The sound believer, or, A treatise of evangelical conversion discovering the work of Christs…The sound beleever, or, A treatise of evangelicall conversion discovering the work of Christs…

4. By clearing up the equity and justice of God in the law, if the Lord should never pity nor pardon it, nor show any respect or favour to it; for this is the frame of every mans heart, if he cannot find rest in his duties, and endeavours, as he once expected he should, but sees sin and weakness, death and condemnation wrapping him about ⟨p. 135⟩(like Jonahs weeds) in all he doth, then his heart sinks, and quarrels, and falls off farther from Christ by discouragement, and grows secretly impatient that there should be no mercy left for him, because it thinks now the Lords eternal purpose is to exclude him; for if there were any thoughts of peace toward him, he should have found peace before now, having so earnestly and frequently sought the Lord, and having done so much, and forsaken his sinful ways, according to his own commandment from him; and hence it is, you shall find it a certain truth, that the soul is turned back as far from God by sinking discouraging sorrows for sin,¹ as ever it was in a state of security by the pleasures of sin; and hence sometime it thinks it is in vain to seek any more, and hence leaves off duties; and if conscience force it to them, yet it sinks again because its foot is not stablished upon the rock Christ, but upon the weakness of the waters of its own abilities and endeavours; what therefore should the soul do in this case, to come to God? it knows not, it cannot; •ly from him it dare not, it shall not; the spirit therefore by revealing how equal and just it is for the Lord never to regard or look after it more, because it hath sinned and is still so sinful, makes it hereby to fall down prostrate in the dust before the Lord, as worthy ⟨p. 136⟩of nothing but shame and confusion, and so kisseth the rod, and turns the other cheek unto the Lord even smiting of him, acknowledging if the Lord show mercy it will be wonderful, if not, yet the Lord is righteous, and therefore hath no cause to quarrel against him for denying special mercy to him, to whom he doth not owe a bit of bread. And now the soul is indeed humbled, because it submits to be disposed of, as God pleaseth; thus the Church in her humiliation,