the objects of his bounty and not only so but he doth it likewise to vex and afflict Gods children for when God shall open their eyes hee knowes it will grieve their spirits for sleighting Gods mercy as they have done therefore it is that he steps in then when God hath been most gracious to men and puts them on to commit sinne that thereby hee might draw black lines over the legible characters of Gods mercy Let me perswade you Vse that as yee bee sensible of Gods mercies so to watch over your selves upon the receit of them that yee may be thankfull for them the Saints of God have been carelesse this way notwithstanding God hath bestowed abundant favours upon them they have been wanting in payment of that tribute of prayse which God expected and deserved at their hands when God looked for sweet they have brought forth wilde and soure grapes like as it was with the Heathen of old who comming to the Temples of their gods to give thanks for their health went home drunk and as the Devill doth labour then to step in when God hath done men most good so above all times labour at that time to be most thankfull and obedient that God may have his glory and you a sweet relish of his mercy shall wee break thy Commandements How shall wee understand this break his Commandements how could it be otherwise doth any man live and not sinne and yet shall they for this be exposed to Gods judgements who knowes not but as long as we live in this world and spin out the thread of our life that we cannot but break Gods Commandements were we as faithfull as ever Abraham was yet wee could not but wee must bee guilty sometimes of breaking Gods Commandements and doth not Saint Iames say in many things we sinne all and what saith the Apostle Iohn he that saith hee hath no sinne is a lyar and there is no truth in him As it is in the Fable which was told the mother of Achilles that if she dipped her Son into such a River so farre as the water wet him so farre hee should bee invulnerable therefore she drencht him over head and eares and wet every part of him save onely the tip of his heele by which shee held him and in that part hee received his deaths wound So let a man be never so much sanctified be hee as holy as ever any Saint was I will not except the Virgin Mary yet as long as he dwels here below he will be guilty of breaking Gods Commandements how then must wee understand what Ezra saith when he saith shall we againe break thy Commandements His meaning is that if after so great mercy as God had vouchsafed them they should fall into grosse sinnes then God should be just in punishing them for though a man cannot shun peccata quotidiana sins of infirmity yet hee may refraine from committing foule and scandalous sinnes Luk. 1.6 In Luk. 1.6 it is said of Zachary and Elizabeth That they were righteous before God walking in all the Commandements and Ordinances of the Lord blamelesse and it is possible for a man to live sine scandalo without scandall though not sine querela without being guilty of lesser iniquities or secondly he may be understood thus though they bee sinnes which be lesse yet if men shall wilfully commit them it shall bee just with God to punish them for the same if they be of industry and not of infirmity if they be lesse then the first and yet shall be runne into against knowledge and conscience they shall for these be exposed to Gods judgements as well as for greater sins From the words thus opened note thus much in way of application Vse 1 In the first place let us deplore the misrerable corruption of our nature since our fall there is now a necessity of sinning waking sleeping solitary in company at home and in Gods Temple were it so that a man were living yet if hee were alwayes sick we would say it were a poore life what is it then to be alwayes prone to sinne yet this is our unhappinesse while we are cloathed with flesh have wee not cause then to be weary of this sinfull life and ought we not with Saint Paul to sigh while wee are burthened with this body of clay desiring to bee cloathed upon with immortality that mortality might be swallowed of life Is there not just cause for us to say with the same Apostle in the sorrow of our soules Cupio dissolvi esse cum Christo I desire to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ Vse 2 Secondly because Ezra would have them avoid foule sinnes in the name of God let our care bee to abandon such Which bee they Swearing whoredome oppression murder drunkennesse Sabbath breaking these doe vastare conscientiam wast the conscience and endanger the soule more then other sinnes a ship may live at Sea that hath a leake sprung if the Mariners bestirre themselves in pumping but when it is shot thorow and thorow by wind and water it is hardly kept from sinking So a man that sins of infirmity if he repent he shall obtaine pardon but the soule that sinnes wilfully is scarse kept from sinking Lastly hee would have them avoid smaller sinnes and so ought wee for a little sinne committed with purpose is greater in Gods account then a great sinne committed against a mans will as therefore a man should avoid great sinnes so also all lesser impieties the heart of man should bee against all sinne and he should have respect to all Gods Commandements that if hee chance to fall it may not bee presumptuously but by infirmity and then hee may expect mercy from God who knowes whereof wee are made and remembers that wee are but dust Shall we joyne in affinity with the people of these abominations It is an Hebraisme the Spirit of God cals them people of such abominations in stead of abominable people it is more to be called people of such abominations then abominable people thus when Antichrist is called the man of sinne it is more then if he were called a sinfull man Here I could observe how hatefull the Heathen and all their doings be unto God as also how odious all grosse sinners are in his pure eyes hee loathes and abhorres them in the Scripture yee shall finde if the godly be compared to gold they are termed drosse if the godly be compared to wheat the wicked to chaffe Nay the ungodly man is resembled to the dirt in the street which you know is filthy and noisome Again if the godly be termed sheep the wicked are called goates nay in our Text they be abominable As it was said of Naaman hee was an honourable man and a brave souldier but a leaper So wee may say of the wicked man be he never so rich and honourable if he be a grosse sinner hee is hatefull to God yea I will be bold to say hee
forbeare but breaks forth into lamentation and mourning which affords us this point of Doctrine Doctrin 1 Good men though they be at peace with God finde cause of sorrow for other mens sinnes yee shall see this proved in the Scripture the Spirit of God calls Lot a righteous man yet this righteous mans soule was vexed from day to day with the uncleane conversation of the Sodomites 2 Pet. 2.8 The like we see in Moses that good man 2 Pet. 2.8 doe yee not think that hee was strangely moved at the sinne of the people when he let fall and brake in pieces the two Tables of Stone in which God had written the Decalogue with his owne sacred finger Exod. 32.19 Exod. 32.19 It was so with the Prophet Samuel he mourned for the disobedience of Saul for which God rejected him from reigning over Israel 1 Sam. 15.35 1 Sam. 15.35 the like we see in David mine eyes saith he gush out rivers of teares because men keep not thy Law Psal 119.136 Psal 119.136 may some man say what were the sinnes of the world to David it is true they were none of his yet he thinks himselfe bound to grieve for them because he knew they were displeasing to his maker We see the same in good Ieremiah he wishes his head were waters and his eyes a fountaine of teares that he might weep day and night for the iniquities of his people who were all adulterers and an assembly of treacherous men Ier. 9.1.2 Ier. 13.17 Ier. 9.1.2 and in Ier. 13.17 He professes that his soul shall weep in secret for their pride and was it not so with thee O blessed Saviour thou didst mourn for the hardnesse of mens hearts Mark 3.5 Mark 3.5 and when thou camest to Hierusalem thou weptst over it saying if thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes Luk. 19.41 42. and the same spirit was in S. Paul Luk. 19.41.42 Philip. 3.18 Philip. 3.18 he tells them he had told them often and now speakes it weeping that there bee those among them who are enemies to the crosse of Christ thus yee see the point sufficiently proved Vse 1 It shall be to let us see the stupidity and sencelessenesse of the sonnes of Belial though they have most cause to weep and mourn yet they live in jollity and merriment and are meere strangers to all sadnesse Some of these stick not to say What hath any man to doe to weep for their sinnes and that by their impieties they trouble none but their own soules But I tell thee O wretch thou troublest not only thine own house and soule but thou troublest all Israel thou givest the Saints of God occasion to be pensive for that which makes thee jocant and glad and happy is it for thee that there be such as Noah Lot Samuel and David to mourn for thee for were it not that some did mourn for thy prophannesse thou shouldst not live againe to commit it did not some bewaile thy drunkennesse thou shouldst bee taken away with the pot at thy mouth did not some godly people grieve for thy filthy lust thou shouldst with Zimri and Cosbi be smitten dead flagrante crimine in the very act of uncleannesse but the servants of God pray and mourn fast and weep and all to avert judgements from thee who deservest little at their hands Vse 2 In the second place This may Answer a common Objection which is put to the Saints because they be sad and dumpish I would have you know that it is not holinesse which makes them sad but the prophannesse of the world is that for which they are so much dejected What need the child of God be sad who is in the love and favour of God thou that complainest against him for his sadnesse know that therfore he grieves with holy David because he is constrained to sojourne in Mesech Psal 120.5 and to dwell in the Tents of Kedar Psal 120.5 Vse 3 Lastly according to the practise of Ezra though we have made our peace with God let us mourn for the wickednesse of others every one knowes what cause there is for this iniquity having overspread this Land of ours from Dan to Beersheba from one corner of it to another and were these impieties modest it were not so much but they be impudent and have a Brazen front Religion is out of fashion and none are so esteemed as fashion-mongers they be your only men now in credit The case thus standing there is no way to prevent judgements which be imminent but by mourning and fasting Now that yee may bee perswaded to practise these so seasonable and necessary duties remember but these things First it is piety to mourn for the sins of others shall we hear and see God to bee dishonoured and not grieve for it piety cannot lodge in that breast where such an ill spirit inhabites a man will and ought to grieve when his friend is wronged Christ calls us his friends Ioh. 15.15 and hee is our best friend Iohn 15.15 therefore wee have abundant cause to mourn for the sinnes of wicked men whereby hee is much dishonoured and the Holy Spirit grieved Secondly pity requires this duty at our hands I read of Marcellus the Roman that entring a City which he had gained by composition after a long siege he burst forth into teares one that stood by him demanded why he wept saith he I cannot chuse but weep to see so many thousand led into captivity Shall a Heathen weep for the captivity of mens bodies and shall not Christians mourn for their sinnes which are enough to enthrall soules and bodies in Hell for evermore it should bee the griefe of our soules to see thousands and tenne thousands that will be damned Thirdly if we doe not mourne for other mens sinnes we make them our own that of the Father is most true peccatum quod non displicet tuum est that sinne is thine with which thou art not displeased and that yee may see I goe not without book in this look that place in 1 Cor. 5.6 there was one in the Church of Corinth that had committed that foule sinne of incest 1 Cor. 5.6 and the Corinthians were so farre from grieving for it as they ought to have done that they gloried in it S. Paul corrects them for it telling them that thereby they were become a sowre lump Lastly we should be moved to this duty by the blessing which attends it what saith our blessed Saviour Matth. 5.4 Matth. 5.4 Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted And in Ezek. 9.4 the Lord gives command to spare them in Hierusalem Ezek. 9.4 that did sigh and cry for the abominations done in the midst thereof The next way to escape judgement is to mourn for the sinnes of the Nation and though we should bee
encreases at other times it decreases so that it keeps at no stay but if wee shall therefore neglect to humble our soules and bodies in the presence of God we shall so incense him as to encrease this plague among us without measure but if we shall turn to him that smites us by unfained repentance and amendment of life hee will not only take this grievous sicknesse from us but hee will leave a blessing behinde him So much for the two generalls We now descend to the particulars as they were laid down Wee begin with the indictment preferred by Ezra against Israel in which is remembred Gods mercy and their rebellion Gods mercy is laid down in the thirteenth verse and that three wayes First he shewes that they were not punished without cause Secondly that God punished them lesse then they deserved Thirdly that he had totally delivered them First for the first particular in the gradation of Gods mercy thou our God hast punished us that is thou hast punished us deservedly Tyrants will and doe punish men without cause nay they desire to pick holes in mens coates that they may punish them but the Judge of all the world never proceeds to punish but when hee is provoked In that Ezra saith seeing that thou our God hast punished us take notice in the first place of this observation Doct. 3 Whatsoever is the instrument Isa 45.7 God is the Authour of the punishment This is proved in Isa 45.7 where the Lord saith I make peace and create evill I the Lord doe all these things so in Amos 3.6 Shall there be evill in a City Amos 3.6 and the Lord hath not done it yee must understand these places not of the evill of sinne but of punishment for Deus non author sed ultor peccati God is not the authour but revenger of sinne it was hee that opened the bottles of heaven and sent the deluge on the earths it was hee that rained that igneum imbrem shower of fire and brimstone from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah it was he that shut up the wombs in Abimelechs house and that plagued Egypt with those successions of plagues the Magicians could not or would not see digitum Dei the finger of God in them but had they not been blind they might have seen ambas manus his ten fingers in those tenne judgements which hee inflicted on them It was hee that offered David his choyce of three plagues and upon his choyce sent the pestilence and in 1 Cor. 11.32 S. Paul there labours to perswade the Corinthians 1 Cor. â—â— â—â— that God chastened them Psal â—9 9 and David saith Psal 39.9 I was dumb and opened not my mouth because thou didst it mistake mee not I know that sometimes God makes use of instruments for the execution of his wrath hee made use of the earth to swallow up Corah Dathan and Abiram he made use of the water to drown Pharaoh and his Host hee made use of the fire to slay the Captaines and their fifties which came to apprehend Eliah he made use of a Lyon to kill the disobedient Prophet and of Beares to destroy two and fourty children that called Elisha bald-pate and he used Serpents to sting to death the rebellious Israelites but the primus motor the chiefe efficient is God who is the Lord of Hosts and hath all creatures at his beck Ioseph was not ignorant that his brethren had a hand in selling of him into Egypt yet he tels them that God had sent him thither and Iob knew well enough that the Sabeans and Caldeans had taken away his goods yet he saith The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away and blessed be the name of the Lord though men were the instruments yet he knew God to be Authour of what he suffered Vse 1 This may informe us what is the ground of all the impatience in the world there be a number which repine and murmure when Gods hand is upon them what is the reason they stick in the second causes and look so much on the lower links of the chaine that they forget him that hath the top of it in his hand one complaines of his brother another of the ayre hee lives in a third of the meat he eates and hence it is that they repine whereas if a man looked up to God in what he suffers he would say as Eli It is the Lord let him doe what hee will and with Iob The Lord gives and takes and blessed bee his Name Nay if a man would doe this it would not only make him patient but to profit by his affliction for no man sees himself so clearly and truly as in the glasse of adversity every affliction that God laies upon us seemes to say as Ehud to Eglon I have a message to thee from God which if a man would consider it would make his affliction a Bethesda to cure him of his spirituall infirmities and by so doing hee would come out of that fornace cleare gold purged from the drosse of his corruptions Vse 2 Secondly here is a Use of admonition ever look up to God in all thy afflictions look to him in thy Feaver in thy Ague in the Plague I know there may be an infected ayre there may be ill humours in the body which may help forward infection I know also that a man may bee infected by being conversant with infected persons these be second causes but God is the chiefe and principall The Heathens call the plague a judgement sent from God and surely there is something more divine in it then in other punishments and a man may say of those that die of the Pestilence as Moses said of the death of Korah and his Complices they die not the common death of men for as there is something in this disease for the Physitian to look on so something for the Divine Vse 3 Lastly when the Lords hand is upon us and that we would have it removed the nearest way we can take is to have recourse to God by prayer for as our Saviour told Pilate that he had no power but what was given him from above so afflictions could not seise upon us without Gods giving them a commission a man may spend all that he hath to be cured of his disease as did the woman in the Gospel that had the bloody issue and yet unlesse God please all shall doe him no good Saul may goe to the Witch of Endor for help and Amaziah to the god of Ekron to bee healed but except the God of heaven work the cure it shall never be effected let us therefore in all our afflictions seek to God and to him alone for he that is the inflicter must be the restorer I now proceed to the point which even now I named Ezra saith God punished them not without cause which guides mee to this Observation Doct. 4 God doth never punish any without desert Gen. 18.25 Saith Abraham
hath not the drunken person been met withall in his sinne and hath not the Adulterer the proud Person the swearer the hypocrite been met withall in their transgressions and if so let them take heed of vilifying that which hath convinced them in their own consciences but if it were so that Gods Word hath not made them tremble if it have not yet broken them in pieces yet the time will come when it shall batter and bruise them And if thou hast not found this by thy selfe already thou art worse than either Ahab or Felix for Gods word made the one humble and the other tremble If fire be cryed in the street it amazes everie one but if the Ministers of God cry out against sin scarse any tremble but let such as these know that this stupidity is the fore-runner of eternall miserie Vse 2 In the second place let us labour for this holy disposition of soule to tremble at Gods Word God himselfe calls for it Isa 66.5 Isa 66.5 and to such he hath promised to have respect as in the second verse of that Chapter and such a man is most capable of comfort from God for our Lord Christ saith Hee came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance as also such as are weary and heavy laden therefore se vile fear is of good use it keepeth the heart supple for the impressions of grace and makes way for filiall feare as the needle makes way for the thread But because the wicked men may tremble at Gods word as wel as the child of God therefore I will direct you how you shal know whether ye tremble at Gods word as ye ought First the man that trembles aright at Gods Word hee reflects on that sinne which is the cause thereof this wee see in Josephs brethren the Governour handling them roundly makes them reflect on their sin against him causing them to say Verily we have sinned against our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soule when he besought us and we would not heare him Gâ—n 42.21 therefore is this trouble come upon us Gen. 42.21 so that no sooner was the word spoken to them Gen. 42.21 but they reflect on their inhumanitie And a godly man when he is reproved of a sin which he knowes himselfe culpable of he immediately reflects upon his transgression and saith My sinne is the cause why I tremble when I am met withall Secondly the true trembling at Gods word is joyned not only with a reflection upon a mans sin but with contrition for his sin Isa 66.2 these goe together as in Isay 66.2 where God saith To him will I looke that is of a contrite spirit and trembles at my word It is said of Ahab that he rent his clothes but he rent not his heart therefore his humiliation was unsound Thirdly if a man doe truly tremble at Gods word then he will at the same time finde in himselfe a resolution to amend that for which he knowes he is justly reproved It is said Acts 2.37 they which heard Peter preach Acts 2 3â— were pricked in their hearts and what then Men and brethren what shall we doe Marke they being touched to the quick labour to get out of their sinfull estate in which till that time they had continued And in Acts 9. when it pleased God to convert Paul Acâ—s 9. he was strangely terrified at the words which God spake unto him and the first word he saith is Lord what wilt thou have me to doe Lastly in such a one as trembles truly at Gods word there will be seene an indeavour and striving to put in practise what he resolves upon for Gods word works in a regenerate man not only a feare to displease God but a care for time to come to practise all possible obedience in the whole course of his life and conversation And so much for chat point But now who were these that trembled at Gods word some expositors suppose they were such as had been ingaged in the forementioned sinne and hearing Gods word were smitten with feare because of the strange wives which they had maried and if so they were fit men to advise others who had committed the same sinne but had not repented of it and the truth is which shall be my observation A man that hath been exercised with the terrours of God Doctr. such a man is most fit to advise and counsell others Moses was a man that was exercised with the terrours of God not onely when hee saw the bush to burne and not consume but when the angell of God met him and would have slaine him and this did coapt and fit him to speake comfortably to others that were in distresse In the 51 Psal 12.13 David begs of God to restore to him the joy of his salvation and what then Psal 51.12 13. then will I teach transgresours thy wayes and sinners shall be converted unto thee Luk. 22.31.32 In the Luke 22.31.32 our blessed Lord saith to Peter Simon Simon Satan hath desired to have you that he may winnow you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith faile not and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren Feter had had experience of Gods mercy to him and what man more fit than he to comfort others in distresse and St. Paul saith 2 Cor. 5.11 Knowing therefore the terrour of the 2 Cor. 5.11 Lord we perswade men I know he especially aimes there at the last judgement but yet I am perswaded thar withall he meant that hee was most fit to advise them who had been exercised with the terrours of God As for example we believe him that hath been in the same case with us before we will believe any other It was well said by one that one thing among the rest that makes a good preacher is temptation such a man as hath been tossed in chese billowes is most fit to advise and comfort others A man that knows a Countrey by the Map may be able to speak something of it but it is nothing in comparison of what a Traveller can say which hath been there so a man that hath never felt the terrours of God may be able in part to advise and comfort those in such distresses but not like him that hath been exercised with the same terrour Let it teach those that be tearchers of others to lay things to their own hearts and to make triall of them there before they preseribe them to others Wilt thou teach the people how to conquer such a lust Hast thou made triall of it thy selfe If thou hast thou maist safely commend it to thy hearers And you that be people if a man shall come unto you suppose hee be your brother and say It was once with mee as it is with you I was thus and thus wicked but it pleased God after a while to bring mee to see my miserable condition and to draw me out
rejoyceth greatly because of the Bride groomes voice the meaning whereof is this That it is the joy of Gods Ministers when the voice of Christ our Bridegroome is accepted See this in Paul how great was his joy for the good successe of his Ministery Rom. 1.8 in Rom. 1 8. there he saith I thanke my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world his joy was that he had taken paines among the Romanes to good purpose so in the 2 Cor. 2.2 2 Cor. 2.2 If I make you sorry who is he then that maketh me glad but the same which is made sorry by mee he knew that by that meanes the old leaven was purged out of them which must needs make him rejoyce 2 Cor. 2.14 and in the 14. Verse of the same Chapter he saith Thanks be unto God which alwayes causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the favour of his knowledge by us in every place Hee thought it worthy Thankesgiving that he had not laboured in vaine the like wee see 2 Thess 2.19 2 Thess 2.19 What is our Hope or Ioy or Crown of Rejoycing Are not even yee in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ at his camming Yes you are our glory and joy and in the 13. Verse Vers 13. he saith for this cause also thanke we God without ceasing because when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us yee received it not as the word of men but as it is the truth the Word of God which effectually worketh also in you that beleeve so in 2 Cor. 3.7 Wee were comforted over you brethren 2 Cor 3.7 9. in all our affliction and distresse by your faith and in the nineth Verse hee saith What thanks can wee render to God again for you for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God In that good St. Paul saw the successe of his labours it gave him infinite satisfaction Nay he regarded not his shackles so long as they neglected not the grace offered them by his Ministery and to Philemon hee testifies his exceeding joy for the conversion of Onesimus this was the comfort of that good Bishop of Neocesarea of whom mention is made in the Ecclesiasticall story when hee was to dye he comforted himself with this that whereas there were not seventeen believers in that City when he came thither at the time of his death he knew not of seventeen unbeleevers in that place such a blessing had God given to his indeavours And for the further proofe of this poynt the truth of it will best appeare by the contrary to wit the great sorrow which is caused to the Ministers of God when they see no fruits of their labours what a griefe was it to Isaiah that he had laboured in vaine and spent his strength for nothing Isa Isa 49.4 49.4 and Jeremiah was so grieved that his labours were ineffectuall that he resolves to speak no more in the Name of the Lord Jerem. 20.9 Ezek. 2.3 Jer. 20.9 In the 2. Ezek. 3. God saith to that Prophet Son of man I send thee to a rebellious nation and thou shalt say to them thus saith the Lord but surely they will not heare thee what a cooling card was this for the Prophet Ezek. 3.14 and in the Ezek. 3.14 he saith I went in the bitternesse of my Spirit but the hand of the Lord was strong upon mee as if hee had said had I not been swayed by a Divine power I had not gone this as it is thought was the cause that Jonah waved his Commission of going to Nineveh hee found that hee had been unsuccessefull among his own people and therefore despaired of doing good among the Ninevites and to speak the trueth although I know our reward shall be as great as theirs who have wonne many soules if wee be faithfull in the discharge of our duty yet when the Minister shall pipe and the people will not dance when he shall sowe the Rocks and plough the sands and with Peter shall fish all night and catch nothing it cannot but be a great corrosive to his soul and a vexation to his Spirit every man desires to see that thrive which is committed to his charge the Father joyes to see his Children prosper and doe well so doth the Master to see his servant thrive the nurse her Childe the Shepherd his flock and the Minister is a man as well as the rest therefore hee desires that the people committed to his charge should thrive and prosper in grace and goodnesse Reason 1 and there is great reason for it first because when men grow in grace under a mans Ministery it makes much for the glory of God which every Minister is to preferre before the salvation of his owne soul as we see in the examples of Moses and Paul Reason 2 Secondly when he sees this hee hath an assurance of his calling then hee may say as Paul 1 Cor. 9.2 1 Cor. 9.2 Yee are the seale of mine Apostleship in the Lord. Reason 3 Thirdly hee that converts men wins souls to God and saves them from destruction and that is more then to win a World for one soul is worth more then the Universe Reason 4 Lastly such a man knowes that hereby he fits himself for a Crown as in Dan. 12.3 Dan. 12.3 They that turne many to righteousnesse shall shine as the Starres for ever and ever Vse 1 I shall ever desire it for my selfe and all those which be called to the Altar that God would ever keepe it in the purpose of our hearts not so much to look after the fatnesse and fleece of our flocks as after their proficiency in goodnesse and this must be laboured after by preaching soundly and faithfully and this is done when he indeavours to bring teares from their eyes rather than to please their eares it must also be laboured after by living a godly life and conversation for this is the next way for a Minister to have his flock prosper Vse 2 In the second place let it be a use to people Is it such a comfort to the Minister to see his people profit by his preaching then in the name of God afford your Ministers this consolation for I will he bold to tell you it is not your common courtesie nor your kind entertainment neither your liberallity to us which pleaseth us halfe so well as to finde the seale of our Ministry upon you in your godly walking I therefore say unto you as St. Paul to the Philipians fulfill yee our joy by obeying the truth which we deliver yee cannot more honour us than in this and this will make way for your eternall salvation A second thing I note is this as God gave Ezra a great deale of comfort so he addes to his comfort in this that by his humiliation he wrought not onely on the baser sort of
taken away in a generall visitation as none bee exempted yet that shall be to us as the fiery Chariot was to Eliah it shall put us into the possession of Heaven where all teares shall be wiped away from our eyes The second generall is the course which Ezra takes and that is humbling himselfe by confession weeping and supplication to let us know thus much Doct. 2 The maine receit in time of affliction is humiliation a probatum est of this will appeare in Gods people if a judgement have been threatned or comming they have humbled themselves before God 2 Chro. 20.3 in the 2 of Chro. 20.3 when that great Army of Ammonites and Moabites came against Iehoshaphat it is said Iehoshaphat feared and set himselfe to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Iudah So when that fatall Decree of Haman was procured for extirpation of the Iewes and a day destinate for their destruction Hesther commands the Iewes 10 fast three dayes and saith she I also and my Maidens will fast likewise Esth 4.16 and we doubt not Esther 4. â—6 but they afflicted their soules as well as their bodies Ionah 3.5 And in Ionah 3.5 when the Prophet denounced destruction to Nineveh saying yet forty dayes and Nineveh shall be overthrown what followes the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a Fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them This is in judgements imminent and to come yee shall see that this also hath been their course when a judgement hath been inflicted in a time of drought Ier. 14.20 Ier. 14.20 We acknowledge O Lord our wickednesse and the iniquity of our fathers for we have sinned against thee in a time of dearth and famine Ioel 2.12 the prescription is Turne to the Lord with all your heart with fasting Ioel 2.12 weeping and mourning The people of God have done the same when the sword hath been amongst them this wee find in Iosh 7.6 when Israel was discomfited by the men of Ai Ioshua rent his cloathes Iosh 7.6 and fell to the earth upon his face before the Ark of the Lord untill eventide he and the Elders of Israel and put dust upon their heads So in the judgement of mortality when David saw that seventy thousand of his subjects were slaine by the pestilence for his sinne hee betakes himselfe to God in a humble manner saying Lo I have sinned and done wickedly but these sheep what have they done let thine hand I pray thee be against me and against my fathers house 2 Sam. 24.17 We see it also in Davids particular case 2 Sam. 24.17 Psal 30.7.8 Psal 30.7.8 Thou O Lord didst hide thy face and I was troubled then I cryed to thee O Lord and unto the Lord I made my supplication So likewise in the case of the whole Church Hosea 6.1 Come and let us returne unto the Lord for hee hath torne and hee will heale us Hosea 6.1 hee bath smitten and he will bind us up The grounds they went upon were these two Reason 1 First Zeph. 2.1.2 they knew it was Gods Commandement that place in Zeph. 2.1 2. is notable to this purpose where the Lord saith Gather your selves together yea gather together O Nation not desired before the decree bring forth before the day passe as the chaffe before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you before the day of the Lords anger come upon you As when Absolom could not speak with Ioah by faire meanes hee knew that if once his corne were on fire hee would quickly come unto him So when the Lord inflicts judgements on his people it is to humble them in his presence Isa 22.12 So in Isa 22.12 In that day to wit in the day of their affliction did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping and to mourning to baldnesse and to girding with sackcloth Reason 2 Secondly the Saints were sure that sinne was the cause of all their miseries that being the Achan which troubled the whole Host and the Ionah endangering the whole Ship therefore to look to have the judgement removed without humiliation and repentance were to no purpose who looks to have a wound cured as long as the weapon that made it sticks in it and it is in vaine to expect the removall of a judgement till men be humbled and purged but take away the cause and the effect will cease Vse 1 What shall we think of a number of desperate wretches in the world who when they should bee humbled under Gods afflicting hand sinne more and more and more against him this was the sinne of Abaz for which the Spirit of God stigmatises him to all posterity in the 2 Chro. 28.22 saying 2 Chro. 28.22 and in the time of this distresse that is when the Philistimes had invaded his Land did hee trespasse yet more against the Lord this is that King Ahaz This also we finde charged on Israel Isa 57.17 Isa 57.17 For the iniquity of his coveteousnesse was I wrath and smote him saith the Lord I hid me and was wroth and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart They ' were so farre from being better that they were the worse for Gods afflicting them and are they better that when the plague of God is gone out against a place as at this time it is against this City yet can sweare lie cheat and be drunk they know not but that the destroying Angell may smite them next and yet they dare provoke God by these and many other sinnes woe is me that people should bee thus unprepared for death will nothing teach these but bare feeling will they take no warning till God touch them and set the bloudy crosse upon their bodies let these know that although God spare them a while hee will not spare them for ever and to be sure he will put all into the last draught which shall be as bitter as gall or worm-wood Vse 2 In the second place seeing the Lords wrath is at this present gone out against us for our iniquities let us all I beseech you with Ezra addresse our selves to God by Prayer and fasting what is it for us to fast in private though Authority have not commanded it when it is done by the command of the Magistrate wee seeme to fast of necessity but when wee take it up voluntarily it argues ingenuity nay there cannot be a more pregnant sign of sincerity Is it such a matter to forbeare one meale in a week Well however we think of this duty if it be performed as it ought with supplication and humiliation there is no such way to prevent or remove a judgement I hope there is none so wicked amongst us but will confesse that we have great cause to humble our selves before God for who can be ignorant but that we our selves are the cause of the plague which is now among us it is true sometimes it