things but in mans imagination and conceite onely and hinder themselues it may be others likewise by their bad example also from the sight and sense of sinne yea from religious repentance and godly sorrow for the same whereby they might be led vnto amendment of life not to bee repented of and plunge themselues into innumerable paines of bodie and soule here and without speciall fauour and grace of forgiuenes from God who onely forgiueth sinnes into euerlasting tormērs in the world to come Wheras Gods children are so far off from entering into these corrupted courses that many times before iudgements I will not say haue seazed vpon them but euen before they haue beene threatned against them haue yet in the reuerend feare which they haue had in their harts of them either humbled themselues and as we may say preuented the pouring foorth of Gods wrath vpon them or else at the thundering out of the same or the first stroake thereof laide vpon them haue soundly and speedily cast downe themselues at the feete of Gods mercie in faith vnfained and sincere repentance so if not remoued the temporary or outwarde punishment and yet vpon their submission God hath been pleased many times graciously to graunt the same haue notwithstanding found fauor from the Lord to vndergoe it for the present with patience and prayer and sincerely to profite by it yea indeed to ouercome it to Christian mortification and holy obedience As for the ends why God should strike vs we must know and beleeue that it is impossible that they should be whether wee respect them in themselues or as they proceed from him that is onely good of any other nature than hee is For as all his affections and actions are meerely and absolutely good so must also all his purposes and the ends that he aimeth at be likewise though alwaies happilie by reason of Satans malice and mans corruption they bring not forth this effect in man To make this plaine by some particulars His loue is absolutelie good and no man that knoweth what either GOD or nature meaneth can deny it for if the loue of earthly creatures as of parentes to children husbandes to wiues friendes to friends c. bee good and lawfull then that which is in and from the diuine maiestie must much more be so because it is more certaine more holy and indeed infinite he hauing it also in himselfe and of himselfe absolutely perfectly good whereas others haue it but by communication and that in measure and in men much vitiated and corrupted thorow the taint of originall sinne And yet this so excellently and absolutely good he laboureth to manifest as in the correction of all men generally so particularly of his owne people and children according to which the spirite saith in the Apostle to the Hebrewes My sonne despise not the chastening of the Lorde neither faint when thou art rebuked of him for whome the Lord loueth he chastiseth and hee scourgeth euery sonne that he receiueth And if we bee without correction whereof all are partakers than are we bastards and not sons and dauhgters Wherefore sith in this and such like actions hee aimeth at the manifestation of his loue and that is indeede the principall end of his chastisements specially as in regard of his owne people it cannot be but good True it is that flesh and bloud seeth not this nor thinketh so The reason is because their eyes are blind and their vnderstandings darke But as it is not reason because a blinde man beholdeth not the Sunne to conclude there is no Sunne so is it absurd to say because the wicked worldlings neither feele nor feare these things therefore they are not For these are as all the rest of the things of God specially as in respect of his purpose end spirituall and therefore must bee spiritually discerned but they are carnall and sold vnder sinne Againe in as much as since the deprauation corrupting of Gods image wee are nothing els but both in bodie and soule tainted with all manner of euill and sith that euen since our regeneration and new birth wee carrie about with vs so long as wee dwell in these houses of clay and earthly tabernacles the relikes and remainders of sinne and we know by the light of the word euery where almost reuealing it and by the stinging testimony of our owne heart which euen telleth it vs euery day that wee rise vp and euery night that we lye down that sinne displeaseth his blessed maiestie and God hath appointed punishments and corrections both outward inwarde as one speciall meane to represse the rage and power of euill in vs whilest it scoureth from vs the drosse of our corruption and so mortifying in some measure sinne in vs fashioneth vs the better and more effectually vnto sanctification for this wee may assure our selues of that the decay of the one is the increase of the other we may euen thereby see as if it were in a most cleere and liuely looking glasse that he aimeth at in these corrections which he hath sealed not onely his owne glorie but our good both temporall and eternal in this work of fatherly chastisement and affliction And this sure cannot chuse but be good also howsoeuer somtimes by reason of the thicke clowde of our owne corruption interposed between Gods works and our reformed iudgement wee cannot so sensibly see or so plainly perceiue the same as we would or should Neither is this al the bettering of vs in this life but for as much as our good estate here is in the purpose and councell of God yet through his owne mercie and grace onely infinitely as I may say to be bettered in the life that is to come and afflictions doe not only frame vs to obedience in this world but in some sort pledge vp vnto vs the saluation of our soules in eternall blessednes according to which the Apostle affirmeth We are chastened of the Lorde in this world that wee should not perish with the wicked in that which is to come And againe the spirit in another place sayth By many tribulations we must enter into the kingdome of God Men by all this should be perswaded of the holy purposes blessed ends of Gods visitation and earnestly labour by these sith God also himselfe is pleased by them to aime at that end and to effect that grace in vs to be out of loue and liking with this present euill world and all the vanities and delights of the same vsing it and them no further than as by it and them we may be furthered in more excellent graces and to hunger and thirst after that eternal felicitie that is laid vp in the heauens for all those that in faith patience prayer and other good works looke for and long after his blessed appearing Thus we see what God mindeth to effect by striking vs but whether these fruites follow in mē let our own practise declare We are
so far off from taking these things as pledges of his loue that the more he layeth vpon vs that way the more we thinke he hateth vs. And the reason is because we measure these matters not by the line or elne of reason reformed or religious reason but by our vnderstanding much corrupted defaced frō that integritie which it had in creation And then how can we in that darkenes see light seeing that hindereth vs frō beholding graces more cleere than these that are to be seene in afflictions and corrections And if wee cannot see in them his loue till the thicke scales of our ignorāce be pulled frō the eies of our minds and vnderstanding howe shall wee perceiue that he assayeth our good therem til the same also be remoued and taken away For as we are hardly perswaded of this that strokes testifie the fauor of him that soundly roundly layeth them vpon vs so shall flesh bloud neuer yeelde to this that blowes better vs till the hearte specially inlightned beleeue the same and wee know either by experience in our selues or by obseruation in others that they haue not by nature but by grace gained that glorious issue The like may wee say of pledging vp vnto vs the hope of heauen For what man if hee haue not more in him than man will imagine that so harde a measure of afflictions and sorrowes as lie not onely vpon the backs but are in the soules of men yea godly men should testifie vnto them such heauenly graces wee rather say and see that the father that beateth the child much and often hardly mindeth to giue him the inheritance and to make him Lord and heire of all Howbeit Gods word telleth vs that it is far otherwise with Gods elect for if wee suffer with Christ wee shall raigne with him and being made conformable vnto him in his afflictions wee shall also bee like him in glory wee knowing that the momentany and light afflictions of this life doe cause vnto vs or bring with them a farre most excellent and eternall waight of glory Nowe whether in these points it be better for vs to beleeue God and his holy worde or to trust our owne reason and humane iudgement I had almost said let all the world iudge but let the godly especially speake their mindes and deliuer their sentence according to truth and right Whatsoeuer hitherto hath beene deliuered concerneth especially either the narration it selfe and the thing done as we say or els some profitable pointes arising therefrom or appertaining thereto All which no doubt of it are profitable if they bee laide to heart to build vs vp in knowledge and iudgement But there is another thing besides that as in all causes generally so particularly in this wee must carefully labour to attaine to and that is conscience of the things that wee know care to profite by them to the bettering of vs in this life before God and man and in our owne hearts also that so in the comfortable feeling of it we may haue assurance of hope and heart that we shall not be confounded in that which is to come And to this we cannot come or bee brought but by making speciall vse of and particular applying vnto our owne soules the points of instruction or the seuerall and sundrie actions that God doth for or amongst the sonnes of men Without which indeed as in the publike ministerie all paines taken is but labour lost and as it were wordes spoken in the aire as the examples of former ages and the experience of our owne times doe but too sufficiently shewe so in al priuate doctrines or documents whether they be deliuered by the audible voice of man or propounded vnto vs by the workes of God in his mercie towards his owne people or in his iudgements towardes the wicked will bee at the most but as a wonder of nine daies as we say in the Prouerbe and like vnto water spilt vpon the ground True it is and I am sure euery good man will confesse it that neither the one nor the other can indeed either do vs good in this life or further vs vnto eternall saluation to make vs without excuse and defence before God and in our selues I denye not but some power they haue otherwise than as they are sanctified by the almightie working of the blessed spirite And therefore when or where or howsoeuer God dealeth with vs we should presently and vnfainedly humble our selues in prayer and call and craue for grace to profit thereby Howbeit though that I meane the gracious worke of Gods spirit in our hearts be a principall meane of our spirituall profiting yet neither is it the only neither indeed doth it fol low thereupon that the others aboue recited should be reiected or refused For euen as in our naturall life the first and chiefe cause of all is God himselfe who as he giueth it vs so vpholdeth it and maintaineth it according to his good wil that being here true that the Apostle saith In him we liue we moue haue our being and yet no man so vnwise as to refuse meate drinke cloth sleepe and other necessary helps and aides that way for that were to tempt God and to liue if some one or other could doe it rather a miraculous than a naturall life so in our spirituall life though God by his holy spirite worke all in all in the hearts of them that he hath marked out vnto eternall blessednes yet no man that feareth God or careth for his owne saluation neglecteth much lesse despiseth the worde sacraments prayer admonitions exhortations rebukes publike priuate c. but more carefully frequenteth and more religiously vseth the same and laboureth more to treasure thē vp in his heart for goodnes than hee doth all or any of the outward things appertaining to the body or naturall man And euen so is it in this case of applying to our purpose and making vse in our soules of the waies and works of God generall or particular open or secret To that therefore wee come as indeed vnto the life and soule of the other thinges before going and therein direct our speech as first to the whole land generally who vpon euery such particular occasion should make speciall profite as well because all the seuerall members in a kingdome or in a Church make but one politicall or ecclesiasticall bodie and therefore if one suffer all should suffer and if one reioyce all should do likewise as also because some in Gods purpose and iudgement are striken that all or many others at the least might amende because all haue sinued and gone astraye and stand in neede of the grace of God And this is that surely that our Sauiour meaneth when in the Gospell hee saith were those Galileans whose bloud Pilate mingled with their sacrifices greater sinners than all the other I tell you nay but except ye amend your liues ye shall all likewise perish so secondly to the
The ciuill Magistrate saith either he hath no law to punish it or correcteth it at the most with a simple whipping and as for those that haue the ecclesiasticall censures in their hands they surely haue no will to do it but vse their authoritie rather to picke mens purses than to instruct their consciences and to conuert men vnto God Yea I wish with al my heart that euen the very ministers themselues to whom for ought I see there is no other thing left to represse euil by than crying out against iniquity were not in this as in other matters of as great consequence tongue-tied and mute or else as the prophet saith in another place that they were light and wicked persons and had polluted the sanctuarie and wrested the lawe To rehearse all transgressions in the seuerall sortes and particularities of them would be too lōg and tedious take one therefore and the same as the most common so the most grieuous that by it we may iudge also of the rest the prophanation of the Sabbath is the sin that I meane Where is the man woman or child that hath care and conscience publikely to sanctifie it either by reuerent and religious preparing of themselues to come to publike assemblies as they should or to repayre thither duetifullie as they ought or to carrie themselues there as beseemeth such heauenly exercises of prayer preaching c. What househoulder man or woman what childe what seruant hath any regard priuately to spend it well in meditation and conference of things publikely taught them in singing of psalmes in prayer in thinking seriously vpon the creatures in visiting the sicke in dooing the workes of charitie and christian loue Or rather who prophaneth it not in publike and in priuate by themselues and in company and in euery place almost some by thinking it to be a day of bodily rest only and therefore giue themselues and theirs ouer to sleepe more and longer then than on other dayes besides other some making no more account of the holy assemblies of the church and religious exercises therein than of prophane and common meetings nor so much many times and receiuing the word with no more reuerence attention than a prophane tayle other some sitting idle at their doores gaping and gazing suffering yea some times commaunding their seruants and children to abuse it by dicing daunsing carding stoole-ball playing and other vnlawfull and wicked recreations others also poasting ouer their worldly affayres as matters of accountes repayring to Iustices for execution of law visiting and intertaining their friendes and such other worldly things to that daye with a thousand such like abominations fearefully committed and performed vpon that daye that of all others should bee best spent For these may not wee saye as the Prophet speaketh in cases of meaner importance Shall not the land tremble for this and euery one mourne that dwelleth therein Or as another Prophet speaketh against the people that descended frō Iaakob for their pride contempt of Gods word and other iniquities Aram before and the Philistines behinde and they shall deuoure Israel with open mouth and yet for all this his wrath is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still and good reason for the people turneth not vnto him that striketh them iustly for their sinnes neither doe they seeke the Lord of hostes therefore will the Lord cut off from Israel head and tayle branch and bodie in one day The auncient and the honorable man hee is the head and the Prophet that teacheth lies he is the tayle with many such other things as follow in that ninth chapter of Isatah which I would desire the godly reader with care to looke vpon and in conscience to make vse of For who knoweth whether this bee yet the day of Gods grace offered and the acceptable time if it be receiued Or who can tell whether this bee not a foretelling and a fore-running signe also that the land may and that or euer it be long for ought we know bee consumed with fire from the West by the Turke Pope Spaniard other instruments of Gods wrath to punish a sinfull and rebellious nation All which would bee glad not only for the inlarging of their territories and kingdomes but euen of hatred more than cruell and bloodie against vs to whet their teeth vpon our bodies and bones and to bath their swords in our blood or else who can or dare say that this may not be an assured testimonie that the Lord Iesus shall shortly come in the cloudes in a melting and consuming fire going before him and destroying all things with great power and glory to iudge the quick and the dead Sin not at the height it is at doth in full prouoke the one with earnestnes calleth for our aduersaries to come out against vs in troopes and armies and on the other side all signes if I be not deceiued that should goe before that great and terrible daye of the Lorde bee accomplished already Sith things then are so vncertaine that wee knowe not when nor where nor how the Lord will come vpon vs and yet wee cannot but feare that hee is nigh euen at the doore why should wee deferre with the wicked euen therein or thereby causing the Lordes wrath to breake forth against vs to our vtter confusion or rather considering that all these things must bee dissolued why doe wee not make this vse of it to learne what manner of people wee should bee in holy conuersation and godly life looking for hastning vnto the comming of that day of the Lord by the which the very heauens being on fire shall be dissolued and the elements shall melt with heate But who I wil not say practiseth these things for the number of such persons is almost as rare in the world as a blacke swanne amongst foules thinketh vpon these things seriously Surely surely the most part busie their mindes and their mouthes also farre otherwise for some giue themselues ouer to filthie and foolish speech which not onely bringeth no grace or godly edification to the hearer but rather corrupteth good maners Other some though they fall not so fouly yet are ouertaken in their discourses of pleasure of profit hauking hunting merchandise purchasing landes c. which though in themselues they be not euill yet because they continually put better matter out of place they are become the sin of their soules And if it so fall out that now and then they or some of them stumble vpon good things be it either in word or deede by the motion of their owne minde or occasion from others it is certainely but as a flashe lightening no man knoweth whence it commeth nor whither it goeth and euen vanisheth away as if it were in the first appearing of it And therefore surely thorow their sins of ignorance negligence carelesnes contēpt prophanenes it is likely that vengeance shall breake forth from the Lord in a grieuous both