The Mystery of Self-Deceiving, Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
The Text opened; A preparation to the treatise following, shewing the originall of the hearts deceitfulnesse, the difficultie, and yet the meanes of knowing it.
THE prophet hauing grieuously Coher.menaced the Iewes in the beginning of this Chapter; because he saw, how much they bore themselues out against these threatnings, vponupon hope of the Aegyptian his helpe; therefore Psal. 3 4.in the fifth verse hee curseth all such, as rely vponupon man, and make flesh their arme, contrarily blessing such, as in their dangers shroud and shelter themselues vnderunder the wing of the Almighty.
But heere the Iewes hauing made a couenant with hell and death, would be ready to obiect against the prophet; what then is all this threatning to vsus? Wee are none of those that withdraw their hearts from God. Vse of meanes doth not preiudice trust in God. Trust in God as it cannot stand with trust in meanes; so neither without vse of meanes when they may be had. Wee repose our selues on God as much as thy selfe, or any else: and we repaire to the second causes, only as seruiceable, and subordinate to the first. Therefore as the sparrow by wandring, Pro. 26. 2.and the swallow by fleeing escape, so this thy causelesse curse shall not come: neither are we such children to be skarred with bugs-words.
The prophet therefore in this verse preuenteth this obiection, and keepeth them from this starting hole, saying, The heart is deceitfull, as if he should say: Flatter not your selues in a vaine conceit, that you with-drawe not your heart from God, and so God will not with-drawe his from you. Nothing more easy than for a man to deceiue himselfe: for the heart by reason of the great wickednesse thereof, is a bottom-lesse and vnsearchable gulfe of guile; in so much as none can know, not only anothers, but not his owne heart, The Lord only hath reserued this as a prerogatiue royall to himselfe, exactly to know the depth of our hearts: that so, though men conceiuing well of themselues, may conceiue amisse of God, as one that by his doings will not iustifie the prophets sayings; yet hee iudging of men according to the secret disposition and constitution of their hearts, may deale with them accordingly, blessing those that in truth do trust in him, but cursing such as with-drawe from him, though not their tongues, yet their hearts. This is the order and generall purpose of the wordes.
They containe in them a proposition concerning Resolution and sence.the hearts deceitfulnesse. Heere two things are to be considered: what is meant by heart, what by deceitfull.
By heart, mans heart is meant, as appeareth by the context. And now because mans heart is one of the principall seats of the soule of man, therefore by a Metonymy of the subiect, it is vsually in the Scripture put sometimes for the whole soule, sometimes (and that more frequently) for such speciall faculties in the soule, as more specially belong to the heart, as the will and affections. But heere it is to bee taken for the whole soule and all the parts thereof, the vnderstanding, the will, the affections: for all are deceitfull.
The word deceitfull is significant in the Hebrew, Gnacob.comming of a verbe which signifieth to supplant, as runners in the race vse to do; and from this word had Iakob his name, because he caught Esau by the heele when he was comming forth of the wombe: So doe our hearts cunningly, as it were, trip our Gen. 27. 36.heele, when wee are to runne the race which is set before vsus. Though heere also that reason of the name which Esau falsely gaue to Iakob, may truely agree to our hearts, well may they be called Iakobs, because they cozen many, and doe their indeuour to cozen all of Gods blessing and the heauenly inheritance. But it may be asked, Is this deceitfulnesse giuen vntounto all men indifferently, or only to some? Answ. To all, saue Christ, in whose mouth (and so heart) was found no guile. By nature all our hearts are a like, And the change that grace makes in this life is not such, but that in some sort, the heart of the best may still be said to be deceitfull. Christ indeed giues Nathanael this praise, that there was no guile in his heart, and Dauid saies the like of eueryevery iustified Psal. 32 2.man: but this is true only of the spirit, of the new, or young man that is created by God in the regenerate, and not of the flesh, that olde man, an olde foxe indeed, that by reason of his age is often too hard for the yong man: for youth is but simple in regard of old age; Howbeit as yong men grow still to further perfection, and are on the increasing hand, whereas old men decrease, till at length age brings dotage: so heere the craft of this old man is daily weakened, the rather for those many wounds which the stronger yong mans arme giues him in the braine, whereas the spirituall wisdome of the yongman increaseth daily. Thus then we interpret these words of the prophet, The heart of man is deceitfull, euen the whole heart of the wicked, because it is wholly flesh, and part of the heart of the godly, namely the vnregenerate and fleshly part. The heart of the wicked is deceitfull with a full, strong, and reigning deceitfulnesse, the deceitfulnesse that is in the heart of the godly is weaker, as being discerned of them, and strouen against by them, The heart of the wicked shewes it deceitfulnesse in the whole course of their liues, The godly only in some particuler actions. As it is said of Dauid he was vpright in all things, saue only in the matter of Vriah, The generall current of his life was free from deceitfulnesse, though not the perticuler action; Contrarily the heart of the wicked may be vpright in some particular actions, as Abimelechs in the taking of Sarah. I know saith God thou hast done this in the vprightnesse Gen. 20. 6.of thy heart: yet not in the maine of their liues. This is proper only to the godly that they are vpright in their way, that is the constant tenor of Psal. 119. 2.their conuersation. Now this deceitfulnesse heere giuen to the heart, is set forth, First, by the greatnesse of it: aboue all things. Secondly, by the cause of it: and euill. Thirdly, by the vnsearchablenesse of it, such that none can know it, figured with an interrogation who can know it? that is none of himselfe by his owne mother wit, without a higher and clearer light.
To begin first with the deceitfulnesse of the heart, The originall of the hearts deceitfulnesse.and then to come to the illustrations of it afterward; It may be asked for the better vnderstanding thereof, How comes this deceitfulnesse into the heart? Is not the heart Gods creature? and did he not make it simple, plaine, and true? whence then this fraude? Lord thou sowedst in this field of mans heart the good corne of faith, truth, sincerity? whence then these tares? Salomon tels vsus, Eccles. 7. 31. God made man righteous: but they hauehave sought out many inuentions: for howsoeuer these inuentions and deceits (as Moses sheweth Gen. 3.) were first forged in the Deuils braine, & came out of his shop; yet because they were so readily apprehended, & as it were bought vp so fast by our first parents, therefore Salomon ascribes them to man. So that howsoeuer heere also the question concerning these tares, yea thistles of treachery, and a perfidiousnesse in our hearts may truly be answered with that in the Gospell. The enuious man hath sowen them; yet withall it may iustly be said, because the ground did so open hir mouth for them, that the field it selfe did bring them forth. If at the first, when as this field was as the pleasant Eden of God; how much more now, when, hauing the salt as it were of Gods curse sowen vponupon it, it is become as a barren wildernesse? If Adam and Eue might bee charged as the first fathers, and founders of those deceitfull inuentions suggested by Sathan, because of their ready, how much more wee, because of our greedy apprehension of them, whereby wee drinke them in as the fish doth water? If they for willing Iob. 15. 16.consenting to, how much more wee, for wilfull conspiring with the deuill? So that, whatsoeuer the Scriptures shall tell vsus concerning the tempters wiles, wee may safely draw it hither, and apply it to our selues, partners, and practizers with Sathan in his stratagems against our owne soules.
Wee see then the rocke, whereout this deceitfulnesse The difficulty of finding out this deceitfulnesse.was hewen. A pigge it is of our owne sowe, a flower (weede rather) of our owne garden. It remaineth, that, more particularly, wee should see what it is, wherein it consists, and shewes it selfe. A labour surely full of difficultie. For as the woman of Samaria said of her Well to Christ, The Well is deepe, and thou hast no pitcher, the same may wee say Ioh. 4.to our selues of this pit, this puddle, this den, this dungeon. It is very both darke, and deepe. Who can see it? who can sound it? And alas where are our buckets to empty it? Who hath not cause to complaine with St. Austen, Iust cause hauehave I to bewaile Confess. lib. 10. cap. 32. sunt ista plangen…iae tenebrae, in quiqus me later facultas mea qua in me est, vt animus m…us de viribus suis ipse s… interrogans non facile sibi cr…d…ndum exis…imet, quia & quod inest pler…mque occultum est nisi experentia manif…stetur.that darknesse, in which that power that is within me, is hid from me; so that my soule asking it selfe concerning it owne strength, cannot safely beleeue it selfe; because euen that which indeede is in vsus, is kept secret from vsus, till experience manifest it? O ye many blind corners, the secret turnings and windings, the perplex labyrinthes, the close lurking-holes that are heere! who would thinke that within the compasse of so small a piece of flesh, there should be roome enough to harbour such swarmes of vaine and vile thoughts, desires, affections; and that farre more secretly from being espied by vsus, than the largest and vastest Cities can doe any skouting naughty pack? Man is a great deepe, whose very haires are numbred Confess. li. 4. ca. 16. Grande profundum est homo, cuius etiam capillos tu domine numeratos habes. Et tamen capilli eius magis numerabiles sunt, quam affectus eius & motus cordis.before thee O Lord. And yet easier it is to know the number of his haires, then of the motions and affections of his heart, as excellently Saint Austen. For as in Hercules monster still fresh heads, one springing vp after the cutting off of the other, and as in Ezekiels temple, after the sight of some abominations still moe: so heere in this so infinite a receptacle of deceitfull thoughts, one deceit succeeding, and pressing hard at the heeles of another. Many inuentions Ezek. 8. 6. 13.said Salomon speaking of those at the first, in the heart only of Adam and Eue. How then is the number (thinke we) increased since, there being none, whose braine or brest hath not cast in his widowes mite at least into the common treasury? If this stinking riuer were so great where first it rose, how then thinke we hath it inlarged it selfe, being runne thus farre? No marueile then if the prophet, as it were amazed to see such litters, yea legions of deceitfull diuels couching close in this their stinking stie, crie out, as heere wee heare him; The heart is deceitfull aboue all things, who can know it? So mysticall are these hearts of ours. So deepe and abstruse are hir mysteries of deceit. Why then will some say, doe you trouble your selfe in vaine? for if none can know this mysterie of iniquity, how then can you know it? how can you make vsus know it?
I answer, though no man know it as of himselfe, The meanes to know the the hearts deceits. Iudg. 14. 18.yet I the Lord know; and if we plow with his heyfer, we shall know the darkest riddles. There is a mysterie of sin (saies one) lying in the foldes of our hearts, which wee shall neuer see vnlesse the spirit of God enter in, and giuegive vsus light: for this spirit searcheth the deepe things of God 1. Cor. 2. much more can it search the deepnesse of Sathan, and of mans deceitfull heart. If then we consult with the Lordes spirit, wee may learne of him, what these deceits bee, so far forth, as hee hath reuealed them, in his word; which is a light, whereby we may see in this, euen more then Aegyptian darkenesse. Therefore our Sauiour counselleth vsus to take the benefit of this light, and not to let it stand vnderunder the bed, and that vponupon this grounde, for there is nothing hid [namely in our hearts, though neuer so closely] but it shall be Mar. 4. 21. 22. interpreted.opened, namely by the power of the word, most plainly. And this Paul exemplifies in his idiot, comming 1. Cor. 14.into the Church assemblies, and in hearing the word opened, seeing himself and his own heart opened, and the secrets thereof discouered. Counsel [vnderstand it of crafty counsel] is in the heart of man: Pro. 20. 5. interpreted.but a man of vnderstanding (vnderstand it specially of spirituall vnderstanding out of the worde) will fetch it out, saith Salomon. Heere the holy Ghost maketh the wisedome of the word to be a bucket, able to bring vp the filthy mire out of the deepest pits of deceitfull hearts. And if the wise man hauehave skill to let down this bucket into other mens hearts, and drawe it vp full againe, much more then into his owne. Though then naturally wee are all blinde, walking in the darke Cloysters of our hearts; yet, if the Lord go before vsus with his torch, if hee take vsus, as once Ezechiel, into this corrupt temple (stable rather) and lead vsus a long by his word and spirit, wee shall then cleerly see the seuerall rankes, and orders of the abhominable deceits therein: for in the word of God there are many wonders to be seene, as Dauid confesseth, in that his prayer, Open mine Psal. 119. 18.eies O Lord, that I may see wonders out of thy law. Among the which this of our owne hearts vnbowelled and anatomized, is not the least. Indeed when our dead bodies are whole, wee cannot see what is within. They will cast forth an euil sauour, and we may see some filthinesse and deformity in them. The which yet is but sweetnesse, and beauty to that wee see, when the body is cut, opened, and intrals taken out. Surely the noses and eies, euen of some naturall men, hauehave discerned in mans heart vnopened, vnsauoury nastinesse, odious ouglinesse. But alas all that was not enough to humble them, neither was it any thing to that they might hauehave seene in the heart broke vp by God, the only skilfull anatomizer thereof. Who, as he seeth all things therein, lying naked as in an anatomie, as the Apostle speaketh, Heb. 4. 13. so also hath he laid it open in his word vntounto vsus; as in the verse before, the same Apostle sheweth, The word of God is liuely, sharper then the Heb. 4. 13. interpreted.two edged sword, a discerner of the thoughts, and secret intents of the heart, neither is there any creature, which is not manifest in it sight, namely of the word before spoken of: for so I think, without any violence offered to the words, may that text be interpreted. And the word [creature] I take for the creature of the heart, namely the thoughts and intents thereof before mentioned. That the sense should be this. The word discerneth the thoughts of our heart; not some, but all. Nothing is there, that the heart forgeth, frameth, and as it were createth within it selfe, which this word taketh not notice of. But of this let the learned iudge.
Well then, since the word is that light which shineth 2. Pet. 1. 19. interpreted.in this darknesse, hauing it with vsus, venter we to descend downe into this deepe dungeon, and to launch out into this vast Ocean, hauing this plummet to sound the bottome thereof. They that goe Psal. 107. 23.downe into the deepes, saith the prophet, they see the workes and wonders of the Lord. But they that goe downe into this deepe are not now like to see any thing, but the deepnesse of Sathan, the workes and wonders of the Diuel, the Liuiathan that sporteth Psal 104 26.himselfe in these waters, or rather a Neptune triumphing heere, as in his kingdome: which sight, though haply not so pleasing, yet profitable it will be, for to shame and humble vsus: for heere in the word are those cleere waters, which if wee trouble them not, with the mudde of our owne affections, like the Elephant; cleerely wee may see our owne deformity. Here is a glasse, wherin we may behold the faces of our hearts, & espy euen the smallest wrinckle of deceit whatsoeuer. And that not so, as our naturall faces in common glasses, where we forget, as soone as our eye is out of the glasse, what was the Iames 1.fashion of our face; but so that still the sight seene shall sticke by vsus, presenting it selfe to the eye of our vnderstanding. When some cunning deceitfull theefe hath stollen ought from thee, thou runnest presently to the cunning wizard, a worse theef, a worse deceiuer, to see in his deceiueable glasse, I know not what phansie, the theefe it should be, that hath robbed thee. Loe thy heart, the most crafty and cosening theefe that can be, hath robbed thee, and doth daily filch from thee thy richest treasure. And canst thou in thy little losse run to the Diuels lying glasse, to finde out a little theefe, and wilt thou not in thy greater losse come to Gods true glasse, to finde out the great theefe? If thou thinkest there is no such theefe that steales ought from thee, doe but come hether to this glasse and thou shalt see him, and all the trickes and mysteries of his cony-catching trade. Come I say, and see him Ioh. 1.acting of them.