Gods Husbandry, Sermon 1 · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. Shewing how the repentance of hypocrites may be diſtinguiſhed from the repentance of true Chriſtians.
REpentance (which is a turning from ſinne vntounto God) hath two parts: the one humiliation, in regard of the faults that hauehave beene already committed; and the other reformation, in regard of that part of the life which is to come heereafter, by leauing the euil one hath liued in, and performing the good hee hath neglected. An hypocrite may goe a great way, both in humiliation and in reformation, and yet hee will neuer goe farre enough. Let vsus conſider what he can doe, and wherein hee giues himſelfe leaue to faile. An hypocrite then may come to be very ſory for ſome ſinne or ſinnes that he hath committed,An hypocrite may confeſſe ſome ſinnes to God with great ſorrow. and that ſo, as to weepe for it with ſome plentie of bitter teares, and alſo he may come to confeſſe his ſinne or ſinnes, not alone to men in ſome caſes, but in ſome caſes alſo to God in ſecret.Exod: 9.17. & 10.16. And thus Pharaoh once or twice acknowledged to Moſes, that he had ſinned: no doubt with great ſorrow for the preſent time, that he had ſo long continued obſtinate. So did Saul with teares confeſſe to Dauid, 1. Sam. 14.17. & 26.21.O my ſonne Dauid, I hauehave ſinned, and thou art more righteous than I. So Iudas came with extremity of griefe in his heart (and no doubt alſo in his face) mainely crying out of himſelfe, and ſaying,Matth. 27.4. I hauehave ſinned in betraying innocent bloud. Yea, you know that Ahab did put on ſack-cloth, and went ſoftly, and faſted for his ſinne, and that ſo as God did note it in him, and forbeare him for it ſomwhat; which hee would not hauehave done, if hee had not ſeene him inwardly ſorrowfull for it, and if hee had not euen ſecretly confeſſed it vntounto him.1. Kings 21.27. So farre may a diſſembler goe (for the beſt of theſe was but a diſſembler) in being humbled. But yet he doth much differ from the humiliation of the true godly man in theſe things.The hypocrites confeſſion and ſorrow, reacheth alone to ſome groſſer ſinnes, not to the leſſer corruptions, as that of the true hearted doth. Pſal. 51.5. Pſal. 19.12: Rom. 7.13.14. Firſt, the hypocrite is ſorry for ſome one or two groſſe externall faults, that are more than ordinarily notorious and foule, as is to be ſeene in Iudas and Ahab, and Saul; murder, ſhedding innocent blood, and ſeeking to ſlay the innocent. Theſe crimes (you ſee) touched theſe diſſemblers: but you neuer heard an hypocrite crying out as Dauid; In ſinne was I conceiued; and againe, Lord, who can know his errours? purge me from ſecret faults: nor with the Apoſtle, vexed with the law of his members, drawing him captiue to ſinne, and croſſing the law of the ſpirit within him. The corruptions of the heart, the ſecret and vnknowne, and eſteemed little diſorders of heart and life, eſpecially (the fountaine of all miſchiefes) the filthy ſtinking guzzle of Originall ſinne, the hypocrite laments not, bewaileth not, confeſſeth not with ſorrow and anguiſh of heart to God or man; but alone if hee fall into ſome groſſe notable crime, hee is much troubled and grieued for it, and ſometimes very ſorrowfull in confeſſing it. But the Chriſtian man can find out more hidden corruptions, and acknowledge and bewaile them, and feele the burden of leſſe grieuous crimes, yea of things by the moſt, eſteemed no ſinnes; and for them can ſhame and blame, and condemne himſelfe before God. So the one waſheth his heart (as I ſaid before), the other his hands only,The hypocrites ſorrow and confeſſion comes but by fits, the true Chriſtians is ordinary and vſuall. at the beſt.
Againe, the confeſſion of the hypocrite and his ſorrow comes but by fits and ſtarts, ſometimes, now and then, once or twice, and vſe it not. Seldome hauehave you Pharaoh and Saul ſaying, We hauehave ſinned, they are not often in this tune. It is a rare and vnuſuall thing, to ſee Ahab going ſoftly, to heare him ſighing for his ſinne. For indeed it ariſeth not from any ſuch ground in them, as may make it laſting or perpetuall; namely, a true hatred of ſinne, or louelove of God: but alone from a fearefull expectation of puniſhment, or a wearines of croſſes and afflictions. But now the true Chriſtian is very conſtant in his confeſſing, and (at leaſt) ſtriuing to lament ſinne. It is his vſuall and conſtant courſe, to blame himſelfe before God for his daily and particular tranſgreſſions: and hee is not well almoſt any day, vnleſſe he doe take ſome time, to accuſe and iudge himſelfe before his Maker. For indeede he walketh with God, and ſeeketh to approue his heart vntounto him, and therefore cannot but be frequent in laying open his heart vntounto him, and powring out his ſoule before him. His heart will often ſo ſmite him, as to driue him into Gods preſence, and make him ſay, O Lord, I hauehave ſinned greatly, and done exceeding fooliſhly: but Lord doe away the ſinnes of thy ſeruant. Yea, he neuer almoſt committeth any ſinne, which he knowes to be a ſinne, but hee will confeſſe it, taking daily notice of his daily ſlips, that he may the better confeſſe them. So the ſorrow and confeſſion of hypocrites is in a quaume, when the good moode comes vponupon them; as a drie hole that is full of water vponupon a great ſhower: but the confeſſing and mourning of the true Chriſtian is daily conſtant, perpetuall, in a ſettled and vſuall courſe; as the running of water in a fluent ſtreame, that hath iſſue from ſome liuing Fountaine, or Well-head.
Againe,The hypocrits confeſſion and griefe is by force put vponupon them, the true Chriſtians by themſelues willingly laboured for. the ſorrow and confeſſion of hypocrites is likely put vponupon them by a kind of violence, they be euen forced to it by ſome accident, ſo preſſing them for the time, that they can neither will nor chuſe, as the common ſaying hath. This is euident in the fore-named examples. What made Ahab walke in ſack-cloth with a ſoft pace? but becauſe he was threatned, the ruine of all his houſehold, and the vtter ſubuerſion of all his poſteritie: a tidings that could ſcarce chuſe, but make the heart of any Grand-father to ake and melt within him. When did Pharaoh ſay, The Lord is righteous, I and my people are ſinners? but when the plague lay ſo heauie vponupon him, and ſtucke ſo cloſe vntounto him, that he knew not which way in the world to turne himſelfe. And what made Saul breake forth with teares, and ſay, I hauehave ſinned? but that Dauid had then euen gone beyond all his expectations quite and cleane, and had vtterly ouercome him with kindneſſe, by requiting his euill with good. So Iudas confeſſed not his treaſon, till the very ſparkes of hell fier were all on a light flame within his ſoule; I meane, till the hideouſneſſe of a bitter and exaſperated conſcience did euen furiouſly purſue him, and driue him to this too-late and booteleſſe remedy. So the confeſſion of hypocrites is wreſted and extorted from them, euen as that of a traytor by the torture of the racke; and his griefe for his finne is a compelled griefe, as that of a ſlaue vnderunder the whip: but the true godly man, and faithfull ſeruant of Chriſt, doth voluntarily, and of his owne accord bring himſelfe before the Lord in humble and ſorrowfull confeſſions (though no ſuch violence be offered vntounto him), euen out of a kindly worke of grace, mouing and inclining him ſtill to deſire to bee at one with God. The child of God doth euen long to be ſorrowfull for his ſinnes; and when no croſſe, affliction, or tentation lies vponupon him, nor no other meanes of working him to griefe is vſed; then hee takes paines to rend his owne heart, and out of a good will to God, and in a kind of comfortable and ſweete ſence of reconciliation with him, doth acknowledge his wickedneſſe. In very truth Gods child ſometimes (hauing almoſt kild himſelfe with a preſumptuous ſinne) is put to roaring and crying, through the weight of Gods hand, lying heauy vponupon him day and night (as Dauid ſaith of himſelfe),Pſal. 32.3. afore he can come to confeſſe his ſinne againſt himſelfe. But this is a rare caſe with a Chriſtian hart, that it ſhould need compulſion, to bring it downe in confeſſion before God:1. Chron. 21.8 vſually he doth (as Dàuid after the numbring of the people) through the ſmiting of his owne heart, betake himſelfe vntounto the Lord, & ſay, O Lord, I hauehave done excēeding fooliſhly: Matth. 26.75.and as Peter after his deniall of his Maſter, before any croſſe, before any force offered, out of his owne tenderneſſe of conſcience, goe forth by and by, and weepe bitterly. Neither yet is Gods child ſo vnſenſible of a croſſe, but that his afflictions doe make him looke vntounto his ſinnes, and beſtow thoſe teares in lamenting them, which the power of nature hath ſtirred vp. And it is an happy effect of his chaſtiſements, that they increaſe his godly ſorrow, and ſo help to take away his ſinnes; but yet he doth not only mourne then: he doth labour, euen in proſperity to mourne for ſinne, and to make vſe of Gods kindneſſe in beſtowing benefits, to become a meanes of humbling him, and making him grieue; and in a word, godly ſorrow is a content vntounto him, and nothing doth him more good, than that hee can kindly bewaile his ſinnes, and mourne ouer Ieſus Chriſt. A ſtinging croſſe, a bitter tentation, an earneſt exhortation, and the power of a good Sermon, may draw an hypocrite to teares: but a godly man without any of theſe things, will ſet himſelfe to mourne, and lament, and moſt willingly (out of the louelove hee beares to God, whom his ſinnes hauehave offended) wil euen turne his ioy into ſorrow, and his laughter into teares. Thus you ſee the difference of hypocriticall humiliation from that, that is vpright.
Reformation is another part of repentance, and here we will ſhew, how much the hypocrite may reach vntounto,An hypocrite may amend his life very much by the meanes of the Word preached. and wherein he is defectiue. An hypocrite may reforme diuers things that are amiſſe in him, and that at the preaching of the Word, and by meanes of the exhortations which hee heareth in a Sermon: but herein he faileth, that in ſome one or other thing, he muſt be held excuſed. Hee brooks not the generalitie of that little large word (all), you kill him when you preſſe vponupon him that vniuerſall exhortation,Ezech. 18. Caſt away from you all your tranſgreſſions. O no! this he cannot doe: ſome one or two faults are (as it were) darlings vntounto him; his ſoule is in louelove with them, and he muſt be diſpenced with, he cannot leaue them. In any thing elſe hee will bee ruled by God: but in ſuch a thing hee muſt needs craue pardon, though it be a ſinne; hee hopes it is not ſo great, but that hee may bee borne withall therein: for alacke hee cannot liue vnleſſe he doe it, or ſo forth. The hypocrite hath euermore ſome hand or foote that he will not cut off; ſome eye that he will not pull out, and fling from him; ſome dearely beloued ſinne, ſome moſt pretious euill, ſome moſt ſweete or gainefull offence, that he cannot tell which way in the world to forgoe; and therefore loues not to heare of amending it, would not be reprooued for it, would not be called vponupon to forſake it, would not think of it, but would turne away his thoughts from it, and would faine hauehave his conſcience alſo forbeare to vrge him in that matter.The hypocrite ſtill liketh ſome one ſin, ſo that hee would not heare of it; the true Chriſtian would mend all, and deſires to heare moſt of thoſe hee can leaſt reforme. Pſal. 119.6. He keepes ſome one or other wickedneſſe vnderunder his tongue, as a moſt daintie morſell, which he cannot find in his heart to ſpit out. But now the true godly man deſireth, and purpoſeth in all things to pleaſe God; hee hath reſpect (as Dauid ſpeaketh) to all Gods commandements, without picking or chuſing: he takes the whole Law as it lieth before him, and frameth his will to bow and bend which way ſoeuer God will hauehave it: whatſoeuer thing he knowes to bee a dutie, that hee reſolueth to doe, without any further excepting or cauilling; and whatſoeuer he knoweth to be a ſinne, that he determineth to caſt from him, what euer it be, & what euer may follow thereupon. He knowes that God is a Soueraigne commander, and that his will muſt be followed in one thing, as well as another,Iames 2.10. and that hee which keepeth the whole Law beſides, failing (yet wittingly) in one point, is guiltie of all. Wherefore hee doth not dare to giuegive himſelfe a licence, of departing from the knowne way of Gods Law in any thing. Indeed a good man findeth ſome ſinnes harder to him to leaue than others, and ſome duties harder than others to performe: but yet his purpoſe, determination, reſolution, is to be found obedient to God in thoſe things alſo; and hee doth moſt earneſtly ſtriue againſt his owne corruptions there, where hee finds them moſt apt, to be oppoſite to Gods Word; and takes moſt paines to make himſelfe ſtraight, there where hee finds himſelfe moſt crooked: whereas the hypocrite tolerates ſome euill in himſelfe, and takes libertie ſo to tranſgreſſe, making ſome ſhift or other to daube vp his conſcience, and to ſecure himſelf from the checks thereof. Thus Iudas would neuer leaue purloyning and licking his fingers (as the prouer be hath it) after once the bag was committed to his cuſtodie. The true heart allowes no one knowne ſinne whatſoeuer; the hypocrite euermore allowes (at leaſt) ſome one ſinne, that hee either knowes, or ſuſpects to be ſinne. Satan hath alwaies ſome peculiar, or exempt place in his heart and life, where hee may reigne without controle, and whether the iuriſdiction of Gods Word may not be ſuffered to extend.
And yet ſometimes alſo the hypocrite will ſeeme to make a proffer of pulling his necke out of Satans yoke,The hypocrite for a little will make an offer to amend his beſt beloued ſinne. by promiſing to leaue, and beginning (for a ſpirt) to make as if he would leaue his moſt beloued ſinne.but quickly returne to follow it with greedines; the Chriſtian neuer returnes againe to an allowed practice of it. So Simon Magus for a little while began to deſiſt from following his ſorceries: and Pharaoh ſaid once or twice, that he would let the people goe: and twice Saul promiſed Dauid faire, that he would ſurceaſe to trouble him any further. But this mood holdeth not long, he quickly returneth to his old wallow, and laps vp (like an vncleane curre) his filthy vomit, which hee had formerly diſgorged. I do not meane, that he is ouertaken only to do the ſame fault againe, once or twice, or oftner (for that may befall the true Chriſtian alſo), but he proceedes to allow himſelfe in doing of it, to goe on in it, and follow it with greedineſſe; excuſing it, or hardning himſelfe in it, at leaſt comming to this paſſe, that hee cannot leaue it, that it is not poſſible; and therefore it is in vaine for him to ſtriue about an impoſſible matter, and ſo hee returneth to make a trade of his ſin, for all his good promiſes and offers of reformation; as wee ſee in Simon, in Pharaoh, in Saul, and in others. But the true hearted hauing once ſet in, to caſt off his beloued ſinne, doth neuer againe returne to allow it, and to wallow in it. He may fall againe, perhaps more then once or twice (and theſe relapſes are very dangerous, and very troubleſome): but he wil neuer ſtep backe to a reſolution of continuing ſo to ſinne, and of thinking that he cannot chuſe, and there is no remedie; but ſtill hee ariſeth out of the mire, reneweth his confeſſion, reneweth his purpoſe of amendment, ſets in afreſh to bewaile his faults, and brings himſelfe againe to a firme purpoſe of ſinning no more, and in that purpoſe holds himſelfe ſo long, till at length (it may be after many foiles) he attaineth ſtrength to offend no more groſſely in that matter, whatſoeuer it may be. Thus his faith becomes his victorie, and ſo he preuaileth againſt ſinne, and keepeth himſelfe, that the wicked one doth not touch him, and that he committeth none iniquitie. And ſo much of this third point, concerning the agreement of the repentance of the hypocrite and the true hearted, as alſo their differences. It remaineth to ſpeake in the like manner of their likeneſſe and vnlikeneſſe, in the matter of good life. I know that the leading of a good life, might well be referred to a branch of the ſecond part of repentance, viz. reformation: but I deſire to make it a diſtinct head of duties, for the more full and diſtinct handling of it in this reſpect, for which I hauehave now vndertaken to ſpeake of it.