THE DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE OF MORTIFICATION,
But if yee through the spirit mortifie the deeds of the body yee shall live.
Chap. 1. An Introduction to the Text with the coherence of the foregoing part of the Chapter.
THe common tidings that hath sounded in our eares frō the Churches abroad, for divers yeares together, [Page 2]hath been upon the point nothing but warres, and rumors of warres, of leading into captivity, of garments roled in blood; insomuch as that country in which was plenty of corne and wine, as the garden of Eden, is now as a land forsaken, or as a desolate wildernesse; nay a very Aceldama, or field of blood: And howsoever wee of this Nation have but heard of this, amongst us, no leading into captivity, no complaining in our streetes; Yet the sword of the Lord hath been drown against us, and hath slaine thousands, & ten thousands in our streets.James 4.1. Now the general cause both of those lamentable desolations abroad, & the hand of God at home, is chiefly this; that we go not to warre with our selves, we do not slay those lusts of ours that fight in our members: for if ye walke after [Page 3]the flesh, yee shall die, not onely a death of the body, but the second death, the soule shall suffer eternall torment; But if yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit, then yee shall live eternally.
To make way unto the matter in hand, our Apostle layeth downe certaine differences betweene such as walke after the flesh, and others that walke after the spirit.
1 In respect of the object that they ayme at, the one mindes the things of the flesh, the other the things that are above; such as a man is, such is his minde; a carnall man, and a carnall minde: the wisdome that is not from above, is earthly, sensuall, and devillish; James 3.15. but that which is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easie to be intreated, Vers. 17. full of mercy and of good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisie.
[Page 4] 2 They differ in their ends; for the end of the one is life, the end of the other is death; Every man must eate of the fruit of his own way, Prov. 1.31. and be filled with his owne devises.
3 They differ in their affections, so as they that are at enmity with the Law of God,Vers. 7.8. their fleshly mindes are not subject unto it, neither can they be, and being they are not, they cannot please God. Whereas on the other side, they that are of the spirit, Christ dwels with them, and takes up his habitation in their hearts, suppes with them, and they with him: Happy and thrice happy that house which hath him for an inhabitant, for this possession of Christ doth imply the dispossession of sinne,Vers. 10. For if Christ be in you the body is dead, but of sinne, as Dagon could not stand with the Arke, [Page 5]so no more can sin and Christ inhabit together. We cannot serve these two Masters. Againe, as it puts sinne to death, so he quickens us,Vers. 11. that same spirit that raised Christ shall quicken us; wherein he shews that the worke of our regeneration is great, even as great as that of the resurrection, the one being the internall renovation of the soule, the other the externall restauration of the body to its reunion with the soule; Hence our Apostle drawes an effectuall inference to perswade men to withstand the inticements of the flesh, from this, that there is no service of due that doth belong to it, we are not debters to it, that wee should follow it. Nay if you walke after the flesh yee shall die, but if yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit, then yee shall live. Behold as [Page 6] Moses said:Deut. 30.19. I call Heaven and Earth to record against you this day, that I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life that you and your seede may live. So I here set before you both these, and yet my desire is the same that Moses his was, that you would chuse life, that your soules might live, which undoubtedly you may do if yee follow Saint Pauls direction here, If yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit. Here you may observe,
1 A description of our naturall corruption, it is called the deeds or practises of the body.
2 Here is our duty what we should doe against it, namely, to contend against it, and to mortifie and slay it.
3 The meanes whereby it must be done, by the spirit.
4 The reward is that [Page 7]promised, Yee shall live: which is a large promise, seeing it containes in it all the happinesse that wee are capable of, called a crown of life for the greatnesse, and everlasting life for the continuance.
Chap. 2. Of the meanes how to find out our naturall condition by a threefold inquiry.
TO begin with the first, the description of our naturall corruption, viz. It is called the deeds of the body, as it is with men that goe to warre, the first thing that they doe, is to endeavour to find out the enemy: so it must be in this spirituall warfare, wee must first endeavour to finde out this our spirituall and mortall enemy, who hee is: [Page 8]and secondly, where he lurkes; and thirdly, how hee seekes to fortifie himselfe.
1 Who this enemy is.1 Who this enemy is; it must be hee that contends against the spirit, and labours to withstand all the good motions of it, which is called all along in the former part of the chapter the flesh, and here in this place the body: now the body is sometimes taken Physically for the substance of the body consisting of flesh and blood; or else morally and in a metaphor for sinne and vice compared to a body; and so I conceive it must be taken here; for conceive of the body as it is meerly naturall, and so it is good, and those effects that do issue from it must needes be good: again the body in the production of her actions is but the handmaid to the soule; and the soule is as the great wheele of [Page 9]the clocke,Corpus mortis est cuncta peccata: multa enim unum corpus sūt, singula quasi membra uno authore inventa Ambros. vid. locum. Infelix est homo hospitem secum habens peccatum perquod ad illum aditum habet Satanas. Gloss. that moves all the inferiour wheels by her motion: now the denomination in propriety of speech comes frō the better part; therefore it must be taken here for that naturall corruption, that doth abide in the body and soule. So S. Ambrose on Rom. 7.24. he calls it there, that masse of corruption that is inherent in us, is all our sinne, as it were making up that body of sinne, that as a body consisting of many mēbers, do but make up one intire body; so sin, though it spread it self into every part of our bodies to make them members of sin, & into every faculty of the soule to make them weapons of unrighteousnesse, yet still it is but one.
Take notice, Vse 1 how that sin it makes a man a deformed and a vile creature, that while he carries about him a body having in it naturall life; hee [Page 10]carries another body that hath in it the symptomes of death, nay and that will draw the other to the same condition with it selfe; nay if one should tell you of a monster that had something in it like a beast, something like a serpent, nay and something like a devill. This monstrous birth of sinne doth containe all that in it, if not more: are not men like the cruellest beast the Lyon; like the most poysonous creature the serpent, nay children of Satan. Iohn 4.44. O that wee could see our selves as wee are; we would be ready to fly from our selves, as Moses did from his rod, when it became a serpent, Exodus 3.4. and to abhorre our selves in dust and ashes.
2 Where he lodgeth.2 If you enquire where this enemy is, you will hardly beleeve that hee is so neere you, [Page 11]nor neere so favoured of you as indeed he is, that such a desperate enemy as this is should lodge in your houses, feede at your tables, and lye in your bosomes, is not so strange as true, nor more true than lamentable. Men in this case are like David, who did not sticke to condemne the injustice and cruelty of the man in Nathans parable,2 Sam. 12. that took the Lambe from his poore neighbour when hee had no need, having sufficient, or rather superfluity of his owne; but alas the good man little thought that all this had been done by himselfe; even so it is with us, when wee heare from the Word, that there is such a thing as a body of death, a heart that is desperately wicked,Rom. 7.24 Jer. 19 9. and a law of the members that leads men captive to sinne: it is easily granted by them that so it is, but yet [Page 12]will they be loath to yeeld,Dolus latet in universalibus. or to have such a thought in themselves, that they are the men: and hence it is that we are like unto sicke men that complaine of their bed, when the cause is in their bones, and of the sharpnesse of their phisicke, when the fault is in themselves; so it is with men in case of sinne, when it lyes on the consciences of men, and makes them restlesse, they complaine of the condition as too hard and heavie, and of the Word, which is the physicke for the soule, as too sharpe and bitter, when as they looke not into the cause which is this body of death that lyes in our own bosomes: and as wee see not our sinnes, so neither doe wee see the danger that we are in; but as it was with Balaam, Numb. though the Angell was before him with his drawne sword, yet [Page 13]hee saw him not, but fals out with the poore Asse, as if all the fault had beene in the harmelesse beast; whereas had not the Asse stood still Balaam had beene slaine, and all this came from his covetous heart, which hee would take no notice of; So men are ready in case that sinne bee charged on them, and even the danger ready to approach, yet do not see it, but are ready to quarrell with such as labour to keepe them from it, but howsoever men labour to put their sinnes one to another, as we tosse a Ball, and bandy it from one to another, and every man from him, yet let him know, that they goe but herein about a vaine shadow, and disquiet themselves in vaine; It would bee much better to take Davids counsell,Psal. 4.4. stand in awe and sinne not, commune with your owne bearts [Page 14]in your bed and be still: or as some will have it, and bleede, and that in deed should be our care, that when we have found this enemy which is the disturber of our peace, wee should enter in our chambers and bewaile our miserie, if it were possible, even with teares of blood.
3. The meanes how lust doth fortifie it self.Lastly, how hee seekes to fortifie himselfe, and to this end observe, that the flesh and this corruption is such an enemie as is never out of action; thence it is that God complaines, My people have chosen two evils, they have forsaken me the fountaine of living waters, and hewed them out Cisternes, broken Cisternes that will hold no water; So that in this sinne of man there is a turning from God the chiefest good, as the fountaine of all their happinesse, which is as a living spring that never [Page 15]failes; God all-sufficient who gives grace and glory and every good thing;Psal. 84.11. Ier. 9.27. Now wee first turne our backes on God and not our faces to him, and then fall to these empty and broken vessels, Cisternes they are, but Cisternes that hold no great matter;Dulc [...]ores a fonte bibuntur aquae. nay, broken Cisternes that will not hold any thing at all; so as there is neither solidity nor certainty in the comfort that they give, not solid and sweete, because they are from the Cisterne, and smell of the caske: Surely man disquieteth himselfe about a vaine shadow, Psal. 39.6. were it not a folly, or rather a madnesse in a man that should come into an orchard, upon the trees whereof did hang much fruit, sweet and pleasant, yet should leave them, and seeke to disquiet himselfe to gather up the shadow: The Philosopher cals a man Arbor [Page 16]transversa, Luke 10. a tree turned upside downe; but by sinne it is, that a man is homo transversus, a man that's quite altered, and goes downeward like the young man from Jerusalem to Ierico, spoliatur, vulneratur, redivivus relinquitur, spoyled of his good, wounded, and left halfe dead; So it is here, we in our departure from God to meete this enemy that spoyles us of all those ornaments we had, and wee are wounded with the guilt, and the staines of sinne, and left in such a lamentable condition, as did not that good Samaritan come, our Lord Jesus Christ, and powre in the oyle of his owne grace, and the wine of his dearest blood, we should perish everlastingly.
CAP. III. Of activity of lust proved by two particulars.
THat sinne is thus practicall and full of action will appeare if you confider two things.
1. By the fruitfulnes of sinne which doth appeare.1. The fruitfulnesse, and the plentifull increase that it doth bring forth.
2. And then the power and vivacity that there is in sinne, both which will set out, that the enemy against whom we doe contend, is an active and stirring enemy.
1. For the first, sinne,Jam. 1.15. By its expedition in the production of sinne. it brings forth with much speed and celerity, Lust when it hath conceived it bringeth forth sin; and sinne when it is perfected bringeth forth death. Even as when you cast a stone into a pond, that begets a circle, and [Page 18]that begets a greater, and so they multiply untill they bee many, and that on a sudden. So is it in case of sinne, one sinne begets another speedily, and the reason is, because it is the nature of the worst kinde of fruit to spring the fastest; you need not plow for weeds, nor sowe cockle nor hemlock in the furrowes of your feild, they will grow of themselves: So is it with the ill weeds of sinne, they come up of their owne accord; nay, though we labour to weed out these corruptions, yet will they sprout and grow againe; If you aske me why that grace comes on so slowly, and sinne with such speed, I answer as the Egyptian Midwives did unto Pharaoh when hee asked them why they slew not the male children, they answered, because they are not as the Egyptian women,Exod. 1.19. but lively, [Page 19]and are speedily delivered. So it is in this case, grace at the first is weake, compared to a graine of Mustard-seed, and fals into a barren soile, our corrupt hearts, and there it is that it comes up so slowly; but sinne, that is strong, and is in a soyle that it likes, and therfore comes up with more celerity.
2. In the increase of sinne.2. Sinne is fruitfull in that it increaseth, sinne, though it be little at the first, yet growes apace; a man that beginnes with smaller sinnes, those make way for greater, as it is said of the sinne of Sodome, Gen. 18 20. it was very great, and the cry was multiplied; that is, as the sinne increased, so the cry came; grievous sinnes doe make a great cry: Hazael was afraid to heare of that wickednesse, which after hee was not ashamed to commit; sinne is like that cloud which Eliah [Page 20]saw, which was at first no broader then a mans hand, yet it spread, and spread till it covered the whole heavens; So it is when men first beginne to fall to some little, doe they know how they shall be carried before that they will return againe:Amos 5.1 Israel is called the Virgin Israel but behold afterward her gr [...]at transgression and her mighty sinnes made the prudent to keep silence, 13.16. and brought such a storme and inundation of wrath upon them, that a wailing should bee in all streetes and Vine-yards, the day of the Lord should be a day of darknesse, &c. When we speak of the works of the flesh,Gal. 5.19. wee may say as Leah said when Gad was born; behold, a troope commeth, as Adultery, Fornication, Uncleannes, &c. sevēteen in number, and the reason of this multiplication of sinne is in respect of the multiplicity of [Page 21]objects each of them being a bait to intice us unto sinue, and withall, the multiplicity of occasions, that are as bridges to lead unto evill; that wee had need every day to pray, Lord lead us not into temptation: and the greatest temptation that can befall a man, is the temptation of his owne heart, for every man is tempted when he is drawne away with his owne concupiscence and is inticed.
3. In the constance of it.3. Lastly, sinne is fruitfull in respect of the continuance and lastingnesse thereof. God complaines of the thoughts and imaginations of mans heart, they are evill, and onely evill, and that continually, contray to all other breeders, who though they have beene fruitfull, yet nature decaies, and time makes them barren; but now sinne, as it is said, vires acquirit eundo, [Page 22]it gathers strength by its motion; So it is here in sin, it holds on and goes on; and that as Saint Paul speakes of ill men and seducers,2. Tim. 3.13. that they grow worse and worse, and as the Prophet complaines, How long shall evill thoughts lodge in you, Jer. 4.14. hee doth not say that evill thoughts may not be in you, but they should not lodge, the word is pernoctare to lodge all night, that is as if hee should say, though you sinne, beware you continue not in it, though you be angry, let not the Sunne goe downe upon your wrath▪ to fall into sinne, is as if a man should fall into a deepe pit; and to continue in it, is as if a man should role a great stone upon it, for by falling into sin he fals into the snare of the Devill, and by continuance it entangles himselfe more and more, as a wilde Bull in a net, [Page 23]who the more he rageth the faster hee is entangled:Esa. 51.20. And thence it is that custome in sinne is as hard to bee left, as to wash an Ethiopian white, or for a Leopard to change his skinne.
CAP. IV. Of the power and authority that unmortified lusts doth put forth in us.
THe second demonstration whereby it may appeare that this enemy against whom we do contend is thus active will appeare from the power and authority that sin hath, as they answered Iehu when he bad them fight for their Masters sonnes;2. King. 10.4. Two Kings (say they) stood not before him: So may I say of sinne (and I would it were not too [Page 24]true) that two of the worthiest Kings that ever reigned in the world, both for piety and wisdome, were foiled by this enemy, namely David and Solomon; And if they did not stand before it, how carefull should we be that wee be not intangled with it.The power of a King. Rom. 5.21 It hath the power of a King, sinne is said to reigne unto death, as it was when the Israelites desired a King, Samuel told him what an one he would be, and what he would doe; He will take saith hee (meaning that wicked King Saul) your sons for his service,1. Sam. 8.10. and your daughters to bee his handmaids, nay the best of your Vine-yards, and Olive-yards for his servants, &c. So it is with sinne when as it reignes, it will bring all to his service: This Tyrant sinne will take the choysest wits, and make them plot for him, and [Page 25]will make them wiser in their generation then the children of light;Inimicus noster mo do rex modo Tyran nus Sen. Ep. 96. hee will take the choysest of your strength, even your young and flourishing dayes, and set you into his worke to dresse his Vineyard, and to reap his harvest, as he did with Absolom, Manasses, and the prodigall son, nay he will take every faculty of your soules, and engage them in the common quarrell against Christ,Rom. 6.13 and every member of the body, and make them weapons of unrighteousnesse to serve sin, and indeed the very reason why sin is such a fearfull and dreadfull enemy, is because it makes it selfe a King; for suppose we sinne to be dethroned, and put from his dignity, and behold you shall find him like Sampson, Judg. 16.19. without his locks, as another man; but as long as sin reigneth, though it be, but as [Page 26]the bramble,Judg. 9.15 Eadem libido dominatur, nec Regum purpuras times, nec mendicatium centonem spernit. Herr. Ep. 9. 2. Of the Law. Rom. 7.23 yet will it bee strong enough to set fire on the goodliest Cedars of the Forrest, as you may see in Iothams parable, nay it feares no more to enter in the Palaces of Princes then it doth to assault the beggars Cottage.
2. As sinne is a King, so he rules by his lawes, I finde a Law in my members leading me captive unto sinne; this Law, it stands in opposition to the law of God; [...]. that is, that it fights against it: now a Law is properly nothing but a rule whereby we are to worke; so it is with sinne, it hath a rule whereby it goes, and that whereby they frame and direct all their actions; Now because they that have a mind to live in sinne, and withall finde that conscience doth condemne that course wherein they walke; hereupon they frame unto themselves another [Page 27]Law, which may bee as the City of refuge against conscience, who like a revenger of blood, hunts after the malefactor.
1. Lust would abolish Gods law.1. They lay downe this as a principle, that the Law of God is too heavie a burthen, it is too hard a task-master, and therefore as Ieroboam pretended unto the people of Israel, that it was too farre for them to goe up to Ierusalem, therefore made them calves at Dan and Bethel; so carnall reason saith, that the Law of God, it is too farre a journey, full of difficulty and danger: it is like Rheoboams yoake that was intolerable; Thus the wicked heart of man labours to bring an ill report upon the pure Law of God, and hence it is; that our Antinomists, and Libertines labour to overthrow the Law of God; that which Christ came to establish, [Page 28]these men endeavour to abolish;Rom. 3.31 2 Tim. 3.6 such a generation of men there hath beene, as creep into houses and lead away silly women laden with lusts, that is, by putting them into a forme of Godlinesse, telling them that Christ having taken away the guilt and punishment of sinne, there is nothing to doe for them, no need to make the Law as a Rule, or to mortifie their corruptions: flat contrary to the Apostle, that such as are in Christ do mortifie the flesh, Gal. 5.24. with the affections & lusts: But let such take heed as do indeavour to bring an ill report on this good Law of God, that the Lord say not as hee did against those that brought an ill report of the good land,Psal. 95.11 unto whom he sware in his wrath that they should never enter into his rest.
2. Lust frameth a new rule.2. Seeing that this Law will not serve their turnes [Page 29]they frame another of their owne, that will be subservient for the accomplishment of their ends, they are compared to such as kindle a fire and compasse about the sparkes, walk (saith God) in the light of your fires, Esa. 50.11 and in the sparkes that you have kindled, this shall you have of mine hand, you shall lye downe in sorrow; to kindle this fire is to hatch and forge some new rule as a light to walke by; and to compasse it with sparkes, is as it were to blow it up with carnall and fleshly arguments, and then to walke in the light of it, is to labour, to carry, and enforce all their actions according unto that rule, and hence it is that there are so many sects, and so many wayes that men walke in; It is because they are not contented with that fire that burnes on Gods Altar; the pure light of the word, but like [Page 30] Nadab and Abibu, they kindle strange fire of their owne, but this shall they have at Gods hand, their light shall be turned into darknesse, and their sparkes into ashes, and lastly their joy shall turne into sorrow. For as the Arke and Dagon could not stand together: so no more will these stand long, because they are like building laid on a sandy foundation, or as grasse on the house top.
3. It colours all with faire pretences3. That the minde may bee the better perswaded to goe along according to this rule, the flesh labours to colour all over, and to set a faire glosse on a foule cause; and if you marke it, there is no sinne so vile but men will finde out some colour and some excuse, either to make it no sinne, or else to make it veniall, and so little, that it may lodge in his heart with as much safery as [Page 31] Lot did in Zoar, we want not examples of both these. For the former you see, Saul is charged by Samuel to have transgressed the Commandement of the Lord; No saith Saul I have obeyed the Commandement of the Lord; but then saith Samuel, what meaneth then the bleating of the Sheepe, and lowing of the Oxen in mine care. So may wee say, when men would excuse themselves from sinne, and say, wee have good hearts to God, we may aske them what meanes their swearing and their drinking, and their prophane and unchaste speeches? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Some againe will confesse the fact, but excuse it, either they were ignorant, and knew it not; whereas our ignorance is a sinne, and when wee adde sin to it, we make the sinne double; [Page 32]Or they did sinne, but it was with no ill intent, and therefore it was but an infirmity; I confesse the more evill there is in the intention, the more wicked is the action; but I doe not see how there can be an evill action without an ill intention, for if the tree were good, then the fruit would bee good, and therefore let mee tell you, that to excuse your sinne is all one as to cover your sin,Prov. 28.13. and you know that he that hideth his sin shall not prosper.
CAP. V. Arguments to prove sinne active.
NOw it remaines that we give some arguments whence it comes to passe that this enemy is so active.
[Page 33] 1. Stoutnesse.1. The first is taken from that stoutnesse and stubbornesse that is in it,Rom. 8.7. such a height of pride is in it, that it is not nor cannot be subject unto the Law of God, nay it is not afraid to contest against the holy Ghost,Acts. 7.51. and to say unto the Almighty, depart from us we desire not the knowledge of thy Law, what is the Almighty, that we should serve him, Job. 21.14.15. &c. And hence it is that Saint Gregory in his morall makes it regina peccatorum & vitiorum, for whereas all other sinnes fly away and labour to bide themselves from God as Adam did amongst the trees of the garden; and as Saul among the stuffe, but onely this stoutnesse of spirit is that which labours to rebell against God, nay and to exalt it selfe above God, and all that is called God; the Lord would have his will to bee [Page 34]done,2. Thes. 2.4. Vult Deus fierl voluntatem suam superbus vult sieri suam. Ber. Ser. 4. vig. nat. Psal. 2.3. 1 King. 12.25. Vt melius posset resistere regno Juda, & ipsum infestare aedificavit sortalicia. but the proud heart will doe his owne, as they said. Let us breake their bonds in sunder, and cast their cords from us. Now all this resistance cannot be done without much action and motion. Wee read that when Ieroboam revolted with the ten Tribes from the house of David, he built Sichem and Penuel two strong holds to defend himselfe and his Kingdom from the inroads which might be made by his enemies; So it is in this case, that when a man begins to revolt from God, th̄e he cosiders how he may fortifie himselfe against him; and this is done by our high thoughts that labour to build to themselves strong holds;2 Cor. 10.4. So as Gods word (if it may be) shall not come neere,Judg. 1.19. but they will repell the force of it; As it was said, the Lord was with the Tribe of Iuda, and he drave [Page 35]out the inhabitants of the mountaine, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, for they had chariots of Iron: So a Minister of God, and with whom the Lord is pleased to doe great things; yet some men have so fortified themselves with such stiffe neckes, and such brazen foreheads, that you may as soone fill the skinne of Leviathan with barbed irons,Job. 41.7. and his head with fish speares (which Ioh made a thing wondrous difficult, if not impossible) as to make any entrance upon him, or to convert him unto God.
2 Experiments of it.2 That sinne is so active may appeare in respect of the many battels it hath fought, and the many victories it hath obtained; some it hath foiled; as it began with David on the top of his Towre, and there it drew him to lust: and lust [Page 36]drew him to adultery; and his adultery drew him to murther; and it left him not there, but made him to cover it with a faire pretence, that the sword doth devoure one as well as another; and in this case men are like Rachel, that first stole away her fathers Idols, and after wards, when they were sought for, sate on them. So is it here, first to sinne, and then to hide it; and thus it foiled Peter, it found him first in the High Priests hall, there hee sinned against knowledge, in denying hee knew Christ, and against equitie, in that he denyed that he was any of his Disciples, yea & against that promise that he had made, that though all men would forsake him, yet will not I. Whereas hee was the first: And as it hath soiled many of Gods deare servants,Judg. 4.21. so hath it conquered and quite overthrowne [Page 37]others,Judg. 4.21. and fastned them to the ground as Iael did Sisera, that they never rose againe: thus it did with Iudas, the hope of gaine made him that he betrayed his Master, and then went and hanged himselfe; thus it was with the Angells that fell: that they fell so wittingly, and so desperately, as there was no place found for repentance, as there was for man after his fall. Now as it is with a man that hath fought many battels, and that hath obtained many victories, sure no man will deny him to be active, so it is in this case, sin having given so many foiles, & having gained so many victories, who can say but sinne is full of action, and restlesse till it have accomplished its ends.
3 The force and helpe it hath, 3 Wee cannot marvell, though sinne be active, seeing that Sathan helps it forward, [Page 38]in some he playes the Rex, and rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience; Ephes. 2.2. and note this, where men are sonnes of disobedience, there are they also servants unto the Prince of darknesse,1 Pet. 5.8. they come at his call, and goe at his command: nay hee makes them as like himselfe as may be; the devill is fierce and cruell, thence he is called a roaring lyon, and are not his servants so? No Beare more salvage, no Tiger more fierce, no Lyon more cruell than they are: It is better saith one, to be a beast, than compared to a beast, for a beast is good in his nature, but a man that is like a beast, he degenerates from that nature that should be in him. How doth Pharaoh cause the male children to float on the river? How doth Manasses cause Jerusalem to swimme in blood? And what a monster [Page 39]was Herod that slew all those innocent babes from two yeares old and under?Inv. Sat. 8 Nay how like was Nero to him that caused Christians to be put into coats laid over with pitch and brimstone,Hino ausi quod liceat. tunica punire molesta Juv. Sat. 8. Host is callidus ta [...]da ad mortem supplicia conquirens animas cuprebat jugulare non corpora. and to burne all night, to the end they might shew light to those that passed by, The devill hates our naturall life: so doth hee make his servants, to seeke to take away the pretious life of men, as you have beard, nay hee labours to take away our spirituall life, that is to destroy our soules; as when Christ had sowne the good seede,Matt. 13 19. the enemy he comes and sowes tares: hee was a lying spirit in the mouthes of all Ahabs Prophets,1 King 2.23. so hee seekes to fanne us as chaffe, and to hinder our faith: so do all his servants. How did Jannes and Jambres resist Moses to his face?2 Tim. 3.8. [Page 40] Acts 13.8.9.10.And did not Elimas seeke to turne the Deputy from the faith, whom Paul not unfitly calls the Child of the Devill, and enemy of all righteousnesse; And for their activenesse in all this, they are very industrious; As it was said of old of Pharises (of Jesuites now) that they did compasse sea and land to make one Proselyte,Mat. 23.15. and when they had done made him twofold more the child of the devill than themselves: and no wonder though they move so fast, for they must needes goe apace whom the devill drives.
Chap. 6. Instructions arising from the former doctrine.
1 IF then sinne be so active, this sets out whence it is,Whence m̄e are restlesse in sin. that wicked men are so restlesse in sinne, so as they are never at quiet, unlesse they be doing something or other that makes against God, and the good of his people:Ps. 37.12. David shewes that the wicked plots against the righteous, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth, and drawes his sword, and bends his bow, and all to slay such as are upright in heart,Ps. 78.12. yea hee layeth snares, and seekes their hurt, and speakes mischievous things, and imagines deceit all the day long;Esa. 57. ul. hence it is that they are compared to the troubled sea, when it cannot [Page 42]rest; whose waters cast up mire and dirt; and indeed as long as this body of sinne is unmortified in us, it will be as troublesome to us, as Ionah was unto the shippe which was tossed up and downe on the waves till he was cast out; for howsoever that sinne may sometime seeme to lye quiet, and all in the man may seeme to be at rest, yet alas it is neither a true, nor long peace, but as it is with him that hath an ague upon him, albeit when the sit is over he comes to his temper againe, and you would thinke that all were well, and that his enemy had left him; but alas the next day the poore man is disquieted with it againe, and possibly more than before: so it is in case of sinne, that though it may be, that such a man that lives in sinne, is now quiet, and neither doth discover his malice [Page 43]against God and goodnesse without, nor at present any appearance of a storme arising in his owne conscience within; yet that unmortified body of death, that lodges within him will not rest till it bring both feare at home, and trouble abroad, for this is the policy of Sathan to make the way faire unto us, untill he have drawne us into sinne, and then labours to pierce us through with many sorrower; and so it was with Saul; 1 Tim. 6.10. sometimes he was as calme and as well as another man, but when the evill spirit came upon him, then was hee like a [...]ad man: so it is with men that live in this case, while they are in their cold blood, and have no occasion offered they are quiet, but if once there come a fit occasion; and that be followed with a tēptation, then are they as tinder to the [Page 44]sparke, that presently kindles, and which begets a great flame,Iames 3.5. behold how great a matter this little fire (of sinne) kindles.
2 Whence suddenly wicked.3 This shewes whence it is that men are so suddenly wicked: surely it must be from hence, because that sinne is so active as it is▪ the activenesse of sinne makes a man impatient of delayes; one being demanded why the earth was every where so fruitfull of weedes, and yet so much ado to make fragrant, and pleasant flowres to grow, albeit it were with much cost and paines; answered, that the earth was the naturall mother to the one, and stepmother to the other; it is so in this case, the earth of our hearts doth bring forth sinne of it selfe, and hath the seede in it selfe; but for grace, alas it is a step-mother unto it, all [Page 45]that wee can doe is little enough to bring it to perfection; whereas this body of sin is marching on like Iehu the sonne of Nimshi with much rage and malice, neither fearing God, nor reverencing man: when the old world began to corrupt their way,Gen. 6.4. they are sayd to have had to their children mighty men, and men of renowne, or of name; and the reason, because they were mighty in wickednesse, [...] and had got themselves a name of infamy; the way of sinne is downe hill, and can hardly stay it selfe till it come to the bottome; little do men know how deepe hee may fall that is a falling into sinne, if hee fall not as Eutychus, that fell from such a height, that he was taken up dead, yet may hee fall at Mephi [...]osheth did, and receive such hurt by it, that he may never claw it off [Page 46]all the dales of his life.
3 The rise of hypocrisie. Intus Nero, foris Cato totus amb guus, pars prima Leo: postrema Draco media ipsa chymera: Hier. ep: 5.3 That a man may be a notorious sinner, and yet have a shew and colour of piety: so those that were proud, heady, high minded, &c. yet they had a forme of godlinesse, a rule that they went by in show; within as base as Nero: without as austere as Cato; Such were the Pharisees that sought out wardly to justifie themselves, but God knowes your hearts saith our Saviour;Luk. 16.15. that is howsoever men could not, yet God both can and will: Hypocrisie is one of the fairest garments, that this body of sinne can be covered withall, because that by this meanes the hypocrite is hidden both from others, and from himselfe; from others by this, it hath beene that so many have shewed unto men to have had the voyce of Iacob, and the hands were the [Page 47]hands of Esau, and have pretended great piety; when their intentions have beene barbarous and most prodigiously impious; As Jezabel pretends a fast,1 King: 21.9. and intends murther; and Absolon pretends the performance of a vow,2 Sam. 15.8. yet intends treason, nay the worst of treasons against his own father: & those preachers of Philippi pretend to preach Christ,Phil: 5.15. but their intentions were malitious: but howsoever they thinke by this means to deceive others,2 Tim: 3.13. yet in the issue they deceive themselves; for while they are a deceiving others they doe indeed deceive themselves; and it were better openly to sinne,Meli [...]s est aperte peccare quam santitatem simulare: Aug: than to dissemble sanctity, and be you sure, whosoever you are, that carry a heart, and a heart; a ballance and a ballance, that God will finde you out, and shall smite every such whited [Page 48]wall; and as old Ahiah said to the wife of Ieroboam, 1 Kings 146. when shee came disguised, Come in (saith hee) thou wife of Ieroboam, why fainest thou the selfe to be another? I have heavie tydings to tell thee, so may I say unto such, that I have heavie tidings to tell them, that is this,Act. 8.23. that they are in the gall of bitternesse, and in the bond of iniquity: and if there be any fire in that bottomlesse tophet hotter than another, it's prepared for the hypocrits, and therefore when God tells men of great punishments that the wicked shall have, hee tells them that their punishment shall be with hypocrites; that is, making them a patterne of greas punishment to others.Mat: 24.41.
Againe, this body of sinne it doth so worke and cover it selfe, that it makes a man to mistake his owne condition, [Page 49]as the young man did, when hee said,Mat. 19.29. All these have I done from my youth, and yet poore soule, he knew not the deceitfulnes of his owne heart, that he was mistaken, & had a deceitfull heart that would not submit to the will of Christ: and we read of Herod, that hee did many things untill it came to the leaving of his Herodias, hee was content, but there he stucke. So it is with men, they are so well conceited of their conditions, as he that goes a jot beyond them, goes too farre, and hee that comes not to their pitch is too prophane, and that rule which they have taken up is the only rule; but to such I will say no more than our Apostle doth, Let him that thinketh hee stands take heed lest hee fall, and that his foundation be not built on the sand.
4 Seeing that this body of [Page 50]sinne is thus active,4 How suspitious we should be of our selves. it should make us suspitious of our selves, and be very jealous over our selves in all the actions that wee doe, seeing that there is one within us that hath a hand in them, that is our mortall enemy,Prov. 26.25. who albeit hee may speake us faire; and make his voyce gracious; yet as Solomon saith in another cas [...], there are seven abominations in his heart; if a man have a servant in his house, that hee neither can turne out, nor may trust; will hee not then be suspitious of him, and often call him to account,Jer. 17.9. yet behold such is our owne hearts, deceitfull above all things, and who can know it, it hath such turnings and windings, that unlesse we watch it narrowly, it will deceive us. Aske we our hearts this question, whither they went then at such a sermon, [Page 51]when the word was powerfully opened, it will answer as Gehezi did, Thy servant went no whither. Aske it againe, whether it doth beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ for life and eternall salvation, it will answer yea, hee hath beleeved ever since hee can remember, and never doubted in all his life. Aske him againe, whether hee be in such a condition as hee may goe to the Lords Table, hee will answer againe, goe in peace: Thus like another trecherous Iudas, hee will for his owne ends betray his owne Master; now I appeale unto your own hearts, whether this be so or no, whether you have not offered such strange fire unto God, and thought that such blind and lame services would serve your turne. Have you not cause here to be suspitious of your secret enemy, that [Page 52]lurkes in your bosomes, that is so ready to deceive it selfe and you. When that King of Syria saw that his plots were still discovered, that his warre did not prosper against the Kings of Israel,2 King. 6.11. Will you not tell mee (saith hee) which of us is for the King of Isra [...]l? So it should be with you, that when your designes and good purposes are interrupted, you should enter into your chambers and commune with your owne hearts, and call up all your thoughts together, say to them, will none of you shew mee, which of you are for Sa [...]han. I find many good motions that are all stifled in the birth, & a law of the members that doth rebell against the law of the mind, and then complaine of this enemy unto him that is able to helpe you, and say, O wretched man that I am, good Lord deliver mee from this body of death.
CAP. VII. Of the second principall thing, viz: the doctrine of Mortification, with certainc distinctions to cleare it.
NOw the second thing layd downe in the text, is the duty that is commended unto us by our Apostle, namely that the deedes of the body are to be mortified,Joel. 2.13. this is no other than that of the Prophet, Rent your hearts, and not your garments, &c. now the renting of thier garments, was but (in the best use of them) to put them in minde of the disposition of their hearts, and what serious thoughts God would have them be affected withall: They did use to rent garments either in case of some great evill of sinne, or evill of punishment, [Page 54]in case of some great sinne.2 King. 18 So Hezekiah rent his clothes at the blasphemy of Rabsheke, Hest. 4.1. the foule mouthed enemy of God; and so in case of some eminent danger, so Mordecay rent his garment, out of trouble of heart for that great Massacre that was likely to befall the Jewes: and may not the like misery sway with us, to make us rent our hearts, and mortifie the deeds of the body, especially when we consider the greatnesse of our sinnes, both in respect of their number that they are many, and of their nature that they are foule, and make us loathsome in the sight of God, for their quantity they are as heavie as mountaines of lead,Deut. 19.18. and for the quality they are rootes that beare gall and wormwood.
The like exhortation the [Page 55]Apostle gives,Non dicit Apostolus non sit, non habitet, hoc enim impossibile, sed non regnet peccatum, &c Greg. Let not sinne raigne in your mortall bodies, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. It is true that sinne will remaine in us, but it must not raigne over us, for if grace raigne in your hearts, then sinne must not raigne, grace will have no competitor. Wee read of Alexander the great, that hee was never content till he had conquered all the world; so is it with grace, it is never at rest till it have conquered this little world, this body of sin, and put downe every high thought that doth exalt it self against God. This exhortation is urged more plainly. Mortifie therefore your members that are on the earth, fornication, uncleannesse, inordinate affections, &c. as before, sinne is compared to a body, so here, particular sins are compared to so many [Page 56]members of that body, that as all the members doe worke together for the preservation of the whole, so doth every least conduct, and concurre, to the preservation and continuation of this body of sin.
For the more distinct handling of the point, consider, that mortification may be distinguished as something that is externall and without us,Mortification is externall. or else as something that is internall and is done within us: as it is externall, so it is said to be a legall mortification, when as a man is dead in law, as a melefact or is said then to be a dead man when hee is condemned; so sinne is then said to be dead when it is forgiven,Rom. 8.3. and God is said to send his sonne, in the likenesse of sinfull flesh, and for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh, that is, that sinne should be as certainly put to death, as [Page 57]it was certaine that Christ had taken our nature on him, a great comfort it is to a distressed soule that doth cast it selfe upon the Lord Jesus Christ: though at first it doe not apprehend the power of sinne mortified, yet apprehending our plentious redemption purchased by Christ hee concludes, that sinne shall certainly die, because Christ hath already condemned it and as David sayd,1 Sam. 20.3. when Ionathan did perswade him to the contrary, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soule liveth, there is but a step betweene mee and death, so whatsoever conceit the soolish heart of man may have, that his lusts are so strong, as there is not possibility of subduing them, yet for as much as the matter is now in the hand of Christ, who hath past sentence on them, it is certaine that there is but a [Page 58]step betweene them and death.
Internall. Initiall. 2. Internall mortification is either initiall or renewed, initiall mortification it is that first worke of sanctification, whereby the force and vigor of sinne is broken, and the body of sinne hath received such a deadly wound as maketh it incurable, though a man in this case may goe as the woman did from one Physitian to another to have the issue of blood stayed, yet will it bleed still, there is no Balme from no Physitian there:Jer. 3.22. now this initiall mortification is either generall or speciall.
Initiall. Generall. Luke 15.8 1. Generall, when there is a generall blow given to every sinne when wee doe as the woman when shee had lost her money, did sweepe the house, not onely some, but every roome of it, the whole house, thus shall wee bee sure [Page 59]not to leave any sinne without the marke of death upon it, wash your hands yee sinners, James 4.8. and purifie your hearts yee double minded; that is, that man that is truely mortified, is such as is all over mortified; that is, there is no actuall sin, that stickes to his hands, nor any inward corruption that he doth allow of in his heart: The Pharisees were strict in the tradition of the washing their hands, but negligent of purging out the hypocrisie of their hearts; So likewise the curse that is annexed unto sin, and doth follow it as sure as the day doth the night, so sure will wrath follow sinne. Had we not need then to bee very much grieved for them,Matthew 15.2. and to mourne in secret untill they be slaine in us? Though Jobs afflictions were many and great,Job. 1.14. yet there is this remarkable, that there was one [Page 60]in every of these trials that escaped to come and tell him, so is it in this case with many that though there may seeme to be a great mortification of sinne, yet behold one or other doth make an escape, and comes and tels us that all is not mortified, such a man is wise and liberall, but yet hee is proud, such a one is humble and courteous, but yet hee is covetous, a third is devout and religious, and yet full of disordered passions, so that though men seeke to colour over their sinnes with never so many faire pretences, yet if it be not so indeed, somthing will escape: as shee said to Peter, Matth. 26.73. you are sure one of his Disciples, for thy speech bewrayeth thee, so something will discover them at one time or another, either pride, or their covetousnesse, or their passions; like a dead Fly [Page 61]spoyles the whole box of precious oyntment.
2. There is a speciall mortification of speciall sinnes,2. Speciall that although for sinnes of ignorance, a generall mortification will serve the turne and is acceptable to God, yet because that there is much deceit lieth in generals, wee must descend to particulars, as David saith. I know mine iniquity, Psal. 51.3. and my sinne in ever before me, is it not I that have sinned? 1. Cron. 21.17. Againe, all sinne is not of equall proportion, but some are weaker and some stronger, like the sonnes of Zerviah, and they are not unlike to that kinde of evill spirit that is not cast out but by prayer and fasting; much adoe there is to subdue them, there is some bosome sinne that is so sweet and pleasant, as it is compared to our right hand, in respect [Page 62]of the profit of it, and to our right eye, in respect of the tendernesse of it: now against this we must contend, for as long as such a speciall corruption lives in us, (like as Pharoahs thinne blasted eares of corne) it devoureth the fat ones, so will that sinne eate up all your spiritual comforts, or as Saul said concerning David, as long as the sonne of Jesse lives, the Kingdome shall not be established to you (meaning Jonathan) so I say, as long as you do not contend against your speciall sins, the Kingdom of heaven will never be established unto you, therefore labour to finde them out one by one, and having found them, pursue after them as the revenger of blood till you have slaine them, that you have may come to carry tidings of the fall of the rest.2. Renewed in case.
2. The next is renewed [Page 63]mortification,Daily incursions & fruits of sinne. that is in case that we renew our sinnes, we must renew this worke also, and this is either in regard of those daily infirmities that are the fruits of this body of sinne that is in us: or else in case of a relapse or falling fowly into some great sinne which doth waste the conscience, and therefore when wee have given unto sinne some deadly blow, wee must not then thinke that the worke is done, for it is with us, as it is when a Ship springs a leake, though they pumpe up the water, yet will it fill againe; so is it with us, there is such a corrupt fountaine as will still bee troubling of us, the same reason that may move us to say, give us this day our daily bread; may also prevaile with us, to say, forgive us this day our daily sinnes; it should bee our care every [Page 64]day to consider our wayes, and to examine our hearts, and not suffer our temples to take their rest, nor the eyes in our heads untill such time as wee have caused our daily sinnes to sleepe the long sleepe of death: beleeve it, if we would doe this wee should sleepe more quietly, live more peaceably, and dye more comfortably, this is that same wherein we may rejoyce, for by our rejoycing that wee have in Christ,1 Cor. 15.31. we dye daily; Now to mortifie sinne every day is more easie, because it doth not get that strength that it doth if it be let alone, the fire is quenched best when it is but a sparke; and a banke of the Sea is easily repaired at the first: so is it in case of sinne before this sparke of sinne ever set on fire the whole frame of nature, and before this Ocean of lusts have made [Page 65]such a large breach in our conscience, as that, which would have beene but the worke of a few houres, becomes the worke of many moneths.
2 In case of a relapse.2. In case of a relapse, or of some great sinne thath ath beene the case of divers good men, they have fallen out of one sinne into another, to the wounding of their owne conscience, to the stilling of the good motions of the holy Ghost; and to the opening of the mouths of the wicked, to blaspheme the holy name of God and that holy profession they had taken in hand; now as we see by experience a relapse into a disease is dangerous, so a revolt into sinne is very dangerous, because a man sins in that case against light, and against conscience, and gainst the good motion of the Spirit, and makes way for [Page 66]the great enemy to returne with a greater strength: now by how much the disease is more dangerous, by so much is the cure more difficult, how beit, the matter be hard, yet it is not impossible, therefore in such a case, and to that end, you must not deceive your selves; you must search out the cause wherefore this evill hath befallen you, as it was when Israel turned their backs on their enemies;Joshu. 7.8. Joshuah sought out the cause, and sound that there was one Achan, that had troubled the whole campe. So should wee never cease before wee have found out the cause; And when you have found it, say of it as (Soul did in another case) when as God answered him not;1. Sam. 14 38.39. know and see, saith he, wherein this sinne hath beene this day, for if it be Ionathan my sonne, hee shall [Page 67]surely die; so say I to you, shew no pitie on it, for sinne can shew no mercie, and therefore good reason, that it should have judgement without mercie; alas brethren lust is so deare unto some men that they will undoe themselves and their soules to enjoy that, as it was said of Iacob, Gen. 44.30. that his life was bound up in the life of Benjamin: so may I say that mens hearts are so folded up in their lust, that you may as well pull out the one as purge out the other.
CAP. VIII. Containing the second distinction
Inartifitial Imperfect. Perfect.MOrtification is either perfect or imperfect, perfect mortification is that when there is a totall abolishing of all sinne, so as there is [Page 68]nothing that doth remaine. As God is said to wipe Ierusalem as a man wipeth a dish, and turneth it up-side downe. So when as sinne shall bee so wiped out, as there is none of the venome of sinne tthat doth remain or sticke to us,2 King 21 13. but all is wiped off and utterly extinguished; but this cannot bee expected in this life, not that God cannot, but that in his wisedome hee seeth it not fit:1 Cor. 13.9 we know in part, and we prophecie in part, but wee must not looke either for an absolute perfection of holinesse, nor for a perfect freedome from sinne, untill wee put off these Tabernacles, which when they shall bee restored again at the resurrection, then shall wee bee as the Angels of God without either staine or remainder of sinne, this shall be done hereafter, but not now, for these reasons.
[Page 69] 1 Reasons why none perfect. 1. For the manifestation of the power of God, that though wee have corruption within, and fighting without, the great enemy, that casts his fiery darts at us, yet the Grace of God is sufficient for us, and his strength is made perfect in weaknesse,2 Cor 12.9 Haec praesentis vitoe tuoe perfectio ut te imperfectum agnoseas. this is our greatest perfection to see our imperfections, that so wee might glorifie God the more. It was as great a power of God, to keepe Lot in his integrity in that sinke of sinne, that City of Sodome, as it was to free him from that shower of Brimstone that fell upon it; so is it as great a power to keepe his grace in the midst of such corruption as to have free us from it, by his absolute power at the first, or to keepe a sparke in the midst of the Sea.
2. To put a difference betweene viatores and comprehensores, [Page 70]betweene such as are in their journey to the new Ierusalem that is above, and those that are Citizens there already: No man hath the Garland before the victory, nor the reward before the race be run; we must not looke for a Heaven here and another hereafter,Hic conten demus ut alibicoronemur wee contend here, that we may receive a crowne hereafter; we are not to expect that which is not promised: Nay hee hath told us that his Kingdome is not of this world.
Reason 3 3. To make us prize Heaven the more, where wee know, wee shall bee free from sinne, and desire to be dissolved the more, that so wee might be separated from this enemy that disturbes our peace, this enemy is hee that makes us, (like those Hebrewes) to hang up our Harps, and to weepe by those bankes [Page 71]of Babell, when we remember mount Sion which is above, it was Christs usuall journey from Bethany to Ierusalem, from the house of mourning, to the vision of peace: so must we mourne here, that we may rejoyce hereafter.
Reason 4 4. To let us see the fulnesse of Adams sinne, for if that we should have sinne removed as soone as we are borrne, wee should never be sensible of the greatnesse of that offence; nor of the weight, and burden of originall corruption, for if you would reason but thus with your selves; if the weight of sinne be so intolerable, and the burden so heavie to a man regenerate; that he cries out, woe is me, for I am a man of polluted lips,Es. 6.5. and dwell amongst men of polluted lips; if hee complaine, O wretched man that I am, Rom. 7.24. who shall deliver mee from [Page 72]this body of death: if we our selves groane under the burden of sinne that is upon us, what would the weight of it be if God should lay it on in the full measure, then would wee cry out as Kain, that our punishment would be greater then wee can beare; as they, by finding out the length of the Gians foote, found out the length of his whole body; so may wee by the weight of the sinne wee feele, bee able to conceive of that we feele not; and to say as Paul did,Vers. 25. God be thanked through Iesus Christ our Lord, that though in my flesh I serve the Law of sinne, yet in my mind I serve the Law of God.
Imperfect mortification is when the worke is begun but not finished, it is with us in case of mortification, as it was when the Israelites came to possesse the land of Canaan, [Page 73]God would have them cast out the inhabitants by little and little,Dent. 7.22 and not to bee consumed at once; So in this case it is not to bee expected that sinne should be consumed at once, but by little and little.
The degrees of mortification are some more temote, some more neare.For the better clearing hereof, observe two particulars, whereby you may conceive by what steps and degrees sinne is mortified. First, some of them are more remote. Secondly, some of them are naere.
Remote 1 1. For the more remote degrees of mortification, give me leave first to intreat of them, as in going downe a paire of staires you must go downe by degrees, step by step, so in bringing downe the proud heart, wee must not thinke it can be done at once, but by a kinde of graduall motion: wee say in [Page 74]Phylosophy that natura non facil saltum, that nature works successively, and makes no leapes; for it is as true in grace,2 Pet. 3.18. that it doth admit degrees.
Degree. 1 1. The first remote degree is a breaking of league with sinne, for naturally, there is a league between sinne and our soules. And they are like Simeon and Levi, brethren in evill: sinne is then pleasant unto them, and whosoever speakes against it are none of their friends; but now when wee see that sinne hath deceived our soule, and played the Iudas with us, that it hath betraied us into the hands of Sathan, and hath procured the wrath of God upon us; then we breake our friendship with it, and are sorry that we had ever any thing to doe with it,Eph. 5.11 have no fellowship with the unfruitfull workes [Page 75]of darknesse, but rather reprove them; that is, we must not have any more to doe with them. God charges the people of Israel to take heede that they marry not with the heathen,Deut. 7. for they would turne away their sonnes and daughters from serving God: So will sinne doe if you make league with it, or doe not breake from it, and so procure the heavie wrath of God upon you; it is the charge which our Saviour gives unto those that went into Babylon. Rev. 18.4 2 Cron. 19 2. Come out of Babell my people, be not partaker with her of her sinnes, that yee receive not of her plagues. It was a good speech of the sonne of the Prophet to Iehosaphat, shouldest thou helpe the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord, therefore in wrath upon you from the Lord: So there is nothing a greater enemy unto [Page 76]God, nor unto your salvation, then sinne is, therefore breake your league with it lest you procure the fierce wrath of the Lord of heaven and earth against you.
Degree. 2 2. When men professe themselves open enemies unto sinne; that is, then when they hate every false way, and when no perswasion that lust can make nor proffer that can be propounded, will prevaile with them; but they stand like a mountaine and will not be perswaded; so as those secret insinuations of their owne hearts, and those venomous blandishments of Sathan fall from them, as the Viper from Pauls hand, without any hurt or taking any strong impression upon them; where there is the greatest unity and friendship, when such fall out, there is the greatest enmity and discords; [Page 77]thence it is that Solomon saith,Prov. 18.19. that a Brother offended is as hard to winne as a strong City, and their contentions are like the barres of a Castle; so is it with this contention, because as their freindship hath beene great, so also is the contention stronger: therefore some of the Martyrs when they have beene pressed by their friends, to renounce their religion, with what indignation have they spoken, that if every haire of their head were a man,William Sparrow pascalis. they would burne them all rather then goe from the truth. And some have blessed God even that ever they came in prison, or that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ all this, out of a desire of the enjoyment of Christ, and the hatred of sinne.
Degree. 3 3. To cut off all the strength & provision that the [Page 78]flesh can make, that so we may starve the flesh out of the holds that it hath made for it self;Rom. 13.14. So the Apostle put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and made no provision, for the flesh; sure it is when men are carefull for the body, and carelesse for the soule, when they expend the greatest part of their lives and meanes in the minding of the things that pertaine to the satisfaction of the flesh, and in the prosecution of their lusts and pleasures, and say unto their soules,Luke 12.19. eate, drinke, and be merry; what doe they all this while but foster and nourish that body of death, even unto the day of slaughter; but on the other side, a man doth then make no provision for the flesh, when he lives as a Pilgrim, and as a stranger, and doth abstaine from fleshly lusts, that fight against the soule. When a [Page 79]man makes a covenant with his eyes,1 Pet. 2.11 that he will not look on a woman to lust after her, when hee shutteth his eares,Job. 31.1 and will not heare the voyce of the Charmer, charme hee never so wisely, when that he lookes to all his wayes and takes heed,Psal. 39.1. that he offend not in his tongue; in one word, that keepes his heart with all diligence,Pet. 4.23. that howsoever voluptuous and sinfull thoughts may knock at the doore, yet they may finde neither entrance nor enterrainment, when hee hardens his heart against sinne as much as Dives did, that hee would not permit Lazarus the crummes that were under his table, but suffered the Begger to dye at his doore: So when wee deny our lusts their least requests, and will not permit them the least or lowest roome in our hearts,2 King. 6.32. when we deale with [Page 80]sinne, as Elisha caused his servants that kept the doore, saith he, hold him fast, & handle him roughly, or presse him at the doore; so should we do with sin, if hee offer to make intrusion, repell him backe with a holy violence.1 Cor. 9.27. I beate downe my body, and bring my flesh in subjection, that when I have preached to others, I my selfe may not be a cast-away.
CAP. IX. Shewing those more neare degrees of mortification.
2 NOw I come to those that are more neare degrees of mortification, as you see in warre, there is many lesser assaults made before they winne the maine battell; so is it in this spirirituall contestation and contention between the law of the members, and the law of [Page 81]the minde;1 Degree. Heb. 12 4. Gal 5.17. Ʋenit avaritia & vendicat in me sibi sedem: jactantiacupit dominari mihi. Superbia vult mihi esse Rex, luxuria dicit ego regnabo, ambitto, de. tractio, invidia & iracundia certant in me ipso & de me ipso, cujus ego potissimum effe videor. Ego quantum valeo resiste, renitor quantum suvor dominum meum Iesum reclamo (& paule post) dico non habeo regem, nisidominum Iesum, veni demine, disperge illos vertute tua & regnabis in me, quia tu es ipse Rex meus. Ber. him. 4. betweene true grace and corrupt nature.
1. First is in that strong rel [...]ctancie that the spirit maketh against the flesh, so as there is very hard strugling who shall winne the victory, gravis lucta, (saith Saint Bevnard) non contra hostes, sed contra hospites, a grievous warre it is, and the greater that it is not against enemies but guests (howbeit they are in deed secret enemies.) The flesh musters up all her forces and sets them in battell aray, which as they are many in number, so are they strong and resolute, every one ambitious of a crown: but now the soule it flyeth unto Christ as a prisoner of hope, oppressed by the enemy unto his strong hold, Zach. 9.12. That as the Jewes would have no King but Caesar; so a Christian will have none to raigne over him but Christ, [Page 82]this reluctancie is the greater,in me, quia tu es ipse Rex mous. Bet. him 4. because that the object of their contention is exceeding weighty, it is as much as a mans soule is worth, it is the losing or winning of a Kingdome; it is not pro finibus not for the bounds, but pro haereditate for the inheritance, and therefore it is, that neither side will yeeld to the other: Sathan will not yeeld up his right because they once belongd to him; nor Christ will not lose his right, because hee bought them with a price; hence it is that the Kingdome of Heaven is said to suffer violence,Matth. 11.12. and the violent take it by force, there is nothing to be gotten without contention. That you may not bee mistaken in this businesse of so great consequence, give me leave to lay downe some rules to know whether your warre bee a right warre, yea [Page 83]or no; for when our.Luke 13.24. Saviour doth exhort us to strive to enter in at the straite gate, he tels us that many shall secke to enter and shall not be able, shewing that all striving will not serve your turnes: not every one that saith, Matth. 7.21. Lord Lord shall inherit the Kingdome of Heaven; thence it, is that Saint Iames tels us that we may aske and not receive because we aske amisse, and this was the reason why such as shall at the end of the world come and say, Lord, Math. 7.22. Lord, wee have prophecied in thy name, and in thy name wee have cast out Devils, and in thy name wee have done many wonderfull workes: why such I say should bee rejected because all this was not done in sincerity, and in a right manner; therefore for the clearing of it, take this rule.
1. They differ in ground, and so the quarrell: for howsoever [Page 84]that the I quarrell may be occasioned from the same generall ground in respect of the use of it,How the naturall & spirituall combate differs. namely sinne,1 In the ground. yet in speciall the one lookes at sinne as it is sinne, the other at sinne as it brings punishment after it, the one could hee escape the punishment would be glad to enjoy his finne, the other is farre more willing to suffer than to sinne: an example of the former you have in Cain, who made no great matter of his sinne, but indeed his punishment was greater than hee could beare, and for the latter you have another example of Ioseph, who notwithstanding the wanton sollicitations hee had from his Mistresse, and withall his owne unmarried condition, and being in the strength of his youthfull yeares, which is most licentious, and voluptuous, [Page 85]yet behold hee repells them all with a most chast, resolution,Gen. 39. How shall I do this great wickednesse and sinne against God? He thought not on the punishment that would follow, but on the sinne as the maine thing. It was a good speech of him that sayd it,Anselme. that hee had rather be in hell without sinnes, than in heaven with them on his conscience; and indeed what comfort could a man have in heaven, so long as he had a hell in his conscience, and on the other side, hell would be no hell to him, were his conscience faire, therefore men should not thinke that all is well, because they sind sometimes a troubled, or a trembling spirit, for the devills beleeve and tremble, and yet are their spirits stout enough, and stubborne enough against God, so,Jam 2.19. it may be in men by [Page 86]that conviction that they may have, although it may not be accompanied with any sound conversion, have you not seene many that when they have beene in some great straite (as Balaam betweene the vineyards, not knowing which way to turne himselfe) either under some sad and heavie crosse, or else under some present perill of death: poore soules! how have they quarrelled with their sinnes, and with themselves, as though they would never have had any friendship with them more: well, deliverance comes, and health comes, behold now the battell is over, they shake hands againe with their lusts, and are the same men they were; but now if there be a principle of grace in you, that makes your hearts rise against sinne, then, to say no more, goe on [Page 87]and prosper ye valient men, for God is with you.
2 They differ in respect of the seat of the combate,2 In the seate. the naturall combate is,
1 Sometimes nothing but the distemper of the body, that is the seat of the conflict; a sicke body doth occasion a distempered and sicke minde; is it not strange to see, what strange effects, that distemper of melancholy doth produce, what feares and terrours have they felt at sometimes, as though they had beene scorched in the flames of hell, what joyes, and exultations they have made at another time, as though they had beene rapt up into the third heaven, what conflicts they have supposed they have passed through, yet all is nothing, but the production of a distempered body deeply affected with melancholy? Now [Page 88]this differs from the true combate.
1 First, they differ as much as the shadow and the substance one from another: that combate betweene the flesh and the spirit is really true, but that is but imaginary, like as you see upon the stage, one is a King, another is a Judge, another a souldier, which when the action is over, they are no such men; so is it in this case, all this combate is but a meere shew.
2 In a true combate there are some scarres, some thing that stickes to him after the battell, and some booty is carried away as a testimony of his valour, so a Christian that hath got some ground against his enemy, hee hath got some strength against his lusts, as it was said of the house of David and Saul, that Davids house did increase, and [Page 89] Sauls decrease; so is it here, grace it gaines something at every combate, now after the combate is over, the melancholy person is as he was, there is no alteration, if hee was prophane before, so hee is still, or if hee was civill before, he is civill still.
3 They differ in their cure, a distempered body is cured with physicke, good ayre and temperate diet, but who is hee that can cure a sicke, and distempered soule, not all the Physitians in the world. Nay, let mee speake a bold word; not all the Angels in heaven, are able by all their wisdome to helpe a wounded spirit; it must be no lesse than the blood of the Lamb of God, that takes away sin, and heales a sicke distressed & destempered soule.
2 Againe the seate of this warre is sometimes among the passions,Num. 13.32. so as one standeth in [Page 90]opposition to another, Nay as the spyes that went to view the land of Canaan; said unto Moses, that the land they went to search was a land that did eate up the inhabitants of it, so it is with our lusts, one lust is so predominant, that it eates up another as you have an example in Herod, who being ambitious, did favour Iohn, Mark. 6. Euseb. lib. 8. cap. 17. because hee look't at the applause of the people (for all held Iohn as a Prophet) yet such was his lust to Herodias, Libido potias quam iracundia tenebat imperium, & paulo post dicit author, quod Christiana continentia neque morte, neque pecunia expugnari potest. that for her sake, hee cast him into prison, and afterwards cut off his head. So it is sayd of Maxontius, that as hee was cruell, so was he incontinent, and sometime his lust of incontinencie prevailed against that of cruelty, as instance is given in a Christian Virgin whom hee had attempted to have defiled, in which case, sayth my Author, that his [Page 91]incontinencie got the victory of his fury; but now this warre is not a warre amongst them, but against them all; as they that are Christs doe crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts:Gal. 5.24. and the truth is, that, when as a man doth suffer his lust to rule, is as if a man should suffer his feete to guide his head, or the handmaid to rule over the mistresse; so is it in this case, for our passion should be guided by reason, and reason rectified by the spirit, and then things would goe in a right order, therefore our Apostle doth shew that the flesh lusts against the spirit, not that the flesh lusts against the flesh, for though the lusts of the flesh may be at discord one with another, it is but like that which was betweene Pilate and Herod, which albeit there was some contention [Page 92]betweene them,Luk. 23.12. yet they both joyned together against Christ; so that howsoever it be, that one lust may in some cases overthrow another, yet they will all conspire against Christ.
CAP. XI. Showing certaine other differences that are betweene them in this relactancie of the flesh against the spirit.
3 In the time. 3 THirdly, they differ in the time of their combate, the naturall combate ofttimes comes as soone as reason can make a difference betweene good and bad; and it is that which may be in a very heathen,Ro. 2.15. for the Gentiles that had no law to goe by, besides that which was written in their hearts, yet by that, were a law to themselves, their consciences [Page 93]either excusing, on accusing of them, now conscience according to that light that it hath, is alway at hand to contend against the workes of sinne, and that fleshly appetite that is in us, howbeit, conscience may trouble us, yet it is commonly for greater sinnes, and not for lesser, as Pharaoh for his great cruelty confesseth, I have sinned: and so we read did Nero, and others; but now for lesser, them they easily passe over. Saint Paul cryes out of the body of sinne, that was within him: and David of the cutting off Sauls garment, his heart smote him for that, but in this case the naturall conscience hath little to say, because it knowes little, therefore Saint Paul saith,Rom. 7.7. I had not knowne lust, except the Law had said, thou shalt not lust; that is, his naturall conscience did [Page 94]not discover it unto him, but it was given him by a higher, and a clearer light. Our Saviour Christ sheweth that while the strong man keepes the house, all that a man possesseth is in peace, but when a stronger than hee commeth then hee begins the combate; so long as a man is in the state of nature the prince of the aire rules in his heart, and hath quiet possession: for although there may be a contention (as hath beene shewed) among the passions and lusts, yet so as there is no hinderance to Sathan by that at all, for the lesser footing hee hath in one lust, the stronger hee is in another, as it is among a company of gamesters, looke what one loseth another winnes, and suppose that they should be all losers, yet the house where they game would be a gainer; so is it [Page 95]here, that as long as there is no other strife, but amongst themselves, men are still as bad or worse than they were, and Sathan that keepes, the house gaine [...] by them.
Againe; suppose wee some strange man should come into this gaming house, and should take away their money, and burne the dice, and cause the house to be pulled downe, and bind the strong man, and lay him in prison; would not this breed hot blood, and occasion strife? So it is in this case, for when the spirit comes then it comes with such might as beares downe all before it, and overthroweth the strong holds of Sathan, and every high thought that doth exalt it selfe against God: by what as hath beene said, you may easily see how this naturall combate differs from the spirituall, [Page 96]in regard of the time.
4 In the end. 4 They differ in their ends that they have in their combate, there are three ends for which a man doth undertake warre: namely, peace, honour, and terrour: first, this warre is undertaken for peace sake, both peace of conscience, and peace with God, now howsoever a wicked man may seeme to humble himselfe for his sinne, and to make up his peace with God, yet it is but like those truces that are made in the warres for some short time, for some private reasons knowne to themselves, so is it in this case,1 King. 21.29. Ahab when hee heard what God had threatned, hee rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly, now here was a truce made betweene God and Ahab, but no reconciliation, Seest thou not [Page 97](saith God) how Ahab humbleth himselfe before mee. I will not bring the evill in his daies, but in his sonnes dayes will I bring this evill upon his house, so that the judgement is not taken away but deferred: but now this spirituall warfare doth aime at peace and ends in it, there is no affliction that is pleasant for the present, but grievous;Heb. 12.11. neverthelesse it bringeth forth the peaceable fruite of righteousnesse, though this burthen be heavy, yet is it the way to ease, and as after a toilsome labour comes the quietest rest, so after this warre, the most settled peace,1 King. 19.11. &c. as it was in that vision that Eliah saw. First came a strong winde that rent the mountaines and brake the rockes in pieces, after this an earthquake, and after this a fire, and after all, a still voyce; so it is with a Christian, that [Page 98]after many tumults, and garboiles in the soule, between these two enemies (the flesh and the spirit) comes the still voyce with joy and peace.
2 Another end is honour, a man that is a good souldier under Christs banner doth endeavour to fight manfully, that he may honour his cause, and his captaine, and good reason, the cause is just: for it is for the defence of Christs right in our soules, and we never had a better Captaine than Christ is,Rev. 6.1. who rides on conquering, and to conquer, who hath led captivity captive, and a prince, against whom there is no rising: but on the other side in that seeming warre that there is to be found in wicked men,Mat. 6.16. they chiefly aime at their owne praise, as they, in their private fasting and workes of mortification, disfigured their faces, [Page 99]and were of sad countenances, and all this is to be seene of men; but God knew their hearts to be farre otherwise, or at the best, the chiefe and that a wicked man hath in any trouble or contention against any sinne it is himselfe; either for the preservation of himselfe, or for his owne advantage: and the reason is, because as the man is, so are his ends, if a man be flesh, then his ends cannot but smell of the flesh.
3 The last end of this holy warre is terrour and feare; a man warres to that end that thee may put the enemy into such a feare, that hee will be afraid to offend any more: so a man in this spirituall warfare, when the heart is once smitten, hath true remorse for sinne, hee will be afraid to sin againe, as you have examples of David and Peter, a hundred [Page 100] Bathsheba's would not have allured David to have fallen into that sinne againe; the voyce of a silly damsell made Saint Peter to deny his master, but after he felt the smart of it, and had repented of it, hee was not ashamed of his master, no not before Princes and Judges of the world: on the other side, a man that is not sound at the heart, though his mind may be at present troubled and tremble in respect of some foule and great sinne, that stares him in the face, and lyeth heavie upon his conscience, yet doth it worke no change in him, but after the tempest is over,2 Pet. 2.22. hee turnes with the dogge to his vomit, and with the sow to his wallowing in the mire, with as fresh,Prov 23.34, 35. and as free an appetite, as ever hee did unto his sinne. Solomon compares such a man to one that lyeth [Page 101]on the top of a mast in the midst of the sea, and saith they have smitten mee, but I felt it not, thy have beaten mee, but I was not sicke, and therefore when I awake, I will seeke it againe.
5 They differ in their event:5 In the event. this warre that is betweene the flesh and the spirit, alwaies ends in a victoriour conquest, over all the enemies of it, as they say of truth, Magna est veritas, 2 Cor. 12.9. & praevalebit, so may I say of grace, great is the power of it, and it will prevaile. Paul was not without this buffeting of Satan, and behold the grace of God was sufficient for him to enable him to beare out the quarrell against his enemy. And further hee saith, When I am weake then am I strong; it is with a Christian in this case, as it was wi [...]h Rebeccah, when she had two twinnes strove [Page 102]in her wombe, shee comes to the Lord and saith, Lord why am J thus? the Lord makes this answer, two nations are in thy wombe, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels, and the one people, shall be stronger than the other; Gen. 25.22.23. and the elder shall serve the yonger, so it is in this case, here are two nations that strive within us, the old and the new man, and they are contrary one to another, yet this is your comfort, the elder shall serve the yonger, the new commer shall cast out the old inhabitant; Now who would not take that side on which he is sure to conquer? Then must you joyne with the spirit against the flesh; & though you may be foyled, yet you shall never be conquered, for if God be with us who shall or can stand against us? Hee that is with us is greater than hee [Page 103]that is against us, it is reported of Cesar, and Antony, that they were wont often to wrastle together, and though Antony was the stronger man, yet Cesar alwaies gave him the fall; the reason being demanded why it should be so, the answer was made; because Cesar was guided by a better Genius: so if you demand whence it is that such strong and potent lusts, do all fall downe before us, and none of them able to stand; I answer,1 Joh. 4.4. it is because wee have a better Genius, greater is hee that is with us, than hee that is in the world; on the other side, all the warre of a wicked man, it never brings any thing to passe: they are like the children of Ephraim that went out harnished, and carried bowes, yet turned againe in the day of battell:Psal. 78.9. what show soever there may be of goodnesse [Page 104]in us, yet if it be not in truth, it will not hold in the fiery tryall.
CAP. XII. Shewing further the difference of this combate by the weapons of it, which is cleared by two propositions.
6 THe next thing wherein they differ in this conflict is in their weapons,2 Cor. 10 4. the weapons of our warfare are not carnall but spirituall, so that looke what difference, there is betweene a carnall and a spirituall man, so much difference is there betweene a carnall and spirituall weapon: if yee should see men goe to warres, and instead of warlike munition one should carry a shovell, and another a mattocke, and others should carry [Page 105]instruments for the ploughing, and tillage of the ground, you would either suppose that the enemy were weake, and contemptible, or else account them but as fooles or madde men, that would undertake such a businesse, being so ill furnished for it. In like manner, may we account them as foolish and unwise, that undertake a spirituall warfare with carnall weapons, more especially against so potent an enemy, but that you may the better understand the meaning of the Apostle; observe, first that carnall weapons will not serve your turne. Secondly, that spirituall weapons will prevaile, afore the former.
Proposi∣tion. 1 1 It is not the maceration and mangling of the body that will do this, such as the Priests of Baal of old,1 King. 18.28. that out of their blind devotion did lance themselves till the [Page 106]blood gushed out,Damones delectantur in sacrificiis de sanguine hominum, qui est nobilissima creatura ad imaginē Dei facta, & ideo in talibus solent dare responsa. not unlike to these were the Pharisees that did disguise their faces. Matth. 6.16. and those Fratres flagellantes, among the Papists, that have farre more blind devotion than true discretion, who thinke by this means,Lyra in locum. not onely to mortifie their flesh,Res ista fidem facit a Romanis superis institutum esse acceptum quod illi super talia ludicra celebrantes nudi per urbem incedebant, a [...] lavati flagellis obvios cadebant. Pol. Vir. 7. lib. cap. 6. but also to merit salvation; notwithstanding it was but an old custome taken from the ancient Heathens; neither by going on pilgrimage, and wearing sacke-cloth on our loynes, or a profession of wilfull poverty: all these are but like so many outward medicines, wich will be unable to cure an inward disease, this is but, as it were, to apply a plaster to the head, when your griefe lyeth at the heart, Bodily exercise profiteth little, but godlinesse is profitable unto all things; and suppose that there were some vertue in some of [Page 107]these things to take down and tame the flesh, yet can we not suppose that they should have any efficacie on the soule being they are no spirituall weapons, neither doth the Lord require them at our hands.
2 It is not a restraint from sinne that will serve our turnes, such a restraint may arise from good education, and living in good families, or out of the goodnesse of naturall temper, which is not so prone to rush into vice, as others are; or for the better accomplishment of a mans owne ends of profit or credit: now all this keepes but a man from the outward acts of sinne, yet he may be as bad or worse within every day than others; as wee see some men that are forbidden to worke at their trades outwardly, yet will they worke harde at them within still, so it is in this case, [Page 108]that though it be so, that hee may not without some disadvantage suffer sinne to breake out, yet doth he worke within, and follow the trade of sinne there. If that a Poole do engender snakes and venomous creatures, when it runnes and the water issueth from it, much more will it produce the like effects, when it is dammed up, and stands: In like manner, if sinne be but restrained, and no more, lust breedes as fruitfully, and workes as hard within, as ever it did.
2 Againe, when sinne breakes out, it is the more violent after a restraint, as you see it was with Absalon, and Achitophel, for all their faire pretences, that they made before of equity and piety, yet when they brake out, how foule was their sinne: as it is with such, as are cast into [Page 109]prison for the stealing of some small trifles, after they have continued there sometime among the rest, they grow so skillfull, that they come out, tenne times worse than they went in. In like manner, a man that hath nothing but this restraint, when he doth breake out, is farre worse than hee was before: but true grace now doth not onely restraine from sinne,Ioh. 7.17. but doth purge it out, so sinne is not bridled, but broken to peeces, and not a restraint, but a reall chang from sin to God.Act. 5.4.
3 It is not enough to have good desires, and good purposes of mortification unlesse they be put in practise, you know that muskets and swords and pikes, and other warlike instruments, will not serve our turnes, if wee let them hang up in a roome, unlesse wee make use of [Page 110]them: in the day of battell so no, nor will our good desires, unlesse they be improved: Some they have good purposes and desires, but they are but slothfull desires. Balaam desires to die the death of the righteous, but he doth not put his endeavour to it, many have good wishes, and faire pretences, and make large promises of better obedience, and that is all; they may well be said to beare the sluggards motto, which is this, hee sits in his chaire with his feet by the fire, and his hands in his pockets, saying, Vtinam hoc esset laborare, O that this were to labour, so it is with many, that if good words, and good wishes would do it, they would be as good Christians as the best; but now whē it comes to any difficulty here they stay.
2 They are but childish desires; such as are very earnest [Page 111]after God, and very strongly bent against lust, but it is for a little while, till some bait be laid in the way, and then they fall to sinne againe, as a child doth, sometimes you shall heare it complaine, and cry for the brest, but give it but a key or a ball, and it is quiet againe: so when men seeme to have some more than ordinary desire to this worke, if that a key of some profit, or a ball of some pleasure be cast in their way, they are straight taken off from this worke, and all afresh to their lusts, and to their sinnes againe: farre are these from right purposes, and sound resolutions, which are begunne upon good deliberation.Luk. 14.31. Like that King going to warre, thinketh whether hee can be able with tenne thousand to meete him that commeth against him [Page 112]with twenty thousand; and it is continued with undaunted resolutions,Heb. 12.4. strugling, and striving against sinne, and ends with unspeakeable comfort unto the soule, that we contend for an incorruptible crowne that abides for us in the heavens.1 Cor. 25.
4 It is not enough to have a forme of godlinesse, to have some appearance of this conflict, suppose wee a man that is gotten into a way of piety, and useth those waies and means that are appointed for that end, that sinne may be mortified; suppose it be hearing the word, prayer, and fasting, abstinence from grosse sinnes, and the society of those that are righteous and good men, so the meanes are good, but he spoyles them in the managing of them, as it was said of Amazia, 2 Cro. 25.2 that hee did that which was right in the [Page 113]sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart: so in this case, the things that they doe are good for the matter; but for the manner,Mal. 2.3. it is done with such cold and superficiall devotion, that God saith hee will spread dung on their face, even the dung of their solemne feasts; yea,Prov. 15.8, Es. 66.3. Jer. 6.20. Amos 5.21 best things being abused become the worst, and God doth much abhorre them, when they are not one in sincerity, therefore it is that the prayer of the wicked is abominable, and all the splendid and fairest actions he doth, are but guilded and painted vices; That is the right circumcision,Rom. 2. ult. which is the circumcision of the heart.
2. Propos. Eph. 6.13. 2. The next proposition is that spirituall weapons will prevaile unto this worke of mortification; it is a good exhortation [Page 114]you on the whole armour of God: furnish the head, with the helmet of hope, have your brest garded with the brest-plate of righteousnesse, and your loynes girt about with truth, in your right hand the sword of the spirit, and in your left the shield of faith, and your feete shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace: and as so many Centinels, you must adde hereunto prayer in your spirit, watchfulnesse over your owne hearts, and perseverance in so doing all your dayes. I should be tedious if I should handle these at large, and shew you the vigor and vertue of every one of these peeces of spirituall armour; I shall therefore speake so much of them, as may concerne our present purpose, to put a difference between these and all carnall weapons.How spirituall and carnall weapons differ They differ in respect of their Author, viz. [Page 115]it is called the armour of God; these are wea [...]ons that were fashioned in Heaven so as they are heavenly, both for the matter and forme,1 Sam. 21.9 that as David said of the sword of Goliah, that there was none to it; so may I say of these, that there is none equall to them for the depressing of high thoughts, and the pulling downe and demolishing the strong holds of sinne other weapons are such as are made by the flesh and Sathan together, and cannot bee able to cut any sinne; for if that the flesh and Sathan should be divided against themselves, how should their Kingdome stand: if that Sathan doe depart from a man, for some small time, it is but as a man that leasses his house, when he takes a journey, but yet retaines his right and property in it still,Mat. 12.48 that so at his pleasure [Page 116]he [...]y returne, and then makes [...] later end of that man worse then the beginning was.
[...] Malum [...]ritur ex defectualicuius causa, sed benum non nist ex causis int [...]gris. 2. They differ in respect of their compleatnesse; for this armour of God is called the whole armour, or compleate armor of God. They say in the Schooles: that evill may arise from the defect of any one cause, but to make an action truely good, it must have all the causes entire; so it is in this case,2 King. 22.34. to have your hearts truely mortified, and this spirituall warfare to prosper in your hands, you must have this compleate armour; Ahab was smitten with an arrow betweene the joynts of his harnesse. Now if Ahab was smitten with his compleate harnesse on, much more may this cunning enemy smite and wound our soules,Judg. 20.16. when wee are not armed with every [Page 117]peece of this spirituall armour. Hee is as cunning as those left handed Benjamites, that could sling stones at an haires breadth, and not misse; how did this fiery dart of Sathan stick in Pauls flesh; how did his envenomed arrowes waste the spirits of holy Job, that had they not been fortified with this armour of proofe, they had not been able to have stood on the other side; though an unregenerate man may pretend he hath a good hope in God,Heb. 11.1. yet wants hee faith as the ground; and if he say he hath a good faith, yet wants he the sword of the spirit, the word of God; and so is an ignorant man,1 Cor. 2.12. and knowes not the things of God; or if he have the word of God, yet wants hee the brest-plate of righteousnesse, and the girdle of truth and sincerity; there is [Page 118]ever something that is wanting; and hence it is, that they are not able to stand in the time of tryall, but are made such vassals, and led captive by him, to the dishonour of God and their owne just condemnation; therefore the exhortation that the Apostle useth shall be that of mine. Finally Brethren, Eph. 6.12. put on the whole armour of God, that you may bee able to stand in the evill day.
3. It is armour for the fore-parts, to shew that so long as wee stand to it, and fight out our good fight wee are safe enough, all shall prosper in our hands; but if wee turne our backes on our enemie, then is it that wee are wounded and everthrowne.Josh. 7.8. It was the complaint of Ioshuah, O Lord what shall I say when Israel turnes their backe before their enemies; But alas! what shall wer say, [Page 119]when a man that hath this spirituall furniture on him, the feare and dread whereof, were able to put an ordinary enemy to slight, the shield of faith being able to quench his fiery darts, and the sword of the spirit able to give him such a strong repulse, as that he is not able to stand before it: submit your selves therefore to God,James 4.7. and resist the Devill and hee will fly from you. It is reported of the Crocodile, that if so be that you flee from him, hee will follow after you, and teare you in peeces; but if you stand to him and feare him not, but contend with him, hee will flee from you. Beleeve it brethren there is noe way to this, to withstand and resist Sathan and the flesh; for if you turne your backes on him, seeing you have no armour for behinde, you will never [Page 120]be able to hold out long, but will become a prey unto him; and therefore if you bee in a roome at prayer, or about any holy duty, as reading the Scripture, or any devout meditation, if there Sathan shall present himselfe when wee are best imployed, feare him not, neither quit your place for feare of him, let him not gaine that advantage of you, neither give place to the Devill, for greater is hee that is with you then hee that is against you:Exod. 17. As it was with the Israelites, so long as Moses held up his hands, Israel did prevaile,An quia fugisti ex acie putas to manus hostium evasisse libentius te cons [...]quitur fugientem quam sustineat repugnantem. Ber. Ep. but when hee held them downe the Amaleckes did prevaile: so while you seeke the Lord, and resist Sathan, you shall prevaile, but if you hang downe your hands and turne your backs against him, the Lord will leave you and deliver you up into his hands. [Page 121]Therefore be you ever ready to resist Sathan as he is tempting.
CAP. XIII. The second degree of mortification which is more neare, is a broken and contrite heart.
THe second and more near degree of mortification is a bleeding and contrite heart. It is called the sacrifice of God, or a broken spirit,Psal. 51.17 a broken and a contrite heart O Lord thou wilt not despise; all sacrifices are included in this broken heart,Psal. 57.16 the highest; heavens and the lowest heart, are the two houses where the Lord will take up his speciall habitation; the Lord saith of the contrite heart, [...]s. 66.2. this is my house, here will I dwell to revive the spirit of the humble. [Page 122]Here I shall observe two maine things,
- The nature and necessity of contrition.1. The nature of this contrition and brokennesse of heart.
- 2. The necessity of it.
First, consider the nature of contrition, and a broken heart for sinne. This consists in foure things.
The nature of it, and first godly sorrow. 1. A godly sorrow and true remorse for sinne, a melting and tender heart,2 Cro. 34.27. which of all hearts is the best, that when as we shall heare the word, it will affect our hearts as the heart of Josiah was; or when we commit any sin, our hearts,1 Sam. 24.5. like that of David, will smite us speedily; or when we see men dishonour God, or breake his law,Psal. 119.136. our eyes doe breake out with rivers of teares;Jer. 9.1. or at least desire that our heads were Wels of water, and our eyes were fountaines of teares. Or when [Page 123]wee want any good thing at the hands of our God, that wee finde the good spirit of God helping our infirmities with sighes and groanes, such a [...] cannot be expressed,Rom. 8.26. crying Abba Father! and when wee see our owne deformities and the plague of our owne hearts.1 King. 8.38. We doe bemoane our selves as Ephraim did, and smite our hands on our hearts and say, Lord! Jer. 31.18. what have I done, woe is me, I am a man of polluted lips, and dwell amongst men of polluted lips: Es. 6.5 [...] and indeed, as one hath well observed; hee that doth not bewaile his sinnes, doth not perceive the wounds that sume hath made in his soule.
Qui non planges p [...] oa [...]a, non souti [...] vulnera, n [...]e anims lect [...]nem. Ber. 1. For the quantity of godly sorrow, how grea [...] it must be; for the softer the heart is made by sorrow, the more fit it is to bee cast into what fashion God would have [Page 124]it;2 Cor. 7.10 11, 12, 13. as the Fur [...] takes away the drosse from the silver, so doth godly sorrow worke strange effects in the soule. Now although wee cannot se [...] unto you [...]ow deepe [...] should b [...]e, [...] [...]eith [...]r [...]ea [...] wee say, as [...]od doth to the Sea, [...]ither to shall you goe and no f [...]ther; [...] yet may wee set downe some things in generall, which will be very necessary for [...] to know. [...]a [...]. 10.12. A [...] first it must be as gr [...]ut as worldly sorrow;2 Cor. 35, 24 yea, as the greatest worldly sorrow, therefore it is compared to the bitter lamentation that is for an on [...]ly childe, and for a ma [...]s first horne, and like that healty mourning that there was for Josiah in the valley of Megido [...]. Now look how you have se [...]ne at any time a disconsolate Father bewaile the losse of his sonne, [...] David did for Absalon in that [...] [Page 125]complaint of his; O Absolon my sonne, my sonne, or a distressed Mother mourning like R [...]hel for her children, because they were not. Even such should be our sorrow for our sinnes, that our sinnes have so deeply offended God. Therefore it is prophesied,Ezek. 7,16 that they shall bee on the mountaines, like Doves of the vallies, every one mourning for his iniquity. Now whereas some poore soule may bee troubled at this, and say; Alas! I never found any such affection in the for sinne, as I have found for such a losse; therefore wee must distinguish betweene dolor sensitiv [...] & dolor apr [...]iativus; in respect of sense, the body & passions may be more troubled at an outward los [...]s; because the object is more sensible; and yet sorrow for sinne may be greater in respect of the price and worth of it: [Page 126]shallow waters often make the greatest noyse, whereas the deepe waters runne the more still:Acts 2.37. so it is here, this sensitive sorrow makes more noise, and yet this sorrow for sinne goes neerer to the heart,Jer. 4.3. and takes deeper impression: there sometimes an aking tooth, or some outward griefe doth vex and trouble a man more, then a burning Feaver on the Consumption of the lungs, and yet the later is far more dangerous then the former; because, the disease seaseth on the more noble parts: so it is in this case, godly sorrow keeping within the bounds of reason, though it may be more secret, yet it is more sound, and every way as great or greater then the other.
2. Consider of sorrow, either intensive or extensive, either in respect of the present [Page 127]force and intention of it, and so worldly sorrow may be greater; or else in respect of the constant duration, and extent of it, and so godly sorrow is greater; water that is dammed up in a pond, if you set open the water-gate, it will runne more for a short time, then the spring that feeds and filleth it; so may worldly sorrow runne faster for a present gush, and yet not comparable to the other in respect of continuance: a pregnant example hereof wee have in David, how did hee bewaile the immature and untimely death of his sonne Absalon. O Absalon my sonne, my sonne, this was heavie for the present, and yet his sinne that he had committed was heavier unto him in respect of continuance, and therefore he saith, that his sinne was ever before him, Psal. 51. he doth not say so of the [Page 128]losse of Absalon; when Moses had smitten the Rocke, the people dranke of the Rocke, it followed them. It is thought by Divines that this water followed them through the wildernesse till they came where there was plenty of water: so if our hearts bee truely smitten with the rod of Gods word, this sorrow will continue till we attaine to the vision of peace.
2. Our sorrow must bee according to our apprehension, and the greater that wee apprehend our sinnes to bee, the greater should bee the proportion of our sorrow for them; David had greatly sinned,Psal. 3 2.4. and therefore when he came to the sight of it, he did wash his bed, and water his couch with teares, and his moisture was turned into the drought of Summer, and when Peter had greatly offended; [Page 129] bee went out and wept bitterly. A great wound must have a large plaister, and a strong disease must have a strong potion; so forasmuch as sorrow is the meanes to cure sin, and acceptable to God above all sacrifices; where sinne hath been great, the sorrow should bee great also, neither are [...]sser sinnes to be neglected,Peccatum quod non pae [...]itentia dilus, tipsop [...]ndere in aliud peccatum trahit. Greg. [...]or there is no sinne so little, but if it bee knowne, it must bee repented of; for if it be not grieved for; then it will grow, yea, and bring Gods judgement on us too: did not Eve bring all that misery on her selfe and us, by eating of an Apple, and was not Lots wise turned into a Pillar of Salt, for a look backe unto her City: did not Vzzah lose his life by onely touching the Arke of God: nimis offici [...]sa seduli [...]as, for too much diligence,2 Sam. 6.6. as it were, therefore make not any [Page 130]sinne small, but bewaile and leave them. If it shall be said that there are many sinnes a man cannot know, or if they be knowne, yet peradventure we doe not conceive of them as we ought: for answer hereunto; first, if that ignorance be not affected ignorance, but after a sort invincible, because using all good meanes to know it and yet it is not cleere to him, in this case bewailing his knowne and unknowne sinnes will suffice; and secondly, for the other I answer, that wee must know that how great soever we can conceive our sinnes to bee so great they are and greater; according to thy feare,Ps. 90.11. so is thy wrath, that is, what feare you can conceive of Gods displeasure for sinne, so it is; that if your apprehension would swell higher, you would still apprehend sinne to bee fouler [Page 131]and more ugly and odious in the sight of God: and therefore measure out your sorrow according to t [...] he hither proportion rather then otherwise; If it bee said how may this proportion be found out: to this I answer that then there is some proportion when as wee are as deeply affected with sorrow for sinne as wee were raised and taken with the pleasure wee had in sin, as it was said of the seven yeeres of plenty that was in the land of Egypt, Gen. 41.31 that it should be forgotten by reason of the famine that was at the heeles of it; so all the pleasure that a man hath taken in sinne is forgotten in regard of the griefe and sorrow of heart that we feele, nay when hee takes as much pleasure now in mortification of sinne, and his mourning for sinne; as he tooke pleasure in sin it selfe; [Page 132]nay he counts it all joy when he fals into troubles as these are, because that hee knew after his sowing in teares, hee shall reape in joy, semper dolet, & de dolere gandet, Ber. whereas his former pleasures would have beene the occasion of his future woe and misery,Audacior qui cum uno peccato dermit, quam qui cum septem hostibus Aug. therefore that speech was very good of him that said it, that he was a more bold man that durst sleepe with one sinne (unrepented of) then with seven enemies.
2. The nature of true sorrow may bee discerned in the qualities and properties of it: as,
1. Is that that makes men looke about them, it makes them to seeke for helpe, as those that were pricked in their hearts, they said, men and brethren what shall we doe to be saved; Acts 2.37. as it was with those Lepers that lay at [Page 133]the gate of Samaria, 2. King. 7.3 How was S. Aug. weakned after his heart was broken for sin, how doth hee seeke out for help, he goes to Alipius his friend, hee goes up & downe and cannot bee freed withal his great words against himselfe, quibus sententiarums verberibus me flagitavi. Yet never was at rest, but dryed out, quam diu, quam diu, cras, cras quare non modo quare non hac hora sini sturpitudinis mea? &c. Aug. Lib. 8. when there was famine within, and foode without, but in the Campe of the enemies, these men are now in a sad condition, if they stay there or tu [...]e into the City they die of the famine; if they betake themselves into the Campe of the enemy, it may bee they may live, it may bee not; yet in a case of this nature, there is more wisedome to cast themselves upon a way wherein there is most hopes, and so they saved their lives by it, and are the messengers of good newes to all the City: It is just thus with a broken heart and a sorrowfull spirit sometimes. If I turne backe to my former condition, then I shall but adde sinne unto sin; if I stay here, and remaine in this condition, then shall I certainely perish, and therefore though as yet I know not [Page 134]whether God will have mercie on mee, and hold out his golden Septer unto such a vile sinner as I am, yet will I goe venture my selfe, and if I perish I perish; beleeve it, if you seeke thus you shall finde; if you knocke thus it shall bee opened unto you; for if there be any hope in a mercilesse enemy,Matth. 7. there is more hope in a mercifull God: on the other side security is a certain signe of impenitencie and of an unmortified nature;1 Thes. 5.3. men are never nearer danger, then when they are most secure; while they cry peace,Jer. 48.11 Luke 17.27.28. and are settled on their lees, dreading of no danger, then comes it upon them: but now that which makes a man mourne for sinne puts him upon use of all good meanes to destroy this enemy and to favour no sinne, though it bee never so deare unto us, that we may follow the counsell [Page 135]of our Saviour; that if our right hand doe offend us wee must cut it off and cast it from us; yea, and wee must spare nothing that wee may spare our soules.
Nulli parcas ut soli parcas animae crudelitas illa pietas. Heir. 2. This sorrow turnes all other sorrow into its owne nature, as all the fresh rivers, though they runne with forcible, and strong currents into the Sea, yet when they come there they are immediately turned into Salt; so is it in this case, all other sorrowes when they fall on a sanctified and a broken heart for sin, he can turne them all into this channell, and here they all change their qualities: suppose hee finde losses in his estate by some bad servant or bad debtor or any casualty by Sea or Land; the broken heart is not so much troubled at the losse it selfe, nor at the persons that might occasion it as [Page 136]at his sinne which might bee the ground of it, and so it was with David when Shimei cursed [...]im,2 Sem. 16.10. behold he looked at himselfe, and a [...] his sin, and humbled himselfe before God, because he knew that the Lord had sent him; so we see it was with Job, that when Sathans malice was made manifest to the ful, yet so as Iob looks hither, & in conclusion saith, God gives and God takes; whereas if he had looked lower, hee might have said, God hath given, and the Devill hath taken, but the humble spirit desires not to bee troubled with what the Devill or man can doe unto him, because he knowes that they are but instruments and rods in Gods hand to correct his children withall; therefore he falleth downe before God, and kisseth his rod, and cals upon his name; and then the [Page 137]Lord harkens, and heares, and puts his teares into his bottle, and in his good time will heale his soule. In one word, as it is said of the Philosophers stone, that what metall soever it toucheth, it turnes it into gold, so is it with this sorrow that what crosse or disaster soever it doth meete withall it makes it an occasion to worke in him godly sorrow to repentance, never to be repented of.
3. It mends all, it make up all breaches,Esa. 1.16.18. wash you, make you cleane, take away the evill of your doing, (which is done by this worke of mortification and mourning for sinne; and then saith God, let us reason together, and then though your sinnes were as red as crimson, I will make them as white as wooll (herein is the excellencie of godly sorrow) if you have losses in your estate or [Page 138]crosses by your children, or injuries by evill men, you may fit downe and sorrow till you can weepe no more; but now halfe of this, were it godly sorrow, though your sinnes be as blacke as hell, yet God will make them as white as snow; if a man bee old the skill of all the Physitians cannot make him young againe; but a man that is truely humbled for sinne, the Lord Christ redeemes his life from death,Ʋerus penitens simper est in labore & dolere delet de prateritis; laborat pro futuris cavendis. Ber. and renewes his youth like the Eagles, that as they report of the Eagle, that when shee growes old and cannot eate for the length of her bill, with much adoe shee gets it broken, and then fals to her meate as if she were young againe; so it is in this case when wee have cast away all our abominations and our doings that were not good, though with much adoe, then [Page 139]shall we renew our lives as the Eagle, and be made fit to sit among Christs guests, at the marriage feast when he makes us a feast of fat things,Isa. 25.6. and wine when the lees are well refined.
3. The third thing in this sorrow is how long it should continue, to this we answer; that as we sinne daily, so wee must sorrow daily, and because all sinne is not of one magnitude or proportion, therefore it doth admit of degrees, but if we speake of initiall mortification, which is the thing chiefely in hand, the first work that is begunne in the soule: then I say,
1. Wee must mourne till the generall frame of sinne be dissolved, till the regiments of sinne be taken downe:Judg. 14.17. Sampsons wise did never cease weeping untill shee knew his riddle; so should wee never [Page 140]cease till we know-that our sinnes are dissolved and purged out: Alasse! what comfort can a man receive so long as hee remaines a slave to his hust,2 Sam. 12 20. and is under the Prince of darkenesse, but now sinne is slaine in us, and dead in us; then we doe as David did when his child was dead, hee then at oft from the earth, and wa [...]nt and ano [...]hed him [...]lfe, and changed his apparell, and came into, the house of the Lord, and worshipped, and then came into his own house and are bread, when we find that this child that wee have begotten by our sinne, is dead, we should doe the like, then cheare up your hearts and worship God that hath given you victory against it. It was comfortable neves that was brought by the Angel unto Ioseph. Mat. 2.20. Returne into the land Israel, for they are dead that [Page 141]sought the young childs life, so say [...] it will be a great stay to our soules, to heare that the body of death is dead within us, that sought how to destroy our soules.
2. We must mourne till he that hath wounded us shall come and heale us,Hos. 6.1. come say they, let us returne to the Lord, for he hath borne us, and he will heal us, he hath smitten us, and [...].
It [...] an easie matter to wound, but not so easie to cure and heale again; it is the prerogative in this case, that belongeth chiefely to God, the flesh can vex us, and Sathan can teare, and trouble us, and wound us, but none of these can cure us againe; but now God can as well heale as wound; here is one thing further to be observed, that the Prophet doth not say that sinne or Sathan hath wounded [Page 142]us, and God will heale us; but he hath wounded us, and he will heale us, and bind us up; for a man may have these wounds by sinne and Sathan, and yet no true our [...], the cure that these Physitians can give us are of no value; is either to cast a man into a deepe, or rather a dead sleepe of security and harnesse of heart, or to suffer him, to fall into despaire, and ha [...] his owns and by an untimely death, as Iudas and Iuli [...] did: but where God once by his spirit smites the heart with true remorse for sinne, then he is moved by the same shirit to seeke unto God for the cure of that wound as it was with Elisha, 1 King. 19 19. that after the Prophet Elia had put his mantle upon him, he presently comes after him; so, whereas the Lord shall be pleased to works in us a true sight of [Page 143]our misery, he never doth it without some hope of mercy, that when we seele our burden we might likewise come unto him for case and comfort;Psal. 103.13. these are those comfortable speeches, that as a father pittieth his owne children, Mat. 12.20 so the Lord pittith them that feare him, and that promise hee will not breake the bruised Reede, nor quench the smoaking Flax, &c. and that exhortation,Mat. 11.28 come unto me all yee that are weary and heavie laden and I will ease you.
CAP. XIV. Shewes thee other properties of Contrition, viz. shame, indignation, and revenge.
THe next thing in contrition,2 Of shame is to be ashamed of our sinnes, and to loath [Page 144]them; for the more the heart is broken for sinne, the more it is ashamed for it;Job. 42.6. as when Job saw himselfe in his colours, then hee did abhorre himselfe in dust and ashes,Ezeck. 36.31. and the Prophet shewes, that there should come a time when the Lord would smite the hearts of men, that they should remember their owne evill way and their doings that were not good, and should loath themselves in their owne sight for their iniquities, and for all their abominations: and hence is that of the Apostle,Rom. 6.21. what profit have you in those things whereof yee are now ashamed [...] It is not the having of sinne that bringeth shame, but the sense of it; for when as wee shall have it cleere to our understanding, how bad a companion it is, and how much harme it hath done us, and how great danger it hath drawne [Page 145]us into it makes us ashamed.
1 What will make a man ashamed sooner than the apprehension, and sight of his owne nakednesse?Gen. 2.25. So soone as Adam saw his nakednesse hee even out of shame went and hid himselfe in the garden among the bushes, this was not so much because of the nakednesse of his body, for so hee was before, but his sinne, not for the want of apparell, as for the want of righteousnesse, that made him ashamed.
Againe, when a man considers that hee is not onely naked, but that sinne hath defiled him, and made him a most defiled and monstrous creature: this makes him the more astonished at Gods great patience, that suffereth him to live, and to abhorre himselfe as one of the most wretched & miserable men under heaven.
[Page 146] 3 When wee consider the contempt that sinne brings on us, that is not onely a burden to us, but it makes us oftentimes odious to the sight of men, and alwaies contemptible on the sight of God: thence it was, that the Prophet setting out the vilenesse of our naturall condition, sets it out by such an one as no eye pittied,Eph. 16. none looked with compassion on him, when hee lay polluted in his blood, hee was then cast out into the open field, to the loathing of his person, so is it with every man by nature, when hee comes to see into what contempt and disgrace hee hath brought himselfe, both with God and man, will hee not be ashamed, surely if there be any sparke of grace, hee will abhorre himselfe in dust and ashes,Iob. 42.5. and labour to buy of Christ white rayment, that [Page 147]the shame of his nakednesse may not appeare.Rev. 3. If any shall say, that men may be ashamed of their sinne, and yet the heart not broken; to which wee answer, that there is a large difference betweene them.
1 They differ in their objects, a man whose heart is truly sensible of that disgrace, that lyeth upon him from God, this is that makes him ashamed, as it was sayd of Miriam, when shee was smitten with leprosie, and Moses prayed unto the Lord,Nu. 12.14. that he would heale her, the Lord answered Moses, saying, if her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed? & so say I, that when God powereth contempt on a man unto whom he hath beene gracious, and favourable, so as hee casts out his petitions, and will not heare, nor answer them; [Page 148]hee casts him into darknesse, and setteth his sinnes in order before him, and suffers him to lye in the deepe,Esa 6.5. as Ionah among the weedes: this makes a gracious man greatly ashamed: but now the shame that a wicked man hath, it is most of all in respect of men; they thinke they shall escape the reproach from God well enough,Iob 22.13. were it so they could but escape those disgraces, and disparagements that doe fall on them from men, they say, that heaven is so high that God cannot heare: can hee judge through the darke clouds? Thence it was Saul desired to be honoured among the people,1 Sam. 13.30. though otherwise hee would have gloried in his shame:Ph. 3.19. in one word; where the shame of men doth more bridle us from sin, than the feare of God, it is cleare to me, that we preferre our credit [Page 149]above our conscience; I read of Paphnutius, a learned;Theatr. Hist. p. 533 and pious Bishop, at the Councell of Nice, that being allured by a harlot to incontinencie, she brings him into a very darke roome, hee looking fadly about him, said: I am afraid that some body seeth, never doubt, saith shee, none but onely God seeth us here, but (saith hee) if God doth see us, how dare we doe that in the sight of God, that wee dare not doe in the sight of men?
2 They differ in their continuance, for the longer that a wicked man lives, the harder his heart growes, and the lesse sinne and shame hath hee of his sinnes. Hazael could not thinke that ever he should prove so bad and so bold a sinner as was prophecied of him, no man is the worst,2 King. 8.13. at first: but growes to it by degrees, [Page 150] Domitius Nero for the first five yeares of his raigne; he was so faire, and so favourable, as it was called Neronis Quinquennium. But after hee broke forth into such foule, and bloody sinnes, as made him both hatefull to God, and man. But now on the other side, the longer a good man lives, the more is his sense, and sorrow for his sinnes, and the more hee is ashamed of them: there ever the burthen of them is the more heavie,Iob. 13.26. and the memory is the more grievous unto him, yea the sinnes of his youth: thou writest bitter things against mee; and makest mee to possesse the sinnes of my youth.
Briefly, that I may end this point, if you can step over those sinnes, now without remorse or shame that before time would have made [Page 151]you ashamed, you may well suspect your selves to be let loose to hardnesse of your owne hearts, and given over to reprobate sense; but if on the contrary, you feele a stronger distast of sinne, so as it is not committed without griefe, nor thought upon without blushing, if you be thus ashamed of your sinnes, God will not be ashamed of you at the last day.
3 They differ in these operations, and manner of working, for though a wicked man may, when he hath sinned, and he is under the guilt, and punishment of some hainous offence, sometime be humbled for it, and blush at the remembrance of it; yet it workes no change in him, it doth not alter him to any purpose, it may do, peradventure, as the Angell unto Balaam for the time, turne him [Page 152]aside, or stop him a little while,Prov. 5.22. Nune pr [...] mam adverte sp [...]nsae verecundiam, est expugnatrix mal [...] rum, pr [...]pugnatrix puritatis innat [...], specialis gl [...]ria, conscientia fama oustos, vitae decus, virtutis sedes, virtutum primitia, naturae laus, & insignetotius honesti. Ber. in Serm. 86. Cant. but not long; he goeth on still, till hee perish by the wages of iniquity, and be taken in the cords of his owne sins. On the other side, he that is truly bash full for his sins, he hath taken such a distaste against them, as that neither the flattering baits of the flesh, nor the golden showers of the mammon of iniquity, can perswade with him, to take pleasure in sinne, any more, yea this holy bashfulnesse is like the flaming sword that kept the gate of Paradise that fallen man could not make any entry, for when we are ashamed of our sinnes, it wards the gates of our hearts, and keeps us in that we rush not into sinne again, for when God smites the conscience, and reproves it savingly for its sinnes; it makes Iob's reply, Behold I am vile, what [Page 153]shall I answer thee: I will lay my hand upon my mouth, Iob 40.4.5. once have I spoken, but I will not answer, yea twice, but I will proceed no further.
3 Now come wee to the third property of a broken,3 Indignation. and bleeding heart: that is, where there is a hearty,2 Cor. 7.11. and holy indignation against sin. The Apostle speaking of godly sorrow: Loe, saith hee, what indignation hath it wrought: there is a twofold indignation, the former is ira subita, a sudden anger, that is, when men are soone angry, and soone pleased: as it was with David, what a pelting chafe was he in, against Nabal, what big words doth he breake into, while hee is going downe the hill, how doth hee upbraid his Churlish behaviour; and tels what havocke hee will make amongst them before the next [Page 154]morning; yet by & by, when Abigail meets him with a small guift, with a few soft words she turnes away his wrath, and all is well agains: so is it in this case do you not see many a man that when sinne gauls him, O how bitter, and boisterous hee is against his lusts, But now when as this corrupt heart of ours, shall but decke her selfe with some faire and plausible excuse, and bring some present in her hand of gaine or pleasure, the matter is taken up, and the contention is at an end, and lust and hee are growne good friends.
2 But now there is another indignation, that is called ira permanens, that doth continue, and remaineth with a man, so as it is with some men, that when they are once out and angry with a man they are never pleased againe. [Page 155]This kind is no way good but against sinne, and then it is exceeding good; we are charged not to let the suune goe downe upon our wrath, neither to give place to the devill,Eph. 4.26. but in this case wee must suffer the sunne to goe down upon this indignation against this body of sinne, or else wee give place to the devill.2 King. 13.18. When Elisha bid Joash King of Israel to smite the ground with his arrowes; The text saith, he smote the ground thrice, and stayed, which if hee had done five or sixe times, hee had utterly consumed his enemies. It is so in this case, some men will bee angry sometimes with their sinnes, it may be twice or thrice in their lives, but if they would continue their indignation, and smite on, they would at last utterly confound their sinnes, and subdue [Page 156]them. The way to avoid the anger of God, is to be angry with our selves, for if we judge our selves wee shall not be judged of God at the last, and great day, this is our comfort that are angry with our lust: we can never be angry too much, you cannot hate them more than they doe deserve: but as the Israelites were never to make pleace with Amalecke, so no more must wee with our sinnes.4 Revenge.
4 The last property of a broken and a bleeding heart is a holy revenge; now a revenge is a dealing in like manner with sinne, as it hath dealt with us; for as much as lusts are those enemies that warre against our soules, we must be couragious to warre against them, that thereby we may revenge our selves of our sins, and then [Page 157]doe we doe this great worke.
1 When wee doe abstaine from the use of those things that are in themselves lawfull,2 Cor. 7.11. when wee have unlawfully abused them; as suppose we, a man that hath beene an immoderate drinker of wine, whereby hee hath not onely abused the creature of God, but made himselfe for the time, of a reasonable man, like unto an unreasonable beast, or suppose wee another, that hath beene given to immoderate gaming, as hunting, hawking, bouling, and hath made these which were for his recreation to become, as it were, his vocation. In such a case as this, if it might not tend to the too much losse of his health, or danger of his life, it were good for a man to abstaine altogether from them, at least for some time, as a revenge of his former abuse [Page 158]of them. Againe, if that these, or the like immoderate recreations have kept us from the service of God, either in the publique assembly, or in our private closets, it should be our care and endeavour to recompence, our slothfulnesse with double diligence.
A man that would avenge himselfe of his lusts, hee must pursue them, as the avenger of blood did the man slayer, or malefactor, that unlesse hee was gotten into the city of refuge, hee was surely slaine; so must wee doe, hunt them out, let them not rest in any corner of our hearts, for if sinne may but find any little resting place in our soules, it will not out, and as long as sin rests in us, Christ will not rest, therefore you must not cease till you have driven it out of your bounds. It was a [Page 159]good speech of Sarah, Gen. 21.9.10. Cast out (saith she) the bond woman and her sonne; for hee shall not be heire with my sonne: so say I to you,Esa. 2.20. cast away your transgressions, for these two, Christ and sinne; grace and lust will not inhabit together.
3 The last thing in revenge is, that wee should shew no pitty or compassion on our lusts: when a man shall neither spare great nor small sinnes.Deut. 33.9. It was the blessing that Moses gave to the Tribe of Levy, that he should say to his father and mother, I have not seene him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren: nor knew his owne children, so it should be here, that wee should regard no lust, though it might be so deare as a mans Parents, or children to him, yet should hee have no pitty. Saint Hierome gives the reason why we should be so void [Page 160]of pitty,Hier. Ep. ad Heliodor. Licet parvulus ex collo pendeat nepos, licet sparse crine, scisiis vestibus ubera, quibus te nutriit, mater ostondat, licet in limine pater jaceat, percalcatum perge Patrē siccis ocults ad v [...]icillum crucis: evola solum p [...]etatis genus, in hac re est esse crudelem. Hier. ibid. Ecce adversarius in pectore tuo, qui Christum conatur occidere: behold there is an enemy within you, that doth endeavour to slay Christ, therefore saith hee, neither father nor mother, nor kinsman should prevaile with us to keepe us in our sinnes, but wee should shake off all; and follow Christ, though it be to the losse of all things else, for this kinde of cruelty, is the height & top of true piety.
The righteous shall rejoyce, when he seeth the vengeance; and wash his feete in the blood of the wicked, Psalm. 58.10. And how great joy will that bee when as a Christian shall see the revenge upon his sinnes, that they that were his enemies are fallen before him: it is hard unto flesh and blood to be thus cruell, especially against himselfe, as to turne his mirth into mourning; his [Page 161]howers of recreation into times of devotion: to beate downe his body, by fasting; and to afflict his soule with shame and sorrow. This I say is difficult, but yet,1 Sam. 6.10. if you would overcome nature, you must become in this thing unnaturall, as it was said of those two Kine that had their calves taken from them, that were appointed to draw the arke of God; they went along the high way lowing as they went, untill they came to the coasts of Israel, a strange thing it was, and it may seeme to be unnaturall, that they should leave their calves, and do thus; yet they did it because it was Gods worke; so I may say, that though this may seeme unnaturall, and a kind of cruelty, yet we must set upon it because it is Gods worke;Ps. 137.9. happy is that man that takes these brats of Babilon & dashes [Page 162]their heads against the stones, for in not pittying of them, he pittieth his soule.
CAP. XV. Shewing the great necessity of contrition, which is fourefold.
1 A necessity of th [...] precept. 2 THe second thing is, the necessity of a broken heart. In point of mortification there is necessitas precepti, of Gods command, hee hath commanded us to doe this duty, hee hath commanded us to mourne, they should weepe as a Virgin girded with sackcloth, for the husband of her youth, and so turne to the Lord:Ioel 1.8. where there is the greatest love there should be the greatest sorrow, now the first love is the greatest love, and therefore the first losse doth [Page 163]require the greatest sorrow. 1 Which doth shew unto us, that nothing should be more grievous to us, than our sins, seeing God hath commanded it as a thing necessary to this worke, why should wee not do it? Againe, we are enjoyned shame, thence it was in the Law, that when they had transgressed the Commandements of the Lord,Neh. 9.1. they used to put sackcloth on their loynes,Ier. 4 [...]. [...]7. and powre ashes on their heads, being tokens of shame and sorrow. Againe,Psal 39.3. we are commanded to before displeased with our sinnes. Davids heart was hot within him: and the heart of Ios [...]ah was melted at the abominations of those times, and the great transgression against Gods Law: this is that the Lord doth require; Lastly, that there should be a holy revenge, I suppose that vow of [Page 164]of the Nazarite; that he should abstaine from wines, and from the huskes of the grapes, was chiefly ordained, as holy revenge upon occasion of the abuse of the good creature of God. Now whatsoever God commandeth us, that is necessary, but you see that God hath commanded us to labour for a contrite and a bleeding heart, therefore it is necessary, as the servant of Naaman the Syrian said unto him,2 King [...] 5. [...]3. If the Prophet had bid thee doe some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it, how much more then, when he saith to thee, wash and be cleane: so say I, if God should command you some great thing, for the mortification of your sinnes, and the salvation of your soules; suppose it were to goe bare-foot to Jerusalem, or to bestow all your goods on the poore, or give the first borne of your [Page 165]body for the sinne of your soule, would you not do it, how much rather then,Psal. 51.17 when hee saith onely this, that a broken and a contrite heart shall stand instead of all these.
2 There is necessitas medii, a necessity of the meanes,2 Of the meanes. it is a speciall meanes, that this body of sinne may be subdued, for as it is with water, when it overflowes the ground, it drives out moles, and wormes, and other such creatures,2 Cor. 7.11. as do infest, and annoy the ground, and eate up the rootes of plants fit to become food for man: so it is with true contrition, it doth so overflow the heart with godly sorrow, as that it drives out these troublesome Inhabitants that doe annoy our spirits, and would spoyle those good beginnings of grace in us, therefore put wee our selves on the meanes, and stand not like the [Page 166]hand that is set up to guide us the way, and yet moves not it selfe. But if wee know these things blessed are wee if wee doe them; if you say, that to doe thus is troublesome to flesh and blood, I answer, it may be so, but as we say that, sometimes the things that are not the most toothsome, are very wholsome and good, so howsoever they may be some trouble, yet so long as this trouble doth free us from a greater trouble, all is well; it is better to mourn here wher wee have comfort, than to mourn and burn in hell, where wee can neither have ease nor remedy. Againe, our comfort will recompence our trouble; for every houre of grief shal be recompenced with thousands of yeares of joy and consolation; when a man hath beene ten thousand yeares in heaven, and then shall looke backe [Page 167]and consider what a short time of sorrow it was that he endured, and withall how many millions of yeares are behind, which can never expire; I conceive, it will not repent him, that he hath repented, nor grieve him, that hee hath mourned. In one word, this necessity is confirmed by the practice of such, as are gone to heaven already, as Saint Paul that did struggle with his corruption, and beat downe his body,Num. 7.27. and Saint Peter, and David, and the rest.1 Cor. 9. And it is prophesied of the people of God, that they should goe weeping to seeke the Lord,Ier. 51.4.5. and should aske the way to Sion, with their faces thitherward, saying, come let us joyne our selves to the Lord in a perpetuall covenant that shall not be forgotten Comfort your selves therefore in the use of good meanes [Page 168]for your passage through the valley of Baca, Psal. 84.6.7 or valley of mourning, is to meet the Lord in Sion.
3 Of our actions. 3 It's necessary in respect of all our actions, that they may be right, it is necessary that they should come from such a heart as hateth sinne.Psal. 66.1 [...]. For if I regard wickednesse in my beart the Lord will not heare my prayer: now a man is said to regard wickednesse, when the parting with it is grievous unto him, as it was when Abraham was bidden by Sarah to cast out Ismael, Gen. 21. the matter was very grievous unto him, because he did regard and love him: so it is, when we respect and love our sinnes, wee will be loath to part with them, and then know that what action soever you doe,Luk. 16.15. you cannot please God. The reason is, because God hee judgeth of a mans [Page 169]actions according to his heart, which if that bee unsound, then will all the actions bee no better. Thence i [...] the complaint made by the Prophet;Es. 33.31. they come unto thee as the people commeth, and they sit before thee as my people, they heare my words but they will not doe them, for with their mouth they shew much love, but their hearts go after their covetousnesse; while men deale thus with God, and behave themselves no better in his service, they may not unfitly bee compared to the Water-man, that while he roweth one way, he lookes another; wash your hands therefore yee sinners, and cleanse your hearts, Jam. 4.8. yee double minded men; wash your hands by reformation, (and your hearts by true contrition) otherwise you are but [...] double minded;Mat. 12.33 therefore [Page 170]make the tree good and the fruit will be good, therefore now if your heart be good, so will your actions be; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, the hand worketh, the eare hearkneth, and the whole man moveth: Therefore there must be great need of contrition to the end.
4. Of the way that is made for Christ. 4. There is a necessity of it in this regard, in as much as it makes way for Christ to dwell in our hearts:Esa. 5.7.15 Luk. 14.15 when our blessed Saviour tels his Disciples whither they should goe, and where hee would eate the Passe over; you shall finde (saith he) an upper roome furnished and prepared, there make ready for us; so it is also in this case, into what heart Christ intends to come, and to make it his Chamber of presence;Eph. 3.17. it must be prepared for him by true humility and [Page 171]contrition of spirit; wash you, make you cleane, &c. Esa. 1.16.18. and then come, saith God, and let us reason together, till then you are not fit to draw neare unto God. When the people of Isreal had committed the great sinne in the making of a Calse, the Lord tels them,Exod. 3 3. that so long as they kept their ornaments on them, it was in vaine to make suite unto him; put off therefore (saith he) your ornaments,Eph. 4.22. that I may know what to doe unto you: so must we, if we expect Christ to come into our hearts, put off the old man which is corrupt by deceitfull lusts, so long as lust rules and raignes in the heart, so long Christ is kept out; but now when by true contrition we cast away our transgressions, and banish out the old inhabitants, then Christ he will enter in and dwell there; but first he will [Page 172]cast out buyers and sellers, and money changers, they shall not neast and rest themselves in his Temple, he will cast out and overcome the world, and our strong corruption, and make us to abhorre and avenge our selves of our sins; then he will say, this is my house, here will I dwell, and I will establish it on such a foundation, as the gates of hell cannot prevaile against.
CAP. XVI. The third more neere degree of Mortification in the killing of sinne.
THe last degree of mortification is the slaying of sinne, the execution of it, whereby wee are said to bee crucified unto the world,Gal. 6.14. that is, [Page 173]I am not so low and vile in the esteeme of the world;Rom. 6.6. but the world is as base and contemptible unto me; the same Apostle shewes that the end why Christ was crucified, was that the body of sinne might be destroyed.
What kind of death the death to sin is. 1. This destruction and death of sinne is a lingering death, a man dieth by degrees; as the death of the Crosse was, they hung a long while before they died; and the more strength the longer: so the stronger that sinne is, the longer it will be a dying; as it is with a man that doth beleager a strong forte, and where stout and valiant men are, they will suffer much penury and hardship, and hardly bee brought to yeeld untill the last man: so is it in such a case, here is such a strong hold of carnall reasons and corrupt lusts set up within [Page 174]us, and be fortified by Sathan, and strong and desperate resolutions; that it will bee a long time before wee can get the upper hand, and the victory over them; and when we have gotten the victory, yet still they will trouble, and disquiet our peace; as the Lord would not drive out all those Nations from among the people of Israel, Josh. 23.13. but they were as thorns in their eyes, and scourges in their sides, and were not utterly cast out: so may I say, that these lusts they will be so unto us; all that we can doe will be this, not to suffer them to raigne, and to weaken their strength by degrees.
2. It is a painefull death, to mortifie and to kill sinne, it cannot be done without much paine; hence it is called Circumcision,Jer. 4.4. circumcise your selves unto the Lord, and take [Page 175]away the fore-skinnes of your hearts, that this was a sore and painefull thing, may appeare in the sorenesse of the men of Sheehem the third day;Gen, 34.25 and by that speech of Zipporah unto Moses, a bloody husband thou art;Exod. 4.26. because of the Circumcision; and indeed, when we consider what prayers, what teares, what revenge, and what wrastling it hath or may cost you; you will say that there is need of much faith to defend your selves, much skill in Gods word to offend your enemy, and much patience, that in the midst of this conflict that you may not breake out against God into impatient speeches;Pro. 14, 10. the heart (in this case) knows his owne bitternesse, no man else can tell it, nor is able to expresse it; what sightings and feares within, and what troubles without; as that [Page 176]the poore soule findes such waves and stormes in his conscience that hee is like Noahs Dove, knowes not where to rest his foote, not where to rest his soule; as you may see in the case of Job, and Paul: and many times strong Christians are not without strong assaults and conflicts, the enemy when he is a dying, is often the most desperate; and sometime good men apt to bee surprized with spirituall pride, and to thinke that either he is so good, he ought not, or so strong hee feareth not to be tempted, in such a a case hee hath neede of a temptation that hee may the better know himselfe, and seeke out unto Christ, as they when they were tossed with the waves (say) help Master, Mat. 8.26. or else we perish.
3. Though sinne cannot be utterly subdued, yet may it [Page 177]be greatly diminished; and the power of it enervated and abated, though the Cananites were not utterly subdued, yet were they very low brought; so sinne may by this worke of mortification be brought very low, as it was with the widdow of Zarephta, her store was so wasted that shee had no more but a handfull of Meale in a Barrell, and a little Oyle in a Cruse, which shee was about to dresse for her selfe and her sonne, and then to eate it, and after dye. Now it is a great comfort unto a man when a man can attaine to this.
1. That he can keepe his heart that sinne doe not at any time break out into any grosse act.Luke 1.6. Gen. 5.24. It is said of Zacharias and Eliz. that they walked in all the Commandements of God without rebuke; that is, though they were not without their infirmities; [Page 178]yet were they without rebuke, in respect of any crime or grosse sinne: yet here is a large difference betweene such as doe onely restraine and keepe in sinne, for some by end, and such as these to whom sin is in some measure mortified, even as much as there is betweene the beating out of the teeth of a Lion, and the changing of his nature; thence it is that this worke makes us of Lions to become as meeke as Lambs;Is. 11.6. so as the Lamb and the Leopard shall lie downe, with the Kid and the Calse and the young Lion and the fatling together, & a little child shall lead them: againe, though a wicked man may curb and keep in sin, yet can he not kill and destroy sinne; and the reason is this, because he wants speciall and spirituall meanes; sinne will not be driven out with great [Page 179]words,Is. 58, 6. nor by spreading sackcloth and ashes under you; nor hanging downe your heads like a bull-rush for a day, but there must be in us the love of God, which will make us to depart from iniquity.
2. It is a great comfort when sinne is so over-powerd as it doth not divert us from duty, I doe not say distract us in the performance of them, for there is no man without them, for when wee are the best imployed about our devotions; as reading, hearing, praying, or mediration, then is the adversary most busie to disquiet our peace, and to hinder us in our work;Zach. 3.1. when J [...]hoshuah the high Priest was standing before the Angel of the Lord,Neh. 4.18. there Sathan stood at his right hand; yet you may have good comfort in this, when you goe on in your [Page 180]worke as they that builded up the wall of Ierusalem; though they were much distracted, and disquieted by their enemies, yet did they hold on their worke, though it was with their swords by their sides: so a good Christian, albeit hee hath many distractions, yet hee goes on in duty, and will not be diverted from it, as it was with David when Michal his wife spake against him for his dancing before the Arke of God,2 Sam. 6.20 21, 22, 23. hee made his reply, that if that were vile, he would yet be more vile; so it is with a mortified man, that though there were never so many impediments, and stumbling blocks laid in his way, of the losse and discredit, he shall sustaine, yet hee lookes more at the praise of God then of men, and knoweth that what is highly pleasing in the sight of men is [Page 181]displeasing in the sight of God,Luk 16.15. and therefore takes up Saint Pauls resolution when they besought him that hee would not goe up to Ierusalem, Acts 21.12 13. in regard of the present danger that they did foresee, howbeit Saint Paul being bound in the Spirit for the worke of the Lord, asketh them what they meane to breake his heart, seeing hee was ready not onely to bee bound at Ierusalem, but to dye there for the name of the Lord Jesus; so is it with him that is truely humbled, that nothing diverteth him from the duty.
3. It is a great comfort unto a Christian,Acts 8.39. when hee hath so conquered and over-powered his corruptions, and that they take not away his joy and consolation that he hath in Christ, neither can Sathan take such advantage by them [Page 182]to dispoyle us of our crowne;2 Cor. [...] 5. thence it is that Saint Paul saith he will glory in his infirmities, that though hee might glory in those heavenly visions that he had, yet hee would rather glory in them, for though in a large sense, every sinne is called an infirmity, because it disableth a man from the performance of duty; but in a strict sence no man can be said to have infirmities, unlesse that sinne in some measure be mortified; for in an unmortified man sinne is alive and in his full strength, and his soule is void of grace: but now in a man that is truely mortified, there grace receives strength, and sinne is wounded; and so such a man is the proper subject of infirmities; now when the Apostle saith, that he doth rejoyce in his infirmities, he doth not rejoyce [Page 183]in his infirmities, as they are sinnes,Matth. 10. but as they are infirmities; that is, as sinne was deforced and diminished in him, and therein he had cause of joy; and we also when we finde it so in us, if the Disciples rejoyced that the Devils were subdued by them; much more may we that the body of sinne is destroyed, and that which is worse then the Devill is subdued by us, count it all joy when yee fall into divers temptations, Jam. 1: 2.3. knowing that the tryall of our saith worketh patience, and patience makes perfect and intire: we are but in this case, as gold that is put into the Furnace, that comes out more pure, and are made by that meanes vessels of honour, fit for the use of our great Master, our Lord and Saviour Christ.
CAP. XVII. Certaine signes of a dying man.
2 I Come now to shew unto you certaine signes of a dying man, whereby you may see whether that you be in such a case, yea or no; it would be in vaine to shew you signes of a dead man, for as much as there is no perfection of death of sinne in our soules; as there is no perfection of grace, so neither is there (as we have formerly shewed) perfection of mortification;1 Cor. 13. onely as hath beene shewed we are daily a dying, but not fully dead.
1. A man is said to be a dying man when his stomacke failes, when he hath no appetite to his foode; when wee have no stomacke to sinne, no [Page 185]apetite after it, when wee feele no such sweetnesse in it as we have done, when we esteeme the profits and pleasures of finne as an empty vessell; in one word, when all of them are bitter unto us, and tastlesse in respect of what they have beene to us before time:2 Sam. 19.35. as old Barzillai said to David, can thy servant taste what Teate or what I drinke; can I heare any more the voyce of singing men or singing women, vers. 37. &c. Let mee turne backe that I may dye, &c. Just thus it is when a man feele [...] his affection off from his sinne, that he can neither relish their sweernes, nor be allured with their pleasant songs, to bee drawne backe unto them: againe, it is a good evidence that sinne is a dying, and declining in him, I deny not but time may weare out our appetite unto some sins as an [Page 186]old man, that hath beene given in his youth to lust and voluptuousnesse, may leave them, but yet he liveth still in some other sinne which is equivalent, and as dangerous to his soule; yea, and when his naturall apetite is taken away, ye [...] his sinfull appe [...]ite may remaine, so that when a man wants strength to sinne, yet may he have a minde to sinne, and wish that he were young againe that he might sinne. Whereas, were sinne mortified, these sinfull affections would [...]ye sooner then our naturall.
2. A man is then a dying man when he is a burden to himselfe, whereas hee is not able to beare his owne weight; when you see a man hardly able to goe on his legges, you say that unlesse he doe recover againe he is not like to continue long; so say I, inregard of [Page 187]sinne, then when you see a man that feeles and findes sin to be such a burden, as hee is not able to beare, but groanes under the burden of it; that assuredly then sinne is a dying;Rom. 8.23. well may sinne mak us groane and buckle under it, when it makes the whole creation groane; nay, that which is so heavie a burden, as the Lord that made heaven and earth, and beares them up by his owne power, and never complaines of the burden of them, Complaines of this, behold I am pressed downe under you, Amos 2.13. as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves: you therefore that feele your sinnes to be no burden, but can carry your sinnes away with you as easily as Sampson carried the gates of Gaza upon his shoulders;Judg: 16.3. it is an argumēt that you are Sampson-like in your sin [...], sinne doth abide in you in its [Page 188]full strength, if some man shall say, I hope I shall doe well then, for I finde sinne a heavie burden; but I would aske him this question then, whether doe you finde sinne a burden in regard of it selfe, or in regard of some circumstance that doth depend upon it; as namely, the wrath of God, or the shame and disgrace that you may have among men by it: if that sinne be the burden, then your case is good, if not, then may you suspect your selves to be unsound; as suppose a man that hath a certaine quantity of spunge on his backe, which he carrieth lightly away, but now this man travelleth all a sore rainy day which doth so fill the spunge with water, that his burden that was light before, now becomes intolerable; so it is in this case, it is not the weight of sinne that troubles [Page 189]them, they carry it roundly away; but now that which troubles them, is those showers of wrath from Heaven, and that shame and contempt that they receive from men, that makes them to cry out as Kain did, my punishment i [...] greater then I can beare, wher as the penalty that is annexed unto sinne, were the sinne removed moved off to a mortified man it would seeme light and little,
3. A man may then be said to be a dying man when as his disease prevailes upon him, so as he hath lesse power to resist it, every day then other: so likewise when that sinne decayeth and doth languish away in us, and grace doth so prevaile and get the upper hand, as that corruption and sinne is not able to stand against it, as it hath done; the understanding is so farre convinced [Page 190]by the cleare light that shines into it, that it is not able to stand nor shift any longer, but it is beaten off from all those false reasonings,Prox. 3.5. secret turnings, and cunning equivocations, so as a man dares not any longer rest on it; the will is also fairely perswaded, and will resist the holy Ghost no longer, but yeelds up the hould unto Christ, and saith, Lord, not my will, but thy will be done.
Hence commeth a generall mortification of the affections and lusts;Gal. 5.24. by affections understand those inordinate affections which beare sway in the hearts of men; as immoderate anger, griefe, also pride, unnaturall affections; and by lusts, all insatiable desires after the things of this life, they are now all crucified, so as they will yeeld no more blind obedience, either to sinne or [Page 191]Sathan, so as grace hath drawn the strength of the soule unto it, and cutteth off that wherein the great strength of corruption lay.
It is reported Cyrus finding the City of Babylon impregnable, and almost impossible to be taken by land, by reason of a great wall that did compasse it on the one side, and finding the river Ephrates to hemme it in on the other side, caused his souldiers to cut the river into many channels, and to divert it another way, and so surprized the City, and subdued it; just thus it is when we shall divert those noble faculties of the soul another way; namely from taking part with sin, to take part with God, it will not then be hard to mortifie and subdue our corruptions; if it shall be said, then how commeth it to passe then that [Page 192]men after that they be grown Christians that they fall into such sinnes: I answer, it is not because sinne is stronger but either by reason of their slothfulnesse or spirituall pride, or else by violence of something which may befall them while they resting, carelesse, and secure are supprized and overtaken, which howsoever there be neither want of strength, nor weaknes of Grace; yet for want of watchfulnesse this may befall a good man, as it did David and Peter; yet let me adde this one thing, that is, that this in the event turnes to a greater good, and for the time to come, to make us more carefull to gird our armour about us, and more watchfull that we sinne no more; the burnt childe (as it is in the Proverbe) dreads the fire: so will a Christian that hath been once scorched by such a temptation.
CAP. XVIII. Shewing the third, articular that is the meanes whereby this worke is done, and that is by the spirit.
COme wee now to the third particular, and that is the meanes whereby this great worke of mortification, is effected and brought to passe, for the better understanding of this particular, observe these two propositions.
- 1. First, that the spirit must be had of us.
- 2. That wee must by the helpe and assistance of the spirit mortifie our sinfull nature.
1. For the former, that we must have the spirit; there is great necessity of this, for then wee are in the spirit,Rom. 8.9. when the spirit dwelleth in us, and if any man have not the [Page 194]spirit of Christ the same is none of his, God saith that in the time of the Gospell hee would powre upon them,Zac. 13.10. the spirit of grace, & supplication, that is, as they were annointed with oyle, that undertooke any speciall office: so Christians, when they are made by grace Kings and Priests unto God, they have this oyle of the spirit powred into their hearts, our blessed Saviour confirmes this, unto us in that speech to Nichodemus, that which is borne of the spirit is spirit. Ioh. 3.6. As Adam begot a man in his owne likenesse: so the spirit it begetteth us like unto it selfe; holy as it is holy, heavenly as it is heavenly.
For the better understanding of the point in hand, know that the spirit is to be considered 2. waies; either according to its essence, or according to his guifts & graces, now according [Page 195]to its essence and being, it is every where, it filleth heaven & earth, as it is excluded out of no place; so neither is it included in any, but in this sense, wee can no more be said to have the spirit than other men, and creatures can, in whom, and by whom wee all live, move, & have our being:Act. 17.28. but in the second sense, in respect of its guifts and graces, so some men are said in speciall, to have the spirit as the spirit quickens,2 Cor. 3.6. and conveyeth a principle of life into us, whereby wee live the life of grace, and that is called spiritus inhabitans, that takes up his seate in our heart, and spiritus obsignans, Iam. 4.5. that sealing spirit, whereby the spirit witnesseth with our spirits that wee are the sonnes of God: now in this sense we may be said to have the spirit.Rom. 8.16.
2 That there must by the [Page 196]helpe & assistance of the spirit, Mortifie the deeds of the body: Ez. 36.27. a new beart will I give you, and I will take away your stony heart, &c. that is, that this mighty power of the spirit, is that which will helpe forward, to the taking away of this stony heart, the Lord is said to wash away the filth of the daughter of Zion: and to purge the blood of Jerusalem by the spirit of Judgement,Esa 41.4. and the spirit of burning, that is, this spirit shall be in us, and shall enable us to judge our selves, and kindle such a fire in us, as shall melt away the drosse of our corruption.
That you may the better understand, what assistance it is that the spirit giveth unto us, in this worke of mortification, give mee leave to lay downe unto you these three things.
1 By what meanes the spirit [Page 197]workes, or helpeth forward this worke of mortification: although I deny not but the spirit may & can work, where it listeth, and when it listeth,Ioh. 3.8. either by meanes, or above meanes, yet our taske is at this time to shew how it worketh by meanes.
1 It awakeneth conscience, it doth convince us of sinne, and discovereth unto us the greatnesse of their number, and the foulenesse of their nature, thence it is that Christ, when hee commeth, doth convince the world of sinne, of righteousnesse, and of judgement; of sinne, because they believe not on him, that howsoever the guilt of the Law lye heavie,Ioh. 16.8, 9, 10. and the weight there of as a penalty, greater than a man can tell how to beare: yet then to have added hereunto another conviction, that is the conder [...] ning [Page 198]sinne of infidelity,Ioh. 3.18. this doth much aggravate,Mar. 16.16 and make sinne out of measure sinfull; therefore it is that our Saviour Christ saith, that he that beleeveth not is condemned already; as if hee should have sayd, if a man were a drunkard, or a swearer, or a profane person, and yet if he can beleeve, there is hope of pardon, but so long as hee doth not beleeve, there is no hope at all, for as much as hee is without God, and without the Covenant of Grace:Eph. 2.12. now the spirit when it commeth convinceth our judgments of this: till such time as the spirit hath done this, wee are like Ionah, fast asleepe in the bottime of the ship, the sea rageth, the Mariners rowe, the waves beate, the ship is tossed up and downe, yet all this doth but rocke Ionah faster a sleepe,Iona 1.6. till the ship-master [Page 199]comes to him, and sayes, What meanest thou, &c. thou sleeper arise and call upon thy God, &c. So it is with us, while we are asleepe in our sinnes, the heavie wrath of God hangs over our heads, yea and the judgements of God are abroad in the world, yet wee lye fast asleepe, senselesse, and secure, not dreading any anger: but now, when this blessed spirit of Christ shall waken us, and shew us the danger, and aske us what wee meane to continue in this condition; then wee beginne to bethinke our selves, and to shake off sluggishnesse, and to cast about for our owne safety.Act. 9.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Saul thought himselfe safe enough when hee was a persecutor, and that authority that hee had from the High-priest, was sufficient to beare him out that while hee did breath out slaughter against Christ,Ioh. 16.2. [Page 200]he thought hee had done God good service, till Christ caused a light to shine from heaven, and a voyce saying, Saul, Saul; why persecutest thou mee? this indeed wakened him, and made him shake and tremble, and say, Who art thou Lord? and what wouldest thou have mee to doe: by this meanes it was that Paul of a persecutor becometh a preacher, & had his corruptions, and cruell dispositions changed in him, that of a fierce lion, hee became as meeke as a lambe.
2 The spirit of Christ it setteth home the meanes that God useth for our mortification,2 Cor. 10.4. the weapons of our warfare are mighty through God; it is God that puts vertue, and strength into them: now there are severall sorts of weapons that the Holy Ghost useth for this end, as
1 The preaching of the [Page 201]Word of God, it is called the ministration of the spirit,2 Cor. 3.8. it is called the two edged sword,Heb. 4.12. that which is sharper, that it cuts asunder the soule and the spirit, the joynts and the ma [...] row and discovereth the secret intents of our hearts,2 Cor. 4.7. but what is that that makes this word so powerfull? Sure it is the Holy Spirit of God that doth it, wee have this Word in earthen vessels, that the excellencie of the power might be of God, and not of us, it is not the Ministrie that can make the word virtuall, and powerfull, nor is it in the letter of the Word, but in the spirit, therefore when you come to the Word and heare it opened unto you,1 Cor. 3.6. doe not looke at the man, who hee is, nor the instrument, but at the power which is from the spirit: Saint Paul may plant, & Apollos water, but it is God that [Page 202]must give the increase, when it pleaseth God to accompany his word,Ier. 23.29. with the influence of his spirit, then is it like fire to purge out our drosse, and like the hammer that breakes in sunder our hard hearts: that as Moses when he smote with his rod the rock,Num. 2 [...].1 [...]. the water came abundantly: so when God smites our hearts, with the rod of his Word, it is able to dissolve our hearts into teares, and godly sorrow unto repentance not to be repented of.
2 The spirit sets home afflictions, and troubles to make them vertuall, and efficacious to the subduing of our corruptions,Zach. 13.9. I will bring a third part through the fire, I will refine them as silver is refined; and will try them as gold is tryed, and they shall call upon my name, and I will heare them, &c. When God takes us in hand, then all [Page 203]the hurt that wee receive by our afflictions,Esa 27.7.9. is the taking away of our sinnes, all the fruit of their afflictions was to the end that thereby the iniquity of Jacob might be purged. God suffered the bush to burn, but yet it was not consumed because the Lord was in the midst of it. The Finer is most carefull of his gold when it is in the furnace, and so is God for our good, in the time of our afflictions, as he said periissem nisi periissem; I had perished if I had not perished. Many good Christian may say, that if he had not had crosses, and losses in the world, hee had lost his soule. We read of some of the Martyrs that have blessed God that ever they came to prison for Christ's sake, that when they became mans bondmen, then were they Christs freemen, and could as comfortably feed on [Page 204]browne bread, & rouse in the straw, as on a bed of downe. What a marvellous change was wrought in Manasse, 2 Chro. 33. from v. 1. to 14. who in his prosperity was most wicked, hee fell to the Idolatry of the Heathen used inchantment, witchchraft, caused Hierusalem to swimme with blood, yet in his affliction, how did he humble himselfe? greatly. How mightily was hee then wrought upon! how did his heart smite him! Whence was this but from the spirit of God, that perswaded his heart unto it, for if that Gods spirit goe not at long with those afflictions, that are on men, they are never the better, but the worse for them: as you see it said of him; that said; because the evill was from the Lord,2 King. 6.33. hee saw no reason to waite any longer, and so it was of King Ahaz, 2 Cron. 28. that in his extremity, [Page 205]he sinned yet more and more, therefore the Holy Ghost doth brand him with this infamous note, this is that King Ahaz, that is hee that afflictions could not mend, nor make better. And indeed when as it is so, that affliction doth men no good, it is to be feared, that they have rejected the last remedy that God meanes to bestow upon them, and God may say to them, Why should I smite them any more. Isa 1.5.
3 The spirit setteth home examples of good men, and maketh them meanes to mortifie our sinnes, when wee see men weaned from the world, upright in their waies, charitable to the poore, temperate in the use of the creatures; holy, humble, and full of good fruits; such a mans life, when God pleaseth to set it on, doth make other men repent, and by seeing their good [Page 206]workes, to glorifie God, Shew thy selfe in all things a patterne of good workes: Mat. 5.16. now a patterne is a rule for others to follow:Tit. 2.7. examples teach sooner than precepts, and are more easie to the undestanding to learne, and also are more speedily taken into practice.Longum [...]ter por praecepta offica [...], & breve per exemplu. Sen.. A notionall goodnesse is little worth, unlesse some demonstration may be given of it, in point of practice, this wee read of Hezek [...]ah, 2 King. 18.3. that hee did walke in all the waies of his father David, 2 King. 22.2. and of Iosiah after him; much more are godly mens examples very efficacious, in their sufferings, and in their deaths, when the spirit shall joyne with them:Iam. 5.11. as how hath the patience of Iob beene a patterne unto succeeding posterities,Iob 1.21. wee want not many examples to prove, how the blood of the Martyrs have beene the seede of the [Page 207]Church;2 King. 6.22, 23. If Elisha did so calme the Syrians by that example of patience, and kindnesse, so that they came no more to annoy, and infest, their land; how much more may the patience of godly men perswade others to lay aside their cruelty, and mortifie their strong corruptions?
CAP. XIX. The manner how the spirit doth mortifie corruption.
COme wee now to the manner how the spirit doth mortifie corruption.
1 The spirit sheweth the way how wee should mortifie the corruptions,Esa 30.21. thou shalt heare a voyce behind thee, saying, this is the way walke in it. When ye turne to the left hand, or to the right, it [Page 208]carries us through, were it not for this assistance wee should either stand still, goe no further, or else turne aside, either on the right hand to superstition;Esa 50. to walke in the light of our owne sparkes, and in the fire that wee have kindled: or on the left hand, to profanesse, and to hardnesse of heart, & to commit iniquity with unsatiable greedinesse, therefore that prayer of Moses should be ours,Exo. 33.13. O Lord, if I have found grace in thy sight shew me thy way now a man is thē in Gods way, when hee goeth about his worke with carefulnesse,Prov. 45.10. & 15. when a man devotes himself to his worke, and takes pleasure in it, as it was said of the Kings daughter, that shee should forget her owne people, and her fathers house (which is a hard businesse) and this was to be done chearfully and freely, so when [Page 209]we do leave our dearest lusts,Ioh. 8.44. and cast off the yoke, sathan,Eph, 2.1. who is a father to the children of Belial, and a Prince that raigneth over their consciences, we must do it cheerfully, as it is in the sweet song of Deborah, Iudg. 5.2. who praised the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. It is certaine that wee have then cause to blesse the Lord,Deut. 20.5, 6. when that God makes our heart willing to serve the Lord. It was a rule in the Law, that if any man had builded a new house, or planted a Vineyard, or married a wife, that hee should not goe to warre that yeare: the reason was, because that hee could not do it willingly, out of that love and affection he had unto his present expectation of gaine, and comfort, lest that which hee had left at home might make [Page 210]him lesse willing to adventure his life, or at least to turne backe before the battell was ended: so any man that goeth to warre against his corruptions, let him know this, that if there be any thing in the world, that his heart stands affected unto, which maketh him unwilling unto this service, be sure of this, hee is not fit to be a souldier against so potent an enemy: no man that warreth entangleth himselfe with the affaires of this life,2 Tim. 2.4. then hee may please him who hath chosen him to be a souldier: as if hee should say, if you be cumbred, and entangled with the world, you cannot serve God willingly, and by consequent not please him.
2 The spirit doth assist us in this way, that wee doe the worke strongly, when the iron is hard, men put to the more [Page 211]strength: this worke is hard, and difficult, therefore you must be strong that you may goe through. Therefore is the prayer of the Apostle for the Collossians,Col. 1.19. that they might be strengthened, with all might, unto all patience and long sufferings. As it was said of Sampson, when he came to the vineyards of Timnath, Iudg. 14.5, 6. that a young lyon roared against him, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent the lyon as a man should rend a kid: so it is with us, we have the old Lyon the devill that seekes to devoure us, and were it not that the spirit of Christ should strengthen us with all might, and enable us to overcome him,1 Sam. 4.9. wee could not stand before him, as the Philistins encouraged one another, saying, Quit your selves like men, that you may not be servants to the Hebrewes. [Page 212]So say I to you, be strong in the Lord, and quit your selves, like so many souldiers of the Lords Hosts, that you may not serve sinne, but fight out your Gods fight, that you may be more than Conquerers, and against your spirituall enemies.
3 The spirit of Christ takes away those impecliments that would hinder this worke, and disableth us from the performance of it.
1 One great impediment that hindreth this worke, it is ignorance: when men doe not know those things that concerne their peace,Luk. 19.41. for there is no true peace, but where there is and hath beene this warre, Many a man is like to some simple Country-man, if some great and potent man lay claime to some part of his land, though his cause be never so just, yet he will rather [Page 213]lose his right, than goe to Law for it: so is it with many, that they will rather lose their soule, than contend against their corruptions, they out of their ignorance thinke them too potent, and too strong for them; but now when the spirit commeth, it shews that he is greater, that is with us, than he that is in the world, and that they are cursed that goe not out, to helpe the Lord against the mighty: Iudg. 5.23. he doth comfort that as hee did Ioshua, Iosh. 1.5. that none of his enemies should stand before him; nor be able to prevaile against him: hee will be with us while wee are with him, nay the spirit encourageth our hearts against this enemy,2 Cor. 15.2. as Caleb and Ioshuah did the Israelites,Num, 14.9. saying, feare none of your spirituall enemies, for their defence is departed frō them: and God is not with them, [Page 214]and doubt not, but though thou canst not finally consume them, yet thou shalt make a happy conquest against them.
2 Another impediment is, hardnesse of heart, it is called an obstinate heart,Deut. 2.30. because it doth refuse mercy:Esa 6.10. a fat heart, because it makes men insensible of their condition:Zach. 7.12 a heart as hard as the adamant stone, because it maketh men hate to be reformed. Now when the spirit commeth it softeneth this hardnesse, and takes away this resistancie,Ez. 36.26, and gives us hearts that are of a melting temper; and maketh the songs of the Temple to be sorrowfull,Amos 8.3. and men to be affected with griefe as the sorrow of a travelling woman:Hos. 13.13. the sorrow of a woman in travell, as it is most grievous, so it is most comfortable in regard of the issue and event. The mother forgetteth her sorrow, because [Page 215]that a manchild is borne, so this breach that is made into the rockes of our hearts, though it be grievous unto us, yet is it profitable in the issue, for as much as this seed time of teares is seconded, with an harvest of joy, wee want not examples to make good this point? What an obstinate heart had Manasses, till the spirit of God brake it? What a hard heart had Paul, till hee was smitten by the spirit of Christ? how was this Lyon then changed into a Lambe! This is set forth by the Baptist, Every valley shall be filled, every mountaine and hill shall be brought low, Luk. 3.5. and the crocked shall be made straight, and the rough wayes shall he made smooth: what is this, but every man that is low in his owne eyes, shall be raised by the spirit, and every one that is high and lofty shall be humbled; [Page 216]and such as walke in the crooked path of errour, shall be reduced and walke in the straight pathes of truth in sincerity: and such as have beene tough and obstinate shall be made plaine and passable by the spirit.
3 The next impediment that hindreth a man from mortification, is selfe-love, I doe not meane that love which is naturall, but that which is sinfull, for no man ever hated his owne flesh: but this is the property of sinfull selfe-love; when a man shall love his body above his soule, and himselfe more than his God, and shall be at more cost, and take more paines for the enjoyment of a base lust, than to enjoy Christ: now when the spirit comes, it makes us to renounce all,Heb. 10.34. and to follow Christ. To suffer the losse of our goods, and of our hopes, [Page 217]as it was said of Bradford that for that he would not make one scratch with a pen,Heb. 11.24.25.26. he lost all his hopes that hee might have had in this world; and so did Moses refuse to be called sonne of Pharaohs daughter, and to renounce the pleasures of the Court, and the treasures of Egypt; that hee might not lose the peace of his conscience, nor dishonour his God; nay it doth so make us our of love with our selves, that neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor children, nor our owne lives shall be deare unto us, provided wee may but finish our course with joy.
3. I come now to the third thing wherein I shall be briese; namely, the ends why the spirit may be said to assist us in this worke, and there are two reasons of it.
1. For to shew mans impotencie [Page 218]that we are not able to doe it of our selves, a naturall agent cannot doe a spirituall worke; who can bring a clean thing out of an uncleane? Not one. Who knoweth not that we are polluted and defiled with sinne, and have disabled our selves of strength and ability to doe it?
Thence is that of the Prophet,Jer. 10.23. I know that the way of man is not in himselfe; it is not in man that walketh, to direct his steps: that is, we are too weake for any such worke without Gods grace assisting of us, and therefore we have good cause to bewaile our misery, to lay aside our pride, and confesse our poverty, and to seeke some other meanes of helpe and redresse at Gods hand.
2. To set out Gods power, this is his priviledge that hee onely is able to do this work; [Page 219]there are three wayes whereby things came to have their being & existencie; by Generation, Art, or Creation, the two former must have matter to worke upon, either in potentia, as generation, or in actu, as Art, and where there is not a matter to worke upon they can doe nothing, now for as much as this worke of regeneration,Eph. 4.24. & the new creature is called a creation, it is beyond the worke of a creature, and onely a priviledge that doth belong to the holy Spirit to create in us qualities of holinesse, and thereby to abolish the whole body of sinne, thence it is that the Lord saith, I create the fruit of the lips to be peace,Isa. 57.19 and the Prophet complaining in another place to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed, it is that mighty, and potent arme of the Lord that doth this worke; [Page 220]it is by his power, and therefore he must have the honour of it. As Joab when he was in hope to take Rabbah, hee sent messengers to David that he should come and take it,2 Sam. 12.26. because the honor that would have been given him was too great for him, how much more should we, seeing out hope is in the Lord, and our successe chiefely by his power give all the honour to him?
CAP. XX. Certaine instructions from the doctrine premised.
FRom this doctrine of mortification we may observe divers necessary instructions, both for the information of our judgement, and well ordering of our lives, as
1. First, wee may learne [Page 221]that such a doctrine as doth give liberty to the flesh, was never given by the spirit of God; for the spirit is given us, not onely as a bridle to curbe, and keepe in sinne, neither a scourge to castigate corrupt nature, but chiefely as a sword to kill and destroy the very body of sinne: it is the counsell of Saint Paul, Gal. 5.13. that we being called to liberty, should not use our liberty as an occasion to the flesh; that is, if we doe not use our liberty with great caution and watchfulnesse, wee will make our liberty to be a snare to us; the word used by Saint Paul is [...] that signifieth occasion; it cometh (as some think) of [...] that signifies to make an assault;Acts 14.5. because that if you give but your selves liberty, never so little more then is fit; the flesh will make an assault upon you: as it is [Page 222]said of the Lion, that if you come but within his reach when he is caged up hee will not misse but fasten upon you, so is it in this case, therefore we must beware that we doe labour for temperance, and moderation; otherwise the flesh will seise upon us, and so while we give liberty to the flesh, we lose the peace of our conscience, and that peace with God, unto whom wee have had free accesse and audience in our prayers: Therefore know this, that the more liberty we give unto the flesh, the more we doe deprive our selves of our Christian liberty, as the more delight that wee take in the sinfull pleasures of this life; the lesser and lower will be our delights, and contentments in God: Herod did like well of the Baptist, and heard him gladly; but yet his lust, and the delight he tooke [Page 223]in Herodias and her daughter, hee did eclipse it at the best, and in the end tooke it quite away:Psal. 32. Psal. 77. Nay how was David straitened of that spirituall freedome after such time as he had given liberty to the flesh, behold how many teares, how many prayers, how many sighes and groanes did it cost him; before he was restored to his former comfort and consolation againe; the more liberty a man takes for the flesh, the more hee doth enthrall himselfe; as the bird once in the snare, the more shee doth struggle, the more shee doth entangle her selfe; little doe men know what disadvantages they cast themselves into when they take liberty to sin;2 Pet. 2.20.21. there is a heavie doome propounded against them, if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord [Page 224]Jesus Christ, they are againe intangled therein, and overcome, the later end is worse with them then their beginning: if any shall say, but what benefit have wee then by our Christian liberty?Gal. 3.11. I answer, much every way; wee are freed by Christ from the curse of the Law, from the irritation of it, whereby it was an occasion to make us sinne more, and from the rigour of it, whereby we are bound to performe it and live; or else in the not doing of it perfectly to die eternally; we have a comfortable and free use of the creature,Heb. 4.16. and free accesse to the throne of grace in time of need, for the receiving of all good things; both the benefit of soule and body in all these things; wee see we have much liberty granted unto us, but no liberty to sinne; you will say how [Page 225]may a man doe that that hee may give no liberty to the flesh,
When a man will not take the full liberty that hee may take; all things are lawfull,2 Cor. 6.12. but all things are not expedient; it may be lawfull to goe neare the banck of a deepe river, but if his foote should slip, or that he should tread never so little awry, he would fall into very great danger; so is it here, when men hazard themselves to the utmost bounds of their liberty, ten to one, but they drop into one sinne or another, and so procure unto themselves one misery after another.Gen. 34.1.2. Si tu otiose spectes otiose non specteris si tu curiose spectas curiose specteris. Ber. Dinah went but out to see the daughters of the land, peradventure the thing might bee lawfull enough, yet because it was the utmost bounds of liberty, she not being cautious lost all the fairest ornament about [Page 226]her, before her returne; thence is that of our Saviour, if they say unto thee behold he is in the desert, go not forth, behold he is in the secret chamber, beleeve it not; why it might be lawfull to go and see, suppose it might, yet because there is a snare laid open in lawfull things; wee should take heed we prevent, if it may be, the occasion.
2. If you would not give liberty to the flesh, shake off dulnesse in the performance of good duties;Mat. 26.41 the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weake, the flesh is short-paced and too too ready to hinder us, in the way of the spirit; the Asse in the Law was to have his neck broken, and not be offered unto God; and the reason was, because it was a dull creature: so it is in this case, that the flesh is dull, and heavie, and if so bee wee bee not [Page 227]stirring and zealous in our way; the flesh will draw us backe and keepe us so farre backe in the way to salvation, as that we had need to wish that the Sunne and Moone might stand still in their stations; as they did in the time of Ioshuah, or else it is to be feared, we shall come short of our expected journey, to the Kingdome of Heaven: nay in doing the worke of the Lord negligently, instead of a blessing, we procure a curse upon our selves;Jer. 48.10. every sacrifice in the Law was to be salted with fire;Mark 9.49 that is, there was to be the salt of wisedome, that they did performe duties with discretion; so there must bee fire of zeale, that the services may be living and vigorous.Rom. 12.1
3. If you would not give liberty to the flesh, give God his full due, the more you give to God, the lesse you [Page 228]have to give to the flesh; [...]ccl. 12.1 give unto God the chiefe of your time, remember him in the dayes of your youth, because that is the most seasonable time to give unto God our first fruits, and the beginning of our strength; and it is the time of most certainety, for it is as the spring and summer of our dayes; it is most likely that we shall doe God most service, then a man will put a man into his Vine-yard, when he may doe him the most worke; so if we waite on the Lord, in the dayes of our youth; it is most likely then wee shall bee set into our worke, and such a worke as shall not be without a happie reward. Secondly, give the Lord the chiefe of your indeavours, the end to which you came into this world, is not so much to plow up your lands, or to digge in the earth, [Page 229]or to follow your trades, and to cumber your selves with Martha about many things;Phil. 2.12. 2 Tim. 4.7. 1 Cor. 15. but it is to worke out your salvation with feare and trembling; and to fight out your good fight, & never be weary of well doing; knowing that in due time you shall reape, if you faint not; I doe not say that men should neglect their callings, for he that provideth not for his family, is worse then an infidell; but this I say, that he that is so carefull for the world; that hee doth neglect his soule, and the service of his God, is little better then an Atheist: yet let me tell you, that the plough that doth plow your grounds, must rather stand, then that which ploweth up the fallow grounds of your hearts, and you must not spend so much time in your shops, as there by to neglect the trade of your [Page 230]soules, nor be so busie about your counting-bookes as to forget that great account that you are to make with God; for howsoever this may bee good husbandry amongst men, yet sure I am, it is none of Gods husbandry, as that Prophet said unto Ahab; 1. Kieg. 2.38.39. behold saith he, there was in the battell, a man committed unto me, but on these termes; that if I kept him not, my life should goe for his, &c. but while I was busie here and there, the man was gone; so it is in this case, that while a man is busie about this and that thing, that a mans dayes are spent, and hee drops into hell before he is aware, and loseth his soule for the satisfaction of his lusts. First, labour in the last place to bee alwayes on the growing hand, to adde unto your faith vertue, to your vertue knowledge, [Page 231]to knowledge temperance; to temperance,2 Pet. 1.5.6 brotherly kindnesse, love, &c. then he concludeth, that if these things be in you, and abound; yee shall neither be barren nor unfruitfull.
That as the spirituall part doth increase, so the flesh and corruptions, they doe decrease, and go down:2 Sam. 17.16. Though Vriah was a valiant man, yet when he was set upon by strong men, then he fell and was overcome; so it is in this case, that though corruption cannot be denied, but to be a potent enemy; yet when it is set upon by these graces, it will fall and bee deprived of the power it hath.
CAP. XXI. Mortification of sinne makes Christians live with comfort and die in peace▪
2 THis shewes unto us the way to leade a comfortable and a contented life, and to die a peaceable and joyfull death; it is chiefely when we finde the power of sinne mortified and subdued by us, for what is it that will distract the minde, and disquiet the conscience more then sinne will; this is that one thing that doth separate God from us, and us from God;Es. 59.2. and is the cause whereby we are plunged into so many feares, and why our minds hang in suspence, and that our hearts are often pierced through with many sorrowes, wee would have fewer cares in getting of [Page 233]worldly things; lesse feares in heaping them up, and bee very little disquieted at their losse; were it so, that there were not in us a covetous heart,Gal. 6.14. were we but crucified unto the world,James 4.4. and the world unto us; then would we be friends of God, and this would follow, that we would be at enmity with the world, there would be no heart burnings,James 4.1. 1 Pet. 3.4. nor malicious speeches and cruell deeds; were it not from those lusts that warre in our members, were there a meeke and a quiet spirit which is much esteemed of God; while Acan was in the campe, and his sinne not discovered, nor found out, there was no peace to the campe, nor power to prevaile against the enemies; but when he was discovered, and justly punished; then they went on and prospered; so likewise while sin [Page 235]is not acknowledged, nor a holy revenge taken against it; so long there is no peace in the conscience; but if that our hearts be once wrought to a holy indignation for our offences, then feare not but there is way made for the entrance of that peace of God which passeth all understanding; therefore if we would have that peace that is fraternall among brethren, or that which is internall in our owne hearts, or that which is eternall with God for ever, then mortifie our lusts which are the causes at the first to deprive us of our peace, and while they live will be fomenters of our discords; but were they mortified, this enmity that they have wrought could not live: As Jonah said, cast me out, and the storme will cease, so say I, cast sinne out, and there [Page 234]will be an allaying of all these garboiles that are in the world, and making up of that breach betweene God and us, they have a rule in Law moritur causa cum corpore; that if the man die the suite falleth, so is it here, that if wee die to sinne, then this suite will fall betweene us and God; where there is no wood (saith Solomon) the fire goeth out;Proy. 26.20. so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth: what is this wood but sinne, and what maketh so great a cry in the eares of God as sin doth? therefore take away sinne, and the contention will be at an end.
3. The third instruction that we may observe hence, is this; that it is an hard thing to mortifie our sin, it is as hard to finde out a disease as it is to cure it; the Philistins did quickly over-come Sampson, [Page 236]when they found where his great strength lay; it is easie for a man in generall, to say that he is a sinner, and yet if you should runne over the Commandements, and come to particulars, he would cleare himselfe as not guilty of any, and say as the young man did, all these have I done; and like the Harlot,Mat. 19.20 Prov. 3.20. wipe her mouth, and say I have done no wickednesse; therefore your care must be to search out wherin the great strength of sinne doth lye, and therefore we must labour to take the light of the word to direct us, and desire God that he will give us the light of his holy spirit to open our eyes, that we may bee able to see and know our owne sinfull hearts; and when wee have found it, set upon this worke with courage and resolution.
1. Againe, another thing [Page 237]that makes sinne so hard to be mortified; as that marriage that is made betweene sinne and us:Rom. 7.4. after the people of Israel had mixed themselves among the Heathen, and made marriages with them; they were wonderfully hard to be brought to leave them;Ezr. 10. so when as a man is married unto his lusts; so it is a hard thing for a man to leave them, but now for a man to kill his wife, this is much more difficult. It was a hard matter to flesh and bloud, for Abraham to sacrifice his sonne, and yet at the commandement of God he did it; so must we doe, our obedience to God must exceed our love of our sinnes; though the matter be difficult, yet it must be done; as Iephtah when he had made a vow unto God, though it turned afterward to his great griefe, so to part with his onely daughter; yet [Page 238]saith he, I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot goe backe, so may we, though that we finde the matter to be hard that we are about to doe, to leave that we love so dearely, yet resolve and vow against it: and when we have so done, then say as he did, I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot goe backe, nor can I alter what is gone out of my mouth.
3. Another thing that maketh this worke of mortification; hard and difficult, is the close adherencie that sin hath unto us, it winds it selfe so about us, as the Ivy doth about the tree, till it eate out the heart and sap of it; so is it in this case, corruption doth cleave unto us so, as it is very hard to be freed from it:2 Sam. 2.21 Abner when he fled from Joah, was so followed by Hazael, that he had no way to be freed [Page 239]from him, but by sheathing his speare in his bowels, so it is in this case, there is no way to be freed from these corruptions, but by slaughter of them, they will not be driven away with neither faire nor foule speeches; you may scare away a dogge with harsh speeches, but you cannot doe so with a Lion; sinne is of the brood of the old Lion the Devill, that will not bee easily driven away, nor over-come; therefore seeing it is that doth so beset us, and doth cleave so hard unto us;Heb. 12.1.2. let us shake off every thing that presseth downe, and sin that doth disquiet us, but how; looking unto Jesus; the author and finisher of our faith, as they that looked on the brazen Serpent, were cured of the sting that they had received of the fiery Serpent; so it is in this case, when we looke up to [Page 240]Christ, he it is that can onely stanch this bloody issue that sinne hath made, in one word, frequent the meanes that God hath appointed for curing of your soules,John. 17.17. the preaching of the word, when you come with faith, then there is hope of purging, the word hath a cleansing power in it, as the poole of Bethesda, when it was troubled,John. 5.4. it had a healing vertue in it:Chap. 22.4. so our hearts when they are troubled by the word God heales by it.
CAP. XXII. Our weaknesse appeareth in this, that we need the helpe of the spirit,
THis should teach us to take notice of our owne weakenesse, and how without the spirit of Christ wee can [Page 241]doe nothing. We beare about an ignorant mind, a perverse will, violent pasions that have in them an aptitude to all sin, and wickednesse, that as Adams actuall sinne corrupted his nature; so our nature on the other side, corrupteth, and defileth our actions, so as the streame cannot be good, because the fountaine is corrupt: fall wee may, but rise wee cannot, wee may plunge our selves deepe into the pit of finne, but to recover our selves, hoc opus, hic labor est: this is a worke beyond our strength; wee cannot contract uncleannesse upon our selves, but when wee have done wee cannot wash it off; and though we should use never so many outward meanes to that en [...], yet were it not that the spirit goe along with us: though we wash our selves with snowwater,Iob 9.31.10.1. our own garmēt would [Page 242]defile us, and make us uncleane.
Therefore it will be necessary that wee should examine whether we have the spirit of God, yea or no, which will be able to helpe up, and beare us out in this businesse.
1 It is the spirit of wisedome that doth enable us,How you may know that you have the spirit. to lay a sure foundation, and to make such battell against the strong holds of sinne, as these our lusts and corruptions cannot be able to withstand;2 Tim. 1.7. we have not received the spirit of feare, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind, where there is this sound mind, there must needes be power, and love, such is the force of the spirit, that it is set out, by the rushing of a mighty winde, and by the fire, a mighty element, so as nothing that is combustible can stand before it.
Now when God shall say, awake O North, Can. 4.16. and come thou South, and blow upon my garden, when he shall call the spirit of bondage, which is as the North wind; to terrifie, and ama [...]e us, for our sinnes; and then shall send his spirit of adoption, as the South wind to make us fruitfull, in repentance, and in the workes of mortification; then I say are we furnished with this spirit of a sound mind,Eccles. 7.12 wisedome is a distention, and money is a defension, but the excellencie of knowledge is, that wisedome giveth life to him that hath it; much may be done with money, but more with wisedome, because money can neither slay sinne, nor assure us of life, but wisedome can doe both, wisedome will teach us to make provision for our latter end.
2 It is a spirit of holinesse, [Page 244]and sanctitie, and that is the reason of an opposition, that there is unto sin in the soule, the spirit lusteth against the flesh,Gal. 5.19. and the flesh against the spirit, and they are contrary one to another: as it is with a fountaine of living water, that if any filth be cast into it, it will worke it out, by the constant running of it, so it is with the spirit, that when any corrupt motion, is cast into the heart, it will not leave untill it have purged it out; and the reason is, because there can be no agreement betwixt these, the one doth alwaies seeke to dispossesse, and destroy the other, and therefore as it is when a woman that hath decked her selfe; with beautifull garments, she will not come into uncleane places, and naftie company: so in this case; the holy spirit will not indure [Page 245]the heart, where he lodgeth should be defiled, or that it should be a receptacle for uncleane lusts. For if Christ could not indure that his carthly Temple should be a den of theeves, much lesse wil he endure that his spirituall Temple should be a cage of every uncleane and noysome lust.
3 It is a craving spirit, it goeth out day by day, and doth crave assistance at Gods hands to helpe us against our corruption,Rom. 8.26. it is the spirit that helpeth our infirmities, and maketh intercession for us; that as Hezekiah said,2 Cor. 20. Lord we know not what to doe, our eyes are towards thee; what was that made him waite on God, but this spirit of grace and supplication: so say I, what maketh a Christian to lift up strong cryes and prayers unto God, when hee is assaulted by [Page 246]the flesh, and to waite for strength from heaven; is it not the spirit, that putteth us upon it, and maketh us never to give over till wee find successe from God; it is not the making of a prayer, that will serve your turnes, but the having of the spirit of prayer, that is it that will helpe you,Hos. 12.4. to wrastle with God with your prayers, and teares, as Iacob did, and not to give over like the importunate widdow,Luk. 18.34.5. untill you have your requests granted unto you.
4 It is a cheerfull spirit that thought the worke be hard, and sharpe, yet it maketh us passe through it with much alacrity; and cheerfulnesse; it maketh us, while wee are breaking up the fallow grounds of our hearts, and while wee are about to crucifie the flesh,1 Cor. 9.10 & circumcise the foreskinne of our hearts, to be [Page 247]cheerfull and rejoyce because the end of that is joy and consolation, for they that plow in hope & thresh in hope shall be partakers of their hopes. What maketh the marriner to passe through so many hard adventures, by sea and land, but hope of some great advantage that may be for his advancement: or what maketh the Souldier adventure himself, into the heat of the battel, but hope of a joyfull victory, and what maketh a Christian to take such paines with his heart, and to make such hot skirmishes against his lusts, but in hope of good successe, & a glorious victory? On the other side, there is no greater signe of an unmortified heart, then when hee is forced unto the worke, and drawne unto duty, as a Beare to a stake, out of slavish feare, and apprehensions of wrath: as Sathan [Page 248]than saith in Iob; that skinne for skinne, Iob. 2.4. and all that a man hath will he give for his life: a man will doe much in extremity, which is not a free, but a forced service, but now if so he that there be a cheerfull spirit we are carried by it, to this duty, as freely as Abraham was to the sacrificing of his sonne, not reasoning with flesh and blood, but out of the feare of God,2 Cor. 7.1.2 the love of holineffe, and the hatred of sinne: wee are as cheerefull at the death of it, as wee delighted sometime at the commission of it.
CAP. XXIII. An exhortation unto the duty of mortification.
FOr as much as wee are naturally slow unto this [Page 249]worke of mortification, both in respect of that love we have unto our lusts, and also in respect that Sathan, and our deceitfull hearts, doe labour by all faire and possible arguments to beate us off from this worke: saying, as sometimes Peter did unto our Saviour: Master spare thy flesh,Mat. 16.22. this shall not be to thee: such suggestions men have; when they are pressed unto duty, that they should spare that labour, there i [...] no necessity of. Therefore it will not be amisse to quicken you up unto this duty, by such considerations as these.
1 In regard of sinne, that if it be not mortified, wee doe highly displease Almighty God, therefore the Lord is said to ha [...]e iniquity, as that which is contrary to his Law, as that which is cursed of him, now that sinne is thu [...] displeasing to him, will appeare.
[Page 250] 1 In regard of those sad Complaints and those patheticall expressions that are used in Scripture, against sin, and sinners: when the sinnes of the old world grew to that height, that the whole earth was corrupt before God, and that the wickednesse of man was great in the earth,Gen. 6.6. it repented the Lord that hee had made man, and it grieved him at the heart, a deepe expression how much God is displeased with it, now when God is said to be grieved, it is not in that he is subject to passion, but after the manner of men, not secundum affectum, but effectum, as they speake in the Schooles, that as men are grieved when they are offended, so is God sore displeased with sinne.Psal. 95.10, 11. Forty yeares long was I grieved with this generation: then it was that hee sware in his wrath that they [Page 251]should not enter into his rest, that after they had grieved him so long time together, his sore displeasure did arise, and so they perished in the wildernesse:Luk. 19.41. how was our blessed Saviour grieved when hee beheld the City, and wept over it, saying, O Ierusalem, Ierusalem, how often would I have gathered thee, as a hen gathereth her chickins, &c. What can be a greater griefe to a loving father, or a tender mother, than to see their Children not to harken unto good admonitions, and exhortations; so is it unto Christ: when as wee turne aside, to the by-paths of sinne, it grieves him much, how doth God complaine of his people: O my people what have I done unto thee, Mich. 6.2. testifie against mee: now when we heare God to shew so much discontent, in his be wayling of our sinnes; it should be a strong [Page 252]motive, to make us to be waile our owne sinnes, and offences against God.
2 Consider that sinne is it, that doth separate God from us, and us from him; thence it is that sometimes God hath left his people:Ier. 12.7. I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage, and delivered the dearly beloved of my soule into the hand of mine enemy. It must needs be a great matter that makes a man to leave his house, and forsake his heritage, either the house stands n [...]e [...]e untoward neighbours, or it is in a bad soyle, the water is nought, & the ground barren, or else it could not be a man would leave it; so here, when a man spends his life among notorious and wicked men, and shall be like the unfruitfull ground;Heb. 6.7.8. that bringeth forth nothing but thornes, and bryers, then it is to be [Page 253]feared that the Lord will leave him, and will pull down the hedge of his providence, and cause all the beasts in the field to come and devoure;Esa 5.4. now when we see that Christ and sinne will not comply together; O labour then to mortifie your corruptious, that separate God from us, and us from him, and hinders good things from you.
3. Consider those grievous punishments, which have fallen on men by reason of sinnes, both on whole Nations, and on particular persons; see how the foundations of the great deepe from below, and the windowes of heaven from above were set open by the sinnes of those times; how the clouds contrary to their nature dissolved into a shower of Brimstone, and fell on that sinfull City: in one word, wherefore was Kain smitten [Page 254]with such feares? and Herod smitten with wormes, was it not for sinne?
Lastly, if God would ever have spared any, hee would have spared his owne sonne; but Christ undertaking to become sinne for us, he must not be spared, but must suffer a sorrowfull, and a shamefull death for that cause: sure then if God have beene ever so severe, that he would not spare sinne, it should be our care that we should not spare it.
2. Consider, that if you doe not mortifie your corruptions, then you are first under the power and servitude of Sathan; he that walketh in sinne, is a servant of sinne, and while he promiseth liberty to himselfe,Ioh. 8.34. he becommeth the servant of corruption;2 Pet. 2.19. for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought in bondage; for as it is with a servant, [Page 255]hee doth not his owne will, but the will of his Master; so is it with a man that is in bondage unto sinne and Sathan, is servant thereunto: as it is with a ship when the Rudder, and the Anchors, and Masts are broken, that it is carried whether the tempest will force it; so deplored is a man that is unmortified; he is carried whither the flesh and Sathan will have him led captive, he is at his will; but were the power of sinne mortified, we should finde that these temptations would fall from us as the Viper from Pauls hand, and would not prevaile against us. Suppose a man have a strong house, and great fortifications about it, yet if there be but a servant within that can unlocke and unbolt the doores, there is no safety there; so suppose there be never so many good gifts [Page 256]in a man, yet if hee have his corrupt nature unmortified, be assured of this then, that there is one within you, that will let in Sathan, who will seduce you to sinne.
2 If you doe not mortifie sinne, Sathan will make your soules his lodging. For as a mortifi'd, and a sanctifi'd heart is the seat of the Holy Ghost: so also an unmortified and an uncleane heart is the seate of Sathan. When the spirit of God departed from Saul, 1. Sam. 16.14. then an evill spirit from the Lord troubled him: so it is in this case, that if Christ by his spirit dwell not in you, Sathan will take place, as it was said of Babylon, that shee was the habitation of Devils,Rev. 18.2. and the kennell of every foule spirit, and a cage of every uncleane and hatefull bird, so a man that is not purged from his sinne, the strong man keeps [Page 257]the house and all kind of lusts swimme in him: now then that these great enemies, and these noysome and hurtfull lusts may be destroyed, labour to mortifie your corruption, then will all these your enemies be driven away, by the breath of the spirit of Christ, and the brightnesse of his comming.
3 In regard of our selves, if we doe not mortifie sinne, we cannot be but great losers by it:Heb. 6.7. untill then the word is unprofitable it falleth upon us, till it mortifie corruption, as the raine that falleth on the barren ground, it bringeth forth nothing but bryars and thornes, fit for cursing; so all the gaine that you have, by the hid treasure of the holy Word of God, and this pearle of the Gospell, it is but the aggravation of your sinne, and a savour of death unto [Page 258]you, so that this word that killeth sinne in others, doth but ripen them in you, and this word that is wholsome nourishment unto others, is but a potion of death unto you.
2 Untill sinne be mortified you can have no true peace in your consciences,Esa 57. ult. the wicked, saith God, have no peace: as Iehu answered the King, when he said, Is it peace Iehu, what peace, saith he, so long as the whoredomes of thy mother Iesabell, and her witchchrafts are so many: so say I, what peace, can there be, as long as lust, and the body of sinne doth remaine, what peace can there be in the heart of a man. As it was said, that in the dayes of Shamgar the high wayes were unoccupied, and travellers walked through by-wayes,Iudg. 5.6. till I Deborah arose, &c. sountill such [Page 259]time as sinne is purged out, there is no peace but warre, no walking in those wayes of grace and peace, till there be a mortification of sinne; as you see it is, when that the high wayes are pestered with robbers, there is no safety to passe, in, or out: so when the high-wayes of piety are pestered, with lust, so as the passages are stopped, and there will be no security, untill such time, as that these be cut off, but if that you can come to slay and destroy these enemies, that doe way lay, and fight against the soule, I say then you may walke in safety; and the truth is, were we not enemies unto our selves, we need to feare no enemy: our greatest and most desperate enemies are those of our owne house, even such lusts as have their breath and breeding in our owne hearts.
[Page 260] 3 The last great losse that wee doe sustaine by want of mortification is the losse of our soules, which is the greatest losse that can be: for if every grasse pile in our fields were a precious pearle, and every stone in the streete were a diamond; and every eare of corne in our fields, were so many shining chrysolites, yet were they not all worth the soule: but now if a man should not endeavour to kill sinne, sinne will kill him. Suppose wee the most fearfull and dastardly man that may be, yet if he had this proposition made, if thou dost not kill mee I will kill thee, I should suppose that this would make him fight. I tell you brethren, that if you doe not slay sinne, it will slay you, and if you mortifie the deedes of the flesh by the spirit you shall live, but if [Page 261]you live after the flesh, you shall dye.
CAP. XXIV. Containing a briefe explication of the last words of the (yee shall live) by way of motive.
I Have onely one motive to adde to perswade you to mortifie sinne, and that is the words of my text: if yee doe this, you shall live; life, as you have heard, is a large word, and doth signifie not onely the life naturall, but that of grace and glory; now here I take it; for the life of glory, as standing in opposition to the death, that is set over in the former part of the verse, which is that eternall punishment in hell, which shall be certainly [Page 262]inflicted on unmortified men, that live after the flesh, and this life that is set in opposition thereunto, is that life, that certainly may be obtained, by such as doe mortifie the flesh, and endeavour to destroy that body of sinne, now this happinesse that is here spoken of, if I had the tongue of men and Angels, yet could I not sufficiently set it out, yet to give you a taste of what is revealed, that you may guesse at what is not revealed, but beleeved, and waited for, some thing the Scripture saith of it.
1 There shall be a perfect victory over all your enemies, over sinne that hath beene so turbulent; over death, that hath beene so fearfull, and over hell that is so dreadfull, so as now wee may boast,1 Cor. 15.55. as he that putteth off the harnesse, and triumphs, [Page 263]because that his warfare is accomplished, and our sinnes are pardoned:Esa 40.2. here the Church triumphant, doth change their swords into Scepters, their corslets into Crownes, and their garments rouled in blood, into long white robes to follow the Lambe whithersoever he goeth; now we may sing with the Saints, the song of Moses Haleluiah unto him that dwelleth in the highest, and to him that sitteth on the throne for evermore.
2 There shall be a resting from all our labours, from all our workes, either of body or of mind, so farre as they did consist in our seeking, for the preservation of our present beeing, or from the attainment of our future well-being: here it is laid upon us, to eate bread in the sweat of our faces: and to indure heat and cold, hunger,Gen. 3, 19, and nakednesse, [Page 264]but there shall be an end of all these, poore Lazarus shall rest in the bosome of rich Abraham, and all the blessed Saints shall sit downe with Abraham, Mat. 8.12. and Isaack, and Iacob, in the Kingdome of God: here there is our worke of faith, and labour of love, our hope waiting for the accomplishments of the promises, and our teares of godly sorrow unto repentance, arising from a bleeding, and broken heart: but there our faith shall be turned into vision,Hebr. 4.9. our love and hope, into fruition, and then all teares shall be wiped from our eyes, doubtlesse such a rest there is for the people of God.
3 There shall be the vision of God, that is, wee shall be brought into the presence of God, and shall see God in Christ, the beames of the Deity shall be so resplendent [Page 265]from Christ his humanity, as that wee shall see him; as wee are seene; there fore our Saviour prayeth that where hee is, John 3.2. John 17.24. there they may bee also, that they may behold his glory: a glimps of this there was in the transfiguration, when Peter said, it is Good for us to be here, and in that of Saint Paul, when hee saw things unutterable.
1. We shall see with greater inlargements of knowledge. No Eagles eye shall be so strong that can looke on the Sun, as ours then that can looke upon him, at whose presence the sight of many sins would vanish into darknesse. If Adam in the state of nature could understand so much of God, as to give names unto the creatures; sure in the state of glory, there will bee a great augmentation of that fight; so that he that was an [Page 266]unlearned man, shall know that at once that many agreat Doctor have been many yeere bearing their heads about.
2. Againe, in respect of the sight, this sight must be glorious, the light of the Sunne is no more to be compered unto it, then the light of the Candle is in the light of it: no, nor as one observeth well, it is tanquam unus maximus Sol, all the whole heaven, it is, as it were nothing but all glorious Sun.
4. Lastly, wee shall enjoy the fruition of God,Rabeus. quod originatur in visione perficitur in fruitione; that which is begun in the vision of God, shall be perfected in the fruition of God: Dives saw Abraham a farre off, and Lazerus in his bosome; but what was this to Dives, it was no ease to him, but as we shall see him, so wee shall enjoy him; hee will love us with an everlasting [Page 267]love, and we shall live with him for ever;Psal. 36.8.9. nay wee shall be abundantly satisfied with the fulnesse of his house, and he shall make us drinke of the rivers of pleasure, for at his right hand is fulnesse of joy and pleasure for evermore.Psal. 16. vit. If a man had a certaine measure of joy in heaven, were it not full, it would not content the minde of a man, and if he had fulnesse, were it not perpetuall; it would not give content, but now seeing this joy is both perfect and perpetuall, there will bee full content in it.
To conclude all, blessed and happy are all those that have mortified this body of sinne, out of an hatred and holy indignation against it, they are carefull to sinne no more; for they shall live a life of grace here, and life of glory hereafter.
Errata.
PAge 4 line 26 for but of sin, read because of sin pag. 13 l. 20 for from him, r. from himselfe l. 21 for him r. them pag. 14 l. 7 for in r. into l. 11 for lastly how r. lastly see how, for how he r. how this enemy l. 14 for and this r. this pag. 16 l. 12 for to meete r. doe meete p. 19. l. 6 for and there r. and thence p. 20 r. 6 for some little r. to some little sin l. 7 blot out (that) p. 21 l. last for it is said r. it is said of fame p. 22 l. 25: for continuance it r. continuance in it p. 73 l. 16 for are neare r. are more neare p. 74 l. 4 for it is r. so it is p. 83 l. 25 for this rule r. these rules and l. 26 for ground and r. ground of, and l. last blot out (so) p. 110 l. 2 for no r. neither p. 113 l. 14 put out (one) p. 128 l. 4 for it r. and p. 149 l. 21 for sin r. sence p. 154 l. 18 for he r. we p. 193. l. 1 for articular r. particular p. 208 l. 3 for go r. and go p. 210 l. 16 for then r. that p. 223 l. 2. blot out he. p. 225. l. last blot out (all)