The Mystery of Self-Deceiving, Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII.
Sixe deceits of the heart in perswading to the omission of good.
HAuing spoken of the deceites of our hearts in 2. To omit good, where theperswading to the commission of euill, it remaineth that we proceed to their deceits in perswading to the amission of that which is Good. And they are speciallie seuen.
The first is, when, as before the foule and ouglie I Deceit, disfiguring of vertue with sins deformities.face of sinne was painted with the faire colours of vertue and holinesse: so heere, contrarily, the beautifull face of vertue is all to bee slurred, and smeared with the blacke soot of those vices, which seeme to hauehave some affinity with it. Thus conscience of sinne is traduced as precise nicenesse, and needlesse scrupulosity; obedience to Gods lawes is thought the basest bondage, Psalm. 2. Iust seuerity heares ill, vnderunder the name of mercilesse cruelty. Zeale is censured for hypocrisie, rashnes, madnesse. Patience for 2. Kings 9. 11.stupiditie, and cowardize. Humiltie for basenesse of minde: wisedome for craft. And so are many excellent graces and workes discredited with vsus, and wee brought out of louelove, and liking with them. Iudas disgraced the iust & honorable liberality of Marie, in Math. 26. 8.breaking the boxe of ointment on our Sauior, as too profuse and riotous a wast. The Iewes taxed Iohns seuerer grauity as diabolicall: and Christs gentler affabilitie as Epicurcall, and sauouring of licentiousnesse. Ahaz counted trusting on God to bee tempting of him. And the Papists slaunder marriage, as an vncleane Esay, 7. 12.and fleshly worke. Herein vertue fares much like her followers, who neuer could bee free from those aspersions, and imputations, which of al others they least deserued. But, as the wicked, to bring the godly into hatred, hauehave alwaies raised vp slaunderous reports of them, that they are thus, and thus, (as of the Christians in the Primitiue Church, that they were enemies to the Emperours, practisers of vncleannesse in their meetings, &c.) when indeede they are nothing lesse: so doe our hearts craftily misinforme vsus of vertue, and as once they of the Hugonotes, tell vsus terrible things of it, to bring vsus quite out of conceit with it.
The second is, when our hearts would onelyonly obtaine II. Deceit to bring from a little to nothing.thus much of vsus, to remitte but a little of our forwardnesse and zeale, as in the strict obseruation of the Sabaoth, and other such like duties. For by this meanes, as in committing of sinne the deceit of our hearts was, to bring vsus from a little, to much: so heere, from a little to nothing at all, that by little and little degenerating, at the length we might be quite stript and emptyed of all goodnesse. A fearefull example whereof the Church of Ephesus yeeldeth; Reuel, 2, 4, 5.whose little abatement of the seruour of her first louelove made way to the remoouall of her golden candlesticke, and so to the bringing in of that fearefull and fatall darkenesse wherein her former so glorious and shining a light was whollie extinguished. Our wisedome therfore in standing out against our own hearts, and the Diuell, with whome they conspire, must be like to that of Moses in standing out against Pharaoh, not to yeeld so much as a hoofe; If we doe, our case in the end will be the same with them, that yeeld all at once, and at the first dash wholly fall away. It matters not greatly to Sathan, in the spirituall shipwracke, whether the shippe be suddenly cast away by some violent tempest, or bee drowned by degrees, the water getting in by little and little at some little hole. Lingring consumptions, bring death, as well as the violent burning feuers. Hee that is carelesse in his businesse saith Salomon is brother to Prou. 18. 9.the waster, and wil surely come to pouerty in the end. This is true also spiritually. If once wee beginne to slacke of our care and watchfulnesse, and begin to grow cold and careles, and to carry our selues remissely in religion, wee shall quickly come into the same case with them, that wast and hauocke al conscience at once. Since therefore this is the Diuells craft, and our owne hearts together, not to set vponupon Dan 1. 2. compared with Ier. 26. 19. 20.our whole treasure and store at once, but heere a snatch, and there a snatch, til by little and little, they hauehave exhausted vsus: like Nebuchadnezar in the spoile of the Temple, first taking away one part of the furniture, then another: it stands vsus in hand to holde fast our owne, and not to let goe the least parcell thereof. For if once a breach bee made in vponupon vsus, and but some little taken away, wee cannot but bee weakened thereby, and so lye open to further danger. How often saith S. Austen, hauing at first but tolerated of those which tell idle tales, least wee Confes. 10. 35. Quoties narrātes inania primo quasi toleramus, no offendamus infirmos, deiude p…ulatim libenter aduertimus?should offend the weak; afterwards by little & little hauehave we come willingly to listen vntounto them? If once we become luke-warme, we are so much the fitter to become cold, and then to freese. If wee suffer zeale to coole, quicklie wee shall come to rest in the outward performāce of religious exercises, without any sense of the quickning life, and power of godlinesse in them, and at length we shall proceede on, from this dead senselesnesse, to open prophanenesse, and contempt of all goodnesse. Withstand then the first beginnings of declining.
The third is, when the pleasure comfort and reward of godlinesse is seuered from the toyle, trouble III Deceit, seuering of the pleasure of godlinesse from the trouble.and affliction that waits vponupon it. As, contrarily in sinne our harts cunningly abstracted the paine from the pleasure. This deceit sometimes preuailes with the godly; as with Dauid, when considering the present afflictiōs of the godly, he cries out, I hauehave washed mine hands in innocency in vaine. But more commonly with the men of this world, when they heare that Psal, 73, 13.hard saying, If any man will liue godly, hee must suffer persecution, and if any man will be my disciple, he must forsake all, father, mother, lands, liuing, and life it selfe. But here Chrysostome giues vsus an excellent rule, that when in any good thing to bee done for Gods …om, 15. ad pop. Antioch. in fine.cause, there seemes to be losse, we should not onelyonly looke to the losse, but to the gaine also inclosed in this losse. Art thou to giuegive almes, and doth the expense of money trouble thee? Consider also the returne and increase of that which thou expendest. Hast thou lost any thing in thy outward estate? GiueGive thanks to God. And consider not the greefe which thy losse, but the ioy and comfort which thy thanksgiuing offordeth thee. Art thou reuiled, and reproched? beare it with a good spirite, and thou hast more cause to glory in thy patience, then to grieue in thy repreach. We see the husbandman considers not the sowing in teares, but his haruest, his reaping in ioy. The fisherman lookes not to the casting in of the net, but to the draught, nor the merchant to his sea-voyage, but to the returne of his merchandize: so must wee not so much looke to our losses, crosses, afflictions, as it were the showring & lowring seedstime, but to our reaping time, our haruest, the comming of our Sauior, the blast of the trumpet, the exceeding Heb. 11.glory prepared for vsus. With Moses we must looke to the recompence of reward, and the eternal waight of the crowne must waigh downe with vsus the light and moment any waight of the crosse. And as in sinne wee should hauehave a fore, not seeeing only, but feeling also of the paines, when nothing but tickling pleasure presents it selfe: so in obedience, of the pleasure, when nothing shews it selfe to the outward eye, but paine and trouble. If thus we can doe and truely conioyne those things which our cunning hearts fraudulently sunder, the crowne of thornes, and the crowne of glory, Golgotha and Caluarie, cosuffering and coreigning with Christ; then shal we account the rebuke of Christ a matter of incouragement, yea a greater attractiue vntounto godlinesse, then al the treasures of Aegypt. For the lesse our reward is heere with men, the greater may we assure our selues shall it bee heereafter with God. For if cruell man hauehave so much good nature, as to see the paines, which others hauehave taken for him, to be recompensed: thinke we that the God of mercy can suffer them to go vnrewarded of him, that hauehave suffred so much for him?
Yea but in present thou saist thou seest, and feelest nothing but paines, punishments, troubles, and tribulations. First, this is not so. Much comforte, and sweetnesse of delight is there in the very act of obedience, in regard of the peace and ioy of conscience; as contrarily much torture, and terror in the very act of sinning: for heere euen in laughing, the heart is sorrowful, as in the way of obedience, euen in mourning the heart is light and cheerefull. In which regard, though there were no heauen, nor future reward of glory, yet the godly life, with all the troubles thereof, were to bee preferred before the sinfull with all it pleasure; onelyonly because of the sweet quiet, and contentment of an vnguilty conscience, whereas the wicked hauehave a tormentor within, a selfcondemning conscience. The mudde and mire of which raging sea troubleth, and distempereth the pleasures of sinne, which yet, if vntroubled, should last but for a season, hauing a most miserable successour to follow, endlesse and remedilesse sorrow. So quicklie in sinne doth the pleasure fade and vanish, leauing behinde it perpetuall pain: wheras in obedience contrarily the paine is transient, the pleasure eternallie permanent.
Now that in obedience first thou hearest and feelest of the worst, and the better is reserued for the time to come, this ought the rather to hearten thee thereunto. As beeing an argument that there is no deceit which here thou needest to feare. For where deceit is ment, there the best things that may tickle Chrys. hom. 16. ad pop. Ant.and tempt vsus are shewed, the worse are concealed, till afterward. As for example, those that steale away children, doe not tell them of rods and stripes, but of plummes, apples, cakes, babies, hobby-horses, and such like knackes, that vse to please children; And then hauing thus caught them, the poore children afterward feele much woe and miserie; so in catching of birds and fishes, their daily foode, that they delight in, is shewed them: the snare, the hook they feele afterward. And thus do our hearts, as we shewed, deceiue vsus in perswading vsus to sinne by obiecting to our senses the pleasurable delights therof, not telling vsus of the after-claps. But now in obedience the word of God first tels vsus of the griefe, then of the glorie, first of the labour, then of the rewarde, first of the teares, then of the wiping handkercher, first of the race, then of the garland, first of the fight, then of the kingdome. Is not this plaine dealing to let vsus know the worst before hand? Doth not God herein deale as a Father with his childe? And will a Father coosen and circumuent his owne childe? No. And yet first, in his childhood, he tels him of the seuere schoole-master, of the swindging roddes, of the hard feruler, and of such like terrible things. Afterward, when he is come to age, hee tels him of his inheritance, and passeth it ouer to him. Lo then what a strange deceit this is, for our hearts to make vsus beleeue that to be an argument of Gods deceiuing vsus, which is so cleere an euidence of his faithfulnesse. If now wee were told onelyonly of pleasures and delights, we might suspect deceit, and feare there would bee none in the ende. But now hearing nothing but of the crosse, of gall, & wormewood, we may the more perswadedly assure our selues, that the wine and hony will come, and that beginning with the dolefull darknesse of the night, wee shall end in the ioyfull light of the day. Where ioy hath the beginning, there feare of greefe makes our ioy greeuous: where griefe; there hope of ioy makes our greefe ioyfull.
The fourth is, from the remembrance of that good IV. Deceit, remembrance of that bypast.which we hauehave already done. Whereupon we falsly inferre that wee may now sit downe, and rest vsus a while, as hauing done enough for our parts. This seemes to hauehave beene Iehues deceit. Hee thought it enough he had destroyed Ahab his posterity, and idols. He thought this a great matter, and therefore that the doing of this might well excuse him for the not destroying of Ieroboams Calues. But Paul had done far more, and yet forgat that which was past, Phil. 3.and still pressed towards the mark, notwithstanding hee had so happily combated with his corruption, that he could say, I am crucified to the world, and the Gal. 6.world to me, yet he still continued beating downe his 1. Cor. 9.bodie. So Timothie, though a rare man for mortification, yet continued still in the vse of such seuere abstinence, that Paul was faine to stay him, and bid him drinke no longer water. But marke heere the deceit of our hearts in turning the spurre into a bridle. For there cannot be a more forcible incitement to proceeding on in grace, then from our owne beginnings, and former practise. All lost, if wee giuegive ouer, before the race be fully run out. Wherefore S. Phil. 8. 9. expounded.Paul perswades Philemon to shew mercy to Onesimus by reason of his former practise of that grace towards others; for hauing said, Wee hauehave great ioy and and consolation in thy louelove: For by thee brother the saints bowels are refreshed, hee inferreth presently this Wherefore I beseech thee for my sonne Onesimus. Refresh thou his bowels, as thou hast done others of the Saints. Stil hold out in the exercise of this grace, that thou maist receiue a full reward. In like manner he reasoneth with the Corinthians, As ye hauehave abounded in louelove, and knowledge &c: so see yee abound 2. Cori. 8. 7. cleered.in this grace [of liberality] also. Wee, contrarily, thinke our aboundance in some graces may dispense with our defects in others. But, as in the parable of the lost sheepe, the sheepheard leaueth the sheepe he hath, and seeketh out that he wants: so should we heere. In our thoughts, at least, leaue those graces thou hast. Doe not so stand thinking of them, that thou shouldest neglect that which thou hast not. In the parts of our bodies none so foolish as to reason, no matter for the want of mine eye, because I hauehave eares, nose, &c. No souldier so senselesse, as to say, no matter for a head-peece, because I hauehave a brestplate. In the furnishing of our houses, if one onelyonly ornament be wanting, wee doe not thinke the want made vp in the rest, which we hauehave, but contrarily, that wee ought so much the rather to prouide that which is wanting, because of those we hauehave. In running of races, the people hollow, and shout not to the hindermost, but to the formost that are neerest foreign. Chrys. hom 9. ad pop. Ant. V. Deceit, cōparison with inferiours. Luc. 18. 11.the goale. The like hartening should we giuegive to our selues, the neerer wee approach to the ende of the Christian race.
The fifth is, from comparing our selues with others that are worse, as the Pharisee compared himselfe with the Publicane. Hence wee gather, that as long as we hauehave others farre behind vsus, we need not so bestirre vsus. This deceit is like that of the drapers, that commend a carsey by laying it to a rugge. Wel in other things we doe not so deceiue our selues. A man of some competency in his outward estate, if he see a begger that hath nothing, will not thereupon conclude that he is rich enough, and neede seeke for no more. No, but if there be but one richerman then himselfe, he is an eye-sore. As long as hee sees him, he thinkes himselfe poore. So the runner in a race hastens his pace by looking to those before, not slackens it by looking backe to those behinde. So should we rather cast our eies vponupon those that are of greater eminency in grace, then our selues, and then hang down our heads, and couer our faces in shame to see what nothings we are, and then put to the spur to this dull iade, our naughty flesh, that wee may make more hast in our iourney.
The sixth is, when we abstaine from good, vnderunder VI. Deceit, Pretence of auoiding euill.pretence of auoiding euill: which answeres to that deceit in the former kinde, of doing euil for the procuring of good. This is the deceit of the Papists, in not suffering the Scriptures to be reade of the common people, because of the hurt that may come of it. Austen makes mention of some, that neglected In Ps. 130. Sed rursus sunt quidam homines qui cum audierint quia humiles esse debent, dimittunt se nihil volunt discere, putantes quia si aliqui, didicerunt superbierunt, et in solo lacto remanent.the meanes of knowledge, because knowledge puffeth vp. And so would be ignorant, that they might bee humble, and want knowledge that they might want pride. So the Philosopher plucked out his eies to auoide the danger of vncleannesse. But wee must learne neuer either to feare good, though it may seeme neuer so hurtfull, nor to embrace euill, though neuer so profitable. Hurtfull good is more profitable, then profitable euill.