Captives bound in chains, made free by Christ their surety

3. Another Link in this Chain of false hopes wherewith these captives are bound, is, that they have oftentimes great trouble of Conscience and inward terrors of mind after ⟨p. 108⟩they have committed sin, I have saith one, been troubled for my Oaths, and cried God forgive me, and if I have been drunk saith another, I have been troubled for it, sometimes it breaks my sleep, and sometimes I cannot eat in peace; nor think of my sin but my heart is filled with horror at the remembrance of it; and therefore I hope that I am redeemed by Christ, and got loose from my bondage-state, and that God will have mercy on me, and will save my Soul. I answer,

3. Another Link in this Chain of false hopes wherewith these captives are bound, is, that they have oftentimes great trouble of Conscience and inward terrours of mind after ⟨p. 108⟩they have committed sin, I have saith one, been troubled for my Oaths, and cried God forgive me, and if I have been drunk saith another, I have been troubled for it, sometimes it breaks my sleep, and sometimes I cannot eat in peace; nor think of my sin but my heart is filled with horror at the remembrance of it; and therefore I hope that I am redeemed by Christ, and got loose from my bondage-state, and that God will have mercy on me, and will save my Soul. I answer,

1. False repentance is a strengthening of false hopes, and many times the more the sinner is troubled for his sin, the faster he is bound in his sinful captive state; the more tears do fall from thine eyes, the faster are thy fetters locked on thy Soul, because as true repentance maketh way for a well grounded peace of conscience, and for solid comfort, so a false and counterfeit repentance afterwards makes the sinner more secure, and doth strengthen his mistake concerning his spiritual condition, he hath sinned, and he hath sorrowed, and now he thinketh all is well; and the Devil hath him faster in his hold than he had before.