A59669:545
The Sincere Convert
The sincere convert discovering the paucity of true believers and the great difficulty of saving conversion by Tho. Shepherd ....The sincere convert discovering the paucity of true beleevers and the great difficulty of saving conversion by Tho. Shepheard ....
London: printed by T.P. and M.S. for Humphrey Blunden, 1641
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Take a moral man, he knows he hath his failings and his sins, as the best have, and is overtaken sometimes as the best are; why doth he not remove these sins then? He confesseth them to God every morning when he riseth; why is he not more humbled under his sin then? the reason is, he constantly observeth morning and evening prayer, & then he craves forgiveness ⟨p. 254⟩for his failings, by which course he hopes he makes his peace with God, and hence he sinneth without fear, and riseth out of his falls into sin without sorrow. And thus they see and maintain their sins by their duties, and therefore rest in duties.
Take a morall man, he knowes he hath his failings and his sinnes, as the best have, and is overtaken sometimes as the best are; why doth he not remove these sinnes then? He confesseth them to God every morning when he riseth; why is he not more humbled under his sinne then? the reason is, he constantly observeth morning and evening prayer, & then he craves forgivenesse ⟨p. 254⟩for his failings, by which course he hopes he makes his peace with God, and hence he sinneth without seare, and riseth out of his falls into sinne without sorrow. And thus they see and maintaine their sinnes by their duties, and therefore rest in duties.
Sixthly,1 those that see little of their vile hearts by duties, rest in their duties: For if a man be brought nearer to Christ, and to the light, by duties, he will spy out more moats; for the more a man participates of Christ, his health and life, the more he feeleth the vileness and sickness of sin.2 As Paul when he rested in his duties before his conversion, before that the Law had humbled him, he was alive, that is, he thought himself a sound man, because his duties covered his sins, like fig-leaves. Therefore ask thine own heart, if it be troubled sometimes for sin, and if after thy praying and sorrowing thou doest grow well, and thinkest thy self safe, and feelest not thy self more vile. If it be thus, I tell thee, thy duties be but fig-leaves to cover thy nakedness,