• 'Which .... afford,' not in A, B, hut in E.
t Marginal note — This was preached at the Sacrame^.t,
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this life ! And yet all the helps God offers will hardly prevail with our backward natures. Whence are, then, discouragements? 1. Not from the Father, for he hath bound himself in covenant ' to pity us as a fiither pitieth his children,' Ps. ciii. 13, and to accept as a father our weak endea- vours ; and what is wanting in the strength of duty, he giveth us leave to take up in his gracious indulgence, whereby we shall honour that grace wherein he dehghts, as much as in more perfect performances. Possibilitas tua mensura tua.
2, Not from Christ, for he oy office will not quench the smoking flax. We see* how Christ bestoweth the best fruits of his love upon persons, for condition mean, for parts weak, for infirmities, nay, for grosser falls, offen- sive : first, thus it pleaseth him to confound the pride of flesh, which usually taketh measure of God's love by some outward excellency. Secondly, thus he is delighted to shew the freedom of his grace and his prerogative royal, that ' whosoever glorieth, may glory in the Lord,' 1 Cor. i. 31.
In the eleventh to the Hebrews, among that cloud of witnesses, we see Rahab, Gideon, and Samson, ranked with Abraham the father of the faith- ful, Heb. xi. 31, 32. Our blessed Saviour, as he was the image of his Father, so in this he was of the same mind, glorifying his Father for re- vealing the mystery of the gospel to simple men, neglecting those that carried the chief reputation of wisdom in the world, Heb. xi. 31, 32.
It isf not unworthy of the remembering that which Saint Augustine speakethj of a silly man in his time, destitute almost altogether of the use of reason, who when he was most patient of all injuries done to himself, yet from a reverence of religion he would not endure any injury done to the name of Christ ; insomuch that he would cast stones at those that blasphemed, and would not in that case spare his o^vn governors ; which sheweth that the parts of none are so low, as that they are beneath the gracious regard of Christ ; where it pleaseth him to make his choice, and to exalt his mercy, he passeth by no degree of wit, though never so plain.
3. Neither do discouragements come from the Spirit ; § he helps our infirmities, and by office is a comforter, Rom. viii. 26. If he convinceth of sin, and so humbleth us, it is that he may make way to shew his office of comforting us. Discom-agements, then, must come from ourselves and Satan, who laboureth to fasten on us a loathing of duty.
[Chapter XV. — Of infirmities. No cause of discouragement. In whom they arc. And how to recover j^eace lost.]
And among other causes of discouragement, some are much vexed with scruples, even against the best duties ; partly by distemper of body, helped by Satan's malice, casting dust in their eyes, in their way to heaven ; and partly from some remainder of ignorance, which like darlaiess breedeth feai"s ; and as ignorance of other things, so especially of this merciful dis- position in Christ, the persuasion of which would easily banish false fears, they conceive of him as one sitting at a catch for all advantages against them ; wherein they may see how they wrong not only themselves but his goodness. This scrupulosity, for the most part, is a sign of a godly soul,
* ' Wg see' .... to 'wisdom in the world.' This paragraph added first in B. t 'It is' . . . to ' never so plain.' This paragraph not in A, B, but in E. X Ang. do pcccatorum meritis et remiss., lib. i. cap. 14. ^ ' Not from the Spirit,' in A.
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as some weeds are of a good soil : therefore are they the more to he pitied, for it is a heav;^' affliction, and the ground of it in most is not so much from trouble of conscience, as from sickness of fantasy. The end of Christ's coming was to free us from all such gi'oundless fears.
There is still in some, such ignorance of that comfortable condition we are in under the covenant of grace, as by it they are much discouraged. There- fore we must know, 1, That weaknesses do not break covenant with God. They do not between husband and wife ; and shall we make ourselves more pitiful than Christ, who maketh himself a pattern of love to all other husbands ? 2. Weaknesses do not debar us fi-om mercy, nay, they incline God the more, Ps. Ixxviii. 39. Mercy is a part of the church's jointure, ' Christ E^iarries her in mercy,' Ho^. ii. 19. The husband is bound to bear with the -n-ife, as ' being the weaker vessel,' 1 Pet. iii. 7 ; and shall we think he will exempt himself from his own rule, and not bear with his weak spouse ?
3. If Christ should not be merciful to our infirmities, he should not have a people to serve him.
Put case therefore we be veiy weak, yet so long as we are not found amongst malicious opposers and underminers of God's truth, let us not give way to despairing thoughts ; we have a merciful Saviour. But lest we flatter oui'selves without gi'ound, we must know that weaknesses are accounted either, 1, Imperfections cleaving to om* best actions ; or, 2, Such actions as proceed from want of age in Christ, whilst we are babes ; or, 3, From want of strength, where there hath been little means ; or, 4, They are sudden indeliberate brealdngs out, contrary to our general bent and purpose, whilst our judgment is overcast with the cloud of a sudden temp- tation. After which, 1, we are sensible of our infirmity; 2, We grieve for it; 3, And from grief, complain; and 4, With complaining strive and labour to reform ; and 5, In labouring get some gi'ound of our corruption.