bee a greater sinne or no. Maliciously to oppose the knowne Truth is by most Diuines accounted a principall branch of that great vnpardonable sinne the sinne against the holy Ghost by some the very sinne it selfe I dare not say it is so nor yet that it is vnpardonable or hath finall impenitencie necessarily attending it I would bee loth to interclude the hope of Repentance from any sinner or to confine Gods Mercy within any bounds Yet thus much I thinke I may safely say it commeth shrewdly neere the sinne against the holy Ghost and is a faire or rather a foule step towards it and leaueth very little hope of pardon That great sin against the holy Ghost the Holy Ghost it selfe in the Scriptures chuseth rather than by any other to expresse by this name of a Math. 12.31.32 Blasphemie Mat. 12. And whereas our Apostle 1 Tim. 1. saith That though he were a Blasphemer yet b 1 Tim. 1.13 he obtained Mercy because he did it ignorantly in vnbeliefe he leaueth it questionable but withall suspicious whether there may bee any hope of Mercy for such as blaspheme maliciously against knowledge If any mans be certainly such a mans demnation is most iust §. 12. or not is damnable But not all Slanders of Gods truth are of that deepe die not all Slanderers sinners in that high degree God forbid they should There are respects which much qualifie and lessen the sin But yet allow it any in the least degree and with the most fauourable circumstances still the Apostles sentence standeth good Without repentance their damnation is iust Admit the Truth bee darke and difficult and so easily to be mistaken admit withall the man be weake and ignorant and so apt to mistake his vnderstanding being neither distinct through in capacitie to apprehend and sort things aright nor yet constant to it selfe through vnsettlednesse and leuitie of iudgement Certainly his misprision of the Truth is so much a Inuoluntarium minuit de ratione peccati lesser than the others wilfull Calumnie as it proceedeth lesse from the irregularitie of the Will to the Iudgement And of such a man there is good hope that both in time he may see his errour and repent expresly and particularly for it and that in the meane time he doth repent for it implicitè inclusiuely in his generall contrition for and confession of the massie lumpe of his hidden and b Psal. 19. secret and vnknowne sinnes This Charity bindeth vs both to hope for the future and to thinke for the present and Saint Pauls example and words in the c 1 Tim. 1.13 place but now alledged are very comfortable to this purpose But yet still thus much is certaine He that through ignorance or for want of apprehension or iudgement or by reason of whatsoeuer other defect or motiue bringeth a slander vpon any diuine Truth though neuer so perplexed with difficulties or open to cauill vnlesse he repent for it either in the particular and that he must doe if euer God open his eyes and let him see his fault or at leastwise in the generall it is still a damnable sinne in him His damnation is iust We haue the very case almost in terminis laid downe and thus resolued in 2 Pet. 3. d 2 Pet. 3.18 In which are some things hard to be vnderstood obserue the condition of the things hard to be vnderstood which they that are vnlearned and vnstable obserue also the condition of the persons vnlearned and vnstable wrest as they doe also the other Scriptures to their owne destruction Where we haue the matter of great difficultie hard to bee vnderstood the persons of small sufficiencie vnlearned and vnstable and yet if men euen of that weaknesse wrest and peruert truths though of that hardnesse they do it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to their own destruction saith S. Peter there to their owne iust damnation saith S. Paul in my Text. This from the Censure in the first sense §. 13. We must not doe any euill for any good Take it in the other sense with reference to this vngodly resolution Let vs doe euill that good may come it teacheth vs that no pretension of doing it in ordine ad Deum for Gods glory to a good end or any other colour whatsoeuer can excuse those that presume to doe euill but that still the euill they doe is damnable and it is but iust with God to render damnation to them for it Whose damnation is iust And thus vnderstood it openeth vs a way to the consideration of that maine Principle whereof I spake and whereon by your patience I desire to spend the remainder of my time namely this We must not for any good doe any euill For the farther opening and better vnderstanding whereof since the rule is of infinite vse in the whole practice of our liues that wee may the better know when and where and how farre to apply it aright for the direction of our Consciences and Actions we must of necessitie vnfold the extent of this word euil and consider the seuerall kinds and degrees of it distinctly and apart Wee must not doe euill that good may come §. 14. Touching euils of paine First euill is of two sorts The euill of fault and the euill of punishment Malum delicti and Malum supplicij as a Tertul. l. 2. adu Marcion cap. 14. Tertullian calleth them or as the more receiued termes are Malum Culpae and Malum Paenae The euill we commit against God and the euill God inflicteth vpon vs. The euill we doe vniustly but yet willingly and the euill we suffer vnwillingly but yet iustly In a word the euill of sin and the euill of paine Touching euills of paine if the Case be put when two such euils are propounded and both cannot be auoided whether we may not make choyce of the one to auoide the other The resolution is b Inter haec datur electio minus damnum facere licet vt euitetur maius Pareus hîc common and good from the old Maxime è malis minimum we may incurre the lesser to preuent the greater euill As wee may deliuer our purse to a Theefe rather than fight vpon vnequall termes to saue it and in a tempest cast our wares into the Sea to lighten the Ship that it wracke not and indure the launcing and â—earing of an old sore to keepe it from festering and spreading And this Principle in my Text is not a rule for that Case that being propounded concerning euils of Paine whereas my Text is intended onely of the euils of Sinne. Wee are herehence resolued that we are not to do any euill that good may come of it for all which yet we may suffer some euill that good may come of it Although to note that by the way the common answer è malis minimum euen in euils of Paine is to be vnderstood as most other practicall conclusions are
for this cause pay we tribute and other duties vnto you who are Gods ministers euen because you ought to be attending continually vpon this very thing to approue your selues as i Rom. 13.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luk. 22.25 the ministers of God to vs for good Oh that wee could all superiours and inferiours both one and other remember what wee owed each to other and by mutually striuing to pay it to the vtmost so endeauour our selues to k Rom. 13.8 fulfill the Law of God! But in the meane time wee are still iniurious if either wee withdraw our subiection or you your helpe if either wee cast off the duty of children or you the care of Fathers Time was when Iudges and Nobles and Princes delighted to bee called by the name of Fathers The Philistims called their Kings by a peculiar appellatiue l Gen. 20.2 26.1 Psal. 34. in titulo Abimeleob as who say the King my Father In Rome the Senatours were of old time called Patres Fathers and it was afterwards accounted among the Romans the greatest title of honour that could bee bestowed vpon their Consuls Generalls Emperours or whosoeuer had deserued best of the Common-wealth to haue this addition to the rest of his stile m sed Roma parentem Roma patrem patriae Ciceronem libera dixit Iuvenal Satyr 8. patrem patriae appellauimus vt sciret datam sibi potestatem patriam quae est temperatissima liberis consulens suaque post illos ponens Senec. 1. de Clem. 14. Pater patriae a Father to his Countrie Naamans seruants in 4 Kings 5. call him Father n 4 King 5.13 My Father if the Prophet had commanded thee c. And on the other side Dauid the King speaketh vnto his Subiects as a father to his children in Psalme 34. o Psalm 34.11 Come yee children c. and Salomon in the Prouerbes euery where My sonne euen as Iob here accounteth himselfe a father to the poore Certainly to shew that some of these had and that all good Kings and Gouernours should haue a p Vt eos quasi filios cernaret per amorem quibus pater praeerat per protectionem Gloss. interl hîc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Philo de creat Principis fatherly care ouer and beare a fatherly affection vnto those that are vnder them §. 11. and extent thereof All which yet seeing it is intended to be done in honum vniuersitutis must bee so vnderstood as that it may stand cum bono vniuersitatis stand with equity and iustice and with the common good For a Prou. 3.3 Math. 23.23 Non auferat veritas misericordiam nec misericordia impediat veritatem Augustin sent 110. apud Prosperum Mercy and Iustice must goe together and helpe to temper the one the other The Magistrate and Gouernour must bee a father to the poore to protect him from iniuries and to relieue his necessities but not to maintaine him in idlenesse All that the Father oweth to the child is not loue and maintenance he oweth too Education and he oweth him correction A Father may loue his childe too fondly and make him a wanton he may maintaine him too highly and make him a Prodigall But he must giue him Nurture too as well as Maintenance lest he be better fed than taught and correct him too as well as loue him lest hee bring him most griefe when hee should reape most comfort from him Such a fatherly care ought the ciuill Magistrate to haue ouer the poore Hee must carefully defend them from wrongs and oppressions hee must prouidently take order for their conuenient reliefe and maintenance But that is not all hee must as well make prouision to set them on worke and see that they follow it and he must giue them sharpe correction when they grow idle stubborne dissolute or any way out of order This he should do and not leaue the other vndone There is not any speech more frequent in the mouthes of beggars wanderers wherewith the Countrey now swarmeth than that men would bee good to the poore and yet scarce any thing so much mistaken as that speech in both the termes of it most men neither vnderstanding aright who are the poore nor yet what it is to be good to them Not he only is good to the poor that deliuereth him when he is oppressed nor is hee onely good to the poore that relieueth him when he is distressed but hee also is good to the poore that punisheth him when he is idle Hee is good to the poore that helpeth him when hee wanteth and he is no lesse good to the poore that whippeth him when he deserueth This is indeed to bee good to the poore to giue him that almes first which he wanteth most if hee be hungry it is almes to feed him but if he be idle and vntoward it is b Non solùm qui dat esurienti cibum sitienti potum verumetiam qui emendat verbere in quē potestas datur vel coercet aliquâ disciplinâ in co quòd corripit aliquâ emendatoriâ poena plectit eleemosynam dat quia misericordiam praestat Aug. in Enchirid. c. 72. almes to whip him This is to be good to the poore But who then are the poore wee should be good too as they interpret goodnesse St. Paul would haue c 1. Tim. 5.3 widowes honoured but yet those that are widowes indeed so it is meete the poore should be relieued but yet those that are poore indeede Not euery one that begs is poore not euery one that wanteth is poore not euery one that is poore is poore indeede They are the poore whom wee priuate men in Charitie and you that are Magistrates in Iustice stand bound to relieue who are old or impotent and vnable to worke or in these hard and depopulating times are willing but cannot be set on worke or haue a greater charge vpon them than can bee maintained by their worke These and such as these are the poore indeede let vs all bee good to such as these Bee wee that are priuate men as Brethren to these poore ones and shew them Mercy be you that are Magistrates as Fathers to these poore ones and doe them Iustice. But as for those idle stubborne professed wanderers that can and may and will not worke and vnder the name and habit of pouerty rob the poore indeed of our almes and their maintenance let vs harden our hearts against them and not give them doe you execute the seuerity of the Law vpon them and not spare them It is St. Paules Order nay it is the Ordinance of the Holy Ghost and wee should all put to our helping hands to see it kept d 2. Thess. 3.10 He that will not labour let him not eate These vlcers and drones of the Common-wealth are ill worthy of any honest mans almes of any good Magistrates protection Hitherto of the Magistrates second
it will proue to be if it set vs vpon any sinfull or vnwarranted meanes indeed no good intention but a bad For granted it must be that the Intention of any end doth virtually include the meanes as in a Syllogisme the Premises doe the Conclusion No more then can the choice of ill meanes proceed from a good intention than can a false Conclusion be inferred from true Premises and that is impossible From which ground it is that the a Greg. lib. 28. Moral cap. 13. Euseb. Emiss hom 26. and others Fathers and other Diuines doe oftentimes argue from the intention to the action and from the goodnesse of the one to the goodnesse of both to that purpose applying those speeches of our Sauiour in the twelfth and in the sixth of Matthew b Math. 12.33 Either make the tree good and his fruit good or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt And c Math. 6.22.23 if thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light but if thine eye be euill thy whole body shall be full of darknesse The light of the body is the eye of the worke the intention No maruell when the eye is euill if the whole body bee darke and when the intention is euill if the whole worke be naught That which deceiueth most men in iudging of good or bad intentions is that they take the end and the intention for one and the same thing betwixt which two there is a spacious difference For the end is the thing propter quid for which we work that whereat we aime in working and so hath rationem causae finalis but the intention is the cause à qua from which we worke that which setteth vs on working and so hath rationem causae efficientis Now betweene these two kindes of causes the finall and the efficient there is not only a great difference but euen a repugnancie in such sort as that it is impossible they should at any time cöincidere which some other kindes of causes may doe It is therefore an error to thinke that if the end bee good the intention of that end must needs be good for there may as well be d Sed videte ne fortè non sit verè oculus simplex qui falletur Bernard de praecept dispensat a bad intention of a good end as a bad desire of a good obiect Whatsoeuer the end be we intend it is certaine that intention cannot be good which putteth vs vpon the choice of euill meanes §. 24. The first Inference against the Church of Rome Me thinkes the Church of Rome should blush if her forehead dyed red with the blood of Gods Saints were capable of any tincture of shame at the discouery of her manifold impostures in counterfeiting of Reliques in coyning of Miracles in compiling of Legends in gelding of good Authors by expurgatory Indexes in iuggling with Magistrates by lewd Equiuocations c. Practices warrantable by no pretence Yet in their account but a Sancta Hypocrisis was Dominicus his word piae fraudes for so they terme them no lesse ridiculously than falsly for the one word contradicteth the other But what doe I speake of these but petty things in comparison of those her lowder impieties breaking couenants of truce and peace dissoluing of lawfull and dispensing for vnlawfull marriages assoyling Subiects from their Oaths and Allegiance plotting Treasons and practising Rebellions excommunicating and dethroning Kings arbitrary disposing of Kingdomes stabbing and murthering of Princes warranting vniust inuasions and blowing vp Parliament houses For all which and diuers other foule attempts their Catholique defence is the aduancement forsooth of the Catholique Cause Like his in the Poet b Horat. lib. 1. Epist. 1. Quocunque modo rem is their Resolution by right or wrong c Gaudeo siue per veritatem siue per occasionem Romanae Ecclesiae dignitatem extolli Ioseph Stephanus de Osc. ped in Epist. ad lect the State of the Papacie must be vpheld That is their vnum necessarium and if heauen fauour not rather than faile helpe must be had from hell to keepe Antichrist in his throne But let them passe and touch neerer home §. 25. The second Inference against a vulgar error There are God knoweth many Ignorants abroad in the world some of them so vnreasonable as to thinke they haue sufficiently non-plus't any reprouer if being admonished of something ill done they haue but returned this poore reply Is it not better to do so than to do worse But alasse what necessitie of doing either so or worse when Gods law bindeth thee from both a Iam. 2.10.11 He that said Doe not commit adultery said also Do not kill and he that said Doe not steale said also Doe not lie If then thou lie or kill or doe any other sinne though thou thinkest thereby to auoide stealth or adultery or some other sinne yet thou art become a transgressour of the Law and by offending in one point of it guilty of all It is but a poore choyce when a man is desperately resolued to cast himselfe away whether hee should rather hang or drowne or stab or pine himselfe to death there may be more horror more paine more lingring in one than another but they all come to one period and determine in the same point death is the issue of them all And it can be but a slender comfort for a man that will needes thrust himselfe into the mouth of hell by sinning wilfully that he is damned rather for lying than for stealing or whoring or killing or some greater crime Damnation is the wages of them all Murther can but hang a man and without fauour Petty-Larceny will hang a man too The greatest sinnes can but damne a man and without Gods mercie the smallest will damne a man too But what wil some reply In case two sinnes be propounded may I not doe the lesser to auoide the greater Otherwise must I not of necessitie doe the greater The answer is short and easie If two sinnes bee propounded doe neither Emalis minimum holdeth as you heard and yet not alwayes neither in euils of Paine But that is no Rule for euils of sinne Here the safer Rule is è malis nollum And the reason is sound from the Principle wee haue in hand If wee may not doe any euill to procure a positiue good certainely b Eâdem doctrinâ quâ horremus facere mala vt eueniant bona horrere debemus facere mala vt euitemus peiora Euitare enim peiora multò minus bonum est quà m euenire bonum Cajetan hic much lesse may wee doe one euill to auoide or preuent another But what if both cannot bee auoyded §. 26. The obiection from the seeming case of perplexitie remoued but that one must needes be done In such a straite may I not chuse the lesser To thee I say againe as before Chuse neither To the Case I
the weary to drinke and thou hast with holden bread from the hungry But as for the mighty man hee had the earth and the honourable man dwelt in it Thou hast sent widowes away empty and the armes of the fatherlesse hast thou broken Being thus shamefully indeed shamelesly §. 2. Scope vpbraided to his face without any desert of his by those men a Etsi ego dignus hac contumeliâ At tu indignus qui faceres tamen Terent. who if he had deserued it should least of all haue done it his b Psal. 55.12 14. neighbours and familiar friends can you blame the good man if to remoue such false aspersions hee doe with more than ordinary freedome insist vpon his owne integritie in this behalfe And that hee doth in this Chapter something largely wherein he declareth how he demeaned himselfe in the time of his prosperitie in the administration of his Magistracy farre otherwise than was layed to his charge When the eare heard mee then it blessed mee and when the eye saw mee it gaue witnesse to mee Because I deliuered the poore that cryed and the fatherlesse and him that had none to helpe him The blessing of him that was ready to perish came vpon mee and I caused the widowes heart to sing for ioy in the next immediate verses before these And then he goeth on in the words of my Text I put on righteousnesse and c. It seemeth Iob was a good man as well as a great and being good hee was by so much the better §. 3. Summe by how much he was the greater Nor was he only Bonus vir a good man and yet if but so his friends had done him much wrong to make him an Hypocrite but hee was Bonus Ciuis too a good Common-wealths-man and therefore his friends did him yet more wrong to make him an Oppressour Indeed he was neither one nor other But it is not so vsefull for vs to know what manner of man Iob was as to learne from him what manner of men wee should bee The grieued spirit of Iob indeed at first vttered these words for his owne iustification but the blessed Spirit of God hath since written them for our instruction to teach vs from Iobs example how to vse that measure of greatnesse and power which hee hath giuen vs be it more bee it lesse to his glory and the common good So that in these words we haue to consider as layed downe vnto vs vnder the person and from the example of Iob some of the maine and principall duties which concerne all those that liue in any degree of Eminencie or Authoritie either in Church or Common-wealth and more specially those that are in the Magistracie or in any office appertaining to Iustice. §. 4. and Diuision of the Text. And those Duties are foure One and the first as a more transcendent and fundamentall dutie the other three as accessorie helpes thereto or subordinate parts thereof That first is a Care and Loue and Zeale of Iustice. A good Magistrate should so make account of the administration of Iustice as of his chiefest businesse making it his greatest glory and delight Vers. 14. I put on righteousnesse and it cloathed mee my iudgement was a robe and a diadem The second is a forwardnesse vnto the workes of Mercy and Charity and Compassion A good Magistrate should haue compassion of those that stand need of his helpe and be helpfull vnto them vers 15. and part of 16. I was eyes to the blinde and feete was I to the lame I was a father to the poore The Third is Diligence in Examination A good Magistrate should not be hasty to credit the first tale or bee carryed away with light informations but he should heare and examine and scan and sift matters as narrowly as may bee for the finding out of the truth in the remainder of verse 16. And the cause which I knew not I searched out The Fourth is Courage and Resolution in Executing A good Magistrate when hee goeth vpon sure grounds should not feare the faces of men bee they neuer so mighty or many but without respect of persons execute that which is equall and right euen vpon the greatest offender Vers. 17. And I brake the iawes of the wicked and plucked the spoyle out of his teeth Of these foure in their order of the first first in these words I put on righteousnesse c. This Metaphore of cloathing is much vsed in the Scriptures in this notion §. 5. The Opening of as it is applyed to the soule and things appertaining to the soule In Psalme 109. Dauid vseth this imprecation against his enemies a Psal. 109.29 Let mine aduersaries be cloathed with shame and let them couer themselues with their owne confusion as with a cloake And the Prophet Esay speaking of Christ and his kingdome and the righteousnesse thereof chap. 11. thus describeth it b Esay 11.5 Righteousnesse shall bee the girdle of his loynes and faithfulnesse the girdle of his reynes Likewise in the New Testament St. Paul in one place biddeth vs c Rom. 13.14 put on the Lord Iesus Christ in an other exhorteth women to d 1 Tim. 2.9 c. adorne themselues instead of broydered haire and gould and pearles and costly aray with shamefastnesse and sobriety and as becommeth women professing godlinesse with good workes in a third furnisheth the spirituall souldier with e Eph. 6.14 c. shoes girdle brestplate helmet and all necessary accontrements from top to toe In all which and other places where the like Metaphore is vsed it is euer to bee vnderstood with allusion to one of the three speciall ends or vses of apparell For we cloath our selues either first for necessitie and common decency to couer our nakednesse or secondly for security and defence against enemies or thirdly for state and solemnitie and for distinction of offices and degrees Our cloakes and coates and ordinary suites wee all weare to couer our nakednesse and these are Indumenta knowne by no other but by the generall name of Cloathing or Apparell Souldiers in the warres weare Morions and Cuiraces and Targets and other habiliments for defence and these are called Arma Armes or Armour Kings and Princes weare Crowns and Diadems inferiour Nobles and Iudges and Magistrates and Officers their Robes and Furres and Hoods and other ornaments fitting to their seuerall degrees and offices for solemnitie of state and as ensignes or markes of those places and stations wherein God hath set them and these are Infulae Ornaments or Roabes It is true Iustice and Iudgement and euery other good vertue and grace is all this vnto the soule seruing her both for couert and for protection and for ornament and so stand both for the garments and for the armour and for the roabes of the soule But here I take it Iob alludeth especially to the third vse The proprietie of the very words themselues giue it so for he
was threatned though not presently is yet e 4. Kin. 10.10 at last performed yet where is his Iustice the while being a f 1. Pet. 1.17 God that without respect of persons rendereth to euery man according to his own workes and will g Exod. 34.7 not acquite the guilty neither condemne the innocent thus to seuer the Guilt the Punishment and to lay the Iudgement which hee spareth from the Father vpon the Sonne from the more wicked Father vpon the lesse wicked Sonne §. 3 and Diuision of the Text. Thus God to magnifie the riches of his Mercy is content to put his Holinesse and his Truth and his Iustice to a kinde of venture That so his afflicted ones might know on what obiect especially to fasten the eies of their soules not on his Holinesse not on his Truth not on his Iustice not onely nor chiefly on these but on his Mercy Hee seeketh more generall glory in and would haue vs take more special knowledge of and affoordeth vs more singular comfort from his Mercy than any of the rest as if he desired we should esteeme him vnholy or vntrue or vniust or any thing rather than vnmercifull Yet is he neither vnholy nor vntrue nor vniust in any of his proceedings with the sons of men but a Psal 145.17 righteous in all his waies and holy in all his workes and true in all his words And in this particular of his proceedings with King Ahab at this time I hope by his blessed assistance so to acquite his Holinesse and Truth and Iustice from all sinister imputations as that hee may be not onely magnified in his mercy but iustified also in the rest and b Psal 51.4 cleare when he is iudged as we shall be thereunto occasioned now and hereafter in the handling of this Scripture Wherein are three maine things considerable First the Ground or rather the Occasion of Gods dealing so fauourably with Ahab namely Ahabs humiliation Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himselfe before me because hee humbleth himselfe before me I will not c. Secondly the great Fauour shewed to Ahab thereupon namely the suspension of a Iudgement denounced I will not bring the euill in his dayes Thirdly the Limitation of that fauour it is but a suspension for a time no vtter remoueall of the iudgement But in his sonnes dayes will I bring the euill vpon his house Wherein wee shall be occasioned to enquire how the first of these may stand with Gods Holinesse the second with his Truth the third with his Iustice. And first of Ahabs humiliation Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himselfe before mee This Ahab was King of Israel §. 4. Ahabs person considered that is King ouer those ten Tribes which reuolted from Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon and claue to Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat Search the whole sacred storie in the bookes of Kings and Chronicles and vnlesse we will be so verie charitable as notwithstanding manie strong presumptions of his Hypocrisie to exempt Iehu the sonne of Nimshi and that is but one of twentie wee shall not finde in the whole List and Catalogue of the Kings of Israel one good one that claue vnto the Lord with an vpright heart Twentie Kings of Israel and not one or but one good and yet than this Ahab of the twentie not one worse It is said in the sixteenth Chapter of this booke that a 3. King 16.30 Ahab the sonne of Omri did euill in the sight of the Lord aboue all that were before him at verse 30 at verse 33. that b Ibid. 33. he did more to prouoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the Kings of Israel that were before him and at verse 25. of this Chapter that c vers 25. hîc there was none like vnto Ahab which did sell himself to worke wickednesse in the sight of the Lord. An Oppressour hee was and a Murtherer and an Idolater and a Persecuter of that holy Truth which God had plentifully reuealed by his Prophets and powerfully confirmed by Miracles and mercifully declared by many gracious deliuerances euen to him in such manner as that hee could not but know it to be the Truth and therfore an Hypocrite and in all likelihoood an obstinate sinner against the holy Ghost and a Castaway §. 5. and his carriage with the Obseruations thence This is Ahab this the man But what is his carriage what doth hee hee humbleth himselfe before the Lord. Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himselfe before me The manner and occasion of his humbling is set downe a little before at verse 27. And it came to passe when Ahab heard those words the words of a vers 20. 24. hîc Eliah the Prophet dealing plainly and roundly with him for his hatefull Oppression and Murther that he rent his cloathes and put sack-cloth vpon his flesh and fasted and lay in sack-cloth and went softly And that is the humbling here spoken and allowed of and for which God here promiseth that hee will not bring the euill in his daies Lay all all this together the man and his ill conditions and his present carriage with the occasion and successe of it and it offereth three notable things to our consideration See first how farre an Hypocrite a Castaway may goe in the outward performance of holy duties and particularly in the practice of Repentance here is Ahab humbled such a man and yet so penitent See againe secondly how deepe Gods word though in the mouth but of weake instruments when he is pleased to giue strength vnto it pierceth into the consciences of obstinate sinners and bringeth the proudest of them vpon their knees in despight of their hearts here is Ahab quelled by Eliah such a great one by such a weake one See yet againe thirdly how prone God is to mercy and how ready to apprehend any aduantage as it were and occasion to shew compassion here is Ahab humbled and his iudgement adiourned such a reall substantiall fauour and yet vpon such an empty shadow of repentance Of these three at this time in their order and of the first first An Hypocrite may goe very farre in the outward performances of holy duties §. 6. Obseru 1. How far an Hypocrite may goe in the performance of holy duties For the right conceiuing of which assertion Note first that I speake not now of the common graces of Illumination and Edification and good dexterity for the practising of some particular Calling which gifts with sundrie other like are oftentimes found euen in such apparantly wicked and prophane men as haue not so much as a 2 Mim 3.5 the forme much lesse the power of godlinesse but I speake euen of those Graces which de totâ specie if they bee true and syncere are the vndoubted blessed fruites of Gods holy renewing Spirit of sanctification such as are Repentance Faith Hope Ioy Humility Patience Temperance Meekenesse Zeale Reformation c.
three the greatest vnto the Godly in the firme assurance of their Eternall reward §. 29. 3. against doubtings of their eternall reward It is one of the Reasons why God temporally rewardeth the vnsound obedience of naturall carnall and vnregenerate men euen to giue his faithfull seruants vndoubted assurance that hee will in no wise forget their true and sound and sincere obedience Doth God reward Ahabs temporary Humiliation and will he not much more reward thy hearty and vnfained repentance Haue the Hypocrites a Quid dabit eis quos praedistinauit ad vitam qui haec dedit etiam eis quos praedestinauit ad mortem Aug. 22. de Ciuit 24. their reward and canst thou doubt of thine This was the very ground of all that comfort wherewith the Prodigall sonne sustained his heart and hope when he thus discoursed to his owne soule b Luke 15.17 If all the hired seruants which are in my Fathers house haue bread enough and to spare surely my Father will neuer be so vnmindefull of men who am his Sonne though too too vnworthy of that name as to let me perish for hunger Euery temporall blessing bestowed vpon the wicked ought to bee of the childe of God entertained as a fresh assurance giuen him of his euerlasting reward hereafter c Gen. 25.5.6 Abraham gaue guifts to the sonnes of his Concubines and sent them away but his onely sonne Isaac he kept with him and gaue him all that he had Right so God giueth temporall gifts to Hypocrites and Castawaies who are bastards and not sonnes not sonnes of the d Gal. 4 28-3â— freewoman not sons of promise not borne after the spirit and that is their portion when they haue gotten that they haue gotten all they are like to haue there is no more to be looked for at his hands But as for the inheritance he reserueth that for his deare Children the Godly who are Gal. 4.29 borne after the spirit and f Gal. 3.29 heyres according vnto promise on these hee bestoweth all that euer hee hath g 1. Cor. 3.21 all things are theirs for on them hee bestoweth h Heb. 1.2 his Sonne the heire of all things in whom are hid all the treasures of all good things and together i Rom. 8.32 with whom all other things are conueied and made ouer vnto them as accessories and appurtenances of him and on them he bestoweth himselfe who is k 1. Cor. 15.28 all in all l Psal. 16.11 in whose presence is fulnesse of ioy and at whose right hand there are pleasures for euermore To which ioy vnspeakable and glorious O thou the Father of mercies who hast promised it vnto vs bring vs in the end for thy deare Sonnes sake Iesus Christ who hath purchased it for vs and giuen into our hearts the earnest of his and thy holy Spirit to seale it vnto vs. To which blessed Sonne and holy Spirit together with thee O Father thee persons and one onely wise gracious glorious almighty and eternall Lord God bee ascribed by vs and all thy faithfull people throughout the world the whole kingdome power and glory for euer and euer Amen Amen THE SECOND SERMON Grantham Linc. 27. Febr. 1620. 3 KINGS 21.29 because hee humbleth himselfe before mee I will not bring the euill in his dayes I Will not so farre either distrust your memories §. 1. A repetition of three former Obseruations or straiten my selfe of time for the deliuery of what I am now purposed to speake as to make any repetition of the particulars which were obserued the last time from the consideration of Ahabs person and condition who was but an Hypocrite taken ioyntly with his present carriage together with the occasion and successe thereof He was humbled it was the voyce of God by his Prophet that humbled him vpon his humbling God adiourneth his punishment From all which was noted 1. that there might bee euen in Hypocrites an outward formall humiliation 2. the power and efficacy of the word of God able to humble an oppressing Ahab 3. the boundlesse mercy of God in not suffering the outward formall Humiliation of an vngodly Hypocrite to passe altogether vnrewarded All this the last time by occasion of those first clauses in the verse Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himselfe before mee because he humbleth himselfe before mee I will not Wee are now next to consider of the great Fauour which it pleased God to shew to Ahab vpon his humiliation what it was and wherein it consisted It was the Remoueall at least for a time that is the suspension of an heauy Iudgement denounced against Ahab and his house most deseruedly for his bloudy and execrable oppression Because hee humbleth himselfe before mee I will not bring the euill in his dayes § 2. The opening of The Euill which God now promiseth hee will not bring I will not bring the euill in his dayes is that which in verse 21. hee had threatned hee would bring vpon Ahab and vpon his house a Vers. 21. c. hîc Behold I will bring euill vpon thee â—nd will take away thy posterity and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall and him that is shut vp and left in Israel and will make thy house like the house of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat and like the house of Beâ—sha the sonne of Ahijah for the prouocation wherewith thou hast prouoked mee to anger and made Israel to sinne A great Iudgement and an heaâ—y but the greater the iudgement is when it is deserued and threatned the greater the mercy is if it be afterwards forborne as some of this was But whatsoeuer becommeth of the iudgement here wee see is mercy good store God who is b Eph. 2.4 rich in mercy and delighteth to be stiled c Deus miserationum Nebem 9.31 the God of mercies and the d 2 Cor. 1.3 Father of mercies abundantly manifesteth his mercy in dealing thus graciously with one that deserued it so little Here is mercy in but threatning the punishment when hee might haue inflicted it and more mercy in not inflicting the punishment when hee had threatned it Here is mercy first in suspending the Punishment I will not bring the Euill and mercy againe in suspending it for so long a time I will not bring the euill in his dayes Of these two points wee shall entreate at this time and first and principally of the former I will not bring the euill It is no new thing to them §. 3. Obseru 4. Concerning Gods forbearing of threatned iudgements that haue read the sacred stories with obseruation to see God when men are humbled at his threatnings to reuoke them a Chrysost. in Gen. hom 25. ahbi saepè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Chrysostome more than once this is euer Gods manner when men change their deeds to change his doome when they renounce their sinners to recall his
f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost. in Gen. hom 25. if we will take any warning he may do better to vs than he hath said and not bring vpon vs what he hath threatned A point very Vsefull and Comfortable if it be not derogatory to Gods truth §. 17. How all this may stand with Gods truth Let vs therfore first cleare that and then proceede to the vses If God thus reuoke his threatnings it seemeth he either before meant not what he spake when he threatned or else after when he reuoketh repenteth of what he meant either of which to imagine far be it from euery Christian heart since the one maketh God a dissembler the other a changeling the one chargeth him with falshood the other with lightnesse And yet the Scriptures sometimes speake of God as if he a Gen. 6.6 Psal. 95.10 grieued for what he did or b Gen. 6.6 1. Sam. 15.11 Ierem. 18.8 Amos. 7.3.6 Ion 3.10 repented of what he spake or altered what he had purposed and for the most part such like affections are giuen him in such places as endeauour to set forth to the most life his great mercy and kindnesse to sinfull mankind We all know we cannot indeede giue God any greater glory than the glory of his mercy yet must know withall that God is not so needy of meanes to worke out his owne glory as that he should be forced to redeeme the glory of his mercy with the forfeiture either of his Truth or Stedfastnesse We are therefore to lay this as a firme ground and infallible that our God is both truely Vnchangeable and vnchangeably True c Num. 2◠19 1 Sam. 15.29 The strength of Israel is not as man that hee should lye nor as the sonne of man that hee should repent his words are not d 2 Cor. 1.19.20 Yea and Nay neither doth hee vse lightnesse But his words are Yea and Amen and himselfe e Heb. 13.8 yesterday and to day and the same for euer f Matth. 24.35 Heauen and Earth may passe away yea shall passe away but not the least g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Math. 5.18 tittle of Gods words shall passe away vnfulfilled h Psal. 102.26.27 They may waxe old as a garment and as a vesture shall hee change them and they shall bee changed but he is the same and his yeares faile not neither doe his purposes faile nor his promises faile nor his threatnings faile nor any of his words faile Let Heauen and Earth and Hell and Angell and Man and Diuell and all change still still i Mal. 3.6 Ego Deus et non mutor God he is the Lord of all and he changeth not As for those Phrases then of Repenting §. 8. how God is sayd to repent c. Grieuing c. which are spoken of God in the Scriptures that a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost. in Gen. hom 3. So also ibid. hom 15. 26. 60. in Psal. 6. passim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof S. Chrysostome so often speaketh salueth them God speaketh to vs and therefore speaketh as wee vse to speake and frameth his language to our b Pro captu nostro non pro suo statu Bernard lib 5. de Consid ad Eugen. dulnesse and teacheth vs by c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys. in Psal. 8. our owne phrases what hee would haue vs learne as Nurses talke halfe syllables and d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost. in Psalm 6. lispe out broken language to young children But what is so spoken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of God after the manner of men must yet be vnderstood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so as befitteth the Maiestie and perfection of his diuine nature When he repenteth then we are not so to conceiue it as if God e Nunquam primi consilij Deos poenitet Seneo 6. de benef 23. changed his mind or altered anie thing of his euerlasting purpose and counsell eyther in substance or circumstances it only f Quod dicit Poenilentiam agam intelligigitur metaphoricè dictum nam homines quando non implent quod comminati sunt poenitere videntur Aquin. 1. qu. 19.7 ad 2. importeth that he now doth not that which so farre as we could reasonably coniecture by his words or workes or our deserts or otherwise seemed to vs to haue beene his purpose to haue done This for the Phrases but yet the maine doubt for the thing it selfe standeth vncleared §. 9. the doubt resolued Abimelech and Hezekiah shall dye and yet Abimelech and Hezekiah shall not dye Nineueh shall be destroyed and yet Nineueh shall not be destroyed I will bring euill vpon Ahabs house and yet I will not bring it is not this Yea and Nay is not this a plaine contradiction How is there not here a plaine change of Gods will If not for substance because the things were at length performed yet at least in circumstance because they were not performed at those times and in that manner as they were threatned and foretold That wretched miscreant Vorstius instead of vntying this knot cutteth it who to maintaine Arminian conclusions from blasphemous Principles trembleth not to affirme a Vorst de Deo In parte aliquâ diuini decreti fieri aliquam mutationem that there may be some change made in some part of Gods decree An assertion vnbeseeming an ingenuous Pagane and to be for euer abhorred and held accursed by euery soule that professeth it selfe Christian. Admit this once and let Man yea and the Diuell too be true and onely God a lyer Leaue wee him therefore to the iudgement of that great God whom he hath blasphemed and seeke wee better satisfaction That of Aquinas and the Schoolemen is true but subtile that God doth sometimes b Aquin. 1. qu. 19.7 Velle mutationem though hee doth neuer mutare voluntatem that though hee neuer changeth his will yet hee sometimes willeth a change That of c Cùm exteriùs mutari videtur sententia consilium non mutatur quia de vnaquaque re immutabiliter intùs constituitur quicquid foris mutabiliter agitur Gregor in Moral Gregory is plainer and no lesse true Mutat Deus sententiam non consilium God sometimes changeth the sentence which he hath denounced but neuer the Counsell which he hath decreed Others otherwise diuers men conceiuing the same answer for substance in diuers and different termes That which is plainest and giueth fullest satisfaction and whereinto the answeres of Gregory §. 10. by vnderstanding euer a clause of exception and Aquinas and the rest as many as haue spoken with any truth and pertinency to the point in the last resolution fall is briefly this In the whole course of Scripture Gods threatnings and so his promises too haue euer a condition annexed vnto them in Gods purpose which though it be not euer indeede but seldome expressed yet is it euer included and
desire endeauour of performing that Obedience we haue couenanted yet are they to be embraced euen by such of vs with a reuerend feare and trembling at our owne vnworthinesse But as for the vncleane and filthy and polluted those b Math. 6.6 Swine and Dogs that delight in sinne and disobedience and euery abomination they may set their hearts at rest for these matters they haue neither part nor fellowship in any of the sweet promises of God Let dirty c 2. Pet. 2.22 Swine wallow in their owne filth these rich d Math. 6.6 pearles are not for them they are too precious let hungry e 2 Pet. 2.2 Dogs glut themselues with their owne vomite the f Math. 15.26 Childrens bread is not for them it is too delicious Let him that will be filthy g Reu. 22.11 be filthy still the promises of God are holy things and belong to none but those that are holy and desire to be holy still For our selues in a word let vs hope that a promise being left vs if with faith and obedience and patience we waite for it we shall in due time receiue it but withall h Heb. 4.1 let vs feare as the Apostle exhorteth Heb. 4. lest a promise being left vs through disobedience or vnbeliefe any of vs should seeme to come short of it §. 19. The opening of the Thus much of the former thing proposed the mignifying of Gods Mercy and the clearing of his Truth in the reuocation and suspension of of threatned iudgements by occasion of these words I will not bring the Evill There is yet a Circumstance remaining of this generall part of my Text which would not be forgotten it is the extent of time for the suspending of the iudge I will not bring the Euill in his dayes Something I would speake of it too by your patience it shall not be much because the season is sharpe I haue not much sand to spend I will not bring the evill in his dayes The iudgement denounced against Ahabs house was in the end executed vpon it as appeareth in the sequele of the story and especially from those words of Iehu who was himselfe the instrument raised vp by the Lord and vsed for that execution in 4. King 10. a 4 King 10.10 know that there shal fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab for the Lord hath done that which he spake by his seruant Eliah Which were enough if there were nothing else to be said to iustifie Gods Truth in this one particular That which Ahab gained by his humiliation was only the deferring of it for his time I will not bring the euill in his dayes As if God had said This wretched king hath prouoked me and pulled down a curse from me vpon his house which it were but iust to bring vpon him and it without farther delay yet because he made not a scoffe at my Prophet but tooke my words something to heart and was humbled by them he shall not say but I will deale mercifully with him and beyond his merit as ill as he deserueth it I will doe him this fauour I will not bring the euill that is determined against his house in his dayes The thing I would obserue hence is That § 20. 5. Obseruation that though it be some griefe to foresee the euils to come when God hath determined a iudgement vpon any people family or place it is his great mercy to vs if he doe not let vs liue to see it It cannot but be a great griefe I say not now to a religious but euen to any soule that hath not quite cast off all naturall affection to forethinke and foreknow the future calamities of his countrey and kindred a Herodot in Polyh Valer. Max. 9.13 Xerxes could not forbeare weeping beholding his huge army that followed him onely to thinke that within some few scores of yeares so many thousands of proper men would be all dead and rotten and yet that a thing that must needes haue happened by the necessitie of nature if no sad accident or common calamitie should hasten the accomplishment of it The declination of a Common-wealth and the funerall of a Kingdome foreseene in the generall corruption of manners and decay of discipline the most certaine symptomes of a tottering State haue fetched teares from the eyes and bloud from the hearts of heathen men zealously affected to their Countrey How much more griefe then must it needes be to them that acknowledge the true God not onely to foreknow the extraordinary plagues and miseries and calamities which shall befall their posteritie but also to fore-read in them Gods fierce wrath and heauie displeasure and bitter vengeance against their owne sinnes and the sinnes of their posterity Our blessed Sauiour though himselfe without sinne and so no way accessory to the procuring of the euills that should ensue could not yet but b Luk. 19.41 weepe ouer the City of Ierusalem when he beheld the present securitie and the future ruine thereof §. 21. yet it is some happinesse to be taken away before they come A griefe it is then to know these things shall happen but some happinesse withall and to be acknowledged as a great fauour from God to be assured that we shall neuer see them It is no small Mercy in him it is no small Comfort to vs if either hee take vs away before his iudgements come or keepe his iudgements away till we be gone When God had told Abraham in Gen. 15. that his a Gen. 15.13 15. seede should be a stranger in a land that was not theirs meaning Egypt where they should be kept vnder and afflicted 400. yeares lest the good Patriarch should haue beene swallowed vp with griefe at it hee comforteth him as with a promise of their glorious deliuerance at the last so with a promise also of prosperitie to his owne person and for his owne time But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace shalt be buryed in a good old age vers 15. In Esay 39. when Hezekiah heard from the mouth of the Prophet Esaiah that all the b Esay 39 6.-8 treasures in the Lords house in the Kings house should be carried into Babylon and that his sonnes whom he should beget should be taken away and made Eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon he submitted himself as it became him to do to the sentence of God and comforted himselfe with this that yet there should be peace and truth in his dayes vers 8. In 4. King 22. when Huldah had prophesied of the c 4. King 2.16 20. euill that God would bring vpon the City of Ierusalem and the whole land of Iudah in the name of the Lord shee pronounceth this as a courtesie from the Lord vnto good King Iosiah Because thy heart was tender and thou hast humbled thy selfe Behold therefore