A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

274 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTING3. Strong temptations.4. Extraordinary troubles upon our last bed.1. When thou art once come so far as I intimated before ;to wit, that after a thorough conviction of sin, and soundhumiliation under God's mighty hand, upon a timely andseasonable revelation of the glorious mystery of Christ, hisexcellencies, invitations, his truth, tender-heartedness (forthe desire I speak of is an effect and affection wrought everimmediately by the gospel alone) ; 1 say, when in this casethine heart is filled with vehement longings after the Lordof life, if ihou be able to say with David, " jMy soul thirstethafter thee, as a thirsty land" (Psalm cxliii, 6) ; if thou feelin thy-elf a hearty hunger and thirst after the favour ofGod, that fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, andfellowship with Christ, assuredly then the well of life isalready opened unto thee by the hand of thy faithful Redeemer,and in due time thou shalt drink thy fill. He thatis Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the eternaland unchangeable God, hath promised it. And amidstthe sorrows of thy trembling heart, and longings of thythirsty soul, thou mayest even challenge it at his handswith a humble, sober, and zealous confidence. As did thatScottish penitent (George Sprot) a little before his execution.He freely *' confessed his fault, to the shame, as hesaid, of himself, and to the shame of the devil, but to theglory of God. He acknowledged it to be so heinous andhorrible, that had he a thousand lives, and could he die tenthousand deaths, he could not make satisfaction. Notwithstanding,said he, Lord, thou hast left me this comfortin thy word, that thou hast said, Come unto me 'all ye thatare weary and laden, and I will refresh you.' Lord. I amweary ; Lord, I am heavily laden with my sins, which areinnumerable. I am ready to sink, Loid, even to hell, withoutthou in thy mercy put to thine hand and deliver me.Lord, thou hast promised by thine own word, out of thineown mouth, that thou wilt refresh the weary soul. Andwith that he thrusts out one of his hands; and reachingas high as he could, with a louder and a strained voicecried, I challenge thee, Lord, by that word, and by thatpromise which thou hast made, that thou perform andmake it good unto me that call for ease and mercy atthine hands." Proportionably when heavy-heartedness forsin hath so dried up thy bones, and the angry countenanceof God so parched thine heart that thy poor soul beginsto gasp for grace, as the thirsty land for drops of rain,thou mayest, though dust and ashes, with a holy humility