to Posterity that no Man hereafter shall dare to think other wise of thy Majesty then becometh him and my Ministry shall be approved to proceed from thy Direction But if those Crimes be truly urged which are Inforced against me then let the Curses Return and light on my own Head and let those whom I have Cursed live in safety and thus exacting a Punishment from those that disturb thy People keep the rest of the Multitude in Peace Concord and Observation of thy Commandments secure and void of that Punishment which is due unto wicked Men for that it is contrary to thy Justice that the Innocent Multitude of the Israelites should answer their misdeeds and suffer their Punishments Whilest he spake these Words and intermixed them with Tears the Earth instantly trembled and shaking began to remove after such a manner as when by the Violence of the Wind a great Billow of the Sea floteth and Waltereth hereat were all the People amazed but after that a horrible and shattering noise was made about their Tents and the Earth opened and swallowed them up both them and all that which they esteemed dear which was after a manner so exterminated as nothing remained of theirs to be beheld where upon in a Moment the Earth closed again and the vast gaping was fast shut so as there appeared not any sight of that which had happened Thus perished they all leaving behind them an example of Gods Power and Judgments And this Accident was the more miserable in that there was not any one of their Kinsfolk and Allies that had Compassion on them so that all the People whatsoever forgetting these things that were past did allow Gods Justice with Joyful Acclamations esteeming them unworthy to be bemoaned but to be beheld as the Plague and Perverters of the People After that Dathan with his Family was extinguished Moses Assembled all those that contended for the Priest-Hood committing again the Election of the Priest-Hood unto God that the Estate thereof should be Confirmed to him whose Sacrifice should be most acceptable in God's sight for which cause the Two Hundred and Fifty Men Assembled themselves who were both Honoured for the Vertue of their Ancesters and for their own Abilities far greater than theirs with those also stood Aaron and Chore and all of them Offered with their Censers before the Tabernacle with Perfumes such as they brought with them when so great a Fire shone as neither the like was ever kindled by Mans Hand nor usually breaketh from the Bowels of the burning Earth nor was ever quickned in the Woods in the Summer-time by a Southern Breeze But such a one as seemed to be kind in Heaven most brightsom and flaming By force and Power whereof those Two Hundred and Fifty Men together with Chore were so Consumed that there scarce appeared any Relicks of their Carcases only Aaron remained untouched to the end it might appear that this Fire came from Heaven These things thus brought to pass Moses intending to leave a perpetual Memory to Posterity of that Punishment to the end they should not be igorant of it Commanded Eleazer the Son of Aaron to Consecrate their Censers affixed to the Brazen Altar that by Reason of this Monument all Men might be terrified who think that the Divine Power can be Circumvented by Humane Policy THE BANNER OF Corah Dathan and Abiram Display'd and their SIN Discover'd In several SERMONS Preach'd at BRISTOLL Numbers xvi xxiii xxiv xxv xxvi And the Lord Spake unto Moses saying Speak unto the Congregation of Israel saying Get you up from about the Tabernacle of Corah Dathan and Abiram And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram and the Elders of Israel followed him And he spake unto the Congregation saying Depart I pray you from the Tents of â—hese wicked Men and touch nothing of theirs least ye be Consumed in all their Sins ISrael was once Gods choicest Jewel snatch'd forth of the Fire of sore Affliction A People wonderfully Redeemed with a Mighty Hand and Stretched out Arm of Heavenly Power from cruel and bitter Bondage A People thorowly Taught and Instructed in the Sacred Oracles of God and purest of his ways A People fed with Bread from Heaven for Man did eat Angels Food A People that had God and Christ for their Guide and Conduct and Angels and the best of Men for their Guards and Governors A People that wanted no Mercy nor Blessing that either Heaven or Earth could aford And yet from amongst this People did such a Root of Bitterness spring up and such a deadly Sin a deadly Sin appear'd which did more highly provoke the Lord to Anger and more hotly kindle the Fire of his Jealousie and wrathfull Indignation than either the Sin of Sodom or the Wickedness of Egypt For when the Lord sent his Angels to destroy Sâ—â—om for their Sins of Pride and fulness of Bread Idleness and hard Heartedness to the Poor he meekly heard Abrahams Petition for them and patiently suffered him to Pray and Interceed for them as long a sin reason he could desire O Let not the Lord be Angery saith he and I will speak but this once Peradventure there shall be Ten that is Ten Righteous Persons found there and the Lord said I will not destâ—oy it for Ten sake Gen. 18. 32. And before he Executed his Judgments upon Egypt for their unjust Dealings and exercise of Cruelty upon this very self same People in my Text he treated with Pharaoh from day to day by Moses and Aaron with Signs and Wonders to try if he would soften his hard Heart towards them But for the Sin of these his lately and for a long time beloved People he was so deeply incensed against them that he hastily and suddenly commanded Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from them that he might Consume them in a Moment ver 21. The first thing then before I come to the Words of my Text must be to enquire what their Sin was that so we may the more readily and easily understand the Doctrine we are to learn from thence Their Sin and Wickedness under the cloak and colour of Holiness is drawn up in a brief Remonstrance in ver 3 in these Words They gathered themselves togather against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them ye take too much upon you seeing all the Congregation are Holy every one of them and the Lord is amongst them wherefore then lift ye up your selues above the Congregation of the Lord. In which bold Remonstrance of theirs there are four Articles which they xehibited in foro in open Court two directly against Moses and Aaron one pretendedly for God and the other point blank for themselves 1. In the First they draw up a charge against Moses and Aaron for exceeding the Bounds of their Commission Ye take too much upon you ye do more than you can justifie more than ye have Warrant from God to do This Lordliness of yours is not
proud but giveth Grace to the Humble James 4. 6. But the Apostle St. Peter is much larger in this point 1 Pet. 5. 5. Likewise ye Younger submit your selves unto the Elder yea all of you be subject one to another and be Clothed with Humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth Grace to the humble Both of these Apostles have their Quotation from Solomon who in the Original is larger then both Proverbs 3. 33. 34. 35. The Curse of the Lord is in the House of the Wicked But he blesseth the Habitation of the Just Surely he scorneth the Scorners but he giveth Grace unto the lowly The Wise shall inherite Glory but shame shall be the promotion of Fools Spiritual Pride tho'it be an horrible Sin yet it is very hard to be discerned The Apostle St. Paul was very near falling into this Sin and very likly he was for it as he Testifies himself 2 Cor. 12. 7. Least I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of Revelations there was given to me a Thorn in the Flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet me The pricking Briers of Hunger Cold Nakedness Reproaches Necessities Distresses for Christ ver 9 10. O my Friends with Grief I speak it it was spiritual Pride that laid the Corner-Stone of England's late and Lamentable Miseries Acted by a Company of Pretended Saints who never left exalting themselves till they had trod upon the Crown and Dignity of the Lords Anointed and at that time with him the true Protestant Religion and all the Devout and Sincere Professors thereof and at last Murdered him at the Gates of his own Palace and trampled his Sacred Blood under their base and dirty Feet All this the Pride of their Spirit carried them forth to Enact against as sweetly qualified and as bravely an accomplished Prince as ever breathed upon the face of the of the Earth still I say Jesus Christ excepted Nor is it to be doubted but these spiritual proud Men in my Text had not God by a sudden overthrow prevented them would have served Moses and Aaron with the same Sauce having already drawn up a Charge against them as implacable Enemies to the Liberty they aimed at and Murdering so many of the People of the Lord. as they call'd themselves altho' they were Eye Witnesses that it was the immediate Hand of God that struck some of them Dead with Fire and that the Earth of her own accord opened her Mouth and swallowed up the rest O Lord for thy Mercies sake save us for the time to come from such evil proud Spirits And I beseech you my Brethren and Friends hear and receive King Solomon's advice Prov. 25. 21. My Son fear thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with them that are given to change for their Calamity shall rise suddenly For every one that is proud in Heart is an abomination to the Lord tho' hand joyn in hand he shall not go unpunished The Lord will destroy the House of the proud Prov. 16. And elsewhere he saith A Mans pride shall bring him low but honour shall uphold the humble in Spirit Prov. 29. 23. There is a Day of Account coming and it draws very near it is called The Day of the Lord of Hosts And the Prophet Isa saith That the Day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is pròud and lofty and they shall be brought low And again in Chap. 28. 1. he crieth out against this Sin in denouncing a Woe against it saying Wo to the Crown of Pride the Crown of Pride shall be troden under Foot We cannot read of proud Persons in the Scripture but we shall read of their downfall 2. They were of a self-conceited Spirit they thought none better nor Holyer then themselves for if they would have given the preference to any they would surely have given it to Moses whom the Son of God thought worthy to keep him Company fourty Days and fourty Nights at one time And afterwards on the Mount at his Transfiguration Mat. 17. And this they knew full well as the Sacred Record assures us in Exo. 24. 1. 2. 3. And he said unto Moses come up unto the Lord thou and Aaron Nadab and Abihu ánd seventy of the Elders of Israel and Worship ye afar off And Moses alone shall come near the Lord but they shall not come nigh neither shall the People go up with him And Moses came and told the People all the Words of the Lord and all the Judgments and all the People answered with one Voice and said All the Words which the Lord hath said will we do It doth not appear that at this time there was one Dissenter or Nonconformist amongst them And yet within a little time after afew seditious Israelites whereof Corah was chief had so seduced the Church of God in Israel that if God had not appeared himself with a mighty Hand and stretched out Arm of Heavenly Power they would not only have denyed Moses the Supremacy over them but have brought his Neck to the Block or otherwise have ended his Days by some violent Death for they often spake of Stoning him Thus you see that for all their pretended Holyness they shut their Eyes and will not see nor open their Ears to Hearken to God nor the Rulers of his Church For Instance take the Word of God Num. 12. 5. And the Lord came down in the Pillar of the Cloud and stood in the Door of the Tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam and they both came forth And he said Hear now my Words if there be a Prophet among you I the Lord will make my self known unto him in a Vision and will speak unto hìm in a Dream My Servant Moses is not so who ìs Faithful in all my House With him wîll I speak Mouth to Mouth even apparently and not in dark Speeches and the Similitude of the Lord shall he behold wherefore then were yé not afraid to speak against my Servant Moses And thé Anger of the Lord was kindled against them and he departed There are seven things to be enquired into from this Proof 1. Which of the three Persons in the God-Head it was that came down from Heaven in the Pillat of the Cloud the Son of God it was no doubt 2. What his business was that he came about viz. to Examin two Criminals to Arraign and Judge them 3. What their Crime was viz. Speaking against Moses 4. Aarons Penitency and the benefit of his Clergy 5. Miriams Impenitency and Punishment 6. Moses's Pitty and Prayer for her which voided the perpetuity of the Sentence 7. The fairness of the Tryal he stood in the Door of the Tabernacle that all Israel might hear and see and take warning God might have spoken so loud that Heaven and Earth should have heard it so as they should not have need to come forth for Audience but now he calls them out to the Bar that they may be seen it did
Hath the Lord indeed only spoken by Moses hath he not spoken also by us Here was Envy and Emulation at the Government intrusted by God in the Hands of Moses Disobedience would undoubtedly have followed the Leprosi of Original Sin dâ—d cleave so fast to their Loyns that altho' they were Saints upon Earth yet they were nâ—t quite free from stumbling upon the Threshould oâ— Original Corruption true Children oâ— Disobediâ—nt Parents Adam and Eve our first Parents would set up for themselves and be as Gods Miriam and Aaron will Rule and Govern as well as Moses Hath the Lord indeed say they spoken onely by Moses Hath he not spoken also by us No wonder Moses was not angry with his Brother and Sister for aspiring to share with him in a piece of Earthly Government when he knew that his own first Parents aspired to an Heavenly Throne by endeavouring to be as Gods Nay Aaron in another sinful Act of his outdid his Progenitors for they presumed to be but as Gods to know Good and Evil but Aaron presumed to make a God nay to make many Gods Make us Gods saith sinful Israel that may go before us Bring your Ear rings saith Aaron and I 'le make you some Original Sin like a Snow ball gathers by rolling from place to place The same Serpent that perswaded our first Parents to conceit themselves Gods hath prevailed with Aaron not to conceit himself to be one but take upon him the Employment of making a God and so to be greater than God For as he that makes a King is said to be greater then a King so he that makes a God may conceit himself greater than the God he hath made Oâ— the horrible Contagion and Infection of Original Sin which like a foul Leprosie hath spread it self into the whole Masse of Mankind And as thus the Leprosie of Original Sin had spread it self into the several Faculties of Miriams and Aarons Soul so the Lord Plagâ—ed Miriam with a soul Leprosie in several parts of her Body a Punishment suitable to her Sin If it should here be askt why Aaron guilty of the same Sin with his Sister Miriam was not Plagued with the same Punishment of Leprosie as she was according to the rule of Justice the same Sin the same Punishment I answer it is true the Lord might in Justice have smitten Aaron with the Plague of Leprosie as he did Miriam but he did not he spared Aaron and Punished Miriam and that for several good and weighty Reasons as I humbly conceive 1. That the Church and all the World may know that he hath two Hands as well as two Eyes the one to lay on the stroak of Justice and the other to extend Grace and Mercy that he is Mercy as well as Justice and Judgment as well as Mercy 2. That the Sons of Men may know that God is a free Agent and may do with his own what he pleaseth that he can have Mercy upon whom he will have Mercy and Punish others for the Iniquity of their Transgressions and leave them to the hardness of their own Hearts 3. The Sin was greater in Miriam then in Aaron Aaron might have a seeming colour for what he said having formerly been Moses's Speaker for God to Pharaoh but for Miriam to assume the Privilege of a Speaker was neither proper to her Sex nor ever an Office in the Church for a Woman to Execute I permit not a Woman saith St. Paul to Speak in the Church 4. Aarons Office might excuse him and speak something for him being by a special Decree and Ordinance of God Anointed with Holy Oyl High Priest to offer Sacrifice for the Sins of all Israel and no Leper was to Officiate in that calling nor stand at Gods Altar so that the Purity of his Office freed him from that foul and lothsom Punishment of the Plague of Leprosie God's Altar was nor a fit place for a Deformed Person to stand at to offer Sacrifices therefore for the Glory of his Name and the Holiness of his Altar he exempted the Sacrificer from the Punishment of so loathsom a Disease altho ' he went not Scot-free for for this and other failings he was debarr'd both of the sight and enterance into the Land of Canaan the Land of Promise 5. It might probable be that Aaron was not Principal but Accessary to this Sin for Miriam is first named in the Text Numb 12. And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Aethiopian Woman whom he had Married If she had not been Principal in the Sin it s very likely she had not been named first in the Inditement And it is very likely that the Quarrel began betwixt the two Sisters In-law Ziporah and Miriam about what I know not but be it what it will Miriam hath engaged her Brother Aaron in the Quarrel and both of them knew that Moses was so Just and so good a Man that if the matter on Ziporah's part were not a Breach of God's Sacred Law he was bound by the Sacred Tye of Marriage to Vindicate her against them both they resolve therefore to bring him in for a Party and make him Faulty for fuch a Choice and so begin a Quarrel with him who it may be knew nothing of their Discontents Dr. Hall late Bishop of Norwich that English Seneca that Painful Pious Prelate in his Contemplations on the Holy Story hath an excellent Passage upon this Place Lib. 6 Pag. 196. in Oct. Miriam and Aaron are in Mutiny against Moses Who is so Holy that Sins not What Sin is so unnatural that the best can avoid without God's preventing Grace Who can but grieve to see Aaron at the end of so many Sins Of late I saw him Carving the Molten Image and Consecrating an Altar to a False God now I see him seconding an uukind Mutiny against his Brother both find him Accessary neither Principal in the first Sin of Mankind the Servent who was Principal in it found no Mercy nor Grace Whereas Adam and his Wife who were but Accessarieâ— had upon their Repentance the offer of both and therefore 6. A fixth Râ—son â—hy Aaron escaped the Punishment inflicte upon Miriam was because oâ— his speedy Repentance for no sooner did he perceive the Leprosie upon Miriams Face he knew there was but one way to escape that or a greater punishment viz. a Conâ—ssion 〈◊〉 in and a speedy Repentance And therefore having offended his Brother Moses he first asketh him Forgiveness saying Alas my Lord lay not this Sin upon us wherein we have done Foolishly and wherein we have Sinned The universal Ant dote against all Gods Judgments is Unfeignâ—d and speedy Repentance Had Miriam Repented at the Word of the Lord to her as Aaron did at the Hand of the Lord upon hâ—r 't is very likly that she had eâ—caped the Leprosie as well as he for that God who is rich in Mercy to one is rich in Mercy to all that Unfeignedly call
to you to see so populous so famous and so antient a City as Bristoll is on a light Flame Your Hands bound with Cords and your selves hall'd along the Streets like Fellons and delivered into the Custody of cruel and hard-hearted Men with infinite more mischievous and unknown Miseries that attend Wars whither civil among our selves or Foreign by Invasion of Strangers Are there none of you left alive in this City that can testifie what the unspeakable Miseries were which this distracted Kingdom endured in the time of that Scism that so grievously wounded and disturbed the Peace of the Church in the Reign of that pious Prince King Charles the I. if there are as doubtless there are many ask them and they will tell you what horrible Confusions there were both in Church and State and the Government of both utterly subverted till God in Mercy restor'd them to us again and will continue so till the same Spirit of Faction and Scism do for our Sins give us another overturn Oh England England once the Mistress of Islands if a true list and number of those thy Natives which most cruelly slew one another in thy late civil Wars should be brought to thy view And if all the Christian Blood then shed to satisfie the Factious Humours of some Men had been exhall'd by airy Vapours and now shour'd down upon thy fertile Fields and populous flourishing Towns and Cities thou wouldst see strange and prodigious Sights If those deep Sighs and Groans which thousands of excellent and vertuous Ladies and Gentlewomen utter'd from their afflicted Souls and standing with Petitions in their Hands at the doors of a company of Thieves that called themselves Committees praying from day to day from week to week and from month tomonth to buy their own Estates their lovely Cheeks bedew'd with a flux of brinish Tears from their tender Eyes If such things as these can be pleasing to any sort of profest Christians surely they are void of a right Understanding they are led not by Reason but by a Spirit of Madness which hath very little fence in what it acts Consider these things my Brethren in time lest ye repent it when it is too late And now lastly I pray you seriously to consider that there are no greater Enemies to the service of God in our Church Assemblies than the Apostate Church of Rome consisting of Monks Fryers Jesuits and Mass-Priests Can ye then do them a greater pleasure than to joyn with them in Hatred and Contempt of it Did they not burn both the Book it self and the choicest Persons of those that composed it and will ye throw their Ashes into the River they tied them to Stakes and will ye shoot at their Hearts with bitter words Next unto the sacred Scriptures I am bold to say that our Common-Prayer Book is the surest visible Bulwark to keep out Popery from ever being established by Law in this Kingdom any more for ever and will ye persevere in throwing dovvn such a Fortification and so let in again the Antichristian Beast of Rome to ruin and destroy us and to make us and your selves an everlasting Reproach and a perpetual shame O do not rob those Martyrs of that Honour vvhich they purchased at so dear a rate for the Benefit and Good of their surviving Brethren and Friends that then vvere or thereafter should be made Members of the Body of Christ O do not disgrace their Labours by blotting and staining them vvith scurilous Language and thereby expose the Protestant Faith to the Scorn and laughter of a cruel Adversary for over your Shoulders do the Blood-thirsty Papists shoot at our Hearts O that ye vvere vvise that ye vvould consider these things and return to the high way of Salvation again What joy would there be in our Churches What loving Embraces What mutual Society What Gladness of Heart What inward Comfort and Consolation to our Immortal Souls What reviving of Spirits How sweet would such Unity Peace and Concord be to the whole Kingdom How mediately-secure should we be not only from all fears of a Foreign Invasion but from all doubts of a Civil War amongst our selves Then should we offer our daily Sacrifices of Praise and Thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one Shoulder and one Consent Thus have I discharg'd my duty to all that profess the name of Christ in this Kingdom wherein I was born What the effect of it may be God knows for I do not I leave the issue of it to the only wise Saviour of the World in whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge whose poor weak and unworthy Servant I am and hope to persevere therein Dum Spiritus hos Regit ortus And lest any Reader should here and there meet with a word or two in this Postscript which he may happily think hath a tang of Acerbity I have thorowly season'd and sweetned it with the judgment of a Martyr'd Monarch a Stedfast and Faithful Defender of the truly antient Catholique and Apostolick Faith Upon the Ordinance against the Common-Prayer-Book IT is no News to have all Innovations usher`d in with the name of Reformations in Church and State by those who seeking to gain Reputation with the Vulgar for their extraordinary Parts and Piety must needs undo whatever was formerly settled never so well and wisely So hard can the pride of those that study Novelties allow former times any share or degree of Wisdom or Godliness And because matter of Prayer and Devotion to God justly bears a great part in Religion being the Souls more immediate converse with the Divine Majesty nothing could be more plausible to the People then to tell them They served God amiss in that Point Hence our public Liturgy or Forms of constant Prayers must be not amended in what upon free and publick advice might seem to sober Men inconvenient for matter or manner to which I should easily consent but wholly cashiered and abolished and after many popular Contempts offered to the Book and those that used it according to their Consciences and the Laws in force it must be crucified by an Ordinance the better to please either those Men who gloried in their extemporary Vein and Fluency or others who conscious to their own formality in the use of it thought they fully expiated their Sin of not using it aright by laying all the blame upon it and a total rejection of it as a dead letter thereby to excuse the deadness of their Hearts As for the Matter contained in the Book sober and learned Men have sufficiently vindicated it against the Cavils and Exceptions of those who thought it a part of Piety to make what prophane objections they could against it especially for Popery and Superstition whereas no doubt the Liturgy was exactly conformed to the Doctrin of the Church of England and this by all Reformed Churches is confessed to be most sound and Orthodox For the matter of
upon him for it as Aaron here did but as for Miriam she neither Confest her Sin nor shew'd any Sorrow for it but stubb rnly persisted in it For notwithstanding God Arraigned her himself and sate himself as â—udge in Moses's Cause and ask'd her why she was not affraid to speak against his Servant Moses she made no Reply by an humble Plea for Mercy but stood as a sullen Mute and so God recorded her and left her to Judgment and departs from her in great Fury Num. 12. 9. 2. The second Infectious Disease is the Pestilence which prevails mightily by Infection killing Thousands in a short time So doth the Plague of Spiritual Delusions Infect and Destroy many Thousands of Souls in a very few Days And that these Mens Principles in my Text had the same Effect it was too apparent in their Punishment and one may read their Sin in their Punishment And that there was a Spiritual Plague fore broken and running upon these Mens Spirits It is evident by the Injunction which God laid upon the rest of the People to depart from them and not to come near them nor touch any thing of theirs least their Sin should Infect them and they perish with them in their Sins And so Infectioâ—s was it to many Thousands in Israel that it brake forth upon them on the Morrow and in a Congregated Assembly Murmured against Moses and told him he had Killed the People of the Lord. How nearly doth Heresie in the Soul resemble the Pestilence in the Body for as fast as that lothsom Disease cleaves to the Body so fast doth Heresie stick in the Soul and Heart of a Man For as it is a very difficult thing and almost Impossible for a Phisttian to heal the Plague of Pestilence in the Body So it is a very hard and difficult thing for the best Majestrate or the best Minister in the World to reclaim any Man or Woman from the Error of their way that have forsaken the Publick Service of God the High-way of Salvation and betook themselves to the By-paths of a Pestilential Conventicle one Year Hence it is that the Apostle St. Paul Exhorts Titus to Reject A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition And subjoyns this Reason Knowing that he that is such is subverted and Sinneth being Condemned of himself Titus 3. 10 11. Now you may happily ask what an Heretick is I Answer A Heretick is one that obstinately Defends and Maintains an Opinion contrary to the Faith Practice and Profession of the truely Antient Catholick and Apostolick Church But ye may happily say why doth the Apostle Exhort Titus to be so quick and brief in Admonishing such an one and upon a second Contempt imediately to reject him I Answer Answer Because they have refused the way of Truth and chosen and prâ—fer'd an Erronious Opinion be ore it and obstinately reâ—use to return again This assâ—ion iâ— verified by the Testimony of the Prophet Jeremâ— Chap. 6. ver 16. Thus saith the Lord Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old Paths where is the good way and walk therein and ye shall find Rest for your Souls This was the first Admonition the Prophet gave them aâ—ter their Revolt unto which they obstinately answered We will not walk therein The second word of Admonition is in ver 17 Also I set Watchmen over you saying Hearken to the sound of the Trumpet Unto which they made this stubbora Answer We will not Hearken Upon this their refusal after their second Admonition to return to the antient ways of God the Prophet proceeds in the name of the Lord to give Judgment upon them in ver 18. 19. Therefore hear ye Nations and know O Congrâ—gation what is among them Hear O Earth behold I wâ—ll bring Evil upon this People even the Fruit of their Thoughts because they have not hearkned unto my Words nor to my Law but rejected it Twice did those Men in my Text return a stubborn Anâ—wer to Moses that they would not return to their former Conformity but deâ—perately resolved to stick close to their former Remonstrance for when Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram the Sons of Eliab to come to him doubtless to perswade and advise with them to forbear the further Prosecution of their wicked Designs and to consider the manifold mischiefs that would unavoidably follow such wicked enterprizes as they were now begining to prosecute then they returned this resolute Answer We will not come up and aggravated it with this Expostulation Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a Land thâ—t floweth with Milk and Honey to kill us in the Wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us ver 13. and then in ver 14. They follow their blow with a Moreover thou hast not brought us into a Land that floweth with Milk and Honey or given us Inheritance of Fields and Vineyards Wilt thou put out the Eyes of these Men We will not come up Upon this second Repulse of theirs to Moses's Admonition he utterly Rejects them and now will have no more to do with them but turns his Prayer directly against them And in the Indignation of his Spirit said unto the Lord Respect not thou their Offering And what the Effect of such a Prayer was like to be may be easily read in the Judgment that followed for the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed them up with all that appertain'd to them and I wish with all my Heart that these Mens Principles had sunck into the Ground with them and never appear'd again upon the face of Earth but vae mihi 3. A third Infectious Disease in the Body of Man is the Cancer a sore fretting Disease very small in the beginning dangerous in growth and pernitious in the end Such is all Scismatical and false Doctrine in the beginning scarcely discern'd but by degrees it eats so far into the Soul that it destroys both Faith and Practice We have this confirm'd by the Apostle St. Paul in an Epistle of his to the chief Pastor of the Church of Ephesâ—s 2. Tim. 2. Cap. 16. 17. 18. ver But shun prophane Bablings for they will increase unto more Ungodliness And their Word will eat as doth a Canker of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus Who concerning the truth have erred saying That the Resurrection is past already and overthrow the Faith of some O Lord for thy Mercy sake save and deliver thy Church and People in the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and the Religion Established by Law therein from the fly insinuating creeping Soul-infectious Diseases of Sediton Privy Conspiracy and Rebellion false Doctrine Heresie and Scisme and work in us such a Reformation in all our Lives that our Conversations before God and Man may be such as may beautifie and adorn our most Holy Faith and demonstrate to the World that we are living Members of Christ's Body I have now finished my third