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ground_n	bring_v	good_a	see_v	1,546	5	3.3026	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13569	The ballance of the sanctuarie shewing hovv vve must behaue our selues when wee see and behold the people of God in miserie and oppression vnder the tyranny of their enemies. Written by William Teelinck, minister of the Word of God at Midlebrough in Zealand.	Teellinck, Willem, 1579-1629.; Gataker, Thomas, 1574-1654.; Harmar, Christopher, attributed name.	1621 (1621)	STC 23860; ESTC S118307	55,093	128

the little number of the godly but that prosperitie and aduersitie may both of them be fonnd to happen and to be giuen both vnto the vngodly wheresoeuer they bee and the like againe to the righteous wheresoeuer they remaine which both the word of God and experience teacheth vs to bee true for in the word of God doe wee not finde a righteous Abraham and an vngodly Nabal and both of them were rich A righteous Lazarus and an vngodly sort of men Iob 30. 1. 2. 3. 4. that were poore yea beggars Againe are wee not taught this by experience goe into the tents of Sem looke into the houses of the righteous there you shall finde some in prosperitie and some in aduersitie one house rich another miserable Goe into the tents of Kedar looke into the houses of the vngodly and you shall finde them in the like manner All these things the Lord doth according to his free will and mightie power and dealeth with the children of men according to the absolute vnlimitted and soueraigne pleasure of his will CHAP. III. That Gods proceedings with and towards the children of men cannot by man be comprehended THus then it appeareth that the wayes of God are vnsearchable For who can iudge of and imagine the reason or cause why God sendeth trouble aduersitie pouertie and miserie vnto one righteous man that feareth God shunneth euill and liueth as vprightly as any other of his estate and degree can or may doe and on the contrary exalteth and raiseth another righteous man to great wealth that is not altogether such a one in all degrees as the former On the other side who can enter into Gods counsell to know why God sendeth great trouble and misery to one vngodly man that is not wickeder then his neighbour and on the contrary giueth another vngodly person that in no sort is any thing better then the other great wealth happy state on earth and all prosperitie Nor are we to wonder when we shall behold that which oftentimes wee see to happen here vpon earth That on the one side a righteous man that is zealous of Gods honour fighteth for the defence of Gods cause and seeketh to aduance and further the same is many times so much crost and ouerth warted in his proceedings that it seemeth that both heauen and earth are bent against him and is in such perplexitie that he knowes not which way to winde or turne himselfe as Dauid was when the towne of Ziglag was spoyled and his owne people conspired against him 1. Sam. 30. 6. On the other side that an vngodly man that indureth no manner of aduersitie is an vtter enemy vnto God and seeketh by all the meanes that the can vtterly to extirpate and roote out the memorie of his most holy name out of the earth and yet is oftentimes so much holpen and seconded in his wickednes that heauen and earth and all things therein seeme to hold with him and hee bringeth his affaires vnto so happie and prosperous an end that he is a terrour and feare to the miserable and small troopes of the righteous Who can tell or finde out the true ground of these wayes of God See we not that God many times calleth a righteous man out of this world in the flower of his youth concerning whom in all mens iudgements it had better and it might haue beene wished that hee might still haue continued and liued longer here on earth being one that did so much good in his owne house in the place wherein he dwelt and in his calling wherein hee liued and on the contrary suffereth an vngodly man to liue long and many yeares here in the world being an vnprofitable member that fareth like a roaring Lion and a rauening Beare among his housh●●d spending and consuming all that hee hath or can come by wronging his wife and children defiling the place where hee liueth with scandalous and wicked actions and which is more leading many others with him into destruction and by his long life withholding and keeping others out of some necessarie places of seruice who were they imployed in the same would doe much good Who can declare or truly imagine the ground of this proceeding Doth it not oftentimes fall out that an vngodly man is stricken with an apoplexie while hee is busie about his wicked actions in some one kind or other and also that a righteous person is stricken by the hand of God while hee laboureth about the furtherance and aduancement of Gods glory and is onely carefull thereof That the Lord striketh an vngodly Arrius causing his bowels to burst and his guts to fall out of his belly as hee sitteth vpon the stoole to ease himselfe and so dieth and that the same God bringeth a righteous man his aduersary to the like death who would not be abasht thereat to consider of such incomprehensible wayes and workes of God And when men shall obserue and weigh with themselues in what manner of opposite condition they see and behold both the godly and vngodly they must needes and cannot chuse but acknowledge and confesse that the Lord worketh most wonderfully and vnsearchably therein There are two godly men of one state and qualitie that both liue in great prosperitie and wealth and two other godly men that both liue in great trouble penurie and miserie also there are two vngodly men of one calling and condition that both liue in great wealth and worldly happinesse and two other vnrighteous men that are vnhappy and indure great misery And there are two godly men of one calling whereof the one prospereth in all his affayres the other is crost and troubled There are two vngodly men of one condition whereof the one is crost in his affayres the other prospereth There is a godly and an vngodly man who although they be both of one calling in worldly affayres but yet differ much in their liues and conuersations touching Gods seruice that both liue in great prosperitie And there is a godly and an vngodly man of one condition for worldly matters that both are crost and indure much trouble and aduersitie There is a godly an vngodly man of one state and condition whereof the godly man hath prosperitie and the vngodly man aduersitie And againe there is an other godly man and an vngodly man of one calling in the world whereof the godly man hath much aduersitie and many crosses and the vngodly man great prosperitie What profoundnesse of Gods workes are these what wonderfull wayes of God are these Many men passe these things sleightly ouer but those that haue vnderstanding and know the word of God marking and beholding these things daily to come to passe in the world thereby note how wonderfully the Lord worketh in things that happen vnto the children of men Who can enter into the depth of these waies of the Lord who can tell the reason thereof In all respects then the workes of God are wonderfull to the children

and abound in wealth This many men cannot brooke while they are perswaded that it standeth not with the great Maiestie of the God-head and the Iustice of God to deale in such manner and the reason is because they looke vpon nothing but the outward shew and consider not the end for which God doth it for if in the lest degree they did but thinke and remember that God meaneth well to the godly and that their oppressions are wholesome medicines for their soules the better to prepare them for the life to come And on the contrarie that the prosperitie of the vngodly is like the Quale● to the children of Israel that died while they were in their mouthes then they would presently see and perceiue that they haue no cause to doubt of or to misconster and stumble at the workes of God For to speake the truth who is he that will longer stumble at or thinke it strange to see that God loseth and slacketh the bridle to the children of the world but tu●●reth holdeth in restraineth instantly and suffereth not his children to haue their wills when hee remembreth that the Lord doth it to his children to the end that they may become the more spirituall and better prepared for the kingdome of heauen doe wee not the like in matters of lesse importance continually in our houses to our children wee suffer our dogs that we● breed in our houses to runne at libertie loose and vntied and haue no regard what they doe nor how it fareth with them but is it not our manner to looke narrowly to our children to keepe them short to teach and instruct them and why doe we so but onely to bring them vp to all vertuous actions and for their better preferment So that it is to a speciall end that wee haue so great a care of our children which in no wise wee doe intend to our dogges but let them runne where they list The word of God therefore aduiseth vs to cast off all doubts and feares touching the workes of God and to rid vs thereof willeth vs not to looke onely vpon the outward end of the children of men and to consider of nothing else but the course of this present world euen as the state of the rich glutton and of poore Lazarus is set downe and declared vnto vs by Iesus Christ himselfe Luk. 16. So the Apostle Saint Paul warneth vs saying Remember those that haue the rule ouer you who haue spoken vnto you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conuersation Heb. 13. 7. And to the same end Saint Iames sayth Behold wee count them happy which indure you haue heard of the patience of Iob and haue seene the end of the Lord for the Lord is very pittifull and of tender mercy Iames 5. 11. Touching the prosperity of the vngodly who would be grieued thereat when wee marke and thinke vpon their endes they stand vpon slipperie ground and soone fall downe and then comes in the hard and heauie reckonings which they must make at the latter day see the 49. Psalme What is hee that grudgeth at the good that men doe to those that are condemned to die or at the friendship that is shewed vnto them by some when they are led to execution to be broken on wheeles or who would not chuse to passe thorough a troublesome and durtie way to inioy a great inheritance then thorough a faire and pleasant way to goe to execution doe not many honest housholders dislike of swaggering companions that dayly and hourely haunt the best Innes and Tauernes in the Citie and consume their wealth in banket after banket as long as their credits last and doe they not thinke them men of little wisedome or consideration and is it not found to bee so when they make vp their reckonings at home in their houses So it stands with the prosperitie of the vngodly many times here in this world they haue great wealth and abundance but they spend vpon their owne stockes and a hard reckoning followeth after it whereas on the contrary godly men that in this world are kept short and spend vpon their fathers purse whether it be superfluously or otherwise as their father thinkes it good haue no feare of an after reckoning all is freely forgiuen them Thus their ends differ much one from another This when the Psalmist considered although before touching this point of the workes of God how the vngodly prosper and the godly liue poore and miserably hee was somewhat troubled and muttred thereat yet at last hee was perswaded as hee himselfe witnesseth saying When I thought to know this it was too painefull for mee vntill I went into the Sanctuary of God then vnderstood I their end Psalm 73. 16. 17. CHAP. VIII That there is no cause why men should bee so much abashed when they shall consider how the enemies of Gods people when they incounter in battaile with the people of GOD and haue the vpper hand and ouerthrow them YET this is not all that which causeth greatest dislike in the hearts of many men touching the workes of God done among the sonnes of men the chiefest reason consisteth herein that men oftentimes see and behold that not onely many vngodly men liue in great prosperitie and many righteous men in great miserie but that men see and obserue that the vngodly oftentimes oppresse the godly and that when Gods people and their enemies encounter in battaile and fight together many times their enemies haue the victorie and ouercome them This is the point that produceth greatest difficultie and many men cannot be resolued how it should come to passe that the seruantes of the most high God that haue his cause in hand that are iealous of his glory and fight for his truth should be ouercome by those that are Gods enemies that Gods cause should turne the backe and falshood and deceit haue the vpper hand this by many men cannot be conceiued nor considered as it should bee for that as things are brought to passe they see nothing but contrary effects The vngodly are hardened in their vngodlinesse and the godly weepe and mourne all thinges are worse and worse and the name of the Lord by this meanes slandred and euill spoken of and his truth blamed I answer we must needes confesse and acknowledge that these are most profound wayes of God but the Lord also in his holy word hath giuen vs to vnderstand what the meaning is of these his most wonderfull workes and telleth vs that he hath reason so to doe both in respect of the godly and the vngodly and of his people and their enemies and first giueth vs to vnderstand that in these occurrents hee is patient and long suffering Luk. 18. 7. That he is not so hastie as wee are Psal 116. 11. Hee can indure that his cause and his peoples cause should sometime bee hindred and that the vngodly should domineire as if Baal or As●aroth and not the

many times sendeth great wealth and prosperitie to the vngodly it is euident and not to be contradicted that not all wealth prosperitie is a signe or token that God fauoureth that man to whom he giueth it for the Lord our wonderfull God giueth in his wrath and anger to some men that which they wish and desire as he gaue Quailes to the Children of Israell at their desire but they dyed while they were eating of them Numb 11. Many a man hath earnestly desired and also obtained that which in the end was his ouerthrow So that it is most certaine that the wealth and prosperitie of the vngodly is nothing else but as it were a pasturing of Beastes for the day of slaughter This God taught Ieremie when touching the prosperitie of the vngodly hee looked into and searched the wayes of God Righteous art thou O Lord when I plead with thee yet let me talke with thee of thy Iudgements Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper Wherefore are all they happie that deale very trecherously Thou hast planted them yea they haue taken roote they grow yea they bring forth fruit thou art neere in their mouth and farre from their reines But thou O Lord knowest me thou hast seene me and tryed mine heart towardes thee Put them out like sheepe for the slaughter and prepare them for the day of slaughter Iere. 12. 1. 2. 3. This is the cause why those that prosper in this world reioyce though they are vngodly they glory in themselues because all things goe well with them and are perswaded that it shall alwaies be so with them yea and that God fauoureth and liketh them which notwithstanding is not so The Lord often times in this life giueth great wealth and prosperitie and whatsoeuer they wish or desire vnto those to whom after this life he will giue hell and vtter damnation for their reward Gods wayes in these thinges are not like the wayes of men to those that men hate and cannot abide they wish no good no not so much as may continue the twinckling of an eye But it is not so with our God hee endureth the vessels of wrath with great patience beares long with the vngodly to see if they will once repent and turne from their wicked waies and feare that good God from whom they haue receiued so many good things which if they doe not but ●●●ll continue in their wickednes Then vndoubtedly such is the case of the vngodly that the more wealth and prosperitie they haue in this world the more hated and accursed of God they are For this is most certaine that there can come no greater plague in the world then this to the Children of men when doing euill it falleth out well as they imagine with them for thereby they imbolden themselues in their wicked wayes and take such a course that they shun no wickednesse and then that draweth more vnto them which the Psalmist sayth When the wicked spring like the grasse and when all the workers of iniquitie flourish it is that they shall be destroyed for euer Psal 92. 7. Therefore the Prophet cryeth out against the Children of this world in this manner saying O that they were wise that they vnderstood this that they would consider their latter end Deut. 32. 29. Reioyce not then you Children of the world because you flourish and prosper here for behold and see that it standeth thus with you as long as you feare not the Lord for you can finde nothing to make for you out of any place in the word of God but that Gods intent and meaning is to feed you in this fatt pasture for the day of slaughter Ier. 12. 3. And that in this world hee will bring that vpon you which you deserue as it hapned to Absolon Hammon and others This is most certaine you stand vpon slipperie ground and God that iudgeth you is strong and in the twinckling of an eye can throw you downe God I say whom you feare not and therefore is against you comes to Iudgement as a theefe in the night Therefore looke before hand that you stand vpon your gard turne speedily vnto him and repent least with the couetous rich man for a short and transicorie worldly life you bee soone carried away from hence into euerlasting paine and damnation CHAP. XII That all worldly crosses and tribulations are not a shew or signe that God will refuse that man to whom he sendeth them SEeing that by the reasons and proofes aforesaid it is cleare and euident that God also suffereth crosses and tribulations to fall vpon the most godly men that are here in this world it appeareth thereby also without contradiction that all tribulations and troubles are not a crosse of God neither an argument that God will ouerthrow and at once consume vs when he layeth tribulations vpon vs but on the contrary God sometimes suffereth his owne louing and dearest children whom he liketh well and approueth of to fall into great miseries and calamities sometimes So wonderfull is God in his workes to mankind those that he loueth and most certainely determineth to giue vnto them the kingdome of heauen and euerlasting ioy yet them giueth hee oft into their enemies hands Ier. 12. 7. For so hee witnesseth vnto vs in his word And he is wont to Chasten as many as he loueth Apo 3. 19. For whom the Lordloueth hee chasteneth and scourgeth euery sonne whom he receiueth Heb 12. 6. Yea because hee loueth them and because hee liketh them therefore he instructeth and chastneth them the more hearken what he sayth to that purpose to the Children of Israell his darlings You onely haue I knowne of all the families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities Amos 3. 2. He will come to visite you at home to make you better that you may not perish with the wicked world 1 Cor. 11. 32. This might abashe those that are so plagued and yet are happie who otherwise in their weaknesse many times when crosses fall vpon them are wont to say as Sion sayd in her griefe The Lord hath for saken me and my God hath forgotten me Esa 49. 14. But what sayth Gods answer Can a woman forget her sucking Child that she should not haue compassion on the sonne of her wombe though they may forget yet will I not forget thee Behold I haue grauen thee vpon the palmes of my hands thy walles are continually before me thy Children shall make hast thy destroyers and they that make thee wast shall goe forth of thee I i ft vp thy eyes round about and behold all these gather themselues together and come to thee as I liue sayth the Lord thou shalt surely cloth thee with them all as with a raiment and bi●● them on thee as a bride doth for thy wast and thy desolate places and the land of thy destruction shall euen now be too narrow by reason of the Inhabitants and they that