A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

170 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGrise from the dead and tell thee, that he who was thy brotherin iniquity is now in heli, and if thou follow the samesensual courses still, thou must shortly most certainly followhim to the place of torment. And yet even this wouldnot work at all if thou be a despiser of the word. It maybe while the dead man stood by thee thou wouldest be extraordinarilymoved and promise much ; but no soonershould he be in his grave, but thou wouldst be as gracelessas thou wast before. Seventhly, what wise man, seeing afellow who never gave his name to religion in his life-time,now only troubled about sin, when he is sure he must die,will not suspect it to be wholly slavish and extorted for fearof hell ? " My sentence is," saith Greenham, " that a manlying nov/ at the point of death, having the snares of deathupon him, in that strait of fear and pain, may have a sorrowfor his life past ; but because the weakness of flesh, and thebitterness of death dothmost commonly procure it, we oughtto suspect," &c. Eighthly, painful distempers of body arewont to weaken much and hinder the activeness and freedomof the soul's operations ; nay, sometimes to distract andutterly overthrow them. Many, even of much knowledge,grace, and good life, by reason of the damp and deadnesswhich at that time the extremity and anguish of their diseasebrings upon their spirits, are able to do no great matter, ifany thing at all, either in meditation or expression. Howthen dost thou think to pass through the incomparablygreatest work that ever the soul of man was acquainted within this life (I mean the /leuj-/)//'^/;) at the point of death ?It is a woful thing to have much work to do, when the powerof working is almost done. When we are come to the verylast cast, our strength is gone, our spirits clean spent, oursenses appalled, and the power of our souls as numb as oursenses ; when there is a general prostration of all our powers,and the shadow of death upon our eyes, then something wewould say or do, which should do our souls good. But,alas ! how should it then be 1CHAP. X.The Third Error of applyiiitr comfort, which is iudiscrect application.Tiie first case wherein" it happens, which is too sudden application;and the demonstration of that error.When the spiritual physcian pours the balm of mercy andoil of comfort into a wounded conscience —1. Too soon. The surgeon that heals up a dangerous sore.