Selected quad for the lemma: act_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A41140
|
XXIX sermons on severall texts of Scripture preached by William Fenner.
|
Fenner, William, 1600-1640.
|
1657
(1657)
|
Wing F710; ESTC R27369
|
363,835
|
406
|
It is not amisse to consider and see how God proportions punishments to sins In Kind Quantity Quality Time Place and other Circumstances In Kind He shall eat the fruit of his own wayes that is he shall be punished in kind It is a similitude from a tree every tree brings forth according to its own kind if it be an Apple-tree it brings forth Apples if a Crab-tree Crabs a Pear-tree Pears So every sinner shall be punished in their kind a Minister shall be punished in his kind wicked Masters in their kind Servants in theirs Rich in theirs poor in theirs If a man be a drunkard he shall be punished in one kind if he be an adulterer in another Every man shall eat the fruit of his own wayes Every sin brings an homogeneal punishment according to the nature of it I cannot stand to follow this though it he very clear in Scripture Secondly it is in Quantity God proportions the punishment according to the sin he that sowes sparingly shall reap sparingly but he that sowes bountifully shall reap bountifully Little sins little punishments and great sins great punishments There are little sins moat sins gnat sins and there are Camel sins so there are little and great punishments some meet with many some with fewer stripes Just according to a mans sins so the Lord shapes out the punishment for great sinners great plagues and for every one according to his own measure God hath a pair of ballances that he means to weigh men in As he weighed Belshazzar so he will weigh thee and look how much sin thou puttest in one scale so much punishment God will put in the other He will not abate thee one oath not one idle thought not one breach of the Sabbath not one neglect of hearing the Word or of other duties the Lord will put wrath in one ballance as thou puttest sin in the other he will make the scales even to a haire as he dealt with Belshazzar He will lay righteousnesse to the line and judgement to the plummet and weigh thee out in the scales and thou shalt have just according to thy sins As the Lord deals with his own people he will not abate so much as a cup of cold water but it shall be rewarded he will reward all from the greatest to the least so he will deal with the wicked there shall no sinne passe unpunished Again there is a proportion in the Quality If Adam sin in eating he shall be punished in eating if the women of Judah sin in apparel they shall be punished in apparel Isa 3. 24. In Wis 11. 16. A man shall be punished in that that he sins in If Absalom sin in his hair he shall be punished in it Nebuchadnezzar might find his sin in his brutish condition and the Prodigall might find his sinne in the Hog trough so if thou find thy self in want consider if thou hast not wasted thy means if thou hast not been vain in building and prodigal in spending or gaming or unnecessary bounty and im moderate liberality beyond thy means Art thou punished in thy Trade or Children c. see if thou hast not sinned in them for where there is sin God will proportion the punishment to the sin Fourthly God proportions the punishment to the sin in regard of the time The same hour that Belshazzar was drinking and quaffing in the Temple the same hour the hand of God was upon him if it be not upon thee the same hour it may be to morrow at the same hour It may be thou hast sinned this day at such an hour it may be God may strike thee to morrow at the same time or this day seven-night it may be the next year Nebuchadnezzar was warned of his pride this year and the same time twelvemoneth the Lord drove him from among men So in Acts 13. 42. one Sabbath day the Jews heard Paul preach and went out before the Sermon was quite done they were not able to stand to the blessing the same day seven-night the Lord made the Apostles shake off the dust of their feet against them and leave them to a reprobate sense Fifthly the Lord proportions his punishments to the place It is strange many times that the drunkard should get his death in the same Alehouse where he got his liquor In Judg. 7. in that story of Oreb and Zeeb Oreb at the rock Oreb devised against the children of Israel and upon the same rock he was killed And Zeeb another persecuter of the Children of God so the Psalmist calls them he at the Wine presse of Zeeb took victuals from the children of Israel and in the same place his own life was taken away Just as Judges and Magistrates at this day they hang up men where they have done the villany As they do with Dogs and Cats they carry them to the place to the Cellar or the Buttery where they do the mischief But the beasts themselves though they have no reason are able to pick out the meaning of it The Lord punisheth sinners in the same place Here where thou hast been deaf to hear the word of God when thy heart riseth against the Preacher in the same place it may be the Lord wil deliver thee up to a reprobate sense In the same place at the Lords Table where thou comest unworthily thou shalt eat and drink thine own damnation THE NECESSITY OF SELF-DENIAL In a SERMON By that laborious and faithful Messenger of CHRIST WILLIAM FENNER Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Minister of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford Practicall DIVINITIE OR GOSPEL-LIGHT Shining forth In severall choyce SERMONS on divers Texts of Scripture Viz. 1. The Misery of earthly thoughts on Isa 55. 7. Viz. 2. A Sermon of Self-denial on Luke 9. 23. Viz. 3. The efficacie of importunate Prayer in two Sermons on Luke 11. 9. Viz. 4. The necessity of Gospel-obedience in two Sermons on Colos 1. 10. Viz. 5. A Caveat against late Repentance on Luke 23. 24. Viz. 6. The Soveraign vertue of the Gospel on Psal 147. 3. Viz. 7. A Funeral Sermon on Isa 57. 1. Preached by that laborious and faithful Messenger of CHRIST WILLIAM FENNER Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Minister of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford THE MISERY OF Earthly Thoughts ISA. 55. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord c. I Have heretofore begun the Doctrine of the Thoughts of men Now I desire to finish it Whence we had this Point that Those whose minds run habitually on earthly things are yet in the state of misery First Because a man is in the state of misery till he hath repented Now untill a man have forsaken his old thoughts that man hath not repented Oh Jerusalem wash thy heart Jer. 4. 14. A man must not only â—id himselfe
worship they will keep the Sabbath in coming to Church and they will hear Sermons pray and think of God but all this is to make God amends for the wrong that they have done him they know they have offended God and therefore they will doe something to make him ameds like those wicked men in Jeremies time who did steal murder commit adultery swear falsly and burn incense unto Baal and walk after the Gods they knew not and then come and stand before God in his house which is called by his name and said We are delivered though we have done all these abominations As if God should say unto wicked men What will ye swear steal lye and be earthly giving up your selves to all manner of lewdnesse in the breach and contempt of my commandements and then think by making a prayer unto me and by lifting up your eyes unto me and by giving your ears to hear my word thereby to make me recompence No no I have shewed thee O man what is good Micah 8. Secondly the end of mens thoughts is commonly to collogue with God Let a man be under the crosse in calamity pain and misery then God will hear of him often then he will think of God and of his sinnes Nay the beastliest wretch in a whole Parish upon his sick bed then Oh how will he call upon God then send for the Minister let him pray for me read a chapter or some good book then God shall have service upon service then he shall have the first second and third course But all this is but to be raised up again and then when he hath received a little strength he falls off again like the Jews who when God slew them they sought him and they returned and enquired early after God nevertheless they did but dissemble with him with their mouths and flatter him with their double hearts Psal 37. 34. There is many a man that seeks to God yea that seeks to him with tears and performs many a good duty and yet he doth but flatter with God he doth it but to curry favour with him is afraid of sicknesse crosses plagus and death and curses upon him if he should not do so and therefore to prevent this he will dissemble some service to God Thirdly to smother and choak their own consciences their hearts think and tell them they must think of God their consciences tell them that they must have some holinesse some religion that they must keep the Sabbath in some sort that they must pray and go to Church and hence it is that the drunkard swearer whoremaster will sometimes have thoughts of God and wil be performing some outward acts of Religion Why his conscience otherwise would not let him be at rest but is as the Devils ban-dog to drive him to it Thus when the Prophet commanded the people to worship the Lord to reverence his name to hallow his Sabbaths their consciences told them that they must do so or else all the threatnings of wrath and vengeance donounced by the Prophets would come upon them Hence it is that the Lord by his Prophet exhorts saying Arise ye and depart for this is not your rest your mind hath another haunt you have this and that black lust this is not your rest Doth thy heart rest on God and good things If thy heart be good and holy so that it takes up its rest in God and in Christ then it is well but if thou only turnest aside to good duties and fallest as it were by chance upon holy things away away saith God this is nor your rest Aristotle saith that the being of a thing consists in the end of a thing Therefore if the end of thy thoughts and courses be earthly and vain then certainly thy religion is earthly and vain Thou goest up and down what is it that thou lookst after Is it that thou maist have grace or that thou maist follow thy calling and get thy living is it this that thou wouldest have for which thou keepest such a digging and scraping and such a laying up Then thy end is carnall and vain and thy drift and end declareth the truth of thy soul that it is carnall and vain THE JUDGEMENT OF THE WORLD By SAINTS at the last day DELIVERED And learnedly discovered in a SERMON preached By that Reverend and Faithfull Minister of Gods Word WILLIAM FENNER B. D. Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Pastor of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford A SERMON OF M. WILLIAM FENNERS Upon this ensuing Text. 1 Cor. 6. part of the 2d. verse Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the world THE Corinthians though Paul had converted many poor mean men amongst them Chapter 1. 26 27. God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty yet the Nobles the Lawyers the Counsellors the chief men in the City the Apostle had not converted one of them or at the least very few Brethren you see your calling who they are that be converted to the obedience of the Gospel of Christ from the evill of their wayes not many wise men after the flesh not many rich not many nobles some few there be here and there one but for the most part they are a company of poor beggarly Christians now it seems these poor Christians have controversies one with another went to Law among themselves and that before unbeleevers The Apostle condems this their going to Law and would have them cease their suits and quarrels one against another before the unjust and unbeleevers and that by four Arguments First by the shamfulnesse of it verse 5. I speak it to your shame as it he should say Are you such fools that you cannot take up these matters among your selves that you cannot make references of your wrongs to mediate one to another but that you must goe to Law before unbeleevers Secondly from the scandalousnesse of it It is a thing so scandalous and offensive to those that are without that I wonder any of you dare be so bold as to goe to Law one with another What will the world think What Are these the men that professe the Gospel Are these they that have the Wisdom of God in them and that are led by the Spirit of God And have they no more understanding in them than when they have any matter of controversie they cannot end it among themselves but must goe to Law before the unjust and unbeleevers as they term them Thirdly from the unseemlinesse of it in the second verse Doe you not know that the Saints shall judge the earth What hath God made you Judges of the world and do you go to be judged by the world Or as Ambrose speaks hath God appointed you to be Judges of the men in the world and are you not fit to be Judges of the things of