Temptations – Their Nature Danger and Cure Part 3, Tract · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Of sinnes of Omission.
WHen a man is come to some height of grace, then he is wringed in his Conscience, sometimes for doing his duties so poorely, and sometimes for not doing them at all: It is an argument of a brave spirit to have an heart to ake, and to finde ones blood to rise for omitting duties; and that not for custome, as boyes, who finde something within, when they passe their set times and formes of prayer, but when tis out of Conscience. To mourne over our soules for sinnes of Commission is not so much, sith sinnes of Commission do more quickly, and more sharpely checke the Conscience, than sinnes of Omission: for that in sinnes of Commission there is both an act, and a defect; but in oDurand. l. 2. D. 36. q. 1. n. 4.sinnes of omission there is a defect onelyonly. Againe, sinnes of omission are against an affirmative law, which doth rather shew us our duty than checke us for vice. And lastly, sinnes of commission doe presuppose the omission of some duty. Wherefore it is a note of a judgement rightly and clearely informed, and of an heart excellently steeled with grace, when wee cannot finde quiet after omitting duties, but are grieved at the very heart when a duty is omitted; and that chiefest of all, when we finde little feeling in the very doing of such duties. Now if we dare not omit duties, and when through infirmity we doe passe them over, our hearts are in a chafe for it, it is a signe that all is very well with us within: and chiefly in case wee doe finde our conscience complaine for the omission of duties, which nature doth not convince us of, but they are duties onelyonly because the Word saith so, and wee know them to be duties because in the Word we finde them so. Here now if wee can feele trouble because wee omit the reading of the Word, the hearing of a Sermon, our dutie in prayers, and in the Sacraments, beleeve it, it is a signe of a sound minde, of much grace, and of some growth in vertue. But in case wee can take it to heart, that when wee do do our duties, that we do them no better, in no better manner; that we read the Word so cursorily; we pray indeed, but it is so coldly; wee receive Sacraments when time serves, but it is but in forme, and for fashion: now I say, if we can weepe within, and that betwixt God and our selves without a witnesse, not onelyonly for non-performance of duties, but for our unmannerly doing of them; beleeve it, this shewes not onelyonly that such are holy, but very holy, and passing good men and women. Albeit troubles for omission of duties be a good signe, yet hee doth not best still who hath least inward trouble, but who hath least cause; and therefore wee are to beware, that we draw not needlesse troubles, nor spirituall brushes on our selves; attend and watch over our soules, that when the heart calls, and God calls, we do set about such duties as conscience doth require. As wee must not make duties where God makes none; so wee must not omit, and skip over such lessons as God doth command us to performe, lest God smite us with some pang of unbeleefe, as he did Thomas Didymus, for being absent but once from an holy meeting of the Apostles, (I thinke) on the Lords day. We do not know what may come of it when we misse a dutie, 'tis to be expected that the next will be to fall into some sin of Commission. Omission of our diet will breed diseases, so will omitting of duties breed noi…ome matter in the soule, and make worke for hell, or for the …hysician of our soules. We must dye the death, or take some …trong physicke. Naught is like …o come of it when we seeme to make conscience of committing sinnes, but not of omitting du…ies: one being an offence against God as well as the other. Let us then see to our matters, that wee doe what is required, because it is required, and as it is required, and when it is required, and then wee shall have peace within: and when we have done our best, such is our frailty, that many things will scape us, and wee shall through hast or heedlesnesse step over many a dutie; but if wee feele remorse and trouble of heart, we are in a good and excellent estate, very spirituall: onelyonly we must beware that we rest not in our trouble, and thinke that that is all, but wee must goe farther. A sinfull thing it is, when wee have omitted a duty, to thinke to make all amends with Go… and our consciences, by passing thorow the fire of some biting anguish for it: as though this inward bleeding had some merit in it. No, no, it must bring us farther: our troubles must draw us up to Christ. Wee must repent, and be truly and heartily sorry that we have broken with God, that we have not kept our selves up in doing our duties and even vow unto him to bee more strict that way against another time. Grieving without repenting, and repenting without obeying comes to little. And for that we are more apt to omit duties than to commit sinnes, wee are to use the more care, that wee hold fast our resolution to performe our obedience to God, to omit nothing for any mans pleasure which God would have us doe. In no case we are to doe an unlawfull …ct for feare, or favour, or at the …ommand of man: but for du…es we may upon the interposi…ion of authority sometimes …mit some things lawfull, but …hen they goe not for duties to …e done at this time: and some are alwayes sicke or crazie, and …annot doe duties in publike, …nd of necessity must omit ma…y duties in private: this is a crosse, not a sinne, thus to omit duties; which wee doe not, because: by reason of weaknesse we cannot do them. God doth by sicknesse call such to a more excellent dutie, which is to suffer crosses and sicknesses with patience, when it is not because we will not, or care not, but because we cannot. The not doing of the duty is a crosse, and not a sinne; wee must then see to it, that we do not slubber over duties, and care not how they bee done, so they bee done: for hee that doth duties the next way, the next will be, hee will not do them at all; and when we come to omit duties, wee must and will, and shall commit sins. So the issue is, that when it is a duty, and a duty to be done now by us, wee forfeit our peace in case we doe omit the least thing that is: every tittle of Gods Law being better worth than all the world. Wherefore for what is past mourne and spare not, but not as men without hope. The pardon is ready, and was made in Gods minde before we were ever made. We might die in our sins the while, if when we have sinned we were to stay the providing of a pardon. Chyrurgians have some generall plaisters ready to clap on on a suddaine, lest the patient dye ere he can make and provide his salve. God in Christ hath all plaisters and pardons ready made and sealed: he still offers, 'tis but for us to come and take the offer. Assoon as a duty is omitted, and the wound begins to ake and fester, away to God, make peace with him, and all will end well. Sometimes wounds trouble us at first: sometimes againe we feele nothing while we are hurt, we cannot tell whether we are hurt or not; but after the wound payes us. And so it is in sinnes of omission; at first, when it is omitted, we ayle nothing, feele nothing: but when we pause, and blow upon it a while, the pang of a tender conscience will come upon us, and we shall finde it bitter. Wherefore goe on without interruption, lose not a stroake. The more we fast, the longer we may: the more wee omit, the longer we may, and shall still, except we returne. Oh returne, give not over so: Sathan doth not meane it shall end thus. Let us get our pardon, make our peace, doe our first workes with advantage. Declining will steale upon us. Lose not a meale. Do all that wee are to doe with all our heart. Doe what we doe, not onelyonly to stop the mouth of conscience, but to stop Gods mouth. Doe all for matter; for manner in obedience to him, because he saith it, because hee will have it so: then use our selves to it, and use is a gteat matter; and wee shall finde when conscience and custome come together, it must bee a great matter which must put us by. And when it is rather weakenesse than negligence which doth occasion a default, our peace will hold, the quiet of our minde will not cracke. Not but that the least omission of the least duty that is, is a sinne, but it troubles not, because we have a pardon of course for daily weaknesses, included in that genetall pardon which we have upon our generall repentance. And here wee must see, that our peace for such infirmities do result out of our generall acquittance, wherein all sins are contained, though none in particular named: and not because wee thinke them to be but veniall sins, & have a Pope in our belly, which makes us thinke, that they do not deserve Gods anger. And in some others there is a quiet, because they judge of sin and desert by nature and not by Scripture, and doe conceit of God as of men; and because men do passe over light abuses and petty matters, therefore God also doth (thinke they) not count of them: but this is foolish divinity. For man is no way bound in justice to proceed against abuses offered him; and therefore small matters doing him no sensible hurt, he may and doth passe them over: but God hath tied himselfe in justice to enter his action against the least sinne, and in law the penalty is hell. Besides, man being under a law stands bound to skip over such offences against him, but God is under no law of any Superiour, but hath onelyonly bound himselfe selfe by a law of his owne justice of his owne making to proceed against all sinnes, except he have satisfaction made him. The right is, that when we feele no grudging for such daily infirmities (after all care had and used) it is because they doe not stagger, nor cause us to doubt of our right to that great and generall pardon, written for us in blood; in the blood of the Lambe. Thus we see what our care is to bee, that wee omit as few duties as we can, and as seldome as 'tis possible: wee see also what our comforts are to be, in case wee fall into omission of a duty; and wee smart for it, to wit, it is a proofe of our faith; a worke of grace, and wee shall come out in better case than ever, and wee shall bee more curious in observing, and carefull in doing our duties ever after.
Next, beware of delaying. I del dyed not (saith David) to keep thy Commandement▪ Psal. 119. Delayes bee dangerous; our hearts will coole, and our affections will fall downe. It is good then to be doing while it is called to day, while it is called now. Now, now, now, saith David, Psal. 118. 2, 3, 4. There be three nowes, and all to teach us, that for ought we know now or never, to day or not at all, while the heart strikes, else our irons will coole. Sathan hath little hope to prevaile should he put us to omit our duties quite when the clocke strikes, and therefore his skill is to urge us to put it off till another time, as fitter and better: Do it anon, next houre, next day, next weeke (saith he): and why not next yeare? Hereafter (saith he) it will be as well as now. This he saith indeed, but his meaning (by hereafter) is never; and hee that is not fit to day hath no promise but he shall bee more unapt to morrow. We have neither God, nor our owne hearts at command: and when we have lost the oppotunity, God to correct us perhaps will not give us affections. The cocke within shall not crow to awaken us, the Sunne shall not shine, and then we are in danger to give over quite; and if we come once to a totall omission of one duty, why not of another, and of another, and so of all? and then farewell to us.
Againe, omission of duties will bring us to commission of the sinne that is contrary to that duty. Men do sin and scandall, (Ps. 119. 11.) Why? because the Word is not in them. They killed Christ: Why? because they received not his Word, Joh. 8. 37. And wee feele that sinnes committed will give a fearefull blow to our consciences. Then he that would not come to that penance, as to be put to it in the court of his owne conscience for committing of sinnes, that man must see to it, that he doe not omit duties; or if he doe, yet let him see to it, that he make all well againe presently; else the next will be, that he will, and must, and shall fall into the commission of sinne. The summe is, he that will not commit sinnes, let him not omit duties. First, God will scourge omitting of duties with suffering us to commit sinnes, and so we shall sinne. Secondly, omitting duties weakens us, lets Sathan in, and corruption out: and so we will sin. Thirdly, makes. God in his justice to give us over; and so we must sinne. Lastly, when we have an extraordinary occasion come in, it is lawfull to omit for a turne or so; the doing of ordinary duties: only we must take two caveats,
First, that we double it, and make it up the next time; doe twice as much as we are wont, and as our stint was.
Secondly, that we take it as a crosse that wee are necessarily hindred. If a man make and take occasion to put by the doing of duties, the end will be naught: we are in danger to come from putting by duties, to put them off quite: But now if an occasion be put upon us, it is no sinne to omit; but yet we must take it as a crosse. If we be glad that we have such occasion come in the way, that without sinne we may omit a duty, it shewes hypocrisie and deep corruption; but if we be sorry it falls out so, there is no hurt done. So pray (saith Christ) that your flight bee not on the Sabbath day, Matth. 24. 20. Not but that it was lawfull, and no sinne for a Jew to flye on the Sabbath day (for Eliah did flye forty dayes, and so of necessity five or sixe Sabbaths); but yet they were to take it heavily, that (though by a just occasion) they might not enjoy their Sabbaths: so we are to grieve, that by a just occasion we are put by the doing of our duties. It is no sinne, but it is a crosse, that by the providence of God wee are hindred, and put to the losse of a duty: If we be glad of it, it shewes much corruption; if we take it as a crosse, it shewes much sanctification.