A Golden Chain, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. Of legall motiues to Repentance.
MOtiues to Repentance are either Legall, or Euangelicall. Legall, are such as are borrowed from the law: and they are three especially.
The first is, the miserie and cursed estate of eueryevery impenitent sinner in this life by reason of his sinnes.
His miserie (that I may expresse it to the conceit of the simplest) is seuen-fold.
1. within him.
2. before him.
3. behind him.
4. on his right hand.
5. on his left hand.
6. ouer his head.
7. vnderunder his feete.
His miserie within him is two-fold. The first is a guiltie conscience: which is a very hel vntounto the vngodly man. For he is like a silly prisoner, & the conscience like a gayler which followes him at the heeles, and dogges him whither soeuer he goes, to the end he may see and obserue all his sayings and doings. It is like a register, that sits alwaies with the pen in his hand, to record and inroll all his wickednes for euerlasting memorie. It is a little iudge, that fittes in the middle of a man, euen in his very heart, to arraigne him in this life for his sins, as he shall be arraigned at the last iudgement. Therefore the pangs, terrours, and feares of all impenitent persons, are as it were, certaine flashings of the flames of hell fire. The guiltie conscience makes a man like him which lies on a bedde that is too strait, and the couering too short;Psa. 28.20. Dans. 5.6. who would with all his heart sleepe, but can not. Belshazzar when he was in the midst of his mirth, seeing the hand writing on the wall, was smitten with great feare, so as his coū tenance changed, and his knees smote together.
The second euill within man is the fearefull slauerie and bondage vnderunder the power of Satan the prince of darknesse: in that his minde, will, and affectictions are so knit and glued to the will of the deuill, that he can doe nothing but obey him, and rebell against God.2. Cor. 4.4. And hence Satan is called the prince of this world: which keepes the hold of the heart as an armed captaine keepes a skonse or castle with watch and ward.
The miserie before man, is a dangerous snare which the deuill laies for the destruction of the soule. I say it is dangerous: because he is in setting of it twentie or fourtie yeares, before he strikes: when as (God knowes) men doe little thinke of it. It is made of three cordes: with the first, he brings men into his snare: and that he doth by couering the miserie and the poison of sinne: and by painting out to the eye of the minde, the deceitfull profits and pleasures thereof. With the second, he hopples and insnares them: for after that a man is drawne into this or that sinne, the deuill hath so sugered it ouer with fine delights, that he cannot but needes must liue and lie in it. By the third, he drawes the snare, and indeauours with all his might to breake the necke of the soule. For when he seeth a fit opportunitie, especially in grieuous calamities; and in the houre of death, he takes away the vizar of sinne, and shewes the face of it in the true forme, as ougly as himselfe: then withall he begins (as we say) to shew his hornes; then he rageth in terrifying and accusing, that the soule of man may be swallowed vp of the gulfe of finall despaire.
The miserie behind him, is the sinnes past. The Lord saith to Cain,Gen. 4,7. If thou doest not well, sinne lieth at the doore. Where sinne is compared to a wilde beast, which followes a man whither soeuer he goeth, and lieth lurking at his heeles. And though for a time it may seeme to be hurtlesse, because it lies asleepe: yet at length, vnlesse men repent, it will rise vp, seaze on them, rende out the very throates of their soules. Iob in his affliction saith,Iob 13. Psal. 25. Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me possesse the sinnes of my youth. And Dauid praieth, Forgiue me the sinnes of my youth. If the memorie of sinnes past be a trouble to the godly man, oh what a racke? what a gybbet will it be to the heart of him that wants grace?
The miserie on the right hand is prosperitie and ease: which by reason of mans sinnes is an occasion of many iudgements.Eze. 16.4…. In it men practised the horrible sinnes of Sodome: it puffes vp the heart with deuillish pride, so as men shall thinke themselues to be as God himselfe, as Senacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, Alexander, Herod, Domitian did. It steales away mans heart from God, and quenches the sparkes of grace. As the Lord complaineth of the Israelites,Ier. 22.21. I spake vntounto thee when thou wast in prosperitie: but thou saidest, I will not hear: this hath beene thy manner from thy youth. It is like the Iuie that embraces the tree, and windes round about it, but yet drawes out the iuice and life of it. Hence is it, that many turne it to an occasion of their destruction. Salomon saith,Prou. 1. 31. Prosperitie of fooles destroyeth them. When the milt swells, the rest of the bodie pines away: and when the heart is puft with pride, the whole man is in danger of destruction. The sheep that goes in the best pasture, soonest comes to the slaughter-house:Rom. 9. 22. and the vngodly man fattes himselfe with continuall prosperitie, that he may the sooner come to his owne damnation.
The miserie on the left hand is aduersitie, which stands in all maner of losses and calamities, in goods, friends, good name, and such like. Of this read at large, Deut. 28.
The miserie ouer his head, is the wrath of God, which he testifies in all maner of iudgements from heauen, in daunger of which eueryevery impenitent sinner is eueryevery houre. And the danger is very great. The Scripture saith,Heb. 1…. 31. Deu. 32.34… Ezec. 7.6. It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God. He hath store-houses full of all manner of iudgements: and they watch for secure sinners that they can not scape. Gods wrath is as a fire making hauocke and bringing to naught whatsoeuer it lights on: yea, because he is slow to anger, therefore more terrible: as a man therefore staies his hand for a time,Nah. 1.4, 5,6. that he may lift it higher and fetch a deeper blow. When the dumbe creatures melt as waxe, and vanish away at his presence, when he is angrie; as the hugh mountaines and rockes doe;Psal. 9.7. fraile man must neuer looke to stand. If the roaring of a lyon make men afraid, and the voice of thunder be terrible: oh, how exceedingly should all be astonished at the threatnings of God!
The miserie vnderunder his feete, is hell fire: for eueryevery man till he repent, is in as great danger of damnation as the traitour apprehended, of hanging, drawing, and quartering. A man walking in his way falls into a deepe dungeon that is full of ougly serpents and noysome beasts: in his fall he catches hold of a twig of a tree that growes at the mouth of the dungeon, and hangs by it: afterward there comes a beast both leane and hungerbitten, which hauing cropt the whole tree, is euer and an on knapping at the twig on which he hangs. Now, what is the danger of this man? surely he is like to fall into the pit, ouer which he hangs. Well, this man is eueryevery impenitent sinner: the pit is hell, prepared for the deuill and his angels: the twigge is the brickle and fraile life of man: the hungerbitten beast is death, that is readie eueryevery houre to knappe, our life a sunder: the danger is fearefull: for man hanging as it were ouer the mouth of hell, when life is ended, vnlesse he vse good meanes before he die, he then falls to the very bottome of it.
If this be the miserie wherewith the carelesse man is …ieged and compassed about eueryevery way, and that for his sinnes, why doe men lie in the dead sleepe of securitie? O! it stands them in hand to take vp the voyce of bitter lamentation, and for their offences to howle after the manner of dragons. If men could weepe nothing but teares of blood for their sinnes, if they could die a thousand times in one day for very griefe, they could neuer be grieued enough for their sinnes.
The second motiue to draw men to repentance is, the consideration of the wretched estate of an impenitent sinner in his death, which is nothing but the aforeign. Rom. 6. 23. 1. Cor. 15. 55,56.wages and allowance that he receiues for his sinne: and it is the very suburbes, or rather the gates of hell. S. Paul compares death to a Scorpion, who caries a sting in his taile, which is sinne. Now then when impenitent and prophane persons die, then comes this scorpion and gripes them with her legs, and stabs thē at the heart with her sting. Wherfore the best thing is before death come, to vse meanes to pull out the sting of death. And nothing will doe it, but the blood of Christ: let men therefore breake off their sinnes by repentance: let them come to the throne of grace, and crie; yea let them fill heauen and earth with cries for merciemercy. Oh! pray, pray for the pardon of thine owne personall and particular sinnes. If thou obtaine but one drop of Gods speciall merciemercy in Christ, all daunger is past. For death hath lost his sting; and then a man without danger may put an ougly Serpent in his bosome.
The third motiue is the consideration of his estate after death. When the day of the last iudgement shall be, he must be brought and set before the tribunall seat of Christ: he shall not be able to escape or hide himselfe: then the books shall he brought out, and all his sinnes shall be discouered before Gods Saints and Angels: the deuill and his owne conscience shall accuse him: none shall be aduocate to plead his cause: he himselfe shall be speechlesse; he shall at length heare that dreadfull sentence of damnation, Goe ye cursed into hell, prepared for the deuill and his angels. This thing might mooue the vilest Atheist in the world to leaue his wicked waies, and come to amendment of life. We see the strongest theefe that is, when he is ledde in the way from the prison to the barre, leaues his theeuing and behaues himselfe orderly. And in deede if he would then cut a purse, it were high time that he were hanged. All men by nature are traytours and malefactours against God: whiles we liue in this world, we are in the way going to the barre of Gods iudgement. The wh…ele of the heauens turnes one bout eueryevery day, and windes vp somewhat of the threed of our life: whether we sleepe or wake, we are alwaies comming nearer our ende: wherefore let all men daily humble themselues for their sinnes, and pray vntounto God that he would be reconciled vntounto them in Christ: and let them endeauour themselues in obedience to all Gods commandements, both in their liues and callings.
Againe, after the last iudgement there remaines death eternall appointed for him: which standes in these three things. I. A separation from all ioy and comfort of the presence of God. II. Eternall fellowship with the deuill and all his angels. III. The feeling of the horrible wrath of God, which shall seaze vponupon bodie, soule, and conscience, and shall feede on them as fire doth on pitch and brimstone: and torment them as a worme crawling in the bodie, and gnawing on the heart: they shall alwaies be dying, and neuer dead: alwaies in woe, and neuer in ease. And this death is the more grieuous because it is euerlasting. Suppose the whole world to be a mountaine of sand, and that a bird must carrie from it but one mouthfull of sand eueryevery thousand yeares: many innumerable thousands of yeares will be expired before shee will hauehave carried away the whole mountaine: well, if a man should stay in torment so long, and then hauehave an ende of his woe, it were some comfort: but when the bird shall hauehave carried away the mountaine a thousand times: alas, alas, a man shall be as farre from the end of his anguish and torment as euer he was. This consideration may serue as an iron scourge to driue men from their wicked liues. Chrysostome would hauehave men in their meetings in tavernes and feasts, to talke of hell, that by often thinking on it, they might auoide it. A graue and chast matrone, being mooued to commit follie with a lewd ruffian; after long discourse, shee called for a panne of coales, requesting him for her sake to holde his finger in them but one houre; he answered, that it was vnkinde request: to whome shee replied, that seeing he would not hold so much as one finger in a fewe coales for one small houre, shee could not yeeld to doe the thing for which shee should be tormented bodie and soule in hell fire for euer. And so should all men reason with themselues, when they are about to sinne. None will be brought to doe a thing, that may make so much as their finger or tooth to ake: if a man be but to snuffe a candle, he will first spitte on his finger; because he can not abide the heate of a small and tender flame. Therefore we ought to hauehave great care to leaue our sinnes, whereby we bring endlesse torment to bodie and soule in hell fire, to which our fire is but yee in comparison.