Lord for his goodnesse and declare the wonders that he doth for the children of men These Mercies are great in themselves our unworthiness doth greaten them more To doe good to the well-deserving were but retribution He ladeth us who are no lesse rebellious to him then he is beneficial to us Our streight and shallow bounty picks out the worthiest and most capable Subject the greatest gift that ever God gave he gives us whiles we are enemies It was our Saviour's charge to his Disciples Interrogate quis dignus Ask who is worthy that is as Hierom interprets it of the honour to receive such guests Should God stand upon those terms with us what should become of us See and wonder and be ashamed O ye Christian hearers God loads us and we load him God loads us with Benefits we load him with our Sins Behold I am pressed under you saith God as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves Amos 2. 13. He should goe away laden with our thanks with the presents of our duty and we shamefully clog him with our continual provocations Can there be here any danger of self-sacrificing with Sejanus and not rather the just danger of our shame and confusion in our selves How can we but hate this unkinde and unjust unanswerablenesse Yet herein shall we make an advantage of our foulest sins that they give so much more lustre to the glorious mercies of our God who overcomes our evil with good and loads even us The over-long interruption of favours loseth their thanks and the best benefits languish in too much disuse Our God takes order for that by a perpetuation of beneficence he ladeth us daily Every day every minute renews his favours upon us Semper largitor semper donator as Hierome To speak strictly there is no time present nothing is present but an instant and that can no more be called Time then a prick can be called a Line yet how swift soever the wings of Time are they cannot cut one instant but they must carry with them a successive renovation of God's gracious kindness to us This Sun of his doth not rise once in an age or once in a year but every minute since it was created riseth to some parts of the earth and every day to us Neither doth he once hurl down upon our heads some violent drops in a storm but he plies us with the sweet showrs of the former and the latter rain Wherein the Mercy of God condescends to our impotency who are ready to perish under uncomfortable intermissions Non mihi sufficit saith that Father It is not enough that he hath given me once if he give me not alwaies To daies Ague makes us forget yesterstaies health Former meals do not relieve our present hunger This cottage of ours ruines straight if it be not new daubed every day new repaired The liberal care of our God therefore tiles over one benefit with another that it may not rain through And if he be so unwearied in his Favours why are we weary of our Thanks Our bonds are renewed every day to our God why not our payments Not once in a year or moon or week but every day once without fail were the Legal Sacrifices reiterated and that of all those creatures which were necessary for sustentation a Lamb flowre wine oyle that is meat bread drink sauce Why but that in all these we should still daily re-acknowledge our new obligations to the giver Yea ex plenitudine lacrymis as it is in the Original Exod. 22. 29. of our plenty and tears that is as Cajetan of a dear or cheap year must we return more or lesse may not misse our thanks We need daily we beg daily Give us this day we receive daily why do we not daily retribute to our God and act as some read it Blessed be the Lord daily who loadeth us with his benefits It is time now to turn your eyes to that mixt respect that reacheth both to God and us Ye have seen him a Benefactor see him a Saviour and Deliverer The God of our Salvation The Vulgar's salutaria following the Septuagint differs from our Salvation but as the Means from the End With the Hebrews Salvation is a wide word comprising all the favours of God that may tend to preservation and therefore the Psalmist elsewhere extends this act both to man and beast and as if he would comment upon himself expounds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 save by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 prosper Psal 118. 25. It is so dear a title of God that the Prophet cannot have enough of it the interposition of a Selah cannot bar the redoubling of it in my Text. Every deliverance every preservation fathers it self upon God yet as the Soul is the most precious thing in the world and life is the most precious thing that belongs to the Soul and eternal life is the best of lives and the danger and losse of this life is the fearfullest and most horrible chiefly is this greatest Salvation here meant wherein God intends most to blesse and be blessed Of this Salvation is he the God by Preordination by Purchace by Gift By Preordination in that he hath decreed it to us from eternity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 8. 30. By Purchace in that he hath bought it for us and us to it by the price of his blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 6. 20. By Gift in that he hath feoft us in it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The gift of God is eternal life Rom. 6. 23. Since therefore he decreed it he bought it he bestows it justly is he the God of our Salvation Who can who dates arrogate to himself any partnership in this great work What power can dispose of the Souls final condition but the same that made it Who can give Eternity but he that onely hath it What but an infinite Merit can purchase an infinite Glory Cursed be that spirit that will offer to share with his Maker Down with your Crowns O ye glorious Elders at the foot of him that sits on the Throne with a Non nobis Domine Not unto us O Lord not unto us but to thy Name give the praise Away with the proud incroachment of the Merits of the best Saints of Papal Largesses Only our God is the God of our Salvation How happy are we the while All actions are according to the force of the Agent weak Causes produce feeble Effects contingent casual necessary certain Our Salvation therefore being the work of an infinitely-powerfull cause cannot be disappointed Loe the beauty of Solomon's Al-chum who hath resisted his will When we look to our own fleshie hands here is nothing but discouragement when we look to our spiritual enemies here is nothing but terrour but when we cast up our eyes to the Mighty God here is nothing but confidence nothing but comfort Comfort ye comfort ye therefore O ye feeble Souls and send your bold defiances to the Prince
At leastwise he will counterfeit an imitation of the Son of God Neither is it in this alone what one act ever passed the hand of God which Satan did not apishly attempt to second If we follow Christ in the outward action with contrary intentions we follow Satan in following Christ Or perhaps Satan meant to make Christ hereby weary of this weapon As we see fashions when they are taken up of the unworthy are cast off by the Great It was doubtlesse one cause why Christ afterward forbad the Devil even to confesse the Truth because his mouth was a stander But chiefly doth he this for a better colour of his Tentation He gilds over this false metall with Scripture that it may passe current Even now is Satan transformed into an Angel of Light and will seem godly for a mischief If Hypocrites make a fair shew to deceive with a glorious lustre of Holinesse we see whence they borrowed it How many thousand souls are betraied by the abuse of that Word whose use is soveraign and saving No Devil is so dangerous as the religious Devil If good meat turn to the nourishment not of Nature but of the Disease we may not forbear to feed but endeavour to purge the body of those evil humours which cause the stomach to work against it self O God thou that hast given us light give us clear and sound eyes that we may take comfort of that Light thou hast given us Thy Word is holy make our hearts so and then shall they finde that Word not more true then cordial Let not this Divine Table of thine be made a snare to our souls What can be a better act then to speak Scripture It were a wonder if Satan should do a good thing well He cites Scripture then but with mutilation and distortion it comes not out of his mouth but maimed and perverted One piece is left all misapplied Those that wrest or mangle Scripture for their own turn it is easie to see from what School they come Let us take the Word from the Author not from the Usurper David would not doubt to eat that sheep which he pulled out of the mouth of the Bear or Lion He shall give his Angels charge over thee Oh comfortable assurance of our protection God's children never goe unattended Like unto great Princes we walk ever in the midst of our guard though invisible yet true careful powerful What creatures are so glorious as the Angels of Heaven yet their Maker hath set them to serve us Our Adoption makes us at once great and safe We may be contemptible and ignominious in the eyes of the world but the Angels of God observe us the while and scorn not to wait upon us in our homeliest occasions The Sun or the Light may we keep out of our houses the Aire we cannot much lesse these Spirits that are more simple and immaterial No walls no bolts can sever them from our sides they accompany us in dungeons they goe with us into our exile How can we either fear danger or complain of solitarinesse whiles we have so unseparable so glorious Companions Is our Saviour distasted with Scripture because Satan mis-laies it in his dish Doth he not rather snatch this sword out of that impure hand beat Satan with the weapon which he abuseth It is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God The Scripture is one as that God whose it is Where it carries an appearance of difficulty or inconvenience it needs no light to clear it but that which it hath in it self All doubts that may arise from it are fully answered by collation It is true that God hath taken this care and given this charge of his own he will have them kept not in their sins they may trust him they may not tempt him he meant to incourage their Faith not their Presumption To cast our selves upon any immediate Providence when means fail not is to disobey in stead of believing God We may challenge God on his Word we may not strain him beyond it we may make account of what he promised we may not subject his Promises to unjust examinations and where no need is make triall of his Power Justice Mercy by devices of our own All the Devils in Hell could not elude the force of this Divine answer and now Satan sees how vainly he tempteth Christ to tempt God Yet again for all this do I see him setting upon the Son of God Satan is not foiled when he is resisted Neither diffidence nor presumption can fasten upon Christ he shall be tried with Honour As some expert Fencer that challenges at all weapons so doth his great Enemy In vain shall we plead our skill in some if we fail in any It must be our wisedome to be prepared for all kinde of assaults as those that hold Towns and Forts do not only defend themselves from incursions but from the Cannon and the Pionier Still doth that subtil Serpent traverse his ground for an advantage The Temple is not high enough for his next Tentation he therefore carries up Christ to the top of an exceeding high Mountain All enemies in pitcht fields strive for the benefit of the Hill or River or Wind or Sun That which his servant Balac did by his instigation himself doth now immediately change places in hope of prevailing If the obscure country will not move us he tries what the Court can do if not our home the Tavern if not the field our closer As no place is left free by his malice so no place must be made prejudicial by our carelesnesse and as we should alwaies watch over our selves so then most when the opportunity carries cause of suspicion Wherefore is Christ carried up so high but for prospect If the Kingdomes of the earth and their glory were only to be presented to his imagination the Valley would have served if to the outward sense no Hill could suffice Circular bodies though small cannot be seen at once This shew was made to both divers Kingdomes lying round about Judea were represented to the eye the glory of them to the imagination Satan meant the eye could tempt the fancy no less then the fancie could tempt the will How many thousand souls have died of the wound of the eye If we do not let in sin at the window of the eye or the door of the eare it cannot enter into our hearts If there be any pomp majestie pleasure bravery in the world where should it be but in the Courts of Princes whom God hath made his Images his Deputies on earth There is soft rayment sumptuous feasts rich jewels honourable attendance glorious triumphs royal state these Satan laies out to the fairest shew But oh the craft of that old Serpent Many a care attends Greatnesse No Crown is without thorns High seats are never but uneasie All those infinite discontentments which are the shadow of earthly Soveraigntie he hides out of the way nothing may
say I am he that easie breath alone routed all your troups and cast them to the earth whom it might as easily have cast down into Hell What if he had said I will not be taken where had ye been or what could your swords and staves have done against Omnipotence Those Disciples that failed of their vigilance failed not of their courage they had heard their Master speak of providing swords and now they thought it was time to use them Shall we smite They were willing to fight for him with whom they were not carefull to watch but of all other Peter was most forward in stead of opening his lips he unsheaths his sword and in stead of Shall I smites He had noted Malchus a busie servant of the High priest too ready to second Judas and to lay his rude hands upon the Lord of Life against this man his heart rises and his hand is lift up That eare which had too-officiously listened to the unjust and cruell charge of his wicked Master is now severed from that worse head which it had mis-served I love and honour thy zeal O blessed Disciple Thou couldst not brook wrong done to thy Divine Master Had thy life been dearer to thee then his safety thou hadst not drawn thy sword upon a whole troup It was in earnest that thou saidst Though all men yet not I and Though I should die with thee yet I will not deny thee Lo thou art ready to die upon him that should touch that Sacred person what would thy life now have been in comparison of renouncing him Since thou wert so fervent why didst thou not rather fall upon that treachour that betrai'd him then that Sergeant that arrested him Surely the sin was so much greater as the plot of mischief is more then the execution as a Domestick is nearer then a Stranger as the treason of a Friend is worse then the forced enmity of an Hireling Was it that the guilty wretch upon the fact done subduced himself and shrouded his false head under the wings of darknesse Was it that thou couldst not so suddenly apprehend the odious depth of that Villany and instantly hate him that had been thy old companion Was it that thy amazednesse as yet conceived not the purposed issue of this seizure and astonishedly waited for the successe Was it that though Judas were more faulty yet Malchus was more imperiously cruell Howsoever thy Courage was awaked with thy self and thy heart was no lesse sincere then thine hand was rash Put up again thy sword into his place for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword Good intentions are no warrant for our actions O Saviour thou canst at once accept of our meanings and censure our deeds Could there be an affection more worth incouragement then the love to such a Master Could there be a more just cause wherein to draw his sword then in thy quarrell Yet this love this quarrell cannot shield Peter from thy check thy meek tongue smites him gently who had furiously smote thine enemy Put up thy sword It was Peter's sword but to put up not to use there is a sword which Peter may use but it is of another metall Our weapons are as our warfare spiritual if he smite not with this he incurs no lesse blame then for smiting with the other as for this material sword what should he doe with it that is not allowed to strike When the Prince of Peace bade his Followers sell their coat and buy a sword he meant to insinuate the need of these arms not their improvement and to teach them the danger of the time not the manner of the repulse of danger When they therefore said Behold here are two swords he answered It is enough he said not Go buy more More had not been enow if a bodily defence had been intended David's tower had been too streight to yield sufficient furniture of this kinde When it comes to use Peter's one sword is too much Put up thy sword Indeed there is a temporal sword and that sword must be drawn else wherefore is it but drawn by him that bears it and he bears it that is ordained to be an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil for he bears not the sword in vain If another man draw it it cuts his fingers and draws so much blood of him that unwarrantably wields it as that he who takes the sword shall perish with the sword Can I chuse but wonder how Peter could thus strike unwounded how he whose first blow made the fray could escape hewing in pieces from that band of Ruffians This could not have been if thy power O Saviour had not restrained their rage if thy seasonable and sharp reproof had not prevented their revenge Now for ought I see Peter smarts no lesse then Malchus neither is Peter's eare lesse smitten by the milde tongue of his Master then Malchus his eare by the hand of Peter Weak Disciple thou hast zeal but not according to knowledge there is not more danger in this act of thine then inconsideration and ignorance The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it Thou drawest thy sword to rescue me from suffering Alas if I suffer not what would become of thee what would become of mankinde where were that eternal and just Decree of my Father wherein I am a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world Dost thou go about to hinder thine own and the whole worlds Redemption Did I not once before call thee Satan for suggesting to me this immunity from my Passion and dost thou now think to favour me with a reall opposition to this great and necessary work Canst thou be so weak as to imagine that this Suffering of mine is not free and voluntary Canst thou be so injurious to me as to think I yield because I want aid to resist Have I not given to thee and to the world many undeniable proofs of my Omnipotence Didst thou not see how easie it had been for me to have blown away these poor forces of my adversaries Dost thou not know that if I would require it all the glorious troups of the Angels of Heaven any one whereof is more then worlds of men would presently shew themselves ready to attend and rescue me Might this have stood with the Justice of my Decree with the Glory of my Mercy with the Benefit of mans Redemption it had been done my Power should have triumphed over the impotent malice of my enemies but now since that eternal Decree must be accomplished my Mercy must be approved mankinde must be ransomed and this cannot be done without my Suffering Thy wel-meant valour is no better then a wrong to thy self to the world to me to my Father O gracious Saviour whiles thou thus smitest thy Disciple thou healest him whom thy Disciple smote Many greater Miracles hadst thou done none that bewraied more mercy and meeknesse then this last Cure
at once removes that which both they did and might have feared The stone is removed the seal broken the watch fled What a scorn doth the Almighty God make of the impotent designes of men They thought the stone shall make the grave sure the seal shall make the stone sure the guard shall make both sure Now when they think all safe God sends an Angel from Heaven above the earth quakes beneath the stone rolls away the Souldiers stand like carkasses and when they have got heart enough to run away think themselves valiant the Tomb is opened Christ is risen they confounded Oh the vain projects of silly men as if with one shovel-full of mire they would dam up the Sea or with a clout hang'd forth they would keep the Sun from shining Oh these Spiders-webs or houses of Cards which fond children have as they think skilfully framed which the least breath breaks and ruines Who are we sorry worms that we should look in any business to prevail against our Creator What creature is so base that he cannot arm against us to our confusion The Lice and Frogs shall be too strong for Pharaoh the Worms for Herod There is no wisdome nor counsel against the Lord. Oh the marvellous pomp and magnificence of our Saviours Resurrection The earth quakes the Angel appears that it may be plainly seen that this Divine person now rising had the command both of earth and Heaven At the dissolution of thine Humane nature O Saviour was an Earthquake at the re-uniting of it is an Earthquake to tell the world that the God of Nature then suffered and had now conquered Whiles thou laiest still in the earth the earth was still when thou camest to fetch thine own The earth trembled at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Jacob. When thou our true Sampson awakedst and foundst thy self tied with these Philistian cords and rousedst up and brakest those hard and strong twists with a sudden power no marvel if the room shook under thee Good cause had the earth to quake when the God that made it powerfully calls for his own flesh from the usurpation of her bowels Good cause had she to open her graves and yield up her dead in attendance to the Lord of Life whom she had presumed to detain in that cell of her darkness What a seeming impotence was here that thou who art the true Rock of thy Church shouldst lye obscurely shrouded in Joseph's rock thou that art the true corner-stone of thy Church shouldst be shut up with a double stone the one of thy grave the other of thy vault thou by whom we are sealed to the day of our Redemption shouldst be sealed up in a blind cavern of earth But now what a demonstration of power doth both the world and I see in thy glorious Resurrection The rocks tear the graves open the stones roll away the dead rise and appear the Souldiers flee and tremble Saints and Angels attend thy rising O Saviour thou laiest down in weakness thou risest in power and glory thou laiest down like a man thou risest like a God What a lively image hast thou herein given me of the dreadful Majesty of the general Resurrection and thy second appearance Then not the earth onely but the powers of Heaven shall be shaken not some few graves shall be open and some Saints appear but all the bars of death shall be broken and all that sleep in their graves shall awake and stand up from the dead before thee not some one Angel shall descend but thou the great Angel of the Covenant attended with thousand thousands of those mighty Spirits And if these stout Souldiers were so filled with terrour at the feeling of an Earthquake and the sight of an Angel that they had scarce breath left in them for the time to witness them alive where shall thine enemies appear O Lord in the day of thy terrible appearance when the earth shall reel and vanish and the elements shall be on a flame about their ears and the Heavens shall wrap up as a scroll O God thou mightest have removed this stone by the force of thine Earthquake as well as rive other rocks yet thou wouldst rather use the Ministery of an Angel or thou that gavest thy self life and gavest being both to the stone and to the earth couldst more easily have removed the stone then moved the earth but it was thy pleasure to make use of an Angels hand And now he that would ask why thou wouldst doe it rather by an Angel then by thy self may as well ask why thou didst not rather give thy Law by thine own immediate hand then by the ministration of Angels why by an Angel thou struckest the Israelites with plagues the Assyrians with the sword why an Angel appeared to comfort thee after thy Temptation and Agony when thou wert able to comfort thy self why thou usest the influences of Heaven to fruiten the earth why thou imployest Second causes in all events when thou couldst doe all things alone It is good reason thou shouldst serve thy self of thine own neither is there any ground to be required whether of their motion or rest besides thy will Thou didst raise thy self the Angels removed the stone They that could have no hand in thy Resurrection yet shall have an hand in removing outward impediments not because thou needst but because thou wouldst like as thou alone didst raise Lazarus thou badst others let him loose Works of Omnipotency thou reservest to thine own immediate performance ordinary actions thou doest by subordinate means Although this act of the Angels was not merely with respect to thee but partly to those devout Women to ease them of their care to manifest unto them thy Resurrection So officious are those glorious Spirits not onely to thee their Maker but even to the meanest of thy servants especially in the furtherance of all their spiritual designes Let us bring our Odours they will be sure to roll away the stone Why do not we imitate them in our forwardness to promote each others Salvation We pray to doe thy will here as they doe in Heaven if we do not act our wishes we do but mock thee in our Devotions How glorious did this Angel of thine appear The terrified Souldiers saw his face like lightning both they and the Women saw his garments shining bright and white as snow such a presence became his errand It was fit that as in thy Passion the Sun was darkned and all Creatures were clad with heaviness so in thy Resurrection the best of thy Creatures should testifie their joy and exsultation in the brightness of their habit that as we on Festival-dayes put on our best cloaths so thine Angels should celebrate this blessed Festivity with a meet representation of Glory They could not but injoy our joy to see the work of mans Redemption thus fully finished and if there be mirth in Heaven at the conversion of