A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

22 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGall. For he out of his Luciferian pride, by the power, orrather poison of that antichristian cut-throat position, " Ofkeeping no oath nor faith with infidels and heretics," unhappilyundertook to absolve Uladislaus the king, and therest whom it did concern, from that solemn oath for confirmationof a concluded peace taken of him upon the holyevangelists, and of Amurath by his ambassadors upon theirTurkish Koran. Whereupon they resolutely break theleague, raise a great army presently, and against their oathand promise set upon the Turk with perjury and perfidiousness,accompanied with God's curse, exposed the Christianparty to a most horrible overthrow in the bloody battle ofVarna, and cast upon the profession of Christ such an aspersionand shame, that not all the blood of that successionof popes which constitute antichrist could ever be able toexpiate.Look upon the story, and consider what a reproach and inexpiablestain doth rest upon the face of the Christian religionby this wicked stratagem of popish treachery, and that evenupon record to all posterity ; for Amurath, the Turkishemperor, in the heat of the fight plucked the writing out ofhis bosom wherein the late league was comprised, and holdingit up in his hand with his eyes cast up to heaven, saidthus, " Behold, thou crucified Christ, this is the league thyChristians in tliy name made with me, which they havewithout cause violated. Now, it thou be a god, as they saythou art, and as we dream, revenge the wrong now doneunto thy name and me, and show thy power upon thyperjured people, who in their deeds deny thee, their God."CHAP. VI.A second use of the former doctrine, for reproof to several sorts of people.The first whereof are the careless, vdth a first consideration toadmonish them.Since a stock of grace and the comforts of a sound conscienceare only able to crush all crosses, outface all adversaries,take the sting out of all sorrows and sufferings, andserve in the evil day as a sovereign antidote to save thesoul from sinking into the mouth of despair and extremesthorror ; then three sorts of people here offer themselves tobe censured, and are to be frighted out of tiieir security andcruel ease.I. Those fools, sons and daughters of confusion and sloth,