A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan
A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan
•of312 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGappi-eciative, when the will doth more esteem the detestationof sin, than the attainment of any good, or escapingany ill ;" and so by consequence (for, as I intimated, atroubled conscience in such a case is very curious andinquisitive, and will not stay only upon confused and generalnotions of good and ill, but easily descend to particulars,to know its state more perfectly, especially in a point of sogreat importance) a man must find his heart first to prizethe hatred of sin before the happiness of heavenly joys oravoiding hellish pains, before he can come to comfort ofthe remission of his sins. What a torture were it to atroubled spiiit to fall into the hands of such true pharisees,who lay heavy burthens upon others, but will not touchthem themselves with the least of their fingers. But,blessed be God ! we truly teach that it is not so much themeasure and amount, as the truth and heartiness of oursorrow, which fits for the promises of life and pardon ofsin. Yet I must say this also, he that thinks he hath sorrowedsufficiently, never sorrowed truly. And I like Bellarmine'slast proposition well, in the fore-cited place, if itbe thus understood, that we must desire, aim, and endeavourafter the highest pitch of godly sorrow which canpossibly be attained. But it is one thing to £ay, either justso much measure of sorrow or no mercy— such a quantitycontrition or no remission—another thing to say we ntiustlong and labour to bring our naughty hearts to this, even tobe willing rather to lie in hell than to live in sin. Perfectionsof grace are aimed at in this life, not attained.4. I confess some of them sometimes, by reason of freedomin their schools, over-ruled like Caiaphas, or over-masteredby the clearness and invincibleness of the truth, speaksomething more orthodoxically *;but you see them stilllike the four winds blow in one another's faces. Hereupon1 have many times marvelled, that understanding papistslooking into the point are not plunged into desperate perplexities,considering the variety of opinions and uncertaintyof the degree of sorrow required to their contrition :but when I reflected upon another rotten daubing trick oftheirs, 1 rather wonder at the depths of their antichristiancraft in so politicly and plausibly patching together theirpopish paradoxes, that they may still keep their deludeddisciples in contentment, and please them still at least withsome palliatives instead of cures. It is this 1 mean : they* See on this point, Vega, lib. ili, cap. xxiv, art. " Ad que accedit;"Ibid art. " Et Sacerdotes ;" Tolet. Instruct. Sacerd. lih. ii, cap. v, art."Quartani dubium "; Navar. cap. i, num. xviii; Estius, in iv, sent,dist. xvi, sect, vii, art. " Adde qu«jd si sumnius." &c.
3AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 31hold also (Prodigious infatuation !It is impossible that thelearned on the pope's side — were not that curse justly upontliem, 2 Thes. ii, 10,11, "Because they received not thelove of the truth, that they might be saved ; God sendsthem strong delusion, that they should believe a lie" —should ever be so grossly blinded) ; I say they hold, that aman ex attrito, by the power of the priestly absolution ismade contiitus ; and that ex opere operato, as Valent. affirms.Which in effect is thus much ; that having but only attrition(legal repentance), that Iruitless sorrow which may befound in a Judas, a Latomus, and which a reprobate maycarry with him to hell, is by the virtue of their feigned sacrament," by the sacramental act of absolution," as theycall it, made truly and savingly contrite and put into a stateof justification. Hear it in the words of that great andfamous light of Ireland*, and for ever abhor all such popishimpostures: " When the priest with his power of forgivingsins interposeth himself in the business, they tell us thatattrition, by virtue of the keys, is made contrition ; that isto say, that a sorrow arising from a servile fear of punishment,and such a fruitless repentance as the reprobate maycarry with them to hell, by virtue of the priest's absolutionis made so fruitful, that it shall serve the turn for obtainingforgiveness of sins, as if it had been that godly sorrow,which worketh repentance to salvation not to be repentedof (2 Cor. vii, 10) : by which spiritual cozenage many poorsouls are most miserably deluded, while they persuadethemselves that upon the receipt of the priest's acquittance,upon this carnal sorrow of theirs, all scores are cleareduntil that day, and then beginning upon a new reckoning,they sin and confess, confess and sin afresh ; and tread thisround so long, till they put off all thought of saving repentance; and so the blind follov/ing the blind, both at lastfollow into the pit."Or thus, a little after —:" It hath been always observed for a special differencebetwixt good and bad men, that the one hated sin for thelove of virtue, the other only for the fear of punishment.The like difference do our adversaries make betwixt contritionand attrition. That the hatred of sin in the one proceedethfrom the love of God, and of righteousness in theother from the fear of punishment ; and yet teach for allthis that attrition, which they confess would not otherwisesuffice to justify a man, being joined with the priest's absolutionis sufficient for that purpose. He that was attrite* Usher, in his Answer to a Jesuit's Challenge.2 E
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3AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 31hold also (Prodigious infatuati<strong>on</strong> !It is impossible that thelearned <strong>on</strong> the pope's side — were not that curse justly up<strong>on</strong>tliem, 2 <strong>The</strong>s. ii, 10,11, "Because they received not thelove of the truth, that they might be saved ; God sendsthem str<strong>on</strong>g delusi<strong>on</strong>, that they should believe a lie" —should ever be so grossly blinded) ; I say they hold, that aman ex attrito, by the power of the priestly absoluti<strong>on</strong> ismade c<strong>on</strong>tiitus ; and that ex opere operato, as Valent. affirms.Which in effect is thus much ; that having but <strong>on</strong>ly attriti<strong>on</strong>(legal repentance), that Iruitless sorrow which may befound in a Judas, a Latomus, and which a reprobate maycarry with him to hell, is by the virtue of their feigned sacrament," by the sacramental act of absoluti<strong>on</strong>," as theycall it, made truly and savingly c<strong>on</strong>trite and put into a stateof justificati<strong>on</strong>. Hear it in the words of that great andfamous light of Ireland*, and for ever abhor all such popishimpostures: " When the priest with his power of forgivingsins interposeth himself in the business, they tell us thatattriti<strong>on</strong>, by virtue of the keys, is made c<strong>on</strong>triti<strong>on</strong> ; that isto say, that a sorrow arising from a servile fear of punishment,and such a fruitless repentance as the reprobate maycarry with them to hell, by virtue of the priest's absoluti<strong>on</strong>is made so fruitful, that it shall serve the turn for obtainingforgiveness of sins, as if it had been that godly sorrow,which worketh repentance to salvati<strong>on</strong> not to be repentedof (2 Cor. vii, 10) : by which spiritual cozenage many poorsouls are most miserably deluded, while they persuadethemselves that up<strong>on</strong> the receipt of the priest's acquittance,up<strong>on</strong> this carnal sorrow of theirs, all scores are cleareduntil that day, and then beginning up<strong>on</strong> a new reck<strong>on</strong>ing,they sin and c<strong>on</strong>fess, c<strong>on</strong>fess and sin afresh ; and tread thisround so l<strong>on</strong>g, till they put off all thought of saving repentance; and so the blind follov/ing the blind, both at lastfollow into the pit."Or thus, a little after —:" It hath been always observed for a special differencebetwixt good and bad men, that the <strong>on</strong>e hated sin for thelove of virtue, the other <strong>on</strong>ly for the fear of punishment.<strong>The</strong> like difference do our adversaries make betwixt c<strong>on</strong>triti<strong>on</strong>and attriti<strong>on</strong>. That the hatred of sin in the <strong>on</strong>e proceedethfrom the love of God, and of righteousness in theother from the fear of punishment ; and yet teach for allthis that attriti<strong>on</strong>, which they c<strong>on</strong>fess would not otherwisesuffice to justify a man, being joined with the priest's absoluti<strong>on</strong>is sufficient for that purpose. He that was attrite* Usher, in his Answer to a Jesuit's Challenge.2 E