6to Thé Ground ofbadMens Van. fury, and given greater Teftimony oftheir Enmity againft him. I pafs to the Second thing I propofed, namely, To enquire into the Caufes and Reafons of this Enmity : Every one that doth evil, háteth the light, neither cometh to the light, left his deeds (hall be difcovered. Here is the bottom of mens malice and enmity a- gainft the Truth, it lays open theirevil deeds and defigns : men of honeft intenti- ons are not afraid of the Light, becaufe it can do them no prejudice ; it {hews what' they ought to do , and they have a delire to know it, that theymay do it : He thatdoth the truth, cometh to the light, that his deedsmay be made manifes7. Light is an advantage to good and virtuous actions, which the more they are feet: and understood, the more they are approved and efteemed; but they that do evil, love darknefs rather than light , becaufe they are afraid their deeds should be difco- vered. And there is a two-fold difcovery of their actions, which bad men are afraid of. They are afraid they fhould be difcovered to themfelves, becaufe that creates trou- ble and uneafinefs to them ; and they are afraid they Ihouldbe difcovered to others, becaufe that caufeth fhame. I. They are afraid the evil of their allions fhould be difcovered to themfelves, becaufe that creates guilt and trouble; men donot care to feetheir own faults, and to have the vilenefs of their deeds truly reprefented to them. And this no doubt was the principal Reafon which fet the Scribes and Pharifees fo much againft our Saviour and his Doftrine becaufe it difcovered their Hypocrifie to them ; and how beautiful foever they appeared without, in their affefted Pietyand formal Devotion, yet likepainted Sepulchres , they were within full ofall uncleannefs and rottennefs. Thofe real virtues which our Saviourtaught , and the Praftice whereofhe made fo neceffary to the eternal happinefs and Salvation of men, were a fevere Reproof of their Lives and Actions, and did difcover to them how defective they were in that Righteoufnefs, which alone will bring men to the KingdomofGod : fo that his Dodrine muff needs be very troublefome to them, and they did not care to hear it, no more than a bad face loves to look in a true Glafs ; they had flatter'd themfelves before, in a conceit oftheir own Righteoufnefs, but when thelight came, it difco- vered all their fpots and deformities, fo that they were no longer able to hide them from themfelves; and this was a double trouble to them. (t.) It robbed them of that good Opinion which they had of themfelves before ; and it is no fmall vexation to a man to be put out ofconceit with himfelf. Truth flatters no man , and therefore it is no wonder that fo many are offended at it ; a good man is fatisfied with himfelf, and fo would bad men fain be too ; and there- foreTruth muff needs be very unwelcome to them , becaufe it attempts to deprive them of fo great a fatisfaftion, and to chafe away oneof themoft pleafant delufions in the World. (2.) The difcoveryofmens faults fills themwith trouble and guilt. Truth car- ries great Evidence along with it, and is very convincing, and where menwill not yield to it , and fuller themfelves to beconvinc'd by it, it gives them a great deal of difturbance, Gravis malee Cotfcientiee lux eí7; fays Seneca, Light is very trouble- fome to a bad Confcience, for it Thews men their deformities whether they will or no ; and when mens vices are difcovered to them , they mull either refolve to perfift in them, or to break them off, and either of thefe is very grievous. Some men are fo habituated to their vices, and fo ftrongly addifted to them by their inclination, aad attach'd to them by their intereft, that they cannotquit then without offering the greateft violence to themfelves; it is like cutting of right hand, or pulling out a right eye, as our Saviour expreflesit. Nbw to avoid this pain . and trouble, molt men, tho' they be convinced oftheirfaults, chufe to continue in them, and yet this is full as troublefome as the other, tho' it is hard toconvincemen of it ; there cannot be a more reftlefs fine than that ofguilt, the flings and torments whereof are continually increas'd by mens praftifing contrary to the conviftions of their own minds. Perhaps the trouble ofRepentance and Reformation maybe as great at firít .; but all this pain is in order to a cure, and ends in health andeafe : but hewho goes on in a bad courfe , after he is convinc'd of the evil of it, lays a foundationofperpetual anguifh and torment, which, the longer he continues in his 5 vices,
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