Mans Imaginations, Treatise · Chapter 5
CHAP. V.
Of mans naturall thoughts concerning himselfe.
Sect. 1. Mans proud thought of his owne excellencie.
THe third kinde of mans naturall euill thoughtes, are such as concerne himselfe, & they are principally foure.
The first may fitlie bee termed a thought of Pride, wherby euerie man naturallie thinkes himselfe most excellent, and far to exceede all other men whatsoeuer: thus the Prophet Isay bringeth in Babylō speaking in her heart, that is, thinking,aIsay. 14. 1…. I will ascend into heauen, and exalt my throne aboue or besides the stars of God, as if shee should thinke with her selfe, I am farre more excellent then any other what soeuer, & therefore I am to bee exalted from the earth to heauen, and to bee matched with God himselfe. And the Prophet Zephame bringeth in Ni…iue speaking thus in her heart,bZeph. 2. …. I am, and there is none besides me: And so the proud Pharisie in his priuate, and secret prayer to God sayeth,cLuke 18. 11. I thanke thee Lorde, that I am not as other men, meaning that he is more excellent: And the whore of Babylō dThe Hereticall Church of Rome.is brought in saying of her selfe,eReuel. 18. 71 I sit as a Queene, and am no widdowe and shall see no mourning. All which places shew this to bee the nature of man, to exalt himselfe in his owne heart, aboue all others. If any shall say, heereby no more can bee prooued but that this thought is in some proud and insolent persons; I adde therfore, that as our first Parents in the beginning, did learne that proud lessō of the divell, Ye shall be as Gods: so we being in their loynes when they sinned, and descending from them by ordinarie gineration, doe together with our nature receiue that corruption from them, whereby wee thinke thus proudly of our selues, that we far excell others and are as little Gods on earth in respect of others. Indeede the most will say for themselues, wee abhorre this proude thought, neither did wee euer finde it to bee in vsus: But we must know that the lesser we discern it in our selues, the more it reigneth in our hearts; and the more wee discerne, and bewaile it, the lesser place it taketh in vsus.
Now touching this thought of pride, two things must bee obserued: the danger, and the highest degree of it.The danger of this thought. For the danger of this thought; The outward affecting of strange fashions in apparell is a wonderfull pride; But the most vile and wretched pride of all, is that spirituall pride of the heart whereby a man despiseth all other, in regarde of himselfe, and thinketh himselfe far better then any. This I manifest by sundrie reasons, as first, from the fruites of this inward pride: for hence doe slowe many damnable sinnes; in mens liues and conuersations:Fruites of inward pride. as first, Ambition, whereby men are not content with that estate, wherewith God hath belssed them: but doe seeke by all meanes to bee advanced to higher dignitie & estate. Secondly, Presumption, whereby men dare enterprise things beyond their calling, and aboue their power, taking vppon them more then they are able for. Thirdly, boasting, wherby a man speaks of himselfe more then is seemely, & extolleth himselfe aboue his desert. Fourthly, Hipocrysie, when a man pretendeth he hath that grace, and religion which indeed he hath not, or els maketh shew of more grace then is truly in him. Fiftly, Obstniacie, when a man persisteth in an errour, & will not yeeld to the truth, though it be manifested vntounto him. Sixtly, Contention, wherby men striue one against another in word or deed, without relenting. And lastly, Affectation of Novelties, especially in outward attyre, for when a mans cōceiues so highly of himselfe, then withall he thinkes no manner of attyre good enough to bewtifie, and adorne his body; and so begins to deuise, and affect strange and forraigne attyre.
Secondly, the danger hereof appeareth hence, that where this thought of pride raigneth (as it doth in all men naturally) there the spirit of grace dwelleth not: Mary in her song saith well,fLuk. 1. 51. God scattereth the Imaginations of the proud, that is, of those which hauehave this cōceit of their owne excellencie aboue others: and S. Iames; gIam. 4. 6.God resisteth the proud, and giueth grace to the humble: yea, thus saith he hIsa. 57. 15.that is high and excellent: he that inhabiteth eternitie, whose name is the holy one: I dwell in the high & holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to reuiue the spirit of the humble: But he that lifteth vp himselfe his minde is not vpright in him, Habak. 2, 4.
Thirdly, such is the danger of this sinne, that when all other sinnes die in a man, this thought of pride dyeth not: nay, when other sinnes are mortified, and Gods graces come in stead thereof, yet this will then reuiue, and make the graces of God, matter whereon to worke: as when an ignorant person attaines to some knowledge; this pride will take occasion from that gift of God to puffe vp the heart; yea when a man in true humilitie of heart shall renounce the actions of pride, yet thē wil pride be working, for this is a fruit of pride to thinke well of our selues, because we are not proud,The height of this thought
II. Point. The highest degree of this pride is, when a man thinketh himselfe to bee equall with God. This is a most notorious, nay an abhominable height of pride; and yet the truth is, some men hauehave come herevnto. Thus the king of Babel thought of himselfe, when he said in his heart,kIsa. 14. 14. I will ascend aboue the height of the clowdes and will be like the most high. It may seeme strange that men should thinke thus of themselues; but we must know, that men may doe it two waies; first, when they thinke they hauehave power of themselues, whereby they are able to match or counteruaile the power of God: so thought Nabuchad-nezar whē he said, lDaniel. 3 15.who is that god, that can deliuer you out of my hand? such a thought had proud Pharao in his heart, when he said to Moses & Aaron,mExod. 5. 2. who is the Lord that I should heare his voice, & let Israel goe? Secondly, when they take to themselues the honour of God, and thinke it to be due to them: Thus did Herod nAct. 12. 22.when by silence he approued the blasphemous voice of the people, who cried vntounto him, the voice of God, and not of man. And thus Antichrist sitting in the temple of God,o2. Thess. 2. 4. exalts himselfe aboue all that is called God, or worshipped: Now that man of sinne is the Pope of Rome; for howsoeuer in word he humble himselfe, & call himselfe the seruant of seruants; yet indeede through the pride of his heart, he sitteth as God, taking vntounto himself that honour which is proper to God:Bellar. de Rom. pontil. lib. 4. for he claimeth power to prescribe new rules of Gods worship, to forgiue sinnes, to make lawes to bind the conscience properly, yea to open, and shut heauen, and to dispose at his pleasure of earthly kingdomes; he taketh vponupon him to dispence with the morall lawe, and with Apostolicall constitutions: all which belong to God alone, and none dare claime them to belong vntounto him, but he that matcheth himselfe with God; and this is the highest decree of pride.
The Vse. By this eueryevery man may see what he is of himselfe, what a cursed and proud nature he carrieth about with him: for eueryevery man naturally when occasion is offered thinks highly of himselfe, and basely of others in regard of himselfe. Let vsus therefore take notice of this Satanicall pride that is in our nature, and striue against it, for who would not be ashamed to say with the proud Pharasie, I thanke thee Lord, I am not as other men, &c. or with the arrogant Iewes, stand apart, touch me not, I am holier then thou, Isay. 65. 5.
Sect. 2. Mans thought of his owne righteousnes.
The second euill thought concerning a mans selfe is this, I am sufficiently righteous, and I need no repentance. That this is the thought of euerie man naturally appeareth by the Lords commandement to the people of Israell, forbidding them to say in their hearts, when they were placed in the promised land,aDeut. 9. 4. that for their owne righteousnes the Lord brought them in to possesse it. Wherby he giueth vsus to vnderstand two things: First, that as the Iewes did there, so euerie man thinks himself to be righteous. And secondly he thinks that God doth giuegive his blessings vntounto him for his owne righteousnes: for the Lord vseth not to forbidde such a thought as men naturally hauehave not in them: so in like manner when Ieremie rebuked the people for their sinnes, they said,bIerem. 2. 35. they were Innocent and guiltles, they had not sinned: And the Church of Laodicea saith thus of her selfe,cRev. 3. 17. I am rich and neede nothing; that is, I abound in spirituall graces. This is the thought of the prouddLuk. 18. 9. 10. Pharisie, who trusts in himselfe that he is iust, and therfore braggeth vntounto God, that he is not such and such, but he doth this, and that, he fasteth, he giueth Almes, paieth tithes, &c. and in plaine tearmes his heart saith this, I am righteous, I neede no repentance: for of such Christ spake when he said,eMatht. 9. 18. he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. And againe, I say vntounto you, fLuk. 15. 7.that ioy shall be in heauen for one sinner that conuerteth, more then for ninetie and nine iust men which need none amendment of life: where we must obserue that Christ meaneth not, that there are in deede some so righteous, that they neede no amendment; but he speaketh according to the opinion, which some hauehave of themselues, to witte, that they are righteous, and neede no repentance: by all which it is more then manifest that this is a naturall thought of a man concerning himselfe.
This euill thought raigneth in our age and time as all the former doe:Examination for this thought. for come to an ignorant man that hath not beene instructed in religion, reason with him touching his estate, and aske him whether he can keepe the law of God or not; he will answer, he can; he loueth the lord his God with all his heart, and his neighbour as himselfe: Aske him how hee lookes to be saued; his answer is by his owne righteousnes, and for his owne goodnesse. If due examination were made, this would be found to be the thought of many that liue in the Church among vsus; and there is none by nature free from this thought.
Hereby then we may see that the thoughts of eueryevery man, be he what he will, are plaine papistry, for Poperie is naturall: One chiefe pillar and ground thereof is Iustification, and saluation by workes; which opinion eueryevery man brings with him from his mothers wombe: And so it is in the point of merit, men naturally thinke they receiue the good things which they hauehave from God, for their own righteousnes.
Secondly, hence it appeareth that it is a matter of great difficultie, to bring a man throughly to renounce his owne righteousnes and soundly, and heartily to imbrace true religion, and the righteousnes of Christ by faith. This is no lesse then the change of Nature; and yet this must eueryevery man doe, that will be saued, he must be come nothing in himselfe, that he may be all in Christ Iesus; which is as impossible to nature, as to change water into fire, and therfore men had need to beware how they put off the time, & neglect the meanes in which God shewes his power in working this change in the hearts of his elect.
Thirdly, hence we see the euident cause of that preposterous course of the world, which most men take in spending their witte, and strength, some for riches, others for honours and pleasures, and in the meane while they can spare no time for religion, to seeke Gods fauour in Christ, and the graces of the spirit: It may bee they will afford a good worde vntounto Religion, but yet they regarde it not in respect of other things. And this is the behauiour not of some few, but of all sorts, and degrees of men naturally. Now the cause heereof is this cursed euill thought, whereby men perswade themselues, they be righteous, and need no repentance, and till this thought be rooted out of mans heart, he will neuer value the word and religion of God according to the worth thereof, so as with the good Marchant he wil part with al that he hath, rather then he wiil be frustrate of this pearle. Math. 13. 45, 46. Indeede men vse to pleade thus for themselues; wee confesse our selues to be sinners, and therefore wee cannot thinke such a wicked thought, that we need no repentance; But we must knowe, that both these may well stand together, in the wicked heart of man; he may confesse himselfe to bee a sinner, and yet thinke that hee is righteous: for is not this▪ the cōmon practise to make great sins, little sins & little sins, no sins? Doe not men cloath vice in vertues robe, and turne out vertue in the rotten ragges of vice? Is not drunkennes counted good fellowship, & kinde neighbourhood? Is not swearing made the token of a braue minde, and Pride counted decencie; and fornication, but a tricke of youth; and couetousnes esteemed good thrift, and carefulnes? On the other side, is not the more sincere profession of religion termed precysenes, Puritanisme, Hypocrisie, and such like? doth not hee that refrayneth the common sinnes of the time, make himselfe a pray to the mouthes of the vngodly? Nowe where these things are, though the mouth say, I am a sinner; yet the heart thinketh I am righteous, and so it is apparant this thought is common among vsus.
Sect. 3. Mans thought of securitie in the day of peace.
The third euill thought concerning a mans selfe is, a thought of securitie; in the time of peace and prosperitie, men say thus in their hearts, I am free from all Gods iudgements, I am in no danger of hell, death, or damnation, but sure enough of saluation. It may bee thought, that none is so bewitched of the deuill, as to hauehave this conceit of himselfe, but the scripture is most plaine in the proofe hereof: Psal. 10. 6. The wicked man, (such as is eueryevery man by nature, as wee shewed before) saith in his heart, I shall neuer be mooued nor bee in danger. And the Prophet Isaiah brings in wicked men saying, aIsaiah. 28. 15.we hauehave made a couenant with death, and with hell wee are at agreement: which must not be vnderstood as done indeed (for death, and hell will make league with none) but onelyonly in mens wicked Imagination, perswading themselues, that they bee in no danger of hell, or of the graue: for so much the next wordes import, that, though a scourge runne ouer & passe thorough, yet it shall not come at vsus: yea righteous Dauid was ouertaken heerewith, for in his prosperitie he said in his heart,bPsal. 30. 6. I shall neuer bee mooued; much more then is it the thought of euerie naturall man, to say with the rich foole vpō the increase of outward blessings,cLuk. 12. 1…. soule, soule, take thine ease, thou hast enough, nothing can hurt thee.
The vse: By this wee may come to the knowledge of a thing which falleth out in all ages worth our diligent obseruation. It hath pleased god from time, to time to send his prophets and ministers to call his people to repentance: thus did Isay, Ieremy, Ioell, Amos, & the rest; yea the Lorde himselfe (asdZeph. 3. 5. Zephanie saith) riseth eueryevery morning, and bringeth his iudgementes to light, which should turne men from their sinnes, hee faileth not, and yet the wicked will not learne to be ashamed.
To come to our owne times: it hath pleased God to stirre vp many worthie ministers vntounto vsus, who spende their time, and strength, in labouring to bring men to repentance, and saluation; but yet who is he almost that turneth from his sinnes? yea the Lord himselfe, as in former times, so nowe doth preach from heauen by his iudgements, as famine, plague, &c: and yet by lamentable experience, wee see that the bodie of our people remaine secure, they areeIer. 48. 11. setled on their lees, and fZeph. 1. 12.frozen in their dregges: no man stirreth vp himselfe to say,gIer. 8. 6. what hauehave I done? now the cause heereof is nothing els, but this cursed thought of securitie, whereby a man saith thus in his heart, I am free from Gods iudgements. Read Matth. 2…. 37. As it was in the daies of Noah (saith our Sauiour Christ) so shall it bee in the daies of the comming of the sonne of man: they did eate, drinke, marrie wiues, and giuegive in marriage, and knewe nothing till Noah entred into the Arke, and the floode came and tooke them all away. Quest. Howe could it be, that they should knowe nothing seeing Noah had preached vntounto them of the floode an hundred and twentie yeares before? Ans. Surely it was as if they had knowne nothing, for they would not beleeue him, it would not sinke into their heads, much lesse settle in their hearts, that GOD would destroy all the worlde by waters: and so may it bee saide of these times; wee knowe nothing; though wee be called to repentance by the ministerie of the worde, yet we will not repent; and though wee heare of Gods iudgements, we thinke our selues free from them, and will not beleeue till the beesome of his wrath sweepe vsus all away,Remedie. as the flood did the old world.
Wherefore to redresse among vsus this damnable thought of securitie, let vsus consider our grieuous sinnes in particular, and set before our eyes the curse of God, both temporall iudgements, and eternall death, due vntounto vsus for the same. It is the applying of Gods heauie wrath that must make vsus shake off this secure Thought, which the rather we must do, though it be grieuous to the flesh, and as a pange vntounto death in a naturall man, because till this thought bee remooued, the sauing graces of Gods spirite will not take rooting in our hearts.
Sect. 4. Mans faint thoughts in time of distresse.
The fourth and last euill thought of mans heart touching himselfe is this; In time of miserie hee saith, his crosses are greater and worser then indeede they are. So Iobe complaineth in his affliction, that hIob. 6. 2. 3.his griefe & miserie was heauier then the sand of the sea shoare. And the Church in great affliction calls thus to passengers,iLam. 1. 12. Behold, and see if there be any sorrowe like vntounto my sorrowe which is done vntounto mee. And that it is the thought of eueryevery mans heart naturally, appeareth by experience: for let a man bee in distresse outwardly, or else touched in cō science for his sinnes, when you shall labour to minister comfort vntounto him according to Gods worde; hee will answer, that neuer any was in like …ase to him, so grieuously tormented & afflicted as he is. And indeede it is the propertie of mans naturall heart, to esteeme *Ionah. 4. 8▪ 9▪little crosses to be exceeding great, yea oftentimes to deeme that to bee a crosse which is none at all: the reason is, the want of iudgement rightly to discerne the state of their affliction, and the want of strength to support it as it is: for if thou be faint in the day of aduersitte thy strength is small.
For the remedie of this euill thought,kProu. 24. 10. first wee must seeke to rectifie the Imagination, by bringing the minde to a right con…eit of the affliction: this is a special course to be obserued in dealing with thē that bee oppressed with any distresse: for a strong conceit of a mans owne miserie doth many times more hurt, then the miserie it selfe: therefore be sure the iudgement be well informed, and then the cure is halfe wrought, and the crosse halfe remooued. This done, the partie afflicted may well consider the desert of sinne, in the endlesse torments of the damned, which the Lord preuenteth in his children by temporall chastisements in this life:l1. Cor. 11. 32 for when we are iudged wee are chastened of the Lorde, that wee might not be condemned with the world: And so labouring to bee humbled for sinne, and to lay hold on gods mercy in christ, through whom all things, euen afflictions, worke together for the best, no doubt he will bee able to say,mMich. 7. 9. I will beare the wrath of the Lorde, because I hauehave sinned against him and nPsal. 43. 5.why art thou cast downe oh my soule, why art thou so disquieted within me? wayte on God; for I will yet giuegive him thankes; he is my present helper and my God. Thus much of mans euill thoughts concerning himselfe.