A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

194 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGview of thy old sins and former life, thou must renew thispresent repentance of thy new birth, make thine heartbreak again and bleed afresh with the sight of thy heretoforemuch doated upon but now most abhorred abominablecourses. And so often also as thou lookest back upon them,thou must labour to abominate and abandon them withmore resolute aversion and new decrees of detestation.Though it may be, by the mercies of God, they shall neverbe able to sting thee again with the same slavishness ofguilty horror, yet thou must still endeavour in thy coolblood to strangle utterly thy former delight in them withmore hearty additions of deadly hatred, and to be moreand more humbled for them until thy ending hour. It is avery high happiness and blessing above ordinary to be ableto look back upon thy choicest youthful pleasures and pollutions,without either sensual delight or slavish horror ;with sincere hatred, holy indignation, and hearty mourningṄow for the time to come, and those sins which hereafterthe rebelliousness of thy sinful nature, and violence ofthe devil's temptations may force upon thee ; if thy heartbe now truly touched and conscience savingly enlightened,thou shalt find much matter, necessity, and use of continuingthy repentance so long as thy life lasts. In a leakingship there must be continual pumping. A ruinoushouse must be still in repairing. These bodies of death webear about us, are naturally liable to so many batteries andbreaches by the assaults of original sin and other implacableenemies to our souls, that there is extreme need ofperpetual watch and ward, repenting and repairing, lestthe new man be too much oppressed and too often surprizedby the many and cunning encounters of the oldAdam. When thou art in company, solitary, busied aboutthy particular calling, there may suddenly arise in thineheart sqme greedy wish, some gross conceit, some vain, unclean,ambitious, revengeful thought : ejaculate presentlya penitent sigh and fervent prayer for pardon of it in thepassion of Christ. In thy family, perhaps amongst thychildren and servants, by reason of some cross accident,thou mayest break out into some unadvised passionatespeech, and disgrace thyself and profession by over-hastyintemperate heat, not without some danger of hurting andhardening those about thee thereby : get thee presentlyupon it into thy closet, or some place for that purpose,throv.' thyself down with a truly grieved and humbled soulbefore the throne of grace, and rise not until thou be reconciledunto thy God. If at any time, which God forbid,