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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	affliction_n	great_a	sin_n	1,620	5	5.2580	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11603	Sermons experimentall: on Psalmes CXVI. & CXVII. Very vsefull for a vvounded spirit. By William Sclater D.D. sometimes rector of Limsham, and vicar of Pitmister, in Summerset-shire. Published by his son William Sclater Mr. of Arts, late fellow of Kings Colledge in Cambridge, now a priest, and preacher of the Gospel in the city of Exeter, in Devon-shire.	Sclater, William, 1575-1626.; Sclater, William, 1609-1661.	1638 (1638)	STC 21844; ESTC S116824	112,358	217

what more then Simulationem cautelae his affliction drave him unto before Achish King of Gath But there is slipping Psa 73.2.94.18 suppose in those passionate murmurings and discontentments Gods children feel rising under the Crosse Secondly There is falling perhaps into grosser sinne as impatience blasphemy abnegation as Peter Matth. 26.75 Iob 3. Ier. 10.14 And thirdly There is Prolaepsio or Ruina Psal 44.17 18. In one of these at least the Lord is gracious to support his children see Iob 1. and 2. Psal 44.17 18. Hebr. 11.35 Fourthly Stumbling at Rom. 14 c. Comfort your selves with these things Vse either all divine presages are false else certainly evill times will come some God is so mercifull unto to take away from the evill to come as * 2 Kings 22.20 Iosiah was taken and * Gen. 5.24 Enoch Ne malitia mutaret intellectum and many other righteous Isa 57.1 Yet questionlesse there are some whom God reserves to trialls perhaps sharp and bitter surely the tendernesse we shew towards verball persecutions may give us cause to fear in respect of our selves we shall be more delicate and timorous in the fiery triall yet here is our comfort God hath been mighty in mans weaknesse enabled many a weak Christian to endure great fights of affliction and to resist in striving against sinne to the shedding of blood that cloud of witnesses Heb. 12. are so many evidences of Gods goodnesse and power to support us see Rom. 15.4 This rest assured of either he will not suffer us to be tempted or else will give issue with the temptation 1 Cor. 10.13 Nothing shall separate finally from Gods favour Rom. 8.38 VERSE IX I will walke before the Lord in the land of the living THe Result of Davids Deliverance else as some conceive a Promise or Vow of thankfulnesse to God for his great bounty towards him Sense The reading may be diversly conceived I shall walk so it denotes the summe of the blessing or I will walk so it points at the duty Walk before the Lord Walking with God we read of Henoch Gen. 5.22 24 which the Apostle following the Septuagint renders Pleasing God Heb. 11.5 and in Gen. 17.1 we reade of walking before God prescribed to Abraham and the explication after a sort sub-joyned and be thou perfect or upright the practice of the precept in that sense see Gen. 24.40 by Abraham see also Isa 38.3 1 Sam. 2.35 I will build him a sure house and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever that is minister or do service to mine Anointed the Messiah in the Priests Office Confer Luke 1.74 75. In the land of the living Fondly do some Ancients here conceive heaven or the heavenly countrey to be understood and thereupon take occasion Allegorically to shew that this earth is Terra morientium Consult with Scripture ye shall finde it imports no more but this upper face of the earth where living men dwell and converse as Iob 28.13 where shall wisdome be found man knoweth not the price of it neither is it found in the land of the living that is amongst men here on earth Psal 52.5 David fortelling the destruction of Doeg God shall take thee out of thy dwelling place and cast thee out of the land of the living Clearly Isa 38.11 I said I shall not see the Lord in the land of the living I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world The whole sense amounts to this summe I shall live to do God service amongst men here on earth and that service will I perform in the uprightnesse and sincerity of my heart contra see Iob 10.21 22. Psal 88.12 Which me thinks he utters with the voice of joy and thankfull rejoycing that the Lord had so graciously delivered him from those deadly perils for this end that he should yet live amongst men to do service unto God Notice it then as no small blessing of God to have life prorogued to do good service upon earth whether in the Ministery or Magistracie or family as a craftsman or husbandman For in all these saith the Apostle Col. 3.24 ye serve the Lord Christ Three things we may observe in the practice of Saints serving to evidence this truth First Bitter wailings and lamentations when God hath threatened to take them away by untimely death see David making his bed to swimme with tears and with hearts grief pi●●ed away with sorrow in his sicknesse Why if ye ask Psal 6.5 he saw he was likely to be cut off from doing service unto God Hezekiah Isa 34.14 Like a Crane or a Swallow so did I chatter I did mourn as a Dove Ver. 3. Wept sore I said in the cutting off of my dayes I shall go to the gates of the grave I shall be deprived of the residue of my years compare Vers 18 19. Secondly A second thing observable in their practice is their earnest deprecation of untimely death and fervented supplication to have life prorogued Psalmes are full see Psal 102.23 24. his wailing he weakened my strength in the way he shortened my dayes Then said I O my God take me not away in the midst of my dayes let that wrath be upon my adversaries nay even when yeers were come upon them yet some remains of ability to serve God Psal 71.18 Now that I am old and gray-headed forsake me not untill I have shewed thy strength to this generation and thy power to them which are yet to come see Psal 30.8 9 10. Thirdly Observe again the joyfull thanksgiving that they have returned unto God when he hath pleased to renew hopes of surviving Isa 38.17 Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption Papists would assigne this reason For that the blessednesse that stands in the vision of God they were excluded from shut up in the strait of Hell wherein though they rested from outward miseries yet wanted their souls the chief part of beatitude the blessed vision and fruition of the God-head Was that the matter Yet were they In refrigerio in a place where they received comfort Luke 16.25 And of Elias it is noted he was taken up into heaven that he with Moses appeared unto our Saviour at his Transfiguration Matth. 17.4 who doubts but clad with heavenly glory Our people fancie another reason and that forsooth is because they had not in the old Testament that clear revelation of the glorious state of Gods Kingdome nor that plentifull assurance of their salvation that we now have And was that the reason they desired so long to live First herein we affirm untruths for had not Abraham Moses and David as firm assurance of the blessed state of Gods children after this life as the ordinary rate of Gods people now see Heb. 11.10 26 27. And secondly slander the generation of the righteous not because they had lesse assurance of Gods love then we but because they had lesse self-love then we yea more zeal

become a prey it is his glory When Paul hath finished his course then time to die Martyr 2 Tim. 4.8 Thirdly Marvellous are the dispensations of providence in this kinde sometimes by peace propagating the Church sometimes by persecution Act. 9.31 Phil. 1.12 Under Dioclesian the Emperour especially this was the course when weekly daily hundreds of Christians were Martyred in so much that the rate of one moneth taken amounted to seventeen thousands yet out of their Ashes sprung up New which made Tertullian say Seme● est sanguis Christianorum I say in our Saviours language Luke 12. Fear not little Flock Though evill dayes approach us and come on fast yet if God have any service for us to do on earth it is not all the spight of the world shall shorten our dayes First A hiding place we shall finde in the day of Gods wrath Secondly Fire shall not burn The Lions shall not devour Daniel while God hath service for him here on earth Some Ebedmelech God will raise up to speak good for Ieremie to the King some one or other Boyling oyl or lead shall not destroy the Evangelist Saint Iohn Marvells Miracles we read in Church-Story of strange deliverances of Saints If these move not yet let us consider First Our hairs are numbred Luke 12. Secondly Are ye not of more value then Sparrows Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints I remember it for this end because perhaps our hearts may be surprized with fears in this wavering condition we live in and our fears may perhaps distract or deject us As they spake Dan. 3. The God we serve is able to deliver us and the Lord will certainly preserve us in life while he hath use of our service upon earth Why are we timorous Oh we of little faith First Meditate seriously the examples of Gods marvellous deliverances of his people in former times Secondly Think of the promise First Either God will keep evils from us Or Secondly Take us from evils Isa 57.1 Or Thirdly Support in or under the evill that the issue may be comfortable 1 Cor. 10.13 2 Cor. 12.9 Secondly As precious things are not parted withall but at a dear rate So certainly it is true dearly they pay for the blood of Saints that spill it Truly said Cyprian There never was bloody persecution raised against the Church but there followed it as an acoluthite some extraordinary remonstrance of Gods vengeance in famine sword pestilence captivity and the like From the time of righteous Abel to Zechary Matt. 23. from that very day to this hath it been verified Cain had his mark as some say terrour and trembling set on him not slain indeed lest the people should forget it but plagued in the posterity their vitious manners brought in the flood upon the world of the ungodly Of Manasseth it is noted He filled Ierusalem with blood from corner to corner himself is carried away captive and repenteth yet to this cause is imputed the seventy yeers captivity in Babylon And our Saviour giving reason of the destruction of Ierusalem Matth. 23. saith They had killed the Prophets and stoned them who were sent unto them Those Civill warres read of in Romane Monarchie began not till persecutions raised against Christians decay of the Empire in the heat of persecution till at length Mahomet first and after him the Turk had seized the more part of the Christian world What should I speak of particular persons There is scarce any noted for notorious in bloody persecutions who is read to have died a dry death or not to have lived in horror of conscience or hardnesse of heart and blasphemy as we read of Herod of Pilate of Iulian c. I spare mention of those endlesse and unsufferable torments reserved for them against the life to come 2 Thes 1.5 Tribulation to them that trouble us for them is reserved the mist of darknesse for ever And do not marvell it For First They cost Christ dear even his own precious blood 1 Corinthians 6.20 1 Peter 1.19 Secondly They were nearly knit to Christ so near as members one to another as the body to the head Ephes 1.22 Ephes 5.30 and by compassion he is tortured when they are tormented Thirdly The malice bent toward Christians in respect of Christianity is bent indeed against Christ himself the head of Christians and certainly they who desire to root Christians out of the earth would if they could pluck Christ out of heaven In a word The cause they suffer for is Christs no marvell if he so tenderly take the shedding of their blood which for his sake they spill For thy sake are we killed Amongst many presages of some great evill coming towards us as First The death of so many Righteous Secondly The ripenesse of sinne Thirdly The unprofitablenesse of our smaller corrections Fourthly Our long Peace and which grows up with it our deadly security Fiftly The melting of our hearts as Rahab speaks Iosh 2. at the noise or rumour of the approaching enemy c. Give me leave to minde you of this as one A principall meritorious cause of all the wrath that hangs over our heads You may call to minde the Tempora Mariana The dayes of Queen Mary How much precious blood of Saints was spilt as water upon the ground which yet was never perhaps expiated by any wrath of God or by any solemn humiliation of the people Lest any say These dayes are past and gone and we have since had gracious Princes who have been Nursing-Fathers Nursing-Mothers to the Church as was King JAMES and Queen ELIZABETH both of most blessed memory It is true but so had Ierusalem after Manasseh Iosiah that peerlesse King of Iudah there was none like him before or after yet God remembred the sinne of Manasseh and therefore sent Nebuchadnezzar a wicked Idolater to carry them away captive Oh that we could think of it and lay to heart this amongst all our other sinnes Blood defiles the land the blood of Innocents the blood of Martyrs is precious in Gods eyes we must by our sm●rt know the price of it Oh sirs that amongst all our other sinnes this might be matter of our humiliation peradventure yet the Lord would return and have mercy upon us I confesse we have many sinnes of our own personall committing but this sinne of our fathers how do we not tremble at If that be it that the sonne smarts not for the father except he resemble in the fathers sinne True indeed in eternall not so in temporall judgements that made Daniel confesse the sinne● of his fathers Dan. 9. and the Lord threaten to visit the sinnes of the fathers upon the children Exod. 20. It serves me thinks for caution to all the brood of Cain amongst us whose hands indeed are restrained but hearts boyl with malice against Gods people for Christianity-sake And I am perswaded there are amongst us who if times would serve for it would

afflictions work upon gracious dispositions even to the disturbance of the tranquillity of the soul It is little Paul saith Heb. 12.11 no affliction joyous therefore addes it is grievous Psal 42.5 11. and 43.5 we read of dejecting the soul of tumults in his soul Psal 6.3 of vexation and Psal 38.8 he roared for the very disquietnesse of his heart And you may observe the same to issue out of foure causes usually First Violent Passions whether grief or fear or wrath c. when they grow immoderate towards violent what a cumbustion fill they the whole man withall Iam. 4.1 See envious grief and desire of revenge in Haeman what disquiet it worketh Hest 5.13 and 6.12 So Ahabs covetousnesse 1 Kings 21.4 Secondly Conflict First Twixt sanctified reason and appetite when reason perswades one way affection draws another and each strives for victory Secondly Twixt rectified conscience and affection when affection would carry to evill and conscience would restrain from evill Thirdly Twixt corruption and grace Rom. 7.23 the law of the members rebelling against the law of the minde Thirdly Guiltinesse as Psal 32. and 38. and 51. This is piercing above measure Psal 38.3 4. I mean when either new sinnes are unrepented of and for which we have not yet received assurance of pardon into the conscience c. or when the Lord presents to the soul old sinnes without manifestation of favour in the pardon of them as Iob 13.26 Who can expresse the terrour of that unrest the soul is then possessed withall Fourthly Apprehension whether true or fained it matters not to the disquiet of the soul It was a false apprehension of Iob 13.24 that God counted him as an enemy he meant his good as his triall his humiliation his justifying against all the slanderous imputations of Satan Yet how perplexed is that holy soul False that of David that God had * Psal 77.8 9. forgotten to be gracious or had shut up his loving kindnesse in displeasure yet is he troubled overwhelmed breaks sleep yea is astonished Psal 77.3 4. But is the apprehension true then no marvell if the soul can finde no rest It was true that God had taken from him the joy of his salvation Psal 51. inhibited lively operation of his sanctifyng spirit Psal 32 c. Here if he roar for the disquietnesse of his heart who marvells Who I mean that ever tasted how gracious the Lord is Vse 1 Take heed how ye censure lest ye mis-censure those to whom these things betide What if through passion or conflict or consciousnesse of evill or apprehension of wrath they finde for present happily no rest in their souls What when through sinfull infirmity they bewray impatience murmuring c. Therefore are they none of Gods Et quidni Davidem Jobum Jeremiam quicquid sol unquam vidit renatissimum ex renatorum albo expungimus Then condemn we the whole generation of the just Pity compassionate comfort such perplexities for either thou mayest in like sort be * Gal. 6.1 tempted thou art yet in the * Heb. 13.3 body Hodie mihi cras tibi and God is often moved to * Pro. 24.18 turn his hand from them to thee that he may teach thee more compassion and Iobs friends for this fault are sharply rebuked Iob 38.2 and sacrifices expiatory for that sinne prescribed Iob 42.7 8. Flatter not thy self by mis-understanding the Vse 2 promise as if without interruptions the performance were intended Mercy and peace shall be upon them that walk after the rule Gal. 6.16 But think you without interruption Where is that promise Hath not God reserved to himself power to chasten to try to prevent c. Though favour be not lost yet sense is often interrupted and though God never hate Ioh. 13.1 yet is oft angry with his dearest servants c. Beware how we provoke the Lord to remove Vse 3 from us this blessednesse of our soul or through our own indiscretion interrupt or disturb the rest of our souls the happinesse of a Christian upon earth stands in it Occasions of the souls disquietnesse I will minde you of the occasions how Gods own servants have fallen into it First Giving liberty to their reason to exact Gods justice and to quarrell the unequall distribution of the good things of this life see Psal 37. and 73. Ier. 12. Hab. 1.13 c. Thus curb it First He is an absolute Lord Matth. 20. Secondly Yeeld that there must be difference betwixt him that serveth God and him that serveth him not Must this difference needs be in outward things Eccles 9.1 Sufficeth it not that we have our preferment in spirituall blessings Ephes 1.3 And is he bound presently to manifest it see Mal. 3.18 Secondly Our over-prizing some speciall blessings and too much contentment found in them I finde many have faulted in that kinde Abraham in Ishmael Iacob in Ioseph David in Absalon None but God hath chastened read the stories Thirdly But above all beware of presumptuous sins sins against conscience committed out of perswasion of the graciousnesse and mercy of God Doth thy experience of Gods favour the pledges of his love encourage thee to evill Trust me no more if thou loose not till thy repentance renewed that former fervour thou hast tasted in his grace and so pierce thy selfe thorow with perplexed sorrows see David Psal 51. And so is the Effect of Davids Pressures Follows now the check David gives his soul for such causlesse disquiet Return unto thy rest O my soul Enjoy thy old tranquillity solace thy self in God so doth grace check its own passions the storm of violence once overblown especially for what disturbance riseth from outward pressures see Psal 42.5 ●1 and Psal 43.5 and Psa 77.10 It is mine infirmity and Psal 73.22 he be-fools be-sots be-beasts himself for it What a fool What an ignaro What a beast am I to be thus vexed and disquieted for what Gods provident hand disposeth And weigh it well ye shall see reasons enough of controuling our selves in this behalfe that we suffer either passion or mis-apprehension to rob us of so great a benefit as is the quiet of the soul First Where have we learnt to equall to over-value any outward blessing to the peace of the soul which passeth all understanding Phil. 4.7 Secondly Where to advantage the devill against us to work upon our passions till perhaps we be swallowed up of sorrow 2 Cor. 7 11. We are not ignorant saith Paul of Satans wiles Thirdly Is it just with God to afflict us Have we sinned against him Why then do we not willingly bear his wrath Mic. 7.9 Fourthly Have we forgotten the consolation that God offers himself unto us as unto children Heb. 12.5 His promise that he will do us good for this evill 2 Sam. 16. and in the issue make us partakers of the quiet fruit of righteousnesse Heb. 12.11 Bear we not our selves in these unavoidable passions which

X XI I was greatly afflicted I said in my haste All men are lyars 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 annexed This Passage is here brought in by way of Prolepsis or of Anticipation as if he had said Yet conceive me not as vaunting of such perfection of faith in these afflictions as if I had not so much as conflicted with infidelity For I must confesse I found more then wavering in the exercise of faith I said All men are lyars The words then tend to mitigate what he said of the strength of faith and in summe are a confession of the defects he found in the exercise of faith wherein considerable are First The sin I said All are lyars Secondly The cause or mean-accidentall of his sinne Sore affliction Thirdly The next occasion of it His hasty and unadvised passion Sense Affliction we call all those pressures outward or inward which commonly come under the tearm of Malum poenae which deprive us of those things that are good to sense Their lightnesse or greatnesse is commonly measured by the good they deprive us of in state in fame in person or dignity c. or by the measure and degree wherein they strike us in either or else by our esteem and apprehension of the good they deprive us of and they are commonly greater or lesse in our sense according to the price or esteem we set upon the good thing whereof they strip us Let a worldling be touched in his goods it grieves him more then if he be robbed of name of health of children Touch a parent in the dearling that is a great affliction In a word mostly they are lighter or greater according to our apprehension though they have in them a reall lightnesse or gravity according to the kinde or degree of impression such Davids here I said in my haste Some render In praecipitantia some In ecstasi he means in the haste and violence of his passion before he had thorowly deliberated on what he should say or think as Psal 31.22 All men are lyars Is that a fault Is there not truth in the assertion Rom. 3.4 Answ It is true all men are lyars Comparative ad Deum Shall man compared with God be righteous Mans righteousnesse is more then menstruous in that comparison his truth in respect of Gods is meer falshood and lying as there is none good but God onely namely originally and essentially so none is true but God in like sense yet as Barnabas was a * Act. 11.24 good man by participation so are men all that are sanctified so truth we partake from God in our renovation this being part of the Image of God Take man in his naturall inclinations so he is a lyar a murderer what not Yet take him as regenerate and sanctified so he hates lying and speaks * Psal 15.2 truth that is in his heart But last of all ye must understand there are some men that in some things are privileged from lying speaking by an infallible Spirit as Prophets and Apostles in all they spake and wrote as instruments or Scriveners of the holy Ghost so were they privileged from lying * Psal 45.1 My tongue the pen of a ready writer They spake as inspired by the holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 so they could not erre or lie in any thing they delivered to the Church or to any person they spake unto as from God Now this was Davids sinne that in the generallity he wrapt in Samuel also who had spoken unto him in the Name of the Lord and assured him of succeeding Saul in the kingdome of Israel and of stablishing his throne over that kingdome and this is the fault David confesseth here of himself Lo here then to what exigents and extremities of distemper Gods great servants are brought through great afflictions to doubt to question yea in passion to deny the truth of God and his fidelity conferre that Psal 89.19.37.38 c. To like end tend the whole 37. and 73. Psalmes though in part on another ground How violent impressions afflictions have had in men most renowned Iob Ieremie Peter many other servants of God Scripture histories abundantly teach you Reasons if you shall ask me I can give none better then these First Nature is fertile of all sinnes no sinne nor degree of sinne may seem strange to us in any man so farre as he is naturall not blasphemy not Atheisme not infidelity let it therefore prevail above grace as oft it * Rom. 7.23 doth the best men will shew what they are by nature Secondly Next is divine desertion Gods leaving man to himself as oft in particulars he doth so he did Hezekiah 2 Chron. 32.31 whereof if ye shall ask reasons take these First To humble us Secondly To make us hold fast by God Thirdly To teach us compassion Luke 22.32 Thirdly What should I tell you of the Devills suggestions which as we seldome want so least under heavie afflictions see Iob 2.4 5. Marry if you enquire of the occasions I can shew you many First Overconfidence of our own strength by which occasion David confesseth his great trouble fell Psal 30. and by this reason fell Peter Matth. 26. Secondly Next if not ignorance for so farre I am loath to charge so great Saints yet inconsideration First Of the manner of convaying promises whether temporall or spirituall or eternall which are not absolute but conditionall yea even in spiritualls tied to means and with reservation of power to the promiser to chasten try manifest grace c. Secondly Of the strange means by which God brings his purposes to passe even by such oft-times which seem to overthrow the promise and to crosse the performance of it as when David hath promise of the kingdom what lesse appears then a kingdome in the whole course of David so many perills he was plunged into Thirdly You may observe to be giving leave to reason to oversway in decision of things which are but meerly upon faith and power of the promiser so Sarah and Zacharie fell upon their fidelity she laughing at the promise he doubting because he saw all in nature against it Vse 1 It is a Rule we give that no man may withdraw himself from any crosse or affliction God shall call him to suffer see Heb. 10.38 Yet secondly from this ground let no man throw himself into unnecessary affliction much lesse wish or pray for it For knowest thou what thy issues shall be I mean when thou goest out of thy wayes and headlongest thy self into such temptations Have you forgotten Saint Peters issue upon that occasion Who bad or warranted him to enter the high Priests hall there to hazard himself to death see 1 Cor. 10.12 Look you there is difference twixt a great affliction imposed by God and little crosse drawn upon our selves Be it never so grievous when God imposeth it rest assured he will strengthen 1 Cor. 10.13 but when we put it upon our selves then fear God surely punisheth

* Matth. 5.20 Pharisees had yet must there be a righteousnesse greater to bring thee to God Suppose thou hadst * Matth. 7.22.23 Prophecy yet mayest thou be dismissed with ne scio vos I never knew you Suppose all those excellent endowments Heb. 6. without the knowledge of Gods mercy to thee in Christ What doth all this adde to thee except an aggravation to thy damnation Lord methinks therefore that I might enamore you of love towards this mercy of God in Christ Jesus and prevaile with you aright to esteeme it Saint Paul when he comes to speak of it never * 1 Cor. 2.9 satisfies himself in it desires to know nothing but Christ and him Crucified accounts all but Dung and * Psal 3.8 Drosse in comparison and again Eph. 3.19 it passeth knowledge This being enamord on it is if not an evidence of our sharing in it yet a step towards it Before ever we shall come to know the price of it Three things must be removed out of our hearts which are naturall to most men to all men one or other First Ignorance of our misery in Nature without Christ my meaning is That we either know not or consider not what punishment our sins have deserved or how strict the justice of God is against them For remedy whereof I would prescribe First Diligent examination of our lives by the Law of God Lord how many fowle sins should the greatest Civilian in the world then perceive in himself Secondly The punishments threatned therein Gods * Deut. 28. Gal. 3.10 curse in body in soul in this life in the life to come Thirdly The exemplification of the curse and the execution upon the breakers of it extraordinary upon other men tainted with our vices insomuch that there is no grosse violation of any Law of God but we have seen exemplified on others might see them in our selves Fourthly The strictnesse of Gods justice which without satisfaction which indeed is satisfaction every way equivalent to the violation of Justice accepts none to mercy And this methinks should teach us how to esteem of Christ A second cause is Opinion of our owne possibility to make satisfaction to Gods justice wherewith the whole world of Pagans furnish them with Presidents thence grew sacrificings of Pagans of Sonnes and Daughters thence all those whippings c. in the Church of Rome thereby to satisfie the justice and wrath of God due to Sins the same point For Remedy let us see whether according to Reason or Scripture we can possible make amends for sinnes of our souls First The Majesty violated is Infinite Secondly What give we more then * 1 Chro. 29.14 God hath given us Thirdly What indebitum as Papists themselves confesse it must be Luk. 17.10 Fourthly What perfectum which is the point so that if God should enter into Judgement with us we had not need to pray for mercy in acceptance rather then dream of making him satisfaction Fifthly Who can tell how * Psal 19.12 oft he offendeth our Good-works for the matter of them are easily numbred our sinnes are past number that this we must let alone for ever thought of satisfying Gods justice without a Mediatour A third cause That we never yet were sensibly arraigned in our Consciences for our sinnes nor for misery in Nature nor disability to make amends for sinnes of our souls by own strength naturall or gracious thence is it that we know not aright to price the mercy of God to us in Jesus Christ Beloved Christians To sin is common to feel burthen of sinne is if not a speciall yet a rare benefit that though I say not Reprobates may feel it and so heavy that it presseth them to Hell as Cain and Iudas yet surely it is rare amongst the people of God so that I begin to be of opinion that those graces common to us with some Castawayes grow marvellous rare amongst the people of God Judge of it by these evidences First The ventrousnesse of some men into grossest sinnes for profit pleasure or honours sake Secondly The little or no griefe they worke when they are committed Thirdly The lesse care of making peace with God by Jesus Christ the * Heb. 10. ●● trampling of his Grace and mercy under our feet Fourthly That common abuse of it in the vulgar as if they thought his death had purchased an indulgence rather then a pardon for sin But oh that we could learn to prize it aright How might we hope it should stil continue amongst us but as the base esteem of it amongst Jews remooved it to Gentiles so è contrà may the base esteem thereof amongst the Gentiles remoove it back again to the Jews see Rom. 11.24 Consider what I say and the Lord give you a right understanding in all things VERSE II. And the trueth of the Lord endureth for ever praise ye the Lord. THere be Three sorts of Trueth First Metaphysicall whereby things are truely what they seem or are conceived or have the Trueth and Reality of that Essence which is conceived of them so God is the Living and * 1 Thes 1. ● true God And Idols false gods see 1 Cor. 8.4 Secondly A Logicall Trueth which is the conformity of the conceptions of the minde with the things as they are and of the words wherein those things are enunciated see Rom. 3.3 4. so God is true truely conceiving and enunciating things as they are Thirdly Ethicall Truth the congruence of all our words with the things and our conceptions and of our facts with our intentions and pretenses So here principally understand David signifies First That the Lord truely and according to the very trueth of things avoucheth whatsoever he avoucheth and that without all doubling Secondly Promissory which commonly we call the faithfulnesse of God and it stands in two things First The Concord of his Intention with his Promise Secondly The answerablenesse of the fact to the promise infallible and hereof speaks the Prophet And it is said To last for ever because to eternity and without alteration he is faithfull and true and unalterably in all times makes good whatsoever he hath promised If any shall say that after this life when all promises are performed there is no use of such Fidelity Answ Distinguish the vertue from the exercise Secondly To all eternity there is use of Gods fidelity for that his Saints Continue in their blessednesse is by vertue of his promise and fidelity wherefore Divines also have said There is some kinde of faith that lasts in heaven which they call fidem dependentiae Thus farre of explication Now that God is thus true and faithfull in performing all his purposes and promises according to his own intention Scriptures are plentifull see Deut. 7.9 Dan. 9.4 not a word goes out of his mouth but is exactly performed see Iosh 21.45 and 23.14 2 Chron. 6.14 15. 2 King 10.10 Circumstances exactly kept conferre Gen. 15.13 and Exod.