The Godly Mans Journey to Heaven, Treatise 1 · Meditation 21 – Meditation 22
21. Seeing no sinne is committed behind his backe, but in his face who knowes the thoughts of men afarre off, let no man attempt to commit sinne, vponupon hope of secresie.
ALbeit sinne which is thine onelyonly enemie, ô my soule, be a most alluring and sweet potion, yet sinne is a deceiuing and destroying traitor: and no wonder, it being the arrow of that euill one, who is not onelyonly a subtle foxe, but also a bloudie Lyon. O how easily suffer vile men themselues to be perswaded that sin may be committed, yea that sinne is committed in secret, albeit there was neuer any sinne committed but in sight. It may be that sinne be committed behind the backe of a blind man who seeth nothing, and of a pore-blind man who seeth little, yet it is euer committed in the sight of God, who made man, and who hath eyes by the which he seeth. Alas, alas, the blind powers & people of this world, liue so now, as if the God of heauen had no eyes, or had blind eyes, either seeing nothing at all, or seeing nothing afarre off. Alwayes out of Scripture I hauehave learned three things touching this point, ô my soule. First, that our God hath eyes: Secondly, that our God hath eyes of a rare excellent nature: Thirdly, that not without speciall cause our God hath taken vntounto himselfe such eyes. Speaketh not Scripture touching our God thus:Psal. 94. 8. 9. Vnderstand ye vnwise among the people, and ye fooles when shall ye be wise, he that planted the eare shall he not heare, and he that made the eye shall he not see? And therefore what wonder the Prophet fals out into this exclamatiō: Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flie from thy presence? If I ascend vntounto the heauen, thou art there; if I lye downe in the hell, thou art there: Let me take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the vttermost parts of the sea, Psal. 139. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.yet there shall thy hand leade me, & thy right hād hold me. If I say yet the darknes shal hide me, euen the night shall be light about me, yea the darknesse hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darknesse and light are both alike. Out of the sense of this,Aug…st. Augustine is not afraid to say, Deus est totus oculus. Our God is all eye, seeing before, seeing behind, on this side, on that side, aboue, and beneath him, as it were. But of what nature are the eyes of our God? ô my soule, Scripture resoluing this point, telleth me that the eyes of our God are cleare eyes, are pure eyes, cleare eyes, vntounto the which all men with all things are open. O how many men hauehave eyes, and yet how many men be hidden from the eyes of men! how many things be hidden from the eyes of men! But I must tell thee, ô my soule, that there cannot so much as one man be hidden from the eyes of God, yea which is more, there cannot so much as one thought of one man be hid from the eyes of God. This is cleared by our God, saying,Ier. 16. 17. My eyes are vponupon all their wayes, they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquitie hid from my face. Ier. 23. 24.Can any hide himselfe in secret places (saith the Lord) do not I fill heauen and earth, Heb. 4. 13.saith the Lord? All things are naked and open to his eyes with whom we hauehave to do. O when shall men suffer yt to sinke into their heart, spoken touching the eyes of our Maister by Matthew:, Mat. 9. 4.But when Iesus saw their thoughts, he said, wherefore thinke ye euill things in your hearts? Reu. 1. 14.And therefore I heare Iohn speaking thus of Christs eyes, His eyes were as a flame of fire. Againe Scripture telleth me that our God hath pure eyes, and therefore he cannot possibly behold any vncleane man or matter, vnlesse he hate both, or punish both. This is that which the Prophet confesseth,Hab. 1. 13. when speaking of our God, he saith, Thou art of pure eyes, and canst not see euill, thou canst not behold wickednesse. Dauid saw and confessed this, saying,Psal. 5. 4. Thou art not a God that loueth wickednesse, neither shall euill dwell with thee. Thirdly, Scripture telleth me, ô my soule, that our God hath cloathed himselfe with eyes, yea with such eyes, to the end that he, as that sole supreme Iudge of the world, may thinke and speake of men, and do vntounto men, as they by their carriage, priuate and publicke, declare themselues, either to be obedient to him, or rebellious against him; and therefore I heare the Spirit speaking thus to me of God: Thy eyes are vponupon all the wayes of the sonnes of men, Ier. 32. 19.to giuegive euerie man according to the fruite of his workes. Knowest thou not, ô my soule, that Abel was slaine in secret, and yet in sight;Gen. 4. behind the backe of Adam, the father of his flesh, yet in the sight of God the Father of his spirit. Vriah was slaine by Dauid, being farre from Dauid behind the backe of all Iudah (Dauid and Ioab being onelyonly excepted) yea behind the backe of all Ammon,2. Sam. 11. by whose sword he perished, yet Vriah was slaine by Dauid, in his sight who filleth the heauens and the earth, and from whom none can hide himselfe in secret place, as hath bene cleared, Ierem. 23. 24. And this I thinke Dauid was made afterward to know and confesse, notwithstanding all his shuffles and policie. Who in all Israel could possibly thinke that Naboth was cruelly and vniustly put to death, and so that Achab the King and Iezabel the Queene (who should hauehave prooued his protectours and keepers) were his fierce persecutors euen vntounto death?1. King. 2. seeing he was conuicted by a formall Iurie, hauing witnesses admitted & sworne, testifying that he had blasphemed God and the King: and yet that blessed God who searcheth the heart, and who iudgeth not according to the outward appearance, but righteous iudgement, did accuse and conuict Achab of oppression and murther, and punish him iustly for them. Oh, ô my soule, when shall the blind men of this age learne to hearken vntounto, and to beleeue that blessed Spirit of truth who cannot lye, teaching vsus truly, that no sinne can possibly be committed in secret. Came euer that vntounto thy eares,Isa. 29. 15. ô my soule, Woe vntounto them that seeke deepe to hide their counsell from the Lord, for their workes are in darknesse, and they say, who seeth vsus, and who knoweth vsus? I hauehave seene thy adulterie and thy neyings, Ier. 13. 27.the filthinesse of thy whoredome vponupon the hils in the fields, and thy abhominations. Knowest thou not him, ô my soule, who saw Nathaniel before Philip called him, when he was vnderunder the figge tree, yea knowest thou not him who knew the thought of the very heart of Simeon the Pharisie,Ioh. 1. 48. speaking thus within himselfe of thy Sauiour: If this man were a Prophet, he would surely hauehave knowne what manner of woman this is which toucheth him, for she is a sinner. This moued Bernard (citing that written by Zephaniah: At that time I will search Ierusalem with lights,) Zeph. 1. 12.to write thus touching our God: Acuto visu est, nihil inscrutatum relinquit oculus eius, nunc videor sed non video: praesto est oculus cui omnia patent et si non patet ipse. Our God is a God of sharpe sight, his eye leaueth nothing vnsearched out: I am seene but I see not: that eye is present to the which all things be patent or open, albeit that eye be not seene by me. The sense hereof moued Augustine to make this notable confession:Aug. conf. Et tibi quidem Domine cuius oculis nuda est abyssus humanae conscientiae, lib. 10. ca. 2.quid occultum esset in me, etiam si nollem confiteri tibi? te enim mihi absconderem non me tibi. Now from thee, ô Lord, vntounto whose eyes the bottomlesse deepe of mans conscience is naked, what can be hid in me, albeit I would not confesse my selfe to thee? for I might well preasse to hide thy Maiestie from me, I could not possibly hide my selfe from thee. And againe, Neque enim docet te quid in se agatur, Aug. c…nf.qui tibi confitetur, lib. 5. cap. 1.quia oculum tuum non excludit cor clausum, nec manum tuam repellit duritia hominum, sed solus …am cum voles aut miserans aut vindicans extendis, & non est qui se abscondat à calore tuo. For that man ô Lord, who confesseth himselfe vntounto thee, teacheth thee not by his confession, what he doth: for the shut and close heart of man cannot exclude thy eye, neither can the hardnesse of man put backe thy hand, but thou puttest it out when thou pleasest, either shewing merciemercy, or taking vengeance, and there is none who can hide himselfe from thy heate. Oh, oh, my soule, when shall that which was seene, felt, and confessed by old Bernard, who liued in that blind age vnderunder grosse darknesse, be seene, felt, and confessed by vsus, who liue now hauing that great shining light of the Gospell continually striking as it were with hot piercing beames our eyes so, that we cannot hide our selues from them, both Lords day, and weeke day, nay both by day and by night? Bringeth not Bernard in the grosse wicked man speaking thus to himselfe:Benn. Parietes sunt vndique, quis me videt? I am inclosed on all sides with strong high walles, who doth see me? Alwayes how is this wicked man answered by Bernard? Esto, nemo te videt, non tamen nullus videt te Angelus bonus, videt te Angelus malus, videt te bonis & malis Angelis, maior Deus. Let it be, saith Bernard, that no man see thee, ô wicked man, yet canst thou, darest thou say that none seeth thee? the good Angels see thee, the euill Angels see thee: and which is more, one who is greater then all good and euill Angels seeth thee, to wit, God. When that euill Angell the diuell, ô my soule, seeth thee, thy irreconcilable aduersarie and bitter accuser seeth thee. When God his good Angell seeth thee, that witnesse seeth thee who will beare testimonie against thee, yea thy louing brother seeth thee, whom thou by thy sinnes grieuest fearefully. And when thy God seeth thee, that great supreme Iudge seeth thee, who can neither be possibly frustrate of his purpose, nor any wayes corrupted when he goeth to iudgement. Attempt not therefore, ô my soule, to commit sinne vponupon hope of secrecie, for I must assure thee from the mouth of thy God, that if thou sinne against him, thou shalt be seene by him, and at length vponupon a most publicke scaffold to the sight of Angels, and men, good and euill, be punished for thy sinnes.
22. Sinne and euill hauehave euer bene, and shall euer be ioyned together, albeit none be hurt by the euill of sinne, beside man who committeth it.
SInne and euill are so ioyntly knit together, ô my soule, let Satan alledge what he will, let men misled by Satan alledge what they please, that whosoeuer committeth sinne, doth euill, albeit neither in the eyes of other men, nor in his owne eyes, yet in the eyes of that God, before whom sinne yet was neuer good, before whom sinne shall neuer be good, yea before whom sinne hath euer bene euill, sinne shall euer remaine euill, commit it who so will. I pray thee therefore, ô my soule, while thou breathest here, forget not to thinke seriously vponupon that warning and wakening sentence, which is deliuered by the Spirit, touching Dauid his adulterie and murther: And when the wife of Vriah heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband: So when the mourning was past, Dauid sent and tooke her to his house, and she became his wife. Alwayes hearken, hearken, ô my soule,2. Sam. 11. 26. 27. vntounto that which followed: But the thing that Dauid had done, was euill in the sight of the Lord. But left this euill which euer accompanieth sinne, be mistaken by thee, ô my soule, thou must know that howbeit sinne be euill in the sight of the Lord, yet the euill of sinne is not hurtfull vntounto that Lord against whom it is committed, but onelyonly to that soule by the which it is committed: for as man his goodnesse cannot possibly profite his God,Iob 3…. 7. 8 so his sinne can no wayes harme his Maiestie. Oh, ô my soule, when shall the deboshed Gospellers of this our age, suffer these oracles to take roote downeward in their hearts, to the end they may bring foorth fruite vpwards in their liues! Do they prouoke me to wrath, Ier. 7. 8.saith the Lord, and not themselues to the confusion of their owne faces? Eccles. 8. 13It shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his dayes, but he shall be like a shadow, because he feares not before God. As thou louest thy selfe then, ô my soule, strengthen thy selfe against all sinne, if thou wouldest not hauehave me to repent (albeit, alas, out of time) after death and iudgement, that euer I was borne: for that euill which euer accompanieth the sinner because of sinne, must in despite of diuels and men, at length seise vponupon the sinner, vnlesse by sincere repentance (God being mercifull to him, for Iesus his owne Sonnes sake) he quit himselfe in time and speedily of sinne.