A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 5 · Sermon 40
THE CHECKE OF CONSCIENCE. THE XL. SERMON.
ROM. 6.21.
What fruit had yet then in thoſe things, whereof yee are now aſhamed? for the end of thoſe things is death.
Right Honourable, right Worſhipfull, &c.
NO ſpeech of wiſdome can be ſo diſcrectly uttered, but it may by ignorance be depraved: no action of vertue can be ſo exactly performed, but it may through malice be miſ-conſtrued. It is not more proper to God to bring light out of darkneſſe, peace out of trouble, joy out of ſorrow, and out of ſinne (the greateſt of all evils) to extract much good, by governing and diſpoſing it to the declaration of his mercy and juſtice; than it is naturall to the Divell and his impes, out of the light of truth to endeavour to draw darkneſſe of errour, and out of the beſt ſpeeches and actions to ſtraine and force out ſomewhat, to maintaine and nouriſh their corrupt humours and boſome ſinnes. And what marvell, ſith even in Paradiſe, amidſt the ſweeteſt flowers and wholſomeſt herbes and plants, a Serpent could live, and find there ſomething to feed upon? Paradiſe was the ſeat of mans happineſſe, the garden of pleaſure, the ſoyle of the tree of life, ſeated in the cleereſt ayre, watered and environed with ſweeteſt rivers, enamelled with pleaſanteſt flowers, ſet by God himſelfe with the choiceſt plants, and yet was it not free from the ſerpent, which turned the juices of thoſe ſoveraign and medicinall ſimples into poyſon. Ariſtotle writeth of the Cantharides, that they are killed with the ſent of theaAriſt. de mirabil. auſ cult. ſweeteſt and moſt fragrant oyntments: and it is morally verified in thoſe graceleſſe hearers, to whom the Word, which is theb2. Cor. 2.16. ſweet ſmelling ſavour of God to life, becommeth a ſavour of death. Such hearers the bleſſed Apoſtle Saint Paul ſharply cenſureth in this chapter,Occaſ. who when hee preached to them ſalvation by the free grace of Chriſt, hence concluded free liberty of ſinne: when to the comfort of all that are heavie laden with the burden of ſinne, he ſet abroach that heavenly doctrine, where ſinne abounded, there grace ſuperabounded; they ſubſumed, Let us therefore continue in ſinne, that grace may more abound: whereas indeed they ſhould have inferred the cleane contrary concluſion, thus: Grace hath abounded much more to us; therefore wee of all men ſhould not continue in ſinne, becauſe God offereth us ſo good meanes to eſcape out of it. The dew of heaven hath fallen plentifully upon us; therefore wee ought to be moſt fruitfull in good workes, not only becauſe God hath better enabled us to doe them, but alſo in a duty of thankfulneſſe wee are to offer him our beſt ſervice, who hath enriched us with the treaſures of his grace. Therefore to beat them, and in them all carnall Goſpellers from the former hold, St. Paul in this chapter planteth ordnance of many moſt forcible arguments, drawne from three principall heads.
Analyſ.1. Chriſt and his benefits.
2. Themſelves and their former condition.
3. The compariſon between a ſinfull and a holy courſe of life, and their contrary effects.
1 From Chriſt and his benefits after this manner: The effect of grace is to mortifie ſinne, how then can they who have received a greater meaſure of grace by the merit of Chriſts death and buriall, continue in ſinne? How can they that are dead to ſinne live therein? Whereas they urged grace for liberty of ſinne, the Apoſtle from grace enforceth ſanctity of life: whereas they alledged their redemption for their exemption from all ſervice, Saint Paul ſtrongly concludes from ſo great a benefit, a greater tye and obligation to ſerve the Lord their Redeemer: whereas they built a fort of ſin with the wood of Chriſts croſſe, he maketh an engine of the ſame wood to overthrow it: by grace we are united to Chriſt, and planted in him; therefore we muſt live the life of the root, & bring forth the fruit of thecVer. 5. Ver. 6. ſpirit: If we have been planted together in the likeneſſe of his death, wee ſhall be alſo in the likeneſſe of his reſurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of ſinne might be deſtroyed, that henceforth wee ſhould not ſerve ſinne, &c.
2 From themſelves and their former condition, thus: When yee were free from righteouſneſſe, yee were ſervants unto ſinne; now therefore being freed from ſinne, yee ought to be ſervants unto righteouſneſſe: As yee dVer. 18, 19.yeelded your members ſervants of uncleanneſſe and iniquity unto iniquity, ſo now yeeld your members ſervants of righteouſneſſe unto holineſſe, &c.
3 From the compariſon between the ſtate of ſin and grace, thus: When you were in the ſtate of ſinne, you had no profit at all of your workes, and you were confounded with ſhame for them, and by them were brought to the very brink of death;Coharent. but now being in the ſtate of grace, you reap fruit here in holineſſe, the fruit of peace and joy, and hereafter you ſhall reap the fruit of everlaſting life and glory.
Thus you ſee the ſcope of the Apoſtle, the occaſion and coherence of the words, which carry this ſenſe: Tell mee,Expoſit. Gen. yee unſettled and unſtable Chriſtians, who have been delivered from the thraldome of ſinne and Satan, and have given your names unto Chriſt, and your members as ſervants unto righteouſneſſe; why goe yee about to enthrall your ſelves anew to your ghoſtly enemies, or make your ſelves vaſſals to your fleſhly luſts? Obſerve yee not the heavie judgements of God lighting daily upon preſumptuous ſinners? See yee not before your eyes continuall ſpectacles of Gods juſtice? and marke yee not in them the fearfull ends of thoſe courſes, which now yee begin to take againe, after yee had long left them? Beleeve yee not the words of God,eRom. 2 9. Tribulation and anguiſh upon every ſoule that ſinneth? for hee will fPſal. 68.21.wound the hairy ſcalpe of every one that goeth on in his wickedneſſe. Or if you turne away your eyes from beholding the vialls of wrath daily powred upon ſinners, and ſtop your eares, that yee may not heare the dreadfull threats which God thundereth out in his Law againſt ſuch backſliders and relapſers as yee are: yet can yee ſtifle your owne hearts griefe? can yee forget the wofull plight into which your former courſes brought you, when free from righteouſneſſe, yee let looſe the reines to all licentiouſneſſe, that yee might worke wickedneſſe even with greedineſſe? yee glutted your ſelves with earthly vanities, and tooke a ſurfeit of ſinfull pleaſures. What gaine did yee not then greedily gape after? what preferment did yee not ambitiouſly ſeek? into what mire of impurity did not yee plunge your ſelves? No ſinfull pleaſure but yee tooke your fill of, no diſh of Satan which yee left untouched; yet ſpeake the truth between God and your owne conſcience, what true delight or ſolid contentment tooke yee in thoſe things? I know yee are aſhamed to ſpeake of it, and I will not wound modeſt eares to relate it; and ought yee not much more to be aſhamed to returne with the dogge to his former vomit, and with the ſow to her wallowing in the mire? Your ſoules have been cleanſed by the bloud of your Redeemer from all ſpots of impurity, will yee againe pollute and ſoile them? It is folly eagerly to purſue that which will bring you no profit at all; and greater to follow afreſh thoſe things whereof ye were not only aſhamed in the enjoying them, but alſo are now confounded at the very mention of them: yet this is not the worſt, ſhame is but the beginning of your woe: For the end is death, yea death without end. Will yee then forſake the waies of Gods Commandements, leading to endleſſe felicity, and weary your ſelves in the by-pathes of wickedneſſe, in the purſuit of worldly vanities, without hope of gaine, with certaine loſſe of your good name, nay, of your life? will yee ſell heaven for the mucke of the earth? ſet yee ſo much by the tranſitory pleaſures of ſinne, mixed with much anguiſh and bitterneſſe, attended on with ſhame, that for them yee will be content to be deprived of celeſtiall joyes, the ſociety of Archangels and Angels, and the fruition of God himſelfe for ever? nay, to be caſt into the darke and hideous dungeon of hell, to frie in eternall flames, to be companions of ghaſtly fiends and damned ghoſts, howling and ſhreeking without ceaſing, complaining without hope, lamenting without end, living, yet without life, dying, yet without death, becauſe living in the torments of everlaſting death?
Diviſ. & explicat. verb.Having taken a generall ſurvey of the whole, let us come to a more particular handling of the parts, which are three forcible arguments, to deterre all men from all vicious and ſinfull courſes.
1. The firſt ab inutili, What fruit had yee?
2. The ſecond ab infami, Whereof yee are now aſhamed.
3. The third à pernicioſo or mortifero, The end of theſe things is death.
1. Fruit.What fruit. This word fruit is fruitfull in ſignifications; it is taken:
1 Properly, for the laſt iſſue of trees, and ſo it is oppoſed to leaves or bloſſomes: for nature adorneth trees with three ſorts of hangings as it were; the firſt leaves, the ſecond bloſſomes, the third fruits: in this ſenſe the word is taken in the firſt of Geneſis, and in the parable of the figge-tree curſed by our Saviour, becauſe hee found no fruit thereon.
2 Improperly, either for inward habits, which are the fruits either of the ſpirit, whereof the Apoſtle ſpeaketh, The gGal. 5.22.fruit of the ſpirit is love, joy, peace, long-ſuffering, gentleneſſe, goodneſſe, faith, meekneſſe, temperance; or of the fleſh, reckoned up by the ſamehVer. 19, 20. Apoſtle; or for outward workes, which are the fruits of the former habits: whereof we reade, Being iPhil. 1.11.filled with the fruits of righteouſneſſe: and in the Epiſtle of S.kJam. 3.15. James, Full of mercy and good fruits: Or for the reward of theſe works, either inward, as peace, joy, and contentment; whereof thoſe words of S.lVer. 18. James are to be meant, The fruit of righteouſnes is ſowne in peace of them that make peace: and thoſe of S. Paul, No mHeb. 12.11.affliction for the time is joyous, but grievous; but in the end it bringeth the quiet fruit of righteouſneſſe to thoſe that are exerciſed thereby: Or laſtly for outward bleſſings, wherewith God even in this life recompenſeth thoſe who are fruitfull in good workes, as the Prophet Eſay and David aſſure them: Surely it ſhall be nEſay 3.10. Pſal. 58.11.well with the juſt: for they ſhall eate the fruits of their workes: Utique eſt fructus juſto; Verily there is fruit for the righteous, verily there is a God that judgeth the earth.
2. Had.Had. It is written of the Lynx, that he never looketh backe; but Homer contrarily deſcribeth a wiſe man, foreign. looking both forward and backward, forward to things to come, and backward to things paſt: for by remembring what is paſt, and fore-caſting things future, he ordereth things preſent: and in ſpeciall what advantage a Chriſtian maketh of the memory of his former ſinnes, and the ſad farewell they have left in the conſcience, I ſhall ſpeake more largely hereafter: for the preſent, in this curſory interpretation of the words it ſhall ſuffice to obſerve from the pretertenſe habuiſtis, had ye? not habetis, have ye? that ſin, like the trees of Sodome, if it beare any fruit at all, yet that it abideth not, but aſſoone as it is touched falls to aſhes. Muſonius the Philoſopher out of his owne experience teacheth us, and that truely, that if we doe any good thing with paine, the paine is ſoone over, but the pleaſure remaineth; but on the contrarie, if we doe any evill thing with pleaſure, the pleaſure is ſoone over, but the paine remaineth.
In thoſe things whereof yee are now aſhamed. 3. Thoſe things.As after the wound is healed there remaines a ſcar in the fleſh; ſo after ſinne is healed in the conſcience, there remaines as it were a ſcarre of infamie in our good name, and of ſhame alſo in the inward man. The act of ſinne is tranſcunt, yet ſhame the effect, or rather proper paſſion of it, is permanent: ſinne is more ancient than ſhame, but ſhame out liveth ſinne. It is as impoſſible that fire ſhould be without ſcorching heat, or a blow without paine, or a feaver without ſhaking, as ſinne, eſpecially heinous and grievous, without a trembling in the minde, and ſhame and confuſion in the ſoule. For, asoIn Saturnal. Macrobius well obſerveth, when the ſoule hath defiled her ſelfe with the turpitude of ſinne, pudore ſuffunditur, & ſanguinem obtendit pro velamento, ſhe is aſhamed of her ſelfe, and ſends forth bloud into the outward parts, and ſpreadeth …t like a vaile before her; juſt as the Sepia or Cuttle fiſh, when ſhe is afraid to be taken,pPlin. nat hiſt. l. 9. c. 29. Sepiae ubi ſenſere ſe apprehendi, offuſo atramento quod illis pro ſanguine eſt, abſconduntur. ſends from her bloud like inke, whereby ſhe ſo obſcureth the water that the angler cannot ſee her. If it be objected, that ſome men as they are paſt grace, ſo paſt ſhame alſo, and ſome foreheads of that metall that will receive no tincture of modeſtie, ſuch as Zeno was inqL. 16. Si clam ſcelera perpetraſſer, obſcurum & minus glorioſum putabat; ſin publicitùs & apertè in conſpectu omnium abſ que pudore flegitioſus eſſet, id d…mùm Principe & Imperatore dignum putabat. Nicephorus his ſtory, who held it a diſparagement to himſelfe to commit wickedneſſe in ſecret, and cover his filthineſſe with the darke ſhadow of the night; for that it became not ſoveraigne majeſtie to feare any thing: he thought he could not ſhew himſelfe a Prince, unleſſe without feare or ſhame he committed outrages in the face of the ſunne. Such were thoſe Jewes whom the Prophet Jeremie brands in the forehead with the marke of a Strumpet that cannot bluſh;rJer 8.12. Were they aſhamed when they committed abominations? nay, ſJer. 3.3. Thou hadſt a whores forehead, thou refuſedſt to be aſhamed.they were not aſhamed, neither could they bluſh. I anſwer,
1 By diſtinguiſhing of ſhame, which is ſometimes taken for the inward affection and irkſome paſſion of a ſinner, that hath caſt any foule ſtaine upon his conſcience; ſometimes for the outward expreſſion, by dejection in the countenance, faultring in the ſpeech, a cloud in the eye, and fluſhing in the forehead and cheekes. No ſinner is without ſhame in the firſt ſenſe, though many by cuſtome in ſinne grow ſenſeleſſe thereof, and conſequently ſhameleſſe in the latter ſenſe; and in the end they come to that height of impudencie, that they bluſh for it if they bluſh, and are aſhamed of their ſhamefacedneſſe, & pudet non eſſe impudentem. But this hardineſſe doth them no good at all; for they doe but ſtop the mouth of the wound that it bleed not outwardly, it bleedeth inwardly the faſter, and much more dangerouſly.
2 A ſinner may be conſidered either before or after his regeneration; before his regeneration he committeth many ſinnes, whereof he is not then aſhamed, either becauſe he accounteth them no ſins, or not ſuch ſinnes as may any wayes trench upon his reputation. For though the dim light of corrupt nature diſcovereth ſome workes of darkeneſſe, yet not all, nor any in the right hiew. As a man that is in the water feeleth not the weight of it; ſo the ſinner whileſt he is in the ſtate of corruption feeleth not the weight of ſinne. For he accounteth great ſinnes ſmall, and ſmall none at all: but when he is out of that ſtate, then he feeleth the ſmalleſt ſinne unrepented of as heavie as a talent of lead, able to drowne his ſoule in eternall perdition; as it followeth:
For the endFor the end of theſe things is death. That is the end of all theſe things. By end here the Apoſtle meaneth not the finall cauſe moving the ſinner, but the finall effect of ſinne: for the ſinner propoundeth to himſelfe a divers end; either gaine, which the covetous man ſhooteth at; or glorie, which the ambitious; or pleaſure, which the voluptuous: but they miſſe their marke, and in ſtead of gaine, which the covetous man promiſed himſelfe in his ſinfull courſe of life, in his returne by weeping croſſe he findeth irrecoverable loſſes; (for what fruit had yee?) in ſtead of glorie and honour, which the ambitious aimeth at, ſhame and infamie; (whereof yee are now aſhamed:) in ſtead of a pleaſant temporall life, which the voluptuous ſhot at, a painefull and eternall death. For the end of theſe things
Is death.Is death. That is death temporall which is the ſinners earneſt as it were, and death eternall, which is his full hire and wages; death corporall, which is the ſeparation of the ſoule from the body, is haſtened by ſinne; death ſpirituall, which is the ſeparation of the ſoule from God, is ſinne; and death eternall, in Scripture termed the ſecond death, which is the tormenting of body and ſoule for ever in the lake of fire and brimſtone, is the full reward of ſinne; and this death is here principally meant, as may be gathered from the words enſuing my text; but the gift of God is eternall life: for that death which is oppoſed to eternall life can be no other than eternall death.
Obſer.The meaning of the text being thus cleared, the ſpeciall points of obſervation are eaſily diſcerned; the firſt is, That the ſmart of the wound of conſcience for ſinnes paſt is a ſpeciall meanes, through grace, to keepe us from ſinne to come. Upon this the Apoſtle worketh in the words of my text, What fruit had yee in thoſe things whereof ye are now aſhamed? The burnt child doth not more dread the fire, nor the ſcholar ſeverely corrected beware the fault for which he ſmarted, nor the Pilot keep off from the rock at which he formerly daſhed his bark, and hazzarded his life and goods, nor the intemperate gallant, tormented with an extreme fit of a burning feaver, forbeare the pouring in of wine and ſtrong drinkes, which were the oyle that kindled and maintained the flame within his bowels, than he that hath felt the ſting of ſinne in his conſcience, and beene formerly confounded with the ſhame thereof, dreadeth and flieth, and ſeeketh by all meanes to ſhunne thoſe ſinnes which have left ſo ſad a remembrance behind them. As ſome parts of our bodies are more ſenſible than others, (the ſinewie parts more than the fleſhly) yet all that have life in them have ſome ſenſe of paine: ſo ſome conſciences are more tender, that feele the leaſt pricke of ſin; ſome harder, and more ſtupid and benummed, like theuSolin. c. 29. Matres Urſorum diebus primis 14. in …omnum ita concidunt, ut ne vulneribus pridem excitati queant. Numidian Beares, which ſcarce feele ſtripes or wounds: yet all that have any life of grace in them, or uſe of reaſon, have ſome touch of conſcience at ſome times, which marreth all their mirth, and overcaſteth their faire weather with clouds of griefe, powring downe ſhowres of teares. I know the wicked ſeeke to diſſemble it, like the man in Plutarch, who having a foxe under his cloake, never quatched, though the beaſt bit through his ſides and devoured his bowels. The*Pro. 14.13. foole, ſaith Solomon, maketh a mocke of ſinne, but the heart knoweth the bitterneſſe of his ſoule: for even in laughing the heart is ſorrowfull, and the end of that mirth is mourning. I ſpeake not of a melancholy dumpe, but of an habituall and conſtant penſiveneſſe, ariſing from the ſting of ſinne left in the ſoule. No tongue can ſufficiently expreſſe it, onelyonly the heart that feeleth it can conceive the nature of this griefe, and ſmart of this paine which the laſh of conſcience imprinteth: xJuven. ſat. 13. Mens habet attonitos, & ſurdo verbere caedit.Occulto quatiente animum tortore flagello. Yet ſome ſenſe wee may have of it by the ſimilitudes whereby it is expreſſed. It is called ayAct. 2.37. pricking of the heart: and leſt that wee ſhould imagine it to bee as it were a pricke with a ſmall pinne, or needle, it is called a wound in the heart, (My zPſal. 109.22heart was wounded within me.) O what paine muſt a wound in the heart needs be, where the leaſt prick is death? Yet farther, that wee might not thinke this wound might bee drawne together, it is called the cutting aſunder of the heart, (*Joel 2.13. Rent your hearts and not your garments: yet farther, that wee might not thinke any part of the heart to remaine entire, it is called theaPſal. 51.17. breaking of it into ſmall pieces, andbPſal. 22.14. melting theſe alſo; and can there bee any ſorrow like unto this ſorrow, which pricketh the heart, nay woundeth it being pricked, nay rents it being wounded, nay breaketh it being rent, nay melteth it being broken? This pricking, wounding, renting, breaking, melting the heart, is nothing elſe but remorſe of conſcience for ſome hainous and grievous ſinnes, whereby Gods image in us is defaced, our credit ſtayned, our profeſſion ſcandalized, and Gods anger provoked againſt us. This remorſe is found both in the godly, and in the wicked: but in the one it is cured; or at leaſt eaſed with ſeaſonable comfort; in the other this continuall biting of conſcience is without any eaſe, or hope of cure: and therefore it driveth them to blaſpheme God, and curſe themſelves, & ſometimes to lay violent hands upon their own bodies, and apply a remedy worſe than the diſeaſe. In the godly and penitent it breedeth a loathing and deteſtation of ſinne, and a ſpeedy recourſe to the Phyſitian of their ſoules, with ſighes and groanes that cannot be expreſſed. For as Lactantius writeth, that the aſhes of a burnt viper are a preſent remedy againſt the ſting of the viper, ſo the remaines of ſin in the conſcience, viz. remorſe and ſhame, are a preſent remedy againſt ſinne; as wee may ſee in David: cPſal. 51.3.I know mine owne iniquity, and my ſinne is ever before mee: dPſal. 38.4, 5.Mine iniquities are gone over my head, they are a burden too heavie for me to beare; my wounds ſtink and are putrefied through my fooliſhneſſe: and in Solomon, who upon experience of the unfruitfulneſſe of ſinne indited that excellent Sermon delivered in the booke of the Preacher; the premiſſes wherein are,eEccl. 1.2. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of ſpirit: and the concluſion,fEccl. 12.13. Feare God, and keepe his commandements, for this is the whole man: and in the Jewes, who when Saint Peter ſet before their eyes their crucifying the Lord of life, their ſaving a murtherer and murthering their Saviour, weregAct. 2.37. pricked in heart, and ſaid, Men and brethren, what ſhall wee doe? And in theh2 Cor. 7.8, 9. Corinthians, in whom remorſe of conſcience like the dart of Jaſon wrought a ſtrange cure, whereat the Apoſtle much rejoiced: Though I made you ſorry, ſaith hee, with a letter, I repent not. Nay I rejoice, not that yee were ſorry, but that yee were ſorry to repentance: for godly ſorrow cauſeth repentance to ſalvation not to bee repented of. For behold this thing that yee have beene godly ſorry, what great care it hath wrought in you, yea what clearing of your ſelves, yea what indignation, yea what feare, yea what zeale; in all things ye have ſhewed your ſelves to be pure in this matter. For this cauſe Saint Paul in his Epiſtles often rubbeth up their memory to whom hee writeth, with the conſideration of their former unregenerate eſtate: as the Corinthians;i1 Cor. 6.9. Know yee not that the unrighteous ſhall not inherite the Kingdome of heaven? Be not deceived: Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wantons, nor theeves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor extortioners ſhall inherite the Kingdome of God: and ſuch were ſome of you; but ye are waſhed, but ye are cleanſed, but yee are ſanctified, but yee are justified in the name of the Lord Jeſus. And the Epheſians;kEph. 5.8. Ye were ſometimes darkneſſe, but now yee are light in the Lord: lEph. 4.17, 18, 19.This therefore I teſtifie unto you, that yee walke not from henceforth as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having their understanding darkened, and being deprived of the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, becauſe of the blindneſſe of their heart: which being past feeling have given themſelves to wantonneſſe, to worke all wickedneſſe with greedineſſe. The Angel bid Tobias to unbowell the fiſh, and take out the gall, as being uſefull in medicine and a ſpeciall meanes to recover his eye-ſight: The ſtory is Apocryphall, but the application of it is Canonicall, and agreeable to the doctrine of the inſpired Scriptures. If wee unbowell wordly pleaſures and carnall delights, and take out the gall of them, that is, ſeriouſly thinke upon the bitterneſſe which they leave behind them, it will prove a ſoveraigne remedy againſt our ſpirituall blindneſſe. A reaſon of this obſervation wee neede not fetch farre; wiſe men by others fall prevent their owne, but even fooles learne a leſſon from their woefull experience:mEraſ. Chil. Piſcator ictus ſapit, the fiſherman who haſtily thruſt his hand into his net to take out a fiſh, and was ſtung by a Scorpion, was ever after wiſer. Remorſe of conſcience, if no Balme of Gilead bee ſeaſonably applied to it to aſſwage the paine, is farre worſe than the ſting of a Scorpion; which made Cain roare, My puniſhment is greater than I am able to beare: which forced Judas to hang, and Nero to ſtab himſelfe, Julian the Apoſtata to teare his bowels and throw them into the ayre, ſaying, Viciſti Galilaee. The greateſt bodily torments that can be deviſed have beene borne chearfully by many Martyrs; but a troubled ſpirit, ſaith the wiſe man, who can indure?Pro. 11.14.
This obſervation is not more pregnant in the proofe, than poignant in the uſe, both for tryall and inſtruction. For if the experience of the unfruitfulneſſe and ſhamefulneſſe of ſinne bee a ſpeciall curbe of ſinne in the regenerate; they ſurely who are not perſwaded hereof, who taſte no bitterneſſe in the forbidden fruit, who can thinke of their former ſinnes not only without griefe and remorſe, but alſo with ſome delight and contentment, were never thoroughly converted. For there can be no vivification without precedent mortification; no mortification where the old man is yet alive. There is a ſtrugling in the ſoule in the travell of our new birth between the fleſh and the ſpirit, as there was in the wombe of Rebecca at the time of her labour between Jacob and Eſau. Every one, that is renewed in the ſpirit of his mind,nRom. 7.22, 23. delighteth in the Law of God, as touching the inward man; and therefore cannot approve the law of the members rebelling againſt the law of the mind. He that truly returneth to God, and placeth his chiefe happineſſe in his union with him, cannot but be offended grievouſly at the remembrance of thoſe things that made a ſeparation between him and his God. The weeds that have taken deep root, cannot bee plucked up without ſtirring the earth. Such are the weeds of ſinne rooted in our heart; they cannot be plucked up without tearing and breaking it through contrition. That heart which hath never bin ſo broken up, was never thorowly weeded. Wherefore (beloved Chriſtians) if ye deſire to know whether ye are in the way of life, whether ye are effectually called, whether ye are in the ſtate of grace, whether ye have any part in the promiſes of ſalvation; loe here is a touch-ſtone to try your ſpirituall eſtate. When ye recall your former profaneneſſe, and uncleanneſſe, and worldlineſſe, and maliciouſneſſe to mind, is the remembrance of theſe ſinnes grievous unto you? is the burthen of them intolerable? are ye pricked in heart with the ſting of conſcience? doe your eyes melt into penitent teares? then are you quickned by the Spirit of grace, then have you ſenſe and life in you, then have your eyes been annointed with the eye-ſalve of the ſpirit, then ſtand ye recti in curiâ. But on the contrary, Are ye tickled with the remembrance of your former follies? can ye thinke of them without remorſe? can ye ſpeake of them without ſhame? can ye glory in them, and your heart not ſmite you? then in vaine doe ye flatter your ſelves with the name of Profeſſours, ye falſly arrogate to your ſelves the title of Sonnes of God, ye know not what regeneration or the new creature meaneth, the ſunne of righteouſneſſe never ſhone upon you, but ye are ſtill frozen in the dregges of your ſinnes. Wherefore examine your owne hearts and conſciences, take a view of your whole life paſt, runne over in your mindes the vanity of your childhood, the luſts of your youth, the audacious attempts of your riper yeeres, and the covetouſneſſe, frowardneſſe, worldlineſſe, and diſtruſtfulneſſe of your old age: call your ſelves to an account for your unlawfull gaming and ſporting, your immoderate drinking, your Lords day breaking, your laſcivious dancing, your chambering and wantonneſſe; and if the remembrance of theſe your former ſinnes be loathſome unto you, if the ſent of them in the noſtrils of your ſoule be like a ſtinking fume exhaled from the finke of originall corruption, then have your ſenſes been purged, then have you ſmelt the ſavour of life. But on the contrary, if the cogitation of theſe things be delightfull unto you, if the traverſing theſe thoughts in your mind blow the coales of your former luſts, if the Sodome of your unregenerate eſtate ſeem to you as a Paradiſe of pleaſure, then certainly yee were never redeemed from the corruption of the world, yee never felt the pangs and throes of a new birth, your underſtanding was never enlightened, nor your will reformed. Hee that can take delight to play at the hole of the Cockatrice, or behold the ſhining colour of the Snake, was never ſtung by them; but the truly regenerate Chriſtian, who hath bin grievouſly ſtung by the fiery Serpent the Divell, and by fixing his eyes upon the brazen Serpent Chriſt Jeſus, hath bin cured, dares not come nigh the Serpents hole, much leſſe gaze upon his azure head and forked tongue.
2. If the experience of the unfruitfulneſſe and ſhamefulneſſe of ſinne be a ſpeciall meanes to reſtraine Gods children from it, certainly the recounting of their former wayes, and the ſurvey of the whole courſe of their life, cannot but be a profitable exerciſe for them. It was the practice of Solomon, who beheld all the workes of his hands, and the delights of his life, and paſſeth this cenſure upon them,oEccleſ. 1.2. Vanity of vanities, all is but vanity and vexation of ſpirit. It was the practice of David, pPſal. 51.3.I know mine owne iniquity, and my ſinne is ever before mee. It was the practice of Saint Auſtine, who a little before his death cauſed theqPoſsid. in vit. Auguſt. Penitentiall Pſalmes to be written about his bed, which hee looking upon, out of a bitter remembrance of his ſinnes, continually wept, giving not over, long before he gave up the ghoſt. Mee thinkes, I heare you ſay, we have buried thoſe ſinnes in oblivion long agoe, and we hope God hath done ſo: put not theſe ſtinking weeds to our noſes, but gather us a poſie of the ſweet flowers of Paradiſe, the promiſes of God in Chriſt Jeſus, in which there is a ſavour of life, and we will ſmell unto it. I had rather do ſo, but the other are more proper, and fitter for many of you; for thoſe whoſe ſenſes are overcome with over-ſweet oyntments, can by no better meanes recover their ſmell, than by ſtrong and unpleaſant ſavours: and therefore in the country of Arabia, where almoſt all trees are ſavoury, and frankincenſe and myrrhe are common fire wood,rPlin. nat. hiſt. l. 12. c. 17. E Syriâ revehunt Stycacem acri odore ejus in focis abigente ſuorum faſtidium. Styrax (as Pliny writeth) is ſold at a deare rate, though it bee a wood of an unpleaſant ſmell; becauſe experience proveth it to bee a preſent meanes to recover their ſmell, who before had loſt it. Beloved brethren, we all that have lived in the pleaſures of ſinne, have our ſenſes ſtuffed and debilitated, if not overcome; and the beſt remedy againſt this malady will be the ſmelling to Styrax, the unſavoury and unpleaſing ſmell of our former corruptions. Let the covetous man recall to mind his care in getting, his anxiety in keeping, his ſorrow in loſing that which nature hath put under his feet: how to increaſe his heapes he hath not onelyonly taken from others, but robbed his owne belly and backe. Let the Glutton thinke of the loathſomneſſe of his ſinne, which ſubjecteth him to divers diſeaſes, and maketh him a burthen to himſelfe: the Drunkard his drowning of his reaſon, diſtempering of his body, and expoſing himſelfe to the laughter and ſcorne of all men: the Adulterer the corruption of his owne body, the tranſgreſſing the covenant of God, the wronging and provoking his neighbour, the ſtaine of his owne reputation, the rottenneſſe of his bones, and beſides all this, the heavie wrath of God for his ſinnes, and feare of hell fire due to him for them. I know no man willingly remembreth that whereof he is aſhamed; and therefore no exerciſe of Chriſtianity more tedious and irkſome than this, becauſe it withdraweth the mind from pleaſant and delightfull objects, to behold her own deformity: yet none more neceſſary, none more profitable. And though it begins in ſorrow, yet it ends in joy: for even this is an exceeding delight to the ſoule, to find a change in her ſelfe, and an alteration in her affections: it is pleaſant unto her that ſhee now diſtaſteth the forbidden fruit, and ſhee rejoyceth that ſhee can be heartily ſorry for her ſinnes. And God (asſCypr. de card. op. Cyprian ſaith ſweetly) wipeth away theſe teares from the ſoule, Ut magis ploret, & gaudeat fletibus, that ſhee may weep the more, and take pleaſure in her weeping. For after we have pricked our hearts with the ſting of conſcience for our grievous ſinnes, after they bleed with compunction, after we have powred out our ſoules with ſighes and groanes into the boſome of our Redeemer, his heart will melt within him, and his repentings will roll together; hee will bind up our wounds, and ſhew his wounds to his Father: then ſhall we ſee the frownes of an angry Judge, turned into the ſmiles of a loving Father, the crimſon colour of our ſins into the whiteneſſe of wooll, our mourning weed into a wedding garment, our ſighes and ſobs into exultation of ſpirit, and the fearfull cloud, which before overcaſt our minds, into a cleare skie, into peace of conſcience, and joy in the Holy Ghoſt, the true taſte and beginning of the joyes of heaven. To which the Lord bring us for his Son Jeſus Chriſt his ſake. Cui, &c.