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A93242 Judgement and mercy: or, The plague of frogges [brace] inflicted, removed. Delivered in nine sermons, by the late reverend and learned divine Mr. Iosias Shute, Arch-deacon of Colchester, and preacher at St. Mary Woolnoth, in London: with his usuall prayers before and after sermon. Whereunto is added a sermon preached at his funerall, by Mr. Ephraim Vdall. Imprimatur. Ja. Cranford. Octob. 29. 1644. Shute, Josias, 1588-1643.; Udall, Ephraim, d. 1647. Sermon preached at the funerall of Mr. Shute. 1645 (1645) Wing S3715; Thomason E299_1; Thomason E299_2; ESTC R200245 134,491 230

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behold this blessed light that shines to us much more unworthy to enjoy these conveniences and opportunities of meeting in thy house to know the way and means to a better life But most worthy of all thy plagues to be powred down upon us both in this life and that which is to come For besides that originall corruption wherein wee were borne and conceived and which like a leprosie hath over spread all the powers faculties both of soul and body we have heaped up a numberles number of actuall transgressions There is not any of thy holy Commandements but in thought word and deed most grievously and frequently we have violated And which advanceth our iniquity and heightens our rebellion these evills have not only escaped us in the times of ignorance but even since it hath pleased thee to inlighten us with the knowledge of thy truth so that notwithstanding thy mercies thy judgements the motions of thy good Spirit the blessed light of thy Gospell afforded to us we have continued the course of our rebellion against thee yea that we may be yet more vile in thy presence even at this time when we come before thee we are clogged with so many imperfections that if thou shouldest be extreame to marke what is done amisse how mightest thou plague us in our bodies in our goods in our good names how mightest thou fill us with the fury of an unpacified conscience and write bitter things against us and a wounded spirit who can beare How mightest thou give us up to a reprobate sence to commit sinne with greedinesse and punish one evill with another and after all this cast us into that place of torment to sucke out the dregs of thy vialls O God in all this thou shouldest be justified and clear when thou are judged and we deservedly punished Our sinnes our sinnes O Lord call to heaven for vengeance the pit is ready to shut her mouth upon us if thou wert not the Lord of mercies But thou hast opened a way for poore distressed sinners to come to thee through thy Son We flye to the horns of the Altar and intreat thee for Jesus Christ sake to be mercifull to us And thou sweet Saviour of the world whose name imports mercy and whose worke brought salvation for the sons of men thou knowest that we are but flesh and remembrest that we are but dust Thou that art a High Priest touched with our infirmities that knowest the power strength of old Adam how it leads us captive to sin and wickednes stand between us the wrath of thy offended Father mediate our cause with thy Father that all our iniquities may be done away by thy sufferings that we may ever finde to our comfort that though we have done ill we have an advocate with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous And doe thou dear Father every day more and more assure and perswade our souls that thou art reconciled to us in thy Son by sending his Spirit into our hearts to renue us to that glorious Image of thine from whence wee are fallen and which may enable us to performe every good duty that as heretofore we have given our bodies and soules to be weapons of unrighteousnesse so in every part and power of them we may glorifie thee our God and Saviour and as much time as remains in the flesh worke out our salvation with feare and trembling And be cause thou of thine infinite wisdome hast set apart the Ministery of thy Word for this purpose good Lord blesse it to us at all times and at this time Enable me that am to speake the most unworthy of all the sons of Levi Lord cover all my sins and manifold imperfections in that mercy of thine that hath no measure and be pleased so to assist me by thy more particular helpe that I may deliver thy word boldly truly feelingly and sincerely Circumcise the hearts and eares of this thy people that they may heare attentively treasure it up in their hearts carefully and bring it forth in their lives and conversations conscionably to thy glory and assurance of their owne salvation in the day of Jesus Christ to whom with thee O Father and thy blessed Spirit be ascribed as is most due all honour and glory both now and for evermore Prayer after Sermon VVEE returne unto thy Majesty O Lord our God most humble and hearty thankes for all thy mercies most plentifully bestowed upon us as election creation redemption preservation vocation for the time and means thou hast given us of repentance whereas thou mightest have took us away in the middest of our sins O God what are we or what is our fathers house that thou shouldest bee thus mercifull to us to prevent and to follow us with thy kindnesse we are lesse then the least of thy mercies yet suffer us to take the cup of salvation and to praise thy Name accept of our poor acknowledgement adde one mercy more deare God to the common heap grant that we may expresse our thankfulnesse in a godly care of all holy obedience Blesse that part of thy word that we have heard delivered at this time Good Lord make it effectuall to our souls to salvation grant that it may bring forth fruit in some twenty in some thirty in some sixty in some a hundred fold though in some more and in some lesse yet in all some to the henour of thy Name Blesse with us thy whole Church wheresoever dispersed or howsoever distressed on the face of the earth and prosper O God the cause of the same where ever it is maintained in all the world as may be for the confounding of the Kingdom of Sin and antichrist and for the encouragement of all such as professe thy Gospel in sincerity Blesse us in these Kingdomes continue to us our liberty forgive our crying sinnes turne away thy judgements open our eyes at last to see the day of our visitation Blesse thy servant our Sovereigne Charles by thy Grace King of England Scotland France and Ireland in all causes and over all persons as well Ecclesiasticall as Civill next and immediately under thy Son supreme governour Blesse the Queens most excellent Majesty Prince Charles the Princesse Palatine and her issue The Lords of his Majesties most honourable Privy Councell The whole Nobility Blesse thine owne inheritance the Tribe of Levi by what names or titles soever they be called And for a supply of Davids Towers with Worthies blesse all Schooles of Learning the two Vniversities of this Land Cambridge and Oxford Blesse all Congregations this committed to my charge Remember all that are in affliction in mercy whether outwardly in body or inwardly in minde or for the testimony of a good conscience Lord draw neare to every of them according to their desires Receive us Deare God and all ours and all thine into thy love and favour and protection therest of this day and for ever Let thy holy hand protect us let thy blessed
his power to mischiefe to plague Gods people so as he provoked God to plague all Egypt And my observation shall be this Multitudes are punished oft-times for one mans sinne The borders of Egypt all of them all the places and inhabitants were plagued for Pharaohs offence Examples in Scripture are frequent to prove this Abimelech was the faulter the party that faulted and behold all the wombes in Abimelechs family were shut up Gen. 20. So in Ios 7. Ay was besieged and some were to goe up against it but some of the men come out of Ay and slay 36 of the Isralites It troubled Ioshua and the Elders and they fall downe before the Lord and he satisfies them presently There is an accursed thing among you seeke it out or else you shall not prevaile So there was one Athan that had stollen a Babylonish garment and a wedge of gold Saith Salvianus One mans sinne was many mens misery Saul was the man that sinned against the poore Gibionites you see how all Israel was plagued with three yeares famine 2 Sam. 21. So we finde David whether out of curiosity or vain-glory he would needs number the people yet seventy thousand were slaine by the pestilence 2 Sam. 24. Ionah was the man that faulted and all the ship and the people in the ship were in danger and he himselfe ingeniously confessed that it was for his sake that the storme came and that they should prosper and doe well if they were disburthened of him Therefore the heathen could say the whole City must suffer for one mans ill And another of them observed of the Greeks unius obnoxa furia c. one mans wickednesse is all mens trouble Now will some man say if it may be lawfull to aske the question what justice is there in this that one man should sinne and other folke be punished will not this justifie the cavill of the old Atheists That one man was sicke and another tooke the physicke Doth not God say in Ezekiel The soule that sinneth shall dye and would he not have that cursed proverb suppressed The fathers have eaten soure grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge And doth not St. Paul say Gal. 6 Every man shall beare his owne burthen Why then if Pharaoh sinne let Pharaoh alone be punished why should God smite all the borders of Egypt David said when he saw the Angell forrage the whole Army and the people What have these sheep done 2 Sam. 24. Now for the answer to this there must be one ground necessarily laid in the first place and that is this That however things appeare to us God neither is nor can be unjust as in nothing else so not in punishing God forbid that the judge of all the world should be unjust Gen 18.25 Is God unrighteous Rom. 3.5 when he executes vengeance It is true the wayes of God are far beyond out apprehension beyond the possibility of our attaining we may as well empty the Ocean into a cockle shell The righteousnesse of God is a high mountaine the judgements of God is a great deep Psal 36. The well is deepe and wee have not wherewith to draw Ioh. 4. But this is ever certaine though we doe not alway see the reason there is a reason that we cannot see That God is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his works Psal 145.17 That is the ground that I lay in generall More particularly now for the answer some will say That a King and his People make but one person or one body therefore it is free for God since Pharaoh sinned to plague all Egypt since they were his dominion and people it was free for him for a paine in the head to open a veine in the arme As men take liberty when the hand is faulty to put the feet in the stockes But this comes not home sufficiently though it may hold in regard of Pharaoh and his people making one body or in regard of a Master and his family that make but one body or of a Father and his childe because as Aquinas saith The childe is part of the parent But how doth it hold when men are in the same ranke and condition and multitudes of them are punished for one mans sin Therefore to salve it fully know that there is a double impulsive cause of punishment First that that is called pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secondly pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not to perplex you with the nycities of the Schooles thesetwo causes differ thus as the cause and the occasion To put an instance A man that hath fed full a long time comes to have a pletory fulnesse of crude and raw humours in his stomach It falls out that this party riding after in the wet taking cold he begins to shiver and shake and after he falls into a durable lasting Feaver If the Physitian be a wise and understanding man aske him what was the proper cause of this sicknesse and he will tell you the inward ill humours of the body and the abounding of them yet it is like enough that it had not turned to a Feaver so soone if he had not tooke cold of his feet or beene some way troubled in his journey So when God brings punishment upon people the proper cause is in every mans selfe There are personall sins inevery man to make him obnoxious to the curse of God yet may the sinnes of the father or parent or neighbour be the occasion that God will punish sin So that we say the personall sinnes of men are the primary internall antecedent dispositive cause of Gods judgements but the sinnes of other men they may bee the externall irritating exitating cause of Gods judgements for these are the tearmes of the Schoole-men And this helpes to salve that great question Why the children are punished for the fathers sinnes For God in just judgement oft-times gives up the chile to follow the steps of the father There is something in nature for especially those sinnes that are sensuall that symbolize with the predominant humour in the body may prove oft as diseases in the body hereditary Secondly sometimes example that workes much vitius corrumpunt vitia c. examples that are so neare us often corrupt sooner and taint deeper Sometime education may helpe the father may instruct his childe in Idolatry in the rudiments of covetousnesse and the like So many beggars bring up their children to idlenesse and theeving But suppose the childe be free from the fathers iniquity which hee hath committed yet he hath sinnes enow of his owne that may justly cause the wrath of God towards him yet it may be when he shall be punished in such a time in such a measure and manner and other circumstances the sinnes of the father may be the occasion of the childs punishment the remembrance of that may cause God to punish him at that time and with those circumstances Now for the use of this to our selves
end of all our doings wee confirme the seale of our ministery Thirdly we are instruments of doing the greatest good in the world of converting of soules Lastly we procure to our selves the hope of eternall glory for those that turne others shall shine Therefore give us leave to say as John saith We have no greater joy then to see our Children walke in the truth And to say as Paul saith Yee are our crowne and our glory and our joy Therefore in the name of God even for his sake and for your owne soules sake and for the comfort of those that are imployed among you and that take paines in the word and doctrine doe not make the hearts of Gods messengers sad Give them not cause with Jeremiah to desire to lodg in a garden of Cowcumbers to wish that they had never seene your faces because of your improfitablenesse But commend their labours to God by your fruitfulnesse and carry your selves so that they may give account with joy and not with sorrow so much for that Now for the words Glory over me when shall I pray The words in the originall Behoth pergnali glorifie thy selfe upon me expositors are very various in laying out the meaning of these words Glory over me Shall wee take it in this sense as if it were an ejaculation of Moses or a kind of exclamation of this man O the glory that God hath put upon me here is glory upon mee indeed that this great King this proud Tyrant should sue to me and intreat hee that poured contempt upon mee before and for my sake vexed the people of God the more that now hee should intreat O what an honour and glory is over me Surely beloved Peter speaks of a spirit of glory resting on Gods Children and it shines in this that the very wicked sometimes petition to the godly Remember the instances I gave the last day What an honour was it to Isaac to bee sought unto by the Philistins that hated him before What an honour was it to Joseph that all his brethrens sheafes should bow to his according to the presage of his dreame and that he must nourish them that maliced him What an honour was it to David that Saul should desire his favour when he had him in the cave and gave a pregnant instance of his loyaltie What an honour was it to the Prophet that Jeroboam should sue to him to restore his arme And to Job that his friends that were so deeply uncharitable in censuring him must be beholding to him for his intercession Surely whensoever Gods people take knowledg in it they are bound to magnifie God for this great favour But the words will not indure this sense for both the Conjugation and the Mood wherein they are used will not admit it Therefore wee must seeke another sense Glory over me Reverend Calvin takes them by way of Antithesis in this manner as if he should say Thou hast little reason to glory in the Magitians they abuse thee with showes but now it comes to the removall of the plague they cannot helpe thee I make no question but thou hast found how waine they are Glory over me that is in my help for I am able if thou wilt heare the motion that I make I will remove this from thee The Wicked are no securitie to a man the godly must help Well may they be fuell to the fire but never able to quench the flame Hee were a mad man that to secure himselfe from the Fire would pile a many Billets betweene him and the flame such are the wicked No in the day of trouble and vexation one Moses to stand in the gap is worth a thousand of others Ten men in Sodome would have saved those Cities from that conflagration Nay Lot bayled them all the time hee was in it One man should save a Citie One Micaiah is worth foure hundred false prophets There is a third sense that is commonly hearkned unto and I listen to it Glory over me That is take thou the glory of appointing the time when I shall pray Though it be true that I that thou suest to to remove the plague should have my owne time yet take thou the glory to appoint the time and I will doe it That I take to be the full sense and meaning of the phrase Now it will be demanded why Moses did gratifie Pharaoh thus farre that he should appoint the time when the judgement of God should be removed why he was so favourable in this particular divers reasons may be given of it and each of them will yeeld an observation First Moses well weighed that Pharaoh might have a conceite having heard that Moses was learned in all the learning of the Egyptians that he might work by constellations and other Astrologicall practises hee might take advantage of the position and aspects of the planets and presently doe it and so gull Pharaoh with naturall causes and make him beleeve it was a supernaturall miracle Because Moses conceived this might be in Pharaohs imagination hee gives him leave to prescribe his owne time This hath ever been the care of Gods people and instruments for the greater glory of God ever to doe their works after that manner that they might bee free from exception That it might not be imputed to naturall causes but that the vertue and power of God supernaturally might ever be acknowledged Marke it in some instances When Eliah was to confound the Priests of Baal hee caused the sacrifice to bee put upon the Altar hee caused the wood to be layed and when he had done he caused foure barrells of water to be cast upon the wood and the sacrifice the first second and third time and when he had done hee caused a great trench or ditch about to bee filled with water All these things served to make it improbable that ever fire should come to consume it unlesse it were brought by the hand of man hee did it on purpose that they might see the worke of God and so they acknowledged when the fire came to consume the wood and the sacrifice and to lick up all the water in the trench in so much that the people being absolutely satisfied cried out The Lord he is God the Lord he is God The like we see in the proceeding of Elisha with Naaman the Assyrian when Naaman came to be cured of his Leprosie Hee did not speak with him hee did not come out and lay his hand on the sore as Naaman expected why This might have lessened the glory of the Miracle hee would have imputed it to connaturall causes to some vertue or skill in him but when he sends him word Go and wash in such a place and never saw him nor spake to him he must needs acknowledg it to be a miracle The like wee see in the works of Christ in the Gospel how he freed them from all exception and just question in the world When he was to turne the
mayst know that there is none like the Lord. It shall appeare in the removall of this judgement thou shalt see all the Frogs confined to their proper element of water For the first the yeelding Be it according to thy word Some man may think it would have been more fit for Moses to expostulate then to yeeld to Pharaoh he might thus have said Dost thou request a courtesie at my hands and limit me my time surely if I doe the favour I will observe my own season Beggers must be no choosers if a man give freely all circumstances are left in his discretion to his owne libertie But to answer these people surely Moses had much disparaged himself if having once yeelded to Pharaoh the power of prescribing the time he should have eaten his word First it had been unworthy of Moses to have gone back Pharaoh might have replyed and said what inconstancy is this to give with one hand and to take away with the other thou either distrustest the cause or art diffident of the power of thy God that thou wouldest feare me with Secondly it would have appeared a great neglect in Moses of Pharaoh he had given libertie to Pharaoh to prescribe the time Princes are not to bee dallied with if he should have fallen off now and not have observed the time when Pharaoh had set it certainly he had provoked Pharaoh he had done wrong to the cause the usage of Pharaoh had been course and unworthy of so great a Majestie But to come to the observation it is this It hath ever been the manner of Gods people in all times fairely to intreat and easily to deale with and respectively to use and not to irritate others that have been of place and qualitie though they have been strangers to them both in judgment and affections In Gen. 4.7 saith God to Cain in the behalf of Abel his desire shall be to thee and thou shalt rule over him As if he should say if thou think that my acceptation of his sacrifice will puffe him up feare not that it shall not swell him so as that he shall forget that respect that is due to thee as the elder brother and the first borne God will provide that his desire shall be subject to his brother in all things that are lawfull and he shall rule over him as the Elder In Gen. 33.3 when Esau met Jacob he bowed seven times to the ground and in the course of his speech calls himself his servant which was not a vaine light complement but seriously spoken yet farre was it from betraying of his birthright as some have thought by giving that away but he did it shewing respect to him as hee was a great Prince for so was Esau at this time For the promise he knew should be performed to his posteritie the Idumeans served Israel from David to Joash 120. yeares but the Israelites served not the Idumeans he respected him though as a great Prince The like we see in the carriage of Moses towards Edom in Num. 20. when the Israelites passed through their country Moses sent a faire ambassage and desired a peaceable and free way and urgeth him by many arguments and moves it the second time when he found him so stiffe that he would not encline to the motion they turned another way so respective was he to that great man though he were averse in his affections So in David towards Saul when he hath him at a great advantage as may be there is not one unrespective word comes from him if hee have occasion to speake to him himselfe or to speak of him to others his words and carriage were ever loyall and faithfull and full of reverence How ever some people disfigured him to him certainly there was no passage of his life that had the least touch of disloyaltie to him He knew he was the Lords anointed and it was not a private injury that could wash off his dutie that he ought him as his Prince The like we see in our blessed Lord how respective he was in all his carriage towards those in authoritie how fairely he speaks in regard of Caesar as unwilling to infringe any right or priviledg of that Prince nay paying tribute that he need not because he would not give offence And how soon did Paul retract that word that he sent out hastily and sharply against Ananias God shall smite thee thou whited wall Act. 23. he ingenuously professed that he did not know him to bee the ruler of the people And Cyprian taking occasion to speak of that place saith he they were Sacerdotes c. men unworthy of the place that they held yet Paul was of that mind that the very shadow of that honour he would not neglect he would doe that that was due to the place they maintained As our blessed Saviour himself for all the priesthood was so depraved in his time he diminished none of the right and due of it but when he had healed the man he bid him goe away and shew himselfe to the Priest The use of it meets with such in these times that spie imperfections in the practises of men to dispense with themselves in the duties due to their places Moses could have so reasoned here Pharaoh was a wicked man and a persecutor of Gods people and Moses had a great commission himself but he loved not to irritate and provoke him and use him unbefitting a Magistrate no more should other men Let me tell you Religion and pietie eate not out good manners and Civilitie It is not the greatest zeale of a man against sinne that will beare him out in rude unmannerlinesse Even men that are wicked are to be used according to their place they maintaine if they be never so prophane if they have dignitie it must bee reverenced and their persons respected Moses kindly condescends to Pharaoh But some may say Did not Elisha the prophet forbid his man to salute any Therefore there is a time when men may let downe these actions of common courtesie Let not that be pretended The meaning is hee should make such expedition that he should not delay as men in complements for that would hinder the worke And although Saint John say that there are some men that we should not bid God speed It intimates onely an intimate familiaritie that is forbidden Or else secondly such salutations as carry approbation of the evill wayes that a man is found in But for common offices of humanitie and kindnesse they are not forbidden Christ would have his Apostles when they came to any place to salute the house If a man bee never so flagiciously wicked nay if he bee excommunicated which is the highest curse that can light on him for all that civill courtesies must not be denied Ambrose used Theodosius with all respect though he were excommunicated And he that is excommunicated is not more then a heathen but as a heathen and if so the heathen must be