A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

nay,224 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGtertain at the same time by the help of God a strong, invincibleresolution, not only never more to return unto foolishness,whatsoever comes of hicn, never upon any terms tofall back again into his former sinful pleasures, which havenow fastened so many fiery scorpion's stings in his conscience; but also never to admit of any cure, recovery,and comfort to his afHicted soul but only by Jesus Christ.Never to have the bleeding wounds of his bruised spiritbathed, bound up, and healed, but in tliat " fountain,opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants ofJerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness." Nay, rather thanhe will do the one or the other, he will abide upon the rackof his spiritual torture unto his ending hour. Whereuponhe directly addresseth and applies himself to the onlymeans appointed and sanctified by God for working a sure,kindly, and lasting cure in such a case ; 1 mean, the ministryof the word. And if he may have his will, he wouldhit upon the most skilful, experienced, searching, andsound-dealing man, amongst all God's faithful messengers.2. And so in a second place, without all reservation orany purpose ever to return or divert, he comes unto theministers of God in the same mind and with the same meaningthat Peter's hearers did, having his heart pricked andrent in pieces with legal terror, as theirs were ": Men andbrethren, what shall we dol" (Acts ii, 37.) If there beany instruction, direction, or duty, which upon good groundout of God's blessed book you can enjoin, we will willinglyfollow it, embrace it, and rather die than not do it. Prescribeany course whereby we may have the boiling rageof our guilty consciences somewhat assuaged, and we willbless God that ever we saw your faces ;. that ever hemade you the happy instruments to fasten these keen arrowsof truth and terror in our amazed and afflicted spirits.And now here the ministers of God have a strong and seasonablecalling to set forth in the highest degree the excellency,amiableness, and soul-saving sufficiency of JesusChrist, blessed for ever ; to amplify and magnify to the lifethe heavenly beauty, invaluableness, and sweetness of hisperson, passion, promises. No sin of so deep a dye, be itscarlet or crimson, but his precious blood can raze it out.No heart so dark or heavy, but one beam shining from hispleased face can fill it as full of spiritual glory and joy asthe sun is of light, or the sea of waters. No man so miserable,but if he will go out of himself and the devil's slaveryquite, and come in, when he is dearly invited, he willadvance him " without money, and without pricef»'' fromdepth of horror to height of happiness.