Gods Husbandry, Sermon 1 · Chapter 12
CHAP. XII. Containing a third vſe for them that be vpright.
BVt now ſome (I doubt not) in this tryall,The true Chriſtian muſt inioy the comfort of his truth. will bee found to hauehave no guile; that is, no predominant hypocriſie in their ſpirits. There be in the Churches true-hearted Chriſtians, good ground, ſheep, and good corne: and thoſe amongſt you, that in trying doe finde your ſelues ſuch; and by this infallible proofe, can cleare it to your ſelues, becauſe you hauehave often heeretofore found out, diſcouered and bewayled thoſe effects of hypocriſie, which hauehave beene deliuered; doe you (I pray you) enioy the comfort of your vprightneſſe, and let God that wrought it, hauehave the glory.Notwithſtanding his fearefulneſſe. The good Chriſtian is almoſt as fearefull to ſettle himſelfe in a good opinion of himſelfe, as the falſe vnwilling to be driuen from it. But there is no reaſon wherefore the innocent ſhould be condemned. A man may bee wrongfull and iniurious to God and to himſelfe, in being ouer fearefull to confeſſe the good worke of God in himſelfe. Chriſt hath liuing members in his body: if thou beeſt one of them, acknowledge it, and be glad of it, that thou mayeſt with all due care proceede in the wayes of godlineſſe, now that thou knoweſt, thou haſt ſet in, to ſome purpoſe. If Satan cannot keepe a man from truth, yet hee will endeauour to hinder him, from taking the comfort of it:And Satans tentations. but let not his lies beguile thee any longer. Say vntounto him; I find mine owne faults more burdenſome to me than others; I find my ſelfe carefull of mine inward man, as well as of mine outward; I find my ſelfe humbled, euen by my freedome from groſſe ſinnes: and if at any time any fruit of hypocriſie doe ſhew it ſelfe (as alacke too too often it doth), I make haſte to bring it before God, and there I condemne it, there I humble my ſelfe for it: wherefore I am ſure I am true-hearted; O Lord, I bleſſe thy name that haſt made me true, and I pray thee make mee more and more true. Surely beloued, it will be a great hinderance to your thankefulneſſe, if you doe not labour againſt thoſe cauils, by which Satan would faine couer your comforts from your eies. He will tell thee of thy cenſoriouſneſſe; of thy falling againe, and againe, and againe, into ſuch a fault, perhaps groſſe; of thy deadneſſe in priuate exerciſes of religion; and of thy many vaine-glorious fancies, and of thy much ſelfe-conceitedneſſe, and many other things; and he will labour to make thee thinke, that it is not poſſible that heart ſhould hauehave any truth, in which ſo many fruits of hypocriſie may be found. Thou muſt anſwer him, that thou confeſſeſt thy ſelfe, to be very full of theſe effects of diſſimulation; and that therefore alſo thou acknowledgeſt the roote from which they grow, to be too too ſtrong and bigge within thee. But thou mayeſt ſay withall; I hauehave been taught, and I know it is true, that not the man in whom hypocriſie is, but he in whom it ruleth, muſt be called an hypocrite: and for thy ſelfe, though it abide in thee, yet thou knoweſt it raigneth not, becauſe thou fighteſt againſt it, and againſt the euill brood of it, with ſighes and groanes, with confeſſion and griefe, with requeſts and prayers, and with daily renewed ſupplications. Say vntounto thy ſelfe; I know, and God knoweth, that my cenſoriouſneſſe, my dulneſſe in priuate duties, mine often careleſnes of mine heart, and looſeneſſe of the inward man, my vaine-gloriouſneſſe, my ſlipping againe and againe into the ſame ſinne, and other fruites of diſſembling within me; that theſe, and all theſe are too rife: but withall, that they are felt, that they are marked, that they are confeſſed, that they are lamented, and that they doe daily driue mee to my knees, and make me come vntounto God, with humble intreaty for mercy through his onelyonly Sonne; and therefore I am ſure, that hypocriſie raigneth not, but that truth preuaileth, and therefore I am a true Chriſtian, and ſo I will take my ſelfe to be, and will with all my ſoule praiſe him, that hath made mee ſuch; continuing ſtill to ſtriue to grow in ſincerity and truth, that when theſe graces are become ſtronger, they may become alſo more comfortable vntounto me. O all yee, whoſe feeble ſpirits are ſhaken with feare, and to whom nothing is more troubleſome than this thought, that ſure you be but hypocrites; and yet you doe bitterly lament the effects of hypocriſie in your ſelues, and deſire nothing in all the world ſo much, as to be found vpright with your God: I pray you confirme your ſoules in peace, and accept the conſolation that the Lord doth offer you. Take your portion of comfort, be knowne to your ſelues to be what you are, vnderſtand and ſee how great things God hath done for you, in creating a right ſpirit in you. Doe no longer ioyne with Satan, in belying your ſelues, as you hauehave a ready too much & often done, to the great hinderance of your ſoules.Weak Chriſtians apt to accuſe themſelues too much. Your cuſtome hath been, whenſoeuer your corruptions hauehave been any thing ſtrongly wrought vponupon, when any bad motion hath been violent, eſpecially if your paſſions in any kinde hauehave broken foorth to ſome actuall euill; then to fall vponupon your ſelues with grieuous accuſations, and to take part with the diuell, in ſlaundring your ſelues; then you hauehave cryed out, and exclaymed againſt your ſelues, and ſayd; Sure I am but an hypocrite and a diſſembler, that hauehave yet ſtill within me ſuch euill thoughts, am ſtill diſquieted with ſuch paſſions, and ſtill drawne to ſuch wicked deedes. But I ſay vntounto you, this is no true inference: as the hypocrite in a fit confeſſeth his ſinne, and is ſorry for it, but yet returneth againe to follow it; ſo the true hearted in a fit doth commit ſinne, but againe returneth to abhorre it, and to renew his couenant with God of amending it. As the hollow heart, is good in a paſſion; ſo the true hearted may be bad in a paſſion: but looke to the courſe of thy life, to the ſetled purpoſe of thy ſoule, to the eſtabliſhed deſires of thy mind, and ſo long as there is a conſtant ſtriuing againſt all ſinne by ſpirituall weapons, ſo long thou art good before God, and for Gods ſake, and muſt take thy ſelfe to be vpright. The true Chriſtian ſhall neuer gaine any thing, by calling himſelfe an hypocrite,But this gets them nothing. to ſee his hypocriſie, to lament it, to ſhame himſelfe before God for it; this ſhall much aduantage his ſoule: but to deny the worke of Gods grace in him, and to ranke himſelfe amongſt diſſemblers from whom he alwaies differs as much, as a man that is ſicke of any ſickneſſe, from him that is dead of that ſickneſſe); this doth no good to him, but interrupts his prayers, hinders his humiliation, eſtrangeth him from God, and turneth godly ſorrow for his ſinne, into deſperate ſorrow for the puniſhment of ſinne. Remember therefore that there be true Chriſtians in the Church, who yet are not free from manifold weakeneſſes, and grieuous corruptions; and hauing by proofe and triall diſcerned thine owne eſtate, hold faſt that aſſurance, which thine examination hath yeelded, and call not thy ſelfe an hypocrite, though hypocriſie ſhew it ſelfe in thee, ſo long as thou remaineſt conſtant in obſeruing and oppugning it.