his mind hath written all things unto you which concerns you Eternal Salvation hath written there whatsoever he would have you to know and beleeve to Eternal Life this it is that you have in your hands however we prize it now heretofore it hath been prized at an high rate How many of the Martyrs would venture their lives to keep but a few Leaves of Scripture in their houses But how vile is it then for us to neglect the reading of this written Word I have read of one Theodorus a Physitian at Constantinople that he sent to Gregory the great a great sum of money for the redeeming of Captives and Gregory he commends his Liberality but though he was so liberal and bountiful to redeem Captives yet he writ back again to him in way of reprehending him for not reading Scripture and uses this expression to him The Emperor of Heaven the Lord of the Angels and Men hath sent to you that which concerns your life and will you neglect to reade them with a fervent with a zealous spirit He would not but blame him even at that time when he sent such gifts to him it did grieve him to think that such a one so bountiful to the poor should so neglect the reading of Scripture Many men and women that have excellent parts and yet for all that they find but little savor in the Scripture There 's no books that are written that should take us off from this written Word although we have cause to bless God abundantly for what is written for those excellent helps which we have written yet we must take heed that there be no written book in the world take us off from this written Word of God Luther therefore hath such a speech I even hate mine own Books and I often times even wish that they were burnt that they might perish Why because I fear lest they should be any way of hinderance to men or withdraw them from reading the Scriptures and so he fals a comending the Scriptures It is the only fountain of all wisdom and further saith he I am even terrified I tremble at the example of the former age upon this Because saith he many Divines spent so much time in reading of Aristotle and Averres and other Writers and spent so little time in reading Scripture And the truth is it was that which brought so much ignorance into the world in the time of the School-men which was a time of great learning and yet the time of the greatest ignorance in the Mysteries of godlines because they minded Scripture very little but only turn'd things into Questions and Disputes that tended not according to Scripture though we may make use of the labors and gifts of other men yet look we especially to the written Word and let not other writings take us off from them hence we say the Scripture in way of excellency we must keep our selves to the written Word and therefore take heed of being led aside by any traditions of men that 's a most detestable derrogation from the written Word but we find in the Counsel of Trent speaking of the Scriptures saith one of the Cannons of the Counsel of Trent We saith he do receive Scripture and reverence Scripture but saith he moreover we receive and reverence traditions with the same affection of piety and reverence as we do the Scripture Those are the very words that all Papists are bound to hold and for them to deny any counsel there were death unto them It argues men to be in the dark to mind Traditions so As the Jews that 's the reason that they vanish so in their thoughts and understand the Scripture so little because they mind traditions as much as Scripture and more for so they say that divide a mans life into three parts one part mnst be spent in reading Scripture and two parts more in the two several parts of their Talmond which is their traditions and some of them say that this is one tradition among them that Moses did study the Scripture in the day time and those Talmoduical traditions that they have they were studied in the night and indeed it is night-work and it is a sign that the world is so much in darkness because they look so much at Traditions the written Word of God which we must look at more than if one came from the dead or if an Angel from Heaven came and preached to us But you will say That we must not look to it more than if God should reveal any thing to us suppose it were a voice of God from Heaven We have warrant to have regard to the written Word of God more than the voice of God from Heaven 2 Peter 1. 19. there it 's spoken of the voice that came down upon the transfiguration at the Mountain but saith the Apostle there We have a more sure word of Prophesie more more even than that was that is it is more sure to us and there is not so easie a way to be deceived by resting upon the written Word as if we look for Revelations from God we have a more sure word of Prophesie therefore it is not so much after Revelations that we are to look especially in such times as these are but to the written Word of God There is a Generation of men rising now if not risen that begin to have vile thoughts of the written Word of God and think to understand the mind of God otherwise they finding the written Word of God to keep their hearts too close and lay too strong bonds upon them but because they would fain be loose they would feign and imagin to themselves other waies of Gods mind but when they are rotten and it may be when their souls are perished eternally in Hell the written Word of God shall stand and be honorable in the eyes of his Saints I have written The Prophet doth not say he hath written but he brings in God saying I have written And that first upon these two reasons First To put the greater emphasis upon it for it is more for God himself to come and say I have written as if a Father or Master say to his Child or Servant I command you to do such a thing it is more than if a Brother or fellow-Servant should say my Father hath bidden or my Master hath bidden you to do such a thing Secondly Whosoever were the Pen-men of the Word it is I that write it I take it upon my self The Word is so much his that God claims not only the truths that are in the Word but the very ordering for the words and in 2 Pet. 1. 21. it is said of holy men they spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost they were carried on with a kind of violence as the word signifies and not only moved but carried on with a kind of violence to write what they did both
of pains about their false worship Those that sow they must be abroad in the cold and wind Idolaters were willing to take pains and go through many difficulties for the furtherance of their false worship Let not us be sluggish then in the true Worship of our God let us be willing to pass through many difficulties to further the service of our God Secondly Sowing is a labor without any present profit coming in by it the benefit of the labor it lies in expectation for the future Idolaters are content to sow though they gain nothing by their labor yet in expectation of somewhat hereafter We are presently weary of a little labor except we find somewhat coming in presently we cannot wait for the blessing of the former and latter rain upon our endeavours we must be alwaies reaping or else we are wearied and discouraged Idolaters would work hard though they get nothing for the present how much more should we labor for God in expectation of the harvest that God hath provided Thirdly Sowing it is a work for the maintaining of the succession of provision for one Generation to another Idolaters they labor to keep up their false worship for the posterity that is coming after they are not content to enjoy it themselves all the while they live but they take a course to have those they leave behind them to enjoy it when they are gone Thus we should do and great reason we have to do thus in the true Worship of God not think it enough to enjoy it our selves but to take al waies that possibly we can that we may leave our posterity to enjoy it that we may sow for posterity as well as for our selves that we may leave a stock of provision for our children afterwards Through Gods mercy our forefathers did so and we have reapt the harvest of their seed and through their endeavors we have enjoyed much of this Worship of God and the Truths of God let us likewise sow for those that are coming after Fourthly Sowing is a work that must be done in its season or it is in vain Idolaters they will observe their seasons their fit times for the furtherance of their false worship much more should we do for the Worship of God We have had a fair season and we have seemed to be very busie the Lord grant we do not sow the wind as it follows in the next words They have sown to the wind This is a proverbial speech that signifies the taking a great deal of pains to little purpose As a man that should go abroad in the fields and spread his hands about and take pains and yet hath nothing but air in his hands The Wind is an empty creature in respect of things that are sollid therefore the Scripture doth often make use of this creature to signifie the vanity of the labors the hopes and endeavors of wicked men you shall find these several expressions in Scripture tending to this purpose as the Laboring for the wind Eccles 5. 16. Secondly to â—eed upon the wind Hos 12. 1. Thirdly to bring forth the wind Isa 26. 18. And fourthly to inherit the wind Prov. 11. 29. And fiftly here in the text sowing to the wind Many people do nothing all their lives time but sow the wind they labor and toil but what comes of it it is no good account that we can give to God of our time to say that we have taken a great deal of pains we may take pains and yet sow the wind Who are those that sow the wind First Men that spend their thoughts and strength about things no way profitable to themselves or others those sow the wind those that do with a great deal of earnestness do just nothing or what they do is but a trifle many Scholers study night and day they tire themselves with reading and musing and writing and yet they are no way useful either their studies have been in useless things â—aking among rubbish and lumber or else they know not how to make use of their reading and learning and indeed it is a pittiful object to behold to behold one that hath been all his daies a great Studient and hath beat his brains and rose early and gone to bed late grutch'd the very time of his meat and yet he is a useless man in the place where he is he hath no use at all of all his studies he is of no service to Church or Common-wealth Here 's a man that hath all his daies sown to the wind Secondly All those who take pains and are at great cost in superstitious worship all their intentions that they have to honor God they come to nothing it 's but a sowing to the wind and this is that which is here especially meant They sow the wind All Idolatrous worshippers that take much pains and are at great cost they do but sow the wind How many Papists have we that dares not for their lives but rise at their hours that they have vowed to rise at midnight to their beads or very early spend many hours every day at their beads wear out their bodies by their fasting by their watching deny themselves the use of the creatures wear sackcloath lie very hard tire their bodies by pilgrimage forsake their revenues that that their progeniters had left them vow perpetual virginity shut themselves up in Cloisters what a deal of labor and toil is here to the flesh and all this with conscienciousness all this with a desire to honor God and to afflict themselves for their sins And yet this not having warrant from God being a will-worship all this is but sowing the wind they lose al their labor cost and charge and all their thoughts and devotions they are all lost Thirdly Such as are formal in the true Worship of God as content themselves in the outward part of Gods Worship having no power nor life of godliness in their service they perform You have many that do things out of custom content themselves in the deed done dare not for their lives neglect Prayer not one morning nor evening nor at other times and are often with Gods People in fasting or coming to hear the Word but yet all this while being but formal they not having the life and power of godliness in these duties they do but sow the wind they lose all their labor and when they shall come upon their sick-beds and death-beds and desire comfort from what they have done they shall find nothing but the wind to feed upon all will be turned into wind and they will have no sollid comfort for their souls to feed upon in the day of their distress Fourthly Those men sow the wind who do all that they do out of vain glory in hypocrisie to set up themselves among others spend a long time in prayer hath admirable gifts in
in their speaking and in their writing I have written And I have written to him the great things of my Law From this manner of Phrase first we are to note this That we should look upon the Scripture as concerning our selves Here 's a letter written to you and you and you every man and woman therefore it is in the singular number every man woman must look upon the Scripture as written to him or her particularly God writes to thee he hath written a letter to thee that thou shouldest not commit Adultry nor swear nor steal and that thou shouldest keep the Sabbath and that thou shouldest not lye and that thou shouldest reverence him and love him and fear him and all such kind of rules that God from Heaven hath written to thee and it is a mervailous help to obedience and to awaken mens consciences when they apprehend them written to them Psal 119. 105. Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my paths It is not a light that I see at a distanc a great way off but as a light that is held to my feet that I make use of for the ordering of mine own steps Many there are that seem to rejoyce in the Word of God as a light to reveal Truths unto them for matter of discourse but they make it not as a light to their feet and a lanthorn to their steps as applying it to themselves and it follows I have sworn and will perform it That I will keep thy righteous judgments I have look'd upon thy Word as a Lanthorn to my feet as a thing meerly concerning me and then I have sworn and I will perform I have sworn that I will keep thy righteous judgments It 's a mighty means to stir up a mans spirit and quicken him up to obedience to look upon the Word as written to himself As thus when you come to hear out of Gods Word and God directs the Minister so that you apprehend it as spoken to you it will stir and awaken you Oh me thought this day every word the Minister spake it was to me And so every word in the Scripture that concerns thee God writes to thee and conceive it so and it will be a mighty means to stir thee up to obedience As if a man be asleep a great noise will not waken him so soon as if you call him by his name John Thomas c. So when the Word of God comes as to our selves in particular it 's a mighty means to stir the heart Again I have written to him To those that were the People of God though the Word concerns all men yet it is written to the Church in a more especial manner As you find in the Revelations all the Epistles were written to the Churches and indeed all the Word of God is in a more peculiar manner written to the Church there are some things concerning all mankind but that which God Aims at in a more especial manner it is to the Church first to the Church of the Jews they had that great priviledg that the Orracles of God were committed to them in Rom. 3. 2. when the Apostle had taken them off from resting in many of their outward priviledges he brings an Objection But then may some say What advantage hath the Jew He answers much every way chiefly because to them were committed the Oracles of God in this thing they had much advantage of all people in the world that to them were committed the Oracles of God God gave Jacob his Law it was the Inheritance of his people it is written to them to them is committed the Oracles of God and this is a great honor which God puts upon his Saints God makes his Church to be the Keeper of his Records the Court of Rolls as it were the Church is as it were the Court of Rolls and the great Records of Heaven God commits to his Church and therfore they should look to it that it be kept faithfully that there be no corrupting it for then they do falsifie their trust Shee hath the keeping of Scripture but gives no Authority to Scripture in John 5. 47. saith Christ there If ye beleeve not Moses writings how can ye beleeve my words Mark Christ would have the Authority of his words much to be strengthened by the writings that were before in Scripture If ye beleeve not his writings how can ye beleeve my words But now the Papists will say If ye beleeve not our words how can ye beleeve their writings quite the other way they will take upon them more than Christ Christ saith If ye beleeve not his writings how can ye beleeve my words Say they If ye beleeve not our words how can ye beleeve their writings For they take the Authority of the writing of Scripture to depend upon their words It is written to the Church and committed to the Church but the Authority comes not from the Church It follows I have written the great things of my Law By Law here we are to understand â—he whol Word of God and not in way of distinction of Law and Gospel but the whol Word of God and so the word signifies it comes from one signifying teaching the Law is a Doctrine that is taught and so though sometimes it may be distinguished from some other parts of Scripture yet now we are to understand the whol mind of God in his Word when you reade in Psal 119. how David loved Gods Law it is not the ten Commandements but the mind of God revealed in his Word The great things of my Law The Old Latin hath it the many Laws and the words in the Hebrew seems a little to favor the multiplicity of my Laws And then it should argue these two things First That the Word is full and perfect that we have rules for every thing that concerns the ordination of our lives to God in his Word there 's a multiplicity of Laws and Rules for all our waies Secondly That there are manifold excellencies in Gods Law as the manifold wisdom of God is in Christ so the manifold excellencies of God are kept up together in the Word of God The Seventy translates the word the Fulness or Multitude and according to that Tertullian hath an expression I adore the fulness of the Scripture Oh the multitude of excellent things there are there and the fulness that there is there I find divers turn this word by many words that have excellent significations in them and indeed the Hebrew word wil bear many expressions of it Some the Precious thing the Magnificent thing the Excellent thing the Honorable things of my Law as in Acts 2. 11. they spake the wonderful things of God it is more than the great things the magnificent great things of God Now the things of the Word they are glorious and honorable and very great they are to
be look'd upon as great things the things of Gods Word That 's the first And then especially The things that concern Gods Worship are to be look'd upon as great things for so it hath reference to them but the expression aims at that which is more general the great things of my Law the honorable magnificent and glorious things Now the things of the Law are great things First Because they are from the great God and they have the stamp of the Authority of the great God upon them there is a dreadful Authority in every Truth in every thing that is written in Gods Law I say there is a dreadful Authority of the great God that binds Kings and Princes in chains that laies bonds upon the conscience that no created power can yet this doth when we come to hear the Word we come either as to a Soveraign to receive Laws from or as to a Judg to receive the sentence of death it hath the dreadful Authority of the great God in it and therefore every thing that is in the Word is to be look'd upon as a great thing a piece of Parchment and a little Wax and a few Lines in it what are they but having the Authority of the great Seal of England such a piece is to be look'd upon as a great thing The things of Gods Law are great things for they have great Authority which goes along with them And Secondly They are great things because of the lustre of the great God that shines in them Take all the Creatures that ever God made in Heaven and Earth and I say there is not so much glory of God in Sun Moon Stars Sea and Plants and al things in the world as there is in some few sentences of holy Scripture therfore they are great things Psal 138. 2. Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name The Name of God appears in his great work of Creation and of Providence We are to look upon Gods Name as very great yet thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name it 's more than al Gods Names besides It may be when there are some extraordinary works of God in the world Thundring and Lightning c. we are ready to be affraid and oh the great God that doth appear in these great works Were our hearts 〈◊〉 they ought to be when we reade the WORD we would tremble at that more than at any manifestation of God since the world began in all his Works and if so be thou dost not see more glory of God in his Word than in his Works it is because thou hast little light in thee and therfore let the world think of the things of Gods Law that are written as they wil yet they are the great things of his Law Thirdly They are the great Mysteries of Gods Will the great Counsels of God about the Souls of men about his way to honor Himself and to bring Mankind to Himself to Eternal life the great Counsels great Mysteries that are contained in the Word of God such as the Angels themselves do desire to pry into as in Prov. 8. 6. it is said of Wisdom Hear and I will speak of excellent things The Word of God speaks of excellent things right excellent things such great Mysteries of Gods Wisdom as should take up our thoughts yea and doth take up the Angels and shall take up the Angels and Saints to all Eternity to be prying into the great things which are revealed in Gods Word Psal 119. 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts so shall I talk of thy wondrous Works Mark how these are joyned together Make me to understand the way of thy precepts so shall I talk of thy wonderous works Why David couldest not thou see the wonderous works of God in the book of the creature in Heaven and Earth Oh no Make me to understand the way of thy precepts and then shall I talk of thy wonderous Works We many times talk about vain and slight things because we have nothing else to talk of but did we understand the way of Gods precepts we should be furnished with discourse of the wondrous works of God And then It 's a great WORD because that they are of great concernment The things of Gods Law are of great concernment for all our present good or evil depends upon the things of Gods Law Prov. 3. 22. They are life unto thy soul and grace unt◠〈◊〉 neck So saith Moses in Deut. 32. 46. Set your hearts unto all the words which I testifie unto you this day for it is not a vain thing it is your life they are of great concernment there 's a curse annexed to the breach of every thing in Gods Law Cursed be every one that abideth not in every thing that is written in the book of the Law Is it not a great matter then Certainly there is nothing in the Law that is to be look'd upon as a little matter because the Curse of God is annexed to the breath of every thing that is written in Gods Law and there we have the casting of our souls for eternity and is not that a great matter Did we come to hear the Word or did we reade the Word as the Word by which we must be cast for our eternal estates we would look upon it as a great Word Again The things are great things in Gods Law in regard of the great power and efficacy that they have upon the hearts and consciences of men when God sets home the things of his Law they will bring down the proudest heart and the stoutest stomach that is they will enlighten the blindest mind and convert the hardest heart that is in the world the Law hath a mighty power upon the soul and therefore it is great Further They are great things because they make all those great that do receive them they make them great even because they have but the keeping of them much more than if they receive them in Deut. 4. 8. What Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Judgments so righteous as all this Law that I set before you this day What Nation so great as you are why wherein are we greater than other people Wherein In this What Nation is so great that hath Statutes and Judgments so righteous as all this Law which I set before you this day This was that which made the People of Israel a great Nation beyond all the Nations in the world they were not great in multitude but in that they had the Law of God and the great things of his Law revealed to them in this they became a great Nation The Lord honors a Nation highly but to reveal the things of His Law to them But how great then doth a soul come to be that doth imbrace those things that hath all those great and good things reveal'd in the Law made to it as its own priviledg Surely that soul
is in an high and honorable condition indeed Further The things of Gods Law are great in Gods esteem they are great because the great God thinks them so That is to be accounted great that the most judicious and wise men in the world judg so to be indeed that which a child thinks to be a great thing is no great thing a child may think a bauble to be a great thing so we may think things great indeed we think the things of the world are great for a man to have an estate it 's a great matter to have riches and honors and to be some-body in the world we think these to be great things But what are these in Gods eyes God despises all these things But that which the great God will think to be a great thing certainly that 's great indeed Now mark what a high esteem God hath of his Word in that place where Christ saith Heaven and Earth shall pass away but not one jot or tittle of my Word shall pass away As if Christ should say The Lord will rather withdraw his power from the upholding of Heaven and Earth than from making good any one jot or tittle of his Law you may think it a little matter to break Gods Law but God thinks it a great matter and God would have us to make a great matter of every thing that is written in Gods Law I am the willinger to enlarge my self in this because I know it is the ground of all the wickedness in mens hearts and lives because they look upon the Law as a little matter well though they dare sin against Gods Law for the getting of a groat or six pence but God saith I will rather lose Heaven and Earth than one jot or tittle of my Law shall fall and he will make it appear one day that the things of his Law are great things in Isa 42. 21. He will magnifie the Law and make it honorable You may vilifie it a company of wanton spirits we have that consider not what they say or what they do running away with the very word of the Law they think to vilifie it What have we to do with the Law and under that word not understanding what they mean they think to cast a vile esteem upon the Law let them do what they will yet God will magnifie his Law and as it is great in the thoughts of God so it is and shall be for ever great in the thoughts of the Saints the Lord will have his people to the end of the world have high thoughts of his Law the Saints they look upon the Law of God so great as they had rather suffer all the miseries and torments that any man in the world any Tyrant can devise than willingly to break the Law in any one thing surely they account it a great matter when a man shal be willing rather to lose his estate and liberty yea and life to suffer tortures and torments and all because he will not offend the Law of God in any one thing though he might escape all if he would nay saith a gracious heart Let all go rather than I will venture to break the Law of God in any one thing surely he looks upon the Law of God as very great Men of the world think them to be fools and why will you be content to suffer so much lose all your friends what venture to lose your estates which have such a fair way of living as you have what venture a prison and venture your life the world thinks they are but little things and trifles and men are more precise than wise and they need not trouble themselves so much If God would but shew to you how great a thing his Law is and all the threatnings which are revealed therein you would account your estates and lives and all your comforts as little and poor in comparison of that Law hence in Revel 6. 9. I saw under the Altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held Wherefore were they slain Surely it was for some great matter that they would venture their lives it was for the Word of God and for the Testimony which they held And thus the Saints of God have ever accounted the Law of God a great thing I have written unto them the great things of my Law Hence from what hath been said we may have these Notes for Observation Here are Objects in the Word for men of the greatest spirits to exercise themselves about Many mens spirits are raised up and cannot endure to spend their thoughts and time about small matters and you shall have some mens spirits are so low that they think it happiness enough if they can be imployed in a gutter and get six pence or twelve pence a day to find them bread at night but others have great spirits Oh! let all those who have aspiring spirits and great spirits let them exercise themselves much in the Law of God here are objects fit for great spirits that will greaten our spirits And indeed there are no men in the world have great spirits but the Saints they have great spirits for they exercise themselves in the great counsels of God We account those men to be men of the greatest spirits that are imployed in State-affairs now the Saints they are lifted up above all things in the world and they look at all these things as little and mean and they are exercised in the great affairs of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ hence it is that the Lord would have Kings to have the book of the Law written and the Judges and it is reported of Alphonsus King of Arragon that in the midst of all his great affairs of his Kingdom he read over the Scriptures fourteen times with Commentaries upon them How many have we men of great estates and seem to be of great spirits that scarce mind the Law of God they look upon the Law of God as under them it may be if they can have a book of History and Wars they will be reading over that but for the Scripture it is a thing that hath little in it Another Note It is a special means of obedience to have high thoughts of Gods Law to convince and humble them for their disobedience for that 's the reason why the Prophet here speaks thus I have written to him the great things of my Law but they were accounted as a strange thing As if he should say If they had had the things of my Law to have been high in their thoughts they would never have done as they have done Psal 119. 129. Thy Testimonies are wonderful therefore doth my soul keep them I have high thoughts of thy Testimonies I look upon them as glorious things I see much of thy self in thy Testimonies and therefore doth my soul keep them He doth not
of God When a man is crying for an Alms but for a piece of bread to be rejected is something but when a man is crying for his soul then to be rejected and by God himself this is more grievous Secondly The bread for their soul that is The bread they have to maintain their lives withal if they would offer that to the Lord it should not come into the house of the Lord to be accepted for by bread for their souls may be meant the bread that they have to maintain their lives for so we find the Scripture cals the soul the life of a man in Mat. 6. 24. Is not the life more worth than meat the words in the original are Is not the Soul of man It is here the bread for the soul that is the very bread that they have to maintain their lives their necessary bread that they have to live on although they should be willing to offer that to the Lord it shall not come unto him Now this is as if the Prophet should say to them Now you cannot be brought to them to offer your superfluity to God but your condition shall be such as if you would offer the necessary bread you have to preserve your lives if you would offer that to God God will not accept of it As if a man were so poor that he were ready to starve and yet for all that such a man would say Wel though I starve yet I wil offer this I have to live on and I would offer this to God rather than have it my self now you would think this should be an argument of a great deal of devotion But the case shall be now that though you would seek God with such earnestness yet the heart of God shall be so hardened against you as they will not be accepted Those who in time of prosperity are loth to deny their ease and loth to lay out any thing of their superfluity for God but time may come that though they should be willing to bite off their very nails and pluck out their eyes and tear their very flesh in indignation for their sin in respect unto God any way yet this God shall not vouchsafe to have regard unto Therefore this learn by it to seek God while he may be found and not to stand upon your own terms with God in the day of your prosperity and to say I cannot spare this and that for him but if we deny God now what is his due though we would give to him hereafter that that our lives lay upon yet it shall not be accepted 3. Bread for their souls that is they shall have no more bread than will serve for their very life from hand to mouth they shall have nothing to bring to the House of the Lord they shall be so put to it when they are in captivity they shall be kept so strictly as to have nothing but bread and water nothing but from hand to mouth they shall be far enough from having any thing to offer to the Lord to be accepted of him if they should think of bringing any thing to the House of the Lord alas what have they nothing but a little bread for their soul From whence the Note is this To have no estate to offer to God in his service in the waies of his publick worship is a great affliction It follows VER 5. What will ye do in the solemn day and in the day of the feast of the Lord NOW they shall remember their solemn daies their feasts and see themselves cut off from any further enjoying of them it must needs be a great sadning unto their spirits to think what daies once they had Oh what solemn times and feasts that they did keep to God for any to sit down in times of affliction and say I remember what daies of joy in the service of God I once had but now they are gone Oh! the daies that I was wont to have how sweet were they but all is now past and we must sit down in sorrow and affliction There was a time saith God by the Prophet that you would not suffer any to go up to the feast but now you shall be far enough from Jerusalem or any other place of Worship and the very remembrance of those solemn daies shall be grievous to you Oh! what will you do in those solemn daies Those solemn daies were daies of joy in Numb 10. 10. Thus I think some carry it they make those feasts to be the feasts that they should have gone up to Jerusalem in but I take not this to be the scope of the holy Ghost here but rather thus by the solemn Daies and Feasts of the Lord is here meant the solemn day of Gods wrath and vengeance upon them now for the making out of that I shall shew first that in Scripture the day of Gods wrath is call'd the solemn day and the day of Gods feast is the day of his wrath a day wherein God feasts First The solemn day it is the day of Gods wrath in Lament 2. 22. Thou hast call'd as in a solemn day my terrors round about so that in the day of the Lords Anger none escaped So that the solemn day is the day of the Lords anger there And Secondly The day of Gods Feast that time when God doth execute his wrath upon wicked men is the day of a feast to God In Revel 19. 17 18. verses besides other texts An Angel cried with a loud voice to all the fowls that fly in the Heavens Come and gather your selves together to the supper of the great God that ye may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captains and the flesh of Mighty men and the flesh of Horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men both free and bond both smal and great it is the day of the Lords feast Now 't is a solemn day a day of the execution of Gods wrath because now God executes wrath publickly and brings much wrath together Thou hast call'd as in a solemn day my terrors round about You know that in the day of a petty Sessions there may be some justice done but more privatly But in a day of solemn Assizes when there is a full Goal delivery then judgment is done publickly so God executes justice sometimes upon men particularly but God hath his solemn day to execute his judgments publickly before all and then the Lord feasts The day of execution of Gods wrath upon wicked men is a day of feast upon this ground First Because the day of their feasts were daies of slaying sacrifices so they should now be slain and God would account even their bodies that were slain to be as sacrifices for this great feast of his In Isa 34. 6. The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the Land of Idumea And in
otherwise that 's the very reason that God will punish the sins of the forefathers upon the children because their fathers did worship God in a false way and they will do so too And then another Note is this That as this is a heavy fruit of Gods Curse upon a people for the Parents sins for God Curse to follow to the children so this is a special fruit of Gods Curse upon children That they shall be brought forth to the Murderers In times of War if you make not your peace with God it 's just with God that things should be ordered so that your children should be brought forth to the Murderers Oh! you tender hearted Mothers who are loth that the wind should blow upon your children look upon them and pity them how can you endure to see their blood gush out how can you endure to see your little ones sprawling in the streets or upon the pikes of the Soldiers If your hearts cannot endure this seek to make your peace with God to deliver your selves and your children from this curse that hath befallen many We know not what these wars may bring forth what they have done in Ireland we have heard much of how the Parents have lookt upon their children brought forth to the Murderers and though it 's true in many Cities and places where the Enemy hath come they have not generally at least broke forth to such abominable cruelties as this is but who knows what a Summer or two may bring forth for certainly where War continues it drives on with more and more rage You will say then Oh! let us make peace upon any terms No let it rather be your care to make your peace with God that 's your way to deliver your cildren from being brought forth to the Murderers for if it be a false peace it may be but a further way to bring forth your children to the Murderers It is an extream sad Curse of God in this especially when it shall come before their very Parents sight for so the Prophet speaks as if they should be brought forth even before them Many of the Heathens have very Pathetical expressions about the sad condition of Parents when their children are slain before their eyes as that of Priamus Son Polites that was slain by Pyrrhus he cries to his gods Oh! if there be any thing in Heaven that doth take care of such things come and revenge this saith he when as Pyrrhus slew his Son before his eyes Thou hast before the very face of the Father even sprinkled the blood of the child upon his face he was not able to bear it though he saw himself ready to die next but cries to the very Heavens to revenge it And that was a very sad story of the Emperor Mauritius that his Sons and Wife and Daughters were brought before his eyes and slain before him This is the woful evil that falls upon Kingdoms And if your children did but understand this very text that now I am opening they would even look upon you and cry with tears in their eyes Oh Father Oh Mother Repent repent and seek God for your selves and for us Oh! repent and make up your peace with God that we may not be brought forth to the Murderers Oh! but if this be so great an evil for Parents to have their children to be brought forth to the Murderers here how great an evil then is it for Parents to bring forth children to be fewel for Gods wrath for all eternity to be the firebrands for Gods wrath to burn upon milions of years to all eternity You then that are Parents and have children look upon them and have such thoughts as these that may break your hearts Oh! what a sad thing would it be that such a babe that came out of my womb should be a fire-brand for Gods wrath to burn upon to all eternity Oh! how had I need pray and bring up my children in the fear of God lest I should be such an unhappy Father that out of my loyns should not only bring forth a child to the Murderers but for the Devils in Hell But let not this discourage you that are godly to venture your children in lawful Wars for when you shall labor to make up your peace with God in such a cause if you be willing to sacrifice your children to God if thy child should be brought forth even to death yet he is but brought forth even to Martyrdom rather than to the Murderers Thou shouldest rather rejoyce that thou hast a child to bring forth in such a Cause then to be overprest with sorrow that the life of thy child hath been taken away with the Murderers some of your children though with the loss of their own lives yet they have been a means to keep you and us all from the hand of the Murderer to keep the City and the Kingdom from being over-run with Tyranny Idolatry and all kind of Prophanness and it may be worth the lives of your children that good that hath been done Revel 12. 11. And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their Testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death Therefore rejoyce ye Heavens and ye that dwell in them They loved not their lives unto the death therefore rejoyce ye Heavens and them that dwell therein When parents shall be willing to give up their children in the Cause of God even children shall be willing to sacrifice themselves in Gods Cause I say having made up their peace with God then when they love not their lives unto the death there shall be joy in Heaven and they shall overcome in dying even as Jesus Christ did I remember I have read of Zenophon when he was sacrificing to their Idol gods he wore a Crown upon his head and there came news to him that his child was dead he presently pulls his Crown from off his head in token of sorrow but then asking how he died answer was made That he died in the Wars Then he calls for his Crown again So perhaps some of you have lost your Children nature cannot but work yea but then ask how they lost their lives they lost their lives valiantly in a work that did as much concern the glory of God as ever any War did and seeing they died so rather bless God than be so sorrowful that they fell into the hand of Murderers It follows VER 14. Give them O Lord what wilt thou give Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts THIS follows upon this that they shall be brought forth to the Murderers hand Then Lord give them what wilt thou give them Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breast Some think this was an Imprecation by a spirit of Prophesie as if the holy Prophet had his heart fill'd with the wrath of God Give them Lord what wilt thou
latter end of the former Chapter he would not hearken to the Lord he would not hear the Word of the Lord the Lord threatens to cast him away because he hearkened not to him from whence Luther hath this Note The Word is like a fruitful rain there can no true fruit be without the Word those that will not hearken to the Word no mervail though they be empty it is the Word that makes fruitful it is that that is as the fruitful rain Those that leave and forsake the Word observe them how fruitless they are what empty spirits they have many that heretofore were forward in hearing the Word and loved it the Word was delightful to them Oh! then they were fruitful but since they have been taken off from the Word converse with them now and you shall find their spirits empty and their lives empty and there 's no men in the world so empty as those that would worship God in another way than the Word appoints men that would think to worship God after their own fancies and waies Oh! how empty are they in all their Worship they tender up to God But the main Note and Observation is That emptiness in those that profess themselves to be Gods People is a very great evil Oh! it is a great charge upon those that grow in Gods Vinyard that profess themselves to be Gods to be charged with this That they are empty an empty Vine When we would speak of a man contemptuously as one that hath no natural or aquisite excellency in him we say such a one is an empty or a slight fellow and that 's the meaning of the word that you have in Mat. 5. 22. Whosoever calls his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the counsel the word Racha it is empty it is as much as if he should call his Brother an empty fellow for that 's the signification of the word Empty And in Jam. 2. 20. Knowest thou not O vain man that faith without works is dead The words are Oh empty man knowest thou not O empty man that faith without works are dead There 's many that keeps a great deal of noise of Faith and of Gods free-Grace and yet are extream empty men and understand little of the true excellency of the Covenant of Grace Knowest thou not O empty man that Faith without Works is dead Speak as much as thou wilt of Faith and Gods Grace yet if there be no Works thou art an empty man Nature will not endure emptiness some of the Phylosophers have said that the world would rather be dissolved than there should be any vacuity creatures will move contrary to their nature rather than they will suffer a vacuity Certainly an emptiness in the souls of Gods people it is the worst emptiness that is in the world For First It is the most unnatural thing for a Vine to be empty And secondly For the Saints to be empty they are a dishonor to their Root that they do profess they are upon Christ he hath all the fulness of the God-head in him And of his Fulness we are to receive Grace for Grace To grow upon him upon such a root and yet to be empty Oh! what a dishonor is this to Jesus Christ Thirdly This frustrates the Lord of all the care and cost and charge that he is about if thou wert another plant that grew in the wilderness it were not much but a Vine and one in Gods Vinyard and yet fruitless Oh this is a sore evil Fourthly There 's no blessing upon thy soul if thou beest an empty Vine in Isa 65. 8. As the new Wine is found in the cluster and one saith Destroy it not for a blessing is in it If there be Wine in the cluster then a blessing is found in it but otherwise destroy it No blessing is found in those that are of empty spirits Fiftly If there be grace it is the Divine Nature its self and cannot that bear fruit It is an evil in a Vine to have but a little moisture to shoot forth in leaves and bear no fruit yea but what is that unto Grace that is the Divine Nature its self the most glorious thing in the world Therefore for Christians to be without fruit is an exceeding great evil Doest thou know what fruit is One gracious action that comes from the sap of the Root that is in Christ it is more worth than Heaven and Earth any one gracious Act I say it is more worth than Heaven and Earth Oh the fruit of the Saints is fruit to eternity and to be without this fruit must needs be a great evil those that are empty and without fruit you know they are said in John 15. to be but as branches not branches they that bear no fruit are said to be but as a branch and then such a branch as must be cut off God will cut them off cut off those branches he will cut them off from their profession and suffer them to fall so as they shal not continue in their eternal profession and they shall wither he will curse their very common gifts that they have 6. Oh! how many that heretofore seemed to flourish yet but leaves and bearing no fruit now their leaves are gon too and their common gifts are taken away from them and not only withered but shall be cast away cast away from God and out of the hearts of the Saints and men shall gather them the men of the world they shall catch them and so they shall joyn with them and they shall make use of them and they shall be cast into the fire and burnt cast into the fire not for a fiery tryal but cast into the fire that they may be burned these are the threatnings against those that bear no fruit It is the glory of Gods People to be filled with the fruits of Righteousness Phil. 1. 11. To be filled with the Spirit Ephes 5. 18. Yea to be filled with all the fulness of God Ephes 3. 19. So it is expected of the Saints that they should be filled with al the fulness of God Oh! how contrary is this to emptying And surely fil'd the Saints should be with fruit because they are the very fulness of Christ the fulness of him that fills all in all In Ephes 1. last verse the Church is said to be the fulness of Jesus Christ himself And shall the Church be an empty Vine when as it is the very fulness of Him that fils al in al 7. An empty spirit is fit for the Devil to come to possess Mat. 12. 24. he found his place empty and then he comes in where the Devil sees an empty spirit there 's a fit place for him to come It is an evil thing for you to grow upon Gods ground and to cumber it to cumber any part of Gods ground it may be if thou wert gon there
these poor people should desire here should be dreadful enough to have the Mountains fall upon them and the Hils to cover them Oh! but 't is not so dreadful as Gods wrath take all the terrors in the world they are nothing to the wrath of the Almighty when that is apprehended sometimes the wrath of God lies more heavie upon a mans Conscience than a thousand Mountains And my brethren if it be so dreadful in outward judgments how dreadful is it like to be when it shal come to be fully powred out upon the wicked and ungodly In Revel 9. 6. They shall seek for death and shall not find it they shall desire to die and death shall flee from them saith the text Oh! when Gods wrath appears against the ungodly it will be dreadful especially when the full vials of it comes to be powred out And further To live in misery is worse than present dreadful death to live in a lingring way of misery is worse than present death even in this world I remember Suetonius tels of Tiberius Caesar that there was one that he had adjudged to death and he that was adjudged to die petitioned to him that he might have his dispatch He answers him thus Sir you and I are not friends yet you must not die you must be kept in misery It is worse than death many times to be kept in a lingring way of misery it is so even in regard of the miseries of this world Oh! how much worse than death is it then to be kept under the wrath of God to all eternity How fearful is it to live in misery for ever then and never to die Why it 's better certainly Sence would apprehend it better for a man to be dispacht presently than to live in lingring misery yet if we did know all it were better to live in the greatest misery in the world for a wicked man than to die the fairest death thou wert better to live as a Dog a Toad yea as a stock-log at the back of the fire if it were possible than to die if thou knewest all being a wicked man but however hereafter in Hell then it were better if it were possible to perish than to live so as thou hast yet then thou shalt not die though it would be the greatest happiness to thee if thou shouldest after a thousand yeers cry to God Oh Lord that Mountains might fall upon me The Lord would answer You and I are not friends yet and if after a thousand years more thou shouldest cry Oh Lord that I might be crush'd to pieces the Lord would answer you still You and I are not yet friends Saith Bernard Oh! I tremble to think of that that I should fall into the hands of living death and of dying life where men do not die that they might for ever die saith he they do die that they may for ever die they are alwaies dying but never die but are kept by the Almighty power of God on purpose that they might be fewel for his wrath and subjects for his revenging Justice to strike upon Oh! consider of this you that are so ready to desire death because you are in a lingering misery at any time Is a lingering misery so evil Then what will be the lingering evil of eternity Fifthly observe The wonderful misery of wicked men in their affliction they have no whither to go for help they have not God they have no refuge but to the mountains and hills and what 's their refuge there but that they may fall upon them Oh the difference between a Saint of God and a wicked man in times of affliction When in times of affliction thou if thou beest wicked shalt rage and be mad and know not whither to go and the uttermost help that thou canst think to have is from the Hills and Mountains to fall upon thee but then the Saints of God shall be able to look up to Heaven and Cry Heaven is open for us open to receive my soul Angels come and guide it and bear it in Oh Arms of Mercy Bowels of Mercy spread open your selves to imbrace me here 's a difference And is not this better than to cry to mountains to fall upon thee and hills to cover thee And yet such a difference in mens estates doth sin and godliness make And then the last is Oh the wonderful evil of despair what a dreadful thing is desperation It suggests nothing else the greatest benefit it doth suggest it is to be crush'd in pieces so the help that many have it is a halter to strangle them a knife to murder them the water to drown them Oh desperation is a dreadful thing Francis Spira feeling the dreadfulness of desperation Cries out Verily desperation is Hell its self Upon all this Luther concludes with this exhortation Oh let us stir up our selves to the fear of God let us fly Idolatry let us beautifie the Word by our holy lives and pray to Christ that we might escape such things as these are that God inflicts upon the contemners of his Word If you would not come into this wonderful despairing condition Oh learn to fall down before the Word fear God now that you may not despair you that contemn and slight and scorn the Word now this may prove to be your portion ere long that this desperate cry may be the greatest ease that your forsaken souls can have VER 9. O Israel thou hast sinned from the daies of Gibeah O ISRAEL I am speaking this to you it meerly concerns you you have sinned from the daies of Gibeah you think there is no great matter in your sin why there should be these dreadful threatnings that you should come to this desperate condition Why say the men of Isrrel what means the Prophet to be so terrible in his threatnings pray what 's our sin Yes you have sinned as in the daies of Gibeah From the daies of Gibeah so it is in your Books or it may be read Beyond the daies of Gibeah or more than in them as Ezek. 16. 52. From the daies of Gibeah From what time was that You may reade the story of Gibeah if you reade the 19. and 20. of Judges and their sin I shall not need to spend much time now in opening what Gibeah was or the sin of Gibeah was because that in the 9. Chapter of this Prophesie and the 9. Verse there I met with those words that they had corrupted themselves as in the daies of Gibeah But it is not only the 19. and 20. Chapters where we have the story of that horrible wickedness of the abusing of the Levites Concubine but likewise that that we have in the 18. touching their Idolatry that there was among the people there was Micahs Idol so that the Prophet hath reference to the 18 19 20. Chapters of the Book of Judges Now you have sinned as in the
is not as rain from Heaven to bring up the fruits of Righteousness in your hearts and in your lives And then seventhly Gods coming with blessings upon those that seek him it is Righteousness that is The good that they have as a fruit of seeking of him it is The fulfilling of Gods Word it is but Gods Faithfulness that was engaged for it Jesus Christ had purchased it by his blood and they had a bond for it before what ever good they have from God It is an excellent Note to help us both in our seeking God and in the comforts that we have When we are seeking God we are not seeking God meerly as a gratuity Though in reference to us it is only free Grace but to Christ it is Righteousness it is that which Christ hath purchased therefore saith Saint John If you confess your sins he doth not say it is mercy for God to forgive them but it is Just with God And so when you receive a mercy from God you are not to look upon it as a meer Alms though in reference to your selves indeed it is so but in reference to Christ your head it is Righteousness it is that which Christ hath purchased and that which God gives you as a fruit of his faithfulness as wel as of his free Grace when thou art seeking of God let not only the eye of thy faith be upon the Grace and Mercy of God but upon the very Righteousness of God And then another Note may be Though the good we do is our own good yet God rewards it as if he got by it God makes Promises to us that if we do thus and thus we shall enjoy such and such mercies Sow to your selves When we sow God gives us leave to aim at our selves but yet when God comes to reward us he doth reward us as if it were only for him and not for our selves he rewards us in waies of Righteousness And thus much for this Verse of raining Righteousness God hath another rain for the wicked and ungodly in Psalm 11. he rains snares and fire and brimstone upon them VER 13. Ye have Plowed wickedness ye have reaped iniquity ye have eaten the fruit of Lyes NOtwithstanding all exhortations and all offers of mercy yet you have gone quite contrary saith the Prophet Instead of breaking from your iniquities you have plowed your iniquities The meaning is this You have taken pains to propagate that which is evil you have taken pains to prepare for wicked things and to do all you can for the propagation of that which is evil both in your selves and others That is the plowing of wickedness The plowing of the wicked is sin their endeavors that is the meaning their labor it is especially for the furtherance of sin the very strength of their spirits is let out for the furtherance of their sin In Job 4. 8. Even as I have seen they that plow iniquity and sow wickedness reap the same to plow it is to endeavor and labor for iniquity for so the word that is here translated Plow it signifies to Frame things to Work things to Endeavor any thing with all our might that is the signification of the word You have set your hearts altogether upon this work for the furthering of wickedness in thinking of it in plodding about it in stirring of one another and doing all you can in your endeavors for the furtherance of wickedness Yea You have been willing to go through all difficulties to accomplish your wicked intentions As we reade in Micah 7. 3. it is a notable Scripture it shews the strong endeavors of wicked men after their sin They do evil saith the text with both hands earnestly It is a very strange text they are willing to take pains and plow for their sin Oh! how many are there that take more pains to go to Hell than others do that go to Heaven they will so struggle and suffer for their sin willing to break with their friends to accomplish their sinful lusts willing to venture their estates to hazard their healths willing to do any thing in the world they are willing to go through all difficulties that they may have their sin Yet they will not plow for God Oh! they complain of any little difficultie in the waies of God but complain of no difficultie in the waies of sin Oh! what a wicked and wretched heart is this to be offended with any hardness in Gods waies and yet be content to endure any hardness at al in the waies of sin Oh! that we were but as instrumental for God and willing to plow as hard as others do for that which is sin And Oh! when you shall come to die to reap the fruit of your labor what terror do you think will this be to your consciences when it must tell you that you have taken more pains in the waies of wickedness than ever you did in the waies of God As it was said of Cardinal Wolsey when he was to die Oh! saith he Had I but served God as diligently as I have served the King he would not have given me over in my gray hairs So when you shall come to die and your consciences shall say Oh! that I had but broken as much sleep to prayer and seeking God Oh! that I had but ventur'd my estate and name as much in the waies of God as in the waies of sin it had been happy for me Is it possible that any of you can die in peace of conscience and yet your consciences shall tell you that you never took that pains for God as you have done for sin In a good motion that is for God if others do it you will agree and go on with them I but you will not plow hard for it but in things that are sutable to your lusts you will not only move such a thing and joyn with others but you will plow hard for it Oh! what pity is it that mens parts and strength should be laid out so much upon that which is evil Men that have active spirits Oh! how instrumental might they be for God if their necks were but in Gods yoke but they all the daies of their lives have their necks in the Devils yoke and are plowing for the Devil all their daies and they will reap accordingly Now this plowing wickedness was especially their way of false worship Oh! they endeavored there they plowed hard to get up their false worship their worship at Dan and Bethel and not to go to Jerusalem to worship It follows You have plowed wickedness ye have reaped iniquity You do not hear of any sowing for the truth is there need no sowing for wickednss there need be but the preparation do but plow that is do but prepare the ground and wickedness will come up alone When you plow Righteousness you must sow the seeds of Righteousness