Use 3 Of Consolation to all such as take a good course, and labour to keep Gods Commandments, who may sometimes suspect all their grace is counterfeit, and there is no sincerity in them; why if there be no sincerity in you, you do not keep Gods Commandments as your way, but you cannot say, but you would gladly find your hearts keeping them as your way, and you endeavour it, and it is the grief of your souls when you go out of the way; do you keep them as your treasure, and ornament, and apple of your eye, and life? Why then there is truth of grace in you, truth of sincerity, though not of Perfection; you must not look to keep them without sin, but if you desire to keep them as the most precious thing, as your treasure, your ornament, your life, the apple of your eye, though a man may sometimes have a moat fall into his eye; but in this case do not say, your Graces are counterfeit, for if they were counterfeit you would not keep Gods Commandments, Psalm 36.1. Wickedness saith to the wicked, there is no fear of God before his eyes; how doth that appear to David? vers. 4. he sets himself in no good way, he is in a bad way, and goes on therein, and such a one, it is plain, he hath no fear of God before his eyes, by their fruits he knows them; if you set your selves in no good way, your profession cannot be true, but if the way you take be good, and if not thou dost not take it up; why if it be thus, your profession is true, and your grace sound; it is a question whether Solomon fell finally, or his graces were true or no; you may know his repentance was true, because he found his lust to women as bitter as death, Eccles. 7.6, 7. well then, if an Adulterous, or Idolatrous Wife were as bitter as death to him, then it is an evident sign, if he looked at his transgression as death, he looked at the Commandment as life, and therefore his repentance was sincere; so then if a man find his sin as as bitter as death, it is a sign his repentance is true. But yet we must here distinguish between the horror of sin, and sin it self, the horror of sin may be as bitter to us as death, but not the sin it self, as Judas, the horror of sin was so bitter to him that for it he hanged himself; but had Judas been troubled with the sin of his conscience, as he was with the horror of his conscience, he would not have gone about to help one sin by another;
Ʋse 3 Of Consolation to all such as take a good course, and labour to keep Gods Commandments, who may sometimes suspect all their grace is counterfeit, and there is no sincerity in them; why if there be no sincerity in you, you do not keep Gods Commandments as your way, but you cannot say, but you would gladly finde your hearts keeping them as your way, and you endeavour it, and it is the grief of your souls when you go out of the way; do you keep them as your treasure, and ornament, and apple of your eye, and life? Why then there is truth of grace in you, truth of sincerity, though not of Perfection; you must not look to keep them without sin, but if you desire to keep them as the most precious thing, as your treasure, your ornament, your life, the apple of your eye, though a man may sometimes have a moat fall into his eye; but in this case do not say, your Graces are counterfeit, for if they were counterfeit you would not keep Gods Commandments, Psalm 36.1. Wickednesse saith to the wicked, there is no fear of God before his eyes; how doth that appear to David? vers. 4. he sets himself in no good way, he is in a bad way, and goes on therein, and such a one, it is plain, he hath no fear of God before his eyes, by their fruits he knows them; if you set your selves in no good way, your profession cannot be true, but if the way you take be good, and if not thou dost not take it up; why if it be thus, your profession is true, and your grace sound; it is a question whether Solomon fell finally, or his graces were true or no; you may know his repentance was true, because he found his lust to women as bitter as death, Eccles. 7.6, 7. well then, if an Adulterous, or Idolatrous Wife were as bitter as death to him, then it is an evident sign, if he looked at his transgression as death, he looked at the Commandment as life, and therefore his repentance was sincere; so then if a man finde his sin as as bitter as death, it is a sign his repentance is true. But yet we must here distinguish between the horror of sin, and sin it self, the horror of sin may be as bitter to us as death, but not the sin it self, as Judas, the horror of sin was so bitter to him that for it he hanged himself; but had Judas been troubled with the sin of his conscience, as he was with the horror of his conscience, he would not have gone about to help one sin by another;
