thy glory be eclipsed Then fourthly hee puts him in mind of their progenitors Abraham Isaac and Jacob Lord these be the children of those Fathers Didst thou love the tree and wilt thou cast away the fruit Didst thou love the Fathers and wilt thou cast away the children Then another is from the promise of God confirmed with oathes thou swarest to them that thou wouldest give them the Land shall not thy promise hold Not thy promise confirmed with oathes Here is his pleading for the people as before you heard how hee pleaded Gods cause with the sword yea how earnestly hee pleaded Gods cause in that very day that hee brake the Calfe Yet notwithstanding all this the good man feared though God might repent of the evill yet it may be he will not be thorowly reconciled to the people there will not be a thorow reconciliation therefore he goes to God againe Lord quoth hee If thou wilt pardon this people It was a vehement pathos If thou wilt pardon it hee saith no more but if thou wilt not put mee out of the booke of life So desirous was hee of Gods glory together with the salvation of the people that hee was carelesse of the salvation of his own soule Lord either forgive them or blot me out of the book of life Here is a vehement prayer and with this he slacks the wrath of God quencheth it It was slacked with the bloud that he cast on it it was quenched with the teares Wee reade of many more in Scripture that stood in the breach Samuel God is wont by Jeremy to joyne him and Moses together If Moses and Samuel stood before mee Then Ezekiel stood in the breach another time Josiah another time And not to heape other examples God complaines Ezek. 13. 5. that the Prophets would not stand in the breach the false Prophets But there is an excellent place worth your observation in Ezek. 22. ver 30. God had spoken of the sins of the people thorow that Chapter and shewed how those sins had made way for Divine justice to breake in among them Then in verse 30. marke what hee saith I sought for a man among them that would make up the hedge and stand in the gap before mee for the land that it should not be destroyed I found none see I sought for a man When our sinnes have opened such a gap whereby divine justice may come in to the destruction of a whole land then God looks for a man he looks about to see if he can find a man that will come and stand in the gap to keep him that he might not destroy them Brethren hee that doth not see what a wide gap what a wide breach the manifold sins of this land have made whereby divine justice may breake in and hath begun to breake in already hee that sees not this gap this breach sees nothing I pray you brethren doe but remembet Did not God a few yeares agoe make us turne our backes twice or thrice upon our enemies Did hee not make us a very derision and scorne to them that are round about us Doth not God come in now among us as the Prophet Habakuk shewes his manner of coming when hee comes to judgement to wit with the pestilence before him and burning coales going forth at his feet Hab. 3. verse 5. Doe you not see beloved brethren what a number of new upstart heresies there be in the world It bodes no good surely new heresies broached every day and old heresies renewed Doe you not see what miserable rents and schismes there be in the Church while some hold of Paul some of Apollo some of Cephas some of all of them and some of none of them Doe you not see the aspect one upon another is like the aspect of malignant planets Is not Christ divided Then doe you not see what jealousies and discontents there are in the secular state Brethren surely God is looking for a man to come to the breach Help men fathers and brethren come to this breach help Magistrates it is not enough for you to looke upon our miseries though with teares in your eyes unlesse your hands be put to the redresse of it Are there no houses of correction for these vagrant persons that live under no Magistracy under no Ministry Have you no carts for bauds No whips for harlots No pecuniarie mulcts for others No punishments for transgressors It is for us too that are Ministers to runne to this breach If ever wee did preach with power and evidence and demonstration not of nature or art but of grace and of the spirit it is time for us now to preach and to preach againe in season and out of season O that wee could be Boanerges sons of thunder and crie downe those sins that crie for vengeance And hearken Masters Fathers and Governours of families run to the breach In cleansing of the City if every man sweep before his own door the streets will be kept cleane Why doe you suffer revelling and swearing and quarrelling and drinking in your families Your houses should be Churches for God Where be your old exercises of Religion in your housholds Where be your prayers and your reading of Scriptures and your singing of Psalmes Where is your catechising I say no more but high and low rich and poore let us all run to the breach by earnest intercession to God privatly by continuall teares of repentance I conclude now as I did the last day Who knowes yet whether the Lord will have mercy on us and turne from his fierce wrath that wee perish not FINIS PSAL. 106. 24 25 c. Yea they despised the pleasant land they beleeved not his Word But murmured in their tents and hearkned not unto the voice of the LORD c. WE have two things in the Text The sinnes of the people And their punishment The sins of the people are set down in the two former verses And the punishment in the two later Their sinnes are foure The first is their unthankfulnesse in despising the pleasant land They despised the pleasant land The second is their infidelity that was the cause of that same unthankfull despising of the land They did not beleeve his Word The third sin was their accustomed sin of murmuring They murmured in their tents The fourth sin was their rebellion and disobedience They hearkned not to the voice of the Lord. They despised the pleasant land they beleeved not his Word they murmured in their tents they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord. You see their sinne see their punishment The Lord threatens that hee will punish them for this you heard before my Text The Lord said hee would destroy them Now hee sweares it Hee lift up his hand against them The lifting up of the hand was a ceremony among them used in swearing and God is said to doe it to lift up his hand when hee sweares He swore against them now And what did hee
to fall that hee might look with an eye of compassion upon sinners Then lastly It pleased God to suffer him to fall thus that hee might be a warning to us Quomodò tener Agnus c. Alas how shall the tender Lamb doe when the Bell-wether of the flock is thus endangered If Aaron the saint of the Lord as hee is called in this Psalme a man so familiarly acquainted with God and divine visions and a man that had been so powerfull with Moses in working miracles a man that approached so near to God a man so long conversant with God a man that had gone of so many errands of God as hee did with Moses to Pharaoh If so holy and so great a man as hee fell into so great a sinne as this then let us learn to worke out our salvation with feare and trembling Howle Firr-tree saith the Prophet when the Cedar fals Be not high-minded but feare It is the use wee are to mak of it So much for the first circumstance The second circumstance is Where they made this calfe In Horeb. There ran all along in Arabia a ridge of mountaines it was but one mountain but there were two great tops of it Sinai was one and Horeb was the other and you shall finde them sometime called by the one name and sometimes by the other sometimes the whole mountaine is called by the name of Sinai sometimes all the mountaine is called by the name of Horeb sometime by the one top sometime by the other Now this is a thing to be observed they were not gone yet from Horeb the law was given in Sinai but a little before where the Lord charged them out of the fire Thou shalt not make an Image to me they were but at the foot of the hill and had not tarried there much above a month after the law was given they saw mount Sinai before them that was the higher top and they could not but remember how mount Sinai was all on a smoaking fire and flame and with what earnestnesse God had charged them Thou shalt not make any similitude of mee they were not yet gone altogether from the mountaine they were yet in Horeb and yet you see as it is ver 13. They made haste and forgat God and fell to this sinne so saith God to Moses Goe get the downe this people are quickly gone out of the way Exod. 32. 7. You may see it in this I stand not upon that point The third circumstance is Whereof did they make this calfe They made it of their golden eare-rings Pull off the golden ear-rings saith he from your wives and your sonnes and your Daughters and give them to mee No doubt of it but the servant of God Aaron would faine by this have diverted them from making them a calfe Hee would faine have turned them from it if hee could Hee knew that all those people in those Easterne parts were much delighted in ornaments in eare-rings they say they weare them usually there to this day And suppose hee could perswade the men to be content to part with their ornaments out of their eares yet he thought it impossible to get the women to part with theirs What for a woman to part with her jewels and ornaments This seems a thing impossible You see they are so desirous of them they will many of them pinch their bellies that they may lay somewhat more upon their backes We know there are many that had rather their bellies should want sufficient sustenance then their backes a superfluous ornament You see what a hard matter it is to get women to leave an idle instrument or a bagge of vanity that they carrie about with them but to leave their jewels to part with their ornaments hee never thought they would doe it though the men might part from theirs yet they all do both men and women Wee may observe how easily men and women will part with any thing to maintaine Idolatry I cannot tell whether it be as that Father imagined the pride of our hearts that wee are in love with the workes of our owne hands with the devices of our owne braine with the invention of our own spirits that because they are our own we like them Or whether it be the vigilancy of the divell that roaring lyon that goes about seeking whom he may devoure or what else is the cause I know not but this I know men are more willing to part with any thing to an Idoll to a superstitious worship then to the true worship and service of God And for this cause Idolatry may fitly be compared to whoredome You see a whore-monger will be pinching and sparing enough to his wife and children at home but he cares not how expensive and excessive and lavish he be upon his whores abroad Thus it is in spirituall whoredome men are never so niggardly as in the worship of God but they are content to part with any thing for the maintaining of Idolatry This forwardnesse of this people even to pull their very eare-rings out of their eares to bestow upon an Idoll it will rise up and condemne us that are not willing to pull any thing out of our purses to the worship and service of God Many men in this liberall age we live in are content with the Wise men to take a great journey to see Christ peradventure they are content to fall downe and worship him but they are not willing with those Wise-men to open their treasures Speake to them of opening their treasures whether for works of piety to God or of charity to men then they stand at it as Naaman the Assyrian Nay the Lord be mercifull to me for that Brethren I could speak a great deale more to this purpose but I am loath to trouble you Then besides I know how unnecessary this is in this place I have had many a time here twice especially a plentifull experience of your forwardnesse I have seene how your hearts have beene enlarged in bounty towards the enlarging of this place towards the maintenance of the Ministery and service of God in this place I need not speake of that now But yet I will exhort you now to a worke of charity Do you remember the Briefe that was read even now for that poore towne of Cambridge Me thought your hearts did even yearne within you with pity and compassion to heare of almost 3000. poore distressed soules brought into this extreame misery through the The great plague in Cambridge Aug. 1630. hand of * God Brethren I need say no more I beseech you give us that are your servants in ordinary here in the worke of the Ministery both of the one side and of the other we are all brought up in the Universities I pray give us leave to repaire to your houses and If there be any consolation of Christ any comfort of love any fellowship of the Spirit any communion of Saints any bowels any mercy fulfill our joy
reâ—us Temporalibus c. B. Abbot of Sarisbury for his Book in Defence of Master â—â—â—â—ins Bâ—â—ingâ—â—â— for his Workes Bishop cake for his learned Sermons Bishop Davenant for his Praelectiones de duobus in Theologia controversis Capitibus c. and other Tracts Bishop White for his Book against Fisher Bishop Carleton for his Book against Arminianisme The Lord Primate of Armagh never to be mentioned without honour for his unparallel'd Workes and many others whereof some are fallen asleep and some remain to this day and long may they live to the performances of the like services Who hath so plainly discovered unto us a See Bishop Mâ—rton his Book of that Argument THE GRAND IMPOSTURE OF THE now CHURCH OF ROME Who hath so openly laid before us b See his Institution of the Sacrament the superstitious sacrilegious and idolatrous abominations of the Romish Masse Who hath so fully manifested c See his Catholike Appeale with many other of his accurate and learned Treatises against the Romanists the Antiquity of our Religion and satisfied all scrupulous Objections which have been urged against us Who hath so evidently demonstrated d See Bish Downham his Diatribe de Antichristo Bish Abbot of the same Argument the Pope to be The Antichrist Who hath so fully cleared that high point of e See Bish Downham his Treatises of Justification Justification and overthrown the Popish Doctrine of Merits Who hath so clearely set downe f See Bish usher his Historica Explicatio of that subject the beginning progresse and encrease of the mystery of Iniquity from the birth of Antichrist to his full age out of manifold Records of Antiquity Who hath given us so wholesome a g See Bish Hall of the old Religion Preservative against all Popish Insinuations In a word who have more approved themselves the worthiest Champions most willing most ready most able to oppose all Popish Antichristian Arminian Pelagian Doctrine then some of These who have been stiled in the late pamphlets Popish Antichristian Arminian Pelagian Bishops It is no open enemy that hath done this wrong but the men of this Land and children as they would be thought to be of this Church that have dishonoured these Worthies that have been an Honour to this Church and Land As for us Ministers of the Gospel of inferiour rank who have alwaies preached the same divine Truth some of us in the dayes of Queen Elizabeth and have received that mercy from God to be faithfull in holding the same profession without wavering or warping unto this day how are we at this time only because we walk in the way of the Church and study the peace of it desirous to yeeld obedience to God and our Superiours how are wee I say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 brought upon the Stage Heb. 10. 33. traduced as Baals Priests derided contumeliously used reproached in our streets our Churches our Pulpits accounted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the filth of the world and the off-scouring of all things a spectacle to Angels and men But holy Brethren to come to my third point wherein I shall make the use of all this Wee may approve our selves to be the true Ministers of Jesus Christ if that neither honour puffeth us up nor dishonour disheartneth us if neither a good report doth make us proud nor an evill report faint-hearted but can passe through all these honour and dishonour evill report and good report counting nothing in life nor life it selfe dear to us so as we may finish our course with joy and the Ministration which we have received of the Lord Jesus Christ To that end let me tender these things briefly to our consideration First that this vicissitude of honour and dishonour evill report and good report is from the Lord who must be allowed to doe what seemeth good in his eyes The time was wee doe confesse with thankfulnesse that the people did esteem us as the Ministers of Jesus Christ that they knew us and did acknowledge us worthy and accordingly had us in exceeding great love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for our works sake that they might shew that they could have pulled their eyes out of their head to have done us good that they honoured us with much honour and laded us with necessaries and plentifull provision for our encouragement to the worke of the Ministery Have wee received so much good at the hand of God and may we not now with patience receive some evill There is no evill done in the City in this kinde but the Lord hath done it Amos 3. 6. God hath bidden them to curse us and revile us and traduce us and load us with all these contumelies and reproaches and it may be these things being sanctified to us God may doe us good for all our reproaches this day wee should consider that as it cometh not without due desert seeing God is just so it shall not passe away without due profit seeing God is good Consider againe That there is nothing can come from the hand of this God to his servants but it cometh in the nature of a mercy while wee were honoured it was in mercy to encourage us and now wee are dishonoured and our soules filled with contempt it is done in mercy to admonish us to walke both more humbly with God and more warily with men Againe It is but the pride of our hearts that makes us so impatient of every light dishonour for it wee were as wee should be vile in our own eyes it were nothing nothing to be vile in the eyes of others Besides hear what our Lord sayes to his Disciples Blessed are you when men shall say all manner of evill of you falsly for my sake Rejoyce and be glad For so persecuted they the Prophets that were before you Matt. 5. 11 12. The Prophets before the Apostles were thus persecuted the Apostles and all the Worthies since the Apostles dayes have bin so persecuted in their severall Generations and our blessed Lord the Head both of Prophets and Apostles hath been as you heard before persecuted in like manner Now the disciple must not look to be above his Master nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the Disciple that hee be as his Master and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his houshold Mat. 10. 24 25. Lastly Behold there is a crown in the right hand of Christ and the word upon it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to him that overcometh Brethren let us hold fast that which we have and let no man take away our crown let us hold on still 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to divide the Word of God aright and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to walk with a right foot in the profession of it Et innocenter agere scienter praedicare not studying so much to have our gifts commended as to have God glorified the consciences of people edified their lives reformed and their souls saved And then if wee finde favour in Gods sight God may bring us againe into favour with men but if hee thus say I have no delight in you nor in your services behold here are we let him doe to us as he pleaseth He that passing through honour and dishonour as St. Paul did can say as St. Paul said I have fought the good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have kept it may assure himselfe of a crowne of Righteousnesse laid up for him which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give him that day and to all them that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ To whom with the Father and the blessed Spirit Three Persons one True Immortall Invisible onely Wise God be given all Honour Glory Dominion and Power now and for ever Amen FINIS