The Sinfulness of Evil Thoughts, Treatise · Chapter 33
CHAP. XXXIII. An uſe of Examination, with certaine notes to know whether the thoughts be good or bad.
I ſhould now come to make an uſe of Examination, but that is thy work, not mine, I am to examine my own heart and thoughts, not anothers, and thou art to examine thine; And we ſhould make many ſuch uſes of examination, or elſe God will make one ſad one for us. All other uſes of this doctrine are in vain, if this be neglected; Be thou daily in this counting houſe, nec te qusr ſiveris extra—If any be ſo impious as to ſay, who made me my brothers keeper? let none be ſo bruitiſh as to ſay, who made me my own keeper? ſend Amaziahs Gen. 4. 9.challenge to thy heart and ſay, come let us ſee one another in the face, let thee and I 2. Ch. 25. 17.commune together. And if thy heart ſend thee Sanballats meſſage in good earneſt, come let us meet together and have a perſonall Neh. 6. 2, 3.and private treaty; Say not, I am about other buſineſſe, why ſhould my work ſtand ſtill? Leave all worldly buſineſſe to heare what this friend hath to ſay to thee. This is to be daily practiſed to prevent that long examination at laſt, and if we did thus Judge our ſelves we ſhould not be judged of the Lord; To this duty we are oft exhorted, 1 Cor. 11. 28. 2 Cor. 13. 5.
And I ſhall give a few notes whereby to try whether our thoughts be good, or bad, after I have anſwered one objection.
Ob. If the heart be as the thoughts be, then I hope I have a good heart, for I have good thoughts.
Anſ. All good thoughts argue not the heart good, as we ſaid all evil thoughts prove not the heart evil. The moſt wicked man that lives may have ſome good thoughts.
1. He hath one ſingle good thought, not many; God is not in (all) his thoughts, Pſal. 10. 4.yea in very few of them. But one ſwallow makes not a ſpring.
2. His thoughts are ordinarily and habitually evil, he may have accidentally and occaſionally ſome good thought, at a Sermon, &c. as Agrippa, Felix, &c.
3. Yet that good thought is tranſient, not deliberate, as a good mans bad thought is tranſient, but good deliberate.
4. And it is uſually checkt and ſmothered when conceived, or ſuggeſted; as Satan injects evil to the Godly, but he caſts out; ſo do the wicked when God injecteth good, God caſts in, he caſts out as faſt; at an other time a good motion is caſt in, he caſts it our again: They fall as ſparkes upon dank tinder, they take not; They are like the ſummer fruits, eaten up as ſoon as touched, Eſa. 28. 4.
5. And likely thy good thoughts are impertinent and prepo…erous, the devil when thou art at Sermon, or at prayer will furniſh thee with ſome good thought to divert thee from what is thy proper buſineſſe; as we ſay of evil, evil is not onelyonly oppoſite to all good, but to ſome evil, vice to vice, as well as vice to vertue; ſo we may ſay of ſome good thoughts, they are not oppoſite to evil onelyonly, but ſometimes to good, as to read or pray, when we ſhould be hearing, or to think of what we have heard, when we ſhould be praying. An old ſtratagem of Satan to draw us into an Ambuſh, when we ſhould be ſafe if we kept our ground; The devil ſeekes to ſet good men together by the eares, Saul and Barnabas, and to get Agabus to divert Paul. When Act. 15. 39. Act. 21. 11. Lu. 9. 59.Chriſt called one to preach the Goſpel he would be excuſed by his care of his aged father: Charity muſt hinder piety; ſo when Martha ſhould have been hearing, ſhe was Lu. 10. 40.cumbred, hoſpitality muſt juſtle out pie…y, good at another time, and very commendable: So when that ointment was ſpent upon Chriſt, Judas puts in his vye for the poor, Had not this ointment better have been ſold and given to the poor? Very plauſible, but what ſaith our Saviour, Let her alone, …. 12. 5. ….ſhe hath done well; The poor you have alwayes with you, and at another time you may and muſt remember them, but this is fitteſt for this time.
6. Do not thy good thoughts trouble thee? As Nebuchadnezzar was troubled with his thoughts, Dan. 4. 5. Many a wic…ed man may ſay as he, Pſal. 77. 3. I remembred God and was troubled (not for his abſence, but preſence) wicked men ſeek to caſt out theſe conceptions as the Hindes bow themſelves to caſt out their ſorrowes; Job. 39. 13.they think they ſhall be melancholly if they think a little longer of them. The Godly man is not more troubled with his bad thoughts then he is with his good; When as to the Godly the good thought is his joy and delight. How precious are thy thoughts to Pſal. 139. 17. Pſal. 104. 34.me O God: my meditation of God, O how ſweet is it!
7. Or thy thoughts are Confuſed, an he…p of them diſorderly jumbled together, nothing is ſet in order; As Chriſt once Lu. 2. 44.(ſo the good thought is often) loſt in the Croud. It is the great weakneſſe of man that he cannot ſet in order Gods thoughts (or the thoughts of God) before him. It is Gods Pſal. 40. 5.perfection his thoughts are all ordred, I know the thoughts I think towards you ſaith the Lord; Jer. 29. 11.we know not our own thoughts (though every fool ſaith I know what I think) God can ſet our diſorderly thoughts before us and ſingle them out one by one. So ſhould we Pſal. 50. 22.ſingle out ſome good thoughts at one time, another at another, and purſue them. The Huntſman can have no game till he ſingle his Deer he meanes to hunt out of the whole herd, nor can we make any work of it in meditation, till we pick out ſome good thought to fix and faſten upon.
8. Thy good thoughts lodge not, abide not with thee, but are like a night viſion, make no impreſſion, they come to nothing; whereas the Godly ly down with ſuch thoughts and riſe with them: When I awake I am ſtill with thee, Pſal. 139. That is right thinking when we in…end the mind ad ruborem & calorem, Pſal. 39. 3. My heart waxed hot within me, and while I was muſing the fire kindled, I felt my thoughts warm my heart; as it was ſaid of Holy Bradford when he was praying he never went off from a petition till he felt his heart affected with it. But if thy thoughts are good indeed thou ſhalt know it by theſe notes.
1. Where heart and thoughts are good, the words will be ſo too, as the treaſure is within, ſuch the communication. Say not Mat. 12. 35.Laſciva eſt nobis pagina, vita proba; I talk at randum, merrily, Idly, but my heart is good I think no harm. Say as well the Tree is good, though the fruit evil; and the fountain ſweet, though water bitter; Thy ſpeech bewrayeth thee. The good heart and good diſcourſe ever go together, Pſal. 40. 9, 10. and 37. 30, 31. Mal. 3. 16. They that had gracious thoughts of Gods name by themſelves, were full of gracious diſcourſes when they came together.
2. Where are holy thoughts, there are other graces, Mal. 3. 16. They feared God and thought upon his name.
3. Good thoughts are ever accompanied with holy, ſerious, and frequent meditations, Gen. 24. 63. Pſal. 1. 2. 19. 14. 104. 34. 119. 15. 23. 48. 78. 97. 148. and 143. 5. 1 Tim. 4. 15. Whoſoever is a ſtranger to holy meditations, cannot have, at leaſt long keep, good thoughts; much ſtudy (one ſaith) makes the ſcholler, and much meditation makes the Chriſtian.
4. Serious thoughts beget practicall and unmoved determinations, 1 Cor. 2. 2. Their good thoughts are the law of God written in their hearts.
5. There is a concurrence between thoughts and conſcience, Ro. 2. 15. Thought gives conſcience a jogge who ſets at the the ſterne and awakens it, and conſcience thereby ſteeres better and keepes off from rocks and ſhelves.
6. As there is a concurrence between the good thought and the good conſcience, ſo there is a concordance between the good thought and the good converſation, Job. 31. 1. I ſhall not (wantonly) think of a maid, therefore I made a covenant with my eyes, and with my outward man, that there might be no temptation to any ill behaviour, ſaid holy Job. Pſal. 119. 59. I thought on my ways, and turned my feet to thy teſtimonies.
7. Good thoughts are always backed with peremptory and fixed purpoſes and reſolutions, Dan. 1. 8. Act. 11. 23. Pſal. 17. 3. 2 Tim. 3, 10. Ruth 1. 16, 17, 18. Deut. 18. 6.
8. Frequent prayers. Such as thoſe, let the words of my mouth, and the Meditations, motions, imaginations of my heart be always acceptable in thy ſight O Lord, my ſtrength and my redeemer, Pſal. 19. 14. Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right ſpirit within me, Pſal. 51. 10. O Lord keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart (or ſtabliſh the heart) unto thee, 1 Chr. 29. 18. The like, 1 King. 8. 57, 58.
9. There will be much joy and delight in them, as they much deſire to let ſuch gueſts in, ſo they joy in their company. O God now Pſal. 108. 1.my heart is fixed, I will therefore ſing and give praiſe; O Lord who am I, ſaid David another 1 Chron. 29. 14. 18.time, that we ſhould have a heart ſo free and willing. O Lord keep it in the imagination of the thoughts of our hearts and prepare our hearts towards thee. Oh that this holy fire come from heaven might ever be kept burning, never go Le. 6. 13.out; oh that I had a treaſure, a ſtock, a ſpring of ſuch thoughts, I ſhould never be weary of them:
Laſtly, good deſires concerning which we ſhall make a particular digreſſion in the next chapter.