &s;piritual graces, that though he may with the violence of his a&s;&s;aults foyle vs, yet &s;hall hee neuer be able to ouercome vs.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That God tur|neth Sathans temptations to the good of his children.</NOTE> God doth indeed &s;uffer this wicked enemie to make warre again&s;t euen his deare&s;t children, and that &s;ometimes after a &s;trange and extraordinarie manner, not that he will giue them ouer againe vnto his thraldome, out of which he hath purcha|&s;ed them with &s;o deare a price, but partly to driue them hereby to flie vnto him by earne&s;t and effectuall prayer, imploring his aide again&s;t Sathans crueltie, and that hauing receiued it they may a&s;cribe the whole glorie of the victorie to him alone, by who&s;e &s;trength they haue ouercome; and partly to &s;hew vnto them their owne weakene&s;&s;e, that they may not relie nor re&s;t vpon it. Sometimes hee &s;uffreth them to be thus a&s;&s;aulted, that his power may be magnified in their weakene&s;&s;e; and &s;ome|times that the graces which he hath be&s;towed vpon them, may &s;hine gloriou&s;ly to all the world. Sometimes for the confirma|tion of others who &s;hall hereafter be tried with the like temp|tations, when they haue in their brethren often experience of Gods loue power and fatherly a&s;&s;i&s;tance; and &s;ometimes the more to &s;trengthen them&s;elues in his &s;pirituall graces, and to confirme them more fully in the a&s;&s;urance of his loue and their &s;aluation. For as a citie which hath once bin be&s;ieged and not &s;acked, wil euer after be more &s;trong to hold out if it be a&s;&s;aul|ted by the like danger, becau&s;e the citizens will carefully for|tifie their walles and increa&s;e their bulwarkes; and as he who hath been once robbed by theeues, will euer after ride better prouided to make re&s;i&s;tance, that hee doe not againe fall into their hands; &s;o tho&s;e who are be&s;ieged and a&s;&s;aulted by their &s;pirituall enemies, will euer after more carefully arme them|&s;elues again&s;t them with the graces of Gods &s;pirit, that they may not be ouercome nor foiled by them. We know that whi|le&s;t men quietly enioy their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions and inheritance they re&s;t &s;ecure, keeping their writings in a boxe without euer loo|king on them from yere to yere, but when their title and right is called into que&s;tion, and &s;ome man labours to thru&s;t them out of their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, then they peru&s;e their writings and deeds with al diligence; &amp;, not &s;atisfied with their own iudge|ment
<PB N="304" REF="164">they re&s;ort to skilfull Lawyers, crauing their coun&s;aile how they may maintaine their right, and an&s;were the plea which their aduer&s;arie makes again&s;t them; whereby often|times it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that they make their title not onely much more &s;trong in it &s;elfe, but al&s;o more cleere and euident vnto al others, &s;o that afterwards none dare once aduenture to trouble them againe, or call their right into que&s;tion: &s;o whi|le&s;t we neuer doubt of our heauenly inheritance we re&s;t &s;ecure, and let the book of God which is our be&s;t deed and euidence, lie vnder our cupbords till it mould for want of v&s;e; but when &s;athan by his temptations doth call our title into que&s;tion, and pleades that we haue no right to Gods kingdome, then do we mo&s;t carefully and diligently peru&s;e the booke of God, then doe we goe vnto Gods Mini&s;ters, de&s;iring their coun&s;aile how we may an&s;were Sathans plea and cleere our title, then doe we mo&s;t carefully v&s;e all good means to increa&s;e our knowledge, that thereby wee may throughly infourme our &s;elues of our right, and confirme our a&s;&s;urance again&s;t all cauils and obiec|tions. And hereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e, that tho&s;e who before had very weak titles to their heauenly inheritance, while&s;t they remained retchle&s;&s;e and &s;ecure, and but &s;lender a&s;&s;urance euer to enioy it; now, by their care, paines and diligence, haue &s;o confirmed it vnto them&s;elues, and &s;o cleered it to al the world, that Sathan dare neuer after call it into que&s;tion, vnle&s;&s;e he doe it (like many contentious men in the&s;e dates) rather that he may trouble and vexe them with a tedious &s;uite, than for any hope of preuailing in the end. And thus you &s;ee that Chri&s;t hath redeemed all the faithfull out of Sathans thraldome, not|with&s;tanding that he &s;til a&s;&s;aulteth them with his temptations; neither doth hee hereby ouercome them and againe inthrall them in his captiuitie, but rather by Gods ble&s;&s;ing they &s;erue to &s;trengthen them in the &s;pirituall graces of Gods &s;pirit, and to confirme them in the full a&s;&s;urance of their &s;aluation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Sixtly, the tempter will obiect that wee &s;till die, and there|fore are not redeemed and deliuered out of the bondage of death.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That though we die, yet we are redeemed from death. <HI>Gen. 3.19. Heb. 9.27.</HI></NOTE> To which we may an&s;wer, that Gods iu&s;t &s;entence once denounced could not be reuoked, Gen. 3.19, <HI>Du&s;t thou art, and into du&s;t thou &s;halt returne;</HI> and therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith Heb. 9.27, <HI>It is appointed vnto all men that they &s;hall once die.</HI> But as
<PB N="305" REF="164"><HI>Aha&s;huorus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">He&s;t. 8.</NOTE> though he could not reuoke the &s;entence of death again&s;t the Iewes after it was once pronounced, becau&s;e it was a decree of the Medes and Per&s;ians which might not be al|tred; yet at <HI>Hesters</HI> &s;uite &s;ent out another decree, whereby hee armed and &s;trengthened the Iewes again&s;t their enemies, to the end they might re&s;i&s;t, ouercome, and de&s;troy them: &s;o the Lord hauing pronounced the &s;entence of death again&s;t all the &s;onnes of <HI>Adam,</HI> could not reuoke his decree and &s;entence, as being farre more vnchangeable than the decree of the Medes and Per&s;ians, yet at the &s;uite of our Sauiour Chri&s;t hee made another decree, whereby wee might be armed again&s;t our ene|mie death, and ouercome him. So that now though we die, yet are we not &s;ubiect vnto death, neither &s;hall wee be held vnder the dominion thereof; though wee are not wholy exempted from death, yet now the nature therof is quite altred; for here|tofore it was vnconquerable, but now ea&s;ily ouercome; here|tofore it was a cur&s;e for &s;inne, but now turned into an excee|ding ble&s;&s;ing, as deriuing vnto vs many benefits: for fir&s;t it freeth vs from all our afflictions, with which in this life wee are &s;o much mole&s;ted; it deliuereth vs from the irk&s;ome company of prophane wicked men, who grieue the very &s;oules of the righteous, and make them to crie out with <HI>Dauid; Woe is me that I remaine in Me&s;hech, and dwell in the tents of Kedar;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 120.5.</NOTE> it wholy freeth vs from &s;inne, and purgeth away tho&s;e corrup|tions which in this life cleaue &s;o fa&s;t vnto vs; &s;o that though heretofore there was great amitie betweene &s;inne and death, for &s;in was the only cau&s;e which inlarged deaths dominions, and made al the world to become his tributaries, yet now they are at oddes, and death now is the means, to free vs out of &s;ins thraldome and vtterly to de&s;troy it. And thus hath the Viper &s;inne, bred a yong one which eateth out it own belly; for &s;inne brought foorth death, and death de&s;troyed &s;inne: had it not bin for &s;inne, death had neuer entred into the world, and were it not for death, &s;inne would neuer go out of the world. More|ouer, by death wee obtaine a full and perfect victorie ouer the fle&s;h, the world, and the diuell; for whereas in this life we are in a continual fight, and &s;ometimes <HI>Ameleck,</HI> &s;ometime <HI>I&s;rael</HI> hath the vpper hand: death puts an end to this battaile, and gi|ueth vs full victorie ouer the fle&s;h, the world, and the diuell; &s;o
<PB N="306" REF="165">as they &s;hall neuer afterwards not only not preuaile, but not &s;o much as a&s;&s;ault or trouble vs: and thus doth euery Chri&s;tian, with <HI>Dauid</HI> cut off <HI>Goliahs</HI> head with his own &s;word; for death was the weapon which Sathan v&s;ed to de&s;troy vs, and with this weapon we giue Sathan a finall ouerthrow. La&s;tly, death which heretofore was the high way to hell and de&s;truction, is now become the readie entrance into Gods kingdome, and like a foule gate whereby we enter into a faire palace; hereto|fore it was a firie &s;erpent which by &s;tinging killed &amp; de&s;troyed vs, but, now our Sauiour hath pulled out the &s;ting, it is become &s;o harmele&s;&s;e that we may &s;afely put it into our bo&s;oms, with|out receiuing any hurt: and in this re&s;pect it may not vnfitly be compared to the bra&s;en Serpent, which looked like other Ser|pents, but in &s;teed of wounding it pre&s;ently cured, in &s;teede of killing it pre&s;erued life; &s;o though death retaine his former &s;hape, &s;o that wee are afraid and readie to flee from it, yet it is but in outward appearance; for in &s;teed of an euer dying life, it giueth vs po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of a neuer dying life and endle&s;&s;e happi|ne&s;&s;e. Heretofore it was the diuels &s;ergeant to arre&s;t and carrie vs without baile, into the perpetual pri&s;on of vtter darkne&s;&s;e, but now it is the Lords gentleman-v&s;her to conduct and place vs in the kingdome of heauen. Heretofore it was like the diuels cart wherein we were carried to execution, now it is like <HI>Elias</HI> firie chariot whereby we mount vp into heauen. And this <HI>Paul</HI> &s;heweth 2. Cor. 5.1. <HI>We know</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that if the earthly hou&s;e of this tabernacle be de&s;troyed,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.1.</NOTE> <HI>we haue a building giuen vs of God, a hou&s;e not made with hands, but eternall in the heauens.</HI> Why ther|fore &s;huld we feare, nay why &s;hould we not de&s;ire death, &s;eeing now it is vnto vs aduantage?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.23.</NOTE> as it is Phil. 1.23. why &s;hould we not de&s;ire to be di&s;&s;olued and to be with Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 21.</NOTE> &s;eeing that is be&s;t of all? as it is ver&s;. 21. for now we may &s;ay, not that we die, but that we depart and goe to our father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8.21.</NOTE> as our Sauiour &s;pea|keth Ioh. 8.21.</P>
<P>But yet wee mu&s;t take heede that wee doe not imagine, that death in it owne nature worketh and procureth for vs the&s;e great benefits; for in it &s;elfe this temporarie death is but a &s;tep to euerla&s;ting death, and as it were a fearefull prologue to a more fearefull tragedie: but our Sauiour Chri&s;t it is alone who hath gathered hole&s;ome honey out of this pernitious poy&s;on,
<PB N="307" REF="165">and by mingling the fle&s;h of this venemous &s;erpent with his owne mo&s;t precious bloud, hee hath made thereof a hole&s;ome Triacle.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I prooued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That tho&s;e who are once redee|med cannot againe be brought into bondage.</NOTE> notwith&s;tanding Sathans tempta|tions and obiections, that Chri&s;t hath perfectly redeemed vs, out of the hands of all our &s;pirituall enemies; now in the la&s;t place Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth, that though Chri&s;t hath once redee|med vs, yet we may come into their bondage againe, and then there is no hope of a &s;econd redemption. But wee are to know that our Redeemer is God omnipotent, who&s;e power all the power of hell cannot with&s;tand; and therefore nothing <HI>is able to pluck vs out of his hand,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.28.</NOTE> as him&s;elfe &s;peaketh Ioh. 10.28; nei|ther are we to think, that he will ea&s;ily &amp; willingly lo&s;e them, which hee &s;o intirely loues that hee &s;pared not his precious bloud, but freely gaue it as a price of their redemption. And therefore, as hee <HI>is able,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.25.</NOTE> <HI>perfectly to &s;aue all tho&s;e who come vnto God by him; becau&s;e he euer liueth to make interce&s;&s;ion for them,</HI> as it is Heb. 7.25. &s;o we neede not doubt of his will, &s;eeing hee hath redeemed vs with &s;o d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">re a price: for if hee would not lo&s;e vs when we were his enemies, much le&s;&s;e will hee &s;uffer vs to peri&s;h when we are become his &s;ubiects, yea his &s;pou&s;e, nay members of his owne bodie: and therefore we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that if our Sauiour, our &s;pou&s;e and head hath once re|deemed vs, then he hath al&s;o <HI>obtained eternall redemption for vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.12.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle affirmeth Heb. 9.12. So that though the diuell rage like a roring lion, and the fle&s;h betray vs and harbour whole legions of vnlawfull lu&s;ts which fight again&s;t our &s;oules, and the world &s;ometime frowne, and &s;ometime faune, and all of them by all meanes labour to de&s;troy vs; yet our omnipotent redeemer, our louing and careful &s;pou&s;e and head, will not &s;uffer vs to be lo&s;t whom hee hath &s;o dearely bought, but will giue vs the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and fruition of that heauenly inheritance, and tho&s;e vn&s;peakable ioyes which hee with his owne mo&s;t precious bloud hath purcha&s;ed for vs.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="308" REF="166">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVII.</HI> Of our Vocation.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus much concerning our redemption; the next cau&s;e of our &s;aluation is our vocation: for, whom&s;oeuer the Lord hath elected vnto euerla|&s;ting life, tho&s;e al&s;o he hath redeemed out of the hands of their &s;pirituall enemies; and whom he hath redeemed, tho&s;e in his good time he effectually calleth, and applieth this great benefit of their redemption vnto them, by &s;eparating them from the world, and ingrafting them into the body of Chri&s;t, whereby they become his, and he with all his benefits becometh theirs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat our cal|ling is.</NOTE>In &s;peaking hereof, I will &s;hew fir&s;t what this calling is, and afterwards an&s;were Sathans temptations, whereby he laboreth to make it fru&s;trate and vnprofitable vnto vs. For the fir&s;t, our vocation or calling is an effect of Gods election, whereby our Sauiour Chri&s;t, God and man, doth by his kingly authoritie call and inuite vs whil&s;t we liue here, vnto the participation and imbracing of the ine&s;timable benefit of our redemption, that thereby we may attaine vnto euerla&s;ting life.</P>
<P>And thus are we called &s;ometimes &s;ooner, and &s;ometimes later, when it &s;eemeth good vnto the Lord: as appeareth in the parable of the hou&s;eholder, who hired laborers into his vine|yard, &s;ome at the dawning of the day, others at the third, &s;ixt, and ninth howre,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 20.</NOTE> others at the eleuenth howre, not long before the &s;unne &s;etting, as it is Matth. 20.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A twofold cal|ling, generall and effectuall.</NOTE>Moreouer, this our calling, is either commune and generall, or els &s;peciall and effectuall. The general calling, is whereby all indifferently, good and bad, elect and reprobate, are outward|ly inuited by the mini&s;terie of the Go&s;pell, to imbrace the be|nefit of our redemption wrought by Chri&s;t: which outward calling is vneffectuall to the wicked and reprobates, becau&s;e being inuited to the &s;upper of the King they refu&s;e to come, that is, they either altogether neglect the hearing of the hea|uenly amba&s;&s;age of the Go&s;pell, or els contemne tho&s;e ine&s;ti|mable benefits which are therein offered, preferring before them the honors, riches, and plea&s;ures of this life; whereby it
<PB N="309" REF="166">commeth to pa&s;&s;e, that the word of God findeth no place in their hearts, but vani&s;heth away, leauing nothing behinde it but the &s;auour of death, to their more deepe condemnation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;peciall and effectuall calling is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat our ef|fectuall calling is.</NOTE> that which is proper to Gods elect, when as with the outward mini&s;terie of the word, wherein grace and &s;aluation is offered to all beleeuers, our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t ioyneth the inward operation of his holy &s;pirit; which openeth our deafe eares, inlighteneth our blind vnder|&s;tandings, and &s;oftneth and &s;anctifieth our hard and corrupt hearts, &s;o as we attentiuely heare, truely vnder&s;tand, and by a liuely faith apply, the doctrine of grace and &s;aluation which is preached vnto vs; whereby al&s;o we are &s;eparated from the world, giuen to Chri&s;t and he to vs, whereupon followeth that neere vnion, whereby we being ingrafted into his body, mi&s;ti|cally doe become his members, and he our head.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Effectuall cal|ling proper to the elect.</NOTE>That this effectuall calling is proper to tho&s;e that are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued, it appeareth by the parable of the &s;upper, where many, outwardly inuited to the great &s;upper of the king, refu&s;e to come,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 22.3.8.</NOTE> &amp; therefore are excluded from the mari|age, Mat. 22.3.8. And Rom. 8&punc; 30, the Apo&s;tle &s;aith <HI>that whom he did prede&s;tinate, them al&s;o he called, and the&s;e al&s;o he iu&s;tifieth.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 8.30.</NOTE> So Act. 13.48. it is &s;aid <HI>that as many as were ordained to euerla&s;ting life, beleeued</HI> at the preaching of <HI>Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 13.48.</NOTE> and there|fore the&s;e onely were effectually called.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.45.</NOTE> And Ioh. 6 45. our Sa|uiour &s;aith, that <HI>euery one who hath heard and hath learned of the father, commeth vnto him.</HI> So that, outward hearing is not &s;uf|ficient to bring vs to Chri&s;t, vnle&s;&s;e the father al&s;o inwardly in|&s;truct vs with his holy &s;pirit, opening our deafe eares, inligh|tening our blynd vnder&s;tandings, inclining our willes, and &s;anctifying our affections, that we may attentiuely heare, truely vnder&s;tand, and heartily imbrace the Go&s;pell preached vnto vs. And this appeareth in the example of <HI>Lydia,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 16.14.</NOTE> Act. 16.14. who&s;e heart the Lord is &s;aid to haue opened, that &s;he might at|tend vnto the things which <HI>Paul</HI> &s;pake, and bee conuerted: by which &s;peech the holy Gho&s;t implyeth thus much, that her heart was (as it were) clo&s;e &s;hut, and fa&s;t locked vp, &s;o as he could not receiue the word preached, till the Lord had opened it by the inward operation of his holy &s;pirit. Which matter neede not &s;eeme &s;trange vnto vs, &s;eeing it is continually con|firmed
<PB N="310" REF="167">by our owne experience: for how comes it to pa&s;&s;e that many among&s;t vs, heare the word preached from day to day and yeere to yeere, and yet are neuer the nearer, but &s;till re|maine as ignorant in their mindes, as peruer&s;e in their willes, as corrupt in their affections, as prophane in their liues as euer they were? On the other &s;ide how hapneth it that &s;ome atten|tiuely heare Gods word, trea&s;ure it vp in their memories, and thereby haue their minds inlightned with the knowledge of God, their wils inclined to holines and righteou&s;nes, their af|fections &s;anctified, their liues reformed? &s;urely becau&s;e the Lord doth ioyne in the&s;e, the inward operation of his &s;pirit with the outward mini&s;terie of his word, making it effectuall for their true conuer&s;ion; whereas he leaueth the other to their owne corrupt affections and hardnes of heart.</P>
<P>And thus it appeareth that the elect onely are effectually called: as for the wicked and reprobate, though they heare the outward preaching of the word, by which they are inuited vn|to Chri&s;t; yet they &s;tubbornly refu&s;e to come vnto him, and re|iect all the gracious promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, to their eternall perdition; becau&s;e the Lord leaueth them to their owne lu&s;ts and corruption, not opening their hard hearts, nor inclining their peruer&s;e willes nor &s;anctifying their corrupt affections.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> In the next place let vs con&s;ider,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the parts of effectuall cal|ling, and fir&s;t of our &s;epara|tion from the world.</NOTE> the parts of our effectuall calling; the fir&s;t is our &s;eparation from the world, of which in former time wee were citizens and true members, that from henceforth we &s;hould be of Gods hou&s;ehold and family: for naturally we are meere worldlings, dead in our &s;innes, and to euery good worke reprobate, liuing without God and &s;er|uing Sathan, the world and the corrupt lu&s;ts of our fle&s;h, vntill it plea&s;e the Lord to make choy&s;e of vs among many other, calling and &s;eparating vs from this corrupt ma&s;&s;e of mankind, that he may make vs &s;ubiects, fir&s;t of his kingdome of grace, and afterwards of his kingdome of glorie. Of this our Sauiour &s;peaketh Ioh. 15.19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.19.</NOTE> <HI>If you were of the world, the world would loue his owne; but becau&s;e you are not of the world, but I haue cho&s;en you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle &s;aith that after our calling and conuer&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.19.</NOTE> we are <HI>no more &s;tran|gers and forreners, but citizens with the &s;aints, and of the hou&s;ehold of God.</HI> Now the Lord maketh this choy&s;e of vs before others,
<PB N="311" REF="167">not for any re&s;pect of worthines or excellencie in vs more then in them, but of his meere mercie, vnde&s;erued grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Lord calleth vs, not for any re&s;pect of our own wor|thines.</NOTE> and free good will; neither doth he therefore intertaine vs into his Church and family, becau&s;e wee are alreadie, or becau&s;e hee knoweth we will bee hereafter holy and righteous; but ha|uing freely called vs without any our de&s;erts, he doth al&s;o of his owne vnde&s;erued loue giue vs his holy &s;pirit, whereby we are purged from our corruptions, &s;anctified and rai&s;ed vp from the death of &s;inne to newnes of life; &s;o that our holines is not a cau&s;e of our calling, but Gods election and calling is a cau&s;e of our holines. And this appeareth both by te&s;timonies of Scrip|ture and examples. For the fir&s;t, the Lord profe&s;&s;eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 65.1.</NOTE> E&s;a. 65.1. that he offered him&s;elfe <HI>to tho&s;e that asked not after him, and was found of them that &s;ought him not &amp;c.</HI> The Apo&s;tle Ephe&s;. 2.1. affirmeth that euen tho&s;e who are the Church and people of God, were before their calling and conuer&s;ion, not &s;icke only, but euen <HI>dead in their &s;innes, in which they walke according to the cour&s;e of the world;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.1.3.12.</NOTE> <HI>that they were by nature the children of wrath as well as others,</HI> as it is ver&s;. 3. <HI>and that they were without Chri&s;t, aliants from the common-wealth of I&s;raell, &s;trangers from the co|uenant of promi&s;e, and had no hope, and were without God in the world,</HI> as it is ver&s;. 12. So 1. Cor. 6.11. he &s;aith, that tho&s;e who were now &s;anctified and iu&s;tified, were in time pa&s;t fornicators,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.11.</NOTE> idolators, adulterers, wantons, buggerers &amp;c. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Pe|ter</HI> like wi&s;e writing to the Church of Chri&s;t, &s;aith both of him|&s;elfe and them al&s;o, that they had &s;pent the time pa&s;t before their conuer&s;ion, after <HI>the lu&s;t of the gentiles, walking in wanton|ne&s;&s;e, gluttonie, and in abominable idolatries,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 4.3.</NOTE> 1. Pet. 4.3. And the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> &s;aith, that we all were wandering &s;heepe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 53.6.</NOTE> vntill the Lord gathered vs into his &s;heepefold. So that it was &s;o far of, that we &s;hould de&s;erue nay grace or mercie at Gods hand, that in his iu&s;tice he might rather haue con&s;umed vs as his ene|mies, than called vs to be his Church and people.</P>
<P>This al&s;o is plaine in the examples &s;pecified in the booke of God: for, what excellencie or worthines was in <HI>Abraham</HI> who before his calling was an idolater? or in <HI>Rahab</HI> who had &s;pent her time in lu&s;t and filthines? or in <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> who was a cruell idolater, a murtherer, a &s;orcerer? or in <HI>Matthew</HI> who was a publicane? or in <HI>Paul</HI> who was a bloodie per&s;ecutor? or in the
<PB N="312" REF="168">thiefe, who had &s;pent his life in al outrage and wickednes? what excellencie or de&s;ert was in any of vs, who haue not &s;o much as a thought, or inclination to any good thing, or any power to performe it? and therefore we mu&s;t conclude with the Apo|&s;tle, that <HI>we are called with an holy calling, not according to our workes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.9.</NOTE> <HI>but according to his owne purpo&s;e of grace, &amp;c.</HI> 2. Tim. 1.9.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd part of effectuall calling, is that reciprocall do|nation whereby God the father giueth Chri&s;t Ie&s;us his onely begotten &s;onne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the &s;econd part of our ef|fectual calling, to wit, our reci|procall donati|on.</NOTE> truely and effectually to al his elect, to be their head, redcemer, and Sauiour; and al&s;o whereby he giueth his elect vnto Chri&s;t to become his members, that &s;o they may be &s;aued and redeemed by him: whereupon all Gods elect may truly &s;ay, that this Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, God and man, is mine head, my Sauiour and redeemer; and all his merits obedience and be|nefits, purcha&s;ed by both, are become mine by this right, as be|ing a member of his bodie; and our Sauiour al&s;o, may as truely &s;ay of Gods elect, that they are his whom he hath right to re|deeme and &s;aue, becau&s;e hee is their head and they his mem|bers. Of this mutuall donation and gift, the Scriptures &s;peake euidently;<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 9.6. Ioh. 3.16.</NOTE> and fir&s;t that Chri&s;t is giuen vnto vs; E&s;a. 9.6. <HI>Vnto vs a childe is borne, and vnto vs a &s;onne is giuen.</HI> Ioh. 3.16. <HI>So God loued the world, that he gaue his onely begotten &s;onne, that who&s;o|euer beleeueth in him &s;hould not peri&s;h, but haue euerla&s;ting life.</HI> Rom. 8.32. Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.32. Ioh. 17.6.</NOTE> that we are giuen vnto Chri&s;t, it is mani|fe&s;t, Ioh. 17.6. <HI>I haue declared thy name vnto the men which thou gaue&s;t me out of the world, thine they were and thou gaue&s;t them me, &amp;c.</HI> So. Ioh. 10.29. <HI>My father which gaue them me is greater then all, and none is able to take them out of my fathers hand.</HI> By which places it plainely appeareth, that Chri&s;t is giuen vnto vs by God his father, and we vnto Chri&s;t. But in what manner is this mutuall donation made? &s;urely not gro&s;ely and corpo|rally; but &s;piritually &amp; after a cele&s;tiall manner: for the meanes whereby it is brought to pa&s;&s;e on Gods parr, is his diuine and holy &s;pitit, and on our part a true and liuely faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third part of effectuall calling, is the vnion and commu|nion which is betwixt Chri&s;t and Gods elect:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the third part viz. our vnion with Chri&s;t.</NOTE> which followeth vpon the donation before &s;poken of, whereby Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and they are mi&s;tically coupled together into one body, hee be|comming their head and they becomming his members. Of
<PB N="313" REF="168">this the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Ephe&s;. 4.15.16. where hee exhorteth the faithful, <HI>to grow vp into him which is the head, that is Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.15.</NOTE> <HI>by whom all the bodie being coupled together by euery ioynt &amp;c. re|ceiueth increa&s;e.</HI> And chap. 5.30. <HI>We are members of his bodie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">and 5.30.</NOTE> <HI>of his fle&s;h, and of his bones.</HI> And of this our Sauiour Chri&s;t &s;peaketh in the parable of the vine Ioh. 15.1. where he co~pareth him&s;elfe to the &s;tock &amp; root, and al the faithful to the branches;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.1.</NOTE> and the Apo&s;tle expre&s;&s;eth it by a metaphoricall &s;peech taken from a building, comparing Chri&s;t to the foundation, and the Church to the re&s;t of the building, Eph. 2.20.21.22. Now wee mu&s;t not conceiue of this vnion, that it is either natural,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.20.21.</NOTE> as the three per|&s;ons in Trinitie are vnited in the &s;ame diuine nature, or per&s;o|nall as the bodie and &s;oule being vnited make one man, or corporall as the parts of a building are coupled one with ano|ther: but this coniunction and vnion is made by the &s;pirit of God, which dwelling in the manhood of chri&s;t aboue mea&s;ure, filling it with the graces thereof, is from it deriued vnto all the faithfull and true members of Chri&s;ts bodie, filling them with the like graces in mea&s;ure; and on our part by a true and liue|ly faith, whereby we doe applie vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his benefits. And this appeareth Eph. 2.22. where the Apo&s;tle &s;aith that <HI>wee are the habitation of God by the &s;pirit.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.22. 1. Ioh. 4.13.</NOTE> And 1. Ioh 4.13. <HI>Hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in vs, becau&s;e he hath giuen vs of his &s;pirit.</HI> So that by the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs, we are made one with Chri&s;t and Chri&s;t with vs. Now the man|ner whereby this vnion is made is this; the faithful man, body and &s;oule, is vnited vnto whole Chri&s;t God and man; but fir&s;t and immediatly to the humane nature, and mediatly thereby to the diuine nature, both which are mo&s;t nece&s;&s;arie; for life and &s;aluation is wrought for vs by vertue and power of the Deitie, but it is deriued and communicated vnto vs by the hu|mane nature of Chri&s;t. According to that Ioh. 6.54. <HI>Ioh. 6.54.</HI> Who&s;oeuer eateth my fle&s;h and drinketh my bloud, hath eternall life, and I will rai&s;e him vp at the la&s;t day. And this is the vnion which is be|tweene Chri&s;t our head and vs his members, by vertue where|of we haue &s;ure intere&s;t and iu&s;t title, both to Chri&s;t and all his benefits, his obedience death and merits, by which we are iu|&s;tified, &s;anctified and &s;aued.</P>
<P>And &s;o much concerning the parts of our effectuall calling;
<PB N="314" REF="169">the meanes whereby the Lord thus calleth vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the meanes of our effectual calling.</NOTE> are fir&s;t on Gods part the preaching of the word, which is made effectuall by the inward operation of his &s;pirit; fir&s;t to mollifie our hard hearts, and truly to humble vs, by &s;etting before vs our &s;innes and corruptions, and this is done by the preaching of the law: and after wee &s;ee our inabilitie and in&s;ufficiencie of working our owne &s;aluation, we are thereby brought out of our &s;elues, to &s;eeke for &s;aluation in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, applying him and his me|rits vnto vs by a true and a liuely faith, and this is done by the preaching of the Go&s;pell.</P>
<P>The meanes on our part is the &s;auing hearing of the word, whereby our hard hearts are mollified, and we truly humbled, and brought out of our &s;elues to &s;eeke for &s;aluation in Chri&s;t, whereby al&s;o true faith is begot in vs, wherewith wee applie, Chri&s;t vnto vs, and relie vpon him alone for our &s;aluation.</P>
<P>And thus haue I &s;hewed what our vocation is, and the means therof. Now let vs con&s;ider of tho&s;e temptations, which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth into mens minds in re&s;pect of their vocation, to the end hee may hinder them from the participation and fruition of Chri&s;t and his benefits, whereunto in the preaching of the word they are called and inuited. And the&s;e are of two &s;orts, fir&s;t tho&s;e wherewith he a&s;&s;aulteth them who are not called: &s;e|condly, tho&s;e wherewith he a&s;&s;aulteth them who are truly cal|led and conuerted.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="18" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVIII.</HI> Sathans temptations whereby he &s;eeketh to make our calling vn|effectuall, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THo&s;e who are not called hee tempteth diuers waies, that he may hinder their effectuall calling;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the nece&s;&s;ity of our effectual calling.</NOTE> and fir&s;t he laboureth to per&s;wade them, to neglect this their calling as a thing not nece&s;&s;arie, and to contemne the mini&s;te|rie of the word, which is the meanes whereby we are effectual|lie called.</P>
<P>But we are to with&s;tand the&s;e temptations: and to this end wee are fir&s;t to know, that before our effectuall calling wee are not true members of the Church, though wee may outwardly thru&s;t our &s;elues into this &s;ocietie; for what els is the Church
<PB N="315" REF="169">but that companie or congregation which is truly called and &s;elected out of the world? and from hence it hath it name, for it is called <HI>Eccle&s;ia</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, from the calling thereof: vnle&s;&s;e therefore we be called we are not members of the Church, and if wee bee out of the Church there is no &s;aluation; for our Sa|uiour gaue him&s;elfe for his Church alone, and he is the <HI>Sauiour of his owne bodie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.23.25. Act. 2.47.</NOTE> as it is Eph. 5.23.25. and he addeth <HI>daily vnto the Church &s;uch as &s;hall be &s;aued,</HI> as it is Act. 2.47.</P>
<P>Moreouer, vnle&s;&s;e we be truly called we &s;hall neuer be truly iu&s;tified, and without iu&s;tification there is no glorification:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.30.</NOTE> for this is the golde~ chaine of our &s;aluatio~, as appeareth Rom. 8.30.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, wee can neuer come vnto Chri&s;t, nor communicate with him in any of his benefits, nor receiue any &s;anctifying and &s;auing grace of Gods &s;pirit, till by the grace of God wee are made partakers of this holie calling; for naturally wee are meere worldlings, de&s;titute of all grace and goodne&s;&s;e, and &s;o we remaine till by this holy calling we are &s;eparated from the world, and ingrafted into the bodie of Chri&s;t, by who&s;e &s;pirit we are quickened who were dead in our &s;innes, and haue &s;an|ctifying graces begotten nouri&s;hed and increa&s;ed in vs.</P>
<P>Seeing therefore this our effectuall calling is &s;o nece&s;&s;arie, let not Sathan per&s;wade vs to neglect it, neither let vs when the Lord inuiteth vs to this royall fea&s;t pretend excu&s;es, one that he mu&s;t goe &s;ee his farme,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 22. Luk. 14.</NOTE> another that hee mu&s;t goe trie his oxen, a third that he mu&s;t goe about his merchandize, and a fourth that he is hindred by a carnall mariage: for if we will not come when the Lord inuiteth vs, like vnworthie gue&s;ts we &s;hall be &s;hut out of the doores, and not &s;uffred to be partakers of this banquet of eternall ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 95.7.8.</NOTE> <HI>While&s;t today we heare his voyce let vs not harden our hearts,</HI> for hee hath not promi&s;ed that he will call againe to morrow, while&s;t now he &s;tandeth at the doore and knocketh and calleth for entrance, let vs hea|ring his voyce open the doore of our hearts, that he may come in and &s;up with vs and we with him;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 3.20.</NOTE> for if vnkindly wee denie him entertainment, we can haue no a&s;&s;urance that hee will re|turne againe to &s;uch churli&s;h and vngratefull hoa&s;ts. In a word, &s;eeing the Lord pa&s;sing by many other in the world maketh choi&s;e of vs, calling and inuiting vs to the participation and fruition of eternall ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e and happine&s;&s;e, let no worldly
<PB N="316" REF="170">bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, though it &s;eeme as nece&s;&s;arie as the burying of our deare father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 8.21.</NOTE> hinder vs from harkening, and obeying this hea|uenly call; let no tran&s;itorie trifle &s;tay vs from comming to God, when hee offreth to make vs good a&s;&s;urance of his royall kingdome: for though many things bee conuenient, yet one thing is nece&s;&s;arie, and thrice happie are they which make choi&s;e of the better part.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tations where|by he moueth vs to neglect the meanes of our effectuall calling.</NOTE>But it is impo&s;&s;ible that euer we &s;hould be truly called, vnles we carefully v&s;e the meanes when the Lord offreth them vnto vs, and attentiuely li&s;ten vnto the Lords voyce when hee inui|teth vs to come vnto him: and therfore Sathan laboureth, not &s;o much to per&s;wade vs that our vocation is in a thing vnnece&s;&s;a|rie vnto &s;aluation, &s;eeing this is manife&s;tly repugnant to plaine te&s;timonies of &s;criptures, as to mooue vs to neglect the meanes whereby we are called, namely the mini&s;terie of Gods word: partly working vpon our inbred corruption, which not con|ceiuing the things of God condemneth them of fooli&s;hnes, and not being delighted with tho&s;e things which it vnder&s;tan|deth not, they &s;eeme irk&s;ome and tedious; and partly inticing vs with the commodities and plea&s;ures of the world, which are more plea&s;ant to carnall men than their meate and drinke, hee cau&s;eth vs to &s;pend that time in our earthly bu&s;ine&s;&s;es or vain delights, which we &s;hould be&s;tow in the hearing of Gods word, whereby we &s;hould be effectually called, that is, &s;epara|ted from the world, and ingrafted as liuely members into the bodie of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Motiues to per|&s;wade to the diligent hea|ring of Gods word. The fir&s;t mo|tiue.</NOTE>Let vs therefore &s;trongly arme our &s;elues again&s;t this temp|tion, as being mo&s;t pernitious vnto our owne &s;oules: and to this end let vs briefly con&s;ider of &s;ome rea&s;ons, whereby wee may be &s;tirred vp dilige~tly to frequent Gods holy a&s;&s;emblies, to be made partakers of this heauenly amba&s;&s;age. Fir&s;t there|fore were are to know, that the mini&s;terie of the word is Gods owne ordinance, which he hath in&s;tituted and ordained <HI>for the gathering together of the Saints, and building the bodie of his Church,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.11.12.</NOTE> as appeareth Eph. 4.11.12. Neither doth he v&s;e ordina|rily any other meanes (e&s;pecially where this is to bee had) for the true conuer&s;ion of his children, and for the working of the &s;anctifying graces of his &s;pirit in them. And therefore though he could by extraordinary meanes, haue &s;ufficiently in&s;tructed
<PB N="317" REF="170">the Eunuch in the waies of &s;aluation, yet he would not, but ra|ther v&s;eth his owne ordinance, and &s;endeth <HI>Philip</HI> to preach vnto him, Act. 8. Though hee could haue illuminated the eyes and vnder&s;tanding of <HI>Paul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 8. Act. 9.6.17.</NOTE> by the immediat worke of his &s;pi|rit, yet hee cho&s;e rather to &s;end him to <HI>Ananias,</HI> Act. 9.6.17. Though hee could by the mini&s;terie of his Angel, haue &s;uffi|ciently infourmed <HI>Cornelius</HI> in things nece&s;&s;arie to &s;aluation, yet he would not offer &s;o great di&s;paragement to his owne or|dinance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 10.5.6.</NOTE> and therefore he cau&s;eth him to &s;end for the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> Act. 10.5.6. And therefore if wee would haue any a&s;&s;u|rance, of our effectual calling and true conuer&s;ion vnto God, let vs with all care all diligence heare the word of God prea|ched vnto vs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd motiue.</NOTE>Secondly, let vs con&s;ider that it is euen God him&s;elfe, who &s;peaketh by the mouthes of his Amba&s;&s;adours, and that they come not in their owne names but in Chri&s;ts &s;tead, to intreate vs that we would be reconciled vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.20.</NOTE> as it is 2. Cor. 5.20; that though they bee but earthen ve&s;&s;els, yet they bring from the world, and is yet hid to tho&s;e that peri&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 4.7.</NOTE> 2. Cor. 4.7. And he~ce it is that the Prophets, being to pronounce their prophe|cies, &s;till begin with, <HI>The word of the Lord,</HI> and, <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord;</HI> and God him&s;elfe &s;ending <HI>Ieremie</HI> to preach, &s;aith, that he had put <HI>his words into his mouth,</HI> Iere. 1.9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 1.9.</NOTE> Who&s;oeuer there|fore refu&s;e to heare the word of God preached, refu&s;e to heare the Lord him&s;elfe, as our Sauiour plainly affirmeth Luk. 10.16. <HI>He that heareth you heareth me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 10.16.</NOTE> <HI>and he that de&s;pi&s;eth you de&s;pi|&s;eth me;</HI> and what hope can they haue of comming vnto God, who cannot endure to heare his voyce calling them vnto him?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>The third motiue.</HI> 2. Cor. 5.18.</NOTE> the titles which are giuen vnto the word in the Scriptures, may &s;erue as &s;trong arguments to moue vs careful|ly to heare the &s;ame: for it is called the mini&s;terie of reconci|liation, whereby we are reconciled vnto God, 2. Cor. 5.18. and therefore without it, there being no other ordinarie meanes of reconciliation, we remaine &s;till Gods enemies. It is called the Go&s;pell of peace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.15.</NOTE> Eph. 6.15. without which wee haue neither peace with God, nor the peace of con&s;cience; It is called the word of grace, Act. 14.3, and 18.32, becau&s;e it is the meanes whereby the Lord deriueth vnto vs his grace and mercie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 14.3.</NOTE> and
<PB N="318" REF="171">all the &s;pirituall graces of his &s;anctifying &s;pirit;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.16. Act. 13.26.</NOTE> It is called the word of life, Phil. 2.16. and the word of &s;aluation, Act. 13.26. becau&s;e it is the meanes wherby we are &s;aued out of the hands of &s;pirituall enemies, and are certainly a&s;&s;ured of euerla&s;ting life and happine&s;&s;e;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13.44.</NOTE> It is called the kingdome of God, Matth. 13.44. becau&s;e thereby we are brought, fir&s;t into the kingdom of grace, and afterwards into the kingdome of glorie; It is that heauenly &s;eede whereby we are begotten vnto God, in which re&s;pect the mini&s;ters thereof are called &s;piritual fathers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 4.15.</NOTE> 1. Cor. 4.15. and therefore without it wee can neuer be regenerated and borne vnto God; It is the foode of our &s;oules, euen milke for babes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 3.2. Heb. 5.12.</NOTE> and &s;trong meate for men of ripe yeares, 1. Cor. 3.2. Heb. 5.12. whereby we are nouri&s;hed vnto euerla&s;ting life: and therefore let vs not refu&s;e this heauenly foode like waiward children when our heauenly father offreth it vnto vs, for &s;o our &s;oules being hunger-&s;tarued, nothing can follow but eternall death and de&s;truction; It is the phi&s;icke of our &s;oules, whereby being &s;icke in &s;inne they are cured and re&s;tored: for as Chri&s;t is our heauenly phy&s;ition, &s;o is his word the potion which hee giueth to purge vs from our corruptions, and the pre&s;eruatiue which confirmeth vs in health, and pre&s;erueth vs from the le|prous infection of &s;inne, yea this phy&s;ick is &s;o &s;oueraigne, that though with <HI>Lazarus</HI> were haue lien dead in our graues foure daies, that is, continued long in our naturall corruptions, yet this phy&s;icke being applied will rai&s;e vs vp to newne&s;&s;e of life; and therefore tho&s;e who neglect this diuine phy&s;icke, are &s;ub|iect to all infection of &s;inne, and being infected can neuer at|taine to their health againe. It is the &s;quare and rule of our liues, from which we mu&s;t not decline neither on the right hand nor on the left,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 5.32.</NOTE> Deut. 5.32. and therefore without it our workes mu&s;t needs be crooked in Gods &s;ight. It is a lanthorne to our feete,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.105.</NOTE> and a light vnto our paths, P&s;al. 119.105, whereby wee are guided in the waies of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which leade vs to euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, which being taken a|way we &s;hall walk in darkne&s;&s;e, and be euery &s;tep readie to fall into &s;in and eternall de&s;truction. It is the &s;word of the &s;pirit, wherewith we defend our &s;elues and offend our &s;pirituall ene|mies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.17.</NOTE> Eph. 6.17; which being neglected, or not skilfully v&s;ed, we &s;hall lie open to all thru&s;ts and blowes, and be ea&s;ily ouer|come.
<PB N="319" REF="171">In a word, it is profitable for all v&s;es, as being the onely ordinarie meanes ordained to conuey vnto vs all good, and to pre&s;erue vs from all euill: and therefore great folly it is for any man to contemne it, or to preferre before it vaine plea|&s;ures, or trifling commodities, which al&s;o are momentanie and vncertaine.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth mo|tiue.</NOTE> the manifold benefits which by the word of God are deriued vnto vs, may &s;erue as a &s;trong argument to &s;tirre vs vp to the diligent and carefull hearing thereof; for fir&s;t there|by we become true members of the Church, out of which there is no &s;aluation, and being ingrafted into the body of Chri&s;t, are made partakers of all his benefits. And this appeareth Eph. 4.11.12,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.11.12.</NOTE> where the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth that the end of the mini&s;te|rie is <HI>for the gathering together of the &s;aints, and for the edification of the body of Christ.</HI> A notable example whereof wee haue Act. 2.41. where,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 2.41.</NOTE> by one &s;ermon three thou&s;and &s;oules were ad|ded to the Church. Secondly, hereby we are regenerated and begotten vnto God, and therefore in this re&s;pect <HI>Paul</HI> profe&s;|&s;eth him&s;elfe, the father of the Corinthians 1. Cor. 4.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 4.15.</NOTE> and without this regeneration and new birth, none &s;hall euer en|ter into the kingdome of God, as our Sauiour &s;heweth vs, Ioh. 3.5. Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.5.</NOTE> vnle&s;&s;e the blinde eyes of our vnder&s;tandings be illuminated, we &s;hall fall into a laborinth of errors, and ne|uer finde the hard way which leadeth to Gods kingdome; but the word of God is that heauenly light, which &s;hineth vnto vs <HI>who &s;it in darkenes, and in the &s;hadow of death, guiding our feete into the way of peace,</HI> as it is Luk. 1.79. and in this re&s;pect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 1.79. Matth. 5.14. Act. 13.47.</NOTE> Gods mini&s;ters ars called the light of the world, Math. 5.14. Act. 13.47. becau&s;e, as lights, they guide and direct men in the waies of &s;aluation, and reueale vnto them the great light, euen the Sunne of righteou&s;nes, Chri&s;t Ie&s;us. Fourthly, <HI>through faith we are &s;aued,</HI> Ephe&s;. 2.8. Neither is it po&s;&s;ible,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.8.</NOTE> that without &s;aith wee &s;hould euer attaine vnto &s;aluation, for this is the conditi|on of all the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, without which wee cannot haue any a&s;&s;urance of them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1.12. and 3.16.18. Rom. 14.23. Heb. 11.6.</NOTE> Ioh. 1.12. and 3.16.18. Moreouer, <HI>what&s;oeuer is not done of faith is &s;inne,</HI> Rom. 14.23. <HI>And without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God,</HI> Heb. 11.6. But the preaching of the word is the ordinarie meanes of begetting faith in vs, as appeareth Rom. 10.17. <HI>Faith commeth by hearing,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.17.</NOTE>
<PB N="320" REF="172"><HI>and hearing by the word of God.</HI> And therefore who&s;oeuer con|temne or neglect the hearing of Gods word, they refu&s;e the meanes of faith; and being without faith, all they doe is &s;inne, and cannot plea&s;e God, neither can they euer haue any a&s;&s;u|rance of Gods promi&s;es, or their owne &s;aluation. La&s;tly, by the hearing of Gods word we are &s;aued, and therefore Gods mi|ni&s;ters in this re&s;pect are called Sauers of the people, 1. Tim. 4.16. <HI>Take heede vnto thy &s;elfe and vnto learning;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 4.16.</NOTE> <HI>continue there|in, for in &s;o doing thou &s;halt both &s;aue thy &s;elfe and them that heare thee;</HI> becau&s;e they are the mini&s;ters of God, whom he v&s;eth as meanes, and in&s;truments in working the &s;aluation of the elect: and therfore &s;eeing by the preaching of the word, we are made members of the body of Chri&s;t, regenerated &amp; inlightned; &s;ee|ing therby we attaine vnto faith, &amp; euerla&s;ting &s;aluation, let vs as we loue our owne &s;oules, diligently heare the word, and not &s;uffer our &s;elues to be hindred from frequenting the holy a&s;|&s;emblies of Gods &s;aints, with euery vaine plea&s;ure and ba&s;e commoditie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the tempter wil be readie to obiect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tations, where|by he vvith|draweth men from the di|ligent hea|ring of Gods word, an&s;we|red.</NOTE> that though the word preached be thus nece&s;&s;arie and profitable at &s;ometimes when we are at lea&s;ure, yet this &s;hould be no rea&s;on to moue vs to neglect our bu&s;ines, or abandon our plea&s;ures; for when once by the hearing thereof we are conuerted, inlightned with the knowledge of Gods true religion, and indued with faith, it is &s;ufficient if we but &s;eldome heare it; for what in &s;ub&s;tance can we learne, which we haue not alreadie learned, or what can the preacher teach vs, which we doe not know as well as he? A|gain&s;t which temptation, which is &s;o common and pernicious, it behooueth euery chri&s;tian mo&s;t carefully to arme him&s;elfe; and to this end let vs know, fir&s;t that this neglect of Gods word is a manife&s;t &s;igne that &s;uch are not as yet truely conuer|ted, nor indued with any mea&s;ure of &s;auing knowledge and true faith;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8.47. and 10.27.</NOTE> for <HI>who&s;oeuer are of God heare his word,</HI> Ioh. 8.47; and all Chri&s;t <HI>&s;heepe heare his voyce and follow him,</HI> as it is Ioh. 10.3.4.27. Who&s;oeuer haue attained vnto knowledge, faith, and the re&s;t of the graces of Gods &s;anctifying &s;pirit, they will be &s;o raui&s;hed with the excellencie of them, that it is not po&s;|&s;ible for them to content them&s;elues with a &s;mall mea&s;ure, but &s;till they will labour to grow from knowledge to knowledge,
<PB N="321" REF="172">from faith to faith, from one grace to another, till they become perfect men in Chri&s;t. And as tho&s;e who haue but once ta&s;ted of &s;ome delicious meate, are not &s;ati&s;fied therewith, but a|gaine and againe feede vpon it if ea&s;ily they may come by it, becau&s;e their ta&s;te is exceedingly delighted therewith; &s;o if euer we did but truely ta&s;te of this heauenly Manna, and &s;piri|tuall foode of our &s;oules, the word of God, we would not re&s;t &s;o contented, but when oportunitie is offered, we would often feede vpon it, vntill our &s;oules were fully &s;ati&s;fied, and nouri|&s;hed vnto perfect &s;trength;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 12.13.</NOTE> and fora&s;much as &s;o long as we continue here, our knowledge is but in part and our faith weake, and Gods graces but in &s;mall mea&s;ure, therefore we would continually feede on this heauenly nouri&s;hment, to the end of our liues, that thereby our knowledge may be increa|&s;ed, our faith &s;trengthned, and all other graces confirmed and multiplied in vs. But if on the other&s;ide we loath this heauen|ly Manna, it is a manife&s;t &s;igne, we neuer ta&s;ted thereof in truth, or that our &s;oules are exceeding &s;icke in &s;inne, which maketh them that they cannot relli&s;h this daintie and delicious foode, and that we haue not knowledge, faith, or any grace begotten in vs, neither that our &s;elues are begotten vnto God. For as the childe being begotten and conceiued, doth pre&s;ently draw nouri&s;hment from the mother; and the bigger it waxeth, the more it de&s;ireth till it come vnto perfect age and &s;trength: &s;o as &s;oone as the graces of Gods &s;pirit are begotten in vs by the preaching of the word, they draw nouri&s;hment from their &s;pi|ritual mother, the Church; and the &s;tronger they waxe in grace, the more earne&s;tly they de&s;ire a greater pittance till they be|come perfect men in Chri&s;t. And therefore where there is no de&s;ire of this foode, there is no regeneration nor new birth.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods word, the food of our &s;oules, often to be receiued.</NOTE>Moreouer the word of God is the foode of our &s;oules, whereby we are nouri&s;hed, and the graces of Gods &s;pirit con|firmed and increa&s;ed in vs; and therefore it is not &s;ufficient to eate of this foode once or twice, but continually, euen as often as the Lord calleth vs to this &s;pirituall banquet. For as the bo|dy will waxe faint, and quickly peri&s;h, vnle&s;&s;e that which wa|&s;teth away be continually &s;upplied by nouri&s;hment: &s;o will the &s;oule langui&s;h and waxe faint in &s;pirituall graces, vnle&s;&s;e it be often nouri&s;hed with this heauenly Manna. Let not there|fore
<PB N="322" REF="173">Sathan per&s;wade vs, that &s;eldome hearing of Gods word is &s;ufficient, whereas this banquet is often prouided; for though in the time of &s;carcitie by the extraordinarie ble&s;&s;ing of God, wee may goe with <HI>Elias</HI> fortie daies in the &s;trength of one meale, yet if we feede no oftner when the Lord graunteth vnto vs plentifull proui&s;ion of the &s;pirituall foode, our &s;oules will be hunger&s;tarued. Neither let our often receiuing of this hea|uenly nouri&s;hment, cau&s;e vs with the vnthankfull I&s;raelits to loath it, or like wayward children, or impacient &s;icke patients, &s;pit it out of our mouthes againe; for if our appetites be thus cloyed through a &s;urfet of &s;atietie, &s;urely we are to feare, lea&s;t the Lord who is a cunning phy&s;ition, will pre&s;cribe vs a long fa&s;t, till we haue recouered our &s;tomackes, as he threatneth Amos 8.11. <HI>I will &s;end a famine in the land,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos. 8.11.</NOTE> <HI>not a famine of bread nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. And</HI> then we <HI>&s;hall wander from &s;ea to &s;ea, and from the North euen to the Ea&s;t &s;hall we runne to and fro to &s;eeke the word of the Lord and &s;hall not finde it.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we &s;hould often heare, though we had &s;ufficient know|ledge.</NOTE> though it &s;hould be graunted that we had attained vnto &s;uch a mea&s;ure of knowledge, that we &s;hould neede no more, yet are there many rea&s;ons why we &s;hould continually heare Gods word with as great diligence as euer we did; for the end of our hearing is not onely to know, but al&s;o to pra|cti&s;e; not only to informe our iudgements, but al&s;o to reforme our affections; not onely to beget the graces of Gods &s;pirit in vs, but al&s;o to nouri&s;h and increa&s;e them; not onely to teach vs what we &s;hould doe, but al&s;o to &s;tirre vs vp to the doing there|of; and the word of God is not onely a light for our feete to &s;hew vs the way, but al&s;o a pricke in our &s;ides to make vs goe in the way, and a bridle in our mouthes to keepe vs from wan|dering; it is not onely <HI>profitable to teach, but to improue, to cor|rect and in&s;truct in righteou&s;nes. That the man of God may be ab|&s;olute, being made perfect vnto all good workes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 3.16.</NOTE> as it is, 2. Tim. 3.16. it is not onely profitable for doctrine, but for edification, ex|hortation and con&s;olation, as appeareth, 1. Cor. 14.3. And therefore it is not &s;ufficient to come once or twice to the a&s;|&s;emblies of Gods &s;aints,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 14.3.</NOTE> but we mu&s;t aboue all things de&s;ire with the prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> that we may dwell in the hou&s;e <HI>of the Lord all the daies of our life,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 27.4.</NOTE> <HI>to behold the beautie of the Lord, and
<PB N="323" REF="173">to vi&s;it his temple,</HI> P&s;al. 27.4. For though our knowledge be ne|uer &s;o great, yet &s;o long as we haue any &s;inne hanging on, or any grace imperfect in vs, we had neede to be continuall hea|rers of Gods word, for the &s;uppre&s;&s;ing of the one and perfect|ing of the other.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="19" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIX.</HI> Sathans temptation, whereby hee per&s;wadeth men that the Scriptures are not Gods word, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe &s;econd temptation which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth into mens mindes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The temptati|on.</NOTE> to the end he may moue them to neg|lect the hearing of Gods word, or though they doe heare it, to reiect it through vnbeliefe, he thus frameth. What folly is it to take &s;uch paines in hearing the &s;cripture, and what madnes is it &s;o &s;tedfa&s;tly to beleeue it, &s;eeing thou knowe&s;t not whether it be Gods word, or the &s;ubtill deui&s;e of mans braine, to keepe the people in awe, and to re&s;traine them from &s;uch &s;ecret faults, as other humane lawes ratified and confirmed with temporall and outward puni&s;hments and rewards can|not keepe them from; becau&s;e the lawes of princes cannot (no more than the lawgiuers them&s;elues) either fore &s;ee, preuent or puni&s;h any faults and offences, which are not open and mani|fe&s;t? why &s;houlde&s;t thou thereby be moued to for&s;ake thy de|lightfull &s;innes, and to imbrace vnplea&s;ant godlines, to aban|don thy plea&s;ures, and to vndertake an au&s;tere and &s;trict cour&s;e of life, &s;eeing thou knowe&s;t not whether the &s;criptures be true or fal&s;e, the word of the euerla&s;ting God or the inuention of mortall man.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The an&s;vvere: that all religi|on dependeth vpon the autho|ritie of the Scriptures.</NOTE>Again&s;t which temptation it behoueth euery man mo&s;t carefully to arme him&s;elfe, as vndermining the very foundati|on of all true religion; for take away the authoritie of the &s;criptures and you &s;hall open a wide dore to all carnall world|lines, bea&s;tly epicuri&s;me, and diueli&s;h athei&s;me; they being the onely true rule of vertue, whereby we are directed to chu&s;e the good and refu&s;e the euill; the &s;cepter of God whereby he ru|leth all the &s;ubiects of his kingdome, which being reiected we giue ouer our &s;elues to be ruled by the diuell, and the lu&s;ts of our owne fle&s;h; the light of our eyes without which wee are
<PB N="324" REF="174">blind and walke in darkenes; the foode of our &s;oules which be|ing taken away, they langui&s;h in all &s;pirituall graces, and fall into mi&s;erable death and de&s;truction; and the &s;worde of the &s;pirit whereby wee defend our &s;elues, and beate backe our &s;pirituall enemies, which being plucked out of our hand, we are ea&s;ily vanqui&s;hed and led captiue vnto all &s;inne and wic|kednes.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons to proue that the &s;cripture was indited by Gods &s;pirit. <HI>1.</HI> The antiqui|tie of the &s;crip|tures.</NOTE>And that we may be the better prouided again&s;t this temp|tation, let vs propound &s;ome rea&s;ons whereby gaine&s;ayers may be conuinced, and Gods children per&s;waded of the truth and authoritie of the &s;cripture. The fir&s;t argument to proue the &s;criptures to be written by the motion and reuelation of Gods &s;pirit, is the antiquitie thereof; for what&s;oeuer religion is mo&s;t auncient, that proceedeth from God: but the religion contai|ned in the &s;criptures, is of all other mo&s;t auncient: and there|fore God was the author thereof. The fir&s;t part of this rea&s;on is cleere and manife&s;t; for &s;eeing man was created for Gods glo|rie, to the end he &s;hould wor&s;hip and &s;erue him, and could not performe acceptable wor&s;hip and &s;eruice vnto God, vnle&s;&s;e he reuealed his wil vnto him; therfore, that man might attaine vn|to the end of his creation, it was nece&s;&s;arie that the Lord &s;hould from the beginning reueale vnto him his true religion, where|by he might know how to wor&s;hip and &s;erue him, according to his will. And con&s;equently, the fir&s;t and mo&s;t auncient reli|gion is the true religion, which proceeded from God; and all other are fal&s;e and counterfait, which are di&s;agreeing and re|pugnant hereunto, &s;eeing Gods will is one and the &s;ame, con|&s;tant and immutable. The &s;econd part of this rea&s;on, namely that the religion deliuered in the &s;criptures is of all others mo&s;t auncient, is of vndoubted truth; for it is within a few daies as auncient as the world it &s;elfe, taking it beginning from mans creation, and &s;o continuing in a con&s;tant and vnchangeable cour&s;e vnto this day. Now all other religions are but new and vp&s;tart in compari&s;on hereof, taking their beginnings diuers thou&s;and yeares &s;ince the creation; yea euen the Gods them|&s;elues which they wor&s;hip (which intruth were men like them|&s;elues) had their beginning for the mo&s;t part, long &s;ince the time of <HI>Abraham,</HI> as their owne hi&s;tories manife&s;tly declare. Neither did any other religion of the heathen continue one
<PB N="325" REF="174">and the &s;ame; for that which one receiued another reiected, that which one confirmed another changed, and time hath worne them all out, leauing &s;carce any &s;mall remnants or re|liques of them. And therefore all other religions, &s;auing that which is deliuered in the &s;criptures, are fal&s;e and counterfet; and this only the truth of God.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2.</HI> Rea&s;ons ta|ken from the puritie and per|fection of the Scriptures.</NOTE>Secondly, the puritie and perfection of the &s;criptures, doe euidently &s;hew that they are the word of God, indited by his holy &s;pirit; for they manife&s;t vnto vs the onely true God, and propound him alone vnto vs, to be wor&s;hipped, expre&s;&s;ing al&s;o the manner and meanes of his &s;eruice, from which we mu&s;t not decline on the right hand, or on the left: but all other religions teach vs either to wor&s;hip many Gods, which is a thing ab&s;urd in rea&s;on, and contrarie to the light of nature, as diuers of the wi&s;e&s;t philo&s;ophers well di&s;cerned; or to wor&s;hip the true God not according to his reuealed will, but according to their fal&s;e imaginations, &amp; erroneous &s;uper&s;titions. Now, nature, rea&s;on, and experience it &s;elfe teach vs, that there is no wi&s;e King but will &s;et downe rules and lawes, according to which he will be &s;erued and obeyed, and not leaue it to euery ones fanta&s;ie and vaine imagination; and &s;hall we thinke God le&s;&s;e wi&s;e then man, that he &s;hould not haue a perfect law for the gouern|ment of his people, but &s;uffer euery man to follow his owne blind conceite and ignorant &s;uper&s;tition?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>3.</HI> Rea&s;ons ta|ken from the &s;inceritie of the writers of the Scriptures.</NOTE>Thirdly, the &s;inceritie and vprightnes of the writers of the holy &s;criptures, is a manife&s;t argument that they were guided and directed by Gods &s;pirit; for they deliuer nothing in their owne name, but in the name of the Lord, not arrogating any prai&s;e vnto them&s;elues, but a&s;cribing all glorie vnto God; nei|ther did they in their preachings or writings &s;eeke them&s;elues, or ayme at any worldly benefit; nay rather they were content to be contemptible, &s;ubiect to &s;coffes and taunts, yea to offer them&s;elues to death, and depriuation of all worldly felicitie, for the truth of God which they had deliuered. And whereas diuers of them might haue liued in all pompe, if they would haue followed the times, winked at the &s;innes of rulers, and &s;uppre&s;&s;ed the word of the Lord, which they had receiued of him; they cho&s;e rather to &s;uffer per&s;ecution, yea death it &s;elfe, then they would keepe backe any of the coun&s;ell of God, as
<PB N="326" REF="175">appeareth in the example of <HI>E&s;ay, Ieremie, Ezechiel, Michaeas, Zacharias, A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">nos,</HI> and many others of the Prophets, and Apo|&s;tles. Neither doe they in their writings ab&s;taine onely from &s;eeking their owne glorie and prai&s;e, but al&s;o &s;et downe tho&s;e things which might tend to their di&s;credit, to the end God might be glorified in their infirmities, the truth confe&s;&s;ed and pre&s;erued, and the Church of God benefited, when by &s;eeing the weakenes of the mo&s;t &s;trong, they are kept from pre&s;u|ming on their owne &s;trength, and from de&s;paring in Gods mercie. And thus <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> concealeth not the fall of our grand parents, the drunkennes of <HI>Noah,</HI> the ince&s;t of <HI>Lot,</HI> the lie of <HI>I&s;aack,</HI> the whoredome of <HI>Iudas;</HI> nay which more neerely con|cerned him, he plainely reuealeth the horrible and bloodie &s;in of his grandfather <HI>Leuy,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 49.5.6.</NOTE> and <HI>Simeon,</HI> in murthering the Siche|mites, and the cur&s;e of their father <HI>Iacob</HI> pronounced again&s;t them for this their outrage, Gene&s;. 49.5.6. which could not in humane rea&s;on but be di&s;honorable to his &s;tocke &amp; progenie, and offen&s;iue to all who were of that tribe: furthermore he di&s;|playeth the corruptions, imperfections, and often rebelli|ons of that people who&s;e &s;aluation hee preferred before his owne &s;oule; he &s;pareth not to &s;et downe the Idolatrie of his own brothur <HI>Aaron,</HI> nor the &s;inne of his &s;i&s;ter <HI>Miriam</HI> in mur|muring again&s;t him, nor of <HI>Aarons</HI> &s;onnes in offering with &s;trange fire. Nay hee leaueth the remembrance of his owne &s;inne of impatiencie and vnbeliefe, for which hee was debarred from entring into the land of promi&s;e, vnto all po&s;terities, as a perpetuall note of his owne weakne&s;&s;e and infirmitie. Neither &s;ought he at al his own glorie, and the aduancement of his po|&s;terity, but the glory of God &amp; the good of the church, as may hereby appeare in that when the gouernment was e&s;tabli&s;hed in his hand, he doth not make his owne &s;onnes his &s;ucce&s;&s;ours, but <HI>Io&s;ua</HI> his &s;eruant, becau&s;e God had &s;o appointed it. The like may be &s;aid of <HI>Ieremie,</HI> who hath in his prophecie left re|corde of his murmuring and impatiencie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierem. 20.</NOTE> Iere. 20; Of <HI>Ionas</HI> who hath &s;et downe his owne rebellion, puni&s;hment, and re|pining again&s;t God; Of the apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> who hath not &s;pared to call him&s;elfe a cruell per&s;ecuter and chiefe of al &s;inners. Now we know that naturally, we de&s;ire to conceale the faults of our friendes and kindred, and we count him an euill bird that de|fileth
<PB N="327" REF="175">his owne ne&s;t; naturally we &s;eeke our own prai&s;e and the aduancement of our children, and can brooke <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">othing le&s;&s;e than that our faults &s;hould bee diuulged and become table talke: and therefore this detection of their owne and their friends falles and faults could not proceed from nature, or any worldly policie, but from the direction of Gods &s;pirit which ouerruled their affections, and tooke away all partialitie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth rea&s;on, taken from the con|cent of the di|uers writers of the Scriptures.</NOTE>Fourthly, the wonderfull concent which is among&s;t the di|uers writers of the Scriptures, doth euidently &s;hew that they were guided and directed, by one and the &s;ame &s;pirit of God: for whereas it is truly &s;aid of other men, <HI>Quot homines tot &s;en|tentiae,</HI> Looke how many men there be, and &s;o many mindes there be; wherof it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that euery writer almo&s;t varieth from another, gain&s;aying and confuting that which another hath deliuered, that &s;o out of the a&s;hes of their credit and reputation they may build a monument of their owne fame: the quite contrarie is to be ob&s;erued in the writers of the &s;criptures, who &s;ucce&s;&s;iuely writing one after another the &s;pace of diuers thou&s;and yeeres, doe notwith&s;tanding con&s;ent toge|ther in the &s;ame truth, the later ratifying and confirming that which the former had deliuered without any alteration, oppo|&s;ition or emulation, as though they were diuers hands &s;et on worke by the &s;ame &s;oule, which could not po&s;&s;ibly come to pa&s;&s;e vnle&s;&s;e they were ouerruled by Gods &s;pirit.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ift rea&s;on, taken from the wonderfull pre&s;eruation of the Scriptures against all op|po&s;itions.</NOTE>Fiftly, the mightie oppo&s;itions which haue been made by the diuell and his wicked impes again&s;t this doctrine of the &s;criptures, and yet al in vaine, doe euidently &s;hew that they are Gods word and truth, the patronage and protection whereof he hath him&s;elfe vndertaken, aboue al humane rea&s;on and po|wer. For hath not the diuell in former times, and doth hee not &s;till at this day oppo&s;e him&s;elfe again&s;t the word of. God? and doe not his cur&s;ed in&s;truments, vngodly men, the more they exceed in wickedne&s;&s;e the more bend their whole power ma|litiou&s;ly to oppugne this truth, per&s;ecuting the children of God, for this cau&s;e onely that they are profe&s;&s;ors and practi|zers of Gods true religion? And whence proceedeth this ma|litious oppo&s;ition but from this, that the &s;criptures are the word of God? and therefore as they hate and oppo&s;e them|&s;elues again&s;t God him&s;elfe, &s;o al&s;o again&s;t his word; and be|cau&s;e
<PB N="328" REF="176">they know that by this light their workes of darkne&s;&s;e are di&s;couered, therefore they labour to put it cleane out, that their wickedne&s;&s;e may not be de&s;cried; becau&s;e it is pure and holie they cannot endure it, they them&s;elues being corrupt and wicked; becau&s;e it is the rule of iu&s;tice which &s;heweth the crookednes of their waies, they would, if they were able, burne it or cut it in peeces; becau&s;e it is the word by which they are condemned, therefore they loathe as much to heare it, as the pri&s;oner doth abhorre to heare the &s;entence of the iu&s;t Iudge. And hence proceedeth their oppo&s;ition and oppugning of the holie &s;criptures with all their force and might; but all in vaine, for the more the diuell and wicked men rage again&s;t the word of God, the more by the almightie power of God &s;upporting it, the glorie thereof appeareth and &s;preadeth it &s;elfe ouer the face of the earth; the more they labour to keepe it downe, the more it flori&s;heth. And as they who goe about to &s;top the cur|rent of a mightie riuer, doe but make it to &s;well the higher and ouerflow all the countrey, whereas before it was contained within the compa&s;&s;e of his owne bankes: &s;o when Sathan and his wicked impes, do &s;eeke to &s;tay this heauenly &s;treame which floweth from Gods Sanctuarie, and labour might and maine to hinder the pa&s;&s;age &amp; propagation of Gods truth; the more it &s;preadeth it &s;elfe, maugre their malice, and ouerfloweth the whole earth. And whence can the defeating and fru&s;trating of this powerful violence proceede, but from a greater power, euen the power of God? for though all men &s;hould combine them&s;elues together, they were vnable to re&s;i&s;t Sathans rage, or protect the word of God from vtter ruine: onely the Lord who&s;e power is omnipotent could thus vphold it, and make it preuaile again&s;t all the power of hell.</P>
<P>And as the Lord by pre&s;eruing and defending the &s;criptures, from the beginning vnto this day, doth euidently &s;hew that they are his own word and reuealed wil: &s;o al&s;o by puni&s;hing, euen in this life, with vtter ruine and de&s;truction, al tho&s;e who haue mo&s;t violently and malitiou&s;ly oppo&s;ed them&s;elues a|gain&s;t it, and per&s;ecuted the Saints of God for the profe&s;&s;ion hereof; as may appeare notably in the examples of <HI>Antiochus Epiphanes, Herod, Nero, Domitian, Diocle&s;ian, Iulian</HI> the apo|&s;tata and many others; who by their &s;hamefull and horrible
<PB N="329" REF="176">deaths te&s;tified and prooued the &s;criptures to bee the truth of God, which they had oppugned and per&s;ecuted the whole cour&s;e of their wicked liues.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Sixtly, the Lord hath approoued the &s;criptures to bee his truth by wonderfull miracles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ixt rea&s;on taken from mi|racles.</NOTE> which Sathan him&s;elfe cannot &s;o much as imitate; as by giuing the blind their &s;ight, rai&s;ing the dead to life, turning backe the cour&s;e of the Sunne in the firmament, diuiding the &s;ea in two parts, and &s;uch like; which miracles were wrought by the almightie power of God, to this end that the faithfull might be confirmed in the a&s;&s;urance of Gods truth, and the wicked conuinced. But again&s;t this, Sa|than will be readie to &s;ugge&s;t, that there were neuer any &s;uch miracles as are recorded in the &s;criptures. To which I an&s;were, that the&s;e miracles were not done in a corner, or in hugger mugger, but in the pre&s;ence of great multitudes; otherwi&s;e the Prophets and Apo&s;tles who were but meane and &s;imple men, &s;hould haue laboured in vaine to haue per&s;waded men, to haue embraced their doctrine and religion (e&s;pecially being &s;o contrarie to humane wi&s;edom, and our natural di&s;po&s;ition and affections) if they had onely them&s;elues reported, or brought &s;ome few witne&s;&s;es of their miracles wrought, and not publik|ly &s;hewed them to all the people. Moreouer, &s;eeing this doc|trine hath had &s;o many enemies from the beginning, it is not probable but that they would haue exclamed, and written a|gain&s;t the writings of the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, as &s;oone as they were publi&s;hed, for writing &s;uch things as were neuer done: but among&s;t all tho&s;e who haue oppo&s;ed them&s;elues again&s;t the &s;criptures, there is no man &s;o impudent as to denie that &s;uch miracles were done, of which &s;o many were eye-wit|ne&s;&s;es: nay contrariwi&s;e the Heathen them&s;elues, who neither knew God nor his true religion, haue made mention of them in their writings; and the Iewes who to this day with&s;tand the worke of redemption wrought by Chri&s;t, doe notwith&s;tanding confe&s;&s;e that &s;uch miracles were wrought by Chri&s;t and his A|po&s;tles; neither in truth are they able to gain&s;ay them, &s;eeing they haue receiued this truth by tradition from their fathers: and therfore they are driuen to confe&s;&s;e, that Chri&s;t was a great Prophet, though not the promi&s;ed Me&s;&s;ias.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seuenthly,the con&s;tant te&s;timonie of innumerable Mar|tyrs,
<PB N="330" REF="177">who haue &s;ealed this truth with their deare&s;t bloud,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;euenth rea&s;on, taken from the testi|monie of Mar|tyrs.</NOTE> is a notable argument to a&s;&s;ure vs that it is indeede the word of God: for it is not likely that &s;o many would &s;o con&s;tantly and cheerefully haue &s;uffred for their profe&s;&s;ion, the mo&s;t exqui&s;ite torments that wit and malice could inuent, if the &s;pirit of God had not certainly a&s;&s;ured them that it was the truth of God, and if it had not &s;upported them in &s;uffring the&s;e torments a|boue all humane power and &s;trength. And whereas it may bee obiected, that wicked men haue &s;uffred al&s;o for their &s;ects, opi|nions and here&s;ies, we are to know that there is great differece betweene them; fir&s;t, becau&s;e the number hath been few who haue &s;uffred for their &s;euerall &s;ects and here&s;ies, but the Mar|tyrs almo&s;t innumerable who haue &s;uffred for the &s;ame truth; &s;econdly, the &s;ame cheerefulne&s;&s;e, con&s;tancie and reioycing in their &s;uffrings hath not bin in them who haue &s;uffred for their errors, which hath alwaies been ob&s;erued in Gods Saints. And la&s;tly, the&s;e heretikes haue alwaies been confuted and conuin|ced of their errors and here&s;ies before their &s;uffrings, whereas Gods Saints directed by his holie &s;pirit, haue &s;topped the mouthes of their aduer&s;aries with the wi&s;edom of Gods word, which Sathan him&s;elfe cannot re&s;i&s;t, and through violent rage being vnconuicted haue been led to the &s;laughter.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="20" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XX.</HI> Other rea&s;ons to proue that the Scriptures were indited by Gods &s;pirit, taken from the Scriptures them&s;elues.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _THe eight rea&s;on to proue that the &s;criptures are the word of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The eight rea|&s;on, taken from the argument which they handle.</NOTE> is the argument which they handle, and the end whereunto they tend. For the &s;ubiect whereof they intreate are the great workes of the euerliuing God, how hee exerci&s;eth his mercie towards his children in &s;u&s;taining, defending, and &s;auing them from all their enemies, and his iu&s;tice towards the wicked in turning their coun&s;ailes to fooli&s;hnes, in ouerthrowing their de&s;ignes and purpo&s;es, curbing in their rage and violence, and in pu|ni&s;hing and de&s;troying them. Now if you con&s;ider and peru&s;e all other writings in the world be&s;ides, you &s;hall finde no &s;uch matter contained in them; for &s;ome labour in poli&s;hing hu|mane
<PB N="331" REF="177">Arts; &s;ome &s;et out large hi&s;tories of the actions, coun|&s;ailes, &s;ucce&s;&s;e, policies, enterpri&s;es and perturbations of men like them&s;elues: &s;o that at the fir&s;t &s;ight wee may know that they are indited by the &s;pirit of man, &s;eeing they are wholie &s;pent in humane affaires, neuer intermedling with any &s;piri|tuall matter appertaining vnto God. Moreouer, the &s;criptures attribute the gouerning and wi&s;e di&s;po&s;ing of all things to Gods al-ruling prouidence, that he may haue the whole prai&s;e of his owne workes; as when they &s;peake of &s;ome famous vi|ctorie, they doe a&s;cribe it neither to the wi&s;edome of the Cap|taine, nor to the valour of the common &s;ouldier, but vnto the Lord of hoa&s;ts alone; neither doe they make poems in the prai&s;e of <HI>Mo&s;es, Io&s;ua, Dauid, Ezechias,</HI> or any other of the Kings and Leaders, but in the prai&s;e of the Lord, who by his owne &s;trong arme hath giuen his children victorie ouer their enemies. Now whence can this proceed but from the &s;pirit of God inditing them, who contrarie to the nature of man which de&s;ireth rather all prai&s;e him&s;elfe, doth moue him to refu&s;e all glorie attributed to him&s;elfe, that all the prai&s;e may bee a&s;cri|bed vnto God? So when they &s;peake of any benefit receiued by the Church, they doe not attribute it to worldly friends, their good fortune, or their owne indu&s;trie and labour, but to the ble&s;&s;ing of God proceeding of his meere mercie &amp; good|ne&s;&s;e towards them. And contrariwi&s;e, when they &s;et downe the de&s;truction of the wicked, they doe not a&s;cribe it to any want of their owne care and prouidence, nor to the malice or power of their enemies, nor to blind chance, or other outward accident, but to the hand of God exerci&s;ing his iudgements vpon them, and puni&s;hing them for their &s;innes. Now if you peru&s;e all other writings, you &s;hall finde that they aime at no|thing le&s;&s;e than Gods glorie; for &s;ome write to &s;hew their elo|quence, others to extoll their wits and deepe learning, others to aduance the prai&s;e of mortall men aboue the clowdes, &s;ome for one end, and &s;ome for another, all aiming at their owne prai&s;e, plea&s;ure or profit, neuer &s;o much as once re&s;pecting Gods glorie in their lea&s;t thought; and hence it is that &s;etting downe any victorie they a&s;cribe it to the weakne&s;&s;e or want of wit, prouidence or courage of the aduer&s;e part, or to the forti|tude of the Captains, the re&s;olutene&s;&s;e of the &s;ouldiers, the ad|uantages
<PB N="332" REF="178">of the place, Sunne, winde, and &s;uch like circum&s;tan|ces, in the meane time excluding y^e God of battailes, as though he had no &s;troke in this bu&s;ines. So likewi&s;e when they &s;peake of any other affaires or accidents which fall out in the gouern|ment of the world, they a&s;cribe all to outward circum&s;tances, inferiour meanes and &s;ubordinate cau&s;es, as though God had giuen ouer the gouernment of the earth, and had committed the ruling of the &s;terne to blind fortune. Now whence can this exceeding difference proceede, that they &s;hould altogether aime at the glorie of God, and the&s;e wholie at the prai&s;e, plea|&s;ure, &amp; profit of man? that they &s;hould alwaies a&s;cribe the go|uernment and di&s;po&s;ing of all things to the wi&s;e prouidence of God, and the&s;e to outward accidents, naturall cau&s;es and in|feriour meanes? Surely becau&s;e they were indited by the &s;pirit of God, and therefore them&s;elues are diuine, &s;auouring wholie of the author of them: and the&s;e by the &s;pirit of man, and ther|fore al contained in them is meerly humane carnall &amp; natural.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The ninth rea|&s;on, taken from the &s;tile of the Scriptures.</NOTE>The ninth rea&s;on may be taken from the &s;tile and manner of penning the Scriptures, in which they much differ from all o|ther writings what&s;oeuer: for whereas men in their writings affect the prai&s;e of flowing eloquence and loftine&s;&s;e of phra&s;e, the holie Gho&s;t in penning the Scriptures hath v&s;ed great &s;im|plicitie and wonderfull plainne&s;&s;e, applying him&s;elfe to the capacitie of the mo&s;t vnlearned: in which low and humble ma|ner of &s;peech, he doth notwith&s;tanding &s;et foorth the deepe wi&s;edome of God, and the profound my&s;teries of religion, the bottome whereof the mo&s;t wi&s;e and learned in the world can not &s;earch into: and vnder the vaile of &s;imple and plain &s;peech, there &s;hineth &s;uch diuine wi&s;edom and glorious maie&s;tie, that all the humane writings in the world, though neuer &s;o ador|ned with the flowers of eloquence, and &s;harpe conceits of wit and learning, cannot &s;o deeply pearce the heart of man, nor &s;o forcibly worke vpon his affections, nor &s;o powerfully incline his will either to the imbracing of that which is good, or auoi|ding of that which is euill, as the word of God: and whence can this proceed but from the vertue, power and wi&s;edome of the &s;pirit of God who is the author of them?</P>
<P>Moreouer, wee may ob&s;erue in the &s;tile of the Scriptures, a maie&s;ticall authoritie aboue all other witings, which onely be|&s;eemeth
<PB N="333" REF="178">the glorious King and &s;oueraigne commander of hea|uen and earth: for they &s;peake in the &s;ame manner, and inioyne the like obedience, to prince and people, rich and poore, lear|ned and vnlearned, without any difference or re&s;pect of per|&s;on; not v&s;ing any arguments, rea&s;ons, or per&s;wa&s;ions, but ab|&s;olutely commanding that dutie which is to be done, and for|bidding that &s;inne which &s;hould be left vndone, and that vnder the promi&s;e of euerla&s;ting life and ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e, and the paine not of the gallowes, racke, or wheele, but of eternall death and damnation; and whom be&s;eemeth it to promi&s;e euerla&s;ting life, or to threaten euelra&s;ting death, but him only who is him|&s;elfe eternall and euerla&s;ting? and who hath this ab&s;olute au|thoritie of commanding all without any difference, but he who is Lord, Creator and gouernour of the prince as well as the people? La&s;tly, this word of God doth not only extend it &s;elfe to the outward actions and conuer&s;ation, requiring onely the externall obedience which is in fact and outward behauiour, which is the vttermo&s;t that humane lawes re&s;pect, becau&s;e the lawgiuers can &s;ee no further; but the law of God requireth e&s;pecially the obedience of the heart, and forbiddeth not only con&s;ent to any euill, but euen concupi&s;cence and lu&s;t? now who can make lawes for the heart and con&s;cience, or though he &s;hould be &s;o fond to make them, who could either reward the obedient, or puni&s;h the di&s;obedient, but God alone who &s;earcheth the heart and reines? The &s;tile therefore of the &s;crip|tures being peculiar vnto them&s;elues, &s;hewing maie&s;tie in low|line&s;&s;e &amp; meane&s;&s;e, an ouerruling power in per&s;wading, with|out rendring rea&s;on or bringing any argument be&s;ides ab&s;o|lute authoritie, and an vniuer&s;all iuri&s;diction ouer all without difference or re&s;pect, and that as well in regard of the &s;ecret thoughts as the outward actions, doth manife&s;tly &s;hew that they are not the inuention of man, but the word of God indi|ted by his holy &s;pirit.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But it may bee obiected,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Why the Scrip|tures were pen|ned in a &s;imple lowly and plain &s;tile.</NOTE> that if the Lord who is infinite in wi&s;edome were the author of the Scriptures, they would haue excelled all humane writings in conceit of wit, and excellencie of phra&s;e and &s;tile, as farre as God excelleth man, whereas wee &s;ee that they are penned after a mo&s;t &s;imple plaine and vnpo|li&s;hed manner. To which I an&s;were, that it doth not become a
<PB N="334" REF="179">Prince to play the Oratour when he &s;etteth out an edict, nor to v&s;e Rhetoricall figures and alluring per&s;wa&s;ions when he hath to deale with his &s;ubiects, but rather peremptorie commande|ments and plaine phra&s;es, full of grauitie and authoritie with|out all affectation; and how much le&s;&s;e &s;hould the chiefe com|mander of King and &s;ubiect, v&s;e &s;uch a &s;tile as &s;auoured any whit of humane eloquence, &s;eeing, it better be&s;eemeth his ma|ie&s;tie plainly to commaund, than to per&s;wade, or allure with inticing &s;peeches? Secondly, the Scriptures were penned by the holy Gho&s;t, not onely for the wi&s;e and learned, but al&s;o for the &s;imple and ignorant: and therefore how&s;oeuer the Lord in the profunditie of his wi&s;edome, could haue written in &s;uch a loftie &s;tile as would haue filled euen the mo&s;t learned with admiration, yet hee v&s;eth a &s;imple ea&s;ie &s;tile fit for the capacitie of all, becau&s;e it was for the v&s;e of all, and nece&s;&s;arie to &s;alua|tion to be vnder&s;tood of all &s;orts and conditions. As therefore he frameth him&s;elfe to our &s;hallow capacitie in the penning of the Scriptures, and &s;peaketh not according to his vn&s;earchable wi&s;edome, but after the manner of men, or els no man, no not the mo&s;t wi&s;e and learned could vnder&s;tand him: &s;o he thought it fit to &s;peake a&s;well to the capacitie of the &s;imple as the wi&s;e, becau&s;e the knowledge of his word was no le&s;&s;e nece&s;&s;arie to &s;aluation to the&s;e than to the other; and in his mercie and goodne&s;&s;e hee vouch&s;afed as well milke to the babe, as &s;trong meate to tho&s;e who were come to more ripe yeeres in know|ledge and &s;pirituall wi&s;edome. At which the wi&s;e and learned haue no rea&s;on to be offended, &s;eeing the &s;aluation of one is as deare to God as of another, and they may with greater facility vnder&s;tand the Scriptures being plaine and ea&s;ie, which could not be vnder&s;tood of the &s;imple, if they were penned in a lofty eloquent phra&s;e. And yet if they examine the Scriptures in the balance of a true iudgement, they may finde food therein con|tained fit for their owne pallat and ta&s;te; for vnder this humi|litie they &s;hall di&s;cerne more maie&s;tie, vnder this &s;implicitie more deepe wi&s;edome, vnder this vnpoli&s;hed plainne&s;&s;e more powerful per&s;wa&s;ions to work vpon and incline the affections, than in all humane writings what&s;oeuer. Thirdly, humane elo|quence and wittie &s;harpe conceits, are not onely vnfitting the graue maie&s;tie of our heauenly King, but al&s;o needle&s;&s;e in re|&s;pect
<PB N="335" REF="179">of the Scriptures them&s;elues; for what are they but Gods truth, and what is more agreeable and be&s;eeming truth, than plainne&s;&s;e and &s;implicitie? For what needes beautie the helpe of painting, or a precious Diamond much art to poli&s;h it, &s;eeing they are glorious in their own nature? And what needs the truth of God, which in it &s;elfe &s;hineth cleerely like the Sunne in his chiefe&s;t brightnes, the goodly ornaments of humane eloquence which would but darken the beames thereof? Or what needes that which is heauenly and diuine, any helpe from that which is earthly and carnall to commend it to mans iudgement? No, no, the flowers of Rhetoricke and helpe of wittie Sophi&s;trie, is more fit for <HI>Tullies</HI> orations, whereby oft times a good cau&s;e is made bad, and a bad one good, right wrong, and wrong right, than for Gods diuine truth, which like the Sunne &s;hineth mo&s;t gloriou&s;ly when it is bare &amp; naked. La&s;tly, it is to be ob&s;erued that the Lord in his wi&s;edome doth manife&s;t his power in weakne&s;&s;e, his maie|&s;tie in ba&s;enes; and his wi&s;edome in fooli&s;hnes, to the end that weaknes ba&s;enes, and follie, may &s;erue as foiles to make his po|wer, maie&s;tie, and wi&s;edom appeare to vs more glorious, though in truth in them&s;elues they are infinite, and nothing can be ad|ded to their excellencie. But becau&s;e wee lie groueling on the earth, and are readie to a&s;cribe al to the inferiour means, and no|thing vnto God: therefore the Lord chu&s;eth weake and &s;imple meanes, that his own power and wi&s;edome may be in them more manife&s;t. For example, if the Lord had penned the Scriptures in &s;uch an eloquent &s;tile as would haue raui&s;hed the readers with delight, we would like fooles haue &s;tood admiring at the curious worke of the casket, and neuer opened it to looke vpon the pre|cious iewel therin contained; &amp; haue bin &s;o much affected with the words, that in the meane time we would haue neglected the matter; but when this trea&s;ure is brought vnto vs but in an ear|then ve&s;&s;ell, when this beautifull feature is cloathed in meane at|tire, and the diuine wi&s;edome of God &s;et foorth in an humble and &s;imple &s;tile, wee leaue &s;hadowes and behold the &s;ub&s;tance, neither doe we re&s;t in the outward letter, but &s;earch after the in|ward truth. So al&s;o if the Lord had in the penning of the Scrip|tures v&s;ed inticing eloquence, or affected humane learning, men would haue been readie to haue &s;aid, that by the force thereof &s;o many were drawne or inticed, to embrace religion and to &s;pend
<PB N="336" REF="180">their liues in Gods &s;eruice; but when as in outward &s;hew there is nothing but vnpoli&s;hed plainne&s;&s;e and &s;imple rudene&s;&s;e, by which neuerthele&s;&s;e the hearers vnder&s;tanding is more inlighte|ned, his wil more powerfully inclined, his affectio~s more &s;trong|ly ruled, than by all the eloquent per&s;wa&s;ions which wit and learning can inuent, they are driuen to confe&s;&s;e that the wi&s;e|dome of God is hidden vnder this &s;implicitie, his power vnder this outward weaknes, and that the Scriptures haue their vertue and force, not from the inticing &s;peech of mans wi&s;edome and excellencie of words, but from the power and plaine euidence of Gods &s;pirit, who was the author and inditer of them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The tenth rea&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The tenth rea|&s;on, taken from the Contents of the Scriptures, which in many things are a|boue the reach of humane rea|&s;on.</NOTE> to proue that the Scriptures are not the in|uention of man, but the word of God indited by his &s;pirit, is, that many things contained therein are aboue the reach of hu|mane vnder&s;tanding, and &s;o deepe that mans wi&s;edome and rea|&s;on cannot conceiue them nor &s;earch them to the bottome. For example, though all men know by the light of nature that there is a God, &s;eeing this truth is written in large characters in the faire volume of the creatures, &s;o as none can behold them but he mu&s;t needes know and acknowledge it; yet that this God being one in nature &s;hould be di&s;tingui&s;hed into three per&s;ons, the Fa|ther, Sonne, and holy Gho&s;t, without any diui&s;ion of &s;ub&s;tance or confu&s;ion of per&s;ons, mans rea&s;on cannot conceiue, though the Lord hath reuealed it, and much le&s;&s;e could inuent it &s;eeing now it cannot comprehend it. So, that the world and the crea|tures therein contained were created, the light of nature &s;uffici|ently teacheth vs, &s;eeing they haue an end and therefore had a beginning, a time of corruption and therefore a time of genera|tion al&s;o, and as is the nature of euery &s;euerall part, &s;o is the na|ture of the whole vniuer&s;all; &s;eeing al&s;o one effect brings vs to his cau&s;e, and that cau&s;e to a &s;uperiour cau&s;e, and that to another vntill we come to the highe&s;t and &s;upreame cau&s;e which is God, who hauing his being of him&s;elfe giueth being to all things: but that all this goodly order &s;hould bee brought out of confu&s;ion, this light out of darknes, that al the&s;e excellent creatures &s;hould be created of nothing, by the alone word of their omnipotent Creator, it pa&s;&s;eth the conceit of humane rea&s;on, &amp; therefore his inuention al&s;o. So, that we are wretched and full of mi&s;erie, not only our rea&s;on but euen our &s;en&s;es can teach vs; but how wee
<PB N="337" REF="180">&s;hould be freed out of this mi&s;erie and attaine vnto euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, is a thing aboue the reach of mans wi&s;edome. And that we are vnable to performe tho&s;e duties we ought, and leaue tho&s;e &s;innes vndone which we &s;hould omit, and by both offend God, the law of nature written in our hearts, and the checks and feares which euery one feele in their owne con&s;ciences doe &s;uffi|ciently teach vs: but the meanes whereby wee &s;hould be recon|ciled vnto God whom we haue offended, as they are &s;et down in his word, namely, that the &s;econd per&s;on in Trinitie &s;hould take vpon him mans nature and be borne of a pure virgin, that in this nature hee &s;hould for vs perfourme perfect obedience to Gods law, and &s;uffer affliction, mi&s;erie, yea death it &s;elfe to reconcile vs to his Father and procure his loue, to free vs from euerla&s;ting death and damnation, and to purcha&s;e for vs euerla&s;ting life and happine&s;&s;e, and that his obedience and merits &s;hould become ours, by rea&s;on of that vnion whereby hee becommeth our head and wee his members, which vnion is made principally by his &s;pirit, and in&s;trumentally by faith, doe all &s;eeme &s;trange, yea ab|&s;urd to humane rea&s;on; and therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that the <HI>natural man perceiueth not the things which are of the &s;pirit of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.14.</NOTE> <HI>for they are fooli&s;hnes vnto him, neither can hee know them, becau&s;e they are &s;piritually di&s;cerned;</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 2.14. And if he cannot know and conceiue them when in the preaching of the Go&s;pell they are reuealed vnto him; how much le&s;&s;e could hee inuent them hauing neuer heard of them? or who can imagine that in policie he would haue deui&s;ed &s;uch a religion to keep the world in awe and obedience, as to euery worldly man &s;eemeth fooli&s;h and ab&s;urd, yea contrary to his nature? For what can be more a|gain&s;t the haire, than to deny our &s;elues and to take vp our cro&s;&s;e and follow Chri&s;t? than to reiect our owne workes and worthi|ne&s;&s;e, and to &s;eek for iu&s;tification in Chri&s;ts death and obedience alone? than to imagine that manifold afflictions and great mi&s;e|rie, is the high way that leadeth to glorie and endle&s;&s;e felicitie? and that plea&s;ures, honours, and riches, make vs vnfit to enter in|to Gods kingdome? And therefore &s;eeing the doctrine of the Scriptures are not onely aboue the reach of humane rea&s;on, but al&s;o flat contrary to naturall wi&s;edome, it plainly prooueth that they are not the inuention of mortall man (for then the effect would bee like the cau&s;e) but the word of the euerliuing God,
<PB N="338" REF="181">which &s;auoureth of his hidden and &s;pirituall wi&s;edome.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> The eluenth argument,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The eleuenth rea&s;on, taken from the pro|phecies of holy Scriptures.</NOTE> to proue that the Scriptures were indi|ted not by man but by Gods &s;pirit, are the prophecies therein contained, which were fulfilled in their due time; as that there &s;hould be enmitie betweene the &s;eed of the woman and the &s;eed of the Serpent, and that the promi&s;ed &s;eede Chri&s;t Ie&s;us &s;hould vanqui&s;h the diuell; that the po&s;teritie of <HI>Cham</HI> &s;hould be accur|&s;ed; that <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;hould haue a &s;onne by his wife <HI>Sarah,</HI> when they were both old, and &s;he pa&s;t the time of child-bearing; that his po&s;terity &s;hould be bond men in Egypt foure hundred yeres, foretold before hee had <HI>I&s;aac</HI> of whom they came; that <HI>Iudaes</HI> po&s;teritie who was but the fourth &s;onne, &s;hould haue &s;oueraign|tie and dominion ouer the re&s;t; that the &s;cepter &s;hould not be ta|ken from him till the Me&s;&s;ias &s;hould come; that the tribe of <HI>E|phraim</HI> &s;hould excell the tribe of <HI>Mana&s;&s;es;</HI> that hee who &s;hould ree difie Iericho after it was de&s;troyed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Io&s;h. 6.26.</NOTE> &s;hould be puni&s;hed with the death of his &s;onnes, as appeareth Io&s;h. 6.26, which was fiue hundred yeeres after fulfilled in <HI>Hiel</HI> the Bethelite,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 16.34.</NOTE> as it is 1. King. 16.34; that <HI>Io&s;ias</HI> by name &s;hould de&s;troy idolatrie and the ido|laters, and re&s;tore the true religion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 13.1.2. 2. King. 22. and 23.</NOTE> foretold almo&s;t 300 yeeres before he was borne, 1. King. 13.1, 2. 2. King. 22. and 23; that the people of I&s;rael &s;hould bee led captiue into Babylon, and be &s;et free by <HI>Cyrus</HI> by name,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 44.26.27.28.</NOTE> prophecied of aboue an hundred yeeres before <HI>Cyrus</HI> was borne, E&s;a. 44.26, 27, 28. And to the&s;e we may adde the prophecies of <HI>Ieremy,</HI> concerning the taking of Ieru&s;a|lem and their captiuitie into Babylon, and the time of &s;euentie yeeres limited for their abiding there; the prophecies of <HI>Daniel</HI> concerning the foure Monarchies, which are &s;o cleere and per|&s;picuous as if hee had &s;eene them in his time; the prophecie of Chri&s;t concerning the de&s;truction of Ieru&s;alem; the prophecies contained in the Reuelation of S. <HI>Iohn,</HI> many of which we &s;ee ful|filled in our time, e&s;pecially that concerning the Antichri&s;t of Rome, his manner of comming, his increa&s;ing, his workes, &s;eate and place of re&s;idence; and which are &s;o manife&s;tly and plainly de&s;cribed, as if the Apo&s;tle had written an hi&s;torie and not a prophecie. Which plainly proueth that the Scriptures were not deui&s;ed by man, but penned by the in&s;piration of Gods &s;pirit, who by his prouident wi&s;e dome fore&s;eeth all things, and by his wi&s;e prouidence ruleth all things.</P>
<PB N="339" REF="181">
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here Sathan will be readie to obiect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Scrip|tures were pen|ned by the holie men of God which are in them mentio|ned, and not forged in their names by &s;ome polititian.</NOTE> that we are not able to prooue that the&s;e prophecies were written by any &s;uch Pro|phets and holy men as are mentioned in the Scriptures, &s;o long before the things contained in them were done, and that for ought wee know they might be forged and foy&s;ted in by &s;ome cunning fellow after the things were come to pa&s;&s;e. The like ob|iections al&s;o he maketh again&s;t the re&s;t of the Scriptures, as that either there was not any &s;uch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> or if he were, that he was but &s;ome cunning fellow who writ of miracles and wonders ne|uer done, to gaine credit to his law which he had publi&s;hed; or if he wrote nothing but truth in his time, yet we know not whe|ther the&s;e books which goe vnder his name are perfect as he left them, or depraued and corrupted, hauing many things altred, added, &amp; detracted, according to the plea&s;ure of tho&s;e who haue had the keeping of them. And &s;o al&s;o hee obiecteth again&s;t the other parts of holy Scriptures. To this I an&s;were, that as it were great ab&s;urditie to call in que&s;tion the writings of <HI>Cicero, Sene|ca, Plutarch</HI> and other Heathen men whether they were penned by any &s;uch men or no, becau&s;e the next age receiued them from the authors them&s;elues, and deliuered them to the next in&s;uing, and &s;o by tradition from hand to hand they are come vnto vs; &s;o it is no le&s;&s;e ab&s;urditie to call into que&s;tion whether the &s;crip|tures were written by the Prophets and Apo&s;tles who liued in their &s;euerall times, &s;eeing the Church hath receiued them from time to time, and deliuered them to their &s;ucce&s;&s;ors to this day. Moreouer, the law publi&s;hed by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was not in &s;ecret or in a corner before &s;ome few witne&s;&s;es, but in the pre&s;ence of &s;ixe hundred thou&s;and men, be&s;ides women and children, and the &s;trange miracles and workes of God full of wonder, which hee wrought for the better confirmation of his law giuen, were done and perfourmed in the pre&s;ence of many thou&s;ands, who made relation of them to their po&s;teritie, and they to theirs to this day. Neither was it ea&s;ie to be corrupted, altred or changed, &s;ee|ing the lawgiuer did &s;traightly charge all men that they &s;hould not adde, detract, or alter any thing vpon paine of pre&s;ent death in this world, and euerla&s;ting death in the life to come; who therefore would incurre the danger of &s;uch fearfull puni&s;hment for the &s;atisfying of his fruitle&s;&s;e phanta&s;ie? Moreouer, this book of the law was &s;afely kept in the Tabernacle, and after in the
<PB N="340" REF="182">Temple in the Arke which was placed in the holy of holie&s;t, and diuers authenticall copies written out of it for euery one of the twelue tribes, which were euery Sabbaoth day read and ex|pounded in their Sinagogues; yea &s;o familiar were the&s;e wri|tings with the Iewes, that they were written in their hou&s;es, and vpon their garments, &s;o as it was not po&s;&s;ible for any man to fal&s;ifie them but it would pre&s;ently bee e&s;pied. Yea (will the tempter &s;ay) but though they could not be depraued or corrup|ted, yet they might at fir&s;t bee inuented by &s;ome more &s;ubtill than the re&s;t, and &s;o thru&s;t vpon men vnder the authority of God him&s;elfe, as being the writings of his Prophets and Apo&s;tles. To which I an&s;were, that there is no probabilitie of truth in this ob|iection; for I would faine know in what age this man &s;hould write. In the time of <HI>Mo&s;es?</HI> how then could he write the hi&s;to|rie of the Iudges who &s;ucceeded him? In the time of the Iudges? how then could he write the hi&s;torie of the Kings? What then? could he write the&s;e things in the time of the Kings, and &s;o faine a relation of &s;uch things as went before? why then it is nece&s;&s;a|rie that hee &s;hould haue liued in the time of the la&s;t Kings, or els he could not haue penned their hi&s;torie al&s;o: but before this time, there were many copies abroad of the Scriptures in diuers nations, by rea&s;on that the Iewes were &s;cattered abroad through their captiuitie, where they as con&s;tantly profe&s;&s;ed their religion as in their owne countrey. Be&s;ides, if the&s;e writings had been fained, in what age could they come to light but men diligently inquiring into them, as being matters importing no le&s;&s;e than their eternall &s;aluation or condemnation, would haue found them counterfeit? For if they had been penned in the &s;ame age wherein the things were done, who would haue beleeued them, if they did not a&s;&s;uredly know that they contained nothing but certaine truth? If in an after age, who would haue &s;traight &s;ub|&s;cribed vnto them, vnle&s;&s;e they had by tradition from their an|ce&s;tors bin a&s;&s;ured that &s;uch things were done in former times? Furthermore, it is not probable but that the Iewes would haue made mentio~ of &s;uch an author if they had known him; or if they had by &s;ome accident found them written in this forme, it is not likely that they would haue been &s;o &s;imple as to haue built their faith &s;o firmely vpon them, that they would rather chu&s;e to &s;uf|fer all torments than be brought to denie any one part of them.</P>
<PB N="341" REF="182">
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> La&s;tly, it is obiected that in the time of <HI>Antiochus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the books of holy Scrip|ture peri&s;hed not in the time of Antiochus.</NOTE> the books of the Scriptures were by his tyrannie and extreame crueltie wholy aboli&s;hed, and the&s;e which we haue, afterwards inuented by the Iewes to grace their religion. To which I an&s;were, that this obiection is &s;o &s;otri&s;hly fooli&s;h, that it &s;auoureth not of common &s;en&s;e, much le&s;&s;e of any force of rea&s;on, for &s;eeing now there were extant almo&s;t innumerable copies of the Scriptures, what meanes could be inuented by with and rage vtterly to &s;up|pre&s;&s;e them, e&s;pecially &s;eeing the Iewes made farre more pre|cious account of them than of their liues, &s;o that for the profe&s;|&s;ion of this truth they were content to &s;uffer euen in this tyrants time cruell deaths? Be&s;ides, if they had been all de&s;troyed and a|boli&s;hed in his time, how came it to pa&s;&s;e that pre&s;ently after his death they were againe (as it were) pulled out of the a&s;hes and reuiued? Or how could others be put in their place, &s;eeing in|numerable men liued before and after his per&s;ecution, who had the &s;ight and peru&s;ing of the &s;ame bookes before they were &s;up|pre&s;&s;ed, and afterwards againe when they came to light? La&s;tly, though it &s;hould be granted that all the bookes of holy Scrip|tures had bin vtterly defaced in al the dominions of <HI>Antiochus,</HI> yet this were nothing for the tempters purpo&s;e: for the Iewes were now &s;cattered far and wide, and had their Sinagogues and &s;chooles in &s;undrie nations where he had no authoritie; &amp; ther|fore though he had de&s;troyed all the copies of the Scriptures in all places of his kingdome, yet there were many in other places where hee bare no &s;way. Neither were they now in the Hebrew tongue alone, but al&s;o tran&s;lated into the Greeke by the 70 In|terpreters, at the reque&s;t of <HI>Ptolomey Philadelphus,</HI> and the tran|&s;lation carefully kept in his Librarie long before the time of this <HI>Antiochus.</HI> By al which it is more then manife&s;t, that the Scrip|tures are the &s;ame which were penned by the Prophets and holy men of God, in&s;pired with his diuine &s;pirit, confirmed with &s;o many and wonderfull miracles, and &s;ealed with the bloud of in|numerable Martyrs.</P>
<P>To this which hath been &s;aid, I might adde the te&s;timony of heathen writers, who in their &s;eueral times haue in their writings made mention of the mo&s;t principal things which are contained in the &s;tory of the Bible: but as we neede not the helpe of a can|dle to &s;ee the &s;unne, which more &s;ufficiently &s;heweth it &s;elfe by
<PB N="342" REF="183">his own light: &s;o this glorious light of Gods truth is in it &s;elfe &s;o cleere and manife&s;t, that it needeth not the te&s;timony of Infidels to confirme it, vnle&s;&s;e it be to tho&s;e who farre exceede them in infidelitie. And that noble learned and religious Gentleman, <HI>Philip Mornay</HI> in his bookes of the Trune&s;&s;e of Chri&s;tian Reli|gion, hath ea&s;ed me of this labour, from who&s;e neuer wa&s;ting candle I haue borrowed the chiefe&s;t part of my light in the handling of this que&s;tion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="21" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXI.</HI> That the testimony of Gods &s;pirit, doth onely per&s;wade vs, that the Scriptures are the word of God.</HEAD>
<P>_ANd the&s;e are the arguments whereby all gaine&s;aiers may be conuinced, who deny the Scriptures to be the word of God, and his infallible trueth; but though they are &s;ufficient for the conuiction of all oppo&s;ers, and for &s;topping the mouthes of all A|thei&s;ts, Epicures and meere naturals; yet notwith&s;tanding, not a|ny of the&s;e, nor al the&s;e are in them&s;elues &s;ufficient, to beget faith in the heart of any, or to per&s;wade him with full a&s;&s;urance, to be|leeue that the Scriptures are the word of God, vnle&s;&s;e there be adioyned vnto the~ the te&s;timony of Gods &s;pirit, which doth not only conuince, but al&s;o throughly per&s;wade vs of this truth; and this alone in it &s;elfe is al-&s;ufficient, though we neuer heard any other of the former rea&s;ons, for the working of faith in vs, and a full per&s;wa&s;ion of this truth.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> That all other arguments are in&s;ufficient without the te&s;timo|ny of Gods &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That all other arguments are without this vn&s;ufficient.</NOTE> hereby it is more then manife&s;t, in that not ma|ny wi&s;e, nor many learned in the world doe beleeue the Scrip|tures, which is the cau&s;e why they doe not &s;ubmit them&s;elues to the obedience thereof; whereas if faith might be wrought in men by force of arguments or naturall rea&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 11.25.</NOTE> they who be&s;t con|ceiue them would mo&s;t ea&s;ily be per&s;waded by them: but contra|riwi&s;e, we &s;ee that the&s;e things are hid from the wi&s;e and pru|dent, and are reuealed vnto babes, not by meanes of naturall rea|&s;on, but by the te&s;timony of Gods &s;pirit. For naturally we are all blind in &s;pirituall things, neither can the <HI>naturall man di&s;cerne the
<PB N="343" REF="183">things of the &s;pirit of God, neither can he know them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.14.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e they are &s;piritually di&s;cerned,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 2.14. and therefore, though the Scriptures be the glorious light of Gods truth, &s;hining as bright as the &s;unne in the firmament, to tho&s;e who&s;e eyes are inlighte|ned with Gods &s;pirit; yet to tho&s;e who continue in their natu|rall blindne&s;&s;e, and were neuer annoynted with the precious eye-&s;alue of Gods &s;pirit, this glorious light appeareth not, no more than the &s;un&s;hine to tho&s;e who want their &s;ight, and hence it is that they grope at noone dayes. And as the poore woman, of whom <HI>Seneca</HI> &s;peaketh, being &s;uddainely in the night &s;tricken with blindne&s;&s;e, de&s;ired the next day to vndraw the curtaines and open the windoes that &s;hee might &s;ee, whereas the cau&s;e of her not &s;eeing was not want of light, but want of eyes: So the&s;e men who are &s;tricken with naturall blindne&s;&s;e, complaine that they cannot &s;ee the glorious light of Gods truth &s;hining in his word, and therefore de&s;ire to haue it cleered by taking away the clouds of obiections which &s;eeme to &s;hadow it, and by adding vnto it the light of humane rea&s;on; but the truth is, the fault is not in this glorious light, which alwaies &s;hineth, but in their blindne&s;&s;e who cannot di&s;cerne it; and yet &s;uch is the pride, &s;elfe loue, and vaine opinion, which euery one hath of his owne gifts, that they will &s;ooner imagine that the &s;unne wanteth light, than they eyes to looke vpon it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> True it is, that by the former rea&s;ons they may be conuinced,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Other argu|ments con|uince, but not per&s;wade.</NOTE> &s;o that they haue nothing to obiect, and perhaps they may bee brought to haue a good opinion of the Scriptures, &amp; to a doubt|full conceite that they are the word of God in deede; they may with the two Di&s;ciples which trauailed to <HI>Emaus,</HI> when they heare the Scriptures interpreted, haue their harts burne and throb within the~, imagining that which they heare, to be more than the word of mortall man; and as the blind man in the Go&s;pell, when his eyes were a little illuminated by our Sauiour, di&s;cerned men, not as men, but as moouing trees, &s;o they may in &s;ome confu&s;ed manner know and acknowledge the Scriptures to be the word of God; but before Chri&s;t hath fully opened their eyes, and by the precious eye-&s;alue of his &s;pirit hath di&s;pelled their naturall blindne&s;&s;e, they wil neuer certainely be per&s;waded nor a&s;&s;uredly beleeue, that the Scriptures are not the word of man, but the in|fallible truth of God. For it is not in mans power to beget faith
<PB N="344" REF="184">in any, neither is it grounded vpon any natural rea&s;ons or per&s;wa|&s;ions, but it is the &s;upernaturall gift of Gods &s;pirit, who illumi|nates our vnder&s;tanding, and inclines our will, &s;o that we &s;ee, and &s;tedfa&s;tly beleeue that trueth which it deliuereth, as appeareth Ephe&s;. 2.8. 2. The&s;. 1.11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2.8. 2. The&s;. 1.11.</NOTE></P>
<P>And when we haue this te&s;timony of Gods &s;pirit in our hearts, it will certainely per&s;wade vs of this truth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods &s;pirit ful|ly per&s;wadeth vs of this truth. <HI>1. Cor. 2.15.</HI></NOTE> though we had no o|ther rea&s;on: as appeareth by te&s;timonies of Scripture, and by our owne experience. For the fir&s;t it is &s;aid, 1. Cor. 2.15. <HI>That the &s;pi|rituall man,</HI> that is, he who is indued with Gods &s;pirit, <HI>iudgeth all things, and yet him&s;elfe is iudged of no man.</HI> So 1. Iohn 2.27. <HI>But the annoynting which ye receiued of him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.27.</NOTE> <HI>dwelleth in you, and ye neede not that any man teach you, but as the annointing teacheth you all things,</HI> and ver&s;e 20.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 20.</NOTE> <HI>But ye haue an oyntment him that is holy, and ye haue knowne all things.</HI> Where by hee vnder&s;tandeth the &s;pirit of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.10.12.</NOTE> <HI>which &s;earcheth all things, euen the deepe things of God, which &s;pirit is giuen vnto vs that we might know the things which are giuen vnto vs of God:</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 2.10.12. So our Sauiour promi&s;eth to &s;end a <HI>comforter vnto vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16 7.13.</NOTE> as it is Iohn 16.7.13. And in deede who is more fit then the &s;pirit of God to confirme vs in the a&s;&s;urance of that truth, which he him&s;elfe hath indited and in&s;pired? or who can better iudge of the things of God then the &s;pirit of God? who can better informe vs in this truth then hee who is the &s;pirit of truth? And therefore if we haue the te&s;timony of Gods &s;pirit in vs, we &s;hall neede no other witne&s;&s;e, nor any rea&s;ons inuented by mans wit, to confirme vs in this truth, that the Scriptures are the word of the euerliuing God.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods &s;pirit per|&s;wadeth vs of this truth by our owne fee|ling and expe|rience.</NOTE>For who&s;oeuer are indued with Gods &s;pirit, doe al&s;o by their owne experience &s;en&s;ibly feele by the effects and operation of the &s;criptures in them&s;elues, that they are not the word or inuen|tion of mortall man, but the word of the almightie and mo&s;t wi&s;e God: for when they perceiue that the eyes of their vnder&s;tan|ding are illuminated, which before were blind and full of darke|nes; that their will is inclined to the obedience of Gods com|maundements, which before was &s;tubborne and rebellious; that their heart is become &s;oft and tender, &s;o as like the heart of <HI>Io&s;ias</HI> it melteth at the preaching of the law, which before was obdu|rate and more hard then the Adamant; that their con&s;cience
<PB N="345" REF="184">which was dead and &s;eared, is now readie to checke &amp; controule them when they commit any &s;inne, and to allow and approue all good actions; that their affections are ca&s;t in a new mould, &s;o that whereas heretofore they loued nothing but the world and worldly things, now their loue is fixed on the Lord and tho&s;e things that are aboue; and whereas nothing was more odious in former times then vertue and godlines, nothing more plea&s;ing then finne and the delights thereof, now contrariwi&s;e, nothing is more loth&s;ome then &s;inne, nothing more &s;weete and delight|full, then obedience to Gods commaundements; and when they further con&s;ider, that this great alteration is made in them onely by the hearing of Gods word preached, they neede no further per&s;wa&s;ions, nor other in&s;tructor to teach them, that the &s;criptures were penned by the diuine operation of Gods &s;pirit, &s;eeing the word of mortall man could neuer make &s;uch a change in them, nor any thing el&s;e but the word of the e|uerliuing God; which at the fir&s;t was alone &s;ufficient for their creation and generation, and now onely of power &s;ufficient for their regeneration, and new birth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 9.</NOTE> As therefore the blind man rea&s;oned with the Phari&s;ies, Iohn. 9, not with any farre fetcht rea&s;on, but from his owne experience, to proue that our Sauiour was not a notorious &s;inner, as the Phari&s;ies accu&s;ed him, but &s;ome great Prophet &s;ent from God; &s;aying, doubtles this is a maruelous thing that ye know not whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes; and, if this man were not of God he could haue done nothing: &s;o may we rea&s;on with tho&s;e who affirme that it cannot be knowne whence the &s;criptures came, from God or man; v&s;ing this argument taken from our owne experience, &s;aying, doubtles this is a meruelous thing that ye doe not know whence the &s;criptures are, &s;eeing they haue opened mine eyes which were blinde from my birth, inclined my wil to obedience which before was rebellious, &s;oftned my heart and &s;anctified and quite changed mine affections, &s;o that I now loue that good which before I hated, and hate that euill which before I loued; and am delighted with tho&s;e holy exerci&s;es which heretofore did mo&s;t di&s;plea&s;e me; and am di&s;plea&s;ed with tho&s;e vaine plea|&s;ures and filthie &s;innes, which in times pa&s;t did mo&s;t delight me; and therefore if it were not of God it could haue done no &s;uch thing, if it were not in&s;pied and indited by his holy &s;pirit, and
<PB N="346" REF="185">made effectuall by the vertue and power thereof, it could neuer haue wrought in me &s;uch &s;trange alterations.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="22" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXII.</HI> Sathans temptations &s;ugge&s;ted again&s;t the tran&s;lations of holy Scriptures an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;omuch for an&s;wering Sathans &s;econd tempta|tion whereby he laboreth to make men neglect the hearing of Gods word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Scrip|tures are truly tran&s;lated.</NOTE> that &s;o they may neuer be effectually called. Now thirdly, if he cannot per|&s;wade men that the Scriptures are not the word of God, that &s;o he may take away all the authority thereof, then he will take exceptions again&s;t the tran&s;lation; &s;ugge&s;ting into their minds, that though the Scriptures bee the word of God as they were penned in their own proper languages, by men in&s;pired by his &s;pirit, yet for ought they know being vnlearned, the Scrip|tures may be corruptly tran&s;lated, altered from their fir&s;t origi|nall, and things added and detracted at the tran&s;lators plea&s;ure. To this I an&s;were, that not onely profe&s;&s;ors of religion, but al&s;o Pagans, Infidels, Epicures and Athei&s;ts, who are euen the very limmes of the diuell, haue been skilfull and learned in the&s;e lan|guages; and therefore if the tran&s;lations were not neere the ori|ginall; who could &s;top their mouthes from inueighing again&s;t &s;uch fal&s;ehood? Who could re&s;traine them from declaiming a|gain&s;t &s;uch corruption, &s;eeing they &s;o hate and abhor this truth, as that they wi&s;h the vtter extirpation thereof, and with ex|treame malice oppo&s;e them&s;elues again&s;t it, per&s;ecuting and murthering to their vttermo&s;t power, who&s;oeuer imbrace and profe&s;&s;e it? Moreouer, we knowe that the Iewes who more mali|tiou&s;ly maligne Chri&s;tians and chri&s;tianity than the Turkes and Pagans, doe notwith&s;tanding agree with vs in the tran&s;lation of the old Te&s;tament, and can take no exception again&s;t the new. Thirdly, there hath been euer &s;ince Chri&s;ts comming many &s;ec|taries and heretikes, who for the maintenance of their opinions haue but &s;ought to corrupt &s;ome few places of the Scriptures, but &s;till God hath rai&s;ed vp &s;ome godly learned in the originall tongues, who haue confuted them and cleered the text; how
<PB N="347" REF="185">therefore in &s;uch diui&s;ion and vehement di&s;cord &s;hould &s;uch a thing be concealed. How &s;hould any corrupt the whole Scrip|tures, or any principall places; &s;eeing there is &s;uch controuer&s;ies from time to time about euery letter and &s;yllable? La&s;tly, this truth of the Scriptures hath been &s;ealed and confirmed with the blood of many Martyrs, who haue been excellently learned in the originall tongues: and who can imagine that they would haue been &s;o fooli&s;h, as to haue giuen their liues for the maintai|ning that truth which is contained in the Scriptures as we haue them tran&s;lated, if they thought them corrupted and fal&s;ified in the tran&s;lation?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But the tempter will obiect that the tran&s;lations exceedingly differ one from another,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the diffe|rence of tran&s;|lations.</NOTE> and therefore &s;ome of them mu&s;t needs bee fal&s;e, and who would ground his faith vpon any, vntill hee know which is the be&s;t and true&s;t? I an&s;were, that though there be diuers tran&s;lations, and one better than another; yet euen that which is mo&s;t corrupt and imperfect is &s;ufficient to in&s;truct vs in the knowledge of God, and in the principles of Chri&s;tian religi|on; neither is there among&s;t them all, many errors which con|cerne the articles of our faith, or come neere the &s;ub&s;tance of doctrine which we are bound to beleeue, for all the tran&s;latours haue laboured to conforme their tran&s;lations according to the analogy of faith; and though they haue not in all places deliue|red the proper &s;en&s;e, yet they haue endeauored to come as neere it as they can, and where they haue fayled, it is rather in circum|&s;tances than in &s;ub&s;tance, in the proper and &s;peciall truth, than in the common and generall; and though in one place they do not &s;o cleere the truth as they &s;hould, yet they doe it in many other. And therefore let not Sathan per&s;wade vs to neglect the Scrip|tures, becau&s;e there are wants and imperfections in the tran&s;lati|ons; for if we &s;tudie and meditate euen in the meane&s;t, and con|forme and frame our liues according to that trueth which wee learne out of them, wee &s;hall attaine vnto euerla&s;ting life and happine&s;&s;e. Men doe not v&s;e to neglect their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, becau&s;e by rea&s;on of &s;ome cloude the &s;unne doth not &s;hine vpon them in his full brightne&s;&s;e; for that light which they inioy is &s;uffici|ent, though not &s;o gloriou&s;ly bright as when it &s;hineth in his full cleerene&s;&s;e: &s;o we mu&s;t not neglect the conforming of our &s;elues to the Scriptures, becau&s;e we cannot &s;ee them &s;hine in their own
<PB N="348" REF="186">glorious brightne&s;&s;e, as they were penned by the in&s;piration of the holy Gho&s;t in the originall language (for as well may a pain|ter expre&s;&s;e in his table with artificiall colours the glory of the Sunne, as any man liuing can expre&s;&s;e that perfect beautie and diuine glory which &s;hineth in the naturall phra&s;e of holy Scrip|tures in a tran&s;lation) but rather wee are to inioy the benefit of this glorious &s;hining Sunne of Gods word, though the bright|ne&s;&s;e bee as it were vayled and &s;omewhat &s;hadowed with the cloude of another language; for notwith&s;tanding, through it they &s;hine and afford vs &s;uch light, as may be &s;ufficient to guide and direct vs in the waies of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which will bring vs in the end to eternall glory and endle&s;&s;e felicity.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="23" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXIII.</HI> Sathans temptations taken from the euill liues of the Ministers, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the obiections which Sa|than maketh again&s;t the Scriptures them&s;elues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan by di&s;gracing the mini&s;ters &s;ee|keth to di&s;grace their mini&s;terie al&s;o.</NOTE> to the end hee may make men neglect to heare and reade them. But if this will not preuaile, then hee leaueth to di&s;grace the word it &s;elfe, and &s;ee|keth by di&s;crediting the Mini&s;ters thereof, to make them to contemne their Mini&s;terie; and to this ende hee v&s;eth all his skill to draw them into &s;ome gro&s;&s;e and &s;candalous &s;inne, and to neglect that doctrine them&s;elues which they teach vnto o|thers, &s;hewing in their liues and conuer&s;ations, neither zeale of Gods glorie, nor de&s;ire of their neighbors good; and when he hath attained vnto his purpo&s;e in &s;ome, he thinketh it a &s;ufficient ground for the &s;launder of all, and a notable foundation where|upon he may builde a mo&s;t pernitious temptation. Art thou &s;o fooli&s;h (will he &s;ay) as to thinke all Go&s;pell which the mini&s;ters teach, that all truth commeth from their mouthes, &amp; that there is not a more ea&s;ie way of attaining to euerla&s;ting life, then that which they &s;hew vnto thee? why, do but looke vpon them&s;elues and thou&s;halt finde their liues farre di&s;&s;onant from their words, that while&s;t they exhort thee to &s;tricktnes, they take their liber|tie, while&s;t they di&s;&s;wade thee from taking thy plea&s;ure, affecting
<PB N="349" REF="186">honors, &s;etting thy heart vpon riches, them&s;elues in the meane time are as voluptuous, ambitious, and couetous as any other; and while&s;t they indeauour to make &s;inne to appeare vnto thee as blacke as hell, them&s;elues imbrace it with plea&s;ure and delight as though it were the ioy of heauen. Who therefore can imagine that they thinke as they &s;peake, or that they are per&s;waded that heauen gate is &s;o &s;traight, and the way &s;o trouble&s;ome and hard to finde, as they goe about to per&s;wade thee, &s;eeing them&s;elues take the lea&s;t paines in walking in this way which they pre&s;cribe vnto others? Or if it be the truth which they teach, then &s;urely they are not worth the hearing who in their liues deny this truth which in their words they profe&s;&s;e; for what hope can&s;t thou haue that it will be powerfull to worke grace in thee, &s;eeing it hath no power to worke it in them&s;elues? or that they can per|&s;wade thee to that holines, to which them&s;elues are not per|&s;waded?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus doth Sathan &s;eeke to keepe men from hearing of Gods word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The an&s;were to the former temptation.</NOTE> that &s;o being weakned and hunger&s;tarued for want of this heauenly Manna, he may vanqui&s;h them at the fir&s;t on&s;et, and leade them captiue vnto all &s;inne; and being &s;till hudwinckt with the thicke vaile of ignorance, he may leade them the direct way to hell and vtter de&s;truction: and therefore it behoueth e|uery one to arme them&s;elues, that &s;o they may beate backe the violence of this temptation. Fir&s;t therefore,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mini&s;ters &s;ub|iect to all hu|maine imper|fection.</NOTE> whereas he &s;aith that the mini&s;ters &s;peak not as they think, becau&s;e they do not as the &s;peak; we are to know for the an&s;wering of this temptation, that mini&s;ters are &s;ubiect to the &s;ame corruptions and infirmities which are incident vnto other men, and though they are called in the &s;criptures Angels in re&s;pect that they are Gods me&s;&s;en|gers to bring and publi&s;h the glad tidings of the Go&s;pell, yet are they not Angels in re&s;pect of their puritie and perfection: but as they are fle&s;h and blood, &s;ubiect to all humane frailtie; as they are borne in &s;inne and defiled with originall corruption, &s;o are they as prone as others to fall into al actuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, if the Lord re&s;traine them not. Neither mu&s;t we imagine that learning and knowledge doe indue men with &s;anctification and the &s;a|uing graces of Gods &s;pirit, for then we might attaine vnto them by our &s;tudie, labour and indu&s;trie; whereas the Scriptures teach vs that they are Gods free gifts which hee be&s;toweth on whom
<PB N="350" REF="187">he will; then it would follow that hee who is indued with mo&s;t knowledge and learning, &s;hould al&s;o haue mo&s;t grace and &s;an|ctification, whereas our owne experience teacheth vs, that many of the greate&s;t Doctors of the world &s;pend their liues in all vo|luptuous plea&s;ures and licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e. What then? doe the&s;e men teach one thing and beleeue another. Surely it may be the ca&s;e of many, for faith commeth not by varietie of knowledge, neither is it tied to learning; but it is the free gift of God be&s;to|wed as well, yea and as often al&s;o, vpon the &s;imple fi&s;herman as vpon the learned Phari&s;ie; and therefore though they haue &s;uch great learning and knowledge, that they are able to in&s;truct o|thers and defend the truth again&s;t all oppo&s;ers, yet may they be as hard hearted and full of infidelitie, as the mo&s;t ignorant and &s;otti&s;h in the world. Shall then their hardne&s;&s;e of heart and infi|delitie moue vs to call the truth of God which they deliuer into que&s;tion, as though it were a matter doubtfull whether it is the word of God or no? God forbid. Nay, let God be true and eue|rie man a liar. For their owne con&s;ciences are conuinced of this truth though not per&s;waded, and the Lord hath giuen them eies to &s;ee it, though not hearts to beleeue it; to the end that the prai&s;e of our &s;aluation may wholy be a&s;cribed to his owne free grace, who calleth and iu&s;tifieth, &s;anctifieth and &s;aueth whom he will, and not vnto humane learning or knowledge, which may be attained vnto by mans indu&s;trie and labour.</P>
<P>It may bee al&s;o that the&s;e who teach one thing and practi&s;e the cleane contrarie,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>3.</HI> That not lear|ning, but Gods &s;pirit freeth vs from our natu|rall corrup|tions.</NOTE> doe notwith&s;tanding beleeue, that is, know and giue their a&s;&s;ent to that which they deliuer; but this gene|rall faith is incident as well to the diuels them&s;elues as vnto men, and therefore tho&s;e who haue it may neuerthele&s;&s;e be as worldly, carnal, and prophane as euer they were; for before we attaine vnto a true iu&s;tifying faith, and be &s;anctified by Gods &s;pirit, our knowledge and learning wil not free vs from our cor|ruption of nature, wherein wee are conceiued borne and bred; and therefore though wee &s;ee the truth, yea know and acknow|ledge it to be the word of God, which &s;hall one day either iu&s;ti|fie or condemne vs, yet if the Lord doe not ioyne with this knowledge the inward operation of his &s;pirit, making it effect|tuall for our &s;anctification, and for the purging of vs from our corruptions, wee are as readie to fall into all &s;inne, being inticed
<PB N="351" REF="187">and carried away with the riches, honours and plea&s;ures of the world, as if we were &s;till mo&s;t &s;otti&s;hly ignorant. A notable ex|ample hereof we haue in <HI>Salomon,</HI> who though hee had receiued &s;uch a mea&s;ure of wi&s;edome and diuine knowledge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That neglect of dutie doth not alwaies argue incredulitie.</NOTE> as neuer meere man attained vnto the like, yea though he were a penman of an excellent portion of holie Scriptures, yet the Lord leauing him to the corruption of his owne heart, he fell mo&s;t grieuou&s;ly into all abominable wickedne&s;&s;e: and yet who will dare to &s;ay, that <HI>Salomon</HI> did not write as he thought, and not rather that he was carried away through the violence of his corruptions, to commit that &s;inne which his con&s;cience condemned, and to neglect obedience to Gods vndoubted truth? So <HI>Dauid</HI> who was indued with notable knowledge and no le&s;&s;e grace, fel not|with&s;tanding mo&s;t fearefully into adulterie and murther; but &s;hall we therefore thinke that he was not per&s;waded that the&s;e were horrible &s;innes, or that when he commended mercie, inno|cencie and cha&s;titie, he &s;pake not as he thought? And <HI>Peter</HI> like|wi&s;e denied and for&s;wore his ma&s;ter, whom before hee had ac|knowledged to be the &s;onne of God; but &s;hall wee hence conclude that <HI>Peter</HI> di&s;&s;embled when he made that notable con|fe&s;&s;ion, becau&s;e when hee came to the triall hee vtterly di&s;clai|med it? Nay rather we may certainly be per&s;waded, that <HI>Dauid</HI> was carried away with his lu&s;t and concupi&s;cence, and <HI>Peter</HI> o|uercome with feare and frailtie, and both drawne, through their corruption, to commit tho&s;e &s;innes which their con&s;ciences con|demened. But leauing &s;uch farre fetcht in&s;tances, let euery man, yea euen he who hath attained vnto the greate&s;t mea&s;ure of faith and &s;anctification, enter into a &s;trict and due con&s;ideration with him&s;elfe, and examine his owne con&s;cience before Gods tribu|nall &s;eate; and then let him tell me whether hee perfourme obe|dience to all that truth which hee knoweth and beleeueth, or whether he may not iu&s;tly complaine, that our corruption takes occa&s;ion by the knowledge of Gods commandement, to work in vs all manner of concupi&s;cence; that hee doth tho&s;e things which he alloweth not, nay which he hateth and abhorreth; that though hee doe not onely know the law of God, but al&s;o is de|lighted therewith in the inner man, yet that there is another law in his members which rebelleth atain&s;t the law of his mind,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.8.15.23.</NOTE> and leadeth him captiue vnto the law of &s;inne, as it is Rom. 7.8.15.23.
<PB N="352" REF="188">And if this be the ca&s;e of <HI>Salomon, Dauid, Peter,</HI> and of all Gods children, who haue attained to the greate&s;t mea&s;ure of know|ledge and &s;anctification; let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that wee may &s;afely neglect the mini&s;terie of the word, becau&s;e the mini|&s;ters thereof &s;eeme not per&s;waded that the doctrine which they deliuer is true, in that they do not practi&s;e it in their own liues: for many knowing and beleeuing that truth which they deliuer, are notwith&s;tanding de&s;titute of the &s;anctifying graces of Gods &s;pirit, and therefore wholy carried away into all licentious wic|kedne&s;&s;e; and many al&s;o who are &s;anctified, being not wholy purged from their naturall corruptions, are readie to &s;hew their frailtie and infirmties to all the world, though they know, ac|knowledge, beleeue, and from their hearts embrace, that truth which they teach and profe&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>But if Sathan cannot thus preuaile, nor cau&s;e vs to doubt of Gods truth,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>4.</HI> The &s;econd temptation ta|ken from the euill liues of Ministers, an|&s;wered.</NOTE> becau&s;e the mini&s;ters liue not according to that do|ctrine which they teach; then he will per&s;wade them at lea&s;t to refu&s;e to heare &s;uch who&s;e liues are &s;candalous, as being vnwor|thie to take the word into their mouthes, and vnable to conuert or amend others, &s;eeing the word is not powerfull which they deliuer for the conuerting and refourming of their owne liues. Which temptation of sathan is mo&s;t dangerous and pernicious vnto many: for what greater di&s;couragement can there be to a &s;icke patient, than to take phy&s;icke of &s;uch a Phy&s;ition who can not cure him&s;elfe of the &s;ame di&s;ea&s;e? Or who will willingly eate of that foode, which he who giueth it vnto him &s;o loatheth and abhorreth, that he will not &s;o much as ta&s;te of it? Or who taketh delight in hearing him di&s;cour&s;e of mercie, cha&s;titie, and libera|litie, whom he knoweth wholy po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of crueltie, lu&s;t, and co|uetou&s;ne&s;&s;e? And therefore it were to be wi&s;hed that Gods mi|ni&s;ters &s;hould be Phy&s;itions to them&s;elues, before they take vp|on them the cure of others; that they &s;hould not &s;tand like Ima|ges by the high way &s;ides, directing others in their iourneys, them&s;elues neuer mouing foot, but that they &s;hould like guides goe before them, and in&s;truct them not only by their word, but al&s;o moue them to receiue their in&s;tructio~ by their example. But yet let vs take heed, that Sathan doe not take occa&s;ion vpon the neglect of their dutie to make vs neglect ours; &amp; that he do not robbe vs of the ine&s;timable trea&s;ure of Gods word, and depriue
<PB N="353" REF="188">vs of this heauenly Manna and foode of our &s;oules, whereby all the graces of Gods &s;pirit are begotten,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Mini|&s;ters wicked|ne&s;&s;e or vnwor|thine&s;&s;e &s;hould not make vs neglect hea|ring.</NOTE> nouri&s;hed and increa&s;ed in vs, becau&s;e the mini&s;ter who offreth it vnto vs doth not feede vpon it him&s;elfe. And to this end we are to know that the mini|&s;terie of the word is Gods ordinance, which dependeth not vp|on the worthine&s;&s;e of him who deliuereth it, neither is it made voide and vneffectuall by his vnworthine&s;&s;e; but it hath it vertue force and power from the ble&s;&s;ing of God, and from the inward operation of his &s;pirit, who applieth it to the hearts and con&s;ci|ences of men, and thereby illuminates their vnder&s;tandings, be|getteth faith in them and all &s;anctifying and &s;auing graces. And hence it is, that the mini&s;ter him&s;elf, findeth not the word which he deliuereth, effectual for the begetting of faith or any grace in him, which notwith&s;tanding is powerfull in many of the hea|rers for the&s;e purpo&s;es, becau&s;e the Lord vouch&s;afeth not the a&s;|&s;i&s;tance and inward cooperation of his holy &s;pirit with the out|ward mini&s;terie of the word vnto him, which notwith&s;tanding he mercifully granteth vnto others. Seeing then the mini&s;terie of the word is Gods owne ordinance, which he maketh effectu|all to whom hee will by the inward operation of his holy &s;pirit, by whom&s;oeuer it is deliuered; and &s;eeing tho&s;e mini&s;ters which are mo&s;t holy and vertuous cannot at their plea&s;ure infu&s;e grace into their hearers; for <HI>Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, but God giueth the increa&s;e;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 3.5.</NOTE> &s;o that neither the one nor the other are any thing in them&s;elues without Gods ble&s;&s;ing; &s;eeing al&s;o tho&s;e who are loo&s;e and vicious, if they truly preach the truth it &s;elfe, cannot by their badne&s;&s;e hinder Gods ordinance, but that comming from their mouthes it will be effectuall for the con|uer&s;ion of men vnto God, and the eternal &s;aluation of tho&s;e that beleeue; for though vnto him&s;elfe it be but a dead letter, yet the &s;pirit of God may giue life vnto it in tho&s;e who receiue it; and though he preacheth for glorie or gaine, or for enuie and &s;trife, yet we mu&s;t with the Apo&s;tle <HI>reioyce that Chri&s;t is preached any manner of way,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.15.18.</NOTE> and reape the fruite thereof to our eternal com|fort. La&s;tly, &s;eeing the wi&s;edome of God thinketh it good to &s;end amba&s;&s;adours of both &s;orts, &s;anctified and vn&s;anctified, and oftentimes maketh the word in the mouth fo a faithfull and godly mini&s;ter the &s;auour of death vnto death, and the &s;ame word in the mouth of one who is voide of grace and &s;anctifica|tion
<PB N="354" REF="189">the &s;auour of life vnto life, to the end that we &s;hould not de|pend vpon man, but wholy re&s;t and relie our &s;elues vpon Gods owne ordinance, giuing and a&s;cribing vnto him the whole glory and prai&s;e of our conuer&s;ion and &s;aluation; let not Sathan per|&s;wade vs to thinke the wor&s;e of the pure word of God, becau&s;e of his corruption who deliuereth it: for what were this but to refu&s;e a comfortable amba&s;&s;age from a gracious prince, becau&s;e we di&s;like the qualities of the amba&s;&s;adours? what were this but to &s;corne to receiue a kind letter from a louing father, becau&s;e the carrier doth di&s;plea&s;e vs? what is this but to refu&s;e a rich trea&s;ure, becau&s;e it is brought vnto vs in an earthen ve&s;&s;ell which is fraile and brittle? what is it but like proud beggers to refu&s;e the bountifull almes of a mercifull prince, becau&s;e it is deliue|red vnto vs by an Amner which is couetous and hard harted? Yea what is it but to cro&s;&s;e our Sauiour Chri&s;ts expre&s;&s;e commande|ment, who commanded all to heare euen the Scribes and Phari|&s;ies who &s;ate in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> chaire,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 23.</NOTE> and to do after their words though not after their workes? In a word, what is it els than to pin Gods ordinance vpon mans &s;leeue, and to make the preaching of the Go&s;pell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.16.</NOTE> <HI>which is the power of God to &s;aluation vnto euery one who beleeueth,</HI> to depend vpon the weake &s;trength of fraile fle&s;h, ei|ther to bee made effectuall by his worthine&s;&s;e, or to bee made vaine and vnprofitable by his vnworthine&s;&s;e?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="24" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXIIII.</HI> Sathans temptations taken from &s;undrie opinions, &s;ects, and reli|gions, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P>ANd thus Sathan may be an&s;wered,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>1.</HI> Sathans temp|tations per&s;wa|ding vs to pro|fe&s;&s;e no reli|gion.</NOTE> when he taketh occa|&s;ion of di&s;crediting the Go&s;pell and hindring the cour&s;e thereof, by obiecting the wickedne&s;&s;e and worldly pro|phanene&s;&s;e, or the infirmities and fraile weakne&s;&s;e of the Mini|&s;ters thereof. But if he cannot thus preuaile, he leaueth their liues and commeth to their doctrine. Doe&s;t thou not &s;ee (will he &s;ay) that there are innumerable &s;ects and contrary factions among&s;t tho&s;e who profe&s;&s;e Chri&s;tianitie? &s;ome Papi&s;ts, &s;ome Prote&s;tants, &s;ome Arians, &s;ome Anabapti&s;ts, &s;ome Pelagians, &s;ome Liber|tines, &s;ome Famili&s;ts, &s;ome Donati&s;ts, &amp; many other who all cite and alledge Scriptures for the defending of their contrarie opi|nions,
<PB N="355" REF="189">&amp; confidently affirme y^t they only haue the truth among&s;t them? how therfore can&s;t thou know which is truth and which is fal&s;ehood; who interpret the &s;criptures aright, and who wre&s;t and mi&s;con&s;ter them? or if thou wert di&s;po&s;ed to be religious, what religion wilt thou profe&s;&s;e in this great confu&s;ion? to what Church wilt thou adioyne thy &s;elfe &s;eeing one is contrarie to another, and thou knowe&s;t not which is in the truth? If thou bee&s;t wi&s;e therefore keepe thy &s;elfe quiet and let all alone, harken not to any of them, or if thou do&s;t, beleeue them not ouer ha&s;tily, be of that religion which will be&s;t &s;tand with thine aduantage; or if thou wilt needes &s;erue God, follow thine owne con&s;cience, haue a good intention in that thou doe&s;t, and it is enough; but profe&s;&s;e not one religion more than another, till thou &s;ee&s;t tho&s;e who are learned agree among&s;t them&s;elues, for vntill then thou can&s;t haue no a&s;&s;urance that thou profe&s;&s;e&s;t the truth. For the an|&s;wering of which temptation we are to know, that the &s;criptures haue foretould vnto vs that there &s;hould <HI>be &s;ects, diui&s;ions,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.19. 1. Tim. 4.1. 2. Pet. 2.1.</NOTE> <HI>here&s;ies &amp; fal&s;e teachers, euen vnto the end of the world;</HI> as appeareth 1. Cor. 11.19. 1. Tim. 4.1. 2. Pet. 2.1. And the experience of al times both vnder the law, &amp; vnder the Go&s;pel, may &s;ufficiently teach vs that where&s;oeuer the truth of God is publi&s;hed and preached, there it is oppo&s;ed by innumerable &s;ectaries and heretikes, which by the malice and &s;ubtiltie of Sathan, are &s;tirred vp to impugne and di&s;credit the true religion: and therefore if Sathan can &s;till keepe vs blindfoulded in ignorance, and re&s;traine vs from the confe&s;|&s;ion and profe&s;&s;ion of our faith, till there be a generall vnitie and agreement in the true religion, without all oppo&s;ition or gaine|&s;aying, then he hath attained his de&s;ire; for &s;o &s;hall we neuer ioyne our &s;elues in the communion of the &s;aints, nor bee true members of the Church, profe&s;&s;ing &amp; practizing the religion of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;eeing the diuell will not cea&s;e to &s;tir vp his wicked in&s;truments, fal&s;e Prophets, &s;ecraties and heretikes, to the end they may oppugne and contradict the truth when it is &s;incerely preached, and make it frutele&s;&s;e in the hearts of vnbeleeuers; &s;eeing al&s;o our Sauiour hath taught vs that his Church is but a little flocke, which is a&s;&s;aulted and grieuou&s;ly vexed, not onely with Lyons, Tigers and open enemies, but al&s;o with Foxes, and Wolues in &s;heepes clothing, and &s;ecret enemies who vnder the &s;hew and profe&s;&s;ion of religion, &s;eeke to vndermine and bring
<PB N="356" REF="190">it to ruine. And the Apo&s;tle al&s;o hath forewarned vs that <HI>there mu&s;t be here&s;ies among vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.19.</NOTE> <HI>that they who are approoued might be knowne.</HI> 1. Cor. 11.19. Though therefore there be many &s;ects, and here&s;ies, many fal&s;e religions, and but one truth, this mu&s;t not make vs to neglect all, till there be an vniuer&s;all agreement, for as well may be reconcile light and darkenes, the children of God with the children of the diuell, grace &amp; naturall corruption, truth and error, as the true religion with tho&s;e which are fal&s;e, or the profe&s;&s;ors of the one with the profe&s;&s;ors of the other.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e who haue important bu&s;ine&s;&s;es abroad, doe not &s;tay at home and refu&s;e to trauaile becau&s;e &s;ome goe out of the way; but therefore they are more carefull to informe them&s;elues of e|uery turning in their iourney, becau&s;e they would not erre with others: tho&s;e that haue a de&s;ire to liue, doe not refu&s;e all meate becau&s;e &s;ome &s;urfet &amp; die, by eating that which is vnwhol&s;ome; but rather hereby they are made more warie in making good choy&s;e of &s;uch diet as is fit for the pre&s;eruation of their health: tho&s;e al&s;o who are &s;icke, doe not neglect all phi&s;icke, becau&s;e there are many cou&s;ening Impo&s;ters and vnlearned Emperickes who kil in &s;ted of curing; but this maketh the~ with more circum|&s;pection to find out a skilful and learned phi&s;ition. Let vs there|fore follow the like practi&s;e in the&s;e &s;pirituall things: and &s;eeing there is but one direct way which leadeth vnto heauen, and ma|ny bywaies which leade to de&s;truction, let not this keepe vs from trauayling this heauenly iourney, but rather moue vs with more diligence to inquire the right and perfect way: &s;eeing al&s;o there are many which offer vs poy&s;on in &s;ted of the whole&s;ome foode and phi&s;icke of our &s;oules, let vs learne with more care to make choy&s;e and to put a difference betweene the one and the other.</P>
<P>But there it will be demaunded how tho&s;e who are &s;imple and ignorant can iudge which is the true religion,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&sect;.</HI> Sect. <HI>2.</HI> How the vn|learned may di&s;cerne the true religion from that which is fal&s;e.</NOTE> and which is the fal&s;e, who teacheth the truth and who fal&s;ehood? to which I an|&s;were, that euery one mu&s;t labour to informe him&s;elfe of the truth, by &s;tudying and meditating in Gods word: this mu&s;t be his light to guide him, his coun&s;aylor to informe him, his touch|&s;tone whereby he may di&s;cerne the &s;tubble and &s;traw of mens inuentions, from the pure gold of Gods true religion. Neither are we to receiue all doctrines hand ouer head, but as the Apo|&s;tle
<PB N="357" REF="190">exhorteth vs, we <HI>mu&s;t trie the &s;pirits whether they be of God or no:</HI> and with the men of Berea, we mu&s;t &s;earch the &s;criptures,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I. Ioh. 4.1. Act. 17.</NOTE> to &s;ee if tho&s;e things be &s;o as they are deliuered, and accordingly either receiue them if they are con&s;onant with Gods word, or reiect them if they be di&s;&s;onant thereunto. Yea (will &s;ome &s;ay) this were a direct cour&s;e if tho&s;e onely who haue the truth on their &s;ide had &s;cripture to alledge, but &s;eeing euery heretike is as readie to quote &s;cripture, for the vpholding and defending of his here&s;ie, as the profe&s;&s;ors of Gods truth for the maintenance thereof; all the que&s;tion is, who&s;e interpretation is to be receiued as good, and who&s;e to be reiected as fal&s;e and erroneous? To this I an&s;were, that though there be &s;ome places in the &s;cripture hard and &s;omewhat doubtful, and therefore the more ea&s;ie to be wre&s;ted vnto a wrong &s;en&s;e, yet are there others cleare end eui|dent, for the confuting of all &s;ects, here&s;ies, and errors what&s;o|euer: and therefore we mu&s;t expound tho&s;e places which are darke and ambiguous, by tho&s;e which are per&s;picuous and ma|nife&s;t. For exmaple, if we would know whether Poperie be the true religion or no, we mu&s;t examine the doctrines thereof by Gods word, not making choy&s;e of tho&s;e places which &s;eeme any way hard and doubtfull, but of tho&s;e which are cleere and manife&s;t; and &s;o we &s;hall finde that their doctrines are as con|trarie to Gods truth, as light to darkenes. For whereas they teach that we are able to fulfill the law, and to merit heauen, the &s;crip|tures affirme the cleane contrarie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I am. 3.2. and 2.10.</NOTE> namely that <HI>in many things we &s;inne all,</HI> I am. 3.2. <HI>and who&s;oeuer &s;hall keepe the whole law yet fai|leth in one point is guiltie of all,</HI> I am. 2.10. <HI>that there is no man who &s;inneth not,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 8.46.</NOTE> 1. King. 8.46. <HI>that in Gods &s;ight none that liueth can be iu&s;tified,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 143.2. Luk. 17 10.</NOTE> P&s;alm, 143.2. <HI>that when we haue done all tho&s;e things that are commaunded vs, we are vnprofitable &s;eruants, and haue done but our dutie, and therefore merit nothing.</HI> Luk. 17.10. So whereas they teach that wee mu&s;t pray to Saints and Angels, becau&s;e they make interce&s;&s;ion for vs, the Apo&s;tle flatly excludeth all other from this office, but Chri&s;t alone.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 2.5.</NOTE> 1. Tim. 2.5. <HI>there is one media|tor betweene God and man.</HI> Where as they teach that marriage is vnlawfull for &s;ome men at all times, and &s;ome meates vnlawfull for all men at &s;ome times, the holy Gho&s;t telleth vs plainely that this is <HI>erroneous and a doctrine of diuels;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 4.1.3.4.</NOTE> and <HI>that euery creature of God is good, and nothing ought to be refu&s;ed, if it be receiued with
<PB N="358" REF="191">thanke&s;giuing.</HI> 1. Tim. 4.1.3.4. And <HI>that marriage is honorable for all men and the bed vndefiled.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13.4.</NOTE> Heb. 13.4. that <HI>to auoyde fornication euery man mu&s;t haue his wife, and euery woman her owne husband.</HI> 1. Cor. 7.2. and that <HI>better it is to marrie then to burne.</HI> v. 9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 7.2.</NOTE> Whereas they teach that our Sauiour Chri&s;t is carnally and corporally pre&s;ent in the &s;acrament, the &s;criptures teach vs the contrarie, namely that he is a&s;cended into heauen, and therefore not vpon the earth. Matth. 28.6.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 28.6.</NOTE> That when <HI>he was taken into heauen he was taken from vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 1.11.</NOTE> Act. 1.11. <HI>That the heauens mu&s;t containe him vntill the time that all things be re&s;tored,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 3.21.</NOTE> Act. 3.21. Whereas they teach that we mu&s;t make and wor&s;hip images, both are expre&s;ly for|bidden in the &s;econd commaundement, and in many other pla|ces of &s;cripture. Whereas they teach that the &s;criptures &s;hould be kept from the common people, in an vnknowne language; the Apo&s;tle plainely affirmeth that he had rather in the Church &s;peake fiue words with his vnder&s;tanding, that he might al&s;o in&s;truct other,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 14.19.</NOTE> than ten thou&s;and words in a &s;trange tongue; and flatly inioyneth that the Prophets &s;hould keepe &s;ilence in the Church, rather than &s;peake &s;trange lauguages, where there is no interpreter, 1. Cor. 14.19.27.28. Whereas they hold that the cup in the admini&s;tration of the Lords &s;upper, is to be withheld from the common people, and giuen onely to the Prie&s;ts, the quite contrarie is to be ob&s;erued in the in&s;titution, whereas our Sauiour &s;aith, <HI>Drinke ye all of it, becau&s;e it is his blood of the new te&s;tament that is &s;hed for many, for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes:</HI> plainely thereby inferring, that this &s;igne and &s;acrament of his blood be|longeth to as many as were redeemed by it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth, 26.28.</NOTE> Matth. 26.28. And whereas they &s;ay that here the di&s;ciples were onely, and that to them alone this &s;peech was directed, the Apo&s;tle plainely taketh away this cauill: for &s;etting downe the words of in|&s;titution for the v&s;e of the whole Church of Corinth, hee wil|leth euery one indefinitly to examine him&s;elfe and &s;o to eate of this breade and drinke of this cuppe.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.28.</NOTE> 1. Corinth. 11.28. And thus if wee &s;tudie and meditate in Gods word, wee &s;hall find mo&s;t cleere &amp; manife&s;t places for the confirmation of the truth, and confutation of all &s;ects errors and here&s;ies. But what if this meanes be taken away from vs, of reading &amp; &s;tudying the &s;crip|tures, either becau&s;e they are onely to bee had in an vnknowne language, as in the time of popery, or becau&s;e we cannot reade
<PB N="359" REF="191">and haue no body to teach vs? What if both reading and &s;tudy|ing them, we finde many doubts and difficulties, and diuers pla|ces which &s;eeme to fauour diuers and oppo&s;ite opinions and re|ligions? how the mu&s;t we quit our &s;elues out of this laberinth of ambiguitie and doubtfulne&s;&s;e, &s;eeing it is preiudiciall to ap|peale to the iudgement of either faction? I an&s;were, that in the&s;e dayes the meanes of knowledge are not &s;o &s;cant, but y^t they may inioy them that labour for them; for either they may obtaine the v&s;e of the Scriptures in their owne language where they dwel, or el&s;e in &s;ome other place by remouing their habitation; &amp; though they ca~not reade, yet it is no hard matter to learne, to tho&s;e who will v&s;e paines and diligence, or at lea&s;t to get the helpe of others to &s;upplie their want and defect in this behalfe. But let it bee granted that we were abandoned of all the&s;e meanes, or that v|&s;ing them, there were &s;ome doubt remaining of which we can|not be re&s;olued; are we therefore de&s;titute of helpe, and for&s;a|ken of all meanes, whereby wee might attaine vnto the know|ledge of the truth? No &s;urely. For, if when allother meanes faile vs, we haue our recour&s;e vnto God by earne&s;t &amp; effectual prayer, in&s;tantly crauing his holy &s;pirit to guide and direct vs, we haue a mercifull promi&s;e that he will heare our reque&s;t and graunt vn|to vs his holy &s;pirit, as it is Luke 11.13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 11.13.</NOTE> and that thereby he will illuminate the blinde eyes of our vnder&s;tanding, inlighten our minds with the knowledge of the truth, and take away from vs all preiudice of opinion and fore&s;talled iudgement, &s;o as we &s;hal di&s;cerne truth from fal&s;ehood, and Gods true religion, from er|rors and lies, &s;ects and here&s;ies.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 16.13.</NOTE> For <HI>this &s;pirit of truth will leade vs into al truth,</HI> as it is Ioh. 16.13. <HI>He &s;earcheth al things,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.10.12.</NOTE> <HI>euen the deepe things of God; and to this end we receiue him, that we may knowe the things which are giuen vnto vs of God,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 2.10.12: He is that precious eye-&s;alue, wherewith being annointed we &s;ee,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 3.18.</NOTE> who before were blinde, Reuel. 3.18. And if once wee haue receiued this annoynting, <HI>we neede not that any man &s;hould teach vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.27.</NOTE> <HI>for this annoynting teacheth vs all things,</HI> as it is 1. Ioh. 2.27. Though there|fore we were abandoned of all other meanes, yet let not Sathan per&s;wade vs to neglect all religion, becau&s;e we cannot di&s;cerne the true religion from that which is fal&s;e: for if we earne&s;tly and &s;incerely labour after the knowledge of the truth, and with good <HI>Cornelius</HI> continually implore the a&s;&s;&s;tance and direction of
<PB N="360" REF="192">Gods &s;pirit, wee &s;hall bee &s;ure to obtaine our de&s;ire, for the Lord hath promi&s;ed it, and hee will vndoubtedly be as good as his word.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="25" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXV.</HI> Sathans temptations taken from our vnworthine&s;&s;e and vnfitne&s;&s;e to heare, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the temptations of Sathan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our &s;ins and vnworthi|ne&s;&s;e &s;hould not hinder vs from hearing Gods word.</NOTE> which he draweth from the Mini&s;ters, to di&s;credit the Go&s;pel, and to di&s;wade men from y^e hearing thereof; but if he cannot thus preuaile, he will leaue the Mini|&s;ters, and come to the parties them&s;elues, &s;ugge&s;ting into their minds that they are vnworthy, in re&s;pect of the innumerable number of their &s;innes, to be hearers of the Go&s;pell, which is &s;o pure and excellent; and that their corruptions are &s;o great, their vnder&s;tandings &s;o blind, their memories &s;o &s;lippery, their wils &s;o peruer&s;e, their heart and affections &s;o wicked and prophane, that it is to be feared in regard of this their vnfitnes to heare, that the word of God, which in it &s;elfe is the &s;auour of life vnto life, will become vnto them the &s;auour of death to their more deepe con|demnation. For the an&s;wering of which temptation, wee are to know, fir&s;t, that our &s;innes and vnworthine&s;&s;e &s;hould be &s;o farre from hindring vs fro~ the hearing of Gods words, that they &s;hould rather &s;erue as forcible arguments to moue vs more attentiuely and diligently to heare it: becau&s;e it is the meanes ordayned of God to pull vs out of our &s;ins, to purge vs from our corruptions, to worke in vs true &s;anctification, and to make vs of the &s;onnes of wrath the children of God. Moreouer, though we want faith and all other &s;anctifying graces, yet we are to heare the word of God: for therefore the Lord hath ordained the mini&s;tery of the word, not onely to increa&s;e grace where it is begun, but al&s;o to beget and begin it where it is wanting; &s;o that we mu&s;t not only heare becau&s;e we are fit, but al&s;o that we may be made fit, who before were vnfit. Neither are we to imagine that faith and other graces goe before hearing, but follow after as fruits and effects thereof;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.14.17.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle plainely &s;heweth, Rom. 10.14. <HI>But how &s;hall they call on him in whom they haue not beleeued? And how &s;hall they
<PB N="361" REF="192">beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard? And how &s;hall they heare without a Preacher?</HI> And ver&s;e 17. <HI>Faith commeth by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.</HI> If then there be no faith without hea|ring, nor no grace without faith, it mu&s;t needs follow, that before we heare, we are de&s;titute of faith &amp; all &s;auing grace, and that by hearing they are wrought in vs, God preuenting vs with his grace, and calling vs vnto him&s;elfe, not only when we had no de|&s;erts to merit his mercy, but al&s;o not &s;o much as any grace to de|&s;ire it. And hence it is that the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, 2. Tim. 1.9. That <HI>God hath called vs with an holy calling, not according to our works,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.9.</NOTE> <HI>but ac|cording to his own purpo&s;e and grace, which was giuen vnto vs through Christ Ie&s;us before the world was.</HI> The truth hereof may appeare in all the examples of Gods &s;aints, who before their calling were &s;o far from de&s;eruing any grace at Gods hand, that rather they de|&s;erued confu&s;ion &amp; vtter de&s;truction. For example, what worthi|nes was in <HI>Abraham</HI> before his conuer&s;ion who liued in gro&s;&s;e idolatry? what worthines in <HI>Rahab</HI> y^e harlot? in <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> a cruell tirant, a wicked &s;orcerer, an horrible idolater? what worthines in <HI>Marie Magdalene</HI> po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by &s;euen diuels? or in <HI>Matthew</HI> and <HI>Zacheus</HI> the Publicanes? or in <HI>Paul</HI> who per&s;ecuted the Church of God? In a word, what worthines is in any of Gods &s;aints, be|fore the Lord by the preaching of his word, made effectuall by the inward operation of his &s;pirit, hath called and conuerted, and pulled them out of their &s;ins and corruptions in which they wal|lowed, and indued them with &s;ome mea&s;ure of his &s;anctifying and &s;auing graces?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our vnfit|ne&s;&s;e to heare, &s;hould not make vs neg|lect hearing.</NOTE> whereas he obiecteth our vnfitnes to heare, becau&s;e our eares are dull, our eyes blind, our hearts hard, and our wils, affections, and all the powers and faculties of our bodies and &s;oules wholy corrupted and di&s;ordered, this mu&s;t not moue vs to neglect the hearing of Gods word, but to become hearers thereof with more care and diligence: for it is the two-edged &s;word of the &s;pirit, which will pearce and make way for it &s;elfe to enter, and will builde a lodging for it &s;elfe to dwell in; it is not onely a light to guide tho&s;e that &s;ee, but a precious eye-&s;alue to giue &s;ight vnto tho&s;e who were borne blinde; it is not onely the heauenly deaw which maketh Gods graces to &s;pring in vs, but al&s;o that diuine &s;eede which giueth them being and rooting in our hearts; it is not onely the foode of our &s;oules to
<PB N="362" REF="193">pre&s;erue and increa&s;e that &s;trength which wee alreadie haue, but al&s;o that immortall &s;eede by which wee are fir&s;t begotten vnto God and borne againe, who before were dead in our &s;innes, and that excellent phy&s;icke of our &s;oules by which they are purged from their corruptions and re&s;tored vnto health, which before were deadly &s;icke in &s;inne; it maketh vs fir&s;t to will that which is good, and then further to de&s;ire it; it giueth vs life who before were dead in our &s;innes, and then pre&s;erues this life; it begets and begins faith &amp; &s;anctification and all other graces in vs, and being begotten and begun it &s;trengtheneth &amp; increa&s;eth them: and therefore let not Sathan di&s;&s;wade vs from the hearing of Gods word, becau&s;e of our &s;innes, vnworthine&s;&s;e and vnfitne&s;&s;e; for as it is a notable meanes ordained of God for the increa&s;ing of grace where it alreadie is, &s;o is it no le&s;&s;e effectuall for the be|getting of grace where it neuer was. There is no wi&s;e man that will neglect his trade and liue idely becau&s;e he is poore, but ra|ther this will moue him to be more painfull therein, as being the meanes whereby hee may become rich; neither doe men refu&s;e all nouri&s;hment, becau&s;e they haue emptie and hungrie &s;to|mackes, but doe more earne&s;tly de&s;ire meate that they may be filled and &s;atisfied; yea euen tho&s;e who&s;e &s;tomackes are weake doe not altogether refu&s;e their foode, but eate &s;omething to &s;harpen their appetite, and &s;o by little and little in v&s;ing their &s;tomackes they get &s;tomacks: let vs follow the like practi&s;e, and when we <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">rceiue our beggerline&s;&s;e in Gods graces, let vs more earne&s;tly <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">bour after this heauenly trea&s;ure and precious pearle, that we may be made rich; whe~ we feele our emptines of all ver|tue a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> goodne&s;&s;e, let vs more eagerly hunger after this &s;piritu|all M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">na that we may be filled and &s;atisfied; when we finde our appetite weake and our &s;tomacks indi&s;po&s;ed to eate of this hea|uenly foode, let vs a little force our &s;elues again&s;t the appetite, or <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> all good meanes to quicken and &s;harpen it, and &s;o wee &s;hall finde that the oftner we eate, the oftner we &s;hall de&s;ire, the more wee heare the word of God, the more wee &s;hall de&s;ire to heare, and the greater benefit wee &s;hall receiue by it. Whereas neglect of hearing will make vs euery day more vnfit to heare, euen as long ab&s;tinence doth quite &s;poyle the &s;tomack.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="26" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="363" REF="193">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXVI.</HI> How wee mu&s;t arme our &s;elues again&s;t Sathans temptations, whereby he laboureth to make the word of God fruitle&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd the&s;e are the temptations which Sathan v&s;eth to di&s;&s;wade vs from hearing the word;<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan tempteth vs to carele&s;&s;e neg|ligence in hea|ring.</NOTE> but if we breake the&s;e &s;nares and cannot bee withheld from frequenting Gods holie a&s;&s;emblies; then hee will labour by all meanes to make the word of God which we heare, fruitle&s;&s;e and vneffectuall for our con|uer&s;ion and &s;aluation; and to this end hee will labour to work in vs a negligent carele&s;ne&s;&s;e in hearkening to tho&s;e things which are deliuered; and this is v&s;ually accompanied with dulne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, drow&s;ine&s;&s;e and &s;leepine&s;&s;e: or if wee &s;et our &s;elues to heare the word, with any care and con&s;cience to pro|fit thereby, then he wil &s;eeke to di&s;tract our mindes with wan|dring thoughts, either by offring and &s;ugge&s;ting to our con&s;i|deration and memorie the world and the vanities thereof, as our affaires and bu&s;ine&s;&s;e and tho&s;e plea&s;ures wherewith wee are mo&s;t delighted; or if this will not preuaile, by ca&s;ting into our mindes things in their owne nature good and religious, if they were thought vpon in time conuenient, to the end that wee may be di&s;tracted, and be made vnfit to heare the word with profit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That to re&s;i&s;t Sathan we mu&s;t prepare our &s;elues be|fore we heare.</NOTE>Which temptations we are to with&s;tand as being mo&s;t dan|gerous and pernicious: and to this purpo&s;e there is &s;omething required at our hands to be perfourmed before our comming to Gods a&s;&s;emblies, and &s;omething afterwards. Before wee come to the hearing of the word, there is required due prepa|ration, whereby our mindes are made fit ve&s;&s;els to receiue the &s;pirituall trea&s;ure and foode of our &s;oules. For if we come in|to the congregation of the faithfull, without any premedita|tion, reuerence, or regard of the action which we are to take in hand; if we pre&s;ent our &s;elues ra&s;hly and vnadui&s;edly, as if we went to a play, or to di&s;patch &s;ome worldly bu&s;ine&s;&s;e: we &s;hall hardly keepe our minds from negligent wandring and world|ly
<PB N="364" REF="194">di&s;tractions, which will make the word of God fruitle&s;&s;e and vnprofitable.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now this preparation doth principally con&s;i&s;t, fir&s;t in the purging of our corrupt affections,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVherein this preparation con&s;isteth. <HI>Eccl. 4.17.</HI></NOTE> to which duty the wi&s;e man exhorteth vs; Eccl. 4.17. <HI>Take heed to thy feete when thou entrest into the hou&s;e of God,</HI> that is, be carefull to purge thine affections which are the feete of thy &s;oule. And this was typically &s;igni|fied by the outward wa&s;hing of the I&s;raelites before the pro|mulgation of the law,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 19.10.</NOTE> Exod. 19.10. where by the wa&s;hing of their clothes and bodies, the purging of the &s;ecret corruptions of the heart was &s;ignified and repre&s;ented. Which dutie is ne|ce&s;&s;arily to be performed, of al tho&s;e who will heare the word with profit: for as the mo&s;t pure liquor is defiled and made vnprofitable for v&s;e, if it bee put into a polluted and &s;tinking ve&s;&s;ell; &s;o the pure liquor of Gods word is defiled and made fruitle&s;&s;e, vnto al tho&s;e who receiue it into an heart polluted with vncleane affections: As therefore <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was enioyned by God to put off his &s;hooes from his feete, before he might tread on that ground made holy by Gods pre&s;ence, or receiue the Lords amba&s;&s;age to his people; &s;o hee requireth of vs that we put off the &s;hooes, that is, the corruption of our affections, before we tread vpon the holy ground of his Church, there to heare the glad tidings of the Go&s;pell, concerning our euerla|&s;ting deliuerie out of the bondage of our &s;pirituall enemies. What the&s;e affections are the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> partly &s;heweth, Iam. 1.19. namely wrath,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.19. 1. Pet. 2.1.</NOTE> filthine&s;&s;e, malitiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, to which <HI>Peter</HI> addeth di&s;&s;imulation and hypocri&s;ie, enuie and euil &s;pea|king, 1. Pet. 2.1. And to the&s;e al&s;o wee may adde all other like vnto them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVe mu&s;t ba|ni&s;h all fore|&s;talled opinions of the mini&s;ter</NOTE> wee mu&s;t bani&s;h out of our mindes all preiudice, fore&s;talled opinions, and &s;ini&s;ter conceits, of the mini&s;ter of Gods word whom wee are to heare; whereby men are either carried away with a vaine admiration of his gifts, and in the meane time make no con&s;cience of feeding vpon that foode which is offred; like vnto them who in &s;teede of drinking of the wine, &s;tand wondring at the curious workman&s;hip of the cup; or els with a preiudicate opinion of his in&s;ufficiencie in gifts, or imperfections of life, whereby they are &s;o fore&s;talled
<PB N="365" REF="194">that they thinke nothing which hee can deliuer will be worth the hearing.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">VVe mu&s;t ex|pell all worldly cogitations.</NOTE>Thirdly, we mu&s;t expell out of our cogitations, the remem|brance of all worldly bu&s;ine&s;es, plea&s;ures &amp; delights, lea&s;t they di&s;tract our mindes in the hearing of the word, and &s;o choak|ing this heauenly &s;eede make it fruitle&s;&s;e; for as the ve&s;&s;ell which is alreadie full, will receiue no more, and what&s;oeuer is powered into it, &s;pilleth vpon the ground: &s;o the minde that is full of worldly meditations, is not fit to receiue the word of God, but as &s;oone as it offereth to enter, it is kept backe and &s;o peri&s;heth; for God and Mammon, the holy word of God and the cares and vanities of the world, can neuer dwel at the &s;ame time together, but as &s;oone as one entreth it expel|leth the other. As therefore men purpo&s;ing to write a &s;ermon, doe make cleane their writing tables, by blotting out y^t which was written in them before, for otherwi&s;e there would be &s;uch a mixture &amp; confu&s;ion, that nothing would be legible; &s;o whe~ we purpo&s;e to carry away a &s;ermon faire writte~ in the tables of our memories, we mu&s;t fir&s;t blot out all worldly affaires and bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, otherwi&s;e there will be nothing but confu&s;ion, and we &s;hall not be able to recall any thing to our remembrance.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">We mu&s;t ex|amine our &s;ins and wants.</NOTE> before the hearing of the word wee mu&s;t &s;earch and examine our hearts both concerning our &s;innes and cor|ruptions, as al&s;o concerning our wants and imperfections; for the fir&s;t we mu&s;t con&s;ider to what &s;ins we are mo&s;t addic|ted, and with what temptations we are mo&s;t ea&s;ily &s;ubdued, to the end wee may bring our &s;innes to bee &s;laughtered and mortified with the &s;word of Gods &s;pirit, being otherwi&s;e vn|able to ouercome them our &s;elues; and that we may al&s;o there|by &s;o &s;trongly arme all parts, both of our bodies and foules, &s;o as they &s;hall not in time to come, bring vs againe vnder their dominion. And as citizens being be&s;ieged with their enemies, doe learne by their a&s;&s;aulting which part of the citie is mo&s;t weake, and &s;o with more care and labour fortifie it, with men and munition, trenches and bulworkes; &s;o when we who are continually be&s;ieged by our &s;pirituall enemies, doe learne by their a&s;&s;aulting of vs where we are weake&s;t, and the enemie mo&s;t like to enter, then we mu&s;t goe into Gods armorie and prouide &s;ufficient weapons and munition, whereby we may be
<PB N="366" REF="195">enabled to hold out and make re&s;i&s;tance. So al&s;o we are to con&s;ider of our wants and imperfections, that &s;o we may be &s;tirred vp with an earne&s;t de&s;ire, to haue them &s;upplied, and hereby may be moued with more care to apply vnto our &s;elues &s;uch foode as &s;hall be mo&s;t fit to &s;upply the&s;e our wants, and amend our imperfections; for as men who hunger earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be &s;ati&s;&s;ied with whole&s;ome foode, neither will they willingly without any difference eate of all meates, e&s;pecially if they haue weake &s;tomackes, but of that which is mo&s;t fit and be&s;t agreeth with them; &s;o tho&s;e who finde their &s;piritual wants earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be &s;ati&s;fied, and to haue their defects &s;up|plyed: and for as much as all foode contained in Gods word, is not fit for this purpo&s;e, nor agreeable to their &s;tomackes, to the end that Gods graces may be nouri&s;hed in them, therefore they will wi&s;ely make choy&s;e of that which be&s;t agreeth to their pre&s;ent &s;tate, and apply it vnto them&s;elues accordingly. For example, he who findeth his heart hard and &s;ecure, mu&s;t feede vpon the threatnings of the law, to the end he may be humbled, and his heart molified, and re&s;olued into teares of vnfained repentance; he that is of a broken heart and contrite &s;pirit, mu&s;t feede vpon the &s;weete and gracious promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell; he that is ignorant, mu&s;t hunger after milke, and de|&s;ire to be in&s;tructed in the principles of religion; he that hath a good mea&s;ure of knowledge, may de&s;ire &s;tronger meate, that is, attend vnto the more deepe poynts of diuinitie; in a word, euery man is to examine his particular &s;tate, and to &s;earch out his greate&s;t wants, that &s;o comming to heare the word, he may more diligently apply &s;uch doctrines, in&s;tructions, and exhor|tations as &s;hall bee mo&s;t fit for his v&s;e and benefit; for that which is foode to one is poy&s;on to another, and that &s;alue which is fit to heale one &s;ore, doth make another to fe&s;ter and ranckell, and one part of the word of God being applied to men of diuers e&s;tates, doth worke diuers effects, one it feedeth, another it poy&s;oneth, one it healeth another it woundeth, to one it is the &s;auour of life vnto life, and to another it is the &s;auour of death vnto death: and therefore before we come to the hearing thereof, we are to examine our &s;tates that we may apply and make profitable v&s;e to our &s;elues of that which is mo&s;t fit to nouri&s;h and &s;trengthen vs in Gods graces.</P>
<PB N="371" REF="195">
<P>La&s;tly and mo&s;t e&s;pecially we are to v&s;e earne&s;t and harty prayer vnto the Lord that he may <HI>open our blind eyes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">We are to v&s;e earne&s;t praier <HI>P&s;. 119.18.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;o as we may &s;ee the wonderfull things of his law,</HI> that he will take away our &s;tonie harts, and giue vs fle&s;hly hearts in which his word may more ea&s;ily be imprinted; that hee will with the cyle of his grace bow our &s;tubborne willes, and make them flexible and inclinable to perfourme obedience to his wil, reuealed in his word, that he wil &s;anctifie our affections and purge them from their naturall corruptions, that hee will di&s;till the hea|uenly dew of his holy &s;pirit into our mindes and barraigne harts, that &s;o the &s;eede of his worde being watred there by may yeeld a plentifull harue&s;t in grace and godline&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And the&s;e are the duties which we mu&s;t perfourme in the time of our preparation: now after we are thus prepared and haue pre&s;ented our &s;elues into Gods holy a&s;&s;emblies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the duties which we mu&s;t performe in hearing it, to &s;et our &s;elues in Gods pre|&s;ence.</NOTE> there are al&s;o other duties to be performed to the end that Sathan may not di&s;tract our minds and &s;o make the word which we heare fruitle&s;&s;e: fir&s;t wee are to &s;et our &s;elues in the pre&s;ence of God who looketh vpon vs, &amp; beholdeth all our behauiour in this action, according to the example of good <HI>Cornelius.</HI> Act. 10.33. <HI>Here</HI> (&s;aith hee) <HI>wee are all pre&s;ent before God to heare all things that are commanded thee of God.</HI> And if we thus doe we &s;hall not carele&s;ly and negligently heare the word of the Lord, but with feare and trembling as in his pre&s;ence, be|fore <HI>whom the earth trembleth, and the foundations of the moun|taines moue and &s;hake as it is P&s;al.</HI> 18.7.</P>
<P>Secondly, wee are to heare the word preached not as the word of a mortal man, but as it is in truth the word of the e|uerliuing God,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2.</HI> Wee mu&s;t heare it as the word of God.</NOTE> according to the example of the <HI>The&s;&s;aloni|ans.</HI> 1. The&s;. 2.13. when (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) yee receiued the word of God which ye heard of vs, yee receiued it not as the word of men, but as it is indeed the word of God. For the mini&s;ter is not his owne &s;poke&s;man but the amba&s;&s;adour of the Lord, it is not his owne me&s;&s;age which he bringeth, but the Lords emba&s;&s;age, &amp; hence it is that the Prophets and A|po&s;tles prefixe before their writings; the&s;e &amp; &s;uch like &s;pea|ches, The word of the Lord, the burthen of the Lord, thus
<PB N="372" REF="196">&s;aith the Lord; &s;o al&s;o the Apo&s;tle profe&s;&s;eth in his owne name, and in the behalfe of all Gods true mini&s;ters, that they are the Lords amba&s;&s;adours who in Chri&s;tes &s;tead be&s;eech their hearers that they will be reconciled vnto God. 2. Cor. 5.20. We mu&s;t not therefore looke vpon the man but on God who &s;endeth him, nor on the earthen ve&s;&s;ell, but on the heauenly trea&s;ure which it bringeth, nor on the &s;implene&s;&s;e of the casket, but on the precious pearle which is contayned in it, nor vpon the meane&s;&s;e of the amba&s;&s;adour, but vpon the glorious royalty of the prince who &s;ent him: and on his amba&s;&s;age which is the glad tidings of the go&s;pel, the word of &s;aluation and life; which is able to &s;aue our &s;ouls and then his feete will &s;eeme beautifull and none &s;hall be better wel|come, then &s;hall we not contemne or neglect their mini&s;te|rie but receiue ioyfully, reuerently, and attentiuely the word preached by them, remembring what our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath &s;aid, Luk. 10.16. <HI>Hee that heareth you heareth mee, and he that de&s;pi&s;eth you de&s;pi&s;eth me, and he that de&s;pi&s;eth me de&s;pi|&s;eth him that &s;ent me.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Thirdly let vs &s;tirre vp our &s;elues to reuerent attention by the con&s;ideration of tho&s;e ine&s;timable benefites which are deriued vnto vs by the hearing of the word,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>3.</HI> We mu&s;t &s;tirre vp our &s;elues with meditation of the benefite of hearing.</NOTE> as that it is the liuely &s;eede whereby we are begotten vnto God, the foode of our &s;oules wherby we are nouri&s;hed vnto euerla&s;ting life, that &s;pirituall phy&s;icke wherby we are purged from our cor|ruptions, that light which guideth vs in the waies of holines and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, in a word that it is the cheife meanes to worke in vs all Gods graces in this life, and to a&s;&s;ure vs of euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e in the life to come. And if the&s;e and &s;uch like meditations come to our remembrance, they will &s;erue to &s;tirre us vp from our drow&s;ie dulne&s;&s;e and to heare Gods word with alacritie and chearefulne&s;&s;e, fa&s;tening our eyes on Gods mini&s;ters according to the example of Chri&s;ts hearers. Luke 4.20. and euen hanging vpon them (like the child on the mothers bre&s;t) to &s;ucke our &s;oules nouri&s;hment, as the people hanged on our Sauiour. Luke 19.48.</P>
<P>Fourthly wee mu&s;t heare the word as if wee were neuer|more
<PB N="373" REF="196">to heare it, for who can tell whither hee &s;hall liue till the next &s;abboth? or though he doe, yet how knoweth hee whether hee &s;hall haue his &s;en&s;es, vnder&s;tanding, and me|morie, &s;eeing hee will not v&s;e them to Gods glorie and his owne good? or though hee haue, yet may the word of God bee taken from him and &s;uch a famine bee of this heauenly foode that hee may wander from &s;ea to &s;ea,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Am.</HI> 8.11.</NOTE> and from North to Ea&s;t &s;eeking it and &s;hall not find it, and therfore whil&s;t the Lord &s;peaketh vnto vs, today let vs harken and not har|den our hearts, for he hath not promi&s;ed vs to morrow that we &s;hall heare it, whil&s;t wee inioy this heauenly light let vs looke vpon it and be directed by it to doe the workes of ho|lyne&s;&s;e, for it may be it will &s;hortly &s;et and neuer ri&s;e againe vnto vs, and then what will follow but eternall darkene&s;&s;e?</P>
<P>La&s;tly let vs be &s;tirred vp to attention by the con&s;ideration of Gods iudgments which he inflicteth on the contemners and neglectours of his word which he may iu&s;tly euery mi|nute poure vpon vs whil&s;t our minds are a wandringe not regarding that which hee &s;ayth vnto vs, hee may &s;uddenly &s;trike vs with frenzie and madnes, or with death it &s;elfe, and then how fearefull and lamentable were our &s;tate if &s;uch a iudgement &s;hould &s;ea&s;e vppon vs.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Actes</HI> 20.</NOTE> Let vs remember what hapned to drow&s;ie <HI>Eutichus,</HI> and co~&s;ider with our &s;elues that that which befalleth vnto one may happen vnto another.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> And thus are wee to &s;tirre vp our &s;elues to the diligent and attentiue hearing of Gods word that &s;o it may bee fruitful in our heartes and effectual for our conuer&s;ion and calling vn|to God;<NOTE PLACE="marg">How we are to behaue our &s;elues after we haue heard the word.</NOTE> but when wee haue gone thus farre wee mu&s;t not heere re&s;t, for if our enemie &s;athan can no hinder the &s;eed of Gods word from falling into our heartes then hee will la|bour to &s;teale it away as &s;oone as it is &s;owed that it may ne|uer take roote nor bring forth any fruite, as appeareth by lamentable experience; for how many are there who receiue the word of God with their approbation, and are &s;omewhat affected with that which is &s;poken and yet &s;oone after it vani&s;heth away; and nothing remaineth but their old cor|ruptions? and whenc doth this proceed but from the malice
<PB N="374" REF="197">of Sathan who when hee findeth the &s;eed of the word not throughly entred into the ground of the heart and therein couered like a rauinous bird deuoureth it, or if it haue a lit|tle rooting, yet hee choaketh it with the thornie cares of the world &s;o as it neuer &s;pringeth vp no not &s;o much as into a blade of profe&s;&s;ion, or if it be &s;o farre growne vp, yet he in|deauoureth to keepe it from euer thriuing further, by cau|&s;ing the hot &s;unne of per&s;ecution to ari&s;e and with the heate thereof to make it wither, and peri&s;he, though for a time it haue made a flouri&s;hing &s;hewe; as our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath taught vs in the parable of the Sower. Mat, 13. And there|fore it behooueth euery one of vs to take no le&s;&s;e paines after the hearing of the word to keep it from deuouring and to pre&s;erue and nouri&s;h it, that it may take deep roote and bring forth much fruit, then we did in the time of pre|paration, and in the time when we receiued it; for as the care|full hu&s;bandman taketh great paines in &s;tirring vp his fallow grounds; and preparing it for the &s;eed, as al&s;o in the &s;eed time in &s;owing it in the ground thus prepared, and yet all this were to no purpo&s;e if hee did not afterwards harrowe it and couer it in the ground; &s;o though we take greate paines in breaking vp and preparing the fallowe grounds of our hearts, and al&s;o in receiuing the &s;eed of Gods word yet if we be not as carefull after all this to couer and hide this &s;eed in the furrowes of our heartes that it may take deepe rooting it will neuer bring forth any fruite of true godline&s;&s;e. Now the meanes to pre&s;erue and nouri&s;h this heauenly &s;eed of Gods word is fir&s;t &s;erious mediation; wherby wee call to mind that which wee haue heard, in which it it is very re|qui&s;ite that wee examine the doctrines which were deliue|red according to the touch&s;tone of Gods word, and turne ouer the bible to tho&s;e proofes which we remember alledg|ed as mo&s;t principall for the confirmation of the doctrines which were deliuered: a notable example whereof we haue in the noble men of <HI>Berea.</HI> Actes. 17.10.11. Who though with great readine&s;&s;e they receiued that doctrine which Paul had deliuered yet when they came home they &s;earched the
<PB N="375" REF="197" MS="y">&s;criptures to &s;ee if tho&s;e things which they hard were con&s;o|nant and agreeable with them or no.</P>
<P>Secondly, we mu&s;t v&s;e holy and Chri&s;tian conference one with another, about tho&s;e matters which we haue heard, for hereby it will come to pa&s;&s;e that what one did not ob&s;erue or hath forgotten, the other remembreth and repenteth, and &s;o likewi&s;e the other helpeth out in another point where his neighbourfaileth, till at la&s;t they recall al the material points to their remembrance, euen as many meeting together at a fea&s;t do euery one ca&s;t in his &s;hot til the reckoning be made, &s;o many ioyning their heads together for the recalling of a &s;ermon to mind, one repeateth a little and another as much more, till at la&s;t all be repeated. And &s;econdly, this benefit redoundeth hereof that all which euery one remembreth by this repetition is more &s;urely imprinted in his memorie and is not afterwards ea&s;ily forgotten.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the be&s;t and &s;ure&s;t way to imprint things in our memorie neuer after to be blotted out, is vpon all occa&s;ions to practi&s;e it in our liues and co~uer&s;ation, for as we only truly know that in chri&s;tianitie that which we practi&s;e, &s;o likewi&s;e that is onely well remembred which is well practi&s;ed.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="27" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXVII.</HI> Sathans tentations whereby he per&s;wadeth men to delay their repentance an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The tentation alluring to deferre re|pentance.</NOTE>_ANd &s;o much concerning the &s;ubtill tentations of Sathan, whereby he laboureth to make the word of God fruitle&s;&s;e and vneffectuall for our con|uer&s;ion, wherewith if he cannot preuaile being repelled by the meanes before &s;poken of, &amp; if men by their hearing of the word haue learned thus much knowledge that their co~uer&s;ion and turning to God is nece&s;&s;arie to &s;al|uation; then he will in the next place labour to per&s;wade them to deferre their repentance for a time, till they haue better opportunitie and are more fit for this purpo&s;e. Let it
<PB N="376" REF="198">be graunted (will he &s;ay) that it is nece&s;&s;arie that thou &s;houl|de&s;t repent &amp; turne vnto God, yet thou maye&s;t deferre thy repentance vntill thine old age, or at lea&s;t till the time of &s;ickne&s;&s;e, for then thou wilt be more fitte to perfourme this dutie, then in the flowri&s;hing prime of thy youth, when as the exerci&s;es of religion are &s;o tedious and vnplea&s;ant, and the plea&s;ures of the world &s;o &s;weet and delightfull; neither neede&s;t thou to feare any in conuenience which will come hereby, for God is &s;o gratious that when&s;oeuer thou retur|ne&s;t vnto him he will receiue thee to mercy, for he hath pro|mi&s;ed in his word, that when&s;oeuer a &s;inner repenteth him of his &s;innes he will blot all his wickednes out of his remem|brance: And therfore thou maye&s;t inioy both the plea&s;ures of this life and the life to come, thou maye&s;t repent time inough hereafter and liue a &s;trict and religious life, when the heate of youth is pa&s;t and old age drawes on, which is farre more fit for the&s;e exerci&s;es: for what folly is it &s;o to dote vpon the heauenly ioyes to come, as that thou &s;houlde&s;t de|priue thy &s;elfe of tho&s;e worldly plea&s;ures which are pre&s;ent &s;eeing thou maie&s;t inioy both?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">This tentati|on mo&s;t dan|gerous.</NOTE>Again&s;t which tentation it behoueth euery man mo&s;t carefully to arme him&s;elfe as being in it &s;elfe mo&s;t daunge|rous and pernicious to great multitudes, as may appeare by too too lamentable experience; for when as Sathan can no longer hudwinke their eyes with the vayle of ignorance but that they plainly &s;ee, that it concerneth their eternall &s;alua|tion to harken vnto the Lord calling them to repentance, then not with&s;tanding thus farre he preuaileth with them that they are content to delay their conuer&s;ion and turning vnto God, either vntill the time of &s;ickne&s;&s;e, or till their old age. And therefore it &s;hall not be ami&s;&s;e to &s;et downe briefly &s;ome waighty arguments, whereby euery Chri&s;tian may be moued to &s;peedy repentance, and not to deferre their con|uer&s;ion from day to day,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Motiues to per&s;wade vs to ha&s;tenour repentance.</NOTE> but to turne vnto the Lord when he fir&s;t calleth them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fir&s;t motiue to per&s;wade vs to the ha&s;tening of our conuer&s;ion is Gods commandement, whereby he inioyneth
<PB N="377" REF="198">vs &s;peedily to turne vnto him, that we may doe him &s;eruice all the daies of our life, to which end he hath created and re|deemed vs and doth continuall pre&s;erue vs. P&s;al. 95.7.8. <HI>To day if you &s;hall heare his voyce harden not your hearts,</HI> &s;o as he chargeth vs not to re&s;i&s;t his calling no not till to morowe, for if today we will not harken vnto him, he hath not promi&s;ed to call vs againe vnle&s;&s;e it be to iudgment. So Eccl. 12.1. <HI>Re|member now thy creatour in the dayes of thy youth whiles the e|uill dayes come not, nor the yeeres approch, wherein thou &s;halt &s;ay I haue no plea&s;ure in them,</HI> that is their old age, as afterwards he expoundeth him&s;elfe. And E&s;a. 55.6. <HI>Seeke yee the Lord while&s;t he may be found, call yee vpon him while&s;t he is neere.</HI> Matth. 3.2. <HI>Repent; for the kingdome of heauen is at hand.</HI> Act. 3.19. And our &s;auiour Chri&s;t doth inioyne vs, <HI>fir&s;t to &s;eeke the kingdome of God and the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e thereof.</HI> Matth. 6.33. If therefore we wil not wittingly and wilfully breake Gods co~|maundement, let vs offer vnto him the &s;eruice of our youth as well as the &s;eruice of our old age, for he requireth this as well as the other, nay before the other, and this was &s;ignified vnder the types of the old law, where the Lord requireth that they &s;hould offer vnto him the principall of the flocke, and &s;uch bea&s;ts as were whole and &s;ound yong and without blemi&s;h. So Leuit. 3.1. the Lord requireth that the &s;acrifice which they offered &s;hould be without blemi&s;h, and 22.20. <HI>Ye &s;hall not offer any thing that hath a blemi&s;h for that &s;hall not be acceptable for you.</HI> And Deut. 15.21. <HI>if there be any blemi&s;h therein as if it be lame or blind, or haue any euill fault thou &s;halt not offer it vnto the Lord thy God.</HI> And for tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing this law the Lord reprehendeth the people by his Prophet. Mal. 1.8. <HI>And if ye offer the blind for &s;acrifice is it not euill? and if ye offer the lame and &s;icke is it not euill? offer it now to thy Prince; will he be content with thee or accept thy per&s;on &s;aith the Lord of hoa&s;tes.</HI> And ver&s;. 14. <HI>Cur&s;ed be the deceiuer which hath in his flocke a male and voweth, and &s;acrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing.</HI> Now did the Lord regard the bea&s;ts, and hath he made &s;o many lawes that he might haue the be&s;t of them? &s;urely this is not Gods mayne end, but hee would thereby teach vs
<PB N="378" REF="199" MS="y">to offer and dedicate vnto his &s;eruice euen our be&s;t things as the prime of our youth &amp; our flouri&s;hing age, for was the Lord greatly offended when as men re&s;erued the be&s;t of the flocke to them&s;elues and offred the old, blind and lame vnto him; and will he be well plea&s;ed that we &s;hould dedicate our youth and the &s;trength of body and &s;oule vnto Sathan, and our owne lu&s;tes and re&s;erue for him onely our old decrepit lame and withered age, when as our bodies are full of di&s;ea|&s;es and our mindes of infirmities? will any Prince accept of vs if we &s;pend the whole time of our youth and &s;trength in the &s;eruice of his enemies, and when we are &s;icke, old, lame &amp; blind, offer him our &s;eruice, and will the Prince of Princes thinke hee be well plea&s;ed if he be thus v&s;ed? if Sathan and the world haue all the pure wine will he be contented with the lees and dregs, if they haue the ripe fruite, will God haue that which is rotten and putrified. If they haue our health wil he haue our &s;ickne&s;&s;e? &s;urely it is not likely; for the Lord who hath created vs redeemed vs and doth pre&s;erue vs, doth looke to be &s;erued with our youth health and &s;trength which he hath be&s;towed on vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">a. Motiue ta|ken from the momentany &s;hortne&s;&s;e of mans life.</NOTE>The &s;econd argument to mooue vs to ha&s;ten our repen|tance and turning vnto God is taken from the momenta|nie &s;hortne&s;&s;e and the mutable vncertainty of our liues; in re&s;pect of the &s;hortne&s;&s;e of our liues they are compared to a pilgrimage, to the flower and gra&s;&s;e of the field, to the wind, a cloud, &s;moke, vapour, to a dreame, a tale tould, a &s;panne &s;hadow, and the pa&s;&s;age of the weauers &s;huttle, yea it is called vanitie it &s;elfe. And therefore &s;eeing our liues are &s;o &s;hort &s;urely they are al to little though they were wholy &s;pent in Gods &s;eruice; but &s;eeing wee haue &s;pent a great part of this &s;hort time euen our whole life before our conuer&s;ion after the lu&s;ts of the gentiles, let vs thinke that inough yea farre too much to be &s;o ill be&s;towed, <HI>and from hence for ward let vs liue (as much time as remaineth in the fle&s;h) not after the lu&s;ts of men but after the will of God,</HI> as the apo&s;tle admoni&s;heth vs. 1. Pet. 4.2.3. But though our life were &s;hort yet if this &s;hort time were certain there were &s;ome more &s;hew of rea&s;on why
<PB N="379" REF="199">we &s;hould defer our conuer&s;ion; but as it is &s;hort &s;o is it mo&s;t vncertaine, for wee haue not a&s;&s;urance that wee &s;hall liue one hower, wee are tenants at will in the&s;e earthly taberna|cles, neither doe wee know how &s;oone our great landlord will turne vs out of them; wee are the Lords &s;tewards here on earth and we know not how &s;oone our Lord and ma&s;ter will call vs to a reckoninge and therefore it behoueth vs to haue our accompts alwayes perfect and the bookes of our con&s;ciences made vp in readine&s;&s;e. We are vncertaine when death will arre&s;t vs and carry vs to iudgment and therefore we &s;hould be prepared for it all times; when wee goe to bed we are &s;o to lay vs downe as though we were neuer to ri&s;e til we ri&s;e to receiue our la&s;t &s;entence, when we ri&s;e vp in the morning wee are &s;o to &s;pend that day as though it were the la&s;t of our liues, for how many haue gone well to bed who haue beene dead before the morning? how many haue ri&s;en (as they thought in perfect health) and yet haue beene at|tached by death before the euening? and therefore it be|hooueth euery one who hath any regarde of the eternall &s;al|uation of his &s;oule to turne &s;peedily vnto God, and while to+day they heare his voice not to harden their heartes. Men v&s;ually delaie matters of lea&s;t waight and in the fir&s;t place di&s;patch bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of greate&s;t importance, and therefore vn|le&s;&s;e we thinke the pre&s;eruing of our bodies and &s;oules from the eternall torments of hell fire and the a&s;&s;urance of euer|la&s;ting happine&s;&s;e and ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e in Gods kingdome to be matters of le&s;&s;e importance, then the obtaining of &s;ome vain plea&s;ures, vncon&s;tant honours or ba&s;e commodities, let vs turne vnto the Lord betimes by vnfained repentance and according to our &s;auiours adui&s;e. Matth. 6.33. <HI>Let vs fir&s;t &s;eeke the kingdome of God and the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e therof, and then worldly nece&s;&s;aries &s;halbe ca&s;t vnto vs as a vantage in this maine bargaine.</HI> If our hou&s;es were on fire we would &s;eeke fir&s;t to pre&s;erue tho&s;e things which are mo&s;t deare and pretious vn|to vs good hou&s;hould &s;tuffe before lumber, Iewels before &s;tuffe, and children before Iewels, but our liues are dayly in a con&s;umption <HI>et dum cre&s;cimus vita, decre&s;cit,</HI> whil&s;t wee
<PB N="380" REF="200">grow and increa&s;e, our liues decrea&s;e, and therefore in the fir&s;t place let vs &s;eek to pre&s;erue our &s;oule, which is, our chiefe Iewel and not &s;uffer it to peri&s;h through impenitencie, whil&s;t we gaine &s;ome earthly vanities. But mo&s;t lamentable is the practi&s;e of mo&s;t who liue as though they were neuer to die, or as though they had taken of God a long lea&s;e of their liues which is to expire at a certaine appointed time; and this makes them deferre their repentance and to put the euill day far from the~, til at la&s;t death attacheth them &amp; carrieith them to iudgment; and this appeareth by the &s;cripturs and conti|nual experience. Iob &s;peaking of earnal &s;ecure men &s;aith, <HI>that they take the tabret &amp; harpe &amp; reioyce in the &s;ound of the organs, they &s;pend their days in wealth &amp; &s;uddainly they go downe to the graue. Iob</HI> 21.12.13. So <HI>Eccl.</HI> 9.12. <HI>man doth not know his time but as the fi&s;hes which are taken in an euill nette and as the birds that are caught in the &s;nare, &s;o are the children of men &s;nared in the euill time when it falleth vpon them &s;uddainly. when the euill &s;eruant &s;hal &s;ay in his heart my mai&s;ter doth deferre his comming and &s;hall beginne to &s;mite his fellowes and to eate and drinke and to be drunken; that &s;eruants mai&s;ter will come in a day when he loketh not for him and in an howre that he is not aware of, and will cut him off and giue him his portion with the vnbeleeuers. as our &s;auiour hath taught vs.</HI> Luke 12.45.46. <HI>And we know what hapned to the rich man who &s;aide vnto his &s;oule, &s;oule thou ha&s;t much goods laid vp for many yeeres, liue at ea&s;e, eate drinke and take thy pa&s;time, euen the &s;ame night God &s;aid vnto him, O foole this night will they fetch thy &s;oule from thee, and then who&s;e &s;hall tho&s;e things be which thou ha&s;t prouided. Luke</HI> 12.19.20.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Moreouer how many may we ob&s;erue in our owne experi|ence who haue deferred their repe~tance fro~ day to day think|ing to repent either in their old age or in the time of their &s;ickene&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That many purpo&s;ing to repent in old age are cut of in the meane time by Gods iudgment.</NOTE> and haue beene preuented and cut of by Godes iudgment? doe we not &s;ee that many haue beene taken away with &s;uddaine and violent deaths, many depriued of the v&s;e of their &s;ences, memorie, and vnder&s;tanding, in the time of their &s;ickne&s;&s;e and haue &s;o dyed mad, franticke, and &s;en&s;les, many who come to their old age and yet are further from
<PB N="381" REF="200">repentance then in the time of their youth. And this co~meth to pa&s;&s;e by the iu&s;t iudgment of God for what can be more righteous then that the Lorde &s;hould contemne them at the houre of death who haue contemned him their whole life? that they &s;hould loo&s;e their memorie and vnder&s;tanding in the time of &s;ickenes, who haue continually abu&s;ed them to the di&s;honour of God in the time of their health; that they &s;hould dye impenitent who haue liued in impenitencie, that they &s;hould forget God when they are readie to goe out of the worlde, who would neuer remember him whil&s;t they were in the worlde; that God &s;hould withdraw his grace when they are &s;icke, which being often offered they de&s;pi&s;ed when they were in health. And this the Lord threatneth Pro. 1.24. <HI>Becau&s;e I haue called and yee haue refu&s;ed, I haue &s;tretched out mine hand &amp; none would regard.</HI> v. 25. <HI>but ye haue de&s;pi&s;ed all my coun&s;ayle and would none of my correction.</HI> v. 26. <HI>I will al&s;o laugh at your de&s;truction &amp; mocke when your feare co~|meth.</HI> v. 27. <HI>when your feare commeth like &s;uddaine de&s;olation, and your de&s;truction &s;hall come like a whirlewind, &amp;c.</HI> and v. 28. <HI>then &s;hall they call vpon me, but I will not an&s;were, they &s;hall &s;eeke me early but they &s;hall not find mee.</HI> v. 29. <HI>becau&s;e they hated knowledge and did not choo&s;e the feare of the Lorde.</HI> So Za|char. 7.11.12.13. the prophet &s;aith, that <HI>becau&s;e the people re|fu&s;ed to harken, pulled backe their &s;houlder, and &s;topped their eares that they &s;hould not heare, but made their hearts as an A|damant &s;tone lea&s;t they &s;hould heare the words of the lord, &s;ent in his &s;pirit by the mini&s;terie of the former prophets, therfore came a great wrath from the Lord of ho&s;tes, whereof it came to pa&s;&s;e that as hee cried and they woulde not heare, &s;o they cried and the Lord would not heare their crie.</HI> And therefore when the Lord calleth, let vs an&s;were Lorde I come, let vs not delay our con|uer&s;ion from day to day, but <HI>&s;eeke the Lord while&s;t he may be found, and call vpon him while&s;t he is neere, let the wicked (now) for&s;ake his wayes, and the vnrighteous his owne imaginations and returne vnto the Lord, and he will haue mercy vpon him, and to our God, for he is very ready to forgiue,</HI> as it is. E&s;ay 55.6.7. But if we contemne the mini&s;terie of his worde, and when God
<PB N="382" REF="201">calleth to refu&s;e an&s;were, if wee harden our hearts again&s;t the meanes of our conuer&s;ion, &amp; quench the good motions of his &s;pirit when he putteth them into our mindes, &s;urely it will come to pa&s;&s;e, that as we neglect the Lord, &s;o he will ne|glect vs; and though hee call vs today yet he will not call a|gaine to morrow, but will let vs die in our &s;innes without re|pentance. Let vs reme~ber the fearefull example of <HI>E&s;au</HI> who contemning his ble&s;&s;ing and birthright, <HI>afterwards when he would haue inherited the ble&s;&s;ing was reiected, for he found no place to repentance though he &s;ought it with teares,</HI> as it is, Hebr. 12.16.17. And of the 5. fooli&s;h virgins who neglecting the opportune time of prouiding oile for their lamps, afterwards went to buy when it was too late,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.</NOTE> for the bridegrome pa&s;&s;ed by and they were &s;hut out of dores. Call to mind the feare|full example of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> who &s;till hardening his hart again&s;t Gods word &s;ent vnto him and confirmed by many miracles and wonders, at la&s;t was de&s;troyed with his whole armie. So <HI>Herode</HI> hauing hard <HI>Iohn Bapti&s;t</HI> willingly, and perfourmed obedience to &s;ome things which he had learned, yet becau&s;e he did not turne to the Lord with his whole heart nor repen|ted of his ince&s;t, was neuer after called againe but left of God to his owne hardne&s;&s;e of hart; the like may be &s;aid of <HI>Pilate, Agrippa, Foelix, Iudas, Demas Iulian</HI> the <HI>Apo&s;tata,</HI> who ha|uing not harkened to the Lords call, but quenched the good motions of his &s;pirit, afterwards were giuen ouer of God to a reprobate &s;en&s;e to their euerla&s;ting ruine and de&s;truction. So likewi&s;e when as the Lord gaue the fal&s;e prophete&s;&s;e <HI>Ie&s;a|bel</HI> a time to repent,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 2.21.22.</NOTE> and &s;hee repented not, he threatneth his heauie iudgements again&s;t her; in a word this is manife&s;t in the examples of carnall &s;ecure men in the&s;e dayes, who ha|uing abu&s;ed Gods mercy and long &s;uffering, and deferred their conuer&s;ion from day to day, at la&s;t they are taken away in Gods heauie di&s;plea&s;ure, and as they liued like bea&s;tes &s;o commonly they die like bea&s;tes: and therefore as wee loue the &s;aluation of our &s;oules let vs harken when the Lord cal|leth, and not harden our hearts again&s;t the good motions of his &s;pirit, for if we be like the&s;e men in our wicked practi&s;e
<PB N="383" REF="201">there is no hope we &s;hould be vnlike them in fearefull pu|ni&s;hments.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly, we are to con&s;ider that our conuer&s;ion and tur|ning vnto godly, vnfained, and true repentance:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> motiue becau&s;e re|pentance is Gods gift.</NOTE> is the gift of God from whom euery good and perfect gift de&s;cendeth, as it is, Iam. 1.17. And therfore we are to accept of this gift whe~ he offereth it vnto vs; for God doth not promi&s;e his giftes and graces, with condition that we may receiue them when we li&s;t, but when he offereth them, P&s;al. 95.7. <HI>To day if yee will heare his voice harden not your hearts,</HI> he doth not giue vs re&s;pite till to morrow: now God calleth and inuiteth vs to to come vnto him, now he knocketh at the dore of our harts, de&s;iring to enter that he may dwell in vs by his holy &s;pirit, and if we refu&s;e to let him enter, how know we whether he will euer knocke againe? if he doe not; what gaine&s;t thou, but the plea&s;ures of &s;inne for a &s;ea&s;on, and in the end eternall death? and what loo&s;e&s;t thou, no le&s;&s;e a thing then euerla|&s;ting life and an eternal waight of glory in Gods kingdome? well, yet Chri&s;t knocketh at the dore of our hearts, and if we will open he wilbe our gue&s;t and &s;uppe with vs, bringing his cheere with him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 3.20.</NOTE> euen an heauenly banquet of all his &s;pirituall graces, but if wee rudely &s;hut the dores again&s;t him, what hope can we haue that he will come againe when he findeth &s;uch rude and vnciuill entertainement? and then what will follow but that eyther wee &s;hall neuer &s;eeke after him, and then our ca&s;e wilbe mo&s;t mi&s;erable,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 5.</NOTE> or with his &s;pou&s;e in the Canticles we &s;hall long &s;eeke him but not find him without great difficultie, yea perhaps wee may &s;eeke him as <HI>E&s;au</HI> &s;ought his ble&s;&s;ing with teares and neuer find him?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="28" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXVIII.</HI> Of the fourth motiue taken from difficultie of repenting, cau|&s;ed by delayes.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="I" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That the lo~|ger we defer repentance, the more hardly we &s;hal repent.</NOTE>_THe fourth motiue to per&s;wade vs to &s;peedy re|pentance and turning vnto God, is that the lon|ger we deferre it the harder wee &s;hall find it, for the difficultie thereof wilbe much increa&s;ed by
<PB N="384" REF="202">delay,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1.</HI> Becau&s;e &s;inne will growe cu&s;to|mable.</NOTE> and our &s;elues al&s;o who are vnfit today will be more vnfit to morrow, the rea&s;ons hereof are many, fir&s;t becau&s;e by continuall &s;inning wee get a cu&s;tome and habite of &s;in|ning, and if a cu&s;tome which is but affected be hardly left, what &s;hall we &s;ay of a cu&s;tome which is confirmed by nature or what is nature &s;trengthened by cu&s;tome? who knoweth not that the drunkard is more ea&s;ily reclaimed fro~ his drun|kenne&s;&s;e when he fir&s;t falleth to this vice then when he hath long liued in it, that the &s;wearer the longer hee v&s;eth and inureth his tongue to &s;wearing, the more hardly can hee forbeare it, and the couetous man as he increa&s;eth in yeeres increa&s;eth al&s;o in couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and the like may be &s;ayd of all other vices. Neyther neede this &s;eeme &s;trange vnto vs &s;ee|ing it is a thing apparent in rea&s;on and in experience; for the longer the di&s;ea&s;e hath po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the body the more hardly it is cured, and therfore that coun&s;aile is good, <HI>Venienti occurrite morbo,</HI> preuent the di&s;ea&s;e before it hath &s;ea&s;ed on thee or pre&s;ently after it hath taken place remoue it. The longer the &s;ore is neglected the more it fe&s;treth &amp; the greater difficultie there is to heale it, the lo~ger the tree groweth the deeper root it taketh and the more harde it is to pull it vpp; the enemie is more ea&s;ily kept from &s;caling the walls, then beaten backe when he is entred into the midde&s;t of the citie; &amp; &s;o it is with &s;ins and vices, <HI>facilius repelluntur quam expelluntur,</HI> they are more ea&s;ily kept from entrance then beaten out: as therfore you would condemne him of extreame folly who would not regard his &s;ickene&s;&s;e till it had ouerthrowne nature and then thinke to cure it, or who would neglect to applie any &s;alue to a grei&s;ly wound till it were fe&s;tred and then thinke the better to heale it; or that &s;hould a&s;&s;ay to pull vp a young plant and being vnable &s;hould deferre it till it were growne to a great tree, thinking then more ea&s;ily to plucke it vp by the rootes, or that would let the enemie quietly enter into the ci|tie with a purpo&s;e then to expell him with more facilitie and le&s;&s;e lo&s;&s;e; &s;o alike nay much more fooli&s;h is hee, who finding it nowe a hard matter to turne vnto God and to for&s;ake his &s;innes deferreth it for many yeares togither; till the corrupti|tion
<PB N="385" REF="202">of nature haue receiued double &s;trength by long cu&s;to~e imagining that then hee can very ea&s;ily attaine vnto his pur|po&s;e, let vs therefore breake of our &s;innes by vnfained repen|tance, and take heed of confirming our naturall corruptions by long cu&s;tome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> for as one &s;ayth <HI>Dum con&s;uetudini non re&s;i&s;titur fit nece&s;&s;itas,</HI> whil&s;t cu&s;tome is not broken it becom|meth nece&s;&s;itie, and as another,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il.</NOTE> <HI>Sicut non pote&s;t aliquis dedi&s;|cere maternam linguam, &s;ic vix longam peccati con&s;uetudinem,</HI> as a man cannot ea&s;ily forget his mother tongue, &s;o neither can he leaue cu&s;tomable &s;inne. So it is &s;aid Iob 20.11. <HI>that the wicked mans bones are full of the &s;innes of his youth and that they &s;hall lie downe with him in the du&s;t;</HI> whereby it is implied that as di&s;ea&s;es after they are entred into the marrow &amp; bones are incurable in &s;o much as they goe with me~ to their graues; &s;o &s;innes and vices which are the &s;ickne&s;&s;es of the &s;oule ha|uing &s;ea&s;ed and taken fa&s;t hold of a man by long and conti|nuall cu&s;tome from his youth; will mo&s;t hardly leaue him in his age but will hang fa&s;t on till the day of his death. And hence it is that the Lord by his Prophet doth note it to bee a thing impo&s;&s;ible in re&s;pect of humaine power to leaue tho&s;e &s;innes which are cu&s;tomablely commited. Ier. 1323. <HI>Can the blacke more change his &s;kin; or the leopard his &s;potts? then may yee al&s;o doe good that are accu&s;tomed to doe euill.</HI> and therefore if euer we meane to leaue our &s;innes &amp; to turne vnto God it is be&s;t to beginne before the corruptions of nature bee con|firmed by cu&s;tome.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly while wee liue in our &s;innes wee continue in Sa|thans thraldome and he hath full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of vs;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2.</HI> Becau&s;e Sathan will more hardly be ca&s;t out of his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion when he hath long held it.</NOTE> which po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion the longer he holdeth the more hardly will he be ca&s;t out; for as tho&s;e who haue a long time quietly inioyed their hou&s;es and lands though their title be but weake yet are more hardly di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed then if at their fir&s;t entrance their right had bene called into que&s;tio~, both becau&s;e long cu&s;tome hath in it the nature of a law, and the parties them&s;elues will bee more earne&s;t in v&s;ing all meanes to retaine their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions which they haue long held, time hauing worne out al doubt|ing of their right: &s;o &s;athan is more hardly thru&s;t out of his
<PB N="386" REF="203">po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion when he hath long kept it, becau&s;e his long houl|ding of vs in his thraldom maketh him imagine that he hath right to hould vs &s;till, and hee is mo&s;t earne&s;t in v&s;ing all his &s;trength and pollicie; to hould that which he hath already gotten and long kept in his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. We know that when a &s;ouldier in fight hath taken another captiue, at fir&s;t he v&s;eth al meanes to breake from him as hauing better opportunitie when they are &s;till in the field, then he can hope for after whe~ he is carried away and clapt vp in pri&s;on: and as he hath le&s;&s;e meanes, &s;o al&s;o he hath le&s;&s;e de&s;ire to e&s;cape; after that by co~|tinuance of time his captiuitie is made more familiar vnto him; and we commonly &s;ee that a bird as &s;oone as &s;hee is ta|ken, fluttereth and &s;triueth to get away, but after &s;hee hath beene a while in the cage &s;hee is content to &s;tay there &s;till though the doore be open; and &s;o it is in our &s;pirituall thral|dome, at the fir&s;t wee haue be&s;t meanes to e&s;cape and mo&s;t de&s;ire al&s;o, for after wee are inured to &s;athans captiuitie wee are content to remaine his bond&s;laues &s;till. And if wee de&s;ire to e&s;cape hee would more di&s;daine that wee &s;hould &s;triue and oppo&s;e our &s;elues again&s;t him, after he hath long time had vs at commaund, and ruled vs at his becke, then when at the fir&s;t we fell into this cruell &s;lauerie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly the longer that &s;inne hath dominion ouer vs the more it increa&s;eth in &s;trength,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>3.</HI> By conti|nuance the &s;trength of &s;inne increa|&s;eth.</NOTE> and the more hardly it is &s;ub|dued, for it is the nature of &s;inne as &s;oone as it is entertained to make way and roome for more and tho&s;e wor&s;e then it &s;elf as wee may &s;ee in the example of <HI>Dauid,</HI> for when hee was ouercome of idlene&s;&s;e, it made way for adulterie, and adul|terie for murther. So <HI>Herod</HI> entertained ince&s;t; and that o|pened a doore in his heart to let in murther, and both the&s;e made open way for all helli&s;h impietie; &s;o <HI>Iudas</HI> retayninge &s;till his couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e was mooued thereby to betray his mai&s;ter; and this &s;inne brought him fir&s;t to de&s;peration, &amp; then to hange him&s;elfe; yea the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> after that he ioyned him&s;elfe in companie with the wicked &s;eruantes of the more wicked high Prie&s;t; at fir&s;t was mooued hereby to denie his mai&s;ter,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Matth.</HI> 26.</NOTE> and when hee had gone thus farre, then
<PB N="387" REF="203">hee denieth him againe with an oath, and when hee had thus farre proceeded in the cour&s;e of &s;inne, hee maketh no con&s;cience of redoubling his oathes, cur&s;ing him&s;elfe if hee knew the man; &s;o that the longer wee let &s;inne haue do|minion in vs, the more it will increa&s;e it &s;elfe in &s;trength and number, till our heartes bee full of &s;inne and wicked|ne&s;&s;e. As therefore tho&s;e citizens were to bee accounted mo&s;t fooli&s;h, who when they &s;aw an hundred enemies en|tred into the citie, &s;hould deferre the beating of them out or killing of them, till they had opened the gate to let in ten thou&s;and more better armed and more &s;trongly prouided, thinking then to haue better opportunitie, and more abi|litie to giue them the repul&s;e, &s;o alike fooli&s;h are tho&s;e who finding it hard and defficult to &s;ubdue &s;ome few &s;innes, to which they are now giuen, doe deferre it till the time to come, when as they are increa&s;ed in huge multituds imagi|ning then to doe it with more ea&s;e. Sinne, it is the poy&s;on of the &s;oule, as therfore poy&s;ons being drunke are pre&s;ently to be ca&s;t vp againe, otherwi&s;e they di&s;per&s;e them&s;elues in the vaines and &s;o going to the hart cau&s;e death; &s;o this poy&s;on of &s;inne if it be long kept in vs, it will di&s;per&s;e it &s;elfe ouer the whole bodie and &s;oule, and &s;ea&s;ing vpon the heart, wil plung vs into euerla&s;ting death and de&s;truction. Sinne it is an hea|uie burthen and vpon whom&s;oeuer it lieth it will pre&s;&s;e them downe vnto hell; as therefore the way to ea&s;e a man of his burthen is not to adde more vnto it but to ca&s;t it of, &s;o the way to ea&s;e vs of the heauie burthen of &s;inne, is not to in|crea&s;e the waight by adding &s;till more and more vnto it but by ca&s;ting it of &s;peedily, for when by this continuall additi|on our &s;innes are growne to an vn&s;upportable wayght, they will &s;ooner pre&s;&s;e vs downe then we &s;hall ca&s;t them of.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the longer wee liue in &s;inne the more vnplea|&s;ant will vertue and godline&s;&s;e be vnto vs; and the more wee are delighted in the fulfilling the lu&s;tes of the fle&s;h, the more bitter it wilbe to mortifie them, and to imbrace any &s;trict cour&s;e of &s;anctification, &s;eing the&s;e are contrary the one to the other; he that hath long continued in darkne&s;&s;e can|not
<PB N="388" REF="204">indure the light of the &s;unne; hee that neuer ta&s;ted any thing but &s;weet and plea&s;ant meats, cannot abide to feed vp|on tho&s;e which are &s;owre and bitter; hee that was borne and bred in hote countries, is not able to brooke tho&s;e which are cold; and &s;o tho&s;e who haue accu&s;tomed them&s;elues to &s;inne wil hardly be euer brought to imbrace vertue and godline&s;&s;e, the&s;e being as contrarie one to another, as light and darke|ne&s;&s;e, &s;weet and &s;ower, hote and cold, e&s;pecially con&s;idering that &s;inne is as delightful to the ta&s;t of a natural man, as drink when hee is extreamely thir&s;tie, or meat when he is ready to pine for hunger.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fiftly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">5. Becau&s;e the longer we delay the more we are di&s;a|bled.</NOTE> the longer we liue in our &s;ins and deferre our co~|uer&s;ion vnto God, the more are our vnder&s;tandings dark|ned, our wils peruerted, our affections more corrupted, our harts hardned, and our con&s;ciences &s;eared, &amp; all the powers and faculties of our bodies and &s;oules are more and more di&s;abled; for as the longer that &s;ickne&s;&s;e hath continued, the more it weakneth the body &amp; maketh it vnfit for any worke or actio~, &s;o the longer &s;inne which is the &s;ickne&s;&s;e of the &s;oule hath &s;ea&s;ed on vs, the more vnable we are to &s;hake it off, and the weaker it maketh vs to performe any good actions. When men at fir&s;t fall into vnu&s;uall &s;innes, their con&s;ciences checke them, and they feare lea&s;t the Lord will poure vpon them his heauie iudgements, but when they haue commit|ted the &s;ame &s;innes againe and againe, and yet are not pu|ni&s;hed, then like theeues who hauing e&s;caped after one rob|berie committed, are ready to commit another, &s;o they ha|uing not ta&s;ted of Gods iudgements threatned, thinke that they &s;hall neuer be inflicted on them, and therefore are rea|die to &s;inne againe; vntill by long cu&s;tome in &s;inning their hearts are hardned and their con&s;ciences &s;eared as it were with a hote iron, &s;o as no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e without any checke or remor&s;e, yea with all plea&s;ure and delight they cannot commit tho&s;e &s;innes, which in former times they would haue trembled, to haue entertained into their &s;ecrets thoughts.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Sixtly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>6.</HI> Becau&s;e the meanes grew vne&s;&s;e|ctuall by de|layes.</NOTE> the longer wee deferre our repentance the more vneffectuall will the meanes be of our conuer&s;ion; for the
<PB N="389" REF="204">word of God, will either &s;often our hearts like waxe, or harden them like clay, either it wilbe the &s;auour of life vnto life, or the &s;auour of death to our deeper condemnation, as is 2 Cor. 2.16. <HI>If it once goe out of Gods mouth it &s;hall not returne vnto him voyde, but it &s;hall accompli&s;h that which he will, and it &s;hall pro&s;per in the thing whereto he &s;endeth it,</HI> (whether it be for the conuer&s;ion or hardening of tho&s;e who heare it) as it is E&s;a. 55.11. we know if a &s;alue be applied vnto a wound ey|ther it healeth it, or els the &s;ore ouerco~ming the vertue ther|of doth more fe&s;ter and ranckle, and &s;o this &s;piritual &s;alue, being applied vnto our &s;oules wounded with &s;inne, doth ei|ther cure them, or el&s;e becomming vneffectuall they waxe wor&s;e and wor&s;e. When men &s;leepe &amp; are &s;uddainly wake|ned with &s;ome &s;trange and vnu&s;ual &s;ound, they pre&s;ently &s;tart vp and are ama&s;ed, but after a long time they haue bene acquainted with the noy&s;e they can &s;leepe &s;ecurely and not be much di&s;quieted; &s;o when men &s;leeping in carnall &s;ecuri|tie are awaked with the threatnings of the law preached vn|to them, which like Canon &s;hot thu~dreth in their eares, they are at fir&s;t &s;omewhat rouzed vp and beginne to looke about them, but giuing them&s;elues to &s;leepe againe in their &s;innes, after they haue bene many times awakened, at la&s;t this fear|full &s;ound nothing moues nor di&s;quietts them neither wil any thing waken them out of this &s;pirituall lethargie, but the voyce of the Archangell commanding them to ari&s;e and to come vnto iudgement.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seuenthly, if we deferre our conuer&s;ion vntil our old age,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>7.</HI> Becau&s;e old age is more vnfitt for repenta~ce then youth.</NOTE> it will then be more harde and difficult then in the time of youth, becau&s;e old men are more indocible &amp; vnfit to learn, then they were in their youthfull dayes, and therefore who|&s;oeuer meane to attaine vnto learning, or to knowledge of any &s;cience, trade or occupation they doe not deferre it to their old daies, but giue them&s;elues vnto it in the time of their youth, when as their wits are mo&s;t fre&s;h, &amp; their capa|citie mo&s;t quicke to receaue in&s;truction. Seing then there is much knowledge nece&s;&s;arily required to the making of a true Chri&s;tian (for without knowledge we can haue no faith,
<PB N="390" REF="205">and without faith there is no &s;aluation) therefore for the at|taining hereunto it is very needfull that we beginne betimes and &s;et our &s;elues to learne Gods true religion in the time of our youth, when as wee are mo&s;t fit for this purpo&s;e. And this coun&s;ayle the wi&s;e man giues vs Prou. 22.6. <HI>Teach a child in the trade of his way and when he is old he &s;hall not depart from it.</HI> Secondly, as old men are more vnfit to learne, &s;o al&s;o they are more forgetfull to remember that which is taught them, and therefore if they doe not &s;et their whole mindes vpon Gods word, and continually call to mind that which hath beene deliuered vnto them in the preaching thereof, meditating therein with the prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> day and night, all they haue learned, will ea&s;ily &s;lip out of their weake and decayed memories. Which thing is mo&s;t hard for them to perfourme by rea&s;on of manifold di&s;tractions, which that age is &s;ubiect vnto, as the infirmities of the body, &s;ickne&s;&s;e, aches, and innumerable griefes, and al&s;o the manifold trou|bles and cares of mind, not onely in re&s;pect of their owne &s;tate, but al&s;o in the behalf of their children, yong nephewes &amp; neere friends, who&s;e welfare is as deere vnto the~ as their owne: now if a &s;ingle man hath cares inow to di&s;tract him from Gods &s;eruice, how many are their di&s;tractions who&s;e cares are doubled and redoubled: and therefore if we would make choi&s;e of the fitte&s;t time for our conuer&s;io~ we mu&s;t not deferre it till our old age, but turne vnto God in our youth, when as our wittes are mo&s;t fit to receyue, and our memories to retaine in&s;truction.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly if wee deferre our conuer&s;ion vnto God till our old age,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>8.</HI> Becau&s;e the hour of death is the mo&s;t vnfit time for re|pentance.</NOTE> or till we lye on our death bed, we &s;hall find it more difficult in that our enemie &s;athan who alwayes goeth a|bout like a roaring lion, &s;eeking to deuoure vs, doth then redouble his malicious diligence in working our de&s;tru|ction when as hee &s;eeth the time drawe neere wherein hee mu&s;t attaine his purpo&s;e, or el&s;e for euer faile of his de&s;ire, what, therefore will now our malicious powerfull and mo&s;t &s;ubtill enemie leaue vnattempted? what violence will hee not now offer? what pollicy will hee not a&s;&s;ay to drawe
<PB N="391" REF="205">vs from God, to his kingdome of darkne&s;&s;e? wee knowe that when enemies be&s;eidging a citie doe heare that their &s;eidge is &s;hortly to be ray&s;ed by the approaching of mighty &s;uccours; or within a while will become vaine and boote|le&s;&s;e, by rea&s;on that the citie well bee more &s;trongly man|ned and better victualed, howe they will bend all their ordinance again&s;t the wall to make a breach, how furi|ou&s;ly they will giue the a&s;&s;ault, and how de&s;perately they will fight that they may not bee di&s;apointed of their hope and loo&s;e all their former labour; and &s;hall wee thinke that &s;athan who hath longe be&s;eidged vs, de&s;iring nothing more then to &s;acke our &s;ouls, and to &s;poile them of al Gods graces and to lead them captiue to hell and de&s;truction, will v&s;e le&s;&s;e politicke furie in a&s;&s;aulting vs with all his en|gines of battrie when hee &s;eeth the time approach when as now or neuer he is to accompli&s;h his de&s;ire? But let vs con&s;ider moreouer how able wee are to indure his a&s;&s;aults if wee doe not prepare our &s;elues before the time of &s;ick|ne&s;&s;e, arming our &s;elues with the whole armour of God; &s;urely wee are naked and lie open to all his violence, being de&s;titute of the girdle of veritie; the knowledge of Gods truth, neither armed with the bre&s;tplate of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, nor hauing our feete &s;hod with the preparation of the go&s;pell of peace, whereby wee might bee inabled cheare|fully to march in the afflicted way which is full of the thornes and briars of tribulation and afflictions, wherin we mu&s;t trauaile if we will goe to Gods kingdome; neither yet hauing the &s;hield of faith whereby wee might quench the firie dartes of the wicked one, nor the helmet of &s;alua|tion, nor yet any &s;kill to v&s;e the &s;word of the &s;pirit, the word of God: eyther for the defending of our &s;oules; or the offending of our enemie. And whereas wee may hope that God will at that time &s;upply all our wantes and giue vnto vs all his &s;pirituall armour whereby wee may bee de|fended and &s;athan repul&s;ed, wee are to knowe that God v|&s;eth not to giue his heauenly and &s;pirituall graces at the houre of death to tho&s;e, who haue contemned them al their
<PB N="392" REF="206">life, or if hee doe be&s;towe them vpon any it is ordinarily by meanes which hee hath ordayned for this purpo&s;e, as the hearing of the word, harty prayer, holy conferences, and &s;uch like &s;pirituall excerci&s;es: now let it bee graunted that wee may haue at &s;uch times of our mortall &s;ickne&s;&s;es, Gods mini&s;ters and all other outward helpes to further vs, in performing of the&s;e duties (which yet notwith&s;tanding no man can promi&s;e to him&s;elfe) yet howe vnfit is any man in this ca&s;e for the effectuall doing of the&s;e holy ex|erci&s;es, when as his bodie is full of paine, and his minde full of angui&s;he, partly fearing Gods iudgments and eter|nall damnation, partly being greeued with the lo&s;&s;e of all his delights, and becau&s;e hee is to parte with his friendes, part|ly being troubled and di&s;tracted with di&s;po&s;ing of his worldly e&s;tate and &s;etting all things in order; and when to all the&s;e incumbrances there is added &s;athans dangerous temptations, who then mo&s;t violently a&s;&s;aulteth, and mo&s;t &s;ubtilely vndermineth vs that hee may worke our finall de&s;truction? And therefore &s;eeing our conuer&s;ion in the time of our &s;ickne&s;&s;e is &s;o hard and difficult, (I had almo&s;t &s;ayd de&s;perate,) let vs while&s;t the Lord giueth vs the out|ward meanes of our conuer&s;ion, and withall the v&s;e of our &s;en&s;es, vnder&s;tandings, and memories, (all which when wee are grieuou&s;&s;y &s;icke, are alwaies exceedingly weake|ned, and &s;ometime quite ouerthrowne) let vs (I &s;ay) vn|faynedly turne vnto the Lorde by vnfained repentance in the time of our health, and &s;trength, and not by our delayes, hazard and de&s;perately indanger the eternall &s;aluation of our &s;oules for the inioying of the tran&s;itory trifles and vaine delightes of this mi&s;erable world.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="29" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXIX.</HI> Of the fift Motiue which is that our delay will bringe more &s;orrowe or vtter de&s;truction.</HEAD>
<PB N="393" REF="206">
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe fifth argument to per&s;wade vs to &s;peedy re|pentance and turning vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">More &s;orrow followeth &s;in then ioy acco~|panieth it.</NOTE> is that by our delay eyther wee prepare more matter for our owne &s;orrow and griefe, or el&s;e trea&s;ure vp for our &s;elues a more fearefull mea&s;ure of wrath again&s;t the day of wrath; for if the be&s;t happen that wee canne hope for, or imagine, it is that wee truely repent vs of our &s;innes with|out which, there is no forgiuene&s;&s;e, and what is this repen|tance, but an harty &s;orrowe, and bitter greefe, for our &s;innes pa&s;t, and an earne&s;t de&s;ire and indeuoure of for&s;aking them in time to come? and therefore &s;eeing what&s;oeuer plea&s;ure wee haue taken in &s;inninge wee mu&s;t after loo&s;e it in &s;orrowing for &s;inne, &s;eeing our laughing mu&s;t ende in weeping, and our hony bee turned into gall, and worme|woode, let vs breake off our &s;innes betimes, by vnfained repentance, and not heape vp matter of more greefe, let not our mindes &s;o much dote to ta&s;te of the honie which &s;inne bringeth in the mouth, as that we forgette the poy&s;on which it carrieth in the tayle; let vs not be &s;o eager in drink|ing of this poi&s;on of &s;inne, though it be &s;weete and plea&s;ant to the ta&s;t, remembring that it is deadly in opperation if it bee not (as it were) ca&s;t vp againe by vnfained repentance; let not our gluttonous appetites cau&s;e vs to &s;urfet on the plea&s;ures of &s;inne, &s;eeing the pre&s;ent delight will not coun|tervaile the future paine, when as being &s;icke in &s;inne, and tormented in con&s;cience, wee &s;hall vomit that with greefe, which wee haue eaten with plea&s;ure, finding more bitter|ne&s;&s;e in the ca&s;ting vp, then &s;weetene&s;&s;e when we &s;wallowed it downe. But this is the be&s;t which can befall vs, for if we doe not thus hartely &s;orrowe for our &s;innes, but &s;till liue in them with plea&s;ure and delight, then doe wee nothing el&s;e but heape vp iudgement, and puni&s;hments, which &s;hall one day bee powred vpon vs in full mea&s;ure, and fill vp the vialls of Gods wrath, till being filled vp to the brimme, hee will powre them out vpon our one heades. And this the Apo&s;tle plainely &s;heweth. Rom. 2.5. <HI>But thou (&s;aith hee) after thine hardne&s;&s;e and heart that cannot repent, heape&s;t
<PB N="394" REF="207">vnto thy &s;elfe wrath again&s;t the day of wrath, and of the decla|ration of the iu&s;t iudgment of God.</HI> 6. <HI>Who will rewarde euery man according to his workes. &amp;c.</HI> And this is all the trea&s;ure which &s;inners, by deferring their repentance heape vp vnto them&s;elues for the la&s;t daies; as <HI>Iames</HI> &s;peaketh. Iame. 5.3. The longer therefore wee deferre our repentance the more wee increa&s;e the bills of accoumpts, of which wee &s;hall ne|uer bee able to giue a reckoning, at the great, and generall audit, the more wee heape vp our &s;innes, the more wee heape vp Gods wrath; and increa&s;e the mea&s;ure of our con|demnation, and helli&s;h tormentes euery day, (as it were) pyling vp wood, in which we &s;hall eternally be burned.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;ixt motiue to per&s;wade vs to ha&s;ten our conuer&s;ion vnto God with all &s;peed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ixt mo|tiue our dan|gerous e&s;tate before con|uer&s;ion.</NOTE> is the con&s;ideration of the dange|rou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our e&s;tate before our conuer&s;ion; for wee are dead in our &s;innes, the children of wrath and enemies vnto God, who euery minute lye open to his iudgements and pu|ni&s;hments. And this the Lord implieth in his &s;peach to <HI>Cain,</HI> Gen. 4.7. <HI>If thou doe&s;t not well</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>&s;inne lieth at the dore,</HI> that is the puni&s;hment due to thy &s;inne, like a cruell wilde bea&s;t &s;till watcheth and waiteth for thee, &s;o as thou can&s;t nor &s;tirre any way but it is ready to &s;ea&s;e vpon and de&s;troy thee. Now in what a fearefull &s;tate are tho&s;e who euery minute liue in this daunger, of which if they be &s;urpri&s;ed what can remaine vnto them but euerla&s;ting death and de&s;truction; <HI>For as the tree falleth &s;o &s;hall it lie,</HI> as it is Eccl. 11.3. that is; as the day of death leaueth vs, &s;o &s;hall the day of iudgment find vs, and therefore if wee be taken away in our impaenitencie while&s;t we are dead in our &s;ins, children of wrath, and ene|mies vnto God, &s;uch &s;hall we be pre&s;ented before the tribu|nal &s;eate of iudgement in the pre&s;ence of the great iudge of heauen and earth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;euenth motiue taken from the be|nefites which accompanie our conuer|&s;ion.</NOTE></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;euenth motiue may be drawne from the manifold benefits which will accompanie our &s;peedie conuer&s;ion, for fir&s;t vertue and goodne&s;&s;e being &s;owne in vs in the time of youth, will take more deepe roote in vs, &s;o as it cannot ea&s;ily be left or lo&s;t, for as the ve&s;&s;ell doth longe&s;t retaine the &s;mell
<PB N="395" REF="207">and ta&s;t of that liquor which was put into it while&s;t it was new and vn&s;ea&s;oned, &s;o they will longe&s;t retaine vertue and goodne&s;&s;e who haue it planted in them in their youth, accor+ding to that Pro. 22.6, teach a child in the trade of his way, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Secondly if we turne to God betimes the exerci&s;es of religion, and workes of &s;anctification, will be farre more plea&s;ant and ea&s;ie then if we deferre them till our old age, for often v&s;e will bringe vs to a cu&s;tome, and long cu&s;tome will worke in vs an habite of vertue, which will be ea&s;ie and familiar, if children from their youth be brought vp in trades and occupations which are exceeding hard and difficult, they do attaine to the skill and practi&s;e of them with exceeding dexteritie and quick|ne&s;&s;e, but if the learning of them be deferred till old age they ca~ neuer attaine vnto them, or at lea&s;t performe them &s;low|ly and with great difficultie, and &s;o if from our childhood wee, accu&s;tome our &s;elues to the learning and practi&s;e of the workes of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, they will growe exceeding ea&s;ie and plea&s;ant, whereas being deferred they wilbe difficult and tedious. If the oxe while&s;t he is yong be accu&s;tomed to the yoke hee draweth in it quietly and with no great paine, but if he runne long in the pa&s;ture vnbroken and vntamed, when he is brought to the yoke he &s;trugleth and &s;triueth, and therewith gaulling his necke draweth with exceeding payne and irk&s;omene&s;&s;e; and &s;o if in our youth we accu&s;tome our&s;elues to beare the yoke of obedience, it wilbe ea&s;ie and plea&s;ant, but if we v&s;e delayes we &s;hall grow &s;tubborne and &s;tifnecked like vntamed oxen, and the bea|ring of Chri&s;ts yoke through our impaciencie, and the rebel|lion of our nature will gaule and vexe vs. Thirdly, the &s;oo|ner wee turne vnto God, the more ioy, peace and comfort &s;hall we haue in the whole cour&s;e of our liues, for what ioy may bee compared with the ioy in the holy Gho&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 15.15.</NOTE> what peace is like the peace with God; &amp; the peace of con&s;cience, when as we are &s;ure that we are now friends, who before we were enemies and children of God and heires of his euerla|&s;ting kingdome of glory, who in time pa&s;t were children of
<PB N="396" REF="208">wrath and fire brands of hell? what comfort in the world can be imagined like vnto the con&s;olation of Gods &s;pirit, which is able to make all afflictions light; and euen death it &s;elfe &s;weet and plea&s;ant vnto vs, but this ioy, peace, &amp; com|fort doe all companie our true conuer&s;ion vnto God, and therefore who would deferre it for one day, &s;eeing it bring|eth &s;uch ine&s;timable benefits and &s;uch &s;urpa&s;&s;ing plea&s;ures as none &s;ufficiently vnder&s;tand them, but they who feele &amp; inioy them. Whereas on the other &s;ide if we deferre our co~|uer&s;ion, in the meane while wee are continually &s;ubiect to the checkes and terrours of an euill con&s;cience, in feare of Gods iudgements and eternall damnation: and though in outward &s;hewe wee may bee exceeding merie and plea|&s;ant, yet our mirth is ful of &s;orrow, and our ioy of bitternes, and of <HI>&s;uch laughter wee may &s;ay, thou art madde, and of this ioy what is that which thou doe&s;t?</HI> as the Wi&s;e man &s;peaketh, Ec|cle. 2.2. for it is but <HI>Sardonicus ri&s;us</HI> laughter from the teeth outward, which is &s;traight controuled with &s;ome inward pange or checke of con&s;cience. Fourthly, the &s;ooner wee turne vnto the Lord; the longer time we &s;hall &s;pend in his &s;eruice, which in truth is perfect liberty, now what can bee more delightful vnto any Chri&s;tian heart, then to &s;erue our creatour from the daies of our youth, &amp; to &s;hew our thank|fulne&s;&s;e to God our redeemer for all the ine&s;timable bene|fits which he hath be&s;towed vpon vs, by cau&s;ing our lights to &s;hine before men, and by glorifying his name in our god|ly &amp; Chri&s;tian liues? what can be more plea&s;ing to a thank|full mind then to take all occa&s;ions of expre&s;&s;ing thankful|fulne&s;&s;e to him vnto whom we are &s;o much bounden? La&s;t|ly, as by our &s;peedy conuer&s;ion vnto God we liue in &s;weete comfort and ioyfull peace, &s;o al&s;o wee &s;ecurely expect death and giue it entertainement when it commeth with cheere|full countenance, for being conuerted vnto God we are at peace with him and in his loue and fauour, wee are a&s;&s;ured that the cur&s;e of the law is nayled to Chri&s;tes cro&s;&s;e, that he was condemned that we might be iu&s;tified and put to death that wee might liue eternally, that he is gone before vs into
<PB N="397" REF="208">heauen to prepare vs a place there, and now &s;itteth at the right hand of his father to giue vs ioyfull entertainement when we come vnto him, that he hath taken away the &s;ting of death which is &s;inne, and hath made a &s;oueraigne medi|cine again&s;t this poy&s;on with his precious bloud, and there|fore being conuerted vnto God we need not to feare death, nay rather wee may wi&s;he with the Apo&s;tle to be &s;peedily <HI>di&s;&s;olued that we may be with Chri&s;t &s;eeing that is be&s;t of all.</HI> As it is Phil. 1.23. neyther need wee to feare the de&s;truction of this earthly tabernacle, &s;eeing <HI>wee are a&s;&s;ured that we haue a building giuen vs of God, a hou&s;e not made with hands but eter|nall in the heauens.</HI> as it is 2. Cor. 5.1. Moreouer we &s;hall not need to feare either &s;uddaine death; or an euill death, for it cannot be &s;uddaine to them who are alwaies prepared, <HI>Nee pote&s;t mal&egrave; mori qui ben&egrave; vixit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> neither can he die ill who hath liued well. On the other &s;ide tho&s;e who deferre their re|pentance and turning vnto God, when death approcheth are filled with horrour &amp; feare when as they &s;ee that they are &s;till &s;ubiect to the cur&s;e of the law and euery minute in dan|ger of Gods fearfull iudgements; when as the waight of &s;in pre&s;&s;eth them, Sathan and their owne con&s;cience accu&s;eth them, death waiteth on them to bring them to euerla&s;ting death, hell, and de&s;truction. And therefore &s;eeing &s;o many benefits accompanie our &s;peedy conuer&s;ion both in life and death, and &s;o many euils follow our delayes: let vs not be moued by Sathans tentations, the &s;weetene&s;&s;e of &s;inne, nor with the alluring vanities of this deceitfull world to deferre our repentance from day to day, but let vs now harken while&s;t God, yet calleth vs, and take the good and accepta|ble time when he offereth it vnto vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> The eight motiue to per&s;wade vs to &s;peedy conuer&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>8.</HI> motiue becau&s;e re|pentance de|ferred to olde age is not &s;o excellent or acceptable.</NOTE> is that our turning vnto God being deferred to our olde age, or till the time wee lie &s;icke on our deathbeddes, is not &s;o excellent in it one nature, nor &s;o acceptable vn|to God, as if it were performed in the time of our youth; for what great matter is it if wee leaue our &s;innes, when they, are readie to leaue vs, to renounce the world with the riches
<PB N="398" REF="209">honoures, and plea&s;ures thereof, when they are readie to a|bandon vs; to imbrace mortification, when as our bodies are mortified with &s;ickene&s;&s;e, and brought to the gates of death; to giue to the pore when wee can keepe our goods no longer, to forgiue our enemies, when as we can not offer them any further wrong, or violence, to co~mend our wiues, and children, into the hands of God, when as we our &s;elues can no longer defend and prouide for them? to cea&s;e to &s;weare and bla&s;pheme Godes name, when as &s;oone after wee &s;hall cea&s;e to &s;peake? moreouer how can wee thinke that this will be acceptable vnto God when as wee doe not come vnto him before all the world for&s;akes vs, nor craue his helpe till wee are abandoned of all other &s;uccour, nor offer to come into his &s;eruice before wee are ready to goe out of the worlde, and that rather for feare of puni&s;h|ment; and hope of reward, then for any loue we beare to our Lord and mai&s;ter. But let it be granted (as in trueth it can|not bee denied) that when&s;oeuer wee truely repent vs of our &s;innes and turne vnto God he wil receiue vs to mercy, &s;hould wee take occa&s;ion hereof to deferre our conuer&s;ion and to continue in our &s;innes? &s;hould his loue and mer|cy towardes vs mooue vs to rebellion, and impietie, to|wards him, and becau&s;e hee is gratious and long &s;uffering &s;hall we therfore the more offend him, and as it were whet the edge of his wrath again&s;t vs? be it farre from vs. Nay ra|ther if God be gratious and mercifull, let vs bee a&s;hamed to offend &s;o gratious and mercifull a God, and though wee &s;houlde bee &s;o hard harted as not to feare his iu&s;tice, and fearefull iudgementes, yet euen in common humanitie let vs blu&s;h for &s;hame to offende him in con&s;idera|tion of his infinite loue, and mercie. If wee had a friende who by rea&s;on of the loue hee beareth vs, would hardly bee di&s;plea&s;ed, or mooued to anger again&s;t vs, would wee make this v&s;e of his loue and patience, &s;till to prouoke him with new iniuries? Nay if their bee any good nature and ciuilitie in vs, would not his loue towardes vs, mooue vs to loue him againe, and woulde not this loue worke in vs a
<PB N="399" REF="209">care and feare not to di&s;plea&s;e him? yes a&s;&s;uredly. O let not then the Lordes loue, patience, and long &s;uffering, who is our friend of frindes, make vs to take occa&s;ion of offend|ing, and di&s;plea&s;ing him, but rather let the con&s;ideration thereof bee a forcible and &s;tronge motiue to mooue vs to repentance.</P>
<P>La&s;tly though the Lorde bee &s;o gratious,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rom. 2.4.</HI> &sect;. Sect. <HI>5.</HI> The la&s;t mo|tiue becau&s;e repentance in time of &s;icknes is often vn|&s;ound.</NOTE> and mercifull, that he is ready to receiue vs into his loue, and fauour when|&s;oeuer wee vnfainedly repent, and truely turne vnto him; yet fora&s;much as hee extendeth his mercy to tho&s;e onely, who are truely penitent; &amp; &s;eing the repentance of the mo&s;t is fained, and hypocriticall, which then onely beginneth when death or &s;ome extreame daunger approacheth, this &s;hould bee a &s;tronge motiue to per&s;wade vs to repent, and turne vnto the Lorde, when wee are in our perfect health, &s;trength, and pro&s;perite that &s;o wee may haue a&s;&s;urance that our conuer&s;io~ is &s;incere and vnfained, and not forced or di&s;|&s;embled. Wee knowe that <HI>Pharaoh</HI> him&s;elfe when hee was vexed with Gods fearefull plagues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 9.27. &amp; 10.16.17.</NOTE> could &s;ay I haue &s;inned, and promi&s;e amendment, And <HI>Saul,</HI> when God threatned to cut him off, and to take the kingdome from him, could ac|knowledge his wickedne&s;&s;e, and pretend a de&s;ire to wor&s;hip the Lord. And <HI>Ieroboam</HI> could &s;hewe more contrition for the lo&s;&s;e of his hand,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sam. 15.14.25.</NOTE> then he euer &s;hewed for the lo&s;&s;e of his &s;oule. And wicked <HI>Achab</HI> when he heard heauie iudgments denounced again&s;t him, could outwardly humble him&s;elfe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 13.6 &amp; 21.27.</NOTE> put on &s;ackeloth, fa&s;t and goe demurely. And who may not ob&s;erue in his owne experience, how many there are who in the time of their &s;ickene&s;&s;e, make godly &s;hewes of repen|tance, promi&s;ing goulden mountaynes and vowing if they recouer, that they will leade a newe life, for&s;aking their &s;innes, and indeuouring to &s;erue the Lorde in the duties of holine&s;&s;e, and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and yet the &s;ame men be|ing re&s;tored to their heath, with the dogge returne to their vomit, and with the &s;owe to wallowe againe in the filthie puddle of &s;inne, becomming as prophaine, wicked, irreli|gious, and negligent in all duties of chri&s;tianitie, as euer they
<PB N="400" REF="210">were; which is a mo&s;t vndoubted &s;igne, that there repen|tance was but faigned, and di&s;&s;embled, and that they were mooued thereunto not for any loue of God, or hatred of &s;inne, but for feare of Gods iudgmentes, and eternal con|demnation, and therefore as &s;oone as the cau&s;e of their feare is a little remooued, their repentance al&s;o cea&s;eth. More|ouer wee knowe that true repentance is the gifte of God, and that we haue it not at our owne beck and call, but when he offereth and vouch&s;aueth it vnto vs, and therefore it is no maruaile if they who haue &s;corned this gratious gift all the whole cour&s;e of their liues, &s;hould be denied it at the time of death, &amp; left &s;o to the hardnes of their harts, that though with E&s;au they &s;eeke repentance with teares, yet they &s;hall neuer find it. And though with the fiue fooli&s;h virgins they de&s;ire to buy oyle for their lamps, yet the time of grace being pa&s;t they &s;hall be &s;hut out of doores and excluded from the ma|riage. Neither doth the Lord ordmarily beget faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph 4.11.12.</NOTE> repen|tance and other &s;anctifying graces in any man, but by the v&s;e of the meanes which he hath ordayned for this purpo&s;e; now the meanes ordained of God are not &s;ickne&s;&s;e or the infirmi|ties of old age, but the mini&s;terie of his word, made effectu|all by the inward operation of his &s;pirit for our conuer&s;ion &amp; &s;anctification; and therefore if the Lord hath oftentimes grau~ted vs this meanes, and they haue not beene effectu|all for our conuer&s;ion if hee haue often called vs in the preaching of the word and wee haue refu&s;ed to come, what hope can we haue that wee &s;hould turne vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 6.44.</NOTE> without this meanes in the time of &s;ickene&s;&s;e, who by the continuall hearing of the word haue not beene conuerted in the time of our health, &s;eeing not any come vnto Chri&s;t but whom the father draweth, and the meanes whereby he draweth vs vnto him, is not &s;ickene&s;&s;e or the approching of death ordinarily, but the mini&s;terie of his word; for when the &s;heepe heare Chri&s;ts voyce and thereby knowe him to bee the true &s;hee|pheard. then (and not before) they follow him as it is Iohn. 10.27. So that though we were &s;icke and certainely a&s;&s;ured wee &s;hould die to morrow, yet for all this, wee are neuer the neerer our conuer&s;ion, faith, and repentance then we were
<PB N="401" REF="210">before; as appeareth in the example of the Epicures. 1. Cor. 15.32. <HI>Let vs eate and drinke</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>for to morrow we &s;hall die</HI> a man would thinke they &s;hould rather haue &s;ayd, let vs fa&s;t and pray for to morrow we &s;hall die; but this plainly &s;heweth that we are neuer the neerer our conuer&s;ion vnto God, and true repe~tance though we are certaine that death approch|eth; it is onely the worke of Gods &s;pirite, which ordinarily worketh not by the means of &s;ickne&s;&s;e or feare of death, but by the mini&s;terie of the word which is Gods owne ordina~ce,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.11.12.</NOTE> <HI>in&s;tituted of God for the gathering together of the Saints, and for the edification of the body of Chri&s;t.</HI> And therefore while&s;t the Lord calleth vs in the preaching of the word, let vs harken vnto his voice, and turne vnto him by vnfained repentance, for if Gods owne ordinance is not effectuall for our con|uer&s;ion, a&s;&s;uredly there is no hope that euer we will be con|uerted by &s;icknes or any other extraordinarie meanes what|&s;oeuer. It is an admirable miracle wrought by the infinite wi&s;edome and almighty power of God, that a poore &s;inner &s;hould be conuerted vnto him by the preaching of the word, for hereby we who were dead in &s;inne, are rai&s;ed vp to new|ne&s;&s;e of life, we who were borne blind, are indued with &s;ight, our hearts more hard then the Adamant are made flexible, and &s;oft as waxe to receaue any impre&s;&s;ion, which the Lord wilimprint in them, and wee are moued to denie our &s;elues, and to ca&s;t away our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and to re&s;t and re|lye vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us alone for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluati|on, which is quite contrarie to our naturall di&s;po&s;ition: but it were a miracle of miracles that all the&s;e things &s;hould be wrought in vs by &s;ickne&s;&s;e, which the Lord hath not orday|ned for this purpo&s;e, when as the meanes appointed by God him&s;elfe the mini&s;terie of his word, which is Gods owne or|dinance could neuer worke them in vs. It may bee indeed that Gods hand lying heauy vpo~ vs in the time of &s;ickne&s;&s;e, and fearing wor&s;e iudgements in the life to come, we may be moued hereby to make a goodly &s;hew, and to vowe great re|formation if we might bee re&s;tored to our health: It may be that with <HI>Pharaoh</HI> we may make a fained confe&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and promi&s;e to amend if this iudgement may be re|moued,
<PB N="402" REF="211">or that we may with <HI>Achab</HI> outwardly humble our &s;elues before God, to the end we may e&s;cape tho&s;e fearefull puni&s;hments which are threatned in his word; but it is a thou&s;and to one if we then truly repent who haue liued our whole time in impenitency, or then turne vnto God if wee were not before that time effectually called and conuerted; for as wee liue &s;o wee commonly die, neither is it likely that hauing led our liues like wicked <HI>Balaam</HI> we &s;hould die the death of the righteous, that hauing alwaies hitherto been thornes and thi&s;tles we &s;hould now bring forth &s;weet figges and plea&s;ant grapes when wee are ready to be cut downe and to be ca&s;t into the fire, that hauing all our life &s;owed the &s;eedes of wickedne&s;&s;e we &s;hould at our death reape the fruit of godline&s;&s;e; <HI>And therefore</HI> (as the Apo&s;tle exhorteth) <HI>let vs not be deceiued: God is not mocked; for what&s;oeuer a man &s;oweth that &s;hall he al&s;o reape; for he that &s;oweth to his fle&s;h, &s;hall of the fle&s;h reape corruption, but he that &s;oweth to the &s;pirit, &s;hall of the &s;pirite reape life euerla&s;ting.</HI> as it is Gal. 6.7.8. Let vs now turne vnto God while he calleth vs and graunteth vs the meanes of our conuer&s;ion the mini&s;terie of his word; now is the ac|ceptable time, now is the day of our &s;aluation; and if wee will now turne vnto God and truly repent while&s;t we might continue in our &s;innes, we may be a&s;&s;ured our repentance is true and vnfained, and not pre&s;&s;ed out of vs with &s;ence of pre&s;ent paine, nor forced with feare of future puni&s;hment, and that turning to God wee &s;halbe receaued to grace and mercy, &s;eeing we then offer to &s;erue him, when wee might haue &s;erued Sathan, the world and our owne corrupt fle&s;h.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="30" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXX.</HI> Two letts which hinder worldlings from &s;peedy repentance re|mooued.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the&s;e Motiues,where|by wee may bee per&s;waded to &s;peedie repen|tance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t let, is the mi&s;a|plying of Gods mercy and gratious promi&s;ee.</NOTE> all which the worldly &s;ecure man war|deth and beareth of with a double fence, &s;o as
<PB N="403" REF="211">they can neuer beate him downe with true humilitie nor pearce his heart with vnfained &s;orrow for &s;inne; the one is by alleadging Gods mercy manife&s;tly declared vnto vs in the &s;weet promi&s;es of the Go&s;pel; the other by obiecting the example of the conuerted thiefe, who though hee had &s;pent his whole life in &s;inne and wickedne&s;&s;e, yet at the la&s;t hower was receiued to mercy.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 13.32. &amp; 33.11. Math. 9.13. Math. 11.28.</NOTE> hath not the Lord (will they &s;ay) prote&s;ted in his word that he de&s;ireth not the death of a &s;inner, but that he turne from his way and liue? hath not our Sauiour tould vs that he came not to cal the righteous; but &s;inners to re|pentance? and doth he not inuite &s;uch vnto him as labour vnder the heauie burthen of &s;inne promi&s;ing that hee will ea&s;e them? And hath not the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> taught vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 2.4.</NOTE> that Gods will <HI>is that all men &s;hould be &s;aued, and come to the know|ledge of his trueth.</HI> Seeing therefore God is &s;o mercifull why &s;hould we doubt of our &s;aluation? Why &s;hould we feare to deferre our repentance &amp; follow our plea&s;ures and delights for a time, &s;eeing the Lord will receiue vs to mercy when&s;o|euer we turne vnto him?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t let remoued.</NOTE>I an&s;were fir&s;t, that though al this were certaine, true, and not to bee doubted of, yet it is a mo&s;t vnthankefull part and horrible ingratitude again&s;t our gracious God and lo|uing father to take occa&s;ion of his mercie the more to of|fend him, as before I haue &s;hewed. Secondly I an&s;were, that as God hath &s;hewed his mercy in the gratious promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, &s;o al&s;o he hath as plainely declared his iu&s;tice in the &s;euere threatnings of the law, and he is as true in the one as in the other: And therefore all the que&s;tion is who &s;hal ta&s;t of his mercy, and who of his iu&s;tice, &s;eing that is pro|mi&s;ed to &s;ome, and this threatned again&s;t others; or rather in truth it is without all que&s;tion, for the Lord hath plainely &s;hewed in his word that hee will extend his mercy to all re|pentant &s;inners and to them onely, and that he will declare his iu&s;tice in powring out his iu&s;t iudgements vpon the wic|ked who liue in their &s;innes, and e&s;pecially vpon tho&s;e who take occa&s;ion of Gods mercie to continue in their vnrepen|tancie,
<PB N="404" REF="212">de&s;pi&s;ing the riches of his bountifulnes, his patience &amp; long &s;uffering; for hereby they heape vnto them&s;elues <HI>wrath again&s;t the day of wrath and the declaration of the iu&s;t iudgme~t of God,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Rom. 2.4.5. Though then there be neuer &s;o many &s;weet promi&s;es in the go&s;pel, yet they who continue in their &s;innes without repentance can reape no true comfort by them, becau&s;e they are not made to them but to repentant &s;inners; and on the other &s;ide though there be neuer &s;o many terrible threatnings denounced in the law, yet the paenitent &s;inner need not to feare them, &s;eeing they are threatned onely again&s;t tho&s;e who continue in their im|paenitencie; though God be of infinit mercy let not the wic|ked man who liueth in his &s;innes pre&s;ume, &s;eeing it is &s;uffici|ently declared in pardoning the &s;innes of repentant &s;inners. Neither let him who is truly paenitent de&s;paire becau&s;e God is of infinite iu&s;tice, &s;eeing it is &s;ufficiently manife&s;ted in pu|ni&s;hing the &s;innes of tho&s;e who continue in their vnrepen|tancie; let not him who is turned vnto God from his wic|ked waies feare Gods iu&s;tice, for it is fully &s;atisfied in Chri&s;t and therefore it &s;hall neuer attach him, neither let him who continueth in his &s;innes without repentance hope in Gods mercy for it doth not belong vnto him, nor yet in the &s;weet promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell which though they be neuer &s;o ge|nerall, yet are they alwaies to be re&s;trained to the condition of the couenant of grace, faith, and repentance. And this is manife&s;t in the places before alleaged which worldly men &s;o much abu&s;e to nouri&s;h in them carnall &s;ecuritie; for whereas the Lord &s;aith Ezech. 33.11. <HI>That he will not the death of a &s;in|ner,</HI> he addeth in the next wordes, <HI>but that he turne from his way and liue,</HI> &s;o that the Lord &s;peaketh not of all &s;inners but of tho&s;e who turne vnto him from their wicked waies. So our &s;auiour Chri&s;t &s;aith Math. 9.13, that <HI>hee came not to call the righteous,</HI> that is tho&s;e who are iu&s;t &amp; righteous in their owne conceipts, <HI>but &s;inners to repentance,</HI> &s;o that who&s;oeuer are cal|led vnto Chri&s;t that in him they may haue &s;aluation are called al&s;o to repentance. And Math. 11.28. our &s;auiour doth not call all &s;inners vnto him without difference, but tho&s;e
<PB N="405" REF="212">onely who <HI>are wearie and heauy laden,</HI> that is who find their &s;innes irk&s;ome and grieuous vnto them, and de&s;ire nothing more then to be freed of this vn&s;upportable burthen. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paule</HI> likewi&s;e 1. Tim. 2.4. doth not &s;ay &s;imply that God would haue all men to be&s;aued, but that he would al&s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> haue them come to the knowledge of the truth, that is to the knowing, acknowledging, &amp; beleeuing of the prin|ciples of Chri&s;tian religion co~cerning God, them&s;elues, and the worke of redemption wrought by Chri&s;t. Let therefore no carnall &s;ecure man take occa&s;ion to pre&s;ume vpon Gods mercy in regard of the &s;weet and gratious promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, for vnle&s;&s;e they turne vnto God from their euill waies and truely repent them of their &s;innes, vnle&s;&s;e they are wearie and heauie laden, de&s;iring nothing more then to be ea&s;ed of their heauie burthen; vnle&s;&s;e they come out of their blind ignorance and attaine to the knowledge of the truth, the gratious promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell do not appertaine vnto them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,whereas they alleadge the example of the thiefe conuerted at the hower of death we are to know that this is but one particular act of Gods mercy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>2.</HI> let is pre&s;umption vpon the ex|ample of the conuerted thiefe.</NOTE> and therefore we can make thereof no generall rule, e&s;pecialy &s;eeing to this one we may oppo&s;e many thou&s;ands of tho&s;e who hauing defer|red their repe~tance to the la&s;t hower, haue beene taken away in their &s;inns and impaenitencie. It is true indeed that if with this thiefe we truelyturne vnto the Lord by vnfained repen|tance, and &s;hew our faith by the like liuely fruites he wil par|don our &s;innes and receaue vs to mercy according to his gratious promi&s;es, but this faith and repentance are not in our owne power, but the free gifts of God which hee very &s;eldome be&s;toweth on tho&s;e at the hower of death who haue neglected &amp; contemned them their whole liues: &s;ome|times indeed hee calleth and conuerteth &s;ome at the la&s;t hower to &s;hew the infinite riches of his mercy, but mo&s;t commonly he leaueth tho&s;e who haue deferred their repen|tance to die in their impaenitencie that they may be exam|ples of his iu&s;tice. And to this purpo&s;e <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> &s;peaketh
<PB N="406" REF="213">well; there is (&s;aith hee) mention made in the Scriptures of one whome the Lord receaued to mercy that none might de&s;paire, and but of one that none might pre&s;ume. It is the maner of princes to &s;end their gratious pardon &s;ometimes to tho&s;e who are led out to execution, but if any will wilfully offend in hope hereof, or hauing offended wil deferre to &s;ue for his pardon to the la&s;t hower, &s;urely he is well worthy to be hanged, both for his offence; and al&s;o for his pre&s;umpti|on, &s;o the Lord mercifully pardoneth &s;ome few when death is ready to cea&s;e vpon them, and to tran&s;port them into the eternall torments of hell fire, to &s;hew the riches of his grace, but if any &s;hall take occa&s;ion hereby the more to offend a|gain&s;t his maie&s;tie, or hauing offended deferreth to &s;ue for pardon by powring out the teares of vnfained repentance vntill his la&s;t hower, hee is vndoubtedly vnworthy of any grace and mercy, and in all likelihood he &s;hall be deliuered vp to &s;uffer eternal torments. Moreouer as this act of mercy in receiuing this thiefe to grace was very extraordinary, &s;o was it re&s;erued as being mo&s;t fit for the time of Chri&s;tes pa&s;|&s;ion; for as great Princes at the time of their coronation par|don &s;uch notorious offences, the like whereof they wil hard|ly euer after remit, to the end that their clemencie and mer|cy may appeare to all, &s;o our Sauiour Chri&s;t the glorious king of heauen and earth, being ready to lay downe the forme of a &s;eruant and to take vpon him the crowne of end|le&s;&s;e glory and maie&s;ty, gaue his gratious pardon to this greeuous offender, that his infinite mercy and goodne&s;&s;e might be manife&s;ted vnto al men, that &s;o they might breake of their &s;innes by vnfained repentance, and by a liuely faith come vnto him, looking and expecting for life and &s;aluati|on onely in this their &s;auiour and redeemer; and as cunning Surgeons hauing made a &s;oueraigne &s;alue, do vpon the next occa&s;ion make experiment thereof by curing &s;ome grie&s;ly and de&s;perate wound, that &s;o they may commend it to all who &s;hal haue need to v&s;e it, &s;o the Lord hauing made a pre|tious plai&s;ter and &s;oueraigne &s;alue to cure all &s;oules; who be|ing wounded with &s;inne, will apply it vnto them by a liuely
<PB N="407" REF="213">faith, pre&s;e~tly tooke occa&s;ion of curing there with this poore theefe grieuou&s;ly wounded with &s;inne, that all others in his &s;tate, &s;eing the vertue thereof, might more earne&s;tly de&s;ire it and more carefully &s;eeke after, and apply it to their woun|ded &s;oules. And therefore &s;eeing the occa&s;ion of this cure was altogether extraordinary, the action is not like to bee ordinarie, the occa&s;ion being remooued, and the mercy of God and vertue of Chri&s;tes death and blood&s;hed being &s;uf|ficiently manife&s;ted to al the world. Thirdly, we are to know that the e&s;tate of the&s;e men, is farre vnlike and much more de&s;perate then the &s;tate of the conuerted theefe; for hee was in all likelihood neuer before this time called, and pre&s;ent|ly he harkeneth vnto the voyce of Chri&s;t, and willingly in|tertaineth the good motions of his &s;pirit, but the&s;e men being often called, haue refu&s;ed to come, and haue quen|ched the good motions of Gods &s;pirit; he per&s;i&s;ted in his &s;in ignorantly, hauing not heard the doctrine of the Go&s;pell, whereby he might be inuited to come vnto Chri&s;t by a liuely faith, and might turne vnto God by vnfained repentance, the&s;e haue often heard the&s;e glad tidings, and haue neglected and contemned them; hee continued in his &s;innes through ignorance, neither did hee vngratefully re&s;olue to &s;erue the diuell his whole life, re&s;eruing the time of his old age and &s;ickne&s;&s;e for the &s;eruice of God, only for his own aduantage, but the&s;e men hauing bin ofte~ in&s;tructed in the law of God, and wayes of godline&s;&s;e, notwith&s;tanding wittingly and wil fully per&s;i&s;t in their &s;inns, pre&s;uming vppon repentance and hope of mercy at the la&s;t houre, intending then to turne vn|to God, not for any loue they beare him, but for feare of hel torments and eternall damnation, la&s;tly his repentance was mo&s;t vnfayned and exceeding earne&s;t, and his faith brightly &s;hined pre&s;ently after his conuer&s;ion in &s;ingular fruits there|of. For he made a notable confe&s;&s;ion of his &s;auiour and re|deemer, euen when all his di&s;ciples for feare for&s;ooke him. He iu&s;tifieth Chri&s;t when all men condemned him, and euen his Apo&s;tles doubted of him. He praieth feruently vnto him, when the multitude mocked and reuiled him, hee humbly
<PB N="408" REF="214" MS="y">confe&s;&s;eth his owne &s;inns, and louingly admoni&s;heth his fel|low of his wickedne&s;&s;e, de&s;iring earne&s;tly that as they had bin fellowes, and copartners in &s;inne, &s;o they might be partakers in pardon, and in the benefitte of redemption wrought by Chri&s;t. Whereas mo&s;t commonly their repentance is for|ced and di&s;&s;embled for feare of puni&s;hment, rather then for hatred of &s;inne, or loue of God: as they v&s;ually make it ma|nife&s;t if they recouer of their &s;ickene&s;&s;e. And therefore &s;eing there is &s;uch great di&s;&s;imilitude; and difference in their pur|po&s;es, liues, and cour&s;es, it is not probable that they wil euer bee like in their conuer&s;ion, death, and &s;aluation.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="31" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXI.</HI> Sathans tentations mouing men to re&s;t in a counterfait repen|tance, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _ANd &s;omuch for the an&s;wering of tho&s;e tentati|ons wherby Sathan laboreth to make vs delay and deferre our repentance from day to day:<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the pro|mi&s;es of the go&s;pell are made onely to tho&s;e who re|pent&s;eriou&s;ly.</NOTE> with which, if he cannot preuaile both becau&s;e we &s;ee the nece&s;&s;itie of repentance vnto &s;alua|tion, and al&s;o plainly perceiue by the former rea&s;ons that de|layes are mo&s;t dangerous, then hee will laboure in the next place to per&s;wade vs to content our &s;elues with a &s;male mea|&s;ure of repentance, or rather in truth with a cou~terfait worke-repentance, which is only in outward &s;hew and neuer pear|ceth the heart; making vs beleeue that if when wee &s;ee our &s;inns, hauing our con&s;ciences conuinced out of Gods word we doe in &s;ome generall tearmes confe&s;&s;e that we are all &s;in|ners, and de&s;ire God after a formall manner to haue mercie vppon vs, if we can &s;ometime &s;traine from vs a broken &s;ighe and be content to leaue &s;ome of our lea&s;t plea&s;ing &s;innes, our repentance wilbe very acceptable to God, and &s;ufficient for our &s;aluation.</P>
<P>And with this tentation Sathan deludeth, and de&s;troyeth, innumerable men in the&s;e our dayes, and therefore it behoo|ueth
<PB N="409" REF="214">euery man, to prepare him&s;elfe for this incounter. And to this ende we are to know that the mercy of God, and me|rits of Chri&s;t, dot<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> not belong vnto tho&s;e who thus &s;lubber ouer their repentance; neither doth Chri&s;t Ie&s;us call vnto him &s;uch as &s;lightly &s;orrow for their &s;innes, and thinke the burthen of them light, and ea&s;ie to bee borne, but &s;uch as labour, and are heauie loaden. as appeareth Matth. 11.28. <HI>Come vnto me all ye who are wearie and heauie loaden, and I will ea&s;e you.</HI> In which wordes our &s;auiour Chri&s;t plainely &s;hew|eth whom hee calleth to the participation of the worke of redemption wrought by him, and what mea&s;ure of repen|tance hee requireth of them; for the fir&s;t worde <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignifieth &s;uch as labour vntill they bee wearie, and the other worde <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignifieth &s;uch as are heauie laden with a burthen vn&s;upportable and therefore, being grieuou&s;ly pre&s;&s;ed therewith, they de&s;ire nothing more, then to bee ca&s;e of it, for <GAP DESC="foreign"> from which this worde is deriued properly &s;ignifieth the burthen of a &s;hippe, and is taken metaphorically for any thing which is very trouble&s;ome and grieuous. So that by ioyning the&s;e two together our &s;auiour euidently declareth whom hee calleth, and inuiteth vnto him. Namely tho&s;e onely who knowne, acknowledge, and feele, that their &s;innes are an intollerable heauie burthen, and being exceedingly vexed with them, mo&s;t earne&s;tly de&s;ire to bee ea&s;ed, and relea&s;ed of them, and to this pur|po&s;e flee vnto Chri&s;t by a true and liuely faith finding them|&s;elues de&s;titute of all meanes whereby they may otherwi&s;e be ea&s;ed and releeued.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> If then wee could haue any a&s;&s;urance that wee are in the number of tho&s;e whom Chri&s;t calleth and inuiteth vnto him, wee mu&s;t haue fir&s;t a &s;ight, and &s;en&s;e, of our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What things are required in tho&s;e who truly repent.</NOTE> and a true and feeling knowledge of our mi&s;erable, and wretched e&s;tate, in which we are, by rea&s;on of them, and the puni&s;hment due vnto them. Secondly we mu&s;t be wearie in bearing this heauie burthen, as being mo&s;t irke&s;ome and grieuous vnto us. Thirdly wee mu&s;t haue an earne&s;t de&s;ire to be ea&s;ed and freed from it. La&s;tly we mu&s;t come
<PB N="410" REF="215">vnto Chri&s;t by a true and liuely faith, to the ende that hee may ea&s;e and relea&s;e vs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1.</HI> Knowledge and &s;ight of their &s;innes.</NOTE>For the fir&s;t Wee mu&s;t come to the knowledge of our &s;innes, before wee can truely repent of them, for we can|not &s;orrowe for them, vntill wee &s;ee them; neither is it &s;uf|ficient that wee &s;ee, and know, that wee are greeuous and hanious &s;inners, vnle&s;&s;e we al&s;o feele the waight of this intol|lerable burthen, pre&s;&s;ing vs downe, and vexing, and grie|uing vs euen to the verie heart; for wicked and prophane men may &s;ee their &s;innes, (for what can hide them from their eyes being &s;o innumerable in multitude, and &s;o grieuous and hainous in re&s;pect of their quantitie, and quallitie, but yet they feele not their waight, neither are troubled with them; nay it is a pa&s;time to a foole to doe wickedly, as it is Prou. 10.23. and the abhominable filthie &s;inner drinketh iniquitie like water, as it is Iob. 15.16. and there are &s;ome &s;o delighted with vngodline&s;&s;e, and all lewd prophane&s;&s;e that they euen <HI>drawe vnto them iniquitie with the cordes of vanitie, and &s;inne as with cart-ropes,</HI> as the prophet &s;peaketh E&s;a. 5.18. and though they bee laden with their &s;innes as it were with an intollerable burthen, yet they feele them not, neither are they any thing vexed with their waight, and though the iniquitie of &s;inners bee &s;o heauie <HI>that the earth cannot beare it but reeleth too and fro like a drunken man, and is remooued like a tent,</HI> as it is E&s;ay 24.20. though it make all the creatures grone and trauaile in paine together, as the A|po&s;tle &s;heweth Rom. 8.22. yea though it euen wearieth God him&s;elfe in &s;uffering and bearing with it, as it is E&s;a. 43.24. yet doe they walke bolt vpright, and with &s;tretched out neckes, neuer &s;o much as &s;tooping vnder this vn&s;upporta|ble burthen, till at la&s;t it growe &s;o heauie, that it ouerwhel|meth them, and pre&s;&s;eth them downe to the bottome of hel.</P>
<P>The rea&s;on here of is becau&s;e they are wholy plunged yea drowned and dead in their &s;inns, and therefore as tho&s;e who being diued to the bottome of &s;ome deepe water, doe not feele the waight of that which is aboue them, whereas if they were pulled out of the waters; they would be ouerwhelmed
<PB N="411" REF="215">with the burthen of one tunne, &s;o tho&s;e who are deeply plu~|ged into the gulph of &s;inne and wickedne&s;&s;e, doe not feele the waight of this intollerable burthen, but if once they come out of their &s;inns by vnfained repentance, the waight of &s;ome few of them woulde pre&s;&s;e them downe vnto the gates of hell, if they bee not &s;upported and freed from this burthen by our &s;auiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But &s;uch as the&s;e, are not called by our &s;auiour, neither will he ea&s;e them, though their burthen be neuer &s;o intolle|rable; but he inuiteth tho&s;e onely who are heauie laden, and finding their burthen irke&s;ome are wearie of it and de&s;ire to be ea&s;ed; he harkeneth only vnto tho&s;e who from their harts cry out with Dauid. p&s;al. 38.4. <HI>mine iniquities are gone ouer my head, and as a waighty burthen they are to heauie for me.</HI> 6. I <HI>am bowed and crooked very &s;ore, I goe mourning all the day.</HI> He re&s;pecteth only tho&s;e who are of a broken heart and con|trite &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.17. E&s;ay 66.2.</NOTE> for the&s;e only perfourme the condition of the co|uenant and con&s;equently to them alone the promi&s;es con|tayned in the couenant doe appertaine.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> The condition of the couenant is faith and repentance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That hee who feeleth not his &s;innes hath neither faith nor repe~tance.</NOTE> neither of which doth hee performe who doth not &s;ee nor feele the burthen of his &s;innes; for wee will neuer re&s;t vpon Chri&s;t for our &s;aluation, vnle&s;&s;e wee &s;ee that wee haue no meanes of our owne to e&s;cape condemnation, wee will ne|uer &s;eeke vnto Chri&s;t to be our redeemer vnle&s;&s;e wee per|ceiue that we are the bond&s;laues of &s;inne and Sathan, wee will neuer labour to obtaine the riches of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, vnle&s;&s;e we di&s;cerne our owne nakedne&s;&s;e and beggerie, we will neuer come vnto Chri&s;t to be wa&s;hed and purged from the pollution of our &s;innes and corruptions with his bloud, vnle&s;&s;e we &s;ee our naturall filthine&s;&s;e, wee will neuer de&s;ire to be ea&s;ed of the heauy burthen of our &s;innes, vnle&s;&s;e wee feele the waight of them, we will neuer intreat Chri&s;t to be our Phy&s;ition, vnle&s;&s;e wee find that our &s;oules are &s;icke in &s;inne; we will neuer goe vnto him who is the author of life, vnle&s;&s;e we &s;ee that we are dead in our &s;innes, in a word we will neuer intreat Gods mercy, vntill wee feele our owne
<PB N="412" REF="216" MS="y">mi&s;erie.</P>
<P>If therefore without this &s;en&s;e of &s;inne we will neuer come vnto Chri&s;t, then con&s;equently without it we &s;hall neuer be ea&s;ed, for he<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="4 letters">th tho&s;e onely from condemnation who relie them&s;elues wholy vpon him for their &s;aluatio~, he came to be their redeemer alone who feele their mi&s;erable capti|uity, and earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be relea&s;ed, he wil not inrich any but tho&s;e who perceiue their owne beggery, and craue re|liefe, he will not wa&s;h any with his precious bloud; but tho&s;e who &s;ee their pollution and filthine&s;&s;e, and come vnto him intreating him to purge and clean&s;e them, he will not ea&s;e any but tho&s;e who finding their &s;innes to be a heauie bur|then, are wearie and come vnto him to be freed from them; he came into the world to be a phy&s;ition, not to tho&s;e who feele no infirmitie, but to tho&s;e who are &s;icke and di&s;ea&s;ed; he came to giue life to tho&s;e alone who are dead in their &s;ins and tre&s;pa&s;&s;es; neither will the Lord &s;hew mercy vnto any, but vnto tho&s;e alone who perceiue their e&s;tate to bee mo&s;t wretched and mi&s;erable.</P>
<P>For who can imagine that the Lord who is mo&s;t infinite in wi&s;edome, &s;hould vnadui&s;edly be&s;tow his benefits vpon &s;uch, as finding no want of them, do not de&s;ire them; when they are without them, nor e&s;teeme them though they had them, and con&s;equently will neuer be truely thankefull for that which they neither want, de&s;ire, nor e&s;teeme; who can in rea&s;on conceiue that he will offer him&s;elfe to bee a Sauiour, to &s;uch as doe not thinke them&s;elues lo&s;t and condem|ned, or to be their redeemer who will not acknowledge that they are in captiuitie, or that he will be&s;tow the riches of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vpon &s;uch proud beggers, as find no need thereof, being righteous inough them&s;elues in their owne conceipts, that hee will vainely &s;pend his precious bloud in wa&s;hing of tho&s;e who thinke them&s;elues cleane already, and need no &s;uch purging, that he will in compa&s;&s;ion ea&s;e tho&s;e of the burthen of their &s;innes who were neuer troubled with bearing of them; that hee will offer them any phy&s;icke who will not acknowledge them&s;elues &s;icke; or to giue life to
<PB N="413" REF="216">tho&s;e who will not confe&s;&s;e that they are dead in &s;inne; and who can imagine that the Lord will euer &s;hewe to tho&s;e his mercy, who will neuer &s;hew to the Lord their wretched mi|&s;erie.</P>
<P>Who&s;oeuer therfore haue not a true &s;en&s;e and feeling of the heauie burthen of their &s;innes; they wil neuer come vnto Chri&s;t, neither can they euer haue any a&s;&s;urance that he will ea&s;e the~, &amp; con&s;equently they are de&s;titure of a true faith which is the chiefe condition of the couenant of grace; but as they want faith, &s;o al&s;o they can neuer attaine vnto true repentance. For &s;o long as they haue not the &s;en&s;e of their &s;innes they are not grieued with them, neither doe they de|&s;ire to leaue and for&s;ake them, and as tho&s;e who bearing a burthen and are not vexed with the waight, they are not wearie of bearing it, nor de&s;irous to leaue it; &s;o tho&s;e who be|ing loaded with the vn&s;upportable burthen of their &s;innes and haue no &s;en&s;e of the waight they are not grieued with wearine&s;&s;e nor de&s;irous to be freed from it, and con&s;equent|ly they are de&s;titute of true repentance which is nothing els but an harty griefe and a true &s;orrow for our &s;innes pa&s;t and an earne&s;t de&s;ire and indeuour to leaue and for&s;ake them in the time to come.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> So that who&s;oeuer haue not a true &s;en&s;e and feeling of the vn&s;upportable waight of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The former point prooued by particular te&s;timonies.</NOTE> they are de&s;titute of true faith and repentance, and therefore the promi&s;es of the go&s;|pell being made, onely to the faithfull &amp; repentant &s;inners, doe not appertaine vnto them. Which may more euidently appeare if wee con&s;ider &s;ome of the particulars; E&s;ay 61.1. It is &s;aid that our &s;auiour Chri&s;t was &s;ent to <HI>preach glad tidings vnto the poore, to bind vp the broken harted, to preach libertie to the captiues, and to them that are bound, the opening of the pri&s;on.</HI> 2. <HI>To comfort all that mourne, and to giue vnto them beautie for a&s;hes, the oyle of ioy for mourning, and the garment of gladne&s;&s;e for the &s;pirit of heauine&s;&s;e.</HI> Math. 9.13. our &s;auiour &s;aith that he <HI>came not to call the righteous, but &s;inners to repentance,</HI> and the apo&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth of him, that he came into <HI>the world to &s;aue &s;inners.</HI> 1. Tim. 1.15. If therfore we be not poore in &s;pirit and
<PB N="414" REF="217">broken harted, if we be not mi&s;erable captiues, heauie mour|ners, &amp; wretched &s;inners, our &s;auiour Chri&s;t was not &s;ent to preach the glad tidings of the go&s;pell vnto vs, hee will not giue vs libertie nor affoord vs any comfort, hee came not to call vs neither will hee &s;aue vs. So our Sauiour profe&s;&s;eth, Math. 18.11. that he <HI>came to &s;aue that which was lo&s;t, and to fetch home the wandring &s;heepe.</HI> If therefore wee bee not lo&s;t in our &s;elues wee &s;hall neuer bee found of Chri&s;t, if wee doe not confe&s;&s;e with the Prophet E&s;ay, that wee haue gone a&s;tray like wa~dring &s;heepe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 53.6.</NOTE> he will neuer &s;eeke vs, nor cary vs on his ble&s;&s;ed &s;houlders to the &s;heepfould of eternall happine&s;&s;e. In a word as without the &s;en&s;e of &s;inne, we can neuer attaine vnto faith and repentance, &s;o without faith and repentance, we can neuer haue any a&s;&s;urance of any of the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And therefore it behooueth vs as we tender our &s;aluati|on, that wee labour after the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The meanes whereby wee may attaine so a true &s;ight of our liues. <HI>2. King. 22.19. Act. 2.37.</HI></NOTE> that with good <HI>Io&s;ias</HI> our hearts melt within vs, and euen re|&s;olue them&s;elues into the teares of vnfained repentance; that we euen rent our heart with true compunction, as the Prophet exhorteth. Ioel. 2.13. and that with the Iewes wee haue our hearts prickt within vs, when we come to the &s;ight of our &s;innes, and all this not &s;o much in regard of the pu|ni&s;hment we haue de&s;erued, as that by our &s;innes wee haue di&s;plea&s;ed our good God and gratious father, and haue cau|&s;ed our &s;auiour Chri&s;t who is the Lord of life, to be put to a &s;hamefull and painefull death.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zach. 12.10</NOTE></P>
<P>And that wee may attaine vnto this &s;en&s;e and feeling of our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1.</HI> Meanes prayers.</NOTE> there are diuers meanes to be v&s;ed effectuall for this purpo&s;e; as fir&s;t we are to haue our recour&s;e vnto God by earne&s;t and feruent prayer, de&s;iring and intreating that he will annoint the blind eyes of our vnder&s;tandings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 3.17.18.</NOTE> with the pretious eye &s;alue of his holy &s;pirit, that we may &s;ee our owne wretchedne&s;&s;e, mi&s;erie, pouertie, blindne&s;&s;e and na|kedne&s;&s;e, and that hee will &s;often our hard hearts, with the oyle of his grace, and &s;o beate the&s;e &s;tonie rockes, that out of the~ may flow plentiful &s;treams of vnfained repentance.</P>
<PB N="415" REF="217">
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2.</HI> Medita|ting in the law.</NOTE> we are oftentimes to &s;et the law as a gla&s;&s;e be|fore vs that &s;o we may &s;ee our deformities, and to examine our liues thereby as it were by a rule or &s;quare, that &s;o wee may know both how often we haue erred &amp; tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed it in the time pa&s;t, and how vnable we are to performe it for the time to come in that exact maner which God requi|reth. For as the deformities and &s;pots in the face though they be great and many, cannot be de&s;cerned of tho&s;e who haue them, vnle&s;&s;e they looke them&s;elues in a gla&s;&s;e, and though euery one els doth plainly &s;ee the~, yet the party him|&s;elfe doth lea&s;t of all perceiue them: &s;o though our &s;pirituall deformities and filthy &s;pots of &s;inne, appeare mo&s;t vgly and odious in the eies of God &amp; men, &s;o that euery one &s;eemeth to point at them, yet wee our &s;elues will neuer di&s;cerne them, vnle&s;&s;e we &s;et the looking gla&s;&s;e of the law before vs.</P>
<P>Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>3.</HI> Medita|ting of the iu&s;tice and truth of God. <HI>Iob 4.18. &amp; 15.15. E&s;a. 64.6.</HI></NOTE> we are often and earne&s;tly to meditate vpon the iu&s;tice and truth of God, in who&s;e pre&s;ence the heauens are not cleane, and <HI>the Angels them&s;elues are vnable to abide the rigour of his iu&s;tice, and how much more is man abominable and filthy, who drinketh iniquitie like water.</HI> In who&s;e &s;ight out be&s;t righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is like a polluted cloth, and how much more filthy then are our &s;innes and wickedne&s;&s;e, moreouer as he is mo&s;t iu&s;t &s;o as he cannot let &s;inne goe vnpuni&s;hed, &s;o al&s;o hee is mo&s;t true, yea truth it &s;elfe, neither can any of tho&s;e threatnings fall to the ground vnexecuted, which he hath denounced again&s;t tho&s;e who liue in their &s;innes, and there|fore there is no meanes to e&s;cape his fearfull iudgements, vnle&s;&s;e we turne from our &s;innes and meete the Lord by vn|fained repentance.</P>
<P>Fourthly, let vs continually remember that we mu&s;t once appeare before Gods tribunall &s;eate of iudgement,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>4.</HI> Medita|tion of the la&s;t iudge|ment.</NOTE> there to render an accompt not onely of our words and workes but euen of our &s;ecret thoughts, when as the Lord him&s;elfe who &s;earcheth the hearts and reignes &s;halbe our iudge who will not acquit the guilty, nor re&s;pect the per&s;on of man, neither will he be &s;ati&s;fied with faire pretences and &s;mooth excu&s;es, nor corrupted with brides and gifts.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.</NOTE> And therefore let vs
<PB N="416" REF="218">iudge our &s;elues that we may not be iudged of the Lord, and in bitterne&s;&s;e of &s;oule and remor&s;e of con&s;cience let vs con|demne our &s;elues to be mi&s;erable &s;inners, that the Lord may acquite vs and make vs ta&s;t of his mercy.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>5.</HI> Remem|brance of tho&s;e puni&s;h|ments due to the wicked.</NOTE>La&s;tly, let vs &s;eriou&s;ly meditate on tho&s;e fearefull pu|ni&s;hments, which are prepared for tho&s;e who liue and die in their &s;innes; for they &s;hall for euer be &s;eperated from the pre|&s;ence of God, the ioyes of heauen, and the &s;weete companie of the Saints and Angels, and be ca&s;t into eternall darknes, where they &s;hall for euer and euer be tormented in flames vnquenchable, all which horrible puni&s;hments are due vnto all,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.10.</NOTE> who <HI>continue not in all which is written in the booke of the law to doe them,</HI> and therefore how &s;hall we e&s;cape who in &s;tead of continuing in obedience to all Gods commandements, haue continualy broke~ them aland done the clean contrary, if we do not in the &s;en&s;e of the heauy burthen of our &s;innes, humble our &s;elues before God by vnfained repentance, and come vnto Chri&s;t by a true and liuely faith, that we may bee ea&s;ed of this intollerable waight, and adorned with his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And &s;o much concerning the fir&s;t &s;igne, whereby tho&s;e may be di&s;cerned whom Chri&s;t calleth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>2.</HI> thing required is that our &s;ins be irk&s;ome &amp; greeuous vn|to vs.</NOTE> namely the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of their &s;innes. But it is not &s;ufficient that we feele our &s;innes like a heauie burthen, pre&s;&s;ing vs down if we be con|te~tto bear it &s;til, but it mu&s;t &s;eeme irk&s;om and grieuous vnto vs, and make vs exceeding weary of bearing it, we mu&s;t with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> thinke it <HI>&s;ufficie~t that we haue &s;pent the time pa&s;t of our liues, after the lu&s;t of the Gentiles in abominable &s;innes,</HI> and for the time to come we are to liue after the will of God, dedicating our &s;elues wholy to his wor&s;hip and &s;eruice. O|therwi&s;e, though we haue neuer &s;o exqui&s;ite a &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of our &s;ins, yet if they &s;eeme vnto vs a &s;weet burthen which we are content &s;till to beare without any great wearine&s;&s;e, nay with plea&s;ure and delight, if wee bee like the rich mi&s;er who though his backe &s;hould be almo&s;t broken with the waight of his owne gold, yet would not thinke it any trou|ble, nay would e&s;teeme it for his chiefe felicity becau&s;e his
<PB N="417" REF="218">burthen plea&s;eth him, &s;o if we feeling that our &s;innes are an huge and ma&s;&s;y burthen, are neuerthele&s;&s;e not troubled nor wearie of bearing them, but rather take our chiefe delight in being &s;o loded; becau&s;e the burthen is exceeding &s;weet and delightfull to vs, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that we are not in the number of tho&s;e whom Chri&s;t calleth, for hee inuiteth them onely vnto him? who being heauy laden with the waight of their &s;innes are wearie of their burthen, and &s;orrow and greeue, that they cannot &s;hake it of, nor be freed from it. Crying out with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paule,</HI> Rom. 7.24. <HI>O wretch|ed man that I am, who &s;hall deliuer mee from the bodie of this death.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third &s;igne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> thinge is an earne&s;t de&s;ire to be freed from our &s;innes.</NOTE> whereby wee may know tho&s;e whome Chri&s;t calleth, is that being vexed with the heauy burthen of &s;inne, they earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be ea&s;ed and relea&s;ed of it; for as tho&s;e who are ouerpre&s;&s;ed with a heauy burthen, de&s;ire aboue all things to be freed from it, &s;o tho&s;e who feele the waight of &s;inne pre&s;&s;ing them downe and are weary &amp; tired in bearing of it, they mo&s;t earne&s;tly de&s;ire to bee ea&s;ed of this intollerable burthen, and will neuer bee at re&s;t till their de&s;ire bee accompli&s;hed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">This de&s;ire re&s;embled to hunger and thir&s;t.</NOTE>This de&s;ire in the Scriptures is re&s;embled to hunger and thir&s;t; in which the&s;e two things concurre, fir&s;t a &s;en&s;e of our want, and &s;econdly an appetite or earne&s;t de&s;ire to be &s;ati&s;fied, and to haue our want &s;upplied; and &s;o in the&s;e &s;pirituall things, fir&s;t we feele the want of Gods graces and Chri&s;tes righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and then wee earne&s;tly de&s;ire that wee may be filled and &s;ati&s;fied with them. So that to hunger and thir&s;t after the grace of God, and the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, and to be wearie and heauie laden are much alike, &amp; both are ble&s;&s;ed of the Lorde; for as tho&s;e who hunger, and thir&s;t after righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, are ble&s;&s;ed becau&s;e they &s;hall bee &s;ati&s;fied, as it is, Matth. 5.6. So they are ble&s;&s;ed who are wearie and heauie laden, with the burthen of their &s;innes, for &s;uch Chri&s;t calleth vnto him, and hath promi&s;ed to ea&s;e them, that is, to giue vnto them the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes, and to relea&s;e them of this burthen, by taking it vpon his owne
<PB N="418" REF="219">&s;houlders. And as our Sauiour calleth and inuiteth vnto him &s;uch as are wearie and heauie laden. Matth. 11.28. So in diuers other places, he inuiteth and calleth tho&s;e, who hun|ger and thir&s;t after his righteou&s;nes So E&s;a. 55.1. <HI>To euery one that thir&s;teth come yee to the waters, and yee that haue no &s;iluer come buie, and eate, come I &s;ay buy wine, and milke, without mony.</HI> and Iohn 7.37. <HI>Ie&s;us cryed &s;aying; If any man thir&s;t, let him come vnto mee and drinke.</HI> Apoc. 21.6. <HI>I will giue to him who is a thir&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 21.6. and 22.17.</NOTE> <HI>of the well of the water of life freely.</HI> and 22.17. <HI>Let him that is a thir&s;t come, and let who&s;oeuer will, take of the well of the water of life freely.</HI> a notable example of this thir&s;ting wee haue in Dauid. P&s;al. 63.1. <HI>O God thou art my God, early wil I &s;eeke thee, my &s;oule thir&s;teth for thee.</HI> and 42.1. <HI>as the hart bray|eth for the riuers of water, &s;o panteth my &s;oule after thee O God.</HI> 2. <HI>my &s;oule thir&s;teth for God, euen for the liuing God.</HI> and P&s;al. 143.6. <HI>my &s;oule thir&s;teth after thee, as the thir&s;tie land.</HI> Which thir&s;t who&s;oeuer feeleth, he may boldly a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe, that hee is in the number of tho&s;e whom Chri&s;t calleth, and that will &s;ati&s;fie him.</P>
<P>Who&s;oeuer therefore hungreth and thir&s;teth after the grace of God, and righteou&s;nes of Chri&s;t, who&s;oeuer is wea|rie and heauie laden, that is, who &s;o hath a true &s;en&s;e, and feeling of his &s;innes, and is vexed, and greeued, with the burthen thereof, and withall, his heart de&s;ireth to to be ea&s;ed of his loade, though he thinke him&s;elfe in a mo&s;t mi&s;erable e&s;tate, yet if he come vnto Chri&s;t, and with blind <HI>Bartemaeus</HI> crie out O &s;onne of <HI>Dauid</HI> haue mercy on mee, I may fitly &s;ay vnto him, as it was &s;ay do vnto this blind man: Bee of good comfort, for Chri&s;t calleth thee.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The la&s;t thing required in tho&s;e whome Chri&s;t calleth, is, that they come vnto him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The la&s;t thing required is that we come vnto Chri&s;t.</NOTE> for to whom &s;hould wee come for ea&s;e, but vnto Chri&s;t him&s;elfe, &s;eeing their is neither &s;aint nor Angell, that can ea&s;e vs, for the waight of one &s;inne would pre&s;&s;e them downe into hell; wheras our Sauiour Chri&s;t is able to beare the burthen of our &s;innes, nay he hath alreadie borne them, that wee might bee deliuered from them. As it is, 1. Pet. 2.24. neither it is likely, that either &s;aint or Angel,
<PB N="419" REF="219">would &s;o willingly helpe vs as our Sauiour Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, who &s;o tenderly loued vs that hee came into the worlde, to lay downe his own mo&s;t precious life as a price for our redemp|tion; and though they were willing, yet they haue not the like abilitie vnto him, who hath all power in heauen, and earth co~mitted vnto him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.27.</NOTE> for working the worke of our re|demption. And therfore, &s;eeing he wanteth neither loue, nor power, let vs goe vnto him, and him onely. Otherwi&s;e we &s;hal commit a double follie, that is, we &s;hall leaue Chri&s;t, who is the fou~taine of liuing water, &amp; dig vnto our &s;elues broken ci&s;ternes, which will hould no water.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 2.13.</NOTE> <HI>For there is not &s;aluation in any other, neither is their amonge men any other name giuen vnder heauen, whereby we mu&s;t be &s;aued.</HI> as it is, Actes 4.12. Hee is the way which leadeth vnto euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, he is the truth, to in&s;truct vs in all the coun&s;ailes of God, hee is the life to reuiue vs, who were dead in our &s;innes, yea the life of euerla&s;ting life, and the perfection of our heauenly hap|pine&s;&s;e. Iohn 14.6. <HI>Hee hath taken vpon him our infirmities, and borne our paines, hee was wounded for our offences, and &s;mitten for our iniquities, the paine of our puni&s;hment was layd vpon him, and with his &s;tripes wee are healed.</HI> E&s;a. 53.4.5.6. To whom therefore &s;hould wee goe in our &s;ickene&s;&s;e, but to this our heauenly phy&s;ition? who&s;e helpe &s;hould wee &s;eeke for the curing of our woundes, but the helpe of this our ble&s;&s;ed &s;urgeon who will ea&s;ily cure them all, with the pre|cious balme of his bloud? whether &s;hould wee returne after our long wandring, but vnto the &s;hepheard of our &s;oules? to whome &s;hould wee &s;eeke to bee pre&s;erued from death, and damnation, but to him, who is the Lorde of life, and &s;aluation? and therefore leauing all other meanes of our owne diui&s;ing, let vs repaire vnto him, and him alone, for hee calleth and inuiteth vs, promi&s;ing that hee will ea&s;e vs.</P>
<P>But how &s;hould we come vnto Chri&s;t, and what is meant hereby? &s;urely wee are not to vnder&s;tand a corporall or lo|cal comming vnto him, for hee is in heauen, and wee are vpon the earth, but our comming is &s;pirituall not of the
<PB N="420" REF="220">body but of the &s;oule.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And this is twofould, the comming of repentance, and the comming of faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">This comming to Chri&s;t two|fold.</NOTE> the comming of repentance, is per|fectly to God the father, the comming of faith, is to Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, both which are mentioned, Act. 20.21. <HI>witne&s;&s;ing repentance towardes God, and faith towards Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> For repentance is nothing, but a turning from our &s;innes, &amp; a returning to God, &amp; faith cau&s;eth vs to goe out of our &s;elues, vnto Chri&s;t, &s;eeking &s;aluation in him alone.</P>
<P>So that our comming to Chri&s;t, is to beleeue in him, for thus Chri&s;t him&s;elfe expoundeth it, Iohn 6.35. <HI>Hee that commeth unto mee &s;hall not hunger, and he that beleeueth in me, &s;hall neuer thir&s;t.</HI> So chap. 7.37.38. <HI>If any man thir&s;t, let him come vnto me and drinke. He that beleeueth in mee as &s;aith the &s;criptures, out of his bellie &s;hall flow riuers of the water of life.</HI> This then doth Chri&s;t only require of all penitent &s;inners, who are wearie, and heauie laden, with the burthen of their &s;innes, that they beleeue in him, that is, that by a liuely faith, they doe apply vnto them&s;elues Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and all his be|nefites, and a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that what&s;oeuer he hath done in the worke of mediation, and redemption, hee did it for their &s;akes; namely, that hee left the boo&s;ome of his father, and taking vpon him our fle&s;h, became the &s;onne of man, that hee might make vs the &s;onnes of God, and heyres of his euerla&s;ting kingdome, that hee was conceiued by the holy Gho&s;t, to &s;anctifie our conception, that hee here &s;uf|fered hunger, cold, wearine&s;&s;e, and other mi&s;eries of this life, that hee might make vs partakers of all happine&s;&s;e in the life to come, that hee performed perfect obedience to the law, that hee might decke and adorne vs with the rich robe of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that notwith&s;tanding, hee was mo&s;t iu&s;t and innocent, yet hee was condemned to death, before an earthly iudge, that we who were wicked, and vn|iu&s;t, might bee acquitted, and ab&s;olued, before the iudge|ment &s;eate of God, that he died vpon the cro&s;&s;e, to pre&s;erue vs from euerla&s;ting death of hell, that hee indured his fa|thers anger, that wee might bee reconciled vnto him, that
<PB N="421" REF="220">hee bore the cur&s;&s;e of the law, that he might can&s;ell the hand|writing of ordinances which made, again&s;t vs, that hee ro&s;e againe and a&s;cended into heauen, that hee might bee the fir&s;t fruites of them that &s;lept, and by his entrance into heauen, might make way for vs al&s;o, that hee &s;itteth at the right hand of God, to make interce&s;&s;ion for vs, and to pro|tect and defend vs again&s;t all our enemies, that hee &s;hall come to iudge both the quicke and the dead, to the end he may giue vnto vs, perfect redemption, and crowne vs with euerla&s;ting glorie; And if wee thus beleeue in Chri&s;t, and applie him with all his benifites vnto vs, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that he will ea&s;e vs of the heauie burthen of our &s;ins, cloth vs, with the glorious aray of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and giue vnto vs the eternal po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of tho&s;e euerla&s;ting ioies, which by his death and bloud&s;hed he hath dearely purcha|&s;ed for vs.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="32" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXII.</HI> Of Sathan tentations which he v&s;eth again&s;t tho&s;e which are called, to bring them to de&s;paire.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;omuch concerning tho&s;e tentations of Sa|than,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan te~pteth the&s;e which are called to de|&s;paire.</NOTE> wherewith hee a&s;&s;aulteth them who are not yet effectually called, to the ende that hee may keepe them from turning vnto God by vnfained repentance, and comming vnto Chri&s;t by a true and liuely faith: now wee are to &s;peake of tho&s;e tentations which he v&s;eth again&s;t tho&s;e who are called. And fir&s;t, when as he perceiueth that he can no longer blind them with ig|norance, nor keepe them &s;till in carnall worldine&s;&s;e &amp; pre|&s;umptuous &s;ecuritie, when as he &s;eeth that they are re&s;olued no longer to deferre their repentance and comming vnto Chri&s;t by a true faith, neither can be per&s;waded to content them&s;elues, with &s;uch faith and repentance as are fal&s;e and counterfait; then, and not before he appeareth in his owne likene&s;&s;e, and &s;heweth him&s;elfe a diuell indeed; for then he
<PB N="422" REF="221">accu&s;eth them of their manifold and outragious &s;ins, where in they haue long continued, then he telleth them of their &s;innes pa&s;t and pre&s;ent corruptions, whereby they are readie to fall into the like againe, then hee reuealeth vnto them their &s;innes of ignorance, and calleth to their remem|brance tho&s;e &s;innes which they haue co~mitted again&s;t their knowledge and con&s;cience, then will hee aggrauate their &s;innes which in them&s;elues are but too too hainous, and &s;et before them the iu&s;tice of God, the fearefull threatnings and terrible cur&s;e of the law, the wrath of God and the intollera|ble and eternall torments of hell fire, which by their &s;innes they haue iu&s;tly de&s;erued; all which terrblie &s;ights being in one view repre&s;ented to their already timorous thoughts, he taketh occa&s;ion of them al, to moue them to di&s;tru&s;t of Gods mercies and Chri&s;tes merites, and &s;o to plunge them into vt|ter de&s;peration. Woulde&s;t thou now vile wretch (will hee &s;ay) turne vnto God hoping to bee receaued to grace and mercy? why a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elfe it is too late, for are not thy &s;ins in number numberle&s;&s;e, and in their qualitie and nature mo&s;t haynous and outragious; and ha&s;t thou not continued in this thy rebellion again&s;t God a long time, refu&s;ing to come vnto him though he hath often called, and carele&s;&s;y neglecting all the meanes of thy &s;aluation, when thy God hath gratiou&s;ly offered them vnto thee? Now therefore the acceptable time and day of &s;aluation is pa&s;t neuer againe to be recalled, and though with <HI>E&s;au</HI> thou &s;eeke&s;t repentance with teares yet &s;halt thou neuer find it. Moreouer to the con|&s;ideration of thy horrible rebellion adde the remembrance of Gods iu&s;tice, which can in no wi&s;e &s;uffer &s;inne to goe vn|puni&s;hed, the terrible cur&s;e of the law denounced by God who is trueth it &s;elfe, again&s;t tho&s;e who continue not in all that is written in the booke of the law to doe it, the fearefull torments of hell prepared for &s;inners among&s;t which num|ber thou art one of the chiefe; and therefore doe not flatter thy &s;elfe with hope of mercy, but rather expect tho&s;e feare|full iudgements and endle&s;&s;e torments which are due vnto thee for thy rebellious wickedne&s;&s;e: and thus doth Sathan
<PB N="423" REF="221">labour to bring the poore Chri&s;tian to deepe de&s;peration, and to fill his con&s;cience with horrour and feare, which if he can accompli&s;h he re&s;teth not there, but like a cruell coward who can neuer be at quiet till he &s;ee the death of his enemie, &s;o our malitious enemie is neuer &s;atisfied till he &s;ee our death and vtter de&s;truction. And therfore when he hath grieuou&s;|ly vexed the Chri&s;tians con&s;ciences with fearefull horrour, and tormented him euen with the fla&s;hings of hell fire, in the next place he will per&s;wade him to &s;eeke &s;ome ea&s;e of his pre&s;ent torments by imbruing his hands in his owne bloud, and putting him&s;elfe to &s;ome violent death: which is nothing els but (as the Prouerb is) to leape out of the frying pan into the fire, and in &s;eeking to ea&s;e his terrours of con|&s;cience to plunge him&s;elfe into the torments of hell.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Again&s;t which tentations who&s;oeuer would be &s;trengthe|ned and enabled to with&s;tand their force and violence,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That if wee will with|&s;tand the for|mer tentati|on, wee mu&s;t not re&s;t on our owne righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> they mu&s;t not re&s;t in them&s;elues, de&s;iring in whole or in part to be iu&s;tified by their legall righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, neither mu&s;t they mea&s;ure out vnto them&s;elues Gods mercies according to their owne merites and worthine&s;&s;e, they mu&s;t not looke onely vpon Gods iu&s;tice, and vppon that exact obedience which the law requireth of them, nor yet vpon tho&s;e feare|full puni&s;hments which by their &s;innes they haue iu&s;tly de&s;erued, for then Sathan will ea&s;ily attaine vnto his pur|po&s;e, and &s;peedily bring them to de&s;peration and vtter de|&s;truction. But they mu&s;t goe out of them&s;elues and reie|cting their owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, as altogether imperfect &amp; in&s;ufficient they are to re&s;t and relie them&s;elues vppon the alone righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, as being in it &s;elfe all &s;ufficient both for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluati|on. And as they haue one eye on Gods iu&s;tice to keepe them from &s;ecure pre&s;umption, &s;o they mu&s;t haue the other firm|ly fixt on his infinite mercy to pre&s;erue them from falling into de&s;peration, as they haue one eye on the law to hum|ble them, and to bring them out of them&s;elues to Chri&s;t, &s;o they mu&s;t haue the other eye on the &s;weet and comfor|table promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell to comfort and ray&s;e them
<PB N="424" REF="222">vp. Finally as on the one &s;ide they behold the cur&s;e of the law, and the eternall torments prepared for the wicked: &s;o on the other &s;ide they mu&s;t &s;tedfa&s;tly looke vpon the righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, death, and obedience of Chri&s;t, and al&s;o vpon tho&s;e euerla&s;ting ioyes which by his precious bloud&s;hed hee hath purcha&s;ed for them. And if thus being truely humbled and brought to vnfained repentance they goe out of them|&s;elues and reiect their owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, re&s;ting and re|lying vpon the alone righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t for their iu|&s;tification &amp; &s;aluation, they may mo&s;t certainly a&s;&s;ure them|&s;elues that they haue in Chri&s;t &s;atisfied Gods iu&s;tice, &amp; are by his death reconciled vnto him, that they are freed from the cur&s;e of the law, and from the wrath of God, that their &s;car|let &s;ins are made as white as wooll, &amp; all their imperfections perfected by Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience, that they are acquitted from the &s;entence of condemnation, and deliuered from the fearefull torments of hell.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But forasmuch as tho&s;e who labour vnder the burthen of their &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons to per&s;wade the weake Chri|&s;tian of the forgiuene&s;&s;e of his &s;innes.</NOTE> and are continually vexed and mooued to de&s;|peration, by Sathans mo&s;t &s;ubtiland violent tentations, are not &s;o ea&s;ily per&s;waded that their &s;ins are forgiuen them, &amp; they reconciled vnto God in Chri&s;t; therfore I will &s;et down &s;ome arguments, whereby all tho&s;e who truly repent, (that is &s;orrow for their &s;innes pa&s;t, and de&s;ire, and indeauour to for&s;ake them in the time to come) and withall going out of them&s;elues, doe earne&s;tly hunger after Chri&s;t and his righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and re&s;t and relie vpon him for their &s;aluation, may haue full a&s;&s;urance that their &s;innes are forgiuen them, and that they are in Chri&s;t reconciled vnto God, and receiued into his loue and fauour.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t ar|gument drawne from Gods mercy.</NOTE>The fir&s;t argument, to a&s;&s;ure all of the pardon and for|giuene&s;&s;e of their &s;innes, who will come vnto him, may be drawne from his mercy, which is one of his properties and attributes, &s;o often attributed vnto him in the &s;criptures. Exod. 34.6.7. God thus de&s;cribeth him&s;elfe: <HI>The Lord, the Lord, &s;trong, mercifull and gracious, &s;low to anger, and a|bundant in goodne&s;&s;e &amp; truth. 2 re&s;eruing mercy for thou&s;ands,
<PB N="425" REF="222">forgiuing iniquitie, tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion and &s;inne.</HI> Out of which place that famous &amp; godly learned man <HI>H. Zanchius</HI> hath ob&s;er|ued matter fit for our purpo&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Zanch. de Attrib. l. <HI>2.</HI> cap. <HI>1.</HI> q. <HI>2.</HI></NOTE> &amp; therefore it &s;hall not be a|mi&s;&s;e to &s;et downe his owne words: <HI>For be&s;ides</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that the e&s;&s;ence of God is only one, &amp; that eternal mo&s;t &s;imple mo&s;t per|fect, liuing, immortall, inui&s;ible, incorruptible, infinite, omnipotent, mo&s;t wi&s;e; he is al&s;o wholy mo&s;t good in whom nothing is wanting; a louer of men, most meeke, mo&s;t gentle, &s;low to anger, mo&s;t ready to forgiue iniuries, mo&s;t patient, mo&s;t true, mo&s;t righteous, mo&s;t iu&s;t, mo&s;t faithfull in performing his promi&s;es, finally hee is nothing els then the &s;oueraigne goodne&s;&s;e, and the chiefe clemencie as he hath de&s;cribed, and liuely deciphered him&s;elfe.</HI> Exod. 34. <HI>and el&s;e|where. And therefore we mu&s;t note, although anger be attribu|ted vnto God, yet notwith&s;tanding it is in God nothing els but the chiefe goodne&s;&s;e and iu&s;tice, whereby he abhorreth euill and ac|cording to his iu&s;t iudgement doth at length puni&s;h it, if it be not amended by his long &s;uffering and patience. This herehence ma|nife&s;tly appeareth, becau&s;e &s;peaking of reuenge or taking puni&s;h|ment which is an effect of anger, he doth not &s;ay that he doth pre|&s;ently inflict puni&s;hment, or that hee is &s;o ready to inflict it as to &s;hew mercy, but hee &s;aith that hee is &s;low to anger. Sign fying by this maner of &s;peach, that he is of his owne nature alwayes mo&s;t ready, to &s;hew mercy, to graunt pardon, to be beneficiall; but not &s;o ready to take puni&s;hment, but is forced here vnto as of him&s;elfe, vnwilling through our impenitencie. Hereunto al&s;o appertaineth that ancient forme of prayer; O Lord who&s;e propertie is alwaies to haue mercy and forgiue.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 28.21. 2. Sam. 5. 1. Chro. 14. Io&s;. 10.</NOTE> Herehence al&s;o we read in</HI> E&s;ai. ch. 28.21. <HI>The Lord &s;hall &s;tand as in mount Perazim, hee &s;halbe angry as in the valley Gibeon. That he may doe his worke, his &s;trange worke, that he may effect his act, his &s;trange act. (that is, he &s;hall inflict the like puni&s;hments in his iu&s;t anger vpon his re|bellious people, which hee exerci&s;ed vpon his wicked enemies the Phili&s;tines in mount Perazim, when as he ouerthrewe them, by his &s;eruant</HI> Dauid, <HI>and vpo~ the</HI> Amorites <HI>in the valley of Gibeon when as he &s;mote them with &s;tones from heauen.) Where the Pro|phet maketh a twofold kind of Gods workes, his proper and &s;trange works. The proper worke of God is to &s;hew mercy, and to &s;pare or
<PB N="426" REF="223">forgiue; his &s;trange worke is to be angry and to puni&s;h. And therefore whereas hee calleth that the proper worke of God, and this his &s;trange worke; he plainely teacheth that mercy, goodne&s;&s;e &amp; long &s;uffering are according to the nature of the deitie, but that to be angry is diuers from Gods nature, Yea which is more hee maketh it not his worke, that is to &s;ay, he is angrie that afterwards he may bring his worke to pa&s;&s;e, that is, that he may haue mercie and pre&s;erue; for while&s;t (&s;aith the Apostle) wee are iudged of the Lord, we are cha&s;tened that we &s;hould not be comdemned with the world.</HI> 1. Cor. 11.32. <HI>And what doe the&s;e things teach vs, but that the nature of God is nothing els then goodne&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.32.</NOTE> <HI>mercy, loue e&s;pecially of men, patience, benignitie, and mo&s;t farre and remote from all vniu&s;t &s;eueritie, cruelty, tyrannie, and pride.</HI> The which may mini&s;ter vnto euery penitent &s;inner mo&s;t &s;weet con&s;olation; for when they &s;ee that God is angry by rea&s;on of their &s;ins, &amp; that he doth greeuou&s;ly afflict them, &amp; euen bring them as it were to the gates of hell, this mu&s;t not make the to ca&s;t of al hope &amp; to fal into vtter de&s;peratio~; but they mu&s;t remember, that the&s;e are not the Lords proper works but &s;trange vnto him, which he doth to this end, that he may bring to pa&s;&s;e his owne proper works which are a|greeable to his nature, that is, that he may againe &s;hew vnto vs the glorious beames of his louing cou~tenance in more full brightne&s;&s;e, &amp; bring vs fro~ death to life; fro~ affliction to ioy, from the gates of hell to the kingdome of heauen. According to that 1. Sam. 2.6. the Lord killeth, &amp; maketh aliue, he brin|geth downe vnto hell, and bringeth vp againe. As therefore when we &s;ee carpenters pulling downe a ruinous building our minds do not re&s;t there, becau&s;e we know that this they doe is not their proper worke, but we goe further in our co|gitation thinking of a new hou&s;e which they will build in the place of the old, for a&s; much as wee know that it is not their proper worke to race downe but to build, or to race downe that they may build; &s;o when wee &s;ee the Lord an|gry and inflicting corrections let vs not re&s;t here, but with the like fore&s;ight of mind, let vs con&s;ider that he doth the&s;e his &s;trange and improper works, that afterwards he may do
<PB N="427" REF="223">tho&s;e which are proper and naturall, that is that he afflicteth that he may bring the more true co~fort, that he bringeth vs to the gates of hell, to the end hee may ray&s;e vs vp to bee partakers of the ioyes of heauen. But let vs con&s;ider of &s;ome more te&s;timonies of Gods infinite mercies. As the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> likewi&s;e &s;aith P&s;alm. 103.8. <HI>that the Lord is full of compa&s;&s;ion and mercy, &s;low to anger, and of great kindne&s;&s;e.</HI> and P&s;al. 86.5 <HI>Thou Lord art good and mercifull, and of great kindne&s;&s;e vnto all them that call vpon thee.</HI> So the pro|phet Ioel 2.13. te&s;tifieth of the Lorde, that hee is <HI>gratious and mercifull, &s;low to anger and of great kindne&s;&s;e.</HI> And the apo&s;tle &s;aith that he is <HI>rich in mercie.</HI> Eph. 2.4. and 2. Cor. 1.3. He calleth him, <HI>the father of mercies, and God of all co~fort.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seeing then, mercie is one of Gods attributes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That God is delighted in exerci&s;ing his mercie.</NOTE> therefore it is al&s;o of his e&s;&s;ence, and being, for there is not in Godes mo&s;t perfect nature, any qualities or accidentes, but what|&s;oeuer is in God, is God, &s;o that God is mercie it &s;elfe, and con&s;equently, to &s;hew and excerci&s;e his mercie, is to &s;hew and exerci&s;e his owne nature. Now wee know that naturall actions are not trouble&s;ome, norirk&s;ome, neither is the &s;unne troubled with giuing lighte, nor the fire with giuing heate, nor the tree with yeelding fruite, nor the bea&s;t with nou|ri&s;hing his young, nor man with receiuing nouri&s;hment, and &s;leepe, becau&s;e it is their nature to be excerci&s;ed in the&s;e actions, and therefore &s;eeing mercie is of Gods e&s;&s;ence, it is not painefull and trouble&s;ome to excerci&s;e it towardes all repentant &s;inners, bee their &s;innes neuer &s;o many, and hani|ous, no more, then it is trouble&s;ome to exerci&s;e his iu&s;tice, in puni&s;hing of tho&s;e who are ob&s;tinate and rebellious, nay it is not onely not trouble&s;ome and painefull, but al&s;o plea|&s;ant and delightfull for God to &s;hewe mercie vnto all tho&s;e who truely turne vnto him, and contrariwi&s;e it &s;hould bee trouble&s;ome and irk&s;ome, (if I may &s;o &s;peake,) for God not to &s;hew and exerci&s;e his nature, and mercie, towardes repentant &s;inners; for as the eye is delighed with &s;eeing, and to bee re&s;trayned there from is grieuous vnto it, as the care is delighed with hearing, and is much mole&s;ted if it be &s;toped,
<PB N="428" REF="224">and as euerie part, and facultie of the bodie, and &s;oule, are delighted in excerci&s;ing their &s;euerall actions, and functi|ons, and are much vexed, and cumbred, if by any meanes they &s;hould bee hindred; &s;o is the Lord delighted, and well plea&s;ed, in &s;hewing, and excerci&s;ing his owne nature, and attributes, as his power, and prouidence, in gouerning the world, his iu&s;tice, in puni&s;hing wicked, ob&s;tinate, and re|bellious &s;inners, and his mercy in pardoning, and remitting the &s;innes of tho&s;e, who are of an humble &s;pirite and broken heart, and are wearie of this intollerable burthen, de&s;iring nothing more, then to bee ea&s;ed and freed from it. And not to thus excerci&s;e his nature, and attributes, woulde ra|ther (that I may &s;peake after the manner of men) bee vnto the Lord tedious and trouble&s;ome.</P>
<P>Of this plea&s;ure and delight, which the Lorde taketh in pardoning repentant &s;inners, the Prophet Micha &s;peaketh, chap. 7.10.18. <HI>who</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>is a God like vnto thee; that taketh away iniquitie, and pa&s;&s;eth by tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the remnant of his heritage: he retaineth not his wrath for euer, becau&s;e mer|cie plea&s;eth him.</HI> So the prophet Dauid P&s;al. 147.11. &s;aith that the <HI>Lord is delighted in them that feare him and attend vpon his mercy; euen as though he reioyced much,</HI> to haue an oc|ca&s;ion offered, of excerci&s;ing his mercy and goodne&s;&s;e to|wardes tho&s;e, who earne&s;tly de&s;iring it, wait vpon him, that they may bee made partakers of of it. For the obiect of Gods mercy, about which it is exerci&s;ed, is mans mi&s;erie, and the action thereof, is to pittie, and helpe him, out of his wretch|ed and mi&s;erable e&s;tate; and therefore, if there were no mi|&s;erie, and wretchedne&s;&s;e, and no &s;inne to be forgiuen, there would be wanting that external obiect, about which Gods mercy &s;hould be exerci&s;ed and manife&s;ted to all the world. And hence it is, that the Lorde willingly permitted the fall of our fir&s;t parentes, to the ende that hee might make a way for the manife&s;tation of his mercie, in pardoning repen|tant &s;inners, and his iu&s;tice in puni&s;hing the contemners of his grace. And as the apo&s;tle &s;aith, Rom. 11.32. <HI>God hath &s;hut vp all in vnbeleefe, that hee might haue mercie on all,</HI> that
<PB N="429" REF="224">is to &s;ay, on all the elect, both Iewes, and Gentiles.</P>
<P>Seeing therfore God delighteth him&s;elfe in excerci&s;ing &amp; manife&s;ting his mercy, to the prai&s;e of the glorie of his grace, by pardo~ing &amp; forgiuing repentant &s;inners, let not any who are grieuou&s;ly laden, &amp; grone for wearines vnder the hea|uie burthen of their &s;innes, feare to come vnto the Lorde, and to implore his mercy for the forgiuenes of their &s;innes, though neuer &s;o grieuous and manifould, neither let them doubt, lea&s;t God will reiect their &s;uite, and refu&s;e to receiue them, into his grace, and fauoure, becau&s;e of their great re|bellions and vnworthine&s;&s;e. For although there were not (as in truth there is not) any thing to bee re&s;pected in vs, &s;auing that wee are the creatures of God, and worke of his handes, yet the Lorde will haue compa&s;&s;ion vpon vs, euen for his owne &s;ake becau&s;e hee is exceedingly delighted in &s;hewing mercy to all tho&s;e who turne vnto him. And this the Lord him&s;elfe profe&s;&s;eth E&s;a. 43.25. <HI>I euen I am he that putteth away thine iniquities for mine owne &s;ake, and will not re|member thy &s;innes.</HI> And therefore the prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> calling vpon the Lord for mercy, in the behalfe of him&s;elfe and the people, di&s;claimeth their owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and all re|&s;pect of their owne merits and worthine&s;&s;e; &s;aying, wee do not pre&s;ent our &s;upplications before thee for our own righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but for thy great tender mercies: <HI>O Lord heare, O Lord forgiue, O Lord con&s;ider and doe it; deferre not for thine owne &s;ake.</HI> Dan. 9.18.19.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect"> But here &s;athan will be ready to obiect vnto the afflicted con&s;cience, labouring vnder the burthen of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the grie+uou&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;inne cannot debarre the repentant &s;in+ner of Gods mercy.</NOTE> that God indeede is mercifull, but yet he will neuer extend his mercy towards &s;uch haynous offenders, who&s;e &s;innes are in num|ber numberle&s;&s;e, and in qualitie and nature mo&s;t grieuous and outragious. For an&s;wering of which tentation, we are to know that though our &s;innes bee neuer &s;o innumerable and hainous, yet this &s;hould not di&s;courage vs from com|ming to God by vnfained repentance, with a&s;&s;ured hope of forgiuene&s;&s;e, for though our &s;innes be great, his mercies are infinite, and con&s;equently though it were imagined that
<PB N="430" REF="225">all the &s;innes which were euer committed in the world were ioyned together, yet in compari&s;on of Gods mercy they are without all compari&s;on le&s;&s;e then a mote in the Sunne to all the world. Neither is God like vnto man, who&s;e bounty &amp; mercy are limited in &s;ome &s;traight bounds which they will not pa&s;&s;e, and therefore they are &s;oone weary both in giuing to tho&s;e who want, and forgiuing tho&s;e that offend, but his bounty is endle&s;&s;e and his mercies infinite, and therefore he can and wil as ea&s;ily forgiue vs the debt of ten thou&s;and mil|lions of pounds as one pennie, and as &s;oone pardon the &s;inns of a wicked <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> as of a righteous <HI>Abraham,</HI> if we come vnto him by vnfained repentance, and earne&s;tly de&s;ire and implore his grace and mercy. And this our Sauiour Chri&s;t &s;heweth in the parable of the poore Publica~e, who&s;e hainous &s;innes the Lord pre&s;ently forgaue vpon his true conuer&s;ion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 7.41.</NOTE> And in the parable of the two debters, where the lender our bountifull God as ea&s;ily forgaue the 500. pence as the fiftie, that is innumerable great &s;innes, as well as few and le&s;&s;e. And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paule</HI> teacheth vs, that <HI>where &s;inne hath abounded, there grace hath much more abounded.</HI> Rom. 5.20.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That we mu&s;t not &s;o aggra|uate our &s;ins that we de|rogate from Gods mercy.</NOTE>Seeing therfore Gods mercy is infinite and without al li|mites, let not vs re&s;traine it, neither let vs &s;o aggrauate our &s;innes as that in the meane time wee derogate from Gods mercy. If a Prince &s;hould &s;end his generall pardon vnto a number of offendors, without any exception or limitation, and one among&s;t the re&s;t &s;hould &s;ay this pardon doth not appertaine vnto me, becau&s;e I am &s;o great an offender, and therefore I will &s;till &s;tand in doubt of my Princes mercy, and &s;u&s;pect his word, who would not accu&s;e &s;uch an one both of folly in refu&s;ing his pardon, and of vngratefulnes and diffi|dence in di&s;tru&s;ting his gratious Prince, calling his great mercy and truth in his promi&s;&s;e into que&s;tion? Who would not thinke this offence greater then all the re&s;t, but the Lord who is infinite in mercy, hath &s;ent his generall pardon to all repentant and beleeuing &s;inners without all exception; why therefore &s;hould wee make que&s;tion of his mercy, becau&s;e of our hamous &s;innes, why &s;hould we vnto our others &s;innes
<PB N="431" REF="225">adde this which is more hainous then all the re&s;t, indoubting and di&s;tru&s;ting his word and promi&s;e, and in extenuating his infinite and endle&s;&s;e mercies. For if wee thinke our debt &s;o great that God will neuer forgiue it, what doe we els but detract from Gods rich bounty and liberality, if we &s;uppo&s;e our &s;innes may not bee for giuen becau&s;e of their greatne&s;&s;e, what do we els but imagine that they &s;urpa&s;&s;e Gods infinite mercy, which is a mo&s;t horrible bla&s;phemy once to con|ceiue.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The mercy of the Lord extendeth it &s;elfe to the bea&s;ts of the field,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods mercy is ouer all his works.</NOTE> and hee gratiou&s;ly feedeth the Rauens and young Lions, which in their bruti&s;h maner implore his helpe; &amp; &s;hal he not extend his mercies to rea&s;onable creatures that &s;eeke after them?<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 36.6. &amp; 104.21.27 &amp; 147.9. &amp; 145.9.</NOTE> Yea the Lord <HI>is good to all and his mercies are ouer all his workes,</HI> as it is P&s;al. 145.9. and will not the Lord be gra|tious to man, who is his mo&s;t excellent workeman&s;hip cre|ated according to his owne image, if hee &s;ue vnto him for grace and de&s;ire to be partaker of his mercy? His goodne&s;&s;e &s;tretcheth it &s;elfe vnto his ob&s;tinate enemies, for <HI>he cau&s;eth his rayne to fall and his Sunne to &s;hine both vpon the euill and the good, on the iust and vniust.</HI> Matth. 5.45. And &s;hall it be re|&s;trained fro~ his repentant &s;eruants? he multiplieth his mer|cies in temporall benefits vpon the wicked and reprobate, and &s;hall it be &s;canted towards his elect, he is very gratious to malitious rebels, and will he denie grace to humble &s;uers for mercy and repentant &s;inners. He &s;hewed his goodne&s;&s;e and long &s;uffering vnto wicked <HI>Achab</HI> vpon his fained and hypocriticall humiliation, and will he not extend it towards tho&s;e who being truely penitent vnfainedly turne vnto him? Yes a&s;&s;uredly, for though hee bee good to all euen &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e creatures, brute bea&s;ts, and rebellious &s;inners, yet he is in e|&s;peciall maner good to tho&s;e who are of the hou&s;hold of faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But if we cannot behold Gods mercies in their owne glo|rious brightne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That euen man is mercifull towards the penitent and therefore much more God who is infinite in mercy.</NOTE> let vs looke vpon them in &s;ome &s;mall re|&s;emblance and little counterfaite, if we cannot comprehend them in their owne infinite nature, yet let vs view them in a
<PB N="432" REF="226">&s;mall modell. Euen man him&s;elfe who hath but a &s;parke of this mighty flame, and a &s;mall drop of this bottomle&s;&s;e Oce|an &s;pareth his &s;onne when he offendeth, pardoneth his &s;er|uant when he de&s;ireth forgiuene&s;&s;e, yea is oftentimes recon|ciled to his enemie who hath many waies wronged him, when he &s;ueth for reconciliation, and confe&s;&s;eth his faults, &s;hall therefore man who hath receaued a little &s;parke from this euer burning flame of Gods goodne&s;&s;e, a &s;mall drop of this endle&s;&s;e and bottomle&s;&s;e Ocean, and but a little mo|dell of this infinite greatne&s;&s;e, who&s;e greate&s;t mercy com|pared with Gods, is but &s;auadge and barbarous cruelty; &s;hall hee I &s;ay bee readie to &s;pare his Sonne, forgiue his &s;er|uant, and bee reconciled vnto his enemy, and &s;hall not God &s;pare, forgiue, and bee reconciled vnto tho&s;e who turne from their &s;innes by vnfained repentance, and ear|ne&s;tly &s;ue for grace; &s;hall wee &s;ee, and acknowledge, the mercies of man, and &s;hall wee doubt of the mercies of God which is the plentifull fountaine, from which like a pirling &s;treame they flow; &s;hall wee confe&s;&s;e, that a droppe of water is moy&s;t, and affirme that the ocean is drie, &s;hall wee be &s;harp&s;ighted in &s;eeing the light of a &s;mall &s;parke, and bee &s;tarke blinde, in behoulding the glorious beames of the &s;unne. Nay let vs know, acknowledge, and a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues, that as much as the whole globe of the earth, exceedeth in quantitie the lea&s;t mote in the &s;unne, as much as the whole ocean exceedeth the &s;malle&s;t drop of water, yea, a&s;much as the infinite creatour, exceedeth the finite creature, be|tweene which, there can bee imagined no degrees of com|pari&s;on, &s;o much doth the mercie, and bountie of God, ex|ceede the bountie and mercie of mortall man. And there|fore if vpon repentance for our fault and earne&s;t de&s;ire of reconciliation, wee hope of mercie and wounted kindnes, from our frinde or neighbour, let vs not make any que&s;ti|on, nor once doubt of the Lords loue and fauour towards vs, though our &s;innes bee neuer &s;o grieuous, &s;o wee truely repent and vnfainedly turne vnto him.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the aflicted con&s;cience wilbe readie to &s;ay, that
<PB N="433" REF="226">though there bee no doubt of Gods mercie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That doubt|ing of Gods mercie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> in re|&s;pect of our vnworthine&s;&s;e argueth pride</NOTE> but that it is in it &s;elfe mo&s;t infinite, yet I doubt, lea&s;t I &s;hall neuer be parta|ker thereof becau&s;e of my manifold inperfections, and great vnworthine&s;&s;e. To which I an&s;weare, that this di&s;t|ru&s;ting of Gods mercies, in re&s;pect of our vnworthine&s;&s;e, proceedeth not from true humilitie, but from our naturall pride, for if wee had denied our &s;elues, and were nothing in our owne eyes, if wee had wholy remooued our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and did wholy, and onely, re&s;t on our &s;auiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t for our &s;aluation, wee would neuer hope the more in regard of our owne worthine&s;&s;e, nor yet doubt in re&s;pect of our vnworthine&s;&s;e. But it is our &s;ecret and inbred pride of heart, which makes vs to doubt of Gods mercy, vn|le&s;&s;e wee bring him a bride and de&s;erue it at his hands, and to de&s;ire to make the Lorde beholding vnto vs rather then we would be any whit beholding vnto him. Which is nothing els but to di&s;grace Gods mercies, that we may grace our own merits; &amp; by labouring that we may be &s;o~ething in our &s;elus, we wil not alow that God &s;hould be al in al &amp; haue the whole prai&s;e of our &s;aluation. But we are to roote out of our hearts this &s;pirituall pride, and to plant therein true humilitie, and then we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues though our &s;innes bee great, yet the mercies of God are farre greater, though wee bee mo&s;t beggerly in merites, yet wee &s;hall bee made rich by Chri&s;t Ie&s;us righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; for the poorer wee are in de&s;ert, the richer Gods mercie will appeare in accepting vs to his grace and fauour; and where &s;inne hath abounded, there grace will abound much more.</P>
<P>Seeing therefore Gods mercies are infinite, and are not any whit re&s;trayned by our vnworthine&s;&s;e, let vs &s;eeke vnto the Lord by vnfained repentance, and a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues of his loue and fauour in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; <HI>Let the wicked for&s;ake his ways &amp; the vnrighteous his own imaginations, and return vn|to the Lord and he will haue mercie vpon him, and to our God for he is very readie to forgiue,</HI> as the Prophet exhoreth vs. E&s;ay 55.7.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="33" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="434" REF="227">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXIII.</HI> Of the &s;econd Argument grounded vpon Gods iu&s;tice.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe &s;econd argument to a&s;&s;ure tho&s;e of the for|giuene&s;&s;e of their &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods iu&s;tice will not puni&s;h tho&s;e &s;innes in vs which are already puni|&s;hed in Chri&s;t</NOTE> who vnfainedly repent and relye wholy vpon Ie&s;us Chri&s;t for their &s;al|uation, by a liuely faith may bee drawne from Gods iu&s;tice, for their &s;innes are fully and &s;ufficiently pu|ni&s;hed in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and therefore it wil not &s;tand with the iu&s;tice of God, to puni&s;h them againe in any of tho&s;e who haue applyed vnto them the merites and &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t by a liuely faith; and as the Lord cannot in iu&s;tice let &s;inne goe vnpuni&s;hed, and therfore hath puni&s;hed the &s;ins of all men either in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, or will throughly puni&s;h them in the parties them&s;elues, &s;o the &s;ame iu&s;tice will not admit that the &s;ame &s;innes &s;hould be twi&s;e puni&s;hed, once in our Saui|our; and againe in the faithfull. Now that our &s;auiour Chri&s;t hath &s;ufficiently &s;uffered for all the &s;innes of the faithfull; it is euident by many places of the Scriptures. E&s;ay 53.4. <HI>Surely hee hath borne our infirmities and carried our &s;orrowes.</HI> 5. <HI>But hee was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, he was broken for our iniquities, the cha&s;ti&s;ment of our peace was vpon him, and with his &s;tripes wee are healed.</HI> 2 Cor. 5.21. <HI>hee hath made him to bee &s;inne for vs which knewe no &s;inne, that wee &s;hould be made the righteou&s;nes of God in him.</HI> So the apo&s;tle He. 9.26. &s;aith that our &s;auiour Chri&s;t <HI>hath appeared once to put away &s;inne by the &s;acrifice of him&s;elfe.</HI> And Pet. 1. epi&s;tle 2.24. &s;aith <HI>that his own &s;elfe bare our &s;innes in his bodie on the tree, that wee being deli|uered from &s;inne &s;hould liue in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> Seeing then our &s;innes were laide vpon Chri&s;t and &s;euerely puni&s;hed in him, God in his iu&s;tice will not inflict any more puni&s;hmens vp|pon the faithfull but will pardon and forgiue them, which pardon and forgiuene&s;&s;e is a worke of his iu&s;tice as well as of his mercie, and therefore it is &s;aid, Rom. 3.25. that <HI>God hath &s;et forth our Sauiour Chri&s;t to be a reconciliation through faith in his bloud, to declare his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by the forgiuene&s;&s;e of
<PB N="435" REF="227">&s;innes that are pa&s;&s;ed through the patience of God.</HI> 26. <HI>to &s;hewe at this time his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e that hee might be iust, and a iu&s;ti|fier of him who is of the faith of Ie&s;us,</HI> So it is &s;aid 1. Iohn 1.9. that <HI>If we acknowledge our &s;innes, hee is faithfull and iu&s;t to for|giue vs our &s;innes and to clean&s;e vs from all vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> So that Gods righteou&s;nes is declared in the forgiuenes of &s;ins, and hee &s;heweth his iu&s;tice in iu&s;tifying tho&s;e who are of the faith of Ie&s;us, and in pardoning all their offences. And there|fore if wee will beleeue in our Sauiour Chri&s;t and bring forth the fruites of our faith in vnfained repentance, wee need not &s;eruilely to feare Gods iu&s;tice, nay wee may be a&s;|&s;ured that becau&s;e hee is iu&s;t, he will in Chri&s;t pardon and forgiue our &s;innes, and neuer inflict any puni&s;hment, which by them in our &s;elues wee haue iu&s;tly de&s;erued.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But that the equitie hereof may bee more manife&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our &s;ins are debts and therefore not to be twice paid.</NOTE> we are to con&s;ider that our &s;innes in the &s;criptures are called debtes; for the Lord in our creation lent vnto vs the rich talents of his graces, to be imployed for the &s;etting forth of his glory, all which wee wa&s;tfully mi&s;pent and brought our &s;elues in|to &s;uch extreame beggerie, that we were altogether vnable to pay to God the lea&s;t part of that which we owed, nor to re~|der accoumpt vnto our Lord &amp; mai&s;ter how in any good fort we had be&s;towed his rich trea&s;ures; &amp; therefore in his iu&s;tice he &s;ent his &s;ergeant death to are&s;t vs, and to ca&s;t vs in the pri|&s;on of vtter darkenes, there to remaine in the cu&s;tody of &s;a|than our mo&s;t malitious iaylor, till we had fully di&s;charged our debt and made full &s;ati&s;faction to his iu&s;tice; which whe~ we were altogeather vnable to perfourme, it plea&s;ed our &s;a|uiour Chri&s;t in his infinite loue towards vs, to become our &s;uerty, and to take vppon him the an&s;wering of our debt, which he fully di&s;charged in as exact a manner and mea&s;ure as the iu&s;tice of God required, for whereas wee are bound to performe perfect obedience to the lawe, he perfor|med it for vs; where as wee for our di&s;obedience were &s;ubiect to the &s;entence of condemnation, the cur&s;e of the law, and death of body and &s;oule, he was condem|ned for vs, and bore the cur&s;e of the lawe, and dyed in
<PB N="436" REF="228">our &s;tead an ignominious death, whereas we de&s;erued the anger of God, and to bee kept pri&s;oners in the graue vnder the dominion of death, he endured his fathers wrathfull di&s;|plea&s;ure, and him&s;elfe was for a time held captiue of death in the graue, that &s;o he might reconcile vs to his father and &s;et vs at libertie. In a word what&s;oeuer we owed Chri&s;t di&s;|charged, what&s;oeuer wee de&s;erued hee &s;uffered, if not in the &s;elfe &s;ame puni&s;hments, (for hee could not &s;uffer the eternall torments of hell) yet in proportion, the dignity of his per&s;on giuing value vnto his temporarie puni&s;hments, and making them of more valew and worth then if all the world &s;hould haue &s;uffered the eternal torments of hell. Se|ing therefore our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath fully di&s;charged our debt and made full &s;atisfaction to his fathers iu&s;tice, God cannot in equitie exact of vs a &s;econd payment, no more then the creditours may iu&s;tly require that his debt &s;hould be twice payd, once of the &s;uerty, and againe of the principal. Neither now hath Gods iu&s;tice any thing to &s;hew again&s;t vs, for the lawe which was the hand writing of ordinances which made again&s;t vs, and as it were a bond whereby wee were obliged and bound to God the father either to per|forme obedience, or to vndergoe the penaltie; euen euer|la&s;ting death and condemnation, is now cancelled taken a|way; <HI>and fa&s;tened to the cro&s;&s;e</HI> of Chri&s;t, as the Apo&s;tle affir|meth. Col. 2.14. So that now the Lord cannot in his iu&s;tice put vs in &s;uite nor recouer any debt of vs, &s;eeing our &s;auiour Chri&s;t our good and all &s;ufficient &s;uerty hath vndertaken the matter in our behalfe di&s;charged our debt to the vtmo&s;t farthing, cancelled the handwriting or bond in which wee were obliged, and by the law acquitted vs of all paimentes which Gods iu&s;tice by vertue of the law might require of vs. and therefore if we turne vnto God by vnfained repentance, and lay hould vpon our &s;auiour Chri&s;t and his merites by a liuely faith, we haue our <HI>quietus e&s;t</HI> and generall acquittance, which God him&s;elfe hath pronounced from heauen in the pre&s;ence of many witne&s;&s;es, &s;aying, <HI>This is may welbeloued &s;on in whom I am well plea&s;ed,</HI> that is in whome I am delighted, &amp; re&s;tfully &s;ati&s;fied, &amp; wel co~tented. Mat. 3.17.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="34" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="437" REF="228">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXIIII.</HI> Of the third Argument grounded vpon Gods truth.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe third argument,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of Gods truth in his promi|&s;es.</NOTE> whereby all tho&s;e who re|pent and beleeue may bee a&s;&s;ured of the pardon &amp; remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;ins, is grou~ded vpon Gods truth; for the Lorde is mo&s;t true yea truth it &s;elfe, <HI>and all his promi&s;es in Christ are yea, and amen.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 1.20. Apoc. 1.7.</NOTE> <HI>hee is a faithfull and true witne&s;&s;e.</HI> and what&s;oeuer hee hath &s;poken &s;hall be accompli&s;hed; &s;o that though the heauens decay and waxe olde like a garment, though the &s;unne loo&s;e his light, and the moone be turned into bloud, though the earth trem|ble and quake, and the foundations of the mountaines bee mooued and &s;hake, yea though heauen and earth and all things therein contained peri&s;h and pa&s;&s;e away,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>yet &s;hall not one iote or title of his word fal to the ground vnaccompli&s;hed.</HI> And therefore what&s;oeuer the Lord hath promi&s;ed in his worde that he wil mo&s;t vndoubtedly performe, for he is <HI>Iehoua,</HI> who hauing his e&s;&s;ence and being in and from him&s;elfe alone, giueth being vnto all things el&s;e, e&s;pecially to his worde and promi&s;es. But hee hath promi&s;ed to all beleeuers and repen|tant &s;inners, that hee will in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us pardon al their &s;ins, and will receiue them into his grace and fauour, and therfore if wee beleeue and re&s;t vppon our Sauiour Chri&s;t alone for our &s;aluation, truly repenting vs of all our &s;innes, wee may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that though our &s;ins be neuer &s;o many and grieuous, yet the Lord will receiue vs to mercy, and pardon and forgiue them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But that the poore &s;oule wounded with &s;in and groning for wearines vnder this vn&s;upportable burthen,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods regal &s;tile a&s;|&s;ureth vs of mercie and forgiuene&s;&s;e.</NOTE> may haue &s;ome ground whereupon to re&s;t, when it is ready to faint, &amp; &s;ome &s;pirituall weapons whereby it may defend it &s;elfe, and beate backe the violence of Sathans tentations, I will make choi&s;e of &s;ome among&s;t many of the comfortable promi&s;es of the go&s;pell, made vnto all repentant &s;inners. Fir&s;t therefore let
<PB N="438" REF="229">vs con&s;ider, that when the Lorde like a mightie monarch would &s;et out his owne &s;tile as it were in faire text letters, to be read of all his &s;ubiectes, he thus proclaymeth it, Exod. 34.6. <HI>The Lorde, the Lord, &s;trong, mercifull and gracious, &s;lowe to anger, and aboundant in goodne&s;&s;e and truth.</HI> 7. <HI>Re&s;eruing mercy for thou&s;ands, forgiuing iniquitie, and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and &s;inners.</HI> wher we may ob&s;erue that the greate&s;t part of his &s;tile co~&s;i&s;t|eth of his mercy, gratiou&s;nes, long &s;uffering, goodnes &amp; rea|dines to forgiue the iniquities of repentant &s;inners; as ther|fore wee cannot offer a greater di&s;grace to a mightie prince, then to denie or call into que&s;tion any part of his tytles or regall &s;tile, &s;o we cannot more di&s;honour the prince of prin|ces, and &s;oueraigne king of heauen &amp; earth, then by doubt|ing of or denying any of the&s;e his titles which in his owne &s;tile hee hath attributed vnto him&s;elfe, &s;eeing then he pro|fe&s;&s;eth and proclaymeth him&s;elfe to bee a gratious, merci|full long &s;uffering God, who is alwaies readie to forgiue repentant &s;inners when they implore his mercie, let vs not offer God that di&s;grace to rob him of any part of his glori|ous titles, nor depriue our &s;oules of that true comfort which the Lorde by them in his infinite goodne&s;&s;e hath graunted vnto vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Moreouer this is one maine part of the couenant of grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ouenant a&s;|&s;ureth vs of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes.</NOTE> which the Lord profe&s;&s;eth that he will make with his church and people, namely that he will <HI>forgiue their iniquitie and re|member their &s;innes no more.</HI> Ier. 31.34. the counterpaine of which couenant we haue Heb. 10.16.17. and therefore if we on our part performe the condition of this couenant be|tweene God and vs, that is, if we truely and vnfainedly re|pent vs of our &s;innes, and a re&s;t and rely on Ie&s;us Chri&s;t for our &s;aluation by a liuely faith, wee may be a&s;&s;ured that God on his part will not goe one iote from his word, nor breake the couenant which he hath made with vs. For he hath not onely made this his couenant with vs by word of mouth, but he hath al&s;o committed it to writing, and not contenting him&s;elfe herewith that there might be no place left to doub|ting, hee hath confirmed and ratified his hand writing by
<PB N="439" REF="229">adding thereunto his &s;eales which are the Sacraments; as fir&s;t the &s;eale of Bapti&s;me, whereby he a&s;&s;ureth vs that being outwardly receiued into the body of the Church, and in|wardly ingrafted into the body of Chri&s;t, wee haue all our &s;innes and filthy corruptions wa&s;hed away with his preci|ous bloud, as the outward filth of the body is wa&s;hed and purged by the wa&s;hing of water. The vertue of which &s;piri|tuall wa&s;hing is not limited and re&s;trained to the time pa&s;t or pre&s;ent, as though it wa&s;hed away onely our originall cor|ruption, as &s;ome haue fooli&s;hly imagined, but extendeth it &s;elfe to the whole cour&s;e of our liues; So that if falling into many and greeuous &s;innes we vnfainedly repent vs of them, and apply Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and his merites vnto vs by a true and liuely faith, we may be a&s;&s;ured of the pardon and forgiuenes of them all, for this was promi&s;ed &s;ealed, and confirmed vn|to vs in our Bapti&s;me. Secondly, the Lord hath further co~|firmed this his couenant by the Sacrament of his Supper, for he hath therefore in&s;tituted and ordained it, that thereby we &s;hould be put in mind of our &s;auiour Chri&s;tes death and &s;uf|frings, to the end that we may gather more and more a&s;&s;u|rance, that our Sauiour gaue his ble&s;&s;ed body to be crucified and &s;hed his mo&s;t pretious bloud, that hee might take away the cur&s;e of the law, and naile it vnto his cro&s;&s;e, free vs fro~ his fathers anger by bearing it him&s;elfe, and by his death deliuer vs from euerla&s;ting death, and by his bloud&s;hed wa&s;h away all our &s;innes and corruptions. And hence it is that the A|po&s;tle calleth the wine in the Lords &s;upper, the new Te&s;ta|ment in Chri&s;tes bloud,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.25.</NOTE> becau&s;e thereby the new Te&s;tament is &s;ealed and confirmed vnto vs. And therefore when&s;oeuer wee receaue the Sacrament of the Lords &s;upper, the Lord doth thereby certainly a&s;&s;ure vs that our &s;innes in Chri&s;t are pardoned and forgiuen, and that he hath receaued vs into his loue and fauour, yea the Lord hath not onely ratified &amp; confirmed his couenant with vs, concerning the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes with his owne hand writing and &s;eales annex|ed, but al&s;o by his oath; <HI>For God willing more abundantly to &s;hew vnto the heires of promi&s;e the &s;tablene&s;&s;e of his coun&s;aile,
<PB N="440" REF="230">bound him&s;elfe by an oath: that by two immutable things where|in it is impo&s;&s;ible that God &s;hould lye, we might haue &s;trong con&s;o|lation;</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Heb. 6.17.18. And therefore vnle&s;&s;e wee would conceiue of God that hee is vntrue of his word, a couenant breaker, yea a periured per&s;on (which were mo&s;t horrible bla&s;phemie once to imagine) we may vndoub|tedly a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that he will pardon and forgiue vs all our &s;innes, be they in number neuer &s;o innumerable nor &s;o hainous in their nature and qualitie, if wee will turne vnto him by vnfained repentanee, and lay hould vpon Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us our &s;auiour, by a true and liuely faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But let vs more particularly con&s;ider of &s;ome of the &s;pe|ciall promi&s;es of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of particu|lar promi&s;es whereby wee may be a&s;&s;u|red of the re|mi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes.</NOTE> contained in the couenant of grace, that &s;o we may gather vnto our &s;elues more full con&s;olation and firme a&s;&s;urance of the pardon and forgiuene&s;&s;e of our &s;innes. The Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> who had in him&s;elfe often ex|perience of Gods mercy telleth vs, P&s;al. 32.10. that <HI>who&s;o|euer tru&s;teth in the Lords mercy &s;hall compa&s;&s;e him.</HI> The Pro|phet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> exhorteth the wicked <HI>to for&s;ake his wayes, and the vnrighteous his owne imaginations, and to returne vnto the Lord, a&s;&s;uring them that he will haue mercy vpon them, for he is very ready to forgiue.</HI> E&s;ay. 55.7. The Lord him&s;elfe al&s;o doth make this gratious promi&s;e Ezech. 18.21. <HI>But</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>if the wicked will returne from all his &s;innes which he hath commit|ted, and keepe all my Statutes, and doe that which is lawfull and right, he &s;hall &s;urely liue and not dye.</HI> 22. <HI>All his tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions that he hath committed &s;hall not bee mentioned vnto him, but in his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e that he hath done he &s;hall liue.</HI> 23. <HI>Haue I any de&s;ire that the wicked &s;hould dye &s;aith the Lord God? or &s;hall he not liue if he returne from his wayes?</HI> ver&s;. 32. <HI>For I de&s;ire not the death of him that dieth &s;aith the Lord God; cau&s;e therefore one another to returne and liue yee,</HI> and cap. 33. ver. 11. <HI>As I liue &s;aith the Lord I de&s;ire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turne from his way and liue.</HI> So Mal. 3.17. the Lord profe&s;&s;eth that hee <HI>will &s;pare his people and children, as a man &s;pareth his owne Sonne that &s;erueth him.</HI> Now we know that a louing father is ready to forgiue, &amp; to receaue into his grace
<PB N="441" REF="230">and fauour his repentant Sonne, though he hath very often offended him: &amp; &s;o &s;urely the Lord who is infinitely rich in mercy, wil much more forgiue his children when they turne vnto him; nay he is not onely ready to receaue them into his grace and fauour, but it filleth him (as I may &s;ay) with ex|ceeding ioy and delight, when his repentant children for|&s;ake their &s;innes and euill wayes, and turne vnto him by vn|fained repentance, as it appeareth mo&s;t euidently in the pa|rable of the prodigall Sonne, of the &s;trayed &s;heepe, and the lo&s;t groat. Moreouer our Sauiour Chri&s;t had his name <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> giuen him of God by the mini&s;ter of an Angell, becau&s;e hee &s;aueth his people fro~ their &s;innes: as appeareth Math. 1.21. &amp; he therfore came into the world, not to cal the righteous but &s;inners to repentance. As it is Matt. 9.13. and he inuiteth and calleth vnto him all tho&s;e who are wearie and heauie laden with the burthen of their &s;innes, promi&s;ing that hee will ea&s;e them. Matt 11.28. yea &s;o certaine it is that they &s;hal haue remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes and euerla&s;ting hapine&s;&s;e who truly repent and beleeue, that our &s;auiour Chri&s;t &s;aith they haue it already as though they were in pre&s;ent po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ion. Iohn 5.24. <HI>Verily, verily I &s;ay vnto you, he that heareth my word and beleeueth in him that &s;ent me, hath euerla&s;ting life, and &s;hall not come into condemnation but hath pa&s;&s;ed from death to life.</HI> So chap. 6.47. and chap. 11.26. <HI>who&s;oeuer liueth and beleeueth in mee &s;hall neuer die.</HI> The apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> al&s;o plainly affirmeth that <HI>God would haue no man to peri&s;h, but would haue all men to come to repentance.</HI> Seeing therefore the Lord hath made &s;o many gratious promi&s;es in the Go&s;pel to all repen|tant and beleeuing &s;inners, let vs vnfainedly turne vnto the Lord, and apply Chri&s;t and his meritts vnto vs by a true &amp; liuely faith, and then we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that he will pardon and forgiue vs al our &s;innes, and receaue vs gratiou&s;|ly into his loue and fauour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But again&s;t this which hath beene alleaged,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That al Gods promi&s;es are made indefi|nitely to all that beleeue.</NOTE> Sathan wilbe ready to obiect to the afflicted con&s;cience, that the&s;e promi|&s;es were made to the prophets, apo&s;tles and holy men of God, but not to &s;uch haynous and rebellious &s;inners who
<PB N="442" REF="231">haue mo&s;t iu&s;tly de&s;erued that God &s;hould poure out vppon them the violls of his wrath, and tho&s;e fearefull puni&s;hments threatned in the law, becau&s;e of the innumerable number of their &s;innes and the outragiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of their wickedne&s;&s;e; and therefore &s;uch haue nothing to doe with the &s;weet pro|mi&s;&s;es of the Go&s;pell, but are to apply vnto them&s;elues the terrible threatnings denounced in the law again&s;t &s;uch grie|uous &s;inners.</P>
<P>For the an&s;wering of which tentation, wee are to know that the Lords promi&s;es made in the Go&s;pell, are general, indefinite and vniuer&s;all, excluding none, who turne from their &s;innes by vnfained repentance, and beleeue in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, re&s;ting on him alone for their &s;aluation. Neither is there any limitation or exception of this or that &s;inne, for be they neuer &s;o greiuous and manifold, yet if wee performe the condition of faith and repentance, the Lord will make good his promi&s;es vnto vs.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t, namely that the promi&s;es of the go&s;pell are indefinite, and generally made to al who repent and beleeue it, &s;hall manife&s;tly appeare if wee con&s;ider the particulars. E&s;a. 55.1. the Lord calleth all vnto him indefinitly, &s;aying, <HI>to euery one who thir&s;teth come to the waters, and yee that haue no &s;iluer come, buy and eate; Come I &s;ay buy wine and milke with out &s;iluer and without money;</HI> &s;o that though we haue no wor|thine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our owne, yet if we thir&s;t af|ter the mercy of God and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, and come vnto God by vnfained repentance, and vnto our &s;auiour by a liuely faith, our thir&s;t &s;hall be &s;ati&s;fiyed and all our wantes &s;upplyed. So Ezech. 33.11. the Lord &s;olemnely &s;weareth that hee <HI>will not the death of a &s;inner, but that they turne from their wicked wayes and liue;</HI> where hee &s;peaketh not of this or that &s;inner, but of all without exception who turne vnto him. Our &s;auiour Chri&s;t likewi&s;e maketh this indefinite pro|mi&s;e Marke 16.16. that <HI>who&s;oeuer &s;hal beleeue and be bapti&s;ed &s;halbe &s;aued.</HI> and Iohn 3.14. he &s;aith, <HI>that as Mo&s;es lift vp the &s;erpent in the wilderne&s;&s;e, &s;o must the &s;onne of man be lift vp</HI> 15. <HI>that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in him &s;hould not peri&s;h but haue
<PB N="443" REF="231">eternal life.</HI> So that as al who were &s;tunge of the fyrie &s;erpent were healed if they looked vpon the bra&s;en &s;erpent, neither was their any exceptio~ or di&s;tinctio~ between tho&s;e who were deeply, or but a little pear&s;ed with the &s;ting, for if they were &s;tu~g they died, if they v&s;ed not the remedy ordained of God, though their wound were but &s;mall and &s;hallow, but if they looked vp to the bra&s;en &s;erpent according to God ordina~ce, they were cured though their wound were neuer &s;o deadly and de&s;perate, &s;o tho&s;e who looke not vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us hanging on the cro&s;&s;e with the eye of faith, are &s;ure to fall in|to euerla&s;ting death and damnation, bee their &s;innes neuer &s;o few, and on the other &s;ide, they who lay hould vpon Chri&s;t and beleeue in him, are &s;ure to bee &s;aued though their &s;ins bee neuer &s;o many and grieuous. So in the 16. ver&s;e it is &s;aid, that God &s;o loued the world, that hee hath giuen his onely begotten &s;onne, that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in him &s;hould not peri&s;h but haue euerla&s;ting life. and ve. 36. He that beleeueth in the &s;onne hath euerla&s;ting life. &amp;c. So that here is no ex|ception of &s;innes, for the promi&s;es are made indefinitely to all that beleeue. In like maner our Sauiour hath promi&s;ed Iohn 6.37. <HI>That who&s;oeuer come vnto him hee will not ca&s;t them away.</HI> and ve. 40. he a&s;&s;ureth vs that it is <HI>the will of his father who &s;ent him, that euery man who beleeueth in him &s;hould haue euerlasting life.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle Peter Actes 10.43. &s;aith that <HI>vnto our Sauiour Chri&s;t giue all the prophets witne&s;&s;e, that through his name all that beleeue in him &s;hall haue remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle Iohn likewi&s;e &s;aith, 1. Ioh. 2.1. <HI>that if any man &s;inne wee haue an aduocate with the father Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the righteous, and hee is the propitiation for our &s;innes, and not for ours onely but al&s;o for the &s;innes of the whole world,</HI> that is for who&s;oeuer repent and beleeue of euery kingdome, countrey, and nation. So that by all the&s;e places it is cleare and euident that none are excluded from being partakers of Gods mercifull promi&s;es, but tho&s;e who exclude them&s;elues through their infidelitie and vnrepentancie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Neyther is there any &s;ins &s;o innumerable in multitude &amp; &s;o hainous &amp; grieuous, which will debarre vs from receiuing
<PB N="444" REF="232">the benefit of Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merites &s;o wee repent and beleeue,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our &s;ins cannot de|barre vs of Gods mercy, &s;o we repent and beleeue.</NOTE> as may appeare al&s;o by plaine te&s;ti|monie, E&s;ay. 1.18. the Lord thus &s;peaketh to the Iewes whom hee had de&s;cribed to bee rebellious and mo&s;t outra|giou&s;ly wicked. <HI>Come now</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>&amp; let vs rea&s;on to|gether, though your &s;innes were as crim&s;on, they &s;halbe made white as &s;now: though they were red as &s;carlet, they &s;halbe as wooll.</HI> The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> likewi&s;e witne&s;&s;eth. Tit. 2.14. that our &s;auiour Chri&s;t <HI>gaue him&s;elfe for vs, that he might redeeme vs from all iniquitie;</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith, that <HI>the bloud of Chri&s;t clean&s;eth vs from all &s;inne, and if wee acknowledge our &s;innes he is faithfull and iu&s;t to forgiue vs our &s;innes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 17.9.</NOTE> <HI>and to clean&s;e vs from all vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> So that here is no mention made of any &s;innes which are excepted, or which exclude vs from Gods mercy &amp; Chri&s;ts merits, &s;o that we repent &amp; beleeue; neither are the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell limited or re&s;trained in re&s;pect of the number or greeuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our &s;innes, &s;o we performe the conditio~ of faith and repentance, for who|&s;oeuer is hartily &s;orie for his &s;innes pa&s;t, and purpo&s;eth for the time to come to leaue and for&s;ake them, who&s;oeuer doth beleeue Gods promi&s;es and re&s;teth vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us alone, for his &s;aluation by a true and liuely faith, he may be certain|ly a&s;&s;ured, that the Lord hath pardoned and forgiuen all his &s;innes, and receaued him into his grace and fauour, though his &s;innes be neuer &s;o many and hainous; and on the other &s;ide who&s;oeuer continueth in his vnrepentancie and infide|litie, &s;halbe condemned though his other &s;innes be neuer &s;o few and &s;mall; neither will all our other &s;innes debarre vs of Gods mercy, vnle&s;&s;e they bee ioyned with vnrepentancie and vnbeliefe, for ob&s;erue the condition of the promi&s;es, faith and repentance, and all the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell be|long vnto thee though thou were the greate&s;t &s;inner that e|uer liued. For whereas it may be obiected that the &s;inne a|gain&s;t the holy Gho&s;t is vnpardonable, we are to know it is not &s;o much in regard of the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the &s;inne, as that becau&s;e it is alwaies &s;euered and di&s;ioyned from faith and repentance, God denying the&s;e his graces to tho&s;e who
<PB N="445" REF="232">vpon de&s;perate malice haue made a generall Apo&s;ta&s;ie, and haue per&s;ecuted the knowne truth. So that if it were po&s;&s;i|ble for them to repent and beleeue, it were po&s;&s;ible al&s;o that they &s;hould be &s;aued.</P>
<P>Seing therefore the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell are generall excluding none, let not any man who is laden with the bur|then of his &s;innes, exclude him&s;elfe through his want of re|pentance and infidelitie, for though their other &s;innes are grieuous, yet this is more hainous and damnable then all the re&s;t. For whereas the Lord &s;aith, that he wil extend his mer|cy vnto all who come vnto him; if wee reply, no he will not exte~d it vnto me becau&s;e I am a grieuous &s;inner, what do we els but contradict the Lord, and giue truth it &s;elfe the lie; not giuing credit to his word and promi&s;es. And therefore let vs take heed that wee do not &s;o aggrauate our &s;innes as that in the meane time wee extenuate and derogate from Gods infallible truth.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="35" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXV.</HI> Of other arguments drawne from the per&s;ons in the Trinity.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd the&s;e are the arguments which are drawne from the nature of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons drawne from the fir&s;t per|&s;on, God the father.</NOTE> whereby we may be a&s;&s;ured of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes; there may al&s;o other arguments bee drawne from euery per&s;on of the Trinitie. Fir&s;t God the father hath created vs of nothing, euen according to his own image, and when wee had defaced this his image in vs, and made our &s;elues &s;laues to Sathan, he &s;o tenderly loued vs his poore mi&s;erable creatures, that he &s;pared not his dearely be|loued &amp; onely begotten Sonne, but &s;ent him into the world to take our nature vpon him, that therein he might &s;uffer all mi&s;ery and affliction, and la&s;tly the cur&s;ed and bitter death of the cro&s;&s;e, that &s;o he might &s;atisfie his iu&s;tice for our &s;innes &amp; perfect the worke of our redemption. And this the Euan|geli&s;t witne&s;&s;eth, Iohn 3.16. Al which loue the Lord &s;hewed
<PB N="446" REF="233">vnto vs euen for his owne names &s;ake, when we neither de|&s;erued it nor yet de&s;ired it, for we were bond&s;laues vnto Sa|than, and well contented to liue in his bondage, wee were children of wrath and dead in our &s;innes, yea wee were enemies vnto God and all goodne&s;&s;e. And therefore if our mercifull God &s;o loued vs while&s;t we were in loue with our &s;innes, at league with his enemie Sathan, &amp; at enmitie with him, that hee &s;ent his dearely beloued and onely begotten Sonne to dye for vs, that by his death and bloud&s;hed hee might redeeme and &s;aue vs out of this mi&s;erable e&s;tate, how much more will he now receiue vs to mercy and pardon, and forgiue our &s;innes if we &s;eeke and &s;ue for grace? if hee loued vs &s;o dearely when we hated him, and &s;ought al means of reconciliation when wee were profe&s;&s;ed enemies again&s;t him, how much more will hee receaue vs into his fauour, when as we earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be reconciled? If he &s;o loued vs that he &s;ent his Sonne to die for our &s;innes, how much more will he remit tho&s;e &s;innes for which hee hath &s;atisfied, when as with harty &s;orrow we doe bewaile them, and ear|ne&s;tly de&s;ire to be freed from them? if he hath giuen his Sonne to mankind to this end, that hee &s;hould &s;aue and re|deeme repentant &s;inners, why &s;hould any doubt of their re|demption and &s;aluation if they turne vnto him by vnfained repentance, and lay hould on Chri&s;t by a liuely faith? and if he haue giuen vs his chiefe Iewell, hiw onely begotten and be&s;t beloued Sonne and that when wee were his enemies, what will he denie vs when in Chri&s;t we are reconciled vnto him and become his friends? And thus the Apo&s;tle rea&s;o|neth, Rom. 5.8. <HI>God</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>&s;etteth out his loue towards vs &s;eeing that while&s;t we were yet &s;inners Chri&s;t died for vs.</HI> 9. <HI>much more then being now iu&s;tified by his bloud we &s;halbe &s;aued from wrath through him.</HI> 10. <HI>For if we were enemies we were recon|ciled to God by the death of his Sonne, much more being reconci|led we &s;halbe &s;aued by his life.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly wee may drawe mo&s;t firme argumentes to &s;trengthen our a&s;&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes from the &s;econd per&s;on in trinitie our Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons drawne from the <HI>2.</HI> per&s;on God the &s;onne</NOTE> for fir&s;t
<PB N="447" REF="233">hee is our Sauiour and redeemer,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1.</HI> Becau&s;e he came into the world to &s;aue &s;inners.</NOTE> who therefore came into the world that hee might &s;aue and redeeme vs out of the captiuitie of our &s;pirituall enemies, &s;inne, death, and the di|uell, and that hee might &s;ati&s;fie his fathers iu&s;tice, obtaine the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and reconcile vs vnto him. Though then our &s;innes be many and grieuous, this &s;hould not hinder vs from comming to Chri&s;t by a true faith, and firme a&s;&s;urance, that in him wee &s;hall haue the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and be receaued into Gods loue and fauoure, nay rather this &s;hould bee a forceible argument to mooue vs, to &s;eeke his helpe, when wee find our &s;elues in a de&s;perate ca&s;e, de&s;titute of all meanes whereby wee may attaine vnto &s;alua|tion, &s;eeing our Sauiour Chri&s;t came into the world to &s;aue &s;uch as were lo&s;t in them&s;elues, and inthralled in the mi&s;e|rable bondage of &s;inne and Sathan. And this is euident by the &s;criptures, Matth. 9.13. our Sauiour profe&s;&s;eth that <HI>he came not to call the righteous but &s;inners to repentance.</HI> and Luke 19.10. <HI>The &s;onne of man is come to &s;eeke and to &s;aue that which was lo&s;t.</HI> 1. Tim. 1.15. <HI>This is a true &s;aying and by all meanes worthie to bee receiued, that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t came into the worlde to &s;aue &s;inners.</HI> the apo&s;tle al&s;o affirmeth that our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath <HI>quickned vs who were dead in our &s;ins &amp; tre&s;pa&s;&s;es.</HI> Eph. 2.1.5. And our &s;auiour Chri&s;t Matth. 11.28. doth not only call vnto him &s;mal &s;inners, but tho&s;e who are heauy lade~ with an intollerable waight or &s;in, promi&s;ing that he will ea&s;e them.</P>
<P>Seeing therefore hee came into the world to &s;aue and re|deeme grieuous and hainous &s;inners, and to giue life vnto tho&s;e who were euen &s;tarke dead in their &s;innes, &s;eeing al&s;o hee calleth and inuiteth &s;uch vnto him as are heauily laden with an intollerable waight of wickedne&s;&s;e, and promi&s;eth to ea&s;e them; let vs not excu&s;e our &s;elues from comming becau&s;e our &s;innes are hainous and grieuous, but therefore let vs the rather goe vnto Chri&s;t becau&s;e wee had need of his helpe. If a man being loded with a waightie burthen, &s;hould refu&s;e the helpe of a friend, both able and willing to ea&s;e him becau&s;e his burthen is very heauie, who would not laugh at &s;uch ridiculous follie, for therefore he &s;hould more
<PB N="448" REF="234">earne&s;tly de&s;ire, and more thankfully accept of his friendes offred courte&s;ie, becau&s;e him&s;elfe is tyred, pre&s;&s;ed downe, and altogether vnable to beare this intollerable waight: but &s;uch and greater follie doe they commit, who being pinched and oppre&s;&s;ed with the heauie burthen of their &s;innes, doe through their infidelitie refu&s;e the healpe of Chri&s;t, offering him&s;elfe to relea&s;e and ea&s;e them vnder this prete~ce, becau&s;e their burthen is ouer heauie; for becau&s;e to them it is intol|lerable, therefore they &s;hould rather goe vnto Chri&s;t and er|ne&s;tly de&s;ire to be ea&s;ed and relea&s;ed, &s;eeing hee is not onely able, for his power is omnipotent, but al&s;o mo&s;t willing, for he hath mo&s;t gratiou&s;ly promi&s;ed and freely offred his helpe.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the price which Chri&s;t hath paid for our redemp|tion farre exceedeth all our &s;innes.</NOTE>Moreouer we need not to doubt of the &s;ufficiencie of the price which our Sauiour hath paid for our redemption, for it is of infinite value and of more vertue and power to iu&s;tifie and &s;aue, then all the &s;innes of the world to condemne and de&s;troye; &s;o that though wee were the greate&s;t &s;inners that euer liued, yea though the waight of all &s;inne which euer in the world hath beene co~mitted did lie vpo~ vs, yet the meritts of Chri&s;t and the price which hee paid for our redemption doe farre exceede them, and if we come vnto him by a liuely faith re&s;ting vpon him alone for our &s;aluation, hee will &s;urely ea&s;e vs of this intollerable burthen. And therefore though the grieuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our &s;innes &s;houlde increa&s;e our repen|tance, yet they &s;hould not dimini&s;h our faith and a&s;&s;urance of pardon and forgiuene&s;&s;e, for though our debt were neuer &s;o great, our &s;uerty Chri&s;t Ie&s;us hath paid it to the vttermo&s;t farthing, though our &s;innes are neuer &s;o many and grieuous our Sauiour <HI>hath borne them all vpon the cro&s;&s;e in his owne bodie</HI> and fully &s;atisfying Gods iu&s;tice for the~,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 2.24.</NOTE> hath freed and deli|uered vs from this heauie burthen. Though wee were neuer &s;o deepely inthraled in the bondage of our &s;piritual enemies, yet our almightie redeemer hath freed vs out of captiuitie &amp; hath paid a &s;ufficient price for our raun&s;ome; and though we had no right or intere&s;t in the kingdome of heauen, yet our &s;auiour hath dearely purcha&s;ed it for vs by his precious death and bloud&s;hed, and therefore &s;eeing in Chri&s;t we haue ful|ly &s;ati&s;fied Gods iu&s;tice, and fully merited the pardon of
<PB N="449" REF="234">our &s;innes, &s;eeing in him wee haue not onely paied our debt, but al&s;o giuen a &s;ufficient price for the purcha&s;ing of eternall happine&s;&s;e, wee neede not to make any doubt of the pardo~ of our &s;ins, and of po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of our heaue~ly inheri|tance, for the Lord cannot in iu&s;tice hold that from vs which of right appertaineth vnto vs; nay we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that though he could yet he would not; for who can imagine that the Lord who of his bountious liberallitie giueth vnto vs more then wee can de&s;erue or de&s;ire, will keepe from vs that which of right appertayneth to vs? that he for his own names &s;ake without any re&s;pect of our works or worthine&s;&s;e freely multiplieth his benefites vpon vs, &s;hould with hould our rightfull inheritance in his heauenly kingdome from vs, which our &s;auiour Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed for vs by his preti|ous death &amp; bloud&s;hed? and therefore &s;eeing wee haue vn|doubted right to the pardon of our &s;ins becau&s;e Chri&s;t Ie&s;us hath &s;atisfied for them, &amp; iu&s;t title to our heauenly inherita~ce which our Sauiour hath purcha&s;ed for vs with &s;o deare and all-&s;ufficient a price, let vs in the name of Chri&s;t goe bould|ly vnto the throne of grace, de&s;iring a generall acquittance of that debt which is alreadie paid, nay let vs not feare to ap|proach the throne of Gods &s;euere iu&s;tice, and to claime our heauenly inheritance which Chri&s;t hath &s;o dearly purcha&s;ed.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Furthermore we are to con&s;ider that our &s;auiour and re|deemer is &s;o gratious and bountifull, &s;o rich in mercy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Chri&s;ts power, mercy, and merites is more manife|&s;ted by for|gining gree|uous &s;inners.</NOTE> and &s;o full of all power vertue and perfection, that our &s;innes &s;hould not di&s;courage vs from comming vnto him, for the more mi&s;erable wretched &amp; &s;inful we are, the more fitt &s;ub|iects we are, whereupon he may exerci&s;e and &s;hew the in|finite riches of bounty, mercy, vertue and all &s;ufficiencie. If we were but a little &s;oyled with &s;inne, it were not &s;o great a matter to make vs cleane but when wee are mo&s;t filthily de|filed, and our polution is ingrayned in vs as it were with a &s;carlet die; when our vncleane corruptio~ &s;ticks as fa&s;t to our &s;oules, as the <HI>Ethiopian</HI> blackne&s;&s;e to their &s;kins, then is the vertue of the excellent lauer of Chri&s;ts bloud &s;ufficiently manife&s;ted, when as he purgeth vs and maketh vs cleane, wa&s;hing away all our filthy corruptions, and making our
<PB N="450" REF="235">&s;carlet &s;innes as white as &s;now. Our &s;auiour Chri&s;t is our &s;piritual phy&s;itio~ who can as ea&s;ily cure de&s;perate di&s;ea&s;es e|ue~ the remediles con&s;umptio~, the dead apoplexie &amp; the filthy lepro&s;ie of the &s;oule, as &s;ome &s;mall maladie, or little faintnes? neither is he only able but al&s;o as willing to vndertake &s;uch de&s;perate cures as the lea&s;t infirmities, becau&s;e his &s;kill will be the more manife&s;t and his prai&s;e the more extolled, for the more de&s;perate the di&s;ea&s;e is, the more it argueth his cu~ning who helpeth it, and the more co~mendations he &s;hal receaue who effecteth &s;uch a cure. And therefore though our di&s;ea&s;es are mo&s;t daungerous &amp; de&s;perate, yet let vs re|&s;ort to this our heauenly phy&s;itio~, for the more de&s;perate the cure is, the more fitt occa&s;ion &s;hall he haue of &s;hewing his neuer failing &s;kill, and of aduancing his immortall prai&s;e. He is our heauenly &s;urgeon, euen the good Samaritane which powreth the &s;oueraigne oyle of his grace, and the pretious baulme of his bloud into our wou~ded &s;oules, &amp; therfore the more grei&s;ly our wounds are, the more prai&s;e and glory he getteth in curing them, the more is the vertue of the &s;oue|raigne &s;alue of his bloud manife&s;ted to all the world by hea|ling of them.</P>
<P>Though therefore our &s;oules are mo&s;t filthy &amp; polluted, yet if we come to Chri&s;t he will &s;urely wa&s;h &amp; purge vs, for to this purpo&s;e he &s;uffered his precious water and bloud to i&s;&s;ue out of his &s;ide, that thereby as with a liuing and cleare &s;treame i&s;&s;uing from a mo&s;t pure fountaine, he might clean&s;e vs from al our &s;ins, and wa&s;h away all our filthy corruptions, though we are mo&s;t de&s;peratly &s;icke, let vs come vnto our &s;pirituall phy&s;ition, for he can cure the mo&s;t remedile&s;&s;e di&s;|ea&s;es as perfectly and as &s;peedily, as the mo&s;t &s;mall infirmitie and faint weakne&s;&s;e: though our &s;oules are wounded euen to the death, with the deepe pearcing and deadly impoy&s;o|ning &s;ting of &s;inne, yet let vs &s;eeke helpe of this our heauen|ly &s;urgeon, who with the precious baulme of his bloud, can as ea&s;ily heale the mo&s;t dangerous wou~ds, as &s;mall &s;cratches or little cutts. Neither is he more able then willing, for here|by his vertue and power, his loue and bountie, is the more
<PB N="451" REF="235">manife&s;ted to his endle&s;&s;e and immortall pray&s;e.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That tho&s;e who doubt of the re|mi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes derogate from the vert<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> of Chri&s;ts merites.</NOTE>But if we thinke our &s;oules &s;o filthy that he cannot purge them, what doe wee els but derogate from the vertue of his bloud, if we will not goe to this heauenly Phi&s;ition to craue his helpe, becau&s;e our &s;ickne&s;&s;e is grieuous and dangerous, what doe we els but call his skill into que&s;tion? If wee will not &s;hew our wounds becau&s;e they are grie&s;ly, what doe we els but notably detract from the cunning of this our &s;piri|tuall &s;urgeon, and doubt of the vertue and efficacie of the pretious baulme of his bloud: Whereas on the other &s;ide if we &s;ee our polluted filthine&s;&s;e, and yet goe vnto Chri&s;t that we may be wa&s;hed and clean&s;ed, we acknowledge the ver|tue and excellencie of the &s;pirituall lauer of his bloud? if wee plainely di&s;cerne that our &s;ickne&s;&s;e is de&s;perate and yet goe to our &s;oules Phy&s;ition not doubting of recouery, we there|by extoll our Phy&s;itions skill, if our woundes be in them|&s;elues grie&s;ly and incurable, &amp; yet we re&s;ort to our heauenly Surgeon to be healed of them, wee cannot more commend his all &s;ufficient cunning. And therefore &s;eing it is in the&s;e our extremities to our Sauiour Chri&s;t mo&s;t honorable and acceptable, and to our &s;elues mo&s;t profitable and full of com|fort, if we come vnto Chri&s;t not doubting of his helpe, let vs not pretend excu&s;es eyther becau&s;e we are vnfit, vnworthy, or in a de&s;perate &s;tate, for by thus aggrauating our owne re|medile&s;&s;e mi&s;ery we extenuate and call into que&s;tion Gods mercy and Chri&s;ts al-&s;ufficiency, wee &s;poyle him of his honour, glorie, &amp; our owne &s;oules of all ioy &amp; con&s;olation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, we may gather firme a&s;&s;urance of the pardon of our &s;innes from the offices of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the of|fices of Chri&s;t giue vs a&s;&s;u|rance of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes. And fir&s;t in that he is our Prophet.</NOTE> for fir&s;t he is our pro|phet who hath reuealed vnto vs all the will and coun&s;ayle of his father, he hath declared vnto vs the my&s;terie of our re|demption and the meanes of our &s;aluation, how we may at|taine vnto the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and how wee may come out of that mi&s;erable and wretched e&s;tate, in which we are by nature, and attaine vnto eternall happine&s;&s;e, he it is who by the bright beames of his word doth illuminate our vnder&s;tandings, and by the operation of his holy &s;pirit
<PB N="452" REF="236" MS="y">doth cau&s;e the &s;eales of ignorance to fall from our eyes, <HI>Gi|uing knowledge of &s;aluation to his people by remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes.</HI> He is that glorious and bright &s;hining day &s;tarre, <HI>which from an highe hath vi&s;ited vs, to giue light vnto them who &s;it in darke|ne&s;&s;e and in the &s;hadow of death, and to guide our feete into the way of peace.</HI> If therefore we will walke in the way which he &s;heweth vs, and v&s;e tho&s;e meanes which hee reuealeth vnto vs in his Go&s;pell, namely turne vnto God by vnfained re|pentance, and beleeue in him by a liuely faith, wee &s;hall not need to feare our &s;innes though neuer &s;o grieuous and ma|nifold, for this our heauenly Prophet hath truely reuealed vnto vs a plaine way how wee may come out of our &s;innes and be reconciled vnto God, how we may be adorned with the glorious robe of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and bee made parta|kers of all his merites; how we may become of the children of wrath and firebrands of hell, the children of God, and heires of heauen. And therefore let vs walke in this way and a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that wee &s;hall come to the iourney end of our de&s;ires, for truth it &s;elfe is our guide &s;o that we need not to doubt of the way.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly our &s;auiour Chri&s;t is our high prie&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;o~s drawn from Chri&s;tes prie&s;thood.</NOTE> who hath offered vp vnto his father an all-&s;ufficient &s;acrifice and full &s;atisfaction for our &s;innes, whereby Gods iu&s;tice is fully &s;a|ti&s;fied and his wrath appea&s;ed, who al&s;o &s;itting at the right hand of his father, continually maketh interce&s;&s;ion for vs. The &s;acrifice which this our high prie&s;t offered was him&s;elfe, as the apo&s;tle te&s;tifieth Heb. 9.26. euen his body to be cru|cified, and his bloud to be &s;hed for the putting away of our &s;innes? the which oblation was offred on the altar of his die|ty which &s;anctified the &s;acrifice, &amp; gaue vnto it &s;uch &s;ufficie~|cy and valew, that it was a perfect price &amp; ful &s;atisfaction for the &s;ins of al the faithful, as the apo&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth. 1. Ioh. 2.2. <HI>Hee is the propitiation for our &s;innes, and not for ours only, but for the &s;innes of the whole world.</HI> Seeing therefore this our high prie&s;t hath giuen him&s;elfe for vs, euen his body to be cruci|fied, and his bloud to be &s;hed to this end, that it might bee a propitiatorie &s;acrifice and full &s;ati&s;faction for our &s;innes,
<PB N="453" REF="236">and &s;eeing he was once offered to take away the &s;innes of ma|ny, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Heb. 9 28. wee need not doubt of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes if wee come vnto him by a liuely faith, for to this end hee hath &s;hed his bloud, that he therby might offer vnto God a full &s;ati&s;faction for our &s;innes and purge away all our wickedne&s;&s;e, and therefore if hee &s;hould not attaine vnto his end, that is if hee &s;hould not &s;ati&s;|fie Gods iu&s;tice and appea&s;e his wrath, by purging and take|ing away all our &s;innes, his precious bloud &s;hould be &s;hed in vaine.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Moreouer he is our mediatour and interce&s;&s;our,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;o~s drawn from Chri&s;ter interce&s;&s;ion.</NOTE> who con|tinually &s;itteth at the right hand of his father making inter|ce&s;&s;ion for vs, by &s;hewing and pleading his owne meritts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience whereby hee pacifieth his fa|thers di&s;plea&s;ure, and worketh vs into his loue and fauour. And this the apo&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth. Rom. 8.34. <HI>It is Chri&s;t which is dead yea or rather which is ri&s;en againe, who is al&s;o at the right hand of God, and maketh reque&s;t for vs.</HI> So al&s;o Heb. 9.24. it is &s;aid that our high prie&s;t Ie&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>is entred into heauen, to appeare in the &s;ight of God for vs.</HI> and the Apo&s;tle Iohn &s;ayth. 1. Ioh. 2.1. <HI>If any man &s;inne wee haue an aduocate with the fa|ther Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the iu&s;t, and hee is the propitiation for our &s;innes.</HI> neither need wee to doubt of his effectuall dealing for vs, for if hee loued vs &s;o dearely that hee &s;pared not to giue his pre|cious life for vs, there is no que&s;tion but he wilbe exceeding earne&s;t in making reque&s;t for vs, neither will hee be &s;paring in wordes who hath not &s;pared his deare&s;t bloud. And ther|fore &s;eing our high prie&s;t doth continually make interce&s;&s;ion for vs, wee need not to doubt but that hee will obtaine his &s;uite, and procure the pardon of our &s;innes, and his fathers loue and fauour. E&s;pecially con&s;idering that hee intreateth nothing which hee hath not de&s;erued and by his death pur|cha&s;ed for vs, and con&s;equently when like an aduocate hee pleadeth his full payment of our debt, and alleadgeth his all &s;ufficient meritts and &s;ufferings, God cannot in his iu&s;tice but graunt his mo&s;t lawfull reque&s;t; con&s;idering al&s;o that he maketh his &s;uite not to a &s;tranger or &s;ome common friend
<PB N="454" REF="237">who will either preuent his &s;uite with a &s;trange and &s;terne countenance, or denie it with &s;ome vaine excu&s;e, but vnto his mo&s;t gratious &amp; dearely louing father who willingly har|keneth vnto, and redily graunteth all his reque&s;ts. And this our Sauiour him&s;elfe te&s;tifieth Ioh. 11.41. <HI>father</HI> (&s;aith he <HI>I thanke thee becau&s;e thou ha&s;t heard me.</HI> 42. <HI>But I knowe thou heare&s;t mee alwaies &amp;c.</HI> And therefore con&s;idering Chri&s;ts merit in de&s;eruing, and Gods mercie in graunting, Chri&s;ts importunitie in a&s;king, and his fathers facilitie in yeelding; &s;eeing hee that intreateth for vs loued vs &s;o intirely that hee dyed for vs, and will vndoubtedly bee mo&s;t earne&s;t in &s;oli|citing our &s;uite, and hee who is intreated &s;o hartily affecteth vs that he &s;pared not to giue vnto vs his onely begotten and dearely beloued &s;onne, that by his death he might purcha&s;e for vs euerla&s;ting life, let vs &s;hake of all doubting <HI>and goe bouldly vnto the throne of grace, that wee may receiue mercie and finde grace to helpe in time of need.</HI> as the Apo&s;tle exhorteth vs Heb. 4.16. For our good high prie&s;t <HI>is able perfectly to &s;aue them who come vnto God by him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;o~s drawn from Chri&s;tes kingly office. <HI>Mat. 11.25.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;eeing hee euer liueth to make interce&s;&s;ion for them.</HI> as it is Heb. 7.25.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly as our Sauiour Chri&s;t is our prophet and prie&s;t &s;o likewi&s;e he is our king, and this al&s;o may a&s;&s;ure vs of the par|don and remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins if we will come vnto him, for hee who is our aduocate is al&s;o our &s;oueraigne, hee that is our mediatour is our iudge, hee that intreateth for vs, hath power in his handes both to obtaine and graunt his owne &s;uite, hee that gaue his life a ran&s;ome for our &s;innes hath all power in heauen and earth committed vnto him, &s;o as he is able to remit all our &s;innes and to blot out all our iniquities, <HI>for</HI> (now) <HI>the father iudgeth no man, but hath committed all iudgment vnto the &s;onne.</HI> as him&s;elfe te&s;tifieth Ioh. 5.22. and euen when he was vpon the earth he excerci&s;ed this autho|ritie, as appeareth Matth. 9.2. whereas hee &s;aith to the &s;ick of the pal&s;ie. <HI>Sonne bee of good comfort thy &s;innes are forgiuen thee.</HI> For which being chalenged hee defendeth his regall priuiledges, affirming ver. 6. that the &s;onne of man hath authoritie euen on earth to forgiue &s;innes. Now what can
<PB N="455" REF="237">bee more comfortable vnto any &s;oule wounded with &s;inne then the con&s;ideration of this vndoubted truth. For &s;eeing our Sauiour who &s;o tenderly loued vs, that hee &s;pared not to giue his owne mo&s;t precious bloud for the price of our redemption hath all-&s;ufficient power in his owne handes to &s;aue and deliuer vs out of the handes of all our enemies, who can imagine that hee will &s;uffer vs to bee lo&s;t whom he hath &s;o dearely bought? &s;eeing he gaue his life to purcha&s;e for vs the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, who can doubt that ha|uing thus dearely purcha&s;ed it hee will not be&s;towe it and &s;o &s;uffer his bloud to be &s;pilt in vaine, &s;eeing he was con|tent for our &s;akes to indure all mi&s;erie, mockings, reuilings, whipping, crucifying death it &s;elfe, &amp; the anger of his father more bitter then death, to this end that by all the&s;e his &s;uffe|rings, he might procure the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes &amp; euer|la&s;ting life, and that when we were rebellious traitours who did flee away from him; who can make any que&s;tion, but that now hee will be&s;tow the&s;e ine&s;timable benefits which he hath of purpo&s;e bought for vs, they being in his owne power and cu&s;todie, if like humble &s;eruants and penitent children we turne vnto him and implore his grace? if a ma|lefactour had a deare friend who loued him &s;o intirely, that he would not &s;pare to giue his whole &s;ub&s;tance to procure his pardon, would this mi&s;erable offendour feare death or condemnation, if he were a&s;&s;ured that now his pardon were in his friends hand, and that the matter were by his Prince referred to him, as vnto a &s;upreame iudge ab&s;olutely to de|termine what hee will? But our Sauiour hath not giuen goods or gold, or any corruptible thing, but euen his owne mo&s;t pretious body to be crucified, &amp; his bloud to be &s;hed, that by this ine&s;timable price he might purcha&s;e our pardon of God our &s;oueraigne king, now he hath the law in his own hands, and is appointed of God for our &s;upreame Iudge to acquit vs at his owne plea&s;ure, who therefore can make any doubt of grace and pardon, &s;eeing his iudge is his Sauiour who hath loued him &s;o dearely, that to this end he hath &s;hed his precious bloud, that he might procure for him the remi&s;|&s;ion
<PB N="456" REF="238">of his &s;innes and euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, and therefore if he would not &s;ticke to buy it at &s;o high a rate, how much more hauing bought it onely for this purpo&s;e will he now be&s;tow it if we &s;eeke vnto him, and earne&s;tly de&s;ire to bee partakers of his grace and mercy.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons drawne from Chri&s;ts pro|mi&s;es, confir|med by expe|rience.</NOTE>Moreouer as this our mo&s;t gratious king and louing Sa|uiour hath &s;ufficient power to pardon all our &s;innes, and in re&s;pect of his ine&s;timable loue, is mo&s;t certainely willing to blot out all our wickedne&s;&s;e, if wee repent and come vnto him, &s;o al&s;o he hath bound him&s;elfe hereunto by mo&s;t free and faithfull promi&s;es. Matth. 11.78. <HI>Come vnto me all ye that labour and are heany laden, and I will ea&s;e you.</HI> Iohn 3.36. <HI>Hee that beleeueth in the Sonne hath euerla&s;ting life.</HI> And Ioh 6.37. He hath a&s;&s;uredly promi&s;ed, that who&s;oeuer <HI>commeth vnto him he will not ca&s;t away.</HI> The&s;e and many &s;uch like gratious promi&s;es he hath made, of the performance wherof we need not to doubt, e&s;pecially con&s;idering that he gaue continuall experience in his practi&s;e here on earth, of his loue, good|ne&s;&s;e, mercy and trueth, for who euer came vnto him with any lawful &s;uite and receaued a repul&s;e? who euer intreated his help, &amp; was aba~doned? who euer asked any thing of him which was profitable for him to receiue and did not obtaine his &s;uite? what&s;oeuer &s;icke came vnto him receaued their health, what&s;oeuer lame de&s;ired his helpe receaued their lims, what&s;oeuer blind re&s;orted vnto him receaued their &s;ight, what&s;oeuer &s;inner implored the forgiuene&s;&s;e of his &s;innes receaued full remi&s;&s;ion and pardon. Yea &s;o gratious mercifull and louing was this our king and redeemer, that he preuented his poore mi&s;erable &s;ubiectes with his grace, and &s;ought all occa&s;ions of extending his loue and mercie towards them, giuing vnto them more then they de&s;ired; the &s;icke of the paul&s;ie comming vnto him not onely was cured of his di&s;ea&s;e, but al&s;o receaued the remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes. Matth. 9. <HI>Zacheus</HI> de&s;ired but to &s;ee his face, and he offereth vnto him his company and therewith eternall &s;al|uation. Luke 19. The woman of <HI>Samaria</HI> reque&s;ted but ele|mentall water, and hee offereth vnto her the water of life.
<PB N="457" REF="238">Ioh. 4. The people followed him to be &s;ed by miracle with corporall foode, and Chri&s;t offereth vnto them the bread of life. Ioh. 6.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 9.</NOTE> The poore blinde man de&s;ired that he might be by Chri&s;t re&s;tored to his bodily &s;ight, and Chri&s;t al&s;o illumi|nates the eyes of his &s;oule, &s;o that as with his bodily eyes hee di&s;cerned him to be a man &s;o by the eie of faith he knew him to be his redeemer and Sauiour. By all which it clearly ap|peareth that there was neuer any more ready to aske then Chri&s;t to giue, nay &s;uch was his goodne&s;&s;e and loue, that he was alwaies more ready to graunt then they to intreat, and to graunt more then they euer de&s;ired. Now wee mu&s;t not thinke that our Sauiour is altered in nature, or that (as it is v&s;uall among&s;t men) honours haue changed manners, for he is God immutable in goodne&s;&s;e, <HI>and without change or &s;hadowe of change,</HI> as it is Iam. 1.17. and therefore wee may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues if wee turne from our &s;innes by true repen|tance, and come vnto him by a liuely faith, we &s;halbe recea|ued to grace and mercy, and receaue the pardon of our &s;ins be they neuer &s;o hainous and innumerable.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons drawne from our Commu|nion with Chri&s;t.</NOTE>La&s;tly, the vnion and communion which is betweene Chri&s;t and all the faithful, may giue vnto them full a&s;&s;urance of the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of all their &s;innes; for fir&s;t they are coupled vnto him in &s;pirituall matrimonie, and hee be|commeth the Bridegroome, they the &s;pou&s;e, he the husband, they the wife, now we know that in law there will no action of debt lie again&s;t the wife while&s;t the husband liueth, be|cau&s;e &s;he is vnder couert barne, and therefore her husband who hath taken vpon him to maintaine and defend her, mu&s;t an&s;were and follow all her &s;uites, and his goods are li|able for the paying of her debts. And thus it is al&s;o betweene Chri&s;t the husband and the Church his &s;pou&s;e being marri|ed vnto her, he hath taken her vnder his charge and prote|ction, and hath vndertaken to an&s;were all &s;uites and to &s;ati&s;|fie all her debts, nay he hath di&s;charged them already, and therefore wee need not to feare any action which Sathan, the Law or Gods iu&s;tice may lay again&s;t vs, for our husband Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hath taken vpon him to follow all our &s;uites,
<PB N="458" REF="239">and to &s;atisfie all our debts, &s;o that if eyther the Law, Gods iu&s;tice, or our enemy Sathan doe co~mence any &s;uits again&s;t vs, we are not now to take vpon vs the an&s;wering of them in our owne per&s;ons, but wee are to &s;end them to our hu&s;|band Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who hath taken our cau&s;es in hand and will giue vnto them a &s;ufficient an&s;were.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The faithfull Chri&s;ts mem|bers.</NOTE>Secondly the faithfull are vnited vnto Chri&s;t in a more neere vnion, for he is there head and they his members, as appeareth Ephe. 5 23.30. hee is the true vine and wee the branches, as him&s;elfe &s;peaketh Iohn 15 1. he is the fruitfull Oliue tree, we the &s;ciences which are grafted into him. as it is Rom. 11. he is the foundation, wee the building, as the apo&s;tle affirmeth Ephe. 2.20.21. by rea&s;on of which neere vnion, it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that tho&s;e things which apper|taine vnto Chri&s;t belong vnto vs, and ours vnto him, for as the head deriueth &s;ence and motion vnto the members; and as the Oliue tree and vine doe communicate their ver|tue, farne&s;&s;e, and &s;ap vnto their branches and &s;ciences, by which they liue and bring forth fruite, and as the foundation doth &s;u&s;taine and vphold all the building; &s;o doth our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t our head, roote, and foundation communicate vnto vs his members and branches, the vertue of his merits and the iuce and &s;ap of his precious bloud, whereby we are quickned and reuiued who were dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, our &s;ins wa&s;hed away and purged and wee made fruitfull in all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e, as in that his imputed righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e whereby we are iu&s;tified before God, and that inhaerent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e begunne in vs by his holy &s;pi|rit, whereby we are iu&s;tified before men. And as he hath be|&s;towed and communicated vnto vs his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, death and obedience, &s;o hath he taken vpon him from vs al our &s;ins originall and actuall, of commi&s;&s;ion and omi&s;&s;ion, and in his owne per&s;on hath &s;uffered all that puni&s;hment, which we by them had de&s;erued, &s;o as now he hauing taken vpon him our &s;innes, and indued vs with his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, merit, and obedience, wee need not to feare the exact rigour of Gods iu&s;tice, for by him and in him we are without &s;inne, pure and
<PB N="459" REF="239">vndefiled, and perfectly righteous in Gods &s;ight. Neither &s;hall we need to feare the violence of all our &s;pirituall ene|mies, for our head Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is God almighty, and there|fore none &s;halbe able to plucke vs out of his hands again&s;t his will, and we are as deare vnto him as the members of his body, and therfore looke how loath any careful head would be to haue any of the members pulled from it by force and violence, &s;o loath and vnwilling will our Sauiour and head be, to haue any of his members plucked from him. And therefore &s;eing he wanteth neither will nor power to defend vs, wee need not feare the raging malice and cunning vio|lence of any of our &s;pirituall enemies, &s;inne, the Diuell, the world and the fle&s;he, for our head is all-&s;ufficient, and al&s;o mo&s;t willing to &s;aue and defend vs, from all their force and malice.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons drawne from the <HI>3.</HI> per&s;on the holy &s;pi|rit.</NOTE>And &s;omuch concerning the rea&s;ons drawne from the &s;e|cond per&s;on, wherby euery repenting and beleeuing &s;inner may be a&s;&s;ured of the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of all his &s;innes. Now we are to &s;peake of tho&s;e which may be drawne from the third per&s;on the holy &s;pirit. Fir&s;t therefore wee are to know that though our &s;innes be manifold, and our corrup|tions exceeding filthy, yet this holy &s;pirit will &s;anctifie and purge vs from all our pollution; &s;o that though in times pa&s;t wee were mo&s;t hainous &s;inners, idolaters, adulterers, theeues, drunkards, raylers, extortioners, <HI>yet now wee are wa|&s;hed, now wee are &s;anctified now wee are in&s;tified in the name of the Lord Ie&s;us, and by the &s;pirit of our God.</HI> As the Apo&s;tle &s;pea|keth, 1. Cor. 6.11. he is that heauenly fire which con&s;umeth and purgeth vs from all the dro&s;&s;e of our corruptions, hee is that diuine water which wa&s;heth away all our filthy pollu|tion, it is hee who doth regenerate and beget vs a new who were dead in our &s;innes, and who&s;oeuer are thus regenera|ted &s;halbe heires of the kingdome of heauen.</P>
<P>Secondly, we may hereby be a&s;&s;ured of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, in that the &s;pirit of God ioyneth with vs in our &s;uite and together with vs, maketh reque&s;t vnto God in our behalfe, and whereas wee are ignorant and <HI>know not how to
<PB N="460" REF="240">pray as we ought, the &s;pirit it &s;elfe helpeth our infirmities and ma|keth reque&s;t for vs with &s;ighes which cannot be expre&s;&s;ed. But God who &s;carcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the meaning of the &s;pirit: for he maketh reque&s;t for the Saints according to the will of God.</HI> As the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh. Rom. 8.26.27. who therefore can doubt of obtaining his &s;uite, euen the remi&s;|&s;ion of his &s;innes and reconciliation with God, &s;eeing his &s;uite is framed and indited by Gods &s;pirit, and con&s;equent|ly is mo&s;t wi&s;e, iu&s;t, and as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith according to the will of God? yea it is &s;ollicited and followed with great ear|ne&s;tne&s;&s;e by the &s;ame &s;pirit; and therefore our &s;uite being wi&s;e, iu&s;t, and framed by the &s;pirit according to the will of God, and by the &s;ame &s;pirite in mo&s;t earne&s;t manner, &s;ollici|ted and furthered, there is no que&s;tion but wee &s;hall ob|taine it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="36" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXVI.</HI> Other rea&s;ons to per&s;wade the weake Christian of the remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd the&s;e are the rea&s;ons which may be drawn from euery of the per&s;ons of the Trinitie,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>1.</HI> That wee are to beleeue the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, becau&s;e it is an article of our Creede.</NOTE> to a&s;&s;ure vs of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes; to which we may ad diuers others. Fir&s;t, the be|leeuing of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes in an article of our Creede, which we doe daily confe&s;&s;e and pro|fe&s;&s;e, which is not left vnto our choi&s;e to beleeue or not to beleeue, but as we confe&s;&s;e it with the mouth, &s;o we are bou~d to beleeue it with the heart, if we would be reckoned in the number of Chri&s;tians. Why then &s;hould we doubt of that which we are bound to performe; and if wee doe not wee grieuou&s;ly &s;inne through infidelitie, which is more daunge|rous &amp; damnable then all our other &s;ins what&s;oeuer? And therefore though there were no other rea&s;on to mooue vs, though our hainous and manifold &s;innes &s;hould make it &s;eeme vnto vs neuer &s;o incredible, yet let vs &s;et a&s;ide all im|pediments
<PB N="461" REF="240">and breake through the violence of all obiecti|ons, and beleeue in obedience to Gods commaundements, and becau&s;e it is our dutie, the performance whereof is very acceptable vnto God, and the neglect whereof is a &s;inne mo&s;t daungerous and damnable. Which that we may per|fourme, let vs carefully ob&s;erue the condition of the coue|nant of grace, that is, let vs re&s;t and rely vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us alone for our &s;aluation by a liuely faith, and turne vnto God by vnfained repentance, and then there is no place left to doubting of that which in dutie we are bound to beleeue.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly the afflicted &s;oule labouring vnder &s;inne may receiue no &s;mall a&s;&s;urance by the te&s;timonie of Gods faith|full mini&s;ters;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2.</HI> The te&s;ti|monie of Gods faith|full mini|&s;ters. <HI>Matth. 16.</HI></NOTE> for the keyes of the kingdome of heauen are committed vnto them, and they haue power giuen them of God here on earth to bind and loo&s;e; not as though they could by their owne authoritie and in their owne name giue pardon of &s;innes to whom they li&s;t (as the papi&s;ts teach and practi&s;e, for this is proper and peculiar vnto God alone, as euen the Phari&s;es well knew whereof it was, that &s;eeing our Sauiour Chri&s;t take vpon him to forgiue &s;innes whom they imagined to bee a meere man, they affirmed that he bla&s;phe|med. For who (&s;ay they can forgiue &s;inne but God onely) but they haue authoritie giuen them of God vpon due exa|mination and tryall of their faith by the fruites thereof vn|fained repentance, certainely to declare and pronounce vn|to them that their &s;innes are forgiuen. Who&s;oeuer therefore haue this te&s;timonie of Gods faithful mini&s;ters who are well acquainted with their e&s;tates giuen vnto the~, they may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that it is vndoubtedly true and mo&s;t certaine; for who is it that dare oppo&s;e him&s;elfe and contradict the te&s;ti|monie of Gods &s;pirite in the mouth of &s;o many his faithfull amba&s;&s;adours? who dare bee &s;o pre&s;umptuous as to take vp|pon him the di&s;cerning of his &s;tate better then the mini&s;ters of God, who being appointed of God to this function are indued with a great mea&s;ure of his &s;pirit, whereby they are inabled to di&s;cerne and iudge of mens e&s;tates better then they them&s;elues? for he that is &s;piritual di&s;cerneth all things,
<PB N="462" REF="241">and is made acquainted with the mind of Chri&s;t, as the A|po&s;tle &s;peaketh 1. Cor 2.15.16. And therefore if diuers of Gods faithfull mini&s;ters with one con&s;ent pronounce vnto any paenitent &s;inner the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes, and a&s;&s;ure them after the examination of their e&s;tate that they are in the loue and fauour of God, it &s;hould be vnto them ten thou&s;and times more forcible an argument to per&s;wade the~ &amp; to con|firme their faith in the a&s;&s;ura~ce of Gods loue, then the co~tra|rie te&s;timonie of Sathan or their timorous vnbeleeuing fle&s;h to moue them to doubting thereof, if our bodies be &s;icke we committ our &s;elues to the skill and care of the phi&s;ition, and good rea&s;on, becau&s;e wee knowe he is better able to di&s;cerne of our e&s;tate then we our &s;elues, and beleeuing his iudgment to bee good wee &s;uffer him to applie &s;uch remedies as hee thinketh mo&s;t fitt; why then &s;hould wee not committ the di&s;cerning of our e&s;tate to the phi&s;ition of the &s;oule no le&s;&s;e careful, and in this re&s;pect much more skilful? for the others rules in &s;ome patients may faile him, but the grounds where|upon the &s;pirituall phy&s;ition buildeth, are mo&s;t infallible be|ing the vndoubted truth of God. Why &s;hould we not rather beleeue their often approoued iudgment then our owne ti|morous phanta&s;ies, or Sathans te&s;timonie who is our mali|tious enemie?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly the afflicted &s;oule may gather a&s;&s;urance of the re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes from the contrarie te&s;timonie of the diuel.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> Rea&s;on drawne from the contrarie te&s;timonie of Sathan.</NOTE> For when ther is any &s;ugge&s;tion ca&s;t into our mindes which is repugnant to the word of God and the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit in the heartes of the faithfull, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that it is the &s;peech of Sathan or of our corrupt fle&s;he the me&s;&s;enger of Sathan both which come to one end; but tho&s;e motiues and &s;ugge&s;tions, that God will not receiue vs to mercie, that our &s;innes are vnpardonable, that wee are re|probates and ca&s;tawayes, that now it is too late to turne vn|to God, proceed not from Gods &s;pirit, for they are quite contrarie to that which the &s;criptures teach vs, namely that the mercies of God are infinite, and hee alwaies readie to re|ceiue vs to grace when we turne vnto him; that if we wil ear|ne&s;tly
<PB N="463" REF="241">repent and in the mediation of Chri&s;t &s;ue for mercie, hee will make our &s;carlet &s;innes as white as &s;now, that it is neuer to late to turne vnto God, for if wee repent hee hath promi&s;ed to remit our &s;ins, and to receiue vs into his fauour. Neither are wee to imagine that the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pi|rit in our con&s;ciences is contrarie to the te&s;timonie of the &s;ame &s;pirit in the holy &s;criptures, and therefore &s;eeing the&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions are flatly repugnant to the worde of God and te&s;timonie of the &s;pirit, wee are to a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that they are the temptations of Sathan, eyther immediately &s;ugge&s;ted by him&s;elfe or mediately by his me&s;&s;enger our corrupt fle&s;he.</P>
<P>Seeing then the&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions come from Sathan who is our malicious enemie,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ioh. 8.44.</HI> Sathan either lyeth or el&s;e &s;peaketh the truth to de|ceiue.</NOTE> and a lyar from the beginning yea the father of lies we are not to beleeue the~, nay rather we may ga|ther certaine a&s;&s;urance that the contrarie is true; for the &s;pea|keth onely lyes, or if at any time hee &s;peake the trueth it is to this ende that hee may deceiue vs. For example hee telleth the &s;ecure carnall may that hee is in the &s;tate of grace, and highly in Gods fauour, but vnto the humbled &s;inner hee &s;aith, that he is a reprobate &amp; &s;hal mo&s;t certainly be damned; vnto the worldly &s;ecure man hee &s;aith that God is mo&s;t mer|cifull, then the which nothing can bee more true, but doth not &s;peake this in his con&s;cience, becau&s;e hee would haue him to ta&s;t thereof but to lull him a &s;leepe with this &s;weete &s;yren &s;ong to his eternall perdition. On the other &s;ide when hee hath to deale with the bru&s;ed heart and contrite &s;pirite, hee telleth him of nothing but of Gods exact iu&s;tice, to the ende that hee may plunge him into vtter de&s;peration: In a word what&s;oeuer hee &s;peaketh in the con&s;cience of man, it is eyther fal&s;e in it &s;elfe or if true in them yet fal&s;e in hypo|cri&s;ie, if true in the generall, yet fal&s;e in the particular ap|plication. As what can bee more true then that God is iu&s;t? and what more fal&s;e then that hee will excerci&s;e his iu&s;tice in puni&s;hing repentant and humbled &s;inners? what can be more true then that God is mo&s;t merciful? and what more fal&s;e then that he wil &s;hew this his mercy is &s;auing tho&s;e who
<PB N="464" REF="242">liue and die in their &s;ins without repentance? &amp; yet it is mo&s;t v&s;uall with Sathan to affirme both the one and the other, ly|ing in both becau&s;e hee doth mi&s;apply them. And there|fore &s;eeing Sathan doth neuer &s;peake the truth or el&s;e doth fal&s;ly apply it in re&s;pect of our e&s;tate, let vs acquaint our &s;elues with his fal&s;e language; and &s;o by hearing his lies wee may bee the better a&s;&s;ured of the truth; for example, when hee telleth vs that our &s;innes are vnpardonable, that it is now too late to turne vnto the Lord, that wee are reprobates and damned wretches, wee knowing that our malicious enemie by his lies doth continually &s;eeke our de&s;truction, are con|trariwi&s;e to a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that Gods mercie and Chri&s;tes merites farre exceed our &s;innes, that nowe is the accepta|ble time and day of &s;aluation, if we will turne vnto God and hearing his voice not harden our heartes, that wee are in the &s;tate of &s;aluation, the ve&s;&s;els of mercie, and beloued children of God.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly tho&s;e who are heauie laden with the burthen of their &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The la&s;t ar|gument taken from the ex|perience of Gods mercy in pardoning others. and fir&s;t of whole cities and na|tions.</NOTE> may gather vnto them&s;elues a&s;&s;urance of the forgiuene&s;&s;e of them, by the con&s;ideration of Gods mercie extended vnto other repentant &s;inners; for there was neuer any from the beginning of the world to this day, were their &s;innes neuer &s;o hainous or innumerable who haue not beene receiued to mercie, and pardoned of our gratious God when|&s;oeuer they did vnfainedly turne vnto him. And this may appeare whether wee con&s;ider whole cities or nations, or el&s;e particular men. Of the fir&s;t wee haue a notable example in the I&s;raelites which liued in the time of the iudges, who though they did many times negligently forget the greate mercies and ine&s;timable benefites of God &s;hewed to their forefathers, of which al&s;o them&s;elues had beene partakers, though they for&s;ooke the Lorde not once or twi&s;e but very often, euen then when he mo&s;t bound them vnto him with multiplying vpon them the benefitts of peace and plentie, and though they let the raines loo&s;e vnto all wickedne&s;&s;e, yea (which was mo&s;t abhominable and odious in the &s;ight of God,) though they wor&s;hiped and &s;erued <HI>Baal</HI> and <HI>A&s;te|roth</HI>
<PB N="465" REF="242">and other idolls of the cur&s;ed nations, for which horri|ble idolatrie God had ca&s;t out the nations before them; yet when&s;oeuer they turned vnto the Lorde hee pardoned their &s;innes, receiuing them into his former loue and fauour, and deliuered them out of the handes of all their enemies.</P>
<P>So likewi&s;e in the time of the prophet E&s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The example of the I&s;raelits in the time of the prophet E&s;ay. <HI>E&s;ay 1.5.</HI> to the <HI>16.</HI></NOTE> to what a no|torious height of wickedne&s;&s;e were the &s;ame people growne as the Lord by his prophet doth decipher and de&s;cribe them in the fir&s;t chapter of that prophecie. In the 2. ver. he calleth heauen and earth to witne&s;&s;e their horrible rebellion, in the 3. ver&s;e hee &s;heweth that their vnthankfulne&s;&s;e for all his mercies, far exceeded the vngratitude of bruite bea&s;ts, in the 4. ver&s;e hee exclaymeth out again&s;t them calling them <HI>a &s;in|fullnation, a people laden with iniquitie, a &s;eed of the wicked cor|rupt children who had for &s;aken the Lord, and prouoked the holy one of I&s;raell to anger.</HI> In the 5. and 6. ver&s;es he &s;heweth their hardne&s;&s;e of heart and ob&s;tinacie in their rebellion which was &s;o great that though the Lord &s;ent afflictions &amp; cha&s;tize mentes vpon them, yet they were no whit reformed but waxed wor&s;e and wor&s;e, and that this was not the ca&s;e of &s;ome few but of al the whole body of the people, for <HI>the whole head was &s;icke and the whole heart was heaute. and that from the &s;oule of the foote to the crowne of the head there was nothing &s;ound therein, but wounds, and &s;wellings, and &s;ores full of corruption,</HI> the cure whereof they vtterly neglected. In the 10. ver&s;e hee matcheth the &s;innes of both prince and people, with tho&s;e crying &s;innes and outragious wickedne&s;&s;e of <HI>Sodome</HI> and <HI>Gomorah</HI> which brought down from heauen fire and brim|&s;tone to con&s;ume them. In the 11.12.13. and 14. ver&s;es he complaineth of their filthie hypocri&s;ie in Gods outward wor&s;hip ioyned with the vtter neglect of true godline&s;&s;e and his &s;pirituall &s;eruice, which cau&s;ed the Lord to dete&s;t al their &s;acrifices, &s;abbothes, and newe moones. So that their could not bee imagined greater wickedne&s;&s;e in any people, re&s;|pecting tho&s;e notable meanes which the Lorde continually graunted vnto them aboue all other nations for their owne conuer&s;ion; and therefore who would not haue thought
<PB N="466" REF="243">their &s;tate to be mo&s;t de&s;perate, who would not haue looked dayly that the Lorde &s;hould haue con&s;umed them with fire and brim&s;tone, or haue cau&s;ed the earth to haue &s;wallowed them vp aliue as it did <HI>Corah</HI> and his a&s;&s;otiats? but behould the infinite mercies of our gratious God, euen when they wallowed in this filthie &s;inke of all impietie the Lord calleth them to repentance, and when as they had for&s;aken him and fled from him, de&s;iring nothing le&s;&s;e then to make or med|dle with him, the Lord calleth vnto them, and hee in who&s;e power it was euery minute vtterly to de&s;troy them, fir&s;t of all de&s;ireth a parley, he who might well abhorre to vouch|&s;afe them his pre&s;ence, earne&s;tly de&s;ireth conference with them, &s;aying. ver. 18. Come now and let vs rea&s;on together &s;aith the Lord; though your &s;innes were as crim&s;on, they &s;hall bee made as white as &s;now; though they were red like &s;earlet, they &s;hall be as wool.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The example of the I&s;rae|lites in the time of our &s;auiour Chri&s;t</NOTE>In like manner in the time of our &s;auiour Chri&s;t the &s;ame Iewes mo&s;t wickedly rebelled again&s;t the Lorde; for when the Lord in his rich mercy &s;ent the promi&s;ed <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> to de|liuer them out of the handes of their enemies, they would not receiue him, nay they continually afflicted and per&s;ecuted him, they mocked and reuiled him, they haled him before the iudgment &s;eate, and cau&s;ed him to bee condemned who came to iu&s;tifie and acquite them; they buffeted and whipped him, and preferred a wicked murtherer before him, who preferred their &s;aluation before his owne life, la&s;tly in mo&s;t ignominious &s;ort they crucified and killed him. After all which outragious wickedne&s;&s;e offered again&s;t the Lord of life, they continued in their hardne&s;&s;e of heart and impaeni|tencie, neuer acknowledging their fault not de&s;iring par|don, nay rather as they had per&s;ecuted the head our Lord and Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;o when they could offer no more wrong vnto him in his owne per&s;on, they were ready to &s;a|ti&s;fie and glutt their malicious rage in per&s;ecuting his poore members. Now what more helli&s;h impietie was euer com|mitted? what more outragious &s;inne was euer heard of; who would euer haue imagined that there was any hope of
<PB N="467" REF="243">pardon for &s;uch rebellious bloudy wretches? but O the in|finite and bottomele&s;&s;e depth of Gods mercy, while&s;t their wickedne&s;&s;e was fre&s;h in memorie, and their hands &s;till im|brewed in the guiltle&s;&s;e bloud of this innocent Lambe: when as they continued in their cour&s;e, and ran headlong forward in their wickednes without any &s;ence of &s;in or de&s;ire of par|don; the Lord &s;ent his apo&s;tles vnto them to bring them to repentance, and to a&s;&s;ure them that their &s;innes were par|doned.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 2.38.</NOTE> Seeing therefore the&s;e obtained the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes, who needs to doubt of pardon who earne&s;tly de&s;ires it? for did the Lord gratiou&s;&s;y offer forgiuene&s;&s;e to &s;uch rebellious wretches, and will hee not graunt it to le&s;&s;e offenders if they de&s;ire it? did he offer them mercy before they &s;ought it, and will he denie mercy vnto any who ear|ne&s;tly &s;eeke and &s;ue for it? Doth hee &s;eeke to draw men to repentance and to turne vnto him; and will he not receiue them when they doe repent? was he &s;o exceeding mercifull in times pa&s;t, and &s;hall we now thinke his arme &s;hortned or his mercy abated? Nay a&s;&s;uredly he is immutable euer like him&s;elfe one and the &s;ame mo&s;t gratious, mo&s;t merciful, &amp; full of all goodne&s;&s;e and compa&s;&s;ion, towards all them that come vnto him. And therefore if we turne from our &s;innes by vnfained repentance, wee may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues though they be neuer &s;o many and grieuous they &s;halbe pardoned, and we receaued into Gods loue and fauour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> To the&s;e examples of whole multitudes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Particular examples of Gods mercy.</NOTE> we may ad the examples of particular &s;inners, who haue beene receyued to mercy and obteined pardon, though their &s;innes haue beene many and grieuous, as <HI>Matthew, Zacheus, Leui,</HI> who were &s;infull Publicans that got their liuings by pilling &amp; polling, oppre&s;&s;ion and extortion, men &s;o notoriou&s;ly wicked, that Publicans and &s;inners are ioyned together, as though they were &s;inners by profe&s;&s;ion, and therefore as Synonima or diuers words of one &s;ignification they interprete one ano|ther. And yet &s;uch was the riches of Gods mercy, that euen the&s;e profe&s;&s;ed &s;inners were conuerted, and receiued remi&s;|&s;ion of all their outragious wickedne&s;&s;e. The like may bee
<PB N="468" REF="244">&s;aid of <HI>Mary Magdalene</HI> who though &s;hee had beene a wo|man of lewde behauiour and loo&s;e life, though &s;he were po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed of many diuels, and commonly noted for an infamous and notorious &s;inner, yet vpon her true repentance obtained the remi&s;&s;ion of her &s;innes: and while&s;t &s;he wa&s;hed the feet of our &s;auiour Chri&s;t with her teares, hee purged and clean|&s;ed her body and &s;oule from the filthy lepro&s;ie of &s;inne with his owne mo&s;t pretious bloud, while&s;t &s;he wiped them with the haires of her head, he beautified and adorned her with the rich robe of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Yea &s;he was receiued into an high degree of fauour with our &s;auiour Chri&s;t, &s;o as &s;hee had in &s;ome things the preheminence before his chiefe Apo|&s;tels, for after Chri&s;tes ri&s;ing againe he fir&s;t vouch&s;afed her his pre&s;ence, and v&s;ed her as his me&s;&s;enger to certifie the re&s;t of his re&s;urrection. So likewi&s;e the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> before his calling was not onely no louer but a bitter and fierce per&s;e|cuter of the truth, and of all the profe&s;&s;ours thereof, impri&s;o|ning, &s;toning, and cruelly murthering the Saints of God; but behold and admire the wonderfull mercy of God, euen while&s;t his imbrued hands, were yet red with the bloud of Gods faithfull children, and while&s;t his heart was &s;o full of burning rage, that hee breathed out &s;till threatnings and &s;laughter again&s;t the di&s;ciples of the Lord, it plea&s;ed God wonderfully to conuert him, to a&s;&s;ure him of the remi&s;&s;ion of all the&s;e his horrible &s;innes, and to make him of a bloudie per&s;ecuter, a mo&s;t excellent preacher of his Go&s;pell, and of a rauenous deuouring wolfe, a mo&s;t vigilant and painefull &s;hepheard. To the&s;e wee might adde the example of the theefe, who though he had &s;pent his whole life wickedly &amp; prophanely, yet was conuerted at the howre of death and re|ceauing the pardon of his &s;innes, was pre&s;ently a&s;&s;ured of euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e. But I &s;hall not need to heape vp ma|ny particulars, onely I can not pa&s;&s;e that notable example of <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> one of the mo&s;t outragious &s;inners and pro|phane&s;t wretch that euer liued, as the holy Gho&s;t hath de|&s;cribed him in the 21.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Kings 21.</NOTE> chap. of the 2. booke of the <HI>Kings.</HI> For there he affirmeth of him that he was a mo&s;t horrible idola|ter,
<PB N="469" REF="244">a mo&s;t malitious enemy and cruell per&s;ecuter of Gods truth, a defiler of Gods holy temple, a &s;acrificer of his owne children vnto idols, that is diuels, a notable witch, and wic|ked &s;orcerer, a bloudy murtherer of exceeding many the deare Saints and true Prophets of the Lord, one who did not runne headlong alone into all helli&s;h impietie, but al&s;o ledd the people vnder his gouerment out of the way to doe more wickedly then did the Heathen people whom the Lord di|&s;troied before the children of I&s;rael, and in a word wrought more abominations and outragious wickedne&s;&s;e then the cur&s;ed <HI>Amorites</HI> and <HI>Cananites,</HI> of whom notwith&s;tanding the land &s;urfetted and &s;pued them out for their crying &s;ins. And yet this <HI>Mana&s;&s;es,</HI> this wretch, more like a diuell incar|nate then a Saint of God, repenting him of his &s;innes from the bottome of his heart, was receaued (I cannot &s;peake it without raui&s;hing wonder of Gods bottomle&s;&s;e &amp; neuer &s;uf|ficiently admired mercy) was receaued I &s;ay, to grace, and obtained the pardon of all his horrible &s;innes and mo&s;t abo|minable wickedne&s;&s;e. Now all the&s;e examples are written for our learning, and are recorded by the holy Gho&s;t, to the end that wee may continually laud and pray&s;e the Lord for his endle&s;&s;e and infinite mercies, and gather vnto our &s;elues a&s;&s;urance, that though our &s;innes were as grieuous and hai|nous as any of theirs before named, yet if with them wee turne from our &s;innes by vnfained repentance, and goe vn|to Chri&s;t by a liuely faith, wee &s;hall al&s;o with them receaue the pardon of our &s;innes, and be entertained into Gods loue and fauour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;et downe mo&s;t infallible rea&s;ons,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That vnre|pentant &s;in|ners haue nothing to doe with the former con|&s;olation.</NOTE> vpon which as vpon immoueable firme grounds, the afflictted con&s;cience may lay the foundation of &s;ound comfort; now if any abu&s;e the Go&s;pel of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and gather out of this heauenly doctrine this diueli&s;h v&s;e, that becau&s;e Gods mer|cies abound therefore they will abound in their &s;innes with|out repentance, and &s;till more and more prouoke the wrath of the Lord again&s;t them, to the&s;e I an&s;were with the Apo|&s;tle that their damnation is iu&s;t, in that they abu&s;e Gods
<PB N="470" REF="245">mercy, as an occa&s;ion to &s;inne, which &s;hould &s;erue as a for|cible argument to lead them to repentance, neither let &s;uch flatter them&s;elues with vaine hope of Gods mercy, for de|&s;pi&s;ing the riches of his bou~tifulne&s;&s;e, patience, &amp; long &s;uffe|ring, &amp; co~tinuing in their hardne&s;&s;e of hart &amp; vnrepentancy, <HI>they trea&s;ure vp vnto them&s;elues wrath again&s;t the day of wrath, and of the declaration of the iu&s;t iudgeme~t of God.</HI> As the apo&s;tle plainely &s;peaketh Rom. 2.4.5. Neither let the~ fooli&s;hly boul|&s;ter vp them&s;elues in their &s;innes, by putting vnder their el|bowes, the &s;weet &s;oft pillowes of Gods mercifull promi&s;es, for as there is none &s;o &s;peciall which doe exclude the mo&s;t hainous &s;inner that repenteth &amp; beleeueth, &s;o is there none &s;o generall which do extend them&s;elues to tho&s;e who con|tinue in their vnrepentancie and vnbeliefe; and therefore though there be no &s;inne &s;o grieuous, which being repented of and for&s;aken will condemne vs if wee re&s;t and relie vpon our Sauiour Chri&s;t for our &s;aluation by a liuely faith; &s;o there is no &s;inne &s;o &s;mall and veniall which will not plunge vs in|to the bottome of hell, if we liue therein without repentance and doe not de&s;ire to leaue and &s;or&s;ake it. And therefore &s;o long as wee liue in our &s;innes, and doe not &s;eriou&s;ly turne vnto the Lord by vnfained repentance, let vs not in vaine arrogate and mi&s;apply vnto our &s;elues the mercy of God, the merites of Chri&s;t, and the &s;weet promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, for vnto &s;uch appertaine the fearefull threatnings of the law as being &s;till the children of wrath, dead in their &s;innes, and &s;ubiect to Gods heauie wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="37" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXVII.</HI> How we may know whether we be effectually called or no.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning tho&s;e rea&s;ons whereby the humbled and repentant &s;inner may gather vnto him&s;elfe certaine a&s;&s;urance of the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes:<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan per&s;wadeth the weake Chri&s;tian, that he is not called.</NOTE> of all which con&s;o|lations Sathan earne&s;tly indeuoureth to &s;poile the afflicted
<PB N="471" REF="245">&s;oule, by &s;ugge&s;ting into his mind diuers &s;ubtill and dan|gerous tentations. As fir&s;t, that all the&s;e gratious promi&s;es &amp; &s;weet con&s;olations of the go&s;pell do onely belong vnto tho&s;e who are called&punc; neither to all in this number, for many are called but few are cho&s;en, but vnto tho&s;e alone who&s;e cal|ling is effectuall, that is to &s;ay, who are &s;eperated from the world, giuen vnto Chri&s;t and Chri&s;t vnto them, and who are ingrafted into him, and become liuely members of his bo|dy: but thou, will he &s;ay to the humbled &s;inner art not thus effectually called, and therefore do not flatter thy &s;elfe with the hope of Gods promi&s;es, for though in them&s;elues they are mo&s;t certaine, yet they belong not vnto thee, but vnto tho&s;e alone who&s;e calling is effectuall.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">How we may with&s;tand the former tenta|tions.</NOTE>Again&s;t which tentation if wee would &s;trengthen our &s;elues, we mu&s;t examine our calling whether it be effectuall or no; and that both by con&s;idering the meanes whereby all are effectually called, and al&s;o the partes of effectuall calling, making application of both vnto our owne particular. For the fir&s;t, wee may thus rea&s;on again&s;t our &s;pirituall enemy, who&s;oeuer can find the meanes of effectuall calling, power fully working in him&s;elfe, and conuerting him vnto God he is effectually called, but I haue and doe find the&s;e meanes thus working in me, and therefore I doe not flatter my &s;elfe with vaine hope, but am certainely a&s;&s;ured that I am effectu|ally called and conuerted.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The meanes whereby wee are effectually called,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the means of our effe|ctuall cal|ling.</NOTE> are fir&s;t the &s;auing and fruitfull hearing of Gods word, by the mini|&s;tery whereof the Lord calleth and inuiteth vs to come vnto him by vnfained repentance, and to our &s;auiour Chri&s;t by a liuely faith euen when wee are dead in our &s;innes, without any de&s;ire to will or abilitie to perfourme any thing that is good,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 16.6.</NOTE> while&s;t wee are the bond&s;laues of Sathan and mecre worldlings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.1.3.12.13.</NOTE> not de&s;iring nor once thinking vpon the means of our &s;aluation. And this is done fir&s;t by the preaching of the law, by which is reuealed vnto vs our innumerable hai|nous &s;innes, and the fearefull puni&s;hments due vnto them: as that we by our continuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion are &s;ubiect to the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.7.</NOTE>
<PB N="472" REF="246">cur&s;e of the law, vnable to perfourme obedience vnto any of the commaundements or to make &s;atisfaction to Gods iu&s;tice for the lea&s;t of our &s;ins, and &s;o con&s;equently that we are obnoxious to Gods wrath, &s;ubiect to tho&s;e horrible tor|ments prouided for the wicked, and therefore in re&s;pect of our &s;elues, our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;atisfaction, or any other meanes of our owne what&s;oeuer in a mo&s;t damna|ble and de&s;perate e&s;tate. Secondly, after the Lawe hath thus &s;hewed vnto vs our &s;ins &amp; the puni&s;hments due vnto them, the Lord by the mini&s;terie of the go&s;pel doth reueale vnto vs a plaine way by which we may come out of this mi|&s;erable e&s;tate, and attaine vnto euerla&s;ting &s;aluation, namely by beleeuing and ayplying vnto our &s;elues Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his benefites. Thirdly with this outward mini&s;terie of the word the Lord ioyneth the inwarrd cooperation of his holy &s;pirit, whereby hee openeth our deafe eares, and maketh vs attentiuely to heare,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 40.6. Iohn 6.44. Act. 16.14. 1. Ioh. 2.20.27.</NOTE> and as with a precious eye&s;alue illightens the blind eyes of our vnder&s;tandings, enabling vs to con|ceiue and vnder&s;tand tho&s;e things which are deliuered vnto vs, both out of the law, and out of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>2.</HI> meanes of our effect|uall calling.</NOTE>The &s;econd meanes of our effectuall calling is the &s;ofte|ning of our harde hartes, when as the Lorde taketh away our &s;tonie hartes, and giueth vs hartes of fle&s;h, as hee pro|mi&s;eth Ezec. 11.19. And breaketh vp the&s;e fallow grounds fit in them&s;elues to bring forth no fruite but weedes and thi&s;tles, that &s;o they may bee prepared to receiue the &s;eed of his word, and bee made fruitfull in all grace. And thus our &s;tubborne &amp; rebellious hartes are &s;oftened when as we par|ticularly apply vnto our &s;elues the doctrine of the law, wher|by fir&s;t wee come to the knowing and acknowledging of our finnes, original and actual. Secondly our hartes are pricked, and our con&s;ciences wounded by apprehending and apply|ing to our guiltie &s;oules the cur&s;e of the lawe, the anger of God, and tho&s;e feareful puni&s;hments prepared for the wic|ked. Thirdly &s;eeing this our mi&s;erie, and finding no means of our owne how wee may come out of this wretched e&s;tate, wee are brought to de&s;paire of our own &s;trength, righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="473" REF="246">and &s;atisfaction,, finding them of no vertue for our iu&s;tification. By all which, being throughly humbled and ca&s;t downe in our &s;elues, the Lorde by the preaching of the go&s;pel doth reueale vnto vs a way how we may e&s;cape out of this mi&s;erable e&s;tate, by applying vnto our &s;elues Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us, and all his meritts and obedience by a true and liuely faith; after which the humbled &s;inner &s;eeing his owne wants and mi&s;erie by the lawe, and perceiuing that our &s;a|uiour Chri&s;t is &s;o rich in meritts, that hee can can&s;ily &s;upply all his defects, and &s;o gratious and powerfull that hee can and will free him out of his wretchedne&s;&s;e, he doth plainely di&s;cerne that hee &s;tandeth exceedingly in need of Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us and his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. After which &s;en&s;e of his owne wantes there is begott in him an carne&s;t and hungring de&s;ire to bee made partaker of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, me|ritts, obedience, and of all tho&s;e ine&s;timable benefitts which are purcha&s;ed by them. And la&s;tly hee is mooued to appeale from the &s;entence of the law, to the throne of grace, pleading not his owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e or &s;ati&s;faction, but Chri&s;ts me|ritts and obedience.</P>
<P>The third and la&s;t meanes of our effectuall calling is a true and liuely faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> meanes</NOTE> whereby we apprehend Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his benefitts giuen and applyed vnto vs by Gods &s;pirite, re&s;t|ing vpon him alone for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation..</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That all <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> find the for|mer meanes powerfull in them are ef|fectually cal|led.</NOTE>And the&s;e are the meanes of our effectuall calling, which who&s;oeuer hath found powerfull working in them&s;elues for their conuer&s;ion after the manner before &s;poken of, they may mo&s;t certainely a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that they are ef|fectually called, and are alreadie partakers of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t and all his benefites. If therefore the Lorde while&s;t wee did lye frozen in the dregs of our &s;innes, without all de&s;ire of grace or meanes to e&s;cape our &s;innes, without all de&s;ire of grace or meanes to e&s;cape out of our mi&s;erie, hath vouch&s;a|fed vnto vs the mi&s;terie of his holy word, if by the law hee hath reuealed our &s;innes vnto vs and the puni&s;hmentes due vnto them, and if by the go&s;pell hee hath &s;hewed vs the way how we may come out of this mi&s;erie; if by the inward cooperation of his holy &s;pirit he hath opened our deafe cares,
<PB N="474" REF="247">and with this precious eye&s;alue hath annointed the blinde eies of our vnder&s;tandings &s;o that we haue attentiuely heard, and in &s;ome mea&s;ure vnder&s;toode tho&s;e principles of our chri&s;tian religion, which haue in the mi&s;terie of the worde beene deliuered vnto vs; if our hartes haue beene &s;oftened and pearced, and our con&s;ciences wounded with the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of our &s;innes; if di&s;paring in our owne &s;trength, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and all other meanes of our owne, wee haue gone out of our &s;elues, and re&s;ted and relied vpon Chri&s;t Ie&s;us alone for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation, then are wee without all doubt effectually called and are in the number of Gods church and people to whom the promi&s;es of grace doe appertaine.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may know that we are effectually called by con&s;idering the &s;euerall parts thereof.</NOTE>Secondly we may come to the knowledge of our effectu|all calling, by con&s;idering the &s;euerall parts thereof. The fir&s;t is our &s;election and &s;eparation out of the corrupt ma&s;&s;e of mankind, whereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that though wee be in the world, yet we are not of the world, and therefore wee neither loue it, nor the world vs; and this our Sauiour &s;heweth, Ioh. 15.19. <HI>If</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>hee were of the world the world would loue his owne, but becau&s;e yee are not of the worlde, but I haue cho&s;en you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.15.</NOTE> and the apo&s;tle Iohn affirmeth, that <HI>if any man loue the worlde the loue of the father is not in him.</HI> 1. Ioh. 2.15. and the apo&s;tle Iames telleth vs that <HI>the amitie of the world is enmitie with God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.4.</NOTE> <HI>and therefore who&s;oeuer will bee a friend of the worlde maketh him&s;elfe the enemie of God.</HI> If therefore our loue and affectio~s be weaned in &s;ome good mea&s;ure from the world, and fixt on &s;pirituall and heauenly things, if wee cea&s;e to be citizens of the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.29.</NOTE> and begin to haue our <HI>conuer&s;ation in in heauen from whence wee looke for a &s;auiour euen the Lorde Ie&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> and if the world beginne to hate and &s;corne vs, then may we be a&s;&s;ured that wee are &s;euered from the world, and intertained into Gods church and familie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans ten|tation an&s;we|red whereby he per&s;wa|deth the chri&s;tian that he loueth the world and the world him.</NOTE>But here the tempter will obiect, that by this it plainely appeareth that wee are not yet effectually called nor &s;epera|ted from the world, becau&s;e we &s;till loue the world af|fecting
<PB N="475" REF="247">and de&s;iring the vaine plea&s;ures, honoures, &amp; riches thereof, yea and al&s;o loue tho&s;e who are meere worldlings, and on the other &s;ide the world al&s;o loueth vs, giuing vs good countenance and performing other duties vnto vs. For the an&s;wering of which &s;ugge&s;tion we mu&s;t di&s;tingui&s;h be|tweene our &s;elues and our &s;elues; for while&s;t we continue in this life wee are partly fle&s;h and partly &s;pirit, and as there is great enmitie betweene the &s;pirit and the world, &s;o is there great amitie betweene the world and the fle&s;h. So farre forth therefore as wee are &s;till carnall and corrupt fleth the world loueth vs, but as much as is &s;pirituall and regenerate &s;o much the world hateth and abhorreth. Moreouer we may generally be con&s;idered as men, or more &s;pecially as we are Chri&s;tian men; in the fir&s;t re&s;pect, the world that is wicked worldlings may loue vs for &s;ome naturall partes or meere morall vertues, or els in common humanitie as members of the &s;ame ciuill or politicke body: but as wee are Chri&s;tians who haue giuen our names vnto God &amp; diuoted our &s;elues to his wor&s;hip and &s;eruice, the world hateth vs and our pro|fe&s;&s;ion, religion, and all the fruits and exerci&s;es of &s;anctifica|tion and holine&s;&s;e, &s;o that though in other naturall, worldly, and more ciuill re&s;pects it loueth vs, yet in regard of our re|generation and the fruites thereof it cannot indure vs, and our companie and conuer&s;ation is exceeding tedious, irk|&s;ome and vnplea&s;ant. So on the other &s;ide whereas Sathan obiecteth that we loue the world that is carnal worldly men, we may an&s;were that euen as we are regenerate, it is lawfull to loue them in the &s;ame re&s;pects which they loue vs, name|ly as they are men &amp; the excellent creatures of God, as they are indued with excellent naturall giftes or morall vertues, as they are of the &s;ame ciuill body or kinred, or as they haue beene v&s;ed of God as his in&s;truments for the bo&s;towing of any his benefits vpon vs: in which re&s;pects louing them, we may notwith&s;tanding with a true zeale hate &amp; abhorre their vices, their carnall worldline&s;&s;e, prophane irreligion, and wicked conuer&s;ation. Neither will religion make vs to lay a&s;ide all humanitie and transforme vs into &s;ome bruti&s;h, or
<PB N="476" REF="248">rather diueli&s;h <HI>Timon</HI> who was a hater of men. For euen our &s;auiour Chri&s;t him&s;elf who was wholy exe~pted from &s;inne, notwith&s;tanding loued the worldly yong man for &s;ome good things he &s;aw in him though he were not religious, yea though he were &s;o carnall that hee preferred his vaine and vncertaine riches before the &s;aluation of his &s;oule, as appea|reth Mark. 10.21.22. So al&s;o he v&s;ed all humanitie and ci|uill conuer&s;ation euen among&s;t the Publicans and &s;inners, that he might haue the better opportunitie of conuerting all tho&s;e who belonged to Gods electio~. And therfore we need not feare to follow Chri&s;ts example &s;o it be with the &s;ame ho+ly affection. For we al&s;o mu&s;t indeauour to gaine tho&s;e vn|to Chri&s;t who are without, and by our holy co~uer&s;ation giue them occa&s;ion of glorifying God in the day of their vi&s;itati|on as the apo&s;tle exhorteth vs, 1. Pet. 2.12. which we can ne|uer doe by hatred, rough &s;eueritie, and &s;inicall inhumanitie, but with louing curte&s;ie, vpright behauiour, gentle admoni|tions and charitable reprehen&s;ions. But if through our cor|ruptio~ we giue &s;athan occa&s;ion further to obiect, that vnder the&s;e pretences we &s;et our harts too much vpon the world louing worldings more then tho&s;e who are of the hou&s;hould of faith and more delighting in their vaine conuer&s;ation for outward re&s;pects then in the companie of the faithfull if not alwaies yet oftentimes, we are to an&s;were that though the&s;e be &s;innes in vs, and notable &s;ignes of our great corruption, yet are they no &s;tronge arguments that we are not yet effec|tually called, or truely &s;euered fro~ the world, for as much as we are not wholy &s;eperated fro~ the world, but only &s;o much of vs as is &s;pirituall and regenerate; &s;o that it is no meruaile if the the fle&s;h and vnregenerate part &s;till loue the world, be|becau&s;e it is &s;till worldly; but if in the inner man wee hate this loue, and &s;triue to bridle yea to mortifie it, if we are tru|ly &s;ory and di&s;plea&s;ed with our &s;elues for this as for other &s;ins and labour to refourme it, wee may be a&s;&s;ured that the &s;pi|rite of God is in vs, which hath &s;euered vs from the world, &amp; ioyned vs to the body of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The like al&s;o may be an&s;wered concerning the loue of
<PB N="477" REF="248">worldly things, honours, riches and plea&s;ures;<NOTE PLACE="marg">How far forth we may loue worldly things.</NOTE> we may loue them as they are the ble&s;&s;ings of God, and de&s;ire them &s;o farr foorth as they are temporall benefitts, and furtherances or at lea&s;t no hinderances in the workes of holine&s;&s;e and righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, we may &s;o loue them as that in the meane time our loue be &s;ubordinate to the loue of God, our brethren &amp; &s;pirituall things. But if our loue pa&s;&s;e the&s;e limitts it is cor|rupt and carnall, yet no vndoubted argument to proue that we are not effectually called, if we are di&s;plea&s;ed with it and labour again&s;t it, though ofte~times we are ouercome there|with through the violence of our carnall affections and the corruptions of the fle&s;h, yet if wee hate this &s;inne in the in|ner man, if wee entertaine through violence, and not with affection and delight, if it dwell in vs but doe not raigne in vs, if but &s;ometimes it gett the vpper hand and doe not continually ouerrule vs, it is no more wee that doe it but &s;inne that dwelleth in vs, that is the old man and cor|rupt fle&s;h, which while&s;t wee liue in this life will beare &s;ome &s;way in vs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the world loueth them not who~ Sathan ha|teth.</NOTE>La&s;tly when as Sathan a&s;&s;aulteth the poore chri&s;tian with his tentations, per&s;wading him that he is not yet called nor &s;eparated from the wicked world, becau&s;e it loueth him, he may well &s;u&s;pect his argument of fal&s;hood, for Sathan doth not hate tho&s;e whom the world loueth; but by his conti|nuall a&s;&s;aulting of the weake chri&s;tian, and his dayly labou|ring to bring him through the violence of his tentations to vtter de&s;truction, it manife&s;tly appeareth that Sathan like a mortall enimie deadly hateth him; and therefore it is not likely that he is beloued of the world though it may for a time fawne vpon him, that by pretending loue and friend|&s;hipp it may worke him the greater mi&s;chiefe.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd part of our effectuall calling is the mutuall donation of God the father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the &s;econd part of our ef|fectuall cal|ling.</NOTE> whereby he hath giuen Chri&s;t Ie&s;us vnto vs to be our &s;auiour and redeemer, and vs vnto Chri&s;t to be &s;aued and redeemed, by which al&s;o wee may proue that we are effectually called. For this gift is mutu|all and reciprocal, and therefore the one doth clearely proue
<PB N="478" REF="249">the other, &s;o that if we can haue any a&s;&s;urance that Chri&s;t is giuen vnto vs, then may we al&s;o be a&s;&s;ured that we are giuen vnto Chri&s;t, and contrariwi&s;e if we haue any a&s;&s;urance that we are giuen vnto Chri&s;t, then may we be al&s;o a&s;&s;ured that Chri&s;t is giuen vnto vs, and con&s;equently that wee are effectually called for this mutuall donation is one parte thereof. Now wee may bee a&s;&s;ured that Chri&s;t is giuen vn|to vs if wee beleeue in him re&s;ting vppon him alone for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation, as appeareth Ioh. 3.16. <HI>So God loued the world that hee hath giuen his onely begotten &s;onne that as many as beleeue in him &s;hould not peri&s;h but haue euer|lasting life,</HI> and &s;o al&s;o we may be a&s;&s;ured that wee are giuen vnto Chri&s;t, if wee heare his voice and follow him, as him|&s;elfe &s;peaketh Ioh. 10.27. and &s;ubmitt our &s;elues to bee led and gouerned by his &s;pirit, for <HI>as many as are led by the &s;pirite of God they are the &s;onnes of God, and who&s;oeuer are &s;onnes are heires of God, and heires annexed with Chri&s;t.</HI> as it is Rom. 8.14.16.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">How tho&s;e that are giue~ to Chri&s;t, keep his word.</NOTE>But here Sathan will obiect that tho&s;e who are giuen vnto Chri&s;t haue kept his word, as him&s;elf al&s;o affirmeth Ioh. 17.6. How therefore will he &s;ay, can&s;t thou be a&s;&s;ured that thou art one of tho&s;e who are giuen vnto him, &s;eeing thou keepe&s;t it not but continually tran&s;gre&s;&s;e&s;t his commaundementes? To which wee mu&s;t an&s;were that the worde of Chri&s;t is his go&s;pell, wherein hee promi&s;eth euerla&s;ting life to all that be|leeue in him, and bring forth the fruites of their faith in vn|fained repentance. as it appeareth Ioh. 5.38. where hee thus &s;peaketh to the vnbeleeuing Iewes: <HI>And his word</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>haue yee not abiding in you: for whom he hath &s;ent, him yee be|leeue not;</HI> whereby it is manife&s;t if Chri&s;ts rea&s;oning bee of &s;ound con&s;equence, that tho&s;e haue his word abiding in them who beleeue in him, whom God hath &s;ent euen our Lorde and Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. So that we keepe the word of our Sauiour when wee beleeue in him, re&s;ting and relying vpon him alone for our &s;aluation, and truely repent vs of our &s;ins, &s;orrowing and grieuing that by them we haue offended and
<PB N="479" REF="249">di&s;plea&s;ed our louing God and mercifull father, hating our &s;innes becau&s;e they are &s;innes, purpo&s;ing and labouring to for&s;ake them, and indeuouring according to the mea&s;ure of &s;trength and grace receiued, to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life. And therefore if wee can find in our &s;elues this faith and this repentance, wee may vndoubtedly be a&s;&s;ured notwith&s;tanding our manifould falls and greate corruptions that we haue kept the word of Chri&s;t, and there|fore are giuen vnto him of the father; and con&s;equently that we are effectually called and &s;halbe eternally glorified. For it is the will of <HI>the father that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in his &s;on Ie&s;us Christ &s;houlde haue euerla&s;ting life,</HI> as our Sauiour te&s;tifieth Ioh. 6.40. As for our corruptions they &s;hall bee wa&s;hed away with the bloud of Chri&s;t, and our imperfecti|ons &s;hall bee couered with the rich robe of his perfect righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;o that in him wee &s;hall appeare perfect before Gods iudgment &s;eate, and there bee accepted as iu&s;t and righteous.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third part of our effectuall calling is our vnion and communion with Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the third part of our effectuall calling.</NOTE> whereby he becommeth our head and wee his members, of which who&s;oeuer can bee a&s;&s;ured, they need not to make any que&s;ton of their effectual calling; but all tho&s;e who are indued with faith are vnited vnto Chri&s;t, for it is a propertie thereof to apply vnto our &s;elues Chri&s;t and all his benefitts, it is the hand of the &s;oule where|by wee lay hould vpon Chri&s;t, it is the mouth of the &s;oule wherby we &s;piritually feed vpo~ him, &amp; he <HI>that eateth his fle&s;h, and drinketh his bloud dwelleth in Chri&s;t and Chri&s;t in him,</HI> as him&s;elfe &s;peaketh, Ioh. 6.56. So al&s;o who&s;oeuer are indued with Gods &s;pirit and haue &s;ubmitted them&s;elues to bee led and gouerned thereby, they are ingrafted in the bodie of Chri&s;t, for the &s;pirit is the bloud of this vnion, and therefore if wee can di&s;cerne the &s;pirit of God in vs by any of the fruits thereof,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.22.</NOTE> wee may bee a&s;&s;ured that wee are the members of Chri&s;t, and con&s;equently effectually called. La&s;tly wee may be a&s;&s;ured that wee are ingrafted in the bodie of Chri&s;t by our worke of &s;aluation, either appertaining to Gods &s;er|uice
<PB N="480" REF="250">or chri&s;tian righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e towards our neighbour, for it is impo&s;&s;ible that wee &s;houlde bring foorth any ripe grapes of godline&s;&s;e if wee were notingrafted in the true vine Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, as him&s;elfe affirmeth, Ioh. 15.4. <HI>Abide in mee and I in you: as the branch cannot beare fruite of it &s;elfe except it abide in the vine. no more can yee except yee abide in mee: 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches, hee that abideth in me and I in him the &s;ame bringeth forth much fruites for without mee yee can doe no|thing.</HI> And therefore if wee make con&s;cience of our wayes, and exerci&s;e our &s;elues in &s;ome mea&s;ure, in tho&s;e good workes which the Lorde hath commaunded in obedi|ence to his will, and to this end that his name may be glo|rified, wee may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that wee are ingrafted into the true vine Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, for of our &s;elues we are altogether vnfruitfull and could doe nothing.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> But here Sathan will obiect that this argument maketh again&s;t our &s;elues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may be vnited vnto Chri&s;t though we alwaies bring forth &s;mall fruits and &s;ometime no fruites.</NOTE> for we thereby make it manife&s;t that we are not ingrafted into Chri&s;t, becau&s;e our fruites of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e are commonly exceeding &s;mall, and &s;ometimes none at al, wheras the liuely branches of this vine are exceeding fruitfull, and abundant in good workes. To which we are to an&s;were, that all the branches of the vine do not bring forth fruits in like aboundance, but &s;ome more and &s;ome le&s;&s;e, and yet notwith&s;tanding this doth not proue that the&s;e are not true branches as well as the other although they receiue le&s;&s;e &s;appe and liuely iuyce from the roote and &s;tocke, and &s;o al&s;o it is in this my&s;ticall vine; if the branches be not altogeather barren and fruitle&s;&s;e, though their fruites be not in &s;o greate aboundance, yet if it bee right and of the &s;ame nature with the other, they may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that they al&s;o are liuely branches of the true vine Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; neither is the qua~tity &amp; nu~ber of our fruits &s;o much in this re|gard to be re&s;pected; for if according to the qua~titie of &s;ap &amp; goodiuice which we receiue fro~ our root we bring forth fruit, that is, if according to that mea&s;ure of grace &amp; giftes of Gods holy &s;pirit, which our &s;auiour Chri&s;t hath be&s;towed vpon vs, we &s;pend our liues in Gods &s;eruice which him&s;elfe hath com|maunded
<PB N="481" REF="250">to the end that we may glorifie his holy name, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that we are true branches of this vine, which our Sauiour <HI>will purge and prune that wee may bringe forth more fruites,</HI> as he hath promi&s;ed. Ioh. 15.2. moreouer whereas Sathan obiecteth, that wee are not branches of this vine, becau&s;e at &s;ome times wee can &s;hew no fruits; wee are to an&s;were that as the earthly vine hath not alwayes grapes, no not &s;o much as leaues vpon it, and yet notwith&s;tanding it liueth, receiuing nouri&s;hment from the roote, and bringeth forth fruit in due time and &s;ea&s;on, &s;o that the braunches of this mi&s;ticall vine are &s;ome time without the fruites of good workes, yea, haue not &s;o much to bee &s;eene vpon them as the faire greene leaues of an outward profe&s;&s;ion, as it is mo&s;t v&s;uall when as they are throughly nypped with the could winter of tentations, and haue all their beautie bla&s;ted and blowne away with the boy&s;terous bla&s;ts of &s;athans fierce incounters; and yet at the &s;ame time they receiue the &s;app, iuyce, and vertue of Gods &s;pirit from their roote Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, by which they &s;eeming dead doe liue and receiue nouri&s;h|ment; vntill at Gods good plea&s;ure the comfortable beames of his loue and fauour do &s;hine vpon them, with which their frozen hartes being throughly warmed, doe againe bring forth not onely the leaues of profe&s;&s;ion, but al&s;o the ripe fruits of godline&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and therefore though pre&s;ently in &s;uch ca&s;es wee haue no fruites to &s;hewe yet let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that we are not true branches of this vine? for if we can call to mind, that euer in former times we haue brought forth any right and kindly fruites of &s;anctifi|cation and true godline&s;&s;e, we are true branches of the vine Chri&s;t which hee will lop and prune and againe make fruit|full; for out of him we could neuer haue brought forth &s;uch fruites, and tho&s;e who are once ingrafted into him can ne|uer po&s;&s;ibly be plucked away by Sathan, the world, or al the powers of hell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 15.4. Ioh. 10.28.</NOTE> though (as I &s;aid) they may for a time bee nipped and &s;hrewdly weather beaten.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="38" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="482" REF="251">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXVIII.</HI> Sathans tentations obiecting to the weake chri&s;tian vnrepen|tancie and hardne&s;&s;e of heart an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for an&s;wering that generall temp|tation of Sathan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan per&s;wadeth the weake chri&s;tan that he hath no repentance.</NOTE> whereby he laboureth to rob and depriue the poore humbled &s;inner of all the hope and comfort which hee might reape in applying vnto him&s;elfe the gratious promi|&s;es and &s;weete comforts contayned in the go&s;pell, by per&s;wading him that hee is not effectually called. Wherewith if hee cannot preuaile hee de&s;cendeth from the generall to the particulars, and hauing as it were a farre off di&s;charged his &s;hott of dangerous temptations without inflicting de&s;ired hurt and de&s;truction, he approch|eth neerer, and fighteth again&s;t the poore chri&s;tian with handie blowes, that thereby hee may beate him downe into deepe de&s;peration. Let it bee graunted will bee &s;ay that thou are called, yet it followeth not hereof that thou art elected and &s;halt bee &s;aued; for Chri&s;t Ie&s;us him&s;elfe hath &s;aide that many are called but few are cho&s;en and why maie&s;t not thou bee in the greater number; neither is the calling thou &s;pea|ke&s;t of &s;ufficient to make a chri&s;tian, vnle&s;&s;e it bee accompa|nied with vnfained repentance and a liuely faith. And the promi&s;es of the go&s;pell wherein thou vainely hope&s;t are not made vnto all tho&s;e who are called, but vnto tho&s;e who are indued with a true iu&s;tifying faith, which is alwaies ioyned with the fruite thereof, vnfained repentance. But if thou ex|amine thy &s;elfe aright, thou &s;halt find that both the&s;e are wanting in thee, for to beginne fir&s;t with repentance which is mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible and to be di&s;cerned with greate&s;t ea&s;e if thou &s;earch thine hart without any affectionate partialitie or vaine conceipt, thou &s;halt find that thou are altogeather de&s;titute thereof. For is not thy hart &s;o ob&s;tinately hard, and &s;o &s;tub|bernely rebellious, that thou can&s;t not bewaile thy &s;innes
<PB N="483" REF="251">with any vnfained &s;orrow, nor &s;carce with much &s;trayning force one teare, whereas for any worldly lo&s;&s;e, or temporarie affliction which indeed toucheth thee with true griefe, thou can&s;t without any difficultie weepe more bitterly then the a|po&s;tle Peter, and &s;hed as many teares as <HI>Marie Magdalene.</HI> Be&s;ides wheras tho&s;e who repent turne from their &s;innes with a trueand vnreconcilable hatred of them, and &s;pend the re&s;t of their life that remaineth in the &s;eruice of God, whereas they haue their hard &s;tonie harts mollified and tur|ned into harts of fle&s;he, which are flexible vnto holy obedi|ence and full of alacritie and chearefulne&s;&s;e in performing &s;eruice to God, thou through thy hardne&s;&s;e and heart that cannot repent liue&s;t &s;till in thy &s;innes, and &s;pende&s;t a great part of thy time in vanitie and worldly delightes, thy heart as hard as the adama~t is ready &s;ooner to breake then to bowe to Gods will, and when thou force&s;t thy &s;elfe hereunto, thou can&s;t not but di&s;cerne the blindnes of thy vnder&s;tanding in &s;piritual thinges, which is &s;o &s;harpe and eagle &s;ighted in mat|ters concerning the world, thy &s;pirits &s;o dull &amp; blocki&s;h, &amp; thine affectio~s &s;o glutted &amp; tyred in performing &s;eruice vnto God which are &s;o ful of life, &amp; alacritie in following worldly vanities. And therefore it is impo&s;&s;ible that thou &s;houlde&s;t haue any true repentance, for how can repentance and hard|nes of hart, a hart of fle&s;h &amp; an hart of &s;tone be atonce in thee.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Again&s;t which tentation of Sathan if we would arme our &s;elues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">For the an|&s;wering that former tenta|tion <HI>2.</HI> ex|treames to be avoyded.</NOTE> it behoueth vs to bee verie carefull that wee doe not runne into two dangerous extreames; the one whereof is &s;ecurely to flatter our &s;elues with an opinion of our good e&s;t|ate when as in turth it is mo&s;t dangerous and damnable, the other that we doe not too much &s;uffer our &s;elues to bee de|iected and ca&s;t downe, thoughe wee haue not as yet attained to &s;o greate perfection as our hearte de&s;ireth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Two &s;ortes of hardne&s;&s;e of hart. <HI>1.</HI> that which is in|&s;en&s;ible.</NOTE> And to this purpo&s;e we are to know that hardne&s;&s;e of heart is of two &s;ortes, the fir&s;t is of them who being mo&s;t hard harted, notwith&s;tanding doe not feele nor perceiue it; the o|ther of tho&s;e who feeling their hardne&s;&s;e of heart are gree|ued therewith, and de&s;ire to haue it mollified, &s;oftened, and
<PB N="484" REF="252">euen re&s;olued into teares of vnfained repentance. The fir&s;t &s;ort is damnable or at lea&s;t mo&s;t daungerous, for it lulleth vs a&s;leepe in carnall &s;ecuritie, it taketh away all &s;en&s;e of &s;inne, and con&s;equently all &s;orrow whereby we &s;hould bewaile it; it &s;careth and brawneth the con&s;cience, couering it as it were on all &s;ides with a thicke hard skinne, which will neuer or mo&s;t hardly be pearced, either by Gods iu&s;tice and threat|nings to cau&s;e vs to fear lea&s;t we incurre his wrathful di&s;plea|&s;ure, or by his mercies and gratious promi&s;es to moue vs to loue him, and to bring forth the fruits of our loue in accepta|ble obediencd, it repelleth all the good motions of Gods &s;pi|rit &amp; filleth the &s;oule with &s;uch drow&s;ie dulnes and blocki&s;h deadne&s;&s;e, that it is altogether vnfit to perfourme any &s;eruice vnto God, and mo&s;t apoto entertaine any of Sathans tenta|tions. And this in&s;en&s;ible hardne&s;&s;e of heart which is the &s;pirituall lethurgie of the &s;oule is of two kindes;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The in&s;en&s;i|ble hardne&s;&s;e of hart is of two &s;ortes. The fir&s;t ioy|ned with ob|&s;tinacie.</NOTE> the fir&s;t is ioyned with wilfull ob&s;tinacie and affected rebellion, where|by men adui&s;edly and contemptuou&s;ly with&s;tand the out|ward mini&s;terie of the word, and the inward motions of Gods &s;pirit, with all other meanes which might mooue and muite them to &s;erious repentance; an example whereof wee haue in <HI>Pharaoh</HI> who hardened his heart again&s;t the Lord, oppo&s;ing him&s;elfe again&s;t his amba&s;&s;age deliuered vnto him by <HI>Moy&s;os,</HI> and confirmed by &s;o many miracles, and al&s;o ob|&s;timately and with an high hand of rebellion checked, and quenchen the good motions of Gods &s;pirit, whereby he was &s;ometimes moued to confe&s;&s;e his &s;inne, and to acknowledge the Lord righteous. As al&s;o in <HI>Saul</HI> who again&s;t his con&s;ci|ence per&s;ecuted <HI>Dauid</HI> becau&s;e the Lord loued &amp; had made choi&s;e of him to &s;ucceed in his place, and how&s;oeuer &s;ome|times by occa&s;ion of &s;ome notable fruite of <HI>Dauids</HI> inno|cencie hee was moued to condemne him&s;elfe and to iu&s;tifie him, yet pre&s;ently hee hardned his heart againe and raged a|gain&s;t him with wonted malice. And thus likewi&s;e were tho&s;e I&s;raelites hardened and frozen &s;tiffe in the dregs of their &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 28.15.</NOTE> of whom the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> &s;peaketh E&s;ay. 28.15 <HI>Yee haue &s;aid</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>wee haue made a couenam with death
<PB N="485" REF="252">and with hell wee are at agreement: though a&s;courge runne ouer and pa&s;&s;e through, it &s;hall not come at vs: for we haue made fal&s;e|hood our refuge and vnder vanitie are we hid.</HI> And tho&s;e al&s;o of whom the Prophet <HI>Zacharie</HI> complaineth Zach. 7.11. <HI>who</HI> (ob&s;tinately) <HI>refu&s;ed to harken,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Zach. 7.11</NOTE> <HI>and pulled away the &s;houlder and &s;topped their eares that they &s;hould not heare, yea, and made their hearts as an Adamant &s;tone, lea&s;t they &s;hould heare the law and the words which the Lord of ho&s;tes &s;ent in his &s;pirit by the mi|ni&s;terie of the Prophets.</HI> And &s;o al&s;o many of the Scribes and Phari&s;ies hardened their hearts again&s;t our Sauiour Chri&s;t ob&s;tinately contemning the gratious and powerfull words, which proceeded out of his mouth, and quenched the good motions of Gods &s;pirit, occa&s;ioned by his wonderfull mira|cles and admirable workes which none could performe, but he who was the very true and only begotten &s;onne of God. Now we are to know that this hardne&s;&s;e of hart is mo&s;t dam|nable, and who&s;oeuer are po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed therewith they can ne|uer e&s;cape Gods fearefull iudgements and euerla&s;ting con|demnation in the life to come.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of that hard ne&s;&s;e of hart which pro|ceedeth from carele&s;&s;e retchle&s;ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE>The other kind of in&s;e~&s;ible hardne&s;&s;e of heart proceedeth from carele&s;&s;e retchle&s;ne&s;&s;e and carnall worldline&s;&s;e, when as men hauing their vnder&s;ta~dings blinded doe not perceiue their filthie corruptions, prophane wickedne&s;&s;e, &amp; extreame mi&s;ery, nor feele the burthen of their &s;innes though they be growne to an intollerable waight, but flatter them&s;elues with a vaine opinion of their good e&s;tate in them&s;elues, without any other helpe, as though they needed not the meanes ap|pointed of God for their conuer&s;ion which others v&s;e. And therefore they neglect the mini&s;terie of the word, as know|ing and practizing inough already, or if they heare it they remoue farre from them the threatnings of the law denoun|ced again&s;t impaenitent &s;inners as not appertaining to them, and checke all the good motions of Gods &s;pirit which are commonly ioyned with the publike mini&s;terie of the word, and the priuate admonitions of godly men, or with the ex|ample of Gods iudgement on others, or with the &s;en&s;e of their owne afflictions; and &s;o returne to their old propha|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="486" REF="253">and lie wallowing in the dregs of their &s;innes without any remor&s;e or hatred of euill, or any true loue of that which is good. Vntill at length their harts are &s;o hardned and their con&s;ciences &s;o &s;cared with cu&s;tomable &s;inning, and by often repelling and beating backe the meanes of their conuer&s;ion the outward mini&s;tery of the word, and the inward motions of Gods &s;pirit, that they proceed from carele&s;&s;e &s;en&s;ele&s;ne&s;&s;e, and negligent &s;ecuritie, to wilfull prophane&s;&s;e and ob&s;tinate rebellion. And this hardne&s;&s;e of heart is mo&s;t commonly incident vnto worldings and is nothing els but carnall &s;ecu|ritie, whereby they re&s;t contented with their mi&s;erable and wretched e&s;tate, neither louing that which is good, nor ha|ting that which is euill, nor v&s;ing any means to better them|&s;elues, becau&s;e they either thinke they are good inough or at lea&s;t neuer enter into con&s;ideration of their e&s;tate, nor come to the &s;en&s;e and feeling of their euill corruptions, in which they are wholy plunged &amp; ouerwhelmed. Yea &s;ome|times and in &s;ome mea&s;ure this befalleth the deare children of God through their carele&s;&s;e negligence, and want of the due examination of them&s;elues (as may appeare in the ex|ample of <HI>Dauid,</HI> who many moneths together liued in his &s;inne of adulterie and murther, without any &s;erious and &s;ound repentance, till it plea&s;ed the Lord to rouze him out of this &s;pirituall lethurgie by the mini&s;terie of the Prophet <HI>Nathan</HI>) but yet the Lord doth not finally leaue them, but by the preaching of the word, godly admonitions and re|prehen&s;ions, and al&s;o with the inward motions and &s;ecrete operation of his holy &s;pirit he pulleth them out of this wret|ched e&s;tate, giuing vnto them a &s;ight or feeling of their &s;ins, and mollifying their hard hearts, working in them an ha|tred and dete&s;tation of their &s;innes, and an earne&s;t de&s;ire to be vnburthened of them. But how&s;oeuer this may befall the children of God, yet this can be no incouragement vnto any to continue &s;till in this wretched ca&s;e, for how&s;oeuer they may be indeed the children of God, yet a&s;&s;uredly they can neuer haue any true a&s;&s;urance in their con&s;ciences that they are his children and in his fauour, till their harts be mol|lified
<PB N="487" REF="253">and re&s;olued, into the teares of vnfained repentance at lea&s;t in &s;ome mea&s;ure. And therefore let euery one be|ware of carnall &s;ecurity and of hardening their harts through carele&s;&s;e negligence, and by committing &s;innes again&s;t their knowledge and con&s;cience, let them beware of re&s;i&s;ting the mini&s;terie of the word, and of quenching the good motions of Gods &s;pirit, for though the con&s;cience at the fir&s;t be mo&s;t tender and the hart &s;o &s;oft, that euery &s;inne will pricke and pearce it, and euery gentle admonition will make it relent, yet in continuance of time through cu&s;tomable &s;inning, and re&s;i&s;ting the meanes of our conuer&s;ion and &s;aluation, the con&s;cience is &s;o &s;eared that it becommeth &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e though it be oppre&s;&s;ed and &s;urcharged with a heauy ma&s;&s;e of outra|gious wickedne&s;&s;e, and the heart groweth to &s;uch Adaman|tiue hardne&s;&s;e, that the thundring Canon threatnings of the law, and of Gods fearefull and imminent iudgements can|not batter or brui&s;e it, nor make any breach whereby true re|pentance may enter. In which re&s;pect the con&s;cience is not vnfitly compared to the eye, which of all other partes of mans body is mo&s;t tender &amp; impatient of the lighte&s;t touch, &s;o that the &s;malle&s;t mote vexeth it, and the lea&s;t pricke cau|&s;eth incredible torment: but if once it be affected with a di|&s;ea&s;e called of <HI>Oculi&s;ts, &s;cirrho&s;is oculi</HI> which ouercouereth it, but a hard fle&s;hy skinne, it becommeth of all other partes mo&s;t in&s;en&s;ible, &s;o the con&s;cience of man is mo&s;t tender of all other partes, and at the fir&s;t &s;mall &s;innes vexe &amp; torment it, but if through cu&s;tome in &s;inning it be ouer&s;pread with a <HI>Callum</HI> or thicke skinne, it beco~meth in&s;en&s;ible and nothing will wound it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="39" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXXIX.</HI> Of that hardne&s;&s;e of heart which is ioyned with &s;en&s;e and fee|ling thereof.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="I" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of hardne&s;&s;e of hart, ioy|ned with &s;en&s;e and fee|ling thereof.</NOTE>_THe &s;econd &s;ort of hardne&s;&s;e of hart, is that which is ioyned with &s;en&s;e and feeling, when as we &s;ee and with &s;orow feele our dulne&s;&s;e and blocki&s;h|ne&s;&s;e in Gods &s;eruice, our obdurate inflexible|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="488" REF="254">to holy obedience, our hardne&s;&s;e of heart, which at the hearing either of the terrible threatnings of the law, or &s;weet promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, cannot relent nor re&s;olue it &s;elfe in|to the teares of vnfained repentance; and this hardne&s;&s;e of heart is commonly incident vnto Gods deare children be|ing at the &s;ame time in the &s;tate of grace, and is a part of that inbred corruption and fle&s;hly old man which before our calling wholy po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth and ouerruled vs, and after al&s;o bea|reth &s;ome &s;way in vs eue~ when we are regenerate til with al our other corruptions we lay this a&s;ide al&s;o by death. And this appeareth in the exa~ple of the Prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> who de|&s;ireth the Lord <HI>to create in him a cleane hart, &amp; to renew a right &s;pirit within him.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.10.</NOTE> P&s;al. 51.10. in which words he implieth that his hardne&s;&s;e of heart was &s;o great, and the corruption there|of &s;o abominable that it was euen pa&s;t mending, and there|fore he doth not pray the Lord to purge and reforme his old hart,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 11.19.</NOTE> but to create a new one, and to take quite away his &s;tonie hart, &amp; to be&s;tow vpon him a hart of fle&s;h, as though his hart were like a building exceeding ruinous which could no longer be repaired, vnle&s;&s;e it were razed downe euen to the foundation and all new built vp againe. So whereas he praieth the Lord to renew his &s;pirit in him, he giueth vs to vnder&s;tand that he hath lo&s;t the feeling of the &s;pirit of adop|tion crying in his hart Abba father, and that there was in him &s;uch an intermi&s;&s;ion &amp; &s;urcea&s;e of the actions &amp; fruits ther|of that it &s;eemed vtterly quenched and departed from him. So els where he praieth vnto the Lord to quicke~ him accor|ding to his louing kindne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.88.</NOTE> <HI>that he might keepe the te&s;timonies of his mouth.</HI> Whereby hee intimateth his drow&s;ine&s;&s;e and deadne&s;&s;e in Gods &s;eruice. The Prophet E&s;ay likewi&s;e in the behalfe of him&s;elfe, and the people complaineth thus: E&s;ay 63.17.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay. 63.17.</NOTE> <HI>O Lord why ha&s;t thou made vs to erre from thy waies, and hardned our hart from thy feare.</HI> By all which it appea|reth that euen the deare children of God do oftentimes &s;ee and feele to their great griefe their hardne&s;&s;e of hart, which is ioyned with exceeding dulne&s;&s;e and drow&s;ine&s;&s;e in Gods &s;eruice. Yea in truth this kind of hardne&s;&s;e of hart is inci|dent
<PB N="489" REF="254">vnto them alone. For while&s;t men are worldly and car|nall though their harts are mo&s;t hard and obdurate yet they doe not di&s;cerne it, neither are they any whit di&s;plea&s;ed with their e&s;tate, but fondly flatter them&s;elues imagining that they are in exceeding good ca&s;e and very deuout in Gods &s;eruice which indeed (as they perfourme it) is meerely for|mall, cu&s;tomable rather then con&s;cionable, in &s;hew and ex|ternall but not in &s;pirit and truth; but when the Lord by the mini&s;tery of his word made effectuall by the inward opera|tion of his holy &s;pirit, doth pull of the thicke skinne of car|nall &s;ecuritie from of their hearts and cau&s;eth the &s;eales of ignorance to fall from their eyes, then and not before doe they plainely di&s;cerne and &s;en&s;ibly feele that huge ma&s;&s;e of inbred corruption, their dulne&s;&s;e and drow&s;ine&s;&s;e in Gods &s;eruice, their hardne&s;&s;e of hart and impaenitencie, and now they are much vexed and grieued with them, which in for|mer times neuer troubled them. And therefore let not &s;uch be di&s;maied nor debarre their &s;oules of that co~&s;olation which of right belongeth to them, for fle&s;h and bloud hath not re|uealed this their corruption, hardne&s;&s;e of hart, dulne&s;&s;e and deadne&s;&s;e in Gods &s;eruice but the good &s;pirit of God, which hath begunne already to worke in them, &s;hewing them their corruptions and moouing them to an vnfained di&s;like of them, and therefore they may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues, that he who hath begunne this good worke in them, will al&s;o bring it in his good time to perfection: Onely (as the P&s;almi&s;t exhor|teth,) <HI>Let them tarrie the Lords lea&s;ure,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE> <HI>waite vpon and tru&s;t in him and he &s;hall comfort their hearts.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now this &s;en&s;ible or di&s;cerned hardne&s;&s;e of hart is al&s;o of two &s;ortes:<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>2.</HI> Sortes of &s;en&s;ible hard|ne&s;se of hart. The fir&s;t ioy|ned with the v&s;e of the means wher|by it may be &s;oftned.</NOTE> the fir&s;t is of them who carefully v&s;e all good meanes and indeauour with all diligence to better their e&s;tate which they &s;ee to bee mo&s;t mi&s;erable and to mollifie their hard hartes, and to attaine vnto harty and vnfained repentance. Which who &s;o doth hee may a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe that hee is the child of God and in his loue and fauour; for earne&s;tly to de&s;ire repentance, and carefully to v&s;e the meanes whereby we may attaine thereunto, to be di&s;plea&s;ed
<PB N="490" REF="255">with our hardne&s;&s;e of heart and to labour that it may bee mollified, to bee &s;orry that wee can bee no more &s;orry and to bee di&s;plea&s;ed with our &s;elues becau&s;e wee can no more bee di&s;plea&s;ed with our &s;innes, is very accep|table in the &s;ight of God though wee &s;ee but a little progre&s;&s;e in godline&s;&s;e, and but a &s;mall increa&s;e of repentance which wee de&s;ire in great mea&s;ure, for the Lorde e&s;teemeth the will for the deed, and the affection for the action, and wee may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that if on our part wee be not wanting in the v&s;e of the meanes, the Lord will not bee wanting on his part to &s;upply our wantes, and to &s;ati&s;fie all our Godly de&s;ires.</P>
<P>Of this hardne&s;&s;e of heart which verie often befalleth the deare&s;t of Gods children wee haue many examples.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Examples of this hardne&s;&s;e of heart. <HI>P&s;al. 77.2.</HI></NOTE> The prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> thus complaineth P&s;al. 77.2. <HI>In the day of my trouble I &s;ought the Lorde, my &s;ore ranne and cea&s;ed not in the night, my &s;oule refu&s;ed comfort.</HI> 3. <HI>I did thinke vppon God and as troubled, I prayed and my &s;pirit was full of angui&s;h.</HI> 4. <HI>thou keepe&s;t mine eyes waking; I was a&s;tonied and could not &s;peake.</HI> So the church complaineth thus Cant. 3.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant 3.1. and 5.6.</NOTE> <HI>In my bed I &s;ought him by night whom my &s;oule loued. I &s;ought him but I found him not.</HI> and chap. 5. ver. 6. <HI>I opened to my welbeloued but my welbeloued was gone and pa&s;t: mine heart was gone when hee did &s;peake I &s;ought him but I could not find him, I called him but hee an&s;wered me not.</HI> Whereby it is manife&s;t that euen the deare &s;aints of God are often times de&s;titute of all comfort and voyde of all feeling of Gods fauour, and of the powerfull working of the graces of Gods &s;pirit which they haue recei|ued, though they v&s;e the meanes appointed of God for the &s;tirring vp and increa&s;ing of grace in them, which commeth to pa&s;&s;e by rea&s;on of their hardne&s;&s;e of heart, and drow&s;ie dulne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit in the&s;e &s;pirituall excerci&s;es.</P>
<P>And hence it is that many of Gods children doe grieou&s;ly afflict their &s;oules becau&s;e they &s;ee the&s;e their corruptions and imperfections, and hereby often times are mooued to thinke that they are de&s;titute of faith, and of all &s;auing graces of Gods &s;anctifying &s;pirite, becau&s;e though they v&s;e the
<PB N="491" REF="255">meanes ordayned of God for the begetting and increa|&s;ing of grace in them, yet they cannot perceiue any fruite that commeth thereby, nor feele in their &s;oules any true comfort or ioy in the&s;e &s;pirituall excerci&s;es. For example &s;ome complaine that though they continually heare the word yet they feele no increa&s;e of any grace, no more know|ledge, no more faith, no more zeale of Gods glory, no more mortification of their old corruptions, nor any reformati|on at all of their former &s;infull liues, and therefore they thinke that they heare the worde of God without any pro|fit, nay that the more they heare it the more wicked and rebellious they are; and that for this cau&s;e it were much bet|ter not to heare the worde at all, for as much as it will but agrauate their &s;innes and in crea&s;e their condemnation, <HI>for hee that knoweth his mai&s;ters will and doth it not,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 12.47.</NOTE> <HI>&s;halbe beaten with many &s;tripes.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But let not &s;uch poore mourning &s;oules depriue them|&s;elues of that true comfort which of right belongeth to them:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;olations for &s;uch as complaine of their imper|fections in hearing the word.</NOTE> and to this end let them know fir&s;t that this is a v&s;uall com|plaint of tho&s;e children of God which profit mo&s;t in hearing of the word though in truth they doe therein deceiue them|&s;elues; for in co~plaining that they profit not, they &s;hew they profitt. For whereas men naturally blinded with &s;elfe loue and carnall &s;ecuritie neuer di&s;cerne any &s;uch want and cor|ruption in them&s;elues, and therefore though they profit no|thing by hearing the worde of God yet it neuer troubles them, nay they imagine that it is &s;ufficient to pre&s;ent their bodies into Gods a&s;&s;emblies and to heare Gods worde with their outward eares, though they vnder&s;tand it not nor re|taine it in memorie, nor bring forth any fruits thereof; the&s;e humbled &s;oules by the hearing of the worde are freed from this &s;elfe loue and carnall &s;ecuritie, and haue the blind eies of their vnder&s;tandings opened &s;o as they &s;ee their faultes and corruptions, and haue their harde hartes &s;oftened &s;o as they are grieued and di&s;plea&s;ed with them, &amp; their wills al|&s;o are in &s;ome good mea&s;ure &s;anctified, &s;o that they earne&s;t|ly de&s;ire to be freed from their corruptions, and to heare the
<PB N="492" REF="256">word of God with more profit, whereby it appeareth that though they cannot profit &s;o much as they de&s;ire yet they haue made a good progre&s;&s;e, and the Lord in his good time will perfect that good worke which hee hath begun in them; and the &s;ame &s;pirit of God which hath wrought in them this de&s;ire of profitting by hearing the word, will al&s;o accompli&s;h it, &amp; &s;o open their dull eares and &s;often their hard harts that they &s;hall profit and reape manifould fruites of the &s;eede of the word which is &s;owed in the furrowes of their hearts. In the meane while the Lorde may in his heauenly wi&s;edome feed them for a time with a &s;paring hand to the end that hee may truly humble them vnder the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of their corruptions, and that he may hereby &s;o &s;harpen their appe|tites that they may with more hungering de&s;ire, and earne&s;t indeauour feed vpon the heauenly manna of his word; but as this &s;hould increa&s;e their diligence, &s;o it &s;hould not decrea&s;e their hope and comfort, for mo&s;t a&s;&s;uredly when the Lorde hath a while whetted their &s;tomacke, and by pulling backe his hande mooued them more earne&s;tly to de&s;ire, and more highly to e&s;teeme this precious foode of their &s;oules, he will fully &s;ati&s;fie their hungring de&s;ire, nouri&s;h them in all &s;piri|tuall graces, and make them who are but babes &s;trong men in Chri&s;t. In the mean time let them not faint, but wait vpon the Lorde, bee &s;trong and tru&s;t in him and hee will &s;urely comfort their heartes as the p&s;almi&s;t &s;peaketh P&s;al. 27.16.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly wheras they complaine that they doe not after the hearing of the word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;olations for &s;uch as bewaile their want of fee|ling the fruits of their hea|ring.</NOTE> perceiue in them&s;elues any increa&s;e of knowledge, faith or any &s;auing grace, they are to knowe that how&s;oeuer no man ought to re&s;t contented in this e&s;tate but are to laboure more and more, not only to haue but al&s;o to di&s;cerne an increa&s;e of grace in them, and a progre&s;&s;e in al vertue and godline&s;&s;e, for otherwi&s;e though they may be the children of god who for a time liue in &s;uch a ca&s;e yet they can not attaine vnto the a&s;&s;urance thereof nor feele the comfort of it in there owne con&s;ciences, neuertheles there is no rea&s;o~ why they &s;houlde de&s;paire or bee vtterly di&s;couraged, for though they find no fruits of their hearing, yet if in obedi|ence
<PB N="493" REF="256">to Gods commaundement, they will with care and di|ligence continue &s;till hearers of the word, they &s;hal vndoub|tedly in the ende attaine vnto their de&s;ire and di&s;cerne in them&s;elues a greate increa&s;e of grace and godline&s;&s;e. Wee knowe that the &s;eede doth not pre&s;ently bringe foorth fruite when it is ca&s;t into the ground, but fir&s;t it &s;eemeth to rott and peri&s;h and then it &s;prouteth vp in a greene blade, and then it beareth an eare and a great increa&s;e and much fruite; and &s;o it fareth oftentimes in hearing the worde of God, for at fir&s;t it &s;eemeth quite lo&s;t and peri&s;hed being &s;owne in &s;ome groundes, and yet afterwardes it bringeth foorth not onely a faire greene blade of an outward profe&s;&s;ion, but al&s;o a greate increa&s;e of the ripe fruites of true godline&s;&s;e. So al&s;o the &s;icke patient taking &s;oueraigne phy&s;icke is not pre&s;ently cured, nay in &s;tead of feeling any ea&s;e thereby hee is made much more &s;icke in his owne &s;en&s;e and feeling, and yet after the phy&s;ick hath a while wrought with him and purged him of &s;ome &s;uperfluous and hurtfull humours hee findeth &s;ome amend|ment, and &s;o by little and little hee is re&s;tored to his former health; and &s;o it is al&s;o with the &s;pirituall &s;icke patient, hee doth not alwaies pre&s;ently find ea&s;e and quiet peace of con|&s;cience, nay many times hee is tormented and vexed after hee hath receiued the &s;piritual phi&s;icke of the &s;oule the word of God, more then euer in former times, but yet notwith|&s;tanding in proce&s;&s;e of time when this phi&s;icke hath effectu|ally wrought with him, it purgeth him from his filthie cor|ruptions and &s;trengtheneth him in all grace and godline&s;&s;e. And therefore though we feele pre&s;ently no profitable fruits of hearing let not this di&s;courage vs from hearing, nay ra|ther let it &s;erue as a &s;harpe &s;purre to pricke vs forwarde to more diligence, and let vs ioyne therewith hartie prayer, de&s;iring the Lord to water the &s;eed of his word &s;owne in our hearts with the dew of his holy &s;pirit, and then vndoubted|ly the Lord in the end will heare vs, and to our exceeding comfort &s;hew vnto vs the plentifull fruits of all our labours.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly whereas they complaine that the more they heare
<PB N="494" REF="257">the greater are their &s;innes and rebellion again&s;t God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;olations for &s;uch as complaine that the more they heare the more they a|bound in &s;in.</NOTE> in this they much deceiue them&s;elues; for the worde of God doth not make them more &s;infull, but whereas heretofore they liued in carnall &s;ecuritie and hardne&s;&s;e of heart, hauing their vnder&s;tandings darkned and their con&s;ciences &s;eared &s;o as they could neither &s;ee nor feele their &s;ins though they were manifould and grieuous, now the worde of God made ef|fectuall by the inward operation of his holy &s;pirit like a glo|rious light hauing di&s;pelled the darke foggie mi&s;ts of igno|rance, and illuminated the eyes of their vnder&s;tandings with the knowledge of Gods law, they better di&s;cerne their &s;innes and mi&s;erable e&s;tate then in former times. And this the Apo|&s;tle Paul &s;heweth vnto vs in his own example Rom. 7.9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.9.10</NOTE> <HI>For</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>I was once aliue without the law, but when the com|maundement came &s;in reuiued</HI> 10. <HI>but I died: and the &s;ame com|maundement which was ordeyned vnto life, was found to be vnto mee vnto death.</HI> and ver. 13. <HI>was that then which was good made death vnto mee? God forbid: but &s;inne that it might appeare, &s;inne wrought death in mee by that which is good, that &s;inne might bee out of mea&s;ure &s;infull by the commaundement.</HI> So that the preaching of the law doth not make vs more &s;infull but re|uealeth tho&s;e &s;innes vnto vs which before we di&s;cerned not. As therefore the &s;unne &s;hining vpon &s;ome filthie place doth not make it &s;o filthie, but onely doth make it manife&s;t which was not &s;eene in the darke, and as the whole&s;ome phy&s;icke is not the cau&s;e of tho&s;e corruptions which it purgeth out, but by expelling them out of the bodie &s;heweth them vnto vs, &s;o the heauenly light and &s;oueraigne phy&s;icke of Gods worde doth not worke in vs our filthie corruptions, and hurtfull humors of &s;inne but it reuealeth them vnto vs whereas be|fore times by rea&s;on of our ignorance and blindne&s;&s;e they were &s;ecret and hidden,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> When therefore out of the former premi&s;&s;es this conclu|&s;ion is inferred either by Sathan who continually like a ma|licious enemie &s;eeketh our de&s;truction,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we are not to neglect hearing the word becau&s;e of the former imperfections.</NOTE> or by our owne cor|rupt fle&s;h (which is impatient of any rough handlinge, and therefore would rather haue vs &s;icke &s;till then indure any paine in beeing cured) that it were better for vs to &s;urcea&s;e
<PB N="495" REF="257">the hearing of gods word as &s;eruing to no other end but to encrea&s;e our condemnation, let vs in any ca&s;e re&s;i&s;t &s;uch motions as beeing mo&s;t daungerous tentations which be|ing entertained will bring vs to vtter ruine and endle&s;&s;e de&s;truction; for if wee depriue our &s;elues of this heauenly light the diuell will ea&s;ily lead vs hudwincke vnto all fin &amp; wickedne&s;&s;e, if we long ab&s;taine from this comfortable food of our &s;oules they will be hungar&s;tarued, and all the graces of Gods &s;pirit will waxe faint and die in vs, if wee di&s;arme our &s;elues of this &s;word of the &s;pirite, Sathan without any re&s;i&s;t|ance will ouercome vs and take vs captiues, forcing vs as his mi&s;erable &s;laues to commit all tho&s;e workes of darkne&s;&s;e in which hee will imploy vs. And therefore as wee tender the &s;aluation of our owne &s;oules, let vs not be di&s;couraged from hearing the word of God by any &s;ugge&s;ti|ons what&s;oeuer, no not though we &s;eeme vnto our &s;elues e|uery time wee come into the Church to goe a &s;tep towards hell; for while&s;t we v&s;e Gods ordinance which is appointed as the meanes for our conuer&s;ion and &s;aluation, there is &s;ome good hope, but when we vtterly neglect it our &s;tate is mo&s;t de&s;perate.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="40" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XL.</HI> Con&s;olations for &s;uch as bewayle their hardne&s;&s;e of hart and wants in prayer.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _OThers complaine that they are &s;o ouerwhelmed with their hardne&s;&s;e of hart,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;olations for &s;uch as co~plaine that they cannot pray at all.</NOTE> and drow&s;ie dul|ne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit that eyther they cannot pray at all, or if they doe it is barrainely without all forme or fa&s;hion; or if they haue the eloquence of the tongue &amp; good &s;et formes of praier yet they perfourme it coldly and drow&s;ilie, without all earne&s;tne&s;&s;e and feruencie of &s;pirit, hauing their minds caried away with wandring thoughts, &s;o that their praiers are but meere liplabour, &amp; therefore it were better not to pray at all, becau&s;e they cannot performe
<PB N="496" REF="258">this dutie in any good maner or mea&s;ure as God requireth.</P>
<P>And this is a tentation wherewith euen the deare&s;t chil|dren of God are much vexed and troubled, and therefore it &s;hall not be ami&s;&s;e to an&s;were the &s;euerall branches of this complaint. Fir&s;t therfore, where as they complaine that they cannot pray at all, this is to bee vnder&s;tood either generally of all times, or &s;pecially at &s;ometimes. If they &s;ay they can ne|uer pray, it is very likely that either they forget or much de|ceiue them&s;elues, for few or none who are altogether de&s;ti|tute of the &s;pirit of &s;upplication haue any vnder&s;tanding to di&s;cerne their want, or any grace to bewaile it, but content them&s;elues with their lip-labour as though they had per|fourmed acceptable &s;eruice vnto God. And it is a worke of one and the &s;ame &s;pirit to make vs &s;ee our infirmities with hatred and di&s;like of them, and to moue vs earne&s;tly to de|&s;ire of God that we may be freed from them, which earne&s;t de&s;ire is harty praier. But if they further affirme that they are mo&s;t &s;ure they doe neuer pray vnto God, I an&s;were that though this in it &s;elfe be a mo&s;t daungerous ca&s;e, for it is a &s;igne of a worker of iniquitie, not to call vpon God as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;peaketh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 53.4.</NOTE> P&s;al. 53.4. yet they haue no cau&s;e to de|&s;paire, for the &s;ame &s;pirit which hath reuealed vnto them this their &s;inne and infirmitie, and hath wrought in them a di&s;like thereof, will al&s;o remoue it and &s;upply their want in Gods good time, if they will labour for this good gift, and not quench the good motions of the &s;pirit when God offreth them vnto them.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The gift of praier not in our owne power.</NOTE>But if they cannot denie that &s;ometimes they haue had the grace giuen them of God to call earne&s;tly vppon his name, how&s;oeuer in this pre&s;ent time they are altogether disfurni&s;hed thereof, then let them know that their ca&s;e in this re&s;pect is common withall the deare children of God, for harty prayer is not in our owne power, neither doth it attend vpon our owne will, but it is the gift of God which at &s;ometimes in plentifull mea&s;ure he be&s;toweth vpon his chil|dren, and at other times he pulleth backe his liberall hand; to the end that by the want thereof, we may learne to a&s;cribe
<PB N="497" REF="258">the glorie and prai&s;e of our harty prayers vnto God, who worketh in vs the will and the deed and is in truth the onely true authour of them which prai&s;e, otherwi&s;e in pride of hart we would arrogate vnto our &s;elues, as being a naturall facultie and in our owne power; and al&s;o to the end we may more highly e&s;teeme it, and with more ioy and diligence v&s;e it when we haue it be&s;towed on vs, lea&s;t through our negli|gence and &s;louthfulne&s;&s;e we mooue the Lord to take it from vs.</P>
<P>Seeing therefore this hartie calling vpon Gods name is a gift of God, &amp; a worke of his holy &s;pirit in vs which at &s;ome|times heretofore we haue di&s;cerned in our &s;elues, let vs not altogether be di&s;couraged though at &s;ometimes we want it;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.29.</NOTE> for the <HI>giftes of God are without repentance,</HI> and though at &s;ometimes they are withdrawne from our &s;en&s;e and feeling, yet &s;hall they neuer be taken from vs; and if at any time we haue had a&s;&s;urance that the &s;pirit of God hath dwelled in vs, by this worke thereof effectuall prayer, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that it hath not for&s;aken vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.26.</NOTE> but will againe <HI>helpe our infirmities, and whereas we cannot tell how to pray as we ought, the &s;pirit it &s;elfe will make request for vs with &s;ighes, which cannot be expre&s;&s;ed.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;olations for &s;uch as co~plaine that they cannot pray in any good forme.</NOTE> whereas they complaine that they cannot pray in any good forme, but oftentimes fill Gods eares with im|patient cries &amp; vncomfortable roarings in &s;tead of prayers, they are to know that this is often incident vnto the chil|dren of God, e&s;pecially when his hand is heauy vpon them, either in &s;ome outward affliction of bodie, or &s;ome inward angui&s;h of mind. For example the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> confe&s;|&s;eth that when Gods hand was heauie vpon him day and night his prayers were but roarings. P&s;al. 32.3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32.3.</NOTE> So Ezechias faith, that whe~ he &s;hould haue praied <HI>he chattered like a Crane or a Swallow, &amp; mourned as a Doue,</HI> E&s;a. 38.14.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 38.14.</NOTE> And the poore Publica~e oppre&s;&s;ed with the heauy burthe~ of his &s;ins in &s;tead of a long &amp; eloquent &s;peach vttereth the&s;e fewe wordes; <HI>O God be mercifull vnto me a &s;inner,</HI> and yet our Sauiour Chri&s;t te&s;tifieth of him that he receaued the remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes
<PB N="498" REF="259">and went home iu&s;tified.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 18.13.14.</NOTE> Luk. 18.13.14. Neither in trueth doth the Lord regard the eloquence of the tongue, but the earne&s;tne&s;&s;e of the hart, he re&s;pecteth not our well couched wordes and &s;mooth vttered &s;tile, but the feruencie of the &s;pirit, and our humble and harty de&s;ires, which are accep|tably heard of him though our tongues bee &s;ilent. <HI>The &s;a|crifices of God are not eloquent wordes but a contrite &s;pirit, a contrite and broken heart will not the Lord de&s;pi&s;e.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.17.</NOTE> as it is P&s;al. 51.17. The prayers indited by Gods &s;pirite which al&s;o are according to the will of God, con&s;i&s;t not in the wordes of the mouth, but in the &s;ighes of the heart which cannot bee expre&s;&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.26.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle teacheth vs. Rom. 8.26. And therefore if wee offer vnto God an humble and contrite &s;pirit, if wee can &s;igh and grone earne&s;tly, de&s;iring tho&s;e things wee want according to his holy will, though wee cannot expre&s;&s;e our mindes in any good order or in a con|tinued forme of &s;peech, yet if wee can from our hartes roare with <HI>Dauid,</HI> chatter with <HI>Ezechias</HI> and vtter this abrupt &s;peech with the poore publicane, O God bee mercifull vnto mee a &s;inner, the Lorde will heare vs and that as &s;peedily as though we could pray vnto him with the eloquence of men and angels. For to what end principally &s;erue wordes, but that wee may by them expre&s;&s;e our mindes to men who o|therwi&s;e could not vnder&s;tand them; but the Lorde who &s;earcheth the hartes vnder&s;tandeth our &s;ighes which cannot bee expre&s;&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.26.</NOTE> as it is Rom. 8.26.27. <HI>and hee knowes our thoughts long before wee thinke them,</HI> as the p&s;almi&s;t &s;peaketh P&s;al. 139.2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 139.2.</NOTE> Hee is a &s;pirit yea an all&s;eeing &s;pirit, and there|fore our prayers vnto him are the de&s;ires of the heart, neither doth our wordes &s;erue to per&s;wade him, but to &s;tirre vp our owne dul &s;pirits, and to keepe vs from di&s;orderly wandring thoughts.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 14.15</NOTE> So that if wee can with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> lift vp our hearts vnto God with earne&s;t de&s;ires, this will bee a &s;trong crie in the eares of the Lorde, and hee will &s;urely heare it. If we can vnfainedly &s;ay with the prophet <HI>Dauid.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 38.9.</NOTE> P&s;al. 38.9. <HI>Lorde I powre my whole de&s;ire before thee, and my &s;ighing is not hid from thee,</HI> we may be a&s;&s;ured he will heare vs and graunt our re|que&s;t,
<PB N="499" REF="259">for <HI>he heareth the de&s;ire of the poore, he prepareth their hart and bendeth his eare vnto them.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 10.17</NOTE> as it is p&s;al. 10.17. yea hee doth not only heare them and in &s;ome &s;ort incline to their reque&s;t, but hee <HI>will fulfill the de&s;ire of them that feare him, hee will heare their crie and &s;aue them.</HI> as the &s;ame prophet &s;pea|keth. P&s;al. 145.19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.19</NOTE> We know that a kind louing father if he &s;ee his &s;onne exceeding &s;icke wilbe verie carefull and tender ouer him, to prouide all things nece&s;&s;arie for him which may doe him good, and though with a faultering tongue and vnperfect &s;peech hee a&s;ke any thing which is profitable for him to receiue, yet how readily will hee harken vnto him and graunt his de&s;ire? yea if his &s;ickne&s;&s;e &s;o increa&s;e that hee becommeth &s;peechle&s;&s;e vttering nothing but deepe grones, euen this language moues him to no le&s;&s;e care in v&s;ing all meanes which may doe him good. Shall then wee daily ob|&s;erue &s;uch fruites of loue in &s;infull man, and &s;hall wee doubt of finding le&s;&s;e in the Lord, who is infinite in loue, mercie, and goodne&s;&s;e, farre bee it from vs. Nay let vs a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues, that though (our &s;oules being &s;icke in &s;inne, and ex|ceedingly dulled and beaten downe with &s;ome grieuous ten|tation) we cannot vtter any thing but vnperfect &s;peeches, yea though wee are through the grieuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our afflicti|on and greatne&s;&s;e of our corruption &s;trucken dumbe and can vtter nothing but grones and &s;ighes, yet if wee de&s;ire to be freed out of this wretched ca&s;e and to haue the comfort of Gods &s;pirit, the Lord who &s;earcheth the hart and vnder|&s;tandeth our &s;ecret thoughts wil harken vnto vs and graunt the de&s;ires of our hart, at lea&s;t &s;o farre forth as it will &s;tand with his owne glorie and our euerla&s;ting good.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly whereas others complaine that their hartes are &s;o harde and their &s;piritts &s;o dull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;olations for &s;uch as bewaile their coldne&s;&s;e and dulne&s;&s;e in prayer.</NOTE> that they cannot vtter vnto God a prayer with any earne&s;tne&s;&s;e or feruencie of &s;pirit, but exceeding coldly and verie weakely, and therefore they feare that God will neuer heare them; they are to remember that the Lord heareth vs not nor graunteth our reque&s;ts for the worthine&s;&s;e and excellencie of our prayers, but for his &s;onne Ie&s;us Chri&s;ts &s;ake who is our mediatour and interce&s;|&s;our
<PB N="500" REF="260">in who&s;e name we cal vpon God; and therefore though our prayers bee full of infirmities and vttered with much weakne&s;&s;e, yet calling vpon the Lord in our &s;auiours name hee will &s;urely heare vs as our &s;auiour hath promi&s;ed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16.23.</NOTE> Ioh. 16.23. <HI>Verily, verily I &s;ay vnto you what&s;oeuer ye &s;hall a&s;ke the father in my name he will giue it you.</HI> Moreouer we are to know that we do not offer vp our prayers immediately vnto God the father, but by the mediation of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who putting our prayers into the goulden vialls which are full of the pre|cious odours of his merites, thereby perfumeth them and maketh the~ an offering of &s;weet &s;melling &s;auour vnto God;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 5.8.</NOTE> &amp; by wa&s;hing them in his owne mo&s;t precious blood he pur|geth them from all their corruptions and perfecteth all their wants and inperfections, &s;o as now though not in them&s;elues yet in him they will bee acceptable vnto God and hee will mercifully graunt our petitions.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly whereas others complaine that their mindes are carried away with worldly di&s;tractions and wandring ima|ginations when they are making their prayers vnto God;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;olations for &s;uch as bewaile their di&s;tractions and wandring thoughts in prayer.</NOTE> they are to knowe that this befalleth al&s;o euen the deare&s;t children of God, partly through their owne corruption, and partly through the malice of Sathan who laboureth mo&s;t to interrupt vs in tho&s;e holy excerci&s;es which hee knoweth mo&s;t profitable and effectuall for our &s;aluation. Whereof it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that though diuers howers togeather we can talke of worldly affaires and heare the &s;peech of others without any di&s;tractio~ of mind, or thinking of any thing but of the &s;ubiect of our pre&s;ent &s;peach, yet when we heare God &s;peak vnto vs in the preaching of the word, or whe~ we &s;peak vnto God in prayer and &s;upplication, our mindes wander hether and thether though wee &s;triue neuer &s;o much to con|taine them, becau&s;e through our natural corruption wee are &s;oone wearie of the&s;e holy excerci&s;es, and Sathan is &s;till at hand to &s;ugge&s;t into our minds wandring thoughts in which we take mo&s;t delight, but this &s;hould not di&s;courage vs from taking in hand the&s;e holy actions, but rather the con&s;idera|tion hereof &s;hould &s;trongly moue and prouoke vs to more
<PB N="501" REF="260">earne&s;tnes care and diligence &s;o as Sathan may not preuaile again&s;t vs; &amp; if notwith&s;ta~ding &s;ometimes nay often we re|ceaue a foile, let it be an occa&s;io~ to moue vs to take the more paines &amp; to make a double reque&s;t vnto God, not onely that he will graunt vnto vs tho&s;e things which we de&s;ire, but al&s;o that for Chri&s;ts &s;ake he will pardon our &s;ins &amp; infirmities in that wee haue begged them &s;o coldly and negligently.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly, whereas our &s;pirituall enemy taketh occa&s;ion al|together to di&s;courage vs from vndertaking the&s;e &s;pirituall exerci&s;es<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our wants and infirmities in prayer, &s;hould not make vs neglect this holy exerci&s;e.</NOTE> becau&s;e therein wee bewray notable corruptions and cannot though we &s;triue neuer &s;o much performe them as we ought, let vs in no ca&s;e yeeld vnto this tentation, but &s;trongly arme our &s;elues again&s;t it; and to this end let vs con&s;ider that if Sathan can per&s;wade vs to de&s;i&s;t from per|fourming tho&s;e duties altogether which wee cannot per|forme as we ought, but with great weakene&s;&s;e, corruption, and imperfection, we &s;hall doe nothing at all which God re|quireth of vs, for example the Lord commaundeth vs to loue him with all our hearts, and with all our &s;oule, and with all our &s;trength, which dutie of loue wee perfourme with great weakne&s;&s;e and exceeding coldly; but becau&s;e wee can not doe it as God requireth and as we ought, &s;hall wee not therefore doe it at all? God forbid. So the Lord commaun|deth vs to tru&s;t and to put our whole affiance in him, but we are readie to re&s;t and relie vpon the arme of fle&s;h and inferi|our meanes, either in whole or at lea&s;t in part, and when they faile vs, our tru&s;t in God is very weake and mingled with much diffidence and doubting, but &s;hall we therefore put no affiance in God, all becau&s;e we cannot doe it &s;o perfectly as God requireth? be it farre from vs. So in the verie like ma|ner the Lord expre&s;&s;ly chargeth and commandeth vs to cal vpon his holy name, which dutie oftentimes we perfourme coldly and negligently, hauing our minds carried away with wandring thoughts and worldly imaginations, but &s;hall &s;a|than working vpon our own corruption therefore per&s;wade vs altogeather to de&s;i&s;t from this holy exerci&s;e? no, in no ca&s;e let vs not yeeld to this temptation. For it is not left vnto vs
<PB N="502" REF="261">at our owne choi&s;e as a thing indifferent to pray or not to pray, but it is a notable parte of Gods wor&s;hip and &s;eruice, and a &s;ingular dutie which the Lord expre&s;ly inioyneth vs to perfourme, whereunto he hath adioyned mo&s;t comfortable promi&s;es which depend not vpon our worthine&s;&s;e, and the excellencie of our praiers, but on his owne free mercy and goodne&s;&s;e, and the merits and interce&s;&s;ion of our Sauiour Chri&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 50.15.</NOTE> So P&s;al. 50.15. <HI>Call vpon mee in the day of trouble, &s;o will I deliuer thee and thou &s;halt glorifie mee.</HI> And Matth. 7.7. <HI>Aske and it &s;halbe giuen you.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.7.</NOTE> And Ioh. 16.23. <HI>&V;erily, verily I &s;ay vnto you, what&s;oeuer you &s;hal aske the father in my name hee will giue it you,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16.23.24.</NOTE> 24. <HI>aske and ye &s;hall receiue that your ioy may be full.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> chargeth vs. 1. The&s;. 5.17. that <HI>we pray continually.</HI> Seeing therefore the Lord expre&s;ly requi|reth this dutie at our hands;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;. 5.17.</NOTE> though our infirmities and cor|ruptions be neuer &s;o great, let vs labour continually to per|forme it, a&s;&s;uring our &s;elues that if in obedience to his com|maundement we call vpo~ him, and labour and &s;triue again&s;t tho&s;e corruptions, which &s;hew them&s;elues vnto vs in this holy action, he that hath inioyned vs this dutie will al&s;o giue vnto vs his holy &s;pirit, if we will attend his lea&s;ure which wil teach vs how to pray according to Gods wil with &s;ighes and grones, which ca~not be expre&s;&s;ed, whereas on the other &s;ide if our infirmities and corruptions wholy di&s;courage vs, from performing this dutie we &s;hall grieuou&s;ly &s;inne again&s;t God in tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing his commaundement, and in robbing him of a chiefe part of his wor&s;hip and &s;eruice, and al&s;o wee &s;hall plunge our &s;elues into a mo&s;t de&s;perate e&s;tate, adioyning our &s;elues vnto the number of tho&s;e wicked Athei&s;ts of whom the P&s;almi&s;t &s;peaketh, who call not vpon God. P&s;al. 53.4.</P>
<P>And &s;o much for an&s;wering tho&s;e tentations which Sa|than and our corruption doe &s;ugge&s;t to di&s;courage vs from the &s;eruice of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al. 53.4.</HI> &sect;. Sect. <HI>6.</HI> Of the &s;econd kind of &s;en&s;i|ble hardne&s;&s;e of hart.</NOTE> which haue their occa&s;ion and ground from our hardne&s;&s;e of hart, and drow&s;ie dulne&s;&s;e, and dead|ne&s;&s;e in perfourming the&s;e holy exerci&s;es. The other kind of &s;en&s;ible hardne&s;&s;e of hart is &s;euered from the v&s;e of the&s;e holy meanes; for &s;ometimes it commeth to pa&s;&s;e e&s;pecially
<PB N="503" REF="261">in the &s;piritual combate of temptation, that euen Gods deare children are &s;o be&s;otted &amp; a&s;toni&s;hed, through the violence of the temptations of Sathan, and huge waight of their owne corruptions, that they cannot indeauour in no &s;ort to v&s;e the&s;e meanes, whereby they might be comforted and relee|ued in this wretched e&s;tate, as the hearing of the word, cal|ling vpon Gods name, meditating in the Scriptures, and ho|ly co~ferences; yea the&s;e holy exerci&s;es &s;eeme for a time odi|ous and loath&s;ome vnto them, vntill it plea&s;e the Lord by his owne good &s;pirit to awaken and rai&s;e them vp out of this &s;pirituall trance, and to giue vnto them againe the feeling of his grace and fauour, and good motions &amp; abilities to &s;erue him, and reape comfort vnto them&s;elues, by the&s;e holy du|ties. In the meane time &s;uch are to &s;upport them&s;elues from falling into vtter de&s;peration by calling to their reme~brance their &s;tate and condition in times pa&s;t, for if euer they haue had any delight in the holy exerci&s;es of religion, prayer, hea|ring the word &amp; godly conferences, if euer they could di&s;|cerne in them&s;elues any faith by the true fruits of &s;anctifica|tion they may take comfort thereby, a&s;&s;uring them&s;elues that they &s;hall againe be re&s;tored vnto their former e&s;tate, for the <HI>gifts and calling of God are without repentance,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.29 Ioh. 13.1.</NOTE> <HI>and tho&s;e whom he hath once loued, he loueth vnto the end.</HI> An example hereof we haue in <HI>Dauid,</HI> who being troubled and full of an|gui&s;h in his &s;pirit, his &s;oule refu&s;ing all comfort, and being &s;o a&s;toni&s;hed that he could not &s;peake, yet hee con&s;idered the daies of old, and the yeares of ancient time,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 77.2.3.4.</NOTE> hee called to re|me~brance his former &s;onges in the night, occa&s;ioned by the great benefits which the Lord had be&s;towed vpon him, &amp; &s;o knowing that the Lord was vnchangeable in his mercy and goodne&s;&s;e, he releeued his poore &s;oule, which was ready to faint vnder the heauy waight of pre&s;ent afflictions. And thus al&s;o <HI>Iob</HI> being brought through the violence of tho&s;e heauie cro&s;&s;es which the Lord laied vpon him, euen to the brinke of de&s;peration, &s;o that hee &s;pared not to vtter in the bitter|ne&s;&s;e of his &s;ouie, fearefull cur&s;es and mo&s;t impatient &s;pea|ches comming neere vnto bla&s;phemie, oftentimes comfor|teth
<PB N="504" REF="262">him&s;elfe by calling to minde his former integritie and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, who&s;e example if the poore humbled &s;oules will follow they may ray&s;e them&s;elues with true com|fort, when they are &s;unke downe vnder their heauie burthen of pre&s;ent corruptions.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="41" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLI.</HI> How the weake Chri&s;tian may bee a&s;&s;ured that his repen|tance is true and vnfained.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for an&s;wering Sathans tentations drawn from hardne&s;&s;e of hart,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the &s;ignes of true repen|tance. &amp; fir&s;t of the &s;euerall degrees therof</NOTE> whereby he la|boureth to per&s;wade poore humbled &s;inners that they are vtterly de&s;titute of of repentance; but if hee faile of his purpo&s;e then hee will in|deauour to make them beleeue that though they haue &s;ome &s;hew of repentance yet it is not &s;uch as God requireth: for either hee will affirme that it is hypocriticall and di&s;&s;embled rather for feare of puni&s;hment then for hatred of &s;inne or true loue of God; or if it bee true yet it is not &s;ufficient as being in verie &s;mall mea&s;ure and in no proportion an&s;wea|rable to our hainous &s;innes.</P>
<P>Again&s;t both which tentations it behooueth the hum|bled &s;inner to arme him&s;elfe that he may repell them when they are &s;ugge&s;ted; and to this purpo&s;e that hee may proue his repentance true and vnfained, hee is to take a true &s;earch of his owne heart and con&s;cience, and to examine his repen|tance according to &s;ome vndoubted &s;ignes which may &s;erue as touch&s;tones to di&s;couer whether it be true and vnfained, or di&s;&s;embled &amp; hypocriticall. The fir&s;t vndoubted &s;igne of vnfained repentance is when wee can ob&s;erue in our &s;elues the &s;euerall degrees or partes thereof as they haue beene wrought in vs by Gods &s;pirit, for from the enumeration of all the parts we may conclude that wee haue the whole. The fir&s;t degree is that by the law we come to the knowledg, and acknowledgment that we are haynous and greeuous &s;inners
<PB N="505" REF="262">who haue broken &amp; tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed all Gods co~maundements. Secondly from this knowledge &amp; acknowledgment of our &s;innes proceedeth a true &s;en&s;e and feeling of them and the puni&s;hments due vnto them, and an apprehen&s;ion and applying to our &s;elues the anger of God, the cur&s;e of the law, and eternall condemnation due vnto vs for our &s;innes. Thirdly from this &s;en&s;e of our mi&s;erable e&s;tate there ari&s;eth in our con&s;ciences feare and horror of being ouertaken and ouerwhelmed of tho&s;e iudgments of God, and fearefull pu|ni&s;hments which hang ouer our heads for our &s;ins. Fourthly from this feare and angui&s;h of mind proceedeth &s;orrow and bitter greefe, becau&s;e wee haue thus hainou&s;ly &s;inned, and made our &s;elues obnoxious to all the&s;e euills; and al&s;o in the &s;ame re&s;pects a true hatred of &s;inne which &s;till hangeth vpon vs, and an earne&s;t de&s;ire to be freed from it. Fiftly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 2.27.</NOTE> this ha|tred of &s;inne and de&s;ire to be freed from it, maketh vs ear|ne&s;tly to &s;eeke and inquire after &s;ome meanes whereby wee may attaine vnto our de&s;ires, that beeing freed from all tho&s;e feareful euils which oppre&s;&s;e our con&s;ciences with the waight of them, we may obtaine Gods loue and fauour and the a&s;|&s;urance of our &s;aluation. Sixtly, thus inquiring and &s;earching wee finde by the preaching of the Go&s;pell, that our gra|tious God hath &s;ent his &s;onne into the world, to the end that he might &s;aue and deliuer vs out of this mi&s;erable e&s;tate if we beleeue in him, and al&s;o hath commaunded vs to beleeue. Which being made effectuall by the inward operation of Gods holy &s;pirit, we haue true faith begott in vs, wherby we are a&s;&s;ured of Gods mercy in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and of the full remi&s;&s;ion of all our &s;innes, the con&s;ideration whereof doth comforte and ray&s;e vs vp from falling into de&s;peration and vtter de&s;truction. Seuenthly after this a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and of the forgiuene&s;&s;e of our &s;innes there follow|eth fir&s;t a true hatred of &s;inne, becau&s;e it is &s;inne, an vnfained &s;orrow not &s;o much in regarde of the puni&s;hment which by our &s;innes wee haue iu&s;tly de&s;erued, as that becau&s;e we haue offended our &s;o gratious a God and tender louing father. Secondly this &s;orrow will not &s;uffer vs to hide, excu&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 7.11</NOTE> or ex|tenuate
<PB N="506" REF="263">our &s;ins,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 7.11.</NOTE> but moueth vs in all humilitie to pro&s;trate our &s;elues before Gods mercie &s;eate, and in greefe of &s;oule to confe&s;&s;e them, acknowledging that confu&s;ion and condem|nation is due vnto vs, which by no meanes wee can e&s;cape but by Gods mercie, and the merites and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly being a&s;&s;ured of the pardon of our &s;innes pa&s;t, wee labour and &s;triue for the time to come to leaue and for|&s;ake them, and to mortifie the fle&s;h and corruptions there|of whereby we are led captiue vnto &s;inne, &amp; al&s;o we indea|uour with a feruent zeale of Gods glorie to &s;erue the Lorde in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that &s;o by our godly liues wee may glorifie him and expre&s;&s;e our thankfulne&s;&s;e for all his ine&s;timable benefites. Fourthly if at any time be&s;ides or contrary to our purpo&s;e we be ouertaken by our corruption, and fall into &s;inne, there followeth in vs an holy anger and indignation with our &s;elues, becau&s;e wee did not more care|fully looke to our waies; which godly anger preceedeth to the taking of a holy kind of reuenge, to the end that there|by our &s;innes may be &s;ubdued and our corruptions mortifi|ed. For example hee that hath offended through gluttonie and drunkenne&s;&s;e being truly penitent and angry with him|&s;elfe for his &s;inne, will al&s;o tame the fle&s;he by puni&s;hing the &s;ame through fa&s;ting and ab&s;tinence. He that hath offended by v&s;ing exce&s;&s;iue pride in apparrell, being angrie with him &s;elfe vpon his true repentance doth withdraw from him&s;elfe &s;uch co&s;tly attire as otherwi&s;e in re&s;pect of his calling hee might lawfully weare.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus may we come to the a&s;&s;urance that our repen|tance is true and vnfained if wee can finde the&s;e degrees thereof and the&s;e effects and fruits in our &s;elues.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>2.</HI> &s;igne that it bee to|tall and intire and that both in re&s;pect of the &s;ubiect and obiect.</NOTE> The &s;econd &s;igne of vnfained repentance is that it bee whole and intire and that both in re&s;pect of the &s;ubiect and al&s;o the obiect thereof. In re&s;pect of the &s;ubiect or of him in whome it is, it is required that it bee not of any part alone, or yet of all parts &s;auing one, but it mu&s;t bee intire and totall of the whole man and of euerie of his &s;euerall partes, it mu&s;t bee a reformation
<PB N="507" REF="263">in the for&s;aking of &s;in and imbracing of righteou&s;nes, not in the body or &s;oule alone but of the~ both, &amp; of al their &s;eueral faculties &amp; powers, it mu&s;t not only be of the outward actio~s, but al&s;o of the inward affections and cogitations, it mu&s;t not only bee of the tongue and hande, but al&s;o of our wills and hearts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.8.</NOTE> according to that Iam. 4.8. <HI>Draw neere vnto God and he will draw neere vnto you: clen&s;e your hands ye &s;inners, and purge your heartes you wauering minded.</HI> Otherwi&s;e if wee do not turne vnto the Lorde with all our hearts, with all our &s;oules, with all our bodies and euery facultie and parte of them, if we willingly entertaine &s;inne, and purpo&s;ely &s;uffer it to lurke in any &s;ecret corner of vs, our repentance is hy|pocriticall and not acceptable in Gods &s;ight. And hence it is that <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 66.18.</NOTE> that if he &s;hould <HI>regard wickedne&s;&s;e in his hart the Lord would not heare him.</HI> P&s;al. 66.18.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">We mu&s;t per|fourme obe|dience vnto all Gods com|maundement</NOTE>Secondly, it mu&s;t bee whole and intire in re&s;pect of the obiect: for it is not &s;ufficient that we perfourme obedience vnto &s;ome of Gods commandements, if wee indeauour not to &s;hew our obedience vnto all, it is not inough if we for&s;ake &s;ome of our &s;innes, if wee willingly and with delight enter|taine and nouri&s;h others, neuer &s;triuing again&s;t them nor la|bouring to mortifie them, but if we would approue our re|pentance to be &s;incere and vnfained both vnto God and our owne con&s;ciences, we mu&s;t de&s;ire &amp; indeauour to performe obedience, as well to tho&s;e commandements which &s;eeme hard and mo&s;t vnplea&s;ant vnto vs, as vnto tho&s;e which are more ea&s;ie and delightfull, we mu&s;t not onely for&s;ake tho&s;e &s;innes which are not &s;o plea&s;ing vnto vs, but euen tho&s;e which otherwi&s;e are as deare vnto vs as our right ha~d or eye; for he that truely repenteth of one &s;in repenteth of al, he that repenteth not of any one &s;in, repenteth of none as he ought; he that wittingly and adui&s;edly neglecteth any one com|mandement will in time neglect all, what&s;oeuer outward re|formation may &s;erue to be in him; he that willingly enter|taineth any one &s;inne and nouri&s;heth it as his deare dearling in his boo&s;ome, will in the end make con&s;cience of none; for a little leauen leaueneth the whole lumpe, and euen &s;mall
<PB N="508" REF="264">&s;innes if they be not mortified, will make roome for tho&s;e which are greate&s;t and mo&s;t hainous.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third &s;igne of true repentance is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> &s;igne when it is pre&s;ently vn|dertaken.</NOTE> when our conuer&s;i|on from &s;inne vnto God is not deferred in whole or in part from time to time but pre&s;ently vndertaken: neither is it &s;ufficient to vow repentance vnto God or to purpo&s;e it for the time to come, but wee mu&s;t pre&s;ently indeauour and la|bour in it; it is not inough that wee &s;ubdue &s;ome &s;innes now and perfourme obedience vnto &s;ome of the commaunde|me~ts, purpo&s;ing to labour after more perfectio~ whe~ we haue better opportunitie, but wee mu&s;t pre&s;ently labour and in|deauour to perfourme obedience not to &s;ome, but to all Gods commaundements, and we mu&s;t out of hand &s;et vpon all our &s;innes and labour to mortifie all our corruptions, for if the whole body of &s;inne be not beaten downe and &s;ub|dued together, that which &s;till liueth in vs, will giue life a|gaine vnto that which is mortified, that which is &s;till retained in the hart, will open a wide dore to let in that which is ex|pelled. And &s;o wee &s;hall but take in hand an endle&s;&s;e and fruitle&s;&s;e worke, if wee doe not &s;et a&s;ide all excu&s;es, and in|&s;tantly labour to de&s;troy the whole body of &s;inne, breaking through all difficulties and impediments, for we &s;hall neuer want hinderances in the&s;e holy actions, and excu&s;es for want of fit occa&s;ion and conuenient opportunitie, will continual|ly offer them&s;elues vnto vs, and therefore he that will not turne wholly vnto God, till he haue a cleare pa&s;&s;age &amp; plaine way free from all thorme di&s;tractions which pull him backe, and worldly incumbrances, which like blocks lying before him hinder him in his iourney, may as well re&s;olue to &s;it &s;till and neuer returne vnto God by vnfained repen|tance.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fourth &s;igne of true repentance is if it be continuall from the fir&s;t day of our conuer&s;ion vnto the end of our liues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>4.</HI> &s;igne when it is continuall &amp; con&s;tant.</NOTE> for it is not &s;ufficient to &s;erue God by fitts, or that our religion &s;hould take vs like a tertian ague but euery other day; it is not that which God requireth, that wee &s;hould de|uide our time betweene him and the world, or hauing be|gun
<PB N="509" REF="264">in the &s;pirit we &s;hould end in the fle&s;h, but after wee are gone out of this <HI>Sodome</HI> of &s;inne, wee mu&s;t goe forward in our iourney of holy obedie~ce, and neuer like <HI>Lots</HI> wife looke backe with a de&s;ire to inioy the plea&s;ures thereof againe. We mu&s;t &s;o runne this &s;pirituall race that we may obtaine, now we know that ru~ners of a race, as they do not &s;tand &s;til after the watchword is giuen, but labour with all &s;peed to &s;et forth with the fir&s;t, &s;o they doe not &s;it downe in the midde way, much le&s;&s;e run one while backward and another while forward, but they &s;till ha&s;ten on till they come to the goale and obtaine the garland, and &s;o it behooueth vs to runne &s;peedily to the Lord by vnfained repentance, and not to de|&s;i&s;t in this our race till the end of our liues, if wee purpo&s;e to receaue that crowne of glory which the Lord hath promi&s;ed vs. Our life therefore mu&s;t be a continuall repentance, and &s;o long as we liue &s;o long mu&s;t we greeue for our &s;innes pa&s;t and pre&s;ent, and &s;triue after newne&s;&s;e of life and a greater mea&s;ure of &s;anctification.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The la&s;t &s;igne of vnfained and true repentance is if it be mixed with faith; for true repentance is a fruit of faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>5.</HI> &s;igne when it pro|ceedeth from faith.</NOTE> and they are neuer di&s;ioined the one from the other, neither can we euer &s;orrow for &s;inne as we ought, till we haue &s;ome a&s;&s;u|rance of Gods mercy and loue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; for otherwi&s;e though our &s;orrow be neuer &s;o great yet it is not &s;o much for &s;inne as for the puni&s;hment thereof, not &s;o much becau&s;e wee haue thereby di&s;plea&s;ed God, as for tho&s;e torments of con&s;cience which we pre&s;ently indure, and the torments of hell which for the time to come we feare. And therefore this de&s;perate &s;orrow is it &s;elfe to be &s;orrowed for, as being &s;eue|red from faith and therefore &s;innefull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.23</NOTE> and not proceeding from any loue of God or hatred of &s;inne, but from the feare of puni&s;hment and condemnation.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Why teares are not num|bred among&s;t the &s;ignes of vnfained re|pentance.</NOTE>But it may bee demaunded why among&s;t the &s;ignes of true repentance I haue not numbred teares and weeping for our &s;innes; to which I an&s;weare becau&s;e how&s;oeuer it is a notable fruite of vnfained repentance, vnto which euerie chri&s;tian with true compu~ction of hart is to accu&s;tome him|&s;elfe,
<PB N="510" REF="265">yet notwith&s;tanding it is not an in&s;eparable propertie thereof; for often times there is teares wheras their is no true repentance, and there is true repentance whereas there is few or no teares. For the fir&s;t wee may plainely perceiue by continuall experience that teares proceede from diuers other cau&s;es then from true repenta~ce, &s;ometimes fro~ exce&s;&s;iue ioy whereby the pores and pa&s;&s;ages of the eyes are loo&s;ed and opened, and &s;ometimes from naturall and worldly &s;orrowe whereby the &s;aid pa&s;&s;ages are con&s;tringed and &s;traightned. Somtimes from furious anger, &amp; &s;ometims from co~pa&s;&s;ion and pity; and in &s;pirituall things &s;ometimes the&s;e teares flow from vnfained repentance, &s;ometimes from de&s;perat &s;orrow conceiued vpon the apprehen&s;ion of Gods horrible wrath or of the fearefull torments and eternall condemnation prepa|red for them. Wherefore it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that in the a|bundance of their teares, they vtter from a heart full of ra|ging malice, horrible bla&s;phemies again&s;t God. And example heareof wee haue in <HI>E&s;au</HI> who in the midde&s;t of his weeping and howling comforted him&s;elfe with the remembrance of his fathers death and of that mo&s;t wicked murther which he intended vnto his innocent brother.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 27.41.</NOTE> Gen. 27 41. So the re|bellious I&s;raelites being di&s;couraged with the newes which the &s;pies brought who were &s;ent to &s;earch the land, are &s;aid to haue cried and wept, &amp; yet in the midde&s;t of their lamen|tation to haue murmured again&s;t God &amp; his &s;eruants <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">num. 14.1.2</NOTE> So that &s;implie teares are not a &s;igne of true re|pentance vnle&s;&s;e they i&s;&s;ue from a broken heart and contrite &s;pirit, from a true hatred of &s;inne, and from hartie &s;orrowe conceiued becau&s;e wee haue offended our gratious God. On the other &s;ide if wee be in &s;inceritie of heartt, ruely &s;orrie for our &s;innes in the&s;e re&s;pects becau&s;e we hate our &s;innes and loue God, and are di&s;plea&s;ed with our &s;elues becau&s;e we haue di&s;plea&s;ed our gratious father, indeauouring to for&s;ake our &s;innes and to leade a newe life in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;nes, then though wee can &s;eldome or neuer &s;hed teares which is the ea&s;e of &s;ome of Gods deare&s;t children yet our repentance is true and vnfained, for in this action the broken and con|trite
<PB N="511" REF="265">hart is more to be re&s;pected then the blubred eyes how|&s;oeuer mo&s;t commonly they goe togeather.</P>
<P>And &s;o much concerning the &s;ignes of true repenta~ce, which if after due examination wee can finde in our &s;elues, we may be a&s;&s;ured that we are truely paenitent; nay I will &s;ay more for the comfort of all humbled &s;inners if after diligent &s;earch they find not in their owne &s;en&s;e and feeling the&s;e &s;ignes of true repentance in them at al or at lea&s;t in very &s;mal mea&s;ure, yet if they earne&s;tly de&s;ire and &s;encerely indeuour to attaine vnto true repentance v&s;ing tho&s;e good meanes or|dained of God for this purpo&s;e, they may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that they haue truely repented in the &s;ight of God who ac|cepteth of the will for the deed and of the affection for the ac|tion, as before I haue &s;hewed.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus may we repell the tentation of Sathan and re|ceiue comfort vnto our owne &s;oules when hee laboureth to per&s;wade vs that our repentance is not true and vnfained,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the a&s;|&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes depen|deth not on the dignity of ourrepenta~ce.</NOTE> but fal&s;e and hypocriticall: but if the tempter cannot thus preuaile, in the next place hee will tel vs that our repentance though if be true yet it is not &s;ufficient, neither is there any proportion betweene our &s;mall repentance and our great &s;innes as Gods iu&s;tice doth require, To which we mu&s;t an|&s;weare that the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes and reconciliation with God, dependeth not vpon the dignitie or quantitie of our repentance, but vpon the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and full &s;ati&s;|faction of our Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t; neither doe wee repent to the end that thereby wee may in whole or in part &s;ati&s;fie for our &s;innes; for though it could bee imagined that the whole &s;ub&s;tance of our bodies &s;hould be re&s;olued into teares, yet woulde they not all of them &s;ati&s;fie and appea&s;e Gods wrath for one breach of any of his commandements, neither is it the water of our eyes no nor yet the bloud of our harts wounded deepely with &s;orrow, which will purge vs from our &s;innes either in re&s;pect of the guilt, puni&s;hment, or cor|ruptions them&s;elues, but it is the water and bloud which flowed from our crucified Lord which clean&s;eth our guiltie &s;oules from the filchie &s;potts of &s;inne, being applied vnto vs
<PB N="512" REF="266">by a true and liuely faith. And therefore let vs not with the popi&s;h rabble fooli&s;hly imagine that wee can by our repen|tance meritt any thing at Gods hand or &s;ati&s;fie his iu&s;tice for our &s;innes, for &s;o &s;hall wee rob our Sauiour Chri&s;t of the glorie due vnto him for our &s;aluation, and &s;poile our &s;oules of all true comfort, but let vs repent and vnfainedly turne vnto God in obedience to his commaundement, and to the ende that thereby we may approue our faith before God, the world, &amp; our owne con&s;ciences to be true by this liuely and vndoubted fruit thereof, For it cannot bee if we haue attay|ned to the a&s;&s;urance of Gods loue and the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins for the merits and &s;ati&s;faction of Chri&s;t, but that we will loue God againe, and this loue cannot be idle but will &s;hew it &s;elfe in a feruent zeale of Gods glorie, and this zeale will make vs abhorre &s;inne whereby our gratious God is di&s;ho|noured, and loue righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e whereby his holy name is glorified, and euen &s;orrow with bitter greefe when as we are ouertaken with our corruptions and fall into &s;inne, &s;eeing our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath not &s;pared his pretious bloud to purge vs, whe~ as nothing els could make vs cleane. Seeing therefore our repentance doth not &s;atisfie Gods iu|&s;tice nor purge away any &s;inne, let vs not be per&s;waded by Sathan that reconciliation with God, and the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes dependeth on the dignitie or quantitie of our re|pentance, but let vs a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that it is onely the bloud of Chri&s;t applied vnto vs by a liuely faith, that purgeth vs from all our &s;innes, and maketh full &s;atisfaction vnto Gods iu&s;tice: And therefore though our repentance be but in &s;mall mea&s;ure, yet &s;o it be true and vnfained it is a certaine fruite of a liuely faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That wee are not to be di&s;|couraged in that &s;ome re|probates haue &s;howed more outward &s;ignes of &s;or|row then we.</NOTE> and hee that beleeueth is made parta|ker of Chri&s;t and all his benefits.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly Sathan will obiect that many who haue more bit|terly &s;orrowed then we, &amp; haue &s;hewed more notable &s;ignes of exceeding repenta~ce, haue notwith&s;ta~ding bene reiected and condemned. To which wee are to an&s;were, that though &s;uch haue &s;hewed more &s;orrow yet they haue had no true repentance, in that their &s;orrow hath bene de&s;titute of faith
<PB N="513" REF="266">and not &s;o much for any hatred of &s;inne or loue of God, or vnwillingne&s;&s;e to di&s;plea&s;e him, as for horrour of con&s;ci|ence and de&s;perate feare of eternal condemnation. And therefore though notwith&s;tanding &s;uch &s;orrow, they haue bene condemned, yet we may be a&s;&s;ured that vpon our true repentance, whereby on the one &s;ide wee looke vpon our &s;innes and are grieued for them, and on the other &s;ide be|hould Gods mercifull and gratious countenance in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t by a liuely faith, we &s;hall haue the pardon of our &s;ins and be made partakers of eternall &s;aluation. For the promi&s;|&s;es of the Go&s;pell are not made to tho&s;e who afflict them|&s;elues with a de&s;perate &s;orrow, without any hope or de&s;ire of Gods mercy in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, but vnto tho&s;e who turne vnto him by vnfained repentance which is ioyned with a true faith and a&s;&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes and euerla&s;ting life.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="42" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLII.</HI> How we may proue again&s;t Sathans tentations that wee haue true faith.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for an&s;wering tho&s;e tentations of Sathan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan tempteth the weake Chri|&s;tian, to be|leeue that he hath no true faith.</NOTE> whereby he laboureth to proue that we haue no repentance or at lea&s;t a fal&s;e and in&s;uf|ficient repentance, and con&s;equently that the &s;weete and gratious promi&s;&s;es of the go&s;pell doe not belong vnto vs: now wee are to produce and an&s;were &s;uch tentati|ons as he alleageth and &s;ugge&s;teth into the minds of tho&s;e who are effectually called again&s;t their faith; and the&s;e are of two &s;ortes: the fir&s;t whereby hee laboureth to per&s;wade them that they haue no faith; the &s;econd that their faith (if they haue any) is &s;o weake, &s;o imperfect and &s;o mixt with doubting that it is altogether in&s;ufficient for their &s;aluation. For the fir&s;t he will thus frame his tentation. Though thou boa&s;te&s;t much of thy faith, and thereby pre&s;ume&s;t that thou &s;halt attaine vnto &s;aluation, herein thou maie&s;t much
<PB N="514" REF="267">deceiue thy &s;elfe &amp; altogether faile of thy purpo&s;e; for there may be in many &s;hewes and &s;hadowes of faith, and yet no|thing in them but infidelitie, there are al&s;o many kinds of faith, and yet but one iu&s;tifying and &s;auing faith, there is a generall or hi&s;toricall faith, there is a faith of working mira|cles which <HI>Iudas</HI> had as well as <HI>Peter,</HI> there is a temporaric or hypocriticall faith, there is a dead faith, there is al&s;o carnall pre&s;umption, wherewith many who haue made goodly &s;hewes haue bene bewitched and deceiued to their perditi|on; &s;eeing then there are many fal&s;e faiths, for one true faith, it is likely that thine is one of the greate&s;t number, and con|&s;equently no true faith. And therefore do not flatter and de|ceiue thy &s;elfe in thy fond pre&s;umption, by applying vnto thy &s;elfe the &s;weete promi&s;&s;es and gratious con&s;olations of the go&s;pell, for they appertaine only vnto tho&s;e who are in|dued with a true liuely and iu&s;tifying faith, of which thou art altogether de&s;titute.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus Sathan indeauoreth to per&s;wade the Chri&s;tian exerci&s;ed in the combate of tentations that he hath no faith, to the end that he may de&s;troy it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans te|&s;timonie no good rea&s;on, to proue that we haue no fayth. <HI>Ioh. 8.44.</HI></NOTE> and if it were po&s;&s;ible bring it indeed to nothing: to which tentation wee may fir&s;t an|&s;were thus generally, that Sathans te&s;timonie is no &s;ound argument to proue that we haue no faith, nor to be beleeued of vs, &s;eeing he is not onely a malitious murtherer, who con|tinually &s;eeketh our de&s;truction. But al&s;o a fal&s;e liar from the beginning, who hath not feared to bee lie men onely but euen God him&s;elfe accu&s;ing him of vntruth, enuie and want of power in that tentation wherewith hee a&s;&s;ailed and ouercame our fir&s;t parents: and therefore if he be &s;o audati|ou&s;ly impudent, as that he dur&s;t be lie God him&s;elfe, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues he will make no &s;cruple of be lying vs. See|ing then Sathan is a malitious liar, who de&s;ireth nothing more then our de&s;truction, let vs not doubt of our faith be|cau&s;e of his te&s;timony, nay rather becau&s;e he &s;aith wee want faith, we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that we are indued therewith, for that he may worke our finall ouerthrow, it is his v&s;uall cu&s;tome to tell the true beleeuing Chri&s;tian that he is de&s;ti|tute
<PB N="515" REF="267">of faith, and contrariwi&s;e the vnbeleeuing worldling that he hath a &s;trong faith, whereas in truth there is nothing in him but &s;ecure pre&s;umption. And therefore let it &s;uffice vs that we know we haue a liuely faith by the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit, and by trying and examining our faith by the touch&s;tone of Gods words, for on the&s;e our faith dependeth and not on Sathans te&s;timonie.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But let vs after a more e&s;peciall manner arme our &s;elues again&s;t this tentation;<NOTE PLACE="marg">How we may bee a&s;&s;ured that we haue faith by fin|ding in our &s;elues the de|grees thereof.</NOTE> and to this purpo&s;e it behooueth vs fir&s;t that we prooue again&s;t Sathans fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions, that we haue faith: and &s;econdly that we arme our &s;elues by al good meanes with the &s;hield of faith, &s;eeking daily more &s;trength and increa&s;e thereof, vntil at la&s;t wee attaine vnto that ful|ne&s;&s;e of faith which will fill our &s;oules with true peace and comfort, and al&s;o beat backe all the violence of Sathans &s;ub|till and fearce tentations.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t: wee may prooue that we haue a true iu&s;ti|fying faith by diuer&s;e argumentes, as fir&s;t by the degrees thereof, from which we may thus rea&s;on? who&s;oeuer can truely find in him&s;elfe the &s;euerall degrees of a liuely faith, he may certainely be a&s;&s;ured that he is indued therewith, but I (may euery chri&s;tian man &s;ay) doe truely how&s;oeuer in weake mea&s;ure finde the&s;e degrees of a liuely faith in mee, and therefore I am a&s;&s;ured that I am indued therewith.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>1.</HI> degree of true faith, the illumina|tion of the minde.</NOTE>The fir&s;t degree vnto true faith, is the illumination of our darke and ignorant minds with the knowledge of the Go&s;|pell, or with the maine principles thereof, wrought in our minds by the outward meanes ordained of God, and the inward operation of his holy &s;pirit; whereby we giue our a&s;|&s;ent to that truth of God in which the vnder&s;tanding is in|fourmed. And of this the apo&s;tle &s;peaketh 1. Tim. 2.4. where he &s;aith that <HI>it is the will of God, that all men &s;hould bee &s;aued,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 2.4.</NOTE> <HI>and come to the acknowledging of the truth,</HI> that is to the know|ledge of the truth of God, and a&s;&s;enting therunto.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>2.</HI> degree a per&s;wa&s;ion that our &s;ins are pardona|ble.</NOTE>The &s;econd degree is an a&s;&s;urance that our &s;innes are par|donable, which is wrought in vs by the knowledge and due con&s;ideration of Gods infinite mercy, and Chri&s;ts inualuable
<PB N="516" REF="268">merites and indefinite promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, made with out exception to ill repentant and belieuing &s;inners; from whence al&s;o ari&s;eth a generall hope that we &s;hall receaue the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, which hope is nouri|&s;hed and increa&s;ed by this con&s;ideration, that the Lord hath placed vs in his church, and gratiou&s;ly granted vnto vs the outward meanes wherby we may be brought vnto vnfained repentance, and haue a liuely faith wrought in vs, euen the mini&s;terie of the word and admini&s;tration of the &s;acraments, vpon which onely condition the couenant of grace and all the &s;weete promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell, are made and a&s;&s;ured vnto vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third degree is a hungring de&s;ire after grace, that is not onely to be made partakers of Gods mercy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> ddegree an hungring de&s;ire after grace.</NOTE> and Chri&s;ts meritts and righteou&s;nes by which we are iu&s;tified, recon|ciled vnto God, and receaue the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of all our &s;innes, but al&s;o after the meanes and in&s;trumentall cau|&s;es whereby the a&s;&s;urance of Gods mercy and Chri&s;ts merits is deriued vnto vs, namely true faith and vnfained repen|tance, and the re&s;t of the graces of Gods &s;anctifying &s;pirit. The which de&s;ire of grace is the beginning of grace, neyther can wee de&s;ire it till in &s;ome mea&s;ure it be wrought in vs; for regeneration and &s;anctification is begunne at the &s;ame time in all the parts and faculties of our bodies and foules, &s;o that he who is truely regenerate many facultie or part, is al&s;o re|generate in the whole man. And therefore who&s;oeuer hath his will renewed and &s;anctified to de&s;ire that which is good, is al&s;o &s;anctified and renewed in his vnder&s;tanding, affecti|ons, and in all the powers and faculties of body and &s;oule. Moreouer (as before I haue deliuered at large) our de&s;ire of grace, faith, and repentance, are the graces them&s;elues which we de&s;ire, at lea&s;t in Gods acceptation, who accepteth of the will for the deed, and of our affections for the actions. And therefore if we earne&s;tly de&s;ire to repent &amp; beleeue, we doe repent and beleeue in Gods &s;ight: and the Lord hath made the like gratious promi&s;es to this earne&s;t de&s;ire of grace, which hee hath made to tho&s;e who find them&s;elues plenti|fully
<PB N="517" REF="268">indued with the graces them&s;elues. So Matth. 5.6. <HI>Ble&s;|&s;ed are they which hunger and thir&s;t for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, for they &s;halbe filled.</HI> So the virgin <HI>Marie</HI> &s;aith in her &s;ong, Luk. 1.53.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1.53.</NOTE> <HI>That the Lord filleth the hungrie with good things, and &s;endeth a|way the rich emptie.</HI> And our Sauiour Chri&s;t calleth vnto him &s;uch as thus hunger and thir&s;t, promi&s;ing that he will &s;atisfie them. Iohn 7.37. Reuel. 21.6. and 22.17.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 7.37.</NOTE> La&s;tly who&s;oeuer feeleth this de&s;ire in him ioyned with a carefull and conti|nuall v&s;e of the meanes whereby his de&s;ire may be &s;atisfied, he may a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe that the Lord who hath wrought in him, the will to de&s;ire, will al&s;o in his good time worke in him abilitie to perfourme, and the graces which hee &s;o ear|ne&s;tly de&s;ires; <HI>for hee will fulfill the de&s;ire of them that feare him; he will al&s;o heare their crie and will &s;aue them.</HI> As it is P&s;al. 145.19. So P&s;al. 10.17.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.19. &amp; 10.17.</NOTE> <HI>Lord thou hast heard the de&s;ire of the poore: thou prepare&s;t their heart and bende&s;t thine eare vnto them.</HI> And therefore if in the midde&s;t of our afflictions and grieuous tentations, wee can crie out with the Prophet <HI>Da|uid,</HI> P&s;alm. 38.9. <HI>Lord I powre my whole de&s;ire before thee,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 38.9.</NOTE> <HI>and my &s;ighing is not hid from thee.</HI> We may be a&s;&s;ured how mi&s;e|rable &s;oeuer wee are in our owne &s;en&s;e and feeling, that wee are in the &s;tate of grace, and &s;hall haue our de&s;ires &s;atis|fied, for <HI>he that hath begunne this good worke in vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE> <HI>will al&s;o in his good time fini&s;h and perfect it.</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh. Phil. 1.6.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fourth degree is an approaching vnto the throne of mercy, that we may in all humilitie confe&s;&s;e our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>4.</HI> degree an approch|ing to the throne of grace. <HI>Heb. 4.16.</HI></NOTE> and acknowledge that wee are guiltie of death and condemna|tion, and al&s;o that wee may in the name and mediation of Chri&s;t obtaine the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of them. And of this the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh. Heb. 4.16. <HI>Let vs therefore goe bouldly vnto the throne of grace, that wee may receiue mercy and find grace to helpe in time of need.</HI> And the Prophet Ho&s;ea cap. 14.2. <HI>O I&s;rael returne vnto the Lord thy God: for thou ha&s;t fal|len by thine iniquity.</HI> 3. <HI>Take vnto you words and turne vnto the Lord and &s;ay vnto him: take away all iniquitie, and receiue vs graciou&s;ly, &s;o will we render the calues of our lips.</HI> An example
<PB N="518" REF="269">hereof we haue in the Prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> P&s;al. 32.5. <HI>Then</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>I acknowledge my &s;inne vnto thee,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32.5.</NOTE> <HI>neyther hid I mine iniqui|tie: for I thought I will confe&s;&s;e my wickedne&s;&s;e vnto the Lord, and thou forgaue&s;t the puni&s;hment of my &s;inne.</HI> So likewi&s;e the prodigall Sonne hauing attained vnto the &s;ight of his &s;inne and to a de&s;ire of forgiuene&s;&s;e, re&s;olueth to goe vnto his fa|ther, and to &s;ay;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 15.18.19.</NOTE> <HI>Father I haue &s;inned against heauen and before thee; &amp; am no more woorthie to be called thy &s;onne; make mee as one of thy hired &s;eruants.</HI> Luke 15.18.19.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fift degree is a &s;pecially per&s;wa&s;ion wrought in vs by Gods &s;pirit whereby we particularly apply vnto vs the &s;weete promi&s;es of the go&s;pell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>5.</HI> degree a &s;pecial ap|plication of the promi&s;es.</NOTE> and are a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue and fauour, &amp; of the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes for the merits, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and obedience of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, re&s;ting vpon him alone for our &s;aluation. An example whereof wee haue in the Apo&s;tle Paul Gal. 2.20.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gala. 2.20.</NOTE> <HI>Thus</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>I liue yet not I now but Chri&s;t liueth in me: and in that I now liue in the fle&s;h, I liue by faith in the &s;onne of God, who hath loued mee and giuen him&s;elfe for mee.</HI> And this per&s;wa&s;ion ought to goe before &s;en&s;e and experience, for fir&s;t wee beleeue and are per&s;waded of the truth of Gods promi&s;es and re&s;i&s;t diffi|dence and doubting, and afterwardes followes ioyfull &s;en&s;e and experience of Gods mercy, truth, and goodnes towards vs. And hence it is that the Apo&s;tle defineth faith to bee <HI>the ground of things which are hoped for, and the demon&s;tration or euide~ce of things not &s;eene.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.1. Ioh. 20 29.</NOTE> Heb. 11.1. &amp; to this purpo&s;e our &s;aui|our Chri&s;t &s;aith to Thomas. Ioh. 20.29. <HI>Thomas becau&s;e thou ha&s;t &s;eene me, thou beleeue&s;t, ble&s;&s;ed are they which haue not &s;eene and haue beleeued.</HI> An example hereof wee haue in the Ca|naniti&s;h woman who though &s;hee had no experience of Gods truth in his promi&s;es, yea though &s;hee had many re|pul&s;es yet beleeued, and afterwards to her comfort had ioy|full experience of them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15.27.</NOTE> Mat. 15.27.</P>
<P>An the&s;e are the degrees of faith, which who&s;oeuer find|eth in him&s;elfe hee may be a&s;&s;ured that hee hath a true liue|ly and iu&s;tifying faith notwith&s;tanding all the tentations of Sathan. If therefore hauing heard the go&s;pell wee haue at|tained
<PB N="519" REF="269">vnto &s;ome mea&s;ure of knowledge of the chiefe prin|ciples thereof, if we haue giuen our a&s;&s;ent vnto this truth in which our vnder&s;tandings are informed; if hereby we haue attained vnto this a&s;&s;urance that our &s;innes are pardonable and haue conceiued &s;ome hope in con&s;ideration of Gods infinite mercie and Chri&s;ts merites that wee &s;hall be forgiuen and pardoned; if we haue an hungring de&s;ire after grace and mercie and highly e&s;teeme the merites and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;o that wee wi&s;h nothing more then to bee made partakers of them; if by this de&s;ire wee haue beene moued to flee vnto the throne of grace, and there humblie acknowledging our &s;innes haue earne&s;tly de&s;ired pardon and forgiuene&s;&s;e. La&s;tly if at any time wee haue di&s;cerned in in our &s;elues a per&s;wa&s;ion of Gods loue and of the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and that we haue or doe re&s;t vp|pon the alone merites and obedience of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation, then may wee be a&s;&s;ured that we are indued with a true iu&s;tifying faith.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd argument to proue that wee haue a true and a liuely faith is the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirite;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd argument to proue that we haue faith, is the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirie <HI>Rom. 8.15.26.</HI></NOTE> for as the A|po&s;tle &s;peaketh Rom. 8.15. <HI>Wee haue the &s;pirite of adoption whereby we crie abba father. <HI>16.</HI> and the &s;ame &s;pirit beareth witne&s;&s;e with our &s;pirit that we are the children of God.</HI> and ver. 26. <HI>Likewi&s;e the &s;pirite al&s;o helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what to pray as we ought, but the &s;pirite it &s;elfe maketh reque&s;t for vs with &s;ighes which cannot be expre&s;&s;ed &amp;c.</HI> Who&s;oeuer therefore haue this te&s;timonie in their harts and con&s;ciences that they are the children of God, who&s;oeuer at any time feele or haue felt the &s;pirit of God powerful in the~, in pow|ring out their &s;oules in hartie prayer with &s;ighes and grones which ca~not be expre&s;&s;ed, they may be a&s;&s;ured that they haue receiued the &s;pirite of adoption and con&s;equently are indued with true faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.22.</NOTE> for the &s;pirite and the fruites thereof (a|mong&s;t which faith is one of the chiefe) are neuer &s;euered. Moreouer the Apo&s;tle &s;aith 1. Cor. 2.12. that <HI>wee haue not receiued the &s;pirit of the world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.12.</NOTE> <HI>but the &s;pirit which is of God that wee might knowe the things that are giuen to vs of God.</HI> That is
<PB N="520" REF="270">not onely his &s;pirituall graces in this life in which number faith is one of the greate&s;t, but tho&s;e excellent ioyes in Gods kingdome in the life to come, of which al&s;o wee haue &s;ome knowledge and ta&s;t by the illumination of the &s;ame &s;pirite. La&s;tly the Apo&s;tle affirmeth 2. Cor. 1.22. <HI>that God hath &s;ea|led vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 1.22.</NOTE> <HI>and hath giuen the earne&s;t of the &s;pirit in our hartes,</HI> and Ephe. 1.13. Hee telleth the Ephe&s;ians that after they <HI>had heard the go&s;pel and beleeue&agrave;,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe. 1.13.</NOTE> <HI>they were &s;ealed with the holy &s;pirit of promi&s;e, which was the earne&s;t of their inheritance, vntil the re|demption of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion purcha&s;ed vnto the prai&s;e of the glorie of God.</HI> Where&s;oeuer therefore is this te&s;timonie of the &s;pirite which as an earne&s;t or &s;eale a&s;&s;ureth them that they are the children of God there al&s;o is faith, for as the Apo&s;tle wit|ne&s;&s;eth after that wee beleeue we are thus &s;ealed.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third argument to proue that wee haue faith is the conflict and fight which euerie chri&s;tian feeleth in him&s;elfe betweene the &s;pirit and the fle&s;h,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> argu|ment is the fight between the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit.</NOTE> the world and the diuell, and the combat which is betweene faith and doubting; for &s;o long as wee are de&s;titute of the &s;pirit and a liuely faith, we are wholy ouer&s;wayed with the fle&s;he, and Sathan like a mightie tyrant houldeth vs captiue peaceably and without any re&s;i&s;tance; but when wee haue receiued the &s;pirite of God and haue faith wrought in our harts, then beginneth a fierce battaile which neuer endeth till by death our &s;pirituall enemies get a final ouerthrowe. Though therefore this fight be mo&s;t &s;harpe and exceeding trouble&s;ome to the poore chri&s;tian, yet hee may thereby gather vnto him&s;elfe &s;ound comfort and certaine a&s;&s;urance that hee is indued with the &s;pirit of God and a liuely faith; for when hee di&s;cerneth that hee is a&s;&s;aulted with Sathan and his owne corrupt fle&s;he, he may be a&s;&s;ured that Sathan and his owne corrupt fle&s;he, he may be a&s;&s;ured that Sathan is di&s;ea&s;ed of his quiet po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion by a &s;uperior power which can be no other but the power of Gods &s;pirit, &s;econdly by his a&s;&s;aulting it manife&s;tly appea|reth that hee findeth &s;ome re&s;i&s;tance &s;o as hee cannot pea|ceably reenter, thirdly that how&s;oeuer our faith &s;eeme vnto vs neuer &s;o weak yet it is &s;o &s;tre~gthened co~tinually by vertue of Gods &s;pirit that &s;atha~ &amp; al the power of hel ca~not preuaile
<PB N="521" REF="270">again&s;t it, for otherwi&s;e how could &s;uch weakene&s;&s;e with&s;ta~d &s;uch might?</P>
<P>La&s;tly being a&s;&s;ured that it is the &s;pirit of God which a&s;|&s;i&s;teth and enableth vs to with&s;tand Sathan, we may al&s;o be a&s;&s;ured that in the end we &s;hall obtaine victorie, vnle&s;&s;e we would fondly imagine that the diuell is &s;tronger then God, and the violence of his tentations more forcible to de&s;troy vs, then the &s;pirit of God to protect and defend vs; for now they haue ioyned battle and either the one or the other mu&s;t get the vpper hand, eyther the &s;pirit of God mu&s;t thru&s;t out &s;athan, or Sathan the &s;pirit of God; and therefore how can we doubt of conque&s;t, &s;eeing wee are a&s;&s;ured that God can|not take the foyle, for his power is omnipotent and with a word of his mouth he is able to de&s;troy Sathan and all his ad|haerents, and of his will wee neede not to make any que&s;ti|on, for it will not &s;tand with his glory to receaue a repul&s;e by giuing Sathan place, after that he hath taken vpon him our protection.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">How we may know that this combate is fought be|tweene the fle&s;h and the &s;pirite.</NOTE>Yea (will the tempter &s;ay) but how wilt thou know that this battle is fought in thee, how can&s;t thou be a&s;&s;ured that it is the &s;pirite of God which fighteth in thee again&s;t thy &s;pirituall enemies, and not rather thine owne tumultuous pa&s;&s;ions and perturbations; and diuers tentations &s;ugge&s;ted by the &s;ame diuell. To which it is ea&s;ie to make an&s;were, for neither doth the fle&s;h fight again&s;t &s;athan, nor &s;athan again&s;t the fle&s;h, nor either of the~ again&s;t the~&s;elues, for &s;o their king|dome being deuided could not po&s;&s;ibly &s;tand,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 12.25.</NOTE> as our &s;auiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe hath taught vs Mat. 12.25.26. And therefore it mu&s;t needs be &s;o~e other force which cau&s;eth this oppo&s;itio~ which can proceede from nothing el&s;e but the &s;pirit of God.</P>
<P>But this will more manife&s;tly appeare, if we con&s;ider the contrarie affections and actions which plainely &s;hew them|&s;elues in this battle, for we find our faith a&s;&s;aulted with doub|ting and infidelitie, &amp; the&s;e al&s;o againe beaten backe after they haue gotten &s;ome ground and &s;ubdued with the &s;tre~gth of faith; we di&s;cerne al&s;o our affiance in God &s;hrewdly &s;ha|ken with diffidence and di&s;tru&s;t, and afterwards this di&s;tru&s;t
<PB N="522" REF="271">vanqui&s;heth againe by affiance, &s;o as after we haue vttered through the violence oftentation &s;ome diffident and impa|tient &s;peeches, yet at the length we growe to <HI>Iobs</HI> re&s;olution: <HI>Though hee kill mee yet will I trust in him.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 13.15.</NOTE> Wee may al&s;o di&s;cerne our zeale &s;ometime &s;o hot in Gods &s;eruice that it expelleth coldne&s;&s;e and the fruit thereof dulne&s;&s;e and drow|&s;ine&s;&s;e of &s;pirite, and &s;ometimes by them it is cooled and in outward appearance quenched; and the like may bee &s;aide of all the other fruits of the fle&s;h and the &s;pirit. Be&s;ides which fight and &s;tirring betweene them and their fruits the chri&s;ti|an may ob&s;erue in him&s;elfe a mi&s;liking of the corruptions of the fle&s;h, great greefe and vexation of mind, becau&s;e hee is &s;till &s;ubiect vnto them and an earne&s;t de&s;ire to be freed from them, ioyned with an holy indeauoure in the v&s;e of the meanes which are ordayned of God for this purpo&s;e; and how&s;oeuer through the violence of Sathans tentations and his owne corruptions ye be &s;ometimes led captiue into &s;inne yet afterwardes hee is greeued for it, hee hateth and abhor|reth it, and earne&s;tly de&s;ireth and indeauoureth for the time to come to leaue and for&s;ake it, and to &s;erue the Lorde in newne&s;&s;e of life. Now whence doth all this oppo&s;ition and contrarietie proceede? &s;hall wee &s;ay from the fle&s;h, why it is again&s;t all rea&s;on;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 3.11.</NOTE> for as the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> di&s;puteth Iam. 3.11. <HI>Doth a fountaine &s;end out at one place &s;weete water and bitter? can the figg tree bring forth oliues, or a vine figgs?</HI> or ra|ther as our &s;auiour Chri&s;t rea&s;oneth Mat. 7.16. <HI>Doe men ga|ther grapes of thorns or figgs of thi&s;tles?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7.16.</NOTE> &s;o may I demaund can the fle&s;h in the which as the Apo&s;tle affirmeth dwelleth no good thing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.18.</NOTE> bring foorth the fruites of the &s;pirite which are quite contrarie to the nature thereof, namely &s;orrowe for &s;inne, hatred of it &s;elfe, and the corruptions thereof, and carne&s;t de&s;ire of &s;anctification and holines of life: it is impo&s;|&s;ible. And therfore we may conclude that they are the fruits of Gods &s;pirit in vs, and con&s;equently that wee are the &s;ons of God who are indued with a true and liuely faith; for <HI>as many as are led by the &s;pirite of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.</NOTE> <HI>they are the &s;onnes of God,</HI> which priuiledge belongeth onely to the faithfull as appea|reth
<PB N="523" REF="271">Ioh. 1.12.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1.12.</NOTE> <HI>As many as receaued him to them hee gaue power to be the &s;ons of God, euen to them that beleeue in his name.</HI> So that who&s;oeuer haue the &s;pirit haue faith al&s;o, for the &s;pirit and faith which is a fruit thereof cannot be &s;euered.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fourth argument whereby we may bee a&s;&s;ured that we haue faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>4.</HI> argu|ment taken from our &s;anctification</NOTE> is our mortification and dying vnto &s;inne and ri&s;ing againe to newne&s;&s;e of life; for the bloud of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t which is applied vnto vs by faith as it doth wa&s;he away the guilt and puni&s;hment of our &s;innes, &s;o doth it al&s;o clean&s;e vs in &s;ome mea&s;ure from the corruptions them&s;elues; and as his death and obedie~ce hath meritted the pardon of our &s;ins, &s;o al&s;o Gods &s;pirit by vertue whereof we are more and more freed from the bondage and &s;eruitude of &s;inne and Sathan, and as by his re&s;urrection hee hath made way for our &s;econd re&s;urrection whereby wee ri&s;e to euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, &s;o al&s;o for our fir&s;t re&s;urrection whereby wee ri&s;e from &s;inne to newne&s;&s;e of life. If therefore wee can find in our &s;elues that our &s;ins and corruptions are by little and little mortified, that wee &s;triue and indeauour after holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of life; if our vnder&s;tandings bee &s;omewhat inlightened in the knowledge of Gods truth and our &s;tubberne wills incly|ned to holy obedience, if we di&s;cerne that our affections are in &s;ome mea&s;ure changed and renewed, then may wee be a&s;|&s;ured that wee are indued with a true and liuely faith, which hath applied vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and his bloud&s;hed, death, &amp; merites, by vertue whereof this worke of regeneration is be|gunne in vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The la&s;t ar|gument ta|ken from the &s;euerall fruits of &s;anctifica|tion.</NOTE> we may be a&s;&s;ured that we haue faith by the &s;eue|rall fruits of &s;anctification and regeneration which proceed from it: for example when wee can &s;orrow and greeue for our &s;innes pa&s;t, not for any worldly lo&s;&s;e or feare of puni&s;h|ment, but becau&s;e thereby we haue offended God, when as we hate our pre&s;ent &s;innes and corruptions, e&s;pecially tho&s;e which &s;tick fa&s;te&s;t vnto vs, and are mo&s;t plea&s;ing to our cor|rupt nature; when as we indeauour and &s;triue to for&s;ake and mortifie all &s;inne though our carnall affection be much in|deared to it, by rea&s;on of &s;ome great plea&s;ure or profite which
<PB N="524" REF="272">it bringeth with it, auoiding with no le&s;&s;e care tho&s;e &s;innes which bring worldly benefitt, then tho&s;e which are accom|panied with &s;hame and puni&s;hment, when as we loue God euen when he afflicteth vs and in obedience to his com|maundement, perfourme &s;uch holy duties, and imbrace &s;uch vertues, not onely which are commendable in the world, but al&s;o tho&s;e which are accompanied with &s;hame and re|proach, when as we loue our brethren, yea euen our enemies and &s;hew this our loue by giuing vnto tho&s;e who want, and forgiuing tho&s;e who offend vs, and when more e&s;pecially we extend this loue and the fruits thereof to tho&s;e who are of the hou&s;hould of faith, and among&s;t the&s;e principally to Gods mini&s;ters who are in&s;truments appointed of God, for our conuer&s;ion and &s;aluation, when as wee can &s;ubmit our &s;elues vnto Gods will, and re&s;t contented in all e&s;tates with his good plea&s;ure, when as we loath this life and the vanities of the world, and de&s;ire our di&s;&s;olution that we may be with Chri&s;t and be freed from our &s;innes; when as we are patient in afflictions, and in the midde&s;t of them haue &s;ome hope of ta&s;ting Gods mercy and goodne&s;&s;e, grounding our hope vp|on Gods promi&s;&s;es and our owne former experience; when as we delight in the hearing and meditating in Gods word, and continue con&s;tant in the profe&s;&s;ion and practi&s;e of his truth, not onely when our obedience is good cheape, but al|&s;o when it is deare and very co&s;tly, and as well when it is ac|companied with lo&s;&s;e, as when wee are in hope to gaine thereby. The&s;e and many other the braunches of &s;anctifica|tion are the vndoubted &s;ignes of a true and liuely faith, and therefore who&s;oeuer after due examination, find that they are indued with them, may al&s;o be a&s;&s;ured notwith&s;tanding all Sathans &s;ugge&s;tions to the contrary that they haue faith, for this is the roote from which the&s;e fruits &s;pring and they cannot be &s;euered.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="43" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLIII.</HI> Sathans tentations grounded vpon our want of &s;en&s;e and fee|ling of faith, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<PB N="525" REF="272">
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd the&s;e are the &s;ignes by which euery belee|uer may be a&s;&s;ured that he hath a true &amp; liue|ly faith:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans ten|tation where|by he per&s;wa|deth vs tha we haue no faith, becau&s;e we feele it not</NOTE> which how&s;oeuer they bee to be ob|&s;erued in euery faithfull man, yet not at all times, for oftentimes it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that the beleeuing Chri&s;tian doth neither feele his faith nor the fruites thereof, e&s;pecially in the infancie of faith and in the cumbate of tentations, which giueth occa&s;ion vnto Sathan of &s;ugge&s;ting into his mind a daungerous tentation. Thou bragge&s;t much (will he &s;ay) of thy faith, and thou confirme&s;t, this thy per&s;wa&s;ion that thou art indued therewith with ma|ny &s;ignes and fruits which haue accompanied it; but if now thou examine thy &s;elfe a right thou &s;halt find in thee no &s;uch matter; and not to &s;tand vpon other arguments, I appeale vnto the te&s;timonie of thine owne con&s;cience, whether at this pre&s;ent thou ha&s;t any &s;en&s;e or liuely feeling of faith, or can&s;t di&s;cerne tho&s;e fruits thereof which before thou ha&s;t &s;poken of; if not, then doe not flatter thy &s;elfe in vaine with a fond per&s;wa&s;ion, for though thou wilt not beleeue mee, yet at lea&s;t beleeue thine owne &s;en&s;e and feeling which plainely telleth thee that either thou neuer hadde&s;t any true faith in|deed, or if thou hadde&s;t yet that now it is quite lo&s;t and pe|ri&s;hed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The an&s;were to the former tertations.</NOTE>For the an&s;wering of which tentation wee mu&s;t di&s;tin|gui&s;h betweene the habite of faith, and the act of faith; or be|tweene faith it &s;elfe and the worke &amp; function thereof, which is to apprehend and apply Chri&s;ts merits and Gods mercy and louing fauour, with all the gratious promi&s;es of the go|&s;pell; as it is an habituall facultie of the mind, it alwaies con|tinueth &amp; abideth in Gods children, after it is once wrought in them by the &s;pirit of God, but in re&s;pect of the function act or worke thereof it hath many intermi&s;&s;ions, and often|times &s;eemeth to be ca&s;t as it were into a dead &s;leepe. Now we are to know that we cannot &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne faith, as it is an habituall vertue or facultie of the mind although wee haue it in great mea&s;ure in vs, but onely &s;o farre foorth as it manife&s;teth it &s;elfe in his actions, workes, &amp; fruits; and there|fore
<PB N="526" REF="273">it is an vn&s;ound and fal&s;e maner of rea&s;oning, to inferre becau&s;e we doe not &s;en&s;ibly feele and di&s;cerne that we haue faith, therfore we are de&s;titute thereof; for the habite of faith or faith it &s;elfe may be in vs, &amp; yet for a time may be &s;o hin|dred by outward accidents, that it cannot &s;hew it &s;elfe in his actions and fruits, by which alone it is &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerned.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But I will make this more cleare and manife&s;t by &s;ome familiar &s;imilitude and examples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The former an&s;were made plaine by &s;imilitudes</NOTE> we know that in the &s;ick|ne&s;&s;es and di&s;ea&s;es of the body nature is &s;o infeebled and o|uercome, that &s;ometimes the partie affected falleth into a dead &s;woune wherein hee is depriued for a time, not onely of the v&s;e of the vnder&s;tanding, rea&s;on, and memorie, but al&s;o of his &s;en&s;es, motion, and vitall functions, &s;o that in re&s;pect of &s;en&s;e and outward appearance, hee is quite depri|ued of all his vitall &s;en&s;itiue and intellectuall faculties, but yet a while after by rea&s;on of &s;ome outward meanes v&s;ed, or by the &s;ecrete power of nature working in him, hee is re&s;tored to the v&s;e of all againe, and liueth, feeleth much and vnder&s;tandeth as in former times, becau&s;e hee had not lo&s;t the&s;e faculties but onely by &s;ome grieuous im|pediment was hindred of the v&s;e of them in their actions and functions; &s;o that here this manner of rea&s;oning appeareth ab&s;urd and fal&s;e, the&s;e faculties of the &s;oule cannot be &s;en&s;i|bly di&s;cerned, and therefore hee is quite de&s;titute of them: And thus al&s;o it is in re&s;pect of our faith and other habituall vertues, oftentimes through the &s;icknes of the &s;oule in &s;inne or the outward violence of Sathans tentations, it &s;eemeth ca&s;t into a &s;woune &amp; depriued of al the &s;piritual faculties and vertues thereof, faith, loue, zeale, hope, patience and the re&s;t, but yet &s;oone after by hearing the word, by godly ad|monitions, in&s;tructions, reprehen&s;ions, and con&s;olations made effectuall by the inward operation of Gods &s;pirit it is reuiued, and all the &s;pirituall graces thereof &s;hew them&s;elues againe in their woonted &s;trength; &s;o that this inference is no le&s;&s;e fal&s;e then the other, there is no &s;en&s;ible appearance of the&s;e &s;anctifying gifts and graces, and therefore they are quite lo&s;t and peri&s;hed, for the graces them&s;elues remaine
<PB N="527" REF="273">thoughe for a time they appeare not in their actions and fruits.</P>
<P>So in the time of winter the fruitfull trees are &s;o nipped with the cold fro&s;ts, and &s;o weatherbeaten with tempe&s;tu|ous &s;tormes that they appeare naked &amp; bare, not only with|out fruite but al&s;o leaues, &s;o as if wee &s;hall iudge according to &s;ence &amp; outward appearance we &s;hould fal&s;ely conclude that they are dead; for by experience we know that they liue and &s;ucke nouri&s;hment out of the earth, euen when they are mo&s;t &s;poiled of their &s;ummer beautie, and though they are to&s;&s;ed with the winds yet hereby they are not hurt but rather take deeper roote and &s;o are made capeable of more nouri&s;hment, and though they bee nipped with cold fro&s;ts yet hereby they are not made barren nay rather hereby their wormes and cankers are killed, and they prepared and made fitt to bring forth more fruite in the time of &s;ommer, when the comfortable &s;pring approacheth, and the &s;weet &s;howers and warme &s;unne beames fall and de&s;cend vpon them. And thus it is with the &s;pirituall graces in the poor chri&s;tian, in the winter of affliction they are nipped with the cold fro&s;ts of feare and doubting, and weatherbeaten with the boy&s;te|rous bla&s;ts of Sathans tentations, &s;o as they &s;eeme euen dead at the very roote if wee &s;hall iudge according to outwarde &s;en&s;e &amp; appearance, but yet by experience we find that it is farre otherwi&s;e, for hereby they are not ouerturned though they be &s;haken, and this &s;haking maketh them to take more deepe roote in godline&s;&s;e, and though they bee nipped and pinched with feares and doubtings yet they peri&s;h not, only the canker-worme of pride, &s;onde pre&s;umption, and &s;elfe confidence is mortified and killed; and they hereby are pre|pared and fitted to bring forth more plentifull fruites of ho|line&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, when the &s;pring of true com|fort commeth, wherein the &s;weete &s;howers of Gods holy &s;pirit di&s;til vpon them, and the warme &s;un&s;hine of Gods loue and fauour againe appeareth to them.</P>
<P>The &s;ire is &s;ometime &s;o couered with a&s;hes that it &s;endeth forth neither light nor heate, and therefore in outward &s;en&s;e
<PB N="528" REF="274">and appearance it &s;eemeth quite extingui&s;hed, but when the a&s;hes are remooued and more wood added to it, it bur&s;teth out into a great flame, and makes all the &s;tan|ders by to perceiue his heate and light; and &s;o the graces of Gods &s;pirite are &s;ometimes &s;o couered with the a&s;hes of our corruptions that there appeareth no &s;parke of them nor yet any heate of true comfort, but when our corruptions are re|moued with vnfained repentance, and a new &s;upplie of grace mini&s;tred vnto them by Gods &s;pirite, then doth their light appeare vnto vs and warme our harts with true co~fort, and not to vs alone but euen tho&s;e about vs &s;ee our &s;hining light and glorifie our heauenly father.</P>
<P>A man hath not alwaies the v&s;e of his &s;en&s;es, rea&s;on, and vnder&s;tanding as in his &s;leepe, but becau&s;e we cannot &s;en&s;ib|ly di&s;cerne the&s;e faculties &s;hall wee therefore conclude that this man who is a &s;leepe is &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e vnrea&s;onable and with|out vnder&s;tanding; it were mo&s;t ab&s;urd; for if wee but ex|pect a while till hee be throughly awakened our argument will appeare manife&s;tly fal&s;e: and &s;o &s;ometime the poore chri&s;tian is ouertaken with the &s;leepe of drow&s;ie &s;ecuritie and is ouerwhelmed for a time with hardne&s;&s;e of harte, and dulne&s;&s;e of &s;pirite, &s;o as none of tho&s;e &s;pirituall graces which are in him can &s;en&s;ibly be di&s;cerned by him&s;elfe or o|thers, but &s;hall he or we conclude or beleeue Sathan &s;o con|cluding, that he neuer had them, or now is depriued of them? why it were as ab&s;urd as the other. For when hee is awaked out of his drow&s;ie &s;leepe by the voice of the Lorde &s;ounding in his eares, and by the good motions of his holy &s;pirite his faith, loue, zeale, and all other vertues and graces &s;hew them&s;elues in their fruits and actions, as manife&s;tly as in for|mer times.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seeing then tho&s;e arguments which are taken from &s;en&s;e and feeling &s;o often faile,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we mu&s;t not conclude that we haue not faith be|cau&s;e we doe not &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne it.</NOTE> let vs not be per&s;waded by &s;athans tentations to beleeue that we are de&s;titute of faith and other &s;anctifying graces of Gods holy &s;pirit, becau&s;e at &s;ometimes we ca~not &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne them, for though now our &s;oules &s;eeme &s;o &s;icke in the &s;en&s;e of &s;inne that there appeareth no
<PB N="529" REF="274">&s;igne of life, yet the Lord wil ray&s;e vs vp againe &amp; re&s;tore vs to perfect health, though now wee &s;ee no fruites of faith while&s;t wee are nipped with the winter of tentations, yet the Lord will water vs with his holy &s;pirit, &amp; warme our frozen hearts with the liuely beames of his loue and fauour &s;o as we &s;hal bring forth abou~dant fruits in due time &amp; &s;ea&s;o~; though now there appeare not a &s;park of grace in vs by rea&s;o~ al is co|uered with the a&s;hes of our corruptio~s, yet the Lord wil &s;ure|ly ad a fre&s;h &s;upply &amp; blow vpon vs by his holy &s;pirit &s;o that our light and heate &s;hall appeare to our &s;elues &amp; others, &amp; though now our &s;pirits be oppre&s;&s;ed with drow&s;ie dulne&s;&s;e, yet the Lord in his good time will cau&s;e vs to awake by hea|ring his voice, &s;ounding in our eares out of his holy word, and will againe quicken and reuiue vs with his holy &s;pirit, &s;o as after this &s;leepe wee &s;halbe enabled to follow with chearefulne&s;&s;e our labours and workes, both which con|cerne his &s;eruice, and tho&s;e duties al&s;o which concerne our brethren, onely let vs not tempt the Lord in pre&s;cribing him a time, but waite his lea&s;ure &amp; he will &s;urely helpe vs.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="44" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLIIII.</HI> How the weake Christian is to comfort him&s;elfe, when he is depriued of the &s;en&s;e of faith, and &s;en&s;ibly feeleth the contra|ry corruptions.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _BVt thou wilt &s;ay how is it po&s;&s;ible that my &s;oule &s;hould receyue any comfort,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Chri&s;tian in the want of pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e, mu&s;t comfort him&s;elfe with his former feeling.</NOTE> or that I &s;hould pre&s;erue my &s;elfe from falling into vtter de&s;|peration, &s;eeing I cannot feele in me any good thing, nor di&s;cerne any &s;parke of grace? what hope remaineth when as I plainely di&s;cerne in &s;teed of faith, doubting and infidelitie, in &s;tead of the loue of God, hatred and rebellion, in &s;tead of zeale, coldne&s;&s;e and drow&s;ie dul|ne&s;&s;e, and in &s;tead of all &s;anctifying graces, nothing els but a heauy ma&s;&s;e of filthy corruptions? I an&s;were that when thou ha&s;t no comfort in thy pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e, and feeling then
<PB N="530" REF="275">thou mu&s;t call to thy remembrance the times pa&s;t, in which thou ha&s;t by faith apprehended Gods loue, mercy, and good|ne&s;&s;e towards thee, and brought foorth the fruits of thy faith in the workes of holine&s;&s;e, appertaining to Gods &s;eruice and the workes of Chri&s;tian righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e belonging to our brethren, for we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that if euer wee haue truly di&s;cerned the&s;e graces of Gods &s;pirit, by the fruits of &s;anctification in vs, they are not taken from vs, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.29.</NOTE> as it is Rom. 11.29 And where he hath begunne a good worke their he will fini&s;h it and bring it to perfection. As the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Phil. 1.6.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE> Wee know that the woman being with childe fee|leth no life nor motion of the child diuers moneths toge|ther, after the time of her conception, and after that &s;he hath felt it &s;tirre and moue oftentimes, there is an intermi&s;&s;ion wherein &s;he feeleth not the motion there of a good &s;pace to|gether, and yet notwith&s;tanding becau&s;e informer times &s;he hath felt it, &s;he is per&s;waded that a liue child is in her, and co~|fortably hopeth to haue happy trauaile. And thus it fareth with Gods children oftentimes, after that by the &s;eed of the word faith is begotten and conceiued in them, they feele no life, motion, nor vndoubted &s;ignes thereof a long while, and after that they haue the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes and are reconciled vnto God, they haue not the feeling and &s;en&s;e of pardon and reconciliation diuers moneths, yea &s;ometimes many yeares together which the Lord in his wi&s;edome and mercy doth that he may moue them hereby vnto more &s;e|rious repentance, and earne&s;tly to hunger after a greater mea&s;ure of faith, carefully v&s;ing the meanes ordained for this purpo&s;e, and that they may more e&s;teeme and be more thankefull for his inualuable benefits after that they haue full a&s;&s;urance of them. And after they haue a feeling of faith and other &s;pirituall graces by their motions and fruits, oft|times againe they are depriued of it, either becau&s;e they haue wounded their con&s;ciences by falling into &s;ome knowne &s;inne, or for that it plea&s;eth the Lord to excerci&s;e their faith and manife&s;t his power in their weakene&s;&s;e, moouing them
<PB N="531" REF="275">hereby to denie them&s;elues and to re&s;t wholy vpon him, yeelding vnto him the whole glorie and prai&s;e of their &s;al|uation. What therefore is to bee done in &s;uch a ca&s;e? Surely they are not vtterly to bee di&s;couraged nor to &s;uffer them|&s;elues to &s;inke into the gulfe of de&s;peration; but as the &s;en&s;e and feeling of their &s;tate ought to humble them vnder Gods hand, and to mooue them to enter into a due examination of them&s;elues, and to a &s;erious repentance for their &s;innes, &s;o they mu&s;t take comfort vnto them&s;elues, and prop vp their declining faith by calling to mind former times where|in the Lord hath &s;hewed his mercifull and gratious counte|nance vnto them, and wherein they in token of thankeful|ne&s;&s;e haue glorified God, by their holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e of life. An example whereof wee haue in the Prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> P&s;al. 77. who being grieuou&s;ly afflicted, could not re|ceaue in his &s;oule any true comfort,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 77.</NOTE> for how&s;oeuer hee did <HI>thinke vpon the Lord yet hee was &s;till troubled, and though hee prayed vnto him yet his &s;pirit was full of angui&s;h.</HI> What help<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> did he then find in this his pre&s;ent di&s;tre&s;&s;e? He telleth vs in the fir&s;t ver&s;e: <HI>Then</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>I con&s;idered the dayes of old, and the yeares of ancient time; I called to remembrance my &s;ong in the night,</HI> namely his &s;ongs of thank&s;giuing, whereby he had prai&s;ed God for his great benefits, and ver&s;. 11. <HI>I remembred the workes of the Lord, certainely I remembred thy wonders of old.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 31.</NOTE> So the holy man <HI>Iob</HI> apprehending and conceyuing of God as of his enemie, in re&s;pect of his pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e and fee|ling, and being mooued by his friends to doubt of his graces, which he had receiued and to condemne him&s;elfe for an hy|pocrite, comforteth him&s;elfe and &s;trengtheneth his faith in the midde&s;t of al the&s;e grieuous tentations, by calling to his remembrance his fruits of faith and workes of &s;anctification, which he had di&s;cerned in him&s;elfe in former times, as ap|peareth Chap. 31. Who&s;e example if the children of God in like di&s;tre&s;&s;e will follow, how mi&s;erable &s;oeuer they are in their pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e and feeling, yet they may receaue vnto them&s;elues comfort, becau&s;e Gods gifts and calling are with|out repentance.</P>
<PB N="532" REF="276">
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here Sathan will further obiect that we are not only without all &s;en&s;e and feeling of faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That true faith re&s;teth not in our &s;e~&s;e and feeling.</NOTE> but al&s;o that we doe &s;en|&s;ibly feele the heauie burthen of Gods wrath, and plainely di&s;cerne his frowning and angrie countenance again&s;t vs, and therfore how&s;oeuer tho&s;e children of God who are in his loue and fauoure may haue &s;ome faith in them although it doe not alwaies &s;o &s;en&s;ibly appeare, yet it is impo&s;&s;ibly that we &s;hould haue any &s;parke thereof &s;eeing wee haue not any &s;en&s;e of Gods loue and fauour; nay doe &s;en&s;ibly perceaue the cleane contrary; to which wee are to an&s;weare that faith doth not relie it &s;elfe vpon our &s;ence and feeling; for as the apo&s;tle &s;aith <HI>faith is the ground of things</HI> (not pre&s;ently inioy|ed but) <HI>which are hoped for, and the euidence or demon&s;tration of things</HI> (not which are &s;ubiect to the &s;en&s;es and &s;en&s;ibly di&s;|cerned but) <HI>which are not &s;eene,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.1.</NOTE> Heb. 11. I and we beleeue that &s;uch ioyes are prepared for vs <HI>as neither eye hath &s;eene, nor eare hath heard, nor the heart of man conceiued</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 2.9. and it is a kind of infidelitie to beleeue onely tho&s;e things which are &s;ubiect vnto our &s;en&s;es and vnder&s;tand|ings;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 2.9.</NOTE> and therefore when <HI>Thomas</HI> would not beleeue that Chri&s;t was ri&s;en before it was made manife&s;t to his &s;en&s;es hee is reproued for infidelitie, bee not (&s;aith hee) faithle&s;&s;e but faithfull. So that when our &s;en&s;e and feeling cea&s;e their faith beginneth his chiefe worke; &amp; the mo&s;t excellent faith &s;heweth it &s;elfe mo&s;t clearely when wee haue no &s;en&s;e and feeling, or when we di&s;cerne and feele the plaine contrarie; for it is an ea&s;ie matter to be &s;trong in faith when God &s;hew|eth him&s;elfe gratious and mercifull; but when he appeareth vnto vs like an angrie iudge, when as his wrath flameth out again&s;t vs, then to behold his loue through the vizard of anger, to apprehend by faith his mercie and goodne&s;&s;e to|wards vs, when our &s;en&s;es apprehend nothing but his wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 13.15.</NOTE> to growe to <HI>Iobs</HI> re&s;olution in the midde&s;t of our bitter agonies and greiuous afflictions, <HI>though hee kill me yet will I trust in him,</HI> and when we haue receaued many repul&s;es and bitter &s;nubs yet with the Cananiti&s;h woman to continue our &s;uite,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15.</NOTE> argueth &s;uch a faith as is hardly found no
<PB N="533" REF="276">not in I&s;raell. Our want of &s;en&s;e therefore of Gods loue and fauour doth not argue want of faith, for our faith is not groun|ded vppon our &s;en&s;e and feeling, but vppon Gods gratious promi&s;es, immutable goodne&s;&s;e, and infallible truth, and if euer we haue ta&s;ted of Gods loue and mercie, what&s;oeuer wee apprehend in our pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e and feeling, faith concludeth that we are &s;till in his loue and fauour, for <HI>he is without change or &s;hadow of change</HI> as the apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Iam. 1.17. <HI>and whom he loueth to the ende hee loueth them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1.17.</NOTE> as our Sauiour hath taught vs. Ioh. 13.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 13.1.</NOTE></P>
<P>Though then our &s;en&s;e of Gods loue fayle yet may our faith continue &s;trong, as appeareth plainely in the example of <HI>Iob,</HI> who though he conceiued of God in his &s;en&s;e and feeling that he had hidde~ his face fro~ him &amp; took him for his enemy, though he &s;eemed to write bitter things again&s;t him and made him to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the &s;innes of his youth, yet by a liuely faith he &s;till re&s;ted and relied vpon him, prote&s;ting <HI>that though he &s;hould &s;lay him yet hee would tru&s;t in him.</HI> as appeareth Iob. 13.15.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 13.15.</NOTE> Yea our Sauiour Chri&s;t him&s;elfe who could not &s;inne through in|fidelitie, in re&s;pect of his pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e and feeling complay|neth that God had for&s;aken him.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That we are rather to be|leeue Gods word then our owne &s;en&s;e and feeling.</NOTE>If therefore Sathan goe about to per&s;wade vs that we are without faith becau&s;e we pre&s;ently apprehend not Gods loue nor feele the &s;weete ta&s;t of his goodne&s;&s;e wee are to an&s;weare that wee are not to build our a&s;&s;urance vppon our owne &s;en&s;e and feeling, but vpon Gods vnchangable goodne&s;&s;e and gra|tious promi&s;&s;es made vnto vs in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us; and if at any time our &s;en&s;e and feeling tell vs one thing (namely that God hath withdrawne his loue from vs and will neuer againe looke gratiou&s;ly vpon vs) and the word of God a&s;&s;ure vs of another thing (to witt that God will neuer for&s;ake vs, but continue his loue towards vs vnto the end) wee are not to giue credit vnto our owne feeling but vnto Gods worde; for otherwi&s;e what doe wee els but preferre our oft deceyuinge &s;en&s;e before Gods infallible truth, and imagine that wee can better di&s;cerne and iudge of our e&s;tate then God him&s;elfe? but the worde of God telleth vs that if wee turne vnto the Lorde by vnfained
<PB N="534" REF="277">repentance &s;orrowing for our &s;innes pa&s;t, hating our pre&s;ent corruptions, and de&s;iring and indeauouring to mortifie the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof and to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life; and if we beleeue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t re&s;ting vpon him for our &s;aluation; or though pre&s;ently we feele not this faith and repentance yet if euer in former time wee haue di&s;cerned it in vs, that then we are receiued into Gods loue and fauour and therefore &s;hall haue his loue continued vnto vs vnto the end, be made partakers of his gratious promi&s;es &amp; heires of euerla&s;ting life; for the promi&s;es of the go&s;pell are not re&s;trayned to tho&s;e who feele their faith, but to tho&s;e that haue faith, not to tho&s;e who feele that they doe beleeue, but vnto tho&s;e who doe beleeue.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That conclu|&s;ions groun|ded vpon our &s;en&s;e are of|ten fal&s;e.</NOTE>Neither is the not feeling of Gods loue and fauour a good argument to proue that wee are out of his loue and fauour, or the apprehen&s;ion of his wrath and anger in our &s;en&s;e and feeling a &s;ound rea&s;on to per&s;wade vs that wee are &s;ubiect to his wrathfull di&s;plea&s;ure; &s;eeing the being of a thing, and the &s;en&s;ible di&s;cerning of the thing to be, are diuers, and therefore how&s;oeuer at &s;ometimes they concurre, yet oftentimes they are &s;euered and di&s;ioyned: &s;o that the conclu&s;ion which is inferred negatiuely from the &s;en&s;es, to proue the not being of their obiect is not onely commonly fal&s;e, but al&s;o oftentimes ab&s;urd and ridiculous; for example &s;ometimes we &s;ee not the beames of the &s;unne, as in the night &s;ea&s;on, or whe~ it is couered with &s;ome thicke blacke cloud, but &s;hal we herehence co~clude that the &s;unne &s;hineth not, nor wil euer againe appeare vnto vs? So the bright beames of Gods loue and fauour are &s;ometimes hidden from vs in the night of tentations, and &s;o &s;hadowed with the cloud of our grieuous &s;innes that we cannot &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne them, but &s;hall wee hence inferre that there is no grace and mercy to be found with God, or that he will neuer againe make them &s;hine vpon vs? The one is as ab&s;urd as the other, and both gro&s;ly fal&s;e. So &s;ometimes the Sunne is eclip&s;ed by the interpo&s;ition of the Moone, &s;o as we cannot di&s;cerne his light or very dimly, but if any man &s;hould conclude from hence that it were quite ta|ken
<PB N="535" REF="277">away, or that we were depriued vtterly of his life-pre&s;er|uing influence, the experience of two or three howers would &s;hew the &s;otti&s;h weakene&s;&s;e of his &s;en&s;ible argume~t, and &s;o in like manner Gods fauour and loue are &s;ometimes &s;o ecclip&s;ed with the interpo&s;ition of &s;ome great afflictions, that wee can|not di&s;cerne them for a time or but very dimly, but if we &s;hall inferre hereof that they are quite taken from vs, and that they ca&s;t forth no comfortable influence on vs, our pre&s;ent pre&s;er|uation from being &s;wallowed vp into vtter de&s;truction, and the &s;peedy returne of woonted ioy and con&s;olation, by the apprehen&s;ion of Gods loue and goodne&s;&s;e towards vs, will euidently &s;hew that this argument taken from the &s;en&s;es is void of rea&s;on.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods deare&s;t chil|dren haue not at all times &s;en&s;ibly di&s;|cerned Gods loue, and the graces of his &s;pirit in the~.</NOTE>La&s;tly, it appeareth by the examples of Gods children from time to time, that though they haue bene indued with a great mea&s;ure of faith, and in a high degree of fauour and loue with almighty God, yet &s;ometimes in their owne &s;en&s;e they haue found in them, in &s;tead of faith nothing but doubting, diffi|dence and infidelitie, and for Gods loue and fauour, they haue apprehended nothing in their pre&s;ent feeling, but the wrath|full anger of God, and his greeuous di&s;plea&s;ure. Looke vpon the holy man <HI>Iob</HI> who by Gods owne te&s;timonie was the iu&s;te&s;t man vpon earth, and highly in Gods loue and fa|uour, and you &s;hal find that &s;ometimes he &s;heweth in his grie|uous afflictions no &s;igne of faith, but gro&s;&s;e doubting and in outward apparance vtter de&s;paire of Gods mercy and loue, for he cur&s;eth the day of his natiuitie, and wi&s;heth that he had neuer beene borne, he complaineth that God was his enemy, and had made him as a marke whereat hee &s;hot venimed ar|rowes, that Gods terrors did fight again&s;t him, and that hee did hide his louing countenance from him. So the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> a man according to Gods owne hart &s;heweth plainely that &s;ometime he hath no &s;en&s;e and feeling of the graces of Gods &s;pirit in him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.10.</NOTE> as when he de&s;ireth the Lord <HI>to create in him a cleane hart and to renew a right &s;pirit within him, to re&s;tore him to the ioy of his &s;aluatio~ &amp; to &s;tabli&s;h him with his free &s;pirit;</HI> &amp; &s;ometimes he apprehendeth in his pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e &amp; feeling,
<PB N="536" REF="278">in &s;tead of Gods loue and fauour, nothing but his wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure, and therefore complaineth as one reiected and for&s;aken of God. So P&s;al. 22.1. <HI>My God, my God, why hast thou for&s;aken mee,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 22.1. &amp; 77.7. &amp; 88.14.</NOTE> <HI>and art &s;o farre from my health, and from the words of my roaring.</HI> 2. <HI>O my God I crie by day but thou heare&s;t not and in the night and haue no audience.</HI> And P&s;al. 77.7. he thus complaineth, <HI>will the Lord ab&s;ent him&s;elfe for euer? and will he &s;hew no more fauour?</HI> 8. <HI>Is his mercy cleane gone for euer? doth his promi&s;&s;e faile for euermore?</HI> 9. <HI>hath God forgotten to be mer|full? hath he &s;hut vp his tender mercies in di&s;plea&s;ure?</HI> 10. <HI>And I &s;aid this is my death, &amp;c.</HI> So P&s;al. 88.14. <HI>Lord why doe&s;t thou re|iect my &s;oule and hide&s;t thy face from me?</HI> 15. <HI>I am afflicted and at the point of death, from my youth I &s;uffer thy terrors doubting of my life.</HI> 16. <HI>Thine indignations goe ouer me and thy feare hath cut me off.</HI> The Prophet <HI>Ieremy</HI> likewi&s;e being grieuou&s;ly affli|cted in body and mind,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 20.14.15.</NOTE> was for a time depriued of the &s;en&s;e of Gods loue and fauour, apprehending nothing but pre&s;ent mi&s;erie, and in &s;tead of faith, affiance in God, peace of con&s;ci|ence, and other &s;anctifying graces, he bewraieth his doubting, diffidence and impatiencie, cur&s;ing the day of his birth, and euen the man that brought fir&s;t newes hereof to his father, and wi&s;hing that his mother had bene his graue, or her wo~be a perpetuall conception. As appeareth Ierem. 20.14.15. &amp;c. The like may be &s;aid of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> for where I pray you was the &s;en&s;e &amp; feeling of his faith, affiance in God, zeale of his glorie, loue, feare, and other &s;anctifying graces, when as he &s;hamefully denied his mai&s;ter, yea for&s;wore him with bit|ter cur&s;ing? and yet wee mu&s;t eyther graunt that <HI>Peter</HI> at this time was indued with a liuely faith, or els that the prayer of our Lord and Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t was not effectuall, for hee had praied for him that his faith might not faile, as appeareth Luk. 22.32.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 22.32.</NOTE> But what &s;hould I in&s;i&s;t in the examples of the&s;e the &s;eruants of God, &s;eeing the alone example of Chri&s;t him|&s;elfe is &s;ufficient to cleare this point, for though hee were the onely begotten and be&s;t beloued Sonne of his heauenly father yet in his owne &s;en&s;e and feeling, hee apprehen|ded nothing but Gods wrath and grieuous di&s;plea&s;ure,
<PB N="537" REF="278">and lamentably complaineth as a man abandoned and ca&s;t out of all loue and fauour: My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken mee, which words &s;hewe both Chri&s;ts affiance in God and his pre&s;ent apprehen&s;ion in his &s;en&s;e and feeling, for in re&s;pect of his affiance and tru&s;t in God hee calleth him &s;till his God, in re&s;pect of his &s;en&s;e and feeling hee complai|neth that he is for&s;aken. Whereby it is manife&s;t that a man may be dearely beloued of God, and yet for a time apprehend nothing but his wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure, that hee may haue faith and affiance in God, yet at the &s;ame time be depriued of all &s;en&s;e and feeling of his loue and fauour. And therefore when wee are excerci&s;ed in the combate of tentations, let not &s;athan per&s;wade vs that we are vtterly depriued of the loue &amp; fauour of God, becau&s;e through the violence of his tentati|ons and greeuou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our afflictions we do not apprehend it, nor that we are de&s;titute of faith and all other &s;pirituall gra|ces becau&s;e we doe not &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne them in our feeling, for this hath beene the &s;tate of the deare children of God from the beginning of the world and &s;hall bee to the ende thereof.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="45" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLV.</HI> Of the meanes whereby our faith may be &s;trengthened and in|crea&s;ed.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning tho&s;e rea&s;ons whereby we may proue that we haue faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That all who are indued with true faith, v&s;e the means wher|by it may bee increa&s;ed.</NOTE> and al&s;o an|&s;were Sathans tentations whereby hee labou|reth to per&s;wade vs that we are de&s;titute there|of. The &s;econd meanes whereby we may arme our &s;elues again&s;t Sathan and his &s;ugge&s;tions, is that we mo&s;t earne&s;tly labour and indeauour after we haue found that wee haue &s;ome faith to increa&s;e therein, and grow vp from &s;aith to &s;aith vntill we come to that fulne&s;&s;e of per&s;wa&s;ion which will bring &s;uch peace of con&s;cience as Sathan and all his ten|tations &s;hall not be able to di&s;turbe. Otherwi&s;e we &s;hall bee
<PB N="538" REF="279">continually &s;ubiect to feares and doubtings, and exceedingly &s;haken with Sathans tentations, and in truth not without cau&s;e if wee &s;tand &s;till at a &s;tate, for how&s;oeuer Sathan and all the power of hell cannot preuaile again&s;t the lea&s;t mea&s;ure of true faith to quench and vtterly to de&s;troy it, yet this will bring no &s;ound comfort vnto tho&s;e which re&s;t contented with this little quantitie and neuer labour after increa&s;e, becau&s;e this is a &s;hrewd pre&s;umption that their faith is fal&s;e and coun|terfaite, for a&s;&s;oone as the &s;eede of true faith is &s;owne in vs, and hath taken roote it &s;prooteth vp, and till it come to full ripene&s;&s;e, in which re&s;pect our Sauiour co~pareth it to agraine of mu&s;tard &s;eed, which though it be one of the lea&s;t &s;eeds of the garden, yet it groweth to a great tree. Neither in truth is it po&s;&s;ible that any who haue ta&s;ted of true faith, and of tho&s;e ine&s;timable benefits which it a&s;&s;ureth vs of, &s;hould content them&s;elues with a &s;mal pittance and neuer labour after more, for who is it that hauing ta&s;ted and eaten a little bit of &s;ome delitious meate, doth not with a hungring appetite de&s;ire more till he be filled and &s;atisfied, who is it that hath any weake title and a&s;&s;urance of &s;ome goodly inheritance, doth not earne&s;tly de&s;ire and v&s;e all good &amp; lawfull means where|by his title may be &s;trengthened and his a&s;&s;urance confirmed? and can wee thinke that any haue truely ta&s;ted of faith and the excellent benefits which accompany it, as namely a&s;&s;u|rance of Gods loue, and the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, peace of con&s;cience, ioy in the holy Gho&s;t, who content them&s;elues with a little modicum and neuer hunger after more? or can we imagine that wee haue any &s;mall title or true a&s;&s;urance of tho&s;e vn&s;peakeable ioyes of Gods kingdome, and that vn|luable patrimonie of euerla&s;ting glory, if we neuer v&s;e means to confirme our title and &s;trengthen our a&s;&s;urance? Surely it is impo&s;&s;ible, and therefore if we would haue any &s;ound com|fort and peace of con&s;cience, if wee would euer attaine to a certaine per&s;wa&s;ion that wee haue true faith indeed, let vs v&s;e mo&s;t carefully and diligently all good meanes, whereby wee may &s;trengthen and confirme our faith, vntill it grow from a &s;mall &s;eed to a great tree, which will bring foorth plentifull
<PB N="539" REF="279">fruits of godline&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and vntill it waxe of a &s;mall &s;parke vnto a great flame which will throughly warme our harts with true comfort, which are naturally frozen with feare and doubting, for how&s;oeuer Sathan cannot quench the lea&s;t &s;parke of liuely faith, yet he will &s;o couer it with the a&s;hes of his tentations that we &s;hall neither di&s;cerne the light nor feele the heate thereof.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now the means which we are thus carefully to v&s;e are of two &s;orts:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>1.</HI> meanes to increa&s;e faith, is the diligent hea|ring Gods word.</NOTE> the fir&s;t tending to the encrea&s;ing and &s;trengthening of our faith, the other &s;eruing to pre&s;erue vs from doubting and de&s;peration. The meanes to &s;trengthen and increa&s;e our faith are diuers, the fir&s;t is the frequent and attentiue hea|ring of Gods word, for as this is the ordinarie meanes where|by faith is begotten and begunne in vs, &s;o is it a chiefe meanes to &s;trengthen and confirme it; as it is that liuely &s;eed from which faith doth &s;pring, &s;o is it that heauenly dewe whereby it is watered and increa&s;ed from a little plant to a great tree: and therefore as it is not &s;ufficient for a fruitfull harue&s;t, that the blade or branch &s;hould &s;proute vp vnle&s;&s;e it bee watred continually with &s;weete dew and &s;howers from heauen, and &s;o pre&s;erued from dying and withering, &s;o if euer we meane to reape the ripe fruits of faith to our euerla&s;ting comfort, wee mu&s;t bee carefull that not onely it take rooting, and bring foorth a blade of an outward profe&s;&s;ion, but al&s;o that it may be watered with this heauenly dew of Gods word, other|wi&s;e when the &s;unne of affliction and per&s;ecution ari&s;eth it will die and wither.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>2.</HI> means meditation in Gods word.</NOTE>The &s;econd meanes to &s;trengthen our faith is diligently to read and mediate in Gods word e&s;pecially the Go&s;pell, wherein is contained tho&s;e &s;weete and gratious promi&s;&s;es which are made in definitely vnto all who repent of their &s;ins, and beleeue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, re&s;ting and relying vpo~ him alone for their &s;aluation. And to this purpo&s;e our Sauiour willeth the Iewes to <HI>&s;earch the Scriptures,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh, 5.39.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e they are they which te&s;tifie of him.</HI> Ioh. 5.39. And hereby <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;aith that hee was comforted in his troubles &amp; euen quickned when he was dead, P&s;al. 119.50.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.50.</NOTE></P>
<PB N="540" REF="280">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> means holy conferece</NOTE>The third meanes is holy conference with our godly bre|thren; for hereby tho&s;e which are falling are confirmed and the wearie handes and weake knees &s;trengthened as <HI>Eliphas</HI> &s;peaketh Iob. 43.4.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. 4.3.4.</NOTE> And tho&s;e who are weake in faith are comforted and e&s;tabli&s;hed with the godly in&s;tructions, profi|table exhortations, and &s;weete con&s;olations of tho&s;e who are more &s;tronge; and therefore the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> exhorts tho&s;e who had attayned vnto agreat mea&s;ure of faith that they ad|mitt &s;uch as were weake into their companie to be made par|takers of their Chri&s;tian conferences to the ende that hereby they might be more and more &s;trengthened and confirmed. Rom. 14.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.1.</NOTE></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>4.</HI> means the v&s;e of the &s;acraments.</NOTE>The fourth meanes is the holy v&s;e of the &s;acraments; for the Lord hath added them as &s;eales to the handwriting of his couenant of grace to confirme our faith in the full a&s;&s;urance of his promi&s;es, and to take away all doubting. For whereas the weake con&s;cience might make &s;ome &s;cruple in re&s;pect that the promi&s;es of the go&s;pell in the preaching of the word are deliuered indefinitely and after a generall manner, in the v&s;e of the &s;acraments they are a&s;&s;ured vnto them particularly and as it were by name, and that not after &s;ome ob&s;cure and hidden maner, but mo&s;t familiarly by &s;uch common &s;ignes are are &s;ubiect to the &s;en&s;es and within the reach of the &s;hal|lowe&s;t capacitie.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>5.</HI> means good workes.</NOTE>A fift meanes to confirme our faith is to be continually conuer&s;ant in good workes, and to bring forth the fruites of holy obedience, for hereby our faith is exerci&s;ed and by ex|erci&s;e &s;trengthened and increa&s;ed; whereas contrariwi&s;e the neglect hereof doth wound the con&s;cience and &s;o quench the liuely heate of faith that though it bee not quite extin|gui&s;hed, yet it will not &s;en&s;ibly be di&s;cerned. As therefore the &s;trength of the bodie is increa&s;ed by exerci&s;e and for want thereof waxeth faint and langui&s;heth, and as the &s;tomacke is by outward exerci&s;e of the bodie made more fitt to per|forme his dutie of concoction; &s;o our faith being exerci&s;ed in good workes is made more &s;trong and fitt to performe his dutie in applying Chri&s;t and the &s;weete promi&s;es of the go&s;pel
<PB N="541" REF="280">vnto vs, and without this &s;pirituall exerci&s;e it waxeth faint and the &s;trength thereof abateth.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The 6. means ferue~t prayer</NOTE>The la&s;t meanes to &s;trengthen and increa&s;e our faith is continuall and feruent prayer, for faith is not in our owne power but <HI>it is the free gift of God,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle teacheth vs, Ephe. 2.8. neither can any man come vnto our Sauiour Chri&s;t by a liuely faith except it be giuen him of the father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe. 2.8.</NOTE> as him&s;elfe &s;peaketh.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.65.</NOTE> Ioh. 6.65. And therefore when wee &s;ee the &s;mall mea&s;ure of our faith, we are with the apo&s;tles to pray vnto the Lord that hee will increa&s;e it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 17.5.</NOTE> Luk. 17.5. And when wee perceiue that it is grieuo&s;ly a&s;&s;aulted with doubting and infidelitie, we are in feruencie of &s;pirit to crie out with the fa|ther of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed childe: <HI>Lorde I beleeue helpe my vnbeleefe.</HI> Mark.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 9.24.</NOTE> 9.24. And then we may be a&s;&s;ured that the Lord will heare vs and &s;ati&s;fie our godly de&s;ires, making vs to growe vp from faith to faith, till at length wee attaine vnto &s;uch a ful|ne&s;&s;e of per&s;wa&s;ion, that wee &s;hall bee able truely to &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle; <HI>I am per&s;waded that neither death nor life, nor an|gels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre&s;ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature &s;hall bee able to &s;eperate vs from the loue of God, which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord.</HI> as it is Rom.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ro. 8.38.39.</NOTE> 8.38.39.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And the&s;e are the meanes which properly tende to the &s;trengthening and increa&s;ing of our faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the means whereby we may be pre|&s;erued from doubting and de&s;peration.</NOTE> which who&s;oeuer carefully and con&s;cionably v&s;e, they &s;hall a&s;&s;uredly find them effectuall for this purpo&s;e: Now wee are to &s;peake of tho&s;e meanes whereby wee may bee pre&s;erued from doubting and de&s;peration, of which I &s;hal not neede to &s;peake much, &s;eeing the mo&s;t of the&s;e points are handled before.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>1.</HI> means.</NOTE>The fir&s;t meanes to pre&s;erue vs from de&s;peration is to cal continually vnto our remembrance that the promi&s;&s;es of the go&s;pell are generall and indefinite, excluding none how vn|worthie and &s;innefull &s;oeuer they be, if they doe not exclude them&s;elues through their owne infidelitie;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.28.</NOTE> So Mat. 11.28. our Sauiour calleth all humbled and repentant &s;inners without exception, &s;aying, <HI>Come vnto me all yee that labour and are hea|uie laden and I will ea&s;e you.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.16.</NOTE> and Ioh. 3.16. <HI>God &s;o loued the
<PB N="542" REF="281">world that he &s;ent his only b&eacute;loued &s;on, that as many as beleue in him &s;hould not peri&s;h but haue euerla&s;ting life.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 9.13.</NOTE> So Matth. 9.13. our Sauiour &s;aith <HI>that hee came not to call the righteous but &s;inners to repentance;</HI> either then refu&s;e the name of repentant &s;inner or acknowledge that he came to &s;aue thee. and Ioh. 6.40. our &s;auiour &s;aith <HI>that it is his fathers will who &s;ent him that euery man who beleeueth in him &s;hould haue euerla&s;ting l fe.</HI> Seeing there|fore God taketh no exception, nor excludeth any let vs not exclude our &s;elues through our want of faith and infidelitie.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>2.</HI> means</NOTE>Secondly we are to con&s;ider that the Lord hath not onely propounded his gratious promi&s;es vnto vs, but al&s;o hath com|maunded vs to beleeue them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 1.15. 1. Ioh. 3.23.</NOTE> So Mark. 1.15. <HI>Repent and beleeue the go&s;pell.</HI> and 1. Ioh. 3.23. <HI>This then is his commaun|dement, that wee beleeue in the name of his &s;onne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t &amp;c.</HI> now to beleeue in Chri&s;t is not onely to beleeue that he is a &s;a|uiour, for this eue~ the diuels beleeue al&s;o, but to beleeue that he is our &s;auiour &amp; to re&s;t wholy vpo~ him for our &s;aluatio~, &amp; to &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.20.</NOTE> Gal. 2.20. <HI>I liue by the faith in the &s;onne of God, who hath loued me and giuen him&s;elfe for me.</HI> And to the end that wee may be armed again&s;t doubting, and enabled to perfourme this commaundement, it hath plea&s;ed the Lord to adde vnto his word his oath,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 6.18.</NOTE> that <HI>by two immutable things wherein it is impo&s;&s;ible that God &s;hould lye wee &s;hould haue &s;trong con&s;olation,</HI> as the apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Heb. 6.18. Yea, he hath al|&s;o vnto his word and handwriting annexed his Sacraments as &s;eales, that there might be no place left for doubting. See|ing therefore the Lord hath expre&s;ly commaunded vs to be|leeue, and v&s;ed al meanes to enable vs to perfourme his com|maundement, let vs not now di&s;pute the que&s;tion whether we are worthy to beleeue or no, or whether &s;uch grieuous &s;in|ners are bound to this dutie, but &s;etting all excu&s;es a&s;ide let vs beleeue in obedience to Gods commaundement.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>3.</HI> means.</NOTE>Thirdly, we mu&s;t not alwaies &s;et before vs the innumera|ble multitude and huge waight of our &s;ins, but withal cal to our remembrance the infinite mercies of God and merits of Chri&s;t, who hath offered vnto his father a propitiatorie &s;acri|fice and full &s;atisfaction for all our <HI>&s;innes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Iohn. 2.2.</NOTE> <HI>and not for ours onely
<PB N="543" REF="281">but for the &s;innes of all the world,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.2.</NOTE> 1. Ioh. 2.2. Seeing therefore our debt how great &s;oeuer it be is al|ready di&s;charged; and our &s;innes how outragious &s;oeuer&punc; they be, are fully puni&s;hed long agoe in our Sauiour Chri&s;t, and &s;eeing God him&s;elfe who hath receiued this debt and taken this puni&s;hment, is of infinite iu&s;tice and mercy, why &s;hould we now de&s;paire of pardon? Nay, why &s;hould wee not mo&s;t certainely be a&s;&s;ured that the roull and reckoning of our &s;ins how long &s;oeuer it be, is quite blotted out and cancelled, &s;o as they &s;hall neuer againe be laid to our charge.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The <HI>4.</HI> means to con&s;ider that de&s;pera|tion is a mo&s;t haynous &s;in. <HI>1. Ioh. 5.10.</HI></NOTE> wee are to con&s;ider that de&s;peration it &s;elfe is a mo&s;t hainous and outragious &s;inne, for it cau&s;eth men to de|nie Gods truth in his promi&s;es &amp; to account him a liar, as the Apo&s;tle plainely &s;peaketh, 1. Ioh. 5.10. <HI>Hee that beleeueth not God hath made him a liar, becau&s;e he beleeued not the record, that God witne&s;&s;ed of that his Sonne,</HI> it maketh them to denie the in|finitenes of his mercies as being ouermatched with the mul|titude of their &s;innes, and the &s;ufficiencie of Chri&s;ts merites, as though they were not a full &s;atisfaction for their horrible offences: yea it maketh them to denie Gods iu&s;tice in think|ing that he will puni&s;h that &s;inne againe in them, which hath already beene puni&s;hed in Chri&s;t, and exact that debt which he hath already di&s;charged. Now to denie the truth, mercy, and iu&s;tice of God is to denie God him&s;elfe, for his attributes are his e&s;&s;ence, the truth of God is the true God, the mercy of God is the mercifull God, and the iu&s;tice of God is the iu&s;t God. So that he who de&s;paireth falleth into the mo&s;t horri|ble and capitall &s;inne of Athei&s;me euen the highe&s;t degree of wickedne&s;&s;e, and therefore more hainou&s;ly offendeth God by this &s;inne alone, then by all his other &s;ins what&s;oeuer, though they appeare neuer &s;o mon&s;trous and abominable in his owne eies. For example the &s;inne of <HI>Cain</HI> in de&s;pairing of Gods mercy, was far more horrible then his mo~&s;trous &s;inne which he co~mitted in murthering his owne brother: the &s;inne of <HI>Iu|das</HI> in de&s;pairing of Gods mercy, was without compari&s;on greater then his &s;inne in betraying his Lord and mai&s;ter, in a word to commit Idolatrie, bla&s;phemy, murther, adultery, &amp;
<PB N="544" REF="282">&s;uch like are hainous &s;innes, but vtterly to de&s;paire of Gods mercy is greater then they all. Though then wee haue com|mitted other horrible wickednes again&s;t the Lord, yet in no ca&s;e let vs de&s;paire, for this were to adde &s;inne vnto &s;inne, and to clogg our con&s;ciences more with the la&s;t then with all the former, til with their intollerable waight they pre&s;&s;e vs down vnto hell; you would count him wor&s;e then madd who be|ing oppre&s;&s;ed with a heauy burthen &s;hould (in &s;tead of v&s;ing other meanes to ea&s;e him&s;elfe) adde thereunto a double or treble waight, till hee were pre&s;&s;ed downe groueling vn|to the earth; but a&s;&s;uredly &s;uch and greater madne&s;&s;e it is when wee feele our con&s;ciences clogged with a heauy bur|then of &s;inne, in &s;tead of &s;eeking ea&s;e in comming to Chri&s;t by a liuely faith, to fall into vtter de&s;peration and thereby to add a treble waight to the already intollerable burthen of &s;inne, which lieth vpon our con&s;ciences vntill they be pre&s;&s;ed down into the torments of hell. Euery one would e&s;teeme him a mo&s;t de&s;perate wretch, who hauing offended &s;uch a gratious Prince, as would mo&s;t &s;urely forgiue him vpon his vnfained &s;orrow for his fault, &s;hould in &s;tead of humbling him&s;elfe and asking pardon de&s;perately refu&s;e his Princes mercy, and with all denie his truth in his promi&s;es his mercy, iu&s;tice, and euen di&s;auow him for being a lawfull Prince. But &s;uch and much more wickedne&s;&s;e doe they de&s;perately commit who hauing offended God by their grieuous &s;innes, who is &s;o gratious &amp; mercifull, that he would mo&s;t certainely forgiue them vpon their true repentance, in &s;tead of humbling them&s;elues by vn|fained &s;orrow, doe de&s;perately refu&s;e to bee partakers of his mercy, and not onely &s;o but deny the infinitenes of his mercy; iu&s;tice, truth in his promi&s;&s;es, and con&s;equently his godhead and being. And therefore when (the waight of &s;inne pre&s;|&s;ing vs) Sathan per&s;wadeth vs to de&s;paire of mercy and for|giuenes, let vs in any ca&s;e re&s;i&s;t this tentation, and boldly &s;ay vnto the tempter; it is inough and too much that I haue of|fended my gratious God with my other &s;innes, though I doe not ad thereunto this &s;in which is greater then all the re&s;t, the waight of my other wickedne&s;&s;e is already too too heauy vpo~
<PB N="545" REF="282">my con&s;cience, &amp; therefore farre bee it fro~ me to load it with a farre more vn&s;upportable burthen; I haue already too much di&s;honoured my good God by my horrible &s;innes, and there|fore I will in no ca&s;e more di&s;honour him, now then in com|mitting all my other &s;innes, by denying his mercie, iu&s;tice, truth, and euen the godhead it &s;elfe; for what were this but being alreadie in a burning feauer to ca&s;t my &s;elfe into the fire, or being gone ouer the &s;hooes in the filthie puddle of &s;inne to plunge my &s;elfe ouer head and eares, and euen to drowne my &s;elfe in the bottomele&s;&s;e gulfe of de&s;peration? nay rather now I will breake of my &s;innes by vnfained repentance and turne vnto the Lord whom I haue offended, a&s;&s;uring my &s;elfe that his mercies are infinite, and therefore he is readie to forgiue, and the merites of Chri&s;t a full &s;atisfaction for all my &s;innes though many and hainous, and therefore in him I may bould|ly chalenge forgiuene&s;&s;e as a thing of right appertayning to me.</P>
<P>And thus are wee to re&s;i&s;t Sathans tentations and though wee be often foyled yet to ri&s;e againe, in no ca&s;e &s;uffring him to plucke out of our hand the &s;hield of faith, though he hath di&s;armed vs of the bre&s;t-plate of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; for if once we be depriued of this part of this &s;pirituall armour wee &s;hall lie open to all his blowes and thru&s;ts, vntil we be wounded to the very death.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But mo&s;t lamentable it is to &s;ee the greeuous mi&s;erie of poore humbled &s;inners whereinto they are brought through the violence of Sathans tentations;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Though the afflicted con&s;cience ab|horreth other &s;innes yet it ea&s;ily incly|neth to de&s;pe|ration.</NOTE> for how&s;oeuer feeling the heauie waight of their other &s;innes they earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be freed fro~ the~, how&s;oeuer being tormented with the greeuous &s;mart of their other wickedne&s;&s;e they hate and abhorre it, yet they ea&s;ily &s;uffer them&s;elues to bee plunged into de&s;peration with euery friuoulous tentation; and quietly offer their hands to be manacled, and bound in the&s;e giues of hell without re|&s;i&s;tance. But let all &s;uch &s;tirre vp them&s;elues, and gather their oppre&s;&s;ed &s;pirites togeather, &s;aying to their owne con&s;ciences I hate and dete&s;t from my heart my former wickedne&s;&s;e, and &s;hall I now entertaine a &s;inne more horrible then all the re&s;t;
<PB N="546" REF="283">the burthen of my other &s;innes oppre&s;&s;e me and make me ear|ne&s;tly to de&s;ire ea&s;e, and &s;hall I adde a loade farre more in|tollerable to my afflicted con&s;cience? I am filled with &s;hame and confu&s;ion becau&s;e by my former &s;innes I haue di&s;ho|noured my gratious God? and &s;hal I continue more to di&s;ho|nour him by doubting of and denying his mercy, iu&s;tice, and truth in his promi&s;es? I haue heretofore with <HI>Iudas</HI> be|trayed my Sauiour Chri&s;t vnto the death, yea and with my &s;innes I haue whipped, mocked, and crucified him, and now hee hauing made full &s;ati&s;faction for my &s;innes, and called me vnto him that he may ea&s;e me of this intollerable burchen, &s;hould I with <HI>Iudas</HI> refu&s;e to come de&s;perately ca&s;t of al hope of mercie and become mine owne hangman? be it farre from mee, nay as I hate all other &s;inne &s;o let me hate this aboue all the re&s;t, as being more hainous then al the re&s;t; as I de&s;ire to be ea&s;ed and freed from the heauie burthen of other my wicked|ne&s;&s;e, &s;o I will with all my power re&s;i&s;t Sathan when he &s;eeketh to loade me with this loade of de&s;peration as being farre more intollerable; heretofore I haue di&s;honoured God by my &s;ins, but now I will giue him glorie in beleeuing and acknowledg|ing his infinite mercie, goodne&s;&s;e, iu&s;tice, and truth in his pro|mi&s;es; and &s;eeing by my &s;innes I haue crucified the Lorde of life, I will not ad hereunto this outragious wickedne&s;&s;e, to tra~|ple his pretious bloud vnder my filthie feete as a thing vnholy and of no worth, neither will I through my vnbeleefe make it to be &s;pilt in vaine; but now with all care and con&s;cience I will gather it vp as a mo&s;t precious balme, and with the hand of faith apply it to tho&s;e grei&s;ly ga&s;hes, and deepe woundes which &s;inne hath made in my &s;oule and con&s;cience, and with this &s;pirituall lauer I will wa&s;he my poluted &s;oule till it bee throughly purged from all vncleane&s;&s;e. And &s;eeing I haue de|priued my &s;oule of that inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e wherewith it was indued by creation, now I will apply thereunto a farre more excellent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by the hand of faith, euen the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t God and man, wherewith being adorned I may boldly offer my &s;elfe into the pre&s;ence of my heaue~ly father &amp; receiue the ble&s;&s;ing of euerla&s;ting happines.</P>
<PB N="547" REF="283">
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly we are to con&s;ider that as de&s;peration is a &s;inne in it owne nature mo&s;t grieuous,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That de&s;pe|ration is a &s;in mo&s;t perniti|ous.</NOTE> &s;o al&s;o it is vnto our &s;elues mo&s;t pernitious, for whereas other &s;innes make vs worthy of the torments of hell and eternall condemnation, this as it aboue al the re&s;t intitleth vs vnto the right of this helli&s;h inheritance, &s;o al&s;o it entreth vs into the mo&s;t certaine and pre&s;ent po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ion thereof euen while&s;t we liue vpon the earth. For what are the torments of a de&s;pairing con&s;cience but the fla&s;hings of hell fire? and what are their bla&s;phemies which they vtter again&s;t God, and their impatient cur&s;inges of their accur&s;ed &s;elues, but the yelling cries of damned &s;oules? And therefore if we would not ca&s;t our &s;elues into the iawes of hell, if wee would not while&s;t we liue beginne to die an euerla&s;ting death, let vs in no ca&s;e &s;uffer our &s;elues to bee plunged with the vio|lence of Sathans tentations into this bottomele&s;&s;e pitt of vtter de&s;peration.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Yea will the afflicted &s;oule &s;ay but how &s;hould I auoyde it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That wee mu&s;t hope a|gain&s;t hope &amp; beleeue a|gain&s;t beliefe</NOTE> &s;eeing I am forcibly pre&s;&s;ed into it with the intollerable waight of my &s;innes, and with the &s;en&s;e and apprehention of Gods fearefull wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure, feeling no comfort nor a&s;&s;urance that euer I &s;hall receiue pardon? to which I an|&s;were that yet in no ca&s;e they are to de&s;paire, but to hope a|gain&s;t hope, and to beleeue again&s;t beliefe, and as it were from the bottome of hell to ca&s;t vp the eye of faith into heauen, lay|ing hold of Gods mercies, and Chri&s;ts merites; knowing that faith is of things not &s;eene neither with the bodely eye, nor with the eye of rea&s;on, and that the Lord &s;eemeth often to hate tho&s;e whome in truth hee dearely loueth. For &s;o long as wee beleeue Gods promi&s;es and haue &s;ome hope that our &s;innes are eyther pardoned or at lea&s;t pardonable there is certaine comfort; but when as all hope is ca&s;t of and that we reiect all Gods promi&s;es through vnbeliefe and fall into vtter de&s;peration, there nothing remaineth but mo&s;t cer|taine de&s;truction; when &s;inne lieth vpon vs, it no que&s;tion exceedingly vexeth vs with the torments of con&s;cience, but if we de&s;paire we pre&s;ently in &s;tead of obtaining ea&s;e ca&s;t our &s;elues into the torments of hell; the panges of con&s;cience cau|&s;ed
<PB N="548" REF="284">by the &s;en&s;e of the heauy burthen of &s;inne, are a good meanes to bring vs to Chri&s;t, that we may be ea&s;ed of this bur|then; but de&s;paire &s;tayeth vs in the midway, and vtterly de|barreth vs from euer being partakers of Chri&s;t or any of his benefits. And therefore though the burthen of &s;inne be ne|uer &s;o irke&s;ome and grieuous, yet let vs be contented to beare it till we come vnto Chri&s;t for ea&s;e, let vs beware in any ca&s;e that we doe not faint through impatiencie and want of hope and &s;o fall into de&s;peration, for &s;o &s;hall wee but increa&s;e the waight of our &s;innes in exceeding mea&s;ure, which already we thinke an intollerable burthen, and con&s;equently our horrour of con&s;cience; &s;o &s;hall we bring our &s;elues from a doubtfull or rather hopeful &s;tate, to mo&s;t certaine and pre&s;ent de&s;truction, &s;o &s;hall wee change our temporarie griefe for that which is euerla&s;ting, and the terrours of con&s;cience for the torments of hell; &s;o &s;hall that which wee mo&s;t feare and flee, pre&s;ently ouertake and ouerwhelme vs; for while&s;t in an horrible ma|ner we feare the paines of hell, we ca&s;t our &s;elues into them by falling into vtter de&s;peration; as if a man for feare of death &s;hould cut his owne throate, or for feare of hanging &s;hould drinke &s;ome deadly poy&s;on, whereby they are pre&s;ently tor|mented with that which they fearefully abhorred, and choo&s;e rather to bee oppre&s;&s;ed with the euill they feared, then any longer to indure the feare it &s;elfe. Which how&s;oeuer it may carry &s;ome &s;hew of rea&s;on in vndergoing a momentany and temporarie death, wherein oftentimes the feare is more in|tollerable then the paine feared; yet it is extreame madne&s;&s;e to plunge a mans &s;elfe body and &s;oule into the eternall tor|ments of hell, rather then for a time to indure the horrour thereof, &s;eeing this horrour and feare is but a &s;mall fleabiting in re&s;pect of tho&s;e helli&s;h puni&s;hments, and as it were but a &s;moke of that eternall fire.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="46" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLVI.</HI> Sathans tentations concerning &s;malne&s;&s;e, and weakne&s;&s;e of faith an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<PB N="549" REF="284">
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for an&s;wering tho&s;e te~tations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">There is no &s;uch perfect faith, which is not a&s;&s;aul|ted with doubting.</NOTE> wher|by Sathan laboureth to per&s;wade the afflicted Chri&s;tians that they haue no faith, wherewith if he cannot preuaile, in the next place hee will tell them that their faith is &s;o &s;mall if it be any at all, &s;o ouerwhel|med with doubting, &s;o vnfruitfull, and &s;o mixt with imper|fections, that it will not bee effectuall and &s;ufficient for their &s;aluation. Which tentation if we would with&s;tand, we mu&s;t not dreame or imagine that to haue a true faith, is to haue a perfect faith which is neuer a&s;&s;aulted with doubting nor &s;ha|ken with any tentations, for there is no &s;uch faith to be found in any of Gods childre~, &s;eing the mo&s;t perfect are partly fle&s;h and partly &s;pirit, and as the fruite of the &s;pirit is faith and af|fiance in God, &s;o the fruit of the fle&s;h is doubting and infide|litie, &amp; the&s;e continually a&s;&s;ault &amp; fight one again&s;t another.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That there are diuers degrees of faith in Gods children.</NOTE>Againe wee are to know that there are diuers degrees of true faith, and that all the children of God haue it not in the like mea&s;ure: for &s;ome haue attained to a &s;trong and great mea&s;ure of faith, as tho&s;e who are indued with much know|ledge, and firmely a&s;&s;ent vnto that which they know, and are mo&s;t certainely per&s;waded of their &s;aluation in Chri&s;t, and that all the gratious promi&s;es of the go&s;pell doe belong vnto them, &s;o as nothing in the world &s;halbe able to &s;eperate them from the loue of God which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord; o|thers are weake and indued with a &s;mall mea&s;ure of faith, as tho&s;e who haue little knowledge, weake a&s;&s;ent and per&s;wa&s;i|on, being yet but babes in Chri&s;t, and growing vp from faith to faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.17.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Rom. 1.17. till at length they attaine to that fulne&s;&s;e of per&s;wa&s;ion, of which mention is made,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.22.</NOTE> Heb. 10.22. Now wee are to hould fir&s;t that this &s;mall and weake mea&s;ure of faith is notwith&s;tanding a true faith, and therefore &s;ufficient for the &s;aluation of tho&s;e who are in|dued therewith, neither are the promi&s;es of the go&s;pell made to tho&s;e onely who haue a &s;trong faith, but to tho&s;e who haue a true faith; Ioh. 1.12. <HI>As many as receiued him hee gaue to them prerogatiue to be the &s;onnes of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 1.12.</NOTE> <HI>euen to them that beleeue in his name.</HI> And Iohn 3.18. <HI>He that beleeueth &s;halbe &s;aued,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.18.</NOTE> in
<PB N="550" REF="285">which and &s;uch like places there is no mea&s;ure of faith pro|pounded, but the promi&s;es are made indefinitely to all that beleeue, how &s;mall and weake &s;oeuer their faith be in re&s;pect of the qua~titie and apprehen&s;ion, &s;o that in regard of the qua|litie it be true and liuely.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> That a weake and &s;mall mea&s;ure of faith is true and liuely faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That a weake &amp; &s;mal faith may be a true and liuely faith.</NOTE> it is manife&s;t both by rea&s;on and al&s;o plaine te&s;timonies of the Scripture; for the fir&s;t: diuer&s;itie of degrees in quantitie of a thing doth not take away and annihilate the exi&s;tence &amp; true being thereof; for example a &s;mal drop of water is as well and truely water as the whole Ocean, a little &s;parke is true fire both in re&s;pect of &s;ub&s;tance &amp; qualitie, as well as a migh|ty flame, a little man is as truly a man as a great Giant: and &s;o a little faith is as well a true faith as a full per&s;wa&s;ion; neither doth the &s;mall quantitie take away the being, nature, and truth thereof. Secondly, this al&s;o manife&s;tly appeareth by the Scriptures, whereas many are &s;aid to haue faith and to beleeue, who hearing the doctrine of Chri&s;t &amp; &s;eing his mira|cles beleeued, &amp; acknowledged him to be the true Me&s;&s;ias &amp; their Sauiour, though at the &s;ame time they had attained to an exceeding &s;mall mea&s;ure of knowledge, and were igno|rant of many of the chiefe principles of Chri&s;tian religion, becau&s;e they nouri&s;hed not this their ignorance, but re&s;ol|ued to v&s;e all tho&s;e good meanes of increa&s;ing in knowledge which God hath ordayned for this purpo&s;e. And thus many of the Samaritanes are &s;ayd to haue beleeued for the &s;aying of the woman and becau&s;e of his owne word. Ioh. 4.39.41. Thus a certaine ruler and all his hou&s;hould are &s;aide to haue beleeued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 4.39.41 ver. 52.</NOTE> when they &s;awe the miracle which our Sauiour wrought in curing the rulers &s;onne of his feauer only with his word, ver. 52. Yea the apo&s;tles them&s;elues who&s;e faith our &s;a|uiour Chri&s;t co~pareth to a firme rocke again&s;t which the gates of hell &s;hould neuer preuaile, were notwith&s;tanding indued with weake and &s;mall mea&s;ure of faith, before the a&s;cen&s;ion of our Sauiour, and &s;ending of the holy gho&s;t. For they were ignorant euen of the maine principles of chri&s;tian religion, and of diuers articles of faith, and con&s;equently could not be|leeue,
<PB N="551" REF="285">a&s;&s;ent, or be per&s;waded of tho&s;e things which they did not vnder&s;tand. For example how&s;oever they knew and ac|knowledged that our Sauiour Chri&s;t was the promi&s;ed Me&s;|&s;ias,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16.18.</NOTE> yet they were ignorant that he &s;hould redeeme mankind by his death; for when he foretold that he &s;hould be deliue|red into the hands of the Gentiles to bee crucified, it is &s;aide that they vnder&s;tood none of tho&s;e things.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 20.18. Luk. 9.45.</NOTE> Mat. 20.18. Luk. 9.45.. So al&s;o they knew not that beeing dead he &s;hould ri&s;e againe the third day as the Euangeli&s;t &s;heweth Mar. 9.32.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 9.32.</NOTE> And when they heard thereof by the women they thought it a fained thinge as it is Luk. 24.11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 24.11. Ioh. 13.38. and 14.5. Actes 1.6. Mar. 10.37.</NOTE> They were ignorant al&s;o of his a&s;cen&s;ion as appeareth. Ioh. 13.36. and 14.5. and of his kingdome, for they dreamed of an earthly kingdome, and of worldly preferments which they were to haue by him, as we may &s;ee. Act. 1.6. Mar. 10.37. By all which it plainely ap|peareth that though the Apo&s;tles were indued with a true faith, yet their faith was exceeding weake and &s;mall, as al&s;o it is mo&s;t euident in that reprehention v&s;ed by our &s;auiour when they were in &s;ome appearance of danger.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 8.26.</NOTE> Matth. 8.26. <HI>where|fore are yee fearefull o yee of little faith.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> And therefore though wee find our faith to be weake and &s;mall yet let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that for this cau&s;e it is fal&s;e and counterfaite,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That all pow|er of hell can|not preuaile again&s;t the &s;malle&s;t mea|&s;ure of true faith. <HI>Phil. 3.12.</HI></NOTE> or that wee &s;hall ea&s;ily bee ouer|come of euery tentation and neuer per&s;euer vnto the end that wee may bee &s;aued; &s;eeing a weake and &s;mall faith may bee a true faith, again&s;t which how weake in it &s;elfe &s;oeuer it be, yet the gates of hell &s;hall neuer preuaile again&s;t it, for the wea|ker our faith is, the &s;tronger &s;hall wee find Gods power in &s;u&s;tayning and pre&s;eruing vs, the more that Sathan laboureth to winnow vs in the &s;iue of his tentations, the more effectu|ally will our Sauiour Chri&s;t make interce&s;&s;ion for vs that our faith faile not; the feebler our faith is in apprehending Chri&s;t, the more powerfull will his &s;pirit bee in apprehending vs and in ioyning vs in&s;eparably in a holy communion with him. But yet wee mu&s;t not content our &s;elues with a &s;mall and weake mea&s;ure of faith, but earne&s;tly labour after more perfection, and to grow from faith to faith, till we attaine vnto fulne&s;&s;e of
<PB N="552" REF="286">per&s;wa&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we mu&s;t not content our &s;elues with a &s;mall mea&s;ure of faith</NOTE> Otherwi&s;e we &s;hall make it manife&s;t that we de|ceiue our &s;elues with a &s;hew and &s;hadow of faith, and that as yet we haue no true faith indeede, which as it re&s;embleth the graine of mu&s;tard &s;eed in re&s;pect of the &s;malnes at the begin|ning thereof, &s;o al&s;o in the growth &amp; increa&s;e, &amp; therefore if euer we would attaine vnto peace of con&s;cience, and a&s;&s;urance that wee are indued with a true and liuely faith, we mu&s;t ear|ne&s;tly labour in the v&s;e of tho&s;e meanes ordayned of God for the increa&s;e of faith, and feruently pray vnto God that he will not onely &s;owe the &s;eede of faith in our harts, but al&s;o that he will &s;o water it with the dew of his grace and holy &s;pirite that it may grow from a &s;mall &s;eede to a greate tree, and that he will neuer cea&s;e blowing this &s;moking flaxe with the breath of the &s;ame his holy &s;pirit, till it increa&s;e from a little &s;parke to a mightie flame, whereby our hartes being warmed with true comfort, may with feruent zeale &s;eeke to glorifie his holy name by our chri&s;tian and holy conuer&s;ation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Secondly we are to know that how weak &amp; &s;mal &s;oeuer our faith be &s;o it be true the Lord wil not reiect it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the lea&s;t faith is ac|ceptable to God. <HI>Mat. 12.20.</HI></NOTE> nor vs in regard of it, <HI>for he wil not breake the brui&s;ed reed nor quench the &s;moking flax till he bring forth iudgment vnto victorie,</HI> as him&s;elfe hath &s;poken. Mat. 12.20. He wil not contemne the lea&s;t mea&s;ure of his own grace which he hath be&s;towed vpon vs; for though it be in neuer &s;o &s;mall a quantitie yet if it be true it is his owne gift, and his <HI>gifts are without repentance,</HI> neither doth he euer contemne that which him&s;elfe hath giuen, nor take it away after it is once be&s;towed; nay rather <HI>to him that hath &s;hall bee giuen vntill hee haue abundance,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.29.</NOTE> he that hath receiued 5. talents &s;hall receaue 5. more, yea and hee that hath but one if hee doe not hide it, but v&s;e it to his mai&s;ters glorie &s;hall be accep|ted and haue his talent doubled. We reade in the &s;criptures that Chri&s;t reproued &s;ome for their &s;mall faith, but yet we ne|uer read nor heard that he reiected and ca&s;t of any, though their faith were neuer &s;o weake if it were true, no not him who cried out in the &s;en&s;e of his owne weakne&s;&s;e; <HI>Lorde I beleeue, helpe thou my vnbeliefe.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 9.24.</NOTE> And therefore if with him wee find a true faith in vs, at lea&s;t in &s;ome mea&s;ure, and though it be ex|ceedingly
<PB N="553" REF="286">mingled with doubting and a&s;&s;aulted with infideli|tie, yet if wee can with this man earne&s;tly pray the Lorde to helpe our vnbeliefe, and with the Apo&s;tles hartily crie out: O Lord increa&s;e my faith, the Lord will accept of our hartie de&s;ire, and graunt our reque&s;t which is made by his owne &s;pi|rite in vs, and that according vnto his owne wil.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Thirdly we mu&s;t vnder&s;tand that faith doth not iu&s;tifie and &s;aue vs by it &s;elfe as it is a vertue or facultie of the mind and hart, or in re&s;pect of it owne excellencie, quantitie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That faith doth not iu&s;tifie vs as it is a worke or facultie in vs, but as an in&s;trument which appli|eth Chri&s;t vnto vs.</NOTE> and worthine&s;&s;e, (for what were this but to embrace againe the doctrine of the papi&s;ts which we haue reiected, and to &s;eeke for iu&s;tification in our &s;elues, and for our owne merites and worthine&s;&s;e?) but as an in&s;trument whereby we lay hold of, and apply vnto our &s;elues Chri&s;t Ie&s;us with his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and merites, by which onely wee appeare iu&s;t before God; now a weake faith as truly though not &s;o powerfully doth ap|prehend and apply Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his merites and obedi|ence as a &s;tronger faith, euen as a &s;mall and weake hand if it be able to reach vp the meate to the mouth, doth as well per|forme its dutie for the nouri&s;hment of the body as one of grea|ter &s;trength; becau&s;e it is not the &s;trength of the hand but the goodne&s;&s;e of the meate which nouri&s;heth the bodie: So a weake faith laying hould of Chri&s;t and applying him and his benefites, to the beleeuer, is &s;ufficient to nouri&s;h him to euer|la&s;ting life as well as a &s;tronger, becau&s;e it is not the worthi|nes or excellencie of the in&s;trument, but of Chri&s;t which it ap|prehendeth that is effectual for our iu&s;tification &amp; eternal &s;al|uatio~. So in like maner as a &s;mal &amp; weak ha~d is able to receiue an almes as a &s;tronger and greater, and as a little eye doth &s;ee the whole body of &s;unne, or &s;ome great mountaine as well as a bigger: &s;o our faith though weake and &s;mall, doth appre|hend Chri&s;t as truely and effectually for the &s;aluation of the beleeuer, as the greate&s;t and mo&s;t &s;trong, our Sauiour Chri&s;t compareth him&s;elfe to the bra&s;en Serpent, and the beleeuing Chri&s;tian &s;tong with the &s;tinge of &s;in to the I&s;raelites which did behold it to the end they might be cured:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.14.</NOTE> now we know that all of them were not a like &s;harpe &s;ighted, but &s;ome were
<PB N="554" REF="287">poreblind, &s;ome bleare eyed, &s;ome &s;awe it but exceeding weakely and dimly, but yet notwith&s;tanding as many as loo|ked on it were cured and healed, though they were neuer &s;o weake &s;ighted; &s;o who&s;oeuer being &s;tong with &s;inne do looke vpon Chri&s;t with the eye of faith, re&s;ting vpon him alone for their &s;aluation, though they bee neuer &s;o weake &s;ighted, yet they &s;halbe re&s;tored to health and be eternally &s;aued, becau&s;e it is not in their &s;ight but in the obiect thereof Chri&s;t Ie&s;us to iu&s;tifie before God, and to purcha&s;e for them eternall &s;alua|tion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="47" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLVII.</HI> Other tentations concerning faith an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus may we an&s;were Sathans tentations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans ten|tation con|cerning the certainty and con&s;tancie of faith an&s;we|ved.</NOTE> which hee groundeth vpon the &s;mall quantitie and weakene&s;&s;e of our faith: be&s;ides which he &s;ugge&s;teth diuers others, as fir&s;t that true iu&s;ti|fying faith is a firme, certaine and con&s;tant per|&s;wa&s;ion, whereas ours if wee haue any at all is weake and fee|ble, in&s;table, incon&s;tant and wauering, and that it is not onely continually a&s;&s;aulted but al&s;o often foiled and ouercome with doubting and infidelitie, and therefore that it is but a &s;hadow of faith, and not true faith indeed. The which tentation wee may ea&s;ily an&s;were if wee but remember that which already hath beene deliuered; namely that the be&s;t cannot attaine in this life vnto &s;uch perfection of faith as is quite freed from all infirmities and corruption, that there is diuers degrees of true iu&s;tifying faith, &s;ome weaker, &s;ome &s;tronger, &s;ome in greater, and &s;ome in &s;maller quantitie, &s;ome like &s;mooking flaxe, and a graine of mu&s;tard &s;eed, &amp; &s;ome like a bright burning flame which giueth light, and the liuely heat of true comfort to tho&s;e who are indued therewith, and of as high growth as the greate&s;t tree in the garden, and yet all true faith and &s;uf|&s;icient for &s;aluation. That &s;o long as wee continue in this life our knowledge is but imperfect and vayled with much dark|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="555" REF="287">and ignorance, <HI>for we know but in parte,</HI> as euen the apo|&s;tle &s;peaketh in his owne per&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 13.12.</NOTE> 1. Cor. 13.12. And therefore our a&s;&s;ent and per&s;wa&s;ion mu&s;t needs be imperfect, and but in part, and often a&s;&s;aulted with much doubting: that how|&s;oeuer faith and doubting are oppo&s;ed in their owne nature, yet notwith&s;tanding they may be together in the &s;ame &s;ub|iect in re&s;pect of diuers partes. For wee are partly fle&s;h and partly &s;pirit, and the&s;e two with their &s;euerall fruits do con|tinually fight and &s;triue one again&s;t the other, and &s;ometimes the fle&s;h, &s;ometimes the &s;pirit with their &s;euerall fruits get the vpper hand, in the meane time both retaining their owne nature and properties, how&s;oeuer they doe not &s;o euidently appeare nor &s;o powerfully worke their &s;euerall actions, when the aduer&s;e part preuaileth, and hath put them to the foile; for example, faith which is a fruite of the &s;pirit, is continually a&s;&s;aulted by doubting, which is a fruite of the fle&s;h, and pro|ceedeth from the roote of infidelitie, and &s;ometime faith pre|uaileth and &s;ometime it receiueth the foyle, but yet at the &s;ame time how&s;oeuer wee cannot &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne it, nor the actions thereof, yet it retaines it owne nature and proper|ties, neyther is it depriued of his firmene&s;&s;e, con&s;tancie and certainty how&s;oeuer they be for a time couered &amp; hid out of our &s;ight, like the fire vnder the a&s;hes, or the Sunne vnder a cloud, as before I haue &s;aid.</P>
<P>Though therefore we finde in vs much incon&s;tancie and doubting, yet let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that the&s;e are of the nature and properties of our faith, and that therefore our faith is not true but temporarie fal&s;e and counterfaite, for this incon&s;tancie and doubting, proceedeth not from faith and from the &s;pirituall and regenerate part, but from the fle&s;h and the part vnregenerate; and therefore how&s;oeuer it is a&s;&s;aul|ted, and &s;ometimes foyled by them, yet in it owne nature it is true certaine and con&s;tant.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans ten|tation grou~|ded on the &s;trong faith of &s;ome of Gods chil|dren an&s;we|red.</NOTE> he will &s;ugge&s;t that the Saints mentioned in the Scriptures, had mo&s;t certaine &amp; &s;trong faith &amp; in exceeding great mea&s;ure, that they brought forth co~tinually mo&s;t nota|ble fruits thereof, &amp; were not &s;ubiect to &s;uch infirmities and
<PB N="556" REF="288" MS="y">doubting as wee feele in our &s;elues. To which we are to an|&s;were, that this tentation is full of vntruth, and hath no &s;ound part in it: for fir&s;t we are to a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that they fell into manifold doubtings and were &s;ubiect vnto innumerable in|firmities and corruptions, which are not &s;pecified in the booke of God: neither was it fitte or expedient that it &s;hould be a regi&s;ter of all humane infirmities, and of their manifold falls, but onely that &s;ome &s;hould bee recorded for our warning, that wee might more warily watch ouer our &s;elues, lea&s;t wee &s;hould fall into the like &s;innes, and for our comfort al&s;o when wee are fallen, in that our ca&s;e is common with Gods dea|re&s;t children; in which re&s;pect the Scriptures is not wan|ting Looke vpon <HI>Abraham</HI> the father of the faithfull who&s;e faith was &s;o &s;trong that he aboue hope beleeued vnder hope, and you &s;hall &s;ee that his faith notwith&s;tanding was &s;ome|times &s;haken with diffidence and doubting, as when di&s;tru|&s;ting Gods gratious promi&s;&s;es made vnto him, and not re|&s;ting vpon his almighty power, he was content to take vnto him <HI>Hagar</HI> his maide and commit &s;inne with her, that &s;o by his owne deui&s;e he might make good Gods promi&s;&s;e and ob|taine the ble&s;&s;ed &s;eed, as though God could not perfourme that which he had &s;poken, vnle&s;&s;e he helped him by &s;uch vn|lawfull meanes. So where was the &s;trength and con&s;tancie of <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> faith when hee di&s;honoured God before the peo|ple in not beleeuing his word, &amp; by &s;hewing his impatiencie. Numb. 20.10.11. where was the &s;trength and con&s;tancie of <HI>Dauids</HI> faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">num. 20.10 11.</NOTE> when he complaineth that he was for&s;aken, that God had fayled in his promi&s;&s;es, that he had forgotten to be mercifull and had &s;hut vp his tender mercies in di&s;plea&s;ure? P&s;al. 22.1. and 77.8.9. Or of <HI>Iobs</HI> faith when he cur&s;ed the day of his birth and accounted God his enemy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 22.1. and 77.8.9.</NOTE> who had &s;et him vp as a marke again&s;t which he &s;hot poi&s;oned arrowes? or of <HI>Ieremy</HI> when he likewi&s;e wi&s;hed that he had neuer bene borne and bewraieth great impatiency.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 20.</NOTE> Ier. 20. Or of <HI>Ionas</HI> when he rebelled again&s;t Gods commaundement and fled from his pre&s;ence, or when after his miraculous deliuerie, he murmu|red and vttered impatient &s;peeches euen again&s;t God him&s;elf
<PB N="557" REF="288">for the lo&s;&s;e of a poore gourd which kept him from the heate of the &s;unne; and when the Lord mercifully and mildly re|proued him &s;aying, doe&s;t thou well to be angry for the gourd, he &s;tubbornely an&s;wered: I doe well to bee angry vnto the death.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ion. 4.9.</NOTE> Ion. 4.9. Or of the Apo&s;tles them&s;elues when they fled away and for&s;ooke their Lord and mai&s;ter Ie&s;us Chri&s;t for feare of worldly puni&s;hment, and when after his death they would not beleeue the women reporting that hee was ri&s;en againe, vntill their owne eyes had &s;eene them? La&s;tly, though it be euident that diuers of the Saints mentioned in the Scrip|tures had a farre greater mea&s;ure of faith, and brought foorth much more plentiful fruits then we can di&s;cerne in our &s;elues, yet this is no good rea&s;on to prooue that our weaker &amp; &s;mal|ler faith is no faith, or vneffectuall for our &s;aluation, for this is an ab&s;urd con&s;equence, the Moone giueth much le&s;&s;e light then the Sunne, therefore it giueth no light at all, one hand is farre greater then another, therefore the le&s;&s;er is not a true hand, this man excelleth another in the v&s;e of rea&s;on, and therefore the other is vnrea&s;onable, becau&s;e the diuers de|grees in the quantitie of things doe not take away the truth of their being and exi&s;tence &s;o long as they be of the &s;ame nature and qualitie. Be&s;ides as the holy gho&s;t hath &s;et downe exam|ples of mo&s;t &s;trong faith in &s;ome of Gods &s;eruants, &s;o hath he made mention of &s;ome who haue had but weake and little faith, to the end that we &s;hould &s;o labour to attaine vnto the highe&s;t degree as that in the meane time we be not vtterly di&s;|couraged with the lowe&s;t; for example as he hath remembred the faith of <HI>Abraham</HI> who beleeued aboue hope vnder hope, &s;o hee hath not forgotten his weake faith who cried I beleeue, Lord help thou mine vnbeliefe; as he hath mentioned the faith of <HI>Iob</HI> who grew to this re&s;olution: Though hee kill me yet will I tru&s;t in him, &s;o he hath expre&s;&s;ed al&s;o the faith of <HI>Nico|demus,</HI> in knowledge weake and &s;imple, and in practi&s;e and profe&s;&s;ion cowardly and fearefull, as hee hath &s;et downe the &s;trong faith of <HI>Paul,</HI> who grew to this fulne&s;&s;e of per&s;wa|&s;ion that nothing &s;hould be able to &s;eparate him from the loue of God in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;o he hath not left out the little &amp; weak
<PB N="558" REF="289">&s;aith of <HI>Thomas</HI> who would not beleeue further then hee &s;awe and felt. Yea the Lord in his word hath reuealed vnto vs the diuers degrees of faith in the &s;ame men in re&s;pect of diuers times;<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the &s;criptures &s;et forth vnto vs the diuers degrees of faith in the &s;ame beleeuer</NOTE> at one time like a graine of mu&s;tard &s;eede, at another time like a great tree, at one time like a little &s;moke, and &s;oone after bur&s;ting out into a great flame, now like a weake reed wauering and declyning with the &s;malle&s;t bla&s;t of any tryall, and within a while like an immoueable rocke which beateth backe huge billowes and euen a whole &s;ea of violent tentations; in a word it &s;etteth out to our vew as it were por|trayed in a fre&s;h and liue picture the diuers ages of a chri&s;tian as he is in his conception and preparation to grace, and as he is in his new birth and fir&s;t conuer&s;ion, as he is a babe, and as he groweth from his infancie to greater age and &s;trength, till hee come to ripe yeares and to be a &s;trong man in Chri&s;t. Be|&s;ides it &s;heweth vnto vs his diuers relap&s;es through &s;inne the &s;ickne&s;&s;e of the &s;oule, and how oftentimes the &s;piritual growth is hindred, and the &s;trength of Gods graces abated and much weakned by the cotidian ague of our corruptions and Sathans tentations, and al&s;o after the&s;e fitts bee driuen away by vertue of Gods &s;pirit, how we receiue a greater increa&s;e of grace and mea&s;ure of &s;trength, whereby we grow more in chri&s;tianitie and godline&s;&s;e in a yeere then we did in two before. All which is &s;et downe to this end that we &s;hould not make our infancie our <GAP DESC="foreign"> and full growth, but labour to increa&s;e in grace till we become of babes &s;trong men in Chri&s;t; as al&s;o that find|ing our &s;elues as weake as little infants wee bee not vtterly di&s;couraged, for if we &s;ucke the bre&s;ts of our &s;pirituall mother the true church, and receiue from her the milke and &s;tronger meate of the word and &s;acraments, wee &s;hall a&s;&s;uredly growe vp from grace to grace, and &s;trength to &s;trength, till of babes wee become &s;trong men in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and that though wee haue many great &s;ickne&s;s of the &s;oule, and relap&s;es into &s;inne whereby our &s;pirituall growth for a time is hindred, and our &s;trength in Gods graces much abated, yet if we often feed vpon the comfortable foode of Gods worde and v&s;e this &s;piri|tuall phy&s;ick pre&s;cribed by God him&s;elfe we &s;hall not only a|gaine
<PB N="559" REF="289">recouer our former &s;trength and health, but al&s;o find a great increa&s;e of Gods graces in vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly, Sathan will &s;ugge&s;t that though our faith be true,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Sathan cannot pre|uaile again&s;t the weake&s;t faith.</NOTE> yet it is &s;o exceeding &s;mall and weake, that with the violence of his te~tations and huge ma&s;&s;e of our own corruptions it will ea&s;ily be ouerthrown and turned into infidelitie. To which we are to an&s;were, that though hereby our faith may be &s;hrewdly &s;haken yet it can neuer be ouerturned, though it may be coue|red with the a&s;hes of our corruptions, yet it can neuer be vt|terly quenched; though through our gretuous foyles and falls in the co~bate of tentations, it may be as it were brought into a traunce, &s;o as we cannot &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne any action, motion or life of faith, yet the habite and grace it &s;elfe, after it is once giuen of God is neuer taken away, neither is it po&s;&s;ible that it &s;hould be quite de&s;troied by all the power of hell.</P>
<P>And this may appeare by diuers rea&s;ons; fir&s;t becau&s;e faith is not <HI>of our &s;elues but the free gift of God,</HI> as it is Ephe. 2.8.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.8.</NOTE> And what&s;oeuer &s;anctifyng and &s;auing grace the Lord giueth that he neuer taketh vtterly away; <HI>for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.29.</NOTE> Rom. 11.29.</P>
<P>Secondly, who&s;oeuer truely beleeueth, he is truely knit and vnited vnto the body of Chri&s;t and is made partaker of his holy &s;pirit which as it begetteth and beginneth all the &s;ancti|fying and &s;auing graces in vs, &s;o al&s;o it nouri&s;heth, &s;trengthe|neth and confirmeth them &s;o as they can neuer vtterly faile, for what&s;oeuer good worke he beginneth that will hee al&s;o perfect and accompli&s;h.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.26.</NOTE> Phil. 1.6.</P>
<P>Thirdly, who&s;oeuer truely beleeueth he is truely iu&s;tified, and who&s;oeuer is iu&s;tified is elected called and &s;halbe glorifi|ed, for the&s;e in&s;eparably goe together.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.30.</NOTE> Rom. 8.30. and con&s;e|quently he that hath true faith whereby he is iu&s;tified cannot fall away, &s;eeing his iu&s;tification is as certaine as the eternall decree of Gods election.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That God both can and will vphould the weake&s;t beleeuer.</NOTE> God both can and will &s;trengthen and confirme all tho&s;e who are weake in faith, till they attaine vnto the end of their faith euen the &s;aluation of their &s;oules, and therefore it is impo&s;&s;ible that they which once truely beleeue &s;hould fall a|way
<PB N="560" REF="290">and be co~demned. Concerning Gods power no man can make any que&s;tion &s;eeing it is omnipotent and almighty, and for his will he hath fully reuealed it both by his word and workes, namely that he will not take away that grace which he hath once giuen, but rather increa&s;e it till it bee perfected and accompli&s;hed.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>E&s;a. 66.13.</HI> Gods loue compared to the loue of a te~der mother.</NOTE> For the fir&s;t the Lord &s;aith that hee will comfort his Church and people, as the woman comforteth her child, E&s;a. 66.13. now wee know that the mother doth not a|bandon her child, nor depriue him of that comfort which &s;he can giue him becau&s;e he is &s;icke and weake, but rather the &s;ic|ker and weaker he is, the more is her care and diligence in re|leiuing him in his di&s;tre&s;&s;e; when hee is not able to di&s;ge&s;t &s;trong meate &s;he prouideth for him co~fortable foode of light di&s;ge&s;tion, when he is &s;o weake that he cannot goe &s;he carieth him in her armes or otherwi&s;e &s;upporteth him, when he is &s;o &s;icke that he faleth downe to the ground in a &s;woune, &s;hee ray&s;eth him vp &amp; neuer re&s;teth till &s;hee hath recouered life in him, is this loue in a naturall mother? then &s;urely much more &s;hall we finde in our heauenly father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 49.15.</NOTE> for <HI>though a mother may forget the fruit of her womb, yet wil the Lord neuer forget vs,</HI> as he hath promi&s;ed. E&s;a. 49.15. And therefore the greater our weakene&s;&s;e is in grace, and the more greiuous our &s;ickne&s;&s;e is through &s;inne, and the noi&s;ome humors of our corruptions the more carefully will hee watch ouer vs, with the eye of his prouidence, and &s;upport vs with his almighty power in our greate&s;t weakene&s;&s;e, the more tenderly will he pitie vs, and in louing compa&s;&s;ion will prouide for vs, &s;uch comfortable food as wilbe fit to nouri&s;h vs and repaire our decaied &s;trength, when we cannot goe he will with his almighty hand vphould vs, and when we fall into a dead traunce he will not re&s;t till he hath againe reuiued and quickened vs with his holy &s;pirite. Moreouer our Sauiour hath &s;aide,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. 12.20</NOTE> <HI>that hee will not breake the brui&s;ed reed nor quench the &s;moking flaxe.</HI> Matth. 12.20. but he will &s;upport our weakene&s;&s;e with his almighty power, &s;o that though with the reed we be borne downe to the ground, with the boy&s;terous bla&s;tes of Sathans tentations, yet we &s;hal|be rai&s;ed vp againe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 37.24.</NOTE> according to that P&s;al. 37.24. <HI>Though hee
<PB N="561" REF="290">fall he &s;hall not be ca&s;t off, for the Lord putteth vnder his hand,</HI> and he will blow vpon vs with the breath of his holy &s;pirit, till he turne our &s;mall &s;moke to a great flame which &s;hall neuer bee quenched by all the malice of our &s;pirituall enemies. So Matth. 13.12. our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath promi&s;&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. 13.12</NOTE> <HI>that who&s;o|euer hath, to him it &s;hal be giuen and he &s;hall haue aboundance.</HI> Neither doth he limit or define any quantitie le&s;&s;e or more but indefinitely promi&s;&s;eth aboundant increa&s;e euen vnto the lea&s;t, &s;o farre is he from taking away that which he hath once be&s;towed. And whereas wee through our weakene&s;&s;e and frailene&s;&s;e are ea&s;ily ca&s;t downe and fall away, and therefore haue good cau&s;e if we &s;hould onely looke vpon our infirmi|ties to doubt and de&s;paire of per&s;euerance, yet in re&s;pect of Gods omnipotent power, watchfull prouidence, and pro|mi&s;&s;ed a&s;&s;i&s;tance wee may confirme our &s;elues in faith, hope, and certaine a&s;&s;urance of continuing vnto the end; for the Lord vpholdeth all that are falling, and lifteth vp tho&s;e who are already downe, as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;peaketh, P&s;al. 145.14.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.14</NOTE> the power of God is manife&s;ted in our weakene&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 12.9.</NOTE> his riches in our beggerline&s;&s;e, his mercy and goodne&s;&s;e in our frailene&s;&s;e, and manifold corruptions, and with his holy &s;pirit hee hel|peth our infirmities, as it is Rom. 8.26.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ro. 8.26.</NOTE> <HI>Wee haue not an high priest which cannot bee touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all things tempted in like &s;ort yet without &s;inne&punc;</HI> and ther|fore he <HI>is able &s;ufficiently to haue compa&s;&s;ion on them that are igno|rant and out of the way, becau&s;e that hee al&s;o was compa&s;&s;ed with our infirmities,</HI> and the apo&s;tle rea&s;oneth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.15. &amp; 5.2.</NOTE> Heb. 4.15. and 5.2</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly it appeareth manife&s;tly by Gods workes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The formen point illu|&s;trated by examples.</NOTE> ad|mini&s;tration, and practi&s;e, that he wil not depriue any of that &s;anctifying grace which he hath once be&s;towed, though the mea&s;ure thereof be neuer &s;o &s;mall; neither can we ob&s;erue ei|ther by our reading the whole booke of God or by our owne experience that any man hauing receiued the lea&s;t graine of true faith hath vtterly beene depriued of it, and reiected of God. Euen the di&s;ciples them&s;elues when they were reproo|ued for their little faith, were by him &s;trengthened and confir|med, &s;o that all the power of hell could not preuaile again&s;t it,
<PB N="562" REF="291">and though Sathan indeauoured to &s;ift them as wheate, yet Chri&s;ts interce&s;&s;ion was more mightie to defend them, then the diuell to de&s;troye them, and his interce&s;&s;ion a &s;tronger propp to vphould them, then the waight of Sathans tentations to ouerthrow and bring them to ruine; &s;o he who cryed out I beleeue Lord helpe thou my vnbeliefe, though his faith was weak yet it peri&s;hed not, but rather receiued a greater increa&s;e. Yea he reiected not <HI>Thomas</HI> in his wilfull doubting and ob&s;ti|nate incredulitie, but offered all occa&s;ions of confirming his weake faith, and neuer cea&s;ed till hee had fully a&s;&s;ured him of his re&s;urrection. In a word all the &s;aintes of God at one time or other haue had experience of this mercy, power, and good|ne&s;&s;e of God in &s;upporting their weakne&s;&s;e, vphoulding them in their great infirmities, and in ray&s;ing them when they were fallen to the ground; and to this end our Sauiour was annoin|ted by Gods &s;pirite vnto the office of his mediation, that hee &s;hould <HI>preach the go&s;pell vnto the poore, heale the broken harted, that he &s;hould preach deliuerance vnto captiues, and recouerie of &s;ight to the blind, and &s;et at libertie them that are bru&s;ed.</HI> Luk. 4.18.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 4.18.</NOTE> To this ende hee had familiar &s;ociety with the fraile and weake, with tho&s;e who had little faith, that he might increa&s;e it, and no faith, that he might begett it, with publicanes and &s;inners and men full of infirmities; to this purpo&s;e he calleth &s;uch as thir&s;t and hunger feeling their owne emptine&s;&s;e of grace, and earne&s;tly de&s;iring to bee filled and &s;atisfied, and &s;uch al&s;o as labour and are heauie laden with the vn&s;upporta|ble waight of their corruptions promi&s;ing that hee will ea&s;e them, la&s;tly to this end he hath ordayned the mini&s;terie of the worde and admini&s;tration of the &s;acraments, not only to be|get faith where it is not, but to nouri&s;h and increa&s;e it where it is weake and feeble, and therefore though our faith be neuer &s;o weake and &s;mall let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that therefore it &s;hall bee ouerthrowne and turned into infidelitie, for the Lord hath a&s;&s;ured vs both by his gratious promi&s;es in his word and al&s;o by the performance thereof in his works from the be|ginning to this day, that where hee hath giuen the lea&s;t mea&s;ure of faith or any other &s;anctifying grace, there he will
<PB N="563" REF="291">al&s;o increa&s;e, &s;trengthen, and confirme it, and where he hath begunne any good worke there hee will fini&s;h and perfect it, notwith&s;tanding our fraile weakne&s;&s;e, and the forcible vio|lence of all our &s;pirituall enemies.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="48" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLVIII.</HI> Of our iu&s;tification.</HEAD>
<P>_ANd &s;o much concerning tho&s;e tentations of Sathan which he &s;ugge&s;teth to the end that hee may fru&s;t|rate our effectuall calling.<MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the effi|cient cau&s;e of our iu&s;tifica|tion. <HI>Rom. 8.30.</HI></NOTE> The next &s;ubordinate cau&s;e and means of our &s;aluation is our iu&s;tificati|on, for <HI>whom&s;oeuer the Lord effectually calleth tho&s;e al&s;o he iu&s;ti|fieth.</HI> as it is Rom. 8.30. In &s;peaking whereof I will fir&s;t &s;hew what it is, and afterwards an&s;were &s;uch tentations of Sathan as he &s;ugge&s;teth into our mindes, to the end that hee may in|fringe the doctrine of iu&s;tification, and make it vaine and vn|profitable vnto vs.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t. Iu&s;tification is an action orworke of the whole trinitie the father, &s;onne, and holy gho&s;t, whereby God gra|tiou&s;ly and freely imputing vnto euery faithfull man the righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience of Chri&s;t the mediatour doth accept of him and pronounce him to be iu&s;t and righteous, for the glorie of his name and &s;aluation of the beleeuer.</P>
<P>The efficie~t cau&s;e of our iu&s;tificatio~ is God alone as appeareth by manife&s;t te&s;timonies. E&s;a. 43.25. <HI>I,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 43.25. Ezec. 16.8.</NOTE> <HI>euen I am he that putteth away thine iniquities for my owne &s;ake and will not remember thy &s;innes.</HI> So Ezech. 16.8. The Lord thus &s;peaketh to his church and people; <HI>I &s;pread my skirts ouer thee and couered thy filthi|ne&s;&s;e.</HI> 9. <HI>Then I wa&s;hed thee with water, yea I wa&s;hed away thy bloud from thee and annointed thee with oyle.</HI> 10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.5. and 8.33. P&s;al. 51.4.</NOTE> <HI>I clothed thee with broydred worke &amp;c.</HI> whereby he &s;ignifieth that he purged it with the bloud of Chri&s;t from all &s;inne, and adorned it with the rich robe of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. The Apo&s;tle likewi&s;e &s;aith that it is God who iu&s;tifieth him who in him&s;elfe was vngod|ly. Rom. 4.5. and 8.33. <HI>It is God who iu&s;tifieth, who &s;hall con|demne?</HI> The rea&s;on hereof is manife&s;t becau&s;e it is the Lord a|gain&s;t whom we haue &s;inned, as <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;peaketh P&s;al. 51.4. And he alone is our &s;upreame iudge who hath authoritie to
<PB N="564" REF="292">ab&s;olue or condemne vs, and therefore he onely can giue vnto vs the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes and accept of vs as iu&s;t and righteous.</P>
<P>And this worke is not peculiar vnto any one per&s;on, but is commune to the whole trinitie. For God the father being fully &s;atisfied by the full &s;atisfaction, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and obe|dience of Chri&s;t the &s;onne, applied vnto vs by the holy &s;pirit, doth pardon and forgiue vs all our &s;innes, and pronounceth and accepteth of vs as innocent, and indued with perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>The motiue or impul&s;iue cau&s;e, which moued the Lorde thus to iu&s;tifie vs, was not any thinge in vs or out of him &s;elfe; but of his meere mercy, and free good will wherewith hee hath loued vs from the beginning, as it manife&s;tly appeareth Rom. 3.24.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.24.</NOTE> Where the Apo&s;tle &s;ayth that <HI>we are iu&s;tified free|ly by his grace, through the redemption that is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI> and Tit. 3.5.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3.5.7.</NOTE> <HI>Not by the workes of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which we had done, but according to his mercie he &s;aued vs, by the wa&s;hing of the new birth and renewing of the holy gho&s;t.</HI> 7. <HI>That being iu&s;tified by his grace, we &s;hould bee made heyres according to the hope of eternal life.</HI></P>
<P>The in&s;trumentall cau&s;es are of two &s;orts: fir&s;t on Gods part the word and the &s;acraments, whereby the Lord offreth, conuaigheth, &s;ealeth, and a&s;&s;ureth vnto vs his mercie &amp; grace, Chri&s;t Ie&s;us with his merites, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and obedience, the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and euerla&s;ting life.</P>
<P>Secondly on our part a true and liuely faith, whereby wee receiue and apply vnto our &s;elues the mercy of God, Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us &amp; all his benefits, re&s;ting vpon him alone for our &s;aluation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The materiall cau&s;e of our iu&s;tification is the actiue and pa&s;&s;iue righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The material cau&s;e.</NOTE> his in|haerent holine&s;&s;e, his fulfilling of the law, his death, &s;acrifice, and full &s;atisfaction. So that we are not iu&s;tified by the e&s;&s;en|tiall righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the godhead, nor by our owne workes ioyned with Chri&s;ts merites, nor by any inhaerent righteou&s;|nes infu&s;ed of God through the merites of Chri&s;t; or by any o|ther thing in our &s;elues or any other meere creature, but by the alone righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our mediatour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t God
<PB N="565" REF="292">and man, which is out of our &s;elues and in Chri&s;t as the pro|per &s;ubiect thereof, and not belonging to vs till by the &s;pirite of God and a liuely faith it be applyed vnto vs and &s;o becom|meth ours.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the for|mall cau&s;e.</NOTE>The formall cau&s;e of our iu&s;tification is a reciprocall im|putation or tran&s;mutation of the &s;innes of the beleeuer vnto Chri&s;t and of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnto the beleeuer: whereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that the faithfull man hath not his &s;innes imputed vnto him, nor the puni&s;hment due vnto them inflicted on him, becau&s;e Chri&s;t hath taken vpon him the guilt and puni&s;hment, and by making ful &s;atisfaction vnto his fa|thers iu&s;tice, hath obtayned the pardon and remi&s;&s;ion of al his &s;innes. And al&s;o is clothed with the glorious robe of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and &s;o appearing before God both free from all &s;inne and indued with perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e hee is iu&s;tified, reconciled, and eternally &s;aued. And of this imputed righteou&s;nes the apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Rom. 4.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.5.</NOTE> <HI>But to him that worketh not, but beleeueth in him that iu&s;tifieth the vngodly, his faith is counted for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> 6. <HI>Euen as Dauid declareth the ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e of the man vnto whom God imputeth righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e without workes,</HI> &s;aying. 7. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they who&s;e iniquities are forgiuen, and who&s;e &s;innes are couered.</HI> 8. <HI>ble&s;&s;ed is the man vnto whom the Lord imputeth not &s;inne.</HI> and 2. Cor. 5.19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.19.</NOTE> <HI>For God was in Chri&s;t and reconciled the world vnto him&s;elfe, not imputing their &s;innes vnto them &amp;c.</HI> 21. <HI>For hee hath made him to bee &s;inne for vs which knewe no &s;inne that wee &s;hould be made the righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God in him.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle affirmeth 1. Cor. 1.30. <HI>That Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is made vnto vs of God, wi&s;dome,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.30.</NOTE> <HI>righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;anctification and redemption.</HI> So that now Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, his obedience our obedience, his merits our merites, as certainely, perfectly and effectually, euen as if we our &s;elues had bene mo&s;t inno|cent fulfilled the law, or made full &s;atisfaction to Gods iu|&s;tice. By which it appeareth that in re&s;pect of our &s;elues wee are iu&s;tified freely of Gods meere mercy &amp; grace, without any re&s;pect of our owne righteou&s;nes or worthine&s;&s;e; but yet through Chri&s;t and for his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience im|puted
<PB N="566" REF="293">puted to vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.23.24.</NOTE> both which are &s;ignified by the Apo&s;tle Rom. 3.23.24. where he &s;aid that all in them&s;elues are wretched &s;in|ners without difference, and thereby are depriued of the glo|ry of Gods kingdome, 24. <HI>and are iu&s;tified freely of his grace, through the redemption which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The finall cau&s;e.</NOTE>The finall cau&s;e of our in&s;tification is two fold, the chiefe and principall is the glory of God, for hereby the Lord hath mo&s;t notably manife&s;ted his infinite iu&s;tice and mercy, his iu&s;tice in that he would rather puni&s;h our &s;innes in his onely begotten Sonne, then he would &s;uffer them to goe vnpuni|&s;hed; his mercy in that for our &s;akes hee &s;pared not his be&s;t beloued Sonne, but gaue him to &s;uffer death, yea the death of the cro&s;&s;e, that by his one oblation he might make full &s;ati&s;|faction for our &s;innes, and purcha&s;e for vs euerla&s;ting life; and al&s;o in that he vouch&s;afeth vnto vs the outward means of his word and Sacraments, and the inward a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his holy &s;pirit, whereby wee are vnited vnto Chri&s;t and haue a liuely faith begotten in vs, which apprehending Chri&s;t his righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e and merits wee are iu&s;tified, &s;anctified, and eternally &s;a|ued. And this end is &s;ignified by the Apo&s;tle Rom. 3.24.25. where hee &s;aith that God hath <HI>iu&s;tified vs freely by his grace,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 3.24. &amp; 5.21.</NOTE> <HI>through the redemption which is in Christ Ie&s;us, to declare his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by the forgiuene&s;&s;e of &s;innes and might &s;hew him&s;elfe iu&s;t by iu&s;tifying him who is of the faith of Ie&s;us.</HI> And cap. 5.21. he &s;aith, that as vnder the law <HI>&s;inne had raigned vnto death, &s;o now grace raigneth by righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnto eternall life through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe. 2.5.6.7.</NOTE> So Eph. 2.5.6.7. hee affirmeth that God hath quickned vs in Chri&s;t who were dead in our &s;ins &amp; hath ray|&s;ed vs vp in him; <HI>that hee might &s;hew in the ages to come the exceeding riches of his grace through his kindne&s;&s;e towards vs in Christ Ie&s;us.</HI></P>
<P>The inferiour and &s;ubordinate end is that our &s;aluation may hereby be firmely a&s;&s;ured vnto vs, for now our &s;aluation is not in vs but in the hands of God, and it is grounded not on our owne workes and worthine&s;&s;e, but vpon the righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, which is a mo&s;t cer|taine and firme foundation which will neuer faile vs. And this
<PB N="567" REF="293">the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth Rom. 4.16. whereas hee &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.16.</NOTE> that the coucnant of grace whereby wee are a&s;&s;ured of euerla&s;ting &s;al|uation <HI>is made by faith, that it might come by grace, and the pro|mi&s;&s;e might be &s;ure to all the &s;eed.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the parts of our iu&s;tifi|cation.</NOTE>The parts of our iu&s;tification are two, the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and the imputation of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, for as in euery naturall man there is the corruption, guilt, and puni&s;h|ment of &s;inne, and the ab&s;ence or priuation of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;o in Chri&s;t we haue a remedy for both: for the fir&s;t by his pa&s;&s;ion and &s;uffering: for the other by his actual o|bedie~ce and perfect fulfilling of the law. And this is manife&s;t Rom. 4.6.7. where the Apo&s;tle di&s;tinctly maketh mention,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.6.7.</NOTE> of the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t imputed without workes, and of the forgiuene&s;&s;e, couering and not imputing of &s;inne.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Chri&s;ts actuall obe|dience, wher|by he fulfil|led the law is imputed vn|ted vnto vs.</NOTE> Neither was it &s;ufficient for the obtaining of euerla&s;ting life and happine&s;&s;e, that our mediatour &s;hould by his death make full &s;atisfaction for our &s;innes, both of commi&s;&s;ion and al&s;o omi&s;&s;ion, but al&s;o that he &s;hould cloth vs with his actiue obe|dience, whereby we might appeare perfectly righteous before God.</P>
<P>The truth hereof may further appeare, if we con&s;ider fir&s;t that our Sauiour Chri&s;t was not bound to fulfill the law for him&s;elfe, becau&s;e hee was from the fir&s;t moment of his con|ception a&s;&s;umed into the hypo&s;taticall and per&s;onall vnion with the &s;econd per&s;on in Trinitie, and con&s;equently was not onely man but God al&s;o, and therefore not bound to any law, neither needing any legall righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e being already in|dued with a farre more excellent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e euen the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God. So that either our Sauiour perfour|med obedience to the law to no purpo&s;e, or els to this end that he might impute it vnto vs, and thereby indue vs with &s;uch a mo&s;t perfect and euerla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e as might giue vnto vs the right of eternall life.</P>
<P>Secondly, if onely our &s;innes were pardoned and wee not not made partakers of Chri&s;ts actiue righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, our im|puted righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;hould not excell the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of <HI>Adam</HI> before his fall, for he neither co~mitted &s;inne of omi&s;|&s;ion
<PB N="568" REF="294">nor commi&s;&s;ion till he tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed Gods commaunde|ment in eating of the forbidden fruit; but we are made parta|kers of a more excellent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by faith, then we lo&s;t in <HI>Adam,</HI> euen <HI>the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God by the faith of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.22.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh Rom. 3.22. which con&s;i&s;teth not onely in the ab&s;ence of euill and &s;inne, but in the prefence al&s;o of actuall holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Thirdly and la&s;tly (becau&s;e it is my purpo&s;e onely to touch this point by the way as not &s;o properly belonging to this treati&s;e) wee are vnited vnto Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and he is become our head and we his members, by rea&s;on of which vnion as he communicateth him&s;elfe vnto vs, &s;o al&s;o that which belon|geth vnto him as he is our mediatour, and con&s;equently not onely his pa&s;&s;iue obedience whereby he hath made full &s;ati&s;|faction for our &s;innes, but al&s;o his actuall righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e whereby he perfectly fulfilled the law.</P>
<P>And thus it appeareth that our iu&s;tification con&s;i&s;teth of two parts, the fir&s;t the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes for the full &s;a|tisfaction of Chri&s;t by his death and &s;ufferings, the other the imputation of his habituall and actiue righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>The remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes is the fir&s;t part of iu&s;tification, whereby God forgiueth for the death and full &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t, all our &s;inne both originall and actuall both in re&s;pect of the guilt and puni&s;hment, &s;o as they &s;hall neuer be imputed to our condemnation, neither in this life nor in the life to come.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32.1</NOTE> And of this the p&s;almi&s;t &s;peaketh, P&s;al. 32.1. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man who&s;e wickedne&s;&s;e is forgiuen, and who&s;e &s;inne is couered.</HI> 2. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man vnto whom the Lorde imputeth not iniquitie.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle &s;aith that <HI>God was in Chri&s;t, and reconciled the world to him&s;elfe not imputing their &s;innes vnto them.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.19.</NOTE> 2. Cor. 5.19.</P>
<P>The imputation of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is the other part of our iu&s;tification, whereby God imputeth vnto euery belee|uer the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the mediatour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t as if it were properly their owne and perfourmed by them, that be|ing clothed therewith they may bee perfectly righteous in Gods &s;ight, and &s;o obtaine the right vnto euerla&s;ting life and
<PB N="569" REF="294">happines. And of this the apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Rom. 4.6.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.6.</NOTE> <HI>Euen as</HI> (&s;aith hee) <HI>Dauid declareth the ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e of the man vnto whom God imputeth righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e without workes.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9.30.</NOTE> and Rom. 9.30. <HI>The Gentiles which followed not righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e haue at|tayned vnto righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, euen the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is of faith.</HI> So Phil. 3.8.9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.8.9.</NOTE> The Apo&s;tle &s;aith that hee accounted all things lo&s;&s;e and iudge them to bee dunge, that hee might winne Chri&s;t, <HI>and might be found in him not hauing his one righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is of the law, but that which is of the faith of Chri&s;t, euen the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is of God through faith.</HI> Ier. 23.6.</P>
<P>Now this righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t is twofold, his habituall and inhaerent holine&s;&s;e and innocencie, whereby he was free from all corruption and &s;inne both originall and actuall; and indued with all holine&s;&s;e and puritie of nature, from the fir&s;t moment of his conception. And of this the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh. 2, Cor. 5.21. <HI>He that knew no &s;inne, was made &s;inne for vs.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.21. 1. Pet. 2.22. Heb. 4.15.</NOTE> and 1. Pet. 2.22. <HI>Who did no &s;inne neither was there any guile found in his mouth.</HI> So Heb. 4.15. He is &s;aid to be without &s;inne. And 1. Pet. 1.19.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.19. Ioh. 8.46.</NOTE> Hee is called the lambe vndefiled and without &s;pot. And him&s;elfe challengeth the Iewes Ioh. 8.46. <HI>Which of you can rebuke me of &s;inne.</HI> And this holine&s;&s;e being imputed vnto vs, is oppo&s;ed to our originall &s;inne and naturall corrup|tion. The other is his actuall righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, whereby he per|fourmed perfect obedience vnto the law in all his thoughts, words, and deeds, through the whole cour&s;e of his life. And this being imputed vnto vs, and becomming ours by rea&s;on of that vnion which is betweene Chri&s;t and vs, is oppo&s;ed vn|to our actuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, whereby wee haue broken the whole law of God both in omitting the duties which are commaunded, and in committing the vices and &s;innes which are forbidden.</P>
<P>The per&s;ons who are thus iu&s;tified are all the faithful, and they onely who doe apply the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t vnto them&s;elues by a true and liuely faith. And thus the Apo|&s;tle doth limmitt and re&s;traine it. Rom. 3.21.22.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.21.22. and 4.5.</NOTE> Where hee &s;aith that <HI>the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God is made manife&s;t without the the law; to wit, the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God by the faith of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,
<PB N="570" REF="295">vnto all and vpon all that beleeue.</HI> and 4.5. <HI>To him that worketh not but beleeueth in him that iu&s;tifieth the vngodly, his faith is coun|ted for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> And our Sauiour hath promi&s;ed, that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in him <HI>&s;hall not come into iudgment, but hath pa&s;&s;ed from death to life.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 4.24.</NOTE> Ioh. 5 24.</P>
<P>The time when we are thus iu&s;tified is fir&s;t in this life as &s;oone as true faith is begot in vs by the mini&s;tery of the word, whereby we particularly apply vnto our &s;elues Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his benefites, re&s;ting and relying vpon him alone for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation; the which &s;hall bee fully per|fected at the day of iudgment, when as our Sauiour Chri&s;t &s;hall pronounce the &s;entence of ab&s;olution &s;aying <HI>Come yee ble&s;&s;ed of my father, take the inheritance of the kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.34.</NOTE> Mat. 25.34.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="49" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XLIX.</HI> That we are not iu&s;tified by our workes and merites.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much breefely of the doctrine of Iu&s;tifi|cation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans ten|tations con|cerning iu&s;ti|ficatio~ of two &s;orts.</NOTE> Now we are to &s;peake of and to an|&s;were &s;uch tentations as are &s;ugge&s;ted by our &s;pirituall enemie, to the end that hee may per|&s;wade vs that wee are notiu&s;tified, or that hee may moue vs to &s;eeke for iu&s;tification where it is not to bee had, and &s;o in the meane time neglect it where only it is to be found, and the alone meanes whereby it is to bee inioyed. In &s;peaking whereof I &s;hall not need to handle things &s;o largly as tho&s;e points which went before, partly becau&s;e our iu&s;tifi|cation doth in&s;eperably follow our effectuall calling, and therefore hee that is a&s;&s;ured of the one needs not to doubt of the other, partly becau&s;e the mo&s;t of tho&s;e tentations which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth to impugne and make void our a&s;&s;urance that we are iu&s;tified are alreadie an&s;wered, namely tho&s;e which concerne the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes,
<PB N="571" REF="295">and true faith in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and partly becau&s;e tho&s;e ten|tations which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth into the minds of afflict|ed chri&s;tians are the &s;elfe &s;ame which the lims of Sathan the antichri&s;t of Roome and all his apo&s;taticall &s;inagogue doe hold and defend; and therefore I &s;hall not need to intreat hereof at large becau&s;e the&s;e points in controuer&s;ie haue beene alreadie and will be hereafter &s;o copiou&s;ly, learnedly, and reli|giou&s;ly handled by others of greater abilities, and farre more excellent gifts.</P>
<P>But let vs come to the matter in hand. The tentations of Sathan concerning this point are of two &s;orts; the fir&s;t tend to per&s;wade vs to labour after and to re&s;t vpon an imperfect and maymed righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e for our iu&s;tification, whereby wee can neuer be iu&s;tified in Gods &s;ight, &amp; &s;o in the meane time he cau&s;eth vs to neglect the al&s;ufficie~t &amp; mo&s;t perfect righteou&s;|nes of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t by which alone we are iu&s;tified before God and eternally &s;aued; the other tend to make vs doubt of our true iu&s;tification, that &s;o hee may either make this gratious worke of God fru&s;trate in vs, or els at lea&s;t depriue our &s;oules of that true con&s;olation and peace of co~&s;cience, which depen|deth vpon the a&s;&s;urance of our iu&s;tification.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> For the fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan tempteth vs to neglect Chri&s;ts righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e &amp; to re&s;t vpon our owne.</NOTE> he will labour to per&s;wade vs that it is not the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, imputed vnto vs by God and apprehended and applied vnto vs by faith, whereby wee are iu&s;tified in Gods &s;ight, for this imputatiue righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is but meerely putatiue and imaginacy but by that inhaerent righteou&s;nes which is in our &s;elues; for Chri&s;t (will he &s;ay) did not fulfil the law &amp; died, that this his righteou&s;nes &amp; obedie~ce &s;hould become ours by imputation, but he died for vs to the end he might merite for vs the &s;pirit of God, which &s;hould in|fu&s;e into vs an inhaerent righteou&s;nes, &amp; he &s;hed his blood to the end that our good workes being dipped and died therein, might become perfect and &s;o iu&s;tifie vs in Gods &s;ight; and therefore that wee are not iu&s;tified by faith alone, but by our other graces and vertues al&s;o, and our good workes proceed|ding from them; neither by faith at all as it is an in&s;trument which applieth Chri&s;t and his benefits vnto vs, but as it is a
<PB N="572" REF="296">grace or vertue infu&s;ed into our &s;elues. Again&s;t which tenta|tion it behooueth vs mo&s;t carefully to arme our &s;elues as be|ing mo&s;t daungerous and pernitious, for it robbeth God and our &s;auiour Chri&s;t of the whole glorie of our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation, and deriueth &s;ome, yea the greate&s;t portion vnto our &s;elues, as being chiefly iu&s;tified by our owne meanes; and al&s;o it depriueth our &s;oules of all true comfort and full a&s;&s;u|rance that we are iu&s;tified &amp; &s;aued, by taking out of our hands the &s;trong &s;taffe of our &s;aluation, the perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t and by putting into them the weake reed of our owne workes, which will pre&s;ently breake and faile vs, when we mo&s;t re&s;t vpon it, and &s;o we &s;hall vnrecouerably fall into the horrible pit of deepe de&s;peration, when as we are abando|ned of our chiefe hope, that is, when on the one &s;ide the huge waight of our grieuous &s;innes, and on the other &s;ide the great imperfection of our mo&s;t perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and the fil|thie pollution of our mo&s;t glorious workes appeare vnto vs.</P>
<P>And to the end that we may be the better inabled to re&s;i&s;t this dangerous and damnable tentation, I will fir&s;t &s;hew that we cannot be iu&s;tified before the tribunall of Gods iudgement by our inhaerent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &amp; good workes; and &s;econd|ly that we are iu&s;tified by faith alone as it onely applieth vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> That we are not iu&s;tified by our owne workes and righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, it manife&s;tly appeareth both by plaine te&s;timonies of holy Scripture,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we are not iu&s;tified by our works prooued by the Scrip|tures.</NOTE> and &s;tronge arguments which are groun|ded vpon them. For the fir&s;t, the Apo&s;tle plainely &s;aith, that <HI>by the workes of the law &s;hall no fle&s;h be iu&s;tified in his &s;ight, for by the law commeth the knowledge of &s;inne: but now is the righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e of God made manife&s;t without the law, hauing witne&s;&s;e of the law and the Prophets; to wit the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God, by the faith of Ie&s;us Christ,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.20.21.22. Phil. 3.9.</NOTE> <HI>vnto all and vpon all that beleeue.</HI> Rom. 2.20.21.22. So Phil. 3.9. He di&s;claimeth his owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &amp; re&s;teth vpon the alone righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, which is made ours by faith for his iu&s;tification and &s;aluation. <HI>I haue</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>counted all things lo&s;&s;e and doe iudge them to be dunge that I may winne Chri&s;t, and might bee found in him, not hauing
<PB N="573" REF="296">mine owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Chri&s;t, euen the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is of God through faith.</HI> Phil. 3.9. and Gal. 3.10.11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.9. Gal. 3.10.11.</NOTE> Hee affirmeth that <HI>as many as re&s;t in the workes of the law are vnder the cur&s;e;</HI> and that <HI>no man is iu&s;tified by the law in the &s;ight of God, it is euident becau&s;e the iu&s;t &s;hall liue by faith.</HI> So Rom. 4.5. <HI>To him that wor|keth not but beleeueth in him that iu&s;tifieth the vngodly his faith is cou~ted for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.5.</NOTE> And our Sauiour Chri&s;t teacheth vs to &s;ay and acknowledge when we haue done all to our vtter|mo&s;t power which is commaunded vs that we are &s;till vnpro|fitable &s;eruants Luk. 17.10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 17.10.</NOTE></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But vnto the&s;e and &s;uch like manife&s;t places it is an&s;wered, that the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh not of the works of the morall law,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the former pla|ces are to be vnder&s;tood of the works of the morall law, and not of the cere|monies onely.</NOTE> but of the ceremonies onely, to which againe wee reply that no &s;uch friuolous di&s;tinction can be gathered out of the Apo|&s;tles wordes, nay the plaine contrary euidently appeareth, by his maine &s;cope and drift in his whole di&s;cour&s;e of our iu&s;tifi|cation, and al&s;o by &s;ome particular places. His chiefe &s;cope is to beate downe the pride of all, both Iewes and Gentiles to the end that the whole glory and prai&s;e of our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation might be a&s;cribed to the free mercy, grace, and goodne&s;&s;e of God alone; now it is mo&s;t certaine that the mo|rall duties are in them&s;elues farre more excellent then the ce|remoniall, and con&s;equently more fit to puffe vs vp with a &s;pirituall pride, and to make vs to re&s;t in our &s;elues for our iu|&s;tification, a&s;cribing at lea&s;t &s;ome part of the prai&s;e vnto our owne workes and vertues; &s;o that if the Apo&s;tle had onely &s;poke~ of the works of the ceremoniall law, mans pride &s;hould not bee beaten downe, neither &s;hould God haue the whole prai&s;e of our &s;aluation, and &s;o his di&s;cour&s;e &s;hould be vaine, as not tending to prooue &amp; inforce that, for which end and pur|po&s;e hee chiefly vndertakes it. Againe this &s;hould nothing concerne neither the Gentils in former times, nor any true Chri&s;tians &s;ince the comming of Chri&s;t, fora&s;much as they did not nor doe not, neither were nor are bound to ob&s;erue the ceremoniall law, &amp; co~&s;equently could neuer once dreame of obtayning righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by fulfilling the ceremonies; but
<PB N="574" REF="297">they would rather a&s;cribe the glorie of their iu&s;tification to their morall duties, to which they found them&s;elues bound by the law of nature written in their harts, or doe find them&s;elues bound by the morall law of God written in his worde; and therfore it was nece&s;&s;arie for the beating downe of their pride, and that they might a&s;cribe the whole glory vnto God of their iu&s;tification and &s;aluation, that the apo&s;tles in this di&s;cour&s;e &s;hould proue that they were not iu&s;tified neither by ob&s;er|uing the law of nature written in their hartes, nor yet the mo|rall law of God reuealed in his word. Whereby it manife&s;tly appeareth that how&s;oeuer the Apo&s;tle excludeth the workes of the ceremoniall law from being cau&s;es of iu&s;tification, yet not them alone but the workes of the morall law al&s;o.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But this may more manife&s;tly appeare by particular pla|ces wherein the Apo&s;tle plainly &s;heweth that he &s;peaketh not onely of the ceremoniall law,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The former point proo|ued by parti|cular te&s;ti|monies.</NOTE> but of the morall law al&s;o. In the &s;econd chapter of the Epi&s;tle to the Romanes, he plainly di&s;puteth as well of the law of nature, to the obedience where|of the Gentiles were obliged as of the law giuen by <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.19.20.</NOTE> Chap. 3.19.20. Hee &s;ayth that all the world are made culpa|ble before God, and therefore by the works of the law &s;hal no fle&s;h be iu&s;tified in his &s;ight. Now if this con&s;equence be good he &s;peaketh not onely of the ceremoniall but of the moral du|ties, for the former belonged not to the gentiles, and there|fore the neglect of them did not make them culpable, nor de|barre them of being iu&s;tified by their owne workes.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.5.6 Gal. 3.11.12 21.22.24.</NOTE></P>
<P>Secondly Rom. 10.5.6. and Gal. 3.11.12.21.22.24. The Apo&s;tle putteth a plaine difference betweene the righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is by the law, and the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is by faith, and maketh a flatt oppo&s;ition in the acte of iu&s;tifica|tion not betweene morall &amp; ceremonial duties, but betweene doing and beleeuing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.8.9.</NOTE> faith and workes.</P>
<P>Thirdly hee &s;aith, Eph. 2.8.9. that wee <HI>are &s;aued by grace through faith not of our &s;elues,</HI> nor of workes lea&s;t any man &s;hould boa&s;t him&s;elfe. If hee had &s;poken only of workes they might (though fooli&s;hly) haue wre&s;ted it to ceremonies only &s;eeing the Ephe&s;ians were not bound to the ceremoniall law,
<PB N="575" REF="297">as being &s;trangers to the common wealth of I&s;rael, as him&s;elfe &s;peaketh ver. 12. but whe~ he &s;aith al&s;o not of our &s;elues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;. 12.</NOTE> he ex|cludeth al what&s;oeuer is in vs from being the cau&s;e of our &s;al|uation, not onely ceremoniall but al&s;o morall duties. So wri|ting to <HI>Titus</HI> he &s;aith Tit. 3.5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Titus. 3.5.</NOTE> <HI>Not by the workes of righteou&s;nes which wee had done but according to his mercy, hee &s;aued vs,</HI> in which place we are nece&s;&s;arily to vnder&s;tand the works of the morall law; for <HI>Titus</HI> being a Grecian was not bound to ob|&s;erue the ceremoniall law, and therefore he was not &s;o much as circumci&s;ed as the apo&s;tle plainely affirmeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.3.</NOTE> Gal. 2.3.</P>
<P>Fourthly <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaketh of that law by which wee come to the knowledge of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.20. and 7.7.8.9.</NOTE> as appeareth Rom. 3.20. and 7.7.8.9. But the knowledge of &s;inne came e&s;pecially by the mo|rall law, and therefore of this law the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh.</P>
<P>La&s;tly the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of the workes of the law al|leadgeth the&s;e &s;entences. Gala. 3.10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.10.</NOTE> <HI>As many as are of the workes of the law are vnder the cur&s;e, for it is written cur&s;ed is e|uery man that continueth not in all thinges which are written in the booke of the law to doe them.</HI> So that he &s;peaketh not of the ce|remoniall law alone but of the whole law of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and of all things contayned in it. and ver. 12.<NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 12.</NOTE> <HI>And the law is not of faith, but the man that &s;hall doe tho&s;e things &s;hall liue in them.</HI> Which cannot be vnder&s;toode of the ceremoniall law alone, but of the workes of the morall law yea of them e&s;pecially.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That the A|po&s;tle exclu|deth as well the workes of the regene|rate, as of the vnregene|rate.</NOTE>Secondly it is an&s;wered that the apo&s;tle &s;peaketh only of the workes of tho&s;e who are not regenerate nor indued with faith, and not of the regenerate and faithfull. Which &s;hifting cauill the apo&s;tle clearly taketh away, not only by applying his &s;peeches vnto all men without any limitation; but e&s;pecially in that example of <HI>Abraham</HI> which he bringeth for this pur|po&s;e; who though hee were long before regenerate, indued with faith and exceeding plentifull in good workes, yet hee flatly excludeth all his workes from being any cau&s;es of his iu&s;tification. So Rom. 4.2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.2.</NOTE> <HI>If Abraham were iu&s;tified by works he had wherein to reioyce but not with God.</HI> and ver. 3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">and ver. 3.4.</NOTE> <HI>Abraham beleeued God and it was counted vnto him for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> 4. <HI>Now to him that worketh, the wages is not counted by fauour but
<PB N="576" REF="298">by debt.</HI> 5. <HI>But to him that worketh not, but beleeueth in him that iu&s;tifieth the vngodly his faith is counted for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And &s;o much co~cerning the te&s;timonies of &s;cripture which manife&s;tly proue that we are not iu&s;tified by our works.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons to proue that w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> are not iu&s;ti|fied by our workes. <HI>Rom. 8.1.33 34.</HI></NOTE> The rea&s;ons which may be brought to the &s;ame purpo&s;e are excee|ding many, but I wil briefly touch, &s;ome few only. Fir&s;t iu&s;tifi|cation is manife&s;tly oppo&s;ed to co~demnation: &amp; they are both iudiciall words v&s;ed in ciuill courts, &amp; therefore to be vnder|&s;tood both iudicially &amp; not after a diuers maner. But to con|de~ne &s;ignifieth not to infu&s;e any fault or crime in to the per&s;on co~de~ned; but to pronou~ce him guiltie &amp; faulty: And therfore to iu&s;tifie &s;ignifieth not to infu&s;e righteou&s;nes into the per&s;on iu&s;tified; but to declare, pronou~ce, &amp; repute him as iu&s;t &amp; righ|teous. Secondly, by the &s;ame meanes whereby we obtaine the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins, we are al&s;o iu&s;tified &amp; made righte|ous; but wee obtaine the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes not for our workes or inhaerent righteou&s;nes, or any vertue that is in our &s;elues, but by and for the alone merites, obedience, and full &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t, apprehended and applyed vnto vs by a liuely faith, as appeareth Rom. 3.25. And therefore by this meanes alone we are al&s;o iu&s;tified.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.25.</NOTE></P>
<P>Thirdly, who&s;oeuer are iu&s;tified freely by grace they are not iu&s;tified by their owne merits, works, or inhaerent righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ro~. 3.23.24</NOTE> but the &s;criptures te&s;tifie that all the faithfull are iu&s;tified freely by Gods grace, as appeareth Rom. 3.23.24. <HI>All haue &s;inned and are depriued of the glorie of God.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.7. &amp; 2.8.</NOTE> <HI>And are iu&s;ti|fied freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us.</HI> So Eph. 1.7. <HI>By whom we haue redemptio~ through his bloud, euen the forgiuene&s;&s;e of &s;innes according to his rich grace.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3.5.7.</NOTE> and 2.8. <HI>By grace are you &s;aued through faith, and that not of your &s;elues, it is the gift of God.</HI> and Tit. 3. <HI>not by the works of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which we had done, but according to his mercy he &s;aued vs &amp;c.</HI> 7. <HI>That we being iu&s;tified by his grace &s;hould be made heires accord|ing to hope of eternall life.</HI> And therefore none are iu&s;tified by their owne merits, workes, or inhaerent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elfe gathereth many ab&s;urdi|ties which would follow this doctrine of iu&s;tificatio~ by works:
<PB N="577" REF="298">fir&s;t that our faith &s;hould bee vaine, and the promi&s;&s;e of God voide, Rom. 4.14.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.14.</NOTE> Secondly that Chri&s;t Ie&s;us &s;hould die in vaine if we haue righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by the law. Gal. 2.21.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.21.</NOTE> Thirdly that wee &s;hould haue cau&s;e of boa&s;ting and glorying in our &s;elues. Eph. 2.9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.9.</NOTE> for if a man were iu&s;tified by his owne inhae|rent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, hee &s;hould haue whereof to glory, and &s;o God &s;hould be robbed of the whole prai&s;e of our &s;aluation. Rom. 4.2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.2.</NOTE> But the Lord of purpo&s;e hath iu&s;tified vs freely of his grace, and not for our workes and inha rent righteou&s;nes, that all glorying in our &s;elues might be excluded: as appeareth Rom. 3.27. Eph 2.9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.27. Eph. 2.9.</NOTE> Fourthly it would follow hereupon that we &s;hould &s;till be vnder the cur&s;e of the law, which is denou~|ced again&s;t all who continue not in all that is written in the booke of the law to do them, as the Apo&s;tle rea&s;oneth Gal. 3.10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.10.</NOTE> Fiftly that the obedience and &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t &s;hould be maymed and imperfect, vnle&s;&s;e it were patched vp with our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: the contrary whereof the Apo|&s;tle affirmeth Heb. 7.25. namely that hee is able perfectly to &s;aue all them who come vnto God by him. La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.25.</NOTE> hereupon it would follow that wee &s;hould continually wauer in doub|ting, in re&s;pect of our manifold corruptions and imperfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and &s;hould haue our &s;oules depriued of that peace of con&s;cience which followeth iu&s;tification by faith, as it is Rom. 5.1.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.1.</NOTE> La&s;tly with the Iewes we &s;hall bring our &s;elues into mo&s;t certaine dau~ger of being reiected and ca&s;t of, from being the people and Church of God, if with them we goe a|bout to &s;tabli&s;h our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, in the meane time not &s;ubmitting our &s;elues to the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.4.6.</NOTE> which is of faith in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, as it is Rom. 10.4.6.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="50" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. L.</HI> That faith alone iu&s;tifieth.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus much concerning the fir&s;t point,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How it is to be vnder&s;tood that faith alone iu&s;tifi|eth.</NOTE> namely that wee are nor iu&s;tified by workes: the &s;econd is that we are iu&s;tified by faith alone: whereby we are not to vnder&s;tand that faith by it owne ver|tue, or as it is a facultie, habite, worke or action in vs, doth iu|&s;tifie
<PB N="578" REF="299">vs, but as it is the alone in&s;trument whereby we doe ap|prehend &amp; apply vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &amp; o|bedience, by which onely righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which is out of our &s;elues in Chri&s;t as the proper &s;ubiect thereof, being offered in the word and Sacraments, and applied by faith we are iu&s;tifi|ed in Gods &s;ight,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.9.</NOTE> as appeareth Phil. 2.9. Secondly whereas we &s;ay that faith alone iu&s;tifieth, we do not vnder&s;tand &s;uch a faith, as is alone without workes, charitie, and other &s;anctify|ing graces, which were nothing els but imaginarie dead, and but as it were a carka&s;e of faith which breatheth not; but that among&s;t all other graces, vertues &amp; faculties of the &s;oule faith alone, and not any of the~ is the in&s;trument whereby we apply Chri&s;t Ie&s;us vnto vs, who being thus applied doth iu&s;tifie vs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That though workes do not iu&s;tifie vs yet they are nece&s;&s;arily required as fruits of our iu&s;tification.</NOTE>Otherwi&s;e we affirme that other graces of Gods &s;pirit and euen good workes which is a fruite of them all, doe nece&s;&s;arily acco~pany our iu&s;tification, not as in&s;truments or cau&s;es there|of, but as in&s;eparable effects and fruits thereof. So that how|&s;oeuer we exclude workes from the act of iu&s;tifying, yet wee nece&s;&s;arily require them in the &s;ubiect or per&s;on iu&s;tified; we affirme that faith alone iu&s;tifieth, but wee denie that &s;uch a faith which is alone doth iu&s;tifie vs; we maintaine that we are iu&s;tified by faith alone without works, but with all we affirme that faith which is without workes doth not iu&s;tifie vs as be|ing dead, fal&s;e and imaginarie. This may bee made plaine by &s;ome &s;imilitudes: to the being of an hone&s;t man there is ne|ce&s;&s;arily required hone&s;t actions, not as cau&s;es but as effects, neither are his hone&s;t actions the cau&s;e of his hone&s;ty, but his hone&s;ty the cau&s;e of his hone&s;t actions; to a liuing man there is nece&s;&s;arily required as well breathing which is an action or effect of life, as the &s;oule which is the cau&s;e thereof, and &s;o to a iu&s;tified man there is nece&s;&s;arily required, as well good works which are the effects of iu&s;tification, as faith which is the in|&s;trumentall cau&s;e thereof; for faith and workes are neuer &s;e|uered in the &s;ubiect or party iu&s;tified, although they are di&s;|ioyned in the act of iu&s;tifying. So the eye onely &s;eeth and not the forehead, but yet the eye &s;euered from the forehead &s;eeth not, becau&s;e it is but a dead eye, the hand writeth and not the
<PB N="579" REF="299">body, but the hand &s;euered from the body writeth not, be|cau&s;e it is a dead hand. The foote goeth and not the head or heart, but the foote which is &s;euered from the head or heart goeth not, and &s;o faith onely iu&s;tifieth, and not hope, not charitie, not workes, but the faith that is &s;euered from hope, charitie, and workes, iu&s;tifieth not, becau&s;e it is but a dead faith; as therefore when we &s;ay the eye onely &s;eeth, the hand onely writeth, the foote onely walketh, our meaning is not that the&s;e parts being alone, and &s;euered from the re&s;t, &s;ee, write, and walke, but that among&s;t all other parts, the acti|on or function of &s;eeing belongeth peculiarly vnto the eye, writing to the hand, walking to the foote: &s;o when we &s;ay that onely faith iu&s;tifieth, our meaning is not that the faith which is alone, and &s;euered from other graces and the fruites of them good workes, iu&s;tifieth; but that among&s;t all other graces this act of iu&s;tifying peculiarly and properly belong|eth vnto faith, and not to any other grace, vertue; or workes.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now that that faith alone, in this &s;en&s;e vnder&s;toode, iu&s;ti|fieth, appeareth plainely,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Te&s;timonies to proue that faith alone iu&s;tifieth vs. <HI>Rom. 3.28.</HI></NOTE> both by te&s;timonies of &s;cripture and apparant rea&s;ons. For the fir&s;t, it is manife&s;t, Rom. 3.28. where after long di&s;putation concerning this poynt, the A|po&s;tle expre&s;ly concludeth thus. <HI>Therefore we conclude that a man is iu&s;tified by faith without the workes of the law.</HI> And chap. 4. ver&s;. 5. <HI>To him that worketh not, but beleeueth in him, that iu&s;tifieth the vngodly, his faith is counted for righteou&s;nes.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">and 4.5.</NOTE> So Gal. 2.16. <HI>Know that a man is not iu&s;tified by the workes of the law but by the faith of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.16.</NOTE> <HI>euen we I &s;ay haue be|leeued in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, that we might be iu&s;tified by the faith of Chri&s;t, and not by the workes of the law, becau&s;e by the workes of the law, no fle&s;h &s;hall be iu&s;tified.</HI> And cap. 3.11. <HI>And that no man is iu&s;tified by the law in the &s;ight of God, it is euident:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.11.</NOTE> <HI>for the iu&s;t &s;hall liue by faith.</HI> 12. <HI>And the law is not of faith.</HI> And hence it is that the righteou&s;nes of Chri&s;t, whereby we are iu&s;tified is called the <HI>righteou&s;nes of faith.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9.30.</NOTE> becau&s;e faith is the onely in&s;trument, which appehendeth and appli|eth this righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnto vs, for our iu&s;tification.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The rea&s;ons to proue that faith alone iu&s;tifieth are diuers.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;ons to proue that faith alone iu&s;tifieth.</NOTE> Fir&s;t, that which alone applieth vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and his
<PB N="580" REF="300">righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that onely iu&s;tifieth vs: but faith alone apply|eth vnto vs Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and not hope, charitie, or any other grace: and therefore faith alone iu|&s;tifieth.</P>
<P>Secondly, that which onely maketh the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell firme and &s;ure vnto vs, that alone iu&s;tifieth vs; but faith alone re&s;ting vpon Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts merits, maketh the promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell firme and &s;ure vnto vs (which would be mo&s;t vncertaine if they &s;hould depend on the condition of our workes and worthine&s;&s;e; &s;eeing they are mo&s;t imperfect, and we mo&s;t corrupt and vnworthie of Gods lea&s;t mercie; as the Apo&s;tle plainely &s;heweth. Rom. 4.16. <HI>Therefore it is</HI> (namely the couenant of grace) <HI>by faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.16.</NOTE> <HI>that it might come by grace, and the promi&s;e might be &s;ure to all the &s;eede:</HI> and therefore faith alone iu&s;tifieth vs.</P>
<P>La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.14.15.</NOTE> our Sauiour Chri&s;t Ioh. 3.14.15. maketh this com|pari&s;on. <HI>As Mo&s;es lift vp the &s;erpent in the wilderne&s;&s;e, &s;o mu&s;t the &s;onne of man be lift vp, that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in him &s;hould not peri&s;h but haue eternall life.</HI> From which we may thus rea&s;on; As the I&s;ralites who were &s;tung with fierie &s;er|pents, were cured not by any outward meanes of phy&s;icke and &s;urgerie, or any thing in them&s;elues, &s;aue onely by loo|king vpon the bra&s;en &s;erpent, which for this purpo&s;e was &s;et vp by Gods commaundement; &s;o we being &s;tung of the old &s;erpent, with the &s;ting of &s;inne cannot be cured by any meanes without or within our &s;elues, but by beholding the true &s;ub&s;tance Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, &s;ignified by this &s;hadow, with the eye of faith.</P>
<P>And thus haue I proued, fir&s;t that we are not iu&s;tified by our workes, and inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; and &s;econdly that we are iu&s;tified by faith alone: not as it is the chiefe and principall cau&s;e, for in this re&s;pect God iu&s;tifieth; not as it is the matter or meritorious cau&s;e of our iu&s;tification, for in this re&s;pect the merits and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t iu&s;tifieth vs; but as it is the alone in&s;trument and onely cau&s;e in vs which applyeth that meritorious cau&s;e vnto vs, where|by alone we are iu&s;tified in Gods &s;ight.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, the tempter will obiect, that this imputed righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="581" REF="300">wee &s;peake of, is but imaginarie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the impu|tatio~ of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is not putatiue and imagina|rie.</NOTE> and a vaine phanta&s;ie; as if a man who were defiled with durt &s;hould be reputed cleane by the imputation of anothers cleane&s;&s;e, or as if a begger &s;hould be e&s;teemed rich, by imputation of anothers wealth. To which we are to an&s;were, that the im|putation of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnto vs, is no imaginarie dreame, but a matter plainely expre&s;&s;ed in Gods word, as al&s;o the not imputation of our &s;innes is therein &s;pecified. In the fourth of the Romanes this word is v&s;ed by the holy Gho&s;t an eleuen times.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4 3.4.</NOTE> So ver&s;. 3. <HI>Abraham beleeued God and it was imputed vnto him for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> And ver&s;. 4. <HI>To him that worketh not, but beleeueth in him that iu&s;tifieth the vngodly, his faith is imputed for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> And ver&s;. 6. <HI>Euen as Dauid declared the ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e of the man vnto whom God imputeth righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e without workes.</HI> And ver&s;. 8. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not &s;inne, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Yea will the tempter &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That not our own but Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is imputed vn|to vs for our iu&s;tification.</NOTE> it is true that we are iu&s;tified by imputed righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; but not by the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, which is out of our &s;elues; but our faith, which is for|med and perfected with charitie, and other graces, and good workes is imputed for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: or more plainely, God accepteth of the workes of the faithfull, and their in|herent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, though imperfect and vnworthie in them&s;elues, for and through Chri&s;t, for &s;uch righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which may iu&s;tifie vs in his &s;ight. For the an&s;wering of which obiection we are to know, that this word imputing, or imputation, is taken two waies in the Scriptures: fir&s;t when as the thing imputed is in our &s;elues, and &s;o it is &s;aid P&s;al. 106.31,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106.31. Rom. 5.13.</NOTE> that the fact of <HI>Phinees</HI> was imputed vnto him for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; &s;o Rom. 5.13, <HI>But &s;in is not imputed while there is no law.</HI> Secondly, when as the thing imputed is out of our &s;elues; and of this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Leuit. 17.4. Numb. 18.27.</NOTE> mention is made Leuit. 17.4. and Numb. 18.27. And in this latter &s;en&s;e the word is to be vn|der&s;toode in the doctrine of iu&s;tification, and not in the for|mer. For our &s;innes were imputed vnto Chri&s;t, when he of|fered him&s;elfe to &s;tand in our place, to pay our debt and to make full &s;ati&s;faction to his fathers iu&s;tice, by &s;uffering tho&s;e puni&s;hments which we by our &s;innes had de&s;erued; in which
<PB N="582" REF="301">re&s;pect the Scriptures &s;ay that <HI>he was reputed among&s;t the wic|ked,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 15.28. 2. Cor. 5.21.</NOTE> Mar. 15.28. and that <HI>he was made &s;inne for vs,</HI> 2. Cor. 5.21. not by infu&s;ion of our &s;innes and corruptions into his mo&s;t holy nature, but by imputation onely. And contrariwi&s;e, we are made iu&s;t or iu&s;tified not by infu&s;ion of inherent righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e into vs, but by imputation of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;nes, when as beleeuing in him, notwith&s;tanding that our nature is &s;till defiled with &s;inne and manifold corruptions, through the meere mercie and free grace of God for the merits and obedience of Chri&s;t wee are reputed iu&s;t, as though wee had neuer committed &s;inne, and had perfourmed perfect obedi|ence vnto Gods commandements, and &s;o adiudged heires of euerla&s;ting life.</P>
<P>So that this imputation con&s;i&s;teth not in Gods reputing of vs iu&s;t, in re&s;pect of our inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e infu&s;ed into vs; but in the free mercie and grace of God, which for Chri&s;t his &s;ake couereth our &s;innes, which are indeede inhe|rent in vs, &s;o as they &s;hall neuer be imputed vnto vs for our condemnation, &amp; imputeth vnto vs the righteou&s;nes which is not in vs but in Chri&s;t, wherewith being fully po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, he reputeth of vs as mo&s;t innocent and perfectly righteous.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now, that imputation is to be vnder&s;tood in this latter &s;en&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The former point prooued by testimonies of the Scrip|tures. <HI>Rom. 4.4.5.</HI></NOTE> it is mo&s;t manife&s;t where y^e Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;etteth down the word in both the&s;e &s;en&s;es, denying that in this doctrine of iu&s;tification it is to be vnder&s;tood of the former, and affir|ming it of the latter. <HI>To him</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that worketh, the wages is not imputed by fauour, but by debt</HI> (namely, becau&s;e he hath merited it by his owne righteou&s;nes) 5. <HI>But to him that wor|keth not, but beleeueth in him that iustifieth the vngodly, his faith is counted or imputed for righteou&s;nes; euen as Dauid de|clareth the ble&s;&s;ednes of the man vnto who~ God imputeth righte|ou&s;nes without works.</HI> In which words he plainly &s;heweth, that there is a kind of imputatio~ which hath his ground or foun|dation in works and inherent righteou&s;nes, and this he affir|meth is not of grace. And that there is another kind of im|putation, which hath not it ground and foundation in him to whom it is made, but in the free mercie of God iu&s;tifying the wicked without his workes, and therefore not onely de|&s;titute
<PB N="583" REF="301">of inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e whereby hee might be iu|&s;tified, but al&s;o guiltie of inherent corruption and actuall tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, whereby hee might bee condemned if God &s;hould enter into iudgement with him. So al&s;o hee plainly affirmeth Eph. 2.8, that <HI>we are &s;aued by grace through faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.8.</NOTE> <HI>and that not of our &s;elues; it is the gift of God.</HI> 9. <HI>Not of workes, lea&s;t any man &s;hould boa&s;t him&s;elfe.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The former point proued by the example of Abraham.</NOTE> this may be prooued by the example of <HI>Abra|ham,</HI> vpon which the Apo&s;tle in the former place in&s;i&s;teth; for by that imputed righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e whereby he was iu&s;tified, wee are al&s;o iu&s;tified: but the Apo&s;tle plainly affirmeth that this imputation was not of <HI>Abrahams</HI> inherent righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, with the which notwith&s;tanding he was plentifully in|dued; for (as he &s;aith) <HI>if Abraham were iustified by workes, he had wherein to reioyce, but not in God; but that Abraham beleeued in God, and this was counted to him for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.2.3.</NOTE> as it is Rom. 4.2.3: and therefore we are not iu&s;tified by our workes and inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but by the righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t imputed vnto vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly, that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e which iu&s;tifieth vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is required to our iu&s;tifica|tion. <HI>Iam. 3.2.</HI></NOTE> mu&s;t con|&s;i&s;t in perfect obedience and fulfilling of the law of God, in that exact manner and mea&s;ure which Gods iu&s;tice doth re|quire: but this cannot po&s;&s;ibly be done by any righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e which is in vs, which is mo&s;t imperfect and mingled with many &s;innes and corruptions, <HI>for in many things we &s;inne all,</HI> as it is Iam. 3.2. and <HI>he that &s;aith he hath no &s;inne is a liar,</HI> as <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;peaketh 1. ep. 1.8. and <HI>our be&s;t righteou&s;nes is like a pol|luted cloath,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 1.8. E&s;a. 64.6.</NOTE> as it is E&s;a. 64.6. but by the alone righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, which being imputed vnto vs is &s;ufficient to an&s;were and &s;atisfie Gods exact and mo&s;t perfect iu&s;tice. That our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e whereby we are to be iu&s;tified mu&s;t be perfect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.31.</NOTE> and &s;uch as the law and exact iu&s;tice of God re|quireth, it appeareth Rom. 3.31. whereas the Apo&s;tle plain|ly affirmeth, that when faith is imputed vnto righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 2.10.</NOTE> the law is not made voide, but rather confirmed and fulfil|led. <HI>Doe we then</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>make the law of none effect through faith? God forbid. Yea we establi&s;h the law.</HI> But this cannot be done by our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which is imperfect and ming|led
<PB N="584" REF="302">with innumerable &s;innes, but by the alone mo&s;t perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t imputed vnto vs. Againe, the Lord hath commaunded and &s;traitly charged, that in our ciuill iudgements the righteous &s;hall be iu&s;tified,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 25.1.</NOTE> and the wicked condemned, Deut. 25.1. And the wi&s;e man &s;aith, that he that <HI>iustifieth the wicked,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 17.15.</NOTE> <HI>and he that condemneth the iu&s;t, euen they both are abomination vnto the Lord,</HI> Pro. 17.15. And the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> denounceth a woe again&s;t them which commit this &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 5.23.</NOTE> chap. 5. ver&s;. 23. Now, &s;hall the Lord re|quire this of vs, and &s;hall we thinke that he who&s;e will is the rule of iu&s;tice, wil iu&s;tifie any who&s;e righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is imper|fect, and not according to his law? No, he hath told vs, that it is more ea&s;ie that heauen and earth &s;hould pa&s;&s;e away,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 16.17.</NOTE> than that one title of the law &s;hould fall vnaccompli&s;hed, Luk. 16.17. And therefore let vs not tru&s;t vnto our owne im|perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but wholy re&s;t vpon the alone righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t by a liuely faith for our iu&s;tifica|tion. For he <HI>is the Lord our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 23.6. E&s;a. 45.24.</NOTE> Iere. 23.6. In him we <HI>haue righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and &s;trength,</HI> E&s;a. 45.24. <HI>He is made vnto vs of God wi&s;edome, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;anctification and redemption,</HI> 1. Cor. 1.30.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 1.30.</NOTE> <HI>By his obedience many are made righteous,</HI> Rom. 5.19. <HI>And that which was impo&s;&s;ible to the law,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.19.</NOTE> <HI>in as much as it was weake becau&s;e of the fle&s;h, God &s;ending his &s;onne in the &s;imi|litude of &s;infull fle&s;h,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.3.4.</NOTE> <HI>and for &s;inne, condemned &s;inne in the fle&s;h, that the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the law might be fulfilled in vs;</HI> as it is Rom. 8.3.4. In a word, in him alone wee haue all our righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, in him we &s;hine gloriou&s;ly in the &s;ight of God, and he is that bright &s;hining Sunne of righteou&s;nes, from whom we borrow all our light, without who&s;e raies of holine&s;&s;e we &s;hould remaine in the darkne&s;&s;e of our &s;innes and corrup|tions.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the Apo&s;tle &s;etteth downe the forme of our iu&s;ti|fication, namely, the imputation of our &s;innes vnto Chri&s;t, and the imputation of his righteou&s;nes vnto vs. 2. Cor. 5.21. <HI>He which knew no &s;inne was made &s;inne for vs,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.21.</NOTE> <HI>that we might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God in him.</HI> As therefore Chri&s;t was made a &s;inner for vs, &s;o wee are made righteous before God in him; but Chri&s;t Ie&s;us was not made a &s;inner for vs by in|fu&s;ion
<PB N="585" REF="302" MS="y">of our &s;innes and corruptions into his nature (for hee was alwaies mo&s;t holie, pure, vndefiled and without &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.18.19 and 2.21.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth of him) but by imputation onely, as being our &s;uretie who had taken vpon him to di&s;charge all our debt: and therefore in like manner wee are made righteous, not by infu&s;ion of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, but by imputa|tion onely.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now whereas they obiect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That iustifica|tion by impu|tation is not imaginarie, but reall and in truth.</NOTE> that to be iu&s;tified by imputa|tion is but an imaginarie mockerie, as if a poore man &s;hould be reputed rich; to this we are to an&s;were, that it is but a fri|uolous cauill: for we doe not teach that God e&s;teemeth and reputeth vs righteous, being wholy defiled with &s;inne and quite de&s;titute of all righteou&s;nes; but that hee maketh vs perfectly righteous, by wa&s;hing away our &s;ins with the pre|cious bloud of Chri&s;t, and by applying and appropriating vnto vs his perfect righteou&s;nes and obedience by vertue of his &s;pirit principally, &amp; a liuely faith in&s;trumentally, wherby we are vnited vnto Chri&s;t and become members of his body, and con&s;equently haue right and full intere&s;t vnto all that which this our head hath done for vs; and &s;o being made partakers of his righteou&s;nes and merits, God reputeth vs as we are in truth perfectly iu&s;t and righteous. If a man being poore and farre in debt &s;hould be accounted and reputed exceeding rich and nothing indebted, it were indeede but a meere imagination. But if another of great &s;ufficiencie &s;huld take vpon him to be his &s;uretie, and not onely di&s;charge all his debts, but &s;hould be&s;tow vpon him great &s;ummes of mo|ney and much trea&s;ure, this man what&s;oeuer hee was before time in him&s;elfe, may now be e&s;teemed rich and out of debt. So if we (as wee are farre indebted to the iu&s;tice of God and exceeding beggerly, yea &s;tarke naked of all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e) &s;hould be reputed as we are thus in our &s;elues righteous and nothing indebted, it were but a meere mockerie; but &s;eeing our Lord and Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hath taken vpon him to be our &s;uretie who is him&s;elfe all-&s;ufficient, and &s;eeing hee hath perfectly and fully an&s;wered all our debts wherein we were ingaged to Gods iu&s;tice; and not onely &s;o, but al&s;o hath communicated and be&s;towed vpon vs the infinite rich trea|&s;ures
<PB N="586" REF="303" MS="y">of his righteou&s;nes and obedience, giuing vnto vs full intere&s;t and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion hereof, outwardly by his hand-wri|ting of the Go&s;pell, and his Sacraments as &s;eales annexed thereunto, and inwardly by the vertue and cooperation of of his &s;pirit applying them vnto vs: and la&s;tly, &s;eeing we al|&s;o haue receiued the full a&s;&s;urance of all this heauenly and &s;pirituall rich trea&s;ure by the hand of faith, wee are in truth quite out of debt, and exceeding rich with his righteou&s;nes which is now become ours, and therfore are &s;o reputed and e&s;teemed in the &s;ight of God.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="51" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. LI.</HI> Sathans temptations mouing the weake Christian to doubt of his iustification, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for an&s;wering Sathans tempta|tions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our iusti|ficatio~ is plain|ly reuealed vn|to vs in the word of God.</NOTE> whereby he laboureth to per&s;wade vs to re&s;t vpon a fal&s;e and imperfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e for our iu&s;tification: now wee are briefly to &s;peake of tho&s;e which hee &s;ugge&s;teth into the mindes of weake Chri&s;tians, to the end that hee may make them doubt of their iu&s;tification, that &s;o hee might (if it were po&s;&s;ible) make fru&s;trate this worke of God, or at lea&s;t robbe their &s;oules of all comfort and peace of con&s;cience, which alwaies accompanieth the a&s;&s;urance of our iu&s;tification; for <HI>being iustified by faith, wee haue peace towards God through our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.1.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Rom. 5.1. Fir&s;t therefore he &s;ugge&s;teth that our iu&s;tification is an action of God, and therefore vnknowne to vs; &s;o that we cannot po&s;|&s;ibly attaine vnto any certaine knowledge that we are iu&s;ti|fied of God, vnle&s;&s;e he a&s;&s;ure vs hereof by &s;ome &s;peciall and extraordinarie reuelation.</P>
<P>For the an&s;wering whereof, we are to vnder&s;tand that this act of God in iu&s;tifying a &s;inner, is as cleerely reuealed ordi|narily in the Scriptures, as any other thing concerning our &s;aluation, and that euery true beleeuer may as certainly con|clude by vndoubted arguments grounded on Gods infal|lible
<PB N="587" REF="303">truth, that he is iu&s;tified before God, as by naturall rea|&s;on he can proue that he liueth and breatheth. For fir&s;t our effectuall vocation and iu&s;tification are in&s;eparably linked together by the Apo&s;tle Rom. 8.30.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.30.</NOTE> So that who&s;oeuer can proue that he is effectually called, he may al&s;o mo&s;t cer|tainly inferre that he is iu&s;tified. But euery true beleeuer may come to the certaine knowledge that he is effectually called (as before I haue &s;hewed at large) and that not by any &s;peciall reuelation, but by the will of God, reuealed in his word by the inward te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit, and the vndoubted &s;ignes of effectuall calling, which he ob&s;erueth in him&s;elfe; and therefore without any particular reuela|tion we may attaine vnto the a&s;&s;urance al&s;o that we are iu|&s;tified, that is, that our &s;innes are pardoned for the merits and full &s;ati&s;faction of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and we cloathed with his righteou&s;nes.</P>
<P>Secondly, who&s;oeuer can come to the a&s;&s;urance that he hath a true and liuely faith, he may al&s;o be a&s;&s;ured that he is iu&s;tified; for it is the nature and an in&s;eparable propertie of true faith, to apply vnto the beleeuer Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, whereby hee is iu&s;tified before God; and hence it is that the Scriptures plainely affirme that we are iu&s;tified by faith and not by any thing el&s;e which is in vs, as before I haue &s;ufficiently &s;hewed. But we may come to the certaine a&s;&s;urance that we haue a true faith, by the vndoubt|ed &s;ignes and in&s;eparable fruites thereof, which wee may di&s;cerne in our &s;elues (as hath been alreadie plainely pro|ued) though we neuer haue any &s;peciall reuelation: And therefore without any &s;uch particular reuelation we may attaine vnto the certaine a&s;&s;urance that we are iu&s;tified in Gods &s;ight.</P>
<P>Thirdly, that which the Go&s;pell a&s;&s;ureth vs of, we neede not to make any doubt thereof, or once call it into que&s;tion: but the Go&s;pell a&s;&s;ureth vs, that who&s;oeuer beleeueth in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and truely repent them of their &s;innes, &s;hall be made partakers of all the gracious promi&s;es of life and &s;al|uation therein contained; So Ioh. 3.16.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>God &s;o loued the world that he hath giuen his onely begotten &s;onne, that who&s;oeuer
<PB N="588" REF="304">beleeueth in him &s;hould not peri&s;h, but haue euerla&s;ting life.</HI> And chap. 5.24.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 5.24.</NOTE> <HI>Verely, verely, I &s;ay vnto you, he that heareth my word and beleeueth him that &s;ent me, hath euerla&s;ting life, and &s;hall not come into condemnation, but hath pa&s;&s;ed from death to life.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 11.28.</NOTE> And Matth. 11.28. <HI>Come vnto me all ye that labour and are laden, and I will ea&s;e you.</HI> And therefore who&s;oeuer be|leeue in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, approuing their faith to the world and their owne con&s;ciences, to bee true and vnfained, by the fruite thereof, vnfained repentance, he may a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe of all the gratious promifes of the Go&s;pell, and con&s;equent|ly of the remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes, and his iu&s;tification for the merits and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the Lord hath not onely after a generall manner propounded the&s;e promi&s;es vnto vs, and left vs to our owne libertie to beleeue or not to beleeue them, but hee hath bound vs to the performance of this dutie by his expre&s;&s;e commaundement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. 1.15. 1. Ioh. 3.23.</NOTE> Mark. 1.15. <HI>Repent and beleeue the Go&s;pell.</HI> And 1. Ioh. 3.23. <HI>This is his commaundement that we beleeue in his &s;onne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> that is, that we doe not onely after a generall manner beleeue that he is the &s;auiour of mankinde, but that we beleeue that he is our &s;auiour, who hath redee|med, iu&s;tified, and wil mo&s;t perfectly &s;aue vs, and re&s;t wholy vpon him alone for our &s;aluation. And he that thus belee|ueth, needeth no other arguments to a&s;&s;ure him that he is iu&s;tified and &s;hall be &s;aued; for he hath the witne&s;&s;e in him|&s;elfe, euen the te&s;timonie of Gods &s;pirit, crying in his heart Abba father, and bearing witne&s;&s;e vnto his &s;pirit that he is the childe of God: and not to beleeue this is to make God a lyer, becau&s;e wee <HI>will not beleeue the record that hee hath witne&s;&s;ed of that his &s;onne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 5. 10.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh. 1. Ioh. 5.10. Yea (as before I haue &s;hewed at large) he hath added vnto the hand writing of his word, which containeth al&s;o his oath for our better confirmation, his &s;acraments; where|by he particularly conuayeth and giueth vnto euery belee|uer, as it were proper po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us and all his benefits, to the end that there &s;hould bee no place left to doubting, nor any neede of any particular reuelation, for our further a&s;&s;urance.</P>
<PB N="589" REF="304">
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, Sathan will &s;ugge&s;t that tho&s;e who are iu&s;tified are made iu&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we are made iu&s;t not by infu&s;ion but by imputation of righteou&s;nes.</NOTE> and tho&s;e who are made iu&s;t doe continual|ly the workes of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; but thou, will he &s;ay to the humbled &s;inner, continue&s;t &s;till in thy corruptions, and thy wickedne&s;&s;e cleaueth fa&s;t to thee, and compa&s;&s;eth thee a|bout; and in &s;tead of doing the workes of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, thou continually heape&s;t vp the full mea&s;ure of thy &s;innes; yea thy be&s;t actions are &s;o &s;tained with imperfections and &s;o full of infirmities, that they iu&s;tly prouoke Gods wrath again&s;t thee.</P>
<P>To which we mu&s;t an&s;were, that indeede who&s;oeuer is iu&s;tified is made iu&s;t, but not by infu&s;ion of inherent righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e into our &s;elues, but by imputation of Chri&s;ts mo&s;t perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, as before I haue &s;hewed; for hereby our &s;innes are pardoned, he hauing taken them vpon him|&s;elfe, and &s;ati&s;fied Gods iu&s;tice by &s;uffering tho&s;e puni&s;h|ments which wee had de&s;erued; and al&s;o he hath perfectly fulfilled the law, that hee might make vs partakers of his actiue obedience; and &s;o imputing both vnto vs, hath made vs perfectly iu&s;t and righteous in Gods &s;ight.</P>
<P>So that now the Lord doth not require obedience to his law at our hands, to the end that wee &s;hould be iu&s;tified in whole or in part, by our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; neither are we to this end to ob&s;erue Gods commandements, that we may offer vnto God our workes and inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, de&s;iring thereby to be iu&s;tified; for, as I haue &s;hewed, our be&s;t righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is imperfect, and mingled with manifold corruptions, &s;o as it would rather condemne vs, then iu&s;tifie vs, if the Lord &s;hould examine it according to the exact rule of his mo&s;t perfect iu&s;tice: but we offer vnto God for our iu&s;tification, the mo&s;t perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and full &s;ati&s;|faction of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, which by his merits and &s;ufferings he hath once made for vs, de&s;iring thereby wholy and onely to be iu&s;tified and &s;aued.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> As for our workes and inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our works are not cau&s;es but effects of our iu&s;tifica|tion.</NOTE> they are not cau&s;es but effects and fruites of our iu&s;tification; neither is it po&s;&s;ible that we &s;hould doe any good worke acceptable in Gods &s;ight, till we are iu&s;tified, and reconciled vnto God
<PB N="590" REF="305">in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, for our workes cannot plea&s;e him, till our per&s;ons plea&s;e him, and what&s;oeuer we doe, before faith hath purified the heart, it is &s;inne and odious in the &s;ight of God: but as &s;oone as we haue faith begotten in vs, pre&s;ently it apprehendeth, Chri&s;t and his righteou&s;nes, whereby we are iu&s;tified, and then being iu&s;tified, faith worketh by loue and bringeth forth in vs the fruites of &s;anctification; which though they bee mingled with much corruption, and ma|nifold imperfections, yet God in Chri&s;t accepteth of them as perfect, and will crowne them with glorie, and immor|talitie.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">That now the Lord doth not require of vs perfect righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE>Neither doth the Lord now require of vs, that wee per|fectly at once &s;hake off all our corruptions, but that we la|bour as much as in vs lieth, to mortifie and &s;ubdue them ac|cording to the mea&s;ure of his grace, and holy &s;pirit, which he hath be&s;towed on vs; he doth not &s;traightly commaund that we &s;hould in&s;tantly bani&s;h and expell &s;inne from dwel|ling in vs, but that we doe not &s;uffer it to raigne in vs, nor willingly obey the fle&s;h in the lu&s;ts thereof, &s;ubmitting our &s;elues vnto &s;inne, as &s;eruants and va&s;&s;als to their Lord and mai&s;ter; he doth not inioyne vs that we &s;hould wholy van|qui&s;h our corruptions, and obtaine a full victorie ouer them, but that we proclaime open warres again&s;t them, and man|fully fight and &s;triue vnder the conduct of his &s;pirit, again&s;t the fle&s;h, and the &s;infull lu&s;ts thereof; and when we are ta|ken captiue of &s;inne, that we labour to attaine vnto our for|mer freedome, in the meane time &s;orrowing and groning vnder the heauie waight of our corruptions, and crying out with the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.</NOTE> <HI>wretched man that I am, who &s;hall deliuer me from the body of this death;</HI> and that we confe&s;&s;e our mi&s;era|ble e&s;tate vnto our captaine and leader Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, de&s;iring him to a&s;&s;i&s;t vs with the power of his holy &s;pirit, that there|by we may be freed out of the hands of the&s;e our &s;pirituall enemies, who&s;e bondage and captiuitie is &s;o irk&s;ome and grieuous vnto vs. Neither doth the Lord now require that we performe ab&s;olute and perfect obedience to his com|maundements, but that <HI>to will</HI> be pre&s;ent in vs, that we con|&s;ent and approue his law to be good and delighting in it
<PB N="591" REF="305">concerning the inner man, that we de&s;ire and indeauour to performe that good we cannot, and forgetting that which is behinde, indeauour our &s;elues to that which is before, and follow hard towards the marke,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.13.14.</NOTE> though we cannot attaine vnto the end of our race, till wee come to the end of our liues. Finally, the Lord doth not require of vs a whole har|ue&s;t of goodnes and righteou&s;nes, but the fir&s;t fruites there|of; he doth not &s;tand &s;o much vpon our actions, as vpon our affections, vpon the perfection of our workes, as vpon the alacritie of our willes, and integritie of our hearts; the righ|teou&s;nes which he requireth is an humble confe&s;&s;ion of our vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, a &s;incere hatred of our &s;innes, a holy indea|uour in the v&s;e of the meanes to mortifie our corruptions, and to ri&s;e from the death of &s;inne, to holine&s;&s;e and new|nes of life; which who&s;oeuer can offer vnto God, they may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that they &s;hall be accepted through Chri&s;t, as righteous in Gods &s;ight, notwith&s;tan|ding their manifold imperfections and corruptions.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>The end of the &s;econd Booke.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="book">
<PB N="592" REF="306">
<HEAD>THE THIRD BOOKE INTREATING OF SANCTIFI|CATION AND PERSEVERANCE, as al&s;o of Sathans temptations which he &s;ugge&s;teth again&s;t them both, and of &s;uch an&s;weres where|with the Chri&s;tian may refute and repell them.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. I.</HI> Of Sanctification, and the cau&s;es thereof.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for the an&s;wering of &s;uch temptations of Sathan as concerne our iu&s;tification.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That God is the principall efficient of our &s;anctification.</NOTE> Now wee are to &s;peake of our &s;anctification, which is the next ef|fect of Gods election, and in&s;eparably ioyned with our iu&s;tification: wherein I will ob&s;erue my former order, fir&s;t &s;et|ting downe the doctrine of &s;anctification, and then an&s;we|ring tho&s;e temptations of Sathan which doe mo&s;t im|pugne it.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sanctification, what is it.</NOTE>For the fir&s;t, <HI>Sanctification is an action of the whole Trinitie, whereby the beleeuer already iustified, is by little and little re|nued according to Gods image in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, by the mortification of the fle&s;h, with the corruptions thereof, and the quickening of the &s;pirit.</HI></P>
<P>And this is our &s;anctification, which is expre&s;&s;ed in the Scriptures by diuers names and phra&s;es; for it is called rege|neration, the new birth, renouation, the putting off or morti|fying
<PB N="593" REF="306" MS="y">of the old man, and the putting on or quickening of the new man and &s;uch like.</P>
<P>The efficient cau&s;e of our &s;anctification is God him&s;elfe, who as he alone iu&s;tifieth vs and freeth vs from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne, &s;o he onely &s;anctifieth vs and deliue|reth vs from the tyrannie of &s;inne, &s;o that it &s;hall no longer raigne in our mortall bodies, freeing vs in &s;uch mea&s;ure as plea&s;eth him from our naturall corruptions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Leuit. 20.8.</NOTE> which hereto|fore wholy ouer&s;wayed vs. And this appeareth by plaine te|&s;timonies of holy Scriptures.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 1.13.</NOTE> Iohn 1.13. It is &s;aid that the faithfull are borne, <HI>not of blood, nor of the will of the fle&s;h, nor of the will of man, but of God.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s; 2.10.</NOTE> So Ephe&s;. 2.10. we are &s;aid to be <HI>Gods workeman&s;hip, created in Christ Ie&s;us vnto good workes:</HI> which phra&s;e the Apo&s;tle v&s;eth to note vnto vs, that as God onely did create vs, &s;o he onely doth renue and regenerate vs. The Lord likewi&s;e doth appropriate this worke vnto him&s;elfe as belonging to another. Ezech. 36.26.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 36.26. and 34.28.</NOTE> <HI>A new heart will I giue you, and a new &s;pirit will I put into you, and I will take away the &s;tony heart out of your body, and I will giue you an heart of fle&s;h.</HI> And hence it is that the Apo&s;tle de&s;iring the &s;ancti|fication of the The&s;&s;alonians beggeth it at Gods hand, 1. The&s;. 5.23. <HI>The very God of peace &s;anctifie you throughout.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;. 5.23. P&s;alm. 51.13.</NOTE> And <HI>Dauid</HI> finding the want hereof in him&s;elfe, hath his re|cour&s;e vnto God. P&s;alm. 51.10. <HI>Create in me a cleane heart O God, and renue a right &s;pirit within me.</HI> So that as God doth begin in vs this worke of &s;anctification, &s;o likewi&s;e he doth accompli&s;h and fini&s;h it. And therefore as we are wholy to a&s;cribe vnto God our election, vocation and iu&s;tification, &s;o al&s;o our &s;anctification, that he may be all in all in the worke of our &s;aluation. For as he onely formed vs, &s;o he onely can reforme vs, as he is the author of our naturall generation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 1.28.</NOTE> for by his ble&s;&s;ing we haue our being, &s;o al&s;o of our &s;pirituall re|generation, for by his &s;pirit onely wee are renued. Neither mu&s;t we imagine that it is in mans power to renew him&s;elfe, no more than to beget him&s;elfe: for as well may the Black|moore change his skinne, or the Leopard his &s;pots, as wee doe good who are accu&s;tomed to doe euill,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierem. 13.23.</NOTE> Ierem. 13.23. yea, as ea&s;ily may the dead man rai&s;e him&s;elfe, as wee may
<PB N="594" REF="307">rai&s;e our &s;elues from the death of &s;inne to newne&s;&s;e of life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.1.</NOTE> Eph. 2.1. It is onely the water of Gods &s;pirit that can wa&s;h away our Ethiopian blackne&s;&s;e, and turne our &s;potted vn|cleanne&s;&s;e into &s;nowie whitene&s;&s;e; it is onely the God of life that can make vs ri&s;e from the death of &s;inne to new|ne&s;&s;e of life.</P>
<P>But here it may be demaunded, that if &s;anctification bee wholie the worke of God, and not in our owne power, why doe the Scriptures exhort vs to &s;anctifie our &s;elues, to morti|fie our &s;innes, and to walke in newne&s;&s;e of life? I an&s;were, that though &s;anctification bee wholy from God, yet the&s;e exhortations are nece&s;&s;arie; for hee worketh this worke in vs, not as in &s;tocks and &s;tones, but as in rea&s;onable creatures, of whom he requireth con&s;ent of will, de&s;ire and endeuour in the v&s;e of the meanes ordained of God, for the beginning and perfecting of this worke of &s;anctification in vs. And al|though this will, de&s;ire, and endeuour, be his work likewi&s;e, yet the&s;e exhortations to godline&s;&s;e are to good purpo&s;e; for with the exhortation God ioyneth the operation of his &s;pirit, and while&s;t he commandeth vs, he giueth power al&s;o to performe that which he commandeth; while&s;t he exhor|teth vs to &s;anctification, hee him&s;elfe &s;anctifieth vs with his &s;pirit.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now further wee are to know,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the work of &s;anctifica|tion is com|mon to the three per&s;ons in Trinitie. <HI>Tit 3.5. Eph. 2.4.5. Heb. 9.14.</HI></NOTE> that as all other workes of God which he exerci&s;eth towards his creatures, &s;o this work of &s;anctification likewi&s;e is common vnto the three per&s;ons in the Trinitie: for fir&s;t God the Father &s;anctifieth vs by gi|uing vs his &s;onne and &s;ending his &s;pirit, and therefore this work is a&s;cribed vnto him, Tit. 3.5. Eph. 2.4.5. God the &s;onne &s;anctifieth vs, by mortifying our &s;ins by vertue of his bloud, purging our con&s;ciences from dead workes, that wee may &s;erue the liuing God, and by vertue of his re&s;urrection rai|&s;ing vs al&s;o from the death of &s;inne to newne&s;&s;e of life: and la&s;tly, by his death hath merited for vs Gods &s;pirit, and ri|&s;ing againe hath &s;ent him vnto vs, whereby wee are regene|rate: and therefore hee al&s;o is &s;aid to haue &s;anctified vs, and God is &s;aid to haue &s;anctified vs in him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.26. 1. Cor. 2.11.</NOTE> Eph. 5.26. 1. Cor. 2.11. God the holy Gho&s;t al&s;o &s;anctifieth vs, by applying the
<PB N="595" REF="307">vertue of Chri&s;ts death and re&s;urrection vnto vs, and &s;o im|mediatly beginneth, continueth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.5, 6. Act. 11.16. Tit. 3.5.</NOTE> and perfecteth this worke in vs, and therefore mo&s;t v&s;ually in the Scriptures this worke is a&s;cribed vnto him, Ioh. 3.5, 6. Act. 11.16. Tit. 3.5.</P>
<P>And thus it appeareth that God him&s;elfe is the principall and onely efficient cau&s;e of our &s;anctification; vpon which point I haue the longer in&s;i&s;ted, to the end that wee &s;hould not in this worke re&s;t vpon our owne &s;trength, for then wee &s;hall be &s;ubiect to many di&s;couragements, and lie open to innumerable temptations, grounded vpon our &s;mall mea|&s;ure and &s;low progre&s;&s;e in our &s;anctification, as al&s;o vpon the great difficulties and manifolde di&s;couragements, which both &s;tay vs in the birth, and hinder our full growth in true godline&s;&s;e; all which in re&s;pect of our owne power prooue this worke not onely hard, but euen impo&s;&s;ible for vs to be perfected and accompli&s;hed. But rather that wee relie our &s;elues vpon the Lords infinite power and gracious promi|&s;es, whereby wee are a&s;&s;ured, notwith&s;tanding our owne ex|ceeding weakne&s;&s;e, that he will not onely begin, but al&s;o fi|ni&s;h and perfect this good worke in vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus much concerning the principall efficient cau&s;e of our &s;anctification:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The motiue cau&s;e Gods &s;ole mercie.</NOTE> the motiue cau&s;e which mooued the Lord to &s;anctifie vs, was his owne mercie and Chri&s;ts me|rits. The fir&s;t is expre&s;&s;ed by the Apo&s;tle 1. Pet. 1.3. whereas it is &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.3.</NOTE> that <HI>God according to his abundant mercie hath be|gotten vs again, &amp;c.</HI> The other is implied by <HI>Paul</HI> Eph. 2.5. where hee &s;aith, that God hath quickened vs in Chri&s;t;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2.5.</NOTE> who by his death merited not onely the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;inne for vs, but al&s;o Gods &s;pirit, whereby wee are &s;anctified. So that it was not any good inclination vnto holine&s;&s;e in vs, or any thing els wherein we excelled others, which moued God to &s;anctifie vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.1.3.</NOTE> for wee were all alike the <HI>children of wrath and dead in our &s;innes,</HI> but onely his owne boundle&s;&s;e mercie and the al&s;ufficient merits of Chri&s;t our Sauiour, were the onely cau&s;es which moued the Lord to giue vs his &s;pirit, whereby we are regenerate and rai&s;ed from the death of &s;inne to ho|line&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life. And therefore let vs not arro|gate the prai&s;e of our &s;anctification in whole or in part vnto
<PB N="596" REF="308">our &s;elues, but a&s;cribe all the glorie to God who is the &s;ole author and fini&s;her of it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The in&s;trumentall cau&s;es of our &s;anctification,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Of the in&s;tru|mentall cau&s;es of our &s;anctifi|cation.</HI> Ioh. 15.3. and 17.17. Iam. 1.18. 1. Pet. 1.23.</NOTE> are either externall or internall; the external are fir&s;t the word of God, of which our Sauiour &s;peaketh Ioh. 15.3. <HI>Now are you cleane through the word which I haue &s;poken vnto you.</HI> And cap. 17.17. <HI>Sanctifie the~ with thy truth: thy word is truth.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Iames</HI> chap. 1.18. <HI>Of his owne will begat he vs with the word of truth, &amp;c.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> affirmeth, that we are <HI>borne anew not of mortall &s;eede, but of immortall by the word of God, &amp;c.</HI> The word of God therefore is an in&s;trumentall cau&s;e of our &s;anctification. In which re&s;pect al&s;o the Mini&s;ters, by who&s;e mini&s;terie wee are conuerted and regenerate, are &s;aid to be our &s;pirituall fathers who haue begotten vs vnto God:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 4.15. Philem. v. 10.</NOTE> as appeareth 1. Cor. 4.15. and Philem. ver&s;. 10. in both which places <HI>Paul</HI> chalengeth this title vnto him&s;elfe. Another ex|ternall cau&s;e of our &s;anctification are the Sacraments, e&s;pe|cially the Sacrament of Bapti&s;me; whereof it is that <HI>Ananias</HI> &s;aith vnto <HI>Paul</HI> Act. 22.16. <HI>Ari&s;e and be baptized &amp; wa&s;h away thy &s;ins.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 22.16. Eph. 5.26.</NOTE> So Eph. 5.26. it is &s;aid that Chri&s;t gaue him&s;elf <HI>for his Church, that he might &s;anctifie it and clean&s;e it by the wa&s;hing of water through the word.</HI> The which places as they are to be vnder&s;tood principally of the wa&s;hing of iu&s;tification, wher|by we are purged from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne; &s;o al&s;o of the wa&s;hing of &s;anctification, whereby we are clean|&s;ed from the &s;innes and corruptions them&s;elues.</P>
<P>The internall in&s;trument of our &s;anctification is a liuely faith, without which the other outward in&s;truments are vn|effectuall, in tho&s;e who are of yeeres; neither mu&s;t we think that the bare action of hearing, or the outward wa&s;hing, take away our &s;ins and corruptions, vnle&s;&s;e the word and things &s;ignified in the Sacraments bee applied vnto vs by a true faith. For the word which we heare profiteth not, vnle&s;&s;e it be mixed with faith in tho&s;e that heare it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.2.</NOTE> Heb. 4.2. And vn|le&s;&s;e tho&s;e that are capable of faith beleeue with all their heart,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 8.37.</NOTE> it is to no purpo&s;e to be baptized, Act. 8.37: and there|fore vnto the other we mu&s;t ioyne this in&s;trument of a liuely faith, if wee would attaine vnto true &s;anctification. For faith
<PB N="597" REF="308">purifieth the heart, and is fruitfull in the workes of loue,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 15.9. Gal. 5.6.</NOTE> as the Scripture &s;peaketh.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;et downe the efficient cau&s;es of our &s;an|ctification;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the manner how our &s;ancti|fication is wrought.</NOTE> in the next place let vs con&s;ider of the manner how this worke is wrought in vs. For the vnder&s;tanding whereof we are to know, that wee being vnited vnto Chri&s;t, principally by Gods &s;pirit, and in&s;trumentally by a liuely faith, and &s;o made members of his my&s;ticall bodie, doe par|ticipate the vertue of his death, buriall, and re&s;urrection, whereby not onely our iu&s;tification but al&s;o our &s;anctifica|tion is deriued vnto vs. For fir&s;t, by vertue of his death our &s;innes are mortified, and our corruptions crucified together with him: as appeareth Rom. 6.6. <HI>Knowing this,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.6.</NOTE> <HI>that our old man is crucified with him, that the bodie of &s;inne might be de|&s;troyed, that hencefoorth we &s;hould not &s;erue &s;inne.</HI> Secondly, by vertue of his buriall, this death of &s;inne is as it were fur|ther continued, and thereby our &s;innes and corruptions are more and more &s;ubdued and kept vnder, that they cannot ri&s;e and rebel again&s;t the &s;pirit. And of this the Apo&s;tle &s;pea|keth Rom. 6.3. where he &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.3.</NOTE> that we <HI>are buried with Chri&s;t into his death.</HI> Thirdly, by vertue of his re&s;urrection there is a quickening power deriued into vs, whereby wee are reuiued and rai&s;ed vp from the death of &s;inne to holine&s;&s;e and new|ne&s;&s;e of life. And of this mention is made Colo&s;&s;. 2.12.13. where it is &s;aid, that <HI>as we are buried with Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 2.12.13. Rom. 6.4.</NOTE> <HI>&s;o likewi&s;e wee are rai&s;ed vp and quickened together with him:</HI> and Rom. 6.4. the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, that we are <HI>buried with him by bapti&s;me in|to his death, that like as Chri&s;t was rai&s;ed vp from the dead by the glorie of the father, &s;o wee al&s;o &s;hould walke in newne&s;&s;e of life.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And this is the manner according to which God wor|keth &s;anctification in vs;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the ends of our &s;anctifica|tion.</NOTE> now wee are briefly to &s;peake of the other cau&s;es, as they lie in order. The materiall and for|mall cau&s;es of our &s;anctification may be&s;t be con&s;idered in the parts thereof. The finall cau&s;e is two-fold: Gods glorie, which is the chiefe and principall cau&s;e of our &s;anctifica|tion; and the eternal &s;aluation of tho&s;e who are &s;anctified, which is &s;ubordinate to the other. For the fir&s;t, that Gods
<PB N="598" REF="309">glorie is the end of all our good actions and holy conuer&s;a|tion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.16.</NOTE> it appeareth Mat. 5.16. <HI>Let your light &s;o &s;hine before men that they may &s;ee your good works, and glorifie your father which is in heauen.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 2.12.</NOTE> So 1. Pet. 2.12. <HI>Haue your conuer&s;ation hone&s;t a|mong the Gentiles, that they which &s;peake euill of you as of euill doers, may by your good workes which they &s;hall &s;ee glorifie God in the day of vi&s;itation.</HI> And the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> willeth vs, that <HI>we doe all things what&s;oeuer to the glorie of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.31.</NOTE> 1. Cor. 10.31.</P>
<P>For the other, we are therefore &s;anctified that wee may be &s;aued, and al&s;o be a&s;&s;ured of our &s;aluation: and this we may gather out of the Apo&s;tles words Tit. 3.5.7. where hee &s;aith, that <HI>God hath &s;aued vs by the wa&s;hing of the new birth, and re|nuing of the holy Gho&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3.5.7.</NOTE> <HI>that we &s;hould be made heires of eternall life.</HI> Neither can we euer inioy euerla&s;ting happine&s;&s;e, vnle&s;&s;e we be regenerate,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 3.3.</NOTE> according to that Ioh. 3.3. <HI>Except a man be borne againe, he cannot &s;ee the kingdome of God.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 15.50.</NOTE> that <HI>fle&s;h and bloud cannot inherit the kingdome of God, neither doth corruption inherit vncorruption,</HI> 1. Cor. 15.50. And Apoc. 21.27. it is &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 21.27.</NOTE> that <HI>no vncleane thing &s;hall enter into Gods kingdome:</HI> and therefore the Apo&s;tle Heb. 12.14. v&s;eth this as an effectuall argument to mooue vs to embrace &s;an|ctification, becau&s;e <HI>without this holine&s;&s;e no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.14.</NOTE> On the other &s;ide, if wee bee regenerate and &s;hew the fruites thereof in a holy conuer&s;ation, by dying to &s;inne and ri&s;ing againe to newne&s;&s;e of life, then may wee bee certainly a&s;&s;ured of our &s;aluation: and therefore the Apo&s;tle willeth vs by the&s;e workes of holine&s;&s;e to <HI>make our calling and elec|tion &s;ure,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Pet. 1.10.</NOTE> affirming that <HI>if wee doe the&s;e things wee &s;hall neuer fall.</HI> 2. Pet. 1.10.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. II.</HI> Of the effects, &s;ubiect, obiect, and time of our &s;anctification.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe principall effects of our &s;anctification,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the effects of our &s;ancti|fication.</NOTE> are a de|te&s;tation of our former &s;innes in which wee haue taken our plea&s;ure and delight, and an hartie loue of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e, which before our regenera|tion
<PB N="599" REF="309">were loath&s;ome and vnplea&s;ant vnto vs; when not|with&s;tanding our infirmities and often falles wee can &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> that wee would faine doe that good we cannot, and hate that euill which we doe, and how&s;oeuer wee cannot performe perfect obedience to all Gods com|mandements, yet we <HI>delight in the law of God in the inner man,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.15.19.22.</NOTE> Rom. 7.15.19.22. Secondly, from the&s;e affections of louing good and hating euill, there ari&s;eth an earne&s;t de&s;ire to em|brace the one and flee the other, and from this de&s;ire pro|ceedeth a &s;etled purpo&s;e of heart, and a carefull endeuour to mortifie our fle&s;h with the corruptions thereof, and for the time to come to frame our liues according to the rule of Gods word, the which purpo&s;e and endeuour is ioyned with the diligent v&s;e of all good meanes, wherby we may attaine vnto our de&s;ire. Thirdly, when as this de&s;ire and endeuour to leade a godly life is hindred by our &s;piritual enemies, the fle&s;h, the world and the diuell, there followeth in the man re|generate a &s;pirituall combat, wherein hee &s;trugleth and &s;tri|ueth to with&s;tand their temptations, and to goe forward in his cour&s;e of holy obedience. And if hee preuaile and foyle his &s;pirituall enemies, then there followeth peace of con&s;ci|ence and ioy in the holy Gho&s;t; but if hee bee ouercome and led captiue vnto &s;inne, through the violence of their temptations, then doth hee not lie &s;till and &s;uffer &s;inne to raigne in him, but hee &s;eeketh to ri&s;e againe by vnfained re|pentance, which is accompanied with the&s;e &s;euen fruites: Fir&s;t, a care to leaue that &s;in into which he is fallen. Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 7.11.</NOTE> an vtter condemning of him&s;elfe for it. Thirdly, an holy an|ger again&s;t him&s;elfe for his fall. Fourthly, a feare lea&s;t againe he &s;hould fall into the &s;ame &s;inne. Fiftly, a de&s;ire euer after to plea&s;e God. Sixtly, a zeale of the &s;ame. Seuenthly, reuenge vpon him&s;elfe for his former offence. And the&s;e are the ef|fects of true &s;anctification, which who&s;oeuer can finde in him&s;elfe, he may be a&s;&s;ured that he is &s;anctified and &s;hall be &s;aued.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;ubiect in which this worke of &s;anctification is wrought, is all and euery one of Gods elect, and them only:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the &s;ubiect of our &s;anctifi|cation.</NOTE> neither is there any &s;anctified but tho&s;e onely that are e|lected
<PB N="600" REF="310">and &s;hall be &s;aued, as appeareth Ephe&s;. 1.4. Neither is this worke begun in any one part of them alone, but in all the parts, powers, and faculties of &s;oule and bodie, as appeareth 1. The&s;. 5.23. The <HI>God of peace &s;anctifie you throughout:</HI> The minde is inlightned with the true know|ledge of Gods will reuealed in his word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.18. Col. 1.9. P&s;al. 119.11. Rom. 7.18.</NOTE> which before was blinded with ignorance. The memorie is inabled to retaine tho&s;e holy things which the vnder&s;tanding conceiueth. The will fleeth that which is euill, and imbraceth that which is good. The affections are purged from their corrupti|ons, and made &s;eruiceable to holy rea&s;on. The body al&s;o is &s;anctified,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 3.16.</NOTE> and made a fit temple for the holy Gho&s;t: &s;o that whereas heretofore the members thereof were the <HI>rea|die &s;eruants of vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnto &s;inne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.19.</NOTE> <HI>they are now become the &s;eruants of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vnto holine&s;&s;e.</HI> La&s;tly, the actions and outward conuer&s;ation which heretofore were &s;infull and &s;candalous, are now holy and righteous, &s;eruing both for the aduancement of Gods glorie, and the edification of our chri&s;tian brethren. In a word, who&s;oeuer are truely &s;ancti|fied, they are al&s;o wholy &s;anctified, that is, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, &s;anctified throughout, in euery part and facultie of bodie and &s;oule. And therefore who&s;oeuer would bee a&s;&s;ured that he hath attained true &s;anctification, he is to la|bour to compo&s;e and frame the whole man, his minde and imagination, his will and affections, his outward actions, life and conuer&s;ation, according to the exact rule of Gods law: in all of them mortifying the old man, and his inbred corruption, and imbracing the contrarie duties of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Otherwi&s;e if our &s;anctification be not of the whole man, and euery part in their &s;euerall mea&s;ure, it will in the end be vaine and fruitle&s;&s;e; for as it is to no pur|po&s;e for citizens being be&s;ieged, to fortifie one place of the wall, and leaue another part vnfortified, or to keepe &s;trait watch at &s;ome of the gates and leaue others open; &s;o it will not auaile vs to fortifie &s;ome parts again&s;t the power of &s;inne, and to leaue others weake and naked, nor to garde &s;ome of the outward pa&s;&s;ages of the &s;en&s;es, and neglecting &s;ome other, &s;uffer them to lie as an open entrance to let in
<PB N="601" REF="310">our &s;pirituall enemies, for &s;o they will ea&s;ily &s;urpri&s;e vs, and leade vs captiue vnto &s;inne; but if we would be in any &s;afe|tie in this &s;trait &s;iege, we mu&s;t &s;et a &s;trong garde, and a care|full watch, ouer euery part and facultie of our bodies and &s;oules.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The obiect of our &s;anctification about which it is exerci|&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the obiect and time of our &s;anctifica|tion.</NOTE> is &s;inne and corruption, and holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, that we may flie the one and imbrace the other, mor|tifie the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof, and be quickned in the &s;pirit that we may be conformable in all holy obedience vnto the law of God, auoyding that which he hath forbid|den, and labouring to performe that which hee hath com|maunded.</P>
<P>The time when &s;anctification is wrought in vs, is pre&s;ent|ly after we are effectually called and iu&s;tified; for as &s;oone as the vertue and power of Chri&s;ts obedience, death, and re&s;urrection, is applied vnto vs by a liuely faith, it doth not onely free vs from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne, but al&s;o mortifie the fle&s;h with the corruptions thereof, and quickneth vs in the inner man, enabling vs to for&s;ake our former &s;innes, and to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and new|ne&s;&s;e of life. But how&s;oeuer our &s;anctification bee begun pre&s;ently after our conuer&s;ion, yet it is not &s;o &s;oone fini|&s;hed; but as the &s;eede being ca&s;t into the ground, doth fir&s;t take roote, and then is &s;carcely di&s;corned, afterwards &s;hoo|teth forth into a blade, and &s;o &s;pringeth vp by little and little, till it bringeth forth an eare, and la&s;tly it ripeneth and yeeldeth to the &s;ower plentifull increa&s;e: &s;o when fir&s;t the &s;eedes of &s;anctification are &s;owne in vs, by vertue of Gods &s;pirit, they haue a time to take rooting, when as they make little or no &s;hew to our &s;elues or others, but afterwards they &s;end forth as it were a blade of a holy profe&s;&s;ion, and the ripe fruites of godline&s;&s;e. Notwith&s;tanding the&s;e fruites in this life are not purely cleane, and without mixture; but as in the faire&s;t field there is among&s;t the cleane&s;t wheate &s;ome tares and cockell: &s;o in tho&s;e that are mo&s;t &s;anctified, there are many corruptions of the fle&s;h, mixed with the good fruites of the &s;pirit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 22.11.</NOTE> the which the chri&s;tian is &s;till in weeding
<PB N="602" REF="311">and plucking vp by the rootes &s;o long as he liueth, but yet can neuer ouercome this great worke, till the winter of death wholy nippeth and killeth the&s;e weedes of &s;inne. We mu&s;t not therefore pre&s;ently after our conuer&s;ion, dreame of a perfection in &s;anctification; no nor yet at the fir&s;t, e&s;ti|mate the truene&s;&s;e thereof by the greatne&s;&s;e of the mea&s;ure: for as it is in the naturall generation and growth of the bo|dy, &s;o al&s;o in &s;pirituall regeneration; all is not fini&s;hed at the fir&s;t, but perfected by degrees. As &s;oone as we are conuer|ted, we are but babes in Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 5.14.</NOTE> and, in re&s;pect of our infan|cie in knowledge faith and other graces, &s;uch as haue neede rather of <HI>milke than of &s;trong meate:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.29.</NOTE> in the re&s;t of our life we grow vp from &s;trength to &s;trength, till we come to mans e&s;tate, vnto which age we cannot properly be &s;aid to haue attained, till by death we wholy lay a&s;ide the old man, and the corruptions thereof: and la&s;tly we attaine to our con|&s;ummation and full perfection, when at the latter day wee &s;hall ri&s;e againe, and both in body and &s;oule bee indued with perfect holine&s;&s;e, whereby we &s;hall be enabled to per|forme obedience to Gods will, in that degree which his iu|&s;tice requireth.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. III.</HI> Of the parts of Sanctification.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe parts of &s;anctification are two,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That &s;anctifi|cation contai|neth two parts, mortification, and viuifica|tion.</NOTE> mortificati|on, and viuification, the which al&s;o are &s;aid to be the parts of true repentance, but in a di|uer&s;e &s;en&s;e: for they are attributed vnto &s;an|ctification, as they are the worke and action of God, who by his holy &s;pirit doth mortifie and quicken vs, and is the &s;ole author and cau&s;e of our &s;anctification; and vnto repentance as they haue reference vnto vs, who being regenerate and indued with Gods &s;pirit, doe labour in the mortification of our corruptions, and indeauour to &s;erue the Lord in newne&s;&s;e of life; for, <HI>Spiritu &s;ancto acti agi|mus,</HI> we being fir&s;t moued and &s;et a worke by Gods &s;pirit,
<PB N="603" REF="311">doe worke together with him. This diui&s;ion hath it ground and warrant in many places of holy Scriptures, in which it is expre&s;&s;ed in diuers phra&s;es and formes of &s;peech.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 34 14. and 37.27. E&s;a. 1.16.17. Rom. 5.11.18 Eph. 4.22.23.</NOTE> P&s;al. 34.14, <HI>E&s;cew euill and doe good.</HI> E&s;a. 1.16.17, <HI>Cea&s;e to doe euill, learne to doe well.</HI> Rom. 6.11, likewi&s;e, <HI>thinke ye al&s;o that ye are dead to &s;inne, but are aliue to God in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> And v. 18. <HI>Being free from &s;in ye are made the &s;eruants of righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> Ephe&s;. 4.22, <HI>That ye ca&s;t of concerning the conuer&s;a|tion in time pa&s;t the old man which is corrupt through the de|ceiuable lu&s;ts.</HI> 23. <HI>And be renewed in the &s;pirit of your minde.</HI> 24. <HI>And put on the new man which after God is created in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and true holine&s;&s;e.</HI> So Rom. 7.4.8.13. 1. Cor. 5.7. Col. 2.12.3.9. Gal. 5.16. 1. Pet. 2.24.3.11. By al which places and many others it is cleere and manife&s;t, that our &s;anctifi|cation con&s;i&s;teth of the&s;e two parts, the mortifying of the fle&s;h, and the quickning of the &s;pirit.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <HI>Mortification is the fir&s;t part of &s;anctification,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Of Mortifica|tion what it is and how it is wrought.</NOTE> <HI>wherein the &s;pirit of God applying vnto vs the vertue and power of Chri&s;ts death and buriall, doth by little and little weaken, &s;ubdue, and kill in vs our naturall corruption, the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof, &s;o that they are not &s;o powrfull as in times pa&s;t to &s;tirre vp in our mindes euill motions which are contrarie to the will and word of God.</HI></P>
<P>In this de&s;cription is &s;et downe fir&s;t the cau&s;e of our mor|tification, which is the vertue and efficacie of Chri&s;ts death and buriall,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.4.5.</NOTE> communicated and applied vnto vs by the &s;pi|rit of God, whereby wee are ingrafted into the body of Chri&s;t, and &s;o made partakers of the power and vertue of Chri&s;ts death, which being deriued vnto vs, doth not onely take away the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne, but al&s;o doth mortifie and kill our naturall corruptions, which heretofore wholy ruled and ouer&s;waied vs. Secondly, the forme man|ner and progre&s;&s;e of this worke is here expre&s;&s;ed, namely, the weakning, &s;ubduing, and killing of our corruption by little and little; &s;o that this worke is not perfected at once, and in an in&s;tant, but by degrees: fir&s;t it is weakned and the power thereof &s;omewhat abated, &s;o as though it beare &s;way in vs, yet it doth not wholy ouerrule vs without re&s;i&s;tance,
<PB N="604" REF="312">as it was v&s;ed to doe in the time of our ignorance: then be|ing further enabled by vertue of Gods &s;pirit, working in vs, we preuaile again&s;t it, &s;o that though it often rebell, yet doe we &s;ubdue it and obtaine victorie. La&s;tly obtaining a greater mea&s;ure of the &s;pirit, we mortifie and kill it; that is, though we doe not vtterly depriue it of life and motion, yet we giue it &s;uch a deadly wound that it neuer recouereth his former &s;trength, but &s;till pineth and langui&s;heth, till with the death of the bodie it al&s;o dieth and is wholy aboli&s;hed. Now while&s;t it is in this con&s;umption and neere vnto death, hauing a long time before been weake, oftentimes it &s;ee|meth to recouer &s;trength, and to offer &s;ome violence vnto the regenerat part: but this mu&s;t not di&s;courage vs, as though now it were on the mending hand, and like to be re&s;tored to it former health and &s;trength: for as it fareth with tho&s;e that lie vpon their deathbead; &s;o it is with our &s;icke fle&s;h, and the corruptions thereof, after that nature &s;eemeth &s;pent, and the power thereof wholy decayed, oftentimes falling into &s;ome grieuous fit, wherein there is a fight betweene life and death, their &s;trength &s;eemeth redoubled and farre grea|ter than euer it was: but bee of good comfort, it is no &s;igne of health, but a pange of death which neare approacheth.</P>
<P>And thus you &s;ee the death of &s;inne and our naturall cor|ruption. Now as in the death of the body there is a certaine progre&s;&s;e therein, namely, when the dead carca&s;e is al&s;o bu|ried; &s;o al&s;o there is not only a death of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.4. Col. 2.12. and 3.3.5.</NOTE> but al&s;o a bu|riall, the which is wrought by the vertue of Chri&s;ts buriall applied vnto vs by Gods &s;pirit, whereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e that &s;inne which is already &s;laine and dead, doth &s;o remaine and continue; &s;o that this buriall of &s;inne is nothing el&s;e but the further progre&s;&s;e and continuance of our mortification. Of this the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.4.</NOTE> Rom. 6.4. <HI>We are buried then with him by bapti&s;me into his death, &amp;c.</HI> So Col. 2.12.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;hewed what our mortification is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the worke of mortificati|on is hard and nece&s;&s;arie.</NOTE> which as it is a worke mo&s;t hard, &s;o al&s;o mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary: the difficul|ty appeareth by the name which is borrowed from the prac|ti&s;e of Chirurgeons, who before they cut off any member, doe fir&s;t mortifie it, that after they may take it away with
<PB N="605" REF="312">le&s;&s;e &s;en&s;e of paine. And this is implyed by our Sauiour Chri&s;t, whereas hee inioyneth vs, if our right hand or eye offend vs, to cut it off and plucke it out: and plainely expre&s;|&s;ed by the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> Col. 3.5. <HI>Mortifie therefore your members which are in the earth, fornication, vncleanene&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3.5.</NOTE> <HI>the inordinate affection, euill concupi&s;cence and couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &amp;c.</HI> where calling the&s;e &s;innes by the name of members, he inti|mateth thus much, that they are as deare vnto vs as the mem|bers of our body, and al&s;o that it is as vnplea&s;ant and paine|full vnto vs to for&s;ake our naturall corruptions, as to be de|priued of the hand, eye, or foote. But though this worke be mo&s;t hard, yet it is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary; for the be&s;t things that are in the fle&s;h and vnregenerate part, euen the <HI>wi&s;edome thereof is death and enmitie against God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.6, 7, 8.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e it is not &s;ub|iect to the lawe of God, neither in deede can be,</HI> Rom. 8.6, 7. nei|ther can we doe any thing plea&s;ing vnto God &s;o long as we are in the fle&s;h, as it is ver&s;e 8. La&s;tly, if we liue after the fle&s;h, we &s;hall dye, euen the euerla&s;ting death of body and &s;oule; but if wee mortifie the deeds of the body by the &s;pirit wee &s;hall liue, euen the life of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e vpon earth, and the life of glory and eternall happine&s;&s;e in Gods kingdome. And therefore if it be nece&s;&s;ary to be in amitie with God, who&s;e <HI>louing kindne&s;&s;e is better than life;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 63.4.</NOTE> or to per|forme obedience vnto the lawe of God, or to doe any thing plea&s;ing in his &s;ight, or to e&s;cape death and damnation, or to inioy life and eternall &s;aluation, then is it al&s;o nece&s;&s;arie to mortifie the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof, how hard and vn|plea&s;ant &s;oeuer this worke &s;eemeth vnto vs. So that the dif|ficulty mu&s;t not di&s;courage vs, but rather double our dili|gence; and becau&s;e it is a paine intollerable to part with our &s;innes, &s;o long as they remaine like liuely members of the body of our fle&s;h, therefore as Chirurgians (to make the paine tollerable to the patient) doe fir&s;t v&s;e meanes to mor|tifie themember which they purpo&s;e to cut off; &s;o let vs v&s;e all good meanes to weaken the &s;trength of &s;inne, and to mortifie our carnall affections, and then we &s;hall &s;uffer them to be quite cut off and taken from vs without any extraordi|narie pa&s;&s;ion or &s;en&s;e of paine.</P>
<PB N="606" REF="313">
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And &s;o much concerning our mortification,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of Viuificati|on, what it is, and the cau&s;es thereof.</NOTE> wherein the &s;pirit of God communicating and applying vnto vs the vertue and efficacie of Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection, doth rai&s;e vs vp from the death of &s;inne to holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life.</P>
<P>The cau&s;e of our viuification is the vertue and efficacie of Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection applied vnto vs by Gods &s;pirit; the which vertue flowing from his deitie, was fir&s;t powerfull in his owne fle&s;h, rai&s;ing it out of graue, and giuing it victorie ouer &s;inne and death, and being deriued from our head, and communicated vnto vs who are members of his body, it doth al&s;o reuiue vs who were dead in our &s;innes, and ina|bleth vs to leade a new life in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, according to the rule of Gods word. This appeareth, Rom. 6.4. where he &s;aith that we are buried with him by bapti&s;me into his death, that like as Chri&s;t was rai&s;ed vp from the dead by the glory of the father, &s;o we al&s;o &s;hould walke in new|ne&s;&s;e of life.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phili 3.10.11.</NOTE> So Philip. 3.10, 11. where <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;ireth not onely to bee clothed with the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t ap|plied by faith for his iu&s;tification, but al&s;o to know <HI>and feele the vertue of Christs re&s;urrection, that by this meanes he might attaine vnto the re&s;urrection of the dead.</HI> And as <HI>Paul</HI> earne&s;t|ly de&s;ired this, &s;o al&s;o he attained vnto it, as him&s;elfe profe&s;|&s;eth. Galath. 2.20. <HI>Thus</HI> (&s;aith hee) <HI>I liue,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2.20.</NOTE> <HI>yet not I now but Christ liueth in me, and in that I now liue in the fle&s;h, I liue by faith in the &s;onne of God, who hath loued me and giuen him&s;elfe for me.</HI> Now this efficacie and vertue of Chri&s;ts re&s;urrection is applied vnto vs by Gods &s;pirit, which vniteth vs vnto Chri&s;t our head, and therefore v&s;ually in the Scriptures this worke is a&s;cribed vnto him.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.11.</NOTE> So Rom. 8.11. <HI>But if the &s;pirit of him that rai&s;ed vp Ie&s;us from the dead dwell in you, he that rai|&s;ed vp Christ from the dead &s;hall al&s;o quicken your mortall bo|dies, becau&s;e his &s;pirit dwelleth in you.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;hewed the author of our viuification:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the manner how our viui|fication is wrought.</NOTE> the manner how it is wrought followeth to bee &s;poken of. Fir&s;t, the &s;pirit of God di&s;pelleth the cloudes of ignorance, and illuminateth the eyes of our vnder&s;tanding with the beames of true &s;auing knowledge, wherewith being inligh|tened,
<PB N="607" REF="313">we rightly iudge that folly and madne&s;&s;e, in which we thought formerly our chiefe wi&s;dome con&s;i&s;ted, and ap|proue that as onely wi&s;e, which before wee condemned as extreame fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e. Of this the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Ephe&s;. 1.17. where he prayeth that God would be&s;tow vpon them <HI>the &s;pirit of wi&s;dome and reuelation through the knowledge of him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 1.17.</NOTE> <HI>that the eyes of their vnderstanding might bee inlighte|ned, &amp;c.</HI> After the vnder&s;tanding is thus inlightened, then al&s;o the will is changed; and whereas before regeneration it was corrupt, peruer&s;e, and rebellious, now being &s;anctified, it beginneth to hate and auoide that euill which in former times it loued and imbraced, and to like and delight in that good which formerly it loathed and abhorred: &s;o that the regenerate man &s;aith with the Apo&s;tle, that to will is pre&s;ent with him, though hee finde no meanes to performe that which is good;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.18.22.</NOTE> and that he is <HI>delighted in the lawe of God con|cerning the inner man,</HI> though <HI>the law of his members rebelling against the law of his mind, leade him captiue to the law of &s;inne.</HI> Finally, the vnder&s;tanding being inlightened, and the will reformed, there followeth the renewing of all the affections, the thoughts, imaginations, powers and faculties of the &s;oule: and la&s;tly, the internal parts being quickened, there in&s;ueth the renuing of the body, the outward actions, life and conuer&s;ation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;et downe the manner and forme of our &s;pirituall renewing: now as the worke of mortification,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the worke of &s;anctificati|on is not fini|&s;hed in an in|&s;tant.</NOTE> &s;o this of viuification, is not perfected and fini&s;hed in an in|&s;tant, but in continuance of time and by degrees; neither doe we &s;o long as we continue in this life, receiue any great mea&s;ure thereof, but onely <HI>the first fruites,</HI> which is but as it were a little handfull in re&s;pect of that large harue&s;t of god|line&s;&s;e which we &s;hall attaine vnto in Gods kingdome, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.23.</NOTE> Rom. 8.23. Whereas therefore the Church is &s;aide to bee perfectly purged from all &s;pottes of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe. 5.26, 27&punc;</NOTE> Ephe&s;. 5.26, 27. it is to be vnder&s;tood of our iu&s;tifica|tion, whereby the faithfull are deliuered from the guilt and puni&s;hment of &s;inne, and adorned with Chri&s;ts perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; and not of our &s;anctification, which is onely
<PB N="608" REF="314">begun in this life, but not perfected till the life to come, as it is notably &s;et downe 2. Cor. 5.1, 2, 3, 4.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.1, 2. &amp;c.</NOTE></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IIII.</HI> Sathans temptations, whereby he laboureth to intice vs to commit &s;inne, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for the doctrine of &s;anctification,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the kinds of Sathans temp|tations whereby he indeauoreth to hinder our &s;anctification.</NOTE> the right vnder&s;tanding wherof &s;erueth much for the an&s;wering of all contrarie cauils and obiections, which are &s;ugge&s;ted into our mindes by our &s;pirituall enemies. Now, ha|uing &s;hewed the trueth of this doctrine, let vs in the next place propound Sathans temptations, which he commonly v&s;eth to hinder this worke of &s;anctification: to the end that the weake chri&s;tian may bee the better inabled to an&s;were them in the day of triall.</P>
<P>The temptations which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth to hinder our progre&s;&s;e in godline&s;&s;e are of two &s;orts: either allurements to intice vs to goe a&s;ide out of the narrow path of holi|ne&s;&s;e, into the broade way of &s;inne and wickedne&s;&s;e; or di&s;|couragements to di&s;harten and wearie vs, in trauailing this &s;pirituall iourney. By the fir&s;t, he &s;weeteneth the bitter pill of &s;inne that it may &s;eeme plea&s;ant to our carnall appetites, to the end that we may greedely &s;wallow it to our euerla|&s;ting bane; by the other hee laboureth to make hol&s;ome godline&s;&s;e loath&s;ome and altogether vnplea&s;ant to our &s;en|&s;uall ta&s;te. Tho&s;e hee commonly v&s;eth before we haue &s;in|ned, to cau&s;e vs pre&s;umptuou&s;ly to fall into it: and the&s;e af|ter wee haue &s;inned and wounded our con&s;ciences, to the end hee may moue vs de&s;perately to &s;urcea&s;e our labour in the workes of &s;anctification, as being not only difficult, but altogether impo&s;&s;ible.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fir&s;t &s;ort of his temptations whereby he laboureth to draw vs into &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of Sathans temptation, whereby he al|lureth vs to fall into &s;inne.</NOTE> he inforceth by extenuating the &s;inne vn|to which he allureth vs, by putting vs in minde of the mer|cies of God, and merits of Chri&s;t, and by hiding from vs
<PB N="609" REF="314">the cur&s;e of the law, and the puni&s;hments threatned again&s;t &s;inne both in this life and the life to come. Why (will hee &s;ay) make&s;t thou &s;uch &s;cruple of committing this &s;inne which is &s;o plea&s;ant or profitable vnto thee; &s;eeing it is in it owne nature but very &s;mall, and almo&s;t no offence at all, be|ing compared with the great tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions which others haue committed, who notwith&s;tanding are &s;aid euen in the Scriptures to haue been mo&s;t godly and righteous, yea, and highly in Gods loue and fauour; why therefore &s;houlde&s;t thou who art farre inferiour vnto them, &s;tumble at this &s;mall &s;trawe, &s;eeing the&s;e great blockes could not hinder euen the mo&s;t religious from inioying the plea&s;ures of &s;inne? Con&s;i|der al&s;o the common frailtie of mankinde, and the naturall corruptions of the be&s;t, whereby they are ready to fall when the lea&s;t occa&s;ions are offered, into &s;innes farre greater then this which &s;o much plea&s;eth thee. Remember that thou can&s;t not be a &s;aint in this life, nor freed from that corrupti|on which &s;o fa&s;t cleaueth vnto thee; and therefore &s;eeing thou mu&s;t needs &s;inne; now &s;inne, when thereby thou mai&s;t haue plea&s;ure or profit, for doe what thou can&s;t, yet thou &s;halt often fall. And why wilt thou not rather be lead with delight, then be drawne with nece&s;&s;itie? Con&s;ider likewi&s;e that thy God is mo&s;t mercifull, and therefore &s;till ready to pardon thy &s;innes; and the rather, becau&s;e he knoweth thy fraile weakene&s;&s;e in re&s;i&s;ting &s;inne, and inability to performe obedience to his lawe: and al&s;o that Chri&s;t died, not for the iu&s;t but the vniu&s;t, not for the righteous, but for the &s;inner: and therefore be thy &s;innes neuer &s;o many, yet applying the merits of Chri&s;t by faith, neither their guilt nor puni&s;hment &s;hall be imputed vnto thee. Call to minde al&s;o the gracious promi&s;es of pardon and forgiuene&s;&s;e, which are made vnto thee in the Go&s;pell; for the obtaining whereof, nothing is required of thee but faith and repentance: now this faith thou ha&s;t already, and this repentance thou mai&s;t haue here|after when thou ha&s;t inioyed the plea&s;ure or profit of this &s;inne. Neither doth repentance goe before, but followeth the committing of &s;inne; &s;o that vnle&s;&s;e thou fir&s;t &s;inne, thou ha&s;t no cau&s;e of repentance nor neede to repent.</P>
<PB N="610" REF="315">
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And the&s;e and &s;uch like are Sathans baites,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the world and the fle&s;h further the former temp|tation.</NOTE> wherewith he allureth vs to intangle our &s;elues in the &s;nares of &s;inne: into which wee are more readie to fall through the corruption of the fle&s;h, which naturally louing &s;inne, doth, with the euill motions and de&s;ires thereof, further Sathans temptations; and the in&s;tigation of the world which pricketh vs forward and draweth vs on into the &s;teepe de&s;cending way of wic|kedne&s;&s;e, into which we are readie to runne headlong of our owne accord; partly alluring vs with plea&s;ures, riches and worldly glorie, the de&s;ired obiects of our carnall de&s;ires; and partly drawing vs with euill examples, fir&s;t to a liking, and then to the practizing of tho&s;e &s;innes, which we &s;ee commit|ted by others.</P>
<P>Again&s;t all which temptations that we may be the better armed, let vs in the next place propound &s;ome arguments whereby wee may bee withheld from falling into Sathans &s;nares of &s;inne, into which his &s;ugge&s;tions, the worlds allure|ments, and our owne corruptions leade and draw vs: and then being hereby moued to a true dete&s;tation of our &s;innes, and an earne&s;t de&s;ire of hauing a diuorce &s;ued betwixt vs and them, I will afterwards &s;et downe &s;ome meanes, by the carefull v&s;e whereof we may be inabled to &s;tand in the day of temptation, and pre&s;erued from falling into tho&s;e &s;innes which we alreadie condemne in our iudgements and di&s;like in our affections.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The rea&s;ons whereby wee may bee per&s;waded to re&s;i&s;t &s;inne are of two &s;orts:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The pre&s;erua|tiues to keepe vs from &s;inne, of two &s;orts.</NOTE> the fir&s;t, tying vs to holy obedience in the bands of loue: the other, binding vs from falling into &s;inne with the cords of feare. Of the former ranke are the&s;e and &s;uch like holy con&s;iderations.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t rea&s;on taken from Gaeds loue to|wards vs.</NOTE>Fir&s;t, wee are to &s;et before vs the infinite loue of God to|wards vs ba&s;e and vile creatures, altogether vnworthie of his lea&s;t fauour by rea&s;on of our &s;innes; the which his loue as it plainly appeareth in all other his mercies and manifolde benefits be&s;towed on vs, &s;o e&s;pecially in &s;ending his onely begotten and dearely beloued &s;onne, not onely to &s;uffer &s;ome &s;mall mi&s;erie, but euen death it &s;elfe, yea that cur&s;ed ignominious and cruell death of the cro&s;&s;e for vs, who were
<PB N="611" REF="315">not his louing friends or faithfull &s;eruants, but oppo&s;ed ene|mies and rebellious traytors, who had renounced his &s;eruice and yeelded our &s;elues as &s;laues to Sathan readie to doe his will. Seeing therefore our good God hath &s;o dearely loued vs, who were altogether vnworthie his loue, and mo&s;t wor|thie of his anger and heauie iudgements, O why &s;hould not this flame of his loue towards vs, kindle &s;ome &s;parkles of loue towards him againe, who is in him&s;elfe the chief good|ne&s;&s;e, and to vs mo&s;t kinde and gratious? If for our &s;akes who were his abiect enemies, hee hath not &s;pared his owne &s;onne but gaue him to die for vs; &s;hould wee not for his &s;ake, who is our chiefe&s;t friend, bee as willing to part with our &s;innes, and to kill and crucifie all our carnall corruptions? Neither can wee by any other meanes &s;o cleerely &s;hew our loue to God as by hating &s;inne, which aboue al things in the world is mo&s;t hatefull and odious vnto him, and the onely cau&s;e which maketh him abhorre euen his excellent creatures, &s;o that though hee loued them as being his owne workes, yet he dete&s;ted them being defiled with the filthie &s;pots of &s;in; yea &s;o odious is &s;inne vnto our righteous God, that he could not chu&s;e but puni&s;h it in his dearely beloued &s;onne, who bare our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions and &s;u&s;tained our per&s;ons, and when there was no other way to &s;ubdue the power of &s;inne, hee gaue it a mortall wound euen through the bodie of our ble&s;&s;ed Sauiour, and deliuered him to be crucified, that by this meanes he might al&s;o kill and crucifie our corruptions. Seeing therefore &s;inne is mo&s;t odious and dete&s;table in the eyes of God, wee cannot better &s;hew our loue towards him, which his loue towards vs hath &s;o well de&s;erued, than by hating and flying that which he &s;o much abhorreth.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd rea&s;on, taken from Gods be|nefits. <HI>Ephe&s;. 1.4.</HI></NOTE> let vs call to our remembrance his innumerable benefits, which are the vndoubted &s;ignes of his loue to|wards vs. Fir&s;t hee hath elected vs vnto eternall life that wee &s;hould be holy. Seeing therfore he hath made &s;pecial choi&s;e of vs among&s;t many who are reiected, therfore let vs exceed others in a holy care of &s;eruing him, and auoiding tho&s;e things which are di&s;plea&s;ing in his &s;ight; hee al&s;o hath crea|ted vs to the end we &s;hould wor&s;hip and &s;erue him our Lord
<PB N="612" REF="316">and Creator:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 17.28.</NOTE> and therefore &s;eeing we haue our being from him, let vs in al our actions &s;eeke his glorie and auoid &s;inne, whereby he is di&s;honoured. Yea hee hath not made vs the vile&s;t of his creatures, but rea&s;onable men according to his owne image and likenes, and therefore let vs not deface this glorious workman&s;hip with the filthie &s;pots of &s;inne. He hath redeemed vs out of the cruell bondage of our &s;pirituall enemies, by giuing his &s;onne to be the price of our redemp|tion, and therefore &s;eeing we are bought with a price &s;o ine|&s;timable, let vs not wilfully again make our &s;elues the bond|&s;laues of &s;inne and Sathan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.20. Luk. 1.74.75. 2. Cor. 5.15. Rom. 6.6.8.18</NOTE> but <HI>glorifie our redeemer in our bo|dies and in our &s;oules, &s;eruing him in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e all the daies of our liues.</HI> He hath effectually called vs and &s;e|lected vs out of the corrupt ma&s;&s;e of mankinde, and there|fore <HI>let vs walke worthie our vocation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;&s; 4.17.</NOTE> <HI>for God hath not called vs vnto vncleanne&s;&s;e but vnto holine&s;&s;e.</HI> He hath freely iu&s;tified vs, imputing vnto vs Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and pardoning all our &s;innes, both in re&s;pect of the guilt and puni&s;hment; and therefore being made free from &s;inne, let vs no longer liue therein, but now become the &s;eruants of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; and &s;eeing he hath forgiuen much, let vs al&s;o loue much, la|bouring to manife&s;t our loue by the fruites of holy obedi|ence.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 7 47.</NOTE> He hath reconciled vs vnto him&s;elfe in his &s;onne, and therefore let vs not by our &s;innes make him our enemie, nor againe build vp this wall of &s;eparation which Chri&s;t our Sa|uiour hath broken downe.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.21.22. Eph. 2.14.</NOTE> He hath adopted vs in Chri&s;t to be his &s;onnes and heires of euerla&s;ting life, and therfore &s;ee|ing we are the &s;onnes of God, let vs yeeld obedience to our heauenly father, and not liue in our &s;innes like the &s;laues of Sathan, lea&s;t prouoking his iu&s;t di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t vs by our rebellious wickedne&s;&s;e, wee &s;hould bee di&s;inherited of our heauenly patrimonie. He hath granted vnto vs the peace of con&s;cience and ioyes in the holy Gho&s;t, and therefore let vs not by our &s;innes di&s;turbe our peace and wound our con|&s;ciences, turning our &s;weete ioy and comfort into griefe and bitter heauine&s;&s;e. Finally, he hath added vnto the&s;e &s;pirituall gifts, innumerable temporarie benefits, health, wealth, liber|tie, foode, apparell, and therefore let vs not abu&s;e his gifts by
<PB N="613" REF="316">prophaning them with our &s;innes, but rather v&s;e them as in|couragements whereby we may be moued with all cheere|fulnes to &s;erue &s;o bountifull a ma&s;ter. In a word, as the gifts of God are infinite which concerne this life and the life to come; &s;o are the rea&s;ons drawne from them infinite, which may &s;erue to re&s;traine vs from &s;inne, and containe vs in the cour&s;e of holie obedience: the which if wee continually re|taine in memorie (euen tho&s;e benefits which are common to all true Chri&s;tians, and tho&s;e which euery one receiueth in his particular place and calling) wee will not (vnle&s;&s;e our vngratefulnes bee intollerable) ea&s;ily hearken to Sathans temptations, nor for the vaine plea&s;ures, vncertaine riches and momentanie honours of this wicked world be hired to commit &s;inne, which we know to be di&s;plea&s;ing and odious in the &s;ight of God, who in his endle&s;&s;e loue hath be&s;towed vpon vs &s;uch innumerable benefits.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly, when wee are tempted vnto &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third rea|&s;on, taken from the death and &s;uffrings of our Sauiour Chri&s;t.</NOTE> let vs call to minde the death and &s;uffring of our Sauiour Chri&s;t, and &s;ay vnto our owne &s;oules, Hath Chri&s;t my redeemer paid for my redemption euen his deare&s;t bloud, and &s;hall I &s;ell my &s;oule to &s;inne againe for this vaine plea&s;ure or ba&s;e commoditie? Hath he not &s;pared to powre out the full &s;treames of his mo&s;t precious bloud, that in this pure lauer I might be pur|ged and clean&s;ed from the filthie &s;pots of &s;inne; and &s;hall the world cau&s;e me with her Syrens &s;ongs to leape againe into this filthie puddle? Should he &s;uffer him&s;elfe to be cru|cified that by his death he might kil &s;in, and &s;hall I now put life into it againe, reuiuing that which hee hath mortified? Did he in his infinite loue giue him&s;elfe for me, and &s;hall I trample this precious gift vnder foote, preferring before it the trifling vanities of this wicked world? Should honour allure me to commit &s;inne, &s;eeing the glorious &s;onne of God hath aba&s;ed him&s;elfe and vndergone ignominious &s;hame to free me from it? Should plea&s;ures intice me to breake Gods co~mandements, &s;eeing my Sauiour Chri&s;t left the bo&s;ome of his father, at who&s;e right hand there is fulnes of plea&s;ures &amp; ioyes for euermore, and endured the griefe and mi&s;eries of a wretched life and cur&s;ed death, that thereby hee might &s;ati&s;|fie
<PB N="614" REF="317">Gods iu&s;tice for my tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions? Should I be per&s;wa|ded to commit &s;inne, with the ba&s;e hire of vncertaine riches, &s;eeing <HI>Chri&s;t hath redeemed me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.18.19</NOTE> <HI>not with &s;iluer or gold, or any other corruptible thing, but with the ine&s;timable price of his mo&s;t precious bloud?</HI> Should my &s;en&s;uall ta&s;te and curious pallate, moue me to &s;inne in drunkenne&s;&s;e and gluttonie, &s;eeing Chri&s;t to redeem me hath hungred and thir&s;ted, and in &s;teed of drink had offred vnto him gall &amp; vineger? Shall I be mo|ued to &s;inne by anger, and to &s;eeke vniu&s;t reuenge, &s;eeing Chri&s;t being iniured <HI>opened not his mouth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 53.7.</NOTE> <HI>but like an innocent lambe &s;uffred him&s;elfe to be led to the &s;laughter?</HI> Farre be from me &s;uch a de&s;ire; nay rather becau&s;e my Sauiour Chri&s;t hath &s;uffred all this for me, to redeeme me out of my &s;pirituall bondage, I will re&s;olue rather to be depriued of all worldly benefits, and endure patiently the greate&s;t mi&s;eries and affli|ctions, than by wilfull falling into &s;inne make my &s;elfe again the &s;laue of Sathan. And thus haue I &s;hewed how the re|membrance of Chri&s;ts death and pa&s;&s;ion is a notable corra|&s;iue to kill our corruptions: and as men are accu&s;tomed to &s;hew vnto Elephants the iuyce of the Grape or Mulberie, to make them more fierce and encourage them to a more cou|ragious fight; &s;o haue I by offring to our view the precious bloud of this immaculate Lambe, endeuoured to redouble our valour in fighting this battell of temptations again&s;t our &s;pirituall enemies.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth rea&s;on, taken from the vnion which is be|twixt Chri&s;t and vs.</NOTE> let vs remember the vnion that is between Chri&s;t and vs, whereby he is become our husband, we his &s;pou&s;e, he our head, and wee his members. The con&s;ideration whereof may &s;erue as a forcible argument to re&s;traine vs from falling willingly into any &s;inne; for if wee bee the &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t, farre be it from vs to behaue our &s;elues like Sathans &s;trum|pets, pro&s;tituting our &s;oules to &s;inne that we may receiue the gaine of &s;ome worldly vanities, and to incurre the grieuous di&s;plea&s;ure of our mo&s;t louing husband, for the plea&s;ing of our carnall lu&s;ts &amp; &s;en&s;uall appetites; if we be the members of Chri&s;ts bodie, farre be it from vs to make his members the in&s;truments of &s;inne and &s;eruants of vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.15.</NOTE> for what were this but as much as in vs doth lie, to draw our
<PB N="615" REF="317">holy head into the communion of our &s;innes and wicked|ne&s;&s;e, and to make our Sauiour who in him&s;elfe hath wholy vanqui&s;hed and gloriou&s;ly tryumphed ouer &s;inne and Sa|than, in his members to receiue a foyle? Nay rather &s;eeing we are the &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t, let vs labour to adorne our &s;elues with the glorious goulden garment of holine&s;&s;e and righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e; and though we haue &s;ome &s;pots of our naturall infirmities in our outward parts, yet let vs in a glorious man|ner decke our &s;elues within with integritie and vpright|ne&s;&s;e of heart; and &s;o the King our heauenly husband &s;hall take plea&s;ure in our beautie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 4.5.</NOTE> and place vs at his right hand in his kingdome of eternall glorie. Seeing al&s;o we are the members of Chri&s;ts body, therefore let vs endeauour to con|forme our &s;elues to the holine&s;&s;e of our head, and by our righteous liues and conuer&s;ations make it manife&s;t, that we are quickned and led by the &s;ame &s;pirit.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fi&s;t rea&s;on taken from the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs. <HI>1. Cor. 3.16. Eph. 2.21.22.</HI></NOTE> let vs cal to minde that our bodies are the temples of the holy Gho&s;t, which once were polluted and vncleane, but now &s;anctified and purged by this our holy gue&s;t, that they may be fit habitations for him&s;elfe to dwell in. And then let vs con&s;ider that it is a mo&s;t horrible indignitie a|gain&s;t the maie&s;tie of God, to prophane with our filthie &s;innes the holy temples of his mo&s;t holy &s;pirit, and to make them more fit to be &s;ties for filthie &s;wine and vncleane &s;pi|rits, than man&s;ion hou&s;es for God to dwell in;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.30.</NOTE> that by our &s;innes we vexe and grieue the good &s;pirit of God, and make his lodging loth&s;ome vnto him, and &s;o as much as in vs ly|eth, we driue him away, and as it were thru&s;t him out of dores, if not by violence, yet at lea&s;t by our hard and vnciuill entertainement: yea that by our &s;innes we doe not onely defile, but euen de&s;troy the temple of God, and thereby al&s;o ca&s;t our &s;elues headlong into eternall de&s;truction.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.17.</NOTE> <HI>For if any man de&s;troy the temple of God, him &s;hall God de&s;troy,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 3.16. If therefore wee would not prophane Gods temple, abu&s;e his glorious pre&s;ence, vexe our holy gue&s;t, de&s;troy his man&s;ion and our &s;elues al&s;o, let vs mo&s;t careful|ly auoyde &s;inne, and nouri&s;h all the good motions of Gods &s;pirit, wholy &s;ubmitting our &s;elues with cheerefull alacritie
<PB N="616" REF="318">to be guided and gouerned by his directions, and &s;o we &s;hal perfume the&s;e holy temples with the odours and incen&s;e of holy obedience,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 2.5.</NOTE> which &s;melling &s;weetely in Gods no&s;trils will moue him to dwell in vs with plea&s;ure and delight, all the daies of this our pilgrimage, and afterwards to tran|&s;port vs into tho&s;e eternall man&s;ions of his kingdome of glorie, where we &s;hall continue in all ioy and happine&s;&s;e for euermore.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. V.</HI> Of the &s;econd &s;ort of pre&s;eruatiues to keepe vs from &s;inne.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning the fir&s;t &s;ort of argu|ments grounded vpon loue;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t rea&s;on taken from Gods all-&s;eeing wi&s;edome and all-filling pre|&s;ence.</NOTE> the &s;econd &s;orte whereby we may be withdrawne from com|mitting &s;inne, may be taken from that feare and reuerence of God, which ought to be in euery one of vs: vnto which we may be moued by diuers effectuall rea&s;ons. As fir&s;t by the con&s;ideration of Gods all-&s;eeing wi&s;edome, and all-filling pre&s;ence, whereby he &s;eeth euen our mo&s;t &s;ecret thoughts, and is a pre&s;ent witne&s;&s;e of all our hidden actions. For this being remembred, who dare in &s;uch a glorious pre&s;ence commit that wickedne&s;&s;e, which he knoweth hatefull vnto him, before whom he com|mitteth it? He is counted an vngracious childe, who will wittingly breake his fathers commaundement euen before his face; and he is e&s;teemed a de&s;perat malefactor who dare pre&s;umptuou&s;ly offend again&s;t the law in pre&s;ence of his iudge; how then can our vngracious impudencie and de&s;pe|rate pre&s;umption be excu&s;ed, who dare offend and &s;inne in the &s;ight and pre&s;ence of a father &s;o gracious, and of a iudge &s;o iu&s;t?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd rea|&s;on taken from Gods exact iu|&s;tice.</NOTE> let vs call to minde Gods iu&s;tice, which is &s;o exact, that rather then he would let &s;inne goe vnpuni&s;hed, he puni&s;hed it in his deerely beloued &s;onne. If therefore thou &s;in, thou can&s;t not corrupt him with bribes, nor pacifie him
<PB N="617" REF="318">with faire words, nor ouercome him by intreatie, nor &s;top the cour&s;e of iu&s;tice, with the interce&s;&s;io~ of friends. For, hath he not &s;pared his &s;onne, and will he &s;paire his &s;eruants? hath he puni&s;hed &s;in in his owne childe, and will he winke at it in a common &s;ubiect? could neither the intreatie, nor teares, nor grones, nor &s;trong cryes, nor bloodie &s;weate of his be&s;t beloued &s;onne, appea&s;e his wrath and &s;ati&s;fie his iu&s;tice, but that &s;tanding in our place hee mu&s;t needes beare our puni&s;hment, and being &s;uretie for &s;inners he mu&s;t die for &s;inne? and &s;hall they who are the principalls e&s;cape, who in &s;tead of pleading his paiment, doe contemptuou&s;ly refu&s;e it, and as it were tread it vnder foote? It is true in|deede that Chri&s;t &s;uffered for vs that we might e&s;cape, and paid our debt that it might not be required at our hand; but &s;eeing all &s;inners haue not their part of Chri&s;t and his me|rits, but onely tho&s;e that are in Chri&s;t; and tho&s;e onely are in Chri&s;t, who walke not after the fle&s;h, but after the &s;pirit; &s;eeing al&s;o tho&s;e onely are partakers of all the gracious pro|mi&s;es made in him, who approue their faith by the liuely fruite thereof vnfained repentance; and tho&s;e onely doe truely repent, who &s;orrow for their &s;ins pa&s;t, hate their pre|&s;ent corruptions, and de&s;ire and indeauour to &s;erue God in newne&s;&s;e of life; how can we haue any a&s;&s;urance that Gods iu&s;tice is &s;ati&s;fied for vs, and that we haue e&s;caped condem|nation, if we quench the good motions of Gods &s;pirit, and obey the fle&s;h in the lu&s;ts thereof, and if &s;till being in loue with our &s;innes, we re&s;olue to goe forward in our cour&s;e of wickedne&s;&s;e?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third rea|&s;on taken from Gods fierce an|ger again&s;t &s;in, &s;hewed in his fearefull iudg|ments executed vpon &s;inners.</NOTE> let vs cal to our remembrance Gods fearce wrath conceiued again&s;t &s;inne, and his fearefull iudgements which he hath executed vpon &s;inners, and that not onely particular men, but al&s;o whole &s;tates and common-wealthes. Let vs call to minde the generall deluge in which all mankinde &s;auing eight per&s;ons were drowned; the de&s;truction of So|dome and Gomorrah by fier and brim&s;tone; the rooting out of the whole nation of the Cananites; the reiection of the Iewes; the ouerthrow and vtter defacing of tho&s;e famous Churches of the Corinthians, Galathians, Ephe&s;ians, Philip|pians,
<PB N="618" REF="319">Collo&s;&s;ians, The&s;&s;alonians; and the re&s;t mentioned in the Reuelation. And to the examples of former times adde tho&s;e which euery man ob&s;erueth in his owne experience; and then con&s;ider withall that the cau&s;e which moued the Lord to execute in his iu&s;t di&s;plea&s;ure the&s;e heauie iudge|ments vpon mankinde, was nothing el&s;e but &s;inne, and it will be a forcible rea&s;on to withdraw vs from it. For the Lord is immutable and vnchangeable in his cour&s;e of iu&s;tice, and he hateth &s;inne now as deadly as in former ages; neither will he &s;pare vs more than others, if we liue in our &s;innes without repentance: nay certainly as our &s;innes being ag|grauated by many circum&s;tances are more odious vnto him, &s;o will the Lord proportionably inflict more heauie iudgements vpon vs then he hath vpon others, who&s;e &s;innes haue not been &s;o great and pre&s;umptuous. For if the Lord giue vs now extraordinarie knowledge, or at lea&s;t the meanes thereof, and we &s;inne again&s;t this knowledge and again&s;t our owne con&s;ciences; if he hath in mo&s;t abundant mea&s;ure, multiplied his mercies vpon vs, and we hereby be made more vnkind and vngratefull; if he hath giuen vs warning by innumerable examples of his heauie iudge|ments executed vpon others in former times, and in our own daies, yea euen in our owne &s;ight, layeth heauie puni&s;h|ments vpon &s;uch as haue committed no other &s;innes then wee our &s;elues are guiltie of, and yet wee continue in our &s;innes without repentance, how is it po&s;&s;ible but that wee &s;hould prouoke Gods fierce wrath again&s;t vs, and draw downe violently vpon our &s;elues with the&s;e cartropes of iniquitie, Gods fearefull plagues and heauie iudgements. It is true indeede that God is long &s;uffering and &s;low to anger, but if hereby wee take occa&s;ion to continue in our &s;innes, and doe delay our repentance, what doe we el&s;e but <HI>trea&s;ure vp again&s;t our &s;elues wrath again&s;t the day of wrath,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.5.</NOTE> <HI>and the declaration of the iu&s;t iudgement of God?</HI> It is mo&s;t certaine that God is not ea&s;ily prouoked to wrath and an|ger, but let not this incourage vs to continue in our &s;innes; for if it be once inflamed, it is &s;o fierce and terrible, that with the heate thereof it drieth vp the &s;eas; and &s;o powerfull
<PB N="619" REF="319">that he maketh therewith the earth to tremble and the mountaines to melt like waxe in his pre&s;ence, and the voyce of his furie doth breake and rent in &s;under the ceaders, yea the mightie &s;trong ceaders of Libanus, as the &s;cripture &s;peaketh. As therefore fire doth burne more hotly in &s;uch &s;olid matter as is long in kindling, then in flaxe or &s;traw which is &s;oone inflamed, and &s;oone extingui&s;hed; &s;o the anger of God is not ea&s;ily inflamed, but if it be once kind|led, it burneth &s;o furiou&s;ly that nothing will quench it, but the blood of Chri&s;t applied by faith, and the &s;treaming teares of vnfained repentance. Seeing then Gods iudge|ments are &s;o fearefull, and his anger &s;o terrible, let vs care|fully take heede of prouoking his wrath again&s;t vs by our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">He 2.10.31.</NOTE> <HI>for it is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly, let vs meditate vpon the day of iudgement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth rea|&s;on taken from them day of iudgement.</NOTE> when as we mu&s;t giue an account not onely of our words and workes, but al&s;o of our &s;ecret thoughts, before a mo&s;t iu&s;t iudge, who with the all-&s;eeing eye of his diuine know|ledge &s;earcheth and beholdeth the very heart and reynes, in the pre&s;ence al&s;o of men and Angels. And this will re&s;traine vs from falling into &s;inne, though it may be &s;o &s;ecretly acted that we neede not to feare in this life, either &s;hame or pu|ni&s;hment. For let it be &s;uppo&s;ed that we can hide our &s;innes from the &s;ight of all men, yet what wil this benefit vs if God again&s;t whom we &s;inne, and before whom as our &s;upreme iudge, we mu&s;t giue an account doe looke vpon vs? what will it profit vs though time weare our offences out of mans remembrance, if God keepe a faithfull regi&s;ter of them, and ingraue our reckoning with a penne of yron? what will it helpe vs if by our cunning conueyances, we can hide our &s;innes and auoyde &s;hame, or with an impudent forehead can face them out without blu&s;hing, if our nakedne&s;&s;e be di&s;couered, and our &s;hame proclamed in the pre&s;ence of God and all his Saints and Angels? What will it auaile vs to be exempted from puni&s;hment in this life, through our great power and vncontrouleable authoritie, or to e&s;cape the penaltie of humaine lawes by the interce&s;&s;ion of friends, or
<PB N="620" REF="320" MS="y">by corrupting the iudge, or by procuring the princes par|don; if againe we mu&s;t be arraigned before &s;uch an vpright iudge, as re&s;pecteth no per&s;ons, receiueth no rewards, and being found guiltie, be condemned vnto the eternall tor|ments of hell fire? When therefore we heare the voyce of Sathans temptations alluring vs to commit &s;inne, let vs al&s;o haue the voyce of the Archangell &s;ounding in our eares, <HI>Ari&s;e ye dead and come vnto iudgement:</HI> when the world tempteth vs vnto &s;inne on the one &s;ide by inti&s;ing promi&s;es of honors, plea&s;ures, and riches, and on the other&s;ide, by terrifying threatnings of lo&s;&s;e, daunger, or puni&s;hment, let vs call to minde the day of iudgement, when either we mu&s;t heare the &s;entence of &s;aluation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.</NOTE> <HI>Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my father and inherit the kingdome prepared for you &amp;c,</HI> or the &s;entence of condemnation, <HI>Depart ye cur&s;ed into hell fire which is pre|pared for the diuell and his angels:</HI> and then &s;hall not the mo|mentanie vanities of the world &s;o forcibly draw vs into the &s;nares of &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Pet. 3.11. Iude. 14.15.</NOTE> as the remembrance of the heauenly ioyes prepared for vs in Gods kingdome will retaine vs in holy obedience; then will not the worlds threats of tempo|rarie mi&s;eries &s;o &s;trongly vrged vs to wound our con&s;ci|ences with the &s;ting of &s;inne, as the feare to heare the de|finitiue &s;entence of eternall condemnation will re&s;traine vs from it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fifth rea|&s;on taken from the manifold euils of &s;inne.</NOTE> let vs call to minde the manifold euils, wich &s;inne cau&s;eth both to body and &s;oule, in this life and the life to come; and &s;o though the vgline&s;&s;e of it &s;elfe will not make vs to flee from it, yet the mi&s;erable effects which it produ|ceth may moue vs to abhorre it. Con&s;ider therefore that there is no euill vnder the &s;unne, in this life or afterwards, which is not a fruit of this cur&s;ed roote: it &s;ubiecteth the bodie to &s;ickne&s;&s;e and di&s;ea&s;es, hunger and thir&s;t, cold and wearine&s;&s;e; the minde to ignorance and blindne&s;&s;e, the will to peruer&s;ne&s;&s;e, the affections to all prepo&s;terous di&s;order; it ruinateth the e&s;tate, and bringeth a man to pouertie and extreame mi&s;erie; it maketh the whole man obnoxious to the cur&s;e of the law, the anger of God, and all tho&s;e innu|merable euils, which euer accompanie them. In this world
<PB N="621" REF="320">it bringeth the body to death and corruption, and in the world to come both body and &s;oule to condemnation, and endle&s;&s;e de&s;truction; it depriueth vs of our heauenly inheri|tance, and the euerla&s;ting ioyes of Gods kingdome, and plungeth vs into the lake which burneth with fire and brim|&s;tone. In a word there is no euill which can be imagined which doth not proceede from this euill of &s;inne, and there|fore though it &s;eeme neuer &s;o &s;weete to our carnall appe|tites, yet being mixed with this gall and wormewood of in|numerable euils, let vs loath and abhorre it; when the vaine and vncertaine benefits which it promi&s;eth moue vs to im|brace it, let the mi&s;erable euils which accompanie it, and the mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured and &s;urpa&s;&s;ing ioyes which it depriueth vs of, make vs to auoyde it as a deadly &s;tinging &s;erpent.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VI.</HI> Of &s;ome &s;peciall meanes whereby we may be pre&s;erued from falling into &s;inne.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd the&s;e are the rea&s;ons whereby euery one may be armed again&s;t Sathans &s;ugge&s;tions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t meanes is to auoyde the oc|ca&s;ion of &s;inne.</NOTE> tempting him vnto &s;inne; and be moued vnto a chri&s;tian re&s;olution, of po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing body and &s;oule in ho|line&s;&s;e and puritie: now we are to &s;peake of &s;ome &s;peciall meanes, whereby the chri&s;tian thus re&s;olued may be pre&s;er|ued from falling into &s;uch grieuous &s;innes, as wound the con&s;cience, and hinder him in the cour&s;e of &s;anctification.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;. 5.22.</NOTE> Fir&s;t, he that would auoyde &s;inne, mu&s;t carefully al&s;o auoyde the occa&s;ions thereof, which are &s;trong inducements to draw him vnto &s;inne; for as it is great folly for a man who dreadeth burning to be alwaies medling with fire and gun|powder; &s;o is it no le&s;&s;e madne&s;&s;e to thinke that we can pre|&s;erue our &s;elues from &s;inne, and yet intertaine all occa&s;ions thereof, continually &s;uffering the &s;parkes of Sathans temp|tations to fall as it were into the tindar of our corrupt af|fections. It is not po&s;&s;ible that he who is inclined to glut|tonie and drunkenne&s;&s;e &s;hould containe him&s;elfe from the&s;e
<PB N="622" REF="321">&s;innes, if he giue him&s;elfe to companie keeping, and take his chiefe delight in plea&s;ing his ta&s;t with the daintie&s;t meates and drinkes: or that he who is cholericke, &s;hould refraine from anger, and yet thru&s;t him&s;elfe into needle&s;&s;e contro|ver&s;ies and hot contentions: or for him that is la&s;ciuious to ab&s;taine from vncleane&s;&s;e, and yet frequent vncha&s;t compa|nie, reade wanton bookes, view ob&s;cure &s;pectacles, v&s;e filthie communication, and pamper him&s;elfe in gluttonie, and drunkenne&s;&s;e. In a word we cannot auoyde any &s;inne, vn|le&s;&s;e wee al&s;o flee and &s;hunne the occa&s;ions and meanes thereof; and therefore let vs be as carefull and watchfull in the one as the other, or els we &s;hall mo&s;t certainely loo&s;e our labours.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd meanes, to make con&s;ci|ence of the lea&s;t &s;innes.</NOTE> if wee would not fall into greater &s;innes, we mu&s;t al&s;o make con&s;cience of tho&s;e which are le&s;&s;e; and thinke with our &s;elues that no &s;inne is &s;mall, &s;eeing the lea&s;t de&s;erueth the anger of God and euerla&s;ting death: other|wi&s;e if we willingly intertaine euen &s;mall corruptions, we &s;hall at length make no con&s;cience of heynous tran&s;gre&s;&s;i|ons; and the&s;e little theeues being let in, wil in time &s;et wide open the doore of our hearts, that the greate&s;t and gro&s;&s;e&s;t may ea&s;ily enter, and &s;o robbe and &s;poyle vs of all grace and goodne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third meanes is con|tinually to &s;tand vpon our guard.</NOTE> let vs continually &s;tand vpon our guard, careful|ly watching ouer our owne hearts, that we be not &s;urpri&s;ed at vnawares; for thou&s;ands are the baites which are laid to intrap vs, and tenne thou&s;and &s;nares doth Sathan lay to in|tangle vs; and therefore it behooueth vs to looke narrowly to our waies, and to be alwaies as readie to giue Sathan the repul&s;e, as he to make the encounter. And con&s;idering that if we doe not a&s;&s;ault &s;inne, it will mo&s;t &s;urely &s;et vpon vs, and at one time or other will giue vs the foyle if we onely lie at warde and neuer offer blow again&s;t this our enemie; therefore it behooueth euery chri&s;tian &s;ouldier, not onely to giue &s;inne a repul&s;e, but al&s;o to wound it in the head, and beate it downe, that it may not againe a&s;&s;ault him, or at lea&s;t not with wonted power and violence: and for as much as he hath many enemies which cannot at once be ouer|come,
<PB N="623" REF="321">therefore he is to labour to get euery day the ma&s;te|rie of &s;ome &s;inne, and to bring it in &s;ubiection, that &s;o in continuance of time he may vanqui&s;h all, and obtaine a full and finall victorie our all his corruptions.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly, if we would not fall into grieuous &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth meanes, to re&s;t on Gods a&s;&s;i|&s;tance and not on our owne power.</NOTE> wee mu&s;t not &s;tand in our owne power, nor tru&s;t in our owne &s;trength, but wholy re&s;t and relie vpon Gods promi&s;ed a&s;|&s;i&s;tance. For if once we robbe God of his glorie, and arro|gate the prai&s;e of our victorie ouer &s;inne and Sathan vnto our &s;elues, the Lord will withdraw his helping hand, and leaue vs vnto our &s;elues, till by our grieuous falles we haue learned to acknowledge our owne weakene&s;&s;e, and to re&s;t wholy in the power of his might. For as all other &s;innes are odious vnto God, &s;o e&s;pecially the &s;inne of pride, becau&s;e it maketh vile man corriuall with God in his prai&s;e and glo|rie, of which he is mo&s;t iealous; and therefore the Lord &s;uf|fereth, euen his owne children, to fall into grieuous &s;innes, that hereby they may be humbled; and &s;o v&s;eth other &s;innes as a counterpoy&s;on to cure pride.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ths &s;ift meanes is feruent pray|er.</NOTE> &s;eeing we &s;tand not by our owne &s;trength but by the power of Gods might, let vs as often as we &s;ee our owne weakene&s;&s;e and aptne&s;&s;e to fall, haue our recour&s;e vnto God, by feruent and effectuall prayer; crauing his ayde and a&s;&s;i|&s;tance that thereby we may be enabled to &s;tand in the day of temptation. And when by vertue thereof we haue giuen &s;inne the foyle, and repelled Sathans &s;ugge&s;tions; let vs remember to returne prai&s;e and thanke&s;giuing to the Lord by who&s;e helpe wee haue beaten backe our &s;pirituall ene|mies: and then wee may bee a&s;&s;ured that the Lord will vp|hold vs by the power of his &s;pirit from falling into &s;inne; or if we doe fall, he will &s;peedily rai&s;e vs vp by vnfained re|pentance.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="624" REF="322">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VII.</HI> That in the mo&s;t &s;anctified, remaine &s;ome reliques of &s;inne, and the cau&s;es thereof.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for the an&s;wering of Sathans fir&s;t &s;ort of temptations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation, whereby he di&s;coura|geth the Chri|&s;tian in the worke of &s;an|ctification.</NOTE> wherewith hee laboureth to hinder our &s;anctification by alluring vs to commit &s;inne: now we are to &s;peake of the o|ther &s;ort, whereby he &s;eeketh to di&s;courage vs in this worke, as being not only hard and difficult, but euen impo&s;&s;ible. And the&s;e al&s;o are of two kindes; the fir&s;t taken from the great ma&s;&s;e of our naturall corruptions and &s;mall mea&s;ure of our &s;anctification; the other from &s;ome actuall &s;innes which we haue committed. Concerning the fir&s;t, hee thus frameth his temptations: Thou laboure&s;t much (will hee &s;ay) and tire&s;t thy &s;elfe in attaining vnto &s;anctification, but all in vaine; for doe&s;t thou not &s;ee on the one &s;ide the vn|re&s;i&s;table violence of thy natural corruptions, which conti|nually choake in thee all the good motions of Gods &s;pirit, and forcibly draw thee into all &s;inne and wickedne&s;&s;e; and on the other &s;ide, thy &s;mall mea&s;ure of grace and &s;anctifica|tion, which is exceedingly &s;tained with thy manifold im|perfections? How therefore can &s;uch weakne&s;&s;e with&s;tand &s;uch power? And how is it po&s;&s;ible that thy feeble &s;pirit &s;hould ouercome thy &s;trong fle&s;h, e&s;pecially &s;eeing it is a&s;|&s;i&s;ted with the &s;trong aides of the pui&s;&s;ant world, and the mightie power of innumerable diuels? Neither art thou vainly to imagine that God will enable thee to ouercome all the&s;e difficulties, for he hath giuen thee ouer to thine own weakne&s;&s;e, otherwi&s;e if it were his will to make thee one of his holy ones, he could with the powerfull operation of his &s;pirit, long ago haue perfectly purged thee from al thy cor|ruptions, and giuen vnto thee a great mea&s;ure of &s;anctifica|tion. Seeing then it is impo&s;&s;ible, in re&s;pect of thy weakne&s;&s;e and thine enemies power, to accompli&s;h this worke which thou ha&s;t taken in hand, and &s;eeing thou ha&s;t no a&s;&s;urance
<PB N="625" REF="322">that God wil &s;trengthen thee with his &s;pirit, which thou ha&s;t a long time re&s;i&s;ted and vexed, by quenching the good mo|tions thereof; thou ha&s;t now no &s;hew of hope to effect that which thou de&s;ire&s;t; and therefore it were much better for thee to cea&s;e &s;triuing again&s;t the &s;treame of thy corruptions, and to follow the naturall current of thy de&s;ires: for when thou take&s;t all the paines thou can&s;t, thou art in one day ca|ried further backward toward thine old conuer&s;ation, than thou can&s;t in many moneths get forward in the cour&s;e of &s;anctification.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus doth Sathan di&s;courage the weake Chri&s;tian with his fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our &s;an|ctification is imperfect and mingled with our corruptions</NOTE> to the end hee may hinder him from trauailing this way of holine&s;&s;e which leadeth to Gods kingdome; for the an&s;wering whereof we are to know, that the &s;anctification of the mo&s;t holie is imperfect, both in re|&s;pect of the reliques of &s;inne, and corruptions which conti|nually cleaue to them, and in re&s;pect of the manifold wants and defects of their be&s;t actions. Neither are wee &s;o wa&s;hed in the lauer of regeneration, but that there remain in vs &s;ome &s;taines of that &s;carlet ingrained dye of our corruptions; we haue not &s;o clerely e&s;caped out of our old captiuitie of &s;inne, but that we retaine &s;till &s;ome gaules and bru&s;es, which make vs to goe haltingly in the waies of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; we haue not &s;o vanqui&s;hed this &s;pirituall enemies, but that &s;till it will a&s;&s;ault vs, yea and often foyle vs, though it cannot &s;ubdue vs; we haue indeede ouercome the&s;e cur&s;ed Canaanites, &s;o that they cannot rule and raigne in vs as in former times, but wee haue not vtterly expelled them from dwelling among&s;t vs; &s;o that doe we what wee can, yet &s;till they will be as thornes in our &s;ides to vexe and grieue vs. Heretofore the lu&s;ts of our fle&s;h like tyrannicall Lords did again&s;t all law and iu&s;tice ouerrule vs; but now by vertue of Gods &s;pirit a&s;&s;i&s;ting vs, we haue weakened their force and brought them vnder, yet not &s;o but that &s;till they will rebell again&s;t the &s;pirit, and conti|nually exerci&s;e vs in the &s;pirituall warfare. So that the rege|nerate man is not wholy &s;pirit, as the carnall man is wholy fle&s;h, but is diuided into two factions or parts, and alwaies is at ciuill warres within him&s;elfe: for &s;o farre foorth as hee is
<PB N="626" REF="323">regenerate he is holie, pure, and vndefiled, but &s;o farre foorth as he is carnall, he is &s;infull, corrupt and full of al pollution: as hee is regenerate hee wholy loueth and embraceth true holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and abhorreth and fleeth &s;inne and wickedne&s;&s;e; but as hee is vnregenerate he loueth &s;inne and the vaine plea&s;ures thereof, and loatheth righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e as irk&s;ome and vnplea&s;ant. In the &s;pirituall part he contem|neth the world, and hauing his conuer&s;ation aboue he min|deth heauenly things; but in the carnall part hee loueth the world, and is pre&s;&s;ed downe with the cares and plea&s;ures thereof, &s;o that his minde cannot as it would mount aloft in diuine meditations; in the &s;pirit he &s;erueth the law of God, in the fle&s;h the law of &s;inne.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> We mu&s;t not therefore imagine, that to be &s;anctified is to be wholy purged from al corruption,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we mu&s;t not dreame of perfection in our &s;anctifica|tion.</NOTE> to be endued with per|fect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and to haue the &s;pirit in full mea&s;ure; but to haue the corruptions of &s;inne le&s;&s;ened and their power a|bated, &s;o that they cannot wholy ouer&s;way vs as in former times; to haue &s;ome holy de&s;ires and good endeuours of &s;eruing God in holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which al&s;o wee expre&s;&s;e in our actions, although in great weakne&s;&s;e and im|perfection; to haue the fir&s;t fruites of the &s;pirit in this life, ex|pecting the whole harue&s;t in the life to come: neither let vs yeeld to Sathan, &s;ugge&s;ting vnto vs, that we are not at al &s;an|ctified, becau&s;e wee haue &s;ome reliques of our old corrup|tions and manifold imperfections in our be&s;t actions; or that therefore our holine&s;&s;e which we haue, is &s;o &s;mal that it is to no purpo&s;e, and that which we want &s;o great and hard|ly come by, that it is not po&s;&s;ible we &s;hould euer attaine vn|to it; &s;eeing the&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions are &s;ufficiently confuted both by the Scriptures and examples of all Gods children. For the Scriptures teach vs, that <HI>in many things we &s;inne all;</HI> that <HI>if wee &s;ay we haue no &s;inne,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 3.2. 1. Ioh. 1.8.</NOTE> <HI>we deceiue our &s;elues, and there is no truth in vs:</HI> and therefore becau&s;e wee continually offend, our Sa|uiour requireth that as wee aske our daily bread, &s;o al&s;o wee &s;hould pray daily for the forgiuene&s;&s;e of our &s;innes. The A|po&s;tle al&s;o telleth vs, that there is a continuall fight in euerie Chri&s;tian,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5.17.</NOTE> the <HI>fle&s;h lusting again&s;t the &s;pirit, &amp; the &s;pirit again&s;t
<PB N="627" REF="323">the fle&s;h,</HI> the one tempting vs vnto &s;inne, the other &s;tirring vs vp to holy obedience. Moreouer, the examples of Gods &s;aints are pregnant for this purpo&s;e, neither was there euer any &s;o perfectly &s;anctified, but there remained in them &s;ome reliques of their naturall corruptions, which al&s;o &s;hewed them&s;elues in actuall &s;innes and grieuous tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions; as appeareth plainly in the examples of the Patriarches, <HI>Dauid, Peter,</HI> and all others. But mo&s;t cleerely doth the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;hew this in his owne per&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.</NOTE> propounding him&s;elfe as a true patterne of a man regenerate; for though he had at|tained vnto a great mea&s;ure of &s;anctification, yet he com|plaineth of the great force and violence of his inbred cor|ruptions, Rom. 7: for &s;o great &s;trength thereof remained in him, that it forced him to abu&s;e the law of God, taking oc|ca&s;ion thereby to work in him all manner of concupi&s;cence, and &s;o in &s;teed of killing &s;inne did reuiue it in him, ver&s;. 8, 9; that it made him to omit the good he would, and to do the euill that he hated, ver&s;. 15.19; that it rebelled again&s;t the law of his minde, and led him captiue to the law of &s;inne, ver. 23; that he &s;aw no po&s;&s;ible meanes in him&s;elfe to &s;ubdue vtterly the&s;e corruptions, and therefore &s;eeketh for helpe el&s;where, crying out, <HI>Wretehed man that I am, who &s;hall deliuer me from the body of this death?</HI> v. 24.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Seeing therefore this is the &s;tate of all Gods children,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our wants and corrupti|ons &s;hould not di&s;courage vs, but redouble our care and diligence.</NOTE> let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that wee are not yet &s;anctified, or that it is lo&s;t labour to goe forward in this worke, becau&s;e of the great power of our corruptions and &s;mall mea&s;ure of &s;anctification, which is &s;tained al&s;o with manifold imperfe|ctions; but rather let the &s;trength of our corruptions re|double our care and diligence that wee may &s;ubdue them: and con&s;idering that there are diuers degrees of holine&s;&s;e, let vs as &s;oone as wee haue a&s;cended one &s;tep, neuer re&s;t &s;tri|uing till we haue a&s;cended a higher, vntill at length we come to the top of perfection and the highe&s;t &s;tep of true holi|ne&s;&s;e; according to the exhortation of the Apo&s;tle Apoc. 22.11. <HI>He that is righteous let him be righteous &s;till,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 22.11.</NOTE> <HI>he that is holy let him be holy &s;till,</HI> that is, let him continue and daily increa&s;e in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e.</P>
<PB N="628" REF="324">
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And to the end that wee may not be di&s;couraged in the&s;e our holy endeuours,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our re|liques of &s;inne &s;hall not be im|puted vnto vs.</NOTE> with Sathans temptations drawne from the reliques of our &s;innes, the &s;trength of our corruptions, and the imperfections and &s;mall mea&s;ure of our &s;anctifica|tion; let vs further con&s;ider, fir&s;t, that the&s;e reliques of &s;inne &s;hall not bee imputed vnto vs, nor come in iudgement be|fore God to our condemnation, becau&s;e by faith we are vni|ted vnto Chri&s;t, and &s;o made partakers of the vertue and me|rits of his death and pa&s;&s;ion, whereby he hath &s;atisfied Gods iu&s;tice for our &s;innes, &s;o that they cannot now condemne vs, nor draw vpon vs any puni&s;hment; and likewi&s;e wee are made partakers of his perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and obedience to the law, which as a rich robe doth couer and hide our patched ragges of imperfection. So then though we &s;ee the reliques of &s;inne and our manifold imperfections, let vs not be di&s;couraged hereby from labouring in the worke of &s;an|ctification, but rather &s;triue and endeuour to mortifie our &s;innes, and a&s;pire to more and more perfection. And if be|&s;ides our purpo&s;e wee be led captiue of &s;in, let vs remember that we haue <HI>an aduocate with the father Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the iu&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.1.2.</NOTE> <HI>and that he is the reconciliation for our &s;innes;</HI> &s;o that though they make vs condemne our &s;elues in our own con&s;ciences, yet they &s;hall neuer condemne vs before God. And this the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;heweth vnto vs: for hauing in the &s;euenth chapter of his epi&s;tle to the Romanes declared, that the faithfull haue remaining in them the fle&s;h and reliques of their old corruptions, which powerfully hinder them from doing the good they would, and moue them to commit the euill which they would not, lea&s;t any hereby &s;hould be di&s;|couraged in the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of his corruptions, hee pre|&s;ently addeth in the beginning of the eighth chapter, that notwith&s;tanding the fle&s;h and the corruptions therof, which before he had &s;poken of, remained in vs, yet <HI>there was no con|demnation to tho&s;e who were in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us:</HI> and hee yeeldeth this rea&s;on, <HI>becau&s;e the law of the &s;pirit of life which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, had freed them from the law of &s;inne and of death,</HI> that is, becau&s;e the power and vertue of the &s;pirit of God (which is the author of life, by vniting vs as members vnto the bodie
<PB N="629" REF="324">of Chri&s;t in whom we liue, and by &s;prinkling our con&s;cien|ces with his precious bloud) had deliuered them from the force and power of &s;inne and death, &s;o that now it could not condemne them, nor oblige and binde them to guilt and puni&s;hment as in former times. Seeing therefore the &s;ting of &s;inne is taken away that it cannot condemne vs, let vs not &s;o feare it as that it &s;hould moue vs de&s;perately to ca&s;t away our weapons not daring to encounter it; for though this our enemie may a&s;&s;ault vs, yet it cannot ouer|come vs; though it may wound vs, yet it cannot kill vs; though it may giue vs a foyle, yet in the end wee are &s;ure of victorie, if we manfully re&s;i&s;t and labour to &s;ubdue it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> Secondly, let vs con&s;ider that the Lord doth not require of vs vnder the Go&s;pel &s;uch exact and perfect righteou&s;nes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Lord in the Go&s;pell requireth not perfect obe|dience to the law.</NOTE> as was required vnder the Law, which is altogether impo&s;|&s;ible to our corrupt nature, and was neuer to be found in a|ny man (our Sauiour Chri&s;t excepted) but onely that wee &s;triue and labour to attaine vnto it; he doth not require of vs that we &s;hould at once free our &s;elues from the fle&s;h and the corruptions thereof, but that we endeuour to mortifie it, according to the mea&s;ure of grace and &s;trength which wee haue receiued from him; he doth not require of vs that wee be without &s;inne, but that &s;inne doe not rule in our mortall bodies, that wee &s;hould like &s;laues obey it willingly in the lu&s;ts thereof, and that al&s;o wee hating and abhorring it doe continually make warre again&s;t it, and &s;ubdue it by little and little, &s;eeing we cannot at once wholy vanqui&s;h it. He doth not now require of vs y^t we &s;hould performe perfect obedi|ence to the law, which Chri&s;t hath performed for vs, but that we doe our be&s;t endeuour, and though we cannot attaine to our de&s;ire,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.12.22.</NOTE> yet at lea&s;t that wee be delighted <HI>in the law of God concerning the inner man</HI> and <HI>con&s;ent vnto it that it is good, ho|ly and iu&s;t.</HI> In a word, this is the Chri&s;tian mans righteou&s;nes which God requireth, that he hate &s;inne, and loue godlines, that hee de&s;ire and endeuour to mortifie the fle&s;h and cor|ruptions thereof, and labour to leade a new life in holy obe|dience; and if contrarie to his de&s;ire and purpo&s;e he doe the euill which hee hateth, or leaue vndone the good which hee
<PB N="630" REF="325">loueth; that he &s;orrow and grieue for his &s;innes and imper|fections, and making confe&s;&s;ion hereof before the throne of grace, doe implore mercie and forgiuene&s;&s;e in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us. And if wee offer vnto God this righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, it will be ac|ceptable vnto him, notwith&s;tanding our manifold imperfe|ctions; for hee mea&s;ureth our deede by our will, and e&s;tee|meth more of our affections than of our actions;<NOTE PLACE="marg">August.</NOTE> <HI>Nec intue|tur Deus quantum quilibet valeat, &s;ed quantum velit, &amp; quic|quid vis &amp; non potes Deus factum computat:</HI> He re&s;pecteth not what we can doe, but what we would do, and that which we could performe and cannot, he e&s;teemeth it as though it were performed. So that hee reputeth him righteous who earne&s;tly de&s;ireth and laboureth to be righteous, and him perfect who acknowledging and bewailing his imperfec|tions &s;triueth to attaine to more perfection. Wherein he fit|ly may be compared vnto a tender louing father, who e&s;tee|meth of the lea&s;t endeuours of his beloued &s;onne, more than of the be&s;t actions of a &s;eruant, becau&s;e hee regardeth not &s;o much the excellencie of the action, as the per&s;on and cheere|full will of the agent.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now the rea&s;ons why the Lord being perfectly iu&s;t, will notwith&s;tanding accept of our imperfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhy the Lord accepteth of our imperfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> is fir&s;t becau&s;e (we being made members of Chri&s;ts bodie) our per&s;ons are acceptable vnto him, and therefore our workes al&s;o (not in their own worthines, or for their own merit, but in and for Chri&s;t) are accepted; the corruptions and &s;taines of them being wa&s;hed away in his bloud, and the imperfec|tions of them being couered with Chri&s;ts perfect righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e. And thus being adorned in the garment of our el|der brother Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, we obtaine the ble&s;&s;ing of our hea|uenly father. Secondly, our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e doth proceede from the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs; and from hence our workes being imperfect in them&s;elues, doe receiue their dignitie, excellencie, and e&s;timation in Gods &s;ight, as being the fruites of his own &s;pirit, how&s;oeuer ming|led with our corruptions.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly, let vs remember that our &s;innes and corruptions which we hate and labour to mortifie, will neuer mooue the
<PB N="631" REF="325">Lord to reiect and ca&s;t vs out of his loue and fauour;<NOTE PLACE="marg">That our &s;ins will not moue the Lord to re|iect vs.</NOTE> for we are the Lords children, and he our gratious father: now we know that a louing father will not reiect his childe, becau&s;e he is &s;icke, lame, or in mi&s;erable e&s;tate, but rather he is more tender ouer him, till hee be recouered of his infirmities: but what are our &s;innes but the &s;ickne&s;&s;e, wounds and mi&s;erie of the &s;oule, with which wee are vexed and turmoyled while&s;t we continue in this life? and wil our heauenly father, who&s;e loue infinitely &s;urpa&s;&s;eth the loue of the mo&s;t tender mo|ther, ca&s;t vs out of his fauour, becau&s;e our &s;oules are &s;icke in &s;inne, and mole&s;ted with many mi&s;eries which doe accom|panie it? It is impo&s;&s;ible; e&s;pecially con&s;idering that we de|&s;ire nothing more than to bee cured of the&s;e di&s;ea&s;es, and to be re&s;tored to perfect health. The Lord is our heauenly hu&s;|bandman, and wee his husbandrie; now wee know that the good husbandman doth not for&s;ake his land, becau&s;e it bringeth foorth thornes and thi&s;tles, but rather is &s;o much the more diligent and painful in weeding and tilling it, that it may be fitted for good &s;eed and bring vnto him plentiful increa&s;e; and &s;o the Lord wil not ca&s;t vs off, becau&s;e we natu|rally bring foorth the weedes and thi&s;tles of &s;inne and cor|ruption, but in his infinite loue he will with the operation of his holy &s;pirit, plow vp the fallow grounds of our hearts, and weed out our corruptions, that &s;o we may like good ground well husbanded, bring foorth the ripe fruites of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Fourthly, let vs con&s;ider that the Lord our God, who could ea&s;ily if it had plea&s;ed him, haue throughly purged vs from all &s;inne and corruption, and indued vs with perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e, hath notwith&s;tanding left re|maining in vs &s;ome reliques of &s;in, and many imperfections in our &s;anctification, both for the manife&s;tation of his owne glorie, and for the furthering of our owne eternall &s;aluation.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t cau&s;e, the manife&s;ta|tion of Gods mercie.</NOTE> For fir&s;t hereby it commeth to pa&s;&s;e, that the Lord hath the whole prai&s;e of our &s;aluation, &s;eeing hee &s;aueth vs of his meere mercie, and not for our workes and worthine&s;&s;e. Whereas if our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and &s;anctification were per|fect, we would be readie to &s;hare with God, a&s;cribing part in
<PB N="632" REF="326">the worke of our &s;aluation vnto our &s;elues, and not wholy attribute it to Gods mercie and Chri&s;ts onely and all-&s;uffi|cient merits: and therefore the Lord hath left in vs the re|liques of &s;inne and manifold imperfections, that hereby it may appeare that we are not &s;aued for our owne worthine&s;&s;e and de&s;erts, but of his free grace and vnde&s;erued loue.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That there might be a &s;it obiect of his mercie and pa|tience.</NOTE>Secondly, he hath left in vs the&s;e reliques of &s;in and ma|nifold imperfections, to the end that there might be conti|nuall matter and a fit obiect, wherein he might exerci&s;e, and by exerci&s;ing manife&s;t, to the prai&s;e of his grace, his pati|ence, long &s;uffring, loue, goodne&s;&s;e, and infinite mercie, in the pardoning and forgiuing of them, which would not &s;o plainly appeare if at once hee had indued vs with perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That he might &s;hew his power in our weaknes.</NOTE>Thirdly, that hereby he might make way for the manife|&s;tation of his power in our weakne&s;&s;e and imperfections. If wee were perfectly righteous and indued with all grace, it were no wonder if wee &s;hould with&s;tand Sathans tempta|tions and get the vpper hand in the &s;pirituall combat; but &s;eeing we are of our &s;elues &s;infull, exceeding weake and full of all imperfections, hereby is the infinite power of God manife&s;ted, in that we are notwith&s;tanding enabled, to with|&s;tand Sathan and all the power of hell which oppo&s;e them|&s;elues again&s;t vs, &s;eeing nothing els could vpholde &s;uch feeble weakne&s;&s;e again&s;t &s;uch pui&s;&s;ant might. Of this the A|po&s;tle &s;peaketh 2. Cor. 12.8, 9:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 12.8.9.</NOTE> for hauing oftentimes be|&s;ought the Lord to bee freed from the corruptions of his fle&s;h, he receiueth this an&s;were, that <HI>Gods grace was &s;ufficient for him, and that his power was made perfect through weakne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="12" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That he might &s;tirre vs vp to continuall thankfulnes.</NOTE>Fourthly, hereby the Lord continually putteth vs in mind of his mercie and manifold benefits, to the end that we daily ta&s;ting of them, may al&s;o daily returne vnto him thanks and prai&s;e. If he &s;hould at once free vs from &s;inne, and indue vs with a full mea&s;ure of grace and perfect righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, wee would &s;oone be forgetfull of his abundant mercies, and this forgetfulne&s;&s;e would worke in vs vnthankfulne&s;&s;e, and this vnthankfulne&s;&s;e would make vs neglect his wor&s;hip and &s;er|uice. And therefore he doth not at once inrich vs, but lets vs
<PB N="633" REF="326">continue in our pouerty, that &s;o we may continually depend vpon him: and like a wi&s;e hou&s;holder hee doth not &s;uddenly aduance vs to our highe&s;t preferments, for then wee would leaue his &s;eruice and betake vs to our ea&s;e and plea&s;ure; but he be&s;toweth his benefits by little and little, and &s;o keeping vs &s;till in expectation of receiuing more, he retaineth vs &s;till in his &s;eruice, and euery day increa&s;ing his bountie, hee put|teth al&s;o into our mouthes new &s;ongs of thank&s;giuing, and giueth vs daily new occa&s;ion of prai&s;ing his magnificence.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="13" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That he may hereby worke in vs true hu|militie.</NOTE>Secondly, as the Lord hereby aduanceth his owne glorie, &s;o al&s;o he worketh our good, and furthereth our eternall &s;al|uation. For fir&s;t by leauing in vs the&s;e reliques of &s;inne and manifolde imperfections, hee worketh in vs true humilitie, which of all other graces is mo&s;t acceptable vnto him, and mortifieth our pride, which of all other vices is mo&s;t odious and abominable in his &s;ight. For when we &s;ee our manifold infirmities and corruptions of &s;inne, all cau&s;e of pride and &s;elfe-conceit is taken away, and we in all humilitie are mo|ued to confe&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.22.</NOTE> that <HI>it is Gods mercie that wee are not con&s;u|med;</HI> how much more that notwith&s;tanding our vilene&s;&s;e and vnworthine&s;&s;e, he hath made vs his &s;onnes and heires of euerla&s;ting glorie. And thus, of the fle&s;h of this Viper &s;inne, doth the Lord make a &s;oueraigne antidote again&s;t the dead|ly poy&s;on of pride. And as good Chirurgeons doe not &s;ud|denly heale vp the wound, but keepe it open till they haue drawne out the core and healed it to the bottome, for other|wi&s;e it would putrifie and become more dangerous; &s;o the Lord will not at once heale the wounds of our &s;innes, but leaueth them as it were open and vncured till hee haue drawne out the core of pride, which being left in vs (though we were healed of all our other &s;innes) would more indan|ger vs than all the re&s;t. Wherein the Lord confirmeth and furthereth vs in the way of &s;aluation; for nothing more weakneth and di&s;ableth vs than pride, nothing more &s;treng|theneth and vpholdeth vs than humilitie, becau&s;e the &s;trength whereby we &s;tand and repell our &s;pirituall enemies is not our owne abilitie, but the power of Gods might, and the Lord withdraweth his a&s;&s;i&s;ting hand from the proud, to
<PB N="634" REF="327">the end that hee may learne to be more humble by his grie|uous falles; yea he re&s;i&s;teth him, and therefore how is it po&s;|&s;ible that he &s;hould &s;tand? but contrariwi&s;e he giueth grace to the humble, and filleth him who acknowledgeth his own emptine&s;&s;e with good things,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.5. Luk. 1.53.</NOTE> but the proud who is full in his owne conceit he fendeth emptie away.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="14" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may be moued to re&s;t on Chri&s;t alone.</NOTE>Secondly, he leaueth in vs corruptions and imperfections, to the end that wee &s;hould not re&s;t in our owne righteou&s;|nes for our iu&s;tification and &s;aluation (which though it were as great as <HI>Adams</HI> in the &s;tate of innocencie, yet it were no &s;ure ground to re&s;t vpon) but in the alone righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, which is all-&s;ufficient and a foundation &s;o vn|remoueable, that all the power of hell cannot ouerturne it, nor any that are built vpon it. Vpon which &s;ure pillar wee would hardly relie, &s;o long as we haue in our hand the reede of our owne righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, wee being naturallie incli|ned rather to &s;eeke for &s;aluation in our &s;elues than el&s;e|where.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="15" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may be exerci&s;ed in the Christian warfare.</NOTE>Thirdly, he leaueth in vs the&s;e &s;pirituall enemies, that wee may exerci&s;e our &s;elues in fighting again&s;t them, and &s;o bee kept from idlene&s;&s;e the mother and nur&s;e of all euill; and as he would not at once ca&s;t out the Canaanites before the I&s;|raelites, but by little and little; lea&s;t the land &s;hould grow vn|to a wilderne&s;&s;e, and the wilde bea&s;ts &s;hould multiplie a|gain&s;t them: &s;o he would not &s;uddenly ca&s;t out our &s;piritu|all enemies, but &s;uffreth vs to preuaile again&s;t them by little and little, lea&s;t giuing our &s;elues vnto idlene&s;&s;e when there is no oppo&s;ition made again&s;t vs, there grow in vs as in a wil|dernes the noy&s;ome weeds and thornes of &s;in, and the wild bea&s;ts of all outragious wickedne&s;&s;e, which would deuoure and vtterly de&s;troy vs. Whereas contrariwi&s;e when wee are a&s;&s;aulted outwardly with the forces of &s;athan and the world, and inwardly with the fle&s;h and our natural corruptions, we haue enemies again&s;t whom wee may exerci&s;e our faith, affi|ance, hope, patience, courage, and all other graces which we haue receiued, and by exerci&s;e increa&s;e them: wee fight the Lords battailes like his valiant &s;ouldiers, and being a&s;&s;i&s;ted by his holie &s;pirit wee obtaine victorie, and with our con|que&s;t
<PB N="635" REF="327">a more excellent crowne of eternall glorie:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 2.26.27. and 3.21.</NOTE> as appea|reth Reuel. 2.26, 27. and 3.21.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="16" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> La&s;tly, he &s;uffereth vs to be mole&s;ted and vexed with the reliques of our &s;innes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That we may be moued to loath the world and to long for eternall life.</NOTE> that hereby he may make vs to loath this world and vale of mi&s;erie, wherein we can doe nothing but breake the commaundements of our deare louing fa|ther; and may be moued to de&s;ire that heauenly life in Gods kingdome, when hauing laid a&s;ide all corruption, we &s;hall be indued with all perfection, and be fully enabled to per|forme &s;uch obedience vnto God as he requireth. For &s;eeing &s;inne is not fully vanqui&s;hed till it be &s;ubdued by our death, nor we euer at re&s;t and free from the a&s;&s;aults thereof, till we re&s;t in the graue; therefore the children of God are content to for&s;ake the world, becau&s;e they can no otherwi&s;e for&s;ake their &s;innes; and de&s;ire rather to indure death, than they would haue &s;inne to liue with them, as appeareth in the ex|ample of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> Phil. 1.22.23.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.22.23.</NOTE></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="17" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I &s;hewed the wi&s;edome and power of God, who turneth euen the &s;innes of his children to their good,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The conclu&s;ion of the former point.</NOTE> which are in their owne nature euill; and therefore though we are continually to bewaile them, &amp; to de&s;ire by al meanes to be freed from them, yet we are not de&s;peratly to &s;inke vnder them, not daring to encounter them, &s;eeing now they cannot condemne vs, nay not &s;o much as hurt vs, but rather are &s;o ordered by Gods all-wi&s;e prouidence, that they &s;erue for the manife&s;tation of his glorie, and furthering of our &s;aluation, &s;o that we doe not with willing delight nor &s;laui&s;h feare yeeld vnto them, but to the vttermo&s;t of our power make re&s;i&s;tance, and de&s;ire and indeauour to ouercome them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="18" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Now in the fi&s;t and la&s;t place let vs con&s;ider,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The la&s;t con&s;o|lation taken from our a&s;&s;u|red victorie a|gain&s;t &s;inne.</NOTE> that though our fle&s;h be neuer &s;o &s;trong, and the innumerable corrupti|ons thereof &s;eeme vnre&s;i&s;table, and though on the other &s;ide our &s;pirituall man &s;eeme neuer &s;o weake and feeble, yet we are not hereby to be di&s;couraged, &s;eeing the regenerate part &s;hall mo&s;t certainely obtaine the victorie in the end, though in the conflict it receiueth many foyles. And though this little <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;eeme in the eyes of a carnall <HI>Saul,</HI> to be
<PB N="636" REF="328">farre to weake, and altogether vnable to encounter that great <HI>Goliah,</HI> the fle&s;h with the powerfull lu&s;ts thereof, yet in the end it will mo&s;t certainly preuaile and get the con|que&s;t; becau&s;e the &s;pirit is the Lords champion which goeth out in the name of the Lord to &s;ight again&s;t his enemies; the fle&s;h the diuels &s;ouldier who is Gods enemie: That, is &s;trengthened and &s;upported with the power of God which being in&s;init is vnre&s;i&s;table; this by the power of Sathan, and the world, who&s;e power is finite, and &s;o re&s;trained and ouer|ruled by Gods might, that they cannot &s;tirre without his leaue and permi&s;&s;ion. Vnle&s;&s;e therefore we would bla&s;phe|mou&s;ly imagine, that the fle&s;h and his a&s;&s;i&s;tants are of grea|ter power than God him&s;elfe, or that God will &s;uffer this di&s;grace that his champion &s;hould be ouerthrowne by his profe&s;&s;ed enemies; we may mo&s;t certainely a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that we &s;hall get the day and obtaine a famous victorie. And therefore let not Sathan di&s;courage vs, by &s;etting before our eyes our owne weakne&s;&s;e, and the mightie oppo&s;itions which are made again&s;t vs; but arming our &s;elues with the chri&s;tian armour, and tru&s;ting wholy in the power of Gods might, let vs valiantly incounter our &s;pirituall enemies, and neuer giue ouer fighting till by death we haue giuen vnto them a finall ouerthrow, and &s;o &s;hall we be crowned with an vnualuable crowne of immortall glorie.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VIII.</HI> Sathans temptations drawne from our &s;low progre&s;&s;e in &s;ancti|fication, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd &s;o much for an&s;wering Sathans temptati|ons,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation groun|ded vpon our little profiting in chri&s;tiantie.</NOTE> drawne from the reliques of &s;inne which remaine in vs, and the &s;mall mea&s;ure of our &s;anctification: the &s;econd temptation where|by he laboreth to di&s;courage the weake chri|&s;tian, from going forward in his cour&s;e of true godline&s;&s;e, he taketh from his &s;low progre&s;&s;e and &s;lacke proceedings in &s;anctification, vpon which occa&s;ion he thus a&s;&s;aulteth him.
<PB N="637" REF="328">Thou labore&s;t much (will he &s;ay) and toyle&s;t thy &s;elfe with intollerable paines that thou maie&s;t become a &s;anctified man, but all in vaine; for though thou heare&s;t the word of|ten, and reade&s;t much, and praye&s;t continually, and beate&s;t thy braines with daily care, to the end that thou maye&s;t at|taine vnto &s;ome perfection in chri&s;tianitie; yet, do&s;t thou not &s;ee how little thou profite&s;t by all thy labours, &s;eeing thy knowledge is &s;till &s;mall, thy faith weake, thy charitie cold, thy heart dull and hard, thy good workes few and imper|fect, and all thy zealous re&s;olutions ea&s;ily hindred and quite ouerthrowne with euery &s;mall temptation? Why then do&s;t thou &s;triue again&s;t the &s;treame, and vndertake a taske which is to thee not onely hard but euen impo&s;&s;ible? for doe what thou can&s;t, yet all will bee to little purpo&s;e, &s;eeing this worke is full of great difficulties, thy &s;elfe di&s;abled with manifold corruptions, and thy enemies which oppo&s;e a|gain&s;t thee exceeding &s;trong and mightie, as thy &s;elfe finde&s;t by lamentable experience, and thy much laboring and little profiting doe clearely proue. Cea&s;e therefore thy boot|le&s;&s;e trauaile, and rather imbrace thy plea&s;ing delights, than turmoyle thy &s;elfe with vaine labour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> For the an&s;wering of which temptation we are to know,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the di&s;|like of our dul|ne&s;&s;e and back|wardne&s;&s;e is ac|cepted of God.</NOTE> that if we di&s;like our own dulne&s;&s;e and backwardnes in pro|fiting and growing forward in &s;anctification, if we be truely &s;orrowfull and bewaile our great wants and imperfections, and labour earne&s;tly in the v&s;e of the meanes whereby we may attaine vnto knowledge, faith, and all other &s;anctify|ing graces, and al&s;o be enabled to bring forth the fruites of holy obedience; then are we accepted of God and &s;hall in the end mo&s;t certainely obtaine our de&s;ire, though yet we can &s;ee but &s;mall profit of all our labours; neither &s;hall all the power of our &s;pirituall enemies &s;o farre preuaile again&s;t vs, as vtterly to hinder vs in this worke, but that we &s;hall vn|doubtedly goe forward although not &s;o &s;peedely as we de|&s;ire. For this holy de&s;ire of profiting in godline&s;&s;e, this in|deauour and carefull v&s;e of tho&s;e meanes which are ordained by God for this purpo&s;e, are not naturall, but the worke of Gods &s;pirit begun in vs; and we are with the Apo&s;tle to <HI>be
<PB N="638" REF="329" MS="y">per&s;waded of this &s;ame thing;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE> <HI>that he that hath begun this good worke in vs will performe it vntill the day of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> Phil. 1.6. We are to a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues with the Prophet <HI>Dauid,</HI> that <HI>the Lord will fulfill the&s;e holy de&s;ires of tho&s;e that feare him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.19.</NOTE> P&s;al. 145.19. We are vndoubtedly to beleeue that the <HI>Lord will not &s;uffer vs to be tempted aboue our power,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.13.</NOTE> <HI>but will giue a good i&s;&s;ue with the temptation,</HI> 1. Cor. 10.13. We are not to imagine that he will <HI>breake this bru&s;ed reede, nor quench this &s;moking flaxe</HI> &s;eeing he hath promi&s;ed the contrarie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12.20.</NOTE> Matth 12.20. And though this little graine of mu&s;tard &s;eede for a time lie hidden in the earth, and when it &s;prouteth vp &s;pringeth &s;o &s;lowly that wee cannot &s;en&s;ibly di&s;cerne the growing thereof; yet in Gods good time being watred with the dew of his holy &s;pirit, it will become one of the grea|te&s;t trees in the Lords garden. For &s;eeing the Lord hath gi|uen vs this grace, not to be wanting in the v&s;e of all good meanes, we may mo&s;t certainely a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues that the Lord for his part will not be wanting, in giuing his ble&s;&s;ing and graunting the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his holy &s;pirit, which he hath promi&s;ed to tho&s;e that de&s;ire it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 11.13.</NOTE></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That Gods &s;pi|rit dwelling in vs, will in the end perfect this worke.</NOTE> let vs con&s;ider that the&s;e &s;mall beginnings of grace and fir&s;t fruites of the &s;pirit, are mo&s;t vndoubted &s;ignes that he dwelleth in vs: now where&s;oeuer he dwelleth, he &s;an|ctifieth his own lodging, and is not idle till he haue effected this worke which he hath vndertaken and begun. Though therefore this worke in regarde of thy &s;lowe proceedings &s;eeme hard, yea, euen impo&s;&s;ible, yet con&s;ider that that which is po&s;&s;ible to man, is impo&s;&s;ible to God; though thou &s;ee&s;t many difficulties and mighty oppo&s;itions by thy powrefull enemies, yet let not this di&s;courage thee, &s;eeing the Lord who is with thee is almightie, and therefore able to repell the violence of all oppo&s;ers, and to make the mo&s;t heauie and pinching yoke light and ea&s;ie. Though in thy &s;elfe thou art mo&s;t weake and feeble,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 11.30. Eph. 6.10. Phil. 4.13.</NOTE> yet thou <HI>art &s;trong in the power of Gods might, and enabled to doe all things through the helpe of Christ which &s;trengtheneth thee.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Thirdly, let vs con&s;ider, that as the Lord hath decreed our &s;aluation, and promi&s;ed vnto vs eternall life: &s;o he hath al&s;o
<PB N="639" REF="329">as certainly decreed and promi&s;ed the meanes tending thereunto,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the Lord hath as cer|tainly decreed and promi&s;ed our &s;anctifica|tion as our &s;al|uation.</NOTE> which are the effects of his election and the fore|runners of our &s;aluation; but one e&s;peciall effect of his electi|on is our &s;anctification, and the way to &s;aluation is the path of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;&s;e; and therefore this is no le&s;&s;e certainely a&s;&s;ured vnto vs, that we &s;hall be &s;anctified, and enabled to walke in this way of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holi|ne&s;&s;e, then that we are elected and &s;hall be &s;aued. Though then we are weake and vn&s;table,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 2.19.</NOTE> yet <HI>the foundation of God remaineth euer &s;ure;</HI> though in regarde of our owne feeble|ne&s;&s;e, and manyfould imperfections, the worke of &s;anctifi|cation &s;eeme altogether impo&s;&s;ible, yet this &s;hould not moue vs to doubting nor di&s;courage vs in our cour&s;e, &s;eeing it hath not any ground vpon our owne &s;trength, but vpon Gods immutable decree, and neuer failing promi&s;es.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.4. Ioh. 14.16.17. Ezech. 11.19. and 36.26. Ier. 31.33.34. Ioel. 2.28.29.</NOTE> When then our &s;mall progre&s;&s;e in true godline&s;&s;e, cau&s;ed through the violence of our corruptions and oppo&s;itions of our &s;pi|rituall enemies, di&s;courageth vs making this worke of &s;anc|tification &s;eeme impo&s;&s;ible, let vs cal to minde that the Lord hath as certainely decreed, that we &s;hould be his &s;aints here vpon earth as his &s;aints in heauen, that he hath mo&s;t faith|fully promi&s;ed, that he will direct vs with his holy &s;pirit, take away from vs our &s;tonie hearts and giue vs fle&s;hy hearts, illuminate our blinde vnder&s;tandings with true &s;a|uing knowledge, indue vs with a liuely faith, and with all other &s;anctifying graces, enable vs to performe in &s;ome mea&s;ure holy obedience to his heauenly will, mortifying our corruptions and enabling vs to &s;erue him in newnes of life; all which gracious promi&s;es we are as vndoubtedly to be|leeue, as tho&s;e which concerne either the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, or euerla&s;ting happines. And therefore though our owne dulne&s;&s;e, backwardne&s;&s;e, and little profiting in &s;ancti|fication, &s;hould worke in vs true &s;orrow, yet this &s;hould not di&s;courage vs doubting of the i&s;&s;ue of all our labours, but knowing that God is alike true in all his promi&s;es, let vs, &s;etting a&s;ide all difficulties, beleene again&s;t beliefe, and vn|doubtedly per&s;wade our &s;elues that the Lord will fini&s;h that good worke which hee hath begun in vs, though as yet it
<PB N="640" REF="330">hath but &s;mall proceedings, if we hungar after more perfec|tion, and carefully v&s;e the meanes whereby we may attaine to true holines.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IX.</HI> Sathans temptations whereby he aggrauateth our &s;innes in generall, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _ANd &s;o much concerning tho&s;e temptations of Sathan, <NOTE PLACE="marg">How Sathan terrifieth the Chri&s;tians con|&s;cience by ag|grauating his &s;inne.</NOTE> which he groundeth vpon our naturall corruptions and our &s;mall mea&s;ure of &s;anctifi|cation. Now wee are to &s;peake of &s;uch as hee &s;ugge&s;teth after we haue committed &s;ome ac|tuall &s;innes: and the&s;e are either in re&s;pect of our &s;innes in generall, or els &s;ome &s;peciall &s;inne into which wee haue fal|len. Concerning the fir&s;t, when the weake Chri&s;tian (who hath a tender con&s;cience, and therefore cannot bee per&s;wa|ded to lie &s;ecurely in his &s;inne) hath through the &s;trength of his own corruptions, and violence of his temptations, com|mitted any &s;inne again&s;t his knowledge and con&s;cience, then doth the tempter (who before his fall exceedingly ex|tenuated &amp; minced his &s;in, now after that he is fallen into it) out of mea&s;ure aggrauate the grieuou&s;ne&s;&s;e and hainou&s;nes of his offence, partly in re&s;pect of the nature and qualitie of the &s;inne it &s;elfe, and partly in re&s;pect of the circum&s;tances, as being committed after his calling, again&s;t his knowledge, in &s;uch a time or place, &amp; by &s;uch a per&s;on, as God is therby mo&s;t di&s;honoured, and his brethren offended by his bad ex|ample. And thus hauing as it were &s;tretched out his &s;inne vpon the tentars of his temptations, and with the bla&s;ts of his fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions made of euery &s;mall drop a great bubble, then doth hee al&s;o &s;et before him the cur&s;e of the law, Gods fearefull iudgements, the plagues and puni&s;h|ments of this life, and euerla&s;ting death and condemnation in the life to come, continually accu&s;ing and terrifying him as being guiltie of all the&s;e fearefull euils, by rea&s;on of his &s;innes, to the end that hereby being vtterly di&s;couraged, hee
<PB N="641" REF="330">may de&s;perately ca&s;t off all care of continuing in his former cour&s;e of godline&s;&s;e, as if now it were altogether in vaine and to no purpo&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> The which temptation if wee would with&s;tand in the day of triall,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The meanes to with&s;tand the former tempta|tion, are re|nued faith and repentance.</NOTE> it behooueth vs not to re&s;t in the remembrance of our former faith and repentance, but as wee haue renewed our &s;inne, &s;o al&s;o mu&s;t we renew our &s;orrow for it, bewailing our corruptions, which haue &s;o preuailed again&s;t vs as to moue vs to tran&s;gre&s;&s;e Gods commandements, hating and dete&s;ting our &s;inne into which wee haue fallen, and purpo|&s;ing for the time to come to leaue and for&s;ake it, and to &s;erue the Lord in holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life. And this our re|pentance wee mu&s;t approue to be vnfained by tho&s;e fruites thereof which the Apo&s;tle mentioneth, 2. Cor. 7.9, 10, 11. that is, wee mu&s;t &s;tudie and endeuour to amend,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 7.9.10.11.</NOTE> confe&s;&s;e our &s;in vnto God in all humilitie, and mo&s;t earne&s;tly craue remi&s;|&s;ion both of the fault and puni&s;hment, haue a godly in|dignation again&s;t our &s;elues becau&s;e wee haue &s;inned, and a &s;onnelike feare not &s;o much in re&s;pect of the puni&s;hment, as of offending and di&s;plea&s;ing God our mo&s;t gratious lo|uing father; and an earne&s;t de&s;ire that we may be &s;o renued, that we be not againe &s;o ouertaken; a more feruent zeale in louing God and keeping his commandements than before our fall; and la&s;tly, wee mu&s;t take a holy reuenge of our &s;elues, that thereby wee may &s;o tame our fle&s;h, that it may not hereafter be &s;o powerfull in vs, as to ouercome and leade vs captiue vnto &s;inne.</P>
<P>And thus hauing renewed our repentance, wee mu&s;t al&s;o renew our faith, by applying vnto our &s;elues all the gratious promi&s;es of the Go&s;pel, concerning life and &s;aluation in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, made vnto all repentant &s;inners; and by calling to our remembrance that Chri&s;t the iu&s;t hath borne the pu|ni&s;hment due vnto vs who were vniu&s;t; that with his death and merits he hath fully &s;atisfied Gods iu&s;tice, appea&s;ed his wrath, and wa&s;hed away our &s;innes with his bloud; that hee hath fulfilled the law for vs, and taken vpon him our cur&s;e, that we in him might be ble&s;&s;ed; that by &s;uffring for vs, hee hath freed vs from all puni&s;hments of this life and the life
<PB N="642" REF="331">to come, that hee euer liueth to make interce&s;&s;ion for vs; &s;o that though we &s;inne, yet there is no feare of condemnation, &s;eeing <HI>wee haue an aduocate with the father, Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the iu&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.1.2.</NOTE> <HI>who is the reconciliation for our &s;innes,</HI> 1. Ioh. 2.1, 2.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the tempter will obiect vnto the weake Chri|&s;tian, that the&s;e promi&s;es of the Go&s;pell can yeeld vnto him no &s;ound comfort,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation per&s;wa|ding vs that we are &s;till in the fle&s;h. <HI>Rom. 8.1.</HI></NOTE> &s;eeing they are re&s;trained to tho&s;e onely who are members of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, in which number are none but tho&s;e who are regenerate, renewed, and gouerned by Gods &s;pirit, according to that Rom. 8.1. <HI>There is no condem|nation to tho&s;e which are in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, which walke not after the fle&s;h but after the &s;pirit.</HI> But thou (will hee &s;ay) art not in Chri&s;t, for being ingrafted in this vine thou woulde&s;t bring foorth the grapes of godline&s;&s;e, whereas there &s;pringeth no|thing from thee but the briars and brambles of iniquitie; neither walke&s;t thou after the &s;pirit, for then in thy life thou woulde&s;t &s;hew the fruites thereof, but after the fle&s;h, which wholy ouerruleth thee and ca&s;teth thee headlong into all &s;in and wickedne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> For the an&s;wering of which temptation we are to know,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat it is to walke after the fle&s;h and after the &s;pirit.</NOTE> that it is not the committing of a &s;inne or of many &s;innes, which prooueth that wee walke not after the &s;pirit but after the fle&s;h, (for &s;o &s;hould all the children of God bee carnall and not &s;pirituall, yea euen the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elfe who complained that he did the euill which he hated, and found no meanes to doe that which was good, but when he would doe good, euill was pre&s;ent with him: and that there was a law in his members rebelling again&s;t the law of his minde, which led him captiue vnto the law of &s;inne) but to walke after the fle&s;h is willingly to obey it in the lu&s;ts thereof; to commit &s;inne with plea&s;ure and delight; to embrace that which is euill with full con&s;ent of will cheerefully and with all readine&s;&s;e; to runne headlong into wickedne&s;&s;e &s;tubborn|ly, pre&s;umptuou&s;ly and &s;ecurely; to haue &s;inne not onely dwelling but al&s;o raigning in our mortall bodies; to liue therein without repentance, neuer grieuing for it, nor ende|uouring to for&s;ake it, nay rather greatly louing and making &s;uch high account of it, that wee had rather part with our
<PB N="643" REF="331">liues than bee diuorced from our &s;innes. Who&s;oeuer there|fore through his weakne&s;&s;e and infirmitie is led captiue vnto &s;inne, and being enthralled by this tyrant earne&s;tly de&s;ireth libertie, and doth not willingly run, but is violently drawne by Sathans temptations and his owne corruptions, and ha|uing &s;inned is not therewith delighted, but exceedingly grie|ued that by his &s;inne hee hath di&s;plea&s;ed God; and &s;eeing his owne weakne&s;&s;e and infirmities doth bewaile them, and fleeth vnto God by feruent prayer, de&s;iring the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his holy &s;pirit, whereby hee may be enabled to mortifie his fle&s;h and the corruptions thereof which hee deadly hateth, and to &s;erue God in holine&s;&s;e and newne&s;&s;e of life; &s;uch a one may a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe that hee walketh not after the fle&s;h but after the &s;pirit, and that hee is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, and hath e&s;caped condemnation, though through his infirmitie and &s;trength of his inbred corruptions hee falleth often into &s;inne.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The differen|ces betweene the &s;innes of the regenerate man and the vnregenerate.</NOTE>Though therefore the &s;anctified man &s;inneth, yet this doth not prooue that he is &s;till in the fle&s;h and vnregenerate; &s;ee|ing there is great difference betweene his &s;innes into which he now falleth, and tho&s;e which hee committed before hee was &s;anctified, or tho&s;e which they commit which &s;till liue in the fle&s;h. For fir&s;t the vnregenerate man doth continuallie &s;inne, heaping vp one wickedne&s;&s;e vpon another, the man regenerate but &s;ometimes, when hee is ouercome by his corruptions; the wicked man committeth &s;inne with gree|dine&s;&s;e, the godly man with &s;ome kinde of irk&s;omne&s;&s;e and after a &s;ort vnwillingly; the one drawes &s;inne vnto him as it were <HI>with cartropes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 5.18.</NOTE> the other is violently drawne to &s;inne with the &s;trength of his corruptions; the one hunteth after &s;inne and the occa&s;ions thereof, the other is hunted by &s;inne and Sathans temptations, till being out of breath and fain|ting for wearine&s;&s;e hee is ouertaken and led pri&s;oner. The carnall man &s;inneth with full con&s;ent of will, and with plea|&s;ure and delight, the &s;pirituall man doth not yeeld without &s;ome re&s;i&s;tance of the regenerate part, and as it were grud|gingly and with the mi&s;liking of the &s;pirit; he that is vnre|generate &s;uffreth &s;inne to raigne in him, and yeeldeth vnto
<PB N="644" REF="332">it &s;uch willing and heartie obedience as the loyall &s;ubiect doth to his lawfull King, but the &s;anctified man obeyeth it as though it were an v&s;urping tyrant, repiningly and by co~|&s;traint, rather drawne with force than moued by any loue or liking. The wicked man committeth &s;inne vpon delibera|tion, adui&s;edly and of &s;et purpo&s;e; but the regenerate man for the mo&s;t part &s;uddenly, be&s;ides his purpo&s;e and contrary to his re&s;olution. The vngodly mans heart and con&s;cience &s;eldome or neuer controules him for his &s;inne, or if it doe, yet it &s;uddenly vani&s;heth like a fla&s;h of lightning; but there is a fight in the hart of the godly man, the carnall part draw|ing one way and the &s;pirituall part another. When the car|nall worldling offendeth hee is in his common way, for hee maketh an occupation of committing &s;inne; but when the regenerate man &s;inneth hee is out of his cour&s;e, and is neuer at re&s;t till he commeth into his way of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e again: when the wicked man hath committed one &s;inne, that is an argument to moue him to commit another,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 8.11.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e iudge|ment is deferred,</HI> and hee hath e&s;caped puni&s;hment; but the true Chri&s;tian (like one who runneth a race for &s;ome great wager) if he &s;tumble and fall, when he ri&s;eth againe he doth more carefully looke to his feete, and &s;triueth to runne the more &s;wiftly in the way of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that &s;o he may re|deeme with more than v&s;uall &s;peed the lo&s;t time wherein he was hindred by his fall. Finally, the vnregenerate man being fallen into the puddle of &s;inne, doth wallow therein with plea&s;ure and delight, and neuer &s;triues to ri&s;e againe by a|mendment of life, but the man regenerate though hee fall, yet he ri&s;eth vp againe by true repentance, and neuer re&s;teth till hee haue throughly wa&s;hed his polluted &s;oule with the bloud of Chri&s;t applied vnto him by a liuely faith. The one remembreth his &s;innes which he hath committed, with glad|ne&s;&s;e and reioycing, yea bragging and boa&s;ting of his out|ragious wickedne&s;&s;e; the other neuer thinketh vpon them but with griefe and &s;orrow, neither is there any thing in the world whereof he is more a&s;hamed than of his &s;innes. See|ing therefore there is &s;uch great and manifold differences, betweene the &s;innes of the &s;anctified and tho&s;e who are vn|&s;anctified,
<PB N="645" REF="332">let not Sathan per&s;wade vs that wee are &s;till in the fle&s;h and vnregenerate, becau&s;e will we nill we, we often fall into &s;inne, if in our manner of &s;inning wee can finde the&s;e differences which we neuer di&s;cerned in former times.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. X.</HI> Sathans temptations taken from particular &s;innes into which we haue fallen an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">That &s;ins com|mitted after repentance, ex|clude vs not from pardon.</NOTE>_ANd &s;o much concerning tho&s;e temptations which Sathan &s;ugge&s;teth in re&s;pect of our &s;innes in ge|nerall: now we are to &s;peake of &s;uch as concerne particular &s;innes, and the&s;e are of two &s;orts; for either Sathan &s;eeketh to ouerthrow our faith, and to di&s;cou|rage vs from going forward in our cour&s;e of godline&s;&s;e, by &s;etting before vs and exceedingly aggrauating tho&s;e &s;innes which indeede wee haue committed, or by per&s;wading vs fal&s;ely that we haue committed &s;uch &s;innes, as being vnpar|donable are not incident to the childe of God. The former &s;ort of temptations are taken either from &s;ome hainous &s;in once committed, or from the often falling into the &s;ame &s;in. Concerning the fir&s;t, he aggrauateth the &s;innes of the faith|full two e&s;peciall waies, either becau&s;e they haue been com|mitted after repentance, or voluntarily again&s;t knowledge and con&s;cience. In the former re&s;pect he is ready to &s;ugge&s;t, that the children of God doe not commit any &s;inne after they haue truly repented of it; and if any doe, either he neuer truly repented, or if he did, yet after his fall there is no place to a &s;econd repentance, nor hope of Gods mercie. For an|&s;wering whereof wee are to know, that how&s;oeuer the &s;tate of tho&s;e who thus &s;inne is &s;omewhat dangerous, and they more hardly recouered than others (euen as tho&s;e di&s;ea&s;es are perilous and hardly cured, into which wee fall by a re|lap&s;e after the recouerie of health) yet this is incident to the children of God who haue truly repented, and notwith&s;tan|ding this grieuous kinde of falling they are not debarred of Gods mercie in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us. And this appeareth partly by
<PB N="646" REF="333">rea&s;ons, and partly by examples. For fir&s;t, the gracious pro|mi&s;es of the Go&s;pell concerning the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, are indefinite and without limitation, of time, or &s;innes, whether committed before or after repentance. So Matth. 11.28. <HI>Come vnto me all ye that labour and are heauie laden,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 11.28. 1. Ioh. 2.1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>and I will ea&s;e you:</HI> and 1. Iohn 2.1, 2. <HI>If any man &s;inne, we haue an aduo|cate with the father, &amp;c.</HI> In which and in many other places, the Lord a&s;&s;ureth vs that he will receiue to mercy all repen|tant &s;inners, of what nature and qualitie &s;oeuer their &s;innes are. Secondly, in the lawe were &s;acrifices appoynted for the &s;innes of the people, not onely tho&s;e who were newly recei|ued into the Lords couenant for their &s;innes pa&s;t, but al&s;o for tho&s;e &s;innes which were daily committed, after that they had long been therein. Thirdly, the Lord inoyneth vs that we forgiue our brother &s;euentie times &s;euen times, if &s;o of|ten hee offend vs and repent of his fault; and therefore him&s;elfe much more, who&s;e mercy is infinite, and more ex|ceedeth ours than the whole &s;ea a little droppe, will pardon vs if as we often &s;inne, &s;o al&s;o wee often turne vnto him by vnfained repentance. This al&s;o manife&s;tly appeareth by ex|amples, for did not the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> after his true conuer|&s;ion fall grieuou&s;ly by committing murther and adulterie, the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> by denying his Lord and Sauiour, <HI>Noah</HI> by drunkenne&s;&s;e, <HI>Lot</HI> by ince&s;t, and yet afterwards they tru|ly repented againe and were receiued to mercy? So that this poynt is cleere and manife&s;t, that the deare childe of God, after his true conuer&s;ion and vnfained repentance may fall into grieuous &s;innes, and yet truly repenting of them, may haue them remitted, and bee receiued againe into Gods wonted loue and fauour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">An obiection an&s;wered. <HI>Heb. 6.4, 5, 6.</HI></NOTE> But here the tempter will obiect that the Apo&s;tle affir|meth Heb. 6.4, 5, 6. <HI>That it is impo&s;&s;ible that tho&s;e who haue been once inlightened, &amp;c. if they fall away, &s;hould be renewed by repentance: &s;eeing by &s;o &s;inning, they crucifie againe to them|&s;elues the Sonne of God, and make a mocke of him.</HI> And there|fore who&s;oeuer &s;inneth after his true conuer&s;ion, can neither repent nor receiue mercy. To which we mu&s;t an&s;were, that the Apo&s;tle in this place doth not &s;peake of euery falling in|to
<PB N="647" REF="333">to &s;inne, for &s;o he &s;hould be contrary to the other Scriptures before alledged, but of a generall falling away by apo&s;ta&s;ie, and of a malitious per&s;ecuting of the knowne truth, which is the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, the which is ioyned with continuall impenitency, and therefore cannot be pardoned. And this appeareth manife&s;tly by the words of the text; for he doth not &s;imply &s;ay if he fall into &s;inne, but if he fall a|way, namely by a generall and malitious apo&s;ta&s;ie: and a|gaine, he &s;heweth of what manner of falling he meaneth in the words following, whereas he &s;aith, that &s;uch as thus fall away, crucifie vnto them&s;elues the &s;onne of God, and make a mocke of him. Now they are &s;aid to crucifie Chri&s;t againe, who with an vnplacable hatred doe &s;corne and deride Chri&s;t crucified, renouncing all part and hope in his death and &s;uf|ferings, as did &s;ome of the malitious Iewes, and as &s;ome a|po&s;tates doe in the&s;e dayes. And therefore this place ma|keth nothing again&s;t the repentance and receiuing to mer|cie of &s;uch as fall through infirmitie into &s;ome particular &s;innes, though neuer &s;o hainous.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And &s;o much for an&s;wering Sathans temptations drawne from our &s;innes committed after repentance.<NOTE PLACE="marg">That all &s;innes of knowledge are not pre&s;um|ptuous.</NOTE> The &s;econd &s;ort are taken from &s;innes committed voluntarily again&s;t our knowledge and con&s;cience; which if we haue fallen in|to, he pre&s;ently &s;ugge&s;teth that we haue &s;inned pre&s;umptu|ou&s;ly again&s;t God, and therefore cannot be reckoned in the number of Gods children, nor conceiue any hope of par|don and forgiuene&s;&s;e. For the an&s;wering vnto which temp|tation, we are to knowe the&s;e two things; fir&s;t, that all &s;innes committed again&s;t knowledge and con&s;cience are not pre|&s;umptuous: &s;econdly, that though we &s;hould fall into pre|&s;umptuous &s;innes, yet we may be the children of God, who are neither debarred of true repentance nor of Gods mercy. For the fir&s;t, we are to know that not the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the &s;inne committed maketh it to bee pre&s;umptuous, but the manner of the fact, and the minde of the offender; for how|&s;oeuer <HI>Peter</HI> fell grieuou&s;ly, yet we cannot &s;ay that hee fell pre&s;umptuou&s;ly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">VVhat it is to &s;inne pre&s;ump|tuou&s;ly.</NOTE> becau&s;e he &s;inned through infirmitie and feare of danger, whereas to &s;inne pre&s;umptuou&s;ly, is to &s;inne
<PB N="648" REF="334">of a &s;tubborne wilfulne&s;&s;e, either through the neglect of Gods iu&s;tice and iudgements, or through the abu&s;e of his mercy and benefits. In the fir&s;t re&s;pect they offend, who ha|uing diuers times them&s;elues &s;inned, and yet e&s;caped pu|ni&s;hment, or hauing &s;eene others in the like ca&s;e, doe take occa&s;ion hereby to &s;inne againe, hoping to e&s;cape as in for|mer times: and of &s;uch the wi&s;e man &s;peaketh, Eccle&s;. 8.11, <HI>Becau&s;e &s;entence against an euill worke is not executed &s;peedily,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 8.11.</NOTE> <HI>therefore the heart of the children of men is fully &s;et in them to doe euill.</HI> In the other re&s;pect, &s;uch offend as take occa&s;ion vpon Gods mercy and long &s;uffering to fall into &s;inne, pre|&s;uming before they commit it, that God vpon their repen|tance will in his infinite mercy forgiue them: and thus they abu&s;e Gods mercy and goodne&s;&s;e which &s;hould leade them to repentance, as an argument to make them more de&s;pe|rately to runne into all wickedne&s;&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.4.</NOTE> So that to &s;inne pre|&s;umptuou&s;ly, is not to &s;inne vpon knowledge, and again&s;t a mans con&s;cience onely, vnle&s;&s;e there be ioyned therewith a pre&s;umptuous hope to e&s;cape puni&s;hment, or that not with|&s;tanding the &s;inne committed, he &s;hall receiue pardon in re|&s;pect of Gods infinite mercy. Now many of Gods children may fall again&s;t their knowledge and con&s;cience, and yet not pre&s;ume either to e&s;cape Gods iudgements or to be par|takers of his mercy, as namely tho&s;e who are caried head|long into a &s;inne without any time of deliberation through the violence of their corruptions, or ouercome by feare of &s;ome pre&s;ent danger, or &s;ome other vnruly pa&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the tempter will obiect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That &s;innes of knowledge are pardonable.</NOTE> that though the&s;e &s;innes again&s;t knowledge and con&s;cience bee not pre&s;umptuous, yet they are vnpardonable, &s;eeing the committers of them haue no part in Chri&s;ts &s;acrifice, and con&s;equently can hope for no mercy at Gods hands: and this he will indeauour to proue by that &s;aying of the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.26.</NOTE> Hebr. 10.26. <HI>For if we &s;inne willingly after that we haue receiued the knowledge of the truth, there nemaineth no more &s;acrifice for &s;innes, but a fearefull looking for of iudgement &amp;c.</HI> For the an&s;wering whereof, we are to know, that the Apo&s;tle in his doctrine is not contrary to our Sauiour Chri&s;t: but hee hath taught vs, that not onely
<PB N="649" REF="334">&s;innes again&s;t knowledge are pardonable vpon true repen|tance, but euen horrible bla&s;phemies again&s;t the maie&s;tie of God, yea, all &s;innes what&s;oeuer &s;auing the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t. Matth. 12.31, 32. Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 12.31, 32.</NOTE> we knowe by expe|rience, that both <HI>Dauid</HI> and <HI>Peter</HI> fell grieuou&s;ly again&s;t their knowledge and con&s;cience, wittingly, and in a &s;ort wil|lingly, and yet they both repented and were receiued to mercie: and therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh not of all kinde of voluntary falling, but fir&s;t of &s;inne committed with full con&s;ent of will, plea&s;ure, and delight: the which kinde of &s;innes are neuer committed by Gods children after their true conuer&s;ion; for as they are in part carnall and vnregene|rate, &s;o are they in part &s;pirituall and regenerate, which is to be vnder&s;toode; not onely of the vnder&s;tanding part, but al|&s;o of the will and affections. So farre forth therefore as their will is regenerate, they doe not will nor yeeld vnto &s;inne; and though they con&s;ent vnto &s;inne, yet this con&s;ent is not ab&s;olute and intire, but with &s;ome di&s;like, grudging, and re|&s;i&s;tance of the &s;pirituall part; the which di&s;like and re&s;i&s;tance, though &s;ometimes it cannot ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned in the very act of &s;inne, whereas the weake motions of the &s;pirit are vio|lently ouerborne, through the violent &s;trength of their na|turall corruptions, and &s;o ouer&s;hadowed by the cloudie mi&s;ts which their vnruly pa&s;&s;ions ca&s;t before their vnder&s;ta~|ding, that they cannot at all perceiue any di&s;like or re&s;i|&s;tance again&s;t the temptation: yet after the &s;inne is commit|ted, and the good motions of the &s;pirit are againe reuiued out of their deadly &s;wound, then doe they hate and dete&s;t that &s;inne which before &s;eemed plea&s;ant vnto them and ear|ne&s;tly de&s;ire with the Apo&s;tle to be freed from it. La&s;tly, the Apo&s;tle in that place doth not &s;peake of euery particular &s;inne committed with full con&s;ent of will, for &s;o al&s;o the e|lect offend before their conuer&s;ion, but of a generall and malitious apo&s;ta&s;ie from the knowne truth, and a &s;cornefull reiecting of the &s;acrifice of Chri&s;t once offered for &s;inne: &s;o that the &s;en&s;e is thus much, that if wee wilfully and maliti|ou&s;ly &s;inne, by renouncing the &s;acrifice of Chri&s;t offered for &s;inne, we cannot hope to be &s;aued by any other &s;acrifice, but
<PB N="650" REF="335">are to expect iudgement and condemnation, &s;eeing &s;uch treade vnder foote the &s;onne of God, and count the blood of the te&s;tament an vnholy thing, and euen de&s;pite the &s;pirit of grace, as he explaneth him&s;elfe in the ver&s;es following.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And &s;o much concerning the fir&s;t que&s;tion;<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the chri|&s;tian may fall into pre&s;umptu|ous &s;innes, and that &s;o falling, he may be re|ceiued to mer|cie.</NOTE> the &s;econd is whether the chri&s;tian man may fall into pre&s;umptuous &s;ins, and if hee doe, whether they be pardonable or no. For the fir&s;t, though it mu&s;t needes bee confe&s;&s;ed that it is a fearefull ca&s;e, to neglect Gods iu&s;tice and iudgements becau&s;e of his long &s;uffering, or to take occa&s;ion vpon the abundance of Gods mercies and readine&s;&s;e to forgiue, to prouoke him continually by our &s;innes; yet it cannot be denied, but that a true chri&s;tian, through the &s;trength of his inbred corrupti|ons, may fall into the&s;e pre&s;umptuous &s;innes; neither is there any priuiledge in the holy Scriptures to exempt them from any &s;inne what&s;oeuer, but that either before or after their conuer&s;ion they may fall into it, &s;auing onely that vnpardo|nable &s;inne which is committed again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t. Moreouer, <HI>Dauid</HI> prayeth the Lord to keepe him from <HI>pre|&s;umptuous &s;innes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 19.13.</NOTE> and that he would not &s;uffer them <HI>to raigne ouer him,</HI> P&s;alm. 19.13. where fir&s;t he &s;heweth that of him|&s;elfe he was apt to fall into &s;uch &s;innes, if the Lord did not pre&s;erue him from them; and &s;econdly he implieth, that the Lord might for good cau&s;es knowne vnto him&s;elfe, &s;uffer him to commit the&s;e &s;innes of pre&s;umption, and therefore he further prayeth that if hee &s;hould fall into &s;uch &s;innes, it would plea&s;e the Lord to rai&s;e him by true repentance, and not &s;uffer them to rule and raigne in him. So that it appea|reth that a true chri&s;tian may fall into the&s;e &s;innes: now, that hauing fallen he may ri&s;e againe by true repentance, and re|ceiue pardon and forgiuene&s;&s;e, it is likewi&s;e manife&s;t. For if once the Lord receiue vs into the couenant of grace, and ac|knowledge vs for his children, then nothing in the world, no not the mo&s;t grieuous &s;innes which we can fall into, can &s;eparate vs from the loue of God which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.38, 39.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Rom. 8.38, 29. Secondly, our Sauiour telleth vs, that <HI>euery &s;inne and bla&s;phemy &s;hall be forgi|uen vnto men</HI> vpon true repentance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 12.31.32.</NOTE> &s;auing onely the bla&s;|phemie
<PB N="651" REF="335">again&s;t the &s;pirit which is alwaies ioyned with finall impenitencie. Matth. 12.31, 32. Thirdly, the promi&s;es of the the Go&s;pell are generall and indefinit, excluding no fortes of &s;innes what&s;oeuer, &s;o they performe the condition of faith and repentance. And therefore al&s;o pre&s;umptuous &s;inners, repenting and beleeuing, are a&s;&s;ured of mercie and forgiuene&s;&s;e. La&s;tly, if <HI>Dauid</HI> might fall into the&s;e &s;innes, then <HI>Dauid</HI> al&s;o might repent and receiue pardon, &s;eeing he was truely iu&s;tified, &s;anctified, and a cho&s;en ve&s;&s;ell of the Lord elected to euerla&s;ting life.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> And &s;o much concerning the temptations which are ta|ken from tho&s;e &s;innes which are once committed;<NOTE PLACE="marg">That it is a fearefull thing to fall often in|to the &s;ame &s;in willingly.</NOTE> now we are to &s;peake of them which he &s;ugge&s;teth vnto the weake con&s;cience, after the committing of one and the &s;ame &s;inne diuers times; vpon which occa&s;ion he is readie to per&s;wade the weake chri&s;tian, that he neuer truely repented, otherwi&s;e he would neuer againe fall into the &s;ame &s;inne; and the how&s;oeuer the child of God may fall into diuers &s;innes, through want of care and experience, yet it is not incident to any of this number to fall againe and againe into the &s;ame wickedne&s;&s;e, after they haue had warning and &s;ufficient knowledge of the euils thereof. For the an&s;wering whereof we are to know, that in truth it is a grieuous and fearefull ca&s;e to be thus ouertaken, and to be &s;o be&s;otted with the plea&s;ures of &s;inne, that neither in&s;truction nor our owne ex|perience can make vs to &s;ee the euils of &s;inne, and worke in vs a care to auoyde and &s;hunne it. The burnt childe (as the prouerbe is) dreadeth the fire; he that hath been deceiued and thereby much indamaged, is afterwards more warie; he that hath ca&s;t him&s;elfe into any grieuous di&s;ea&s;e through &s;ome vnhole&s;ome meates, is euer after more carefull of his diet; he that hath once been a&s;&s;aulted by his enemie at vnawares, and hath receiued grie&s;ly woundes, will after he is cured goe better armed and furni&s;hed, that he may not againe be ouertaken of the like daunger. And therefore &s;ee|ing experience of all other euils doth teach vs to auoyde them, what a lamentable thing is this, that no warning will make vs take heede of &s;inne, which is the greate&s;t euill and
<PB N="652" REF="336">cau&s;e of all the re&s;t? that hauing drunke this deadly poy&s;on and been grieuou&s;ly &s;icke thereof in our con&s;ciences, wee &s;hould being recouered be inticed with the plea&s;ant ta&s;te thereof to &s;wallow it downe againe? and that hauing recei|ued grieuous wounds, we &s;hould after take no better heede, and goe no better armed and prepared to make re&s;i&s;tance, but for want of care and watchfulne&s;&s;e expo&s;e our &s;elues againe to the like daunger of our &s;pirituall enemies? But yet we are to know that this &s;ometimes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">That the child of God may fall often into the &s;ame &s;inne and yet be receiued to mercie.</NOTE> through our great frailtie and corruption, may be the e&s;tate of a true chri&s;tian and faithfull &s;eruant of God, to fall againe and againe into the &s;ame &s;inne, neither doth any thing priuiledge them from committing that &s;inne againe which they haue once committed. For fir&s;t the &s;ame inbred corruption &s;till dwel|leth in them and is readie againe to giue them the foyle and to leade them captiue into the &s;ame &s;inne, if the Lord vp|hold them not, &s;o that inre&s;pect of their owne &s;trength they may fall againe as in former times. Secondly, the &s;ame cau|&s;es &s;till remaine which may moue the Lord to leaue them to them&s;elues, and &s;uffer them to fall, namely that hereby they may be more humbled, and more &s;eriou&s;ly bewaile their corruptions, that they may more earne&s;tly implore his mercie, and he more manife&s;t it in pardoning their &s;innes to the prai&s;e of his glorie. Thirdly, how&s;oeuer this is not v&s;uall with the children of God, to fall diuers times into, a &s;inne which is great and grieuous, yet euery one findeth in his owne experience that he often committeth &s;uch &s;innes as are not &s;o heynous, through infirmitie and weakne&s;&s;e; as to heare the word negligently and carele&s;&s;ely, to be di&s;tracted with wandering thoughts in prayer, to fall into vniu&s;t anger, to lie and v&s;e idle communication and &s;uch like, of which notwith&s;tanding repenting he is receiued vnto mercie. So that it is not the often falling into the &s;ame &s;inne, that ex|cludeth vs out of the number of Gods children, or debar|reth vs of pardon, &s;o that we often repent lay holde vp|on Chri&s;t with a liuely faith. Neither do the &s;criptures limit and re&s;traine Gods mereie, and the vertue of Chri&s;ts merits, to the pardoning and taking away of diuers &s;innes, once
<PB N="653" REF="336">committed, but extend them al&s;o to the &s;ame &s;inne com|mitted diuers times, yea to all &s;innes what&s;oeuer of which we truely repent.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XI.</HI> Sathans temptations per&s;wading the chri&s;tian that he hath &s;inned again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, an&s;wered.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _ANd thus haue I an&s;wered Sathans temptations drawne from the&s;e &s;innes which the weake chri&s;tian hath fallen into;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t.</NOTE> but if he cannot &s;o preuaile, then he will fal&s;ely accu&s;e them of tho&s;e &s;innes which they neuer committed, and e&s;pecially of that vnpardonable &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, taking aduantage of their ignorance, that &s;o he may plunge them into de&s;peration, and vtterly di&s;courage them from going forward in the cour&s;e of godline&s;&s;e. The which his temptation is &s;o v&s;uall and common, that there is &s;carce any who are exerci&s;ed in this &s;pirituall warfare, if they be conuerted vnto God out of their ignorance, whom he doth not encounter with this weapon. For as much therefore as ignorance is the chiefe ground of this temptation, therefore the be&s;t meanes to &s;trengthen our &s;elues again&s;t it, is to know what this &s;inne is, which if we once vnder&s;tand, there is no daunger of being foyled in this a&s;&s;ault.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">What the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t is.</NOTE>The &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t, is a generall deniall and oppugning of the truth and all religion, of which the vnder|&s;tanding and con&s;cience by the illumination of the &s;pirit are per&s;waded and conuicted, proceeding from an ob&s;ti|nate will and purpo&s;ed malice again&s;t God and his truth. The which &s;inne is committed of two &s;ortes of men; fir&s;t, of tho&s;e who haue made profe&s;&s;ion of the truth, and afterwards become Apo&s;tataes, not from &s;ome part onely but from all religion, condemning, bla&s;pheming, and per&s;ecuting as hereticall and impious, that truth which before they pro|fe&s;&s;ed, and of which they were per&s;waded. And thus did <HI>Hy|meneus</HI> and <HI>Alexander</HI> &s;inne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 1.20.</NOTE> of whom <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaketh
<PB N="654" REF="337">1. Tim. 1.20. Secondly, of tho&s;e who were neuer profe&s;&s;ors thereof,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Matth. 12.24.31.</HI> Steuen Gard|ner. See his &s;to|rie in the booke of Martyrs.</NOTE> who&s;e con&s;ciences notwith&s;tanding are conuicted of that truth which they doe oppugne: an example whereof we haue in the Scribes and Phari&s;es, Matth. 12.24.31. and in many of the learned Papi&s;ts in the&s;e dayes, who maliciou&s;ly deny and per&s;ecute that truth which they know and are con|uicted of.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Hereby therefore it appeareth that not euery grieuous &s;inne again&s;t knowledge and con&s;cience is the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How to di&s;tin|gui&s;h the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t from other &s;innes.</NOTE> for thus <HI>Dauid</HI> offended who was a man ac|cording to Gods owne heart; nor euery denying of the knowne truth, if it proceede from feare and infirmitie, and not from malice and ob&s;tinat rebellion, for thus <HI>Peter</HI> &s;inned in denying his mai&s;ter; nor all kinde of oppo&s;ing and per|&s;ecuting of the truth, if it bee not again&s;t knowledge and con&s;cience, but vpon blindne&s;&s;e and ignorance, for thus <HI>Paul</HI> offended before his conuer&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 1.13.</NOTE> as appeareth 1. Tim. 1.13. and many of the Iewes who crucified Chri&s;t, as the Apo|&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> te&s;tifieth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 3.17.</NOTE> Act. 3.17. nor all malicious oppo&s;ing again&s;t euery knowne truth, but of the truth in generall and all true religion, for this &s;inne is an vniuer&s;all apo&s;ta&s;ie from God and his truth, and not onely a defection from &s;ome particular point thereof. So that though a man &s;inne again&s;t knowledge and con&s;cience, through infirmitie and not of malice; though he deny the truth through feare and weake|ne&s;&s;e, though he per&s;ecute it through blindne&s;&s;e and igno|rance; though he wittingly oppo&s;e again&s;t and willingly per&s;ecute &s;ome particular point thereof, and yet hold and profe&s;&s;e the generall, how&s;oeuer he hath mo&s;t hainou&s;ly of|fended, yet he hath not committed this vnpardonable &s;inne again&s;t the holy &s;pirit, and therefore is not excluded from repentance, nor vpon his repentance from pardon and for|giuene&s;&s;e. Whereby it manife&s;tly appeareth that the&s;e poore chri&s;tians which labour vnder the burthen of &s;inne, are meerely deluded by Sathans fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions, and gro&s;ely abu&s;ed through their owne ignorance, when as he maketh them beleeue that they haue &s;inned again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t. But let &s;uch know to their comfort that &s;o long as they
<PB N="655" REF="337">would not commit this &s;inne, or feare lea&s;t they haue alrea|die fallen into it, they are as yet mo&s;t free from it, &s;eeing it is not done of infirmitie or at vnawares, but vpon a maliti|ous will, cleare knowledge and &s;etled re&s;olution.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here the poore chri&s;tian is readie to complaine, that he is continually troubled with impious thoughts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of impious and bla&s;phemous &s;ugge&s;tions.</NOTE> and hor|rible bla&s;phemies again&s;t God and his holy &s;pirit, which he feareth to be the &s;inne again&s;t the holy Gho&s;t. I an&s;were as before, that &s;eeing the&s;e thoughts are a trouble vnto him, and &s;eeing he feareth to commit this &s;inne, thereby it is ma|nife&s;t that he is not fallen into it, as appeareth by that which hath been &s;aid. Secondly, he is to know that his &s;tate is com|mon with Gods faithfull children, who are thus vexed e|&s;pecially in the conflict of temptations, and before they haue receiued a great mea&s;ure of faith, and fulne&s;&s;e of per|&s;wa&s;ion of Gods loue and fauour, whereby they are moued intirely to loue him againe. Neither needes this to &s;eeme &s;trange vnto any who con&s;idereth of that ma&s;&s;e of naturall corruption which remaineth in vs, euen after regeneration, which continually boyleth and fometh vp the filthie &s;cumine of wicked thoughts and bla&s;phemous imaginati|ons; and of the malice of our &s;pirituall enemie Sathan, who is &s;till readie to tempt vs by his &s;ugge&s;tions to the mo&s;t hor|rible and outragious &s;innes; if not in hope to ouercome vs, yet at lea&s;t to vexe and trouble vs. As we may &s;ee in the ex|ample fo the holy man <HI>Iob,</HI> whom he &s;pared not to tempt vnto fearefull bla&s;phemie.</P>
<P>But though we cannot keepe the diuell from a&s;&s;aulting vs, let not this di&s;courage vs, hay rather let vs be moued hereby with more care and watchfulne&s;&s;e to with&s;tand him, for if we <HI>re&s;i&s;t him he will flee from vs.</HI> Iam 4.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.7.</NOTE> But in this our re&s;i&s;tance two things e&s;pecially mu&s;t be ob&s;erued: the fir&s;t is the meanes whereby we mu&s;t giue him the repul&s;e; which is partly by the &s;word of the &s;pirit, the word of God, where|by we beate backe the temptation by prouing the wicked|ne&s;&s;e thereof by &s;ome te&s;timonie of &s;cripture, according to our Sauiours example; and partly by lifting vp our mindes vnto God in prayer, de&s;iring &s;trength to with&s;tand the temp|tation.
<PB N="656" REF="338">Secondly, we mu&s;t take heede that we doe not re|uolue the temptation in our mindes, but pre&s;ently repell it, lea&s;t the&s;e helli&s;h &s;parkes taking hold of the tindar of our corruptions, doe at length inflame vs with horrible wicked|ne&s;&s;e, which at their fir&s;t falling might ea&s;ily haue been ex|tingui&s;hed. And if we thus &s;peedely repell the&s;e horrible bla&s;phemies &s;ugge&s;ted by Sathan, they &s;hall neuer be im|puted vnto vs, but vnto him from whom they proceede, and that both in re&s;pect of the fault and puni&s;hment.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XII.</HI> Arguments to proue the certaintie of our per&s;euerance groun|ded vpon Gods will and immutabilitie.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _ANd thus haue I an&s;wered Sathans temptations which concerne our &s;anctification.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sathans temp|tation mouing the chri&s;tian to doubt of his per&s;euerance.</NOTE> Now in the la&s;t place wee are to intreate of our per&s;eue|rance which he impugneth with no le&s;&s;e &s;ub|tiltie and violence. For though the chri&s;tian man haue attained to &s;ome a&s;&s;urance, that he is elected, cal|led, iu&s;tified, and &s;anctified, yet Sathan will not giue him ouer, but laboreth to per&s;wade him, that notwith&s;tanding all this he may finally fall away and become a reprobate. Let it be graunted (will he &s;ay) that thy &s;tate now is &s;uch as thou &s;uppo&s;e&s;t, yet thou art in no &s;afetie, neither can&s;t thou promi&s;e vnto thy &s;elfe any a&s;&s;urance of attaining vnto euer|la&s;ting life and happine&s;&s;e, &s;eeing tho&s;e onely <HI>which continue vnto the end &s;hall be &s;aued:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 24.3.</NOTE> whereas thou ha&s;t no a&s;&s;urance of thy per&s;euerance, nay contrariwi&s;e thou art in re&s;pect of thy frailtie and mutabilitie, certaine of nothing more then thine vncertaintie. Call to thy remembrance the example of thy fir&s;t parents, who were perfectly righteous and holy, more accompli&s;hed in all graces than any of their po&s;teritie, more &s;trong and able to indure and re&s;i&s;t all temptations, as be|ing indued with free-will, and therefore able both to chu&s;e the good and refu&s;e the euill, who notwith&s;tanding all this were ouercome, and of the children of God made the &s;laues
<PB N="657" REF="338">of &s;inne and Sathan. Did they therefore fall who were per|fectly righteous, and can&s;t thou who are mo&s;t imperfect hope to &s;tand? were not they who were full of all graces able to indure the incounter in the day of triall, and can&s;t thou hope to make re&s;i&s;tance who art full of &s;inne and cor|ruption? were they vanqui&s;hed who were &s;trong champi|ons, and do&s;t thou who art weake and feeble hope for vic|torie? were they allured by Sathans temptations, to com|mit &s;inne, and fall from God, who could freely will the good and nill the euill; and can&s;t thou hope to per&s;eruer and continue con&s;tant, who&s;e will is captiued and ouerruled by thy corruption? Con&s;ider further thy mutabilitie and vn|con&s;tancie, thy exeeding weakne&s;&s;e and frailtie, thy corrup|tions and imperfections; and on the other &s;ide &s;et before thee, the mightie power, the &s;ubtill pollicie, the vigilant watchfulne&s;&s;e, and vnwearied diligence, of thy &s;pirituall e|nemies who continually a&s;&s;ault thee: and then thinke with thy &s;elfe if there be any po&s;&s;ibilitie, that thy weaknes &s;hould with&s;tand their power, thy ignorant &s;implicitie their pru|dent wi&s;edome, and thy carele&s;&s;e negligence their carefull diligence. La&s;tly, call to minde the manifold examples which thou ha&s;t both read and &s;eene, of &s;uch as haue been of greater gifts and graces, and made a much fairer &s;hew then thou, of holine&s;&s;e towards God and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e towards men, who notwith&s;tanding haue finally fallen away and become reprobates, and therefore why maie&s;t not thou be one of this number? Seeing then the ca&s;e thus &s;tandeth doe not fooli&s;hly flatter thy &s;elfe with a vaine hope, that be|cau&s;e thou art elected, called, iu&s;tified, and &s;anctified, there|fore thou &s;halt be &s;aued; for though now thou art elected, yet hereafter thou maie&s;t become a reprobate; though today thou art a childe of God, and in his fauour, yet to mor|row thou maye&s;t through thy &s;innes, bee a childe of the di|uell, and in Gods di&s;plea&s;ure be reiected; though now thou art a member of Chri&s;t, thou maie&s;t become a limme of Sa|than; and though now thou art indued with the &s;pirit of God, and with all the graces and gifts thereof, yet by thy &s;inne thou may&s;t ea&s;ily loo&s;e both it and them; and bee
<PB N="658" REF="339">wholy and finally giuen ouer to run on thy former wick|ednes vnto eternall death and condemnation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus doth Sathan per&s;wade the chri&s;tian man to doubt of his per&s;euerance;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The generall meanes to &s;trengthen the chri&s;tian a|gain&s;t the for|mer tempta|tion.</NOTE> the which temptations, if we would with&s;tand, it behoueth vs not to ground the certain|tie of our per&s;euerance vpon our owne re&s;olution, &s;trength and graces which we haue receiued, for the&s;e are altogether in&s;ufficient to vphold vs again&s;t the a&s;&s;aults of our &s;pirituall enemies, who are farre more &s;tronger then we; but wholy di&s;tru&s;ting in our owne abilitie, let vs re&s;t and rely wholy vpon the Lord, for as it is he alone who hath be&s;towed vp|on vs all the gifts and graces which we haue receiued, &s;o al&s;o haue wee our growth and per&s;euerance in them from him onely. And &s;o we may be a&s;&s;ured of our per&s;euerance, notwith&s;tanding our owne weakene&s;&s;e and incon&s;tancie, for <HI>it is God which &s;tabli&s;heth vs in Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 1.21.</NOTE> as it is 2. Cor. 1.21. Though in re&s;pect of any thing that is in vs we might euery hour fall away; yet we are &s;ure to continue in tho&s;e graces which we haue receiued, mauger the malice and power of all our enemies, for wee &s;tand not in our owne &s;trength but <HI>are kept by the power of God through faith vnto &s;aluation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.4.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh 1. Pet. 1.4. Though we &s;hould euery day loo&s;e euerla&s;ting life and happine&s;&s;e through negligence, or &s;ell it away for the vanities of the world and plea&s;ures of &s;inne if it were in our owne hands, yet all this is not &s;uffi|cient to di&s;inherit vs of our heauenly pattrimonie, for it is not at our own di&s;po&s;ition <HI>but our life is hid with Chri&s;t in God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3.3.</NOTE> as it is Col. 3.3. And therefore though in our&s;elues we are as weake as reedes, and as vncon&s;tant and changeable as the wind and weather, yet are we tenne thou&s;and times more &s;ure to per&s;euer in that grace which we haue receiued vnto euerla&s;ting life, than <HI>Adam</HI> in the &s;tate of innocencie; for he &s;toode by his owne &s;trength, which though it were great, yet it was finite, but we by the almightie power of God; he by the vertue of his owne free will, which was mutable and &s;ubiect to alteration, but we by the will of God which be|ing immutable admitteth of no change.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But let vs come more &s;pecially to &s;peake of this maine
<PB N="659" REF="339">controuer&s;ie betweene the true Chri&s;tian and the enemies of his &s;aluation, the &s;tate whereof &s;tandeth thus;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;tate of the Controuer&s;ie.</NOTE> whether hee that is elected in Gods eternall coun&s;aile, and is effectually called, that is, &s;euered from the world, giuen to Chri&s;t, and ingrafted into Chri&s;t by the &s;pirit of God and a liuely faith, iu&s;tified, &s;anctified, and indued with the &s;anctifying gifts and graces of Gods &s;pirit, may after all this fall away, lo&s;e the &s;pirit of God and the graces thereof, and become as pro|phane and wicked as euer he was before his conuer&s;ion, lo&s;e al&s;o his iu&s;tification, be cut off from the bodie of Chri&s;t, and finally become a reprobate. This the enemies of our &s;alua|tion affirme, but we denie as being a thing impo&s;&s;ible, not in regard of our owne &s;trength, con&s;tancie, or great mea&s;ure of grace which wee haue receiued, but in re&s;pect of Gods will and power who vpholdeth vs, Chri&s;ts interce&s;&s;ion who pray|eth for vs, and Gods holy &s;pirit alwaies dwelling in vs, wher|by we are &s;o &s;trengthened and confirmed, that al the power of hell cannot preuaile again&s;t vs.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> This our a&s;&s;ertion we will fir&s;t confirme by vnfallible rea|&s;ons,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t argu|ment grounded vpon Gods wil, con&s;idered in his decree of election.</NOTE> and afterwards an&s;were the contrary obiections which are made again&s;t this truth by the enemies of our &s;aluation.</P>
<P>The rea&s;ons which may be alledged for this purpo&s;e are many; the fir&s;t &s;ort are taken from Gods owne nature, as it is de&s;cribed in his word and exerci&s;ed in his workes towards vs. As fir&s;t we may be a&s;&s;ured of our per&s;euerance, becau&s;e it is grounded vpon Gods will, which may be con&s;idered ei|ther in his &s;ecret coun&s;aile and decree of election, or in his will reuealed in his word. From the fir&s;t wee may thus rea|&s;on; Whom&s;oeuer the Lord in his eternall coun&s;aile hath elected to euerla&s;ting life, they &s;hall mo&s;t certainly be &s;aued, and per&s;euere in the meanes tending thereunto, which are no le&s;&s;e contained in Gods decree than our &s;aluation it &s;elf. But the Lord in his eternall coun&s;aile hath elected all the faithfull vnto eternall life. And therefore nothing can hinder their &s;aluation, nor yet their per&s;euerance, without which it is impo&s;&s;ible they &s;hould be &s;aued. The fir&s;t part of this rea|&s;on is cleere and manife&s;t: for not to effect that which one hath decreed and purpo&s;ed, argueth either impotencie and
<PB N="660" REF="340">want of power, or vncon&s;tancie, neither of which without bla&s;phemie can bee a&s;cribed vnto God;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 32.17. P&s;alm. 115.3.</NOTE> <HI>for there is nothing hard vnto him,</HI> Iere. 32.17, but <HI>he doth what&s;oeuer he will,</HI> P&s;al. 115.3,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 19.26. Iob. 42 2.</NOTE> yea euen <HI>tho&s;e things which vnto men are impo&s;&s;ible are po&s;&s;ible vnto him,</HI> Mat. 19.26, <HI>for he can doe all things,</HI> Iob, 42.2. Neither is the will of God mutable, for this argueth a want of wi&s;edome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 145.5.</NOTE> whereas <HI>his wi&s;edoms is infinite and knoweth no end,</HI> P&s;al. 145.5; and hee perfectly &s;eeth and knoweth all things in one view,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.13.</NOTE> pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come, Heb. 4.13: and therfore we may conclude with the Apo&s;tle, that <HI>the purpo&s;e of God in his election remaineth &s;ure,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 9.11.</NOTE> Rom. 9.11. and <HI>the foun|dation of God</HI> (that is, his vnchangeable decree) <HI>continueth firme,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim. 2.19.</NOTE> <HI>and hath this &s;eale, The Lord knoweth who are his,</HI> 2. Tim. 2.19. Who&s;oeuer then are elected they &s;hall mo&s;t certainly be &s;aued, neither is it po&s;&s;ible that they &s;hould fall away: as our Sauiour implieth Matth. 24.24. whereas he &s;aith, that the fal&s;e Prophets &s;hould &s;hew &s;uch great &s;ignes, that if it were po&s;&s;ible they &s;hould deceiue the very elect. Noting hereby that this is altogether a thing impo&s;&s;ible, that they &s;hould be deceiued and &s;educed with fal&s;e Chri&s;ts and fal&s;e Pro|phets.</P>
<P>The &s;econd part of this rea&s;on, namely, that all the faith|full are elected, is al&s;o of mo&s;t vndoubted trueth; for who|&s;oeuer haue a true faith they are iu&s;tified, who&s;oeuer are iu|&s;tified are al&s;o effectually called, elected, and &s;hall be glori|fied; What &s;aid I? &s;hall be? nay are alreadie glorified, as the Apo&s;tle affirmeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.30.</NOTE> to note the vndoubted certaintie of their &s;aluation, Rom. 8.30. Moreouer, the Apo&s;tle maketh faith an in&s;eparable fruite of our election, and proper and peculiar vnto the elect,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 1.1. Act. 13.48.</NOTE> calling it the <HI>faith of Gods elect,</HI> Tit. 1.1. And Act. 13.48. it is &s;aid, that <HI>as many as were ordained vnto eternall life beleeued,</HI> where hee maketh Gods election the cau&s;e of faith. And contrariwi&s;e our Sauiour telleth vs, that they be|leeue not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.26.</NOTE> who are not his &s;heepe, Ioh. 10.26. So that it is manife&s;t that tho&s;e who beleeue are elected, and tho&s;e who are elected &s;hall be &s;aued.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd rea&s;on may be taken from his wil reuealed in his word; for what&s;oeuer God thus willeth, that &s;hall mo&s;t
<PB N="661" REF="340">certainly come to pa&s;&s;e:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;econd rea&s;on, groun|ded on his will reuealed. <HI>Ioh 6.39.40.</HI></NOTE> but God willeth that all &s;hould haue euerla&s;ting life whom he hath giuen to Chri&s;t, in which number are all tho&s;e who are effectually called, as our Sa|uiour te&s;tifieth Ioh. 6.39. <HI>And this is the fathers will which hath &s;ent me, that of all which he hath giuen me I &s;hould lo&s;e no|thing, but &s;hould rai&s;e it vp again at the la&s;t day.</HI> And he willeth likewi&s;e, <HI>that he that beleeueth in the &s;onne &s;hould be &s;aued,</HI> as it is ver&s;. 40. And therefore tho&s;e who are effectually called and beleeue in Chri&s;t, cannot po&s;&s;ibly peri&s;h, but &s;hall mo&s;t certainly haue eternall life.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The third rea&s;on may bee taken from the con&s;tancie and immutabilitie of God, both in his loue towards vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The third rea|&s;on, taken from Gods immuta|bilitie in his loue.</NOTE> and al&s;o in his gifts. In the former re&s;pect wee may thus rea&s;on: Whom&s;oeuer the Lord loueth with a con&s;tant and immu|table loue, tho&s;e &s;hall mo&s;t certainly be &s;aued, &s;eeing it is the nature of loue to de&s;ire the good of the partie beloued, and to &s;eeke his welfare as much as it can; but the Lord loueth his faithfull ones with a con&s;tant and perpetual loue, as him|&s;elfe te&s;tifieth Iere. 31.3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 31.3.</NOTE> <HI>I haue loued thee with an euerlasting loue, therefore with mercie haue I drawne thee.</HI> So Ioh. 13.1. <HI>Fora&s;much as he loued his owne which were in the world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 13.1.</NOTE> <HI>vnto the end he loued them.</HI> And therefore all the faithfull may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues that they &s;hall be &s;aued, and being once a&s;&s;ured of Gods loue, they may with the Apo&s;tle bee vndoubtedly per&s;waded, that nothing in the world &s;hall be able to &s;epa|rate them from the loue of God which is in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But again&s;t this it may be obiected,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An obiection again&s;t the for|mer rea&s;on an|&s;ivered.</NOTE> that the &s;innes of the faithfull doe prouoke the Lord vnto anger, and mooue him to ca&s;t them off in his iu&s;t di&s;plea&s;ure, and to withdraw from them his wonted loue and fauour: and therefore &s;eeing &s;in &s;eparateth them from Gods loue, it may al&s;o plunge them into condemnation. To which I an&s;were, that indeede the &s;innes of the faithfull doe in them&s;elues de&s;erue the euerla|&s;ting wrath of God and eternall death, if they were not ta|ken away by Chri&s;t, who hath by his precious bloud&s;hed &s;atisfied his fathers iu&s;tice; and that euen now they &s;o offend by their &s;innes their gracious father, that they had neede to
<PB N="662" REF="341">renew their faith and repentance, before they can haue any &s;en&s;ible a&s;&s;urance that they are reconciled vnto him, and re|ceiued into his loue and fauour. It is mo&s;t true that God is di&s;plea&s;ed with the &s;innes of his children, according to that E&s;a.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>E&s;a. 64.5.</HI> How God is &s;aid to be an|grie with his children.</NOTE> 64.5. <HI>Behold thou art angrie&punc; for we haue &s;inned.</HI> But this anger doth not exclude them out of his loue, &s;eeing it is not the anger of an enemie but of a gracious father, who is not angrie with their per&s;ons to de&s;troy them, but with their &s;ins to conuert and &s;aue them. As therefore children with their faults prouoke their parents to anger, and mooue them to turne their fatherly &s;miles into bitter frownes, and the fruits of their loue into the effects of hatred in outward &s;hew, as namely &s;euere countenances, &s;harpe reproofes, and rigorous cha&s;tizements; and in re&s;pect of the&s;e outward &s;ignes and ef|fects of their anger they are v&s;ually &s;aid to be out of fauour and in their fathers di&s;plea&s;ure, how&s;oeuer in truth at the &s;ame time they intirely loue them, and v&s;e all this hole&s;ome &s;eueritie not becau&s;e they hate, but becau&s;e they would re|forme them: So Gods children when by their &s;innes they do offend him and prouoke his anger again&s;t them, are &s;aid to be out of his fauour, not that God doth euer change his fa|therly affection or purpo&s;eth vtterly to reiect them, but be|cau&s;e hee changeth the effects of his loue into the effects of hatred in outward &s;hew, as when inwardly hee &s;uffreth them to be vexed with the terrors of con&s;cience, and with the ap|prehen&s;ion of his anger and di&s;plea&s;ure, and outwardly whippeth and &s;courgeth them with temporarie afflictions; all which he doth not for any hatred to their per&s;ons, for he neuer hateth tho&s;e whom hee hath once loued in Chri&s;t, but for the hatred of their &s;innes, and loue of the &s;inner, whom by this meanes hee bringeth by the rough and vnplea&s;ant way of repentance, vnto the eternall plea&s;ures of his king|dome.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus it appeareth that Gods loue and anger may &s;tand together,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Our per&s;eue|rance proued by Gods immu|tabilitie in his gifts.</NOTE> and that notwith&s;tanding his momentanie di&s;plea&s;ure his loue may be eternall. Now &s;econdly wee are to know, that as God is immutable in his loue &s;o al&s;o in his gifts, as faith, repentance, hope, affiance, charitie, &amp;c. accor|ding
<PB N="663" REF="341">to that Rom. 11.29,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.29.</NOTE> <HI>The gifts and calling of God are with|out repentance.</HI> But yet this is to bee vnder&s;tood with diuers cautions; for fir&s;t it is not to be vnder&s;tood of all the gifts of God, not of temporarie gifts, nor of the gifts of the &s;pirit which are common to the wicked with the godly, for the&s;e being not e&s;&s;entiall to a Chri&s;tian nor nece&s;&s;arie to &s;alua|tion, the Lord giueth or taketh away, as in his infinite wi&s;e|dome he thinketh be&s;t; neither yet are we to vnder&s;tand it of all gifts of the &s;pirit which are proper to the elect, for &s;ome al&s;o of the&s;e being not of the e&s;&s;ence of faith, but only effects and fruites thereof, he taketh away from his children for a time; as namely, the puritie of their con&s;cience, and the peace which doth accompanie it, the &s;en&s;e and feeling of Gods loue and fauour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.9, 10, 11, 12, 15.</NOTE> cheerefulnes of &s;pirit, ioy in the holie Gho&s;t, patience, the gift of prayer and &s;uch like; becau&s;e his loue and the &s;aluation of the faithfull may &s;tand with the want of the&s;e gifts for a time. Neither are wee to vnder&s;tand this of the actions and &s;en&s;ible fruites of Gods graces, for the&s;e al&s;o haue their intermi&s;sions, the graces them&s;elues notwith&s;tanding remaining: for as the Sunne doth alwaies &s;hine, and yet &s;ometimes the beames thereof are not di&s;cer|ned, being hindred from &s;preading them&s;elues by the inter|po&s;ition of the clowds or of the earth, and the fire doth con|tinue light and hot in it &s;elfe, and yet being couered with a&s;hes doth giue neither light nor heate to the &s;tanders by; &s;o the&s;e graces of Gods &s;pirit, faith, hope, affiance, loue and &s;uch like, may in re&s;pect of their &s;ub&s;tance habitually re|maine in vs, and yet for a time not &s;end foorth the light and heate of ioy, comfort, peace and the re&s;t; and though they re|taine their nature &s;till, yet they may be hindred from exerci|&s;ing their actions and functions; as namely, when as the con&s;cience is wounded with &s;ome wilfull &s;inne committed again&s;t the knowledge, or in the &s;pirituall conflict of temp|tations, as before I haue &s;hewed at large. La&s;tly, this is not to be vnder&s;tood of their mea&s;ure and degree, for the&s;e graces haue their full and waine, their ebbe and tide, their perfect &s;trength and their faint langui&s;hing; but of their &s;ub&s;tance and true being, in which re&s;pect they neuer vtterly faile but
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<PB N="664" REF="343">continue without intermi&s;&s;ion vnto the end, for as the gift of faith, &s;o all other the like graces are the worke of God, as our Sauiour teacheth vs, Iohn 6.29: and we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues of this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 6.29.</NOTE> <HI>That he that hath begunne this good worke in vs, will al&s;o fini&s;h and perfect it vntill the day of Ie&s;us Christ,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.6.</NOTE> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Philip. 1.6.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIII.</HI> Of the fourth and fifth rea&s;on to proue the certaintie of our per&s;euerance, grounded vpon Gods power and truth.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> _THe fourth rea&s;on may be taken from Gods om|nipotencie and almighty power:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fourth rea|&s;on grounded vpon Gods om|nipotencie.</NOTE> for if God in re&s;pect of his infinite loue, bee willing that we &s;hall bee &s;aued, and per&s;euere in the meanes of our &s;aluation; and bee immutable al&s;o and vnchangeable in his loue and will; and likewi&s;e in re&s;pect of his power infinit and almighty, able to effect what&s;oeuer hee willeth: then &s;urely being a&s;&s;ured that we are in the &s;tate of grace, and in Gods loue and fauour, there is no doubt but we &s;hall bee &s;a|ued, and per&s;euere in the meanes which are in&s;eparably ioy|ned with our &s;aluation. But as the Lord in re&s;pect of his loue is mo&s;t willing, &s;o in re&s;pect of his power hee is able, continually to vpholde vs in the &s;tate of grace, and to fru|&s;trate and defeate all the malice and might of all our ene|mies, who labour to hinder our &s;aluation; for he <HI>is omnipotent and mighty to &s;aue,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 63.1.</NOTE> as it is E&s;a. 63.1. And though through our frailety and weakene&s;&s;e we might continually bee vanqui|&s;hed and drawne from God, yet now there is no doubt here|of, &s;eeing we doe not &s;tand in our owne &s;trength,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.5.</NOTE> <HI>but are kept by the power of God through faith vnto &s;aluation,</HI> as it is 1. Pet. 1.5. though in our &s;elues wee are impotent and feeble, yet we are <HI>&s;trong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,</HI> and be|ing armed with the armour of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.10, 11.</NOTE> we are inabled <HI>to &s;tand against the a&s;&s;aults of the diuell,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, Ephe&s;. 6.10, 11. Though wee are of little force in regard of our owne &s;trength and able to doe nothing, yet are <HI>we able
<PB N="665" REF="343">to doe all things through the helpe of Christ which &s;trengthneth vs,</HI> as it is, Philip. 4.13: though we be weake in faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 4.13.</NOTE> and vn|able to &s;tand, yet being the &s;eruants of God <HI>we &s;hall be esta|bli&s;hed; for God is able to make vs &s;tand,</HI> Rom. 14.4. In a word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.4.</NOTE> though our &s;pirituall enemies are &s;tronger than we, yet &s;hall they not bee able to plucke vs from Chri&s;t; <HI>For the father which gaue vs to him is greater than all,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10.28, 29.</NOTE> <HI>and none is able to take vs out of the fathers hand,</HI> as our Sauiour rea&s;oneth, Iohn 10.28, 29. And therefore when we are di&s;couraged and ready to faint, in the &s;ight and &s;en&s;e of our owne weakene&s;&s;e, and our enemies mighty power, let vs comfort our &s;elues in the Lord, &s;aying with the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I knowe whom I haue beleeued,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.12.</NOTE> <HI>and I am per&s;waded he is able to keepe that which I haue com|mitted to him against that day,</HI> as it is 2. Tim. 1.12.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The fifth rea&s;on is grounded vpon Gods truth and fideli|tie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fifth rea|&s;on groundad on Gods truth in his coue|nant. <HI>Apoc. 1.5. 2. Cor. 1.20. Luke 16.17.</HI></NOTE> which is &s;o infallible, that what&s;oeuer hee hath &s;poken, promi&s;ed, or couenanted, that he will mo&s;t certainely per|forme: for <HI>God is a faithfull and true witne&s;&s;e,</HI> Apoc. 1.5. and <HI>all his promi&s;es in Christ are Yea and Amen,</HI> 2. Corinth. 1.20. So that <HI>it is more ea&s;ie that heauen and earth &s;hould pa&s;&s;e a|way, than that one title of Gods word &s;hould fall vnaccompli|&s;hed,</HI> Luke 16.17. But the Lord in his word hath a&s;&s;ured all that beleeue, that hee will vpholde them and pre&s;erue them vnto euerla&s;ting life, again&s;t all the furie of their e|nemies; as may appeare both by his couenant which he hath made with his Church in generall, and al&s;o by particular promi&s;es made to all the faithfull. Concerning the fir&s;t, the Lord maketh this couenant with his Church, E&s;a. 59.21. <HI>I will</HI> (&s;aith hee) <HI>make this my couenant with them;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 59.21.</NOTE> <HI>my &s;pirit that is vpon thee and my words which I haue put in thy mouth, &s;hall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy &s;eede, nor out of the mouth of the &s;eede of thy &s;eed, &s;aith the Lord, from henceforth euen for euer.</HI> If therefore Gods &s;pirit neuer departeth from them, and they for euer confe&s;&s;e and pro|fe&s;&s;e his word and truth, then certainely they can neuer fall away nor loo&s;e their heauenly inheritance. For,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.11.</NOTE> <HI>if the &s;pirit of him that rai&s;ed vp Ie&s;us from the dead dwell in vs, hee &s;hall al&s;o quicken our mortall bodies, becau&s;e his &s;pirit dwelleth in vs,</HI> as it
<PB N="666" REF="344">is Rom. 8.11.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.11.14.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">7</NOTE> And as many as <HI>are led by the &s;pirit of God, they are the &s;onnes of God,</HI> ver&s;. 14. <HI>And if we be children, we are al&s;o heyres, &amp;c.</HI> ver&s;. 17. So Ierem. 32.38. <HI>I will bee their God, and they &s;hall be my people.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">er. 32.38, 39, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">0</NOTE> Ver&s;. 39. <HI>And I will giue them one heart and one way, that they may feare me for euer, for the wealth of them and of their children after them.</HI> 40. And <HI>I will make an euerlasting couenant with them, that I will neuer turne away from them to doe them good, but I will put my feare in their hearts, that they &s;hall not depart from me, &amp;c.</HI> If therefore the Church and people of God &s;hall feare him for euer, if his couenant be euerla&s;ting, if he will neuer depart from them, nor they from him, then certainely there is no doubt of their per&s;euerance.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">er. 31.31.32.</NOTE> And chapter 31.31.32, The Lord &s;aith that he <HI>will make a new couenant with his Church, not according to the couenant which he made with their fathers.</HI> 33. <HI>But this &s;hall be the couenant that I will make with the hou&s;e of I&s;rael after tho&s;e dayes</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>I will put my lawe in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they &s;hall be my people, &amp;c. And I will forgiue their iniquitie; and I will remember their &s;innes no more.</HI> In which words the Lord couenanteth, that his law &s;hould euer remaine &s;o deepely in|grauen in their hearts, that nothing &s;hould blot it out, &amp; that they &s;hould continually meditate and delight them&s;elues therein;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.15. 2. Cor. 3.2.</NOTE> for thus this phra&s;e of writing in the heart is v&s;ually taken in the Scriptures. So likewi&s;e he a&s;&s;ureth them of the perpetuall pardon of their &s;innes, &s;o that their &s;innes &s;hould neuer make fru&s;trate that couenant which he had made with them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 2.19.20.</NOTE> So Ho&s;. 2.19. <HI>And I will marrie thee vnto me for euer, yea, I will marry thee vnto me in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and in indge|ment, and in mercy and compa&s;&s;ion.</HI> 20. <HI>I Will marrie thee vnto me in faithfulne&s;&s;e, and thou &s;hall knowe the Lord.</HI> If therefore the Church of God &s;hall bee married vnto him for euer in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and faithfulne&s;&s;e, and in mercy and compa&s;|&s;ion, then can neither their faith and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e towards God, nor his mercy and compa&s;&s;ion towards them fayle, but both &s;hall continue vnto the end. Seeing then the couenant which is betweene God and vs doth a&s;&s;ure vs of the conti|nuance of his loue and mercy, and of our per&s;euerance in his
<PB N="667" REF="344">feare and holy obedience we neede not to doubt either of the cea&s;ing of his loue, or our falling away. For though the mountaines remoue and the hils fall downe, yet &s;hall not his mercie depart from his children, neither &s;hall the coue|nant of his peace fall away. As the Lord him&s;elfe prote&s;teth E&s;a. 54.10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 54.10.</NOTE></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And thus haue I proued the certaintie of our per&s;euerance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An obiection taken from our faltine&s;&s;e an|&s;wered.</NOTE> by the couenant of grace which God hath made with his Church; for what&s;oeuer y^e Lord promi&s;eth to the whole bo|dy of the Church, that he al&s;o promi&s;eth to euery particular member thereof, &s;eeing the whole containeth all his parts: &s;o that what&s;oeuer belongeth to the whole body, that al&s;o belongeth to all the members. But it may be obiected that how&s;oeuer this couenant on Gods part is firme and eter|nall, yet by our fault and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion it may be made voyde and fru&s;trate. I an&s;were that &s;o likewi&s;e the couenant made with the I&s;raelites was firme on Gods part, but made fru|&s;trate by their &s;innes, but the Lord hath made a new coue|nant with vs, not of workes but of grace, vpon the condi|tion of faith and repentance, which being ob&s;erued on our part our &s;innes and vnworthine&s;&s;e cannot make it fru|&s;trate and of none effect; as before I haue &s;hewed more at large.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> Secondly, we are a&s;&s;ured of our per&s;euerance,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the particu|lar promi&s;es of our per&s;eue|rance. <HI>P&s;al. 1.3. Ezech. 47.12.</HI></NOTE> by Gods particular promi&s;es made to his faithfull ones. P&s;al. 1.3. it is &s;aid of the righteous man, that he &s;hall be like a <HI>tree planted by the riuers of waters that will bring forth her fruites in due &s;ea&s;on, who&s;e leafe &s;hall not faid, &amp;c.</HI> As therefore the tree plan|ted by the riuer &s;ide doth not wither, becau&s;e continually it &s;ucketh moy&s;ture, whereby it is quickned and refre&s;hed: &s;o the righteous man per&s;euereth in his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, be|cau&s;e he is continually reuiued and quickned with that &s;pi|rituall moy&s;ture, which he &s;ucketh from Chri&s;t who is the liuely roote, whereof he is a branch. P&s;al. 15.5,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 15.5. P&s;al. 37.24.</NOTE> <HI>He that doth the&s;e things &s;hall neuer be moued.</HI> P&s;al. 37.24, <HI>Though</HI> (the righteous man) <HI>fall, he &s;hall not be ca&s;t off; for the Lord putteth vnder his hand.</HI> P&s;al. 112.6, <HI>Surely he &s;hall neuer be moued,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 112.6.</NOTE> <HI>but the righteous &s;hall be had in euerla&s;ting remembrance.</HI> And
<PB N="668" REF="345">ver&s;. 9.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 9. P&s;al. 125.1.</NOTE> <HI>His righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e remaineth for euer.</HI> P&s;al. 125.1, <HI>They that tru&s;t in the Lord &s;hall be as mount Syon, which cannot be remoued,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh 4.14.</NOTE> <HI>but remaineth for euer.</HI> Ioh. 4.14. <HI>Who&s;oeuer drinketh of the water that I &s;hall giue him, &s;hall neuer be more a thir&s;t, but the water which I &s;hall giue him &s;hall be in him a well of wa|ter, &s;pringing vp to euerla&s;ting life.</HI> Where by this water we are to vnder&s;tand the holy Gho&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 7.38, 39.</NOTE> as appeareth Ioh. 7.38. <HI>He that beleeueth in me as &s;aith the &s;cripture, out of his belly &s;hall flow riuers of the water of life.</HI> 39. <HI>This</HI> (&s;aith the Euange|li&s;t) <HI>&s;pake he of the &s;pirit which they that beleeued in him &s;hould receiue.</HI> So that to drinke of this water is through faith in Chri&s;t to be made partakers of the holy Gho&s;t, whom who|&s;oeuer receiueth &s;hall retaine him vnto the end. As there|fore he that hath a liuing fountaine continually &s;pringing in him cannot be a thir&s;t; &s;o they who haue this fountaine of life perpetually &s;pringing in them, they &s;hall neuer thir&s;t any more, but it &s;hall continually refre&s;h and quicken them, till they haue attained vnto euerla&s;ting life.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 6.35.37. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">.54.</NOTE> <HI>I am the bread of life, he that commeth to me &s;hall not hunger, and he that beleeueth in me &s;hall neuer thir&s;t.</HI> And ver&s;. 37. <HI>All that the father giueth me &s;hall come vnto me; and him that com|meth to me I ca&s;t not away.</HI> And ver&s;. 51. <HI>I am the liuing bread which came downe from heauen, if any man eate of this bread he &s;hall liue for euer.</HI> And ver&s;. 54. <HI>Who&s;oeuer eateth my fle&s;h and drinketh my blood, hath eternall life, and I will rai&s;e him vp at the la&s;t day, &amp;c.</HI> Now who&s;oeuer beleeue in Chri&s;t, they eate his fle&s;h and drinke his blood; for faith is the mouth of the &s;oule whereby we feede on this heauenly foode; and there|fore all the faithfull &s;hall haue euerla&s;ting life; nay as he &s;aith they haue it alreadie and <HI>&s;hall not come into condemnation, but haue pa&s;&s;ed from death to life,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 5.24. and 10.28.</NOTE> as it is Ioh. 5.24. and Ioh. 10.28. <HI>I will giue vnto them eternall life, and they &s;hall neuer peri&s;h, neither &s;hall any plucke them out of my hand.</HI> 29. <HI>My father which gaue them me is greater than all, and none is able to take them out of my fathers hand.</HI> In which words he both &s;hew|eth his will in his promi&s;e, and his power to performe it, and therefore who&s;oeuer are the &s;heepe of Chri&s;t, they can|not be taken from him, neither for a time nor eternally, for
<PB N="669" REF="345">&s;o it &s;hould follow if Chri&s;ts rea&s;on be of any force, that they who tooke them from him &s;hould be &s;tronger than Chri&s;t and his father, which were a horrible bla&s;phemie for any to imagine.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> But here it is obiected that the&s;e promi&s;es are made to all the faithfull &s;o long as they continue faithfull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An obiection tending to fru|&s;trate the for|mer promi&s;es, an&s;wered.</NOTE> and to the &s;heepe of Chri&s;t &s;o long as they are his &s;heepe, who abide in his word and follow him. But when they cea&s;e to beleeue and to be his &s;heepe, they doe not appertaine vnto him, for they onely remaine the Di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t who abide in his word, and haue his word abiding in them, Ioh. 8 31.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8.31. and 15.7.</NOTE> and 15.7. To which I an&s;were that this is an idle trifling in a circular di&s;putation, and a vaine begging of the que|&s;tion in controuer&s;ie. For the que&s;tion is, whether the faith|full may be a&s;&s;ured of their per&s;euerance in faith, whether a member of Chri&s;t may be a&s;&s;ured to continue a member of Chri&s;t, whether a &s;heepe of Chri&s;t may a&s;&s;ure him&s;elfe that he is to remaine for euer a &s;heepe of Chri&s;t; we hold the affirmatiue part and proue it by diuers te&s;timonies; they deny that the&s;e promi&s;es are ab&s;olute, but on this condi|tion, that we are a&s;&s;ured none can plucke vs from Chri&s;t, &s;o long as we continue and retaine the nature of the members and &s;heepe of Chri&s;t. But I would faine know what it is to be plucked from Chri&s;t, but to cea&s;e to bee a member or &s;heepe of Chri&s;t, and to loo&s;e their nature: and what it is to be a &s;heepe of Chri&s;t but to heare his word and to follow him. When as then our Sauiour Chri&s;t promi&s;eth that none &s;hall plucke his &s;heepe from him, he promi&s;eth that none &s;hall be able to make them cea&s;e to be his &s;heepe, nor de|priue them of their nature which is the e&s;&s;entiall forme which maketh them to be &s;heepe, rather than other who neither heare his word nor follow him. Whereas therefore they affirme, that the&s;e promi&s;es doe a&s;&s;ure vs to per&s;euere, &s;o long as we continue and retaine the nature of the &s;heepe and members of Chri&s;t, what is it but idly to repeate the &s;ame thing? namely that Gods promi&s;es doe a&s;&s;ure vs to per|&s;euere, &s;o long as wee doe per&s;euere; that we &s;hall not be plucked from Chri&s;t &s;o long as we remaine with Chri&s;t; that
<PB N="670" REF="346">we &s;hall continue the members and &s;heepe of Chri&s;t, &s;o long as we continue to be his &s;heepe and members; that we &s;hall not loo&s;e our faith &s;o long as we continue faithfull. And what is it to &s;ay that the &s;heepe of Chri&s;t &s;hall &s;o long con|tinue to be his &s;heepe as they retaine their nature, but to graunt al&s;o that they may loo&s;e their nature, &amp; con&s;equent|ly cea&s;e to be Chri&s;ts &s;heepe, and &s;o be plucked from him which is quite contrarie to his promi&s;e?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIIII.</HI> Of eight other rea&s;ons which proue the certain|tie of our per&s;euerance.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="&sect; Sect."> _THe &s;ixt rea&s;on to a&s;&s;ure vs of our per&s;euerance may be taken from the interce&s;&s;io~ of Chri&s;t for vs to God the father.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ixt rea&s;on taken from Chri&s;ts interce&s;|&s;ion.</NOTE> For what&s;oeuer Chri&s;t him&s;elf maketh reque&s;t for in the behalfe of his faithfull, that without doubt the father graunt|eth vnto him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh 11.42.</NOTE> for <HI>God heareth him alwaies,</HI> Ioh. 11.42. But he continually maketh reque&s;t for them that their faith faile not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 22.32. Ioh. 17.9.11.15.21.</NOTE> as appeareth Luk. 22.32. He prayeth for them, Ioh. 17.9. that the father would keepe <HI>them in his name whom he had giuen vnto him; That they may be one, as he and the father are one,</HI> ver&s;. 11; <HI>That he would pre&s;erue them from euill,</HI> ver&s;. 15; and what greater euill than to fall from grace and God al&s;o? <HI>That they all may be one, as the father is in Chri&s;t and Chri&s;t in him,</HI> ver&s;. 21. <HI>That they be with Chri&s;t where he is, and may be|hold his glorie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 24.</NOTE> ver&s;. 24. He maketh al&s;o interce&s;&s;ion for all tho&s;e whom he hath redeemed, that they may be &s;aued, not|with&s;tanding their &s;innes into which they fall through the &s;trength of their corruptions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.1.2.</NOTE> as appeareth 1. Ioh. 2.1.2. And therefore all the&s;e things are graunted vnto him by the fa|ther, for the faithfull. So that now they may &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle Rom. 8.33. <HI>It is God that iu&s;tifieth.</HI> 34. <HI>Who &s;hall con|demne?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.33, 34, 35.</NOTE> <HI>It is Chri&s;t which is dead, yea or rather which is ri&s;en againe, who is al&s;o at the right hand of God and maketh reque&s;t for vs.</HI> 35. <HI>Who &s;hall &s;eparate vs from the loue of God &amp;c.?</HI> And
<PB N="671" REF="346">though our corruptions be many and our weakene&s;&s;e great yet we neede not doubt of our per&s;euerance to euerla&s;ting life. <HI>For we haue an high prie&s;t who is able perfectly to &s;aue them that come vnto God by him, &s;eeing he euer liueth to make inter|ce&s;&s;ion for them,</HI> as it is Heb. 7.25.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.25.</NOTE></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;euenth rea&s;on may be taken from that vnion which is betweene Chri&s;t and the faithfull,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;euenth rea&s;on taken from our vnion with Chri&s;t.</NOTE> whereby he becommeth their head, and they his members. For there is no head that will willingly permit any of it members to bee rent and torne from it, becau&s;e then it &s;hould haue a maimed and vn|perfect body. But Chri&s;t Ie&s;us is the head of all the faith|full, and they the members of his body.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.30.</NOTE> Ephe&s;ians. 5.30. And therefore hee will not &s;uffer any of them to bee pul|led from him, and &s;o peri&s;hing make a maime in his bo|dy, &s;eeing hee is al&s;o omnipotent and able to &s;aue all tho&s;e who depend vpon him. Moreouer &s;eeing our Saui|our Chri&s;t who is our head, hath pa&s;t all daungers, and now liueth and raineth with God his father, wee are al&s;o a&s;&s;ured that we &s;hall liue and raigne with him. For he hath obtained this eternall glorie, not for him&s;elfe alone, but al&s;o for all the members of his body, as appeareth Ioh. 17.21.24. and therefore now there is no doubt of peri&s;hing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 17.21.24.</NOTE> <HI>&s;eeing our life is hid with Chri&s;t in God,</HI> as it is Col. 3.3; and con&s;equently no le&s;&s;e &s;afe than his who now raigneth and triumpheth ouer his enemies.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3.3.</NOTE> Whereof it is that they are &s;aid in re&s;pect of the certaintie of their a&s;&s;urance, to haue al|readie euerla&s;ting life, and to haue pa&s;&s;ed from death to life,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 5.24. 1. Ioh. 3.14.</NOTE> Ioh. 5.24. 1. Ioh. 3.14.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The eight rea&s;on may be taken from the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs; for &s;o long as it hath his abiding with vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The eight rea|&s;on taken from the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs.</NOTE> we mu&s;t needs per&s;euer in grace; neither is it po&s;&s;ible we &s;hould fall away, &s;eeing it is the fountaine and roote from which all graces flow and &s;pring, and &s;eeing it continually fighteth again&s;t and &s;ubdueth the fle&s;h and the lu&s;ts thereof. But after we haue receiued the &s;pirit of God it continually dwel|leth and abideth with vs; for this is that &s;pirituall water of which who&s;oeuer <HI>drinketh &s;hall neuer be more a thir&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 4.14. and 7.39.</NOTE> <HI>but it &s;hall be a well of water &s;pringing vp into euerla&s;ting life,</HI> as it
<PB N="672" REF="347">may appeare by comparing Ioh. 4.14. with chapt. 7.39. So Ioh. 14.16.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 14.16.</NOTE> <HI>I will pray the father and he &s;hall giue you another Comforter, that hee may abide with you for euer.</HI> 17. <HI>Euen the &s;pirit of truth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.27.</NOTE> <HI>whom the world cannot receiue, becau&s;e it &s;eeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you and &s;hall be in you.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 3.9.</NOTE> And 1. Ioh. 3.9. <HI>Who&s;oeuer is borne of God &s;inneth not,</HI> (that is, with full con&s;ent of will) <HI>for his &s;eede remaineth in him; neither can he &s;inne, becau&s;e he is borne of God:</HI> where the &s;pirit is called the &s;eede of God, becau&s;e by vertue thereof wee are begotten vnto God. If therefore by vertue of this &s;pirit wee are &s;o pre&s;erued that wee cannot &s;inne with full con&s;ent of will, nor haue it raigning in vs as it did before our regeneration, then certainly wee &s;hall bee pre&s;erued thereby from falling away, and notwith|&s;tanding our &s;innes wee &s;hall per&s;euere in grace to euerla|&s;ting life.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The ninth argument may be taken from the effects of the &s;pirit dwelling in vs;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The ninth rea|&s;on taken from the effects of the &s;pirit. <HI>1. Ioh. 2.20.27 Rom. 8.14.17.</HI></NOTE> for fir&s;t it teacheth and guideth vs in the way of Gods truth, as appeareth 1. Ioh. 2.20.27. And <HI>as many as are led by the &s;pirit of God, they are the &s;onnes of God,</HI> Rom. 8.14: and tho&s;e that are &s;onnes <HI>are al&s;o heires, euen the heires of God, and coheires with Chri&s;t,</HI> ver&s;. 17. Neither is it po&s;&s;ible that tho&s;e who are guided with the &s;pirit &s;hould &s;inne with full con&s;ent of will, much le&s;&s;e fall away. For who|&s;oeuer is borne of God &s;inneth not, namely after this man|ner, neither can euer their &s;pirituall enemies finally preuaile again&s;t them; for he that is <HI>begotten of God keepeth him&s;elfe, and the wicked one toucheth him not,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 5.18.</NOTE> as it is 1. Ioh. 5.18. Se|condly, the &s;pirit of God witne&s;&s;eth to our &s;pirits that wee are the &s;onnes of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 16.17.</NOTE> and con&s;equently heires of his king|dome, as it is Rom. 16.17. and his te&s;timonie is true and in|fallible. It al&s;o is <HI>the earne&s;t of our inheritance,</HI> and a pledge to a&s;&s;ure vs that God will make good his promi&s;es vnto vs, Eph. 1.14. 2. Cor. 1.22. and thereby al&s;o wee are <HI>&s;ealed vnto the day of redemption,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.14. 2. Cor. 1.22. Eph. 4.30.</NOTE> Ephe&s;. 4.30. And therefore &s;eeing the Lord hath confirmed our a&s;&s;urance by the te&s;timonie of his &s;pirit, by this earne&s;t, pledge, and &s;eale, we neede not to feare our falling away or to doubt of our per&s;euerance. But of this
<PB N="673" REF="347">I haue alreadie written at large in treating of the certaintie of our election.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The tenth rea&s;on may be taken from Gods continuall aid in all trials and temptations;<NOTE PLACE="marg">The tenth rea|&s;on, taken from Gods continual aide.</NOTE> for if hee be alwaies readie to &s;trengthen and &s;upport vs, wee can neuer finally bee ouer|throwne, but though wee fall, yet we &s;hall not fall away, but &s;hall be rai&s;ed vp againe in de&s;pite of all our enemies. For <HI>God is faithfull, and will not &s;uffer vs to be tempted aboue our power, but will giue a good i&s;&s;ue with the temptation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.13.</NOTE> <HI>that we may be able to beare it,</HI> as it is 1. Cor. 10.13.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Pet. 2.9.</NOTE> And <HI>he knoweth to de|liuer the godly out of temptation,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh 2. Pet. 2.9. And therefore be our weakne&s;&s;e neuer &s;o great, yet let vs not feare our finall falling away, but knowing whom we haue beleeued, let vs per&s;wade our &s;elues of our per&s;eue|rance, knowing that hee <HI>is able to keepe that which we haue committed vnto him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.12.</NOTE> as it is 2. Tim. 1.12.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> And the&s;e are the rea&s;ons drawne fro~ Gods nature in him|&s;elf and his actions towards vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The eleuenth rea&s;on taken from the na|ture of faith.</NOTE> wherby we may vndoubted|ly be a&s;&s;ured of our per&s;euerance. The &s;econd &s;ort of argu|ments may bee taken from our &s;elues, and fir&s;t from the na|ture of true faith wherewith wee are endued, which is not temporarie but con&s;tant and permanent. For he that hath a true and liuely faith, is like the hou&s;e builded vpon the rock, which neither the raine nor floods nor windes could ouer|throw, Matth. 7.24, 25:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.24.25. and 16.18.</NOTE> neither <HI>&s;hall the gates of hell ouercome him,</HI> chap. 16. ver&s;. 18: he is like the good ground in which the &s;eede falling is not &s;tollen away, nor choked vp, nor wi|thereth for want of root, but <HI>he receiueth the &s;eed and keepeth it, and bringeth foorth fruite with patience,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 8.15.</NOTE> as it is Luk. 8.15. And contrariwi&s;e it is a mo&s;t vndoubted marke of an hypo|crite who neuer was indued with a true faith, when as his faith is temporarie, and hee falleth away, according to that 1. Ioh. 2.19. <HI>They went out from vs, but they were not of vs;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.19.</NOTE> <HI>for if they had been of vs they would haue continued with vs. But this commeth to pa&s;&s;e that it might appeare that they are not all of vs.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The &s;econd rea&s;on may bee taken from the example of tho&s;e who haue grieuou&s;ly fallen, and yet haue continued in
<PB N="674" REF="348">the &s;tate of grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The twelfth rea&s;on, taken from examples. <HI>P&s;al. 51.10.11</HI></NOTE> and haue been rai&s;ed and re&s;tored againe by vnfained repentance: and thus did <HI>Dauid</HI> fall and that mo&s;t grieuou&s;ly, and yet was not depriued of Gods &s;pirit, as appeareth P&s;al. 51.10.11. Thus did <HI>Peter</HI> fall by denying his ma&s;ter, <HI>Noah</HI> by drunkenne&s;&s;e, <HI>Lot</HI> by ince&s;t, and yet they were not depriued of tho&s;e graces which they had receiued; how&s;oeuer for the time they were much eclip&s;ed and weake|ned, neither were they reiected by God, but vpon their true repentance were receiued into his former loue and fauour.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="&sect;. Sect."> The la&s;t rea&s;on may be taken from the weakne&s;&s;e and ina|bilitie of the cau&s;es which &s;hould hinder our per&s;euerance and make vs fall away.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The la&s;t rea&s;on, taken from the inabilitie of the cau&s;es which &s;hould hinder our per|&s;euerance. <HI>Rom. 1.35.</HI></NOTE> For there is nothing in the world &s;o powerfull, but it is altogether too weake to worke this defe|ction. For fir&s;t, afflictions cannot depriue vs of grace, nor hinder our per&s;euerance, as it is Rom. 8.35: for though they are the firie trial, yet they do not burne vs, but refine vs from our dro&s;&s;e, neither doe they hinder our &s;aluation, but rather <HI>cau&s;e vnto vs a farre mo&s;t excellent and et ernall waight of glo|rie,</HI> as it is 2. Cor. 4.17:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 4.17.</NOTE> nor yet our fle&s;h, for though it be ne|uer &s;o &s;trong, yet the &s;pirit of God dwelling in vs, will in the end mortifie and &s;ubdue it. Not the world, for our Captaine Chri&s;t hath ouercome it, not onely for him&s;elfe but al&s;o for his members, Ioh. 16.33: yea and hee enableth vs al&s;o by his holy &s;pirit to ouercome it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 16.33. 1. Ioh. 5.4.</NOTE> <HI>For all that is borne of God ouer|commeth the world, and this is the victorie that ouercommeth the world, euen our faith,</HI> as it is 1. Ioh. 5.4. Not the diuell, for <HI>if wee re&s;ist him,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 4.7. 1. Ioh. 5.18.</NOTE> <HI>he will flee from vs,</HI> Iam. 4.7. And <HI>he that is, borne of God keepeth him&s;elfe, and the wicked one toucheth him not,</HI> 1. Ioh. 5.18. Not our &s;innes, for they are puni&s;hed and fully &s;atisfied for in Chri&s;t; and <HI>if we &s;in, we haue an aduocate with the father,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Ioh. 2.1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> 1. Ioh. 2.1, 2. And for the corruption of &s;in, though it dwell in vs, yet it &s;hall not raigne in vs, Rom. 6.12. Though we fall into it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.12. 1. Ioh. 3.9.</NOTE> yet not with full con&s;ent of will, 1. Ioh. 3.9 for the regenerate man &s;inneth not, but his cor|rupt fle&s;h dwelling in him;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.</NOTE> as it is Rom. 7. Not any tempta|tion, for the <HI>Lord is faithfull, and will not &s;uffer vs to be temp|ted aboue our power,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.13</NOTE> <HI>but will giue a good i&s;&s;ue vnto it,</HI> 1. Cor. 10.13. Not any thing in the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.38.39.</NOTE> Rom. 8.38.39, for all things
<PB N="675" REF="348">what&s;oeuer &s;hall be &s;o di&s;po&s;ed by the wi&s;e prouidence of God, that though they bee neuer &s;o hurtfull in their owne nature, and apt to draw vs from God, <HI>yet they &s;hall worke to|gether for the be&s;t vnto them which loue God,</HI> as it is Rom. 8.28.</P>
<P>And thus haue I prooued the certaintie of our per&s;eue|rance, both by plaine te&s;timonies of Scripture, and al&s;o in|fallible rea&s;ons: I had purpo&s;ed (as in the other points go|ing before) to haue an&s;wered &s;uch obiections as are com|monly &s;ugge&s;ted by Sathan, and &s;tifly vrged by his in&s;tru|ments the Popi&s;h rabble again&s;t this truth, and accordingly had almo&s;t fini&s;hed that which I intended; but diuers rea|&s;ons moued me to de&s;i&s;t from my purpo&s;e, as fir&s;t and e&s;pe|cially his earne&s;t de&s;ire who is at the chiefe charge of prin|ting the&s;e my labours, who fearing that the greatne&s;&s;e and dearene&s;&s;e of the booke might be a hindrance to the &s;ale thereof, intreated me to forbeare the publi&s;hing of this con|trouer&s;ie, which being &s;omewhat long, would haue increa|&s;ed the volume and con&s;equently the price. To who&s;e re|que&s;t I more willingly conde&s;cended, partly becau&s;e the controuer&s;ie before handled, of the certaintie of faith and a&s;&s;urance of our &s;aluation, is of the like nature, &s;o that the proouing of the one is the confirming of the other, and the an&s;wering of tho&s;e obiections which are made again&s;t the certaintie of our a&s;&s;urance, is a &s;ufficient refutation of tho&s;e which are obiected again&s;t our per&s;euerance, many of the te&s;timonies of Scriptures and other rea&s;ons which are al|ledged again&s;t both, being the very &s;ame: And partly be|cau&s;e I vnder&s;tand, that my godly learned and mo&s;t deare brother, purpo&s;eth pre&s;ently to publi&s;h his Lectures vpon the 15 P&s;alme, wherin this controuer&s;ie is largely and much more excellently handled and determined, than I was any waies able to haue written of it. Notwith&s;tanding, if my book &s;eeme maimed in re&s;pect of this defect, &amp; if I &s;ee it be de&s;ired that it &s;hould be intire and full in it &s;elf, I will here|after mo&s;t willingly &s;upplie that which yet is wanting, if I perceiue that my labours are approoued as profitable for the Church of God. In the meane time I commend them to
<PB N="676" REF="349" MS="y">Gods ble&s;&s;ing, who onely is able by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his ho|ly &s;pirit to make them effectuall for tho&s;e ends for which I intended them, he being the &s;ole fountaine of all true com|fort and con&s;olation: de&s;iring the Chri&s;tian reader who &s;hal finde fruite and profit by the&s;e my labours, that as I haue not been wanting vnto him in my paines and be&s;t endeuours; &s;o he will not be wanting to remember me in his prayers vnto Almightie God, for the continuance, increa&s;e, and holie v&s;e of all his gifts and graces which hee hath be&s;towed on me. To this God mo&s;t wi&s;e, mo&s;t gracious, and mo&s;t infinite in all perfections, the Father, Sonne and Holie Gho&s;t, be a&s;cribed all glorie, prai&s;e, po|wer and dominion both now and euermore, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
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<P>Christian Reader, becau&s;e there was &s;ome ha&s;te required in printing of this booke, part thereof from pag. <HI>371</HI> to pag. <HI>578</HI> was committed to another Printer, who wanting a Corrector &s;uffred the&s;e faults to e&s;cape which are materiall. As for others which are apparant at the fir&s;t view, I haue left vnob&s;erued.</P>
<P><LABEL>THE ERRATA.</LABEL></P>
<P>Pag. 25. line 14. reade mu&s;t needes be. pag. 48 l. 13. r. anothers, p. 371. l. 4. r. fle&s;hy. p. 375. l. 6. r. repeateth. p. 378. l. 13 r. thinke ye. p. 391. l. 30. r. &s;elues. p. 396. l. 5. r. all ac|company. p. 399. l. 29. r. goodly &s;hewes. l. 34. r. health. p. 405. l. 6. r. al&s;o haue them. p. 408. l. 23. r. mocke repentance. p. 409. l 3. r. doe not. l. 12. r. <GAP DESC="foreign">. l. 14. r. <GAP DESC="foreign">. p. 412. r. he freeth tho&s;e. p. 418. l. 4. r. Ho euery. l. 18. r. and that he will. l. 24. r. and with all his heart de&s;ireth to be. p. 420. l 4, 5. r is properly to God. p. 425. l. 24. r. (as of him&s;elf vnwilling) l. 27. r. hainous, no more then. p. 427. l 5. r. mercies. The. l. 27. r. hainous, no more then p 438. l. 29. r and re&s;t. p. 440. l. 18. r. Lord mercie. p. 442. l 22. r. Ho euery p. 446. l 31. r. if when we were p. 449. l. 10. r. that he who for. l. 30. r. of his bountie. p 451 l. 27. r. honour and glorie. p. 455. l. 6. r. and now he. p. 463. l. 30. r. true in the&s;i, yet fal&s;e in hypothe&s;i. p. 473. l. 26. r. powerfully. l. 33. mini&s;terie. p. 474. l. 4. r. mini&s;terie. p. 475. l. 22. r. and meere cluill. p. 477. l. 10. r. and though. l. 13. r. entertaine it. p. 479. l 32. r. the hond of this. lin. la&s;t r. works of &s;anctification. p. 481. l. 10. r. &s;o the branches. p. 484. l. 5. r. it &s;eareth. p. 486. l. 4. r. &s;eared l. 29. r. &s;ight and feeling. p. 487. l. 24. r. with an hard. p. 501. l. 29. r. in God at al. p. 507. l. 34. r. may &s;eeme to be. p. 510. l. 30. r. truly &s;orie. l. 36. r. the ca&s;e. p. 514. l. 25. r. de&s;truction, but. p. 522. l. 1. r. vanqui&s;hed. l. 10. r. &s;triuing. p. 526. l. 8. r. &s;imilitudes. l. 19. r. moueth and p. 531. l. 20. r. the 5 ver&s;e. p. 538. l. 10. r. vp vntill it. l. 19. r. hauing any. p. 540. l. 7. r. more &s;trong. p. 553. l. 29. r. almes a&s;well as. l. 33. r. &s;trong. Our. p. 557. l. 9. r. &s;eene him? p. 566. l. 13. r. one oblation lin. 21. r. where ho p. 569. l. 7. r. and iudged lin. 8.1. his owne. p. 571. l. 26. r. imaginarie. p. 574. l. 7. r. Apo&s;tle. p. 578. l. 19. r. nece&s;&s;arily.</P>
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