A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

;212 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGwealth, riches, pastures, variety of choicest pastimes; nay,for ease to any thing, even to drinking, dancing, dicing,masking, revelling, roaring, or any other such ribald, bedlam,and raging fooleries.CHAP. XVII.A Third Case, wherein Fangs of Conscience may seem to be healedand are not; with tht; l>iscovery of Men's Errors in that kind.III. Some there are, vv-ho pass out of trouble of mind for sin andlegal terrors into a kind of an artificial, enforced, unsound,untimely, and counterfeit peace of conscience. I mean itthus : when a man's carnal heart, wounded by the terrifyingpower of the word, with sight and horror of his formerwicked ways ; but weary of the wound, impatient of spiritualheaviness, wilfully set and resolved obstinately againstthe holy severities of the school of repentance, mortification,godly strictness, walking with God, 6cc., and withalmeeting with some dauber with untempered mortar, who isvery reatiy to heal his heart with sweet words, saying," i eace, peace, when there is no peace " (Jer. vi, 14)—;I say, in this case snatches hold of comfort, and appliesthe promises of mercy and salvation before they belongunto him; before he be searched to the quick, sounded tothe bottom, and soundly humbled ; before the spirit ofbondage hath its perfect work, and he be kindlily fitted forJesus Christ. For this purpose they are wont to wrest,abuse, misapply many places in the book of God; the unskilfulphysicians in application, and the deluded patientsin apprehension of them ; even such as these ": Come untome all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and 1 will giveyou rest " (Matt, xi, 28). Yea, but they are not weary ofall their sins, but only troubled with the present terrornor willing to take upon them the cross ot Christ. Wellenough content they are to take him as a Saviour to preservethem from hell, but not as a lord, a king, and a husband,to serve, obey, and love him. " Whosoever shallcall upon the name of the T^ord shall be saved " (Rom. x,13). Yea, but they do not consider that many also shallcry "Lord, Lord," (Matt. vii,22, andxxv, 11) and yet be excludedfrom eternal bliss ; and therefore " all that callsavingly upon the name of Christ, must depaitfrom iniquity"(2 Tim. ii, 19). But they upon lecovery will by no meansdepart from their darling delight. " He that believeth on