grievous punishment than wee or others are but before this day it is not Christian-like it is not safe to say or thinke that this man is a more grievous sinner than wee our selves are for than this man deserves to be more grievously plagued than wee our selves or others whom wee thinke well of so long as either they or wee have one houres space left for repentance To judge of the measure of any mans sinnes by the manner of his punishments here on earth or to determine of his future estate by his present death or disaster is to usurpe or trench upon Christ Iesus his royall prerogative which to prejudice by word or sentence interlocutory which to preoccupate by any peremptory or censorious thought is more than a praemunire a branch of high treason or rebellion against him Besides this exception which cleerely infringes the former allegations for judging of the cause by the effect or measuring mens sinnes by the manner of their visible punishments many positive reasons there be which might perswade us that our most good and gracious God without impeachment unto his unchangeable mercy and justice may and often doth in this life shew extraordinary mercy to extraordinary sinners and recompence ordinary sinners men not so sinfull as the best of us account our selves to be with extraordinary punishments in this life Both parts of this allegation may bee proved by instance and by rule by examples of Scripture and by reason grounded on Scripture First because such as have beene extraordinary sinners have obtained extraordinary mercy There was not an honest matron or unmarried woman in in the land of Iudea or Galilee but would have taken it for a defamation to have beene compared to Mary Magdalen Shee was a notorious sinner in that notorious sinne of wantonnesse and uncleanenesse and yet obtained greater mercy than any woman of her time besides the blessed Virgin Mary for shee was endowed with an extraordinary measure of that excellent gift of love and charity Our Saviour gives her this testimony that shee loved much And the reason why shee loved much was because many sinnes and those of the worst kind of sinnes were forgiven her Here was mercy two wayes extraordinary First in that shee had many such sinnes foregiven her Secondly in that shee loved much For this extraordinary measure of love through the same goodnesse of God by which it was given her was to have an extraordinary reward Againe what disciple or Apostle of our Saviour was there which might not have upbraided Peter with extraordinary ingratitude which is the height of sinne for denying his Lord and master three severall times expressely and in a manner judicially And yet for all this Gods mercy and gratious favour towards him was extraordinary even in respect of other disciples and Apostles the disciple whom Iesus loved only excepted Paul for a long time was a blaspheamer of the evangelicall truth a more furious persecutor of such as followed the waies of life then the Prince of his tribe King Saul had beene of righteous David And yet this man from a notorious sinner from a persecuting Saul was changed into a zealous Paul became a valiant champion for the faith more zealous in maintaining it than hee had beene furious in persecuting such as professed it And this suddaine and extraordinary change was wrought by the extraordinary mercy of God But doe not these and the like instances or examples of Gods extraordinary mercy favour and bounty towards extraordinary and notorious sinners no way prejudice or impeach the unchangeable mercy of God or his impartiall dealing with men No for the extraordinary mercy which hee shewed did not extend to them only but to all extraordinary sinners in the like kind unto the worlds end His extraordinary mercy and favour unto Mary Magdalen was as a pledge of his mercy and favour to all like sinners of her sexe so they would by true repentance accept and embrace his mercy and favour manifested unto her If any which heare or read of his mercy exhibited to her doe finally perish their perdition is from themselues If any truely repent their salvation and repentance by which they become immediatly capable of salvation is from the Lord. Gods extraordinary mercy unro Peter who had in a manner made shipwrack of his faith was as secunda tabula post naufragium as a planck or mast cast out after shipwrack not only for his succour but for the succour of all the Iewish nation which had denied the Lord that bought them As many of this nation as after Peters conversion were converted and saved their conversion and salvation was meerely from the Lord as many of them as perished did therefore perish because they did not repent as Peter did and they did therefore not repent because they did not lay Gods mercies towards him and to their country-men converted by him to their hearts That extraordinary mercy againe which God exhibited unto Paul yeelds the assurance of faith a sure anchor of hope to all persecutors of the Church whether Heathens Turkes or Infidels that there is plenteous redemption with God in Christ mercy plenteous to worke repentance in them and by repentance compleat redemption of body and soule As many of Turkes or other infidels as doe not repent and by their not repentance perish their perdition or not repentance is from themselues Not the saluation only but the repentance of such as doe repent is meerely from God and this God our Lord who is rich in mercy towards all did worke repentance in Mary Magdalene in Saint Peter and Saint Paul by meanes and motiues extraordinary that all such sinners as they were might belieue and knowe that no sinners are excluded from possibility of repentance in this life but that the mercy which he shewed to them by meanes extraordinary is daily exhibited by meanes ordinary that is by the administration of the word and sacraments vnto all that doe not wilfully exclude themselues The second point proposed was that God doth award extraordinary visible punishments vnto ordinary sinners without impeachment to his vnchangeable justice or to that ingraffed notion which all Christians haue of his unpartiall dealing with the sonnes of men It was an extraordinary visitation wherewith he visited the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and their territories 1. Sam. 6. 19. for he smote of the people fiftie thousand threescore and tenne men because they had looked into the Arke of the Lord. It was likewise an extraordinary punishment upon Vzzah who being but a Leuite did touch the Arke of the Lord. 2. Sam. 6. 6. For he was smitten with suddaine death from which kinde of punishment all of us doe pray or ought to pray that the Lord would deliuer us But may wee therefore conclude that these men of Bethshemesh were sinners above all the men of Iudah or that Vzzah was a more grievous sinner than any Levite of his age on whom the Lord did not shew like punishments God
consilio alius magistro alius patrocinio nullus Deo miramur si nobis coelestis manus non praestet cui quicquid praestiterit derogamus If God at any time give prosperous successe to our proceedings beyond our hope and merit on ascribes this to fortune another to good hope or chance none to God We may conclude this point with the Psalmists testimony Except the Lord build the house they labour in vaine that build it Except the Lord keepe the City the watchman waketh but in vaine Psal. 127. 1. We shall no way pervert his words if we thus invert or extend their sence Except the Lord be purposed to ruinate the house they labour in vaine that seeke to ruinate it except the Lord delivers up the city into their hands they that beseige it beseige it in vaine and if all endeavours without his ratification of them be vaine then it is he that doth all in all it is he not the aire elements or hoste of heaven that bringeth scarcity famine or pestilence upon the land it is he not the enemy which wounds or weakens any state or kingdome But if all calamity be inflicted by his hand who can take off what he hath laid on who can heale where the great Physitian himselfe hath wounded But the question is not what man can doe when any calamity befals him but rather what he which can doe all things will have man to doe for himselfe Now it is not his will that we should in this case sit downe and doe nothing The ascribing of all the successe of our labours unto him doth teach us only to abandon all reliance upon our owne endeavours or consultations not the consultations or endeavours themselves It should be the first and last of all our endeavours carefully to consecrate all our consultations and enterprises unto him who alone is able to give a blessing unto them It is most true all our strength is but weaknesse in respect of him yet true with this exception unlesse we rely upon his strength It is true mans wisdome is but folly and yet true againe that our wisdome becomes more then mans wisdome by relying upon his wisdome with the strength of our hearts and affections Now for the strengthening of our reliance upon his wisdome strength and providence and for consecrating our endeavours aright two things are required 1. the right information of our understanding in point of Doctrine 2. sincerity of practise answerable to the right information of our understanding The first and generall part of Doctrine is the second point proposed that noe calamity or wound in state though inflicted by the immediate hand of God is altogether incurable if the remedy be sought in time This point of Doctrine is grounded upon another speciall principle of faith to wit that our gracious God in his severest punishments is a most just judge he doth not immediately delight in the exercises of punitive justice as he doth in the exercises of justice mercies and loving kindnesses He bestowes his blessings of prosperity freely and for his owne names sake not for our sakes or deservings He never plagueth any nation meerly for his owne names sake or of his owne accord but as provoked by their ill deservings Deus non priui est ultor quam homo peccator God never proceeds to revenge before man hath done him manifest wrong Poena semper sequitur culpam Punishment never hath precedency of offences but alwayes followes them and for the most part in great distance This truth or principle of faith is expressly supposed by the wise King in this Chap. v. 24. and if thy people Israel be put to the worse before their enemy because they have sinned against thee This inferres that they should not be punished with so much as losse of victory or defeate unlesse they had first sinned against their God and againe v. 26. when the heaven is shut up and there is no raine because they have sinned against thee This teacheth us the truth of that which an ancient father hath nos mutamus naturam rerum we exchange the nature of the creature and divert the sweet influence of heaven from our selves by changing from better to worse and by our turning from God Quid ergo de poenarum acerbitate quaerimur unusquisque nostrum ipse se punit They are the expostulation of Salvian with the Christians of his time which had beene often overcome and long prest by barbarous and hereticall nations But why doe we complaine that our punishment is bitter and grievous seeing every one of us doth punish himselfe But here happly some will make that objection against the former point which Salvian makes against himselfe by way of prevention if all punishment or calamity be from God how are we said to punish our selues His answere is very satisfactory Vtrumque verum est a deo quippe punimur sed ipsi facimus ut puniamur Lib. 8. Num. 264. Both are true we are punished by God but t is our owne doing that we are punished The manner and order by which mankind fall into extreamity of punishment whether temporall or everlasting that he collects out of that saying of the Prophet Esay Chap. 50. v. 11. This good father albeit he lived in the miserable times wherein the visible feature of Christs Church and of Christendome was much defaced by the wounds and scars which had beene given by barbarous hands yet was herein happy that he might freely avouch the unspeakable mercies of God and extend his unfeigned love to all even to those which perished in their sinnes without censure of heresie or persecution by men of his owne profession It was no scruple to his tender conscience to averre nor was the often averring it any imputation unto him for many generations that God did punish us invitus against his will but he was willing to heale the wounds which he had made that men did constraine him to continue or increase his plagues when he was otherwise ready to take off his punishing hand But some in latter yeares question and would to God they did but question whether punitive iustice be as direct an effect of Gods primary will or as primarily intended by him in respect of some men as the exercise of bounty and mercy toward others But if this Doctrine were positively determined the calamities which befall most states and kingdomes would be more incurable and all endeavours of reformation lesse available then is behoofefull for them to beleeve they are Howbeit some passages of sacred writ therebe which either naturally run or have beene drawne this way as if punitive iustice were the marke or ayme of meanes offered by God for so that place and the Apostle Rom. 1. 20. The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are cleerly seene to the intent that they should be without excuse But this expression of the originall is worthily corrected by the latter English God did
into the hand of them that seeke their life and into the hand of the King of Babilons armie which are gone up from you Behold I will command saith the Lord and cause them to returne to this city and they shall fight against it and take it and burne it with fire and I will make the city of Iudah a desolation without an inhabitant Yet was not this sentence though thus uttered with indignation as yet altogether unchangeable much lesse was this peoples safety peremptorily decreed by God as their false Prophets misperswaded them This errour concerning the tenour of Gods decree or covenant being planted in them the Egiptians expedition against the Caldean armie for Ierusalems succour might with faire applause be pretended as a meane ordained by God for effecting their safety To quell this their vaine confidence in the strength of Egipt the Prophet reavoucheth his former message with some additions Ier. 37. 7. 8. 9. This saith the Lord God of Israel thus shall ye say to the King of Iudah that sent you unto me to enquire of me Behold Pharaohs army which is come forth to helpe you shall returne to Egipt into their own land and the Caldeans shall come againe and fight against the city and take it and burne it with fire thus saith the Lord deceive not your selves saying the Caldeans shall surely depart from us for they shall not depart For though yee had smitten the whole armie of Caldeans that fight against you and there remained but wounded men among them yet should they rise up every man in his tent and burne this city with fire Yet was not the event here foretold at this time altogether inevitable but inevitable only upon their refusall to obey the Prophets counsell for after this time the same Prophet shews King Zedechiah a way or meane ordained by God which if he had followed a great part of this calamity so peremptorily denounced might have beene avoided Ierem. 38. 17. Then said Ieremiah unto Zedechiah thus saith the Lord God of Israel if thou wilt assurely goe forth unto the King of Babilon then thy soule shall live and this city shall not be burnt with fire and thou shalt live and thine house But if thou wilt not goe forth to the King of Babilons Princes then shall this city be given into the hands of the Caldeans and they shall burne it with fire and thou shalt not escape out of their hands This was the last warning which he was to expect from God by his Prophet for his peace But not hearkning unto his voice whilst it was called to day but seeking to escape the Iudgements denounced by flight he inevitably brought them upon himselfe upon his Princes upon the temple in a greater measure especially as they concerned himselfe and his house then they had beene threatned When the Caldean Princes entred the city Zedechiah and the men of warre fled out of the city by night but the Caldeans hoste pursued after them and overtooke Zedechiah in the desert of Iericho and brought him to Nebuchadnezar King of Babell unto Riblah where he slew the sons of Zedechiah before his eies and all the nobles of Iudah a lamentable farewell to the sence of sight and liberty for immediatly after he put out Zedechiahs eyes and put him in chaines to cary him to Babilon v. 7. Thus have you heard how Ierusalē and Iudah came to a lamentable tragicall end by diseases in their nature not incurable but made such by their own wilfulnesse in not hearkning to the voice of Gods Prophets Did then the wisdōe of God who out of compassion sent his Prophets unto them whilst the first temple stood come in person himselfe to increase the misery of that generation with whom he converst here on earth or to destroy the second temple with a more fearefull destruction then had befallen the first That this generation became a prey in the issue to the Roman vultures was not from want of good will in him to gather them but from their unwillingnesse to be gathered under his wings witnesse himselfe Mat. 23. 37. Ierusalem Ierusalem c. But did he speake this as God or as man a captious question What if I should say that it was vox humana and yet vox Dei the voice of God uttered by man the very personall voice of the sonne of God as S. Luke testifies He spake as never man spake and was so affected towards Ierusalem as never man was affected The Prophet Ieremy after he had seene that tragedy really acted which he had represented in words did wish his head had beene a fountaine of teares that hee might weepe day and night for the slain of his people The wisdome and sonne of God became a more sorrowfull spectatour of a second tragedy of Ierusalem not as yet within forty yeares probability to be acted when he came neare saith S. Luke 19. 41. he beheld the city and wept for it saying Oh if thou had'st even knowne at the least in this day those things which belong unto thy peace but now are they hid from thine eyes These his teares though he wept as man were a visible expression of his divine inexpressible love toward Ierusalem and her inhabitants after they had deserved this ill at his hands stifly bent to deserve much worse As yet it was called to day but this was a criticall day and full of danger howbeit Ierusalems sin was not sealed up untill the signe of the Prophet Ionas was expired After his Resurection from the dead Ierusalem had yet forty dayes for repentance as Nineveh had for so long our Saviour remained here on earth but Ierusalems Children not repenting within that time as Nineveh did their estate became as desperate as their murmuring fore-Fathers had been in the wildernes they were to wander forty yeares in the wildernesse before any of them could enter into the land of promise and as many as were aboue twenty yeares being cut off by oaths from all hopes or possibilities of entring in at all This generation whom our Saviour here forwarnes were to continue in it forty yeares which being expired they and their Children haue beene exterminated and banished from it for almost forty times forty yeares During the forty yeares wherein they were permitted to remaine in it their estate was no lesse miserable then their fore-Fathers had beene in the wildernesse There dyed in the wildernesse almost six hundred thousand men of this latter generation well nigh twice as many within the same compasse of time did die more miserably Ierusalem being first made their prison afterwards their grave first an heape of carkasses and then a heape of stones Now seeing as our Apostle saith these Iewes did not stumble to the end that they should fall but rather that by their fall salvation might come unto the Gentiles let us beseech our gratious God that from Ierusalems ruine we may in time and whilst it is called to day seeke