rise vp against vs and make vs also take vppe armes against the Lord Hâ—â—e that hateth suertâ—â—hippe saith Salomon is sure but hee that hateth sinne is surer For if it bee a a righâ— hâ—tred it is an infallible demonstrationâ— of our loue to God and of the gâ—atious operation of his Spirit within vs and the ready way to scape the greatest euill If it be the badge of a man predestined to glorie to contemne a vile person then he which despiseth sinne which makes men vile despiseable may assure himselfe of glory if he do despise it for the vilenesse of it and for that it is derogatorie to the glory of God Wouldst thou therefore be sure of the mercy of God to the saluation of thy soule then turne from thy sinnes and hate them For hee that confesseth his sinnes and doth forsake them shall finde mercy What life more ioyfull can a man wish to leade whilst hee lines in this world then in this life to be assured of an euerlasting ioyfull liâ—e in the world to come What greater pleasure can a man take and taste of in a world of woâ— then to beleeue and know that vnspeakable and perpetuall pleasures are prepared for him in a world of weale What sweeter sweetnesse and more pleasing pleasure can a man in this life feele and enioy vpon the earth below then in beeing certainly perswaded in his conscience that he shall be partaker of the sweete and amiable communion of the Lord in the life to come aloâ—t in the heauens What greater comfort can comfortlesse wretches as all men are by nature receiue of the God of comfort then by his word to bee surely certified of eternall comforts What greater glorie can a mortall man bee glad of and more truly glory of in his inglorious vale of miserie then that hee is by the King of glory secured and by the word of his own mouth assured of immortall glorie in his glorious kingdome vpon his high and holy mountaine With what sweeter mercy can a miserable sinner bee refreshed in his soule then of the God of mercy to receiue a promise of the euerlasting mercy But God doth promise life libertie health and happinesse to euery man that will forsake his sinnes Neither doth he onely promise vs if we doe turne from our sinnes felicitie in the heauens but also peace and prosperitie vpon the earth Therefore Dauid saith What man is he that desireth life and loueth long daies to see good Let him eschew euil and doe good c. And the Lord by Ieremy saith Amend your waies and your workes and I will let you dwell in this place Whensoeuer the Israelites truely repented of their sinnes then GOD changed his frowning countenance and smiled vpon them but when they prouoked him by their sinnes then he turned their estates and oftentimes gaue them vp vnto their enemies So that our sinnes doe make a diuorcement betweene vs and Gods benefits Let vs therefore like valiant princes labouâ— to subdue them When sinnes begin to die then the sinner beginnes to liue Let not sinne reigne within vs let it not defile vs. But as our Sauior ouerthrew the tables of the mony changers and cast out those that profaned the temple by marchandizing in it so let vs his seruants scourge out our sins out of the temple of our hearts and let vs labour to ouerturne and conquer them The Lord saith that his pleople shall dwell in safetie when hee hath executed his iudgements vpon all their enemies so we shall liue in peace when our sinnes are executed and put vnto the sworde And when we haue ouermastered one sinne then wee must set vppon another like the Ichneumon which as Pliny writeth hauing ouercome one enemie prepareth himselfe to combat with another Let vs neuer be content till we haue gotten the victory of them all being like minded to Alexander th great who as Lucane recordeth thought nothing done whiles any thing remained vndone Hee that turneth from all his sinnes and laboureth to subdue them all dooth shew himselfe a true conuert a prince of spirit and an vtter enemy to the kingdome of Sathan Wee all desire to escape all outward dangers and to haue our bodies free from wormes bâ—les botches and all other deformities of body wherefore should we not then be as carefull to anoyd the dangers and dangerous diseases deformities and enormities of our soules The least bodily disease is shunned why should wee not then feare and preuent the least spirituall disease Many sands though small will sinke a shippe as soone as a fewe great milstones so many sinnes though little in comparison of other will destroy our soules as well as a fewe great ones Foxes are enemies to sheepe as well as wolues though not so dangerous so smaller sinnes are enemies vnto our soules as well as the greater Christ will haue both the great and the little Foxes taken for he saith both destroy the vines so let vs take and turne from all our sinnes little and great for all are noysome to the vineyard of our heartes and hinder our spirituall growth Kill them all and the vines of Gods graces shall flourish and abound within vs. And though one sinne be sometimes câ—â—â—rary to another as couetousnesse and prodigalitie and looke diuerse wayes as Sampsons foxes yet are they ioyned in their tailes with a firebrand of vengeance in the midst wherewith without speciall care they wil fire mens soules as Sampsons Foxes did the Philistines come Wouldest thou not offend thine heauenly Father that did create thee that doth preserue thee that hath bestowed his only sonne vpon thee then forsake thy sinnes A gracious childe forbeareth all thinges which are offensiue to his father Wouldest thou escape the whirl-winde of Gods wrath then flie from sinne Wouldest thou bee deliuered of an intollerable burthen then cast away thy sinnes which are a burthen to thy soule and will otherwise presse thee downe to hell Those which are vexed with the Night-mare feele as it were a mountain vpon them and wish earnestly to haue it remoued But there is more oddes betweene the weight of sinne and that weight which they suppose they feele then there is betwixt a mountaine and a mole-hill Wouldest thou not bee iudged of those in the ende of this world whom now perhaps thou doost contemne yea and condemne Wouldest thou not haue thy religious wife to iudge thee that hath laine in thy bosome thy gracious childe that hath come out of thy loynes thy seruant which hath bene at thy becke wouldest thou not I say be one day iudged of these then iudge thy selfe and turne from thy sinnes For the Saints shall iudge the worlde yea and the wicked Angels Wouldest thou haue the holy Angels sing a song for thee in the heauens as Deborah did for Iael then turne from thy sinnes for there is ioy in heauen at the conuersion
our soules with her magicall enchantments as the temples of his head were stricken thorough by a naile in her hand and so we die as he did For her house is the way vnto the graue which goeth downe to the chambers of death as the wise man speaketh of the woman of whorish behauiour So then albeit the wicked intisemeÌ„ts of the world bee pleasant in the beginning yet are they bitternesse in the latter ending and like the booke that Iohn was commanded to eate sweete in the mouth but bitter in the mawe and so hurtfull to the stomack of the soule as that if a man doe not cast them vp it is no more possible for him to liue either the life of grace or of glorie then it is for that man to liue the life of naâ—ure who hath swallowed downe pills of poison hee dranke with sugar Let vs therefore take heed of her charmes and turne froÌ„ her Loue not this world saith Iohn nor the things that are in this world If any man loue this world the loue of the Father is not in him No man can serue God and Mammon Wee must leaue the world and the world must leaue vs therefore why should wee fixe our loue vpon the world or bend our loue vnto the world Whereas all other creatures haue but foure muscles to turn their eyes round about God hath giuen man a fist to pull vp his eyes from tâ—e earth to heauen And whereas all other creatures bow downwards to look to the earth from whence they rose and to which they must return God hath fitted man a bodie that hee might behold the heauen the place of happinesse and the Paradice of perpetuall pleasures Wee are redeemed from the worlde let vs therefore so liue in the world as by our liues wee may declare that wee are not of the worlde For as much as our inhearitance is in the heauens let vs haue one foote there fixed where our inheritance is We treade vppon the earth with our feete therefore let not our hearts be interred in it but let vs trample vpon earthly things Though we liue in the world yet let vs not be polluted of the world but as the Swan swims in the water but is not drowned of the water so we must liue in the world as a ship floateth aloft vpon the sea or a bird vpon the water and wee must take heede that the loue of the world doe not leake into our hearts lest wee make shipwracke of our faith and breake in peeces the vessells of our consciences Anâ—â—f any do leake in we must pumpe it out with speeds by true repentance and seeke to stoppe the passage The Mowle liues in the earth and yet receiueth no hurt at all neither to her flesh nor to her coate So wee that liue in the world in the midst of a crooked generation should like pilgrimes so alienate our affections from it as that wee may receiue no damage by it neither in our hearts within nor in our profession and practise without but as a stone being cast into the dirt will still remaine a stone so thogh we which are liuing stones doe liue in the world which is full of the dirt of sinne and puddles of iniquitie yet let vs remaine as wee are made by grace liuing stones of Gods spirituall Temple To this ende let vs turne from the worlde with our heartes let vs beware of her witch-craft and sorcerie let vs not turne in vnto her at her call let vs not drinke of the cuppe of her fornications and finally let vs seeke the kingdome of God the things that are aboue and let vs haue our conuersation in the heauens where our common-wealth and kingdome our head and husband is and will bee vntill the time that all things be restored which God hath spoâ—en by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the world began Thirdly we must turne from the waies of the wicked This the Spirit of wisedome teacheth vs when he saith My sonne walke not thou in the way with sinners refraine thy foote from their path Enter not into the way of the wicked and walke not in the way of euill men Auoyd it goe not by it turne from it and passe by For their Waies are crookeâ— The way of the wicked is as darknesse The way of the wicked shall perish If thou wouldest not walke in a crooked path an obscure and darke lane and in a way that shall come to naught yea in a way that leadeth from heauen to hel and from life to death then thou must decline and turne from the waies of the wicked God dooth command thee to turne from them In the name of God I doe beseech thee to turne from them Be not disobedient vnto his voyce Hee that obeyeth him shall dwell safely and be quiet from feare of euill But those that stoppe their eares at his voyce and will not obey his word in the ministerie of his Prophets do fall vpon the sworde of vengeance As when God cried they would not heare but pulled away their shoulder and made their harts hard as an adamant so they shall crie and he will not heare Wee all know that it is the will of God that wee should forsake the waies of the wicked who are his enemies But that seruant saith Christ that knew his maisters will and prepared not himself neither aid according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes with many moe then hee that knoweth not his will and doth it not Can a man be in a mill and not be mealy Can a man be in a shewer of raine and not be wet Can a man stand long vpon a quag-mire and not sinke And is it possible for a man to walk in the waies of the wicked which are full of the mire of wickednesse and dirt of iniquitie and not to bee polluted Or iâ— it like that he shall not sinke into the pit of perdition if hee shall stand in the way of sinners and refuse to come out No wise man especially no honest man will delight in the courses of slaues and traitours but the wicked are slaues First they are slaues of the diuell for hee That committeth sin is of the Diuell of whom soeuer a man is ouercome euen vnto the same he is in bondage Now what slaues are they that are in slauerie vnder a very slaue Secondly they are the slaues of sinne For Whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruant of sinne But the wicked drinke iniquitie as fishes doe the water Their mouth saith Salomon swalloweth vp iniquitie They cannot sleepe except they haue done euill Wickednesse as Zophar saith is sweete in his mouth hee hides it vnder his tongue and will not forsake it Therefore he cannot but commit sinne and that with greedinesse and with full consent of heart Now he that is the seruant of sinne and a slaue to his owne
the wicked forsake his waies and returne vnto the Lord and he will haue mercie vpon him Now God is constant in his word and faithfull in his promises and will performe the wordes of his Prophets The Lord saith Dauid is great in truth Verbum eius ab intentione non dissentit quia veritas est nec factum à verbo quia virius est his word dissenteth not from his intention because he is Veritie Nor his workes from his word because he is Vertue Thou wilâ— beleeue thy faithful friend and wilt thou not beleeue the God of Faith he condemneth breaking of promise in men therefore surely he will not breake his promise made with man Sixtly wee are commaunded to turne vnto God Let the wicked returne vnto the Lord. Turne you vnto me saith the Lord. The commandements of God are not to bee neglected Disobedience to them is death but Hee that keepeth the commaundement keepeth his owne soule But this is one commaundement of God that we turne vnto him Lastly wee haue the example of the Saints to direct vs. Dauid Iosiah the Niniuites Paul The exaâ—ple of the Saints in good things should be vnto vs as the cloude and pillar of fire was vnto the Israelites to goe before vs and to direct vs into celestiall Canaan Imitation is the disease of the English Nation therefore if wee will needes imitate and follow let vs follow the best Wee are forbidden to followe the fashions of the world but not to follow the foote-steps of the Saints Thus much concerning this third point The third Sermon THe fourth is In what and wherein we must turne Which because it hath affinitie with the second I will the more speedily dispatch We must turne to the Lord in our hearts mindes wills workes and waies As the Priests clensed all the house of the Lord and the altar of burnt offerings with all the vessells thereof and the shew-bread table with all the vessells thereof so we must clense our hearts hands and all our waies from the filthines of our sinnes As they went into the inner parts of Gods house to clense it and brought out all the vncleannesse that they found so wee must enter into the bottome of our hearts and seeke into all the winding corners of our waies to dresse them wee must sweepe out all the dust of sinne and shouell away all the dirt of wickednesse And as the Leuites hurled that vncleannesse into the riuer Kidron so ought we to cast and condemne all our sinnes into the pit of hell frâ—m whence they came God requireth an alteration in the whole man O thou my sonne saith the Lord heare and hee wise guide thine heart in the way Againe Let not thine heart be enuious against sinners O Ierusalem saith the Prophet wash thine heart from wickednesse Here wee see that God requireth a turning in the heart and with good reason For the heart commaundeth both the hand and the tongue Of the aboundance of the heart the tongue speaketh Hee that will haue a cleane streame must purge the fountaine Hee that will haue good hearbes must weede his garden Secondly we must turne to God in our heads Wee must â—e wise but the throne of wisedome is the head God will haue a change in our heads for a man of wicked imaginations he wil condemne saith Salomon Thirdly hee will haue an alteration in our words We must be full of blessing and beware of cursing our speech must be seasoned with the words of grace Fourthly wee must turne to God in respect of our companions Therâ—fore Paul saith Eate not with any brother that is a fornicatour a railer or couetous And Salomon saith Keepe not company with drunkards nor gluâ—tons Bâ—rds of one feather will flie together If thy companions be vicious it may iustly bee feared that thou art not vertuous The Spider and the Serpent cannot agree the Thoes the Lions doe â—ouly iarre the bird Aeguthus doth so much abhorre another bird called Anchus that as some affiâ—me their blood will not mingle together As Salolomon saith accordingly that A wicked man is an abhomination not abhominable vnto the iust and hee that is vpright in his way is an abhâ—mination to the wicked Therefore he that delighteth himself with a wicked maÌ„s company sheweth himselfe either verie wicked or very weake Hee that will turne vnto GOD must change his companions and hate with Dauid the assembly of the euil he must not company with the wicked and haunt with vaine persons but must bee as Dauid was a companion of aâ—l them that feare God and keepe hiâ— precepts Fiftly wee most turne to God in the workes of our hands and in the waies of our feete Dauid sâ—ith I will wash mine hands in innocency O Lord. The wise man saith Let all thy waies be ordered aright remooue thy foote from euill Lastly wee must turne to the Lord here vpon earth The earth must be the place of our turning He that will come to heauen must beginne his race vpon the earth He that will will not turne to God vppon the earth must neuer looke to be receiued into heauen Hee that will not set open the gates of his heart here vpon earth for the King of glory to come in the King of glory will not set open heauen-gates for him to enter in when hee shall be taken from the earth And thus much for this fourth point The fift is when wee must turne Hee which turneth must turne in something and so hee must turne in some time Wee must turne to the Lord without delay Delay breeds danger So soone as wee haue searched and tried our waies wee must turne vnto the Lord. We must in no wise deferre our conuersion For first the Lord seemeth to bee as it were in trauell till wee relinquish our sinnes and turne vnto him O ye foolish saith Wisedome how long wil ye loue foolishnesse turne ye at my correction How long saith God wiâ—t thou sleepe O sluggard When wilt thou arise out of thy sleepe O Ierusalem saith the Lord how long shall thy wicked thoughtes remaine within thee Woe vnto thee O Ierusalem wilt thou not be made cleane when shall it once bee How long wilt thou goe astray O thou rebellious daughter Therefore to deliuer the Lorde out of his paines let vs turne vnto him and repent with speede Secondly the seruice of the Lord is perfect freedome And as Elihu saith If men will serue him they shall ende their daies in prosperitie and their yeares in pleasures Therefore the sooner we enter into his seruice the sooner wee shall be free from men yea free-denisons of new Ierusalem And this is not till wee repent and turne vnto him and â—hen it is Thirdly it is a very absurd and disorderly course for any man to take a noble mans liuery and to weare his recognisance and yet in