own saluation no maruell then if he preferred it before the honours and treasures of Egypt the like did blessed Paul who professeth that for Gods glory in the saluation of the Iewes he could wish himselfe accursed or separated from Christ Remarkable also is the Apostles care in the cure of the Creeple that the least part of Gods praise might not cleaue to their fingers but all might be ascribed to the Lord. The 24. Elders cast their Crownes before the Throne they emptie themselues of all glory merit and worthinesse whatsoeuer that they may giue all praise vnto the Lord. And lastly haue we not our Sauiours owne example for our imitation who both by praier and practice sought his Fathers glory and only it Father saith he glorifie thy name and againe I honour my Father and seeke not my owne glorie And in that sweet praier of his I haue glorified thee on earth I haue finished the worke which thou gauest me to doe Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses and haue so many examples before vs for our encouragement let vs lay aside all pride of heart selfe-loue vaine-glorie and euery such like weight and sinne which doth so easily beset vs and in simplicitie of heart aime at our masters praise in all we vndertake Euery dull iade will follow though he will not leade the way we are but iades in Christianitie and godlinesse if we continue carelesse when so many haue gone before vs in this dutie Remember further how we pray Doe we not desire daily the hallowing of Gods name now to say it with our mouthes and not seeke it in our liues is damnable hypocrisie a sinne that God abhorres Doe we not likewise pray that Gods will may be done in earth as it is in heauen Now tell me how doe the Angels spend their time doe not they cry continually one vnto another Holy holy holy is the Lord God of Hoasts the whole earth is full of his glory Oh take heed lest thou multipliest lies as thou multipliest praiers see that thy heart and tongue be not at variance what thou praiest for with thy lips see thou practisest in thy life Let not your workes giue your tongues the lye Againe for our further encouragement hereto consider we the benefit that comes hereby For by glorifying God we bring glory to our selues the greatest fruit thereof redounds to vs His glory is as himselfe eternall infinite and so abides in it selfe not capable of our addition to it or detraction from it As the Sunne which would shine in its owne brightnesse and glory though all the world were blinde and did wilfully shut their eies against it so God will euer be most glorious let men be neuer so obstinate or rebellious Yea God will haue glory by Reprobates though it be nothing to their ease and though he be not glorified of them yet he will glorifie himselfe in them Yet notwithstanding this he will trie how we prize his glory and how industrious we are to magnifie and exalt it wherein if he finde vs painfull he will plentifully reward it and returne glory for glory according to his promise Them that honour me will I honour Lastly if all that hath beene said worke not vpon vs yet let the danger that followes vpon the neglect of this dutie moue vs. How many examples are recorded in Scripture of Gods iudgements vpon such as did either derogate from God or arrogate to themselues any part of that praise which was due vnto his name Moses and Aaron yet his owne deare seruants were debarred out of the Land of Promise because they glorified him not at the waters of strife The high-Priesthood was remoued from the house of Ely and the wrath of God was kindled against him for the iniquitie of his sonnes which he saw in them and staied them not and so honoured them aboue the Lord. When Nebuchadnezzar vaunted vainegloriously of that great Babel which he had built by the might of his power and to the honour of his Maiestie how was he debased his kingdome was taken from him he was driuen from amongst men and sent to grasse with the beasts of the field for seuen yeares space vntill he was made to know that the most high God ruleth in the kingdome of men And lastly remember Gods hand on Herod who taking to himselfe the glory which was due vnto the Lord when the people applauded his eloquent oration was immediatly smitten by the Angell of God and was eaten vp of wormes and so gaue vp the Ghost Now all these things happened vnto them for ensamples vnto vs and they are written for our admonition vpon whom the ends of the world are come to the intent that we should not doe as they haue done lest despising him we be despised as they were Let these things be laid to heart and kindly worke vpon vs so as that whatsoeuer we are we may be it In him through him and for him Begin all your workes in God and end in God yea dedicate your selues vnto him No Tradesman can endure to haue any of his chiefe tooles which he hath made or wherewith he worketh vsed to a wrong end Man is one of Gods chiefe instruments whom he hath made for his owne honour and therefore cannot endure that he or any of his members should be instruments of wickednesse to his dishonour And let all good Christians take heed lest they doe any thing which may cause God or his Gospell to be blasphemed The lewd life of one professor doth more harme and tends more to Gods dishonour than the lewd life of an hundred Atheists as daily experience maketh good Let a prophane wretch that neither feareth God nor reuerenceth man liue in the grossest sinnes that can be thought of there is hardly one word of reproofe or dislike vttered Let another that professeth religion be ouertaken through infirmitie and that but once in all his life then are the mouthes of all the prophane multitude opened against the very truth and profession it selfe These are your Bible-bearers your professors your men of the holy house see their fruits Thus euery little aberration in a Professor is noted when outragious wickednesses of prophane wretches is nothing at all regarded When the lesser starres be eclipsed none takes knowledge of it but if the Sunne be once then euery one obserues it what cause therefore haue all such to be carefull of their cariage Looke to thy selfe therefore thou that art a professor of the Gospell thou dippest in the same dish with Christ and therefore thou of all other shouldst be farthest off from dishonouring his name Dauid tooke it more to heart that those who did eat bread at his table did despise him than that others did that Absolom should seeke his life than that Shemei should rayle vpon him And thou my sonne Brutus art thou one of
what good seruice it will doe The Lord God hath set it as his deputy in the brest of man which though it bee oftentimes a neuter when the act is doing and while sinne is a commiting yet afterwards it will proue a friend and faithfull witnesse for the Lord but an aduersary against man Oh that the wicked would thinke of this who sinne in hope of secrecie why who sees them who can witnesse any thing against them who can condemne them for such or such an action Alas poore soule There is a conscience within thee that sees thee and will condemne thee thy selfe shall passe sentence against thy selfe Now thou canst hide couer and cloake thy sinne and plead in the defense thereof but when God shall cite thy conscience to giue in euidence that shall bee as a thousand witnesses and condemne thee for thy most secret sinnes Though thou doe escape all apprehension and accusation in this world yet thy owne conscience will arrest thee and hale thee vnto iudgement And albeit thou escape mans iudgement yet the iudgement of thy owne conscience thou shalt neuer escape Neither thinke that what thou thy selfe knowest shall euer bee concealed thou art priuy to thy owne lewdnesse and knowest of thy drunkennesse adultery theft c. What art thou the better then in that no body else is priuy to them so long as thou hast a conscience within thee Neither thinke thou that because thy conscience is now asleepe or feared and benummed through a continuance in the custome of sinne that it will neuer be awakened or that this is nothing so For as the poize of a clocke being downe all motion ceaseth the wheeles stirre not but being would vp all is set on going So albeit now while thy conscience is downe there is no noise nor mouing in thy heart all is quiet yet when it is wound vp by the iustice of God as one day assuredly it shall it will set all the wheeles on working thy tongue to confesse and say guilty Lord guilty thy eies to weepe thy hands to wring thy voice to cry thy heart to ake and yet all in vaine Bee watchfull therefore and euer remember Conscience Beware of hypocrisie and secret sinnes for though thou canst hide them from men and Deuils yet not from it And looke thou neglect not the checks of conscience Doth it now checke thee and reproue thee for thy waies know the time commeth when that conscience which doth now checke thee shall iudge thee and condemne thee and that which doth now reproue thee shall hereafter torment thee in endlesse woe if thou repent not Secondly seeing this is so that Man shall iudge himselfe and iustifie the Lord then let it teach vs this point of wisdome to beginne betimes and now iudge our selues that we may not be iudged Selfe-condemning is an especiall meanes to preuent future condemnation and the more speedily we set vpon the worke the more mercifully will the Lord deale with vs. It is recorded of Edward the first sometimes King of this land that being crossed by a seruant of his in the sport of Hawking and further incensed by a sawcie answer which he made vnto the Kings threatnings telling him it was well there was a riuer betweene them spurd his horse into the depth of the riuer not without great danger of his life the water being deepe and the bankes too high and steepe for his ascending Yet at last recouering land pursues his seruant with his drawne sword The seruant finding himselfe too ill horsed to outride the King and seeing no way to escape his fury lights from his horse and on his knees exposed his necke to the blow of the Kings sword The King seeing this puts vp his sword and would not touch him Behold how humble submission and selfe-iudging soone pacifles him whom a dangerous water could not with-hold from violence Whiles men stand out against God iust fying themselues stubbornly flying from him he that rides vpon the wings of the winde posts after with the sword of vengeance drawne but when we condemne our selues and cast our selues downe at the foot of his mercie then will his wrath be soone appeased towards vs. Thirdly here we haue a patterne for our imitation and a coppy set to write after Let vs herein also be followers of God as deare Children and be so vpright and iust in our proceedings as that wee may dare to appeale to the consciences of our aduersaries for witnesse and testimonie of our innocency And as the Apostle willeth let vs approue our selues to euery mans conscience in the sight of God Such was Dauids cariage towards Saul as that he was constrained twice to testifie of him Thou art more righteous than I. The innocencie of Shadrach Meshach and Abedaego caused Nebuchadnezzar to pronounce with his owne mouth they were the seruants of the high God Though Plinius Secundus be an enemie to Christians and a persecutor of them yet their holy and godly conuersation shall make him to certifie the Emperour his Master Traian that they are harmelesse persons Thus let thy life bee holy and innocent and then thou maist fetch a testimony from the conscience of the very enemie And as Dauid said sometimes to Micol obiecting vnto him that euen his owne seruants contemned him for his dancing before the Arke Of the seruants which thou hast spoken of of them shall I be had in honour So say I euen those wicked ones that outwardly traduce thee and reuile thee cannot but inwardly they must acquit thee and commend thee their heart and conscience shall speake for thee euen then when their tongue and lips doe speake against thee And when euer it shall please the Lord to set their consciences on the racke or to compasse them about with the snares of death then shall their tongue be constrained will they nill they to discouer what now lies hidden for the iustification of thy righteousnesse Then they crie out oh send for such a man or such a woman they will pray for me and doe me good and giue me comfort and doe we not see daily that they sooner trust for all their talke such as they terme Hypocrites Dissemblers and Precisians with their goods and with their children and with their portions yea and with their soules also before any other The last thing propounded to our consideration in this Appeale is the Parties betweene whom the variance is and they are the Lord and Israel God and his Vineyard God being the Plaintiffe and the whole body of the people euen all Israel and Iudah the Defendants As vnequally matched as euer were Earth and Heauen Strength and Weaknesse or the great Beemoth and the silliest worme that creepes in the chinkes and crannies of the earth God contends with man he that is excellent with them that are but dust who then is like to haue the day Betweene mee and my Vineyard And
amongst the Papists in a strange and vnknowne tongue as also that kinde of singing Psalmes wherein the words and sentences are broken and diuided which hinders the edification of the hearers is not iustifiable Thus we haue seene the rules propounded to vs What now remaines but that a watchfull care be had that they be put in practise by vs and the rather for that amongst all the exercises belonging to a Christian God is most dishonoured by this For few sing but as it may well be feared take Gods name in vaine in singing because they doe not so performe it as Gods word enioynes The more subiect then this dutie is to be performed amisse the more cause haue we of care for the right performance of it when euer we set vpon this holy exercise To my well-beloued Here is the Dedication of the Prophets Poem From whose practise learne we our dutie viz. To consecrate all our labours vnto God Thus Moses and the children of Israel write a song and sing it vnto the Lord. And in that sweet Swan-like song which that man of God sang a little before his death He will publish the name of the Lord So Dauid spake vnto the Lord in that same Psalme of Thanks-giuing which he made for Gods powerfull deliuerance of him out of the hands of all his enemies The like did Solomon Hannah Hezekiah Mary Zachary Simeon with other of Gods Saints dedicate their labours in this kinde to Gods eternall praise And so the Apostles as euidently appeares by that doxologie or forme of praise which they continually vse in their Epistles To God only wise be glory c. Vnto him be glory in the Church by Christ Iesus Vnto the King immortall inuisible the only wise God be honour and glory To God only wise our Sauiour be all glory c. And hereunto tend those generall exhortations Whether you eat or drinke or whatsoeuer you doe doe all to the glory of God And againe Whatsoeuer you doe in word or deed doe all in the name of the Lord Iesus And thus this truth is strengthned Besides there is good Reason for it For the first thing in Gods intention should be the first in ours But this is the first in his He predestinated vs saith the Apostle to the praise of the glory of his grace He hath made all things for himselfe saith the Wise-man yea euen the wicked for the day of iudgemenmt Bring my sonnes from farre and my daughters from the ends of the earth euen euery one that is called by my name for I haue created him for my glory And againe we reade All things were created by him and for him Seeing then God himselfe proposeth his owne glory to himselfe for the end of all his works man should make the glory of God the end of all he doth But ah Lord God how little is thy glory thought vpon How few make it the supreme end of all their labours Shouldst thou looke downe from heauen vpon the sonnes of men to see if there were any that would vnderstand and seeke after thee to honour thee wouldst thou finde one amongst a thousand that did truly doe it We all can say with Saul Honour me I pray thee before the Elders of my people when notwithstanding we turne thy glory into shame louing vanitie seeking after lyes Oh that we could once be brought to learne this lesson That we would not suffer any part of the repute or honour of any of our acts or labours to rest vpon our owne heads but repell it forcibly from our selues and reflect it carefully vpon our Lord and Master It is the first grace which Christ teacheth vs to begge of God and it ought to be the chiefest ayme of our whole liues yea we should prefer it before our liues or the saluation of our soules wherefore it is made the first petition and set before the desire of daily bread and the petition that is made for remission of our sinnes Now at length then learne to prefer it before all the world and promote it by our best meanes Consider we for this end All creatures in their kinde glorifie their Maker and employ themselues in the setting forth of his praise The heauens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy worke by their admirable structure motions and influence they preach his praise and that 1. All the night and all the day without intermission for one day telleth another and one night certifieth another 2. In euery kinde of language for there is no speech nor language where their voyce is not heard and 3. In euery part of the world in euery Country Citie Towne Village Parish for Their sound is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world Thus saith one they be diligent Pastors preaching at all times And learned Pastors as preaching in all tongues And Catholike Pastors preaching in all Townes And the subiect of all their preaching is no other than the glory of God And as the Heauens so doe the Fowles of the Heauens as the Storke Crane Turtle Swallow And so also the beasts of the field for the Oxe knoweth his owner and the Asse his masters crib as I say sheweth Remember againe how little glory God getteth at the hands of most in the world which I thus make euident Put case the whole world should be diuided into foure parts three of the foure we shall finde to be ouerspread with Turcisme Paganisme c. they not so much as professing the true God in Christ and therefore amongst them God can get no glory but is continually dishonoured by their liues and actions so that there is but a fourth part of the world if that which doth professe him in his Sonne and amongst those though all professe him in word how many are there which denie him by their workes Should we make a subdiuision and againe diuide that fourth and least part into foure parts more we shall finde the least part truly to seeke his honour One part we shall finde are Hereticks who rob him of his glory by their superstition and Idolatrie A second part are Atheists and notorious euill liuers who are so farre from honouring him as that they daily belch out blasphemies against him A third part are Hypocrites and carnall Protestants backsliders and luke-warme Christians who honour him with their lips but haue their hearts farre from him Now there is but a fourth part and hardly that who are sincere and faithfull and if they should not bend themselues with all their might to maintaine and aduance Gods glory it would be trodden vnder foot of all Should not this consideration be a spurre in our sides to make vs forward in this dutie Call to minde the practices of Gods Saints Moses that man of God preferred it before his
receiue Yea such an Antipathie there is betwixt Gods grace and mans bad heart that the more it wrastles with him to bring him to saluation the more he wrastles against it for his owne confusion Hence then we may take notice first of the poisonfull nature of sinne which corrupteth and altereth the nature of all things be they neuer so good so excellent making that hurtfull which in it selfe is healthfull Christ the Word the Sacraments the Creatures yea God himselfe are by it made occasions of euill Yea looke as Gods wisdome and goodnesse can draw good out of the greatest euill as out of mans fall Iudas his treason the Iewes abiection c. So mans sinne can draw euill out of the greatest good and make it hurtfull and pernitious to his soule Should wee not then hate it and abhorre it And secondly of the wretched estate of the sinner who is poisoned by sinne Needs must his condition be fearefull who brings swift damnation on himselfe not only by foule grosse sinnes but euen by the most holy things of God as the wicked doth For as all things worke together for the best vnto them that loue God euen to them that are called of his purpose as witnesseth the Apostle So by a rule of contraries to them who are vnregenerated all things worke together for the worst They corrupt all things they defile all things Their tongues are Adders speares their lips are instruments of guile their hands worke iniquitie and their feet are swift to the shedding of bloud Their wits they abuse to cauill with their wealth to oppresse their strength to steale their friends to bolster them out in all with their knowledge they beguile and deceiue the simple and vnstable soule The Scripture they make a couer for their prophanenesse for when they be espied or reproued they will tell you they doe no more than what they can iustifie by holy warrant Their mariage they abuse for lust their children for couetousnesse the day for open euill and the night for secret shame How neere must their damnation be when euery thing doth further it Euery word euery action yea euery thought doth hasten it Oh! the misery of the wicked who in the top of their happinesse and in the midst of their store and plentie are hastening to death to Hell Againe let this admonish vs not to content our selues with the enioyment of things in themselues good vnlesse we haue a sanctified vse thereof And surely herein many doe delude themselues in thinking all is well and they are the blessed of the Lord in that they haue so many good things and such plenty of Gods good blessings showred downe vpon their Tabernacles when alas as we haue seene many haue as much whose table becomes a snare vnto them and their prosperitie their ruine Doe not then content thy selfe in the simple enioyment of things good vnlesse they be good to thee Better be as poore as Lazarus than with Diues to haue much wealth and haue no grace to vse it Wisdome is good saith wise King Solomon with an inheritance but an inheritance without wisdome is passing hurtfull Lastly learne that the meanes which God affordeth for mans good shall neuer returne in vaine for if they further not mans saluation they will hasten his destruction and confusion If wee will not be the better for his mercies we shall be a great deale worse Some effect will follow thereupon if they produce not sweet grapes they will sowre For as the raine commeth downe and the snow from heauen and returneth not thither but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may giue seed to the sower and bread vnto the eater So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth it shall not returne vnto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it saith the Lord. The preaching of Gods word and all other of his ordinances is such physicke as will either cure or kill none euer heard the one or vsed the other but was thereby made either much better or much worse they became either more barren or more fruitfull The Word in Scripture is called a two edged sword that cuts both waies it is either a conuerting or a conuincing power A sauour it hath to all either of death or life And looke as fire hath a double operation vpon the seuerall subiects it workes vpon it fires stubble but refines the gold So hath the Word some hearts as we haue heard it enflames with zeale and loue vnto it other hearts it sets on fire to persecute and molest it and the bringers of it At one Sermon Sergius Paulus was conuerted and Elimas obdurated at another Sermon some beleeued and some beleeued not And vpon our Sauiours preaching we may reade how some went backe and walked no more with him but others stuck more fast close vnto him knowing full well that he had the words of eternall life and therefore whither should they goe Thus is it to conuersion if beleeued to confusion if despised How should this stirre vs vp to a zealous preparation before wee come to the house of God Wee returne not to our owne homes as we came from thence but wee are one step neerer to heauen or to hell Oh! what a griefe and heart-breake will it be vnto thee at the last day to see many who haue heard the Word with thee beene of the same Parish vnder the same Ministery sate in the same stoole to be receiued into heauen because they beleeued and repented and thou thy selfe thrust downe to hell for thy infidelitie and hard-heartednesse Looke therfore well about thee and regard the means When Moses threw the Rod out of his hand it became a Serpent but when he laid hold of it and tooke it to him it became that Rod wherewith he wrought those many and mighty miracles Thus if thou castest the word thou hearest from thee looke to finde it as a Serpent that will sting thee to the heart but lay hold of it and take it vp obey it and apply it and thou shalt haue the great worke of thy saluation wrought thereby Before we leaue this verse one thing more I would haue obserued The fruit that it brought forth is said to be wilde fruit The word as was before noted signifieth such a kind of fruit which in smell is most odious and stinking and in taste most loathsome and vnsauourie And this teacheth vs thus much The fruit of disobedience and sinne is a stinking and vnsauourie fruit It is such a fruit as is odious and vnsauoury in Gods nostrils bitter and vnpleasant to his taste Moses in his last song speaking of the wicked and vngodly enemies of the Church saith thus Their vine is of the vine of Sodome and of the fields of Gomorrah their grapes are grapes of
is it possible that there should be a controuersie betweene God and his Vine which he planted with his owne right hand Betweene him and that people whom he had so highly honoured Then it will follow that Sinne will make bate and stirre vp strife betweene God and his dearest people There is no Citie no not Ierusalem no people no not Israel nor Iudah be they graced with neuer so many priuileges crowned with neuer so many blessings but sinne will set the Lord and them at variance The Lord hath a controuersie with the Inhabitants of the Land saith Hoseah because there is no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the Land c. Sinne was the breeder of it Babylon the glory of the Kingdomes the beautie of the Caldees excellencie yet her pride set her and God at variance so that her Palaces were made dens of Dragons wilde beasts of the field did lie there their houses were cages for vncleane birds Owles did dwell there Satyres did dance there with dolefull creatures were they filled And thus Sodome sometimes as faire and beautifull as Paradise it selfe was set at variance with the Lord by reason of her sinnes Pride Idlenesse and Fulnesse of bread c. bred the quarrell and was the cause that shee was made a perpetuall desolation And will not those seuen famous Churches of Asia Ephesus Smyrna Pergamus Laodicea Philadelphia Sardis in the midst whereof God is said to haue his walke witnesse as much Did not their sinnes cause the Lord to contend with them a long time and in the end make him to giue vp their Land to be inhabited by Zijm and Ochim Turkes and Infidels What shall I need to say more Such a variance it made betweene God and the Angels as that they were turned out of Heauen Betweene God and our great Grand-father as that he was droue out of Paradise Betweene the Lord and Moses as that it kept him from Canaan And such a contention daily it breeds betweene God and men as that infinite thousands are thereby kept out of the Kingdome of Heauen Let all wicked ones hence take notice of their estates which by this Doctrine they may as clearely see as in a glasse For doth sinne set God and man at oddes and is it a make-bate betweene them Then certainly such as liue in it and harbour it cannot be at peace with God What peace saith Iehu to Ioram so long as the whoredomes of thy mother Iezebel and her witchcrafts are so man0y So say I What peace so long as that make-bate is harboured in thy brest Nay There is no peace to the wicked saith my God For what fellowship hath righteousnesse with vnrighteousnesse What communion hath light with darknesse What concord hath Christ with Belial God is thy enemie and hath against thee and therefore see thou agree quickly with thy aduersarie We say in a prouerbe He is poore that God hates true none so poore as the wicked are for what though they haue riches honours friends c. when there is a controuersie betweene God and them If one man sinne against another the Iudge shall iudge for him said old Ely to his sonnes but if a man sinne against the Lord who shall intreat for him Seeke therefore reconciliation cast that make-bate out of thy bosome which stirs vp all this strife Sinne is thy owne creature destroy that and God must needs loue thee who art his creature but if thou wilt not then expect no peace but contention and destruction If the Pot will needs contend with the Potter it cannot be but it must be broken Thou art but an earthen Pitcher in the hand of thy Maker and he can full easily dash thee against the wall and stampe thee into powder It is good counsell that the Wise-man giues thee Contend not with him who is mightier than thy selfe and if thou beest not a foole I aduise thee to follow it lest Woe and Alas come too late And secondly See here the reason why the Lord doth so often bend his browes and turne away his face from his owne people in displeasure Sinne is it that bred the quarrell that was it which causeth it The fashion of many in the day of affliction is to crie out of euill tongues that haue for spoken them and surely say they we are bewitched but if we looke well about vs we shall finde the grand-witch to lie lurking in our own bosomes It is sinne that hales downe those iudgements on vs and ours What shall I say O Lord when Israel turnes their backes before their enemies said Iosua to God now marke Gods answer Get thee vp wherefore liest thou thus vpon thy face Israel hath sinned they haue transgressed my Couenant which I haue commanded them for they haue euen taken of the accursed thing and haue also stollen and dissembled also and they haue put it euen amongst their owne stuffe Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies because they were accursed neither will I be with you any more except you destroy the accursed thing from amongst you This answer may we giue to the like demand Why are wee so often punished afflicted plagued Surely wee haue taken of that execrable thing and broken the Couenant of the Lord and vntill that accursed thing Sinne be searched out and cast away neuer hope for any fauour to be shewed from the Lord Ionah must be cast ouer-boord before the storme cease Lastly seeing sinne sets God and his dearest people at variance be they graced with neuer so many excellencies or priuiledges then be not high minded but feare for whatsoeuer thou art that sinnest against the Lord be thy priuiledges neuer so many or excellent wert thou as a signet vpon Gods right hand or as the apple of his eye yet he will haue a controuersie with thee And so for our Land in generall which may seeme to out vie the felicitie of all other Nations in high and rich prerogatiues Of all the trees in the Garden wee may seeme to be the Vine that God hath set his heart vpon amongst all the varietie of Flowers England is the Lilly and the Rose amongst all the Princes we haue had a Deborah and haue a Dauid amongst all the Prophets of the Lord wee haue the most reuerend Elishaes amongst all the Nurseries and Springs of learning wee haue the most famous Naiâ—ths amongst all Lands we haue that Canaan which abounds with plentie of all good things and amongst all Cities wee haue Ierusalem But will these priuiledges beare vs out if wee take libertie to sinne against the Lord Alas they cannot nay so farre are they from stopping Gods wrath as that they will rather make way for it As a man is more offended with the euill behauiour of a seruant that hath beene aduanced by him so the Lord with vs. When Saul
truth the one is in regard of the godly and such as feare the Lord that they may not be taken at vnawares but may be awakened out of their securitie and timely preuent those iudgements threatned as those did who vpon the hearing of that plague of haile which Moses foretold would fall on Egypt sent their seruants to fetch their cattell into their houses The other is that the wicked may be left without excuse in the day of wrath If I had not come and spoken vnto them they had had no sinne but now they haue no cloake for their sinne saith our blessed Sauiour These may be some reasons why God giues a Caueat before his Capias and doth warne before he wound And is this Gods vsuall dealing why then are wee smitten plagued punished Were we not forewarned of iudgement Oh our wilfulnesse and folly Oh whom oh man canst thou lay the fault whom wilt thou charge with thy smart Canst thou iustly say Gods silence was any cause thereof Hath not he shot off many a warning peece and sounded many an alarum before he set himselfe in battell-array against thee In the secret of thy soule thou knowest he hath done thus Often and often he hath by his seruants the Ministers warned thee of danger at the doore and by thy owne conscience many a time reproued thee and premonished thee of future vengeance He hath not played the part of a subtill enemie and stollen vpon thee at vnawares but as Tamberlane that warlike Scythian displayed first a white Flagge in token of mercie and then a red menacing and threatning bloud before that blacke Flagge the messenger and ensigne of death was hung abroad Accuse not the Lord then of any hard dealing but the hardnesse of thy owne heart which will take no warning Hee need not to giue thee any warning of his iudgements thou gauest him no warning of thy sinnes no respit yet that God might approue his mercies to thee he giues thee warning and respit of repenting How loth art thou oh blessed God to strike that threats before He that delights in reuenge surprises his aduersarie whereas he that giues warning desires to be preuented Were we not wilfull what need wee euer feele smart Oh that this might teach vs wisdome to see the euill and flie from it which that we may the better doe let vs diligently obserue the vsual waies whereby the Lord premonisheth and they are sundrie As first By the miniserie of his seruants the Prophets whereby he foretelleth when wrath is readie to fall vpon vs for our sinnes By them he foretold the Israelites of the King of the Caldeans comming vp against them whom they laughed to scorne and contemned and by them Ierusalem was fore-warned as was before noted Their threatnings therefore and menaces should not bee lightly despised but feared not passed ouer but preuented not derided but applied to our consciences For though they die yet Gods word shall liue and his iudgements they denounced seize vpon vs except we die to sinne By signes and wonders of which sort was that Earthquake which happened in Vzziahs daies in the whole Countrey And those strange apparitions seene in the heauens a little before the destruction of Ierusalem as that Blazing starre like a sword which hung ouer the Citie a whole yeeres space Horses and Chariots with armed troopes of men seene in the aire the Eclipse of the Moone for twelue nights together with many other wonders whereof Iosephus hath at large written as that voice heard in the Temple the night before the Feast of Pentecost Let vs depart from hence And the constant crying of one about the walles for a long space Woe woe woe to Ierusalem and the like And thus doth God forewarne vs of the end of the world as our blessed Sauiour sheweth 3 By lesser and lighter iudgements by gentle and fatherly corrections that by them we may be brought to turne vnto him and so escape further vengeance Thus were the Israelites often warned from the Lord sometimes he smote them with Blastings and Mildewes and at other times by giuing their Gardens Vineyards Fig-trees and Oliue-trees to the Palmer-worme to deuoure and when these warnings would not serue then he sent amongst them the Pestilence after the manner of Egypt and slew their young men with the sword and tooke away their horses c. And when nothing would serue he ouerthrew them as he ouerthrew Sodome and Gomorrah And so our Sauiour hauing foretold many euils that should come vpon Ierusalem for their contempt of the Gospell and refusing of grace offered addeth All these are but the beginnings of sorrowes the end is not yet There were more in number and greater in weight to follow after these Thus lesser iudgements are as it were the prints of Gods foot whereby we may trace him if he be come out against vs. 4 By the death of the godly and such as feare his name are future iudgements forewarned especially if they be such as are great and eminent whether in Church or Common-wealth If these be taken away it is a fearefull signe that some grieuous iudgement will ouertake the remnant of the people This is that wherof our Prophet Esay speaketh Behold the Lord the Lord of hosts doth take away from Ierusalem the mightie man and the man of warre the Iudge and the Prophet and the prudent and the ancient The Captains of fiftie and the honourable man and the Counsellor c. And elsewhere thus The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to his heart and mercifull men are taken away none considering that the righteous is taken away from the euill to come Thus was that good King Iosiah dealt withall not long after whose death followed the Captiuitie of Babel In that graue wherein he was interred the libertie glory and peace of Iewrie lay also buried And so Luther after whose death presently followed that miserable calamitie vpon Germany which hee had often foretold would come vpon them for their contempt of the Word and which he desired he might neuer liue to see as Caluin obserues in his Comment vpon that place of Isay last quoted These are some wayes whereby the Lord fore-warneth vs that euill is at hand and therefore it behoueth vs when by any of these he premonisheth vs of danger nigh we prepare to meet him and preuent it And surely if euer there was cause then now there is why we should humble our selues before him in sackcloth and ashes for who can be ignorant of the many warnings we haue had in each particular kinde The Turtles of this Land haue groaned out the sad tunes of woe and misery God hath so guided the hearts and tongues of his Ministers as that they all euen as one man doe constantly crie out with that Iesus the sonne of Anani a little before the destruction of