long life of the fathers the oracles of God were committed to them without any mention of writing because they were both wise and faithful in the custody and transmission of them For Adam himself living nine hundred and thirty years to teach his children had under his teaching Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalaleel Iarod Henoch Methusalah and Lamech the father of Noah And Noah lived with Abraham 57 years But after the flood when the Church in the posterity of Iacob encreased and no doubt had many corruptions by dwelling in Aegypt then was Moses appointed both to be the deliverer of the People of Israel from Aegypt and to be the Penman of God to write those things which God would have to remain in the Church for all succeeding times and after him successively holy men wrote as they were inspired And a better Argument we cannot give for the danger of unwritten traditions which the Church of Rome doth so much commend even above Scripture then this God saw that men had corrupted their ways and he found the imaginations of mens hearts only evil continually and that the Church was a very few therefore he stirred up Noah to be a Preacher of righteousnesse in whom the light of truth was preserved he destroyed the old sinful world and by Noah and Sem he began a new Church to the restored world Yet after Noahs death the worship of strange gods were brought in so that to heal this grief and to prevent the danger of traditions God caused the Word to be written by holy men for the perpetual use of his Church whose books were faithfully preserved in all ages thereof Then came the Sonne of God and he left his spirit in the Church to lead the Church into all truth by which spirit the New Testament was endited and written So that now all things necessary to salvation are so clearly revealed that traditions of men have no necessary use in the Church in the substance of true Religion for that which is written is sufficient The Church of Rome denieth the sufficiency of Scripture Many of their great learned men write both basely and blasphemously thereof But they are not agreed upon the point for Scotus Gerson Oecam Cameracensis Waldensis Vincentius Lerinensis do all confesse what we teach of the sufficiency of Scripture as the learned Deane of Glocester Dr. Field l. 3. de Eccoles c. 7. hath fairly cited them And Dr. White in his way of the Church addeth Tho. Aquinas Antoninus Arch-bishop of Florence Durandus Alliaco a Cardinal Conradus Clingius Peresius Divinity Reader at Barcilena in Spain and Cardinal Bellarmine Of whom Possevinus writeth that he is one of the two that have won the Garland De verbo Dei l. 1. c. 2. Sacra Scriptura regulae credendi certissima tutissima est Per corporales literas quas cerneremus legeremus erudire not voluit Deus Writing against Swenck field and the Libertines this is a legal witnesse Pro Orthodoxo heretici testimonium valeat I know to whom I speak and therefore I forbear the Polemical bands of arguments to and fro upon this question which in print and in English is so fully and learnedly debated Our lesson is seeing Gods care of his Church for the instruction thereof is here exprest in commanding his revealed will to be written that God would have his Church to be taught his ways in all the ages thereof Doct. 1. Because the ways of God Reas 1 and the saving health of God cannot be parted none can have the saving health of God without the knowledge of his ways no ignorant man can be saved it is said of Christ By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many Isa 53.11 per scientiam qua scitur Therefore Davids Prayer is That thy way may be known upon earth thy saving health among all nations 2. Because the promise of God doth run in semine Reas 2 in the seed I will be thy God and the God of thy seed Our children are the Lords inheritance his care extendeth so farre That yee may live Deut. 5.33 and that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days But that is not all That it may be well with them and their children for ever Vers 29. 3. For his own sake Reas 3 that his Wisdome Power and Iustice may be known to men that they may be able to plead the cause of God against such as either ignorantly through unbelief or maliciously and blasphemously shall dispute and argue against God for therefore God doth condescend to this Apology of himself that he may instruct his Church how to plead the cause of his Iustice against all strife of tongues that the name of God be not evil-spoken of To make profit of this point Vse 2 1. Herein let us consider what the Lord hath done for our souls for he hath given us two means to communicate to us his holy will hearing and reading and he hath used to this purpose both the voice and the pen of holy men for he spake by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began and holy men wrote as his spirit directed them Let him that hath ears to heare heare quid Spiritus Ps 34.16 Mat. 24.15 and seek yee out the book of the Lord and read but then adde this caution Who so readeth let him understand It was Philips question sed intelligis quod legis Seeing God hath written to us Vse 2 and the whole body of holy Scripture may well be called Gods Epistle or Letter to his Church let us bestow the reading of Gods letter St. Augnstiue saith Quae de illa Civitate unde peregrinamur venerunt nobis literae ipsae sunt Scripturae It was St. Gregories complaint of Theodorus In Ps 90.2 that he was so over-busied with secular cares Regist 4.84 Et quotidie legere negligit verba redemptoris sui quid est autem Scriptura sacra nisi quaedam epistola Omnipotentis dei ad venturam suam It is a question in our times whether printing hath done more hurt or good for Satan finding this a means to keep things alive in the world hath employed the Presse in all sorts of heresies in all sorts of idle and lascivious false and dicterious slanderous and biasphemous books The remedy is to refrain such readings and as Dr. Reynold tels Hart his adversary that he hath no book allowed him to read but the Bible It is likely then that he is perfect in that book and that Physitians do well when they find their Patient surfeited with too much variety of meat to confine him to some one wholesome dyet So shall we do well to limit our selves to the reading of Gods letter and know his mind for he is wisest and the wisedome that we shall gather from thence is wisedome from above it is able to make us wise unto salvation as the Apostle saith 3. Seeing God teacheth us by
The Author We must go to him from whom every good and perfect gift doth proceed to seek faith Here I must admonish you that faith is given without seeking at first for it is a free gift and it is the glory of God I am found of them that sought me not Do not think that the gift of faith is acquired that is freely given but the encrease of our faith is acquired by means I prove it thus The spirit of God is given in the wombe it is given to infants therefore faith is also given for the spirit is never unfruitful and faith is one of the fruits of the spirit And the Apostles said unto the Lord encrease our faith The grace of God which moveth in the generation of them that fear the Lord is the seed of all vertues and first of faith the mother vertue which issueth all the rest that is given early And the gift of faith doth so lie hid in the Elect of God that themselves know not of it till God be pleased not to put his sonne into them but to reveal his Sonne in them This magnifieth the free grace of God and teacheth us to say It is so father because thy good pleasure is such And this excludeth all boasting on our part seeing we have it of meer and free gift And it ascribeth the glory of all to God 2. The means to get faith These as I have said do not lay the foundation of faith in us that is the free gift of God but these means do advance the building they do help to encrease our faith I will referre you to one place to declare to you the acquisition of more faith And a certain woman named Lydia Act. 16.14 a Seller of Purple of the city of Thyatyra which worshipped God heard us whose heart God opened that she attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul And when she was baptized and her houshold she besought us Vers 15. saying if ye have judged me faithful to the Lord c. Observe the whole passage 1. Here was a woman living in an honest and lawful vocation She was a seller of Purple 2. Here were some beginnings of faith in her For she worshipped God 3. The outward means to increase her faith She heard us 4. The inward means The Lord opened her heart after which followeth 1. More attention to Paul 2. Baptism 3. A Desire to be esteemed faithful 4. Hospitality she welcomed her teachers So that for the encreasing of faith she heard the word and the more she believed the more attentively she heard and for confirming of faith she was baptized Faith cometh by hearing for how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard Here let me admonish you 1. But when I say by the word with the Apostle I do understand and would be understood to speak of the Word not as it is the voice of a mortal man nor as it is a dead letter but as the spirit doth speak to us in the Word For this the Apostle biddeth us Be swift to hear it concerns us much but that you may see that faith is not begotten in us by hearing hearing doth us no good without faith and we must have a grain of faith to season our hearing or else our hearing will adde nothing to our faith The word preached did not profit them Hebr. 4.2 not being mixed with faith in them that heard it So do we see some at first poure water into a Pumpe to set it a work that it may yield water plenteously for faith poured into our hearing doth make our hearing bring forth more faith And so in Prayer Fulgentius saith of faith Incipit infundi ut incipiat posci A man cannot have faith without asking neither can he aske it without faith 2. When I name the word for a means to beget an increase of faith I mean the written word to exclude all unwritten traditions and all written legends which the tel-tale Church of Rome hath coyned to gull the swallowing credulity of the misled ignorants that is the books of Canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testament of which the Apostle saith They are able to make a man wise to salvation and perfect throughly perfect to every good work 3. When I name the word a means of faith I must mean the Word understood by us for the Eunuch learns nothing of Isaiah the Prophet by reading him without understanding And I wonder that ever the Church of Rome could so befool and infatuate the judgements of men to believe that either hearing a forme of service or praying in a strange tongue could carry any validity in them except they did conceive or do believe that such hearing and praying have power of incantation Therefore there is required A translation of the word into our natural language or some other that we understand if we understand not the original And herein I must stirre you up to a thankful consideration of their profitable labours who have taken pains to translate the Bible to English for the common benefit of you all that you may read the Scriptures and exercise your selves in the study of them and examine the doctrines that you hear by them Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers who put such a thing as this into the heart of our Kings Majesty to set this work afoot and to see it finished Herein also I must commend unto you the easinesse and perspicuity of Scripture for if God had not left the way of salvation open but had shut it up in such clouds of obscurity that we must needs have a guide to light us the way to the lanthorn why would David have called the Word it selfe A Lanthorne to our feet Therefore let no man be discouraged from his own private studying of Scriptures for feare of their hardnesse It is no better then idlenesse and shuffling to say the Scriptures are too deep for me I will not meddle with them Christ commandeth Search the Scriptures is he not Antichrist that saith do not thou shalt not search I say and believe that the Word only read over by us or to us without the help of any Comment or Sermon or Exposition of it is a Lanthorne and giveth light to the simple Much more the Word with good Commentaries and written Expositions Much more the Word preached by learned and judicious Preachers which know how to divide the same aright those be called fellow-labourers with God Angels of God the salt of the earth the light of the world and even Saviours of men and because of their labour in the Word and oversight of the People honour double honour is allowed to them by the Apostle Saint Paul This point is of great use 1. To us that are Ministers of the Word for it layeth a necessity upon us and wo be to us if we preach not the Gospel I am sure the Apostle putteth it home to Timothy I charge thee before
3 Doct. that set prayers are both lawfull and necessary to be used by the faithfull both in their private and publique meetings And this is proved by these examples in holy Scripture God himselfe prescribed to the Priests a set form of blessing the people which they constantly used for God said to them Thus shall ye blesse the children of Israel numb 6.23 c. and say unto them The Lord blesse thee and keep thee The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be mercifull unto thee The Lord lift up his Countenance upon thee and give thee peace The 92. Psal is called a Psalm for the Sabbath The 102. Psal is a prayer for the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord. Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David 2 Chron. 29 3â— and of Asaph the Seer which is the 136. Psal This was also used by Jehoshapht 2 Chron. 20.21 And in the Gospel the Disciples came to Christ and told him that John had taught his Disciples to pray and desired him to teach them and he taught them the Lords Prayer which doth imply in the judgment of the best learned that John had taught his Disciples a set form The reasons are first for hlep of the infirmities of such as have good affections in them but cannot so well express them that they may be directed lest they should utter any thing rashly of themselves For thus the spirit helpeth their infirmities by those who can direct them and in themselves using these set formes This much advanceth the service of God when men before hand have their petitions drawn and shall need nothing but zeal and faith in the delivering thereof to God Herein we are like to poore petitioners that come to the King who not trusting themselves with their own suites do get some wiser than themselves to set down their mindes and then they have nothing to do but to importune the Soverreign Majesty of the King to hear them and to grant their requests This serveth for the maintenance of Unanimity the Congregation knowing before they meet what they shall aske at the hands of God it resteth that they bring affections fit to joyn one with another in supplications This maintaineth outward Uniformity when the whole Congregation joyn together in an outward worship and service of God This admonisheth us 1 To take it for a great blessing of God that he hath provided these helps for our weaknesse Vse 2 It sheweth us that God for our good doth so labour to fit us to his service as that he is pleased that one of us be helpfull to another therein 3 It reproveth those who out of a presumption and overweening of the graces of God in themselves do not onely despise those helps themselves but disgrace them in others in which number we may reckon all the depravers of our Church prayers 4 Here the prayer of the Prophet is used This teacheth that the fittest persons to be used for direction of devotion are the Prophets and Apostles 4 Doct. and Ministers of the word The reason is because they are the most fit to speak to God for us and to teach us how to speak to him who are set apart to speak to us for God and to instruct us from him These are the Phisitians of our souls and should best know our diseases and defects and therefore best able to direct us to the remedy for as in the state of bodily health many superficially in-sighted in some empericall Physick do hurt themselves by being their own Physitians So in the state of the spirituall man many do overthrow their spirituall health by presuming to be their own Divines and trusting too much to their own skill Therefore it is wisedome for the flock to be directed Vse especially in the service of God by their Pastours and to hear his voyce let Habbakuk teach Israel how to pray And for us howsoever the spirit of contradiction which likes nothing long have laboured long to disgrace our publique Service yet because many faithfull and godly Pastours of the Church have zealously joyned their united forces of piety and charity to compose this book and the approbation and authority both of Church and Common-wealth hath commanded it to the use of our Congregations and the malignity of all the times since hath not been able to remove it let us embrace it and use it as Gods ordinance sealed with the seal the double seal both of prescription of time and good successe in the use of this Church of England 2 He putteth this prayer into verse and maketh a song of it and fitteth it to be sung by the Church with an instrument of Musick for so the last verse of the Chapter directeth it to the chief Singer on my stringed instruments This manner of praising God is ancient and of much use in the Church Mr. Beza hath taken the paines to collect fourteen songs eleven out of the old Testament and three out of the new which he hath interpreted by way of Paraphrase and hath annexed them to his Paraphrase of the book of Davids Psalmes and they are translated into English I shall not lose my labour nor you your time to shew you where you may finde them Exod. 1.15 The song that Moses taught Israel to sing to the praise of God for their deliverance from Pharoah and his armies which is of such excellency being a type of the deliverance of the Church from the adversary power of the world and the tyranny of the beast that there is mention of it in the Revelation Rev. 15 3. And they sung the song of Moses the servant of God Deut. 2.32 When Moses drew neer his end he maketh a Propheticall song for the use of the people both to commemorate Gods mercies to them to lay open the judgements of God against them to chide their rebellions and to comfort them with types of grace in the revelation of the Messiah And promising them the gift of the spirit of repentance to returne them into the favour of their God 3 The triumphant song of Deborah and Barak Judg. 5. after the victory of Jabin King of the Cananites 4 1 Sam. 2.1 the song of Hannah the Mother of Samuel in thanksgiving for the blessing of her fruitfulnesse conteining in it both thanksgiving doctrine and prophecy 5 2 Sam. 1.19 the elegie of David bewailing the death of Saul and Jonathan 6 2 Sam. 7.18 A song of David in thanksgiving to God after Nathan the Prophet had from God told him that the Messiah should be the Sonne of David 7 Isaiah 5. Conteining the rebuke of the people which is a Satyricall Psalme 8 Isaiah 26.1 the song of the Church conteining consolation and prophecy 9 The song of Hezekiah when God comforted his sickness with promise of recovery Isaiah 38. 10 The song of Jonah in the belly
shame omnia Romae venalia Templa sacerdotes altaria It was once the Grecians infamy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Titus 1.12 There have been many National sins which one Country hath upbraided another withal But how is it that since the light of the Gospel in our Land we have made prize of the sins of all Nations and made them free Denisons amongst us Schisme in the Church corruption of justice bribes gluttony drunkennesse contention pride outlandish manners oppression that Tyrus and Sidon will appeare more innocent then Chorazin and Bethsaida and Sodom and Gomorra are like to make a better reckoning in the day of audit then Capernaum Therfore try your wayes and make your paths even and strait before he come qui justitias judicabit If your righteousnesse be not right the light that in them is darknesse and then quantae tenebrae how great is that darknesse 2. When you have examined your righteousnesse Caution 2. and finde it to be a sincere reddition of due to God and man take heed that you trust not in it When Jacob came to a new Covenant with Laban for wages he said to him do this So shall my righteousnesse answer for me in time to come Gen. 30.33 for my hire before thy face Our upright dealing with men may justifie us to face of man but our righteousnesse in the court of heaven is a poor plea let no man reteine it for an Advocate to answer there for him it will be speechlesse in that presence So much of it as is ours is foul and immerent deserving no favour at the hand of God We have two things to do 1. A debt to pay to God 2. A Kingdom to be purchased in heaven We are broken for the debt our righteousnesse cometh nothing near the clearing of the debt and can we hope of doing any thing toward the purchase Nature it self cannot wish them more unhappy then they are that trust in their own righteousnesse for the reed they lean upon will first wound them and then break under them 3. Yet let it go for a caution too Caution 3. do not so under value thy righteousnesse as to think there is neither need nor use of it because it meriteth nothing at the hands of God for God is gracious to accept from us that which deserveth no such good liking from him Thus he accepted the humiliation of Ahab and he rewarded it thus he accepted the repentance of Niniveh and the thiefe upon the crosse that confessed Christ and shortly after died received a promise to be with Christ in Paradise Christ speaketh comfortably Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out Joh 6.37 Righteousnesse is the way to him This is the song and Jubilation of the Church We have a strong City Isa 26. i. Vers 2. salvation will God appoint for wals and bulwarks Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in For God keepeth a book of remembrance Mal. 3.16 such as Malacy saith A book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name for the Lord loveth the righteous Ps 58.11 and verily there is a reward for the righteous Yea beloved I dare go so farre and I am sure that I tread on ground that will carry me through it is not faith it is sin it is presumption to trust in the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ onely without a care and conscience and practise of righteousnesse in our selves For Christ redeemeth us not to idlenesse but to work out our salvation we are delivered from the hands of our enemies ut serviamus ei that we might serve him redemption doth not destroy but renew our creation and we were created to good works and we are called to holinesse Let no man think that Christ needeth the help of our righteousnesse to satisfie his Father but we do need our righteousnesse to declare our faith in Christ and to make application of the righteousnesse of God to our selves Though the full strength of Scripture be bent against merit of righteousnesse there is no ground there for idlenesse to stand upon we must not cast all upon Christ and make him who came to redeeme us from the punishment of our evil works a redeemer of us from the necessity of good works Our very union with him is enough to necessitate operative righteousnes for he saith My Father worketh as yet ego operor and I work and it is his word thus must we fulfil all righteousnes Therefore that Christ may see he paid the debt for such as would have paid it if they could and did their best to pay all let us not neglect our own righteousnesse in our quest of salvation but being only by Jesus Christ delivered from the hands of our enemies let us serve him in righteousnesse and holynesse before him all the days of our life Let it go also for a caution 4. Caution that seeing the necessity of righteousnesse we do look well to the integrity thereof as the Apostle admonisheth us in his testimony of the Corinthians That in every thing ye are enriched by him 1 Cor. 1.5 7. so that ye come behind in nogist It is noted of the Saints of God in glory that they do weare long white robs these be the garments of righteousnesse there is our sicut in Coelo we must not wear our righteousnesse like a short garment it must be entire covering the whole body to the foot that is the integrity of the whole man For whosoever maketh conscience of his righteousnesse in some things and not in all is but a hypocrite that man makes conscience of nothing at all That professor that for his profit will do any thing contrary to the revealed Will of God or if for pleasure or for revenge he will go out of the way of Gods Law that mans righteousnesse is but vain For St. James saith Whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet faileth in one point is guilty of all Jam. 2.10 Sinne is like leaven a little of it sowreth the whole lump of righteousnesse Knowing the necessity of this righteousnesse and the continual use of it 5. Caution and that our whole life is a perpetual warfare here on earth we must know that this righteousnesse must never be put off or laid aside all our life long it must not beworne in our colours ad pompam but in our armour ad pugnam to the fight This righteousnesse is not for shew but for service There be some temptations that take their aime at us and come forth to assault us there be others that are shot at random and yet may hit us As he that killed Ahab directed not his aim at him so a man sometime by occasion falleth into temptation If a man at those times have not his righteousnesse to seek but that he wear it as a brest-plate it may
me out of his belly shall flow rivers of the water of life John 7.38 These be sure proofs of sincere faith which though it be weak yet it will gather strength and being able to fight will in the end be made able to overcome all our enemies 3. How faith may be preserved This seemeth a needlesse question because we have cleare evidence of Scripture that sincere faith cannot be lost True it cannot finally be lost it is assured to God but we must preserve it so as that in temptations and afflictions we may not be cast down with fear that it is lost Neither that we do bear our selves too bold upon it so farre as to presume Therefore we are bound to the use of all those means ordained by God to preserve faith If it be an hypocritical or a temporary Faith it may be lost if it be a true Faith this is one certain sign of it The same means that breede Faith in us the same means do nourish it therefore If thou standest by Faith be not high minded but fear It is a Tenet of the Church of Rome Rom. 11.20 and it is now revived of late by the Anabaptists in a book of the last yeer that a man may finally fall away from saving grace And many false shewes are made out of Scriptures not rightly understood to maintain this heresie I say no more but as the Apostle doth Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall He that is once assured of his standing 1 Cor. 10.11 cannot fall because the same Spirit which witnesseth to our spirits that we are the sonnes of God doth also teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance which Christ hath taught us The means are The Word the Sacraments Prayer 1. The Word for as we are born anew by the immortal seed of the Word so we must as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow thereby 2. The Sacraments of Baptisme and the Lords Supper for these also serve to strengthen Faith 1. By visible representations to the sense of the inward graces of Gods spirit that walking here by Faith and not by sight we may have something to fasten our eye upon which may be to us as the brazen serpent lifted up 2. By the vertue of consignation because these Sacraments are the Seals of Gods Covenant of grace obliging God the giver to continue his love to us and reciprocally binding us to return duty and love and obedience to him 3. By the efficacy of mediation because they be the means in the Ordinance of God whereby he doth convey his spiritual graces to us so that Baptism is called the cover of regeneration and by Baptism Christ is put on The Supper of Christ presenteth Christ to us our spiritual food and therein we do eat and drink his body and blood This admonisheth us to be swift to hear and to neglect no opportunity for the same To renew our Baptism by often repentance to frequent the Table of the Lord as the feast of our souls This advanceth our ministry of these by which this Serpent is lifted up on high and set on a pole for all that desire health to look upon it They that are carelesse and negligent in these things will soon make shipwrack of that temporary faith that they seem to have for they that live in the neglect of these things do forsake their own mercy and declare plainly that their Faith is not sound and sincere but their whole righteousnesse is like the morning dew soon dried up 3. Prayer 1. for that shewes of whom we hold not of our selves but of God 2. That bringeth us into Gods acquaintance and familiar conversation whereby we do more perceive Gods love to us and declare our love to God 4. How Faith must be used The handling of this point draweth in the third word of my text which is life The just shall live by Faith The right use of Faith is to live by it as I have shewed in the exposition of the words 1. There is use of it in the natural life 2. In the spiritual life 3. For the eternal life 1. In the natural life for 1. In prosperity 2. In adversity there is use of it 1. In prosperity 1. Faith is a shield to bear off all the flattering temptations of the flesh Heb. 11.24 the world the Devil so it is said of Moses By Faith Moses when he was come to yeers refused to be called the sonne of Pharaohs daughter And by Faith Joseph when he was tempted by his unchaste mistris whose offer tendered him all sensual delight refused her and would not sin against God 2. Faith is the contentment of the righteous in those things that they possesse they beleeve them to be the gifts of God and they are satisfied with his allowance so by Faith Daniel was content with his pulse and refused the Kings meat they that do beleeve that God knows better then they what is good and sufficient for them are content with what they have 3. Faith is the acknowledgment of all our good from God for thanksgiving is a work of Faith and giveth God his due 4. Faith dependeth upon God for the time to come Psal 16.5 as David saith thou maintainest my lot I have set the Lord alwayes before me Psal 16.8 he is at my right hand I shall not be moved Upon which ground the faithful do build things hoped for and commit their wayes to the Lord. They cast all their care upon God for he careth for them And surely it is for want of Faith that the filii saeculi hujus the men of this world do rise so early and go so late to bed and eate the bread of carefulnesse robbing God of his service and breaking the Sabbath and often doing wrong to their brother to build up themselves it is a signe that they dare not trust God A strange inference 1. For we beought nothing with us into the world 2. We cannot deny but that whatsoever we have or possesse in the world it is the gift of God for aperiente manum de implet omnia we have no interest in any thing being born in sin the right is in him the gift from him 3. We must confesse that very little will serve our necessities whilest we do live in the world 4. We shall carry nothing away with us and why should we discruciate our selves with cares for others seeing that is the care of God our children also are his inheritance I know and beleeve that our children are under the Covehant and Promise of grace Ero Deus tuus seminis tui Let us study to breed them to the love and service of God let us not waste unthriftly what we may spare from our own necessities and for the charge of their education Let us use all honest and lawfull means to provide for them Thus are we discharged
covetousnes corrupteth our selves but oppression doth violate our neighbour of whom the law giveth such charge ama proximum ut teipsum 3. Their folly for what is this great stock which they have gathered and what is the rich heap that they have caught it is but thick clay and what have they done with all their labour and travel but made a burden thereof for themselves 4. Their cruelty is charged upon them which is exprest in sundry circumstances of amplification as 1. In the extremity of it no lesse then spoiling which comprehendeth all kinds of hard measure that can be offered 2. In the extent of it which is amplified by two circumstances 1. Not Persons nor Societies Towns Cities but whole Nations 2. Many Nations 3. In the effect of their cruelty which also brake forth into blood the blood of men a thing that God holdeth at such a price that he not only made severe laws for preservation of life but he maketh a curious inquisition for blood when contrary to his law it is unjustly spilt unto which God hath given a voyce For there is vox sanguinis a voyce of blood as we say in Abels story and to which voice he lendeth an eare for that blood cryeth unto him 4. In the general infection of this cruelty which hath corrupted the whole land of the Chaldaeans the City the great City of Babylon and all the People that dwell therein The Prophet in the former chapter did complain to God of the pride and cruelty and covetousnesse of the Chaldaeans in which as they exceeded so the poor Church of God smarted and the patience of God forbearing to punish them made them think that God gave no regard to them and it made many even within the Church stagger fearing least God had taken no notice of their sufferings and their enemies injuries Do you not now receive it from the mouth of God himselfe that he hath all those things written in his book that he keeepeth an exact account both of the offences done and of the offenders 5. To shew that they have abused his patience and long-suffering by continuing in the evils above-mentioned he saith How long to shew that he hath contended with them in patience al this while and that no forbearance will recover them from their evil ways no spoile or cruelty will satisfie them in their evil ways therefore he proceedeth to judgement against them The argument of this text is the punishment of the pride of the Chaldaeans punished 1. With just reprehension of all 2. With derision they shall be taunted 3. With spoile and destruction Here we must first take notice of the justice of Gods processe against them Note 1 for he giveth account of his provocation and rendreth a reason of his judgments Our lesson is Whensoever God punisheth there is a fault deserving serving that punishment for God is just he doth not punish the innocent Thus he began with the first sinners that we read of in the holy story With the Serpent quia tua hoc fecisti Gen 3.14 because thou hast done this So to Adam because thou hast hearkned to the voyce of thy wise c. And to Cain if thou do evill sinne that is the punishment of sinne standeth at the doore And for the processe against the old world first God saw the fault thereof before either he repented the making of it or resolved the punishing of it and so forth all the Scripture through and through the experience of all times 1. Because God is just Reas 1 and justice is a vertue that giveth suam cuique every one his own now rods are for the back of fools and all sinners are fools and all men are sinners and therefore none past the rod in the justice of God 2. Because punishment in the nature of it is evill though in the use of it it be good for the good it doth Reas 2 and sin brought it into the world it is contemporary with sin it cleaveth to it it cannot be parted from it as the mortality of man is joyned with the nature of man Therefore we may conclude whensoever we feel any punishment in our selves or see any inflicted on others subest culpa There is a power that deserveth this punishment Against this it may be objected that 1. God doth chasten some of his own beloved children with punishments for their tryal that they may come forth as gold fined 2. God doth sometime correct his own for example of others 3. The wicked and ungodly vex and torment the righteous even for the serving the true God many have lost their goods their liberties their lives for the testimony of the truth Thus did all those holy Confessours and all those glorious Martyrs suffer the cruelty of the enemies of God 4. The corruption of justice and the abuse of power doth sometimes turn into tyranny and so evill men are cherished and good men punished as the Prophet Isaiah saith He that abstaineth from evil maketh himself a prey 5. Sometimes good Princes are abused by their flatterers and lying informers who possess them of an evil opinion against better men then themselves as in the example of Mephibosheth for Ziba his Bayly accosed him falsely of treason to David and David though a King of Gods choosing was not at leasure to search into the matter 2 Sam 16 3 4. but presently not hearing the just defense of Mephibosheth gave away to Ziba all that pertained to Mephibosbeth 6. Sometimes just persons in execution of justice are nimium justi over wise and such justice is injury as Solomon faith Be not just over-much and the light of nature taught the heathen to say Summum jus est summa injuria 7. Sometimes Judges are swayed by the affection they bear to others to regard rather the satisfying of their envy whom they love then the execution of Justice and so wrong may be done where it is not deserved as Herod cut off Iohns head for no dislike of him in himself but to please his minion In answer to all these objections put the case how you will I am sure God is just and will neither himself punish nor cause nor suffer any to punish but where so much punishment is well deserved Peradventure he that inflicteth the punishment may offend in it and there may be a fault done in the manner of it or that for which the punishment is inflicted may be no just cause or the person may be mistaken but still I say God is just subest culpa there is a fault the hand of God the will of God is in every punishment and they never do any thing without the justice of God Job that justified his integrity so stoutly as we read in his story did never deny himself to be a grievous sinner and to deserve the punishment that he suffered though he still did stand upon it that he was not therefore punished If the punishment be for tryall the
sunder the Nations God is all eye and beholdeth all things all ear and heareth all things all hand and maketh all things and doth whatsoever he wil all foot and standeth in all places he is here said to behold which denoteth his provident care of his work and he is said to drive in sunder the Nations because he ordeined their expulsion and he gave commission for the destruction of them that he might give their land according to his promise to his own people 4 Where he cals the mountains everlasting and the hils perpetuall this is also a figure For these be attributes onely belonging to God to be everlasting and perpetuall and it sheweth the stability and setlednesse thereof 5 There is also another figure in the very name of mountains for we must not literally understand that there was any violence offered to the mountains and hils but thereby the strength and processe and setled estate of those nations that dwelt in the land of Canaan is signified and so the scattering and bowing of these moutains doth expresse the dispersion of those nations or the bringing of them under the yoake of subjection to the people of Israel 6 His wayes are everlasting this is also figurative for by the ways of God are understood here the counsels and decrees of God and his executions of his will which are no sudden operations but proceed from everlasting wisedome And this is the wisedome of the Reader of holy Scripture to observe what is spoken literally and what figuratively else many errours and heresies may arise As even in this attribution of the parts and motions and actions of the body of man to God the Anthropomorphites not understanding the figure did conceive God in body like to man The heresie of transubstantiation grew out of the mistake of those words hoc est corpus meum this is my body wherein the figure not observed the Romanists do believe a reall transmutation of the bread into the body of Christ whereas that is to be understood only by sacramentall representation as as the sacrament of Circumcision is called the covenant of God in the flesh and the water of Baptisme is called the laver of regeneration being the sign and seal thereof You know that when Christ said to his Disciples Beware of the leaven of the Pharises Mat. 16.16 they understood him not to speak figuratively and said It is because we have taken no bread So when he said Destroy this Temple the Jews understood him of the temple at Jerusalem The Scriptures of both Testaments are full of examples of figurative speaking The whole book of the song of Solomon is a continued figure and all the poeticall part of holy Scripture abound therewith The reasons why the wisedome of God hath thus exprest it self are 1 Because herein he would commend to us the use of that excellent science of the Rhetorick which teacheth the use of figures for there is no eloquence or oratory in all the wisedome of the world comparable to the holy elocution of Scripture the majesty whereof is such that it convinceth the judgment of man and maketh it to yield it to the breath of God 2 Because this cripticall manner of speaking doth involve the secrets of Gos wisedome in some obscurity to stirre up and awake our diligence in the search that we may be put to it to study holy Scriptures as Christ saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 search for easie things do soon cloy us and make us idle 3 Because this difficulty doth put us to our prayers to be seech God to open to us the secrets of his wisdome 4 This makes us fear God because the secrets of the Lord are onely revealed to them that fear God 5 This difficulty is so sweetned with the pleasant mixture of art as it hath omne punctum in it for it mingleth utile dulci. 6 It doth teach us to be spirituall for the carnall man cannot perceive the things of God because they are spiritually discerned and the letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life this Spirit he hath left to teach his Church and to bring all things to our remembrance 7 This obscurity doth call upon us to set apart some time for the study and search of Scriptures and we cannot employ our spare hours of leasure better then in this search for here are the treasures of wisedome and knowledge and these are able to make the man of God wise to salvation perfect then to throughly perfect to all good works 8 He hath distributed his graces in his Church accordingly and hath ordained some to be teachers of others whose whole time is consecrated to the study of this book of Scripture that they may be able to understand this word aright divide it aright to their hearers Herein you have a great advantage if you consider the goodnesse of God to you for in one hour you reap the harvest of our labours in many hours of our readings of our inventions judgments search These reasons I gather from Clemens Alexandrinus St. Augustine and St. Gregory and some others Vse 1 This teacheth us that the worthie Minister of the Word must be no smatterer in those necessary arts and learning which is helpfull to the study of Divinity for want whereof many bunglers handle the Word of God too homelily and instead of giving a constant light do only make a blaze which yet like one of our night-walking fires devours more admiration that the full Moon that shines all night long Logick and Rhethorick are two such necessary and requisite parts in a Minister as without which neither can the method of Scripture nor the power of the arguments therein used nor the clear interpretation of the words be given Vse 2 This teacheth the hearer and reader of the World to put his strength to it not to parrat the words of Scripture but to study the sense thereof St. Origen saith that as man so the whole Bible doth consist of a body and a soul the body is the better the sense is the soul of Scripture That is the spirituall Manna that giveth strength to the weak that is the true Light that giveth understanding to the simple Vse 3 Let not this discourage any zealous Christian from exercising himself in the reading and study of holy Scripture because we do confesse that the figurative forms used therein do often make the Scripture obscure For we do also affirme that figures do sometimes give light to our apprehension and make the mind of God better known to us as when Christ saith I am the good Shepheard as David said The Lord is my Shepheard this doth make Christ better known to us in his carefull protection of us and his watchfull keeping and his plentifull feeding and safe foulding of us and in such like Now because the Church of Rome hath taken advantage of the obscurity of the Scripture to forbid the translation thereof into the vernacle tongues of nations and to prohibit
highest step of our exaltation because this repairs in us the image of God which is his holinesse and the true children of God do value this above their eternall life For let us see wherein the weight of the blessing and cursing of sheep and goats doth lye It is not the gift of eternall life that is our happinesse in heauen but as David saith in his favour is life if a damned soul should be admitted to the fruition of all the pleasures of eternall life without the favour of God heaven would be hell to him It is not the dark and horrid house of woe that maketh a soul miserable in hell but Gods displeasure ite maledicti if an elect soul could be cast thither and retein the favour of God hell would be an heaven to him and his joy could not all the Devils of hell take from him his night would be turned into day The Angels sinned in heaven and in the place of joy lost Gods favour The soul of the Son of God was in hell and hell was an heaven to it because God was with him in the valley of the shadow of death and left not his soul in hell he took him from the nethermost hell 3 Doctrine The truth of God is a good ground For faith gathered from Gods oath to the tribes even his word he addeth Selah to shevv that vve may safely rest there The reason is because The Word of God is a sure word and those things wherein men fail are not incident to him 1 Whereas men do promise or swear rashly and without consideration as David did when he swore that he would not leave one of the house of Nahall to make water against a wall God cannot fail that way because he doth all things with stable truth and according to the counsail of his will 2 Men do sometimes vow and swear things utterly unlawfull and most wicked as Herod did to Herodias daughter to give her whatsoever she demanded of him which included the life of John Baptist So there were many that swore they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul our God cannot fail so far he loveth righteousnesse neither shall any evill dwell with him 3 Whereas many promise and swear what they mean not ever to perform as Jacobs Sons in the Covenant that they made of confederacy with Hamor the Son of Shechem the Apostle saith Our God cannot lie 4 Whereas many amongst men do swear and promise that vvhich they are never able to perform therein like the Devil who said to Christ Omnia hac tibi dabo all these will I give thee God herein cannot faile for hee is omnipotent and he doth whatsoever he wil in heaven and earth in abyssis So then if the Word of God be gone out of his mouth we may build faith upon it for heaven and earth may and shall passe away so shal not one jod of the Word of God 5 Times may change with men and he that was rich and able to make good his word may suddenly be poor and break and fail but God is without variablenesse or shadow of alteration all times are in his hand and power This serveth for confirmation of faith Vse 1 for such use the Apostle doth make of it who speaking of the Decree and Oath of God saith That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye Hâ—b 6.18 we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us By this faith the just liveth in Babylon and in the weakness of their temporall estate they have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thus they lay hand upon the hope set before them in the word Jonah saith They that follow lying vanities do forsake their own mercie Vana salus hominis vain is the help of man they that go down to Egypt for help have their woe threatned An horse is but a vain thing to help a man Princes are the sons of men there is no help in them the word of God faileth none At that Word Abraham will leave his own Country and go he cares not he enquires not whether At that Word Abraham will go three days journy to kill Isaac with his own hands and will never dispute how the promise of God shall be performed That in Isaac his seed should be blessed At that Word Peter will let fall his net against all rules of fishing and he will forsake the Ship to come to Christ upon the Sea by the warrant of that Word The promises of God to his Church and his threatnings of sin recorded in the living Book of his word are not antiquate no age shall ever superannate them or put them out of full force and vertue What if good persons and good causes do suffer oppression the Poet is a Divine in that case Non si male noster olim sic erit informes hyenes reducit Jupiter idem summovit after foul weather comes fair though it be ill with us now it will not be always What if enemies of Religion and Moaths of Common-wealths do flourish and prosper and have all things at will let it not trouble David and Job both of them saw as fair a Sun-shine shut up in a dark cloud and a world of foul weather following 2 This tendernesse in God of his word and oath 2 Vse doth serve for example to teach us to make conscience of our promises and oaths and we may urge the Argument as the Apostle doth If God so loved us we ought also to love one another So If God be carefull to keep his promise and oath with us we ought also to do the like with our brethren Here arise two Quaeries 1 Whether it be lawfull to swear at all 2 Whether all oaths must be kept 1 An liciat jurare is it lawfull to swear An oath is a calling of God to witnesse in such things as cannot otherwise be assured and it is of tvvo sorts 1 Assertorie when we do call God to witnesse against our souls if we affirm not the truth in this case the awe of Gods Majestie is thought to be such a rule of the conscience that no man will dare to violate the religion of an oath 2 Promissary When vve do engage the honour of God for the truth of our purpose to performe vvhat vve promise and vve cast our selves upon his just judgement if vve be either deceitful in our promise or unfaithful in our performance This may ansvver the first Quaere for this doth declare that an oath doth serve 1 For the glory of God 2 For the good of our Brethren 1 The glory of God for it shevveth him 1 To be present amongst us and privy to our ways 2 To be a God of Truth 3 To be a God of justice to punish unfaithfulnesse 2 It sheweth that we by sin have lost our credit and therefore God doth engage himself for such as swear aright
my salvation 19. The Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like Hinds feet and he will make me to walk upon my high places To the chief singer upon my stringed Instruments THis is the last part of this Psalme it endeth in consolation notwithstanding all these afflictions of the Church threatned though they shall fall upon it and it must needs suffer this sharp Visitation Yet will I rejoyce in the Lord. It is the Apostles counsell Phil. 4.4 Rejoyce in the Lord alwayes and here the Church doth so the Apostle resumeth it again I say rejoyce and the Church here resumeth it I will joy in the God of my salvation shewing the reason and ground of her joy Psal 13.5 which is Gods salvation My heart shall rejoyce in thy salvation The Lord God is my strength they are the words of David and he is more full and Rhetoricall in the expressure thereof I will love thee Psal 18.1 2. O Lord my strength The Lord is my rock and my fortresse my deliverer my God my strength in whom I will trust my buckler and the horn of my salvation my high tower David speaks like one in love with God for he doth adorn him with confession of praise and his mouth is filled with the praise of the Lord which he expresseth in this exuberancy and redundance of holy Oratory the Church addeth He will make my feet like hinds feet this also is borrowed of David in the same Psalme He maketh my feet like hinds feet and setteth me upon my high places Psal 18.33 that is he doth give swiftnesse and speed to his Church as St. Augustine interpreteth it transcendendo spinosa ambrosa implicamenta hujus saeculi passing lightly through the thornie and shadie incumberances of this world He will make me walk upon my high places David saith he setteth me upon my high places For consider David as he then was when he composed this Psalm it was at the time when God had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul For then God set his feet on high places setting his Kingdome and establishing him in the place of Saul The Church here hoping to obtein of God the like deliverance by faith apprehendeth the same mercy and favour of God that God will again restore them to their high places and establish them in the same that is in the free and undisturbed possession of their own land and the liberties thereof Isaiah 58.14 Those are called high places Deut. 32.13 because God was exalted in them in the profession of Religion and God exalted them above all other places of the world by his speciall favour as it is said Non fecit taliter St. Augustine goeth higher in the mysticall surveigh of these words and looketh up to the future glory of the Church saying Super Coelestem habitationem figet intentionem meam ut impleat in omnem plenitudinem Dei The last words of the Psalm are a dedication thereof to the use of the Church dedicating it to the chief singer to be fitted to the Church musique that it may be sung in the congregation The words are taken from Davids Psalmes Doct. 1 and applyed to this perticular occasion of the Church From whence we are taught what use we may make of Davids Psalms in our frequent reading and meditation of them Our Church hath divided the Psalms into so many equall portions for our reading that in every thirty days such as can read may read over the whole book of Davids Psalmes and it is no great task for every one of us so to read them over privately in our houses the benefit is great that will redound to them that shall do this for this will our experience finde that St. Augustine long ago hath testified of the book of Psalms that it is Communis quidam bonae doctrinae thesaurus a common store-house of good learning it will instruct the ignorant it will draw on forward those that are incipients it will perfect those that are proficients it will comfort all sorts of afflictions veteribus animarum vulneribus novit mederi recentibus remedium applicare it knows how c. He that would pray to God may make choice here of fit forms dictated by the Spirit of God to petition God upon all occasions whatsoever he would desire of God either to give him or to forgive him He that would make confession of his sins to God is here furnished accommodated with the manner of searching and ripping up of the conscience and laying the hid man of the heart open before God He that would make confession of praise hath his mouth filled with forms of praise to set forth the goodness of God either in perticular to himself or in general to the whole Church He that is merry and rejoyceth in the Lord may finde here the musique of true joy and may from hence gather both matter and manner of Jubilation you see that the Church in my text resorteth to this store house of comfort He that findeth himself dul and heavy in the duties of Gods service may here finde cheerfull strains of musique to quicken his dead affections and to put life into them Many are too well conceited of their own sufficiency for those holy services of God so that in confession of sins in prayer or in praysing God they over-ween their own measure of the spirit of God and are too much wedded to their own forms of addresse to God But let no man despise these helps the best of us all need them the most able amongst us shal abate nothing from his own sufficiency to borrow of them we are sure that the Holy Ghost hath indited them and if a wise judgment do make choice and fit application of them to our severall purposes and occasions we cannot more holily or more effectually expresse our selves then in them the sweet singer of Israel hath furnished us plentifully by them 2 Before I come to handle the text in the parts thereof let me return your thoughts to the former verse where the Church putteth her own case in great affliction supposing the good land flowing with milk and hony touched and accursed for their sakes so that neither their best fruit trees nor their common fields nor their fruits nor their flocks and herds shal yield encrease yet saith she Yet will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation Teaching us that where there is the true joy of the Holy Ghost no temporall affliction whatsoever Doct. 2 though it extend even to deprivation of the necessaries of life can either extinguish or so much as eclipse that joy but that as a light it will shine in darknesse The Book of God is thick sown with examples and promises with doctrine and use with assertions and experience of this truth and it is so sealed to the perpetuall consolation of the