under a great judgement and wee hope thou our God dost not think it small but bee it what it will wee are sure thou art just in inflicting it upon us and because contraries doe best appeare when they are brought together yee shall see how contrary the wicked be to the godly in this Cain cryes out that his punishment is greater then he could beare hee complaines not of his sinne but of his punishment as if God punished him more then hee deserved and Saul takes it ill that Samuel should charge him with disobedience though it were grosse and palpable and yee shall finde in Scripture that God exposes his actions to scanning Ierem. 5.19 Ierem. 10.16 that it may appeare to all the world how just he is In Ierem. 5.19 and in Chap. 10.16 the wicked are not ashamed to question God why hee punished them as if hee had done it without cause Ezek. 18.25 So in Ezek. 18.25 They say the Lords wayes were not equall as if he had punished the children for their Fathers sinnes when as the same sinnes were found in the children Mal. 3.8 So in Mal. 3.8 when God challengeth and plagueth them for their transgressions they reply What have wee done As if God punished them without desert and this humour of turning againe will not leave the wicked at the last day for when Christ shall say unto them on his left hand depart yee cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devill and his angels for I was an hungred and yee gave mee no meat I was thirsty and yee gave me no drink then shall they answer him saying Lord when saw we thee an hungred or a thirst Vse 1 This lets us see how the world failes in this particular when God layes his hand on men how apt are they to dispute with God and say why doth hee deale thus and thus with us and by this meanes they are so farre from mitigating that they encrease his hand upon them Nay there bee those presumptuous ones that in argumentation will aske why God elected some and reprobated others but take heed of this is it not enough to knock at the doore but wee must break it open Who art thou O man that repliest to thy Maker Vse 2 Secondly let us alwayes bee perswaded of the justice of God in all his proceedings for though wee see not the reason why hee doth this or that yet there is good reason for it Voluntas Dei secreta sit nunquam injusta the cause why God punisheth may bee hid but it is never unjust Therefore when thy tumultuous flesh shall say with Rebeckah Why am I thus know that it is for thy excesse thy Sabbath-breaking thy hypocrisie thy lewd conversation Therefore change thy note and say with the Church Mich. 7.9 Mich. 7.9 I will beare the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him I know it is a hard thing to suppresse the tumultuous thoughts which arise in men in times of trouble but these must bee laboured agaist with all our power for no man gets by contending with his Maker but multiplies his stroaks Wee proceed now to the reason which hee gives for justifying God for wee remaine yet escaped as it is this day As if hee had said thy goodnesse is demonstrate hee that runnes may read it thou hast been abundantly more mercifull to us then to thousands of our brethren who perished in the captivity for lo we remain even to this day That which I collect from hence is this In generall judgements which God brings upon the World there is still some escaping When God sent the Deluge upon the world Noah and his Family perished not in the fiery shower which God rained on Sodom and Gomorrah Lot and his Daughters perished not nay a whole City to wit Zoar is spared at Lots entreaty When Pharaoh commanded all the male children of the Iewes to bee drowned Moses was preserved and when Iericho was destroyed Rahab and her Family were spared and when for Davids pride seventy thousand were consumed by the Pestilence many thousands in Israel escaped and when the last great Plague was among us thousands and ten thousands had their life for a prey What is the ground of this Reason 1 First all Gods wayes are interveined with mercy Reason 2 Secondly God still spares some to bring them to repentance that they may turn out of the crooked into the straight path Vse 1 Let me advise them that have tasted of Gods mercy in this way never to forget it and for this let me stirre up my own soule to prayse God with you when my next neighbour was smitten dead why was not I smitten also it was only Gods mercy when some in the same house with us were infected and died of the plague why were wee spared it was of Gods meere mercy and it ought to bee marvellous in our eyes Vse 2 Secondly let us bee farre from censuring any that dyed in the last visitation as if they were greater sinners then others farre bee it from us to bee of this wicked humour for many a good soule went to Heaven then and many a Cham was spared Wee are bound to praise him for our selves for why did hee spare us was it not that wee should bee better Gods sparing men is either to harden them or to amend them therefore except wee repent wee shall likewise perish The reason which hee gives on their part is that though God had spared them yet they were before him in their trespasses as if hee had said O Lord thou hast to the full performed thy counterpart with us but wee are yet in our sinnes for wee are as bad or worse then wee were before Here take notice of thus much What a fearefull judgement it is not to profit by afflictions It is that for which God finds great fault with his people in Deut. 29.2.3.4 his hand had been heavie upon their Enemies in their sight and view Deut 29.2.3 4. yet they were never the better So in lsa 1.5 there the Lord saith to Israel Isa 1.5 why should yee bee stricken any more yee will revolt more and more Ierem. 12.13 The like also we see in Ierem. 12.13 They were sick and had no profit This was the sinne of Cain hee was stigmatised for a wretch yet hee was as wicked as hee was before It was also the sinne of Pharaoh Ahab and Ahaz they were all the worse for comming under the rod and are therefore branded by the spirit of God to all posterity There is a great deale of difference between Gods afflicting the godly and the wicked Isa 27.7 as may appeare Isa 27.7 Hath hee smitten them as hee smote those that smote him What is the reason the godly profit by affliction but the wicked are the worse for being afflicted Every thing works together for the best to Gods people but every thing turnes into sinne to the wicked according
and wept when they remembred Zion Psal 137.1.2 therefore the Spirit of God sets a speciall character on this tearming it such a deliverance as this Psal 137 1.2 the point is perspicuous There be certaine deliverances which God bestowes on men for which they are to be more thankfull then for others It is true God is so great in the greatest that he is not little in the least yet some are greater then others some of Gods works are written in greater some in smaller characters it was not every deliverance that made Noah build an Altar to the Lord but Gods sparing of him and his from perishing with the old world it was not every deliverance which caused Hezekiah to pen a song but it was Gods adding a lease of fifteene years to his life when hee thought himselfe past recovery they were great deliverances that made the Iewes keep their Anniversaries as the Feast of the Passeover of Tabernacles and of Trumpets And when Ioshua commanded a man of every Tribe in Israel to take a stone out of the midst of Iordan it was in remembrance of a speciall mercy that when their posterity should see that pile of stones and aske them the meaning of them then they should answer that the waters of Iordan were cut off and stood on heapes untill they past over on foot and it was no small but a grand deliverance which caused the Iewes to keep the dayes of Purim it was for the reversing of the fatall decree Haman had got out against them and when Iehoshaphat and his people assembled themselves in the Valley of Berachah it was to blesse the Lord for a great Victory which hee gave them over their great Adversaries 2 Chron. 20.26 2 Chron. 20.26 Vse Let me call upon you to reflect inwards upon your selves and to say with Ezra God hath given us such a deliverance as this What a deliverance did God give unto us in this land at the entrance of Queen Elizabeth of ever blessed memory who restored true Religion among us and broke the heavy yoak of Antichrist from off our necks what a deliverance was that which our God vouchsafed us in eighty eight when hee overthrew our enemies to their perpetuall shame their strength at that time was so great that if God had not subdued them for us we had never been able to make resistance what a deliverance was that which God afforded to King and People in one thousand six hundred and five from that damnable and hideous Popish powder treason which was hatcht forg'd in hell and should have been executed à primogenitis Diaboli by the first borne of Satan what a deliverance was that which hee gave us five yeares since from the raging Pestilence when there died in one week five thousand two hundred and five God was then pleased to cause it to cease on a sudden till it came to a paucity nay to a nullity And to come to our owne particulars may not many of us say that our next neighbours were visited and wee were preserved may wee not say that some in the same house nay some that lay with us in the same bed were smitten and died and wee escaped see then how God hath magnified his mercy towards us in giving us such a deliverance as this O let us remember what the deliverance was and what the blessing is hee snatcht us as brands out of the fire as therefore our sorrow was the greater then so let our Songs be the more now shall Gods mercy bee to us in a fire and our thankefulnesse to him in a frost God forbid As therefore at that time of need his mercy was great towards us so let it appeare in our lives that wee are sensible of his extraordinary favour by living holily and righteously all the dayes of our life Sermon III. EZRA 9.14 ver Should we return to break thy commandments and joyne in affinity with the people of these abominations wouldst thou not bee angry with us till thou hadst consumed us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping IN this verse we may take knowledge how Ezra justifies Gods severity upon the precedency of mans sinne the verse divides it selfe into two parts First the sin Secondly the punishement The sin is laid down First generally shall we return to break thy Commandements Secondly particularly and joyn in affinity with the people of these abominations Then followes the punishment first God will bee angry secondly there is the degree of his anger he will not leave consuming till all bee destroyed We begin with the sinne in generall Should we return to break thy Commandements in the Originall it is should we return againe to commit iniquities which intimates to us that when Gods hand was upon them it wrought them to amendment from whence I note thus much That is sound repentance when a man so sorrowes for his sinne that hee forsakes it In the three speciall languages the Hebrew Greek and Latine the words which signifie repentance intimate as much the Hebrew words are two 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the one signifies grieving the other turning the Greeks have likewise two words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one is an after griefe when a thing is done the other is an after wisedome to flie from it for time to come the Latines also set it out by two words the one is poenitentia which is a griefe for sinne the other is resipiscentia which signifies a turning from that for which hee sorrowes and the phrases in Scripture intimate as much as in 2 Cor. 12.21 there the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 12.21 I feare lest when I come againe my God will humble me among you and that I shall bewaile many which have sinned already and have not repented of the uncleannesse and fornication and lasciviousnesse which they have committed So in Rev. 9.21 they repented not of their murthers sorceries fornication Revel 9.21 nor of their thefts That is they neither sorrowed for nor repented them of these horrible sinnes It is the counsell of Saint Peter to Simon Magus Acts 8.22 Act. 8.22 Repent therefore of this thy wickednesse and pray God if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee So in Heb. 6.1 the Apostle saith Heb. 6.1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us goe on unto perfection not laying againe the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God The former of these is to grieve for their ignorance the other is to turn from it and yee shall finde the same in those places where repentance is described as in 2 Chro. 7.14 If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray 2 Chro. 7.14 and seek my face and turn from their wicked wayes then will I heare from heaven and will forgive their sinne and heale their land Ioel
bee called thy sonne It was not his penury and misery which now lay heavy upon him that grieved him so much as the sinne against his Father and therefore he goes over it again saying Father I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight Luke 15.18.21 St. Paul speaking of true Repentance Luk. 15.18.21 which ever hath sorrow for its companion 2 Cor. 7.9 in the tenth verse hee comes to speak of worldly sorrow and it is possible for a Cain 2 Cor. 7.9 10. an Esau a Saul to be sorry after a worldly manner which kind of sorrow is poenitentia poenitenda a repentance to be repented of but there is a godly sorrow never to be sorrowed for I deny not but shame and feare may make way for this as the needle makes way for the thread but yet at last Gods child comes to this that he grieves above all for that he hath grieved God and if there were no hell he would not willingly sin against God any more his heart-breaking is that he hath so much abused his bounty who hath been his best friend Let us above all things labour to mourn for sinning against God no doubt an unsound heart may sorrow for sin thus did Judas I am perswaded he was so sorry that he had betrayed his Mr. that if he had had all the world he would have given it to undoe what he had done and so I may sorrow for my sins but yet if I finde in my selfe such a disposition to the same sins that if occasion were offered and men saw me not and that I were sure to escape Gods judgements then I would commit them againe this is the Spirit of bondage and not the Spirit of adoption but on the contrary if I finde that I grieve above all things for offending God this is not so much a feare to burne with the devill as to displease my God and this is a true filiall feare But I tender weak consciences and therefore I will endeavour to give them satisfaction Objection O say they we feare to sin but it is for feare of shame and hell to whom I answer Solution this is not to be disliked altogether for when I am prone to sin I wish that the consideration of hell may deter me from sinning and to such a soule I say God may work in it a hatred to sin when as he discovers it not Secondly such a soule must labour to grieve and abstaine from and for sin because it displeaseth God But saith the poore soule how shall I attain to this First by earnest and constant prayer to God Secondly by considering the nature of sin which is a filthy thing and very displeasing to God a childe that loves his Father will forbeare to doe what may displease him and I make no doubt but God will so work in his children that they shall abstaine from sin and weep for it not onely for feare of hell but because thereby his holy Majesty is dishonoured Thirdly I would have such to consider the mercies of God which he hath bestowed upon themselves and this land which if they doe they will grieve and be severe against themselves for neglecting so great expressions of bounty such a one wil say What hath God made me hath he redeemed me hath he spared me hitherto and shall I displease him I could not subsist one hour without him therefore let me mourn and grieve for offending so good a God and so gracious a Father Sermon VIII EZRA 10. The latter part of the second Verse and forwards Yet now there is hope in Israch concerning this thing Now therefore let us make a Covenant with our God WEE descend now to another fruit of Ezra his humiliation Shecaniah confesseth the sinne of the people which was of the first magnitude to wit their joyning themselves in marriage with Heathens yet hee despaires not of forgivenesse from God but saith Yet there is hope in Israel concerning this thing From whence I ground this Observation The greatnesse of a sin if there be repentance Doctr. is no impediment to the forgivenesse of it So saith Shecaniah here though wee have committed a great trespasse against our God by taking heathenish women to be our wives yet there is hope in Israel even concerning this I will take some paines in proving this point because it may be of speciall use for tender consciences Reason 1 First it may appeare to be true by the charge that God gives men to repent Isa 1.16 as in Isaiah 1.16 Wash you make you cleane put away the evill of your doings from before mine eyes cease to doe evill So Jerem. Jer. 3.12 3.12 Returne thou back-sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you The like wee see in the new Testament Matth. Matth. 3.2 3.2 Repent yee for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand Acts 17.30 So in Acts 17.30 God now commandeth all men every where to repent Now I reason thus if God commands that men should repent of their sinnes then surely there is pardon to be obtained upon repentance for the foulest sins but God commands the greatest sinners to repent therefore upon their repentance they shall be pardoned Nay we shall finde in Scripture that the Lord threatens to plague those that repent not and saith Tertullian God would never threaten the man that repents not if hee meant not to pardon him upon his repentance Nay to adde more weight to that reason we may observe the incouragements which God affords sinners thereby to move them to repent which are so many arguments to assure them that there is pardon for the greatest sinnes as that in Isaiah 1.18 Isa 2.13 Though your sinnes be as-Scarlet they shall he as white as Snow The word there for Scarlet in the original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the Latin is iterare a thing twice dipt The Lords meaning is this though your sinnes be of a deep dye and tincture yet my mercy shall expunge them if yee repent Mi◠7.19 and in Micah 7.9 it is said He will cast all their sinnes into the depths of the sea Now yee know the sea is of that vastnesse that it will swallow up not onely Mole-hills but the greatest mountaines and so it is with the mercy of God it is so infinite and bottomlesse that it shall pardon the grossest sinners if they repent Reason 2 The second Reason is drawne from the examples of those great sinners on whom God hath shewed mercy our first Parents committed a most grievous sinne by which they overthrew all their posterity and though some wanton wits question their salvation yet we say God had mercy on them Aaron committed a notorious sinne against God in making a golden Calse for the Israelites to worship when their comming out of Egypt was not above a moneth old and when his brother Moses was gone up into the Mount to
receive the Law of God for them it was a sinne of a horrid representation yet for that he found mercy and forgivenesse They were foule sinnes in which David was ingaged and sometimes they put him shrewdly to it causing him to complain and say They were a burthen too heavie for him yet God be thanked he had remission of them A fouler sinner cannot be imagined than Manasseh was who was an Idolater a shedder of innocent bloud in great abundance one that made his sonne passe through the fire and dealt with familiar spirits yet there was hope in Israel for him for upon his repentance hee was received to mercy Look upon Matthew and Zaccheus they were Publicans and Publicans in those dayes were notorious sinners for in the Gospell yee shall finde Publicans and sinners rankt together yet two maine ones of these were converted Shall I tell you of Peter who denyed nay forswore his Lord and Master yet hee obtained mercy Or shall I tell you of the woman which was a sinner in the City out of whom was cast seven devills yet Christ had mercy upon her and forgave her Shall I tell you of Paul who with his owne tongue confesseth that he was a persecuter a blasphemer nay the chief of sinners yet he obtained mercy pardon And when God would extend mercy to such a finner as hee what doth he but proclaime to the world that none should despaire Againe shall I tell you of the incestuous Corinthian who was a notable sinner yet upon his repentance hee was absolved Or shall I tell you of the Corinthians themselves of whom some had been Idolaters Adulterers Covetous Drunkards yet they were washed sanctified and justified when they had truely repented Let us therefore be perswaded and assured that every sinne is remissible if we can but repent Reason 3 The third Reason is drawne from the attributes of God First from his power there is no sinne whatsoever but hee can forgive it therefore the Prophet Micah saith Micah 7.18 Who is a God like unto thee Miâ—â— 7.18 that pardoneth iniquity hee is not as man who can pardon a few offences but hee can pardon all sinnes as well the great as the small Secondly wee may reason from the justice of God saith the beloved Disciple 1 Joh. 1.9 1. John 1.9 If we confesse our sinnes hee is faith full and just to forgive us our sinnes and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse Thirdly we may reason from the mercy of God that bottomlesse Ocean which can never be exhausted and drawne dry O the depth the breadth the length the height of the mercy of God! the depth of it is such as it cannot be imagined for it is infinite and such is the breadth of it that it reacheth over all the earth and for the length of it it is of a large extension for it is everlasting Psal 117.2 Psal 117.2 and for the height of it it is of such an altitude that it reacheth above the clouds Psal 108.4 Again Psal 108.4 if ye speak of the greatest gift that ever God bestowed on the world it was this he gave his Sonne Jesus Christ to die for sinners and when our Saviour came into the World he did converse with sinners at which though the Scribes and Pharisees snuffed saying He was a companion of Publicans and sinners yet we must know that hee no more contracted pollution from them then the Sunne doth when it shines on a stinking dunghill and yet some of those went into heaven before those learned Rabbies And for the death of our Blessed Lord which was the end of his comming the efficacy of it was such that it was not onely of force to forgive pence but talents and it is the unanimous consent of all the holy Fathers that no sinne is unpardonable if men doe but repent Tertullian saith hee that threatens sinne grants pardon to men upon their repentance and saith Cyprian It is impossible that the whole burnt offering of a contrite spirit should be repelled and Saint Bernard saith The plaister is bigger then the soare and where sin abounded grace hath much more abounded Enough then hath been said for the proof of the point I will onely answer one Objection and so I will come to apply it Will some man say Objection Is the greatnesse of the sin no impediment to the forgivenesse of it What say ye then to the sinne against the holy Ghost those that commit that are never like to obtaine pardon I answer Solution this is no impeachment to the truth which I have delivered for I said and say again If men doe repent though their sins were never so grear they shall be pardoned but the sin against the holy Ghost admits of no repentance therefore if ever thou didst sigh for sinne that was not the sinne against the holy Ghost for such as are guilty of chat transgression are without all sorrow remorse and that sin is not irremissible because God cannot pardon it but because that wicked man cannot performe the condition which God requires of him and that is Repentance as it is with a Patient who spits in the Physicians face and throwes away all good potions prescribed him for his recovery of such a one we say hee is incurable so we say of the sinne against the holy Spirit he that commits it because hee despights the Spirit of God and because hee repells grace being offered him therefore he becomes so obdurated in sinne that hee cannot repent So that notwithstanding this Objection the truth of the point remaines unshaken that the greatnesse of a sinne if there be repentance is no impediment to the remission of it Vse 1 It meets with the old and false position of the Novatian Hereticks who said That men falling into sinne after conversion there was no place for their repentance Cyprian calls the author of that Heresy the enemy of Gods Mercy and the slayer of repentance but they held not constant to this for afterwards they said There was no place for Repentance to him that sinned after Baptisme and not long after they came to mollifie this also saying That a man might repent of small sinnes after Baptisme but if hee fell into great transgressions then there was a falling away utterly but the Fathers of the Church did all fight against these affirming That although men committed great sinnes after Conversion yet Repentance was ut tabula post naufragium as a planck to carry men to land after they had suffered shipwrack Will yee heare some of their arguments First they bring that place in Hebr. 6.4 Hebr. 6.4 where it is said It is impossible for those who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift if they shall fall away to renew them again to repentance This place hath much troubled the learned and for resolving it some have said impossible impossible is no more than difficile hard or difficult others say
2.12 So in Ioel 2.12 Turn unto me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning there is compunction of soule and amendment of life And saith Saint Iames Cleanse your hands you sinners and purifie your hearts yee double minded Iames 4.8 Iam. 4.8 Vse 1 This lets us see the vanity of those who say they have repented of and yet have not turned from their evill wayes it may be while Gods hand was on them they repented and said they would forsake all sin but no sooner is the rod off their backs but they renew their unsanctified Olims turning with the dog to the vomit and with the sow that was washed to wallow in the mire what repentance doe men call this when as they have neither cleansed their hands nor purged their hearts darest thou say thou art cured of the lea prosie when it appeares white in thy forehead I know thou darest not and dare any be so impudent as to say they have repented of their sins when as they daily renew them this is so farre from deserving the name of true repentance that it is poenitentia poenitenda repentance to be repented of Vse 2 Secondly as wee say wee repent of our sins so let us turne from them this was the savoury counsell of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar O King break off thy sins by righteousnes and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poore it is possible for a man to turne from sin and yet be never the better if hee grieve not for it and it is possible for a man to grieve for sin and yet far enough from true repentance if hee turne not from it if any of us should have a servant that grieved for his offence promising no more to commit the like and yet as soon as our back is turned should run into the same againe wee would presently conclude that hee did but dissemble what then shall wee think of our selves when wee say wee disclaime sin and yet our lives testifie the quite contrary let us in the feare of God sorrow for sin and turne from it else God shall be just in consuming us Should we return to break thy Commandements The manner of Ezra his speaking intimates to us that it is possible for a man to be engaged in sinne when he hath had a taste of Gods mercy and if so give me leave from hence to gather this Observation After the receit of great mercies Gods children are apt to be engaged in great sinnes See it made good in some instances was there ever a greater deliverance bestowed on any then that which the Lord afforded Noah when he out-rid that storme of the Deluge in the Ark when all the World besides him and his were drowned It is true for the present hee was so affected with it that hee built an Altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings on it but soone after hee forgat this great favour and was over-taken with intemperance could there bee a greater deliverance then Lots hee was snatcht by the Angell out of Sodom as a brand out of the fire and in his flight God gave him his hearts desire and that was to escape to Zoar yet after his going to live in the Mountaines he made the Mountaine where he lived a Sodom for there he committed incest with his two daughters the like we see in wicked Pharaoh he is very passionate with Moses and Aaron to have the judgements of God removed and when hee hath his desire hee is so farre from being better that he is worse then he was before just like Iron which is soft as long as it is in the fire but being coole returnes to its former hardnesse hee got strength by his fall So in the children of Israel what a deliverance did God vouchsafe them when hee freed them from Egyptian bondage while their necks were under the yoak of that oppressour they were in as great distresse as ever people were well it pleased God to ease them of that servitude and to give them a miraculous passage thorow the red Sea would any man have thought that ever they would have forgotten this transcendent blessing yet with in a few weeks Moses being but gone up to the Mount to receive the Law of God for them they make a golden Calfe and worship it how soone was this forgotten So in the book of Iudges we finde the same people often guilty of the same fault they provoke God and hee sold them into the hands of their enemies sometimes for eight yeares sometimes for eighteene sometimes for fourty yeares but no sooner are they delivered but they run their old bias and are engaged in foule transgressions as if they had beene redeemed to dishonour their benefactour The like wee see in Hezekiah the Lord bestowed upon him a strange deliverance for when Senacherib came against him with a puissant Army thinking to destroy Ierusalem the Lord for his insolence and blasphemy put a hook into his nostrils and slew of his Army in one night an hundred fourscore and five thousand and so delivered him out of his hands after this the Lord smore him with the plague as most Interpreters think and yet he recovered no sooner was this done but the Babylonish Embassadours comming from their Master to congratulate his recovery he was so taken with it that he shewed them the house of his precious things which was a baite to that King to come and destroy his Land and it fell out accordingly for when Isaiah had asked him from whence those men came and that Hezekiah had told him adding withall that he had shewed them all his treasures he saith the Lord of Hosts saith Behold the dayes come that all that is in thine house and that which thy Fathers have laid up in store untill this day shall be carried to Babylon as if the Prophet had said thou hast made thy will O Hezekiah and the King of Babylon shall be thy Executour and so it fell out afterwards for the King of Babylon made warre against him and took and carried away all the Treasure which formerly had been shewed to his Embassadours And when our blessed Saviour saith to the man whom hee had restored to his limbs Sinne no more lest a worse thing come unto thee Iob. 5.14 it intimates to us Iohn 5.16 that men are apt to runne into sinne when they have had the sweetest relish of Gods mercy What may bee the reason of this Reason 1 First it is from the corruption of our nature since the fall of Adam which is so depraved thereby that we are apt to forget the mercy of God even then when wee have most cause to remember it Reason 2 Secondly it proceeds from the malice of the Devill for when hee sees God to bestow great mercies on men hee then labours especially to engage them in transgression and why so that the mercies of God may be obscured by their unthankfulnesse who but even now were
the objects of his bounty and not only so but he doth it likewise to vex and afflict Gods children for when God shall open their eyes hee knowes it will grieve their spirits for sleighting Gods mercy as they have done therefore it is that he steps in then when God hath been most gracious to men and puts them on to commit sinne that thereby hee might draw black lines over the legible characters of Gods mercy Let me perswade you Vse that as yee bee sensible of Gods mercies so to watch over your selves upon the receit of them that yee may be thankfull for them the Saints of God have been carelesse this way notwithstanding God hath bestowed abundant favours upon them they have been wanting in payment of that tribute of prayse which God expected and deserved at their hands when God looked for sweet they have brought forth wilde and soure grapes like as it was with the Heathen of old who comming to the Temples of their gods to give thanks for their health went home drunk and as the Devill doth labour then to step in when God hath done men most good so above all times labour at that time to be most thankfull and obedient that God may have his glory and you a sweet relish of his mercy shall wee break thy Commandements How shall wee understand this break his Commandements how could it be otherwise doth any man live and not sinne and yet shall they for this be exposed to Gods judgements who knowes not but as long as we live in this world and spin out the thread of our life that we cannot but break Gods Commandements were we as faithfull as ever Abraham was yet wee could not but wee must bee guilty sometimes of breaking Gods Commandements and doth not Saint Iames say in many things we sinne all and what saith the Apostle Iohn he that saith hee hath no sinne is a lyar and there is no truth in him As it is in the Fable which was told the mother of Achilles that if she dipped her Son into such a River so farre as the water wet him so farre hee should bee invulnerable therefore she drencht him over head and eares and wet every part of him save onely the tip of his heele by which shee held him and in that part hee received his deaths wound So let a man be never so much sanctified be hee as holy as ever any Saint was I will not except the Virgin Mary yet as long as he dwels here below he will be guilty of breaking Gods Commandements how then must wee understand what Ezra saith when he saith shall we againe break thy Commandements His meaning is that if after so great mercy as God had vouchsafed them they should fall into grosse sinnes then God should be just in punishing them for though a man cannot shun peccata quotidiana sins of infirmity yet hee may refraine from committing foule and scandalous sinnes Luk. 1.6 In Luk. 1.6 it is said of Zachary and Elizabeth That they were righteous before God walking in all the Commandements and Ordinances of the Lord blamelesse and it is possible for a man to live sine scandalo without scandall though not sine querela without being guilty of lesser iniquities or secondly he may be understood thus though they bee sinnes which be lesse yet if men shall wilfully commit them it shall bee just with God to punish them for the same if they be of industry and not of infirmity if they be lesse then the first and yet shall be runne into against knowledge and conscience they shall for these be exposed to Gods judgements as well as for greater sins From the words thus opened note thus much in way of application Vse 1 In the first place let us deplore the misrerable corruption of our nature since our fall there is now a necessity of sinning waking sleeping solitary in company at home and in Gods Temple were it so that a man were living yet if hee were alwayes sick we would say it were a poore life what is it then to be alwayes prone to sinne yet this is our unhappinesse while we are cloathed with flesh have wee not cause then to be weary of this sinfull life and ought we not with Saint Paul to sigh while wee are burthened with this body of clay desiring to bee cloathed upon with immortality that mortality might be swallowed of life Is there not just cause for us to say with the same Apostle in the sorrow of our soules Cupio dissolvi esse cum Christo I desire to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ Vse 2 Secondly because Ezra would have them avoid foule sinnes in the name of God let our care bee to abandon such Which bee they Swearing whoredome oppression murder drunkennesse Sabbath breaking these doe vastare conscientiam wast the conscience and endanger the soule more then other sinnes a ship may live at Sea that hath a leake sprung if the Mariners bestirre themselves in pumping but when it is shot thorow and thorow by wind and water it is hardly kept from sinking So a man that sins of infirmity if he repent he shall obtaine pardon but the soule that sinnes wilfully is scarse kept from sinking Lastly hee would have them avoid smaller sinnes and so ought wee for a little sinne committed with purpose is greater in Gods account then a great sinne committed against a mans will as therefore a man should avoid great sinnes so also all lesser impieties the heart of man should bee against all sinne and he should have respect to all Gods Commandements that if hee chance to fall it may not bee presumptuously but by infirmity and then hee may expect mercy from God who knowes whereof wee are made and remembers that wee are but dust Shall we joyne in affinity with the people of these abominations It is an Hebraisme the Spirit of God cals them people of such abominations in stead of abominable people it is more to be called people of such abominations then abominable people thus when Antichrist is called the man of sinne it is more then if he were called a sinfull man Here I could observe how hatefull the Heathen and all their doings be unto God as also how odious all grosse sinners are in his pure eyes hee loathes and abhorres them in the Scripture yee shall finde if the godly be compared to gold they are termed drosse if the godly be compared to wheat the wicked to chaffe Nay the ungodly man is resembled to the dirt in the street which you know is filthy and noisome Again if the godly be termed sheep the wicked are called goates nay in our Text they be abominable As it was said of Naaman hee was an honourable man and a brave souldier but a leaper So wee may say of the wicked man be he never so rich and honourable if he be a grosse sinner hee is hatefull to God yea I will be bold to say hee
is more loathsome to him in peccato quamvis non persona in his sinne though not in his person then a toad is or can be in our eyes But I cannot stay here Shall wee joyne in affinity with the people of such abominations The Holy Ghost makes it a foule sinne to joyn in affinity with the Heathen and indeed so it is for God charges the contrary Exod. 34.15.16 Exod. 34.15.16 And yee shall finde that God hath followed those with punishments that have joyned themselves to Heathens Esau married strange Wives to the great griefe of his Father and Mother and he was made the more prophane by it The like we see in Solomon he married the King of Egypts Daughter and shee brought him to Idolatry for which God plagued both him and his posterity it was so with Sampson hee would needs have the Daughter of a Philistim to wife what followed upon it shee proved his bane so in Ahab he took to wife Iezabel the Daughter of the King of Zidonia which was the filling up of his iniquity and brought the curse of God on him and his progeny it is said in 1 Cor. 7.39 A woman 1 Cor. 7.39 if her Husband be dead is at liberty to be married to whom shee will onely in the Lord That is saith Gregory to a Christian and saith Augustine shee must still remaine a Christian though married to a Heathen And the same Apostle saith 2 Cor. 6.14 Bee not unequally yoaked with Infidels 2 Cor. 6.14 for what fellowship hath righteousnesse with unrighteousnesse and what communion hath light with darknesse What is the meaning of that Gregory saith S. Paul meanes that Christians should marry with Christians and Chrysostome saith To doe otherwise is to make the members of Christ the members of a Harlot Let us take heed of intimate familiarity with Heathens Vse and in this case I say to you as Sampsons Father said to him Is there never a daughter in Israel to please thee Nay I will spread it further Shun not only familiarity with Heathens but make no league with grosse sinners for there is much danger in it First the danger of suspition let a man bee never so good yet if hee associate himselfe with those that bee bad hee will bee thought as bad as they for what will men say birds of a feather flie together Secondly he runnes the hazard of infection all the Rivers in the World run into the Sea but yet they cannot sweeten it but are made brakish by it and a wicked man is tenne times more apt to corrupt a good man then he is to be wrought on by the conversation of a good man Thirdly there is a danger of a curse by consorting with wicked men for as many ill men fare the better for one good man thus the houshold of Potipher was blest for one Ioseph and all in the ship fared the better for Pauls presence so many good men may sometimes fare the worse for one wicked person thus for one Achan the whole Host of Israel is discomfited and this made Iohn the Evangelist to hasten out of the bath as soone as he saw Cerinthus there for saith he I feare lest the house should fall upon my head for being in company with such a wicked heretick as thou art This also was that which caused Moses to command the Israelites to depart from the Tents of Korah Dathan and Abiram and the Spirit of God saith Come out of Babylon my people lest by partaking in her sins yee partake of her plagues Besides when a good man maintaines inward familiarity with the wicked First hee seemes to approve and applaud their wickednesse Secondly it is a scandal to Religion and doth greatly prejudice weak Christians Thirdly it is a great meanes to keep the wicked from repenting for too much intimacy with them hardens them in their sinne take heed therefore of intimate acquaintance with wicked men and let our affection be to the Saints that be in the earth and to those that excell in vertue We now come to the punishment wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping First here is Gods anger in the first clause wouldst thou not be angry with us Secondly we have the degree of his anger in the last words so that there should bee no escaping Wee begin with Gods anger wouldst thou not be angry with us We must know that anger is not a passion in God as it is in man but in speaking thus the Spirit of God stoops to us to raise us up to him as the Nurse stammers to the child in its own dialect so our weaknesse makes God condescend unto us certaine it is that anger is in God as zeale not as vice Out of this first clause I note two things for our instruction The first is this Great sinnes after the receit of great favours are usually inherited by great judgments C ham was freed from being drowned with the old World which was a great deliverance if after this he shall not bee sensible of Gods mercy and shall mock his Father no marvell if he be made servus servorum a servant of servants Nay Noah himselfe if hee shall no more remember the favour of God then to bee excessive it is no wonder if he be mocked by his own child and this was no small judgement So for Lot if after so great a deliverance vouchsafed him he shall be guilty of Incest no marvell if his two Sons begotten of his Daughters prove the fatall enemies of Israel So for Pharaoh the deliverances which God gave him were admirable but for the contempt of them they are succeeded with great plagues it was a notable mercy which God afforded Nineveh in keeping off that judgement which Ionah had denounced against it when Nineveh sins againe see what God saith Nah. 1.9 I will make an utter end Nahâ—m 1.9 affliction shall not rise up the second time that is hee will so set on the stroak that hee need not smite twice it is like that speech of God to Samuel concerning Eli and his houshold When I begin I will also make an end 1 Sam. 3.12 and that caution of our blessed Saviour 1 Sam. 3 1â— to the man that was cured at the Poole of Bethesda Sinne no more lest a worse thing come unto thee What doth it intimate to us but that great sinnes after great favours are inherited by great plagues The Magdeburgenses observe that these three things goe together great mercies have been bestowed great sinnes have ensued and great judgements have followed both And wonder not at this for it is a great dishonour to God that his favours should be sleighted Rom. 2.4 as in Rom. 2.4 Knowest not thou O man that the goodnesse of God leadeth thee to repentance That is it should lead thee to repentance Therefore beware of abusing the mercies of God else they
that such persons could not repent after this life which indeed is impossible but the best exposition is that the place is meant of the sinne against the Holy Ghost now whosoever commits that despights the Spirit of grace and so it comes about that it is impossible hee should be renewed againe by repentance The second Argument they bring is this If God should forgive men grosse sins upon the breach of their Covenant hee should be mutable Not so for it is peremptory with God that men should repent and be pardoned when therefore God pardons a great sinner upon his repentance hee changes not neither is there the least shadow of change in him but the sinner is changed by repentance and amendment Thirdly say they the recovery of great sinners is very questionable in Scripture â—â—od 32. as Exod. 32. It is a matter very doubtfull whether God forgave the Israelites their sinne of making a Calf So Jonah 3.9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent â—â—nah â— and turn from his fierce anger that we perish not and Peter saith to Simon Magus Acts 8 22. Acts 8.22 Repent therefore of thy wickednesse and pray God if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee To which I answer That which is chiefly meant in those places is corporall judgements Secondly all those places tend to the aggravation of their sinnes and not to shut the doore of repentance upon them the last place they urge Hebr. 12.17 is Hebr. 12.17 For yee know that afterward when hee would have inherited the blessing he was rejected for he found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears the meaning of that place is easie it is meant of Isaacs Repentance that he could never be perswaded to alter what he had done when once he had blessed Jacob notwithstanding Esau sought it with tears But secondly suppose it is meant of Esaus repentance yet it would not make for them because it was no true repentance for at the same time he resolved to kill his brother Jacob his repentance was for somewhat he had lost not for what he had done Vse 2 In the second place let it be for the cheering of all drooping spirits and distressed consciences it is the voice of too many in the world what we finde some saying Jerem. 18.12 There is no hope Jerem. 18.12 But I say there is hope Hast thou been an Adulterer there is hope in Israel concerning this if thou repent and forsake that sinne Hast thou been a Covetous person a Drunkard a Swearer there is hope in Israel for these if thou from thy heart repent thee of them Hast thou been a fraudulent person and a deceiver of thy brother repent of this sinne and make him satisfaction and thou shalt be pardoned for there is hope in Israel even concerning this Beloved the Lord hath this day sent the greatest of sinners to tell you That there was never any perished for want of mercy Therefore doe your sinnes grieve you repent of them lie down at the foot of Gods Mercy-seat and sue for pardon in the Name and for the Merits of Jesus Christ In any kinde despaire not for yet there is hope of Mercy and to this purpose remember these things which I shall now tell thee First as it was a sinne in the Israelites to limit Gods Power so it is a sinne to limit his Mercy what sinne can be imagined or committed too great for God to pardon Cain did lie when he said his sinne was greater then could be forgiven I read of one that being told by the Devill That his sinnes were more then could be pardoned and that he could not be saved thinking thereby to make him despaire saith he thou unclean spirit thou art a lyer for if thou couldest repent thou mightest be pardoned Secondly think upon the infinite satisfaction which our blessed Saviour hath made for sinners and he came not onely to cure green and smaller wounds but great and inveterate soares some eight some twelve some thirty eight yeeres old Thirdly think upon what kinde of Persons God hath shewed mercy as Adam and Eve David Manasseh Zaccheus Mary Magdalene Paul and many others who found mercy Fourthly think of this that despaire is the greatest sinne in the world for that wrongeth God in the chiefest of his attributes to wit his mercy therefore the learned say that Cain and Jidas sinned more in despairing then the one did in killing his Brother or the other in betraying his Master Lastly remember this that if thou despairest and diest in that condition thou shuttest the doore of mercy upon thy selfe and thou maist be sure of Hell for thy portion therefore despaire not in any case but withall remember that all this is promised thee upon the condition of thy repentance be sure therefore to repent seriously and speedily First doe it seriously God doth not love that thou shouldest only hang down thy head for a time like a bull rush but thou must be rent within by having a broken and contrite spirit Secondly repent speedily it must not be to day for thee and to morrow for God I know God may and can pardon him that repents at the last houre but if men deferre their repentance out of hope of pardon let them know that hee that hath promised mercy to him that repents doth not say a man may repent when he will and you that have never felt these breakings of soul and horrours of conscience you will finde one day that there is a wide difference between the Devills tempting you to sinne and his afflicting you for sinne for when he tempts men to sin he tells them that the gate of mercy is ever open and that though their sins be never so great yet they may repent for them at pleasure but when a man is in affliction and anguish of soul then he multiplies his lashes and layes on load telling him That God wll shew mercy to none such as he is hee will tell him that his sinnes are more then can be forgiven and with Jobs wife hee will bid him curse God and die therefore think of this now in time for the Devill is never so sweet in his temptations to sin as he is bitter at last in putting men on to despaire for sinne Vse 3 In the third place is God so mercifull as to forgive men the greatest sins upon their repentance Let us then be mercifull to our brethren as our heavenly father is mercifull to us What offence can a man commit against another that the party offended should not forgive Let our displeasure be as just as may be yet there is no reason but wee should forgive our Brother because God is so proclive and ready to forgive us but there be some such who by no means will be reconciled to their Brother who harh offended them but I fear not to tell such that they are not sensible of Gods mercy