The Mystery of Self-Deceiving, Chapter 8 – Chapter 9
CHAP. VIII.
Of the deceitfulnesse of the Temporaries obedience.
VVEe hauehave examined the two former grounds, wherupon the Temporarie buildeth his opinion of himself, to be the child of God, and discouered the deceitfulnesse of them both, namely his faith, and repentance: It remaineth now that wee should doe the like to his third ground, namely his obedience, and so dismisse him.
Obedience is twofold; Actiue in doing that which 3. His obedience.God commandeth: Passiue, in suffering that which God inflicteth. And the temporarie may seeme to hauehave both these.
1. For actiue, the temporarie beleeuer may goe 1. Actiue, discoueredfarre. There is no outward good worke, which a true beleeuer can doe, but the temporarie may doe it also, and that in outward appearance, with as great spirit and zeale as the true beleeuer, as in Iehu, who did not onelyonly execute Gods iudgements vponupon Ahab, and his house, and destroied Baal, and his Priests, but did this (as others and himselfe thought) with great zeale, and in the heate of godly indignation; so that, to the outward eie, little difference betweene the spirit of Iehu, in his reformation, and of Iosiah in his. So Herod reuerenced Iohn, and did many things in obedience Mark. 6. 20.to his Doctrine. So likewise did Saul reuerence Samuel, 1. Sam. 13. 10.shew great humilitie in hiding himselfe, when 1. Sam. 10. 22.to be King, and after he was King, great zeale and courage in reuenging the cause of those of Iabesh against 1. Sam 11. 6 7. 1. Sam. 13. & 14. 1. Sam 10. 27. & 11. 13.Nahash, in fighting the battailes of the Lord against the Philistims, and in destroying of witches, great merciemercy also and moderation in sparing, and forgiuing those wicked people, that despised him, &c. yet, for all this, his end was fearefull, God tooke 2. Sam. 7. 15.away his merciemercy from him. And therefore the obedience that seemes to be in this kind of men is deceitfull: else God would not, as he threatoneth by the Prophet, blot it out, who according to Nehemies Ezek. 18 24. Nehem. 13. 14praier wipes not out any of the good seruices of his children.
That this deceitfulnesse may the better appeare, By the notes of true obedience.let vsus examine our Temporaries obedience by the notes of true obedience; which are specially three, sinceritie, vniuersalitie, and a setled constancie.
1. Sinceritie, when all base, and by respects laid aside; 1. Sincerity.only the conscience of Gods commandement, & the desire of his glorie swaies with vsus. Blessed are Psal. 119. 2. cleered.they that keepe his testimonies (saith the Prophet) but because their may bee much guile in keeping, hee addes, and seeke him with their whole heart. The true keeping of the testimonies is when wee seeke God, and not our selues, in keeping; when, as Ieremie saies, Ier. 4. 4. expounded.wee be circumcised to the Lord, that is, in respect of Gods commandement, and not the Magistrates, as it is with too too many. Hence that phrase (which is so frequent with the Prophet) of seeking Gods commandements; I am thine, saue mee: for I seeke thy precepts. Psal. 119 94. explained.Which implyeth thus much, that all that we are to seek in our obedience, are the precepts themselues, the thing specially wee are to aime at is obedience it selfe to the precepts: But Gods precepts may say to the Temporaries, yee seeke not vsus but your selues. As Christ said to some of them, yee seeke mee because of the loaues. Some Pro. 1. 28. are said to seeke God, and yet of the same men it is said in the Aug. in Psal. 118. In libro sapientiae l…quitur ipsa sapientia, Quaerent me mali, & non inuement, quia oderunt sapientiam. Quod quid est aliud, quam oderunt me? Quemedo igitur dicuntur quaerere quod oderunt, nisi quia non hoc, sed aliud ibi quaerunt? Gen. 28. 8. 9.next verse, that they hated the knowledge of God: how can they be said to seek that which they hate? but that they sought not God sincerely, but only for their owne ease sake, to be deliuered out of their trouble, and so indeede they sought not God but themselues. For all their obedience is either slauish or mercenarie: sometimes it is the obedience of the bondslaue, sometime of the hireling, alwaies base, corrupted with some wrie and wrong consideration or other. Sometimes the feare of man workes it, as in Esaus marrying no longer with the Cananites; but with the posteritie of Ismael: Moses noteth the ground of it to hauehave beene the consideration of his fathers distaste of his Cananitish wiues. Sometimes againe the feare of Gods iudgements, as of the Gen. 28. 8. 9.rack of an accusing consciene, of the torments of hell fire &c. this holdeth vsus to it. But heere that which the Apostle speaketh concerning magistrates Rom. 13. 5.lawes that wee ought to bee subiect not only for wrath, namely of the magistrate, and the punishment which that wrath may inflict, but for conscience sake, is true much more in Gods lawes, that we ought to performe obedience not so much for wrath, no not for Gods owne wrath, and the punishment it will inflict; but though there were no hell, yea though there were no heauen, of very conscience, because the Lord God hath commaunded vsus. Otherwile againe the temporarie obeyeth vponupon hope of some good, that hereby may accrue vntounto him, as profit, praise, and such like. And heere that deprauation of Sathan hath his truth; Doth Iob Iob. 1. 9.serue God for nought? doth Saul louelove God for nought? no it is for a kingdome. Doth Iehu roote out Ahabs race for nought? no it is to confirme himselfe in the kingdome. Doth he destroy Baal for nought? no it is for glorie in the world, that hee may crake and call vp good Ionadab to applaude him and his zeale. Come and see what zeale I hauehave for the Lord. Thou deceiuest Hos. 1. 4.thy selfe Iehu, it is for thy selfe. Therefore God saies afterward by the Prophet, I will visit the bloud of Izreel vponupon the house of Iehu. Though it were shead by Gods owne appointment, yet because Iehu obeyed not Gods commandement, so much as his own ambition and pride in the sheading thereof; therefore God will punish it as disobedience, not reward it as obedience. So likewise, though God commanded the burnt offrings, the new moones &c. yet he asketh the Iewes, who required Esay 1. 12.these thinges, because it was not the conscience of Gods commandement that mooued them to performe those seruices. And againe, hauehave yee fasted to mee, to mee saith the Lord, because it was not any Ezech. 7. 5.true regard of Gods word that caused them to fast. Obedience in the word is compared to fruite, and the doing of good workes is called the bringing forth of fruit. Now fruite comes of seede. Seede must first be receiued of the ground, before it can yeeld vsus any corne. This seede is the word, the commandement of God. First, wee must receiue this seede before wee can bring forth any fruit: first we must heare the word, and by faith applie vntounto and vrge vponupon our selues the commandement, and then obey: Obedience without respect of Gods word is but wilde oats, it grows of it selfe, there was no seede sowen to bring forth this fruit, & therfore it is not good. And such is the obedience of the Temporarie: he heares not the worde though it speake to him; neither doth he do that he does as to the word: the word indeede requires of him that he does, but he does it not as hearing himselfe requested by the word, but rather by his owne corruption. If God had asked Iehu concerning his destroying of Ahabs posteritie, Baals Priests and worship, who required this at thy hands, he might truely hauehave answered, vain-glory, ambition, pride, policie. And heere is the first detection of the temporaries obedience.
2. Note of true obedience is vniuersalitie. And this 2. Vniuersalitie.necessarily springeth from the former: for if obedience be sincere; that is, if it be performed onelyonly because of Gods commandement, it must needs be vniuersall, to one commandement as well as to another: for there is the same diuine authority binding the conscience in one as in another. And therefore truly is it said, whatsoeuer is done for Gods cause is done Quicquid propter deum fit, … qualiter fit. Author operis imperfecti in Matth. hom. 45.equally, because the same God that commandes one precept, commandes also the other. Hence is that of Iames, He that breaketh one commandement is guiltie of all: for the law is wholly copulatiue. So that, as where many friends are linked together in a sure bond of friendship, if you offend one of them, you offend all, all the rest wil interest themselues in their friends quarrell: so is it with the commandements; they are so knit and chained together, that, when one is violated, all the rest are readie as it were to take it's part, and to enter in Gods Court their action of trespasse against vsus. Hence it was, that when some of the Israelites had broken the fourth commandement in going out to seeke Manna on the Saboth, God chalenged them for breaking of all his commandements; How long refuse yee to keepe my Exod: 16. 28.commandements? And Ezekiel reckning vp many abominations, fasteneth the imputation of all of Ezech. 18. 10. 11. 12. 13.them on him that had actuallie offended in one only. It is a remarkable place, and therefore I will set downe the words at large. If hee beget a sonne that is a theefe, or a sheader of bloud, if hee do [any one of these things] though he doth not all these things, but either hath eaten vponupon the mountaines, or defiled his neighbours wife, or oppressed the poore &c. shall be liue? He shall not liue. Seeing he hath done [all these abominations] he shall die the death. Heere he saith all: and yet before, hee said one only, because breake one and breake all, keepe one truely and heartily, and keepe all. Whence it is that some one good action hath blessednesse ascribed to it, as the making of peace Math. 5. because of this concatenation of the commandements, and the vertues therein commanded, that a man cannot keepe one, but hee must keepe the rest, hee cannot hauehave one grace, but he must also hauehave another. For there is a double both keeping and breaking of the commandements; habitual and actuall. Habituall in the preparation, purpose, desire and disposition of the heart: Actuall in the outward deede. Now howsoeuer he that breakes one, breaks not all actuallie; yet breaking that one habituallie, hee breakes them all habituallie, his heart standes alike affected to break any of the rest, and whensoeuer occasion shal serue, he will break them. And howsoeuer he that keeps one, keepes not all actually, nay he that keepes most breakes all actuallie; yet hee that keepes one commandement habituallie, that is, in the purpose and inclination of his heart, he keepes them all in the same manner, his heart stands honestly disposed to the keeping of the rest; he may say with Dauid, My heart is prepared. So that it may be truely said, The wicked do breake euen those commandements they keepe; that is, they breake in regard of the fitnesse and preparation of their hearts, those they keepe sometimes outwardly: And so in the same sort, The godly doe keepe those commandements, which actuallie they breake. The best of Gods children are often ouertaken with diuers sinnes, and with some one more than with another, and so faile more in the breach of some commandement than of another: yet stil they keepe that commandement in regard of the bent and affection of their hearts, they consent with Paul to the law, euen in that commandement they most breake, that it is holy and good. Now when wee say Rom. 7. 16.true obedience is catholique and vniuersall, the keeping of all the commandements, it is to be vnderstood of this habituall obedience, when with Dauid we looke towards, or hauehave respect to them all. Loe then Psal. 119. 6.the deceit of the Temporaries obedience. Though they do many things as Herod and Iudas; yet they liue in the habituall breach of some one commandement at least. As Herod in the habituall breach of the seuenth commandement, in his incest: Iudas in the habituall breach of the eighth, in his couetousnesse Their hearts were set on those sins, and they drunk them in as the fish doth water. They hated those good commandements of the Lord, that forbade those sinnes, and could hauehave wished with all their hearts there had beene no such commandements: which shewed that euen in those commandements they kept, as Herod in hearing Iohn, Iudas Christ, their obedience was rotten and vnsound, and with out all regard of Gods commandement: for the same God, that bade Herod reuerence Iohns ministerie in the second commandement, bade him also possesse his vessel in holinesse and honour, in the seuenth. And if conscience had made him louelove the second commandement, surely it would not let him hauehave hated the seuenth commandement. So Iudas if he had truely hated other sinnes, because they were sinnes, he could not then hauehave loued, and so liued in couetousnesse. And if Gods feare had made Iehu put downe Baals worship, he would not then hauehave still reteined Ieroboams calues, the same God forbidding both. Let the temporarie then marke himselfe well, and he shall finde that in some point or other he hath a dispensatorie conscience with Gods word. And as rogues vnderunder hedges without the magistrates, so he can make licenses to himselfe without Gods warrant, to continue in his or that sinne. Whereby his prophane contempt of God is manifestly bewrayed, and his obedience in other things conuinced to be no obedience to God, but to man, or to himselfe, or to that respect, whatsoeuer it is, that drew it forth.
3 Note of true obedience is setled constancie, when, 3. Constancie.as the scripture speaketh, wee walke in the commandements of the Lord and exercise our selues therin; as the wicked are said to be exercised in couetousnesse, 2. Pet. 2. 14.in that they constantly follow it as the artificer doth his trade. But indeed the temporary doth not walke in these waies, as doth the honest trauailour in the broad high-way, but only like the theefe comes frisking and crossing ouer them. His obedience is like the true Christians disobedience, which is not setled and rooted, but onelyonly for a fitte. The good Christian quickly remembers himselfe, and returnes to his course of godlinesse, when through distemper, he hath begun to stray: and so the temporary Christian as quickly returnes to his intermitted wickednesse, when sometimes he chaunces to stumble vponupon deuotion. His obedience is a moodie and passionate obedience; soone forgot. It is like to Sauls affection to Dauid; when the euill spirit comes vponupon him, then that religion which before he seemed to make so much of, shall be run through with the speare of grosse and wilfull disobedience. Hee doth not, neither can he cleaue to the Lord with Acts 11. 23.full purpose of heart, as the true beleeuer.
And so much for his actiue obedience: Now for 2 Passiue, shewed to be in them,passiue in suffering, wee would thinke it strange, if the temporarie beleeuer might go so farre as to suffer for the truth. But it is a plaine case he may. Did not Peter speake in the name of all his fellowes, and so of Iudas when he said, Master wee hauehave forsaken all and Math. 19 27.followed thee? Did not Iudas leaue his calling in the world, whatsoeuer it was, and did he not neglect all other meanes and possibilities of his liuely-hood, and cleaue only to Christ for three yeares space, being partaker with him in his sufferings? so did Demas and Alexander with Paul; and yet both afterward became fearefull Apostataes, insomuch as Alexander (of being persecuted) turned a persecutor, and that of him, who before had turned of a persecuting lew, a persecuted Christian; for Saint Paul writeth of him, that by putting away a good conscience 1. Tim. 1. 19. 20. 2. Tim 4. 14. 15.he had shipwracked the faith, that he had done him much euil, that he withstood his preaching sore, that he blasphemed Acts 19. 33. Nam q… martyrio propinquus &c. Caluin. Acts 6. 5.the truth; and yet we shall finde in the Acts, that in Pauls cause he was very neere vntounto martyrdome: when he was violently dragged forth and cast as a pray to the teeth of those raging Ephesians. Nicholas the deacon ioined himself to the persecuted Church, and yet afterward became a ring-leader & the head of a horrible wickednesse: for of him were those Nicolaitans, St Iohn speaketh of, so called. The like we Reuel. 2. 15.may see in Ananias and Saphira, that were content to sell their whole estate, and to giuegive half of it to the Church & yet but hypocrites: yea Austen thinketh, as we shewed before, that hypocrits may suffer martyrdome. If it be obiected, that Christ saies these temporaries are offended and goe back when persecution commeth because of the word, and therefore that they cannot goe thus farre as wee say; I answere that is to be vnderstood of one kind of the temporaries, namely those that are noted out by the stonie ground; and not of the second sort of Temporaries, which are represented to vsus by the thornie ground; for the verie rise our Sauiour vseth in that parable must needes implie that as the stonie ground went beyond the highway; so the thornie goes beyond the stonie; which cannot be otherwise then in this, that the thornie grounds fruit can wel indure the heat of the sunne, and is not perished that way, as was the stonie grounds, but onelyonly by hir owne thornes. Of this sort of Temporaries was Iudas, Alexander and the rest aboue-named, in whom the good seede was ouerthrowen, not by the parching sunne of persecution, which in some measure they indured, but by the choaking thornes of couetousnesse, ambition, and such like corrupt affections. The temporarie beleeuer then may proceede thus farre to suffer: but yet as Paul telleth the Galathians, in vaine, because hee suffereth not sincerely, and with a good minde: for Gal. 3. 4.he that suffereth aright, must suffer in denial of himselfe, and his owne carnall affections, according to our Sauiours direction giuen to all such, whom he calleth to be his disciples. If any man, saith he, will Math. 16. 24.be my Disciple, he must denie himselfe, and take vp the crosse. It is not enough simplie to take vp the crosse, but first he must denie himselfe, and so take vp the crosse. But the temporarie seekes himselfe in taking vp the crosse. They are his owne proude, ambitious, vaineglorious, couetous affections that make him stoupe to take vp the crosse. The fruit of the thornie ground is able indeede to beare the heate of the sunne, and is not consumed therewith, as the stonie grounds: but whats the reason? because the thornes couering it doe fense off the sunne. And whats the reason our thornie temporarie is so ready sometimes to run himselfe into the bryers of persecution, but that the thorne of some wicked lust or other is a spurre in his side. Marke the best of the temporaries in their sufferings, and you shall see, that for all the thornes of persecution, wherewith the aduersaries prick them, they still continue pricking but yet deceitfull.their owne soules, with the thornes of couetousnesse, pride and vaine-glory. These thornes pricks them forward to the suffering of the other thornes; as in Iudas hee looked one day for a good day, hee hoped to hauehave no meane place in Christs temporall kingdome, and withall in present he felt the sweete of carying the bagge. He carried the crosse on his back, that he might carry the bagge in his hands, The delight and comfort he tooke in licking his fingers after the receipt of the almes, made him willingly indure the little pain of his back. The bag in the hand was a staffe and prop to vphold his back from sinking vnderunder the burthen of the Crosse The sweetnesse, not of Gods louelove shead into his heart, but of mans louelove shead into his hands was that, which 1. Cor. 13.allayed the sowrenes of the crosse. So with others, the coole winde not of Gods, but of mens praises is that which refresheth them in the skorching of this sunne, and maketh them with some comfort beare the heate of the day. Though I giuegive my body to be burned saith Paul, and hauehave not louelove, I am nothing. Insinuating that men may burne their bodies, as he burnt Dianaes temple, of selfe-louelove, of louelove of glory and fame in the world, and not of any true louelove to God, or his Church. Let vsus not then please our selues ouer much, if wee hauehave suffered something for the truth, because, euen in suffering, the heart is deceitfull; but search we our owne hearts, and see whether, as the aduersarie persecutes the new man in vsus, so wee thence take occasion to persecute the ould man in our selues: whether we turne the sword, thrust at vsus to kill the life of grace, to the opening of our impostumes: whether, as it were by one nayle driuing out another, wee vse the thornes of persecution, as meanes and medicines against the thornes of couetousnesse, and worldlinesse. It is an ill 2. Cor. 5. 14. Psal. 44. 22. 2. Tim. 2. 10.signe, when we can beare the worlds yoke in persecution, and yet, at the same time, not endure Gods yoke in mortification. Againe, examine wee the ground, and end of our suffering, whether we can truly say with Paul and the Psalmist, The louelove of Christ constreineth, for thy sake we are killed, and we suffer all thinges for the elects sake: for as we hauehave shewed, couetousnesse, pride, and vaine-glory setteth many on this worke. And, which is not all out so bad, happily others may be forced by the feare of Gods iudgements, threatned against them, that deny the truth. But then, as God said once to the Iewes in the matter of fasting, hauehave yee fasted to mee, so heere also may he say to vsus in the matter of suffering; HaueHave yee suffered for mee. And when wee shall begin to tell Christ of such kinde of sufferings, and to say with Peter, Wee hauehave left all and followed thee, he may Math. 19. 27. 28.twit vsus with the same answere, wherewithall he then pinched Iudas, whom Peter included in the generalitie of his speach, Whosoeuer shall forsake houses, lands, &c. for my names sake, shall receiue an hundreth fold. But Iudas, and so all other temporarie beleeuers, whatsoeuer they hauehave suffered for Christ, it hath not beene for his sake, but for their owne. Therefore their sufferings hauehave beene deceitfull: and as they would hauehave deceiued Christ by them, so assuredly Christ shall deceiue them, in disappointing them of their hoped for rewarde.
CHAP. IX.
Of the deceit of the heart in iudging our selues better then we are.
ANd of the second deceit of the hart, in iudging 3. Deceit that our good is better then it is.of our persons, so much: The third followeth. And that is, when we iudge our selues to be better, then indeed we are; when our little is thought a great deale, our mite of grace, a talent, our moat, a beame, our molehill a mountain, our smoaking flaxe the strong and blazing flame of some mighty bonfire, our small beginnings, the height of perfection. Of this deceit the Apostle speaketh, when taxing the pride of the Corinthians, whereby they thought themselues wiser, then indeede they were, he thus writeth, Let no man deceiue himselfe: if any man among you seeme to be wise, let him become a fool, &c. Shewing that herein is 1, Cor, 3, 18.the selfe-deceit, when we are better conceited of our selues, then there is cause. Heerein our deceitfull hearts are like to those kind of glasses, which represent things many degrees greater then in deed they are. Thus the Corinthian teachers looking vponupon themselues in this false glasse, magnified themselues aboue S. Paul himselfe, whence was that modest reprehension of the Apostle, Wee dare not compare our selues with them, and againe, yee are full, ye raigne, &c 2, Cor. 10, 12. 1, Cor, 4, 8.This was the deceit of him that saide, all these hauehave I kept from my youth, and still it is to bee found in too Math, 19, 20.too many: not onelyonly such as the old Perfectists, and now the Papists: but euen in the best of vsus all, who through selfe-louelove, are no lesse affected to our owne graces, then parents to their owne children, whom they vse to account the fairest of all others: hence arise those high thoughts, and strong conceits of our owne excellency, & sufficiency euen for the weightiest matters. Iames and Iohn, no doubt, had receiued some measure of Grace and spirituall strength: but yet their owne deceitfull hearts made them to ouerprize it, and boldly to tell Christ asking them, Are Math. 20. 22.ye able to drinke of my cup, to bee baptised with my Baptisme? yes; we are able. Alasse poore men, that could scarse indure to see Christ himselfe drinke that cup, and therefore fled away when the cup was but comming towards him, how should you be able then to drinke it of your selues? Thus Peters heart deceiued him in like manner, when being but a nouice, a fresh water souldier, hee thought himselfe able to encounter those enemies that might iustly hauehave danted the old trained, and best exercised and experienced souldiers. Christ knowing the measure of his strength better then himselfe, told him, Whether I go now thou canst not follow mee, heereafter thou shalt. But Peters deceitfull heart, thinking it selfe too much disabled, answered, Why cannot I follow thee now? So true is that, euen in spirituall riches, which Salomon speaketh of the earthly, There is poore which maketh Pro. 13. 7.himselfe rich. Therefore excellently Dauid not ignorant of this deceit, after hee had protested concerning the soundnesse and zeale of his hatred of Gods wicked enemies, Doe I not hate them that hate thee? Ps, 139. 22. 23.yes, I hate them with a perfect hatred, addeth (as something mistrusting his owne heart) Try mee O God, proue me, namely whether I deceiue not my selfe in thinking I hauehave more zeale, then indeede I hauehave: of the two deceits it is the better, and safer, to vnderualew our selues; and with him that said, I am not a man, I hauehave not the vnderstanding of a man in me, Prou. 30, 2.to thinke our selues rather worse, then any whit better then in truth we be.