such obiects may worke feare in a naturall man but what need these Israeltes to feare They came armed against it they came prepared with Puritie with Modestie and should such men feare It is certaine they did feare and there was good reason for it for what proportion betweene mans Abilitie and the Maiestie of God when man is at the best And the Israelites ceremoniall preparation could not so suddenly become morall that will aske more time then three dayes The more they had of the old man the more they were subiect vnto this Passion and it might well rise in them though the obiect which they discerned were aloofe off as indeed it was for their Tents were in some good distance from the Hill and though they were so farre cut of danger yet were they not out of feare the dread of these Harbingers of God seised vpon them Adde hereunto that the spirit of the Old Testament as Saint Paul telleth vs is the spirit of bondage and feare and so this passion had good correspondencie with that Couenant Neither vpon them only but vpon Moses also did these dreadfull Harbingers worke for so must you vnderstand those words in the text Moses spake Saint Paul will tell you what he said Verse 19. Heb. 12. I exceedingly feare and quake so terrible was the sight in his eyes The Rhemists come in here vnseasonably with the doctrine of their Traditions and they will haue Saint Paul by tradition know that Moses spake those words As if he might not know it aswell by Reuelation for the spirit of Prophecie looketh aswell backward as forward Else how did Moses pen the Booke of Genesis that speaketh of things done so many hundred yeares before But what gaine they if we doe acknowledge he had it by tradition Doe wee denie all traditions Wee acknowledge traditions of many Histories as that of Iannes and Iambres Of Ceremonies as that of concluding the Passeouer with blessed Bread and Wine whence Christ tooke an occasion to improue them to an higher vse and institute the Eucharist Our question is about Articles of faith and I hope this is none and therefore they may keepe the note in store vntill they meet with a more pregnant place But let vs leaue those Wranglers and come to Moses Happily you wonder why hee should quake A man that came so neere God and was so deare vnto him God talked with him face to face as familiarly as a man talketh with his friend I but then these Harbingers did not appeare no Thunder no Lightning then no burning Hill no loud sounding of the Trumpet when these appeare they will make Moses himselfe to quake And why shall I say because there are some relikes of sinne euen in the best of Gods Saints during this life and being not perfect in loue they must needs bee subiect vnto feare If I should say so 1. Iohn ◠I should say something but not all that is to bee said For our Sauiour Christ that was without all sinne when he appeared in our nature at the as it were Mount Sinai Certainly at the Tribunall of God where he had presented if not to the eyes of his bodie yet of his soule those dreadfull attendants vpon the Throne of Iudgement the sight cast him into an agonie and made him sweat water and bloud it made his humane nature to droope as himselfe confesseth and bee heauie vnto death And doe wee wonder that the seruant feareth where we see the sonne in such a case Let not the holy Ones of God thinke to bee priuiledged from that whereunto the Holy of Holies was pleased to bee subiect Let vs all rather confesse that that indeed is dreadfull which is dreadfull to such a person and let vs all feare that which Christ himselfe feared But why goe I so high as Christ If they should not haue feared the Mountaine would haue risen in Iudgement against them for that trembled Verse 18. Psal 18. it trembled exceedingly In the Psalme it is said that the Earth shooke and trembled the foundations also of the Hils were moued and were shaken alluding vnto this storie another Psalme saith that The Mountaines skipped like Rams Psal 114. and the little Hils like young sheepe and mouing the question What ailed yee O yee Mountaines that yee skipped like Rams and yee little Hils like Lambes The answere is made Tremble thou Earth at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Iacob And shall not wee feare him nor tremble at his presence when the senselesse creatures shew themselues awfully sensible of his accesse vnto them surely our senselesnesse must needs bee without all excuse Yet some such there haue beene Such were the Scribes and Pharisees who when the Sunne lost his light the Rockes cleft the Graues were opened and the Earth quaked were so little touched that their heart could serue them to contriue a forgerie wherewith to countenance that villanie wherewith they brought Christ to his painfull and shamefull death This was a spirit of slumber indeed and neuer did a greater spirituall Lethargie seize vpon the sonnes of men God euer keepe vs from such senselesnesse and giue vnto vs the spirit of feare whensoeuer his dreadfull Harbingers present themselues before vs yea let vs often represent them vnto our selues that this feare may be seasonably present with vs. But let our feare be such as was that of Israel and of Moses a hopefull feare For there is a feare that deterres from God and there is a feare that doth only humble vs before God Ge◠4 The first is the Reprobates feare and maketh men like vnto Caine Renegadoes and Vagabonds forsake God and goe they know not whether But the godly mans feare maketh him tremble and yet keepe on his way though he goe quaking yet he goeth to God And indeed after God hath made vs sensible of our weaknesse and his greatnesse he vseth to support and strengthen his children he makes them experience the truth of that answere which Christ gaue to Saint Paul Psay 6 My grace is sufficient for thee my strength is made perfect in weaknesse 2. Cor. 12. vers 9. So did he hearten Esay with a cole from the Altar Daniel with a touch Deut. 15. Moses with an answere a kind answere and by Moses he bid the Israelites not feare And what wonder if he support his children in these tremblings seeing he supported the Hill for other wise the hil being al on fire trembling in the fire must needs haue bin consumed but it held out Yea and so did Moses Aaron when they entred into the cloud trod vpon that fierie hil no lesse securely then the three children did in the fierie Furnace whereinto they were cast by the appointment of Nebuchadnezzar 〈◊〉 3 And so shall the righteous at the day of iudgement when all the world is on fire and a lowder Trumpet shal sound then this at mount Sinai
First Gods Worke Deus fecit God made the time a Day Secondly Mans Acknowledgement Haec est dies the Church doth Kalender it for a high day As we must learne thus discreetly to distinguish times so we must also learne to solemnize them Religiously In performance whereof the text will teach vs What we must doe and How That which wee must doe is reduced to two Heads wee must take full comfort in such a Day we must reioyce and be glad in it Reioyce with our bodies Bee glad in our soules both bodie and soule must expresse a comfortable sense Neither must wee only take comfort in it but pray also for the happie continuance of it for the continuance Saue Lord we may be depriued of it for the happie continuance of it Prosper Lord it may be in vaine bestowed on vs. These be the things that must bee done But How that is When and by whom When Now at the verie same time that Wee haue ioyed in the Day must Wee also bee praying for the continuance thereof And whom doth the Psalmist meane by We Looke vnto the beginning of the Psalme and you shall find the parties thus specified Israel the House of Aaron all that feare the Lord the Common-weale the Church the Cleargie the Laitie all whom the Day concernes must take notice thereof and expresse this dutie thereon You see the summe of this Scripture which I will now God willing enlarge farther and apply vnto our present occasion But before I enter vpon the particulars I may not forget to let you vnderstand that this Psalme hath a double sense an Historicall and a Mysticall the Historicall concernes King Dauid and the Kingdome of Israel the Mysticall toucheth Christ and his Church The Mysticall hath warrant from the Gospell wherein Christ doth apply some branches of this Psalme vnto himselfe the the Historicall is cleare in the Bookes of Samuel which intreat of the aduancement of King Dauid If we follow the Mysticall then the Day here remembred is Easter day or the Day of Christs Resurrection and that was a Day indeed the Sunne of Righteousnesse then shone forth in great strength and brought life and immortalitie to life But if we follow the Historicall sense then was the Day here remembred the Day of K. Dauids succession vnto Saul a verie Festiuall Day to Israel though not so high a Feast as is our Easter day The Fathers Commentaries runne most vpon the first sense our occasion is better fitted with the latter wherefore without preiudice to the former we will insist thereon leauing the Mysticall we will insist only vpon the Historicall sense of these words The first point therein is the discreet distinguishing of Times All times are not alike there are nights and there are dayes the time here specified is a Day Saint Basils Rule must guide vs in vnderstanding this word he tels vs that when the Holy Ghost speaketh of a Day in this and many other places wee must not plod vpon the course of the Sunne but looke vnto the occurrents of the time the occurents are of two sorts prosperous or aduerse the former is vsually called Day and the later Night We haue not then to doe with a Naturall but a Metaphoricall Day But Metaphors haue their reasonable grounds and because they are Implicitae Similitudines close couched resemblances we must vnwrap them that wee may see the resonablenesse that is in the vse of them If we doe this in our present Metaphor the reason will be apparent why a prosperous state is tearmed a Day For a Day is caused by the Sunne rising who by his beames sendeth to the earth Light and Heate Light by which all things are discerned and may bee distinguished and Heate by which they are quickened and cherished Euen so in a prosperous State there is something that answereth to the Sunne and that is a good King and well may the King bee tearmed a Sunne in the Common-Weâ—le as the Sunne is tearmed a King in the midst of the Planets A good King then like the Sunne ouer-spreads the Common-Weale with Light and Heate Light all things doe appeare in their right hue flatterâ—e or tyrannie doth not blanch or beare out falshood as truth and good as euill euery one beareth his proper name and is reputed no better then he is which is no small Blessing of a State if we take notice of that which is occurrent in euerie Historie That the best men haue beene branded as the vilest and the vilest haue beene commended for Worthies so farre hath darknesse ouercast the iudgement of the World seeke no farther then the storie of Christ and his Apostles the Scribes and the Pharisees As a good King doth remedie this perueâ—snesse of iudgement by a truer light so doth hee by a vegetable heate put heart into those that deserue well and further their well fare it is no small blessing you may gather it out of the 72. Psalme where the cheareful face as it were of the State doth speake the comfortable influence of a good King you may amplifie this point by that difference which in the 104. Psalme you finde betweene a day and a night The night is a time wherein the sauage beasts doe range abroad men retire and appeare not but in the day men goe freely abroad to their labour and the sauage beasts retire euen so in the time of an ill gouerned Common-Weale all sorts of beastly men as filthy as Swine as greedie as Wolues as cruell as Tigres as deceitfull as the Crocodile these and such like riot and controule and without shame satisfie their lust and then it is dangerous to be iust to be mercifull But the countenance of a good King chaseth such vermine away and none vnlike vnto him find Grace with him or appeare before him the 101. Psalme hath no other argument but this very point and Solomon hath exprest it in seuerall Prouerbs This blessing of Light and Heat of distinguishing and cherishing the good from and aboue the bad springs from a good King if hee bee only a Head of the Common-Weale many Heathen Kingdomes enioyed such Dayes vnder their Augustus Traians Adrians and the like But if the King be also a member of the Church a King of Israel as King Dauid was then doth he yeild vnto his State another Day vnto the Ciuill hee addes a Spirituall Day for as Constantine said well A good King is Episcopus ad extra Ecclesiam as the Pastors are ad intra though he may not administer sacred things yet must hee command them to be administred to bee administred sincerely that no Errours or Heresies dimme the heauenly Light and to be entertained reuerently that the people may feele the sweet inflaence of Grace Epistola ad Bonifacium hee maketh Lawes for the promulgation of the sauing truth of God as Saint Austine teacheth and by wholsome Discipline brings the people to be aswell religious as loyall no lesse dutifull children of God
rule we shall see what it is and who prescribes it The rule is a precept which first doth range and then doth qualifie women answerable to their ranke In the Schoole of CHRIST there are Masters and Schollers women are placed amongst Schollers they must learne yea so are they placed amongst Schollers that they may neuer hope to be Masters for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they can haue no licence to teach The ground whereof is a generall maxime they may not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vsurpe vpon men if absolutely women may not be superior to men then may they not be in Ecclesiasticall things for teaching imports a superioritie Women being thus ranged must be qualified answerable to their ranke being Schollers they must haue the qualities of Schollers those are two filence and obedience silence they must vse their eares and not their tongues about sacred things they must be more forward to heare then to speake they must learne with silence And vnto their silence they must adde obedience they must not giue but take instructions and put in practise what they are taught they must learne with all subiection This is the Rule But who prescribes it So harsh a rule had need of a verie good Author women will otherwise be hard of beliefe And surely this hath a good one it is St PAVL his stile in the Preface of this Epistle shews his warrant he is an Apostle of IESVS CHRIST he deliuers it not in his owne name but in his Masters as his Steward so much is intimated in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a Steward so that we cannot dis-belieue him but we question CHRISTS truth The authoritie of this Rule then descends from Heauen and if it doe the bare promulgating of it requires that we credit it But as God doth all things not onely according to his Will but the Counsell of his Will euen so his words are Decrees not onely of his Will but also of his Counsell they haue a reason and for strengthening of our Faith the Holy Ghost though he be not bound yet is he often pleased to expresse the same He doth it in this place And the reason of this rule is taken first from the Creation then from the Fall From the Creation thus doth the Apostle argue woman must be subiect vnto man for Adam was first framed and then Eue the precedencie in being giues a prerogatiue of commanding But this was a reall ordinance and woman it should seeme tooke no notice of it for EVE began quickly to be a teacher of ADAM She did so but with verie ill successe for she was seduced she discouered the weaknesse of her iudgement and that not in a matter of speculation but of practise for she was in the transgression she brake GODS bonds and cast his cords from her by her and not by ADAM or rather by her taking vpon her to teach ADAM came sinne into the world Hereupon the Apostle concludes that because woman hath giuen so wofull a proofe of her vntowardlynesse in teaching of man she must forbeare for euer to meddle with that function and man must maintaine that authoritie which GOD hath giuen him ouer a woman These are the contents of this second Canon whereof suitable vnto this occasion I will now speake briefly and in their order I begin with the Rule I told you it is a Precept wherein we must see first how women are ranged The name of man and woman which in the Originall are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 haue a double signification they are vnderstood ratione either Sexus or Coniugij they note in generall male and female or in speciall such of either sexe as are ioyned in wedlocke The Apostle in this place makes vse of the generall signification but so that his doctrine may be applyed also to the speciall for if in generall women be so subiected vnto men wedlocke makes no alteration in this case but doth much more subiect a wife vnto her husband and in their measure must all the particulars of this text hold in the Oeconomicks though here they be handled as they are to be vnderstood in the Ecclesiasticks To come then nearer my Text. The CHVRCH is a societie and therefore consists of different parts there must be in it superiours and inferiours This is taught vs by the resemblance that is made between it and a Kingdome wherein there is a Soueraigne and Subiects betweene it and a Citie wherein there are Magistrates and Commons betweene it and an Army with Banners wherein there are Captaines and Souldiers betweene it and an House wherein there is a Master and his Family finally betweene it and our naturall Body wherein there are directing and obeying parts St PAVL handling this last resemblance 1 Cor. 12. shewes the ground of this subordination of persons as in all societies so in the CHVRCH to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the comlinesse and commoditie of the Societie This being a generall course which GOD hath set down in Societies it must be enquired first what be the different parts of a CHVRCH and then who are assigned to either part The parts are exprest in my Text and so also are the parties that are assigned to beare those parts The parts are Teachers and Learners all members of the CHVRCH come vnder this diuision for they are either Pastors or people ghostly Fathers or ghostly Children Stewards or the Houshold of GOD such as guid or are guided vnto Heauen This being plaine that there are but these two parts The second enquirie is What parties are assigned to beare them And here we find that GOD imposeth the person of a Learner vpon the woman and of a Teacher vpon the man Though the knowledge and the feare of GOD are common to men and women for women also are in the Couenant and must not be ignorant of the Articles thereof especially seeing GOD hath vouchsafed them to be spirituall both Kings and Priests yet the administration of sacred things is the peculiar of men In the beginning of the world GOD layed this Function vpon the first borne that was male after the deliuerance out of the Aegyptian captiuitie GOD in steed of the first-borne chose the Tribe of Leuie vnto this seruice to be performed onely by the males thereof after CHRIST was inaugurated to the Office of a Mediator he chose twelue men to be his Apostles and to them gaue order for the continuance of the Ministerie in that Sexe It is true that GOD extraordinarily in both Testaments raysed vp Prophetesses according to that of Ioel cap. 2. and while the Foundation of the CHVRCH was laying by women he enformed men of his Truth yea by a silly woman gaue entrance vnto Christianitie in a whole Kingdome but the instances are rare and they are workes wherein GOD shewed himselfe to haue power to dispense with his owne Ordinance and dispose at his
their owne Heads winnowed like Chaffe Neither with their Heads only but also with their Hearts There is not a Passion which like a strong Gale of Winde doth not transport them Anger raiseth stormes within them Vaine Glorie as wings carrieth them beyond themselues Couetousnesse makes them base Enuie makes them vnsociable Pride maketh them Tyrants Luxurie makes them Beasts the Vngodly are as plyable as a Weathercocke neither need they any other winde to shift their situation but only their owne Passions But as if this Inward Wind did not turmoile them enough they are subiect to an Outward the wind of Gods Iudgement which the Chaldee Paraphrase calls Ventum furentem and the Prophets very commonly call it a Whirlewind Saint Iohn Baptist tels vs Matth. 3.12 that Christ shall come with his fanne in his hand and therewith shall throughly purge his floore Where marke that Gods Iudgement is compared to Wind of which our Sauiour Christ tels Nicodemus the wind bloweth where it listeth Iohn 3.8 thou knowest not whence it commeth nor whether it goeth so doe Gods Iudgements surprize men when the vngodly crie Peace Peace 1. Thess 5.3 then comes suddaine destruction vpon them You shall find this fully and excellently described Iob 21. But marke the Opposition of Chaffe vnto the Wind the weaknesse of 〈◊〉 to the irrisistiblensse of the Wind especially if it be a Whirlewind whither you respect the Impotencie of their owne Affections vnder which they sinke or Gods Vengeance which must needes ouer-beare them Who would set the Briars and Thornes against me in Battle saith God Esay 27 I will goe through them I will burne them together It must needs make much to the Miserie of the Vngodly that being so little able they must abide so violent an encounter violent it is but yet such as is meet for them for the Vngodly are called Reshagnim turbulent and tumultuous people and what Iudgement is so fit for them as to bee harrowed and hurled with the Wind They that giue rest to none it is pittie they should haue any rest The Vulgar addes to the Text Exegeticè from the Earth The wind driues the Chaffe from the Earth Saint Hierome makes a good Note vpon it Tà m infoelix erit impius vt ne terrenus sit puluis most miserable is the case of the Vngodly when the Earth that bare them 〈…〉 will not endure them God in Deuteronomie threatens such a Iudgement to the Iewes and we see that at this day they endure it their case may be any mans case and if wee bee Vngodly the Whirlewind may driue vs out of the good Land which God bestowes vpon vs. Russinus goeth a step higher Si facies terrae species patriae Coeleâ—lis accipitur recrè puluis à facie terrae proijci dicitur quia à Visione Calestis Gloriae impius remouetur Adam in Paradise below forfeited Paradise aboue and the Iewes had little hope of Heauen the Truth that were cast out of Canaan the Type thereof Neither may wee presume of the Kingdome of Glorie if we be vnworthy of the Kingdome of Grace And no wonder for Chaffe that is winnowed from the threshing Hoore is reserued for the fire 〈◊〉 3. as Saint Iohn Baptist telleth vs neither are the wicked separated from the good but for their greater Woe But I must conclude Three things we learne in this Text First that the Vngodly are subiect to a double Punishment Poena Damni and Poena Sensus they are depriued of great Good and the Euill is great whereunto they are exposed Secondly the Non Sic and the Sicut aduise vs to compare the Happinesse of the Blessed Tree with the Miserie of this winnowed Chaffe that the Contraries being set one against the other we may the better discerne them and resolue which of them to choose Last of all We may see that there is no reason why we should enuie the pompes and vanities of this wicked World seeing they haue neither Substance nor Continuance Iob teacheth it more then once and so doth Dauid Psal 37. and 73. When we goe to a Play we doe with the Eyes of our Reason correct the Eyes of our Bodie and our Reason iudgeth them but Varlots whom our Sense beholds as Kings It were to be wished that when we come to the Stage of this World we would bring thither aswell the Eyes of Faith as of Reason our Iudgement would not bee so often perplext nor our Resolution staggered as they are with the seeming prosperitie and Glorie of the World we would with Moses 〈…〉 esteeme the rebuke of Christ better then the Treasures of Egypt and endeauor to be happy rather in deed then shew To shut vp all Blessed we would all be in this World but few take Notice of the Euidence of true Blessednesse That Euidence is in the first Resemblance the Resemblance to the Tree Let vs obserue it and desire to partake it otherwise we may be deluded with a seeming Euidence which you haue heard of in the latter Resemblance the Resemblance of winnowed Chaffe the double Miserie that is in it should make vs abhorre it as the double good of the former should make vs affect it God giue Vs a true Iudgement to distinguish them and Grace to make that discreet choice that we may partake the former of them Amen PSAL. 1. VERS 5. Therefore the Vngodly shall not stand in the Iudgement nor Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous THe words contain the second of those Euidences whereby it may be known who are Blessed Men are Blessed in this Life and that which is to come and God hath set marks vpon either degree of Blessednesse The markes of the first degree you heard vnfolded when I last spake vnto you vpon this Psalme It followes then that I now open vnto you the markes of the second degree so farre as I find them exprest in this Verse For the better vnderstanding whereof we must obserue First what matter is contained in these words and then whereupon these words are inferred In the World to come there are two remarkable things the Entrance into and the State of it in either of these there is some thing Common and something Proper both to the good and the bad In the Entrance that which is Common is Iudgement both must come to the Barre that which is Proper is That in the Iudgement the Righteous can the Vngodly cannot stand In the state it is Common to good and bad to bee Societies or Congregations but it is Proper to the Righteous to be of such a Congregation whereinto the Vngodly shall not come neither shall the Righteous come into the Congregation whereof the Vngodly shall be So much must bee supplyed à Pari the ground is the same for both the reason of the latter difference is contained in the former for they that differ in the Iudgement must differ in the Societie also seeing God is pleased that that shall be
the ordinarie passage vnto this These are the Contents of the words But you must take notice of the Inference also remembred by the first word Therefore That will informe vs that the Euidence of Blessednesse in the Life to come depends vpon the Euidence of Blessednesse in this present Life He that is Blessed here shall bee Blessed hereafter and hee shall neuer bee Blessed hereafter that is not Blessed here And so haue I shewed you whereof you shall heare Come wee then to the Text and first to the Contents thereof wherein wee must first see what is Common to the good and the bad at their Entrance into the World to come and that is Iudgement By Iudgement the Chaldee Paraphrast vnderstands the Generall Assizes that shall be kept at the end of this World and he is in his Interpretation followed by most Diuines Ancient and Moderne This being the meaning of this Word the Persons here mentioned Righteous and Vngodly must be vnderstood to appeare as well in their Bodies as their Soules There is a Iudgement that passeth before vpon them wherein their Bodies are seuered from their Soules but that Iudgement is priuate and particular whereas this is publike and generall and though they agree for the most part in the Substance yet in the Solemnitie they differ much and the latter doth much improue the former whether you respect the Glorie of the Iudge or the Doome of the Iudged This being resolued that the Iudgement is that which shall be at the last day We must here obserue how the Holy Ghost speaketh very accurately in these words He saith not the Vngodly and Sinners shall not be Iudged but the Vngodly shall not Stand in the Iudgement nor Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous And so the words haue in them Aliquid Commune which they imply and Aliquid Proprium which they expresse It is Common to all the persons here mentioned Good and Bad to be Iudged but Proper to the Bad not to Stand in Iudgement It is Common to Good and Bad to come vnto Iudgement as commom as to rise from the dead Saint Paul who Acts 24. saith there shall be a Resurrection of the iust and vniust saith distinctly 2. Cor. 5. that we shall all appeare before the Iudgement seate of Christ to receiue according to that which euery man hath done in his Bodie be it good or ill Daniel in the twelfth of his Prophesie teacheth the verie same 〈◊〉 2. Many of those that sleepe in the dust shall rise some to euerlasting Life and some to euerlasting shame The verie same also wee learne of the Preacher in his twelfth Chapter 〈◊〉 14. God shall bring euery worke into Iudgement and euerie secret thing whether it be good or whether it be euill The point is so cleare that it is made an Article of our Faith so that I shall not need to adde any more proofe Here note That wheras God is an absolute Lord most wise most holy most mightie so that he knoweth all and detests all sinne and may deale with Sinners at his pleasure yet hee will haue all the World see that he receiues none into Heauen nor sends any vnto Hell but the ground of his doing is iust for he sentenceth both in Iudgement so that there can bee no exception taken not by malice it selfe vnto his proceeding Both good and bad passe by Iudgement to their state And let this suffice concerning that which is Common vnto Good and Bad in the Entrance into the World to come I come now to that which is Proper And here I must begin with Venerable Bedes Rule Intellectus est per Opposita We must conceiue that what is denied to the Vngodly is granted to the Righteous so that these concise words must be resolued into more and so some not vnfitly supply in the first Branch of this sentence a word that is found in the last to make it cleere wherefore they read thus The Vngodly shall not stand in the Iudgement of the Righteous that is the Vngodly shall not stand in that Iudgement wherein the Righteous shall stand Let vs then consider these Propositions asunder first that which is exprest then that which is implyed The exprest Proposition is The Vngodly shall not stand in Iudgement Standing in is opposed to both Shrinking from and Sinking vnder Iudgement so that if the Vngodly shall not stand it followeth they will Shrinke from and Sinke vnder it And indeed the Holy Ghost obserues both when God ariseth vnto Iudgement the wicked will first trie their heeles but when they will not serue then they grow heartlesse and despaire of Helpe But to open these Branches a little more fully Flight is the first attempt of the Vngodly at the Day of Iudgement they are forced vnto it from within and from without from the horrour of their owne conscience and from the terrour of the Iudge Touching Conscience it is an vndeniable truth that where there is sense of Guilt there is distresse of Feare see it in our Grand-father Adam no sooner had hee eaten of the forbidden fruit and his eyes were opened thereby but hee tooke couert and when hee was questioned hee gaue God this reason for his flying I saw that I was naked Neither was it his case only Gen. 3. it is hereditarie to all his ofspring Salomon hath put it in a Prouerbe Poou 28. The wicked flie when no man pursueth them God hath put it into his Law where the Israelites are threatned that if they breake Gods Couenant one part of their punishment shall be amazednesse of Heart Leu. 26. and such a fearefulnesse as that they shall flie at the shaking of a Leafe An Example we haue in Foelix Acts 24. who trembled when Saint Paul did but preach of Righteousnesse and Iudgement to come As the Guilt of Conscience so likewise the terrour of the Iudge will make the wicked to flie When God gaue his Law he gaue it with that terrour that the people gaue backe and stood afarre off yea Moses himselfe confesseth as Saint Paul reports that he was greatly afraid Heb. 12. And how much more thinke you shall the wicked be afraid when Christ shall come in the Glorie of his Father with all his Angels with the dreadfull sound of the Trumpet and all the World burning round about him certainly it cannot but strike such a terrour as shall make the wicked betake themselues to their heeles Christ in the Gospell describing the Last Day saith Luke 21.26 That Men shall be at their wits ends for feare and expectation of the euils to come they shall call to the Rockes to hide them to the Mountaines to fall vpon them Saint Iohn repeates the very same reckoning Kings great men rich men mightie men bond free the voice of euery one of them shall be this The great Day of the Lambs wrath is come and who shall be able for to stand Reuel 6. Put these
the bloud of the Paschall Lambe was sprinkled vpon the doore posts to direct the punishing Angell not to mistake an Israelite for an Aegyptian And before the Babilonian Captiuitie God sent a Man with a Pen and Inkehorne to marke in the forehead those that should escape the Destruction wrought by the Caldeans and in the Reuelation the Seale of God is set vpon his Chosen that they be not wrapt in the Generall desolation So must we assure our selues Chap. 3.16 that God Knowes all His by name and there is a Booke of Remembrance of them before him as Malachie speaketh he will neuer misdeeme Wheate for Chaffe nor mistake a Sheepe for a Goate But the Scripture doth branch this Distinction and God doth distinguish His Contra and Supra Alios 〈◊〉 2 1◠Contra hee doth oppose them vnto others Wee learne it of the Apostle Others are without God without Christ without Hope Strangers from Gods Couenant Aliens from His Common-weale but they that are His haue God for their Father Christ for their Sauiour the Holy Ghost for their Comforter eternall Life for their Hope 2. Pet. 1.4 〈◊〉 2 1◠they haue pretious promises made vnto them and they are of the Houshold of God and Fellow Citizens with the Saints Neither doth God only thus oppose them to others but preferre them before others We learne this of Moses Exod. 19. though all the World be His yet they are His peculiar His treasure elswhere they are called his Inheritance his First borne his Image Kings Priests all tearmes of preheminence and note their prerogatiue aboue all others So doth God Distinguish His. And as he doth distinguish them so doth he also regard them and that in two points Contemplatione and Dilectione First Contemplatione His Eye is vpon his Canaan from the beginning of the yeare to the end thereof Deut. 11. The walls of Ierusalem are euer in his sight his Eyes are vpon the Righteous his eares are open to their Prayers they find grace in his eyes and his delight is to be with them they are a Seale vpon His right Hand and a Signet vpon His Arme finally they are the very Apple of his Eye If you reade the Song of Salomon you shall see this gracious Contemplation of God set forth at large where the Beloued doth confesse that he receiues a Loue-wound from this Contemplation And indeed the Righteous Lord loueth righteousnesse Psal 11.7 as his eyes doe behold the thing that is right and God doth therefore take delight to behold his Church that hee may vse that as a meanes for to draw from him the Arguments of his Loue Loue being the end of his Contemplation King Dauid doth excellently set this forth Psal 132. Where bringing in God testifying that he hath chosen Sion for his resting place for euer and that there he delights to dwell he goes on reckoning vp the Blessings that he will powre vpon the King and his Subiects the Priests and the People the poore and the rich and Deut. 11. where God professeth that his Eye is alwayes vpon the Land the End is expressed to giue them seasonable raine and make their Land fruit full for his Loue is Beneuolentia non latens he delighteth in the prosperitie of His Seruants The very same is meant by those Titles which God giues himselfe of Father Sauiour Husband the Fathers eye is vpon his Child to prouide that is fit for it the Husbands eye vpon his Wife to communicate both his Honour and his Wealth vnto her the Sauiour lookes vpon his Charge that hee may looke to it and not suffer any thing to annoy it and that he may procure the welfare of it This reall Loue makes good that which before I obserued that Gods Power concurres with his Wisdome and this speciall Knowledge is not Speculatiue but Practicke Gods Children feele most gracious effects thereof and neuer more liuely effects then at the Day of Iudgement whereof this Text especially is meant Well then The wicked in this World haue no Wisdome to discerne the Godly at least their Wayes though they obserue their Persons and the Power that they haue they bend against them in regard of their wayes you may see this excellently set forth in the Booke of Wisdome Cap. 2. But what need the righteous care They may say with the Apostle that they are though vnknowne yet knowne they are knowne to God 2. Cor. 6. ◠and God Power is their support and this makes a full amends for their worldly ignoblenesse that they are so Heauenly Noble and shall appeare such at the Generall Iudgement And so haue I opened the first speciall Act of Gods Iudiciall Prouidence which workes vpon the wayes of the Godly Let vs now see the second How the same speciall Prouidence workes vpon the wayes of the wicked The way of the wicked shall perish here you must supply the word Lord for he is the Person that doth destroy them And marke what he doth destroy Not the Person but the Way Quà m clementer saith Saint Hierome He seemes to gather Gods Mercie out of it in that Non perit impius sed impietas And indeed were it meant of this Life it were a great Mercy because that Sinne is not abolisht here but Grace succeeds and that is a Blessed Destruction But the Connexion of this Verse to the former shewes that this is meant of the life to come and then you shall find that the Destruction is wofull and it stands in two points as their Wayes doe import two things the Act of Sinne and the Fruit of that Act. The Act of sinne shall cease wherein they take pleasure for in Hell though there bee Sinners yet is there no Sinning the Corruption remaynes in their Persons the Guilt in their Consciences the one to make them fewell for the flames of Hell that they may neuer goe out the other to feed the Worme that shall neuer die but the terrour of the Iudge shall bee so great whose hand they shall feele in the fire and the Euidence of the euill of sinne shall be so apparent in the Worme of their Conscience that they shall not dare any more to fall to the act of sinne and so they shall be vtterly depriued of the pleasure they tooke therein That shall perish A second thing that shall perish is the worldly Fruit of their sinning which is Honour Wealth Friends and such like Saint Iames calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iames 1.11 Esay chap. 5. speakes it plainly Hell hath enlarged her selfe and opened her mouth without measure and their Glorie and their multitude and their pompe and he that reioyceth shall descend into it That for which they take all their wicked paines and wherein they took their wicked delight That shall Faile Faile Totally and Finally Totally the Glution shall not haue so much as a drop of water left to comfort him In this Life there is a kind of Mixture in
a passing of our bounds Our lusts are apt to range and exceed God sets bounds vnto them by his Law hee would hold them in but it will not be we are Sonnes of Belial we will beare no yoake we breake Gods bands and cast his cordes from vs. Psal 2. The first euill of sinne is it maketh a lawles man and who doth not know that liueth in a society what an vnhappie libertie the lawles haue But why will man be lawles forsooth he thinkes that the more hee hath his will the more hee shall compasse his owne ends he thinks so but it proues not so that appeares in the next name of sinne that is Chata 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and noteth a shooting cleane besides the Marke When wee become Masterles the vpshot of our endeauour is to mistake euill for good and reape woe where wee looked for rest The wicked Wisd 5. confesse this truth and all Histories are but Chronicles of it they testifie that lawlesse men haue finally missed of that whereat they aymed yea that they haue therein bin deceiued most wherein they seemed vnto themselues to haue succeeded best And doth not this Name of Sinne then argue a sinner to be a Wretch But that which is the height of Euill in Sinne is noted in the third word Gnaon Peruersenesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And indeed Sin is nothing but the peruerting of a Creature God made the Great and the little World to set forth his owne Glorie but sinne turneth both to his dishonour God made the little World to be Lord ouer the great and Sinne turneth the Lord into the Seruant and the Seruant into the Lord God made Man a Consort for Angels Sin doth range Man with the Feinds of Hell Finally God made Man after his owne Image Sin doth change him into the Image of the Diuell most wretched peruersnesse Now seeing this threefold Euill is found in sinne as the Names thereof giue vs to vnderstand we cannot doubt but Sinne doth make a Miserable Man hee that is infected with it will confesse it though he be a King Certainely King Dauid doth He was at this time a King a victorious a glorious King obeyed by many Nations abounding in al kind of worldly prosperity Add thereunto that same gracious Entaile of his Crowne sent vnto him from God 2. Sam. 7. the verie crowne of blessings But see being stung with the Conscience of Sinne hee is sensible of none of these neither doth hee finde Comfort in any of them notwithstanding all these he confesseth himselfe a Wretch Wherein wee may obserue by the way the difference betweene the iudgement of flesh and blood and of a Child of God concerning that which maketh Happie the one placeth it in the Things of this life the other in the Peace of God And indeede so long as it is not well betweene God and vs all the World can giue vs no Content the consciousnes of sinne if we haue as feeling hearts as King Dauid had feeling the mischieuous nature of sinne wee will account our selues but Wretches and wee will with him fall to our Miserere mei Haue Mercie vpon me c. which is the second part of my Text. The Correlatiue of Miserie is Mercy as there were no neede of Mercy were there no Misery so because there is Miserie there is a remedie prouided for it and that is Mercy The Verbe doth properly signifie Be gracious to mee Grace is free loue so teacheth Saint Austin Non est gratia vllo modo si non sit omni modo gratuita that fauour deserueth not the name of Grace that can be either merited or requited But yet there are two sorts of this Grace one Quae datur non merenti another Quae datur immerenti The first was the Grace of Creation it proceeded from the free Goodnes of God for there was no possibilitie of Mans Deseruing before hee had his Being therefore was his Being a guift of Grace The second is the Grace of Redemption this proceeds also from Gods free Goodnesse this was vouchsafed to Man when he deserued the contrary he deserued eternall Death but God vouchsafed him eternall Life This speciall kind of Grace is called Mercy Therefore considering the Argument the Translator did not amisse in restrayning the amplitude of the words and rendring it Haue Mercy for Euangelicall Grace is Mercy and it is such Grace that is meant in this place But this Mercy is considered either in Affectu or Effectu as it is in God or as it manifests it selfe vpon Man The Remedy of Misery is Mercie but that Mercy must containe not only a Gracious disposition towards man but a powerfull operation vpon him God must be well affected so as that Mans state also may be altered In Miseries plea for Mercie these two cannot be seuered without Impietie or Blasphemie 1. Blasphemie for Sin Compassion are incōpatible if the one be not conceiued as the remouer of the other but he doth not so conceiue them that looks only to the Affection looketh not also for the Action of Mercy therefore he blasphemes the Author thereof Secondly there is Impietie in it for it argueth that a Man would be free from Gods displeasure but he would not part with that which offends his pure eyes Hee loueth to be a sinner And this is plaine Impietie But what are the effects of Mercy euen as many as are the euills of Sin In sin then there are two Euills the Guilt and the Corruption thereof the Guilt is resembled to a Debt 〈◊〉 1◠indeed it is a plaine Debt a double Debt for in euery sinne that wee commit we grow in arrerages vnto God in regard of the duty which wee owe him and God growes in Arrerages vnto vs in regard of the punishment that is due vnto vs. Now of these debts God keepeth a Booke all our misdeeds are recorded before him 〈◊〉 5. and of these Bookes there is mention made in the Reuel where the Soone of Man is represented vpon his Tribunall iudging all the World according to those things that are found in the Bookes that are open before him As in regard of the Guilt Sinnes are compared to Debt so in regard of the Corruption they are compared vnto Staines Staines of all sorts to Froth to Foame to Scumme to Drosse to Mire to all sorts of diseases and impurities of the flesh And indeed how can they bee other seeing they are the insection that wee receiue from the vncleane Spirit This being briefly obserued Let vs now consider of Dauids Prayer his Prayer for the Affection and Operation of Mercy First for the Affection in these Words Miserere Haue Mercy The Affection is the Roote from whence springs the Operation wee learne it in another Psalme Psal 80. Cause thy face to shine and we shall be saued therefore he doth well to make sure of that first because no hope of the other if hee speede not
greater then the latter the Men against whom hee offended were his Vassalls God was his Soueraigne vnequall Obiects make vnequall sinnes and as is the sinne so must our apprehension be greater of greater sinne The apprehension then of the greater did cleane take away the apprehension of the lesser as when a man is afflicted with two paines the sharper drownes all sense of the duller so that though King Dauid were not without feeling of the wrong done to his Subiects yet was hee more feeling of the wrong done vnto God especially considering the amplification of the many fauours which God had vouchsafed him the more he was indebted to God the more reason he had to bee sensible of the offence which hee had giuen to him and so in comparison to greiue only for that And so should we in our Repentance make the measure of Gods fauours to vs the measure of that Repentance which the sinnes against our Neighbors doe at any time draw from vs. And thus much for the first branche of the Confession I come now to the second Wee haue heard Whom King Dauid offended wee must now heare How farre that appeareth in these words I haue done this euill in thy sight To offend God is to doe him wrong but to offend him in his sight is to improue that wrong vnto Contempt and that is to doe wrong in the highest degree But more distinctly As before you heard there was some thing common in the wrong and something proper so must you obserue the like in the contempt also To offend a man before his eyes is not only to wrong but also to contemne him take an example from your selues he that abuseth a mans wife doth him great wrong but if it bee done before the husbands face how much doth that scorne multiply the wrong there is much odds betweene a Seruants abusing his Master and abusing him to his face for this is not onely to displease but also to despise him If it bee so betweene man and man how much more betweene Man God That which is common to all wrong we may not denie vnto that wrong which we doe vnto God Especially if you consider the inequalitie of the eyes for as the eyes are so is the eye-sore Let a drunkard see one drunke and an adulterer one committing of adulterie though in cold blood out of some reliques of Conscience he will be moued yet nothing so much as he ought because the Obiects of his eyes are such as himselfe is But the eyes of a sober a chast man are affected with such spectacles answerably to their sobrietie and chastitie the more vertuous they are the greater impression of griefe doe these vices make in them And this leadeth vs to that which is proper vnto God in this Contempt doth aggrauate the same For there is an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Coram oculis tuis before thy Eyes And thy eyes implie three properties that are peculiar vnto God For His eyes are 1. most piercing 2. most pure 3. most powerfull Most piercing A man that breaketh wedlocke saith the Sonne of Sirach saith thus in his Heart chap 23. who seeth me I am compassed about with darknesse the walles couer me what need I feare such a man onely feareth the eyes of men and knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter then the Sunne beholding all the waies of Men and considering the most secret parts He knew all things or ere they were Created so also after they were perfected he looked vpon them all Psal 139. Dauid hath made a whole Psalme concerning this peircing Eye of God Saint Paul comprehendeth it in few words All thinges are naked before his eyes Heb. 4. 1. Sam. 16. And herein standeth the prerogatiue of Gods Eye aboue mans Man can see onely the Face God looketh on the Heart Man beholdeth the Operation Ruffinus God the verie Intention of the worke So that though Dauid committed this sinne in secret carried the matter as he thought very cunningly yet was God too sharpe sighted for him by Nathan brought to light what hee thought was hid in darkenesse and in vaine shall we affect these couerts we can neuer be out of Gods Sight The second prerogatiue of Gods Eye is that it is most pure it can abide no iniquitie Such as bee wicked cannot stand in his sight The best of men are compast with infirmities and though they bee not as bad as others yet it is possible they may be and this possibilitie may hold them in from being so censorious as otherwise they would they that brought the Adulteresse to Christ Iohn 8 when Christ bid Him of them which was without sinn to cast the first stone at her slunke away one by one and their owne guilt checked the forwardnesse of their Iudgement But God is as farre from the possibilitie as from the Act of sinne and therefore may his Holinesse make him more free in the abhorring of sinners The last prerogatiue is the Powerfulnesse of Gods Eye for it is the eye of a Iudge the Iudge of all the world a Iudge which is armed as well with power as right to take vengeance euen of the greatest Monarches in the world put the Case that all King Dauids Subiects had beene priuie to his fall yet had they no right to call him to an Account but God could doe what they could not his eye was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an eye that could take vengeance and chastise the King according to his deserts Lay now together all these prerogatiues of Gods Eyes and see how they exaggerate King Dauids contēpt It was great immodestie to sin before the eye in that it was so piercing an eye not to feare a witnes that was so through a witnes from whom he could not conceale any part of his fact nor the least circumstance that did cloath his fact greater immodestie to sinne before so pure an eye from which he could expect no extenuation of his fault because it was free from all communion in corruption it must needs as fully abhorre as it did throughly discerne the fault but the greatest immodestie was the sinning before so powerfull an eye the eye of his Lawgiuer before whom he was to appeare and from whom he was to expect his doome to be carelesse of such an Eye must needs bee the hight of Contempt for whom will hee regard that regardeth not his Iudge such a Iudge that hath so Piercing so Pure so Powerfull eyes The Eyes of the Iudge doe exaggerate the contempt so doth the enormitie of the sinne also for it is not onely Malum but Hoc Malum Sinnes are of diuers degrees some of Ignorance some of Infirmitie these men daily commit before the eyes of God and they ought daily to repent of them because they testifie their neglect of Gods Eyes but there are sinnes of a higher straine which men cōmit with a high hand the
Souldiers brought them direct word of it but see what a peruerse choice they made Matth. 28. rather then they would giue glorie vnto God by acknowledging the truth they bribe the Souldiers to out-face it with a grosse lie This seruilitie of there will is more plainly set downe in the Acts 4. Chap. where after Peter had healed a Creeple in the Name of Iesus they therefore apprehended him and Iohn and fall to this consultation What shall we doe to these men For that indeed a notable miracle hath beene done by them is manifest to all them that dwell at Ierusalem and wee cannot denie it a man would expect that their will should yeeld vnto such cleere euidence yet doth it not for marke how they resolue That it spread no further amongst the people let vs straightly threaten them that they speake henceforth to no man in this name O seruile will Neither are these principall faculties only but their attendants also seruile First the concupiscible or that faculty whereby we ensue what wee suppose good the seruilitie thereof is most palpable God made all these visible creatures to serue vs and vs to serue only himselfe but what creature is there which man doth not aduance aboue himselfe Yea deifie that he may be a drudge vnto it Our meates and drinkes so rauish vs that Esau sold his birth-right for a messe of pottage our money and wealth how base doth it make vs Chap. 1â— There is nothing worse then a couetous man saith the Sonne of Syrach for such a man will sell his Soule for a morsell of bread The Apostle calleth the couetous man a plaine Idolater which is nothing else but a slaue to an Idoll And to whom is not an ambitious man a slaue Whose eyes are obseruant of euery mans lookes whose eares attend euery mans tongue whose tongue pleaseth euery mans humour whose feet goe whether whose hands doe what euery man will that can inch him forward to the place whereunto hee aspires Finally looke whatsoeuer humour possesseth vs there is no slauerie which for the satisfying thereof wee doe not willingly affect yea marke that the baser things are the stronger are mens affections that bow to them as we see in Epicures Wantons Couetous and other wicked ones it is hard to see a man so humbly so earnestly to serue God as they doe serue their earthly lusts Neither is the irascible or the facultie wherewith we encounter difficulties while we pursue good lesse seruile then the concupiscible is in pursuing of vanitie and toyes it maketh Pigmies seeme Gyants vnto vs euery danger is as vgly as death euery frowne will ouer awe vs and the least terrour cast vs into a Feuer If we be put to it whether we will lose Heauen or Earth God or the World we will quickly betray with what resolution we are carried vnto the best things and how hardly we brook walking in the narrow way though it lead vnto the Kingdome of Heauen how hardly we endure momentany afflictions though they worke vnto vs an exceeding and eternall weight of glory 2. Cor 5. Read the Storie of the Israelites passage from Egypt to Canaan in them you may read what man-hood we haue Seruilitie hath so cowardized all our Fortitude that we set lightly euen by God himselfe if we may not possesse him easily and speedily I need say no more by this time you see what a base and seruile spirit we haue certainly by nature it is most base and seruile I haue amplified this that you might see there is great reason why King Dauid should make this Prayer and perceiue better what that is which hee desireth and what he meaneth by a free spirit Hee meaneth not a Libertines freedome hee would not bee a sonne of Belial haue a cloake for licentiousnesse but hee would bee enthrawled to none but God And indeed his seruice is perfect freedome he would haue his iudgement free he would walke by no light but by the light of Heauen his vnderstanding he would haue captiuated only to the wisdome of God and then he is sure he shall neuer mistake his true obiect truth because Gods Word is truth and he can neuer erre whom God doth guide and verily hee is the wisest man that maketh Gods Commandement the rule of his iudgement his iudgement is free indeed And what is a free-will Sure that which chuseth the only good that whose souereigne good is only God he chuseth all that chuseth him so that hauing him the will misseth nothing of her proper obiect let it pitch vpon other goods and it will bee if not deluded yet certainly skanted because nothing can satisfie which is lesse then that for which the will was made As grace doth thus free the reasonable facultie so doth it the sensitiue also it freeth our desires though there be no Law to compell yet doth a man readily run the way of Gods Commandements he thinketh hee cannot speed fast enough nor haue enough of that good which a holy will guided by a wise iudgement recommends vnto him vnto him Modus diligendi Deum est diligere sine modo hee drinkes himselfe drunke at the riuer of diuine pleasures and is so vnsatiable in that that he passeth in the World for a foole and a mad-man This is the freedome of desire it made King Dauid daunce in an Ephod before the Arke it made Abraham follow God whithersoeuer hee did call him and many holy men to affect solitarinesse that they might haue the more of the societie of God and his Angels Such a desire is no hireling it loueth good for good and will serue God onely out of the content it taketh in his seruice and such seruice God requireth and such a desire is a free desire The last facultie that is free is the irascible the courage of a man must be made free Saint Paul hath exprest that excellently Rom. 8. Who shall separate vs from the loue of Christ Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakednesse or perill or sword No I am perswaded that neither death nor life neither Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor heigth nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus Behold a free courage such a Martyrs courage as will readily obey and runne to Christ though he must be loaden with the Crosse that will be contented to hate Father and Mother Wife Children if they hinder him from being Christs Disciple Put these together and you may reasonably conceiue what King Dauid meaneth by a free spirit And such freedome is to be desired by vs all we must all desire to be so free in our iudgement will desires courage and so we shal become generous persons such as stoupe to no base things and shall sticke at the bestowing of nothing we haue though it bee our owne selues whereby we may compasse the
regard of those that must obserue the Law all are not equall and Christ himselfe telleth vs that there are Mandata minima Matth. 5. Wherefore the doubt had a good ground but the Scribe knowing that the Law had three maine Heads the Morall the Politique the Ceremoniall and that from euery of the heads sprang manifold branches moreouer supposing that Christ was illetterd Matth. 13.54 and not seene in these studies thought that it was the onely way by such a Question either to disgrace his knowledge if he could not suddainely lay together the varietie of Commandements and out of an aduised comparison passe a true iudgement and so they should lessen his reputation with the people Or if he did answere to the Question and clearely expresse himselfe then hee should set those that held the contrarie tenant against him and so at least wise they should doe him some mischiefe which was the vp-shot of a Tempter And to that â—nd hee doth not onely Socratically mooue this question hoping for an ironicall conclusion and to put a scorne vpon Christ but politickly also hoping to distract his Auditors and raise him vp many aduersaries But foolish man that he was he looked onely vpon Christs out-side of his inside hee knew nothing Had he knowne who Christ was he would neuer haue made such an aduenture Hee that gaue the Law vnderstood the Law to the full and hee knew the degrees of obseruance which prescribed them vnto men the euent proued it and the Tempters successe was farre other then hee exspected as hereafter you shall heare There is one note more De magno mandato quaerit saith Chrysostome qui minimum non impleuit Matth. 23. the Scribes and Pharisees did vse to bind heauie burdens and lay them upon other mens shoulders which they would not lift at with the least of their fingers ambitious of profound knowledge but carelesse of any degree of true pietie Wee haue many such that busie their wits in the most learned Inquiries of Gods Predestination of the day of Iudgement of the mysteries in the Reuelation of Chronologie Genealogie sacred Antiquities and in the meane time soaring in these contemplations aloft take no heede vnto their steps but are spectacles to the world of no small Morall infirmities Wherefore Chrysostome aduiseth well Quaerat de maiore Iustitia qui impleuit minorem let vs practise our lessons as wee learne them and not paine our wits in studying a greater vntill wee haue brought our Hearts to obey a lesser commandement otherwise we shall bee but like the Alchimists that all their life are making of Gold and goe to their graues starke beggers You haue heard both of the questionist and the question and how well the question fitteth the questionist the temptation representeth the tempter Examples are not vnfitly compared vnto looking Glasses wherin we may behold as well what to eschue as what to follow in this we haue found little to be followed much to be eschewed GOd graunt we may make the right vse of it and that we doe not in our liues shew our selues to be either Scribes or Pharisees either counterseitly holy orignorantly learned But let our inside be no worse then our out-side and let vs presume of no more then we are sure is good either in our life or learning Finally let vs in simplicitie of heart become the Disciples of Christ and let our ghostly edification be the end of our enquires So shall we be free from the iust censure that was deserued by this questionist and that for this question a question otherwise good but tainted by the ill meaning of so bad a questionist The second Sermon MATT. 22. VERSE 37. Iesus said vnto him Thou shalt Loue c. THese words containe an answere to a question the question was mooued by a Lawyer the answere thereunto is shaped by our Sauiour Christ Hauing heretofore vnfolded the Question it followeth that I now come on and vnfold the answere vnto you wherein first wee must obserue that Christ doth vouchsafe an answere vnto a tempter Iesus said vnto him to him who before is said to haue come to tempt Christ Secondly we must see what the answere is which Christ doth vouchsafe it is such as doth fully yea abundantly resolue the question and which withall doth discreetly and powerfully defeate the malice of the questionist this later point is implied but the former is expressed in the Text. At this time I will meddle onely with the Answere to the question I will shew you the particulars contained therein and handle as many as the time will permit In the Text we doe find that Christ doth fully yea abundantly resolue the doubt for he not onely affirmeth which is the great Commandement in these words Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy Heart c. but hee confirmeth it also in these words On these two Commandements depend the Law and the Prophets To resolue the Question fully doth not content he doth resolue it abundantly also hee teacheth the Pharisee more then he did aske he asked but after one Commandement Christ teacheth him two as well that which enioyneth the Loue of our Neighbour as that which enioyneth the Loue of God hee giueth an Answere with a vantage but this vantage proueth in the end a disaduantage to the Pharisee as hereafter you shall heare But more distinctly to breake vp that which Christ affirmeth to be the great Commandement We find that therein God inioyneth Loue thou shalt Loue. As he doth enioyne it so he teacheth where it must bee seated and on whom we must bestow it It must bee seated in the inwardman the Heart the Soule the Mind And it must be bestowed vpon the Lord our God and our Neighbour Neither is it enough to bestow it on them except in bestowing it we obserue an Order and a Measure An Order for we must first loue God and then our Neighbour Therefore in my Text is that called the first and this the second Commandement A measure for we must loue God more then our Neighbour God with all our Heart Soule and Mind this first saith the Text is the Great Commandement But we must loue our neighbour only as our selues therfore doth the Text tell vs that this 2 nd is not equall it is only like to the first CoÌ„mandement Let vs come to the particulars whereof the first was this Christ doth vouchsafe an Answere and that to him whom he knew to be a Tempter Though the person deserue to be reproued to bee reiected yet Christ beareth with him and doth not refuse to satisfie his demand Wonder not at it long before he dealt no worse with the Arch-tempter in the 4. of S. Mathew you shal find that he replied vnto him euen a third time And in so doing taught vs that wee must not bee ashamed to auouch Gods truth though it be to the Diuell himselfe nay we haue a more comfortable note included herein
we thinke to be euill euill vnto vs Rom 16. Iob. 14. that we abhorre and resist there is no indulgence that may pittie our infirmities no beneficencie that may supplie our wants which out of Loue of our selues we doe not naturally desire as also condoling and congratulating of our woe and weale Yea naturall reason if it haue not lost reason hath taught men to distinguish Bona animi Bona corporis and Bona fortunae and giue them their due precedencies and answerable estimates in our desires our soule is more precious vnto reason then our body and our body then our goods and we are in reason affected with the wel-fare or ill-fare of euery of these according to its price Neither doth nature teach vs onely to loue things which concerne vs it teacheth vs also the manner of our Loue Rom. 12. for it teacheth vs to Loue our selues in regard of these things First Sincerely there is no hypocrisie in natural Loue 1. Ioh. this loue is without dissimulation Secondly Really we loue not our selues only in words but in deeds also Thirdly Tenderly we are verie feeling of our owne weale and woe Fourthly Constantly no difficulties or crosses can make vs weary of louing our selues This being our inborne loue some thinke that it is supposed by Christ and according to this supposition made the Measure of that loue which wee owe to our neighbour So that the Commentarie vpon these words as thy selfe is made by Christ in another place Mat. 7. That which you would that men should doe vnto you doe you vnto them Cap 4. wherunto you may adde Tobies negatiue Doe not my sonne to another that which thou wouldest not indure by another should be done vnto thee Christs meaning is that before we resolue how to carie our selues towards our neighbour we must suppose him to be in our case and our selues in his and then thinke with what measure we would haue him to measure to vs and mete ou◠the same to him If the Iudge that sitteth vpon the ench the Land-lord that deales with his Tenant the Tradesman that venteth his commodities finally euerie man that dealeth with another did square his carriage by this rule there would be much lesse wrong in Societie and much more comfort in mens consciences for Pulcher liber cor tuum euerie man beareth in his owne bosome a faire Table engrauen legibly by the finger of Nature wherein if he would read hee might learne without any other helpe what vsage is fit for his neighbour And if men were as prompt Schollers in learning actiue Charitie that is the charitie which they must shew to others as they are acute Doctors and teachers of the Passiue of that charitie which they expect from others the Moralists and Casuists might saue much of their paines in discoursing and determining of our mutuall duties But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the corrupt loue of our selues which spends our affection inordinately and maketh it vnworthy to be accounted the naturall loue of a mans selfe because it is more brutish then reasonable doth make vs oftentimes to loue indeed our neighbour as our selues but such a loue of our selues is too base to be the measure wherewith we ought to loue our neighbour Yet is there too much of such mutuall loue in the World such is the loue of all those that fall in their desires and delights below the condition of men yea some so low that they may be consorts for the Deuill If Philautie or corrupt loue grow not so base yet may it grow insolent and men may appropriate themselues to themselues as if none were worthy of their loue and therefore they are all for themselues and not caring if all the World mourne so they reioyce or be in want so they haue their fill Forgetting that naturall Principle that Homo is animal politicum a sociable creature and though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in proprietie we are our owne and so are our goods yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in regard of the vse of our selues and our goods both are ours for the comfort of others and they should be as deare to vs as we would haue our selues deare vnto them were they in our case But this taketh not away the distinction that is betweene them Before you heard how many wayes a man might be a neighbour a neighbour only in place or in bloud or in the common nature whereof we all partake or in Societie either priuate of friendship wherein likenesse of disposition doth linke vs or publique either Ciuill or Ecclesiasticall We must clothe euery one of these with his due circumstances and as occasion offers vs to haue to doe with any of these we must personate them vnto our selues and looke what we may iustly challenge if we were in their case by the rules of Moralitie that must we offer to euery one of them be he only a Man or also a Kinsman an inward friend or fellow member of the Church or Common Weale finally bee hee a superiour or inferiour vnto vs. And this is indeed to loue our neighbour as our selues and for want of making this supposition the rule of our resolution what we would not willingly endure we offer with great eagernesse to others and withhold from them what we thinke cannot without iniurie be denied vnto vs Which is the more blameable in Christians because that rule Whatsoeuer you would that men should doe vnto you doe the same vnto them not only preached but practised made Christianitie venerable in the eyes of Alexander Seuerus an Heathen Emperour who acknowledged this Apothegme Quod tibi fieri non vis altori ne feceris learned from Christians and squared his iudgement by it This sense of the Limitation of the loue of our neighbours is a good sense and it were to bee wisht that at least so much were entertained by the World it would set much right that is awry But I hold there is much more meant in the Text then so for that supposition riseth no higher then the state of Nature My Text belongeth also to them that are in the state of Grace Wherefore obserue that though Christ seeme not to teach how we ought to loue our selues yet indeed he doth for the loue of our selues is inwrapt in our loue of God though God call for the dutie as respecting himselfe yet in doing what we are bid we benefit our selues it is the true loue of our selues For what loue doth a man owe vnto himselfe but the loue of his Perfection And what is his perfection but the loue of God Goe ouer the parts God will haue imployed in this worke The first is our Minde or our Vnderstanding what greater perfection can that haue then the knowledge of our soueraigne good This is life euerlasting saith Christ to know thee the only true God Iohn 17. and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ The second is our Heart and what greater perfection
God tooke an occasion from the wrongs done to his people to powre forth his displeasure vpon them Wisd 19. The wrong was double First they brought friends into bondage that had wel deserued of them The storie is plaine in Genesis how Ioseph saued them from perishing by famine and therefore how willingly they receiued him and his into the Communion of their Lawes therefore it was against all Law to make them bondmen God therfore which is iudge of all the world sent Moses and by him commanded Pharaoh to deliuer them and to suffer them being his first borne to goe three dayes iourney into the wildernesse and sacrifice vnto him But so farre was Pharaoh from obeying God that hardning his heart he vexed the Israelites more What then did God In reuenge of his people hee brake Pharaohs hard heart hee made the proud King giue him the glorie both of his Iustice of his power while he destroyed that ancient that goodly Kingdome and slew the persons the principall persons of it the ofspring of those whom Ioseph had saued together with their countrie Moreouer hee forced them to make an amends to the Israelites for their seruitude not onely in willingly letting them goe but in furnishing them also for their iourney with the richest of their garments and most precious of their Iewels This did God to the Egyptians And indeed it was God that did it For though there were some ceremoniall meanes vsed yet there were none vsed that were effectuall Moses and the people did but looke on Gods immediate power produced those wonderfull effects The same God that tooke this vengeance for them is the same still and he will neuer suffer his Church to be vnreuenged though hee suffer her to bee cruelly persecuted when he seeth time hee will doe to her enemies as he did to the enemies of Israel Saint Paul Saint Peter and Saint Iude teach it briefely 2. Thes 1. 2 Ep. 2. Saint Iohn in the Reuelation deliuereth the Doctrine more a large by way of prophecie and the Ecclesiasticall Storie sheweth that that prophecie is accomplished for a good part of it The second worke sheweth what God did to the Israelites and that is a worke of Mercie Moses here teacheth the Manner and the End of it The Manner God bore them on Eagles wings we account it a great honour that God doth vnto men when hee giueth his Angels charge ouer them to carrie them in all their wayes that they dash not their foote against a stone And indeed it is a great honour that these glorious spirits which attend Gods throne should become ministring spirits and attend sinnefull men How great an honour is it then that God doth vs Heb. 1.14 when hee himselfe vouchsafeth to bee the supporter of Israel Carrieth them as a man carrieth his little babe God putteth them in mind of it by Esay Chap. 46. vers 3.4 Hearken vnto me O house of Iacob Deut. 1. and all the remnant of Israel which are borne by me from the belly which are caried from the wombe and euen to your old age I am he and euen to the hoarie haires will I carrie you I haue made and I will beare euen I will carrie and I will deliuer you And Christ like the good shepheard in the Gospel beares his sheepe and so likewise in the Prophets And indeed the passage out of Egypt was a Diuine transportation for of so many hundred thousand that past so great a iourney through so desolate places ther was not one sicke not one tired and how could they haue all beene so well at ease except God had carried them They might well take to themselues those words of Esay 〈…〉 31. They that waite vpon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount vp with wings as Eagles they shall runne and not be wearie they shall walke and not be faint When at any time wee haue strength to doe that which neither in our owne iudgement nor in the iudgement of others we are able to doe we must giue the glorie of it to God as Dauid doth in the 18. Psalme we must acknowledge that God did carrie vs through God doth not onely say that he did carrie them but hee carried them vpon Eagles wings quasi super alas aquilarum saith the Chalde Paraphrase as it were vpon Eagles wings There is a Simile in the phrase which breedes two inquiries first who is vnderstood in the Eagles secondly what the Wings meane Some vnderstand Moses and Aaron the two guides that led the people of Israel out of Egypt and will haue them compared to Eagles Propter acumen intelligentiae altitudinem vitae by reason of their piercing iudgement Hom 46. in Matth. and their holy life Saint Chrysostome nearer to our purpose saith that they were Mollissimae pennae misericordiae diuinae as it were the downe feathers of Gods mercie because they handled the people committed to their charge tenderly and intreated them gently in imitation of Eagles of whom some report how truely let the naturalists inquire that whereas other birds carrie their yong ones in their talents or clawes which cannot bee done without some griping they lay them vpon their wings and so transport them without any grieuance which is a good embleme for Magistrates and teacheth them paternall affection towards their people Saint Ambrose resembleth Christ to an Eagle Lib. de Solomone and that in three points First because as the Eagle fluttereth ouer her yong ones and safegards them from any that would annoy them so doth Christ carefully protect his Church Secondly as the Eagle stirreth vp her nest and taketh vp her yong ones enforcing them to looke towards the Sunne thereby trying her generous or degenerating brood euen so doth Christ make triall of true and counterfeite Christians he reiects them as counterfeits that haue but Owles sight and which hate the light but those which can looke vpon the Sunne of righteousnesse and delight in beholding him they goe for true Christians And why They can see their pray a farre off and where the carcasse is there will the Eagles be Sursum Corda though Christ be in heauen their thoughts ascend thither Thirdly the Eagle hateth the Serpent and wheresoeuer hee seeth him renteth him with his beake and Christ the seede of the woman did breake the Serpents head there is perpetuall enmitie betweene them and their seede There is good correspondencie in these points betweene Christ and the Eagle but they cannot be so fitly applied in this place because the word in my Text is plurall Aquilarum of Eagles except wee shall say that Christ had in him the perfection of many Eagles or was attended with many Angels which are sometimes compared to Eagles Ezek 1. Reu 4. and the Cherubins in the Temple and Tabernacle had large and broad wings But let vs come to the wings By them are meant two things the first is the height the second
God then it can be by any man The second difference is in the measure a double measure of the stroake and of the time Touching the stroake Nazianzen obserues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Naziá Orat. 15. p. 228. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that in this world God doth allay his seueritie with mercie but they that shall be punished in the world to come shall drinke the very dregges of the cup of his wrath the iudgements in this life are but the smoke of wrath the preface vnto torments such stripes as Schoolemasters giue vnto little children that learn their A.B.C. But the iudgments in the world to come they are more then smoke they are the flaming fire it selfe read Mal. 3.4 they are more they the preface to torments they are the torments themselues so we read of the rich Glutton that he was in the torments Finally they are more then childrens smart they are the stripes of the oldest Truants such as are prouided for the Deuill and his Angels Eâ—eck 8.18 Then God will deale in his furie his mercie will not spare neither will hee haue pitie and though they crie in his eares with a loud voice hee will not heare them If any bodie desire to know more of the measure of the stroake let him reade the Prophets they are copious in amplifying the terrour of the Lords Day Besides this measure of the stroake there is a measure also of the time for in this world afflictions are but momentanie in the world to come they are eternall here heauinesse may continue for a night but ioy commeth againe in the morning as God doth not suffer all his indignation to arise so is he very quickly reconciled so quickly that it scarce can be remembred that he was offended certainly it is too vsually forgotten But in the world to come wrath is permanent Affliction as Nahum speaketh ariseth not the second time the worme neuer dieth neither doth the fire euer goe out This being the oddes in the measure it proueth that in comparison that which is inflicted in this life deserueth not the name of wrath especially if you adde the third difference the difference in the End Saint Austine doth giue vs a distinction of wrath Conâ— 2. â—â— Psal 58 â—a consunâ—ptiâ—nis Ira consummationis and telleth vs that there is a wrath consuming and a wrath consummating a wrath which God inflicts to make men the better and a wrath which God inflicts therewith vtterly to destroy men that is the wrath which he inflicteth in this life and this is the wrath which hee inflicteth in the life to come And indeed God in this life doth not punish man but the Deuill God reserueth mans punishment to the life to come The corruption that is in our nature is the Deuils possession in working out that God worketh out him and it is his intent to worke him out his stroakes here are like a physicall potion giuen to a sicke bodie not to abide in him but when it hath drawne vnto it selfe the matter of his disease to be cast out againe with the humour that did offend him This is the true end of Gods chastisements in this world But it is as true that this physicke doth not alwayes sort this effect the fault is not in the potion but in the stomacke that taketh it if the stomacke haue strength to make vse of the potion then doth it recouer thereby but if it want strength then doth the potion increase the peccant humours and augment the patients disease The wicked for want of grace are the worse for their punishment it proueth vnto them wrath of consumption but they that haue grace are the better wrath to them is better then laughter as the Preacher speaketh because by the sadnesse of the countenance the heart is made better â—celes 7. and chastisement bringeth forth the quiet fruit of righteousnesse to them that are exercised thereby Heb. 12.11 yea Maior ira quädo Deus non requirit Saint Austine obserues well God is most displeased with vs in this world when hee is displeased least and his long patience here doth prognosticate his heauier vengeance hereafter it maketh it suspitious that we are bastards and no sonnes if seeing such is our infirmitie that wee cannot but sinne wee bee not timely reclaimed by chastisement of sinne But to shut vp this point that which proceedeth from loue and is executed with so tender a hand to so good a purpose as is our perfection doth not deserue the name of wrath this name belongeth more properly to that punishment which proceedeth from Gods hatred and is executed without mercie to the eternall destruction of man and that is The wrath to come therefore is the day thereof properly called The day of wrath and the persons that suffer then are properly The vessels of wrath In the number of which that we may not be we must harken to the Remedie And the Remedie is flying flie from the wrath to come if the Remedie be flying then there is no standing to it no trauersing of our indictment no bribing of our Iudge no priuiledge of our persons no reliefe from our strength no standing to it by these or any other meanes we must flie But flying is either corporall or spirituall the corporall will be attempted it should seeme so by Christs relation in the Gospel and Saint Iohn saith in the Reuelation Reuel 6 that Captaines and rich men and great men shall flie to the rockes to the hils and desire to be couered to be hid from the wrath of the Lambe but all in vaine for they are reiected by rocks and hilles And indeed whether should they flie then when all the world becommeth Gods jayle and euery creature becommeth his jaylour yea the showre that doth attend Christs comming to judgement is a showre of snares Psal 7. Amos 5.19 and the Prophets Amos especially doth excellently shew the vanitie of this flight It shall be as if a man did flie from a Lion and a Beare met him and he runneth from the Beare vnto a wall and there a Serpent biteth him that is whithersoeuer he turne he shall find those that will seize vpon him he cannot possibly escape not by flying corporally He must then flie spiritually and indeed it is spirituall flight that is the Remedie But what is spirituall flight Surely wee must conceiue and bee in trauell with amendment of our liues and neuer stop vntill we haue brought forth a compleate spirit of saluation that is we must flie from sinne and flie vnto grace in both which consisteth the flight from wrath Quem poenit et peccati iram Der mortalem facit Lactantius de ira Dâ—â— Hee that iudgeth himselfe in this world he whose heart is prickt with remorse of sinne whose heart trembleth melteth and is broken with the feare of Gods wrath hee that singeth the song of mercie and layeth hold vpon the Mercie-seat desiring
contented with so much as he doth reueale but we should spend all our time and paines in obedience and conforming our selues to Gods Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hâ—mil de Sement tom 1 Ioâ—l 2.23 Esay 61. Reuel 21 Gal. 5. Rom 6. Therefore doth Gods Law and a showre of raine come in Hebrew both from one root to signifie that wee should drinke it in as fruit trees doe raine to be the better for it In Ioâ—l it is plainly called the raine of righteousnesse and of raine Athanasius his obseruation is good though the substance of it be but one yet doth it yeild sustenance for diuers fruits Sure I am that the Scripture calleth vs Trees of Life Trees of Righteousnesse and we should bring forth fruits of the Spirit which is called the fruit of Sanctification haue a man neuer so much knowledge if hee goe no farther then knowledge hee can deserue no better a name then the Deuill hath who from his knowledge is called Daemon Nâ—mdicit Qui non seâ—it sed nonâ—â—cieâ—â— fructâ—m â—â—omâ—er enim oportet ferre 〈…〉 Nam cetheri â—â—serâ—cors fueris 〈◊〉 rapinâ—s sis dâ—dities â—on cris bonus but the Scripture denominateth a good man from his vertue Chasidh But there remayneth one note more which Theophylact maketh vpon this description Hee saith not euery tree which hath not borne but euery tree which is not bearing for wee must alwayes bee bearing fruit though the other day thou wert mercifull if to day thou be an extortioner thou shalt not goe for a good tree And God himselfe doth iustifie this doctrine telling vs that all the righteousnesse of an vnconstant good man shall be forgotten Those that be planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish in the Courts of our God 〈…〉 they shall still bring forth fruit in their old age they shall be sat and well liking The Tree described Psal 1. and Reuel 21. confirme this truth To shut vp this description of a member of the Church out of it we must learne these few Lessons First God expecteth to behold in vs rather our workes then his owne what we yeild then what wee receiue and our care must be rather to doe our duties then boast of our gifts seeing for those not these we are called to an account Secondly we must beare fruit according to our kind Men doe not gather Grapes of thornes nor figges of thistles it is vnnaturall for Vines to beare hawes or Figge-trees burres wee betray our selues rather to bee in then of the Church if we beare such fruit and though wee cannot bee challenged for being idle yet shall wee be for being ill imployed If to beare fruit were enough the case of the wicked would bee better then that of the godly for as wild trees commonly beare greater burthens then the grafted or planted you know Aesops reason for it so doe the wicked commonly abound in workes more then the good But God considereth not How many but How good yea the more of euill workes the worse so that when we come to cast vp our account wee must consider not so much the number as the qualitie of them remembring to write vpon the euill vanity of vanities all is but vanity and vexation of spirit for what fruite is there in those things whereof we shall be then ashamed wee must desire to beare that fruit which may abound to our accompt Philip. 4. And so haue I deliuered vnto you so much of my Text as concerneth the persons speaking of them so farre as I haue beene occasioned by their resemblances I come now to the Iudgement whereof wee must consider first the Cause where we shall see that God obserueth his owne Law and cutteth vp no tree in this siege that his vengeance layeth to his Church but such as are no fruit trees It is a clause in the couenant Deut. 2â— that as God maketh vs fruit trees so we should beare good fruits if we faile he is no longer tied to continue vs trees or performe vnto vs the blessing Sanction of his Law Deut. 28. his Iustice requireth that hee make good the second sanction which curseth sinners and come to eradication But to open this cause a little fuller wee must obserue that Gods dealing with men though it bee acted by his Power yet it is ordered by his Iustice neither doth he vse his power vntill he haue examined our deserts this is vndoubtedly true in plagues though not in blessings In blessing he preuenteth vs but he neuer striketh vntill he bee pronoked therefore the Scripture seldome mentioneth any iudgement of God but it prefaceth it with some cause thereof first giuen by man you may reade it in the doome of Adam the old World Sodome Gen. 3.6 1â— Chron. 2. and Israel In this place the not bearing of good fruit is expressed as the cause of the iudgement which followeth the not bearing I say of good fruit For whereas the Commandements of God are Affirmatiue or Negatiue The Affirmatiue are those for which our faculties were giuen vs the performing of the Negatiue are but with standings of such impediments as hinder vs therein Adde hereunto that the Affirmatiue is the measure of the Negatiue so that wee know not how farre we must withstand but by knowing how much we are bound to doe moreouer the Deuill that hee might haue vs at leasure to doe what wee should not maketh vs neglect to doe what we should Because then we should striue to the heighth of vertue for homo est animal officiosum man is made for vertuous action and his commendations is well doing and doing ill is but a necessarie consequent of not doing well as appeareth by the Parable of the vncleane spirit it is impossible for a man to be idle it would imply a contradiction to the definition of the soule therefore the transgression of the Affirmatiue Commandements are here called in question they are alleadged for the cause of Iudgement Si sterilitas in ignâ—m mittitur rapacitas quid meretur Fulgent Serm. de dispen Duplex fructus bonus Gratiae Poenitentiae Aust de Contritione cordis And if Omâ—ssions be so punished what is due to Commissions It is Fulgentius his collection If barrennesse burne in hell what shall wickednesse seele the deeper men goe in sinnes the greater is the account they haue to giue But lest men should not well conceiue this cause wee must learne of Saint Augustine that there is a double good fruit of Grace and of Repentance we should indeed principally take heed of Omissions and bee filled with the fruits of righteousnesse but if insteed of those good fruits we fall into sinnes of commission there is a second good worke wherewith we must relieue ourselues a worke of repentance in the defect of the first this second must succeed Though God might by the Law punish vs for want of the first yet from the Gospel wee haue this comfort that he
sit hominem scire arbitror neminem nisi forter cui spiritus diuinitus estenderet Austin de Ciuit. Des lib. 2. cap 16. Non quareâ—dum vbi Gebennae ignis situs sit sed magis quo pacto enitari possit Chrysost Hom. do prâ—mys sanct â—om 1. pag 443. Cyril Alexanâ—in p. 710. and worse Historiographie haue deliuered a great deale of vngrounded stuffe concerning the nature and place of this sire but wee shall doe well to follow the sobrietie of the Fathers Greeke and Latin Touching Hell fire what kind it is of and where in what region of the earth I thinke no man can tell except hee to whom God will bee pleased to reueale it saith Austine and Chrysostome We must not be curious to know where is the place of Hell fire but studie rather how is auoid it Only let vs learne of Nazianzen that there is a double vse of fire for therewith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men are doomed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or they are purified We haue not now to doe with the purgatiue but with the correctiue vse of fire and seeing that fire is the symbol of plagning we must from our fire learne two properties of fire it searcheth most and spareth least it leaueth no part vnseized vpon and looke whereon it seizeth it afflicteth to the vttermost which Nabuchadnezer knew that chose that wherewith to torment the seruants of God yea God himselfe doth shew who therewith destroyed Sodome and Gomorra certainly in the Valley of Hinnom it was so dreadfull that the Holy Ghost was pleased to vse it as a symbole of the tortures of Hell which leaue no part of the tormented vnpained and paineth euery part extreamely Only when we looke vpon our fire wee must obserue two differences betweene that and the fire of Hell First Hell fire goeth farre beyond it in degree well may the torments be like they are not equall Secondly they are vnlike in durance for ours consumeth and is consumed but Hell fire neither wasteth his fuell nor is wasted it selfe both are euerlasting so that let ours afflict neuer so painfully Sie perit â—t possit saepe perâ—â—e Horaque erit tant is vltima nulla malâ—â— it cannot afflict long but hee that is in Hell fire endureth an euerliuing death The tree that growes in the field growes for fuell and it is no wonder to see it proue so but a heauie thing it is for a tree to to become fuell that grew to beare fruit But in this case the case of a barren fruit tree is worse then a tree of the field because a tree of the field may bee cut downe not for fuell but for building but fruit trees are not fit for building and nature hath made this their ineptnesse a priuiledge against the Axe when for the building of stately Palaces the trees of the field goe downe they stand and are not cut downe vntill they giue ouer-bearing fruit and then they are cut downe only for fuell for they are good for nothing else Ezechiel hath a whole Chapter of it wherein as in a glasse wee may behold the condition of a sinner If you put these parts of the Iudgement together you may easily perceiue that they amount to a totall a finall eradication It is totall for if a tree bee cut vp by the roots there is no hope of the branches because the branches haue no life but deriuatiue from the root cut a tree as close to the root as you will Iob will tell you there remayneth still hope of him but it is past hope when the root is dead As the Iudgement is totall so it is finall Chap. â—4 we neuer heard of the second grasting of a tree certainly not of these trees The Parable of the foolish Virgins sheweth that there is no getting in when the doores be shut and that there is no passage from Hell to Heauen Mâ—t. 25. Lâ—â—e 17. Abraham telleth the rich Glutton burning in those flames But of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reprobation of and Bill of Diuorce giuen to to the Iewes I spake enough when I spake of that which they were willed to flie which in former words of this Sermon is called wrath to come wherefore I forbeare to enlarge this point any farther only wishing vncurable Impenitents herein to behold what a feare full thing it is to sall into the hands of the liuing God You haue heard of the persons and the Iudgement that the one of them doth denounce against the other But the Iudgement is not onely threatned but threatned that it shall come vppon them speedily and ouertake them vniuersally the speed is intimated in the first word Now now is the Axe laid to the roote of the tree all the words are present Now is put Now is cut which carrie with them an Emphasis and hasten the repentance of the hearer Before it was calied Wrath to come least therefore they should put it farre from them as the wicked in Amos and the bad seruant in the Gospel and grow Atheisticall scoffers as some doe in Esay and others 2. Peter 3 he is instant wiih them and proposeth this Iudgement as imminent But this seemeth to be a Paradox Iohn was the Harbinger of Christ and with Christ began the Kingdome of grace and how doth he then make it the time of Iudgement so terrible a Iudgement We must therefore obserue that God neuer did any publike remarkable good to magnifie his mercie but he did withall shew the world some notable spectacle of his wrath therein to magnifie his Iustice when Noah was saued the world was drowned and fiue Cities burnt when Lot was deliuered how were the Egyptians destroyed when Israel was set free And when the Gentiles were receiued into the Church what a desolation did hee bring vpon the Iewes God will haue feare and hope still to liue in the hearts of the sonnes of men Adde hereunto that Christs comming is the last offer of Grace both to Iewes and Gentiles he that refuseth now shall neuer speed marke this point pressed by the Apostles both to the Iewes and to the Gentiles This is the reason why the Baptist Christ his Apostles beginne their Preaching with Repent Aâ—â— 13 Acts 14 17. this is as the greatest so the last manuring the tree that proueth not now must needs downe needs into the fire But is not God alwayes putting the Axe to the tree yea verily he maketh daily spectacles of them but to whole Nations he putteth not the Axe euery day hee forbeareth them vntill they haue filled vp the measure of their sinne But if they abuse his patience and long-suffering whereby hee laboureth to draw them to Repentance then they shall find that they haue treasured vnto themselues wrath against the day of wrath Rom 2 the Axe shall goe vnto the root But in this Iam there are two other remarkable things the one is noted by Saint Ambrose Hine disce quà m Philanthroâ—os
their persons by famine and pestilence or onely in their possessions by blasting and mildew distempers of the Aire whose corruption breedeth also vermine to worke the same mischiefe Locusts and Caterpillers or ioyntly in their persons and possessions by the sword when the Enemie doth besiege them in the Land of their Cities Definitely thus is the heauy hand of God exprest It is exprest also indefinitely lest Israel should thinke that these bee all the instruments of Gods wrath Salomon addeth a more liberall phrase Whatsoeuer plague whatsoeuer sicknesse there may bee it may bee in the Land God hath many more waies to afflict Israel than are exprest This is Israels first case a bad one It hath another and a better When Israel doth vnderlye the heauy hand of God then must Israel haue recourse vnto the Throne of grace And here we will obserue first that God which sendeth calamities prouideth his Church of a remedie Secondly though the calamities bee many yet the remedie is but one the onely remedy of all calamities is penitent deuotion my text calleth it Prayer and Supplication Touching this deuotion we shall learne here the Performance and the Acceptance of it Vnto the Performance two Acts concurre one inward Penitents must know euery one the plague of his owne heart the other outward the Penitents deuotion must be attended with conuenient Ceremonies here are two specified the one of the hands they must bee strecht out the other of the eye that must looke towards the Temple of Salomon Thus must the deuotion be performed And it must be performed by euery Israelite in particular any man that will bee penitent must performe it so and all Israel must performe it so if they will be penitent the text is plaine for both The penitent Deuotion that is thus performed God will accept and touching his acceptance wee are here taught Wherein it consisteth and whereat it aymeth It consisteth in two things God will giue Accesse to penitent Prayers Then heare thou in Heauen the place of thy dwelling Secondly hee will giue redresse vnto the sufferings of the Penitent a redresse to the cause of them that is he will forgiue sinne a redresse to the effect of sinne that is Woe He will doe what they desire and giue ease to their paine But marke God dispenseth his double grace discreetly He will giue to men but according to their waies those waies not outward but inward He will giue according to their wayes whose heart he knoweth and this heart though vnknowne to all others cannot be hid from him He he only knoweth the hearts of all the children of men As God dispenseth discreetly so vniuersally He dispenseth vnicuique to euery man of eyther sort according to his wayes Well God doth accept penitent denotion But Whereat doth he ayme in this Acceptance Surely at the Amendment of Israel He doth it that Israel may feare him and be constant in this Amendment feare all the dayes that they liue And the place where they liue putteth a double Obligation vpon them first it is Ha Aretz Ha Adama a very eminent Land secondly their Tenure is francke Almoine Hee whom they must feare gaue it to their Fathers You see beloued that the particulars which I haue pointed out are many and they are pertinent yet feare not that I will be ouer long I remember the mortalitie of your hearing my speaking it shall therfore suffice that I moderately touch at them only God vouchsafe by them to touch vs all to the quicke Let vs then beginne with the Manner of the deliuerie My text is conceiued in the forme of a Prayer but in the next Chapter this Prayer is made a Promise So that I shall not mistake if I turne the words into seuerall Assertions and you shall lose nothing for in the Close I wil returne them into a Petition againe This is all I will say of the Manner of deliuerie In the Matter deliuered wee must first see Whom these words concerne and the Text telleth vs that they are the inhabitants of Canaan the children of Israel the people of God if I say no more this were enough to notifie them but it is expedient for my purpose that I moreouer dignifie them they were the peculiar of God Exod. 19. his Iewell of Men a royall Priesthood an holy Nation Rom. cap. 2. cap 9. trusted with Gods Oracles Depositaries of his Couenant they possessed the Arke and Christ according to the flesh was the off-spring of that Nation Ier. cap. 3. cap. 12. Ephes 2. you may finde more of their Honours in the New Testament and in the Old but these may suffice to shew how neare they came and how deare they were to God And yet may this people vnderlye the heauie hand of God Israel may be made as Egypt a Theater of Plagues the Paradise of God may become like Sodome and Gomorrah a monument of vengeance the Holy Ghost foretold it and the euent hath iustified it The Church hath no priueledge from Gods iudgements God spareth sinne in none Hee will visit it with scourges wheresoeuer hee findeth it Yea so farre is the Church from being priuiledged that it is though a strange one yet a prerogatiue of the Church to drinke first of the cup of Gods wrath Iudgement saith St. Peter cap. 4. v. 17. must beginne at Gods house God in the stripes of his children letteth the world see what it must expect And indeed the perswasion would not be forcible if the argument ranne thus God striketh his enemies therefore he will strike his friends who would be moued with it But if it runne thus He striketh his friends therefore he will not spare his enemies the Conclusion is vnauoydable What then is our Lesson Bee not high minded but feare Rom. 11. and Let him that standeth take heed lest he fad 1 Cor. 10. For he that falleth into sinne will fall vnder wrath the Israelites are to vs Types of morall correspondencies what befell them may befall vs. And it is happy that it may for nulla poena maxim a poena a man is neuer in worse case than when hee is most at ease such ease temporall is the harbinger of eternall paine neither doe men much intend their saluation who are not quickned thereunto by some temporall affliction A stray sheepe will neuer returne into the way except it bee forced by the shepheards staffe and God neglecteth them as bastards Heb. 12.8 who neuer feele that rod wherewith hee vseth to correct his children You see then that the Prerogatiue of the Church which I fore-specified is not onely an vndoubted Truth but whatsoeuer flesh and bloud may thinke to the contrary it is a great blessing it is a blessing that the Church may vnderlye the heauie hand of God it was Israels blessing and it is ours that wee may vnderlye Gods heauie hand May nay doe It cannot be doubted that wee may seeing it is euident that we
you that are the Penitents that it doth not you should not be here to doe penance if you had such doome as GODS Law requireth you are therefore bound to thanke GOD for the clemencie of the State and make good vse of this time of grace remembring that though you scape the corporall fire there is another fire which you haue cause to feare which St IVDE telleth vs was figured out in the perpetuall burning of Sodome and Gomorrha the fire of Hell and assure your selues that if the Land of Canaan spued out those impure persons Heauen will receiue no such and if they that transgressed MOSES Law perished ciuilly without all mercie most wofull shall their destruction be that are reserued for that fire which shall deuour the aduersaries the fire of Hell You shall doe well therefore to quench that fire before you come at it and there are three waters with which you must quench it The first is the water of your teares you must imitate King DAVID who all the night long washt his bed watered his couch with his teares there he sinned and there he bathed himselfe so must you But mans teares are too weake a water to wash away either the guilt or staine of sinne which are the fewell of that fire you must therefore moreouer vse two other waters the water of CHRISTS blood to wash away the guilt and the water of his Spirit to purge out the corruption of your sinne If you make good vse of these three waters that fire will neuer seize on you otherwise assure your selues that though we spare you GOD will not spare you he will one day punish you most seuerely And it were good that our Law did not spare so much as it doth considering the growth and ouer-spreading of impuritie It were to be wisht that our temporall Sword did strike as deepe as the Sword of MOSES did it may when it pleaseth the State and it shall not doe it without example of other Countreys Or if that may not be obtained at least it were to be wisht that the old Canons of the CHVRCH were reuiued and ghostly discipline exercised more seuerely for certainly the scandall is great which such sinnes bring vpon the CHVRCH and they that slander vs without a cause when they haue iust cause how will they open their mouthes against vs Our care then should be to stop their mouthes but principally we should prouide that there be no wickednesse amongst vs which is the end of the doome and the last point of my Text. I will touch it briefly The Iudgement was seuere but it was necessarie Necessarie for the State which is to preserue it selfe free from guilt there must no wickednesse be amongst you No wickednesse that is impossible in this world for viuitur non cum perfectis hominibus they that haue most of the Spirit haue some-what of the Flesh and the Field of GOD till haruest will haue Tares as well as good Eares and the good eares will haue chaffe as well as good graine and the good graine will haue bran as well as flower We may not looke then for any State wherein there is no wickednesse The Law therefore requireth onely that there be Nullum scelus no haynous wickeduesse no tantum scelus as the Vulgar speaketh enormous transgressions there must be no crying sinnes the State must haue a vigilant eye vpon such sinnes and execute vengeance vpon notorious sinners they must not be amongst vs. But they will the Serpent will be in Paradise yea Lucifer was in Heauen the Arke had a CHAM and amongst CHRISTS Disciples there was a IVDAS Be then they will amongst vs. But the meaning of the Law is they must not be indured by vs they must not scape vnpunished if they doe they will proue contagious such sinnes are like fretting Gangreenes they are like vnto Leauen they infect all about them and if they doe not infect they will make guiltie and for sparing such a one GOD will not spare a whole State And there is good reason for Qui non vetat cum potest iubet GOD taketh them for abettors that will not when they may reforme inordinate liuers Therefore the State must put away from amongst them such inordinate liuers 1 Cor. 5. Hierusalem below must as neere as may be be like vnto Hierusalem aboue Apoc. 22. of that aboue St IOHN saith Extracanes impudici no vncleane person commeth thither neither must any be indured here so soone as they appeare they must be made expiatorie Sacrifices and their death must free the State from guilt But I draw to an end A word to you that are the Malefactors Origen Ad paenitentiae remedium confugite qui praeuenti estis tam graui peccato Seeing you haue beene ouertaken with so foule a fault neglect not the remedy which GOD hath left you heartie and vnfained repentance for your sinne the rather because you haue to do with a most mercifull Iudge who doth not onely moderate the punishment but commute it also commute the punishment which you should suffer in Hell with a punishment which the CHVRCH inflicteth here on Earth Consider the qualitie consider the quantitie of these different punishments and you will confesse that it is a most mercifull commutation Cast then your eyes backe and consider what you haue done how haynous your offence hath beene and cast your eyes forwards likewise and consider what you haue deserued how great a danger you haue incurred by inioying a short and beastly pleasure Thinke vpon both these often and thinke vpon them seriously so shall you yeeld GOD the greater glorie for the mercie which he vouchsafeth you and he shall worke the greater comfort in your soules by assuring you of the remission of that sinne wherewith you haue so greatly prouoked him And to vs all this I say Eligamus priùs affectus castigare quà m propter ipsos castigemur Let vs plucke out our eyes cut off our hands rather then by retayning them to be cast into Hell-fire Let this spectacle remember vs often to set before vs the shame of the world and the horror of a guiltie conscience which befall enormous sinners in this life And if that will not hold in our corrupt nature let vs set before vs the neuer-dying Worme the euer-burning Fier Or rather 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let vs begin here our life in chastitie Nazian that we may one day be in the number of those Virgins that follow the Lambe whether soeuer he goeth Reuel 14. And let Magistrates and Ministers both be iealous ouer the State with a godly iealousie that as by the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments it is espowsed to one Husband 2 Cor. 11. so it may be presented as a chast Virgin vnto CHRIST when those heauenly Nuptials shall be solemnized wherein standeth our euerlasting happinesse This God grant for Jesus Christs sake by the operation of the Holy Spirit To which one
Houses of your owne saith the Apostle or doe you despise the Church of God If euer there it must appeare that though we be in yet we are not of the world for as GOD hath chosen a Day wherein to represent the time so hath he chosen a Place wherein to shadow the state that we shall haue in Heauen our animall life shall then cease and we shall enioy no other then that which is spirituall And this is that which we should haue a tast of at our comming into the Temple yea to the verie out-skirts thereof To breed the greater respect of the inmost parts the outmost are to be honoured and I would that the Canons of the Church and Statutes of this Land were obserued touching Church-yards if we did put off the world when we come thither no doubt but we would be more free from it when we came within the Church But the Church is lesse reuerend in our eyes because the Churchyard is growne so contemptible for what more vsuall then therein to thinke of dealing in worldly things CHRIST would not endure it as you may perceiue in my Text I would we had some of CHRISTS zeale I feare not onely superstitious Papists but Iewes yea Turks too will rise vp in Iudgment against vs and condemne vs for this abuse for bringing the World into the Temple And if we may not bring in the World into the Temple much lesse the Flesh and the Diuel wanton eyes and malicious hearts for what communion hath the Temple of God with Idols and euerie lust is an Idol yea it is a verie Diuel And yet Bedes complaint is true Many come to Church which are so farre from hauing any mind to heare or pray vt ea pro quibus orare debebant peccata augeant that they run farther in arrerages while they should be by repentance and faith cancelling their Obligation they not onely dishonour that Temple wherein themselues are made Temples of GOD but also adde to those ruins of their spirituall House for the repaire whereof they should resort vnto these places Neither doe they silly wretches discerne the stratageme of the Diuel he diuerts their attention from the Oracles of GOD that they may not be put in mind of their dutie and casts their deuotion into a slumber that their drowsie prayers may not be able to pierce the Heauens and then he knowes that if he can so ruine the Oracle and Altar of GOD in man the masterie will not be hard let him suggest what he will he shall be beleeued by them them that haue no better thoughts yea and obeyed too by them that neglect to call to GOD for grace And indeed though he wish ill to the materiall Temple yet his malice is most bent against the Spirituall and he makes way to the abuse of the later by the abuse of the former knowing that their reuerence doth liue and dye together and he will easily make a House of Merchandize of vs if he can bring vs to make a House of Merchandize of the Church But though neither of the Temples must be abused yet our greatest care must be of the Spirituall for the Type is inferiour to the Truth yea and if the Truth be abused the contagion thereof will reach vnto the Type as we learne in Haggai where the polluted Priests are said to pollute the hallowed things But the Truth is either Christ or Christians both Temples may be abused The abuse of CHRIST and turning that Temple into a House of Merchandize is a peculiar sinne of the Church of Rome and well may we call the Popes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil Epist 11 Merchants of CHRIST witnesse this verie yeere which Paulus Quintus hath made a yeere of Iubile that is of Merchandizing CHRIST for howsoeuer the Bull haue a specious Preface deploring the iniquitie of the times and the vengeance of GOD vpon the Christian world and excites peoples deuotion to pacifie GOD and diuert his wrath yet seeing it giueth euerie man leaue to chuse his Confessor and the Confessor power at his pleasure to commute penance doe you not perceiue the Mysterie of Iniquitie The artificiall merchandizing of CHRISTS merits vnder the couert of the Popes Indulgence no doubt but GOD will so be well pacified and Christian soules filled with heauenly comfort Or rather the Pope sheweth himselfe to be that Whore of Babylon that makes merchandize of the soules of men And indeed both in Hebrew and Greeke a Whore and a Merchant meet in one name Zona and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to note that they vse their merchandizing but to giue an opportunitie vnto whordome So doth the Pope make sale of these things but to draw men to resort vnto him and commit spirituall fornication with him fall downe and worship their Lord God the Pope But GOD be thanked we haue better learned CHRIST and are farre from turning that Temple into an House of Merchandize I would we were as farre from abusing our owne but we merchandize too much therein Merchandizing in the Storie going before my Text is resolued into buying selling and taking money to vse for there were that sold and there were that bought and there was a Banker And haue we not all these in our selues The World offers her wares vnto vs and our Flesh hath a good will to trade with the World but often-times we want meanes and the Diuel is by as a Banker and what wicked policies and mischieuous deuices doth he furnish vs with that we may not part without a bargaine seldome are we tempted with that which we affect that we haue not too good opportunities to fulfill the lusts of the flesh at least we shew that there is no want in affection euen when we are excluded from the Act of Sinne and that is plaine merchandizing in the sight of GOD and abusing of his Temple that is dedicated to him So the ambitious the voluptuous the couetous doe turne their Temple into an House of Merchandize And I would this were all that we did onely merchandize in the House I would we did not merchandize the House it selfe merchandize the materiall House For how venall are sacred both places and things The Simonie that cannot be excused is growne to be a crying sinne all the Sophistry that couetousnesse and ambition haue deuised will neuer wash away the guilt thereof that cleaueth to the consciences nor kill the Canker-worme that eateth into the estates of those profane Merchants pereat pecunia tua tecum St Peters doome vpon Simon Magus hath pronounced a curse against that sinne If we may not Merchandize the Type much lesse the Truth and yet how many sell themselues to worke wickednesse Esay is branded for a profane person who sold his Birth-right for a messe of pottage and no wonder for his Birth-right was mysticall he therein sold his right to Heauen and therefore he found no place for repentance though he sought it with teares a fearefull thing
those few cornes of good seed which I deriued from them At least if their leprosie ouer-spred my whole man yet was it not so deepe rooted or so strongly setled as by my ill diet it hath since beene What then may this house of my body this garment that couereth my Soule expect but to be vsed as the leprous house the leprous garment which in a fretting leaprosie were the garment to bee burnt the house to be plucked downe And indeed as impossible is it for the Iuie that springs and ouer-spreads a wall to be killed without taking in sunder of all the stones and separating them from the morter which knitteth them together as for the natiue sinne wherein I was borne branching it selfe ouer euery part of my body and power of my soule to be purged except I be dissolued my Soule part from my bodie and the parts of my bodie loose that knot wherewith each is linked to the other I doe not then complaine of the Decree it is iust it is necessarie my sinne maketh it iust and that this sinne be dispossest it becomes necessarie necessarie for All and then for me I would yeeld vnto it I would be contented with it blessed Apostle the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken were good I would obey it I would yeeld to death though death be bitter were there not a heauier thing that followeth death more terrible then death it selfe Let me feele Gods hand so I come not into Gods presence into the presence of the Iudge to giue an accompt for my life Blessed Apostle is it not enough that my Soule can no longer enioy her bodie no longer by her bodie enioy those things wherein shee hath placed her soueraigne good that shee can no longer solace her selfe with her mate take comfort in her of-spring eate the fruit of her labours receiue honour from others bestow fauours at pleasure bee an Oracle vnto many and to as many be a terror Blessed Apostle is it not enough that these things faile and I must part with them No thou sayest no when thou hast lodged my bodie in the the Graue thou sufferest not my soule to rest thou callest her to a straight accompt thou tellest her of a Iudgement How vainely haue I beene abused by heathenish prouerbs that told me death ends all and yet all is not at an end When I come to death I must come before my Iudge I must answere the Law the Law must trie my life how well I haue obserued it how answerable my carriage hath beene to it And Lord what a fearefull thing is this When thou blessed Apostle didst reason of these things thou madest Foelix a great man a heathen man to tremble and a greater then Foelix the King of Niniuie did tremble also when hee heard Ionas And yet how little did they know thy Law How much did their ignorance excuse their transgression thereof And what then will become of me that know so much and haue so little to plead Can I chuse but tremble O Lord while I liue I often heare of thy Law and the accompt that must be giuen thereof but I neuer had so much grace as Foelix or the King of Niniuie no not when I read the storie of Foelix and the King of Niniuie Neither of them onely but of good King Iosias also whose heart did melt at the reading of thy Law when he saw how vnanswerable the liues of his people were thereto And what wonder that Iosias heart did melt when Moses himselfe did quake at the receiuing of the Law Surely these all felt the terror of the Iudgement they knew what it was to come before their Iudge And I the more in my life I was senslesse the more sensible shall I bee hereof in my death vnexpected euils afflict the more especially if they bee great their impression must needs be deepe But bee I affected neuer so wofully I must appeare I must be tried hee that gaue the Law will inquire into the obseruance of his Law While we liue many couer our faults which when wee are dead they will not sticke to amplifie and he that liuing goeth for a Saint after his death is traduced as a diuell A heauie Iudgement yet how many vndergoe it But this is their comfort that of this Iudgmēt they haue no sense how their name fareth in this world in death they know not But against the other Iudgement there is no shelter all the stormes of it must light vpon vs in our owne persons we must answere for our selues and we are not so well knowne to our selues as to him that sifteth vs. Yet so much we know that we shall trauerse no Indictment we shal plead guiltie to euery Bill our owne conscience is a true counterpart vnto Gods Booke we shall bee charged with nothing out of the one which we shall not read distinctly in the other To read it were enough for the vttermost confusion for what man knoweth and doth not abhorre himselfe Had we a true looking glasse wherein wee might behold the manifold enormous sinnes of our life neuer could any thing be more vgly neuer would any thing be more abominable neuer were we so much in loue with our selues when we acted sinne as wee shall detest our selues when we see the staines of sinne But detestation and confusion are but the first part of this Iudgement the worme the sting bitter tortures euen before we are sentenced for Hell make vs to be wofull wretches Adde hereunto that which is the hight of shame the depth of paine Were no body priuie to our sinnes but our selues the knowledge of them wil confound vs but when they become knowne to others if they be but men sinners like our selues and therefore more likely to be temperate in their censure the shame groweth double but how manifold then will it be when the Angels shall bee witnesses to it the holy Angels whose puritie will the more illustrate it Nay God himselfe whose Image wee should beare and to whom how vnlike we are his presence wil make most manifest So that our shame will bee out of measure shamefull Our paine will bee no lesse painefull For here in this world the remorse of sinne euen in those that haue not a seared conscience is many wayes delayed in sleepe by feasts with companie many other outward helps but especially the putting farre off the euill day and the weake information that our distracted vnderstanding giueth our Heart and the hardnesse that doth benumme the senses thereof all these more or lesse doe mitigate our paine But after death these lenitiues are withdrawen from vs our eyes will be kept waking our stomacke fasting our friends farre from vs our wits that were wise to doe euill and to doe good had no vnderstanding at all shall then be wise onely to know our euill but good of ours it shall haue none at all to know and our heart was neuer so waxie to be wrought
hath liued a thousand yeares for he is readie for God and the longest time of our Pilgrimage if it be Methusalems age it can but make vs readie I will then enquire not how many dayes I haue spent but how much I haue profited profited in the waies of God And I haue profited so farre as to acknowledge that of my selfe I am but an vnprofitable seruant what I should I cannot doe but I doe that which I should not so that if I guesse at my readinesse by mine owne worth I am most vnreadie But I haue another valuation by my being in Christ my faith is stedfast in him my Hope hath cast an anchor in Heauen I feare not Gods iudgement against which my faith doth hearten mee I expect a Kingdome which my Hope doth promise mee And as for my loue though the world doth wooe me and my flesh doth often yeild to dally there with yet hath it none to whom it is deuoted with whom it is contented in comparison of God And what greater readinesse can I desire my Audit is made my arrerage paid I haue a Quietus est why doe I feare to come to my triall Nay the bargaine is made Heauen is purchased for mee I haue the Conueyance why doe I stay from taking possession Am I so senslesse as to affect the worse that am offered the better shall I dote vpon this house of clay my youth maketh it seeme better then clay though indeed it is no better a glased pitcher notwithstanding the lustre is but a pitcher and the verdure of youth is but a glosse set vpon a lumpe of earth cunningly wrought by the hand of the Potter age that weareth that glosse will discouer this clay And why should I murmure at God that is pleased to let me see quickly what in time I must needs see That I am brickle Neither am I onely brickle but the world is fraile also and all the things of this life whatsoeuer they promise they performe no perpetuitie to me Seing then sooner or later the world must leaue me and I must leaue the world let me leaue it rather sooner then later the lesse acquaintance the lesse griefe at the parting and indeed the longer I liue the more vnwilling shall I be to dye Now peraduenture I leaue behind me a father and a mother and leaue griefe vnto them for the losse of a child but I cannot so feelingly grieue as they when I depart from my parents because loue descendeth more then it ascendeth If I liue I may marrie and marriage doubleth the bitternesse of death when they that of two became one by death of one are made two againe And if God blesse me with posteritie how much more vnwilling shall I bee to die How hardly shall I indure to be rent from mine owne bowels I say nothing to the common infirmitie of Age which seemeth to haue appropriated vnto it selfe couetousnesse and who knoweth not how hardly the loue of money and death consort together But these are the weakest holdfasts that the world hath on me there are much stronger the hookes of sinne which where they catch so fasten euen vpon the Will which is in it selfe most free that it maketh men desire rather to bee slaues vnto Pharoah so they may feed on the flesh pots of Aegypt then to endure the difficult passage into Canaan though when they come there they shall be Princes of a land which floweth with milke and honie God then that knoweth what may alter me and of readie make me vnreadie dealeth more mercifully with me hee preuenteh that euill that might stay me from him and hauing prepared me calleth me vnto him Lord all seasons are in thy hand and thou hast appointed vnto me this season I blesse thee for it I submit my selfe to it if I bee ripe in thy Iudgement gather me though in mine owne Iudgement I am greene And thou which feest that although I now stand yet I may fall least I fall take me whilst I stand It doth not grieue me I am most willing to change earth for heauen to haue those windowes of my senses all broken downe that my Soule may be at libertie hauing no agent for the world to sollicite me from God I shall more freely more fully giue my selfe vnto him my vnderstanding to know him my heart to loue him and more shall I learne in one daies sight of God then in many thousand yeares I could haue gathered out of the Glasse of the world or Riddle of the Scripture And how base spectators are men on earth in comparison of the Saints in heauen who shall witnesse my seruice and behold my glorie Doe I loue my Parents I goe to better my best Father is in heauen and my best Mother is Hierusalem aboue the ioy that I foretaste for seeing them maketh me insensible of the heauie farewell I take of these I am not moued with their wealth which they haue stored vp for me and the land which they haue purchased is as nothing in mine eyes I shall haue a more induring substance a lot is fallen vnto me in a more pleasant place I haue a more goodly Heritage And why The Lord is the portion of mine Inheritance and of my cup the Lord maintaines my lot Lord then teach me so to number my daies that I may measure them by righteousnesse and let me so interpret this thy summons by death as a warning to take shelter before a storme Hasten me on by grace that I be not long on my way to heauen and in my way lest I decline shorten more and more my passage so shall I be as willing in this morning of my age as I should be in the euening thereof to change my state and come to thee to passe from earth to heauen * ⎠* The old Mans Meditation PSALME 91. VER 16. With long life will J satisfie him and shew him my saluation EVerie man if a child of God is a double man and so leadeth a double life and longeth for a double good a corporall a spirituall that hee may hold out long in regard of the life of nature and withall be ponest of the life of grace Thus doubly happie would euerie one be but it is not the portion of euerie one Many haue shortned either the one life or the other if they haue liued vnto God their dayes in the world haue beene but few and of those which haue liued many dayes in the world how few of them haue they liued to God O my Soule then how blest art thou whom God hath blessed both wayes Blest thee in thy naturall life thou art growne till thou art ripe blest thee in thy spirituall life thy eyes haue seene the saluation of God The greatest blessing that God bestoweth vpon earth he hath bestowed on thee thou hast experienced the truth of the Apostles speech Pietie hath the promise of this life and of that which is to come For this life God
madest me something vouchsafe to make me somthing that haue brought my selfe to nothing Yea worse then nothing for sinne is so it doth not onely abolish that good which thou hast giuen me but it filleth me with euill that is opposite to good yea to God And how much better is it at all not to be then to be a sinner To bee nothing then to be a feind of hell Neuer to haue seene the Sunne then to bee at enmitie with God This is the state where into I haue cast my selfe and thus farre haue I estranged my selfe from thee And how restlesse am I vntill I returne to thee O Lord Sinne forfeits many things besides God but let a man recouer all all besides will yeeld no content except a man recouer God And why Lord Thou art the soueraigne good and without thee nothing is good If I doe not partake the creature in reference to my Creator well may I haue it I shall haue no true comfort in it Take then all from me and leaue me God though I haue nothing yet shall I enioy all things for God is all in all Wherefore though I am sicke I doe not desire health I desire God and it is God that I desire when I am poore I doe not desire wealth I am senslesse of all other wants I hunger and thirst onely after God Seeing then thou Lord onely canst quiet canst satisfie my Soule if thou vouchsafe to turne me turne me vnto thee let me not make a stand before I come so far neither let me thinke my selfe recouered vntill I haue recouered thee Let others rest contented with the drosse of the earth or with the pompe of this world my originall is from heauen and I can find no rest vntill my affections rest there Therefore returne me vnto him from whom sinne hath estranged mee euen to thy selfe O God I beg this of thee because I can expect it from none but thee and from thee I am sure I shal not expect it in vaine For be I neuer so farre gone I cannot goe out of thy reach I can bee no more out of the reach of thy Grace then of thy Power as thou canst smite me so canst thou heale me and thou canst bring mee home as well as thou canst cast me out Lord I make no doubt of the successe if thou vouchsafe thy will for Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me whole onely thy power is equall to thy will and thou canst doe whatsoeuer pleaseth thee Be pleased then good Lord to put to thy helping hand that thy prodigall Child that by the first step of thy grace is come home to himselfe by a second step may come home to thee I desire no new blessing no such blessing as thou hast not vouchsafed to the sonnes of Adam yea to mee Thou madest Adam after thine owne Image and me in him holy and happie diddest thou make vs such sun-shine dayes were our former dayes cleare and warme without corruption without mortalitie though now we are both sinfull and wofull all our dayes are such euill dayes But thou O Lord that commandest at first light to shine out of darkenesse and dost continually exchange the night for day shine vpon mee let the Sunne of righteousnesse arise vnto me become my father make mee thy child giue me grace to serue thee and vouchsafe thou to blesse me create a new heauen and a new earth in this little world of mine wherein let righteousnesse dwell Yea and happinesse also let them rest on my bodie let them rest on my soule let them rest on both all the daies of this life vntill thou bee pleased to remoue both hence and consummate this thy fauour in the life to come Wherein my daies shall be though like yet much better then my dayes of old by so much better as glorification shall exceed the creation Thou seest O Lord the vpshot of my desire Now let my desire be a comfortable Prophesie of thy fauour disappoint me not of that for which thou hast made mee long so change me by grace here on earth that I may be what I hope to be by glorie in heauen where all things are made so new that they neuer can waxe oâ—d AMEN Meditation vpon Ecclesiast 41. VERSE 1. O death how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liueth at rest in his possessions vnto the man that hath nothing to vexe him and that hath prosperitie in all things and is yet able to receiue meate WEe haue no abiding place on earth none haue but of those that would haue there are many Many there are O Lord that though they must die cannot indure to mind death nothing more vnsauorie to some then that their memorie should be exercised with the memorie thereof And who are they Surely they whom the earth most fauoreth are they that are best affected thereto where their goods are there they thinke it is good being And how should any bee willing to part from that wherein he findeth content and whereupon hee hath set his rest He it is that is not onely in but of the world not onely vseth but enioyeth the same and from that which is our ioy if we be seuered we cannot be seuered without paine Heauen is a blessed place and blessed is the state which all are promised that shall come thither But this truth we belieue we doe not see it surely the worldly happie man doth hardly credit it because he hath no sense thereof Sense that hath immediately to doe with the world as it is pleasured so doth it iudge thereof it iudgeth it the onely place of happinesse If it may be so happie as to be fed to the full with that which it desires if we haue goods and haue the vse of them what saith flesh and bloud should I wish for more And indeed what fuller definition can an earthly mind make of a blessed life then secure store and a comfortable vse of such goods which are the goods of this naturall life Although in themselues they are fleeting vanities yet sensuall reason honoureth them with the glorious title of substance it thinketh they are and are what they seeme because it iudgeth according as it wisheth and what it would haue them to be it holds them to be such And if man bee so vnhappily happie as to hold them without the opposition of enuie or malice and their wings are clipt from flying away the more proprietie we thinke we haue in them the more are we confirmed in our erroneous iudgement of them Nothing doth more roote a mans heart in the world then an ouer great calme wherin he sayles and rides at Anchor in the world worldly peace doth much helpe forward a worldly mind Especially if we bee lulled a sleepe by both charmes of this peace Securitie and Plentie if no bodie disturbe vs no bodie impaire what we haue gathered no casualtie no calamitie cloud the Sun shine of our day or sowre the
And wee must repute it a singular priuiledge of the children of God that they can subsist in such a place and such a presence The lesson wherewith I will conclude this point is that of the Apostle Philip. 2. â— 12. We must worke out our saluation in feare and trembling or if you will that of the Psalme Serue the Lord in feare Psal 2 ver 11. and reioyce before him with reuerence The Lord loueth in his children the mixture of feare and hope The argument of the I sraelites hope is that they set out from their Tents and came on to the place of their attendance and expecting of Gods descending on the Hill I will not here trouble you with the maner of their march After the Tabernacle was built God prescribed a manner what they did before the Iewes tell vs but in the silence of the holy Ghost we will not bee curious It is likely they came as Deut. 27. when the Couenant was as it were renewed In this mouing of God and Israel to the place of meeting I obserued the good manners of the Israelites and the benignitie of God First the good manners of the Israelites For if you marke the text they came first to their place before God came to his And it was fit it should be so for God being so much better then man it had beene insolent rudenesse for man not to waite for the comming of God I need not spend time to proue so common so knowne a moralitie at your ordinarie meetings if they be publike you practice the same I rather choose to note a mysterie enwrapt herein which is that although God preuenr vs in regard of our abilitie to come to him yet when wee are enabled he looketh that we should make vse of his grace and cooperate with him and not expect a second blessing before wee haue well husbanded the first and we should thinke it grace enough done vnto vs if hee then vouchsafe to answere our desires and crowne our endeauours I doe not here patronize Popish freewill for I speake not de libero but liberato arbitrio what our will can doe in entertaining the first grace is not the question but what it must doe after it hath receiued grace And therefore here also the Romanists come in vnseasonably with their obseruation The second thing that I obserued was Gods benignitie which appeareth in this that if man make towards him he will meete him halfe way God descended vpon the Hill after the children of Israel came out of their Tents towards the foote of the Hill Luke 15. Wee know the Parable of the prodigall childs father who descried his sonnes returning home a farre off and made haste to meete him It is a liuely picture of Gods benignitie and we cannot haue a better encouragement to seeke vnto him Put both these notes together and then obserue that if euer wee looke there should be any meeting betweene God and man man must rise aboue himselfe but God must fall below himselfe For we see here that the children of Israel came out of their Tents and moued towards the vpper ground giuing vs to vnderstand that Sursum corda Colos 3 we must set our affections on those things that are aboue Base thoughts and groueling that are sixed vpon things below and mind earthly things a naturall man that will continue himselfe and that cannot put himselfe off or soare aboue himselfe and haue his conuersation in heauen is not fit to giue meeting vnto God Againe if God should keepe at his owne pitch and fall not much below himselfe humble himselfe as the Psalme speaketh to regard those things that are below how should wee poore wretches be raysed out of the dust How should wee needie ones be lifted out of dung-hils How should we euer bee set with Princes and ranged with glorious Angels I come not home enough I told you before that this was Gods Parliamentarie meeting that it bare some image of his grand Assises It was more it was the great day of the espousals of Christ and his Church And did not the Kings sonne and heire the Sonne and heire of the King of heauen stoope very low when hee came to espouse himselfe vnto such base and sinfull persons Surely when we consider the exceeding hight of Gods estate and the lownesse of our owne of how little regard wee deserue to be and yet of how great regard we are wee haue good reason to thinke that Gods goodnesse maketh him as it were lay aside his maiestie and be vnlike himselfe that he may so farre like vs and linke vs so neere vnto him How then should we striue to ascend vnto him that doth thus vouchsafe to descend vnto vs You would think that by this time there is enough done to fit the meeting We haue purified the Israelites wee haue learned them modeâ—â—ie they haue beene humbled with feare and they haue gone out from themselues ascended aboue themselues and God hath fallen below himselfe there hath beene much done And yet there is one thing more to bee done there wanteth a Mediatour Galath 3.1.19 And so indeed the Apostle saith The Law was giuen by the hands of a Mediatour And we haue here a Typicall one and that is Moses these persons would neuer haue come together except hee had come betweene And we find here two Acts of his the first is that hee put them in heart when they quaked and led them the way towards the Mount neither would they euer haue aduentured had they wanted such a guide their feare would haue beene too strong for their hope Neither did Moses only put them in heart to goe on but also kept them in heart when they were come to their standing by his incouragement it was that they held out while the Articles of the Conenant were proclayming they had flowne off if he had not stood betweene God and them But this was but a typicall Mediatour the true is our Sauiour Christ it is by him Heb. 4. Rom. 5. Ioh 10. Ioh. 14. Reuel 3 7. Heb. 6. that with boldnesse we come to the Throne of Grace it is by him that we haue accesse vnto God Hee is the Doore the Way the Truth and the Life euen the true way vnto eternall life Hee hath the key openeth and no man shutteth shutteth and no man openeth neither doth any but he bring Children to God And whether he bringeth vs there hee keepeth vs wee are preserued in him and by him For as at first wee are accepted in Gods Beloued so by his perpetuall Propitiation and Intercession are wee continued in the loue of God hee standeth betweene God and vs couering our imperfections that they offend not God and tempering the dreadfulnesse of Gods maiestie with so much grace that the aspect thereof becommeth comfortable vnto vs. I will not fall into any long refutation of the Romish new coined Mediators they egregiously dishonour the Saints and Angels while