light This spirituall light is so proper to the Church that it discerneth her from all false Churches vpon the face of the earth for as the Apostle saith Faith which is no other thing but this light appertaineth not vnto all but this gift of iustifying faith is nothing else but that very light which is giuen to those who before all eternitie were appointed for saluation This speciall reuelation is not obtayned or purchased by any naturall force for so it were common to all men It is not purchased by naturall wit or vnderstanding for the wisdome of this world cannot know those things that are of God Yea the wisedome of the world is the greatest enemie to the wisedome of God and the wit of the world esteemeth the wit of God to be plaine foolishnesse This light is not gotten by the sight of the works of God or by looking vpon this great Vniuerse we get a light indeed by looking on the works of God but this light conueigheth vs not a far off we lose it in the threshold in the very entrie it is choked by our affections and the vile appetites that are in vs do choke it Now we get not this supernaturall light onely by the outward ministerie of the word no seuer me the Spirit from the word the word is nothing else but a minister of death to my soule and a slaying letter it serueth for nothing but to be a further testimonie of my iust condemnation Therefore this heauenly light whereby we are made heires of heauen and the children of God is purchased by the word and Spirit of God ioynctly By the word striking and piercing the eare outwardly and the Spirit penetrating the heart inwardly So where these two are conioyned that heauenly light is wrought and it is an earnest-pennie of thy euerlasting saluation Of this light and reuelation it cometh to passe that God is well knowne in Iudah that is in his owne Church and of this knowledge it cometh to passe that his Name is great in Israel that is his praise is highly extolled and his name renowmed among all them that know him rightly By the Name of God is vnderstood God himselfe as he maketh himselfe knowne in the wonderful works which he worketh as when he hath mercie on his Church he is called a mercifull God when he keepeth his promises he is called a true God when he deliuereth her mightily he is called a potent God And so as many works as he worketh so many Names he hath Now of this reuelation cometh the knowledge of God For except the Spirit of God take away the ignorance of our hearts it is as impossible for me to know God rightly as the dumbe element Except this veile of ignorance which sticketh so fast vnto our hearts be taken off that in time the mighty power of God may be reuerenced there remaineth no further sight then serueth vnto our eternall condemnation Therefore the Spirit must concurre mightily to take off this veile of ignorance that our hearts and minds being renewed we may begin to be new creatures in Christ Iesus Of this knowledge it cometh to passe that God is reuerenced and his praises are sounded for it is impossible that these who know God aright but they must praise him and reuerence his Name God is not like the great men of this countrey for they where they are best knowne there are worst loued But God by the contrary where he is best knowne he is best loued And this loue of God can neuer be idle but it must burst foorth into his praises So these two are ioyned together the Spirit of God bringeth knowledge which knowledge is helpefull to faith and true faith euer praiseth God Then examine your knowledge from the effect the praise of God and see whether the knowledge of God be in this countrey or not This conclusion must hold fast where God is highly praised he is well knowne and the contrary must hold as fast where God is no waies praised he is not knowne there Assume now But so it is that he is no waies praised in this countrey Therefore he was neuer well knowne of vs his goodnesse and mercie was neuer well tasted of vs. And surely if multitude of benefits or multitude of miracles might haue made God knowne to vs we haue had our large part Yea to omit all the rest I thinke though there were no more but this deliuerie past it is a sufficient argument to mooue the hearts of all creatures to praise his name But such is our horrible ingratitude that for lacke of praise we bring not onely a curse vpon the benefit but a curse vpon our owne persons And therefore mine exhortation is now as then That with such hearts as the Lord hath giuen vs we be readie to sound his praise for this great deliuerie the thankfull memorie of this last benefit shall be the readie way to purchase the next therefore with thankfull hearts let vs praise him And where they are not so disposed as the worthinesse of the benefit requireth let vs beg mercie for our euill disposed hearts let vs desire pardon for our vnprepared hearts and wish that it would please the Lord to sanctifie them further and further to his owne praises that being couered with his mercifull protection we may at all times rest vnder his wings and sauegard so that we shall be sure to assaile the enemy when he pleaseth Thus farre for the first benefit The second benefit wherein the Lord shewed himselfe gracious toward his people is this he made his residence with this people which he did with no other nation of the earth he taketh his abiding at Shalem as the tokens and ensignes of his presence did testifie God maketh his residence with no sort of people in the earth but with his Church he hath espied out and select to himselfe a people among all the nations of the earth and with them he hath made his residence It is no strange language to say that God hath chosen a people to himselfe and doth make his residence with such a people For albeit the maiestie of God fill and replenish both heauen and earth and his power reach euery where yet is it as true our God dwelleth euery where he hath selected a sort of people a number of persons with whom he maketh his residence And among all nations he selected this nation of the Iewes vnto whom he gaue the visible ensignes of his presence and in whose hearts he dwelt Now it hath pleased him in mercie to translate his Tabernacle to make his residence with vs and he hath chosen a few of the hearts of this countrey where he hath begun his dwelling place for God dwelleth now in the hearts and consciences of his owne by his holy Spirit and surely so he hath dwelt with vs these 30. yeares and in such puritie that he hath not done the like with any nation in the earth He hath
the Lord his trust and regardeth not the proud nor such as turne aside to lies 5 O Lord my God thou hast made thy wonderfull works so many that none can count in order to thee thy thoughts toward vs I would declare and speake of them but they are moe then I am able to expresse 6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire for mine eares hast thou prepared burnt offering and sinne offering hast thou not required 7 Thou said I Loe I am come for in the rolle of the booke it is written of me 8 I desired to do thy good wil O my God yea thy law is within mine heart 9 I haue declared thy righteousnesse in the great Congregation Loe I will not refraine my lips O Lord thou knowest 10 I haue not hid thy righteousnesse within my heart but I haue declared thy truth and thy saluation I haue not concealed thy mercie and thy truth from the great Congregation 11 Withdraw not thy tender mercie from me O Lord let thy mercie and thy truth alway preserue me 12 For innumerable troubles haue compassed me my sinnes haue taken such hold vpon me that I am not able to looke vp yea they are moe in number then the haires of mine head therefore mine heart hath failed me 13 Let it please thee O Lord to deliuer me make haste O Lord to helpe me 14 Let them be confounded and put to shame together that seeke my soule to destroy it let them be driuen backward and put to rebuke that desire mine hurt 15 Let them be destroyed for a reward of their shame which say vnto me Aha aha 16 Let all them that seeke thee reioyce and be glad in thee and let them that loue thy saluation say alway The Lord be praised 17 Though I be poore and needy the Lord thinketh on me thou art mine helper and my deliuerer my God make no tarying THis Psalme for the most part tendeth to praise and thankesgiuing For the Author of it Dauid partly praiseth God from his owne late experience and partly from the publike experience of the whole Church Therefore for this his experience he offereth his seruice to God protesting to be thankefull to him as he had bene thankfull in times past And in the end of the Psalme he retireth himselfe to prayer and commendeth his estate to the protection of God that as he had deliuered him in time past so he would continue the same in mercy to him in time to come This I take to be the summe of this Psalme Touching the parts of it we haue three in the first wherof we haue the praise and commendation of the mercy and kindnesse of God whereby it commeth to passe that he reiecteth not them that depend vpon him In the second for this experience that he hath found he offereth his seruice to God as he had proclaimed his iustice mercy in time past so he protesteth that he is ready to do the same in time to come In the third as I spake before he retireth to prayer he commendeth his estate to God that as it had pleased him to preserue him in time past so it would please him to preserue him in time to come Following the literall meaning this is the effect of the Psalme If you take it otherwise there is a notable prophecy concerning the office of Christ Iesus concerning the abolishing of the old couenant and establishing of the new and concerning the sacrifice of our high Priest the Priest of the new Testament Christ Iesus Then to returne to the first part therein we haue a singular experience set downe Indeed if the circumstances were well considered his experience is more then singular for by the last Psalme the estate and care wherein he was at this time may be easily gathered He was pursued by the treason of his owne sonne Absalon he was pursued by the skornes and Iests of his owne seruants In this great extremity he bursteth out into prayer beggeth of God that he would withdraw his hand from him for a space and why He was consumed with his owne iniquity he desireth that at the last he would incline his eares to his prayers and keepe no longer silence at his teares in respect he knew he was but a soiourner and a pilgrime in the earth as the rest of his fathers were he sayth Withdraw thine heauie hand O Lord and let the mercy that I looked for appeare to me Now in this Psalme he letteth vs see what issue and end his long wayting obteined to wit a most blessed and happy end For in this Psalme we see that the Lord at last inclined his eare vnto him and shewed in experience that though he answereth him not at first yet he was not deafe but accomplished his desire in drawing him out of his misery in the which he lay which misery he describeth by two proper similitudes The first similitude is taken from the pit The second is taken from the myre of clay At the last the Lord drew him out of this horrible pit and placed him vpon the shore he opposeth the rocke vnto the pit and the faire way to the myrie clay and placed him vpon a plaine and faire way and directed his iourney So his long expectation obtayned a most happy issue In this his experience there are three things that offer themselues to be considered First what was this that he susteyned in this long wayting what was it that made him to continue without despaire Secondly what was Dauids exercise all the time of this long wayting Thirdly what issue end this long wayting obtayned As for the wayting there was no other thing that susteined him but that same which we Christians call a Christian hope or a Christian expectation which hope is the worke of the holy Spirit wrought in vs by the power therof whereby it cometh to passe that we with great patience abide the performance of the Lords promises In this hope there are two things inclosed There is first the absence of the thing hoped for yet notwithstanding a certaine expectation of the same This hope of ours is different from our faith though it rise and spring thereof in two speciall points For the nature of faith taketh hold on the promise for nothing can be beleeued but the promise promises are propounded to be beleeued and commandements to be obeyed The nature of faith then taketh hold of the promise The nature of hope looketh not so much to the promise as to the thing promised The nature of hope is to looke continually vntil it possesse the thing that is promised The nature of faith maketh the thing which is absent in it selfe and in very deede to be present as if it were extant and subsisting before thy senses and therefore faith is called the ground substance of things absent for faith maketh them as sure by the promise as if the thing promised were in my hand It maketh me
as if he had offended no creature he addresseth him to God and craueth pardon and mercy for his sinnes of him onely So this is the true repentance where men and women although they haue offended the creatures yet they run to God onely to seeke remission And indeed this is the right way for why it is onely God that can forgiue them their sinnes although they haue offended men women there is no man nor woman that is able to purge theâ—r conscience to take away the guiltinesse of sinne in their conscience It is onely God who by the vertue of the bloud of his Son doth purge the conscience Therefore they addresse them to God onely Properly also it is him whom they haue offended for as for men and women they may escape their eies but it is not possible that they can escape the all-seeing eye of God who seeth the sins of the heart as well as the sins of the body Therefore in respect of his all-seeing eye it becometh them specially to haue recourse to him to addresse them to him onely This is called the godly sorrow In this part ye haue onely this to beware of for the diuell is euer ready at thine hand and this caution is not onely necessarie for an hard wilfull heart but if men and women through the weightinesse of their sinnes conceiue ouerdeep sorrow in their hearts in this case they would be helped For I say at that time the diuel is present and so soone as he perceiueth thee beaten downe with the consideration of thine owne sins that thou art as it were presently in the pit of hell then he is busie to make thee to doubt to make thee to despaire and to make thee to thinke that thy sinnes are so many so vglie and so great that the Lord wil neuer forgiue them and casteth in this or that stay before thee to terrifie thee that thou come not to seeke grace at the throne of grace Therfore men should in this point take heed to themselues they should remit their cogitation not hold it euer fixed vpon the consideration of the vglinesse of their sinnes and weightinesse of their iniquities but thou oughtst to remit these cogitations sometime to take thee to the consideration of the mercy of God to hoise it vp to the consideration of the great goodnes of God to the infinite store of mercy which he hath promised to penitent sinners in Christ Iesus So when thou art cast downe and the diuell would draw thee to desperation withdraw rather thine heart to the coÌ„sideration of the riches of the mercie of God And whatsoeuer thou thinke of thy selfe and the more abiect so thou end in humilitie and not in desperation it is the better thinke nothing of God but more then excellent and of his mercy as a thing that passeth all his works an infinite thing that cannot be compassed For of all sinnes that can be committed I esteeme this the greatest when a man in his heart will match the greatnesse of his iniquitie with the infinite weight of the mercie of God when the diuell by his suggestion maketh thee to beleeue that thy sins are greater then the mercy of God and his mercy although it be infinit lesse then thy sinnes Of all sinnes I thinke this the greatest for in this thou spoilest God of his maiestie of his infinite power thou makest him not a God For if he were not infinite in all things he were not a God So I say in true dolor to preuent this thing men must not sticke perpetually vpon the consideration of their sins but sometime it is necessary that they withdraw their cogitation This sorow where it is appeareth in the effects For if the effects of it appeare not in thy life thy repentance is not true Where this godly dolor is first it bringeth forth in that person a hatred of that which God hateth it maketh that person to agree with God in that he hateth the thing which God hateth and loueth the thing which he loueth It worketh then first an hatred of sinne which God hateth This hatred of sinne bringeth forth a turning from sinne For I could neuer turne from it if I hated it not This turning from the sinne bringeth forth a flight that is a further turning continuance in departing This flight from sinne bringeth forth a care and studie how to please God and this studie bringeth a more earnest care how to hold fast that hold of him which thou hast gotten to retaine his fauour which thou hast felt All these effects flow froÌ„ the right sorrow dolor This part of repentance is called mortification or as the Ancients call it Contrition It is called mortification because by the power of the Spirit which worketh this dolor sinne is mortified It slayeth the lusts and affections that are in me it taketh away the strength and power of sinne within me in respect of the which slaughter it is called mortification For Christ not onely ouercame sin and death hell by vertue of his death perfectly in his owne person but he spoyled sin and death of his power and caried such a rich honourable triumph ouer them all that sin hath lost his power and death hath lost his sting So that whosoeuer can get hold of Christ and his power by the vertue therof sinne shall die in him and his affections shall be dayly by litle litle slaine In respect of the which effects this part of repentance is called mortification Of this godly sorrow springeth the other part of repentance whereby we turne our harts to God apply the mercie of God to our selues And this part is called by the Prophets conuersion by the Apostle himselfe Rom. 2. Circumcision of the heart And Christ speaking of repentance he speaketh of it vnder the name of conuersion as the chiefe part of repentance speaking to the men of Galilee Luk. 13. Except also ye repent ye shall all perish also that is except ye turne also This conuersion whereby our hearts are turned vnto God floweth from this godly sorrow But take heed this turning is not the first effect it is not wrought in an instant of time It is not possible that the conscience that is onely terrified with the sight of the owne sinnes can turne vnto God It is a great matter to the heart that feeleth the wrath of God in so great measure to wrastle out against desperation much more to turne vnto him It is a greater matter to the soule that is vnder the feare of hell and euerlasting death to turne vnto him But so long as I find him a fire burning me vp as stubble no question I must flie from him So long as the present torment remaineth in mine heart it is not possible that I can turne to him Therefore there goeth before this turning a feeling of mercie a feeling of his peace a feeling of his
Diuers opinions concerning the presence of Christs body in the Sacrament How a thing is said to be absent and present How the body of Christ is present Our difference with the Papists to whom the words ought to be directed c. SERM. VI. Out of Isaiah 38. Intreating of Hezechiahs Sickenesse v. 1.2.3 Sheweth that the greatest are not exempt from great and sore trials That Hezechiahs disease was though not in the greatest extremity that which we by an emphasis call the Sickenesse Why God thus visiteth his children The time when the King fell into this disease What is our duty in the like case of distresse from the Prophets plaine dealing with the King That the Prophet as appeareth was not too rigorous in his denuntiation in adding affliction vpon affliction to the King The Kings excellent behauiour in this Sicknesse His gesture in the same expressing the signes of a good conscience His recourse in extremitie to the same great power which now did smite him seeme to be his enemy our lesson from thence SERM. VII On Isa. 38.4.5.6 Intreating of Hezechiahs Sicknesse sheweth The speedy issue and hearing of the Kings prayer our lessons from thence It is a mercy to be visited at home as this King was The author of the Kings comfort was God vsing the meanes of his minister and word Why mention is made of Dauid in this comfort the King receiued Why Dauid is called the Kings Father Our lessons from this preface That the Lord is neare the prayers of his children That as this King receiued more then he asked from God so for the most part do all the Saints SERM. VIII On Isaiah 38.7.8.9.10.11 Intreating of Hezechiahs sicknesse Sheweth why the King sought a signe how some refuse signes How the signe was shewed Why the Signe was wrought in the Diall Why in the bodie of the Sunne What profit is to be gathered of signes By whose power this signe was wrought The force of prayer The Kings thankfulnesse for the benefit receiued A short summe of the Kings life Our lesson from thence The Kings song shewing first when he was troubled The diuersitie of the feare of death in the godly and wicked The way to eschue the feare of death The reasons why death seemes now so grieuous to the King A censure of these his reasons SERM. IX Out of Isaiah 38.12.13.14 Intreating of Hezechiahs sicknesse Sheweth the similitudes whereby the King amplified his present lamentation Why the Patriarks conuersed in tents Our vses thence The extremitie of the Kings disease Why God suffereth his children to fall into such extremities Our lessons thence By what meanes the King in this extremitie seeketh vnto God Why the King sought the prorogation of his dayes In what respect it is lawfull to seeke the prolonging of our dayes That faith and doubting may remaine in one soule If Christ in his agonie had contrarie voyces no maruell this King had also How this King teacheth vs to pray in extremitie SERM. X. On Isaiah 38.15.16 Intreating of Hezechiahs sicknesse Sheweth the Kings thankefulnesse in three things That a good conscience giueth thankes for euery thing receiued How the King expresseth the greatnesse of the mercy receiued What effects this mercy did breede in him How the sweetnesse of this mercy did make him burst forth in praise of the word How a man shall know if the Spirit of life be begun in him How the Spirit is saiâ— to be nourished in vs and how banished c. SERM. XI On Isaiah 38.16 to the end of the chapter Intreating of Hezechias sicknesse Sheweth how from the other effects of the word the King continueth to extoll the same The time when this King did thus fall sicke The manner of the Kings deliuery That sin is the onelie thing punished in the wicked and purged in the godly That remission of sinnes cureth all diseases That when God forgiueth sinnes he also forgetteth them That God onely forgiueth sinnes The cause and reasons why God did forgiue this King his sinnes Doctrine from thence why the Lord worketh by meanes and secondary causes SERM. XII Out of Psalme 76 From 1. to the 8. ver Intreating of the great deliuery in 88. from the Spanish tyranny Sheweth the purpose of the Prophet in this Psalme what is meant by the name of God That the true knowledge and praises of God accompany each other The profite which cometh to vs by thankesgiuing That it is a mercy to haue God neare vs and to dwell with vs. The place of this ouerthrow What that is which driueth God from any place How this victory was obtained How the Lord is said to rebuke Gods former dealing with his Church To what end the Lord appointeth enemies vnto his Church How of Gods great mercyes followeth admiration SERM. XIII On Psalme 76.8.9.10.11.12 Intreating of the former subiect Sheweth that God onely did this great worke The effects that this great work brought forth One lesson from thence The time of this great iudgment The times of Gods sitting and rising To what end God commonly riseth An obiection of the Church preuented Exhortation to thankefulnesse That we should vpon extraordinary mercyes chiefly stirre vp our selues to the same SERM. XIIII On Psalme 40. preached in a publike fast enioyned by authority The parts of this Psalme In the 1. part from Dauids experience diuerse obseruations How Hope differeth from Faith The life of hope Hope and mourning may stand together How to obtaine patience in trouble How to know when God heareth our prayer though he grant not instantly our sute How constant mourning in trouble vnto God argueth certaine deliuerance Why the Lord delayeth to helpe his seruants The end why our prayers are heard Two sorts of abusing the grace of God SERM. XV. Out of 2. Tim. 2.22 preached at the publike Repentance of the Earle Bothwell in the Church of Edinborough Sheweth the summe and meaning of the words what these things be which all yong men should flie What is meant by the lusts of youth Whence the restraint of sinne doth come By what meanes the Lord restraineth sinne in vs. What things yong men should seeke after The definition and sorts of Repentance In what respects wordly sorrow is called a blind terror What godly sorrow is A caution to be obserued in Repentance What the greatest sinne a a man can commit is The effects of godly sorrow The manner of Repentance Why some parts of Repentance haue the name of Mortification and Viuification That in the worke of Repentance the diuell stayeth nothing more then our sincere confession of Sinnes A caution to beware of Presumption That there be two sortes of Repentance c. SERM. XVI Out of 2. Tim. 2.13 In way of an Exhortation to a Prouinciall Assembly Sheweth at whose hands the Pastor ought chiefly to seeke approbation How to obtaine true approbation The weight of ministeriall function The groundworke of the ministery Whereupon it consisteth What it is to rule in the
at his hands or not Art thou perswaded of mercie Assure thy selfe thy conscience is in a good estate thou hast health in thy soule for by the keeping of faith the conscience is preserued as saith the Apostle 1. Tim. 1.19 Keepe this perswasion preserue it whole and sound hurt it not bring not thy soule into doubting stay not nor hinder thy perswasion if thou desire to keepe health in thy soule for if thou doubt or any way diminish thy perswasion and assâ—rance assuredly thy assurance cannot so soone be hindered nor diminished but at that very instant shall follow the diminishing of the health of thy soule yea it cannot be but in that very article of time shall follow the hurt of thy conscience for faith will not dwell but in a whole conscience Therefore at what time thou doest any thing against thy conscience at that very time thou losest a degree of thy perswasion of the mercie of God and vntill such time as thou fall downe at the feete of Christ and obtaine mercie for that wicked deede purchase peace at his hands and repaire thy perswasion thou shalt euer doubt of mercie and want health in thy conscience Then this is the first lesson to keepe health in your soules to be perswaded of mercie The second lesson to keepe a good conscience or to keepe health in thy soule is this Ye must flie eschue and forbeare whatsoeuer may trouble the health of your soule whatsoeuer may trouble the quietnes and peaceable estate of your conscience cast it out forbeare it and eschue it This generall is good But let vs see what it is that troubles the quiet estate of the conscience Onely sinne nothing but an euill nature Therefore we must of necessitie to keepe health in our soules forbeare and eschue sinne we must flie and auoide sinne It is not possible that ye can keepe a good conscience and serue the affections of your heart therefore to keepe peace and health in thy soule thou must take leaue of thy lusts thou must renounce the lusts affections of thy heart and thou must not do as thou wast wont to do thou must not be giuen to the seruice of thine affections of thine appetite to put them in execution as thou hast formerly done But in case thine affections or lust command thee to do any thing what is thy part Thou must try how far this may stand with the good will of God and how far that affection which commands thee may agree with the law of God Is there such an harmonie as that thing which thine affection commands thee may stand with Gods law and holy will Then no question it is a sanctified affection thou maist put it in execution But after this tryall if thou finde thine affections to be exorbitant and out of rule carrying thee from God and against his law beware of it resist it put it not in execution for if thou fulfill the will of thine affections what pleasure can it bring with it It may well bring a flattering pleasure in the entrie but it closeth euer with a bitter remorse in the end Then to eschue this bitter remorse should ye not all try your affections Ye must examine and try them by the square of Gods law ye must see how far they agree with his law and how farre they dissent from it and so farre as they are dissonant fâ—om that law let euery man deny himselfe renounce his affections and so this triall being taken in this maner by thy selfe it sanctifieth thine affections maketh Christ to lodge in thy soule maketh thy conscience to be at rest And the holy Spirit this way maketh both body and soule to be in good health and to reioyce Then flie from sinne This is the second lesson The third lesson is this Study to do well Wouldest thou keepe health in thy soule Studie to do better and better continually At the least haue a purpose in thy heart to do better daily which is the last lesson Seeing that when we studie to do best and that the iust man that is the most holy man falleth so often as seuen times a day yea rather seuenty times what is thy part in these slips and snares Though thou fall as thou canst not eschue to fall lie not still there sleepe not there where thou hast falne it is a shame to sleepe there therefore arise againe And how shouldest thou rise By lifting vp thy soule and running to the Fountaine of grace and mercy by repairing to Christ Iesus to obtaine mercy for thy soule and to craue that he would send out of himselfe that measure of peace that may put thy conscience at rest and restore thy soule to health So lie not where thou fallest but incontinent arise and craue mercy and in obtayning mercy thou shalt repaire thy fall thou shalt amend thy life by repentance and by repentance thou shalt get peace thou shalt haue thy conscience at rest and get health to thy soule Now keepe this rule if thou desirest to keepe thy soule in health looke that thou sleepe not in sin as Dauid did lie not still when thou art falne and so fall from one sinne to another as from adultery to murther from murther to the next c. As commonly if a man sleepe in sin and rise not in time one sinne will draw on another for there is no sinne alone but alwaies the greater and more haynous that the sinne is it hath the greater and worse sins wayting on it Therefore when ye fall delay not to arise but repaire to the fountaine of mercie and seeke grace in time run to prayer run to the Church of God wheresoeuer it be whether in the field or in the towne run to Christ Iesus and craue mercy of him that ye may haue peace in your consciences and so by these meanes euery one of you shall preserue health in your soules By these meanes ye shall learne what difference is betwixt this liuing word of mercy and grace which sounds in our religion and that slaying letter that killeth the soule of euery one that heares it I meane that idolatrous doctrine of that dumbe Masse I mention this vnto you because I see that many in these daies are falne to it and the Lord is beginning to abstract his grace and mercie from this Countrey for the contempt of this quickning word which hath so clearely sounded here and which our Countreymen for the greatest part running headlong to the diuell in a dumbe guise trauell vtterly to banish Is not this a miserable thing that so few of you haue eyes to consider and discerne of the time of peace mercy and grace which is so abundantly offred The Lord of his mercy giue you eyes in time Thus far concerning the reasons wherefore euery one of you should trie examine your owne consciences and this triall ought not to be for a day or for a yeare but it ought to be euery day and
in respect that faith is the ground whereupon all the rest depends and in respect that this fayth is such a Iewell as without the which it is not possible for any of you to please God without which all your deedes are abhomination before him without the which you are in the greatest miserie which miserie is so much the more terrible in that you are ignorant of it is it not good reason that ye know and vnderstand how this faith is first wrought and then nourished in your soules by the holy Spirit that seeing how it is created and the maner how it is brought about ye may examine your consciences and see whether ye may be in the faith or not My purpose was to haue insisted longer on this matter then this time will suffer Now therefore as time will permit and God shall giue grace I wil let you vnderstand how the holy Spirit imployes his trauaile in the heart and minde of man and what paines the holy Ghost taketh in creating and forming this Iewell of faith in your soules Yet before I enter this worke to let you see the trauailes of the Spirit of God in working of this fayth in your hearts it is necessarie and more then necessarie that ye vnderstand first your owne miserie and infirmitie and that ye know how the Lord was induced to recouer you out of your old estate and to recreate you who were lost by the fall of your father Adam Then to consider of this matter more deepely I offer to your remembrances this ground That man vniuersally and euery one particularly being corrupted and lost and that by our first fathers fall for if there were no more but that same first fault and sinne of his we are all of vs iustly condemned to a double death both of bodie soule for euer Man thus vniuersallie and particularlie being vtterlie lost without any hope at all of recouery left in his soule without any sense of the recouery of that former estate or repairing of that Image which he had lost through sinne long before he being I say lost by this sinne and left in this desperate estate in himselfe what doth God The euerliuing God onely wise whose waies are vnserchable hath found out a way how that man this way lost yet he may be saued herein he sought counsell from whom Not from any â—reature but he counselled with himselfe The persons of the Trinitie tooke counsell of themselues one God was moued to seeke counsell from himselfe onely moued in himselfe for he had not an externall principall without himselfe to induce him So he seeking this counsell at himselfe and being moued in himselfe thereto as Ephes. 1.9 what doth he When all men should haue died for euer it pleased him of his infinite mercy to select out of all and to elect a certaine number out of the lost race of Adam that should haue perished for euer In this his counsell and decree moued I say of himselfe and seeking counsell from himselfe onely he selects a certaine number out of this rotten race which certaine number he will haue sanctified he will haue iustified he will haue glorified And therefore to bring to passe the worke of their saluation what doth he He appoints his owne naturall sonne for he had but one naturall son he appoints the second person of the Trinity his owne naturall sonne God in power glory and maiestie as high as himselfe equall with God the father in all things he appoints him to worke this worke to bring to passe this worke of our redemption and eternall saluation This is but the mystery of it in some measure disclosed And therefore in the fulnes of time for he dispenseth all things according to his wisedome at such time as he appointed he makes his sonne to come downe to seise himselfe in the wombe of the Virgin to take on our flesh to take on the likenesse of sinne he tooke not on sin but he tooke on the likenes of sin What call I that likenes Our flesh is the likenesse of sinne he tooke on our flesh and nature the likenes of sinne which was perfectly sanctified the very moment of his conception in the very wombe of the Virgin He tooke on this flesh that in this flesh and nature sinne might be banished and cast out of vs for euer And whereas we should all of vs haue gone one-way for there was no exception of persons by nature Christ Iesus our sauiour hath elected vs and according as his Father in his secret election before the beginning of the world had elected vs the same Christ Iesus in his owne time calleth vs and maketh vs partakers of that saluation which he hath purchased and he repaires not onely that image which was lost in our forefather Adam he placeth vs not in a terrestriall paradise where Adam was placed at the beginning and what more could haue bene sought by vs but he giues vs a farre more excellent image then we lost he placeth vs in a more high and in a more celestiall paradise then we lost For so much the more heauenly is the paradise which he giues vs as the second Adam is more excellent then the first and as the Sonne of God and God himselfe is farre aboue any creature that euer was man or Angell Therefore it comes to passe that by the benefite of the second Adam Christ Iesus our Sauiour the Sonne of God whereas had we remained in that Image wherein our forefather was created we should haue setled our selues in the earth for euer we could not haue craued a better paradise then an earthlie paradise for earthlie tabernacles By benefit of the Son of God I say it cometh to passe that we are plucked vp out of the earth to the heauen and to a heauenly paradise And what haue we to do with heauen Are we not made of the earth to returne to the earth Becomes not an earthly paradise an earthly body Yet the Lord in his mercy sendeth downe his Sonne to draw vs vp out of the earth to the heauen This is so high a thing that it cannot be easily considered For this drawing of vs to a heauenly paradise is a thing more then could haue bene thought on That we should liue the life of Angels in heauen how could the heart of man thinke on this Yet it pleased the liuing Lord in the great riches and bowels of his mercie and in the exceeding greatnes of the power of his mercie towards vs the Apostle in that Epistle to the Ephesians cannot get words enough to expresse this he knowes not how to begin nor how to end when he speakes of the riches of that mercie and if ye looke well into that Epistle to the Ephesians ye shall finde more high and excelleÌ„t stiles giuen to the riches of that mercie in that Epistle then in any other part of the Scripture It pleased him I say of his owne mercie not to giue vs simply the
euerlasting But alas we are come to such a lothing disdaine or reiecting of heauenlie foode in this Country that where men in the beginning would haue gone some twentie miles some fortie miles to the hearing of this word they will scarcelie now come from their houses to the Church and remaine there but one houre to heare the word but rather abide at home Wel I say too much wealth withdrawes their hearts the abundance of this word ingenders such a loathsomnes that it is a rare thing to find out any that haue that thirst desire to heare the word as they were wont to haue in the beginning And for those that are in higher places they wil here it seldom or not at all for they cannot endure to heare the thing that accuseth them and conuicts them and therefore they auoyde it But they should not do so they should not shunne Christ nor abstaine from his word that accuseth them but they should heare the word and as the word accuseth them they should accuse themselues also that thereby they may come to a confessiō of their sin obtaine mercy for the same So when Christ accuseth thee thou shouldst not run from him but thou shouldest draw neere to him thou shouldest threaten kindnesse of him and as it were make a breach and forcible entry into his kingdome It is not the way when thy sinnes touch thee and when Christ accuseth thee to run from him no thou shouldest then turne to him thou shouldest confesse thy sinne cry Peccaui and seeke mercy and after that thou hast obtained mercy this word shall become as pleasant to thee thou shalt take as great delight to come to the hearing of it as euer thou delightedst to flie from it before But alas our lothsomnesse and disdaine is growne to such an height that truly I am moued to beleeue firmly that the Lord hath concluded that we shall not enter into his rest and that onely for the great contempt of his mercy and grace which is now so richly offred For why God can not deale otherwise with vs then he dealt with our forefathers the Israelites for the negligence of his word which was but then obscurely preached for then it was farre from the incarnation of Christ and the farther that it was from his incarnation the word was euer the more obscurely preached vnder darke types and shadowes Yet notwithstanding the Fathers that heard that word preached and beleeued it not they perished all in the Wildernesse except two as ye haue sometime heard out of this place And if they perished for the contempt of so darke a light much more must ye that are their children perish for the contempt of the Sun of righteousnes who is risen so plainly shineth so cleerly now in the preaching of the Gospel except the Lord in his mercie preuent you and except ye preuent his iudgements by earnest seeking and except ye seeke a feeling and seeke inward senses that ye may see and feele the grace that is offered craue againe that he will sanctifie your hearts by repentance that ye may repent you of your sins leade an honest a godly conuersation in all time to come that both body and soule may be saued in the great day of the Lord. The Lord worke this in your soules that ye may seeke mercie seeking mercie ye may obtaine mercy and in mercie ye may lay hold on Christ and that for his righteous merits To whom with the Father and the holie Ghost be all honour praise and glorie both now and euer Amen THE SECOND SERMON VPON THE PREPARATION TO THE LORDS SVPPER 1. COR. 11.2 Let euery man therefore examine himselfe and so let him eate of this Bread and drinke of this Cup. IN the doctrine of our triall and due examination the Apostle as ye haue heard wel-beloued in Christ Iesus gaue vs a speciall command that euery one of vs should try and examine narrowly our selues that is that euery man should condescend and enter into his owne conscience try and examine the estate of his own conscience in what estate he findes it with God and in what estate he findes it with his neighbour He enioynes this triall to our selues and commandeth that euery one of vs should take paines about the true examination of our consciences He enioynes this work to vs why Because no man knoweth so much of me as I do my selfe because no man can be sure of the estate of my conscience but I my selfe because no man can so diligently nor so profitably try my conscience as I my selfe Therefore chiefly it behooueth euery man and woman before they do enter in to the hearing of the Word before they giue their eare to the Word or their mouth to the Sacrament it behooueth them to trie and examine their owne consciences Not that the Apostle would seclude the triall of other men for as it is lawfull for me to try my selfe so no doubt it is lawfull for my Pastor to try me It is lawfull for other men that haue a care ouer me to try and examine me but no man can do this so profitably to me as I my selfe And though we had neuer so many tryers and examiners all is nothing if we trie not our selues So whether there be a second or a third tryer and examiner let our selues be one and the first And no doubt the Apostles minde was this to let vs see clearely that he that cometh to that Table and hath not that knowledge nor is not of that ability to try him-selfe is a profane commer cometh vncleanely and therefore must needs come to his owne destruction Let euery man therefore grow in knowledge grow in vnderstanding grow in the spirit that he may be the more able to try and examine his owne conscience To the end that ye may go forward and proceede in the worke of this triall with the better speed and with the better fruites in this examination we laid downe this order First of all I shewed what that is which we call a conscience and what is meant thereby Next I declared for what causes ye should put your consciences to this triall and narrow examination And thirdly so farre as time suffered I entred into the points wherein euery one of you should try and examine your owne consciences As for conscience that ye may call that definition to your memory I will resume it shortly We call a conscience a certaine feeling in the heart resembling the righteous iudgement of GOD following vpon a deed done by vs flowing from a knowledge in the mind A feeling accompanied with a motion in the heart a motion either of feare or ioy trembling or reioycing I leaue the opening vp of these parts to your memories and I pray God that they may be well sanctified I come next to the causes wherefore euery one of you should be carefull in trying examining your owne consciences The first cause is
heart is willing in some measure to renounce it selfe This lesson is often taught vs by our Sauiour Christ we must both take vp the crosse and renounce our selues also before that we can follow him The more that this thirst groweth in the heart the more this renouncing of our selues groweth in the heart the more that this thirst decayeth is diminished in the hart the more we cleaue to the woâ—ld the more we loue the flesh and the more are we ruled and guided by them So either we must nourish a thirst of righteousnesse a hunger of life euerlasting a thirst of mercie a hunger after that iustice that is in Christ or it is not possible that in any measure we can be his disciples Now to proceede The heart that after this manner is prepared that with a thirst to be reconciled is resolued also to renounce it selfe this heart in the which there remaineth so earnest a thirst is neuer frustrate of the expectation is neuer disappointed But as the Lord hath imprinted in it an earnest studie to be reconciled and to lay hold on Christ so in his mercie he grants vnto that heart the possession of mercie he puts that heart in some measure in possession of mercie which it seeketh in possession of Christ Iesus himselfe whom it seeketh the which apprehension which it hath of Christ the heart sensiblie feeleth and apprehendeth in that peace which he giueth to the conscience So that the conscience which was terrified exceedinglie gnawen and distracted before by the approching of this peace and of Christ with his graces incontinent it is quieted and pacified there cometh a calmnesse and soundnesse into the heart and all troubles and stormes are remoued With this peace is conioyned a taste of the powers of the world to come the heart gets a taste of the sweetnes that is in Christ of the ioy which is in the life euerlasting which taste is the only earnest pennie of that full and perfect ioy which soule and bodie in that life shall enioy And the earnest penny as ye know must be a part of the summe and of the nature of the rest of the summe And therefore that earnest pennie of ioy assures vs that when we shall gette possession of the whole summe it shall be a strange ioy and these documents lift vp the heart and make it not to linger nor wearie in the expectation of that life but being refreshed now and then therewith by so many earnest pennies they assure vs of the full fruition of that ioy for the which in patience we will sustaine all troubles So as the holy Spirit worketh a thirst in vs to be with Christ a thirst of mercy and reconciliation with him the same holy Spirit disappointeth not that same expectation and thirst but putteth the soule and heart in possession of Christ by the which the conscience is pacified the heart is reioyced and we get a taste of the sweetnes and of the power of that life to come The sensible feeling of the which taste that passeth all naturall vnderstanding what doth it in my heart and conscience It worketh a wonderfull assurance and perswasion that God loueth me The feeling of his mercie in the bowels of my heart in the bottome of my conscience worketh a certaine assurance and perswasion that he is my God that he wil saue me for Christs sake that the promise of mercy which I durst not apply vnto my conscience before now by the feeling of mercie I dare boldly applie and say mercie appertainâ—th to me life and saluation belongeth to me For the conscience being exceedingly terrified and seeing nothing in God but fire and wrath it is not possible but it must flie from him it cannot approch to a consuming fire But from the time that the conscience getteth a taste of this peace mercie and sweetnesse how fast soeuer it fled from the presence of God before now after this reconciliation it will runne as fast to him and will possesse him more more fully So the assurance perswasion of mercie ariseth from the feeling of mercie in the heart and conscience And except the heart feele it and taste it in some measure no conscience dare apply God and his mercie to it selfe I may be sure in generall that all my sinnes are remissible and that I may obtaine mercie before I feele it But to applie this mercie particularly to my selfe vntil I feele a taste of it I dare not So this particular application whereby we claime God and Christ as a property vnto vs as if no man had title to him but we to call him my God my Christ to claime his promises as if no man had interest in them but we this cometh of the sâ—nce and feeling of mercie in the heart and the more that this feeling groweth and the greater experiâ—nce that we haue in our owne hearts of this peace and mercie the more increaseth our faith and assurance Our perswasion becometh sâ— strong that we dare at the last say with the Apostle What can separate vs from the loue of God Neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. This particular application which ariseth no doubt vpon the feeling and sence of mercie is the speciall difference the chiefe marke and proper note whereby our faith who are iustified in the bloud of Christ is discerned from that generall faith of the Papists Our faith by this particular application is not onely discerned from the generall faith of the Papists but it is discerned from all the pretended faiths of all the Sects in the world For the Papist dareth not apply the promise of mercie to his owne soule he accounteth it presumption to say I am an elect I am saued and iustified And fâ—om whence floweth this Onely from hence that in their consciences they haue neuer felt mercie they haue neuer tasted of the loue fauour and sweetnes of God For looke how fast the conscience flieth from God before it get the taste of his sweetnesse it runneth as diligently to him and threatneth loue of him after that it hath gotten that taste So they miserable men content themselues with this generall faith which is no other thing but an historicall faith which groundeth onely on the truth of God whereby I know that the promises of God are true But the Papists dare not come and say They are true in me Why Because they haue not felt it and their hearts are not opened But our iustifying faith as I told you consecrateth the whole soule vnto the obedience of God in Christ. So that it resteth not onely vpon the truth of God nor it resteth not onely vpon the power of God though these be two chiefe pillars of our faith also but especially and chiefely it resteth vpon the mercie of God in Christ.
to God in these words Cast me not away from thy presence And what addeth he And take not thy holy Spirit from me Had he not lost the Spirit by his adultery and murther No for he would not haue said then Take it not from me but Restore it to me It is true that he vseth the like in the verse following Râ—store me to the ioy of thy saluation Not that he wanted the Spirit wholly but that the Spirit lacked force in him and needed strengthening and fortification it would be stirred vp that the flame of it might appeare Therefore I say in that Dauid speaketh so plainly after his adulterie and murther Take not thy Spirit from me it is a certaine argument that the faithfull haue neuer the Spirit of God alwaies taken from them in their greatest dissolutions The second point is this How proue I that these sparkles are not idle though the outward effects be interrupted As Dauid felt this in his conscience so euery one of you may feele it in your owne consciences The Spirit of God in mans heart cannot be idle but these sparkles during the time that the bodie is let loose to all dissolutions these sparkles are accusing thy dissolution are finding fault with thy manners these sparkles suffer thee not to take the pleasure of thy bodie without great bitternesse and continuall remorse And these sparkles where they are will make the soule wherein they dwell to vtter these speeches at one time or other once in the twenty-foure houres Alas I am doing the euill which I would not do if I had power or strength to resist my affection if I might be master of my affections I would not for all the world do the euill which I do Againe if I had power to do the good which I would do I would not leaue it vndone for all the world So these sparkles though they haue not such force and strength presently as to resist the affection abstaine from doing euill deeds yet perpetually in the heart they are finding fault with thy corruption and suffer thee not to take thy pleasure without paine but last of all force thee to vtter these speeches If I had strength to resist I would not do the euill which I do Where these speeches are no question they are the words of a soule which the Lord hath begun to sanctifie and being once sanctified in despite of the diuell and of the corruption that is in vs this faith shall neuer perish but if the whole soule without contradiction with a greedy appetite and pleasure be carried to euill and hath no sorrow for it that soule is in an ill estate I can looke for nothing in such a soule but death except the Lord of his great mercie preuent it But where this remorse and sorrow and such speeches are in the soule that soule in the time that God hath appointed shall recouer strength The Lord shall neuer suffer those sparkes to be wholly taken away but in his owne time he shall fortifie them and make them to breake out before the world in good works The Lord in his owne time will sanctifie them he will scatter the ashes of corruption stirre vp the sparkles and make them to breake out into a better life then euer they did before as ye may cleerely see that Dauids repentance hath done more good to the God then if he had neuer fallen Thus farre concerning the effects Though the effects of repentance be interrupted yet those sparkles are not extinguished For there is no man will thinke that the fire which is couered with ashes is extinguished but being stirred vp in the morning it will burne as cleerely as it did the night before There is no man will think the trees that now in the time of Winter want leaues fruite and externall beauty to be dead There is no man will thinke the Sunne to be out of the firmament though it be ouershadowed with a clowde of darkenesse and mist. There is great difference betweene a sleeping disease and death for men are not dead though they be sleeping and yet there is nothing liker vnto death then sleepe As there is great difference betwixt a drunken man and a dead man so there is great oddes betwixt the faith that lieth hid for a while and vttereth not it selfe and the light that is vtterly put out When we breake not forth into outward deedes God forbid that we should thinke that these sparkles are whollie extinguished Indeede the soule which is visited after foule and haynous backslidings from his calling and against his knowledge before this soule recouer the former beauty it is in a strange danger For if the Lord suffer thy corruption to get loose in such sort that it carry thee as it will and by all meanes possible maketh thee to labour to put out the sparkles of regeneration when the Lord beginnes to challenge thee or to make thee reÌ„der an account of this life past the soule of that man when it is challenged is in great danger So that no question when the Lord beginnes to lay to your charge your dissolute life the contempt and abuse of your calling assuredly your soules are so neere to the bâ—inke of desperation that there can be nothing neerer For wilt thou looke to God Thou wilt see nothing but his anger kindled as a fire against thee Wilt thou looke to thy selfe Thou wilt see nothing but sin prouoking his anger thou wilt see the contempt and abuse of thy calling enlarging his anger thou wilt see nothing but matter of despaire And what is the best pillar and surest retreat whereupon such a soule that is so neere to the brinke of desperation may repose I will shew you the helpe whereupon When thou art assaulted by all the greatest tentations thou canst imagine when there is nothing before thee but death when thou seest the diuell accusing thee thine owne conscience bearing him witnes against thee thy life accusing thee and the abuse of thy calling accusing thee whither shalt thou go Looke backe againe to thy forepast experience cast ouer thy memorie and remember if God at any time and in any measure hath loued thee if euer thou hast felt the loue and fauour of God in thy heart and conscience Remember if euer the Lord hath so disposed thy heart that as he loued thee thou louedst him and hadst a desire to obtaine him Remember if euer the Lord hath so disposed thy heart that as he loued thee thou louedst him hadst a desire to obtaine him Remember this and repose thine assurance on this that as he loued thee once he will loue thee euer and will assuredly restore thee to that loue before thou departest this life The heart that felt once this loue of God shall feele it againe and looke what gift or grace or what taste of the power of the world to come that euer the Lord gaue to his creatures in this life to
that same degree of mercy he shall restore his creature before it depart this life So the soule that is tossed with high assaults and great dangers where present things will not helpe it is necessary that it haue recourse vnto things past and keepe in memory the fore-past experience of mercy which the Lord hath freely shewed towards that soule This same memory shall be so pleasant to the soule that it shall stay it presently from desperation and vphold it vnto the time the Lord pacifie that heart and giue comfort to that soule which being done that soule shall see that howsoeuer God was angry he was angry onely for a while I speake these things not that I thinke that euery one of you hath tasted of them yet in some measure the seruants of God must taste of them and ye that haue not tasted of them may taste of them before ye die And therefore whether ye haue tasted or not tasted of them it cannot be but profitable for you to locke vp this lesson in your hearts and remember it faithfully that if the Lord at any time strike at your hearts ye may remember and say with your selues I learned a lesson To looke backe vnto my forepast experience and thereon to repose And though ye be not touched presently your selues yet when ye visite them that are troubled in conscience let these things be proposed to them as comforts vse them as medicines most meete to apply to the griefe of the inward conscience and so ye shal reape fruite of this doctrine and possesse your soules in a good estate Thus farre for the first point wherein euery one of you ought to try and examine your owne consciences The second point is this Try whether ye haue loue towards your neighbour or not For as we are coupled with God by faith so by the band of loue we are coupled with our neighbour For loue is the chiefe and principall branch that springs from the roote of faith Loue is that celestiall glew that conioyneth all the faithfull members in the vnity of a mysticall body And seeing that religion was instituted of God to serue as a path-way to conuey vs to our chiefe felicity happy we cannot be except we be like vnto our God like vnto him we cannot be except we haue loue For as it is 1. Iohn 4.8 God is loue So seeing God is loue it selfe whosoeuer will resemble him must be endued with the oyle of loue This onely one argument testifieth to vs that this loue is a principall head whereunto all things that are commanded in religion ought to be referred To spend long time in the praise of loue I hold it not necessary seeing the holy Scripture resounds in blasing the commendations of it but that we speake not of any thing ambiguous I will let you see how this word is considered taken in the Scriptures Loue is considered either as a spring or fountaine from whence the rest proceedes that is for the loue whereby we loue God And as loue cometh first from God and is poured by his holy Spirit into our hearts so it first redounds vpward and strikes backe vpon himselfe for the loue of God must euer goe before the loue of the creature Next we take this word for that loue whereby we loue Gods creatures our neighbours especially them that are of the family of faith And thirdly it is taken for the deedes of the second Table which flow from this loue Now when I speake of loue I speake of it as in the second signification to wit as it is taken for the loue of our neighbour And taking it so I call loue The gift of God poured into the hearts of men and women by the which gift we first loue God in Christ our Sauiour and next in God and for Gods cause we loue all his creatures but chiefly our brethren that are of the family of faith the children of one cōmon Father with vs. We will examine this definition I say first the loue of God as it cometh from God it returneth to God as it comes down from him so it strikes vpward to him againe And is it not good reason And why Let thy heart fixe thy loue as long as thou wilt vpon the creatures thou shalt neuer be satiate nor thy affections shall neuer be content except thou lay hold on God but if once thou loue God in thy heart and cast thy affections vpon him once takest hold on him the longer thou louest him the greater safetie and contentment shalt thou haue thou shalt not thirst for any other For as to the creatures there is neuer a creature that God hath created but it is stamped with his owne stampe and euery creature beareth his Image and looking to the Image of God in the creature should it not draw thee to him that thou fixe not thy heart vpon the creature For his owne Image in his creature should leade thee to himselfe And therefore the more that thou knowest the creatures and the greater varietie of knowledge that thou hast of them the more should euery particular knowledge of them draw thee to God and the more shouldest thou wonder at thy God and know thy dutie towards him And seeing that delight floweth from knowledge and euery knowledge hath his owne delight as the varietie of knowledge that ariseth from the creature should make the mind to mount vp to the knowledge of God so the varietie of delights that arise vpon the diuersitie of this knowledge should moue the heart vpward to the loue of God and the heart getting hold of God and being seised with the loue of God and the mind being occupied with the true knowledge of God so soone as heart and mind is full of God the heart is quiet and the mind is satisfied So that the more this knowledge groweth in the mind the greater contentment thou hast and the more the loue of God groweth in thy heart the greater ioy and reioycing hast thou in thy soule And why In God ye haue not onely all the creatures but ye haue himselfe beside the creatures and therefore in God ye haue all the knowledge and delight that can arise of the creatures and besides the creatures ye haue God himselfe who is the Creator And so I say the minde of man can neuer quiet it selfe in the knowledge nor the heart can neuer settle it selfe in the loue of naked creatures in respect they are flowing and vanitie as Salomon calleth them But in the infinite God rightly knowne and earnestly loued the mind shall finde a full rest and the heart shall haue a perfect ioy For our affection is so insatiable that no finite thing will satisfie it nor there can be no solide setling vpon the thing that is transitorie So the loue ought to mount vpward first to God in whose face the heart shall find full and perfect ioy The second argument
at his pleasure why is it not lawfull to craue it Indeed Iohn in his 12. Chap. 25. ver seemeth to gainsay this where he saith He that loueth this life shall lose it This knot may be soone loosed There is a loue of this life which is commendable and there is a loue which is worthie of reproofe whereof Iohn speaketh to wit an extraordinarie loue and such a loue whereby we place our whole felicitie in this life not looking for a better after this So this loue is damned by Iohn The other loue which is of God is whē we are readie to lay downe our life at his Maiesties feete and seeke the prorogation of our life for no respect but for his glory as this King did as he sheweth clearely in the end of his owne words in the 18 and 19 verses Thus farre concerning the petition So if we respect God and his glorie we may seeke this blessing Alwaies ye see in the greatest extremitie the onely comfort that he hath is the testimonie of a good conscience And this ought to be our stay when we are threatned of God either with plague or any other calamitie Well as I said in the beginning if it were possible that the Lords threatnings could make vs to haue recourse to him that he might cleanse our consciences in time we should haue as great comfort in our trouble as this King had Would God he would giue vs melting hearts Lord worke this in you Sir that as he hath honoured in your byrth so ye may honor him by your doings in your gouernment The Lord of his mercy giue vs hearts to craue this Lord giue vs hearts to sigh for the things we cannot amend Lord giue vs grace to haue recourse to Christ Iesus and by his mercy to enter into that City for without it there is nothing but swine and dogs nothing but Papistrie and idolatrie Let vs I say haue recouse to this God who is onely able to preserue both Church and Countrie To this God be all honour praise and glorie for euer and euer Amen THE SEVENTH SERMON VPON THE 38. CHAP. of the Prophecie of ISAIAH preached in the presence of the Kings Maiestie The text 4 Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah saying 5 Go and say vnto Hezekiah Thus saith the Lord God of Dauid thy Father I haue heard thy prayer and seene thy teares Behold I will adde vnto thy dayes fifteene years 6 And I will deliuer thee out of the hand of the King of Ashur and this City for I will defend this City IN the describing of this Kings disease we obserued first the manner and kinde of the disease We noted secondly the time when it tooke him We noted thirdly the greatnesse of this disease And last of all we marked his behauior vnder this disease As to the kind of the disease we marked it to haue bene a pestilent kinde of byle like vnto the botch of Egypt a byle of the worst kind that could be in those dayes So it pleased the Lord to exercise the patience of his tender seruant suppose he had an entire liking of this King yet it pleased him so roughly to handle him Vpon this we marked that the fauor hatred of God should not be esteemed by any externall thing in the earth suppose plagues and afflictions be common both to good euill yet the cause from whence they come is not common the end whereunto they tend is not common The Spirit of God assureth vs that this kind of exercise is the onely way to purge our iniquity By this kinde of exercise the sinnes of Iacob are remoued Then let no man iudge the woe of his brother by reason of affliction Secondly we marked the time when he tooke this disease we noted this time to haue bene the 14. yeare of his reigne shortly after he was deliuered out of the hands of Senacherib So he is not so soone deliuered from one fearefull warre but he falleth in the hands of a terrible plague And here we gathered that the life of a good King is a continuall griefe and a continuall tentation so that the issue of one trouble is the beginning of a greater and their whole life is as it were a continuall vexation So it pleaseth the Lord to exercise the patience of his owne to the end he may engender a bitternesse of this life into them that this life being bitter they may seeke for a better for the Lord feedeth not his owne as slaughter oxen No but he holdeth their backes vnder continuall crosses that by this they may learne to haue their mindes aloft that they may learne how to vse the world and all these trifles beneath to wit as they may serue them to the life to come Thus for the time As for the greatnesse of the disease we painted it forth by two circumstances First by nature it was deadly for there was no force of nature that could preuaile over it Secondly the seruant of God by a denunciation assured him that it was deadly and this aggrauateth highly the greatnesse of this disease Vpon this denunciation we tooke vp a generall lesson concerning the promises and threatnings of God to wit that in all his promises and threatnings there is a condition annexed which either is expressed or perpetually to be vnderstood So it is here for suppose the Prophet vsed the simple forme of denunciation yet it was not to bring him to despaire but that he might the more earnestly seeke grace and mercy at God Lastly we marked his behauiour vnder this disease and we found that suppose the plague threatned him on the one hand and God terrified him on the other hand yet in this extremity he maketh his recourse to him that terrifieth him It was an easie matter to haue retyred to him when the King of Asshur terrified him But this is a wonderfull triumph of faith that the Lord appearing to be his enemy yet he maketh his recourse vnto him This he could not haue done except he had bene sustained by the testimony of a good conscience it is not possible that he could haue retyred to God that is a consuming fire in a guilty conscience except he had bene vpholden by the testimony of a good conscience hauing this testimony he knew that this threatning was to amend him and not to slay him in word and not indeede Vpon this we gathered this obseruation Blessed is the man that is not condemned in his owne conscience for if we cannot escape the condemnation of our owne heart how much lesse can we be able to escape the condemnation of God who made the heart for The Lord condemneth no man but him whom his conscience first condemneth so the Lord hath placed this conscience here to resemble the iudgement which is to follow after For whom the conscience condemneth assuredly the Lord condemneth And whom the conscience with the warrant of the word approueth no
question the Lord approueth Then the the lesson we gathered was this All office-bearers ought so to behaue thēselues in this life that in their death they may haue the testimony of a good conscience for it is not possible that the conscience can testifie well except in time he take vp a new trade of liuing except you keepe your hands free of other mens sinnes And therefore I exhorted all inferiour magistrates superiour and in speciall the supreme that the Lord by his spirit would so rule your conscience Sir that ye may keepe your selfe free from other mens iniquities Thus farre we proceeded in our last exercise Now followeth the comfort that the King being placed in this extremity did finde the Lord sendeth him comfort from heauen The forme and manner of the comfort is set downe in there verses which I haue read but the circumstances are more particularly set downe in the 2. King 20. chap. Alwayes this order is kept in these verses First in the 4. verse is set downe the circumstance of time when this comfort was offered and vpon the circumstance of time the circumstance of place where he was when he receiued this comfort may easilie be gatherd Besides this the persons the Author the giuer of this commission the Minister and bearer are noted Vnto this verse before that he come to the comfort he vseth a preface in the end of this preface there is a narration that the Lord had heard the kings prayer had seene his teares In the third place he propoundeth the comfort And last of all we haue the confirmation of this proposition by a wonderfull signe and miracle from heauen Then to come backe to the 4. verse he touched the circumstance of time very obscurely when the King receiued this comfort for it is said Then came the word of the Lord. This particle Then is relatiue to that time which is more chearely set downe in 2. King 20. This then is to be vnderstod when the Prophet was in the middle court when the word of the Lord came vnto him and commanded him to stay look how much space there was betwixt the Kings bed where he lay and the second hall as great space is there betwixt the denunciation the recalling thereof He was not as yet passed the second hall when the word of the Lord came vnto him and commanded him to go backe and to recall that same sentence in a moment with one mouth which before he pronounced now he commandeth him to pronounce the contrary This is a wonderfull change in such a suddainnes and vpon this suddainnes there are many notable things that offer themselues worthy of consideration First of this suddainnes marke this lesson we see how pithie and effectuall the prayer of the King hath bene this prayer is so effectuall that in a moment it moueth the great God to reuerse that same sentence which he had pronounced that which heauen nor earth nor any other creature was able to alter he maketh the prayer of his owne seruant to call backe Beside this his prayer purchased health of bodie length of dayes a sure and prosperous estate and afterward all this is confirmed by such a wonderfull miracle the like whereof was neuer seene nor heard of before Looke then if the prayers of the faithfull be not wondrous effectuall It is not possible that all these effects can flow of the pithinesse of prayer seeing there is nothing so weake in it selfe but it cometh of the free nature of God whose nature is to be mercifull and it is the nature of mercie to haue pitie vpon miserie This is the reason why our prayers are in an instant of time heard And here also we may learne how well God answers to the names that are giuen him Exod. 34.6 where he is called exceeding mercifull slow to anger readie to forgiue he vttereth himselfe to be a God of great compassion and exceeding in mercie toward vs in such sort that in an instant sometimes he granteth our requests The last thing that I marke vpon the suddainnes is the strict and entire coniunction that is betwixt the faithfull soule in earth on the one part and God in heauen on the other part This coniunction is so entire and strict that it maketh God as present to our prayers as if heauen and earth were ioyned together This coniunction maketh his Sonne Christ to be as neare in time of neede as if he had placed his throne of grace in the bed where we lie To prooue this ye see how speedily his prayer mounteth ye see how swiftly the answer returneth and with such celeritie all this matter is done as if there were no distance betwixt heauen and earth So the lesson is this The faithfull soule hath God as present as if heauen and earth were ioyned together There is no distance of place no distance of roome that can make God to consume time in doing of his will but where faith is it maketh him so present that incontinently we get our dispatch Craue not therefore ô Papist any other presence then this and examine not this presence by naturall reason for where faith hath place naturall reason must ceasse Examine not these things by reason of nature which are aboue nature Thus far concerning the circumstance of time Now of the circumstance of time I gather the circumstance of place where the King was when he receiued this comfort For if the Prophet was commanded to turne backe when he was in the second hall it behooueth the King to be at home lying on his owne bed And this by the way is a great signe of the fauour of God toward him that his sicknesse taketh him at home where he might be best eased without the trouble of others This is by the way Now as to the third circumstance The Author of the comfort no doubt was God for there is no good gift but it floweth from him The minister that he vsed is his owne Prophet He vseth the ministerie of his Prophet in applying of the comfort not that he was forced to vse the ministerie of man in doing of this thing but so it pleaseth the Lord to ingage and binde himselfe to his instruments that he will not worke beside them so it pleased him to binde him to his preached word that beside his word he will not worke And therefore he calleth his word a Sword a fire an hammer and an arrow and that from the diuerse effects that he worketh by his word As he bindeth him to his word so he willingly bindeth him to his seruants who are the Ministers of his word to worke by their ministerie In such sort that he will not be bound to the word pronounced by euery man and woman but by them whom he sendeth And therefore they are in an error who thinke that by their owne reading of the Scriptures in their priuate houses they are able to get as
that ye haue your life and the commodities of it ready to lay downe at his feete ready to offer vp in sacrifice when it pleaseth him Of this I shall gather one or two notes and so I shall end this present exercise The first thing that I wil you to marke is the contrary voices that this King vttereth in the 14. verse and in the verse foregoing Reade these verses and ye shall see how contrary he is to himselfe In the 13. verse ye see he vttereth voices full of doubting and as it appeareth full of despaire at the least full of doubting he vttereth such voices as if God had bene his deadly enemy In the fourteenth ver he vttereth the flat contrary And he maketh his recourse to the same God whom he seeemeth to make his enemy in the 13. verse and he seeketh a blessing of him which testifieth that he trusted in him for none can call on him in whom they trust not So this is his behauiour in this disease one while he thinketh God a consuming fire another while he hath his recouse to him as his onely refuge One while he vttereth voices full of doubting another while he vttereth voices full of confidence Now the question ariseth Is it possible that faith and doubting can haue place both in one soule I say it is very possible there is neuer a one of the seruants of God but they haue had it And this is sure that there is no conscience so at rest that it is without al trouble and no estate of men so quiet that is without some inquietnesse in this life for it is the custome of God to bring his dearest children sometime into doubting suppose he do so yet in the meane time he susteineth them from despaire Know we not that this faith of ours is imperfect subiect to a continuall growing and progresse but neuer coming to a perfection so long as we are here subiect to stammering to manifold errors wrastlings and doubtings Yet all these imperfections are freely pardoned in the righteous merites of Iesus Christ. Where is that soule or who is he that hath that soule â—hat if he will examine his faith with the absolute perfection that is in the nature of God to whon nothing is pleasant but that which is perfect who shall not fall in doubting so soone as he beholdeth him Examine your faith with that perfection which is commanded in the Scriptures and with that progresse that is wished for in the holy Scriptures who shall not doubt By this examination let him but cast downe his eyes on the manifold corruption that is in him and on the heauy iudgement of God that hangeth ouer both body and soule for sinne and who will not doubt It is not possible but he must doubt hauing his eyes bent on himselfe and his affections wherewith he is defiled So I say doubting is common to all the best seruants of God There is none of you that will esteeme Paul to haue bene one of the worst and yet his words declare that there was a doubting in his soule for 2. Corinth 4.8 he sayth plainely we are alwayes in affliction but not in distresse We are in doubt but we despaire not So he granteth that there is a doubting in the soule that hath faith onely he denieth despaire As if he would say I giue you to vnderstand that doubting may stand in the soule with faith but not to despaire for the word despaire importeth of it selfe the cutting of the pillars of our beliefe Therefore faith and despaire cannot both stand in one soule But faith and doubting do lodge in my soule and shall lodge in all the soules of the faithfull to the end of the world Vnder doubting he comprehendeth all the errors tentations stammerings and wrastlings wherewith our faith is assaulted full oft which makes vs sometimes incline to despaire sometimes to hope whilest we looke on our selues to despaire and whilest we looke on the mercy of God in Christ Iesus to hope Now the Apostle taketh this doubting to himselfe as a thing whereunto all Christians are subiect There are few of you that know what this meaneth although it is certaine ye may be visited this way therefore keepe in memory this that suppose ye haue not to do with it your selues yet ye may vse it when you visite others for seeing we carry about with vs these bodyes of sinne for the spirit of faith and sanctification filleth not all the soule in this life and the largest part of the soule being defiled with this remanent corruption it must vtter such stuffe as it hath to wit doubting and stammering Now seeing there remaineth in the greatest part this corruption of necessity it must be occupied in doing it must be working And what bringeth it forth Sinne. And what doth the multiplication of sinne but hindereth our faith and perswasion and casteth a veile and a mist betwixt the sight of God and vs and therefore the Prophet calleth it a separation whereby we are depriued of the sight of God which we haue in the Mediator Christ. Seeing then so long as we are in these bodies of â—lay we are subiect to sinne we cannot but doubt For suppose we fall not into these grosse iniquities yet sinne and the guiltinesse thereof bringeth a doubting and casteth a veile ouer the eye of our faith and this veile being on the eye of our fayth out of question it hindreth our perswasion and maketh vs not to be so stedfast in our beliefe as otherwise we would be for he that seeth euill will oft times take one thing for another So this corruption is the cause of our doubting which in some measure is euer in the soule Now what learne we of this first we learne this coÌ„fort that it is no new thing to the seruants of God to vtter contrary voices in their great trouble to vtter voices proceeding of a deepe sense of the loue and the mercy of God in one word and in another word to vtter a feâ—ling of his hatred and wrath as if he were our deadly enemy Sometimes this King vttereth words full of doubting sometime he seeketh benefites of him as he were his good friend Christ vsed these contrary voices There was neuer a speciall seruant of God but they had them And Christ had them himselfe more then any seruant that he hath not proceeding of any doubting or mistrust in the mercy of his Father because in him there was no roote of infidelity but coming of the feeling of his extreme wrath for a time Looke Matthew 26. There he sayth twise ouer Let this cup depart from me And againe he taketh vp himselfe and he sath Not I as will but as thou wilt These are quite contrary he saith to God why hast thou forsaken me and yet he calleth him my God my God So I say it is no new thing to the seruants of God being in trouble and hauing
warning and know not what houre the Lord wil call on vs. There is none that is sure that he must change habitation and is out of doubt in his conscience that he is to remoue that will settle his heart in that place which he is not able to keepe but being assured that he shall remoue he will send his houshold stuffe and substance before him If this be true in earthly things how much more ought we seeing the Lord giueth vs leasure to send our substance before vs And as it is true that the heart followeth the substance let both hart and substance be sent to heauen where they may both meete vs to our comfort Be rich in God be rich in good workes and that kind of substance shall be able to convoy thee and shall serue stand in stead to thee both in heauen and earth The second comparison was taken from the Weauer and his web and the effect of it is this as the Weauer bringeth his web to the off cutting so would the King say I see I haue brought this miserable life of mine to the off-cutting I haue procured my suddaine and vntimely death by mine euil life I haue hasted this messenger It is true that all the diseases of the body and the chiefe diseases of the soule flow from sinne And as death entred by sinne so by multiplication of sinne deaâ—h is hastened sinne shorteneth our life sinne maketh our dayes euill sinne maketh them full of griefe and sorrow sinne inuolueth vs in a thousand cares sinne wrappeth vs in infinite vnprofitable labours Sinne weakneth our body by deceiueable pleasures sinne vexeth our minde with such terrors as cannot be expressed Abeit if this good King had occasion to say that his euill spent life spurred him to his death what may our yong nobility say if it be true that one sinne blood cutteth the halfe of the dayes as the Psalmist sayth how much more shall an heape of sinnes concurring in one pâ—rson shorten the dayes The sacrilegious blasphemer and the bloudy adulterer and infinite more other sinnes concurring in one person shall not these shorten this miserable life The thing which they feare most would willingliest eschue that same thing such is their iudgement they runne headlong on As to the prophane multitude ye see these two vices gluttony and drunkennesse whereby they dâ—aw on themselues sudden death and there is neuer a man but he is subiect vnto one sinne or other which shorteneth the threed of his life and draweth on that which he would eschue Well I will not insist in these occasions of death take heede whether ye walke in mercy or in your owne sinnes If ye walke in your owne sinnes of all iudgements it is the most terrible to be left to your selfe now mercie is offered and therefore ye that would be translated from death to life vse this time diligently In the second part of that exercise I shewed you the rage and fury of his sicknesse we did let you see the weight of his feuer was so great that it made him thinke that God was a deuouring Lion readie to bruise all his bones to powder It made him to looke that both soule and bodie should be taken from him that day ere night We shewed that these voyces could not flow froÌ„ a temporall paine only but there behoued to be a fire in the soule a further paine then could come of any bodily disease in the earth Of all troubles that come vnto man the trouble of conscience is the greatest of all other troubles this is the chiefest when besides a sight of sinne there is a touch of â—he insupportable anger indignation of the liuing God It appeareth by these voyces that the King felt a touch of this wrath whereby God appeareth to be a consuming fire It is the custome of God to bring his children into these extremities that feeling the pangs of hell they may see how precious the death of Christ ought to be vnto them How farre they are bound vnto him what is the dutie they owe vnto him that went betwixt them and so bitter a punishment This kind of extremitie teacheth vs how easie it is for the Lord to represse the pride of the flesh and to beate downe this wantonnesse of our filthie nature This glorious King in the space of 12. houres is brought to the ports of the graue and of desperation in a manner So ye see how easie it is for the Lord to bring the proudest flesh low and to do this he needeth not fire nor sword nor any other instrument but such as we haue within our selues he is able to make our owne darlings to be our greatest tortures For we carrie within vs either one viper or other which shall destroy the soule except the Lord preuent in mercie Last of all we shew how this King in his greatest extremitie behaued himselfe notwithstanding God appeareth to be a fire to his soule yet he retireth to the same God and where he might not by words vtter the griefe and trouble of his heart when the benefite of his speech was taken from him yet he ceasseth not but he sigheth and maketh his moane counterfeiting the Doue the Swallow and the Crane he chattereth and lifteth vp his eyes vsing all such gestures so long as he had his tongue he prayeth and the words are few which he speaketh but they are sententious It hath oppressed refresh me or weaue me out As if he would say The force of this disease and furie of this feuer is so great that it ouercometh all force of nature Therefore seeing nature will auaile nothing I flie to the God of nature to whom it is easie to support nature and of this God I craue health and continuance of my daies I craue that as he hath begun so he would weaue out this web to the glorie of his name and comfort of his Church FroÌ„ this last part we shewed you two things we marked first these contrarie voyces into which the seruants of God burst foorth in their greatest troubles vttering sometimes words full of doubting and sometimes full of confidence In the 15. verse God appeareth to haue bene a consuming fire and a raging Lion to him In the 14. verse he maketh his recourse to the same God and suppose he threatned him yet he reposeth vpon him Vpon this we did let you see first that doubting and confidence may haue place both in one and the selfesame soule There was neuer a seruant of God but had experience of this yea it is proper to the children of God to be subiect to this doubting suppose in mercie they be kept from desperation For seeing this faith of ours as long as we are here is imperfect how is it possible that anie faithfull soule weighing their faith with that perfection which is in God to whom nothing is pleasant but that which is perfect how is it possible I say but that soule must doubt
is onely true peace and quietnesse to be found Therefore our exercise should chiefly stand in this to expell this enemy and monster sinne and to possesse that sauing iuice and wholsome peace that passeth all vnderstanding The second effect whereby we may know that the soule liueth is the ioy and reioycing vnder trouble For we know by experience that trouble of it owne nature cannot bring forth this ioy but bringeth forth the contrary effects as sadnesse heauinesse and sorrow Now where the Spirit is so disposed that we reioyce vnder trouble this is a sure argument of the blessed Spirit the Spirit of life which onely quickneth the soule and this ioy maketh vs not onely to reioyce in trouble but to glory also as sayth the Apostle For surely the crosse of Christ is our onely ioy the shame of Christ is our onely honour Hereby we perceiue the great glory that the Lord hath called vs to that not onely he maketh vs to beleeue his word but to suffer for him also onely ye haue to take heede to your troubles For this ioy accompanieth not all troubles but onely those troubles that are suffred for Christs cause for righteousnesse sake are vnderserued For those troubles that are deserued the like ioy is not to be found in them The third effect whereby we may know that the soule liueth is the loue of God and hatred of euill Where this loue is kindled in the soule where we beginne to know God to loue him and to taste of him for it is not possible that we can loue him except we haue a taste of his sweetnesse this loue make vs like to God for God is loue as Iohn saith If loue dwell in thine heart God dwelleth in thine heart and this loue is a sure pledge of the life of the soule where this loue is of necessity also there must be a hatred of euill Now trie and examine if the Spirit of life hath wrought these effects in thy soule in any measure if it were neuer so small it is a sure argument that this life is begunne and the life which God hath begunne he will perfect it If the loue of God were neuer so litle and the hatred of euill were neuer so little if any of these effects were but in a small measure ye may be sure that Christ dwelleth in your hearts by faith and that the soule liueth Ye that feele this as I would that ye all felt it prease to nourish and strengthen this life not weary in well doing but go forward in working the works of the Spirit Sow not in the flesh go not forward in the lusts and appetites thereof for ye may learne of the Apostle what aduantage this labour bringeth to wit shame and confusion death of the body and death of soule Rom. 6. But on the contrary go forward in nourishing of the Spirit and in well doing Sow in the Spirit and as the Apostle sayth ye shall reape an euerlasting and incomprehensible life This Spirit then is said to be nourished and corroborate in our hearts when we nourish the light and knowledge of God in Christ Iesus when we edifie our selues in our most holy faith and continue in the exercise of prayer As by the contrary we banish this light of the good Spirit and by our euill doing we banish the knowledge of God in Christ whē we put out this light diminish our perswasion and leaue off the exercise of prayer For by the same meanes whereby the soule liueth they being remoued the soule dieth Therfore those that would liue this way they ought to nourish the knowledge of God they ought to be exercised in well doing in hearing of Gods word in edifying them in their most holy faith and in continuall crauing of grace and mercy by prayer Now the King sayth he hath this life and he hath experience of the good word in this for I take this to be a different life from the other whereof he spake before to wit this is the life of the soule which proceedeth of the word of promise for this word is the power of God to saluation to all them that beleeue Rom. 1. Set your hearts saith Moses Deut. 32 vpon this word for it is not a vaine word it is your life and felicity The words which I speake sayth our Master Iohn 6. are Spirit life And from this Iohn calleth him the word of life the bread of life Peter saith whom shall we go to for in thee are the words of life It is he that hath life in himselfe Iohn 5. From this also it is said 1. Cor. 15. that as the first Adam was made a liuing soule so the second Adam was made a quickning Spirit and by reason we are made participant of this spirit by the ministery of his word therefore it is called the word of the Spirit by the same reason we that are his Ministers are counted the Ministers of the Spirit as the Apostle calleth vs 2. Cor. 3. They that would reade further of the praise of this word I remit them to the 19. Psalme where the properties of this word are exactly set downe I will end here Who so looketh vpon the precious effects of this word and on the other side looketh vpon our vnhappy behauior I am assured it would astonish any Christian heart to behold how the Lord can suffer our contempt so long as he doth For formerly whereas there was skarsly crummes of this bread of life to be had in this countrie men sought it out diligently and ran to haue it with such zeale that they compassed both sea and land they spared neither trauell nor cost but forcibly as it were thronged and thrusted in and made irruption in this kingdome But now when it hath pleased the Lord to offer vnto vs great plentie of this foode we so despise the bountie and liberality of this good God that we turne this great grace and mercie of his into iudgement and vengeance vpon our owne heads And as to the greatest part of the multitude they disdain it so spitefully that they had rather embrace the leauen of the Pharisies and draw them to that company where they can haue no other foode but songes maskes mummings and vnknowne Languages And so thinke to feed their soules by the mockery of God Now as to the Gentlemen Earles Lords and Barrons they are so drunken with sacrilegde that ere they will part with these goods they had rather part with the life of their soule yea when it cometh to this that the word cannot be entertained but by their expences they make no choyse but had rather lose their soules an hundred times ere they would bestow a halfepenny vpon the Church This is true in the greatest part so it is the Lord that wonderfully continueth the light amongst vs that keepeth a face of a ministery in Scotland There is no good entertainment but a very great pouerty in the most part
they will hazard both bodie and soule There is none but they see this and haue cause to lament it I cannot but be rauished in admiration when I see these two to wit the more that light is offered our hearts are the harder the more that light groweth and knowledge increaseth conscience decayeth as if knowledge and conscience could not dwell both in one country The more light increaseth the more well doing decayeth which testifieth that the darknesse wherein the Papists liued keeping a conscience in respect of vs shall rise and condemne vs that in so great light haue lost all conscience This is a part of my wonder Now what must follow of this The Apostle Heb. 6. letteth vs see that the ground which is often watered and refreshed with raine in due season and in the meane time bringeth nothing foorth but briers and thornes which are onely meete faggots for the fire shall be burnt vp in the Lords iudgement To apply this howsoeuer the iudgement be delayed of necessity there remaineth an vtter burning vp which consumption must be the greater the greater that the light is For the greater light the greater contempt and the greater contempt the heauier must the iudgement be And surely I looke with my selfe and am in a constant expectation that except matters proceede otherwise in this countrie then they haue done it shall be made a spectacle to all other countries in the earth Thus farre we proceeded in our last exercise Now in the end of the 16. verse he continueth and he prayseth that same blessed word of God from other effects which he found in his owne person and in the end of this verse he saith By the benefit of the word I haue obtayned health of bodie For as sicknesse had taken all strength from me and had spoiled me of my force by the benefit of the word I am restored to my strength to my force and wealth againe Yea not onely by the benefit of the word am I restored to my health but by the same benefit I am preserued in my health and continue therein So that looke from the beginning First he ascribeth the life of the bodie to the word Secondly he ascribeth the life of his soule to the word he ascribeth the health of his bodie and soule to the word And last of all he ascribeth the continuance of the health of bodie and soule to this word What comfort is there to be found but it is in the word What comfort can a Christian heart wish but it is in the word Yea I say more it is not possible to the mouth nor to the heart of man to expresse the comfort which the soule hath in this word It is not possible to the mouth to vtter the ioy which it worketh in them in whom this Spirit is effectuall Notwithstanding all this great benefit that floweth of the word let vs see who runneth to this word to seeke comfort If we looke to the prophane multitude yea to the best of vs all there is neuer a one that runneth to this word vntill all worldly comfort do faile vs But when nature and all naturall meanes hath left vs then we run as it were compelled to the word yea we are so late in running that oft times we get an euill answer when we come and the gates are violently shut vppon vs as they were on the foolish virgins Well the word is daily and continually sounded Therefore seeke to get comfort of this word in time Looke that ye heare this word with great reuerence and studie to practise it dayly more and more in your daylie life and conuersation Now in the 17. verse of this Chapter he noteth the time First when he fell into this disease Secondly he letteth vs know the manner how he was deliuered As to the time when he fell into it he saith it was in time of peace after he was deliuered from the hands of Sanacherib and when he was at ease in great wealth and abundance and as he himselfe confesseth when he was beginning to forget God and to abuse the great benefit of his deliuerie at that same time God beginneth to pull his eare and he casteth him out of the hands of a fearefull warre into the hands of a terrible plague I marked in the entry of this Chapter some things vpon this circumstance And therefore I content me onely with this obseruations We may perceiue by this same circumstance how hard a thing it is to flesh and bloud to beare the cup of great wealth and long health euen Yea it is a thing altogether impossible to flesh to beare the cup of prosperitie and health equally any long space but except the Lord exercise vs by one exercise or other hold vs in awe and tune our eare like fed horse we begin to repine Therefore I say seeing this is a common sicknesse vnto all flesh as I haue spoken we haue to seeke our counsell of Agur the sonne of Iake who fearing to fall into these inconueniences desireth two things of God first he prayeth that he will remooue all vanitie and lying words from him that is that he will remooue and forget his sinnes and deliuer him from euill Secondly that he will neither tempt him with ouer great abundance nor yet with ouer great pouerty that he would not tempt him with ouer great abundance lest should forget him nor yet with ouer great pouertie lest he should speake euill of him but chiefly he craueth of God that he will grant vnto him his daily bread that is vnto euery one of vs according to the nature of our calling and estate so much of these temporall goods as he knoweth meetest for his glory and our saluation Then to eschue the inconueniences of abundance which do make vs forget God of pouertie that maketh vs to blaspheme God beg of God that he would grant you your dayly bread But I pray you what maruell is it that a wealthy and glorious King in the time of his greatest prosperitie should fall into the ignorance of God What maruell is it that a King who commonly taketh vnto him an absolute power and hath none about him but flatterers for the most part and who continually drinketh in vanitie at all his senses like water what maruell is it that lie fall into the ignorance of God when we see our owne meane Lords who are not Kings to fall into such proud contempt that they are alwaies readie as appeareth to take vp open warres against God so that Iulian was no greater profest enemie then they are like to be if they continue Suppose a King fall into this ignorance of God what maruell is it seeing that these meane Lords in very meane wealth do the like yea and the greater Well this King was chastised in the mercie of God that he should not fall into the condemnation of the Reprobate And that man if he be not chastised in time by the
must redound backe to him that gaue it Therefore the nearer the soule is conioyned with God it praiseth him so much the more Now after the death of the bodie the soules of the faithfull are more straightly coupled with God therefore after death they praise him the more Where Christ hath dwelt once in this life suppose the bodies die and be resolued in powder by reason of sinne yet the soule liueth by reason of righteousnesse Yea suppose the body be dissolued yet that Spirit of life that dwelt in the soule raiseth thy soule to heauen euen as the Spirit of life that dwelt in Christ Iesus raised his bodie from the graue And as the Spirit of life is the onely cause that made vs to praise him in our bodies so that same Spirit maketh vs to praise him out of these bodies by reason suppose we be absent in bodie yet are present in our soule with the Lord. For the words Rom. 8 are these If Christ dwell in you suppose the body be dead by reason of sinne yet the Spirit is aliue for righteousnesse sake The meaning of the words is suppose they that are departed leaue off to praise the Lord in their bodies and in the earth which he calleth the land of the liuing yet they leaue not off at all Now of this I shall marke one or two things Take vp the end wherefore the Lord deliuereth any person citie or country from any trouble within or without the chiefe end of his deliuerie is this That that person citie or countrey may serue as an instrument to preach his benefits to sound his praise and to render vnto him heartie thanks for it Are our sinnes forgiuen vs to this end is there any countrey or any citie set at libertie to this end that we should prouoke God to anger by heauier sinnes againe Is this the end wherefore he forgiueth sinnes Is this the end wherefore he bestoweth his benefits that we should vse them as weapons to fight against himselfe Is not this rather the high way to kindle him to greater seueritie and to sharpen his furie against our selues Yea and what exception I pray you can we vse in his greatest seueritie seeing we haue prouoked it our selues I speake it to this end there is not a person in particular nor any in generall but of naturall knowledge they will say There was neuer a greater benefit bestowed on a countrey then in releeuing vs of the feare of that barbarous Nation he must either confesse this or he is an asse This benefit if it were rightly measured and considered reade ouer the Scriptures conferre benefit with benefit miracle with miracle all circumstances being well considered ye shall finde that since the children of Israel came through the red Sea there hath not bene a greater To what end deliuered he vs is it that we should prouoke him with greater sinnes Looke since the feare of these strangers past what sinne is there but this countrey hath defiled her selfe with it See ye not slaughter in greater measure oppression murther without any mercie see ye not all law and equitie trampled vnder foote And briefly see ye not this confusion risen to such a height that euery Lord in his owne bounds is a King what sort of birth I pray you shall this confusion bring foorth At the last it must bring foorth one of these two of necessitie and take heeed ye may chance to see it except the Lord preuent it Either the supreme magistrate and inferiour magistrates must concurre in one voyce to put an end to this confusion or the confusion out of doubt shall put an end to him I am assured one of these two must follow for the weight of his wrath which hangeth ouer this land is insupportable the earth is not able to beare this birth of our iniquitie and if there were no other punishment as I haue often said the earth shall be compelled to spue foorth the inhabitants ere God want meanes to punish As this is true in the countrey in generall so it is as true in this Citie in particular for it neuer came yet for the most part in your hearts to thanke God aright for your deliuerie Therefore the Lord is beginning to let you see that he can raise strangers men who haue the hearts of strangers among our selues he hath meanes enough in the middest of our owne bowels to punish this countrey suppose he seeke not strangers But indeed in this late brag of our neighbour Lord he desireth you to go backe to the consideration of the greatnesse of the last benefit And if ye acknowledge it rightly and be thankfull for it there is no domesticke force ye neede to regard For as to the force that can proceede any way from that man ye know it And surely it would appeare to me that that man hath sold himselfe to iniquitie and the end will declare it except the Lord preuent him with his vndeserued grace which I desire most heartily Although in the meane time suppose there be peace promised yet stand ye on your guards and let it not come to passe by your misbehauiour and backwardnâ—sse that the glory of God and the libertie of this Citie be impaired in any wise but stand on your guardes that as this Citie hath bene a terrour to euill men before-time so it may terrifie him also For no question where God and a good quarrell concurre that side shall haue the vpper hand This onely by the way For it becometh me of my dutie to maintaine the good cause and to instruct you in this point of your dutie The second thing that I marke ye see the glorie of God is euer conioyned with the life of his owne so that we cannot aduance Gods gloâ—ie but we shall further our owne saluation and we cannot neglect the one but we shall neglect the other Seeing thâ—n that these two are necessarily conioyned for Gods sake let euery one remember to set forward the glorie of God in his life so farre as he may according to his estate and calling This life is so miserable in it selfe and there is none that seeth the confusion of this countrey to grow so fast that can looke for any redresse of these things in his own time So here beneath is no comfort all runneth on to such a desolation and miserable confusion that of all liues of the earth our liues were most miserable if we had not a sight of a better For all ioy to be looked for here beneath is taken away Well I leaue this second part and come to the last The third part of this song is in this 20. verse which is the conclusion of the whole song In this conclusion the King testifieth that he will not onely praise God for the present for the benefit which he hath receiued but he maketh a solemne promise that so long as he liueth he will neuer forget this benefit all the dayes of his life
mirrour of the word is but a dim mirrour and a sealed letter to all men as Isaiah calleth it It cannot profite vs. Therefore there is no way to seeke God truely but in the mirrour of his owne word and Spirit coniunctly that is by the word piercing the eare and the Spirit piercing the heart The word to work outwardly and to pierce the eare and the Spirit to worke inwardlie an eye in the minde and to open adore in the heart Where this coniunct and ioyned working is it cometh to passe that the veile of ignorance is taken out of our mindes it cometh to passe that our hard hearts are mollified it cometh to passe that the filthines of our affectiōs are mortified it cometh to passe that our soules are renewed our conscience getteth this boldnesse that with ioy we dare open these mouthes of ours which otherwise we durst neuer open and call the Father of Iesus Christ Our Father This heauenly reuelation we haue by the working of the worde and Spirit coniunctly and still the more we get of the Spirit the more clearely we see him and the better know we our God Then let vs come to the matter by this heauenly reuelation of God by his word and by his Spirit it cometh to passe that God is well knowne in Iudah that is in his Church And of this good knowledge which is no other thing but faith againe it cometh to passe that his name is great in Israel that is that his name is greatly praised highly extolled and his remembrance is euer continually in memory in Israel By the name of God here God himselfe is vnderstood for in so many good effects as God vttereth himself toward his Church as many names he giueth to himselfe whereby he may be praised of her As for example when he promiseth vnto his Church freely grace and mercy his Church giueth him a name and calleth him mercifull When he keepeth his promises and vttereth himselfe a faithfull God to his Church his Church giueth him a name and calleth him a true God When he deliuereth his Church out of danger and sheweth himselfe a mighty God terrible against his enemies the Church giueth him a name and calleth him a potent God and so foorth in the rest of his effects So that by the name of God is vnderstood here God himselfe as God maketh himselfe to be known in his wonderful works and effects Then to take vp the doctrine of this first benefit we see this heauenly familiar reuelation of God only and no other thing maketh this God well knowne in Israel Of this heauenly and familiar reuelation springeth true knowledg which is no other thing but our iustifying faith and of this iustifying faith benefite of knowledge springeth a continuall praysing and louing of God for these two further others mutually the true knowledge of God and the true praysing of God God is well knowne in Iudah Therefore his name is greatly praised there So that it is not possible but that man who knoweth God rightlie must praise him truely God is not like our countrymen For many of our men where they are best knowne they are worst loued It is farre otherwise with God for where he is best knowne he is best loued And this loue can neuer be idle but must burst forth in praises and thanksegiuing of him whom it loueth For these two follow others mutually the true knowledge of God and the true praysing of God Now let vs see and let vs turne ouer this argument vpon our selues and see if the consequence be true in vs. This countrey no waies praiseth God nor magnifieth his name and therefore it followeth he was neuer well knowne here his name is not great in Scotland Therefore it is a sure token that his goodnes was neuer well felt in Scotland Surely if a multitude of benefites might haue moued vs to haue altered our taste we might long since haue tasted the sweetnesse If a multitude of miracles and many wonders might haue made him to haue bene knowne among vs there are more shewed to vs and more wonderfull then euer was shewed to Pharaoh But God knoweth what we haue profited both in our knowledge and in our feeling For as to our knowledge in our hearts whatsoeuer we professe in our mouthes for all that is come and gone we are for the most part asking with Pharaoh Who is the great Iehouah that we should obey him And on the other part we doubt as much of his Son the Sauiour of the world so that we are still asking with the blindeman Iohn 9. Who is the Lord that we should beleeue in him I say if marueilous or wonderous workes might haue moued vs to know praise him he hath shewed a worke lately which euen the more we heare of it it is the more marueilous And yet I am assured a great part of the circumstances that should aggrauate this matter are not as yet come to our knowledge We are assembled this day for that end and to praise him for this benefite that his name may be great in Edinborough The Lord grant that euery one of you in some measure may burst forth in thansgiuing that ye may answer to our expectation as God hath giuen you grace And on the other side accursed be he as he is accursed from the heauen that presenteth himselfe here to scorne God that cometh here and bringeth not his heart and minde ready prepared in some measure to praise him I stand not here vpon the degrees of preparation howsoeuer it be so it be true otherwise here I pronounce him accursed from the heauen that cometh not here to praise God in some measure Since these corporall Sacrifices ceassed in the which God was honoured there is no spirituall Sacrifice more acceptable to him then the Sacrifice of thanksgiuing For as to this Sacrifice it sanctifieth not onely our owne persons but the whole creatures appointed to the vse of our persons For that which is true in meate and drinke is true in all the rest of the creatures of God ye see by your experience dayly that your meate and drinke is made wholesome to your nourishment by thanksgiuing to God after dinner and supper and so oft as ye refresh your bodies This that is true in these creatures is true in all the rest of the benefits of God So this proposition abideth firme Thankfulnesse to God sanctifieth the whole benefits of God It is not possible but a good conscience must praise God in some measure A good conscience cannot cast off the memorie of God and his benefits altogether but in some measure it must praise him Therefore that we may possesse this great worke and benefite of our deliuerie in the mercie and fauour of God and with his blessing in a good conscience let vs in some measure giue him praise therefore Surely the longer ye looke in this benefit and the more ye weigh it
ye will find it the more worthie of praise I am sorie in my heart that our disposition is so euill that we cannot praise him as we would yet howsoeuer it be that we can do it as we would let vs do it as we may according to that measure of grace that is granted to euerie one of vs. And for this default that is in vs let euery one of vs desire pardon following me after this manner Lord be mercifull to our vnprepared hearts Lord behold vs in the righteous merits of thy Sonne and suffer not this euill disposition of ours to be a hinderance to the second deliuerie if peraduenture that Balaak with his Priest Balaam make the second assault But Lord in thy mercies sanctifie our hearts more and more to all thy holy vses that thy mercifull protection may couer vs and being inuironed therewith we shall not be found naked let the furie and rage of the enemie assaile when he pleaseth Let vs I say after this manner be thankfull to God And surely the thankfull memory of this benefit shall be the readie way to purchase the second deliuerie in case as I haue said the enemies of God being possessed with that restlesse spirit of the Diuell make the second assault Thus farre concerning the first benefit The second benefit whereby he sheweth himselfe gracious to his people followeth in the second verse to wit He made his residence with them he dwelt at Shalem as his Tabernacle placed in Sion doth testifie He dwelt at Ierusalem which at that time was called Shalem where his Tabernacle was placed This dwelling of God with his Church is the second benefit wherein he sheweth himselfe gracious to her For suppose it be true that the maiestie of our God replenisheth heauen and earth and is euery where yet it is as true that this God of ours dwelleth not euery where for he dwelleth onely in his Church and among his faithfull For the Lord is farre off continually from the hearts of the wicked as the Apostle saith Therefore the Lord had made as yet his residence and dwelling to be in Sion He dwelt in the hearts and consciences of his owne people of old he gaue them ensignes of his visible presence as was the Tabernacle the Arke as types and ceremonies which were seates of his oracles and gaue many miracles and wonders for the confirming of his presence Now it hath pleased the Lord to translate his Tabernacle from the Iewes to vs and to set downe the ensignes of his presence among vs such as the preaching of his word as ye heare it this day the ministring of his Sacraments as ye see this day and the exercise of discipline as we haue at this time These are the visible ensignes of his presence whereby your senses are informed that the inuisible God dwelleth here he maketh his residence properly in the hearts of faithfull men and women And the Lord dwelleth in his Saints two manner of waies to wit by faith and by his holy Spirit It is by the benefit of faith the Spirit of God that we become the Church of God Temples of his holy Spirit Citizens with the Saints and domesticks of heauen For by this faith our hearts as Peter speaketh Act. 15. are purified whereby Christ Iesus may haue residence in them and as Ephes. 3.17 whereby Christ may dwell in vs. By the same faith againe we are builded on the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles that we may be an habitation to God by his holy Spirit as in the last verse Ephes 2. Then I say if the Lord dwelleth in his Saints by these two manner of waies by faith and by his holy Spirit he dwelleth not substantially in his Saints but he dwelleth so onely in his owne Sonne For the fulnesse of the Godhead dwelleth in him corporally By faith and his holy Spirit therefore he maketh his residence with you by the ministerie of his word and Sacraments he testifieth his presence here And surely moe and greater promises Ierusalem had neuer then this Church of ours hath moe notable testimonies of his presence and mightie deliuerances Iudah had neuer then we haue And God dwelt neuer in no nation of the earth at least since the Gospell began so long in such sinceritie and puritie without error or heresie as he hath done with vs. So that if there be any nation vnder the Sunne bound to praise God we are chiefly bound and of all nations we must be most vngrate if his name be not great among vs. But when I looke to the horrible ingratitude answering to this obligation I cannot promise a continuance of this light and presence For will ye looke vnto our answering in our liues the great men in this countrey are become companions to the eues and Pirates oppressors and manifest blasphemers of God and man Ye see murther oppression and bloodshed is the onely thing that they shoote and marke at As to the simple sort of people the prophane multitude they are altogether godlesse there is not such a thing in them as a naturall light whereby they may see God in his works much lesse the supernaturall As to the greatest part of our Priests our Ministers their mouthes haue lost the truth and their persons haue lost their reuerence the Lord hath made them contemptible in the eyes of men And by reason they haue forgot to giue him his due reuerence he hath taken their reuerence out of the hearts of men Well the Lord will not wearie and trouble himselfe perpetually as he hath done these many yeares past in offering pearles to filthie swine to curres and to dogs It is not possible that he should wearie himselfe still but at the last seeing there is no estate of life that testifieth any true loue to his truth therefore it is as ye see the most part of this countrey is giuen ouer alreadie to a strange delusion because they would not receiue his Sonne when he was offered therefore the Lord hath giuen them ouer to a strange delusion And to what I pray you Euen to prefer the leauen of the Pharisies and dregs of Papistrie to the wholsome and blessed word of truth And shal this be the end of these plagues No but in respect of the contempt of the truth their bodies shall be plagued also in the sight of you all whosoeuer they be that haue made foule defection from that blessed truth And vpon this we haue also a petition in the second place to craue of God as in the first place to craue that the Lord of his great mercie in time would preuent this vtter extermination which this great confusion both in Church and policie so terribly threatneth and portendeth For it is not possible that things can euer stand still in this estate but of necessitie either the Magistrate and in speciall the supreame Magistrate must put to his hand and make an end of this confusion or else this
ought any wicked vowes ought to be kept vowes which are rashly vowed to be wickedly performed for in so doing they make a double fault First they do a fault in vowing rashly secondly they make a fault in performing their rash vow All these vowes are beside the warrant of the word we should promise to be thankfull to God and to performe Then the exhortation riseth vnto vs after the example of the Prophet here that seeing in this great benefit although we had neuer receiued moe benefits the Lord hath deserued so well of you ye ought euery one of you to frame your hearts to grow in thankfulnesse to him whereby he may grow in mercie and loue towards you and in hatred and anger towards his enemies And although ye be thankfull thinke not that ye deserue any thing for when ye haue done this ye cannot adde any thing to his estate ye enrich not God one whit It is not possible that he who is absolutely perfect of himselfe can neede any thing whereby his estate may be enriched yea suppose we adde nothing to his estate our best thanksgiuing is no waies acceptable to him but by way of grace if Christ Iesus step not in betwixt vs and him it is not possible that our persons or any action that floweth from our person can be acceptable vnto him Therefore it is onely by way of grace and mercie in Christ Iesus in whom he cannot be displeased with vs that our thankfulnesse is accepted by him So it is not for our merits as the Papists foolishly alledge nor by way of our deseruing that he accepteth of vs it is by way of mercie and grace that he alloweth of vs and our thankfulnesse Indeed he accepteth so of our thanksgiuing that vnlesse we praise him nothing can please him And therefore seeing all our actions are acceptable to him onely in his welbeloued let vs praise him in Christ. Ye see we will thanke him for meate and drinke after dinner and supper and why should ye not thanke him for the rest of the creatures As for this benefit of your deliuerie and preseruation both of Church countrey the Lord giue vs hearts to thanke him Now in the end of this verse he saith Let them bring presents to him that ought to be feared We haue no other presents to bring but this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiuing which is called calues of the lips Psal. 51. Would God that this were truly giuen although not in such measure as is required Alwaies let vs bring these sacrifices and present them to him onely who is fearefull not onely to meane men but to the greatest Princes and Monarchs of the earth And how prooueth he this He prooueth this in the last verse where he saith He cutteth off the spirit of Princes that is he spoyleth them of their wit and force and last of all when it pleaseth him he spoyleth them of the life it selfe he taketh all from them euen from these same Princes that oppose themselues most against him he spoyleth them in an instant of heart hand and all forces and maketh them a spectacle to all nations Well they will not learne in time it is terrible for Princes to fall into his hands For when they fall into his hands he is not satisfied to spoile them both of heart and hand but after he hath spoiled them both of heart and hand he taketh the very life from them Senacherib found this for his owne sonnes laid hands on him slue him Our great men thinke they will eschue his hands There is no example or proclamation of iudgement that will make them leaue off from burning slaying and murther This is not looked to by the Councell and he who should punish this ouerseeth it and they that are inferiour magistrates ouersee it so that this land is so ouerwhelmed with sinne that it cannot be discharged vntill the great God himselfe doth it Terrible is he therefore to Kings looke how terrible Kings are to meane men farre more terrible is he to them The Kings of the earth at least since the Gospell began haue euer conspired to expell Christ out of the number of Kings and so to roote out his kingdom that he should not beare rule in the earth And this conclusion hath bene laid by them So by Kings here to whom he is terrible is to be vnderstood those mischieuous Kings that will not acknowledge Christ as King nor submit their scepter to his scepter but haue all conspired and assayed their forces to put him out of their number What profit they haue gotten of this time hath tried Ye see what the King of Spaine hath gained ye see what his predecessors gained And what followeth There is a secōd assault to be made and it is not possible but the second assault must be For the diuell must be euer like to himselfe So the second assault shall come in great rage he shall push at that same stone as he and his predecessors haue done oft before Is it sure that Spaine shall make the second assault It is sure and yonder argument letteth me see it for the spirit of the diuell cannot be at rest And what shall come of this The next thing that ye shall heare God shall cut off his life he that hath spoiled him first of his heart and hand shall spoyle him of all and so the second thing that ye shall heare the great Monarch of Spaine shall die And so he shall be disappointed in the second assault and all the kingdomes which are vnder the protection of this King shall be let loose For rather shall heauen and earth go together ere God suffer his Church to be rooted out if we remaine in any part of our obedience O then we ought earnestly to prepare vs to reuerence him who is onely fearefull For if they who haue the supreame place will not reuerence him he shall take their reuerence out of the hearts of men It is onely for Gods sake that they are reuerenced whosoeuer therefore honoureth not God he shall not honour him So we ought to honour God and giue him his due reuerence and his owne place that we reuerence no man nor the lawes of any man but God and for Gods cause And so honouring God God shall honour vs and extoll vs and that in the righteous merits of his Sonne To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all honour and praise both now and euer Amen THE FOVRTEENTH SERMON VPON THE 40. PSALME PREACHED IN THE time of publicke fast 1 I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined vnto me and heard my crie 2 He brought me also out of the horrible pit out of the mirie clay and set my feete vpon the rocke and ordered my goings 3 And he hath put in my mouth a new song of praise vnto our God many shall see it and feare and shall trust in the Lord. 4 Blessed is the man that maketh
sweetnesse whereby I find his wrath pacified I find his furie pacified And were not this taste of mercie I would neuer turne vnto him But from the time that mine heart getteth a taste of his mercy a taste of that peace that passeth all vnderstanding wherby I find his wrath to be pacified the terrors of my conscience to be quieted the fire of his wrath to be quenched then I begin to turne to him to beleeue in him and to apply the promise of mercie in particular to my selfe which I durst in no wise do so long as I felt nothing but the fire of his wrath vpon my conscience Vpon this feeling I say ariseth the application and vpon the application riseth the turning vnto him So this feeling of wrath in order although not in time goeth before the turning vnto God The turning bringeth forth a ioy and gladnesse for mercy that he hath gotten this ioy bringeth forth a loue toward him As the other part bringeth forth an hatred of sin so this part bringeth forth a loue toward God This loue againe bringeth forth a care and studie to please him and this care and studie bringeth forth an appetite of reuenge and indignation against thy corruption so that thou wouldest be reuenged vpon thy corruption which made thee to sinne and offend against him And this part of repentance in respect of the great and manifold effects of it is called Viuification As the other part is called mortification so is this called viuification in respect the Spirit of God maketh a new creation in vs maketh vs vp as new creatures of old endeweth our hearts with new affections our soules with new qualities bringeth forth in vs liuing motions actions and cogitations which are called liuing because as they proceed from a liuing Spirit so they carie vs to life euerlasting They are called also liuing in respect of those dead actions which we brought forth in former times which were called dead not onely in respect that they flowed from the flesh that is from corruption but because they caried vs vnto the death of body and soule In this respect I call this part viuification others call it confession and it getteth this name in respect the soule that is quickned cannot but burst forth into the praise of God and glorifie him with a confession he cannot conceale the kindnesse of God done vnto him but he will confesse it before the world and proclaime the riches of the mercy of God that they may glorifie a common God and Father with him And this confession is the chiefest thing in the earth which the diuell endeuoureth most diligently to stay For as there is nothing in the earth whereby God is glorified more then by a sincere confession so there is nothing in the earth that the diuell trauelleth more to stay then this confesson in respect he seeth God so farre glorified by it The Lord desireth not the death of a sinner he seeketh not the slaughter of his creature he seeketh but the repairing of his owne glory and this he counteth to be done by a sincere confession of thy sinne Therefore it is I say that the diuell laboureth to stay this confession And to hold them from this confession he casteth in the shame of the world the estimation before men this inconuenience that inconuenience For this ye may perceiue of his craft that where shame is and shame should be indeed when the action is in doing there he maketh vs bold and stout But where no shame is and no shame can follow of it where God should be glorified by a confession his Church edified and men moued through their example to do the like there he casteth in shame and maketh them beleeue it is the most shamefull thing that euer they did and all this that the soule should not be saued but holden drowned in his snare for euer and euer Therefore men would be aduertised of this that they be not ashamed to glorifie God with an open confession As they are not ashamed to sinne publikely so they should not be ashamed to confesse it as publikely that God may be glorified Remember this This is not spoken for this Noble mans cause onely It is spoken for euery one of you that are in inferiour ranks that euery one of you may confesse your owne sinnes And seeing this is the craft of the diuell by the holding you backe that ye may damne your soules be ye as careful to win your soules by confessing your sinnes to the world The confession of Dauid Psal. 51. serueth it to his shame or to his honour No of all the deedes that euer he did it is counted in all ages the most notable and honorable deede So let not the diuell deceiue men in this poynt As to the kinde of repentance which proceedeth of desperation it is nothing woâ—th it turneth not the heart nor the minde but this repenâ—ance which turneth the hearts of men proceedeth of the Spirit of Christ. So it is the Spirit of Christ that is the worker of this true dolor and conuersion As to the instruments which he vseth in working of it they are two First the Law next the Gospell He must first bring in the Law to bring vs to the acknowledging of our sinne For except the Law did threaten vs we would neuer come to the knowledge of our sinnes Then next he bringeth in the Gospell the promises of mercy and grace freely offered in Christ and through Christ to all them that beleeue So the Gospell cometh in the second roome By the Gospel he worketh faith after he hath wrought faith he draweth out exhortations out of the Law and out of the Gospell that according to the Law we may conforme our liues and obey the same in all time to come So the Law and the Gospell are the means whereby repentance is wrought in the soule of man exhortations out of the Law and Gospell are the meanes whereby a good life and conuersation is continued among men As to the Author he letteth vs see that this gift groweth not in our owne breasts nor it proceedeth not of our selues nor from any creature in heauen or earth but from God onely it is the gift of God giuen freely for Christ Iesus his sake For ye may consider with your selues and looke how impossible it was to make our selues the sonnes of men far more impossible it is for vs to make our selues the sons of God And by repentance we are made the children of God companions to the Angels and sonnes of light So that the second creation which is wrought in vs by the Spirit of repentance is a farre more great and excellent worke then our first creation in this world In this part of repentance whereby we are assured of the mercy of God as there is a caution in the other part to be obserued so there is a caution here to be taken heed of for our nature
kings life shewed in two similitudes 1. Similitude Doctrine to be gathered of the first similitude Why the Patriarkes dwelled in tents The second similitude Application His words beside the diseaâ—e of the bodie vtter the disease of his soule Why the Lord suffereth his children to fall into the disease of the soule Application By what waieâ— Hezechiah sought God Why the K. sought the prorogation of his dayes In what respect it is lawfull to seeke the prorogation of dayes First lesson Whether faith and doubting may be in a soule or not What the Apostle comprehendeth vnder doubting Doctrine The contrary voices that Christ vsed in his trouble The King teacheth vs how to pray in extremity Note Repetition Diuision Three things that the King granteth in his thanksgiuing Sacrifice of thanksgiuing haue succeeded to corporall sacrâ—fices of the law In thanksgiuing three things are to be marked A good conscience thanketh God euer for his benefits The King sheweth the greatnesse of the benefit receiued Deut. 32. Exed 32. Isa. 48. Isa. 43. An effect which issued out of the benefit The sweetnes of the benefite maketh him to burst forth into the praise of the word first in generall next in particular Math 4. How a man shall know if the Spirit of life be begun in him How the Spirit is said to be nourished in vs how he is said to be banished 1. Cor. 15. Recapitulation Application Diuision Application The manner how the King was deliuered Sin is the only thing that is punished in the wicked purged in the godly Lesson Remission of sinnes cureth all diseases When God forgiueth he also forgetteth God onely forgiueth sinner The cause that moued God to forgiue him his sinnes The reasonâ— wherfore the Lord forgaue him his sinneâ— They that are dead in their body leaue not off the execise of praise in â—heir soule 1. Obseruation 2. Obseruation Why the Lord worketh by means and second causes First end Second end Third end The purpose of the Prophet in this psalme Exhortation to be thankfull The diuision of the Psalme A mercy that God is neare vnto his people What is meant by the name of God in this place The true knowledge of God and the true praise of God accompany others mutually Application The profite thâ—t redoundeth to vs of giuing thanks A Prayer Verse 2. A mercie for God to lodge with his people Application A Prayer Diuision Application What is it that dislodges God What is meant by the moâ—ntâ—ines of prey Lesson Verse 5.6 How this victory was obtained How the Lord is said to rebuke Gods formall dealing with his Church What are the ends wherefore the Lord appointed enemies to his Church First end 2. end 3. end Verse 7. The end of his mercy is admiration Conclusion Recapitulation Diuision Verse 8. God onely did this great worke The effects of this great worke Vse Verse 9. The time of this great iudgement The time of Gods sitting He answered to an obiection of the Church Answer Exhortation to thankfulnesse Hope How hope differeth from faith The life of Hope Doctrine Hope and mourning may stand together How to know when God heareth our prayer though he granteth not instantly our suite Notâ— Constant mourning in trouble assures certaine deliuerance Note Lesson Lesson Why the Lord delayeth to helpe his Seruants He that belieueth shall not make hast A mysticall meaning The Prophet and Apostle reconciled Lesson The end why our prayers are heard Lesson Two sorts of abusing the grace of God Note Euil thoughtâ— make vs not guiltie if resisted Lesson The heads to be intreated of in this Sermon What is the chiefe thing that young men should flee What is meant by the lusts of youth Whereof cometh the restraint of sinne Why the Lord restraineth impiety Note Note An exhortation to the Lord Bothwell Whaâ— things yong men should chielfly seeke after Heads to be intreated of repentance Definition of repentance Two sorts of repentance In what respects the worldly sorrow is called blind terror What is the godly and right sorow A caution to be obserued in this part of repentance What is the greatest sinne a man may commit The effects of this godly dolor Why this part of repentance is called mortification Note A feeling and hope of mercie goâ—th before conuersion Why this part of repentance is called viuification There nothing that the diuel staieth more nor our confessioÌ„ A caution to be obserued in this part of repentance Two sorts of repentance Conclusion M. Patrik Adamson late Bishop of S. Andrewes The heads to be intreated of What it is to rule in the Lord.