A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan
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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

digitalpuritan.net
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13.07.2015 Views

348 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGvictory, hell, death, the grave, damnation, the presentwoful desertion, with all other adversary povs^er ; and atlength make him a fair and pleasant passage through thesweetened pangs of death into the heavenly Canaan, whichflows with joys and pleasures unmixed and endless, morethan either tongue can tell or heart can think.CHAP. XIV.The Ninth and Tenth Causes of the former Malady.Ninthly. A spiritual desertion may seem a proportionable,fit, and most proper punishment and m.eans to correct andrecover the Christian, who out of infirmity and fear desertsthe Lord Jesus and the profession of his blessed truth andgospel. If any be ashamed of him, refuse to do or sufl^erany thing for his sake, who hath given unto us his ownheart's-blood, it is most just that in such a case he withdrawhimself in respect of all sense and feeling of Divinefavour and fruits of grace, or any comfortable influence atall upon the consciences of such cowards ; that so, theybeing left to the darkness of their own spirits, and by consequenceto the taste even of hellish horror for the time,they may be brought again to themselves, and taught bysuch terrors to return and become infinitely more willingto embrace the stake, if the times should be so cruel, andkiss the instruments of death, than languish any longer inthe despairing extremities of such a desertion ; to acknowledgeit incomparably better to pass through the temporarybitterness of popish fire than to be abandoned to everlastingflames : nay, and that which is the greater hell, to berobbed of and rent from him, in whose glorious presencealone is not only life and all lightsomeness even in this life,but also " fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore " inthe life to' come. This point appears and is proved byGod's dealing with some of our martyrs in Queen Mary'stime —:Thomas Whittell, a blessed martyr of Jesus, vyas by thewicked suggestions of some popish incarnate devils, drawnto subscribe to their hellish doctrine ;but considering incool blood what he had done, was horribly vexed, and ashe reports of himself, " felt hell in his conscience andSatan ready to devour him ;" which terrible desertion andtrouble of mind made him quickly return with great constancyand fortitude, and turn a most invincible and im-

AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 349moveable martyr. Hear some passages from his ownpen —:" The night after I had subscribed I was sore grieved,and for sorrovv of conscience could not sleep. For in thedeliverance of my body out of bonds which I might havehad, 1 could find no joy, nor comfort ; but still was in myconscience tormented more and more," &c." And I said (to Harpesfield, iicc), that my consciencehad so accused rrie through the just judgment of God andhis word, that I had felt hell in my conscience, and Satanready to devour me ; and therefore 1 pray you, Mr. Harpesfield,said 1, let me have the bill again, for I will notstand to it."" When the Lord had led me to hell in my consciencethrough the respect of his fearful judgments against me formy fearfulness, mistrust, and crafty cloaking in such spiritualand weighty matters, yet he brought me from thenceagain," &c.*Tenthly. God is many times forced by their frowardness,lukewarraness, worldly-mindedness, cowardliness, selfconfidence,falling from their first love, and other such spiritualdistempers, to visit and exercise his children withvariety and sometimes severity of crosses and corrections ;as losses in their outward state, afflictions of body, disgracesupon their good name, oppression by great ones, discomfortsin wives, neighbours, friends, children, &c. purposelyto put life, quickness, fruitfulness, and forwardnessinto them, that thereby they may be more gloriously serviceableto himself, more profitable to others, and moreprovident to treasure up peace unto their own souls againstan evil day. " God humbleth us," saith a worthy divine," by afflictions, and pricketh the swelling of our pride.He cutteth and loppeth us, to the end we may bring forththe more fruit. He filleth us with bitterness in this life,to the end we might long for the life to come. For thosewhom God afflicteth grievously in this world, leave it withless grief. He who hath formed us to fear him, knoweththat our prayers are slack and cold in prosperity, as proceedingfrom a spirit that is cooled by success, and as beingonly indited by custom. The cries which our own willproduced are feeble in comparison of those which grief expresseth.Nothing so ingenious to pray well as sorrow,which in an instant formeth the slowest tongues to a holyeloquence, and furnisheth us with sighs which cannot be* Fox's Acts and Monuments. See also in the same book the accountof James Abbes and Thomas Benbridge.•2H

348 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGvictory, hell, death, the grave, damnati<strong>on</strong>, the presentwoful deserti<strong>on</strong>, with all other adversary povs^er ; and atlength make him a fair and pleasant passage through thesweetened pangs of death into the heavenly Canaan, whichflows with joys and pleasures unmixed and endless, morethan either t<strong>on</strong>gue can tell or heart can think.CHAP. XIV.<strong>The</strong> Ninth and Tenth Causes of the former Malady.Ninthly. A spiritual deserti<strong>on</strong> may seem a proporti<strong>on</strong>able,fit, and most proper punishment and m.eans to correct andrecover the Christian, who out of infirmity and fear desertsthe Lord Jesus and the professi<strong>on</strong> of his blessed truth andgospel. If any be ashamed of him, refuse to do or sufl^erany thing for his sake, who hath given unto us his ownheart's-blood, it is most just that in such a case he withdrawhimself in respect of all sense and feeling of Divinefavour and fruits of grace, or any comfortable influence atall up<strong>on</strong> the c<strong>on</strong>sciences of such cowards ; that so, theybeing left to the darkness of their own spirits, and by c<strong>on</strong>sequenceto the taste even of hellish horror for the time,they may be brought again to themselves, and taught bysuch terrors to return and become infinitely more willingto embrace the stake, if the times should be so cruel, andkiss the instruments of death, than languish any l<strong>on</strong>ger inthe despairing extremities of such a deserti<strong>on</strong> ; to acknowledgeit incomparably better to pass through the temporarybitterness of popish fire than to be aband<strong>on</strong>ed to everlastingflames : nay, and that which is the greater hell, to berobbed of and rent from him, in whose glorious presenceal<strong>on</strong>e is not <strong>on</strong>ly life and all lightsomeness even in this life,but also " fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore " inthe life to' come. This point appears and is proved byGod's dealing with some of our martyrs in Queen Mary'stime —:Thomas Whittell, a blessed martyr of Jesus, vyas by thewicked suggesti<strong>on</strong>s of some popish incarnate devils, drawnto subscribe to their hellish doctrine ;but c<strong>on</strong>sidering incool blood what he had d<strong>on</strong>e, was horribly vexed, and ashe reports of himself, " felt hell in his c<strong>on</strong>science andSatan ready to devour him ;" which terrible deserti<strong>on</strong> andtrouble of mind made him quickly return with great c<strong>on</strong>stancyand fortitude, and turn a most invincible and im-

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