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A01958
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The anatomie of Ananias: or, Gods censure against sacriledge With a breife scholie vpon Psalm. 83. concerning the same subiect. By Roger Gostvvyke Batchelour of Diuinitie, and minister of Sampford Courtnie in the countie of Deuonsh.
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Gostwick, Roger, b. 1567 or 8.
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1616
(1616)
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STC 12100; ESTC S103327
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99,971
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192
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or roote them out And this S. Paul had respect vnto when he said I would to God they were cut off that trouble you and where bee would haue the incestuous Corinthian committed to Sathan 3. The last was that which the Iewes call Sammatha or Sammatizatio of Shamam that signifies desolare ad stuporem vastare atta tu q. d. let such a curse fall vpon thee as is vltima execratio or maledictio the vttermost execration or accursednesse Or as some thinke of shem for hashem which is the name of God and atha venit or to come to expresse the euerlasting curse â—il the comming of the Lord which Paul elswhere alludeth to This word we finde in Ieremie his lamentations Sion is laid desolate which lamentable estate of the Church in that booke is fully deplored Ier. 12. 11. This S. Paul as I said before did expresse in that imprecation or denuntiation of a most zealous heart Who so loues not that is hateth and persecuteth the Lord Iesus let him be anathema maranatha euerlastingly accursed q. d. till the comming of the Lord to iudgement and a day after And these were the Church censures Now are we to examine for as much as it is vndeniable but this of Ananias is such which of all these three it is that is here inflicted First of a certaine not the first for that was but a depriuation of the spirituall estate for a time concerning the companie and comforts of the Church with condition annexed of reconciliation and repentance now this here was corporall as well as spirituall and eternall with a barre against repentance therefore not that Secondly nor the second which as some thinke either was not corporall such as the ciuill sword could inflict but a permission or emancipation onelie to the power and regiment of Satan who hath his kingdom out of the Church to whoÌ„ such sinners were deliuered ouer to the end that the flesh that is the old man might be mortified and the new renewed or as Augustine speaketh vt moriatur error viuat homo that the sinne might be killed and the sinner saued Or if a corporall also as we must confesse of Achan the Cananites and other vpon whom that curse was corporally executed on earth vpon their bodies which was pronounced and enacted in heauen yet but corporall hauing time and meanes of grace offered for repentance Therefore it must be the last partaking of both but exceeding both so far as extreame doth goe beyond partiall and eternall sutmounts temporall 1. a temporall and extemporall cutting off the bodie from the grace of life and a spirituall and eternall cutting off the soule from the life of grace the sorest seuerest extreamest vengeance that can be afflicted on a man in this world forsaking and forsaken of God A sudden and vnrepentant dissolution of bodie and soule a present and immediate manumission from God and grace to the place and torments of the damned a iust guerdon for him that gaue himselfe ouer to the full sway of the Prince of death to mocke that God of heauen defeat his spouse on earth blaspheme the spirit of sanctification I tremble to thinke that any child of man specially a child of the Church an auditor of the Apostles a professor of Christ a benefactor of the Church no apparant professed enemy or atheist or persecutor or apostata should be liable to so execrable a sentence to be excommunicated anathematized sammatized for grudging a few pence or pownds to God and his Church But leauing secret iudgements vnto God wee must needs acknowledge that God seeth not as man seeth for that which mans eie could not perceiue the eies of God that peirce the heart did see in his carriage a malâ—tio us and obstinate a presumptuous and desperate hypocriticall persecutor and enuious Apostata the essentiall marks of a certaine reprobate and forlorne sinner If any yet beside the exigence of the fault will needes require more reason for so great seueritie for their further satisfaction may lift off their eies from looking vpon S. Peter as if he either of his owne power or his priuate humour had slaine the partie and remember it was the holy spirit that in defect of temporall magistracie not yet Christian did moderate the whole matter whose wisedome so far as we either may or can looke into might commend these reasons 1. the Church was to be kept in awe and feare of God 2. as in a newe established polity or gouernement as there must bee examples of reward for the righteous so also of punishments for delinquents 3. that vnder the colour of religion and new conuersion one should not defeat or defraud another 4. it was requisite that the authoritie of the Church should be wrought among them without and they prepared by such exemplarie iustice to like and loue her gouernement These and such like which Calvin and expositors doe alleadge may serue to stoppe any curious mouth that will haue God to giue account of his iudgements Here then are we taught first of all of the wonderfull effect and supereminent power of the word of God in the mouth of his holy Apostles and faithfull ministers not onely and alwaies seruing in cases of edification but sometimes also for destruction albeit that very destruction also of his enemies tends to the edification of his children And these are those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 works of power mentioned by the Apostle and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sword of the spirit to hack and hewe the vngodly in peices and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 weapons not carnall but mightie in operation and as Dauid cherev pipijoth two mouthed or edged sword with this did Moses strike Corah and his complices God himselfe Nadab and Abihu Er and Onan Iezabel and Athalia Iosua Achan and them of Canaan Elizeus the 42. children and this did Peter drawe out here against Ananias and Sapphira Whereby we see the Church censures are no bruta fulmina little childrens pot-guns beadles and boltles artilleries but tearing and roaring Cannons nor left to the swaying of Peter alone much lesse to that man of Rome to brandish not so much against sinnes as Soueraignes but left in trust to all the true Ministers of the Gospel Neither is it without neede that there should be such rods and swords in the Church of God for such as are so audaciously insolent bad by selfe impietie but much worse by our impunitie To the end therfore that the wicked may be corrected the exorbitant â—euoked the timerous affrighted the sound secured and the iudgements of God that hang ouer our heads and the land auerted let Moses and Aaron the Cherubios of the Lord that are set to keepe the way to the forbidden tree waue their fierie blade against all blasphemous disturbers pertinacious resisters impious atheists perfidious heretikes wayward schismatikes erroneous idolaters and incroaching sacrilegers It is true we haue a
ruined estates and forlorne hopes haue been wholly supported by the pillars of the Church which otherwise had sunke in euerlasting vndoing so making the Church their vltimum refugium the shoot-anker of their fortune and the bawd of their bankruptnes Thus measuring others feete by their owne last presume the same of our diuersions now let them by our carriage be confuted and giuen to know we had no Cynosura but Sion no collimation but conscience no aime but Gods honour And that if God shall please not onelie to touch vs but to take all the rest from vs and giue Satan sufferance not onely to winnow but to wast vs yet we will be the same and serue him still this may be our comfort that God dealeth no worse with vs this our hope he meanes no more harme vnto vs this our harbinger that he may call vs to a harder triall For haue we any assurance to fare better then our Fathers any priuiledge of birth-right to sit safer then our brethren we haue not yet resisted vnto blood perhaps we must therefore let vs not loue these things too much lest we leaue better things for them let this weane vs from the world and teach vnto serue God in all weather As for our enemies and ouerthwart neighbours let them not triumph in our tribulations the fate of Babel comes in next after the fall of Sion now the time is that iudgement must begin at Gods owne house and if it first begin at vs what shall the ende of them be that obey not the Gospel of God and if the righteous be scarcely saued where shall the vngodly and sinner appeare wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their soules to him in well-doing as vnto a faithfull Creator for this is Gods vse when he hath beaten his children sufficiently he will cast the rod in the fire and the Apostle saies It is a manifest token of the righteous iudgemen of God that ye may be accounted worthie of the Kingdome of God for which also ye suffer seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you and to you that are troubled rest with vs when the Lord Iesus shall be reuealed from heauen with his mightie Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Iesus Christ who shall be punished with euerlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glorie of his power when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired of all that beleeue in that day CHAP. VI. The conclusion where are touched the fountaine and remedies of all this euill ANd now I feele my pen wearie with the chace of this noysome beast I will sound a retrait and draw to end so oft as I enter into the serious consideration of this sinne and the great inconueniences that it hath and daily will deriue vnto the Church of God in this land as I often doe I cannot but thinke of that word of Abner vpon the play of the young men shall the sword deuoure sor euer knowest thou not it will be bitternes in the latter end for seeing the dead sea into which things must needs descend in the farthest fall is nothing but atheisme and all manner of impietie let vs a little looke vpward vnto the head and search whether it may be stopt in the spring or diuerted some other way The true cause then of all this ramping and reuelling against God and his holy Church is first profanes and seconly couetousnesse a verie contempt of heauen and all true happines and a greedy desire to inglutte our selues with Esaus pottage the commodities and emoluments of this present life For the first if euer this land fall backe againe by a fearfull recidiuation into the carnall impieties and earthly sensualities of the Romish religion as it is in a faire forwardnes vnles God preuent it it will be by the meanes of our notorious Atheisme and fearfull Apostasie from the true feare of God and care of all goodnes for these are at least subordinate one to another if not identities for they that will but looke into the manners of the moderne times shall well perceiue that many that had escaped the Scylla of superstition are againe verie dangerously beleaguered in the Caribdis of irreligion teaching their hearts with Platoes Atheist either that there is no God at all or that he is not such for mercie or iustice as men are made beleeue or at least that men may doe as in too manie spirituall courts buy out their heauie pennance with light commutements To which purpose I call to minde a strange narration of M. Greenham a zealous preacher sometime of our Church of a certaine instable sinner that at first had been a Papist till ariuing at better reason he found their fashions to come much short of their gawdie shewes then turned he his tippet and became Protestant where he staid not long by reason they shewed much coldnes in their profession at last he separated and was a Famiâ—st Now whether it was he had not left himselfe any further choice or took a better tast of their religion there he fastened now the first principle that they sought to instill into him was this that there was no God Now whether it was the iust dereliction of God to punish his giddines or the fatigation of a wandring spirit to purchase quietnes or the correspondence of the maxime suting well with his wickednes he drunke in this position verie greedily and thereupon began to frame conclusions If there be no God then there is no heauen nor hell to reward mens actions if neither of these what madnes is this to defraud my soule of certaine pleasures for vncertaine phantasies This diabolicall collusion rather then conclusion so far preuailed with him that like some ignis fatuus it carried him headlong into all manner of licentious downefalls first for pleasure to eating and drinking like another Euangelicall Epicure then to mainetain that charge to robbing stealing and last of all as the reward of such courses to apprehending and hanging Now at the place of his death the point of the last gaspe he requested a stay where confessing his whole manner of life his wallowing in and out of all religions his beginning in Papisme his continuing by Protestisme and his ending in Anabaptisme he deliuered these words Now do I find at my death the error of all my life I was taught and did beleeue there was no God but here I finde the contrary and that he is most iust to reward all wretched contemners and so he ended the Catastrophe I question not the truth of this storie because I knew the reporter I will not scholie vpon his volubilous expatiation voluminous gradatioÌ„ meritorious conclusion Let vs be afraid of these excentricall motions which the Prophet calleth