A most sweet and assured comfort for all those that are afflicted in conscience…A most sweete and assured comfort for all those that are afflicted in consciscience…

Moreover, seeing all the promises of God in the gospel are commended unto us ⟨image 67⟩under the title & tenor of restoring sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, strength to the lame, health to the sick, and life to the dead; it is manifest, not only that there is no disease of the soul that Christ cannot heal: but also that we must first find our selves blind, deaf, dumb, lame, sick & dead, before he will meddle with us; because they that are whole need not the Physician, and he came to call sinners, not the Righteous to repentance. Now, to do this in wisdom, by neither pressing the conscience too severely, nor releasing the conscience more unadvisedly, ⟨image 67⟩it shall be the safe way, to use the well tempered speech of the Apostle to the sorcerer; Repent, if it be possible, thy sins may be forgiven thee. Where he doth not wholly discourage him, because it may be his sins may be pardoned; neither yet too boldly encourage him, that without repentance, he showeth it altogether impossible to be pardoned. And that we be not too preposterous in our consolations, let us be warned by the blasphemous speeches of the detestable Arian, who of late years was put to death at Norwich. This hellish heretic, a little ⟨image 68⟩before he should be executed, afforded a few whorish tears asking whether he might be saved in Christ or no? When one told him, that if he truly repented, he should surely not perish: he brake out most monstrously into this speech: Nay is your Christ so easily to be entreated indeed, as you say? Then I defy him & care not for him. Oh how good a thing had it been not to have cast this precious stone to this swine? Oh how safe had it bin to have dealt more bitterly, and dwelt more vehemently on the conscience of this caitiff? Now to attain some discretion in curing this wounded ⟨image 68⟩spirit, we must learn wisely to judge, both of the person afflicted, and of the nature of his affliction. First, we must note whether it be a man or a woman, because we may urge more carefully the use of the law to a man, as having the stronger vessel. And as Satan knew the woman to be most easy and frameable to be wrought upon, at his first temptation: so is he not ignorant that she is the weaker party to sustain an accusation.