Chapter 7

Of the deceits of the temporary in the outward practice of repentance.

Having thus detected the deceitfulness of the temporary's repentance in that which is inward, this chapter shall be spent in showing the deceit of that which is outward, both that which is in words, and in deeds: for the former, there are two specifics, wherein the temporary deceives himself; Confession and prayer.

1. For confession, it cannot be denied, but that it is a worthy service of a repenting sinner, or else God would never have promised so great a reward to it: if we confess our sins he is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9). Job in the large catalogue of his good works, with which he cheered himself in that heavy agony; among the rest, reckons the confession of his sins for one, If I have hid my sin, as did Adam, etc. (Job 31:33). And David having said, take away the trespass of your servant, to make good that speech, and to prove himself God's servant, he adds, for I have done foolishly (2 Samuel 24:10); as some godly learned think, hereby intimating that, if he deserved not to be called God's servant, in regard of his late sin, yet, at least in regard of his later service, of confession. Indeed elsewhere when only a purpose of confession conceived by him, God's ear was in his heart, before his confession was in his tongue: I thought, I would confess my sin, and you forgave me (Psalm 32:4); for as only the man wakened out of his dream can tell his dream, so only the man awakened out of his sins by repentance, can truly confess them. Therefore however temporaries, and unregenerate men may make an outward confession, as Saul, Judas, Pharaoh, and others did, yet the truth is, there is much guile in their confessions.

1. True confession must come, as we see in the Publican, from a touched and troubled soul, from that broken and bleeding heart of David, from that melting, and relenting heart of Josiah: This is the sacrifice which the Lord will not despise. But our temporary knows it not, the pain of the rack only wrings the confession from him, not the mercy of that sweet God, whom he has offended. And therefore as we see in Pharaoh, when he is off of the rack, he begins to sing another note, and to unsay and call in, in a manner, his confession.

2. It must come also from a believing heart, laying hold upon mercy: As Daniel 9:9, Yet compassion and forgiveness is with the Lord although we have rebelled against him. And Ezra 10:2, we have trespassed, etc. yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this, namely for the forgiveness of this sin. This the temporary in his distress cannot do. Judas could say, I have sinned, but for his life he could not add those words of David, Take away the sin of your servant. Indeed he could not say that confession, I have sinned, to God, but only to the high priests: for he was wholly swallowed up of despair. His repentance was a desperate repentance, not tempered with faith, so as is the true repentance. And therefore our Savior preaching repentance says, Repent and believe (Mark 1:15).

3. Confession must come from an honest heart, purposing not to sin, that so with the confession we may join also the confusion and overthrow of sin: He that confesses and forsakes (that is, he that in that very act of confessing forsakes) his sin, shall find mercy (Proverbs 28:13). This was the confession of that good Shecaniah (Ezra 10:2-3), We have trespassed, etc. Now therefore let us make a covenant with the Lord, to put away all the wives. But how far are the temporaries from this, who when by confession they have seemed to disgorge their stomachs, have filthily with the dog eaten up their own vomit again? And so far are they from this purpose of not sinning, that they are fully set upon sin, in confessing; as in those Israelites, that said, we have sinned, we will go up (Deuteronomy 1:41): which was as much as if they should have said, we have sinned, we will sin: for God in the former verse had forbidden them to go up. Indeed many of them presume to sin, because of confession, thinking by it to be eased, as the drunkard by his vomiting. And though some of them in their good moods, and in some of their fits may seem, when they humble themselves in confession, truly to purpose amendment, yet these are no sound, no settled, no sincere and honest purposes, but sudden flashings, conceived by their deceitful hearts, rather to avoid the judgments either felt, or feared, than truly to please God. And thus because the heart is not rent together with the garments, therefore neither is the sin rent, but rather sewn faster together by that rending of the garment, and because with that penitent Publican, they join not the inward uniting of the heart, with the outward knocking of the breast, therefore this knocking does not batter in pieces, but rather consolidate and more firmly compact sin together.

2. The point which the mouth performs is prayer: neither can it be denied, but that the temporary may pray, and that as one would think, very zealously, as no doubt but Judas did together with his fellows, all of them desiring Christ to instruct them how to pray (Luke 11:1). Neither only may he do this with others, but also solitarily, and apart by himself, as it is said the Pharisee went up to the temple to pray, as well as the Publican (Luke 18:10), both of them to their private prayers, the temple then in regard of ceremonial holiness, being the place, as well of private as of public prayer. It may seem then our temporary is well: for it is only the sanctifying spirit which teaches to pray, who therefore is styled the spirit of prayer (Romans 8:26), and the children of God are usually in Scripture described by this, that they call upon the name of the Lord. But alas his prayers are no true prayers, they are turned into sin.

First, though he may pray to our thinking (and his own too sometimes) very fervently, yet as Job says, will he pray always (Job 27:10)? No, in more grievous trials his heart, and hope fails him, his mouth is stopped, he is struck speechless with the guest in the parable, and has not so much as one word, to bless himself with, who yet lavished most luxuriously in abundance of words in the time of peace.

2. In prayer he seeks himself, and not God's glory; they care not so much for God's favor, as for their own profit. Whereas the property of true prayer is that set down by Solomon, "If my people whereon my name is called shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face." In prayer God's face, and favor is to be sought above all other things: and therefore our Savior teaches us both to begin our prayers with desire of his glory, "Hallowed be your name," and to end them with giving glory to him, "Yours is the kingdom," etc. But the temporary is not thus holily carried in his prayers, with the respect of God's glory, with Moses and Paul preferring it to his own salvation, but with self-respects, and those very base; as may easily appear by these two things: 1. his prayers are more zealous and fervent with others, than alone by himself: whereas the vehemency of a true Christian is then greatest, when he is shut up in his closet, and has God only to be witness of it. This shows, that pride and vainglory sway him, not any true zeal to God's glory: 2. after prayer he has no care to return thanks: as in the nine lepers which cried, as loud as the tenth, "Jesus have mercy," but returned not with him to give thanks for their health; which showed they sought themselves only in their prayer, and nothing esteemed the love of Christ. Thirdly, he makes prayer the end of prayer, he prays to pray; he rests in his prayer, and does not in good sadness use his prayer as a means to prevail against his sins: he prays idly, and lazily, and does not together with his lips in praying, move his hands, in endeavoring for that he prays; according as Solomon directs, coupling together prayer to God and our own endeavor, "If you call for knowledge and cry for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for treasure." Lo, together with right crying and calling in prayer, there must be seeking, and searching in the use of the means: else we do but mock God, and ourselves much more, if we please ourselves in such prayers. And that which Solomon speaks of other idle talk, will be true of the vain prattle of such slothful prayers, "In all labor there is abundance: but the talk of the lips only brings want." We shall still remain poor, and beggarly in spiritual things, unless our hands bestir themselves, and labor together with our mouths, unless we rise up from our prayers with a settled purpose to buckle ourselves to our business. As David after that he had prayed to the Lord, that his ways might be directed to keep God's statutes, and had enforced this prayer by certain arguments, he thus ends it, "I will keep your statutes": whereas the temporary believer feels no such fruit of prayer, but rather says secretly, "I will lie in my sins still, against which I have prayed: I will break your statutes, which I prayed I might keep." Much like to Saint Augustine, that before his conversion prayed to God for chastity and continence, but yet was afraid, as he writes of himself, that God should hear his prayer too soon, desirous rather to have his lust satisfied, than extinguished. Such kind of minds have the unregenerate in their prayers, still they love their sins, and would not for all their talk, leave them by their good wills. And therefore do they so nearly resemble him in the fable, that when his cart stuck in the mire, called upon his God for help, but yet lay still, and would not stir the least of his fingers to help himself; indeed, and those also that in their sacrifices for health did riotously banquet against health: for while they pray against, they play and sport themselves in their sins.

Now for that which is real in the outward practice of repentance, namely the reformation of life, the temporary also may seem to attain to this: for in the Gospel the unclean spirit is said to be cast out of him, which is to be understood in regard of outward reformation of his life, in that he leaves his former scandalous courses of drunkenness, uncleanness, swearing, lying, open contempt of holy things, etc., and conforms himself to some more sober and civil carriage. But yet this reformation is deceitful or else the unclean spirit could not so easily reenter with seven worse spirits than himself into the party thus reformed, so that his latter end should become worse than his beginning. Now the deceit here is this, that our Temporary takes his outward abstinence from sin for true reformation; which unless it proceed from the inward forsaking is worth nothing. There must be abhorring of sin, as well as abstaining: loathing as well as leaving in true reformation. A thief when he is manacled, cannot steal, he abstains outwardly: and yet perhaps has a thievish mind still. And a chained lion though he abstain from devouring, yet he has his lion's nature still; he has not left that. Many leave their sins in like manner being restrained by fear, shame, and such like respects. Their hearts still delight, and tickle themselves in the thoughts of those sins. But true reformation of sin must proceed from the hatred of sin, and from the love of God's law forbidding sin, as David's did. I have refrained, says he, from every evil way; but why did he so? Upon what ground? To what end? That I might keep your word. It was that love of the law which he had so pathetically a little before professed, Oh! how I love your law? This was it that made him to refrain from sin, his affection toward the word; and this was what he proposed to himself in abstaining from sin, in displeasing his own corruption to please the law, to obey the law. The wolf, says Augustine, comes to the sheepfold, with a purpose to kill and eat. But the shepherds they watch, the dogs they bark, he can do nothing, he takes away nothing, he kills nothing. Yet as he comes, so he goes away, a wolf. What, because he worried and took away no sheep, therefore was he a wolf only in his coming, and a sheep in his returning? No, the wolf comes furious, returns fearful, and yet a wolf as well in his fear, as in his fury. And so are many as wicked in their fearful abstaining from sin, as in their bold and furious committing of sin. Some also are disabled by age, and yet it does them good to remember their former wickedness, and to encourage others to the same. If bare leaving of the outward act were enough, then these also were reformed. Others also cease from some sin, because a contrary vice has got the rule and possession of them, as when the prodigal man becomes covetous. Is here any true reformation of prodigality? Others again are interrupted in the practice of one sin, by reason some other sin diverts them another way, as those messengers did Saul from pursuing David. As thus a man is covetous, but yet ambition and vainglory, being stronger, make him leave his base, covetous miserliness. A man is given to incontinence; but his pride, and fear of dishonor, carrying a greater sway with him, bridle his lust. A man is wickedly angry with his brother, but yet covetousness has a greater hand over him, than anger; therefore there is a gift in secret given him, he is pacified. Here covetousness controls, and checks, and reforms anger? Will you call this a reformation? No this is nothing, when one tyrant overcomes another, but when the lawful King overcomes him: not when one corruption prevails against another, but when grace prevails against it; when though there were no other restraint, yet one's own sanctified heart would restrain, and cause one to say with Joseph, How can I do this, and sin against God? Otherwise, to desist the outward act, can yield but poor comfort to assure us that we have repented. David had left the sins of murder and adultery for all that space of time, that was between the murder of Uriah and Nathan's coming to him, which was a year almost, he did not still add one murder to another, or one adultery to another, he did not all that while fall to it afresh: but yet, for all that, he repented not till Nathan came, and aroused him. Excellently Solomon, By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil, showing that wherever the true fear of God is wanting, there is no true departing from evil, though the outward act of evil be forborne. Therefore when the godly are described by abstaining from evil, the true ground of their abstaining is also set down: as Ecclesiastes 9:2, when the wicked man is set out to be a swearer, the godly man by way of opposition is said, not simply not to swear, but to fear an oath, to show that wicked men may refrain from swearing, but not out of any fear of God's commandment. That is proper only to the godly: so Proverbs 15:27, the godly are set out not simply by their not receiving gifts, but by hating of gifts; to show that therefore they receive not with the hand, because they hate them with their heart.