A guide to godliness or a Treatise of a Christian life showing the dutiesA guide to godlynesse or a Treatise of a Christian life shewing the duties

first, when we have called our sins to our remembrance, and set them in order before us, we must in the sight and sense of them have melting, relenting, broken, and contrite hearts and spirits, which will truly mourn with bitter grief, because by our sins we have displeased so gracious and good a God, who hath multiplied upon us so innumerable benefits and blessings, both in temporal and spiritual things, especially in giving his only Son to the death for us, when as we were strangers and enemies unto him. Upon which consideration we must, looking upon him whom we ¹have pierced, mourn for him, as a man mourneth for his only son, and be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first borne. We must not slight over our sorrow, but labour with Peter to weep bitterly, and ²with the Israelites, to pour forth our melting souls before God, like water drawn out of a well; and finally, with David we must labour to bring our mourning for sin into daily practice; Every night (saith he) ³make I my bed to swim, and I water my couch with my tears. And if ⟨p. 172⟩through the hardness of our hearts, we cannot thus sorrow for our sins, we must be grieved, because we can be no more grieved, and lament the hardness of our hearts, because we can no more heartily bewail them. Which if it be unfeigned, then will it move us to use carefully the means whereby our grief for sin may be increased; as to meditate on the innumerable multitude, and the grievous heinousness of our sins, the manifold imperfections and corruptions of our best actions, the majesty, power and greatness, the infinite goodness and graciousness of God towards us, against whom we have committed them, our own baseness and vileness, who have provoked to wrath so infinite a majesty, the small and contemptible inducements which have allured and enticed us to offend so merciful a Father, even the base baits of worldly vanities; our continuing in these sins without repentance, notwithstanding that the Lord hath given us so manifold and effectual means of reformation and amendment, as the preaching of the Gospel, admonitions, instructions, reprehensions, the good motions of his Spirit checking us for our sins, and inciting us to holy duties; his promises alluring us to serve him; his threatenings terrifying us that we may not offend him;