A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 109either shut up thine eyes from further search into thy sins,or dry them up from any more mourning. But comfort ofremission must serve as a precious eye-salve, both to cleartheir sight, that they may see more and with more detestation; and to enlarge their sluices, as it were, to pour outrepentant tears more plentifully. Thou must continue rippingup and ransacking that hellish heap of thy former rebellionsand pollutions of youth ; still dive and dig intothat body of death thou bearest about thee, for the findingout and furnishing thyself vi^ith as much matter of soundhumiliation as may be, that thou mayest still grow vilerand viler in thine own eyes, and be more and more humbleuntil thy dying day. But yet so, that as thou boldest outin the one hand the clear crystal of God's pure law to discoverthe vileness and variety of thy sins, all the spots andstains of thy soul, so thou hold out in the other hand, orrather with the hand of faith lay hold upon the Lord Jesus,hanging bleeding and dying upon the cross for thy sake.The one is sovereign to save from slavish stings of conscience,bitterness of horror, and venom of despair. Theother, mingled with faith, will serve as a quickening preservativeto keep in thy bosom an humble, soft, and lowlyspirit, which doth ever excellently fit to live by faith morecheerfully, to enjoy God more nearly, to apply Jesus Christmore feelingly, and to long for his coming more earnestly :in a word, to climb up more merrily those stairs of joy,which are pressed upon us by the holy prophet, " Heglad— rejoice— and shout for joy, all ye that are upright inheart" (Psalm xxxii, 11).IV. Conceive that hypocrisy may lurk in very goodly outwardforms and fairest promises and protestations of selfseemingearnest humiliation. Look upon Ahab (1 Kingsxxi, 27^ ;upon the Israelites (Psalm Ixxviii, 34, 35). I meannot only gross hypocrisy, whereby men's false hearts teachthem to deceive others; but also that which elsewhere Ihave styled formal hypocrisy, whereby men's own heartsdeceive even their ownselves. For I make no question butthe promises of amendment which many make when theyare pressed and panting under some heavy cross or grievoussickness, proceed from their hearts ; I mean they speak asthey think, and, for the present, purpose performance, whonotwithstanding upon their recovery and restitution offormer health and wonted worldly happiness, return " withthe dog unto their vomit," and plunge again perfidiouslyinto the cursed current of their disclaimed pleasures. Butby the way, and in a word, to enlighten a perplexed point,