A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

!AFFLICTED CONSCIENGES. 205rich and royal endowments thereof, the glory and endlessfelicities above, his own thrice-glorious and ever-blessedself to be enjoyed through all eternity, which is the verysoul of heavenly bliss, and life of eternal life. Do youthink it then reasonable or likely that he will ever accept atour hands a heartless, formal outwardness ; a cold, rottencarcass of religion ; that we should serve ourselves in thefirst place, and him in the second ; that w^e should spendthe prime and flower of our loves, joys, services, upon someabominable bosom sin ; and then proportion out to the everlastingGod, mighty and terrible Creator and Commanderof heaven and earth, only some outward religious formsand conformities, and those also so far only as they hurtnot our temporal happiness, but may consist with the entireenjoyment of some inordinate lust, pleasure, profit, or preferment] Prodigious folly, nay, fury to their own soulsThis very one most base and unworthy conceit of so great aGod, and his due claims, meriteth ju>tly exclusion from thekingdom of heaven with the foolish virgins for ever. jMycounsel therefore is, when the spiritual patient hath passedthe tempestuous sea of a troubled conscience, and is nowupon terms of taking a new course, that by'kll means hetake heed that he run not upon this rock. It is better tobe key-cold than lukewarm ; and that the milk boil overthan be raw.Vn. I hough itbeanordinary,yetitisadangerousand utterlyundoing error and deceit to conceive that all is ended whenthe afflicted party is mended, and hath received ease ander largement trom the terrible pressures ( f his troubled conscience; to think that after the tempest of present terror andrage of guiltiness be allayed and overblown there needs nomore to be done. As though the new birth uere not everinfallibly and inseparably attended with new obedience. \sthough when once the soul is soundly and savingly struckthrough, humbled, and prepared for Christ by the terrifyingpower of the law revealing the foulness of sin and fiercenessof Divine wrath, which set on by the ""spirit of bondageis able like a mighty thunder to break and tear in pieces theiron sinews of the most stubborn and stony heart, therefollowed not hearty showers of repentant tears, never to bedried up uritil our ending hour (as 1 taught before), whenall tears shall be everlastingly wiped away with God's mercifulhand: and that the Sun of righteo'isness did notpresently break forth upon that happy soul, to dispel thehellish clouds of sensuality, lust, lying in sin, iSic. and toenlighten, inflame, and fill it with the serenity and clear skyas it were of sanctification and purity, a kindly fervour ofr