CHAPTER. 1

M. T. Cicero, that most worthy Father of the Roman eloquēce was of that mind, A definiti­on of eue­ry thing which is to be disputed or reaso­ned of, is necessary and wher­fore. that e­uery thinge which was to be reasoned & disputed of, should first begin at the definition thereof, that [...]o it might briefly be vnderstood what the substance of the matter was where­ [...]f reasoning or disputation was to be [...]olden: Of the like opinion and minde [...]m I at this present, concerning the [...]angerous peste of most wicked and [...]amnable Desperation; being the mat­ [...]er which now I haue in hand (through Gods assistance) to write of.

Definition of Despe­ration is of two sorts.The Definition then of Desperation I finde and read to bee of two sortes as concerning the words, and yet in sense and substance of matter little differing one from the other: Whereof the one is, Desperatio est horribilis mentis & cordis seu cōscientiae [...]repidatio ex sensu irae di­uinae propter peccatum concepta cum metu aeternae damnationis, The first Definition of Despe­ration. sine vlla ex­pectatione veniae. Desperation is an hor­rible feare, or trembling of the mind and heart or conscience, conceiued through a sence and feeling of Gods wrath for sin; with a feare of eternal damnation, with­out all expectation or hope of pardon or forgiuenesse thereof.

The other (which is a far more ancient Definition) is this Desperatio est malum quo quis diffidit de volūtate dei, The secōd Definition of despera­tion. aestimās malitiam suā magnitudinē diuinae mise­ricordiae & bonitatis excedere. Despera­tion is an euil through which a man mi­strusting despaireth vtterlie, & is past all hope of the good will of God, verily thinking that his naughtines, or sins, excell the mercies and goodnes of God, according to that saying of the first desperat man Cain: Mine iniquitie is [Page 3] greater then can be pardoned. Gen. 4.13 Gen. 4.13

Thus it being made plaine and easie what desperation is by these aforesaid Definitions, it followeth in the next place, (to procéed after the same order that the said Cicero vsed) that I speak of diuision of Desperation; Two kinds of Despe­ration the one wick­ed the o­ther holy. which I like­wise finde and read to be of two kinds: the one a wicked kind of Desperation of Gods promises, power, goodnes & mer­cy towards sinners, the matter which here I am to entreat of: The other an holy Desperation of a mans owne po­wer, in the obtaining of eternall life, conceiued and wrought by a sense or feeling of a mans owne defects, infir­mitie, & corruptions. Concerning this former kinde of Desperation, being es­pecially the marke which I would haue poore silly distressed soules to haue a diligent and a watchfull eye vnto, to the intent that both my selfe, and my poore brethren, liuing and warring yet with mee in the militant Church of Christ here on earth, may be the better fore-warned (for that as they say Tela raeuisa minus nocent) of this most subtil [...]nd deadly stratageme, concerning this [Page 4] most dangerous and fatal assaulting en­gine, of the Arch-enemy of our soules, this deepe dispayre and diuelish soule-poyson, I haue thought good by the penning of this short Treatise, to put my selfe and others in remembrance of these three points; Three thinges especially to be noted in this Tr atise of Desperati­on. to wit, first of the haynousnesse, grieuousnesse, and per­nitiousnes of Desperation. Secondly, of the causes thereof: and thirdly of the remedies.

CHAP. 2.

IN sundry and manifold places of holy Scriptures are we taught, that Go [...] is faithfull, 1 Cor. 1.9 2. Thes. 3 3 1 Ioh. 1.9 2 Co. 1.20 faithfull in his words, an [...] true in all his promises: All the promi­ses of God are Yea and amen: Faithful [...] in his mercies, for they neuer fayle [...] Faithfull, Iust, & True are his waies [...] according to the song of the holy Angells. GOD is constant & faithfull: & how, and wherein. Reu. 15.3. Yea moreouer, God is carefull for the Faithfull, and hat [...] [Page 5] promised to be their God, Reu 15.3 2 Cor. 6.18 and they shall be his people. It is thy duty therfore, O Man! to doe GOD this honour, to be­lieue without all wauering, doubting, or despairing; The duty of the faith full to­wards god in regard of Gods faithfulnes towards him. that GOD hath both Power and Will to doe all thinges that hee promiseth, and not to permit any such cogitations, thought, or conceite, once to enter into thine heart, as that God should proue himselfe a lyer; or that it should not come to passe, which he hath promised. But if thou once suffer the distrust and diffidence in Gods pro­mised mercies (through the multitude of thy sinnes, and the grieuousnesse of thine offences, through the nature of [...]inne it selfe and the crafty ingestion and [...]uggestion of Satan) to take hold of, The hor­riblenes of the sinne of Diffi­dence, Mistrust, or Despe­ration, and possesse thine heart: O horrible and [...]rieuous is this last sin of Despayring [...]hich thou addest to thy former sinnes. [...]o hainous, so hurtfull and pernitious, [...]s this thy sin of Diffidence and distrust [...]n Gods mercies to be obtained, accor­ [...]ing to his promised word, that I may [...]y of thee, Aug in lib de vtilitate paenitentiae agendae. as S. Augustine said of Iudas [...]e traytor, Non tam scelus quod eom­ [...]isisti quam indulgentiae desperatio facit [Page 6] te penitus interire: Not so much the si [...] which thou hast done, as thy despayr [...] of forgiuenesse, hath vtterly cast the [...] away. Surely Iudas his despayre and distrust (according to S. Augustine his opinion) was a more grieuous sin, them his treason in the betraying of his Mai­ster. Ier. super Psa. 108. Wher-vnto agreeth S. Iero. Ma­gis inquit offendit deum Iudas, in ho [...] quod desperando scipsū suspendit, quam in hoc quod d [...]ū tradidit. Desperatio enim reddit hominem maledictum, et pro­tectione derindignum. Iudas (saith S. Ierome) more offended God herein, that in dispayre he hanged himselfe, then in tha [...] hee betrayed his Lord and Maister: Fo [...] Desperation maketh a man accursed, [...] vnworthy Gods protection. And thu [...] likewise Cain his dispayring in God mercy after his murther committed was a more grieuous sinne, then th [...] shedding of his brother Abell hi [...] blood: For to adde Despayre to fo [...] mer sinnes, is to drawe sinne afte [...] sinne as it were with Cart-ropes, t [...] heape sinne vpon sinne, to fulfill th [...] measure of iniquitie, and so to pu [...] chase swift and most certaine damnat [...] on. [Page 7] It is indeede the fashion and olde wont of Sathan, When es­pecially the Diuell beginneth to tempt to despayre. to perswade man (when hee hath once committed many haynous sinnes) after his owne sinnes, to despayre, and so to commit the grea­ter sinne after the lesser: which is as if an vnlearned ignorant ond a murthe­ring Physition should cause his Patient for the remedring of a little cold taken to drinke the iuyce of Hemlocke which by adding cold to cold, is most sure to bring present death; Or as if a man, hauing an Ache in one of his fingers, should cut off the whole hand to take away the Ache of a finger. Note what kinde of phisick and surgery the Diuell practiseth. Euen such like Phisicke and Surgery doth the Diuell practise to minister vnto lewde and wilfull sinnors, when hee inticeth and draweth them after many prece­dent haynous sinnes, through des­payre of finding mercie and forgiue­nesse to shorten their liues, by kil­ling and murthering them-selues, by poysoning, by stabbing, by throat-cutting, by drowning, by Iudas-like han­ging of themselues; & finally by casting off all vse of faith, all vse of hope, and so [Page 8] quite to despayre of Gods mercy: then the which, what can be a more dange­rous course for any man to yeeld vnto? What can be more foolish or contrary to all reason, if a mans reason were not blinded and bewitched that hee could not see, nor perceiue, nor consider well of it, then whiles a man is afraid of water, presently to cast her selfe head­long into it, The ab­surd de [...] ­lings of such as ea­sily yeeld to desperation. and so seeingly and wit­tingly to drowne himselfe? or then whiles a man is afraid of fire, present­ly to runne into it and to dispatch him­selfe therein? Or whiles a man is afraid of hell fire, out of hand most desperate­ly to plunge himselfe into the daungers thereof?

And yet such as these are the perswa­sions, and temptations of the Diuell, to a man whose barking conscience conti­nually pangeth and plagueth him for his sinnes.

Such as these are the fruites of the most monstrous sinne of dispayring of Gods mercy and grace.

May not he be accounted worse then madd, Marke this O man, least thou yeeld to Despe­ration be­fore thou be awa [...]e what great inco [...] ni­ences thou yeeldest vnto. that is so foreward and ready to yéeld vnto, and to follow after the Di­uells [Page 9] whistle, alluring and entising vn­to desperation, seeing it is no meanes to diminish, but to encrease sinne, and the rewards of sinne, seeing that it is no reliefe, but an euerlasting burthen and griefe of the soule: seeing that it is not a deliuery of the soule, but a cer­taine destruction of the soule: seeing it is not a redemption, but an vndoub­ted condemnation of soule and body for euer.

And finally, seeing that it changeth temporall griefe into eternall griefe, and the panges of conscience, into the paines of hell for euer. And thus is verified that saying of S. Bernard, Desperatio auget peccatum, Saint Ber­nard his opinion concer­ning the [...] [...] ­nes of des­peration. Desperatio maior est omnibus peccatis, Desparatio peior est omni pec­cato, Desperation encreaseth sin: Des­peration is greater then al other sinnes, Desperation is worse then all other sinnes.

This is a thousand times worse then the dangerous rocke Scilla, against which so many poore Marriners haue dashed their shippes, Scilla and Charybdis not so dan­gerous as desperati­on. to the great losse both of Shippes, goodes and liues: or then that no lesse dangerous gulfe Cha­rybdis, [Page 10] which haue deuoured vp so many passengers: For at this vnfortu­nate and deadly rocke of Desperation, many thousan [...]s of poore soules ouer­charged with the burthen of their ini­quities, and turmoyled in their con­sciences with the waues of fearefull thoughts, and troublesome conceites by the blustring blastes and surgie stormes of Gods vengeance threat­ned against sinners, both haue and day­ly doe make dangerous and fearefull ship-wracke. This is a worse dungeon for both soules and bodies of poore desperate sinners: then was the Denne of Lyons, into the which the Rulers, Officers, Dan. 6.17 and Gouernours of King Da­rius caused Daniell to be cast, and clo­sed vppe: Dan 3.19 Yea, and this is seauen times worse then the seauen times heated bur­ning Ouen or Furnace, into the which that proud Idolatrous King Nabuchad­nezzer commanded Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, the true seruants and wor­shippers of the onely true and euer­liuing God, to be cast in. This is that incurable, remedilesse, and desperate sore, wound and maladie, which the [Page 11] Prophets of God Ieremy and Micheas, Ier. 3. Mic. 1. in their dayes complained of among their people. This is that great stop & let, that hindereth and resisteth Gods holy grace from flowing and entring into the soules of sinfull men. This is the Axe that heweth and choppeth a sunder the chaines wherewith God in his great mercy, and mercifull kind­nesse, would drawe the hearts of sin­ners vnto himselfe by Repentance; whereof speaketh the Prophet Ozeas. Oze. 11. Trust in the Lord, and doe good, saith the holy Ghost by the Prophet Da­uid: Psal. 37.3 where hee placeth and setteth Trust in GOD in the first place, and doing good in the second: trusting in GOD, goeth before as the Mistris, and doing good followeth & attendeth on as the Hand-maide: For as it is said Spes alit agricolas, were it not for Hope the Husbandmans heart would burst; Hope nourisheth his heart: Euen so Despayre and diffidence, or distrust in GOD, is a Step-mother to well do­ing, and draweth backe from doing good; according to the saying of a learned Writer vpon the said 37. Psal. [Page 12] Desperatio & diffidentia abstrahit ab omni studio honi nam cogitat omnia fieri frustra: Musculus in Ps. 37.3 ita namque ex spe et fiducia pro­manant mortaliū conatus, vt ex ipsis co­natibus satis liqucat quid quisque sperat. Desperation and Mistrust draweth back from all desire of well doing, Desparati­on draw­eth men back from all wel do­ing and why. for it thin­keth all to be but lost labour: for so doe all mens labours and endeauours flowe and spring from Hope and trust, that e­uery mans doings doe plainly testifie what he hopeth or trusteth for.

And now let this suffice briefely to giue a taste how great and grieuous, hurtfull and pernitious this sinne of Desperation is.

CHAP. 3.

THat memorable and notable saying of S. Gregory in one of his Homi­lies, moueth mee to thinke, and here to commit it to writing, that one cause of Desperation, and not the least, but [Page 13] rather the primary and principall cause of all other ariseth from the subtile, cun­ning and cosoning counsell, inducement, perswasion, and allurement of the Di­uell: for saith S. Gregory, Greg. in quadam Hom. Quum in graui peccato miser homo labitur: sua­det ei diabolus ne peniteat, ne cōfiteatur peccatum leue et modicum in corde affir­mat, misericordiam praedicat, longum spaciū vitae promittit, permanere in pec­cato suggerit, vt sic in contemptum dei, & d [...]sperationem sui inducat & pereat: When wretched man slippeth into some grieuous sinne, the Diuells councell is, that he repent not at al for it, that he con­fesse it not: hee tells him in his heart, The de­grees by which the Diuell draweth men on in­to despera­tion. that it is but a light and small offence: hee saies God is full of mercie, hee pro­miseth him long life, he suggesteth vn­to him to lie still in sinne, that by these meanes hee may bring him at last into contempt of God, and into vtter Des­peration, and so hee may become a cast-away for euer. Here doth S. Gregory in most manifest and plaine words describe and decipher the Diuell himselfe to bee the author and so consequently the cheefest causer, and cause, of this horri­ble [Page 14] soule murthering Desperation; and here also doth he set down by what steppes and degrees hee brings and leades a poore carelesse wretched man into despayre.

Now consider this moreouer, that if Satan that arch-enemy of mans wel­fare, Iob. 1. durst very boldly and sawcely without any bidding, presume to thrust himselfe into Gods presence amongst his holy Angells; if hee durst so sub­telly and cunningly, dissemblingly and lyinglie, assayle and assault our first Parents Adam and Eue, Gen. 3. being yet in­nocents, vnstained, and pure from all sin: Nay more then all this, if he durst approach and with diuers temptations assault and allure Christ Iesus himselfe, Ma [...]. 4.3. both God and Man; and yet Man frée from any spot or blemish of sinne en­deuoring himselfe to the vttermost of his skill and power if it had beene pos­sible, to haue brought him, and wrought him to his owne wicked will: Alasse, is it any maruele then if he doe as dili­gently and busily bestirre himselfe with his manifould wiles, and guiles, to assaile vs weake, poore, and miserable [Page 15] sinners? Who (without the dayly and howerly strengthning of Gods holy spirit) are of our selues prompt, apt and ready, The fore­runners of desperatiō except we looke to our selues in time. euery hower to decline and fall away from God, and to fall vnto Idolatry, Blasphemy, Periury, Murther, Whoredome, Theft, Pride, Disobedience, and what not; wherin, after wee be once plunged ouer head and eares, and ouer runne with thee guilt of many sinnes, then will Sathan lay about him, and apply his busines like a most valiant Champion, to catch vs in the most dangerous snare of all other, euen deepe Despayre: He will challenge our soules by the seuere iu­stice of GOD, let vs say against him whatsoeuer we can, and argue against him as long as wee will, yet will hee insult, reioyce, and reply saying: Nei­ther Gods mercies nor Christs merits, can any thing help, but thou must needs be damned, What the Diuell wil obiect a­gainst vs to bring vs to despaire so lightly heretofore hast thou esteemed God, and his precepts; so smally hast thou regarded Christ Ie­sus and his merits, or rather so willing­ly, wittingly, and seeingly hast thou vilipended, and contemned them; [Page 16] and so obstinately, carelesly, and despe­rately, troden them vnder-foote, that e­uen as thou hitherto hast made noe reckoning of God, and hast not opened the doore of thy heart to receiue him, and giue him entertainment when heestood without and knocked to bee letten in there; so now God will requite thee, with Legetalionis, with like for like: hee will make no reckoning of thee, hée will not open his eares vnto thee when thou cryest vnto him, hee will not let thee haue though thou aske, hee will not let thee finde though thou seeke, hée will not open vnto thee though thou knocke. Behold now art thou tossed like waues of the Sea, thy Faith waue­reth betwéene Hope and Dread, and therefore canst thou receiue nothing at the Lords hands: with these and infi­nite such like disputations, will Sathan set vpon, and vexe the very elect of God, to bring them (if it were possible) to desperation. And if the elect shall bee thus fifted, (as Peter was) in what case then shall the wicked and reprobate bee?

CHAP. 4.

The se­cond cause of despera­tion.THe second cause of Desperation, is ignorance of God, & want of know­ledge of the will of God, vnto mankind reuealed by his holy word: Mat. 22. for as igno­rance of the scriptures, as it was pronoū ­ced by the mouth of Christ Iesus himselfe speaking against the Saduces, 2 Kin. 17.26. Ps. 23.10.11. Pr. 28.29 30.31. Esa. 1.34. Hos. 4.7. Eph. 4.18 concerning the resurrection of the dead, was the cause of that their so great error; Euen likewise the ignorance of God, is often­times the occasion & cause of Gods hea­uie displeasure; and so of diuers & sundry inconueniences and mischiefes: Ber super Cant. and a­monst the rest, it is also a cause of this cursed Desperation, as writeth S. Ber­nard: Vtraque cognitio, dei scilicet & tui tibi necessaria est ad salutē, quia de igno­rātia tui venit superbia, ac de dei ignorā ­tia venit desperatio. The knowledg both of God, & of thy selfe are necessary vnto saluation, because out of the ignorance of thy selfe, ariseth pride; Ignorance the mo­ther of desperati­on. & likewise out of the ignorance of God, commeth Des­peration. Out of this ignorance of God, must Desperation needs arise: for how can it otherwise be, but that hee that is [Page 18] altogither without any knowledge of God, must despayre to receiue any good thing of him? for as no man can take pleasure nor any profit by hid and vn­knowne Treasure: so no man can looke for grace, mercy, and forgiuenesse of sinnes, or any other benefit or good gift at his hands, of whom he is vtterly ig­norant, and of whom he hath no know­ledge.

CHAP. 5.

The third cause of desperati­on.THe third cause of Desperation is the great seruitude or bondage or sinne: with which whosoeuer is clogged, hee becommeth thereby the seruant of sinne: Iohn 8.34. And the wofull and hurtfull effects of sinnes, are the procurements of Gods curses and plagues vpon bodyes, The woful & [...]urtfull effects of sinne. soules, lands, children, stocke, croppe, and euery thing else that a man hath, or goeth about at home or abroade, in town or in field, in Citty or in Contry, by land or by water. Deu. 28. Leu. 26. Sin har­deneth the heart. Heb. 3.13. It fighteth against y ^e soule. 1. Pet. 2.11. It gnaweth & tormenteth the conscience. 1. Sa. 25.31. [Page 19] And bringeth men into the most dam­nable gulfe of Desperation, wherein multitudes of Worldlinges, Matcheuil­lians, Epicures, & impious Atheists are dayly implunged, and irreuocably drow­ned for euer.

CHAP. 6

THe Fourth cause of Desperation do many gather to themselues vpon the wordes of Christ in Mat. 7.13. The fourth cause of Desperati­on. Strait is the gate, & narrow is the way that lead­eth vnto life, & few there be that find it. And againe out of Mat. 20.16. Many are called, but few are chosen. And againe out of Luk. 13.24. Striue to enter in at the straite gate, for many, I say vnto you, will seeke to enter in & shal not be able: All which places doe plainly teach; that few shall be saued; for in bidding to striue to enter in, Christ giueth vs to vnder­stand y ^t it is no easie matter, but a mat­ter that requireth great strife, paines, and earnest diligence against the World, the Flesh, and the Diuell.

Vpon these considerations, The feare and doubt of many. many be­gin to feare and to tremble, to stagger, [Page 20] and no doubt, whether they may thinke themselues to be in the number of those few that shall be saued yea or no; and so are drawne into dispayre, whiles that they finde this present euil world against them with all the baytes, snares, nettes, and lets, pleasures, and profits thereof to catch them, The great and mani­fold aduer­sa [...]es of mans saluation: all which the diuel vseth as meanes to Despe­ration. fetter them, and intangle them, whiles they finde their own flesh, their owne corrupted nature against them; their reason poysoned, their wils and affections blinded, their naturall wisdome, concupiscences, and lusts, mi­nistring strength to Satans temptations, taking part against them daily and how­erly ready to betray them into his hands, whiles that they see and perceiue euen legions of Diuells, euen all the Diuells in hell against them, with all their craf­ty heades, maruailous strength, infinite wiles, cunning deuises, déep slights, and tryed temptations, lying in ambush a­gainst their poore soules; & who séeth not y ^e thousands are caried headlong to dest­uction through the temptations of either the world, the flesh, or y ^e diuell? And thus are we poore wretches in a most pittiful case assaulted and betraied on euery side.

CHAP. 7

THe fift cause of Desperation ariseth from the manifold crosses & afflicti­ons of this present life,: The fifth cause of desperati­on. for from hence it is that some men being daily feretted, followed on, & euen almost pressed down with temporall afflictions and troubles, Sundry kinds of crosses and afflictions. as penury, pouerty, hunger, nakednes, sicknes of body, troubles of mind, vnqui­et suggestions of the flesh, temptations of the Diuel persecutiōs, imprisonments, losse of friends, losse of goods, losse of good name and fame, a wicked, crooked, & fro­ward mate in matrimony, disobedient & vntoward children, vnkind & vnthank­full friends, vnderserued malice, enuy, & hatred of froward neighbours, & many other such like crosses, as daily in one sort or other befal men: When they once feele themselues touched and tryed here­with, Ier. 20. anon they take occasion hereby to cry out, and lementably to houle, and curse the day wherein they were borne, Ier. 15. to call that an vnhappy houre wherein their mothers brought them forth, Iob. 3. to wish they had dyed in their birth, & that they had perished so soone as they came [Page 22] out of their mothers wombe; that some hill might fall vpon them & ouerwhelme them that so they might shortly bee rid out of their paines: Yea they will not be perswaded that these thinges are sent of God (for the most part) to such as he lo­ueth, but rather to such as he hateth; and that neuer a louing father wil handle his children so as they are handled. Now the Diuell most subtilly lying in wayte for his aduantoge, taketh hold on this their weakenesse, and striueth by little & little by such occasiōs as these to worke vtter desperation in them; and by these meanes oftentimes forceth some to so­daine, wretched, and desperate ends.

CHAP. 8

THe sixt cause of Desperation is long custome of sin, The sixt cause of Desperati­on. whereby a man yeel­deth and submitteth himselfe as an obe­dient & ready bon [...]-slaue to the Diuell, little respecting if not vtterly contem­ning both God and his word, whose dull conscience through giuing himselfe ouer to impurity & filthines of life, is waxed hard in iniquity, and corrupt waies, and [Page 23] as it were burned with a hot iron, so that he is now past all sense & féeling of sinn, Long cust­ome grow­eth into a second na­ture. & this long costome groweth as it were into a second nature (in processe of time) which to expell is a matter of great dif­ficulty. This is it which the Prophet Ie­rim. meant, where he affirmed that it is as hard a thing for such to doe any good that haue bin continually inured with doeing of euil, as it is to wash a Blacka­moore or Aethiopian skinne white: or to chang the spots of a Leopard: And therefore according to our English a­dage, as that which is bred in the bone, will neuer lightly out of the flesh: so an old wont or custome of any vice, be it of lying, swearing, gaming, drinking, whooring, or any other such like, will seldome or neuer be remedied; whereby it oftentimes commeth to passe, that in the end y ^e Diuel by this meanes hauing laid a foundation, so fitting his purpose to worke on, bringeth his old customers to dispaire.

CHAP. 1.

TO méete with the dangerous and manifould temptations of Satan, that great enemy of mankind, where­with hee continually after other sinnes first committed, laboureth to bring vs into the deepe gulph of desperation; It shall not be amisse, nay rather it shall be our best course and remedie, to learne & practise that most sure, safe, and excel­lent counsaile, which the holy ghost gi­ueth by those two worthy Apostles of our Sauiour Christ, Eph: 6. Iam. 4. Saint Paul & S. Iam s their coun­sel against the temp­tat [...]ns & ass [...]ults of Sath n. S. Paul and S. Iames; wherof S. Paul saith, Put on the whole ar­mour of God, that ye may be able to stād against y ^e assaults of the Diuel & S. Iam. saith, Resist the Diuell & he will flie from you: that is to say, we must st [...]iue against all vnlawful & forbidden lusts by which hee eggeth, draweth, and haleth men from sinne to sinne, from bad to worse, and finally to desperation, the worst of all sins.

Had Cain thus resisted the Diuell, hee had neuer bene so far drawn (as he was) from faithlesse hypocrisie, to enuy; from enuy to murther. and from murther to Desperation. Had Iudas the traytor thus resisted the Diuel when he by his intise­ment first yeelded to couetousnesse, and so for a little filthy lucre to betray his most louing, gentle, and kinde Lord & Maister, he had not from those sins one in the neck of another finally fallen in­to despayre, wherein he became his own hang man to the euerlasting testimony of his owne damnation.

Full worthy therefore, and very néed­full in this case is S. Iames his counsaile, Resist the Diuell &c. yea and that in the beginning. A discrip­tion of the manner of armour with which Saint Paul would haue Chri­stians to resist the Diuell.

And S. Paul goeth further on with the like good counsaile, and setteth downe very plainely with what manner of Ar­mour he would haue Christians to buc­kle and furnish themselues with, that so they may be found the more ready and able to encounter their generall enemies temptations: As first with Verity, or Truth, which is the arming of them­selues with true and sincere knowledge [Page 26] of God Tit. 1.1. The first kind of Armour to resist the Diuell with. In the true seruice of God with out hypocrisie, in Spirit and truth. Iosua 24.14. Iohn 4.24. 3. Kin. 2.4 And likewise with vprighr true spea­king & dealing with our neighbours in word and deed Eph. 4.25. Ex. 23.1.

The secōd kinde of Armour wherwith the Diuell is to be re­sisted.Secondly with the Brest-plate of righ­teousnes: that is, with the earnest appli­yng and endeauouring of our selues to all vertue and godlines in our liues and conuersations: Where note, that the Apostle hauing placed Verity, Truth, or true knowledge of God, in the first place: in very fit & good ranck & order he placed this Righteousnes; y ^e is to say practise of true knowledge in holines of life in the second place; as a godly father herevpon hath very well obserued in these words: Vera dei cognitiōe & animi sinceritate, & puritate pr mū deinde pia et sancta vita ornari debēt Christiani mi­lites: Christian Souldiars ought first to haue their hearts & minds decked & fur­nished with true knowledge of God, with true sincerity & purity of mind; & secondly, with Godly & holy life answe­rable to their true knowledge. Hereby all slighty, cunning, & forcible entries [Page 27] vnto Satans engines and subtile snares shalbe debarred and shut vp: hereby all the passages of our thoughts and imagi­nations shal be preuented and taken vp, Whereby the Diuell is embol­dened to tempt: and Whereby on the o­ther side he is dis­couraged, & resisted that he shall not so easily find any breach or weake place to inuade. For as on the one side, by loosenesse & licentiousnesse of the flesh, by lewdnesse of our liues, by our iniquity and vngodlines, the Diuell is animated, fleshed, and emboldened, dayly to tempt and assault vs: for he see­ing in the corruption of our nature a for­wardnesse to wickednes, he bloweth the bellowes and kindleth the flame of our bad inclination; he stirreth vs vp, & pricketh vs forward, till after the hea­ping vp of one sinne after another, at the length he casteth vs downe headlong in­to y ^e bottomlesse pit of Desperation: So on the other side by this Armour of righ­teousnesse, sincerity and integrity to an holy life is the Diuell withstood and re­sisted, and we become the more able to stand fast in the day of our temptation: So that it is not without iust cause, that y ^e Apostle compareth this Righteousnes the second kind of spiritual Armour, vnto a corporall Braest-plate; for that like as [Page 28] a Brest-plate saueth and fenceth the vi­tall parts of man, The good fruites of vprighte­ousnes, & holines of life. as his heart, liuer, & entrailes; which once being stricken and pierced mans life is lost: so doth vpright­nesse and holines of life, preserue the heart and conscience of man free & safe from the inuasion & confusion wrought by Satan from the fierie darts of infide­litie, hardnes of conscience, coldnesse in religion, wickednes of life, corrupti­on in conuersation, & finally from Des­peratiō, the very vp-shot of al mischiefs.

The third kinde of Armour for a Chri­stian a­gainst Sa­than.Thirdly, must we arme & furnish our selues to resist Satan the Diuell, with y ^e Gospell of peace, y ^e is, our hearts must be throughly acquainted, & fully fraugh­ted with the knowledge of that glad ti­dings of great ioy, which the Angells of the Lord brought at the birth of Christ; L. 2.10. that tydinges of great ioy, which must be vnto all nations, with that most comfortable & ioyfull embassage of the Reconciliation of man with God, which may ful w [...]l be called y ^e Gospel of peace for that it onely maketh the Conscience of man quiet, & at peace with God and it selfe: then the which, what one thing in all the world, can set a man more frée [Page 29] from all Desperation? The fourth Armour. 1. Cor. 16 13.

Fourthly, with Faith in Iesus Christ; wherewith the same S. Paul arming men against spirituall assaults by Sathan and his ministers, and preparing them to the spirituall battaile agaiast the Diuell and his members, encourageth them not to shrinke, but to cleaue fast to this Faith, whereby we may resist and beat backe our spirituall enemie.

And likewise S. Peter instructing vs to prepare and make oure selues strong, to encounter with the common enemy the Diuell, teacheth vs to resist him by faith especially: Be sober (saith he) and watch, 1. Pet. 5.8 for your aduersary the Diuell, goeth a­bout seeking whom hee may deuoure, whom resist stedfast in faith.

For this cause Saint Basil vpon the 32. Psalme saith, Basilius in Psal. 32. What man is able to make war with the Diuel, vnles he flee for help to the Captain of the Hoast through faith in him, to wound and thrust through his enemy?

And likewise S. Augustine accounted this faith to be so powerfull, Aug. lib. 3 Cap 20. de lib. arbitri­o. that it re­sisteth, vanquisheth and ouer-commeth the Diuell.

What faith isAnd this true Christiā Faith which is of such power as aforesaid, is a sure trust in the mercy of God y ^e Father through y ^e merits of Christ Iesus, when we do per­swade our selues most certainly of the pardon of our sins through Christs righ­teousnes; and of eternall saluation by his passion, heereby obtaining peace in our consciences w ^t God, & rest, & walke in obedience to his will & commande­ments by his word vnto vs reuealed. Of this kind of faith is entreated in Abac. 2.4. Rom. 3.38 Rom. 51. Ephe. 2.8.

The fift kind of ArmourThe fift kind of Armor to resist the Diuell with whereof S. Paul in the ca­talogue of a Christian Souldiars armor maketh rehersal, is y ^e word of God: this is the Sword of the spirit, whereby the suggestions and wicked temptations of Sathan, are beaten backe, propelled, & kept off, euen as a man kéepeth backe his enemy at the poynt of his Sword.

With this kinde of Armour did our chiefe captaine Christ Iesus in his man­hood here on earth, resist and put backe al the Diuell his subtle and faulse temp­tations, answering euery one of them with Scriptū est, It is written: whence [Page 31] we may learne by the like meanes, Christ him selfe an example how to re­sist the Di­uels temp­tations. after his most excellent example to combate with the Diuell, and to giue him the foyle, whensoeuer by him, or any his wicked instruments, we shall be temp­ted to this Desperation, or any other sinns whatsoeuer.

If we be tempted to sweare and blas­pheme the holy name of God, it is to be resisted with Sciptum est, It is written, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine. If to pollute and break y ^e Lords Sabboth day through ei­ther labouring about our pleasures or profits, answer, It is written, Remem­ber that thou kepe holy &c. If to mur­ther, & shedding of blood, by any forbiddē way or means, or vpon any vnlawfull occasiō whatsoeuer; answere, It is writ­ten, Thou shalt doe no murther. If to steale and purloyne by any vnlawfull means, directly or indirectly; answere, it is written, Thou shalt not steale If we be tempted to vsury, Exo. 22.25. Deu 23.19. Le. 25.39 Psal. 15.5. let vs drawe out y ^e Sword of the Spirit, Thou shalt not giue to Vsury vnto thy brother, Vsury of mony, Vsury of meat or of any other thing. If he moue vs to deceipt & frau­dulent [Page 32] dealing, 1 Thes. 4.5. Leu 25.14 let vs resist him w ^t, It is written, Let no man oppress or deceaue his brother in bargaining, for the Lord is a Iudge in such things. If we be sollicited to disloyalty, & disobedience to Princes, let vs striue against that, with, It is written, Rom. 13.1 2, 3, Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers &c. Finally to be short to what kind of sin, mischiefe, or in­conuenience so euer any of vs shall hap­pen to be drawn, The Scrip­tures doe minister store of swords a­gainst eue­ry kinde of temptation inticed, or inueigled, let vs search the Scriptures, & we shal soone finde store of swordes, of one kind or o­ther to answer, foyle, and recoyle, what­soeuer this mortal enemy of ours can vse or obiect against vs, here is armour e­nough to finde him occupied with.

The sixt kinde of spirituall Armour, and heauenly furniture, wherewith S. Paul, or rather the holy Ghost by Saint Paul, The sixt kinde of Christian Armour. would haue vs complet and furni­shed against all the dangerous combats, conflicts, and wicked suggestions of this wicked and damned spirit, thereby to auoid, repell, & vanquish him vtterly is deuout, hearty, zealous & Godly prayer. Ouer & besides S. Paul his instruction, and most needfull exhortation, in this [Page 33] case his & our Lord, Maister, and Saui­our Christ Iesus, hath commended vnto vs this kind of weapon, when he taught to pray w ^t this petition. And lead vs not into temptation but deliuer vs from euill. Let vs then apply this Armor, this kind of propulsatiue weapon, and feruentlie, and heartily vse it: And firmely belieue that which Dauid the Prophet for our good incouragement hath written in Ps. 145.19. God is nere to those which cal vpon him, & will fulfill the desire of them that feare him. and deliuer thē Whenso­euer therefore we are tempted, allured, and drawne on by Sathan through coue­tousnesse to riches, through ambition to honour, through enuy to murther, through cōcupisence to adultery, through intemperance to gluttony; or to be short through any other sinne to iniquity. Let vs straight waies by prayer craue for power and strength from aboue, to ouer­come these temptations, and especially the most dangerous suggestion of Des­payre.

This kind of Armour is alwaies ready at hand, so that Satan can no sooner at­tempt any thing against vs, but this weapon [Page 34] is as soone ready (if we heartily and zealously lay hold thereon) to repell and vanquish al his practises against vs: And therefore, Pray, pray, pray.

CHAP. 2.

COncerning the second cause of Des­peration, to wit, ignorance; Our Lord Iesus Christ who was nothing ignorant of the manifold mischiefes, and of the manifest dangers that the Diuell leadeth silly men into, as it were blind­folded through blinde ignorance: and hee knowing that Ignorance is rather the mother of desperation (as heretofore in the 4. Chap. of the causes of Despe­ration hath beene sufficiently prooued) then of Deuotion, as the Papists haue in this point ignorantly taught & main­taind: hath in his owne person, & with his owne mouth exhorted and admoni­shed all men, Io. 5.29 to Search the Scriptures, [Page 35] which is a lesson in this case most neces­sary for all men, to learne thereby to de­liuer themselues out of the dangerous gulfe of Ignorance, and so consequently out of many other sinnes, and finally out of desperation; where-into thousands through Ignorance haue bene implun­ged and drowned for euer.

Let vs therefore for the remedie and auoiding of finall Desperation, Remedies against Ig­norance. where­vnto so many runne headlong through Ignorance, little knowing, and lesse re­garding what they doe, vntill it be too late; receiue the word of God, which (as S. Iames saith) is able to saue our soules: with al readines like vnto the Noblemē of Berea, & search the Scriptures daily. Act. 17.11 Let vs seeke after the knowledg of God in time. And as the Prophet Esay said, Esa. 55 6. Seeke the Lord whiles he may be found & cal vpon him whils he is neere. The dan­ger of wil­full Igno­norance. And let vs be assured of this y ^t al māner of Igno­rance is perillous; but wilful Ignorance of all other is most perilous (For it is (as a learned Writer hath affirmed) a plain Prognostication, A. D. in the plaine mans path to heauen. & a demonstratiue ar­gument of eternall death. It is a most horrible and fearefull thinge for a man [Page 36] to refuse instructions, dispise counsaile, harden their Hearts, stoppe their eares, and close vp their eyes against God this is the very vp shot of euerlasting ruine.

What the Ignorant must doeLet the ignorant therefore that stand in this dangerous estate repayre with al diligence and attentiuenesse vnto the learned Ministers & dispencers of Gods most sacred word, and at their mouths enquire the knowledge of Gods lawes. This doth God himselfe commaund vs by the Prophet Malachie, Malac 4. And when we feele our consciences wounded, let vs af­ter the example of the Godly, faithfull, and deuout people, who after the hea­ring of Gods word preached, came vnto Peter and the rest of the Apostles, saying, Men & brethren, Act. 2. what shall we do? Euen thus I say, let vs come vnto Gods Mi­nisters, Counsell f [...]r the ig­norant ve­ry necessa­ry. and confesse & acknowledge our great blindnes and ignorance, and say vnto them. Help vs, instruct vs, teach vs set vs in the way, & guid vs in the paths of the knowledge of God and of our sal­uation: What the true Mini­sters of gods word are. for surely they are the Phisitions and Surgions of our soules, so that if w [...] repayre vnto them, they shall giue vs t [...] drinke of the holesome waters of know­ledge, [Page 37] to quench our thirst of Ignorance: they are the dispencers of the manifolde graces of God, & the Lords Stewards to giue each one of vs our portions in due time.

We haue not Christ alwaies amongst vs (as appertayning to his bodely pre­sence) but as himselfe saith, we haue the Poore alwaies amongst vs: euen so also we haue not Christ himselfe (that body I meane which sitteth at the right hand of God the father) alwaies with vs: but yet our Lord Christ, ascending vp on high, gaue vnto men among other giftes, this gift also (if we could rightly cōsider of it) of no smal value, euē Pastors & Doctors that is, the Ministers of the Gospell of Christ, that might instruct, informe, and teach vs in the way of life, that might declare vnto vs the secret counsailes & hiden misteries of God, How the true mini­sters of Gods word are to be ac­counted of thet might arme vs with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, to encounter & resist our deadly enemy the Diuel ther­with. Let vs ioyfully receiue them; for who so receiueth them as they ought to be. receiueth also with thē, him that sent them, whose Messengers they are, Let [Page 38] vs heare them, for they bring vnto vs the word of life: Let vs giue credit vnto the Lords Ministers, & Glory vnto the Lord himselfe, that hath giuen in his great loue this blessing vnto vs, to haue his messengers and Ambassadours abi­ding among vs, to declare and make known vnto vs by them, what his own good will and pleasure is in all thinges, to the auoiding of this blind ignorance, the very mother of Desperation, and so consequently of eternall Damnation with the Author thereof, and his cursed Angels for euer.

CHAP. 3

COncerning the great seruitude and bondage of sin being the third (be­fore noted) cause of Desperation, for the helpes and remedies thereof this haue I briefly to say, that what though we haue bin seruants vnto sinne, and haue bene pressed, and surpressed with the bondage thereof, so that we must néedes confesse, [Page 39] (vnlesse we should proue our selues ly­ars, and thrt there were no truth in vs) that we through our often doing of those thinges which we should not haue done; & on the other side, through our leauing off those things vndon which we should haue done, haue most iustly deserued Gods threatned curses and plagues to light on our bodies, our soules, our chil­dren, our stockes, our croppes, & euery thing else we goe about, & put our hands vnto. What though our sinnes fight a­gainst our soules, and gnaw our consci­ences, and be ready euen out of hand to lead vs into the most dangerous state of Desperation? Examples tending to the strength­ning of our faith hope and patience against desperati­on- What though wee haue contended & fallen out with our brethrā? as did Paul and Barnabas, who were so hot in contententiō one against another, that they forsooke one an others compa­ny in high displeasure and heat of their stomacks, the one taking with him Luke the other Iohn? What though wee haue yeelded vnto, practised!, and followed Oppression, Extortion, polling, pilling and wresting that wee can by hooke or crooke from our brethren? Luke 19 2 So did Za­oheus, yet notwithstanding after his re­pentance, [Page 40] his forsaking & ceasing from bad getting, his restitution, and almes giuing, receaued that most chearefull and comfortable saying of Chiist, This day is saluation entred into thine house, Luk. 19 9 What though we haue bin théeues, rob­bers & stealers of our neighbours goods? so was the théefe that was crucified with Christ; and yet vpon eis humble, con­trite, and sorrowfull confession of his sinnes, he heard this most sweete word from Christ, This day shalt thou be with mee in Paradise. What though we haue murthered and sh [...]d the blood, or caused the bloud to be shed of some of our bre­thren? so did Dauid to Vrias, and yet vp­on his zealous, inward & true vnfained sorrowfulnes & repentance, hee was not taken away in his sinne, but found par­don. And so did the Iewes which put to death the Lord of life.

[...] Manasses was an Idolater, he de­f [...] th [...] Temple of God, hee with stood [...] beat downe the truth, 2 K [...] hee set vp Ido [...]ry, he was a coniurer & a South­sa [...], [...] shed aboundance of Innocent [...], so that the streets flowed there­with, he committed more abhominati­ons [Page 41] thē the Cananites or Amorites whō for their filthines the Lord cut off out of the land of the liuing, he sacrificed his sonnes and daughters to Diuells: and yet vpon his true returning to the Lord from the bottom of his heart, he found fauour and mercy.

If our sinnes then, 2. Chr. 33. or the sins of any one of vs, were as grieuous as euer were the sins of Manasses, yet vpon our true and vnfained returne to the Lord shall we despayre of his mercy? shall we or may we, or daie we thinke that the mercy and power of the Lord is shorte­ned? or that God is not the s [...]e God he was? Is he not as ready to pardon & forgiue sinnes, the sinnes of a m [...] re­penting, returning, & faithfully c [...]ling vpon him, as euer he was the sinnes of Manasses?

All these examples, and many more, are written for our learning, comfort & strengthning of our faith, hope, and pa­tience, that we should in no wise des­payre vpon our true repentance, neither for the multitude nor grieuousnesse of our sinnes.

And likewise also it is written for the [Page 42] brusing, & as it were euen for the brea­king of the backe of all damnable Des­peration, and to hold the hearts, and to restore the fainting and dull spirites of all such as the seruitude and bondage of sinne (this our third cause of Desperati­on) doth vexe and presse downe: It is (I say) written, that the Sonne of man is come to saue mens liues. Luk. 9.56 And he himselfe hath said, I am come to call not the iust but sinners, Math. 10. Math. 20 Ioh. 3. Wherfore Christ came into this world And againe, Iesus Christ is come to giue his life a redemptiō for ma­ny. Also God the father hath not sent his Son to iudge the World, but to the end the world may be saued by him.

Now what is it to saue & not to iudge? but to deliuer from death and damna­tion; wherein we lay in the middest of the bondage of sinne; for sinne is the death and damnation of the [...]oule: Now hee cannot saue vs except sinne bee first taken from vs; And therefore, and for this cause came Iesus Christ the Son of God, Ioh. 8. and hee hath declared himselfe to the world to the end that he should take away sinnes, and should destroy the workes of the Diuell. If it bee so that Iesus Christ be come into the world to [Page 43] take away sins; and if the same were his intent and his message, y ^e purpose of Iesus Christ shall not fayle at all and his message remaineth stedfast and true; he then without all doubt, hath taken away this which y ^e Diuell would perswade vs to be a cause of Desperation, this great seruitude and bondage of sinne, from all those that trust in him, and do verily be­leeue, and perswade themselues in the bottome of their consciences that it is most true: but yet how comes this to passe? to wit by Iesus Christ onely by his owne free grace and mercy; by the be­nefitts and merites of himselfe, who is our onely Sauiour, without any other meane or merit; Ioh. 1.29 for he is the only Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. As also S. Peter said to y ^e Iewes, Act. 4 12. There is none other saluation, but onely in Iesus Christ; for among men there is gi­uē none other name vnder heauē wher­by we must be saued. And so Christ him­selfe said after he was risen from y ^e dead. It must needs haue bin, Luk. 24.44. that Christ must haue suffered death & that he must haue risen the third day frō the dead, & that a­mēdmēt of life, & forgiuenes of sins must [Page 44] be preached in his name to all people & to all nations, O ho [...] swe [...]te and com­fortable are these wor [...]s and sayings of God which is the onely eternall truth indeed? O how worthy are they to bée laid v [...] in the depth of our hearts, and to haue our whole confidence reposed freely vp [...]n them! And to the Collossians it is sai [...], Collos. 2 God hath quickened vs which were dead in sins with Iesus Christ, forgi­uing vs all our trespasses, & hath put out the hand-writing that was against vs, he euen took it out of the way, & fastened it on the Crosse. What meaneth he by this, but onely that Iesus Christ hath taken a­way the obligatio [...] of our debt? to wit, that we did owe for our sinnes, and hath taken it & tied it wi h himselfe vpon the Cross [...]; & [...]ath indéed paid it full bitter­ly: w [...]o also is for vs, & will surely take away this grea seruitude & bondage of sin (wh [...]ch the Diuel would vse as an in­strument of Desperation against vs) in case we wil belieue his word, & that we can setle our minds & quiet our hearts, to account & esteeme his bitter passion and merits to bee so great and of such value, that they are able, effectuall, and [Page 45] of sufficient strength, to obtaine these oforesaid thinges for vs. And Christes prayer to his heauenly Father is heard, and remaineth heard continually when he praied, saying, Ioh. 17 20 I pray not for these alōe (meaning his three present Disciples) but for them also which shall belieue in me through their word: Wherefore the same prayer includeth euery one of vs, so farre forth as wee belieue, and place the same in our hearts, and wholy repose our selues thereon.

And S. Peter saith, Iesus Christ hath cō ­manded vs to preach vnto the people, Act. 10.42 43. & to testifie that it is he that is ordayned of God a Iudge of the quick & the dead, & that to him all the Prophets giue witnes, that through his name all that belieue, should receiue remission of sins.

Moreouer, S. Paul saith, 2. Cor. 5.21. God hath made him which knew no sinne, sinne for vs to the end that wee should be made the righteousnes of God in him.

And here is to be noted, What manner of righteousnes God [...] [...]qu­ireth at our hands what righte­ousnes, or Iustice & goodnes that is, which God requireth and esteemeth; which is no other, but that onely which dwelleath and holdeth vppon the Iustice [Page 46] Goodnesse, and merit of Iesus Christ, being vtterly ignorant of the Iustice or Righteousnes and goodnes which many do seeke in their owne good workes.

But yet when I stand so much vpon this point, to prooue that our sinnes should be no cause of Desperation, (a thing which the diuell greatly vrgeth & obiecteth against the conscience of an ig­norant man) for that our sins are taken away by the innocent Lambe Christ Ie­sus, that he hath sufficiently paid the ran­some therof, & that we are become righ­teous, by y ^e righteousnes of Iesus Christ: it is not here my meaning, neither wold I haue any man so to mistake mee, and mis vnderstand me, that I thinke, or would haue any other men to thinke hereby, that there is no more sinne in vs or that sinne dwelleth not in these our mortall bodies: Sin dwel­le [...]h euen in the beleeuers, & in the most righteous men in the world: but yet raigneth not in th [...] [...] for I confesse it plainly, and it is too true, that sinne indeede dwelleth in vs; but yet to the great com­fort of an afflicted conscience against desperation I affirme it (hauing the ho­ly scriptures for my teachers herein) that although the roote of sin, the naughty disposition, and inclination to sinne re­maineth [Page 47] alwaies strong in a Christian, and neuer can be wholy vanquished be­fore we put off by death, this sinfull flesh of ours; although (I say) it doe dwell in vs, yet it doth not raign in any Christiā beleeuer; yet it is not able to damne a true faithfull beleeuer: it cannot (I say) damne vs for as much as we are in Iesus Christ, and that we doe fight and striue against the remanent of sinne, albeit we stagger and wauer sometimes, and doe feele and perceiue our selues to be assay­led somtimes by the strong temptations of the diuell, and the flesh. This is it that S. Paul writeth of when he saith, Rom. 8.1 There is now no damnation to them that are in Christ Iesus, which walke not after the flesh but after the spirit.

The remanent and roote of sin dwel­leth alwaies in vs, but we like vnto li­centious worldlings, giue it not the bri­dle, and suffer it not to range too farre, and to take too deepe a roote, but wee breake it, tame it, and make it subiect vnto vs by walking after the spirit. &c. and then nothing more sure then that there shal be no condemnation at al vnto vs thereby, neither any cause of despe­ration [Page 48] therby, for that we are iustified by our faith and deliuered from sinne; to wit, these sinnes which might condemne vs, the roote, originall, and mother of sinne yet notwithstanding still aby­ding, remayning and dwelling in vs; against which we warre and striue, as long as we continue in this life; but the victory remaineth to our Chieftaine and head-Captaine Iesus Christ, by the law of his spirit which maketh vs to liue in him, and hath set vs free from the right of sin and death (in such sort that wee may no more feare sinne, nor death) by Iesus Christ, who hath ouercome all for our wealth, and hath reconciled vs eternally to his Father; who as our deare Father, from hence-forth will shew fauour vnto vs, for the loue of Iesus Christ his deare Sonne, and so will take from vs all our sinnes as though we had neuer commit­ted them. Euen so doth he promise, say­ing, Mich. 7.18 19. God is one God willing to shew vs grace & mercy, he wil turn to vs & wil be fauourable, & he wil take away our ini­quities, & cast our sinns into the depth of the sea. And again it is said of Gods wō ­derfull mercies, The Lord is full of com­passiō [Page 49] & mercy, Psal. 103.8.9.10. &c long suffering & of great goodnes. He wil not alwaies be chiding, neither keepeth he his anger for euer He hath not delt with vs after our sins, nor rewarded vs according to our iniquities. For look how high the heauen is in com­parison of the earth so great is his mercy also towards them that feare him: Looke how wide also the east is from the west, so far hath he set our sins frō vs. Yea, like as a father pittieth his own children; euen so is the Lord merciful vnto them that feare him: for he knoweth wherof we be made; he remembreth that we are but dust &c.

Of the great mercies of God towards sinners, read more in Psal. 145.8.9. Places of holy Scrip­tures, set­ting forth Gods great mer­cies. and 147.8.10. & in Ioel. 2.13. Math. 18.11. 2. Cor. 1.3. Eph. 2.4. 1. Tim. 1.13. vnto the 18. verse.

Surely these places are words of most rare and singuler comfort, and they be certaine, firme, sure, and vnchangeable spoken and pronounced by the eternall verity it selfe, & therefore not to be mis­trusted or dispaired of. But yet let vs take heed, least that verse be verified in vs, Stulti cum vitant vitia in contraria currunt.

Let vs not abuse Gods mercies, making a cloake thereof to couer our sinnes: Let vs not presume too far, and say as in Ecclesiastic. 5.6. The mercy of God is great, he wil forgiue my manifold sins: for mercy & wrath commeth from him &c.

CHAP. 4

A cata­logue or rehearsall of many thinges whereby the Diuell craftily tempteth men to sin and despe­ration.GReat indeed is the power, & mani­fold & meruailous are the polices, deuices, wiles, subtilties, assaults, and suggestions, wherewith and wherby that wylie Foxe, that old bitten Dogge, that subtle Sathan the Diuell, dayly and hourely practiseth to entice, allure, and euen as it were to force multitudes of men heare on earth, into one sinne or o­ther, wherunto he findeth and proueth [Page 51] them to be naturally inclined; and last of all vpon one occasion or other, into Desperation.

If he espieth a man to be rich, How the diuel tempteth by riches. and to haue worldly blessings through the gift of God, then will he apply him earnestly by his prosperity to lull him asleepe in the forgetfulnesse of God, in worldly Pleasures, pleasant Vanities, & transi­tory delights, comforts, and solaces; and by trusting in his riches to lift vp him­selfe arrogantly aboue others; to swell in pride, and to contemne his brethren, committing (and that with great sawci­nesse and boldnesse) manie fond, palpa­ble, and grosse errors and follies, against Gods word, euen as if hee should say, Who is the Lord?

On the other side if a man be poore, he laboureth therby to make him contemp­tible before the world, How the diuel tempteth by po­uerty. to pinch and nip him with the want of many thinges ne­cessary both for backe and belly, that hee seeth before his face many others haue in great & in aboundant measure; he so­liciteth him to steale, Pro. 30.9 to take the name of God in vaine, to seeke after gaine by vn­honest, vnlawfull, and vngodly meanes; [Page 52] to murmure, distrust, blaspheme, and despayre.

How the Diuell tempteth by friends Gen. 3.6. Iob. 2.9 Ester 5.14If a man haue friends he will vse them as his instruments, to tempt vnto some euill by their lewd and wicked coun­saile, as he did procure Euah to doe vnto Adam, Iob his wife to Iob. Haman his Wife vnto Haman.

How the Diuell tempteth by ene­mies.If thou hast enemies then will he prick thee foreward by their procedings and dealings against thee, vnto vniust chol­ler, wicked anger, and diuelish reuenge.

If thou be carefull for thy family, wife and children, he will take hold vpon that occasiō to stuffe thy heart with too much desire of hauing, How the Diuell tempteth by careful­nes. and getting by right or by wrong, and thereby through extreame couetousnes, make thee to forgoe all godlines and piety.

How the Diuell tempteth by security and care­lesnes.On the other side if thou be careles, that's it that he can make vse of also; for as S. Bernard saith, Infert diabolus secu­ritatē, vt inferat etiam perditionem. &c. In heauē Angels became diuels. In Pa­radise Adam and Euah fel into disobedi­ence. In the schoole of Christ, Iudas be­came a traitor to his Lord & Maister: & al this (saith S. Bern.) through security [Page 53] and retchlesnes, to keepe themselues in that good state wherein they were once set.

Hast thou strength? thereby will hee take occasion to embolden and harden thee to doe iniury and wrong, and to set vpon thy weaker.

Hast thou health and a strong able bo­dy? How the Diuell tempteth by strength by health ablenesse of body & beauty. by those will hee induce and entice thée to one kinde or other of lewdnes and dissolutnes.

Hast thou beauty? that will he make an instrument for bawdry; an inticemēt and an allurement to voluptuousnes & wanton delights.

Hast thou honour and dignity in the world? How the diuel tempteth by ho­nour and dignity. thereby will he blow the bellows of pride, audacity, and boldnesse, to op­presse, to crush, and tread vnder foote thine inferiours.

Hast thou viuacity, How the Diuell tempteth by quick­nes of spi­rit & sharpnes of wit. & quicknes of spi­rit, and sharpenes of wit and learning? these also will he striue to abuse & wrest to serue his turne to excogitate, inuent, and deuise a thousand vanities; yea, & all the rare and excellent guiftes of God, which God doth bestow on any man: this Diuell, this arch-enemy of man­kind [Page 54] will leaue no waies, nor meanes vnattempted, to procure man to abuse the same to a cleane contrary ende (if it were possible) to that for which they were bestowed.

How the diuel tempteth by gods wordAnd finally the very Word of God, gi­uen through Gods great and infinite goodnesse, to be our spirituall Sword, to resist and encounter the Diuell with; which as S. Iames saith, is able to saue the souls of men: which as S. Paul saith, is the power of God to saluation to euery one that beleeueth: which as holy Dau. saith; was a lanterne vnto his feet & a light vn­to his paths. This, euen this, wil the Di­uil so far forth as euer he may, with al y ^e cunning fetches, crafts, & policies that euer he can deuise, How the Diuell will abuse, wrest, and misapl [...] gods word seeke to abuse, wrest, and misapply, from the true meaning sence and signification thereof, to con­firme lies, vntruths and heresies, therby: he will draw some texts and senten­ces, thereof to bring men into presump­tion of their owne Vertues, Worthines and merits to their vtter ouerthrow. And likewise with some other places & sentences thereof, he will bestir himselfe to bring men to wauer in faith, to doubt [Page 55] of Gods graces and mercies through Christ, & so finally to fall into vtter des­peration. And thus doth he dayly abuse and wrest all those places of holy Scrip­tures before noted and alledged in the fourth cause of Desperation, tending to prooue the small number of those that shall be saued, in comparison of the huge and great number of the reprobate.

Those places I say, doth he vrge vpon the consciences of many in the world, & by his misapplying of them, and by his misconstruing of Christs purpose, drift, and meaning therein, draweth and dri­ueth them to feare and to tremble to doubt and despayre, that they are none of that small number, seeing so few shall be saued.

But O thou man that art thus tried, The true vse of those Scriptures which the Diuell see­keth to a­buse, to bring men to despera­tion there­by. tempted, and drawne towards tempta­tion! for thy remedy and helpe herein Search the Scriptures, and consider vp­on those places, to what end and purpose Christ deliuered this doctrine, and thou shalt anon proue and finde, that his meaning was nothing lesse then to driue men into dispayre, but rather hereby to exhort, perswade, and to giue caueats, [Page 56] and warning peeces vnto all men that run at randome after the world, to re­member them selus, and their dangers, and tickle states; to awake & rouse them vp that are so fast lulled a sleepe in the dangerous cradle of security, and retch­lesnesse, that so they might be touched, mooued and stirred vp to embrace in time when time serues, a farre more di­ligent and watchfull care of their salua­tion, that by such meanes they may bee found in the number of Christs litle flock and of those few that shal be saued; whō the Apostle Paul exhorteth to make an end of their saluation with feare & trem­bling: Phi. 2.1. by which they might be made more carefull and more diligent in that theire so waighty a busines.

CHAP. 5

MOst true, most notable, and most comfortable for the distressed & af­flicted children of God, Ro. 8.22. is that golden sentence of the holy Ghost, penned by his chosen vessell S Paul, Rom. 8.28. All things work together for the best, to thē that loue God. For euen the afflictions & troubles of Gods children are so sancti­fied vnto them by the spirit, He. 12.10 that by the same they are made pertakers of Gods holines. Heb. 12.14 1 The. 1.6 By the same they enioy the qui­et frut of Righteousnesse. By the same they attaine vnto a greater measure of Ioy in the holy Ghost. Gal. 6, 14 1, Cor, 11 32, By the same the world is crusified to them, and they to the world. By the same they are made, conformable to Christs death, By the same they are kept from the condemna­tion of the wourld. Rom, 5, 5, By the same they learne experience, patience, hope &c. The com­forts and commodi­ties of the crosses and afflictions to Gods children.

So that these things rightly pondred weighed, and considered, their Crosses are mercies, their losses gaines, ther af­flictions are their schoolings, and their aduersity their learned Vniuersity. A­uoide thou Sathan, thou canst not make these afflictōs, crosses and trubles nei­ther good nor likely causes of Despe­ration, [Page 58] so they be taken, borne and vsed as they ought to bee, for it is written for the learning, comfort, helpe, and remedie of all Gods afflicted children, whome thou wouldest full gladly per­swade, that their afflictions are signes & prognosticating tokens of Gods wrath; and so consequently if thou couldst, thou wouldst draw them therby to despaire of Gods loue & mercy. Pro. 2.12. It is written I say; That the Lord correcteth him whom he loueth, euē as the father doth the child in whom he delighteth. And againe, My son, He. 12.5 6 7.8.9. &c. despise not the chastning of the Lord neither faint when thou art rebuked of him, for whom the Lord loueth he chaste­neth; & he scourgeth euery son that he re­ceiueth. If ye indure chastning, God offe­reth himselfe vnto you, as vnto sons; for what son is it whō the father chasteneth not? If therfore ye be without correction, whereof al are pertakers, thē are ye bast­ards & not sons, & so forth vnto the 12 .v. These & many other such like sayinges & sentences of the holy scriptures, are most euidēt testimonies, that afflictions, trou­bles, crosses, and vexations, are sure to­kens of Gods grace, mercy, and fauour, [Page 59] wherby God assureth vs of his merciful will and fatherly good heart towards vs and not signes of his wrath & heauy dis­pleasure, as the diuell would perswade vs, thereby to cause vs to dispaire.

God indeed oftentimes sendeth euilles euen vpon his owne beloued children; Why God sendeth e­uils to his children & how he sendeth comforts in the mid­dest of e­uils. but yet to the intent to doe them good thereby: and withall in the middest of those euils which he toucheth them with hee sendeh them some comforts to hold their hearts with. Examples hereof you may see in Adam and Euah, for whē for their disobedience God would banish them out of that most pleasant place in all the world, wherein at the first he had placed them, yet in the middest of that punishment which he had laid vppon them, his fatherly kindnesse shewed it selfe; for before he droue them out, hee made them coates to arme them against all weather, and he comforted them with a promise of y ^e blessed seed (Iesus Christ) which should restore that saluation to mankind which they had lost by yéelding to the Serpents entisings. Gen. 3.12

This was, and this is, the most kind & louing dealing of God with man, he wil [Page 60] make vs to smart a little for our sinnes: here is his iustice; but yet so that he will not vtterly forsake vs, nor giue vs ouer for euer: here is his mercy. Auoid ther­fore Sathan, once I say againe auoide; cease to suggest or to ingest into any mans heart that he should think because that God doth crosse & afflict him, that therefore he doth hate, forsake, and vtter­ly casteth of those with whom he so dea­leth: for this is most true, that as Christ Iesus hath taught vs to call vpon him by the name of a Father, saying, Our father which art in heauen &. so he loues vs as a Father, for his sake: and againe hee will be more mindfull of vs, then our owne Mothers; for why? himselfe hath so taught vs, and so promised, as appea­reth in Esa. 49.

How God loueth and dealeth with his children.Examine and consider but a little the procéedings and dealings of Mothers and Fathers with their children, & ther­by shall you see and perceiue more clearely, how God handles his children vnder their afflictions, troubles, and crosses.

It is the fashion & manner of a good kind and naturall Father, that faine [Page 61] would see good proofe of his child, first to instruct and teach him in the vertuous course and waies of wel-doing: Second­ly to giue him oftentimes warning and monition, to keepe him in that good way which he hath taught him: Thirdly if words will not serue, then to ierke him now and then with the rodde: Fourthly, in case his child being now growne vp, waxe stubborne, malapart, and disobedient, if he will needes spend his thrift wantonly, prodigally and ryo­tously in ill company, then comes his Father & drawes him out by the eares and with a whip or cudgell, beates him till his bones cracke.

All this he doth, & yet with a fatherly loue, and a naturall kind affection, to feare him, and to tame him; and as it were with violence, to bring him to a­mendment not minding to forsake him, nor vtterly to cast him off for euer.

Euen such as this is the dealing of our heauenly Father, with his vntowardly, stubborne, and disobedient children: For, first he teacheth and instructeth them by the Ministers, Teachers, and Preachers of his holy word and will: [Page 62] he giueth them often monitions & war­ning to walke in his waies, Gods rods of what sort they are. and to liue in his obedience; which if they despise and will not follow, then he vseth his rods, as pouerty, sicknes, diseases, cros­ses in their children, in their stocke, in their crop, and such like: and when this will not serue, nor doe any good, but stil on they waxe obstinate and stubborne, and care not neither for words nor war­ning, for stripes nor gentle correction; then God sendeth vpon them more hea­uy & grieuous punishments, as plagues, pestilēces, dearth, casualties of fire, wars losse of victory, fire and sword, captiuity, and other such like great & almost intol­lerable mischiefs: and all these to worke in them acknowledging of God, hūbling thēselues vnder the mighty hand of God sorrowfulnes of hart for their negligence in seruing of God, What God seeketh to worke by dealing hardly with his children. and true vnfained re­pentance, and turning againe vnto God, who then is as ready to receiue them as euer he was before, and with mercy and louing kind benefites to blesse them: Examples hereof holy scriptures afforde vs not a few, but especially in y ^e gouern­ment of Gods chosen people the Isralites, [Page 63] wherein it doth plainly appeare, that al­though God did oftentimes punish the disobedience & falling away of those his people; yet it euer prooued nothing els, but the displeasure of a kinde and louing father, which sought not their vtter o­uerthrow, but rather their reformation and amendment. Let vs therefore in the like cases, not despayre of Gods mercy, but amend our former wicked course of life & yeeld our selues patiently vnto our heauenly father, & reioyce in him, in the middest of our troubles & afflictions, for as much as there is nothing more sure thē that if we returne to him, but he wil likewise turn again vnto vs with a gra­cious & fatherly mind, heart, & good will.

In this behalfe also is God compared and likened vnto a kind louing mother; Gods af­fection to his Chil­dren like vnto a kind lo­uing mo­thers affe­ction. for like as a natural mother is very care­full, watchfull & diligent about her child, she trimmeth it, she dresseth it, feedeth it, nourisheth it, praieth to God heartily for it and doth all the good she can for it with a most louing, tender, & motherly affecti­on; & yet now and then she is so disqui­eted in hir mind, so mooued and prouo­ked by her childs peltishnes, frowardnes [Page 64] and vnrulines, that she is euen against her owne nature, forced to bee angrye with it to chide it, and sometimes to beat it: Euen so like vnto this motherly dealing, is the properly and naturall af­fection of God towards Mankind, who as he would not the death of a sinner, so neither delighteth he in any manner of griefe, sorrow trouble or misfortune of man, were he not sometimes stirred vp, moued, and prouoked, through our fro­wardnes, vnthankfulnes & vnkindnes, to chasten & correct vs, and like as a mo­ther though she bee angry and offended with her c [...]ild for a time, yet her displea­sure soone passeth away she giueth it not ouer, she forsaketh it not, she forgetteth it not for euer. Euen after the like fashi­on doth God our heauenly father deale with man: nay more mindful, more kind and more pittifull is God towards vs▪ This is most true, the mouth of God himselfe hath spoken it; for those are hi [...] words. Can a woman forget her own [...] child & not haue compassiō on the son o [...] her womb? Esa. 49.15 though she should forget, yet will not I forget thee. And finally (to draw to an end of this cōparison) eue [...] [Page 65] as a Mother when her child is impish, peeuish, and wayward, menaceth and threateneth it to throw it away to a Beg­ger, & s [...]arreth it with some bugs, throsts Hobgoblins, or such like, and all to make it quiet, and to cling the more vnto her: so likewise our good Father, when he se­eth that we forget him make smaller re­koning of him then becomes vs, & waxe vnthankfull & vntowardly to al goodnes declining and hasting on apace to follow all sin and iniquity; then he sometimes sheweth vs t [...]e terrible faces of feare­full troubles and dangers, and he will bring vs into great perrils: yea, and for our vnthankfulnes, and other such like offences, he will now & then take away by one meanes or [...]ther, our health, our wealth, our peace, our liberty, our safety, &c.

And all this doth hee to cause vs to turne backe againe vnto him, to cleaue and cling the faster vnto him, to pray & call vpon him the more faithfully, hear­tely and zealously for his help & deliue­rance, to esteem better of his gifts, when we enioy them, and to be more thanke­full for them when we haue them.

So that the very causes of all trou­bles, crosses, and calamities are not to worke in vs murmuring & grudging, & despayre, but if we wil weigh them & cō ­sider them throughly, to make good vse of them, they may turne to our great profit and benefit, and not to our hurt: For like as a naturall Father & mother doe, so doth God loue vs when he smi­teth vs; he fauoureth vs, whē he seemeth to be most against vs; when hee seemeth to be most angry, hee aimeth most at our good, for as S. August. saith, Melius nouit medicus quid expediat quam aegrotus, The sicke man the patient, neuer know­eth so well what is good for him as doth y ^e Phisition. God dea­leth with his ch [...]l­dren as Phisitions and Surgi­ons doe with their Patients. And therfore the Physitions & Surgions whē they sée no other reme­dy for y ^e recouery, curing, & amending of their sick, corrupted, & infected patients, vse to minister vnto them tart, bitter, harsh, and vnpleasant things, & to feare, burne, and cut away corrupted, rotten, & dead flesh with sawes, yron, and other such like instruments, and all to saue & cherish the sound and whole parts, Ne par [...] sincera trahatur, least that which is whole, should by the other be corrupted, [Page 67] infected and poysoned; euen so doth God sometimes (when he sees tis best for vs) plague our bodies sharply and grieuous­ly, that our soule may be preferued and saued. The Phisition in compounding of his best Triacle, vseth Serpents, Ad­ders and other poysoned thinges, that w ^t the same he may driue out one poyson w ^t an other: How God vseth som­times the seruice of Diuells & wicked men. Euen so God (as by Histories plentifully in Gods Booke it appeares) vseth the ministery helpe, and seruice of Diuels, and of most diuelish & wicked men, by them to afflict and chastice vs, and yet to doe vs good withall; & after­wards burneth the roddes when he hath corrected and beaten his children with them a while. It is not giuē to euery mā (I must needes confesse) to vnderstand this, and to make this good vse of af­flictions, crosses, and troubles laid vpon them for their sins sake; for then should Pharaoh and many of his wicked cour­tiers like himselfe; then should Cain, The wick­ed are not bettered by [...]heir troubles & afflictions. Saul Iudas Iscariot, & many other vile, leaud, and desperate persons beside, in their manifold crosses, troubles, and aduer­sities, haue turned vnto the Lord and beene saued.

But we must learne and know, that ad­uersities, Whence it commeth that afflic­tions and crosses profit Gods chil­dren. troubles, & afflictions, of them­selues and of their owne proper nature, cannot worke and bring such profits, & so much good vnto men: But it is the spirit of God, which resting in Gods faithfull children, purgeth, reformeth, comforteth, and strengtheneth them, & by these outward meanes worketh all these good thinges in vs: And so whatso­euer goodnes hath bene spoken of here­tofore to befall men by meanes of aduer­sities, crosses, and troubles, is to be vn­derstood onely of the faithfull and god­ly, which are taught and led by the spi­rit of God, to consider rightly of them, & to make such vse of them, that accor­ding as in the beginning of this Chap­ter it is truely said, to thē that loue God all thinges worke togither for the best. Rom. 8.28

Whereas on the other side, in the vn­faithfull, The con­ceites and opinions of the wicked in thie [...] aduersities and toubles. vnrepentant, and wicked ones, they worke after another fashion, & are of cleane contrary operation, whiles that they ascribe their aduersities and troubles, either to blind Fortune and Chance; as though Fortune had a cer­taine power to worke, without the [Page 69] working and prouidence of God; or els, vnto them that are not of their own sect, faith, and religion, as did wicked A­hab to godly Elias, or to y ^e Magistrates, 4. Kin. 18 or to the Ministers of Gods word, or to Faith and religion it selfe, or to the Pla­nets, Starres, & influences of the Ele­ments; yea, and some wil I blame God himselfe, as though they themselues were so innocent and blamelesse, that God deales not well with them to lay vpon them such crosses & punishments: and so very busie they make themselues, to shift off all blame euer to others faults.

And although their sinnes be multi­plied to exceeding multitudes of offen­ces, yet they will not sée nor confesse any such thinges in themselues, nor any thing consider, nor regard the punish­ments of God laied vpon them, and cleauing vnto them for the same. But through their hardnesse of heart, and want of faith (which is the mother of all blasphemy, and abhomination) they can not spy whose hand it is that is against them, nor wherefore; or els beeing euen as it were violently forced to know it, [Page 70] that it is, the working of y ^e Lord against them, and his vengeance in heauy dis­pleasure vpon them; yet they will not be mooued thereby, nor any thing at all stirred vp to amend their liues, but like vnto King Pharaoh the more God cor­recteth them, the more obstinate they swarue, decline, and flie away, from him being like vnto gracelesse children, with whom neither words, threatninges, nor beating, can preuaile. Like vnto them y ^t will neither daunce with the piper, nor lament with the mourner: Mat. 11.17 Luk. 7.31.32. and so farre off are they from being recouered, won, and reformed by meanes of any crosses, afflictions, and troubles lighting on thē; an [...] following them euer as the shadow doth the body; that they will sooner burst out into al maner of impatientnes bitternes, and spightfull poysonful ray­ling and blaspheming words against the righteousnes of God, saying, That their punishment is greater then their sinnes, and heauier then they can brooke or beare: and that they are wronged, and are not indifferently dealt with, & so at the length after heaping one sinne in the necke of an other, the Diuel brings them [Page 63] on, The ends that the diuell brings the wicked vnto by their afflic­tions, trou­bles, and crossss. and by little and little winds them into that he gapes for, namely into a re­probate mind, and deadly Desperation, in so much that at the last they fall too, and yeelde to murthering, hanging, drowning, o by other such meanes most miserably, to dispatch themselues with their own hands, like vnto Saul, Achito­phel & Iudas, so giuing thēmselues ouer to the Diuell; and as they liued for a while most wretchedly, so they depart out of the world as diuelishly, forgeting vtterly, and al-together inconsiderate, retchlesse, & carlesse what shall become of them afterwards for euer. By whose liues, Two com­modities to be rea­ped by the liues and manner of the deaths of the wic­ked. and manner of deaths the children of God may yet reap two commodities: first, they shal be eased of the great trou­bles, disturbance, and discommodities, & of the leaud and euill examples which they gaue to others whiles they liued. And secondly, they which remaine a liue after them, may learn and take warning by their shamfull falls, and by their ter­rible examples, & desperate deaths, lay hould on repentance and amendment of their liues before it be too late.

CHAP. 6.

The great danger of custome of sinn [...], & of delaying of amend­ment of life.IT is written, that the continuall and long cu to [...]e of sinne, and the delay­ing and putting off from time to time of the amendment of life, is one of the greatest and most dangerous deceites & cunning stratagems and pollicies which the enemy of mankind doth vse towards the children of Adam: for hee is not ig­norant how that like as links in a chaine one catcheth hold and hangeth by ano­ther, and one draweth another: Euen so by continuance, long custome, and se­cure sleeping in sinne, one sinne draw­eth on another, and so euery day sinne is added to sinne, so that by toleration and procrastination, sin so mightily increa­seth, and by this meanes waxeth so headstrong, that in the end, the saying of the Poet proueth very true; to wit,

Qui non est hod [...]e, A comparison she­wing the d [...]nger f [...]ong [...]us­tome and w [...]ltring in [...]inns. cras minus aptus erit He that is not ready to day (to forgoe & forsake sinne) to morrow-day shall he be more vnfit. The Diuell knoweth wel e­nough, how that like as old festred and long growne sores and diseases of the body are farre more dangerous, more troublesome, and harder to be healed, & require a longer time by much to be cu­red, then if they had beene looked to at the first: Euen so the diseases of the soule as swearing, theeuing, whoring, drunk­ennesse, & such like, being once long ac­customed, setled, and hauing gotten an habit, are either neuer, or seldome, and that with greater difficulty afterwardes rooted out, then at the first beginning they might haue bene.

And so by these diseases of the soule, the habit thereof hauing once taken root in man, and the Diuell by them hauing gotten the surer hold and possession, he endeauoureth and most diligently by all w [...]ies and meanes applieth to keep men still on in vre, and practise w [...]th old and long accustomed sinnes, vntill at the length in extreamity of sicknes towards the hower of death (if not before) he may [Page 74] by such causes and occasions plant and worke in the heart of man deep despaire to his vtter confusion for euer.

To resist therefore, to remedy and helpe this canker-like creeping & infecti­ous euill, let vs to day while it is yet to day, study to turn againe vnto God, cast out the Diuell, and with him this great cause and occasion of desperation, euen long custome of sinne, and delay of a­mendment of our liues, the thing that so hangeth on, and presseth vs downe, & let vs in time while we haue time take a better course, looking vp vnto Iesus Christ, and set him before the eyes of our fayth, as y ^e onely marke to shoote at. And for as much as we can not turne again to the Lord, & forsake our former wallow­ing in our former long accustomed sins, except the Lord our God reach vs his helping hand to turne vs vnto him; and that repentance is not in our own power to take it vp & lay it downe at our owne pleasure, Whence repentance & amend­ment of life are to be had, & how they are to be come by [...] and that of our selues wée can not put it into our hearts when we list, exceept it first come from aboue; for that it is an excellent and a rare gift of God: Let vs earnestly and heartily with our [Page 75] humble & feruent praiers beg the same at Gods hands: Let vs practise much & often hearing, reading, & meditating the word of God and with care vse all ordi­nary meanes for the better, and speedy attaining of it, for it is not so easie a mat­ter to come by, as the world thinketh it: It is not an howers worke when we lie on our death-beds that will serue the turne: It is not, Many are & may be deceaued in the mā ­ner & time of their re­pentance. Cry God mercy a little for fashion sake, that will doe it: It is not a coursing or mumbling vp of a few prai­ers at a mans last farewel, y ^e wil auaile: And yet if we were sure that that would serue, yet we are very vn-sure, whether we shall haue time, leasure, and remem­brance at our last gaspe, to do that yea or no: to trust to doe it at our last houre, is but a broken staffe to be trusted vnto, And yet it is not so vncertaine, but on the other side it is as certaine, that then we shall haue many byasses, Note this you that deferre re­pentance vntill your last end. many rubs and stoppes, many impediments to lie in our waies, and to hinder our course in going foreward at that time with last gasping repentance, which many fond and foolish men relye so much vppon, [...] [...]st so much vnto, passing away [Page 76] their dayes, & carelesly neglecting good opportunity when time serueth, like vn­to those fiue foolish Virgins that made no preparation aforehand to be in a rea­dines to enter in with the Bridegroom, till it was too late: this is I say, a very broken staffe to trust vnto, & a thing ve­ry doubtfull, and vncertaine to depend vpon, or to make any reconing of, for a man to repent and cry God mercy, and make himselfe fit and ready for God at his last houre, because that very many in all ages and in all places haue been and are taken away oftentimes with a sud­daine death, & haue neither that houres nor halfe houres leasure that they before spake of, and trusted so much vnto.

Lu. 17.27. examples shewing that it is dangerous trusting to the last hower. Gen. 19.23-When the World was eating & drin­king, planting and building: when they were most secure and carelesse, then sud­denly came the flood, and ouerwhelmed them al. Though it were a faire morning at Lo [...]s going out of Sodome, yet by and by when they least thought of any such matter, they were all suddainly destroy­ed. When Nabuchadnezzar was most brag and thought himselfe most safe and sure, Dan. 4.12. suddenly (neuer dreaming nor once [Page 77] suspecting any such things) was he pul­led on his knées. The Rich man thought himselfe neuer more like to haue liued, Luk. 12.20 Acts 5 are two nota­ble exam­ples of sud­daine and vnproui­ded death in Anania [...] and his wife. then when he so busily made such great prouision, and laid vp store for many yeares: yet was his soule sodainly taken from him the very same night. And what knowest thou O man! that trustest so much, and puttest off till the last day & houre, whether that day and houre may not come as suddainely on thee, and as vnlooked for, as it did on any of these?

Augustine and Ambrose did write one of them to the other, what his opinion was, concerning the state of an old A­dulterer which in their time, as hee was going in the night time to his Whore, passing ouer a Bridge in his way, fell in­to the Riuer; and so being drowned, was taken away suddainely in the very pur­pose of his wickednesse, hauing nei­their houre, halfe houre, nor minute, to cry God mercy, to repent, and to pray in.

Ioannes Riuius, a learned writer, Lib. 1. de stultitia mortas [...]um in procra­stinanda. & of good credit, affirmed that in his time, & in a village of his country, two old men lying with their Whores whom they [Page 78] had aforetime haunted, Correctio­ne vitae. in one and the selfe same night dyed, sodainly taken as it were with the manner: hauing like­wise neither houre nor halfe houre to prepare themselues in: for the one was sodainely stabbed to death, the other was taken with a sodaine Apoplexie, wher­of he presently gaue vp the Ghost.

And what knoweth any of vs all, or what greater priuilege hath any of vs all but that we may be sodainely yreuented & caried away in the middest of our sins as these were? And whether we haue not the like examples of such hastye deaths heere in England, whereby many of vs haue bin disappointed of these two or three houres at their last end, to make vs ready in, I report mee to the deaths of Earle Godwin, & Grimwood of Hitch­am? Earle Godwin his so­daine and fearefull death. wherof the Earle after he had tray­terously slaine the brother of King Ed. the third, being charged afterwards by the King therwith at Windsor (where he happened to sit at table with the King) he falsly denied the fact, and for his better excuse, he falsly forswore it; and besides all this, hee moreouer tooke a piece of bread and put it into his mouth, wished [Page 79] that hee might be choaked thereof, if hée were guilty of his blood, and it fol­lowed indeed according to his desire: for hee being choaked therewith, yéelded vp his Ghost, and fell down dead in the presence and sight of all at the Table, & from thence was had to Winchester to be buried. Grim­wood, his sodain and fearfull death. And likewise the said Grim­wood of Hitcham in the County of Suf­folke, knowne to be a wilfull fursworne man, in the haruest time next after his periury, feeling of no pain, complayning of no disease, being strong and able to la­bour, as he was stacking vp corn, sodain­ly his bowels fel out of his body, wherof immediatly he died most miserably.

But what need I to stand bestowing time, paper, and inke, troubling both my selfe & future Readers, in setting downe the manner of the sodain deaths of many men, seeing that both holy and prophane writers, & dayly experience it selfe, may fully fraught, store, and furnish vs with infinite examples of this sort? And what charter, priuiledge, or certain hold of life hath any of vs all, more then these heere before recited, or thousands of others in the like case haue had?

O let vs not presume therefore to run on headlong in the long and hardened custome of our sinnes! not to delay and put off the reforming of our wicked liues vntil the last houre: And although we be not stricken with suddain death, but haue both certaine dayes and houres before our death, yet (as I before said) full ma­ny are the stops, lets, and impediments which both may, and also dayly doe fall out to hinder and put by this late repen­tance; A cata­logue of lets & im­p [...]diments which of­tentimes fall out when wee come to the last houre, that hinder and put by [...]h [...]t l te rep [...]n­tance, wh ch so ma [...]y trust vnto. that so many will needs trust vn­to, and make all their reckoning of, put­ting of from day to day, and from yeare to yeare, till this last time approach and fall on them indeed: For so long as the extreamities of sicknes do nip and pinch our mortall bodies, the dolours, pangs, & pains racking & tormenting our flesh, will keepe our mindes so occupied, som­time calling on the Phisition for helpe, sometime turning, tossing, and seeking for ease in euery corner of the bed; yea, & from bed to bed, while strength doth serue sometimes taking this receipt, and sometimes that, as the Phisitions shall minister: somet [...]mes turmoyled and oc­cupied both in minde and body by the [Page 81] working and purging of the Apotheca­ries drugs receiued, sometimes disquiet and brawling with those that are atten­ding about vs, crying out on them, as though their vsing and handling of vs weare the occasion of our greater pangs and paines: with these and such like cer­cumstances, are both bodies and minds exercised and vexed, so long as the vi­gour and strength of flesh and blood are able to indure and hold out, and so busi­ed here-with continually, that wee sel­dome haue any rest or leasure to frame our selues to any quiet calling on God; to any repentance, or vnfaigned and ze­lous, crying for mercy: for if we some­times endeauour our selues to begin to go about it, yet behold one thing or other soone striketh all out of minde, & disturbs vs so, that neuer a whit the better: but if after the powers & sences of our bodies be once worn and weakned, and the fee­ling of the extreame dolours and panges of the sicknes be mittigated, whereby the body after a time of wrestling and wearying of it selfe, is now some-what quieted, and so the mind more setled, w [...] then begin againe to take better hold, [Page 82] yet still on either the care of children & wife for want of sufficient prouision for them, or griefe to depart from them, or the remembrance of lands, goods, houses & possessions, & other worldly treasures: the loue, liking & delights whereof haue possessed our hearts all our life time be­fore, will now so afresh enter & trouble our heads & minds, that yet time serues not for to continue any such godly and christian exercises as wee in health-time when wee should haue done it, made no accompt of, and deferred vntill the last houre. The effect of choller in time of extreame sicknes. Sometimes are we troubled and diseased with melancholly and frenzies, choller shooting vp into our braines, & with such crampes & convulsions caused by much euacuation, & such abundance of choller in our veines, that hereof, fol­lowes the naturall effects, rauings, blas­phemings, vnsensible talking, wrything of the lips, strange and vn-accustomed wresting and turning of the neck, buck­ling of the ioynts and whole body; yea & often-times such extraordinary strength that three or foure men cannot hold vs nor rule vs without bonds. With these and such like strange effects, are many [Page 83] men depriued not onely of the right vse of the parts of their bodies, but also of their reason and right wits, & last of all of life it selfe. Are not heere then lets e­now from the performance of that a­mendment of life, and crying God mer­cy, which we put off in our life time?

Put case that we be neither cut off with sodaine death, nor annoyed at our last end with any of these aforesaid lets and impediments of strange diseases and ex­traordinary effects thereof, nor with any other such like noysome & troublesome circumstances or sicknesses, but that we haue time, leasure, and quietnesse to doe all such things as any of vs all trusted vnto at our last farewel with the world? The diuell will bee most busie to hinder repen­tance at our last houre. yet will that deadly enemy, that mortall aduersary of ours Sathan the Diuell, at y ^e time aboue all other, apply himselfe; & let vs looke for no other, but what vile sinne we haue committed and delighted [...]n all our life time, that wil he lay to our [...]harge, and clogge our consciences with, & to bring vs into desperation with and [...]y them, he will put vs in minde, & ter­ [...]ifie vs with Gods seuere threatnings against sinne. He will obiect against vs [Page 84] that saying of our Lord Christ, Math. 19. that if we would haue entred into life, we should haue kept his Commandements. Math. 7. He wil tel vs that not he y ^t saith Lord Lord, but he that doth the wil of the father of hea­uen, shall enter into the Kingdome of God. He will put vs in mind that, Not the hearers of the Law, but the doers shal be iustified. Rom. 2. Rom. 8. He wil threaten vs that because we haue liued according to the flesh, we shall die. He wil crack vs that the vnrighteous shall not inherite the kingdom of God: & that neither Forni­cators, nor Idolaters, nor Adulterers nor Wātons, 1. Cor. 6.9.10. nor Buggerers nor theeues, nor the Couetous nor Drūkards not Railers, nor Extortioners, shal inherit the king­dome of God.

And that such as haue liued according to the works of the flesh, which are re­peated vp Gal. 5. shall not attaine to the kingdome of God. 1. Cor. 5. Ier. 2. And that we must be presented before the iudgement seat of Christ and euery man receiue particular­ly according as he hath done in this life good or euill: Apoca. 20 2. Pet. 2. euery man shal receiue ac­cording to his works: and that God spa­red not the Angels when they sinned: 1 P [...]. 4. & [Page 85] if the iust shall scarce be saued, where shal the wicked man and sinner appeare.

When all these, & a great deale more, describing & setting forth vnto vs the ri­gor of Gods seuere iustice, & the reckon­ing wherevnto we shal be called, shal be put into our minds on our death-beds; & that damned Sathan which all the daies of our liues before laboured to make vs careles & negligent of the knowledge, or consideration of any of these things, that so he might make vs the more boldly & blindly to run headlong into sinne, shall charge vs with this, and much more like stuffe, appealing to our owne con­sciences for witnes heereof, and so heer­vppon plant in our hearts déepe Despe­ration: Alas in what case shall our poore soules then stand? Would a man then for a thousand worlds, and all the profits and pleasures thereof be brought to such a quandary?

O thou therefore that readest or hea­rest this damnable and miserable state that silly soules may be implunged into, for the better auoyding of these perills, read and read againe, meditate, ponder, and put in practise the direction, aduice, [Page 86] and counsell in the beginning of this present sixt Chapter.

And take this lesson of Ioseph of Ari­mathia, The ex­ample of Ioseph of Arimathia most wor­thy to be imitated. that like as hee in his life time had made a ready Sepulcre in the midst of his Garden, which was the place of his pleasure (as all Gardens of great men most commonly are) euen so thou in the midst of these thinges wherein thou takest thy greatest felicity and delight, remember yet thy graue, and what one day (thou knowest not how soone) shall become of thy poore soule, & afterward of thy soule and body for euer.

The vse & custome of he E­gyptians.Remember and learne likewise at the Egiptians, who perceiuing the mindful­nes of death to be a good helpe to bridle their euill actions, vsed to bring a Pic­ture or Image resembling death, into their great and sollemne Feasts; which fearefull and vgly sight, trembling and shaking, they tooke to bee a speciall occa­sion to keepe the beholders in sobriety, by the remembrance of their end, The nota­ble & im­m [...]a [...]e example of [...]ing Ezechi [...]s. which they must all come vnto sooner or later.

And finally, learne at the good king E­zechias, when thou shalt be by any occa­sion put in remembrance of death, [Page 87] be affraid of Gods threatning, & sorrow a little before hand, least thou bee con­strained to sorrow, howle, and cry re­medilesse alwayes afterwards; for ac­cording to the old saying, Ecclesiast. 7.40. Qui ante non cauebit post dolebit, he that wil not be­ware before shall afterward bee sorrye, & he that in all his doings remembreth the end, shal neuer lightly do amisse. The which wise remembrance of our endes, he vouchsafe to plant in our hearts, who hath full dearely bought vs, Iesus Christ the righteous, to whom with his, and our heauenly father, and the holy spirit three persons; and one eternall maiesty of God-head, all worthy glory, ho­nour, and praise, be worthi­ly attributed, for euer and euer Amen.

CHAP. 7

FOr as much as it is a thing manifest­ly to be proued by holy Scriptures, that a man indued with true faith it selfe may not withstanding now and then be troubled and assaulted with motions of doubtings wauering; yea and of despai­ring: therefore for the bridling, sup­pressing and ouercomming of these as­saults, it shall be good to put in practise these fiue things especially.

First, we are to thinke and consider thus much, The first preserua­tiue a­gainst De­spaire. that as not to murther, not to steale, not to commit adultery, and all the rest of the Decalogue or ten Com­mandements, are the Commande­ments of God, and we are carefull, and striue with our selues that we should not breake any of thē; least that in brea­king any of them, wee should so highly offend God, that he would therefore [Page 89] power downe vpon vs his heauy wrath and in his indignation seuerely punish vs as by many examples we see he hath done to others in the like offences: So also it is Gods commandement as well as any of the others are, 1 Iohn 3.23. That wee be­leeue in the name of his son Iesus Christ: and therefore we must thinke we offend against God as grieuously, or rather far more grieuously in violating and brea­king this Commandement by incredu­lity, doubting, wauering and despairing as if we should shed mans blood, commit whordome, theft, periury, or any other such like notorious sinne.

O what a hainous sinne must it needs be to cast no doubtes, nor dispaire in the helpe of a mortall man in the time of neede: and yet to mistrust and despaire of the like in God? As for example, wee can settle our hearts to beleeue in our mortall fathers if wee stand in neede of meat, drinke or clothes, An exam­ple that many men put more trust in mortall man then in God. wee then call on them, and if they promise vs any such thinges, we can set our hearts at ease, & count it as a thing done; we doubt no thing of their good will towards vs nor of the performance, of their word vnto [Page 90] vs, we depend vpon them, we relye on­ly on them & none other, and what they giue their word to do for vs, wee make as sure reckoning of it, as if it were al­ready in our hands.

Another example shewing that many men put more trust in mortall man then in God.Againe, if wee stand in néed of a piece of money as of x. l xx. l. xxx. l. or be it more or lesse, to discharge some dange­rous bond, or for any such like vse by a set day, or to saue our bodies out of pri­son; & in the meane time, before the day appointed come, some one of our honest rich neighbors, that is counted an honest substantiall man, & of good credit, pro­mise vs certainely so much mony as we want, and stand in need of to serue our turne with, & bids vs trust vnto it that before that day hee will be sure to helpe; we heerevpon trust his honest promise, we beleeue his word, & make as sure ac­count of it as if we had it already in our purses, and take no more thought nor care for it. O how much more should we trust Gods most faithfull, iust, and true word and promise; beleeue him without all distrust, doubting, or dispaire, & de­pend vpon him who is a thousand times more able and more willing to doe vs [Page 91] good, and to keepe touch with vs, then euer was, to euer shall bee any mortall earthly father or friendly neighbour?

The second thing in this case to bee considered of, is that euery one of vs, The se­cond ge­nerall help against desperati­on. is particularly to beleeue that hee is in the number of thē that shall be saued, by the merits of Christs death and passion: for the promises of saluation in Christ are indefinite, excluding no particular man, as for example, God so loued the world, Ioh. 3.16. that he gaue his only begottē son, to the end that all that beleeue in him should not perish but haue life euerlasting. In w ^t generall words is included euery par­ticular beléeuing persō, although he haue not his name seuerally & particularly set down: & here God excludeth none from his promise vnles through their vnbe­leefe & despaire they exclude their owne selues. If the King of Great Brittaine of his owne méere mercy & motion of com­passion, or at the sute and mediation of some Noble-man or other that is deare vnto him, should freely pardon and for­giue all the malefactors and prisoners of any Gaile, within his kingdoms, may we not account them very fond & foolish [Page 92] men, and not worthy the benifit of the Kings gratious Pardon, if some two or three should doubt and despaire that this generall Pardon appertaineth not vnto them, because their owne particular and seuerall names were not therein specifi­ed and expressed? Euen thus is our case.

Let not therfore any illusion of Sathan nor feare of our owne vnworthines, nor want of our particular names, nor any other argument or reason whatsoeuer, withdraw vs from challēging our own portions and parts of Gods most mer­cifull promises, of his free pardon, and remission of our sins: Let vs not doubt nor distrust the performance and truth of Gods promisses.

Thirdly, to comfort our selues, and to suppresse Satans temptations to despai­ring, The third generall helpe a­gainst des­peration. we may further meditate and pon­der with our selues these two poynts es­pecially: First that séeing the Lord hath promised to forgiue vs our sinnes; and to put all our wickednes out of his remē ­brance (as by plaine and most manifest euidence of holy scriptures it may easily be proued) then it standeth with his iust­ice [Page 93] and truth, to performe the same, and that vpon such a necessity, that hee must either forgiue vs our offences according to his own worde, or els we must count him vnfaithfull for the breach of his pro­mises; or els, (which were horrible to thinke) iudge him an hippocrite or a dis­sembler, if he should pretend one thing, and intend another; or at the least-wise vnconstant in altering & changing that which hee hath spoken with his owne mouth, & so to be thought (which is mon­strous) to be vniust: for the second point we may consider likewise to our comfort and to the weakning & ouerthrow of all desperat conceits that God hath already punished Iesu Christ for our offences, Esa. 75. Whatsoe­uer could be looked for at mans hands, or whatsoe­uer man could bee charged with, that Christ per­formed & discharged & therfore cannot in iustice punish them a­gaine in vs. We offended & Christ was punished for the same: Whatsoeuer in iustice God could either demand or man owed, that payed our Lord Christ. Man ought to dy, Christ satisfied for the same: man ought to haue born the heauy wrath & displeasure of y ^e father; Christ did beare y ^e same: man ought to haue bin cast down into hell, Christ satisfied for that also: yea, hee so fully contented payed & plea­sed [Page 94] God the Father, for all whatsoeuer the Lord could looke for at mans hands that the father himselfe acknowledged, and in thunder from heauen confessed the same, in the hearing of many witnes­ses present; and hearing the same at the baptizing of our Lord Christ by Iohn Baptist in the flood Iorden: and so all faithfull beleeuers heereof, are heere-by fu [...]ly and freely acquitte and discharged from all debt of sin they owed vnto God for euer.

Why shouldst thou then, O Sathan; so busily charge vs with any such matter to driue vs into desperation, séeing that Sublata causa, tollitur etiam et effectus? The cause whereby thou so vrgest despe­ration by Iesus Christ being taken away the effects also must needs then cease.

The 4. ge­nerall help for the a­uoyding of despai­ring.The fourth thing to be vsed and practi­sed for the better auoyding of despaire is that at what time soeuer we feele our hearts through Sathans crafty suggesti­on assaulted and molested with this ve­nomous sting of desperation, we should then straight conuey our selues into some quiet and secret place, and there in some humble manner powre out our [Page 95] harts before God with inward harty & zelous prayer desiring him of his infinit mercies, to worke in our harts increase of faith, and to suppresse and vanquish all our vnbeleefe, and vtterly to expell from thence all despaire.

The fift and last remedie that now I purpose to handle heere against Despe­ration, The fift generall helpe a­gainst des­peration. is that we frame our selues care­fully, dilligently, and with godly zeale to vse, and often-times to frequent such godly meanes as God hath appointed and set forth vnto vs, for the obtaining and increasing of faith, as (ouer and be­sides earnest prayer last before spoken of) the vse of reuerent reading, hearing, and meditating of Gods word, and the receiuing of the Sacraments, being ho­ly Signes, and as it were Seales seene with our outward or bodily eyes, which inwardly doe signifie, and set forth to our hearts the secret and inward graces of GOD.