upon him for it as Aaron here did but as for Miriam she neither Confest her Sin nor shew'd any Sorrow for it but stubb rnly persisted in it For notwithstanding God Arraigned her himself and sate himself as â—udge in Moses's Cause and ask'd her why she was not affraid to speak against his Servant Moses she made no Reply by an humble Plea for Mercy but stood as a sullen Mute and so God recorded her and left her to Judgment and departs from her in great Fury Num. 12. 9. 2. The second Infectious Disease is the Pestilence which prevails mightily by Infection killing Thousands in a short time So doth the Plague of Spiritual Delusions Infect and Destroy many Thousands of Souls in a very few Days And that these Mens Principles in my Text had the same Effect it was too apparent in their Punishment and one may read their Sin in their Punishment And that there was a Spiritual Plague fore broken and running upon these Mens Spirits It is evident by the Injunction which God laid upon the rest of the People to depart from them and not to come near them nor touch any thing of theirs least their Sin should Infect them and they perish with them in their Sins And so Infectioâ—s was it to many Thousands in Israel that it brake forth upon them on the Morrow and in a Congregated Assembly Murmured against Moses and told him he had Killed the People of the Lord. How nearly doth Heresie in the Soul resemble the Pestilence in the Body for as fast as that lothsom Disease cleaves to the Body so fast doth Heresie stick in the Soul and Heart of a Man For as it is a very difficult thing and almost Impossible for a Phisttian to heal the Plague of Pestilence in the Body So it is a very hard and difficult thing for the best Majestrate or the best Minister in the World to reclaim any Man or Woman from the Error of their way that have forsaken the Publick Service of God the High-way of Salvation and betook themselves to the By-paths of a Pestilential Conventicle one Year Hence it is that the Apostle St. Paul Exhorts Titus to Reject A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition And subjoyns this Reason Knowing that he that is such is subverted and Sinneth being Condemned of himself Titus 3. 10 11. Now you may happily ask what an Heretick is I Answer A Heretick is one that obstinately Defends and Maintains an Opinion contrary to the Faith Practice and Profession of the truely Antient Catholick and Apostolick Church But ye may happily say why doth the Apostle Exhort Titus to be so quick and brief in Admonishing such an one and upon a second Contempt imediately to reject him I Answer Answer Because they have refused the way of Truth and chosen and prâ—fer'd an Erronious Opinion be ore it and obstinately reâ—use to return again This assâ—ion iâ— verified by the Testimony of the Prophet Jeremâ— Chap. 6. ver 16. Thus saith the Lord Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old Paths where is the good way and walk therein and ye shall find Rest for your Souls This was the first Admonition the Prophet gave them aâ—ter their Revolt unto which they obstinately answered We will not walk therein The second word of Admonition is in ver 17 Also I set Watchmen over you saying Hearken to the sound of the Trumpet Unto which they made this stubbora Answer We will not Hearken Upon this their refusal after their second Admonition to return to the antient ways of God the Prophet proceeds in the name of the Lord to give Judgment upon them in ver 18. 19. Therefore hear ye Nations and know O Congrâ—gation what is among them Hear O Earth behold I wâ—ll bring Evil upon this People even the Fruit of their Thoughts because they have not hearkned unto my Words nor to my Law but rejected it Twice did those Men in my Text return a stubborn Anâ—wer to Moses that they would not return to their former Conformity but deâ—perately resolved to stick close to their former Remonstrance for when Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram the Sons of Eliab to come to him doubtless to perswade and advise with them to forbear the further Prosecution of their wicked Designs and to consider the manifold mischiefs that would unavoidably follow such wicked enterprizes as they were now begining to prosecute then they returned this resolute Answer We will not come up and aggravated it with this Expostulation Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a Land thâ—t floweth with Milk and Honey to kill us in the Wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us ver 13. and then in ver 14. They follow their blow with a Moreover thou hast not brought us into a Land that floweth with Milk and Honey or given us Inheritance of Fields and Vineyards Wilt thou put out the Eyes of these Men We will not come up Upon this second Repulse of theirs to Moses's Admonition he utterly Rejects them and now will have no more to do with them but turns his Prayer directly against them And in the Indignation of his Spirit said unto the Lord Respect not thou their Offering And what the Effect of such a Prayer was like to be may be easily read in the Judgment that followed for the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed them up with all that appertain'd to them and I wish with all my Heart that these Mens Principles had sunck into the Ground with them and never appear'd again upon the face of Earth but vae mihi 3. A third Infectious Disease in the Body of Man is the Cancer a sore fretting Disease very small in the beginning dangerous in growth and pernitious in the end Such is all Scismatical and false Doctrine in the beginning scarcely discern'd but by degrees it eats so far into the Soul that it destroys both Faith and Practice We have this confirm'd by the Apostle St. Paul in an Epistle of his to the chief Pastor of the Church of Ephesâ—s 2. Tim. 2. Cap. 16. 17. 18. ver But shun prophane Bablings for they will increase unto more Ungodliness And their Word will eat as doth a Canker of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus Who concerning the truth have erred saying That the Resurrection is past already and overthrow the Faith of some O Lord for thy Mercy sake save and deliver thy Church and People in the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and the Religion Established by Law therein from the fly insinuating creeping Soul-infectious Diseases of Sediton Privy Conspiracy and Rebellion false Doctrine Heresie and Scisme and work in us such a Reformation in all our Lives that our Conversations before God and Man may be such as may beautifie and adorn our most Holy Faith and demonstrate to the World that we are living Members of Christ's Body I have now finished my third
commands a Blessing even Life for evermore To conclude this Postscript I do once again pray and beseech you for the Lord Jesus's sake who is verily and indeed the true Prince of Peace and the Covenant that he sealed with his precious Blood for the present Comfort and Eternal Happiness of the Sons and Daughters of Men is a Covenant of Peace that ye will return to the high way of Salvation again and be as heretofore good Examples to those that have not yet attain'd to those large Meásures of Knowledge and Practice as you had before ye left us you have given us a grievous wound by leaving us and ye may give us an healing Plaister by your return to us again What a joyful sight would it be to the choicest Members of our Church to see you take your own Places and possesses your own Seats again Do ye not yet know that Satan's Master-piece of Malice whereby he endeavours to work Mischief to the Church of God is to sow the Tare-seed of Divisions amongst them For if he can but start a question from the unstable Heart of any one of them that may beget a doubtful Disputation amongst them he hath his ends and tho' it may seem to increase Knowledge yet if it will but make the least rent he hath as much as he looks for he knows that there will be some Standers-by that will blow at the Coal Nothing can harm the Church of Christ but the Divisions of her own Children to avoid which a true Believer will deny himself and be silent in many things of Circumstance rather than he will maintain a dispute that may in the least be prejudicial to the Church's Peace Abraham had cause enough to have held a dispute with Lot when their Herdsmen fell out about what I know not and doubtless might have had the better of it but he will not he had rather be silent and so quench the Coals of Strife than to encrease the Flame by contention he wisely foresaw the Mischief that was likely to follow the Strife and Contention that was begun betwixt them so that he presently endeavours to put out the Fire before it was too much kindled by refusing to contend at all Let there be no Strife I pray thee saith he to Lot betwixt me and thee and betwixt my Herdsmen and thy Herdsmen for we be Brethren All true Believers are the Children of faithful Abraham and therefore I could wish with all my Heart that these Words were written in Characters of Gold upon the fleshly Tables of the Hearts of all the Servants of Christ whom the Doctrin of the Gospel hath united by Articles of a true Faith how sweet would Peace and how bitter would Divisions be to them It is a remarkable thing and worth our notice that all the Miseries that the subtle Serpent hath brought upon all Mankind had its Rise and Beginning from a doubtful Disputation betwixt himself and our first Parents and thus he began with a soft smooth oily Language yea hath God said Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden And the Woman said unto the Serpent we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it lest ye die And the serpent said unto the woman ye shall not surely die For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil as if the Serpent had said you talk of dying if ye eat why surely ye shall not die God hath kept that Secret from you which I will reveal to you I am an Angel of Light I came down from Heaven and therefore must needs know the Mind and Will of God better than you do Ye say that if ye eat of the Tree in the midst of the Garden you shall die but I tell you that God knows that in the very day ye eat thereof your Eyes shall be opened your Understanding's enlightned your Knowledge increased and ye shall be as Gods perfectly knowing Good and Evil. Will ye then be limited by a Law when ye may have perfect Freedom Will ye be tied to the Observation of an Ordinance when ye may live above all Ordinances will ye be such Enemies to your own Good Will ye stand so much in your own Light Will ye continue blind when ye may have your Eyes open'd 'T is but stepping a little beyond the bounds of your usual walk and ye shall enjoy such unspeakable Priviledges which God never yet discover'd to you In this doubtful Disputation did the Dragon that old Serpent which is call'd the Devil and Satan lay the foundation of the mystery of Iniquity which we may plainly perceive was not wrought by a temptation to Carnal Infirmities but by a crafty Delusion to Spiritual Wickedness and if you will but consult the sacred Scriptures as Christ hath commanded Joh. 5. 39. and take diligent notice of the things ye read ye will easily perceive that Spiritual Wickedness hath had the greatest share in those Sins that have provoked the Lord to pour forth the Vials of his Wrath upon his Church and People in all Ages of the World And being assured by so sacred a Testimony as the Word of God is that the Divisions of a Kingdom do portend its Desolation let us follow those things that make for Peace and let us take the advice which the Apostle St. Paul gives us Ephes 4. 30 31 32. Grieve not the holy spirit of God whereby ye are sealed to the day of redemption Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice And be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you And now once more I pray and beseech you that if ye have any bowels of Pity or Compassion upon your native Country if ye do not desire to see the Kingdom wherein ye were born to be made an Akeldama or Field of Blood If ye do not desire to see your Relations and Neighbours wallow in their Blood and sheathing their Swords in each others Breasts that ye will return in time from the causes of it Do ye think it will be a pleasant sight to see a Company of Bloody Soldiers â—orcibly entriâ—g your Houses with drawn Swords in their Hands with Fire in their Eyes Death in their Looks their Mouths full of cursed Oaths and devillish Execrations will the noise and lamentable screeches and outcries of your Wives and Children be pleasing to you when ye shall see them kickt and beaten like Dogs in your presence and otherwise barbarously us'd before your Eyes your Houses plunder'd and spoil'd of their best Furniture your Chambers and Chests broken up and emptied of your choicest Treasures Can it be any pleasure
Hath the Lord indeed only spoken by Moses hath he not spoken also by us Here was Envy and Emulation at the Government intrusted by God in the Hands of Moses Disobedience would undoubtedly have followed the Leprosi of Original Sin dâ—d cleave so fast to their Loyns that altho' they were Saints upon Earth yet they were nâ—t quite free from stumbling upon the Threshould oâ— Original Corruption true Children oâ— Disobediâ—nt Parents Adam and Eve our first Parents would set up for themselves and be as Gods Miriam and Aaron will Rule and Govern as well as Moses Hath the Lord indeed say they spoken onely by Moses Hath he not spoken also by us No wonder Moses was not angry with his Brother and Sister for aspiring to share with him in a piece of Earthly Government when he knew that his own first Parents aspired to an Heavenly Throne by endeavouring to be as Gods Nay Aaron in another sinful Act of his outdid his Progenitors for they presumed to be but as Gods to know Good and Evil but Aaron presumed to make a God nay to make many Gods Make us Gods saith sinful Israel that may go before us Bring your Ear rings saith Aaron and I 'le make you some Original Sin like a Snow ball gathers by rolling from place to place The same Serpent that perswaded our first Parents to conceit themselves Gods hath prevailed with Aaron not to conceit himself to be one but take upon him the Employment of making a God and so to be greater than God For as he that makes a King is said to be greater then a King so he that makes a God may conceit himself greater than the God he hath made Oâ— the horrible Contagion and Infection of Original Sin which like a foul Leprosie hath spread it self into the whole Masse of Mankind And as thus the Leprosie of Original Sin had spread it self into the several Faculties of Miriams and Aarons Soul so the Lord Plagâ—ed Miriam with a soul Leprosie in several parts of her Body a Punishment suitable to her Sin If it should here be askt why Aaron guilty of the same Sin with his Sister Miriam was not Plagued with the same Punishment of Leprosie as she was according to the rule of Justice the same Sin the same Punishment I answer it is true the Lord might in Justice have smitten Aaron with the Plague of Leprosie as he did Miriam but he did not he spared Aaron and Punished Miriam and that for several good and weighty Reasons as I humbly conceive 1. That the Church and all the World may know that he hath two Hands as well as two Eyes the one to lay on the stroak of Justice and the other to extend Grace and Mercy that he is Mercy as well as Justice and Judgment as well as Mercy 2. That the Sons of Men may know that God is a free Agent and may do with his own what he pleaseth that he can have Mercy upon whom he will have Mercy and Punish others for the Iniquity of their Transgressions and leave them to the hardness of their own Hearts 3. The Sin was greater in Miriam then in Aaron Aaron might have a seeming colour for what he said having formerly been Moses's Speaker for God to Pharaoh but for Miriam to assume the Privilege of a Speaker was neither proper to her Sex nor ever an Office in the Church for a Woman to Execute I permit not a Woman saith St. Paul to Speak in the Church 4. Aarons Office might excuse him and speak something for him being by a special Decree and Ordinance of God Anointed with Holy Oyl High Priest to offer Sacrifice for the Sins of all Israel and no Leper was to Officiate in that calling nor stand at Gods Altar so that the Purity of his Office freed him from that foul and lothsom Punishment of the Plague of Leprosie God's Altar was nor a fit place for a Deformed Person to stand at to offer Sacrifices therefore for the Glory of his Name and the Holiness of his Altar he exempted the Sacrificer from the Punishment of so loathsom a Disease altho ' he went not Scot-free for for this and other failings he was debarr'd both of the sight and enterance into the Land of Canaan the Land of Promise 5. It might probable be that Aaron was not Principal but Accessary to this Sin for Miriam is first named in the Text Numb 12. And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Aethiopian Woman whom he had Married If she had not been Principal in the Sin it s very likely she had not been named first in the Inditement And it is very likely that the Quarrel began betwixt the two Sisters In-law Ziporah and Miriam about what I know not but be it what it will Miriam hath engaged her Brother Aaron in the Quarrel and both of them knew that Moses was so Just and so good a Man that if the matter on Ziporah's part were not a Breach of God's Sacred Law he was bound by the Sacred Tye of Marriage to Vindicate her against them both they resolve therefore to bring him in for a Party and make him Faulty for fuch a Choice and so begin a Quarrel with him who it may be knew nothing of their Discontents Dr. Hall late Bishop of Norwich that English Seneca that Painful Pious Prelate in his Contemplations on the Holy Story hath an excellent Passage upon this Place Lib. 6 Pag. 196. in Oct. Miriam and Aaron are in Mutiny against Moses Who is so Holy that Sins not What Sin is so unnatural that the best can avoid without God's preventing Grace Who can but grieve to see Aaron at the end of so many Sins Of late I saw him Carving the Molten Image and Consecrating an Altar to a False God now I see him seconding an uukind Mutiny against his Brother both find him Accessary neither Principal in the first Sin of Mankind the Servent who was Principal in it found no Mercy nor Grace Whereas Adam and his Wife who were but Accessarieâ— had upon their Repentance the offer of both and therefore 6. A fixth Râ—son â—hy Aaron escaped the Punishment inflicte upon Miriam was because oâ— his speedy Repentance for no sooner did he perceive the Leprosie upon Miriams Face he knew there was but one way to escape that or a greater punishment viz. a Conâ—ssion 〈◊〉 in and a speedy Repentance And therefore having offended his Brother Moses he first asketh him Forgiveness saying Alas my Lord lay not this Sin upon us wherein we have done Foolishly and wherein we have Sinned The universal Ant dote against all Gods Judgments is Unfeignâ—d and speedy Repentance Had Miriam Repented at the Word of the Lord to her as Aaron did at the Hand of the Lord upon hâ—r 't is very likly that she had eâ—caped the Leprosie as well as he for that God who is rich in Mercy to one is rich in Mercy to all that Unfeignedly call