carefull of the performance of our dueties herein as wee are in our owne affaires In our plowing and sowing our reaping and gathering in our putting off of our cattell and tilling our ground men know their times and take their opportunities euen then when it shall stand with their best aduantage Oh that wee could bee as wise for our soules to purchase the true treasure which wil make vs rich vnto saluation as wee are for these temporall things which doe last but for a time surely it is the care of the godly man Esay 1. Gen. 43. as the mariner watches for the winde and when it comes hoyses vp saile as the Captaine and Souldier in the field waite their time yea and as the Birds Swan and Crane the beasts Swallow and Pismire waite their times and then take the occasion and season offered so the childe of God doth in his heauenly wisedome waite the time and take the occasion to doe good As Ioseph in the seuen yeares of plenty prouided for the seuen yeares of dearth so the godly man bringeth forth fruite in due season that is in time conuenient As when the Lord cals man to repent hee repents when occasion is to pray hee will pray when the season is to heare hee will heare when to reproue hee will reproue when to giue to the poore hee hath his hand ready so as when occasion is offered hee takes it Yea hee waits and watches for it as Lot did to entertaine strangers at his Tent doore Gen. 17. and as that poore man in the Gospell who lay at the poole of Bethesda waiting for the mouing of the water Ioh. 5. This reproues the folly and carelesnesse Vse 1 of most men who neither wait the time nor yet take the occasion offered The Lord cals men to prayer to calling on his Name they make light of it the Lord cals men to heare his Word men contemne it the Lord offers occasion to reproue sinne they will not open their mouth to reproue the swearer blasphemer cursed speaker c. The Lord offers occasion to releeue the poore they shut vp the bowels of mercy against them In the matters of the world Oh men are wise to take their time the merchant the mariner the Husbandman c. But in the matters of God which concerne the saluation of our soules we are like that sicke man that let euery man step in before him Well if we belong vnto God it will grieue vs at the heart that wee haue not done our duety that wee haue omitted our occasions of doing of good whether to heare reade pray reproue or to giue vnto the poore Well let vs now seeke the Lord while hee may bee found let vs not with the slouthfull seruant deferre till our Maisters comming How many bee there that say that they will now liue in ease in ioy and will take their pleasure and follow their sports and when they be old then they will repent and serue God and giue themselues to prayer but let none thinke if they do spend the flowre of their youth in lusts and pleasures Eccl 12.1 in the seruice of sinne and sathan that God will accept of their rotten old age no the deuill shall haue the dregs as well as the wine Hence wee obserue in the second Vse 3 place that Gods children are neuer voide of the fruites of faith but haue them in them continually to their endlesse comfort Other Trees oftentime fall to degenerate and to grow out of kinde and if they doe hold out a long time yet age at the last makes them to decay and to die albeit you dig and dung and water them neuer neuer so much it cannot keep them from wasting and withering but it is not so with the godly men which are planted by the riuers of water in Gods Church for euen in their old age they bring forth aboundance and store of friute albeit they be neuer so old yet whensoeuer the Season requires some fruit of a godly man hee is euer ready to performe the same being that hee is continually watered by the working of his Spirit and this is confirmed by that of our Sauiour Christ Ioh. 15.1.2 I am the true Vine and my Father is the Husbandman euery branch that beareth no fruite in mee hee taketh away and euery branch that beareth fruite hee purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruite So that being once Planted by these Riuers of waters wee shall then incontinently bring forth fruite The third propertie of this tree wherunto the godly man is cōpared His leafe shall not fade THis is the third point of the description of this Tree to the which a godly man is compared namely by the flourishing estate of it That her leaues do not fall They wither not nor dry not but alwaies flourish and are greene of this sort is the Oliue tree the Bay tree the Lawrell tree and the Box tree they are alwaies greene and flourishing the heate of the Sommer nor the cold of the Winter doth not parch or wither them but they keepe their vigor and colour at all seasons Now this doth signifie vnto vs the constancy and the perseuerance of the godly Psal 92.12 For as the Tree planted thus by the fresh springing waters doth alwaies flourish and is euer greene neither is it nipped either with the heate of Sommer or cold of Winter So the godly man that is truely regenerate hee is constant and doth perseuer euen vnto the end Hence wee learne that it is not enough Doctr. 7. Perseuerance required in each child of God for a man or woman to begin well or to take some liking of Religion to haue some good motions as to reuerence Gods Ministers to desire to heare them to ioyne with the people of God in prayer to bring forth some good fruit in outward reformation of life c. vnlesse he perseuere persist and go on vnto the end Mar. 24 13 He that indures to the end shall be saued Reu. 2.10 And Bee thou faithfull vnto death and I will giue thee a Crowne of life Eze. 18.24 If a righteous man leaue his righteousnesse c. Hee that puts his hand to the Lords Plough Luk. 9.62 and looketh backe is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heauen Againe 2. Pet. 2.21 it had beene better for them that they had neuer knowne the waies of godlinesse then afterwards to fall away And therefore in the Scriptures such as haue had some beginning and after fallen away are noted to haue beene exceeding wicked men As wee see in Iudas first a Preacher and an Apostle Math. 27. a man well esteemed that had excellent giftes to Preach Pray and cast out deuils afterward an hypocrite a thiefe a traytor a reprobate Mar. 6.20 Herod had many things in him at first reuerenced Iohn Baptist heard him gladly did many things at his request 2. Tim. 4.10 yet afterwards a
or else publike with others The counsell of the wicked which is priuate in themselues is a rumination Doctr. There is a counsel of the wicked as of the godly or some other preparation in euery wilfull and intended sinne And hence it is that the Schoole-men affirme that consilium actus exitus must concurre in euery wilfull intended sinne And this is very apparant by the example of Iesabel 1. Reg. 21.8 that when she perceiued the King to bee so heauy for that he could not get the vineyard of righteous Naboth shee counselled with her selfe what she might doe to the end she might obtaine it and at last determined to write to the Gouernours of the Citie in Ahabs name to proclame a fast 2. Sam. 12. and to cause Naboth to bee brought forth before the Assembly and stoned to death This is cleere againe by the example of Dauid when hee walking vpon the roofe of his Palace had cast his eyes vpon the beauty of Bathsheba hee did first take this counsell within himself concerning an enquiry what she was secondly sent messengers vnto her to moue her to lie with him and lastly committed the act it selfe This might bee further cleared by the example of Cain Iudas and all to confirme the truth of this point vnto vs. Besides this priuate there is a councell of the wicked publique with other Mich. 6.16 as in the daies of Omri when cruell and wicked Statutes were made against the Lord and his people 1 Reg. 12.28 So in the daies of Ieroboam how did he take counsell and at last concluded to make two Calues for Diuine worship the one wherof he set at Bethel the other at Dan And in the daies of Nabuchadnezar what a Decree was gone forth by the King the Lords and Nobles Dan. 3.1 touching the worship of the golden image that was set vp in the plaine of Dura in the Prouince of Babylon So in the time of our Sauiour CHRIST Iohn 9.22 vnder the new Testament the Iewes had agreed together that all that confesse CHRIST should bee excommunicate Acts 4.18 and forbad the Disciples from Preaching any more in his Name And also in their Councell was our Sauiour CHRIST condemned to death Mat. 26.66 And the reason is cleere for the further manifestation of the truth of this point Reason for as no man doth gather Grapes of Thornes or Figs of Thistles so what other fruite can bee expected from such an vnsauory roote whose very Mindes and consciences are defiled Tit. 1.13 but that all their whole consultations and actions should be impure vnholy and vncleane Vse Hence then we may obserue that the doctrine of the Church of Rome touching this point is most false That Generall Counsells can not erre But wee haue cleared this before that they may erre and doe erre for what should I speake of the second Nicene Councell which set vp Idolatry and gaue bodies to Angells and the soules of men Councells therefore haue beene mis-led and may erre Now the Prophet proceedes further to shew who is a godlie man and what be his properties and teacheth vs in these words that the first step and entrance to the leading of a godly life is to renounce the counsel and company of lewd wicked and vngodly men whence wee obserue this doctrine Doctr. 2. The occasions ef sin are to bee auoyded That hee that would preserue himselfe from sinne must carefully auoide all the occasions thereof The Wise-man teacheth this Doctrihe That he that walketh with the wise shall be wiser But a companion of fooles shall be worser This doth appeare by the example of Ionathan who by the friendship and familiarity which he had with Dauid changed his life to better Pro. 1.13 whereas Salomon by societie and coniunction with the idolatrous wiues fell into idolatry 1. Reg. 11. and Rehoboam by walking with his yong Councellours and following their aduice became worse and worse If then we would auoyde euill we must beware of all occasions and no occasion more daungerous then euill company euery man therefore must take heede to himselfe and beware how hee ioyneth himselfe with acquaintance with al men indifferently lest by their meanes hee bee corrupted For euery man by nature is like dry wood which is apt to kindle so soone as fire is put to it so giue a man the least occasion and presently hee yeeldeth to sinne Mecum est quicquid mihi nocere potest Bernar med 11 There needes not indeede anie Diuell to tempt vs but let the least occasion that is bee offered vnto vs and straitway man becommeth a tempter vnto himselfe And this is that which the Apostle saith Iam. 1.14 Euerie man is tempted when hee is drawne away and enticed by his owne concupiscence The enemy by which wee are ouercome is in our owne bosome that is mans naturall corruption Genes 36. which is fewell for the kindling of the fire of Sathans temptations This appeares in Euah the Mother of vs all in the first transgression first shee sawe the fruit secondly shee conceiued a liking of it thirdly shee desired it fourthly shee eate of it Dinah the daughter of Iacob wandring abroad laid her selfe open vnto sinne and so fell which might haue been preuented had she auoyded the occasions thereof And Dauid a man after Gods own heart hauing set open the casements of his soule his eyes by the which the Diuell did easily winde himselfe into his heart and beheld Bathsheba washing her selfe 2. Sam. 11. but by by he lusted after her sent for her and lay with her So violent is mans corrupt nature in apprehending euery occasion that may draw him to sinne It is therefore a point of great wisedome to discerne betweene the deceipt of sinne and the fruite of sinne before it bee committed O flattering enemy In the action of committing it is as sweete as poyson after it is committed a biting serpent It comes to a man with a smiling countenance as Ioab to Amasa Art thou in health my friend but with all it strikes to the heart and woundes vnto death This doctrine serueth for the reproofe Vse 1 of those who are so farre from the auoiding of the occasions of sinne as that they do freely and of their owne accord seeke and follow after them they will not tarry with Ioseph till they bee tempted by others but they seeke all occasions and watch all opportunities to tempt others Neuer rauenous beast did more eagerly pursue the prey then some doe hunt after the occasions of sinne which is madnesse with a witnesse as if the flesh were not proue enough of it selfe vnto that which is euill but that paines must bee taken to helpe it forward to sinne Oh then how carefull ought wee to bee to watch ouer our waies and to auoide all the occasions of sinne Countergard thy heart saith Salomon and keepe it with watch and ward Prou.
then decaies and declines so fareth it with man let him seeme to bee as tall and as straight as a Cedar Tree hee must become a shrub againe and stoup to age For mans life is well compared to a day whose euening will most certainely follow his morning vntill the night of death cause him to sleepe in the graue For as there is a time to bee borne Eccle. 3.1 so there is a time to die Be it that now thou seemest to bee as strong as the Oake and as tall as the Cedar as flourishing as the Bay Tree yet at last rottennesse will creepe into the strongest Oke and strength and tallnesse will bee abated in thee when the keepers of the house shall tremble Eccl. 12.3 c. 3 In State Thirdly man may bee compared to a Tree in respect of the State of a Tree and that diuers waies First as the talest Cedar is in greatest danger of winde and weather Euen so the man that is tall either in place of authority riches honour or the like Loca quae alijs celsa ipsis prerumpa videntur Seneca is most subiect to the assault of Sathan and the rage of wicked men And men of such excellent places in Church or Common-wealth are more subiect to changes disfauours to enuy insurrections poysonings murtherings as to so many raging winds whereas those that with little Dauid Tend the Ewes great with yong are free from these assaults Secondly it is commonly seene the more tall the Tree is the lesse fruitfull So fareth it with man naturally vnlesse men bee seasoned by grace riches honout dignity or the like are great occasions of an high minde and a high minde is like vnto a Mountaine which the higher it is the more barren it is Whereas if hee bee meane and humble of Spirit hee may fitly bee compared to the valleyes which are euer fruitfull and as the Psalmist saith Stand thicke of Corne For humility is the ground worke of Christian vertues and pride the roote of all euill and the queene of all vice Thirdly and lastly the end of euery tree is to become either timber for building or fewell for burning So fareth it with man this Mysticall tree when death commeth which is Gods Axe by the which hee doth cut vs downe hee becommeth either timber for the Lords house when this earthly tabernacle shall bee destroyed 1. Pet. 2.5 to bee a building not made with hands but eternall in the heauens or else alas but fewell for the fire of Gods wrath Esa 30.33 euen in Tophet where there is fire and much wood and where the Lords wrath as the bellowes shall neuer cease blowing and kindling the same Doctr. 1. Ministers duety to instrct the simplest It is heere first of all to be noted that the Spirit of God sets out the happinesse of a godly man by comparing him to a goodly greene Tree Hence we learne first of all that it is not onely lawfull but a commendable profitable kind of teaching for Gods Ministers to illustrate points of doctrine by similitudes and comparisons so that they bee familiar and fit to make the people conceiue what they teach and to raise comparisons from the Plow and Plow-share to that end that euen the simplest in a Congregation may vnderstand what is said and what is taught This was the course of the Prophets from time to time in their Sermons to the people This was the course of our Sauiour himselfe Iohn 15. Math. 13. Iohn 10.1 who in all his Sermons vseth both Parables and Similitudes comparing good men to good Trees bad men to bad Trees Mat. 3.10 Luke 8.4 comparing Himselfe to a Vine the Father to a Husbandman vs to Branches Himselfe to a Sheepheard wee to Sheepe and the word to twenty things as Seed Mustard-seed c. to teach all those that are Gods Ministers that when they preach vnto their people that they lap not vp their speech in a mist of words but so to deliuer it as that the meanest and shallowest amongest the hearers may vnderstand it Thence came the profession of Paul we preach not our selues but Christ Iesus our Lord 2. Corinthians 4.5 And hence came that worthy resolution of his I had rather in the Church to speake fiue words c. that I might instruct others then ten thousand wordes in a strange tongue 1. Corinth 14.19 In which words by strange tongue we are not simply to vnderstand Hebrew Greeke Latine c. but by speaking of the mother-tong in a strange maner Preachers are fitly compared to a Nurse a Nurse doth halfe chew the meate to the little one and doth babble vnto them in their owne stammering tongue so must Preachers proportion their Doctrine to their hearers capacity and fitte his tongue to their vnderstanding This may serue to reprooue such kinde of Preachers who seeke not to preach CHRIST crucified but preach themselues euen such as in handling the word of God preaching the Gospel seek to shew their owne learning wit art and memory and so indeed preach not Christ but themselues like the old Pharisees Louing the praise of men more then the praise of God But what shall Dauid the Prophet of the Lord or rather the Spirit of God in him stoupe so low as to speake to the vnderstanding of all men by similitudes comparisons and the like And shall sinfull man a worme of the earth exalt himselfe aboue God to seeke only to tickle itching eares with the words of mans wisedome Seeing Gods Ministers must bee Vse 2 faithfull Teachers of the trueth of God and must deliuer the same in the plaine euidence of the Spirit not with the enticing wordes of mans wisedome This serues to direct the hearers in the Art of Hearing They must submit themselues to Gods ordinance and be ready to know the will of God we must not haue itching eares that are not able to suffer wholesome Doctrine like the Gentiles who despised the Preaching of the Apostles because it was not stiled with mans painted eloquence esteeming it foolishnes What is this but to stint the Spirit 1. Cor. 1.21 and to teach the Lord to speake prescribing the Minister what hee shall say and restraining our hearing what we will heare What then will follow but that we shal heare without fruit and the word to bee vnto vs onely a sauour of death vnto death Doctr. 2. Double vse of all the creatures of God Hence wre obserue heere a second point of Doctrine that seeing the Prophet compareth a godly man to a Tree That of all the creatures of God there is a double vse one Naturall the other Spirituall As a Tree in nature signifies such plants of the earth as bring forth fruit according to their kind Now besides this naturall signification it serues to put vs in minde what wee ought to bee Math. 3.10 namely friutfull trees in the Lords orchard lest if we be barren or
their names to Christ who afterwards when they were to take vp the Crosse of Christ haue gone out and turned their backes vpon Christ Saul beganne well but afterwards he waxed worse and in the end became an open persecutor Ioash behaued himselfe vprightly all the dayes of Iehoiadah and repaired the house of the Lord but after his death hee fell to idolatry What did it profit Lots wife to goe out of Sodome insomuch as afterward she looked back and was turned into a Pillar of Salt So then we see here that it is not enough to purpose well it is not enough to begin well neither is it enough to proceede well it is required of vs to perseuere well and to continue in a constant and setled course euen vnto the end Doctr. 8. By our vnion with Christ we are made sure of perseuerance Last of all in that it is said heere that the Leaues that is to say the faith of a Christian shall neuer fall Hence I gather that no elect Childe of God that is truly regenerate and borne anew and a liuely member of Christs mysticall body can perish and finally fall away For whom God predestinateth him hee calleth whom hee calleth he iustifieth whom he iustifieth he glorifieth Rom. 8.30 The gift and calling of God is without repentance My sheep heare my voyce and follow me And I giue vnto them eternall life and they shall neuer perish neither shall any man take them out of my hands Ioh. 10.27 28.29 And the reason is Wee beare not the roote but the roote beareth vs. Our saluation doth not depend vpon our selues for then indeed wee were in danger to fall away euery moment of an houre but it dependeth vpon him because we are in him and through him we grow and increase yea the older wee bee in Christ the more doe we fasten our roote and flourish They which are planted in the Courts of the Lord shall flourish in their old age and bring forth much fruit And whereas other Branches are many times pulled from their stocke either by the violence of the wind by the hands of men or at the least consumed by length of time It shal not bee so with them that are in Christ for they are kept by him as the root bearing branches Because I am not altered nor changed therefore are you not consumed Oh yee sonnes of Iacob And therefore right happy is the state of that man who is in Christ Iesus For neither life nor death things present nor things to come shall separate him from the loue of God Rom. 8.38 And this comfort is confirmed to vs by most sure Arguments Argumēts to proue a Christians perseuerance Phil. 1.5.6 The first is taken from the Nature of Almightie God Hee is faithfull which hath promised And I am perswaded saith the Apostle that hee who hath begun this good worke will performe it vntill the day of Christ The second is taken from the nature of that life which Christ communicateth to his members Rom. 6.5 We know that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more this life of Christ is communicated to vs so that it is not we that liue now but Christ that liueth in vs. The third is taken from the nature of that seed whereof we are begotten 1. Pet. 1.23 Wee are borne anew not of mortall seede but of Immortall Now as the seed is so is the life that comes by that seed our life therefore must needs bee immortall This confuteth a damnable Doctrine Vse 1 of the Papists who hold and teach That a man elected called iustified and sanctified may for euer fall away and bee damned That hee which to day is the deere childe of God to morrow may become the childe of the deuill To day a member of Christ to morrow a limb of the deuill to day an heire of saluation to morrow an heire of damnation Now what doctrine can bee more deuilish and vncomfortable this is nothing else but to set vp a gibbet to torment the poore soules of Gods children to ouerthrow the nature of Faith to make God feeble and weake or foolish and vnwise which is manifest Blasphemy 2. Pet. 1.10 Psa 15. vlt. Rom. 8.1 8.36 but we see heere the Word of God tels vs this cannot bee For what shall separate vs from the loue of God in Christ Nothing Vse 2 This may serue to reproue another sort of men who are ready to abuse this doctrine Tush saith the carnall and loose Christian it skils not then how a man liues whether well or ill hee that is Elected and is a Member of CHRIST shall bee saued and hee that is reiected shall bee damned though hee liue neuer so well therefore they take liberty to sinne and make conscience of no sinne whatsoeuer But they must know that God decrees a man as well to the meanes as to the end And it is impossible a man should be Elected and Called but hee must liue well so he that is not Elected and Called cannot liue well And it is all one as if a man should neuer eate or drinke and yet hope to liue and like well or lying in the fire or water and vsing no meanes to come out should not perish But we must know that the end and the meanes must go together And for a man to neglect or reiect the meanes it is in vaine for him to hope to bee saued For if thou belong to God thou shalt in time bee Called and Sanctified And where this work is not as yet already wrought that man is as yet in the state of damnation Heere is matter of endlesse comfort Vse 3 to euery true child of God that truely repents and beleeues in Iesus Christ that howsoeuer through the malice of Sathan and the temptation of the deuill the allurements of the world and the corruption of our flesh we may grieuously sinne and fall yet There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Rom. 8.1 The gates that is all the power of hell shall not preuaile against vs Math. 16. If euer thou foundest the sound worke of grace in thee foundest Iesus Christ to dwell in thy heart by faith so that thou hatest all sinne and desirest in all things to please God though sathan rage and storme and all the gates of hell rise vp against thee yet thou maist comfort thy selfe in the Lord and say with Paul There is no condemnation to mee that am in Christ which walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit Thou maist triumph with Paul and say Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen And if God bee with vs who can bee against vs And a gaine I am perswaded nothing can seuer mee from the loue of God in Christ Iesus No not sinne nor death it selfe Oh happy then and blessed is the estate of that man who is in Christ Neither life nor death things present nor things to come shall separate
of the wicked but they shall after death never die Yea euery word of the sentence seemes to be most fearfull terrible First what they shall do Depart Secondly how they shall depart Cursed Thirdly from whom From me Fourthly whither Into fire Fifthly into what fire Euerlasting fire Sixtly by what right Prepared Seuenthly with what company The Diuell and his Angels Hitherto and thus farre the wicked must arise and stand in Iudgement but after this sentence is once giuen they shall neuer rise vp to appeare in Iudgement any more But where it is said They shall not stand in Iudgement This is meant onely in respect of Gods fauour For this is proper onely to the godly thus to stand in iudgement who are bold in respect of Iesus Christ their elder Brother in whose righteousnesse they appeare Oh that all men would consider Vse 1 this high low rich poore noble and simple That no wicked man shall stand in iudgement but shall heare the fearefull sentence of eternall vengeance Depart from mee yee cursed O how ready are men to put from them this day of reckoning They seeme to haue made a league with Death Esay 28.15 and to bee at an agreement with the Graue But the Lord will disanull this their agreement and the time will come when these wicked wretches will bee glad to put their heads in an awger hole when they shall cry vnto the rockes and hils to fall vpon them to hide them and to couer them from the wrath of God the angry Iudge whom they are not able to endure Who would buy gold at such a rate or pleasures so deere to loose his soule in hell fire for euer for the pleasures of sinne for a season heere Secondly we are taught here that Vse 2 as all wicked and vngodly men bee wretched and miserable in their life So at the day of Iudgement their estate is much more fearefull for it is said here They shall not stand in iudgement but shall quake and tremble as not being able to endure the angry countenance of the Iudge Reu. 20.14 For now they shal see the books brought forth and their sinnes laid open O good Lord what shall vngodly men do then which way shall they turne them when they shall see the Iudge stand aboue them with a naked sword to cut them off and the deuils ready to execute Gods eternall iudgements on them poore soules what shall become of them How can they stand how can they endure it And yet they must vndergo it and endure it But more then this they must receiue that fearefull sentence of eternall vengeance Depart yee cursed c. So as now they must remaine in perpetuall prison in the darke dungeon of hell for euer where the paines are endlesse easlesse and remedilesse They shall haue no ease no not one drop of water to coole their tongue And this word euerlasting Torment doth euen kill the heart of the damned for if a man in hell torments might lie in torments so many thousand yeares as bee Starres in the firmament or sand on the Sea shoare Esa 30.30 it were some comfort to a damned soule that once there might bee an end thereof But alas when he hath suffered torments so many yeares the number to suffer still will euer remaine infinite God giue vs grace that we may become righteous that so wee may stand in iudgement The second part of the misery of a wicked man in the life to come is Hee shall not stand in the assembly of the Iust IN these words is noted out vnto vs a second branch of the iudgement of the wicked in the life to come That they shall be seuered and secluded from the company of the Iust Heauen is called the New Ierusalem wherein enters no vncleane thing onely this is the place where the iust do abide Heere are all the holy Patriarkes Abraham Isaac and Iacob heere are the Apostles heere are the holy Martyrs and constant witnesses of CHRISTS truth here are all the Saints that sleepe in Christ heere they rest and sing continually Praise honour and glory vnto him that sitteth vpon the Throne heere they enioy the presence of God and see his face continually Now to bee depriued of this place and to be seuered from this company it is a misery with a witnesse And this is that misery heere pointed out in this second place They shall not stand in the Assembly of the Iust The Church is to bee vnderstood two wayes Militant and Triumphant and from both of these the wicked are excluded for howsoeuer the wicked liue amongst the godly as Tares amongst the good Wheate as Cain and Esau and Iudas did amongst the godly yet they were not of the godly They went out from vs because they were not of vs But this is not directly intended in this place But of the Church Triumphant in the kingdome of heauen where the godly enioy Iesus Christ Psal 16.12 In whose presence is the fulnesse of ioy and at whose right hand is pleasure for euermore heere the wicked shall not stand in this Assembly Exod. 3. For if Moses might not stand vpon the holy ground before he had put off his shooes Oh how much lesse shall sinfull wretches stand in the presence of the euerliuing God hauing on the shooes of their sinfull affection Yea it is now most iust with God that such should be shut from Heauen the Church Triumphant seeing they neuer warred in the Church Militant Neither the sinners in the assembly of the iust Doctr. 2. All Mankinde diuided into two ranks HEere then we learne that there are two sorts of men in the world Good and Bad Sheep Goates Elect and Reprobate and heere in this world they liue together but after death in the last iudgement there shall bee two places appointed for them Mat. 25.34 one on the right hand another on the left one in honour the other in shame one in ioy and comfort the other in feare and horror And as wicked men in this life could neuer abide the company and society of the godly but did mock and scoffe at them and shun their company as much as they could so in the great day of account in that great and generall separation The sinners shall not appeare in the assembly of the righteous but shall bee seuered and sundred by the great Shepheard of the sheepe the Iudge of the whole world Now that wicked men shun and auoid the company of the godly and do desire and seeke the company of the wicked it is plaine by experience and therefore it is iust with God that at the last day they should bee seuered and secluded their company and as they loued and delighted in the company of wicked men and such as haue no feare of God before their eyes so now they shall haue their belly full of their company How did Cain hate Abel Pharaoh Moses and Aaron Saul Dauid the