A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan
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A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

digitalpuritan.net
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13.07.2015 Views

190 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGanswer for the blood of their souls, by telling them, that ascertainly as all the glorious comforts and blessed consequentsof God's infinite mercy shall crown the heart andhead of every true-hearted Nathanael for ever, so all thedreadful effects of his angry justice will at length seize uponthe souls and confound the consciences of all unholy menwith extremest severity and terror.Let it be thus, then, and let our ministerial dispensationbe in this manner. If thou be an impenitent person, I wouldtell thee that the utmost wrath of God, unquenchable andeverlasting vengeance, all earthly and infernal plagues, arethy certain portion ; but I would mollify and sweeten thebitterness of this sentence with assurance of mercy uponrepentance, to prevent the assaults of despair.On the other side ; if the ministry of the word hathwrought upon thee effectually, and now thy truly humbledsoul thirsts after Christ with a sincere hatred and oppositionagainst all sin ; I would assure thy troubled and tremblingheart in the word of life and truth, of all those most preciousblessings and sweetest comforts, which the book of Goddoth promise, and the blood of Christ hath bought. Butwithal I would commend unto thee some coolers and counter-poisonsagainst presumption and falling to pharisaism.For which purpose, and for prevention of danger andspiritual undoing by unskilful and indiscreet daubing in thecase proposed, 1 come now to tender such counsels and cautionsas these, or the like, which the faithful physician of thesoul, according to occasions, circumstances, and presentexigencies, may think fit to be mingled with administrationof mercy, and wisely propounded to the afflicted party.It may not prove unseasonable to speak thus, or in somesuch manner, to thy spiritual patient —:I. If these things be truly and soundly so ; if thou findand feel indeed such a mollified and melting spirit, suchbroken and bleeding affections in thy bosom, thou art certainlyblessed. If thai sorrowful soul of thine doth renouncefrom the very heart-root with special distaste and detestationall manner of sin ; insatiably " tliirst after righteousness;" unfeignedly resolve for the short remainder of a fewand evil days to bend itself towards heaven in all new obedience; I say, if this be sincerely the holy disposition andresolution of thine heavy heart, notwithstanding all thypresent terror and trouble of mind, thou art truly and everlastinglyhappy. Only take notice (lest my ministering ofmercy be mistaken, or thy conceiving of comfort miscarry)that the '* heart of man is deceitful above all things." Abottomless depth it is of falsehoods, dissemblings, hypoeri-

AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 191sies ; aa endless maze of windings, turnings, and hiddenpassages. No eye can search and see its centre and secrets,but that all-seeing One alone, which is ten thousand timesbrigliter than the sun, to which the darkest nook of hell isas the noon-day : and therefore not I nor any man alivecan promise pardon, or apply the promises, but conditionallyupon supposition, "if these things be so and so, as thouhast said." And the sincerity of thy heart and truth of thesehopeful protestations, which we now hear from thee in thisextremity (and I must tell thee by the way, such like rnaybe enforced by the slavish sting of present tenor, not fairlyand freely flow from a true touch of conscience for sin; Isay this may be, though I hope better things of thee)-, thetruth, as 1 said, both of thy heart and these affectionatepromises will appear when the storm is over, and this dismaltempest, which hath overcast and shaken thy spirit withextraordinary fear and astonishment, is overblown. Thycourse of life to come will prove a true touchstone, to trywhether this be the kindly travail of the new birth, or onlya temporary terror during the fit, by reason of the uncouthnessand exquisiteness of this invisible spiritual torture,without true turning to Jesus Christ. If when the nowtroubledpowers of thy soul, which the wound of thy consciencehath cast into much distracted and uncomlortableconfusion, shall recover tlieir wonted calmness and quiet,thou turn unto thine old bias, humour, company, and conversation,it will then be more than manifest that thisfurnace of terror and temptation, wherein thou now liestand languishest, was so lar from working thine heart toheavenliness and grace, that it hath hammered it to morehardness and ungraciousness— from purging and refining,that it hath occasioned more earthliness, epicurism, andraging affections in sensuality and sinful pleasures. But if,when thou art up again and raised by God's merciful handout of the depth of this spiritual distress, into which thehorrible sight and heavy weight of thy sins hath sunk thee ;if then thou express and testify thy true heartedness in thesepresent solemn protestations, made now, as it were, in thyhot blood ; I mean, of thy hatred against sin, by an earnestopposition, watchfulness, and stiiving against all, especiallythat, which in thine unregenerate time stuck closest to thybosom, of thine hunger and thirst after a comfortable fruitionof God's face and favour, by a conscientious and constantpursuit and exercise of all good means and opportunities,of all his blessed ordinances appointed and sanctifiedfor growth in grace, and bringing him nearer unto him ; ofthy future new obedience and Christian walking, by plyinc;

190 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGanswer for the blood of their souls, by telling them, that ascertainly as all the glorious comforts and blessed c<strong>on</strong>sequentsof God's infinite mercy shall crown the heart andhead of every true-hearted Nathanael for ever, so all thedreadful effects of his angry justice will at length seize up<strong>on</strong>the souls and c<strong>on</strong>found the c<strong>on</strong>sciences of all unholy menwith extremest severity and terror.Let it be thus, then, and let our ministerial dispensati<strong>on</strong>be in this manner. If thou be an impenitent pers<strong>on</strong>, I wouldtell thee that the utmost wrath of God, unquenchable andeverlasting vengeance, all earthly and infernal plagues, arethy certain porti<strong>on</strong> ; but I would mollify and sweeten thebitterness of this sentence with assurance of mercy up<strong>on</strong>repentance, to prevent the assaults of despair.On the other side ; if the ministry of the word hathwrought up<strong>on</strong> thee effectually, and now thy truly humbledsoul thirsts after Christ with a sincere hatred and oppositi<strong>on</strong>against all sin ; I would assure thy troubled and tremblingheart in the word of life and truth, of all those most preciousblessings and sweetest comforts, which the book of Goddoth promise, and the blood of Christ hath bought. Butwithal I would commend unto thee some coolers and counter-pois<strong>on</strong>sagainst presumpti<strong>on</strong> and falling to pharisaism.For which purpose, and for preventi<strong>on</strong> of danger andspiritual undoing by unskilful and indiscreet daubing in thecase proposed, 1 come now to tender such counsels and cauti<strong>on</strong>sas these, or the like, which the faithful physician of thesoul, according to occasi<strong>on</strong>s, circumstances, and presentexigencies, may think fit to be mingled with administrati<strong>on</strong>of mercy, and wisely propounded to the <strong>afflicted</strong> party.It may not prove unseas<strong>on</strong>able to speak thus, or in somesuch manner, to thy spiritual patient —:I. If these things be truly and soundly so ; if thou findand feel indeed such a mollified and melting spirit, suchbroken and bleeding affecti<strong>on</strong>s in thy bosom, thou art certainlyblessed. If thai sorrowful soul of thine doth renouncefrom the very heart-root with special distaste and detestati<strong>on</strong>all manner of sin ; insatiably " tliirst after righteousness;" unfeignedly resolve for the short remainder of a fewand evil days to bend itself towards heaven in all new obedience; I say, if this be sincerely the holy dispositi<strong>on</strong> andresoluti<strong>on</strong> of thine heavy heart, notwithstanding all thypresent terror and trouble of mind, thou art truly and everlastinglyhappy. Only take notice (lest my ministering ofmercy be mistaken, or thy c<strong>on</strong>ceiving of comfort miscarry)that the '* heart of man is deceitful above all things." Abottomless depth it is of falsehoods, dissemblings, hypoeri-

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