others from wrath wee might haue some couer for our sinnes but all this can doe vs no good we lie open to Gods punishments This serueth to reproue many carnall and Vse 1 formall Christians that oftentimes encourage themselues in euill and strengthen themselues by the example of others and especially by the fall of such as they finde recorded in holie Scriptures They alledge for themselues that Noah fell into drunkennesse Dauid into adultery Lot into incest Peter denied his master Thomas one of the twelue doubted thorough infidelity and such like These examples are written not to the end we should follow them and doe the like Why the fals of the faithful are recorded in Scripture but that others should bee warned by their fals not to do the like and be stirred vp by repentance after their example Nay these are the rather to be reproued who seeme to builde vpon such examples because they finde that these men were plagued punished for the euilles which they committed The Scripture doth not set down their offence and then hide their punishment but ioyneth the one with the other as if this were written before our eyes Do not the like Seeing therefore others before vs haue beene visited with great iudgements for the same sins feare least the same befall to vs also that befell to them If we will follow multitudes to euill because such sinnes are in fashion and in common practise if we will do as the most doe let vs take heede there is no comfort in such companie neither shall it ease any one to goe to hell in a throng Let vs not regard the number or authority or learning of euill men but rather follow the truth in matter of faith and profession for otherwise we shall quickly be remoued from it Acts. 28 22. The truth was euerie where spoken against It hath beene the portion of the truth in all ages Esay 55 1. Who hath beleeued our report None of the Princes or Gouernors beleeued in Christ Iohn 7 48 49. but a few of the people whom they pronounced and accounted to be cursed Vse 2 Secondly from hence we ground a reproofe for children and seruants following their Parents and masters and thinking it a sufficient discharge to themselues because they doe as they see them do before them Wo vnto those that giue them euill example and lay a stumbling blocke before them Such parents are greatest enemies to their owne seruants Parents many times are the greatest enemies to their own children We must follow our heauenly Father before earthly fathers our Master in heauen before our masters on the earth Wee must follow them when they command vnder God not when they command aboue him or against him We must follow our teachers so long as they sit in the chaire of Moses and teach vs out of the Law and the Prophets Matth. 23 2 3. When the mother of Christ saide vnto him by way of taxing him for not following them he answered Luke 2 49. Wist ye not that I must bee about my Fathers businesse The Disciples of Christ replied vnto the Councell charging them to preach no more in the name of Christ Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken vnto you more then vnto God iudge you Act. 4 19. And Paul willeth the Corinthians to be followers of him as far forth as he was of Christ 1 Cor. 11 1. Wee must giue an account to God whose steps we follow and therefore wee ought to say Wee ought to obey God rather then men Actes chap. 5 ver 29. Vse 3 Thirdly wee may gather from hence a reproofe of sottish and ignorant Recusants standing and grounding onely vpon their Forefathers such as can giue no other reason of their religion but that they were borne and bred in it Psal 78 8. They should not bee like their Fathers a stubborne and rebellious generation a generation that set not their heart aright and whose spirit was not stedfast with God And indeede what doe these poore seduced soules say for themselues which the Turkes and Infidels may not obiect and alledge as well as they For haue not they sucked in their superstition and impiety together with their mothers milke and continued from father to sonne for manie hundred yeeres It is an horrible abhomination wherein they haue bene nuzled can it be a good argument therefore from their birth and nurture to conclude their continuance in that damnable religion If they thinke this to be a grosse comparison wrongly applyed vnto them because they hate that superstition and professe the Christian religion I would know of them whether they thinke vs to be right or not The most learned and best approoued amongst them deny vs to bee any church at all because we liue not vnder the gouernment of the byshop of Rome yet this is the Religion that we were borne and bred in wee haue had it from our Fathers we haue seene the practise of no other If then they will not allow vs to reason in that manner and to make the example of our Fathers a president to our selues how is it that they take liberty to builde their faith vpon others and to follow the footsteps of their forefathers But as our religion thogh we be ready to defend it to bee good because it is builded vpon the foundation of the Prophets Apostles yet it is not therefore good because we haue receiued it by tradition from men but because wee haue learned it from the word of God so if they haue no more to say for the truth of their religion and the iustification of their faith then that they were born and brought vp in it they build their faith and religion vpon the sand which cannot continue when the raine falleth and the winde bloweth vpon it Fourthly this should perswade euery one of vs how to carry our selues namely that we Vse 4 should not take any approbation or liking of the euill of other neither ought we to imitate any in sinne how holy soeuer they seeme to be neither giue consent to them by our practise forasmuch as Gods hand hath ouertaken them at one time or other If a man surfet on that meat which he hath seene another before him to surfet no man will pitty him or if he see another drinke a cup of poyson and therevpon to fall downe dead before him if he notwithstanding will aduenture to drinke of the same cup he must needs be without all excuse and perish iustly so is all euill as a cup of poyson he that taketh and toucheth it shall speed no better then we know thousands haue done before vs who haue bought their pleasures of sinne at too deare a rate If men cry out vnto vs as the children of the Prophets did There is death in the pot 2 Kings 4 40. what do we but bring death and damnation vpon our owne soules and as it were willingly lay hands vpon our selues if we
Princes hold their Crownes and Scepters by the gift of God and therefore none but hee that gaue them can take them away from them They were accountable to him but to no mortall man whatsoeuer Ambros in his Apol. of Dauid chap. 10. and therefore Dauid saide To thee onely I haue sinned Psal 51 4. And this teacheth them a good lesson to remember that they must one day appeare before the iudgement seate of God and plead before his barre guilty or not guilty as now their subiects doe before them This then is the Regall tenour to hold immediatly from God to whom they must doe homage and fealty for their Crownes and Kingdomes It is not vnknowne what exorbitant courses the Bishop of Rome hath taken exalting himselfe from a Christian Pastour to bee an Antichristian Pope and from a Pope to a temporall Prince and from a temporall Prince to be a supreme Monarch ouer all and to haue omnipotent power as a vice-god on earth Such Almain-leapes in good time there is good hope will breake his backe nay his necke and free the Christian world from his yoke and bondage worse a thousand times then the slauery of the Israelites in Egypt when God shall open the eyes of all Christian Princes to see his vsurped ambition dominion which God grant for the glory of his Name and the saluation of the poore people that are held in more thē Turkish captiuity Lastly we must acknowledge that Magistrates Vse 3 are of great necessity forasmuch as the end of their Office is the good and benefit of the people ouer whom they are placed Lam. 4 20. They serue as a comfortable shadow to preserue vs from the scorching fires of raging persecuters like the gourd of Ionah which came ouer his head to deliuer him from the heare of the Sunne Ionah 4 6 8 which serueth to condemne the Anabaptists which cannot abide any gouernment or gouernors whereas we must learne to pray for them and to be subiect vnto them which are the Lords Shepheards ouer his flocke without whom nothing is to be seene but miserable disorder confusion of all things Iudg. 18. For a Commonwealth without a Gouernor is as a body without an head as a shippe without a Pilot as an army without a Leader or as an house without a Ruler The losse of a good and godly Prince is a great losse and greatly to be lamented 2 Chron. 35 verse 24. Zach. 12 verse 11. CHAP. XXVIII 1. AND the Lord spake vnto Moses saying 2. Command the Children of Israel and say vnto them My offering and my bread for my sacrifices c. 3. And thou shalt say vnto them This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer vnto the Lord Two Lambes of the first yeare without spot day by day for a continuall burnt offering 4. The one Lambe shalt thou offer in the morning and the other Lambe shalt thou offer at euen 5. And a tenth part of an Ephah c. 6. It is a continuall burnt offering c. 7. And the drinke roffering c. 8. And the c. MOSES hauing set downe the numbering of the people proceedeth to handle the lawes vnder which they ought to be wherof some belong to Church-matters and some to the Common-wealth some sacred and some ciuill Such as are holy haue the first place and that worthily which order sheweth that the Common-wealth can neuer be well established vntill the Church be rightly ordered Doctrine The first and chiefe care is to be had of the Church and matters of religion The first and chiefe care is to be had of the Church and afterward of the ciuill state Commonwealth They begin at a wrong ende that begin with matters of policy as if a man should be very carefull to looke to the body but be carelesse of looking to the soule or should haue regard to the foote and vtterly neglect the head It was euermore the manner of the godly religious Kings of Iudah to beginne first with Church-matters and looking to religion and ordering the preaching of the Word and administration of the Sacraments as wee see in Dauid Iehoshaphat Hezekiah and Iosiah So did Zerubbabel immediately after their return from captiuity as wee see in the booke of Ezra Reason 1 And no maruaile for true religion is the soule and life of the Commonwealth without this it cannot prosper and florish but is as a dead carkasse without life it may carry a goodly shew and seeme to promise peace perpetuity but it is not well grounded and will deceiue in the end witnesse the Monarchies of the world which all receiued theyr decaying and declining in theyr times seasons of which before chap. 3. Secondly true religion is that onely which instructeth all sorts in true obedience teacheth them to performe theyr duties which is the meanes to establish a Commonwealth to order it aright when euery one knoweth his standing and no man encrocheth vpon the calling of another and the contrary bringeth confusion Thirdly euery one is charged to seeke the glory of God aboue his owne good and to set vp him before our selues For as he wil not giue his glory to any other so we ought to take heed we do not rob him of it But when we haue the first care to establish matters of religion then we shew that we are zealous of his glory First then they are deceiued that thinke it Vse 1 enough to make lawes for preseruation of publike peace and tranquility that euery man may keep and enioy his owne that wrongs and iniuries may be suppressed and banished The cheefest care ought to bee of Gods seruice and worship otherwise our Common-wealths shall differ little or nothing from the states and gouernments of the heathen Heere then is a lesson for all Law-giuers if they desire to haue Christian Commonwealths to begin with Christian religion and looke to the Church and there lay a good foundation He that would build an house to stand against stormes and tempests that will beate against it and seeke to beare it downe will be sure to begin with the foundation make sure work there so such as desire to haue a flourishing Commonwealth and all estates as a goodly building to grow vp and prosper in it must make religion the foundation and then it shal be sure to stand because that is as a rocke that shall neuer fayle nor fall Vse 2 Secondly hereby also we may try our selues whether we belong to God or not if in the first place we regard duties of piety and godlinesse and be more carefull to feare God thē to feare man then we are truely religious and may assure our selues we are true members of the church We must make him our feare who is able to cast body and soule into hell Matth 10 rather then man who can but kill the body if kill the body Iohn 19. Let euery one of vs therefore bee more
sinne voluntary or vnuoluntary and withall he sheweth that such vnwilling man-slaughter is a sinne Yea this is so cleere a point that Cardinall Allen forgetting the doctrine of his fellowes and the foundation whereupon they builde in his booke of popish pardons chapt 5 telleth vs out of the Councell of Ancyre holden well neere 1300. yeares since in the purest time of Christian religion when our aduersaries dare not say that the faith was corrupted that the Apostles and Bishops haue euer beside the preaching of the Gospel exercised the power of the keyes coÌ„mitted to the Church and inflicted due punishment for euery deadly sinne iustly respecting the greeuousnesse thereof and among the rest he noteth that for murtherers if it were not voluntary were appointed seuen yeares penance but if it were wilfull till the ende of their life Now would this Councell so ancient and so pure as the Iesuite pretendeth haue enioyned so long penance and punishment for innocent persons and such as had committed no sinne at all So then to ende this matter albeit the Lord acquit the party after a sort that hath slayne a man vnwittingly so that there shall no iudgement of death passe vpon him yet hee was constrayned to forsake his owne house and inheritance and to dwell in a strange place and to suffer many inconueniences to his decay and impouerishing and peraduenture his vtter vndoing his wiues and children Wherefore God would haue the party that offendeth vnwittingly neuerthelesse to abide some punishment to the intent he may humble himselfe And I suppose there is no good man if such a thing should befall him but would be humbled and greeued for it all the dayes of his life and craue of God forgiuenesse of what is past albeit there were no euill meant on his part and likewise pray vnto him earnestly for the time to come that he would rule his hands and his feete better so order all his steppes that he neuer swarue froÌ„ his holy commandements Now to come to the ground of the Doctrine three sorts are heere directed touching blood the people the auenger and the Iudge The people is restrayned the auenger is permitted the Iudge warranted and allowed The people is restrayned not permitted the auenger is permitted not restrayned the Iudge is permitted and allowed nay commanded to draw the sword The people sinne if they shed blood the Iudge if he do not This teacheth that it is a sinne for men to do that which GOD hath appointed to bee done Doctrine We may not doe lawfull things vnlawfully when they haue no particular calling or commandement for them to doe it This is manifested vnto vs in the facte of Zipporah the wife of Moses taking a knife and circumcising her sonne Circumcision was one of the sacraments that God had ordayned that euery male of eight dayes should be circumcised and haue the foreskinne of his flesh cut off Exo. 4 25. howbeit she sinned greeuously because she would doe it without a calling which was for man not for the woman to do and therefore it appeareth shee had no moe children as we obserued elsewhere chap. 12 and beside she wanted the presence and company of her husband a long time after and when she returned vnto him shee was vexed and afflicteâ— by the emulation of Miriam aâ—â— Aaron So Saul sinned in offering vp sacrifice who ought to haue stayed for the comming of Samuel sacrifices were commanded of God but he did it without a calling therefore Samuel telleth him he had done foolishly 1. Sam. 13 14. The like we might say of Vzziah 2 Chron. 26 16 otherwise a good king he went into the Temple of the Lord and presumed to offer incense which was peculiar to the Priests and therefore hauing no direction from God though hee did a good thing yet he was presently smitten with leprosie 2 Chr. 26 14 20. This we saw before in Korah and his company chap. 16. Amnon abusing his sister Tamar by filthy incest ought by the law of God to suffer death Absolon killeth him with the sword he did that which God commanded Leuit. 18 9 29 and Dauid had to answer for it because he put him not to death neuerthelesse Absolon sinned greeuously in the doing of it because he was no Magistrate 2 Sam. 13 28 So then the point is plaine that a man may sinne and that greeuously in doing the things that God commandeth when he hath no warrant to do them The grounds are these First he doth it Reason 1 without any commandement from GOD. Whensoeuer a commandement is limited to persons and places to them it is a commandement and to no others The commandements and orders that are directed to such as are free of a citty or of a company or incorporation are no commandements to those thar are forrainers so in this case a commandement to some maketh it a sinne to them if they leaue it vndone whereas on the other side the not commanding maketh it a sinne to others that doe it because it is the commandement that maketh things eyther lawfull or vnlawfull Where there is no sight there can be no blindnesse but it is blindnesse when it is found in the subiect where sight ought to be We cannot say there is blindnesse in a stone because it is not capable of sight Therefore wee say that in indifferent things there can be no sinne eyther to do or not to do the ground is because there is no commandement Secondly it is a rule that all good being out of his proper subiect is euil Consider this in the natural body Is it not euil in nature for the eye to be in place of the hand that should be in the head Or for the finger to grow in the fore-head that should be in the hand this maketh a monster in the body when a member is out of his proper subiect So we may say for morall good wheÌ„ it is out of his proper place it is no more good but is turned into euill If any aske what is the proper subiect of good I answere the proper subiect of good is he to whom it is commanded and the vnproper subiect is where there is no such commandement Vse 1 By this a man may looke into himselfe and see as it were in a glasse the defects and deformities of his soule and namely that hee doth many things good for the matter and substance and good in those that haue a calling and commandement for it yet euill in him because he wanteth a commandement and consequently hath no warrant for the doing thereof All such haue cause to humble themselues for the euill which they haue brought vpon themselues by doing good things without any good calling To preach the word to administer the Sacraments to make publike prayer are necessarie parts of the holy worship of God that must be performed they are the onely instruments to saue the precious soules of men and yet these euen these are
sometimes of bread and sometimes of water murmured against God and his seruant Moses And albeit they had most manifest experience both of the power and mercy of GOD in helping them in all times of neede yet they brake out into impatiency Exod. chap. 16 verse 3. Oh that wee had dyed by the hand of the Lord in the Land of Egypt Exod. 26 3. when we sate by the flesh-pots when wee did eate bread our bellies full The cause of this was an vnbeleeuing heart to depart away from the liuing God If therefore wee beleeue not in him â—â—m 20 12. â—â—al 78 22. to sanctifie his Name and to trust in his helpe if we doe not commit all our waies vnto him who hath promised that he will neuer forget vs nor forsake vs it is vnpossible that euer wee should possesse our soules with patience The last impediment is want of premeditation and consideration how we may continue and go through stitch without starting backe from our profession This is the cause that maketh men impatient and to giue ouer when we are tryed because wee neuer weigh the danger before we are tryed We must cast our accounts what it hath cost others what it may cost our selues It is worthy counsell giuen vnto vs by our Sauiour Christ Luc. 14 28 29 30. Which of you minding to build a Tower sitteth not downe before and counteth the cost whether he haue sufficient to performe it lest that after he hath laide the foundation and is not able to performe it all that behold it begin to mocke him saying This man began to build and was not able to make an end It is a dangerous case to be found vnprepared and vnprouided for the assault It hath wrought a relapse and apostacy in many so that they haue denied the faith and made shipwracke of religion Hitherto of the hinderances of patience now let vs consider the motiues that may perswade vs to seeke after it and to lay hand and hold vpon it Motiues to moue vs to patience First of all we must know that as all affliction is of God so he will be with vs haue care ouer vs vnder the Crosse Why then should we bee dismaied or discourage our selues in any troubles whatsoeuer seeing we are still in Gods sight and haue him ready to heare vs otherwise it could not but go hard with vs. It had gone hard with Moses being cast into the Riuer among the reedes except God had looked downe from heauen vpon him and directed Pharaohs daughter to take him vp The like wee might say of Ioseph when he was in irons and his feet held in the stockes Psal 105.18 1 Sam. 24 2 3. Iere. 38 6. Ionas 1 17. Dan. 3 21 6 16. of Dauid when he wandered in the wildernesse on the Mountaines and in Caues of the earth of Ieremy when hee was cast in prison of Ionah in the whales belly of Daniel in the den of Lyons and of his fellowes in the fiery furnace all these had experience of Gods assistance who was not farre from them in the day of trouble So it shall be with euery one of vs his countenance doth euermore behold the iust in all their sufferings calamities as the Psalmist saith The eyes of the Lord are vpon the righteous his eares are open vnto their cry Psal 34 15. And indeed we should be most wretched and miserable in all our afflictions in warre famine and pestilence and whatsoeuer chastisements befall vs except God had an eye to see vs an eare to heare vs an heart to pitty vs and an hand to saue and succour vs. Secondly we must consider what we haue deserued and how we may iustly be punished not only in that manner but in a greater measure This was the confession of the penitent theefe hanging vpon the Crosse and speaking thus vnto his fellow Luc. 23. Luc. 23 41 42 We are indeed righteously heere for we receiue things worthy of that we haue done but this man hath done nothing amisse We shew our selues to haue a sensible feeling of our sorrowes but are many times without feeling of our sinnes If GOD should lay more vpon vs he were not vniust inasmuch as we haue iustly broght it vpon our selues We see this in the Prophet Dauid acknowledging the same Psal 119 75. I know O Lord that thy iudgements are right and that thou hast afflicted me iustly We must confesse that nothing belongeth to vs but shame and confusion of faces Thirdly this meditation must enter into our soules and neuer depart from vs that God will turne all our sorrowes sufferings vnto the best so that neither tribulation nor anguish nor persecution nor famine nor nakednesse nor perill nor sword shall be able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. This is it which the Apostle teacheth Rom. 8 28. We know that all things worke together for the best vnto them that loue God euen to them that are called of his purpose This promise is assured vnto vs that he will sanctifie vnto our singular good not onely his blessings but his very chastisements and afflictions so that they shall bring vs neerer to God as the Prophet Dauid confessed he had receiued good by theÌ„ Psal 119. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keepe thy word Fourthly we are made to suffer heere that we might not suffer elsewhere For wee are chastened in this life lest we should bee condemned in the life to come If therefore wee be without correction whereof all the sonnes of God are partakers then are we bastards not sonnes as the Apostle speaketh to the Hebrewes Let vs call to our remembrance what Abraham answereth to the rich man Luke 16 25. Son remember that thou in thy life time receiuedst thy pleasures and likewise Lazarus paines now therefore is he comforted thou art tormented The rich man enioyed the desires and delights of his owne heart in this life therefore he was tormented in hell in the life to come Let vs patiently abide that which God layeth vpon vs wishing rather to suffer heere such troubles as are temporall then the torments of hell after this life which are eternall Fiftly it is the will of God that we should suffer to which wee must readily obey and humbly submit our selues as the Apostle sheweth Phil. 1 29. Vnto you it is giuen for Christ that not onely yee should beleeue in him but also suffer for his sake The heathen were wont to vse this as a reason to beare the cros because there is no remedy or redresse that it cannot be otherwise Seeing then they could not choose but suffer they taught that it is better to make a vertue of necessity then brutishly or childishly to despaire vnder it and seeing it must needs be so they must bee contented resoluing as Christ saith Acts 9 5. It is hard to kicke against prickes
He did not glory to haue in his owne breast an oracle to answer all doubts nor challenge any power of freedome from errour as the man of sinne in the pride of his owne heart boasteth of himselfe The third part is the resolution and determination of God deciding the question and making some lawes extending to them and their posterity first if any were vncleane they had respit giuen them vnto the second moneth they haue not liberty vntil the next yeare but to the next moneth they are dispensed withal Secondly the man that is cleane and refuseth to come he shall be cut off that is excommunicated from the people Thirdly if a stranger desire to be partaker of the Passeouer he must embrace the true religion be circumcised Exod. 12.49 and then he may come Touching the question and the occasion thereof it appeareth that those good men which were shut out from this part of Gods seruice by reason they were defiled by touching a dead body were much greeued at heart and troubled in mind that they were barred and as it were banished from the Passeouer hauing as great a desire as others to come vnto it Hence it is that they make earnest moane and complaint to Moses for their separation and therefore desire to be eased and releeued by him The doctrine Doctrinâ— from hence is that it is a great cause of sorrow and griefe to Gods deare children Gods chiâ—dren are greeued 〈◊〉 they are 〈◊〉 from his â—â—â—uice when they are by any iust occasion or by the hand of God vpon them withheld and kept back from the parts and exercises of his worship We see this in Hezekiah in his sicknesse Esay 38.1 his chiefe lamentation and complaint was that he should not see the face of the Lord in his Temple Dauid often complaineth and lamenteth that he was driuen by his enemies from his worship He maketh the condition of the sparrow swallow better then his Psal 84.3 42.1 and 5. and 137 which might come neerer to the altar then he his soule panted and thirsted after God The Church wept by the riuers of Babylon when they remembred Sion and the songs they had sung in the Temple and in another place the Church being by captiuiâ—y depriued of the Temple of their Synagogues of their sacrifices of their Sacraments and of the exercises of their religion maketh bitter complaint to God O Lord and 74.7 they haue cast thy Sanctuary into the fire they haue defiled thy dwelling place The incestuous Corinthian being by excommunication put from the fellowship of the Saints and the vse of the Ministery became comfortlesse and was almost swallowed vp with sorrow 2 Cor. 2.7 And can it be otherwise The godly find Reason 1 such sweetnesse such comfort such spirituall ioy in the presence of God where the exercises of his worship and religion are performed as nothing in this life is more pleasant and delightfull vnto them The Prophet cryeth out as if he were rauished with an holy contemplation of the excellency of this Psaâ— 8â— 1 1â— 10 anâ— 8. and 14 How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of hostes my soule longeth yea euen fainteth for the Courts of the Lord c. The word is sweeter to them then the hony and the hony combe and more to be desired then much fine gold They feed vpon the bread in the SacrameÌ„ts as vpon the fatnes of his house drink of the cup as of the riuers of his pleasures they offer vp praiers as sweet incense and lift vp their hands as the euening sacrifice How then can it be but that the losse want of al these brought vpon theÌ„ should strike them to the heart and minister matter of much greefe and mourning vnto them Secondly the great loue and mercy of God toward his people doth appeare in the exercises of religion and the place of his worship to them that are not altogether blind and deafe and past all sense and feeling of good things then in all other things throughout the whole world besides Prou. 9.1.2 And indeed a man or woman that hath once tasted the comfort of his adoption and saluation in Christ taught in the word and confirmed in the Sacraments will think it one of his greatest losses to lose and leaue these exercises and the greatest plague to be depriued of them and by them of the pledges of his goodnesse and fauor Thirdly when these are gone they know and consider the greatest stayes and helpes of their standing in the grace of God are vtterly taken away from them therefore they haue cause to lament as Psal 74.9 We see not our signes there is no more any Prophet neither is there among vs any that knoweth how long When he taketh away his word he lifteth vp his standard and goeth away And can there be greater cause to mourne then when God departeth from his people Vse 1 This reprooueth such as can lament bitterly and mourne heauily for the least earthly losses and troubles but neuer trouble themselues for losse of spirituall things It was not so with the wife of Phinehas she had many causes of mourning met together by heauy tidings that were told vnto her her father in law had broken his necke her husband was killed the hoste of God discomfited and the Arke of God was taken howbeit among all these none went neerer none so neere vnto her as the taking of the Arke and therefore she doubleth this which she could not put out of her mind and did after a sort put out all the rest â—â—m 4.22 The glory is departed from Israel for the Arke of God is taken But there are many in our daies that account it no losse at all to lose Sermon after Sermon Sacrament after Sacrament and one meeting in the house of God after another they can do this easily and neuer mourne for it Nay they are vexed and tormented as if they were vpon the rack that they are constrained to come so often to the word to the Sacraments and to the house of prayer See herein the great diffrence between the godly and vngodly It is the voyce of the faithfull When will the Sabboth come but the vnfaithfull say When will the Sabboth day be done Amos 8.5 It is the voyce of the faithfull Blessed are they that dwell in thy house Psal 84.4 but the vnfaithfull hold it a misery and bondage to be tyed so strictly and straitly to the publike exercises of religion It is the voyce of the faithfull 〈◊〉 42.2 and 7. 120.5 When shall I come and appeare before God but the vnfaithfull say When shall we depart out of Syon it is time we be gone It is the faithful mans voyce complayning Woe is me that I soiourne in Mesech that I dwell in the tents of Kedar but the vnfaithfull think theÌ„selues vnhappy that they must soiourne in the Tabernacle of God and dwel in his house If
and 3 6. 2 King 13 14. Neh. 2 5 Ester 5 4 8. 2 Sa. 24 3. 1 Sam. 25 24 c. Thus haue Gods children by the light of the word and the vngodly by the light of nature performed this duty And no maruell because superiours beare Gods image to inferiours are to them not by mans inuention or vsurpation but by the ordinance of God in Gods stead as Moses made Ruler and Gouernor was to Aaron Exod. 4 16. He shall be to thee in stead of a mouth and thou shalt be to him in stead of God Againe we haue the expresse law commandement of God binding the consciences of al Exod. 20 12. Psalm 82 6. Lastly they are sâ—t ouer inferiours not for their owne glory but for their good 1 Tim. 2 2. Rom. 13 4. He is the Minister of God to thee for good Vse 1 This principle offereth these vses first a reproofe of those that are so farre from yeelding them reuerence that they reiect their authority and cast off their yoke froÌ„ their necks they mutter at theÌ„ their commandements they reuile them and vse vnreuerent speaches to them and of them both before their faces and behind their backes which ought not to be Hence it is that Moses saith Exod. 22 28. Thou shalt not reuile the Gods nor curse the Ruler of thy people And Eccl. 10 20. Curse not the king no not in thy thought and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber c. And the Apostle willeth Titus to exhort seruants to be obedient to their owne masters and to please them well in all things not answering againe Tit. 2 9. It falleth out for the most part that they haue least honour at their hands of whom they ought to haue greatest Fathers and masters haue many times more honour out of their owne doores then they haue within them of other mens seruants and children then they haue of their owne For as Christ saith A Prophet is not without honour but in his owne country among his owne kinne and in his owne house so is it for the most part with all parents and masters Mark 6 4. Secondly if this duty be to be performed vnto men much more must we hold it to bee due vnto God If reuerence and obedience be due to mortall men who haue the image of God vpon them and that darkly obscurely how much more may God iustly chalenge these duties who hath giuen power and authority vnto men Iohn 19 11. Hence it is that God saith by the Prophet If I bee a father where is mine honour and if I be a master where is my feare Mal. 1 6 8. If ye offer the lame and the sicke is it not euill Offer it now vnto thy Gouernour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person Numb 12 verse 14 Heb. 12 verses 9 10. Lastly it belongeth to all superiours so to carry themselues that they may procure and deserue reuerence do not iustly bring contempt vpon themselues For this cause doth Paul teach Timothy to flye youthfull lusts 2 Tim. 2 22 and to beware that he giue not occasioÌ„ to make others despise his youth 1 Tim. 4 12. which he shall do if he be an example to the beleeuers in word in conuersation in charity in spirit in faith and in purity Forbid them Heere we see what Ioshua would haue Moses do he counselleth him to restraine them A young man young counsell The Doctrine from hence is Doctrine Young men are ordinarily rash in iudging of others that young men are commonly and ordinarily rash in iudging others yea more rash then elder men consequently more apt to iudge amisse and to giue euill counsell sentence of such things as are well done Such were Rehoboams green heads they gaue greene counsell and such as cost him the losse of the greatest part of his kingdome 1 Kings 12 verses 8 13 14. Grauity and sobriety are commended in elder men Titus 2 1 2. but young men follow the vanity of their young yeares Eccl. 11 9 10. The reasons are plaine First age yeares Reason 1 bring experience and ripenesse of iudgment and so wisedome Youth is as greene timber age as that which is seasoned Iob 32 7. I said Daies should speake and multitude of yeares should teach wisedome Againe their affections being hotter and stronger are more vnconstant and vnbrideled ready to runne into extremities as vntamed heiffers not vsed to the yoke Lastly they put farre from them the euill day they thinke themselues priuiledged by their age and make account they haue time enough hereafter to enter into better courses They liue for the most part as if they had made a couenant with death and with hell and are lesse carefull to be kept and guided within the compasse of Gods lawes Forasmuch as sentence is not executed speedily against an euill worke Eccl. 8 11. their hearts are fully set in them to do euill The vses First this teacheth vs not to rest Vse 1 in the iudgement nor to follow the counsell of yong men except they haue old mens gifts and graces in them For touching gifts it is true which Elihu testifieth Iob 32 9. Great men are not alwaies wise neither do the aged vnderstand iudgement Old men may be yong in gifts and young men may bee old in gifts Secondly let young men suffer their elders to speake before them especially in censuring things that are strange It is a point of wisedome for all especially for young men to suspect their owne iudgement and sentence concerning others their persons their gifts and their actions Thirdly it reproueth those that set vp in the Church promote to the office of teaching such as are young in yeares and gifts and not yet seasoned to build vp others but are light wanton rash not graue discreete and sober Adde vnto these such as aduance those that are planted newly conuerted to the truth of the Gospel before there be sufficient triall made of the soundnesse of their religion and the sincerity of their conuersation Paul teacheth Timothy that the Minister must not be a nouice or one newly come to the faith 1 Tim. 3 6. lest beeing lifted vp with pride he fall into the condemnation of the diuell It is a fault among vs that we many times giue too easie accesse to the Pulpit to such as beare themselues as conuerts among vs I meane such as haue beene fugitiues and forsaken our Church and returne home againe oftentimes worse then they went out and liue scandalously to the dishonour of God and the offence of many Such ought to bee thoroughly tried and proued let them liue in the place of common christians before they bee trusted with the place of Captaines and let them thereby purchase to themselues a good degree to farther promotion Lastly seeing rashnesse and vnaduisednesse are specially incident to youth let them learn to season their yeares with the word of God
narrow a roome but the curtaines thereof should be spread abroad to the vtmost parts of the earth But all this is nothing to proue the multitude to be a note of the Church forasmuch as many beleeuers may bee in one Nation and few beleeuers in many Nations and therefore Christ said When the Sonne of man cometh shall hee finde faith vpon the earth Luke 18 8. Vse 2 Secondly this serueth to reproue the common corruption that reigneth in the world among the ignorant sort and blinde multitude who build their faith and religion not vpon the golden foundation of Christ Iesus 1 Cor. 3 11. being the head corner-stone neither vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Eph 2 v. 20. but vpon the common customes and blinde fashions of sinfull men For if they can say Oh our fore-fathers were of this faith An obiection of the ignorant multitude our ancestours and predecessours beleeued thus they were wise they did think and speake and practise this If I say they can alledge this for themselues they thinke themselues safe they seeke no farther they dreame all is wel and take themselues to be sufficiently discharged if they follow and practise the same that they do they pray God they may do no worse then they did Thus while the blinde leadeth the blinde both fall into the ditch Mat. 15 14. These are they that haue no sure ground to build vpon and can giue no reason of their faith neither make answer to those that aske a reason 1 Pet. 4. They go blindfold to worke and grope in darknesse as the Syrians being smitten with blindnesse walked to and fro they knew not whither so at length were led into Samaria into the middest of the strength of their enemies 2 Kings 6 19. Like beasts that follow the heard who supposing that they are going to some fresh pasture to be filled are many times driuen to the shambles and slaughterhouse to be killed This is all the religion that they know to doe as the most doe and to goe the way that most go It is a common but a very diuellish prouerbe Do as the most do and then the fewest will speake of it But if we do as the most do the best will speake euill of it condemne it nay the word condemneth it nay God himselfe condemneth it And if we do that the most do we must do euill as they do and if we walke with them for company we shall also perish with them for company as it was in the daies of Noah This is a sure rule It is better 〈◊〉 be saued alone then 〈◊〉 be destroyeâ— with many It is better to go the right way alone then to wander out of the way for company It was better for Noah to be brought into the Arke with his family only then to perish in the waters with the prophane multitude It was better for Lot with his daughters to leaue Sodome then to tarry in it with the greatest company that were destroyed with fire and brimstone from heauen Take heed thou doe not damne thy soule to the pit of hell for company because such as sinne together shall be punished together Ps 37 38. If thou shouldst see a multitude of men leape into the fire or cast themselues into the sea or aduenture to goe into a den of Lyons thou wouldst not follow them because thou louest thy life tendrest the good of thy body The soule is much more precious then the body the losse greater then the losse of gold and siluer of pearles precious stones for one soule cost more to redeeme then al these are worth if they were heaped and hoarded together if then thou see many thousands before thee leape into the pit of hell where the fire is vnquenchable cast themselues into the gulfe of perdition where their estate is vnrecouerable wilt thou runne after them and follow theÌ„ for company to thine own destruction Thou wouldst not do the one because thou louest thy body be sure thou do not the other if thou louest thy soule Thirdly it is a vaine and foolish nay a wicked Vse 3 and damnable opinion which many hold with tooth and naile and obstinately defend that any man may be saued in his religioÌ„ whatsoeuer he professe and how soeuer he beleeue if he be earnest and feruent in it If the Pagan might be saued in his paganisme or the Turke in his Turcisme or the Idolater in his idolatry what needed Eliah to haue said If the Lord bee God follow him but if Baal then follow him 1 Kings 18 21. he might haue said as well it is all one whom ye follow the Lord or Baal if you be faithfull and feruent in your religion and the estate of these worshippers of Baal had beene very good For they were very earnest and zealous in their religion as appeareth by long prayer and loud crying to Baal from morning euen vntill noone â—â—rse 26. O Baal heare vs and by the cutting and lancing of themselues with kniues and lancers till the blood gushed out vpon them â—â—rse 28. neuerthelesse Eliah being zealous for the honour of God commanded theÌ„ to be slaine with the sword as false Prophets and seducers of the people It had beene a foolish thing for Ruth to leaue her country and kindred and her fathers house to goe among strangers and to change her religion if shee might haue returned with her sister vnto her owne people and to her false gods and vaine idols if shee might haue beene as well with them neither needed she to haue said Thy people shall be my people 〈◊〉 1 16. and thy God my God whither thou goest I will goe and where thou lodgest I will lodge c. The Apostles and holy Martyrs had beene vnwise to thrust themselues into dangers and to lay downe their liues for the testimony of the word and witnesse-bearing vnto the truth if they might be saued without this liuing in a false religion being feruent in it Nay if this monstrous and mad opinion were true Christ Iesus should haue come in the flesh and died in vaine which were blasphemous to thinke for what needed hee to haue suffered if euery man might bee saued in his owne religion without him Christ himselfe saith I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh vnto the Father but by me therefore he that seeketh any other way findeth not life and saluation Ioh. 14 6. And the Apostle saith There is no other way vnder heauen whereby we can be saued Acts 4 12. And Paul saith There is one faith not many faiths as there is one God not many gods Eph 4 5. The Idolatrous Ephesians were very zealous in worshipping of Diana 〈◊〉 19 28. when they cryed out Great is Diana of the Ephesians yet did the Apostle cry out against their idolatry What needed they to teach the Gentiles to turne from these vanities 〈◊〉 14 15. vnto the
haue hurt the Church if they had beene pronounced against them 〈◊〉 I answer the curses of the wicked cannot hurt or hinder the godly as Balaam in euery Prophesie acknowledgeth And Salomon teacheth That the curse which is causelesse shall not come Prou. 26 2. Wherefore then did not God suffer him to run his race to follow his owne imagination Why did God appeare vnto him and not suffer his curses to be denounced Surely because hereby the Name of God is more glorified the Sorcerer confounded and all the expectation of the enemies dashed in that the curses are not pronounced and their desires and endeuours disanulled Verse 1. Build me heere seuen Altars and prepare me seuen Bullocks and seuen Rams They begin theyr worke with great pompe shew of zeale and religion as the manner of the heathen was â—â—â—â—g 3. 〈◊〉 prâ—â—ciâ—â—â— when they went about any enterprize He buildeth not one Altar alone but seuen he contenteth not himselfe with one Bullocke and one Ram but prepareth seuen so that on euery Altar hee offereth two burnt offerings to appease the Lord toward them He nameth the Name of the Lord and goeth apart from the society of men as it were to haue conference with the liuing God whereas his drift and purpose was nothing but to practise his sorcery Thus we see the Gentiles obserued the manner of sacrificing receiued by tradition from their Fathers yet not purely and vncorruptly both because they had not respect to the Messiah promised and supposed the outward work of sacrificing to be so precious and meritorious that for it theyr sinnes should be forgiuen and because they mingled and corrupted the worship of God with their owne inuentions 〈…〉 For the sacrifices instituted of God are defiled and depraued partly by the opinion of merit partly by the addition of new-fangled worship 〈…〉 orâ—â— zeale Hereby we learne That all religion pretendeth order and zeale although it be remoued from truth Howsoeuer all false religion proceed from the spirit of disorder and confusion that is the diuell yet it maketh some shew of holinesse putteth on a shadow of the true religion This appeareth in the high places that Solomon built for his outlandish women Where they burnt Incense and offered oblations to strange gods 1 Kin. 11.7 8 and 18 26 28. It is noted touching the Priests of Baal that they prepared a Bullock and called vpon the name of Baal from morning to noone They cried aloud and cut themselues as their manner was with kniues and Launces vntill the blood gushed out vpon them Loc what zeale and forwardnesse here was The like appeareth in Zedekiah one of the former generation he made hornes of yron in resemblance imitation of the true Prophets who taught by such signes and said With these shalt thou push the Aramites vntill thou hast consumed them 2 Kings 22 11. The same is offered vnto vs in the Prophesies of Ieremy chap. 32 34 35 where describing the zeale of Idolaters hee saith They set their abhominations in the house of God to defile it they built the high places of Baal and caused their sonnes and daughters to passe through the fire to Molech So when Hananiah brake the yoke of Ieremy he said Thus saith the Lord Euen so will I breake the yoke of Nebuchadnezzer King of Babel from the necke of all Nations within the space of two yeares Ier. 28 10 11. The Reasons are to be considered First Reason 1 because Satan can turne and transforme himselfe into a resemblance of the glorious Angels that dwell in the heauenly light albeit he dwell in vtter darknesse yet he neuer appeareth in his owne likenesse he shadoweth his lyes with the Name of God and couereth his tentations with the vizard of holinesse This Reason the Apostle vseth 2 Cor. 11 13 14 15. If then Satan hide his hornes and dissemble the hollownes of his dealings so that his baytes and snares are not perceiued and the poyson of them is not seene no maruaile if his instruments that are led by his spirit follow theyr master in theyr hypocrisie For as the spirit is that leadeth them so are they that are led Secondly it satisfieth ignorant and foolish men from further searching and enquiring into Reason 2 the hidden mysteries of corrupt religion If it should bee propounded in the name of the diuell and the rottennes thereof appeare in his likenes euery one would defie it and spit at it and Satan well knoweth he should gaine nothing to his kingdome But when he taketh vp the Name of God pretendeth the zeale of God and sometimes alledgeth the Scriptures of God he carrieth many blindfold to perdition and leadeth away captiue simple soules laden with sinnes and led with diuers lustes for they neuer make further enquiry nor diue to the depth of Satans wylinesse This appeareth in the Idolatry of the ten Tribes erected by Ieroboam who saide to the people It is too much for you to goe vp to Ierusalem â—â—hold O Israel thy gods which brought thee out of the Land of Egipt and this thing turned to sin for the people went because of the one euen to Dan. 1 Kings 12 28 30. Iudg. 17 13. The ignorant multitude ran headlong after this counterfeit worship coloured with shew of reason and followed those Idols that they might go wiâ—h ease to the diuell Vse 1 Let vs make vse of this doctrine and see what may be learned from hence for our edification First acknowledge from hence that â—ll zeale and appearance of zeale is not good Balak and Balaam heeâ—e pretend the worship of God and who would thâ—nke they intented my mischiefe Yet they were in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity Therfore the Apostle saith of the Iewes I beare theÌ„ record Rom. 10 2 3 that they haue the zeale of God but not according to knowledge for they being ignorant of the righteousnesse of God and going about to stablish their owne righteousnesse haue not submitted themselues to the righteousnesse of God So the Church of Rome besotted with superstition and hauing drunke deepely of the cup of abhominations makes an outward shew of great zeale by their multitude of ceremonies partly borrowed from the Iewes and partly patched from the Gentiles by their Pilgrimages to Saiâ—ts by the counterfeit strictnes of their disordered orders by their solemne vowes of pouerty chastity and obedience by the pretended streightnesse of their whipping Iesuites and Ieluited disciples imitatâ—ng heerein the Priests of Baal and resembling the heretiques Aug. de haeresib which of whipping themselues are called Flagellantes But notwithstanding all these shewes of holinesse they are farre frâ—m true zeale hauing a voluntary religion like vnto thosewhom the Apostle Paul reproueth Col. 2 21 â—2 23 In which place the Apostle doth liuely describe what the Romane Religion is and portrayeth it out as a Table before our eyes It hath goodly shewes which indeed seeme to haue some
afraide that Christ should come within their doores They are in effect like the Gadarens that bid him depart out of their quarters The particular faith is the only comfortable faith and by this the iust man liueth The Ciuilians haue a rule that mine is better then ours and in temporall things all men like of it So we may say in the matters of faith touching particular application it is better for a man to say Christ is mine then Christ is ours Neuerthelesse we must vnderstand and obserue thus much that men must not bee discouraged to thinke they do not beleeue when indeed they do beleeue For the best of Gods children do beleeue with much weaknesse and encounter with many oppositions with which they wrastle and buckle hand to hand Sometimes the effects of Gods grace are not so liuely in them as formerly they haue beene sometimes the heart of man being full of corruption will cast many doubts concerning his faith which is as much as if it should cast mire and dirt in the face of it The life of a Christian is like the daies of the yeare sometimes the dayes are verie faire sometimes againe they are cloudie and full of showres so a man that doeth beleeue shall finde much peace and haue a long time of rest and refreshing together sometimes againe he shall be full of many doubts and of much staggering as when the Sun withdraweth it selfe within the clouds Euery true faithfull soule knoweth this by continuall experience And he that findeth these things let him not be discouraged but rather be assured that these are signes of true faith that God dealeth thus with his own for these ends to make them more certaine of their faith to teach thē to lay better hold of the promises of God and to haue more ioy in them and howsoeuer they may lose the sight of these things for a time yet their faith in the end shal haue victory and they shall bee able to pierce and passe through these clouds and haue a certaine application by which they shall be sure to want no good thing CHAP. XXXV 1 ANd the Lord spake vnto Moses in the plaines of Moab by Iordan neere Iericho saying 2 Command the children of Israel that they giue vnto the Leuites of the inheritance of their possession Cities to dwell in and ye shall giue also vnto the Leuites suburbs for the c. 3 And the Cities shall they haue to dwel in and the suburbes of them shall be for their Cattle and for their goods c. 4 And the suburbes of the Cities which ye shall giue vnto the Leuites shall reach from the wall of the City and outward a thousand cubites round about 5 And yee shall measure from without the City on the East side two thousand cubites and on the Southside two thousand c. 6 And among the Cities which ye shall giue vnto the Leuites there shall be six Cities for refuge which ye shall giue to the manslayer c. 7 So all the Cities which ye shall giue to the Leuites shall be 48. Cities 8 And the Cities which ye shall c. IN the former chapter we spake of the inheritance in generall Now we come to the particular and first touching the Priest which is an exception from the former The contents of this chap. Of this chapter there are two principall parts first a commandement to assigne certaine Citties for the vse and dwelling of the Priests and Leuites who otherwise had no portion allotted chap. 29. Secondly Lawes prescribed touching manslaughter Touching the first we see that albeit in the former distribution of the inheritance there be no mention made of the Priests and Leuites yet God will not forget them himselfe neyther haue them forgotten by others but prouideth for them places of habitation and assigneth to them 48. Cities with their suburbs wherein they are appointed to dwell Touching their foode and sustenance they had the first fruites and the tythes of the fruite of their land and of the increase of their Cattle And because he would haue them wāt nothing that was needfull for them although mens deuotion and charity is such that they could be content to see them want all things he taketh order in this place for theyr houses and dwellings and that in a plentifull and bountifull manner considering the compasse of the land as wee described it in the former chapter For besides the many Cities appointed they had suburbes with a thousand Cubites in compasse about those cities for barns outhouses and stalles for cattle besides fields stures and medowes containing two thousand cubites more for feeding and breeding of their cattle These were not assigned vnto them out of one or two tribes but selected out of them all yet in such sort that the tribes which had the larger inheritance must set apart the more and they that had lesse were to giue the fewer and thus was a iust and equall proportion obserued that one should not bee eased and another ouerburthened Thus were the Leuites dispersed in Iacob and scattered in Israel that so God might bee serued and his worship preserued throughout the land Thus God would haue all his people in all corners and quarters to be taught and instructed the small as well as the great plaine villages as well as famous and populous Cities as wee haue shewed before chap. 3. Thus was the punishment laide vpon Leut Gen. 49 7 turned into a blessings and their reproach changed into matter of honor and dignity These were commonly called the Citties of the Leuites not that they onely dwelt in them but because they among others dwelled in them the youth were instructed in the liberall sciences the law of God was expounded in the Synagogues there also publicke schooles and colledges were builded to be as holy Seminaries and Nurseries of piety and religion as we do reade in many places of the bookes of Samuel and the kings Of the Cities of refuge Moreouer obserue that out of these Cities of the Leuites God maketh choise of sixe Cities of refuge whereof three are in the land of Canaan and the other on this side Iordan and these were not chosen to bee together but they were so fitted that euery part of the Land had one of them at hand least such as were without fault and innocent should be pursued and slaine by the auenger of blood before he could recouer any of them Now these Cities are assigned out of the Cities of the Leuites rather then out of any othet that the places might be more respected and bee more inuiolably obserued and it is presumed that the Priests would not protect wilfull wretched offenders and so defile the places which were granted onely to be Sanctuaries for the innocent Thus did God allow Sanctuaries priuiledged places among his people and many other nations in all times and of ancient times haue followed this example But whether it be expedient in the