EIGHTEENE Choice and usefull SERMONS BY Benjamin Hinton B. D. Late MINISTER of HENDON And sometime fellow of TRINITY COLLEDGE IN CAMBRIDGE Contra rationem nemo sobrius senserit Contra Scripturam nemo Christianus senserit Contra Ecclesiam nemo pacificus senserit Imprimatur EDM CALAMY 1650. LONDON Printed by J. C. For Humphery Moseley at the Princes Armes in S. Pauls Church-yard and for R. Wodenothe at the Starre under S. Peters Church in Cornehill 1649. To the Right Worshipfull Master FRANCIS PHILIPS Auditor of LONDON Grace and Peace YOur love and kindnesse whereof I have had so long experience imboldens me to present these few Sermons unto you not as presuming of the worth of them but as desiring to testifie my thankfulnesse having so just occasion I am old and gray-headed wanting not much of seventy years yet not so old in years as I am in infirmities and in my age it pleased God to visite me through a fall whielâ— I took with an incurable lamenesse and through sicknesse which I had with great weaknesse both in my memory and voice whereby I have been much disabled to preach I was therefore the more willing with my pen to supply the defect of my tongue as Zachary wrote when he could not speake and made his pen to make known what his tongue could not Luke 1.63 And though many have done the like before me with far greater ability yet remembring that God at the making of the Tabernacle accepted as well the offerings of the poorer sort who brought thither but Goats-haire and Rams-skinnes as of those who were rich and offered blew silk and purple and scarlet I have offered these few mites into the treasury of the Church out of my want and penury when others offer talents out of their store and plenty And I doubt not of your favourable acceptance hereof as coming from him who will no longer desire your favour then he desires to remaine Your truely loving in the Lord BEN. HINTON Curteous Reader IT was the earnest desire of the Authour my Reverend Father that these Sermons might passe the Presse in his life for the furtherance of others passage to life eternall but being himself taken away by death before his purpose was effected I thought it my duty not to let his works die with him but to impart to others what GOD had imparted to him I desire that as they teach the word of Truth so they may be the word of life And although in these dayes Sermons are neglected by the most contemned by the worst and too little esteemed even by the best yet I doubt not but these will meete with some who will receive the Message for the Masters sake And as formerly the feet of those who brought glad tydings of the Gospel of peace were counted beautifull so will the Gospel it self I hope though plainly preached not be trod under feet but be acceptable and helpfull to augment their peace who indeed seek peace which shall be the prayers of him to the God of peace who is your Christian Friend WILLIAM HINTON The severall SERMONS I. ABrahams offring his Sonne Isaac GEN. 22.2 Take now thy Sonne thine onely Sonne Isaac whom thou lovest and get thee into the Land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt-offring upon one of the Mountains which I will tell thee of II. The good ground or hearer of the word MATTH 13.23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it which also beareth fruit and bringeth forth some an hundred fold some sixty some thirty III. Zacheus converted LUKE 19.8 Behold Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor c. IV. Gaining the world and losing the soule MATTH 16.26 For what is a Man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soule V. Man like the grasse and flowers of the field PSAL. 103 15. As for man his dayes are as grasse as a flowre of the field so he flourisheth VI. The Devil a coward if he be resisted JAMES 4.7 Resist the Devil and he will flee from you VII Gods best beloved most afflicted HEBR. 12.6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth VIII No peace to the wicked ESAY 57.21 There is no peace to the wicked saith my God IX God the Authour and protector of the Scripture 2 PETER 1.21 For the Prophesie came not in old time by the will of Man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost X. Christs miraculous Cures MATH 11.5 The blind receive their sight and the lame walk the Leapers are cleansed and the deaf heare the dead are raised up and the poore have the Gospel preached to them XI The Churches love to Christ CANTIC 3.1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soule loveth XII Both Poverty and Riches occasions of evil PROVERBS 30.8 Give me neither Poverty nor Riches XIII Gods pardoning great sinners a great comfort to others PSAL. 32.6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou maiest be found XIIII Steven Stoned ACTS 7.59.60 And they stoned Steven calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice Lord lay not this sinne to their Charge XV. Lawfull and unlawfull swearing JEREM. 4.2 Thou shalt swear the Lord liveth in truth in judgement and iâ—â—â—ghteousnesse XVI Jonas sent to Nineveh JONAH 3.1 c. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time saying arise go to Nineveh that great City and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh XVII Hiding of sinne no small sinne PROVERBS 38.13 He that covereth his sinnes shall not prosper but who so confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy XVIII Christs coming to judgement both certain and uncertain 1 THES 5.2 For you your selves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a Thief in the night THE FIRST SERMON GEN. 22.2 Take now thine onely Sonne Jsaac whom thou lovest and get thee into the Land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt-offring upon one of the Mountaines which I will tell thee of Paradisus Genesis in quo pullulant Patriarcharum virtutes Ambr. Epist 41. THis booke of Moses is resembled by St. Ambrose not unfitly unto Paradise Genesis saith he is a Paradise wherein spring forth the virtues of the Patriarchs For as in Paradise there were variety of trees which brought forth variety of excelent fruits both pleasant to behold and good to eate Gen. 2.9 So in this Paradise this book of Genesis are many worthy plants Gods Children and Servants whose fruits of Faith of Love and obedience are both delightfull for us to read and profitable to imitate Now of all these plants the chief are the Patriarchs of all the Patriarchs the most fruitfull is Abraham and of all the fruits which he
postulat Our youth requires other kind of manners and it is needlesse for us to do thus till vve be grovvn in yeares For young men do commonly make account that they shall live long that God vvill allovv them more liberty vvhile they are young and vvill not require so much of them as of old men But they should rather consider that which experience may teach them that they vvho are young are as vvell subject to death as they who are ancient like glasse which is as brittle when it is newly made as when it is old and so though they be young yet they may die soone and therefore need alwayes to be in a readines against God shall call them They should consider that which reason may teach them that the longer it is before they seek God the longer it will be before they can find him as the further a man strayes out of his way the longer it will be before he can find the same And they should consider that which the Scripture teacheth them that young men as well as old shal be called to an account at the day of Judgement of all they have done And they should remember the precept which the Apostle gives here not in the future but in the present time Resist the Devill not resist him hereafter If God as they imagine regard not what they do in their youthfull daies what needed David to pray Psa 25.7 Eccles 12.1 Leuit. 5.7 Mar. 10.14 Remember not the sinnes of my youth or Solomon to say Remember thy Creator in the daies of thy youth Why did God in the old Law command that young Pigeons should be offered unto him Or Christ in the Gospel forbid that young children should be kept from him but to shew that our youth is to be consecrated to God and to be seasoned with Religion If they think it too soon to forsake their sinnes and to begin to serve God in their younger yeares God will think it too late when they come to be old to entertaine them to be his Servants and as they have spent the greatest part of their time in the Devills service so God will leave them to him whose work they have done to pay them their wages We our selves will be loth to take such a servant as is lame or old and so unfit or unable to do us service especially if he be one who while he was young and strong refused to serve us And do we think that God when we have refused to serve him in our younger years will be content to receive us when we are old and impotent to be his servants When we have served his enemie with the best of our daies will God be content to have the leavings Sardus de morib Gen. lib. 3 For if we serve him thus what do we else then as some of the Heathen were wont to do whose custome it was that when they had eaten the meat themselves they did sacrifice the bones unto their Gods Deut. 25. We are forbiden by God to have diverse measures a greater and a lesse because they that do thus are an abomination to the Lord. If God count it abominable for a man to have divers measures a greater for himself a lesse for his neighbour or a greater for his friend a lesse for a stranger How abhominable then must it needs be to God when we have divers measures for God and his enemies serving sinne and Sathan with the best and greatest part of our lives and alotting the least and the worst part unto Gods service And therefore it behoves us ever while we are young to resist and withstand the Devills temptations to renounce our pleasures and to betake our selves unto Gods service And thus much concerning the former part of these words Resist the Devill I come now to the reason which I will dispatch briefly Resist the Devill and he will see from you The Devill though he be fierce when he gives the first assault yet where he finds resistance he will break up the siege and fly like a coward Ye know when he tempted our Saviour Christ in the fourth chapter of St. Matthew though he gave the first blow yet he took the last and though he gave the on-set and set first upon him yet he was the first that sounded the retreate and was glad to leave him But it may be demanded Whether the Devill will flee if he be resisted Will he flee into Hell and be seen no more No that he will not but if he flee from tho godly he will be sure to take his pleasure of the wicked and he will make them pay for it If he cannot prevaile against our Saviour he will enter into Judas if he cannot have his will of men yet rather then faile he will enter into the Swine Math. 8.32 as a Hauke when she cannot speed of her prey she will sease upon carrion But though the Devill flee when we resist him yet we must not be secure for though he can not speed at the first assault yet he will come againe as when he took the foile in tempting our Saviour he departed from him as St. Luke saith Luke 4.13 Luke 20.40 but for a season He is not like the Sadduces Luke 20. who were so confounded with our Saviours answers that they never durst ask him any more questions but being overcome yet he will come againe like Pharaoh who though he were faine to let the Israelites go yet they were no sooner gone but he presently pursued them or like the Philistins Judges 16. who though they had often set upon Sampson and could not prevaile yet they would not give him over but still assaulted him For though the Devill do take the foile yet he will not quite give over but when he sees that he cannot prevaile one way he will try if he can prevaile another We see when God had given him leave to afflict Job to try whether he could draw him to impatientie and the Devill had taken away all his goods killed his servants and destroyed his children and could not in all this prevaile against him yet he would not leave him thus but got leave of God to assault him afresh and to afflict his whole body with sores and ulcers for he knows that our weaknes and infirmity is such that though he cannot prevaile one way yet another he may prevaile against us If he cannot prevaile against David to lay hands on Saul the Lords annointed yet he will try if he can tempt him to murder Vriah If he cannot draw the Pharisee to extortion adultery and the like Vices he will go another way to work and try if he can make him proud of his virtues And so though he be vanquisht in one temptation yet he will tempt us again therefore we are not to be secure but after that one temptation is past we must expect and prepare our selves for another yet this is our
pardon and forgivenesse of them FINIS The Eighteenth SERMON 1 THES 5.2 For you your selves know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night THe first coming of Christ may well put us in mind of his second coming his coming as a Lambe of his coming as a Lion his coming in humility of his coming in glory The day of his first coming ye know is past and yet so past as that we are still to call it to mind and must never forget it the day of his second coming is yet to come yet so to come as that it will come we know not how soone and we must alwayes expect it And therefore as it hath been a Custome in some Countries that when they kept a feast after other dishes a deaths head was brought in and set upon the Table before the guests to teach them while they were feasting to remember their ends So I thought it not unfit at the time of this feast which we celebrate in remembrance of Christs first coming to bring in as it were a deaths head among you by choosing such a Text as may put you in mind of his second coming at the day of judgement because that is a day which is alwayes to be expected whereof the Apostle in the words which I have read gives a double Reason First because it is certain that this day is coming For you your selves saith he know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes Secondly because it is uncertain when it will come For it so saith he comes as a thief in the night whose coming is uncertain and upon the sudden So that the points to be handled in these words are these the day it self and the coming of it and in the coming of it that it is certain that this day will come though when it wil come it is uncertain And first concerning the day it self The day of judgement is here called the day of the Lord sometimes in the Scripture the great notable day of the Lord. It is called the day of the Lord to put a difference between that day and all the dayes while we live in the world While we live in the World the dayes in the Scripture are called ours For though all dayes indeed be the Lords because he made them as the Prophet David saith Psal 74.16 The day is thine and the night is thine thou hast prepared the light and the Sunne yet in the Scripture they are said to be ours because they were made for our use Therefore God speaking of the time of mans life Gen. 6. His dayes saith he Gen. 6.3 shall be an hundred and twenty years Thus Job speaking of the prosperity of the wicked They spend saith he their dayes in welthinesse Job 21.13 Psal 90.12 Thus David speaking of the uncertainty of this life Psal 90. Teach us saith he to number our dayes Thus the dayes while we live in this world are called ours But the day of judgement is alwayes called Esay 13.7 Joel 2.1 2 Pet. 3.10 the day of the Lord. So Esay 13. Behold the day of the Lord comes So Joel The day of the Lord comes and is nigh at hand So St. Peter 2 Pet. 3. The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night Thus still it is called the day of the Lord because though all other dayes be ours yet this day he hath wholly reserved to himself to call us to an account of all our dayes To some of us he hath given ten thousand dayes to some twenty thousand to some thirty thousand and all the dayes from the beginning of the World to the end thereof he hath divided amongst us giving more unto some and sewer to others to himself he hath reserved but one day onely and the last of all yet such a day as wherein he will call us all to an account of all things that we have done in all our dayes At this day the Drunkard shall be called to an account of all the dayes he hath spent in drunkennesse At this day the idle person shall be called to an account of all the dayes he hath spent in idlenesse At this day the voluptuos liver shall be called to an account of all the dayes he hath spent in pleasure For this is the day which the Lord hath appointed for the examination of all our dayes The dayes which he hath given us are dayes of mercy wherein he offers grace unto all and invites them to repent this day is onely a day of judgement wherein he will execute his justice on those that are impenitent Therefore it is that the time of this life is called in the Scripture Esay 49.8 Dies salutis the day of salvation as Esay 49. I have heard thee saith God in the time accepted in the day of salvation have I succoured thee Which the Apostle expounds 2 Cor. 6. 2 Cor. 6.2 of the time of this life while grace is offered Behold saith he now is the accepted time now is the day of salvation But the day of judgement is called in the Scripture dies irae the day of wrath Zeph. 1.15 Zeph. 1.15 That day saith the Prophet is a day of wrath And Revel 6. The great day of the wrath of the Lord is come And therefore God who for the time of this lise is called by the Apostle the father of mercies yet after this life when he shall judge the World Psal 49.1.2 he is called by the Prophet David a God of revenge For be that is so mercifull to all in this life that he makes the Sun to shine and the rain to fall both on the good and the bad yet after this life at the day of judgement he will rain snares on the wicked fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest this shall be their portion for ever to drink Psal 11.6 We see then the reason why it is called the day of the Lord because in that day he will call us all to an account of all our dayes that such as in their days have done their own will might therefore in his day suffor his will because they would not imbrace his mercy while he offered them grace in stead of mercy they might feel his justice His power had a day when he created the World all things therein and by speaking the word made them all of nothing His mercy had a day when he redeemed the world by giving his only Son to suffer death for man that had so highly offended him And his justice shall likewise have a day when he shall judge the World at which day he will appear so terrible to the wicked Revel 6.16 that when they see him they shall cry to the mountains to fall upon them and to the rocks to hide them from the presence of him that sits upon the Throne from the wrath of the Lamb. But all in vaine because as they in
their own dayes might have found life but would not seek it so then in his day they shall seek death but shall not find it And as here it is called the day of the Lord Acts 2.20 so elsewhere it is called the great notable day of the Lord Joel 2.11 and the the great terrible day of the Lord because on that day more great terrible things shall come to passe then ever came to passe in the World before The Prophet Esay was shewed a vision which did so greatly astouish him that he saith his heart panted and fear came upon him Esay 21.3 that it made him to stoop when he heard of it and dismayed him when he saw it What was that vision which was able to affright so great a Prophet He saw the fall of Babylen how that mighty City the glory of Kingdoms as the Scripture calls it should be overthrown and all the stately buildings thereof should be brought to ruine But on this day which is here meÌ„tioned there shal be a matter which is far more fearfull not the desolation of one City or Kingdom but the finall overthrow and utter ruine of all the Kingdoms and buildings in the World together For on that day the very foundation of the earth shall be shaken so that all the buildings thereof from the least to the greatest shall be shivered asunder and quite overthrown Though our walls were as strong as the walls of Nineveh which as Authors write of them were made of that thicknesse that three Carts might go side-long together upon them though our Turrets were as high as the Spires of Egypt or the Tower of Babell whose top they would have made to have reacht up unto heaven though our houses were as sumptuous as the Pallace of Alcinous where the walls were of brasse the entries of silver and the gates of gold yet on this great day if they continued so long they should all be overthrown For what shall be able to stand on that day when there shall be earthquakes on the one side and fire on the other which shall overthrow and consume whatsoever is before them On that day there shall be so great an earthquake as Saint John tells us Revel Rev. 6.12.14 6. That all mountains and istands shall be moved out of their places On that day there shall be so great a fire all overthe World that Saint Peter tells us 2 Pet. 3.10 The heavens being on sire shall be dissolved the elements shall melt with fervent heat and the earth and all the works therein shall be burut up On that day there shall be the greatest number assembled together that ever were For then heaven and earth as it were shall meet together on the one side Christ and his Angels shall come from heaven thousand thousands shall attend upon him and ten thousand thousands shall minister unto him on the other side shall be Adam and Eve with their whole of-spring even all that have lived from the first to the last in all ages from one end of the world to the other in all Countries they shall all appear on that together Gen. 13.16 God promised Abraham the father of the faithfull that his seed should be as the starres of heaven Gen. 15.5 in number like the sand on the sea-shore which ye know is innumerable yet all these in comparison of that infinite multitude which shall be assembled together at the day of judgement are no more then an handfull For then all without exception both Jewes and Gentiles beleevers and infidels even every one in his own person shall appear on that day and not one shall be wanting Therefore saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 5. 2 Cor. 5.10 We must all appear before the judgement-seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that which he hath done whether it be good or evill All and every one to shew the generality that none are excepted and we must appear to shew the necessity that it cannot he avoided When the King in the Gospell invited many to the marriage of his Sonne Luke 14. they pretended excuses for their not coming one saying that he had bought a piece of ground another that he had bought five yoke of oxen another that he had married a wife and could not come so that of those which were invited there were many wanting But no excuse shall be taken at the day of judgement but as all shall be summoned to appear on that day so none shall be absent There shall not any be permitted to appear by his Atturney but all must come in their own persons and none be suffered to put in sureties We see many times that such as are to come before earthly Judges do break out of prison and escape the judgement that should passe upon them but there can be no hope for any to escape at the day of judgement for indeed the whole World is as it were Gods prison-house every part whereof on that day shall bring forth their prisoners Rev. 20.13 The Sea saith Saint Iohn Revel 20. did yield up her dead that were therein and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them and they were judged every man according to his works Lastly On that day there shall a finall separation be made between the godly and the wicked While we live in this world the good and the bad the elect and the reprobate do live ye know promiscuously together And therefore the Church is compared in the Scripture sometime to a floor sometime to a field and sometime to a fold to a floore wherein is both come and chaffe to a field wherein is both wheat and cares and to a fold wherein are both sheep and goats Mat. 25.32 But on this great and notable day of the Lord they shall be distinguisht and an everlasting sepâ—ration shall be made between them For then Christ shall place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his lest the wheat and the corn shall be carried into his barn the chaffe and the tares shall be cast into the fire the godly shall be taken up into heaven the wicked thrown into hell And in these respects it is called the great and notable day of the Lord because so great and notable things shall come to passe on that day And thus much concerning the day it selfe The second thing to be considered is the coming of this day and therein two things are set down that it is certain this day will come For you your selves saith he know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes And that it is untertain when it will come It comes saith he as a thiefe in the night Whose coming is uncertain and not known when he comes And first concerning the certainty of the coming of this day Saint Peter tells us of some that make but a mock of Christs coming or
the day of judgement 2 Pet. 3.3 Know this saith Saint Peter that there shall be scoffers in the last dayes Walking after their own lusts saying where is the promise of his coming for since the Fathers fell asleep all things continue say they as they were from the beginning of the creation And thus many because the World hath continued so long a time in the same state do perswade themselves that it shall continue so for ever and that there shall be no end of the World nor day of judgement These Saint Peter in the same place confutes by this reason That though the World have continued in the same state for a long time yet it followes not from thence that therefore the World should continue so for ever for it wa a long time from the Creation of the world till the coming of the floud yet the world was then destroyed by one of the elemente whereof it was made namely by water and so though it seems a long time till the end of the world yet in the end it shall be destroyed by another element namely by Fire And as they who lived in the time of Noah would not be perswaded that the world should be drowned till the floud came suddenly and swept them away so the end of the world and Christs coming to judgement shall as suddenly come upon unbelievers while they think not of it Christ indeed doth deferre his coming in divers respects As that the number of the elect may be fulfill'd whom God hath decreed from all etermity to call in all ages by the preaching of the Gospel till the end of the world that the patience of the faithfull who waite and long for the coming of Christ may be tried and exercised and that the wicked may be left without excuse being forborne so long and having had so large a time of repentance In these respects Christ defers his coming but though his coming be deferr'd for a time yet in the end he will not faile to come as the Scripture assures us by evident testimonies by visible signes and by invisible reasons The testimonies are divers The Prophesie of Enoch which is alleadged by Saint Jude is plaine and evident Jude 14.15 Enoch saith he the seventh from Adam prophesied saying Behold the Lord comes with ten thousand of his Saints to execute judgement upon all and to convince all the ungodly among them of all their wicked deads Where ye see the world was no sooner made but that the end thereof was presently fore-told for Enoch was but the seventh from Adam and yet he prophesied of Christs coming to judgement and that so plainly as if he had seen him coming Ecce venit Behold saith he he comes Dan. 7.9.10 So Daniel prophesied of the day of judgement I beheld saith he till the thrones were prepared and the auncient of dayes did sit there issued forth a fiery stream and came forth from before him thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him the judgement was set and the books were opened I saw saith Saint John the dead both small and great stand before the Lord Revel 20.12 and the books were opened and another book was opened which was the book of life and the dead were judged c. Where to shew the certainty of Christs coming to judgement he speaks ye see thereof as if it were past because he shall come at the time appointed as certainly as if he were come already I might alleadge many other places wherein the coming of Christ to judgement is plainly fore-told And as the Scriptures have fore-told Christs coming to judgement so to assure us the better thereof it hath likewise given us many signes which go before it whereby we may know that it will not be long before he come When the King ye know is come to a Town he commonly sends his harbingers before him and when they see his harbingers they say the King is coming because they know by the coming of his harbingers that it will not be long before the King himselfe comes Christ hath given us many signes of the end of the world and his coming to judgement which are as his harbingers sent before his coming and these signes which go before his coming are of two sorts either such as go longer before his coming and are further from it or such as go but hard before and shall be nigh unto it Of the former sort are divers signes as the preaching of the Gospell all over the world foretold by our Saviour Mat. Mat. 24.2 Thes 2. Rom. 11. Luke 17. 24. The revealing of Antichrist that man of sinne and sonne of perdition fore-told by the Apostle 2 Thes 2. The calling of the Jews fore-told by St. Paul Rom. 11. The great security want of faith which shal be found in many foretold by Christ Luke 17. And many other signes which the Scripture mentions many whereof are already past and are fore-runners of the end of the world and shall continue and prolong their course till the very day of Christs coming to judgement Of the second sort are those fearfull signes which the Scripture mentions in divers places as that the earth shall tremble and move out of her place Mat. 24.29 Acts 2.20 that the seas shall roare and make an hidcous noise that the powers of heaven shall be shaken that the starres shall fall from heaven that the Sunne shall be turned into darknesse and the Moon into bloud before that great and notable day of the Lord come These things shall come to passe at the end of the world and when these things come to passe they are evident signs that the end of the world is then hard at hand For like as it is in the body of man when the eyes waxe dimme and the sight failes when all the joynts waxe weake and the whole body trembles it is a signe of old age and a manifest token that he in whom these signes are to be seen is very near his end and cannot hold out long So it is likewise in the great Body of the world when the eyes of the world the Sunne and the Moon begin to wax dim and their light failes when the heavens shall be shaken as it were with a palsie and the earth shall tremble and move out of her place as the Scripture speaks it is a manifest signe that the world is ending Lastly As the Scripture hath foretold the end of the world Christs coming to judgment both by evident testimonies and visible signs so likewise by divers invincible reasons For first all other things which the Scriptures have fore-told are come to passe as namely of Christs first coming in the flesh of the destruction of Jerusalem of the dispersion of the Iows of the coming of Antichrist all which and many other as they have been fore told so they have been likewise accomplisht and therefore the
shall the wicked escape Gods judgements Secondly Seeing God doth chasten those whom he loves 2. Vse this may therefore teach us to beware of censuring hardly of them that are in any distresse or affliction as if this were an argument that they are out of Gods favour and that God hath forsaken them We are prone to judge amisse of those that are in distresse If Job be afflicted Job 4.7.8 Acts 28.4 his friends will think that he is an Hypocrite If the Barbarians see a Viper hang on Pauls hand they will suspect him therefore to have been a murderer and if the Disciples see the man that was born blind John 9.2 they will judge that either he or his Parents had sinned as if they must needes be wicked persons that are afflicted The Samaritans as Josephus writes of them when they saw that matters went prosperously with the Jewes they were wont to say then that they were come of Abraham but when the Jewes were under the Crosse and suffered affliction they would then derive their Pedegree from Babel and other Nations and would not acknowledge them for Abrahams Children as if only the wicked and not the godly were subject to affliction But we see here that God chastens whom he loves and therefore that we are not to judge hardly of such as we see afflicted And thus much likewise for the second point the Patient or party that is chastned by God namely Gods beloved He chastens whom he loves I now proceed to the third and last the quality of the action in this word chastneth which implyeth as I said that God doth not torment and torture us like a tyranne but he doth onely chasten us as a Father doth chasten and correct his Children these chastisements do not proceed from God as an angry judge for our plague and punishment but as from a merciful and loving Father for our correction and amendment for herein he offers himself unto us as unto Sonnes as the Apostle saith So that these chastisements to the godly are signes of their adoption and pledges of Gods love and favour towards them which that we may understand the better I purpose to shew you two things First vvhat these chastisements are or how God doth chasten us And secondly To what end they are or why he doth chasten us Concerning the first these chastisements of God are sometimes called in the Scripture the judgements of God So they are called by the Apostle 1 Pet. 4. The time saith he is come that judgement must begin at the house of God 1 Pet. 4.17 That is to say the judgement of chastisement for the judgements of God are of two sorts judicia castigationis judicia vindicte condemnationis the judgements of chastisement or correction and the judgments of revenge and condemnation And this distinction is taken out of St. Paul 1 Cor. 11. When we saith he 1 Cor. 11.32 are judged we are chastned of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the World So that there is a judgment of chastisement which lights upon the godly and a judgment of condemnation which lights upon the wicked And these judgements are sometimes publick and generall and sometimes private and particular Publick and generall as when a whole Land or Country is afflicted as either by Warre by Plague and Pestilence by Death and Famin and any other common and generall affliction Thus we see 1 Chron. 21. That when David had sinned against God by causing his people to be numbred God to chasten and correct him for it offers him his choise of three publick afflictions either a generall dearth and famin all over his Land 1 Chron. 21.12 for the space of three years or the Enemies to come and invade his Land and prevail against him for the space of three months or a Plague and Pestilence among his people for three dayes David being in this extremity did choose rather to fall into the hands of God then into the hands of men because there is mercy with the Lord in his chastisements and so there died of the Pestilence threescore and ten thousand in three dayes This was a generall or publick affliction Sometime again they are privat or particular as when any particular house or family or any privat man is chastned and afflicted and that either outwardly or inwardly outwardly as by the losse of goods by the losse of health by the losse of friends by the losse of liberty and the like And thus Gods Children are often afflicted Some are afflicted with want and poâ—erty as Lâ—zarus was Luke 16.21 some with the losse of their health as the Palâ—iâ—-mâ—â— was Mat. 9. 1 Sam. 2.23 Gen. 39.20 Job 16.2 Psal 59.1 some are crost in their Children as Eli was some are wronged in their good name and credit as Susanna was some restrained of their liberty as Iosâ—ph was some wronged by their friends as Iob was and some persecuted by their enemies as David was These are outward chastisements Sometimes again God doth inwardly chasten us as when either he leaves us for a time to our selves so that we fall into some actual sinnes and are afterwards grieved that we have offended God Thus Peter was afflicted when he had denied our Saviour and wept so bitterly for his denial Or when God withdrawes from us the feeling of his love and the comfort of his spirit Mat. 26.75 So that we doubt for a time that God hath forsaken us because we can find no inward comfort And thus David was afflicted when he complained so grievously Psal 77. Psal 77.7 Will the Lord absent himself for ever and will he shew no more favour hath he forgotten to be gratious and will he shut up his kindness in displeasure These are inward chastisements Now God in all his chastisements deales otherwise with the godly then he deales with the wicked The one he chastens in love and mercy the other he punisheth in his wrath and fury the one he sustaines by his gracious assistance and inables them to bear what he layes upon them the other he gives over to endless despaire to the one he brings a pruning knife to lop and purge them to the other the Axe of desolation to cut them down and destroy them And thus we see what these chastisements are Secondly We are to consider to what end they are or why he doth chasten us The end why God doth chasten his Children is partly for his own glory and partly for their good For his own glory two wayes especially First To shew how greatly he is displeased and offended with sinne insomuch that he doth not spare it in his own Children For this is most certain that if man had never committed sinne he should never have been subject unto any affliction but as soon as Adam had sinned against God then God by afflicting him made manifest how he is displeased and offended by sinne because saith God unto
not to the wicked We have heard then the thing that is proclaimed that the wicked can have no peace no peace with God no peace with the creatures no peace with men no peace with themselves their vvant of the first their want of peace with God being the cause that they want the rest and have no peace with others Doct. And from hence we may observe That there can be no security to those who continue in their sinnes For how can they have any security who are not at peace with God but have him for their enemy God is never enemy to any but onely for sinne sin is that which incenses his wrath and provokes him to punish them Esay 63. therefore saith the Prophet Esay 63. They rebelled and vexed his holy spirit therefore he was turned to be their enemy and fought against them And the Apostle to the same purpose Rom. 1. The wrath of God saith he is revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousnes and ungodlinesse of men Rom. 1 13. When therefore we see Gods wrath break forth against any place as ye know he hath many wayes revealed of late against this Land by that heavy visitation of Plague and Pestilence whereby he swept away so many thousands by hot burning-Feaver and other grievous diseases in the most places by unseasonablenesse of weather and immoderate showers by suffering the enemy to give us the foile and to have the better of us and many other wayes we may well be assured that our sins have provoked him and if we repent not these are but the fore-runners of greater judgements God is not easily provoked to anger but many times beares a long time with sinners that by his forbearing them he might draw them to repentance but if they go on he will more and more manifest his wrath against them which as their sinnes increase growes further and further like fire which first takes hold of one house and then goes to another He powres not out his whole Viall of his wrath at once but by degrees the former judgements making way for the latter the lesse for the greater first making some smart that others may amend which if they do not his wrath will break forth upon them altogether So we see he dealt with Pharaoh God brought sundry plagues upon him and his people yet the latter were more fearfull and grievous then the former and when none of those judgements which he had powred upon them would make them take warning in the end he drowned them all in the Red-Sea together So when our Saviour Math. 24 had forthtold many judgements that should come upon Jerusalem for their contempt of the Gospel and for their refusing and rejecting of grace when it was offered unto them he adds this That the end is not yet and that all these are but the beginnings of sorrows as they found afterwards by wofull experience For in the end vvhen he had many wayes plagued them before and they were ne're the better he powr'd out his wrath in full measure upon them and brought utter desolation upon them all They might have understood by the former punishments which were the beginning of their sorrowes that there were greater coming except they prevented them as when a man sees the smoke breaking out of the house he may know there is sire which will break forth into a flame if it be not looked to in time And so may we we may understand by Gods former judgements that there are greater hanging over our heads except we prevent them by unfeigned repentance Let every one therefore in the feare of God turn unto him by true humiliation assuring our selves that as long as we continue impenitent in our sinnes we make God our enemy and so can have no peace And thus much for the thing that is here proclaimed That there is no peace to the wicked I come now briefly to the person that proclaims it the Prophet from the mouth of the Lord Thre is no peace to the Wicked saith my God Doct. The Prophet proclaiming this fearfull doome against the wicked he shewes that he is but Gods Herald that he doth not proclaime it in his own but the Lords name and that it was God that spake by him And from hence we may observe That it is God that speakes by the mouth of his Messengers and that the Message which they deliver is not theirs that bring it but Gods that sent it Which serves for the instruction both of Gods Ministers and of those that hear them That Ministers are to deliver nothing but the Word of God that they may be able to say as the Prophet here saith saith my God And as St Paul saith That which I delivered unto you I received from the Lord. Non valet haec ego dicâ— haec tu dicis sed haes dicit dominus It is not sufficient saith St Augustine to say I say thus or thus thou sayest unlesse we can say the Lord saith thus That while we deliver no more then that which is agreeable to the Scripture we may be sure we deliver Gods Message and that we speak that which God puts into our mouths Secondly This serves to instruct the hearers that they must make account that they hear the Lord while they hear his Messengers Therefore it is that the faithfull say Esay 2. Come let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us his ways as making account that they were taught by God while they were taught by his Ministers He saith our Saviour Luke 10.16 1 Thes 2.13 Luk. 10. that heareth you heareth me And therefore St. Paul commends the Thessalonians 1 Thes 2. that when he preacht among them they heard what he delivered not as the word of man but as the Word of God Ye know when a Cryer doth make Proclamation in the Princes name the Proclamation is to be heard not as his that utters it but as his that sent it Now Ministers are as it were Christs Heralds to proclaime and make known his will unto us which while they Proclaime we must make account that we hear him while we hear them And therefore as this serves to shew their folly who make the lesse account of hearing the Word because they are but men like themselves that deliver it so it likewise serves to reprove those who are offended with Ministers when they reprove their sinnes For what reason hath any man to be offended with the Messenger for the Message lie brings seeing he speaks not in his own name but in his that sent him and it is not his but his Lords Message FINIS The Ninth SERMON 2 PETER 1.21 For the Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost THe scope of the Apostle in these words is this to shew us the infallible truth of the Scriptures And this
Dioclesian a grievous persecutour when he had used all the means that ever he could for the utter abolishing of the Christian profession when he had sent out his Edicts for the burning of the Scriptures for the torturing of Christians and putting down their Churches and saw in the end that he could prevail nothing for very spight and anger he gave over his Kingdom I might further shew you this by the miserable ends of all those who have professed themselves enemies unto the professours of that Doctrine which the Scriptures teach Pharaoh the first persecutour of the Church that ever was was overwhelmed in the red-sea with all his host Dathan and Abiram the first Scismaticks that ever were were swallowed up of the earth with all their Consederats and such have been the ends of such as have succeeded them To passe over the examples which the Scriptures alledge Pilat Pilat who had unjustly condemned 〈◊〉 Saviour Euseb lib. 2. cap. 7. fell afterwards into such misery that he slew 〈◊〉 and so of an unjust Judge became a just Executioner Nero. Nero after that he had made havock of the Church of Christ he fell in the end into such extreamity that he would have accounted it for a favour of any man that would have slain him Ergone saith he nee amicum habeo nee inimicum as complaining that he could find neither friend nor foe that would vouch safe to kill him in the end he grew desperate and stabbed himself Maximinus Maximinus as great a persecutour as ever Nero was was struck by God with a strong disease an invisible fire as Eusebius writes inwardly eating and consuming his flesh and leaving him nothing in a short time but skin and bones his eyes burnt out of his head through the extreamity of his torments and he cried out before he died that now Gods vengeance was lighted 〈◊〉 him for his former persecutions Valerian Valerian the Emperour another persecutour was first taken captive and led in triumph in his Emperours robes afterwards by the command of Sapores the King of Persia he was flead alive and so was tortur'd himself as he had tortur'd the Christians Julian Apostata Julian the Apostata in his wars against the Persians was wounded on the suddain he knew not how nor by whom Theoderet thinks he might be smote by an Angell Callistus that was present saith he was struck by the Devill whosoever he was he was sent by Christ by Julians own confession for casting up some of his blood towards heaven he cried out against Christ Vieisti Galilee Thou hast got the victory thou Galilean and thus he died raving Nay when he was dead the earth opened saith Nazianzen and swallowed it down as not vouchsafing to bear so accursed a burthen It were endlesse to instance in all those particulars whom God for their persecuting his truth in the Scriptures hath made fearfull examples unto all others The same may likewise be said of Hereticks who seeking by their false impious doctrins to corrupt the truth have miserably perished in all ages Simon Magus Simon Magus the father of all Heresies as Eusebius calls him having gotten great credit by his sorcery and Magick persvvaded the people that he vvas God but through Peters prayers as he was flying in the aire his god-head failed him and he vvas fetcht dovvn head-long Olympius vvho blasphemously denied the Trinity Olympius vvhile he askt contemptuously hovv three could be one and one three vvas smote with three fiery darts from Heaven the points of these three joyning all in one Arrius Valent. Manes Montanus Nestorius Lucian Arrius while he was doing that which nature requires his bowels gusht out and he miserably perisht Valens the Arrian was burnt by the Gothes Manes was flead alive by the Persians Montanus became his own hangman like Judas Nestorius had his tongue eat a sunder with wormes Lucian was worried and torne in pieces with Doggs In a word God hath alwayes been so zealous in the defence of his truth that they who have opposed it have not escaped unpunished but howsoever he hath let them go on for a time yet in the end he hath payed them home bringing vengeance and destruction like a whirlewind upon them which evidently shewes that God is both the Author and Protector of the Scriptures Are the Scriptures then the word of God 1. Vse this therefore first serves te condemn the Papists who vilifie the Scriptures and magnifie traditions giving more then they should do unto traditions and less◠〈◊〉 Scriptures by making traditions to be more then they are and 〈◊〉 Scriptures lesse Which put me in mind of a certain Epitaph which one made of Erasmus and when he had made it he shewed it to his friend and willed him to read it The Epitaph was this Hic jacet Erasmus qui quondam bonus erat mus Rodere qui solitus roditur a vermibus Out upon 't saith his friend why what have you done be in bonus is short and you have made it long true saith the maker but therefore I hope ver in vermibus is long and I have made it short and so have made amends for the former fault And so do the Papists they give more then they should do unto traditions but therefore lesse to the Scriptures seeking to cover one fault with another and so double their fault and make it the greater Secondly 2. Vse This serves to condemn those who believe not the Scripture to be Gods word as they shew they do not who are not carefull to conforme their lives unto it For do they who securely go on in their sins believe what God threatens in his vvord against sinners Doth the profane swearer who can hardly speak a word but an Oath must follow it believe this for certain that God as he threatens will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain Exod. 20.7 Doth the common Drunkard believe this 1 Cor. 6.10 that no such shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Doth the Adulterer believe this that Whoremasters and Adulterers God will judge Heb. 13.4 Doth he that withholds the Labourers hire believe this James 5.4 that the hire of the Laborers doth crie in the eares of the Lord of Hosts Doth he that deferrs and puts of his repentance and yet presumes upon Gods mercy believe that to be true that they who despise the riches of Gods bounty and abuse his patience Rom. 3.5 treasure up wrath to themselves against the day of Wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God In a word doth any wicked liver believe this to be true Rom. 2.9 2 Thes 1.8 that tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soule that doth evill and that the Lord in flaming fire shall render vengeance to those that obey not the Gospell For if they believed these things it would strike such a terror into their soules that they
the Sonne of God that thou so little regardest him He loved us so dearly that he thought not his life too dear for us but suffered a most shamefull and accursed death to free us from the curse which was due unto us yet we for requitall of this his love though love be requited with nothing but love as fire is kindled with nothing but fire do so little regard him that we preferre our friends our pleasures our wealth and riches and for the most part whatsoever we love before him How farre are such from being able to say truly as the Church here doth I sought him whom my soule loves Her love unto Christ was not verbal and outward from the rine of the lipps but real and inward from the root of the heart from her soule and spirit her soule loved him she loved him as the Church Esay 26. desired and sought him with my soule have I desired thee in the night Esay 26.9 yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early She loved him as the blessed virgin magnified him My soule doth magnifie the Lord Luke 1.46.47 and my spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour She loved him as the Prophet David praysed him Prayse the Lord O my soule and all that is within me prayse his holy name Psal 103.1 Outward love from the lips may be false and counterfeâ— but inward love from the soule is alwayes unfained And such a love it is which Christ doth require and no other that we love him with the heart and with the soule with all the heart and with all the soule So precious doth he account our love that he will not have so much as the least grain of it lost but will have it all He hath millions of Angels that are inflamed with his love who love him far better then we do or can and our love unto Christ is no benefit to him he reapes no prophet nor advantage by it only because he loves us he desires again to be beloved of us and that unfainedly from our very soules He will not have the soule and love divided he likes not that soule that is without love nor that love which comes not from the soule If love come unto him and not from the soule before he admit it he will first aske whence it came as Micha asked the Levite before he received him And if the soule come unto him without love he will forbid it to come as Joseph forbad his Brethren Judges 17.9 Gen. 43. to come unto him without their Brother Benjamin And therefore if we will come unto Christ Gen. 43.3 we must come with love with love from our soules as the Church here doth I sought him whom my soule loves To draw then to a conclusion that we may be the more carefull to seek Christ let us meditate on those things which may kindle and inflame our love towards him by considering how he desires our love and deserves the same If a man have shewed us any extraordinary kindness and hath deserved our love we could not but condemn our selves of unthankfulness if we did not love him Nay though he have not deserved our love by any kindness he hath shewed us yet if we do but heare that he is desirous of our love because this is an argument that he loves us we will love him again But Christ doth both desire our love and deserve the same He desires our love not for his own but for our good that he might have occasion to requite our love And therefore he useth most forcible Reasons to procure our love Sometimes intreating us and making it his earnest suit that we would love him 2 Cor. 5.20 We saith the Apostle are Embassadors for Christ as God beseeching you by us we pray you in Christs stead but for what to be reconciled unto God Here is the strongest sute that ever was made God and man were fallen out man is the party that hath offended and God is the party that sues to be reconciled man that should intreat God that he would forgive him is intreated by God that he would be content to be forgiven Thus he sues for our love that should sue for his Nay he useth not onely intreaty to procure our love but likewise the promise of infinit rewards The eye saith the Apostle hath not seen the eare hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man what God hath prepared but for whom for them that love him Was it ever heard of since the World began that any man ever came to a poor begger and offring him meat that was ready to starve and to perish for hunger should intreat him to eat it and not onely so but witâ—al should promise to reward him for it But God though it be for our good that we love him for otherwise we cannot but everlastingly perish yet he intreats us that we would love him and not onely so but promiseth withall to reward our love with the Kingdom of Heaven So earnestly doth he desire our love And as he desires so he deserves our love If we should give a man but his diet or houseroome we would think we deserved he should loâ—e us for it How then doth he deserve our love that gives us every thing The very bread which we eat nay the breath which we breath we have it from him in whom we live and move and have our being and cannot live a minute without his blessing The least blessing he gives us deserves our love and we have nothing but our love to give him for all that he gives us So abundantly doth he deserve our love Great reason have we then to require his love in some measure by loving him unseignedly as the Church here doth I sought him whom my soule loves FINIS The Twelveth SERMON PROVERBS 30.8 Give me neither poverty nor riches THese words are part of Agurs Prayer and his Prayer in the whole verse consists of two parts a deprecation of evil and a Petition of good The evil which he deprecates or prayes against is of two sorts either such as is simply evil in it own nature as vanity and lying against which he prayes in the beginning of this verse Remove farre from me vanity and lies Or such as are not simplie evill in their own nature but yet may be occasions of evil as riches and poverty against which he prayes in the next words Give me neither poverty nor riches The good which he prayes for is a competent Estate in the end of this verse a mediocrity between the two extreams of want and superfluity Feed me with food convenient for me And these are the parts of the whole verse Here then he prayes that God would give him neither poverty nor riches neither over little nor over much that he may neither live in want nor yet in abundance not because these in themselves are evil but because they may be and
they that suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake it is not their suffering but their suffering for righteousnesse that makes them blessed Therefore the Apostles did not simply rejoyce in their sufferings Acts 5.41 but that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christs sake This was that which made Saint Paul so willing to suffer that being fore-told by Agabus Acts 21. That at Jerusalem he should be in bonds and be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles and being therefore intreated by the brethren that Acts 21.13 he would not go to Jerusalem What mean ye saith he to weep and to break my heart for I am ready not onely to be bound but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus And this was that which here imboldened Steven because it was for the Testimony of Christ that he suffered Martyrdome And so leaving the first point the person that was martyr'd I come to the second the kind of his Martyrdome and that was stoning They stoned Steven Our Saviour ye know fore-told his Disciples of the great persecution which they were to suffer Luke 9.23 Mat. 10.22 Mat. 10.16 Mat. 10.17 Mat. 23.34 That if any man would be his Disciple he must take up his Crosse every day and follow him that they should be hated of all men for his names sake that he sent them as sheep among wolves that they would be brought before the Councels and be scourged in their Synagogues that some of them should be slaine some stoned and some crucified All which not long after began to be accomplished To begin with the Apostles whom Christ vouchsafes the name of his friends John 15.15 John 15.7 Revel 1.9 John 21.17 Saint John the Disciple that Christ loved was condemned to banishment by the Emperor Domitian was banished into the Isle of Pathmos where he wrote the Book of the Revelation Saint Peter the Disciple that loved Christ was condemned by Nero to be crucified and was hanged on the Crosse as Saint Jerome writes with his head down-wards affirming himselfe unworthy to be crucified in the same manner that his Lord was Saint Andrew Peters brother was likewise crucified imbracing the Crosse saith Bernard and saying Per te me recipiat qui per te me redemit Let him receive me by thee who by thee redeemed me and hanging on the Crosse three dayes before he died converted many in the mean time to Christ Saint James the elder the Son of Zebedec and Saint Johns brother was killed with the sword and the person as Clemens Alexandrinus writes that had accused him when he saw him condemned was so moved therewith that he profest himself to be a Christian and having asked forgivenesse of Saint James was beheaded with him Saint James the younger the son of Alpheus and Bishop of Jerusalem because he would not deny Christ to be the Son of God was thrown down headlong from the battlements of the Temple and being still alive though both his thighes were broke his braines were dashed out as Egesippus writes with a Fullers club Saint Thomas who would not believe that Christ was risen from the dead except he might put his hand into the wound which the launce had made was afterwards in India as some Authours report thrust through with a launce because he would not worship the image of the Sun which was worshipt by them Saint Paul was beheaded in Rome by Nero on the same day as some do write that Peter was crucified and so that may not unfitly be applied to them which David said of Saul and Ionathan They were lovely in their lives and in their deaths they were not devided 2 Sam. 1.23 I might further instance in the rest of the Apostles and in the bloudy persecutions which afterwards followed wherein there was made such havock of the Church that if Ievemie or David had lived in those dayes there had been matter for the one to have made new Lamentations and for the other to sit weeping by the walls of Babylon when he remembred Sion Thus in these was verefied what our Saviour fore-told concerning the persecution which they were to suffer and the first of them all which brake as it were the ice and led the way to the rest was Steven here who was stoned to death A kind of death which was appointed by God for idolaters blasphemers and malefactors that others seeing what punishment they suffered might be kept from committing the like sins for fear of undergoing the like punishment So we see Deut. 13. That the idolater that inticed the people to serve other gods Deut. 13.10.11 was by Gods commandement to be stoned to deat that all Israel might hear and fear and the like might not be done any more in Israel So he that blasphemed the Name of the Lord Levit. 24.23 Levit. 24. was stoned to death by the whole Congregation as God commanded I might instance in others So that stoning was a punishment appointed by God for wicked persons yet Steven that was a holy man was here stoned Here then we may observe from the kind of his Martyrdome which was stoning That we are not to judge of a man by the kind of his death because sometimes the godly die the same kind of death that the wicked do 1. King 16. Ahab ye know was a most wicked King that served Baul and polluted the worships and service of God so that it is said of him that he did more to provoke the Lord to anger then all the Kings of Israel that were before him Josiah on the contrary was a most religious King that brought Iudah and Ierusalem from their idolatry and restored Gods service so that it is said of him That like unto him there was no King before him 2. King 23. that turned to the Lord with all his heart neither after him arose there any like him Yet these two brethren that were so unlike in their lives were alike in their deaths both were slain in the warres by the hands of their enemies The like may be said of Ionathan and Saul a good Son of a bad Father yet both of them slain in the field together So seditious Sheba that conspired against David died the same kind of death that Iohn the Baptist did for they were both beheaded and Steven here dyed the same kind of death that Achan did for they were both stoned Doct. In a vvord There is hardly any death that can be names but some of the godly have been put thereunto as well as the wicked And therefore vve are not to judge of any by the kind of his death that he died vvell or ill because that kind of death vvhich befalls one may befall an other We commonly judge the vvorse of a man if his death be sudden and count sudden death a fearfull thing as indeed it is especially if it be a violent death vvithall It vvas a fearfull kind a death which Charles
Scripture having likewise fore-spoken of the end of the world and of Christs second coming they shall also be fulfilled in their due time For Gods will is immutable and what he hath said must needs come to passe at the time appointed Secondly Gods justice requires that all men should be rewarded according to their works and therefore that the wicked should hereafter be punisht and the godly comforted We see many times that the wicked do persecute and oppresse the godly and such as are great do wrong the poor and defraud them of their right and yet in this world they escape unpunisht It remaines therefore that if God be just their judgement is reserved till another world that the wicked howsoever they live here in prosperity may there be punisht and that the godly who live here in affliction and miserie may be refresht and comforted For it is a righteous thing with God as the Apostle saith to recompence tribulation to them which trouble you 2 Thes 1. and to you which are troubled rest with us when the Lord Iesus shall shew himselfe from heaven with his mighty Angels Thirdly If there should not hereafter be a day of judgement then many sinnes which have been committed here in secret should never come to light and so Gods justice in punishing offenders could not so well be made known and manifest and therefore that hypocrites may be known and discovered and the very thoughts of their hearts and their most secret sinnes which have been concealed from the eyes of the world may be laid open it is necessary that there should be a day of judgement that so Gods justice may the better appear in their condemnation I might alleadge other reasons but I think it needlesse seeing the coming of this day is so certain that the Apostle saith here You your selves know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes And therefore I will come to the next point That though it be certaine that this day Will come yet when it will come it is uncertaine as the Apostle here shews by saying it so comes as is thiefe in the night Whose coming is on the suddain and when it is not expected Therefore the coming of Christ to judgement is likened by him sometime to the coming of the floud that drowned the old world So Mat. 24. Mat. 24.38 As in the dayes that came before the floud they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage untill the day that Noah entred into the Ark and knew not untill the floud came and took them all away so shall also the coming of the Son of man be Sometimes his coming is likened to a snare So Christ having fore-told us Luke 21.34.35 Luke 21. of his coming to judgement Take heed saith he to your selves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkennesse and the cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares for as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth Snares ye know are laid for birds wilde beasts while they do not suspect them they securely seek their food and follow the prey as they use to do and are suddenly taken So shall many be at the day of judgement while they are following the profits pleasures of this world as they are accustomed to do this day shall come as a snare upon them when they think not of it And sometimes his coming is resembled to the coming of a thiefe in the night A similitude which is often used in the Gospell first by our Saviour and afterwards borrowed from him by his Apostles Christ saith Mat. 24. Mat. 24.43 know this that if the good-man of the house had known in what watch the thiefe would have come he would have watched and would nat have suffered his house to be broken up watch therefore for ye know not in what houre your Lord doth come So Revel 3. Revel 3.3 If thou shalt not watch I will come on thee saith our Saviour as a thiefe and thou shalt not know at what houre I will come So Saint Peter 2 Pet. 3.10 The day of the Lord comes as a thiefe in the night and so Saint Paul here The day of the Lord comes as a thiefe in the night To shew that it will come at unawares and when it is not expected A thiefe ye know will not come openly to a house in the day when men may see him but he will come in the night when candles are out and men are asleep and think not of him So will the day of the Lord come it will not come on the sudden before men be aware and take them unprovided when it comes upon them If then the coming of this day be unknown this argues their folly who presume to set down the particular time when this day will come though our Saviour saith plainly Mat. 24. Mat. 24.36 That of that day and houre knowes no man no nor the Angels of Heaven but his Father onely For other matters God hath revealed in the Scriptures the definitive time when they should come to passe So for the old World to repent before the coming of the floud Gen. 6.3 Gen. 15.13 Jer. 25.11 Dan. 9.25 he set down an hundred and twenty years So for the Israelites to be afflicted in the Land of Egypt four hundred years For the captivity in Babylon he set down seventy years And for Christ first coming seventy weeks But for his second coming he hath not any where set down the time but concealed it from us and therefore for any man to enquire thereinto as many have done is but vaine curiosity because it is not for us to know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power For God hath concealed this day from us that we might continually expect this day least it come upon us at unawares Therefore our Saviour whensoever he makes mention of his coming to judgement he wills us to watch that we may be prepared and ready at the time whensoever he comes And indeed great reason If we have a cause to be tryed before an earthly Judge especially if it be in a matter of any great moment as such as concernes our Land and inheritance ye know what great paines we will take before-hand that we may be provided against our cause be handled we will search out our records we will read over our evidences We will make ready our Witnesse and not willingly omit any course we can take that sentence may be pronounced on our side we have every one of us a cause to be tried at the day of judgement even the weightiest cause that ever was handled not concerning our Lands or inheritance but concerning a matter of farre greater importance even the everlasting salvation or damnation of our bodies and soules and therefore it behoves us continually to watch and to be alwayes