Right Honourable: There is no one doctrine, revealed in the Word of God, or dispensed by the Prophets and Apostles, of greater use and consequence in the life of man, than is that, which prescribes a form of relieving and rectifying the conscience.
The benefit, which from hence issues to the Church of God, is unspeakable. For first, it serves to discover the cure of the most dangerous sore that can be, the wound of the Spirit. Which how great a cross it is, the Wise man reports out of true experience, when he says, that the Spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded Spirit who can bear it? And his meaning is, that no outward grief, can fall into the nature of man, which will not be with patience endured, to the utmost, so long as the mind is not troubled, or dismayed. But when once the Spirit is touched, and the heart, (which being well appeased, is the very fountain of peace to the whole man,) smitten with fear of the wrath of God for sin; the grief is so great, the burden so intolerable, that it will not by any outward means, be eased or assuaged.
Secondly, it gives for all particular cases, special and sound direction; whether man be to walk with God, in the immediate performance of the duties of his service; or to converse with man, according to the state and condition of his life, in the family, church, or commonwealth. The want of which direction, of what force it is, to turn the actions of men, which are good in themselves, to sins in regard of the agents, Saint Paul affirms in that general conclusion, Whatever is not of faith, is sin. Wherein he would teach us, that whatever is done, or undertaken by men in this life, whether it concern the knowledge and worship of God, or any particular duty to be performed, by virtue of their callings, for the common good; whereof they have not sufficient warrant, and assurance in conscience, grounded upon the Word, that it is to be done, or not to be done; to them it is a sin.
Thirdly, it is of all other doctrines, (being rightly used) the most comfortable. For it is not founded in the opinions, and variable conceits of men, neither does it consist, of conclusions and positions, which are only probable and conjectural: (for the conscience of the doubting or distressed party, can not be established and rectified by them:) but it rests upon most sufficient and certain grounds, collected and drawn out of the very Word of God, which, as it is mighty in operation, piercing the heart, and discerning the thoughts and intents thereof, so is it alone available and effectual to pacify the mind, and to give full satisfaction to the conscience.
And as the benefit is great; so the want of this doctrine, together with the true manner of applying the same, is, and has been the cause, of many and great inconveniences. For even of those that fear God, and have received to believe, there be many, who in the time of their distresses, when they have considered the weight and desert of their sins, and withal apprehended the wrath of God, due to them; have been brought to hard exigencies, mourning, and wailing, and crying out, as if God had forsaken them, until they have been relieved by the Spirit of Christ, in the meditation of the word, and promise of God. But those especially, who have not been instructed in the knowledge of the truth, nor acquainted with the course of God's dealing, with his distressed children, by reason of ignorance and blindness in matters of religion and piety, when the Lord has let loose the cord of their consciences, and set before their eyes, both the number of their sins committed, and the just anger of God purchased thereby, what have they done? Surely despairing of the mercy of God, and their own salvation, they have either grown to frenzy, and madness, or else sorted to themselves fearful ends, some by hanging, some by drowning, others by imbruing their hands in their own blood. And if not in regard of grief and trouble of mind; yet for want of better resolution in particular cases, within the compass of their general or personal callings, (though otherwise, men endued with some measure of knowledge and obedience,) they have either abused, or else quite relinquished and forsaken their callings, and thereby become scandalous, and offensive to others.
Now then, as by these and sundry other instances of proof, the matter itself appears to be of great weight and importance, so it is most meet, that the best and fittest course should be taken, in the teaching and enforcing of the same. In which regard we have just cause, to challenge the Popish Church, who in their case-writings have erred, both in the substance and circumstances of this doctrine, as shall appear in the sequel.
First, because the duty of relieving the conscience, is by them commended to the sacrificing priest, which, though according to their own canons he should be a man of knowledge, and free from imputation of wickedness, yet oftentimes it falls out that he is either unlearned, or else wicked and lewd of conversation, and consequently unfit for such a purpose.
Secondly, they teach that their priests appointed to be comforters and relievers of the distressed, are made by Christ himself judges of the cases of conscience, having in their own hands a judiciary power and authority, truly and properly to bind or to loose, to remit or to retain sins, to open or to shut the kingdom of heaven. Whereas the Scripture utters a contrary voice, that Christ only has the keys of David, which properly and truly opens, and no man shuts, and properly and truly shuts, and no man opens. And the ministers of God are not called to be absolute judges of the conscience, but only messengers and ambassadors of reconciliation; whereupon it follows, that they cannot be the authors and givers of remission of sins, but only the ministers and dispensers of the same.
Thirdly, the Papists in their writings have scattered here and there, sundry false and erroneous grounds of doctrine, much prejudicial to the direction or resolution of the conscience in time of need, as namely, 1. That a man in the course of his life, may build himself upon the faith of his teachers, and for his salvation rest, contented with an implicit and unexpressed faith. Which doctrine, as it is an only means, to keep men in perpetual blindness and ignorance, so it serves to no other purpose in the time of temptation, but to plunge the heart of man into the pit of despair, it being incapable of comfort, for want of particular knowledge and understanding of the word and promise of God. 2. That every man ought to stand in fear and doubt of the pardon of his sins, and that no man can be assured by the certainty of faith, either of the present favor of God, or of his own salvation. True it is, that in respect of our own unworthiness and indisposition, we have just cause, not only to doubt and fear, but to despair and be confounded before the judgment seat of God. Yet that a man should not be certainly resolved by faith of the mercy of God, in and for the merit of Christ, is a comfortless doctrine to a distressed soul, and contrary to the saving word of the Gospel, which teaches, that certainty flows from the nature of faith, and not doubting. 3. That every man is bound in conscience upon pain of damnation, to make special confession of his mortal sins, with all the particular circumstances thereof once every year to his Priest. This position and practice, besides that it has no warrant of sacred writ, nor yet any ground of orthodox antiquity, for 800 years, more or less after Christ: it makes notably to the disturbing of the peace of conscience, in time of extremity, considering that it is impossible, either to understand or remember all, many being hidden and unknown. And the mind being in this case informed, that forgiveness depends upon such an enumeration, may thus be brought into doubt and distrust, and will not be able to rest by faith in the sole mercy of God, the only sovereign medicine of the soul. Again, the grief of the mind does not always arise from all the sins that a man has committed, neither does the Lord set before the sinner's eyes, whatever evil has been done by him; but some one or more particulars. And these are they, that do lie heavy upon the heart; and to be eased of them, will be work enough, though he does not exhibit to the confessor, a catalogue of all the rest. 4. That some sins are venial, because they are only besides the law of God, not against it, and because they bind over the sinner only to temporal, and not to eternal punishments. This conclusion, first is false; for though it be granted, that some offences are greater, some lesser, some in a higher degree, others in a lower. Again, that sins in regard of the event, being repented of, or in respect of the person sinning, being in Christ, and therefore accounted just, are pardonable, because they are not imputed to condemnation; yet there is no sin of what degree soever, which is not simply, and of itself mortal, whether we respect the nature of the sin, or the measure and proportion of divine justice. For in nature it is an anomie, that is to say, an aberration from the perfect rule of righteousness, and therefore is subject to the curse, both of temporary and eternal death. It is an offence against the highest majesty, and consequently, man stands by it engaged to everlasting torment. Secondly, it is a weak and insufficient ground of resolution, to a troubled conscience. For whereas true and saving joy is the daughter of sorrow, and the heart of man cannot be lifted up, in assurance of God's favor, to the apprehension and conceit of heavenly comforts, unless it be first abased, and by true humiliation, brought to nothing in itself; the remembrance of this, that the offence committed is venial, may in some cases too much enlarge the heart, and give occasion to presume, when perhaps there will be reason to the contrary. And if not that, yet in case of falling by infirmity after grace received, the mind being forestalled with this erroneous conceit, that the sin is less, than it is indeed, because venial, may in the issue be less quieted, and more perplexed. 5. That a man may satisfy the justice of God, for the temporal punishment of his sins committed. To omit the untruth of [illegible] this position; how it makes to the easing of the heart, or the assuaging of the grief of mind in temptation, I appeal to common experience. For when a man, being assured of the pardon of his sins, shall yet consider, that there is something more behind to be done on his part, how can he in probability, rely himself wholly upon Christ's satisfaction? How can he reap to himself from there any assurance of reconciliation to God, whom he formerly offended? If we may and must do something in our own persons, whereby to appease the wrath of God, why has our Savior taught us for our hearts' relief, wholly and only to make the plea of pardon for our sins? True it is indeed, that Popish confessors do teach their penitents, when they feel the wrath of God upon them for sin, to stop the mouth of conscience, by performance of a formal humiliation and repentance, yes to offer to God some ceremonial duties in way of satisfaction. But when sorrow seizes upon the soul, and the man falls into temptation, then it will appear that these directions were not current; for notwithstanding them, he may want sound comfort in God's mercy, and run into despair without recovery. And for this cause, upon experience it has been proved, that even Papists themselves in the hour of death, have been content to renounce their own works, yes the whole body of human satisfactions, and to cleave only to the mercy of God in Christ for their salvation.
By these instances, and many more that might be alleged to this purpose, it is apparent, upon how weak and unstable grounds the case-divinity of the Popish Church stands; and how indirect a course they take, for the resolution and direction of the troubled conscience.
Now by the benefit and abuse of this doctrine, we see how necessary it is, that in churches which profess Christian religion, it should be more taught, and further enlarged, than it is. And to this purpose it were to be wished, that men of knowledge in the ministry, that have by the grace of God attained to the tongue of the learned, would employ their pains this way: not only in searching into the depth of such points as stand in bare speculation, but in annexing thereunto the grounds and conclusions of practice, whereby they might both inform the judgment, and rectify the conscience of the hearers. By this means it would come to pass, that the poor distressed soul might be relieved, piety and devotion more practiced, the kingdom of sin, Satan, and Antichrist weakened and impaired, and the contrary kingdom of Christ Jesus more and more established.
What the author and contriver of the discourse ensuing has done in this behalf, it is evident by the whole course of his writings, that he has left behind him: all which, as they do openly show to the world, how great a measure of knowledge and understanding, with other endowments both of nature and grace, the Lord had enriched him withal; so they do carry with them the sweet savor of piety and sanctification, wherewith he approved his heart to God, and his life to men. Wherein also upon occasion, he has propounded, and explained sundry notable rules of direction and resolution of the conscience, as will appear to the view of the learned and well-advised reader.
To let pass all the rest: this present treatise gives very sufficient testimony, of his knowledge and dexterity in that kind; which could not be attained to, without great pains, much observation, and long experience. A labor which commends itself to the Church of God in two respects principally. One, because his grounds and principles are drawn either directly, or by just consequence out of the written Word, and so are of greater force, to convince the conscience, and to give satisfaction to the mind, either doubting, or distressed. The other, for that it is delivered with such perspicuity, and disposed in such order and method, as fits best for the understanding and memory of any, whoever shall peruse it.
Now this whole treatise of the questions, I have made bold to present to your Lordship, and to publish abroad under your protection. First, because God, who vouchsafes special favor to them that honor him, has adorned your estate with honor, your person inwardly with many rich graces of his Spirit, and outwardly with the profession and practice of true religion; a thing directly confirmed by your unfeigned love of the truth, and continual favors to the teachers of the same, the ministers and dispensers of the Gospel. Secondly, because as the author of these cases, was himself in many respects, bound to your Honor, while he lived; so his wife and children for his sake, have received much kindness at your hands, since his death; a manifest proof of the truth and sincerity of your affection towards him in the Lord. And in the last place, it was my desire, by setting them forth under your name, to give some testimony of duty to your Honor, presuming that as you loved the author, so you will be pleased to patronize the work, and favorably to interpret, of the pains and good intention of the publisher. And thus craving pardon for my boldness, I humbly take my leave, and commend your Lordship, to the grace and favor of God in Christ. From Emanuel College in Cambridge, November 20, 1606.
Your Honor, in all duty to be commanded, Tho. Pickering.
