Christ then Christ hath reliefe for the man and so may I say to you beloued If you haue grace to beleeue then haue you not so sinned against grace and mercie but that the Lord hath plentifull redemption for you in store Christ Iesus himselfe cals you the Church exhorts you the spirit of God inuites you to take the pardon for your sinnes and the pawne of your inheritance The spirit and the spouse saith come and let him that heareth say come and let him that is a thirst come and let whosoeuer will take of the water of life n Reuel 22.17 freely Behold here is that Aqua coelestis that whosoeuer tasteth of hee shall neuer thirst any more here is that Aqua o Iohn 4.14 vitae which whosoeuer takes and drinke he shall neuer see death Yea though he were dead yet shall it restore him to p Iohn 11.25 life Therfore I may say to euery Christian beleeuer as our Sauior said to the woman os Canaan q Mat. 15.28 O woman great is thy faith be it vnto thee as thou desirest But for as much as diuers delude themselues with a vaine conceit of that Faith they haue not and others are dismaide because they doubt of their Faith which sometimes they feele not therfore I must further exhort euery one of you to trie your hearts and examine your liues concerning your repentance For that gracious promise shall euer be found yea and Amen That hee which is soundly and seriously penitent so that he turne away from his euill waies hee shall not die but liue r Ezek. 18.22 Yea for the assurance of this you haue the Lords oath ſ Ezek. 33.11 As I liue saith the Lord I delight not in the death of a sinner t Psal 51.15 The sacrifices of God are a troubled spirit a broken and a contrite heart the Lord will not despise It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not a sacrifice but sacrifices because it is instar omnium in stead of all as Tremelius truely saith Which whensoeuer we offer vp the Lord smels a sauour of mercie and compassion as he smelled a sauour of rest in the sacrifice of n Gen. 8.21 Noah O bring then this sacrifice to the Lords sacred Altar and behold you shall alwaies finde the doore of his mercie open to receiue you and the armes of his compassion stretched out to imbrace you as the prodigall childe found at his returne of whom Saint Ambrose saith filius timet conuitium pater adornat conuiuium The sonne feared some sharpe reproofe but the father prepared a dainty banquet When Nathan reproued Dauid for his o 2 Sam. 24.10 sinnes it is said that Dauids heart did scourge him A fit Metaphor to expresse the nature of Repentance which is flagellum peccati euen the scourge of sinne which is flagellum animae the scourge of the Soule Doe your hearts smart and smite you and are your Soules troubled for your sinnes bee not dismaide For as the Angell troubled the Poole of Bethesda for the curing of the diseased So Gods blessed spirit of compunction hath beene with you and troubled your soules for your cure and consolation To conclude therefore if all that I haue now spoken hath wrought in you an indignation and dislike of your selues and a detestation and loathing of your sinnes with an earnest and a resolute purpose to banish and abandon them Then dare I be bold to pronounce that you are free from this sinne against the holy Ghost yea the God of heauen hath thereby sealed you a pardon for all your sinnes Though they were as crimson they shall be made white as snow though they were red as skarlet they shall be as white as Wooll Which mercie that we may obtaine let vs humble our selues in Prayer Let vs pray O Lord our God who art able to preserue vs blamelesse and to present vs faultlesse before thy glory with ioy euen for thy tender mercies sake defend vs from this dreadfull sinne of Apostasie Keepe vs by thy power that we fall not restore vs by thy mercy when we are fallen preserue vs by thy grace that we neuer finally fall away O let not the gates of thy mercy be shut vpon vs neyther suffer the gates of hell to preuaile against vs But grant good Lord that albeit our fraile nature cannot obtaine an absolute freedome from sinnes of infirmity yet we may neuer set our selues against heauen or sinne with a high hand Renew a right spirit within vs that we may bewaile our sinnes Take not thy holy spirit from vs that we may reforme our liues Establish vs with thy free spirit that we may be confirmed in thy truth That being effectually sanctified in the kingdome of grace we may be eternally blessed in the kingdome of glory through the merites and mediation of Iesus Christ our alone and all-sufficient Sauiour to whom with thee and the holy Ghost three persons and one eternall God let all prayse power and dominion be ascribed by all thy seruants both men and Angels this day and for euer Amen AMEN FINIS THE CHRISTIAN PETITIONER Shewing how we must sue in the Courts of HEAVEN both for Reward and Remission A Sermon Preached at OXFORD the seauenth day of Iuly being the Act Sunday By IOHN DENISON Doctor of Diuinity and one of his Maiesties Chaplayne LONDON Printed by T. S. for Iohn Budge and are to be sold at the signe of the greene-Dragon in Paules Church-yard 1620. A SERMON PREACHED AT OXFORD the 7. of Iuly being the Act Sunday NEHEMIAH 13.22 Remember me O my God concerning this and pardon me according to thy great mercy DIuers writers both diuine and humane Right reuerend Right Worshipfull welbeloued in Christ Iesus doe very fitly compare both euill men and manners in Ciuill and Christian gouernment to badde humours in the body and the Magistrate to the Physition to whom the cure thereof doth belong Now as the soundest bodies haue their bad humours which must be purged so the best gouerned Common-wealths and States doe in time grow subiect to corruptions which must be redressed The truth of this is most apparant in this present Scripture For Nehemiah comming by Artaxerxes warrant to the gouernement of Ierusalem found the house of God prophaned by Eliashib who of sacred structures had built a Chamber for Tobiah his kinseman This abuse as it grieued Nehemiah sore so did he like a worthy Magistrate redresse it and then came not to king Artaxerxes but to the King of Kings to whom especially he had done that seruice saying as it is in the fourteenth verse Remember me O my God concerning this and blot not out the kindnesse I haue shewed to the house of my God Againe as he found Gods sanctuary polluted so did hee finde his Sabbath prophaned for whereas almighty God had consecrated that day to a spirituall Mart there were some who had employed it in carnall Merchandise where Nehemiah hauing
into which they are infranchised There is that blessed society innumerable Angels Heb. 12.22 the spirits of iust and holy men and Iesus Christ the mediatour of the new couenant to whom they are ioyned There are those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 5.4 those thrones and crownes of glory that shall neuer fade Yea there the sonnes of God shall shine like the Sunne in the kingdome of their father In a word Mat. 13.43 from this Adoption it is that the children of God haue an interest in all the comforts and all the creatures that heauen and earth doe yeelde according to Saint Pauls epiphoneme whether it be Paul or Apollos or Cephus or the world or life or death 1 Cor. 3.23 or things present or things to come they are all yours because you are Christs and Christ is Gods Behold here the admirable and comfortable aduancement of Gods children And therein behold the blessed condition of the Peace-maker who is so estranged from the world that he doth not in some degree desire aduancement and who is so voide of iudgement that hee doth not preferre this honour before the greatest aduancement in the world Aug. in Psa 84. Habetis patrem habetis patriam habetis patrimonium saith Saint Austin If you be the sonnes of peace you are the children of God you haue a louing father a rich inheritance a goodly patrimonie When the Apostle Peter speakes of this he breakes forth into this vehement acclamation Blessed be God 1 Pet. 1.3 euen the father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath begotten vs againe to an inheritance incorruptible and vndefiled that fadeth not away but is reserued for vs in the heauens Giue me leaue now to make some Application of what I haue deliuered and so I will finish this maine point And first I hope that this discourse hath not beene heard of you without comfort We hold it a great cause of ioy to be the children of Nobles and to be admitted into the fauour of Princes and surely they are great temporall blessings that men may lawfully reioyce in But let me say vnto you in our Sauiours words Reioyce not in this Luke 10.20 but rather reioyce because your names are written in heauen let it be your ioy that you are the children of God and in fauour with the King of Kings as the Apostle saith Reioyce in the Lord Phil. 4.4 and againe I say reioyce Againe are wee the children of God farre be it from vs to vnder-value the glorious inheritance of the Saints of God in life Farre be it from vs to dis-esteeme it like that carnall Cardinall Cardinall of Bourbon who said he would not giue his part in Paris for his part in Paradise Let vs not be like profane Esau who for the satisfying of his appetite lost his birth-right Heb. 12.16 But rather let vs say resolutely with Naboth 1 Reg. 21.3 God forbid that I should make away the inheritance of my fathers So God forbid that for all the vaine and transitory profits and pleasures vpon earth we should depriue our selues of those riuers of pleasures which the Saints of God doe enioy in heauen Bernard saith truely of the best things of this present life possessa onerant amata inquinant amissa cruciant The possession of them burdens vs the loue of them defiles vs and the losse of them vexes vs And the time will come when either the day of death or the day of iudgement shall swallow them all vp as the Ocean doth the riuers For the glory of this world passeth away like a shadow 1 Cor. 7.31 Againe are wee the children of God then let vs indeauour that our carriage and comportment may answere this dignity It becomes not the children of Nobles to be conuersant in base actions And how vnfit is it for the children of God to become like the Indian drudges to be taken vp with the corruptions of this euill world and to haue their affections in caeno when they should be in caelo Our Sauiour hath taught vs better in the fift of Matthew Let your light so shine before men Mat. 5.16 that they may see your good workes and glorifie your father which is in heauen To conclude Let vs as the Apostle Peter exhorts 2 Peter 1.10 Rom. 8.16 study to make our election sure by good workes Let vs get the euidence of our adoption sealed vp to our soules and consciences by the spirit of God Then let the earth totter and her pillars tremble vnder her let the sea roare euen to astonishment let the heauens burne to dissolution and the elements with vehement heate be consumed this our adoption shall be our comfort on earth and our crowne in heauen for euer more The third part The appropriation of this aduancement BVt what is this Adoption tyed onely to the ornament of Peace Surely no Gal 3.26 For Saint Paul saith You are all the sonnes of God by faith in Christ Iesus And Saint Austin in largeth the meanes Per gratiā per fidem per sacramentum per sanguinem Christi De verb. Dom. ser 63. saying We are the sonnes of God by grace by faith by the Sacrament by the blood of Christ Euery faithfull Christian is made one with Christ whereby he becomes the childe of God He hath the image of God stamped vpon him And as our natural birth makes vs the children of our earthly parents so our supernaturall and new birth makes vs the children of our heauenly father May not I then say of the Peace-maker as Saint Paul of the Iewes What is then the preferment of the Iew So Rom. 3.1 what is the aduantage and aduancement of the Peace-maker Yes and answer with him in the same place much euery way Though Iesse had eight sonnes yet was Dauid onely the Lords darling Though Christ had twelue Disciples yet was Iohn the Disciple whom Iesus loued Though all Iacobs children were deare vnto him yet was Bemamin the son of his right hand So may I say that howsoeuer all the faithfull are the children of God and consequently blessed yet the Peace-makers haue that honour in a more especial kinde because they doe in a more liuely manner resemble almighty God in that which is most excellent For as amongst the diuine attributes some of them are quoad nos more excellent then others as namely those of mercy and peace which are the sanctuarie to a distressed sinner so all those who doe in a more especiall manner come neerest to God in the same are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by a kinde of eminency called the children of God For as Bernard saith Deus Deus pacis Bern. ergo pacifici filij Dei iure optimo vocantur God is the God of peace and therefore those who are Peace-makers are the children of God by especiall right Though the body of man consist of diuers humours yet the denomination of the
of wicked designes As when a man will runne on desperately and sinne euen because he will sinne small or no occasion mouing him thereunto For the lesse the occasion and temptation is the greater is the transgression This was a further circumstance which made Adams sinne so m Gen. 3.2 hainous that hauing free accesse to all the other trees in Paradise hee must needes taste of the forbidden fruite As it was vile in n 1 King 21.4 Ahab that hauing many goodly possessions of his owne hee must needes be sicke for Naboths vineyeard and it doth much aggrauate the offence when a rich man shall deale deceitefully in word in waight and measure Thus when a man is rather transported by his owne rebellious will then inforced by any vrgent necessity is rather caried forward by a prompt and peremptory inclination then by any violent and coactiue temptation this is to sinne willingly When Sathan no sooner tempts but the sinner as readily yeeldes as the etymon of the word imports 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Indulgeo When it is not by constraint but of a ready minde as Saint Peters opposition o 1 Pet. 5.2 doth manifest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So is the Apostles speech of sinning willingly here to be vnderstood Doe what we can whilst wee carry about this masse of corruption sin will haue her residence in vs but Saint Paul warnes that wee suffer it not to raigne in our mortall bodies that wee should obey it in the lusts p Rom. 6.12 thereof If it violently ouer-rule vs we must not willingly let it rule ouer vs If it compell like a tyrant wee must not let it command as a King Wee must sigh vnder the bondage and grone vnder the burthen of it like the Israelites vnder q Exod. 2.23 Pharaoh Wee must not say as those people professed to r Ios 1.16 Iosuah All that thou commandest vs wee will doe and whether thou sendest vs we will goe for if we doe it will command that which is dangerous and damnable and will send vs to hell for our hyre The wages of sinne is ſ Rom. 6.23 death we must all acknowledge with Saint Iohn 1. Epist 1. t 1. Iohn 1.8 If we say that we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues yet wee must take heede we be not such as hee speakes of in his third Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 u 1. Iohn 3.4 which settle and sell themselues to worke wickednesse For if such a one cannot be renued by repentance Non est excusatio infirmitatis sed culpa x Anselm in Heb. 6. voluntatis he can pleade no excuse of infirmity but must needes lay all the blame vpon the wils iniquity There are some as Salomon notes y Prou. 2.14 sic Tremel Which doe euen reioyce in doing euill and delight in peruerse courses Yea they cannot sleepe except they haue done z Prou. 4.16 euill but this reioycing is odious and this delight exceeding dangerous Lord how opposite are these men in their affections to our Sauiour Christ a Iohn 4.34 It was his meate and drinke to doe the will of God but it is their meate and drinke yea it lulls them a sleepe to doe the workes of the diuell What a malepert speech is that of Sauls Courtiers b Psal 12.4 Our tongues are our owne and we will talke they will because they will Stat pro ratione voluntas Yea they are ready to say with c Apud Sueton Iulius Caesar Caesar iacta est alea fall backe fall edge they are resolued to persist in their sinnes What a desperate resolution is that of wilfull wretches in the sixt of d Iere. 6.16 Ieremie Who being thus louingly exhorted and gratiously promised Walke in the good way and you shall finde rest to your soules doe answere as wickedly as peremptorily we will not walke therein Well may it be said of these men that they sinne willingly which so rashly forsake the way of saluation and so readily step into the path of condemnation Such resolute sinners were the Iewes whose stony hearts and flinty soules neither Christs teares could e Luke 19.40 mollifie nor his threatnings terrifie therefore is their habitation become desolate for euer Such resolute and dissolute sinners were the Sodomites who could not be restrained by Lots submisse f Gen. 19.7.8.11 petition his more then lawfull motion nor the Lords extraordinary affliction but still persisted obstinately till euen extreme wearinesse inforced them to leaue their wickednesse And what then could they else expect but that fire and brimstone from heauen should be their portions Hoc Deum maxime irritat This saith g Chrysost in Psal 108. Chrysostome dorh mightily prouoke God when men doe sinne with such a pre-meditation and setled resolution So saith Dauid in the eighteenth Psalme h Psal 18.26 With the pure thou wilt shew thy selfe pure but with the froward thou wilt wrestle for so the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is well translated by Tremelius Thus God will wrestle with the wicked not in mercy as he did with Iacob i Gen. 32. when hee supported him but in iudgement as Iacob did with Esau when he supplanted him If the sinner will be wilfull God will be as wilfull if froward God will be as froward If hee will wrestle with God in disobedience God will trip vp his heeles in vengeance and cast him downe with the rebellious spirits into the lowest hell As in the time of the Law there was no Sanctuarie for wilfull murtherers So was there neuer any Sanctuarie of mercie for wilfull sinners If a subiect shall be carried violently in a rebellion much compassion is to be shewed but he that runs voluntarily with the disloyall deserues to be seuerely punished so when a poore sinner can say with the Apostle I k Rom. 7.23 would not willingly doe that euill I doe It is the law of my members that rebels against the law of my minde and leades me captiue to the law of sinne hee may looke with comfort towards the mercy seate For l Hieron in Mat. 16. peccata non nocent si non placent sinne shall not hurt vs if it doe displease vs. But when it may be said to him as it is in the fiftieth Psalme Simulac vides furem As soone as thou seest a theefe thou runnest with him Yea when hee shall commit all vncleannesse with greedinesse m Ephes 4.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen couetously when his heart shall be as eagerly set vpon his wickednesse as the couetous mans on his wealth what can he hope for but that the gate of mercy should be shut against him Therefore is the Lord so resolute n Deut. 22.19 that if a man will goe confidently and wilfully on in his sinnes blessing himselfe and promising peace to his soule he will not be mercifull to him Yea he hath
the Lord albeit hee be the father of mercies and the God of all consolation n 2 Cor. 1.3 how oft I say doth he send forth his expresse prohibition to Ieremie o Ier. 7. 11. 15. chap. Thou shalt not pray for this people neither lift vp crie nor prayers for them Yea he is wont in such cases to stirre vp the spirits of his seruants to pray against such notorious sinners and to powre forth dreadfull execrations vpon them And to that end hath he armed the Church with that fearefull censure Anathemamaran-atha If any man loue not the Lord Iesus let him be accursed till the comming of p 1 Cor. 16.12 Christ Thus doth Dauid q Psal 59.5 desire the Lord not to be mercifull to them that transgresse maliciously Yea how oft doth he pursue the enemies of God most passionate and bitter imprecations Thus did Peter against Simon Magus as histories report r Theodor. hist l. 3. ca. 9. 17. 19. Thus did the primitiue Church pray against Iulian the Apostata and neuer left assaulting him with her weapons which are prayers and teares till hee had receiued his finall and fearefull stroake of destruction and then she sang Hallelujaes for his ſ Hieron super Habac. l. 2. ouerthrow Gods dearest children may commit very hainous sinnes yet they doe it of infirmitie and not maliciously The sinne of Peter was very fearefull yea could any almost be more hainous when as hee a chiefe Apostle at the word of a silly Maide against his constant protestation three seuerall times within the space of a few houres did not onely deny and forsake but euen forsweare his Master and Sauiour yea and that with dreadfull t Mat. 26.74 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 execrations vpon himselfe If he knew the man But alas all this proceeded from infirmity the present danger feare of death extorted those oathes and drew those execrations from him And therefore when he went forth and wept bitterly diluit culpam lachrymis when he wept he wipte away his hainous sinnes with bitter teares and the Lords compassions failed him not The fourth bad humour Reuel 8.11 SAint Iohn in the eight Chapter of the Reuelation speakes of a great Starre called Wormewood which falling into the waters and fountains made them bitter so that many died thereof Behold such is the humour of malice For whereas other sinnes doe but muddie the streames this impoisons the very fountaine of our holy profession and brings immortall death without remedy And this is the fourth degree of this dreadfull Apostasie which for the better handling I call a particular humour when it is indeed like the corruptions of all the humors in the body For it is not a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but rather a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not some smaller distemper but a generall euill disposition and habit of Religion not a binding of Sampsons hands but a shauing of his locks not like the setting of the Sun in a clowde but a totall Ecclipse yea such a going downe as neuer admits any rising againe For it is a totall and finall Apostasie which doth vsually accompany the malicious resisting of the knowne truth And therefore Athanasius v Athanas ad Serapion ioynes that malice and Apostasie together in the definition of this blasphemy against the holy Ghost calling it a malicious denying of the faith which a man hath professed as x Sueton. Iul. Caes cap. 1. Sylla said in Suetonius Vno Caesari multos Marios in esse there were many Marijes in one Caesar So I may say there are many iniquities in this one sinne which indeede becomes a congeries of all abhominations For the curse of God seazeth vpon such a malicious sinner as hath beene mentioned to an vtter priuation of grace like Dauids heauie imprecation vpon mount Gilboe y 2 Sam. 1.21 You mountaines of Gilboe vpon you be neyther dew nor raine for euer And like our Sauiours curse vpon the figge tree neuer man eate fruite of thee while the world standeth Againe Sathan casts his violent and inuenomed temptations which the Apostle Ephes 6. calleth fiery darts and those where they strike they sticke fah and worke vpon the Soule like the arrowes on Iobs body z Iob 6.4 The venome whereof dried vp his spirits And then as in the generall deluge when the waters increased to a certaine height all flesh a Gen. 7.21 perished so in this great ouerflowing of sinne all sparkes of grace are vtterly extinguished This is implyed here when the Apostle speakes of an opposition against the causes of our saluation namely The Sonne of God the bloud of the Testament and the spirit of grace And this elsewhere b 1 Tim. 1.19 hee calleth A shipwracke of faith and an Apostasie from the faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c 1 Tim. 4.1.2 1 Tim. 4. And addes the reason Hauing their consciences burnt with an hot Iron For when the conscience is cauterized there followeth an vtter benumming of the sanctified faculties so that there is left no spirituall sense of grace As we say of griefes so it is in sinnes Curae leues loquuntur ingentes stupent the smaller sins at first are irkesome and terrifie but being growne many and great they stupifie So that he which was wont to crie out with Saint Paul O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this body of death Rom. 7. can make a couenant with death the graue and hell Esay 28. He who was pressed downe with the ponderous waight of his sinnes which were as a heauy burden too heauie for him to beare Psal 38. can at last goe as roundly away with them as euer Sampson went with the Gates of Azzah The conscience at first will diligently obserue and censure the sinner but the same being neglected hee becomes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euen condemned of d Tit. 3.11 himselfe and yet continueth in sinne with great securitie If a wounded man haue but one Surgeon and one salue to cure him and yet hee alas would slay that Surgeon and cast away that salue what hope can there be of his recouery And such is the condition of a desperate sinner Christ Iesus is the Surgeon and his precious bloud the blessed balme to cure our wounded soules If a man shall then offer violence to his person Crucifying againe to himselfe the sonne of e Heb. 6.6 God And contempt to this plaster In treading vnder-foote the blood of the f Heb. 10.29 Testament Is there any meanes left in heauen or earth to cure him Surely no but that must needes follow which our Sauiour Christ threatned to the Iewes g Iohn 8.24 You shall dye in your sinnes Saint h 1. Tim. 4.1 Paul prophesieth of some that in the latter times shall depart from the faith and Saint Peter saith i 2. Pet. 2.1 verse 20. there shall be some that will denie the Lord that bought
mercy he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 1.3 The Father of Mercies Ephes 2.4 Exod. 20.6 Psal 51.1 and the God of all consolation He is rich in mercy He hath mercy for thousands He hath a multitude of mercies It would aske much time to manifest this through the whole mine of sacred Scripture I will onely bound my speech within a few rich veynes of Ore in the Psalmes In the 59. Psalme you shall finde Gods preuenting mercy In the 23. his following mercy In the 40. Psalme his tender mercy In the 119. his reuiuing mercy In the 26. his redeeming mercy In the 6. Psalme his healing mercy In the 86. his confirming mercy In the 103. his crowning mercy If I should spend many houres in recompting the particular mercies of God and had that * That yeelded seauen Ecchoes Heptaphon of Olympus yea the tongue of men and Angels you might say vnto me vpon the close of my speech with the Queene of Sheba 1 Reg. 10. Thou hast not told vs the one halfe Behold so abundant are the mercies of our God and therefore poore sinners neede not come to this blessed fountaine like the people to the poole of Bethesda one at once but be they as many as the starres in the firmament or the sands on the sea-shore let them approch together to the Mercy-seate and they shall finde that God hath in readinesse a mercy for euery misery as it were a present salue for euery sore The Lord keepeth a continuall Iubilee his Court of Chancery standeth alwaies open his euer-flowing and ouer-flowing fountaine Zach. 13.1 is still set open for sinne and for vncleannesse Where the spirit and the Spouse say come Reuel 22.17 and let him that is a thirst come and let whosoeuer will come and take of the water of life freely Againe as Gods mercies are many in the discreete so are they great in the continued quantity Yea they are exceeding great 1 Sam. 24.14 Gods mercy as one saith well hath all the dimensions Psal 36.5 Thy mercy O God reacheth vnto the heauens there is the height of his mercy Psal 86.13 Great is thy mercy and thou hast deliuered my soule from the lowest hell there is the depth of his mercy Psal 104.24 The earth is full of thy goodnesse there is the breadth of his mercy Psal 98.4 All the ends of the world haue seene the saluation of our God there is the length of his mercy Yea the mercy of God is transcendent and beyond all dimension and no more possible to be comprehended by vs then the heauens to be compassed with our spanne Therefore when Saint Paul doth pray that the Ephesians may know the loue of Christ according to these dimensions he addeth which passeth knowledge Ephes 3.18.19 Though God be excellent in all his workes yet is his glory most eminent in his mercy His punishing rod is of Iuory Psal 2.9 Exod. 25.17 but his Mercy-seate of pure Gold Gods mercy must needes be great which extendeth it selfe in some sort euen to hell and to the damned Rom. 11.22 First in his patience towards the vessels of wrath waiting for their conuersion till he be pressed as it were a cart vnder sheaues Amos 2.13 Secondly in his indulgence in punishing a sinner For whereas ex se materiam sumit miserendi as Bernard saith He taketh occasion onely forth of his owne goodnesse to shew mercy yet no mans sinne is punished without his iust demerits Thirdly euen to the damned in hell there is a priuatiue mercy extended quoad intensionem wound except you will be like desperate Porus Iustin lib. 12. who would not suffer his wounds to be drest We reade in in the sixe and fortieth of Ezechiel that they which went into the Temple at one dore were commanded to goe forth at another It is no improbable coniecture that they might not turne their faces from the Mercy-seate That is an excellent speech of Augustines or rather Anselmes Aug. Medit. 38. Etsi Domine ego commisi vnde me damnare potes tu tamen non amisisti vnde me saluare potes O blessed Lord though I haue committed those transgressions for which thou maiest condemne me yet thou hast not lost those compassions by which thou maiest saue me Psal 130.1 Out of the deepe haue I called vnto thee O Lord saith Dauid Abyssus abyssum inuocat saith Bernard One deepe calleth vpon another O let the deepe of misery call vpon the deepe of mercy If your soules were in such a straight that you saw hell opening her mouth vpon you like the red Sea before the Israelites the damned spirits pursuing you behinde like the Aegyptians on the right hand and on the left a thousand dreads and dangers yet would I say vnto you in Moses words stand still Exod. 14. and behold the saluation of the Lord For he that putteth his trust in the Lord Psal 32.10 mercy imbraceth him on euery side This mercy of God is like the Sanctuary to the legall offendour like Mount Ararat to Noahs tossed Arke like Noahs hand to his weary Doue like Assuerus golden Scepter to the happy petitioner O come then and with Queene Hester touch the top of this Scepter so shall you be receiued with her into the Kings presence yea into the Kingdome of heauen where all your petitions shall be turned into gratulations your prayers into praises and your Elegies into Hallelujaes which mercy the God of all mercies grant vs euen for Iesus Christ his sake our alone Sauiour and Redeemer to whom with the Father and the holy Ghost three persons and one immortall God all honour power praise Maiestie and Dominion be rendred and ascribed by all the seruants of God in heauen and in earth this day and for euer Amen AMEN FINIS
ratified it with an asseueration o Isa 22.19 Surely the iniquitie of such a sinner shall neuer be pardoned or purged Yea if a bare speech or asseueration will not serue when Elies sonnes will wilfully persist in their sinnes and will not be reclaimed either for their owne credit their fathers comfort or the Lords glory he takes his oath p 1 Sam. 3.14 that the wickednesse of Elies house shall not be purged with sacrifice or offering for euer The third bad humour THE third bad humour which feedes this Apostasie is bitter and violent namely Malice a consequent of the former For when men doe once grow wilfull they easily become malicious and waxe euen rebelliously bent against the truth So as was Iulian the Emperour whom Hierome q Hier. Catalog script Eccles therefore most iustly stileth for his malice Canem rabidum euen a madde Dogge So as were the Iewes whom our Sauiour taxing for this sinne r Mat. 12.37 cals a broode of Vipers because they were full of venim and malice Such a sinner the Apostle doth here call an aduersary as being one that directly opposeth himselfe against the rules of pietie and afterwards in more fearefull words he brandeth him thus which doth despight the spirit of grace And in the sixt to the Hebrewes ſ Heb. 6.6 he calleth him a crucifier of Christ and a mocker of him When a man shall become a professed aduersary to him who is able to destroy both soule and body in hell t Mat. 10.28 when he shall despight the spirit of grace which is the spirit of comfort helpeth our infirmities and maketh request for vs with groanes and sighes which cannot be u Rom. 8 26. expressed When hee shall make but a mocke of Christ to whom the blessed Angels doe homage x Heb. 1.6 oh how lamentable is the estate of such a one When the patient loathes his foode quarrels with his Phisitian is angry with his friends chafes with himselfe you will say he is in ill case and such is the condition of a froward and malicious sinner When the vis irascibilis Which should be as a Dogge at the doore of the soule to keepe away the Theefe shall waxe madde and bite the Master or his friends euen snarle at God at his seruants and his sacred truth what safety or comfort can that soule haue When Christians which should be as Lambes and new borne-Babes in receauing y 1. Pet. 2.1.2 Iam. 1.12 with meekenesse the sincere milke of the word and the comfortable food of the blessed Sacrament shall turne dogges and swine tread vnderfoote those precious pearles and be ready euen to rent their z Mat. 7.6 Pastors they must needes kindle Gods wrath and accelerate his iudgements This was the sinne of Alexander the Copper-smith of whom Saint Paul a 2 Tim. 4.15 saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he vehemently withstood our Preaching He saith not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not vs but our words our preaching for that had not beene so hainous the one is but a personall persecution and so had beene a sinne against charitie the other a doctrinall and consequently was a direct offence against pietie And surely it is a fearefull thing when a man sets himselfe against heauen b 1 Sam. 2.25 If one man sinne against another saith Elie the Iudge shall iudge it but if a man sinne against the Lord who will pleade for him It goes hard with a malefactor when no man will can or dare be his aduocate but it is Gods iust iudgement vpon a malicious sinner and therefore it was his ordinance c Num. 15.30 that he which sinned presumptuously euen erecting with an high hand the flagge of defiance against God as the metaphor imports blasphemed the Lord the same person should be cut off from among his people that the same cutting off might be a praeludium to his fearefull and finall separation from the societie of the blessed Angels the spirits of iust and holy men and from Iesus Christ the mediator of the new d Heb. 12.22 Testament How fearefull was the obstinacie of Stephens enemies who being not able to resist the spirit by which he spake charged him with blasphemie e Act. 6.10.11 And albeit the Lord did grace his innocent conscience with an Angelicall countenance yet they so persisted in their malice that they gaue him iust cause to taxe them thus You stiffe-necked and of vncircumcised hearts and eares you haue alway resisted the holy Ghost Such obstinate sinnes must needes be punished when as others committed of frailtie may easily be pardoned Should I not spare Nineueh saith the Lord f Ion. 4.11 which doth trespasse of infirmitie But how should I spare Iuda which doth transgresse g Ier. 5.7 rebelliously Here God hath something to say for Nineueh but rebellious Iuda stands arraigned of high treason and God hauing nothing to say for her nor she for her selfe why the sentence of death should not passe against her must needes be condemned except Gods iustice shall be violated which must inuiolably be maintained though all the rebellious Men and Angels in the world be damned It is dangerous to walke in the counsell of the vngodly dreadfull to stand in the way of sinners but h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal 1.1 happy and thrise happy is he that doth not sit in the seate of the scornefull Who would thinke that any could be so forsaken of God and bereft of grace that he should malice and scorne the eternall Maiestie yet experience hath found out such vile wretches For such a one was that blasphemous Pope Iulius who being forbidden by his Physition to eate Porke because of his gout said in a great chafe horresco referens I tremble to vtter his words i Les vies de Papes de Rome Iules 3. Giue me my Porkes flesh al dispetto di Dio euen in despight of God What horrible blasphemies did that execrable Emperour Iulian the Apostata as also his lewd companion Libanius the Sophister belch forth against Christ who at their going forth to the Persian warre asked in k Histor Trip. lib. 6. cap. 43. scoffing manner What the Carpenters Sonne meaning Christ was doing To whom it was well answered by a good Christian l Theodoret. hist l. 3 c 18. Loculum fabricatur he is making a coffin for Iulian which propheticall speech was verified by the euent for indeede Iulian was strangely wounded and slaine in that warre Now when a man is growne to this height of impiety that he dares thus with a high hand sinne against the Almightie the Lord stops the suites of those who would pray for him not admitting any petition to be put vp in the Court of mercy according to those words of Saint Iohn There is a sinne vnto death I say not thou shouldest pray for m 1 Ioh. 5.16 it And how oft doth